Christmas Party Tradition

We used to have separate Christmas parties for each company. Starting in 2012 we celebrated joint Christmas parties to save on time and effort.

When we were about to leave the house, Antonia was all dressed up complete with make-up.
E—-“Isasama mo ba ito?”
I forgot that earlier that day Antonia approached me “Mam, ngayon pala Christmas party sa opis, saan gaganapin sa Cainta?” She sounded like she wanted to come. I think the drivers told her about the party.
A—-“Kung gusto mong sumama, di sumama ka.”
Antonia—“Ay pwidi”.
Kala ko kasi we would bring two cars, then Antonia could sit with the other guys.

Edmund was uncomfortable riding with Antonia. Parang donya nakaupo sa likod together with Oyen, bihis na bihis.
When we reached Ford Cainta, she asked Edmund if she would also register her name. E—-“Huwag na!”
(Laughs)
When the door opened,
A—-“Antonia, mag-hanap ka na lang kung saan mo gustong umupo”.

The companies take turns in hosting the yearly celebration/ tradition. This year’s host was supposedly Ford EDSA but they switched with Ford Cainta. Next year daw sila.

Within minutes after we arrived at the showroom of Ford Cainta, I started feeling faint. Naiinitan ako, the chair was so low I felt like drowning, and the strobe light was giving me a migraine. I was sweating. Ford Cainta’s showroom was not built to accommodate all of us. Considering that not everyone attended, and more than 50 people were outside this main hall, mainit. Or ako lang yata naiinitan.

Notice Edmund’s t-shirt. It’s tight on him kasi that’s mine. The employees had shirts made for us pareho nung mga suot nila. Lagi na lang si Oyen at ako small, si Edmund large. Eh hindi nga kasya sa tyan ko ang small. Since Edmund lost 10 lbs this past 30 days, he now fits in a size small t-shirt. I took his, size large. He was complaining medyo masikip daw. Akin naman maluwag.

My sneakers

The staffs of Ford Cainta are good singers and dancers.
They prepared an opening number to set the mood for the evening.

Every year we have talent competitions and the employees really come up with unbelievable performances. Merong mga flips, roll and tumble, sexy dances, and drama. Sobra silang magagaling, I suspect that as early November they spend a lot of time practicing and are no longer working. Baka nagpa-practice na lang ng sayaw-sayaw at kanta nila.

I am always the judge and my decision is final.

This year Oyen concurred with my choices. And Edmund too surprisingly. He didn’t want to be a judge but I asked him still “Tart sino’ng favorite mo?” Ang bilis nyang sumagot, “Yung bakla!” Aliw na aliw sya sa performance nung dalawa. They were good naman talaga. Emote na emote yung faces.

Second prize winner, P15,000 cash

Oyen and I gave the first prize to Ford Cainta’s homegrown band for their originality. They composed a Tagalog song narrating their experiences as sales executive struggling to sell a car and as service advisor dealing with customers.

When we started a quarter of a century ago our raffle prizes were limited to 10 – 20 items. This past decade or so, we no longer get involved in choosing and buying items. We just agree on a budget and the officers take charge in shopping for prizes which they enjoy.

Edmund complains that there are too many raffle prizes. He gets so sleepy before the major prize winners are called He gets so bored and for next year i-flash na lang daw sa screen yung winners. But the fun is in the suspense of drawing the number whlle the employees wait in bated breath for the winner’s name to be called.

E—–“Sa susunog huwag ng i-wrap para kita agad kung ano ang laman.”

I can’t recognize all our employees. And they too can’t recognize me. A few weeks ago I went to Ford Cainta and went straight to the service department office looking for Paolo, the manager. The service advisor asked me “mam meron kayong appointment?”

Eto pala si Ferdinand Marcos.

Naku I forgot her name. She approached me at the party and requested to have a selfie with me. She said she follows ohmybuhay “Mam, nakakatawa yung blog nyo.”
Oyen has a tracking system that can show who’s reading ohmybuhay during office hours. Hahahaha. Exempted sa memo.

Daughter hasn’t touched her drum set sitting in the game room for at least 5 years. Eto bigla syang naengganyo.

Last year the Christmas party was held at Makati Ford. I was so pissed off when we discovered that there were no more lechon even before we started eating. The two lechons disappeared. Yung mga technicians dinukot ng dinukot yung laman, dyaryo na lang ang natira pero mukhang may laman pa rin. They remembered nainis ako last year so this year they doubled the quantity.
Our employees made sure that we would have enough lechon for everyone and meron ng gwardya civil yung mga lechon. They also kept one whole inside a locked office to make sure paghumingi ako ng lechon, hindi ako mauubusan. Ayaw na nilang masermonan, paskong-pasko.

For the past 8 years at least, the caterer is always Febondi. We’ve remained loyal to them to support their business. Dati maliit lang sila ngayon improving na.

Siguro hundreds of people received awards.

This pretty girl is Kay Anne. She’s HR-admin assistant in Makati Ford. Every year she receives an award for having zero late, no half-day, no undertime. One time I was shopping at a clothing store in the US when I spotted a party dress full of sparkles. I bought it and gave it to her. When I arrived at the office I asked her to try it on. Bagay na bagay sa kanya. She said “Boss, pang-mayaman ito”.

Early risers of Makati

There was only one early riser awardee from Ford Cainta. Imagine never sya na late. Lahat sila tanghali na kung gumising. Hoy gising!

Another year has passed. The year started with a dramatic drop in sales because of the TRAIN law. Dramatic as in super. Mahigit kalahati ang bagsak. For 2018 our goal was survival because there were a lot of uncertainties in our economy caused by politics. My prayers were naku po Lord, basta huwag lang kaming lugi, basta meron kaming pambayad ng mga sweldo nila, renta, taxes, tubig, kuryente, etc. We survived the year with gratefulness in our hearts.

With big blessing comes big responsibility. We thank the heavens for helping and guiding us so that we are able to keep on doing what we are doing. We remain grateful and committed to our loyal and trustworthy employees, to our business partner Ford Motor Company, to our kind customers who continue to trust us, and above all to God our biggest patron.

Merry Christmas from our family.