Out and About

Sorry for the long absence. Let's just say I've been living my life instead of blogging about it. So many new developments so here's my update.

• Stamps - Got some free stamps from Peter Elias and traded Philippine stamps for Netherlands stamps with Hans Engelfriet. Thanks guys! Also found a shop at Tiendesitas which sells the kind of stamp albums that I like. Got to save up for those!


• Coins - Finally organized my world coins in the coin albums I bought from National Bookstore. Although I'm not sure if they're PVC-free. They're probably not so my coin collector friend will probably scold me if he finds out about this.


• Postcards - Still active in Postcrossing. I've already sent out 49 postcards and received 41.

Good Tidings

Today I am going to count my blessings just because finally, I feel that my prayers are being heard. The first quarter of the year has passed by so quickly and as I reflect back, I realize that I have so much to be thankful for already in the past three months.

1. Career. Take a look at the update I've made at this post (striked through items 1 & 2) and you'll know what I'm thankful about with regards to my career. Yes, I've been promoted, and although I don't have my own parking space, it's as good as having one already coz I can now reimburse my parking fees. After 8 years in the IT industry, I am finally at the senior level. I could have reached this level sooner but by jumping companies almost every year for several years, I missed out on my promotions. Well no regrets; I have learned from all the companies I have been to and I'm happy where I am now. It's just too bad that my promotion didn't translate to a substantial increase (last year's merit increase was even higher in terms of percentage, compared to what I got now) because upper management changed (thus budget policies also changed). But I did get an additional benefit of insurance coverage so that's still something to be thankful about. Also, our bonuses will be given out next payday so that gives me peace of mind about my upcoming condo annual payment. It's still short of what I need but I'm sure I'll be able to find ways to procure the remaining amount.

For the past two days

• I've been feeling sick because it rained over the weekend and there were several times I was caught by the rain without an umbrella. It also did not help that the temperature is freezing cold in the office so my colds only got worse.


• I've been backing up my files and reinstalling my laptop. I know some people who enjoy reformatting their PCs but I'm not one of those. It just so happened that I couldn't fix my network connection (due to the VPN software I installed and uninstalled and reinstalled) so I was left with no other choice but to reformat.

So what's my point? It's that the past two days hasn't been fun for me.

World of Microsoft

Sorry for not posting for the past few weeks. Aside from the hectic project schedule, my pc got hit by trojans and malwares so I had to do a reinstall. I even seriously considered using Fedora for my OS instead of Windows XP. Unfortunately, most tools we use at the office are Microsoft-based so moving to Linux would be more of a hassle than a relief.

Watch my weight

140. For a 5'2" female, that's just slightly overweight. But try putting that in the Filipino context and that already translates to a Large size for a blouse and a pair of jeans with a waistline measurement bordering on the number of days on a calendar.

7 years of toil

I almost forgot about it yesterday until my high school barkada texted me and greeted me a "Happy April 10 day!" April 10 signifies the first day we entered the workforce; and this year, we're celebrating our 7th anniversary. I can still remember it clearly (this is a good sign, right? hehe): fresh out of college and raring to try it out in the real world, we trooped to Bohol Mansions at Sgt. Esguerra Ave. to start our first day in ABSi. We were excited and we didn't know what to expect. Finally, we opened the door and I was in awe, "So this is what a dotcom startup company looks like!"

There were four of us who started on that same day. The other two, I believe, are still with ABSi. My hs barkada and I have moved elsewhere. She went to teach at our high school and I've jumped from company to company until I've finally settled here at RosettaNet.

Who knows what might still happen for the four of us? The future lies ahead. But still, it is nice to look back every once in while and reminisce about the good 'ole times :)