Guangzhou log

I can describe Guangzhou as an old city with a sprinkle of the new. Rich in history, we were able to visit a museum housing the mausoleum of the Nanyue King, the Sun Yat Sen park, and the Chen Academy.

During the Guangzhou trip, I was able to discover a fancy feature on my digicam: digital macro. It's good if you want to take semi-professional-looking pics of flowers, plants, and stuff.

After lunch we went to do some street-shopping. For us men, shopping for clothes is just one ordinary task that needs to be done seldomly. That was why we ended up browsing the stores and not actually BUYING something. This was good for our pockets but not for our tour-guide, who I think was tired of walking around several blocks since she mistakenly wore high heels for the day.

Shenzhen Zoo

Shenzhen Log

It's 3am here in Shenzhen, China and I'm still not sleepy after a KTV session with my co-managers and staff. With the free broadband internet access in my hotel, why should I sleep early? Further, my trusty digicam has 40+ blanks left so I had to transfer the 90+ pics that I've taken so far to my laptop to free up space. My trip still has Guangzhou and Hongkong before I head back to the missus and my boy Sunday evening so more picture-taking is expected.

So how do I find Shenzhen? Pretty good, actually. The city itself is streaming with well-laid wide roads and impressive buildings. The smog is iminent from morning 'til evening which just goes to show how China has undergone an industrial revolution to make it one of the most formidable business investments in the 21st century.

The sights we went to (and I recommend that you see) were The Cultural Village, The Window of the World, and the City Center were bargaining a la Petaling Street is the norm. Below are some pics I've taken including pics of the hotel we stayed in.

B3, our guide, called in to say that we check-out of the hotel at 10am before we proceed to Guangzhou, our next destination, where sight-seeing and shopping is the order of the day.

The Charm Of Tagaytay

Tagaytay is one of those places that I just can't get tired of. The cold weather, the accessibility from Manila via Sta. Rosa Road, and of course the picturesque view of Taal volcano are what makes Tagaytay, well, so Tagaytay.

I remember my first trip there was in high school, when my section went to Tagaytay for a spiritual retreat (which eventually was done once a year). When we reach the top I would lean towards the bus windows to get a view of Taal lake and its volcano and just gaze in amazement. Nature trip, ika nga.

I even had one of my birthdays there. My closest friends and I rented one of those nipa huts by the highway and drank the night away with tequila and beer. It was one of my most memorable birthdays since I've never had my friends have a drinking birthday session with me, in Tagaytay at that.

I guess all those visits to Tagaytay made me dream to build a resthouse there someday. It was, and still is, one of my long-term goals. So in the meantime that I'm still thinking about it, sa Taal Vista Hotel na muna kami ---which was where we were last weekend.

I have to say congratulations to the operators of the Taal Vista Hotel for they've done an excellent job renovating the place. The missus and I liked it so much that we may make it one of our regular destinations for overnight, over-the-weekend vacations. I definitely recommend it to anyone who wishes a relaxing stay in Tagaytay.

Will I ever have my dream resthouse in Tagaytay? I don't know for sure. The missus is suggesting a place near the beach, or just go to Taal Vista. I'll never know really.

It seems that I've been drawn by Tagaytay's charm and there's no letting go.

Out of Office

Here's a glimpse of my business trip destination tomorrow.

Btw, the flight's via Hongkong. (wink wink)

True Faith: Eto Hits...Acoustic

"Hello....how have you been....who've you've been seeing this past few weekends?"

I was pleasantly surprised when Chad, one of our engineers christened as the office DJ, played the whole True Faith acoustic album one afternoon. I'm a True Faith fan but I never got word of this 2004 album of theirs, maybe since I was abroad at that time.

Medwin Marfil's relaxing vocals and his bandmates' acoustic guitars eased through my ears so much so that I reminisced the late 1990s when me and my mountain bike would pedal through the Severina subdivisions on late afternoons, with a borrowed walkman plugged into True Fafith's Memories Are Cheap album. I can consider those bike rides my solitude moments. True Faith music and just breezing along the quiet streets lined by those humongous mansions in Marcelo Phase 5, ah yes, that was solitude indeed.

Well me and the missus will be going up to Tagaytay for the weekend. The drive up to Taal Vista will be comfier with my boy in tow.

Of course, True Faith will be along for the trip. I was able to copy the album from Chad with my mp3 drive.

"...just like Mathis singin'....on a low down Sunday afternoon..."

How Lucky We Are

I heard a sad story the other day when AM, one of the maids here, left permanently.

With all the maids that have made their way to my family's home since I was a kid, this is one of those "aalis na po ako" stories that I may never forget.

AM decided to go when she heard that her aunt, who's taking care of her father, passed away. She had some sort of disease that had the doctor no choice but to amputate both her legs to prevent the disease from spreading. I guess after the doc amputated the remaining leg, she couldn't bare to see another day.

AM has a monthly salary of 3,000 pesos. She sends 2,000/month back home for her family's spending while the remaining 1,000 she keeps for her life savings.

According to B, they never saw AM spend a single centavo of that 1,000. When B and the other maid go out to buy meryenda, AM would not join. She would simply eat whatever food is portioned for the household help, nothing else.

B even said that the slippers that she uses were so old that the soles of her feet are already kissing the ground since the slippers were so worn out. She never wanted to spend her savings.

But then her aunt died and she wanted to go see her for the last time. She had planned to go back with her sister who also works as a maid here in Manila.

But then, going back by sea is cheap but it will take them 3 days for the trip. She might not be home in time to see her aunt. Thus she and her sis decided to take the plane, a faster but costly route.

To shoulder the airfare, she had no choice but to use up her savings to fly back. Her 1,000/month savings, all gone.

The Last Straw

Badminton, as you know, is the sporting craze nowadays here in Manila. Courts are popping up like mushrooms all around, and many people have taken up the sport ---much to the dismay of the missus.

Ten years ago, badminton was just like any other neglected sport here. But the missus and her friends were regular shuttlers, meeting weekly at Camp Aguinaldo to play. But ever since the sport picked up its popularity, she lost the energy to play.

Why you ask? Let me put it by this example:

Imagine you bought an album of your favorite artist/band. Some of the songs are already getting their regular airplay in the radio-stations, while there are some songs that are still unknown to the listening public.

You then find one particular song that hasn't been aired. You listen to it, and you love it ---more than the other songs, including the ones getting airplay. You christen it as THE song that you like most in the album and best of it all is that only you, and the other people who bought the album, are the only ones who get to listen and enjoy that song.

Then, after two weeks buying the album, you turn on the radio. Suddenly, you hear a familiar intro.

It's THE song that you love, and it's now being played on air!

Now everyone hears it. Everybody now knows it. It not only gets airtime on the radio, but you'll see it on TV, with the ultimate insult of some lame-ass forgotten hearthrob actor/actress trying to sing it on a non-favorite Sunday noontime show ---out of tune.

Your song, for all terms and purposes, has been mutilated.

Now use that analogy to the missus on badminton, you'll understand why.

She was ok with me starting to pickup the sport (Before, I didn't like badminton AT ALL). But then her dismay began to pickup when the basketball-clad guys hitting the shuttles came, then came the Sexbomb Dancers on the cover of Inquirer-Badminton magazine, then came Boy Abunda being interviewed in a weekly Badminton show.

Then, well, the last straw came:


Yes, that's good ol' Ronald McDonald hitting a shuttle.

Good thing football isn't that popular here.

Yet?

Oh please no.

GaryV

The missus and I went out last Thursday to watch "GaryV @ 23" at the Music Museum. This was our 3rd time to watch him live and, once again, he didn't dissapoint.

The crowd got excited everytime he'd walk towards the seats. This was where most of the fans would cry out, "Gary here!" to grab his attention so that they can have the opportunity to touch, hug, and even kiss him. The damatans were particularly the kilig-est of the bunch.

There was this old lady on our row who I assumed to be a die-hard fan. It was halfway thru the show that Gary then jumped to the aisle where she was and started walking. She, overcome with excitement, threw both arms in the air with hands signaling Gary to come on over. Kulang na lang eh sumigaw sya ng "Too! Too!" as if calling her favorite pet. Sad to say Gary didn't reach her and had to walk back up the stage. Later on there was another old-lady who was brave enough to walk towards the edge of the stage and Gary obliged by taking pics with her and kissing her on the cheek. Our old-lady then signaled his now embarassed husband to take her picture with Gary since she wanted to do the same. Unfortunately for her (and fortunately for the husband), the plan didn't pull through.

Seeing that Gary didn't reach their area (which was near the missus), a group of middle-aged women were crying out for Gary to come over. I was just smiling at how these women wanted to be near him. Good thing the missus wasn't like this, I thought.

Suddenly, I was surprised to hear a faint cry "Dito naman!" from my left side.

It was the missus.

Well Gary did walk her aisle but he was 3-5 rows short of her. Oh well, at least she got to enjoy the concert, as always.



Hmmm...maybe next year she'll request me to get the front-center seats. Hehe.

Motivation

I saw this coming down from the 29th floor.


Now that's something to aim for.

The Missus Missing Palmville

The missus has been missing our condo in Palmville for quite sometime now. The odds of us going back there is slim so we might as well reminisce with this video clip I took before I left Malaysia for good.

Sporting Options

One of the things I like being back home is the numerous sporting options for the week. Here's what I have so far:

Badminton. There's 3 groups that I can join for this, 2 of which are from my ex-colleagues from Globe, and the 3rd are with my collegemates. I've started playing with the latter group every Sunday at Libis. The playing fee is cheap (P75/head for play-all-you-can) although the shuttlecocks are still pricey. If I only remembered to buy a bunch before I left Malaysia (sigh).

Basketball. I've started last Monday with my collegemates. It was an off-night for me since the last time I played was early this year. Rusty on the 3-pointers but I think with constant practice I'll be in shooting-form next time.

Football. Last but not least, my favorite sport. I used to play regularly every Saturday afternoon with my highschool's alumni football club. I hope they're still there since I want to play again. Hopefully tomorrow I get to go and play.

Golf. Naaah, just kidding. Maybe 5 or 10 years from now. Who knows?

Since I still need to help with the baby I have to limit myself to at most, 2 activities a week. It's just a matter of prioritizing which one to go for.

Of course laziness-level is a determining factor if I go or not. Last night I forced myself to workout with the missus' walker-equipment. I opened the garage cabinet, saw the walker, and looked at it for the longest time.

Nakakatamad buhatin.

So I closed the cabinet, went back up the house and just passed the time on the laptop....with the missus' sauna belt of course.

Tinamad eh.

Please?

The Chinese engineer is at it again with his "exemplary" writing skills.

Here's his latest email:

"...engineer helped us to do it.I will please Mark to add it again."

Hmmm....

Lucas @ 6 weeks

The word CUTE doesn't even begin to describe this shot that I took this morning.

More pics here.

Leave A Tender Moment Alone

I was going to do some surfing with our laptop when I chanced upon these two fuzzy "animals" having a tender moment.


Nope, I didn't place them there on purpose.

Spooky.

King Cobra

Just one of the reasons why Eat Bulaga is unbeatable.

Being Frank

This was an email sent by one of our Pinoy engineers to one of the Chinese vendor-engineers:

=============================

But you need to be clear and describe exactly why the platform is rejecting a normal message.

IMPORTANT NOTE: PLEASE COMMUNICATE VIA EMAIL. I AM SORRY BUT I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOUR ENGLISH BY PHONE. ALWAYS, THERE IS A LOT OF INTERFERENCE.

=============================

Note that a lot of people were copied in this email. Kawawa naman yung Intsik. Kaso eh di daw talaga maintindihan yung English eh. Biglang-bawi na lang yung noypi nung dinagdagan nya ng “interference” sa huli.

I think the interference that he was referring to is the accent. Hehe.

The Pregnant Man

Is this for real?

S.M.

Yes, I've started working again. It's a big leap from my previous one in terms of position so I just can't help but double-click on my name on the email recipient-list every now and then just to see my title, just to be sure that I'm not dreaming.

An S.M. at 32?

Not too shabby. ;-)

Sarrrrrap