Long Distance Relationship

Sorry for the really long absence. It's been a really hard month for both of us since we had to endure being apart for the first time. I know. I know. Most of you will tell me, "Look who's talking?" I know spent a lot of time in Cebu but it was only for weeks at a time, and it was still in the Philippines. Now, its Leah's turn to go on travel and as you must have read in the last post, its in bloooody U.K.!!! Hehe. She's been there since last month, staying there for one whole month, going home for just a week, and now she's back there. We both have been missing each other so you can just imagine how much we made most of her one week hiatus here before returning to Newcastle. For most of the week, I took her to work, and I picked her up after. We went to some suppliers, at least, to as many as our schedule could allow. I left home early, and went home late. It was really tiring but was worth every minute. Now, she's almost two weeks there and I wake up every day feeling like something's missing. We remain in contact through text, calls, and YM, but its different compared to actually spending time with each other. She'll still be there for a couple more weeks and I'll know I'll be missing her every second. Right now, all I do is work, go to the gym, and prepare for our wedding (or as much as she'll let me handle). I can't wait to see her next month.

London, Here I Come!

I came to Newcastle on May 15. The following day, with the jet lag and all, I went to the office. Then 1 hour after midnight, we rode a bus for the 7-hour travel heading to London.

Based on the weather forecast, London will be rainy and cloudy on Saturday and sunny on Sunday. And guess what, it's pretty accurate... It's freaking cold on Saturday since the weather is not good. But love the sunny Sunday! Here are some pictures.. enjoy!

Trying My Best Shot

Working in one of the prestigious Companies have numerous perks. One of these is sending their employees for a business trip.

When I learned that I'll be assigned to a new assignment, I was hesitant. Hesitant 'cause I didn't know what it will be and it all started like this...

On our way home, my manager once asked me if I'd be comfortable if I'd start my work hours at 1 p.m. (1-10pm shift). Then I said to myself before I could utter something to her, "What?! We only have 2-hour difference with my customers so why would I care suffer my normal work life." At first, I told her it might be difficult for me to change my shift since I live quite far from the office. But hey of course, she told me to think things over... Hmmmm...

And then came another interaction with my manager, and then I told her firmly that "No, I'd still want my original shift yadda yadda yadda..". But then to my surprise, she told me that there is a plan to move me to a later shift because of the new assignment, for the European markets. So right then and there, I changed my mind without blinking an eye and told her I'll accept it and don't mind what I said initially. ehheee..

And it's the start, my work life begins to change. I'll be going to Newcastle for a business trip for a series of work transitions. It's a priviledge... which I'm not sure I'm worthy of. But I know, it's worth proving to everybody that I can do it.

Currently, I'm in UK.. sulking in my hotel room trying my best shot.

On-the-Day Coordination

A Coordinator is one of the last suppliers we've booked so far. As of now, we (or should I say, Leah) have been doing everything - looking and choosing suppliers, haggling for bargains, keeping an eye out for bridal fairs, and of course, booking (ah, I think I helped a little here. Hehe.) - but Leah knew that for us to enjoy the big day itself, the event needs to be as worry free for us as much as possible. So, despite my initial refusal (I was thinking, "Why pay someone for something that you can do just as well from where we would be in the wedding, which is in the thick of things?"), we contacted Leah's choice and setup a meeting with their representative. Again, we had to travel all the way to Quezon City, this time in Trinoma, to meet with Dindi of DNDC. We met at one of the cafes inside the mall, and agreed upon the terms. Dindi was really professional and yet was really easy to get along with and I felt sure that our special day would be in good hands with her seeing to everything from the sidelines. We booked her and also asked for some recommendations on other suppliers we have yet to book. She was really helpful, and we ended the meeting feeling a little more confident about the sure success of our Big Day.

Invites

Early last month, we got to attend another bridal fair, or in this case, a wedding expo! This time, we didn't really have any particular plan - we're not there to officially meet with any supplier or really have plans to book anybody. We did think though that it would be a good idea to just look around, see if anything catches our eye. We thought maybe we can get our hands on another good deal.

It was a long way off, and was held inside the PICC. We got in free of charge however, since we pre-registered online for the event. We went in and confirmed what we've come to expect during these events. Rows and rows of booths from more or less, the same group of suppliers. Though lucrative, the local wedding industry has turned out to be a very small world. Except for the odd new player, most have already been in the business for quite sometime.

The venue was big but quaint - an airconditioned tent. In the past, we used to get swamped with fliers and brochures from the participating suppliers, but by this time, we learned to say no, especially to suppliers we have already booked. This also made it easier for us, since we just walked past booths of caterers, reception venues, and photo and video suppliers.

It was no surprise then that we ended up taking our time inside booths of invitation suppliers. We got to looking and I guess Leah really planned to book one then because she started asking me which design I liked at which booth and she really fell in love with some designs on display. A new supplier did stand out, however, not only for its unique and eye-catching designs, but also because of its fairly reasonable rates and...a discount if booked on the spot! Hehe. Of course, everybody was offering discounts then but this supplier has a fresh, crisp new look to its invites. We also learned that the company is actually a spinoff of one of the better printers on exhibit, although at a slightly more reasonable price range.

With a catchy name like "Written in Ink", or just simply "WinK", we thought we may have found what we were looking for. We browsed through its catalog of designs (most of which haven't seen print yet. That's how new the supplier was.), and liked what we saw. We knew it was a big risk, booking a supplier sa new sa this but we were also impressed by the sample invites. We know we could always asked for revisions if there's something we don't like. Still undecided on the design (we were told that new designs are coming up before the middle of this year), we decided to book the supplier and choose the design later on.

You can visit their website here. In the meantime, we hope you guys watch out for our invites. We hope you like them when they come out. Maybe it can give you an idea how special our big day is, and decide to attend it no matter what!