Tuesday, October 25, 2005
0-4??? what the....
I looked at www.pba.com.ph today and to my horror, I saw that my beloved San miguel team is sporting a love-4 score. No wins in four tries! Why??? This cannot be happening....noooooooo!!!!
Monday, October 24, 2005
Of airheadedness and charades and little suprises
I made my flight back to Bangkok -- serendipitously.
A normal thinking person would have confirmed and found out the exact time of her flight so she would be able to get to the airport on time. But no, for me, I just naturally assumed the time of my flight would be at 3pm, which is the same time as my previous flight. So I woke up on Sunday morning at 1030, took a shower at 11, killed some time by watching TV and went out to the lobby at 1130. I then took a cab around 1145 and my mind was in a leisurely mindset. After all, how can things go wrong? My flight was at 3pm and I was in fact already mulling the various activities I can engage in while waiting for my flight.
Murpy's Law kicked in at around 11:50.
I forgot to ask for the receipt from the driver (300 baht down the drain). Then when I checked in, I found out to my absolute horror that boarding time was at 12:05! A quick glance at my watch told me it was 11:55. Which meant that if I had dilly-dallyed more at the hotel, I would have missed my flight entirely!
************
Eileen had her housewarming party last night (she moved into this new, shala, bachelorette place). We played charades and ate a lot of food. The charades was fun and each team took turns guessing which movie or song the person in front was miming. We had a hilarious, noisy time and lots of humiliating moments.
*************
When I arrived at my apartment, I received a nice little surprise from Shanghai boy. :) It more than made up for my near-missed-flight fiasco and the perceived untidiness of my room. Ha! He said he owes me one now. I'm going to claim that one someday. :P
*************
Saturday, October 22, 2005
Reorg in Singapore!
In my last post, I said I was going to have a free day on Monday before leaving Singapore and heading back for Bangkok. That I was supposed to be in Singapore, slaving my ass off, for only a weekend. That I was going to have a leisurely stroll along Orchard Road before heading to the airport.
Apparently, plans can change during reorg.
My original 3 day stay has turned into a 9 day work day. I have changed my flight twice, panicked about clothes to wear (thank God I brought enough to last me at least 6 days) and silently contemplated the fact that I barely had enough money with me to tide me over for a week.
So my relaxing monday morning turned out to be a 12 hour work marathon, I checked out of my room and due to lack of space, I had to temporarily move in with a colleague kind enough to offer her own room. And I have to face the prospect of not having a weekend for two consecutive weekends.
And Shanghai boy! I was never even able to say goodbye to him. He sent an email expressing his sadness over our failure to meet prior to his leaving. But alas! Our paths were not destined to cross at this point in time. Perhaps fate has decreed that we have had our moment and that no matter how brief that span of time, it will have to be enough for now...
But apart from the marathon work schedule, things are great here in Singapore. I moved to a new room. There was still the smell of ajas in the morning, but I can withstand bursts of smells. I get free breakfast for three days and I have cable...sort of. I mean, at least I get to watch sitcoms and the OC and CSI. And working here is great for my self esteem. I have recently been fighting doubts about my ABAP skills and secretly dread being massacred during our annual review with my boss. But at least for a week, I feel like I know my ABAP. hehe. They have problems here, I troubleshoot, they are happy and I stop from being paranoid-manic-depressive about my career. For a week anyway. I can get back to worrying about that when I am back in Bangkok. I get free laundry done as well (which is just fortunate because I have run out of clothes) And I was informed I will be back here two more times this month. Of course that means work(a lot of it from the looks of things) and not sightseeing. But then who cares right? I love riding airplanes. hahaha. especially those which offer movies I haven't seen yet. :)
For the two days where we went home before 12 midnight (an achievement in itself), we went to Orchard Road where I specifically requested I wanted to see Lucky Plaza. :P I have always been curious about this Filipino enclave in Singapore and I want to see what is inside. I wanted to see as well if they have Jollibee or at least anything Filipino. Lucky Plaza fell short of my expectations actually. No great big huddles of Filipinos in groups, no tagalog or cebuano words thrown around the room and no Filipino restaurants! It's funny though how my companions were actually very nervous to be in Lucky Plaza and wanted to get out as soon as my curiousity was appeased. :P I found out later that a chop chop body of a Filipino maid (chopped by a fellow Filipino) was found at the back of this small mall, which now made the place kind of creepy in my mind. Anyhow, we proceeded to the other malls like Takashimaya (tama ba) etc, trying to look for Charles and keith and other stalls.
The other day, we rode in this sort of luxury cab. Its appearance was like one of those big black cabs in the early 70's or 60's. It was white, very spacious inside and with a glass separating us from the driver (with a button which we can push if we want our conversations heard by the driver or not). We were a bit hesitant to take a ride in the cab. It looked too posh we might be charged for extra. Turns out, it was ordinary cab fare. hehehe. So we rode in style to the office.
Tomorrow is trip back to Bangkok. I'm thinking of taking the MRT to the airport, just for kicks. I am sure I won't get lost along the way, right? ...right? hehehe.
Apparently, plans can change during reorg.
My original 3 day stay has turned into a 9 day work day. I have changed my flight twice, panicked about clothes to wear (thank God I brought enough to last me at least 6 days) and silently contemplated the fact that I barely had enough money with me to tide me over for a week.
So my relaxing monday morning turned out to be a 12 hour work marathon, I checked out of my room and due to lack of space, I had to temporarily move in with a colleague kind enough to offer her own room. And I have to face the prospect of not having a weekend for two consecutive weekends.
And Shanghai boy! I was never even able to say goodbye to him. He sent an email expressing his sadness over our failure to meet prior to his leaving. But alas! Our paths were not destined to cross at this point in time. Perhaps fate has decreed that we have had our moment and that no matter how brief that span of time, it will have to be enough for now...
But apart from the marathon work schedule, things are great here in Singapore. I moved to a new room. There was still the smell of ajas in the morning, but I can withstand bursts of smells. I get free breakfast for three days and I have cable...sort of. I mean, at least I get to watch sitcoms and the OC and CSI. And working here is great for my self esteem. I have recently been fighting doubts about my ABAP skills and secretly dread being massacred during our annual review with my boss. But at least for a week, I feel like I know my ABAP. hehe. They have problems here, I troubleshoot, they are happy and I stop from being paranoid-manic-depressive about my career. For a week anyway. I can get back to worrying about that when I am back in Bangkok. I get free laundry done as well (which is just fortunate because I have run out of clothes) And I was informed I will be back here two more times this month. Of course that means work(a lot of it from the looks of things) and not sightseeing. But then who cares right? I love riding airplanes. hahaha. especially those which offer movies I haven't seen yet. :)
For the two days where we went home before 12 midnight (an achievement in itself), we went to Orchard Road where I specifically requested I wanted to see Lucky Plaza. :P I have always been curious about this Filipino enclave in Singapore and I want to see what is inside. I wanted to see as well if they have Jollibee or at least anything Filipino. Lucky Plaza fell short of my expectations actually. No great big huddles of Filipinos in groups, no tagalog or cebuano words thrown around the room and no Filipino restaurants! It's funny though how my companions were actually very nervous to be in Lucky Plaza and wanted to get out as soon as my curiousity was appeased. :P I found out later that a chop chop body of a Filipino maid (chopped by a fellow Filipino) was found at the back of this small mall, which now made the place kind of creepy in my mind. Anyhow, we proceeded to the other malls like Takashimaya (tama ba) etc, trying to look for Charles and keith and other stalls.
The other day, we rode in this sort of luxury cab. Its appearance was like one of those big black cabs in the early 70's or 60's. It was white, very spacious inside and with a glass separating us from the driver (with a button which we can push if we want our conversations heard by the driver or not). We were a bit hesitant to take a ride in the cab. It looked too posh we might be charged for extra. Turns out, it was ordinary cab fare. hehehe. So we rode in style to the office.
Tomorrow is trip back to Bangkok. I'm thinking of taking the MRT to the airport, just for kicks. I am sure I won't get lost along the way, right? ...right? hehehe.
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Singapore
This weekend, I am in Singapore -- to work.
I was initially happy. After two and a half years of laboring under my previous company, I have never been sent out on a company-sponsored business trip. So this is the first official work related trip of my career (albeit a relatively short one). It was my first international trip without companions (read: without reysiel to give directions and pay attention to details). Of course, at the back of my mind is always the terrifying possibility I would crash or destroy something or piss the customers off. But hopefully, that wouldn't happen. :P Hopefully.
Beth, Charmaine and Auskie came to visit me minutes after I arrived. We chatted a bit in my hotel room and all three of them were apparently high on something. Hehehe. They accuse the munchkins I brought to be the cause of their hyperactivity. And picture nang picture. So that's what Singapore-based OFWs do. hahaha.
Sunday, I have to go to Marife's for dinner because she is cooking Filipino food! Sana makarating ako dahil the rate things are going, I won't be going home early anytime soon. :(
I have a free day on Monday and I would like to go to Lucky Plaza. They say that its the haven of Filipinos and even posters/commercials there are in Filipino. It would be an interesting sight. I am not so sure yet where I want to go but I will definitely have a leisurely stroll around Singapore malls before my flight back to Bangkok.
TTNP (Till the next post...)
I was initially happy. After two and a half years of laboring under my previous company, I have never been sent out on a company-sponsored business trip. So this is the first official work related trip of my career (albeit a relatively short one). It was my first international trip without companions (read: without reysiel to give directions and pay attention to details). Of course, at the back of my mind is always the terrifying possibility I would crash or destroy something or piss the customers off. But hopefully, that wouldn't happen. :P Hopefully.
Beth, Charmaine and Auskie came to visit me minutes after I arrived. We chatted a bit in my hotel room and all three of them were apparently high on something. Hehehe. They accuse the munchkins I brought to be the cause of their hyperactivity. And picture nang picture. So that's what Singapore-based OFWs do. hahaha.
Sunday, I have to go to Marife's for dinner because she is cooking Filipino food! Sana makarating ako dahil the rate things are going, I won't be going home early anytime soon. :(
I have a free day on Monday and I would like to go to Lucky Plaza. They say that its the haven of Filipinos and even posters/commercials there are in Filipino. It would be an interesting sight. I am not so sure yet where I want to go but I will definitely have a leisurely stroll around Singapore malls before my flight back to Bangkok.
TTNP (Till the next post...)
Saturday, October 1, 2005
A Deca-month in Bangkok
I just finished my tenth month in Thailand. And in commemoration of this, I am immortalizing these items in my blog. TOP TEN ek-ek in Thailand. hehehe. So me presents...
My TOP TEN...
...memorable Thailand phrases:
1. same same...but different
2. CANNN-NNNNOT! (with matching prolonged Thai accent)
3. I don't know how... (during the stupid-est moment of my life)
4. No more government holidays for me! (when I got scammed)
5. Love you long time dahhling...(again, with matching Thai accent. courtesy of Michi)
6. Sah-tap! (this is supposed to be the word STOP)
7. Wat Arun is always OPEN! (again, during the time I got scammed)
8. Do not write on my map! (during the time I got scammed when the scammer scribbled stuff all over my treasured Bangkok map)
9. Entertainer? (a stupid question a stupid Filipino addressed to Reysiel and me)
10. Constant phrase companions: Sawasdee ka, Khup kun ka(thank you), Mai kao chay (I don't understand), Mai day (not possible), Mae ru (I don't know), Mai chay (No), Mai mi (Don't have), Mai aw (don't like), mai pen rai (no problem), mai chai khon thai (i am not Thai), pu thai mai dai (I don't speak thai), paang mak (very expensive), arui mak mak (very delicious), yu tini ka (here), and the most important --> Tau lai ka? (how much?) Oh di ba...I think I pass survival thai now. hehehe.
****
...strange things in Thailand I can never understand:
1. KFC sells the gravy (its not free and unlimited!)
2. McDonald's doesn't serve rice. Neither does KFC (buy separately)
3. All the girls are thin with long straight hair
4. Hair straightening costs me only 600 baht here (in Manila, I can spend up to 5k!)
5. Sidewalk vendors can speak in German! (i am not kidding)
6. Filipinos are everywhere here (internet cafes, chatuchak, malls...)
7. Almost all the men here are...effeminate (I have yet to meet one truly musculine, testosterine-filled, pure Thai guy)
According to one study, Thailand has the lowest masculine percentages in the world! I am in the wrong country dammit!!!
8. their bookstores wrap your books with plastic covers! so very convenient!!!
9. Taxi drivers are fast, furious and suicidal (taking their passengers with them)
10. even in the most touristy of places, a Coke can still costs around 20 or 15 baht (unlike in the Philippines where it can go as high as 50 pesos!) No wonder tourists love it here.
****
...unforgettable incidents:1. Got lost in Bangkok when I hopped on the right bus going in the wrong direction
2. Got scammed while trying to be the tour guide for Ria's brother
3. Went backstage to meet Reysiel's favorite band
4. Met my iniirog #1,and #2 for the first time
5. talking to Shanghai boy till 3 am (ha-ha-ha)
6. went on the Chiang mai trek (with Eileen), drunk and sleepless
7. inside a bar for the first time in my life (never been to one back home)
8. inside a Patpong bar for the first time and saw the infamous PingPong shows
9. Spending Christmas Day with then-strangers (I just met them the previous Sunday at church.hehe)
10. A little girl blandly telling me 'You are sooo fat' before running off to play.
Ahh, Bangkok's just peachy, isn't it?'
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