Got a wallet tag from Lizeth so I’m spilling all the contents out! Here’s my coin purse, my train ticket jacket, and my “main” wallet.
Archive for November, 2007
Wallet Peek
November 20th, 2007
{ 10 Comments }
Osaka no Makati
November 18th, 2007
{ 14 Comments }
* Osaka no Makati – Osaka’s Makati
Before I start another week at the new company, I have to tell you that my first day went very well…
I stepped into the shower half-awake and I slipped! I thought I couldn’t go to work because I ached all over. I successfully ignored the pains last Friday but my body finally gave in yesterday. Now, I have these nasty bruises in my right shoulder, my hip, and my left leg.
I wasn’t able to buy a notebook and at lunch time, I got lost looking for a convenience store, then bought a note pad. Its cover says “This is the most comfortable Report pad you have ever used. All times you’ll feel pleasant with it”.
The floor layout was a bit confusing that I almost went inside the men’s toilet, and almost bumped into a guy as he was on his way out of the toilet!
I won’t be able to attend to calls or personal emails during office hours.
I think blogging is not prohibited but it’d be very embarrassing if I’d try to access non-work-related web sites.
I haven’t seen anybody eating in their seats during work hours so I’d have to appease my revolting stomach by popping in tiny bars of chocolates. No more chips and sandwiches for me.
The company doesn’t have an unlimited supply of water and tea but before I could start my litany of discontent, my eyes bulged upon seeing the prices on the vending machine! Canned coffee, bottled water, bottled tea, everything costs only 50 yen! There’s another vending machine of drinks in paper cups and each cup costs only 20 yen! That’s definitely more than 50% cheaper than in the previous company.
I love the location and the office! It’ s definitely Osaka’s version of Makati (Greenbelt Area). From the office, you could see the beautiful Osaka Castle.
The place was filled with professional-looking people and I felt shy so I only managed to take few pictures:
Sweet Neo
November 17th, 2007
{ 13 Comments }
She was my block mate, who then became my roommate and later on turned best friend. One of the kindest person I’ve ever met. I never saw her angry! She’s always calm, composed, graceful (so feminine), patient, and trustworthy. That’s why I really treasure her. She’s also one of my pen pals and I love her handwriting! Despite the different roads we took, I know she’ll always be a good friend…
PhotoHunt: I Love _______
November 16th, 2007
{ 30 Comments }
Final Glimpse
November 15th, 2007
{ 11 Comments }
The pictures below show why I fell in love with Seishin-chuo, Kobe (the location of the previous company). I roamed around at lunch break today and took the following pictures. Due to extreme sunlight, some pictures seem to be damaged… I even got a “too much heat” warning from my cellphone! Hope you’ll enjoy the autumn views. ^-^
Thursday Thirteen #1
November 14th, 2007
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1. My Train Pass! This entitled me to an unlimited train ride from Osaka to Kobe!
2. The not-so-congested trains bound for Kobe. Often, I’ve been able to secure a seat for the 35-minute first leg of my travel.
3. The unlimited supply of black coffe, two kinds of tea, and hot/cold drinking water. Other companies don’t even have a water dispenser!
4. The small convenient store in the ground floor. Surprisingly, many of the stuffs there are cheaper than in the supermarket where I usually do my groceries. They even occasionally have a Hello Kitty novelty items sale!
5. The not-so-limited internet access. For more than a year, I was able to write and read blogs here. Starting tomorrow, I could only visit my friends’ blogs when I get home.
6. Since the office is located somewhere in the mountains of Kobe, the sceneries here are really very beautiful! I’ll post more on this later.
7. I could wear anything I want – jeans and t-shirt is the “in thing” here, since most of my officemates are men. Some ladies even dared wearing shorts!
8. I could eat anything, anytime in my desk. Some guys even eat food that’s a bit smelly, like dried anchovies mixed with nuts. A few times, I brought squid crackers as a form of revenge. hehe…
9. I could send out emails through my cellphone in my desk, I think. Well, nobody told us that it’s not allowed. hehe
10. Kind teammates and really kind leaders. I’ve heard of some “team-lead-horror” stories from friends so I guess I should watch out for that in the next company. But it would be really nice if my next leader won’t give me nightmares.
11. The shopping mall, 10 minutes walk from the office. It’s almost deserted compared to the human-flooded malls in Osaka. Then they occassionally have this “real sale”!
12. Bakery with the most delicious bread selections ever! Or should I say, the best cream-filled bread I’ve ever tasted.
13. The very accessible Saizeriya Family Restaurant. 300-500 yen meal and it’d seem that my stomach’s gonna explode. I haven’t found Saizeriya near my place…
As I scanned through the office when I arrived this morning, I realized I’m gonna miss these familiar faces, though I haven’t interacted with most of them. Well, familiarity is really comforting!
8 More Spilled Beans
November 14th, 2007
{ 12 Comments }
Siani’s Pot-Pourri tagged me with this cool meme:
Here are the rules: When tagged, you have to link to the person who tagged you. Post the rules just before your list, then list eight random facts about yourself. At the end of your post, you must tag and link to eight other people.
1. I was 5 years old when the youngest sibling was born. One time, I was playing with my walking doll but suddenly, that doll tripped and the doll’s face fell exactly on my then 2-month-old sister’s face! My baby sister was so terrified that she didn’t breathe for a few seconds. I can’t remember what my mother did to my sister because I panicked, but I can still remember the scolding I got.
2. When I was 6 years old, I was very eager to go to school so my mother made an arrangement for me to become a class “visitor”. At that time, a child who won’t turn 7 on the first half of the school year won’t be accepted as a first grader. But my teacher said I was “ready”. So in the school records, October 9, 1979 was written as my birthday, instead of January 1980. This was changed to the real birthdate when I was already in sixth grade.
3. I first noticed the white/gray hairstrands in my head when I was still 10 years old. I don’t know where I got this or how. They said that it’s heriditary but no one in the family has the same predicament. Perhaps in 3 or 4 years, I’ll dye my hair to cover these up. *sigh*
4. Since fourth grade, I’ve always preferred to sit in the front row because my vision was already bad. I had my first pair of eyeglasses when I became a highschool freshman. There was this seating arrangement made by our teacher and I was often seated five rows behind.
5. I love fiction books! I started out reading every Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys in the library when I was in highschool. Then I shifted to romance novels when I stumbled upon Barbara Cartland. For me, she’s the best romance novelist ever! Now, I’m into fantasy and mystery books.
6. The last time I checked, I’m still afraid of mascots! Whenever I come close to one, I couldn’t suppress the fear that he/she might do something terrible. Why? Maybe because I haven’t seen “their kind” when I was still a child? I grew up in a rural area, after all! But maybe now I’m no longer afraid of them…
7. I’m ok with those tiny, helpless, have-difficulty-standing puppies. But full-grown dogs? No way! I just couldn’t stand them licking my finger. I’m afraid they’re gonna bite my hands off! You see, I was bitten by our first dog pet when I was 9 years old and that dog died 3 days after it bit me. I had to endure eight (8) consecutive anti-rabies injection around my navel! And I couldn’t bear another set of those.
8. I had a professional driver’s license but didn’t drive and still couldn’t. I enrolled in a driving school and I’m pretty sure that I forgot everything I’ve learned from there!
Done!
I hope it won’t be such a bother… I’m tagging Charlotte, Florence, Rose, Sun Jun. And my new friends: Levian, Rey Ian, Rollchan, and Erra.
Image taken from Red Mountain Bank.
Dragging the Pieces
November 13th, 2007
{ 4 Comments }
I just love using my highlighter so I prefer reading printed materials. It’s not surprising that after a year here in the current company, I’ve accumulated a very thick layer of printouts. Strictly following the company’s security guidelines, I would have to shred all those colorful pieces before leaving the company.
When our HR Manager, a.k.a. “nanay”*, showed us the only shredder in the 6th floor, the shredder bin (is this how you call that box for the shredded paper?) was almost full. He instructed us to replace the trash bag if it’s already full and deposit the trash a good 50 meters or so away from the shredder. I planned to shred mine on the last day, to avoid replacing the trash bag. However, I had nothing else to do so I decided to do it, hoping that somebody already replaced the trash bag.
As I was feeding the papers into the paper monster, it suddenly stopped doing its job and started giving out this irritating, beeping sound. Crap! The bin’s already full! I tried to squeeze the contents and proceeded but it kept on beeping. So, I had no choice but to remove the monster’s collection, which by the way was very heavy, and put in a new trash bag. Having fed everything into the shredder, I asked the person sitting closest to the shredder where to place to trash, hoping to hear that it is indeed OK to leave it there. Unfortunately, he just told me where to place it.
Gathering all my physical strength, I dragged that big bulk across the room, passing and bothering many desk occupants along the way. (I did intentionally hit their chairs. hehe.. Just kidding! The trash was just too bulky for the aisle). I could see eyes at the back of my head while I utter dozens of “Sumimasen*”. To overcome my increasing discomfort, I just repeatedly told myself that to them, I’m just one crazy “Gaijin*”. That area was full of male employees but NO ONE volunteered to help – as expected. Na-deadma ang beauty ko! haha
Well, I’ll just take it as another blooper, another unforgettable moment here. ^-^
Nanay – Filipino term for “mother”
Sumimasen – Japanese word for “Excuse me”
Gaijin – Japanese Colloquial term for “foreigner”
Image from: Cartoon Stock
Thank you, Hangman
November 12th, 2007
{ 4 Comments }
Two crossword puzzles – done!
Lesson for the day – done!
Exercises for the day – done!
I glanced at the clock… there’s still about 20 minutes left! What should I do? The boy was getting restless. Oh, I wish he’s just a beginner in English. I wish he isn’t that smart. Then I could spend the whole hour trying to make him understand just ONE lesson…
Me: OK, let’s proceed to the next lesson.
Boy: [meekly] I wanna play hangman…
Me: [trying to appear hesitant] Oh… OK.
Then he excitedly rummaged through the dictionary.
I’m really grateful to the person who created hangman. Since we started playing this game, there’s no need for me to prepare loads of crossword puzzles. It’s one of the few ways to make the boy use the dictionary. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!
Me: a PPP Newbie
November 12th, 2007
{ 12 Comments }
I have been blogging for over a year and I’m really enjoying it, but I wasn’t aware that there could be more to blogging.
Then a friend told me about this “get paid to blog” . When I looked it up, it’s all over the internet. I could see the PPP button in many blogs that I read. This heightened my curiosity. I’ve always wanted to join but I was afraid that my blog won’t pass the requirements. Plus, I needed to get a new theme first! After all, I have this tiny organized streak in me.
However, I could no longer ignore the success stories circulating around the internet so I battled with myself and discarded all the excuses that I could come up to delay my application. After five days of anxiously waiting for any feedback, I received an email stating THE good news – I am already a Postie!
After reading the approval notification, I immediately explored the PPP dashboard and found out that it is really convenient to use. Also, I was worried of what to write about but lots of options are available. Not only that, I found many interesting choices. It’s so cool, isn’t it? Blogging while earning something! This must be the way for me to buy an iPod touch!
Honestly, Why?
November 12th, 2007
{ 4 Comments }
Got tagged by Fortuitous Faery…
I started blogging to battle homesickness, as I have mentioned in my Blog Anniversary entry. I thought would also be great if I have something to help me recall my adventures. Plus it’s a very convenient medium to communicate with friends. Now, I could just give them the link and pester them to drop by. ^-^
On the first few months, I wasn’t updating regularly. But some friends really inspired me to keep writing, especially Grace of Sandier Pastures. Then it got more exciting because I’ve been gaining new friends from all corners of the world! Ranting to the world and getting words of encouragements from people I haven’t met but who genuinely care is really therapeutic. Even a simple “hello” goes a long way. Everyone, thank you very much!
We have a voice;
We must be heard;
Therefore we blog;
Now spread the word!
This directory is based on a recent post that was conducted asking the question “Why do you Blog?” and the rewrite “Why do you Blog? – Reworked.” The purpose of this directory is to tell our tales by spreading the reasons that we blog to as many sites as possible. We get to explain ourselves, direct traffic to our site and highlight our most important, most representative or most relevant post in an SEO favorable format. This will be a positive experience for everyone who wants to get involved. This will enable you to create a short advertisement for your site that will be spread across the blogesphere; a growing directory of blogs.
This is an open directory. You do not have to be tagged to join in. All you have to do is follow the rules.
Please let me know when you have added your site by leaving a comment on “Master List” with a link to your post. This will insure an up-to-date list, giving you even greater distribution. You then need to copy the growing list back to your site on a regular bases.
Rules:
1. Copy this post from the very beginning through **End List Directory** and place it in your archives (back date it so that it does not appear on your front page. This list is too long for your front page.) Title this post “Spread The Word” Directory
2. Copy from “**Start Copy Here**” through “**End Copy Here**”
3. Paste into a new post
4. Create an inventive post title
5. Write a brief introduction to the post.
6. Before “**End copy here**”, please add your name, site name (with link), a very brief description (2-3 sentences) of why you blog, and your most important, most representative, or most relevant post (with link.)
7. Create a link from the end of your new post to your archived Directory (Ex. “Click here for complete directory”)
8. Tag others to participate. This is a request, not a requirement.
9. Leave a comment and a link to your post on “Master List.” That way I can grab your addition and add it to this growing list.
10. Schedule regular visits to the “Master List” so you can copy/paste into your archive, keeping your list current.
Who Am I?
I’m Shiera, though you could also call me Bisdakbabbles. I kind of loving that more and actually thinking of changing this blog’s title to that one. I’ve started blogging last year to ease my weary and homesick soul, and that remains true up to now. I also blog mainly to keep in touch with old friends and newly-found friends. This also serves my online diary so I wish to keep blogging while I still can. ^-^
Oh, I almost forgot my representative posts: Meet Udong and Candles in My Path.
I am not tagging anyone but it would also be nice to know why you blog. ^-^
Click here for complete directory
PhotoHunt: Flexible
November 9th, 2007
{ 32 Comments }
Nobody’s more flexible than a baby. Here are pictures of Shaynna displaying her flexibility:
Happy photo-hunting and enjoy your weekend!
flexible = characterized by a ready capability to adapt to new, different, or changing requirements
