Ortigas Getaway!

After getting back from Baguio, I slept the entire day! I was so exhausted. After hearing mass with my family and strolling 'til 8pm at the Mall of Asia, I trudged back to the condo to pack my stuff in the still smelling of strawberries suitcase. I was fortunate that my boyfriend volunteered to drive me to the Malayan Plaza where I will be sharing a room with a complete and total stranger. I was excited because though this APAN conference is just in Manila, I got in because of a fellowship grant. Everything was paid for by APAN. All I had to do was show up and learn.

The Malayan Plaza is situated in front of Podium and I have never been there. I was thrilled that I was going to live in a hotel for five straight days! I was more thrilled (Really!) that I was attending the conference packed with Grid people in no less than Edsa Shangri-la Hotel!

The talks were very intresting, I met people working on Grids and some of these people I am in touch with. I am now presented with an opportunity to go to Taiwan because of a person I met there working on EGEE. The team will be subsidizing my air fare plus they are asking me to talk about grids here in the Philippines!

The experience was very enriching for me. I got to learn a lot and I was filled with new ideas! It was really absolutely fun! I am looking forward to the 24th APAN and I hope to be able to participate again. However, this time, I might end up paying for my own air fare. If I am meant to go there, God will provide I believe!

I even got to talk to the guy who approved my application! It's such a small world. A group of Indonesians asked me to accompany them to SM Megamall because they wanted to taste our ice cream and they wanted to shop for souvenirs and one of them, I later found out, was the one who approved my application. I almost kicked myself when I realized I do not have a business card on me when he asked for one. Darn it!

My stay in Malayan was great, the breakfast was always a feast (for me at least at that time) and the food in Shang was so sinful but I was a weakling. I had spare tires around me torso after a week of Shang food. My menu for an entire week was Malayan Plaza's buffet breakfast, AM buffet snack, Lunch buffet, PM snack buffet, all by Shangri-la and Kamayan, Dad's, Saisaki dinner!

Now was that a fun week or what?! I forgot to share that during which I had to come up with an exam and answer key and a PhD report. hehe... I lost a lot of sleep during this time but the learning experience and the food and the stay at the hotel was all worth it!