Goodbyes and Hellos: My 2008 Recap

2008 was a very eventful year for me. A lot of goodbyes...but also a lot of hellos.

(1) Goodbye Lexmark– 5 years of working for the same company – it was definitely time to say goodbye. Oddly enough, the year started with attending & contributing actively in the joint HR Summit to discuss the wave of resignations we had (not enough to stop me though). The year started with the whole HR-Reorg, & my new role as HR Officer for Government and Community Relations was new & exciting & made me stay (for a while) until the new HR Director had to leave (that made it 4 bosses in 5 years). & things have become so tiring and so toxic in the office; so it really was just time to move on, esp. with that whole DA fiasco in the end. Was called by headhunter Ward-Howell & had series of interviews, all the way to the last panel interview with Hitachi in Laguna. Was given a good job offer for HR Compensation & Benefits Manager, but declined this for personal reasons (see #3). My “gratitude rocks” goodbye gift to people. Cried my last day, didn’t think it’d affect me that much even though I was so relieved to finally leave. Perhaps because I cried buckets during my 5 year stay with the company too.

(2) Hello Innodata – Wasn’t expecting this, but it felt good having my exit interview & telling my boss I had a new job in the wings, as a Training Manager at that. Was just relieved to get a job that paid a little more than my previous one, & a Mgr role at that. & I feel so at home here already, with challenging tasks like handling ISMS, training budgets & schedules, designing & facilitating new training programs; preparing for external & conducting internal audits, metrics & KPIs, management meetings, as well as great relationships with my co-workers. & it’s just so different & exciting being a part of the management team now. I do believe I’m going to stay here awhile.

(3) Goodbye Marital Blues – Clarity@2008 was my rallying cry for this year after all. Found myself drowning my misery in VCD/TV sitcom marathons like Desperate Housewives (being one myself), Prison Break, etc. Holy week was a miserable one having to bear his abusive ways. Had decided to accept the Mla job & give it another try. But then I realized (after nigh 8 years) I didn’t have to bear the heart-wrenching misery anymore. That I could just cut things off & move on. Talking with my sisters (& realizing they did know) helped. The finger without a ring (old blog entry). It’ll be difficult to have a clean cut though & things are bound to become messy before it’s finally over, but am glad I’ve made the decision to move on. Had talks with friends to get legal advice (Ritchie, Leica, Dottie, Lloyd, Ranz, etc). Still, having decided to finally let go has given me the peace & serenity that I had been yearning for all this time.

(4) Hello Friends – With growing old comes the realization that I do need people in my life (Maturity and Interdependence); & I guess because of the turmoil I was experiencing in my personal life, I realized I was not superwoman & thus needed to share the truth with friends, surprisingly enough, even with strangers! & it became easier with each telling (to friends who I’ve kept in the dark about all my troubles). Prompting a friend to say that all these years he saw me smiling, he always knew that there was something painful, & not real, in my eyes. Maintaining ties with old friends & making new ones: staying & having to say goodbye to Niel’s condo & those coaching sessions; terrific conversations & hanging out with new girlfriend Edmund; being truthful to Aboitiz friends & Timbukto tribe; old Lexmark alumni friends Eboy & Raniza; having to say goodbye to friends leaving abroad; finding new friends too: finding my niche & being good friends with a lot of people in my new job.

(5) Hello to the Single Life – With freedom comes the liberty to start to venture out, & feel alive once more. Changed my hairstyle (I look & feel better with curly hair!); started wearing make-up (yup, something I admit to needing, now that I’m 35); working out at the gym. Started to date once again, a record of lousy dates though (see Lousy Dates previous blog entry). “It’s just a fantasy, it’s not the real thing. But sometimes a fantasy, is all I need” (well for now that is). Funny though how it’s raining men once again, but not the type I really need. I still yearn for romance & intimacy, even though I’m far from ready for anything serious. Still, going casual will never be my style.

(6) Goodbye Div C– The flurry of preparations for the Div C Speech Contest & club visits (most clubs got Presidents’ Distinguished Clubs in my Division this year). Ended my TI year with a bang – attended the Tagaytay District Convention with the Aboitiz gang (wearing New Peak jackets!) & being so happy for Div C to have bagged the championship for 3 if not 4 categories! Its hello Div I for me now- what with putting up a Toastmasters Club in my new company & being elected as VP- Ed.

(7) Hello to Competing Once Again – It’s been awhile since I’ve given a speech in front of a Toastmasters audience. I volunteered for Div I Joint Area Contest & wrote my “The Art of Kissing” test speaker speech the night before the contest. Used same speech for my Entertaining Speech & joined the Triathlon once again, all the way to Bacolod! Bacolod! What an experience! To winning.. & not really winning…to learning from mistakes… & making new friends & the more- than-friends…

(8) Family/Home Life – Goodbyes to scary Yayas (6 this year!), dining out at restaurants & going places(several times) with me & the kids, & Sheila, Tito & Ella; coping with Tito’s medical emergencies & numerous hospitalizations; getting hypertensive with China’s homework; swimming with the kids at Crown. My kids are growing up so fast! And though it was extremely difficult this year, making ends meet financially & having to pay debts; being a single mom is something I had no trouble getting used to.

(9) Hello Travel – I didn’t get to travel out of the country like I did last year, but I did go out of town a lot of times this year. Manila trips (Feb for the Hitachi interview, March for Holy Week where we visited La Mesa Eco Park; May for the Tagytay Discon; plenty of Cebu trips also: Buhisan Dam; Mountain View, beach outings in Moalboal, San Remegio, Tambuli, & Karancho! I still got to go to a lot of places I’ve never been to before, which still makes this a traveling year for me. This just fits in the theme of how totally liberating & exploratory this year has been for me.

(10) Hello Music! – Its true that this year has had a lot of ups & downs for me, but it’s been more of an upbeat year overall. & I guess with the vitality I’ve found with now being free, music has found me once again. Had several chances to sing this year: at a company half-time basketball game, 3 singing contests, singing in Waterfront for the PMAP regional convention; being complimented by the director & my stint in a recording studio(feeling professional!); singing in several programs & events. After being in the shadows for so long, I realize I do belong up there, where the lights are on me & people see how talented & beautiful I can be (as boastful as that may sound, but giving myself permission to be “seen” as such is what matters after all). And, complementary to music, I’ve been writing and blogging once again!

So yes, I have found the clarity I wished for, for 2008.