Workforce Goes to Sambo Kojin

One of the many perks that we receive from my current workplace is that they give us employees opportunities for work and life balance... thus the company-funded quarterly team building activities! Yey!

We usually hold our quarterly escapades at Chicago in Ortigas, and had one in Vikings. This time, due to schedule constraints, we just had a casual dinner in Sambo Kojin. We rushed our daily reports to have dinner with the rest of the team hehe..

Photo Source

This is actually my first time to visit the place, and yet to try the smokeless grill. Being "gutom" that I was, I first indulged with the sushi that they serve. I tell you.. they're so good that I think I had 7!

They have a wide variety of stuff to be grilled- shrimps, fish, bacon-wrapped asparagus and mushrooms, and eggs among others.

We also splurged on desserts. I had scoops of vanilla and strawberry ice cream, cream puffs and more...

Aside from eating and usual get together, mini-awarding ceremonies are also being held during our team building sessions.

The Reporting Girls: Me, Tess and Lia (we got certificates and Dairy Queen GCs) ^_^

After and hour or so of dinner, we came back to the office to finish a couple of more reports. We were asking the "Boss" to hold our next gig at Vikings. Hope he says yes.

About SamboKojin

SAMBO KOJIN Yakiniku Smokeless Grill The rituals of grilling enhanced. The merging of cuisines celebrated. The mastery of Japanese and Korean chefmanships acclaimed.

GRILL ALL YOU CAN/ EAT ALL YOU CAN PRICE SCHEDULE:

Monday to Friday LUNCH P 499 No Left Over Price
Monday to Friday DINNER P 599 No Left Over Price
Saturday to Sunday and Holidays (LUNCH & DINNER) P 649 No Left Over Price
Children below 4 ft. P299 No Left Over Price
(Add P200 only for leftover)

Eastwood Citywalk 1
E. Rodriguez Ave. (C-5), Bagumbayan, Libis
Quezon City, Metro Manila, Philippines

Phone Number
(+63 2) 421-0145 to 46

Operating Hours
Monday to Thursday 11:00am - 2:00pm for lunch and 6:00pm - 10:00pm
Friday to Sunday 11:00am - 2:00pm for lunch and 5:30pm - 10:00pm for dinner

Happy Birthday, Papa!

Papa (Mic's dad) celebrated his 60th birthday last Sept. 16, 2012, a day after we came from Ilo-ilo. His  actual birthday was on the 12th, though. Before going to Papa's celeb, we dropped by at Conti's in Katipunan to purchase Mango Bravo Cake. Sinama namin si Merm (nanay ko) para full blast.

His siblings came over to their house in San Mateo. Lahat may dalang food. Ang ending... may lechon, some more viands, at 4 na bilao ng iba't ibang pancit (bihon, canton, malabon at miki-bihon). Super long life for Papa!

Athena with the Mango Bravo Cake

 Nic, Mic, Papa, Athena and Mama

The Peraltas

Happy birthday, Papa. May God bless you with good health and happiness that would last as long as you live. We love you!

Ilo-ilo, ELF at mga "Airplane Virgins"

And so i'm back! : )

At dahil sa matagal-tagal din akong missing in action sa blogosphere, I have a handful of stories to share from ELF and Partners' Ilo-ilo- Guimaras Escapade, na na-feature din sa blog ng ating friend na si Joanne. 

Day 1

After our shifts, Mic and I went home to get our things and leave my work laptop (which is a bit heavy at AYOKO magdala ng trabaho sa trip, hehe). We rested for a few minutes and headed to Junction to meet the rest of the gang. The initial plan was to get 2 cabs. Luckily, Joel was able to transact with an FX driver, who agreed to bring us to NAIA Terminal 3 for PhP1000. At least, sabay-sabay kaming lahat. Susyal yung FX. May portable DVD player kaya super watch kami ng My Amnesia Girl on the way to the Airport.

Checking In

While checking in, tinanong ako nung ate "Ma'am buntis po?". Wow. Sabi ko... chubby lang ako te. Hindi ako preggy. Hahaha #Haynako.

Mejo maaga kami dumating for the flight. We had breakfast at Burger King, and took photos to our heart's content.

"Airplane Virgins"

First time namin ni Mic na sumakay sa eroplano. While on board...

Nic to Joanne: Hindi na ako natutuwa friend... Para akong sumakay sa G-Liner na dumadaan sa lubak na kalsada at may sampung taong sabay-sabay na bumubuga ng hangin sa straw sa tenga ko.

View from the plane

Touchdown!

We rented a van to bring us to One Lourdes Dormitel. The place was comfortable yet affordable for only P1048 per day.

 Mabuti na lang at may pa-twalya showcase.. at least hindi na nabasa ang mga towels namin

We had lunch at Roberto's.

 I like the festive lamps and tassles

Pares-pares Anime-Anime 

Rowie, Joanne, Nic, Mic

After lunch, we headed to San Joaquin to visit the San Joaquin church. The jeepney fare costs PhP 60. Walang traffic, mabilis and byahe. Isipin mo kung gaano kalayo. ^_^

San Joaquin Church, located in San Joaquin, Iloilo, was built by the Augustinian Order in 1869. It is known as the only church in the country with a militaristic facade, incoporating the bas-relief mural Rendicion de Tetuan. Source

 

 

Second Stop: Miagao Church

 

 The Miag-ao Church was built in 1786 by Spanish Augustinian missionaries and was declared as part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Baroque Churches of the Philippines" in 1993. Source

At dahil sa kumota na kami sa mga simbahan, at wala pa kaming tulog galing sa shift, naisip namin ni Mic na nakakamiss na ang dormitel. Joanne, Lori, JC, Joana and Rowie went to Racso's, while Joel, Mic, Sophie and I headed back to the dormitel.

Masarap matulog. Paggising ko, may 3 missed calls, 6 na texts. Galing pala kina Lori. Tsaka ko lang naisip na hindi pa pala kami kumakain. At around 1:30 AM, Mic, Joel and I went to the bayan for our "Madaling Araw Life". Buti na lang, may 24-hrs na Chowking. Kundi, mawawalan kami ng lakas sa Day 2.

Cancer, Si Maricar, Si "Kuya", at si Papa Jack

Oo. Adik ako sa TO-TO-TOT. Bago mo pa ako pag-isipan ng masama ay lilinawin ko na ang sarili ko- mahilig akong makinig sa radio show ni Papa Jack na True Love Confessions sa Love Radio. Maaaring baduy para sa iba. Keber. Nakakaaliw kasi yung mga klase ng caller at yung mga lovelife echos na sinasangguni nila kay Papa Jack. Gaya ko, tao din naman sila. Nagmamahal lang... kaya sumasablay. Hindi ko hinuhusgahan ang pagkatao o pag-ibig nila. No offense meant.

1. PBB Teens- mga highschool students na pakiramdam nila ay end of the world na dahil nag-break sila ng mg boypren/gelpren nila dahil sa selos at/o di naman kaya pagkontra ng magulang (malamang)

2. Call Center Peeps- mga issue ng pag-ibig na SOBRANG labag sa pamantayang moral ng simbahang katoliko- mga TL/Agent/QA na may asawa o karelasyon na pero kumekembot pa rin sa iba (kaya nagkakaroon ng anak na hindi sinasadya)

3. OFW- mga long distance relationships na sa two-time- an lang nauuwi

4. Mga kwentong sekyu, kasambahay at boy. Pinakamadalas ko sila napapakinggan sa wild confessions pati ang kanilang adventures sa isang bahay na walang kusina

Ayan... mga ganyan usually yung callers nila EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. Pero kagabi, iba...

***********

Sya si Maricar. 26 years old. Sya lang ang maayos kausap kagabi. Lahat ng caller sobrang sakit sa patatas kausap (sa part ni Papa Jack) at sobrang sakit sa utak pakinggan (sa part ko). Maayos naman yung bungad kausap. Ok naman daw sya, may konting problema lang sa live in partner nya. Para daw kasing nagbago na yung pakikitungo sa kanya. Hindi naman nya nasesense na may ibang babae pero pakiramdam nya hindi na sya mahal. Sabi ni Papa Jack baka feeling nya lang kasi wala pa syang pruweba. Hindi na sya masyado iniintindi lalo na nung hindi na sya nagtatrabaho. E bakit nga ba sya nag-stop mag-work? Kasi... meron syang... BRAIN CANCER.

Yup. You read it right. Brain Cancer. Upon hearing the C word, nag-iba na yung tema ni Papa Jack. Sabi ni Maricar, hindi daw sya sinasamahan nung partner nya magpa-check up. Samahan man daw sya minsan, laging mainit yung ulo.. naiinis kasi naiinip. Sinabihan pa daw sya na dapat magbago na sya ng ugali nya... kasi... (hindi tinapos nung lalaki yung sentence. Pero reading between the lines, sabi ni Maricar, baka ang kasunod nun ay "malapit na syang mamatay"). Hudas lang. Sabi ni Papa Jack, kung hindi na nakikita ni Maricar na makakasama nya yung partner nya for worse eh kailangan na nya mag let go. She deserves someone who will  love and understand her better. Ayun. Nakipag-break si Ate on-air.

Nakakalungkot lang yung story. Kasi, sa hirap ng pinagdadaanan nya at takot na araw bawat paggising nya e yun na pala ang huli e nilalaglag pa sya sa ere nung taong akala nya e makakasama nya hanggang sa huling paghihirap nya. Badtrip nga naman.Pero naisip ko lang naman... hindi kaya may pinagdadaanan din si Kuya? Mabigat din siguro sa kanya yung pinagdadaanan ni Maricar. You know.. baka hindi nya matanggap na maaaring dumating yung panahon na kainin ng Cancer yung taong pinakamamahal nya. Baka in- denial pa rin sya, galit, o kaya hindi nya pa natatanggap. Kaya ganun na lang sya. Naisip ko lang naman. Hindi ko pinagtatanggol si Kuya.

*************

Nahukay kodito yung Kübler-Ross model, o The Five Stages of Grief. Sa tingin ko, applicable to hindi lang sa malubhang sakit, sa kamatayan.. pero pwede din sa break-up o kahit anong problemang mas mabigat pa sa basura ng Metro Manila pagkatapos ng Habagat.

1. Denial- tipong "Hindi. Hindi ito nangyayari." Coping mechanism sa mga pangyayaring sobrang sakit.

2. Anger- Syempre, hindi naman pwede na forever nating i-deny sa sarili natin yung devastating na problema. Pag narerealize na ng tao yung masakit na katotohanan, nagsisimula syang magalit sa sarili nya, sa iba, at sa mga taong nagmamahal sa kanya

3. Bargaining- Dito na yung "Lord, magbabago na ko, tulungan mo ko please"

4. Depression- Nakakadepress din naman kung kahit gaano katindi yung dasal mo, hindi mo pa rin makukuha ang healing na hinihiling mo. At this stage, parang suko na. Kahit ano naman gawin ko wala nang mangyayari. Kaya.. KEBER.

5. Acceptance- Sa takdang panahon, dadating din naman sa punto ng pagtanggap. Mahirap.. minsan matagal, pero dadating din.

Sa kasong ito.. pwedeng narating na ni Maricar yung acceptance na stage pero yung partner nya nasa anger pa lang. Pwede. Baka. Siguro. Hula ko lang naman.

Sana, patuloy pang ipaglaban ni Maricar at ng lahat ng mga taong may karamdaman ang buhay nila hangga't kaya. Sana, araw-araw silang makahanap ng reasons para maging maligaya.

Sana, ang lahat ng nagmamahal at nahihirapan ay i-bless ni God ng strength, ng faith at ng guidance hanggang sa tuluyan nilang matanggap ang lahat at magpatuloy.

--

Para sa mga may-sakit, at nasasaktan

When Work Becomes Work

My shift has SUPPOSEDLY ended at 1:00 AM. It's already 5:11 AM and I am still waiting for this freakin' report to download. My goodness. Mic's gonna be out from work by 6:00. Looking at the bright side... at least we'll be going home together.

It's Saturday. I'm gonna love it in a bit.

Happy Birthday, X!

I know.. some people might find it wrong or iffy, or vulgarly improper that I am writing a blog post about my x. I found out that today is his birthday on Facebook, which I actually forgot. After writing a birthday post, I suddenly had a flashback, as if I was 18 years old once again...

We were actually grade school classmates. We were each other's crush. Come graduation, he flew to Roxas City to study high school because of some family issues. We never heard from each other since. 

Fast forward.

Friendster was the IN thing in 2004. Naturally, I took advantage of looking for old friends's account and adding them up. X accepted my friend request. We exchanged texts and messages.  Voila! He was back in Manila. Until one day, one of my crew mates at a popular burger joint told me that I guy in the dining area was looking for me. It was him.

He started picking me up from work, treating me to restaurants and taking me to movies. Courting, in other words. My family did not approve of him at first, because he refused to go inside our house the first time that I introduced him to my mom. But as time went by, he became ok. I had other suitors at that time. Being foolish that I am, I picked a bull**** crewmate to be my first boyfriend, who happened to have a kid and a partner without me knowing. Suddenly, he just disappeared.

X knew what happened. He was a crying shoulder. He cheered me up and helped me mend my broken heart. We dated and became a couple after a month.

Happy days came. We saved our allowances just so we could go out on movie/fastfood dates. We were just happy holding hands or watching TV at home. We would go home together and ride a bus from Manila to Rizal. The more traffic the better- because that would mean longer time for us to be together.

Suddenly, I noticed that whenever I won't make it to go to school due to financial issues, he would skip classes, too just to be with me. He stays outside my workplace just to see if I am seeing guys other than him. He would call our landline and talk to my sister, asking what bag I used, or if I am going home late. At that point, I started to get tired... For me, he was becoming too immature, too complacent, given that his aunt sends him to school because his mom and dad went on separate ways. Like me, he was their family's first born, but I wasn't seeing any sign that he is persevering to make things better.

His father died due to a certain illness. Because of this, he had to fly back to Roxas. While he was away, I worked in a contact center and made myself busy. His absence made me realize to couple of things. I wanted my freedom- so that he would be able to prioritize more important matters aside from me.

I asked for a break-up as soon as he arrived. I felt choking in my throat when I saw him cry. I felt too much guilt for leaving him, for destroying his dreams. But if I stayed, I would have destroyed mine.

It was difficult at first because we were in the same circle of village friends. During the first few months, we did nothing but fight whenever we have get-togethers with the rest of the tropa. I purposely avoided the group so that X and I won't see each other. 

Time went by and both of us moved on. He went back to the province and comes to Manila once in a while. Whenever we see each other along with our friends, we don't talk about our past. We just talk like we're friends. 

Weekend Recap Part 2

Hello there, pader!

Ituloy na natin ang weekend recap chika

***

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Pagkataos naming tumambay sa mall eh gumora naman kami sa Yoohoo bar sa Metrowalk. Work barkada naman ni Mic ang gang (ang friends nya ay friends ko din. Conjugal! :) ) Nagyaya kasi si Kumareng Marj na uminom. Libre daw nya. Sino ba naman kami para tumanggi? : P

Me and Marj

Ang Labtim na Vinnie+Diane

Nic+Mic

We had fun over 4 buckets of beer, fries and calamares. At dahil sa hindi pala kami nagdinner, gora kami sa Il Mercanti food bazaar. Pangarap ko sana ng buko shake pero wala na daw. Kaya we settled for Shawarma and brownies #gutom. Three different kinds of brownies sya eh, cut into cubes, placed in a cup and topped with chocolate and caramel syrup. Swak sa sweet cravings ng mga taong in denial sa amats *wink. Hindi pa tapos ang party. We ordered pancit canton somewhere and went to Marj's apartment. More drinks, more kwento. We were supposed to spend the night over Kevin's condo. Kaya lang, tulog si Lolo. Kaya pumunta na lang kami dun the day after. Kina Marj na kami natulog. To make bawi, Kevin cooked Fettuccine Carbonara. Winner din.

***

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Nakauwi kami sa bahay siguro 1:30 PM na. Sabi ni Mudra "Akalain mong may balak pa pala kayong umuwi". Nagpaalam naman kami in fair. Pasok sa banga ang ulam on a Sunday. Mechadong baka. Mejo busog pa kami sa Carbonara kaya pass muna kami sa Lunch. Naligo na lang ako tapos nagpunta kami nina Merm at Bujoy sa tiangge. Super mura ng mga bagay. I will share our tiangge finds on my next post. Pagkauwi namin, kumain kami ni Mic ng early dinner around 5:00 PM. Tapos, tulog. 

***

Monday, August 20, 2012

Bujoy's shift was at 4:00 AM. Si Mudra dapat ang maghahatid sa kanya sa kanto kaya lang she wasn't feeling well. Masakit ang paa dahil sa rayuma. Mic and I volunteered. Hinatid namin si Bujoy sa kanto- kanto ng Eastwood! Roadtrip ng konti. Naisip namin na gusto namin ng kape. Sarado lahat ng Starbucks sa paligid. Sayang. Kaya lang, sakto lang din kasi nakakahiya yung itsura namin ni Mic. Muka kaming palaboy. Kaya nag McDo na lang kami. Libre ni Mic. Natalo kasi sya sa pustahan. More pilit kasi sya na 30 days lang ang August. Super confident si Kuya. Ipupusta nya pa daw ang Venti Javachip Frappe. Nirecite ko sa kanya ang "30 Days has September". Hindi pa sya naniwala. Kaya ayun. Super wasak nung nakita nya yung calendar sa pinto namin.

 ***

And that's the end of my weekend recap. Musta weekend mo? Sana enjoy din.