The Sweetest Birthday Surprises

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

I've never been surprised on my birthday in the 21 years that I've been in this world. I've been surprised with gifts that I didn't think I'd be getting, yes, but not been given a surprise birthday party, yet. Okay, let me cut the introduction and get to the bottom of this! My friends from the office decided to make my birthday extra special and they went out of their way to surprise me a day before my birthday (read: they planned the surprise together with my family and boyfriend)! There! Haha!

What really made it extra special was the fact that they surprised me at our house. I didn't expect them to go all the way to our home sweet home and I was expecting that they'd do it in our office and on my real birthday (Haha expecting! Feelingera! Cause it has already become our tradition to surprise our friends on their birthday). So imagine my surprise when Mike and I got back from running an errand for my Mum and they suddenly appeared singing Happy Birthday and holding a cake (read: frozen for a good 10 seconds and just staring at them like I've seen a ghost! LOL!). That time I was thinking, "They're here. What are they doing here? Sarah, Ico, Ronan, Maje, Anna, Zac," and it took a few seconds before I realized they surprised me. Hahaha! They also gave me a purple tumbler with a collage of my pictures with my friends as the design. Oh well, aren't they the sweetest friends? =D

But that's not yet the end of the surprise! On the day of my birthday, my Web Analytics Family (the sole Junior Business Analyst included) also gave me a surprise Happy Birthday! I was working at that time (I think. Haha!) when someone tapped me on my shoulder and when I looked up, there they were holding a Purple Cake (Ube flavor, yum!) and singing Happy Birthday! They also gave me a pillow which says "World's Sexiest Woman." Haha! =D How true! Haha! Kidding! =P

I need not go into details of the surprise and how I looked like, I'll just let these snapshots do the story-telling of how my 22nd birthday was celebrated. At the end, you'll see for yourself how sweet my friends are and how special I felt on my birthday. =D



Thanks to our official photographer, Ronan, who documented (took pictures. Hehe!) the event. More pics here, and here, and here. =D

Missing Creativity Though Not Regretting

Friday, April 25, 2008

I hate to admit it but I'm kind of like missing writing, writing creatively (that is, if my articles before can be considered creative enough. Hehe). But yeah, I kind of miss my copywriting days here at USAP. At that time, I felt like I was stitching together beautiful words to produce creativity out of something as plain and as dull as say a catalytic converter or oxygen sensor. These car parts are among the hundred automotive parts that I needed to carefully understand in order to come up with readable and, if I'm lucky, interesting articles for online visitors to take notice of. It was difficult, really, as I needed to write something I never knew before existed in car parts! Hehe! But even though that what was I felt most of the time, writing these articles gave me a sense of satisfaction and self-esteem as it juiced out the creativity and writing skill in me. After all, writing was and still is my passion (though it may not be obvious =P) no matter what I write about.

But passion's flame sometimes flicker and for the sake of not letting it completely lose its fire, it needs to take some time off. It needs to be kept in a place where no air can ever die it out. And for people, like myself, who've had a chaotic experience involving their passion, giving it a rest is highly prescribed to preserve the little self-esteem left to them. I need not go into details of my bitter experience as I've ranted about it so many times before, I've already gotten over it. Thank God!

This "bitter" experience led me to pursue another career which to this day I never regret my decision to do so. It opened up another ray of hope for me that I could still do something else (as I clearly thought it would be the end of my writing career and feared that I'd not know what to do anymore) and which has become my newfound passion - Web Analytics. Numbers may not have been my forte as digits and words are clearly from different worlds but pursuing Web Analytics has made me the perfect example that writers/journalists can indeed be friends with Math and its subjects. Hehe! I've tapped the analytical and numerical skills in me but of course, I still can't say that I've mastered them. But I know I'm learning them with the help of Maia, my boss. Each day has become educational as I learn something new and I am able to understand something which I could not have understood before. Each day is a step closer to knowing fully what Web Analytics is all about. Each day has become exciting!

Though I've uttered praises for my new career, it hasn't been all smooth-sailing. My colleagues and I still find ourselves working with a blindfold, hoping we're doing the right thing. And recently, we've come to realize that we're having identity crisis on what we're really doing. But we're positive that we'll someday be able to define what our tasks really are.

Learning it proved to be not-so-easy given my background but it is not impossible, or to put it in a more positive term, it is achievable. Also, with Web Analytics, I felt the weight of my work, I felt my importance to the company I'm working for. But this is not to say copywriting is not important. I know it is though I may not have felt it before. It is actually with Web Analytics that I've come to realize the importance of keywords and keyword phrases which I was asked to write about as a copywriter. However, I'd have to admit that being a Web Analytics Specialist made me feel that my work suddenly makes sense. After all, as Avinash Kaushik, author of Web Analytics An Hour A Day, said of Web Analytics,

"It's sexy, it kicks butts, and is a goodwill ambassador!" (comparing it to Angelina Jolie. LOL!)
Oh and by the way, Avinash Kaushik also only happens to be one of the Great Trinity (as I'd like to call them, hehe) or the founders of Web Analytics! =D