Change Change Change

A deep feeling such as this definitely deserves a post in my 'real' and one and only blog...

There have been so many changes and events in my life lately...so many realizations and eye-opening experiences regarding life...

I remember back in grade school my friends and I were chatting in the corridor while waiting for the teacher to inspect our uniform...one of my friends said that her parents spank her using a bamboo stick, another one joined the conversation and said that her parents used a belt; I, on the other hand said that I was never spanked by my parents.

At that time, I thought I was lucky that I was not spanked by my parents; but now, I realized that I was not as fortunate as my classmates were.

A child who was never disciplined by his parents is going to have a very hard time in the real world...and that's exactly how I'm doing -- having a hard time.

I've been pampered my entire life, this is of course under my parents assumption that they will be able to continue to provide all the luxuries I was used to when I was a kid until before I leave their house. As you've already guessed, that assumption was wrong. Businesses go bankrupt and money disappears.

It was a very very slow process of learning for me... the very first thing I remember giving up was airconditioning. And I did this not by myself but through the influence of a friend.

Next things were about transportation.

First there was no more driver.. then no more car.. then my bro drove me...i eventually learned to ride a jeep but only the ayala loop jeep...next came the MRT but from Shang to Ayala only and not always...then jeep from Kartek to Sea Oil to ride with Arvin...

Then more recently, I've finally mustered up whatever inside me to commute going home: Walk from Philam Life Tower to the MRT Station @ SM. I even bought a stored value card to signify that I'll be doing this on a daily basis. Squeeze myself into the train to get to Santolan/Annapolis Station, then squeeze myself out. Walk towards Crame and to 1st avenue where the San Juan bound jeeps are. Aldrich meets me somewhere along Crame and we ride home together.

It may seem easy for 'normal' people but it is by far the biggest feat that I've accomplished.

Just a few hours ago, Aldrich and I cooked pancakes and he cooked some more of his breakfast food to eat. I washed some dishes and set the table. We sat down and started eating the pancakes. Then it suddenly dawned on me...Is this how life would be once I'm out of my parents house?

I had to cook so I'd have something to eat! And my pancakes didn't even meet up to my standards. I wanted to cry. Why is life so hard? Why is it so hard for me?

I felt that I was grossly unprepared for the 'real world' whereas other people have been immersed in it ever since. I was living in a bubble and now the bubble has disappeared completely.

I'm in the middle of the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book by Robert Kiyosaki and also attended a Cash Flow 101 workshop. From these I learned that schools do not give us any financial knowledge in order to make money work for us and not the other way around.

Sigh. So many things that I have to catch up on! Well, as they say, better late than never!

Tick-Tock says the Clock

Aldrich is on night shift this week and I miss him...

I've been reading other people's blogs and i feel so logical..im so not used to myself

people are doing all these fun and adventurous things and what have i done?

> moved companies for better pay
> blogged about management accounting
> checked out entrepreneurship courses
> thought about opening a short term time deposit
> plan to enroll in driving lessons because of need

what is happening to me??

all the other 'fun' things that i did today are related to food..but they're not guilt-free

> had Coffee Bun + Brewed Coffee from Delifrance (can i just say again that DF's brewed coffee si really good.. caramelly sweet and perfect without any cream or sugar)
> had donuts from Marj

there. i played badminton yesterday too.

maybe I'm just growing up or really trying to set my life in order - control my spending, planning for the future.

Ii hear the clock ticking...I'll be 26 in September!!! eek!

Do i have money to buy a car?
Do i have money to buy a house?
Do i have money for settling down?

Sigh. I'm pressured!

Time for Myself

I have decided to withdraw from Management Accounting class this term and give myself a well-deserved break :)

I think i deserve one after completing my Post-Graduate Diploma in Management..

At first, I didn't want to quit but I realized that it's not worth continuing something if my heart isn't into it and most especially if I'm not really getting any of the topics into my head

Management Accounting is actually a very nice and practical class that i could really apply to my business someday... so getting by the class for the sake of passing is something that i wouldn't want to do..it's a core course after all..

Let's just say i'm dropping coz i want to start it right :)

Happy Vacation to me (hoping that dropping will be a piece of cake)

Dropping..

February 29, 2008

TO: GSB Students – Taft, Ortigas, Makati, and Canlubang Campuses

FR: Ms. Marissa C. Marasigan
DLSPS Registrar

RE: Deadline for Course Withdrawal and Completion of Course Requirements for the 3rd Trimester, SY 2007-08

Please note that the last day for course withdrawal is Saturday, March 8, 2008. Please make sure that your course withdrawal form, signed by either the professor or the Vice-Dean, is with the GSB Student Secretary of your campus by 3 p.m. of that day.

Students with “Incomplete” (INC) grades have until the end of the 10th week, March 15, 2008, Saturday, to submit or take their completion requirements. Otherwise, they will receive a grade of 1.5 for the subject, and will have to retake the subject.

Thank you.
***************************************************************

Oh my gosh! I'm thinking of withdrawing from Management Accounting..

It's my only subject this term and I'm still not doing well... that's quite depressing..

I've had declining study habits and i can't seem to concentrate as much as before into studying

and it's accounting! how sad!

sigh..should i drop the subject and take a break?

to think that this is my first subject in MBA! thus giving me doubts if i'm really up for MBA...

we have midterms on Monday and i'm not really in the mood to study although i know that i have to...

maybe i shouldn't have taken any subjects yet coz im still adjusting to my new work-- not that i can't go home early ( i actually get out earlier) but basically the sense of adjusting to new things

new office mates, new application, new processes.. even though it's exciting, it's also taxing for someone who's so used to how things were before (read: 3.7 years)

My mind is fine, but it's my body that's complaining. and if my body complains, it influences the mind as well...

what a cycle!

Keeping a Blog

Is a blog worth keeping if you can't write on it as easily as you want?

I have 3 bloggable accounts minus Friendster and MSN Spaces
1) Multiply
2) Blogspot
3) Live journal

Blogspot is my very first blog and the oldest archive is 2002. I also took a lot of pains to design this blog which i eventually put out when the new streamlined blogger designs came out. The problem is, i take this blog too seriously. I can't bring myself to just post random, nonsense kinds of topics in this blog coz i love it too much. Also, i prefer to be anonymous in this blog..as it has always been before. Sentimental value - this is the main reason why i can't give up this blog

Multiply - I mostly post random office (Accenture) related thoughts here. Pictures are centerstage here more than the blog.

Livejournal - my newest blog which I created so I can see Aisa's 'friends only' posts, haha, what a purpose! But because I am not as attached to it, the mood of the blog is more relaxed that I'm able to post just about anything on it...

I feel that my blogspot site has become boring :(

Shucks..i don't know what to do...

Songs Influence My Mood

I created a site for my boyfriend where all his farewell messages and pics and videos are stored http://parakayaldrich.multiply.com in lieu of the usual scrapbook that would be passed around to people and also in lieu of a video compilation of pictures in the project...

I placed background music: Superman by 5 for fighting..

songs tend to influence my mood..

In my case, saying goodbye to 3 years worth of memories..

it's kinda sad when you think about it..

but i'm more of a "new things" kind of person and new things always excite me..

i guess that's why i lost a lot of memories before and it explains my current inclination to history and store all chat message histories and mail archives...

i think i lost a lot on my own past..mistakes I've done in my childhood just because i like new things...

i try to make up for those times but i know deep inside that they're already done and the guilt will haunt me forever...

of the times that i didn't ..

the times that i did..

and why..

Enjoying the 8 to 5

This should be noted down in history! It's my first time to go home between 5:30 -6pm for one week straight in almost 4 years! Imagine that!

I certainly enjoyed my first week, since I'm still on training mode and not yet doing actual client work..just practicing until Feb 18 comes along..

Our TL is still at the client site and he'll be back on tuesday...half of me wants for the 8 -5 to stay that way forever but half of me also does not want to expect too much. This is the IT industry, after all.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my happiness. This week, I slept quite earlier than normal, coz it seems that I'm tired from really thinking or studying haha! ("really", being the operative word here). I felt really good when I woke up on saturday morning :) I felt like i could do so much..plan my life out..take on new challenges..

What a great first week!

I've Left Accenture...

After 3 years, 7 months and 4 days....I said goodbye to my first company...and my first project..Requisition To Pay - ARIBA.

My last day was a Friday and I started work for RCG Information Technology immediately on the Monday after that! That's why it hasn't fully sunk in that I've already left the company..Whenever I learn of new testing techniques, my mind goes on auto-pilot in assessing the relevance of the technique to ARIBA...sheesh!

Anyways, new things always excite me and of course, moving to a new company after 3 years definitely falls under this category!!

New Office, New Officemates, New application...but still the same analysis and dedication required :)

What really excites me is the opportunity to learn new things, new applications, new techniques related to testing to further enhance my knowledge---earned solely through experience. After 3 years in the same project, it's not uncommon to wonder if I really know anything that's not related to my project. Are the things that i know applicable to the outside world? Am I good just because I've been here for so long and am already super familiar with the application? These things definitely crossed my mind and moving on to a new company will answer some of those questions...

I've been attending testing methodology knowledge transition sessions for my first 3 days and since I'm still feeling my way through the application, I'm focusing on the techniques right now.

Assurance # 1 - I understand the techniques, I've done them before through logic and personal analysis but never knew what they were called and that they had a formal 'QA standard' type of names. So that definitely made me happy.

The next step for me is to familiarize myself with the application so that both can go hand in hand. I long for the adrenaline rush whenever new requirements come in! It would be time to analyze...to assess...to gauge....

Meanwhile, i have my Management Accounting lessons on budgeting to keep me pre-occupied...i actually like it better than Financial Accounting coz it has a more practical application in life!

Starting Anew

This could well be a major turning point in my life...

- Looking for a job elsewhere meant that I wanted more and felt that i could do more
- Getting hired in a company other than Accenture meant that I am actually worth more than the JSE that i was hired around 3.6 years ago...it means that although Accenture taught me everything i know about IT..i was able to translate it and make it my own

Just a few days left until Feb 4 when I move to a new company. I have no reputation whatsoever except maybe as the experienced hire from Accenture. Then again, all new hires are experienced hires in RCG...

I hope to recarve my niche in testing...that's it for now, i don't want to pre-empt anything or expect too much on my first few months :)

Credit Card Lessons Re-learned

I already knew this before but somehow forgot after some time of not using my credit card.

I wanted to earn lotsa miles and forgot about how finance charge was computed.

I thought that paying before the cut off date is enough to cancel out my payments (fyi: i still have a stagnant sum that i haven't paid off) but i thought wrong.

I forgot about the average daily balance computation! How stupid of me!

Average Daily Balance. This is the most common calculation method. It credits your account from the day payment is received by the issuer. To figure the balance due, the issuer totals the beginning balance for each day in the billing period and subtracts any credits made to your account that day. While new purchases may or may not be added to the balance, depending on your plan, cash advances typically are included. The resulting daily balances are added for the billing cycle. The total is then divided by the number of days in the billing period to get the "average daily balance."

So i spent around 33k during my billing cycle and paid these off around 2 days before my cut off date...then i checked my online account and saw an unusually high finance charge despite the fact that i paid out what i bought...

Sigh..now i understand! I should pay on the day I buy... in other words, for me, I shouldn't buy if I don't have immediate cash on hand!

I am putting this under my lessons re-learned...NEVER AGAIN!!!

Last 30 Days in Accenture

I missed blogging!

Anyway, the cat's out of the bag! I have passed my resignation from Accenture effective Feb 2, 2007. So my last day is Feb 1. That's still 3 loooong weeks from now!

3 loooong weeks where I'd still have to review Test Conditons and Test Scripts of Chicago peeps! I pray that it'll be easier this time around hehehe

3 looooog weeks where I'd have to transition every single thing i know to other people. Hmmmm, I hope that's enough time!

I am looking forward to certain more exciting deadlines

• Jan 14 - deadline of my articles for the GP2W Newsletter - a feature on the CIO Christmas Fair which my floor won and a travel feature of my Star Cruise experience
• Jan 18 - deadline of my Leadership book review for Manila LeAP about The Wizard and the Warrior, leading with passion and power
• Within January - Ops Teambuilding @ Red Box!
  
• Jan 28 - Lunch out with Start Group for my last 'monthsary' with them in ACN. It's also my farewell treat for them. We'll be eating at AMICI
• Feb 1 - last day of work! woohoo!
  

Ohhhh i so wish that PT deliverables would be bearable... i wish that our APM has transitioned what to do well to the PT Planners...i think this would be my biggest challenge before i go.. wish me luck!!