Happy Friday

Thank God it's Friday!

I've got a lot to be thankful for..
Cujo finally got a steady job, he's on his second week. And he also started working at his part time job...as a poker dealer! Hehe! At the rate he's planning on going, he'll be able to rake more at the end of each month than I do. I got no problem with that! Hehe!

I've managed to finish Deathly Halows as per my previous post. Not gonna elaborate though as some may not be finished reading it and would not appreciate reading spoilers as I do. So 'nuff said.

We've committed to two trips so far: first one's going to be next saturday which we will spend hiking the Great Wall. Second time for me, first time for Cujo. Then next would be on September when we go to Datong on a 2 day trip. I'm excited to see the hanging monasteries and the giant stone buddhas. I'd prefer going to Inner Mongolia but it's effin' expensive so Datong will do for now.

Job's so-so..still looking for a part-time job for myself..can't wait for next week's payday..will go to church on Sunday to thank Him for everything.

Happy weekend, everyone!

Deathly Hallows

I bought the book last Sunday. And although I'm a fast reader, knowing that this is the last installment on the HP series, I took my sweet time reading it. Well, not really that long because two people are currently lined up to borrow it. :)

So what did I think of the book now I've finished reading it?

I can say that is was awesome and truly unforgettable!!! I'm surely gonna read it again, maybe before I let the others borrow it. Hehe!

It had more action then all the prior 6 HP books combined. Although a lot of characters died in the last book, it was all worth it in the end. I am mostly impressed with how JK Rowling ended the series knowing that HP fans are going to want the ending to be a blast..she really delivered it.

Knowing that this is the last book made me sad, though. The HP series is like an old friend that visits every year or two; and tells me stories and takes me places I can only imagine.

I'm surely gonna miss 'ol Harry but who knows, JK Rowling or maybe a new and brilliant author will cook up another wonderful series to captivate all of us.


"Which came first, the phoenix or the flame?"

"The answer is that a circle has no beginning."

Regrets??

Whoa! I just spent a good 3 hours looking over my college batchmates' multiply sites and I couldn't help but compare their lives with mine.

They followed their dreams. I mean, we all studied Communication ARts back in college but not all of us seeked jobs related to that field. These guys which sites I've checked out followed theirs. Some are now working in TV, advertising, one's a recording artist..and I couldn't help but ask what I did with my life.

Right after graduation, I spent a full day courting the idea of working for a tv network. Not infront of the camera but behind; perhaps a scriptwriter of some sort. But since I'm the eldest and obviously the first to finish school, then there's a huge weight on my shoulders pushing me towards a job that will give my family more money. Hence, I ended up working in a call center.

I have to admit, during the first few years I've worked as an agent and worked my way up to managing people, I've thought that I was doing good. But then there are random moments specially when I'm alone that I ask myself if this is what I'd really like to do for the most part of my existence. The answer is always a "no".

I do know that one can never be contented with what they have. Maybe that's just what I'm feeling. But sometimes it hits you real hard that maybe you aren't doing what you're destined to be doing. I don't know about you, but that's what I think.

I'm away from family and friends, under the guise of "travelling" but I really wanted to get away. When I think about it right now: I'm in the same situation where I was before, it's just that I'm away from my homeland..which make things worse.


Oh crap, there goes my whole week.

Celebration

After almost 8 months, we're finally able to go to church..as in really hear mass. Not just stand outside, take pictures and leave..but really hear mass.

It was done in Chinese so I was only able to catch a few words and phrases. The celebration had a lot of differences to how we celebrate ours in the Philippines:

- the priest blesses the crowd at the start of the celebration; back home, it only happens when we are celebrating something.

-instead of having someone tell the crowd to 'stand up', 'kneel' and such, there's just someone assigned to his a stick as a signal for everyone to standup, kneel, sit, and even bow! We did a lot of bowing during the celebration. If felt so weird.

-they don't have dress codes. Those who were assigned to read wore pants, even those who walks around during collection wore khaki shorts and sneakers; and they're all fairly young.

-3 kids head the Offering while wearing white capes that almost reached their waists. They were so cute, one Indian national took pics of them when they walked by. There were also church volunteers who ushers people and helps them look for a vacant seat.

-They did a lot of bowing in between readings and a lot of songs. The mass went on for an hour and 30 because of this.

-There's an LCD in front showing what responses to say and the Gospel the priest read to the crowd.
It's refreshing and weird (at the same time)hearing mass on a different language. It makes me want to learn the language more. As for now, one thing I'm sure of is that I'll be coming back next week to hear mass again.

To see more pictures, please click here.

Wala lang..

Feeling ko nasa Pinas pa din ako tuwing nagkakaproblema ako sa pera. Pinagkaiba nga lang e dito intsik salita ng mga tao, yung iba mababaho pa.

Kung tutuusin kaya ako nagpunta dito para kumita ng malaki at makaipon. Po#!h pag may naiipon naman ako biglang magkakaprobema at kelangn magpadala ng pera sa pinas. WALA PA KONG IPON!!! WTF! 8 months na ko dito, daig pa ko ng mga agents ko at nakaipon na sila para papuntahin parents nila ito.

Sakit na ng ulo ko soobra! Waaaah!

Feeling ko din wala ng kwenta tong trabaho ko. I'm just in it for the money..and the fact na ayoko bumalik ng Pinas muna.

Kainggit nga yung Senior Rep ko eh..nakahanap sha ng part time, dealer sa small time casino. Mantakin mo ca bring home no lower than 1kRMB (6k pesos) sa isang gabe. Tangina, kaya nya makuha yung buong sweldo sa company namen ng isang linggo eh.

Swertihan lang makakita ng part time dito kase kelangan marunong ka mag-Chinese. Pede mag-aral kaso wala akong pang-aral.

Sabe ko nga baka may opening dun sa casino eh, kahit waitress or dancer (as if!) papatulan ko. Di din naman kase ako mashado marunng mag-poker..what more pag nag dealer ako. Leche!

Yun lang!

Returning the faith

Last Sunday, we finally, FINALLY, managed to catch the church in Wangfujing open. We have been attempting to attend mass or just plain visit the church but to no avail. So we were surprised and glad to have caught it open just as the priest was wrapping up a mass celebration.

It's been around 7 mos since I last visited the church. I'm relieved and grateful that I finally know the schedule and would finally be able to attend weekly mass. The Lord has been very kind to me so it's just right that I return the faith.

After spending a couple of minutes inside the church and a couple more looking at the trinkets outside, we then headed for the Wangfujing road and went inside the Wangfujing jewelry market.

It has a lotta jewelries that they sell for only 38RMB, that's around $5 a piece.
We found this gold necklace with a large pearl as the pendant. We plan to show it to Cujo's mom so she can sell it in the US. It's really purty!!

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We then went to my fave mall, Oriental Plaza to have brunch at Yoshinoya. On our way to Yoshi, we passed by this sorta-fashion show..well, it was a show introducing Nokia N95. The models were funny so I decided to take a couple of pics.