Celebration and more celebrations

This month was hectic in a good way for celebrations.

Then, boom, 15 years.

But compared to an almost last minute trip overseas last year, we stayed put this year. We just came from a trip with my sister and the kids to Hong Kong recently. So it was a no brainer that we’d rest our bodies and our wallets.

At 15, there was no need for the theatrics. So, we just went to Rockwell for dinner and a movie.

Our 15th year face

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And just like that… we’re back in Singapore!

 

As mentioned in my previous post, we re-booked our flight to SG from October to September after our visas to South Korea were approved!

Aside from us not wanting to waste (yet again) a bunch of tickets, we decided to go overseas for our 14th anniversary. The last time we were out of the country for that day was way back in 2018 in Taiwan. We did not want this year to be the same buffet and movie. Besides, we jokingly justified that we had an unused Klook voucher for the Jewel Changi from our trip to Singapore last July to be expired!

Same as last time, Mon’s sister agreed to look after the cats for the next couple of days. It won’t be a very long trip anyway, and we’ll be back before the weekend. So bye for now, to our dear cats!

Unlike our previous trip to SG, we flew this time via Cebu Pacific, thus we had to go to NAIA Terminal 3 instead. I loved this terminal among the others because, well, it looked the most pleasant and modern. It was also the quickest trip from Makati from the Skyway.

Going to the airport… again!

Again, unlike last time, we made sure this time around that our Php 1,620 travel taxes were paid way ahead. There was already a long line by the check-in counter, but not as long as last July. It only took us 30 minutes to check in our luggage and get our boarding passes.

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Double anniversary celebration

It was a special day. Who knew that Mon’s parents and my parents have the same anniversary?!?

For weeks, Mon and I had been planning how we’ll spend that day as, it may be good to celebrate it the exact day. At one point, we decided that we’ll celebrate with my parents and my family on a Saturday, and then his parents and his family on a Sunday.

We got too daring though and decided to, well, just do everything (i.e. two separate celebrations) the same day!

That’s crazy.

But first things first, I do not want to gloss over the fact that I very much expressed my strong opinions on the results of the elections last May.

I have not spoken to my parents since the aftermath of the election day, and it would my the first time to meet them again. I knew there’ll be some slight awkwardness given my disappointment but I eventually chose and decided to move forward from it. They are my parents after all.

I just hope that we’d eventually have a meeting of minds in the coming weeks or months about the choices that were made. But I will just let things to naturally take their course and not impose anything. Besides, I really look forward to traveling with them in 2023 and put into fruition Mama’s lifelong dream to visit Rome.

Lunch at Chili's, Alabang Town Center with Mon's family

Lunch at Chili’s, Alabang Town Center with Mon’s family

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What a way to start my week

I was already running later for my errands today and Mon and I even had a little argument over my supposed schedule. I was just being my stubborn self again and refused to admit that I miscalculated my time and even went on with my one hour of exercise, instead of leaving early to go to the bank. Anyway, this small squabble was finished in less than thirty minutes and we were already laughing our heads off over how silly we were. The weather was quite unpredictable, so I thought of testing this pair of Red Wing boots for the first time:

Gray Play by Comme des Garçons T-Shirt, skinny khaki pants, Red Wing 875 6-inch boots, Givenchy luggage duffle bag - Manila, Philippines

So off to BPI in KPMG Building I went, input some detail and took a number. But it took me forever before my number got called, and to make matters worse, the teller just informed me right there and then that their system was offline and I had to manually fill out two sets of transaction slips, which they will process once the system was okay again. So that was causing the delay. I couldn’t understand why they did not bother telling the people right away (I mean there were really LOTS of people waiting) and handed out transaction slips for us to manually accomplish, instead of telling every person approaching the counter to do so. Very efficient. Anyway, I ended up with an “OFFLINE VALIDATED” slip and off to the office I rushed.

An 'OFFLINE VALIDATED' transaction slip from BPI

Before reaching the elevator, I asked another BPI branch by the ground floor of our building if the system was already online. I was informed that it just went running again a few minutes back. I hurried upstairs and called the other branch to ask if they have already processed my two transactions. It turned out, the teller gave me the wrong telephone number. I also had a second glance at the transaction slip and she had wrongly written a digit in the account number. I had no choice but to walk back again to their building and ask her about it. Mon went with me this time and I was swearing a lot on our way. Mon looked nervous because he probably thought that I might be having a fit, but I calmly approached the teller and asked her about what happened. I was actually surprised about my reaction because I would normally lash out but I began thinking few weeks back that I should really learn to control my temper. The only downside, though, was Mon becoming my unintentional shock-absorber of my cussing fit.

Burberry London Leather Messenger Bag

So what made me really determined to have that transaction completed? It was because I was paying for a (yet again) Burberry leather messenger bag I bought online, from the same  seller who sold me the LV Epi Noir Pochette Cles. She was extremely nice and easy to talk with. Besides, it will be my first ever Burberry and I love the fact that it is leather and not canvas! I already accepted the fact that I might not receive it tomorrow but I was surprised when the seller was able to ship it as she reached the cut-off. The bag in question will arrive tomorrow. A big thank you to her.

Bye bye! Mon Hermès Fourre Tout!

Of course, it might initially seem that I was out spending on another bag again but the truth was, I had to let go of another bag, the Hermès Fourre Tout I bought almost three months ago. I liked it but I never really got the chance to use it and it was only my sister who had the chance to take it out on my nephew’s birthday (as a diaper bag!). In the process of selling it, I ended up guilt-free because it was sold at a price more than the cost of the Burberry messenger, which did not leave me with less resources. I just looked at it as a trade and this bag deserves another person who will lovingly use it.

I know it will be quite hard for me to just kick off my habit of looking into having another bag, but I have learned that the first step of just selling the things I don’t use clearly leads the way to a better spending habit. More or less, I end up with a new bag with extra money to spare. The ultimate goal, however, was to extremely minimize my bags to just a little over six or make it seven. =P I know I’ll get there someday, one step at a time. Who knows, maybe before 2013 ends, that goal has been already achieved.

P.S.
Today marks my 5th year at work! Also, the birthday of Lolo Dada (paternal grandfather — R.I.P. Lolo) and Mon’s maternal grandmother, who we fondly call as Lola Groovy. =)

Hats off to my five years!

I left the house quite early because we had to be in the office for our ride, which left exactly at 2:15 PM. I was not quite sure with the Jil Sander shirt I planned to wear, so I brought another shirt with me just in case I had a last minute change of heart.

Gray CK Calvin Klein and Jil Sander dress shirts - Manila, Philippines

But in the end, I decided to stick with my original plan, even if I had an inkling that I might be under-dressed for the event because of the shortage in sleeves. The invitation called for ‘Business Formal’ but I just pretended that I didn’t get the memo.

Mirror, Mirror - Jil Sander dress shirt, short sleeves

Jil Sander shirt with contrasting cuff sleeves, tailored skinny pants,  black Lanvin leather belt, Prada leather shoes and black Gucci sling bag - Manila, Philippines

We arrived early in the venue at Endurun, McKinley Hill. It was my first time to set foot in that place and I readily appreciated the architecture of the building upon entering ‘the gate’.

Enderun in McKinley Hill

While waiting for the event to start - Enderun, McKinley Hill

I was with few of my officemates that I sincerely like(Ayen, Kait and Rev), and it was also delightful to be with other people I knew from other teams. It was like one big reunion and nostalgia as we all realized that we have been employed for five years already in the company. We can now search for opportunities elsewhere, just kidding.

Rev, Ayen and I

Ayen and I

The program immediately took off with the awarding of plaques of appreciation, first, to those who have been employed for five years in the company. Of course, none were paying attention to the plaques but as to WHAT would be the other thing handed out. It was a paperbag for a TechnoMarine watch. We all sighed in relief. Days before, there was a rumor that they might give us Tiffany ballpoint pens instead and I was personally hoping that the rumors were not true. The year before, they gave out Charriol bracelets and I expected no less than that. In fact, I’m fine with the bracelet but a watch was of course more welcome. =D As there was a disproportionate number of people who were employed for five years, it took a much longer time to hand out what must be given.

With Angel

Then a sort-of appreciation speech was given by two people from each batch and Angel, a classmate/course mate of mine from UP Diliman, was one of them. She went to to give her experience right from the beginning, and I mean from the beginning beginning when she started out with her interview. She also mentioned memorable events from her first months, particularly that Manila Peninsula rebellion on November 29, 2007, which was also the same date that I have signed my contract before officially starting four days after. She proceeded to share everything that happened to her, including her growth within the company and it made me realize one thing — girl was lucky to have that opportunity because she has been promoted four times within half a decade. And what about me? I realized early on, like right on my first year, that I have limited growth opportunities within the group I found myself in. Then I decided to go back to school and take my master’s degree. =D Let’s see what might happen within the following year because I see significant changes happening.

Enderun at night - McKinley Hill

Pretty yellow lights - Enderun, McKinley Hill

With our former manager, Ms. Fen

Anyway, the night had fallen and the program was finally finished. We proceeded outside for the cocktail party and we have been b*tching moments before how famished we were. Frankly, I did not care much about the things I put on my plate, and the only thing I can remember was that they served three kinds of pasta. The waiters were frequently passing by our side of the ‘lawn’, and we just kept on getting sweets after sweets. LOL Rev managed to get boxes of cupcakes for us, which I have reserved to give to Mon. He likes desserts a lot, non? =D

Cupcake for Mon

So now, what about that watch? I had opened the box in the venue right after receiving it but I waited until I got back in the office to inspect what was inside. It was a Technomarine Cruise Original 110042 watch. I searched for it online and it was at sold at US$ 375 in their website. *wolf-whistles* It wasn’t bad after all, even if I knew that they might have gotten a considerable discount since they have bought a lot.

The watch - TechnoMarine Cruise Original 110042

Had to change from white to black immediately - Technomarine Cruise Original 110042 watch

My initial instinct was to remove the white straps and change it into black. More discreet and less prone to any grime and dirt (though I’m perfectly sure that the straps were made to be more or less resistant to superficial dirt). Then I found out that there was a hidden ‘something’ underneath the white strap — our company logo. It was as if I instinctively removed the white straps, without deliberately knowing about that. But think about it, with the changing of the straps, I can be creative with the combinations so it was like getting several watches in one. LOL

I remember categorically saying in my first interview with my then-soon-to-be managers that I would stay in the company for two years, three years tops. Never say never. I definitely know that I will not stay to reach ten years and I foresee a maximum of 18-24 months before I call it quits. Time to plan this time well.

Confession: I almost lost this ring!

I almost lost this special ringIt’s already past 3:00 AM and I am just about to sleep. Since I got home from work, I started looking for this ring, which I believed to be lost since after taking a bath. I did not know why, but it wasn’t where I usually place it. I left our house quite late looking for it and spent the whole day consciously keeping my left hand out of Mon’s sight.

The ring wasn’t really expensive BUT it has significant value. More than three years ago, when Mon and I were to go to Baguio for our first anniversary (my first time actually), I haphazardly bought a pair of rings before meeting up with him. I even had the day 09-06-09 and the word “MON” engraved inside the ring.

From around 1:00 AM until now, I’ve been searching everywhere with a flashlight on hand — from my room to the bathroom, hoping and praying that I’d be able to find it. I even overturned the trash can inside my room, paranoid enough to think that it was there. I even thought that my nephew or niece might have found it and stashed it somewhere.

Of course, Mon might most likely not know that I almost lost this ring. I’ve been searching for one online and was already resolved to find the same one tomorrow before going to work; but I knew that deep down that it will NOT be the same thing. I then gave it a last go and found it in the laundry basket! I can now sleep peacefully, promising NEVER to remove the ring from my finger no matter what I might be doing. LOL

Our 4th year anniversary cut short (Potipot Island, Zambales)

We were on leave from Wednesday to Friday because of our trip to Candelaria, Zambales. I have to admit, I haven’t been feeling well since the weekend and I started seeing rashes on my legs last Tuesday when I took the bath. I just did not want to disappoint Mon about cancelling our trip, and I also wanted to go out of town for this long-awaited, post-exam, relaxing trip. But turned out, it wasn’t.

We booked last Friday, a double, poolside room from Dawal Beach Resort, costing Php 1,600 per night, which we would be renting for two days. But before reaching the place, we have to, of course, commute from Victory Liner in Caloocan (to take the Sta. Cruz-bound bus). The air-con bus was Php 451/pax up to Sta. Cruz and has a Wi-FI available for passengers.

Victory Liner - Caloocan

Victory Liner – Caloocan

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