i almost forgot...

How time really flies, last December 6 was the 1st year anniversary of my blog.  I almost forgot about it because of the busyness at the office, then at home - I was so engrossed in reading the ebooks of the twilight saga... hahaha! and with all other stuff going around.  Wow! I can't believe it... 1 year had passed and as I look through all my posts for the past year, it brought a smile on my face .  To be able to express myself through writing and sharing pictures of the happennings in my life is quite an enjoyable hobby or past time.  I just wish that this coming year, I can have a lot more time to post new entries on this blog and interesting stories to tell and share with.  Happy anniversary to me!  Yey!!! Cheers!

my weekend in HK...

Traveling is something that I enjoyed doing even when I was a kid. Even if it's just going to the zoo or to the groceries, I am thrilled to leave the house and see the sites outside of it. I always look forward to every occasion that has something to do with travel. And so now that I am grown up and has the ability to splurge my hard-earned money (naks!), there... i went to the fabulous city of Hongkong! Yipeee...

My first foot at Hongkong International Airport was a bit nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time. First, I almost lost 300HKD while walking on the airport holding a map and deciding on what to ride going to our hotel. Thankfully, a chinese guy returned the money. (whew!) Second, I rode off an incorrect bus number leaving me circling around mongkok finding my way to the hotel. I was almost lost in translation... (sigh) but then , I was able to find my way to the hotel by asking direction to a receptionist of another hotel that speaks and understands english... YES!


DAY1: Evening
DESTINATION: Mongkok
WEATHER: A bit cold 17 degree celcius

We had dinner at McDonald's... We were so afraid of trying Chinese foods that's why we have to play it safe by ordering our food at McDonalds.
During evening, Mongkok has a lively vibe. A lot of people went out either to shop or to unwind after a days work. Since I don't have a lot of money in hand to splurge, all I could do is to window shop and eat my hearts out with all the wonderful goodies and gadgets that I would love to buy.


DAY2: Mid-morning till evening
DESTINATION: Ocean Park, Canton Road, Harbor View

This was so much fun as we were able to ride cable car and see Kung-fu Panda... hehehe
We also got to ride the Mine Train (it's like a roller coaster which overlook the South China Sea) During night time, we went to Canton Road. It's like our Greenbelt here. You can find there high-end stores like LV, Prada, D&G, etc. lined up on the road.
And at the end of the road is the Harbor view where you can see the skyline of Hongkong displaying different arrays of lights.


DAY3: Mid-morning till 6PM
DESTINATION: Hongkong Disneyland

This was the climax of our trip. When we got to enter Disneyland, my friend was almost teary-eyed, according to her this was her childhood dream to visit this theme park. Hehehe
We got to tour the 3 lands that Disney has to offer: Adventureland, Fantasyland and Tomorrowland. And of course, our visit will not be complete without a picture taken with any Disney character and that was Minnie Mouse for us. Cute! hehehe... What I enjoyed most was the 3D animation presentation. I forgot what ride was that. But it was such a fun experience... It's like going back to my childhood days :) The only thing was we haven't got to watch the parade as there were none that day. There reason was that they are preparing for the Christmas season. Oh well... it's still fun after all. We left Disney having a big smile on our faces and headed straight to the airport.

All in all, it was such an enjoyable trip... I hope that I could get back there and experience a new level of fun and excitement. AYUS!

23 days and counting... yey!

I'm so excited... it's just 23 days and counting 'til my trip to Hongkong.
The anticipation is killing me as I countdown this planned vacation of mine.  This is my first time to travel abroad, so you can feel the giddiness in me
This vacation will only contain touring of the places... that means no shopping for me
Oh well... that's life, there are things that I cannot do at the same time even if I want to. I'm just happy and thrilled that I could get to experince Hongkong in all it's grandeur.  Naks!

My Papa dearest's 70th birthday

                                                                                 
As you all know for now, reading on my previous posts, I am a true blue Papa's girl.  And I am proud of it... I really love my dad so, so, so much...  So when he celebrated his 70th birthday,  I am happy and thrilled to share with you this milestone in my dad's life.

August 21 was the exact day of my father's birthday, but it was August 19 that we were able to celebrate it and throw him a party for his 70th birthday... His guest were his friends from our church and some of my titos and titas were there.  Woaahhh... I couldn't believe that my father is already 70 years old and still in good health.  I thank God that He has given him enough strength to get to his age right now.  It is so nice to see him aging gracefully and enjoying his life as a lolo to his unica iha apo Rica... hehehe.  My wish for my dad is for the Lord to give him more strength, good health and protection for his everyday activity.  So from all of us your children, Brian and Loy, Hazel, Glena and your apo Rica... Happy Birthday Pa!!! Labs you so much...

being twenty something

I got this email from a friend... just wanna share it.

________________________________________________________________

They call it the "Quarter-life Crisis."
It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are many things about yourself that you didn't know and may not like.

You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now. You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met, and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones.

What you don't recognize is that they are realizing that too, and aren't really cold, catty, mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you. You look at your job... and it is not even close to what you thought you would be doing, or maybe you are looking for a job and realizing that
you are going to have to start at the bottom and that scares you.

Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging more than usual because suddenly you realize that
you have certain boundaries in your life and are constantly adding things to your list of what is acceptable and what isn't. One minute, you are
insecure and then the next, secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest
force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused.

Suddenly, change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life, but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further
away, and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move
forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you. Or you lie in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough that you want to get to know better. Or maybe you love someone but love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you know that you aren't a bad person.

One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap. Getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over, and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans, money, the future and making a life for yourself... and while winning the race would be great, right now you'd just like to
be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

videoke night with EB2 QAs

Last Aug 15, we had our videoke night out with the EB2 QA's.  It was so much fun altogether, rain or shine matutuloy ang kantahan... hahaha!!!  I really love singing most especially during videokes.  I just can't help myself but to be drawn to the mike and sing my hearts out... it's like a stress reliever for me.  But don't think that I am a good singer... I am way too  far from that.  I am just happy and thrilled whenever i sing.  Anyways, back to the videoke, we all had a blast that night... It was almost 2:30am when we got hold off the mike and decided to call it a night/day.

yes that's me singing "alone" and literally i am alone in the picture... wahaha!!!

   

Happy Father's Day to all the Dads!!

I know it's been soooooo late since Father's Day,
but I wouldn't miss this oppurtunity to greet my dearest dad
a Happy Father's Day on this special occasion.  

Love you so much Pa!!!  Umwah!

And also to my Kuya who is now a Father too on his own right,
to my cute li'l niece Rica Deon...  Happy Father's Day too bro!

THIS IS IT!!!

At last! the long wait is over... The CPA board exam ended yesterday, May 19. And today, the result is posted on the internet to be viewed. Thank heavens that my sister is one of those who passed the exam. To God be the glory... Truly, the Lord answers all our prayers in His time. After all the reviews, late night sleeps, deprivation of watching TV, and all fun stuffs missed... this is sooooo worth it!!! My sister is now Ms. Hazel R. Delgado, CPA. Naks!!! Wooot wooow!!! Let's party!!! 

The PRC announces that 1,268 out of 4,561 (27%) passed the Certified Public Accountant Licencure Examination given by the Board of Accountancy in the Cities of Manila, Baguio, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Dava, Iloilo and Legaspi. Click here to see the full list of those who passed the exam.

miss you Ma....

Every second Sunday of May, we celebrate Mother's Day. It's time for our mothers to be recognized and be thanked for. And on this time of the year, this is the time that I truly miss my mom. I wonder what could have been if she is still here with us. How would she look like, how was it to be cared for by a mother. It's been 21 years since my mom passed away. Woah... such a long time ago and in this time that she was gone, my father took on the responsibility of being a mother and a father at the same time. I know it's a tough job, but my dad was able to raise us in a decent way. He was able to send us to school and all three of us graduated, although not with flying colors but at the least have a diploma and march at the graduation rights.

I have a little memory of my mom 'cause I was only 7 yrs. old when she died. But my fondest memory with my mom was everytime I would go home coming from playing outside with my neighbor friends, she would scold me like all mothers do to their child whenever they are like messy and "amoy araw" and then she would caress me and tell me to clean up. How I really miss that. Everytime I would see a mother-daughter bonding moments whether it be on TV or just around me, I would really miss my mom. How I wish my mom is still here with me today, so that I can have her thoughts, her wisdom on how I should live my life and if ever I will have a family of my own, there she will be guiding me and giving me pieces of advice on how to raise a family.

So to all children out there that still have their moms by their side, treasure these moments. Make your mom feel that she is important to you and that you care about her, before it's too late.

To all the mothers out there, to my titas, my sister-in-law and my friends who are now mothers in their own right, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!

on the side of me (corrine may)

I'm not the easiest person to love
I'm often the one who lets things go unresolved

Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Yet you choose to be on the side of me
on the side of me

I'm not too proud of some things
I've done in my life
The skeletons in my closet
Are too big for me to hide

Yet you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
Blessed Charity
You're on the side of me
on the side of me

Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go
I remember when nobody cared
but you

I'm not the easiest person to love
But you, you've opened your heart
to show me what I'm worth
'Cause you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me
What a mystery
You're on the side of me
on the side of me

Everyone needs a friend to hold
when it's cold outside
and there's no place to go
Everyone needs a friend to hold
all alone I cried
there was no place to go

I remember when nobody cared
Nobody cared
But you...

Yeah you choose to be
on the side of me
on the side of me

EB2 Summer Outing '08 @ Punta de Uian, Zambales

Pahabol outing before summer season ends... hehehe. All I can say with this summer escapade is AAAWWW!!!! Super enjoy to the max... all the employees had a blast with this weekend getaway. Kudos to the Fun Committee for finding this resort: great place, great view, great scenery, great food and great accomodations. AS IN!!! Check it out...

Photos grabbed from Boss Cami... Photos# 1, 2, 3 and 4

why do I love him?

Tough question. I don't even know how or where to begin. I'm not sure if I could possibly find the right words to express what or how much I feel for him, let alone explain why I love him. I don't believe the English language has all the words I would need.


Why do I love him? I guess I just do.
I love him just because.
I love him just because that's the most natural and possible thing to do.
I love him.
I love him because he's the most incredible, wonderful, amazing and fantastic guy I have ever known in my entire life.
I love him because he's sweet, charming, smart, witty, and has a great sense of humor.
I love him because he's so cool he's hot.
I love him because he makes me smile.
I love him because he makes me laugh.
I love him because he makes me happy.
I love him because he's the one and only guy who has ever made it through my wall and seen right through my mask.
I love him because he accepts the real me, imperfections and all, and still appreciates me for who I am.
I love him for being my friend.
I love him because I could be whatever I want to be in front of him.
I love him because we could talk about anything and everything under the sun.
I love him because I feel safe when I am with him.
I love him because we are comfortable with each other.
I love him for giving me a helping hand when I had to pick myself up, but couldn't.
I love him for offering his shoulder for me to lean on to when I had to be strong, but wasn't.
I love him for telling me not to drink too much alcohol, then pretending to be mad at me when I did drink too much.
I love him for telling me not to stay up too late at night because it wasn't good for my health.
I love him for texting and sending me sweet and mushy messages.
I love him for those times when he would call or text me just when I was thinking of calling or texting him, when I was feeling down, or when I was missing him, like he has gone psychic all of a sudden.
I love him for the kilig moments we had.
I love him for always making me feel better, about myself and life in general.
I love him for making me feel special.
I love him for making me feel loved. But most of all,

I love him for making me feel.
I love him for making me realize that I am capable of feeling this way and this much for someone.
I love him for making me feel alive.

So, why do I love him?
I love him because he's all of these and more. So much more.
I love him because he's everything. He's everything... but mine.

testing... testing...

It's past midnght now, and I'm still up infront of my laptop thinking of the things happened to me in the office for the past weeks and months. It has been a rollercoaster ride for me having to experience the highs and lows of working in a fast-paced environment.

It's tough to be a QA in an airline industry, testing web applications that goes live in the world wide web. I said fast-paced because we are working in an agile environment. You get to work for about 3 weeks in every Iteration. Before beginning a new iteration, a review is needed to go through all the tasks that was done in the previous one. Then, comes the planning, depending on the planning is the success of the next iteration. After that, the development follows and then comes the testing. The learning curve for a newbie is 2-3 months to be able to cope up with the work that needs to be done by the QA.

Sanity testing is the first thing to be done, to see if there are no showstoppers, all the functionalities are working fine and in place, then testing of the issues that the client has raised. If ever the QA saw a regression issue or a defect, it will also be logged as an RTS issue and needs to be fixed by a developer. This job is very challenging for me. As a QA for over 4 years, I've handled Rate Testing, which is testing of Home Insurance's rates which is actually like an acturial science. For a short period of time, I've also done Game Console Testing which is for kids. And now, I'm into web applications that uses Java as the platform.

In June, it will be my 6th month and I'm so thrilled that I was able to learn and experience new things. May it be good or bad, from the bloopers I've done when testing in Production to the meetings I've attended together with the managers. My day to day work has been a challenge for me, but I kinda liked it for some reason. I'm beginning to get used to this fast-paced environment. I just hope and pray that I could still cope up with my work until my contract ends.

Ilocos Invasion, April 4-7, '08

For the month of April, I was planning to go to Sonya's Garden with my friend who is residing in Cavite and is just near Tagaytay. But that plan didn't push through; instead, because there was a long weekend scheduled, off we went to the beautiful province of Ilocos together with my officemate.
When I first heard that my officemate is going to Pagudpod, I immediately ask her if I could join her on that trip even if I don't know her friends, I still went with her. In short, um-epal ako para makasama lang. Hahaha!! That was a Wednesday and the scheduled departure was on Friday, April 4. That gives me only 1 day to prepare my things. huwaaattt??? But I can say that the trip was soooo worth it. I really enjoyed it and was able to go and see the sites that Ilocos has to offer. For the 3 days that we're there, I believe that we have pretty much covered all the tourist spots there. From Ilocos Norte to Ilocos Sur and a side trip to Baguio. Wow!!! How was that for a vacation huh??!! In Ilocos Norte, we visited Fort Ilocandia, Marcos' House, Wind Mills, Light House and the beautiful Pagudpod beach. In Ilocos Sur, we went to Vigan which was famous for its historical architecture. We have so much fun in touring those places. We took a lot of pictures on every place that we've visited. Thanks to Irish and her family for hosting us on that trip... :) wink! wink!  And as promised, here are some of the pictures taken during my trip to Ilocos. 

 
The following places are @:
Fort Ilocandia
The Lighthouse and Windmills
Pagudpod

My first ever Laptop..

Last April 13, 2008, I bought my first ever laptop. Yey! I'm so excted and thrilled to own this kind of gadget. Thanks to my sis for making me swipe on her credit card. Woohoo!!! Love you sis! :) I remember at the start of the year, I am writing on my notebook (as in real notebook) hehehe... what I wanted to do/have for the year 2008. One of this is to have a brand new laptop. And God is so good, that He answered my prayers and let me own this one. My baby, I'd like to have name for my laptop. Hhhmmm, what should I call this one??? Oh well, I couldn't think of any as of the moment. But, I would come up with a good name soon and I will post it in my blog. :) This is the specs of my brand new laptop:

CheQ Systems, Summer Outing '08 Part 2

After our check out in the Resort, we had our lunch then we were toured inside the SBMA vicinity. We visited a colony of giant bats. It is also fascinating to see these giant bats hanging in the trees and flying around. There are also monkeys wandering in the streets. Would you believe that if a driver accidentally hit a monkey on the road, he will pay an amount of $100 bucks??? Woaahhh... so if you're planning to visit Subic, you'd better be careful in driving... hahaha!!! We also had the chance to visit a camp that teach tourists how to survive in the jungle by just having a bolo and a bamboo. It is very educational and fun at the same time. Also, we visited an aeta village but unfortunately, we haven't got to meet them 'cause they are still not at home. All in all, our Summer Outing was a success I should say. Employees get to unwind and have some RnR with their colleagues without thinking the pressures and tons of work that has to be done at the office. And at the same time learn new things and made memories to treasure. Now that's more like it!!! :)

overlooking Subic Freeport Zone

there are monkeys all over the place

and bats too... if they were disturbed they will migrate to other places

@ the aeta village

CheQ Systems, Summer Outing '08 Part 1

As I have promised on my previous entry, I will be posting my summer escapades here in my blog. So here it goes...
Last March 29-30, we had our company's summer outing at White Rock Hotel and Beach Resort. It was a fun and enjoyable experience for each and everyone who attended the event. We got to relax and enjoy the sun and took pictures of the beautiful scenery that the resort has to offer. The downside of the Resort is that all there amenities and the things they are selling cost way too much. It's like 200% increase in every merchandise or food or whatever you wanna buy in there. For example, the Nivea sun block that cost around P250.00 in grocery stores, there, it'll cost you P900 bucks!!! Would you believe it? Is there gold inside that bottle of sun block? And for a single order of sandwich, it's P300 bucks. For those who want to drink alcohol, 1 bottle of Johnnie Walker was P16,000!! OMG!!! I wonder where did they get there price tags? Well, anyway I'm just so disappointed that I never get tha chance to avail of the Jet Ski and Banana boat ride of the Resort. As usual, it cost too much for just a regular employee like me. Hahahaha!!! Nevertheless, the important thing is that I enjoyed the trip and was able to explore different places like White Rock and some tourist spots in SBMA. I am looking forward for the next summer outing. Woot woow!!!