A Silver Lining

It has been my habit to listen to music after having said my evening prayers. I do it to further relax myself and lull me to sleep eventually. Last night, as I lay in bed, after being emotionally and physically stressed for two days, I felt the Lord had spoken to me through a particular song that was randomly played on my MP3 player:

Can't Take That Away
by Mariah Carey

They can say anything they want to say
Try to bring me down
But I will not allow
Anyone to succeed
Hanging clouds over me
And they can try hard to make me feel
That I don't matter at all
But I refuse to fall
Doing what I believe
Or lose faith in my dreams

'Cause there's a light in me that shines brightly
They can try but they can't take that away from me

They, they can't do anything they want to you
If you let them inBut they won't ever win
If you cling to your pride
And just push them aside
See I, i have learned there's an inner peace I own
Something in my soul
That they cannot possess
So I won't be afraid
And the darkness will fade

They can't take this
Precious loveI'll always have inside me
Certainly the Lord will guide me
Where I need to go

They can't say anything they want to say
Try to bring me down
But I won't face the ground
I will rise steadily
Sailing out of their reach
Oh Lord, they do try hard to make me feel
That I don't matter at all
But I refuse to fall
Doing what I believe
Or lose faith in my dreams

'Cause there's a light in me that shines brightly
They can try but they can't take that away from me.


Oftentimes, God uses even the most unusual things of this world to teach us something: that we are not alone and that every cloud has a silver lining.

And I won't cry anymore. :)

Lessons from The Sound of Music

When I’m emotionally down, I make it a point to do something uplifting (or crazy!) just to beat the blues away. On the second day of torture, I thought of watching the Sound of Music, my all-time favorite musical movie. Little did I know that I was bound to learn a few valuable lessons…



“When God closes a door, someway He opens a window.”




“You cry a little and you wait for the sun to come out…it always does.”

Just as the Lord closes that one big door, I believe that good things are bound to happen, hopefully soon. I just need to prepare myself and wait for that one particular window to open up. When that moment finally comes, I wouldn't mind passing through that window because I know that it was worth the wait. With the sun shining brightly outside, I shall look back and gaze at the closed door, thankful and full of hope as I embrace whatever the future holds.

In the meantime, I'll simply remember my favorite things so I won't feel so bad...

Doomsday

Well, at least, I didn't get to hear the verdict on the exact date of my first year of employment.

My position was declared redundant. That's what the papers say. Client demands have gone down. A lot of resources were in bench. I was one of them. They need to keep the career pyramid in its proper balance. Business needs, as they reiterated.

There were a few documents presented before me. The HR representative gave me time to fully understand everything that was written. I just stared at it blankly. I was, in fact, reading the words written on the documents but none of them registered on my mind. My mind was processing double-time. Trying to get some answers to questions and planning for the future all at the same time. Still at the end of it, I had no other choice but to sign the release papers. The decision was final.

Soon after, I was returning my badge and company ID. The only thing left was the Avanade ID lace. A bitter-sweet remembrance. Later on, my access was disabled. I became an incognito as the day went to an end.

To grasp everything that transpired was really hard. It was torture. I cried. Big time. I never thought this would happen. It is just so unfortunate that I won't be able to materialize whatever dreams I have of making it big in this company.

I wish to retract what I have written in my blog yesterday. There would be no need for me to look forward to another year. All of them would now be considered as "what-might-have-beens" and "what-could-have-beens".

On the other side, my year in the company has taught me a lot of things: it inspired me to push myself further, i have done things which I never thought I would, I made a couple of good friends, and had the fondest of memories.

I will carry all these things with me along with the hope that I will be better in time.

The Year That Was

Today marks my first year at Accenture. A lot of things, most of them really good ones, happened in the span of one year. Allow me to share a few of these good moments with you as I take you down memory lane. Enjoy the cheese! :)



I was able to meet a few wonderful people (yeah, we had tons of bonding moments all-year round!)



I went to a company outing…first time!


I became a Microsoft Certified Business Management Solutions Professional for Microsoft Dynamics CRM and a Microsoft Certified Technology Specialist in Microsoft SQL Server 2005.
http://www.microsoft.com/learning/mcp/dynamics/default.mspx


I was rolled-in to Cigna-Makalu, my first project
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cigna



I performed as a keyboardist for the Denali-Makalu Front Act band during the Cigna FY09 Kick-Off Party (another first!)



I was able to make use of my creative juices in order to help GP2W with Avanade Idol Season 2 (Avanade Duets)


Wow! Time flies really fast and as I look forward to another year ahead, I wish to thank all the wonderful people who have made my first year in Accenture truly exciting and worth remembering. I look forward to sharing more Accenture years with all of you. :)

Lastly, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to a few special people (you know who you are, guys!) who have inspired me to finally “get hold of my cheese”. Err…thanks for not letting my head get caught in a mouse trap! =p