Commuting. More fun in the Philippines.

I was browsing through Facebook this morning for my daily dose of news and cute videos (hehe!) then I stumbled upon this news: LTFRB exec proposes EDSA traffic scheme. When I read this, I thought of many reasons why this is not going to work in our current transportation system. I think this proposal will be a good idea if we have a better public transportation system. I mean, seriously?? Are you proposing this now? Have you seen how the buses/jeepneys/taxis acts like they rule the road?? And you guys are the one who give them the license to run. Please, fix the public transportation first before giving out proposals like this one. (I'm sorry, I just hate those buses/jeepneys who doesn't know how to follow the traffic rules and who feels like they can stop anywhere they want!!)

Okay, the problem may be because of the huge volume of private vehicles on the road everyday because people who can afford cars will definitely buy one (and cars are so affordable nowadays). They wouldn't want to risk their life riding a jeepney or bus that may contain snatchers or drivers who doesn't even know defensive driving. Have you seen how these buses drive in Commonwealth? Hanggang may butas, lulusot! HELLO, we have a yellow lane for you guys! Also, if you've been watching the news regularly, there will always be news about a jeep/bus that got into an accident or bus that caught fire. If the authority assure the people that the drivers of the public transpo can drive safely and will stop at their designated stops, then I believe more people will use the public transpo. Offer the people a system that they can believe in and I assure you, there will be lesser private vehicles on the road. Would people choose this over the hassle of bringing a car??

Parking is a pain in the ass (especially in Makati or Taguig) so personally, I would love to commute rather than bring my own car but since, I'm too scared to ride a bus or the MRT, I'd rather have a hard time looking for a parking than risk my life or waste my time in line.

I think this is where MMDA/LTFRB should focus on. Invest on an efficient public transportation system then implement it. We may have a better system in the future but implementation sucks here in the country. For example, when the MMDA released the bus segregation system in EDSA, I think it was a good idea but it wasn't implemented properly. So yes, it was a fail. I hope the authorities can impose right discipline to the drivers and the commuters.

There are always two sides of the story thus, authority should also discipline commuters who doesn't know where to wait/go down. Another reason why the MMDA's bus segregation system failed is because commuters doesn't know where to go down. They would like to go down to the place convenient for them (and they do not think of the hassle they are giving to cars behind the buses they are in!!!) They don't want to go down at designated stops because it's far from their destination... then ride a taxi if you like to go down right in front of where you are going!! (Sorry, another pet peeve!) Also, commuters sometimes wait at the middle of the road for jeeps/buses! As in middle of the road. So obviously, jeeps/buses will stop at the middle of the road too which causes inconvenience to cars behind them! For the commuters out there, know your place, please.

I know that this is possible because other countries have excellent transportation system that people follow. I saw how efficient it is in Singapore and I believe that this is possible for the country if we all help each other. Also, lesser cars on the road means lesser pollution! (yey!) Create a better system for public transport, train drivers to drive properly!, implement the system properly and discipline commutes. If this can be done, then I think we'll have smaller problems in our hand (then you might not need this proposal of banning private vehicles.)

{Life Lately: Getting back up}

Going through a lot these past few months and I just don't know where to go. Fortunately, I am finding my way back up so sharing a few tidbits of my life lately (all positive because I don't want to rant about my problems anymore). Also, it's the first of September, almost there and I will say good bye (again) to another year of ups and downs.

The best friend during my alone time

I can never go wrong with chill / happy vibes / kilig books like Eleanor & Park to make me happy. I have finished reading books like this (Paper Town, Everyday, Why we broke up etc) in 2 weeks time. I swear, you guys (if ever someone is reading this), read this kind of books when you are feeling down :) It helped me realize things about my life (friends, family etc). It may be patweetums / pacute but it can give you life lessons that can help you forever!

The rainy days and its perks

Summer in pictures

The rain is starting to fall and the weather is getting cooler every day. Which only means one thing, SUMMER IS OVER. I always love summers, not because it's my birthday but also because I love the beach and traveling. So before the rain falls today, I say goodbye to my summer 2014 and hello to the rest of the year :)

1. Random lunch/merienda/dinner/inuman dates with friends. I can be the most kaladkarin friend you can have and this summer, I texted almost everybody when I don't have any hangouts. So there were a lot of catching up done this summer :)

2. Finishing all my book buys last year. I have bought so many books after my breakup last year, thinking I will have more time to read. But no, all my reading time were allocated to my gimik nights. So now, the every night gimiks were lessen so I had more time to read this summer :)

3. Yes, I turned 24 today. I still kept forgetting that I'm 24 but hey, I would always look young. It was a night of celebrating with my family :) Just had my favorite steak and pumpkin soup c/o Ate Lyn :)

4. Bayani Challenge 2014. I blogged about this here. 

5. Dumaguete-Siquijor trip. Yes, I found a new place if I want to slow down and get away from the city. I also blogged about it here.

6. Sining's 7th birthday. (For those who doesn't know Sining, she's my niece) I can't believe she is 7 already!! I saw her grow up and now she's so beautiful and modelesque. Sining, true to her name is a true artist that's why her birthday party theme was an art fair where kids painted, drew, made button pins, colored and decorated a cookie. It was a fun children's party.

7. Subic trip with the clingy friends. This trip was supposed to be cancelled already but Nina texted on the day itself that we will push through with the trip. So I took a half day leave at work to go to pack and do some grocery shopping. It was one of the best unplanned trip ever where we started drinking at 10am. Good times.

8. Papa left for Canada last May for a 2 month vacation. So this summer was full of facetime/viber call dates from him :)

9. Day out ng mga tita. I swear, ang lakas maka-tita vibes ng spa date. Ter treated us all for a massage date just because we are all stressed in life. I really never liked massages because I get tickled so easily but since this is free, I went. I was laughing and giggling the whole time. Good thing my masseuse was very patient with me :)

This was one of the best summer of my life. I love catching up and going out so yeah. BEST. SUMMER. EVER.

Beauty matters

I attended the Better Story Project workshop last Saturday :) I have been itching to attend one workshop ever since I found out about it months ago. Good thing they held the workshop here at Quezon City so it’s nearer. Anyway, the workshop was all about beauty. We may not give too much attention about this topic but it really is important for all the girls out there. I bet there are a lot of girls who don’t see themselves as beautiful creatures just because nobody is telling them they are beautiful. So right now, I’m gonna tell everybody that YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU MAY NOT HAVE LONG LASHES OR A POINTED NOSE. YOU MAY NOT FIT IN A SIZE ZERO DRESS. YOU MAY BE JUST NEARLY 5 FEET TALL AND ALL THE IMPERFECTIONS YOU CAN THINK OF… BUT YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL.

This is the post card giveaway I got from the talk :) This was made by Aia. Just a reminder to all the girls out there.

I have learned so much from the workshop and the whole afternoon was just full of encouragement and empowerment. Some people may have made me feel less about myself this year but I’m not gonna let them think I’m not beautiful. I’m not going to let people made me feel I’m not worthy of the love. I’m worth loving and so are you :) I always loved the quote, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” So stop listening to other people’s negative view about you. Feel beautiful, be beautiful, share your beauty to other people, whether it be your talent or your kind heart :)

There was one point that Ms. Aileen Ponce mentioned during her talk. It was that growth is painful. But growth means change. And change means you’re getting better. This really struck me because I have been going through a lot of pain these past few months. I have been facing huge changes and I’m on the “moving on to be a better person” phase right now. Life has been really shitty but I’m still very psyched about my future because I know I’m stronger and now, I know that I’m still beautiful even if I have been hurt :)

A picture before leaving :)

I would definitely attend more workshops and I encourage other people to attend too :) Plus I won gift certificates from Manos Nail Lounge. YEY! Thanks Fel! :)

Losing people

I'm afraid of losing people in my life, especially if they have been a part of my life for years. Maybe that's the reason why death of loved ones top my list of fears. Well, thankfully, all my loved ones are still alive but I won't say I haven't lost some really close people in my life this year. This was really not my year and all the bad things just kept happening. Although I'm not really focusing on that because there have been great things that happened to me :) I just can't avoid the thought that people always leave, especially those whom you care most about.

There are people whom you look up to and you love so much, then one unfortunate event happens then everything that you learned from her just shatters into pieces. The bridge has been burned and I don't even know how to mend my feelings for you. But don't ever think that I don't love you because I still do and I will take care of you when you get old, even if you don't want to. It just hurts that every time I see you, I can clearly remember what you said and how you acted, it hurts so much.

There are also people whom you will care about so much that you're willing to do anything to work things out but it won't be enough for that person. These people would try to boost your confidence up then take them away in one snap and this will hurt so much. It would really take you down, especially your self-esteem. But all you got to do is pick the pieces up and mend it one day at a time.

Healing is a process and it doesn't happen fast. Patience is the key and just let things be. There would be darker days but remember

Uninspired

I have been battling a lot of issues these past few days and I don't even know where I can get inspiration from. This is not even about my ex anymore, it's all about the family, my work and myself.

This thing about the family is emotionally draining. I just really feel so emotional about the whole issue because everyone is really trying their best to fix everything but you're the only one who's not cooperating. I just feel so depressed that you're burning a few bridges and I'm not even sure if we can build it back. This is just too much to take in especially if I'm so stressed and busy with other aspects in my life.

When I entered our family business, I was assigned in HR and there are a lot of things that need to be fixed. Then since Christmas is coming up, we need to double our sales so the board decided that I should handle sales too (together with Marketing). It's just too much to handle with my state right now. I know that I can do it, it's just that I can't do it well. I really want to do my best and excel but I'm just really uninspired right now. But with a little help from my friends, I know I can do this.

Okay, the issue with myself is so confusing that even I can't understand so let's just not talk about it.

July 2013: A month of new beginnings

July has been nothing but good to me. It reminded me of friends I haven't seen in a while (Starbucks officemates, UST blockmates), activities I haven't done in a while (dancing) and it continued to bring me closer to people I love (family, high school friends) :) I also discovered new places and activities for my life. I am very grateful for everything despite all the losses and failures. I may be knocked out a lot of times but I will continue to fight (I think people should be more like this. It's hard, I know, but you'll get the hang of it. Just believe in yourself)

What's up in July?

1. Joined Ter in her group classes in 360. I got to (sort of) dance again after 23128395293 years. 
2. Two of my brothers finally moved out of the house. Even if I don't approve of this abrupt move, I am happy for both of them. More houses to visit and hangout ;)
3. Hangouts with old office mates I haven't seen in a while at Whistlestop. It's good to be back and see my old office. I also enjoyed seeing familiar faces :)
4. Night out with UST blockmates  I haven't seen for a year at Prive. I was happy to get to talk to them as if we just saw each other yesterday. It's time to catch up with them and make future plans :) I also haven't partied after 39418724820 years so it was a very fun night.
5. New beginning for me because Gladys finally moved out of my room. We now have our own room. I am enjoying my new CLEAN room but I feel sad sometimes to be alone so I sleepover at her room (or she sleeps over at my room)
6. A trip back to our hometown at San Pablo, Laguna. This was a weekend of just hanging out with brothers and cousins. We also discovered new restaurants at San Pablo. The short tour was full of new discoveries at an old place we all sort of grew up in.
7. New activity: SHOOTING. Since I have time and I dug up my 30before30 list, I am starting to finish it. Firing a gun was part of my list and I finally did it last July. OMG, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW HAPPY I AM. All my hate and irritation in my life was released there. It was therapeutic haha! 
8. We surprised Rhea during her birthday at Vikings. Another hangout with old friends that I will forever love :) 
9. Gawad Kalinga will forever be in my heart and blood so I attended the Bayanijam last month to support my brother and watch different musicians from Gawad Kalinga communities. GK will always inspire me. Rivermaya played that night together with the kids from GK communities. Thank you so much Rivermaya for giving them that opportunity to jam with you. There will be another Bayanijam this August so message me if you wanna go. I swear, your 150 is worth it :)

So that's it for July. There are more hangouts in between but these are just some of the highlights. Thank you July for giving me a new beginning in life. Hoping I could be a better person and leave all the negative vibes in the past :)

I'm so proud of myself :)

There would be days that I miss him and remember all our happy memories then I'll get sad and cry over what happened. But lately, I still miss him but I don't hey sad anymore. I don't cry anymore :) I'm getting better (hopefully) I just hope this continues!

I guess I accepted the fact that we'll never get back together. Just waiting for the day that I'll see him with another girl. Well that's another story and moving on process. I hope it won't happen soon.

When it rains, it pours

My life is such a blur since the breakup. Fcuk Murphy's law. Everything is just going wrong. After the breakup, I've been really uninspired to work. No motivation at all to finish what I planned on doing. Then this family issue suddenly came out of nowhere (The worst family issue we had in years). Plus, the being alone at the house is not helping at all. It just really sucks when all these are happening and you're lonely.

Maybe I just miss him, being there when I want to forget and just be happy. I just miss his company which I won't have anymore. It's times like this that I want someone to be there to hold my hand. But yeah, I have to deal this alone but I have God on my side so I better get through this fast :) I'm just not really good with changes (very abrupt, mind you) so I'm still adjusting with the breakup then family thing. 

Storms don't last forever. I just hope my storm will subside faster because sometimes, I just can't deal with it anymore.

My own how to handle a breakup :)

It's been a while and I think I'm sort of ready to blog about it. It was not easy but sometimes, you have to accept the fact that things end. But this blog post is not about me hating you or talking about the things you've done to hurt me. I would like to dedicate this to all the people going through what I'm going through right now. I've been very lucky to have handled this smoothly. I could still remember the year of 2005 (Oh, the horror) where I did all the "what not to do after a breakup". So to all my fellow women (or men) who are going through a breakup, this is for you :)

1. Find your support group

I was very lucky to have the best support group. I was surrounded by people who loves me. I swear, the past two weeks was time for family and friends. They never let me stay at home doing nothing and I never stayed home din naman. Hihi. All of them are one text away. Also, all the comforting and inspiring words that are helping me move on comes from them :) I'm still very thankful for these people whom I call family and friends.

2. Time to abuse your friends

Go out as much as you like. Contact all your old friends whom you haven't seen for a long time. That's what I did. At the first day, I went out with high school friends. The 2nd day, I drank with my DB's. The following days were for my family and I also got to meet up with college friends, YFC friends and random friends. Hehe! I have more dates in line for next week and I can't wait :)

3. Listen to The Script or Sugarfree songs (or whatever heartbreak songs you have)

My forever heartbreak songs come from these two bands and yes, I listened to them when I can. It really helped to just let it all out. I'm not saying that hearing these songs will not make you cry because it will. And crying is good for a time like this. Yes, I listened to Before the Worst by The Script for a few nights and it really helped.

We we're thinking we would never be apart 
With your name tattooed across my heart 
Who would have thought it would end up like this?
Where everything we talked about is gone 
And the only chance we have of moving on 

Is trying to take it back 
Before it all went wrong

4. Retail therapy

I did some shopping. Shopping makes me happy (Well, short term happiness but still happiness). Since I don't have any dates to save up for, I'll have more money for myself :) 

5. Share. Share. Share. Tell your story to your trusted friends and just cry it all out.

During the first week of the breakup, everyday I tell my breakup story to anyone who wants to listen. I cried (A LOT) but it really helped. It helps to share and just let it all out. Now, when I tell friends about our breakup story, I don't cry anymore but I'm still hurting (still on the healing process). But I know someday, it will hurt no more. 

6. At one point, stop asking about the past

Ate Coco reminded me this: Stop asking questions like "Bakit hindi nagwork?, bakit dati ganito?" You gotta tell yourself slow by slow to start moving on to questions about your future like, "How should I start regaining bits and pieces of myself to be whole again?" It really helps to stop dwelling on the past. Stop regretting, that will lead you nowhere.

In time, when you're ready, I think deleting old pictures and messages really helps. I did all that yesterday and it was liberating. I was crying while deleting everything but yes, it's for the better. I deleted pictures from my laptop and phone, deleted all his messages on my phone, deleted the tumblr blog I created for him and the pinterest board I'm planning to let him read in the future. Plus, I returned all the shirts I borrowed from him and old letters I never had the chance to give. I'm a person who dwells too much in the past and this breakup has thought me that that is not good for the soul and the heart :) So I let go of things that I know will stop me from moving on.

7. Think positive

Believe that you'll get pass this. I am telling you now, it's not an easy journey. It will be hard. There will be a time when you thought you're okay then you'll see something that reminds you of him and then you'll feel that you're still not okay... and that's totally normal. There's nothing wrong with you. Regression is part of moving on but never stay there. Move forward. There's no other way but up :)

8. Avoid being alone but when alone just cry, if you want to!

Being alone is not helpful for me because I know I'll just sulk then read old messages, look at pictures and read old letters and for me, it's not helpful at all. So as much as possible, I go out at night and I don't go home unless I'm sleepy (haha!). But you can't avoid being alone sometimes. When that happens, just cry if you want to. Just cry until it hurts no more :)

9. Create new memories

Don't avoid places that used to be special to you. It's time to create new memories. There are a lot of places that make me remember him like my house, Ate Coco's house, Trinoma, Shi Lin etc.. but that would not stop me from still going to Trinoma, eating at Shi Lin and having sleepovers at 10 Blake. You must not dwell on the past. It's time to create new memories with people who loves you :)

10. An adventure awaits

As cliche as it sounds, "Keeping yourself busy" really helps :) I have new activities that I'm excited to engaged in. Think about your life and think of an old hobby that you haven't done for a while. I also have loads of travels for this year and I can't wait. I'll be going to Caramoan next month, Cebu in August, Singapore in September, Hopefully Mt. Pulag in November then Hongkong/Singapore again for December (This depends on my sister though) then I have another Cebu trip on January then BALI sometime early next year! Plus, I'm looking for new foundations to participate in because I need activities to fill my heart :) I'm open for anything right now. I want to try new things :)

11. On being friends

Being friends will not help you if you still have feelings for the person. I still have feelings for him and he wants us to be friends but I can't. I want to but I can't and I don't want to risk my heart with that kind of pain. I have asked a lot of people and they all told me not to be friends because I'm not yet ready. So yes, don't try to be friends with your ex when you still have feelings for him. Someday, but not soon :)

To you: So this is the last blog post I'm going to write about you. I admit that I'm still not over you but I decided that I need to move on. I don't want to stay in the past and be the only one stuck there. When I saw you yesterday, I can tell that you clearly moved on weeks ago which is very unfair for me. You have been really unfair to me but I don't really care now. I still love you, but I don't want to be the only one fighting. I'm a person who doesn't really give up on people whom I love, that's why until yesterday, I'm still trying to fight but I realized that this will lead nowhere because you clearly gave up. I really thought that what we had was something really special but everything was one sided in our relationship. I'm having a hard time moving on and I don't want to hurt anymore :( I am missing you everyday but someday, this will stop. I really hope it's sooner but I'm decided that I have to let you go and let go of the thought that you're the one. I hope that someday, when someone loves you as much as I do, you won't let her go. I hope that someday you'll be ready. Don't do to her what you did to me. Thank you for the 1 year of love and friendship :)

Family outing 2013

As some of you know, I come from a very big family (4 brothers, 1 sister, 3 sisters-in-law, 3 nieces, 1 nephew plus all the other in-laws) so when we get together, it's a totally huge production number. That is why most of the time, we just stay at home and cook food rather than go out. Anyway, while we were planning for a celebration for Sining's birthday, my brother suggested that we just go out of town and consider it as a family outing for us. There were lots of choices but we ended up staying at Cala Perdida at Calatagan, Batangas.

It was a private rest house that you can rent for the whole family. It can accommodate 15-20 people :) There's a main house, guest house and the very beautiful Ifugao house. More pictures here :) Although the trip was kinda long and it was hard to find, it was all worth it :)

Saturday morning, we arrived there and the place was really beautiful. It was a very nice property to own, a quiet place just to get out of the busy life in Manila and relax. That was our main purpose, really, to relax and chill. 

(Siblings + Sisters-in-law + nieces and nephew)

Although the sun was high up, we did not waste any time so we headed for the pool. The water was warm, just right for us and it was not too deep (petite friendly). The pool is an infinity pool but the filter was broken that time :( It was okay, though because we enjoyed the pool just as much :)

 (The Cruz' girls plus Ate Donna)

It was the kids who mainly enjoyed the pool because all the adults were at the patio, eating. And yes, there were lots of food. It was also the perfect time to catch up with them and just bond as a family :) Saturday was pure bonding for us and we couldn't ask for anything more :)

We also celebrated Sining's 6th birthday there and here's a picture of my very beautiful niece with her very beautiful cake

We had Shabu shabu lunch + steak and it was the best meal we had that weekend. Everyone was bloated and I'm pretty sure I gained some pounds during that meal.

(Enjoying the sun. PS: Thanks to Black Box Shoppe for my cute high waist bottom)

 We had a last quick swim before heading home and the water was still warm. We assumed that the water's warm because of the granite that absorbs the heat of the sun (BOO YEAH, SCIENCE) :) After that, we had to say goodbye to an awesome family weekend but before that, some photo ops

(Cruz family)

Before heading to Manila, we had dinner at Tagaytay because we encountered some heavy traffic entering Tagaytay and we were all hungry. Also, we had a quick stop at Starbucks (Yes, I'm still loyal to my former employer) and I was just craving for a delicious White Macadamia Nut Cookie :) 

 To summarize, that weekend was the best we had as a family this year. We all had the time to relax and just bond as a family. Too bad, my sister, Gladys wasn't there because she had a competition that she can't say no to. :(

Mature Life

It's been a while since my last post and I have been really busy with work, family and everything about life in general. I'm dying but good thing I have a wonderful boyfriend who inspires and motivate me Hihi!

Anyway, all I want to post about are the things that keep me busy :)

1. Bills

I am starting to pay the bills for our house and seriously, IT'S CRAZY! Our electric and water bills are stressful. Plus, budgeting for food is super stressful when there are around 15 people in your house. Although, I'm good with the responsibility. But I just don't really like holding too much money. I think I'm more of a spender than a saver, which is really bad that's why as much as possible, I try to save.

2. Work

I have resigned from Starbucks a month ago and I started working for our family business 2 weeks ago. Working with your brothers is both fun and irritating. It's fun when you get to go out during work hours because I semi hold my time. Boo yeah. It's kind of stressful though because there are a lot of work to be done and issues to fix. This week is full of meetings and I am kind of dying. Some of the old issues in my life is coming back and I can't help it. It's just so hard to work with your family and then be just that. Bla blah bla. It's hard but I don't want to give up. I just wish there's another way.

3. Love life

When I'm not with family or friends, I'm with this little boy ❤ Although our relationship is a very crazy rollercoaster ride these past few weeks, I still love him to bits. Despite all the differences, I still manage to deal with everything even if sometimes I feel alone, boo! But I know that we can survive. ONE MONTH AND A FEW DAYS LEFT BEFORE WE TURN ONE 😍 Can't believed that he survived my PMS days and all those panlalaits from all my brothers. Cheesy but I love this guy so much, I couldn't ask for more.

4. Friends

These people are that people who keep me sane after all the craziness in the real world (WOW) But seriously, I don't know how I can survive without these people. I just wish I could just travel and stay with LFF's for a loooong time! The city's getting crazy and we must get out. Anyway, every after work, I have been going out because I need to. So yeh, sometimes they are the reason why my nights are busy. But it's a good type of busy :)

I've only started working just a month ago but I feel like I've been in this company for a year. Not only the work load has made me feel this way but also the fun people I'm working with. Despite the distance and the long travel time, the sometimes rush hour MRT ride, I'm quite happy with work plus I love what I'm doing.

Come Christmas time, I will die because of all the work load for the seasonal hires we will be getting but I know that I can make it because of my awesome teammates and the occasional stress reliever of all time, FREE CHOCOLATE DRINKS/HOT CHOCO :)

Work has also been my escape from all the over thinking I'm doing during my bum days. It has also been my escape if I don't want to go home yet. I just wish I could feel better about that other thing. I don't want to get used to this, I don't want to always feel like this. A little care would really be appreciated, if you really do.

Down from the hill, down to the world go I

Last 2002, I watched my first UAAP game on TV because of my brothers... That Gec Chia buzzer beater shot against UE made me fall in love with him and ever since then, I wanted to go to Ateneo for college (YES, BECAUSE OF GWAPO CHINESE BOYS)

After 10 long years, I finally graduated from the school I always want to be in (with two gwapo Chinese crushes haha). It was not an easy journey but as I always say, it definitely was worth it. I got through the super stressful enlistments in Aisis (Especially since I'm always last batch), the terror profs that made me learn so so much (Fr. Dacanay for the win) and all the sleepless nights (Ehem, thesis). I surely got through all these because of the friends who shared all these with me. Also, the family that supported me all the way :) I would have not graduated if I was alone and I could not imagine college without them.

So thank you to all the people who make up my Ateneo life. Thank you Batch 2012 and congratulations.