To Japan, with love from Manila

An officemate of mine suggested we send this to our colleagues in Japan. This was the idea of our colleagues in the other regional offices of our company. We wanted to send our love and support to our Japanese colleagues. My officemates wrote down the message and some of us had our pictures taken with the words written on sheets of paper.

Let's J.A.P.A.N (just always pray at night) for Japan. Cheezy, I know. An officemate of mine made this up. Okay, it is a bit cute.

counting the days (or weeks)

My last day at work will be on April 20 and I seriously can not wait for that day to come! I just want to be done and over with everything that needs to be accomplished now at the office. The past 2 weeks have been so hectic and I do feel like my remaining weeks will be packed with rush items to finish. I am SO SO SO looking forward to my trip to Dumaguete on the 8th with my cousin. We'll be staying with our aunt (who's also our godparent :p) who has been living there for the past 5 years (or more, I think). I can't wait to hit the b-e-a-c-h!

For now, I'm struggling with trying to get myself to be motivated to work because my mind and heart are in "goodbye mode" already. Although, the sadness is slowly sinking in. I mean, I've been working in ____ for more than 2 1/2 years. Right after college, I started working there so you can just imagine that the career chapter of my life started in ____ so it is understandable why I'm starting to be a bit sentimental.

I'm thankful for starting my career life with research. I've learned so much and I continue learning even now that I only have less than three weeks left. My time in market research has really been fruitful and I'm so excited to apply the things I've learned to my new career. I'm more excited because I'll now be in a field that I'm really interested in. My heart has always been for service and doing social development & governance-related work. My "official" first day in my new job will be on April 25, so wish me luck ;)

Davao Food Trip (2)

I know this post is almost two months delayed, and for that I'm truly sorry my dear readers. Anyway, I will try to remember the details for each restaurant. I'll be editing this entry everytime I remember something, haha :p

To remind you a bit about my Davao Trip this January, I went there to do something for work. Spent three days in Davao, but I made it a point to go out and explore a bit. On my second day, I tried a few restaurants. The first restaurant I tried was Tiny Kitchen, which you can read abouthere.

After lunch, I went back to the hotel, then I went to Aldevinco where I bought a few things to bring home to my family and officemates.

After spending most of my moolah on pasalubong, I headed went back to the hotel to drop off my things then I went to Kangaroo Coffee Company to work a bit and to have my much-needed caffeine fix. I wanted to try something new so I ordered KCC's ice blended durian coffee. I actually liked it :)

Kangaroo Coffee Company has been open since May 2008. It's a family owned business and so far it only has one branch. I asked the baristas if they were open everyday, but was told that they're usually closed on Sunday. The full days are Friday and Saturday, and the usual customers are students and businessmen. KCC believes in promoting Mindanao products which is why the coffee beans they use are from General Santos (I got this bit of info from one of the baristas, forgot his name though :p).

I like the interiors of KCC because it's not like the typical coffee shop. First of all, the colors are loud. You don't usually enter coffee shops with bright green walls and huge light bulbs as lamps :p I also love the bar area where you can chat with the baristas.

I wasn't able to try the Civet coffee--the most expensive coffee in the world! I forgot why it's so expensive, but what I know is that it's harvested from the poop of Civet cats :p Gross, I know, but there's something about the coffee that makes it special but I hope it's not the poop factor hahaha!

After working a bit at KCC, I headed to Yellow Hauz for light dinner before I decided to head back to the hotel. The place is really cozy, and I love the homey ambiance. I don't have a lot to say about the place because I only stayed there for an hour and I wasn't able to take a lot of pictures. Plus, I was only able to try their pizza so there's not much for me to share :p Maybe next time when I go back to Davao I'll drop by Yellow Hauz and try more items on their menu.

So I ended my second day in Davao with a full tummy. I hope that the next time I get to visit Davao it won't be for work anymore. I want to explore the city even more and try the other restaurants I listed down :) My food adventure in Davao didn't end in Yellow Hauz, though. The following day, I had lunch at Grub and then I had dinner at Cafe Andessa before heading back to Manila. My experience in these restaurants will be for another entry :p

If you want to go pasalubong shopping you can drop by Aldevinco Shopping Center, located at C.M Recto corner Roxas Ave., Davao City. If you're up for durian coffee, drop by theKangaroo Coffee Company at Tionko Ave. corner V. Mapa Street, Davao City. Or if you want a more homey cafe, visit Yellow Hauz also along V. Mapa Street. Most cabs in Davao are familiar with these places so if you're up to do a bit of exploring, just hail one and ask the driver to take you around. The cabs I've taken in Davao had really nice drivers, maybe because it was quite obvious I was a Manilena and had no idea where I was going :p

it's the most wonderful time of the year (not Christmas, though :p)

baby that's it, I quit, I'm moving on

via

Yes yes yes, I can FINALLY share the big news with everyone...I've tendered my resignation from the company I've been working for the past 2 1/2 years (effective 30 days from today...so my last day will be on April 15). YAY!!! The decision to resign is something I've been struggling with the past year and a half, but I guess God was just telling me to wait for the right time. I have an awesome job waiting for me, and I can't wait to start! I'll be working for my mom. Hahahahaha! I'm so excited because the type of work I'll be doing is something very dear to me-- government and development. I'm still doing a bit of research, but the purpose is for something more significant. Actually, I've been doing part-time work for my mom since last year but she only decided to get me full time now since the work load's getting a bit heavier. SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SO SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED!

untitled

I'm sleepy, but I can't get myself to go to bed. I feel like there are still tons of things to do and I haven't started on anything yet. Aaaack I'm stressing out on something that's not even supposed to be stressful...at all. I can't elaborate further and as I mentioned in my previous entry, I can explain everything after the 15th....and that's 5 days from now.

Anyway, to brighten the mood a bit I'd like to share with you a picture of me that my friend Val took while we were in my family's rubber tree farm in Bukidnon. As usual, I have backlog entries and the Bukidnon 2011 trip is one of those posts.

still alive

Hallooooo everyone! Been MIA for almost a month but am back :) So many things have happened and I'm super duper excited to share everything with y'all but I can't, well, at least not until after March 15 :) Any guesses?

I miss my blog and I'm dying to write again but I have so many things to do in the next few weeks so hopefully I'll be able to squeeze in a bit of blogging time.

Summer's almost here and I'm excited to hit the beach soon! My second vaca for the year will be to Dumaguete, a province in the southern part of the country. I have an aunt based there so my cousin and I will be staying with her. I'm so excited to go snorkeling, island hopping, touring the province, etc. CAN'T WAIT!!!

My entry, unfortunately, ends here. I have to get back to work (yes, am still at the office) :|