Monday to Friday was an eventful week. I braced myself and prayed so hard not to, well, f**k up because I had been briefed how stressful this regional meeting could be. The moment the delegates started arriving at Guam, chaos followed.
I always eat a FULL MEAL with lots of meat and carbs to ready myself of the ensuing onslaught. I usually have two trips to the buffet table to protein and carbo-load, then followed by fruits to keep me full.
The view from La Mirenda
The paradox of working at an organization making a pronouncement of how bacon is carcinogenic and finding a pile of it on my plate
I don’t like dressing up but I had to let go for the first day. I had to press well this Jil Sander shirt the night before because it was severely wrinkled inside the luggage. Of course, this facade did not last the whole week. Come Tuesday, I was already in my uniform of polo shirts and boots. =p
Ready for the first day
During the opening ceremony, I had to run outside (black leather shoes and all) to SandCastle to give out the speeches to the interpreter (who I may add to be very charmante). In a sea of suits and pencil skirts, I did not know how I managed to find her.
Opening ceremony at SandCastle
When I was about to leave the venue to go back to Hyatt, I was stopped by this group below to take their picture. I only realized while pressing the button on the camera that the Regional Director himself was in the group, and I nervously returned the camera to one of the delegates after. He just gave an inaudible ‘Thank you’ as I laughed all the way back to the hotel.
I took the Regional Director’s group photo LOL
I manned this desk LOL
I think I have lost weight while I was in Guam during the meeting. A lot of ad hoc things to do and a lot of running as well. However, don’t get me wrong. I had an amazing time because I know that even if it was stressful, I just felt happy to be involved in something as big as this one.
Sometimes, I would just sit when things were not frantic and observe people and other delegates. What caught my attention were the “skirts” worn by these men. To say that it was chic was an understatement. I halfheartedly hoped that maybe we can don the same thing in the Philippines and I might have closet full of these lava lava.
The lava lava of these men
Inside our pool (piscine française), things were surprisingly calmer compared to how it was when we were back in Manila. Well, it was still hectic but it was relatively more laid back? I cannot count how many times I got in front of the espresso machine (free coffee! holler!), but I was happy that we have a water dispenser there.
What I usually do is keep my 2 bottle ration in my room and refill them because a bottle of water can cost an arm and a leg. Sometimes I would sneak in the middle of the night just to refill my bottle because I am not paying for a USD 3.50 water when I can get some for free.
My messy workspace
On the fourth day of the meeting, things were already simmering down. However, I still was not able to set foot on the beach and during lunch time, I decided that enough is enough. LOL I went to the beach with my office clothes, ask the attendant to take a couple of my pictures, which I then uploaded immediately on Facebook.
Office wear by the beach. Slay!
I was also beginning to be freaked out by my humongous room. I usually keep the light near the door open at night, and I even took a lot of crazy photos of myself. Case in point, the handstand photo below. I would set the time to 10 seconds and try my best to get a good shot. I think my neighbor was already thinking what was the banging about because I honestly felt that the wall might eventually give in after every attempt!
I was already scared of the big room
At night, I would go out to buy food from Burger King (how come we do not have jalapeño burger in the Philippines) or my favorite ABC Store, where a lot of Asian tourists flock to buy trinkets and food. My absolute favorite were the spam pack and sushi. And if I feel like eating some, I would also get a big bowl of noodles.
This store kept me alive
My favorite fix
When the meeting was FINALLY over, we were to pack everything for shipment back to Manila. It was a lot of work because we have to make an inventory of all the stuff that we can still use. LOL I thought that it would take us about an hour tops, but no, it took us more time than that.
Sealing our boxes for shipment back to Manila
I also decided to conquer McDonald’s! I even brought a box of 24-piece nuggets, on top of the quarter pounder and fries, to take back to the hotel with me. I was not sure if it was wise to carry this big brown paper bag at the hotel lobby, so I stashed it inside my backpack. LOL
My attempt at island dressing
Oh yes, McDonald’s
We had one whole day to rest before leaving Guam the day after. But those two remaining days deserve a post of its own because the worst boo-boo is yet to come.
