I've been living alone for exactly 13 days doing grown up stuff like cleaning the house, throwing out my own trash, remembering to switch off all the lights and outlets before I leave the house, and cooking gourmet delights for myself such as tortang talong, tuna casserole, and beef steak with rice. Its so different having to remember things because no one else will pick up after you or do things for you. But all that didn't make me feel as grown up as my recent decision regarding a guy I was seeing before I left Manila.
I finally made up my mind about what I wanted while I was here. When I found out something extremely disappointing he did, I confronted him about it. And when he told me he wasn't ready but offered to still continue our friendship, I decided to let go for my peace of mind.
The old me would have kept quiet, kept on slugging it out until I got beaten down by my own false expectations. But it seems like this new me would like to get what I deserve, all or nothing. One of the toughest decisions I've ever made, certainly a sad one, but definitely I'm proud of myself for making it. It also helped that this guy was a good friend and I could be totally honest with him (and he was willing to listen), but that teaches me a lesson too, about becoming friends with someone I'm seeing instead of putting them on some sort of pedestal where you only show your best side.
I travel to and from work every day for a total of 90 minutes and this song always plays on the radio...definitely cheesy but pretty apt:
Big Girls Don't Cry
Fergie
The smell of your skin lingers on me now
You're probably on your flight back to your home town
I need some shelter of my own protection baby
Be with myself in center, clarity
Peace, serenity
The path that I'm walkin, I must go alone
I must take the baby steps 'til I'm full grown, full grown
Fairy tales don't always have a happy ending do they?
And I forsee the dark ahead if I stay
Like a little school mate in a school yard,
We'll play jacks and Uno cards
I'll be your best friend
And you'll be my Valentine
Yes you can hold my hand if you want to
Cause I wanna hold yours too
We'll be playmates and lovers and share our secret world
But it's time for me to go home
It's getting late dark outside
I need to be with myself in center,
Clarity, peace, serenity
I hope you knowI hope you know
That this has nothing to do with you
It's personal
Myself and I
We got some straigtening out to do
And I'm gonna miss you like a child misses their blanket
But I've got to get a move on with my life
It's time to be a big girl now
Big girls don't cry
Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Spot the Difference (My 1st week in KL)
There are so many similarities between Kuala Lumpur and Manila sometimes I forget that I’m not just in another part of town (Caloocan?). The people look similar, when I go to the mall or the grocery the same superbrands are available, and the weather is pretty much the same. So I go about my day thinking that I can probably easily get the hang of things but then I start spotting the differences, some big (like right hand driving on the left side of the road) some small (groceries come in bulk, not in single packs). In my first week I’ve learned so much I’ve gotten quite excited (and sometimes afraid) of what’s coming next in the life of a girl who’s never lived away from home.
Lesson # 1 Pirated DVD shopping
I thought it would be like going to my favorite ”suki” vendor in the nearby tiangge and selecting the DVDs. Here the vendor actually has a shop in Bangsar Village where he pretends to sell original VCDs and DVDs but the shop is half empty so its obvious there are more wares in the back office. I flip through the title selections, get disappointed they don’t have Ugly Betty (yup I got hooked on that cheesy series before I left Manila) then fork over some cash for Nip/Tuck, House and Lost. Suddenly within a few minutes they close up shop, roll down the steel grille and get our numbers so they can pass us the pirated goods later on when the police aren’t watching. After 15 mins (in heavy rains) we meet at street corner and shop manager (wearing a cool bluetooth headset) directs us to his cohort in a running car who hands us the DVDs through the window while urgently instructing us to keep it in our bags. It’s like dealing drugs!
Lesson # 2 Shipping cargo
I brought over a balikbayan box with more clothes, bags, shoes and books than could fit in my 20kg baggage limit on the plane and I thought the smartest and cheapest way to bring it over would be through the unaccompanied luggage methodology (airport to airport) wherein my box would be picked up from my house, loaded onto a Malaysian Airlines flight and then be ready for pick up at the KL International Airport a day after I arrived. I envisioned going to KLIA (which is an hour away from my condo), picking the box up from a conveyor belt and merrily going home. This isn’t what happened.
Thankfully accompanied by a local driver, we head off to the KL Cargo Terminal (not KLIA as I expected), get fill out 2 forms to get 2 passes to enter the compound (which is roughly the size of the UP Campus), go to a far building to get them to issue us a guide to go to Customs (in another building) for some clearances and payment, and then another building to pay some local charges, then still another building to finally get my box which seemed less important as time went by. Finally you get it checked by Customs in a different station, then go back to the Customs building for final clearances before surrendering your pass at the exit. Time elapsed: 2 hours (excluding 2 hours of travel time). I’m never doing this again!
Lesson # 3 Language
Yes they speak English everyhere but its of the British variety. I’ve found myself stumbling several times:
Example:
Me to Guard: Excuse me, where can I throw my trash?
Guard: Huh?
Me: Trash…you know…garbage? Where is the garbage can?
Guard: Huh?
Me: Umm…dirty stuff container?
Guard: Oh…you mean rubbish bin!
I don’t know why it took us that long to understand each other.
Vive l'difference!
Lesson # 1 Pirated DVD shopping
I thought it would be like going to my favorite ”suki” vendor in the nearby tiangge and selecting the DVDs. Here the vendor actually has a shop in Bangsar Village where he pretends to sell original VCDs and DVDs but the shop is half empty so its obvious there are more wares in the back office. I flip through the title selections, get disappointed they don’t have Ugly Betty (yup I got hooked on that cheesy series before I left Manila) then fork over some cash for Nip/Tuck, House and Lost. Suddenly within a few minutes they close up shop, roll down the steel grille and get our numbers so they can pass us the pirated goods later on when the police aren’t watching. After 15 mins (in heavy rains) we meet at street corner and shop manager (wearing a cool bluetooth headset) directs us to his cohort in a running car who hands us the DVDs through the window while urgently instructing us to keep it in our bags. It’s like dealing drugs!
Lesson # 2 Shipping cargo
I brought over a balikbayan box with more clothes, bags, shoes and books than could fit in my 20kg baggage limit on the plane and I thought the smartest and cheapest way to bring it over would be through the unaccompanied luggage methodology (airport to airport) wherein my box would be picked up from my house, loaded onto a Malaysian Airlines flight and then be ready for pick up at the KL International Airport a day after I arrived. I envisioned going to KLIA (which is an hour away from my condo), picking the box up from a conveyor belt and merrily going home. This isn’t what happened.
Thankfully accompanied by a local driver, we head off to the KL Cargo Terminal (not KLIA as I expected), get fill out 2 forms to get 2 passes to enter the compound (which is roughly the size of the UP Campus), go to a far building to get them to issue us a guide to go to Customs (in another building) for some clearances and payment, and then another building to pay some local charges, then still another building to finally get my box which seemed less important as time went by. Finally you get it checked by Customs in a different station, then go back to the Customs building for final clearances before surrendering your pass at the exit. Time elapsed: 2 hours (excluding 2 hours of travel time). I’m never doing this again!
Lesson # 3 Language
Yes they speak English everyhere but its of the British variety. I’ve found myself stumbling several times:
Example:
Me to Guard: Excuse me, where can I throw my trash?
Guard: Huh?
Me: Trash…you know…garbage? Where is the garbage can?
Guard: Huh?
Me: Umm…dirty stuff container?
Guard: Oh…you mean rubbish bin!
I don’t know why it took us that long to understand each other.
Vive l'difference!
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Driving in the Wrong Lane
Omigod I just drove to and from work by myself today! Picture this: right-hand driving in the left side of the road on a major highway (the North Klang Valley Expressway) at an average speed of 100km/hour and it still takes 40 minutes from my condo in Bangsar to my office in Cyberjaya. My heart was in my throat most of the way but that was the easy part.
What should have been another 40 minute trip back home turned into a congested tour of KL outskirts, exotic places like Subang, Sunway, and god knows how many other wrong turns into the strangest places (imagine a long dirt road under a flyover that leads into a dead end). The end result: 2.5 hours wasted and a long scratch on my passenger side. *sniff*
In other news, I’ve found Max’s long lost brother! I 
named my Manila car Max Sterling in honor of the ace pilot and Skull Squadron leader from the Robotech saga (a throwback to my geeky anime past), and because of course the car’s color is sterling silver. I tearfully left my car in the care of my mom and sis back home (oh god), but the car they gave me here is his exact replica! Well almost…it’s a slightly more powerful engine with automatic everything. And all the controls are on the right side. For that alone, my first loyalty will always be to Max.
What should have been another 40 minute trip back home turned into a congested tour of KL outskirts, exotic places like Subang, Sunway, and god knows how many other wrong turns into the strangest places (imagine a long dirt road under a flyover that leads into a dead end). The end result: 2.5 hours wasted and a long scratch on my passenger side. *sniff*
In other news, I’ve found Max’s long lost brother! I 
named my Manila car Max Sterling in honor of the ace pilot and Skull Squadron leader from the Robotech saga (a throwback to my geeky anime past), and because of course the car’s color is sterling silver. I tearfully left my car in the care of my mom and sis back home (oh god), but the car they gave me here is his exact replica! Well almost…it’s a slightly more powerful engine with automatic everything. And all the controls are on the right side. For that alone, my first loyalty will always be to Max.
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