Bored to Death

If you find out that I've died, it's because I'm too bored to function...

Ready to Evacuate

I am not homesick. I don't really miss a lot of stuff from the Philippines, mainly just my PC and the malls. But I am ready to leave the USA... I'm just so over the whole American thing and the living-in-a-hotel thing as well. Bleeh...

The Unexpected

Hehe... Merong nangyayari ngayon sa akin... Pangyayaring kakaiba... Pangyayaring di inaasahan. Di ko alam kung bakit nangyayari ito. Ayaw kong mangyari ito. Pahamak lang ang maidudulot kapag patuloy na mangyayari ito. Ang dami nang "yari" sa paragraph na ito. Pero ayoko talaga... BLEEH!!!

Five Qs - Animation

1. What is your favorite animated movie?

I love Finding Nemo... I watched it in theaters for about 6 times then I bought the DVD and watched it a gazillion more time... I also love The Prince of Egypt

2. Do you think a person could ever be too old for cartoon movies? Why
or why not?

Nope... Because cartoons or animation is just another medium to tell a story. Not all cartoons are about silly childish stuff. A lot of animated movies have adult themes as well.

3. Are you an avid watcher of tv shows based on animated movies?

Naaahhhh...

4. Do you think sequels are just as good as the first? Why or why not?

Sometimes they are but mostly they are not. I guess it's because most of the good stories or ideas are already put into the first film. Although there are two notable exceptions to the sequels suck thing: Toy Story 2 and Shrek 2.

5. Which cartoon movie best describes your life? Why?

Hmmm... Finding Nemo? Hahaha... I really have no idea... I don't think there's a cartoon out there that has a story similar to me or my life.

Rally na naman...

At ito lang masasabi ko: BLEEH!!!

Buti na lang wala ako sa 'pinas ngayon... Le sigh...

Kalandian ng mga Baliw

Here are some of the people that I'm with here in the U.S. of A. From left to right: Carla, Alan, Hazel, Sheila, Ana and Philip. And of course that's me in red... Kadiri mga posing noh? Kalandian hahahaha... That picture was taken inside one of the hotel rooms...

Stressed...

I'm really restless and stressed out right now. I started becoming stressed about 3 hours ago when I realized what a really small cubicle I have right now and that my stuff is a mess. I have papers strewn about, my files are in disarray, there's very little space to move my mouse around... GAAAHHHHH!!!!! Then there's the accumulation of too much information since I've been going around the office talking to different analysts to be trained on the tons of policies that I'm going to handle... It's too much! Well not really... It's just that I still don't have a proper system for this new responsibilities, which really is why I am super stressed out... Well anyways, it's almost time to go home. I have some folders here so that I can organize all of the papers that I have. Hopefully by tomorrow, I will have a routine or some semblance of a system so I won't be frazzled...

#1 Song on This Date in History...

I found an interesting site listed on ew.com called the #1 Song on This Date in History ... The site's name pretty much sums up its contents... It has a complete listing of #1 songs since the 1940s. So if you are curious about a particular date and would like to know what song people were grooving to back then, you can find the answer in this site. As for me, I was curious which songs people liked during my birthday. It was "All Night Long (All Night)" by Lionel Richie... And I have no idea what that song is hahahaha...

Boy Watching

Since it is so boring here in the office, we had to find various ways to amuse ourselves. Surfing different sites can get boring after a while and there's the apprehension (in my part at least) that we're gonna be reprimanded for surfing non-work related sites. Gossiping is good but of course there are times when there's nothing new to talk about. So I have resorted to a different pastime: boy watching.

Being in an international office is quite intriguing. I see a lot of people of different races and of different shapes and sizes. The variety makes the act of people watching fun. And of course, seeing someone who's blond and blue-eyed is enjoyable. It's so very different from the options that we have back home. So that's what I pretty much do during my downtime... I look at every single guy who passes by our area (called the Ghetto) and see if there are any cuties. And there are quite a number of cuties!

I already have my eye on four men: a European, an Indonesian, and two Americans. The European is sooooo European: his clothes, the way he carries himself, his sophisticated aura... And he is funny! Too bad he has a lot of freckles... The Indonesian guy is exactly my type: short, chubby and has facial hair! Hahaha... He knows how to speak Filipino and is very funny as well. The two Americans, I don't really don't know them that well. They are not exactly the "crushable" type but I am just mesmerized by their blue eyes! There's a hypnotic quality to that eye color...

Oh, I almost forgot my ultimate crush! He's cute, very sweet, tall, has the greatest looking eye-lashes I've ever seen, and mabait siya! Too bad he has a fiancee already... But we've heard him talking on the phone with the girl and he seems so malambing! And he bakes! SWOON! Hahaha... He seems so perfect...

Aaaahhh boy watching... It really is a satisfying way to pass the long boring hours!

Belated Valentines from Lost

These are so cute! Damon Lindelof (one of the creators of Lost) is a god! (I got these from E! Online)

Apparently, these four Valentines were discovered washed up on the Philippine coast last week. After extensive forensic analysis (a big shout-out to the team over at Criminal Minds), the ink has been restored and we can now tell you what they say:

The First Valentine
Dear Libby,
Roses Are Red
Violets Are Blue
Even though you denied it when I asked, I'm still pretty sure
That I know you.
Be Mine,
Hurley

The Second Valentine
J,
Y'know how the Fugitive--from the TV show, I mean--was a doctor? Well, you're a doctor. And I'm a fugitive. How about that?! So...even though I kissed you and ran away because I saw an imaginary horse, I hope you forgive me.
I miss you,
K

The Third Valentine
Dearest Husband Jin,
If you understood English, you would know that I am writing you this Valentine to tell you that even though you frustrate the hell out of me sometimes, you are so effing hot when you take your shirt off.
All My Love,
Sun

And Finally...the Fourth Valentine
Freckles,
There ain't no damn roses anywhere, so...
Wanna screw?
The One with the Guns

Landslide

I woke up this morning thinking it's gonna be another ordinary day. I went about my morning ritual with the television tuned to the morning news. I was brushing my teeth when I heard something that really caught my attention: "Hundreds dead in a landslide in the Philippines." I immediately stopped brushing and started watching this new tragedy to hit our country. It was just so weird to watch something about the Philippines in a foreign land. And I was saddened by the fact that I am so far away, not getting any up to date information from the local newscasts. For sure, ABS-CBN and GMA are showing round the clock updates with interviews and whatnot...

If ever I'm still in the Philippines when this happened, I don't think the news will have that much of an impact on me. Maybe I'll just go "Hmmm that's sad" then go about other stuff and not think about it again. But being in another country kinda magnifies the situation for me. I was watching some video from CNN.com of the disaster area and it's just so sad... Seeing that brown patch of land in the middle of ricefields, you just know that that is not normal. That there used to be something beautiful and alive in that brown area. And now, pretty much everything under all that mud must be destroyed...

Need to pray... Haven't been doing much of that here...

The saddest thing about watching this is seeing another news story about a lost dog. From what I remember of the report, there's this showdog who was running around loose in the airport in Washington and that a lot of people are looking for this one dog. There are even helicopters searching for the animal. And I thought that this is just so petty! A dog is missing. Wow... Just imagine the manpower going into searching for this dog could be put to better use helping out humans in greater peril...

Some Observations in the USA

-Snow melts fast
-There are flies here (bleeh!)
-Indian accents are funny
-African Americans are friendlier
-We are noisy
-It's cool outside but the heat of the sun stings (kinda like in Baguio!)
-American commercials are not that good
-Companies here are equal opportunity employers

Reply sa Comment ni Kuya Deneb

hmmm di ko alam kung paano magrreply sayo kasi di ko alam ang email mo so dito na lang hahaha... tinatry ko lahat ng meron sa breakfast buffet sa hotel para malaman kung kelan ang araw na masarap ang food para alam ko kung kelan ako sa buffet kakain at kung kelan na ako ang magluluto. and medyo hinihinay ko naman ang food (medyo lang hahaha). i also bought mga frozen dinners, yung lean cuisine na brand so yun ang diet food ko ahahaha... i still haven't tried the gym sa hotel kasi malayo sa room ko and wala akong dalang jogging pants. di naman kakayanin ng katawan ko ang lamig kung maglakad ako sa hallways na nakashorts lang... pero bumili na ako last night so ilo-launder ko yun mamaya then tomorrow morning eh magttreadmill na ako hehe... aba ayos pala tumawa, 16 calories na agad? eh isang minuto nga sa rotex sa ff eh 10 calories lang ang nawawala... langya talaga si aenuh, kakamiss mga hirit niya hahahaha...

LSS

Weird LSS song for the day: Hopelessly Devoted to You

But now there's nowhere to hide,
since you pushed my love aside I'm not in my head,
hopelessly devoted to you
Hopelessly devoted to you,
hopelessly devoted to you

I'm going crazy...

Balentayns Dey

It's the day of hearts once again... But unlike other years, I'm not saddened by the fact that I have no love life whatsoever to speak of. Maybe it's because I'm not in the Philippines right now and the people here in the USA does not seem to care much about this day. Here in the office, I still haven't heard a single person greet someone a happy valentine's day. I haven't seen anyone give or receive flowers, chocolates, candy or any gift at all. I really don't feel that today is valentine's day and that's really helping out with my emotional well being. 'Di ako naiinggit dahil wala namang iinggitan. So yahoo! Hahaha...

But I do wish a bit that the atmosphere here in the office today will be a bit more festive just so that I can fight off my drowsiness. Jet lag is still kicking me in the butt... I sleep at around 10:30 to 11, which I think is ideal, but I always seem to wake up at around 5:30 even if I'm still sleepy as hell. Maybe it's the jet lag or maybe it's the warm temperature in my room or the unfamiliarity of the bed but something is causing me to wake up earlier than usual! So I'm not able to get the ideal number of hours of sleep, which is why I'm sleepy as hell right now even if it's just 10 in the morning... It's a good thing we're still not getting any training or else I'll be nodding off in the middle of a lecture... I hope I get a mug soon so I can start drinking coffee.

Mababaw ang Pinoy

Merong dalawang empleyado dito sa ISS Rockville na marunong mag-Tagalog. Yung isa eh Pinoy talaga pero dito na sa USA naka-base (si Ramon), yung isa naman eh 11 years nagstay sa 'Pinas noong bata pa siya (si Adrian) so marunong din siya.

Nung pinakilala sa amin si Ramon talagang nagpure Tagalog kaming nag-usap, para bang nanabik si Ramon na may kausap siya na Tagalog ang gamit.

Tapos kanina naman merong isang temp dito na tinuturuan ni Adrian na magmap ng mga network drive sa PC niya. Eh di nila magawa. So tinuruan sila ni Ana, yung bosing ko sa 'Pinas, kung paano. So si Adrian nagreact at sinabi, "Galing!" Kami namang apat na galing sa 'Pinas natuwa. Naaliw na makarinig ng Tagalog. Ang babaw talaga ng kaligayahan ng Pinoy. Hehehe...

Land of the Free - Part Dieux

Today is my first day working at ISS's headquarters here in Rockville... Been here for about two hours now and I am bored stiff! And sleepy too... Bleeh...

The weekend was so nice... There was a snowstorm as I've previously mentioned. Although snow storms are not what I envisioned them to be... I thought it's gonna be like tropical storms but with snow instead of rain. It snowed from Saturday afternoon until Sunday morning and it was so cool to see snow on the trees and cars not looking like cars at all since they're caked in ice. We played a bit in the snow, threw some snowballs, made snow angels (although we were a bit terrified with lying down in the snow for long periods so the angels were no good) and made a little snow man as well.

We also shopped at the local supermarket. It's called Safeway. It's kinda like Pricesmart since there are memberships but thankfully it's open to outsiders as well. I bought a ton of stuff: some frozen dinners which I hope will be good, turkey bacon which I'm looking forward to try out, some basic household stuff, etc... The selection was great for both food and household items but they come in such big quantities! I still prefer our "tingi" system so I can buy a lot of different brands and determine which ones are the best.

Yesterday we bought some meat and Knorr tamarind mix so we had sinigang for lunch! Althought their meat was kinda odd... It does not taste quite as tasty as meat from Pinoy pigs hahaha... We also bought some rice so it was a true Pinoy lunch. I've also tried out the breakfast buffet at our hotel, which I think will be the cause of my weight gain as it is a buffet! Eat all the bacon and waffles that I can, oh yeah! Hahahaha...

Ciao! Need to work already...

Leaving on a Jetplane...

Flying to Washington was no easy thing. We first boarded a PAL plane going to Los Angeles. It was a 12 hour flight, which I didn't mind since the crew was so friendly and there were in-flight movies. But I hated being seated far away from my companions and was instead seated beside an American who can't sop yakking to his other seatmate. But it was interesting to hear his stories (he's marrying a Pinay who's 20 years younger than him! Ayus!).

We landed at LAX at around 6 PM. Had trouble at immigration since my visa photo is so different from what I look like today ( I was bald and had a goatee in the photo! I looked like some kind of thug). Fortunately I wasn't asked too many questions. The international terminal at LAX was a bit old but the domestic terminal was so nice and modern. It was fun hanging out there for almost 5 hours while waiting for the plane to Chicago. We got food from Burger King (the servings were so big and the food was expensive!) and we ate while seating on the floor (a lot of other passengers were seating on the terminal floor so it was not embarassing).

The flight to Chicago was very excruciating for me. We boarded the plane at around midnight and the flight was four hours long. It was just a small plane (similar to the ones PAL use for local flights) so I can't really walk around. And there were no in flight movies or any other entertainment options so it was really BORING! When we landed, we didn't expect that it will be so cold so it was very surprising to experience the very cold wind. We were also running like crazy in the airport since the layover between flights was only 50 minutes long and we were afraid that the plane to Washington will leave us.

Thankfully, our last flight only took about an hour and a half. And the plane was not full so we were able to get prime seats. The Reagan airport in Washington was quite nice. We were milling about outside the airport just to get a feel of the weather. It was nice! Cold but still bearable. But we were disappointed with the lack of snow.

The man who fetched us from the airport is Bijan. At first we thought he was angry because he was shouting a bit at us that we were not able to find him immediately but it turns out he just talks like he was angry but he's actually nice. He told us that snow is going to come in later in the evening (yehey!) and he also gave us his calling card so we can contact him anytime we need a ride. That's the surprising thing about Americans. I thought they were gonna be all professional or snobbish towards us but almost everyone we met was really nice, very hospitable. And that was comforting... :)

Land of the Free...

It's 11:30 PM here in Rockville, MD. Yes I'm already in the land of the free otherwise known as the U.S.A. My travel companions and I first got to America yesterday when we had our first stop at L.A. at around 6 P.M. PST. Then we waited up until 12 to catch a connecting flight to Chicago. It was an excruciating 4 hour flight. Then we took our last flight from Chicago to Washington, D.C. and arrived there at around 9:30.

Will tell more about my trip tomorrow... It's already late in the night and I have to sleep... Only had 3 hours of sleep in the last 48 hours! And it's currently snowing here so it's super cold, the perfect sleeping condition... Hurrah! Unfortunately the snow will disappear early tomorrow morning... Bleeh...

Ciao!!!

Before

This is my before pic. Tignan natin ang after pagkagaling ko ng Rockville hehehe... Nagbebet ang mga tao dito sa office na magge-gain ako ng 25 lbs!

Aalis na ako tonight! God bless sa lahat ng iiwan ko sa 'pinas. Mamimiss ko kayo kahit two months lang yun!