A fellow HP-graduate-now-in-SG told me that if you lasted for a month here without being homesick, then the chances are pretty slim that you’ll ever be homesick. If that carries a grain of truth, then I guess the worst is over. Last 13th was my first month-sary in my new job. Incidently, we also had an after-work bash on the same day to celebrate the completion of a project. Drinks galore, and free too! What did I do to deserve this?!

I usually go off with my Pinoy buddies during breaks and lunches, but this time, I went with my teammates (I’m the only Pinoy in the group) to the venue. They weren’t kidding when they said the bar will be at a place you least expected it to be. It’s on the top floor of a secluded furniture-and-tiles building at an industrial compound. Whoever discovered the place must really have been thirsty; at least I got to bond even just for a bit with my teammates during our excursion to find the place.

At the party, my teammate, Shiji, took it upon herself to introduce me to others. I must have met more new people that night compared to my entire first month at the office. I also got to mingle with some other Pinoys in other teams, and other non-Pinoys as well. It was interesting to note that the ones who brought their pimped-up SLRs were all Filipinos. =P All in all, it was refreshing to mix with everyone in a loose environment.

Pics to follow =P

there will be moments wherein you will find yourself asking, ‘Why not?’. Why not leave your stable job for something totally unpredictable? Why not splurge this ONE last time? Why not click on that random singles dating service link in Facebook?! Then, at some moments, you are suddenly reminded why.

i barely have completed all the fields in the sign-up form, when I already received 3 indecent proposals in less than 2 days. WHAT THE HELL. if for some reason, you just want to find out how many sleazeballs you can fit into a tiny island, go ahead and sign up.

Note to self — buy an umbrella. This morning, I was caught in my first shower during a commute. It wouldn’t have been so bad if I haven’t missed the company shuttle by a staggering THIRTY SECONDS. And it’s just 9 am in the morning. Great.

Yesterday, apparently a storm was also brewing over Manila. I missed how nice it was to hit that snooze button for that extra 5(/10/30/60) minutes in bed. By now, I would be getting a BCP message to stay in. Jan, I bet, is all giddy and giggly at the office by merely outside at the window.

Things looked up later during the day, however. Fortune was really picking on me, as I got lost trying to attend a newbie training located on another office site — instead of going to One Raffles Quay, I went to One Raffles Link. I finally arrived at the right building, just two stops away, and — lo and behold — it was in front of Lao Pa Sat! Look it up, it’s a well-known haven for foodies. It also houses Mang Kiko’s Lechon. Woot woo! Even if I had to pay double for a plate of lechon manok + sarsang-nilagyan-ng-kanin, it was well worth it.

I’m at a point where I’m missing OPM. This morning, I turbo-blasted my mp3 player with all the OPM songs I can pack in — from Eraserheads, to Alamid, to Stonefree, to even Nina.

I still consider myself lucky, though, that more or less I’m surrounded by Tagalog words (sometimes I even get to eavesdrop on Bisaya conversations). I didn’t realize the power of words until I sensed a wave of sound drown out how outlandish I felt.

Like turning right each time you go out of the restroom.

Like flashing your access card each time at the door, even if you don’t have to.

Like entering your old intranet password at each prompt.

You know how it feels when you’re in deep sleep, you know you’re dreaming, but you carry on anyway? That’s kind of how I feel right now, except that every bit of it is real.

It’s my first night in SG, and and jitters take over every nerve on my body. You’d think I was going to my first day at high school instead of my first day to report to work tomorrow. Will they be friendly? What if I totally mess up? What if I do something wrong already? What the heck am I going to wear?

Mike, who was unexpectedly part of my welcome party at the airport together with my sister, was able to document almost every step of my arrival  (or rather, almost every detail of my boots =P). My sister helped me unpack my stuff, look for new pillows, basically settle in. M also came along for a recon of my office so I won’t get lost tomorrow, then our trio ended the day with some rounds of brew at Clarke Quay. Day 1, and I’ve said goodbye to hopes of sobriety already. So far, so good.

I finally got this done! Am tagging everyone who wants to make their own list. Hehe. =P

1. I’m a true-blue kaladkarin. It takes all of my will to say no to an interesting trip, event or experience. A great year would be getting to visit 12 islands in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao within 12 months. An awesome year would be wherein every trip is paid for by someone else. Haha!

2. Each time before I take a bath, I dip my hand into the water and make the sign of the cross. It was an odd habit I picked up way back when our housekeeper made me do it every time she would give me a bath.

3. I could Youtube all day. I look up dance vids, commercials, series episodes, viral vids, almost everything online. Yep, that also goes to say that I barely watch TV. I blame Youtube for multiple counts of tardiness.

4. I used to write like crazy. I almost took Journalism instead of Computer Science. No regrets here.

5. I like geek talk, so sue me.

6. If you ask my closest friends, almost all my crushes have NOTHING in common.

7. As a child, I was a church rat. My kababatas are composed of members of the kids’ choir and the Knights of the Altar. We still hang out. One of us just got hitched last month; I think he was the first of the bunch.

8. I have a 15-year old niece, Ikay — her presence dots my Multiply albums. Ikay, my elder sister Ate Teng and I compose the Tres Marias of my family. We hang out a lot and goof out more often. Our favorite gimiks are going out to see flicks (especially cartoons!), wasting time at the arcade, window-shopping at toy stores and of course, gorging on comfort food. Ikay eats the most out of us three.

9. I’m that movie freak that laughs out loud and even claps (!) in the middle of movies. Back in HS, my favorite game with my movie buddies was Guess-That-Movie-Trailer. Sometimes the games turned to shouting matches wherein the winner was the one who blurted out the movie title first. Trust me, you would have hated to be seated next to us. I’ve also watched movies solo several times, and regretted none of those instances.

10. I think I’ll always be an outdoors girl, even if I’m actually terrified of swimming in anything that’s beyond the reach of my toes.

11. The farthest and most challenging mountain I’ve ever climbed was Mt. Apo, and that by far was the most humbling experience I’ve ever had in my life.

12. I’ve found a new vice in dancing. I’d scrimp on money for food, but not money for weekend dance classes. I dance while I walk. I dance while I work. I dance while I type. I sincerely hope I could do this forever.

13. I get sad when I commute without listening to music from my mp3 player (either I left it at home or it ran out of battery). Truly sad. I get so irritable that sometimes I throw tantrums, and God forbid that you should find yourself in the middle of an Ish-tantrum.

14. It doesn’t suit me, but I’m such a crier. I cry when I laugh. I cry when I get mad. I cry at sad movies. I cried upon hearing the first riffs of ‘Alapaap’ during the EHeads concert.

15. I’ve lost more than 10 cellphones in less than 10 years. The one I had longest with me was for less than a year; the shortest lifespan was 2 weeks. But if you’re a close friend, you probably already knew that.

16. I’m the youngest of five girls. Even if out of the five, I have the least chance of getting anything new, I have the comfort of knowing that I’m the cute one. Haha! =P I often think of how it could have been like if all of us could have grown up at least in the same country (two of them are in Canada, while one’s in Singapore). Riot!

17. Ikay and I borrow each other’s clothes and shoes. Good thing we have the same taste.

18. I still have a vivid recollection of the first time I cheated on a test. It was during Grade 3 — I had some trouble memorizing the multiplication table. In the middle of a quiz, I felt someone kick me and I saw my seatmate gesture to a copy of the multiplication table underneath our chairs. You know who you are! =P

19. When Neil Gaiman came to Manila, I got to hug him! Thanks Quel for hooking me up.

20. One sure-fire way to make me sleepy — scratch my head.

21. One sure way to tick me off is to let me catch you littering. Argh! Ang laki naman ng basurahan mo.

22. I got my first INC and my first DRP in UP when I took up masters. Humabol pa…

23. 2008 was a good year for me. It was the first time I stepped out of Philippine territory — and my first destination was India. Definitely an experience.

24. I dream of doing a lot of things, but the one thing I really want to do is to bungee jump. My parents are going to kill me, but I’m going to die anyway. =P

25. I want to finish writing a book as well someday. Maybe something on being single forever. =P

nah, hate isn’t the word. i LOATHE motorcycles. got hit by one earlier while i was crossing the street with Ikay. joey was right — it’ll literally send you spinning. the driver didn’t even have the decency to stop and go back to apologize; i absolutely hated myself when i stood there, stunned, and then shouted after him, ‘Sorry!’. tanga. grrr.

i wish that was the worst part. in all the flurry, i didn’t realize that he sent my earphones flying off to oblivion. kakabili ko lang nun! grrr talaga. buti na lang mabilis ang karma. Dear Lord, kung okay lang naman, please make this one extra fast. Amen.

saw this blog entry about kate moss’ legs. i feel better now. =P