369. almost a month now

I miss Makati.

Former house of employment., RCBC Makati

After all, the city has been a second abode, hang out place, among the other whatnot's for my silly, li'l buttocks. But as the saying goes, "Don't cry over spilled milk".

I found acceptance in the fact that my former employer has declared total shutdown of its Manila (offshore) branch. I have to be grateful to God that I still have my job, still enjoying my line of work and still am in the company of my happy & 'almost family' kind of colleagues.

 Ortigas, after all, has been a nice host within the three weeks we've been there. Tomorrow, I'd go back to my night schedule *insert whoopee! here* As on my previous entry, I still have yet to determine how challenging commuting** could be. Then, I'll decide if it really is HIGH TIME that I drive.

**Public transportation is a way of life in Metro Manila --- you have cabs, jeepneys, buses, railways, etc. Unlike other countries, having a car is optional here :-).

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So. It's almost been a month since we left the company. Now we go to the looking back part....

I remember how our last day went: we never reported to the office; instead, we partied.
... and partaaaayyyy hard I did.

I  literally puked (excusez-moi) my guts out as I've been offered quite a lot of hard liquor by work colleagues. Truth be told, I deviate from alcohol in as much as I can for (nearly) three years.

Thanks to me, all those years were remorsefully compensated by nausea, chaos, misadventure(s) and yes, the ever-mandatory 'vomit' every person experience after an excessive alcohol intake. I wasn't completely out of control, thankfully. To be fair, I was aware of the things I did.

I did learn a couple of lessons though:

I realized that my need for alcohol shouldn't go far enough for me to feel or even look wasted. It was such a crazy feeling I wouldn't bother to stray from forever.

Plus... how friends manage to stick with you through your worst. Latter part of the party, I wasn't exactly at my best. I'm not the best person to handle alcohol. So in as much as I can, I stay away from it.
Me + alcohol = bad combo. Always NEVER works.

I was surprised how the team got stuck from beginning to end of the party! Funny enough, even those who weren't exactly "people-person" materials went with me from the club to my abode to an early morning breakfast.

Me = Moved. Grateful. still Blessed. sigh.

Here are some images I took during our farewell party at Absinth Club:
[click image to zoom]
Familiar faces. Dancing Lights. Liquor.
We came from various departments: Creatives. Graphics. Admin. Order Entry. Account Executives.
Yet, we were one.
Just about everywhere were familiar faces!
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Having said and shown all these things, it's about time to say my formal goodbye to a company I'd forever cherish:

National Pen Philippines, LLC
(2005-2009)

Thank you so much for the memories, the experiences and the lessons.