Morph Launch

This post was antedated...

Jerry was in Manila for his regular weekly trip. I joined him for my new company's launch. Junnie was still in town (Manila). And Pa and Ma were free for the weekend...

Perfect timing for yet another chance to meet up. Business mixed with personal stuff sure did us good.

Major Accomplishment

taken at the i2 roofdeck after a successful event
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Because of collective efforts from the Cebu, Manila and US teams, this is probably our biggest accomplishment for the first half of 2007 - the expansion of the IT office we all work in. And May 24th was a red-letter day when we had our office blessed, conducted press briefings, and introduced our new IT visions and programs to the academe.

Though the real hard work brought on by expansion is looming right in front of us, thank God we're finally over this one. The preparations leading to this day were just daunting but we happily culminated the event by spending time with counterparts for a night cap.

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For the first half of 2007, is there something you have done (in school, at work or at home) that your are extremely proud of? I bet you have. ;)

Reinforcement

Rox and me at Treff


With Mafe at Rai Rai Ken


We hired about 16 devs last 2006. For this year, we need to grow to about 60 in Cebu. So far, we added 11 to the roster and pooling and screening are still ongoing. That's just about half-way our target. Time for some reinforcement to fast-track recruitment. Chris (Eng'g Mgr), Rox (HR Mgr) and Mafe (Training Mgr) have started visiting Cebu for this effort.

Hay salamat. We could use all the help we could get:D

To the Naysayer

To this day, there are people who are suspicious about the (insignificant) investment we put in with the company. Since the investment was pooled from different sources, this particular person told me the whole thing is, I quote: "part of your fictional work". This one character even went as far as to demand (as if I owe her anything) for proof like the company's SEC papers and what-not.

Anyway... I don't intend for this post to be controversial again and thus artificially spike my traffic stats. I was only reminded of that unfortunate incident when this article came out in the papers today... I highly doubt this would do the trick in convincing this person that there is indeed such a company. I'm not out to do that after all. It's actually pointless arguing with someone who pretends she knows a lot.

Ho-hum.

Happy 1st Year E!

Jerry with the VCs and bigwigs walking at Asiatown IT Park to soon-to-be E's 2nd facility

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First Year Milestones:
- Officially opened last November 17, 2005 after registration with SEC & BIR
- Hired our first software engineer on Jan. 16, 2006
- Peza-registered by March 2006
- E became profitable in 6 months
- To date we have 16 software engineers on permanent status
- Now we are ready to renovate our 2nd facility (300+ sqm)

Woohoo! GOD is GOOD! :D



to celebrate the 1st year, we all had our seafood lunch at Alavar's de Cebu

Work-Life Balance

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We just had our first ever teambuilding activity last night at the Bowlingplex. After an early dinner at the office, 2 hours of play and 3 to 5 games later, everybody was still up and about inspite of the early 8am call time the following day.

It was a fun event put together by the software engineers themselves. All I had to do was to fund the activity and provide the food on company's account. It was timely that one of the engineers was celebrating his birthday. We had extra doses of carbo from the 3 half gallons of ice cream he treated us with (yummy pistachio, cookies and cream, choco brownie).

The successful activity was a welcome breather for this hardworking bunch. And we plan to do it again - really soon!

(Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus our company does exist and no need for me to show you our articles of incorporation. :P)

Work, Workshop, Shop

Shuttling between Cebu and Manila for the past 3 months has given me the chance to spend time with my maiden family. First it was in Dec. 19 for the corporate Christmas party, next was on Jan. 19 for the interview for our US visa application. Then this week, it's another trip back to Metro-polluted (heehee) Manila for a workshop and a big meeting.

Never mind the traffic jams that clog the metro just like the smog that clogs every pore in my skin, a free trip and a chance to spend time with loved ones are enough reasons for me to take it....

Hardly Able to Blog

Okay, I may be delinquent in updating my blog but as I always point out, that is not to say nothing is going on that's worth blogging. I do still have my camera with me (most of the time) so pictures are still a-plenty.

Below are just a few of what I captured in stills...


This is how the Capitol building now looks - festive, after it has been adorned with lights. Note that this will be until after the Sinulog mardi gras (Feast of the Sto. Nino) on the 3rd Sunday of January.


This was on the morning of my first time to participate in the board meeting... I was a bit clammy and nervous but Jerry was there to keep me company. Sweet...


At Krua Thai where we celebrated nephew Charles' birthday. Matt, Jake, Timmy, Kyle and Michael - These are the faces that will propagate the family name. And 3 come from our lineage. Hehehe.


Juju, Matt, Jake, Timmy, Kyle, Michael and Charles, the birthday boy. These are 7 of the 9 grandsons of my mom-in-law. The 2 who are not in the foto are John, who is in the USA, and Jaymes, who is in Australia.


Jake is amazed at the display of miniature toy cars that cousin Michael brought along. Hehehe... ah boys...


It was Juju's birthday too a few days before. We already celebrated his birthday dinner at Cafe Georg last Nov 30. The blowing out of the candle was a bit late but still fit for photo op. Matt looks like he's used to carrying 30-lb Jake.


Oh, don't mind me here. This is supposed to be a shot of Jake's first taste of lollipop. He doesn't seem pleased. Good for him though.


"See any good one, Jake?" - Checking out the ties at Salvatore Ferragamo.


Checking out the expensive timepieces at Cartier. Jake seems to have an expensive taste eh. Signs of things to come? I hope not.


Jake is pretending to read the boys' birthday card to their Papa Jerry.


Did the elder brothers forget to say something? Jake seems to be trying to say more...


This was written on the front cover of the card...


And this was what they wrote inside...


The bulalo-hungry family during Jerry's birthday dinner.


Ahhh! This is what we really came for.... The bulalo and...


...the sizzling pochero steak!!!


The pochero steak is a little bit cool now and fit to be feasted on. Yummmm!


If you happen to be in town, don't miss Abuhan Dos, known for its famous pochero/bulalo.


The morning after... Is Jake already working off those unwanted fats from last night? I wish I could do the same thing. Hehehe.

Returning the Visit (Last Installment)

November 12, Saturday

Jerry and I took the extra time to mix official trip with pleasure and personal business. We spent the morning up to the early afternoon meeting with a supplier, checking out the new Greenhills Theatre Mall, and having our late lunch at Teriyaki Boy.


Norwegian salmon at Teriyaki Boy. Isn't that just yummy????


While I enjoyed my salmon, Jerry had this tender beef...

When we got home at a little before dinner time, everyone was there including sis and bro-in-law as well as Ma and Pa. After a quick meal, we decided to spend the last night in Manila at....

Ta-dah! Starbucks Alabang. Woohoo. *ang babaw ba*









November 13, Sunday

It was a perfect day to fly home to Cebu but not without hearing mass at Our Lady of Fatima where the homily was delivered by a straightforward and articulate priest. It was also one of those rare moments that I was with my sis May and our hubs Jerry and Rommel. It felt like it was only a few years ago when we would attend mass with Ma and Pa, getting up early to make it to the 11am schedule inspite of lack of sleep from the previous night's partying (or cramming?). Hehehe.... Now we were there with our partners. Sigh.... time flies...

Soon it was time to part... as in the past trips where we would be brought by everyone (if schedules allow) to the airport, loved ones were there to see us off, even chubby niece Zia, as if we were going abroad. Haha!


See you again soon Manila!


Couldn't wait to see you, Cebu!

My short 3-day trip to Manila saw me in 3 malls (Podium, F Tiangge, Greenhills), Cinnabon, Yellow Cab, a Mediterranean resto (Cafe Med), an Italian resto (Capisce), a Japanese resto (Teriyaki Boy), and 3 Starbucks outlets (Metrowalk, Las Pinas and Alabang) and with plenty of bonding time with loved ones.

Returning the Visit (Part 1)

I was almost ready to call it a day last week about 6pm, Tuesday when my cellphone rang. It was Cindy from our Ortigas office and she wanted to hold some sort of alignment meeting in the areas of Admin, Accounting and HR. We tried discussing over the phone. A few items were covered but there were more to be discussed. I half-jokingly (half-meant) told her why not let me come over so I could meet with them in person and that the discussion would be more effective. I was pleasantly surprised when she said yes and asked if I could be there the following day, a Wednesday. Haha! If it were that easy, I would have agreed. But considering all factors like the kids, the house, the plane tickets and flight schedules, it was more convenient to fly instead on Thursday.

The following day, we made all the arrangements and moved to my mom-in-law's house where we left the kids for the next few days while Jerry and I went on a short trip to Manila. See pictures and short recap of the past week...

November 10, Thursday

Jerry and I took the 730am flight out of Cebu. I texted Mang Lucio, the company driver, if he would be able to pick us up but he said that the two cars were subject to color-coding for that day. That being the case, we just took a rented car to my parents house, borrowed their car and drove to Ortigas.

It was actually a big surprise for Ma and Pa to see me barging into the house without any word of my trip days before. I intended to surprise them actually and was glad that they were happy to see me.

At work, I was toured around the office and was introduced to the team. I met with the people who I am going to interface with and met the newest client who was in town. We were treated to lunch and dessert at Cafe Med and Cinnabon at the Podium. It was my first time to see the Podium and I felt like a "probinsyana" ogling at the class A boutiques that lined the mall. Hehehe...

The management team knocked off late and invited us for dinner at Metrowalk, another new place for me, where we dined at Capisce and had coffee at Starbucks. I enjoyed my shrimp risotto immensely and was slightly regretful that I didn't have any more space for dessert. Oh well....

It was actually a long but productive day. I had fun too.





November 11, Friday

I waited for the laptop that was supposed to be issued to me by the company. So we were in the Ortigas area waiting for the advise of the IT specialist when to pick it up. While there, Ma, Pa, May and Rommel were with Jerry and me checking out yet another new mall/tiangge called F Tiangge. I bought a pair of mules for myself and Ma. Hehehe. That was my first shopping expense for this trip.

After getting the laptop, May and Rommel went ahead to go to work. We were on our way back home and decided to drop by Yellow Cab and Starbucks Las Pinas.

Seeing Double

Taking a break from work, I checked on my emails. Yahoo... nothing. Gmail account 1... still nothing. Gmail account 2... nothing... No wait, there is 1 new message. I must have gotten used to not seeing any new message in my inbox lately that I almost missed out on that new bold alert indicating that I did have 1 new incoming message.

I was hoping this wasn't just some misrouted email or junk mail as I patiently waited for the page to load.

Then, there it was. I saw the short but sweet note that presented itself on my laptop screen.

just wanted to let u know we love your shirts :)

xoxo
maureen and marnelli pearson

This was a note from the twin-singers (from the USA) who graced the opening of Chains last July 8. They sang energetically that night and they were also two of those who walked the ramp during the fashion show.

Aw, this is really flattering. What a testament for Tee'licious - this note with their pics too. How sweet is that?

Fit to a Tee - Our One Day of Fame

Last Saturday, exactly a week ago today, started at a slow steady pace that later built up to a crazy crescendo. The make-up artists, Bernard Miaga and Charles Lao, were at the Banilad Town Center earlier than the appointed 9am. Impressive, considering that most people these days are so used to being "fashionably" late. Hehe. At 9am, Jerry and I came rushing to the parking lot to get ready to meet them and wait for the models to arrive.

Not too long after, SJ Quiteves, of Ad Models Phils, joined the group at Postrio to wait for the rest to arrive. Mamarazzi and I had coffee as I exchanged text messages with Sunstar's fashion editor, Mae Manacap, who was rushing on her way. Royce Acebu, owner of Chains, was there. Nikki Tan of Tamn bags for Tee'licious looked like a model herself when she walked in Postrio to join us. The customary greetings and introductions ensued. Yes, except for Nikki and Royce, it was a first-time meeting for everyone else.

From Postrio, we all sauntered back to Chains to get everything started. Being a neophyte at fashion foto shoots, I found myself a bit lost in all the prepping up of the outfits. There were a few hits and misses as we tried to mix and match our tees and bags with the other stalls' skirts, cargoes or shorts. Ay, you should have seen me and Nikki running around like headless chickens trying to come up with different looks - corporate, party, casual, hip, etc. The tees and bags were literally flying off the shelves and onto the lean bodies of our models.

Mae initially wanted 5 sets of outfits for the models SJ and Karina Gajudo, but in the course of all of the running around etcetera, it was down to just 4.

The locales where we had the shoot were in front of Pod5 and Postrio, and inside Cagnaan and Nice Things. SJ and Karina were lovely and they actually fit the image that we wanted to project. They gamely posed for the cams. They smiled, pouted, and gave dreamy, naughty, sexy looks. I was an instant fan and a paparazzi at the same time. Although not as good as well-known fotog, Alex Badayos of Sunstar, I had fun taking photos of the shoot myself. Hoo-ha!

The whole whirlwind of activities lasted up to 1pm. By then, everyone else was starting to look exhausted, and famished, and parched... The Sunstar team deemed they already had enough materials for the feature and finally called a pack-up.

Today, a week later, I bought my copy of Sunstar and turned to the fashion page. There they were, the lovely models in our yummy colored Tee'licious tees and bags, in two pages, splashed in full color!



Then the flurry of last Saturday's fashion foto shoot came rushing back. It was definitely all worth it!