Just My Luck!

Yesterday, I just got back from a three-day business/pleasure trip to Hong Kong and I must say that it was absolutely refreshing. It was an unexpected trip actually. Friday last week, Ms. Ressie (our HR Manager) came bursting into our office and broke the news that our boss’ dad wants me to accompany him to China to do a presentation for a potential client. It was supposed to be my boss who’s scheduled to go with him but would be unable to since he has his MBA classes.

I was absolutely thrilled upon hearing the news because I’ve never been to that country before. But I didn’t think much of it since the last time they announced that I’m going to a business trip outside of the country (South Korea to be exact), it didn’t push through due to logistical reasons. I just didn’t want to believe it for the fear that it might get jinxed just like what happened the first time they said the same thing. The thought that the trip would really materialize sank on my mind Monday night when I finally got the tickets.

Hong Kong is absolutely beautiful! Our hotel (the Marco Polo Gateway) was located in the shopping district and there was eye candy everywhere! Too bad though that most of the stores carry items that are way out of my budget at this point – Fendi, Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Prada, Escada, Gucci and all the others. However, I am very much thrilled to have found this amazing pair of boxers’ sneakers from this store in Nathan Road J It was a bit expensive (HK$570) but it was absolutely worth it since the brand is something that you won’t find in Manila.

I love the energy of that city – it reminds me so much of New York City, how it’s still very much alive even during the wee hours of the morning. What I love most about Hong Kong is their skyline – it would make for a magnificent cityscape subject should I decide to start painting again. It’s interesting to observe the peaks and drops as my eyes surveyed everything - from one structure to another, you feel like you can play connect the dots. All the high-rise buildings exude different auras, a flavor all their own.

I’m very much impressed with the city planning that they were able to execute in Hong Kong. They’re able to maximize even the smallest of spaces and turn it into a functional work of art. I could just imagine how much time and energy engineers and artisans spent at the drawing board to make Hong Kong what it looks like today.

It was a short trip and I wish I would’ve loved to stay a little longer if only circumstances had allowed me to do so. Mark my words Hong Kong – I shall return! I don’t know when though. Hopefully soon.

A New Career Path?

I was surprised to have gotten an e-mail from a lady in Vancouver this morning. She says she’s read my shopping blog and that she liked what she saw. In fact, she’s asked me if I could help her out by being her purchaser. She’s putting up her own boutique in her area and she’s very much interested in selling goods and accessories made from the Philippines.

I was in disbelief for a brief moment but I felt really excited about it. I mean, I’d get paid to do what I really love! Then I thought - ‘Wow! This is kinda out of my league. If and when this pushes through, would I be able to pull it off? Hey wait, I don’t know a single thing about being a ‘pro’ purchaser! I think I have to undergo some kind of tutelage before I cause chaos or something. Then a more important thought popped into my head, is this the real deal?’

I thought about asking my Tarot cards but then I don’t have it with me right now. Brilliant idea – go to Nouel’s website! Nouel Rasella was my Tarot card reading teacher and he is just so very good at what he does. I finally got to his free card reading page and I asked two questions – one about the present and one about the future. I’m very intrigued as the answers were promising. I’d definitely have to make a few clarifications once I get home.

I suddenly remembered my friend Mimic. I could definitely use her help as she’s in the retail business – she served as a Purchasing Officer for SM and Operations Manager for Buffalo. I wonder if her number’s still the same. Well, I guess I’ll have to wait for her text to find out.

Shopping and fashion has always had a special place in my heart and to be involved in the industry in one way or another would definitely be a dream come true. I have this theory that the reason why I'm such a shopaholic and a fashionista now is because of my childhood. I'm the eldest of three children but I'm the smallest in terms of height and built so I always get the hand-me-downs instead of the other way round. When I was growing up, whenever my parents and I and my two sisters would go shopping, everything had to conform to my parents' style especially my mom's. My mom's style is very blah and it's just a recipe for disaster. It also didn't help that my mom's a really good spendthrift! I'm not sure if she got that from the Chinese or the Filipino side of the family but anyways.....

I remember this one incident when I was about 7 years old. We were shopping for shoes in SM Department Store and I wanted this fancy schmancy black and white polka-dotted sandals with lace-up straps. I begged and pleaded for as long as I can remember but in the end, my mom won since she had the purchasing power and I didn't :( I ended up with a pair of boyish-looking mocassins!

Now that I handle my own finances, she has very little say on what I wear or buy :) It's really funny because now, it's my mom who listens to me for some fashion advise ;p

Harry Potter and Skype and Everything In Between

After how many months, I’ve finally gotten around to installing Skype on my laptop. I really didn’t see the point of downloading it, that is, until two days ago. My co-workers and I are forever calling our provincial office and Skype proved to be a more cost-effective way to do so.

I officially joined the bandwagon around 4 pm. It took me a long time to finish doing the set-up because I installed the program in Deutsch. I did this because I wanted to have an environment that would force me to use the language in one way or the other. I was happy at first because I could understand about 50% of what was written in it. The trouble started when I saw the Skype window because almost everything that was in there were compound words that I couldn’t understand even with the help of the dictionary. I really thought that I bit off more than I could chew but thankfully, I was able to find the language and changed everything back to English.

Lesson learned: start with something simple like the web page of the restaurant Martin told me about ;p

Tueday morning as I was working on my e-mail to Martin, I got a chat invitation from this individual on Skype. He was very polite – introducing himself, where he comes from and even added a compliment that made me feel good. He says that he’s read my blog and found my style of writing interesting. Okay, so my ego got a little bit of some umph :D I’m telling you; flattery works wonders when you first meet or start a conversation with someone. I eventually warmed up to the guy as he proved to be an interesting person to talk to – witty, intelligent and very opinionated.

Normally, I’m a little bit worried about the millions (or even billions) of perverts that are lurking on every part of the world and is currently online at that very moment. Not with Ian (that's his name), I sensed something different about him. Always trust your intuition – specially a woman’s intuition – it never fails!

I felt as if I was talking to myself – we share the same beliefs on a lot of things especially when it comes to spirituality. I don’t know if I have a karmic tie or even a karmic debt to Ian from my previous life/lives but there’s just too many similarities about our personal backgrounds to be considered as a mere coincidence. For example, I was born a Pisces and my dad’s an Aries. Ian’s Aries and his dad and his sister’s Pisces. If this is not the universe telling me something, then I don’t know what is.

I’m quite impressed with this Ian because it’s a very rare occurrence to find someone to have an intelligent conversation with. I became even more impressed when I found out how old he is towards the end of our conversation – he’s only 20! Could you believe it? All along, I though he was in his late 20’s or early 30’s with his level of maturity. Most 20-year-olds I know have nothing but sex and video games in their heads!

Don’t get me wrong though, we’re just friends. Absolutely no hanky-panky business involved!

Anyways, enough about me and my New Age babble. I’m still psyched about seeing Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire at Rockwell last night. The movie was just awesome! Hmm, I wonder if Harry Potter readers are as psyched about it as I am. I’ve never read a single Harry Potter book. I don’t know why but I guess there’s a reason.

Now that I think about it, I think I know what the answer is...

I’ve always been a big fan of Tom Clancy’s work. Every book that he’s written on the Jack Ryan line, I have a copy of it and I’ve read it in a week or less. My record time is 2 days for Without Remorse, which also happens to be my favorite book from the series.

As a kid, I was bored out of my mind when my dad insisted that we watch The Hunt for Red October. When I was a little bit older, I was able to watch the film again and thought that it was okay. After I got acquainted with Tom Clancy’s novels, I seriously thought that the films sucked (except for Clear and Present Danger because they had John Clark’s character in it – it’s pretty obvious that John Clark’s my favorite character, right?).

I hated what they did with Sum of All Fears! Jack’s not supposed to be William Cabot’s protégée because he abhorred Cabot! The film lost the intricacies of the subplots due to the budgetary and time restraints that the director probably faced. I left the theater seriously disappointed. The only consolation that I had was a hunkier John Clark (played by Liev Schreiber) ;p

Living It Up Ala Sex and The City

I’ve been talking to Martin today via e-mail and our correspondences have become very personal over the past week. Today he wrote that he’s tired of kindergarten relationships and I know exactly what he means. How could I not know? I’ve been there and done that from cheap thrills and one-night stands to pseudo-relationships.

Don’t we all look forward to being in a loving, stable and committed relationship? I certainly do. Although, I must admit that for a time I was enthralled with the ‘Sex and the City’ lifestyle. I just came out of a failed relationship that was just too painful to handle. I know I should’ve confronted the resulting heartbreak but I didn’t. I just didn’t want to deal with it, especially since I just started with my first job.

I remember that we were in training and I found it hard to concentrate on what was being discussed. I was seated at the back of the room with my newly found friends. I would often stare into space and just let a million random things run through my head. My thoughts would suddenly go back to Jay and I’d just be so broken up in an instant. My friend John would see what’s happening and “he” could just tell that something’s wrong with me. I don’t know how many times I’ve cried my eyes out in front of “him.” John’s gay, by the way.

I was a very big fan of Sex and the City when it first came out. Pretty soon, I was channeling Carrie Bradshaw, Samantha Jones, Charlotte York and Miranda Hobbes into me as they all resonate different facets of my personality. I was able to relate to Carrie the most because in a way, we were in a similar situation – the writer that fell for the guy that was so wrong for her.

The SATC lifestyle, aside from looking very fabulous, there’s just something about it that felt liberating for me. Everybody seemed carefree at times and dilly-dallied into unpredictable and hilarious situations. Liberating, in the sense that it seemed like heartaches are a million miles away. It worked for a time until the reality of it all hit me – it left me feeling empty and shallow.

That realization finally forced me to face what I’ve been putting off for the longest time. It’s not easy mending a heart that had been trampled on by the person you loved the most. But it’s even harder to continue leading a life full of facades.

I’m okay now. I’m at peace with myself and with the universe, taking everything one day at a time. I trust the infinite wisdom of the Universe on what it has in store for me. My only wish is that I don’t grow up to be as old as Carrie, Samantha, Charlotte and Miranda before I find the kind of loving, stable and committed relationship that I’m looking for.

Attack of the Garfield Syndrome

I'm just so bored at work today. Probably because I didn't get my 8 hours of zzz's. It was my fault anyway - I stayed up late to finish my journal entry. What I would give for last week's two-working day event would have a repeat! I hate Mondays!

My German's progressing real well. Martin's helping me relearn what I've unlearned since I finished Deutsch 101 last year. Glad to have found an excellent text book from Booksale in Megamall last Friday. It contained the exact information I was looking for. Still a lot of work ahead of me, though, if I want to polish my Deutsch fluency by the time the next FSO exam comes along. Maybe I should get tested for Deutsch proficiency at Goethe Institut as well.

Speaking of last Friday, I had so much fun going to another gimik with Cathy and Jewel. Too bad Kestrel's still in London. We would've had much fun if she were around - not to mention a lot more things to talk about. I wonder what's happened to her braggart-of-a-boyfriend Miki.
Cathy had to leave early as she had a story to file. She got to our rendezvous an hour later than what we've set as she came from Kalaw to cover a rally. Jewel arrived several minutes after Cathy but stayed behind to help me shop. The strap of my thong sandals broke while I was walking from the bathroom to Gloria Jean's. Aargh!

It took me a while to find a good pair of sandals to replace the one that got broken. I visited several boutiques - Cardam's, Wade, Itti, Mendrez but didn't find any style to my liking so I dragged Jewel to come with me to the department store. I finally settled for this red wedge sandal from Janeo. I was on a budget as well and good thing that it only set me back by Php298. It was supposed to be Php299 but the cashier gave me an additional 1% discount after I told them that the salesperson made a mistake with the price sticker on the box. I was shocked when the cashier punched in Php450 on the cash register and my initial reaction was to make a fuss about it. Good thing the whole thing got resolved in less than 5 minutes.

After I got the sandals, Jewel and I proceeded to window shop. I was now helping her find the ever-elusive little black dress that she plans to wear on her 1 year anniversary dinner with Robert. She found the perfect one several months back but decided not to buy it. Now, she's absolutely regretting not buying it because we couldn't find anything that looks good on her. Don't worry Dearie, we'll keep searching for it!

We dropped by St. Francis Square Tiangge before going home and happened to bump into my high school friends D and Cher. They were on their way to Podium to watch a film included in the Cinemanila Film Festival. We chit chatted for a little while before we all went our separate ways.

Sunday, I found myself in Megamall the whole day for the second consecutive time. This time around, I'm meeting up with Meg and Iza, my old co-workers from Sykes. Good thing I brought my book along with me because both of them were an hour late!

When they finally got to our meeting place, I forgot about how annoyed I was because I haven't seen these people for over 6 months! We had a lot to talk about since there have been many changes since I last saw them. Iza's now teaching at San Sebastian College and she's expecting to finish her Masteral degree in Archaeology in 1 1/2 years. Meg is happilly single and is thriving at her current job.

We decided to watch a movie since we didn't really feel like going home early. The only movie that all of us still haven't watched was 'The 40-Year-Old Virgin' and voted unanimously for a 'Yay!' It was just hilarious and we couldn't stop laughing non-stop. Iza kept teasing Meg about picking up some pointers from the movie since she's still a virgin ;p

There's this one guy - I forgot what the character's name is- that just reminded me of Martin. The tall guy that works in the stock room with curly brown hair and tattoos on his arms. He's the same built as Martin and I couldn't stop missing Martin after the movie ended :(

I surprised Martin by sending him a text message and his responses just made my day ;p Bis bald und mach's gut sweetie!

A New Family Tradition

I had such a blast last night! My two younger sisters and I met up with my cousins Noel, Ralph and Paul at our Uncle Bien's house for a little party. My sister Angelee's requested for everybody to go out for a drink when she graduated from high school. That was about two years ago and last night was the only time we were able to manage to pin down everybody on a weekend.

I arrived at Uncle Bien's house past 8 pm from my monthly girls day/night out with Jewel and Cathy. When I got there, our other uncle, Uncle Lloyd, was seated on the couch impatiently waiting for my three cousins to arrive. My sister Angelee was the next person to arrive. My sister Louise and her boyfriend Alex arrived about an hour or so after Angelee.

It was around 9:30 pm when my Noel, Ralph and Paul arrived. We started the party shortly after that. It was just awesome - lots of beer, lots of junk food and we were able to teach the others how to play Texas Hold 'Em (it's a variant of Poker). The best part is that we were playing for a small amount of money. Probably, the only time that sucked throughout the entire event was when I lost because the others didn't fall for my bluff!!! Aargh!!!

Anyways, I'll definitely get back at them the next time this happens. Uncle Bien's suggested that we start a new family tradition - Family Poker Night every month! And next time, we're going all out with the betting! ;p

About Yesterday's Post

I've been thinking about the whole Cofi Bean thing. I know that I've written some very harsh words but I just don't regret it. This guy/gay totally deserves it and "it" (that's what me and my friends call homosexuals that we don't like. The logic behind it is that they're neither a he nor a she so it's automatically an "it") had it coming.

I think he needs more than just someone busting its chops with words. Somebody needs to force feed a million tons of humble pie to this individual. Humble pie with a 9" diameter and delivered via an IV tube. If you think cod liver oil injected on the gluteus maximus is extremely painful, wait'll you experience this utterly painful torture technique ;p

Again, the thoughts I've just expressed is a direct violation of Wicca's basic tenet of harming none, I know, but may the God and the Goddess forgive me.

Our friend Kestrel could certainly teach this individual lessons in humility. Kestrel's family is filthy rich (proof: she's studying to be a rocket scientist, literally speaking okay, in London and her parents pay for everything from her tuition fee to her allowance, her flat and her desires like her long blond hair. Her hair requires regular visits to the salon for touch ups) and not once did I nor Cathy nor Jewel ever heard her boast to us about her status. She knows that she doesn't have to prove it to us or to other people. She just knows that she is and that's that.

I've showed the blog to my other co-workers and they all are as equally annoyed as I was at first. They theorize that it must be some sick tripping of his. I really don't know if what he wrote is supposed to be funny but to me it is just so appalling.

We all have the right to express ourselves as guaranteed by the First Amendment BUT I don't think that the right to free speech would extend to the point wherein an individual is already denigrating others. Especially people who have done you no wrong.

I remember one of my lessons in religion class back when I was still studying in St. Scho - one's freedom ends when it is starting to infringe on another individual's freedom. It's what's called "freedom with responsibility."

I'm now wondering what type of parenting this individual had. I'm also left wondering if this is the kind of attitude we would want to impart on our children.

To me, this individual is a direct reflection of, a microcosm of the world that we currently live in - a world where intolerance and ignorance run amuck. My only hope is that we'd be able to turn things around before it's too late lest we fulfill Thomas Hobbes' vision of the Leviathan - a world of anarchy, darkness and despair.

Right now, I no longer feel the initial anger I had yesterday. Today, it has been replaced with pity. Pity because this person is blessed with such material wealth (or at least "it" says "it" is) but has been denied the gift of having full intellectual capacity.

After this post, I will no longer devote any of my time or my energy writing about this fool. I'll just let the universal justice or karma run its course.

Would somebody kill COFI BEAN? Or at least shut this mofo up?

My friend brought this individual's blog to my attention - Cofi Bean.

Under normal circumstances, I am perceived as the cool, calm and collected pacifist but this guy (or is it gay?) really ticked me off the moment I started to read the contents of his blog. He's even worse than the flatulent Mike Abundo. At least this guy (Mike) looks or seems as if he's got a single brain cell working. Cofi Bean could also be in the same league as Miki (Kestrel's Japanese boyfriend) in terms of their prowess for boasting about things that they have.

Honestly people, could this guy/gay be any more moronic? To top it off, he's whining like a freaking bitch over the most mundane things! Dude (if you really are a dude), you sound like a closet queen or a trannie at best.

Listen you standgebläße, if you want to sound coño then you better learn how to have a good grasp of either the English language or Tagalog then stick to one language throughout the entire post. NEVER mix both. You're bastardizing both languages with what you're doing! And while you're at it, it'd be a splendid idea if you'd hire permanent teachers for personality development and intelligence for yourself. Oh and your grammar just sucks big time.

You say you're the bomb? Oh right, yes, you certainly are.

STINK BOMB!!!

What's up with this bitch's shithole? What's your beef with call center agents? Seriously speaking, they (call center agents) prolly talk with a lot more sense than you ever will.

There, I've said my piece and my temper is no longer raging. Watch out for karma in this life or on the next one because it's sure to bite you in the ass.