I will personally make it a mission to spread this blog post to everyone i know. I think it's time that politicians in the Philippines understand that being in politics does not make them GOD.

Support Bambee Dela Paz against the dark forces of the government.

Please check out this link:

http://vicissitude-decidido.blogspot.com/2008/12/world-is-fucked-up.html

 

My application for a job in Canada has been approved. All I need to do now is to secure employment visa from the Canadian Embassy here in UAE and buy my plane ticket.

It sucks because my salary here in Dubai is so much better than what i'll get in Canada. Plus, the labor tax there, i heard, is a huge percentage of what you're supposed to get.

But it's Canada man, and not everyone gets to go there. Dubai is like.. an easy type of place. Even our retard neighbor could even get in here. And the accomodation here sucks. like big time.

what would i do with all the money if i'm stuck here in oil-rich but smelly and infested dubai?

or what if my candian dream fails and I starve to death and call home begging my parents to send me money? that would be pathetic.

so maybe this is a huge stepping stone for me. I'm confused.

Six days and not a single cigarette. I'm so glad i made it.

I have been trying to quit smoking for the last.. i dont know. 11 years? I started smoking way back when i was still in third year high school. peer pressure? wrong set of friends? trying to be cool? i dont know. all of the above?

but for the last ten years, it wasn't an issue of being pressured by my friends anymore, or trying to create an image that you smoke and you're liberated. It's been an addiction. my system craves for it like how i crave for food when i'm hungry. i literally came to a point where i became depressed when i couldn't find a smoke at home and the shops were closed (Note: friday noon in Dubai, everyone goes dead). I had to do something about this.

My grandfather died of esophagus cancer. weird, but there is such a cancer. doctors blame his long term relationship with Hope Cigarette and Tanduay 65 matched together every night. I was told that he drinks every night and smokes like a chimney. and he smoked until the time he didn't have the strength to.

Smoking kills. Maybe i'm just saying it for now since i haven't encountered the great Nicotine Withrawal Syndrome. Or maybe in a few days i'll go back to that dirty habit. But one thing for sure. I dont wanna look old. and i dont wanna die of cancer.

 

Dying in my sleep sounds so much better.

which tracks are the most played on my iphone?

Okay.. i think everyone gets into a stage in their life where music is just a big part of their day. I listen to music almost every minute, and music is one art that i can really appreciate.. a lot.

About two years ago, i had the habit of changing my phone to whatever is new and making sure i was updated with all the softwares, etc. All i had to do was bring my outdated nokia to a mobile phone shop in satwa and they gave me an estimate price to trade it in. so i went from n70, n80, n90, n93 and all the n's from nokia. i liked nokia way back for one specific reason. their mp3 player was really good.

and then i got my iphone. after reading the features of the phone, i kept wondering.. "what took you so long to get invented?"

So for about two years now (i think), i haven't really fancied any other phone aside from what i have now. the ipod feature alone makes it really worth it. plus i have the 16gb version.

The top ten most listened to tracks in my IPHONE are..

1. Fall for you - Secondhand Serenade

2. Faye- Skylar Blue

3. All the same- Sick Puppies (played twice all the time)

4. Tearjerker- Red Hot Chili Peppers

5. Vulnerable- Secondhand Serenade

6. Here by Me- 3 Doors Down

7. Roadside- Rise Against

8. The Time of My Life- David Cook

9. Stolen- Dashboard Confessional

10. For you I Will- Teddy Geiger

I named my favorite playlist BULLSEYE, coz these songs hit the target.

Weeks have been feeling really long for me. I don’t know. maybe I'm starting to hate my work? but no, I don’t think so. I love my work. it's one of those jobs where you get to decide what you do with your time, and you are surrounded with pleasant people (except for some really few ones), the magazines that I work for are interesting (too much at some times) and the weather in dubai is getting a lot better.




maybe it’s the weather then? but I was actually hoping that this was going to be a positive side of working. the weather getting better?

Today was a pleasant day smoking outside. The sun was out, but the wind was blowing like the AC. freezing a little bit, but still bearable. I can’t imagine winter. I’ve never really been a fan of cold weather except for Christmas time when you feel like rolling on the snow. makes me remember of our trip to Armenia. was fun. was great. was cold.




So yesterday, I spent the entire afternoon drinking beer with my roommate while watching tropic thunder. okay, I really thought the film sucked. wtf!? it was a disgrace that they had all those huge actors in one shitty movie. it was like porn stars doing the star wars. for real.




What really sucked though, is the movie we watched the other day. BLINDNESS. oh man, my knuckles were numbing while I was watching it. it was terrible! crazy terrible. not one positive thing about it. maybe Julianne Moore’s performance? NOT! she's supposed to be a good actor, but that movie just bombed man. like big time. the plot, the storyline, the decisions of the characters. SUCKY SUCK SUCK.






Another one was Mutant Chronicles. although I was entertained a little bit, it still wasn’t up to par with the movie I expected it to be. man, okay fine. I’m not a very nice critic to begin with. But all I can say is.. this movie was done in one small room, with huge blue screens. the entire film's background is special effects. and that's really sad, coz they had good actors in it. I think.






best movie I watched this month (possible contender for best of this year) is TAKEN. I recommend the movie for everyone except for kids. some mild nudity but really not relevant to the story. Liam Neeson stars in it. people should buy the dvd. they aren't paying me, but really. its work it. I liked the action sequence, the actors in it, and the plot. Awesssooome..





Okay, so I wasn’t really supposed to write a movie review, but I just got really board? man, maybe I should go bungee jumping. seriously. that will feed the wild side in me for the next two months at least.. or who knows? do bungee jumping and sky diving at the same day? adrenalin overdose!

I miss the old and fun times with my friends back in Cebu. We used to drink till we drop, and we didnt care what was happening with the world.

When i got back to Cebu, it was a major stress buster for me since i had all the massages i needed, met all the people i missed and slept in my own room which was now airconditioned (i demanded this from my parents. a vacation is supposed to be comfortable).

on a completely different subject, i want to write about our recent trip to Istanbul. it was breathtaking. i dont know what else to describe it.

the culture was just so rich, and you can really see the separation of europe and asia when you cross the Bosphorus Bridge. the Topkapi palace was amazing. the mosques.. the cistern. oh man, i can die over cultural overdose in that city.

we spent our nights in istanbul paris hostel. for the price of 22 USD per night, it was a steal. nobody really cared that Syvil's toilet was clogged. or that the towels they provided were torn. it was all about what the city could offer us.

the food was bland though. except for some really interesting kebabs that had me eating chicken like i've never eaten it before.








sort of like an underground water storage from the 5th century





examining a leaf as if its something special


paparazzi


istanbul paris hostel

It takes time to write about home. it takes time because reminiscing every second of it will just make you want to get on www.qatarairways.com and book another ticket. I hate it!

Last May 2, I decided to surprise my parents and my sisters by going home without telling them. the expression on their faces? priceless.

I miss my sisters, my mom and dad. we were like the family I've always dreamed of in my previous life. how did i know? coz this life i have right now? Its pretty awesome!

my dad and i. lunch time at sutukil.


that's my sister with the little "whoa!?" face beside me.


I dont know why i miss it since i can always have barbecue here in Dubai. Must be the weather. the company. the place. or the name?.. LARSIANS.


oh yeah, ngohiong too..




I'm going home on January again. i cant wait!

Armenia was fantastic! couldn't really say anything else aside from that.
place has soo much russian and european influence on it. but loved it.

people didnt speak much english though. sucks coz you have to check your translation book for a basic restaurant request like a glass of water.

They do say merci for thank you. i know its french, but they widely use it there.

here are the things that happened to us there:

visited a 10th century church in tzaghkadzor ski resort




Rented a challet for 25,000 drams (wtf!?) but was actually cheap when you convert it to dollars.



Made new friends




Had soo much pizza, pork (apparently, they like porkchops so much!), vodka, smoke and beer...





visited a greek temple




lit a candle for world peace, hehe



It was fantastic.. considering they are the first country in the world to adapt christianity as their official religion, we had the idea that it might be nice spending our next christmas there.

CANT WAIT.. i fell in love with Armenia.

Can we survive Armenia?

Toni, Dale, Totong and I have frequently talked about getting ourselves soaked in the most unusual places. For example, just a few months back, we wanted to go to Palau to swim with the harmless jelly fishes. Or just recently, we were so excited to plan out a short vacation to Nepal where we will meet with the Buddhist monks and all that holiness they get involved in. And wait, there was also that time when we thought it would be nice to travel to Agra India and see the Taj Mahal ON SUMMER when everything on that part of India is disastrously hot, horrible and smelly!

But none of that really happened. We spent our normal days, spending our weekends just hangin' out in same ol' Dubai. All the malls and shiz really gets old on you.

We have however, discussed the possibility of travelling to Armenia. The place is not unusual, it's where Noah's Ark landed, as it says in the bible. They often say that it's the first Christian nation, and that their hospitality is the best in the world. They used to be part of Soviet Russia (which explains the moscow-like architecture), and shares a border with Azerbaijan and Georgia.




Applying for Armenian Visa was simple. It was done electronically, and you have to pay 60 USD to have it processed. After two full days, the visa was sent to our emails, and we then need to book the tickets. Air Arabia flies to Yerevan every Wednesday and Saturday, which was really convenient, coz our travel dates falls on those days.

I really dont know what to expect. They say it's usually snowing there at this time of the year. I don't really wanna suffer from the cold, but what the hek, I've never seen snow in my life before.





Gears are ready, thick jackets, waterproof shoes. can't wait..

yes.. it has been one of the longest intervals that i haven't really posted anything in this blog. Its seriously just a case of laziness, nothing much happening, or me thinking that i just didn't have to write anything that happened in my life. but i guess, people get this feeling of wanting to move their fingers on their "off days".. type something on what has been happening, which movies you watched, did you enjoy this and enjoy that?

First off.. the first ever concert i watched here in dubai is Kanye West's. But being the typical big American rapper that he is, he came out about an hour before the show ended. All the front performers were great though. EXCEPT FOR HIM. people walked out just after his third song. i mean, people were getting tired and drunk!





A few days later, it was my sister's birthday. We celebrated it at Madinat Jumeirah where we met up with some friends. Grabbing a pint of beer is one of the best things you can do in Dubai. Because there isn't really much you can do outdoors (specially on summer), what people do is just chill out, and get drunk. People were like, "YOU GUYS WALKED OUT OF KANYE WEST'S CONCERT?!". well, surprise.. about half of the crowd did.




The next day, my roomates decided to experience extreme lunch. They said they want to try Pakistani/Indian food, and the best one (and the most authentic *cheap*) one is Ravi Restuarant near Satwa Roundabout. It wasn't the cleanest/classy/pleasant restaurant i've ever been to, but the staff was very friendly. they wiped our spoons for us. Most customers eat with their HANDS. and they lick it like how we lick chicken bones in KFC.





then finally, the first sign of winter just breezed in last November 27. The wind was a lot cooler, and people started wearing their sweaters. WE all knew that in a month's time, you wouldn't be able to get out walking on your shorts, so all of us decided to chill out near Rydges Roundabout, where they have just put up the Holiday/Eid's lights!




So.. a lot of things happened after that. but posting it would make this entry really annoying (with all the pictures, this will consume about 1/3rd of your friends updates!). So, i'll post them soon.

namaste!

Below is a really nice post by a blogger named Kriswy..


"I was watching the coverage of ABS-CBN on the take over of trillanes' group to the manila peninsula hotel. i cant help but really get mad at this group as they seem to make a fool out of everyone.

they were asking people to join them but i don't think the men behind this mutiny are credible and believable in their "cause" to save this country from a "corrupt" administration. i believe that they are just full of crap.

i am extra irritated by the fact that they continuously reiterating that the violence and damage caused to the manila pen was primarily done by the authorities. and that the government would put the lives of innocent people (media men, hotel guests and staffs) in grave danger just to hold on to their power.

in the first place, they were the ones who chose the hotel as the venue of their act. they very well knew that the place is packed by not only innocent Filipinos but also tourists from around the world, who dont give a damn on whatever the hell is their cause. they came from a case hearing, and they walked out.  they knew from the start that the police will soon follow and arrest them to bring them to custody.  they knew that troops are surrounding the hotel -- and what did they do? nothing!  they waited and waited pero susuko din naman pla.

parang hinintay tlga nila na gumalaw ung authorities against them, para lang masabi na the administration is this and that.  kunwari pa sila na "hero" dahil d daw nila matiis na dumanak ang dugo at masaktan ang inosenteng tao which is what the government, according to them, is very much willing to do. can u see kung paano "pinilit" ung ganung angle? again, they were just trying to make a fool out of every Filipino.

and i also dont understand what are the bishop and priest doing in that place?  and epal na naman si guingona.  and i think it was bibeth orteza who said that she would rather die there (with "cause") than die of cancer.  OH, COM'ON!

and trillanes? hay naku! bakit ba naman kasi nanalo yun?! i remember he said that the glorieta bombing was done by the administration. pano na yan?  glorieta bombing is believed to be either gas or bomb explosion! i think for him every negative thing that is happening in this country is done by the administration.  and pinaalala pa niya ung 11 million votes na nakuha niya. HALLER?! im sure that there are more than 15 million Filipinos wondering why he won. (i included... if only less personalities ran for senate, hindi sana masyadong nahati ung votes between all of them and bka natalo pa si trillanes.)

the only thing that happend in this commotion that i really did not like was the arrest of some media personnel. they shouldn't have been treated like criminals, handcuffed and all that. but i understand that the authorities just need to establish their identities before they let them go.

whehehe...  i think i made my point. un lng. "

so.. how much of my country have i visited?

My Lakbayan grade is C+!

How much of the Philippines have you visited? Find out atLakbayan!

Created by Eugene Villar.

i had a haircut last week in this crazy barber shop.. all i wanted was to trim my hair coz it was completely out of control!
So.. this 40 something guy was talkin' about summer, change of weather and all.. and how it calls for re-inventing your hair and stuff like that.. he somehow kinda' looked like this..
The barber


after a grueling 30 minutes of trimming, he told me about 4 people have asked him to dye their hair today. and he said it will cost me only an extra 40 AED which is like 480 PHP if i wanted mine colored too..


after his salestalk actually got into my head, i gave him the nod and he went on mixing some liquid in a bowl and putting a rubber like hat in my scalp.. pinched and pulled a few strands, completely covered it with that sticky off white substance, gave me a car themed magazine, then lowered my chair. he said we'll let it stay for half an hour.

a few moments later, he said it was time to shampoo and see the result. so..



DISSAPOINTED.. or i dont know.. but the good news is.. i can always change it back to black!

It's been a while since i posted something in this journal.. why? because people from Etisalat (the one and only internet provider in Dubai) decided a few months back that Livejournal was a porn site. probably they were reading journals of the wrong people.

So, quick update. I'm still working here at Gulf News magazine section, still trying to clinch that spot where you can say, "This is what I'm lookin' for in life" (But i probably wouldnt find that here).

I found great friends, went to different places and worked like dog. most of the past few months have been made up of that cycle.

this is lawrence. seeker of adventure in life, and works part time as a funny man. never spent a boring day with this guy.


sheikh zayed road. we stopped over there to buy cake for a roomate who had her birthday last week. i just love that place at night!


trying the slide at snow park.. again. (summer is way fun!)


more pictures of snow park. they had park benches there made of ice. t'was really cool.



So.. i also went to kish island in iran. but we didnt really have lots of pics coz I had a video camera with me.

I miss Cebu. i miss eating at larsians, lechon sa SM, ngohiong sa san carlos, ngohiong sa colon (wahaha, hugawan!), siopao nga naay ketchup hehehe, luto sa akong mama, ginaling, ginamay, sinigang nga hipon, tanan pagkaon sa sutukil, kabarato sa sinihan, sa beach nato nga naa lumot (walay lumot diri), sa kawasan falls. everything..

well, life is like that. if you guys have the time, also check ot the newest single of Avril Lavigne. Its called "When You're gone", and its just amazing. I'm having that on repeat on my mp3 player.

These past few weekend has been really out of this world! we were drinking like beer was gonna run out in dubai. well, its possible really, because they ban alcohol here from public groceries (stupid!).

Anyway, I'm kinda addicted to this one place right now. It's called, "The Irish Village". Well yeah, its irish. all waiters and waitresses are irish, the performer (who plays acoustic brit songs) is from Ireland, and yes, their beer is Irish style.

noon at irish village


Drinking Stella at freezing Irish Village


In other news.. kat and I are still together (working together, that is). Amazingly, we have worked at the same 4 companies for the last 2 years! now thats something.. anyway, both of us planned to be somewhere other than the philippines two years ago. and fortunately, we both got Dubai as our grabbed first world city target! two years from now, i should be somehwere. like canada. or saturn for a change.

So to celebrate our dreams, we usually go to Dubai creek and eat something there. In most cases, it would be a club house, chicken burger with shake, or.. the ever famous.

S H A W A R M A


THEY HAVE SHAWARMA SHWARMING AT THE BOARD WALK


Eating at Dubai Creek

I am not very fond with coffee.. why? first of all, it doesn't work (on me) as a wake up drink in the morning. no effect at all. plus, i don't like the taste that much. I was wondering, all these years i have been trying out coffee, its always that capuccino that comes from this vending machine....



From sykes, to etelecare, to xlibris, to skycom.. and now, in gulf news, they still have the same thing.. the downside of this machine is, it doesnt stir the coffee for you. you have the sugar, the milk and everything there, dropped on your hot cup.. but thats it, no artificial machine to stir your coffee for you.

Until today... much to my surprise.. they changed the vending machine to a new one.


This time, it was a european dealer. It offered hot belgian chocolate, hot lipton tea, almost everything i don't see on the nescafe one , except coffee with sugar and milk is there. i tasted it, and it was.. okay.. so much better (great improvement) from the nescafe one. and yes, i might just be drinking coffee every morning. what the hell becaue this time, at least i like the taste.

happy office face(s)


imagine if coffee reflects your reaction..



So today, I received the prize from body shop to be given to the winner of Aquarius letter of the month. most of the time, it would be some girl giggling about their articles, or mothers that can't explain their happiness why in the middle of the desert (dubai), a girly womens magazine exist (aquarius of course).. but for the month of december, the surprise letter sender was a guy.. his name was Mr. Stoehr something.. here was his letter..




~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Dear Aquarius Magazine,

This is a note to say a big 'thank you' to the Aquarius team for the splendid October issue. You will probably be thinking 'hey! all our issues are splendid! and you are probably right' but to me the October issue was special ... let me share why.


Earlier this month, two days prior my teenage daughter and her best friend were to arrive in Dubai, my wife had to make an emergency trip out of the country. Can you imagine the prediction that placed me in?? I doubt it ....


Prior leaving my wife picked up her monthly issue of the Aquarius which she decided to leave back for the girls ... and what a life saver it turned out to be! From 'Fitness to Beauty - Health to Nutrition - Reader Makeover to Small Talk' they read it all and even ventured to try out the Ramadan recipes. What was particular fun was discussing the issues with the girls and getting their point of view.

The article which was a top hit was '10 ways to be a Perfect Host' and my daughter, in the absence of her mother, managed to be just that - a perfect host.

Anyway ... the wife is back and sadly the girls are off this weekend but not without their copy of the Aquarius and a solemn promise from their mum to retain her copies until their next visit.


So ... once again ... 'thank you' and Eid Mubarak to you and all your readers



All the best

A Relieved Dad

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*



And now, because he won, he will enjoy.. a MAKE UP PACK! (jesus, i wonder if he'l keep it for himself, or he'l give it to the wifey).



if he keeps it, he'l be a certified hot daddyyy...


so hot!!!

ahhh.. what is happening in this world right now.. i have not been updating my journal coz photobucket sucks! and im sick and tired of thinking when i get home. why? coz i work in a small think tank that actually is a call center.
anyway, today has been a little bit tight for most of us in the office. normal day, hectic schedule, boring breaks, dumb ass bosses, nothin really much.

in the mall of the emirates, its full of madonna posters. it reminds me of philippine election, and though im not gonna be there when voting comes on 2007 (is that right?), i'll keep on track of things using wifi.



damn, they are everywhere. madonna just signed a contract to be their model for a gazzilion million pounds or something. good though. i mean, she is old and she will need the money in the future. when she can't sing anymore.



been hangin out at 24/7 that much. its like a grocery store here in uae and its like 7/11. i don't really get it why they call it 7/11 in the united states and the philippines. i mean, 7 days, 11 hours? damn.. i'm not sure. but, 24 seven is like one of the only 24 hour store here in dubai. i hang out with a girl named khai here, she is a filipina and we work together. sweet girl, talk to her almost about anything. and a work buddy named lawrence medrano who thinks he's funny and he really is. hehehehe. had a lot of laugh with them.




lawrence laughing like hell after a very corny joke.


eating at jolibee dubai.

nothing happy going on here. except for im trying to live my life the best and enjoyable way i can.
nahh.. park my fingers here. i think i said enough. or whatever. hehehe. im just so stuck in youtube now that its okay to have it here in dubai. because before, they blocked it. pricks.

Hey you guys.. nothing much here.. wrote a few journal entries in my friendster, but i dont really like writing there coz its kinda boring and all.

anyway, hows life here? the usual. its been kinda weird lately that I get to experience summer here in dubai. its freakin hot!

Sunset here in Dubai on summer actually happens at 7 plus in the evening. lets say it would be dark by 8 to 8.30. its unusual right? i mean, i got used to dark six oclocks in the Philippines! but anyway, sunset here is nice, but the humidity is like killing people. like dubai is a huge sauna place at this time of the year.





So im still working as an activations executive in a UK based company. Not really the sales or call center type, i do more paperwork and a few calls too! the pay is okay, but just about two weeks ago, the call center agents did a small strike that pushed our company to give us back our passports. so there, its a good thing we have our passports back.



So, i didn't tell you guys, but about a few weeks ago, we went to Dubai museum and i was pretty impressed with what they got there. a few artifacts from nothing but like 2000 years ago? hehehe. tough eh? it was a nice experience. their museum is in the underground, you pay like 2 durhams or something (i didn't pay, a friend did) and you explore. its a long walk, and you see archeology, technology, lifestyle of people from this place and all.




So last weekend, while i didnt have work, a couple of my friends and I checked out the beach. it was awesome, almost sunset at about 7pm, so the sun wasn't that tough on our skin. we also had our beach chairs so we just listened to the waves and hooked up our mp3 players. it was amazing.

well deserved work off.

So finally, i had time to update my journal. Anything new about myself here in dubai? nothing much. but an odd thing really happened here today. I met this american couple who operates an internet cafe here. amazing, considering that americans are really not fond of coming here in the gulf. so they are like the first ever americans i have met here who are doing business. there arent even tourist here from that part of the world! most tourist here are brits and all from europe and africa.

Anyway, life has been very kind for me and for all here in dubai. its been fun, it was cold during winter, but its really getting hot these past few days. i think its the start of summer already. i mean, it is summer already! So we went to a lot of places lately, but last month we visited the famous snow park and i got to experience snow first hand. =)





all smiles for me.. i miss the philippines though.

some pics i have from duba.. yeah!