The Week That Was

I haven't fully overcome the horrendous knockout Manny Pacquiao suffered from the hands of Juan Miguel Marquez more than a week ago. I didn't even want to see photographs or watch videos of it. Everything sort of stood still for a while. I just couldn't believe it. I guess I was used to his winning streak for the last 7 or so years. Each time, our little Filipino community here in Mission San Jose/Fremont got together to watch the fights and celebrated his wins.

But life goes on.

Last Sunday, I turned in my son's application to Bellarmine. We made sure the essay flowed smoothly and made sense, and the responses to the 3 questions were direct and concise. The next day, a scanned copy of his Baptismal Certificate was emailed to Admissions. Everything completed before the December 14 deadline. I had to do a little scrambling myself. I had to complete a Non-Academic Recommendation Letter for my son's best buddy, who was also applying at Bell. On Tuesday, I mailed it to meet Friday's deadline as well.

Also on Tuesday, our extended team at the office of NF Compensation and Executive Compensation had a holiday lunch at Pican, one of Oakland's finest (if not THE finest) restaurant for great Southern cuisine. We were seated at a corner room, large enough to accommodate all 21 of us, with more room to spare. We had a prix fixe menu of Southern Ceasar Salad, a choice from 3 entrees (salad, chicken, or pork), and a lemon pudding-like dessert and some dark & white chocolate with dried fruits. Being Southern, practically everyone went for the fried chicken with gouda mac n' cheese, like I did. You'll never go wrong with fried chicken prepared the ol' Southern way. At the end, we raffled off $10-worth gifts, which each one brought.

The gout attack on my right foot continued. I had to ask my office mate to take me to BART on Wednesday immediately after our staff meeting because the pain persisted and my foot had swollen (again). With a quick call to my doctor, I was able to pick up my medication on my way home. The next day, I decided to work from home to rest my foot. I had 3 scheduled meetings that day, with one beginning at 9:00am. I also completed my self-assessment (of my 2012 goals), which was due Friday.

A day's rest and some medication did help. I was able to move around with lesser pain and swelling, but still unable to apply too much pressure on my foot. No matter what, I was determined to go to work. It was our small NF Compensation team's holiday event. I was tasked to plan this event about a month or so ago, since I also planned last year's, which the team enjoyed. For lunch, we went to Chop Bar for a light fare. Next stop was Pan-American grill, Bocanova for some cocktails. Both were in and around Jack London Square in Oakland. But for some strange reason (which I still cannot figure out), the mood of the day changed from what should have been festive to let's-get-this-thing-over-with. We finished lunch quite early, just around 1:30pm, and our Bocanova reservation wasn't till 3pm. It was a good thing we were seated right away. By 3:15pm, we were done, and practically everyone headed back to the office. I didn't because I didn't plan on doing so. And it was the reason why I chose a Friday (which everyone agreed  to), so we could just forget about work for the remaining half of the day and enjoy. Too bad. The  atmosphere went totally south. As for me, it's probably the last time I'm planning anything like this.

This evening, my son had their junior high dance. Being in student government, he had to arrive earlier to help set up the hall, and leave later to help clean up. He said the dance had its share of miscues, particularly with the DJ and the sound system. By the time the dust settled and everything was "acceptable", there were only 30 minutes left before the dance ended. Bummer! After I picked him up, we grabbed a quick bite, then headed home.

Author's Note: Pican is located at 2295 Broadway Avenue, Oakland, CA 94612. Chop Bar is located at 247 4th Street, #111, Oakland, CA 94607, while Bocanova is on 55 Webster Street, Oakland, CA 94607.