Santa's Adorable Reindeers !

My very own Santa's Reindeers

"Now, Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!

On, Comet! on, Cupid! on, Donder and Blitzen!

To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!

Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

~The Night Before Christmas (A Visit From St. Nicholas) by Clement Clarke Moore~

Two of our family dogs named Nina and Daz gave birth to beautiful puppies this quarter. These dogs are related to each other as Nina is Daz' daughter. Our family loves dogs and they have been part of our lives since I was a child.  Nina had five (5) healthy puppies and Daz had eight (8), however, sad to say only two of them live so the remaining two pups are the lucky ones.  My stepmom said, Daz is not supposed to give birth yet so most of her pups did not live.  One day, I was thinking of giving them names and in the spirit of Christmas, Santa's Reindeers came into my mind.  Santa Claus originally has eight reindeers, who magically pull his sleigh through the sky. They are named Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder and Blitzen. There is another reindeer named Rudolf from the story "Rudolf, The Red Nose Reindeer" written by Robert May in 1939 and became popular and no.1 hit song in 1949 sang by Gene Autry.   Due to this popularity, Rudolf became Santa's 9th reindeer, the lead reindeer pulling Santa's sleigh on Christmas Eve with  a glowing red nose.

The Father and Mother :  Batibot and Nina.  Actually they are siblings but they were not born at the same time. Nina is about a year older than Batibot.

HERE ARE NINA'S PUPPIES : Born October 9, 2011

CUPID

Cupid flies straight as an arrow, with a keen sense of direction that always keeps him on course. He is usually harnessed alongside Comet and always hitched at the lead of the team. He is a very loving reindeer.

COMET 

Comet can be relied on to stay on course no matter how strongly the winds blow. He displays a unique leadership ability. He is not as fast at Blitzen but fast enough to give the lightning-fast reindeer a run for his money. He is always hitched with Cupid at the lead.

BLITZEN

Blitzen is the fastest reindeer in the sleigh team. He has more determination and never backs out of any challenge.  Blitzen is the German word for “lightning”. He is the second strongest reindeer and always hitched with Donder right next to the sleigh.

DASHER

Dasher is always ready and willing with lots of energy to spare. He is known for his short burst of speed and energy. Usually harness alongside Prancer, helping to fill the team with enthusiasm for the journey.

PRANCER

Prancer is full of fun and energy. He displays a tremendous amount of confidence and the most majestic of all the reindeers. If ever the sleigh team is flagging, it needs only to look to Prancer to put a spring back in its step.

Father and Mother : Pom-Pom and Daz

HERE ARE DAZ' PUPPIES : Born November 16, 2011,  These are the lucky ones who survived out of eight puppies

RUDOLF

The newest member of Santas team Rudolph is smaller than the other reindeer, he makes up for it by having more heart and more stamina than the rest, plus that very special nose…At night and during bad weather he guides the sleigh and lights the way.

VIXEN

He is very clever and strong-willed. He can be relied upon to never give up, even in the worst weather. He has great strength and stamina. Usually harnessed alongside Dancer.

I only have seven (7) puppies so I am missing Dancer and Donder but here is something about these two reindeers

DANCER
Dancer's legs are strong and muscular and slightly longer than those of other reindeer. He displays flair and elegance.  The most graceful reindeer in the team, although not the largest.


DONDER OR DONNER
Donder is the most powerful of the reindeer. His hoof beats sound like the rumble of distant thunder. In fact, Donder, means “thunder” in German. He’s always harnessed alongside Blitzen nearest to the sleigh where his strength is most usefull to control the weight of the fully loaded sleigh. Sometimes his name is spelled Donner.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS ! BEST WISHES !

From : Santa's Cute Little Reindeers

A Simple SPML Staff Christmas Gathering

A Simple SPML Staff Christmas Gathering

December is considered the  busiest month of the year.  Department stores are crowded with people for their Christmas shoppings and there are lots of Christmas parties and gatherings.  There are so many invitations that comes your way and they even come one after the other.  Sometimes you do not even know which party to go because they happen at the same time. I sure wish I had two bodies to accommodate all invitations happening on the same day.  It is easy to attend both when venues are just close to each other by dividing your time but it is not always the case.

Last December 22, we had the SPML Staff Christmas Gathering. Members of the SPML staff are Vice Presidents, Directors and managers directly reporting to my boss, Jascha Ortmanns (Vice-President for SunPower Phils. Operations) and other extended staff who are required to attend the weekly SPML Staff Meeting. It was just a simple and casual get together held at my boss' residence with all the features of a Christmas gathering ~ holiday food and refreshments, sharing of Christmas traditions, games, exchange gifts, good conversation and music.

My boss, Jascha Ortmanns preparing his special barbeque.  I love the lamb !  Masarap !

With some of the directors and managers after our great meal !  There were so many food but my stomach is already full.

My boss was put on spotlight... This is "Pinoy Henyo" game.  Jascha, there is a"bee" on your forehead !

Thanks to Ana Coscolluela from HR (left) for organizing the game.  Here is Gerald Collins, ESH Director having a hard time guessing.

Our Exhange Gifts has a different touch of gameplay.  One can steal a gift !  Each participant supplies one wrapped gift. Participants determine in what order they will take turns choosing gifts by picking a number. The first person opens a wrapped gift and the turn ends. The second person then chooses whether to open a wrapped gift or "steal" a previously opened gift. If a person has his gift stolen, he also has the option of choosing a wrapped gift or stealing an unwrapped one. When a wrapped gift is opened, the turn ends. When all gifts have been unwrapped, the game ends.  We had so much fun ! Some are reluctant to relinquish their gifts because they like it.  But they have to follow the rule and give it away.

Wakks is opening his gift.  Will he love it or steal another's gift?

Christmas is a beautiful season to share Christ's message in a significant way.   Christmas Gathering is a good opportunity to invite friends and neighbors to our homes to build good relationships and share about the true meaning of Christmas ~ LOVE

SunPower Goes to Hollywood (Christmas Party 2011)

SunPower Phils. held its Company Christmas Party 2011 at the SMX Convention Center, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City last December 12 and 19, 2011.   We have two dates because of our population. SunPower Phils. family is about 5,000 employees already. We had to schedule the employees who will attend the first day and the second day.

With Virgie Callangan of Process Engineering (left) at the venue entrance

The company christmas party was a blast showcasing our very own SunPower talents.  We had to do cost reduction so we eliminated hiring the services of popular celebrities and event organizer.  We utilize our own employees to do the emceeing, the voice over, event staffing and coordination.  Winners of the Fab 2 METs (Manufacturing Excellence Teams) "Battle of the Band" also performed during the occasion.  Overall, I would say it turned out very well.  Although the first day seems to be have lacked audience participation and managers had to initiate the dancing so everyone else will follow.  I guess, one factor is it has something to do with the type of songs performed by the guest  band and how they presented themselves. The second date, December 19 was better,  the guest band was changed to "Sensation Band" who captured the audience interest and most employees were dancing and having a great time. 

Marty Neese, our Chief Operating Officer from our headquarter, SunPower Corporation U.S.A. visited us during the week of December 19 and attended our Christmas Party.  It is his first time to attend this occasion and had no idea what to expect. As usual, I had to prepare his attire/costume for the event.  With the "Men in Black" in mind, I borrowed the black suit of Sir Aloy Yamzon, our Purchasing Director and a neck tie from Sir Jong Jiminez, our QA Director.  Luckily, Aloy is almost same size as Marty.  When Marty was introduced on stage,  a video of the "Men in Black" was played on the big screen and to our surprise, Marty danced on stage before he did his speech.  Later on, he handed over the "Brilliance Awards" to deserving SunPower Phils. employees.

COO, Marty Neese dancing with us

My new boss, the Vice President for Cell Operations, Jascha Ortmanns also attended the event.  He came in dressed as Zorro from the movie "The Mask of Zorro." He is a graduate physicist and studied music at Dusseldorf Academy of Music.  He is the founding member of the Big Band Jazzotic in Aachen, Germany, his hometown. During our Christmas Party,  he played saxophone with the band on the spot.

Me and my boss, Jascha Ortmanns as Zorro

Jascha Ortmanns playing saxophone

One of the much awaited highlight of our Christmas Party is the Dance Competition.  This competition had been part of our Christmas party tradition since start-up.  It is like a musical play performed by our talented employees from different departments. They really put so much efforts on their rehearsals and costumes. It's awesome ! Everyone loves it ! The prizes were : Champion - Php 50k, 1st Runner-up - Php 35k, and 2nd Runner-up - Php 25k

Below photo is one of the dance performance during the first day. Since most members of the group were males, they had to wear the female costumes to portray the character. One of my favorite was the Avatar.  The dancers were all in body paint.  I was not able to take a photo with them while in the backstage since we were busy practicing for the Managers special dance presentation. Fab 2 Backend won during the first day (Dec. 12) and Fab 2 Shift D won during the second day (Dec. 19).

Male employees dressed as mermaids

 In previous years, aside from the company Christmas Party, we also have the Managers Christmas Party.  The highlight of this event was always the Dance Competition between sites : Cell Fab1, Cell Fab 2, Modco, SSO and MTG.  Most participants were top management officials and their site admins.  This time, it was decided not to hold the Managers Christmas Party due to cost management,  however, the managers had to do a special presentation during the Company Christmas Party at SMX, Mall of Asia.  This is the first time that Vice Presidents, Directors, managers and admins. will perform in front of all SunPower employees.

With some of the directors and managers while we were practicing for our special presentation at the back stage.  Thanks to Sir Aloy Yamzon (3rd from left) for organizing our dance presentation and for the Christmas Song he composed entitled "May You Have A Merry Christmas" which we sang after our dance presentation.

We danced to Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away" and Black Eye Peas' "Time of Your Life".  Top officers, Jascha Ortmanns, my boss and his Site VPs, Rey Mella (Fab 1) and Boy Alfelor (Fab 2) were also included in the Managers' Presentation.  Employees were thrilled to see them on stage and gave them a big round of applause.  Cheers !

With some of my friends from AUO SunPower/SunPower Malaysia during our Christmas Party. I'm happy that they were able to join us.

 

Hello December !

A BEAUTIFUL DECEMBER !

Most wonderful time

Faith, hope, love and life's blessings

Jesus in our hearts

* Elvie *

A Gloomy Morning

ON A GLOOMY SATURDAY MORNING

Clouds heavy and dark

Inside sadness fills the heart

Trees lift my spirit

* Elvie *

Unilab Run United 3 2011

Unilab Run United 3

Run United 3, the third leg of the RunRio Trilogy 2011 was held today, November 13, 2011 at the SM Mall of Asia.  There were about 14,000 runners who participated as announced by the emcee and I was one of them.  I missed the Run United 2 this year.  I registered but on the day of the fun run,  I got a terrible migraine and I was not able to make it.  Just like last year, there were areas intended for  Active Seniors, Active Adults and Active Kids.  Proceeds of this fun run will be donated to Charitable institutions :  Gawad Kalinga and Hero Foundation.  There were other SunPower employees who participated today but did not get the chance to see them during the event.

With Coach Rio Dela Cruz

I saw Coach Rio dela Cruz, the 27-year-old high-speed roadrunner, running coach, and running events maestro and had a photo with him.  There were a lot of people lined up to take a photo with him. 

Waiting for the Gun Start

With Darling, my stepsister ( right) and Elsa (left) with my dog, Jacob

The crowd at the Starting Line

Me and my stepsister, Darling

My father took one of our dog with us named Jacob and he had so many fans because he is cute.

SunPower Fun-lloween Decor Contest Result

SunPower Cell Fab 2 Administration Dept. Halloween Decoration

This week our Human Resources Dept. announced the winners in the Halloween Decorations Contest during the SunPower Fun-lloween celebration.  We were not expecting this but we were lucky to get the 3rd place.  Our theme was Disney Halloween which I highlighted earlier in my blog on SunPower Trick or Treat. Thanks to the support of my staff, Fe Imperial.  CHEERS !!!

Here were the comments from our two bosses and it is so nice and motivating to hear these words from them :

Jascha Ortmanns, VP for Sunpower Phils. Operations (My boss)

From: Jascha Ortmanns

Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 10:52 AM
To: Elvira Mesiona; Telesforo P. Alfelor II
Subject: RE: Congratulations Fab2 Fun-lloween Winners!

Congratulation!!!
I have to admit it was an impressive set-up! :)

Telesforo Alfelor II, VP for Fab 2 Manufacturing Operations

From: Telesforo P. Alfelor II
Sent: Wednesday, November 09, 2011 9:53 AM
To: Elvira Mesiona; Jascha Ortmanns
Cc: Larah Fatima Lago-Ramirez
Subject: RE: Congratulations Fab2 Fun-lloween Winners!

Elvie,

Yes I just read the update…. CONGRATULATIONS!
It’s always a positive sign ( an expectation indeed) fr Admin group to be in a lead role.

Thank you and Mabuhay
boy

Fe and myself

A shot in different angle... Disney Halloween

Me in front of the castle

The winners in the SunPower Halloween Decoration Contest (Cell Fab 2)

Laguna Bel-Air 1 Trick or Treat

Halloween Trick or Treating is an annual event in the village where I live.  As early as first week of October my family is already planning for the stuff that we intend to put up as our halloween decorations.  It is always one of our project every year.  My stepmom also loves doing it and we combine our ideas to create some scary stuff.

With my stepsister (2nd from right), our househelpers and our dogs during the "Trick or Treat" last Oct. 29, 2011.  We also dress up our small dogs during this time of the year.

OUR HALLOWEEN DECORS

Scary husband and wife

Parents and kids who visited our house were amazed by our halloween decors.  Many had their pictures taken. Young children were also afraid and were screaming.

The witch

Demon lady

The fence with skull and pumpkins

Me and my household members with our halloween head dress

With my dogs, Scotty and Nina

In front of the house

With my stepsister, Darling.  My parents missed the event since they were in Bohol.

THE GRAVEYARD

This is our neighbor's halloween set-up.  The owner incorporated sounds, lighting, and smoke.  Their daughter (child seated) also played a role. With all the effects, it really looks like a graveyard and it is hair raising.

Me and my sister with the bloody child

CHILDREN'S FACES DURING THE HALLOWEEN TRICK OR TREAT