Indeed, small BLESSINGS, bigger CHALLENGES

This week has been challenging. Since Monday, I have been in very difficult discussions. Difficult, because my patience and tolerance was being tested. Its hard when you know what the gaps are, but the other person is in denial of the real situation of what's happening and would just comfortably look at you and say to fix things for them. Is that even fair? 

I have been in recruiting for more than 6 years already. I have had my fair share of shortcomings, triumphs and failures. It is in that six years, that I learned how to own up to what went wrong and made sure that I make up for it and fix it. That is accountability. Nowadays, sad to say, not a lot has that in them. In this day and age of the very fast-paced workplace, I believe that its important that you develop some sort of core values within you to keep you on the right track. Everybody should know how to own up when they screw up.

This week, I realized that we need to put an end to taking responsibility for the mistakes of others. That is a hard lesson to learn and a much harder lesson to teach. But, people will not learn if you make everything okay for them. They will not learn the value of committing mistakes and correcting them.

I may not be your ideal People Developer, but I will always stand up for my team, and the work we do. And in this case, I will stand up for them, make sure that they are not being short changed and being held responsible for the things they are not accountable for.

Kung may mga recruiters na makakabasa nito, sorry, mataas ang expectations pag nagtatrabaho ka sa kumpanya na toh. Hindi lang "recruiting" ang trabaho natin dito. Sana gets niyo kung nasaan kayo sa end-to-end process na tinatawag. Matuto kayong makipag-collaborate. You are not higher than anybody else just because you do the work you do. Remember, recruiting is a process of so many hand offs, and appreciate what the other teams do for you.

With that said, I am happy to note, that my team is being recognized for all the work they put in. Its about time!

Truly, the year 2013, is a year of small blessings and bigger challenges. And I thank the Lord for that. :)

Camotes Island, Cebu Trip - March 2013

Another beach trip was crossed out in my list of "To Go" this year. Cebu, always felt like a second home to me. I don't know why. I have been in Cebu several times but always for work, not for leaisure. But even then, it still feels like home to me. Having said that, I must say, it feels good to be back home. :)

This trip was all about catching up and girl bonding. Who would've thought that Teng and I would be spending the long weekend with a friend and former colleague from Accenture? I didn't. :)

Our flight with Cebu Pac going to Cebu was delayed for an hour, but with Candy Crush, Instagram, FB and our endless stories, Teng and I managed to just stay put and enjoy the waiting time.

Finally landing in Cebu, we went straight to Crown Regency, because we will be crashing with Armand and Raffy. Thanks guys for the hospitality! :) Hahaha! We're so hungry, so we met with Jang at the IT Park and had dinner at Ila Puti. Food was good or we're just hungry. :) No, but kidding aside, food was good. Jang had to leave since she still has work that night and we agreed to meet tomorrow early morning to leave for Camotes.

An hour land trip going to the port of Danao, then an hour and a half waiting time for boarding and 2 hours sailing the waters of Cebu going to the port of Consuelo. Talk about a very long trip! There were a lot of "Are we there yet?", Candy Crush, junk food eating and dozing off moments. It was all worth it, when we reach Consuelo Wharf, which greeted us with its clear and aquamarine waters. What a beautiful sight! Jap was giving us a preview already via IG and Twitter of what to expect in the island, so we're pretty excited to soak in the sun and water.

We were initally booked at the Coco Grove Resort at Mangodlong, which is at the other side of Santiago Bay. We're booked to just camp out and just walk to the beach. But fortunately Jap, who is already staying in one of the resorts at Santiago Bay called and told us that there's a room available at their resort. So we immediately asked for our money back and rode the multicab going to Aizawa Resort.

The sun is at it's peak when we got to the resort and its high tide, which apparently is a good thing, since we learned from Jap, that the water literally recedes from around 3pm and comes back up around 10am the next day. So skip eating, we immediately changed into our swimming clothes and dove in! Refreshing! After almost half a day of traveling in the sweltering heat, the water is a welcome refreshment. We're so amazed how clean the water is, and how fine the sand is.

After a hearty lunch at one of the restaurants in Santiago, we all went back and just chilled at the beach front. Drank beer, slept, played Candy Crush, took photos of what have you, surfed the web, in short, idle time! I forgot to mention that we met new friends there too - Nica and Rhiane. They traveled with Jap and Ken, not first timers in Camotes.

The next day Jap and his friends went on exploring the island with a tour guide, while me, Teng and Jang chilled at the beach and well, what to do if you have the beach all to yourself? Photo shoot mode! Hahaha!

We're obviously sad to leave the place. But who knows, we might be back soon! Just not on Holy Week again. Why not? Because we almost didn't make it home to the big city of Cebu that Saturday night because there's so many passengers lined up, that tickets until the last trip were sold out. We're readying ourselves to camp out and just wait till the next day for the 4am trip.

Thank God, Cebuanos are really kind, they let us ride the RoRo! But of course, we're not on the passenger list, so if anything bad happened, we're doomed! But again, thank God, we all got to Danao safe and sound. Answered prayers, thank you St. Jude!

The trip back to the city was also a memorable one. Rode a jeep for more than an hour with BSB songs blasting loudly. Patok! Dinner at AA's Barbecue, then sleep! Kapuy! The next day, we all went to hear the Easter Sunday mass at the Basilica de Sto. Niño. Took some photos of Magellan's Cross, bought pasalubong at Tabo-an Market and Zubu Chon ,then ate lunch at Sunburst. Perfect way to celebrate Easter Sunday!

 More kulitan photos at the hotel while waiting for our time to leave. While chilling with our Starbucks drinks in hand and of course the sweet pastries.

This trip was one for the books! Ultimate girl bonding with Teng and Jang. We spent our time just relaxing, talking about a lot if different things. No pressure to do anything out of the ordinary or to go out on a limb just to have fun. Like what I told them, first time that I stayed put, no drinking (well I had a bottle of beer).. It's just pure, unadulterated fun with old and new friends. We all can have fun without the booze. Hahahaha!

Thanks to Jang, Teng, Armand, Raffy, Jap, Ken, Rhiane and Nica for making this trip so fun and memorable. Hope to spend more beach and food trips with you!

Photo credit: Thanks to Teng, Jap, Jangy - I grabbed some of your photos. I will add more photos when I see more from your walls. :)