Here are some pics of my mom, my dad, and my sister. I'm sure you can guess who they are since we look alike!

I just wanted to share some pics of me and my co-QAs at work, since we had a potluck post-Christmas party earlier today. Here are some of them:

I just wanted to share the very first picture taken with our digicam. The sales lady took this picture of me and Henry while we were still at the store. I just love this picture because we both look so happy. Well, here's to us and the new camera!

Yesterday, Henry and I went to the mall to buy our first digicam. We had so many choices like the popular Sony Cybershot series, but we ended up buying a GE A735 black digital camera. We considered a lot of factors before buying this particular model, like the features, the look of the camera itself, and the cost.

This camera pretty much has the same features as a Sony Cybershot, like the red eye removal, smile detection, face detection, and an image stabilizer, which is perfect for me because I have really shaky hands and the pictures I take normally end up being blurry.

I took the camera today at work and took lots of pictures with my co-QAs. Taking the camera with me today was a great idea because I forgot that we had a pot luck at work and everyone was there. There was a lot of food and we all had so much fun.

My supervisor Roland is actually busy uploading the pictures we took, and I'll post them in another entry when I get home.

I just finished registering for an account at ActionAllStars.com. It's a pretty cool game, especially if you're into sports. The registration process is pretty simple. You just need to choose your character's name, and of course it's preferable if you don't use your real name. Of course, you also need to choose a password that is more than 4 characters, and then put in a valid email address. You can also customize your avatar by choosing its gender, hair, eyes, and smile. Plus, there are also a lot of cute outfits you can dress up your avatar in. From choosing the color of its shirt, shorts, and shoes, there's a lot of fun you can do.

What I like about this game is that it is very secure and safe for the kids. If you're wondering what made me say this, it is because if you're a kid, you need to have parental consent before you can start playing the game. Your parents need to click a link that will be sent to their email after registration and that's the only time you can start playing the game. Choose a server to play in, and that's it! Let the fun begin!

You can even choose whether to turn on or off safe chat settings. I like this because if you're a parent, you're assured that your kids won't be learning any foul languages while playing. I'm sure my eldest daughter who loves sports will enjoy this game. And by the way, did I mention that this game is free?

Yesterday was our Christmas Party and it was held at the SMX Convention Center. The venue was amazingly big. I honestly had a hard time moving around and finding friends as the place was big. VXI occupied Function Rooms 4 - 5. Imagine this, I had to text friends to find out where they were so that we could see each other.

The food was OK. There were two caterers - Friday's and Itallianis. I liked all the food that was there, too bad we were only entitled to one trip to the buffet table. There were also a lot of drinks, but I drowned myself in dalandan juice and iced tea, causing several trips to the washroom. I was more thirsty than hungry. There was also a specialty bar for those who wanted to drink alcohol, and as I predicted, the line was very, very long.

Going there was a challenge by itself. Henry and I initially planned on taking a cab all the way to Mall of Asia, where the SMX Convention Center is. But the traffic was horrible so we had the cab driver drop us off at the LRT station. So imagine me in a short black dress, heels and makeup commuting. After we got off the LRT, we took another cab all the way to SMX. Most of my friends were late and got stuck in traffic as well. I guess Henry and I were pretty lucky in taking the LRT.

I hung out with friends from the Welcome team, since I had a hard time finding my bosses from the QA department. I finally found them, hung out for a little while, and then went home. I didn't win any prizes in the raffle, but that's OK. I left the party early as Henry and I ate dinner at KFC, and then took a bus home. We got home almost quarter to 1am. I wanted to tour the mall than the party (sorry!) as it is my first time in MOA. But I guess I would have to say that the party went well.

I couldn't help but remember the sign I saw while we entered SMX - No request is too big for a venue this big. And they weren't kidding.

Tomorrow I get my first 13th month pay from VXI. I an hoping it will be close to the amount I have in mind. I've been with the company since January 7, so I know it will be a bit big. We'll be using the money to buy a new fridge. I'm excited because in the 5 years Henry and I have been married, this will be the first time we'll buy a new fridge. The fridge we're using is my mom's, and it's been a fridge since I was a kid. Since it's old, it consumes a lot of electricity.

Hopefully there will be some left so that I can buy a new washing machine as well. My washing machine is almost 5 years old and has gone through many repairs. I also want to buy one with a dryer in it, so that during rainy days, I don't have to worry about clothes being wet for a long time, especially Keisha's school uniform.

I hope everything goes well tomorrow.

I'm currently at work right now. The PC that I'm using is terribly slow, not to mention the fact that the keyboard that this PC comes with is a piece of work - the spacebar key is broken. You really have to put in effort for it to work.

The network is also very strict and there are restrictions that are driving me crazy. For one thing, they don't have Firefox installed, just IE and I'm more comfortable with Firefox and it's tabs. The IE here isn't even IE7, so imagine working with either one window or multiple windows.

The right mouse button is also disabled, so I can't copy URLs to deep link this post to older posts of mine, which I'll probably just do at home. And besides, the Internet connection is so slow anyway and to open a new window will just drive me nuts.

So you're probably wondering why this post is entitled Wasted Time, right? It's because my shift starts at 11pm, and the client we're supposed to have a video conference with won't be available until 2 hours later. What makes things even worse is the fact that someone else will be using the conference room, so we won't have a room to stay in until further notice.

So there. Even though I'm getting paid while loitering at work, I just can't help but feel that my time tonight has been wasted. And this keyboard is beginning to get on my nerves.

Kakasa Ka Ba sa Grade 5 is the Filipino version of Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader? I just wanted to share that my mom in law has been bugging me for the longest time to join this show.

If I decide to concede in the game, I may end up with Php 50,000 which isn't so bad. I know I'll be able to answer some questions, but not all of them to reach the jackpot of 1 million pesos. I guess I don't trust myself as much as they trust me.

My mom's birthday went really well. Although it wasn't much of a surprise party anymore as she already knew we were coming over, she was surprised that I actually did come, even though I had work that night and only got a few hours of sleep.

I gave my mom our present, a Nine West bag, and she loved it. The color of the bag actually matched the gown she is set to wear tomorrow for a friend's son's wedding, and she was happy that she had a bag she could use. We also gave my sister Elena's wallet already, which she absolutely loved. I didn't know she was getting into the color green recently, and the wallet we gave her is in a shade of green. So there, luck was indeed on my side while I chose their gifts months ahead.

And of course, I wasn't able to take pictures as my cellphone is with Henry and his phone is busted. I let him use my phone as there are a lot more people texting him compared to me, and with his line of business, he really needs to stay connected all the time. I really need to get a digital camera before Christmas.

Tomorrow is my mom's birthday and my sister Elena, my mom in law, and the kids are all involved in planning a surprise birthday party for my mom tomorrow. We already have a gift for her, a Nine West bag, and I hope she likes it as my mom in law and I spent hours and hours on this online store just to find a bag for her.

Earlier today, my mom in law and the kids went with me to the market to buy our lunch, and we also bought a birthday wrapper to put the bag in. We also bought another gift bag for my sister to put the Liz Claiborne wallet I bought for her as well.

I am really looking forward to tomorrow. I hope my mom is surprised, and I also hope that everything turns out well. I hope the food turns out great, and that my mom likes the present.

I would really like to thank my friend Rose for giving me this award. I've always loved blogging but I love it even more because of friends who appreciate the time you spend in front of the computer. I'd also like to share this award to my friends Richard, She, Zhey, and Jaime.

Congratulations Manny Pacquiao!

Won by a TKO, Manny Pacquiao defeated Oscar dela Hoya today. Dela Hoya quit before Round 9 started.

Congrats Manny!

I need help in making a decision.

Yesterday morning at work, the director for Quality Analysts spoke to me and one of my co - QAs and asked us a series of questions as though we were being interrogated. My co - QA John also handled an account I took in calls for almost a year and a half for almost as long as I did. We were then informed that VXI Los Angeles is opening a Customer Service line of business for this same account - and they were looking into the two of us assisting in training these agents in LA and also, in pioneering the QA team for Customer Service.

What VXI did in Inbound Sales is that they had Filipino QAs listen and evaluate calls for LA and Texas agents, which is where I am now. And since they did a good job, the client decided to have agents here as well. The client is planning on doing the same for Customer Service - with me and John spearheading the project.

In short, the director informed us of their plans of sending the two of us to LA.

I just got promoted two weeks ago as a QA, and I am so overwhelmed with the details divulged to us during our conversation. I am flattered, but I am also worried. We might stay in LA for 2 months, and just thinking about it makes me sad. I'll be away from Henry and the kids, and I just can't bear that thought.

I spoke with my good friend Doods about it, and I am lucky he understood. He understood my hesitation of being away from home, but also made me realize that this kind of opportunity doesn't come along often. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if things materialize and we'll take it from there.

Henry and I went to my office earlier. It's my day off today, and we just went there to get his Christmas gift. I purchased a Mossimo watch for him through my supervisor, whom I also purchased my bag and wallet from. Here's what his watch looks like:

We had to have one link removed because the watch was loose for Henry's wrist, but now everything is fine. What's even funny is that Henry is still wearing his watch - even at home!

I love you hon, and hope you liked my gift.

May the better boxer win.

I just wanted to share how happy I am how things turned out on our family day yesterday. We had a great time at the mall with the kids, and we practically agreed on everything when we went out - no disagreements, no shouting, and we had a really great time.

I took some pictures of the kids and Keisha while we were at the mall, and she said it herself - she had a really great time, which is all the assurance I needed. I was meaning to upload them, but I am missing my USB cord to my cellphone. I have to cook lunch now, so I guess I'll have to do it some other time then.