Just when I thought winter is over
Kagabi pa lang mainit na ulo ko sa napanood ko sa TV: Babagsak daw sa 10 degrees ang temperature sa Miyerkoles, at bukod pa sa lamig na yan magiging malakas daw ang hangin with manaka-nakakang pag-ambon. Ang swerte ko talaga! Kakabayad ko lang ng nakakalulang gas bill ko nung sabado at heto na naman ang lamig na siguradong magpapaharurot sa gas meter ko. Hay.
Pero hindi yan ang dahilan kung bakit hindi ako nakatulog ng maayos kagabi. Sa sobrang lakas ng hangin, feeling ko may kumakatok sa bintana. At over ha, simisipol ang hangin sa labas! Napaka-ironic, considering ako nga hindi marunong sumipol. Well I guess nobody's perfect, at ang kawalan ng talent sa pagsipol ay isa sa mga imperfections ko.
15 degrees lang kagabi pero naka-dress rehearsal na ako: may fleece blanket underneath the comforter. At take note, naka-UK trench coat pa sa pagtulog.
Sosyal diba?!
As usual, naunahan ko na naman sa pag-gising yung cellphone ko. Ang hirap bumangon, promise! Pagpunta ko sa kusina, walang humpay sa pag-ikot yung exhaust fan dahil sa lakas ng hangin sa labas. Feeling ko may bagyo so antay ako
ng announcement sa tv or ng text sa officemates. Asa pa ko!? Pero promise dumadagundong ang paligid sa lakas ng hangin.
Ang sumunod na pangyayari paglabas ko ng building ay naging mega obscene. Sa sobrang lakas ng hangin feeling ko hinihubaran ako. Yung jacket ko nagmistulang body hugger, promise! At kung familiar kayo sa jologs term na "baktong", malamang yun ang isinigaw nyo sa kin kaninang umaga.
Every 8 minutes dumadating yung bus at mukhang 7 minutes na hinahangin yung mga tao sa pila, ako siguro 5 pa lang pero pare-pareho na tingin ko sa mga mukha namin -- baliko! Yung isang mama, violet na yung ilong. Siguro dinugo yung ilong kanina pero nag-violet na lang sa lamig at lakas ng hangin. Tingin pa ulit ako sa paligid at napaisip: kung nasa Pinas siguro ako kanina pa nagliparan ang mga bubong!
Yung gel ko strong hold daw, pero mukhang may side effect kapag malakas ang hangin. Kasi kanina nung lumabas ako ng bahay, nasa kanan ang hati ng buhok ko. Naglakad lang ako papunta sa bus station, nalipat na agad sa kabila. Talo ko pa ang na-photoshop!
Nung nasa Manila office pa ako madalas kaming maiingit sa Taiwan at Hong Kong, kasi konting lakas lang ng hangin pinapauwi na yung mga tao. Well, ngayong andito ako at binabaktong, mukhang mas kaiingit-inggit yung half day ng Manila office nung Friday dahil sa attempted kudeta. Ang buhay nga naman.
Sinigang without kangkong
Even if you give me a hundred dollars, I won’t take my jacket off. Not because I feel cold, but because I’m afraid to catch my officemates’ attention. I’m guessing it’s forbidden here to remind them what arms or elbows look like!? Yes, I am wearing short sleeves underneath this denim jacket!
From the 20th to the 24th floor of this building, I believe I’m the only male who’s wearing short sleeves. And it has always been the case every Friday. Oh I just miss Manila culture where it was a big "kebs" to dress codes!
Point is, even if I wear my long sleeves here, I’d still be surrounded by men in formal and trench coats, and I'd still look underdressed. Oh, these people never get tired of power dressing! (Big shout: Hello, we’re in Aberdeen, not Central!?)
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I'm a little excited about tomorrow's event, the Philippine Housing Fair. A number of real estate agents from Pinas will be conducting a two-day affair here in HK, and I'm looking forward to seeing some of their model units. I hope this is it – a chance to see that dream house. But I better be ready for the Pag-ibig seminar first. And I also need to continue my SSS should I decide to buy a unit.
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I’m just so excited to go back home and show off my new recipes to Allen. HK market is very much different to Pinas and it has somehow challenged me to experiment a lot – mixing and matching new ingredients. Imagine: there is no kangkong here (or probably there is one in 50 shops), so how are you going to cook sinigang without it?! Go figure.
Weekend experience
I felt like a lifestyle magazine reporter last weekend, covering places from Tsim Sha Tsui's Avenue of Stars to Causeway Bay's adult toy stores.
My journey last Saturday began at Central. Like what I do each week, I went to my favorite Giordano shop to scout for cheap items that can be sold to Pinas for nearly double the price. Allen told me that the first two batches we brought home sold like pancakes and he thinks we need to travel more often to meet the growing demand. (And yes, we’re now officially the sales & marketing team!)
After that, I went to my travel agent to reserve a ticket going home, but it was extremely shocking news that the rate she quoted me the other week was no longer available. Price has simply gone up by 50 percent. Arrgh!
Next stop were East and West streets of Li Yuen for a little tiangge experience. The Pinay lady in one of the stores there must have been happy that day to see me leave her shop with almost a dozen scarves. I also discovered a number of internet shops there – something I have been looking for in the past three weeks. I went to ACLC (yes, the AMA HK branch) to check out the short-term courses they offer, but I got more excited when I learned that I can surf all I want for only $25.
After surfing the net for two hours, I took the ferry going to Tsim Sha Tsui to check out my second favorite shop – Esprit factory outlet. There I realized that I should have bought the item I wanted the last time I was there. Just like most of the shops I've visited, prices have marked up after the Chinese New Year. Disappointed, I crossed the street and entered HMV where I contemplated hard on whether to buy the second season of Queer as Folk TV series or not. Finally the reality that I need to save money for my upcoming vacation prevailed; the second season might need to wait until April.
Next stop was Salvation Army in Yau Ma Tei, where I tried to dig through the second-hand items but found nothing of interest to me. From there, I walked my way to Mong Kok. In between I discovered an interesting restaurant named "Garlic" that serves really big meals. The price? Very affordable!
From Mong Kok, I walked my way back to Tsim Sha Tsui (which surprisingly is a very long walk) but only I was on the other side of the road. Raindrops started to fall but it didn't stop me from going from one shop to the next.
One of the most important discoveries of the day was the Chungking Mansion. Well, it's not as grand as its name suggests, but there you'll have an opportunity to find almost anything you need, thanks to the Indians who packed almost anything and everything in that small building! Though, I should say, being there alone and non-Indian looking can be a little frightening.
I continued walking until I realized I was standing next to Bruce Lee's statue and the symphony of lights was already happening in front of me. I have seen the symphony of lights for many times, but it was only that day that I got to appreciate its beauty – and how pathetic because I was alone! Most of the people there either have their families or partners with them.
After following Avenue of Stars’ yellow-brick-road, I went back to Central and took a bus going home.
The following day…
[to be continued...]
I'm still not over it
Okay, I'm still not over that email issue. Sending excessive emails to non-GS people is an offense, but receiving? Oh common! There are other important things to monitor than incoming mails! I'd rather that they implement what they did to Manila a few years back: block all incoming and outgoing yahoo or hotmail emails than monitor each and every employee. If it's any consolation, other team members are also included in that list. I simply don't care. It's just so unbelievable!
Mr. Yahoo user
“Ang paboritong libro ni Hudas” is a small black book with tons of well-written punch lines. I’ll try to finish reading it over the weekend.
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Need to go to Bayanihan Center this weekend for my OEC. I went there last Sunday, but for some unbelievable excuse, I forgot to bring my passport. Arrgh!
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A part of me yearns to earn a certificate in IT. I wonder if the company will allow me to study while working. We’ll see.
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I have addressed one of the many what-if questions in my mind. So what’s next?
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Already, I have a couple thousand mails in my inbox and the challenge is to delete as many as I can without throwing whatever will be asked for in the future, and of course, retaining the less important but interesting forwarded mails.
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Talking about emails, I really feel awful today! I was just told that I belong to “hk’s notorious list” for people who receive tons of non-GS emails. Hey, what can I do, I’m popular to yahoo users!? Well, if you happen to be one of those people who send me yahoo mails, kindly redirect it to my yahoo account.
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I don’t know if this was said to make me feel better: “But looking at your record, you don’t send as much. It’s more a matter of receiving.”
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Any moment they’ll approach me for another issue: blogging. Arrrgh! Yes, they’re taking everything away from me. Arrrrgh!
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