whew!

february started with a crazy week. i just got confirmation that i needed to support a european project so i had to adjust my shift and still support an asian project. so i ended up working 13 hours - from 9am - 10pm. and that goes on until the 19th. i don't know if hubby and i can go out of town for valentine's day like we originally planned. and as if things aren't crazy enough, i got sick then hubby got sick.

we thought we could finally get some rest during the weekend but we only got 3 hours of sleep last friday and had to be up at 7am the next day. i had an outreach in las pinas and hubby had to make some deliveries for work. then we had a reunion lunch with hubby's family and got home past 4. we slept until 8 and by that time, hubby had a very high fever just as i was recovering. good thing he is feeling a bit better now.

anyway, a bit of good news, i got an email today that i won in dotty diva's challenge #6. you can view the announcement here. i'm also very happy because the prize is one of my favorite lines from cosmo cricket, early bird. anyway, have to get back to working on a commissioned work. my hands are turning blue. stay well everyone.

coming up for air

this layout is an attempt to prove that midnight blue and coral pink works after a fledgling gay designer told me that my color scheme is not nice. i was actually very upset after he told me that so i decided to prove him wrong. i am not sure if it works though, i think it does. this layout is also an attempt to take a breather from a very stressful month at work. the prolonged absence of updates and posts is a testament to that i think. i was actually cutting and pasting while waiting for updates from an officemate. that's about it for me. back to work. enjoy the rest of the weekend. :)

i'm back!

yes, i've been back for almost a week but i've been too tired these past few days that after dinner, i just fall asleep. i don't know if delicious is a proper adjective for sleep but if it is, sleep this past few days has been of chicken-adobo delicious level, so good that i have not been able to scrap. and people who know me know i'd rather scrap than sleep 95% of the time.

i took a couple of pictures from japan which i promise to upload soon. people ask me how the trip was and i would always say, "like amazing race japan, 4 cities in 5 days." and it felt like amazing race for me, lugging my 20-kg luggage (mental note: that is why you must pack light) around 5 stations. at one point, the japanese boss must've taken pity on me and helped me drag my luggage to the hotel after seeing my feeble rain-soaked attempt to pull it. although i must say i saw more of japan this time around as i got to drop by rokko island, akashi, takasaki and tokyo. i don't know when i'll be back but hopefully next time will not be as exhausting. i did manage to get some scrapbook stuff - a couple of oa-ish appliques, multi-colored washi tapes and matrioshka stamps. i will be off to batangas tomorrow for our company offsite and boipren and i might check out some venues for the wedding on saturday.

less than a week afetr being home, i have managed to make up for lost scrapping time with shopping. on tuesday, i purchased the mm passport stamp and some k&co papers from memory lane store. yesterday, i dropped by lasting impression to get the heather bailey stamp and a couple of papers from sassafras, scenic route and making memories. today, i got three of the scrapbook trends books i ordered from ebay. i am still waiting for my september sc kit, ebay pruchase #2 (an oa stamp, heather bailey buttons and maya road tutti fruity trinkets) as well as my prize from designx. i was a bit envious when i saw that yoyin got her prize already. i am beginning to suspect that there is something wrong with our post office.


lastly, thanks to tna for the awards below. :)





here are the rules for passing on the award:

1. Put the logo on your blog
2. Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3. Nominate at least seven other blogs
4. Add links to those blogs on your blog
5. Leave a message for your nominee on their blog.

i think the awards have pretty much gone around but if it hasn't gotten to you, please consider yourself a nominee. i am overwhelmed daily by all the amazing talent i see over the internet.

(1) The winner can put the logo on their blog.
(2) Link the person you received your award from.
(3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
(4) Put links of those on yours.
(5) Leave a message on the blogs of the girls or boys you’ve nominated.

again, if you're reading this and you haven't been nominated yet, please consider yourself nominated. have a great weekend ahead everyone.

a perpetual student

so you think that after graduating, you can say goodbye to studying and learning? thankfully, for me, that is not the case. if i were so proud to think that i know everything i need to know, i would be in serious danger with such a myopic view of the world. but i believe college has given me about 10% of what i need to know to go along my life, the 90% i would still have to learn. what's with the long-winded intro (yes, this is a post with no lo to show so i am trying to divert your attention)? the past week has been a week of learning for me.
last tuesday and wednesday, i was fortunate to be able to attend the sap summit in shang for free (thanks to hewlett-pachard as the tag read). for my non-it friends, sap is the technology i am working with right now and the event is a gathering of all the movers and shakers of the it industry in the country, particularly for sap. i felt really smart listening to the speakers in the plenary and breakout sessions. being around the smart-looking people was also a plus! during the time we weren't in sessions, my friends and i would go around the various booths to join raffles and get the signatures for the big draw. no, all i have to show is one bag and almost half a dozen pens.
then, on thursday and friday, i attended the john maxwell training, developing the leader within you. this is the second time i attended a soft skill seminar, the first one was stephen covey's 7 habits a year ago. the points maxwell made were really practical and as some would say common sense (which is ironic because we realize common sense is not so common after all) but it was laid out more articulately and illustrated in a more organized manner. i had a major breakthrough which i will probably share when i feel the time is right (may ganun!).
yesterday, boipren and i attended a seminar on managing our finances organized by inquirer and citibank at aim. for 300 bucks, it was more than worth it to hear queena lee-chua (she used to be my ma22 teacher in ateneo which i passed!), chinkee tan (i actually couldn't believe he used to be a 70's star until he started cracking the jokes) and francis kong (he's really funny and insightful too). i thanked boipren for encouraging me to go (i was hesitant at first, these days my only inclinations are related to scrapbooking), he really has enriched my life by gently coaxing me to open up to fresh opportunities like this. yikes, cheesy.
then finally today, boipren and i had our first session with elder peping and tita liway. the purpose of the session will reveal itself in due time. naks, may ganun. it was a very interesting first meeting and well worth going to gcf at 1030 in the morning.
so that's about it for me. i hope i can get a decent break this week so i can take some time to scrap. i have so many new goodies i am excited to play with. have a great week ahead everyone.:)