Along for the ride...

office hang-up

2007-09-20T15:15:00.003+08:00

I'm so not in the mood to work today, and I'm terriby bored!! (can you not tell? I'm in the office, and I'm blogging).. The whole morning I was just staring at the computer, not at all caring whether Ellen de Generes notices that I am doing nothing. My new boss walks quite a lot (especially now that she's so busy with the new released product). And everytime she does, she has to pass by my place.

I've been under the "care" of my new boss aka Ellen De generes (because she reminds me of her) since June. My original boss, thin-as-a-matchstick (perhaps everytime he eats, his brain absorbs all the nutrients and leaves nothing to his seemingly unfed body), who hired me and had been my boss for 2 years, who is very technically knowledgeable but with no air of superiority, reasonably not fussy, trusted his people and didnt bother us much so long as we get the job done, result-oriented, an efficient 8 to 5:30 guy, after more than 10 years in Creative had left..

"Yo, Cris,
..
Sadly it's true.. it's about time for me to try my luck at a different corporation altogether.
Sorry to have to leave you here like that!
But I'm sure you're in good hands and there will still be lots of interesting stuff to do...
..
"

He's now in ***, and perhaps unknowingly, he left us to a boss quite opposite his character.. - Over-confident, wants attention, comes to the office early and leaves very late, talks very loudly, and very fussy..

I hope I won't be seeing a case of what people say about females bosses being harder to deal with.. - Women having PMS and all.. and if she has neither a social life nor love life, it's worse..

Our moving to the main building and my being seated near Ellen ruffled my already established comfort zone.. I now feel like I "have" to come to the office on time! Which is not easy for me, I must say..

In fairness, she's good at what she does.. I admire her dedication to her job.. I really do.. And actually, she leaves me alone with my stuffs most of the time (she once told me "i dont check out on you because i know you know what you're doing"),
It's still too early to tell, but I really feel like she's not the boss I can grow with.. We don't match!!

2006-03-15T13:57:00.000+08:00

If I'm not late, I try to grab the Today newspaper on my way to the office.. This morning, I would be late for work again.. But as I was approaching the mrt station, surprisingly, I saw that there's no queue at the newspaper stand. And I decided to get one. All of a sudden, people start arriving..
So I rushed to get to the stand first.. But those people reached there first and was already forming 'their' queue.. The end of it is at the other side! I felt it's unfair to me if I had to go to the end of their queue. - and it's started to get longer and longer by the millisecond.. So I didn't. (My stubborn ass told me to stay put.. cos I had my queue, it's just that nobody followed suit)
I stood there in front ready to grab the newspaper.. my hand was already on it, when the newspaper uncle pulled the paper back.. He scowled at me and gestured with his hand that I go queue at the back.. I felt my face turn so red.. (anger or embarrassment, I wasn't sure). I stared back at him but he really wouldn't give me my newspaper!
I didn't want to argue. How could I? I was at the wrong end..
So I just left with my face still flushing red..

you're never lost if you don't know where you're going

2005-11-15T22:26:00.000+08:00

In "Alice in Wonderland", Alice is walking and comes to a fork in the road..
Staring up into a tree she sees the Cheshire Cat.
She quickly asks the cat "Which road should I take?"
The cat replies back, "Where are you going?" Alice answers, "I don't know."
To this the Cheshire Cat responds, "I guess it doesn't matter which road you take!"

=====
it's been a while... no entry for october..
i'm never a religious blogger.. pag may time (and if i feel like writing), write.. pag walang time (or when meron pero activated ang tamad mode), which happens most times, eh di hndi.
=====

i love october.. i feel special.. kasi birthday month ko..
the snippet above is related sa theme na gusto on my bday, which is "which road should i take?"
but where do i want to go ba? this in turn asks, what do i want to do with my life?
haha! here i go again.. haven't i been asking that same thing every year on my birthday? and actually, everyday of the year for that matter...
natapos na ang october, and as always, the question's still left hanging.
sana lang next year, bago na ang bday theme ko...

Are you happy? Are you doing this moment exactly what you MOST want to do in the world? ... Think think think think... Naaah!

I'll be home for christmas

2005-09-23T16:27:00.000+08:00

It's already a ber month and it only means one thing to me. Lalo na pag narinig ko na ipatugtog sa radyo ang "Christmas in our Hearts" ni Jose Mari Chan, pasko na talaga...

To our family, christmas isn't just a so-so holiday. It's not very grand, though. But it sure is very special. Cguro hndi obvious sa ibang tao kasi we don't have christmas lights sa labas ng bahay, nor do we have reindeers and nativity sets na nkadisplay sa labas, but september pa lang, nagpe-prepare na kmi for christmas. We do shopping already, lalo na mama ko and si achel. More so ang papa ko. It's the season of the year na we'd be so excited to shop things to give to other people, especially sa relatives.. Actually, sa dami ng kamag-anak nmin, cguro June pa lang dpat nagsisimula na. hehe.. Papa really enjoys it. Dun ko nkikita how generous he really is.
Na even if there are times na nkikita ko how ungrateful other people are, he'd still gladly give. Mas mabuti na daw yung ikaw ang nagbibigay kesa ikaw ang binibigyan...

Kaming magkakapatid were few lucky children who once believed in Santa. When we were young, hndi na kmi kailangan pilitin matulog pag dec.24 kasi we'd willingly do that so that santa would come and deliver our gifts.. One time nga, I saw on tv, sabi nung newscaster Santa daw would be delayed sa pagdeliver kasi may nakabangga sya sa clouds.. haha, and I believed that.
Mga panahong yun, hndi pa nmin alam na may nabibiling santa style na medyas, kaya ang
sinasabit nmin ay yung totoong medyas.. hehe. Some of the gifts I received from Santa were towel, apples and chocolates. We were happy kahit sa anong gift basta may laman yung mga medyas namin..Of course eventually, nabuking din namin si santa. Sya pala si papa.

Other people argue that making children believe in Santa is not a Christian thing to do. (It's not as if we forget about Christ). For me, it is non-Christian if you make your kids forget about Christ, and all Santa on Christmas day. Let's just think of it this way, Santa, together with the reindeers, kris-kringles, bibingka, christmas parties is only the box, Jesus is still the Jack. My parents being santa when we were kids brought us good, and so, god-willing, when I have children, I plan to pass it to them, too.

Not counting those people who purposely forget kasi wala nman panggastos kahit maliit na noche buena man lang, how many people nowadays could still smell and feel the christmas breeze? I bet, konti na lang. Pero ang mga tao sa bahay, masyado sensitive sa christmas spirit. mama plays christmas songs already. Kaya sobra sya worried now that i'm away- thinking na bka pati Christmas and new year I'll spend way from them. Of course nag-worry din ako..

I don't want to spend Christmas and new year here. I can't imagine the lungkot.Although I love my simple life dito sa Singapore, ibang usapan na pag pasko and bagong taon. Like last friday, bing, she, je and i went to the Lantern Festival in Chinese Garden. Pati family nila Revs. Cool yung place! Parang new year! With lights, of course Lantern nga eh. Mrami ding accessories for sale like umiilaw na kwintas, shades, lanterns, balloons and madami pa. Yung mga bata, may suot na head dresses. sympre kami din noh.Sobra enjoy.

Yeah, parang new year din nga.. pero Christmas season won't be "It" without family..
Dati, sobrang worried ako kung mkakauwi ako in time for the holidays. Ngayon konting worry na lang kasi approved na yung leaves ko.. I'll be home for Christmas and new year. =) Not unless something grrrrr comes up.. (think positive, matutuloy ako).

Mooncakes Galore

2005-09-06T17:40:00.000+08:00

It's mid-autumn festival (aka mooncake festival) this sept18, and so panahon ng mooncake dito. Before, I consider mooncake to be nothing more than a special hopia with salted eggyolk sa loob with a very nice packaging.. Hndi ko alam na waaaah, mahal pala sya!!

There are different kinds of mooncake. Pero before I didn't even bother to know kasi I just eat whatever's there. I never bought any until kanina.

This whole week kasi, there is a Staff Canteen Sale of Mooncakes. discounted price from different restos and hotel.. Kung hndi discounted, wag na lang!

Actually pwedeng hndi na ako bumili eh.. Kasi nabusog na ako sa kakatikim.. hehe..
Kaya lang, naisip ko baka pag gusto ko na ulit kumain, wala ng sale. sayang nman if ever.. Last week, halos ako nkaubos nung dala ni burton sa bahay. 2 pieces yun. He ate 1/4, carol ate 1/4, I ate 1/4, Jerrha ate 1/4. Then sympre meron pang isang buo.. guess what? ako na kumain nun lahat.. Pero the next day na yun, almost sleeping time na kasi nun eh. hehe..

Back to mooncake, you can choose either baked skin or snow skin. I heard, yung gusto nung mraming tao is yung snow skin. Flavors ng mooncakes are lotus seed, yung iba double yolk pa if you want cholesterol , red bean, chestnut, pandan, durian, green tea (unlike yung mapait na greentea mooncake sa starbucks, the one i tasted kanina is much better).. meron ding vegetarian mooncake.. There's even an icecream mooncake. pero hndi ko natikman, sayang.. and mrami pang iba. yung iba kasi wlang free tastes eh..

Yung mga binili ko, ewan ko kung kelan ko mauubos.. Sabi nman ng nagtitinda, it can last up to a month..
Well, that's about it... knowledgeable na ako sa mooncake.. trivia for my stomach..

Nothing stays the same

2005-09-01T16:46:00.000+08:00

"Did you know Daddy used to be a little boy like you?
And someday you are going to grow up to be big and tall just like your daddy!
You'll be so big, I won't be able to pull you into my lap anymore."

"But mommy, I'll always want to sit on your lap!"
Mommy smiled, "Can you imagine Daddy trying to sit in Grandmops'lap?"
"But mommy, I want thing to always stay the same."
Mommy sighed, "They won't. Nothing stays the same; things are always changing.
Someday you will be a big man like daddy, and I will have gray hair and lots of wrinkles."
===

Change is essential... We won't have fulfillment if we don't embrace change. But sometimes how I wish na when we want some things the way they used to be we can just easily have them changed back..

I miss being a little kid. Dati, pag masakit ang ngipin ko, hihiga ako sa lap ng mama ko then hihimasin nya ng vicks yung pisngi ko hanggang mawala yung sakit.. I was so little then na when I do dishes, nakatungtong pa ako sa upuan kasi hndi ko abot ang lababo.. Those were the days na naglalaro pa kami ng football, patintero and touching runner sa kalsada.

I miss my teenage days and nights na pag bakasyon tatambay kmi ng mga pinsan ko sa harapan ng compound namin hanggang umaga without a care in the world. Mag-aambag kami to buy pandesal, hanggang sumuko na ang mga bibig sa kakatawa..

I miss school.. Mga hndi maubos-ubos na contests and performances; botohan para sa class officers; assignment ng cleaners; assembly para sa flag ceremony; jail booth and marriage booth sa foundation day; pagtambay namin sa SM foodcourt after class; my classmates; my crushes and admirers; and others too many to mention.

But as much as we want to experience life, we have to accept that we are getting older everytime we live it. Come end of this month, Junjun, our bunso, will turn 20. (Oh my gosh! Next month I'll be 25!) Parang kelan lang he's still so maliit.

Wala na nman ako sa bday nya. Last year nasa Cebu ako. Year before that, I was in Japan. Pag nasa malayo ka, people you love grow old without you noticing.. Kaya sometimes I wish na Singapore is just another world where time doesn't exist. Just a place where I get to experience a different life, improve myself, fulfill my dreams...
That when I get back home, everything's just the way I like it..

Nobody grows old.
My mama still 45, my sis 22, my papa 53 and my bro 19...
Me and my friends are still in our early or mid-twenties...
Fulfilled, happy, yet always young.. pwede ba yun?

Definitely not.. So I guess I just have to embrace every moment, kasi the clock is always clockwise, never the other way.

Homerun

2005-08-28T20:34:00.001+08:00

Sobra nakaka-touch. It's been 15 minutes na since the movie started when sinimulan ko sya iwatch. Basta for some reason, the boy in the movie lost his sister's shoes.
The siblings realized that revealing the loss would upset their financially-strapped parents. So they decided not to tell, and deal with the situation themselves. - Share the pair that the brother have.

The girl's class was in the morning, the boy's was in the afternoon. Everyday after her class, the girl would hurriedly run back home to his brother so she could pass the shoes to him.

One time on her way home, nalaglag nya yung isang shoe sa canal. Nakakamelt ng puso yung scene. Habang inaagos yung shoe, naiiyak yung bata. Nakuha din nman afterwards. Because of that, na-late yung boy sa pagpasok. It was his second time na to be late, so pinagalitan sya ng principal and was punished by requiring him to come early to school the next Monday at 7am. It's a predicament- both of them going to school in the morning.

Another time nalaglag na nman yung isang shoe sa canal. Para hndi na maagos ng canal yung shoe nya, she threw her bag sa canal para harangan yung sapatos nya.
..kawawa

- translation nung background song
A firm breathe of determination.
We may have nothing
But we will never think of submitting
We may have nothing
But we will never think of quitting
As long as our hearts are together,
We have everyhing we need

====
8/31 2:30pm

hehehe.. I'll continue my bitin kong kwento..
Here goes..

Third time the boy came to school late, the principal kicked him out for good. Pero may naawa sa kanya when he was walking out of the gate. That man talked to the principal and so hindi na natuloy ang pag-kick out nya.

The boy in the story did everything he could to find shoes for his sister. He even resorted to doing the school homework of a rich kid and his buddies in exhange for a one year use of shoes.. that didn't work out..
(By the way, they used to be friends, but they separated and got divided into two groups..)

Minsan, the girl noticed na kamukha ng nwawala nyang shoes yung shoes ng isang schoolmate nya (punit-punit din). So she and her brother went to the girl's home. They saw yung girl with her very old grandfather.. mahirap din... They agreed not to get it na lang, and just find her another pair. Would I have done the same?

Few days later, nakasalubong nila yun girl and she's wearing new shoes. They asked where her old shoes were. Andun na daw sa basurahan somewhere. The siblings ran towards the place hoping to salvage the shoes. Eventually they got yung isang pares. Pero the other one is at the middle of the road. That time, merong violent rally.. to cut the story short, basta nasira yung shoe na yun.. And so wala din nangyari!

Just when the boy run out of ideas, the opportunity presented itself. If he'd manage to get third place in the Inter-School Cross Country Run, he would win a pair of school shoes. After proving himself to the coach, he qualified to join the race.

During the race, one obstacle was a muddy track, around one foot deep. The boys got stuck there like rats trapped by a sticky mosquito trap. The bida had to lose his own pair so he could move on. (If it was you, would you have left your shoes behind?) His always running to school paid off. He won!

Kaya lang, he won first place so he won the medal, not the shoes. It is the rich kid who won third prize. Being young and innocent, he tried to talk the rich kid into trading the medal for the shoes, but to no avail. The rich kid threw the shoes to the river...

The ending.. Eventually the rich kid realized the poor boy's situation. When he's about to go to England to study, he gave the poor boy and his sister a pair of shoes each..

There's quite a number of scenes pa na worth noting.. Aside from the main storyline about the kids being shoeless, marami pang sub-plots that focused on friendship, love of family, etc... Very nice..

replace marriage with a cohabitation contract?

2005-08-23T13:28:00.000+08:00

Today's articles in the Voices column of Today newspaper is quite attention-grabbing.
So much so that I am willing to type the extract here..

Time to replace marriage with a cohabitation contract?
Women should expect less from their man and understand that philandering is in his nature.
.....
It depends on the age-old "nature-vs-nurture" debate and whether the male of a species conditioned to "go forth and multiply" can - by sheer exercise of discipline - curb his natural need to keep sowing his seed.
And it seems the older a man gets, and the more he is confronted with his mortality, the more he desires to prove- both to himself and maybe even his friends - that he is still able to "perform".
Certainly, all men stray if not physically, at least psychologically- by either looking at attractive women, watching porn, or even fantasising about sex with others.
Traditions of love and marriage are nice. But reading all the letters and various discussions on the matter, I am tempted to say - and I know that his will cause controversy- that there is nothing to recommend marriage to a man.
Certainly not in law, where men always lose out in marriage, and neither in reality, where men face self-imposed restrictions on their natural tendencies.
The concept of marriage was intended to protect women: It does nothing for a man. But times have changed and with the growing affluence of women, there is no longer a need for a man to provide for a woman.
Is it time for women to expect less from their man? To realise and even to expect their man cannot, by nature, only have one woman forever and ever?Is it time for the concept of marriage to be done away with, and be replaced with a contract where both parties negotiate the terms of their cohabitation? Even to the extent where each party may have an allowable number of affairs a year? As times change, maybe social expectation should too.

The author by the way is male. To say whether he is a "man" or not, is worth arguing about.

I would love to blog my opinion on this but I don't have time today. Sa ibang araw na lang...

Very good... for trying...

2005-08-20T22:45:00.000+08:00

I remember the first time na mag-attend ni Swee Lin (my Malaysian groupmate) sa aerobic kickboxing class nmin (which is my second session na), she asked me if naka-attend na ba ako sa ganong class before.. Kasi nagegets ko daw agad yung steps... Parang nadadalian lang daw ako mag-follow.

But nitong Wednesday, iba ang ihip ng hangin.. Naka-386 mode yata ako. I'm so slow to pick up instructions. Sa harapan pa nman ang pwesto ko.. Nangongopya lang talaga ako pag 3-set/ 4-set combination na.. Kasi sobrang nalilito ako... Kick-squat na dapat pero nagagawa kong punch-knee up.. hehe, as in nag-iimbento ako ng sarili kong mga steps.

Normally, tumatabi ang instructor nmin sa mga hndi maka-follow. Sa previous sessions ko, pmupunta lang sya sa place ko to say "higher" or "a little lower" or "don't stop". Pero noong Wednesday, favorite student nya ako.. As in to the point na tumatawa sya sa harap ko.

Minsan pag successful yung pangongopya ko, wala nman sa timing. Pag nagawa na nila yung first step, by the time na gagawin ko na, nasa second step na cla.. hehehe..

Hndi nman embarassing. Other girls (and boys) did much worse in our other sessions. Weather-weather lang. And that day was my day to be palpak. The instructor is kind enough to comment on my effort.
"Ok, that's good.." "Very good... for trying".

Snoopy on retirement

2005-08-17T10:24:00.000+08:00

Stoplight turned green. In front of me, also obviously crossing the street were 40 something ordinary couple. I was wearing flats yesterday and both of them appeared to be if not same height, shorter than me. Nakaakbay yung mama dun sa ale.

I wouldn't have noticed them if I didn't overhear them talking in Tagalog.

man: "XXXX dollars daw yung XX?"
lady: "mahal"
"..."

Medyo nabagalan ako sa knila maglakad so I decided to overtake them.

man: ".. pamigay na dun yung sasakyan.."
lady: "bkit papamigay?"

Hmmm.. parang interesting yung conversation nila. Bakit ba ako nagmamadali? I wasn't in the mood to talk and be friendly.. I just wanted to snoop. I was certain they wouldn't know that I'm Pinoy.. So binagalan ko maglakad.

man: "...then next week uuwi tayo"
lady: "bkit next week pa, hndi ba pwede ngayon?"
man: "hndi pa, hndi pa nagpapaalam"
lady: "bkit kailangan pa payagan"
man: "sympre hndi pa tayo resign"
lady: "magresign na kasi tayo"
man: "hndi pa"
lady: "aanhin natin yung pera natin kung magtratrabaho lang tayo ng magtratrabaho?"
man: "..."
lady: "basta uuwi tayo"
man: "..."
lady: "sympre babalik ako pero hndi na ako magtratrabaho.."

The rest I didn't hear. We reached the entrance and sa same place pala kmi nkatira.
Pero sa first tower cla, sa third ako.

Rewind to the most significant line... <<<<<<<<<<<<<
"Aanhin natin yung pera natin kung magtratrabaho lang tayo ng magtratrabaho?"

Oh ok, the instant I heard that I thought, they must be rich. and maybe they don't have children. Then after a while ang naisip ko. Wow, ang galing nman nila, they can just choose to say "ok, ayaw ko na magtrabaho", and still live happily ever after.

Merong quote, We "work to live", and not "live to work." - I couldn't agree more. But can we practice this in real life?

Bata pa lang tayo, what's instilled in us is "mag-aral ka mabuti para mkakuha ka ng magandang trabaho". And when we do find ourselves a great job, does it end there?
Definitely not. We will come to face with another requirement
- work hard to provide for the family, buy nice clothes, gadgets, car, house, travel abroad, and the list never ends.

Even without considering the extras in life, and just work for the basics like food, shelter, and education, can ordinary people manage to retire early?

How old is old enough to stop working? Aged people who work because they love their jobs or just because they have nothing to do is way different from working just so they can put food on the table.

Marami sa mga Pilipino are living a hand to mouth existence. Kaya however they wish to stop working, they just cannot. “Anong kakainin nmin?”, “Paano na ang mga apo ko?”, “Saan na lang kami pupulutin?”.

Like the couple I met, ang sarap sana nung feeling na may option ka din to retire if you feel like it. Na meron kang pot of gold pag pagod ka na at gusto mo na lang mag-enjoy. Pero I’m sure they worked very hard to fill that pot. Who knows kung anong mga sacrifices they had to make.

My parents are still young. Papa ko won’t probably retire soon.
Pero I really really hope na pag dumating na yung time na gusto na nila, they just easily can do so and still live happily ever after.

small boobs or small butt

2005-08-15T10:09:00.000+08:00

Which would you rather have?

For us women, this is choosing the lesser evil.
But for guys, it's an obvious choice between good and bad.

Which guy would choose to have boobs? =p.. Only plump men have boobs. For me, bulging nipples behind a man's shirt are an eeeeeeww.. And bouncing boobs on a guy are hilarious.

But a cute butt is a guy's ASSet.
I remember, back in College, meron kming favorite butt ni febs. - those of our Electronics instructor na dean na ngayon ng ee-ece-coe department. With just a simple polo na laging naka-tucked in, and slacks.. very neat.. parang laging mabango. Slacks really look good on his jlo-male-version butt..

Pero it's not as if I put "cute butt" in my top 10 ideal-man qualities list. I won't really mind if a guy has small butt. And a flat boobs, sure! I don't want to have a boyfriend whose boobs are bigger than mine..

I pose this question not for guys. this won't be at all interesting.. Corny, kasi mdali lang ang sagot.

For women naman, my bet is that most will choose to have small butt than flat chests.. And i'm on the minority..

Naremind lang ako about this kasi when I was on my way home last friday, there's this lady standing in front of the mrt door na super walang pwet.. Unfortunately for her, panget sya mag-pants.. So I thought, whew! Kahit na nahihirapan ako mghanap ng pants with a great fit, my butt are far far far better than hers.
Pero meron nmang girl na naka- mini skirt and naka-simple shirt lang yet she looked sexy kasi she has big boobs. Then I looked at mine.. Oh well.

But gusto ko ba ng bigger boobs? No, not really.
Sour-graping reasons:
Mahirap tumalon and tumakbo, and pag naging nanay na, normally dumodoble ang size.
The bigger (therefore, heavier) the boobs, the greater is the pull of gravity, so mas madali mag-sag.

Is it ok if I fit on a cup A? Absolutely. It's just a matter of contentment.
I am happy with my bust size.
And dahil sa I sit my butt off almost the whole day dahil sa work, all I can do is hope na hndi sya maupod..
My gosh, the options are "small boobs OR small butt", not "small boobs AND small butt"

(got the pics from forwarded email.. thanks eva!)

holiday

2005-08-10T16:57:00.000+08:00

Yesterday was the actual celebration of Singapore's National day. For young Singaporeans, it's the day they had been preparing performances for. To me, it's a non-working holiday!!

Typical non-working day- wake up late, have a meal, watch tv, go out.. That day Jerrha and I planned to maybe watch some of the national day's activities.. It'll be fun, we thought, lots of people around.. Carol had to go someplace else. It's only almost noon when we finished our brunch, and it's very hot outside so we delayed our going out to the later part of the afternoon.

We had been wanting to watch "My Brother" in the cable's demand-tv for a long time, but for some reason it never came about until yesterday. We purchased the movie for the 12:45 showtime. My Brother is a korean melodrama about two brothers who grew up only with their mom. The older of the two, born with a physical defect had to undergo a number of surgeries. He's the weakly one, yet full of determination. The other grew up to be a fighter, as much physical as emotional. Despite the tough guise, his love for his mother and brother is heartfelt.

"Do you think I was born into this world because I wanted to?"
- both the brothers had their share of saying this line in the movie.. two different separate situations

I poured out a bucket of tears for that movie. Naubos ko yung laman ng tissue box ko.. Again, I became a victim of another korean movie with heartrending ending.

But for the lighter part, Won Bin is a hunk!

After the movie, we went on our way to the parade location. We knew we wouldn't be able to get in at Padang. So we went window shopping first while we waited for, well, we didnt even know what. One thing we knew coming was the fireworks display! For me, I've already seen the most spectacular pyrotechnics in Osaka the summer of 2003. Still, I couldn't get enough of it. Para akong bata pag fireworks na ang pag-uusapan..

It's still bright outside when we got out of the Raffles mall... We walked to Funan and decided to have dinner there first before we go elsewhere. We had Taco Bell, then Andersen's ice cream for dessert. yumyum..

With no definite place to go, we just followed the stream of red-shirt-wearing crowd.. Napadpad na nman kmi sa Boat Quay.. From there we just watched the jetplane exhibition above us. Then later on, fireworks commenced. Very nice! ang saya!

Sabi ni Jerrha, once before, she saw a site on tv and said to herself, "someday makakapunta din ako dyan!". Eventually she realized that the place is Singapore, and she now she's here. Ok nman mangarap eh.. It's great to aim high..

Wala lang, after some emotive thinking..
I thought to myself "Oo nga noh.. hmmm... Today, i'll have the jetplanes and fireworks represent my life"

happy birthday singapore

2005-08-08T17:55:00.000+08:00

This week, Singapore celebrates her 40th birthday. I can't help but compare Singapore to the Philippines. When people back home ask about how my life is here, my usual answer is "very much fine. You won't feel the culture shock. Singapore is similar to the Philippines. Only that, here is much cleaner, less polluted, tranportation system is more advanced and convenient, people feel safe and secure, government services are fast and reliable.. in short, people here can see where their taxes go"..

So much for similar, huh?

What I most like about the people here is that they couldn't care less about politics. They care about the President's Star Charity, NKF donations, community chests, etc.. Politics and showbizness are not their top industries.

For the past few weeks in church, we were led to "pray for our country, pray for Singapore".. I couldn't start to pray.. While the conggregation prayed, I just stared. It's a shame I felt that way. Right now, Singapore is my keeper. And she is doing a very good job. But I keep thinking, my country needs more prayer.

How could I pray for other country when I don't do for my own?
Then perhaps I should do now!

tgif

2005-08-01T15:35:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, TGIF and going out is a must!
My friends and I decided to go to either Boat Quay or Clarke Quay for dinner. For food, either of the two is fine. We met at Raffles Place and by foot, the nearer of the two is the Boat Quay.. We went where our eyes and feet took us.. People there are sights to behold.. ang daming good-looking foreign people! hmmm.. Not bad huh, itsura pa lang, ulam na.. hehehe..

we were so hungry.. I mean, for food.. =p
I did not have my usual afternoon snacks.. Kaya food is still the priority. Later na ang good looking men..

In Boat Quay, nakahilera na ang mga bars and restaurants. Yours for the choosing..
Pero that's what's difficult.. maguguluhan ka sa dami.. There's Chinese, Western, Thai, Indian, etc.. Except for naan and parata, I dnt particularly like Indian food.
So eliminated na agad ang Indian restaurants.

Funny lang kasi part of their marketing strategy is offering discounts.. Dadaan ka pa lang, ine-explain na nila sa yo ang specialties nila, without knowing first kung kakain ka or dadaan ka lang tlaga.. Parang sosy na palengke, pero instead na ang customer ang tumawad, they offer their discounts first.. Which is effective nman.. One restaurant offered 10%, the other 15%. We were eventually lured by a 20% percent discount in Asian Wok.

We were seated nicely overlooking the river.. Cge, order lang.. not knowing that I would be eating one of my most expensive meal ever! Masarap nman ang food.. it's not fine dining.. just a very casual atmosphere with a classy feel..
There's a japanese couple on my right.. isang old caucasian man and his asian partner on our left.. sa likod ko, well i didnt give them any notice.. river and building lights in front of me..

Stomach and eyes full, we walked around afterwards.. next destination - dessert. lakad kmi hanggang Clark Quaye.. the TCC there that time was masyadong crowded.. naka-wait list kmi.. so we went back to Boat Quay and we settled na lang sa coffeebean.. we stayed there until a little later than 2 am.. that's about it for our one friday night.. another week gone..

take it or take it

2005-07-21T17:29:00.000+08:00

I'm so sleepy... Lately I basically do nothing in the office..
and staring at the reference code is the closest I have to "working".

Shouldn't I be glad because I can now always read and reply to my emails..?
-the things that i can't usually do..
Yeah, I should be.. but doing only that is a different story!

Doing nothing in the office reaaaallly bores me to death.. It frightens me, too. I am having the "honeymoon stage" at work.. after this stage, the reality will hit, and when it does, it hits hard! When the project goes into full blast, lagot! the wasted time will come back to haunt me..

I'm sitting my butt off on my chair doing nothing but wait for lunchtime, and for going off time.. ang pinakamahirap na trabaho is yung tumunganga at mghantay ng oras.. not good for the health, u know.. lalo nasisira ang posture ko.. grrr!
saka feeling ko nkakapanget kasi ang tagal tagal ng oras..

Pero seriously, I dnt like it when I'm not doing what they're paying me for.. sounds cheesy but true..
Kaso there's no project specifications yet.. this is clearly their fault, not mine.. so the heck with this sentiment..

Katxt ko mama ko, sabi nya i should be really really grateful that i'm being paid good kahit like now wala ako ginagawa..
true..
Madaming tao daw na physically exhausting ang trabaho but earns only few bucks..
true..

Naremind na nman ako, sobrang hirap ng buhay..
and the thought of it can really make my stomach churn..

my personal monthly basic expense is at least SGD1000..
Even if my mouth complains all the time, my heart can't even begin to imagine how lucky I am.. gastos ko yun.. other people can't even afford a 200-peso hospital charge..

I'm not in the "has everything" category of things.
pero alam kong if I work hard enough, I can have the things I need..
sa maraming tao, no hard work is ever enough to satisfy even their basic needs..

life is unfair, but God is good

2005-07-10T17:00:00.000+08:00

This story is from church this morning.. just an extract from the pastor's message...

a drunkard had 2 sons..

son1- worked hard so he could get good education
eventually went into law school and became a successful lawyer
for him, "the world may be unfair but I will rise above it."

son2- became a drunkard
been involved in crimes and sent away from prison to prison
for him, "the world sucks, that's why I suck"

for them both "I am where I am today because of what my father was"

don't wait for the right one.... be the right one

2005-06-30T17:10:00.000+08:00

"The more u look for perfection in people, the more meals u'll eat alone."

I got this line from a movie i watched the night of 6/27..
was then watching tv while having dinner.. My housemates hadn't arrived yet so I am alone in the house.
I tuned in to disney channel..
Everything in disney channel is a feel good movie.. something i needed that time..
The storyline is quite mababaw.. What'd u expect, pambata yun..
but sheeks, this hit me bulls eye.