2012 only has 15 days left. Wow.

In general, this year has been very good to me. Good might even be an understatement because this year has given me tons of fond memories and a bunch of new colleagues and friends. Sure it wasn't all sugar and spice especially at the beginning of the year when I went through situations which made me throw a fit or two, but it was nothing major. 2012 has been a wonderful journey.

The highlight of my year would have been when I joined BackCheck four months ago. I have been very vocal about the fact that my current employer is the best I had so far in terms of job satisfaction; that which I have wished to get at the start of the year. This company has given me pretty much everything I was looking for in a job which includes: a good pay, a challenging position where you compete with yourself and not with others, good leaders to look up to, a comfortable work environment and most especially, coworkers who I actually love. It is only with this employer where I do not dread the thought of waking up every day to go to work and do the exact same thing you were doing the day before. When I am reminded of my company, it actually makes me smile and not frown. To have a job like this is a very rare thing to have nowadays, so I consider myself to be tremendously lucky to have snagged it.

Most definitely though, the best aspect of my employment at BackCheck would have to be the coworkers I get to be with everyday. I couldn't possibly be this happy if I did not get the chance to know them and actually be friends with them. To be more specific, I owe the good work-life balance I lead to my batchmates (there are six of them), my starbright teammate and his blockmate who happened to be our department's friendliest member. I really do cherish EVERY SINGLE moment I spend with them and I deeply appreciate their company, but two of them deserves a special mention: my four-eyed bookworm batchmate who I consider to be my breath of fresh air and to my other gal batchmate who knows all of my shit and is uber macho. Thanks, you two, I can't possibly imagine life at BackCheck had I not met you.

Ahh damn, I'm becoming a little too sentimental again. Haha. Must be the holiday spirit kicking in.

Changes

I've realized not too long ago that I am slowly learning how to be independent.

It seems like my parents have finally decided to let me discover the world with my own eyes. Not that they've let me go completely; They just granted me the liberty to do what I want everyday.

It feels good, to be honest. I like how I could stay as late as I could after work without having to worry about my Dad or Mom who's waiting for me somewhere near. I am able to establish bonds with people on my own pace and it has proved to be good so far.

I know they're sad since I don't get to be with them often, but I am trying my hardest to balance social life with family life. Maybe they're just unused to my new lifestyle, but they'll get the hang of it soon. It's not like I'm being irresponsible, anyway.

Week 2

Starting my second week on the job in a few hours.

I'd be lying if I tell you that everything is a walk in the park for me. There are countless jargons to memorize, I have to graduate from Training, and of course, there's the graveyard shift in place.

But really, my job is not so bad. It's the type of work where you only have to get used to the process, get the hang of things, and then you're good to go. It's pretty routinary and it ain't hard, but it requires a lot of detail. I am now in the process of memorizing the procedure and scripts, and I think I can manage.

My shift is actually the hardest thing to adjust to right now. I do get long, uninterrupted sleeps during the day, but I still get that "not enough" feeling even after I wake up. I've read numerous online articles on how to easily live the graveyard life, but I also learned that not everybody is compatible with it -- some will never get used to the shift. Oh I just hope I am not one of them.

I know any conclusion made at this point is considered premature, but I do like my new job and the company I work for. The people are just as good. I'm getting this urge of wanting to stay for as long as I can, and I hope I'd be able to do just that. :)

When J-rock meets OPM

Sooo, my brother showed me this earlier:

Sounds familiar? Yeah, it's Kamikazee's 'Narda', only that it was sung by a Visual Kei band. Haha, I am truly amazed.

Uchusentai Noiz, the band, will be having a performance here in September. I'm thinking of going IF my schedule permits, since they're the very first VK band to ever come to the country and I sure don't wanna miss out on the fun. :)

I'm hoping they won't be the last Japanese group to ever come ashore. When it comes to Jrock, I have a pretty long wishlist. Haha.

Blue and White

I am amazed and at the same time shaking my head in disbelief. In just a year and 5 months after I started working, I've already THREE freaking Employers listed in my curriculum vitae. 

I'll be working again starting next week for a Canada-based Corporation. I'm really excited for this, because what I'm gonna experience here will be totally different from my previous jobs. Starting Monday, I'll be working graveyard. My shift would run from 9PM to 5AM. As I've said, my new Employer is based in Canada so we follow PST. Then, Canadian clients mean talking with Canadians. Okay, I didn't have to point that out. Moving on, I won't be doing the same steps in recruitment as I did with Dell and TRG. I am STILL going to do recruitment, that much is for sure, but I am now on the latter end of the process since I'll be doing background investigations. Pretty cool, huh? I've always wanted to try it out, and well, here is my chance. :)

You know what's even more amazing? I am once again back to blue and white. What I mean is, my new Employer's company colors are, again,  blue and white. Haha. Imagine this:

My school uniform when I was in Kindergarten was colored blue and white. Then, I enrolled in STC whose school colors are again, blue and white! After High School came UST, where I still wore a blue and white uniform. After grad, my first job was in Business Trends, with Dell having to be my place of assignment. Yes everyone, BT and Dell's company colors are blue and white. Surprisingly though, destiny veered me away from the combo for two months when I was in TRG, where they carried red and white. But alas, here comes my third Employer, where I will be seeing more blue and white. Haha. Funny how that works.

Anyway, I only have two major requirements left and I am all set. I should probably start learning how to be nocturnal.

Sunday Lunch Out

Had yet another lunch out with two of my bestest friends today-- Mark and Iris. Lunch itself wasn't so good, but the bonding was nothing short of amazing. :) I wish I could see them more often. And I wish Gian would come home soon!

Before becoming a Thomasian, people were saying that I will not be able to meet real friends in College. Well, it's all WRONG! That is total BS. The people mentioned in this post are living proof. I can't possibly thank God enough for giving me friends as wonderful as they are.  :)

Tuomas Holopainen

Oh, the things I'd do to see him in person!


I normally don't have a thing for guys with long hair, but he's just too hard to ignore. What I like most about him (physically) are his eyes. Maker's breath, so expressive! When he stares, it's like he's looking at your very soul. And admittedly, his curly, torso-length hair adds to his overall charisma. Looks aren't everything, though. Aside from being a natural genius, I heard he's really nice, too. BAM. Complete package for you, right there!


I just can't help but admire this gorgeous metalhead. Rock on, Holopainen.

Dream Setlist

I don't want to flood Twitter, so I'll do my spazzing here. :)

I saw this a while ago via bigbangupdates.com -- it's the setlist for the Shanghai stop of Alive Galaxy Tour.

1. Alive Intro
2. Tonight
3. Hands Up
4. Fantastic Baby
5. How Gee
6. Stupid Liar

7. Knock Out (Ppeokigayo)
8. High High
9. Strong Baby
10. What Can I Do
11. Gara Gara Go
12. Number 1
13. Cafe

14. Bad Boy
15. Blue
16. Ego
17. Love Song
18. Feeling
19. Look Only At Me
20. Wedding Dress
21. Wings
22. Haru Haru

23. Lie
24. Last Farewell
25. Let Me Hear Your Voice (Encore)
26. Heaven (Encore)

I know every song in there, so it's good. But I wish they'd tweak it a little for Manila, though. :P

(note: Texts in orange are links. You can click on them)
Well, I don't see Always. It's the perfect encore song, IMO. (I'd gladly trade Heaven for Always. Not that I don't like the song, but...)

Also, no A Fool's Tears?!?! I've always dreamed of hearing it live. Imagine hearing Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri making birit! I understand it's one of their old songs, but it's one of their best, too. :(

I'm also feeling a bit sad because Mad about You ain't in the list. I'm totally in love with the Japanese studio version! Well, ok, the Korean version's nice too. Just... please, include it in the setlist. -_-

And Make Love as well! I know I have a lot of favorite songs, but Make Love will forever hold a high spot. It's just so pleasing to the ears!

And another, Turn it Up by T.O.P. It's a perfect concert song.

Last but not the least, Sunset Glow! Song is so charming, who wouldn't want to sing this together with Big Bang?


But the list you see up there? Yeah, it also has some of my most favorite songs. So please, Big Bang and Concert officials, NEVER EVER take Haru Haru, Number 1, Koe wo Kikasete, Fantastic Baby, Strong Baby, Lies, and Last Farewell away. I implore you!

But regardless, I'm good with any setlist. What's important is that I'm gonna see them for real, and I'm sure to have a bangin' good time \m/

Big Bang Tickets!

Fuck. Yes. OMG! We finally have tickets to Big Bang Alive Galaxy Tour in October!!

We got Lowerbox B seats for more or less 6800 PhP. We wanted Lowerbox A (where the view is slightly better), but apparently we weren't fast enough haha. It got sold out in a matter of hours. No matter, we still got LB seats. Definitely better than Upperbox and General Admission. :)

So here's what my checklist looks like:

Hotel: CHECK!
Tickets: To be claimed next Saturday
Lightstick: CHECK!
Heart, Body and Mind: READY 100% !

I cannot freaking wait! Two more months 'til I hear my favorite Hallyu band live. :D

Now excuse me. I shall watch more fancams. :)

Nightwish Post #2

Before we talk business, you guys notice anything different? Yeah. A layout change, after so many years! My blog should hate me less now. :)

 Anyhow, I just wanted to talk about Nightwish again. I have read about the band's history and the reason behind the current line up, and learned that they have a pretty interesting past with their ex-lead singer-- Tarja Turunen.

 Tarja has been NW's lead singer / frontwoman for so many years, but she got fired last 2005. What happened? Well, the whole band (excluding her, of course) explained to the public via open letter that Tarja's interests (at that time when she was spending her final moments in the band) were more of personal in nature, and weren't exactly in line with that of the band's. Quoting it directly from NW's open letter,

"Still so many things were more important to you. The ultimate example being the already sold-out show in Oslo, which you wanted to cancel because you needed to rehearse for your solo concerts, meet friends and go to the movies."

Tuomas, Emppu, Jukka and Marco (the letter's signatory members) also believed that business, money, and things that have nothing to do with the band  has become much more important to her, and it all began when she married Marcelo. Tuomas, NW's leader, said in particular that he can't simply write any more songs for Tarja to sing, and that is exactly why they replaced her.

Naturally, Tarja retaliated by writing a response. But unlike the furious tone NW's letter had, hers sounded more calm and collected. She mentioned that she was shocked, and that she thought she knew them, but she was wrong. As Tarja herself put it,

"I sense great anger in that letter and I continue to have very confused feelings about it, but I don't want to reply to this anger with an even greater anger. Private matters should never be taken to the public."

Ever since that unfortunate event, it seems that communication between Tarja and the rest of Nightwish has been completely cut off, and after two years, Anette Olzon (NW's current frontwoman) replaced her position.

Well, you might be curious about my stand in all this. Honestly? I don't know. I am new to the scene, so I won't know for sure. Yes, I want to believe in the band, but who am I to say that Tarja's claims are wrong? So shortly after absorbing the materials I dug up, I shrugged it off and just moved on. Nightwish is still amazing, even without Turunen, and I respect whatever decision they have made.


I'm just a little annoyed with some die-hard Tarja fans though, because they can't do anything more useful than bash the band's current lead singer. They say that Anette's singing prowess is nothing compared to that of Tarja's, and that Nightwish's style has greatly changed since she came. Well D-U-H. Of course it would! Tarja and Anette are two entirely different entities and are, in no way, the same. What worked for Tarja in the past might not go well with Anette, but it's not definitive of Anette's capabilities.  It's called different SINGING STYLES, for crying out loud.


Besides, Anette's voice is nothing short of amazing, and I personally like her style better. I like her not because she's the incumbent member when I joined the scene, but because her voice and singing style suits my preferences better. it's that simple. I just wish people would stop hating on her already. We have no right to deprive her the chance of proving her skills. Not that she hasn't yet.


Anyway, I'm done here. I just had to give my two cents and now Imma continue rockin' to Nightwish's tune. Here's a little something to cool your heads off. Peace out.

P.S.: Yes, that's Anette's voice right there.