USC Spirit at Moog Baguio

Each year when the time comes for the annual USC / UCLA Football Game, there is a group of us at Moog Torrance (divided into USC and UCLA fans) that informally competes to prove which group is most dedicated to their team. Although I wouldn't be in Torrance this year for the the week of the game, I suspected that my boss, Greg (the ring leader of the UCLA group), would be organizing some rivalry thing, so I decided to organize something at Moog Baguio. When I first went to Baguio in September 2006, I brought USC shirts for some of the guys. This year on Saturday, 12/1, I asked those guys to wear there shirts, so that we could take a picture and send to Greg. Afterwards I sent the pictures out to some of the Moog Torrance and Baguio folks, and there was no longer question as to whether I had been able to integrate well at Moog Baguio. :)

Bobi, Jun, Bendix, Amanda, Lito, Alex

Another Baguio City Tour

Although I had been to Baguio 3 times before moving there, and had already been in Baguio for 2 months, I still hadn't been to the downtown "wet market," which apparently is a must see. For those of you who are not familiar with the term "wet market," it's basically a market where fresh fish, meat, and veggies are sold. For the meat, it is literally fresh, in that they are butchering it right there. Emily and Tracey from the Moog East Aurora (Buffalo, NY) plant were in town, and they expressed interest, so we decided to go. We had been warned to not wear our best clothes because there is sometimes blood flying around, and also to be prepared for the smells. In addition to visiting the wet market, we also planned to do some other sightseeing.

Friday, 11/30, was a holiday for Moog Baguio, so we figured it was a perfect day to see the sites. Our first stop was the market. To be honest, it wasn't as bad as I expected. I definitely saw some things I had never seen, but I really enjoyed going because I learned so much more about the true culture there. When I visited Thailand, we got to see so much culture at the markets, and I always thought Baguio just didn't have that. Turns out there is a whole section in downtown Baguio filled with the market.

Downtown Baguio

Meat Portion of "The Wet Market"

BBQ For Sale

Fish Portion of "The Wet Market"

The Market

The Fresh Vegetable Market

After visiting the wet market as well as the fresh vegetable market, we went to Mines View Park. I actually had visited there a few times before, but it's a nice place with some great views of Baguio, so it's good for picture taking.

Tracey, Amanda, Emily

View from Mines View

View #2

Amanda & Emily with Random Filipino Guys

Gear Cell "Thanksgiving Inspired" Potluck

With this being my first Thanksgiving since moving to Baguio, I really wanted to cook Thanksgiving dinner to remind me of home, and also because some of the Gear Cell guys wanted to learn what Thanksgiving was all about. I decided to do it, and the plan was that I would host dinner at my apartment, and we'd combine it with a housewarming party. I would be making all the side dishes and desserts and the guys would bring the turkey's. A couple of days before Thanksgiving, the guys brought me the list of people they had confirmed, and it was 30+, so we had to rethink things. I loved that everyone was looking forward to having Thanksgiving dinner at my place, but 30+ really meant 50+, and I just couldn't accomodate that many people in my place, nor could I cook the whole dinner alone. We all decided that it would be best to change our plans and have a "Thanksgiving Inspired" potluck at one of the picnic sites at Camp John Hay.

Rather than celebrate on actual Thanksgiving, we celebrated on Saturday, 11/24, since it was better to celebrate on a weekend day anyway. In the end, this was a much better venue, and we had a great time. The potluck idea was great because I got to learn so much more about homemade Filipino food. The turn out was great, and from what I could tell, everyone had a great time. I'll definitely host a similar event next year.

The Group

Ryan, Von, Amanda, Roland

Ed, Jerry, Ferdie, Robert, Jun, Lito

The Group #2

The Group #3

More Sightseeing & Pictures of Baguio

Here are some pictures from my random sightseeing on Saturday, 11/17:

A Mountain Road

An Arena for the Famous "Cock Fighting"

A Hill Full of Homes

Picture this...

On Thursday, 11/15, I'm in the shower and just about to turn the water off when the hot water knob comes flying out of the wall and hits me in the stomach. As if that wasn't bad enough, the water coming out of the pipe had the pressure of a fire hose, and it was HOT! I immediately panicked, as all I had was a shower curtain to prevent from the water going all over the bathroom floor.

At that moment I had to make a quick decision. I asked myself "will the guards downstairs be totally freaked out if I run down there in my towel?" I figured YES, so I changed quickly and ran down. Figures... the one time I need the guards, I couldn't find them. I went outside, and once they saw me they came running. I tried to explain situation to them, but I'm sure they thought I was a little crazy. Initially the guard said "maintenance will be here in 1 hour." I then said "I don't think you understand....you need to fix this now!" He still wasn't really moving with a sense of urgency until I opened my front door, and you could hear the water in the back room. He practically knocked me over as he ran into my bedroom, which by the way now had water coming into it. He immediately was rolling up his pants, and said "this is serious." He did some 911 call into his walkie-talkie in Tagalog, and next thing you know the water stopped. I was so thankful that he was able to shut off the water, because since I hadn't fully unpacked, my stuff would have been ruined. Fortunately, we were able to control the amount of water that entered the room.

My favorite part of the morning was after he turned off the water and he said "I think we need to schedule a maintenance call." My internal feeling was "ya think?" :)

Only in the Philippines...

Let's just say that story had people laughing for a while at work. I'm still wondering what the guards would have done if I had come down in a towel. I'm also thinking it's only a matter of time before another knob flies off and hits me.

Mike Becker's Retirement Party

Mike Becker, a fellow Moog employee, was an integral force in the creation of Moog Baguio and as well as working to sustain and continue to help it grow. This year marked his 45th year working for Moog, and he decided to make this the year of his retirement. Because he was so respected by everyone at Moog, there were several parties held for him across the various sites. On Tuesday, 11/13, Moog Baguio hosted a retirement dinner which I was invited to.

The dinner was at the new Camp John Hay Suites, which is a new addition to the Camp John Hay Hotel that Moogers stay at when visiting Baguio. There were about 40+ people there, and it was a great night filled with laughs, reminiscing, and good wishes. I was lucky to have been a part of it. One thing I find some amazing about Moog Baguio is how they continuously honor their employees and the people who have really devoted their lives to making Moog Baguio as successful as it can be. Mike is truly one of those people, and Moog Baguio did a great job honoring that.

Group Picture with Mike (In the Middle)

Another thing I find amazing about Moog Baguio is that the company started with just 18 initial employees. Of those 18, I think 11-12 remain. It's really neat, because even though that the facility now has 1400+ employees, it still feels like a small company, especially since the majority of the senior staff are from the original 18.

A Portion of the "Original 18" Singing to Mike

Monday Afternoon Club (MAC) Golf Tournament

Somehow Steve Leece, the managing director of Moog Baguio, managed to convince me to join him and 10+ fellow Moogers in a local charity golf tournament on Saturday, 11/10. I made sure to be very clear to Steve that I hadn't played in a while so I couldn't promise anything. Fortunately, I was able to team myself up with 3 other guys who were also in the same boat. Golf is a popular sport here in Baguio, not so much amongst the locals because it is too expensive, but definitely amongst the expats and visitors from Manila. The tournament was at the Baguio Country Club, and was sponsored by the Monday Afternoon Club, a club formed many years ago by some expat wives who wanted to give back to the community.

I don't what it was, but I was so nervous the morning of the tournament. I think it was mainly because for the first hole you tee off right next to the restaurant where all of the folks are eating breakfast. Needless to say I kind of choked, and it continued to go downhill for the rest of the day. The good news was that here in Baguio caddy's are required, so I didn't have to carry my bag the entire 18 holes. I know that doesn't sound like a big deal, but you should see some of the holes, I felt like I needed hiking boots. Overall, our team had a good time....from hitting trees, using all of our mulligans and more, and most of all having my caddy kind of yell at me "eyes on the ball ma'am" numerous times. Rest assured, I'm buying golf clubs when I'm home at Christmas so I can practice when I get back, and be ready for next year's tourney.

Our Team and Our Caddy's

I think my caddy is trying to figure out if that is really my score :)

The Unpacking Continues

I headed back to Baguio on Sunday, 11/4. Since the drive is quite long (6 hours), I didn't make it back until the afternoon, but fortunately I had enough time to continue the unpacking that I had only barely started. Here are some pictures so you can imagine how fun it was. Actually, I can't really refer to it in the past tense, because I still have some left to do. :)

My Bedroom Looked Like This for a While

More Assembling of IKEA Furniture

Who knew California Pizza Kitchen would make it all the way to Manila?

On Saturday, 11/3, I headed back to Manila for the night, prior to making the drive to Baguio on Sunday. I had been to Manila several times, but usually arrive late and leave in the morning, so I haven't had a lot of time to explore. Have I mentionned that shopping is one of the favorite past times in the Philippines? Well this time I was able to visit 2 different malls, one of which reminded me of home because it had a lot of same shops, so that was nice. However, the most exciting part of my trip was when I came across a California Pizza Kitchen. I can't tell you how excited I was, not only because it's one of my favorite restaurants back home, but also because it was just nice to have some familiar to eat. Don't get me wrong, I am very much enjoying learning and trying all of the food that they have to offer here, but sometimes I miss my favorite things.

I fully expected the menu to be different just because McDonald's has some similar items to the U.S. but also has some local favorites. I was pleasantly suprised to find out the menu was pretty much the same. Have you ever tried the Potato Leek soup? Well, the CPK's in the US have removed that from the menu, and it is my favorite, so it made my night to see it on the menu. I think I'll plan to eat at CPK each time I go to Manila. :)

My First Trip to Tagatay!

I flew back from Singapore to Manila on Thursday night, 11/1. I didn't get back until late, so I just crashed once I made it to the Hyatt. One of these days I want to try out the casino at the Hyatt.

On Friday, 11/2, I ventured on an overnight trip to Tagatay (aka "Probably the Most Pleasant City In Asia"), about 1.5 hours away from Manila. For those of you have never heard of Tagatay, it is well known for the Taal Volcano as well as the pineapples grown there. I didn't do a whole lot in Tagatay except relax and see the sites, and it that was just fine with me. It was great to be away from work for a little bit and have a chance to explore another part of the Philippines.

http://www.tagaytay.com/

Overhead View of Taal Volcano

Taal Volcano - It was amazing!

Another Overhead View of Taal Volcano

Singapore Revisited!

My first trip to Singapore was in March 2006 with my friends from the USC Marshall MBA Program for our GLOBE class. I absolutely loved Singapore, and that is why I was so happy when the opportunity came up for me to visit Singapore again, this time for work. Moog utilizes several suppliers in Singapore, so I made the trip there to visit a handful of these suppliers and to better understand their capabilities. I took along a fellow Moog Baguio employee, Belle, as she has been working closely with these suppliers as well.

We left Baguio on Tuesday, 10/30, and arrived in Singapore that night. Our trip was only for two days, so we had to maximize our time. We stayed at the Pan Pacific, a great hotel, which was also where I stayed in 2006. We got in late the first night, so we didn't do much. On Wednesday, we met up with 2 Moog employees, Edward, who lives in Malaysia and works closely with the suppliers, and Craig, from our Moog site in England, who has a similar function to me. We visited suppliers during the time, which was a great learning experience, and then that night, we decided to visit Clarke Quay. We had the most amazing Indian food that night at Clarke Quay, and then checked out a couple of local bars. I'm not sure what it is that I love about Singapore, but it is a city that is filled with so much culture.

Being in Singapore this time without my friends from USC was bittersweet. I have so many great memories from my 2006 trip, so I missed not having them there with me, but I was so happy to be visiting there again. I took this picture below simply because it reminded me of Jason Sexton. I remember him loving Clarke Quay. :)

When I woke up on Thursday, 11/1, I looked out my window to find this amazing view that I just had to capture. My trip was just 2 short days, but I had a nice time, and can't wait to go back.

Singapore Skyline from the Pan Pacific Hotel

Port of Singapore from the Pan Pacific Hotel

The Endless Unpacking Begins... :(

As I mentionned, I was excited when my container arrived, but then I realized how much unpacking, sorting, and furniture assembling I had ahead of me. Fortunately, the weekend it was delivered, Moog Baguio had a holiday the next day, Monday 10/29, so I had a full day to get started. I don't know where I got the energy, but I was so motivated. You should have seen me, I was maniac. I think that day I put together 4-5 pieces of IKEA furniture and sorted through a ton of boxes. By the end of the day though, my motivation started to fade though. As you can see in the picture below, I wasn't really that enthusiased to be putting together the 2nd bedside table. :)

I love assembling IKEA furniture!

The Big Day...The Arrival of My Boat Shipment!

Finally, the day I had been waiting for...the arrival of my 20' container with all of my stuff. As I posted earlier, the original plan was that they would deliver my boat shipment on the same day as the air shipment, but that didn't work out. Next they decided they were going to deliver the night of Saturday, 10/27, but I had the Service Anniversary Dinner, so I arranged with them that they would deliver it on Sunday, 10/28. Here's where the story begins..

I asked the moving company that if they were in fact going to deliver the shipment on Sunday, that they would need to call me ahead of time, so that I could leave the hotel and be at the apartment of the time of their arrival. Saturday afternoon..no call. Saturday night..no call. When I woke up on Sunday, there are no missed calls. At this point, I assumed they weren't coming, but this is the Philippines, and things are different here, so I start calling around to see if I could find out anything. Around 11am, I finally was able to get a status when I called my new apartment building.

Are you ready for this? Turns out, the movers arrived at my building at 12:00am on Sunday, 10/28. By that time, they had just been sitting there for 11 hours, hoping that I might show up. I couldn't believe it. In the US, I don't think movers would wait even 30 minutes without calling anyone. The best part was that these guys didn't think about calling me. They were lucky, because since it was already lunch time, I had almost assumed they weren't coming. Nevertheless, despite how the day began, it was such a nice feeling when they opened the doors of my container, and I saw my stuff. Despite that everything was in boxes, it was just comforting to know it had arrived.

First Glance at the Inside of the Container

Apparently, the Philippines Customs Department didn't care about how my things were loaded or about my new TV (you can see it in the back underneath everything), because this is how they loaded the container after they went through everything!

In LA, it took the movers 5 hours to pack my shipment, and it took about the same amount of time to unload it in Baguio. Overall, it went much smoother than I had anticipated, and the guys were great. The only thing that was physically broken was 1 vase, so I lucked out there.

Now on to the fun part...unpacking!

Moog Baguio Service Anniversary Celebration

After going through the humbling experience of buying my first Filipino formal dress, it was finally the night for me to show it off. On Saturday, 10/27, Moog Baguio had the annual Service Anniversary Dinner in which all employees who have worked at Moog Baguio for 5, 10, 15, or 20 years were celebrated. This event is a really big deal. There were about 200+ people there, and the dress was formal. Needless to say, I really looked forward to attending, as it's not something the domestic sites of Moog do.

At the event, each of the celebrants were recognized personally, and most brought their spouses with them on stage. Additionally, each group of celebrants performed either a dance or song to commerate their year, and their bond together. This was by far the best part. I was really glad that I went to this event, and I hope that in the future, the domestic Moog sites might be able to incorporate a similar their into their organizations.

The "infamous" red dress

More pictures to follow...

Finally..some of my stuff arrived!

Although I was originally told that both my air and boat shipments would be arriving on Friday, 10/26, it ended up that only my air shipment arrived. I guess they were not able to locate an available chassis for my container. Nevertheless, it didn't matter to me what arrived, I just wanted something familiar to show up on my doorstep. I can't begin to explain how good it felt to open the first box, and see my stuff. I was like a little kid in a candy store, especially when I made it to the boxes with food. I immediately starting eating some of the familiar snacks, which tasted better than ever.

Catching Up...

It's been a few weeks since I last posted, mainly because so much has been going on but also because I've had a hard time getting connected. Bare with me as I try my best to upload the key events and catch you up. :)

A day full of good news and surprises!

Today was a great day! I started the day off feeling good, because I got word yesterday that my air shipment would be arriving on Friday, 10/26. Then today I got pulled out of a meeting to find out that my new car (Silver Nissan Xtrail) had just been delivered, and I love it!

Although I have my car now, I don't have a driver yet, so I'm a little nervous about that. My first time driving was with Von and Karen (Moogers). We went to Session Road, in downtown Baguio, and I did fine. Because I was a little nervous driving alone at night, Von accompanied me on my way back. It feels great to be a little more self sufficient now.

The last bit of good news came tonight when the moving company called and said that not only would my air shipment be delivered, but they would also deliver my boat shipment! Yeah.....my stuff is finally here, which means I can finally move into my apartment. I can't wait!

A humbling experience!

On Monday, 10/22, I was given an invitation to the Moog Anniversary Celebration Dinner on Saturday, 10/27. This dinner is where they celebrate all of the 5 year, 10 year, 15 year, and 20 year celebrants, so it is a big deal. Initially, I was excited, and looked forward to going. Then, the girl who gave me the invitation informed me that the dress is "formal." With my air or boat shipment having not arrived yet, I saw this as a problem. Not only was the dress formal, but I need to wear a long gown (to my feet). Who wears long gowns in the U.S.? Apparently that's how they do that here. I really didn't know what I was going to do...Here I am the tallest female at Moog, and I knew it wouldn't be easy to find a formal dress, let alone one for my height. Turned out a couple of the girls were going to pick up their dresses that day, so they offered to help me find a dress. Let's just say this was a VERY humbling experience!

Here are some highlights:
1) At the 1st store, their initial reaction was "she's big!" The first dress I tried on wouldn't zip at all, and was about 5 inches to short. Not only were they not used to my height but apparently they weren't used to my chest size either.
2) At both the 1st and 2nd store, they were heavily pushing me to get a pink dress (we're talking pale pink). Can you see me in that? When they wouldn't stop suggesting it, I finally had to say no pink, no orange, no yellow, no green, no blue, etc. All I wanted was black, but they barely had anything other than pastel colors.
3) Finally at the 3rd store I found 2 dresses that I really liked. One red, one black. I couldn't decide so the 3 Moog girls and the dressmaker all piled into the dressing room to help me. Can you imagine 4 women critiquing you in tagalog? Oh, I almost forgot, my head hit the ceiling in the dressing room! As we were trying to decide, the dressmaker said "normally black makes you look thin, but...it doesn't for you." Needless to say I went with the red dress.

Overall, this was a very humbling experience. I'll post pictures of my dress after the celebration dinner. Hope you enjoyed that story. :)

I'm a badminton player now!

This experience for me is all about trying new things and challenging myself. The Moog Baguio employees are very active, and often spend their 1 day off doing activities together. The latest activity is a badminton tournament, and somehow they managed to convince me to join them. I remember playing badminton once before in my life, but I think I was in the 4th grade. Needless to say, I was a little nervous, and made it very apparent that I might not be that successful.

Today, 10/21, was the 2nd week of the tournament, and my first time playing an official game (we had a bye in week 1). Suprisingly enough, things went farely well. Of the 3 games I played, we won 1, so things could have been worse. I suprised myself, and was able to hold my own, as well as have a lot of fun. I think some pictures were taken, so as soon as I get those, I'll post them.

Baguio City Tour

One thing about Moog Baguio is that there are always visitors from our other sites. During my first week in Baguio, I think there were at least 6 visitors, so there was really no time for me to be sad, because I was constantly busy. On that first Sunday, 10/7, some of the Filipino guys took a few of us on a Baguio City Tour. We saw 6 key landmarks that day and in record time: Mines View Park, Philippine Military Academy, Strawberry Farm, Kennon View Point, Woodcarver's Village, and Tamawan Village. It was a great day, and although I had been to some of those places before, I saw new things that I hadn't seen before.

View #1

View #2

Strawberry Farm

Leaving on a Jet Plane...

So the day finally came where it was time to get on that plane. I was suprised about how I was feeling when I woke up because I thought I would have been so sad the morning of my flight, but it didn't really hit me until I was already on the plane. The poor guy next to me must have wondered why I randomly started crying during the plane ride a few times. Mostly, I was thinking "is this really happening?, did I make the right decision?, what will life be like when I come back?, what will be different about me?, etc." In the end, I made it through the long plane ride, and arrived safely in Manila.

My Last Full Day in Southern California

My last day in California definitely came quicker than I expected it to. This whole move has been a bittersweet experience. On one hand, I was really excited to start my new journey, but on the other hand, I was sad to leave the life I had built in Redondo Beach and my family in Palm Springs.

I spent the last day rushing around trying to finish the last remaining things on my to do list and more importantly, saying goodbye to close friends and family. In addition to the lunch with my USC friends, I also spent some time with my mom and her boyfriend Robert, which was great. I wouldn't have wanted to spent my day any other way.

Sandra (My Mom) & Myself
Hermosa Beach Pier

She is so she cute in her "USC Mom" shirt!

Going Away Lunch with USC Friends

On my last day in Southern California, Erin and Vani organized a Going Away Lunch with our closest friends from Marshall. We ate at Scotty's on the Strand, a favorite local spot in Hermosa Beach.

David, Nick, Vani, Erin, Myself, Jill, Prexa

A USC MBA get together would not be the same without at least one round of shots...thanks Vani!

Irish Car Bombs

Farewell BBQ - Filipino Style!

The "Filipino Mafia" from Moog decided that we should have a BBQ to send me off, so they cooked up some homemade Filipino food (which was amazing) and we all spent the afternoon at Hess Park in Rancho Palos Verdes. It was a great way to spend one of my last days at home!

Gary, Myself, Dom, Rick, Ben, Louie

Gary, Ali, Myself, Dom, Rick, Ben, Louie, Debbie, John

Going Away Party with Moogers

My last day at work was Friday,9/28, so what better way to celebrate and say goodbye than to have a going away party at our regular Moog happy hour spot....Old Tony's on the Redondo Beach Pier. This also marked the day of the last official "V-Club."

Roger & Myself

Harold, Art, Rodney, Myself, Rick

Debbie, Sam, Myself, Zoltan

How many countries have you visited?

Check it out: http://www.travbuddy.com/widget_map_display.php?id=1499694

I've visited 6% of the countries in the world! I hope I get to increase my percentage while I'm living in Asia.

What does Baguio look like?

Many people have asked me about Baguio. What does it look like? Is it hot and humid there? Is it a big city? How many people are there? Before I had been there the first time, I too had the same questions, and I was pleasantly surprised to find such an amazing city with so much to offer.

The truth is Baguio is beautiful. Baguio is located in the mountains in Northern Philippines, and is nicknamed "The City of Pines." At an elevation of 5100 feet, Baguio is not hot and humid like Manila. From what I can tell, it seems like a decent size city, and has a population of about 300,000.

Here are some pictures for those who are interested...