Pitstop: 2008 Year-End

I just cant concentrate nowadays, lacking focus. How I wish it's vacation time hehehe. Some of the perky and nice things these past two months.

Martyrdom day
I find it difficult to respect leads who do not know what they are supposed to do, and still claims credit at the end of the day for things not done by them. (I do understand that it would be quite difficult for me to be a lead here, considering this is SG and not Ph) But then how can UAT logs become my sole responsibility! Doesnt mean that nobody knows how to do or want to do or too busy to do should be me doing all the work. I stayed one night till 3am to finish those recon thing just so we (vendor) can live up to our 'consultant' image and they (the gods) can face the client the next day during the meeting. So what happened after working till 3am, I took the next day off and went KTV by myself hihi. Anyhow, I am not that thirsty for credit anymore. Just when I had a good rating, then came this recession thing that caused all our intended salary increase to disappear into bubbles :p. God knows whether I'll be part of retrenched employees in the coming months, crossing my fingers.

Lucky Day with IT Shopping
Seems like I have my lucky charm whenever there's an IT show. This time I was wanting to purchase extra 1GB for my RAM. Vista's really d*mn slow with 1GB. However because there were 2 slots filled with 512MB each originally in my laptop, I was somehow forced to buy 2 pcs of 1GB. I politely asked if there's discount since I was buying 2 (flashing my friendly smile, of course hehehe). I was just asking for a round down of the total price, and the final price they gave me was 15% lower than my asking price. Hehe see there's no harm in asking :p Ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and you shall be opened. Hey that's a serious one.

Porma Days
Because of the screwed project, UAT was not smooth and suddenly they placed me in client site to work directly with the users of the report. I was working with VPs - bank executives who are properly dressed. Syempre di tayo magpapatalo, in the span of 1.5yrs+ in SG, I was best dressed last week hehe, complete with blow-dried hair, skirt, heels and even some make-up.

Hair Galore
Speaking of hair, finally I dyed my hair back to a normal color. I think my mom and sisters back home will be clapping their hands when they see me this December. :p I had hair highlights last July, the color fades and gets lighter each passing day. Sept vacation, I'm still okay. Come October vacation and my sisters and mom started nagging me that if they were me, they'll be going for a haircut. (Note that my mom rarely messes with me for hair matters, and she was saying I was giving a slutty impression for guys, oops) My achi claimed that I looked like Thai gays with the freaking streaks. Of course, knowing me (stubborn), I didnt mind. November, some more friends commented that I looked like a Geylang babe. One day it just hit me, I dont like what I see in the mirror anymore, the color is not light brown but yellowish (yuck!). So that's it, I went to my suki salon and had it done nicely. Right after that day, in a span of 2 days, I got like 3 comments saying my hair looks nicer and that my curls are very natural. (at wala naman talaga ako ginawa sa curls ngyon, dati pa yan ganyan pero ndi napapansin) Wow ang haba ng buhok ko :p Enuf is enuf, at least I'm glad I tried.

Reflections
I would say I wish to be a travel bug but recent happenings somehow has struck me. Bangkok rallies in the airport that trapped foreigners who were on vacation, depriving them of a flight back to their country (oops my hausmate was one of them). Mumbai hotel bombing, and one of the killed victims is a Singaporean female lawyer who was on business trip. I read the news article of her husband narrating how her wife was strong despite being held captive (they were sms-ing each other) just so people wont worry about her. He loved her dearly that he didnt even want her to get wet in the rain, and the tragedy got her wife death with shots in the head and abdomen. See the other side of life - sh*t happens. Life seems to short not to love.

Almost that same time, I got an sms from a friend about beware of pickpockets in Lucky Plaza by a Pinay gang, who has stolen an LV wallet and Ifon 3G from kapwa Pinays. Probably this gang chooses kapwa Pinoy/Pinay as victims as they believe same race will be merciful not to send them for whipping/caning, if caught. (that is the punishment here) Thank God, I actually dont look like one anymore (i think) so I guess I wont be a victim. Really really uuuggh. Singapore has been a disciplined country and it's too saddening to know that people from our country has been trying to take advantage of it.

Mama's Coming Over!
I'm so excited for my mom's visit! I started preparing her itinerary, and of course trips for shopping and eating would be top priority. Too bad I cant schedule too exhaustive tasks for her, but I'll make sure she has all the best hehe. Eversince I was a child, she was never really strict. We were just an 'average' family, and considering there were four of us in school that time, there wasnt really a lot of 'luho' so to speak, unlike the generation now. However despite so, she would always tag me along and buy me ice cream or even fishballs (hehe mababaw lng talaga kaligayahan ko) Probably those were one of my fondest memories. When I started working, we would always have our Chinese dimsum or buffet pig-out sessions in Binondo. She doesnt pressure me much to introduce to her personally each single people that I was out with on a night-out party or out of town vacation - see that's how much she trusts me. When I started working in Singapore, I would always buy her clothes as pasalubong (ehem I have a talent for buying clothes for the matanda, the colors, sequins and burloloys hihi). And now, all her amigas and neighbors would compliment how nice her blouses are and they will say 'wow your daughter has good tastes' hihihi. My mom's the nicest mom in the world! Super bait.(quote me) :p

P.S.
I am actually supposed to study for my final exam this coming Wednesday! My goodness, I really cant concentrate. I am thinking too much of things I dont even know whether I should be thinking. I am expecting a different vacation this time. Looking forward. Love it!

Miss You Badly

Recently I was stressed with my current project, so many things kept falling on my plate. I should be released early on and be put back to my previous project. Gradually this project relied on me too much that I'm doing so many things outside my scope, and they kept postponing my project release date. Now that gives me reason magtaray hehe. Thanks to these challenging projects, it made me learn a great deal about datawarehousing consultancy and analysis knowledge. In 1.5 years' time, I finally have built my name and mark. At least in this time of recession, pay cuts and retrenchment, I'm not freiking out so much (crossing my fingers).

If I can have a choice, I'd prefer my previous project. People there seems to be more technically competitive (gives me less headaches) and also, a lot 'warmer'. I make 'kamusta' the other day, and they told me 'we miss you badly'... Aaaawww so nice to hear. hihi. (kahit na hindi ko alam kung bola, I'll take it as it is)

This week I got this sms, very timely.
It's not how you rock a person's world when you came into one's life,
nor how you keep your image,
what's far better is not being liked when you came
but being missed when you leave.

Melts me!

A few days to go before December. Now whenever I make my grocery rounds or do shopping in the malls, I'd always hear Christmas carols. Aaaaww.. so sad, may kirot hehe. I'm so much looking forward to my loooongg vacation!!!

The past few days, I seem to have a strange mood. I'm missing so many things, so many people, so many food hehe. Miss you all and hope you miss me badly too! :)

Chinovela Marathon

Some of the chinovela series from TW that I watched the past few months:

Romantic Princess

Adopted by middle classed parents, Xiao Mai has always had a dream to be an heiress. Suddenly it was discovered that Xiao Mai's biological grandfather is the head of a prestigous aristocratic family and after many years of searching, he finally finds his long lost granddaughter. As she starts her life as an heiress, everyday is filled with excitement, and there she meets Jin, the supposedly succesor for the aristocrat clan.
-> Review: visually appealing, the setting, wardrobe and all goodlooking artists. All I can say is that Wuchun is amazingly gorgeous. Unnecessary kissing scenes, the theme actually doesnt need any kissing scenes for Wuchun (or was I just scrutinizing biasedly haha) I finally got to see him in person when he promoted his movie 'Butterfly Lovers', which I find the storyline to be disappointing. It's supposedly a remake of the most famous chinese tragic love story 'The Lovers', and yet it failed to move me, nor even was I convinced that they are in love.



Corner with Love

Xin Lei (Barbie Xu), a girl from a wealthy family, and Qin Lang (Alan Luo), a guy who came to Shanghai to pursue his dream of becoming an artist, meet by accident at a corner when her car and his bike crash into each other. They meet again when Xin Lei goes to the restaurant that Qin Lang works at. They truly get to know each other when Xin Lei asks him to teach her how to make oyster pancakes. Then, Xin Lei's parents' company goes bankrupt. Without telling her, Xin Lei's parents go into hiding, leaving only a plane ticket and a key to their house in Taiwan. To make matters worse, Xin Lei's fiance breaks the engagement, due to his parents' wishes. The only two people she has now are Qin Lang and her best friend Xi Xian. Qin Lang then tells her that he is leaving for Taiwan, so they bade farewell. When Xin Lei arrives in Taiwan, she finds out that Qin Lang's family has been living in the house for years! After much controversy, Qin Lang's grandmother finally lets her stay. Thus begins a magical love story.

-> Review: Watching the series made me crave for oyster pancake (o-a-chian)! Barbie is stunning and she exactly looks like a princess and acts like one. (did I hear that our hair is similar lol) Alan is charming and portrays his role very well, a guy who obviously loves the girl so much but lacks the confidence to admit because they live in two totally different worlds. Barbie's decision choosing Alan over her rich fiance is applaudable. The essence of love, following one's heart despite practicality and social pressure, is just that. Though sometimes easier said than done, but people like that do exist so never underestimate the power of love.



Fated to Love You

A really unfashionable working class girl Chen Xin Yi has the desire to tie down her handsome boyfriend to be with her. Due to certain reasons, her boyfriend gets her to go on a love cruise and she started to ponder on how to lose her virginity and tie down her boyfriend. Xin Yi ended up taking cold medicine which made her drowsy and went into Ji Cun Xi's room. Cun Xi is the sole male heir to his family's company and has been in love with his girlfriend, Anna, for a long time. He planned to propose to Anna on the boat but she didn't turn up on the cruise. An island owner added drugs into Cun Xi's drink and Cun Xi became disorientated and returned to his own room. Xin Yi and Cun Xi end up having a one night stand. Xin Yi later finds out that she's pregnant and Cun Xi's grandmother forces them to get married. Will a couple forced to marry for the sake of their unborn child find love with each other?

- Review: My o my, after like 5 years, I finally found a series that made me stay late till 4am 5am watching because I can't control myself. I was just simply HOOKED. I like the martyr Xin Yi, willing to bear a child and leave and always giving out wholeheartedly and selflessly. After their separation, she became strong, learned how to dress up and became confident, sweet revenge comes knocking. I like how Cun Xi would be torn and guilty (karma :p), childish and yet sweet, and that the more he denies, the more his feelings are assured. The whole story has a lot of funny elements that just keeps you giggling and wondering what happens next. And everything seems to be a destiny, it's not a coincidence, they are just simply meant to be. I fell in love with Cun Xi! :p Oh btw, this is by far the highest record-breaking viewership drama of 10.+, beating Meteor Garden and other famous series aired on TV.

The first 12 episodes is a 4 THUMBS UP for me (including my feet :p) Storyline is very fast. Then they switched to Shanghai but still okay. I seriously think there's no need to drag the ending by putting unecessary conflicts like they get kidnapped and the lead guy goes blind, the funny element is going overboard. Good acting and musical score. Still, a recommended one from me.

Movie Marathon

Marathon session with the DVDs (pirated) I brought from Manila :p

Kung Fu Panda

- After everyone has watched and all the positive comments that I heard, I finally took the time to sit down and conquer. And yes, this movie does live up to all the good words. Entertaining and insightful, appeals to the emotions and touches the heart. I like the way Po will gulp down food, the siopao. There's no secret, agree.

Enchanted

- Another movie that lives up to the hype. Not as plain as I would expect from a disney-comes-to-life theme. The most powerful thing in the world is a true love's kiss. Her curtain outfits are adorable.

When Love Begins

- Anne plays well, very convincing in her role. Her personality is a commonplace, you'll find a handful in the real world - No commitments, no obligations, no limitations. The movie has scenes shot in Bora. Makes me wanna have a Bora vacation, I miss the beach!

Student Again

Whew I'm back to my school days.

I enrolled again for another marketing module in NUS Ext. This time it's called Asia-Pacific Marketing Management. My classes just started last week. The first few classes were about the theoretical aspects of marketing. Sales figure, survey results, demographics, so many charts, graphs, tables.

Eg: in year 2002 Product A made 13M sales in 2 regions inhabited by 20% women of age 25-30 of which half is belonging to urban, and the factor that boosted the sales is due to TV ads placed in primetime TV slot which is 20% more expensive than normal streaming, and in terms of pricing, Product A is among the top 5 preferred by people in the corporate segment...

Too many factors to analyze and too many numbers! I initially thought Marketing world = outlet of the creative fragments in my head. It seems not. After dealing with so many number crunching activities in my work, no.. no.. don't make me analyze anymore. Outside work, I just wanna be spontaneous :p

Anyway, the next few lessons should be interesting. There were different case studies for most of the major countries in Asia Pacific. I have 2 other teammates in the project and guess which company did they pick among the 10+ case studies given by the professor. None other than..HP. My gosh, seems like the past tends to reveal itself to me. Dejavu :p

Speaking of, I'm off to go for my Friday classes.

Blooper and Strike

After 1.5yrs+ in this new land, I finally had a chance to play bowling again.

This is from a teambuilding activity with my client for a successful project cutover.

Before the game, I actually had a blooper to share. A few of us from our project team rode in my manager's car. We put our things in the compartment. After I went up the sports club, I remembered my socks were in the hood. I told my manager I left something in his car, he handed me the car keys.

Finding the car in the carpark was my first problem (with my bad memory). They all seemed to look alike (all in silver). I called my manager and asked for his plate number. After finding the car, I went to the left door, opened it and started searching. To my surprise, I just can't see the button. It should be somewhere at the bottom (apakan), the one you pull to open the back hood or for refilling gasoline. I was thinking there shouldnt be any difference in car structure whichever part of the world you are, right?

I settled for the next option, I went to the back of the car, planning to open the compartment with the key. Again, I couldn't see the keyhole. I called an Indian teammate KL-based who drives and asked him is there any difference with the cars here? Haha stupid as I may sound. He said from what he knows, the cars should be the same. I asked him to come down the carpark to help me.

Then suddenly a bulb lighted in my mind. I was in a hurry that I forgot, Singapore are right hand drivers. Why am I searching at the left side. I quickly went to the driver's seat at the right side and easily found the button. Whew. d*mn it. I wasnt drunk at all nor was I too stressed that day. :p

Anyway, we had 2 rounds of games. And I was VERY happy that I had a STRIKE! Note: this happens only once in a blue moon for my level hehe. Funny thing is we all had strike in that particular part of the game (look closely at the picture). There were 4 of us in the team and luckily they were all good shooters. Our team ended up 1st place among 4 teams (good thing my score didnt pull them down too low hehe) If I can score a 100 in a game, I'd be a happy man. Cheers! :p

Puzzle Continued

Here's the next part of the encounter with the puzzle guy (in my previous post), this is the guy who is courting my friend back in Manila.

My friend seems to have a lot of complaints about him :p
'..imagine ilan days n and2 d pa kmi nagmemeet.once palang tumawag sa landline.puro text...eh d parng same lang dba? ang diff lang eh piso nalang ang rep nya sakin..'
I was in giggle when I saw this msg from her, yeah difference is piso na lng ang txt haha. :p Somehow I can understand the guy, managing schedules during short vacation back home is quite tough, so few time, so much things to do. It takes a lot of effort to squeeze quality time.

On a later time she ym-ed me their long conversation which ended up in tampuhan. I actually cant quite comprehend what was happening. It appears that this girl was talking about something, and the guy doesnt seem to be listening and not responding to the topic and talking about something else. Well for a fact, men dont listen as good as women anyway. She also told me that she finds something annoying about how the guy makes kwento, he is giving too much inessential details and the more important ones are always being left out.

I thought my friend was just being too hard on this guy. When a girl really falls hard, she won't notice and will ignore and tolerate all flaws. However if there's not even a single spark, she can find a hundred reasons to say he is unbearable. :p The second seems to apply in their situation.

Then I realize I was wrong :p

This guy is the talky type, he yms me during office hours and asks me my reaction about their situation blah blah. It was okay, medyo naawa din ako sa knya. Here is a guy who is trying his very best to woo a girl, but somehow not reciprocated. The patience to really hold on to uncertainty, the daily sms para manligaw etc. That deserves a rebulto I would jokingly say.

Then came a time when I was feeling bad about some incidents. Sakto he ym-ed me, so medyo nagkwento ako why I was upset. Initially it was ok-ok, he seemed to listen well. Just that he joked back saying I'm bitter and started making fun calling me names. Then he apologized and offered that maybe I need someone to talk to and asked me if I'm free the next day. I said okay.

We met up for dinner the next day. Then I did notice his 'strange' way of story telling. He is really giving too much info hehe, he'll mention ALL the names eg his friends, whom he met up with in a party, what they ordered etc. He'll describe each of the friend, the names of the gfs or spouses.. Hmm I was thinking.. hold on, we just met, I hardly know you and I dont know your friends? Actually to be fair, this is not really a no-no trait, some can still get away with it and be considered 'cute' or 'funny', only if you got the looks and the attitude that people can possibly overlook odd traits. However not everyone is part of the lucky few exceptions.

Then he related his past stories. Like the last girl who dumped her. Out of the blue, this girl texted him one day (last year) and said she needed a companion. That sounded to me like a positive start. Then started their frequent encounters. He was this martyr guy who makes hatid-sundo and gives her midnight snacks in her office (she's on night shift). It went for like months - that was too long for a courtship. Then one day the girl told her she didnt feel comfortable with what he's doing. My guess is probably his motives were not apparently obvious and he just went on with his martyr actions without a clear picture of where it was leading to.

Then when it was my turn to kwento, I just elaborated the reasons why I was upset and that I even cried about those stuff. The dinner was okay, it's the first time I get to know him face to face, though not my type, but I wont consider very annoying as a first impression.

Later that night he ym-ed me that they were in 'tampuhan' mode again. And again sent me their long conversation in ym. (whoo why did I suddenly become Dear Joe, Dear Charo or Dr Phil for this couple). This ym was quite funny. They were arguing about something and he then he asked my friend to sleep. 'Alam mo nakakataba ang stress, tulog ka na'. Why did you say that? He said sya rin nagsabi na iremind ko cya magdiet at matulog nang maaga. I replied, kahit na! My friend is not slim, she is chubby! And probably every guy should know that any girl in this world wouldnt want to be associated with anything fat? It probably wont be offending when you are talking with anorexic or obviously thin people, but to relatively bigger sized people, this is a killer.

Before the conversation ended, he asked me again about my case. And to my surprise, he again did the same thing, laughed at me and called me names like bitter and ampalaya. That's it. I was pissed off. I said not funny, stop it! Deep inside I was thinking, I already told you that I even cried and how could you be so rude to make fun out of it!

He apologized several times. I wasnt really hurt much anyway since a new acquaintance won't have that much impact on me.

Few days after, he was in depression. He said my friend said, it's better na we stay as friends muna, kasi hindi mo nadedeliver ang mga expectations ko. Hehe what a choice of words, I never heard anyone declining with those terms, napaka-formal naman. Sounded like office blues, sorry boss I cant deliver your expectations. :) It's partly harsh and partly funny. Since I dont want to piss him off further, I just said 'be glad, probably it's not yet the right time, it's not really a basted statement yet (notice that there is the word MUNA), there's still some hope, maybe in the future'.

I refrain talking to him too often since I'm also quite busy nowadays, ayoko na maging Dr Phil, too depressing. :p

He does have a big problem which he might still be unaware of. He is INSENSITIVE!
你有病! 豬頭!

My Best Friend's Girl

I felt the need to unwind and watch something funny. So here goes an attempt for a no-brainer chick flick.

Kate Hudson, Dane Cook and Jason Biggs star in this movie 'My Best Friend's Girl'. Synopsis from net:
Smart, beautiful and headstrong, Alexis is Dustin's dream girl. However, love-struck Dustin comes on so strong that Alexis retreats. Desperate to get her back, Dustin turns to his best friend, Tank, the rebound specialist who is hired by freshly dumped guys to take their ex-es out on the worst date of their lives - an experience so horrible it sends them running gratefully back to their beaus.



Dane no doubt is a complete asshole! Watch it for some laughs. Expect some profane language and scenes. Nice seeing Kate (How To Lose a Guy in 10 Days) and Jason Biggs (American Pie) who are 'legendary' figures with these famous movies in my hs/college times.

P.S. This movie seems to have extremely bad reviews in the net. :p

Fave Collections

Some of the things I fancy:

I think I fell in love with this cute long shirt (pantulog), it was so cuddly na nanghinayang ako gamitin, sayang hehe :)




My new bedsheet. My ate's bday gift to me, I told her I need a new bedsheet and I want a pink color as I dont have a girly one yet here. Just the right shade of pink that I like! not the flashy type, I like soft colors that will aid putting me to a good sleep. :)




Finally I got time to frame this picture, gives my room a personalized finish. :p

When the Cat is Away, the Mouse will Play

The title exactly suits my hausmate's 12-yr old daughter. Her mom went to Manila to fix some things since end of Sept.. and suddenly I have to be the 'guardian' of this annoying mouse. Guardian meaning I have to sign her schoolwork papers, approval etc. if needed. So here goes 'the cat is away, the mouse will play' game.

In a span of two week's time, I signed 5 Letters of Absence due to her self-claimed 'sickness'. 'May lagnat ako, May asthma ako, Masakit ang ulo ko.' She'll hand me a pen and paper at night and tell me she didnt go to school that day, then ask me to write her teacher the letter for the guardian consent. Grrh.

In one of her absences, she asked for my salon contact to get a rebond. Uggh I dont know why a 12 year old girl has to go for rebond nowadays, I heard her kept nagging her mom for money on this before. (this will cost above 100sgd in SG) I had my first rebond only when I was working already! And wtf.. can't all this parlor stuff wait for the weekend? Grrrh.

She went for several sleepovers. She'll casually tell me on an fyi basis, saying her mom knows about it. Sleep where you want to sleep. I dont want to be held responsible for her.

She knocked on my room past 12 midnight to ask for acetone (for removing nail polish). Grrh ethics please, dont knock at my room past 12 midnight, I only entertain extremely close people.

She sent me sms past 12 midnight to tell me she's not going home. Dont disturb me for your nonsense. I hate it when you choose your own convenient time to bug me.

She took her friend to our house to 'tutor' her to cope up with her studies since she's having lots of absences. They occupied the dining table and the laptop was playing music aloud. I was hungry as it was dinnertime. Gee I dont like eating anywhere else in the house except the dining area.

This morning (Sat), I got a call at 9am from her teacher asking me where she is because they were supposed to meet for some activities. I think the mouse was on 'monitor' because of her negligence and frequent absences. WTTTTFFF I UBER hate being disturbed during weekend mornings when I am having my usual long sleeps (that sometimes end till 11 or even 12noon when I got nothing to do). Again, dont disturb me unless you think we're extremely close that you'd get a special treatment.

And another annoying thing, she'll always have this angelic apologetic face that says 'sorry ate leslie, blah blah'.... grrh what's the use of sorry when you use it without really meaning it. Before I've seen her being careless and broke plates and pans, and she will always 'mama sorry'. But she will still continue to be careless.

If only this person is a relative, I think I am about to do some spanking.

Pathetic Love Songs

I seem to have a penchant for pathetic love songs, the underdogs, the martys, the foolish whatever - simply because these are the fun songs for videoke session. Coincidentally, natitimingan whenever I take the airport taxi from SG. Today it's airing a song from Rihanna. Last time, it's a chinese (pathetic) love song. I'm posting them below. LSS mode:

Take A Bow - Rihanna
Oh, How about a round of applause, Yeah
A standing ovation
Oooooo, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah

You look so dumb right now
Standing outside my house
Trying to apologize
You’re so ugly when you cry
Please, just cut it out

[Chorus]
Don’t tell me you’re sorry cuz you’re not
Baby when I know you’re only sorry you got caught
But you put on quite a show
You really had me going
But now it’s time to go
Curtain’s finally closing
That was quite a show
Very entertaining
But it’s over now (But it’s over now)
Go on and take a bow

Grab your clothes and get gone (get gone)
You better hurry up
Before the sprinklers come on (come on)
Talkin’ bout'
Girl, I love you, you’re the one
This just looks like a re-run
Please, what else is on (on)


知道 - 郭静

她让你憔悴许多
她让你不知所措
她的一举一动你不停的对我说
我微笑倾听你说
我却越听越心痛
怎么你说的不是我
她比我多了什么
让你愿意耐心等候

我想知道她让你痴心是什么
我想知道她让你疯狂为什么
我知道做的和她没有不同
但是我却不在你的心中逗留

我想知道她哪里比我好很多
在你心中她和我有什么不同
我知道我比她付出的还多
可是我总换不了你的心动

你让我憔悴很多
你让我不知所措
你一举一动我的心被牵着走
她不经意的走过
你就把我给冷落
嫉妒把我给吞没
她比我多了什么
让你愿意耐心等候

我想知道她让你痴心是什么
我想知道她让你疯狂为什么
我知道做的和她没有不同
但是我却不在你的心中逗留

我想知道她哪里比我好很多
在你心中她和我有什么不同
我知道我比她付出的还多
可是我总换不了你的心动

我知道了她哪里比我好更多
在你心中我永远不可能会让你心动
我知道我比她付出的还多
可是我在你心中没有她多

Pitstop Oct08

My unexpected trip back to Manila. I was in dilemma for so many months whether I should go home or not to attend a friend's wedding. I'm not really the type of person who's fond of parties, weddings in particular. Just how a friend puts it, weddings are even worse than funerals. :p Or probably there will be some cold air blowing through the back of your neck, telling you you must be doing something wrong by now if it's not yet your turn. :p

Since I started working here, I have skipped 4 weddings already from close friends. 2 college friends, 1 high school friend, 1 ex-ofcmate. It might be harsh to say, but I didnt even consider going home those times. We all have friends, but not all would have touched our lives.

This one somehow is an exception. We were not close back in Manila when we were officemates. She resigned and worked in SG a few months before I went here. Unexpectedly she has helped me a lot thru my first adjustment month here while she was still working in SG. For the fact that she fetched me from the airport since day 1, arranged and accompanied me for house viewing, let me sleep in her place while waiting for my house's availabilty, bringing me to church,etc - somehow I always remember extremely good deeds. We sort of drifted apart when she went back to Manila, she has her new circle of friends now. But she did ask me to go to her wedding when we met in September, seriouly I dunno if it's really a big thing for her to see me there or was it just out of courtesy to urge me to attend. :p

Work is still manageable to some extent, then came Jetstar promo. Okay it's a go, I booked a flight approximately just one week before the wedding. I feel that somehow I will be guilty if I am not present in her big day. Regardless whether we're presently close or not, I did my part.

It was quite a 'hassle' trip for me, I just went for vacation on September. I have limited vacation leaves, just up to 16 per year! I'm taking another long one again on December. My family finds it unnecessary that I go home just for weddings, too 'ke-po' cause I'm not a part of entourage anyway :p. And the story doesnt end there, crowd is a problem cause nobody from my previous company was invited, transpo too is a problem (my sister, who will be my driver, doesnt exactly know the place of the church and even the hotel, and I cant really drive on a decent level). They think I'm just stretching myself too far.

Come Sunday, it was actually worse than expected. It's raining hard! Good thing we found the place before rain starts pouring. The only other 2 'acquaintances' that I know - one of them went to Boracay. The other apparently didnt go to the church. Hey it's also my first time to attend the church part in the longest time! hehe I always just attend the reception.. for the chibog -- hehe latter part is just kidding, but yeah I seldom attend the church wedding. When I personally know the bride, I would have this queer feeling and goose bumps when I see them walk down the aisle, I sincerely feel happy for them. :) Yeah right for those 1.5 hours, I was sitting alone in one of the benches inside the church, with no one to talk to. Starting to feel awkward because I still have 4 hours ahead (later in reception).

Since I dont want to keep my chaperone/drivers wasting their whole day just to drive me, I was dropped in my sister's place after the church. Stayed and played with my nephew for some time, then later her husband drove me to Greenbelt. My God, again killing some more hours before reception starts. :(

Finally came 730pm and I stepped into the hotel, the other acquaintance finally appeared, finally there was a person to talk to. But then we were not assigned in the same table. Luckily in my table, there was one decent guy who was friendly enough to talk to me, so at least that solves a few fractional seconds not to be mistaken as an authistic gate-crasher to this whole wedding thing. My other disappointment, I didnt even have a picture taken with the bride and groom. I have a camera, but I dont have anybody to take a picture for me, I dont have any evidence or remembrance that I was there! :(

The whole wedding is nice and and tastefully prepared, ehem that also reads ginastusan hehe. From the program, I got to learn that the guy wrote her 40+ poems, danced 'cooperatively' for the funky and sweet first dance (which they said was not like him at all coz he doesnt dance) and he even did a surprise piano number of Canon in D. The first time when the guy visited my friend in SG, I just knew that he is sincere and he does live up to the expectations till now. I know he'll take care of my friend very well.

For the first time, I finally had a 'discreet' vacation to Manila. I didnt mention this whole vacation thingie to SG friends anymore. I am somewhat tired of all the pasuyong 'padala' causing me this manual labor of carrying so much things or paying for excess baggage, 'pabili' (which expectedly wont get paid because anything I pay for in Php would be unsubstantial when converted to SGD hehe), 'pabigay' wasting me time to meet SG friends's friends (read: strangers) to get the things from people here in SG. I dont want to be a philantrophist anymore. I of course dont have anything against my friends, it's just all of them are having decent salary in SG and probably are living more extravagant lifestyles than me. I dont see any point why they cant frequent themselves going back to Manila to do their stuff. I learned, again the hard way. :p

The next day after the wedding (which is today), is my flight back to SG. This is really crazy. Before I was still a crybaby whenever I leave Philippines, not anymore, cause even my family doesnt miss me in such short time intervals. Yes, I was still feeling down during my flight back, different drama for different months. And I hope this depression will pass away soon.

My Wow Ph - Additional

Davao, Jul08


Matina Hills



Jack's Ridge



Show@Crododile Park



Pearl Farm



Pearl Farm 2



Philippine Eagle Center - Mulawin



Eden Nature Park - Skyrider



Eden Nature Park - Secret Garden

Davao, Jul08


Eden Nature Park - Matinlo Falls



Eden Nature Park - Flowers on a Well

What A Wonderful World

This is the first weekend in SG wherein I did not have any lakads. I just feel like relaxing, resting, enjoying in my room.

Sharing another song that I've been looking for quite some time. This was played in my Chao Phraya Cruise, then again I heard it in a concert. Something similar to Moon River. I matched it with a picture I took in Davao. :)

What a Wonderful World --- Louis Armstrong
I see trees of green........ red roses too
I see em bloom..... for me and for you
And I think to myself.... what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue..... clouds of white
Bright blessed days....dark sacred nights
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world.

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are also on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do
Theyre really sayin......i love you.

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
Theyll learn much more.....than Ill never know
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world

(instrumental break)

The colors of a rainbow.....so pretty ..in the sky
Are there on the faces.....of people ..going by
I see friends shaking hands.....sayin.. how do you do
Theyre really sayin...*spoken*(I ....love....you).

I hear babies cry...... I watch them grow
*spoken*(you know their gonna learn
A whole lot more than Ill never know)
And I think to myself .....what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself .......what a wonderful world.

He's Just Not That Into You

Few weeks ago I passed by Cathay moviehouse and saw this huge ad, with the title 'HE'S JUST NOT THAT INTO YOU'. Haha what a title. There are so many big names in it: Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Connelly, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Justin Long, and Ginnifer Goodwin. Hmm quite interesting. I started researching in the net and this is what I found.

Synopsis:
Screenwriters Abby Kohn and Marc Silverstein team to adapt writing duo Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo's best-selling book concerning the ever-widening gap between genders and the misunderstandings that often arise between couples. In the film, a woman who can't seem to get a grip on the men in her life pursues an advice columnist who never quite knew what he wanted in a relationship.

About the Book:
He's Just Not That Into You is a self-improvement book written by Greg Behrendt and Liz Tuccillo and published in 2004. It was a New York Times bestseller and was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show.

The book was inspired by an episode of Sex and the City titled "Pick-A-Little, Talk-A-Little," in which Miranda asks Carrie's boyfriend, Berger, to analyze the post-date behavior of a potential love interest. Because the man declined Miranda's invitation to come up to her apartment after the date, stating that he has an early meeting, Berger concludes that "he's just not that into you," adding that "when a guy's really into you, he's coming upstairs, meeting or no meeting."

Some funny lines:
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/excerpts/2004-09-08-hes-just_x.htm

Hmm I'm not the type who'd read such books :p But oh chick flick is fine with me. A starstudded movie can go either ways, either spectacular or crap. For the catchy title, and slightly for Daredevil, okay I'll be watching this one. :p

Someday

I have been looking for the mp3 of this song for quite some time. (ain't doing much illegal download here :p). One of the few english songs where I can feel some emotions. Carried away..

Someday by Nina

Someday, you'll gonna realize
One day, you'll see this through my eyes
But then I won't even be there
I'll be happy somewhere
Even if I cared

I know you don't really see my worth
You think you're the last guy on earth
Well, I've got news for you
I know I'm not that strong
But it won't take long, won't take long

CHORUS
'Cause someday, someone's gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone's gonna take your place
One day, I'll forget about you
You'll see, I won't even miss you
Someday, someday

But now, I know you can tell
I'm down and I'm not doin' well
But one day, these tears
They will all run dry
I won't have to cry sweet goodbye

CHORUS
'Cause someday, someone's gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone's gonna take your place, Ooh
One day, I'll forget about you
You'll see, I won't even miss you
Someday, I know someone's gonna be there

Someday, someone's gonna love me
The way I wanted you to need me
Someday, someone's gonna take your place
One day, I'll forget about you
You'll see, I won't even miss you
Someday, someday

Ahh yeah yeah

Fated

I saw this in another blog, good read. Senti mood.

Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there...to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson or help figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be but you lock eyes with them, you know that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

And sometimes things happen to you at the time that may seem horrible, painful and unfair, but in reflection you realize that without overcoming those obstacles you would never realize your potential, strength, will power or heart.

Everything happens for a reason. Nothing happens by chance or by means of luck.

Illness, love, lost moments of true greatness and sheer stupidity all occur to test limits of your soul.

Without these small tests, life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere safe and comfortable but dull and utterly pointless.

The people you meet affect your life. The successes and downfalls that you experience can create whom you are, and the bad experiences can be learned from. In fact they are probably the most poignant and important ones. If someone hurts you, betrays you or breaks your heart, forgive them because they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious to whom you open your heart.

If someone loves you, love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you, but also because they are teaching you to love and open your heart and eyes to little things. Make every day count. Appreciate everything that you possibly can, for you may never experience it again.

Talk to people whom you have never talked to before, and actually listen. Let yourself fall in love, break free and set your sights high. Hold your head up because you have every right to.

Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don't believe in yourself, no one else will believe in you. Create you own life and then go out and live it.

Never take someone for granted. Hold on every person close to your heart because you might wake up one day and realize that you've lost a diamond while you were too busy collecting stones

Hair Craze - Ultimate

Early this year, I had my hair dyed. But my real target isnt really just the color thing, I want big waves and curls hehe. I've always wanted an ala-princess or doll hairdo that's not messy and frizzy. :p. In SG, perm and color go together or else it would be too 'auntie' look if you have black curly hair, that's whay they say.

I got my hair highlights before July's vacation. Actually the salon didnt do a good job. The first application was totally 'invisible', I didnt really see any difference before and after I step into the salon. Then I said I wasnt satisfied, and they applied a second application for free (SG never lets an unhappy customer step away from their store). The second was finally 'visible' and the color was actually stronger that I intended. I did catch quite a lot of attention in Manila, it just probably didnt fit the image that people remember me to be, I look like a party animal. :p

When I went back to SG, I scouted for the best deal and finally had my hair permed. Digital perm is quite popular in SG. It gives you big soft curls that are not too difficult to maintain. Sometimes it doesnt look like real curls, but rather a 'set' hair from parlor. I'm loving it. :p It's a bit heavy on the pocket though, probably 4X of the price I paid when I had my first regular curl in Manila last 2004. :p

During my Sept vacation in Manila, people seem to think of me as a 'foreigner'. Service crew in restaurant talks to me in English. Family friends cant recognize me during the christening party. On my way back to SG, I took a cab in SG from airport and the cab driver was surprised to know I came from Manila. 'I thought you're from HK or China, you dont look like Filipino, not at all'.

Here's a comparison using some famous TW stars with curly hair, it's too ambititious I know :p hey everyone has a free pass to dreamland.


I dont know what change I'm capable of. :p Yeah I'm done with my hair experiments, looking for the next best thing :)

Housekeeping: Portable Vacuum Cleaner

I bought this powerful tool last month. If you live alone, this is really a must-have item for your bedroom, especially if you are too lazy to sweep your floor everyday. The sucking power is actually not that strong, but good enough to pick up falling hair and dirt in the floor, like your typical car vacuum. This one can actually suck liquid too though I never tried. The hood is light enough to be 'portable'.

Now, every night when I'm not tired, I would turn this thing on and do a quick round in my bedroom, takes just about 2 minutes max I guess. I like my floor tidy and hair-free. Mine is from Moulinex and it costs 60sgd.

The down side is, this runs in rechargeable batteries (NiMH), therefore I would expect its life to be diminishing over time. I hope every rechargeable item will come in Lithium batts in the future.

Herbs and Spices

In SG whenever I have something that's troubling me, I know I can always count on him. He is my friend in college. He just left SG last month for US to take his Masteral, that's why I felt like scribbling something in memory of him. (hehehe lol he is still alive and kicking)

In my first month, I did not ask for money but he offered to lend his credit card. I always remember a good deed.

When I was yelled by the maid of the ex-hausmate (well everyone of us used to be a victim of that once in a while), I was so upset that I didnt wanna go home, I went to his place to have dinner to flush away all the angsts.

For career talks, he is the man. He sort of, i think, at least doubled his salary by jumping into 3 jobs in 1 year.

He is one of the two people from college who always believe that I can surely do well if only I opted to pursue masteral studies. Nobody now would believe I used to be intelligent. Haha.

When I was worried that we will be sent off the house, the people I talked to just gave me kinda-retarded answers, by throwing back the question to me. He's the only one who gave valid arguments that if we were sent off, there is some net loss and opportunity cost between the owner and agent. Only after that was I relieved.

For chismisan, bashing, bastusan jokes, anything under the sun talks, our wavelengths meet most of the time.

And even up to the last week before he left, I again asked for a favor. That was the time when I was rushing to sell my stocks. The HR folks wouldnt accept my 'Authority to Sell' form because she wanted a scanned image affixed with my signature. I dont have access to scanner as I was in client site. I called my sisters to 'forge' my signature and send back a scanned copy to me, unfortunately their email system was down. I realized a lot of my close friends in SG have left and I dont have much people to entrust this big responsibility. Then I remember him again. Luckily he wasn't busy since those were his last few days in office. I told him clearly, 'I need you to forge my signature, scan it and send it back to me, dont worry it's with my consent'. Hahaha what an odd request. He kept on laughing and asking me, 'are you sure, i dont wanna be jailed' haha. And that's it, done deal, sold.

Now I started to feel that I am not a newbie here anymore. All those I'm closed with who came before me has gone somewhere else: to Au, to Mla, to Samar, and now this one to US. I'm now one of the oldest (in terms of tenure, not age I have to specify hehe). I dont have a 'master' to guide me if needed.

I'm gonna miss having someone who is always reliable.

And oh. I have to add. He is GAY by the way, the most effeminate, smartest, conservative, one hell of a hot gay. hahaha. He has more boys kwento to share than me. And oh my skin has improved after he shared with me his beauty tips (no kidding!). Else I wont be blogging about him. I'm not planning yet to feature any straight guy in my blog, no topics that might sort of blackmail or jeopardize my name. haha :)

Not all gays are flirts, trash. They probably are guys with an additional pinch of herbs and spices. Some do have substance and are driven go-getters. And for that, I applaud them.

Gift Shopper

Probably it was only in SG that I realized the 'joy' of giving. In my previous vacations, I just always have the urge to buy something for everyone in the family. And take note, it's only my immediate family (so less than 10pax) and I still always end up in excess baggage mode (or, if not, in ultra heavy handcarries mode) hehe I need an efficient packer. :)

The July08 was my one-time big-time gift-giving mode. Staying for one year+, I feel obliged to give them something pretty much substantial hehe. (well I've been receiving so much gifts from them all these years). An overflow of bags and of course clothes. My mom loves the clothes I buy for her (it takes skill and practice to buy for others!). :) Ey I suddenly feel like applying for a professional shopper :p







Though this might have added some credit card swipes, I dont mind at all, so much for people I care! And it's once in a long while.

Actually I didnt receive much birthday gifts from friends this year. I suddenly felt my circle of friends are getting smaller (since a lot of them have left or some have drifted apart). I sometimes wonder (or maybe envy) those people who will blog about who sent an sms to greet them, gave them gifts, with a list adding to about a hundred hehe. Anyway it's the quality and not the quantity :p. I'm glad to have something I really wanted and needed. My good friend seems to know me so well that she gave me a yoga mat (I'm planning to enroll in yoga) and a bag in my favorite color! Back home my achis and I always have this un-surprised surprise. We went for a vacation and they noticed my bag was not so 'porma' so they bought me one that is fit for beach/travel. I also told them I like one specific walking shoe and they find me one. One gave me a pair of earrings. And my mom even replenished my Globe cards haha. Just everything I have in my shopping list. Thank you!

I have a friend (guy) who is so much into signature/designer items. A funny thing is that he was so proud he bought his ex-gf (who is fond of tiangge shopping) a limited edition of Dior shirt costing around probably 10K php. And he bashes that probably the shirt can buy his ex all the items in her favorite tiangge. Hmm I doubt it was appreciated, cause they broke up :p

For me, gift giving lies in the thought, the effort to find something that fits or something that could probably be of some use. It's gotta have some heart, just that. :)

Mid-Autumn Festival: Mooncake Galore

September 14 is the exact day for Mid-Autumn Festival. One month before this, all malls have been teeming with so much mooncake bazaars. A typical normal plain mooncake costs around twice of Ph's price. The more famous brands are those from SG hotels or imports from HK/TW and my, these are really exaggerately priced. One pc can buy you one box (of 4) in Ph!

The new craze these recent years in Oriental countries is the Snow Skin mooncake. It took TW/HK/SG by storm as everyone seems to be going gaga over this refrigerated, flavored, colored, not-your-typical-traditional-ovenbaked mooncake. The more popular flavors are green tea, taro/yam, strawberry, pandan, durian, coffee, chocolate, banana. I have attended a mooncake workshop, sharing some pix of green tea snow skin mooncake.



During my last September trip back home, I had so many of these mooncakes. I got 4 boxes (1box=4pcs) for my family and a friend asked me a favor to take home 2 more boxes. My goodness, it was really one heck of a big &^%!. 6 boxes weigh around 5kg and i have another handcarry bag of 6kg. I felt like my fingers were disconnecting from my hand, my arms were disconnecting from my shoulder.

The Biggest Drama (Part 2)

Just when I thought I had enough...

Last Jan when I went back to SG and vomited all over the lavatory of the the plane, I thought that was already the worst thing that could ever happen to me, or to any OFW for that matter.

I was wrong then.

Sept08, I purposedly went home to attend my nephew's first bday and Christening. After the party, I got another invite for a bday party of my friend's bf. From New Manila (kiddie party venue), it took like 1hrs+ drive to reach Megamall that Sunday. The weather's hot and I dont know why it seems like I got dizzy from the heavy traffic jam and bumpy roads (which I am supposed to be used to as I spent 25years of my life in such!). Food intake wise, probably it was not a good move to have two buffet meals on a hot day (which I am supposed to be used to again before!). After the 2nd party, again some more 2hrs+ traffic jam on the way home, aggravated by banggaan somewhere in recto. I dont know, it's just that all the elements were not working well.

I reached home so tired and decided to take a nap. I did feel better after the nap and even watched some TV series that night before going to sleep.

1am I was awakened by chills. I was starting to shiver. I had fever at 39deg. The druggie in me went to the kitchen and gulped Biogesic and again continued my sleep. Monday morning I woke up and started having LBM. Fever was still there. I was literally almost sleeping the whole day, if not for my mom waking me up to take medicine. She accompanied me to see a doctor. I got one shot to speed up fever recovery. I told the doctor I have a flight the next day. He said he would suggest 'idextrose' na lng because that it is the fastest. I chickened out, I haven't been confined in a hospital, not even had dextrose drip. The closest that I got was to donate blood, and it was a morbid experience. I am not really used to these needle thingie. Then the doctor said okay I still have a one day, worse comes to worst, I should just rush there Tues Morning for dextrose before my supposed Tues evening flight.

I went home hoping the medicine would be enough to keep me going. My mom was asking me to book another flight and said it's on her. (Deep inside ayoko na... how many times do I have to miss a flight whether intentional or unintentional.. it's just so lousy if I keep on missing flights!) And it's also so hassle to file for leaves again. And my sister and bro-in-law were taking the same week's Wed flight to go to SG. I prefer to go ahead of them to clean my room. Whooah I dont like messing all the plans, but my health was not cooperating. :(

Come Tuesday, I still got non-stop LBM whenever I attempted food intake, my fever did disappear though with the shot. Okay that's it I cant drag it any longer. My mom took me back to the doctor to take whatever dextrose+liquid medicine that I need to be infused. It was quite scary to see the doctor pinching the needlehead into my hand (the back of my palm). It wasnt painful though and I did not see any blood dripping out (I initially thought it will be slightly bloodly). I remembered there were two bottles and it took 2hours to finish the whole thing.

Everything was smooth afterwards. I managed to survive. LBM subsided the next day.

The only good that this has brought me - I probably shed off some weight. Back in Mla, a lot of ppl were saying I became fat. Blame it on the pigging out in Davao. And now the 'detoxification' has eased up the burning process to some extent hehe. Other than that, this was really a grrrh experience. Someone asked me a question whether gusto ko pa ba umuwi... the answer is still YES! haha.



P.S. Somehow the whole thing got me thinking. Have I been away for too long that my body started resisting the negative forces/inconveniences (exag ha, I beg to disagree!!!!). I'm afraid of being sick and far away, alone. Baka matuluyan ako nito.. Does anyone really care if something bad happens to me.. whether I go back for good or not.. hehe see how twisted and dramatic pag may sakit. Anyway, health is wealth. Without health, everything is useless.

My Video

Nice to be home... again! :)

Food Lab: Special Episode

I think staying one year independently has slightly improved my cooking skill. See, they look more presentable and edible now than my previous posts :)


Crabmeat in Egg White with Broccoli





Thai Pineapple Rice







Here's a new experiment on Rice Pilaf. I see this often in Japanese stalls in Kopitiam. I've been wanting to copy this egg-wrapped rice. Finally accomplished with a non-stick pan, again borrowed from hausmate.

Japanese Rice Pilaf





Of course, I would also love to perfect one of my classic pieces - Chicken Gordon Bleu. It tastes better now hehe.

Classic* Chicken Gordon Bleu




Recently, my hausmate introduced me to this stove-top grilling pan. Amazing, I didnt know grilling is possible without a griller hehe. I like the nice brown lines effect. I have here pork steak, chicken steak, and bacon-wrapped prawns. Hmm so probably I am starting to be a crossover of 'east meets a little west'. :)

Pork Steak, Chicken Steak, Bacon-Wrapped Prawn




What I ended up doing, adding my library of cookbooks hihi. Grill Time. :)

Valid ID

Sharing this 'very special' ID. Last year when I was in a terrible mood, I went to a spa salon for a facial and ended up signing a X-sessions package membership fee after going through some hardselling sales talk. And in return, I sent them my fancy pic and got this membership card. (which people refuses to believe it's me, my ex-officemates amusingly call it Rica) :p. Anyway it's quite cheaper to get in bulk so it's still good value for money, just that I dont like it that they still continue to 'pester' on me to top-up additional services whenever I go there for monthly visits.

Few weeks ago I went to Starhub to renew my cable line (recontract), queued for a long time and upon registration, they were denying me of my slot because I dont have a valid ID. I gave them my Employment Pass but they said they needed something that has my picture on it. They said better I come back again. Whooat! 'This is too inconvenient', I said. They argued back that it is my responsibility to bring my passport along with EP. Grrh I said 'you dont really expect people to be carrying their passports all the time right'. 'But sorry miss, we have to follow the rules'. I started emptying and flashing all sort of cards that I have in my wallet. I dont have my office ID that time. Suddenly found this membership card, I told them this is the only ID that I have right now with picture. They checked for a while, and said 'okay we'll accept this as proof of valid ID'. And viola, recontract was done.

Thanks to this card! :P I do hope to use something like this in the future for my passport hehehe.

English lah

I have an Indian officemate who is very funny (even if he does not exert effort to be funny). Here are some of the humorous quotes

-'My one is missing'. He went to my seat and murmured those words with a worried look. I said 'what?'. He replied again, 'my one is missing', pointing to my monitor. I then figured out he has some files missing. After checking I found those missing files and told him, 'no, your one is there, it's not missing'. 'Oh thank you'. See I'm a fast learner, copycat. :)

-'There was one time when he was browsing on some bank's websites. Suddenly in a loud voice, he asked, 'hey what's TT?' I said 'where did you see that?'. He replied several times, 'TT', 'TT'. I had to control my laughter, what in the world is this TT thing (not that I'm green, but my top recall of those 2letters is a Filipino word). It was only by chance when I got to ask my sister if there is such banking term TT, and she said yes, telegraphic transfer that is :p

Other funny terms: Singlish / Hindi-ish. :

'upgradation' of contract - upgrade

my aunt 'expired' ---- past away

scheduled pronounced as shedule

I shall send you this email and print the same - 'the same' appears so many times

#1 --- it's not number 1 but hex 1

' --- this is not apostrophe but inverted comma

this one can, this one cannot - everything is can and cannot. can help check this issue. can do this can do that.

*To be updated when I learn more. :)

Clueless and Puzzled Creature

It's really funny whenever I remember the 'amazing gift' na pinasuyo sa akin to bring back home last July. It was from a guy in SG who is courting my friend in Manila. Pardon me but up to this point, I still cant figure out the logic behind. :p Anyway it's my first time to be a bridge, let's just wait and see if this one's a happy ending.

Profile of the girl: She used to be my bestfriend and suddenly we lost touch after high school. Earlier this year, she greeted me in friendster saying she was surprised that I have changed a lot based from my pictures. And that started our frequent chatting. She's a simple girl who studied in CEU and currently works in a bank. I know she really wanted to have a bf but seems like she hasnt found one that's fit for her as she related. Dinalaw ko cya last July and I was glad that our closeness is still there despite the time and distance factors.

So anyway I got to know this guy from her. Seriously, bilib din ako sa tiyaga because this guy was literally sending sms to her everyday, calling her, online chats and lasted for already 4+ months. Whew for a guy to pursue someover overseas and engaging in posible long distance relationships, it must be real diligence and I respect him for that matter. We got to chit chat sometimes over ym. He was asking me for ideas what gifts to give. I told him looking at her friendster page, it was quite obvious as it was clearly stated that she likes accesories, 'anything kikay' I said. Then he told me he was planning to buy Body Shop products. My goodness, I dont know what he is thinking, there are so many Body Shop outlets in Manila, why bother, and I dont want to bring liters of lotions in my luggage! I said think of something unique that is only available in SG. I even gave him clues, if you find it difficult to buy accesories for women, well maybe just buy small bags, or perhaps kikay blouses.

'Pano kung hindi magustuhan' he said.
'Hindi yan.. or kung gusto mo buy one each of what I mentioned, khit sa tiangge lng, hndi naman kelangan mamahalin lahat. Cguro may magugustuhan naman cya khit isa lng dun'
'Naku bka magulat yon, sabihin bkit ang galante naman nito, hindi ko pa naman sinasagot'
I was like ha? Deep inside I was thinking what harm is there na magulat???
Then he continued,
'Hindi pa rin eh, hndi naman sa mayabang ako, what if naging kami, tpos mag-expect na lagi big-time ako magregalo. Mahirap yun ganon'

I was dumbfounded. What ??###!!@#. Here again is one guy who is worrying about what chicken dish to cook before the eggs are even hatched. And I dont see the logic behind giving gifts and being pressured what gifts to buy the next time to supercede the previous delight level. Isnt it giving gifts is a voluntary act? I give people gifts because I want to and probably because I care, not because I am forced to. Maybe it's a good trait that a guy has a clear grasp of future planning, however it's also because of this too much thinking left and right that stops them from progressing? That's it. He could have my vote, but he just blew it all away hehe. Anyway I dont intend to share this part with my friend, I dont want to be a factor para mabasted itong guy, because as a 3rd party, I can still see some goodness in this guy.

Anyway, when we met up, he has this nice silver box with a nice silver ribbon and placed in a dainty violet tiny bag. It looks perfect to me. I started teasing him 'hey teka ano ba laman nito. Naprepressure ako, bka pag nawala ko, hndi ko toh kayang bayaran'. (I was thinking it might be some watch? or maybe some accesory or jewelry, that was the impression actually of the size of the box and packaging). He just kept on smiling and saying secret secret. Later I was already serious, ano ba talaga laman, of course I dont want to bring any liquid or anything that might prohibit me from entering the plane right, at least give me a general idea. Deep inside I have the feeling somehow I have the right to know kasi pina-hassle mo na nga ako magdala. I asked once, twice, thrice, ayaw pa rin sagutin, tawa lng cya nang tawa. FINE. It's hard to talking to you. I gave up. :p

When I met up with my friend in Manila, of course she was really surprised that I brought her a gift from this guy back in SG. Girl talk chismisan, I simply told her 'hey buksan mo naman, I want to know what is it'. Medyo kilig pa cya when opening. So what was the big fuss all about. My goodness, it was several small pieces of puzzle packed in a tranparent plastic bag. The suspense didnt reach the climax part and drop down dead in a nano second..! I can't explain what my friend's expression was, and I had to be very careful to mind mine coz I dont want to upset her by laughing hard. Then I asked her, mahilig ka ba sa puzzle? Hindi. Cya mahilig ba? Hindi rin. Then I became speechless, I dont know what to say. Cge buuin mo na sa bahay. :p Then I changed the topic. The next day the girl called and told me she asked her kuya to form the puzzle which has something written like 'you're special to me'. The intent of the guy was that she extracts the message to the last piece. Poor thing, it didn't serve the purpose then.

Okay the intent was probably unique and has some substance in it. But then again, it's barking at the wrong tree. Hayy it's complicated! :p

Madly Crazy, Crazily Mad

Call it crazy, call it mad. I watched three concerts on 3 consecutive weekends after I got back from Manila vacation. I paid for two and the other one was free because the intended person does not know the band. Post-concert syndrome: I've been in LSS mood for quite some time, too many tunes playing in my head.

And what's the cure of addiction - another addiction. I heard from my friend that she went to KTV alone one afternoon and sang her heart out. I was very surprised and laughing hard, wow 'pwede pala yon'. So I just did the same. Went to Kbox one Saturday and sang for 3 straight hours by myself. And yet, bitin pa rin! One good thing about Singaporeans, they dont stare at you for your crazy deeds. Everyone minds his own business. My cup of tea, this is a free country! :)

Moral lesson: Do as your heart fancies!

P.S. To bad I have sore throat, I would love to pay another visit soon.

Loser Moment and Most Memorable Flight

I would never forget this day, July 12 08. My supposed flight back to Philippines was from Jetstar, a promo fare which I booked back in February. Initial flight sched is 7:50am. After a few weeks, Jetstar sent a notice that it has been changed to 6:30am. Probably had I known it earlier, I wouldnt have booked the flight.

Starting end of May till July, I was working one day every weekend. D*mn, I was so tired, the project was in tough times and cutover had been delayed for several times. The people in the project didnt like the idea that I was leaving for vacation, 'bad timing' my manager said.

Add to it that I did stick to my crazy decision to attend classes every Fridays and Saturdays and finishing the marketing projects. I wasnt supposed to take the exam because I didnt enroll the whole course, but I opted to and filed a request to take it because I'd be interested to know how I measure. So there goes more pressure to review my notes.

Few weeks before the flight, I accidentally deleted all the calendar reminders in my SG fon (probably hit some wrong buttons while turning off my morning alarms). I was too anxious to retrieve my reminders and birthday alerts, I thought of opening my Ph fone to make a copy. As I was in a hurry, my PH fon got locked due to incorrect keying of pin code. I don't even know how to contact my sundo in NAIA. I dont have an updated back-up of my PH sim. I cant remember exactly where I placed the PUK code

The issues with the changing tenants of the house surfaced too when the annoying family decided to leave. I should be happy because my nightmares are coming to an end, an answered prayer indeed. However things were not as smooth as expected initially, a hausmate wanted to bring an additional tenant after the headcount was already finalized, in which I didnt like because I am sick and tired of too much noise from too many people living in the same house and too many people using the shared bathroom. Because of too much thinking on the matter how to talk to her to drop that option, I got myself some serious oil burns while cooking, some even bubbled and left marks on my hand, my mom is worried that whenever she calls me now, she'd ask if the marks have disappeared :( Aside from those, I had to literally nag the replacing tenants for employment passes, the agent was nagging me for additional agent's fee, the house owner sounded like I owe him a big favor for not changing the contract despite the tenant change. Hell, this was really too much. Nobody has any idea how STRESSED I was and people might think I was worrying too much. Really bad timing, when it rains, it does pour. Well, a lot of those things are avoidable if I choose the easy way out, and my life would be much simpler. BURNOUT.

Going back, July 12 morning I had my alarm set at 4am. The same morning I finished packing my things at 2am. I was so tired that I dozed off again and hoping to wake up after another 10 minutes. The next time I opened my eyes, it was already 515am. Big sh*t, I was hurrying like hell, taking a bath, booking a cab. I arrived airport probably around 5:55am, still hoping that I'd be okay. Jetstar was firm, they do shut the check-in gate 50minutes before take-off time. My voice was shaking as with my whole body, no matter how I pleaded to consider taking me in since the flight hasnt taken off yet, it's of no avail. I'm dead, shoot me. I felt like crying. It took some time before the idea sank in to me. Yes I have to MOVE ON, and find the next available flight. I cannot afford to delay another day because my Davao flight was scheduled the next day July 13. If I don't get myself home the same day, I'd be suffering more losses.

I was in panic, making phone calls at 630am. I called my family back home to cancel my sundo, they were worried because they know I'm not the kind of person who would be missing out essential things like catching a flight. I already got the rates from SQ and PAL from airport booth, booking a same day flight at the airport is the craziest rate you'll ever have for an SG-MLA trip. I called several friends to help me checked the online rates but only two picked up and they told me online booking for the same day is no longer available after checking the websites. I dont have any choice, I booked PAL for the same day flight. That one-way SG-MLA trip was even more expensive than my December round-trip fare (holiday season rates are already at least twice of regular). Had I woke up 30minutes earlier, I wont be in such big mess and credit card damages.

I managed to arrive Manila the same day, the rest of the days were well-spent, no qualms. Just that I dont feel like talking about this stupid thing to anyone because I think I'd be getting more laughs than emphaty :p. I just wanna forget the bad things. I then remembered my good friend who used to have a suitor overseas who wakes her up every morning (probably via skype). For that matter, yeah I suddenly felt a surge of envy.

Anyway, some things you just have to learn the hard way. Wee hours of the morning flights? Hmm forget it, unless I have reliable wake up calls.