February - Hearts Day at Work

This month I will not be going out of town. My calendar suggests that I go out with college friends within Manila since one of our friends from the States is coming over for a short visit but on top of that our company also had its Valentine celebration which will be my highlight for this month's blog.

Club GXS had its Valentine’s Day special with the theme “Your Heart, My Song.” They organized different activities to make GXS employees feel that love is indeed in the air:  

-          They made it easier for our employees to get a present for their loved ones through their Valentine’s Day Merchandise, which was made available at very reasonable prices.  There were of course the usual flowers, bears, chocolates and cupcakes- simple gifts that can make everyone smile.

-          Nothing beats a love note written on paper with You’ve Got Mail: Delivered to you Straight from the Heart. Employees had a chance to write the words “I love you” on Valentine’s cards and sweep their girlfriends/ boyfriends off their feet.                                            

-          What better way to show your being a certified Don Romantico aside from poetry and songs? Club GXS brought this alive with the good old classic “Harana,” a Filipino tradition in which men sing while their lady love listens and looks at them from the balcony. There was no balcony though and it was not under the moon light. Club GXS formed a group who went around different workstations to serenade some of our employees.  It was lovely to once again hear those ‘80s love songs and to watch the expressions of some of our colleagues when they see the singing group approach them.

January - Laguna's Enchanted Kingdom

Enchanted Kingdom is Philippines' version of Disneyland and Universal Studios.  It is located in Sta. Rosa Laguna just an hour drive from Makati. 

It was January 14th, Saturday after my shift.  My co-workers decided to spend the day at Enchanted Kingdom.  Since our shift ends at 6 am, we tried to kill time by having breakfast first at Mcdonald's Valero.  We headed to Joy's mansion in San Pedro Laguna right after so we can have some rest.  The plan is to go to EK after lunch.  For lunch, we had Shakey's bunch of lunch delivered. 

After lunch we took a few photos at Joy's place since they really have a nice family house and then she drove us to Enchanted Kingdom.  We didn't expect that huge crowd that day.  The parking space is vast yet full of buses from different provincial schools having their field trips.

When we got there, it was almost 4pm already and we looked for the nearest possible ride that we could have.  The lines are really long so we ended up lining up for bump cars.  We stayed on the line for almost an hour right before we could have our turn.  But even if it took us so long to ride the cars and bump each other.  We still enjoyed each minute that we were on it.  It feels like going back to childhood.

And now we are ready to get wet.  Next on our line up is the Jungle Log Jam.  It's a ride were you ride a log that passes through a trail that goes up and down and of course theres water on the side so you won't really escape getting wet.  Jenny was scared of taking such ride and good thing that she was able to overcome it.

We wanted to try other rides too but due to lack of time and the long lane we just took what are available and has a short lane.  The next ride wont really seem thrilling for adults like us because it's like riding a regular swing but since the people that I was with are really fun-loving and up for anything we enjoyed the Flying Fiesta as well.  I was praying hard that the facility wont give and that nobody gets hurt since it just came from a minor repair.

We also stopped in some souvenir shops and bought some trinkets for my nieces and nephew and for Cyndee's baby.  I got cute pens, a cellphone accessory, coloring books and some toys that when soaked in water will become big and sticky.  To bad we didn't get a chance to watch Journey to the center of the Earth in Rialto because we were time constraint.

Finally, our much awaited ride that has the longest line ever in EK is the Rio Grande Rapid.  I think it took us more than an hour to take our turn.  We were even able to watch the fireworks from outside while waiting for our turn.  Well it was worth the wait since almost everybody got wet and it was really fun.

Introduction

They say that if your feet has a mole, you won't stay in one place alone.  Well that's not true to all.  I don't have a mole on my feet but I can't stand a month without seeing a new place and experiencing a life from such beauty.  I guess it's not the mole, its the strong desire to grow and understand how things are that surround you make each life story rich and colorful.

For 2012, I have conquered some beautiful places in the Philippines and around Asia and I'll be glad to share my experiences to all.