- kalat ng bahay -

after arriving from the office, jeni and i started unpacking our stuffs all over the living room ... chireh will have a fit when she sees this ...

- bahendra's genius -

short intro first ... bahendra is a character in my life right now which makes my existence more "interesting" ... "interesting" - said in a very nasal manner (labas sa ilong, intiende?)

bahendra has so much wisdom ... can't help but share it ... a very opinionated person ... never lets a conversation end na hindi sa kanya galing ang huling halakhak ... i've learned so much from bahendra which is why i've decided to waste some of my "blog space" to write about the genius ...

i.e., the "four-pose" of this get-together is to collect a "fool" of people who will be assigned to do the following items via "round-ruben." uhm, alien to that.

i vow to put some more entries detailing his awesome-ness ...

by the way, i need to bitch a little ... bahendra said in front of other people that a task will not be assigned to me anymore because i was not good enough ... if that was true, why is it that nobody told me? ... the real reason why i won't be doing the task anymore is because i am leaving ...

- tita jeni -

yeyyyyyy! yeyyyyyy! jeni is in da bilding!!! jeni arrived last friday from manila to do her "quarterly maintenance" ; ) ... i was on leave so i was able to pick her up at the airport ... she accompanied me to wanfang hospital for my ENT check-up.

segue, i showed the doctor the swollen lymph node ... he decided to do a fibroscopy on me ... what is that? he inserted this tube up my nose to check for anything weird on my throat ... it was fine at first but it got uncomfortable later on ... i reacted by saying to the doctor, "uh, uh, uh" ... to which he said, say "eeeeee" ... "eeeeeee" ... nothing unusual about my throat but he gave me some antibiotics to take care of the swelling ... be back in a week.

so going back, i'm looking forward to my week with jeni ... we'll be starting it with a trip to fulong together with chireh, farfetches and papa d ... tas we'll be going to work together ... then i'll be on leave on friday for a trip to keelung with jeni ... tas we'll go to bali next saterdi with farfetches and papa d ... coolness!

- fulong fulong -

it was an overnight thing for the 5 of us - me, jeni, chireh, farfetches and papa d ... we have reason to celebrate - jeni's here and then chireh will be going to US ... we also wanted to get out of taipei for a few days ... dinner at our house on friday - we feasted on dinuguan which farfetch loved, by the way; all he had to say about it was - "hmmm, saraaapp" ... barbecued pork at tenga ... winner ... we took the 9 sumtin train ride to fulong and we arrived at dollar's place - his place is a coffee shop and surf/body board rental and hostel ... we rented a room for five at 3300NT ... "bu tsuo" *not bad* for 660 per person ... we also had our own bathroom ... we also got to use their microwave ... and what is so "kul" about his place is the way they designed the rooms - it was simple but nice ... there were even glow in the dark things on the wall ... the ceiling has cloud-like designs ... to get an idea of the place, visit dollar's website - http://www.dollar-fulong.com.tw ... anyway, we had a drinking session that night at the beach ... too bad i can't drink a lot now so i just feasted on nuts and fruits and lapid's chicharon courtesy of tita jen ... the night was great and the company was even better ... saterdi, we woke up too late for the sunrise but we did get to enjoy the beach ... the water was so refreshing ... sunset was no good either kasi natakpan ng ulap ang araw ... jeni and i forgot our camera ... i would need to get the pixs from chireh and farfetch and post them here ...

- updated - pictures added (click on the photo!)

- isn't it a wonder -

it's been ages since i last heard this song from boyzone ... i wasn't even aware that i have it in my mp3 collection ... and for some reason, the song gave me a weird but good feeling ... isn't it a wonder? : )

It's a sign of the times girl
Sad songs on the radio
It's a sign of the times girl
As the leaves begin to go
But all these signs now, showing on my face
Proving me wrong, taking its place

Pray to God that there's more that we can do, yeah
Pray to God that there's more that we can show
More that we can do, yeah

Isn't it a wonder
As a new born baby cries
Isn't it a wonder
With the sweetness in my eyes
Isn't it a wonder
On the crossroads of my life
Isn't it a wonder
Isn't it a wonder, to me
Oh you're all...

It's the way of the world when
Wrong takes hold of right
It's the way of the world
In which we've all lost sight
But isn't this world, too simple to be true
Holding on to memories of you
Pray to God that there's more that we can do, yeah
Pray to God that there's more that we can show
More that we can do, yeah

Isn't it a wonder
As a new born baby cries
Isn't it a wonder
With the sweetness in my eyes
And isn't it a wonder
On the crossroads of my life
Isn't it a wonder
Isn't it a wonder
That I can see
A change in me
But I won't go back cause that's behind me
And after all
Strong words are spoken
My heart will never be, never be, never be
Never be...Isn't it a wonder
As a new born baby cries
Isn't it a wonder
With the sweetness in my eyes
And isn't it a wonder
On the crossroads of my life
Isn't it a wonder
Isn't it a wonder
That I can see
A change in me
But I won't go back cause that's behind me
And after all
Strong words are spoken
My heart will never be, never be, never be
Never be...

- auto immunity -

sometimes, we tend to "indulge" on things - even people :) - which we think are good for us ... only to realize later on that they're really not.

just happened to me.

i've been on veggie/seafood/less meat diet because i was thinking that it's healthier ... i was told by my endocrinologist that i have an auto immune disease - chronic thyroid inflammation ... the "auto immune" sounded so big and scary ... but the doctor told me that it's really nothing to worry about ... i just need to stay away from iodine and i should be fine ...

iodine is in seafood ... and cabbage ... and i just found out - in dairy ... hay, so much for my compulsive need to drink milk ... man, i love milk! ... how about ice cream? and butter?

and so now, i'm rethinking the things that i place inside my mouth ....

- marginalization -

taking the definition from dictionary.com, to be marginalized is to be "relegated or confined to a lower or outer limit or edge, as of social standing" ... para sa aming mga pinoy na ofw, it's as good as saying na "na-racist" ka ...

when i first decided to go and work here in taiwan as a qa engineer, i never, never imagined that i willl experience racism ... tapos nung isang araw, it dawned on me na parang "normal" na lang na ma-racist ako ... teka, magdi-disclaimer muna ako ... i don't have this problem at my workplace ... sa labas ng opisina ko nararamdaman na ako ay isang indio ... isa pang disclaimer ... nde naman lahat ng tao dito ay racist ... pero meron pa din talagang nde - uhm, learned? ... might be my skin color ... may nabasa ako sa isang travel guide to taiwan, ang tingin sa mga dark-skinned ay "worker" ... so kelan-kelan ako na-racist?

^ nung naghahanap kami ng bahay ni chireh, we found a good apartment near guanghua ... the rent was 26K ... we told the landlady where we were working ... we had a little problem with the arrangement sa "pagpasok" sa haus ... we had to pass by our landlady's house ... it's not very convenient since you have to pass through their living room, dining room and several bedrooms ... there was an alternative way but you have to pass by the basement which was spooky ... chireh asked a local friend to talk to the landlady - given that her english was limited - to ask if there was any way to fix the basement ... instead of getting an answer to our request, we found out that the landlady was hesitant to have us as tenants and was even wondering how we can afford to pay the rent ...

^ i expected doctors to be compassionate and helpful at definitely, hindi racist ... i went to see a doctor for a reason that i can't remember now ... the hospital was supposed to be "foreigner-friendly" ... that for me means that speaking english shouldn't be a problem and my oh-so-limited mandarin won't be needed ... when it was my turn to see the doctor, i was asked - "ni hui shuo zhongwen?" (can you speak chinese?) ... to which i answered - "i-dyen-dyen" (a little) ... how long have you been here? ... almost 3 years now ... you've been here for 3 years and you don't know how to speak chinese? ... and the doctor was very incredulous ... ok, ok ... he does have a point but i went to see him to have something about me checked ... but it's definitely not my language skills ...

^ i was thinking of getting laser treatment for my varicose veins ... asking the dermatologist about the details of the treatment, i was told that it was expensive and was given the numbers - the estimated price ... i had to explain to the doctor that i was working as a qa engineer ... he later explained himself by telling me that most pinays are working as helpers or factory workers ... so there, i was stereotyped ... so much for my laser treatment ...

and the list goes on ...

pero idealistic lang cguro ako noon ... hm, ignorante ata ang mas tamang term : ) .... and now, i think i know better .... it is "normal" for people to see me as a second-rate citizen ... sabi ko nga, sa sariling kong bansa e nata-trato din akong indio e ... what more dito?

- on being demeaning -

gel: [doing the "job" to blow away the boi and to make him "really happy"]
boi: [starts to channel surf]

- feeling better -

it's been a while since i last posted an entry ... so what happened ...

^ i've was having terrible nausea last week ... on and off ... regardless if i was moving or not ... like experiencing small aftershocks every now and then ... and i wasn't sleeping well ... had palpitations especially in the middle of the night ... what i don't know is whether i'm getting the palpitations because i woke up or i woke up because i had palpitations ... last tuesdi, i had that tingling/numbness feeling on my left arm ... lasted for more than 2 hours, i think ...

^ i felt so frustrated with what i'm experiencing ... as i was telling jeni and chireh - i wasn't feeling well and there doesn't seem to be any help ... i'm just tagged as plain neurotic ... and anxious ... it's scary as it is ... but it's more scary not knowing what is happening ...

^ i decided to read up on mvp ... part of my taking control ... i think most of my symptoms are from this condition ... and i just found out that since i am prone to infections, i should have antibiotics before any surgery or dental work ... good thing i found this out ...

^ i am thankful ... since saterdi, i have been feeling ok ... and i am sleeping well ... i take my daily dose of red wine before sleeping ... i guess it helps ... but i still have a few more doctor's appointment ... i'm seeing a thyoid specialist - just to make sure that it's not the problem ... and then i'll take it from there ...

^despite the frustrations ... the "not knowing what is happening" ... i still found a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel ... and i'm sure it's not a train (di ba jeni?) ... i learned to appreciate every single moment - i repeat, moment - when i feel alright ... i learned to be more thankful ... i'm also going back to my long-lost faith ...

- my turf -

this is now my turf after chireh and i switched rooms ... too bad i wasn't able to get a picture of my old room ...

i have to agree with chireh when she said that this room looks happy ...

- the power of my faith -

i haven't been feeling well since i've had my viral infection ... almost a month now ... my lymph node still bothers me - although i read a literature saying that it's normal to feel some of your lymph nodes as long as they are not getting bigger in size ... i still have colds ... i still get nausea sometimes ... and i am feeling frustrated ...

before talking to jeni, i asked her if we can read "our daily bread" first ... and then there it was - my unspoken prayer was answered ...

"Do not worry about your life" - Matthew 6:25

"Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble" - Matthew 6:34

"Never a trial that He is not there,
Never a burden that He does not bear;
Never a sorrow that He does not share -
Moment by moment, I'm under his care." - Whittle

Amen to that.

- love moves -

in the midst of checking exercises from the TOI ...
jeni, basa ...

Who'd have thought
This is how the pieces fit?
You and I
Shouldn't even try making sense of it
I forgot
How we ever came this far
I believe we had reasons
but I don't know what they are
So blame it on my heart, oh

Love moves in mysterious ways
It's always so surprising
When love appears over the horizon
I'll love you for the rest of my days
But still, it's a mystery
How you ever came to me
Which only proves
Love moves in mysterious ways

Heaven knows
Love is just a chance we take
We make plans
But then love demands a leap of faith
So hold me close
And never let me go'
Cause even though we think we know
Which way the river flows
That's not the way love goes, no

Love moves in mysterious ways
It's always so surprising
When love appears over the horizon
I'll love you for the rest of my days
But still, it's a mystery
How you ever came to me
Which only proves
Love moves in mysterious ways

Like the ticking of the clock
Two hearts beat as one
But I'll never understand the ways it's done

Love moves in mysterious ways
It's always so surprising
When love appears over the horizon
I'll love you for the rest of my days
But still, it's a mystery
How you ever came to me
Which only proves
Love moves in mysterious ways

- on being suicidal -

boi: can't we talk about us? you know, like what we mean to each other ...
gel: [sings] what do we mean to each other am i friend am i lover ...
boi: ah, so you don't want to talk about us???? [boi grabs a hold of the gel's phone unit and decides to strangle himself with the phone cord]
gel: [attempts to prevent the boi from strangling himself by placing her hands between the cord and the boi's neck .. decides to call for help because she's unsuccessful]
boi: [as soon as one of the gel's relatives came to the room, the boi stands up as if nothing happened]