27 posts tagged “raymond”
geez. i must have been very busy or drank a couple of Xanax because my last post here is dated last january. so what have i been up to... work's getting pretty tiring. i don't get the same excitement as i did before. most of the times, i feel like i'm on autopilot. i have to think this over. i lost my phone for the 9th or 10th time. i kinda lost count. i left it (again) somewhere. i haven't got a replacement and i'm not to anxious to get one, considering the perks or the excuse i can always use for not being informed of a meeting and so and so. a couple of feats - just had my 10th month here in cebu and my 4th year with my current job. aside from a couple of haircuts and a trip to the fantastic Bantayan Island, everything's same old crapola. it feels good to be back here.
lot of things happened in the past four months that i left by blog hanging, so i'll try to catch up and post whatever i could remember and whatever is worth-posting (which means cringe-free whenever i feel like reading my previous entries).
so we had our company year-end party last december 9 at the cebu international convention center or something like it. when i heard the hr people saying that it was going to be a glam rock-themed party, i recall complaining to win that this is another rehashed idea from the organizers. so original. and then 2 minutes later, win and i we're off from complaining and instantly running ideas through our heads. and yes, we were informed way ahead of the theme but we didn't actually bought something until like the day before the party. we had to drag (no pun intended) rui to go with us sweep every possible shops at the mall. we started at around 2 pm, watched golden compass and ended leaving the mall at past 11pm -- all for the sake of glam rock. well, it was kinda worth it...
Win, Pat, Jeff, Naina, Me and Rui
with the rest of the groupies
Tsok and Carla channels David Bowie with Jennifer Connelly in Labyrinth
Heya rej and charlie and owen and all you manila guys, we missed you on this one. :)
yuck, i missed writing. last entry i posted here was about 4 months ago. i so missed posting. time goes by so fast and as i look back on the "uncertainties" i posted about moving to cebu, i kinda get nostalgic. but here i am not, feeling all reborn and settled in cebu, with lots of good vibes ahead and a blog to resurrect. i did had a lot of times wherein i got homesick. i just missed my mom and my sisters and their kids. i got back home sometime in november and spent most of my 5 day leave with them. i made them promise to call me at least once a week. they did and it helped me break free from all the uncertainties i had before. so here i am, still housemates with win and roan, next door neighbors to a bunch a whole lot of people from work who also came from manila. and we're really starting feel like we can settle here. for now.
i have been doing nothing but bumming around cebu the past 2 weeks. last week, we went to the beach (again) but that's a totally different post. a lot has happened with our overnight at porto fino. everyone, and i mean everyone was drunk.
now, back to bumming here in cebu. there are hours within a day that we literally find ourselves doing nothing but... well, nothing. and that's where friendster came in. it has been ages since i last visited my friendster account. i had to approve a lot of friendster requests and read a couple of testimonials. i wasn't going to approve on posting any of them. more significantly, i went through my "friends list". it's really all funny and weird at the same time. i felt different emotions as i browsed from one profile to the other. i saw my highschool friends with their babies (uh-oh), my college friends seems to be in all sorts of places, random guys, party people, and then there's my exs. it was like falling in love, making out and breaking-up (all at the same time) all over again. it was an instant flashback of how stupid i was to let go a this ex or to hook up with this ex. it was a quick rollercoaster ride from one picture to another. and it's things like friendster that makes me soft. i hate being soft. i have long realized that friends do come and go, hearts break and heal, and people change. i always thought of taking a month or two away from work and just reconnect with the people that mattered. with people who i was reckless with or has been reckless with my heart-- it doesn't matter. with everything happening so fast and people leaving one place for the other, it's rare that we stop by and take the chance to catch up. sure, communication with friends can be as easy as e-mail and sms nowadays but nothing like a good old handshake or a hug can come close. i may not be able to catch with all my "282 friends" (i'm not cool because my list was never full), but i could at least try by starting today.
bumming makes me mushy. i hate being mushy. sheeesh.
finally, we had the chance to go to the beach. we've been itching to go soak in sea water and get toasted under the sun since we set foot in cebu. we were really desperate that we decided to go to tambuli beach resort after our shift yesterday. mactan, being the nearest province (45 minute drive from the city) with a reputable and decent beach was our first option. we had to settle for a day trip just to satisfy our itch for the beach. we weren't also that prepared to go the distance of malapascua or moalboal. we kinda considered kawasan falls but time just ain't on our side. we got there an hour after win and the other agents arrived. we missed the lunch buffet. win had four full plates of everything. the beach was ok despite the claims that the mactan shoreline is degrading. still, it was pretty nice beach and we had fun. and since it was too late for us to get tanned, we did a whole lot of camwhoring instead.
being away from home makes you realize the importance of building the gap between yourself and your siblings. a month and cebu and i'm already missing my sisters. the only thing that reminds me of them is an old snapshot of all four of us, back when we were about to enter grade school. this was taken by my mom:
it's amazing how a single picture can bring back hundreds of memories. i clearly remember the tireless afternoon that we spent playing all insanely imaginable games in our garden. we've grown up and closer to each other. we've had our share our stupid and petty fights. har har har. looking back, it was really really silly. we all were. now, i have one bratty nephew and one adorable niece courtesy of my sisters. who knew.... and who knew that geography would me suddenly make want to run around our garden with my sisters again, brewing up a plan on how to avoid afternoon naps. har har har. calling or sending them sms just ain't the same...
it was, as usual, one lazy afternoon. i had nothing to do. we haven't bought a tv yet. i wasn't in the mood to hang out at any of the malls in cebu. win got to thinking of going to the taoist temple. as camera whores, we didn't think twice and headed out to beverly hills. not the one in california. although, we must say, the houses were very impressive. the opulence of cebu's upper class were in full display. but that would be a totally different post. we've seen a lot of posh cars and we'll maintained subdvisions here. we have somehow concluded that cebu is definitely along the haciendaras and hacienderos group with the likes of bacolod, iloilo and davao.
back to the taoist temple. it's officially called the philippine taoist temple, inc. it's inside the beverly hills subdivision. you need a cab or any moving vehicle for you to reach this location. do not attempt to hike it. we thought of it but glad that we didn't actually bought the idea. it's considered a tourist destination in cebu city. and true enough, there were plenty of chinese, koreans, americans and portugese speaking women. brazilians maybe. no entrance fee whatsoever. you can take as many pictures as you want, just like we did. however, there were signs that no picture taking should take place inside the praying temple or any of the holy images at the altar. we willingfully obeyed so we took pictures with the giant dragon, the red stairs, the chinese lions, and what not. the temple is grandiously overlooking what seems to be cebu's wilderness and some parts of the sea. we were there for almost an hour. we had to walk a couple of blocks before we could spot a vacant cab. here are the pictures:
What are the 5 words that best describe your life right now?
Submitted by mojito.
could. it. be. any. slower..
(i really need to learn to relax)
makati vs. cebu.
it's like east coast vs. west coast.
i've been living in cebu for almost a month now, and the life down south is sloooowly sinking in. everything in cebu is so...relaxed. it's like i've timewarped to a perpetual sunday slowjam. and if you're used to working your ass and running around the big cosmopolitan buildings of makati, it may take awhile before your daily routine gets adjusted.
i can't help but compare cebu with makati. there's a big difference with cost of living. everything in cebu seems to be cheap and at times too good to be true. the food is sooo good here. my current faves are the mexican themed mooon cafe in guadalupe and the dessert factory (alchocolypse now is synonymous to cardiac arrest). we're all crossing our fingers that we just gain half the weight than what the locals are predicting. be it a quick meal at a karinderia, grilled seafoods and beer with your boss, or a team lunch at an avant garde mexican restaurant; it's all good. i really should start going back to my situps.
i've learned to carry a coin purse to any part of cebu. you will collect absurd amount of coins before you reach home. why? the taxi drivers here are mostly polite and notably returns the exact change. no rounding off of fares. shame on the makati and manila cabbies. i demand a full refund. here, if your fare amounts to 47.50 pesos and you hand out a fifty-peso bill, then most likely you'll receive your 2.50 change. i've learned to either prepare the exact amount or any bill lower than 100. they hate it when you give out 200 or 500. and yes, jeepney fare is 6.00 to almost anywhere. funny thing about the jeepney or "multicabs" (local term) is that they don't go by routes. instead the go by an alphanumeric combination, like 4C or 16D or 62B. much like airline seat assignments. very travel-esque.
movie tickets are also inexpensive. win and i watched the latest harry potter at on-stage of the ayala cinemas for only 130 bucks each. the height of cinema experience. the downside is that they have only 2 reputable and recommendable malls. it's either the ayala mall or the we've-got-it-all-for-you sm. they have gaisano and the likes but you only go to these "malls" if you have nowhere to buy grocery. and, for crying out loud, not a single 7-11 can be found.
houses are cheap. so are the abundant wholistic and massage spas. nightlife is not that big. nothing compares to makati and malate. we haven't been to the beaches and to other tourist spots. we're taking it slow cebuano steps at a time.
here's more snapshots taken last week:
The rest of 22 at the domestic airport with Reijiro
Dinner by me and Win with Sandy
it still feels weird to be in Cebu...
