Wake Me Up When September Ends.

And I thought it never would. This month had been one crazy-busy but awesome month.:)

I practically had it up to my neck with office work. But managed to squeeze in those pampa-work-life-balance-things here and there. So here's a recap of what made my month:

1. My ultra-cluttered desk to match my ultra-cluttered brain. And calendar. And organizer.(organized clutter, yes #thatshowiroll haha).

Cluttered= busy = totally productive. :)

Two major events lined up on the third and last week of September was enough to drive me nuts with meetings and planning and endless preps. Exhausting as it was, I would say it was a lot of fun. I learned a hell lot- being one of the one and a half members of the Comms team (the other one resigned and the other is a consultant ergo not full time). From drafting service agreements to approving collaterals design; from requesting budget to revising decks; from pre-prods to message houses; excels to power points to photoshop to FCP. Beat that! Haha. Crazy tiring, but I wouldn't trade all the learnings I got.

And yes, cluttered works for me. I'm a very high P (perceiving on the Myers Biggs Temperament Indicator), I have the tendency to focus on different things at the same time. To others it may seem disorganized, but really my way of digesting things, is to deal with it along with may other things all at once (thank God for MBTI!). To each his own, baby. :)


2. Writing Rackets

It's good to write creatively once in a while- a break from all the formal/business/corporate writing at work. Therapeutic. Not to mention the extra moolah. I'm pretty lucky to get to contribute articles (I do the pretty nerdy ones) for a local men's magazine every now and then.

Here's my September offering:

My 2nd for the year. One coming out on October and another in the works. 

Yep, nerdy I shall say. Haha.


3. Fambam Moments. 

Self-explanatory.

Excuse the very bad lighting at Burgoo. || Durans!

4. Bookworm Indulgence a.k.a. The 34th Manila International Book Fair

A.k.a. Paradise Within the Confines of SMX Convention Center. GAAAH.

I've been wanting to go to MIBF for the past four years but work always got in the way. This time, I didn't let it. On I went with Tel and we were both just awestruck, like kids in the toy section of a department store.

A few tips:

1. Wear very comfy footwear. You'd be doing a lot of walking. And I mean a lot.
2. Arrive early. Crowd gets to thicken later in the day.
3. Unless you're just into mainstream reads, skip National Bookstore and Fully Booked. Although their discount is across the board, they just offer 20% off tops. You don't go all the way to SM MOA Jungle for that kind of deal.
4. Bring your own eco bag. Or stroller if you plan to hoard. *wink, wink*
5. List down title or topics for textbooks and professional books (Psych, Med, Law, Marketing, Architecture, Advertising, what-have-you's), you can get those expensive McGraw Hill-ish books for really low prices.  
6. List down all your inaanaks and pamangkins and buy them books for Christmas. You won't regret doing your Christmas shopping at MIBF.
7. Anvil is a MUST VISIT. They give up to 80% discount. I got most of my stash from them. 
8. Get lost, have fun and do it again next year. :)

5. Awesome Ideas from Awesome Conversations.

Otherwise known as flimsy excuses to justify diet fails. Haha. 

Chocolate is the best brain stimulant (I made that up). || Choco-Pistachio Cake. Cab Cafe, Kapitolyo, Pasig.

During one pigout night at Kapitolyo, Mau and I came up with big, cool plans for the future. It's in the works, but I won't share it yet so as not to preempt. Let's just say we're both really, really, really excited about it. :)


6. Being Surrounded by Kids (Again).

It's been a long time since I got down and dirty on location and spend time with local kids. Back during my News and Current Affairs days, I always preferred stories on children, and luckily always ended up with them.  And I've proven time and again that no matter what dire situation children are in- poverty, disaster, lack of education, malnutrition- they always have that glimmer of hope. That unadulterated joy that comes from within. It shines through. It shows in their smiles, their laughter and at-the-top-of-their-lungs singing of "Pusong Bato".  

This time, I got to spend time with children of Brgy. Canitoan in Cagayan de Oro. These are children who were displaced, orphaned or in one or another affected by Typhoon Sendong last 2011. These are the children who're part of Project Play It Forward- Unilab Foundation's therapeutic play intervention that helps children affected by disasters recover from their trauma through play (I'll write more about it on another post).

Sharing some photos I took for the Unilab Foundation.

Kids finding ways to play in the playspace nearing completion.

Photobombers. :)

Priceless. 

7. Getting Back in Siargao's Arms

Was back in Siargao for work for not five, not six, not even a whole week, but for eight friggin days! Like before, the program was a success. Eight days was a lot to take in with so much going on, but here's my quick top three favorite things during my stay:

Fresh buko.

Absence of traffic.

Local booze. Vodka sprite @ 50 bucks a pop. 

I almost never thought I'd made through September alive (haha I did get flu and slight fever on two different occasions). But with prayers, sanity breaks and some alcohol in between, the month was a piece of cake.


Cheers to job well done this September. :)

Stress, what tress? :) ||Work mode at Bakhaw Bed and Breakfast, Sayak, Del Carmen, Siargao. 

Here's to an even awesome last quarter of the year!

Roanni