hala 2007 na!

Tomorrow 2006 will be over and a new year will be ushered in. So eto ay isang blog na looking back at the year that I turned 25. hehe.

Ang galing ni God talaga. I was reading my faith goals which I wrote in January and almost all of them, He has fulfilled for me -- the projects, the travel, even the house! (yes, with my meager earnings I have now been able to put down a downpayment for a house! yippeee). And God even made this the year where I finally met Paui (well, not technically meet kasi I have seen him naman in company A) just that I fell in love with him much to his utmost and sublime happiness. hehehe. :P And I didnt even ask God for a boyfriend this year and declared myself lovesick free. Galing di bah? And my family has generally been healthy and happy and most importantly, debt free. At work, I had a pretty good evaluation, thanks to my very buotan na boss. :) So I will almost miss 2006. The year which I thought would be horrible because I would turn 25 (quarter century na...shudder shudder...hehehe. joke) has been one of the most exciting yet.

And inspite of my trepidations and my fears (which of course si God na bahala because our fate is in His hands naman..very capable hands)...I am looking forward to 2007. I look forward to a year of turning 26, of spending time with Paui in Bangkok, of challenges in the office and the opportunity to learn more (and earn more. hahahaha). And my baby sis bea is going off to college so hapit na intawn mahuman paggasto sa tuition. hehehe.

So this year, my faith goals :

1. padak-i tawn ako sweldo Lord. (hehehe)

2. project assignment ( i like it more than being assigned sa BKK lng)

3. be faithful in my quiet time and going to church

4. stronger relationship with Paui (my longest relationship thus far, and hopefully my last...)

5. finish paying the house (puh-leazeee).

6. larga hazel (to help me unta)

7. promotion (didnt get promoted this year...sana sa 2007... )

And my prayer for this year, that I hope God will continue to bless my family and me with health and happiness and well if ok ra sa iyaha, wealth nalng sad. hehehe. And peaceful elections for our country next year of course.

Happy New Year Everyone! :)

Cape Town Holiday - Day 3

I understand that my past entries are rather voluble (even for me). And wala pang pics! hehehe. Pero what can I say, wala akong life today (dahil inubos na ng pamilya ko pera ko for pasko. hahaha).

Anyway, our third day in Capetown was our most shala, because we went to the wineyards to...ta-daa...do wine tasting. Yes, you heard it here first folks, we are now wine connoisseurs. We went to two wine estates, Boschendal (for the wine tasting) and another one (I cannot remember the name. Just know it sounded very French) for the view and lunch.

Boschendal is in the border of Stellenbosch already (or beyond). It is a big wine estate and thus they offer cellar tours and wine tasting for only 25 rand!!! Very cheap. So we went on the cellar tour first. Thankfully, they didn't require advance reservations or bookings so we were able to get in. I thought the cellar tour would be the underground cellars, very old fashioned ones. But unfortunately for us, it was made up of hug machines (thought they would get the grape juice like stomping on it. like that Keanu Reeves movie.). But anyway, they had this one room with barrels and barrels of wine. The guide was talking about wines and everything, pero picture picture nlng kami ni Paui.

After the cellar tour, nag wine tasting kami! oh di ba, feeling naman namin makaka differentiate kami sa texture, color, etc ng wine. hehehe. So we got 14 glasses (7 glasses each). It was more of wine drinking than wine tasting for us actually. hahaha. Thankfully, matagal malasing itong si Paui so he could still drive. Then we had lunch at another wine estate known for its food and its view. We already expected the shala-ness of the price so di naman kami masyado na shock. But the food was good, the view was good and so was the company. And the weather was cooperating too (it did actually for the whole four days). Haay, if mayroon lng sila duyan, natulog na ako dun.

After our lunch, we decided on either going back to the city area and go to Camps Bay or chance a whale watching at Hermanos. Not knowing that Hermanos was millions of miles away, we decided to drop by Hermanos and say hi to the whales.

Dyos ko. We spent almost 2 hours on the road going to Hermanos. And Paui had to use his driving skill to negotiate two steep and very challenging mountain passes. Nag heart attack ako nun when I thought we were lost because Paui's voice contained a tinge of panic in it when he said 'Baby, tingnan mo mapa! baby, wala na tayo sa coast. Tama ba ang daan natin?????'. Pero the road offered no point of return so we were stuck in our plan to go to Hermanos. We spent approximately 10 minutes in Hermanos to see a whale wagging its tail in the air (i guess its called beaching) before Paui urged that we head back as soon as possible before dumilim. hehehe. ga panic akong baby.

Thankfully, we returned to the city center safely. For dinner naman, we tried a restaurant in Long Street. Long Street is like Khao San and Malate. Apparently , malaki daw gay community sa Capetown. We parked in this place na may pink neon sign na 'Sex Videos for Rent'. hehehe. grabe. di sila shy dito.

We went to the Long Street Cafe and had some pizza and yummy chicken and some Long Street Iced Tea (parang Long Island iced tea). Paui wanted to order some macho beer thing. But I convinced him to take a cocktail koz beer he can always order anywhere, but yung timpla ng cocktail minsan is nag iiba from place to place. hehe. So ayun, ang bf ko tuloy ay may drink na may payong. hehehe.

In our last day in Capetown, we went to Robyn Island, the island which housed political prisoners during apartheid like Nelson Mandela. Astig dahil our guide was himself a prisoner there . So it lent more authenticity to the place. We went to the prison cells, heard the story then we had to take the ferry home because we had to check out and catch our flight home.

It was really sad to leave Capetown. Paui and I had such a fun time from the planning to the actual implementation (hehe. parang change request ba). And the place was so beautiful. Pag honeymoon ko, gusto ko bumalik dito. hahaha. Or maybe in another part of South Africa like sa garden route or Port Elizabeth. hehehe. parinig...parinig... hahahaha.

Capetown Holiday - Day 2

I woke up excited to start the day. Because according to our well-planned and well-documented itinerary, we would be doing our drive down to the world famour and world heritage site of Cape of Good Hope and Cape Point.

After a full breakfast, off we went to the tip of the Peninsula. Paui actually mapped out the route we would take and even made a little codigo so I know which signs to look out for (he knows how inept I am with a map...girl scout training and all. haha. I think were we to go join the amazing race, we would always be the last team to arrive). It was Sunday so the streets were not so full of people. We passed by one road where it looked like downtown Capetown. I got quite scared at that point because I imagined someone ambushing us on the road and just robbing us basically. It was a really long drive, albeit a straight one.

Finally, we got to the coast! Ganda. The roads they built were very close to the coast so I was able to enjoy the view while Paui drove. Picture picture nalng ako so Paui will get to enjoy what he missed during the drive.

Our first stop was at Boulders beach. Here we saw the African penquins. Ang cute cute nila. They were just living there on the beach, one whole group of them. They were very small , just up to my kness lng. The penguins were located in a coastal town named Simon's Town. We were planning to have lunch there in one of the small and quaint looking hotels overlooking the ocean. But we nixed that idea and decided to eat at Cape Point instead.

We then stopped at one point on our journey for a bit of whale watching. But di kami prepared koz we didn't prepare binoculars. So while the people around us where ooh-ing and ahh-ing that they saw whales and very big ones, we just saw water. We comforted ourselves with the thought that yes, we did see a whale in the harbour yesterday.

We drove on again. Near the Cape of Good Hope National Park, we stopped by because there was a weird sight to behold: baboons, hordes of them, coming down the mountains. And they were apparently in heat because their butts were as red as ever. We have dire warnings on our guidebooks to not feed them nor walk around with food when they are near. They actually kill the baboons that the tourists feed! Crazy huh. And one woman in the car in front of us, got out of her car (against the rule to stay in the car and close the windows) and took pictures of baboons. Well. A rule breaker. If she gets mauled by one baboon, then it's her own fault . Hmp.

Finally we arrived at the National Park. Since we were dying from starvation already ( we simply lacked the foresight to bring packed lunches), we ate at the pricey but well situated Cape Point Restaurant. We ordered burgers (which were the cheapest ones on the menu). Once done, we decided to go up to the lighthouse first then go down the Cape of Good Hope hiking trails. Since going up was going to be so much trouble for our exercise-challenged bodies, we bought a one way ticket to the funicular instead. A funicular (I think that is how its called) is like a train going upward. And since this particular one was steep, it felt like a ride at Enchanted Kingdom or something. hahaha. Needless to say, I enjoyed it.

We went up the light house and they had this cool signpost which pointed to the exact direction and gave the exact distance of famous cities like New York, Paris, etc. Bakit kaya wala ang Manila or Cebu dun? hahaha. It was quite windy up there so may kaguluhan mga pictures namin. And from up there, you can see the tipmost point (not officially the tipmost, just the most famous tip) jutting out and they say that if you run a straight line and point southwards, you can reach the antarctic region from there already. And that area is the meeting point of two oceans, the Atlantic and the Indian. Which would explain the strong currents and why so many ships get shipwrecked around here. In fact, they even have hiking trails towards the shipwrecks (there is even a Chinese vessel marooned here and the wreck is still preserved.

In fact, I think that either Dias or Vasco da Gama got shipwrecked here in Capetown after going from the Philippines in search of the spice islands. Weird huh. I was standing on a spot mentioned by my history teacher during social studies class. hehehe. Well, I can't remember half of the History lessons I have had, but these two names do sound familiar. ;)

Then Paui and I walked down to the actual tip sa peninsula. I swear. The winds were so strong that I was afraid it would blow Paui or me to the sea! I actually chicked out the first time we came down as I felt the slope was too steep. Paui talked me into it and after five minutes, I went down to the tip. He kept on offering to hold my hand but I was afraid if he did, he would be walking far too close to the edge then it would be my fault if he fell . (okay, i am a bit paranoid. hehehe. sakit naman siguro ni). So finally we reached the tipmost point and saw the new lighthouse (they had to create a new one because the one on the cliff kept getting hampered by fogs and thus was not so effective). We spent a few minutes wondering how in the world were they able to create a state of the art light house on the edge of a rocky cliff with angry waves crashing on the shore. I mean, the logistical nightmare! This should be featured on Discovery under one of their construction shows.

Then Paui and I back down (we only bought one way tickets for the funicular). And had our picture taken again by a farang. hehe. Then after energizing ourselves with water, we went for our second hike, the one to the other point. This one, I am ashamed to admit, I was already plain scared. Just imagine, they built wooden pathways at the edge of the cliffs without railings. The winds were strong it was literally picking me up and throwing me off the trail. And there were times when the path took a steep turn and I couldn't see beyond it anymore. I panicked and stopped several times, testing my baby's patience to the limit (heck, I felt like I was going to be on the front page of tomorrow's daily "FILIPINA JUMPS OFF THE CLIFF IN DESPERATION").

Finally, Paui convinced me to take his hand and we we walked the trail together. It is cheezy and corny, but walking that path hand in hand just gave me a certain stability inspite of the howling wind. Sure there were times we had to stop because the wind was too strong and were pushing me towards the rocks, but I felt safer holding his hand than if I was walking alone. :P Corny and senti ko...pero paki nyo, blog ko ito eh. hahahahaha.
And we finished the walk, with matching rock climbing pa ito. All in all, we walked almost a total of 4 hours. Work out na ito! hahaha.

Exhausted and tired, we drank cokes and were walking back to the car when who should be walking towards us but (psycho music please) a baboon! Not just any baboon, but a big one. And we had drinks in our possession. Would it maul us in order to get the drinks? Should we scream and run like poorly paid actors in a B horror Hollywood flick? Finally, we decided to walk quietly past (and we were ready to throw our Cokes in case it approached us). Once we were a little distance away, we ran. hahaha. Shameless cowards, I know. One of the more unfortunate vehicle owners had a baboon sitting contentedly on top of their car. I wonder how they will manage to drive away .

We were going to try to catch the sunset again at the waterfront, but once again, we failed and we had to content ourselves with the stars twinkling in the distance. We ate at Spurs (this restaurant which serves the best chicken and beef kebabs). It was Paui's favorite resto and would explain the considerable increase in his girth so nagbigay pugay kami dun. I had my favorite Savannah Dry (kaya sarap tulog ko. hehe).

It was a perfect day. We had the beautiful scenery, exotic animals (baboon included) and of course, spending it with my man. ;)

Capetown Holiday - Day 1

A week before I finally leave South Africa for good, Paui and I booked 4 solid days for a rendezvous in the scenic city of Capetown.

Usually, what you see in postcards and guidebooks isn't exactly what you get when you actually arrive at the place. But in the case of Capetown, my gosh! the city is friggin beautiful dyud. With the beautiful bay fronting the city and the Table Mountain and Signal Hill shrouding the city from the back, the result is a city which looks like vacation haven (and is actually) for many. I wonder why Siemens just didn't put their main office there. I would have volunteered to actually stay in this crime-infested country.

Paui and I (with the help of guidebooks like the Rough Guide to South Africa and a very detailed Capetown map which Paui bought from CNA) put up a rather compreshensive itinerary. Rather, I made the itinerary and Paui gave the final approval after checking the maps if the plans I made were rather possible and we were not rushing from one place to another for 30 minutes in the span of a hundred kilometers.

Our first day, we woke up at 4 am, readied our bags and drove to the airport. We parked at the parking area near the airport which cost us around 80 rand per day. :( Paui was actually a bit bummed about it, but what can we do? We had to park at the safest parking area possible.

We then met up with Thai friends at the airport and we all had breakfast together at Wimpy's. But as we booked separate flights, we had to leave earlier to catch ours. I am ashamed to say that I got into a bit of bad mood because I thought we were going to be late and showed a tad bit shade of jealousy (at something I really don't want to just explain here now). Jealousy isn't attractive (on me anyway) so I quickly dropped that and made up with him (this took place in about 2 minutes. What can I say, I am so easy to placate and he is getting very good at soothing my ruffled tempers).

Two hours of smooth flying later, we arrived at the Capetown airport to overcast skies. Obviously, just minutes before we landed, it was raining in Capetown. Puddles of water were still visible on broken sections of the pavement. Unwilling to let our spirits be dampened by the weather, I muttered a quick prayer to God for sunny days while we were here. I was not willing to let 5000 rand go to waste just because of a bit of rain! (and strong winds :P)

We encountered our first problem at the car rental. Due to budget contstraints, we took one of the cheapest cars -- a red Chico. It was a bit small and looked ready to fall apart at the slightest provocation, but it was fine. The real problem happened when we were driving out of the airport. Because the car in the middle of humming along smoothly to the traffic, just slowed down --- and stopped. Paui started the car again and we drove on for about 1 minute, then it stopped again! In the middle of the intersection! In a country where bad driving was almost a norm! My normally placid and patient baby was not sputtering with reined in anger and frustration. We made it back to the car rental office after stopping four friggin times! Then we changed our car and upgraded ourselves to a blue Toyota Corolla which was a more dependable car at any rate.

First stop, we checked in at our hotel. Since it was still morning (we had over estimated the distances and time when planning our itinerary. We didn't expect Capetown to be small and accessible) and we can only officialy get into our rooms at 2pm, we decided to go to the V&A Waterfront first.

Ganda. It was like Clark Quay in Singapore but only better and not artificial looking. It was an actual harbor on one end and on the other end was the big V&A mall with restaurants serving sea food on the side. The skies were still overcast and we were debating whether to go on and climb Signal Hill and Table Mountain which would be a waste since if its cloudy and foggy, we wouldnt see a thing from up there anyway. Not to mention the treacherous drive. So we killed time by walking around the waterfront area (and Paui posed with some African dancers). Then we saw this ad for whale watching. Guaranteed daw you get up close and personal with whales. But it was a hefty 400 rand (3200 in our Philippine pesos) kaya pinag isipan pa namin. Then we saw a cheaper one (40 rand) for a tour of the harbor. So we went on that one. Not bad for a ride which cost 40 rand only.

The tour in the beginning was very boring actually. The guide just made snide and witty comments (altnerating) about the places around the harbor, about himself and his partner. We saw lots of seals resting on the pier too. But just as we were going back, wham! Things began to get exciting when Paui spotted a whale! Yes ladies and gents, a real live whale in the harbo and just meters from our boat. We saw it spouting water and slapping its tail. It was very exciting and frightening. The guide only had us stop for five minutes before we were off to shore and he had to warn people that there was whale in the harbor (Whale in the Harbour soon became the shout to sell their harbor tour thingies).

Then Paui drove us (me) up to Signal Hill after lunch time when the sun miraculously shone again! God is really good!!! The route was extremely scenic. Ganda ng placement ng backdrop ng mountains tapos the ocean across and the city just below us. When God made the earth siguro, he had some favorites which he granted with all nature has to offer and one of them is Capetown. And in fairness, the roads were well maintained. Even the park up Signal Hill was very clean. And NO ENTRANCE FEE! After taking a few poses (ang nagpakapal muks so someone can take a pic of both of us), we drove down the mountain and up another one...the one with a cable car.

Ayaw aminin ni Paui ngayon, pero that time he was hesitant in taking the cable car because he was afraid I would scream and shout and basically be a nuisance on the way ( i have a fear of heights--> remember the cable car at Genting?). But anyway, the cable car here was a two minute steep climb to the part of the mountain overlooking the city. And it could fit up to 20 people and it rotates. Astig talaga ! (choz ko, nakuha ko na ata vocab ng bf ko). So we took the cable car. During the ride up, a really irritating Japanese tourist (a whole horde of them was in the car with us and they were so noisy) just elbowed me and a little kid out of the way so he can get his stupid frigging picture. Wala man lng excuse me or at least a Japanese equivalent for that. And he was sweaty pa and all. Argh.

When we arrived at the top, it was still foggy. Feeling ko nasa set ako ng isang horror movie and a hand will just materialize out of the fog and grab me and want to eat me alive...hahaha. Or nasa set ako ng Okay Ka Fairy ko and nasa Engkantada kami. hehe. Eventually, the fog gave way and we got beautiful views of the city below. So picture picture and lakad lakad uli. hehe. They even had their own 12 Apostles stone structure here (favorite ni Paui dahil dami ata nya pose dun). Some people were kind enough to offer (offer ha...we didn't even have to ask) to take our picture. I guess they thought we were a cute Asian couple out on our honeymoon. hahah. cute as in maliit ha. hindi cute dahil cute. hahaha.

So nag coffee muna kami sa taas (it wasn't starbucks, but it would have to do..what can I say, coffee addicts kaming dalawa eh) and then back to lakad lakad and picture picture uli. I will post the pics once I upload it sa net. Paui just put them all in a CD kasi. Then that night, we officially were checked in, freshened up and went back to the Watefront to enjoy the sunset. That night we were feeling shala, so we ate at the Greek Fisherman restaurant which was just right beside the water. So we had a good view of the harbor while eating our food. We ate outside so we felt chilly. But it was a romantic spot. And medyo pricey ang restaurant pero ok lng. Libre naman ako ni Paui. hehe. thanks baby!

We downloaded our pics, reviewed our itinerary for tomorrow (gawd, organized pa kami ha. hahahah) then went to sleep thinking of the surprises tomorrow would bring.

Oo nga pala, God, thanks for the great weather that day. It was just perfect! :)

Taking a breather from the madness

Having spent enough money to almost leave me dry (and Christmas Eve hasn't even come yet!!!), I've decided to take a respite from spending and update my neglected blog instead.

Hahaha. I know my blog's lay out still looks incredibly amateurish, but hey, I am still experimenting. And I am not so good with HTML code (ok, so my knowledge is almost zero in this area). I usually take whatever template I can get and have my cousin put in some additions. But I am feeling industrious today so I gave my blog a slight makeover.

Medj magulo tingnan, pero pwede na. hahaha. Merry Christmas to all from me and my blog.

Bored..

wala lang...miss ko lng sya...hehehe.

Born in Africa

For my second to the last weekend in Africa, I finally, finally got to touch a real live lion!!!!
Ok (for my parents who are hyperventilating now) it wasn't a big lion. It was more like a baby lion. But still…it will grow up to become king of the jungle someday. Hehe. So technically, I was being brave.

We went to this Lion Park Reserve here in Gauteng. It was smaller than the Rhino and Lion Park, but it had more lions (obviously, yun ang pangalan eh). So they had this area where it was called Cub World and we saw baby hyenas (still incapable of eating humans), baby lions, baby giraffes and a baby leopard. Then we went inside this enclosure and went inside the cage with the baby lions. I swear, when the guide locked the door to the cage, I had images of these cubs suddenly outgrowing adolescence and deciding that human meat was the best meal they could ever have.

Anyway, ang cute sobra ng mga cubs. They were half the size of my body and there were six of them. There was one really hyperactive one. We could stroke their bodies and stomachs, basta just not the tail or the head or else *CHOMP* goes your finger. Their fur was very nice actually when you rub their stomachs (syempre, we just touched the one cub which was sleeping). At ang cute. Makes you want to own one.

And since I really found them cute and wanted to own one, Paui bought me a stuffed toy version. His name is Simba, dahil hello, he reminds me of the Lion King character. Hehe.
And Just like in Lion King, eto at may lion king drama pa (reminds me of that scene where Simba and his lady friend just met and were drinking and jumping up and down the waterfalls):
All in all, a rather enjoyable weekend. :) parang hollywood cartoon. Hahaha.

medyo delayed reply...

I was trying to clean up my yahoo mail when I came across one significant letter I've never responded to.

When I was writing a weekly column for a cebu daily years before (years before SAP completely ensnared me helpless in her grip and now I cannot practice what was once a highly creative and profitable exercise), I got my one and only angry email (well, it was the only reaction mail I've ever got for that column anyway. Hahaha).

I was basically lambasting the 'Blair Witch Project' movie. I mean,come on, when I was watching the movie, it made my head spin (in not so delightful ways) and my eyes basically hurt from all the jerky camera movement. I know it was heralded as a new genre type of movie. But it was my column and it was going to be my opinions which will get printed on that section of the paper…

If I remember correctly, the writer of that mail was reprimanding me, and was aghast that I, an Atenean, could be so hateful to such a popular, come-from-behind, independent, low budget movie. That how can I simply ignore the good workmanship and It just made me think actually. If I am an Atenean and because I come from a good school, does that mean then that I should always go in praise of movies like the Blair Witch (that just because everyone says it is great and scary and haunting and most of all, the herald to a new movie genre) that I should jump right on the bandwagon and say the same things?

I mean really. I was speaking as a movie goer. I didn’t feel riveted, I didn’t feel intrigued (I was more intrigued when I read the plot sa internet. This probably was a reason for the letdown when I watched the movie). To be honest, I was downright bored and consciously trying too hard to let myself enjoy the movie. And I had a headache afterwards. For me, that was not an enjoyable movie experience. If I wanted a headache, then I would just have listened to my mom ranting about my weaknesses. Or stare at my SAP screen and give the program endless short dumps (ay, wala pa pala ako sa SAP nun. I was blissfully unaware of my future as an ABAPER).

:P So ayan, five years late in reply…pero naka reply din ako. Hahaha.

If Petiks ka, Mag blog ka...

1. FIRST NAME? Rochelle

2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?Most probably a gorgeous queen or princess…hehehe.

3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY?Just last weekend

4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?Yeah, of course!

5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?Hmm…KFC?

6. KIDS?None noh. Hello!

7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOURSELF?Yeah, in a nutshell. Bwahahaha.

8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL?yeah

9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT?Di noh. What makes you think that,genius?

10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?Yeah.

11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?Yeah.

12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?Woolworths Cereal clusters

13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?nope

14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?Um, yeah.

15. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?Magnolia Mango Ice cream

16. SHOE SIZE?Hehe. Depends on the country, depends on the brand

17. RED OR PINK?PINK

18. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?Easy to provoke...

19. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST?My family

20. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU?no

21. WHAT COLOR OF PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?Black sandals from VNC

22. WHAT DID YOU EAT LAST?KFC for lunch (Paui took me there to resolve my bad mood).

23. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW?My officemates working on their PCs

24. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?Pink (hehe)

25. FAVORITE SMELL?Fruity ones and on guys, the im-fresh-from-the-shower smell

26. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?My boss for my evaluation

27. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO?Clean-cut, good boy, i-cant-hurt-a-fly-even-if-i-tried image

28. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?Uh-huh.

29. FAVORITE DRINK?Margarita (CM2 margarita night di ba reys? Hahaha)

30. FAVORITE SPORT?Basketball (watch-ing)

31. HAIR COLOR?Black

32. EYE COLOR?Black

33. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?No

34. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE FOOD?Hmm…KFC hot and crispy from Malaysia

35. SCARY MOVIE OR HAPPY ENDING?Happy Ending

36. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?Just My Luck (we watched on dvd and Paui was cringing everytime. Bwahahaha)

37. WHAT COLOR OF SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?white

38. SUMMER OR WINTER?Summer

39. HUGS OR KISSES?Hahahaha. HUGS! ;)

40. FAVORITE DESSERT?Ice cream…no, iced coffee with ice cream!!! :)

41. WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND?None

42. LEAST LIKELY to RESPOND?People not reading and those who are reading this blog. :

43. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING?The Devil Wears Prada and book 4 of the Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

44. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD?No mouse pad. Hahaha.

45. WHAT DID YOU WATCH LAST NIGHT ON TV?Our stupid cable is broken so now we're watching DVDs

46. What are your favorite SOUNDS?Sea crashing against the soft mounds of sand on the beach

47. ROLLING STONE OR BEATLES?Beatles

48. THE FURTHEST YOU’VE BEEN FROM HOME?South Africa

49. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT?Hmmmmmm……I can eat KFC for 2 weeks straight…does that count? Hahahaha.

50. WHERE WERE YOU BORN?Cebu City

AJA barkada

Obvious ba, medyo petiks ako. Kaya sunud-sunod ang blog entries ko…hahahaha.

Now, since I am chronicling my life here for my own pleasure, I am now going to narrate the extremely exciting and not-so-perfect-but-still-fun day at the Diamond mine.

Once our projectmates learned that we were going to a diamond mine on Saturday, you can imagine the amount and quality of the jokes hurled at Paui--- That he is planning to buy diamonds for me, people shouting at me to prepare myself to choose the best diamon I want koz he will buy it..etc etc etc. My poor, red-faced boyfriend's only weapons against such comments was a frantic 'no money, diamonds are expensive' harassed chant. Hahaha.

Anyway, that day, we went with a group of Indian colleagues, maybe they were around 15 siguro in 4 cars. Tapos Paui and I brought up the rear. In the morning,we went to Cullinan. It was a still operational diamond mine and quaint mining town with old Victorian houses seated in neat rows. We signed up on a surface tour, although most of our companions (paui included.hehe) thought we were actually going underground and kaya medyo na disappoint nung di kami nag climb down sa mining hole. Maybe it was because they handed out hard hats to us so medyo our imagination got the best of us.

Cullinan is not the biggest diamond mine in South Africa, but it is the most famous. The biggest uncut and cut diamond in the world was found here. And of course, there was a liz taylor diamond which came from here and became famous because of its cost and its wearer. There was a museum inside the mining complex so we got to take a good look at some diamonds. Frankly, the whole place looked like a cement factory. The only exciting thing there was the huge crater-like opening at the top of the mine, which served as the mine's opening.

Finally, we went to the diamond store. The diamonds in RSA are more expensive than in Dubai or India for example. Super mahal! So after drooling over diamonds we cannot afford and mercilessly torturing Paui that I wanted one (syempre girl ako,so half meant ang jokes. Bwahahaha. Sana di nagbabasa boyfriend ko dito. Pero sana basa din nya ito.hahaha), we just went to lunch at a nearby restaurant well-known to locals. Our companions spoke to each other in their native tongue. Either we were too hungry too notice, or to oblivious or used to it to even care, we actually enjoyed that meal. Hehe.

Afterwards, we went to a nearby dam to check out the scene. A lot of campers were camping on the side of the river. The men then started to compete in throwing rocks (for the life of me, di ko maalala ang pangalan). It was a macho thing I guess. Then we went to my now-favorite mall in Gauteng: Menlyn Park. First time ko manood ng IMAX movie. Admittedly, medyo boring sya dahil about whales and whale migration, pero cool pa din. Gusto ko bumalik when they are showing eqyptian myths and stuff. Hehe. Eto pics:

Paui in a pink backpack... hehehe.

i am in such a prissy mood today that i felt like posting one of my fave pics... hehe.

Batchmates in BKK

It is a bit belated, but here are pics from AC batchmates' (with their better halves for some) visit in Bangkok. :)

The Break Up

I saw the movie 'The Break Up' and its unsatisfying ending reared again my cynical side which has so far hidden itself since I've had a romantic involvement recently. This cynical side now triumphantly rears its ugly head and thumps on what essentially the movie is saying --> that romantic entanglements, no matter how good it starts, no matter how long it goes on, will never have a happy ending.

Ok, so maybe I am exaggerating a bit. But come on, this two people meet, flirt, fall in love and move in together. After a couple of years, little things begin to bother them and the next thing they know is they're headed to their realtor to sell off their joint property.

To be honest, it makes me fearful somewhat. I have never been a girl who was so glossy eyed and whose head is so in the clouds that I declare whatever love I have now will last forever. No, I have always been the sort to step back and look cynically and pessimistically say 'nah, I give this 14 months tops'. My philosophy then was the more you anticipate the fall, the softer your landing becomes.

Now that I'm with Paui, I try to repress these thoughts. Yet in the corner of my mind, in the midst of my happiness, there is always that voice poking me annoyingly. It makes me think that every little mistake, every little quarrel could spell the end of the relationship. That no matter how happy we are with each other at the moment, things could change in a millisecond and we might be fighting and calling it quits. That that is just the way the Wheel turns, how the Pattern is weaved…

He says I should put more trust in him and in Him. Yet its not him I do not trust, but rather the quirkiness of Fate. ( Pink's song 'Who Knew' ). To be honest, I have so many what-ifs in my mind that I get tired just thinking about it.

A friend once advised me to just let go and enjoy the moment. I am in love. Somebody is in love with me. And we are both extremely happy which should basically be all that matters. Doubts have no place in the middle of a love affair.

But this is so hard to do, when the cynic that is me is just itching to say 'I told you so…'.

Gawd, see, I won't watch this movie again. Or maybe this is an effect of being on my own the whole weekend. Nasisiraan na ako ng bait...hehehe.

Khup Khun Ka!

with Paui and our Thai colleagues at Giant's Peak ... (wala lang. gusto ko lng i-post.hahaha)

Hear the Lions roar...

Finally! I got to see real live, sleek, vicious African animals! In Africa! Hehe. Labo ka ba? Kasi naman, I have been here for two months already and so far all I have seen are mountains, caves, malls or the office. I wanted to see lions and elephants and rhinos…and one Saturday I finally got my wish.

Paui took me to the Rhino and Lion Park just near the borders of Gauteng. He already went before earlier this year, but he was still sweet enough to take me there despite having to drive for a long time just to reach the place. The reserve park was located in another middle of nowhere location, but surprisingly had very good (albeit lonely) roads. So while Paui was driving, I was busy taking pics of him driving (and the scenery also, of course).

Unlike zoos, natural reserves here require you to go inside your car and drive inside the zoo. It is like you are entering this mini wilderness where all the animals are roaming free and people are the odd ones out. Our brochures held dire warnings (do not be in the vicinity of vicious animals for too long as they might attack, do not open your windows too wide, make sure your car is ready to accelerate and other comforting stuff like that).

So we saw some antelopes and goats (really elegant ones though but I forgot its name. Parang ibex) and ostriches and zebras! It was my first time to actually see a zebra and it was really great. It was as big as a pony or a small horse. Did you know that zebras are actually white and have black stripes? (and not the other way around). I swear, it was like discovery channel come to life!

Then we drove into a higher security area where all the predators are. The lions here are really majestic, unlike the fat, well fed ones at the Safari world in Bangkok. Here, you truly come to understand why they are the kings of the jungle. Standing, they almost come to my shoulders (not that I tried to stand side by side with a lion. I am just gues-timating.hehe). Then we saw some wild dogs which looked like hyenas. There was a pack of them and it was attempting to challenge the lion. Since we went during lion feeding time, there were lots of lions just lying around lazily nibbling on food (or perhaps thinking of their next meal). And I also saw a white lion couple (albino). They're very rare now. But they look so pretty. Fragile-made-of-china pretty that can only tear you to pieces. While driving around, we also saw two Rhinos just standing still, chewing grass. Wow. They really are big animals. No wonder they are part of the Top Five.

We went on a tour on the Wonder Cave as well. It was the second largest cave in South Africa and they say people could have played professional rugby in it. As the guide discussed about stalacmites and stalagmites, how they have formed over years of water dripping from the ceiling, Paui and I had our pics taken….



My African adventures just seem to be piling up. Now all I need to go to is Krueger Park and Capetown...

Gold Reef Date

Hanging coasters, upside-down rides, a huge ferris wheel…what else can a girl ask for? Well, a hyperactive girl not past her childhood fancies anyway..hehehe.

One weekend Paui took me to Gold Reef City. It was once a gold mine which has stopped operating since they stopped getting gold from the ground, I guess and turned the place into a children's haven: an amusement park. The only other park I have been to is Enchanted Kingdom and the rides weren't even scary. And Genting in Malaysia (which was fun but mostly kiddie rides except for the Superman ride). But this park…it has 4 roller coasters all of different varieties, and it has the only hanging roller coaster called the Anaconda. Its ferris wheel ride is so high, it dwarfs the one standing at Suan Lum Park in Bangkok. It also offered underground tours several miles deep into the mine which of course, Paui and I jumped at the opportunity to do so.

Hmm…my fave ride has to be this Jolie Train. It was a roller coaster train with no seatbelts and only a bar for protection. It elevates the trains so high that the turns and the twirls become even faster almost as if you were really falling. Hahaha. And Paui was on the wrong side, so medyo napisat ko sa akong seat. Pero fun! And of course the Anaconda. We waited in line for like 45 freaking minutes for this ride. Exhilirating ride. If there weren't too many people, I would have gone on again.

Then just before leaving the park, we went on a 45 minute tour of the underground Gold mine. It was interesting as the guide explained to us how they get gold and stuff, how water is filling up fast in the lower levels making the mine unworkeable. They even demonstrated the drilling thing they do…like a jackhammer, only they quickly spray water to settle the dust. Nabangga pa ulo ni Paui on a pipe that we didn’t see in the dark. Thank God we were wearing trusty hard hats (with malaking flashlight bag..astiiiggg) so di naman sya na injured.

Another fun day. Another fun date with Paui. Hehehe.

Drakensberg Affair

On my first weekend with Paui here in South Africa, we went with a group of Thai friends into the mountain village of Drakensberg. I admit my expectations were quite basic : see snow! Hehehe. The temperature was freezing cold, even here in Midrand, so there was basis for my hopes for frolicking in the sheets of soft ice in the mountains in Drakensberg.

With two cars in convoy, it was a 7 hour drive before we reached the cottage we were renting. It was only 630 pm when we arrived but it was already dark. And as usual, no lampposts on the sides of the road so pitch blackness everywhere. We managed to find our 'hut' though. It was in the middle of nowhere, a lonely stone cottage straight smack in the middle of a huge farmland. In the distance, rose the daunting black forms of the Drakensberg mountain ranges.

Our goal was to have a relaxing weekend, so instead of sporty activities like horseback riding , we opted for the laid back activities of sampling the local dishes in semi-famous local pubs and restaurants. We also went to the top of Sani Pass,but couldn’t go further than the border into Lesotho as our companions forgot their passports. It was tough luck as Paui and I brought ours and we really wanted to go into this other African country. It was a once in a lifetime chance. Sayang tlaga…

On the drive home, we stopped by this reserve called Giant's Cup or Giant's Peak or something like that. We took a hike up to see old cave drawings made by cavemen dwellers before. It was fascinating to say the least, to actually be able to see cave drawings and see how they lived and the stuff they use --- information we have only read in textbooks before.

All in all, it was a fun weekend. I didn’t see snow but I did see sheets of ice early in the morning.hehe. And we even had a South african-Thai Braai the night before with our Thai colleagues and new thai friends. And I did get to spend this vacation time with Paui... :)

activities...

I am here sitting at the singapore airport, killing time while waiting for my flight to Johannesburg. Yes, you have read the first sentence correctly. I am on my way to South Africa to work for the RSA Project there. :) But since I am killing time anyway (my flight is at 2:15 and it is still 1130), let me back track a bit and detail here the events of the past month…

Samet Trip

The first weekend of May was a long weekend. So Jco, Paui and I decided to take a short trip to the nearby island of Koh Samet. This trip was full of comical disasters and weird mistakes on our part. But all in all, it was fun and enlightening and I hope for Jco, therapeutic.

Mistake #1: We booked too late (we were to leave on Friday and we just started looking for a place on Wednesday) and Samet island rooms were all taken. So we had to resort to booking on Rayong instead and just thought of taking day trips into Koh Samet for all 3 days.

Mistake #2: We booked on the wrong part of Rayong. The hotel we found on the internet said it was near Samet island. But alas! We were fooled. In fact, the hotel was between Pattaya and Samet! In Pinoy terms, it's like you planned to vacation in Batangas , but the hotel you booked was in Makati. Ganun kalayo.

Mistake #3: The hotel brochure said we were 30 minutes away from Pattaya. Yeah right. That '30 minute' trip turned out to be two hours!

But those mistakes notwithstanding, we had a grand time, albeit we were always dead tired in the evening due to the stress of being on the road too much. Hehehe. On the first day, we arrived by bus, took a sangtheaw to our hotel from the bus station. A sangtheaw is basically just like a jeep without the colorful décor. We expected a 30 minute ride to the hotel. The ride took one hour and a half basically, although I confess we really did not notice the passing of time as we were making lots of tsika and taking pictures. The first day, we just stayed at the hotel, took pictures and strolled around the place. We then had lunch and planned to go to Pattaya by late afternoon.

In Pattaya, we went around Walking Street where the two boys ogled the girls in their mini dresses (or lack of it sometimes. Hahaha). We had a good seafood dinner and took some nice sunset pictures. Afterwards, we went walking around basically. Pattaya just has a dearth of poof bars and clubs and discos. It's like girls are just popping out everywhere with their white DOMs. They also had a street for gays, with bars named like 'A-Bomb Boys'. Hehehe

The second day, we were finally able to go to Samet Island (and natuwa si Paui as it was his first island trip). The three of us just lay down there to eat, swim and generally be merry. :) Paui and I went jet-skiing (first time ko!) and Jco took a lot of pictures of girls taking pictures. That night, we just hung out in the room, drinking baccardi and playing cards. And of course, allowing Jco to vent his emotional frustrations. :P

The final day, we just hung out in the room till check out time. Back to Bangkok, back to work, back to traffic. :) But even the going home was very 'backpacker' material. We had to ride two buses: first bus to go to Pattaya station and from there, take another bus to bring us to ekkamai station which is near our apartment. Hehe. And it was during the wait at the Pattaya station that Paui and I realized first month-sary namin pala. hahahaha. Is this a good omen that both of us forgot to celebrate the first 30 days of couplehood? Hehehe. Sana di naman. We just celebrated at Pizza Hut (we had the whole restaurant to ourselves…saan ka pa nun.hehehe) and just did some bit of catching up at Starbucks and making muni muni sa buhay.

All in all, it was a great weekend, especially since it was my first out of town trip with Paui (supervised of course. Hehe) . :)

Margarita Night

Reysiel was back from Malaysia for several days. She was in hiatus from gimik outings since she arrived due to work. But the Wednesday before she was set to leave for Malaysia, we decided to go for Margarita night. It was supposed to bid farewell to her favorite band also as they were allegedly moving to Macau soon.

So that night, we dressed up and went to CM2. Since it was just us two girls, we chose a table near the stage to be safe from unwanted pick-uppers. We had two glasses of margarita plus two bottles of margarita (buy one take one kasi. Wala kaming magawa). CM2 has the best margarita mix I've tasted. Tastes like juice. Hehe. Predictably, Reys and I became slightly tipsy going home. We were just laughing our heads off sa lobby and Reys even took a picture with her bodyguard. Buti naman we arrived home in one piece. Hehehe. One of the fun gimik nights I've had. And buti na din kasi baka matagal tagal akong di maka CM2.

Batchmates in BKK

Raine and Gilbert came from Singapore and Joel, Get, Chewy and Marf arrived from Manila to visit Bangkok! So the weekend they were here was a whirl of tours and sightseeing and eating and chika. Imported chika from Singapore and from Manila. Hehe. Dapat may newsletter na kasi mga Ex-centures para updated sa buhay ng lahat (solicited and unsolicited).

Reys and I fetched them from the airport. Medyo late nga lang kami because we didn’t realize that they would arrive so early. We were still watching Cutting Edge2 when we got the text message from Marf. After scrambling for the airport, we fetched Marf, Chewy, Raine and Gilbert. The next day, we went to Floating market and to the Rose Garden. Traffic din pala sa floating market. We must have been stuck there for quite awhile, with boats going in both directions on the same lane. But the Rose Garden was fun. We watched the elephant shows and we got to ride on the elephants. There was a cultural show and the lunch was great! They had really good food and with enough varieties to whet the appetite. Afterwards, we went to Suan Lum for some night market shopping then had a river cruise dinner.

The next day, we went to Wat Arun and to Grand Palace. Afterwards, went shopping at Panthip and at Platinum Mall. Did I mention that I just love this mall? It's like they put Chatuchak and Pratunam into an air conditioned building. Hassle free shopping! Unfortunately, this mall is perfect for girls mostly, so Paui, Chewy and Gilbert had to sit out most of the time waiting at Black Canyon coffee. In the evening, we had dinner at The Loft at Central then went for the view of Sirocco. We were just standing around, taking pictures, when this waiter thrust a menu at us and asked for our orders. We said we would order in a while. 'Ok. I will give you five minutes'. This was the waiter's snappy reply. Aba aba aba. Na five minutes kami. Natakot ata si raine, nauna sumakay ng elevator at bumaba.hehehe. We then went to CM2 afterwards so they could see Reysiel dance on stage with her band. Hehehe.

The next day was Paui's birthday. So after CM2, we went directly to his room and woke up him with a birthday cake. :) Sana na surprise naman sya at napabigay pa sya ng impromptu speech. Hehehe. Then we hung out downstairs for awhile with Mike, Marlon, Shirley, Len and Jco where somebody was venting out her frustrations in life. hehe.

Sister in Bangkok

Finally. A family member visits me in Bangkok. Haze arrived on Wednesday evening and Paui and I fetched her from the airport 30 minutes late. Hehehe. Immediately after depositing her bags in my apartment, we went to Soi 38 for some mango sticky rice and porridge. Mervin and Jco soon joined us after a few minutes. We had to go home afterwards though as my sister was very sleepy from her flight already. The next day, she was able to join the ABAP team for the lunch farewell for a colleague. Hehe. Naka libre ako sa lunch. The next few days, we basically just went around MBK, Pratunam, Paragon and Siam --- all shopping districts.

However, she was able to go around the 'culture' places of Bangkok as well. We met up with some of Paui's sister's friend and her family for dinner. And they graciously offered to take her with her the whole of Sunday so she was able to to Grand Palace, Wat Arun and several other temples. While she was there, I watched X-Men movie at Paragon. I had my hair cut as well, but only a bit. I've decided that long hair becomes me and I am done experimenting with my 'do (with disastrous results).

On her last day here, we went to Pratunam where she bought some souvenirs for people back home plus several Abone products which are really cheap here. In the evening, we went to have dinner at The Loft in Central, proceeded to Sirocco Towers (the waiter didn’t give us the five-minute dialogue, thank God!) and finally, we ended the evening with a karaoke showdown. Hehe.


Chao Phraya Cruise

A week after the batchmates' cruise dinner, Paui took me on another cruise dinner along Chao Phraya. Pero sabi naman nya, different naman daw. :) Fun sya. Muntik na kaming nawala, and we passed three tollways just to get there from Bangkapi. But all in all, it was a fun night. I got to see the River City Mall again (grabe, this is definitely a mall for tourists!!!). And I got to dance a real slow dance (the one in Baguio can't count). :) hehehe. Babaw ko ba. Hahaha. The meal was sumptous and unfortunately very filling. Good thing the boat didn't sink despite the added weight. Hehe.

*************************

Dubai cry fest

I am not watching an OFW-movie ever.

I watched the movie 'Dubai' early this morning (around 1 am) and by the end of the movie when Aga was viewing his brother's taped apology, I was reduced to a pathetic crying mess. I felt really sad and homesick and so alone all of a sudden. Murag ganahan na ko mu uli dayun. :( Ayun tuloy, I had a rather disturbing dream and I woke up again with a bad feeling.

Haaay. Gusto ko umuwi kahit for a while. :(

Carpe Diem

nakita ko lng sa isang blog...ganda eh. had to post it:

"A couple of hundred years ago, Benjamin Franklin shared with the world the secret of his success. Never leave that till tomorrow, he said, which you can do today. This is the man who discovered electricity. You think more people would listen to what he had to say. I don't know why we put things off, but if I had to guess, I'd have to say it has a lot to do with fear. Fear of failure, fear of rejection, sometimes the fear is just of making a decision, because what if you're wrong?

What if you're making a mistake you can't undo? The early bird catches the worm. A stitch in time saves nine. He who hesitates is lost. We can't pretend we hadn't been told. We've all heard the proverbs, heard the philosophers, heard our grandparents warning us about wasted time, heard the damn poets urging us to seize the day.

Still sometimes we have to see for ourselves. We have to make our own mistakes. We have to learn our own lessons. We have to sweep today's possibility under tomorrow's rug until we can't anymore. Until we finally understand for ourselves what Benjamin Franklin really meant. That knowing is better than wondering, that waking is better than sleeping, and even the biggest failure, even the worst, beat the hell out of never trying."

What's your KFC moment?

I was eating alone at KFC in Suriya LCC when I suddenly found myself with these realizations...

You know you're in trouble when...

1. You know you will do anything to make someone happy and it simply crushes you when you can't do something to make him smile
2. You begin to trust that someone completely with all the bullcrap he says and hope to God he is being honest with you
3. You just begin to let go of defenses and revel in the moment of being with him
4. You just miss someone so much that you lose EQ everyday in anticipation of seeing that person again :P

Atay. So I am so into someone now. So sue me. hehehe.

So this is my KFC moment. What's yours? :P

Kuala Lumpur Adventure

I went to KL last weekend for four days and stayed at Reysiel's super shala apartment near the Petronas Towers. I spent the first two days walking around KL (or a bit of KL) on my own, taking pics of me and Petronas, having lunch at KFC (masarap naman ang KL version) and riding their transport system and of course, looking for VINCCI shoes!!!



I love KL because...
- the city is just beautiful and obviously well planned. Its city-scape is dotted with trees just about everywhere. Wish Cebu is like it.
- Malls are everywhere and the malls are big and not so crowded. I especially loved Times Square. It even had a theme park (sort of) in its top floors.
- Wonderful , wonderful land of books! They have a huge Kinokoniya bookstore and Borders store with all the books I want to read which are not available in Thailand
- great roads even in out of the way places (we tried to follow a coastal road to Melaka and the roads were still paved and smooth! )
- their KFC tastes just great (better than Bangkok's)

I probably will not want to live in KL because...
- its crawling with repulsive , creepy looking men who just hit on you out of nowhere. I have never felt so uncomfortable in being a woman than in this city! Even in Genting, men were just bastos!
- transport system sucks. Its trains are old and rotten and looks pretty much unsafe
- taxi drivers are mean and try NOT to follow the meter as much as possible

On Saturday, I went with Reysiel, Miss Che and two of her friends to Melaka. It was a two hour drive there but it was worth every second. Melaka is full of history, about colonialism, sultanates, the Dutch East India company...We went on a museum tour and I suddenly remembered my history classes in high school and college. And I wish I could see Mr Pacqueo and tell him that I've actually been to the places already that he was teaching us about. hehe.

Then on Sunday, Reysiel treated me to Genting. Being the theme ride freak that I am, I really enjoyed it. I have to admit though that riding that cable car (my Gawd...30 minutes ride..) scared me for a bit. I didn't want to move because I felt if I did, our car would crash down into the mountains below. hehe. Si Reysiel galaw nang galaw. nakaka panic. We also went on the Spiderman ride thingy and their roller coaster, as well as some of the kiddie rides. Thanks Reys! Really enjoyed Genting. hehe.

Then it was back to work on Monday where I was punished for having a holiday by being made to work on a slew of issues. haha. Ok,I try to sound martyr-like, but the truth is, I love troubleshooting. hahaha. But then, that's a different story. And a different blog entry...

Reysiel and I went to Phuket two weekends ago...

... and we had lots of fun. hehehe.

bored na naman ako...(kaya LSS uli on a Monday morning)

Push the Button (Sugababes)

I'm busy throwing hints that he keeps missing
Don't have to think about it
Wanna kiss and
Everything around it but he's too distant
I wanna feel his body
I can't resist it
I know my hidden looks can be deceiving
But how obvious should a girl be?
I was taken by the early conversation piece
And I really like the way that he respect me

I been waiting patiently for him to come and get it
I wonder if he knows that he can say it and I'm with it
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Catch this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos

If you're ready for me boy
You'd better push the button and let me know
Before I get the wrong idea and go
You're gonna miss the freak that I control

I'm busy showing him what he's been missing
I'm kind of showing off for his full attention
My sexy ass has got him in the new dimension
I'm ready to do something to relieve this mission

After waiting patiently for him to come and get it
He came over and asked me if I wanted to get with him
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Won't miss this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos

If you're ready for me boy
You'd better push the button and let me know
Before I get the wrong idea and go

You're gonna miss the freak that I control
If you're ready for me boy
You'd better push the button and let me know
Before I get the wrong idea and go

You're gonna miss the freak that I control
I've been dropping so many hints
You're still not getting it

Now that you've heard everything I have to say
Where we gonna go from here?
After waiting patiently for him to come and get it

He came over and asked me if I wanted to get with him
I knew I had my mind made up from the very beginning
Won't miss this opportunity so you and me could feel it 'cos

If you're ready for me boy
You'd better push the button and let me know
Before I get the wrong idea and go

You're gonna miss the freak that I control
If you're ready for me boy
You'd better push the button and let me know

Before I get the wrong idea and go
You're gonna miss the freak that I control
(I control)

If you're ready for me boy
(For me boy)

You'd better push the button and let me know
Before I get the wrong idea and go(Oh, oh)
You're gonna miss the freak that I control

Get Here (sorry, LSS ko)

You can reach me by railway, you can reach me by trailway

You can reach me on an airplane, you can reach me with your mind

You can reach me by caravan, cross the desert like an Arab man

I don't care how you get here, just - get here if you can

You can reach me by sail boat, climb a tree and swing rope to rope

Take a sled and slide down the slope, into these arms of mine

You can jump on a speedy colt, cross the border in a blaze of hope

I don't care how you get here, just - get here if you can

There are hills and mountains between us

Always something to get over

If I had my way, surely you would be closer

I need you closer

You can windsurf into my life, take me up on a carpet ride

You can make it in a big balloon, but you better make it soon

You can reach me by caravan, cross the desert like an Arab man

I don't care how you get here, just - get here if you can

I don't care how you get here, just -- get here if - you can

V-day musings

I woke up to a friend's text greeting on Valentine's Day. I answered in the most cynical tone I can muster:

'Valentine's Day is crass commercialism at its finest, when crafty businessmen take advantage of sentimentalist fools. A day when hearts become senselessly mad and stubborn. This day cannot be happy. It can only be brief, profitable, expensive, painful. Happy Valentine's is nothing but an oxymoron.'

Kill joy daw ako and lagot ako if kinilig ako that day. Sagot ko, di ako kinikilig.

Two hours later, I choked on my own text-words. Ganun pala effect ng beautiful (according to K.Nattaporn, 16 daw) pink flowers na nakapatong sa desk ko pagdating ko sa office. hahaha. My first time to get flowers sa Vday and a whole pink bouquet too! Nakakatamad na tuloy mag work after that :P



So now I take it all back. Valentine's Day is not crass commercialism at all. It is merely the capitalist way of expressing an endearing sentiment. :P


************************

I was watching Ever After (that Cinderella-inspired Drew Barrymore movie). As usual, nakilig na naman ako sa movie. I just noticed though that the lead girl character didn't give the guy a hard time in the end. I mean, the guy denied her in front of a roomful of courtiers, degraded her status as a servant and just generally publicly humiliated her. And when the guy realized his own stupidity in rejecting the girl, he goes after her, didn't even have to suffer through a swordfight because of course, the girl managed to escape on her own. After a few choice, sweetly worded phrases, he was in the girl's arms already! Hello? Penance anyone? hehehe.
************************

I didn't have work today so I bonded with Star movies again. They were showing one of my favorite movies 'Sense and Sensibility' based on Jane Austen's book. It has a more subtle romantic theme but I have always loved the endings. It's like all these pent up emotions, desires and love that are repressed during the course of the movie is let out and their love always wins through and they all live happily in the end. Sigh.

I especially liked the part when Hugh Grant gazed at the girl longingly and feelingly utters, "My heart is -- and will always be yours." This never fails to elicit my own sigh of kilig.

Oh my gawd. ataya. ka-mushy na nako oi. hehehe.

**********************

valentine's day

I can't resist. I got this from Chewy's blog:

"Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up. You build up all these defenses, you build up a whole suit of armor, so that nothing can hurt you, then one stupid person, no different from any other stupid person, wanders into your stupid life...You give them a piece of you. They didn't ask for it. They did something dumb one day, like kiss you or smile at you, and then your life isn't your own anymore. Love takes hostages. It gets inside you. It eats you out and leaves you crying in the darkness, so simple a phrase like 'maybe we should be just friends' turns into a glass splinter working its way into your heart. It hurts. Not just in the imagination. Not just in the mind. It's a soul-hurt, a real gets-inside-you-and-rips-you-apart pain. I hate love." -Neil Gaiman

This week was my bday week! I celebrated my birthday eve on stage (!!! still can't believe they managed to do that to me), bade farewell to a friend bound for South Africa, bonded with new friends, conducted a stressful user training and dealt with a lot of IMS and tension-filled CRs at work. Whew. I am still surviving (but barely), which is kind of an achievement in itself considering that I have been sleeping between 3 to 5 in the morning already and waking up at 7 am everyday this week!

Monday

For nearly five hours, I had to make a practice run of my training to some management people. They apparently did not trust me enough yet to conduct a fluid, and comprehensive training for users. So I spent most of my voice and energy discussing with them stuff that I do everyday already at work. I mean, if my boss trusted me enough to do this training, they should too right?

At night, we went to CM2 in what I dubbed as the 'Night of Paglalandi ng mga Boys'. (I will not name names because Kuya Mervs, Jco and Paui might kill me...oopss.. hahaha). We went out just us Filipinos plus two Russian girls and Vicky. Our Russian friends were very um, energetic when dancing. Which of course attracted quite unsavory guys to them. Good thing there was kuya to the rescue ;) . I had to go back to the apartment though because it turned out I forgot to bring my passport and the GQ-ish, gorgeous manager of the bar wouldn't let us in because the ID really is a prerequisite to get in. Sus, kung di lng sya gwapo, nasungitan ko na sya. So we went back, rushed to get our IDs and back to the bar.

At near midnight, Reysiel and the others surprised me with a cake and birthday song from the band. And I had my first dance on stage. Let's just say it's not something I will be doing again in any kind of future. hehehe. Then we had tequila shots (which probably worsened my already bad hyperacidity problem). It was one of the best night outs we've had (and this is saying a lot, considering we've had several great night outs. hehe).

Tuesday

My birthday!!! When I woke up, I felt really sad actually. I realized I had turned 25 already and I have not accomplished anything really. I have not had my great romance, not met my one great love, not written the best novel, had not gone on to my greatest adventure. It was kind of a depressing feeling and not something I would like waking up to everyday. But I realized that I was looking at things from a half-empty-glass perspective.
I may not have had my grand passionate romance, but I have been blessed with great friends who accept me with all my faults and eccentricities. I may not have written the best novels but I have resources to buy the best ones and learn and revel in their stories. I may not have hied off to the sunset with well laid plans of a crazy adventure, but everyday working in a different country makes me feel I am experiencing something new everyday. So for this birthday, I am thankful for what I have now, for what will be given to me in the future and what has been dealt to me in the past.

Len gave me a bouquet of flowers. Elle too. Happy ako...kaya lng bakit walang lalaki nagbigay ng bulaklak? hahahaha. My teammates also greeted me Happy Birthday in the office (while I was seriously engrossed doing an issue). So I had ice cream cake in the afternoon. I had dinner at Crepes and Co with my Filipino colleagues.

We had crepe (lots of it!) and ice cream. Then they sang happy birthday to me again with candles on top of ice cream. And Reys and the others gave me the Legends trilogy book. yehey! So I guess I would be cooped up again in the house for most of the time. hehe. So all in all, my birthday was pretty fun although I was really tired and sleepy.

Wednesday

This day was Mike's first trip to Spring and Summer! Soft and large bean bag pillows under the night sky and chocolate cake and other pastries and lots of tsika to dish around. I was trying to actually study for the training the next day but it was quite hard to concentrate. :P When I got home, I tried to rehearse but with all the tension knotting in my stomach, it was impossible. So I played tekken instead. :P

Thursday

My first training day! I finally met some of the Level 1 users I have only dealt with in the IMS or talked to on the phone. To be honest, while I was discussing the first parts of the presentation, I wasn't even nervous. I only got some little problem when one of the participants suddenly raised a question about printing set up issues. hello! di ako basis. wala akong alam dyan. hehehe. But I was stumbling through already when my boss came in to lend a hand. I was so self conscious already that I inadvertently let him do most of the talking. In the afternoon, I continued on, alone, so it was pretty much smooth and we finished the training pretty early. The downside about training is that I had to go back and finish up on the issues piling up on my plate while I was gone the whole day. Which basically meant I went home already at around midnight. :(

Friday

This was a pretty good day. I finished the training and got good evals as instructor. (Oh well, if they didn't understand a word I was saying at least I was able to charm them into giving me good evals. hahaha).
Then during the evening, the grandmasters treated us to pre Valentine's Karaoke at Fortune. It served also as Paui's farewell party before he left for South Africa.

Saturday

Sat night, Mike, Shirley, Reysiel and I had bonding session over coffee till 3am. We talked about past loves, about tagalog movies and profound lines found in those movies. All in all, it was a pretty enjoyable night and it was nice being able to get to know Shirley and Mike as we've never had the chance to talk that much in Accenture before. The coffee place we were in is one of the few places in Bangkok still open after curfew. Madami lamok, pero madami din naman kaming napagtsismisan (este, napag usapan pala) so ok lng. :)

Sunday

Trabaho na naman ako. :P
I am feeling a bit down and sad today...and my stomach is gearing for ultra hyperacidity mode. :(

To Reysiel, Mervin, Paui, JCo, Shirley, Mike, Vicky - thanks for making my birthday week a really great one in Bangkok. :)

silly questions answered

Are you gonna stay with the one who loves you or are you goin' back to the one you love?

If someone asked me this question a year ago, I would have answered in my own pragmatic fashion that certainly it would be the former. Why risk heartache and rejection when you can have the sure thing right then and there. Surely, you can find a way to love back the person right and be happy, right?

Well, let's just say that now I harbor quite a different perspective. It certainly is not that easy and it is no way to live a life being with someone you don't love at all. I don't care to really expound on this one, let's just say I would rather be swept off my feet and fall madly in love than be with someone who might love me, but the feeling is not just reciprocated. ;)

*****************************************

Thanks to Paui, I have now discovered a new fantasy author : Margaret Weiss and Tracy Hickman of the Dragonlance series. I bought the Chronicles trilogy. They write in a way that makes it easy to read (dili makalabad ulo), the story is riveting, the characters fantastic. I finished all three books in around 4 days. I can't wait to buy the other Dragonlance books. Maybe the Legends trilogy, as is recommended by the grandmaster. :P

*****************************************

Right now, I am petrified at the thought of conducting a training for some users two weeks from now. My gawd, I hope my English doesn't desert me when I need it the most. And my brain too for that matter. It also does not help that one of the trusty Basis guys just left to work in the US. I feel so abandoned. Hopefully, I won't screw up that much. hehe.

***********************************

saying goodbye again

I feel so sad today.

In three days, I will be leaving my beloved Cebu and going off to Bangkok again to work. Three weeks of vacation has gone by so fast. Christmas, New Year, bday celebrations have come and gone and now I have to leave it behind to work again and stay in front of my PC again (and face my AUA tool again...oh man...). But then, panginabuhi naman ni. wala nay mingaw mingaw.

So on Sunday, I will go back to Bangkok with a light pocket (na sad ako lalo), a lighter luggage (wala na laman luggage ko pagbalik ko) but with a heart filled with memories of this Christmas break.

Mental (ngayon written na) checklist (have i done stuff I needed to do already):
- ate at KFC (check!)
- ate at Jollibee (dami na. check!)
- shopped for family (check!)
- defended my ownership of my camera and phone (check! they are coming back with me to BKK)
- OEC (done!)
- quarrelled Goldilocks personnel for selling expired cake to us on Dec 31 (done!)
- done sis's homework (check na din. and currently doing it now)
- hung out with cebu friends (done). manila friends, wala pa. malayo na kasi.
- pedicure and manicure (check!)
- dumped a guy (check!)
- karaoke (done!)
- learned driving (check!)
- spent 3 days in hospital watching over BOTH parents (check!)
- went to ayala and SM malls almost every day (done!)
- learned to cook (hmm...next time nalng)

I think the only thing I didn't do was watch television (except for the Big Brother DVDs). But then, I watch TV in Bangkok every time I am free or when I didn't want to go out.

I am actually petrified just thinking about facing Panginoon sa Bintana. :( Oh well.

Got to get back to my sis's homework now. :P

Letting go of 2005

It wouldn't be fair for the year 2005 to let it slide by without even a scant recognition of the changes, blessings, memorable events, and unforgettable people (both in a good and bad way) the year has given me.

- career-wise, it has been good so far. I got a good evaluation report from my superior and got promoted this year. I got SAP accreditation too which was something I was gunning for when I was in company A
- financially, I am better off this year compared to the previous years. I feel so happy when I am able to give more to my parents than I was able to before. And I am now debt free as I have fully paid the loan I got from my tita for my initial spending when I arrived in Bangkok last year! yehey!
- established deeper friendship ties with Reysiel, Ria, Kuya Mervs, Len and the other Filipinos here in Siemens
- met and worked closely with people from different cultures which made my work experience so much more interesting and challenging.
- bought my first digi cam and first colored phone! (yippee). I was sad to see my trusty 8210 go though. :( I bought my family a computer and my dad a cellphone too!
- was able to travel to Singapore 3 times this year and met up with some batchmates and other ex accenture peeps there too
- love life front...hmmm....interesting developments going on. hahaha. but this is a TBA item. Not that I feel I need one right now as I am satisfied with how my life is going on
- went to the gym for the first time this year!
- learned how to drive!
- the Shanghai boy moments (brief but memorable)

I can't remember everything that has happened in 2005. But I am thankful for this past year and feel really blessed and loved by God. He really is watching out for me and my family. I am excited to see what is in store for me in 2006. :)

I know it seems passe and I never even do half these things anyway, but here are my New year's resolutions. Oops, correction. I prefer to call them my FAITH GOALS for 2006:

1. Be assigned for work in another country (sana sana sana)
2. Travel to another country (other than Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines) like Malaysia and Hongkong
3. More faithful in attending church services and in tithing
4. Get promoted this year (hehehe)
5. Save enough to buy a house of my own in Cebu this year (major project ko ito)
6. Learn how to cook!!! (very important. I am so inutil in the kitchen)
7. Buy more clothes, shoes and bags for myself (don't know why but I shop more stuff for my family than for me)

So Lord, I lift these all up to you and as usual, I ask for Your Grace for these faith goals to come to fruition. :)

And to everyone, I know 2006 will be a blast so let us all keep our spirits up and look forward to an exciting year. :) :) :)