(Almost) Show Time

http://www.cebucity.gov.ph/news-announcements/chactivities/837-ibm-consultants-to-help-cebu-city-government

Final presentation to the Mayor and all City Government Heads of Departments/Offices is scheduled for tomorrow, Wed, June 1, and in addition we are working w/ the client team to deliver an HR Collaboration Event on Thurs, June 2, focused on Effective Teamwork, Communications, Project Management Principles and Process Management.

Very excited and in the throws of finalizing presentations and working with the client teams to finalize materials and logistics, etc. for optimal impact.  Wish us luck!

Recharge

Cebu Guitars at SM Mall

First and last weekend on this trip without a packed agenda and travel...  enjoying sleeping in and flexible schedule to do some gift shopping, exploring parts of town we hadn't been to, and generally recharging before the last week rush.

Gelatissimo Sundays

The SM Mall is larger and in turn offers even more (and nicer) stores and we filled a few bags with souvenirs and mementos to take back to our respective homes.  We made sure to have Filipino food for lunch as those days are now numbered.

Back to Ayala for dinner we ventured to do something different and had dessert for our meal - fun and delicious even if not optimal for our nutrition...

Sunday holds promises for mani-pedi and maybe a hot oil treatment and head massage... before digging back into the final presentations prep for next week.

* * *

PS:  Sunday delivered - excellent spa services for a great price, and more relaxing time with friends.

Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage) 2011

Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral

Casa Gorordo Museum

Friday presented an unique opportunity to visit many of the city museums and historic sites and witness art, music and dance performances, celebrating Cebu's heritage.

As the key sponsor, RAFI, the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation Inc.'s site explains that: “Gabii sa Kabilin” is Cebuano for Night of Heritage, and patterned after the Lange Nacht der Museum (Long Night of Museum) in Germany and other European countries.  The event is designed to draw foreign and local tourists, but most especially Cebuanos, to visit the museums. It aims to reinforce the belief that local museums are venues for understanding and appreciation of Cebuano history and culture. But beyond that it also discounts the stereotype of museums as mere repositories of “dead objects,” rather, as venues for live cultural activities. 

We started with the 4 PM mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral, most of it delivered in Cebuano, but with enough of an English welcome to share the message of Love.

We then witnessed a procession of Reina's (queens) representing the Holy Mother's images - some 20-30 gorgeously dresses girls and women (we were told chosen among the city's socialites' families) led the way along the Gabii sa Kabilin walking route to the Parian Plaza.

Cathedral Museum

En route we visited the Cathedral Museum and the Yap Sandiego Ancestrial House on the way to meeting the team and some of our clients at the Casa Gorordo Museum.

It was lots of fun and a spectacular way to see and experience a lot in a short period of time.

We had many attractions and performances to choose from, and were glad to see variety of music with a number of talented youngsters, a tribal dance, and more.

After Casa Gorordo and the Yap Sandiego we went to Fort San Pedro and Plaza Independencia to wrap up the festivities.

The weather was not particularly cooperative and once it started raining more persistently, we called it a night and headed to a recommended restaurant, "Ilaputo," at the Asiatown IT Park for drinks, games, and more fun...

At Fort San Pedro w/ Falk, Wena, RC, Nora, Tati and Garima

About Food, Meetings, and more...

By week 3, I could begin to say that life's settled into some sort of a routine...  just in time for us to start wrapping up, right!

 

Coffee and Otap biscuits

  AM - wake up, make Via coffee in the room to enjoy while getting ready,
  oatmeal with mango or bananas for breakfast most days, meet at the lobby
  and load up on the MICS vehicle b/n 7:45-8:00 AM to get to City Hall.
  If going to the Medical Center we'd take a taxi...

  Upon arrival we are greeted with coffee
  and esp. Mam Terry is always around to
  make sure we have everything we need
  and lately has been bringing in special
  snacks to share various Cebuano
  delicacies with us. 

Kutchinta

  NN (noon time) - lunch break is observed very strictly at the government offices from 12-1 PM.   The food vendors come by City Hall ~ 10:30 AM and many would take a break then to go to the rooftop, where the vendors gather, to pick up their lunch.  At noon all lights are dimmed and many take a rest, napping at their desk or empty conference rooms.  We haven't taken on the latter habit yet, but there have been a few days when it sounded quite tempting.  No down time...

Rest during the lunch break

We usually go to nearby restaurant serving local food for P40-75 ($1-1.50) depending on how many options one picks, and eat soup, rice, pancit (noodle dish), and a variety of fish, pork, chicken, veggie dishes they offer (3-5 different choices each day).  They also have desserts we sometimes pick up for merienda (snack) at the office.

PM - we leave work ~ 5 PM if working at HR to use the City Hall office vehicle to take us back to the hotel, or else take a taxi back.  Over the last week or so, we've opted to take a few afternoons to work at the hotel where the network connection is more reliable, and we can discuss our observations and prepare materials.  We are in the midst of the final push to build our presentation and organize reference materials we'll submit to our client and will likely work from home (i.e. our suite at the hotel).

CSC working team meeting

CSC team meetings take place most evenings at 7:30 PM in the lobby or one of the suites, esp if we have a new treat / discovery to share or work on something together - e.g. Harvard Business Review program assignment the other night, or planning group activities like our Gabii sa Kabilin (Night of Heritage) outing tonight.  Most often we go out to dinner and combine a trip to Ayala Mall, where there is a good variety of local and international cuisine, with laundry drop off/pick up and any other errands - shopping, spa, etc.

Pichi Pichi

  The other night we had
  special desserts to try - Daniel brought in
  pichi pichi and Phil had ordered

Mangosteens

  mangosteens (most delicious but out of
  season and hard to get).  Thanks!

  Throughout the weeks we've gotten to enjoy
  Hungarian spirits, Swiss chocolate, Brazilian
  candy, Oregon hazelnuts, etc. and discover
  many Filipino foods.  Will definitely miss the
  mango most and thinking of creative things
  to bring back home to share with friends and
  family - definitely some of the dried mango.

Huge fish selection

Homemade kinilaw

A few nights Tati and I enjoyed dinner at the hotel, mostly to save time and be here when family on the other side of the world are awake and available to skype, or to get ready for whatever the next day may demand.  The best home dish was making kinilaw - raw (we got tangigue) fish marinated in cane vinegar with calamansi, onion, tomatoes, ginger, and hot peppers, also good with a splash of soy sauce.  David helped us pick some fresh fish from the market and make it the other night and we enjoyed with (garlic and plain) rice from the hotel restaurant - yummy!

* * *

Now, meetings... we've had many many one on one interviews and small group sessions, but it wasn't until this week that we got to observe typical meetings.  They start with a prayer - usu. accompanied by music and inspirational images and text projected on screen.  We've been told that usually the national anthem follows, and we are including it in our plans for next week's final presentations and workshop.  Meetings seem to start about 30 min later than scheduled and any schedule changes or absence notifications are handled via phone texting.  While there is agenda and in the example we attended, materials, those were not distributed and everyone was expecting to capture what they needed from the content.  Minutes are taken but also not shared, rather saved for the record.  Interactive discussion.

Planning HR Collaboration Event w/ Yvette and Julie

Most of our work requires iterative input and findings validation, which in turn has afforded us opportunities to meet with many interesting people and representatives from different areas of the HR function.

City Administrator, Atty. Poblete

Core HR Work Group - Mario, Ma. Perla and Ma. Terry

Meeting w/ HR and Mayor Consultants, Ms. Seno and Ma. Belle

* * *

And because we work hard and play hard, I must share our latest adventure - a visit to Mountain View park, arranged by our CCMC clients - thank you!  The trip was exciting, the view of the mountain and city lights were enchanting, and we had a tremendous time doing karaoke (a favorite pass time here) and wrapping up with a nice pizza dinner at the mountain top.  

 

Monday, Monday

A particularly challenging Monday, of course not entirely unexpected after a weekend high and the pressure of entering week 3 of the assignment.  We are already blocking time to work on final presentations this week in order to be ready and validate recommendations before the big client presentation, scheduled for June 1.  We are coming up with some very good proposals and I am especially delighted about how the client staff is warming up to not only be very kind and accepting of us, but to actually more openly and readily work side by side and ... build capability, practicing new skills.  I remain optimistic we will impart and influence positive change in some way!

As I am more comfortable I realize I have let my guard down and let the temperature changes and the AirCon (aka AC) get to me ... and am in turn drinking lots of herbal tea with lemon, and indulging in double vitamin C doses and vitamins to ward off any disruptive cold - fingers crossed, although not 100% today, I am getting there!

Most of all I miss my family and friends back home... and esp. my baby - was so great to hear her sleepy voice and see a new pic on Facebook.  So wish I would have shared Moalboal with my hubby, too...  Sending lots of hugs and kisses and can't wait to see you and share more of this extraordinary experience with you!

Moalboal Weekend

With much anticipation and excitement we welcomed the weekend - we were pleasantly surprised to see a program retreat weekend at a nice beach resort on the CSC itinerary, which ABV shared just before we were ready to leave...  The Club Serena resort looked splendid on their website and was even more than inviting in person.  The team traveled after work on Friday and arrived at dark, only to be greeted by the fresh smells of the ocean and the plumeria blossoms... along with a welcome cookie (just like my mom's butter cookies =o) and a drink.

The boys...

The girls..

Excellent food, most friendly resort staff, gorgeous surroundings, and a full schedule of adventures, team bonding and relaxation in true tropical style.  We had way too much fun w/ my waterproof camera in the pool until late in the evening and getting ready for capturing reef life next.

Pescador Island

Saturday was a boat / dolphin watching (yeah, we did get to see some!) trip with snorkeling and open water diving at Pescador Island, which is famous with its sardine run.  I only got to see the fantastic colors and reef action just off the boat, but the snorkeling crew (special thanks to Tati for taking pics/video for me) brought back excellent evidence to help vicariously experience being in the midst of it all.

The afternoon offered a "discover scuba" opportunity for beginners and I was so wishing my husband was here to jump on the chance - he would have loved it!  While the scuba enthusiasts were watching the instruction video and practicing in the pool, I enjoyed a fantastic Mango Baileys drink w/ Waya, and the comfort of the cabanas overlooking the beach - ahhh, the life!

Scuba was a huge success, with special kudos going to Garima, who doesn't swim... yet found the courage to not only give it a shot, but successfully complete a dive.  The instructors were fantastic and made it look like maybe just maybe I could try it sometime...

Daniel, Nicholas, Tati, Alexis, Falk, Janet, and Garima

If you thought the snorkeling pictures were magical, wait until you see the images the scuba trip delivered - special thanks again for sharing.

Beach-side dinner was the perfect ending for a day like this and we enjoyed creating another fantastic memory together.

And there was still Sunday...  when we headed to the Kawasan Waterfalls.  What fun... after a short walk through the tropical forest, we came upon this view...  Crisp air, cold water, beautiful colors...  We swam - ok, it did take me a few extra minutes and friends' encouragement - many thanks, Janet, David and Denise - to get in... but once in the water, I was surely glad...  I swam behind the waterfall and all around it - super cool, couldn't stop grinning.

We then got on one of the rafts and had the best time going under the rocks behind the falls and getting a "body massage" under the waterfall. 

St Thomas de Villanueva

Guess we were pretty loud and picked up "The Scream Team" nickname...

So many impressions, emotions and sensations packed in a single weekend ... it was sure hard to leave. 

 

On the other hand, could not have thought of a better break to celebrate the CSC - Philippines 10 adventure half-point and recharge for the final stretch.