officeOriginally uploaded by annalyn. According to MSN House & Home, chocolate brown is the new black. That is why I got so excited when I got a brand-new counter table in this color for my office recently.Having the new modular furniture installed in our office was like a breath of fresh air to my jaded existence increasingly afflicted by a fatal dose of corporate ennui. Three and a half years of slaving it out in our stiff corporate sanctum and I already have the equivalent of what everyone would call the seven-year itch."God knows if you keep on transferring jobs ... Continue Reading...

2004 was a busy year for me. I may not have been lucky in my personal life but this is one year when I have travelled to a lot of local destinations and experienced many things.Here are some of my year's shining moments (disclaimer: the opinions expressed herein are the author's alone) :Best To-Die-For Meal : the Prime Rib at Tagaytay Highlands Steakhouse(made me feel that I will never be a vegetarian in my whole life)Most Unforgettable Meal: degustacion menu at Hotel Pontefino composed of beef carpaccio, cheese mille-feuille, Balayan Caesar Salad with Tiger Prawn ... Continue Reading...

ajay in excelsis Originally uploaded by annalyn. Ajay will be signing off for the Christmas holidays.For those who have been good to me in the past year, thank you for being part of my life. I wish that my stockings will be filled with all the yummy food to make my hips even bigger,health for my family, success in my chosen career, mucho dinero to make my shopping happy, and a good man to love and to hold.In the New Year, I hope to travel more, read more books, be a better mother, try more recipes, have great sex or even greater celibacy.Cheers....! ... Continue Reading...

Tito Rolly had a laugh over this email I forwarded him on annual performance reviews:Outgoing personality - always going out of the officeGreat presentation skills - able to bulls**tGood communication skills - spends a lot of time on the phoneWork is first priority - too ugly to get a dateActive socially - drinks a lotIndependent worker - nobody knows what he/she doesQuick-thinking - offers plausible excusesCareful thinker - won't easily make a decisionUses logic on difficult jobs - gets someone else to do itMeticulous attention to detail - a nit-pickerHas leadership ... Continue Reading...

...and the countdown goes this way:9 gifts given out8 Christmas cards mailed via good ol' post office3 Christmas parties attended2 Christmas cards received (thanks Tonigrrrl)0 e-cards (hurrah!)5 times i ransacked my bank account for shopping money1 time i used my credit card (good job!)4 Christmas gifts i wrapped last night12 times i looked at cookbooks in panic over Christmas menu12 times i received Christmas gifts the past week, including1 set kitchen canister1 box apples1 box ham1 box canned goods gift pack good for sending to Iraq1 box chunky brownies1 chunky ... Continue Reading...