It still has some bugs, and I'm still not sure about the banner design, but with all new beginnings, there's always trial and error, and new discoveries, and feeling out a different style.
Some things will be the same--like my love for photography and my general geekiness :o) But there will be new additions--more links to design goodness, and shorter entries, if I can help myself :o) It's also going to be about the next chapter as an almost-married person with an apartment to keep, and about my life as an MBA student in a new city.
I hope the new blog will feel like home soon, and will be able to reflect what I am now and what I'd like to be in the future.
It seems I would have to leave you sooner than expected.
Did you remember our first meeting? It was not a pretty sight....
...literally.
The previous tenants left in such a rush, that they sort of forgot the teeny matter of cleaning up. But since the previous tenants are my good friends, I'll let it go. Plus, they left a small army of quarter-full whiskey bottles. Ah, how bribery works its magic so easily.
They also generously bequeathed to me a kitchen with rusty, but useful, arsenals; as well as a blue sofa bed, which I eventually found after shoveling my way through unmade and unwashed blankets. (Eep.)
But it was precisely because you required a lot of work that I grew to like you more and more. (And the fact that you're relatively cheap ;o)) I invested in you, and the peace of mind you provided back was more than enough ROI.
I gave you a facelift...now the green scars are gone, and the bright orange rash is an even white. I also plugged in your unsightly holes with fast-drying cement. I got half-covered in paint doing so, but it was such a fun learning experience.
And did you remember when I agonized for days on which color to paint the buffet table / long cabinet? (It had been originally an ugly birch.) After driving the helpful handyman at Knauber crazy, I finally ended up with color palette #61--a cool shade of sea green--which matched quite nicely with the ceramic knobs I had picked up at a local alternative hippie store. Now, I just have to put up the tiles as accents for the cabinet doors. We still have to work out somehing for the TV stand and the living room table, but that's for the future.
Someone once told me that a person is not a grown-up until he/she has cleaned a bathroom. I've cleaned bathrooms before, but yours...my gosh! I went into your bathroom as sprightly 28-year-old with a bucket of soapy water in hand, and came out as a 40-year-old with... ...you wouldn't want to know what's in the bucket afterwards. 'Important thing is, you are now sparkling clean, and no old moldy shower curtains to cramp your style!
Your bedroom, which was a warzone of deadly unwashed towels and underwear (!!) with hidden landmines of crumpled-up tissues (!) is now a tranquil haven. It's still missing window treatments, but now that I'm moving out soon, we'll sadly never know, shall we?
And finally, your kitchen. Behold, a distant memory:
Once the empty Coke bottles and beer bottles were disposed of (there were so many I got enough deposit money back for 3 döner lunches), and the fridge was rid of molds, I couldn't stop concocting one dish after the other in that room. Thank you for being such a good setting for brunches with friends, for dinners with colleagues and the Pinoy gang, and for cozy meals with K.
So thank you, An der Esche--you who are technically my first and last bachelorette pad, you who are the four walls that endured my attempts at learning the guitar, you who allowed me to fill your space with laughter and late-night talks with friends.
I still have a couple more weeks with you once I come back from the Philippines, but I already suspect I will miss you.
It was at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, on the 18th of July 2009. And it was maaaagniiiiificent! (Oh-oh, oh-wo-oh, oh-oh, oh-wo-oh!) :o)
I was never a die hard fan girl, but when I heard the news that U2 was coming to Germany for their 360 Tour, I toyed with the idea to go. It is, after all, U2. As my sis said, "They're iconic! You can tell your future grandkids that you've seen Bono live!" Hehe.
The original plan was to see it in Paris, but with train tickets expensive, I bowed out. Plan 2.0 began clicking into place one evening, when I was hanging out at Ka Dencio's place after a particularly tiring workday. It was one of those weeks where you already start talking about the weekend, it the hopes to fast forward Monday through Friday.
"What are you doing this weekend?" I asked, whilst forlornly popping crackers and cheese into my mouth. "Oh," Ka Dencio said. "KG and I are going to Berlin this weekend for the U2 concert." There was a projectile of crackers and cheese. "You're what?! You didn't tell me!!" "Come! Come book and join us lah!" He was putting on his Singlish accent again, acquired after 6 years of working in Singapore. "KG and I will be happy to have you!"
And that is how, after a few phone calls and mouse clicks and a trip to the local seller, that I found myself an excited ticket holder of U2's 360 Tour in Berlin. (That was also how I sneakily avoided a meet-and-greet with K's friends at the sleepy village of Stendal. Hehehe, I kid, I kid.)
The days leading up to the concert was akin to cramming for an exam--I was listening to their latest album No Line on the Horizon every chance I had. But unlike your typical exam, it was enjoyable cramming, and every bus ride to work became a bopfest. The beats were catchy, the lyrics superb, and the instrumental work electrifying.
From the moment we entered the stadium-turned-concert arena, we could feel the pent-up anticipation rumbling through the crowd. (To release the excited tension, the crowd--80,000 strong--did human waves around the arena about 7 times, including several botched-up initial attempts.)
When I thought my knees couldn't take the human wave thingy anymore, U2 finally took the stage...and the crowd just exploded into a cacophony of cheers, shrieks, and wild applause.
It was well-deserved, too. U2 gave such a magnetic performance, starting with "Breathe". From then on, they kept on upping the tempo, playing one new song after the other--the title song "No Line on the Horizon", the funky "Get On Your Boots", and the beautiful celebration "Magnificent". And when you think the crowd couldn't get any more pumped up, U2 worked on our nostalgia by singing "Beautiful Day".
They were engaging performers, mentioning their previous times in Berlin, and singing a couple of songs they wrote while in this city. Of course, there was the requisite let's-speak-a-few-sentences-in-the-local-language, which never fails to enamour me and, apparently, 79,999 other people.
"Wie geht es euch!" Bono yelled into the mic. "How do you like our space junk?" he asked, referring to their circular stage decked with bridges so they could cross over to an outer circular stage orbiting the first. Between the first and second stages were mosh pits crammed with excited fans. Four claw-like support structures rose up from the center stage to hold a 360-degree screen--it was an interesting set-up. While Bono spoke, the overhead screen provided German subtitles. "We built this because...and you might projectile vomit--try to translate that," he cheekily explained, "--so that we can be closer to our audiences...thank your for giving us this wonderful life!"
The band also paid a brief homage to Michael Jackson. After singing "Angel of Harlem", the guitar riffs melted into the melody of "Man in the Mirror", of which Bono sang snippets of, followed by a quick refrain from "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
It was during this time that they had some people from the audience come up the stage and play their instruments! "This is an experiment," Bono announced, as the band members gave up their guitars and drums to the lucky, wannabee rock stars. After the song finished, Bono tried to talk to the guys by asking them their names. But all one guy could manage was a euphoric, "Thank you, thank you! Danke, danke!" It was too funny :oD As the aspiring rockers left the stage (in a happy daze, I'm sure) Bono deadpanned, "All I can say about rock stars, is that they're short." Teehee.
Towards the end of the concert, the band injected some of the political activism that is signature U2. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" was followed by "Pride (In the Name of Love)". They dedicated a song to Aung San Suu Kyi, and encouraged audiences to support the ONE Campaign. During their encore, we sang happy birthday to Nelson Mandela.
Night has long fallen by then, and camera flashes around the stadium went off in rapid succession like mini supernovas. From our vantage point, the vast mass of people standing on the stadium field seemed to have blended into a sea of skin and outstretched arms, their upturned faces reflecting the lights of the stage. It was amazing to see how a band can have so much power over people, and how 80,000 different individuals can act as one because of a band. In that sense, I admire how U2 uses their fame to make people aware of issues that matter.
U2's last song for the night was "Moments of Surrender". The whole concert would have gone without a hitch, if not for an overzealous fan running onto the stage and being semi-tackled by security and dragged off the stage. Idoit that he is, he made my big concert experience complete. Haha!
When Ka Dencio, KG, and I walked out of the arena, we were on such a high that we couldn't stop belting out U2 songs. We tried to extend the experience by giving one another concert play-by-plays, as if we hadn't been there together a few hours ago. Unbeknownst to me, I have become a U2 fan girl.
Finally, Ka Dencio, bless his sensible head (and his poor stomach flu), had the sensible idea that it was time to head back to our hostel. "Okay, let's see which U-Bahn line we need to take," he said, consulting his map.
This music video,'Hibi no Neiro' (Tone of Everyday), by a band called Sour had me glued to my seat. Quite a creative effort by whoever thought of it, and quite a logistic effort by the fans of the band. Nicely done! Via Neatorama.
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Just came back from watching Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen.
Verdict? The only thing that kept me from "rolling out" of the movie is my nostalgic fondness for the Autobots. (Hi, Optimus Prime! Hi, Bumblebee!)
The movie went overdrive where it should have been mellow--too much slapstick, too many cliches, too many robotic limbs and you can't figure out where one robot starts and where the other one begins. It sputtered where it should have accelerated--the CGI work on the first movie is somehow better than in Revenge of the Fallen.
Cue in Bumblebee playing "Wreck of the Day" from its speakers.
Crossing the desert in Morocco--a vast expense where possibilities are endless, but also where getting lost is a risk.
I can't believe it's been more than a month since I last wrote in this blog. I know I should be more consistent in writing down what's happening with my life, for I know I'll cherish it when I click back on my old entries. But the past month has been a roller coaster that would rival even the rides in Six Flags.
Without further ado, meet the latest victim of the economic crisis.
It has been expected, but it's still quite shocking to be in the situation. And very, very emotionally draining. The thin thread of trust between the employer and the employee has been unravelled, and one tends to second guess everything the company does from now on. Ugh, another item on the growing list "Why I Do Not Like Corporate Life."
But onward and forward. Or something.
I may have something under my sleeves, but it is too soon to tell. And even then, I wonder if it's the right decision, or whether it'll end up with me living under a bridge after the next 1.5 years. I don't even know if the next step is "me" or if it's an act borne out of "what everyone says it's the right thing to do". Traffic advisory: another major crossroad ahead.
Generally and somewhat naively, I'm hopeful. I'm not an optimistic person to begin with, and I've been genetically programmed to worry...A LOT. But K's influence must have been rubbing off on me the past years, and I tend to find myself searching for silver linings these days.
One immediate silver lining of this whole redundancy circus, is that I suddenly find myself with so much time. (Why I Do Not Like Corporate Life item #3 is "too less time to do what one loves", which is related to item # 14 "shackled to the desk and deprived of sunlight", and so on and so forth.)
So I did one of the things I love--I bought a flight ticket home! :o) It was a last minute cheap deal, too--the cheapest flight I've ever booked. If this isn't dramatic enough, I get to rendezvous with my family in Hongkong first and go around the city for 4 days, before continuing on to my lovely home islands. Whew, what a silver lining!
It will be great to get away from it all, and focus on another much-anticipated event...the wedding! Oh, would you imagine the surprise of my modista when I walk into her boutique?! Oh-hooo, but perhaps not of joy, but of consternation. I can almost see her whipping out her measurement tape and admonishing me, "I said 'maintain', not 'gain'!!"
Oops. I've taken to chocolates to calm my nerves, what can I say? :o(
But anyway. Point is, if there's already a silver lining so early on, my reasoning assumes hopefully that there are more to come, although it's not obvious all the time. So yeah, I'm generally and naively hopeful.
The sun's been playing peekaboo with us denizens of Bonn, but at least the weather's warm enough to take out the summer shoes I bought in the Philippines back in December 2008.
And I absolutely adore these Charles & Keith shoes I got. *heart*
You have no idea how many times I peeled back the protective tissue during wintertime to catch a glimpse of these babies, only to wrap them again and place the box back on my shoe rack. Parting is such sweet sorrow. (Drama.)
Now that I get to wear them, my heart and outfit is happy, but my feet are not. Ouch. I still need to break them in. I guess some sacrificial blood needs to be spillt.
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I am yet in another crossroad.
Things are not going too well in our company, and people are getting antsy. Rumors had it that there will be an announcement next Monday. Today, our heads were called to a meeting with HR. After a 30-minute absence, our bosses were seen to go back straight to their rooms.
It was quite funny, actually. Their footfalls were fast and efficient, and they spared no eye contact. My cubemate and I were deliberately whether we should tackle one of them and drag them into an abandoned conference room for interrogation.
And torture, if necessary. We merely have to force feed them canteen food, and we're sure they're going to capitulate.
Strangely enough, I am approaching this situation with the optimistic naivete of a child. Not because I don't believe I won't be sacked, but because I think whatever happens, there will be other opportunities out there. Other paths.
Okay, so it's not an award really, but it doesn't make it less nice! In fact, when I read it, butterflies were pleasantly fluttering about in my stomach. :o)
So thanks, Toni, for the wonderfully unexpected shout-out! (This is definitely a first.)
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P.S. I have to get back into the blogging groove. Not having an internet back home is throwing me out of whack. Plus, a crazy amount of stuff coming at an indefatigable rate to take care of.
Indefatigable means "tireless", and is brought to you by the book PopCo. It's my current before-bedtime and on-the-way-to-work read, and is a story that revolves around ciphers and code-breaking. I didn't know this before--I only picked up the book because the whole thing was painted in blue, even the sides/edges of the pages! :o)
Among others, a Mango-lover (both fruit and coutoure). Frustrated artist trapped in a corporate slave's body. Constantly mixing up metaphors. Like striped toe socks. Normally do not like bugs, unless it's a shutterbug. Number 1 consumer vice: never coming out of a bookstore empty-handed. Number 2-5 vices: chocolate, sushi, chai & green tea, and tinkering/crafting around.
Proudly Filipino-Chinese. Currently residing in Bonn, Germany.
