Jakarta Online: Of moving on and going back

What difference 3 months can make…

A new job. A new apartment. A new country.

It’s literally a new life for me.

4 more days and I have been in hiatus for exactly 3 months already. I needed the time to adjust –find my own place and move in, learn the ropes of my new role and become more familiar with the culture and people.

Plus, as excited as I was to share the news, I didn’t want to do a preemptive strike until I knew that the plan was no longer a mere blueprint. I had to make sure it’s already real.

Yes, friends. I am back.

I guess it’s more apt to say that I’m back. And moving on.

I have been in Jakarta for almost 2 months now. I accepted an expat post in a growing and progressive telco here. The new job actually requires me to go back to my professional roots and first love: portal user experience design and usability.

Jakarta welcomed me with open arms.

Contrary to the horror stories of some friends and colleagues who have been assigned here, Jakarta has been a delightful experience for me.

Love the food, the people, the office culture. I love the lifestyle!

What can I say?

Thank you, Universe, for the new beginning. You definitely have a way of making it up.

Brace yourself, Jakarta.

I am sooooooo back in my element!

Thank you

Dear Universe,

Thank you for conspiring in my favor.

Thank you for the stars.

Let me make it and see this through.

A.

The debut of ze Cocoon

I flew in to Singapore several days before ze Big. After we checked in at the Mandarin Meritus Orchard, he made me open the closet to show me what the previous occupant allegedly left.

And there she was:

A big, lovely Chanel box...

for me.

Lily Allen is the face of the collection when it came out in late 2009, as Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.



My Cocoon is a black-red reversible. And it debuted in Singapore with me last week.





Thanks, R.. for my advance A. gift. I truly appreciate the effort of braving the reserve list just to get it for me. Like I said --- I'm good - bags or no bags --- just as long as things get better. I won't ask for more.

Singapore-bound

In 3 hours.

First time that I'm going on a trip without concrete plans.

At all.

Majorly busy that I didn't even have time to make an itinerary.

Except for Universal Studios and champagne brunch at the Fullerton.

Madz - bahala ka na sa 'kin.

Soliloquy on an early Friday morning

It’s a necessary evil – this 7am Friday morning routine. I was too much in a hurry to get my new car almost 5 years ago that I didn’t bother to check when my coding day was. Too bad it fell on a Friday.

It’s going to change this year, since I’m scheduled to get a new car in October. Note to self: no more Friday coding. More note to self: I really want a blue Mitsubishi Strada. I’ve always wanted to have a pick-up truck. Another note to self: either spend to personalize car plates or spend one-time, big-time on MMDA exception.

I’m no morning person. It’s aggrandizing for me to wake up at 5am to get to the office by 7. The silver lining is I get quiet moments to have an unstructured monologue with myself whilst the office thermostat and fluorescent lights are still off.

A lot. A lot is happening lately. But mostly, they’re good stuff so I can’t complain. Work has been uber erratic and busy. Just this Wednesday, my boss and I spent 7 hours straight attending meetings, sans lunch break. My brain was fried afterwards that I just wanted to go home.

My Blackberry Curve was finally issued. I have been stalling this for months but it was a futile attempt. A well-meaning soul fast-tracked my unit and my BB activation in 3-days time. God bless her, but God bless me, too – I have a 4-hour turnaround time to reply to emails requiring my decision on things. It doesn’t help that people in the office got used to emailing even in the wee hours of the night. Crackberry, you are addictive.

On the friendship front, I’m seeing my ladies tonight. Desiree’s back from down under and she’s hosting a wine and steak dinner. No steak for me – I’m still on my 30-day no pork, no meat challenge. Good thing Gemma will cook me tuna pasta. Yey!

No, the shift to a pesco-vegetarian lifestyle wasn’t difficult for me at all. I thought it will be. I love angus and I love Charlie’s burger. I’m not a big pork fan, though. Yes, I also strictly adhere to the Lent practice of a no-meat Friday. Come on, Lent is what? 40 days? Give it to Jesus Christ, for crying out loud. It’s good for managing cholesterol, too.

My meat abstinence will end on the 23^rd, but I intend to take it until the Holy Week. Come Easter Sunday, there’s the full intent to feast on meat at Fullerton Singapore’s champagne brunch (Wanna join, Madison?).

Speaking of Singapore – this is my cue to run errands this weekend. Get Madz’ CDs, DVDs, have rolls of lomo films developed (hers and mine) and research on restaurants. R. wants his humongous chili crabs on day one.

Beijing and Cambodia are still very elusive. Frustrating. I’m seeing the light at the end of the tunnel for Cambodia. I just need to check the flights to Singapore in August and how low they can go.

R.’s birthday is 2 months away. I am racking my brains out on what birthday present to buy. It’s quite a challenge to give gifts to someone who practically has everything. This is a yearly dilemma for me. It’s a nice-to-have problem, though.

Oh, and yeah – I have a glam job offer that’s willing to wait for me until the end of this year. The question is: do I want it? While it’s utterly flattering to be considered for the post, I don’t think I’m up for a mean girls type of work environment thick of politics and rumors. The offer sounds enticing but I love my job now. It’s not perfect, but it’s going somewhere. I love my team (how many times must I say that?). Plus the ultimate deal-breaker: should I even consider a new post, it’s definitely Hong Kong or bust.

Those are my unfettered thoughts on a sleepy Friday morning. The Universe, so far, is treating me kindly.

Can’t complain. Life is good.

(in)Toxic(ated)

This whole week is astoundingly BUSY.

Tuesday felt like Thursday already. There were A LOT of meetings, design sessions and design templates to finish.

Stressful? Not really. From the toxicity of October-December, things have mellowed down a little bit. Workload is still heavy, but my team has adjusted to it. I adjusted to it.

I'm just lucky - and glad - that my teammates can be on top of things without my constant breathing down their necks.

It's been a very productive week.

I'm mighty proud.

Hong Kong...

I miss you.

Immensely.

I miss the stores. I miss the hole-in-the-wall restaurants in Hau Fook Street.

I miss that ramen restaurant inside the HK airport.

I miss Ben and Jerry's ice cream.

I miss partying at Lan Kwai Fong.

I miss my friend Marlz.

I miss the crowded streets smelling like dimsum.

I miss the fasyon. Gawd, I miss wearing knee-high boots.

Hong Kong, I shall conquer you again.

Very soon.

Last 2 minutes

I've been trying to book plane tickets for my Holy Week vacay since Friday morning. We're really not the clientèle for budget airfares (I wish we can be) because we can't pin down our schedules months, months ahead. A month's worth of planning for a vacay is already advance notice in both our books, since both our work schedules are mega-erratic (no, not mega-erotic. hah.)

And his mode of traveling and vacay is spur of the moment, pack and go, now na. Deadma on how much the tix are. He's probably forgetting that I'm earning Southeast Asian salary - and he will kick me for saying this because he's picking up the travel tab, anyway. Kahit na - doesn't hurt to pinch a penny here and there.

No more Beijing PAL flights until April 15.

So goodbye Beijing. For now.

'Ain't giving up on you, though.

So I'm opting for a more familiar territory. It's one of the places I go to frequently - but we've never been there together. And knowing us --- there are more places to discover when we travel in tandem, because we're both adventurous in food and party places.

Plus, Universal Studios is a-openin'. That was actually what sealed the deal for R.

Me - I'm just happy that it's going to be our first time together there. And that I will get the chance to see my friends, too.

So yes, I can't wait.

Sorry, Madz - you have to take me in again for the first 2 nights. But join us for dinner or Friday night partey. Take us somewhere cool. Hahaha.

Meet Raisu

When I went out of the shower, lights were off inside our usual room in Mandarin, save for the TV.

He opened one lamp shade and said, "Belated Happy Valentines Day."

I thought it was a black box wrapped with a silver ribbon. I picked it up with one hand.

Ooooh. Light. And cold. It's not a box. It's Raisu. Meet my new notebook. The new HP ProBook 5310m.

Isn't he handsome?

Aylavhim.

I'm referring to the notebook. =)

Thank you for my Vday gift.

Woooooot!

Big on Big

While we were in Boracay, we got the chance to watch Sex and the City season 1 together.

R. was laughing his ass off and was supremely impressed with Big's charm and wit.

Yes, he can sooooo relate.

And yes - I'm happy that he is one of the few men who will openly admit to loving SATC, the 4 girls and Big.

SATC lulled us to sleep in our very cozy Discovery suite.

'Can't ask for anything more.

[all smiles]

Bora, beybeh!

Not bad, Discovery.

Not bad at all.

I'm so loving you now.

Gemgem, your brown shades just got to Bora. Along with the Gucci that I got back from Dits.

Borrow muna. Hahaha.

Perfecting the picture na kami lang ang kumukuha.

Cabernet Shiraz at 3pm

Happy with my surfer dude Vday presents

Enjoying his welcome foot bath & massage

my turn!

Take me to the beach

Boracay-bound in a few hours.

Finally!

We try to go every year. We used to visit Bora twice a year, until we realized that Shangri-La Mactan, Cebu is so convenient, having a direct flight from Hong Kong to Cebu.

Let's see if Discovery Shores live up to expectations.

I hope it does.

This RnR is sooooo overdue.

Temper tantrums

Ang dali kong mapikon today.

Or maybe he's just testing my patience.

Hirit ng hirit ng wala sa lugar.

Either I'm being too sensitive or he's being trigger-happy with his tirades.

What is up with that?

Count 1 to 10. Or even up to a hundred, if that will help.

Ipanema crazy

If you're my friend, you already know that I don't wear flat shoes. A 3-inch heel is the minimum requirement for me. I trip wearing flat shoes - this is tried and tested. If I need to wear a weekend dress, my slip-ons would always have kitten heels. So when there was a frenzy for flip-flops, I wasn't one of the fans who lined up patiently to get a pair of Havaianas. I thought it was preposterous.

My first Cartunistas Havis was a Christmas present from Romydev. A girl pal bought me a pair of Dupe' several years back. And those are the only 2 flip flops that I have.

Note that I only wear them when I go to the beach.

Zipping though requires me to wear something flat so I can easily do my turns and I won't trip while practicing and taking my lessons in Salcedo park.

Heels + park with some puddles = not a good idea.

Apart from the usual rubber shoes, I prefer wearing something more comfortable. Thus, the search for the perfect flip-flops.

Fen and I went to Robinsons Pioneer yesterday to check out both running shoes and flip-flops. It was a toss between the usual Havis or getting a new Ipanema pair. Most of the myGlobe girls preferred Ipanema since it's softer, so I tried several pairs on.

Ipanema was on sale, up to 40% off!

Last night, I bought this pair:


I already used it during last night's zip class and it was quite comfortable.

This lunch time, Yoj, Nabeth and I went back to Robinsons Pioneer for lunch. Thinking that I need a pair with more neutral hues since I will be heading to Boracay again next week, I went back for the Ipanema Bliss:



Note the compromise, though - yes, they're flip-flops, but they're not exactly flat. =)

'Seems like I'm a flip-flops convert.

But no - I ain't giving up my heels completely!

Middleground

I don't understand why it's difficult to find a middleground.

Either it's too leftist... or it's waaay on the other side of the spectrum.

I don't want to be an extremist.

I don't want it too hot or too cold.

Damn, Universe!

Stop playing!

Solitude

I miss quiet moments with myself.

I don't have a lot of those lately.

My social calendar is fully booked. I have double bookings for dinners and cocktails. I need to take vendors out for dinner. I have to see friends.

I miss Sunday mornings when there's nothing to do but just stare in space or watch episodes of TV series that I missed.

I never realized that I will grow tired of the noise.

I just want to be quiet. Even for a short while. For a change.

Go denim!

After almost five (5) years of wearing strictly corporate, we're now allowed to wear business casual.

Yes - jeans included.

Aylavet!!!

It's like ABS-CBN Interactive all over again.

And yes - you don't have to look lousy wearing denim jeans.

Denim jeans can rock the office.

Loving the ones behind this move!

Believing

Saying I’ve been to hell and back is downright cliché.

But it’s a fact.

I’m one of the most jaded person that you can ever find.

I wasn’t raised to believe in Santa Claus and fairy tales.

I don’t believe that a knight in shining armor will sweep me off my feet and we will ride a horse as the sun sets in the foreground.

I’ve been broken not once, not twice, not thrice, but countless times.

A lover once told me that the person you love the most will be the one who will hurt you the most. And he was right.

I stopped believing a long time ago.

I stopped believing so the hurting can stop.

But I see goodness in his eyes that can’t and won’t lie.

He is as transparent as water in a crystal spring.

I feel his earnestness.

Despite his fears, I felt how much he loved me.

And how much he loves me still.

I’m just not sure if how much he loves me is worth a hundred times over to make me believe again.

I guess, what I'm saying is...

Make me believe again.

Glorified messenger

Today, I'm a glorified soshal messenger.

Signatures needed. NOW.

Real signatures. Electronic signatures are not allowed for legal contracts.

For that - route the papers from Manila to Singapore then back to Manila.

Career!

The exquisite pain of romance

Last night, I caught one of Sex and the City’s season 2 episodes on HBO. This was the episode where Big and Carrie broke up because Big will move to Paris for work – without consulting Carrie.

Carrie said she will move to Paris with him, but Big said she should move not for him – but for herself.

Why on earth will Carrie leave New York for Paris if not for Big???

Why on earth will I even consider moving to Hong Kong with the language barrier and snooty salespeople if not for R???

Issues sounding way too familiar?

Wait until you hear the Carrie-Big exchanges:

Mr. Big: This isn't about us. This is about work!

Carrie: No, this isn't about work. This is about us getting closer and you getting so freaked out that you have to put an ocean between us.

Carrie: Why is it so hard for you to factor me into your life in any real way?

Mr Big: I guess old habits die hard.

I found myself texting R. about what I was watching. ‘Turned out he was watching, too.

The banter went on and on. R. asked me – how many times did they break up?

I quipped: “Several times. Just like us.”

How many times did I ever find myself in the same situation? R. going to Canada and telling me at the very last minute. Me being kept at bay when things became too emotionally involved.

Everything’s just way too close. The episode struck an extremely sensitive cord.

In all of Carrie’s lamenting, she said the words that I have been asking myself as of late:

Why am I running after the excruciating pain of romance? Why do I keep running after what is elusive?

In Carrie’s exact words:

Carrie: After we made love I knew it was over. Did I ever really love Big or was I addicted to the pain, the exquisite pain of wanting someone so unattainable?

I guess I’m both. I loved R. and I was addicted to the exquisite albeit excruciating pain of wanting someone unattainable.

After the episode, R. called me to say good night.

And I was sleepless until 3am.