My 2013 Bucketlist

2012 is all about CHANGES. 2013 will be about ACHIEVEMENTS.
Here are top 20 things I want to have/buy/do starting next week, January 1 :)

1. Get a tattoo. Like real tattoo.
2. Switch to Blackberry 9700 White. 
3. Have my laptop's OS replaced. --> long overdue
4. Have my valid IDs replaced. --> non-negotiable
5. Get my diploma. --> another long overdue
6. Buy/build a neat shoe organizer.
7. iPod Touch 5th Gen. ULTIMATE.
8. Lose weight.
9. Go back to Boracay.
10. Post at least 1 entry per week here in my blog.
11. Perfect my QA. -->work.
12. Avoid compliance fails. --> work as well. pretty hard but doable.
13. Continue my perfect attendance.
14. Buy a new pair of dancing shoes.
15. Buy a set of make-up brushes. Just the basic ones.
16. Win a dance competition.
17. Spend quality time with my best friend at least once every month.
18. Know how to use the sewing machine.
19. Get drunk. -->pretty easy. ha!
20. Get a boyfriend. -->serious please. haha

Let's see if how many of these things Imma be able to cross out. Will also be updating this every time I achieve one. Wuhooo! I'm excited!

Advance Happy New Year guys!

Dancing in the sky with ALL STARS

Yes after such a long time, I'm back here, writing something to share with you people.. Well probably what I would write about is one of the best happenings in my life since I last entered something here. Haha.

Last Nov. 3 was the Step Up Dance Competition which we, Boom Box Dance Crew failed to conquer. However, my dancing career (chos!) does not end there as the top 2 winners of that competition got dancers from the other teams to be included in there team to represent Convergys Glorietta 5 on the Christmas Party. I did not plan to join, at first, because I wanted to rest and make bawi at work. But then my co-dancer Markee told me that it's going to be boring if I won't have to do anything during the Christmas party. So yeah, I decided to audition to be part of the crew led by Retail Dance Crew which later I knew was called G5 All-Stars. 

It was nerve-wracking for me (srsly) to go through an audition process after 5 years of dancing. Last time I auditioned was back in 2007 when I joined UPLB Street Jazz Dance Company, to whom I owe all of my dancing skills right now. Then now, I'm doing it again. So yeah, I didn't know the feeling of "auditioning."

So I auditioned with my friend Markee, we performed 2 dances from our routine which was 'Let's Go' (choreographed by VJ, a co-dancer from UPLB Street Jazz) and 'Turn up the music' (choreographed by Tin, also from Boombox). And after a day, we were informed that we got in! Yeyyy! I have something to do again. Haha!

It was hard coping with how Retail Dance Crew, esp their head choreo Yue Pambago, run their trainings. I am used to learning the routines by each and every step of each and every part of the body. But with Yue, he gives us freedom to do extra adlibs as long as we know the basic of the step and we look conformed with the team. Unless that specific dance requires conformity like isolation and dubstep-ish dances.

ANYWAY, rehearsals started as soon as the team was completed. We had our schedules changed to accommodate rehearsals in the morning. A week before the performance, 2 members had to be pulled out. One of them, Ron, was injured during rehearsals and the other was Jake, had conflict with his new schedule for a new account. It was hard but the team did not stop. 

Rehearsal snaps:

Costume had conflicts as well. It took us 3 days , I think, to finalize the concept and the colors of the costume. This happened about 2 and 1/2 weeks away from the competition. Only to have the colors changed 5 days before the competition. From blue and brown, it was changed to blue and red. Good thing the vest I bought was white, which I was planning to jobos to brown. But since the required costume was red, I bought 10 packs of jobos to make sure it will bring out a bloody red vest for me. Little did I know that the coloring powers of jobos is pretty hardcore that when I mixed my clothing into the pot with 10 packs of red jobos, it gave me a purple vest at the end of process. Amazing. This happened 4 days before the competition. So the following day, I gad to go around Landmark once again to get a red vest for my costume. In the end, I bought a black vest and sewn red cloth over it for 10 hours. Voila! I have a red vest.

My black vest, half covered with red cloth at 2.5 hours of sewing..

Blue and Red! :)

My full blue and red costume :)

Rehearsals were really intense and we just felt like eating during breaks. Here are some photos of us eating between and after rehearsals:

Bicol and Baguio delights from Rommel and Emman

(L-R) R, Libay, Rommel, Pam, Zan, Leahfe

           

(L-R) Emman, R, Mjel, Tin, Libay, Markee, Leahfe

(L-R) Leahfe, Fern, Me, Rommel, Libay, J.Mo

Morning of the event, we were given the chance to rehearse on the actual stage. More problems arise when we saw how freakishly BRILLIANT the stage was made. It was looooooong and thin, with curvy edges and 4 steps at the front. Amazing right? All the teams had a problem reblocking their routines because of the amazing design of the stage. Who does that for a dance competition?!? Plus the 15 minute time limit of the tech run did not help because we had to really rush!

After the tech run, we head to Microtel to freshen up and wear our costumes and make up. We left the hotel at around 6:30 and the program started at 7:30 or 8. The dance competition started immediately after some opening numbers because it was the highlight of the event.

We performed 3rd out of the 4 teams--Fusion in Motion, Fast Crew and The Vibe. I can say that our performance was not perfect because there were a lot of lapses. For example, Me and Lei entered late in the all girls dance. Breaker Rommel was not able to jump overhead J.Mo as their stunt. Mjel was not able to remove his blue and red shirt to the black one during the last part of the dance. There are a lot more, I think, but what we know is that we gave 100% effort and enjoyed the routine. Of course, not to mention, Yue's brilliant choreography is all part of it.

The awarding of the winners was most EPIC of all. When the hosts, Luis Manzano and Jinri Park, announced that they are ready to reveal the winners, they quickly announced G5 All Stars as 4th placers. We were in awe. However, Yue directed us to go to the stage and receive our award. He was ready to accept that we lost the battle. After that awkward photo op, we were instructed by the stage manager to stay in front of the stage. That moment, I instantly thought, there is something wrong. We were holding our hands when Luis announced that there was a mistake with the award given. We screamed. We were nervous. We prayed.

4th place, Fusion in Motion.

3rd place, Fast Crew.

We were left with The Vibe. We were trembling, holding each other tight, hoping, praying..

2nd place, The Vibe.

And for the FOURTH time in a row, G5 ALL STARS is declared CHAMPIONS in the annual Christmas party dance competition of Convergys Makati sites.

We were extremely happy, jumping around the stage as we received our check of P25,000 as grand prize. Some shed tears of joy as THAT was really EPIC. Define EPIC.

Until now, I can't get over of what happened. I enjoyed the feeling of winning. I have never experienced that for such a long time.

CHAMPIONS for 4 straight years. Yes, we #dominate.

G5 ALL STARS, CHAMPIONS 2012

Congrats to the team! We deserve it! And I hope this is not the last time I'm gonna be performing with you.

***photo credits to Pam Mercader, Tin Hookabe, Markee Agbuya and Dxtr Dg

When BITTERSWEET is better than just plain old sweet.

November 3, 2012 came out to be one of the most important dates of my life. As this was the first time I am competing in the world of dancing. I've been dancing regularly since 2nd year college when I joined UPLB Street Jazz Dance Company but I never got the chance to compete. That day, one of my dreams came true.

It was called the STEP UP Dance Competition. I competed with the Boom Box Dance Crew, my office mates from Convergys Philippines, all of us under the Collections account. The winner of the competition will represent our site to the yearly Christmas Party with Convergys One at SMX Convention Center.

I was happy with the theme, which is STREET HIP-HOP. With that, we got the expertise of my friend VJ to choreograph the routine. I believed in the routine and the dancers as well. The hardest part of the training is the reconciliation of the schedules. We had different shifts. One of us works on a day shift. The rest is on graveyard, but still different time slots. I think there were only 3 days that we were complete during the training. But still, we made it. We completed the routine despite having no sleep, at times. We had to go through bleaching our pants for our costume, the painful smell of Zonrox. But all for the team, we did it.

Competition day came and we performed 2nd. Sad to say, there were very few from our account who were able to watch us. The competition started at 5am, while almost everyone was dialing. But there were some who dared to go against there schedules just to watch. 

The performance was awesome. Being the second (or third) leader of the group, I am proud to what the team has done. Though we placed 4th (out of four teams, yes) I never regretted anything. I blame the organizers more. Why? Where in the dancing world would you see a dance competition judged by non-dancers? I respect them and their authority to the office but it's still a dance competition. I am not wishing for Georcelle Dapat or Jhong Hilario to judge but there are a lot of great dancers out there who has the expertise and the authority in the dance community. So what can you expect out of the CEOs and Brand Management Officers who judged the competition? Do they know what Street Hip-hop is? Or are they just looking for the Showtime-ish performance? 

I hope the organizers learned something out of this year's Step Up. Dance is not just an ordinary entertainment. It has a discipline and organization. 

Oh well. Much has been said about this. This is not the only competition I will have. And I am hungry for more. 

And I say this is bittersweet because even though we did not win, we have been hearing/receiving comments that we did not deserve the 4th place. And more of friends and office mates recognized the talent of the team.

I miss the team. With this, I have made another group of friends. Please welcome, the BOOM BOX DANCE CREW

Top: Pam, Markee

2nd: Leo, Libay, James

3rd: Sab, Bernard, Tin

4th: Ms. Pau. Feds

We are born from a Boom Box. 

Till next dance gig guys..

A Whole New World: August 14, 2012

Immediately the next day, I went to Insular Life building for my Communications and Culture Training (CCT) day 1. For a total of 10 days (only 9 for me because my supposed day 1 was the day when I got hired), we will study (or rather review) our English communication skills and learn about American culture. I was excited because I would always dream to speak English fluently. 

We started the day with the usual introduce yourself. However, the instructor already gave topics to discuss while we introduce ourselves:

Name, 3 Interesting Facts about You, Last movie you watched, Dream Job, Expectations from the class and  the trainer, Expectations from the course/training itself.

When I was called, I started (of course) with my name and how wonderful it is. Haha. My 3 interesting facts include: I am a dancer and that I've been in training and performing regularly since 2007; I am a fan of Ian Somerhalder and The Vampire Diaries (and many other American series); and I already forgot the last one. Haha. I also shared that my dream job is to own a dance studio and a restaurant real soon. The expectations part, I won't mention anymore because it's just blah. Haha

For 9 days, we went to the class in the mid shift (2pm-10pm) and while doing that, we fixed our requirements in the morning. The training was really fun! Aside from the English training, we learned about US time zones and memorized state abbreviations. We had learning games and the losing team performed (that's us haha) Since I am a grade conscious person myself, I really studied hard to get good grades and made sure I'd pass. 

At the end of the class, I got an 88.5 and placed 4th overall. Hahaha. It was fine because the class valedictorian got 89 something. Weeeee! Happy me!

Best of all, I got 18 new friends! They're all crazy and we'd often tease each other but we will never get angry. Here are my best buds from the class:

(L-R) My mentor Ed, Cla the singer, Jane and me

The whole class with Dre, our trainer:

Standing (L-R) Mars, Gayle, Steph, Jane, Meg, Dre, Janine, Me, Bambie, Cla, Anne

Sitting (L-R) Nick, Eric, Mark, Kocci, Josh, Ed, Nikko, Cesar, MJ

As I write this down, we are on our last week of PST (Product Specific Training) and we are already in the graveyard shift of 9pm to 6am. The group is still intact but we are about to go on different schedules by next week. Sad but we'll still see each other in the floor (hopefully) I'll make another entry solely for PST because it's a whole new experience and we have the best and craziest trainer. 

Everything is going well for me. I still believe that this is God's plan that is why I am still going for it. After a few months, let's see if I'm going to change my mind. :)

A Whole New World: August 13, 2012

On this day, I decided to take a very important step in my life.
I applied as a Collections agent for Convergys G5.

I went there not knowing what will happen, all I knew was this is God's plan for me. It came at the right moment, to say the least.

At about 11:30am, I had my initial interview. It was funny because we were 5 in the room and while waiting for the interviewer, this person was really talkative. He was trying to calm us, thinking that we were so nervous that's why we were not talking much. He began asking questions and talking about his life. And so the other 3 began talking to him as well. For me, I was trying to concentrate on my "describe yourself" spiels,  (I already knew that that will be the interviewer's question.) that's why I was really quiet. But of course when he asked me, I answered.  After 30 more minutes, the interviewer arrived and began the session.

It went really quick. After all of us have spoken, the interviewer gave tips and improvement points on diction, stress, subject-verb agreement and stuff. I thought no one passed from our group but as she bid the group goodbye and thank you, she said, "Sabrina, I want you to stay." Wuhooo that's it! I passed the interview!

After that, I took an online exam. It was not a pass or fail one but they just wanted to know what do I know about the call center industry. Then, they had me take lunch and when I came back, I had my final interview. After about 15 minutes, contract signing. Pretty fast, huh? That's one of the "features", I could say, of the BPO industry. The hiring process takes only one full day. The next thing you know, you already got a job.

They asked me if I could start early, or even ASAP. I said yes, for sure. I don't have anything to do so I said yes.

The next morning, I woke up relieved and really excited. Aside from it was already my first day of training, I'm really excited because I knew I'll meet a lot of new people and I will learn something new from that day forward. :)

How to process your NBI Clearance online

Waiting in line is such a pain in the ass so hey, here's a really really quick way to get your NBI Clearance! Trust me, I got mine through online as well, I just went to the main office to get the print out. It took me just 15 minutes! Here's how:

1. Pay the NBI Clearance fee through G-cash. You can send your payment directly from your phone. Just type *143# on your mobile phone and select GCASH then SEND MONEY. Or, you can pay over the counter at your nearest Globe store. Fill out the Gcash form and pay at the counter. NBI's Gcash number is 09175638052. You NBI clearance fee depends on the purpose of getting the clearance. Just add P20 for the GCash transaction fee to your NBI Clearance fee which are as follows:

After the payment, you will get a Gcash reference number (written at the receipt) that you will need to register online.

2.  Proceed now to www.nbi-online.com to register. Fill out this part of the window and wait for it to process. 

3. After successful validation of your reference number, you will be now lead to this window for you to fill out other pieces of information that they will need.

4. Click UPDATE INFO once you're done. Now, you will be given a QR code which looks like the photo below that you will need to print. You will present this QR code at the NBI Clearance Office along UN Avenue. 

5. Now you can go to the NBI Clearance office along UN Avenue to have your clearance printed out. Proceed to the 4th floor and enter the room with the "E-Clearance" sign. Have your photo taken and finger prints recorded. In a few minutes, they will give you a piece of paper with a note "Ok for release". You can now go straight to the releasing section (ground floor), present the paper and wait for it to be printed! 

Well it will be as fast as mine if you don't have the same names as the others. Also, I advise that you go to the office at around 8 or 9 am so that there will be no lines for E-clearance. When I went there at 8:30am, there were about 3 or 4 people waiting. I just don't know the situation for the whole day. Another tip, you can also book an appointment with them if you really really want to make sure that your day will not be wasted. Text BOOK(space)Reference #(space)Location(space)Date of appointment in mmddyyyy format(space)Exact time in hhmm format(space)NAME. For example: BOOK 37831123 NCR  09182012 0900 Juan Dela Cruz. 

(If you want to book for an afternoon schedule, the time format must be in 2400 hours. For example, for a 2pm sched, use 1400 in the booking text message.)

Send the data to 09175638054 and wait for their confirmation number. 

So are we good? I really hope this entry helps especially those super busy people. Til next time! :)

The Happy Birthday Post

I felt a lot of pressure upon turning 23 last Thursday. For one, I need to plan out my future. Am I getting into a business? If yes, what business would it be? If not, what am I gonna do? Married with kids already? UGH. It's a lot to think about.

But yeah, some say you should go with the flow and I think that's better. (CRAZY MIND)

Well, to start things off, one of the early blessings I got before my birthday is getting into training for a call center agent post in Convergys. I applied Aug. 13 and got accepted the same day. And as of this writing, I am undergoing the Communications and Culture Training. Seriously, I don't know what to expect about this job. I don't know anything! This is not my field of expertise. I have zero knowledge, as I always say. But hey, who am I to say no to a big opportunity? Aside from the big chance of being a regular employee, I also get to meet new people, new friends, and probably a new love. (yes I had to include that). I just hope I pass this training and cope with the job as fast as I can. I know being in the BPO industry is not that easy as a lot of you might think but hey, I'm up to the challenge! And I'm actually really excited about this (minus all the requirements, really a hassle :) )

Well, I just want to thank God for another year and for giving me this opportunity. I just wish everything will go back to normal. I want to be busy again, with work, dancing and having a fun time. 

So much for this post. But to all those who remembered, thank you so much. 
God bless us!

The Lonely Birthday Post

I don't know, actually, how to begin this entry. This is supposed to be about my birthday. However, I don't know how am I gonna write about it without being a little bit sad.

Yes, so far this has been my worst birthday. Why? Because I'm broke and I still don't have someone special to celebrate it with. Sure, my family and friends were there. But, I would like to know how does it feel to celebrate your day with a guy on a date in a restaurant, drinking champagne (or whatever) talking and laughing and just staring at him. I mean, it's not too hard, isn't it?

The CREW bags the GOLD

You've read that right! THE CREW from the PHILIPPINES won the Gold medal in the 2012 World Hip Hop Dance Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA!

We were really nervous especially because there were no live streaming channels on the Internet. We were just waiting for news in the Twitter page of Ms. Sassy Cuna (@sassycuna) who is there in Vegas with athe team. She updates her page every minute, every announcement so we were just refreshing and clicking if there is a new tweet. 

For the rankings:
Adult Division
GOLD (7.39 pts.) THE CREW Philippines
SILVER (7.30 pts.) Neutral Zone Mexico
BRONZE (7.26 pts.) AOV USA

Here are the results as well for the other divisions:
Varsity Division:
GOLD (8.09 pts.) Sol T Shine Japan
SILVER (7.79 pts.) Sorority New Zealand
BRONZE (7.35 pts.) JB Star Varsity Japan

Junior Division:
GOLD (7.44 pts.) Bubblegum New Zealand
SILVER (7.39 pts.) Flip Canada
BRONZE (7.24 pts.) Onizawa ikka Japan 

and of course:
MegaCrew Division:
GOLD (7.91 pts.) Royal Family New Zealand
SILVER (7.62 pts.) GRV USA
BRONZE (7.43 pts.) UP Street Dance Club Philippines

Over a hundred crews battles for the Gold medals but hwy, we got one!

Can't say anything but Congratulations guys!!! Well-deserved!
Oh, just to update this entry, A-Team finished 4th place in the Varsity Division! They were just 0.02 points behind the Bronze medal! That was close but still I congratulate you for that. Wooot!
And so Congrats to all the teams who represented the country in different divisions: Fresh Flow, A-Team, Legit Status, Tha Project, Philippine All Stars, UP Street Dance Club and La Salle Dance Company Street! 

It was an overwhelming afternoon for all of us! Congrats to all the winners!

Here are some of the photos from the event from various FB and Twitter pages!

Credits to @KELJoven 

Credits to @sassycuna

Credits to the Philippine All Stars Facebook Page

World Hip Hop Championships 2012: The Philippines pride

I have never been so proud as a dancer. For once, we all thought dancing is just one hobby we can't live without. But hey, who knows it will raise our flag in the International scene?


It all began when the Philippine All Stars brought home Gold Medals twice at the World Hip Hop Championships in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA in 2006 and 2008. They, for sure, represented our country really hard. Plus, they inspired many other dance crews to step up their game and, maybe in the future, represent our country in the same competition.

Year after year, they represented the Philippines along with the other crews. Though the teams weren't able to win medals, they took home the best experiences competing in the international stage. And that, they used them as weapons to prepare for the following year. 


2012 came and a lot of crews decided to take the chance of winning Gold for the country. Not only one but NINE crews headed to Las Vegas to rip the World Hip Hop stage. They were:


Varsity Division:
Fresh Flow
Legit Status
A-Team
Adult Division:
The Crew
Philippine All Stars
Tha Project
Megacrew Division:
UP Street Dance Club
La Salle Dance Company-Street
Legit Status


The series of competitions started on August 1 and will close on August 5 (USA time). Hundreds of crews and thousands of dancers from all over the world will vie for the gold, silver and bronze medals in 4 divisions: junior, varsity, adult and megacrew. And our 9 teams, they're not going nowhere. 


With a lot of prayers and support back here, the Philippine teams already wow-ed the international audience during the preliminaries. Let's start off with the Varsity division.
Out of all the crews, 20 will advance to the semi-finals. On the 10th place is LEGIT STATUS and on the 5th is A-TEAM. Cool, huh? 

The MegaCrew division brought the house down as well. 15 crews were named to represent it hard in the FINALS. Yup there was no semi finals round in this division. How did our crews performed? 4th place for the LA SALLE DANCE COMPANY STREET and an overwhelming 2nd place for the UP STREET DANCE CLUB!  It can never be more amazing than that. Imagine being in the top 5 out of all the crews in the competition.



The Adult Division, the most anticipated of all divisions, made the crowd go wild in the prelims. And the Philippines is never left behind. Out of 65 crews, 31 will advance to the semi-finals. Placing 26th is THA PROJECT, 8th is PHILIPPINE ALL STARS and 5th is THE CREW. You think they're done? Not yet.


Right after the preliminaries, the finals of MegaCrew Division and semi finals of Varsity and Adult Divisions took place. And here are the results:


For the Varsity Division Semi-Finals:


8. Lil's Dance - Russia Score: 6.91 
7. Bandits - USA Score: 7.09
6. Freshest Nutz - Singapore Score: 7.28
5. A-Team - Philippines Score: 7.40
4. J.B. Star - Japan Score: 7.42
3. Sorority - New Zealand Score: 7.70
2. Zero - Japan Score: 7.91
1. Sol-T-Shine - Japan Score: 8.22


Adult Division Semi-finals: 


1. The Crew - Philippines Score: 7.52
2. Neutral Zone - Mexico Score: 7.37
3. AOV - USA Score: 7:35
4. Elektrolytes - USA Score: 7.33
5. Rockwell Family - Canada Score: 7.28
6. Brooklyn - South Africa Score: 7.26
7. So United - France Score: 7.25
8. SNV - India Score: 7.20


Megacrew FINALS:


Gold - Royal Family of New Zealand
Silver - GRV of the United States
Bronze - UP Streetdance Club - Philippines
6th place - La Salle Dance Company Street - Philippines


ISN'T THAT AMAZING? WE GOT A MEDAL ALREADY! AND YES, WE AIN'T DONE YET BECAUSE THE CREW AND A-TEAM WILL DEFINITELY KILL THE STAGE ON THE FINAL ROUND.


AWESOME. Really awesome. And what makes it really overwhelming for me is knowing that there are 2 members of the UP Street Dance Club (1 of the 2 is also part of The Crew) who are my 'brothers' in the UPLB Street Jazz Dance Company. It was like yesterday when we were dancing with those 2 and now, they're there, reppin' it hard for our country. To my brothers Erik Javier and Louie Canaria, you made us and are making us really, really proud. CONGRATULATIONS!


But hey, the battle's not over yet. On August 6, 10 AM (PHL Time) the final round of Varsity  and Adult Division are happening! We can watch and cheer for them via Ustream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/prvhhi


Let's keep supporting and praying for them! This has been, so far, the biggest year for the Philippines in the world of dancing. 


For updated in the World Hip Hop Championships, you can follow them on Twitter: twitter.com/OfficialHHI and also on Facebook: facebook.com/HipHopInternational2


Also you can check out the Facebook pages of the participating crews for news and updates.


We're keeping our fingers crossed for A-Team and The Crew. Let's all together watch and support and pray for them. Ayt? 

UPLB Street Jazz Dance Company at Maximum Groovity 2012

Waddup dear readers! Got a little favor here, please support my college crew UPLB STREET JAZZ DANCE COMPANY as they battle it out this year at the Maximum Groovity 2012! 

This will be on August 27, 2012 at Elements, Eton Centris, Quezon City (just right beside MRT Quezon Avenue). Tickets are at P300 each. 

However if you guys won't be able to come and watch them, please support by liking our photo in their fan page to help us win People's Choice Award in the College Category. Just follow these easy steps:

Like the page of Maximum Groovity on Facebook:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Maximum-Groovity-The-Ultimate-Interschool-Dance-Showdown/174349585971181

Then LIKE the photo of UPLB STREET JAZZ DANCE COMPANY:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=367509463321858&set=a.366650276741110.80710.174349585971181&type=3&theater

And of course, don't forget to click SHARE!

This will be a lot of help guys, please share with your friends all over the world! (HAHA)

Thanks and hope you could watch our team kill it!

Ciao!

A birthday gift to a talented friend, Chris.

I know a lot of talented people ever since I knew what "talented" means but not all of them are brave enough to show everyone how talented they are. Some are really just quiet about it and is not actually willing to give it a try and be discovered. 


But there are a few people who knows they are born to do it and will cross bridges and swim oceans just to get that dream of being appreciated with their talent. 


One of them is my friend Chris, from Los Banos.

It's been 5 years since I met him when we were classmates for PHLO 1 back in college. It was the first time I met him personally but I kinda knew him before that because he is a member of the University's varisity hip hop dance group, the UPLB Street Jazz Dance Company. 


He is really nice, even though he's one of the more popular guys in the group because of his built. He's over 6 foot tall, has a big frame but can dance so well. Little did I know that he is a really good singer, too! He would always sing for us, during trainings, or inuman sessions. And because he really likes sharing his talent, he began uploading his recordings in YouTube. It was kinda slow at first, but last year, he uploaded his covers of more popular songs and more people noticed him! He has an original song, too. 


And recently, he auditioned for the X Factor Philippines with the hope of being more exposed in the world of singing. Although it didn't become that successful, he already proved how much he wanted to sing. 


Now he is keeping it cool for a while, searching for singing auditions in Manila. And by the way he is willing to travel long hours just to continue his dream of being a singer. 
He's a good singer! You should listen to his songs. 


Wanna know what are my favorite songs/covers of him?

His cover of Adele's One and Only

His original song: Ulit-ulitan

His take on One Direction's More Than This

Those were just 3 but he has a lot already. Check out his Facebook page: facebook.com/ChrisBelisonMusic, follow him on twitter as well, twitter.com/ChrisBelison, subscribe to his YouTube channel,youtube.com/caabelison and read all about him in his blogger account: christopherbelison.blogspot.com .


And don't forget to greet him! it's his birthday today, July 9! 




Happy Birthday my friend. Hoping for a successful singing year for you!

All [good] things [must] come to an end.

That is how I answered questions about my resignation. 


After 2 years of non-stop work for an advertising agency, I finally gathered my guts to resign. 
It was a love-hate relationship, to say the least. But I am very thankful to myself for doing the right thing, and that is to leave. 


I would not want to detail every thing that happened which triggered my resignation. It would be very painful. 
But all I can say is, it's time to love myself more! 


Current status: job hunting mode. If any of you knows an open job post as a Marketing Assistant/Brand Assistant/Brand Activations, do let me know please!


Ciao!

A doubted friendship

 Last night, I came to face my biggest fear -- meeting my highschool classmates. Well not all of them, at least, because I still have 6 classmates who I consider "true" friends when we graduated. The rest, were just plain old classmates who, 6 years ago, I was ready to forget.


Why? Let's just say up to now I didn't believe the saying that "highschool was the best part of one's life so you have to cherish it". I didn't have that much of a good time back then. I was being bullied. Plus, we left high school without closure. So that time I was, "ok, no problem with me. I'm moving on with college and I guess I wouldn't need these people anymore"


I finished college in 4 years without seeing them. I was not able to go to meet-ups, gatherings, birthday parties because I was studying in Los Banos, which is really far away from here. Plus I was busy having the time of my life there -- academics, dance, theater productions, internship, etc. At least for my 6 close friends, I managed to see them once or twice but that was it. For the rest of the batch, never. 


I would sometimes thank my busy schedule for not seeing them cause I thought going to that party was not a good idea. I was not ready to face them. Not until I have something to prove to them. 


Then I worked for 2 years for an advertising agency which is practically 10 times busier than my college life. All the more I wasn't there when they would meet up. 


Until last week when one of my close friends arranged a get-together party for one of our classmates coming home for a visit from the States. On the Facebook event invite,I clicked "Going"


SInce then until yesterday afternoon, I was thinking hard if I should go. It would be very hard to mingle with them, I know.  But I took the risk and hey I was there. The night started really awkward but to my surprise, I was having a good time so far. 




All of them would ask how I was, why did I come only now, what was I doing the past 6 years that I was not able to see them. Of course I answered them with "I was always busy", "I was studying far away from Manila so it was really hard to join those gatherings", "I worked for 2 years with practically no social life". All of them were true of course. 


We were drinking, dancing on our seats, catching up, until we decided to go home and one of the boys, Carl, said a really shocking statement. He said sorry. "Sorry for what happened back in high school. We graduated without closure so tonight was the only time I said sorry". 


I was touched. I really appreciated that. Although I was laughing that time, I told him I really appreciate that because it was true, there was no closure. We just left without saying goodbye, at the least. 


The party ended really well for me. I guess, next time, I wouldn't have to think twice if they would arrange a party again.


Soon, what happened 6 years ago would be forgotten. All of us would remain friends and every get together would be cherished.


Looking forward to the next party!