Day 26 -- Mayeen and Gelo

It's always good to see good friends from thousands of miles away. That's why when I know folks are in my side of town, I make sure I get to see them for at least lunch or dinner. If schedule permits, I get to take them to some places around town.

This day Gelo and Mayeen made DC one of their stopovers during their US tour. :) It was good to share hotdogs (my favorite Ben's Chili Bowl, fries, stories, and a few laughs together. Bonus was the 50-cent tour I gave them after the dinner. Not ot mention we had a good pictorial, too. :)

Thanks for the dinner slot folks! It was great catching up with you both! See you in Manila very soon!

Mayeen and Gelo
©JReyes
2 October 2014 

Philam Lifer for Life. :)

Ten things I'm going to miss as a Philam Lifer:

10. Beautiful free concerts with the country's best choral groups every first week of December

9. Flurry of calls coming from agents and clients asking about features of a product

8. Logging in in the morning. Logging out during lunch. Logging in in the afternoon. Ooops, I missed! Override!

7. Endorsement that comes with a free tumbler!

6. Hosting jobs!!! I felt very much like a pro! Thanks for the confidence boost!

5. Dell's! no matter how they change the name of the menu, it feels and tastes quite the same. :)

4. Mang Ben and his famous fruit stand

3. The long lines in the ATM machine during paydays. Just when you think it's your turn, OFFLINE!

2. Running along Roxas Boulevard's Baywalk

1. My brothers and sisters in this happy family called Philam Life...

Once a Philam Lifer, always a Philam Lifer. If given a chance, I will surely come back.

Office Fun: TODAS!!!

An effective way to bring back your smile during office weeks: Set up a weekly salu-salo with your officemate friends!

What started out as a dare now became a weekly happening in our building's third floor. It began with 5 people and now we're at 22! Talk about T.O.D.A.S. and you'll see nothing but smiles in the faces of these 22 people involved in this weekly addiction.

Tuesday's Outrageously Delightful Area Salu-Salo (TODAS) is our office's way of forgetting stress in the office. Every Tuesday lunch, a group of three to four people will bring their usual baons, but this time not just for themselves, but also for the other 18 individuals. With the name inspired by the original T.O.D.A.S. (Tuesday's Outrageously Delightful All-Star Show), this weekly salu-salo is also the haven for a myriad of jokes, stories, gossips and other mundane issues about life, love, politics, sports, and old bold stars!

Every employee deserves a break from their usual routine, especially during lunch. This weekly party just gives these 22 individuals another reason for regularly coming to office. :)

Don't say cheese, say TODAS!

Tired of your usual office lunch breaks? Why don't you try TODAS? :)

Rain or Shine: Run for your Life!

I now have this habit of preparing my stuff Monday and Wednesday evenings to get me ready for the next day's session. Thanks to my boss who is also a running fanatic, I found myself training religiously as well. Every Tuesday and Thursday, my boss Leo, and another officemate, Herzon at least 5 kilometers at Quirino Grandstand and Roxas Boulevard.

We started running at our office's roof deck. We got bored and looked for longer running routes. We then discovered the Quirino Grandstand route. One round in Quirino Granstan (Roxas Blvd, Kalaw, Q. Grandstand, Burgos) is around 1.1 kilometers. 5 rounds would give you 5.5K. That became our running routine.

We invited a few officemates via email blast. The first meeting was indeed a blast! Around 16 of us ran! We jokingly called our running group Phurorut (Philam United Runners and Other Related Undertakings Team) :) But after a few weeks, members suddenly disappeared. Now we're down to three: Leo, Herzon and Me. :) I hope they return. ;)

Sometimes, when we get bored, we run from Quirino Grandstand to CCP and back. One time, we took the Intramuros route. Running in Manila makes us think that there really are a lot of good places to see here. :)

Running is the new badminton now here in the Philippines. But of course, it's much cheaper than badminton because all you need are a pair of shoes and socks and a long paved road. That is why it's a big hit nowadays. You get to see a lot of advertisements of races from QMC, to the Fort, to MOA! Well at least it makes Filipinos think more about their wellness.

Running had a few benefits on my health. My blood pressure went down to normals levels, my heart rates went down to 70+ bpm, my stamina improved tremendously, and I lost some weight. During my last race, Takbo para sa PGH, my official time for the 5K race was 33:46. I wrote about my Milo Marathon last year and during that time, I was at the 49-minute level. Astig! :)

But of course I have my limitations. My knees are hurting already when I go too fast, or when I go too far. This was because of the injury I had some three years ago from basketball. So my dreams of a 43-kilometer race is far from coming true. At least I am near my 10k goal. :)

Team Phurorut: Front: Me, Ryse, Rachele, RR, Quennie; Standing: Maxi, Marivic, Herzon, Joan, Grace, Rhea, Steve

Team Phurorut with Coach Leo Tan. :)

Thanks to Philam Foundation, we KaAkbay Volunteers were able to sweat it out at PGH's benefit run. Thanks for the Picture, Mima!

I'll just keep on running for fitness. For long life. Team Phurorut, takbo tayo ulit! :)

Cheers!

Gelo-Mayeen, 24 July 2010

I witnessed another wedding last week, making this my third wedding of the year. This time, it's my officemate Gelo and his one and only Mayeen. Church was at Camp Aguinaldo, while reception took place at Glass Garden.

The couple with Fr. Jboy Gonzales

Strutting their way to the front

Present and ex-Philam Lifers Gather to witness this momentous occasion

The Gents with the Groom

The Ladies with the Bride

Quarter life. Full of weddings. :)

Congrats Gelo and Mayeen! Thanks for the invite!

Next! :)