And after all, you're my wonderwall.

Today is gonna be the day

That they're gonna throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you gotta do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do about you now

Backbeat the word was on the street
That the fire in your heart is out
I'm sure you've heard it all before
But you never really had a doubt
I don't believe that anybody feels
The way I do about you now

And all the roads we have to walk along are winding
And all the lights that lead us there are blinding
There are many things that I would
Like to say to you
I don't know how

Because maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

Today was gonna be the day
But they'll never throw it back to you
By now you should've somehow
Realized what you're not to do
I don't believe that anybody
Feels the way I do
About you now

And all the roads that lead to you were winding
And all the lights that light the way are blinding
There are many things that I would like to say to you
I don't know how

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me
And after all
You're my wonderwall

I said maybe
You're gonna be the one who saves me
And after an
You're my wonderwall

Said maybe
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me
You're gonna be the one that saves me

Roadtrippin' on QC day

Left Manila at around 3pm just to hang out and have dinner in Tagaytay. Went to Nuvali for a round of San Mig Light and talking about anything under the sun. On the way home, it was karaoke night c/o my iPad. Ended our day with a celebratory round of Happy Lemon drinks in Eastwood.

That was one great day.

Oh yeah! :) *fist pump*

Friday Night Tambay

Long time! :)

SugarStop Weekend

Rockwell Urban Bazaar

April 15-17, 2011

Top Ten for 2010! :)

2010 just ended and a brand new year just commenced. A lot of things happened in the year 2010. There were so many milestones, changes, new people, in new places and even new ventures. I can damn guarantee you that 2010 was one heck of a year and definitely topped all 22 years of my life.

As a quick trivia, our family doesn't do any age old new year traditions - no fireworks, no torotots, countdowns and whatnot. We simply pray the rosary precisely at 12mn then go back to our rooms. :) This yearly thing keeps me in check and definitely reflective in silence and yeah, in boredom. And as such, every year, I make sure I look back at all the blessings I've received. Thus, here are the top 10 things I'm very thankful for 2010 :)

10. "Daang matuwid" dominates the elections

The May 2010 elections marked the first time I voted for national government positions. That's a big jump from the usual class officers then student council elections I'm used to voting for. HAHA.

From the very start, I knew who I was going to vote for and I was confident that my bet, Noynoy would win. Yeah, you can cast a stone on me if you want to - especially those who never wanted and never will like the fact that a guy like Noynoy ended up to be our president. But hey, he is our president and I am happy that he is.

I know this guy does have his shortcomings. He doesn't have a masters degree or even a doctorate to boost his credentials. He doesn't have a long list of experiences and/or achievements.

But yes, I bet you guys will mention the name that he carries. To me, it was more than just the AQUINO bloodline/name. It was his responsibility to protect that name and the love for the country that he inherited. That incorruptible state of mind that we ourselves always wanted. Sa ayaw at sa gusto ninyo, we have a president who's blazing the straight path. :)

9. School Pride :)

Despite the fact that I'm athletically-challenged (if there is such a term), I am an avid fan of sports - especially if my alma mater/s are on the winning end. Thankfully, the teams I cheered for this year all won championships. :)

Ateneo won both Juniors' and Seniors' UAAP Basketball championship. Take note: for the third straight year!!! :) Sweet sweet double three-peat! :)

Now let's not forget the UP Pep Squad for reclaiming the UAAP Cheerdance competition crown :)

UP and Ateneo reprezent!

Hopefully next year I'll be cheering for the green side every now and then. :P

8. Highschool never ends

This is actually a late entry for this list. Had this high school-high the other day - eMboys Christmas 2010 reunion. :) Definitely, a lot of things have changed since the last reunion. Lalo na since high school graduation. It's actually cool to know that most of my classmates back then are mostly law or med students. Mga half pa lang kaming nasa workforce pala. :) Watch out guys, the eMboys just might run this country in the future. :P

7. SugarStop

It all started while my friends and I were walking around Eastwood waiting for a movie. We all needed some extra cash. We all needed some sources of income aside from our allowances/salaries. Thus, SugarStop came to be! :) 2010 will mark as the year this venture came to life and I'm claiming it, big things are coming for this venture in 2011. :)

6. Tagged as Sir Tonico

Yes, that's how I get called these days. I spend my early mornings in Taft teaching - or in better words, educating the minds of college students. I actually never thought I'd have this chance so early in my career but an e-mail followed by a phone call, then a teaching demo earned me the opportunity to teach. :) If you guys know me well, it has always been my dream to teach. Thus, I'm living my dream. Hope all things work out this trimester :)

5. Agency Life

That's me right there living the agency life. Most people say that life in an advertising agency or in a marketing research firm is living life like a prostitute. I must admit that working for my company hasn't been easy. Stress. Overtime. Panic. Information overload. All that mixed up with the honor of working in multinational company like mine. :)

I must say that I'm very honored to be part of the MRM team. More than just the milestones that the team has garnered, it's being part of a team that I can call my family in the workforce. Because of these people, I'm having a good time at work. Maybe it's the fact that it's my first job. But I'm pretty sure this group is special. :)

4. My Passwords

It took some time until the four of us got together. This was like our first complete picture after more than a year. I don't want to be cheesy but these guys and I go way back. Thankfully, we're complete once again and rockin' it. And yes, these are the other people behind SugarStop - which all the more makes it sweet.

Cheers to more adventures with you guys. :) We've come a long waaay. :D

3. Weekends and Holidays

Never have I appreciated weekends and holidays this much until I joined the workforce. I just realized why there are such things in the calendar. :) These non-working days have kept me sane amidst the stressful life of balancing work and school. Other than using these weekends and holidays to sleep and energize, marami rin akong narating - now with my new found adulthood freedom. HAHA.

I've partied hard on several friday nights. :)

and went out of town with friends as well! :D

tagaytay with password

Kim and Yaw's wedding in Baguio

Although it's been said that there will be less long weekends for 2011, I'm looking forward to more adventures with my friends this year. :)

2. I earned my BS Stat Degree!

FYI, I graduated last April 2010. :) Not only did my graduation mark the end of my college life, but it marked the start of my life as part of the labor force. I definitely felt so honored to wear that sablay and receive my award and diploma early this year. It really was a big milestone for myself as I move on now with my corporate life. I've got to admit, I miss my college friends and living the isko life.

1. One big happy family

This year, our family grew slightly bigger as my brother and his wife Kim bore a child - Zia Charlize Maningat. Ever since she was born that faithful morning, she's been our family's bundle of joy. :) She's the first "girl" in the family and that all the more makes her special.

Take note guys, Zia's my inaanak! That makes her doubly special to me!!! :D

As I always say, I'm having the time of my life. 2010 just started everything. I know 2011 will be epic - as well as 2012, 2013... and so on and so forth. All these stress and fatigue that I'm feeling are all worth it. Never have I felt so happy and blessed in my life.

Happy new year everyone!

so many things to do, so little time

Man, it's been almost a month since I last posted something sensible on this blog. These past few months have been the most hectic ones since those dreaded papers back in college. Work has been so hectic that whenever I get home, I end up turning my laptop on then continue working. Sucks right? haha...

Technology is just so amazing that there work can be done precisely anywhere. No excuses. It works both ways. Sometimes you just have to suck it up and lock yourself inside your room so you can focus on the tasks at hand, which cuts you off from the people inside your house. Your family and all your other duties in life. On the other side of things, you can be twice as efficient because work doesn't necessarily require you to be present at your desk at the office.

You might ask, how about my career in the academe? It definitely took some time before I actually got the hang of it. The schedules. The lessons. The reviews. The checking of papers. The computing of grades.The harsh reality that not all of your students may not pass your subject. The rush for deadlines. Heck, I just got past the middle of the trimester! haha. Nevertheless, I am definitely happy and honored to be in the academe.

Stressful? Yeah. Fulfilling? Definitely. Am I just trying to convince myself? Maybe. HAHA. But we'll see. Still have a long way to go. :)

Career wise, I'm pretty sure I'm in the industry I want to be in. More than just advertising, it's marketing at its finest. Besides, I still do get to use my skills as a stat major. Not as thorough as I envisioned it to be but heck, not everyone really went down that ideal path. :) The people I work with are definitely a joy to be with.

Work hasn't been good to me lately as I've spent more than half of my time for work. Even on weekends and holidays! I've got to admit, I haven't been spending much time with my family, my barkadas, even my bestfriends. But hey, I guess that's the biggest trade-off of being in the type of company that I am in. I chose to be in this situation. So I have to make the most of out it :)

But seriously, do I blame work for making my life this way? Nah, I'm still young and pretty capable of adjusting to this fast-paced life. It took me six months to review my career goals and I'm pretty excited about what's next for me. I really am looking forward for the things God has prepared for me. :)

AM+DG

Foooood Trippppp :D

Pat and I left the victory party last friday a bit early 'cause we've been curious about Banchetto for the past week. If you guys didn't know (don't worry, I had no idea about this too until Ms. Fatima Han told me about it last week), every saturday at 12 midnight until 11 in the morning, a part of Emerald Ave. closes to make way for this one-of-a-kind food fair/bazaar/whatever you want to call it, called Banchetto.

The variety and value for money of the food there were definitely over the top. Oh-so-giant burgers for P150 pesos, pizza and pasta galore, huge isaw's, diverse rice meals and of course, desserts!!! Sobrang daming tao. and to think that it had just rained hard that night. Too bad I was full that night. Only ate isaw. HAHA. Looooser.

It was a great night (well morning i guess). Also went there with college friends Tina, Fatima and Mikko. Question of the night, "Pat, kilala mo ba si Stef Han?" HAHAHA.

Definitely coming back there! :) and magpapagutom ako! :)

TAGAYTAAAAAAAAAAY :)

Ever since we were young college students, my friends (particularly this set of friends) and I have been wishing for an out of town trip. As always, we had a hard time planning because of all our schedules and of course, the parental permits. HAHA. Nevertheless, we've thought of going on a road trip to tagaytay and back for a very long time already. And since we were all available last saturday for the whole day, we finally got to push through :)

Met up after lunch then went straight tagaytay! :) Ate a very late lunch at Leslie's. Bulalo galore :) Saraaap. :) And with john and jin strutting their DSLRs, we took advantage of the very scenic view of Taal lake. Click, click! :)

(click here to enlarge)

We saw a tattoo parlor somewhere in the area and decided to have some henna on. HAHA. so random! :)) And would you believe it was my first time to have henna on! HAHA. well, it's be closest feeling to a beach trip I guess?

Went to the popular Bag of Beans Cafe to cap the trip. Hung out there for some coffee, apple pie ala mode and their bestseller, the raisin bread. :) Didn't have a lot of pics from there though. Nevertheless we definitely enjoyed the day. Next up, a trip up north!!! :)

(click here to enlarge)

Photo credits: Jin Buzon and DCM&I Productions (naks!)

on turning 22 :)

I have to admit, my parents leaving abroad right before my birthday made me feel a bit down. I'm not mad at them or anything. Maybe I just really got used to them laying things out for me on my birthday these past few years. Well I guess it comes with the fact that I already am working and they really don't need to worry about things like these anymore. Nevertheless, before bringing my mom to the airport, I hinted to her that I wanted to meet up with my friends that night. Apparently my brother luis was sick and needed some monitoring. My mom then told me to make my friends come over instead. Poof, instant dinner celebration at home :)

Well it was the usual dinner tambay on my birthday. I guess except for the rockband and the drinks+kwentuhan with Tina, Casey and Ian after everyone went home, my birthday was pretty typical. HAHA.

the oh-so-delicious gelato cake thanks to Ms. Fatima Han!

my college barkada - been celebrating with them for the past 3 years :)

(missing in action - Mikko and Mic)

my best friends Jin and John - been celebrating with them ever since I was a kid. kidding!

(missing in action because she's in Hong Kong - Marjee)

As always, I had a blast on my birthday. After all, I'm not all too particular about doing something extreme on my birthday. As long as I'm with my peeps, I'd be happy.

Thank you to everyone who remembered. Thank you Facebook for reminding everyone of my birthday and making me feel special. Dati kasi sa text ka mag-aabang ng greeting, ngayon sa facebook na lang. HAHA.

Now seriously, I'm just so thankful that I've been so blessed all my life. Heck, I have the best parents ever. Brothers to look out for. The best friends in the world. The best college friends in the world. A home to live in. Diplomas from the blue school which I'm ever so supportive of. A diploma and an award from the premier state university. A job in a multinational advertising agency. The best set of officemates. A boss who wants us to learn and become experts. A possible stint at teaching. And several more opportunities to grow.

Having the time of my life at 22. Just priceless. :)

i'm baaaack!

i can't believe it! it's been about three weeks since i last posted a blog. it's been quite a while my friends and here i am to share what i've been up to. let's just say work has been so hectic these past two weeks and it just so happens that i've been devoting time also for other ventures in life. :)

after weeks and weeks of preparation and meetings, my bestfriends and i have finally set-up this small business. well it all started when marj, jin and i were out to watch a movie. while waiting for the movie, we went around eastwood and talked about the idea of setting up some business to earn some extra income. all because of one sentiment: taghirap na talaga these days. HAHA! and all of a sudden, an invitation to a bazaar came and poof! napakilos kami kagad! :P

series of weekend meetings and preparations

(click here to enlarge)

from packaging, costings, financing, logistics, marketing and production, we did all that in about a month! :) a lot of credit does have to go to marjee. without her, there's nothing to sell at all. :) her genius inside the kitchen definitely keeps everything else running. :)

and so, in behalf of SugarStop, I'd like to thank all our friends, friends of friends and our families for supporting this endeavor. :)

our loyal customers

(click here to enlarge)

thank you to everyone who helped out in setting up and guarding the booth. as well as those who helped us in selling our products. :) we would have not done it without you guys. :) special mention to Camina Maipid, Josh Aguas, Mike Magsaysay, Teresa Ng and even Ryan Cancio. :)

the stressful experience of manning the booth

(click here to enlarge)

amidst all the stress and blues of doing business, it feels great to become business partners with your bestfriends. well it works both ways as there are pros and cons in this type of set-up but i really feel that this project of ours still has a long way to go. :) cheers guys! can't deny that i'm having the time of my life with you guys! :)

while waiting for the truck to arrive

(click here to enlarge)

Looking forward to making this endeavor reach its full potential :)

chicken-all-you-can with the best college friends in the world

as always, on fridays, I have this mindset that after a long week of work, there is indeed a need to wind-down. As early as around 9am, Tina sent an SMS to the barkada about going out after work. I jumped in to the idea right away. DUH. Tina and I have been trying to set some kind of friday night outs but things seldom materialized because of so many reasons. Finally, things pushed through last friday. :)

Tina, Mikko, Han and I met up at Galle to try the chicken-all-you-can :)

after 4 rounds of chicken :)

Great job Max's. On promotions like these, you'd expect the service would dip down a bit due to the large demand for chicken. But hey, service was great. The chicken served was the same old Max's classic, perfect with ketchup. :) Sabi nga ni han, baka may holocaust ng mga manok sa kitchen. :))

Went to greenhills for dessert and some cocktails. Solid yung cakes nila ah. :)

Nothing like reuniting with your college barkada, specially when most of you are already working. :)

Until next time guys! :) Hope we're complete next time!

trip trip lang

I call these people my passwords. HAHA. you guys know why? well let's just say whenever I tell my parents who I'm with, and eventually tell them that I'm at the very least with one of these people, they won't bug me any more about coming home right away. :) cheers to having long-time friends! :D

Photos c/o Marjee Mendoza's cam. :P

congrats to narvy!

I've already posted this on facebook but this is definitely blog-worthy. :)

"Three Filipinos have made the country proud by graduating with flying colors from a university in Geneva.

Frances Raquel Narvaez, Robert William Narvaez, and Obed Pantoja were among this year’s 4 summa cum laude awardees of the Webster University.

Ms. Narvaez, a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Psychology, minor in Media Communications, had a final grade point average of 3.99/4.0.
Mr. Narvaez, a BA International Relations with emphasis on Refugee Studies and minor in French and Computer Science got a GPA of 3.9/4.0.

Pantoja, a Bachelor of Science in Finance, had a grade of 3.9/4.0."

Click here to read the full article :)

Robert William Narvaez, a high school classmate of mine, made us all proud by graduating Summa Cum Laude in BA International Relations from a university in Geneva.

Lupit mo pards! Congratulations!

Just like every high school class, us eMboys of 2006 have really come a long way since graduating from the Ateneo four years ago. Can't wait for our next reunion! Cheers! :)

alternative

well i should be in tagaytay right now with my college barkada.

but guess what? it didn't push through due to a lot of reasons. and as it turned out, it was "meant to be" with things popping out in everyone's schedules, though it all started with me. haha.

anyhow, last friday, my friends and i went JOGGING around the UP Academic Oval. wow. not your ordinary gimmick. haha. ika nga nila, it was "good wholesome fun".




i have really been wanting to join mic and han in one of their jogging sessions, but i never really had the time.

last friday, i was thinking twice if i was to run. i wasn't really in the mood to run but when i knew that everyone was running, i counted myself in. :)

and hey, for good wholesome fun, and a little bit of exercise why not nga naman.

3 times we went around the academic oval. whew. well, as a person with weak lungs and without regular exercise, i didn't get to jog all the way. most of the time i walked. but still, 6.6 kilometers of walk/jog. achievement! hahaha. a bit pathetic though.



there were times when we just walked in one file. haha. parang rally. hehe. talk talk. run run. walk walk. play play. hahahaha. just really good clean fun. :) this became our alternative to tagaytay. wow. hehe. :)

i'm so thankful to have great college friends. you guys are a bunch of weirdos. hahaha. i'll be looking forward for more jogging fridays.