Afetr weeks of preparation, countless hours of planning and meetings to discuss best routes and worst case scenarios, we were finally able to pull off this year's trick or treat! I'm one of the organizers, and together with HR and my fellow SCC-mates, and the help of our ever reliable admin assistants and staff volunteers, Trick or Treat 2K6 was a success!

We at Central Systems, decided to go for a Pirates of the Caribbean theme. Last year, we did Addams Family, plus a graveyard (complete with cobwebs and sound effects), witches and a dark pathway with a creepy, maniacal laugh that a lot of made kids cry on our floor! So this year, we decided to keep it light. The fact that over 270 kids participated was also a factor, since we decided to just pool our funds for the loot bags.

It started with a tour of the booths from different departments, There were 9 groups, starting at different floors, traffic was controlled by coordinating with the guards placed at the entrance and exit stations who were prompted via walkie talkie by the central control station. Oh yeah, logistics-wise, this was one well organized feat. :)

We finished the tour of 10 booths in 6 different floors in less than an hour. Last year, it took us more than 3 hours. I guess we were able to learn from our mistakes and made the necessary adjustments this year.

After the tour, we assembled all the kids and their guardians at the Enterprise lobby (since our offices couldn't accommodate the number), then there were teachers who taught the kids songs, told them stories and games for the kiddies. After a while, Jollibee even joined the fun!

But we still have a lot of things to improve on for next year, and hopefully, next year's organizers will make the trick or treat bigger and better. :)

I don't really know when office trick or treating became the norm, but I think it's slowly gaining popularity. This is only the second time we've had a trick or treat at work. Personally, I have no complaints, it's a lot of fun watching kids dress up in costumes. Prizes of course go to the most creative ones. :)

This year's winner for best costume was Popcorn Girl and Mazinger-Z. I'll try to post pics later,

Happy Halloween everyone!

JVC at MOA


Last Saturday, I celebrated my bday a week late with Jeng and Cess at the SM Mall of Asia. For those unfamiliar with JVC, it's been our moniker since HS, JengVanCess (in pic, L-R, it's Jeng, Cess and me).



Jeng and I see each other quite often, but we only get to see Cess about 1-2 times a year, which is why last Saturday was extra special. The last time we saw her was last year, when I celebrated my bday (also). We had a blast by spending the day at Glorietta and Greenbelt, posing for the Hershey's Happiness booth and singing our hearts out at Red Box.

This year, since all of us seem to have incredibly tight schedules, and we could only manage a half day of malling and eating. Given the short span of time, we weren't able to completely explore Asia's largest mall, and besides, we spent most of our time chatting at Crepes and Creme. Cess had a Strawberry crepe, Jeng, a Mango one and me, a Hazelnut Banana crepe. Yum! :)

I really wish Cess could've stayed longer, oh well... until next time. Hopefully it'll be this year... Sometime in December I hope. :)

I'm turning twenty-four in thirty or so minutes...
Time sure does fly. :)

Updates, updates, it's been crazy at work... I'm bracing myself for more "changes" to come. I've finally decided to stay in My's team. Long story why, but I'm starting to accept my new post...slowly settling in. We'll see how it goes. I'm still supporting my old team, but only until Tine gets back from HK. I'm due to start a new project next week, which I'm excited about. The only thing I don't like is the transfer from the 14th to the 10th floor...no, I'm not so thrilled about that. :(

I played badminton last night with Deo, Ayin and other officemates at Powersmash. Bitin! It's been a busy past two weeks and we were only able to squeeze a game in last night. We joined the game late, but were able to play a couple of good sets so that was fun. :)

Lukas won Rockstar Supernova...I don't really like him much...except when he sang Creep by Radiohead.

I'm going out with my college barkada this weekend. Last time we saw each other as a group was hmmm... when was Maximo Oliveros shown? All I know is it's been too long. There's a lot to catch up on.

I passed! I passed! *jubilant*
Barely passed... but nevertheless, that's one down and one to go. :)

In case you're lost with what I'm talking about, I passed my first exam for the OCA track! I feel some tinge of regret that I didn't study as much as I should have (as in like, not 2 weeks before the exam). I think I really could have scored better if I had put more time into it, but I've never been the studious type I guess. But I am changing that starting today. I'm already preparing for my next exam, which I will take some time in December. I'll let you know how it goes.

In other matters... hmmm... work is... confusing at this point. That's all I can say about that.

Badminton... Red remained at last place for the PalakaSun tournament. Blue came out as the overall champions, but even though Red didn't place as well as we hoped, we still had fun. And we're the only team with the distinction of having the "killer smiles" no matter if we win or lose.

In the SmashSun sa CSA tourney (I was Red again!), Ayin and I won 2 out of our 3 games. And countless other side matches. :) We won against Manny and Charrisse in an on the side match, close fight, but satisfied my curiosity as to who will win if we played a match together. :) Boss Manny, if you're reading this, I don't mind a rematch, hehehe. :)

Overall, our team placed 2nd to the last, I consider that an improvement over the PalakaSun standings so, I didn't feel too bad about that.

Anyway, till next post.

Finally, retribution for the Red team's Level 3 players!

Louie and I won in straight sets against Yellow's Karla and Yane, while Meggy and I were able to win over Karla and Teng in three sets. Yes! :)

You're wondering why I'm so happy? Coz this is our first victory EVER in this tournament. We were really feeling depressed, being the only ones in the team without wins... and Cap Crab made sure we knew it... hehe. We only have 1 more game left (against Blue), but whether we win or lose that one, we're happy we were able to at least bag a victory. :)

That's all for now... I'm beat! Wish us luck for the last game of the tournament, hopefully we'll add another notch in our belts... *fingers crossed*

Oh, and speaking of badminton, the CSA badminton tourney (SmashSun sa CSA) will be on August 26, can't wait, can't wait! But as the day gets closer, so is my OCA exam, scheduled for September 1. I took a mock exam and scored a disappointing 68%. :( Must review...

**Van logs off to review her SQL materials** :-)

I've spent the last three days with office buddies Mich and Leslie at the Oracle University, learning Advance PL/SQL. Of course, whenever the 3 of us are together, we're guaranteed to have fun. The learning stuff is just a bonus. :)

So what did we learn? Hmmm.. tons of stuff! Will we be able to apply them? Perhaps. Makes me want to run to the office and look at some codes. I'm such a geek.

The last time we had a training together was two years ago, when we first took up Oracle 9i Forms and Reports. All I can say is, a lot has changed from the first time we attended training. I'm not going to reminisce here, just wanted to mention that, hehehe. :)

Anyway, lately I've taken into watching Rockstar Supernova. I must admit, the rockers are all pretty talented and compared to last year's batch, I think Tommy Lee, Gilby Clarke and Jason Newsted will have a harder time choosing their lead singer. Sadly though, Josh was eliminated last night... :( I really, really like his voice, and his smile... *sigh*.

On the same note, INXS will be performing here in Manila, with frontman JD Fortune. Mig Ayesa will be playing also. Unfortunately though, I don't have tickets.

Anyways, I still owe a Baguio post. Just lazy, no excuses. Next time na lang. :)

Oh, and I sold my Palm already! 1 gadget down, two left... hmmm... I've decided to stall all gadget purchases until next year. Let's see if I can stick to that. Say it with me, I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.

It's Red vs. Orange in Game 6 of the PalakaSun badminton tourney tonight... Louie and I have yet to capture our first win. :( Hopefully, tonight's the night. *fingers crossed*