updates

The view from my 25-sqft office....


Laptop and a prada....


Part of MSP's office (bigger than mine but without a view)....


Coffee/interview table....


Our first meal in the office (on the menu: greentea frappucino from starbucks, tuna and chicken turnovers from the french baker)



Our sign should be here by early next week. I hope it looks good. We will then have the office blessed, network the computers, consult with some human resource people, and start hiring. The only roadblock: Lent. In this third-world Catholic country, people do not work much during the Holy Week.

almost there

The HVAC and electrical technicians worked the whole day yesterday. The phone lines should be in today, and the internet connection by early next week. Oh, and our signage, too. We also need a new server.

Oh, and in a dream I realized that I need new sneakers. I've never had sneakers, actually. But watching ELLEN makes me think I should wear one. I'm such a tomboy.



Anyway, I have to work now. I will update with pics of the office later. I'm trying to beat a deadline for a client from West Virginia.

because i said so

The cubicles are in! We are still having problems with the electrician, but only a few more headaches and this empire should be running.

in the tradition of my mom

That somehow you lived through me, with me, in me, and that you will continue to. Because you are stubborn and tough like that. Like me.

You lived a good life and lived it well. And in our 25 years together, you have taught me much more than any mother could have taught her grouchy, impatient, cynical child. You did not teach me how to cook or take care of your plants but you always taught me how to focus – get things done, you always said, because only fools wait. And that was more than enough.

I refuse to make your passing miserable. I refuse to be selfish and ask you to stay, because I know you have better things awaiting you. I smile and laugh and talk about you fondly, because I know that’s how you would have wanted it.

And I agree. The way we agree on choice of furniture, and that Princess Diana was really murdered, and how Oprah only does charities because they’re tax deductible.

I love you, mom. I wanted to say that to you again, together with the many other givens that I do not say much in words, but I do when I scour the streets of Manila to buy you sugarless treats. And you do when you buy me my favorite soda (And when you remind me that it’s my favorite. You knew me way before I got too busy to remember). I will miss our little bets, how we criticize interior décor, how we hoard magazines about Hollywood stars. I will miss driving around with you, getting lost, eating in restaurants with ridiculously small servings.

But I don’t, not really. Because somehow, I feel you and know I did not lose a mother. No one ever loses a mother, you said when I was eight (and Myra's mom died, remember?).

I have a whole life waiting. I will go live it now because I know you will hate me if I lingered. You always told me I would be no less than great. I guess I have no choice. You were always right.

___________

*My mom passed away last Friday morning. She just got admitted to heaven. :)

the carpeting is done....

and the cubicles are coming in tomorrow.

ghastly

I have spent the last five days sitting in front of this…



…doing everything I could to pull everything off. This has really got to stop – this two-man company just isn’t working like a Ferrari. We really do need to expand. It’s scary, sure, and I sometimes spend sleepless nights thinking about whether we can really build THIS EMPIRE. I almost give up everyday, but then I look at my bags. If I could horde labels, there is nothing I could not do.

(I’m not serious).

Hello, sun.

I will be going out this afternoon with (who else but) MSP. We haven’t seen each other for, well, five days. And no, much as we would like this to be a ‘date date,’ we are going out to work. Bank, office, landlord, bank, look at computers, eat. In that order.

The carpets have been installed and we expect the cubicles to come in tomorrow. The computers and all the networking shit have to be running by next week. We still don’t have seats because we are such losers. Oh, and the fucking HVAC people haven’t given us the quote *sweats thinking about cash flow*

Third world stupidity does make everything sloooooow.

Pulling a Martha (Stewart)

I (as opposed to ‘we’) have decide to go with an unusual office color scheme – earth. Light earth tones/browns will fill the little spot that is the start of THE EMPIRE, because I am weird and I hate gray/blue/green cubicles. I think browns are much more relaxing. That color palette cost us thousands more, but hey, my taste cannot be compromised for *puke* function.

I shall post pictures of how THE EMPIRE is coming together as soon as I can.

sheer curiosity

i am buying this just because i really liked the movie BEING JOHN MALKOVICH and i cannot wait to see how this goes.


FROM FILM ANNEX: Actor/Designer John Malkovich summons a tv producer to Milan to document and participate in his unconventional fashion show. Rather then using regular models, Mr. Malkovich plans to have 20 Judo fighters beat each other up while wearing his designs. They will do this on a stage, in front of a live audience, with Mr. Malkovich directing all the action. He will also direct the 3 camera's of the Fashion Television crew as they film the event. The Hollywood star has 3 days to pull this unusual spectacle together. The tv crew follows Mr. Malkovich as he oversees fittings, tries to choreograph a group of Italian fighters, and drives to the factory where his clothesare manufactured. Along the way, we learn of his mother's agorophobia; that his children think he's a loser, and the voracious eating habits of his wife. This one hour 'documentary' also features Mr. Malkovich's thoughts on life as a celebrity; examples of his superior driving skills, and the ongoing mystery of the 'lost pants'. Told from the point of view of the bewildered Producer (Howard Brull/Fashion Television), we are never quite sure if this entire production is actually going to work, or end as an embarrassing failure. This is as close to Being WITH John Malkovich as most people will ever get. This is a Fashion Television/Mrs. Mudd production. (Mrs. Mudd is the name of John Malkovich's fashion company).

It's worth $10. That's like two big cups of green tea from CBTL. Fair enough.

I'll try and react later.

official

We found the perfect office. It’s close to the train for commuting employees, it’s in a new building, and the comfort rooms are nice. And we feel great about its location – it has a good view of the hills (if you look really far – past the trucking company and the foam company after that), has good natural light, and is just the right size for 15 employees (plus us).

We may be able to move in by next week, when the cubicles we ordered get set up. We also need to install the broadband internet (because we are nothing without the web) and phone line, hopefully sooner.


The building, where the empire will start. Today the second floor. Tomorrow, the world.