In my last newsletter, Vince shared his vacation photos from Manjuyod. Manjuyod is actually located in the province where Lougie (another programmer of ours) lives. Vince thought it would be great if he got my team members, who are on the island of Negros, for dinner.
They’ve been working together for years; some have never seen each other face to face.
So they got in touch with each other, and they had dinner! They sent me photos!
All 8 adults in these photos work for us.
And so, as the plan for our family outing (to Manjuyod) was set, Jenn and Arleen also made some plans to meet with our co-workers.
We just couldn’t let the chance of not meeting each other when we were just an hour apart.
We live on the same island, Negros. And we haven’t met yet. Lougie and I, even though we’ve been working together all these years.
And so, finally, here’s the Onlinejobs.ph Team, Negros Chapter.
We met for an early dinner in another city called Dumaguete. It’s an hour’s drive from where we stayed and just about 15mins from where they live.
Until that day, I really did not know what Lougie looked like and that he and Sydney were husband and wife.
They are such a lovely couple, and meeting them was the highlight of my day.
Lougie and I can’t help discussing work, our tech stacks, and new stuff. And most of all, what Onlinejobs.ph meant for us all these years.
Jenn was so excited about meeting them all, and most of her time was spent talking; she forgot to eat. We ended up asking to have her food put in a doggie bag.
Arleen still had support duty then, so she occasionally checked emails and worked.
After dinner, we decided to move to a nearby place for drinks and live music.
Lougie and Sydney were chilling. Jocelyn and Jenn can’t help but continue to talk shop.
We went our separate ways a couple of hours later. A bit tipsy except for the designated drivers. All were in good spirits.
We agreed to see each other again and go to places to meet with others on the Team, like Joven in Davao or Paolo in Cebu.
It’s always nice to put a face to a name. To hear a voice when you’re reading their emails.
Perhaps all of Onlinejobs.ph can have a team outing. Just a thought.
Man, I really wished I was there to join them. It’s so nice to see them outside of their profile photos.
I was also really touched that Arleen was still working at that time. She didn’t have to. If I had known they had this planned, I would have given her the day off.
But I still really appreciate it, and I’m not surprised. That’s the kind of dedication you can expect from a rockstar OFS.
John