Another loooong day

(End of the brochure saga - see yesterday's post for the first part)

I leave the house at 8:30 foolishly thinking that it would only take me 30 minutes to get to the printer. At 9, I'm not even halfway there. Turning on the radio, we learn that they decided to fix a portion of the highway. We make a detour and arrive at the printer at 10 am.

The person in charge explains that someone arrived at 9:30 am with a rush job for the printing of 300 pages of a 2-page flyer. Thinking it was me, they accepted the job. I can't blame them, their conversation went:

Printer guy: Were you the one who called last night?

Client: I'm not sure, my boss just sent me here to day and instructed me to tell you that I need the brochures tonight.

Printer guy: How many copies do you need?

Client: 300.

Printer guy: And your boss' name is?

Client: Happy.

Her boss' name is Happy. It does sound like Abie! Before I faint, he explains that they still can print my brochures. But it will take more time as I'll have to be queued after Happy's printing job. Joey, the printer guy, promises to call me when the job is done.

Since their office is now 1.5 hours away from home, I go to the nearby mall to shop. Luckily, I have a gift certificate that allows me to purchase turtleneck sweaters for my Tokyo trip. To breathe color in an otherwise boring lawyer's stiff suit - I get 3 solid color ones in red, purple and teal. I walk around and see an back overcoat at 70% off, I grab one as well. I convince myself that seeing the coat was a heavenly sign - you really don't see much winter clothing in a country where the weather never drops below 18 degrees Celsius.

For lunch, I order a sandwich and potato salad combo and gobble it up while I eat. A former officemate sees me and we chat. I mention going to Tokyo and she suggests that I buy some thick stockings. Since stockings were cheap, I head to the nearby department store to get some. As I walk towards the ladies accessories section, I notice some luggages on sale. I fall in love with a blue polycarbonate hand-carry that only costs $15. It was the only remaining stock so I lug it around the store.

The brochures aren't ready at 3:30 PM so I call up G and ask her to meet me at the designers' place at 4:30 PM. I realize that I left her shoes at home so I call home and ask my mother-in-law to bring it. Mama's excited to see the gown, too (she's paying for it!)

The gown is beautiful! It still needed some adjustments, though. Mama leaves G and I at the shop to wait for the gown. They give us a perfect-fitting gown at 5:30 PM. At the same time, the printer calls to tell me that the brochures will be ready at 7:30 PM. I decide to go to the grocery. I finish at 7 PM and arrive at the printers by 8 PM. Only 199 copies of the brochure were there! They find out that there are still 111 copies left with the other cutter (They had to split the jobs because one supplier cannot cut and fold all 300 copies in an hour.) I read a book while they fetch the rest of the brochures from the cutters.

Finally, at 9 PM, which is literally, at the end of my day, I see all 300 copies of the brochures printed, cut and folded. I was so happy to see them that I just wanted to use several copies to wallpaper my office workspace!

It takes me 45 minutes to get home (traffic has lessened as it was already late.) I forget about the brochures as soon as I put them in my suitcase. Now, it's time to pack for Tokyo!

One long day - first post of the Brochure Saga

I finally got my Japan visa, and I got it in the afternoon of the last working day before my flight! I was so worried about it yesterday that I catch myself literally holding my breath every so often.

And when I saw that everything was in order (my name, gender, passport details, among other things), I was finally able to breathe properly. As I walked back to my work area, I think of how I'll fit my laptop and my camera on in my hand carry.

Two minutes later, I check my email and hyperventilate. The chairman of our practice group wants 300 copies of our Asia-Pacific brochure by Wednesday morning next week. The brochure doesn't even exist! It consists of a flyer and a contact card. I email both to our Manila-based global marketing department and beg them into completing the request in an hour. In the meantime, I communicate with Mr. Chairman trough email:

Me: I'm having the brochure formatted but even if we finish the formatting today, I doubt if we have time to print the brochures and ship them to Tokyo in time - the Hong Kong and Manila printers require 3 working days, the ones from Sydney require 2

Mr. Chairman: find one in Tokyo.

At 5 PM Tokyo time on a freaking Friday! I email the marketing department at our Hong Kong office and they efficiently email me the contact details of their printer. The Tokyo printer does not reply to my email nor answer my call. I decide to print in Manila.

I send out a desperate email to all my e-groups. While waiting for a reply, I give large printing companies a ring. They're either too busy to take the job or they charge an exhorbitant amount and insist on being paid in cash or through company check. At 6 PM, I talk to our auditor, explain my situation and ask for a company check. I take 2 check signatories hostage while the auditor starts the process of releasing the check. One of the signatories insists on leaving early (she has a karaoke party to attend) and gives me cash instead (I love her!). I call up one of the printers and email the printable pdf file. They apologize and say that the cost is actually double than what they originally quoted. Half of my hair falls out. I hear choking sounds and realize that I'm making them.

I dream of strangling the marketing person in charge of Asia-Pacific. Producing brochures is her job. Except that she said she was busy and said no. The chairman accepted her "no" (and not mine) because she looks like a doll with her big charming eyes. I have efficient-looking chinky eyes.

At this point, I feel like I'm the employee in the Devil-wears-Prada without the perks (no free clothes and glam parties!)

I start calling printers I haven't heard of, plus the suggestions I get from my e-groups. A fellow photo-hobbyist who used to work for a printer kindly explains that it is not possible to find a "rush" offset printer, as color separation alone would take at least a day and I needed my brochures overnight. Digital printers can do the job but would charge an arm, a leg and maybe a whole head. He gives contact details for a digital printer. I call and almost cry when they agree to print my brochures. Unfortunately, their fee is a little higher than the cash that was given me.

I pack my stuff and start to leave the office at 8:30 PM. As I lock my drawer, my eyes fall on the yellow pages and I notice an ad saying that they print on demand. With my bag on my left hand, I dial their number with my right hand. They can do the job at a lower price as long as I bring a CD of the pdf file to their office at 9AM. On a Saturday morning.

I travel an hour to get home where hubby feeds me roasted duck and rice (he normally doesn't do this but he knows I was having a crappy day.) I want orange juice with vodka but we're out of orange juice (I remember that I was supposed to pass by the grocery before going home!) I go to bed instead, but jump out a few minutes later because I want to take a photo! I go back to bed a few minutes later and demand a hug. I fall asleep as soon as hubby wraps his arms around me.

6 hours later, I'm up and I'm preparing to go to the printer at 8:30 AM. (Of course, I have to post my photo first.) I am now feeling better but I am still worried about the printing of my brochures.

[to be continued - see next post!]

Shoe Shopping

It's prom season in the Philippines!

With my last-minute business trip to Tokyo, I had to rush G into fitting her gown and buying her accessories. She'll be attending her prom on the day that I arrive! We were lucky that she was able to have her fitting last Wednesday, so all we have to get her ready was to buy her shoes and bag.

I picked her up from school and after 2 hours of shopping, we found a gorgeous pair that's both sexy and comfie!

Of course, I wasn't able to resist buying a pair of low-heeled knee-high leather boots. I justified the purchase by saying that a person living in a tropical county couldn't possibly survive in Tokyo's 3 degree weather without warm shoes.

(For my new blogmates, G is my husband's 16-year old daughter)

My Daily Dose

Heidi of DesignerDigitals started a photo journal where she challenged herself to post a daily photo on her blog for 30 days, and she's inviting everyone to join her! Since I promised myself that I wouldn't let the money I spent on my camera and lenses go to waste, I have decided to join her challenge.

A photo a day. 30 days.

Wish me luck!

Happy!

Our office recently leased a floor at Net Cube and they needed photos to decorate the walls. I submitted several and they picked 2 of them! These 2 pictures now occupy half of an office wall! Woohoo!

I'm going to take pictures of our office wall later. In the meantime, here are the pictures that they chose:

Shanghai kid - I just found the little boy so cute I had to take a picture



Venice at dusk - taken using my point and shoot! I'm a bit surprised that this was chosen though, I find it a bit too dark.

Merry Christmas!

Here's the card we sent to friends:


And the one we sent to our relatives:

Woohoo!

Our office raffled off several CRT monitors and I won a 19" one. Yey!!!

Amazing!

After watching several Korean TV series (The Wedding, My Girl, Kim Sam Soon, Princess Hours, Fantasy Couple, Full House, Vineyard Man, One Fine Day and Memories in Bali,) B and I are taking a break this weekend.

We're now watching movies from other Asian countries! This morning, we watched Hong Kong's Invisible Target. We so loved the movie - the action scenes were fast paced and beautifully choreographed, and Jacky Chan's son knows how to act.

I also got to watch Taiwan's Crying Out Loud from the Center of the World and enjoyed the cinematography that left my mouth open during the whole movie. I felt like I was watching a slideshow of postcards! The story was also beautifully presented. Surprisingly, I didn't shed a single tear but I was truly moved by it.

Another video that caught my attention is from America's Got Talent. Terry Fator is simply amazing!

Here's Terry's rendition of What a Wonderful World:

Why I Don't Get To Blog . . .

He was so cute in Coffee Prince I had to check out his old movies as well (My Tutor Friend, She's on Duty, and B is still looking for the others.)



Jumong. 81 episodes. 1 hour each. 2 weeks.

He was such a cutie in Art of Seduction, too.

I'm now thinking of checking out his other movies and telenovelas. I guess I'll decide when I catch up on sleep.

And of course,



It took me a week to prepare for my presentation and another couple of days to help other lawyers prepare for their presentation. I had to present twice during the 2-day training and had to record the presentation all over again when I got back to Manila. Getting the Polish visa was so much trouble but seeing Warsaw was worth all the effort.

Maybe I'll get to write about Warsaw when I stop finding Korean cuties on DVD. :)

Finally . . .

I got my Poland visa! I'll be flying to Warsaw tomorrow for our European practice group's meeting. It's just sad that I lost a day. I was supposed to leave today but my visa just arrived this afternoon. At least I still get to attend the meeting (and just on time - I arrive in Warsaw at 11 am and the meeting starts at 1:30 pm).

It took a month and a few long distance calls to get that visa. I hope the pictures that I'll be bringing home will be worth the wait!

B's New Desktop Wallpaper

I should have slept hours ago but it was such a challenge taking a shot of B's Mazinger Z toy. His arms and legs were reflecting all the mess in our room! After a hundred tries, I finally got it right.



Now B wants me to take more shots of Z! Hay.

Not Pregnant, Just Fat!

Maybe I should have this printed on a t-shirt and wear them in all reunions that I need to attend:
Hehe.

High on Sonja's Mini Cupcakes

We celebrated the birthdays of Paul (my brother in law) and Nikki (my niece) last Sunday at their house. All 3 of my nieces were there and after feasting on Sonja's mini cupcakes, they had so much fun playing and having their pictures taken at the stairs. I guess sugar attacks can sometimes be good!



Speaking of those cupcakes (sorry, no pictures, the box toppled over so the cupcakes didn't look pretty), I found them a bit too sweet but the girls just loved them and would have kept on eating if we didn't stop them.

The Body Attack

Once upon a time, I was a gym rat. I worked out at the gym at least 3 times a week with a personal trainer. I lost several pounds and my body mass index vastly improved.

One day, I was a bride at our wedding and lived happily ever after.

Unfortunately, living "happily ever after" meant buffet meals, wine and cheese after a day's work, midnight calls to McDonald's delivery, trying out the specialties of new and newly-discovered restaurants, watching movies with burger, fries, pizza and softdrinks on our laps, and 20 lbs. of body fat.

So there I was at the gym, 2 years and a few months later, at the prodding of my childhood friend, Sarah. We thought it would be fun to join a class so we hopped in one that fit our schedule, the Body Attack. After a few minutes, I was huffing and puffing like the big bad wolf. I ran as if I was the king's messenger and danced the salsa with the enthusiasm, but sadly not the grace, of Esmeralda. I kicked and punched as if slaying dragons.

After the class, I was as red as a poisonous apple and was ready to sleep for a hundred years. Unfortunately, like the seven dwarves, I'm off to work in the morning. But since I don't want to be mistaken as a fairy godmother (I really think the glam wicked witch had a lot more character), I'm going back to wage another war with my flab at the gym.

Seriously, though, I really had lots of fun tonight (even if during the "Forever Young Running Segment" I really thought I was going to be forever young as I was ready to drop dead on the floor!). I love being with Sarah because I don't have to worry about how I look and how I act when I'm with her - she already saw me without front teeth when I was a kid! We also laughed so hard when she confessed that she was pressured to keep up with the routine because she was embarassed to stop - she has been regularly going to the gym for months and felt that she should keep up with me, who was having my first serious work out in years. I admitted that I couldn't stop because I was running after my heart.

We had so much fun that we decided to meet at the gym at least twice a week. Aside from the laughter, working out would definitely improve our chances of prolonging our ever after.

i finally got to have my hair cut

and the hairdresser cut 6 inches off my hair!



I'm loving it now. I hope I'll still love it when I wake up tomorow morning.

New Member of the Family

Isn't he adorable?

My Work Space

I had a slow day at work today so I decided to work on my space here in cubeville. I guess this set-up is growing on me.

Busy Bee!

I was hoping to change my template over the weekend but there were just lots of things to do that I didn't even get to turn on my computer!

As you know, I went to a wake last Thursday. And guess what, hindi nakapalag ang mga payat! Hahaha. Before going to the funeral parlor, I passed by my childhood friend, Sarah, from Fitness First Plus. Sarah was my best friend when we were kids. At that time we were both thin, but that's where our physical similarities ended. I was fair-skinned and chinky-eyed with short straight hair, she was morena with expressive round eyes and long hair with big fat curls that framed her pretty face. Like me, she gained weight since we were kids.

While still in the car, we got to talk about people commenting about our weight and we decided to bully them into not mentioning the words "fat" and "taba". When we got to the funeral parlor, none of our friends were still there. Ate Yaki welcomed us in. Ate Yaki was our favorite Sabbath school (the Seventh-Day Adventist version of Sunday school or kiddie mass. Yes, I used to be a Seventh-Day Adventist, but this topic is reserved for another blog entry) teacher. She taught us bible stories and encouraged us to help in our community. Like me and Sarah, she also put in a few months. The wake was for Ate Yaki's father but she appeared to have graciously accepted his loss, she explained that Tatay had been sick since December and it was more painful for her to see him and Ate Cris suffer. We learned that Ate Cris, our childhood friend, chose to leave her nursing career, to take care of Tatay. She had been at Tatay's said for almost 24 hours every day since December.

Ate Yaki, Sarah and I traded stories until our thinner friends arrived. Even before they can say a word, we already told them that they couldn't mention the words "fat" and "taba". They obliged. Of course, when we were saying goodbye, they joked about how it was good to see us after all these years, "ngayong malalaki na" kami. They added that "ang liliit" pa namin noon. But it was all in good fun and even Sarah and I laughed with them.

As for the when-are-you-going-to-have-kids question, they all stopped asking when Sarah explained that she wanted children but it was difficult for her since her husband and I were only together 4 weeks in a year. To make the conversation lighter, I volunteered to show the picture of my baby, who I described as "matangos ang ilong, malago ang buhok at napakaganda ng lahi!" Of course, they all laughed when they saw the picture of Porkchop on my phone.

It felt nice to see friends and I was so surprised to see that even if we all grew older (and fatter, in my case) the dynamics of our relationship stayed the same - Ate Yaki still talked to us as if we're still her students, Sarah and I still successfully teamed up in order to avoid hot issues. Unfortunately, Ate Cris remained the sensitive person that she was. We didn't even try to cheer her up, we knew we wouldn't succeed. So we just held her hand and silently prayed that she soon accepts the loss of her father.

As for me and Sarah, we celebrated our little "victory" by pigging out at Max's. We laughed at how we avoided being insulted by going on the offensive. We talked about how we vowed that we would be maid of honor in each other's wedding but ended up not inviting each other, but still ended up as friends. We so enjoyed being with each other that we ended up staying at Max's until they closed! It would be weeks until we see each other again but now we know that the next time we meet, we wouldn't need to worry about careless remarks and broken promises. All we'll need to worry about is finding a venue that would let us chat until the wee hours of the morning.

Why I Hesitate to Meet Old Friends

The dad of a childhoold friend died so I'm going to the wake tomorrow with some of our other childhood friends. I'm excited to see them again after all these years but I just dread hearing the usual, "What happened to you?" (I put on a ton of weight since college), "When are you giving birth?" (I am centrally obese - arms are relatively thinner than my tummy) and the pakialamera question, "Why don't you have a kid yet?"

I usually answer the what-happened-to-you-question by saying, "Gumanda!" As for the when-are-you-giving-birth-question, I always say, "In 3 years, elepante kasi yung nasa loob." I'm used to these questions, anyway. But sometimes, when I'm having a bad day, I just don't have the humor to take the insult, so I say something nasty and feel bad about it afterwards.

The why-don't-you-have-a-kid-yet question is what usually irritates me. Hindi naman sila yung magpupuyat sa pag-aalaga ng bata o magbabayad ng tuition fees when the kid goes to school. I usually answer that we have no plans to have kids at the moment. Most of the time, they reply by reminding me about my body clock. Ano ba?! Do they think that we didn't consider my ticking body clock when we decided not to have kids at this time? Minsan talaga, gusto ko na lang sabihan, "wala kang karapatang makialam!"

Hay, sana talaga I'll have a good day at work tomorrow so I can bite off my nasty remarks when (unfortunately, not "if") I hear these questions.

Sari-saring Reklamo

pasensya na, i feel like whining today . . .

1. I can't believe I'm so cheap that I'm still not willing to pay for a decent photo site to house my beloved pictures. This week, I've been busy migrating my photos from Yahoo to Multiply. Yahoo is closing down YahooPhotos (waaah!) and will be deleting all the pictures uploaded in the site by September. I've tried using the automatic migration but only a few pictures were migrated to Multiply. So now, I'm downloading my pictures per album. Kakatamad.

2. I have an awfully stiff neck. This morning, I heard something dripping on the side of the bed. I was so sleepy that I just craned my neck to take a look. I felt my neck slowly stiffen. Kainis! It's so uncomfortable I decided to put some Salonpas ointment on it. Now, my neck's still stiff and I smell like a senior citizen.

3. I brought chicken asparagus soup to work today. When I was about to eat it(excited pa naman ako), I discovered that it was already spoiled.

4. Our internet is painfully slow tonight!

Mabuti na lang, maganda pa rin ako. Hahaha.