CarryOn

So, this is where I have been for the past five months, with CarryOn Communication.

I was in a press release announcing new company hires... (Click on that image so you can see it bigger.)

For more about my company, click here.

LIVE IT UP!

Okay fine. I've been absent. That's what I get for getting a new job... (Which I will blog about soon.)

Didn't get to put my xmas wish list even! That would have included: I-Pod Nano, Yankee tickets, cell phone (not sure which one), PDA (or maybe a cell PDA...), personal training sessions, road bike (or road bike fund)...

I'm trying to come up with a personal mantra/rallying cry/motivational words.

LIVE IT UP!

How does that sound? It's live your life to the fullest, be better, deserve more, go further and beyond what you thought possible... Thoughts?

Watch out for my yearly GOALS & DREAMS roll call for myself, my family and friends, for 2007!

I heard sexy's back so definitely check back here!

overheard...

...some song playing at some women's clothing store... "

... if i had to use the payphone...
... to get my game on...
... would you still kick it with me?..."

"if i had to take a bus ride...
... (something, something)... ...
would you still kick it with me?..."

i believe TLC already answered this.

"NO SCRUBS"

New Road Trip...

well, it seems to be a significant time of transition for me lately.

my days at the hallowed halls of city hall have come to an end. july 28, 2006. just a little over two years when i started there. what a view of politics from the inside...

i will miss all the cool people who have allowed me to grow, contribute, and have a great time. (you know who you are.) and i definitely will not miss the uncool people. (i don't care if they do or don't know who they are.)

i will be moving on to do PR for CarryOn Communications. (more on them on later blogs.) but for now, here's a proclamation my wonderful co-workers made for me. what a twisted bunch...

------------------


Whereas, the City of Jersey City is proud to honor Veronica Lontoc Lavarro, who has graced us with her presence in both the Mayor's and Communications Offices;

Whereas, Veronica is known to the bartenders at the Merchant as "Little One" and sips way too many Malibu and pineapples at our satellite office;

Whereas, when Veronica realized that when Mama Vi really and truly retired she would have to write these expletive deleted proclamations, we surmise then she immediately began looking for other employment;

Whereas, when most people first meet "V" she comes across as a shy retiring person, but after you get to know her, one realizes she curses like a sailor, has a really loud mouth and clomps around like a Clydesdale even though she weighs less than 100 pounds;

Whereas, everyone has heard that sarcastic "Whatever" phrase pass her lips while rolling eyes one too many times with those goofy silly smirks;

Whereas, everyone who has worked in our offices has enjoyed V's energy and good nature, and she will be missed very much by every person who has come to know her;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED THAT I, JERRAMIAH T. HEALY, MAYOR of the City of Jersey City, hereby declare that today is Veronica Lontoc Lavarro Day in honor of all of her accomplishments.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set my hand and the Seal of the Office of the Mayor to be afficed this 28th day of July in the Year of Our Lord, Two Thousand Six.

(Signed)
JERRAMIAH T. HEALY
MAYOR

4:25:49

Sunday, July 16. New York City Triathlon.

Completion of 5 months training. Swim. Bike. Run. For the opportunity to call myself a TRIATHLETE. And to help save lives and raise funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Here are my splits, including transitions...

Veronica Lontoc Jersey City NJ 36:35 (Swim) 14:09 (T1) 2:11:16 (Bike) 11:20 (T2) 72:31 (Run) 4:25:49 (F)


i don't remember when i had last felt so much pride and accomplishment.

pix to come... =)

DADDY YANKEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

birthday wish granted. (see "birthday wish list"...)

i don't even know how to start.
you just had to be there and feel the energy.
daddy yankee in the bronx. hot!
party people who love to dance have to get into reggaeton and daddy yankee!
his music is explosive...

highlights. king daddy. gasolina. lo que paso paso. mayor que yo. rompe. machete.

interestingly, my other obsession, the new york yankees were also playing last night in the bronx against the boston red sox. yankees killed the sox...

www.daddyyankee.com

Point of View

i saw a big billboard ad for a condo building and got amused by the website being advertised.

www.theoneillbuilding.com

i found this very interesting and said.

"wow, the one ill building..."

after i saw the rest of the billboard, i saw what the ad actually was promoting.

the o'neill building.

i like my point of view better.

How's the Training?

well, this past saturday, i biked 27 miles in central park in about 2.5 hours. that's probably really slow... but at least i know now i am able to bike the triathlon distance (26 miles) that i'm supposed to do.

the 6.2 mile run, i think i generally complete it in about an hour and 15 minutes.

the swim is what i need to seriously work on. i probably should be in the pool everyday for even at least half-hour. i'm not even sure if i can swim 0.5 miles continuously in a pool, much less 0.9 miles in the hudson river. but i've progressed and i have 6 weeks to go. on june 17, i get to do a trial swim in the open water. can't wait...

the bridge that remains to be crossed is if i would be able to put all of these together. all the trainings so far are separate. i intend to rule the course and not the other way around.

if you haven't donated yet, make sure to do it now! my fundraising deadline is june 16!

http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/tntnycVlontoc

Birthday Wish List

• Donate to my Leukemia & Lymphoma Society triathlon effort: http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/tntnycVlontoc
• See my friends
• Salsa lessons
• Go to a Yankee game
• See Daddy Yankee perform anywhere
• Sunny and hot weather in the 80's, 90's
• Decent stylish medium handbag like this. Doesn't have to be this expensive of course. http://www.coach.com/aspx/content/product.aspx?product_no=8285&category_id=568
• ipod
• non-sneaker sneaker... DIESEL 'Kaynax' flat or DKNY 'Chelsea' Flat in the blue shades
• A new government

Catching Up

yeah, i know. all these long days of no posting in between. what have we missed?

• i drove to new york on my way to swim training. i don't really drive in new york. but my friend sheila, who usually drives in, was having a bad day and convinced me to do the driving instead. if she only knew... maybe she wouldn't have asked me. =) well, we got back and forth in one piece!

• the brick. finally, i got a sense of where the term comes from. it's part of the triathlon training where you bike, then you run. first of all, our course began with this steep incline, where i had to get off my bike coz i simply ran out of strength to break out of the g-force... so we were biking loops around central park. the hills, which weren't big or steep hills, were wicked. my thighs and legs were aching and i'm not sure where my breathing was going. on the way back, we have to go through the same steep incline. frankly, the way down was scarier than the way up. i felt like i was going to fall head over heels off my bike and that would have been the end of the dream... so after all that, we ran, which started with going up a set of stairs. and i had to go ever so slowly coz my legs felt, like... tada! bricks! yup, that's it. move along.

• my younger brother vir moved out from our apartment. sigh... well, he is getting married soon so he needs to do his thing.

• i had a hair cut.

• my obsessions. jack bauer and 24. he is way too dangerous and cool for reality. i'd like to download some schematics into my pda... daddy yankee. el cangri, king of reggaeton, latino jaugernaut. music is brutally hot. he assaults the mic so hard he should get thrown in jail... entourage, my favorite show from last season is coming back from vacation. oh don't we all want to take that ride...

• my birthday is coming really soon. (just so you don't miss it.)

stay tuned!

Obscene Sixteen

i had the misfortune of tuning into mtv's super sweet sixteen show. a parade of filthy rich narcissistic brats. kids and parents alike.

boo hoo. i can't believe daddy didn't get green day for my birthday... what happened to all our connections?! daddy this, daddy that. i want the convertible, not the suv. can i have both instead?

the kids aren't alright!

Clearing the Mind

sometimes the mind gets so filled with vile and toxic things that you really just want to purge and flush it all down.

here's a simple game i play to give my mind a break.

http://www.setgame.com/set/puzzle_frame.htm

i suppose that's what meditation is for.

2006 New York City Triathlon

training. bright and early saturday morning.

okay. it's like april.

what am i saving this story for?!??? i've committed to raising money for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and completing the 2006 New York City Triathlon on july 16. my goal is to raise $2400 really soon... like before my birthday on may 12. and of course, completing the triathlon.

so first and foremost, if you're reading this already, please go visit my fundraising website and donate now!

http://www.active.com/donate/tntnyc/tntnycVLontoc

moving on.

we've just passed our two month mark for our training. we swim on mondays. run on wednesdays. then bike and/or run on saturdays. and then you train or work out some more on other days when you can...

the course is a 0.9 mile swim, 26 mile bike ride, and 10k (or 6.2 mi) run... oh yeah. we will swim in the hudson river.

right now, the trainings involve learning techniques by practicing over and over and over... and building endurance. our runs have gone up to 50-minute runs, which at my pace gets up to 5 miles. we haven't biked much but i've been going to those spinning classes, which work you out reaaally gooood for almost a good hour. (i was sweating buckets.) this past weekend, i dropped off my bike to a shop for a tune-up and be ready to ride out the rest of the year (or at least until july).

and of course, there's the swim, my weakest link. i actually barely knew how to swim when i joined. temporary insanity... however, by listening, taking the coaching, making the adjustment, and practicing -- i would say this is the area where i would have the biggest improvement and breakthrough. today, i swam at least 250-300 hundred meters. that's roughly 0.15 mi. that means i would have to learn to swim six times longer (to get to 0.9 mi). really need to get that breathing technique down...

i invite everyone to encourage and support me, donate, keep me going. whatever it takes. sometimes, the hardest thing is simply to show out. make sure that i show up.

Out With the Old. In With the New Year!

so, there i was. new year's eve party. taking a breather and pondering how i want the next year to go...

okay, maybe i wasn't reflecting at that very moment. but i did put some thought into it. and i asked some of my girlfriends to put their thinking caps and wings on too.


ME

• learn to speak Spanish, really...
• learn to swim, really... actually, i intend to complete a triathlon (which means i really have to swim well enough)
• another salary increase/job upgrade
• get accepted to a masters program in communications/expand my capacity
• Yankees win the world series (i ask for this every year, but this is really a different category than the others...)
• okay, i'll amend the above to watch more live ball games...
• reduce debt by 10% (although i will increase it immediately once i get accepted to grad school...)
• learn to dance salsa
• i really want flat abs! and be fit. :D

MYRA

• Find Mr. Right (long shot hehe)
• Learn to swim
• Go to Arkansas
• Paint my house pink
• Feel like I'm giving my best in my journey to become a doctor.

MONETTE

• Raise Tyler well
• Spend QUALITY time with Bri
• Get back in shape (goal is to get back to my wedding day weight)
• Learn to swim (I'm copying this from Vero ---need to do it so I can take Tyler swimming)
• Travel to New Zealand by 2010 (had to extend the time frame on this one since Tyler's day care cost is taking up our vacation budget)
• Stay within 2006 family budget (I've managed to blow the family budget each year since we started budgeting in 2004)

RONA

• learn how to drive and get a license (this is a necessity now!)
• OD Manager/Executive job (quantum leap pay from Sg i.e. 3-4x)
• new place for me and Yuri (near the sea or the city - long shot)
• close at least one profitable real estate deal (vendor financing)
• buy first investment property (maybe in Phils)
• learn how to surf
• learn how to set-up commercial website
• learn how to trade in eBay
• sponsor a child again for WorldVision
• register business in Oz and/or Singapore
• have my dance studio and teach exotic dancing for fitness
• get certified NLP Master Practitioner or Advanced Coaching (from the orginator of NLP, John Grinder)
• get married -- getting there in Feb 5 :)
• honeymoon at Camiguin Island or Palawan!

MEL

• publish as first author in a scientific journal
• find a reasonable apartment in the california bay area
• buy a hybrid car
• drag Josh out to CA otherwise find a new bf
• do one push up

Welcome 2006 - Happy New Year!

Okay, I know it's way late. The year just seemed to have taken off and I'm doing double-time to catch up.

I helped throw this party at our friend Jeff's condo. There were 30 or more people packed at his place. Here are some photos of our merry-making.


Let's see who's in the kitchen...

Dave and Antoinette on the left. Steve is holding a mistle toe.
Julman next to Steve. My hubby Rolando in the right corner.
And the man of the house Jeff in the right most.






Girlfriends!
L-R: Cheryl, Sheila, Vanessa, Me!







My sisters are divas...
L-R: my sisters Vanessa and Villette, Me, friend Loraine

Hubby and Wifey!








L-R: Steve, Barney, Ginny's cousin..., Ginny, Julman, Me
Bottom: Jeff, Hubby Rolando, Genevive and her daughter







L-R: Cheryl, Ginny, Rolando, Jamie, and Vinnie








It was a madhouse when the clock struck twelve!

Happy New Year!!!!