my life planner

my first planner

I started using a planner when I was in grade school. (yeah, in grade school...akala mo napakabusy na tao eh) It was actually a planner/diary. Then, when I reached college, and since I am a coffee lover, I started patronizing the so-famous Starbucks planner.Well, having a planner helps you to be organized and to be less forgetful of your tasks. And though you could just use your phone or any gadget to serve as your planner, I still prefer to have my plans hand-written.

Then one time, instead of the traditional planner,  I thought of having a planner where in it has no dates. It will just contain all the things that I want to do in my life. With this kind of planner, there will be no pressure since there will be no deadlines to meet. I can take all my time to accomplish all those things. 

So as of now, here is my list:

1. I want to travel the world and learn different cultures

Traveling for me is one way of seeing how beautiful the creations of God are and understanding those creations. (may it be the people, the environment or the country itself) And traveling also allows you to unlock the doors of the past. 

• South Korea
• Singapore
• Taiwan
• Thailand
• Malaysia
• Japan
• go back to Hong Kong 
• experience Macau once again
• China
• Indonesia
• Europe (France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Spain, UK, Vatican, Ireland)

These are the countries I have in my mind right now and I know that in the future, more countries will be added in to this list. (wow! after writing these countries parang naisip ko na I have to have more jobs to be able to visit all these places!)

2. Be a CFA holder (this is the only list that I included a deadline for me to be more serious in achieving it)

• Pass Level I by 2012
• Pass Level II and III within 5 years (until 2016)

3. Enroll in a graduate school - It is always my dream to study abroad but since it needs a huge amount of money, studying here in the Philippines is fine with me.Besides there are good grad schools in our country like the Asian Institute of Management. By the way, I'm planning to take an MBA or MS Finance.

4. Invest 

I am saving for two things: one is to travel and the other one is to invest

• stocks
• UITF
• Time Deposit

5. Learn a foreign language

• Korean (since I'm so hook to korean dramas)
• Mandarin (knowing how to speak mandarin is an advantage in the corporate world)
• Italian (inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert - Eat Pray and Love)
• French (I used to study French when I was i high school and I want to revive my knowledge)

6. Learn photography

Traveling will not be complete without a camera! And I just don't want to take pictures, I want to capture the beauty of every place I will go to. 

• buy SLR
• enroll in photography class
• learn photoshop and other photo enhancing technique

7. Be physically and mentally fit

• enroll in yoga class or in gym
• learn badminton

8. Join a community

• volunteer
• serve the church
• expand your network

9. Don't be contended for being just an employee - open a business!

I don't want to work as an employee until the retirement age. I want to have my own business where in I will be the boss and I can handle my own time so I could travel anytime I want. In fact, I'm planning to retire by the age of 35 so I'm really saving hard right now. By the way, I'm thinking of putting up a resto or a cafe or maybe both. =)

10.Treasure your memories - do scrapbooks!

Though some of the items here may seem impossible, especially the travel part, I will not stop on dreaming. As long as you believe and put your heart and mind into it, you can achieve anything you want. Having goals in life gives you direction and motivation. 

"No heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity. " - Paulo Coelho

Where are you, my driving force?

Actually, I do not have any plans of writing anything on this blog - at this moment because I'm still so lazy. This cold weather is causing not only my brain to be stagnant but my whole body as well. But I feel the urge to release everything that is inside me right now so despite the lethargy that is enveloping my whole system, I decided to write here now.

When I was still a college student, (Oh, why do I feel that an eternity has already passed when in fact it has been only four months when I graduated?) I was so excited to work. In fact, I started looking for job as early as January and since I started the job hunt early, I was able to find a job even before my graduation. So 6 days after the ceremony, I started working. 

I was very happy and full of enthusiasm. I was very ready to conquer the corporate world but this fervor did not last long. After a week of tasting the real work, (well, I do not consider that a real work) I already wanted to quit. I lost the drive to continue working. This was not the kind of work that I was expecting.I was looking for more challenge. A work that I can apply everything that I learned in the university and a work that can give me growth and self-fulfillment. True enough, work life is entirely different from the campus life. 

So, even though I have a current job, I still entertain job offers from other companies. There were times I had to take a leave of absence just to attend an interview or an exam. There were also times I secretly sneak out of the office to go to other companies. (Good thing my office was just a walking distance to the other companies) I did this for a few times until I found a possible company and decided to submit my resignation. After three agonizing months, I finally found my freedom. 

Six days after my last day at my previous company, I started working in a new one. This time, it is a local company.During the time I was deliberately thinking where to transfer, I made up my mind that I will only choose local companies, a local bank to be exact. Most of the foreign banks here in the country are shared services that fall under the BPO industry and for me, working in this kind of industry is a dead end - no career   development. (This is not to degrade those who are working in BPO. I am just stating my own experience) So going back, I found a job that suits my taste. It is a perfect fit to my educational background as a Financial Management graduate. I am a corporate planning analyst. I will be doing a banking industry report where in I will be analyzing the performance of our bank against its competitors. 

It is a good choice and I strongly believe that it is a good training ground for me in reaching my future endeavors -- MBA, CFA, ADB. This is the kind of work I am looking for. BUT... why is it that now that I got what I want, I am still not happy? I cannot still find the force to work hard? I was not like this when I was still a student. I always had the urge to study and to keep reaching my goals but now, everything is different. I am not excited to go to the office. In fact, I am more excited to go home and for the weekend to come. And there is another thing, I always feel nervous. I am scared of what will happen next, of committing mistakes, of not meeting their expectations. I have to regain my eagerness and my self-esteem. But I don't know how. I just leave everything to God. I know in His time, everything will be fine.

my sanctuary

Finding Haven.

Haven is defined as a place of refuge or rest. It is a place where in you do not need to worry or fear anything. It is a place where in you can have a complete peace of mind for there is no danger ahead, only safety and serenity. It is a sanctuary. 

And this virtual world is my safe place...

My Haven...where in I do not have to fret anything, or to think of other people's thoughts, or to act according to the norms...it is a place where in I just simply need to be ME.