What I Miss About Diwa

Again, this post is quite late. I was supposed to post something about leaving Diwa last September 2008. Hehehe. Huli man daw, naihahabol din!

Five months ago, I left a place that became my second home for more than a year... a place that exposed me to the REAL corporate world... a place where I learned a lot of things about career and life.

*** I miss the RUSH days when I had to finish writing, editing, and proofreading articles just to meet the not-so-realistic-but-required deadlines. Pressure pressure pressure. I think that's the only thing PERMANENT in the publishing industry.

***I miss the PHOTOSHOOT sessions that I had to do by myself, and with the whatever-is-available digicam. Photoshoot sessions that gave me the chance to meet with students and teachers. Even if my officemates kept on telling me not to spend my own money for my fare and for the merienda of my 'models', I still got bucks from my pocket just to make sure they would not end up complaining. It's also my way of saying 'Thank you!!! matatapos ko na magazine ko!!"

***I miss the super active corporate politics. Hahaha. Oh well, that's what made me say YES to my new company. I got really depressed after learning and seeing myself trapped in the middle of silent-fighting bosses.

***I miss the almost everyday 'I'm tired of working here and I want to find a new job' lines of my officemates. Because from those, we get to talk about our plans in the future.

***I miss Greenbelt---the park, the shops, the chapel.

***I miss Washington&Sycip Park.

***I miss the chats in Stickies.

***I miss being Dr. Love. Hahaha. It's natural in me to help my friends with their L-O-V-E problems, but honestly, there came a time when I told myself, it's enough! I was always the shock absorber, and the bad thing is I keep the 'shock' inside me. I got overloaded with their neverending stories that I could not handle my own problems anymore.

***I miss sleeping on my cubicle. nyahaha.

***I miss the food at Jolli-jeeps.

***I miss the elevator.

***I miss the art sessions with the Super Friends. After a long while, I got to bring back my hobby.

***I miss people calling me 'Donna'.

***I miss the so many bonding sessions---talk about anything.

***I miss the audit days of 5S. "Clean your place! May mag-aaudit!" hahahaha.

***I miss.................................... my friends in Diwa. They are quite different from my new friends in PAL, and despite the problems and conflicts that we had back then, I still miss their super loud laughs and young-at-heart ideas.

Di yan bola ha. :)

Friday Night Hilu-hilo

No I wasn't drunk! I only had one bottle and half of Gemz' drink plus a sip of frozen margarita. But I think my alcohol tolerance is really super low. Got a little tipsy after two glasses so I tried to release the 'tama' by making everything so funny. I laughed out loud and told my stories nonstop. Buwahahaha.

After one bucket of Sanmig Lights and bunch meal (sisig, sinigang, barbecue, fried noodles), they said we're going home. I didn't want to yet because it was only 9.30. But the worried-about-hold-ups-during-payday girl Agnes and sleepy bitter Gemz were on a rush. Hayy. Ok. I think I should go home anyway---I could barely stand straight from my seat. Mark (Gracie's husband-to-be) couldn't help but laugh and instructed Gracie to walk with me. Hihihi.

Oh well. Night life is what I've been missing this past few months.

So we went home. Ooops, but I still rode the jeep to Blumentrit so Agnes wouldn't go home alone. I realized that I am also missing Taft--Vito Cruz, Pedro Gil, and Lawton--the Post Office, the FX terminal.

Swimming into a New Life

APRIL 26: All we wanted was to SWIM, RELAX, ENJOY, UNWIND. But the photo below shows what happened to us that afternoon.




SF's (Super Friends) summer outing. The Galera trip was cancelled last April 5, 6, 7 because I was sick. So we decided to move the outing and rent the clubhouse at Peter's village in QC instead. But Peter was getting ready for his "sign off" as one of Diwa's managers so he could not really work on it. Finally, we ended up going to Josephine's Water Camp in Kawit, Cavite.


Saturday came, April 26. Only Gerard, Gracie, and I went on with the plan. Gerard brought her 2-year old baby, Sofia. Gracie was with Mark, his fiance, and EJ, her cousin who just came from Laoag. I came with my sisters, Ness and Paui. From DIWA office, our convoy (Gracie, Mark, and EJ in Gracie's car; Gerard, Sofia, I and my two sisters in Gerard's car) traveled all the way to Cavite. We met Ness and Paui at SM Bacoor because they still came from our home.

Jinks number 1: We're in Binakayan, Kawit, when we asked a manong which way is to Cavite City. He said "Kanan (right)". So we turned right and saw Island Cove along the way. But then, after following the road, we found ourselves in Binakayan again! Hay! Si Manong talaga.

So this time we went straight and asked some more manongs, then finally saw signages pointing the way to Josephine's. We reached that UNFORGETTABLE intersection, with JOSEPHINE's big sign there.

Jinks number 2:We turned left and saw the parking area. But even before we found a parking space, the guard signaled--he's turning us away! Then he went to us and said, "Ma'am, Sir, di na po kayo pwede. Closed na po. Masyado na pong maraming tao (You cannot enter the resort. We're already closed. There's too much people inside.)" He told us that there were no cottages available and the pools were overloaded. Really? Maybe yes. But we wished they had let us in so we could convince ourselves that we should find our fate in other resorts.

It was our first time to see a resort stopping people from entering their place. Haha. Weird. Tinalo pa sila ng mga fastfood restaurants na kahit umaapaw na sa tao, pinapapasok pa rin ang mga tao. We really got pissed off. So we had a very short meeting at the parking lot and decided to move to Island Cove.

Jinks number 3-THE MAIN JINK: We went back to the intersection, but Gerard was hesitating to pass through the same road again. Medyo traffic kasi. We saw two men waiting at the corner of that intersection, so we asked them if there's an alternate route to Island Cove. But they were no help. THE MOMENT CAME. Gerard released the hand break. When we looked at the right, and, "TRUCK!!!" He stepped on the break again but it was too late. Boooooom.

Yes. Gerard's car was hit by the approaching truck. We almost got under it, but thanks to Gerard he was able to hold the break again. Thanks to the truck driver because he stopped right away after realizing that their truck hit us. Whew. Because if not, we might still be in the hospital and I might not be able to write this entry.

The next scene was like this: Ness and Paui holding Sophia, Gracie taking pictures (the pic above was from her), Gerard repeatedly saying, "malas naman oh. . . ", Mark assisting Gerard, and I---just looking at the disastered car, speechless. Thanks again to the truck persons because they did not nag at us. They too, seemed shocked. Sadly, Gerard admitted right away that it was his mistake. Whoever made the mistake---we could not turn back time.


Just like any other road accident, a police officer came, sketching and taking pictures of the scene, interrogating the drivers, and calling for back up. The drivers had to go to the police station to settle the case. How about us?

Hay. We stayed inside Gracie's car and waited for the wrecker. Yes. Gerard's car couldn't make it to their house so it had to be towed. When the wrecker arrived, we headed straight to Gerard's house in Imus. I felt nervous when we reached the gate of the village. How will we tell Gerard's family about it? How will they react?

Few blocks before Gerard's house, I saw Tita, Sofia's yaya, chatting with some neighbors. My fault that I didn't go down to tell her what happened before she sees the car. At yun nga. She saw the wrecker and panicked. When I went to her, she welcomed me with a worried cry, "Ano'ng nangyari? Si Pia?" Sofia was sleeping inside the car. I told her she's okay. and Gerard is still at the police station.

Gracie went with me to face Gerard's dad. He got angry. (malamang!) But he did not blame us or what. He was just an angry, worried dad and lolo. Whew.

To cut the story short, our swimming day turned to be a simple salu-salo at Gerard's house--with Andok's chicken that was supposed to be our baon. We recalled the scenes, and laughed at ourselves---happy enough that we are still alive.

Yes. I'm still alive. The one who's writing this entry is not yet a ghost. Hehehe.

Everything that happened only sinked in to me the day after that incident. For two or three days, I became totally clouded by the thought that we almost lost our lives. But I'm ok now.

Thank you, God. Gerard can still celebrate his birthday on Sunday. And he's still able to welcome his wife who I think already arrived from Kuwait. And he's still with his cute daughter.

Most of all, the Layco's tatlong maria are still here, ramping their beauties. Hehehe.

Sagada Loka!

This was one of the best trips I ever had. The caves, mountainsides, pine trees, hanging coffins, . . . exciting! A great Christmas gift for myself and for Ness. Sayang nga lang kasi hindi nakasama si JR. Pagbalik ko run, di pwedeng hindi na sya kasama. hehehe.
Let the photos tell our story. (from Kuya Benny's cam, di ko pa tapos yung captions!)

What Made My Birthday Special

The FOOD
I've always had a party since my 1st birthday (onti lang ang miss). Days before the 27th, I told myself that this year, I'm just gonna celebrate solemnly--with my family lang siguro, and with JR (since he's not here, sa phone na lang.hehe.) But I still felt I'd miss something kapag hindi ko nakita yung mga kaibigan kong enjoy at busog. :) So yun. Kulang pa nga for my school friends. Thanks to Kuya Nino for the pansit. Thanks to my officemates who contributed in the "bente-bente". Thanks to Issa and her family. Thanks to Nanay.
OFFICE: 2 medium-sized bilaong pansit (canton at bihon), 1 bilaong puto-biñan,"piolo" ice cream, softdrinks, and chips.
ACENAS' HOUSE: 2 small bilaong pansit (bihon at miki), bbq

HOME: Jollibee (hehehe)

The Gifts

At 5:30am, Nanay gave me two wrapped gifts: a set of paintbrush and a Pooh mini-drawer. Naaliw ako sa pag-assemble nung cute mini-drawer. Buti hindi ako na-late. Hehehe. And the brushes. . . yehey! Won't be using the super old ones--na kailangan ko pang ibabad nang isang buwan sa kerosene just to soften the bristles. Nung lunch, may pahabol pang bag. :)

Then sa office, I received a Starbucks tumbler from Kuya Bennie. Hihihi.

Issa's family then gave me a Red Ribbon Choco cake---na dahil sa layo ng biyahe ko from their house in Delta, QC to Las Piñas, di ko na nabasa yung message nila sa top.

The next day, Kim and Gemz gave me a toy/doll/keychain Patrick (friend of Spongebob). Ang cute! My sister Paui also gave me a choker/necklace. Will post its photo next time.

Kahapon, humabol si Gracie (& family)--organic soap for skin whitening! hehe.

The Greetings

Thanks to all those who greeted me, from Sept 25 ata yun til last Sunday (Sept 30!). It really feels good to know that you remember me on my birthday. Lalo na if those people are quite far away from me... awww.