Monday, March 30, 2009

I am so happy Today!

Yes, I am so happy today! I hope everyone is happy too.



We dined at Tonkichi.

I have always been fascinated with fishes. What are their thoughts and how they are. Very relaxing to see these colorful creatures
Merlion moments.

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Thai Exhibition, Faber, Shopaholic and Us :D

My Saturday has been busy. Right after the gym, I had to rush home and prepare for our excursion.

When I arrived home, Olga was already prepared and was ready to leave. I had to hop and run from everywhere the house as people were waiting. I had to wash my face again and do some personal hygiene. Olga was outside of the flat and waiting for me to finish putting my shoes on. I was then bugged of whether I had to bring my sling bag or not and also I had to decide if I bring my digital cam or not. But, I find it to sometimes try something else. I decided not to bring any of those trip stuff. Olga needs to purchase a top-up on her EZLink so we need to pass-by at the nearest 7/11. We went there first then we waited a bus bound for Orchard because we were going to the Thailand Embassy. It was a short trip and after 20 minutes, we arrived at the embassy. Were greeted with a different crowd and it was exciting. The atmosphere is very light. Since it's a Thai exhibition, what better way to experience it is through their food. Thai food is really flavorful. After the food trip, we roam around as there were stalls selling some goodies from Thailand. Then there was this program and we sort of watched it for a few minutes of our time. Just to give you an idea, it was already 6:30PM and the band wasn't that great so we decided to go to our next stop, Mt. Faber. Mamul, Olga and I wanted to witness the observation of Singapore for the Earth Hour. My small contribution was turning off every machine in the office including the main switch. Well, I have been doing this but just the cpu and monitor and last Friday, before I left the office, I switched everything off. If I am not forgotten, our manager decided to turn off our servers to contribute to this event. We rode a bus from Orchard going to Dhoby Ghout station and from Dhoby Ghout to Vivo City. Since I have drank a bottle of Thai tea and a Thai coconut juice, I had to go to the comfort room like twice. Then, we went to the bus station going to Mt. Faber. We arrived there at around 7:30Pm and the Earth Hour would start at 8PM. We looked for a nice view and there it was the view from a top. It was Singapore at night. We were taking some photos and was very eager to witness the moment when the lights are going to be turned off for this event. Mamul prepared her camera to take a video. When the clock struck 8, it was the moment of truth and there you go, all the lights did not went off. I think there only a couple of buildings froma far which had their lights off. It was that amazing. I was not expecting that of Singapore because it is well perceived that Singapore is nature friendly and stuff. Anyway, I can't help but compare it to the Philippines as the first Asian country to join the Earth Hour. Based on my experience last year, Makati, Pasay and Taguig joined the rest of the world in his event. There was a moment stop of activities for an hour and some of the big malls obeserved and joined this effort. Anyway, there not that much to expect in their so we decided to go back to Vivo to have our dinner. On our way, I saw this bridge on top and I suggested that we go there. So we went back from our previous trail and headed for this bridge. And well, it was a nice place. I think the night helped it. And the cam whores never ceased to take the opportunity to strike a pose. Hehehehe. After that, it was really time to get dinner. We were planning to have something Italian but we did not know where to go so we just decided to just really go to Vivo. It wa a long walk and a long wait and we could not find a bus for ourselves. We then decided to go to the opposite bus stop and there, we found which bus number to take. We arrived at Vivo at around 9:30 PM. We went to Marche but it's overly expensive and so we decided to go to Food Republic which houses food stalls which are delectable as well. I ordered grilled fish same as what the girls did except that they have spaghetti on it and I have rice. I ordered lime juice but it tasted weird and thank goodness, Olga was kind enough to share her bottle of water. We had a this fun chat about going to places we've never been and stuff. I told Mamul about this couch surfer which a friend of mine shared the info to me last Friday. Food Republic has to close already so we kind of decided to watch a movie. We needed a relief from all the busy days. We went to the cinema and we decided to watch "The Confessions of a Shopaholic". Since the movie time will be at 12:10AM, we decided to just walk around first and we decided to look for a Starbucks. Olga ordered one for herself and I am not a coffee lover anymore so we just joined her. We then talk and talk as always and it was fun. It was getting 12 already and Olga had to finish her coffee. After that, we proceeded to the movie house at the 3rd floor of the mall. The movie is a funny one and I must admit, I have those moments that I wanted to also splurge but not the one portrayed in the movie where it feels like they were sick and needs treatment. I believe we were not observing movie etiquette as we were having some huge laugh. Too bad for them and too good for us, as we enjoyed it especially the dance moves of Rebecca. I don't want to go on details of the movie and just watch it yourself guys to have a different kind of laugh. It was getting late already and Mamul couldn't get a bus already. So we decided to go to our flat with Mamul. When we arrived at Holland Ville, we thought that we were very tired but not yet. The two girls checked this blog and they were laughing and laughing again. I myself have read that blog and it's a really fun blog. I just stayed some few minutes and then I prepared for bed.

That was it, and I woke up at around 12 noon because my stomach was knocking of hunger.

Friday, March 27, 2009

XXX - etel in Singapore and I

Lols! Sounds like a porn movie that is, yeah ? Well here it goes....

My etel mates before had this plan of just meeting up. At long last, our meet up went successful. Mayang and I have been planning to meet somewhere in SG and this was it. And there's more, Lana and Ferdz who are already working here in SG were also present. These three people were officemates in Cebu, Philippines. We were working in Etelecare Global Solutions then. We got tired of the routines at work and wanted to move on so parted ways and here we are, in Singapore. What a small world really.

We actually just had a simple dinner at Food Republic and our plan was to meet there at around 7PM. FR is a food court actually where you can eat decent food at a price that's two to three times more expensive compared to a regular hawker.

The group had a mini bonding wherein we talked alot of updates which are basically, about people's lives. In short there was a mini-gossip session of the people from the X-company. It was fun to get in touch with people you have worked with and see them right now in different aura. You would love to appreciate how things have changed. Somehow it filled some gaps about your want of knowing of the what-has-happened after one has left.

After that simple dinner, we just went to the terrace and and just talk and talk. We did not even noticed that it was 11PM already. Vivo City is very accessible and some of my X's lived in Punggol and one somewhere in Red Line. Most of the time we're just laughing over nonsense stuff which made the atmosphere very relaxed and stress free.

It was getting late for most of them and I don't want to get a bus either because I would know how. In short we were most comfortable taking on a train ride. So we called it a night.

See you next time guys!

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

I am busy but not really.

I have been quite a busy bee for the past few days. This morning, I arrived in the office at around 9:59AM. I directly started what I have to do which was to install programs on the high tech cards that we have. The one we used in contactless transactions similar to that of the EZLink card here in Singapore. After trying things out and calling someone from the office who has an idea of how to do it, still there were failures in the installation. I was actually trying my best to find ways on getting the tasks done but there are so many things that I can't control. And instead of trying to bring the world upside down, I just relaxed ?

Well after lunch I was still trying out somethings. At around 2:30PM, I had nothing to do. In short, I am in severe stagnation. Most of the questions and clarifications that I have can only be answered by the people in France which for heaven's sake is in a different time zone. The thing is, I have been lectured by my manager about emails that it's the source of all evil or something. So I have learned. The France counterparts are usually starting to work at 5PM here in Singapore. So when I noticed that my contact is online already, I summarized what I had been doing and formulated questions and clarifications. After that, I tried calling my contact but I am always put into this answering machine - a leave a message automation. So all, I could do obviously is just leave a message. Since that contact appeared online, I also left a message there. Hopefully I will get answers the next morning.

Anyway, my team lead approached me and asked me some updates. I narrated to him all the the things that I have been doing. Then the million dollar question was popped, "What are you doing right now?". Then I replied, "nothing". Actually, I was just reading some Java stuff totally not related to the C++ and VB languages I am using in this project. He was not specific so that was my answer. I could have told him that I am reading this and that but totally unrelated to my current task. Well, I just needed a breather from a bit of pressure to have an output on this project. But let me continue. He then said that he needs to know if I am doing nothing because he will be assigning me other tasks from different projects. So I told him that if my contact from France won't reply this day, then I will have nothing to do as I am stuck. So I said that tomorrow it's okay to have a new set of tasks.

The long hours of waiting was like making me so damn weak. I wish time would go offshoot like a comet. I was so in a hurry that when the clock struck at exactly 6:55PM, I packed my stuff and went out of the office. I then went to Guess at Takashimaya to get my new pair of denim.

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Shopaholic minutes

I think the title of this post should be "Shopaholic hours". Hehehehe.

Yesterday, I again woke up too late for breakfast as it was already 11 AM and I was hungry. There was still spam from last night so I only had to cook rice. While doing that, I had a chat session with my friends from the Philippines. My stomach went berserk and I needed to feed him. I ate and ate. Geez, it was a big breakfast done in lunch time.

After that, I had to just relax in bed:)

I have not visited the gym for 5 days because I was so busy at work. I felt I needed to flex my muscle and get back to my cardio as well. So, I went to FF. I spent two hours in the gym. I got home after the gym and immediately prepared for my next activity.

I went to Orchard to send money to my loved ones in the Philippines. I then went to POSB Takashimaya to open another account for my personal savings. After that, the splurging of bucks started. We have been planning for a great summer so I was thinking of buying a pair of trunks. I ended up purchasing one at Speedo. It was a battle if I'd go for Arena or Speedo. But the Speedo trunks won because it fitted me well. I now am ready for the getaway and Bintan, be ready for us too in the nearest future:) I then realized that I have not been buying anything for myself for the past month. Weeeeehhh so I ended up scouting shops at Takashimaya. I went to Guess and bought a new pair of jeans and a belt. I had a hard time which one should fit me well and good thing the clerk was pretty helpful. The fit was great but I had an issue with the jeans I have chosen because it was too long and I told the clerk about it. He then said that they can trim it for me without charge. I was too glad to hear that. I was not finished yet because I was looking for long sleeves and polo shirts. I went to Giordano to try one and liked it so I bought it. I then proceeded to Lee Cooper and bought a polo shirt. It was very tiring after walking in and about Takashimaya and Isetan. I got so hungry because it was already 8PM and I decided to go to Food Republic. I would have bought another pair of shoes but I was able to successfully stopped myself. Wahahahaha. The price tag of this small therapy is 450SGD. This is my first time to actually shop this much.

When I got home, I also changed my bed sheets. I love the color of the sky that's kissing calm sea in the horizon. So I chose the blue colored sheet from IKEA with a circular pattern.

Oh! I will get my pair of jeans on Wednesday and I am excited to see how they are. This is so superficial of me but I couldn't help it. I myself needs to feel a bit extravagant.

End of shopaholic hours.

Friday, March 20, 2009

I now am a stock holder

I thought that I shall never see myself staying late in the office because of work but I guess it's just an elusive dream, a figment of my imagination. Wahahaha!

A few days ago, I have been really staying late, extending my normal office hours. I thought that only my housemates were stockholders but I too has become one of them. It's just that I am the late bloomer in this scene. I still wish it's a thought but it's real. Pinch me! Right now, I have been spending an hour or more in the office to finish my tasks. And I belong, I am a stockholder too. Hope this hardwork of mine will pay off.

Reminder: One of the reasons I resigned in my previous company was the super wee hours of work because of too much tasks.

Another reminder: Accept the fact that in the IT profession, it's just the way it is. More overtime and before you can even complain, there's more. I think I really need to accept this fact.

Anyway, I love my company right now and I don't know up until when. But then, I also have to be an employee first before becoming a boss myself. So overtime, bring it on! Wahahahah joke. Well, only if needed and necessary.

Thursday, March 19, 2009

I met Mr. Inferno

Well, well, well, who would have thought I will have my chance of his outrages.

It was kind of awkward actually and I did not like the scene. It was time for lunch and he was kind of pissed already about the bug and he was pointing out something. I guess he needs to mellow a bit. I was getting hungry actually and I kind of deciding to join the team lunch or not. Anyway, it was an agreed team lunch of some sort. I don't know what he had in mind that he had to do that to everyone and at that in public.

We had our lunch somewhere a bit far. A little thanks that it wasn't that hot but you could still feel the rays of the sun pinching your cheeks. As usual, if it's fusionopolis, I would always check out the Japanese food and there I got salmon teriyaki. Everyone was a little silent and I myself was drawn to the food that I was eating. After I finished my food, I stood up to cool my throat with rock melon juice. I went back to my place and everyone was like talking anything. Then suddenly another rampage of his wits. He began asking a mate who was right beside him. There was a confusion. The things got cleared when our TL came and explained things. Then came to me. I was on the spotlight. He was interrogating me and it felt like I was in a crime scene investigation. Naturally I would reason out and I can outwit if I choose to. It's just that I chose to be more calm and still had that respect. If given a chance to say my side, I would have told him that I did not know if it was my job to tell a person of a higher rank that this task is going nowhere and that it has to be escalated. I just felt that I was not the right person to decide on that part. I have actually given them hints about the situation. I have actually told my PL about the situation yesterday that I am lost. I was actually about to tell him that this thing is going nowhere. I even told him that the problem is on this and that I don't have the knowledge to resolve as I don't have the expertise and I have asked the person who gave the task and she knows nothing. So I blurted the words I am lost. Anyway, I am a little frustrated with the fact that the project was turned over and gladly accepted aka documented as Acceptance Test even if it has lots of issues and they are major issues. Have I known it earlier, then I or the one who gave the task in SG would have also decided not to continue with it. The document which I don't understand as they were in French arrived in my mail were a bit too late. I should have asked those documents early on. Anyway, it was a mistake on my part for trusting people so much. But it would be too rude as well to not trust them. The document actually went round on to those big guys - I mean technical and product managers. The contact that I have in France told me that she will have someone to translate it for me and it was good as I won't be doing the translation myself. And the BB got furious because he was thinking that I had asked someone from SG to translate it for me. He asked why? He even asked why can't I do it? At the back of my mind I said that because I am not French and I don't know French that's why I can't translate it. But I chose to say that he has a translator??? With a question mark sound at the end of my words. All along he was thinking that I had someone from SG translating the text for me. Which I then cleared that its not this person its this person. So he kept quiet. He then emphasized that emails as source of evils and stuff and that I should call the person who I want to get results from. I don't want to argue and so I agreed. It can actually make sense but not totally right. Anyway I just felt a little disappointed at how he questioned me about those things in public as in super public plus this huge voice. I just thought that the only mistake that happened there is that they accepted the finished project AKA during Acceptance Test even if it was clearly stated in their documentation that these and that don't work. How can something work when in the first place it's not working? The mistake that I have was asking those documents at the last minute, last Tuesday. Who would have thought that nobody checked these documents before they gave or assign it to me. It's a lesson to be learned.

But at the end of the day, I still am happy about how I have improved personally. Actually, if someone tells me things that are not right or are baseless I would actually also tell or explain up-front. When I was in high school, I would normally tell someone in a class who explains things erroneously and explain how it should be done. Anyway, I don't want to resurrect what has long been lying in catacombs, that was like ages ago when I felt it was me and the world that existed. I have grown up and I feel that I have to choose and decide also better.

Saturday, March 14, 2009

The Sunday I had and my Lucky Friday the thirteen.

Well it has been a blast for this week. There were just too many things going on in just a week. Can you imagine?

Last Sunday was the final day for us. I mean it was the day to leave the Ghi Moh flat. There was a bit of tension. It was really really bit scary for a fact that the agent we hired kept on telling us that the agent of the flat's owner is or will be taking some legal actions. That night, there was a confrontation and with out her knowledge, we recorded the conversation. The thing is, we were able to entrap her into blurting the words that the flat is not an approved HDB and that we told her that we felt cheated and fooled by her. We argued that she should have informed us early on, prior to renting the flat. It was a little tough but I was able to control myself not to say insulting or demeaning words other than telling her how I or we felt. Anyway, she as a bit shaky when we had that conversation and it was like there were five of us or rather four of us versus her in that tensioned conversation. After it was over, we part ways and we proceeded to our new unit in Holland Ville. Then we had dinner.

The next day, Monday that was, I was a little bit scared already as to what is the status of my employment. Basically it's the third month of my probation in the company. I felt that my efforts were not enough and I felt that I have not given everything so there it was. I would honestly pray to God that I will be regularized and that I would not think too much about it. When Thursday came, Olga told me that she has been regularized already. And so I was a bit panicky of my status. I will be able to know my status actually on Friday or on Monday. Friday came and I was like planning to ask or not about my status, or should I wait until Monday. The night came, and my manager and project lead talked to me. I was a bit scared when my project manager called me up over the phone. Well he talked to me about a confidential matter but it was not about my job status. After the talk, I just continued the task that I was doing. Even if the current project I have seemed to be still on the rocks. At around 7PM, my project lead called me up and asked me if I can spare like 10 minutes of my time. I told him yes but he noticed that I was into something so he just said that he will wait for me to finish what I was doing. In actuality, my head was running around and it was like too much. I had already the feeling that it's going to be my status that we are going to talk about. When I finished my email, I informed my project lead that it's okay to have the meeting. So we went to the conference room. He then asked me about the status of my tasks. The target dates. The things to do and more. Basically I was having a hard time explaining everything. By the way, my project leader is Chinese but he can speak in English and so it was okay to talk to him. He then asked me about how many months since I started, and I told him that it has been 3 months and officially this March 16. So it was the moment of truth. He asked me if how I was or what do I think about my performance. I told him that it's not great and I told him that I need to learn more. He then said that I have to be more confident. Well he then told me that they have regularized me. I was happy to know that they are regularizing me. Yehey! I was even amazed that they have appreciated my being so independent and dedicated to my work and that I was willing to learn and I am also a fast learner. He even noted that they like what I was doing. Well at the back of my mind I was wondering how they'd like it because to be honest with you all, I have not submitted my work just yet. Even so, I was wowed that they saw the attitude. Compared to my previous company that failed to see that. I was so happy, period. My project lead then asked me what can I say. I told him that I am happy that I am regularized and that they have given me a chance and opportunity to work with them. I also thank them for trusting me. Then he said that it's not them that regularized me and that it was because of me. So I was even happy to hear that. After that, Olga was actually waiting for me already as we were going home. We were actually planning to watch a movie entitled, "Race to witch mountain", but we decided not to watch it because I don't like watching it alone as well. So we decided to head for Holland Village for a simple dinner. We rode the 91 bus and arrived at Holland Village after 10 minutes or so. We then checked out every restos. There was a crowd but wasn't flooding. Anyway, we ended up at Thai Express. The food was a bit expensive as it costed 3 times more than that of hawkers. I had a full dinner so not bad for the price. I just did not like their mango smoothy because I get to compare it with the sweet mangoes in the Philippines which are of premium quality. In Japan, Philippine mango would be a money drainer. I actually missed the Philippine mangoes and sad to note that no Singapore supermarket is importing them. Anyway, after the dinner Olga and I went home and we were just walking. My feet got so tired but it was okay as I was still very happy. Imagine after that intense Sunday, Friday the thirteen came with full of great fun. Thank God :)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Dumpling Noodles and Saturday Clean up

It's Saturday and it's time to chill, but not really.

I woke up 11AM so late that it was good for lunch. There was no food or anything and the fish meat was still frozen. I took it out from the freezer and just left it on a basin with water. I could not contain my hunger so I went to the nearest hawker and bought dumpling noodles. It's rather cheap lunch for 3SGD unlike what I had on Friday's dinner where I had to shell out 23 SGD when we dined out at Fish and Co. Anyway I am liking dumpling noodles so much that every Saturday if I find it so tiring to prepare food, I would go this hawker food stall and order only dumpling noodle. Well I will sometime take a picture of this food. It's not that special or anything but I think it's really tasty. I went to 711 convenience store after that and bought carrot juice. I had my lunch at around 12.

My flatmates and I were actually scheduled to go to our new flat to clean and arrange furnitures. So after an hour from lunch, we went ahead. We arrived just in time because after a few minutes, exactly we were at our unit, it rained so hard with all the heavy acoustics in the sky. The smell of the rain was a bit nostalgic. Hehehehe. I just missed my childhood where I got to bathe in the rain and ran around.

Going to the cleanliness campaign, we wiped the glass windows, the railings, the floor, move the beds around, the cabinets and whole lot of cleaning. The toughest was the floor and we only invaded a tiny space. We are coming back this evening to actually bring in some of our things and probably do some cleaning. We were tired after that I guess. The agent of our previous flat actually wanted to see the unit for her new clients so Razel had to pack up. Just around quarter to 4 we set off. Razel went ahead to meet the agent and the rest of us went to Fair Price supermarket to buy some drinks and some cleaning agent.

I had to go to a pharmacy to buy medicines so I went to Guardian just few hundred meters away and the two girls, Analyn and Olga went to our flat at Ghim Moh.

I arrived in the pharmacy on time and went straight to the medicine section and asked the pharmacist about the medicines. She then told me that I had to have a doctor's prescription. I did not have that so she did not sell to me the medicines. I had no choice then but to go to Boonlay for my doctor's prescriptions. So, I just decided to go home first then just proceed to Boonlay after I have cleaned up myself.

It was really far going back to Ghim Moh on foot. I arrived after an hour of walking, lolz just kidding. Anyway my feet were not protesting though but it was really far. I just washed my face and changed clothes then went to Boonlay the soonest I could.

Boonlay is 25 minutes away from Buona Vista and I arrived there at around 6PM. From the train station at Boonlay, the clinic is around 8 - 10 minutes walk. I arrived there rather fast as my walking was really brisk because I did not call them and check their service hours. Anyway, I just explained to the receptionist that I needed the medicines and stuff. She advised me to sit or rather wait. She was right, I had to wait. I had to wait for 20 minutes before I got my medicines. She then told me that I needed to see the doctor next month and she gave me my medicines good for a month. There's nothing I can do because of their strict rules. Pharmacies won't sell the medicines if you do not have any prescriptions.

Before I decided to go home, I checked the mall for any perfumes. My stock is getting emptied so I needed a new one. I checked Body Shop but they were very expensive at 49SGD. So I checked Little John's shop. I saw this esprit perfume and tried the tester. It smelled good and it was priced at 10SGD. Actually if you buy it in a glass container, it's overly priced at 40 SGD but when it's contained in a plastic bottle, it's very cheap. So I did not have to second guess. I bought it and went out of the store and just decided that it's already late. This time my stomach is really screaming. I arrived home at around 8PM and just eat dinner as I was really hungry as a beast.

After dinner, we had to prepare one more time as we were going back to our new flat to bring in our stuff, so tomorrow's transfer won't be that much difficult. We went there by taxi and it was a blooper for me. I went to the driver's seat and the driver thought that I will ambush him and that I was a terrorist. Ofcourse it was a joke but I was really telling him sorry and that it was an honest mistake. Well, when I got inside the taxi, I just told him that in the Philippines, cars are driven at the the left hand side. He is a rather friendly driver as he was like joking about Philippine politics. I did not have to argue or what I just laughed about it. And Razel who was with me was also laughing at his jokes. I did not took him seriously as he was just trying to build some rapport. Another blooper because he was actually thinking that we were going to Woodlands. Good thing he said he did not know where we were going and so I guided him where to turn. When we arrived near Holland Drive, I told him to turn right and he said no. I told him that we were going to Holland Drive and he said he thought or rather heard it was Woodlands so we laughed. It was a short taxi ride. We paid him 4.40SGD. My flatmates owe me some cash wahahha as I was paying all the taxi rides. Anyway, I won't be forgetting about it by the simple reason that I have blogged it, lolz. Good thing the driver was so kind and he helped us unload our heavy bags. After a few minutes, our other flatmates arrived. We went together to our unit. I brought with me the air freshener I bought awhile ago so I sprayed our room and our cabinets as well as our common furniture. I just unpacked my things to my future bed. My other mates were also cleaning their respective niches. After that, we went home on foot. It's another on-foot trip. Should I change the title?