My Personal Top 5 Hits in 2017

I've  had my fair share of up's and down's in 2017 but by the grace of God, came out of it stronger and hopefully, wiser.  There's a lot to say to summarise how the year has been, here's the curated version of my key highlights for the year:

#5. Music is back in our lives. It has long been in my bucket list to learn piano. I remember,  I used to draw on a piece of paper the piano keyboard and imagine in my head i am playing music. I never had the chance when i was a kid and i don'My personal top 5 hits in 2017t blame my parents, we just have to prioritise spending piano tuition for other necessities. When i finally started to have the income, i never have the time so, i buried this dream of mine to slumberland telling myself it will never happen. But here we are, i just signed up.  It may seem impractical  to start but, it is never too late to try. Our electric piano is finally being used, you hear music in our living room once in a while as i practice for the week's lesson. If i successfully pass Grade 1, i might consider rewarding myself with the more acoustic one :-).

If i look back at my life, my first 2 decades was mostly spent at school and with that, I'm joyfully a soprano for school choirs. The next two decades that passed was mostly spent at work and with that, i figuratively lost my voice, work has consumed me, it is never easy to find time. When I started to have my own family, it has gotten worse, there's not much left of yourself. Sometimes, you are so depleted that all you look forward is to have some  quiet.

Now that i have established a career for myself and my son is already coming to age as a teenager. I am finding myself back again and was presented the opportunity to volunteer to take part of the choir for our Filipino Community in our local parish (St Anthony of Padua). I'm happy to be a soprano again and despite the late evening end to our practices, i am energized and happy to serve through the choir. 

The bonus of it all, my son Joaquin, is also serving our parish as part of the children's choir. He is also actively part of the school choir. I can see myself in him and I'm glad that we are sharing the same passion in choir singing.

#4. I am healthier and it feels so good.  I made a promise to myself that i will start taking care of me.  I have realised all these years, I have always felt responsible for others except myself. I've set a goal to run cumulative 42km each month not competitively but just following my own pace. My metabolism and my sleep has gotten better. I could count only a few times that i felt sick. When my schedule permits, I've also started to join the free yoga class at work. Earlier this year, i took up a mindfulness course which helped me to practice breathing properly and to meditate. I find mindfulness practice helpful in calming yourself despite all the troubles that come your way. It is also helpful in controlling your running emotions and providing space to evaluate any situation better before taking decision.

#3 It is a joy to be with children and to serve the Lord through my catechism ministry. Year 2017 is a year for children for me having just joined LEGO, the toy company and assigned as catechist for Primary 1 students. Having extra LEGO bricks does help keep my students excited in class but the bigger joy comes from these young children all open and curious about God. I am blessed to be given the opportunity to teach and I continue to pray that i will be better year to year. These children inspire me to learn more about the faith. I want to be more spirit filled so that i can bring more of Jesus to them. 

#2 Unforgettable Italy! This is probably the key highlight for the year for us as a family. In two weeks, we visited 3 countries, Netherlands (Amsterdam), Italy (Rome -Florence -Milan), and France (Paris) but stayed the most of course in the Land of Pasta and Museums!  The summer weather is perfect for the clear blue skies and colorful flowers but, quite crowded with tourists having their holiday break. We saw a lot of Instagram-worthy places of interest (Amsterdam canals, St. Peter's Basilica, the Colosseum, Florence dome, leaning tower of Pisa, Milan Cathedral, Eiffel tower) ate a lot, experienced European culture, met people along the way and took so many photos!

#1 I survived a courageous leap of faith. Yes, a courageous change of company after 2 decades working for P&G.  P&G has given me a lot of opportunities to grow in my career and who I am now is influenced in a very big way by the Proctoid mould i have been in.  I felt the need to come out of my comfort zone and i knew change is coming my way - i do not know exactly what, when, and how it could be but here I am, now working for one of the world's powerful brands, LEGO.  

The road to get here is not an easy one. First stop, the culture is hugely different - from a process-oriented, results hungry, sometimes rigid American company i landed to a very open, collaborative, too high level in direction setting Danish company.  Both have their own merits and I've appreciated them equally.  But how do i adapt to a new environment like this? in my early months, it felt counter to my usual grain and counter productive at times (too much engagement is driving slow action).  What made it worse for me is, the situation of the business is also turbulent when i joined the company. After enjoying a decade of growth, the company for the first time has stalled in sales, the competitive landscape is fiercer with more digital toy offerings affecting the core of the physical play experience, major customers like ToysRUs filed bankruptcy, more copycats (e.g. Lipin) are out in the market much faster than what our supply chain is designed for.  On top of that, organization is also in dramatic shake up. Case in point: in the 12 months I've joined, the organization had 3 CEO's.  The company announced to cut 8% jobs from its current workforce across the globe and week by week, you hear employees leaving the company.

Things are getting better with our new CEO driving clearer direction and a strong mandate to get back to growth.  The organization is settling down and getting back to stability and business momentum.  There's a lot of product innovation lined up - and they are all very exciting and cool stuff!  I've not felt as much an excited kid as I am now.

A year forward, my resilience has been truly tested - a lot of discomfort, self-reflection, and also self-discovery.  While it's only been early years for me in the company but I've also learned a lot, leaps more than i expected.  I remind myself everyday of the WHY i am here.  I truly am a person of purpose and i resonate well with LEGO's ambition to build the builders of tomorrow.  If I am to spend more years working, I will pursue something that will also fill my soul and not just the daily grind to earn a living.  Where I am now connects my passion and purpose and hopefully, my full potential as a person would bloom even more.

Family fun at Mui Ne, Vietnam

This is our first time in Vietnam, we arrived with no big expectation.  We had hits and misses along the way but overall, delighted with the food, the rich culture, and the amazing sights especially, in Mui Ne.

We landed at Ho Chi Minh and planned to travel north to MuiNe,  a coastal village intriguing for its unique mix of white and red sand dunes plus the windy and strong waves good for kitesurfing.  We hopped into a taxi to get us to Mui Ne,  took almost 5hours to reach our hotel.  I would think we've been victimized by a scam first thing on our arrival at the airport. I signed up for a car for hire,  we were shown a brand new Toyota Innova for a comfortable ride but 10 minutes later at the nearest gas station from the airport, we were transferred to an old Mitsubishi car.  We reached Mui Ne in the evening so what greeted us upon arrival is the lively Nguyen Dinh Chieu street lined up with restaurants and night market offerings.  First thing i noticed is, this place is swarmed by Russians! In fact, there are plenty of specialty restaurants catering to the Russian clientele, hotels with Russian signs, and the locals able to converse in Russian.

We woke up very early at 5am for us to be picked up by a hired jeep to take us to the popular attractions in Mui Ne. First stop,  after traveling almost an hour with the cold windy breeze on an open top jeep,  we arrived at this desert area with white dunes.  We hired a big motor bike to explore the sandy dunes and whah,  the driver is crazy mad whopping us up and down the sandy hill. There's no safety precautions and we were definitely not given a head's up but it was exhilarating and pure fun!  It was rewarding to see the sunrise above us,  worth the effort to wake up very early to get here. I was amazed by how the sand dunes evolve in shape as it is blown away by the wind. The drama unfolds as light touches the sand from dusk to dawn. If we had the time,  we could have stayed here and watch the contrast from sunrise to sunset.

Next stop is another sand dunes experience,  the difference is in color. We hopped into our open top jeep again and was brought to the red sand dunes.  We were swarmed by small kids offering their plastic board for us to rent so that we can try sandboarding. It was meant to be for my son but we ended up taking turns,  we had so much fun! It is very interesting to find in just 20mins from each other two different experiences of enjoying desert fun.
By this time our feet and legs are already feeling the fatigue,  it is no joke walking on sand,  much more tiring than your usual walk (and very slow walk at that).  We went next to a place called the Fairy Stream.  I saw the photos posted on Google about this place and got me excited for us to see this ourselves. We alighted to what seemed to be like a mum and pop store and were ushered to go in a narrow road that will lead us to the stream. There's no entrance fee but if you have no slippers with you,  you can rent a pair for a nominal fee.  The place is like the convergence of the red and white sand dunes only,  they are not powdery in form yet. They look enchanting in lime stones and iron rich rock formations. The stream in between makes this place enchanting -  it looks so surreal to be here.

We hopped back again to our jeep but this time,  the driver managed to cover it up,  just about time since the sun is already up.  We went on next to the local fishing village and we got to see fishermen selling their first catch of the day.  Seafood is very much an abundance here and costs so cheap. It is very interesting how the local boats are designed,  they are round like big soup bowls floating at sea.

In the afternoon,  we explored the beach of Mui Ne and it was a different experience for us to see the whole stretch of the long beach filled with big kites with surfers attached to them. When Google said Mui Ne is good for kitesurfing,  we never expected it was not only good but it seems to be the mecca of kitesurfers!  We were just exhilarated seeing surfers from different nationalities hover around the open sea gracefully with their kites and would show off their jumping and flying skills. My jaws would just drop how it seems to look so easy.

A day in Mui Ne feels like a 24hour adrenaline experience. We want to catch the sunset so we explored the long stretch of the beach and found at the end a man made cove that is perfect for swimming and waited for the sun to go down.

As we gaze at this lovely sunset,  i prayed in my heart a big thanksgiving for all the blessings we've received so far as a family. This day is also the mark of new year in the Chinese calendar. What a better way to look forward of the year ahead by spending time with the ones you love watching the sun go down drinking local Vietnamese coffee.  Life is good,  thanks be to God!

A Day in Ho Chi Minh

This is what I posted on my FB page and truly descriptive of how a day in Ho Chi Minh is like:

We stayed at Saigon Odyssey hotel along the famous backpackers area of Pham Ngu Lao at district 1. We arrived late in the afternoon so our first HCM experience is at night. First thing we had in mind is to try the "must have" national dish -  Beef Pho noodles. We were lucky enough to follow the trail of the locals also looking for food and found this unassuming food stall that is apparently one of the best Beef Pho in the area.

I did say we booked ourselves in the backpackers area but what i didn't expect is,  there's almost a country of backpackers in the area. You will forget where the locals are,  everyone around you are mostly Caucasians, Chinese, Japanese tourists!  It seems all the tourists in HCM congregate in this area for the cheap beer,  good coffee,  interesting street food,  night market bargains,  and the peculiar drinking culture.  The side walk are all filled with small chairs and tables,  arranged in a row. Now imagine this same arrangement on the other side of the road so you find yourself facing another stranger on the opposite side versus looking at your company next to you. It is awkward in the beginning but i must admit,  the people watching experience is enjoyable. 

The following day we were all psyched up that it is going to be a long day walking so we started right by eating breakfast.  We were happy to meet fellow Visayans from Cebu,  Philippines. They have been here ahead of us and already went to see most of the places of interest. There is always a Filipino in every corner of the world.

Our family is no stranger to walking around the city on foot but when in HCM,  this is a totally different experience. Motorbikes would just swarm around you, there is no clear pedestrian lane,  and it seems no stoplight at all.  I can imagine this must be an overwhelming experience for a tourist first time in SouthEast Asia as it is already overwhelming for someone like me living in the region.

From our hotel, our walking tour started at the popular Ben Thanh market but unfortunately, due to the CNY festivities, this market was closed.  We managed to still find some trinkets as souvenir items, we were lured to the aroma of fresh coffee and ended up buying coffee beans and tea leaves.  From Ben Thanh, we walked towards the City Hall and then hurried our way to visit the old Saigon post office which is also next to the popular Notre Dame cathedral.  The old post office is very charming but i wish that they did not allow souvenir shops here as it feels like it is one of those bazaar stalls.  Next to the post office is the Notre Dame cathedral, a structure that cannot be missed because of its distinct architecture.  This building has survived since it was built in the 1880's and as we went in, it is still bustling with parishioners praying and you can see it is a busy church with all the activities posted on the bulletin board.  

There is a rotunda (roundabout) surrounding the cathedral and you will see cafe's sprawling in the area. We walked a few meters and found ourselves in a nice coffee and crepe place.  It was one of those great mornings to bask under the sun enjoying fresh coffee and tasty crepe experiencing a new place.

From Notre Dame, we walked further to the Reunification Palace. Here we came to understand a little bit more of Vietnam history.  I appreciated how this building was still preserved after the war and particularly, i was delighted to see the furniture design of the 60's era -- the palace has well showcased their guest rooms and banquet tables.

From Reunification palace, we walked next to Tao Dan park. The CNY festivities has made the streets of HCM colorful and they culminate in this park with a week long Flower Festival.  We were lucky to see the different flowers on display and the children wearing their traditional costume for the Lunar New Year celebrations. 

From Tao Dan park we headed back to Pham Ngu Lao, the famous backpackers street. I had a good Vietnamese traditional massage and pedicure here.  There is a bounty of street food to choose from and once again, a relaxing coffee break.  Here's a quick guide to our walking trail from Google maps.  

To sum it up, when in Ho Chi Minh, you must:
1.  Try Beef Pho noodles - this is very common to find in the streets of HCM.  Pho Thanh Canh is one of the best places to go according to the locals.  Other Vietnamese food is equally delightful.  You will find yourself in a gastronomic adventure here so just be open to try local food.
2. Savor the coffee experience and drinking culture at Pham Ngu Lao -- Vietnames drip coffee is strong and sweet (because they add condensed milk). It is best taken chilled since HCM is also a very humid city (like Singapore). I prefer my coffee hot, I added a little bit more of hot water to make it bearable to taste.  At night, don't miss to check out Pham Ngu Lao, i find it really awkward to be sitting in rows and rows of people staring at the person across the street but, it is again one of those unique experience you can only find in HCM.
3. Be prepared for miles and miles of walking -- wear comfortable shoes and dry fit shirt.  You need to also bring with you a bottle of water and don't bring too much stuff to carry along.

I hope this has been helpful to you if you plan to visit HCM.  Be open to new experiences, learn new culture, appreciate the history and rich food.  Most important of all,  don't forget to savor the moment and perhaps take snapshots on your camera as memento.  Happy travel!

About Liu Wei

Before I came to know of his name, i have no clue that an armless feet pianist is abuzz of fame in China. Liu Wei, is the 2010 winner of the talent show, China's Got Talent, adopted from the famous Britain's Got Talent. At the age of 10, Liu Wei had an accident and lost his arms. He first dreamed of becoming an athlete but from one barrier to another, he found a new dream in music.

I had a chance to be up close with Liu Wei during our Asia PS Summit in Guangzhou where he was invited to speak to a crowd of 400+ Product Supply managers of Procter &Gamble. BTW, P&G sponsored China's Got Talent, which is a runaway success and increased market share of some of our brands. When he was introduced, I initially felt it was an odd choice to have him as the guest speaker -- I was expecting someone from the Supply Chain industry since the crowd is a bunch of Proctoids eager to hear from external perspective how we could manage and achieve the "next Peak".

He was speaking in Mandarin and a P&G colleague graciously translated his message to the audience. He is not one of those usual speaker profile, he is soft spoken, sometimes shy, but what impressed me most is his big maturity about Life. And then suddenly, i found myself glued to every word he is saying, as if my inner antenna has been fine tuned in order for me to understand what this young 23-year old have to advise. And then I'm beginning to feel star strucked with his determination in Life after overcoming many challenges, for having such wisdom that I have not heard from any other youth I've encountered so far, the strength he projects in pursuing a dream and never giving up.

Here are some of the scribbles in my notes as I listen to his life story intently:
* Be clear what you want in Life. Have a dream and pursue it!
* Maximize and leverage your strengths.
* Don't fall short of your determination to succeed no matter what obstacles come your way
* Find a mentor. You cannot be successful without someone enabling you along the way.
* Everything can be learned, you only need the right attitude!
* Demonstrate small successes one step at a time until you make it big!
* Have the gratitude to give back especially to those who have helped you
* There are only two choices in Life: to die or to live a splendid Life!

One of the questions asked of him from the audience goes something like, " How do you feel after winning China's Got Talent, what has changed in your life?". He answered back saying, nothing much has changed about him but he is now much more recognizable and he is using this to influence great causes. In fact, Liu Wei is planning (or has already done so) to set-up a foundation of his own.

To me, Liu Wei has provided a different lens of Life and he has touched my inner thoughts in a way that I appreciate more what I have. I have shared this to my 6-year old son and i can tell from my son's eyes his admiration for Liu Wei's story.

If a 23-year-old armless feet pianist can achieve his dreams and become inspirational, what more can i do and give back to others?

Happy 43rd Bday Singapore!

Today marks the 43rd National day of Singapore. I have been living here for the last 7 years and today, I could not help from thinking what do I love about Singapore? First of all, I have great respect to the government of Singapore for their good governance and vision for growth. From my experience living here, Singapore is a source of envy versus my country in terms of its strong, transparent, and holistic government policies. Second, Singapore is a very peaceful country despite the many cultural differences among the people living here. You walk in any street and you will see the Chinese, Indian, Malay, Filipinos, Australians, Americans, Europeans all coming together and blending homogeneously like they are all coming from the same race. Singapore is truly embracing globalization which keeps the country attractive despite being a small sovereignty. Third, Singapore is a very vibrant and pleasant country! I really love the different tastes of food here, you don't need to travel many countries because you can find them here (and they are not as expensive too if you know where to find). The shopping scene here is superb, all year round there's always a good sale! The arts scene here is also blooming which makes your social calendar much more interesting. I also love the fact that despite being a modern metropolis, Singapore did not forget about balancing modernity with clean environment. I think the urban and city planners of Singapore are really doing a great job. Despite being small a country, there's always space for good parks and great spaces for amusement, truly a great place to start a young family.

I guess overall, I do love it here and I have no reason yet to move out. I just hope that I can bring some of the good experience here back home and learn from the Singapore transformation.

Happy Birthday again Singapore!

Heritage Village, New Delhi

I just had a business trip to New Delhi to visit one of our manufacturing plants in India. I am enchanted by this boutique hotel where I stayed. It is nestled away from the city (almost in the middle of nowhere really) and you feel like living in some royalty kingdom.


This is the facade entrance to my hotel room...
Here enjoying the colorful company of the Rajasthani entertainers...

Bloody Encounter with My Dentist

The official receipt says "corticotomy" ; yes, i survived 1.5 hours of surgery in a small operating chair in my dentist's clinic last Sat,Nov 18. In ordinary language, what the operation means is, the dentist need to cut a portion of my lower gum and move my lower teeth inside. I have a case of what my playmates bully me in the past as, "half-moon". My lower jaw is wider and is blessed with more teeth than an average person. I had my braces on 3 years back (initially due to vanity because "braces" are the latest "in" thing in the Phils back then) and the dentist already gave me a vision of what is yet to happen last Saturday in his office. I am calm when i stepped into the clinic 8:30am in the morning. The dentist called on his asisstants (there are all Pinoys btw, and they are all so "USI" since most have not seen "corticotomy" before -- i guess, i'm one of a kind), prepared all the tools and gadgets ( i almost changed my mind when i saw the chisel and the hammer laid in front of me), and finally he gave me a local anesthesia. My mouth was so numb, so no matter how much cutting and hammering (yes hammering because the dentist need to cut through the bone), i just laid back on the dentist chair and counting time when this will be over. After so many hands touching my mouth and a bucketful of blood, one hour has gone and the dentist is already doing the stitches. Suddenly with one big pull, he pushed the brackets from my front teeth and connected it to my right molars, whaahh! very very painful...i am in tears waving my hands for the dentist to stop! He gave me another shot of anesthesia and whaaah! i can feel the needle piercing through my sensitive gums, all the more painful...i am panting this time,panicking and grasping for air,if i had hypertension, i think this would have been a major attack. The nurses were trying to calm me down, i could not get hold of myself, i am really in pain, BIGTIME! After the long shot of anesthesia, the dentist is attempting to connect my teeth again and push inside, 1..2..3.. done! My body is shaking , i feel like all my nerves has been disturbed and i cannot control the shivers. The dentist said, i have been good (really?), that the operation is done, and i need to take one more X-ray before I leave. When i stood up, i feel like the world has turned upside down, i badly want to go home,lie down in bed, and recuperate from my agonising surgery.

Long minutes has passed, the X-ray machine is not yet up and running, the nurse already called the technician to quickly come over and fix the problem but, no technician has arrived yet. The anesthesia is slowly fading and again, i'm in tremendous pain. I feel so much pressure from my lower jaw , it almost feels like my mouth is breaking into pieces, i am having a massive headache! Where is the technician?, i am strongly complaining now to my husband. Of course, not to embarass us from the long que of patients waiting outside, my husband just re-assured me we will go home soon, be patient, and forget the pain. How can I disregard this pain???

After 30 minutes, i could not bear any longer, and the dentist asked me to come back again to the "deadly" chair . I thought he will just check if something went wrong but again, another needle pierced into my aching gums , not only once but twice, thrice, and i stopped counting at four...I am crying like a child, cannot compose myself,trying to grasp air, all I want is just to go home,please... NOW! At last, the X-ray man arrived and I was given a scan.

If you think pain is over after the dentist's clinic , the thing is, i have to be high on drugs just to survive. Round the clock i have to take 500mg of pain killer and antibiotics. Not to mention, on the 2nd day, my mouth is swollen and my lower gum is still bleeding. What is happening to me? i'm not very sure at all if this was the right decision to make. My son (now,17months old), never knowing that I am in pain is also wanting to be carried always and would want me to play around with him. He is becoming naughty these days as well, he will never take "NO" for an answer.

As I write this, I'm already on day 5, i have finished all the meds and for the first time when i look at the mirror, I do appreciate what my dentist has done. Gone are the "half-moon" days, hopefully, the wound from the surgery will heal very soon, my lower teeth will align and tuck inside, and I can make a great big smile again! But still, it was a bloody hell of an experience (for keeps!) :-)

My Adventures in India

Remembering Bang

As I am writing this, i still can't believe that our good friend, Evan Ragandang has passed away last March 07. It was a sad week after hearing the news, and it was also an unexpected news to begin with. I was still on the phone with Bang when I visited Manila last Feb 13, and he was still in his good old jolly mood. Although i was concerned that he is back home in Cagayan de Oro,according to him,he is just resting for awhile after another visit to the hospital.

Bang has been confined for some time in the Lung Center in Manila last year because of his pneumonia/bronchitis/asthma/whatever not-so-clearly-diagnosed condition. We jokingly talked about it, and I teased him that he could be going out too much partying and he could have caught the "bird flu". Of course, conversations with Bang were never serious and comedian that he is, he will never talk to you seriously despite being in pain. I was always wondering, what Life could he have had if he didn't leave Singapore? It feels like that time was not so long ago, it was a point in time when most of my friends are already fed up of Singapore. In fact, that was the first disease he got -- the contagious "boredom". He was always talking about wanting change but i was never convinced that quitting work and packing your things abruptly is the solution. But, the wind of destiny is blowing him back to the Philippines and so, he went back and finally landed a new job, a new place, and new set of friends. I was content for him, the "change" that he was looking for has quickly materialised. But, I never thought it would come this far, not to the extent of not seeing him again.

Again, I have always wondered, could his Life be better if he did not leave Singapore? Even if he will be sick just the same, i somehow think that medical care in Singapore is better. Maybe he could have better treatment or maybe better, he could have stayed his same healthy self. I don't know what lies ahead, and I also don't own the future but sometimes, given the right conditions, maybe circumstances could have been different.

It is hard to ignore the loss of a friend specially if most of the pictures you have together are happy memories. I thought 10 or 15 years down the road I could compare notes with Bang and account for the individual lives we have journeyed. I guess that will not happen. I guess, for the mortal years Bang has enjoyed, that is the only history I could look back. But I guess, despite the short years, Bang will remain to bear a smiling face, he will always be remembered as the entertainer, the don't worry-be-happy guy, the urban chic, the adventurer, the aspiring tennis rookie (of thomson 800), the best in gossip, the most up-to-date when it comes to any 50-70% sale, the most neat and organised, the most talkative, the most ..the most.. the most... i can continue for a day but, i have to let go because he is only a memory now.

Bang, I have always thanked God for the gift of your friendship. For the life you have lost, I will all the more cherish the life I live. Life is short indeed, you remind me to slow down from my everyday "busyness", not forgetting what's essential to happy living that is, good health, loving relationships, and communion with the Lord.

So long my friend, you will always be remembered.