Some Morning news

It's Monday and so very early in the morning. I did not intend to wake up at this hour, but I would just have to force myself to sleep later and make the most out of it.

In the news, our very own President was on a recent trip to the United States. He was in New York. And unlike the former president who had a controversial million-pesos dinner in one of the poshest restaurants in town, President Aquino decided to flip the coin and eat hotdogs that are popularly sold in the streets of New York. I know it wasn't a show to exhibit his modesty. The President is humble and simple to begin with. I know he really wanted to eat hotdogs. But Senator Zubiri also has a simple and shallow point, but nevertheless a point. Though the President's intention is good, he also has to watch eating processed and fatty foods almost everyday as report says. It doesn't take a doctor to realize that hotdogs and hamburgers eaten everyday could damage his health and nobody wants that to happen to the president.

Too much of everything is bad. Being too humble at the expense of your health is pointless. Go ahead Mr. President. You could eat at any respectable restaurants and I won't scrutinize you. You deserve it. You are my president and even I certainly won't catch myself eating hotdogs and burgers every single day. Respectable is quite different from extravagant. We'd rather have you in good shape to fight corruption than be too modest and sick. Go ahead, make that restaurant reservation. I would.


****

I learned a new thing in the world of diplomacy today.

In important meetings like this where the attendees are countries' highest officials and everything is televised, you would imagine certain protocols are strictly observed. I imagine when I was a fresh graduate working for a bank, I was helping my boss prepare the conference room for an important budget meeting with the corporate's officials. Everything was thought of. From food, to materials, to the types of chairs and to the presentation. We made sure that our bank officers were properly recognized and represented.


It seems someone did not do his job right. Diplomacy experts noted that something is wrong in the picture. While the picture seemed to depict like an ordinary peaceful meeting, the message of the Philippine flag seemed to suggest something else. According to experts, the flag which is behind Pres. Aquino was displayed upside down. The blue should have been at the top instead of the red. It should have been attached to the pole in such a way that the blue is on the left side of the representative. Any normal person would've passed by this image, but experts say that the flag's display could have been easily interpreted as our country in a state of war.

US apologizes for the display as it was just an honest mistake. I'm sure it was, from the picture, everything looked peaceful. And at the end of the day what we're really after is the purpose and the substance of the meeting and nothing more.


Pic: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-philippine-flag,0,5867750.story

***

Not that it really matters to me, but Mariel Rodriguez and Robin Padilla finally admitted that they're married.

Thank god they have admitted it because they're all over the place and I am already getting irritated. I thought a simple admission would do. I may not be a direct fan of their match, but it's not like I am the one living with the person and leaving my career behind. My mother who likes Mariel felt a pinch of betrayal when news started to come up. I looked at her briefly and she realized she was just feeling silly. She thought that with Robin Padilla, she would've said yes too.

I honestly think that it's not a crime to fall in love and get married at your own pace. It just so happens that it was a quick and big personal decision made by public personalities that made it a bit explosive. Everyone deserves to be happy and I'd give them that.

So for that I say congratulations.

As people outside of the relationship, we have no right to judge how things will turn out based on the number of days, months they have known each other. We have no capacity to judge their feelings because we weren't there. We weren't there crazy in love. Of course we provide caution based on statistics, but love has encompassed boundaries of science. It's unexplainable. And the length of courtship or intensity of bonding are things best left to those who are really involved. So I say congratulations that as adults they have professed their love and decided to take the leap that most of us are scared or not yet ready to do.



After this if people still keep on chatting about it, it's not out of concern anymore. It's already a product of jealousy of their happiness and that is somehow pathetic.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhloSkSR98dtuyc813Rv_FJc0YPS6Gih7k92MiKrppQJHG0YqkkPQDjs0uvwgloHQs49ISu_Ib2bL-JzXMNntRkDGFcbB6ybG7ev4WLcBMpnRZSW0fmxKRx3PnvPcQkewoe1OeMq0i2rx0W/s1600/Robin-Mariel.jpg
***

Facebook has totally outlived all other social networking sites available. It has toppled the life expectancy records of Multiply and Friendster. Whoever planned and developed Facebook should be given an award equivalent to a Nobel Prize. Through Facebook people stay connected and updated with what's happening in life. When I was in the States and I couldn't call my boyfriend, I reach out to him through Facebook. It depends on the mode. I could chat with him, send him a message and read updates with what's going on with his life. And I could comment. For the purpose of friends and community, we organize lunches there, send greetings and most importantly we know we don't have to gossip in person anymore. On a serious note, important social and political messages get spread out fast like fire and of course it's FREE. People have voices and tailored identities in Facebook.

I think the proportion of people getting laptops and updated phones is to be connected to Facebook all the time. I also believe there is a connection of telecommunication companies lowering their fees and creatively looking of ways to go unlimited surfing because people want to stay connected to their emails, to valuable sights and of course to Facebook. Fathers, grandmothers or household helps have Facebook accounts. It's a Facebook world and aliens from outer space must be studying its relation to human lives right now.

God forbid something goes wrong with the site. According to news on Sept. 23, there was an outage and the site was made unavailable to some users. According to company officials, it has been restored and they apologized for the inconvenience. I smelled panic there.

There is also a Facebook movie coming up which is a lose version on how Facebook came about. The movie centers on the 26 year old socially awkward Harvard student who thought of a way to get his peers more connected. Apparently the real life Mark Zuckerberg, the creator of Facebook who happens to be a billionaire and ranked with the likes of Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and entrepreneurial giants, didn't approve of the movie's depiction. His younger film version apparently created Facebook to meet girls and not to improve the world's connectivity, which is essentially the reason why he built the site.

There is no denying that Facebook became a household name and it hatched a movie about its beginnings and the lives of people who were behind its creation. It's unstoppable. It's part of the daily grind and people get more hooked. I believe if the site crashed for some reason, people would get devastated and communication will get impaired. Just to note that I have a Facebook account, my dog has one too. I think nowadays, that's normal.

Explosion at the Bar Exams

My Facebook wall yesterday had full of posts from friends who were actually present in the bomb incident in the last Bar Exams in De La Salle University. Thankfully, none of my friends who were there were injured. But most of them witnessed the gore and heard the explosion. According to the the news, it happened at around 5:05 pm just as they were cheering the examinees as they left the DLSU campus. The crowd initially thought the blast was part of the program.

Police are looking at every angle. It could be a frat driven incident or a loose-minded person who just wanted to stir things around. Whatever the case is, I hope the police close this case fast. Have the attorneys of San Beda, who were the most heavily injured, prosecute the alleged criminal. That would be very interesting and a quick match-off.

Sunday;: Another Owl Movie Day

I had a pleasant Sunday spending time with my siblings. That means two thousand pesos for a 3d movie and lunch. My wallet cringed and no matter how it held back, I knew my siblings deserve a break as much I do, But I admit they could be very demanding and expensive. But I know that I don't hold back with traveling and food and most certainly I don't hold back with these two.

We watched The Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole. A kick-ass animated movie loosely based on a novel and directed by Zack Snyder, the same director who created the envelop breaking movie 300. Again, I will stress that I'm not really a fan of movies with humanized animals in it, but since watching How to Train your Dragon, I've given these types of movies much thought. I've seen the The Legend of the Guardians in trailers even before I left for the States three months ago. I knew I wanted to watch it. It came across as an epic, not necessary childish. And knowing that Zack Snyder will direct it saves a lot of intrigue. I watched it with Mitch for the first time on Saturday and we both liked it. I wanted to share the experience to my siblings hence making it a second time for me on Sunday.




The movie is not sappy and childish at all. I wouldn't coin it as a light, but it wasn't depressing either. It's an animated movie with sense, kick-ass special effects both an adult and a kid would enjoy. It has impressive fight scenes, simple good vs. evil plot, a fresh perspective on the owl creatures and most especially the graphics were amazing. I wasn't bored one bit. It's a sort of animation that has sense. I honestly felt like watching something close to National Geographic. But of course the owls could talk, could wear arms and read. When I went home, I became a nerd and googled information about owls. I can't believe I don't know anything about them. I never thought they could be really interesting creatures.

A colleague of mine asked me yesterday if it's something worth watching with her 6 year old kid. It's 3D and paying for a 300 pesos ticket for a crappy 3D movie would be like a thief in the night. But I urged her to watch it. Fortunately, she got back to me and said they loved it.

This is a perfect date-family-sibling-friend movie. If you are a critic, go ahead, I think you'll like it too. And while you've decided, don't waste the opportunity of watching it in 3D.



pic ref:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.collider.com/wp-content/uploads/Legend-Of-The-Guardians-The-Owls-Of-GaHoole-UK-movie-poster-quad-2-600x448.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.collider.com/2010/09/10/legend-of-the-guardians-the-owls-of-ga-hoole-clip/&usg=__iakpCKKmR8LsqzLhxca9sSxSwqk=&h=448&w=600&sz=68&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=9m1U4jq_K6SylM:&tbnh=134&tbnw=171&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dlegend%2Bof%2Bthe%2Bguardians%2Bthe%2Bowls%2Bof%2Bga%27hoole%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D681%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=792&vpy=85&dur=254&hovh=134&hovw=179&tx=142&ty=109&ei=yNafTNOoLIzWtQONxKHWAQ&oei=yNafTNOoLIzWtQONxKHWAQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=35&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0

Charice on Glee

I hardly watch TV. If there's something worth watching or talking about, I usually get my dose online. I've never been a fan of series, foreign or local. So Gossip Girl, True Blood, Weeds, Prison Break, CSI, Glee, I know by name and by advertisements but that's it. I don't know the inner conflicts of the stories or the intricate plot and characters. It's safe to say that I've watched one or two episodes of a series, but that's it. For some reason, these shows do not appeal to me.

But there's been a sensation with Glee nowadays. I heard that this American musical TV series hit the big mark on their first season. Most of my friends and colleagues are fan of it even my boyfriend. My sister and brother, not fanatics, but are knowledgeable with the story's progression. They began to download episodes, post something about it in Facebook periodically and talk about it during lunch. I know of Glee because of them actually. But this time, this first episode in the 2nd season, it especially hit big time especially for Filipinos. Apparently, youtube singing sensation Charice Pempengco, who is young but has a voice comparable to the greatest American Divas, made her first appearance in Glee as an exchange student Sunshine Corazon. Glee as I now know is a global tv sensation. With her on the show, her fame will shoot up, but not to belittle Oprah's backing and top billboard record of course.



I think it was Tuesday dawn last week when I went down to our office canteen, I literally saw packs of colleagues facing the flat screen TV's as if they're watching a martial law proclamaition. The world stopped for a few minutes. Charice was there in the episode with the Glee Cast, acting, looking a BIT fabulous, belting her infamous voice. I am happy to say that I'm proud. There's no question this girl has got talent, but we all know talent is not the only thing that keeps the artist afloat. I really hope she makes it big in Hollywood.

No more additional comments for me. No matter what they say, at the end of the day, that voice brought her in that show and let's just all appreciate her for that. If she does well in TV, then good for her, Glee became her break. She brought Filipino talent in the global mainstream. I support and I'm very proud.

Positivism I found and it's free

I slept for 3 hours. It was a power nap in my case. Now I'm recharged for Sunday and the fear of being grumpy is gone. I'm off to a good start. The sun is up. The day is free and I intend to make this day a great one.

I learned that it pays to be positive. I finally realized that it helps especially in dire situations. I know they have released medical studies about this one. I think I've read some, but at that time I wasn't really the positive-thinker so it didn't register. You see, all my life I've been a pessimist. Generally I think I still am, but a little sunshine of positivism continues to radiate especially when I encounter really shitty circumstances. I just found out last week how positive I can be and there's no point in denying it.

The most obvious shitty circumstances I have is usually at work, past and present. Everyone is stressed at work at some point, but mine is elevated into a higher level. Stress, pressure and constant expectation to deliver something grand and big while doing it in a fishbowl is so hard. It could generally crack a normal person. I seriously thought that with the pressure I currently face, it could make someone jeopardized and crazy. These days (until Christmas for which hopefully my project and migration go live), sleeping and eating become options. Work becomes a life and death situation at some point that I have to deliver or else. The information is trickling like sand. Interactions with superiors are huge. Eyes are on me and on the project 100%. It's like a battlefield at work.

Nevertheless, I know that I am here for a reason. I know I asked for this kind of work at some point. By history, this is the most challenging role I've ever signed up for. But I know even if my work is stressful and I get my heart racing all the time, I wouldn't give up on this. Even though everyday ends up tiring, I enjoy my simple accomplishments and working with people who are also exerting efforts in making things work. I appreciate their dedication and there is no way that I could give up on that. I love that I'm still learning new things. Slowly I've accepted that until I get my project live, I would experience hardships, birth pains, setbacks and disappointments. That is something I should prepare for and not be consumed with. There is no reason to ignore or deny that these things will bug me every single day. It was time for me to let go of my unrealistic expectations and unnecessary amount of pressure on myself.

Last week I had one of the most disappointing days ever. In hindsight I know I disappointed some people and I had clashed with a colleague. I thought this particular issue was under control until a rug was swept up under my feet by a person whom I was depending on. I was burned alive so to speak. That day I was exhausted, pissed and confused. I wanted to go home, hit someone and just hide. But I knew I couldn't and it was something that already happened. All I could do was to let off steam.

When I went home that day I knew my happy cells were burned. I couldn't think and function normally anymore. All I had to do was sleep. But before I completed surrendered to dream land, I thought about how things went. For one last time, I let out my frustrations and accepted it for what it is. I learned how to let it go and to look forward. When the calming realization settled in, I texted some people from work who witnessed what happened that day. I finally had the courage to tell them to be positive and that I am all right. Thankfully I got very good replies. I slept knowing that people continue to support and believe in me as I believe in myself.

In past experiences after a shity day, I would usually sulk and chug at work with an intense feeling of retribution, but this time I woke up nicely. I bought sweet goods to bring to the office as simple offerings that I'm still thankful with everything that's happening to me. I wanted to share my gratitude and happy thoughts with people. My offerings might not be much, but it's my way of staring a great day and appreciating people for their hard work. I came at work feeling energized and positive. The friction and frustration became past news. I had a clearer mindset on life and I worked with all of my heart. I know I love my job. I know that I'm not perfect, and I know there will be hard and disappointing days. But I also know that I am doing this for a reason, that I deserve this challenge to make me a better person. I just have to work hard, be patient, confident and positive.

In the past, I would not have been able to type these words. I would not have realized how real being positive is even if it was staring me at the face. I would just shrug it positivism off and continue living the world being a pessimist. I would be extra hard with myself for no productive reasons. I would bite off my confidence and slowly destroy my self esteem. But something happened to me that made me see the light. It could be a combination of maturity or wisdom. I learned how to be positive in dire circumstances though I'm still improving on that. I also know that being positive won't erase challenges. I would still be having shitty days and I would still feel confusion, disappointment and anger at some point, but I know a douse of positivism helps me clear things up and accept things for what they are. Positivism helps me to move on and be better. It helps me to believe in myself more and helps me not lose my goals when I hit roadblocks. Positivism I found. It's free and it doesn't take a lot of effort and science.

A nice and satisfying Saturday

It's 4:21 AM and the sun will up in a couple of hours. Shortly I would hear my father squeak out of his room while he prepares to leave for golf. I would hear Ate Ne preparing breakfast and Harvey coming in and out of the garden looking for that huge snake that everyone saw on Saturday afternoon while I was asleep. Yes, there was an unwelcome snake in our house and it was huge. It was as thick as an arm of an average 7 year old kid and it's length is from one car side mirror to the other. I'm sure it was a surreal and a scary sight. Nobody in our household likes snakes, well except for my sister who actually had a pet aqua snake before, which died because of my sister's usual neglect. When I woke up at around 7 pm, everyone was talking about it and I saw tennis rackets, golf clubs, flashlights and umbrellas everywhere. Apparently they all cornered it at one point, but never had the courage to do something with it. It escaped to the other part of the lot. Harvey, my hunter-worker dog, found it. They were about to attack one another and my father, out of fear of Harvey's safety, asked them to pull him out. Then it was gone. The snake used our garden-bar as an escape route. Everyone gave up out of fear and exhaustion. I think they'll call a heavy-duty exterminator this morning. Last year, I made a blog about my mother finding a small baby snake in her room. It was just a little big bigger than a normal worm, but now I think they found his mom. Scared for our dogs. The snake might actually harm them or retaliate. In fact, we're not sure if the snake is singular or plural.

I woke up and listened to the interesting story and made sure that an exterminator should be called first thing in the morning. I nearly forgot my date with Mitch. I dressed and met up with him at 8 pm as we started to do his plan for the night. He knows how stressed and busy I am with work and he knows that I need a relaxing weekend to recharge. So bless him for taking me out to dinner. He knows how I love Japanese and eating in Little Tokyo in Makati.

I love Little Tokyo. My father introduced this place to me as usual. Been eating here whenever I crave for fresh and authentic Japanese food. Whenever I eat here, I feel like I'm in Japan. It's more than what the food offers, but the setting is very very Japanese. Little Tokyo is like a small compound of authentic Japanese restaurants. Hardcore Japanese, businessmen and food trippers go there. In the middle of the busy city, there's a quaint Japanese place where it is always a very impressive venue for dating. The ambiance is relaxing and reminiscent of Japan. The food is fresh and bursting of Japanese flavor and the crowd is very cultured. Mitch, with his very Asian looks, really blended well in the crowd. Though he looked like a malnourished Samurai.



After dinner, we went straight to Greenbelt to have coffee and movie. He also knew what to watch. He knows that before I left for the States, I wanted to watch the Legend of the Guardians: Owls of Ga'hoole. It was an effort for his part since he is not really a fan of 3d and animation, but I saw that he's making an extra effort to keep me happy. While waiting for the movie, we had coffee at our favorite place in Coffee Bean. I was quite surprised that the coffee shop now serves yogurt. The movie ended up to be a cool one. Mitch loved the animation. Driving home, he couldn't get over how amazing it was. We actually enjoyed and Owl adventure-action movie. At this point, I couldn't ask for more.

The movie capped the night off and it was fortunately very good. Mitch was also very impressed with the animation. We both liked the simple story (which still lacked a bit of depth) But the real thing was, we were just so happy to be with each other. He missed the laid back Saturday dinner we would always do, which includes coffee and movie breaks. I missed hanging out with my man in Greenbelt and enjoying jokes and jabbers with him. He knows how to cheer me up and he lived up to the expectation tonight.

After our date, we went to a friend's house and had a relaxing conversation before I headed home at 3 am. Since I slept the whole day I'm having a hard time to sleep again. It is the known pain of a graveyard shift's body clock. But no worries, I intend to make my Sunday packed and relaxing as well. Probably I'll get some winks in a few hours before I execute my promise to my brother, which is to spend time playing computer games with him.

I intended to relax and just enjoy simple things this weekend, which was done. God knows that I need to recharge for the chugging week ahead (you have no idea). I have one day left to rest and spend time with people I hardly see anymore. Saturday started well and I'm off to a good start. It was a simple evening, but it was very fulfilling. Time away from work and more time for family and friends is definitely what I need, oh and a little bit of rest and sleep would also be fine.

Busy Nowadays

I've been busy lately. Probably this will go on until Christmas.

I'm busy adjusting to this shift, to new people, to heavier responsibilities and to wild expectations. Sometimes I get goosebumps going to work because I know I have to deliver GOLD all the time. It's not anymore a possibility of pulling this project off. It's a matter of MUST.

Forgive me if I don't grace this blog often. Even my weekends are drained by compromised time with loved ones. I will get back on my own terms soon. Soon.

This is the perfect time to have a vacation, don't you think? Even for the weekend.

And for that...I smell HONG KONG!

Perceptions

After attending a charming children's party in QC, I went over to Manila Peninsula to pick up my American Colleagues for dinner. Since they wanted to eat crabs, I decided to take them to the nearest crab-joint, Red Crabs in Greenbelt. I figured to save Dampa for some other day when the major manila participants are complete. From Manila Peninsula, we hopped to Greenbelt and ordered Philippine Seafood dishes and not to mention the gigantic coconut crabs. The dinner was fulfilling, scrumptious and messy. For Mitch and I, we paid 4 thousand bucks for the four giant crabs, halaan, softdrinks, oyster cake and rice. We nearly vomited seeing the bill, but I knew from the start that the place ain't Dampa.

After dinner we joined a colleague of ours across the restaurant for some drinks and desserts. Then we transferred to Italiannis for further cocktails. There we discussed a lot about cultural perceptions, social politics and of course, the topic we all had in common and the exact thing that brought us together, work.

Since I don't want to bore you with work stuff, I'm just going to write here about interesting perceptions our guests have of the Philippines.

1. We don't have air conditioned buildings.
2. Starbucks is rare to us
3. Western food is rare to us.
4. We don't have cable, even if we do it's dubbed using our local language
5. Our music is old
6. We rarely drive cars
7. We are "physically" poor.
8. We're uncivilized.
9. Our city is so small and boring.
10. We are not that interest at all.

While I was in Cincinnati, a city that hosts their own skyscrapers, conveniences and landmarks, I thought that our very own Global Fort Taguig could simply melt the America town away in terms of entertainment, people and buildings. I found it funny how my colleagues in Cincinnati kept on asking questions that clearly sprung from rural documentaries of National Geographic or Discovery. What grounded Americans, who rarely travel, think of the Philippines as a 3rd world country full of cows, grass and simplicity. I just smiled and thought of how badly they needed to educate themselves and straighten their funny perceptions. As expected, when they got in the Philippines, stayed at Manila Peninsula Hotel and walked at our new and modernized office headquarters in Fort, they were speechless and full of all the words they ate.


Thank god I have the means to travel and get cultured. My world is not limited to cable documentaries.

Busy Week. Blog Later.

This week is very interesting. Interestingly busy, toxic, exciting, disappointing and tiring. I've had insomnia, anorexia and mental degradation. But that's why I love this work. The stress is nerve wracking, but it's exhilarating after.

To end this busy week, I will meet up with our Cincinnati visitors for a weekend relaxation. We're eating at Dampa and feast ourselves with fresh seafooods. I miss seafoods. I miss Dampa. I've been out of this country for almost 3 months and for my first weekend back I'm ready for a seafood fixation. So technically I have 4 hours to sleep.

Meanwhile, I can't report anything yet about my phone. No new discoveries. Apparently my Android phone is still a virgin. It has not been fully "touched." The most that I did there were text and call. Well, I did one stupid thing though. I linked all my Facebook accounts to my phonebook, now my contacts are messed up and duplicated. I know this phone is smart and I can remedy this, but I've been so busy lately that I can't even figure that out.

I am also reading a book that I'm halfway through. I am the Messenger by Markus Zusak. It is fairly interesting. I read half of it on the long grueling flight form Cincinnati, but for the rest of the work week since my return, I haven't touched it.

With all the chaos and life consuming activities I'm still glad to be home. I got to drive my car and play with my dressed up dog. This week may have been toxic and busy, but there's nothing like a welcoming pinch in the face.

I have to sleep. Maybe I can be of more sense later...or I doubt I'll have time. Maybe tomorrow.

Finally got my HTC Android

The long wait is over. I'm done salivating and wondering if I would really push through with this major tech purchase. I'm done looking up images online and reading what this new Android phone is all about. I'm done with all that preparation because I finally have my own unit. I finally have my new Android Phone.

Thanks to Mitch's expertise and encouragement, I got one of the best units for now. I must admit that the image, the navigation and the advanced features are new to me, but it's something that I could learn and cope. I love the color, the navigational specs and how smart the phone really is. I am so excited that I kept looking at it while I was having a massage.

But I will save my other discoveries for another day because for now it's time to get some sleep. My head hurts from the lack of it and fumbling at new gadgets certainly wouldn't help. I am still too excited.

For those who might be curious, I got the HTC Desire and I'm loving it.

I'm Finally Home

After 24 hours of travel, I finally got home in one piece though with a sore back in my hot and humid country. My father and mother picked me up using Essie and I couldn't have been happier. There's always a comforting feeling of being able to go home and that people missed you or took time to pick you up and attend to your needs. When I got home, I have my favorite food on the table, Luk Yuen dishes of steamed shrimp dumpling, fried meat dumpling, fish congee and siomai, all my special requests. Since I got too excited with the sudden shift, I took time to unpack and sort my messed up luggage. I got reacquainted with my dog who I terribly missed. My sister woke up to see her packages and my boyfriend went to the house at 12 am to check up on me.

I tried to sleep at 1 am, but as expected I couldn't. Jet lag. In totality, I only had 3 hours of uncomfortable sleep and woke up at 6 am in early preparation for my big welcome-home-date with my boyfriend/tech consultant. When I was in the States we planned for this day a thousand times. We knew how it would turn out. He would file for leave, drive me to libis to get my previous employer's documents, finally assist me in buying my new kick-ass phone, have lunch at one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, watch a movie and cap it off with a massage. It would be a date marathon. I'm happy that everything turned out perfectly fine. It was a day intended for us.

We were able to retrieve what I had to retrieve in Libis and we immediately went to Greenhills to satisfy my phone-itch. I left the negotiations and searching to him. Obviously he knows what he is talking about. As far as I'm concerned, I am just there to test drive and pay. He perfectly knows me and what I need in a phone. It didn't take us long actually. Within 30 minutes, we finally found the perfect unit with the perfect price. After 10 minutes in that store, I finally possessed a new phone and spent a fortune for it (in my tech expenditure standards).

Unlike some people who randomly change phones like how they change their moods, this is life changing for me. I don't really buy gadgets. Technology doesn't really interest me. I'm perfect with hand me downs and simple devices. But I find myself shifting to a new OS, to a new unit and most definitely to new navigation specs. I certainly felt I was behind with everyone else including my 14 yr brother and my old fashioned father. I have a lot to catch up on. Right now, I'm just excited about this new gadget and I'm pretty proud of this acquisition. I feel the time is indeed right to make that upgrade.

After buying my phone, I bought accessories for full protection. We also ate at our favorite chinese restaurant, watched a 3D movie which half of it I slept on, ate dinner at Max's Fried Chicken and capped it off with an intense massage to cure my sore back from traveling that long with a Brooklyn White Cheese Pizza as my midnight snack. Life is indeed good in this perspective.



I have missed Manila. I missed the sounds, the accessibility and the connection of people whom I care for. I certainly missed hanging out with my boyfriend and siblings. Certain things have to change but somethings will always stay the same. Tomorrow I go back to work and face the challenges head on. I think with a positive outlook, I will be fine. Last night, it didn't sink in yet that I'm finally home. But spending the whole day outside and going to comfort places I love, I finally realize that this is it. I'm back to my life and I started it off great.

Goodbye Cincinnati

I guess I will catch my sleep on the plane. I have to be at the airport at 7 am and catch the 10 am flight to Detroit. Lay over there is 4 hours before we fly to Nagoya Japan then reach Manila at Sunday 10:30 pm. Then reality resumes.

It has been a good stay here. We met new people. We learned a new process and we experienced a sweet chapter in our life. I have gained something from this. I'll figure that out once I live my life back home. Right now, I'm just focused on getting on that plane and hope I won't have an upset stomach.

I am chatting with my sister right now and making last minute preparations at home. I asked them to get me specific dishes on Sunday night. I miss Chinese food, the authentic ones from Luk Yuen. I can't wait to see my dog, my home, my car and my loved ones. I might be able to stay here a few more months, but now that I'm going home, I really can't wait.

In a few minutes, I have to get out of the bed and get ready. I have some last minute checks to do. Cincinnati has been really good to us. My stay here has been so pleasant. I'll miss people. I'll miss my routine. I'll miss my apartment. But I'm a person who easily detaches when reality hits. I know I'll be fine. I have something to look forward to at home. Work and my life back.

Months flew so fast. I can still remember the day I landed here and first viewed my apartment. And now I'm going home. I'm at peace and happy.

All my bags are packed....but..

Damn this packing!!!

I took the half day off yesterday to figure things out. After saying those bitter sweet goodbyes to the lovely people we worked with at Cincinnati, I had my very last meal at Chipotle (very sad) and went home to fix my luggage.

Special thanks to my colleague JP, who loves packing than unpacking, he redid mine. Sure, he was able to put everything in and more, but I'm hanging by the thread. The allowable baggage is 50 pounds per bag. Excess is only for 20 lbs. The last time I weighed, my first baggage is 67 pounds and the other one is 49.5. Damn. That isn't good at all. I have resigned to the fate of paying excess for the first baggage, but do I have to pay excess on my 2nd bag? Most likely since the scales are different in the airport.



Whatever!

Packing hurts more than just paying and getting this 24 hour flight over with. Just let me get through peacefully in the airport and I'll be fine. I can have my breakfast at Starbucks and read my new book.

I tried to sleep, but woke up at 3 am. I had a bad dream about my bags again. Now I couldn't sleep. The weather's fine here. It's the start of fall and it's cooler, a farewell change of weather in Cincinnati. I'll surely miss this place. I can stay, but real life goes on in Manila.


Screw the bags, right? I think I'm ready to go home.