developments!

since i got here three people have resigned from the department...no it's not because of me! i'm not that mean or powerful to do that! ;-)

arleen a producer, jackie an associate producer and joey a production assistant.

who's left? me an associate producer, leica a producer, senyo and chiqui are production assistants and michael the production head.

i actually said that i'd like to be considered if they'll be looking for producers and was told i don't have enough experience by michael. ouch! then leica told me that they don't hire producers, associate producers are trained to become producers. oh okay! that doesn't hurt my ego as much ;-) haha

work has been picking up - still doing the cleverlearn tvc - now there's a music video and a filmmakers series. slowly but surely i'm becoming busy.

for a while i was kina bored...but thankful that it wasn't hectic. i got to use the time to get to know my co-employees, how things are done here and how i see myself in this company. so far so good!

so i am sad that people have moved on but at the same time there's more opportunity to grow! :-)

something's up

somethings brewing...and i'm super happy about it! it's kind of surreal but really exciting and sweet!

visits

jacs
last week i was surprised to receive a text from jacs. even more when i read his message - i'm going to bigfoot today. what?!
he was coming in to interview the bosses for people asia.

so i was able to see jacs and catch up. i was so happy to see him! it made me realize i really miss manila, my mom and friends.

eyron
yesterday eyron arrived for a quick break here in cebu. another reason to be happy! plus he brought a pasalubong of chocolate kiss cake sampler. heaven in three little squares of cake. drooling thinking of how good it was.

because of my injured ankle (grr!) couldn't take him out dancing. but i'm hoping on friday i'll be able to! want to go out and have fun!

up next...
binky's flying in next week for her bro's wedding...can't wait to see her!

ate noemi and kuya egay are coming to cebu for the bantay bata caravan! yehey! another weekend to look forward to.

oh and i'm going to manila november 1-6...i really do miss everything, even though barely two months has passed! :-)

out of mactan

it started with moal boal, then olango and finally bantayan - got out of mactan and around cebu.

moal boal
this was suppose to be a production department outing but other people from bigfoot decided to join us. in all were around 20 people and two kiddies.

we stayed at quo vadis resort and their beachfront isn't sand. it's coral! from the shore til it drops off and the water is very blue and very deep.

got the chance to take in 2 dives and the highlight of it all? the chance to see a turtle! wonderful!

but the best thing about it was getting to know my officemates a little better. at least now when i'm walking around the grounds i know the names of people i say hi to! :-)


olango island
a bird sanctuary reachable by ferry from mactan. memorable coz this is where i sprained my ankle!

a quiet island that's really peaceful and simple. can't wait to go back next month and see the migrating birds!


bantayan island
with this trip i really got the chance to learn more about Butch and Tamara...that i'd really like these two people to become friends of mine. we had fun just talking, joking and taking in the sights of the island.

the group was much smaller this time around - me, butch, tamara and the ftv peeps steven, daniel and rebecca.

saturday was when the sun was out so we all got a tan. spent a couple of hours on the beach of kota resort. then we went to the marketplace and tamara wanted to drive the pedicab. and she did that and worked up a good sweat going around the town of Sta. Fe. the thing was is when the driver took over the wheel of the pedicab broke and he charged us for it.

one of the funny things that happened? the ftv people put on a little show for us! no wonder they had big bags with them. they were in costume and did some skits. it was hilarious!

come sunday we were left behind while the ftv gang headed back to mactan. we decided to visit another resort to go to the ogtong cave.

ogtong cave is partly underwater. butch and i went swimming in it's warm water. and of course took some pictures. surprisingly the pictures came out nice with the little light that we had to play with...

and the resort was nice, their beachfront was partly rock with a pretty view of the ocean. too bad it was over cast, i'm sure if there was sun the beach would have been even more beautiful.

the food was good at bantayan! it's famous for it's seafood. i got my wish and was able to wolf down two crabs for our first lunch. then the seafood pizza at blue ice resto...sarap! breakfast was at a portugese place where the pancakes were very yellow, with a cake consistency and yummy. the best was at white beach resto! tons of seafood and they served the food with an assortment of dipping sauces. well worth what we paid!

even if i was limping all over the place because of my injured ankle, i was super glad i went! that was a great weekend ;-)

ouch!

hmmm i twisted my ankle last friday...

i decided to tag along with the Deep Gold crew to their location check at Olango Island. it's just off mactan island, a short ferry ride away. what's special about Olango is that it is a bird sanctuary. different kinds of birds make the island a stop over during their migration to warmer lands.

got a beautiful shot a blue heron resting in a tree. although there aren't that many birds yet coz the season reaches its peak during november.

so anyway we were getting around the island via the tricycle that we rented for the day. olango is more of a day trip kinda visit. not that many places to stay and really nothing to do.

Jiji had to get out and check something and since i was blocking her way i had to get out of the tricycle too. i held onto a handle bar and next thing i know i'm on the floor. and then my foot started to hurt. i thought it wasn't much but then it started to hurt. luckily the tricycle driver was nice and bought me ice and offered to take me to a manhihilot. i didn't want to have my foot touched, i could still handle the pain.

but then we passed by the island's hospital and Jiji asked me if i'd like a doctor to take a look. i said yes :-)

i twisted my ankle. i had to keep ice on it for the rest of the day and then start with a hot compress. and i had to rest.

but did i rest? nope. that weekend i was going to bantayan island with some officemates. and i thoroughly enjoyed that weekend. but come monday i was still injured, but off pain killers.

then on wednesday, when i woke up i felt pain again. after a couple of meetings i saw tamara in the hallway and she asked me about my foot. then she saw i long purple bruise along my foot. needless to say she convinced me to go to the hospital and made sure that the company's car would bring me to the hospital.

wow i loved that tamara convinced me but i didn't like the hospital too much. i had to ask for attention and for a chair. everyone did what they did without regard for their patients. but in fairness to my doctor, she was nice. i guess i just didn't feel welcome there.

so i got a xray and had my foot bandaged. still have to go back to get the official results, but apparently i don't have a fracture or anything. just need to rest...

did i rest? nope...haha! matigas talaga ulo ko! i had to head to the city and meet Eyron at Ayala. he's in town for a mini break. plus he brought me a cake sampler from chocolate kiss! YUMMY. i was so happy to see him and swap stories. and the cakes were goo-ood...

although after one night of having the bandage around my ankle the swelling is noticeably smaller. i did go to work. but aside from a meeting and lunch out, i've kept my foot elevated and a hot compress on it. i have a feeling i'll be able to recover pretty soon ;-) hahahaha

drink to make more money!

Alcohol use helps boost income: study

I just read this article and I’m sorry, but I really have to say that it is so true! Well, I’m not sure about the money part, but about being able to be sociable and build your network through alcohol. That is just a fact of life.

I’m living proof of it. I’ve been here in Cebu for about a month. (It has been a month?!) And I went out and had fun (aided by alcohol) last Wednesday and Friday. And now I am able to talk to my officemates. It’s as simple as that! Not just the usual hi and smiles in the hallway. But actually exchange ideas and find out more about the other.

So people I otherwise would not have been able to talk to at work, I get to know a little better after work.

How did Binky put it? Alcohol is a social lubricant.

Of course it took me this long to be comfortable enough to go out.

But aside from alcohol, I think going out with your officemates is important. That a little work to show interest in the people you work with, will go a long way.

Last Friday it was Joey’s birthday and I got my first paycheck. As tradition calls for it here in Bigfoot, Joey and I had to treat everyone to pizza. So we gathered the production department and headed to Da Vinci’s.

Yum! First time for me to try Shawarma Pizza, I think I liked that the best!

In that hour-long lunch break we all got to know the new Production Head, Michael, a little better. And it was the first time that all of us sat down together as a group. Before that we had talked to each other at one point, but not with Michael.

It was different and fun. It was also a sneak peak into how an out of town trip of the department is going to be like – full of smiles and laughter! (Or at least it seems that way! Ha!)

Cheers!

Curious? Wanna know how alcohol can help? Here’s the link:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060914/hl_afp/afplifestylehealthalcohol

DIVING

last september was a month of diving for me. aside from the deep dive i was able to do 2 more dives towards my advance open water certification...

Clean up dive
we went to the house reef of shangri-la and spread out to cover as much ground as possible. Ana and i got a san miguel beer bottle, a sack, juice packs, and bits of foil. by the end of it i was kind of bored already! but just as tony was banging on his oxygen tank we saw a neon blue nudibranch. and we couldn't stop looking at it! since there was the signal to ascend, we had to stop our staring and start heading towards the surface.

Night dive
ooh was i scared during orientation...i tried to remember the flashlight signals. of course i couldn't! my thoughts were running wild! luckily the entry was my favorite. just had to roll into the water - it just doesn't seem as scary for me! saw a big flute fish, a burgundy nudibranch and a whole lot of other creatures i don't know the names of.


got the chance to visit Moal Boal with some of the people from Bigfoot. the dives at Moal Boal were with Tamara and Leica, two of my officemates from the Production Department. first with Tamara then with Leica...

when i first learned how to dive in Anilao, i thought that what i saw was really beautiful. then here in mactan even more beautiful. but so sorry, Moal Boal has been the best. the coral, the different kinds of school of fish, the amount of fish, the coral, a shark (far away) and a TURTLE! it was the second dive and right when we entered the water there was the turtle. it allowed us to take a good look at it before gracefully swimming away. when i saw it a let out a shriek! it was so beautiful! Pescador Island off the coast of Moal Boal is really breathtaking!

next up? planning on finishing my advance open water course and heading to Malapascua in time for manta ray and thresher shark season...i'm lovin cebu :-)

fluke

cause of Tamara i found out that we can access the banned/blocked websites of our office internet. so here i am able to write some of the things that have happened.

FINALLY!