Finally, hell week is over. This past week has been the busiest, most exhausting and emotionally challenging five weekdays I've ever had. Thank God it's Friday and that it's over.

Aside from deadlines at work, I was heavily involved in two major company activities. The first big shindig was last Tuesday's Awards night, which is an annual event organized by our department, Human Resources Organizational Development. Although it was a formal evening event, it took a whole work day away from me since we had to be at the venue from the morning onwards. I had to put some office work on hold and push deadlines back in order to accomodate this major event's schedule. During the event, we had to be on our toes as well, so BUSY was an understatement.

Bayanihan Day was another huge yearly company acitivity where groups of employees from each of the four main compounds perform to win a grand prize. This event took so much more of our time since we had to rehearse during work hours and even late into the night. It pretty much seemed like bootcamp for us newbies; we felt REQUIRED to perform as a form of initiation into the company, but it was all done in good fun.  We weren't really required, but we didn't want to appear like spoil sports by not getting involved.

It was an eventful week indeed, especially for a new employee like me. At the awards night, I rubbed elbows not just with Management, but with the creme de la creme of the company. It was an honor for me to mingle with the VIPs and equally fun to see the company's top performers grace the event looking their best. We organizers got to glam it up as well.

At the Bayanihan celebration, I got to bond with my colleagues from different offices. It also immersed me into the company's culture and familiarized me with the values the organization holds dear: team work, healthy competition, striving for success and enjoying life at the same time.

Suffice it to say, I've gained a lot from these "firsts" experiences in the company. I may be busier than I've ever been and the challenges I face may initially seem daunting, but I feel I'm in a good place. God put me here and I'm more than thankful for it.

29th February 2008

It was more than just a "leap day", as some people call it. 

This day will be remembered as my last in this job I've had for over a year now.  As I said before, the season is over and I'm glad it ended with a bang.  Well, there weren't exactly fireworks, but it was indeed special.

I shed a few tears in the earlier hours of my last day at work.  The rest of the time, I just wanted to enjoy my final moments as an official employee and as a part of such a great team of recruiters and IT professionals.

Cheers to my fabulous officemates (ex-officemates now) for making it extra special.  I've never been so moved by the kind words they said to me personally, and for sure I know it wasn't just lip service.  It's been quite a ride; no doubt I'll miss the company. 

That's why I'll make it a point to keep in touch.  We're such a tight-knit group and without flinching, I can say I've established friendships to last me a lifetime.

I'm counting down the days.  Six working days to go since the 25th was just declared a non-working holiday.  I'm going to miss every bit about the job, most especially the people.  I'm going through mixed emotions because I DID enjoy this season of my life while it lasted and I'm more than grateful to the people I have shared this experience with.

But more than anything, I'm eager to move on, see what's out there and thrilled that I took this leap of faith is opening new doors for me.

Thanks to my awesome friend Cokie who took this photo of me.

I am wide awake at this hour despite having had a really tough mentally and emotionally exhausting day. I guess I'm just bothered. Being the people-pleaser that I am, I know I disappointed a number of people today and now I can't but hate myself for it.

Sometimes, I wish I were a cold, heartless b... witch. I wonder if they sleep better than I do because quite frankly, I haven't had decent shut-eye in weeks. This is all because I have been so afraid of having important people frown upon my decisions and recent course of actions.

So, I know there's nothing more annoying than a vague blog entry such as this, but I promise to elaborate when all this blows over. In the meantime, I must begin counting sheep.