Where Did January Go? The 2015 Monthly Round Up

The month of new beginnings, fresh starts and resolutions is about to end in a few days and this got me thinking on what I’ve accomplished so far in terms of my goals. I’ve been listening to this audio book called “Essentialism” by Greg McKeown and it’s been a great help as I try to identify the different aspects in my life that I need to focus on this year. Events in January are indeed aligned with my goals, so here’s a round up of what took place this month.

1.   Day Hike at Mount Talamitam

During the Holiday break, I did not get the chance to go on a major out of town or out of the country trip like most people. In hopes of satisfying my wanderlust, Jim and I initiated a hike at Mount Talamitam together with a few friends. We just planned for a day hike on a Saturday because a.) according to PinoyMountaineer.com, Mount Talamitam is a minor climb and b.) we wanted to rest on Sunday before the dreaded first day funk at the office. A few google searches and a handful of Facebook messages later, final head count was confirmed and all 6 of us—Neps, Prijm, Leslie, Ronnie, Jim and I went off to have an adventure.

The hike was so short but it was surprisingly eventful! For 144 pesos, we hopped on a bus from Pasay bus terminal to Nasugbu, Batangas. We hired a tour guide and although it was optional, I’m glad we made that decision because the guide gave us a lot of options to explore the mountain. He took us to the normal route going up then asked us if we wanted to pass by the river. The initial plan was really just to have a change of scenery, but while crossing the river, some of us got wet so we decided to make the most of it and jumped right in.

It was a tiring yet fulfilling hike. Soil under my feet, trees all around me and a blue blue sky up in the heavens like a cool canopy embracing mother earth. Hopefully we make the monthly easy to medium hiking schedule!

2.  New Project at Work

After almost 9 years of working as a Systems Analyst with Siebel CRM, I took on a different role and pursued learning a different technology for work. It was a bittersweet feeling to be rolled off from my previous project (hallo DB peeps!) because the folks there are awesome, but I figured retooling is a good opportunity for me to explore the capabilities of Cloud computing. One would think that I am taking a risk by changing course in my specialization, but It’s a career move that I decided on my own. 3 weeks into the project I’ve been learning a lot! I’m looking forward to more growth in my career as I take on new challenges, so hopefully my hard work pays off soon!

3.  4 Years with Jim

Jim and I celebrated our 4th Year Anniversary as a couple! We both filed for time off at work and spent the day together and celebrated by watching Beauty and The Beast musical at CCP because he knows it’s my favorite Disney animated film (as in memorize ko yung songs, I’m not kidding).

Hate to cheese up and get all doe-eyed about this, but 4 years is a milestone that I’ve never had in any of my past relationships. I’m happy that we have made it this far and that he has really helped me grow as an individual because he supports me in all of my endeavors. We share the same values and I guess that’s also one of the reasons why it’s easy to extend our relationship with our family and friends. It helps too, that we share the same love for music and travel, at the same time, we both understand each other’s exclusive passions--art for me, mountain biking for him. We’re definitely not the perfect couple because we also have our struggles, but we’re in a level of commitment wherein we make sure misunderstandings never lead to big fights. Our relationship has that balance that allows us to have a deep connection with each other and at the same time provide space for solitude, independence and personal growth. And also, I just really really really like the guy.

4.      Real Living feature

Last January 24, I had a pleasant surprise on Instagram when Real Living tagged me in one of its posts. I checked out their website and voila! My bedroom is part of this article:

http://www.realliving.com.ph/tips-and-guides/6-interesting-small-homes-of-rl-readers

As you may find in my Project Condo series, I’ve been taking the DIY route in home decoration. When I upload photos of my apartment on Instagram, I include #instalivingph in my caption. I was definitely not expecting anything when I do this except perhaps get a few likes from friends, but to be published on the website of one of the top home decoration and interior design magazines in the country was definitely a kilig moment! I’ve used the I’m-not-an-expert disclaimer in my Project Condo posts before because I didn’t want to come off as feeling marunong, but I have to admit, the feature also gave me some sort of validation about the choices that I made in my home.

5.  First Frisbee game in 2 years

There was a time in my life when ultimate was my favorite superlative. I played my first ultimate Frisbee game in 2009 Monday Beginner’s night in Meralco and got hooked ever since. It was the only sport that I played competitively. Between 2009 and 2012, I sprinted to my heart’s content on the field, always with the goal to catch and properly throw that ever elusive disc. I played out of the country, at the beach, in the mud, under the scorching heat and in the midst of the monsoon season. I never reached the elite level of playing, but I’d like to think I was decent and had my fair share of contributions as a mid-fielder. My teammates and I were regulars at Meralco, Ultra & UP Sunken Garden for trainings and hat tournaments and Manila Polo Club, Nuvali, Aguirre, Daang Hari or Alabang Country Club during the leagues. On the last few months of 2012, I completely stopped due a dissolved team, relocation at work and shifts in priorities.

              

Fast forward to Monday last week, I had a chance to put on my cleats and set foot on the field again. As one might expect, I did not play the same way back when I practiced 2-3 times a week. At yesterday’s training, I was out of breath during plyometrics and was about to faint during the drills. Sprinting again for the first time in a long time felt good, but it also scared me because I know I am in the worst shape of my life. The good thing is that my office is now conveniently a few minutes away from Emperador Stadium, so I can regularly rebuild the skills, endurance and competitive spirit that I once had. Frisbee was not part of the plan for 2015, but exercise definitely is. While right now I’m still not committed to playing at the leagues, I know that last Monday’s game was a good first step to achieving my health goals for the year. I plan on attending trainings and pick ups every Monday and Friday so that I can have that much needed physical activity.

6.      Graphika Manila 2015 – January 31 to February 1

12 artists on a 2 day conference on creativity?! Count me in! I bought my tickets last November and I’ve been stalking the speakers for quite a while now. While I am not professionally in the creative field, I don’t think I’ll ever stop being a creative. This weekend was perfect ending for this month and you can just imagine me fan girling like a fool. My favorite presenters were Pomme Chan, Chris Lee of The Asylum and Joshua Davis! The experience was indeed an awesome one, but I will be creating a different post on Graphika 2015.

Check out the Graphika Manila 2015 website

This month set the bar for what 2015 should be like: an adventure, a leap of faith, an important milestone, a recognition of hard work, a rekindled passion and a learning experience. February, you have big shoes to fill.

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Bright Minds Ph X Fayeshka

A new creative space for kids and adults just opened this March in Taguig and I'm really excited to share this collaboration with you. See, I've been doing regular art sessions with my niece and cousins, teaching them some calligraphy, rubber stamping and watercolor techniques at cafes around BF, and so when my good friend Felice called me one morning and asked if I was willing to teach kids arts and crafts, I instantly said yes.

Bright Minds is the brainchild of Felice's sister, Chrissie Capicoy who is a dentist by profession. She noticed that a number of her patients have cleft lips and cleft palates, so she came up with the idea to also offer Speech Therapy to children. Aside from helping kids reach their full potential with language and communication, they also offer crafts sessions to open their minds to the creative process and simply have fun with art. With the current trend of children simply relying on gadgets and technology to pass the time, Bright Minds also aims to reintroduce the youth to the handcrafting movement. 

Bright Minds creative space

The Bright Minds Team consists of certified speech language pathologists and artists with backgrounds in fashion, fine arts and language. Bright Minds also offers French and Spanish classes and tied up with The Alliance Française de Manille and Instituto Cervantes respectively.  

Kids hard at work on their rubber stamps

I am very honored to be a part of this team of creative individuals who teach and encourage kids be more creative. For the past several weeks since Bright Minds has opened, I've been teaching rubber stamping techniques and basic drawing to kids every Saturday and it's been a really amazing and rewarding experience. We are also offering other craft projects such as silk screening, paper flowers and garland making, watercolor techniques as well as ceramic painting!

Ashley and her flower and bee stamp

Marjorie, proud of her name stamp (and by gosh, what detail!)

Bright Minds Speech Clinic and Creative Center is located at:

Unit 201 McKinley Park Residences
31st St. corner 3rd Ave.,
Bonifacio Global City, Taguig
brightmindsph@gmail.com
Tel: +63 2 625-4748
Mobile: +63 916 547 6870

For more information about Bright Minds Speech Clinic and Creative Center, visit their official website

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I.T. and Business Travel

I love taking photos at airports. It is where I experience the anticipation of exploring distant places and the comfort of arrival and coming home.

Today I learned about the approval of my Schengen Visa application. While some people find this quite trivial, I was thrilled when I saw the confirmation email from the Belgian Embassy this morning, telling me that I must book my flight to Belgium and send them a copy of the e-ticket before they can release my passport. The prospect of travel always excites me, and the idea of traveling to Europe with all of my expenses paid makes me feel even more blessed. Some people scrimp and save to go to Europe, but the opportunity was easily given to me and I'm very thankful.

Of course, this is not entirely the universe's doing. I'd like to think I have a hand at landing these opportunities because of my skills and credibility as a systems analyst. My previous Senior Manager reached out to me recently and mentioned that she recommended me to this project--perhaps she liked my work ethic and my previous performance and thus believed in my ability to deliver another implementation. Despite the fact that I was only trained and did not have any project experience in Oracle On Demand, I told the interviewer that I can still leverage my 8 years of experience in Siebel Development on this project. I was vocal about my willingness to learn and be retooled even if it meant resetting my technical skills back to zero. Medyo pa bibo ako. Hahaha. Shortly after my interview, I got a deployment notice and was told that I was selected to fly to Belgium this July. The thought that I was going to learn about Cloud Computing to keep up with this emerging trend in CRM Applications excited me. I will also be undergoing further training with Oracle University in the next couple of weeks, so that's also something to look forward to. 

View from my hotel room during one of my business trips.

Throughout my I.T. career, all of my projects allowed me to travel and live in another country for more or less, two months each time. These business trips differ from my personal travels because I was given a chance to immerse myself in the culture of my host country for a longer period. My personal travels usually last about a week with with friends whom I'm completely comfortable with, so I tend to stick with my group and simply enjoy the novelty of my surroundings. With business travel, I'm forced to get out of my comfort zone because aside from the challenge of getting used to the environment, I also needed to adjust to the people I meet. Business travels require me to establish good working relationship with my colleagues and clients from my host country in order for me to perform my job as a consultant. I ended up being friends with my colleagues from the US and Australia, that we also spent time together outside office hours. They showed me around the city, taught me their slang, invited me to their homes, and one of them even spent Christmas with my family here in Manila! 

People in transit. I used a lomo camera for this. 

Prior to the news of my onshore deployment, I didn't know crap about Belgium aside from the fact that they have really good chocolates, beer and waffles. I did a bit of reading and now I know that they are also known for their diamonds, their fries, jazz music, and of course, their art. I'm writing down my bucket list and must see places in Belgium, so hopefully I get the chance to explore and tick them off one by one. 

Travel is one of the perks of being a consultant. Aside from the free airfare, lodging and daily allowance, what I like most about being an I.T.consultant is that I get to work in different projects to widen my knowledge in application development/project management and meet all sorts of people. Surely other jobs have more opportunities for travel, but hey, I'm thankful that I still get my own share of free boarding passes. :)

What are the perks of your day job?

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Cheesy Post

It's been an intense week here in New Jersey. Been talking to clients left and right and my hands are so full coordinating with offshore folks, I have no time to sleep anymore. I'm trying to adjust and I'm definitely learning a lot but at the same time, the pressure is insane. Perhaps this is a lesson on how to be resilient. Bending like a friggin' pretzel at this point.

Don't get me wrong. Work in Manila is also difficult, but I find comfort in the fact that at the end of every work day, I get to see him and spend time with him. Here, it's different. There's no comforting hug waiting for me.

I suppose the hotel bed will do for now. After this, I will hibernate for a week. Kthxbye.

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Geekstuff: Programming Isn't So Bad

As I have mentioned in my previous post, this blog is dedicated for documenting my journey as an aspiring creative. My goal is to improve on my illustration and calligraphy skills and pursue a more creative life, while still working full time as a Systems Analyst in a multinational I.T. Company. You will read about my dreams (and baby steps) of pursuing my passion , but I will sometimes write about my current job too. Reason behind this double life, it's a long story, but it might be a little too familiar.

Early in my career as an I.T. Consultant, I requested my manager if I can switch roles from being a tester to a developer. I just graduated then from my company's Bootcamp Training in Siebel 7.5 but was given a tester role in my project at the time. There is a part of me that was interested in solving problems, and while I wasn't a huge math fan, I liked programming enough to make it the foundation of my career. I suppose I found the work involved in testing quite boring, but that's not to say I found programming exciting either. I was somehow interested in it and I was adept enough at it to be able to step onto the next level of the corporate ladder. When I switched companies after 4 and a half years of staying with the first one, I was given a supervisory role and programming took a backseat. I no longer have specific deliverables and tasks pertaining to programming, but my work involved training resources and leading my team. The increase in my responsibility was inversely proportional to my hands on work with programming and after 7 years, I have been involved mostly with Siebel Functional Design and Business Analysis work as well as Project Management. I still use Siebel Tools to investigate on defects and provide solutions, but I was eventually faced with the reality that I am not that technical anymore since I started becoming a lead. It was to be expected since I am now more geared towards Project Management. There is still so much about Siebel that I don't know and I have handled resources who are soooo much better at programming than me. Life of a programmer is sometimes boring, but it's sometimes fulfilling too. 

Siebel Tools. This is where programmers create and configure objects (Tables, Business Components, Screens, Applets etc) to make it perform and behave based on the Functional Design

image from siebeltraining.info

Since one of my teammates took a sick leave today, I had to work on fixing a bug in the system that was originally assigned to him. It took me a while to debug the script because of its complexity, but it also felt familiar. Talking to yourself while debugging, putting breakpoints to check the values of the variables per function/method, validating objects, compiling the code and unit testing, and each time the algorithm fails, a compulsory sigh or cry of frustration is heard somewhere in the vicinity of my cubicle. It takes hard work, research, patience, resourcefulness, creativity, lots of logic and coffee to become a good programmer. First algorithm doesn't work, try another approach. Does it work? If yes, then optimize it. It's such a great feeling to figure out a solution to a problem, even if sometimes you get "duling" because of those brackets and parentheses. Nakakamiss din pala mag dev! Developers usually  talk out loud while tracing the lines of code of someone else's algorithm and today's monologue included:

• Okay, if this.GetFieldValue("Comm Method") = "Call Outbound", then.. *checks value in the watch window* O TAMA NAMAN BAT DI NAGWOWORK?!
• (While compiling the code) Please, gumana ka na!!
• Teka san niya sineset itong Profile Attribute na 'to?
• Hindi natin pwede ilagay yan diyan, magfafalse yung condition!

Siebel User Interface

image from Siebelessentials.blogspot.com

Kanina, I was literally kilig when my code worked and was ready for check in to the server. I was really smiling with my teammate who was peer reviewing it. Today I felt like a programmer again, and while art is my calling, I am reminded that this job isn't so bad. :)

If you are currently in a job that is different from your true passion, you don't need to be miserable. I suggest this article for you to read: 9 Ways To Be Happy With A Job You Don't Like

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