WARNING: THIS POST IS TEXT HEAVY. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

Dear friends,

Why HP? I’ve asked myself this question plenty of times before. Honestly? It’s coz some of my friends work for HP so I thought what we’d be doing would be similar to what we learned in college. Boy was i wrong.

Never, in my 4 years in Ateneo, have I been able to use our wifi, because I didn’t know how to change the proxy settings. I’d always have someone else come over and install stuff for me as I couldn’t do it myself. I knew the basics. Email, internet (i sound like an old lady). I knew MS office (I knew Excel if that makes a difference) and a teeny tiny bit of photoshop – just enough to crop, resize and most important of all – lighten my eyebags. But I wasn’t (and am still not) an IT person.

To say that the work I’ve been doing these past months did not suit me, is an understatement. Haha but seriously though. Checking errors? Troubleshooting? Gaaaah. 😐 the only aspect of it I liked was the fact that we were dealing with inventory and the supply chain (my love for OpMan apparently still remains). I’m not saying the work is lame. It’s just that it’s not for me. I just didnt know what I wanted then.

I’ve probably said this before, but I started blogging when my trainer and mentor (weow!) Joe Hizon, convinced me to. I was full of ideas then, wanting to do so many things. Become a blogger, start my own business, put up my own foundation – dreams of an idealistic, young girl. I even remember telling him that my foundation would be up and running by 3 months. hahaha

No, I didn’t get to start my own foundation (YET. Just you wait.) A business plan is a task I’m leaving for last. But I did start blogging. It was my way of staying sane – if you can call me that. A couple months after, I realized that fashion is the industry I want to be in. It’s what I want to do. It’s a passion of mine but I thought that since it was just a passion, I could do it on the side. I enrolled at SoFA.

Fast forward a few months, the LONG list of pending projects, the 3-4 hours of sleep I get everyday, and the numerous breakdowns I’ve been having have taken their toll on me. I couldn’t do it anymore. I had to choose one. I chose fashion. My last day at HP is today (april 8).

I’m relieved, yes. Relieved that I’ll be able to sleep again! That I’ll be able to have time to relax and do whatever I want. I’m thankful that I don’t have to try to be technical anymore (sorry, Mars! but all those codes were giving me a nosebleed). Happy that I don’t have to pay for parking anymore! Parking during my shift is so expensive!

But I’m also really torn. I won’t be getting income anymore. HAHAHA kidding aside, I’m terribly sad because I’ll miss my team, RTCIS (the coolest team ever, yeauh! haha) and the other friends I’ve made along the way.

I’ll miss all the uber galante and food-filled team meetings that never fail to add a couple of centimeters to my ever-expanding waist line (I know coz I check), the 4 Milo cups I drink everyday (I’ve been cutting back on those, promise), the Manong guards who never check my bags and who always let me get away with not wearing my ID, the non-stop requests from teammates for someone to buy us all ice cream, the teasing of love teams, the ‘photoshoots’ with my vain teammates, Denise’s newfound accent (HAHA), Pat and I jumping for joy for Kisses and Reese’s ice cream, all the pigil laughs in the elevator, our Let’s Get Physical exercise- with matching music (and Dars’ pose) -every midnight, the times during on-calls when I panic whenever someone calls (oh wait I don’t miss that at all), me bugging Leonard for help, us going on food fests and buying fried chicken of different brands, our trips to the 7th floor to de-stress, the trips to Ayala Triangle in the afternoon (just so I could wear sunglasses HAHA not to mention Pat sitting on my favorite pair.), the “Jam@Haiti” moments, the eye jokes, the iFat pictures, the dancing in the birdcage, the coffeetalks, the “I’m in” jokes that Mike, P, L and I enjoy so much, the bloopers that end up being posted on Facebook, c/o Glads, being the “representative”=sacrificial lamb for the events like the Halloween fashion show, the one for videos and that crazy bidding game,  the Creativity and Innovation classes that require a ridiculous amount of energy on my, Pat and the trainers’ sides, us being unfriended on FB ( 😐 ), that stupid fence in the parking lot that keeps testing my driving skills, the tough ten, the night shift, the foosball tournaments (the borrowing of balls from Joseph), my teammates getting annoyed by my nonstop rendition of “What’s my Name” (and of course, Drei’s version “what’s the name”), and all the other fun and crazy stuff we do that would take me forever to include.

But most of all, I’ll miss the people, and I’m not just talking about my teammates. I’ll miss all of you from HP who’ve become a part of my life. I want you to know that I’ve learned so much from all of you (and I’m not talking about the technical stuff coz I already erased all those from my mind). You’ve all touched my life in a way that you cannot imagine. You’re all such inspirations to me. I’ve been very blessed to have known each and every one of you. From the bottom of my heart, I’d like to thank you – for welcoming me, for supporting me, and for making me snort every now and then. haha seriously though, thank you to those who have shown concern for me, my well-being, my career and my life. The past few months have been crazy and I thank those who’ve been my rocks, my sources of inspiration, the ones who’ve been trying to nag me and manage me just so I could finish my deliverables, and to those who’ve been there during those moments when I just wanted to give up. Thank you.

Someone said that I’d forget about the people once I leave. Trust me, I won’t. I’ll visit, I’ll keep in touch, and I’ll still call when I need to ask for the nearest gas station (yes, Chengy, you will still be bugged.)

My experiences in HP have been crazy fun and as much as I don’t wanna leave the people, those experiences have come to an end (drama lang.) Now, I’m at a point in my life where everything will change. I’m shifting careers, I’m leaving my comfort zone, I’m venturing into a world I know very little of. And honestly, I’m scared as hell – questioning myself if I’m doing the right thing and crossing all fingers that I am. I’m doing it though, I’m pursuing what I want, what I love. So thanks again for all the love and support. In all honesty, I wouldn’t be here, I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for you guys. RT, you’ve been like family to me. I will miss each and everyone of you (send my love to Dave and Michael. close? haha). I love you all 🙁

Here it goes. The next chapter of my life begins here. I dunno what the future holds and I pray for the strength to face everything to come. Thank you, I’ll miss you 🙁

Regards,

Love,

A

p.s.

to those of you who I have yet to know, please introduce yourselves when I visit. HAHA

p.p.s.

RTCIS, I hope you’ll still be wearing sky-high heels and animal prints when I’m gone.

p.p.p.s.

and you still owe me a surprise party.