My Life

Last December 10, we had a company-wide Christmas party at the PTTC.  The theme was Wild Wild West - Celebrate Like No Other.  Good looking guys and pretty gals came in the party all dressed up in their Cowboy and Indian attires. 

The party was euphoric!  The food was great and the program was not dragging as well.  Everyone danced and partied like no other.  The band had 3 sets of non-stop hip-hop and 80’s music.  It was the first time that our company had an attendance of 600+ employees in a Christmas party.

Well, it would’ve been a plus if I won the grand prize of P10,000 cash.  Hahaha! = )

I invite you to take a peek of that exciting and unforgettable Christmas celebration!

Have you found yourself lately begging, wanting for more "time"?  I mean time to do ALL the things that you have to do in the office and at home?  I think I’m in that situation right now.  If only I could buy "time" then I would!

Time to finish stuff at work –  Before going to the office, I plan the things that I’m supposed to do for the day.  But as the day pass by, I find myself doing other things that’s not according to my plan!  That’s simply because there are happenings or things that you should immediately attend to that’s not within your control.  So you end up setting aside the other not so important stuff until you are swamped with pending jobs!  And this really irritates me! (Grrr…)  When things don’t happen as I planned, I get frustrated.  Well, I know you’ll tell me that nothing in this world is predictable.  But what can I do?  I just want things to be organized and in their proper perspective.

More Time for my son and my family –  This is the ultimate reason why I wanted to buy time if I could!!!  Weeknights and weekends are not enough to spend bonding moments with my son.  I guess this is the down side of being a working mom.  You’re not the first one to see his daily achievements.  You just have to be contented hearing from someone or from your home buddies, that he made his first step, he said his first word, how attentive he is when he sees Elmo in Sesame Street, how he follows some actions in the TV commercial, and the list goes on…. 

This also includes more quality time with your partner.  I’m not saying that my hubby and I don’t have quality time together, I just mean that it would be better if there’s more.  Imagine dividing your weekends and weeknights for your son, your partner in life, your relatives and your friends! 

This is how hurried "life" is in this day and age.  Most of us are very career oriented or shall I say, most of us spend most of our time in the office and have to work our butts off because we have to provide for our families!

Well, maybe, we just have to make do with whatever is on our hands.  And make each second, each minute and each hour of our lives worthwhile.

P.S.  I forgot to tell you that I’m creating a new blog courtesy of our Webmaster.  The URL is http://chic.akoniya.com.  And as expected, I still do not have the time to work on this personal project of mine!  Don’t worry, I’ll keep you posted.  I’ll let you know once my new blog is up and running! = ) 

The 8th Philippine Web Awards was held yesterday at the Meralco Theater.  Our company had two bets. SME.com.ph and VMV Hypoallergenics both made it to the finals for Community and Portal and eCommerce categories, respectively.

The whole SME team went there.  Since it’s a Friday, I guess you already know the traffic we hurdled going from Makati to Ortigas!  The awards night was supposed to start at 7pm but as expected, events like this do not start on-time.  It started at 9pm already!!!!  So we sat there at the theater, with our stomachs still empty, our throats dry & thirsty and our hearts beating hard & fast! Waiting and hoping that we’ll win this year’s Best Website for Community and Portal.

The long awaited awards night started.  The first batch of categories were announced and winners were proclaimed.  VMV was among the winners for this batch.  Artjim and Kim, IT officers of VMV, still cannot believe that they won!  They were shaking and nervous even if they already took hold of the trophy and cash prize.

Then the program continued and it’s our time to hopefully be proclaimed.  The Entertainment category comes before Community and Portal.  So when the winner for the Entertainment category was announced, we cannot explain the feeling of anticipation!  It was a mixed feeling because we were happy that VMV won and at the same time nervous because it’s time for the Best Website in our category to be announced.  Finalists’ websites were presented one-by-one.  And after which, the presenter asked for the envelope that contains the name of the winner.  And BOOM!  A different organization was announced as the winner!!!  Our team sat still, clapped our hands and silently accepted that it is still not our time to win.

I immediately saw the very sad look on my boss’ face!  This was his project for 2 years.  We revamped the website not just because of our mission to help the SMEs but because we were also aiming for that award. 

After awhile, we left the theater.  We did not finish the programme because it was late already.  It was 11pm and there are still lots of happenings lined up including the raffle. 

At the lobby, I can still feel how sad my boss was.  He was jumpy and full of excitement before the awarding started.  But this time, he was so serious and quiet.  We went our separate ways and some of my officemates rode with me back to Makati.

While in the car, we all talked about our boss.  We all felt his sadness.  On the other hand, all of us were still happy! = )  And that’s because we did not lose totally.  VMV still won and we were the team who enabled them to become eCommerce capable! 

Oh well, I would just like to think that the brighter side of this is, SME.com.ph can now charge higher for eCommerce enablement because we have a proof of how good we are when it comes to this technology! = ) Haha! More clients would mean more profits for us.

Woohoo! Wireless and I love it!  Thanks to Smart Wi-Fi!  Now, I can access the Internet whenever I want it!  The connection’s pretty fast, truly faster than a dial-up Internet. I hope that it will continue to be this way…

My first post at the comfort of my home…  My apologies for making this short because I’m in the mood to surf and surf til the wee hours of the morning. = )  I just hope that I can still get up early tomorrow for work.  Adios!

I had a full week last week!  Had to attend to some clients’ concerns and assist branch managers regarding the product I’m handling.  But last week was much less hectic and exhaustive than the past few weeks.  You know I actually made this post last Friday, but I think Friendster’s network got haywire that’s why I’m posting it again today.

Well, last Tuesday, my officemates and I had a little chat while having lunch.  One asked what makes a person happy?  There must be a reason why?  A colleague commented that happiness is a choice.  That whatever circumstance or situation you are in, it is up to you to decide whether you’ll just sulk or forget about it and be happy.

I was surprised when I heard them saying that I look happy and that it’s as if I don’t have any problems. Well, who doesn’t have problems?  You and I have various hurts that needs to be healed, problematic situations that needs to be addressed and issues to deal with.   No one is spared from this known fact in our lives.  For me, what matters most is how you deal with these things.  How you’ll react to situations confronting you.  How you’ll tell yourself to be strong and confident amidst the trials that go your way.  I believe in positivism!  If one door closes, another one opens.  I also believe, that if you have a closer relationship with Him.  You’ll never go astray…  You’ll always feel blessed and happy because whatever happens, He’s always there beside you.  Even if the whole world turns down on you, still you know that there’s someone watching over you and guiding you.

What do you believe in?  Are you happy right now? Or do you see yourself as problematic, depressed and pathetic?  I tell you, happiness is a choice!  There are plenty of reasons why you should be happy and thankful.  Start making your list now. Maybe, the first item there would be:  I’m happy because the sun shone upon me. = )

"The only difference between a good day and a bad day is your ATTITUDE!"
- Dennis S. Brown

Last Oct. 25 and 26 I attended an eCommerce Congress organized by the Philippine Internet Commerce Society at Hotel Intercon.  It was a very good conference because I learned a lot of new Web technologies, especially online payment gateways.  The IT industry, especially those into Web and eCommerce, like our company, are really waiting for these things to happen in our country.  Fortunately, our government, mainly the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), are working on how the Philippines can have these much-awaited payment gateways for eCommerce among Small and Medium Enterprises to progress.   

On the night of Oct. 25, PICS also held the 3rd SME-IT Excellence Award.  Actually, I’m an active member of this organization and I nominated four of our clients for this award.  Out of 30 nominations, 3 of our clients became finalists namely, Binalot Foods, Figlia Shoes and VMV Hypoallergenics.  Ang guess what?  VMV Hypoallergenics got 2 awards! The award for Outstanding Customer Orientation and Online or Electronic Service and the most coveted 3rd SME-IT Excellence Award! WOW! That was really amazing!  It really felt good!  Especially when the General Manager of VMV, Ms. Laura de Bertotto hugged me and thanked me and my boss.  Actually, in her short speech, she mentioned our company and told everyone how PDB SME Solutions helped VMV.  Kudos to the SME.com.ph team for a job well done!  By the way, the 1st SME-IT Excellence award was also given to another eCommerce client of ours, Godiva Skin Care way back in 2003.

Actually, what was doubly amazing for me was when Maan Tolentino, the President of PICS, made an unsolicited but very flattering and heart-warming comment about me to my boss.  I really didn’t expect it to come from a person who’s not employed in the company I’m working for! And who I worked with for small organization projects only.  I admit — it was indeed flattering and it felt good. = )  These are little achievements that no amount of money can buy.

Whoa! Haven’t updated my blog for the past few weeks! This is the down side when you only have access to the Internet on workdays.  =(  Thanks to Smart’s Wi-Fi! Soon, I’ll be surfing the Net at the comfort of my home!

What did you do during the long weekend? As for me, I had a peaceful, happy and relaxing vacation. I finally had the chance to recharge my stressed and exhausted body. I spent quality time with Deion and Alex. And even though we did not have a chance to go out for an out-of-town trip because Deion was just recovering from his flu, still it was fun! I was able to bond fully with my son who I really missed so much! That’s what you have to deal with when you’re a working mom.

Actually, last Oct. 31, we were supposed to go trick-or-treating at Ayala Alabang Village with our relatives. Deion’s "Incredibles" costume was already in place but again, because of his condition, it did not push through. The good thing was, our simple preparation did not go to waste! He was able to go trick-or-treat to his ever-supportive Ninang Manets! His Ninang’s house was just a few blocks away from us. He went there all dressed up, anticipating for his bag of goodies. Look at how my little boy celebrated halloween! Simple yet still memorable. = )

My baby is 1 year and 3 months now.  Every time I look at him, I can see the "infant" features slowly fading away…  He’s growing rapidly and I am considering him a big boy now. You know why "big" boy?

In my previous post, I mentioned that Deion’s appetite is increasing.  Well, here’s the proof!  Look how chubby he is now. = )  We took some random pictures and I just wanted to share it with you.

Click here to view Deion’s recent photos

Last Wednesday, I was confronted with the question whether to speak or not to speak?…

A colleague of mine called and opened up her feelings towards my boss.  We normally talk about work and only work.  Like clients’ enrollments, requests to waive charges, follow ups, et cetera. But this time, we had a long talk and it concerned her personal feelings.  She told me so many things and one of it is that even though she needs my boss to go with her in selected client calls (that means super valued clients), she’ll just shrug off the idea and do it on her own.  Well, definitely there’s a reason behind this but I’ll just leave it behind.

Before we ended our conversation, I told her to be transparent.  For me, nothing beats transparency and honesty.  It’s better to talk to the person sincerely (directly), then settle the issues.  But she uttered hopelessly, that she’ll stick to her decision to just keep quiet and do her own thing.  She said, "Hindi ko nalang iisipin ang sama ng loob ko.  Trabaho lang wala nalang personalan."

After our talk, my mind got mixed up.  I was still able to work but the question of whether to tell that to my boss or not keeps popping in my head.  But I also remembered a line from my Ninong Darwin that is "speak or forever hold your peace." I was thinking about it even before bed time.  I was saying to myself that if I don’t speak, yeah, nothing will change, work will go on, but relationships will continue to be broken and in the end our company and our clients will suffer because its employees are not working mutually and productively. 

Next day came… And finally, I decided to speak up!!  I just waited for the right moment to talk to my boss.  Luckily, he was in a good mood and I was able to barge in his room around 4 o’ clock in the afternoon.  Well, the usual stuff, little reporting, enumeration of things that he needs from me and I need from him.  Then there goes the talkative and transparent Russelle.  I had to tell him how my colleague feels about him (but definitely, I kept the not-so-good remarks to myself).  My only goal why I’m speaking up is for them to have a better working relationship.  And guess what?  I was surprised with my boss’ reaction!  He was open to the idea of talking to my colleague to iron things out!  Whew! What a relief!  Atleast he took my comments constructively.

So many heart-pounding moments passed by and Friday came.  The day my goal was realized.  At last! They were able to talk and agreed to forget what happened. (Sigh! Smile.. Smile…)

So what’s the lesson?  That if you have a worthy purpose and you think that it will do more good than harm, then you should — SPEAK UP!   

Last weekend, I went to my eldest brother’s house because I felt the need to visit them and see how they are doing.  I missed Kuya Mon, Ate Loids and their two teeners, Jek and Je-anne.  I also wanted to share their joys because my sis-in-law got promoted and was given a brand new car!!! Hurray!!

As usual, we had a simple but satisfying dinner and non-stop conversation.  We had to update each other with what’s happening in our lives.

And you know what was the best part of my visit?  That is - seeing my oldest niece and nephew (I have 2 more, CJ and Cherylle, who are younger) becoming more responsible and mature.  Jek is 17 while, Je-anne is 15.  I remember when they were still kids.  I’d take care of them, be their tutor and be a protective and disciplinarian aunt.  Now, their just like my best buds!  Look how tall they are now and how they strut their stuff in school and in their extra-curricular activities.  I’m really proud of them! Jek’s taking fencing classes while Je-anne is a volleyball varsity player in Assumption. = )  Geez!  Maybe Je-anne and I should play volleyball some time…. hehe…

What does this mean?  Yeah right!  I’m getting older (Stop laughing! Well, I still have 5 years to go before my age goes out of the calendar). But if getting old also means that I’m:

• gaining wisdom through all these worthwhile experiences and realizations
• having the chance to see how the younger generation evolves
• having a closer relationship with God
• having a more loving relationship with my family and relatives

then I welcome it with open arms! 

I just hope that Jek and Je-anne will continue to bring out the best in them and be a blessing to others.  I just want them to know that Auntienipot will always be here to guide them and support them. ; )