i am officially a groupie.

call me a fangirl, a groupie, or whatever you want. i personally prefer ''drummer's girl" though. :)

check out the band's latest video here <3

10 in 2010

after months and months of leaving this blog untouched, i finally have the time - and the motivation - to write again. probably because 2010 just ended and i definitely could not let it pass by undocumented. 2010 has been a huge year for me. it was all about, in a word, CHANGE. and here are, in no particular order, the major changes that have occurred for me this year:

1. the change in CAREER.

2010 was the year i finally, FINALLY took the plunge and left the fun but crazy stressful world of media to start over as an international civil servant.

2. the change in WORK HOURS.

subsequent to the change in career, my work hours also changed drastically. after almost 5 years in an industry where working til at least 7pm was the norm and overnight stays at the office happened every now and then, i am now able to have occasional days of leaving my desk at 5:30pm on the dot, as long as i'm in ortigas by 8:30am (i tend to stay til 7pm though. force of habit i guess).

3. the change in WORK LOCATION.

the new job also came with a change in work location. having worked in makati ever since graduation, the move to ortigas was also challenging in the sense that it was farther and harder to commute to and from. but it was an adjustment that wasn't too hard to make because the new office is right in the middle of three malls and right beside the MRT. much more convenient than working in salcedo village.

4. the change in CAR.

i've been eyeing the 2010 honda city since it came out in 2009 but never really thought of actually buying it until our car started acting up in january. luckily, things fell into place and my mom and i were able to get the new city the week before i started my new job... and it definitely erased my concerns about having to commute to ortigas.

5. the change in PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES.

this april, i joined the yoga club at the office and committed to attending yoga classes around 1-2x a week. i was able to sustain it until the end of november.

and after years of not playing basketball on a court (timezone basketball does not really count), i started playing again around september. monday became my regular basketball day, and i got to appreciate having another form of exercise aside from the regular body combat classes that i attended on saturdays.

6. the change in FAMILY AFFAIRS.

after 6 years in the US, my dad came back home last june. it's great to have him back, although i feel like i've kinda lost all the independence i've had when both my parents were in the US. but still, it's nice to be an almost-complete family again.

7. the change in DIET.

one of my new year's resolutions for 2010 was to not eat rice on weekdays. was pretty much able to sustain it, except during the past week (christmas season!) and on days when i didn't have much of a choice. i was also able to sustain my 2009 resolution of not drinking softdrinks, unless they come with rum or vodka. :p unfortunately, i've upped my coffee intake to 3-4x a day (from 2-3x a day previously).

8. the change in FREQUENCY OF BONDING WITH FRIENDS.

early in 2010 i started thinking that i should meet up more with my friends, even those i haven't seen in a long time. i'm glad that i was still able to be in touch and hang out with friends from both the first and second media agencies, plus high school and college friends (visited haze in singapore last august too Ü), while trying to adjust to the new job and the new location.

my 2010 planner was highly maximized with all the lunches, dinners, drinks, coffee dates, and even thursday breakfasts scheduled. it was somewhat time-consuming, but i'd say it was definitely time that was well-spent. :)

9. the change in RELATIONSHIP STATUS.

probably one of the bigger changes this year, if not the biggest. after 3 years and 7 months with mark... i'm back to being single. i won't be going into the details, but at least we're friends. at least i hope that's what we are.

10. the change in ATTITUDE.

the last quarter of 2010 had me really thinking about a lot of things. twice this year i've gone away on a retreat -- once in november, and another in december, just 2 weeks apart.

the november "retreat" was self-imposed. i went to tagaytay by myself for a weekend of me-time, spent in absolute silence. i've never done this before, and it was actually nice to spend some time with just a book, my planner/journal, and my thoughts. this getaway was actually able to help me realize some stuff that i needed to do... stuff that i've been thinking about for weeks on end. and it also made me realize that sometimes, you really just have to spend time alone.

the december retreat lasted for 3 days. the last retreat i've been on was in high school (10 years ago), and it wasn't the kind of retreat that i remember -- with group sharing and crying and palanca letters and all that. it was a silent kind of retreat, spent in prayer and meditation. so even though i had a friend (who just happened to be recently single herself) to share the experience with, i had a lot of time to think and pray, and pray some more. probably more than i've ever had in my life. after the retreat, i felt renewed and at peace with myself.

with all the changes from 2010, i hope and pray that these will lead to a better, brighter future. so 2011, i'm ready for you. bring it on!

yo, yoga

today marks 2 months since i started at my 3rd job. though i'm much busier during the day, i do get to go home earlier than i used to when i was in media. scratch that -- i do get to leave the office earlier... i can't really go home early because ortigas is farther from my house than makati, plus the traffic during rush hour is way too terrible. so i usually just wait until traffic winds down -- by meeting up with mark, going bowling (once a week), staying at the office (chaka)... and my latest attempt at 'exercise' -- doing yoga :)

i've only tried it 3 times so far, but i think i've started to become a bit more flexible already. and amazingly, i can contort my body pala even though the instructor had to adjust my poses a few times. the most difficult pose i've done so far is this one:

it was pretty tough, so right now my muscles are aching and my back is sore. but i'm looking forward to a stronger core, better posture, and hopefully a healthier self :)

*can i just say, april is the deadline of my 6-month goal (placing in a bowling tournament) -- and that goal is bust. boo me. guess i really should just keep playing for fun.*

a month to be grateful for

it's been quite a while since i last had the chance to blog... simply because A LOT of stuff went on in the past month. it's been a crazy, crazy period -- with the following highlights:

feb 7. watched rent with my dugong family from media.

feb 12-14. zamboanga trip with mark. 3rd vday weekend out of town =)

got to see PINK SAND!

feb 16. got bailey. =)

but thank you, black city, for 7 wonderful years of service. i miss you.

feb 19. last day in media.

feb 22. first day as an international civil servant.

march 3. mark and i got new toy -- which i'm using now to write this blog entry =)

march 10. met my brother's girlfriend of more than a year for the 1st time

...without my brother around to introduce her to me.

interspersed with one-on-one lunches and talks over coffee (with friends i haven't talked to in a while), crazy conversations over wine and cheese, margaritas, and more wine and cheese (with the media friends who i miss so much), as well as lounging by the pool/ in the hot tub while eating to our hearts' content (with my extended family) -- it's also been a month of bonding with friends and family.

the past month has been far from perfect, but the good stuff definitely outweighed the bad. for every trial i encountered, there was something wonderful in return. God has just been so good. thank You so, so much. =)

media memories, part 2

the brands/accounts i've handled over the course of five years... and two of my favorite projects. :)

media memories, part 1

just some of the craziest things i had to do that weren't really part of my job, but i did them anyway (whisper and mcdo were never my accounts, and i never expected that i'd have to represent my company in a singing competition. crazy.)

my media swan song

click here for a chance to win the new nokia 5230. =) thanks mo!

tim yap also has a similar promo; follow him here =)