Bisdak Babbles

It’s been so hot and humid lately that sometimes I find myself catching my breath while walking from the bus stop to the office. The cool breeze we enjoyed in November to December seemed like a dream. Nowadays, the air seems so still. I just hope that the new place won’t be as hot, as it is not surrounded by other buildings. When we viewed that unit, there was a dehumidifier and we were really pleased to see it, expecting that the owner let us use it. But nope, they’re taking it with them. I don’t know if we could hang out together as we used to in our new living room as there’s only a single sofa. We’ll sure be missing the ceiling fan, too. Anyway, it would be better watching shows in that wall-mounted LCD TV, I suppose.

And the one I most look forward to: we’re getting an internet upgrade! From our current 2Mbps, we’ll have 8Mbps connection starting next week! I know 8Mbps is pathetic compared to 100Mbps speed I used to have in Japan. Yet, I’m still excited.

I have been to a casino only once. It was when a close friend took me with her to the Waterfront Hotel in Cebu. I didn’t have money to burn, so all I did was act like I was her chaperon. At that time, I was amazed at the tension and excitement that reverberated throughout the place. How much more excitement can one feel when you’re in the Entertainment Capital of the World, las vegas nevada?  If I have the financial abundance, I’m pretty sure I would not do much gambling.  Staying in a luxury hotel such as The Mirage or Ceasar’s Palace is already enough for me.   Las Vegas, along with Orlando, Florida and New York, is one of the places in the U.S. that I dream of visiting some day…

Most of my friends and I have worked here in Japan for more than a couple of years.  Just like almost every Filipino working abroad, we don’t intend on growing old outside our native homeland.  We sometimes talk over some things and daydream about what we want to do when that time comes.  Some of us even made an agreement of becoming business partners.  Many came up with putting up  vacation rentals. Taking advantage of our contacts here and of our IT experiences, this kind of business is definitely not farfetched.

As long as I spend Christmas vacation with my family, then it’s the best vacation that I could I ever have.  Not just with my direct family, but it would be much better to be around many relatives this season.  When I was still in the Philippines, I usually hold a children’s Christmas party, with lots of food and parlor games.  Prizes could only be a bag of candies, but hearing the children’s laughter is the best Christmas gift I could give myself.   Too bad I’m gonna miss that kind of warmth this Christmas again.

I’m getting homesick again.  I’d better try to picture out  spending my vacation in a place I’ve never been to.  Many people love to stay in the beach, but I often prefer to stay in hotels in the midst of a big city.  Maybe because I’ve spent my life near the beach. If money’s not a problem, perhaps a week in Westgate Planet Hollywood Towers would be a blast!

Who doesn’t like free stuffs? I love receiving and keeping promotional items. I know that many of such items aren’t made of high-quality materials but I like uncommon prints on pens, mugs and bags.  I think pen brand names on pens are just way too boring  (I know I sound illogical).  But like the mug on this photo, I think the Yahoo BB mark on it make it look cooler than having the usual cartoon or any image print on it.  This mug has been with me for more than two years already.  The pens which are still in their original plastic wraps have been with me for more almost two years.  Obviously, I haven’t used these two yet, along with the other free items I’ve received.  They’re just part of my collection.  I even collect paper bags!

A dollar store, as the name implies, is a retail establishment selling inexpensive items, mostly at one dollar or less. Here in Japan, we have the 100-yen (hyaku-en) and the 99 (kyu-kyu) stores. (100 yen is roughly equal to a dollar).  Many things that you can find here in our apartment are bought from 100-yen shops. Considering that this is Japan, kitchen wares that cost 100-yen is already cheap. Even if they’re cheap, they’re durable in some way. Luanne and I are very lucky that our apartment is very close to two 100-yen shops. If they’re a real hit here in Japan, I wonder if a dollar store franchise would also attract Filipinos in the Philippines. 100-Peso shop would be way too expensive, but how about a 50-Peso (about US$1) Shop?

Memorization has never been my forte. But at least when I was still in grade school and high school, I memorize things after going them over dozen of times. I didn’t like history classes because of the dates, names, places I had to memorize, but I somehow managed to get through them. In most cases, I forget everything after every exam. As I breeze through more than two decades of my life, my memorization skill seems to degrade. Does having gone through pregnancy have to do with this? If I had managed to memorize things after 12 repetitions, now I need to repeat it a dozen times more! This makes my struggle with the Japanese language more difficult. I guess every flash memory device far exceeds my ability to retain information!

Do you have any idea how to boost your memory? A tip or two would be much appreciated.

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.

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