Unexpected Emotion

I cried... just before I left... I cried.

I couldn't help it, and now it's finally done. And I finally left for good... no more SL, no more CCA, no more PAM, RAC, RRL, CTA... no more Sun Life...

It didn't sink in until the very last minute. Until I was saying goodbye to Tine. She's been my partner at work for so long... and when I said goodbye to her it was only then that I realized what I was saying goodbye to... what I was leaving behind.

I miss it already. It's as if I want to take it back. But I know it's just the emotion talking. I know I'll be fine.

I just didn't think it would be this difficult. I really, really didn't.

All I know is it was time to say goodbye.

My new job requires me to have an NBI clearance for travel abroad (which is a good sign that I will travel abroad) hehe. So, I made a trip to Carriedo to renew my existing NBI clearance and update the purpose of the clearance.

Anyway, I spent only an hour and a half in the place (which is a pretty good time I think, considering the number of people there), and let me share some tips that can help you if you do decide to get/renew your NBI clearance.

1. Prepare P20, this is for your "entrance" stub.
2. Follow the steps (1-7).
3. Step 1 - Payment : You can prepare 1 P100 bill and 3 P5 coins so that you can use the unmanned payment automated tellers. Advantage? No lines. But even if you do go to the manned counters, lines move fast so it's okay.
4. Steps 2-4 - Since all of these are in 1 floor, and there are a lot of people here, make sure you're lining up for the right step. Check out lines and pick the shortest one, it will save you a lot of time, rather than sticking yourself in the very first line you see.
5. Don't be afraid to ask people. Go and make friends with the person in front of you to make sure you're in the right line and in the right step.
6. Steps 5-7 - For renewals, you can skip Step 5 (fingerprinting). I saw a lot of renewals lining up here but I heard some people say you can skip this step, so I just asked the nearest "watcher" and verified that I can go straight to step 6. BTW, steps 6-7 took about 5 minutes total, while step 5 (judging on the lines here) would take you about another hour, so take note what steps you can skip.
7. Be alert. Listen and observe the people around you. Sometimes, new counters are opened so be on the lookout so you can change queues quickly.
8. Bring a fan... it's hot, and it only gets hotter when there are tons of people around, so it's really usefeul to have a fan to keep you cool.
9. Smile. People are more gracious when you're gracious.
10. Stay in line. And politely inform people where the end of the line is.
11. Stay away from fixers.
12. Bring a black pen.

:-)

I can't believe I overspent again... Tsk tsk... I really should watch my credit more. *sigh*

But I am happy with my purchases. :) I got two new shoes, 1 from M&S and 1 from Rockport, new slacks, 2 jeans, a blouse and several toiletries from VMV.

I'm officially swearing off charge purchases from now on. I already put my cards away until July (or maybe even August if I can make it). I can't continue with this spending, or else I'm going to drive myself bankrupt.

You see, shopping is my only vice. :)

Only 3 more days...

Unofficially, today is my last day in Sun Life.

I'm done with all my turnovers, posted all my documents, finished the PAM batch runs for IO and HK, completed my clearance save for IS and HR, and even did some production support to resolve some access issues for CCA, CAS Core and RRL.

Whew! What a day...

I still plan to give Eloie, Eric and Carla a guide on the PAM MTP for HK. And if I find time, I'm still going to post whatever documents I can to help them out. Why? Because there's no reason for me not to. Sun Life has been good to me, and I'll do all that I can to maintain the same level of support I provided while I was still there. And I'm sure they're all up to the task. Tine, my SL partner, along with our relatively new hires Eloie and Eric, and our youngest and newest hire, Rhea. And of course, Carla, who will be taking on CAS and FXA by her lonesome (for the time being), and she even finds time to be interim support for the PAM project.

And Manny... who's been my boss for 2 1/2 years. We've had a lot of disagreements over the years, but I will miss him. I have my complaints (who doesn't?), but he's been a good boss, and for me, an effective one. Maybe he's just misunderstood. :)

It still hasn't sunk in...I still can't believe I'm leaving. But I guess it's just time for new challenges and new experiences. New friends will be made, new skills will be learned, new programs will be developed, and I really can't wait to get started.

Leap of Faith

I resigned from Sun Life today.

I don't really know what I'm supposed to be feeling, I'm so excited about my new work, but I will be leaving a place I grew to love for the past three years. I guess we all must move on. At this point in time, I know that my move to Sungard System Access will benefit me in the long run.

It just happened so fast, they interviewed me, and gave me an offer three days later. I wasn't even prepared for it. But now that I know what work I'll be doing, I just can't wait!

So let's recap, Leslie - left to join Navitaire, Irene - left to go to the US, Mich - left to go to Malaysia and be with Jay-Ar, Van - will leave to join SSA and possibly be deployed to Slovakia... That leaves Louie and Apple. Actually, I think it just leaves Apple. But if you think about it, her move to RAC probably started the whole cycle.

I didn't leave because my friends left. But I did entertain the thought of other employment because of it, and thankfully, I found an opportunity that seems perfect for me. I really can't say it enough, I'm excited to go. It's not just the prospect of Slovakia, but it's development work, using Oracle 10g. And they develop their people to be consultants. At this point in time, they can give me all that I want (and need). I'm sad about leaving Sun Life, but I'm more than anticipating my first day of work at my new company. That's all I can say about that.

Viaje del Sol or "The Way of the Sun", this is the term used to describe the series of interesting stops along Laguna, Batangas and Quezon. My family and I decided to try out this "wonderful journey" over the Holy Week.


First stop was Ang Tahanan ni Aling Meding, in San Pablo, Laguna. This was where we stayed, and it boasted a spectacular view of the Sampaloc lake, with a view of Mt. Makiling and Mt. Banahaw. It was beautiful! The weather was exceptionally pleasant, and the rooms were cozy and clean. The pic above is of Mt. Banahaw from the veranda outside our room.

We had lunch at Kusina ni Salud, and I'll tell you one thing, their seafood kare-kare is awesome! You should also try the hot crispy hito, the turon and their pandan flavored coffee. Yum!

Then, we went back to Tahanan and Maitz, Tere, Sweet, Gabby and I went swimming before going to the famed San Pablo procession. Then, had dinner back at Meding's. Since they didn't serve much seafood, we had no choice but to break abstinence and try out their crispy pata and liempo...(hey, we did charitable acts as penance).

Next day, breakfast at Meding's... and I was completely disappointed with the sloooow service. Food was average (I had the tocino), and it took them an hour to serve it! What's more (and this I can forgive for a famed Filipino hotel and restaurant), they had no brewed coffee and no hot chocolate! All they served were instant coffee and Ovaltine, and it took them twenty minutes to serve that! Disappointing.

We checked out and headed towards Ugu Bigyan's. Famous potter. It was a large compund that had several items on display, for sale and under construction. It was a nice place to visit, because there was also a large garden where you can just relax and take pictures. :)

Lunch was back at Salud's but this time we wanted to try their non-seafood specialties, and we weren't disappointed. Their ribs were great! And of course, we had our fill of desserts... I don't remember the other dishes we ate, but I do recall we pigged out on the ginataan and the turon. :)

There are so many more stops along Viaje del Sol, but we only got to visit 3, and passed by 5 (including Casa San Pablo and Villa Escudero). Maybe we'll be able to go to some other stops in our next visit.

We ended our Holy Week trip with a visit to Southwoods to meet up with the Espiritus and the Picars. We went swimming again, and my aunts and uncles were impressed about how Gabby was enthusiastically playing in the water (maybe he'll take after his ninang when it comes to swimming).

Maitz and I spent time doing laps in the pool, and this time, it was Bea's turn to be pressured by my dad to do laps, since she's the one taking up swimming lessons in the summer. I can still vaguely remember when Maitz and I were very young (and we were into competitive swimming), and my dad would stand at the edge of the pool and make sure we did our laps. The pressure!

Don't get me wrong, now, I'm in absolutely no shape to swim competitively, it's just recreational swimming from now on. :)

That's it for my Holy Week escape, I'll write about Baguio in my next post.

Mich has finally submitted her letter of resignation today.

I'm devastated. *sigh*

Although I knew it was going to happen sooner or later (since Jay-Ar is in Malaysia), I was hoping it was later rather than sooner... I don't want her to go, three weeks after Irene's last day at Sun Life.

Two of my closest friends at the office...leaving.

Anyway... Mich, Irene, SP and I went to Corregidor last Sunday-Monday. Louie and Apple were supposed to join us, but Louie was called to HK and Apple was, well, she was Apple so she flaked out at the last minute...again. But it's okay Apple, we forgive you.

Not much to do in Corregidor, or rather, we didn't do much. :P The heat was just unbearable! I wouldn't recommend going there in the summer, perhaps December-January is better. We did enjoy the tour though, and we took lots and lots of pictures. But by the end of the tour, we were just so fed up of the heat that when we got to the air-conditioned hotel room, we didn't want to come out.



We tried to go swimming but the pool was being cleaned and the beach just wasn't appealing to us... so we just wandered around, passing through the different buildings, and said a short prayer in the chapel we passed.

Afterwards, we headed out during the early evening on our own (we didn't join the tour anymore). We walked to the recreation area, it was already getting dark and the area was so quiet it was a bit creepy. But no one dared mention any ghosts or spirits...we still had an entire night to spend in the island. :)

We had a nice dinner of grilled chicken and pork, with Mich, Ayin and I taking turns at the videoke machine. We played billiards afterwards and headed back to the hotel.

Mich and I didn't get much sleep,just not used to the place I guess. My overactive imagination of ghosts and whatevers didn't help either. I was just glad I had my Ipod and my Heroes episodes to keep me company... or else I would have gone insane. I did manage to get some sleep in the early morning.

Our Monday activities consisted of a scheduled full-body massage. I love getting massages, and this was a good way to unwind after a tiring day. Since we couldn't take a bath after the massage, we couldn't go swimming, we couldn't go out (because it was hot!) so we just stayed in the room, talked about stuff and took more pictures. :)

When we got back to Harbor Square, Mich and I went up to the second floor to watch the sun set and then we all cooled down with a drink at Starbucks. My Corregidor trip was fun, and at least I got to spend time with my three friends who will all be leaving this April. I wish them all the best, and hopefully we'll see each other again soon. :)