Happy Friday: My first (again) HR Townhall!

You all know that I am back here in the Philippines and back to the place that I love. With my less than one month stay here at Accenture, a lot has happened and boy I am "thankful" and "blessed" to be back just at the right time! :D

Yesterday was a very special day not only for me but for the entire Accenture HR Organization. Yesterday was our HR Townhall and not just an ordinary townhall but with our Chief HR Officer - Jill Smart.

Our theme was:
Accenture Philippines! HR Ready... every day!




Photo from Darlyn De Rivera

 

It was very inspiring to have Jill Smart here in the Philippines.  It even made my conviction and engagement with Accenture and HR stronger.  There is no other place where you can see a very optimistic and yet gentle HR leaders who always take care of their people!

Jill also talked about how HR Philippines is so ready and I am just so proud to be part of this organization.

One of the things that Jill shared with us is that sometimes being pro-active is the key to reaching new heights and will eventually develop potential.  I totally agree with her and I know this is something that Accenture is proud of doing, especially HR.

We may be at the back end of the business that Accenture does but as they say "we are the fuel that runs the business" and I will help to keep everything running.

There were a lot of Key Take Aways from this HR Townhall but I would like to share two of the best that I got.  This is something that is applicable to all of us, whether we are employees or not.

From Jill:

~ Always ask for HELP and ask as often as you need. There is always someone who is willing to help, there can never be "nothing" or "no one".

From Lynn:

~ Sucess in our career is something that we all want to have but we should never forget our individual self identity in reaching our goals.

Again an ispiring night as always!

Xoxo

Free Pampering

One of the many perks to be an Accenture Employee is to receive utmost employee care.  One of which are team building activities to help employees relax and bond with each other because they don't want employees to think about work work and more work. 

We need to create an environment of anticipation and excitement amongst colleages and I believe that team building activities is one of them. 

I just joined three weeks ago and I was already part of their planned team building activity. 

Since majority of the team were women, we opted to have a Spa Party + Movie night team Building activity (sorry boys but there is always a boys activity next time). 

This place is just along Greenhills, right after the Caltex Gasoline station, a place that is very hard to miss. 

Wow! We also had dinner and it was so filling!

While we were being pampered, we were    presented a movie! 

It was not an extravagant Spa experience but it was definitely relaxing! Made us forget work for three hours! 

Xoxo

Haze Haze go Away!

If you have friends from Indonesia and Singapore then you are aware that something hazy is going on.

It started when the forest fires on Sumatra Islands reached unprecedented levels in the City State -- Read more from Inquirer NEWS.

Haze, is traditionally an atmospheric phenomenon where dust, smoke and other dry particles obscure the clarity of the sky.  Sources for haze particles include farming (ploughing in dry weather), traffic, industry, and wildfires. (Wiki)

Yesterday, I saw a lot of posts that this haze already reached KL and I am afraid that it cannot be contained immediately.  

At around 7:30am today, this was how the haze looked like.

At 9:30am it already worsen.

At 10:30am

We cannot do anything about this one but just to pray that heavy rains will come to wash away all the haze!

If you are in Malaysia and you cannot find a face mask then please be a boy scout and invent your temporary face mask!

Take care you all!
Do not forget to Subscribe to hear more from me! :)

Xoxo

Saturday Past Time! ^_^

Everybody knows that I love to sing even if singing does not love me. I still do it because I enjoy it. 

Last weekend I was introduced to Star Maker.  

A couple of months back it was already mentioned to me but since I cannot figure out how it was done then I simply ignored it. 

However, last week was different because I get to try it first hand! 
It was a simple videoke like application that will help you see if you are hiting the notes correctly.  Then when you do, you have corresponding points and coins.  The coins will help you purchase new songs and it's like a cycle. 

I was so into it that every night I sing before I go to sleep, it became my bedtime story.  I do not hit the notes but I enjoyed seeing how I did and how I improved with my singing. 

My goal is to get more coins as possible to get more songs! I am loving this application and I hope you will to! 

As we speak I have already purchased 5 songs and it keeps on going! 
I am proud to reach three stars per song! That's the best that I can do for now! 

I am looking forward to getting more songs as I go along and for me this is one of the perfect past time that I can have.  Specially if I do not wish to go out of the house! 

I can improve (hopefully) my singing and the same time it is very cost effective! 
Note: one must have internet connection to be able to sing! 

Talk to you soon!

Xoxo
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Patience is a VIRTUE

I was doing my monthly (I hope) dose of biking around Sampaloc Lake with my sister and as was enjoying my stroll when I saw this man fishing.

From the name itself, Fishing is the act of catching fish and it is very clear that this man is using a fishing rod.

If you have experienced this activity then you should know for a fact that this activity requires a lot of patience.  It will take time to catch a fish because they have to take your bait first before you catch them. 

Then when you are expecting to catch a big fish, you will be upset to catch just a small fish (Similar to what happened to him).

My Point of View:

Our journey through this wonderful life is very much similar to Fishing.  It will take a lot of patience to get what we want and more often it will take the toll on us if we are not willing to wait.

Like Fishing we should learn the art of being creative and making the most of the time while we are waiting, we can:

1. Have a great bonding with our fishing buddy
2. Have an appreciation on how beautiful the lake / sea is
3. Have other activity while waiting; like reading a book, having a bbq (if you are near the shore), doing crochet (if you are into it), and other activities
4. Think of what we want to do with the fish that you will catch.

What we apply while Fishing, can also be applied to LIFE.

1. Take time to bond with our Family, friends and loved ones. Time is precious and let us not waste it just by waiting.
2. Appreciate the beauty of life, how great it is and how blessed we are that we are alive. Do not rant because there are people who have less while we have more.
3. Engage into an activity that we love to do - time flies if we love what you are doing.
4. Enjoy today but always plan for the future. 
5. Think back on the reasons that we want to live our life ~ for our FAMILY, SELF.

Just my thoughts!
Xoxo

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A Decade is long, three decades is DEFINITELY a milestone!

When I came back to the Philippines I haven’t got the chance to go back to Laguna (San Pablo City) yet because of the things that I need to complete prior to my start date.

However, I already planned to go back to Laguna (San Pablo City) for my parents “Lab Lab” Day – which was June 15^th.

More than one week before June 15^th, Mama and I were already planning to have a small gathering to celebrate the event and also to celebrate “Papa’s Day”. 

We opted to celebrate these two special occasions at Bato Springs.  If you are not from around Laguna then you will definitely appreciate the beauty of Bato Springs – it would be the perfect place for you to relax and have a little discussion with Mother Nature.  

If you are used to a polluted area where the atmosphere is very hot and humid, then this place is the best for you because it will give the cool breeze and cold water that you are longing for.  Bato Springs is located at the border of Laguna and Quezon at the foot of Mount Banahaw, it is about 2 hour drive from Manila and around 30 minutes away from San Pablo City Proper.

We planned to have a simple gathering and to prepare the food for ourselves. 

These were all simple dishes but preparing it together makes it even more special. :)

I really do not intend to swim but since it was very hot and I felt sweaty and all because of the things that I did then I decided to take a quick dip.

Oh boy, can you imagine a 23 degrees water coming from your fridge? That is how cold the water was! Really!!

When I started to walk, nangangatog talaga ako sa lamig, super lamig talaga! But of course it was all part of the experience.

Maybe it was more than 10 years ago since the last time I went to this place and thus for me it was just my first time.

I couldn't stand the cold water and so after 30 minutes I went back to our cottage! I felt I had brain freeze and then I had headache afterwards! Awwee!

At around 4pm, we started to pack up everything and then by 5:30pm we went back already.

It was just a one day activity but it felt like 2 days for me.  It was a lot of fun and a lot of catching up with my family. :)

Laine's (Gboys GF) family was also there and it was more fun to be with them!

My wish for that very special day was for Papa and Mama to continue to love one another as they see us grow and love them deeper!!

To always take each day as fun as possible and to always cherish the moments that we are together! 

Details about Bato Springs:

You can visit their FB Page for more reservation information.

Reservations:

• First come, first served basis on huts and tables.
• Reservations will be accepted only for huts with attic, private rooms, pavilion and big groups.
• Reservation is confirmed upon 50% down payment of the above.
• A reservation cancelled shall be charged 20% of the rent of the facility/ies reserved. A reservation not cancelled (no show), as a rule, is deemed forfeited.Note: The foregoing rates are subject to change without prior notice.

How to get there:

If you’re bringing a car

• Coming from Manila, take South Expressway to Calamba Exit
• Just take the Road bound to Lucena Quezon, after passing San Pablo City look for a Meralco Station on your left.
• The next intersection has a sign leading you to Bato Springs take left, this road is bound to Dolores, Quezon.
• Look for the “Bato Springs” sign on your left, you can see it around 10 minutes from the intersection.
• Take the road leading the Bato Springs.

If you’re taking a bus

• You can take a bus at Cubao or Taft ave. terminal (JAM or JAC Liner) bound to Lucena, Quezon, the fare is less than 130pesos for an air-conditioned bus.
• You can drop off by San Pablo City, Laguna or the intersection bound to Dolores, Quezon
• From there, take a Tricycle to Bato Springs.

Xoxo

Happy Friday: Appreciate what you have!

I have been working for quite some time now and I always feel blessed that everything is working out the way I always wanted them to be.

In reality, everyone has to work to earn a living (even the richest people need to give some effort to earn money), and if we are lucky we will be doing the work that we love doing, if not then we have to drag ourselves everyday to go to work. 

What if you are not satisfied with what you have right now? Let me share with you my thoughts about this matter. 

1. Start by looking at what you have - everyone has something, it will never be nothing!
2. Appreciate the things that you have - by appreciating, you will feel how lucky you are to have the things that you have. 
3. Share and give back - it's not all about money. Sharing your time, knowledge and life to the people who you love and care about. Sharing to the people who needs your attention more than anything else. 

Do these three things perfectly and do it in a continuous cycle then everything that surrounds you will just be perfect! 


Xoxo

After a long vacation – I am reunited with my True Love!

Two years ago, I left my work in Accenture to come and join my husband in Malaysia.  I was a plain housewife for 2 months; I had no laptop and notebook in my hands; just pots, pans and dust bins to prepare everything for the two of us.  

I was busy with the entire house hold and I enjoyed it a lot.  With that experience I learned to appreciate how hard it is to be a housewife.  I can imagine how doubly hard it would be to have kids running around.

After two months, I was lucky to be called by EPS Ventures to become a Recruitment and Business Development Consultant and everything else was history.  I met new friends and experienced how it is to deal with foreign nationals.  One thing for sure that struck me was that they were very straight forward and does not focus on the mistake but to the solution (just my two cents).

I go to the office before 9am and strictly go back by 5:30pm. Literally an 8 hour job and all work related things stayed in the office.  When I hit our condo, it’s all about self, family, friends and a whole lot of fun.  This is the main reason that I called my stay in Malaysia my LONG Vacation.

If you have been reading my entries, you would know that the reason I came to Malaysia was to follow my husband.  Priorities change overtime, if you “have been there done that” then you will know what I mean.   Although we are enjoying our stay in MY, my husband and I have both agreed that we will not stay long in Malaysia; we will just test waters and experience how it is to be alone in a foreign land. Therefore, when I got the opportunity to work back here in the Philippines, I immediately grabbed it.

The opportunity was introduced by my good friend, Anna.  She introduced me to Ms. Myra and everything went smoothly.   Even if I was a rehire, I still underwent the same Recruitment Process that all new joiners should pass and it felt like I was in my early twenties again.  I had to complete two sets of interviews, pre-employment requirements submission, pre-employment medical examination, new joiner orientation and the works.  I felt new even if I was reunited with my first love.

My realizations:

Accenture is still Accenture, it is the same company that I loved and respected but a lot has changed in terms of process improvement and I am very pleased to have experienced it as a new joiner.  

To sight a few: 

A lot of improvements have taken place and I cannot elaborate all of them.  The best way to appreciate them is to experience these improvements for yourself.  I consider myself lucky to have experienced it and to again say that Accenture is a great place to work.

Xoxo

Penang, Malaysia: Street Art Walls

On 7 July 2008, George Town was, together with Malacca, formally inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is officially recognized as having a unique architectural and cultural townscape without parallel anywhere in East and Southeast Asia.^(wiki).

 The World Heritage Convention defines "cultural heritage" as a monument, group of buildings or site of historical, aesthetic, archaeological, scientific, ethnological or anthropological value. Georgetown in Penang surely falls well within this definition as Georgetown has a group of buildings that are steep in history, beautiful and reflect more than a century of culture unique to this Pearl of the Orient. (http://penangtalk.com/unesco/)

I was very excited to take a tour of this lovely place. On our second day in this lovely town, we rented bikes to take us along Georgetown and to see how it was called a Heritage Site. As you go along the streets of Georgetwon, you will see the old buildings that has been there for many years. In conjuction with Penang’s Georgetown Festival (2012), certain old walls within their dear capital has gained a new lease of life, thanks to the awesome efforts of Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic. Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic is leaving his mark with beautiful wall painting of children all across historical Georgetown. The artworks are funny, fascinating, and very much open to everyone’s interpretations. (www.onlypenang.com) To give you a brief preview of one of the Art Walls, please watch this:

It was only more than a year ago but some of the paintings were already faded. 
Sad to see but at least I have seen some that were still somewhat in good condition.

Ernest’s neighbour, who is actually famous wooden clogs painter, Mr. Ng Chai Tiam, Armenian Street Art Cafe

“Little Children on a Bicycle” Mural, Armenian Street, George Town, Penang

“Reaching Up” Mural, Cannon Street, George Town, Penang

The Awaiting Trishaw Paddler by Desmond Yeo

This is all that is left from the Chew Jetty Art Wall.  Maybe because it's within the sea and the seasalt might have ruined the paint that were used.

Children on the Swing, this was painted by Louis Gan.
The Step by Step Lane is not an actual street sign.

"Sister and brother playing basketball" - street art located at Gat Lebuh Chulia, just the street of old Kwong Wah Yit Poh building, opposite of the “Children on the Swing” Penang street art.

As you go along the streets of Georgetown, you will see some other Art Walls that are also fascinating.

Overall, Penang is a great place for food trip, food trip and more food trip!  If you are into arts then you will definitely enjoy the Art Walls and will probably be inspired to create your own Art Wall at your backyards.

More than anything else, being in Penang with good friends is definitely a plus and I always suggest to travel with friends and families to create memories that will definitely last forever!

Budget for three days and two nights stay would be RM 500
per person. This is a conservative budget if you want to enjoy the food, the souviners and the food again!! Hehe!!

Xoxo

Penang Malaysia: Day 2 - Vintage and colorful!

The following day, we had our free breakfast from the Century Bay Apartment and then headed to our next destination.

Reclining Buddha - Wat Chaiya Mangkalaram

After the Reclining Buddha, we also visited an Art Gallery.

Blue Mansion - Cheong Fat Tze Mansion

What's next? Georgetown!!

Georgetown is the capital of the state of Penang in Malaysia. Named after Britain's King George III, George Town is located on the north-east corner of Penang Island. The inner city has a population of 720,202 and the metropolitan area which consists of Penang Island, Seberang Prai, Sungai Petani and Kulim has a combined population of 2,251,042, making it the second largest metropolitan area in Malaysia. (wiki)

You will see all the amazing and creative Art Walls in this place.  You can also enjoy the beauty of the vintage houses and walls along the way.  We had our own van but to enjoy George Town it was a great idea to rent bicycles! We all went ahead and rode the bikes ~ I felt like my young self again enjoying biking!  As you walk along the Art wall of the kids riding a bike, you will the place where you can rent a bike.

They gave us a map of where the Art Walls were located and Sweets was the one who led the way!  We also enjoyed the thrills of crossing the traffic lights! Whew!

I will be discussing about the Art Walls in Penang in another entry.

Because we were not able to enjoy Pasar Malam, we then searched for the Saturday Pasar Malam.  It took us a while to look for the Saturday Pasar Malam since we all ran out of cellphone battery therefore no GPS (we got really dependent with GPS).  Just when we were supposed to use the old fahioned way of finding a location (asking people around) someone (Karl, Reo, Ced, Nelvs) thought of using Karl's laptop as battery. Then we were all alive again! We found hope that we can find the Saturday Pasar Malam and we did!! Yehey!  We also had our dinner there.

For those who are not familiar with Pasar Malam, it is also known as Night Market.  There were many stalls that sells all kinds of stuff, including clothes, cellpone case, shoes, slippers and a lot lot lot Food!

When we got back to our apartment, we already packed our things to get ready for the following day's check out.

Another enjoyed day specially because of the biking!

Xoxo

Penang, Malaysia: Day 1 - All about food!

I was about to leave my second home in Malaysia and the best place to visit before going back to the Philippines would be Penang!

Penang (pronounced as Pineng)

is a state in Malaysia and the name of its constituent island, located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia by the Strait of Malacca. It is bordered by Kedah in the north and east, and Perak in the south.

Penang is the second smallest Malaysian state in area after Perlis, and the eighth most populous. It is composed of two parts – Penang Island, where the seat of government is, and Seberang Perai (formerly Province Wellesley in English) on the Malay Peninsula.

Highly urbanised and industrialised Penang is one of the most developed and economically important states in the country, as well as a thriving tourist destination.

Penang has the third-highest Human Development Index in Malaysia, after the federal territory of Kuala Lumpur and the state of Selangor. Its heterogeneous population is highly diverse in ethnicity, culture, language, and religion. A resident of Penang is colloquially known as a Penangite. (wiki)

We planned for this trip a month ago and with the reviews that I got for this place I got even more excited.  Initially we planned to take the sleeper train - it is an 8 hour train ride with beds, it would have been an experience but it didn't pushed through because I was late to book our tickets. I was not able to anticipate that our trip fell into a holiday and never thought that a lot of poeple will be going back to their home towns.  Anyhow, we just booked a bus (5 hour drive).  We booked the Alisan Bus from the Puduraya Bus Station and left at 11:59pm. 

We arrived Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal at around 6:30am where our rented van was waiting for us.

We drove all the way from the bus station to a nearby market to have our breakfast.

I was told by my friends that when you are here in Penang we have to be mindful of the hawkers! Why? Look at the places where there are long queues and you can never go wrong with the food! This is what we saw and without any hesitations we queued up!

Wow! With it's cheap prize it was definitely a delicious and worth the queue mee!

After filling our stomach's we then proceeded to our first destination. I printed a tourist friendly map on how we can tour Georgetown and it was very helpful. 

We started at the Queen Victoria clock.

Also known as the Jubilee Clock Tower, in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, is a Moorish-style Jubilee clocktower at the junction of Lebuh Light (Light Street) and Lebuh Pantai (Beach Street). Built to commemorate Queen Victoria's 1897 Diamond Jubilee, the tower is sixty feet tall, one foot for each year of Victoria's reign.  (wiki)

Then next was at the Fort Cornwallis where we had a few lovers shot with Reo and Joel.

These walls reminded me of Melacca!

Just across the field was the City Hall and the Town Hall.
Then on to the St. George Church.

While we were driving along the tiny streets of Georgetown, i appreciated it's beauty. Its vintage look and very calm environment never failed to relax me. 

As we drove along the streets of Georgetown, we were able to see some Art Walls and we took this chance to take our shots.

The Art Wall in Penang started in conjuction with Penang’s Georgetown Festival, certain old walls within our dear capital has gained a new lease of life, thanks to the awesome efforts of Lithuanian artist, Ernest Zacharevic. (www.onlypenang.com)

Some Art Walls that we saw there includes this cute couple! I am in love all over again!

This Art Wall is not just painting - it's like stick drawing but made out of pure metal coated with black paint (at least that's my visual assessment).

I will be writing a separate entry about Penang's Art Wall.

Just when we were on our way back to our Apartment we saw another long queueu.  You know what this means ~ it means we need to have a taste of the buzz!

Wow it was definitely worth the queue because the Cendol was just creamy and so refreshing!

After a few minutes, we checked into our Apartment.  Reo was the one in charge of our house and when we got there I was so happy to see the place! I so loved it and the bonus that we got was our friend Ate Rachel and Ate Kris (pinays) who accommodated us in our three days, two nights stay there at the Century Bay Apartments.

When we got into the Apartment, we just rested for a while and then took a dip into their wonderful recreation area. We took advantage of their pool, sauna and basketball court.  Other facilities included a gym (complete facilities), billiards, library and other games that you can do while in there.

Just before dinner, we packed up and prepared for our next destination which was Dinner! 

They say that Penang is a Food Destination and it was.  When I looked for great food to eat, the first thing that came out from reviews  was the Char Koay Teow.  I read some reviews and found out one of the best Char Koay Teow in Penang.

He was just along the Anson Road together with the other hawkers stall. Sweets is not a mee lover (more on Filipino Style Spag) but he loved this particular Char Koay Teow! Which means it was really worth the time to look for!  You will see a lot of Char Koay Teow stalls in Penang but this one stands out because Manong is cooking his Char Koay Teow using charcoal, I do not have a scientific explanation about it (maybe google has) but it really tasted different!

We enjoyed our dinner and didn't notice the time.

We went to our next destination which was the Pasar Malam around 9pm and the stalls were already packing up, it was also drizzling and thus we decided to go back to our apartment to rest.

Worth it Day 1, can't wait for the following day!

Xoxo