I had a dream this morning and it was about you.
It was a typical day and we decided to have lunch together. We wanted to eat somewhere special.. seafood? We drove to Makati using my car (--> why is it always my car??) and along the way, I saw mom crossing the street, probably headed towards the department store.
The restaurant we were supposed to eat in was fairly far... like we parked in Glorietta but the place was at Greenbelt. It was already 1230 that time so we knew we had to hurry. Inside the building, there were many establishments and we got into the wrong floor. That floor (2nd, I think) was like a chapel and the people there were interrogating us... delaying us or something.
I heard you give a false name and other info. It was funny. I went back down to the lobby to look for the floor the restaurant was located. It was on the 9th floor but the elevators only went up to the 7th so we had to climb the entire 2 floors.
You were finally able to escape their questioning routines and we got back up to the elevators. On the 7th floor, they weren't stairs.. instead there was a big wall with those things poking out of it.. like a wall-climbing area. Being hungry and all, we didn't put up much of a fight. I fell at the last few steps but managed to grab hold onto one of the bigger pieces. You fell as well but instead was hanging upside down. It was funny. hehehe!
It was already 1PM and we didn't get to eat at that restaurant. We knew we had to hurry back as we had appointments by 2PM. We were at the entrance of the building and I was sweaty and panting. I wanted to change my clothes but I left mine in the car. I was looking at the time and I heard you come to me from behind. I looked back and saw your glorious torso... I swear I swooned at the sight of you shirtless. I was already feeling lightheaded from the lack of food and your god-like body, tingling with sweat, even made my knees weak. Oh dear god, save me.
We had to hurry back to the car and at this time we were separated. I ran to get my things and change back into more decent and presentable clothing. We didn't exactly meet up as planned but managed to get into the car and drive somewhere safe. We stopped for a while and you had to change. I was forcing myself to keep calm and act ladylike.. really! We were talking about the fact that we could not make it back so we decided to take it easy instead.
We were looking at pictures in a camera that I was holding and I was laughing at something in the picture. You wanted to see it but I would not give it to you. There was a bit of resistance and after a few moments of laughter and teasing, I suddenly found myself flung against your chest. The swooning returns. I wanted to move away but you wouldn't let me. We faced each other and all I knew was that we were kissing. SCORED!
I was the happiest woman alive (or sleeping)! *punches through the air*
We got back and I told you I will just get my stuff and then we could leave. It took me more time than usual and I was running in a hurry to get back to you.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I woke up with a stupid and surprised smile on my face... now that's a dream I would want to live!
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Moment of Weakness
Allow me this moment of weakness. It's been a day since we got back from Tokyo. The transition from pleasurable bliss to depressing piles of work was too much. I feel like I've been harshly pulled down from cloud nine, without any remorse for the confusion of my mental and psychological state..
haha, andrama!
I struggled this morning to serve in this morning's mass. And then I went back to sleep and woke up again sweaty and with a sense of unease. I worked half-heartedly, my laptop went on blue screen as it struggled to download 100++ emails. It was a relatively uneventful day. Can we wait till tomorrow to get things in its momentum??
haha, andrama!
I struggled this morning to serve in this morning's mass. And then I went back to sleep and woke up again sweaty and with a sense of unease. I worked half-heartedly, my laptop went on blue screen as it struggled to download 100++ emails. It was a relatively uneventful day. Can we wait till tomorrow to get things in its momentum??
Saturday, April 12, 2008
We are go! Tokyo, Japan
I finally did the last of errands for our trip to Tokyo. Me, Patrick and Anne will embark on our first ever journey *alone* on the eclectic, fashionable, modern, funky, historic, cultural and trendsetter capital in North East Asia. Dad decided to book us on a package tour to Tokyo and extend one day for our own sightseeing in Kyoto. All in all, it will be 4 nights and 5 days exploring and cam-whoring on the streets of Tokyo, the slopes of Mt. Fuji and the temples of Kyoto.
Being 23, 21 and 19 years old respectively, dad deemed us old and mature(?) enough to travel on our own. That and the fact that my sister and I can speak kick-ass Japanese (disclaimer: kickass in this context refers to our capacity to speak basic statements and questions, understand grade school level Japanese as well as read hiragana, katakana and kanji), mom and dad are pretty confident we wouldn't head towards disaster of finding ourselves suddenly in Nagoya or Okinawa. My brother's forte? Spanish.. mwehehehe! Not the least bit helpful... maybe he'll get to see some Spanish tourists and chat with them.
Being the O.C. among us, I already did some research on the places we want to go.. even to the tiniest details of which station we should get off! I had help from some of the people I work with in Japan and Miho-chan was gracious enough to help me out with the Shinkansen schedules from Tokyo to Kyoto. One of my colleagues in the office, Ian, had a trip to Tokyo as well and gave me some travellers' tips and pointers on how to scale the biggest and one of the most expensive cities in the world. In return, I will buy some camera accessories for him in Akihabara. ^_^ Fair enough deal.
~~~~The road to tickets, visas and JR Passes~~~~
I bought the tickets as well as exchange coupons for the JR Pass. A JR Pass is an all-you-can-ride ticket on all JR Lines for a limited time (7, 14, 21-day) only for tourists. Japanese are not entitled to this privilege. This is very cheap and convenient especially if you plan to go to other places in Japan such as Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, etc. A round-trip shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto costs the same as a 7-day JR Pass. Because we also plan to go around Tokyo via trains, sobrang sulit kami! It will cost us lining up at the ticket booth and going through the machines. We just show our passes to the Manong Guard and we are off!
We got our visas in record time! We got it the same week we submitted it. Hmm, maybe because I already went to Japan and we already had Schengen visas on our passports. A first timer will have to wait at least a week before the visa is released.
~~~~We plan to go here!~~~~
On the 5 days we are there, we plan to go to these places:
1. Imperial Palace - the seat of the oldest monarchy in the world. The gardens are told to be one of the best showcases of Japanese traditional minimalist designs as well as the unique architectural structures of Edo Castle, Nijubashi bridge and some temples. A photo op here is a must!
2. Ginza - the shopping district of Tokyo! Has the trendiest styles and fashion as well as designer labels are here.
3. Harajuku - a must for gothic, emo, anime cosplay and elegant gothic lolita styles! My sister and I are avid cosplayers and this is our mecca! Shops here also include very weird, eccentric and out-of-this world styles.
4. Shinjuku - where the famous crossing is! We plan to take a picture right smack in the middle. A combination of modern and futuristic skyscrapers and buildings as well as the Red Light district at night! oh yeah, yebah!
5. Akihabara - electronics and otaku district! Known for a lot of electronics and gadgets and cheap-o accessories, as well as anime mechandise (gundam models, costumes, manga)... one could not be satisfied with just a day!
6. Asakusa/ Ueno - this area is where old Tokyo is preserved. Temples and zen gardens are a must!
7. Tsukiji Market - the biggest fish market in Japan! Auctions here start as early as 430 in the morning and all kinds of sea creatures (edible of course!) are here for sale! There are many very nice sushi shops in the area that guarantee the freshest fish and sea delicacies.
8. Mt. Fuji - Japan's most sacred mountain. A shinkansen away from Tokyo that brings us to the Onsen (hot spring) town of Hakone. We will also take a ferry ride to Ashi lake and take a cable car.
9. Kyoto - cultural capital of Japan! We plan to take the first shinkansen ride going there and take a scenic route (with a view of Mt. Fuji on our windows!). Take a temple overload tour before going home late in the afternoon.
~~~~Cam-whoring sessions~~~~
Being cam-whores that we are, we plan to bring 2 cameras to capture every adventure for 5 days! That and a ton of SD cards waiting to be crammed with pictures of buildings, temples, shrines, cosplayers, trains and scenic places. Good thing we have the same brand of camera so we'll just share the charger.
As if that isn't enough, we plan to bring a laptop with a lot of free GB to store our photos just so we can be confident the next day that we will not run out of memory!!!
~~~~Who needs rest?!?~~~~
We are all mentally prepared to make the best of this trip. This includes waking up early in the morning to catch a glimpse of the rising sun (after all, Japan is the land of the rising sun!) and end the day full of stories to tell and pictures to view. I told them to stash a lot of energy drinks, vitamin c and power bars along the way. Bawal ang papatay-patay at ang magreklamo na pagod na! The hotel room is just a place where we dump all our stuff, take a shower and sleep. Nothing more! Wear comfy shoes (no heels please!) and casual clothing.
Being 23, 21 and 19 years old respectively, dad deemed us old and mature(?) enough to travel on our own. That and the fact that my sister and I can speak kick-ass Japanese (disclaimer: kickass in this context refers to our capacity to speak basic statements and questions, understand grade school level Japanese as well as read hiragana, katakana and kanji), mom and dad are pretty confident we wouldn't head towards disaster of finding ourselves suddenly in Nagoya or Okinawa. My brother's forte? Spanish.. mwehehehe! Not the least bit helpful... maybe he'll get to see some Spanish tourists and chat with them.
Being the O.C. among us, I already did some research on the places we want to go.. even to the tiniest details of which station we should get off! I had help from some of the people I work with in Japan and Miho-chan was gracious enough to help me out with the Shinkansen schedules from Tokyo to Kyoto. One of my colleagues in the office, Ian, had a trip to Tokyo as well and gave me some travellers' tips and pointers on how to scale the biggest and one of the most expensive cities in the world. In return, I will buy some camera accessories for him in Akihabara. ^_^ Fair enough deal.
~~~~The road to tickets, visas and JR Passes~~~~
I bought the tickets as well as exchange coupons for the JR Pass. A JR Pass is an all-you-can-ride ticket on all JR Lines for a limited time (7, 14, 21-day) only for tourists. Japanese are not entitled to this privilege. This is very cheap and convenient especially if you plan to go to other places in Japan such as Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, etc. A round-trip shinkansen from Tokyo to Kyoto costs the same as a 7-day JR Pass. Because we also plan to go around Tokyo via trains, sobrang sulit kami! It will cost us lining up at the ticket booth and going through the machines. We just show our passes to the Manong Guard and we are off!
We got our visas in record time! We got it the same week we submitted it. Hmm, maybe because I already went to Japan and we already had Schengen visas on our passports. A first timer will have to wait at least a week before the visa is released.
~~~~We plan to go here!~~~~
On the 5 days we are there, we plan to go to these places:
1. Imperial Palace - the seat of the oldest monarchy in the world. The gardens are told to be one of the best showcases of Japanese traditional minimalist designs as well as the unique architectural structures of Edo Castle, Nijubashi bridge and some temples. A photo op here is a must!
2. Ginza - the shopping district of Tokyo! Has the trendiest styles and fashion as well as designer labels are here.
3. Harajuku - a must for gothic, emo, anime cosplay and elegant gothic lolita styles! My sister and I are avid cosplayers and this is our mecca! Shops here also include very weird, eccentric and out-of-this world styles.
4. Shinjuku - where the famous crossing is! We plan to take a picture right smack in the middle. A combination of modern and futuristic skyscrapers and buildings as well as the Red Light district at night! oh yeah, yebah!
5. Akihabara - electronics and otaku district! Known for a lot of electronics and gadgets and cheap-o accessories, as well as anime mechandise (gundam models, costumes, manga)... one could not be satisfied with just a day!
6. Asakusa/ Ueno - this area is where old Tokyo is preserved. Temples and zen gardens are a must!
7. Tsukiji Market - the biggest fish market in Japan! Auctions here start as early as 430 in the morning and all kinds of sea creatures (edible of course!) are here for sale! There are many very nice sushi shops in the area that guarantee the freshest fish and sea delicacies.
8. Mt. Fuji - Japan's most sacred mountain. A shinkansen away from Tokyo that brings us to the Onsen (hot spring) town of Hakone. We will also take a ferry ride to Ashi lake and take a cable car.
9. Kyoto - cultural capital of Japan! We plan to take the first shinkansen ride going there and take a scenic route (with a view of Mt. Fuji on our windows!). Take a temple overload tour before going home late in the afternoon.
~~~~Cam-whoring sessions~~~~
Being cam-whores that we are, we plan to bring 2 cameras to capture every adventure for 5 days! That and a ton of SD cards waiting to be crammed with pictures of buildings, temples, shrines, cosplayers, trains and scenic places. Good thing we have the same brand of camera so we'll just share the charger.
As if that isn't enough, we plan to bring a laptop with a lot of free GB to store our photos just so we can be confident the next day that we will not run out of memory!!!
~~~~Who needs rest?!?~~~~
We are all mentally prepared to make the best of this trip. This includes waking up early in the morning to catch a glimpse of the rising sun (after all, Japan is the land of the rising sun!) and end the day full of stories to tell and pictures to view. I told them to stash a lot of energy drinks, vitamin c and power bars along the way. Bawal ang papatay-patay at ang magreklamo na pagod na! The hotel room is just a place where we dump all our stuff, take a shower and sleep. Nothing more! Wear comfy shoes (no heels please!) and casual clothing.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Of Careers and Soccer Moms
Not so long ago, a very close friend of mine and I went to an old friend's wedding. Old friend meaning we have known that person since we were this small. We got there a little early so we had this small chat...
Her: Did you expect Mia to be the first one to get married among us? (us = our little band of friends way back in grade school)
Me: Well, I didn't expect her to be the last... I always thought she would be the career-driven one among us.
Her: Who did you think will get married first?
Me: Andrew (God bless your soul). But before he passed away, he was the one who had a small business. Hardly what you would think he'd do after graduation.
Her: Ah, Andrew! Me too... he had this attitude of a happy-go-lucky guy back in high school.
Me: So, who do you think will be the last one to get married and settle down?
Her: *immediately* You.
Me: ..huh??...
Her: Yeah, among all of us, you were the most determined to be successful careerwoman. I kinda noticed it in grade school.
Me: w-wha...? *grade school?!?*
Her: *nodding her head* You were the aggressive type. Headstrong, I suppose.. and you intimidated a lot of guys in high school. Nag-taekwondo ka pa.
Me: *scratches head* Ah, ganun ba?
Her: Why? You don't believe that we think like that of you?
Me: Well.. *clears throat*.. my dream in life was actually to be a housewife..
Her: Ganun?!?
Me: Yeah.. soccer mom too. I wanna drive my kids to soccer matches, tennis lessons and watch them play in my folding chair.
Her: *scratches head* Ohh... nagulat ako dun ah. But you're so focused on your career now.. you work for a multinational company. You say you even work on holidays and weekends.
Me: ahh... kasi naman demanding yung job eh.. anyway, I guess I'm like this right now kasi we're at this phase where we have no obligation to people other than ourselves. I like spending money and one way to earn it is to work. I work because I'm enjoying the lifestyle I have right now.
Her: Selfish as it seems, you're correct. Ganun din ako.
Me: Yup! Pero I don't want to be like this for the rest of my life. It's just a stepping stone.
Her: So, you're now learning how to cook?
Me: Cook?!? Dear god, no! I can't cook to save my life!
Her: *huge sweatdrop*
**Names have been changed to protect their identity. =P
Saturday, April 05, 2008
Customer service daw o!
Mom and I drove to Dusit Hotel to get our Japan Visas. We also finalized the trip to Japan and all we had to do was deposit the money so we could get the ticket and get our JR Pass as well. Turns out the travel agent we were talking to was a ditz. She kept forgetting things and we had to remind her every.single.freakin.thing. that she was supposed to give us in the first place. We are so not getting her again!
We bought some groceries and medicine before going to Honda to pick up the civic. Yey! The hood was replaced and the scratches were repainted. But we found out later that there was a spray of white paint on the trunk. Stupid QA team from Honda! They released our car with white paint on our trunk!
I was comparing the service between here and in other countries and I can really say that customer service really had gone down a few notches. "Customer is king" isn't much practiced here anymore and it's really so frustrating.. it's like talking to a bunch of idiots... really!
I dunno... I guess today isn't a day for customers like us who wanted good service. I wasn't expecting top quality but just to give us what we need...
We bought some groceries and medicine before going to Honda to pick up the civic. Yey! The hood was replaced and the scratches were repainted. But we found out later that there was a spray of white paint on the trunk. Stupid QA team from Honda! They released our car with white paint on our trunk!
I was comparing the service between here and in other countries and I can really say that customer service really had gone down a few notches. "Customer is king" isn't much practiced here anymore and it's really so frustrating.. it's like talking to a bunch of idiots... really!
I dunno... I guess today isn't a day for customers like us who wanted good service. I wasn't expecting top quality but just to give us what we need...
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