Gantimpala 2016

Being with Accenture for 5 years, I always knew that being awarded in Gantimpala would be a very big deal. The first time I stepped into the project I'm currently on, they were having their mini-awards. The winners in this 'mini' awarding would be our project's nominees for the quarterly Gantimpala awards. If by any luck, the screening team (usually managers and above) would like/approve the write-up for you, then you will be named as winner. The quarterly awardees would then again undergo another round of screening and if the write-up is really exceptional, the person could win the Annual Gantimpala award.

Luckily, I was one of the awardees (200+ out of Accenture's 50,000 employees in Philippines alone).
Pure luck? Out of humility I would say that. But then again, I would have to thank the awesome write-up of my colleague which thankfully put me on this spot. So here's me holding my ever precious 'Kalinga' award.



The awarding happened at Marriott Grand Ballroom last October 14. The best thing about this event was that if you happen to win, you get to tag along a plus one to witness the awarding sesh and your 15-seconds of fame onstage. I brought along my Mama and I was really happy because I know I made her proud. Sharing some random pictures:

With Mama and Det (my brother's girlfriend; their team won 'Bayanihan' award)

 With my friend Jan who won Agila or Business Operator award

Posing pa more, Ma! :)

Mama and I posing with my 2 mentors, Eric and Thet 

I got it from my momma who looks like Dawn Zulueta (as per Papa! haha)

She's her own kind of beautiful <3

Me and Thet, my manager and friend!

And oh here's my award :)

Here's a closer look at my 'awardee look' (haha im really enjoying the awardee thing). I got my hair curled in a salon near our house - Acro Polish (pun intended as it's situated in Acropolis Mandaluyong). My make-up was done by my sister Lai. Ugh I love her work! I wanted a simple but glamorous look for the night and I absolutely got it! :)

I've always been a people person. I can easily relate and befriend people, most probably because I am super talkative. But recently, I have learned the art of being of friend and a leader as well. I always try my best to empower people, to make them see the best version of themselves and to establish their faith that they can do anything they set their goals upon as long as they work hard for it. It's not easy of course, but I'm not a quitter (maybe in Clash Royale when I'm losing haha). I don't quit on people just because they're hard to deal with. I help them get over themselves and just move on from the shit they're experiencing.. and together, we deal it in style. :) Work could really get the best of us, but if we learn how to separate it from our personal lives, then trust me, it will make things a whole lot easier! :)

Have a good start of the week everyone!

Xoxo,

Ellie

Sanity

So I had a really good day today and I just want to share some realizations out of it. And I know I've been off the blog for a few weeks now but I'm just really busy with all the stuff at work, though I promise to make it up to you guys on the upcoming weeks. I should be able to catch up.
So since I already mentioned work... I'm in a place right now wherein I am actually happy with what I do no matter how busy I may get. This is because I actually feel so much appreciated to the extent that it motivates me so so much more! That's the good side of it.. the downside, on the other hand, is that I'm not able to pull up the people who helped me along the way because it seems like the spotlight's on me. Okay..don't get me wrong, who doesn't love having his/her shining moment tripled, right? I'm normal, of course I love it! But you see.. I just wish that for every appreciation given to me, I'd be given a chance to appreciate those that have helped me as well. Although I do it privately, I still think they should be recognized publicly as well. I keep on thinking why my mindset is always like this... most probably because I grew up bearing in mind that all should be fair. The reason why I'm bringing this up is because my love, Paul, just had the best response to this drama I'm having. He told me that if you do believe that you're worthy of the recognition, then there's zero reason to feel bad. Not being able to pull others up to the stage and into the spotlight is never a bad thing, as everyone will have their own spotlight when the right time comes. As long as you don't forget to acknowledge the help they have given, give them credit for it and say thank you, then that's enough. He also added that should there be a chance that I could voice out the help done to me, I would surely do it. And you know what? I know I'll do.
Now talking about the recognition I have been getting, I'll tell you more about it in my next posts. For now, here's me and the best person in the world, dining at TGI Friday's earlier c/o the company we work for. I got this dinner for two award and I chose to share it with Paul because no matter how awkward, impatient, moody and hard I am to deal with most of the time, he's sticking around. Stickin' stronger than a mighty bond. That's my Paul. If you ever get to read this love, I love you so much and thank you for being there. You.. you are what's keeping me sane in a world full of disdane.




Xoxo,
Ellie

Keystone At 10

The project where I currently belong to in Accenture recently celebrated its 10th year of partnership with our client, which means we got to dress up! :) I really liked my dress which I borrowed from one of my best friends. The party was announced late so I did not get the time to shop. But this is why I'm thankful for my fashionista friends and their closet! Haha!

Closer details of my dress and my face (Sunnies: Dana Sunnies Specs in Bellini; Lippie: Happy Skin The Morning After)

My close friends and I then continued our own party at Torre Venezia in Timog where we had a pizza party!

 It was such a fun night! Thank you, Accenture! :)

Xoxo,

Ellie

Kill 'Em With Kindness

I just want to share with you what happened to me last August 21 in BGC. I was about to go home then from a really fun team building in Laguna when something unfortunate came up. There was this small utility hole which was left uncovered along Lawton Ave right before turning left for 5th avenue in BGC. Although the uncovering seemed unintentional, it still poses a big risk to drivers who pass by the area. 



As you could guess, I unfortunately hit it which extremely ruined my left front tire.

Thankfully, a BGC traffic officer named Alex Aniñon was kind enough to help me. It was really an unlucky day for me as my spare tire was also broken so I had to go to the nearest vulcanizing shop (which was somewhere near SM Aura). I had to leave my car and a friend with Sir Alex while I took care of the spare. He, on the other hand, took out my ruined tire, grabbed a cab for me and ensured to give the direction of the vulcanizing shop, watched over my car to ensure it's not towed, assisted me to put in the fresh tire I got from the shop and ensured to take action on the utility hole. Needless to say, I really think he deserves a commendation for what he's done. So I contacted several people to help me reach out to his boss whom he referred to as this certain Manny Blas. I tried contacting Top Gear and James Deakin. Thankfully, James was kind enough to help so I was able to contact Manny Blas via Facebook. Turns out he's Fort Bonifacio Development Corporation's (FBDC) Head of Commercial Operation. I knew the title, but little did I know that he's the big boss of some sort. To give you an idea, he's actually Mind Museum's Managing Director and for newly opened buildings in BGC, he actually gets invited for ribbon cuttings. So yeahhh.

Going back, Sir Alex could have just let me call my dad or anyone else who could help me and not bother at all, but he didn't. Instead, he showed me that in a world where you can be anything, you can be kind. The action shown by this man is a good example of how we can make a difference.

So I bet you're wondering if they did replace my tire? Hehe. I haven't gotten one yet but I have reached out to them already and once I got one, it'll be reimbursed. Apart from that, they scored me free BHS Cinema Exclusive Passes + All Day Passes for Mind Museum! Paul and I already got to use the Cinema tickets earlier, we watched USS Indianapolis in pretty sick reclining chairs! How cool is that?! All of these for free just because I voiced out something positive for a real good thing done to me.  

"Unexpected kindness is the most powerful, least costly and most underrated agent of human change."

Xoxo,

Ellie

Bohol 2016

Okay so this is gonna be an incomplete post or some sort of sneak peek of our recently concluded Bohol trip. I, unfortunately, got sick on our 3rd (out of 4) day there and here I am lying in bed and extending my leave for 1 more day just because I was dehydrated. Anyhoos, I'm now recovering thanks to Hydrite and Pocari Sweat! I'll update this as soon as I get the pictures from Paul..for now, here ya go!:)

Xoxo,
Ellie

Boracay 2016

Last Sunday, I went to Boracay with Paul and his family to spend some relaxation and quality time in the island. It was a good 4-day trip and I had loads of fun! Well you can only guess that I'm quite sore now with my reddish complexion haha but it also means that the weather was nice to us and did not even shed a raindrop the whole time we were there. It was super sunny so thank God for that. :) Sharing to you some pictures... :)

Paul and I were able to relax and not think of work for at least a couple of days. It was also nice having to share a wonderful time with his family. I'm excited for future adventures! Next month, off to Bohol we go! :)

Xoxo,

Ellie

Fun Weekend

Oh I know I have a lot of utang posts but I just can't help but blog about how fun my weekend was. It was jam-packed with activities with my friends, Paul and my family! It started out after my Friday shift when the entire team planned to go to Banchetto. After pigging out and laughing so hard with all the crazy stories we were talking about, we had an impromptu decision to continue the fun at Metrowalk for some karaoke time. It was wild! I lost my voice because of what I did there but it was so much fun so wth right?! :)




And even though I got home at 6am that day, I woke up at around 12nn because Paul and I have plans for the afternoon. Paul picked me up at home and we went to Mang Larry's Isawan at UPD and consumed sooo many hahaha! (I think the only time I'll get payat is when I have to prepare for my wedding 'cause mapipilitan ako haha). Anyhoots, imma break it down for you: 30 sticks of freakin' isaw, green mango with spicy bagoong, kikiam and chicken balls + avocado ice cream. All for our hungry tummehs! Superb!



And since we were already around the area, we decided to go to Maginhawa and try The Iscreamist. We had to walk around to look for it since it had changed its location and didn't have any signs and whatsoever. But we were able to find it and our experience was so funny! So the concept of this ice cream shop is that it's somewhat mixed with rocket science. What we had was smores and the proper way to eat it is to have it dipped in Liquid Nitrogen which will turn it into a frozen smore instantly! It's pretty dope and we had so much fun! I did not get to take maayos pictures like most people do because we were just laughing the whole time. But here are some pictures I took:



We then capped off the day by talking about life and our future ♡. I'm so excited of what's ahead for me and my love!

But the fun did not stop there for this awesome weekend. Even if the rain was intense in the morning, it did not stop me and my family from going to church. We then watched Independence Day 2 at Rockwell where I was seated beside Sen. Cynthia Villar (wife of Manny Villar) who was very humble. She even asked me if I liked the movie and I shyly said: "I liked the first one better po" to which she immediately agreed. All's well that ends well. I hope you guys had an awesome weekend! It's Monday again, make sure to choose your battles wisely and just do what you can do. Don't push yourself too hard. Have a great week ahead!

Xoxo,
Ellie