Thursday, September 28, 2006

Super Typhoon!

It was sunny all week! Why storm now?! Curse you, Milenyo/Xangsane! Ack, trusty PAGASA is down!

Ooh
Japan Meteorology Agency has nice colored pictures with rings. Pretty. Useful weather info on the Typhoon2000 site.





Thegan (my sister + brother-in-law) and I are supposed to fly out tomorrow night. Aaargh the suspense!

But oh, we can come to work in jeans. Yay.

Oh and if Milenyo continues on its path, then Manila should be back to normal by tomorrow afternoon. Phew. But IF.

Whoa something large and heavy just thudded on our neighbor's roof! I'm supposed to come to work in this weather?! What is this?!

Oh I can't stand this emotional rollercoaster!

UPDATE I (a few minutes later, maybe 930H)
I ventured out in my jammies to check how the roads in the immediate area are. It was drizzling oh-so-slightly. The neighbor's dogs were eerily silent. Hehe they're probably scared shitless, snivelling furballs. Serves them right, they terrorize everybody else on any other day. That's right, I don't like dogs. Can't stand them, they ate my pet rabbit when I was 6.

But then during breakfast, more objects fell on our's and our neighbors' rooves. It's gotten really windy now and it's raining a lot harder. I watched some news and discovered that several provinces are flooded and many of the main roads deemed impassable!

Power cut!

Hmm maybe it is too dangerous to go to work today after all.

---

UPDATE II (1216H)
This is the second time I've come to work soaking wet. This is the first time I've ever gone out in weather this bad. Felled trees along the way, flying corrugated iron sheets, lamp posts broken and weighing down on telelphone lines, it's not even funny.I actually feared for my life. I can't remember the number of trees I saw scattered in the middle of the road (I have a picture! Will upload that when I have the chance). On C5, on Kalayaan Avenue, everywhere we drove past. One car had the misfortune of having a tree smash into its windshield. Mum actually rang me from Melbourne to ask about the weather and if there's a chance our flight tomorrow will be cancelled. I may have to crash at Thegan's tonight, they live only a few blocks away.

Now they're moving us to a different section of the office, because there's a dangerously swaying large iron sheet on the rooftop of the building next to us.

UPDATE III (a few more minutes later)
We just had a meeting. We are now free to go home. It's prolly safer for me to hang out here for a while. Typhoon is expected to really hit later this afternoon. But it's coming down now and it's coming down hard.

UPDATE IV (1240H)
My colleagues and I have been looking at the situation outside. We just saw iron sheets fly off like paper from a pile on the rooftop of another building and nearly hit a car down below. A large piece of tree was moving up on Paseo. Power cuts everywhere and people texting us that billboards on EDSA have been ripped off by heavy winds. This storm means business. Traffic down below has begun to pile up because of debris.

Hehe no one's working.

UPDATE V (1256H)
Our building is swaying. I'm scared. We have to shut down our computers now.

UPDATE VI (1346H)
Back in the office. We were instructed to descend to the lobby and hang about. Hairboy and I occupied our time by chatting to other stranded employees, having a cigarette in a suffocating room because the vent fans weren't working and looking for provisions. Our shared spoils include peanuts, a cloud 9 bar and soda. The skies look relatively clearer now. The eye of the storm must be nearing Makati. Phew. That was an adventure. Now the challenge is getting home through the floods. Some brave souls have decided to head on home. I think I'll hang around for a bit until I find a phone charger.

LAST UPDATE (1410H)
Winds are picking up again in the south, it'll prolly get crazy again in the next hour or so but forecast says Milenyo's still moving northwest and it's expected to be in Zambales by tomorrow evening.

Btw Jax, your precious Sam Milby's billboard just killed someone:
Falling billboard kills driver

Okay I really have to work now.

----

A VERY LATE PHOTO UPDATE 9 Oct 2006, 2257h

I was trying to get to work but this huge tree was in the way and some bystanders were dissuading me from moving on because the winds might whip the tree backwards and smack me.




Along Paseo, on my way home from work. This was around 5 PM.







The entrance to our subdivision.






Other places in Metro Manila:








Monday, September 25, 2006

Metronaps

I so want one of these right now.

Powernap in style. Only 14 US dollars for 20 gloriously uninterrupted minutes.

Friday, September 22, 2006

UNGA Speeches of Note

Two really good ones so far: President Ahmadinejad said very harsh things against US policy, basically calling President Bush a warmonger, while President Chavez called the US President the devil himself (haha!). Not stopping there, he also called him an alcoholic and a sick man. Yeah! Hihihi!

Get in on the action! Read the speeches by
President Ahmadinejad and President Chavez!

President Bush said he wanted better relations with Iran. Yet he won't agree to a live debate with the Iranian president to establish a dialogue. Because he knows very well he'll get clobbered in a debate. Something that can be easily adjusted by the media, so I really don't see what the big deal is. Anyway, didn't he say years ago that Iran was part of the "axis of evil"? Now he wants to be friends. What's that about? Also, the US government said that President Chavez who is "a close ally of Iran, Syria and Cuba, would be a disruptive force on the council". Hehe pretty soon the US government will be saying that Americans are the only people who want peace. Yes, the Iraqis and the Lebanese know all about it.

Thursday, September 21, 2006

Dharma at 70s Bistro

I met up with some friends at 70s Bistro last night. Up Dharma Down was playing. I've seen them perform several times, they're quite good, strong vocals, solid band. I keep meaning to get a copy of their songs but I'm always out with very little cash. I haven't had to walk home though, fortunately, but there is always a first time. They release their stuff under the label Terno Recordings and they also have a page on myspace.

I haven't been to 70s for years and the place has changed very little since I was last there. Still nice and cozy although I wish there were better restroom conditions. But anyway peeing comfortably is not what one is meant to be doing there. We ordered a plate of hotdog and onions to complement our evening. I don't normally go out of my way to eat hotdogs (save for the occasional Sabrett indulgence) but I have to say, hotdog slices doused in barbecue sauce is a very delicious dish! Hihi.

Did a little bit of net research and, to my surprise, they have a website. Well, sort of. See it:
http://www.70sbistro.com/. I'm not sure if I understood correctly, but I think bands perform only until midnight because some of the residents in the area have complained about the noise. I think the bar stays open till after that time though as there were still people hanging around when we left.

70s Bistro is located on Anonas Street in Quezon City.

Who killed Tiesto?

I was in my bed last night, getting ready to sleep when I received a text message saying that Tiesto had just been in a car crash and died from severe head injuries. I felt sick to my stomach but thankfully a friend was still online at the time and was able to check whether any of it was true.

Well. It's NOT TRUE. But you've got stupid ass sites stating otherwise.

Dj Tiesto was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics responding to the accident. Highway Safety Investigators have told reporters that Dj Tiesto lost control while driving a friend's vehicle on Interstate 80 and rolled the vehicle several times killing him instantly.

To read more of this crap, go here.

They even have a picture of the car and everything.

Lying bastards.

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Hump

These are only two of the many people who are angry with the pope.


Now I really want to know what Hump of Islam means...

Seriously though, people need to CHILL OUT.

I got this from Israellycool's The First Annual Muslim Protest Awards post. It's funny.

Monday, September 18, 2006

The Pope and a few trivial matters

The pope's comments last week have been on the news since he made them and have been discussed and analyzed all weekend. I thought a week of coverage would be sufficient but nooooo, it's still on the news today. Ugh. I also ran out of work so I was left to do online research I've been putting off for weeks. I was productive for about half an hour until I got distracted by random reading. But I soon tired of that too. So for the past hour, I've been organizing my yahoo mail into folders. I nearly cried, it was so boring.

Last Saturday was really good. I got a lot of important shopping done, namely the dress I'm supposed to wear for the wedding. I was pretty sure it wouldn't keep me warm during the wedding so I also bought a jumper. Only the jumper isn't very warm either. It's just kind of ugly and frumpy, but in kind of a cool way. Or in a chris-thinks-it's-cool-she's-such-a-spaz way. Let's not be specific. Come to think of it, it doesn't really match the dress either. Well I'll just have to freeze for a few hours then. Oh the price of vanity.

Aaaanyway, I still maintain that Saturday was a good day. I got that shopping done in an hour. I had a lot of time free, so a friend and I went to a karaoke bar hihi. And then to a another despedida party. But as the night progressed, I got paranoid and had to go home by midnight.

Friday, September 15, 2006

So many

I've stayed out too many times this week, I still get enough sleep at night since I don't work till noon but I'm so tired. So many despedida parties I've attended since late last year, people are leaving the country. Oh we're in such a state.

More importantly, I still don't have a dress for the wedding. It's okay, I still have two weeks. Hm.

Monday, September 11, 2006

Normal, relatively

The brits left Manila last Sunday. We had a crazy Saturday night, their last party night. It was insane, no one else showed up, either they had already made plans or were daunted by the storm that was raging. But the three of us weren't deterred at all; we were determined to have our drunk night. We spent hours in Tbar (real name Tiananmen Bar & Resto but it's too long to say...and confusing since there is a bar that is actually called that but we refuse to change our ways). We started our evening with a series of shooters and long drinks and cocktails and funny conversation. After a couple of hours, we ordered hot soup which Char thought was a bad idea because it would sober us up. But Oli was soaked to the bone after a brief venture out in search of a cash point and had begun to shiver. We got a buzz going and decided to head on to Government a bit past midnight. It was only down the road but the rain was still doing its thing so we got a cab and got out again after 3 minutes. Hehe.

I knew the club had renovated a couple of months ago, but I haven't been there for nearly a year now and I was curious about the changes that were made. The registration table was outside, unlike before. Another new thing, they stamped our arms with cocks. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Most important change: prices had gone up. From the cover charge to the drinks, everything was more expensive but still affordable. They must still be paying for the newly installed cages and the flatscreen TV. They also added some fake looking chandeliers to the VIPish section on the balcony and spruced up the smoking room, but it's still suffocating if you stay too long. Oh and the bouncers had new uniforms. Otherwise the place looked relatively the same. Still poorly lit and a bit scummy. Char and I felt like we were coming home. Haha. One of the bouncers remembered us, that was a big surprise. Oli got hit on as planned and we met some random people, all friendly except for this one guy, huge and beefy, who looked like he wanted to murder Oli because the man's wife decided she wanted to be best friends with O and insisted on paying for our drinks. But we were so wasted by that time, it was past 4, we didn't want any more drinks. We were all danced out, well as much as one can be on a Mariah night, apparently the dj had just gone through a breakup and was being emo. Too much to smoke, too much to drink, we stumbled outside and went in search of chickenjoy. It was all we could think about. We spent ages in Jollibee, sobering up, fooling around, being really loud.

We finally decided it was time to call it a night. It was getting light out, the sun signalling the dawn of a new day, forcing us to feel fatigue we could no longer ignore. Together we stepped outside in the soft falling rain, stood waiting for our cabs and in unspoken agreement, kept our goodbyes brief and happy. Hugs, kisses, smiles. We parted ways.


I had a fantastic time. And spent all of Sunday in bed, smelling of cigarette smoke. Whoever came up with CSI Sunday was a genius.

Talk of interviews and visa approvals

We are conducting more interviews tomorrow to find a suitable replacement for BLG (he's getting assigned to a different department). It's been slow-going. We started two weeks ago. One shows promise though, I hope she does well on the exam. We have two more to screen tomorrow.

I hope they find someone before the end of this month. I'll only be gone for a week but the work will definitely pile up and loads of files will be delayed. I actually couldn't care less; I'm going to Melbourne! It's my sister's wedding on the 30th. That's two sisters married off in one year. I wonder how my dad feels. Actually I do know. He said I can wait till next year to get married. Hehe funny man, yeah right. I am finally relieved of the not-so-quiet pressure of producing offspring and manipulative little devils pretending to be adorable tottering little grandchildren. My sisters can sort that out among themselves. I'm free.

My visa's valid for a year too. Woohoo. Such a brief visit but I'm looking forward to it. Even though I haven't a thing to wear yet.

I don't have a dress for the wedding. Grah it's just one after another, isn't it?

Saturday, September 09, 2006

Fool in the rain

Wet adventure earlier this evening! I had a big ass ham sandwich in the afternoon so when it came time for my dinner break, I still felt full. So instead I decided to go over to the park two blocks away and catch up on some reading. It was a pleasant walk from the office, the sky was clear, the air cool. There were a few noisy kids around, which I don't mind for two minutes tops, so finding the place where I would be least disturbed became a very serious task indeed. Realizing that all the best spots were already taken, I made a mental pout before resigning myself in one of the unoccupied benches. I had finished reading a couple of pages when I felt something damp pelt me on my shoulder. For one horrible second, I thought some bird was being cheeky. I was relieved to find that it was only a big fat raindrop. I can handle a little bit of rain. But then bigger and fatter drops followed. I got up to look for another place and found a bench with a tree providing a bit of shade.

It wasn't enough.

No sooner had I sat myself down on the bench than the deluge began. I sought shelter a few steps away and found myself with other unfortunate people, mostly joggers but there was this one odd fellow who reeked of alcohol and the entire time we were there, he looked like he was going to throw up. I felt so bad for him. It rained and lightninged and thundered so hard, it seemed like the sky was ripping itself apart.

It went on for an eternity. Well, when you're cramped in a tiny space with strangers who don't feel like making conversation, every second you spend wishing the rain would stop is a second too long. By this time, the little dry area that we were forced to share was being threatened. I had been due back at the office for 20 minutes already. I took a deep breath and heaved a great sigh at the same time and braved the storm. I was drenched in seconds.

You have to appreciate my lovely black and white art shot (hihi):

What did I tell you? Sheets. It was coming down in sheets.

Embarrassing to enter my building. The lobby was overflowing with stranded people, loads of them corporately dressed men and women waiting patiently for their cars. I caught a glimpse of myself in the reflection of the glass door. I cringed. My hair was plastered to my face, dark wet marks on my coat, I had my jeans rolled up to show my dripping shoes. They squished with each step I took. Basically if you take a shower and get dressed without towelling yourself dry and then go back because you forgot to rinse out the conditioner in your hair, you would look exactly like I did just then. I could feel the airconditioning numbing my limbs.

I was on my break for nearly two hours. Teehee. So much for the romantic bench reading idea.

Headed straight to the restroom to sort myself out. 15 minutes with the hand dryer did very little to help. I had to explain to about
a hundred people why I looked the way I looked before I finally made it to my desk. The supervisor came over to say that I would have to put in extra time because I took so long to get back. I wanted to stab him in the neck with my pencil but I had lost all feeling in my fingers. He's in the right after all, the unfeeling bastard. For the next two hours, I sat at my desk with my toes frozen stiff and my teeth chattering.

I'm home now, all showered and in clean and, more importantly, dry clothes. Warm and toasty in bed. All is forgotten and I'm excited to dream.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Scared

I scare very easily but I love horror stories. Once in highschool, my classmates and I were sharing ghost stories and when I grew too frightened, I had to cry to make them stop. I've gone inside a carnival haunted house, screaming myself hoarse and nearly peeing my pants in terror. And rendering my friend's boyfriend's shirt unwearable. I don't know why I love going to the cinema to watch gory films. And I really do watch too. I don't shut my eyes or put my hands on my ears. Instead I'll concentrate on the story and scream bloody murder throughout the entire thing.

Every couple of years I'll get these periods of morbid and intense curiosity about murderers and their shocking crimes. The unsolved cases are usually the worst simply because they are still out there. I find it absolutely riveting. I'll read in bed, just before I go to sleep. Don't ask me why. Sometimes there are pictures of the crime scenes. More often than not, there will be photos of the killer or suspect and of the victim usually looking really happy. I'll read about the events leading up to the grisly killings and I'll be terrified. And I can't stop. Gripping and suspenseful, I love it. I understand that it is somewhat of an unhealthy obsession but only now am I beginning to worry that it might be developing into a serious condition.

I've been reading about gruesome murders all this week and I had to force myself to stop reading yesterday because I've been having trouble sleeping. I've never suffered from insomnia but I'm completely spooked that I dread going to sleep. So I leave my light on and keep the television tuned in to something corny and funny. Last night, I nearly cried because I couldn't find a happy program. I was so upset. The channels I surfed through seemed to contain nothing but scenes of people killing and dying or engaging in violence of some sort.

Yes friends, I finally decided it was enough and have been trying to resume normalcy but I'm struggling. I've since occupied myself with reading about Japan's new baby boy, getting over my disappointment about Suri Cruise not looking like an alien baby (but wondering why she looks Asian), giggling over Paris Hilton getting refused entry to a club reducing her to tears (hihi), watching the interview with the Austrian teenager who was abducted when she was 10 and finally escaped after 8 years and being sad of the crocodile guy's death by stingray (Steve Irwin, you'll be missed!). I carefully avoided the newslink about the severed heads found in Mexico. But I'm so curious!

Yet none of them have been absorbing enough for me get over my irrational fear of getting hacked to pieces while I'm peeing. I normally walk to my stop after work and my usual route has been disturbed because I'm too petrified to walk past the poorly lit park. I think that there are way too many bushes in that area. I have to wash my face or rinse my hair of shampoo with my eyes open, enduring the stinging soap suds. I figure, better that than opening my eyes and having the little boy from The Grudge suddenly appear at my leg. That movie was, by far, the one that most affected me. I've never felt so violated by a storyline, I'm used to the horror movie formula where everything is pretty much dictated by a clear narrative. But damn, the ghosts in that movie cheated! Appearing in all sorts of places. You're supposed to haunt the general area of your death, not wander around and show up on buses or in stairwells. You have no business being there. I was so shaken afterwards when my friends and I left the cinema, we had moved off to one side so they could talk about it, that I was reduced to whimpering and rubbing the goosebumps off my arms. This lady appeared out of nowhere (to be fair, she was only walking past us) and sneezed! I was so rattled that I turned round and screamed obscenities at her. I apologized profusely when I realized what I had done and she walked away looking back at me like I was crazy. Huhuhuhuhu.

And now, I eagerly await The Black Dahlia because I'm familiar with the story. Huhu I still remember reading about how Elizabeth Short's body (pieces?) looked when it was found. Why do black and white photos look so much more sinister? I know it will be best if I refrain from seeing the film but I won't be able to resist.

Help me.

Monday, September 04, 2006

The Turkish delight

BLG arrived from Istanbul last weekend and came to work bearing gifts. Turkish delights, locally called lokums, according to him. They're yummy! He had so many stories and it was lovely to hear about what he'd been up to. He absolutely loved the city and wished he'd had more time. Everything was perfect, he said, until his last night when, on his way back to his hotel, he ran into this dignified looking businessman who started chatting him up. They found they had a lot of things in common and even conversed in German, to BLG's delight. The businessman, Hassan his name was, invited him for a drink at a "family bar" he owned close by after regaling him with tales about his wife and four kids. BLG agreed since it was his last night anyway and he was having such a good time. So off they went to this charming neighborhood. Turns out the "family bar" was an underground nightclub. And Hassan didn't own it like he said. BLG started feeling confused and uncomfortable and thought of taking his leave when Hassan sat them down and started ordering all kinds of stuff. After a few minutes, BLG said it was getting late and that he had to go. As he was getting up to leave, the manager came over and showed him the bill. BLG said Hassan told him he was paying but Hassan denied it. BLG couldn't make a run for it because he was flanked with waiters, the manager and Hassan on all sides. It was all incredibly organized. He had no cash on him and they looked inside his wallet to confirm and found he had credit cards inside and told him to pay with one. Faced with no other option, he negotiated the price down (the bill was over 40k) with the little Turkish that he'd picked up during the week and they seemed delighted with him enough. Hassan agreed to pay for half of the bill. When they settled everything, Hassan walked him out to get him a cab.

BLG got back to his hotel, thankfully without incident, sat on his bed for a very long time trying to process what had just happened to him before finally going to sleep. He said that was the only thing horrible about his trip to Turkey. Then he talked about the lovely people he met there, which were pretty much everyone else.


So for those of you travelling to Istanbul anytime soon, stay away from "family bars". But do grab a box (or two) of those amazing Turkish delights.

Friday, September 01, 2006

Humbug

Everyone in the Philippines knows that the Christmas season starts in September. Fondly and very unimaginatively referred to as the '-ber months' and one will definitely hear the statement "Berber na!" annoyingly followed by the useless "SeptemBERR OctoBERR NovemBERR DecemBERR", with emphatic relish on the ber syllable, as I have indicated by providing caps and letter doubling. I would have to say that they are, without a doubt, the most annoying statements ever to be recycled into existence annually. It's the first of September and already I have heard these two statements one too many times. I'm neither a very big fan of Christmas nor do I consider myself a bah humbugger (I quite like Carol of the Bells) but for crying out loud, we get it, berber very clever, alright already! Enough! It's not cute!

Who has heard a Christmas carol on the radio today? Let's have a show of hands.