Seats were lacking at the seminar today. I'm being ushered to sit infront but the thing is, I don't want to. Besides, there are vacant tables at the back and I know it's there for people who will arrive late. We asked for chairs so we could sit at the back but they didn't want to give us any and insisted that we should just move infront. But, I don't want to and I have my reasons.

It's Saturday. Every Saturday, I dedicate my time to experiment, take pictures, research keywords, write articles, and everything it takes so I could have a complete line-up ready for next week's publishing schedule.

Then why did I attend a seminar on a Saturday? It was a spur of the moment decision.
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You don't just wake up early, get up early. I don't live in the metro but I'm still working in the city. Jeepneys are scarce during peak hours and traffic will be heavy so I have to leave the house an hour and a half before if I want to get to work on time. 

I can still remember choosing between sleeping in for another thirty minutes, having breakfast and getting my makeup done and until now, I'm still choosing the first.

I prefer to clock in thirty minutes before work starts. That way I can eat breakfast with a fresh face on without worrying about being late.
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Instagrammable OOTD's take time to prepare and easily ruined with a sudden change in weather specially if you're a commuter.

I'm soaking wet yesterday because of the heavy rain fall. Even my shoes were squishy on the inside because I had to walk through a flooded street to get to work. By mid-day, it was scorching hot. Now, the overcoat that saved me from getting wet in the morning is a burden resting at the back of my office seat or in my arm on the way home.
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​The others who are in probation like I am are transferring in our college to graduate, no offense, but I don't want to do that.

I don't want my bosses to be my professors. Seriously, who wants that?

​How can I openly write my paper and express my opinion base on my job if that includes scrutinizing and emphasizing their incompetencies and then presenting it to the whole class, people I'm working with, and my professor, my boss. I'm already feeling suffocated for working twelve hours, four times a week for the past three years of my life. I don't want to spend another day with them.
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o answer the essay, we need to solve the problem first because that will be the basis of our opinion. I didn't have difficulty solving for the problems but the essays were the worst. Well, everybody's got their own weaknesses and essay writing happens to be mine. It took me more time to organize and finalize my thoughts than actually solving it.

I had a lot for lunch but I didn't appreciate how it tasted. It's like my plate was suddenly empty and I don't know where the food went.

In the afternoon, we had Marketing Management. Up until the exam, I was confident because I finished studying it. Before the exam was distributed, the proctor mentioned that there were only four questions. So I asked how many pages? I was hoping it was a company case analysis hence the number of questions, but NO. It was mostly identification and one very short case analysis that only focused on pricing model. I studied twenty-two chapters but the first question is not on the reference text and the other is close to becoming a footnote which I didn't bother memorizing. Yeah, that part I really regret.

We all felt hungry after the exam and decided to eat before going home. Me and my friends ended the day with pasta, coffee, cake and a lot of chatting and drama.

We still have two more subjects left to take this Saturday and I'm hoping I could do better to make up for my loss in Marketing. I'll update soon.

-Aisiah Ezekyel

The trip took about 4 hours from Olongapo through SCTEx and TPLEx. We paid toll fees from Olongapo as follows (one way):

(SCTEx) Tipo Entrance: P22
From (SCTEx) Tipo to TPLEx Entrance: P294
To TPLEx Exit: P235

We stayed at Dongae for almost two hours just bonding over samgyeopsal and talking about what we we're upto the past year and a few plans ahead.

The rest of the conversation were pretty casual and sometimes nonsense but I guess that's what talking with old friends should be like. Random, nonsensical and nothing in common but fun.

Here's a link to my post about my experience with Dongae. Don't hesitate to visit while you're here in Olongapo.

​-Aisiah Ezekyel

One thing I look forward to when I travel in general is the room I'm going to sleep in. I may only be using it for roughly 10 hours a day at most but I have to sleep comfortably to be able to recharge for a long day ahead.

On my recent business trip to Tagaytay, I was suppose to stay at Taal Vista but, as you know, I had to leave and move to a different hotel later that day. But before the transfer, I was able to get the key card, see the room and spend some time there on my own.

Taal Vista is an English tudor mansion style hotel in Tagaytay with a really beautiful view overlooking Taal Lake. It's one ride from Robinsons Mall and right in front of the hotel is the Casino and McDonalds.

It wasn't a formal complaint though but it was the first news that reached me in the morning and honestly it was annoying.

The schedule was made three weeks ago and there were no complaints when I sent them home early and gave them a free day. No other remarks nor appeal to change it too then suddenly, someone stabbed me in the back.

​That's additional 12 hours a week plus the fact that it's a new subject to me so I have to review for it. It's taking so much of my time than I expected. I just hope I'm not doing badly.

Sportsfest started today and I'm handling Arnis. I've been quite busy all week because we've been practicing and making costumes. We do have a budget to have it made but it's only for six "anyo" performers and we have nine.

The performance for anyo went smoothly. We were actually counting golds during the anyo performance yesterday. The only complaint I had was the sudden change in format for the full contact.

I get their point of wanting to secure the kids' safety and I've already agreed on changing the format. All I'm asking is to redo the draw lots but it was denied.

There was something I was able to confirm though. I'm not part of the office family. I thought after three years of working with the same people and doing my best with my job the way they look at me will change, but it didn't. They still treat me as an outcast and the things that happened throughout this week proved that they're all just waiting for something wrong to happen.

What I told her is that I want to explore different occupations and social experiments; like going to Batanes and pretending to be mute. ^_^ She didn't look amused and started lecturing.

I thought I was already ambitious then it got me thinking; Am I too simple minded for my age (late 20's)?

My old blogs have been messy and out of focused. I took blogging as a hobby and some of my posts were too personal making it difficult for me to brand my blog and myself as a blogger. I also find the platform kind of difficult for me to handle and edit since I’m not that techy. Lastly, I don’t have that much followers so I don’t think I’m wasting too much. I didn’t close it down but I’m no longer updating it.

​I was also offered a permanent position and ranked ahead of the others a year after I got hired because nobody wanted to stay in that position but me. So I took the offer. Then the rise of the bitches began.

I see them everyday; Greet them everyday; Little did I know that they were already back stabbing me. The person I gifted a bag with was spreading rumors about me. One even called the head of the personnel to talk about how awful I am to work with. On top of that, my paper that would make me permanent went missing. I was lucky enough that I have two good friends who know me well and saved me.

2016 have been a productive year for me although, honestly, none on my list was actually accomplished in full. Yet it was filled with successful unplanned activities which made my year a lot more exciting. I've never let my instinct take the wheel before but things get crazy busy all at once, I didn't have much time to brood on anything that's been going on.

My year started with winning a beauty pageant. It wasn't like me to join contests like that but since it's part of my job to represent my department, I didn't have a choice but to follow my boss's orders. I ended up having fun trying on clothes and walking the ramp. The event also allowed me to conquer my fear of being judged on stage by the crowd.

I've been working since 18 and the only useful thing I got myself is a small digital camera. I spend a lot on bags, foot wear, clothing, etc but not on expensive things that I actually need. One day, my gadgets just stopped working and  for the first, I had to purchase a phone and a laptop. I needed it for work so I had to.

Internet connection is so slow which is suppose to help me focus on the seminar. We started out at Ateneo de Davao. We arrived just in time and no, I didn't get to take any photos. We went back to the inn to freshen up before going to SMX Convention for the technical sessions.

This year's ANC is in Davao. We arrived on the 23rd of November around 12:00nn via Cebu Pacific Air. The check in at NAIA Terminal 3 went smooth but our flight was delayed for almost an hour.

Anyway, after registration, we had lunch and rested for awhile before taking a short city tour around 4pm. I wasn't able to take so much picture since only a tourist spot took my interest.

​If you live or been in the Philippines, you know well enough that it will be raining really hard this time of the year and workers and students will be waiting for admin leave and class cancellation announcements. There may not be a typhoon but low pressure area normally brings continuous rain. Include the problem with the city’s drainage system, there’s bound to be a flood and traffic will get worse. With that said, it follows that there won’t be much public transportation to accommodate commuters because some drivers would refuse to get their jeepneys out. If you’re thinking of getting a cab, I suggest you prepare to pay almost twice as much as the normal fare.

So last Friday, people have been commenting on the timing of the cancellation. A lot have said that the announcement is already too late because classes have ended (I guess the public is forgetting about us who have evening and weekend schedules) places are already flooded and everyone is already walking because of the lack of transportation (my house is 30 minutes away from the city considering normal conditions). Some are really angry because the water has almost reached their houses and blah, blah, blah. Some said that people are just overreacting because years ago, the quadrangle’s already flooded but still classes resumed. Some claimed they’re just worried about their child’s welfare which is understandable. Some are starting to become weather analysts, too.

They've all been screaming their hearts out "change is coming" since the election. They even made a bet if there's going to be a change at work too. I don't know about everyone else but I guess my work is about to. Yup, I "think" I'm up for a promotion by title but not by pay. I'm not sure if I like it considering all the things I've been planning ahead but I don't want to reject the idea since it's something that may help me improve.
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I also don't think the others are gonna like it because I'm most certain they don't like me. They don't have to tell it to my face because they already told my boss without even talking to me. I remember when I was new, I was told by my boss that they got my back but in the end, it was just my boss and everyone else just turned their backs on me, even scolded me for asking. I don't know if it has changed but for now, I'm staying on the other side of that wall.
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