Last November 23-26, 2008 we all had our annual National Sales Conference which was held in Tagaytay. Sales and MANCOM members stayed in the luxurious Taal Vista Lodge while Brand people (like me) and other support groups stayed at a 4-star hotel - Hotel Kimberly which is about 10-15 minutes drive to Tall Vista. Hotel I stayed at was not bad at all! It was clean, presentable and service was like a 5-star hotel. Guests can even borrow DVD's from the front desk for FREE!

The theme for this year was JAMES BOND. Highlighting James Bond from the ID's down to the presentations was awesome. Well, even if most of us got "sawa" already of James Bond 007 after the 4 days, 3 nights event, it was a sales conference to rememember for me especially that this was my 1st!

Here was our schedule during the NASCON 2008:
November 23: Check-In
- We go to Tagaytay around 5pm already, rested for a while, went to Taal Vista to help out in the packing of loot bags to be given away to sales people then off to dinner around 7pm!
- Got to watch SABADO BOYS perform as well over dinner
November 24: Day 1
- Breakfast in Taal Vista
- Booth and Photo Ops with other Sales Team
- Opening with special guest star: Sheree (who sang & sexy danced with the song Umbrella)
- Lunch
- Team Building ala Amazing Race (details to follow...)
- Back to Hotel: REST after the long Amazing Race
- Back to Taal Vista Lodge for Dinner
- Checked out the ROCKEOKE Night wherein URC Peeps can sing LIVE with a band
- Attended Brand's Practice Session at 10pm for next day's presentation
- Practice finished around 2:30am
- SLEEP
November 25: Day 2
- Woke up at 7am
- Assembly Time at Taal Vista 8am
- Breakfast Galore
- Presentation Time which ended around 3pm
- Dropped by to McDonald's for a quick order of Shake Shake Fries & Watermelon Sprite which I love!
- Got back to the hotel to rest and watch dvd
- Dinner at Taal Vista
- Attended JG Bicycle Awards - where I got to see Mr. Lance Gokongwei! Finally.
- Surprise concert for URC Peeps: SIDE A!!! I love them a lot. They were awesome.
- Highlights for the evening: Side A and FINALLY meeting Mr. Lance Gokongwei in person.
- Unforgettable moment: Photo opportunity with Mr. Lance - he's just so nice and down to earth!
November 26: Day 3
- Last day in Tagaytay!
- Woke up around 8am to make up for lost sleep
- Did not have breakfast anymore since my other team mates are still snoozing
- Check out and BRUNCH at Pancake House in SLEX
- Home by 3pm
- Asleep by 3:30pm

Until my next NASCON Experience! :) Looking forward for what's in store in 2009!

S-T-R-E-S-S

I am so stressed with work right now. There's nothing else I can think of doing right at this very moment but just the want to get a massage, a foot spa, a facial and a shopping spree. Oh did I mention being in Mexico? A place where I can just forget about all the work problems I have right now. All the stress. All the paranoia. All the commotion. All the out of stocks issue I am being faced right now. Out of stocks issue in which was "immediately" faced to me a week after a new product was transferred to me to manage on.

This is definitely not my fault. But at the end of the day? It is mine. It is my responsibility to fix this. It is my role to find a solution as to how I can GET NEW STOCKS to serve to our customers. After all, at the end of the day - it is always what the customer needs is what's important.

I have recently been given a newer and bigger responsiblity here in Brand where I am currently having my immersion being part of URC 's 1st Batch of Management Trainees. Our program actually works on a 1-year fast-track program for people with work experience. We are exposed to both the Sales and Marketing side of URC. We're done with the Sales part - experiencing to be salesmen for 2.5 months, now we're here in Marketing where we develop new products and manage the brand we have. I was given the role to handle Fresh 'n Up. This is Jack 'n Jill's (and mine's) newest "baby" to date - the product was lauched last October 2008. To cut things short, its the first-ever CHEWING GUM to be launched. Moreover, this is Mr. John Gokongwei's special project. So that leaves me where? Fresh 'n Up = Mr. Gokongwei's project = Pressure and stress point of Krystle to 100%.

And now, as of November 20 I only have an estimated 200 cases remaining in the warehouse. With production already STOPPED and to resume next Wednesday. I am currently averaging 79 cases per day in sales. 1 of our ingredients ran out already which caused the stop production. 2 more of our ingredients are soon to be Out of Stocked already due to overusage from the plant. WHERE CAN I GET MY SALES? WHERE CAN I GET MY PRODUCTION?
WHERE CAN I GET ALL THE ANSWERS THAT I NEED?

This could not be seriously happening to me now. A week after I was given this new role (since the one who handled this prior will be leaving the company soon.)

Seriously.

Seriously.

I need a miracle.

To my dearest YOU. (You know who you are) =)

You are currently in Malaysia right now coaching for the Women's Under 16 National Team Football competition. You will be back on the 18th. And it has just been 4 days since you left for Malaysia, I am missing you so much. Yet, I am SO HAPPY & PROUD OF YOU!

I checked the live scores online last Monday on your team's 1st game vs. Singapore! Damn, I was shouting and cheering my heart out! Good Job Porky! GO PHILIPPINES!

Today, you guys will be competing against Thailand at 6:30pm. I will continue praying for another win and cheering together with the other parents who were left here in Manila as their daughters represent our country in the on-going football competitions in Malaysia.

I am so proud of you. I know you are pressured & tensed being the head coach of the Women's Under 16 team. Keep in mind that we are all here supporting you & the team all the way! You have been doing a job well done since the beginning of the training! KEEP IT UP!

'll see you when you get back. :) Lots of love Baby!

Anticipation. Excitement. Missing you.

I am currently browsing through http://www.futbol24.com/ to update myself on the live score update of the U16 Football competition in Malaysia where my Casper is coaching the Women's National Team Under 16.
The game is running. Tensions are piled up. Excitement fills the air.
Woohooo! Philippines scores 1-0 vs. Singapore!
The game isn't finished yet. Only 26 minutes to the game. But I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I want them to win! They deserve to win!

I'll continue praying... :)

Goodluck Girls and Porkypork! You guys can do it!

Soon! My 1st Ever Article in URC Magazine

Last October 31 and November 2, 2008, I facilitated a Halloween Sampling Activity in the newly opened NAIA Terminal 3. Much pressure and love has been put into this activity as Jack n' Jill becomes the FIRST EVER FMCG brand to hold a sampling event in NAIA T3.
The event was a successful one I must say - memorable too! As I stood there from 7am-4pm taking pictures and observing the passengers as they receive their Halloween Treats!

Read more to find out! Happy Halloween everyone! :)

Trick or Treat! HAPPY Candy HALLOWEEN!
The URC Jack n’ Jill Candies Halloween Craze in NAIA Terminal 3
By: Krystle Precious S. Wong

Behold the night of ghouls and fright! You may be tricked, don’t block your sight! A midnight sky of freaks and cobweb sheets, Happy Halloween, Trick or Treat!

Trick or Treat! Trick or Treat! Come and get your Halloween Treats with Jack n’ Jill Candies!

It’s never too late to enjoy the fun of Halloween by going Trick or Treating.
This was how URC Jack n’ Jill Candies celebrated Halloween with an exciting twist during the first ever URC sampling promotion in NAIA Terminal 3 last October 31 and November 2, 2008.

The Domestic Pre-Departure & Arrival Areas of the newest and biggest terminal in the NAIA Complex became the perfect Halloween location to set-up our Jack n’ Jill booths as we gave out candy treats to passengers. The adults and kids passing thru our sampling area enjoyed seeing colorful booths turned into a Halloween delight! Booths were decorated with Halloween designs such as creepy crawlers, cobwebs, animal stuff toys and smiling pumpkin heads to greet the passengers. Samplers on the other hand were dressed as pretty fairies and handsome jugglers to share the excitement as they give out Jack n’ Jill candy loot bags filled with candy surprises to Trick or Treating passengers.

Stars of the special Halloween event in NAIA T3 were our well-loved candies such as JOJO GUMMI, JOJO PUFFS, STAR POPS, STAR FRUITS, WIGGLES, DYNAMITE, MAXX, X.O. and Jack n’ Jill’s newest product – FRESH N’ UP Gums!

Adults and Kids alike gladly posed for pictures in Halloween designed booths together with dear fairies and jugglers to create spooky memories to last for a lifetime!

Two days of trick or treating fantasy brought to you only by the URC Jack n’ Jill Candies – WE PUT THE FUN IN CANDIES!

Embracing Change - An Entry I wrote in 2007

They say that life should be about following what your heart really wants, following what your heart constantly desires, doing things that you love doing, taking a leap of faith in your life; and so many other related thoughts about DOING WHAT YOU REALLY WANT. It is easy as it may sound - "hey, just do whatever you want to do" - But how come when you're now there ready to take another step a bolt of lightning suddenly strikes in bringing you back to square one? Then you think. You contemplate. Then you think again. Too much thinking. Too much paranoia. Too much what ifs. Too much am i doing the right thing questions. Just too much of everything. And we get scared again.

I came across reading 2 amazing new entries from 2 different people in my life. One is T - she's one of my closest friends at work whom I share all my rants and raves about my life - well, work mostly. The other one is Ms. A - she's currently the boss of another section here in 7 and someone who has been my current inspiration to write again. 2 different people talking about the same thoughts as I have in my mind right now. CHANGE.

I got to leave work a little early yesterday after spending time like 11 hours working the whole day(oh yeah, that is my usual timetable at work every single day) and was able to have the chance to sit down with T in front of the 7 store while the cool air runs through our faces. Aaaah, I have missed those quiet moments. Moreso, I have missed the feeling of just chillaxing even for 15 minutes with the cool air around you, letting you take the time to breathe in LIFE. We talked about a certain someone on how we feel about sad about her and what has happend to her recently. Sad story indeed. Sad reality which is so hard to believe. Hope she's going to be alright in no time. Sometimes change is not good. Not good when you're NOT READY yet.

Moving on, T and I talked about how we are tired already with our daily routine at work and at home; how everyday feels to be a routine; no matter excited you are with what you can learn from work today - there is just SOMETHING pulling your hopes down; how we are not so sure about the place we are at right now, the growth we don't really see here; the place where you could tell yourself that you are indeed secured about your career. All these resulted to me AGAIN getting so confused and frustrated about everything no matter how passionate I am with my current job. I'm not even sure if I am still HAPPY. Am I? I don't know. I work so hard on this job not just because this is the me-way on how I work but because this is my passion - marketing+consumer goods? Almost perfect. The problem? No growth can be seen which from time to time leads my whole internal system to drain out. Something is just missing. You just know and feel that there is just something at a LOST out of all these.

I am lost. I am craving for a good change. I want to embrace this new change.

My McDreamy

I'm sure all of us girls have our own Mcdreamy thoughts about finding the right guy in our lives. We do contemplate about who our ideal guy is and what qualities must he possess. What exactly are we looking for in a guy?

I got this post from a friend's journal. Reading it made me realize how hard it is to actually find the "ideal" - He is THE ONE guy for us. Nevertheless, I'm sure that most of us have already experienced our own share of these qualities - (it may not be ALL of what's written here) to keep us inspired. Hope still floats as they say. :)

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, Who calls you back when you hang up on him, Who will lie under the stars and listen to your heartbeat, Or will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the boy who kisses your forehead, Who wants to show you off to the world when you are in sweats, Who holds your hand in front of his friends, Who thinks you're just as pretty without makeup. One who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares and how lucky he is to have you. the one who turns to to his friends and says "that's her".

Wait for the boy who pursues you, the one who will make an ordinary moment seem magical, the kind of boy who brings out the best in you and makes you want to be a better person, wait for the boy who will be your best friend, the person who will drop everything to be with you at any time of the day no matter what the circumstances , wait for the boy who makes you smile like no other boy and when he smiles you know he needs you, wait for the boy who wants you, and most of all wait for the boy who will put you at the center or his universe, because obviously he's at the center of yours."