hodgepodge

i don't remember when i last posted, kaya anything goes na lang this time. ang dami nang kwento, e. : )

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last thursday, i texted eloi, a classmate from embryology, about something that i did. here's her reply: i bet u wud hav given anything 2 hav seen my reaction 2 ur msg. facial expresions ko: shock, apprehension, worry, relief, joy. in that order :-) m hapi 4 u! :-*

nakakatuwa. : )

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last february 15, my boss & i attended the philippine government's economic briefing at the rizal ballroom of makati shangri-la. it was supposed to start at 10. unfortunately, we were late.

ayun, kalmadong-kalmado pa rin kaming naglalakad paakyat ng ballroom, nang bumulong ang isang guard: ma'am, paki-double time po ang paglakad. nasa likod niyo na po ang presidente.

at this point, tumakbo na kami ng boss ko. hehe!

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nung wednesday naman, asa ateneo rockwell ako for a half-day economic & political briefing. one of the speakers was gov. joey salceda of albay, who is also one of gma's economic advisers. panalo yung isang comment niya about gma: she may be a bitch, but she's the luckiest bitch around.

after he said that, everyone laughed. & then, biglang natauhan siya: may TV nga pala. (he slumps a bit on the rostrum and holds his head in his hand.)

may camera at crew kasi ng abs-cbn sa likod, not to mention reporters in the audience. hehe.

that comment made it to the first page of the inquirer last thursday: "after 'evil' tag comes 'she's the luckiest bitch' ".

medyo surreal lang. i never thought that i would find myself reading articles about economic briefings & actually understanding the implications of the movements of the economic fundamentals. not to mention thinking, "ay, eto yung article about the briefing yesterday. andun ako."

surreal. surreal, but nice. : )

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i've lost 10 pounds in the past month!

kaya ko palang mag-diet. ang hirap nga lang i-convince ng mga tao na hindi ako umiinom ng fitrum o xenical. at na hindi rin ako gumagamit ng shabu. ; )

wala lang, kailangan nang magkasya nung college clothes ko. wala akong balak na bumili ng mga bagong damit! hehe.

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ngarag sa work ngayon. i have two major papers pending, tapos malapit na ang mancom planning. i'm already working on my presentation for the pre-planning. this coming week promises to be a very hectic one. baka nga pumasok pa kami sa weekend.

pero okay lang. masaya naman ako. : )

panalong picture

i think papu posted this already, pero aliw, e. this was during the embryology christmas party/inuman at her house last saturday.

just thinking

in our party last week, i told embryo about some of the decisions that i've made in the past two years. on second thought, it must be more appropriate to say that i told them how i handled the nerve-wracking events of my past two years - my realizations, the things i said, etc.

it's been a long time, & it's very weird that i only told them the story now. after all, we are pretty tight, it's our style to talk things over, & the experiences i went through are not easy to go through alone. but i guess that's just my way of dealing with the cards dealt to me. & i guess i was only able to tell them the story now because i can now do so in a detached manner. because lately, i've started being happy again. it took me a long while to get here, you know.

so i can't help but feel so flattered that they approve of the way i handled things. 'ika nga ni john, "top 1 sa academics, top 1 sa buhay". nakakatawa kasi habang nagkekwento ako, sobrang in-affirm nila yung decisions ko. feeling ko tuloy, asa pedestal ako. sabi kasi ni eloi, tumaas daw ang respeto niya sa 'kin. eloi & je-ann even memorized some of my lines. je-ann went further by saving it on her phone so she won't forget. haha. :)

i don't remember who said it anymore, but i was told that i am proof that intelligent people are not necessarily stupid in affairs of the heart. sabi nga ni kamille, rational daw ako. nagagamit ko yung talino ko sa pagdedesisyon. sabi niya, hindi ako yung tipong matalino pero wala lang.

funny talaga yung reactions nila. looking back, i don't even know how i managed to say the right things in what deirdre has coined, "pressure cooker moments". siguro, pasalamat na lang ako kay Lord kasi binigyan niya ako ng grace under pressure.

because of their questions, i realized one thing: i make decisions on my own. i rarely ask for advice. i don't know if it's a good or bad thing, but that's the way i do it. i only ask for advice after i've made my choice, & i need help in dealing with the aftershocks of that choice.

so far, it has been working for me. i can't recall a decision that i regretted for years & years on end. sure, there were those i cried about for a while. but even when i was crying about those, i knew that i made the right choice, & that things will turn out well in time.

haha, grabeng pagbubuhat na ito ng bangko. but in the end, all i really want to say is, "thank you for the affirmation." i really needed it, you know. ;)

quotable quotes

just got home from bobby's & john's joint birthday celebration. lest i forget these words in my sleep-deprived state, here they are:

"you can't have all the benefits without the responsibility."

"open ka, open din naman ako, eh di i-close na natin."

cryptic as these may seem without the context, i'll leave these as is. good morning, world! :)

grace & papu at work

i am currently handling the development of our annual report, & papu's agency is bidding. here are snippets of our emails:



Hi Grace!

May we go there to present the Annual Report Concept tomorrow at 3pm? Please advise.

Thanks,
Papu



Yes, 3pm is okay with us.

Thanks, Papu.



Oki oki.

Wow we are so formal. Huwaw. Hahahaha. So how are you my darling bee?

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Hi Grace!

Please see my comments below, in pink. Hope everything is clarified. Please advise if there are other concerns.

Thanks!
Papu


-----Original Message-----
From: Grace Roselle D. Sarmiento
Sent: Wednesday, September 19, 2007 11:04 AM
To: Papu Abjelina
Subject: Re: Annual Report Quote


Good morning, Papu!

Thank you for the quotation. I have to tell you though, that your quote is way above the quote of the other four agencies that presented. I'm afraid that we would not be able to consider your proposal, if the cost remains such. Would it be possible for you to send us a revised quote within the day, so that we could decide? We need it ASAP, as the paper is due tomorrow.

Just some clarifications on the current quote:
1. Photography - Does the P100K already take into consideration that many shots will probably have to be done outdoors? Our assumption here is that we will have photos similar to the one you used for the Financial Scoreboard. How many photos are included in the P100K? Does this already include the make-up artist?

The typical price per set-up is around 8 to 10,000, depending on the shots that we'll be taking. Our photos will mostly be shot indoors, with a few shots outdoors (much like We can factor in the make-up artist with the cost.


2. Final Artwork - How did you arrive at the FA cost computation?

As per our telecon, Final Artwork means the material ready for release. We have a specific rate that is:
a) Size of the file: 100php per megabyte of the file. (in this case it is 20 MB per page, with 90 pages)
b) Computer time: 2700 php per hour (in this case around 22 hours for the entire thing)

Please note that this rate that we are giving is standard supplier rate, as this is done by a third party.


3. Printing - Could you send us a quote for perfect binding instead (the committee was not too keen on the ring bind)? Also, would the unit cost remain the same whether we print 700 or 900 copies?

Re: perfect binding, as per our printer, the cost would still remain the same whether or not we use the ring bind. The unit cost is stilll the same whether we print 700 or 900 php.


As per our conversation, however, we can still package the cost as we can flexible with the package. If possible, let us know how you would like us to package the cost, to fit everything into your budget. We're open to adjustments with regards to the costs. Hope you can advise.


Thanks!
Papu



Hi, Papu.

Explanations noted. I'm afraid that I can't give you a budget or a price range, as that would be unfair to the other agencies. Will just wait for your new quotation.

Thanks. : )



Hi Grace,

Kindly see the attached revised quotation for your perusal. Please note that we've made the printing costs separate from our costs, as that is a third party. We've adjusted the cost items that will be credited to ___ perse. However, please note that we will still look for a printer that will print within the budget. We'll help find suppliers who will give lower quotations.

Please do let us know if the attached is alright with you.

Thanks and we hope to work with you soon!



Good afternoon, Papu!

We appreciate the adjustments you made in the cost. We also appreciate your effort in looking for a cheaper printer. In line with this, could we ask you to quote the printing cost based on the following specs?

Size: A4
Paper Stock: Cover - C2S # 220
Inside - Matte # 120
Color: Full
Cover Finish: Matte lamination with spot UV
Binding: Perfect Binding

We have also asked the other agencies to quote using the above specs, so that we could compare the proposals better.

Hope to hear from you soon. Thank you.



Bago ko sagutin ng seryoso:

Who would have known that we'd go from you consoling me with BTS after theo orals to THIS? kulang nalang gamitan kita ng "AS PER OUR LAST EMAIL"

Hehehe. HEHEHEH!!!

Love,
papu



Oo nga, e. Who would have known? : )

coffee @ LP, breakfast @ tagaytay

saturday, at mocha blends along gloria diaz









yesterday morning in front of mile hi, in tagaytay (sayang, closed na! hindi nga pala planado ang lakad na ito. basta, hinila lang ako ni dianne sa bahay ni judy. the next thing i knew, we were on our way to tagaytay.)















in casino filipino







rotonda



sa 7-11 (na katapat ng rotonda)



sa sanctuario (na malapit lang din sa rotonda)

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grabe ang araw na 'to. pero thankful ako, kasi okay kaming lahat.

kitkat's "surprise" party

kadarating lang ni kitkat galing states nung wednesday, after staying there for a year & eight months. sakto, birthday pa niya. what else does this call for? of course, a surprise party!

habang papunta, nagtatanungan kami nina loui, papu at tenten. teka, paano nga ba tayo na-contact ni jomel (yung brother ni kitkat)? walang nakakaalam. oh, well.

basta, diretso na lang sa bahay nina kitkat. pagdating doon, tinanong namin siya: alam mo bang darating kami? oo raw, kasi sa kanya hiningi ni jomel ang number ni papu. pasaway! : )

in fairness to me, on time ang posting ko ngayon! at least, not that late. pics are courtesy of eloi. : )

the birthday girl (the white ones are my hands! grabe, mukha pa ring kamay ng bata.).



eto na, reunion of sorts na naman ang embryo.









kailangan talagang mag-project?! :)



all girls naman ang drama namin dito.



weird ang kamay ng mga tao rito. animated!



beautiful eyes...teka, bakit malungkot ang bago naming nurse? smile naman diyan, amory!



nakakatawa si atom dito! he looks as if he's thinking, "why the hell am i listening to this girl?!" pero sabi niya, ang tumatakbo raw sa utak niya nito ay, "why am i wearing this?!" in fairness, bagay sa kanya ang formal. okay lang yan atom, minsan ka lang magdurusa nang ganyan. ; )



tama si eloi, blurred nga yung ibang pics, kaya dapat magkita-kita kami ulit for another round of picture-taking. 'til the next time! : )

thinking out loud (or in print, as the case may be)

i went to the family renewal movement's (the community i've been part of since february) corporate worship tonight. i'm really glad & grateful that i did, as it helped me to take stock of all the good things that have been coming my way lately.

since i started in my new position, i've been feeling so much lighter. it is a cliche, but i actually feel as if a big weight has been lifted from my shoulders. i am able to go home a lot earlier than before. on days that i go home quite late, it's usually because i went out with a friend or did some shopping. if i do decide to stay late to work, i don't feel burdened about it at all. i am also home on saturdays (i used to work around 2 saturdays per month, by choice), so i have plenty of time to devote to alternating between sleeping & reading.

i am happy that i not only feel the change - a couple of people have already commented on how much more relaxed & calm i look, & how i smile a lot more. their comments make me feel even better, & a lot prettier. haha! ; )

i am grateful that things happened the way they did - that i was able to decide for myself, that I was able to muster the courage to talk to my bosses, & that God guided me all throughout. in hindsight, i know that i couldn't have done it with divine intervention. i could have chickened out. my bosses could have been horrible to me about it by not acting on my request for transfer. it's also possible that no position suitable for me was available.

a million other things could have gone wrong. i shudder at the thought that things could have been very bad for me. but they weren't, so i feel so blessed.

thank you, Lord. : )

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i just finished the devil wears prada. believe it or not, miranda priestly was even more horrible in print than on screen. i didn't think that was possible! hehe. : )

i was also able to finish the 7th harry potter book last saturday (despite going home at 6 am, after spending the night with embryo). i must be the only one who didn't go gaga over it. for me, it was plain okay, nothing spectacular. definitely overrated. book 7 fans, please do not use avada kedavra on me. i am entitled to my own opinion, as you no doubt are to yours. : )

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speaking of embryo, we were able to get together friday last week. we met first in ATC, then went to bobby's house, where a couple of us ended up spending the night.

it was worth not sleeping at all, as i was able to talk to them a lot. we reminisced about high school. we bitched about our horrible teachers. we talked about each others' problems, & gave advice. we ate a bit, & drank a bit also (at least, they did).

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as i was saying, i feel so grateful about the developments in my life lately. even my tickle happiness test says so:

As you now know, your relationships have a positive effect on your overall happiness. However, your greatest source of happiness is your gratitude. Gratitude is a feeling of deep thankfulness for what your life offers you in both good times and bad. When you're grateful, you view life as deep and rich with meaning and feel thankful for the whole experience of living. You may cultivate this awareness on a regular basis through reflection or prayer.

Your strong sense of appreciation for life's blessings is where your happiness springs from most. It's also the place where your happiness gains the most power and stability. Because gratitude appears to be the natural anchor point for your happiness, know that you can always tap into this quality when times get rough.

i sure hope that i keep on feeling this way for some time. : )

friendster pics

isang gabi na wala akong magawa at hindi ako makatulog, tiningnan ko yung friendster accounts ng madlang people. ang saya! eto ang mga pics na nanakaw ko. hehe!

from aiza mae: a pic with the dwarfs, my high school barkada. bago pa ata ito magpasko.



from crystal: management trainees, on the day of our final revalida. january 31, 2006 ata. ang formal naming lahat!




from de-anne: pic with soa during the 2004 formsem at the house of ginger's relatives. marami sa amin, hindi pa naliligo. isa na ako dun.


from de-anne again: soa eb with sir redg plopinio, after the soa launch. up to now, i still find this pic cool. asa floor lang ang camera nito. : )



from gel: pics with the musheez, first year and second year ata.




from guiller: i don't even remember them taking a pic! gabay christmas party 2005 ito. i just dropped by with gel.



from john: embryo christmas party 2003, in a venetto along alabang-zapote road. typical embryo shot, sobrang gulo! : )



from kamille: a pic during her surprise birthday party last year, which bobby and je-anne organized. we were in batang's. maaga pa ito, kaya konti pa lang kami. later, more people came, which meant more drunks. hehe! actually, tinamaan din ako nito but i drank a lot of water so it passed. i was awake all throughout, til 1 or 2, i think. : )



from kacey, nel and ma'am maggie: HR in subic, camayan resort specifically. this was just last february, during our outing.




ang saya! pag wala ulit akong magawa, gagawin ko ulit ito. hopefully, there are new pics for me to grab. haha! : )

Saturday Group: A Dats Entertainment Christmas

Naalala niyo pa ba nung uso pa ang shoulder pads at sikat pa si Kasielyn Francisco? (yung kulot na maingay na nag-Miss Saigon) Eh naalala mo pa bang love-team si Jano at Mane? Alam mo ba kung anong grupo ang laging nanalo?

Hindi mo man namimiss ang panahong kunwari'y astig pa si Kuya Germs, mapipilitan ka nang alalahanin!

Sa December 16, 2006, magiging parte ka na ng young talent extravaganza!

Saturday Group: A Dats Entertainment Christmas
Come in your favorite 80's matinee idol ensemble!

(I CALL TINA PANER's HEADBAND!!!!)

December 16, 2006
59 E. Kalaw Street, BF Resort Village, Las Piñas City

SEE YOU! :)

RSVP
Papu

Please bring 200php for your food contribution.

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dalawang Christmas parties na pupuntahan ko ang may 80's theme: embryo Christmas party at bankwide Christmas party sa Gloria Maris. both are less than a month away, but i still haven't settled on a costume. i've been surfing, & here are some of my 80's fashion finds:

i have a baby pink version of the green stilletos shown above.

.

i love the purple & black ensemble! any ideas where i can scout for similar tops? :)

brings back fond memories of the cartoon (& of my cutesy water container with a picture of my little pony minus the rainbow).

at least, may ideas na ako. shopping spree na lang ang kulang! can't wait! :)