Technology for the youngster

It's 4:30 in the afternoon and i am sleepy... i have done my work for today... it's a monday and i have this lazy feeling that i am trying to brush off... it simply won't go away...

I received a text message this afternoon, "HI TITA THIS IS MY NEW CEL#"... My niece got her cellphone today... she turns 8 tomorrow and now has her own phone. My goodness, when i was 8 years old all i did was run around playing tag and hide and seek... sliding on a wood board down that hill by the art room (now that is one happy thought! haha)... jumping from the swing betting on who can jump the farthest... hanging on the monkey bars till my arms would hurt... playing dress up and house with my barbie dolls (these still exist by the way... they are now with my neice not as beautiful as before.. haha).

Cellphones are a necessity these days, but at 8 years old?? The phone is not that expensive... the barbie doll costs even more.. haha... so when i think about it, giving the kid a phone is not that bad. You can actually communicate with her anywhere and easier to reach when there is an emergency. Hopefully she doesn't misplace the phone. A typical 8 year old would lose things in a snap of a finger.

Kids today are really lucky... it would have been cool to have a cellphone during the first grade... But, when i reminisce my childhood days, i prefer the time spent with my classmates playing all those games rather than having all these new gadgets. It just so happens that technology has advanced... i wonder what kids will have 10 years from now... i wonder what technology has to offer for my own kid...

Rhumba

The chairman of the board of Texas Instruments has arrived today. We spent the past week preparing for a special presentation for this great man and leader. Many had doubts that he would make it because of the bad weather. Fortunately, his very good pilots were able to safely land his plane despite of the fog and scattered rainshower.


The multi-purpose hall of the Baguio Country Club was tranformed into a cozy party setting. Drapes of white cloth were sprawled from the center to the ends of the ceiling with a centerpiece of shimmering lights. There were landscaping on the corners, colorful lights,and balloons of white and blue were hung everywhere. We were ready to celebrate TI's 75th year with a very special guest.


Buffet dinner started at 7pm. The aroma of good food was lingering all over the place. The open bar served a variety of liquor from wine to rum to beer and cocktails. Everything was going well. A few minutes before the program was to start, we suddently encountered technical difficulties. The laptop for the projector would not work due to some grounding problem. The weather was really bad at the time and we assumed that the strong rain may have affected the wiring. The TIPI president was getting really impatient and frustrated at how things were turning out. The organizers were starting to panic. Last minute changes to the program were made. But like anyone would say, "the show must go on"...

A simple speech from the great leader kicked off the program. Followed by the presentation of the tokens from the TIPI family, the cutting of the cake (this cake by the way had 75 candles to symbolize TI's 75th birthday), then on to the main program. The laptop still did not seem to work so the supposedly finale of the program has now become the "opener". Four members of the QST danced away to "Let's Groove Tonight". I must say that this performance boosted the adrenalin of the guests. Everyone was clapping with happy faces admiring these four leaders of the company. Seeing your big boss up there on stage, dancing away does make a great impact on everybody. Some of the men started to wave scorecards with numbers on the 10's and 100's.

As soon as their performance was done, the laptop suddenly worked. HE surely has HIS ways. The organizers were able to breathe again. The show can now go on. A history of TI was presented in somewhat an entertaining manner. Songs and dances were performed per year from the 1930's to the 21st century. Songs were sung by fellow TIer's and the dances were interpreted by the UB dance troup. Our special participation together with the other members of the QST was set for the 1970's. All made up and dressed in our ballroom attire, we were ready to rhumba away.

Our QST partners set foot on stage and everyone started to whistle and cheer. The ladies enter the stage and the performance begins. We began to dance the rhumba to the song "Save the the last dance". Thankfully i did not fall off the stage due to nervousness. Haha. Each and everyone of us pulled it off pretty well. Numbers of 10's and 100's were being waved in the air again and each guest applauded with glee.

The presentation ended with the TI song. The guests started singing along. After the main program, a small speech from our managing director was delivered. The party continued with some wine and dancing. I have never seen so many managers all in one room dancing the night away. It was fun looking at them away from all the stress and serious work talk. Everyone simply had a really great time.

I have to say the whole dance and song number went really great! Our special guest could not put into words his gratitude and appreciation for the hard work and effort that each and everyone has put into the program. It was a privelege to shake the hand of a great leader!

And so the party ends and i head home thinking of what a great night it turned out to be. Being a part of an occasion like that was really something. I arrive home and was greeted by a surprise. Who would have thought the greatness of the night was over! Haha. There, laying on the living room table, was a beautiful bouquet of roses in an assortment of colors (pink, yellow, orange, peach, and some shades of red). It was sent by someone very special... Someone so far away yet makes me feel that he is just right here... Someone who has been putting a smile on my face these days... My evening has now changed from great to perfect!

To that someone, THANK YOU and see you in my next rhumba! =)

The Key

Today, 8/8, marks a brand new day in my life. I am staring at my screen and I cannot seem to find the words to express my happiness. The past year has taught me a lot of lessons about love and life. I have come to appreciate many things that I never gave notice before… and I just feel the need to share this very special moment…

I have been walking around the whole day with a smile on my face. Amidst the uncertainties and fear that love has molded on me, I have decided to give it another chance. I asked for signs and they were given to me in so many different ways. The little things that you don’t usually see suddenly seemed to glow and they are the only ones that stand out.

Heartaches have passed me by… and because of these, I used to think that I have locked my heart up and threw away the key. Someone has found that key and was able to capture my heart once again… I hope that… that someone will take good care of it…

I shed a tear today no longer because of sadness and pain… but because life and love has opened up this new door… a door to a new beginning… happiness has come out of its shell… and as I shed that tear, I thank HIM for everything…

Happy Thought

I had a very stressful day... Arguments left and right... trying to make your point but some people refuse to understand. Friday really beats the heck out of you. It so happens that it is the time of the month, so double the stress. I need to think of at least one happy thought and i should be okay... =)


Hong Kong.... the limelight of our trip? The "lost" story... definitely a funny and unforgettable experience... Nadine and i were on our way back to Hong Kong from China. Our first blooper encounter was changing buses from China immigration back to Hong Kong. We memorized the bus number that we were riding. After having our passports checked, we headed straight to the other side of the building to wait for the bus we rode. Thirty minutes has passed and we were wondering where the bus was. Everyone has ridden their own bus and we noticed that everytime a new batch of people came they would eventually get on their bus right away. Another 10 minutes and we realized that the bus we rode will no longer come for us. China is right hand drive and Hong Kong is left hand drive! (@$&*!?) So we ask around on which bus we need to ride to get us to Hong Kong. Everyone looked at us blankly not understanding a single word we said. The signs everywhere were in Chinese. This is not a foreigner friendly place! We had pink tickets so we followed those that had tickets of the same color. Thankfully we get the right ride! Haha! Two of our other friends were waiting for us at the Sheraton hotel in Kowloon.


It was a 30-45 minute bus ride. There were few vacant seats so Nadine and i sat on different rows. I was a seat infront of her. We had entered Hong Kong area and the first bus stop was coming up. As soon as the bus halted, almost half of the passengers started getting down. I assumed that it was our stop too so i grabbed my luggage, stood up and headed down the steps. As i was waiting outside for my friend, wondering what was taking her so long to get off the bus, the doors suddenly closed! The bus started moving. I started running after it, dragging my luggage along with me, waving and screaming "WAIIIT!!!"... Nadine saw me from the bus as it was pulling away, she started yelling for the bus to stop but the driver kept on going... they had a rule of stopping only at bus stop points... she didn't notice me get off the bus because when i stood up, she was looking for something in her bag so she was bent over... and so there i was standing in the middle of the street, out of breath carrying all my luggage, staring at bus as i see it disappear into traffic. I saw a nearby park with a beautiful fountain. I sat on the edge to take a rest. I was seated in between two elderly folks. And then it suddenly hit me.. i was lost! My cellphone roaming was not working, i did not know a single person around me and i was thousands of miles away from home. I sat there for about 15 minutes, on the verge of crying... waiting... just in case my friend would come back for me... but nothing happened...

Luckily i had the map with me. It was so easy to take the train and head straight to the Sheraton. I was just two cities/towns away. And then i remembered that i was not the only one lost, Nadine was too! She had her working cellphone but she had no map in hand. My cellphone was about to die as my batteries were running low. I decided to start walking down the street looking for a payphone but to no success. I started asking people if they had cellphones i could borrow so i could call my friend. Everyone looked at me in a weird way thinking of how crazy i must be... haha... it was truly embarrasing! But i didn't care... nobody knew me anyway... and so i go into a bank. I asked them if they had a phone i could use explaining to them that i got separated from my friends. The woman knew how to speak english (thank god!) so she gave me directions to the nearest payphone. She even asked me if i had change (very kind person)...

I get to the payphone and i almost kissed the booth when i saw english transalations on the instructions for placing a call... hehe... after about 15 minutes of figuring out how to call a roaming cellphone from the philippines, Nadine's phone started ringing... almost made me jump for joy! When she answered, we both started screaming out of excitement... probably so thankful of hearing each others' voice... we agreed to meet infront of a certain building. It was the nearest to my payphone and it was big enough to be able to easily find. I walked my way to our meeting place and while waiting i started observing the people passing by. And then i noticed that i had been standing there for 30 minutes and still no Nadine. I go back to the phone booth and dialled her number again. She couldn't find the building! Haha... Finally we agreed to meet halfway... I practically spent almost 100 pesos for a two minute call!

I was walking down the main street and just a block away i spot her... standing infront of a Watsons store! We were in the same block going in circles! Haha... we let out our screams and hugs... so happy seeing each other again after about an hour and a half (seemed like years that we didn't see each other.. hehe)... and then like as if nothing happened, we enter a nearby bag store on sale, and started shopping again... shopping does take all the misery away! Then off we went to Sheraton to meet Kitty and Cindy... =)


Thankfully my cellphone did not die on me... otherwise i wouldn't have been able to retrieve Nadine's number... i should have gotten one of those shirts that said "I got lost in Hong Kong!"... haha...

It was truly an unforgettable and funny experience... One happy thought!

Lessons from a broken heart

My title would make one assume that i have a broken heart... i did.

Each and everyone of us have undergone that phase... where you start singing that song "Breaking up is hard to do..." But what do we really get from a broken heart?

There are so many reasons why most young relationships do not last that long. Differences in opinions and interests, attitudes that we cannot tolerate, influences from friends, third parties and so much more. When we are with someone, we tend to give too much of ourselves. We forget that the relationship consists of two separate human beings, having a life of their own. They have their own group of friends, own families, own colleagues to hang out with, own activities... These are people in their lives that are important too... that need their attention once in a while... and sometimes these people are forgotten and taken for granted thinking that no matter what happens, they will still be there for you. This has caused many arguments. There is a need to understand that all of these are contributors to what makes you a special and unique individual. Communication is probably one of the biggest factors in having a successful relationship.

I have had relationships that lasted 5 years, 1 1/2 years, and some even just for a few months. Not all of them have given me heart aches. I guess the ones where you give your love the most are the ones that hurt. There are no regrets of course, because giving out your love is part of life. But losing it, in just a snap of a finger, will definitely hit you and bring you down. The process of having to stand back up with your two feet on the ground is the hardest part. A wall of fear will be put up, afraid of how something like that can happen to you again. A lot of people have contributed to my so called "healing". But i would have to say that the one person who has helped me was myself. So goes the saying "If you can't help yourself, no one can". I have then come to realize how much life has to offer, how much your family loves you, how much friends you have and how important they are to you. A relationship that didn't last was actually an opening for something better set out for you. When i think of how terrible i felt back then, i just smile and still thank Him. My true happiness is out there somewhere.

I have probably come of age where i just want someone who will basically understand me. Physical attraction is there but i remember a friend of mine once said, "Looks is just an icing on the cake..." I just need someone who will comfort me when i am feeling low and depressed... someone who i can talk with about anything, be it the past, present or future, and still look at me the same way... about a tiring day's work, or a funny incident, a past relationship, a future plan, anything under the sun... someone who can give me a hug and without saying a word, everything will seem alright... someone who listens... someone who i can love and in return just love me back... someone who will simply bring out the best in me...

And so now i continue to move on with a not-so-broken heart... appreciating life... enjoying every blessing that He has to offer... patiently waiting for His plan to unveil itself...