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