Aussie Adventure # 2: Life's a beach!

I had a chance to go to Bondi Beach over the weekend while I was in Sydney. It was a 20-minute train ride from our hotel.
The view (*wink* *wink*) was spectacular... :)

On the way to the beach

ant-like people on the beach

sa dako pa roon...

this is the first time I've seen real surfers

near the shore

wave!!!

di po sila metro-aide. they're the life guards... yes, gentlemen, baywatch lied to you! anybody else want to drown now??? i thought so...

surfer-dude contemplating on the meaning of life and how surfing relates to saving the world...

wicked-cool!!!

can something be hot and cool at the same time?! apparently yes... surfer-girls rock! :)

people having some surfing lessons... i want one too!!! but i think swimming 101 is a pre-req. :(

is it still considered "bird-watching" if the birds are the ones actually watching? I feel like they're having some sort of a meeting...for world domination perhaps? nah! birds are harmless...

or maybe not! (this one's pretty scary...)

braving skin cancer in the name of a good tan...

Aussie Adventure # 1: Let's walk around!

Finally, my pictures from "walking around" Sydney... (with the occasional train and taxi rides whenever laziness kicks-in)

The hotel where I stayed. I unfortunately forgot to take pictures of my room... memory gap!

View from my room. It's not as spectacular as it seems. There's a train rail just below the hotel...

North Sydney train station... creepy eh? I'm half-expecting a human-sized cockroach to approach me anytime soon... yeah, I know, saw that movie too...

Double-decker train... now that's cool! if only there weren't too much graffiti

View from the train... the spectacular taxi... er, i mean Sydney Opera House

Aussie shops... exhibiting British influence

The city churches

nope, this one's not a church... it's actually a mall! and if i may quote Queen Victoria, "It's the most beautiful mall in the world." you know why? because it's the Queen Victoria Building!... ah! royal vanity! i may have been royalty in my past life (either that or a very vain peasant!)

a life-size statue of Queen Vicky, now this is creepy-vain...

Queen Victoria Building interiors... it's my first time to see a carpeted mall.

the 3-storey high Christmas tree inside QVB. I suddenly missed UST... :(

Freeze! Aussie police! if they chase a criminal, is it still considered a car chase?

an unusual-looking bird that is actually common in Australia... and i thought i knew all about weird birds... [cough...]jas[cough...]

passing through the Sydney harbour bridge via taxi...

crazy adventurous people doing the 3-hour, 100dollar+ bridge-climb

world-famous Aussie landmark... the Sydney harbour bridge

yet another world-famous Aussie landmark... the Sydney opera house

Sydney opera house up-close

2-for-1!

To follow...

I've finally shaken-off a bit of my laziness and finally mustered enough energy to post something here!
Will post pictures in about 5 minutes! (or more, depending on upload speed) :)

Those Koalas better be worth it!

I must admit, getting this chance to go to Australia is one hell of an opportunity! The moment I was told by my boss that they want to send me, I tried very hard to hide my excitement and hold-up a professional stance as my mind drifted-away to a land full of cute and cuddly koalas and me running after them (with a knife in-hand… hehehe… joke lang!).

But this trip came at a very big price. I will be missing a lot of things while I’m not in SG:

First of, I told my friend that I’ll pick him up in the airport when he arrives in SG for work. Missing that really sucked, because I really wanted to give him a tour and some tips and tricks to survive the little island. It would also be nice to see a familiar face after a very long time.

Second, there is a company-wide 2-day orientation for the new intakes (me included!). There’s free food and more importantly, a tour of the company premises and the manufacturing plant! Damnit! I’ve always wanted to go there!!! There’s something about doors with signs like “Authorized Personnel Only” that attracts me so much… hehehe…

Third, the ex-n$p-in-sg costume-christmas party. A lot of these people are my seniors in my past company. It would have been nice to see them again. And oh man! I would have gone as Winnie the pooh. Red t-shirt lang, pwede na! nyaaahahaha…

Fourth, the pinoys-in-current-company Christmas party. Yeah.. ganun kami kadami, pwede kaming mag-hold ng party! Hehehe… sayang, I really wanted to meet them all. I already know some, but I was told marami pa akong di kilala.

Fifth, I missed my “for-3-days-only-5-foot-something-package”! You know who you are! Damnit! It would have been really nice to see you in SG!!! Damnit! (I’m still quite upset about it…)

5 very important events for the price of 9 days in Australia… oh boy! those koalas better be worth it!!!

I'm Going Under

Down under, that is.

After filling-up a 10-page Visa application form and personally going to the Australian High Council to get it approved the same day, I am finally here in the land of koalas, kangaroos and “ei! mayt!” ‘s

I’m going to stay here for 9 days for another knowledge transfer session, for one of our client telco here. So far, so good.

The flight from SG to Sydney is more than 6hours. That’s the longest time I’ve ever been stuck in a plane! The list of in-flight movies was good, but at some point I found myself awfully sleepy, so I had to doze-off a bit. Good thing the Aussie couple beside me wasn’t too noisy or annoying.

So far, I find Australians very friendly. The taxi driver even helped me with my luggage. In the Philippines, this is normal, but in SG, the driver won’t move his ass for any passenger. (Well, maybe if you don’t have a pair of legs, they just MIGHT help you, but I’m not that willing to give off my limbs, just to test for the POSSIBILITY of them helping me!)

Living in SG means not being able to see too many good-looking people. I don’t mean to insult anyone, but I guess people in SG aren’t really my type. (although this seems to be a consensus with everyone I know here, and if I might quote a friend…”tag-tuyot dito…” yeah, it’s THAT bad!)

And as if to give balance to my life, I was sent here… where my head is spinning from looking at gorgeous people! And I’m not just talking about locals. Even the Asians here look much much better! Was there a mass migration of good-looking people in Australia? And why was I not informed?! (don’t you even dare answer this question! I know what you’re thinking!)

I can’t remember how many times I said to myself…”Ah! Love at first sight!” (yes, this is rather sad, bordering on pathetic, and it’s even more pathetic that I’m actually writing about it!)

I’ve seen the good, now what’s the bad?… here’s the deal breaker ladies… MALLS CLOSE AT AROUND 5-6pm… (lady-readers of this blog, I know what you’re thinking….now join me in my shrill of utter despair… “WHAAAAAT???????”)

Makes one wonder what the people here do after office hours…

I asked my Australian counter-part and he told me that Aussies are very family-oriented, so after work, they go home and spend time with the family… awwwww…(throw-in a baby koala, and I just might cry!) But can’t they just spend quality time at the mall??!!!

I mean seriously, just to get dinner, I have to take the train and go to Town Hall because some stores there close a little later (note “little”, as in 1 or 2 hours later)

Talking about trains… SG’s trains without a doubt are the best I’ve seen… Clean, efficient, user-friendly, and reliable. (bumabawi ako, masyado ko ata silang nadusta sa looks department… hehehe…) Japan’s trains are efficient, but it’s not as user-friendly as SG’s. Now, Australia’s train… how do I put this… it scares me. You know those movies made in the U.S. with scenes with trains? Bubble gum on the seats, graffiti on walls, and litter on the floor… the whole 9 yards!

At the point when I first boarded the train, I suddenly missed SG…sigh…. then I saw someone headturningly-gorgeous and I totally forgot all about it! Nyaaahahahaaaaa…

yeah...c'mon, say it... I know you want to: "what a shallow bastard!"

On laundry...

This whole business of separating white's and color's is beyond me...

Ever watch them on TV or movies?... You know, when someone tries to put them together in the washing machine, and lo and behold, when they are taken out of the machine, the white's have funky colors and not in a good way.

That thought somehow scared me for sometime.

But a few days ago, I have this profound and curious idea to put them together in the washing machine at the same time. In short, I was tired and too lazy to sort (or maybe just lazy)... You know what they say... "Necessity Laziness is the mother of all invention"

So what happened after 27minutes? Let's just say I don't have to wear psychedelic tops to work. In short, TV lied to us! (but then again, what's new?) Either that, or I'm just one lucky bastard. (again, what's new?)

Should I push my luck next time and just dump all my clothes at once? In short, will I be lazy next laundry day?

(OT: I have too many "In short" in this entry, I might have to refrain from using it in my next posts... I have a quota, you know... :) )

to sort or not to sort... now that is the question!

how will you know?

#1
How will you know if the suicide rate of a country is high?
When they start putting signs like this in the railways...

Train station's "not-so-subtle-do-not-commit-suicide-here-damn-it!" sign

#2
How will you know when journalists here have nothing to write about...
When they waste paper and ink for things like this...

This is news??? One hour power outage??? again, this is news???

#3
How will you know if the accident rate is low?
If you have a small sign that reads "Fatal Accident [Date/Time of Accident] [number you need to call if you have information]"
If this was done in the Philippines, we need a seriously big board... "Fatal Accidents..."

#4
How will you know if you are using a CR in an IT company?
The picture of the toilet bowl contains a CD, mouse, and keyboard...

Yeah, apparently we crap-out computer peripherals

#5
How will you know when you're crazy?
When you go to a grocery store and see a bunch of decorated pumpkins, then at the top of your lungs shout "si mabel!!!"

kelangan sulitin...

yet another PG-moment... :)

57RM (855pesos) ang bayad sa broadband internet dito sa hotel. And that's just for 24hours! OA di ba?!!

kaya ito... lahat ng pwede kong basahing blog/email/website, dinaanan ko na... saya eh!


sa mga di nakaka-alam:
*PG = Patay Gutom

100th day...

This is supposed to be my 100th day in Singapore... but ironically, i'm not in SG right now.
I've just flown-in to KL this afternoon and will be staying here until tuesday night.

I'm staying in a different hotel this time. It's little far from the office, but I guess it's still walkable... hhmmnn... the map seems to say so... but we'll see... :)

What's so nice about this hotel is it's near several malls. And you know what happens when you leave a woman alone in a mall...

after 2 hours:
a pair of rubber shoes at 60RM (900Pesos)... and a pair of brown leather boots at 185RM(2,775Pesos)... believe me, that was a good bargain price!

aaaah... nothing beats loneliness better that shopping, especially for shoes... :)
i'm so happy... :)

whoever said you can't buy hapiness?.... obviously not a woman! :)
Yes, in case you haven't noticed... I'm shallow... :)
A shallow person with really nice shoes... :) bwaaahahahaaa...

again, cut me some slack, i'm alone...

Malaysia Adventure # 1 Pics

My Hotel Room

Hotel version of Nasi Padang

Some random mango drink

My Train ride to Bukit Bintang

Suria KLCC Mall

The Petronas Twin Towers

OMG?!!

my only reaction to the news: a jaw-drop

this news from back home gives proof to the popular theory "shit happens..."
... yes it does, and sometimes to the best of us...

sigh...

hopefully this will be something we'll all be laughing at someday...
but for now, I'll go pick up my jaw...

Malaysia, Truly Manila... ay este Asia pla...

As promised, my Malaysia trip # 1 adventure...

I was sent to KL Malaysia on a mission to get whatever "knowledge" I can get from the SI of our Malaysia branch. This is part of the company's plans to make the SG office the support hub of the Asian region. I also needed to officially meet the telco client, so they'd know the face of the person they're gonna kick in the balls if something goes wrong with their system.


Off-Topic: When your boss tells you nobody else in SG knows about the project you're
about to take over and they want you to absorb everything you can out of the turnover activities... that's when you know you're under freakin' pressure...

[flashback to the time my boss was talking to me about the project] I was just playing it cool, nodding my head, mildly smiling at times, with occasional "ah"'s... but there was this loud and manic voice inside my head telling me "OMG! OMG! You're screwed! Run towards the door! Run while you can! Saaaaaaave yourself...." Then images of the teletubbies flashed in my head... then bam! I fainted... (ok, kidding about the "I fainted" part...:), but the teletubbies part... true and freakin' creepy man!!!... why do I have such an evil mind???)


Anyway... going back to the KL trip...

What makes this BT so different from the ones I've had in my past company is that I am in this ALONE... :(

Meaning no one to copy travel itineraries / immigration papers from, no one to ask what part of the airport I am supposed to go to, no group food explorations (e.i., pagpapaka-PG pag buffet)... it was just me, and my cunning and survival skills (which is of course non-existent).

The hotel was a 10-minute walk from the KL branch, which kinda reminded me of our Cebu-BT days... ah... memories... tears are starting to well-up (well, not really... hehehe)... but oh, those were really good times! I miss the walks (or jeepney/taxi rides) I got to have with my BT-mates... sniff...sniff... Waaaaaaaa.... I miss you all!!!! waaaaaaa.....

[breathe...breathe... must regain composure...]

Now, before I go any further, I have to rant about my incoming flight to Malaysia... i took a the-space-is-so-cramped-the-least-you-can-do-is-stop-this-annoying-inflight-
music-but-this-is-probably-not-as-annoying-as-the-dude-sitting-beside-me-who-decided-that-he's-the-only-one-who-needs-the-armrest-we're-supposed-to-be-sharing,-now-where-the-hell-is-the-food-?-what?-no-food-?!!-airlines flight. What a big mistake! Yes, I'm referring to you Malaysian Airlines...

I am soooo taking SQ next time...

Just when I thought PAL flights aren't at par with other international airlines, Malaysian Airlines proved me dead-wrong...

oh PAL, i miss our fun "fiesta" flights together... [sigh...]

After a painful 50-minute flight, we landed oh-so-roughly at KLIA. Since the airport is a freakin' 60KM away from the KL City Center, passengers have to take an Express train to KLIA Sentral. Atleast this train ride was smooth. The train ride was 29 minutes long, but the seats were comfy (and more importantly, does not come with an annoying seatmate) so I didn't mind that part at all.

So what about Malaysia?

I almost shouted at the taxi driver: "Manong, Manila ba to???". KL City Center looks somewhat like Makati, but the outskirts have a tinge of Manila written all over it.

Even most of the people look like someone you'd meet in the streets of Manila. It feels like being trapped in the twilight version of the Philippines... everything and everyone seems to look familiar, but you can't understand a damn thing they're saying...

But on the bright side, I look so Malay, I don't feel like a freak when i'm walking along their streets...At home na at home ako...

Sobrang at home, kinakausap nila ako in Malay! Damn, if I had a Ringgit for every time someone talked to me in Malay, I'd have... well, a lot of Ringgits... hehehe...

There was even a point that I got tired of saying "Sorry, but I'm not from around here", that when a perfume saleslady was talking to me, I just kept on nodding my head and smiled away, then after a good 5 or more minutes of her speech, she looked like she was asking me something, to which I had no choice but say, "no thanks, bye"...

I know, that wasn't a very nice thing to do (I did smile, though... hehehe). But she seemed so passionate about her lengthy speech that I didn't have the heart to interrupt her (ok, maybe I did get a good kick out of it... [insert evil laugh]...but hey, gimme a break, I was alone for 3 days!?!... the world owes me!...ok, maybe not...[insert evil laugh])

Going back...

Any trip to KL won't be complete without a good look at Petronas... well, they weren't kidding when they said it is tall! I was forced to use the "stitch-assist" function of my camera just to make the damn thing fit in one picture (side note: I hate using that function) I'll try to post the pics next time... (hopefully)

I also went to Bukit Bintang, which according to my trainer is the "Greenhills" of KL. (yes, my trainer is pinoy... astig noh? hehehe...)
The prices of the items are pretty cheap, compared to that in SG, but the one's in the Philippines are definitely much much cheaper... damn I miss pinas!!!

My trip was only 3days long... so not much time to explore the place, hopefully next trip I'd have more free time.

But generally, I think it was a good trip. One hell of a learning experience... being really alone in a foreign land can knock some sense out of you sometimes. makes you think of a lot of things you left behind, and at the same time pumps you with anticipation of what's gonna happen next... oh shit, im growing-up! [not!] :)

hopefully my trip next time will be better... [crosses fingers and books an SQ flight]