I might move out of my parents' house by the end of the month. While it does speak of my need to become more independent, it has nothing to do with "proving myself" to my parents, peers, and to, well, myself.

As expected, my parents didn't take my proposal for moving out too well. Like many Filipino parents, they preferred that I stay and live with them until I got married. Honestly, I don't blame them. My savings would be bigger, I'd get to interact with the family more, etc. etc. But I wanted to move out anyway, despite it breaking all sorts of common sense ideals.

Like I mentioned earlier-- it's not that I have anything to prove to them, or to myself. I think of this rather as an experiment. I am fortunate that my parents want me living at home and can afford to do so. I am also lucky that I can afford to decide to go off on my own. But here's the reason why I want to move out: I want to try it out.

That's it. I want to experience handling bills, budgeting food and utilities, etc. I want to see if I can really, fully, take care of myself. 

This may seem silly to those of you who have been doing it for years, and I am sorry if I am coming off as a brat. But I do think it will be an enriching experience; something that I can opt to continue or put on hold after my contract with the flat expires.

Things are already off to an exciting start. My projected monthly expenses alone made my eyes bulge and I almost ran back to daddy. After numerous revisions with more experienced friends, I learned to keep things simple and go down to the basics. 

Despite the expenses and the forecasts for loneliness and frustration (I did live alone before, when I was dorming. I remembered coming home to an empty room and getting sick alone and again I felt like backing down from my plan), I am still mighty excited about living on my own.

So how will it be? Let's see. I'll be documenting my experiences on this blog. I am SURE there will be lots to write about.

How about you belles? What are your experiences living alone or with family?

One of my bestfriends recently wrote me a long letter on the hardships of being unemployed. She took a job a month ago and resigned last week, reason being that she didn't feel like she was right for it. After getting her second degree as an illustrator, she had approached an illustration agency to draw. Insted she was offered a higher position to manage artists. While she tried to like the job, she just felt unhappy and directionless. So against "common sense" she quit. She explained to her boss that by staying in the company, she was doing a disservice, not just to herself, but to the company too as she was not contributing effectively to its cause. 

I applauded her on this, as I've been the one hiring people and it irks me when people feign enthusiasm and interest for a job,  but they really have no plans to help themselves or help their company.

No, this is not a lecture on loving your job and being grateful. This isn't about quitting a job that you find boring. It's about being considerate (don't waste your time and other people's) and realizing when it's time to move on and move up!

I can say this because I went through this before I joined this company. I was in a job that I hated and wasn't very good at. In my arrogance, I looked down on the peopel who enjoyed it and worked very hard. I liked to believe that my "real" life was the one that happened after office hours. How wrong. ALL of it was my life, and my distaste on what I spent 8 to 10 hours, 5 days a week, spoke volumes on my maturity.

Well, I am fortunate to have come across a job that I really enjoy. That in itself is already rewarding.

What about you belles? How are you with your job?

Well, the Fitbug competition just got turned up a couple of notches higher!

Our CEO Fabrice is getting people off their butts by announcing a weekly winner-- and loser!

The winner per group (one in Manila, one in Paris, and another in Montpellier) will have pictures and a feature on our media sites. The loser... Well he or she will have to treat the group to drinks or food! 

And it's especially dire here in Manila as there are almost 60 hungry or thirsty mouths to satisfy! 

I just got the screen capture of the standings (we have a 4 p.m. deadline every Friday), and will be announcing the winners for all three areas on Monday next week!

Who made it? That will be interesting! ;)

In other news, the video from our trip to Donsol is already out. It looks super awesome. Check it out  here!

Happy birthday to our sister site, Aujourdhui.com!

We just had a big celebration that I wrote about in a previous blog post. Here now is a video of the people from the team and the members talking about AJ, and how the community is alive and relevant to their lives. :)

Yes, it's in French, and we'll try to make a translation soon. ;)

Hello belles!

I am writing this now in our Paris office, here in Montparnasse. Why am I here you ask? Well, I was fortunate enough to have been able to join the Recontre Nationale, which was the first ever community convention for our sister site Aujourdhui.com. Members from all over France, and some even as far as Belgium,  converged last weekend in the lovely souther city of Montpellier. 

Thanks largely in part to the hard work and dedication of key members from Aujourdhui.com, we were able to house 150 people for an entire weekend. The event took place in a traditional camping area, which, according to my French colleagues, were common vacation spots for many French people. Amidst the hills, streams, and forests (I seriously felt like singing the Sound of Music each time I ran up and down the paths), the Aujourhdui.com team held positivity workshops, talks with celebrity coaches like Jean-Michel Gurret of MentalSlim and Sybille Montignac of the Montignac Method, and of course-- this being France-- long and languid lunches and dinners with the members.  

There were several highlights in the weekend, and among them were the regional specialty dinner, where members brought their provincial specialties. I must have eaten my weight in macarons, cheese, pate, and saucissons, but thankfully managed to burn them all with early morning calisthenics, jogs, and walks.   It was very tiring, especially for the members of the team and the organizers, but you wouldn't have seen it with their bright smiles. It was really awesome to see everyone participating and having a good time. At the end of the weekend, we toasted the launch of the new book by one of our resident psychologists and coach (Cecile Neuville) with champagne-- of course-- and then partied until the very wee hours of the morning. 

Montpellier is a beautiful city and it was treat to see another part of France. While Paris is always breathtaking, the southern area showed its vibrancy with beaches, warm weather (I was wearing tank tops and flip flops the whole time!), and of course, the lovely people who lived there. 

For now, I will leave you with some pictures from the little excursions I took in Paris and Montpellier. 

Until next time!