Archive for October, 2008

A Wedding

October 30th, 2008
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Many friends and acquaintances got and are getting married this year. My roommate is going home to the Philippines this Saturday for her wedding in December. Rose got married on the triple 8 day (August 8, 2008). About half a dozen people I know from highschool and college got married during the first half of the year. And last Saturday, Raneil, a good friend, got married to a beautiful Japanese lady.  Since the wedding was held here in Osaka, I got invited and was able to witness this happy event.

The wedding was very interesting. Among the guests, you could see some people wearing Kimono (Japan’s traditional dress), Filipiniana, and Barong Tagalog (Philippine’s traditional dresses). The best man was Raneil’s brother and he wore a Barong Tagalog. The maid of honor was the bride’s sister and she wore a Kimono. As for the food, mostly Filipino dishes were served. The presentation numbers made it more interesting. My favorite was the Cariñosa dance. The rest were song numbers.

The newlyweds:

At the reception:

reunited with friends from previous companies:

 Raneil and Yukako-san, omedetou!

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Experiences in Japan, Friends

Slim Shots

October 29th, 2008
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At first I thought that slim shots are just techniques on how to look slim in photos.   Little did I know that it is something that you can mix with food or drinks to activate the body’s natural appetite control mechanism!

Anyway, since it is getting colder, the number one factor that make me lose my appetite is eating cold lunch. Unfortunately, there’s not a single microwave oven in the office so I guess I’ll just have to compensate this tendency to eat less by eating more sweets! Or perhaps I should fight my morning sickness and eat a huge breakfast.  By morning sickness, I meant that my stomach can’t take anything in before 9:00 or 10:00 o’clock in the morning. Try stuffing something in and I’ll definitely let it all out.  I’ve always been like this since I was a child and I guess many of you guys are like this, too.

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Lifestyle

Little Dreamers

October 28th, 2008
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It’s been quite a while since I’ve watched singing contests in the Philippine television. I love watching those children singing contests, like PDA Little Dreamers. It’s pretty amazing to find out that there are kids more than 2 decades younger than I am, who sing and dance miles better than I do (let’s just pretend that I could sing and dance a little, Ok?), just like this 6-year old girl, Amy:

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Philippines

Working Overtime and Days Off

October 28th, 2008
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I’ve been extremely busy for the past weeks and now that I’m waiting for the next project phase to officially start, all I’ve been doing was research. So, Gelai and my project leaders approached us last Friday and told us something good… to take two days off! Yes, I’ve been free yesterday and today. I guess they just want us to prepare for the busy days right ahead. ;)

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At work

He would have turned 61 today

October 24th, 2008
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It’s October 24. It’s United Nation’s Day. More importantly, it’s supposed to be my father’s birthday. He would have turned 61 today but he was reunited with our Creator 5 months ago. There’s so much I had wanted to tell him. But I’m pretty sure he now already knows that he is my hero as well.

My father started working in Saudi Arabia when I was only 13 years old. Every year, he stayed with us for a month, usually in the summer. So, I could no longer remember a time when we had spent his birthday together. He quit his job and went back to the Philippines about 3 years ago. By the time he’s already at home, it was my turn to leave in search for greener pastures. It was never hard to please my father. And there was one thing he’d been asking as a gift that we weren’t able to give him: a lechon for his birthday. Months after his resignation, it was the start of our family’s financial crisis. My parents’ failed business ventures left me as the sole bread winner. Despite all the difficulties we’ve been going through, I had hoped I could just fulfill that wish. It’s really heartbreaking that he wasn’t able to wait.

Today, my family’s giving him a visit at the memorial park. I still can’t believe, still can’t face the fact that he’s no longer with us. Honestly, among my siblings, I’m closest to my father. We always talked through Yahoo Messenger and I terribly miss all those conversations.

Gotta end this post or else I’d end up crying my heart out here in the office. :)

Papa Pael, we love you very much and we terribly miss you. You’ll forever remain in our hearts!

Below is the last photo of my father, together with Mama, my brother’s wife, and baby Keira.

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Family, Sentiments

What will you do if…

October 24th, 2008
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I’ve always wanted to buy lotto tickets in the Philippines but those ticket booths are always crowded. If they sell those online, I might have bought a lot. Here in Japan, there is a lotto booth near our apartment. The problem is, yes, you’ve guessed it right. It’s the language! Maybe I’ll give it a shot when somebody who’s good at Japanese accompanies me there.

So, let’s just pretend that I’m a frequent buyer of lotto tickets. What will I do if I win? I’ll definitely grab one of those franchise opportunities. Most likely, I’ll get a franchise of a fast food chain in the Philippines: Jollibee. In my hometown, there are already two Jollibee restaurants. Despite the financial crisis, Jollibee is always crowded.  In just a few days since they’ve opened, they earned millions of Pesos.  I think it’s a very good investment, but I need to win at least 20 Million Pesos. :D

I’ll stop dreaming now. How about you? What will you do if you get lucky and win a huge amount?

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Extras

Paid blogging for long distance calls

October 21st, 2008
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As some of you might have noticed, I sometimes write paid posts. Since it’s just a post of at least 60 words, I only get small amount from it. After months of writing, the payments sent to my PayPal account was enough to pay off some bills.  I’ve tried to withdraw my PayPal funds to my Japanese bank account but the transaction failed many times. For every failed transaction, about US$2 was deducted from my PayPal account. When I asked PayPal about it, they told me to ask the bank here.  When I went to the bank, nobody heard about PayPal.  So, I guess it’s about time to stop trying to transfer my funds to my bank account.

Now, aside from depending on paid posts for my blog domain and web space, I also use my PayPal funds to cover my long distance calls.  I’m glad Skype accepts PayPal when buying Skype credits.  And Skype call to the Philippines (both landline and mobile) is cheaper compared to most international call card rates!

I just hope that one of these days, Amazon Japan would accept payments from PayPal.

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Blogging , ,

Feels more like home

October 20th, 2008
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I’ve lived here in Japan for more than 2 years. But, I’m still not that used to sitting cross-legged. I still get leg cramps and I still consider sitting on the floor sometimes uncomfortable. My flatmate and I were very delighted when a friend gave us her Japanese-style sofa. (Thanks again, Rose!) However, we didn’t expect to find something that would make our apartment more like home…


Yes, finally, a sala set! But, we paid nothing for it. Someone from our building might have relocated to another place or bought a new sala set and put the old ones to the building’s garbage room. Actually, there are two more chairs but we left it behind because they won’t fit in our small sala. Nope, the sofa and the table aren’t that old yet. They’re still in very good condition, or should I say… “second-hand shop” quality.  That very colorful cover is an extra curtain.  :D

Below, my flatmate, another friend, and I getting comfy on the “new” sofa:


Some of you might have noticed the Christmas decors in the first photo. We aren’t putting up decorations early. They’re decorations from last year!
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Experiences in Japan

I won’t be home for Christmas

October 17th, 2008
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There are a lot of good travel deals that you can find in the internet, in the travel brochures, etc. But, it’s very rare to find a cheap one especially in the Christmas season.  During this season, it is usually the regular fare, sometimes it’s more expensive.  What with the rising fuel surcharges, even if an airline claims to give out about 1,500 pesos from Osaka (Kansai International Airport) to Manila, it would still total to more than 30,000 pesos.  So, once again, I’ll be spending this year’s Christmas here in Japan.  It’d be three Christmases away from home.  I’m just glad that it’s a working day here in Japan.  At least I would be occupied, thus avoiding homesickness.  My flatmate will be in the Philippines at that time so, this year’s gonna be gloomier… I hope not.

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Sentiments

Grow Old With You

October 15th, 2008
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One of the things a like (a little) about train rides is I get to observe other people.  In some ways, this helps me reflect on my own life.

This morning, a very old Japanese couple was on the same train.  The old lady sat beside me and her husband sat behind us.  I wanted to switch chairs with the husband so that they could sit beside each other but I held back.  I thought that it would be easier for both of them to sit along the aisle as they had a hard time moving.  At the next train stop, the husband’s seatmate got off and the husband helped the old lady up to let her sit beside him.  The old lady seemed weaker than the guy and it really touched me seeing the guy taking care of the old lady.

Indeed, falling in love means taking a great risk.  You could get hurt.  But if you find that someone who’s really meant for you, then you’re blessed to have that someone who grows old with you.

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Experiences in Japan, Sentiments

Another Train Moment

October 14th, 2008
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I’ve just lost a coin inside the train and one of those train moments happened again this morning.

Since there’s no tea, coffee or even water dispenser in the new company, I usually bring with me a bottle of tea I’ve prepared at home and a can of coffee.  The ones in the vending machine costs are twice as expensive as those I bought from the supermarket. So everyday, I always have two big bags in tow, one is my “main” bag, and the other one contains my lunch, drinks, and snacks.

While I was seated in the train this morning, I painstakingly squeezed my jacket into my main bag, I lost balance, and my food bag jumped out of lap. Good thing I packed them nicely but I wasn’t quick enough to catch my can of coffee before it rolled out to the seat infront of me.  I planned to go after it, but the ones seated in front were deep asleep so I dumped my coffee-retrieval plan.

Action plan:  I should buy a sealable food bag before I lost another can of coffee.

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At work, Experiences in Japan, Ooopppssss

A year older

October 12th, 2008
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Shaynna and this blog turns a year older today. I guess I don’t have to elaborate on this blog’s theme change. :)

I’m happy and I thank God that my little girl is growing up so fast but the thought of her celebrating another birthday with me far away from home is really sad.  With my father’s passing away a few months ago, Shaynna’s birthday this year would be different than the previous ones.  This time, Papa Pael isn’t around anymore to sing his heart out in karaoke.  My family’s not only going out for a church visit but they’re dropping by Papa Pael at the memorial park.  But life must go on, and knowing Papa Pael, he wouldn’t like us being sad in times like this.  So, there will still be a birthday cake and some balloons for Shaynna.

As for this blog, I’ve been very busy lately that I’ve only done the some paid posts.  But, I still love blogging and when I finally get the hang of my new crazy schedule, I hope I could be active in the blogosphere again.

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Blogging, Shaynna
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