Blissful Ending To 2009

Contrary to previous years where I put much effort to making Christmas and New Year celebrations very grandiose and party-filled, I spent 2009’s yuletide season in a rather simpler way that just involves the people I value most – and I’m so glad I did as I was able to spend the last 11 days of the year with pure bliss.

First and foremost, being able to spend more quality time with family that I don’t get to do on a daily basis now was such a great present.  What made it more jovial is the new addition to us four, my sister-in-law and my extremely adorable nephew.  My family Christmas and New Year dinners had more pizzazz as the new dimension of now having six members indeed brought more laughter and closeness.  Some notable events and stuff were: (1) taking our new baby boy to the mall, (2) enjoying a new and bigger ride, i.e. my gift for the family – Starex van, (3) dinner at Kusina Salud, (4) post-Christmas lunch with extended family.

Secondly, vacation in the Philippines will not be complete without re-connecting with friends.  I spent a couple of days with my bestest college friends via a culinary tour in Tagaytay (Antonio’s, Bag of Beans, Leslie’s) and enjoyed some more food and booze at The Fort (Café Juanita, Establishment, Barcino).  Also met up with friends from previous work at Monde and Jollibee – simple dinner and rounds of booze (Abe, Sentro, plus two other places in High Street that I failed to remember the names of – one is the resto owned by Del Monte which is beside TGIF and the other is a Mexican spot near Nike) filled with stories and laughter made such immense difference.

2009 Grand Vacay (Part 1): Bonding with Chukoy

Over the last 29 years of my life, I would have to say that 19 September-12 October 2009 was the best vacation period that I have ever experienced.  After my plane landed in Manila on the first day of this pleasure time frame, it eventually turned out as a roller coaster ride filled with blog-worthy stories, endearing sights and sounds, and most of all, quality time with people that matters most!

First things first – family…  It was my first time to finally meet the new member of our bunch, my first degree nephew, “Chukoy”!

Knives Acid River "Chukoy" M. Alcantara - Up close and personal!

Totally adorable! Nothing beats the great feeling of waking up early in the morning just to see magnified cuteness!

Only 4 months old, but already has his endearing charm that will make you want to carry him!

My first attempt to carry him! Yes, I'm smiling, but deep inside really nervous coz I dunno how to do this!

Chukoy's Christening Day... Side story: It became an exclusive ceremony since my rockstar nephew came in late, so the priest has to restart the ceremony just for him! Baby pa lang VIP na agad! Hahaha!

With Daddy (VJ) and Mommy (Sonia)

With the proud ninong and ninang!

From 4, were are now 6 in the family!

With his lolos and lolas... Time really flies, they used to be titos and titas to us, now, it's a notch higher!

Finally, Ninong JA managed to carry Chukoy!

After Chukoy’s baptism, next stop is to meet up with friends…  Where?  Check out Part 2 of this long post. 

Our Chukoy!

Last 22 May 2009, Friday, 11:54PM – God showered upon us a new family blessing that is indeed priceless.  My sister-in-law gave birth to a bouncing baby boy named Knives Acid River M. Alcantara or “Chukoy” in short.  :)  This bundle of joy is my folks’ first grandchild (apparently not coming from their first born – hahahaha!) and also my first first-degree nephew.  After getting the news from my brother, all I wanted to do is fly back home to see our baby, but then again, I’m trapped here.  ’Will just look forward to the next long weekend so I can pack my bags, buy baby stuffs, jump to a plane and start spoiling our “Chukoy”!

Seeing his first pictures gave shivers in my spine and goosebumps to match – mixture of thrill, excitement, anticipation, longing, happiness, thanksgiving and endearment.  What’s funny about it is that I can’t help but stare at his pics all day long – all of a sudden, the digital photo frame on my office table now plays only four pictures (before, I’ve selected more than 500 in the sequence list!).  The four pictures are as follows:

 

Quick assessment of my nephew’s looks: his expressive eyes and pointed nose are from his mom, while his soon-to-be-thick eyebrows, well-shaped lips and chubby cheeks are from his dad.  Combing all these great traits together, one thing is for sure – our Chukoy goes beyond the definition of “cute”, he’s a perfect and adorable baby with a grand future ahead of him – not only in the looks department, but also in the brains and personality aspects.  Oh well, what can I say – it’s the genes (which cannot be bought) that makes the big difference!  :)

unang linggo sa 2009

wala na sigurong kasing-challenging pa ang linggong nagdaan sa aspeto ng trabaho. it almost pushed me to my limits – ang tinding pressure, workload, people-issues at kung anu-ano pa.

isa sa mga pinakamalaki naming kliyente ang gustong i-fire ang ahensya dahil di maganda ang business performance nila, at syempre, kailangan ng scapegoat at kami ang isa sa mga napagtuunan ng pansin. aminado naman ang ahensya na di perpekto ang nakaraang taon na trinabaho naming ang brand communications nila, pero there are a lot of other factors na dapat i-consider! bilang dating nasa client side, alam ko to that’s why I won’t ever buy that reasoning na ang di nila pag-hit ng business targets e dahil lamang sa aspeto ng brand comms. pero, ito nga siguro yung realidad ng agency life na “damned if you do, damned if you don’t”. to make matters worse, ang sisi usually e laging sa accounts team, kawawa naman ang mga account directors and account executives ko, sobrang damang-dama nila na ang trabaho nila is a “thankless job”. kaya aside from all these shaping up na dapat i-deliver ng buong ahensya e nag-express ang account director ko na pinaka-reliable at responsible (relatively speaking) na mag-reresign na lang sya. haaaaay… sobrang frustrating, that moment, na-feel ko na rin na, mag-resign na lang din at bumalik na sa client side! but i am well-aware that this is another way for me to learn how to be matured and professional. these difficulties are supposed to make me stronger and better, sabi nga nila.

so, as a coping mechanism, i found the refuge of just venting out to my closest friends and even to my parents. kakatuwa, my mom attended two masses and offered one mass under my name para daw i would feel better. i know that she’ll be able to read this, thank you mommy for that, it did really help dahil after I packed up yesterday sa office, my positivism is back and true enough, i was just overwhelmed with all the challenges. sobrang bait ni god na sinamahan nya ko all throughout, and your prayer definitely contributed for me to bounce back. thanks to my dad also for those inspiring text messages.

sampung araw na lang!!!!!!!!

simula pa nung 01 december, nagsimula na akong mag-countdown kung ilang araw na lang ang natitira bago ang christmas vacation.  sa wakas, sampung araw na lang, babalik na ulit ako sa pinas!  haaaay!

yup, over the last 3 weeks, sobrang homesick ako – siguro dahil na rin sa christmas mode at sa dami ng pressure at challenges sa trabaho.  kakapagod – kahapon, naisip ko talaga kung bakit ko pa ba pinasok to…  pero buti na lang, may pamilya at mga kaibigan akong nakakausap – kahit malayo sila, kahit sa ym man lang o blackberry messenger nakakausap ko sila para makapag-vent kahit papaano.

ilang tulog na lang…  ilang gising na lang…  haaaay…  sana 23 december na!

the first thing i see every morning... countdown thru "post it" notes... it's what keeps me going...

my li'l christmas tree... giving me a semblance of christmas here...

pumayat daw ako… :P

wala na yatang gaganda pa sa pagbating, “huy, pumayat ka!”…  wahahaha!

matapos ang mahigit dalawang buwan na di ko nakita ang pamilya at kaibigan sa pinas, ito na siguro ang pinakamagandang pagbati na narinig ko nung dumating ako ulit sa maynila.  well, ang sagot ko lang jan e, “mantakin mo ba namang, talong beses lang ako nakatikim ng baboy sa nakaraang dalawang buwan, isama mo pa ang stress at pressure sa trabaho at adjustment na rin na mamuhay mag-isa sa banyagang lugar – sino ba naman ang di papayat?!”.

ganun pala ang pakiramdam maging balikbayan – sobrang masaya at exciting.  parang gusto mong wag na gumalaw ang oras para di matapos ang bakasyon mo.  walang tigil na kwentuhan at tawanan – akala ko dati, exaggerated yung nga eksena sa pelikula, pero hindi pala – iba talaga yung pakiramdam na makasama mo ulit yung mga mahal mo na sobrang na-miss mo!  usual stuff ang ginawa ko kasama sila, pero naging masaya ako:

day 1 (umaga): pagkasundo sa akin ni dad and mom sa naia 3, dumeretso kami sa jollibee!  wahahaha!  default order – 2pc. chickenjoy meal, extra rice, soup at large coke light!  tapos nun, nag-check in na kami
sa intercon, nagpahinga muna ng konti then lumabas na ulit para mag-mall.  nagpunta kami sa landmark para bumili ng barong na gagamitin ko sa wedding ng pinsan ko kinabukasan, tapos nun, nag-lunch na kami – gerry’s naman this time!  sinigang, pata at bangus!  sarap!  ikot ulit sa mall, then nagpagupit ako.  nagulat ang favorite stylist ko na si aureo dahil nagpaalam ako sa kanya two months ago – told him na bakasyon lang ako, nakwento ko rin na nakapagpagupit na ko sa jakarta, kaso lang, iba pa rin ang nakasanayan ko ng gupit nya sa propaganda, so malamang ang next kong gupit e sa pasko na ulit pagbalik ko sa pinas!  balik hotel na ulit at andun na ang kapatid ko.  konting kwentuhan then nagbihis na ko.

day 1 (gabi): dinner with usual (but really longed-for) friends at gb5.  first time ko sa myron’s place – ok naman, overpriced nga lang.  importante, masaya ang kwentuhan at tawanan naming lahat.  kahit pano, ang dating 9 e naging 5 ulit – kaso lang, bago matapos ang taon, may isa na ulit aalis papunta naman australia.  so, 3 na lang sila matitira sa pinas.  haaaay, kakalungkot, pero ganun ata talaga, kanya kanyang alisan, ang importante, magkakaibigan pa rin – who would have thought that after more than a decade e kami pa rin ang magkakasama?

mabilis na kwento: bena-papunta ng australia sa nov, aids-bagong trabaho bilan abm ng tv5, cris-patiently waiting kung anong kasunod, nons-new work at shell

buti na lang walang tao - di nakakahiya magpapicture! wahahaha!

day 2:  wedding day.  yung details and pictures nito is in the previous post.  after ng event, umuwi na kami ng laguna.

day 3:  home sweet home!  na-miss ko ang bahay namin – ang kama, ang kusina, ang dining room, ang magic sing, at kung anu-ano pa.  syempre, di pedeng hindi magluluto ang mommy ko ng food na gusto ko – so we had adobong manok sa gata, galunggong, bangus, chopseuy, etc.

day 4:  balik manila para i-meet ulit ang mga pinsan at ibang kaibigan for the last time since malapit na ko umalis.  nag-late lunch kami nila pau and joan sa sentro at nag-cofi sa figaro.  sayang, di nakasama si tony at vic for valid reasons.  sa pasko na lang siguro kami magkikita ulit.  after nun, mga pinsan ko naman ang mineet ko.  nag-dinner lang kami at nag-two rounds sa eastwood.  needless to say, pinoy food pa rin (since kasama sina kuyas aloy and jun na galing amerika) – dencio’s this time.  after nun, konting inom lang – kurant 7 and bailey’s for me.

meeting up with the newlyweds at mccafe

dinner!!!

after dinner

day 5: huling araw kasama ang mga kaibigan.  eto ang naging mandatory glorietta day kung saan nag-dinner kami sa tgif, nag-kape sa starbucks at nanood ng movie na tagalog (request ko kasi – hehe!).  sinamantala ko na rin ang pagpunta sa sm para bumili ng mga pasalubong sa mga officemates ko – walang kamatayang dried mangoes, otap, rosquillios, sampaloc, t-shirts at bags na may “pilipinas”, pearls, at kung anu-ano pa.  after nun, nag-overnight kami sa condo ni adrian – konting inom lang ng gran matador with coke (skwaks!  hahaha!) at isang masarap na umagahan courtesy of the gracious host!

at aids' lounge

dating gawi... drinking while copying files - mp3s, tv shows, etc.

day 6: balik laguna.   natulog lang ako maghapon.  nakakapagod din na magpuyat para magsaya.  lalo tuloy akong inubo.  bumili rin pala ko ng 100 tablets/capsules ng stresstabs at solmux – eto ang mga kakampi ko sa pagkakasakit at depresyon!  hahahaha!  bukod sa pagkain, nag-marathon lang din ako ng abs-cbn shows – simula wowowee hanggang bandila!

day 7:   after lunch with my folks, luwas na kami manila…  hinatid na nila ulit ako sa naia 3.  haaaay…

yan ang naging isang linggo ko sa pinas noong nakaraang linggo.  ngayon, andito na ulit ako sa jakarta.  magtatrabaho ulit sa susunod na more than 2 months at pagkatapos noon, uuwi ulit ng pinas para doon mag-pasko at bagong taon.

just wondering, sa december kaya, maririnig ko pa kaya ulit ang komentong “huy, pumayat ka!”? 

kasal, kasali, kasalo!

sa wakas, nakauwi na ako ng pinas at ikinasal na rin ang pinsan kong 47 years old!!!

big event sa pamilya namin ito dahil si kuya jun na ang pinakamatanda kong pinsan – matapos nyang libutin ang mundo sa pagiging army ng amerika, gawin at i-accomplish lahat ng ginusto nya at magpayaman sa buhay, tama lang naman na mag-retire na sya sa pagiging single. buti na lang kahit huli na ang biyahe, may nakilala pa syang nasa parehong sitwasyon, si ate gemma – ang bagong pinsan ng pamilya.

bukod sa naging masaya ang wedding dahil parang naging reunion na rin ito – may mga pinsan akong umuwi mula amerika, nakaka-aliw ang reception (maayos ang program flow at content) at masarap ang pagkain (kahit talagang i’m not fond of hotel food, nagustuhan ko ito). kaya sulit na rin ang pagod ng pagmamadali ko ng uwi from jakarta para makapag-turok ng veil sa pinsan kong na-late pa sa simbahan! wahahaha!

with balikbayan insan kuya aloy and fab fashion designer cuz ate grace

partner sa buffet table! hahaha!

family lobby shot!

the men in the family with the kengkoy groom!

finally!