The Unexpected

Okay, so me and my colleagues from our department had to stay home for 2 and half days now. I won't be that detailed about what happened, but it shocked every one of us, I'm still having goosebumps just thinking about it. It was so sudden, and we completely didn't expect it from coming. So fast that we have to rush out as if a disaster had taken place. And we are left here without any certainty of what's ahead of us next. I just hope everything goes back to normal soon.

Anyway, as I was sitting here, contemplating about my life, and while checking my friends on friendster, along with logging in to my yahoo messenger(I love the idea of multi-tasking.), I noticed that my cousin, the one that I had mentioned previously on my entry, is actually online too. Sometimes, I have this thing telling me to at least say hello and see how's she's doing for the past months that we have lost contact with each other. But a greater part of me stops me from doing so. I just don't want to be hypocrite. Catching things up with her the fact that I still feel betrayed by her would make me one, I guess, so I'd rather not do it this time. Maybe someday, when the wounds have completely healed. Maybe.

The Things about Philippines that I miss the most

I have been away from Manila for exactly 4 years now. I left June 2003 to chase my dreams. I never thought I would be away for so long. So here's the list of the things that I terribly miss:

1. My family - I was used to not having my dad around always for he works abroad the entire time, but I grew up having my mom, sister and lola by my side each day
2. My friends - it's so hard to find real friends these days
3. My car - I was the family driver
4. Passenger jeepneys (dyip) - "Mama, bayad ho, isang Almar!" or "Mama, para ho!"
5. Tricycles
6. Barbeque stands to satisfy my "isaw" craving
7. SM Fairview and its foodcourt
8. The thrill that I get every time I have a zero balance in a middle of an exciting conversation on the phone a.k.a text messaging (Check Operator Services) - good thing, now they have this so-called "Pasa Load" promo.
9. Worlds of Fun or Story Land to kill time during a 5-hour lunch break back in college.
10. Videoke - Filipinos love to sing
11. Dunkin' Donuts - for 25 pesos you can get 2 donut de fruta and a cup of coffee
12. Long road trips - the most memorable one was the first time I went to Baguio with my classmates in college
13. Fantastic sceneries - Philippines is known for being a picturesque
14. Henlin siomai
15. Shell Select in front of AMA Fairview
16. My never ending supply of Lucky Me pancit canton and lapaz batchoy - so expensive at Philam Store in Woodside
17. Sari-sari stores a.k.a deli store here
18. Sago't gulaman
19. Fiesta
20. Fish balls

Pinoys and their love for Mobile Phones

Have you ever felt naked when you realize you just left your house without your cell phone? Well, I always do. It’s as if my entire being is incomplete without that certain gadget on my hand wherever I go. Growing up in a country where “texting” is more popular than calling, it’s very difficult not to have your own mobile phone. Added the fact that PLDT is so reliable, it’ll take at least more than a decade before your home phone can be installed. Besides, sending a text message is more practical than calling, you just have to learn how to maximize each message you send. When I left Manila, a text message will cost you just a peso, where as to a phone call, it can be as much as 8 Pesos per minute, and for all us who are on a pre-paid basis, the first option is definitely reasonable.

Aside from the reliability a mobile phone can offer (imagine getting in touch with your friends from anywhere), it offers a lot more features than a landline phone can. Having your appointments, calendar, calculator, even some games for passing time, in one small device, how cool can that be?

The mobile phones back when I was still in college were a lot simpler. I remember Nokia was the most preferred brand at that time (I think it still is) because it’s user-friendly. As the technology evolved, it has become a trend as well. We, Filipinos, love to have our cell phones have different look, sometimes it even matches the color of our clothes. For me, my love for Donald Duck was clearly visible thru the design of my phone housing. Then I added a light blue back light (believe me, if you are from Philippines, you would understand what I am talking about.). And the colored screen phones started to come out in the market. I recall the time when I had my on the job training in Smart Communications (the leading mobile company in Philippines). Each time I was in the elevator, I would secretly take a glance at some of the employees’ phones. Working there means having the chance to buy the latest phone at a much cheaper price.

When I came here, everything was different. The people that I see on the train everyday don’t mind if they have the oldest phone in the world, as long as they can talk using their free minutes, they’re fine with that. And oh, by the way, it’s still cheaper in Philippines. There, you only have to pay for the calls that you place, while in here, you have to pay either way, whether outgoing or incoming.

How I celebrated my 25th birthday

June 19, 2007 -
Marseille at W. 44th Street

My former co-worker just graduated from her RN course this June, and when she learned that it's going to be my birthday, she invited us for dinner. She claims that she still owes us for our wedding gift and insisted that the dinner will be on her. We were suppose to eat at Spice on 20th Street and 8th Avenue, but her husband thought that it was too ordinary for the ocassion. So they asked us for opinions, my husband suggested Marseille on 44th Street and 9th Avenue, a fine dining restaurant specializing in French cuisine(by the way, my husband's going to start working there tomorrow as a production assistant for their pastry kitchen). I enjoyed my dinner as well as the updates about our current lives. Here is our picture, sorry if it's kind of blurred, my digital camera had a low battery after dinner, so I ended up using my phone to take this:

Hana and I at Marseille

June 20, 2007 -
Office

I asked my husband to cook pancit(noodles) and bake me a birthday cake. He had to wake up early in the morning to finish the dish and decorating the cake. He helped me bring the foods to our office in Midtown to share it with my officemates. Before lunch, one of my co-worker went to KFC to buy a bucket of fried chicken. They liked my husband's cooking.

An afternoon of movie and music

As per my previous blog entry, Chi, my husband and I went to Times Square to see Fantastic 4:Rise of the Silver Surfer. Since we haven't had lunch yet, my husband took us to Hard Rock Cafe. He had this sudden craving for buffalo wings after watching Bobby Flay's Throwdown show on Food Network. Below are some of the photos taken, which, by the way, includes Adam Levine's guitar, as per Chi's request.




Chi and I..been friends for almost 6 years now


My husdand with Linkin Park's instrument


for Chi

My husband satisfying his buffalo wings craving

When it rains, it really pours..

I have been empty for two straight days in terms of samples from China that I have to check. Out of boredom and willingness to do something worthy, I volunteered to pick up (then drop off the following day) a document for my boss downtown. He handed money to my manager for my cab fare, but Hazel told me to keep it instead and just take the subway. So I got extra cash from doing extra chores..hah! I even offered my hand to a co-worker who handles a totally different project(she is for the knits department, while I work for the denims). She asked me to do a colorway for one of her styles. I just realized how detailed it can be. It's almost re-designing the entire shirt by using your own color combination. The experience working with knits was worthwhile.

Anyway, the mechanical issues on FEDEX's side caused the delay of my packages. I was expecting to receive 5 sets of denim samples and 2 accessory samples yesterday to look at, and only have shipment samples scheduled for today(it's Friday!!). Unfortunately, I was empty handed for two straight days only to be fully loaded on a day that is supposed to be lighter than any other day of the week. The worst part of it was, last night, when I went home, I started having this headache that lasted until this afternoon. I reported late to work today, about 9:40 AM, because I wasn't feeling that well.

Thank God, it's Friday. Tomorrow, I'll be doing our laundry, clean the house, meet Michelle in Times Square, and we'll roam around Midtown while waiting for my husband. Fantastic 4: The Rise of the Silver Surfer is already out so we will watch it.

Time for an update..

I haven't blogged for a while. After reading my friend Chi's entries, I was kind of inspired to write again. She usually loves to write (as well as read). Anyway, my last entry was last December. Below are the things that happened over the past 6 months of my non-blogging life:

1. I cut off my ties with one of my relatives, I just can't handle her lies anymore
2. I got married last February
3. I miscarried March, the most depressing time of my life
4. I quit my job, believed that the stress I got from that place had something to do with my pregnancy mishap.
5. I almost got C's in my Spring courses, #3 is to be blamed again, it was so hard to get back on track I guess, it was too disturbing.
6. I reunited with my friend, Chi, after she spent 6 months in Manila.
7. I got a new job as a production/quality control assistant in a fashion company based here in New York.
8. And I am counting down towards my 25th birthday.
9. In Fall, I will start my clinicals.

I will give more updates as they come.