Thankful for

My team, my boss and my job :)

Sofitel getaway

Had a short staycation at Sofitel from Sunday to Monday -- a way to "delay" the short holiday by way of changing our surroundings and hibernating, at least for about 20 hours straight. Loved it! First off, our room was upgraded to the next level up and to a bay-facing one, to my delight since I had only booked the cheapest room. Second, the room was newly renovated - another plus! The hotel wasn't too full too, I guess coz people felt the 1-day extra day off was "bitin". Glad they felt that way :p

We enjoyed the grounds, lounged around, swam a bit, had a long, leisurely dinner and watched 2 episodes of Suits in our room. This morning, instead of availing of the usual buffet breakfast, we opted for a simple, plated Pinoy meal. Loved the simplicity of the holiday, the serenity and quiet, the seclusion and the really comfortable room. My kind of staycation :p

Promotion treat!

I was not supposed to buy anything anymore, until my birthday when we go to HK. That was what I told myself the other day, after buying myself a top at Tala.

Then, today, while waiting for Atty to finish his meeting, I saw this ballet Mary Janes at Repetto. They had this in a red color and a really light taupe color that was to-die-for. I tried them on and miraculously the biggest size fit me. I was so surprised, because usually Repetto's biggest size would still be a bit of a snug fit on me. Curses, those tiny French feet! But these fit like a glove....

And they were on 45% sale, aka 5,400 pesos cheaper!

Temptation....

Temptation....

Temptation....

Then I told myself, this will be my treat to myself for my well-deserved, long-overdue promotion. I got the salary increase credited to my account last week, and the company kindly gave me the increase retroactive to January -- so 8 months worth of the increase! Told myself I will charge this beautiful pair to that increase, and promise to save the balance. I'll do that first thing tomorrow morning -- that is, withdraw the balance from my payroll and deposit it into our savings account. Promise!

So, yay! New shoes! Love love love. Been wanting a pair of Repetto's since I saw them in Paris when we went last year. Good thing I didn't buy then, and found these today.

Yay!

A promotion and a hanging opportunity

As of yesterday, my promotion to Sr Manager is official. I say it was only official as of yesterday and not as of two weeks ago when my boss told me, because I finally saw it in my payslip. Haha! Let's tell the truth, a promotion is only real when you see the moolah.

Anyway, the moolah ain't that big. It is actually pretty insignificant, I guess because I just got an 8% increase last month due to my annual performance evaluation. Needless to say, it is an achievement I'm proud of, not only because in my heart of hearts, I know I have worked hard for it but also because many people in the organization, and senior people at that, have affirmed it to me. I know that sounds kinda funny because if I already knew I deserved it, why do I need other people's validation? That is true. But I will not hide the fact that hearing it from other people has a different sense of fulfillment :)

There's also a hanging opportunity in the air! Of course, life has to have some sort of suspense!!

I interviewed for an opportunity late last year with a multinational company that has interested me for a while. Nothing materialized then, after that initial meeting. Until about 6 weeks ago, that is. I got a call and was asked to come in to meet several people in the brand management hierarchy. I met with them and am happy to discover that, despite my lack of experience in the area, was accepted into the position.

Alls well that ends well? Not quite yet. It's been about a week since the big boss has come back, and I was told she needs to approve my job offer, which was checked and rechecked by the HR manager to make sure that the salary level I asked for is truly based on my current scheme in Smart. No feedback yet until now. I honestly do not know what to think. I have also flipflopped several times in the past few weeks on whether this is still something I'm interested in. Now that my promotion is in place, I also feel like there's "kahiyaan" also mixed into the equation now.

So what now?! As I said in the title, it's a hanging issue. No resolution yet. I want to and am hoping to see an actual offer to respond to, so I can close out this chapter in my life and move on. I'm counting on this company to be professional and extend me the courtesy of rounding up our discussion and not leaving me hanging. Let's see! For now, yay on the promotion!:)

Ops Smile update!

We received the update from Operation Smile about the little girl who benefited from our donation. Warms the heart in ways that no amount of self-indulging spending can do. :)

We plan to do this regularly, with the next one in October when I celebrate my big 3-0! :)

Exciting purchase

Atty and I went over to the sales office last Saturday, intending only to inquire about the new promotion on payment terms. Little did I know, the visit will end with us confirming our interest and telling the agent that we will be back the following Monday to place our reservation fee.

Yay!

We bought a studio unit at the Tower E of 

Double yay!

I'm excited!! Not only is the property beautiful, it is also poised to rise in value once the turnover is completed in late 2015. The agent also told us that Rockwell bought the adjacent lot to the Grove and will be developing a smaller version of the Rockwell Center there. This assured the logical side of my brain which was trying to forecast the risks and returns of this investment. The emotional side of me was doing cartwheels though, because to be honest, this emotional side of me was envisioning never having to sell the unit and just using it as a half-way house of sorts -- a nearby Anvaya, where we can rest and relax, just to get away from our usual surroundings, without having to leave Metro Manila. All the comforts of "away" without the hassle of travel. Triple yay!

So psyched :D

And so thankful too, for the blessings in our lives that enable us to make this purchase.

:)

Opportunity (like life) is unfair.

Okay, the main thing that marred this past week (the first full week of August 2012) is the rain-with-no-name --- the nameless devil of a waterworld that took Metro Manila by surprise. My family and I were fortunate enough not to be affected by the bad weather. In fact, the second day, Wednesday, my youngest brother even stayed with us in our condo, because I refused to have my dad drive all the way from Laguna to pick him up in Makati then drive back to Paranaque. Not in the middle of that scary-looking 5pm-looking 3pm sky and the relentless rain. I count us to be so incredibly lucky, to have a solid roof above our heads, no water on our feet and enough food in our ref. We have enough resources to get back to normal, even assuming we get affected. I have colleagues who actually got flood damage, but I also still count them as lucky because they are able to get back to normal AT WILL. Choice is really something so crucial and so important in this life, because it's something majority of Filipinos do not have.

There were also a number of relief operations, one of them held in my alma mater and where I currently teach part-time. While I felt bad for the people who lost their homes, I have not been compelled to take action, mostly because I didn't particularly like the idea of providing temporary relief, to tide hunger over, etc. Not that these are not important, take note. I know that they are. But I guess with our many other disasters, and many to the point that they are probably semi-annual at this point, I am guilty in saying I've been a bit desensitized in terms of making the effort and helping out.

That is, until today.

I walked in to my classroom, prepared to start my lecture for the day. Then I realized one of my most diligent students, who always sits on the front row, was absent. I asked his best friend why this is so and she sadly told me that he is currently still stuck in the evacuation center in Marikina and is unable to come to school, because he has no money for fare, no school shoes, no things and no clothes. This is because his family lost everything (whatever small 'everything' that they had) in the flood. He is also unsure as to how to rebuild their lives. I would say that coming back to school is probably not the biggest priority right now.

My heart bled for this kid. You see, he is a full scholar and comes from very humble beginnings. In a school like mine, he is the overwhelming minority. Most of the kids who go to this school come from very comfortable homes, born into this world with a chockful of opportunities, theirs for the taking. I am one of these kids, so I am comfortable in saying that these kids have never had to want for anything. On the other hand, here is this full scholar, a bit awkward and intimidated in this classroom-full of well-dressed, well-heeled students, who speak English more like a primary language than anything else, and who probably never even gave a second's thought to things that constantly worry him. It seems so unfair, for Cris (that's his name) to have worked so hard so far in his life, to be able to go above his humble past and carve out a path for himself, to be forced by circumstances to start all over again. Whereas his other classmates probably relished the 2 days with no classes because they didn't have to endure any major personal damage by the bad weather. To use an analogy, his other classmates have had all resources at their disposal all this time, to build a tower worth of blocks. On the other side is Cris, who is building his tower with dilapidated blocks and an uneven floor. Then nature comes by and knocks Cris' tower down, and nary a block out of place among the towers of the other kids. Makes me want to throw things and scream right into Life's ear. WTF.

I'm not judging rich kids, take note. I'm just saying how badly I feel for kids like Cris, who have had to fight tooth and nail to get opportunities that come so easily and almost automatically for other chidlren. As someone said before, it's the luck of the draw at birth - to get the kind of cards you're dealt.

So I plunged into action and collated monetary help (which is what he needs the most) to give to him to help his family rebuild... and hopefully get him back to school ASAP. I have also offered to buy him new shoes and new school supplies. The last thing I want is for this calamity to affect his studies -- the one way he can work at to improve his family's way of life. I want to do what I can to make sure he gets back on track ASAP. It's not been fair, so I'd like to try to help him get back up.

Just a bitch-out post, I guess. I wish life were just a tiny bit kinder to kids like Cris.