| Tuesday, March 27, 2007 |
| State of Paranoia |
I'm writing this entry at around 4:30 AM. It's my first night on support and I received 6 tickets (ang saya saya!). Good thing there are people in the office who's working onsite. But in the next couple of nights, they won't be there =( So another week of sleepless nights huhuhu. This is my second time on support. I don't think my secondary support has that much patience to bear with me given that I'm just a newbie (I wish I'm wrong huhu). By the way, the month-end jobs will run this weekend so wish me luck.
Aargh! I wish it's Monday again so that I could turn this over to the next night support. In the meantime, I'll pray for a miracle so that I won't get paged. |
posted by subhuman @ 4:27 AM  |
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| Sunday, March 25, 2007 |
| On Friendship |
I am feeling quite disappointed nowadays because I feel that 2 of my closest HS friends have chosen to cut their communication from me. I don't know if I'm being sensitive about it and just over-reacting.
I am picky in choosing my friends. But once I become friends with somebody, I'm very loyal and will do my best to save my relationship with that person. As a friend, I also do my best to let the other person know that I'm there.
I've had a lot of so-called best friends before but since people changed and we drifted apart, I decided to remove that kind of exclusivity as it would only hurt me if I have that kind of expectation in a friend. It's enough for me to know that I have people whom I can run to when I need a shoulder to cry on and someone whom I can laugh with. It's also flattering that someone would entrust me with their deepest secrets and I really valued the trust that they gave me. It means a lot to me and I'm happy with that.
A true test of friendship is how it would survive inspite the distance and the phases that we go through. I'm still glad that I still have some friends whom I still get in touch even if we're located in different countries. And that's enough reason for me to smile still =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:01 PM |
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| Thank you for the music! |
| I'm just happy this weekend because Agri bought a radio. Finally, there's music in our house (at hindi na lang ako ang kumakanta)! We are now avid listeners of Fly FM here in Malaysia. Since the music yesterday are mostly hiphop dance music, I became inspired staying at home and did a lot of household chores - cleaned almost the whole house and ironed my clothes (which I hate doing hehe). See? I am really happy! =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 10:55 PM |
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| Need to lose weight |
I came from a medical checkup yesterday and my gastro-enterologist advised me to lose weight because I gained a few pounds since my last checkup. It served as a wakeup call for me because I have been out of focus with what I eat and exercise recently.
I spoke to Ate Aileen who shed off a few pounds and she gave me some tips on how to lose weight. I have also asked my friends around me to help me watch my progress. They say that it would be best if I have committed something to my friends to stay focused on my weight loss.
Well, wish me luck. I'm now beginning to monitor what I eat and what I do. Then compute the calories that I consume and burn (gamit ang BS Math degree ko nito hehe). |
| posted by subhuman @ 10:47 PM |
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| Wednesday, March 21, 2007 |
| Letting Go and Moving On.. |
Catchy title huh? No, I'm not referring to that love thingy.. I was talking to a friend earlier and she's having mixed emotions about moving out. Her apartment is special for her because it's her first apartment away from home and it brought her a lot of good memories and learning experiences. This reminded me of the previous experiences where I began to live independently and felt being an adult.
I've lived in 2 places that I considered special for me, the dormitory and our home in Phoenix. It was my first time to be away from home when I stayed in the dormitory. Given that I'm an only child, my social skills were put into test. I learned not to think only about myself but to become sensitive to others as well. It was a great experience for me because I found out what its like to have sisters like them - someone whom I can lean on in times of need. Of course, there were a lot of fun moments too - from our jamming sessions where Kitchie is playing the guitar and the times when we're stalking our campus crush (whoops!).
After 3 1/2 years of staying in the dormitory, it was hard leaving a place which I considered my second home. I remember that as I took my stuff from my dorm when I graduated, I had some mixed emotions about it - sad because I'm leaving a place full of great memories but at the same time, scared but nervous because I'll be starting to look for a job and pursue a career in IT. At that time, the dorm management have decided to close the dorm as it did not pass the safety standards because we were almost got burnt once. It was re-opened again but it was renovated so all the places that we used to hangout were removed :( Since we're all pursuing our chosen careers, my dormmates and I rarely see each other and I miss the bonding moments that we used to have.
The other instance where I had a blast was during onshore. It was a true test of independence - I am a thousand miles away from my parents, living in a new environment, drive my own car, have to do my household chores like cooking, ironing my clothes and sorting my things (fortunately we have a housekeeper to clean our apartment every 2 weeks) and I learned how to manage my finances. Also, I learned to really depend on others and build a healthy relationship with them since they serve as my family away from home. And of course, who can forget all the roadtrips that we have and all the bloopers that we have. I can compare our experience to Pinoy Big Brother except that we're not stuck inside a house and nobody watches our every move. The contestants (housemates) learned to rely on each other to survive and every experience may seem like a challenge, but eventually, in those challenges I found out a lot of things about myself. And of course, during eviction, its hard for everyone because someone is leaving a world that might not exists again (I hope I was able to express what I really wanted to say here) and go back to the real world once again. I cried as I boarded the plane in Phoenix going to LA because I'll be leaving my life there, but excited because I'll be with my family and friends again. A few months after our onshore assignment, most of my batchmates left the company for Singapore and for my remaining onshore batchmates, I didn't have the same closeness that I used to have way back when we were in Phoenix.
I was lucky to be given a chance to go onshore and it was indeed living in a dream - the American dream, too good to be true. A lot of my colleagues have requested to go back because the experience was so good, they wanted to experience it again. I have convinced myself that once should be enough and that I should learn to let go. If not, I'll be probably one of those people who's still waiting to be sent onshore, stuck in my old job and will miss a lot of career opportunities (and in life as well).
My experiences now here in Malaysia may not be as fun during onshore but I could say that I have learned a lot this time - doing the household chores, paying the bills, looking for an apartment, managing my finances (for real), adjusting to a new workplace and working with a very diverse culture.
I still don't know until when I'll be staying here in Malaysia but just like what I did in the past, I would treasure every minute that I spend and cherish the relationship that I've built because I wouldn't know if we're still that close in the future. I guess that would be the real test of our friendship. And once the time comes that it's time for me to move on, I'll just look forward and be thankful that I have built friendships and remember all the lessons that I learned.
So Gen, I wish you good luck on your new apartment. It maybe bittersweet for you to leave that apartment since its very special for you. But you can only move on once you let go of the past. =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 10:52 PM |
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| Tuesday, March 20, 2007 |
| My Housemates |
 It's been a long time since I arrived here in Malaysia and I realized that I haven't told about my housemates. So now, I'm writing an article about them. A lot of people around us think that me and my housemates have different personalities. Agri is the comedienne, Mars is the outgoing one while I am the singer. Inspite of that, we still jive with each other.
Mars, Agri and I used to work in the same project from my previous company. Mars and I were supposed to become housemates in Makati but it didn't push through due to our situation back then. When I learned that she'll be working in Malaysia, I asked her to become my housemate and she agreed. A month later, Agri joined us to be a part of the triumvirate of Unit 1302B.
Mars and Agri have a lot of things in common - they are both in their early 30s (o hayan, binuking ko na ang mga edad nyo hahahaha), devout born-again Christians, used to belong in the same team in our my previous project and are the eldest in the family (well, I'm the eldest too considering that I'm an only child). But the similarities only stops there.
Agri is the eldest among the three of us. She is our mother because she wakes up early to cook our lunch and prepare our baon. She seems to be intimidating at first because she has a strong personality; she's brutally frank and she is a human megaphone... but she's loveable. She is a very funny in fact she's the class clown when she's a student (kailan pa kaya yun? hahaha). Everyone loves her because she's not afraid to be herself, especially when she sings videoke (she doesn't need a mic because her voice is already loud), watches Korean novela (she knows all the Korean famous artist and their songs even if she can't understand a word), drools for her celebrity crushes, and cracks a joke (panalo ang mga hirit nyan). There's no dull moment with her.
 Mars is an expert in cooking amongst the three of us. We always consult her when it comes to cooking. She's an adventurer and loves outdoor sports like hiking (she's a mounteneer), white water rafting and camping. She's also the queen of extra curricular activities as she loves to meet new people and to organize events. In fact, she spearheaded their team's Christmas decoration last year where they won. She loves to join anything that allows her to express her creativity. In fact, she's the one who encouraged us to join the Project Runway in Scope during our company's Merdeka celebration.
My housemates and I usually hang out in the common area. We are all couch potatoes, since we don't have a cable, we even watch the Chinese dubbed Korean telenovelas even if we dont understand a word. We love to chat and joke around. Agri is a very good storyteller, in fact she almost joined a theater group before. Agri and Mars always argue because they have different opinions, especially when it comes to marriage and its amusing when I hear them argue. Also, they're also good when it comes to giving advises.
I'm lucky to have them as my housemates. Maybe its because they're mature enough to deal with things. They are my family away from home. They are the reason why I don't feel homesick while I'm here in Malaysia. I'm thankful to have you gals. Mwah! =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 10:54 PM |
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| Monday, March 19, 2007 |
| Looking forward... |
A few weeks from now, my parents will be here. Actually, its been a long time that they really wanted to go here. What keeps them from coming here is the fact that nobody will be left in our house to take care of it. Since my cousins Jen and Eloisa are on school break beginning this March, they took it as an opportunity to go here. They will arrive here on March 31 and will leave on April 25, a day before their 27th wedding anniversary (bakit kaya atat silang umuwi? heheheh).
I came from MATTA fair earlier and got a good package going to Langkawi. We're planning to go there on one weekend (depending if my boss would allow me but I hope he would). I also plan of going to Genting Highlands and stay overnight for them to experience a nightlife similar to Las Vegas. Other itineraries during their stay would include the Petronas Tower, Aquaria, Putra Jaya, Sultan Ismail building and KL Tower. Anyway, if they can travel on their own, they can go to Malacca and other places as well for a day trip.
Aside from this itinerary, one thing that I'm also excited about is to show them the lifestyle that I have here in Malaysia - from the unit where I live in, the places where I frequent (hmm mall?), the places where I dine and the friends who served as my family away from home.
Most importantly, its good to spend my time again with them. I admit that I miss the feeling of having someone who's taking care of me once in a while (especially now that I get to do everything here hehehe). I think most of the OFWs do.
So ma and pa, I'm really looking forward on having you here in Malaysia =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 12:00 AM |
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| Sunday, March 18, 2007 |
| Travel freaks |
Gen, Minnie and I went to the MATTA fair this weekend. MATTA fair stands for Malaysian Association of Tour and Travel Agents (MATTA). They have good package deals from domestic destinations to international. This fair is held semi-annually at the Putra World Trade Center.
In the previous MATTA fair, I went with Mars, Agri and Rey. I remember that we were all overwhelmed because of the good package deals and we can't help but get crazy getting the brochures that we have. There were also a program being staged where cultural dance number from different countries were performed. Of course, I was productive at that visit because I was able to get a good package deal for our Taman Negara (Malaysia's national rainforest) adventure last year.
Anyway, just like the previous one, we got crazy with all the package deals and hoarded a lot of brochures - especially for Korea and Australia =). Aside from a lot of brochures, I was able to get a good deal once again - this time, it's for Langkawi. Langkawi is the Boracay here in Malaysia. I'm planning to bring my parents there and Minnie is coming with us since the package that I availed is good for 4 people. I'm really excited about it that I'm starting to do my itinerary =).
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| posted by subhuman @ 11:05 PM |
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| Saturday, March 17, 2007 |
| Dreaming |
With the upcoming Graduate School and Education UK fair here in Malaysia, I started contemplating about this. Well I haven't really decided if I should pursue this given my financial obligation. I've seen a lot of people who were lucky to be given an opportunity to pursue a post grad degree abroad. I remember the experiences that Nina wrote to us in her email when she studied in Denmark - how she explored a country new to her, mingled with other nationalities and the confidence that it gave her, accepted diversity and those experiences that made her become a better person. Having a degree abroad would not only open opportunities professionally, it could be a great learning experience in life.
But let's face it, studying in Europe is really expensive and the chances of finding a scholarship is really slim. Most of the scholarships that I saw from Education UK are partial scholarships and would still require a lot of money. I know that finding a scholarship is really hard when I wanted to study in Europe. Marge, one of my friends, has been accepted in a university in Netherlands but she can't go there because she still needs to find a scholarship that could finance her studies.
I know that most people say not to give up easily even it it seems unattainable. Maybe I just don't have that much motivation to reach for that dream, and I still need to search for it. To all my friends who are reading this, any advice will be appreciated :) |
| posted by subhuman @ 11:50 AM |
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| Blooming state |
Gen and I were having a discussion yesterday on how most of our colleagues transformed physically when we left our previous job. Gen, for example, had her hair grown long. She said that she started to wear a skirt as well and shoes with heels. The same thing happened to me as well - I started wearing skirt in the office, became comfortable in wearing shoes with heels and wearing makeup. In other words, we expressed our feminity. When our friends in the Philippines saw our pictures, most of them would say "blooming ka" or "inspired ka, in love ka ba?". Of course, we would only laugh at those statements.
I remember the discussion that Debbie (my dormmate) and I had a few years back about this. When a person is in a "blooming" state, that person exudes an aura of happiness and contentment that he/she began to accept and love himself/herself. Because of this, that person attracts many people (just like a flower in bloom that attracts a lot of bees).
This is the reason why most people would say that in order to find a loved one, one must learn to love themselves first so that you can share that happiness that you have with someone. This is also where Niru's (my colleague here in Malaysia) advice applies - that I must look how a person takes care of himself so that I would know if he's capable of taking care of me as well. Makes sense right? =)
I don't know how to end this entry. I hope I was able to express myslelf clearly. This is just one of my thoughts that I really want to put here.
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| posted by subhuman @ 11:17 AM |
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| Thursday, March 15, 2007 |
| On Patriotism |
The senatorial election is fact approaching and a lot of emails, reminding people to vote wisely, have been circulating. It is a shame for me to admit that I haven't practice my right to vote. I wasn't able to elect in the presidential elections 3 years ago because I was on my onshore assignment. This time, I won't be able to vote again for the upcoming elections this May.
A lot of people may think that it won't be a big loss since it's always a loser who wins the elecitons (what an irony). But the thing is, I still believe that my vote could still make a difference. If only a lot of people could think this way and vote for who they think is the right candidate, then our country is worth living for.
I am not the type of person who knows nor understands the current events. I consider myself as an ignorant when it comes to these things. I don't know if its a good thing or not. I become oblivious when it comes to all the social issues that my country is facing.
Even though I'm currently working abroad, I still see myself of going back and growing old in my country. Being away from the Philipines made me appreciate of the country itself, the people and who we are. Wherever I go, I am proud to admit that I am a Filipino. I know that a lot of people won't agree with me since it is a trend for the Filipinos to migrate to another country. I just hope that this remnant of patriotism in me can still make a difference to my country. |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:59 AM |
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| No day but today |
Aside from Avenue Q, the other musical that I've been dying to watch is Rent. It is a musical created by Jonathan Larson based from the opera La Boheme. This musical is a phenomenon in Broadway and won the 1996 Tony Awards for Best Musical. It is sad that Jonathan Larson was not able to witness how his masterpiece became a phenomenon in Broadway because he died a few days before it was officially premiered. I watched this movie on film and almost caught it in Broadway. The big screen version featured most of the Broadway's original cast.
Rent tells the story of one year in the life of friends living the Bohemian life in modern day East Village, New York City, 1989-1990. Among the group are our narrator, nerdy love-struck filmmaker Mark Cohen; the object of Mark's affection, his former girlfriend, Maureen Johnson; Maureen's Harvard-educated public interest lawyer and lesbian lover Joanne Jefferson; Mark's roommate, HIV-positive musician and former junkie, Roger Davis; Roger's new girlfriend, the HIV-positive drug addicted S&M dancer, Mimi Marquez; their former roommate, HIV-positive computer genius Tom Collins; Collins' HIV-positive drag queen street musician/lover Angel; and Benjamin Coffin III, a former member of the group who married for money and has since become their landlord and the opposite of everything they stand for. (Summary taken from IMDB.com)
When I saw the movie, I fell in love with it and I can't help but sing to the lyrics of its songs. It is my biggest regret that I passed 2 opportunities to watch this musical - one when it was shown in Manila and the second one was in Broadway. I bought a soundtrack of this movie and even though I play it all over again, I don't get tired listening to it. Here are some famous lines of the songs from this musical that are meaningful to me:
Measure your life in love (actually the whole song - Seasons of Love deserves to be here)
There's only now, there's only here. Give in to love or live in fear. No other path, no other way, no day but today.
Forget regret, or life is yours to miss.
There are a lot of songs that are worth mentioning here not only because of the lyrics but for the musical arrangement as well. Seasons of Love is one of my all-time favorite songs. In fact, it is my dream to sing this song (kahit choowariwap lang) and good thing that we did during our company's Valentines celebration.
I would definitely recommend this musical/movie to anyone who believes in love and living life to the fullest. I assure you that it will definitely touch your heart. |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:18 AM |
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| Sunday, March 11, 2007 |
| A musical Saturday |
Out of boredom, Minnie, Gen, Agri, Rey and I decided to go to Green Box Sungei Wang yesterday. Yes you heard it right, its Green Box and not Red Box. Actually, this is the place where my friends celebrated my birthday last year but it was renovated and enhanced so it became funkier. It really catered to a younger crowd like us. We opted to go to Green Box at around lunch time - from 11 AM to 2 PM. I was an hour late because I had an appointment with my dermatologist.
Since they changed the name to Green Box, the interiors were changed to green. The lunch menu is better and they're now serving unlimited drinks. Most of all, the song choices are better. Since I was late for an hour, I was only able to sing for 2 hours. It was fun sharing it with my friends as everyone gamely posed for the camera while belting our hearts out to our favorite songs. Keber kung sintunado, birit kung birit! And of course, just like what we did in our previous karaoke showdown, we can't help but dance while someone is singing a song. Agri is the biggest winner when it comes to joking around. She never failed to make us laugh. Good thing that she came in because she almost didn't make it. We really had fun singing that we didn't notice that it's 2 PM. We tried to extend our biritan session for one more hour but the room was reserved at that time. So next time, our karaoke showdown should last for 5 hours (enough na kaya yun? ahahaha!!). By the way, Green Box has a glass tube with a screen inside for karaoke. We're planning to try it as well hehehe..
We stayed for a while at Sungei Wang where I tried some hair accessories and bought a hairband (kakikayan na naman?!?!). We then parted ways; Minnie and Gen stayed at Sungei Want to look for birthday gift while Agri, Rey and I parted at KL Sentral as Rey and I went to Midvalley to watch Dreamgirls, a movie adaptation of one of Broadway's famous musicals.
I was lucky because Issa gave me a buy 1 free 1 coupon at the golden screen cinemas, so just in time for us to watch Dreamgirls. I must say that Jennifer Hudson deserves to win the Oscars. She outshone everyone with her performance - from her acting to her rendition of "And I am telling you, I am not going" and "I am Changing", which brought me goosebumps all over my body. Her songs didn't fail to give me goosebumps as well. Beyonce Knowles has her moment in the movie as well but it's not as powerful as Jennifer when she sang "Listen". It was refreshing to see Eddie Murphy in his role as Jimmy Early because this is the first time that I saw him in a serious role. He was able to justify the role, no wonder why he's nominated in the best supporting role category in the Oscar's. By the way, when I heard the song "One Night Only", I can't help but remember Hugh Jackman when he sang that song in 2004 Tony Awards. It was memorable for me because he was shaking his butt hahaha!!
Before we headed for the long queue for the movie, Rey and I bought 2 scoops of Haagen Daaz ice cream. It's been a long time since we last tasted it which is way back when were was still in Phoenix. So we savored each spoon of ice cream that reached our mouth. Another thing, the teaser for the fifth installement of the Harry Potter movie was shown (I think June is the playdate) so I was really ecstatic and was childlike out of excitement. =)
Anyway, after the movie which left us both stunned in Jen's (feeling close) portrayal, Rey bought his gym training gloves and socks and then we had dinner at Oh Sushi Restaurant where I ordered Tendon (I love shrimp and prawn!) while Rey had Salmon. Rey treated me with 2 sets of Maki (thanks a lot..yummy! Di bale, libre kita next time pero dapat mura lang hehehe). We discussed about a lot of things that night, little did we notice that the restaurant was closing. So we parted at around 10 PM.
At 11 PM, Ryan, Rey (parang ang tagal naming ndi nagkita no?) and I logged in to the chatroom. For the past week, the three of us were meeting in a chatroom until the wee hours of the morning and it became a habit. But this time, we took it to the next level - we had a voice chat using Skype and viewed ourselves using Yahoo. And as I said, we took it to the next level - we chatted until 4 AM! It was my first time to hear Ryan's voice after a long time and of course, jamming was a part of our voice conference where Rye played his organ (ang halay ba? ahahaha!!). Yes guys, I finally bought my webcam this weekend and tried it that night. (Hazek and Gilbert, hindi na ako naka-braille! hahaha!!). We were teasing Ryan that night because his profile looks like a 1x1 photo. I did have the same "problem" on Friday night when I tested my camera with Rey and I searched for the right angle. Anyway, it was so cool that I wanted to tell all my friends that So to all my friends out there, let me know when we can have a voice chat alrighty? =)
I really enjoyed that day, love it! It was exhausting yes but it was fun. So guys, sa uulitin!
By the way, thanks to Rey for the pictures =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 9:36 PM |
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| Friday, March 09, 2007 |
| A Kikay Story |
Growing up, I dressed up like a boy. Maybe it can be attributed with the fact that both my parents worked as a military. My mother, who should be my fashion model, always have a boyish cut and she only wears a loose powder and lipstick to work, enough for her to be recognized as a woman. My mother also dressed up as a man that once, she was mistaken as a tomboy because she usually wears jeans and shirt.
When I was a teenager, I was a rebel. I hate the people around me and of course, those people include the popular ones(ala Cher from Clueless or TGIS). I don't want to be associated with them so I don't dress up as one of them. I was stuck in my old getup.
When I was in college, I went into the dormitory and I met people with different personalities - from artsy to kikay. They were the ones who convinced me to learn on how to put on some makeup since my course is expected to work in the corporate world. I also learned how to wear high heels to prepare myself for interviews. The only time I wore a dress was when I attended my friend's debut parties.
When I started working, it tested my fashion statement (naks) because my first job did not require us to have a uniform. I wore plain blouses that almost have the same design but different colors. There was a time when I stayed at my aunt's house, who is a certified kikay, and she won't allow me to leave her house without any makeup on.
When I moved here in Malaysia, since our office is near my house, I started to wear skirts and shoes with high heels (well 2 inches or more). I don't wear skirts and high heels before in the Philippines since I usually commute on my way to the office. (I remembered that once I was hit up by a stranger when I wore a skirt and got really paranoid so I vowed not to wear a skirt again). But now, I started to feel being comfortable wearing it casually. I also started to wear makeup as well.
I know this blog entry seems to be a shallow topic. But for some of my close friends (and tita), I'm pretty sure that they'll be proud of me (especially when they saw my Oscar night pictures =D). It is only now that I have time to appreciate myself and I hope that I'll be able to sustain this kakikayan. =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 12:04 AM |
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| Sunday, March 04, 2007 |
| An Oscar's night - KL GSSC Annual Dinner |
As what I've mentioned in my previous blogs, our company had an annual dinner. It is the event to watch out for most of the employees. Last year the theme was the 60s so everyone put on their best retro outfit and party!!
This year, the theme is Oscar's night. So everyone was expected to be at their best. I bought a dress, sandals and accessories last week. I had my hair and makeup done at the parlor in our building (by the way, she's good). It's funny because I've been thinking the whole week if curly hair would look good on me (bagay ba sa akin ang kulot?). Good thing the curls that the stylist did looked good on me. In fact, I'm planning to have my hair permed after a few months(ang kikay ba?). I was supposed to do my own makeup but I don't know the how to enhance my nose so I opted to leave it to the professionals. Good thing that I did because I loved my makeup. Many people thought I looked different that night - (divang diva except that I did not sing)
The party was scheduled at 6 PM at Sunway Hotel. It was raining hard that night so getting a cab was a challenge. Needless to say, we were late but good thing that the event haven't started yet. We arrived at around 7:20 PM. So we walked at the red carpet where our photographs were taken. It's funny though that a life-size picture of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie were included (syempre nagpa-picture kami! ahaha!!).
The event started at around 8 PM. As expected, everyone looked glamorous that night. Of course, picture taking was a part of the event since everyone looked great. There were performers that were hired that night - dancers, singers and theater actors. In my opinion, the dancers reminded me of the Bellestar dancers from GMA Supershow because of their costumes with feathers at the back (I don't know what its called). And as what Simon usually says at American Idol, their performance was cabaret. (Actually inaabangan naming lumabas si Kuya Germs hahaha).
The food served night was a coursed menu (Chinese food). It was weird because the appetizers and main dishes were served before the rice. Being a Filipino, I am used in a meal where the rice was served together with the main dish. However, a Malaysian colleague told us that a coursed menu here in Malaysia would usually serve rice and noodles right before the dessert. Anyway, it was hard to eat that much that night because we were conscious with the way we eat and if our dress would still fit. Imagine how disappointed I was when they serve prawns (my favorite!) so I have to eat it using a spoon and fork.
At the latter part of the show, there were some skits performed by professional actors. We only enjoyed the latter part of their skit. The last performer reminded me of Michael V with the way how he imitated Beyonce Knowles (but looked like Diana Ross with his hair). After the program, there was supposed to be a dance floor but the people left the venue since it is already late (it was 1 AM). We stayed for a few minutes and took some pictures at the lobby.
It was a fun night attending an affair like this. I get to see a different side of my colleagues - their glamorous side of course. I had a chance to feel like a celebrity as well and got a picture with Brad Pitt at the red carpet. It was a memorable night indeed! =) |
| posted by subhuman @ 10:01 PM |
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| Saturday, March 03, 2007 |
| Autograph Chuva.. |
I came across this "autograph" section while browsing the links from my friend's website. Inggit ako kaya ako rin meron..
BASICS
Name: Analyn Villanueva
Age: 25
Birthday: August 30, 1981
Birth time: 11:45 AM
Birthplace: AFP Medical Center, Quezon City
Zodiac: Virgo
FAVORITES
Color: Blue and Green (kaya ako nasa SCB ngayon bwahaha!!).. when it comes to my clothes, I like to wear neutral colors.
Food: Filipino, Japanese, Thai, Chinese and Italian.. I have a sweet tooth so I love cheesecakes and ice cream. I'm one of the few people who rarely eats chocolates.
Fruit: Watermelon, Philippine mango, Strawberry
Alcoholic drink: I used to drink vodka, but not anymore due to medical constraints.
Non-alcoholic drink: I love Fruit shakes (especially the banana-strwberry-mango combination) Iced Lemon Tea, Starbucks Frap, Chai Latte Tea from Coffee Bean..too bad I can't drink most of these due to health reasons :-/
Music: RnB, Soul, Hiphop (I love partying with this tunes), Jazz, Pop, Alternative (my angst outlet), Musicals
Movie: Forrest Gump, Amelie, Notting Hill, While You were sleeping, Harry Potter (fave book ko kasi), Rent, Clueless, The Truth About Cats and Dogs.
TV Show: Friends, Ally McBeal, Sex and the City, Desperate Housewives, CSI, Conan O'Brien, Queer Eye for a Straight Guy, American Idol :-)
Book: Harry Potter series (para akong bata nito), Da Vinci Code, Angels and Demons, Youngblood compilation (I love reading young people's thoughts), Twisted series by Jessica Zafra, Kissing in Manhattan (panalo ito, kakaiba)
PREFERENCES
Day or night: Night. I like viewing the skyline at night time
Sunrise or sunset: Sunset, the sky is more dramatic
Beaches or mountains: Mountains. I like the feeling of experiencing hardships through climbing and seeing something beautiful upon reaching the top. All those hardships are all worth it.
City or country: City.. I'm a skyscrape lover.
Flowers or chocolates: Flowers. Kakataba ang chocolates hehhee.. but seriously, I buy myself flowers when I'm on a bad mood. I like to look at them because it makes me feel good.
Chocolate or Vanilla: Vanilla
Diamonds or pearls: Pearls
Pillows or blankets: Blankets. Pinupulikat ako kapag wala ako nito.
Lights on or off: Off
Looks or personality: Personality.
The one you love or the one who loves you: Neither. We must meet halfway.
THREESOMES
Three names you go by:
- Anai
- Lyn (this is what they call me at home)
- Ana (even though I hate it when people call me with this name, it's so common)
Three of your everyday essentials:
- Laptop
- Music - Radio/Ipod/CD collection
- Cellphone
Three things that scare you:
- Frogs
- Losing a loved one
- Losing any of my 5 senses
Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeals to you:
Three of your favorite hobbies:
- Singing - I sing anywhere.
- Blogging
Chatting!...live or online (although with my friends only)
Three things you really want to do badly now:
- Pursue a career in music
- Travel
- Watch musicals
Three careers you’re considering or have considered: - singer
- actuarial analyst
teacher
Three things you want to do before you die:
- Perform before a big audience
- Travel around the world
- Raise a beautiful family
SENTENCES
(Cosmo Quiz & then some...)
My celebrity crush is Hugh Jackman.
If I could, I'd switch lives with Oprah Winfrey.
My deepest insecurity is my body (I want to be slim so that I can buy clothes) and my nose (pango kc masyado)
Kissing on the first date is not me.
My favorite body part is my eyelash. But the body part that I'm spluring much is my hair (although ndi halata)
Cheating on someone is cheating on yourself too.
If I weren’t a/n programmer, I would be a singer or a performer.
My ultimate comfort food is cheesecake, ice cream (double dutch), frap or white macademia cookies
My type is usually a guy who has the same taste of music as mine.
If I could have super powers I’d choose apparation (tama ba from harry potter? "fanatic" na ako sa lagay na yan ha ahaha!!)
The best lesson in life you’ve learned so far is that if logic fails you, follow your heart.
The person I miss most is Arnel.
By now he’d have said, “Keri lang ang lahat ng problems.." |
| posted by subhuman @ 9:51 AM |
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| On Travelling |
Cebu Pacific has an ongoing promo where the airfare going to any destination from Manila only costs 1 peso (excluding taxes of course). I haven't decided yet where to go when my contract expires on July and what to do with all the remaining vacation that I have.
Anyway, I only got interested in travelling during my onshore assignment. Every month, we would have a road trip. It's fun to explore a place that everyone is not familiar with or go to a place that I can only see in the pictures or in the movies. So as the grand finale of my onshore experience, Hazel and I went to Hawaii. The exciting part about it is that there were only the two of us and we don't know anyone from that place; we don't even know how we would go to the hotel from the airport. Now, that is what I call an adventure =) So how did we survive? Well, we mingled with the locals and ask them how where are the best places to go to and how to get there =D It was really fun!
With that experience, I told myself that I will visit at least 1 foreign country every year. So in 2005, I encourage my parents to have a SEA tour (they were hesitant at first when I told them about this) - Singapore, Bangkok and Indonesia. Unlike in my previous road trips where I travelled with my colleagues, at that time the pace should be slow since my parents are no longer at their prime. It was fun experience because it was my first time to travel with them. If I would compare our experiences in these 3 countries, I can say that Bangkok is my favorite; it may not be as organized as Singapore and we stayed in a place similar to the Quiapo area but the sense of adventure was there - not all people can speak English, their alphabet is different and we don't know anyone nor anything! (reminds me of my Hawaiian escapade =P). Also, I love the food in Thailand =D Yummy! =)
For 2006, well, I moved to Malaysia. Though I may not consider as travelling since I am working here. But hey, it still did not fail my goal of going to another country once a year right? =)
There are still lots of countries that I wanted to go to but so far these are beyond my reach. In the meantime, I'll explore our neighbor countries.
Anyway, Gen, Minnie went to the MPH Warehouse sale earlier and I found the book that I really wanted to buy for a long time: Lonely planet's Travel Photography: A guide in taking better pictures. I almost buy this book when I saw it last year at Powerbooks for P1400 but I bought it for RM 45. Now I'm excited to travel and to take pictures. =P |
| posted by subhuman @ 1:37 AM |
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| Thursday, March 01, 2007 |
| Things that money can't buy.. |
Something bothered me last night that I was not able to be asleep, aside from the fact that I was hungry. Usually, if something offensive is being said to me, it would usually take time for those words to sink in and for me to think how I should deal with it.
I was chatting with this friend and we discussed one of the things that we shouldn't be discussing - money matters. Anyway, I wouldn't divulge many details about our conversation. If there's one thing that I am really sensitive about, it's about being judged on the way how I live my life. This is why I rarely talk about this with my friends.
Our conversation left me an impression that my self-worth is being measured by how much my bank account contains. I know that what my friend told me does not intend to hurt me. Its just that I'm just too sensitive about it.
Although I may not be earning that much here in Malaysia, I am still happy that I am here. I will never trade the things that I am enjoying here for the money that I could be probably earning in another country. I am happy with the people around me - my housemates and my close friends who have been my family away from home. This is also the reason why most of our visitors love to stay in our house is because of the warmth of our friendship. I like the laidback lifestyle of the Malaysians and their hospitality which allows me to give me more time for myself and to enjoy mingling with them. Even though Malaysia is not as organized compared to other countries but some "malfunctions" can lead to a memorable experience(remember that I was stuck in the train right). I am thankful that my current company with the way how they take care its people. Being here in Malaysia also allowed me to love (and accept) myself and to pursue my passion (music). These are the things that money can't buy.
I have a colleague who left our company a few months ago for greener pastures in Ireland. Now he's back here in Malaysia because he doesn't like his job in Ireland - he was treated like a working machine there. So after a few months, he packed his bags. This is not the only story of someone who has returned here after seeking greener pastures in other countries.
I know you have heard these from me my friend, except the fact that I got offended. It took a while to sink in. I'm not mad though because I respect the things that are important to you. Maybe its just that we value different things. I guess the best thing would be for us not to touch that topic once again.
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| posted by subhuman @ 11:34 PM |
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| About Me |
passionate about music; an aspiring teacher; a frustrated mathematician; an explorer |
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