I'm not going to write about condemning the acts of Iglesia ni Cristo because I'm not fully aware on what they were fighting for. (Note to self: Watch news and be more socially/politically aware). I must know all the details first before I can say that what they were doing are nonsense. But for the past days, traffic was really crazy!!! I regularly pass by EDSA but good thing I was with boyfriend last Friday and he knows an alternative route. Payday Friday + Long weekend + Rain + Rally = Hellish traffic. I always rant about how unproductive my days were due to bad traffic. Time spent stuck in the road could have been spent with families and friends. And when I read the story below... ugh! I was actually frustrated beyond words. Seriously?!?! Hanggang kelan may madadamay na inosenteng mamamayan dahil sa mga kaguluhan na nangyayari?!? Mga kapatid from INC, pwede bang idaan na lang sa mas maayos na usapan ang pinaglalaban niyo?? Kelan ba aaksyon ang gobyerno tungkol dito??!? Hays. Sometimes, I feel like this country is hopeless. :( I'm still praying (and hoping) for love and peace to prevail.

:)

Last Saturday, Marion dropped me off at BSA Towers because I attended my friend's bridal shower. After ten minutes, he called me up just to check how I was doing. I'm actually kinikilig when Marion does that -- it's as if hindi kami magkikita after. So my friends were teasing me, "Ano ba yan, kakahiwalay lang, namiss agad ang isa't isa." I told them "Sorry naaaaa. We're so cling-gy ehh. Ganun talaga pag inlab. 'Lam niyo naman mga minutes lang mahiwalay sakin yun, namimiss ko na agad yun. Lol" So when I was asked by my friends why it didn't take a long time before I found my soulmate after "the MAJOR heartbreak", here's my answer:

It didn't take much time because I did not wallow on letting my heart rest. Love never runs out, you know? It's one thing that the more you give away, that more will come back to you. So I never really closed my doors to love -- well, at some point I tried closing it but after 6 months I realized that it's useless. In my previous heartbreaks, I practically closed my heart to anyone for more than a year. I played the dating game but never really took anyone seriously. And I figured out, I'm missing a lot. So when I experienced yet another heartbreak (and the most painful one at that), I tried my best to get over it fast. I practically went through hell just to get over it and I thought 'Why would I waste my time feeling sorry for myself when there's so many people out there who are willing to accept the love that I have to give? It shouldn't be my loss because I'm the one who loved. :)

I think my friends were really inspired with my love stories. Hahaha! I should try writing a book about it. According to them, ako na daw ang may makulay na lovelife lagi. Wahaha! Ngayon naniniwala na sila na gf/wife material ako kasi ang swerte daw ni Marion sakin. Grabe laaaang! Ngayon lang talaga sila naniwala. I think swerte naman talaga kami sa isa't isa. Hihi :)

I don't find happiness. I create it.
(gusto ko lang may selfie na kasama sa post bakeeeeet baaa wahahaha!)

Back to school!!!

Because today is my first day of class... coming from a 4-month vacation. This is it!!! 2 terms to go and I'm done with Grad school.

Strama... please be kind to me. Huhuhuhahaha

Fully Avon-nized!

I really don't know how to start my blog on the things that happened last week. I think it deserves a long post because for one, I've survived one year in the company. Hooray! I think it's just apt to write about it. However, a lot of people think that I've been more than a year with Avon. As what they always joke about, 1 Avon year is equivalent to 5 human years. Lol. Also, of all the jobs that I had, this job made me feel stressed, happy, fulfilled, tired, frustrated, excited and sad all at the same time. This job is the closest thing to what I really wanted to do. Although the job still requires a lot of Math & Analytics (and I really hate least like Math and Analytics), this job makes me connect with people. If my ultimate complaint in my previous jobs is that I only interact with my computer, this job makes me communicate to people of all levels and that makes it more interesting.

So what happened last week? I remember posting a picture with a caption "I can't adult today. Please don't make me adult" last Monday because last week was a busy (and busy is an understatement) week. We were able to execute not just one event but six events in 4 days. Preps were done months before but it seemed like we were never ready. Things/decisions were made up to the last minute.

I remember a month ago during the August events kick off meeting when we were given our tasks... I was tasked to lead the Field Team Conference (FTC) AND the Recognition Night. In previous years, two individuals would lead separately the two events. But I was given those two. I remember rolling my eyes 360 degrees back then and I was like, "WTH? Seriouuussslyyy?! and this is on top of my 'daily' workload which I cannot handle anymore". I was tired. I was working overtime even on weekends. And tired/busy is an understatement. There were even times that I was already getting sick because of stress. And I wanted to give up. Work life balance is very important to me and this job doesn't give me that. I'm on the verge of quitting. Personally, handling those two events should be an easy peasy work for me (heck, I love coordinating events) but what really annoys me are the challenges that I have to bear while doing it -- decision makers are indecisive and sometimes most of the times fickle, even the menial tasks needs to be approved (case in point, it took more than a week for a powerpoint template -- yes, just the template -- to be approved) and even things were already approved, in a snap of finger, decisions were altered just because. Add to the fact, the processes were not clear and orderly. 

So the pre-production was really a hassle. I have to coordinate with the suppliers of our event and they were all rushing me because they cannot finish the script/program flow because the decision makers were constantly changing their minds. As iiiiiiin. Just to give an example, for the Recognition Night we all agreed to have 9 models. Agreement was done since July -- I have already picked who the 9 models are and already informed them of the rehearsals. Last Tuesday, together with the suppliers, we already had the rehearsals with the models. After the rehearsals, I talked with the senior managers and told them rehearsals were already done and showed them the scripts to be read during the catwalk. Lo and behold! Suddenly, they thought of having 15 models instead of 9. My thought bubble was like, "Talaga??!Magdadagdag tayo ng models? At talagang ngayon kung kelan 1 AM na, magpapatawag ako ng additional models?!? At talagang ngayon kung kelan tapos na ang rehearsal at tapos na ang scripts at ang powerpoint?? TALAGA NGAYON NYO NAIISIP YAN KUNG KELAN BUKAS NA ANG EVENT???" I really wanted to faint. It's like they really want to do the impossible. I don't know how I managed it, but I was able to pull it through. We HAD 15 models. There were also moments like while the event is ongoing, we are revising the scripts/flows of the program. NAKAKALOKA. I think this job, if not for anything, made me really really really flexible... and patient. 

I was tasked to handle only two events but in the end, I handled 4 events! The SCO Meeting in the morning and Recognition Night were held last Wednesday. Field Team Conference and Chillax Night were held last Thursday. I was only able to breathe last Friday. Sadly, we don't have a holiday because we had our National Sales Convention on Saturday so last minute preparations were done on Friday. Plus, I also had to check the Division Breakouts and had to distribute the giveaways/food stubs last Friday to the different Function Rooms where the Field Team were doing their Division meetings. Feeling ko kabisado ko na lahat ng Function rooms sa EDSA Shangrila by heart dahil nakailang pabalik balik ako. Hahaha!

Tuesday: During our pre-production meeting with EDSA Shangrila. I was able to meet the big bosses of  Shang & they were all nice!

Day 1 (Wednesday): Sales and Channel Ops Meeting at Isla Ballroom, EDSA Shangrila

Day 1: with my very hardworking staff 

During rehearsals of the models - right after the SCO meeting and an hour before the Recognition Night

my only picture during Reco Night (blurred pa haha!). Thanks Via for lending me your dress and for the quick meet up at the Fort last Tuesday. Haha! Wala na kasi akong panahon talaga maghanap ng damit. :)

Day 2: Field Team Conference at Garden Ballroom, EDSA Shangrila Hotel

 We had Jim Paredes as our guest speaker

Day 2 OOTD lol

Hosting for Avon TV...Dream come true lol (and I've always dreamed of becoming a courtside reporter back in college haha!)

interviewing Georgina Wilson 

To tell you the truth, this post is not about the rants on how tiring/draining my job was. Because in all honesty and sincerity, I loved doing it because of the fulfillment it brings. I learned A LOT of things -- from coordinating to different suppliers and to being OC even to the smallest details. I was able to interact with the Field Team from Wednesday to Friday. But on Saturday, I was able to meet the Avon Ladies -- the ladies who have been working hard and whose lives were touched because of Avon. I volunteered was volunteered to be the host for Avon TV so I was able to interview the Avon ladies as they enter Araneta. And one question that I ask them is, "Bakit kayo proud na part kayo ng Avon?" And they will tell me, "Ay Ma'am dahil sa Avon, napaaral ko anak ko.. napagawa ko bahay namin.. nagkaron ako ng pangkabuhayan, nakaahon kami sa kahirapan etc.." It was so heartwarming to hear. During the event, some Avon ladies would come up to me and say, "Ma'am thank you ah, inalagaan niyo kami dito. Sobrang spoiled kami sa stay namin sa Shang." "Ms. Patty, salamat nag-enjoy kami." "Ma'am, alam niyo kung di dahil sa Avon, di kami makakarating dito.. first time kasi namin magstay sa magandang hotel".. Those lines made me feel warm inside. It made me feel that my job is fulfilling knowing that I was able to help other people in my little ways. It made me remember the reason I told the HR during my interview why I wanted to join Avon -- I wanted a job that can help other people. I know I've been ranting about how tired/frustrated I was because of my job -- I still don't deny that it is tiring and frustrating -- but I'm happy that in some ways, it is rewarding. The sleepless months and stress that came with it, it was somehow worth it. Kakaiba yung feeling pagakatapos ng event...parang "Seriously? Nagawa ko lahat yun?!" I'm also elated that after the FTC and Recognition Night, some members of the Field Team will come up to me and say, "Uy congrats Ms. Pat, ang ganda ng event ngayon ah. Nagenjoy kami." "Congrats Ms. Patty, natapos mo na yung event. We are all happy. Thank you..." Those words... are the things that I just needed to hear para maayos ang sugatan kong puso choz! Hahaha! 

Happy Anniversary to me!

P.S.

I'm going to post about how awesome the El Gamma Penumbra's performance during NASCON. They truly captured the journey of an Avon Lady. Haha! After their performance, I told Jen (my Finance partner), "Friend... ang fulfilling ng work ko. 'Di na muna ko magreresign. Hahahaha! Thanks to El Gamma"

P.P.S.
Thank you to my ever supportive bf who drop by Shangrila just to have a quick dinner date with me. :) I know I've been grumpy for the past week but you've been patient with me. Babawi ako, promise.

From another Patty:

Just because it didn’t work for me personally, doesn’t mean it’s something I don’t believe in. Just because you’ve been divorced, separated, heartbroken, cheated on or single—doesn’t mean you can’t believe in true LOVE right???

I just finished my meeting with Jim Paredes and here are some of the key takeaways from our meeting:

• The saddest reality is wishing you were in another place except the present.
• The reason why most people are unhappy because they are not present in the present.
• Inspire yourself.
• Be accident prone to success.
• God takes care of the quality, you take care of the quantity.
• Where do you get your inspiration?
• Sales people are the most "bugbog" people. They are the ones who should smile all day but have to deliver the results. So where do you get your reason to smile?
• The biggest breakthroughs happen when people know the rules but decided to break it.

And my favorite is: When you love with conditions, you don't get the whole thing.

Yay! I'm excited for his inspirational talk on Thursday. I badly needed to hear one.

Not only for today... but for the week :(

How to Choose a Spouse

1. Choose a consistent person.
2. Choose someone you enjoy talking with because a day will come that beautiful face and body will shift. A day will come, there will be one thing left -- conversations.
3. Choose someone who knows how to laugh at himself/herself and at his/her mistakes.
4. Choose someone who knows how to say sorry.
5. Choose someone who has a greater passion for Jesus than you do. Because when you are down and when you're paralyzed, you need someone to carry you and bring you to Jesus.

Love hurts, but not as much as not loving. :)

You don't have to be great in order to start.

But you have to start in order to be great.

Mondate

Last night, the boyfriend and I tried a new restaurant at the Fort, Shawarma Bros. Boyfriend told me we should try that since one of his officemates is a co-owner of that foodie place. The food is sooooo good! In fact, nabitin ako sa food. I recommend the Lamb/chicken steak rice with keema plate. *drools*

Since I've never been in the Fort for the longest time, I was amazed at how different it looked now. Ang saya saya! Isa na siyang food haven. I think we will be going to BGC more often for our dates. I like dragging boyfriend to places because he is not the type of guy who likes trying something new. 

While having our dinner, he suddenly blurted out, "Ah baby alam ko na!" while clapping his hands. I told him, "Wait, alam ko yan sasabihin mo. Wag ka magsalita." He said, "Oh sige nga, ano sasabihin ko?" "Turtle pie!!!" (I was referring to my favorite cake at Coffee Bean). He was like, "Ba..by... kinikilabutan ako sayo... Pano mo naisip na yun ang sasabihin ko?" I was laughing hard. Actually, I was surprised as well. It just occurred to me that he's thinking of a place where we can have our dessert. "So yun nga talaga iniisip mo? Turtle pie?" He said, "Oo. Yun talaga. Hahaha papakasalan na nga kita. Grabe ka! Pano mo naiisip yun" I said casually, "Mag ingat ka nababasa ko na iniisip mo. Wahahaha!" He asked, "Bat ganyan kayong mga babae? Ang galing niyo magbasa ng isip!" Oh well. Hahaha! But we ended up having a massage at Ton ton instead of eating turtle pie at CBTL.

It's fun finishing each other's sentences. It wasn't the first time it happened and there were also times that he was able to read my mind. Mas madalas nga lang na ako yung magaling bumasa. Hehehe...I've found my soulmate.

Three years ago, one of my HS bestfriends got married and I was her maid of honor. During the reception, I was so busy assisting the guests and sadly, I wasn't able to join the highlight of the reception -- the bouquet throwing. After the event, I told the boyfriend this "I was so busy, too bad I wasn't able to join the bouquet throwing. And besides, I couldn't find you." (He was also invited but I lost sight of him because I'm busy with MOH duties Haha!). He responded, "Don't worry baby, we'll have that in our own wedding. You'll be one throwing the bouquet and I'll be throwing the panty". I was shocked -- "Panty????? Anong panty???" He said as a matter of factly, "Di ba? Yung kinukuha ng groom sa bride tas binabato?". HAHAHA! I almost died. I gave him a lecture on that and he told me he really doesn't pay attention during wedding receptions. Lol. Fiiine. That conversation made me realize that we are not yet ready to get married. C'mon, who wants to get married if your underwear will be thrown during the reception??!!? 

Every time I look at my Facebook newsfeed, it's filled with stories like friends getting engaged, friends getting married, friends giving birth and me getting awesome (lels). A lot of times during reunions, people would ask me "So when are you getting married?" and I most of the time I would answer "In a near distant future." Haha! I believe that before tying the knot, 3 basic things are important:

1. You are getting married for the right reasons.

When my single friends would tell me "Gusto ko na ikasal", I ask them why. It's very important that a person should be marrying for the right reasons. Why bother getting involved with someone for a long period of time? It's like enrolling in a freshman year and not planning to graduate. 

2. You know your partner's dark secrets... and you've accepted it.

My boyfriend's dark secret is... well it's a secret. Lol. But seriously, in any relationship acceptance and compromise are very important. I've read this one in markmanson.net: The artist Alex Grey once said, "True love is when two people's pathologies complement one another's". Love is, by definition, crazy and irrational. And the best love works when our irrationalities complement one another and our flaws enamor one another. It may be our perfections that attract one another but it's our imperfections that decide whether we stay together or not. I think the purpose of love is to practice the loving. No person is going to be a hundred percent perfect anyway, so learn to appreciate people for what they have to offer.

3. You have the funds.

Money is not everything, but I admit that it's important. I'm not talking about the money for the wedding only but for the days after the wedding. Starting a family is not an easy task and being financially stable makes it a little easier.

It's true that when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as possible. And in my case, I want it as soon as possible. I think I'm okay with first two items above and I'm now building 3. 

Kepkep

I sat across Marion at a restaurant last night, looking like a giddy kid who just had her favorite dessert. I felt that I haven't seen him for months, when in fact it's only been days. I've been in an emotional rollercoaster for the past weeks and I needed someone who will see through me and clear my head. So I decided to see my bestfriend. When he saw me, he was tired but he managed to give me a smile. He hugged me and it was the best feeling in the world. He gave me a kiss on the cheek and asked me, "Kumusta?" to which I replied "K lang". He laughed at my reply. He knows I'm not my usual self. When we sat over dinner, I told him that I needed to say something. He looked at me in the eye and listened to everything that I said. I apologized for what I said and he casually replied, "Okay lang yan baby. I understand you." I'm not going into details on everything but after the "talk", I'm back to my (ab)normal self again. Thank you bestfriend for making everything so light and easy for me. You always know what to do. :)

This is soooooo cute... and true :)

Happy Monday!