Merry na, Xmas pa!

picture taken from our pre-Xmas party at Phyllis' digs

As usual, Christmas season is not that obvious here in Beijing except for those people who are aware of this holiday.

My team will have a Christmas Eve dinner at our cubby-hole-of-an-office tonight. We pre-ordered turkey with the whole shebang, Christmas ham, pasta and salad. Our small way to make everyone feel included in the whole celebration that's going to happen in Manila. *sigh

Anyway, I'm stoked for next week because I'll tour Ren and her bf around Beijing. They also requested to go skiing so I have to shun my none-enthusiasm and go with them. Maybe I'll try snow boarding and should I also fail, I'll just take advantage of the whole snowy setup and take pictures instead.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all!!!

"Don't tell God you have a big problem; tell the problem that you have a big God."
-Manny Pacquiao

Happy Birthday!!

I think I can now say that my birthday this year tops my list of "memorables".
---
Nov 29

Last Saturday, we went with Liza, Apple, Hazel and Susy to Tianjin. It just took us a 30min bullet train ride from the uber cool Beijing South Railway station. It's even nicer than Manila's NAIA 3 terminal.
There really wasn't that much to see in Tianjin save for a couple of bridges and this 8-year old clock near the train station.

We ventured into this looooong road filled with shops and malls that looked more like Beijing's Wangfujing shopping street. At the end of that long road is the Xikai Catholic church. We ended up tired and hungry. We just went and grabbed a cab to the food street then later on went to the street markets to shop for souvenirs. I just managed to buy 2 knock off Ugg boots. Pede ng pang harabas during winter. Hehe!

to check out some more photos, you can go here:

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Dec 1

I am thankful for all those who took time to send me messages (offline msg, facebook, friendster), and for those who sent me SMS and called me (Jar and Porns).

I woke up early last Monday because my day was pretty full. I headed off to Salon 88 at Carrefour to have my annual (note the annual) rebond session, hair treatment, and hair cut. It took around 3-4 hours to finish then I shopped for a thick jacket for winter then finally bought some groceries.

As soon as I got home, I found out that I had 3 missed calls from my boss. Did I tell you that I was scheduled to watch the Kylie Minogue concert with my boss? Yeah, I felt special that day as my boss and her friend from the same office treated me to dinner first at Alfa (just across the concert venue) before the event.

The picture above was taken from my new HTC Touch HD which I got last Sunday. As for the concert, although we got the nosebleed seats (literally), I quite enjoyed it. I'm not one to bitch about it as I didn't shell out any money - my boss paid for the tickets. We managed to jump a couple of seats because there were a few empty ones when the show finally started.

photo from TBJ

I absolutely lurv Kylie M...she is so cool. But I must remind myself not to watch concerts again with my boss. I was pretty much ok during the first half even though I'm seeing her in my peripheral texting away. I just told myself that getting to watch this concert won't happen twice so I just stood up and danced to her songs not caring if I'm the only one from our group having fun. What's even disconcerting was when the two bosses I was with started dancing during the last part of the concert. Trauma much?

The crowd was pretty much prim during the first few songs but we all went wild during her encore. We were all shouting "I should be so lucky" knowing that it will be the highlight of her concert. Well, Kylie did not disappoint. It was her last song and everyone left with huge smiles on their faces.

The night didn't end yet as my boss asked if we can stop by for a quick drink at the Pavillion which is just outside the venue. I had fun but I didn't notice that I actually got dizzy drinking two glasses of vodka and Sprite. I am old! At least I got drunk (dizzy) on my birthday.

My birthday celebration isn't over yet as my Filipino friends and Susy will bring food and drinks this coming weekend for a little get-together. =D


Again, thanks to those who remembered (hurray for Facebook and Friendster birthday reminder)! Haha!

Badachu Trip

Badachu is in Beijing but it will take you an hour or two - subway and two bus rides to be exact - to get there.

Badachu means Eight Great Sites, and refers to the eight Buddhist temples and monasteries that can be seen scattered across Cuiwei, Pingpo and Lushi hills at the base of Beijing's Western Hills Scenic area.


We were fortunate that it was a sunny and clear day plus there were not much people in the park so it was a nice day to get strained from climbing and walking the whole stretch of the park.
They shouldn't have called it a park as it's frikkin' huge to be able to house eight Buddhist temples.

I swore not to go to any temples unless inclined or forced because of friends visiting me here but I made an exception as these last few weeks have been really boring for me - no money to actually go out of town.
Unfortunately, we were a week late from witnessing the leaves turning red. We just had to settle for whatever leaves were left attached to the trees.

Three sites in the park that are crowd drawers are the Lingguang Temple - where the famous Stupa stands majesticall, the golden fish pond, the heart sutra and arhats wall can be seen; Dabei Temple - where the eight lifelike arhats can be seen inside the Hall of Mahavira; and Xiangjie Temple. Yeah, too much temples to last me a lifetime.


We caught this group moving the whats-it in front of the temple so travellers can light incense and say their prayers to Buddha.

They say lighting incense and kneeling is a sort of communion to be one with Buddha.


This is what they call Golden Fish pond where carps swim and it is said that the Buddhist practitioners used the pond to release captive animals. They say that there are over one hundred goldfish which was first bred here from 1851 to 1862.

This is a replica of the Buddha in Meditation (Samadhi) at Sri Lanka which was presented by the Sri Lankan president to China.

To view more pictures of our trip, just go to:

James Bond (Censored)

Went to see the new James Bond film today at The Gate mall.

We were forced to get the 100RMB VIP ticket as it's the only one showing the English version. We were asked to go to the VIP lounge while waiting to be ushered in. We also got free popcorns and got to sit on a lazyboy.

Too bad the film had a lot of obvious cuts. We never even get to watch the talk between Bond and Greene (or there really wasn't any - before they left Greene in the desert?) . Dang, it sucks watching films here; should have just waited for a clear copy online.

Huli man at magaling..magaling pa din

So after posting that I entered a photo contest, it was only today that I went back to the site to check who actually won.

I didn't make it to the top 3 but it was only fair as I didn't actually enter my "best" captured photo. At least I made it to the 6th place.

O well, maybe next time.

Have a great weekend, everyone!



In case you wanna check out the entries, you can go here.

====

Tagged by Abby

A. Attached or single? - BLISSFULLY ATTACHED
B. Best friend? - Chin
C. Cake or pie? - CAKE
D. Day of choice? - SATURDAY
E. Essential item? - LAPTOP
F. Favorite color? - PINK (yeah, so girly)
G. Gummy bears or worms? - WORMS!!
H. Hometown? - CAINTA, RIZAL
I. Favorite indulgence? -HOME MADE COOKIES
J. January or July? - JANUARY
K. Kids? - None
L. Life isn't complete without - CUJO AND MY FRIENDS
M. Marriage date? - WILL GET BACK TO YOU ON THAT
N. Number of magazine subscription - WHY SUBSCRIBE WHEN YOU CAN DOWNLOAD PDF VERSIONS
O. Orange or apple? - APPLE
P. Phobias? - CAN'T THINK OF ONE RIGHT NOW
Q. Quotes? - "TO BECOME WHAT YOU ARE AND TO BECOME WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF BECOMING IS THE END OF LIFE."
R. Reasons to smile? - OLD PICTURES OF TIME WITH FRIENDS
S. Season of choice? - FALL/AUTUMN
T. Tag 5 people - Ian, Jar, and dunno who else
U. Unknown fact about me? - I'M A ROCK STAR
V. Vegetable? - BROCCOLI
W. Worst habit? - SMOKING
X. X-ray or ultrasound? - X-ray
Y. Your favorite food(s)? - OMG, DO U REALLY NEED TO ASK?!?
Z. Zodiac sign? - Sagittarius

Updates (Pretzels and my new apt)

We crashed the grand opening of Auntie Anne's here in Beijing.

Ever since I heard about the soft opening about 3 months ago, I've been constantly filling up my weekends with a trip to the Gate Mall where Auntie Anne's is. It's my fave back in Manila and I'm so glad they were able to get it inside China.


We managed to meet the owner (sorry can't seem to get his name right-that's him in the pic above talking to a guy carrying a baby) he's a Chinese National and his wife is a Filipina. We met them while we were sitting at their store enjoying the pretzels and making lait at how the staffs were still not at par with how fast pretzels were supposed to be made. The wife suddenly went up to us and ask if we were Filipinos. Buti na lang di namen sha nilalait. She's a typical chinita that Filipino guys go gaga over. She told us that his husband was able to get the franchise of Auntie Anne's for China and the store is the first one in Beijing. They also asked some suggestions and a description on the mall attitude of the locals.

I also learned that they won't be selling any caramel dips in the near future - major bummer for me because I only order original pretzels and caramel dip. I'm still not sure whether that will deter me from coming back, though.

--------
Chin requested that I post some pics of my new apartment.

It's 2k Php higher than my old one but I wouldn't trade it for any other apartments because it's so near the subway station (as in parang isang dura lang) - now I really don't have an excuse for getting a cab going to work, there's also a secret grocery downstairs (secret coz you wouldn't believe it almost has everything from it's size), a bakery, the Korean resto we love is also near. And I absolutely love the shocking pink sofa they placed in the apartment. It feels so comfy I liked it better than the bed! And my stuffed toy, Ju-rou seemed to blend in perfectly with the softa. Here's where i spend most of my time when at home. Watching cable while checking e-mails/doing a bit of work/surfiing and download videos.
My old apartment didn't have a dining table so I made sure this new one would have one. I bought the table from an expat site where a lot of 2nd hand stuff is being sold at really palugi prices. The water dispenser only has an option for warm water. My aquarium is on top of the cabinet adjacent to the fridge. It only has one gold fish left. All the others died - had no idea why.

I won't show the bedroom as the bed is sooo pang mot-mot, as in orange headboard ever. So yeah, the one above is the dresser..which..guess what, is placed outside - in the balcony! Stupid, right? The view outside is the streets of Dongzhimen Nei and the building right across is an office so no way I'm going to walk around, go outside in my underwear. I managed to cover the windows with cardboard so there.

The temperature's starting to drop, at mornings it goes down to 2-3 degrees and the central heater will only be powered on by first or second week of November. I can't wait! I hate freezing inside my apartment.

What's your name?

I got this from China.

The premise is simple: Share the different names that different people call you.

Melissa - is what most people at work use to call me. I also remember that most of the people I know back in high school called me by this name. The latter being that I thought (back then) that my first name sounded cool.

Mel - is what my agents here in Beijing call me. It's the same name my friends back in Dell and my previous agents use.

Meme - This name is used exclusively by my friends from Sykes. The name was first given to me by a manager (can't believe the name escaped me) during my first few months with Sykes. Afterwards, we managed to give really "baho" names to almost everyone we work with.

I-sang - this is exclusively used by my mom when she's making lambing.

Mei-an/Mei - used by my circle of friends back in college, Salam and my bitches (former colleagues from Etel). My complete name is Melissa Anne.

Sakang - used by Ian, colleague and friend from Sykes. I call him "Bakla" in return. Go figure.

Mei Li - given by the Chinese government and is seen on my Chinese Work Permit. It means "strong" and "beautiful" in Chinese.

Bes - used by Chin and I.

Twin - used exclusively by Jarjar (note the "baho" name), my colleague and friend from Sykes. We used to look the same during our short-haired days with the company before we decided to grow our hair.

Baby - used by my ex-boyfriend of 2 years before I learned he already has someone he's calling "sweetie".

Love/Psst - used by my boyfriend slash best friend slash alipin. In return I also call him the same.

What about you? It's your turn to share the different names you go by.

Wish List

With Christmas just around the corner, I've made a list of what I've been drooling over:

1. I currently have Qtek 9000 and have started contemplating on replacing it as it started showing shorter battery life and has been restarting by itself at random. I've initially wanted to get Xperia Xi but have recently seen the upcoming release of HTC Touch HD. I don't want to join the Iphone bandwagon so I'm sure that the HTC Touch HD would be my last smartphone..I hope.


2. Winters in Beijing can really be a killer. I've survived putting two or three socks on just for my feet not to freeze everytime I hafta go out. I started drooling over these comfy UGG boots ever since I saw Pamela Anderson walking around wearing a long white shirt, UGG boots on and the paps raving about it. I know there are a couple of knock-offs being sold in the local market but with my experience with fake stuff not lasting very long, I'd prefer getting the real thing.

3. Last on my wish list would be some Pinoy shirts showing the map or phrases that only a kababayan would recognize. Wearing it when you're outside your home country gives out a certain pride and a sense of exclusivity knowing that other people won't have the same shirt and won't know what it means save if you see another Filipino on the streets.


My wish list is not that long as I'll be going home next year to attend my brother's graduation and hopefully go to the beach - I need to save up. I haven't been to the beach for 2 years now. Being in Beijing with the beach 3-4hrs away, it's not worth the trip as the beaches pale in comparison with the ones we have in the Philippines.

Thank God for true friends

Kaje: is it true????
Kaje: naiiyak ka daw tuwing nakikita mo wedding video ni sasa?
Kaje:
Kaje:

Me: who said that?
Me:
Me: but yes it's very true

Kaje: naks
Kaje: meian
Kaje: wazz happened to you?

Me: i know
Me: so pathetic

Kaje: youve changed a lot!!
Kaje: you like rihanna,
Kaje: you cry at wedding ... videos
Kaje: haha
Kaje: im not laughing at you
Kaje: im just....
Kaje: la lang

Me: haha
Me: i know
Me: i'm cheesy now

Kaje: bakla ka na
Kaje: hehe
Kaje: kidding

Me: it's totally fine
Me: hahah
Me: girl na ako

Kaje: ba't boy ka ba dati?
Kaje: i love you no matter what size shape or form
Kaje:


It's the best feeling in the world knowing you have friends who accept you for who you were, who you are, and who you might become.

Clueless

Just like a star across my sky,
Just like an angel off the page,
You have appeared to my life,
Feel like I'll never be the same,
Just like a song in my heart,
Just like oil on my hands,
Honour to love you

Still I wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,

You've got this look I can't describe,
You make me feel like I'm alive,
When everything else is au fait,
Without a doubt you're on my side,
Heaven has been away too long,
Can't find the words to write this song,
Oh...
Your love,

Still I wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,

Now I have come to understand,
The way it is,
It's not a secret anymore,
'cause we've been through that before,
From tonight I know that you're the only one,
I've been confused and in the dark,
Now I understand,

I wonder why it is,
I don't argue like this,
With anyone but you,
I wonder why it is,
I wont let my guard down,
For anyone but you
We do it all the time,
Blowing out my mind,

Just like a star across my sky,
Just like an angel off the page,
You have appeared to my life,
Feel like I'll never be the same,
Just like a song in my heart,
Just like oil on my hands

My idea of the song I want to play during the first dance as "husband and wife" (not that I'll be getting married real soon). I'm just happy I finally had some inkling on what I'd like for my "perfect wedding".

I didn't spend my idle time thinking up a perfect wedding when I was a kid or even during my stupid and plastered moments dating losers. I'm weird like that.

What's your morning routine?

Last week while I was spending a few quality time with my boss - we were at her desk, facing each other answering different work related emails when we suddenly started talking about our morning rituals/routine.

For my boss, she says it only takes her 30mins to wake up, think of what clothes to wear to work, make coffee/breakfast, check her schedule for the day/email then take a bath and get ready for work.

I laughed and told her that it normally takes me 1 to 2 hours to get ready for work - and it's not because it takes me a long time to take a bath or do my make up (I don't wear make up).  My morning routine are as follows - head straight for my laptop and check work email/answer a few drafts, check my downloads from last night, do my usual browsing while drinking coffee, then the rest of the stuff needed to get ready for work.  

My boss said I'm addicted to the internet and I just shrugged it off and said I probably am.  I still think I'm not that addicted.  I just think it's my excuse to still be connected to the world.  I tried the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) online and my result shows - You are an average on-line user. You may surf the Web a bit too long at times, but you have control over your usage.

Haha..I'm still okay after all.  I think it's all going to change now that my new apartment has satellite tv.  My routine would now be divided from surfing the internet and watching cable.  There's still hope for the geek in me. 

Photo Contest (Vote for me, puhlease!)

I joined an online photo contest here in Beijing.

The contest runs from 25-Aug to 25-Sept.  

All winners' photographs will be displayed in 798 art district. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd prizes will be given out on October 10th in the 798 art district or can be picked up at Laonei.com headquarters in Beijing during office hours.

1st Prize: 2GB iPod Shuffle
2nd Prize: 300 yuan Bookworm gift card
3rd Prize: Bottle of Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon

I know it's not much;especially when I didn't have the time to leaf through a gazillion pictures I took.  But haven taken lots of pictures and going to different parts of China for a long time now made me want to try my luck.

So if you have the time, please visit the link and rate the picture I entered.  You may have to sign up but would appreciate it if you take the time to vote.  =P

Xie xie ni!

Da Stupids went on a rampage again (Datong, CH trip)

Last weekend, we embarked on another adventure of Da Stupids - Doing China.

Susy wasn't there because she finally hooked up with someone. She's now too busy spending time with her man. So now our new recruit went with us to the trip -Lyndale.

Again, we traveled by train. But this time, we tried to get cheap tickets for just 27kuai a pop and regretted it the whole trip..maybe until now. Riding the cheap car train was like riding the bus during rush hour -- only difference is that it runs an extended 6hours. Just imagine being cooped up inside a train where people can smoke and not care that others are inhaling second hand smoke..people sitting on aisles, we even had to step over people sleeping on the corridors when we had to get ready to leave the train. It was total mayhem. We swore never to exchange cheap train rides over the comfort of travelling. Never again!

We got to Datong, China - safely - at around 03.30. And the whole city was scary. It was like a scene out of one of 'em zombie movies. The place was deserted. And the way they drove their cars here..we thought the drivers in Xian, CH were the worst..now we think the Datong drivers topped our list.

After being bumped off from a non-existent hotel reservation, our cab driver found us a cheap hotel room. We caught a few zzzs and was raring to go at 07.00.

We hired the same cabbie to take us on a 2hr trip outside the city to visit the Hanging Monastery. We didn't know at that time that we'd get scammed.

If you look at the picture, it would look like it's big but it's not. It wasn't what one would expect a hanging monastery would look like. It's one example of a WYSWYG structure.  Apparently, this place is only one out of the three hanging monasteries in China. The big one is located in Fujian, China. We are already planning our trip there.

After going to the Hanging Monastery, our two-faced cab driver suggested we visit the Wooden Pagoda since it was on our way. We later on realized that it was actually located at another county.

There's a large buddha inside the pagoda although we weren't allowed to take any pictures of it. We were allowed to take pictures of the surrounding area...which kinda defeated the purpose of actually going inside and going up the rickety old wooden steps of the Pagoda.

We ended our first day with a cab fare of 500RMB (multiply that by 6 to get the Peso equivalent), and walking around the city proper looking for a decent place to have dinner.

Our second and last day was spent going outside the city again on a different cab to Yungang Grottoes. As soon as we got to the place, we knew it would be amazing.

I've honestly lost count on how many times I caught myself staring in complete awe - with my mouth wide open - at how detailed the carvings on each caves were. Nagagawa nga naman ng mga tao nung hindi pa naimbento ang T.V.

I can honestly say that the Yungang Grottoes are way more majestic and beautiful than the overrated Terra Cotta Warriors in Xian, China. It probably stands along side the Great Wall of China in all its greatness. I would definitely recommend Datong, CH to those interested in touring China.

There are more pictures here, if you'd like to see more of our Datong trip.

Rant for the day

Grow your own company, will you? Let's see how fast you burn it to the ground with how crooked your work ethics are.

You don't go and be a corporate drone if you're too stupid to follow even the simplest requirements. If you think you're so above the rules of the group, then I suggest you go look for a dumb company who'll hire a loser like you.

Grrrr..

When you don't have tickets for the Summer Games...

What do you do when you're in Beijing during the Summer Olympics but you don't have any tickets to watch the games? Be a tourist of course!

Last Saturday we went to Qianmen Dajie which is near the Tiananmen Square.
This was actually taken a week before - when it was still closed from the public. Here it is now a day after it was opened:Yeah, almost all the people had the same idea as ours..to troop to the newly renovated Qianmen street.
At a sweltering 36 degrees last Saturday, we braved the heat, the crowd and the countless street vendors selling tiny flags of different countries. I doubt if they were selling a Philippines flag.

We didn't stay long though and decided to go to Wangfujing to grab dinner and walk the tourist strip to check out the newly renovated shopping mall which housed the huge plasma screen that enabled a huge crowd to gather and watch the opening ceremony last Friday.

We saw this Nike display in the Oriental Plaza where they showcased the different uniforms for different sports.

After getting stuffed at Sizzler's, we made our way outside towards the long strip that made Wangfujing so famous among tourists.
Olympic banners are displayed along the Wangfujing strip.
Tourists flock to the Official souvenir shop for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. I'll prolly return to the store once the games are through as the prices would hopefully be back to normal by then.
Local and foreign tourists can be seen walking around, using cameras of different models and types, taking in the culture and spirit of China.
This is the huge screen along the strip that offered the huge crowd free glimpse of the Opening Ceremony last Friday.
The crowd we saw last Saturday watching from the huge screen could've simple be one tenth of the crowd who watched the Opening Ceremony the day before.
Here's me getting a picture with this poor guy who obviously has been standing at his spot the whole day being gawked at and harassed for pictures. From all the people I saw lining up to take a picture with him, I think I was the only one who thanked him for posing with me. See, he even looked at the camera compared to this guy below:
He was obviously bored and more interested in what's being shown in the big plasma screen.
We also saw the new facade of the Adidas store in Wangfujing. Their display shows the different shoes for the different games in the olympics:
We decided to call it a night and made our way to the back of the Oriental Plaza to catch a cab but didn't miss a chance to get some decent pics of the scene while using the pedestrian overpass
I'm not sure whether it was a stoke of luck or fate that I ended up staying here in Beijing. This city is both scary and mysterious - with all the rich culture and beliefs - but I'm sure glad I get to be a part of China's shining moment of being a host country for the Summer Games - and letting the world know that China can be big in it's own special way.