Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Inkblogs: FAA Get together, Grad Day, and Taipei 101 (Friendster on 8.14.06)
August 4, 2006 - Had a short get together with former officemates under FAA's cluster... First had dinner at Friday's with She, Mark, Donald and Anna... After dinner, the rest had to go home and it was the time that Sharon, Macoy and FAA were available so we had coffee at Starbucks at 6750... Well, the get together was just the start of a busy weekend...
August 6, 2006, After months of completing my requirements in MBA... I was finally conveyed my degree served on a Silver plater... Quite a memorable to cap my two years at Ateneo graduate school of business.
August 8-12, 2006 - It was my fifth visit to Taipei to attend the Board Meeting... The board was held at Xiangshan plant, a province in Taiwan. Xiangshan is one of Taiwan's province. Back in Taipei, there was already on observatory at Taipei 101, the World's Tallest Building, in the 89th floor so I took the chance to go up in the 89th floor via the world's fastest elevator, taking just 38 seconds going up to the 89th floor. As an added bonus, I was able to visit their outdoor viewing area at the 91st floor, which was so close to the tallest peak of the building... Had to go home back to the Philippines after an exhausting
Inklobgs: Hong Kong Macau Tour (Friendster on 6.13.06)
The story starts late last year when I saw that I had expiring miles as of yearend from my mabuhay miles account so before the year ended I had to rush to PAL to use up my mileage points and book a trip for me. Fortunately, I had enough miles to cover for a trip to Hong Kong. And finally after using up my three rebookings I finally did push thru with my vacation last June 2-12 and was back in Hong Kong after more than 2 years since my last visit.
June 2 - 6 pm - Flight to Hong Kong to Manila
Spent my first two days spending an ordinary weekend with my cousin's family and shopping. Also spend much time bonding with my fave Inaanak Yna...
June 5 - Macau Trip
Took the ferry to Macau at 9:30 am then proceeded to the Macau Tower where I Skywalked 233m above. Didn't take the sky jump because it was too expensive (aroundPhp5k-6k). Then preceeded to Ruins of St. Paul and walked along Senado Square before taking the ferry back to Hong Kong.
The next day i went to the viewpoint for the Tsing Ma Bridge, which is the Worlds Longest Suspended Road and Rail Bridge (even longer than the Golden Gate bridge) via MTR and Bus. I then went to Snoopy's World in Ta Shin which is accessible via the KCR line and dropped by the Avenue of the Stars before going home.
The next day I went to Stanley Market (Nice place to buy souvenirs).. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to buy anything since I was budgeting my money... Sorry friends... Stanley market is one popular attraction for foreigners there. You'd also pass by Repulse Bay, which is one of the best beaches in Hong Kong. Lastly, I had to go to Causeway Bay to pick Yna from school.
The next day, I had to pick up my mom and my aunt from the airport to join the tour... with me, being their tour guide. We went to Victoria Peak unfortunately, it was too cloudy at that time and wasn't able to see a clear view of Hong Kong... A walk in the clouds... hehe... It was a good thing for me that I was able to see the Peak at the best weather the last time I was in Hong Kong. We tried to catch the Duck Ling Junk which is a free ride for tourist but missed it for a few minutes. FYI... the junk is a harbour tour around Hong Kong which is free for visitors. Then preceeded to Tsim Sha Tsui in Kowloon to await for the Symphony of light which was a breathtaking site at night.
The next day, we were suppose to go to Disney but there was a black storm so we just rerooted to a mall in Tai Koo Shing and Central for a round of shopping.
The next day, we went to Ocean Park which was in reality a lot bigger than Disney-Hong Kong in terms of features, having a theme park rides, aquariums for fishes, dolphin shows, games, and two separate parks connected by cable cars. The dolphin show was great and the aquarium for jelly fish was both colorful and eye catching. We then proceeded to Times Square in Causeway Bay for dinner.
The Sunday was spent for Disneyland Hong Kong. The rides were great plus we had a photo with Mickey and Donald. We went to space mountain, river cruise and other rides and shows. Overall, it was still a great visit even if there were occasional rains during the day. Good thing I bought one of the Disney Raincoats. Lastly, the fireworks was a splendid site to cap the hong kong visit.
The next day, we all took our flight home... it was a good break!!!
Inkblogs: The Last Chapter (Friendster on 4.21.06)
It was on November 2003 that I started my MBA classes at Ateneo... fresh out of SGV and just starting to build a niche at Medtecs... It was a fun-filled ride made special by new friends made and new challenges conquered... I'd always remember MBA as more of an experience than a burden...
Two years after I took my first subject, I took my last subject at Ateneo... the course that integrates all the learnings into one strategic paper to be defended to a panel of faculty members - Strategic Management...
It was a tensioned filled trimester as both school and work pressures were at its peak... but somehow, even at the worst of times, there's always a way out...
Tai - One - two - three - four
Approaching the deadline, I had to go to Taiwan on a business trip and return just in time to submit my paper. It was my fourth trip to Taiwan and probably the hardest annual report I made in Medtecs with the financial statements having over 80 pages...
I returned on the day of the deadline to submit my paper after which is was time to loosen up a bit before the dreaded defense of my paper...
One lax weekend in Baguio
As a breather, I returned to my hometown, Baguio City, with some of my classmates from Ateneo (Alpha, Ronald, Chelsea and Jo). It was quite ironic that at this trip the places we went to were the best place to be in times you'd want to relax (Tam awan Village, Strawberry Farm and Camp John Hay). Of course, a trip to Baguio won't be complete without a bit of sleep...
Blast from the past
This was followed by a trip back memory lane with a reunion of sorts with my high school friends (Carlo, Chuck and John Mark) and a dinner with Jacy, one of my SGV friends now based in New York... Also met with a few friends (Flor, Neville and Jun) for Jun's despedida who'll now be working in Canada.
Then came the preparation
The next few days were quite tensioned filled as I was preparing for my defense but being back to Baguio for the Holy Week, I was able to sneak a lot of sleep... (Hey, what else should you do in Baguio)...
The Finale
Yesterday, I successfully defended my strategic paper to a panel and officially earning my MBA degree and ending a chapter in my life... but this chapter should carryover friends and memories in graduate school... as well, as the hard earned medal I'll be receiving come graduation day... and after which its a new beginning...
Sneak peak
In the next chapter... sorry I still don't know much except there are several out of the country trips next week to Singapore and next month to Hong Kong... and the rest of the events has yet to unfold...
Inkblogs: Stressfully Sweet Birthday (Friendster on 3.10.06)
Quite an eventful few months since I last wrote a blog...
Finished attending classes for my MBA, now I'm cramming up for my strategic paper due in a few weeks...
Got stressed out at the yearend audit, still have to pass my biggest challenge at work which is releasing the Group's annual report...
Celebrated my birthday with friends...
The events leading to my birthday have been to say the least nerve-wracking and stressful. On the last lap of my MBA, I feel like a runner approaching the finish line gasping for air, exhausted and tired. The end is somehow, so near yet still so far. I did blitz past my MBA in Ateneo having taken it at a marathon phase, most of the time taking three subjects at a time per term. Of course, that's also quite a big financial investment on my part. Now only the paper and the defense is on the way to the end of the road.
It's really a challenging feat when while taking your MBA, you also maintain the passion and sense of ownership at work. For the first time since I left SGV, I was rendering significant extra hours just to finish my work. I always took pride on how efficient and effective I work but with increasing responsibilities alongside a platoon of new standard, I guess time was not on my side anymore... The yearend closing sure took a lot from me in terms of time and effort... I'm sure glad that the worse part is over.
I'd probably not have gone over the challenges of the past few months if it wasn't accompanied by a festive event, otherwise called as my birthday... Somehow, being with friends lately has taken much of the burden... Funny, as it is, during the most desperate times a week or two ago, I was setting up my guest list on who to invite on my birthday dinner... I just wanted to freeze for a moment and look forward to something festive and it really did help.
Had my birthday dinner on March 8 (My actual birthday is March 9) at Venetto with my some of my friends from SGV (or at least those who are still in the Philippines). Among those who attended were Arlyn, Ruth, She, Madz, Mark, Donald and Sharon. It's been a refreshing interlude for all of us since most of those who were present haven't seem each other for quite some time. The night lasted several rounds of stories and somehow, it feels good that when comparing then and now, we are now in a better place in each of our lives.
Had an influx of well wishers the next day on my actual birthday and I thank them for remembering. I really appreciate people's effort when it comes to greeting me on my birthday since it's the only day for the whole year which I can say is mine...
Well, so much for the sentimentalism... Got to go back to my life and reconsider my options after MBA... and the saga continues...
Inkblogs: S420 2005 Edition (Friendster on 11.25.2005)
S420 then just a room in Diego Silang building at Saint Louis University but with time it has been a foundation of friendship of the noble and proactive bunch called S420 people... it was a room which fostered idealism, creativity and camaraderie... S420 was not just a room... it was also a bridge to where we are then to where we are now...
It's quite ironic on my part to write something about college going into my last term in MBA at Ateneo but as requested by my good friend Arnold yesterday via yahoo messenger from Indonesia, I was thrilled to post this blog even at the height of my busy schedule...
It was during Arnold's wedding that the S420 people in Manila and Baguio got a chance to meet up... There was the just wed Joey and Mildz, the splendid singing voices of Gil, Nina and Xiela, the future lawyer Ephz, the great hosting job of She, the grand entrance of Lisle, then there's our birthday reminder JP (By the way, my birthday is on March 9 para ma-remind mo din yung iba pag birthday ko... hehe), the multi-titled Byron, the aussie bound Jet, the eloquent Au, Hermie and Moida.
The place was at the Majestic Fernwood Garden... quite an interesting place to hold a wedding (I wonder how much Arnold spent??? hehe...) The pristine atmosphere was an excellent place for such a gathering... The event provided an opportunity to chat and catch up with each individuals latest escapade... This time it was not like old time when we had all the time in the world but such a gathering reminds you of one thing that no matter how you move onward with your life, there would be certain things constant... good friends and wonderful memories...
Quite an excellent mix of characters... diverse yet similar... each one has ventured his own path to traverse... each destined to create an impact in each block they step in... but one thing will stick that these individuals were frequent inhabitants of room S420 at one phase in their lives.
Inkblogs: Shanghai-dong (Friendster 11.23.05)
Had a brief but tiring business trip to China last week... With just four days to spare I was in a real bind unlike in my previous visit wherein I was in China for more than two weeks.
As all business trip are, it's mostly work but less fun though I did had a chance to revisit the Oriental TV Tower and The Bund. This time, I was able to go at the highest point for visitors in the tower at 350m compared to about 260 meters in my first visit. The TV Tower is Asia's highest tower and the third in the world (Read my Travel Tips blog for more info). The Bund was both historic and a wonderful attraction... old structures illuminated by light in a city also known as the city of light. I was also able to visit Xintiendi, a popular night attraction for foreigners in Shanghai...
Also squeezed in the four day trip was a visit at our plant in Shandong, China... It's over an hour away by plane from Shanghai. Nothing much new here but the climate was real cold here especially that it's already winter time. The temperature was about 4-5 degrees during the day and sometimes is negative at the coldest part of the night.
After all the trip comes the difficult part, the work backlog... not to mention my strategic paper in MBA (Thank God, this is my last term). It's the resumption of my busy routine once again... Anyhow, there's still festivities to look out for amidst the volume of things to do... There's always time to enjoy especially that Christmas is not just around the corner... it's in the wall in front of me.
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