Sakae Sushi and the Newlyweds

It has been a year and a half since I quit my first job and moved on to a new one. Even though I was able to travel to different parts of the country, my main reason for quitting is that I do not see myself being what my bosses are 10 years from now. I am willing to take more risks and exert more effort for my career. But if there is one thing I am grateful for in being a contractual Computer Operator in LandBank, it's that I am able to build friendships with different people from various parts of the country. 
Some of which are my Land Bank friends that I met when I last visited Davao. 

Sir Vincent from Bansalan branch and Mam Elaine from Digos branch, they just got married and they visited Manila for their honeymoon. When I was in Davao, they accommodated me well so I thought I'd return the favor. I treated them in Sakae Sushi in Robinson's Ermita together with my other teammates in Land Bank Wide Area Network (WAN) Team that I haven't seen in a while.

I thought I'd take them there 'cause for sure there are no sushi-all-you-can with a fancy conveyor in Davao and now, this blog post will turn from friendship appreciation post to a food review.

The food in Sakae Sushi is awful. The maki and sushi tastes bland. The only thing that we liked is the crab stick. Other than that, the 399 Php is an effin waste of money. All the six of us did not enjoy the food. We should have eaten in Racks which is just beside it, but oh well, at least now we know never to eat there again. We just chit chatted our dismay away and good thing, we are still able to smile and have our picture taken with their overpriced food. 

The photo above was taken after we are done forcing ourselves to take in the sushis and makis. Notice that there are only few empty plates in our table, considering that there are six of us. We just washed out the weird taste in our tongues at the nearby Starbucks. After all, there is nothing that good coffee and a mindless conversation can't make up for..

My Highschool Yearbook Dream

I was going through some old stuff and then I came across my dusty high school yearbook. I don't like looking at it because I look weird in my picture (yes, that is adolescent insecurity talking right there). Even if I probably had a fun high school life, there is really nothing special there for me to look back to. And by the previous sentence I mean, I had a lot of friends but no romantic puppy love relationships.

I was the class clown, I am everybody's friend and I let everyone copy my assignment. It was a nice position to hold because I think most people likes it when I am around. Although I can't say that I have really close friends that I could turn too when I am not smiling anymore or maybe I just don't want to let anyone break through my wall back then.. 

Well, yeah, this is my yearbook picture with my address, my ambition, my  current achievements and my motto in life. After 9 years, I just realized how the editor fucking messed up my ambition and my motto to match my already messed up face.. XD


Correct Ambition: To make a useful and meaningful difference
Correct Motto: You'll learn more about a road by traveling it rather than consulting all the maps in the world 

Boys and Voice

I am not a hipster but If I am going to pretend I am, I'd say that the Scottish accent is the dubstep of all the world's accent. 

I recently had this CVOICE (Implementing Cisco Voice Communications and QoS) training and Neil Anderson served as our instructor. He is from Aberdeen, Scottland and ooohhh boy, he has an orgasmic way of speaking. Aside from that, he is a CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) in Voice (highest certification for a Cisco voice professional), he has multiple tattoos and he is crazy enough to quit his job once in his life to travel/backpack.
Sounds like my kind of guy.
But oh well, too much for wishful thinking, he has been married twice with a couple of kids so I don't think I stand a chance even if its just for one night *wink wink*.

He did this though and it puts a smile on my face every time I stare at this picture.

Conquering Makati

Makati. Say that word to me and expect a frown or a "the-hell-I-care" look. I don't know why but I hate Makati. I despise it. It intimidates me and the people walking its streets appear to wear really tight underwear on a daily basis. 

So yeah, I got scheduled for an interview at a company in the 39th floor of RCBC Plaza Tower 2. My usual reaction for interviews in Makati would be to have it scheduled and then argue with my self and make up a logical excuse for me not to go. But this time I thought, "What the heck, wearing a tight underwear for a day prolly wont hurt."

It is the highest  that I have been on a man-made structure. I am afraid of heights but the view of Makati and its bright lights at 9:30 pm is fascinating.

Too bad I don't have an iPhone (or a camera phone for that matter) but the view is perfect for Instagram and would prolly get a lot of like in Facebook.

The interview did not go well because the position I am applying for and my job experience are not very much similar and my asking price is as high as the floor level that I am in.

It wasn't a waste of time though because ADP has good reading materials. I learned a couple of things about leadership and menopause with the magazines in their waiting area. I also learned to Never Give Up on My Dreams (except that of being a supermodel). Another thing I learned is that reality is a bitter pill that you have to swallow or else, you'll die in delusion.

Hello World

Yang lalaking yan ay isa sa friend ko sa Facebook at kasalukuyan siyang gumagala sa Europe. Bukod sa kanya, marami pa akong ibang Friends sa Facebook na gumagala sa mundo. Naisip ko na.. Wow! Bigatin ang mga kaibigan ko. Hindi, actually ang una ko talagang naisip ay.. Alam mo yung inggit. Ako yun.

Kaya ayan, panay ang apply ko sa kung saan saang kumpanya sa ibang bansa pero wala namang magkainteres sa akin. O kamown world! I am a mothafappin CCNP.

"Pfft. E ano ngayon kung CCNP ka, sandamakmak na din naman ang CCNP sa mundo."

Sa totoo lang, nakalimutan ko na lahat ng natutunan ko sa Routing at Switching. Sa totoo lang hindi ko naman talaga ito gusto. Sa totoo lang, hindi ko alam ang gusto ko. 

Kaya sana Bro, gusto kong pumunta sa malayong lugar para makapagisip isip. Hindi ko kasi mabuo ang pangarap ko sa apat na sulok ng kwarto ko, baka kapag sa tapat ng Eiffel Tower ako nagisip, marealize ko siya. Please Bro. :D

A Road to Everywhere

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there." - Lewis Caroll, Alice in Wonderland

I just changed the layout of this blog to something that truly represents me, an eager wanderer in this journey of life.

Singapura

"Traveling is not a matter of money but of courage." - Paulo Coelho, Aleph

Singapore, marami sa mga Pilipino ang nangangarap na makapagtrabaho sa bansang ito. Kasi daw ay malinis, malaki ang sweldo, at mura ang mga gadgets. Totoo nga naman, nung pumunta ako sa lugar na ito ay nakakamangha ang linis ng lugar na ito. Walang mga buhol buhol na kable ng kuryente, walang mga kakalat kalat na aso, walang trapik, walang pinapawisan, walang mga bobong MMDA at walang mga lalaking malalaki ang tiyan na nakahubad ang tshirt. Kahit saan ka maglabas ng Iphone ok lang kasi siguradong hindi mananakaw. Ibang klase din ang paggawa ng mga daan, isang araw lang tapos na. Hanep. 

Pero ewan ko ba kung bakit hindi napukaw ng bansang ito ang puso ko. Parang kasing malungkot ang mga tao. Hindi ko alam kung bakit pero parang lahat nagmamadali. Ang mga ngingiti lang sayo ay yung mga Pilipino din. 

Naisip ko na sa ibang bansa na lang ako maghahanap ng trabaho. Ewan ko ba pero hindi talaga ako mahilig sa mga modernong bagay. Ayos lang sakin ang mamuhay ng simple at hindi masyadong komplikado basta masaya at may malinis na banyo.

It's More Fun in the Philippines

So I just came back from Singapore and I was whining about how I didn't really enjoy my trip despite the unusual cleanliness and modern living in SG. I am complaining about the food, the long walks, how the people smell, the unfriendly locals, And then I found this video that taught me a couple of things..

Some of his points are true, but most are exaggerated. Bottom line is that every country and culture has its downside.

An Early Morning Jog

It has been a while since I run/jog my ass off so today I decided to break a sweat. Good thing I am living near an SM Supermall so there is an ample sized parking lot that I could use for running. So at 6:00 AM , together with other sweaters, I run lapses around SM. I love free things and I am not a fan of expensive gym memberships so this cheap but effective workout does the trick. I alternately ran and walk, well, mostly walk cause I don't want to pass out if I push it too hard. Nangangalawang na ako e, so I have to build my endurance again. I did that for one hour and since I haven't had my breakfast, I already feel dizzy. Plus the fact that I didn't brought a bottle of water, I felt dehydrated too so I decided to go home. 

I really prefer running in the afternoon cause the temperature gets colder so I could run for as long as I want and I don't feel hungry that fast. Oh well, it is good getting healthy again. I love the after-exercise-glow. Anyways, I bought these for my breakfast. I am not sure of the calorie or carb content of these but I am not the type who stress my self with things I eat. It may be a bad thing but hey, it works for me. I just try to avoid fast food and keep everything in moderation.

Puto, Sapin-sapin and Saging na saba

Quezon's Hidden Treasures

I was suppose to be in Mountain Province last weekend. Me and my college friends planned that trip a month ago but a week before the travel date, they decided to cancel it (much to my dismay). I have already filed my vacation leave, and my mind and body are already programmed that I will be out of my usual routine for the weekend so learning that the trip will not push through did not made me happy. Because of that, my wanderlust self thought of something to overcome my urge to travel and so I come up with a "Trip to Quezon Adventure Proposal". I was actually not expecting anyone to agree with the proposal since that is usually the case whenever I plan an "out of town" (LOL), but to my surprise two of my closest friends back in college wanted to join my madness. Below are the pictures from our (mis)adventure in Quezon. 

My Travel Buddies

Me in the JAC Liner Bus with On-board Wifi

Puting Buhangin A.K.A. Lukang Beach

AWESOME BEACH IS AWESOME

The beach is all ours

Detached from the world

Kwebang Lampas

Inside Kwebang Lampas

This is where we stayed. Villa Anita Resort. Highly recommended!

Our Ride, seriously.. :)

On our way to Borawan

Borawan

More Borawan

Shells instead of Sand

The Palawan part of Borawan

Dampalit Beach

And that wraps up our two day trip to Quezon's hidden beauty. Hidden because most of the places that we went to are undeveloped and we are usually the only visitors. Maybe its because of the Panagbenga season that is why most of the tourist are up north but Quezon is worth discovering. I will definitely come back here again.