Little Updates...

I know I promised and I tried… but every single time I end up in front of my PC, its either I am too lazy OR on freeze mode. Anyway, here’s some updates on my end:

1. I have announced it on FB, and I will officially announce in here. I am in a relationship. Here, I’d like to clarify, I did not announce it earlier NOT because I wanted it to be kept from public but I had to do it because in the Philippines, there has been so much interest in it that it became more of a gossip and rumor thingy than news. I didn’t want to ruin a beautiful thing. But yes, its official.

2. Yeay!! …. For the last 3 consecutive weeks, we have had 4 days of work every day due to holidays either on Friday or Monday. This coming is also a holiday because President Arroyo declared it as one to respect the wake of one of the church leaders. As what they say, Mabuhay Philippines (Welcome to Philippines)… it is one of the most holiday-rampant countries in SEA after Thailand.. still at the top of the charts.

3. I will be flying to Cebu on Monday to attend a kick off meeting with SMART.. one of the earliest and leading operators in Philippines. Another yeay… I haven’t been to Cebu so, this is a free visit there! Err.. thinking whether to stay the weekend or not since the beaches are very nearby.. tempting!

4. Have heard lately from Jerry and Jovi… glad you guys are ok. Was surprised actually to hear about Jerry’s submission… but you will always have my support. And vice versa, I think we are probably in the same boat given that scenario… so, I think we truly understand how and what each other is thinking. We will talk more on this later.

5. To all those whose birthday has come and gone by, I wish you all a very Happy Belated Birthday! The reason why I didn’t call is NOT because I forgot, but more to:

a) I know its your birthday but I don’t have your number or email
b) I don’t do FB birthday wishes… not twitter either (not into this yet… haven’t got the time)

Hence, I apologize for that and I wish you well, but I have not forgotten all of you… rest assured.

But today is my best friend's birthday: Mark and KG. Happy Birthday!

6. There have been some activities going on for me lately what with the Sports Fest that the Philippines Rep Office has organized. Kudos to that to keep all employees healthy (so that we don’t sue them for abuse of resources)… I have been coaxed to join into one or two. Ironically, the game I am most familiar with, Badminton, was the game that I ‘somewhat’ chose to leave out. Instead, I went for Basketball (Phils is so Americanize that the support for this game is huge) and also Marathon which I will be partaking in next weekend (if nothing goes wrong J). Of course I do my gym…. Threadmills and etc at my own space and time, but I thought it would be fun too trying to join in the teams. Nope, I haven’t scored any points yet… ya’ know… its really a tough game compared to what you see on tv.

7. I recently bought a new laptop! Yeay!! No, not the one I blogged about previous… that was the Lenovo Atom… now, after much deliberation, Ric and I bought the Toshiba Satellite M Series... ahhh... blisss... my new toy! ( see below)…

8. … and this… brings me to the 8th Update. Since Ric and I bought it, we have been hooked on it ever since. NO, not on the computer itself but the games that we can play! I mean, c’mon, it has been ages and ages since most of us OR for that matter, me, have had that chance to really virtually sweat it out with those games like Age of Empires, Mythology, C&C, etc. Hence, given this opportunity, at every single time slot we can find, we battle on “C&C3: Kane Edition: Tiberium Wars”. For me, it’s a rejuvenating session… not away from the project but to look at it out of the box. Basically, these are strategy games… and what more to virtually brainstorm your way into the enemy’s territory for maximum penetration? It helps shift your mind into another dimension that will help you look and do things differently. Bu, envy is a sweet thing. The best part about it is when we play network, we don’t have to create IPs for it because with this computer, it configures everything for you. Hence, all you need is the game, a LAN cable and a willing brother to sweat it out.

9. Work wise, I am working on 7 simultaneous projects. Difference between now and back then, I manage Project Managers as well as engineers. Since July 2009 when I was handed this position, I was elated but hesitated, nevertheless, jumped on it because I wanted more challenge as it was beginning to feel mundane. I guess this is called the ‘Tipping Point’… and to avoid that, there are things that need to be done which requires effort… and for me, jumping into this huge responsibility was one that I took to challenge myself and see where I will end up in. Some would have just lingered on and change jobs, but my theory is, what’s the difference? Changing jobs would mean new and additional efforts are needed, but doesn’t that speak volume for the current job we have… where we can start asking ourselves… are we motivated enough to put in some effort to make a change? If the answer is NO, then, there’s no point staying. But if your answer is lying on ‘sitting on the fence’, my two cents worth, don’t quit for the sake of quitting and changing jobs…. Take the initiative to try something new, change things around and see what is made out of it. My favorite quote from Sir Richard Branson… ‘Screw It.. Lets do it!”

10. Bought a new book by Malcom Gladwell… ‘Outliers’. Haven’t had time to read it yet… probably soon. This is one hell of a best seller after ‘Blink’ and ‘Tipping Point’.

11. This year, I have decided to invest heavily on a one off plan. I hope it takes off after a year of anticipation, discussion, drawing boards, and planning. I also have 3 major investment plans working up my sleeves in the next 5 years which to me, is tagged to point number 9. Its tough, …. Really really tough but what’s easy? Ambitions and plans are important.

12. Congratulations to my bro for having found something else which he has been waiting for such a long time and now, the opportunity has arise… I am sure you will do well Kev!

13. Recent new items which I have purchased but might not necessarily be part of what I have now… Ogawa, Mont Blanc, Tissot, Seiko, Toshiba. Next on list…. Mont Blanc, Panasonic, Dockers, Sony Ericcson. Well, I have a very structured way of shopping or so called ‘My Wish List’. I have learned this from being in the industry with those big telecom giants. Every quarter, they have a budget for whatever project to be rolled out, nothing more than that. If ever, the eventuality happens that it exceeds the budget and gets pushed through, there will be serious repercussions financially. Hence, I have worked mine out very delicately and the above prospect buys are still doable within the year. However, if anyone is kind enough… the ones in highlighted for the remainder of the year IS my WISH LIST. Hehehehehehhe…. I bet that is going to put everyone off! Hahahahaha…

14. Coming to the budgeting thing, I also have enough room for one more holiday trip for myself… international that is. For domestic holidays, I can still manage 5 more (that is if I have the time). J Hence, was planning on either Thailand or Vietnam. Osaka will be on next year’s list in April… I will try to make it happen because I have been wanting to go there since late 08 and early this year.

15. Basically, point number 9 sums up point number 1 and 5. Being busy is relatively another common and convenient term as an excuse. However, when one is truly submerge in the situation, you will know. That is why in the Philippines, even with the United Nations band of brothers here, namely, Ric, CC, Bu, Swan, Asela, VJ, Chee, we seldom really converse much during work time unless of course related although we work in the same company, but two different roof, 50m away. Point is, we don’t complain because we know how busy the other one is. Hence, I do apologize again to those I have left out recently if ever.

Hence, this pretty much sums up what I have been up to lately. Till then… ciao!