Spanglish

We had a concall with our colleagues in Costa Rica and El Salvador last night because we are presenting to them the Careers website we’ve created for the Philippine office. At 5 minutes to 11 PM, my teammate already dialed to join the conference. Apparently, one of the attendees in Costa Rica/El Salvador was having a hard time setting up his PC to connect to the network so our contact asked us to give them a few minutes to settle that. While they were doing their stuff, they did not press the phone’s mute button so we had the freedom to listen to their conversations in Spanish! I did not understand most of it except for the few English words they said hehe. It was very entertaining to hear them speak in their language without really caring who else were listening.

Because of this, I suddenly remembered that one of my goals was to study one foreign language, either French or Spanish. Weh! Whatever happened to that goal? Huhu. I should do some serious thinking about it again! I guess it would be cool to learn how to speak and write at least one other language! :D

Deadma queen

Tinawag nya akong deadma queen! Akalain mo yun! Wahahaha. So naramdaman nya bwahaha. E kasi matagal ko na syang di kinikibo sa chat hehe. Malay ko bang gusto pa akong makausap hehe. The last time kasing nagmeet kami, parang nagbago na eh. Di na gaya ng dati. Sa iba ko na nga lang nalaman na pauwi pala sya eh. So ayun, di ko muna sya kinibo. At kaninang chinat ako, tinawag akong deadma queen! Tinawag ko nga rin syang deadma king! Totoo naman eh so quits na kami hihi. Hay…hay lang ^_____^ (Kris pahiram hehe).

Igorot

Out of curiosity as to how my ethnic group is described in the web, I Googled the word Igorot and here’s what I got in Wikipedia:

Igorot (pronounced [iga'rot]) is the general name for the people of the Cordillera region, in the Philippines island of Luzon. The Igorot form two subgroups: the larger group lives in the south, central and western areas, and is very adept at rice-terrace farming; the smaller group lives in the east and north. Igorot groups formerly practiced headhunting.

Cordillerano, or Cordilleran, is an unofficial and relatively recent term for the people of the hill tribes of Luzon, Philippines, who are residing in the Cordillera and Caraballo mountains. This term is an attempt at political correctness, since a current term, Igorot, has caused controversy due to its perceived negative stigma, which is incorrectly connected to backwardness and inferiority. Among the people in the Cordilleras, not all Kalinga and Ifugao accept the designation of Igorot.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they got it correctly. When I was younger, I heard all sorts of stories of misconceptions about us, Igorots hehe. But despite that, I grew up to be proud of being one. Though we were described in the History books as one of the minority groups in the Philippines, we have a rich culture that even other people in all parts of the world became interested and took time to really learn it.

When I was in elementary, almost all of the students in our school were Igorots. We learned and practiced our different traditions and cultures. I had fun learning and performing our different dances and rituals. Each ethnic group has its own dance and rituals, different from the other groups. When we have visitors, we would usually perform for them. And it warms the heart that they really appreciate it and they were really amazed by it.

Hay, there’s so much to write about being an Igorot. One of my goals is to document the traditions and practices that my parents know. I did this before in High School but unfortunately, I cannot find my report. Sigh. I’ll just do it again.

Lutang...

...kasi double shift ako kahapon, so ffice ako from 10 AM kahapon to past 4 AM kaninang umaga. Di pwedeng mag-offset kaagad ngayon or bukas kasi may meetings and deployment. Ang issue lang naman ay yung dati ring issue 2 paylink generations ago. Mahirap talagang mawalan ng DBA at nakakatakot pag on the spot kailangan mong maging DBA. Good thing di kami inabot ng more than 2 shifts ngayon. Tinandaan na lang naming yung ginawa nung DBA last time at buong tapan na inexecute wahahaha. Kakatakot kaya talaga. Live data yun eh huhu. Buti na lang ok ang outcome at natapos din…pero pagkatapos ng mahabang oras. Hay!

At dahil lutang na lutang ako ngayon, hirap magtrabaho. Kung pwede lang hilain ang oras para matapos na ang shift ko, ginawa ko na kanina pa. So ang mga nagawa ko lang ay magmeeting (at magdemand sa isang meeting na simulan na hehe), magreply sa mga email, magbigay ng overview ng QA sa ibang kateam, tulungan ng konti ang isa pang kateam na magdebug, at ito hihi. Ang main task ko ay ipinagpaliban ko muna para bukas para at least nakapagpahinga na ng konti at mas mabilis na magprocess ang utak ko.

Sykes Gives Back

Those who attended the Sykes Cares activity last May were invited for a Sykes Gives Back event last Friday, September 14, 2007 held at Fully Booked, Bonifacio Hjgh Street, Global City. The event was an opportunity to meet our beneficiaries and our partners in the Sykes Cares activities. It was attended by the children of Tondo, big bosses of Sykes, representatives of the foundation, the UK ambassador and his wife, some of Sykes Cares volunteers and was hosted by the beautiful Mickey Ferriols. There were messages from Mike H and our partner foundation and we were serenaded by the Ateneo glee club. There were story telling, face painting, and gift giving for the kids. There was also a video presentation about the activities of Sykes Cares. There were those of the Sykes volunteers at work, the library, the computer lab, and the kids in their classes.

The video made me a little emotional for a while because I can relate with them. My schooling has always been a struggle especially in terms of financial resources. There has always been a problem of budget for tuition fees. While other children have new things at the start of the school year, my siblings and I had to make do with recycled school supplies and we just buy those that are missing. I still remember that from Grade Two to Grade Six, I only used 1 ruler. It was a wooden ruler so it doesn't easily break unless you do it by force. Through the years, that ruler acquired stains, ink marks and water marks whenever it gets wet during the rainy seasons.

But seeing that video and the children last Friday, I realized for the nth time that I was still more privileged during my schooling than other kids. My siblings had sponsors in their elementary years, which was a big help. I was able to acquire a scholarship in high school, which handled half of my tuition. In college, I passed the DOST scholarship program and that took care of my tuition and part of my allowance.

Now, having volunteered for the Sykes Cares last May gave me the opportunity to also give back those blessings I received during my years in school. Attending the event last Friday made me thankful for all those people who really share their life in order to help others. Seeing the children with joy, hope and intelligence in their faces, I offered a little prayer and wish that these little children, being the future leaders of the world, may treasure their blessings and use it to make something out of their lives so that someday, they may also give it back to others.

This was written while passing through the towns of Tarlac and Pampanga on the way back to Manila.

Sayote Cultivation: From Planting to Harvesting

Yan po ang aking topic nung Presentation Skills Workshop namin last August. At gusto ko lang ishare dito. Kaya naman yan ang napili ko, ayaw ko kasing magresearch pa para lang sa workshop so pinili ko na lang yung kabisado ko na at kaya kong ikwento kahit nakapikit ako wahahaha. Di nyo po naitatanong pero bago kasi ako humarap sa computers, sayote na ang pinagkakaabalahan ng pamilya ko sa Baguio. Ito ang bumubuhay sa amin. Biruin mo naman, mula pagkabata, yan na ang trabahong nakagisnan ko. So para mas mapadali ang buhay ko nung workshop, yan na lang di ba? Less work sa akin. Pagkuha ng mga larawan at pag-ayos na lang ang presentation ang kailangan. Yung contents, kinulit ko mga kapatid ko para tulungan ako hehe. Nakakatawa pala nung ginagawa namin yung contents, lahat kami di alam kung anong translation ng mga sayote related terms sa English. Buti na lang, nandon ang hilaw na forester kong kapatid at sya ang nagbigay ng tamang terms. At may mga natutunan akong bago ha, sa tinagal-tagal ng exposure ko sa sayote.

Anyway, ito na yung presentation ko:

During presentation, sa akin may pinakamaraming tanong. Naks! Naging interesado ata sila magtanim ng sayote. (Naku dadami na kakompetensya namin sa market :p) At dahil sa presentation ko, nagcrave ng tinola ang buntis naming trainer! O di ba astig? Hehe. Tapos nabalitaan ko rin sa mga friends from other teams na nabanggit daw ung presentation ko nung PWS naman nila. Wahaha. O di ba mas sumikat pa ang sayote. Pero ang nagustuhan daw nya don ay ang frst lines ko na ganito: “For the next few minutes, let’s leave the corporate world, leave all your favorite gadgets behind and travel with me to a remote place up north and let's go plant sayote.” O di ba astig? Hehehe. Travalogue daw ang tawag sa ganyang presentation. Ayos! Wala pang lectures, may na-apply na ako! Wuhooo! Hehe.

Fiesta Fun Games

That’s one of Sykes’ activities for this year. The organizers asked the employees to come up with groups with 10 members. Because we are fun and challenge loving people, we joined hehe. (actually, there were two groups from our team) Though a group name was not required, we named our group “Team Pumpers” anyway wahaha. To prepare for the event, we bought shirts the shade of our group color – Royal blue. We were all excited because the prices are cool. First price alone was 20K – that was motivating enough. Or so I thought, because at yesterday’s games, we lost wahahaha. We were actually the first group to be eliminated huhu. The first game was sack race but it turned out that it was a non-elimaination game because there were some groups who were not able to attend. The “Pass the Orange” game was hard. That’s what cost our chances of winning.

But it’s ok. At least we were able to try two games hahaha. And of course we still had fun. Funny thing though was that, one of my teammates wasn’t even able to wear his shirt at all because when he arrived at the venue, we already lost wahahaha.

Anyway, since we have nothing more to do, we decided to play badminton. So after the hotdog party that was sponsored by our big boss, Team Pumpers headed to Valencia court and played to our hearts’ content from 12:30 PM to 4:30 PM. It was a challenge to play with the guys but it was all worth it. It was still fun.

When everyone was already tired, we decided to call it a day. Some of us dropped by Gateway for dinner then headed home right after.

As soon as my head hit the pillows, I was off to dreamland right away.

And, this morning when I woke up, my whole body was aching. Ok, so that’s what I get for having fun hehe. Ironic isn’t it?

Note: Special mention and thanks to Julz for joining the team at such short notice hehe. Our other teammate was sick last Friday and so we need to find a replacement right away. I called Julz right away and she said yes after so many convincing hehehe.

Happy Birthday Velmarie!

Today is the 4th birthday of my niece Velmarie, my younger sister’s daughter and the youngest at the moment among my nephews and nieces. I hope she grows up to be a good girl with moral values and confidence to live her life to the fullest.

When she was younger, she frequently has fever, cough and colds. At one point, she even had to stay at the hospital for one night. It was scary. My mom can’t stand it so she asked me to accompany my sister. I was scared as well but there’s no room for that, otherwise, my already worried sister might also break down. Good thing my niece (sa pinsan) works in the hospital and she was able to guide us with what to do, where to pay and all that stuff.

Looking at her now, I guess there’s nothing to be worried about because she seems to be growing up just fine. She knows how to listen and bear in mind and heart what we teach her. She may have tantrums at times but still, she’s more behaved than other kids I have seen. One time, she accidentally stepped on my feet and my immediate reaction was to say “aray”. After a while, I heard her say “churi”. I could not get it at first but her mommy said that’s sorry. I was very touched and speechless so I just hugged her. At another time, my sister and I were fooling around. At one point I said to my sister “buwisit ka!” and my niece, in her soft voice said to me, “bad dayta” (that’s bad). I was pleasantly surprised to hear her say that, and of course, I affirmed that what I said was really bad and she shouldn’t follow it. So I have to be careful with my words next time hehehe. Though she’s still a kid, she can still say right to my face if I’m saying bad things hehehe. I’m not offended. In fact, I’m glad to see her that way! :)

When I’m at home, she’s the one who wakes me up or calls me during meal times (when I’m in the bedroom bumming hehe). I’d hear footsteps in the stairs while shouting “Tita Mal-lynnnnn”. Sometimes, instead of calling me, she would lie down beside me and ask endless questions or pretend to also read. When I’m not sleeping, either we are watching TV or going to the store to stuff ourselves with junk food hehe. Bad me!

When she learned to talk, her phrases were constructed opposite of the normal structure. She would say “siyak kayat” (ako gusto) instead of “kayat ko” (gusto ko) or “siyak mangan” (ako kain) instead of “manganak” (kain ako). We would always laugh about it but sometimes, I have to follow her way of speaking for her to understand me hehe.

Sometimes, I forget that she’s already not in diapers so I still call her baby. But she would patiently tell me that she’s not a baby anymore. She says she’s already a child (ubing) so I should stop calling her a baby. When she tells me that, I would sometimes tease her that if she’s not anymore a baby, then she’s already baket (old woman) but she would say no. She’s just ubing but not baket. Hehe, arte nya!

Velmarie, happy happy birthday! Grow up to be a good girl and always remember that we love you. God bless you.

Buhay na buhay ang aking social life!

Oh yes! Hehe. Punung-puno ng social activities ang aking life for this week. Marami kasing dumating na friends from abroad, so kita-kits ang tropa. Ang saya-saya. Kahit di na gaanong nagkikita at sa email at chat na lang nagkukulitan, nananatili pa rin ang pagkakaibigan ng lahat.

Kahapon, natuloy na rin sa wakas ang aming girls’ fish hehe. Akala pa ng isang teammate namin, nagbibiro ako nung sinabi kong may fish kami. So after a hectic Friday in the office (sa dami ng demands ng client at sa last-minute shopping ng shirt for tomorrow’s fiesta games), off we went to World Music Room in Promenade. We had a sumptuous dinner (take note rice at mga ulam to) as we were all starving hehe, and sang to our heart’s content until the wee hours of the morning. When we were supposed to be going home, it was raining hard so we stayed for a while and used the time to learn more about each other.

It was a night full of fun and laughter and of course Canon moments :). But She, we’ve missed you!

For these and more, I am forever grateful to Him.

Trivia:
The Fish philosophy (or simply Fish) is a way of creating an atmosphere full of inspiration and motivation. This was created by Jonh Christensen and it was literally based on how the employees of Seattle’s Pike Place Fish Market perform in their work. It has 4 key concepts.

• Play
• Make their day
• Be there (for workers)
• Choose your attitude

The Fish philosophy was first introduced to use about 3 years ago. After that, we were encouraged to have Fish within our team at least once a month.

Due to the popularity of this topic, you may just Google it for more information.

Hindi po ito reunion, may nagyaya lang po :)

Yesterday, I was meeting some ex-/officemates-turned-friends in Makati. All I know was that someone’s treating us to dinner. :) I thought it was just going to be the usual group but to my pleasant surprise, V and F were there as well! Yippee! I haven’t seen V for more than a year now. When he resigned, he was assigned in the US after a few months. He came back in June but we haven’t heard from him so I assumed he doesn’t want to see us. :p Hehe, just kidding! F is already in Singapore. He went home for a vacation last January and we went out to dinner. I just heard from another friend (who also works in the same company where F is) that he’s also coming home for a vacation again. But then, I did not expect to see him this time because he did not say anything about coming home. Oh well, I’m just so glad to see them all. :) So happy happy!

Dinner was at Dencio’s Paseo Center. We didn’t have many pictures because no one brought a camera so we just had to make do with Eden’s phone camera. Hay, lesson learned. I’ll just bring my camera for any gatherings just to be sure it’s properly documented hehe. Adik!

Happy 98th Charter Day, Baguio City!

Today, Baguio celebrates its 98th Charter Day. It’s on this day in 1909 when Baguio was officially declared as a city. It’s a special holiday so it means no school and work yippee! I remember that there were always programs to celebrate it. It starts with a parade of the different schools and barangays. The route would be from Session Road, off to Magsaysay then to Harisson Road and ends up at Melvin Jones where other activities like cultural presentations take place. I guess there was also Search for Miss Baguio at some point.

We would always watch the parades. I guess Baguio folks love to watch it because all the main roads are always packed with people during this day, so we really need to be up early to be able to stay in a nice spot where we can watch the parade easily. I don’t remember though, that I was part of the parading team during this celebration hehe.

Ever sisnce I worked in Manila, I wasn’t able to witness any more celebrations of Baguio Day. I guess this year, they did it a little differently, as described in this article.

Happy Charter Day my beloved Baguio. I am more than blessed to be in your embrace and enjoy all of nature’s beauty that you unselfishly offer. Though I’m now trying to live in other places, I’m sure I’ll always find myself going back because home means Baguio.