The countdown has started and we will be leaving soon for Manila to spend the holidays. This will also be the second trip of my mother-in-law to the Philippines, and her first time to spend a real Pinoy Christmas. I am very curious about her reaction particularly when a whole lechon will be served on the table. Should be fun.
One slight hitch though, with my work, you never know when a tender comes out and so while I am away, my department will be in the middle of a huge tender, an opportunity which I actually pursued. Duh, who ever even thought of the idea that submission should be on the first week of January??? And so I got an email from one of the bosses asking..."how would this affect your holiday plans?". I could not control myself and I quickly answered back "my holiday plans will push through". I am always a believer that no one is really indespensable and such someone will have to take on the work. In the summer when I don't make much plans for a long holiday, I always end up picking the tasks of my European colleagues who are on their long break. So why should it be any different this time?
Anyway, going back to my holidays... It will be hectic but sure loads of fun. I can't wait to escape this cold dreary weather. It is time to be home!
Another year is ending but I am looking forward to 2010.
I am having a bad case of jetlag. Whenever I travel on different time zones, I normally would recover within a day or two. For the last two days, I have been struggling during the meetings in the early afternoon. At one point I felt I was just going to literally slip away that I had to gulp a whole glass of water to keep me awake!
I am excited with the prospects. I hope that something will come out of these meetings and hopefully I can finally do some projects in my home country. It may sound a little bit cheezy but sometimes I feel inadequate that while I have been pushing for developmental projects in other not so developed countries, I have not done anything for the Philippines for the last five years.
Hopefully, this will change soon.
A colleague invited me and several others to join her in this Herinnering Verlicht 
in Amsterdam. This is an annual event held at the Niewe Ooster where people commemorate their loved ones who have passed away.
For me it was something special to see. The event was nothing to do with the Catholic tradition of "All Soul's Day" but it was presented in such a way to show different cultures/religion commemorating the death of their loved ones. It was a mixed of performance and art.
This year, the theme was all about "Wat ik je nog wil zeggen"...or what i still wanted to stay.
I appreciate my colleague inviting me for this event and I knew she did it on purpose. It was a nice evening and I felt very much in one with my brother.
I got an email from a very good friend of mine asking why I have been quiet lately. The simple explanation is that I have been very busy and it seems that 24 hours is not enough to juggle family, work, social obligations, etc. Sometimes I hardly even have time for myself. I really have to make more effort to respond to (personal) emails or even update my social network sites.
In two weeks time I will be in Manila again for a two day meeting for work. It will be a short visit as usual although my boss already suggested for me to work from "home" so I can stay a little bit longer. Times have changed indeed. Whenever I am out on a business trip, the prospect of me being away for more than a week from my husband and daughter is not very appealing. In fact, I can't stand it.
I can't deny however that these business trips are also an opportunity to "get away from it all" and re-charge without the demands of the daily chores of motherhood. I can't also really complain when work brings me an opportunity to travel "home". In fact, I am getting more and more prospects to manage projects in Asia which is pretty cool.
I am already dreading to be away again...
Fortunately, my family was spared from any devastation of this super typhoon called Odoy. However, I know a few friends who live in the areas of Marikina and Cainta who really suffered from this tragedy.
My mom was quite emotional when I spoke to her. She said that they have been busy mobilizing people to help and that there is also an overwhelming response from people who want to help. Even my teenager nephews and nieces have volunteered to pack relief goods to be distributed to the victims.
I feel helpless just watching the news and hearing these stories and although I made a donation to the Red Cross, I wish I could do more.
