One Parking Lot: 35: Let Go of Some

Café by the Ruins

Baguio City, PH

June 15, 2012

Project: Food and Thoughts No. 35

It was my plan to include Café by the Ruins in Tagaytay City on my Food and Thoughts blog segment. When Mei (my colleague) told me that there’s one in Baguio and that she can bring us there for lunch, I did not hesitate. We were sent to Baguio to attend a strategic planning related to work. But it should not be a reason to just work; there’s always time to play.

We ordered the following:

Ruins Coffee @ P80-

Filtered w/ cardamom, topped with whipped cream, moscovado sugar & cinnamon powder.

Shrimp & Mango Curry @ P280-

Prawns in coconut milk curry, served w/ 7 condiments: hardboiled egg, grated coconut, fried onions, chili, chutney, papadums and peanuts. Served with rice.

Baguio Bagnet @ P300-

A typical Ilocano meal: double fried pork belly tenderized in lard, then re-fried toa crip. Condiments are Padas, bagoong and tomato relish accompanied w/ Dinengdeng soup.

The Olympia’s Fresh Lumpia @ P180-

Juliened vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, string beans, camote, onions etc. Sauteed w/ garlic & tofu, wrapped in crepe, w/ sauce & chopped peanuts.

Pandan Chicken @ P280-

Fried chicken & turmeric wrapped in pandan leaf served with sweet-sour chili sauce.

Beef Ribs Sinigang @ P300-
Falling off bones tender beef broth soured with tamarind fruit. Taro, vegetables and chili complete the ensemble.

It is always nice to be given a chance to travel and develop oneself professionally. This isn't the first time SITEL has given me this opportunity.

I almost did not make it to this trip. It may sound arrogant to say I pushed back at first. Let me explain.

Training, the department I belong to, is a crucial part in any outsourcing business. With the growing demands of the outsourcing companies, having back-to-back classes is a normal scenario. It is also a good scenario because it means we have jobs. It was this and a lot of other things that got me a little bit worried leaving for a trip.

Am glad I changed my mind because I learned a lot. On top of it all, I learned that sometimes when we are confronted with a lot of issues that hinder the growth of the team we belong to, the solution doesn't always come from solving the problems at hand but coming up with something that will prevent the same problems in the future. There are unsolved problems that you need to let go and suffer the consequences of in order to keep your team running like a well-oiled machine even in the future. You win some, you lose some.

It was in this trip that I learned to let go of some, find out the source of the problems and address it to protect the future of the team I have learned to treat like a family.