Living the American Dream

At first, wala sa isip kong makapunta ng US, ang mahal kaya! Not until December 2011 when I was chosen to represent our department at Washington DC for a project that we will do and coordinate with the US team. Hesitant to the max talaga ko because I was not-that-much interested before; nakakatulugan ko pa nga yung mga video trainings na pinadala for us to watch. Honestly, wala akong naintindihan sa una, pero naisip ko sige why not try? There are several changes kaya ang unang plan na one month training ng December ay na move ng January para pagkatapos na lang daw ng holidays. I was scheduled to have an interview at the US embassy for a B1/B2 visa, but I did not show up because the most important document was not sent to us (invitation letter). Mahirap nang maquestion tapos babagsak kung kulang ang papers. At first medyo disappointed kasi minamadali yet walang invite from them? Then came February, nasuklian ang US tour ng Asian tour because I replaced one supervisor to attend the annual partner's meeting because of her health issues. Eto na naman ako, that time mega tanggi talaga ko dahil hello, puro Partners lang naman ng firm ang makikita at tutulungan ng department ng personal! Whew! Well, it paid off naman kasi napraise naman ang gawa ko dun, kumbaga nag knuckles-to-knuckels pa kami ng isang Partner after editing his presentation on the spot. One week lang ako dun kasi wala na kong extra money to stay dahil binili ko si Thirdy (my iPad) out of kaartehan dahil di natuloy si US. Then came March, April, May (birth month ko) na wala akong ginawa kundi mag-out of town. June, July when I was informed of the possibility of going to US for 4 months. Hmmmmm.... August, naudlot si Boracay gawa ng pagaasikaso ng requirements pa-US. Nakipag skype, nakipag palitan ng emails, humarap sa US embassy for a visa, gumastos, napressure, natension (call it whatever) lahat ata sinuong ko na makumpleto lang requirements! Nagnovena, nagtirik ng kandila even nagpahula pa ko (eto nakakatuwa, never ko sinabi sa manghuhula na baka umalis ako by Aug or Sept pero nakita nya!) positive naman somehow yung mga nasabi nya.

Si August na-move dahil ang supposed to be the day na dapat asa US na ko eh maaga pa sa schedue ng interview ko sa embassy, binaha kasi sya! Eto pa nakakastress na nangyari during the process:

1. Nawalan ako ng internet connection the day na makikipag skype ako sa US; kundi pa ko nangaway ng isang agent ng Smart baka di pa makakabit after almost 2 hours

2. Binaha ang embahada

3. Graveyard shift ako (puyat na puyat)

4. Medyo naaward ng contact namin sa US dahil sa mga namiss na instructions

5. Nung nasa embassy na ko, saktong 1000 lang ang pera ko; bumili lang ng inumin para mabaryahan - nagtaxi ako papunta so ang sukli ay almost 900 na lang. Nung nasa loob na ko, may babayaran pang 20usd; and I was like sweating sa white kong long sleeves (as always) dahil baka kulang ang pera ko. Di ko alam palitan ng dollar to peso eh. Buti may nagsabi saken na kasya ang pera ko. The whole interview, I was left with 40 pesos in my pocket!

6. Habang nasa immigration na ko at palipad na, naharang at pinauwi gawa ng walang sticker daw ang passport ko. Who the hell knows about it, ugh!

7. Ano pa ba? Alam ko meron pa... Isipin ko pa.

Pero for the sake of coming to US, lumaban pa din. Gawa ng item 6, nanahimik ako ng ilang araw and I'm sorry. You can't blame me. Iyak ako ng iyak sa loob ng airport nun. Ayaw ko na lang kasi paulit ulitin yung frustrations and sadness kung magkukuwento ako ng paulit-ulit. Kaso nagmukha naman akong weak. Oo inaamin ko naman, kilala ako sa pagiging ganito, eh nadepress ako eh! :(

Anyway, naayos naman after 4 days and kinabukasan lipad na ko. I was really praying na sana wala nang aberya.

Yes, andito na ko sa America! :)

I do not know what lies ahead pero mahaba haba din ang four months. May pagka engot pa naman ako minsan so posibleng baka pauwiin ako ng maaga, worse mawala ang tiwala samin (kasi I am representing the team). I do not have any backgrounds netong project na ito until ginagawa ko na sya ng regular; I can't promise to be the best at all times pero gagawin ko lahat ng makakaya ko, sayang ang ginastos dito noh! :)

My Inevitable Issues

9:30 PM (Ang damot ni sun broadband, di maka connect!)

Disclaimer: I am using Copper while creating this blog (FYI, Copper is my partner's netbook).

Aging seems like yesterday. I can still remember some happy memories during my childhood days. How I wish I can turn back time and be a kid once more. But, hey I am 30 now! And living a life of thirty seems scary...

Being conscious sometimes helps, but sometimes it can make you gaga. Gaga because aging means being prone to illness: being sickly. Luckily, I am not suffering from rheumatism, memory loss or some stuff related to that. I don't know, I just feel like 30 is the new 20! I hate the thought of being in a rush achieving some things due to aging. You know, things like getting married and have kids (as if) and making my parents happy because of a Requita offspring that my hormone will produce (again, as if; but I love kids). I still want to enjoy life and be free-spirited, be happy, just enjoying life the way I know how, without following the standards the world has created for every human being suffering from getting old (ouch).

I swear I will handle maturity at the right moment, just give me more time to enjoy what I have right now; though my future is quite haunting me now. I might be happy now but how about tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, next month? Come on, 30 yet no investments to call my own? No house and lot I can call mine; no car; no MAC book; no iPad; no bank account? Where have all my money gone? Am I too conceited that I took all the money and time for granted? A question even Google cannot provide an answer for me. Well I know someone who’s happy every 13^th and 28^th of the month (calling my mother, my older sister and her kids!) Well, family comes first before narcissism.

Another scary thought is growing old (literally) ALONE.

Going back to aging, lately, I’ve been feeling quite illness (here comes the most-est scary part). PE’s driving me mad. I don’t know if I have it during my younger years but it is alarming now. I feel so sorry for dissatisfying my partner every time we do the deed. Ego’s crashing every day! Hyperhidrosis comes next.  Every single move equals sweat. Capital P-E-R-S-P-I-R-A-T-I-O-N. Heaven’s still at my side because I ain’t emitting foul smell every time I perspire, but embarrassment kills me.  Just holding a coin makes my palms sweaty. A simple sweeping of the floor can fill a tablespoon! Currently, my dentist declared I have a gum problem (I forgot the dental term), too late as he’s flying to Riyadh so he cannot attend to my dental needs. Fixing it costs 5*3 thousand per tooth! Chicken Fuck’s still left me with black spots all over my skin! What more illness is in store for me? During APE, my vision increases, too. Thanks to Ricky Reyes, I dyed my hair mahogany; else I will be mistakenly compared to a Grandpa.

Every time self-pity visits my system, along with the crashing ego; I either write or blog. And the things I fought with these are the ones I have: my good family, caring friends, my job, my not-so-perfect-yet-lovely partner. These are my tools to distract me from thinking that the world turned its back on me.

But despite of it all, I just felt so blessed and thankful that these issues are present. I can feel my humanity within me. Guess I just need to embrace every flaws and live life to the fullest. I just need to reconnect myself to the Creator and I’m sure these will fade (hope not worsen) along the journey of my not-so-perfect-but-happy-life.

30 Things

1. I am suffering from PE
2. Hyperhidrosis gives me excessive sweat! <embarrassing>
3. I received 2 deportment awards way back highschool (eheeem!)
4. I love Science and Math (but I need to review first if you asked me about calculations!)
5. My current salary is greater than my age (wooot!)
6. I love kids!
7. I would love to dance, if music permits me (haha!)
8. Singing isn't much my forte, but the Requita clans do!
9. I would love to have a house of my own someday
10. I only have 2 employers for the past 9 years
11. spell E-m-O...
12. Undecided on my course way back college and had to rethink comsci over engineering (I graduated CS without  much knowledge, haha! "pa-F2 nga!")
13. I don't know how to budget my money and my time
14. Almost every month I have colds
15. Tried slimming teas to eliminate excessive belly fats (yet they are still there, argh!)
16. When I'm depressed, either I write or I blog
17. I appreciate love and affection
18. A great listener
19. Lost my transition glasses over an argument
20. I had bronchitis way back highschool
21. I would love to be a "kuya" (sawa na maging bunso)
22. I started commuting as early as Grade 4
23. I used to have crooked teeth <thanks doc!>
24. The longest relationship I had lasts for 8 months only (sana maungusan na!)
25. I never smoke
26. I hate large bodies of water (I can't swim!)
27. My favorite color is green
28. Poor eyesight since elementary
29. When it comes to the heart, I exert my best efforts
30. I would like to try to learn a different language

PL

from TL to PL? Hindi ko yata kaya, waaaah!!

Star City ... Finally

A text message (sometime June) bombarded my Xperia. I was told by the partner to reserve my June 25. At first, it was never stated what's the occasion... What is so special on that date where in fact 5 is our number? To skip the air of arguing, I said yes. I planned my VL ahead of time and excitement clouded my head.

Several days of June, I kept asking the partner what's with the 25th.  Finally the partner gave in and here's the story:

(a) There is a gig provided by BigFish Manila commemorating the White Party. Upon knowing, the tix are way beyond costly (as in!)
(b) Plan B - STAR CITY (yes, you read it right!)
(c) Plan C - Malate.

So June 25th came in. Inevitable arguments really messes up everything. I will not further elaborate what happened, but since the VL was planned and I was on my parteeey mood, I went without the partner (at first) and met some friends. Destination = Malate.

Past 12AM, the partner suddenly shows up. (nakakainis di ba?)

....

But hey, I guess we're getting lost on the story (wtf!)

Actually, it was Plan B that gave me the frustrations as it never happened.

Weeks passed by and I kept bullying the partner about the Star City. The dream of being a Kid again seems to be out of reach anymore.

Sabi nga nila, don't just give in... Til Aug 14 came (ang haba ng timeline ah!).

As early as 6AM, an empty message disturbed iDars (walang load si Xperia). I replied "empty text?" A few minutes of the usual greetings, the plans for the day, and all -- then the partner just said "pwede bang ibahin ang plans mo baby?"

Denial stage mode... Of course I want to read from him where the heck are we going on a Sunday (a day ....err night ... that I have a duty at work). I dropped iDars (luckily on my bed) upon reading STAR CITY, at laaaasssssstt!

Call time: 3PM. Bt since Filipinos like procrastination, the 3PM became almost 5PM. (syempre I had my hair cut, bought some new stuff, blah blah).

Yes, nakarating din sa Star City. We looked like kids deprived of total happiness experiencing riding on machines with scary stuff, animal-like and death-tifying rides!

We did enjoy ourselves actually. Lack of sleep was out of my vocabulary (biiiig yaaawwn now!) as spending it with the partner is a total paradise (naks).

One note to add: Surf Rider is one heck of a ride! Upon looking, you'll be surprised how the riders made it to life after all the cycloon and tornado looping of the machine (grabeeeh!) The partner was at first hesitant as he might get puke and all internal organs might get out of the system. But hey, we made it four times (nyaha!)

Thank you for the supeeerrr-delayed Star City Experience baby! ... :)

Next Plan... Ocean Park!!

do i need to say more?

d-istance gave up on us
h-ugging u close is paradise
i-its a place i wanna be with only u
n-ever get tired of our love
g-iving u all my might, i wanna be with u til d rest of my life!

Singko

Destiny, indeed you are to me
Heaven sent you to make me happy
Isn't it obvious, hey I love you so!
No other one can give me infinite high
Giving u all my time, I wanna love u all with my might