I am a person who hates the beach and the sun! Or should i say, i'm not a nature freak. If one would ask me to choose between being outdoors or stay in my room and watch TV, I would not think twice and say that I prefer the latter. I don't really have a concrete reason why I hate the outdoors but what I do know is that I don't want to get a dark complexion (AYOKONG UMITIM). So when my ex-boss told me that she's giving her 1 week accomodations to me in Puerto Galera, I wasn't that excited. I told my friends about it at home and they suddenly started planning what to bring and of course the wardrobes that needed to be bought ASAP. They were both excited and in panic.. believe me.. a very bad combination. All the more I hated the whole plan since I would need to spend the holy week with a bunch of partiphiles.. hhhhmmm... a bunch of party people.. interesting.. next thing I knew, I started checking out my closet for possible beach attires. Uh-oh, i need to shop! the only thing I could bring were a few shorts and shirts. I don't have boardshorts, sandos and some polos that I could wear during those wild parties. I wouldn't want to look stupid! So i listed the things that I needed to buy and started doing my "wardrobe plan". Four nights and 5 days.. whew.. challenging! I finally confirmed with my ex-boss and the things were finalized. Great!

"kodakan sa bangka moment"

WELCOME TO "TEMPTATION ISLAND"!!

After another 1 1/2 hours, we finally saw Puerto Galera White Beach a.k.a. "Temptation Island"! After 3 years, I was finally back! Nothing has changed really except for some new structures brought about by "progress" but all in all, still the same galera I saw last 2002. From the boat, we went straight to the hotel, left our things in the room then decided to take an afternoon stroll. It was interesting to see some old faces too. One of them is Ivan, who did my henna tattoo during my last visit. He was there and still doing the same thing, still very funny and is now a buff who looks like Usher. I decided to get myself a tattoo again (that's what anyone in the beach like right?). I didn't want the typical chinese characters that everyone gets, so I decided to go for this weird-looking creature with several eyes. I dunno why I chose it though. Maybe because I wanted to have more eyes so i could check out more people.. hehehehe!! Susan got her tongue pierced. Gross! But whatever makes her happy! And boy was she happy! After "violating" our sacred bodies, we went to a bar and ordered the island's most popular drink which is the mindoro sling. It had this orangy taste with some gin or something in it but boy did it make us tipsy. As early as 9pm, I was beginning to feel different already... hehehe!

Unang Gabi: I GOT RAYNED!!

Since we started drinking early, we decided to head to dreamland earlier than usual but I couldn't since i was too starved. Problem with being with two girls is that you tend not to eat which during that time was not an option for me. I didn't to die of hunger! I decided to buy hotdog which was  surprisingly cheap and while waiting for it, I noticed someone interesting in the bar. He was actually alone drinking a beer and smoking (looked a bit bored). I'm not really sure what went into my head but I found the courage to approach him and asked if I could join him (this is so unusual for me). Thankfully, he said yes.. HE WAS SO CUTE!! I found out that he works at ABS-CBN as a field reporter and he used to work for RMH. It was kinda weird since he was with Showbiz#1 (he was freeking straight.. darn!) but he clarified that he was doing this because he needed to save up for Law school. It's seldom that I get to meet a person who's drop dead gorgeous at the same time very witty and hindi mayabang. Perfect.. uuuuhhhmm.. di pala.. not perfect since he was straight.. gggggrrrr!! pero atleast there are still sensible straight guys for the ladies.. he's been all over the country and love's surfing.. we chatted for about an hour then he decided to head back to his room to catch up with some sleeep because he had to wake-up early the next day 'coz he was taking the first trip of the island. We exchanged numbers and he went off. I went to my room with a smile on my face. Whew! I was thinking of him the whole night. It was like having a crush when I was in high school.. puppy love kung baga... i knew it was impossible for something to happen but i don't mind. hehehehe... baduy!! Last thing i remember, I slept with a smile on my face. I GOT RAYNED!

It was a relatively nice weekend for me. I had a chance to finally relax! Well.. sort of! It was still busy since I had to do lot of things but not my typical (typical would be me asking on a Sunday why I wasted two rest days without doing anything productive). I woke up at 11:00 am Saturday which was not part of my plan but I had to do some chores at home. I needed to clean my room and sort my laundry (with emphasis on the former since I discovered that there were some "wild" organisms roaming around the room and with just a few plants and trees, I'd probably think I was in a jungle). So that ate practically 3 hours of my precious weekend time. Susan decided to be extra sweet that day and decided to cook lunch for me and Lhoi and she did cook a hearty meal! YUM! After lunch, I decided to head to the gym since I really needed to work on some muscles since I was going to the beach. Well, for someone who hates the beach (I really do, I swear!), the least I could do is to look good. hehehe! I tried working on my shoulders and my tummy which I believe is hopeless. I had so much fun since we were the only people at the gym which was unusual for a Saturday afternoon when most of the residents were usually at home. After two hours, we decided to go to the pool to burn more calories. i tried to dip in the pool but I was too weak to move. So i decided to go to the sauna instead. I just love our building because of all the perks that we get! The trip to the steam room was something I looked forward to when I was still a member of Fitness First because I knew that I could detoxify. An hour at the sauna was so relaxing! Then we decided to head to the house since we were supposed to go to Greenhills to buy some beach stuff. So off we went to the "Mekka of Immitations". As usual, the mall was packed again! I did see some stuff that I got interested in but nothing really special. I did end up buying a new "Nike" sandals though. Perfect for the sand! After a few more minutes of fitting all sorts of stuff, we decided to grab a bite. Spaghetti, chicken lollipop and pizza. Yum! Just what we needed.. CARBO OVERLOAD! I miss hanging out with these girls. Our friendship goes along way back but we still manage to make each other laugh. Our day at the Mekka ended as soon as we finished our last serving of chicken lollipop. I had to be home at 6:30 also since I needed to prepare for my "date" with Nanay Teena. I had to meet her at 8:30 at the Shang but I did have a few more stuff to do at the mall so I decided to go there ealier. Firs stop, Bench because I still needed another top and their new summer collection was relatively ok but unfortunately, when I checked the store, i didn't see anything worth buying. So I went to Smart to my bill. This is one thing I hate doing but that day was different since the Customer Service Associate informed me that Smart's going to give me a new phone. It was choice between a Nokia 6610i and a SE K500i. I checked the features and despite the fact that the latter had more pixels, i still opted for the former since it had a radio feature. I always to have a phone with that feature but i never intended to buy a new unit. So i got really excited that I could get one now or should I say soon since they need to get the form approved. Well, i'll just have to wait for it then.


At exactly 8:30, Nanay picked me up and off we went to Bagaberde. It was great to see her again. Last time I saw her was last December which meant that we had to be in superhyper mode so we could talk about the 200 million things we were supposed to "make" kuwento about (Nay, this is so coño, it's like parang, you know.. kinda.. uuhhhmmm.. hahaha!). She also gave me her Christmas gift and the Akafellas photo. Thanks Nay!

Performers for that night were Wency Cornejo (who I swear was so GAY but sounded really good), the Akafellas and South Border. I was so glad to watch the boys again. It was refreshing to bump into them as well. Robi looks really "lean" now. And as usual, Myke amazed me again with his beatboxing. Whew! That guy's not human! I also heard new songs which was good of course but I did appreciate hearing my usual Akafellas' tunes. It was a great gig and boy was I glad that I decided to go out. Oh, by the way, we also watched South Borders' set and they actually sang "Wherever you Are"! Oh my GOD! I love that song so much! Hearing it sang live brought me to Cloud 9. Since we were both tired and sleepy, we decided to call it a night at 1:30 (quite unusual for me since I usually enter BED at 1:00 on a regular Saturday night). At 2:30, I was already asleep.

Sunday. As usual, I was my lazy self. I decided to go to Robinson's Place to buy the sando that I lack plus another shorts. This Gallera trip was becoming really expensive!! But hey, to my surprise, I was able to buy shorts at a very low price and I liked it so much. After roaming around the mall, I still couldn't find the right sando, so I decided to go to the Podium. I dropped by Speedo and there it was, the Perfect Sando smiling at me like it was saying, "BUY ME! YOU DESERVE ME!" So the shopaholic person that i am listened to that voice! This was the last thing i'm buying for the trip, i told myself. Whew! TOO MUCH! I went to megamall to eat at KFC but apparently the stall at Building A is no longer there. Ggggrrr!! I was actually imagining the chicken already! Anyway, I noticed that there was a mini-concert. So i checked it out and guess what? SOUTH BORDER was performing. Thanks to my height I didn't have a hard time seeing them, although, come to think of it, i didn't really need to see them, i just wanted them to sing my fave song again.. and they did! Wherever you are, once again folks! I was actually smiling on my way home!

Last day of the week.. YES! It was a tough week for me because of all the stuff that I needed to accomplish. Plus the fact that my counterpart, the BIATCH (she likes being called that), decided to take a week leave because she had to spend time with her closest friends in Boracay. How could I even say no to someone who has been feeling stressed and burnt-out since last year? And she adores the beach.. so for her own sanity, i said yes (not that i really had a choice). She dropped by yesterday and i was glad that she did have so much fun.

With the job that I have, pressure is something I eat for breakfast to power me up (i don't get death threats, thankfully).. Every week, my team recruits an average of 36 to 54 people and getting people for a contact center such as PeopleSupport is no easy fete. Aside from our high standards, we also need to worry about a lot of other factors. With the pool that we have right now, we're still lucky that we hit our targets. That's why I'm proud of my team. This team is amazing. A bunch of smart people who can work independently and boy can they make things happen. A "well-oiled machine" some people call the eRep Recruitment Team. Although we experience a few bumps as a team, we try as much as possible to work things out. I know there are so many things that I still need to learn in being a good supervisor but I'm trying. Dealing with 13 different personalities is not exactly that easy, but I know that eventually, things will be a whole lot better..

Getting back to the week that was, aside from me being alone, I had to make sure that we hit our targets for the travel account. The week started with me having a mindset that we will need to hire a lot of reps in the next three weeks (Holy Week included). I knew it was impossible but it just had to be done. I even cancelled my vacation plans for the Holy Week (i planned to go on leave for a week also.. Revenge of the BADS!) but I just felt that since I was the point person for this account, I couldn't leave the team in the middle of the fight. So I cancelled my plans and decided to just stay here in the Metro. If I had to report for work next Thursday or Friday, I would do so in the name of TARGETS! Thankfully, the ramp meeting that I attended with Management last Wednesday was generous with miracles... our targets were significantly lessened. Nice thing is, we're almost done with the targets for the next three weeks! GREAT!!

So I started to relax a bit yesterday. But the euphoria of triumph over targets was shortlived when another officer had to meet my team and now we're asked to help out (which is supposedly my team's job anyway) in the recruitment of reps for another travel account which requires hard core travel experience and technical exposure. Whew! And all of them should start on April 25. Also included is another big class for the same account but with less complicated profile. We have a month to hire all these people. Atleast, the next 4 weeks will not be boring as I expected it to be.


After all of these, I received a text message from my ex-boss from San Miguel that she's not going to use her hotel accomodations at Puerto Gallera and that I could have it. A one-week stay for free! Cool! At first I was apprehensive since I was trying not to spend too much because I'm saving up for something.. plus of course the fact that I HATE THE SUN! Yes, i simply hate being under the sun. AYOKONG UMITIM! heheheh! But the "party animal" in me got all excited and the next thing I knew, I was checking my closet for possible outfits.. gggrrr... i don't have my boardshorts anymore.. plus, i need some new shirts.. hhhmmm .. should i go? well, i'll probably use them in the future anyway if i decide to buy. And i need to go to the GYM!! I just hate my tummy! So i confirmed to my boss that I was going and started to invite some friends to join me. I got so excited, I had a hard time putting myself to sleep. Of course, eventually I found myself traversing in dreamland!

OT: My cousin from Bicol is sleeping over with his wife at my place tonight. He also plans to go out tonight which means that i'm stucked and i need to bring them somewhere.. gggrrr.. i actually have plans to join another EB with akakadas but I guess i'm going to take a rain check (again!! im really sorry). but i could still hang-out with nanay teena tomorrow night at Bagaberde. I miss hanging out with her and watching the boys. I'm sure, 200 million kuwento na naman yan! So i'll just watch the Fellas tomorrow night instead.

I'm just so happy that I will have atleast two days to relax. A get together with my PS batchmates on Sat, watch the Akafellas and bond with nanay teena, work-out and prepare for a beach trip.. whew.. relax.. hhhmm..But, THANK GOD IT'S BIYERNES!