new job

grabe super pagod nako ngayon. as in. after three and a half years of overworking, i have to immediately move out of my house and take care of all shemexes. three weeks na ko naglilipat at may mga gamit pa din ako sa old flat. you have no bloody idea kung ano ano na ang ginagawa ko palipat lipat ng hk-kowloon islands.

kwento ko muna new job ko. it's interesting, more tiring and way too challenging. but im somewhat excited. i dont know, maybe it comes with old age. all of a sudden nabababawan ka na lang being the more knowledgeable one in the pack. last time kong naramdaman to nung pumasok ako sa UP. i had a choice between staying with average minded people plus a scholarship, or be a paying student and compete with freshmen who came from more reputable schools. not necessarily compete, pero alam mo ung feeling na tingin mo super mas matalino sila sa yo at nahihirapan kang magkeep up? sila buong buhay nag-i-english, tapos ikaw panay english ang lowest subject mo nung high school. ganun ako ngayon sa new job ko. im working with super ambitious and agressive younger people. kahit alam mong lamang ka ng english sa kanila, alam mong di sila nagpapahuli at talagang gamay na nila ang buset na database na ang hirap i-master.

ito na lang iniisip ko: di baleng magpa-under ka sa kanila for the meantime. pasasaan ba't masasaulo mo din un. kesa naman habang buhay kang tinatanong kung kelan ginagamit ang 'sent' at 'send', or kung ano ang spelling ng 'equal'. seriously, magkakarespeto ka ba sa sarili mo kung ikaw nga ang pinakamatalino, pero ito naman ang kinukumpara sa yo?

at ito pa: i get to write and speak in spanish ALL THE EFFING TIME! as in! exagg, sobrang wala na ang spanish ko at kailangan ko syang i-revive. it's bloody scary, pero iniisip ko na lang... pasalamat na lang ako at nagagamit ko pa ung inaral ko ng apat na taon. siguro kung two years more na di ko sya nagagamit, wala na talaga. im enjoying writing the spanish emails so far. really.

at bago na ang flat ko. i feel bad that it's super tiny. i dont even have a decent place to hang my laundry. no extra space if i need to buy a washing machine or fridge. it's THAT tiny. i cannot even turn around when im taking a bath. it's THAT tiny.

but somehow i like it. it may be less convenient than before, but at least it's MINE. dati di kami pwede maglakad sa labas ni b ng sabay kase baka makita ng officemates ko at malaman na pinapapunta ko sya sa flat. dati kahit super pagod na ko on sunday evening kailangan ko pa din maglinis kase uuwi na ung housemate ko from shenzhen. dati pagpatak ng alas onse ng gabi, bawal na manood ng tv. pero ito, ngayon kaya ko na gawin lahat! as in lahat! un nga lang, kailangan ko magtipid ng koryente kase ako na magbabayad ng utilities. dati kase wala akong pakialam kahit buong araw bukas ang aircon, or nakalimutan ko patayin ang heater. buti na lang ilang dipa lang layo ng gym. dun ako naliligo 4 times a week. tipid din un sa koryente, tubig, shampoo at sabon. hehehe. malapit din sa library, so mas masaya! di ko pa nga lang napupuntahan.

so there... wish me luck! work's so demanding. my new colleagues work 12/hrs a day tapos naguuwi pa ng blackberry. pero kaya yan! positive. positive.

2010 = best year

oh yes.

b-e-s-t year.

i am resigning tomorrow. oh yes, resigning.

on the 50th birthday of my father, i suppose he got an extra wish and he channeled it to me.

i was interviewed by a french boss in lai chi kok. they are looking for somebody who speaks spanish to do the same stuff im doing with my company now. two hours later, his spanish colleague called me up and did an interview in spanish. it went well. my rusty spanish is still reliable afterall.

then 24 hrs later, they offered me the job!

better salary. plus a year-end bonus. read that? year-end bonus! the thing i was deprived of for four years! and... and.... they only work 5 days a week! now it's really a happy weekend for me from now on. now i can say 'thank god it's friday!'. oh...oh... one more: i get 12 annual leaves a year! now i can do the europe backpacking by end of the year if savings permit! now it's only the money keeping me. i can be gone for a little over a week apart from my usual CNY holidays!

i like! i love!

so 2010... cheers to an exciting year! i know it's not going to be a smooth ride.. but im up for challenges. you gave me a good start.. let me do the rest and take it from here.. though i wouldn't mind luck once in a while.

yeba baby! yeba!

im back

super dami kong kwento. wala pa kong kwento nung south africa. tapos ung christmas party pa pala! and christmas celeb. and my almost swine flu ordeal. next posts na ung mga un. alas tres na ng madaling araw at naisipan ko magsulat ulit.

naisip kong tigilan na ang mag-blog kaya di ako nagpaparamdam ng matagal.

kase bakit nga ba nagbablog? para ipangalandakan sa mundo ang naiisip mo, ang nararamdaman mo, ang na-experience mo? e ano naman pakelam ng mundo? unless artista ka para pagpyestahan ang mga eskandalo mo sa buhay, ano nga pakelam ng mundo?

e bakit ba, feeling star ako! so kahit walang kebs ang mundo, dahil feeling star ako, magboblog ako.

anyway, since new year, gusto ko maiba... di ko na gagawan ng new year's resolutions ang 2010. di naman nagwowork. cantonese at di japanese ang inaral ko. ung inenroll kong class sa cuhk naggive up ako after ng first paper. tapos wala pa din akong alam na musical instrument.

so tama na ang promises. gawin ang nais gawin. gusto kong ibalik ung sarili ko nung first time akong dumating ng hk. gagawin ang gustong gawin. pupunta kung saan. every night tatanungin ang sarili kung ano ang ginawa ko ng 'first time'. bara-bara. kanya kanyang sorpresa.

wala ng ring emo. naglook back ako sa buhay ko for the last ten years. kung hindi in a relationship, still pretending to be in a relationship, or pathetic to be in a relationship. parati na lang for the love of relationship. parating may another person involved. tama na. palitan na. magiging masaya ako on my own. less hassle. less stress.

so 2010, malakas ang vibes ko sa 'yo. 2009 is ok but not exceptional. ok lang sya nung first half pero boring to death na nung last quarter. buti na lang may south african trip to save it. pero sa yo 2010, feeling ko talaga, magiging best year kita. cheers 2010!

i think next year is going to be a good year...

i.love.traveling.

super.

but i am poor. i never felt so penniless until november 29th, 2009. there's nothing to withdraw from atm. i've reached my credit card limit. and i only got coins in hand. i couldn't believe how much money i let go within the month. i was so shocked upon realizing that i spent so much. insurance, house renovations, surgery. when will these bloody bills ever end?! aarrggg...

now im back to saving again. but i wouldn't deprive myself of the luxury to travel. thanks to budget airlines, i can now go to places without having to spend so much. it really pays to book much earlier.

pampanga, zambales, manila on CNY
singapore and malaysia on easter
cebu on september

then another one where i can use with my asia miles! yihee!

hurray to budget airlines! and to asia miles!

rainbow nation - second time around...

after more than two years... im going back to south africa! im leaving on the 17th! haaay...

a rather fruitful weekend

bf is busy with work yesterdat and he had airsoft session the following day. so i made plans of my own! i couldn't believe how much i was able to do, instead of just eat-sleep-eat-sleep routine that we've gotten used to.

watched kimmidora. i think im becoming too serious now. i didn't like it. i think it's overrated. or maybe i was just expecting too much.

watched 500 days of summer. i liked the lines and story. i hated summer though. aaaahhhh... the heartbreak! come here, jgl, let me comfort you. hihihi

watched my sister's keeper. this is the first picoult novel that i read. i liked it so much that i read all picoult's novels available in the library thereafter. i like her courtroom dramas. i specifically remembered this novel because of its 'ruthless' ending. but i guess i would not have liked picoult that much if it ended in a more sensible way. anyway, the movie was good and faithful to the book. i cried the same way when i was reading the novel -- but it ended differently. way differently! what the hell?! the movie went for the 'sensible' ending. noooohhhhh!!!

watched 'this is it' -- in a moviehouse. ok here's the thing, eversince i got a laptop and internet connection, i never go to moviehouses anymore unless it's free. i used to go every tuesday on my first year in hk but i stopped after i realized what a rip off it is when i can always download it from the net and watch it in the comfort of my room. but for michael jackson... how could you cheat on the man? i super super like his songs. even used them as theme songs for friends and past lovers. so i booked the first sunday morning screening and went through the nostalgia. he's still sooo good, and with every song you could feel everybody involved pouring their heart out. they all grew up to his songs and you could really see how they are inspired by the genius who is the star of the show. it's a pity that he didn't live long enough to perform what they rehearsed. much respect, mj.

went snorkeling. we've been planning for weeks and weeks to go to the beach this year but it never pushed through. there's just always a reason to not go - bad weather, no money for transpo, or just plain laziness. i packed last night everything i need for my solo flight snorkel adventure. i was thinking of backing out the last minute because i didn't get enough sleep the night before. but i gave myself one push and rode the train. about 3 minutes before i arrived at the beach, rain fell--giving me another reason to go home. but what the heck. i hopped on the ferry and snorkeled to my heart's content. aaaaahhhhh... i definitely made the right choice by going to kiu tsui. and dig this: i got the beach all to myself. sweet, eh?

broke. pero nagpapacosmetic surgery pa!

im having my nose fixed.

not the way that my mom has been bugging me to do. i may be gifted with a big flat nose. but im somehow happy with it. this is what i was given. deal with it.

im having my nose fixed. im having the two big pimple prick scar fixed. i've had them for five years and they are really a big distraction. and they are right to the center! im sure it's the first thing that you notice when you see me face to face.

so there. im having my nose fixed. cosmetic surgery is bloody expensive that just for those two holes, im spending quite a fortune. and treatment lasts for six months! six months of restricted sauna. six months of no direct sunlight. six months of moisturizer overload.

wish me luck. i hope it's gone for good middle of next year.