Nerbyus!

i'm kinda nervous now, in a couple of hours eh ung program na namin for our company's annual dinner (in lieu of the chinese new year). we are going to dance a britney spears number segueing to a hiphop song. here are some of our practice pics (i'm not in the photos as i was the one who took these shots...with my new cam! hahaha)

- edmund (the one on the floor) will be britney "hit me more" spears! hahaha

Eto Na, Eto Na.............

after two days of trying to download the english version of my camera's software (the included cd is in japanese and the included manual is in chinese!), nakapag install na ko and been able to transfer photos to my laptop. sooo ma fan (that's troublesome in mandarin! hahaha) hindi ko pa masyado maintindihan ung ibang cam functions, uber complicated!! parang pumasok ka sa relasyon! hahaha

Eternal Summer

watched this movie a couple of days ago and it has easily become one of my top favorites. i like it because of the plot, the undertone of real love without being mushy or corny.

one may think that the story is usual, a love-triangle between two guy best-friends and the new girl in town. what sets eternal summer apart though, is the simplicity yet complexness and deepness of each character. the movie sans the usual visual aesthetics found in mainstream blockbusters. it, instead, focuses on evoking human feelings that were previously considered taboo. it highlights that expressing one's true self, even if considered as an anathema, is liberating and often leads to otherwise unexpected positive turn of events. this is one of the few films i've seen where the characters need not say anything to convey their despondency, glee and state of being.

to sum it all up, this movie is subtly powerful and arresting....especially if you're a hopeless romantic.............

like me! hahaha

Shanghai Weekend

helo, helo...got back from my weekend in shanghai earlier this evening. it was fun! we went there yesterday morning, at around 11am. it usually take about 2 hours from zhangjiagang to shanghai, but yesterday we were sitting in the car for more than 4 hours!! kasi all the major highways were closed due to heavy snow.

we got to shanghai at aound 4.3 then had lunch (?!) at a malaysian restaurant. i had hainanese chicken rice, a veggie dish called kangkong something (yes, the malays also call kangkong the same thing, as well as tilapia, lampin and mangkok among others) and a kikiam-like pork. then, one mrt station away, we went to a tech mall. and yes, yes, yes..i bought na my dslr!! yipee!! problema ko na lang kung pano sya gamitin! hahaha. the included manual is in chinese!! crappy dba? (but it's ok, i'll just try to download it) kaya hindi pa ko makapag-post ng pictures! hahaha.


after checking-in at a budget hotel, we went for coffee at around 9pm. (at last!! i haven't had my iced raspberry mocha for weeks) then we walked to XinTianDi (an eastwood-ish kind of venue) where G+ Club is. later at 2am, we went to another club, babyface which was happening because of dj lady waks.then at 4am, we went back to the hotel (if not for my progressing head-ache, we would've stayed longer). yun lang. that was my happening weekend.

o sya, i'll still figure out how to use my cam so i can post my pics na! hahaha

Kodakan!!

zao shang hao!! (that's mandarin for good morning) today, we will be going to shanghai to spend the weekend. we'll go clubbing tonight, dunno yet which club/s and we'll go eat, eat and eat!! hahahah. we feel so deprived here in zhangjiagang because the choices of places to eat at and the variety of food is as limited as a college cafeteria! that's why whenever we go to a bigger city like suzhou or shanghai, we end up pigging-out! hahaha.

on a different note, the main reason why i'm so eager to go to shanghai today is because i'm getting my nikon d40x!!



the car is here, gotta go...i'll post my new pics when i get back..ciao!!

ala Ladder 49

last sunday (jan. 20th) was just like my usual weekend. bumming at home, watching dvd. at about 5 in the afternoon, when i was about to take a shower, i smelled something like a candle burning. so i went to the kitchen and asked alex (he was cooking our dinner) if he lighted a candle or something. he said no. i went to check the heater in our living room to see if it tripped or if something there was burning, but none. so i shrugged it off and went to take a shower. within minutes after getting inside the bathroom, alex was knocking asking me to go out of the bathroom first as there is something burning in the building!! damn! i was taking a dump and now i have to hurriedly get dressed to get out of the building alive! so i quickly finished up, grabbed my jeans, put on a pair of socks (have to because it's freezing outside) while nervously thinking of what to bring with me. should i bring the laptop? no, that's company issued so no prob. should i bring my sounddock? no, that is not important. i just grabbed my ipod (hahaha), wallet, apartment key and the key card for the building entrance (what?! ninerbyos ako eh!). half-way through, the chinese security guards are already banging on our unit's door while shouting something in chinese. i quickly grabbed my jacket then went out the door with alex. the hall was already full of smoke as we went down the stairs (our unit is at the 7th floor). my knees were shaking as we continue down, this is the first time that something like this happened to me. as we were on the 3rd floor, alex stopped and asked if we could check where the smoke was coming from because the rest of the building was clear and quiet starting from the 5th floor. as we were about to go back up, we saw one of the chinese guards signalling that it's already safe to go back. we were on the 6th floor when we noticed that the tenant there had a can with burning paper on it. aparently that was where all the smoke came from. the chinese believe that when somebody dies, they should burn "hell notes" (fake money) as an offering to their ancestors or loved ones who passed away.

that whole scenario was really nerve-wracking and hilarious! hilarious because i could just imagine how we looked while hurrying down the stairwell, we were wearing the red winter jacket that was given by our company. we looked like firemen who were running away from the fire! hahahha

after that scary insident, i realized that material things are not that important...evrything can just disappear in a flash. so, i've decided to get a nikon d40x dslr so i can take pictures of the things that i want and be able to blog it (memories, memories). hahahah

L'Auberge Espagnole

today i watched the movie "L'Auberge Espagnole" (The Spanish Apartment). it instantly became one of my favorites. i remember seeing this movie in HBO but only caught the last half of it and wasn't able to get the title. i happened to see the dvd of this in the pirated-video store that we always go to in shanghai.

it's a story of a french guy in his mid-20's that, like myself, is unsure of what he wants to do with his life. to be able to get accepted to the job in the european union that he's eyeing (more like what his parents want for him), he needs to learn spanish. and what better way to learn a language than to go it's country of origin. so xavier went to barcelona, spain to study economics more and learn spanish.

there, he lived in an apartment with six other students from all over europe. there was an italian, german, danish, english, belgian and a spanish. it was an eclectic mix of personalities, sensitivities, languages and cultures that ensue an interestingly colorful school year. everybody has his own quirks and issues but at the end of the day, they're friends. not just the let's-have-a-drink-and-party kind of friends, but REAL friends. but as they say, some good things never last. after a year, school in barcelona was over and xavier went back to paris. back home and back to his old life, only to realize that things are not the same anymore. he's a different person now, older but still unsure.

there is this line in the movie that i totally can relate to. xavier said during the first time he walked the streets of barcelona:

"When you first arrive in a new city, nothing makes sense. Everythings unknown, a virgin... After you've lived here, walked these streets, you'll know them inside out. You'll know these people. Once you've lived here, crossed this street 10, 20, 1000 times... it'll belong to you because you've lived there. That was about to happen to me, but I didn't know it yet."

the first time i came here in zhangjiagang, everything was foreign. aside from the fact that i cannot speak mandarin, the setting here is at variance as in manila. nothing seemed familiar until i saw a shell gas station with chinese writings (i just recognized the shell logo). then i thought, it's not so bad here. hahahaha.

like xavier, being in a foreign country, away from your family, your loved ones and your friends is hard. it's even tougher than you think. but sometimes it helps to get away from everything that is familiar to you, your comfort zone to figure things out. to get to know yourself better, find out what you want and to discover the roads that you never thought you can travel on.

Snow

last sunday, jan. 13th, it snowed here in zhangjiagang. the locals say that it hasn't snowed here since 3-4 years ago. and voila! who would've guessed that it will snow this year. i'm lucky to be here this time of the year and experience my first ever snow!!

seeing and feeling the snow for the first time brought shiver down my spine!! hahahaha (syempre malamig eh!) seeing the white flakes falling from the sky gave me an assuring feeling that everything will be alright. not that i am experiencing a pressing issue, but ironically the snow flakes gave me warmth instead of the deadness of cold.

i'm naturally a positive yet a worrier kind of person. maybe experiencing a snow for the first time awakened a new sensitivity in me that the tropics of manila failed to rouse.

and fade.........

Birthday Blues

yesterday was my birthday.....i'm not really big on celebrating my birthdays, even back in manila. i prefer going out by myself, eating at some place fancy or somewhere i haven't tried eating before. then i go for my life-assesment walks. hahaha. it can be in a new mall or a park, wherever i find it convenient and quiet for me. my life-assesment walks usually includes buying something for myself! hahaha but seriously, this is the time when i feel "senti" the most. dunno why. i always ponder as to how i'm getting older by a year and still feel that there's so much things i haven't done, so much fruits i haven't picked (nakanaman!!) so much roads i've yet to travel (woohoo!!) and so much love i have to give (yan naman eh!!).

this year, being the first time that i celebrated my birthday away from my entire Pinas life, is no different. but instead of the usual "date-with-myself", i went out with my malaysian friends for dinner in a french resto. that was after our "dance practice" (groovy!!). then we went for ktv after. it was fun. but i know that spending my bday in manila with my besties would be funner! (?!) nyahahaha.

i miss manila, and everything about it but i'm also excited and very much looking forward to this new life i'm living. a new year, a new life. one year older, hopefully one year wiser! hahaha

toast to an exciting year ahead!!

All Play And Only A Little Work...

we just finished our weekly meeting with our boss. things are looking positive as our company continue to grow. we're looking at a number of new acquisitions this year, meaning more opportunities and new posts within asia-pacific. i'm actually excited, hopefully i'm looking at a bigger chance for career-growth and a better compensation. a bright future ahead? dunno yet, but i'm hoping it is.

In Lieu Of My Game Plan...

in lieu of my 2008 game plan, i'm seriously considering doing hip-hop dance lessons here in ZJG! hahaha we (the expats working for our company) going for a dance rehearsal this afternoon for our company's annual dinner on the 31st. my colleagues and i are doing a dance number, we'll be dancing to Britney's "Hit Me Baby One More Time"!! hahahah one of my malaysian colleagues will dress up as a girl and do a Britney performance. hilarious!

haaayyy...gusto ko din mag capoeira but i don't think they have it here. i'm looking for a school or even just classes in shanghai...



i want to take up something new and start getting fit this year.

yun lang.

Game Plan!

i usually start every new year with a plan, not a new year's resolution but a game plan. i go to a starbucks with a notebook and a pencil and just write away...this year though is different, first time to celebrate the new year in another country. the best i could do is make a draft while sipping instant green tea (sawa na ko sa instant coffee!) and eating m&ms, may kalayuan kasi ang starbucks dito..an hour and a half to the nearest one!! anyways, my 2008 game plan rough draft goes a little something like this (read with an andrew e. rhyming & rapping tone)

- now that i have been given a chance to work overseas and earn better, all i have to do is organize my finances. i seriously have to start saving. seriously? seriously!! i should allot a portion of my salary to my personal savings, budget for my mom and my budget until the next payday. sounds easy? believe me it's not...especially when CNET is updating their editor's top picks every week (gadgets galore!!) and when nike, zara and kenneth cole beckons! hahaha. but seriously, i have to start limiting my spending and save, save, save.

- career-wise, my current job is not that challenging plus i don't like the politics. hhmmm...i plan to stick it out for a couple of months more while seriously scouting for a new job. i'm looking into working in singapore if i get to find a nice deal.

- invest. by the end of the year i should have a reasonable investment so that i'll have another source of income aside from my monthly salary. hhmmmm....i wonder what can be a feasible (and reasonable) investment....

- self-improvement. i want to take up and learn something new this year. something that will better myself, say, street dancing or voice lessons, capoeira and the likes. i also vow, teka masyadong serious yung vow, try na lang, try to lose weight and religiously work out.

- relationship/s (hahaha) eto naman eh kung meron lang. if ever i find myself in a relationship this year, i'll give it my best and try hard to make it meaningful..i'm over the highschoolish kind of "mutual understanding". i want to "exclusively" go out with someone. although not the i-want-to-get-married-na kind of setting, i want it to be serious nonetheless. am i contradicting myself again?! ahahha

yan, yan ang aking blue print for this year. good thing there is blog, i'll check on this by mid of this year to see if i've accomplished some. and again by the end of the year to see if nagimbento lang ako! hahaha

The New Year!

it is my first holidays here in china. i was booored to death, but it was not that bad. i just miss my friends and family in manila. it's different lang. no almond or raspberry mocha and cinnamon roll from starbucks..didn't get to eat puto bumbong (not sure about the spelling) and bibingka.

only less than 10 of my friends in manila greeted me! can you believe that?! how stingy can they get?! hahaha

anyways, the weekend after Christmas (Dec. 29th & 30th) i went to shanghai with some of my malaysian colleagues. we pigged-out, went clubbing, did a little shopping (i'm coming back to IKEA) and of course, had my starbucks!


we went to this club, babyface, we had a blast! i haven't gone out clubbing for sometime now and i must say, i missed it! the shanghai crowd is fun..beautiful people, lots of expats and style mavens. the following day we went to IKEA. i had to buy a table lamp, my m&m jar, bed sheet and quilt. i also bought candles for my oil burner and a black organizer box. the black table lamp and the organizer box goes well with my study table and my sounddock!! i'll post a picture soon. then i went to buy some small stuff for myself...(a dkny cap and an fcuk shirt) they were on sale so i got them pretty cheap..cheapo fabuloso!!


then for new year's eve, rex and alexis (my fellow ofws! hahaha) made spaghetti, i bought muffins and cinnamon swirls from starbucks the weekend before, bought red wine and sang our hearts out 'til 12. then slept shortly after that! hahaha

yun lang..happening dba?!!