Friday, November 30, 2007

The Crazy Week that Was, Part 2: BKK 2007

Dearest Keyce,

Here's how my BKK 2007 trip went.

So Saturday, mga around 7, I got up and umalis na kami for the airport ng mga 730. We were in the airport at 8AM. We didn't have to wait very long for the boarding. Nagikot lang kami sa Duty Free dun, where I bought Clinique stuff. Super limas na kasi yung Dramatically Different moisturizer ko so I bought a new one. Of course, guess mo kung saan kami nagbreakfast ni mother? Sa Delifrance, where else!? Haha!

I like taking pictures of my small feet. Here they are, waiting to be used for some serious shopping.



The flight going to BKK was ok naman. Indra Regent Hotel kami na super panalo Keyce! pagbaba mo andun na lang mundo ng pratunam! First day namin sa Pratunam lang kami. Syempre late lunch sa Indra Regent na food court where we pay with food stubs. Remember those? Tapos andyan din ang champion na satay na 40 baht lang. Ang sarap lang ng lahat.



Ikot lang kami dun and si Mama got tired. Inaaya ko syang mag Suan Lum night market pero rest na lang daw kami. So for dinner, I went around the area lang and bought mga street food. Inihaw na sugpo (mga 6 na pieces) for a whopping 100 Baht only.



But no... alam mo ba, after eating all the street food, I went to bed na. Tapos mega kinabag ako! As in I couldn't sleep, tapos sinuka ko lahat ng kinain ko! Siguro dahil din I had this cranberry-strawberry drink I bought sa 7-11. I was crying na noh. So buti na lang andyan si mama and she took care of me. She made this improvised hot compress, which always works well with my stomach.

The following day, I really wasn't feeling all that good. Eh Chatuchak day pa naman yun! We went around Chatuchak and bought a few stuff. Naglate lunch kami in this corner resto (not the one where they sell fish cakes, hehe) na masasarap yung shakes. I had this Lychee Mint shake which was refreshing



And seafood linguini na super panalo. Spicy pa sya! Nice!




We went back to the hotel to drop off our stuff... and to take a nap. I swear. Sama talaga ng pakiramdam ko. Shopping isn't as fun if you're not in shape. After my nap, we went around Pratunam again and then nung evening nagcruise kami. Sa Chao Phraya Princess II!





Mama took this picture. Hehe.




The Filipina entertainer on board the ship was really good. She worked up the crowd and had people dancing. Err... not convincing needed for these Koreans who were ready to go. Mama showed off a dance move or two. Hehe.




Haha! I swear! Daming parts ng trip na parang replay lang of all the things we did together. Haha. After the cruise, we went to Suan Lum Night market to get our Thai food pasalubong. Naaalala kita sa durian chips! Waaa! I bought nice blouses rin sa Suan Lum.

Our third day was Central day. I swear Keyce, halos buong araw kami dun. Mama bought Wacoal bras. Walang sale na Lacoste. Pero grabe... naghakot kami ng jeans. For my brothers and for me! hehe! Muntik na akong bumili ng isang pair ng expensive jeans ulet, pero napigilan ko sarili ko. Dude. Ang Grab jeans doon eh mga 1000 baht na lang. Mega sale. We bought maraming Lucky Brand na jeans, which is actually a good American brand. :-) Tapos yung pinakafavorite ko na nabili ko is this white Paul Frank shirt na parang may arrows. Cute cute! We had a late lunch sa Greyhound Cafe! Grabe Keyce. Panalo dun!









It's inside the department store lang, pero ang daming variety sa menu. We had Clam Chowder, Chicken wings, and Seabass with Portabello mushrooms. Tapos for dessert, we had this coffee parfait na masarap. After Central, we went back to the hotel to deposit the stuff we bought tapos out to MBK. There was a store there with my name on it! Of course, kailangan magpapicture!



Oks lang naman dun. Mama bought shoes and ako mga Thai cotton blouses na di ka naman masyadong makatawad. Panalo pa rin sa Suan Lum or sa Pratunam for clothes talaga.

Last day naman namin, last minute shopping sa Pratunam and sa Indra pa rin. Until sa kahuli-hulihang sandali, shopping pa rin. But no... at the end of the trip, I felt na bitin ang shopping. I should've bought yung other pair of jeans, i should've gotten more blouses... Hehe. Which leads me to conclude na 4-5 days talaga dapat ang shopping trip in BKK.

Bonding with mama was nice. :-)





Okeh. So that's BKK and my week in a nutshell. A really tiring wedding. BKK without my best Bangkok Buddy and with a bad stomach.

What a week. Which is why I've had a tough time getting up in the morning (to go to work) and why I haven't cleaned up my inbox. Dami ko pang pending work na tinatamad pa akong gawin. Such a draaaag... Gusto ko lang magshop pa ulet. Hehe.

It's just not the same without you Keyce! Ang saya saya lang when we were there. :( The shopping, the kulitan, the eating, the YBs. The gimik! When you return to Manila, whenever that will be, kailangan tayong magBKK or di kaya Vietnam. Anywhere outside the Philippines!!! Please!

The Crazy Week that Was, Part 1: Lopez-Santiago Wedding

Grabe! Last week was such a hell week! Although the busy-ness was a pleasant one. Harrassing at times, pero in the end, worth all the stress. Thursday last week mega puyat for the Friday wedding.

My grade school friend, Rosan, got married and they got us to coordinate their wedding. It was such a nice wedding. Nice and super nakakapagod! Eto na ang pinakamahabang to bring list namin in the history of all weddings! We had about 130 guests, pero so much of the set-up was a DIY (Do-It-Yourself).



The ceremony and reception were really nice and touching. The groom was crying and crying lang. Napakasweet. Yung family kasi ng groom ay super iyakin.







Syempre ako rin ang host for the evening. I saw my grade school friends and kulitan lang. Pero di ko rin naman kasi masyadong nakachika dahil nga super busy.





Bibay, who helped me out sa wedding, was super helpful sa reception. Sya halos ang nagoversee and set-up and it was good. I ate after the reception na! And in between, I just had a glass of red wine! Haha. Kaya mejo dizzy. Hehe. Lencx was super helpful as well! She was my right hand assistant at the hotel and during the ceremony.



I've known the bride for more than 20 years now and we have been through a lot! Grade school and high school together. The wedding was just awesome. Not a dry eye in sight. The best Maid of Honor speech from Monica, the sweetest groom ever. Lovely and crazy bride. Fun wedding team!

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What a week this has been

O.M.G. Talk about a busy week! The Lopez-Santiago Wedding and my yearly BKK pilgrimage! Two loaded updates to follow.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

PRAM is dan!

Huge sigh of relief. PRAM for R7.3 is done! The experience of attending it is similar to an oral exam. It went rather well! We got conditional approval and almost everything is good to go. I feel soooo relieved. I had to tell the story of the release in one breath. Phew. Glad this is over. I just need to chase up on the remaining items.

Monday, November 19, 2007

This Was My Weekend

After the semi-sulking moments last Friday, Schmenten said to hello to a busy and gluttony-ridden weekend. I was online most of the time, surfing websites which repeatedly reminded me how not-up-to-par my score was. Well, it's not up to par with the big ivy league schools, pero pwede na for some of the other schools I'm looking at. I think what I'm getting out of all this confusion is a need to rethink why I'm doing this is in the first place. Ugh. Too. Much. For. Brain. To. Process. Now.

Friday night, Bibay and I met up early to watch Superbad, this super raunchy movie about high school seniors. Then we met up with Karkar to see One More Chance. Teehee. Schmenten now has two Movie Schmovie entries she can make!

Saturday was a day for the Lopez-Santiago wedding. I took Bibay and Lencx to meet with Rosan, Darlo, Monica, Tita Susan, and the entire production crew. It was a tiring, but extremely fun day! This couple has to be the most hands-on couple I've ever worked with. Not to mention the wackiest. Haha! I love the fact that I've known Rosan since we were in grade school. Darlo treated us to dinner in Tides after a day of hard work. This Saturday is a good reminder of how an empty stomach, fatigue, and a pitcher of Red Tide can result to my head spinning. Again, by some stroke of luck, I was able to arrive home in one piece.

Sunday was just babsie day. I relished in a day of gluttony. I was on my back, surfing the net, watching the telly (The Devil Wears Prada was on, and it was super hard to resist). Lola slept over and the whole family was just eating every other hour. From veggie lunch, to the adobong kambing (post-lunch), then to the fried sweet bananas, then to the fresh sashimi from Gen San. I just got out of my jammies to hear the last mass at San Antonio. Talk about lazy. My phone was pretty dead the entire day, and I didn't bother turning it back on.

It looks like a pretty interesting week ahead as well. R7.3 PRAM tomorow, Tuesday. Friday's Rosan's wedding. Saturday till Tuesday, Mama and I will be in Bangkok. Before I know it, bazaar season na again, Christmas parties left and right. Then New Year na. Then hello 2008.

Hay. So far, I've been able to do two of the four goals I've set myself to do this year. I'm sooo ruling Mediocrity-ville. Perhaps it's because I want to have it all. I want to do so many things all at once. I was telling Irene I just can't let go (of both institution and person). Schmenten wants to have it all. Hehe.

Friday, November 16, 2007

This is It?!

Right now, I'm in AV Surfer Powerplant, which surprisingly, has an internet shop of sorts. Just behind the kick ass flat screen TVs they sell. I had my lunch about two hours ago, and I got off the phone with Maan about twenty minutes ago.

Okie. So how did it go??

Not so great. Not horrible. But not stellar.

My unofficial score is far below than my target score. It isn't terrible. I didn't fail or anything. But if I stick to this score, I'm going to have to ride on the strength of my application, my recommendation letters, and my work experience a lot more. Papa wants me to retake it, saying money is not an issue, and that I could review more.

Ugh. I think that's it right there. I think I'm pretty much done with reviewing. I spent a considerable amount of time reviewing and doing practice tests. I think where it went wrong was my lack of the quick analysis and solution. As Riza shared before, I should time myself in answering the questions. One minute per question. I spent a lot more time on a couple of the math questions than I should have. I didn't finish that section of the test, hence the penalty on my score. The verbal section of the exam was a breeze, and so was the analytical writing. I think by now, I've pretty much established that Schmenten is NOT left-brained.

Perhaps my targets and my expectations were too high. I know deep down I could have done better. But the weird thing is, I don't feel so bad. When I was on the phone with Karina and Maan, I was telling them, "Is it so weird that I don't feel so bad?"

Right now, Papa is pretty insistent that I retake it. I'm thinking... Will the effort I put into reviewing more intensely result to a significant increase in my score? I have to push myself doubly hard to pull it up to Ivy-League standards. Maan pointed out that I should first try and see the minimum requirement for the schools I am targetting. The schools in NY and in Sydney are still pretty much in my alley, despite my not so impressive score. I'm more inclined to just "doing with what I have."

Maybe I'm being fatalistic here, but my thinking right now is this is the score I got and perhaps it's the score I was destined to have. Don't get me wrong. I'm all for those who would like to do better and thus retaking the test. Kudos to you. But I dunno. Cosmic connections, the universe conspiring.

Haaaaay. I just want to get my official score, which Maan said will not differ much from the unofficial score. A couple of points higher should do it, I think. I don't know how well I did in the Analytical Writing section, but it don't think it'll pull my unofficial score down.

I do see where Papa is coming from. If we're investing in this, then make it a worthy investment. He doesn't want me riding on my other credentials. However, I don't think one's GMAT score is the sole basis of acceptance.

Argh. Tis the word for the day. "ARGH"

At the end of the day, nothing lost. I still have my job (not terrible, but not exactly the type of job I get out of bed with a smile looking forward to). This exam is the first step of the application process. I still got a long way to go. If I will be retaking it, I'll be doing it for the wrong reasons (to appease my financier Haha!). Maan said that if my heart isn't in it, then the more "intensive" review might not be as effective.

Ok universe. You have me at the palm of your hands. I gave it my better shot (not my best). Let's see where the road will take me now.

To those to said a little prayer for me, thank you! Thanks for the "Good lucks" and the votes of confidence. Thanks for listening to the rantings of a hungry test taker.

This is it

The end of the review road. The buck stops. Right. Here. It's been a busy two months. Starbucks Santana Grove. Starbucks BF Homes. Starbucks Valero. Starbucks Madrigal. Gloria Jeans Westgate. Churrito Cafe BF. Pazzo Powerplant. November 16 marks the big day. I'm really just hoping for a decent score.



I left the office at around 9:30pm today. I sent a gazillion emails, gave lot a couple of laundry lists, set my Out-of-Office autoreply (removing my mobile number, I learned my lesson well!). I had wanted to get more review time today, but we were distracted with Pasqui's Brian Digger spreadsheets. It was actually a good logical break! Thinking about these trivial stuff. Kinda paved the way for a clearer mind when I got back to work. Almost two hours straight emailing and working.

I will have more reflections about the past two review months tomorrow!

Okie. better hit the sack now. Good luck to me!

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Focus Bowling Night