Promdi in the US 2006. (A complete blog is available @ http://karyng.multiply.com/journal)

Flew to the US on June 23 -- the main purpose of the trip is for a conference but it also gave me a glimpse of 5 US States – California, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York & Connecticut. It was an amazing trip! It was great to connect with family and friends, hang-out with the kids, and to just appreciate sights and sounds of the Land of the Free!

Trip Itinerary: The key to a smooth trip is a good plan! Main partner of The Plan is Cousin Teray (who did an audit of my flight schedules and destinations). Inputs were also obtained from content experts such as Marky Mark Jacildo, Doc Joey, Ryan Brown (thanks for suggesting Travelocity!) and my good friend Bambie. There were only a couple of surprises: Philadelphia and Teray’s 8th Month Pregnancy Bed-rest!

Trip HIGHLIGHTS!

En-route to San Diego

Took some pictures at the Hong Kong Airport. (Thank you Jordan! Nice Camera!) With CMO Factory friends -- Haydee, Shawee, and Penny

At LAX, waiting for our tiny SAAB plane to be ready

Got there in one piece! Hanging-out at the Seaport Village right next to the Hyatt (Jordan and Bernard joined us)

Decolgen and Living in the Present -- Three days of medical leave in my little Shangrila conjured up three very important life lessons that I couldn’t have known about if I was well and creating havoc at the office. First life lesson is that -- Decolgen works! Yes, it really does… and no, I’m not being paid to say this. I took a tablet every 8 hours since yesterday noon time, and by today, all the sneezing and runny nose were gone. I still got the nasty cough but I think in no time, this mighty drug is going to kick that off my system too! Second life lesson – Thank God for really good friends! Doc J checked-in (through the powers of SMS) since Day 1; and dropped by to hand-over these wonderful, wonderful blue pills: Extra Strength Tylenol-pm! I slept very well last night…Whoa! The drug kept the coughing in control! It’s amazing! Third life lesson – live in the present. These past three days had been dreadful, because I’ve been sick and all, but it also gave me the opportunity to just be… be here, be myself, be aware of what a drug does to my system; to stop, stop thinking about what’s going on at work, stop thinking about what is going to be my future; to just enjoy the now… enjoy the happiness that a phone call can bring…and just be grateful to God for giving me the emotional cure so I can truly enjoy KD Lang’s music once again… Ah… such is life. I thought I would never get off that cloud. Samwise Gamgee was right on when he said: “Even darkness too must pass”. Yeah, it had to take a bad case of flu and 3 days of medical leave for me to learn these important life lessons. At least I didn’t have to leave town to throw an evil ring to a volcanic pit like some other folks...

I need a mentor. Someone that would listen to me openly.

Plans. The best gift anyone can give me this new year is a planner. I likeplanners because I am a planner.I like thinking ahead.I like being prepared.I get a high from being on top of things. But some things are beyond planning. And life doesn't always turn out asplanned. You don't plan for a broken heart.You don't plan for a failed business venture.You don't plan for an adulterous husband.Or a wife who wants you out of her life.You don't plan for an autistic child.You don't plan for spinsterhood.You don't plan for a lump in your breast. You plan to be young forever. You plan to climb the corporate ladder.You plan to be rich and powerful. You plan to be acclaimed andsuccessful. You plan to conquer the universe.You plan to fall in love - and be lovedforever. You don't plan to be sad.You don't plan to be hurt.You don't plan to be broke.You don't plan to be betrayed.You don't plan to be alone in this world You plan to be happy. You don't plan to be shattered. Sometimes if youwork hard enough, you can get what you want. But most times, what youwant and what you get are two different things. We, mortals, plan. But so does God in the heavens.Sometimes, it is difficult to understand God's plans - especially whenHis plans are not in consonance with ours. Often, when God sends uscrisis, we turn to Him in anger.True, we cannot choose the cross that God wishe s us to carry, but wecan carry that cross with courage knowing that God will never abandon usnor send something we cannot cope with. Sometimes, God breaks our spirit to save our soul.Sometimes, He breaks our heart to make us whole.Sometimes, God sends us pain so we can be stronger.Sometimes, God sends us failure so we can be humble.Sometimes God sends us illness so we can take better care of ourselves.Sometimes, God takes everything away from us so we can learn the valueof everything He gave us. Make plans but understand that we live by God's grace. (forwarded email)

Days to the inevitable_The count down is on! So I will turn 30 in two days. I'm actually excited because I'm having a birthday bash at McDonalds... it's a kiddie party for adults... hehehe... but at the same time it's making me nervous. It's a big number y'see... don't quite know how to handle it. I also don't know what's ahead... am I going to get wrinkles, get uglier, less fun? Haay... The good part though is that I cannot walk around asking myself "what did I do in 30 years?" because the last 30 years was certainly well spent! I mean, I learned a lot, helped my family, made a lot of friends, travelled, experienced deep sadness and joy, achieved considerable success at work... really have nothing to complain about... and I owe it a lot to the Maker (Jess)! He's been really good to me I believe, and I really appreciate it. With the first 30 years as my data point, the next 30 years is probably going to be great! Even better, I think! I just have to make sure that I make better decisions, and then leave the worrying up to Jess. Let him take control more... because he knows a lot better than I do! :) He's the Man!

Busy. I like being busy. I really do. I feel very good when I'm busy, because I feel my worth. It's interesting really, because I complain about it too... "Oh I'm so busy right now, I don't know when this is going to end... blah, blah..." But the thing is, I don't like to do NOTHING! It kills me! It gives me a lot of time to torment myself with ridiculous thoughts of being worthless, and I really hate it! So I have come to the conclusion that the trick to living positively is to always be busy... whether doing work, pursuing personal projects, meeting friends or going on vacations. Busy is ghood lah!!! So the goal is really to always be busy! It is something to aim for, not something to avoid. So there you go! I'm busy... & hehehe :) I'm smiling...

Am I a bad person Jess? Stupid maybe, but not bad really... right, Jess? Haay....