Hello World!

You’ve come to my very own personal blog. It’s not the only personal blog I have out on the net, this is just the newest one.

I’m thinking that I should take this blog seriously since it’s a companion site to my alterego on the www – carmenvilladar [dot] com.

Here’s a little bit about me.

I was born in Cebu Philippines and immigrated to Canada when I was 3. I grew up in Toronto and spent all my childhood and young adulthood immersed in the Toronto Scene. I love Toronto! Toronto will always have a place in my heart.

I wanted to be an architect but my parents thought it wouldn’t be a good idea to take that up.

1. They had no money and

2. They didn’t believe I would be able to complete the 5 year course at the University of Toronto.

Being of filipino mentality at the time, they encouraged (encouraged is a nice word to use here) me to take up nursing. Much to my dismay, I did.

Fast forward many years later and twice going through the nursing program, I finally finished it. But I DID not work as a nurse in Toronto. Healthcare was really bad and hospitals were closing down their services. Pre-Grads were no longer getting hired on the units they worked on. That was okay, I didn’t want to be  nurse anyway.

Instead I ended up working in so many small jobs (pumping gas at the Esso on Dundas and Elizabeth St, and working in a wholesale silver jewellery place – it was my landlord’s business). The one that I finally landed was a receptionist job working for WHERE Toronto -  traveller and Visitor Publication. I was only there for 6 months when I moved into the New Media Department for corporate, WHERE Magazines International. It was in the same building just a different floor. It was here in 1993 where I got introduced to the concept of New Media. I’ve been hooked ever since.

After 3 years at WHERE I was able to get me an internship with B.B.D.O. on Bloor and Yonge Street. I was supposed to start in October of 1996 but something happened that totally changed the course of my life. I met a guy. He encouraged me to go back into nursing. This was almost perfect timing because my dear Aunt Annie just came up from Texas for the Canadian Thanksgiving and asked me why I wasn’t working as a nurse. I told her I didn’t want to be a nurse. She told me that they were hiring nurses in McAllen Texas with a 12K sign-on bonus for a two year contract. To make a long story short, my then boyfriend told me I should go for it. After the two years and with the money I was suppose to save (earning U.S. dollars and all), we could get married in France (he had a sister who lived in France) – that deal was enough to make me go into a profession I did not want get into. Getting married in France at the end of 2 years!???? SURE!

We planned for it too. He even surprised me with Bridal Magazines and using 3M stickers, would mark pages of wedding gowns, rings, etc .. that he wanted me to look at. How cool is that?

So, I packed my bags and we said our, “See you soons” at the airport on Nov. 3rd 1996. That was the last I saw of him.

He was supposed to move down to McAllen after 6 months for my birthday. He never did. Apparently, he got cold feet or something. My suspicion is, he got together with this chick who was living in his mom’s apartment building. Her name was Catherine.

I wasn’t hurt. I was simply disappointed. Here I was, stuck in a city that was SOOO not Toronto working in a job I SOOOO did not like however, there was another catch. You can read about it here.

I ended up staying in Texas for 11 years. 6 years in McAllen and 5 years in Houston. I also met someone too. We were together for 9 years.  Why didn’t we get married? Guess it just wasn’t right at the time. We talked about it. His family thought of us as a married couple. They even wanted to know when we’d start having children. Truth be told though, I wasn’t convinced that this relationship would be my last. Call it a woman’s intuition. We are still good friends up to this day though. It was hard leaving him. Harder for him I suppose but … a girl has to do what a girl has to do.

I learned a lot during my nursing career. I worked in most areas, Cardiac & Neurology mostly. I also was in management for a few years. I didn’t like that all too well. I was a nurse. I should be at the beside, not crunching numbers and overseeing others. After 2 years in management I went back to bedside nursing. It was a lot more rewarding being hands-on *literally* with people than just seeing them from your black pumps and suit.

I believe that it was during these years in nursing that I began to really understand “Love”. Universal Unconditional Love. It also helped me to increase my humanity.  I was able to hone down on not just the usual people skills, but really develop a sense and taste for how people are, based on certain key variables.  I developed an intuitive nature on how to approach others. I was even the one they would send in to resolve “conflicts”. Conflicts, being – potential lawsuits to the hospital. These cases never pushed forward. Not after I handled them

Then, in 2005 a good friend of mine, who happened to be my upstairs neighbour told me about a virtual world called “Second Life“. We logged on together and for the life of me, I couldn’t really figure it out back then. After spending 2 hrs of trying to change my avatar, I logged out. I never returned until October of 2006. It was then, that I discovered all the wonderful things that the Second Life platform can be.  In Second Life I was finally the architect I always dreamed of being.

I even created a second avatar to do the building. My first avatar’s name is Maxine Montale – she was the business woman. She bought and sold land and would scour Second Life looking for prospects to join in on the new development project I was creating called “The Emerald Isle”. My second and main avatar’s name is Ysabel Isabella.

Then on Christmas Eve of 2006 the nursing agency cancelled me. I scheduled myself to work on that day (time and a half you know) but there wasn’t enough patients so they told me to stay home. I normally worked 12 hr nights. So, all dressed up with no where to go on Christmas Eve, Maxine Montale logged into Second Life.

When I logged on, I received a virtual Christmas present from a Second Life friend. I didn’t get him anything so I had to scramble and find him a present too. It was here that I met a watchmaker. I bought a virtual watch from his store and asked if he could engrave it for me, as a present for my friend. We met at his virtual watch store and it was here that I decided to log on using my second avatar, Ysabel Isabella with my other laptop.

The moment Maxine teleported Ysabel into the watchmaker’s store, the watchmaker got down on his knees using an animation pose and started proposing marriage to Ysabel Isabella. Going along with the very cute scenario, I started typing on the laptop that Ysabel was on, “Yes, I will marry you.”

And that my dear guests was what lead me to where I am today – in Happy Germany!

What was only going to be some sort of role play took on a life of its own. We ended up falling in love in Second Life and it was this that prompted our decision to not only see one another in real life but to move in together.

I was always looking for the right time to leave nursing. I always knew that I would move onto another career, I just didn’t know what. I was always hoping though that I could get something in I.T.. I certainly prepared myself over the years as a nurse by subscribing to most of the I.T. publications under the pseudo company name of Digital Diva Inc. – CEO.

I also knew in my heart of hearts that my destiny somehow was to be in Europe.  After meeting the watchmaker in Second Life and getting to know him, falling in love with him and deciding to move in with him in his flat in Germany, everything all started to come together. *This* was it. It was *time*. The universe had opened the door of nursing and allowed me to leave, so I did.

I arrived in Frankfurt, Germany in May of 2007. I had to wait 9 months to get a work permit. In February of 2008 I started working as a freelance Business English Trainer. I still freelance as a Business English Trainer.  I met lots of great people. I also founded the Frankfurt Girl Geek Dinners (October ‘08) and (likemind) Frankfurt (March ‘08).

In November of 2008 I went to the Philippines to attend the Book Launching of my mother and also to celebrate my dad’s 70th bday. Prior to landing in Cebu, Philippines I tweeted on twitter that I wanted to organize a Social Media Meet Up and a Cebu Girl Geek Dinner. I received a few responses. One of them came from a girl who worked for Exist Global. It also turned out that my cousin use to work for Exist Global but had just recently left the company to pursue other endeavours. This was how I met Winston, the CEO. I connected with him on Facebook. Then oneday I received a chat from him on Facebook while I was sitting in the lobby of the Mariott Hotel in Cebu. We talked and he arranged to fly me to Manila to visit the HQ of Exist Global. I even got to stay in their corporate condo. I had a great time. Exist has a great team of people and after talking with the V.P. of Global Operations and the marketing team for 5 hours I knew I wanted to work for their company.

In January of 2009, I started working for Exist Global as their Business Development lead, helping them get established here in Europe. Germany first

This blog then will be a compilation of my trials and tribulations as I make a new life for me here in Germany, and as I also embark on the career of my dreams – I.T.!