Archive for April, 2009

Saraba Nihon, Tadaima Firipin

April 9th, 2009
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*Saraba Nihon, Tadaima Firipin – Farewell Japan, I’m home, Philippines
Before coming to Singapore, I stayed in the Philippines for a few days. My flight home was last March 24 in the evening but I was still busy packing until early in the morning (a really bad habit to break). I waited for the courier guy to pickup my Balikbayan Box until 2PM so I did not have time to throw all the trash! I’m really sorry to Kay and Kagz, the next occupants to my home for almost 3 years. I had to leave behind bags of trash.
Then my friends came to see me off to the airport limousine (bus) station:


I was really glad they did that. I had two huge bags, one very heavy handcarry bag, and the laptop case weighing more than 3 kgs!  As expected, I was way over the baggage limit.  I already paid for 10kgs excess baggage, so that gave me 25kgs.  But I still had 17kgs extra! Good thing one of my friend’s relatives were on the same flight.  So I only got to pay for 7kgs.  Because of the heavy bags I had to carry, I lost a very precious find… a Japanese painting.  I only noticed its absence when I arrived in the Philippines.The aircraft was very small but we were able to arrive safely in Manila and on time, at past 10 o’clock in the evening.  I then had to stay in the NAIA Terminal for more than 5 hours for my flight to Cagayan de Oro.  I was not able to sleep and I was really looking forward to seeing Shaynna and my family again.  My flight was a little bit delayed but I was grateful for that.  Why? Because when I arrived at the Cagayan de Oro airport, my family was still not in sight.  Being 30 minutes late would have been OK, but nope.  I had to wait for them at the airport for almost 3 hours!
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Experiences in Japan, Family, Philippines

Arigatou, Osaka Pinoys

April 9th, 2009
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I spent my last Friday in Osaka with fellow Pinoys. They prepared a farewell dinner for me and I was completely touched. Gelai even cooked my favorite pasta: mentaiko spaghetti! Kagz and Marce brought my favorite ice cream flavor: macha (green tea). Despite their busy schedule and the cold spring breeze, they still came. I was supposed to deliver a sayonara speech (just like what the others did), but I’m really bad at expressing how I really feel.

The Osaka Pinoys made it possible for me to call Osaka a home. Thank you very much for always being there despite my imperfections. For accepting who I really am. I will surely miss you guys!

The “class pictures” taken at the sayonara dinner:


P.S. Thank you very much for the Swarovski necklace. :)

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Friends

Somewhere in Europe…

April 8th, 2009
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A few days before I left Japan, Kay and I went to Europe…


haha.. I wish we’ve really gone there! The photo above was taken somewhere in Universal Studios Japan (USJ), last March 20. I had to at least use my one-year pass for the third time. I did not have the courage to try Hollywood Dream, but at least I got to see the lights parade. I have more pictures to share but I still haven’t settled completely here yet. I hope I could post more in the next few days.
And here’s my “Friendster pose”, also taken at USJ:
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Experiences in Japan, Friends

Dreaming of Travels in Asia

April 7th, 2009
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Travel tours in Japan often offer low-priced travel packages. Many of my friends have availed very low round trip tickets. But I have been financially incapable of taking advantage of those. I have always wanted to visit all of the south east asian countries, as they are the most accessible for us Filipinos. Now that I am in Singapore, I do feel that my travel hopes are within reach. I have heard that travelling in Thailand is very affordable, so I do wish I could also try out one of those luxury hotel rooms, maybe in Phuket? ;)

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Travels

Hopefully not the last meetings…

April 3rd, 2009
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I’ve spent my last few days in Osaka meeting up and dining with friends and acquaintances.

March 18: The manager in the company I’ve last worked for treated us to a Chinese restaurant near the office and made the cook serve hot and spicy dishes. Most were eggs, shrimps, chicken, and eggplants – all allergens for me. So I went home with itchiness all over my body and an upset stomach for eating too much spicy food. But it’s OK. I’m more than grateful for being given a sayonara dinner.

March 19: Akane-san treated me to a feast at a Chinese restaurant in Umeda. I was so full that I was not able to finish everything. Akane-san gave me a tumbler, which I am now using at the office, and a lucky charm which now hangs in my cellphone. I’m really glad that she was able to meet me before I left. After all, she is one of my good friends in Osaka and my movie partner, too! I’ll definitely miss her.

 March 21-22: I’ve met up with my English conversation tutees. Kei-san treated me and Gelai (the new tutor) to lunch at a fancy steak restaurant at a hotel in Osaka. Kei-san loves travelling and I enjoyed every conversation we had. I hope I could travel as much as he does.
Hiro, the boy I mentioned in this blog, had been my tutee for almost 2 years. He’s such a bright and diligent boy. He’s actually more disciplined than me! I’m sure he could become someone big in the near future. Their home is far from the train station but it was such a delight tutoring him. His parents are also very nice folks.
Atsuyuki-san and Hiroko-san, a very kind and humble couple had been my tutees for more than a year. I also enjoyed every lesson with them. It was only at our last meeting that I learned about Atsuyuki-san being part of the team who created the vitamins I am now taking! They’ve been married for a few years. I hope they’ll have a baby coming soon.
I met up with Masaru-san, Junya-san, and Nene, too. Too bad I was not able to take any photos. These people played big roles in my stay in Osaka. They truly made my Osaka experience unforgettable. I’m really blessed to have met them! Thank you all… ’til we meet again.I’ve just noticed that I did the “peace sign” in all of my poses above! haha
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Experiences in Japan

Amazon Books

April 3rd, 2009
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Books in Japan are more expensive than the ones sold in the Philippines (of course). But this is not totally true for Amazon books. Books in Amazon Japan could be more than 50% cheaper. Plus, delivery is free for orders totalling at least 1,500 yen. It is a very good bargain, but I was not able to take advantage of it while I was still in Japan. Days before leaving Osaka, I ordered some books but I received no confirmation from Amazon so I had no choice but to cancel it. I just hope I could find the same good bargain here in Singapore.

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Books

Blessings in the midst of recession

April 1st, 2009
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Before I continue writing this post, I implore you, my dear reader that if you know my Japanese boss, please don’t mention this post to him. He is a very good and compassionate manager to all of us Filipino employees. He has helped us a lot especially in times of trouble. He has helped me a lot and it really pained me to leave my company in Osaka. But in a way, I hope I am helping the company. Less number of staff without client, means less people to pay… I hope. And I sincerely hope and pray that my previous company in Osaka could stand in the midst of this economic slowdown.

This economic slowdown has brought drastic changes to what I’ve been used to.  When our boss broke the news about the company’s situation, I spent sleepless nights trying to figure out how to continue supporting my family while sending out hundreds of job applications to companies in Japan, Hongkong and Singapore.  When all I got were rejection letters, I was really bent into taking a teaching position in a school somewhere in Japan, even in Hokkaido, or going home to the Philippines for good and work in Cebu.  Finally, I’ve received an interview invitation from a company in Singapore.  I think I wrote a very high salary expectation because they asked me if it was ok for me to accept a salary lower than the one I placed in the expectation.  I said yes.

Then the interview (by phone) came. I was not really nervous during the first few minutes because I was just asked to explain my previous projects.  Then I was given a sentence and was asked what I could say about the sentence.  The English tutor in me prompted me to blurt out that the grammar was incorrect! The interviewer laughed and I laughed too out of embarrassment.  After that question, I broke out of control and I was stuttering until the end of the interview.  I thought that I missed a big chance, again.  But then the interviewer asked me if I could join them in April! I immediately said yes.  Because of the excitement, I did not confirm when exactly do I have to start.  I was just told to wait for the formal offer.

The day after the interview, they processed my employment pass and I received the formal offer.   In the contract, I was to start on April 1st.

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At work

B.A. Plans

April 1st, 2009
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During my almost 3 years stay in Osaka, I have made good friends, both with Japanese and fellow Filipinos. But it was not until my last meeting with a certain Japanese friend that I have expressed my interest in putting up a business in the future. M-san is involved in trading business. He is more open-minded compared to Japanese and he is very interested in knowing different cultures. When he learned of my plans, he volunteered to become my business partner when the right time comes! But first, I need to do some sales training. I absolutely don’t have any talent at sales talk so perhaps the best first step to make is to try getting a Business Administration degree. Maybe in a few months after I’ve settled in this completely new environment, I would try and search for a good school.

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