what lies beneath...

the folks here in chiba?

1. We developed fun Japanese terms.. here's a sample:
    Kanji: 情報        
  Reading: じょうほう        
  Meaning: ibang tawag sa taong mabaho        
  Context used : ang jouhou jouhou mo na, maligo ka naman!!!

2. Here's another:
    Kanji: 作成        
  Reading: さくせい        
  Meaning: and sinisigaw mo pagkatapos magbanyo…
   Context Used: <no need>

3. We exchange information.... here's a sample:
    Sample #1:
    Acronym: CGI
    Meaning: Common Gateway Interface

    Sample #2:
    Acronym: JAPAN
    Meaning: Just Always Pray At Night

    Sample#3:
    Acronym: TANDUAY RHUM
    Meaning: Tandaanam Anak, Naimas Daytoy Uray Awan Yelona; Ramanam, Haan Unay Makabartek
    (Remember son[/daughter], this tastes good even if [drunk] without ice; Taste it, it's not quite intoxicating)

4. We eat lunch together - prison-style! Offce "cafeteria" have long tables and short stools (in different colors, mind you).. The tea is self-service.. served fresh from a golden kettle.. then we fall in line for the food.. very chic.. very prison...

5. We work in silence..... yeah, right!

6. We run for the elevator when the clock strikes 12!

7. We always look forward to the weekends.

8. But we don't have anything special on weekends. Just gym and jogging and lunch. (We'll have kare-kare this weekend! No "towels", unfortunately)

9. We walk to the office. Great exercise!

10. We are now qualified as factory workers! We even wear their uniforms! Green or brown, take your pick!

11. We are gradually rising in numbers! It started with 1 person... then 2.. then 3... then 4.. then 10! Now we're 13! 2 more to come next week!

I wish I could show you pictures of us in uniforms.. nobody dared to take a picture inside and outside the office for the fear that it might not be allowed to do so. (And really, nobody also dared to show themselves in factory uniforms.. hehehe)

soap

I gave up watching TV a few years ago... that was back home. From a TV addict that I was in college (up to the point that my grades dropped), I decided to give it up. That was when I started working. Now, I'm trying to think of reasons why I don't like RP TV shows..

1. Broadcast was NEVER on time. I really, really, really hated that. Never, have I seen Philippine TV broadcast on time.
2. Primetime TV consists of soap opera. Latin, Korean, Taiwan, Chinese, Philippine drama. Imagine watching 5-6 soap opera shows in a row.You'd be brain-dead in a year.
3. Philippine News is full of depressing news. Yeah, we know that the streets are a jungle.. that many people die everyday.. but to remind us of those hardships every hour, everyday.. I think it's too much? That's also the reason why I read the newspaper instead. I can select which one to read. Plus there's my favorite pugad baboy. :D
4. National news are making a big fuss over movie actors and actresses. Media should be broadcasting documentaries on men and women doing charity work all over the world or something cultural instead of all those people that does not have national significance at all.
5. Too much showbiz. Too much politics. Mixed. On the rocks.
6. Too much shampoo and soap commercials.
7. Movies shown are super-edited that the storyline itself are lost.
8. TV-station vs. TV -station lawsuits sucks. Talents should have the freedom to appear from one TV station to another. Not use them then kick them out after they're done and over with.

I hope it improves. TV broadcast were being used as a commercial meat trade. Whatever happened to entertainment?

spring

It might be the change of season.. the wind was blowing so hard since last night that the window on my room kept on creaking which kept me awake for sometime at dawn. It even crept my sleepy mind that the noise was made by some stalker of thief trying to break into my room..

At lunch today, the wind was still blowing so hard amidst the sunny and cool weather. The wind was making so much noise that I even imagined what it would be like if the office cafeteria was blown into ruins by the wind. :D The thought was amusing(aside of course, from the fact that it definitely will NOT happen) and by the time we stepped outside to go back to our prison cells (aka office), the wind suddenly started to blow furiously that we were literally blown out of balance (together with 2 other girls nearby). and during that blown-away moment, I was imagining myself somewhere in the middle of a hurricane. hihihihi! Someday, I'll do something different and will do a lot of travelling.

Spring is coming.. trees are starting to bloom.. windy weather is here.. can't wait to go swimming!

cOnfeSSions of A cOfFEe AdDict...

2/21/2005
I like coffee.. I like it so much that I don't think it makes a person nervous at all.. or make them insomniac.. I never had problems with sleep even if I drink a whole liter of coffee in a day.. and I like drinking coffee after lunch.. it gets rid of that really, really sleepy feeling (your eyes are getting heavyyy....)

boredom...

zoe,
originally uploaded by marts.

is a privilege.. to me, it means you have free time.. time to think of something to do..

i was able to develop some habits recently..

1. I wake up between 7 - 730am everyday (mon-sat anyways). I now hate myself for this habit because i wake up really early back home. early rise on a saturday morning is something special because..

2. We have a saturday morning run.. the best habit so far.. we jog between 3～5 km on saturdays around the nearby sports center.. then have a mild mcdonalds breakfast also nearby.. spend around 1hr walking around admiring luxury cars after then walk the approx. 800-meter walk home.. it's a marathon but it really feels good to wake up early and enjoy the morning sun..

3. Saturday lunch with whomever at home on saturdays.. guys here in chiba usually go to the city to meet friends.. and with whoever sticks around in chiba, we usually have lunch together (we cook filipino food and share) then spend some quality TV/DVD time for a while.. there's nothing better than a hearty lunch after a tiring jog.. .

4. comic reading... now I've developed an addiction to the ranma manga series.. I just tried buying a few books to keep myself busy during the weekends but it, unfortunately, turned to addiction.. well, at least, not YET anyway..

5. Sunday adventures.. velber and me were the ever present adventurers every sunday.. we wanted to save some train money on sundays so we asked mr. google for the nearest catholic church around chiba.. we found 2. of course, we had a couple of misadventures (it took us 45 minutes to reach a 15-min-walk-from-train-station church) and now, we are exploring alternatives to save money from train fare. so far, monorail and a free walking exercise is the answer! (yeah, yeah... it's not so good to walk home for 25 mins on a cold, windy, stormy night...)

that's all for now.. got to get back to work..

ps. picture herein is my niece at 3mos old. can't believe she grew that big already! can't wait to see her..

Winter sonata?

Fukushima Ski Trip,
originally uploaded by marts.

It's not a sonata nor a soap opera. Not that the Winter Sonata soap opera haven't reached the Japan airwaves (it did!), but finally, after 2 years, I finally got to set foot on snow once again. It was especially exciting since we are with first timers and it's just soo amusing to see their excited faces the moment they saw all those snow piled up, their frustated faces when they can't get up after falling down on their butts with their skis, their contented look after all those meat they ate on the eat-all-you-can yakiniku dinner, their scared look when they are approaching the platform at the end of the lift, their shocked faces when they saw all those nude women (young and old) inside the public bath, and everything else.

There's still a next time and I'd be very glad to go on a trip again. Hoping to go with first timers once again.. and with a camera.