My Kind of Bed

South Korea is a sure more prosperous country, with a picture of wider streets and highways, faster trains coming to and fro in subway stations, as well as statuesque buildings housing Korean workaholics who constantly work in doubling their money and wealth. But these don’t exempt this country from the slightly unpleasant reality of poverty.


I paid a quick visit to the Namdaemun Market, famous for its cheap prices and the variety of items that can be bought there. I’ve been meaning to buy myself a bed or anything I can more comfortably use for sleeping at home, to somehow help me start the new month right. My, it sure tickled my natural bargain inkling of the place when I got there! It has the same atmosphere as that of our very own (and my beloved) Quiapo and Divisoria. I got there on a Sunday night, just when most of the stores were about to close.


I was lucky enough to find a mattress and pillow store, where I finally rewarded myself of a ‘sleeping set’— a pillow, thick blanket, and a mattress. All with a touch of pink! Haha.

Then on my way back home, carrying two big plastic bags, I caught sight of this at the subway station:

I suddenly caught myself in my own picture of life's two ironic facets. So here I strive in building my comfortable shelter in a country not mine, and I see someone from this nation, with barely any comfort to provide for himself. It's not like I haven't seen a poor man before, I sure have encountered more morose situations back home. There was just that sudden twitch inside of me, making me feel ashamed of carrying my new bed purchase to my house, when in front of me is a man with just cartons to sleep on.

Sometimes, no matter how you may feel so burdened and so holed-in, there sure is something that will make you feel so selfish for thinking that life is not treating you feel. I sure felt the exact, same way.

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Basic Homesick Tools

It’s been a few days since I finally completed my mobile phone and home internet subscriptions here, also remembering the first twenty-one days when I initially had no means of communicating with my folks back in the Philippines, other than the office internet and the after-work computer rentals in nearby PC “bangs” (rooms). Accomplishing the task wasn’t easy though, and we sure needed help from Korean colleagues who have been nothing but really helpful in assisting us with the transactions.

You see, I have had a couple of visits to this telecom store near our officetel to ask for requirements, anticipating the entirely different procedure that they may impose on foreigners like me who would want to apply for a phone line. You could almost guess that the language barrier is the number one culprit, making me go home, always half-filled with the information that I would want to know. I tend to get tired and frustrated faster than being able to remember all other inquiries that I have even written on a post-it as guide.

There sure are a lot of things to clear about, especially in regard to the rates that the telecom company would have to charge, especially now that I am getting a post-paid subscription. Oh, the monthly bills. So I’m getting a hand of them. And I wouln’t want those papers to bury me alive here.

South Korea has three major telecom companies—SK Telecom, LG Telecom, and KTF. I got SK Telecom. I was told that it has better services, even if it is a little more expensive compared to the privately-owned LG and the government-owned KTF.

I had to get a line because it seems to be the common thing in Korea. I showed them my GLOBE prepaid sim card here, and they (hell) have no idea what it is. South Korea obviously has a different telecommunication system— the CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), a mobile radio technology that is basically more hybrid (and I guess more high-tech?) compared to the TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access), used by GSM phones in countries like the Philippines. Anyone who is super knowledgeable with these terms, please make friends with me so you can do your speech in this particular topic. Hehehe.

I entered into a two-year package contract with SK Telecom, which gave me the LG CYON handset for free. There is an activation fee of 55,000 KRW which will be divided into five months, as will be shown in my next five bills. Fixed based rate is 12,000 KRW— rate charged whether I make calls or not. Then there comes with the package a 2-month free unlimited internet service for 10,000 KRW per month. I asked if they could not include it, so I won’t have to pay additional 20,000 KRW for two months, but they said I cannot. Settled then. No choice, hehe.

I expect inclusion in my next months’ bills to be as follows (in won):

In November, I will need to call up SK and ask them to cut that web mobile service unless I would want additional 10,000 KRW every month. I of course will not do that, for I don’t find the constant urgent need to get online via my mobile phone. Anyway, my mobile bill will always be due on the 21st of every month, automatically deducted from a bank account that I registered with them. No hassles with payments and falling in line, therefore. ;-)

The internet set-up was made possible by a Korean colleague who even went inside our studio room to assist the Korean-speaking ‘engineer’ from Korea Telecom (KT), the MegaPass internet provider. Monthly bill will be at around 30,000 to 40,000 KRW, sent on the 23rd of every month. Prior to the set-up, the same Korean colleague has made several calls to subscribe to a DSL internet service. Subscription and application can always be done via telephone and fax, if it’s for anyone’s convenience.

First most practical benefit that I got from having my mobile phone was this recent meet-up with a fellow Filipino masteral scholar, who is a friend of my sister. I was able to meet up with her in Hyehwa, the Filipino-flocked place in Seoul that I already mentioned about. From that same place I bought international calling cards, which I have squandered on calls to two friends and my mother, of course.

I don’t really intend to get myself used to calling people back home via mobile phone because it is very expensive (even the prepaid cards costs 10,000 won for an hour of call). I anyway have unlimited internet for not more than 40,000 KRW per month, where I get to abuse Chikka, Yahoo Mail, and Yahoo Messenger to get in touch.

Nah, I'm missing everybody back home.

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The Future BPO Hotspot

Interesting article that I read from Wall Street this morning. In the wake of what seems to be a global slowdown, the Philippines’ economy is redeemed, aside of course from the ever-reliable remittances of overseas Filipino workers, by the growth of BPO companies that greatly addresses major labor issues (employment) in our country. And it’s good to know that it’s the FILIPINO SKILL that they are actually banking on, and not solely the cheaper labor that we are currently priced at, as compared to India.


For India's Tech Titans,
Growth Is Waning
By NIRAJ SHETH
August 20, 2008; Page A1


NEW DELHI -- India's information-technology industry, the engine of the nation's economic resurgence, is losing steam.
A decade ago, a host of Indian companies -- led by Infosys Technologies Ltd., Wipro Ltd. and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. -- shot to global prominence by helping fix the "millennium bug" that threatened to crash many of the world's computers at the end of 1999. Often growing at 40% a year or more since, they quickly helped build a global tech-outsourcing industry that has changed how the world does business and how it views India.

Now that growth is slowing sharply. The credit crunch and spending slowdown in the U.S. are hurting the companies' biggest market, while a cheaper dollar shrinks their profits. Longer-term problems are surfacing. Competition is rising from other low-cost nations, ranging from Eastern Europe to the Philippines and Vietnam. And India's own success has raised labor expenses, cutting into the companies' low-cost advantage just as their revenue growth is slowing.

…India's wage inflation, currency appreciation and high labor turnover have also started pushing tech work to smaller competitors in Eastern Europe and the Philippines that don't have the same problems. For example, Siemens AG has moved its in-house customer-service centers away from India. Over the past two years, Siemens has hired 1,500 workers to staff a customer center in Manila, where the company says the spoken English is closer to the American dialect of its U.S. customers. In the Philippines, Siemens says it has a 2.5% monthly turnover rate, compared with the 20% turnover it had in its India call center…


http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121919218719255181.html

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The Stock Trading Game

I have long been meaning to try this game that the Philippine Stock Exchange’s official website offers to stock aficionados. It’s called the Stock Trading Game. It’s a pretty easy procedure to follow since all it takes is an online registration. After filling up basic information which includes one’s user id and password, it will already prompt any investor-wanna-be’s to the world of securities and trading.

With the basic trading guidelines posted on the web page, one can always take that first dip into choosing the stocks to gamble on.

Here’s how an average-minded, inexperienced stock enthusiast would choose and end up with her chosen stocks. Not bad. Net gain of 50. Hehe.




The chosen companies were solely based on my intent to see how the whole system would move. GLO (Globe Telecom) and PX (Philex Mining Corp.) are among the most active stocks for the day, so I really expected quick up’s and down’s with the prices. My choice for Paxys, Inc., as a BPO (business process outsourcing) company, was meant to stabilize the two fast movers. BPO-related jobs are currently doing such a favor to the current Philippine situation, and so I deem it a good choice for a stock. Paxys, Inc. has considerable shareholdings on ACS (Advanced Contact Solutions) and SGCS (Stellar Global Contact Solutions), two of the more popular call centers in the Philippines.

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What Am I Really Doing Here?

I don’t even know at times. I just constantly remind myself to plainly take whatever fate is slapping me with. EVEN THE UNFAVORABLE ONES.

I of course came to South Korea for work. Just like how a normal Filipino would treat outside-the-country endeavors. With current inflation hitting household pockets and business balance sheets, it would be impractical to say that it’s purely for fun or vacation. How I wish I were some old-aged Caucasian backpacker just out to squander all the money that his 401(k) is giving him. Hell no. But I am out to make my parents just like them, and so I am willing to take the risk, and the upright challenge and adventure that goes with it. I am in my twenties, done with school, and out to head on with anything to help paint my future, so I could give it all back to my parents who worked their asses out in letting me finish school. I am still on shaky waters, though.

It is very untypical and truly surprising for a not-so-experienced lass at 23 to actually get a direct-hire opportunity from a securities company in Seoul. I know. Especially now that I am here and experiencing life here… I could just wonder. Really.

No, I’m not working for some 24-hour manning type of job (parang sekyu ba, hehe). Securities companies are commonly known as investment banks here, and they deal with stocks, bonds, trades, and the like. They are not that prevalent in the Philippines, at least not with the average working Philippine populace, for until now, this industry is still stereotyped as “a business for the elite”. I personally cannot even push myself to explain it further as I see myself yet incapable to blab about the subject. I find this business very interesting though, having been exposed to it from my previous job back in the Philippines. It’s lucrative and it deals with money. Haha, gahaman ka nga, Ella.

Research has always been a passion, for I have always found fulfillment in learning something new, and acquiring new information to add on to my biological database. I get challenged with deriving ideas and initial thoughts from carefully gathered and selected data, and making use of those derived ideas as new-found facts. And so with that, I was sent to that newspaper job ad that eventually threw me right where I am sitting right now— in my little space, in front of a laptop, in a research center found in one of the buildings in Seoul.

As hopeful, yet inexperienced at that, I could just be so lucky and grateful that I am getting the right formal training here. I have the first six months of my two-year stay here as a solid training period, after which I could just surrender to anyone who actually knows what else I need to do here.

Then maybe, a sequel to this “What Am I Really Doing Here?” post would come out in this blog.

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The Korean Subway System

The city of Seoul boasts of 15 train lines that make up the very efficient Seoul Subway Network. A total number of 2.2 billion passengers per year patronize the said subway system, and it is the fourth largest subway following London, New York, and Tokyo, in terms of scale.


With how inter-connected, thus seemingly complicated, the whole subway system looks, it is amazing how it actually manages to make newcomers like us trust on it so much in sending us to where we would want to go. And believe me, the trust have always been all worth it. The well-organized subway system has been a tremendous help to us since we arrived in Korea. For one, it sends us from home (Gong-deok station, Purple Line 5) to the office (Yeouido station, Purple Line 5) in just 10 minutes. That’s what their running time of hours tell, and I think it is very much followed. It sure serves the very workaholic and time-efficient Koreans.

If one would just be extra vigilant in reading the labels that abound in every station and even inside the trains, and maybe take time in asking for a free color-coded subway map (chihachol chido in Korean) from any ticket booth as initial guide, there is no way that anyone would get lost. All stations have English and even Chinese translations of the platform signs, so anyone out for a subway ride would need to just know the station name and exit number of his place of destination.

The subway system allows transfers to another line (for as long as there is a ‘transfer spot’, see subway map for legend), with no additional fare cost making it so possible to reach farther places. Basic subway fare is 1,000 won. But they also have what they call “smart cards", very much like the "stored-value card" that we have in the Philippines. The card is initially bought for 10,000 won, but the amount that can just be used for the fares is 7,500 because one needs to initially pay for the value of the card alone, which is already yours to put additional amount into anytime. These cards are swipe-able, compared to the normal ticket bought that is put into a slot.

All subway stations have telephone booths and flashlights on walls for emergencies. There are also stores for quick buys along the travel. Lost and Found centers exist in a number of stations. And there are chairs that can be used while waiting for the train to come— all for the convenience of any subway rider.

Establishing this kind of subway system in the Philippines is such a dream for a normal commuter like me back in our home country who has experienced the worst that the current traffic ‘norm’ has brought her. But then again, it’s like poking on our government’s yet ineffective planning capabilities and insinuating corruption tendencies along the way. God bless the Philippines.

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Thomson, Back Home

There sure was that little pride that stirred in me having stepped inside Thomson Reuters’s office in Seoul for our first day of training, which happened in the afternoon. I suddenly missed home and my life back at work, as well as colleagues that I spent working nights with at that time when I was employed with the old Thomson Financial. The branch office that Thomson Reuters holds here in South Korea banners OMGEO, the client-based department of the company. I only know a little about that department back in Manila, being the support group for Thomson’s financial data buyers. It is not really surprising for the now merged data vendor to have established a customer-focused branch office in a country like Korea, where securities companies that depend on a significant bulk of financial data, abound.


The securities company that I am currently employed with is apparently a client of Thomson Reuters (TR), having bought a certain TR product called DATASTREAM ADAVANCE. I have the product in my office laptop as an Excel add-in, and I also have a main software program of it installed. The training was intended to get ourselves, the financial information client, acquainted with its most efficient use so as to find the data that we need to aid in the investment research reports and analysis that we need to do.

We had a Korean account executive who performed the basic training for the product; it’s a good thing she knows how to speak in English. A few minutes before the training actually started, a colleague we were with from our office in Yeouido to Thomson’s office in Jongro-gu, thought on how we could possibly benefit from the training if the language would be in Korean. The man’s English name is Kurt, anyway. ;-) And he’s out to spearhead a study group. Old school study group invites. Nyahaha.

It sure was cool to hear Thomson Reuters’ office in the Philippines get some spotlight in the training, when the Korean account executive mentioned that DATASTREAM ADVANCE’s customer support group for the product is based in Manila. As an account executive performing her duties in providing utmost service to its financial clients, she might have felt the need to offer customer help. Way to go!

Hohum, I sure have missed being at work. I could just hope that work will someday pay its due well.

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Government Office Tours

As an overseas Filipino worker, the Philippine Embassy in South Korea and the Immigration Office prove to be the two most important government agencies to have official transactions with. The Immigration legalizes one’s tenure here, through the certificate of alien registration that every foreigner should apply and pay for, while the Philippine Embassy protects the welfare and safety of its Filipino workers through employment validation and contract authentication, among others.


The alien card that I paid 10,000 won for is valid for one year, after which renewal will be made when needed. The Philippine Embassy has earlier performed its job in my employment by validating and authenticating the contract that allowed for my POEA processing, thus giving me passes at the airport, along with my passport and visa.

The Seoul Immigration Office Sejongno Branch is located at the SK Hub Bldg. 2F, 89-4, Gyeongundong, Jongno-gu, Seoul. Exactly a week after the application and payment, the office releases one’s “alien card” along with the original passport, which is temporarily held upon application. It’s a pretty quick claim that I made having gotten my cue number as I entered that small section of office in the tall building, and hearing my name being called a few minutes after having sat down in their chairs.

The Embassy of the Philippines in South Korea, on the other hand, is located at the Jin Song Bldg., Itaewon1-dong, Yongsan-Ku, Seoul 140-201, Korea. It’s a small but decent building in a seemingly hushed area in Yongsan— just among the few buildings where the Filipino language is used. I sort of did a courtesy call to an officer from the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, after making some phonecalls to her back in May and June to update on the contract that our employer has been asking them to validate and authenticate.

Both visits have personally baptized my stay here, therefore giving me official freedom to perform work and make transactions here. Getting my alien card and paying a visit to the embassy has somehow added to the guts that I need to survive the challenge of working away from home.

Haaaaaaaaay. Goodluck na lang talaga sa akin.

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Sunday at Hyehwa

Filipinos are just about everywhere. And so in Seoul. We get so surprised with how Koreans are currently flocking the Philippines enrolling in English Language schools, and so we do our fair share of spread here in Korea. Haha. Everyone just brings about a certain level of comfort to one another, knowing that there are “kababayans”, who are just as friendly and hospitable as what we’ve always been known for, and whom each can always run to.


We spent the afternoon at Hyehwa, which I have come to know as the place where this weekly “Sunday Filipino Market” takes place. The said ‘garage market’ sells Filipino products, from Goldilocks pastries to Likas Papaya soaps. I purposely searched for that place in Seoul where Filipinos abound, and in my initial search for a basic cure for homsesickness, I found out about the market and the Tagalog mass.

A weekly Filipino mass is being held at the Hyehwa Catholic Church at 1:30 in the afternoon. The said church is not only the Catholic Church that exists in Korea, but for some reasons, it has been the established Filipinos’ mecca here in Seoul. Filipinos, as natural spiritual devotees, can sure fill the small church. It is something to note that there seems to be a lot of men who were present, most of them in backpacks, making me think then if they have actually been just from a far place in Seoul. Having talked to a few of them, we have come to know fellow Filipinos making use of their skilled experiences here in earning more, yet away from the home country. These men are mostly factory workers in the outskirts of Seoul, who have found Hyehwa to be such a nice diversion for from work.

It is not only a spiritual community that exists in Hyehwa, but a socio-civic community as well, giving updates on fellow workers’ employment and living status in Korea. In a way, it gives everybody a chance to reach out to anyone. Just like this Sunday, a sad news was received by all of us there, when it was told that a Filipino worker in Korea died because of “bangungot”, brought about by stress from work. You get sad updates like that, as well as happy invites to tournaments and sports festivals. So, you see, it’s just a right mix of everything.

I think it will become a Sunday habit of us to go to Hyehwa. It makes us forget at least once in a while that we are actually not at home.

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First Week at Work

One thing sure, it’s going to be a real challenge for me. Adjusting with life at home with my roommate slash work colleague, and keeping up with the demands of the new job— it sure will test the wits and PATIENCE out of me.

Everybody in the research center has really been so kind and welcoming, making it easier for us to adjust and compose ourselves. We couldn’t thank them enough. I would still personally get skeptic at times, when I get those looks from people, and they then start talking in Korean, which I of course still do not understand. I just rest myself with the thought that it is just how people would normally react when they see something new, and, well… a little unique. Teehee.



Monday
We went to Tong Yang’s headquarters in Euljiro, a district in Seoul for our medical examination. We were accompanied by Mr. Why Guy and his friend from the Human Resource Department, after which we grabbed a quick snack and proceeded to the Immigration office to apply for our alien card. We paid 10,000 won for the said registration. In the afternoon, we did the rounds in the introduction, meeting each and every member in the six departments that comprise Tong Yang Securities’ research center.

Tuesday
Great, great idle time. *harhar*

Wednesday
Second round of the great idle moment. In the afternoon though, Filipina colleague and I finally got our laptops. Weeeeeeeeh!

Thursday
Had lunch with Mr. Soh, a senior boss in Tong Yang, whom we actually had the job interview with, back in Manila in August 2007.

Friday
Had lunch with the whole Global Research Team (without Mr. Kim, who took his vacation since yesterday).

Sorry for making this entry so diary-ish. Teehee. When you’re in such an alien land experiencing everything for the first time, all you just want to do is record all that life is offering you.

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The Officetel

They call it “officetel”in Konglish (Korean-English), but the place is so high-rise condominium to us. My Filipina colleague and I are staying at the 18^th floor of the Shin Young Gwell Building in Mapo-gu, a district brightened by many bars and hofs at night.

Drinking sprees anyone? Teehee. We all know how Koreans can be such hard drinkers, that I already find the need live up to the demands of this neighbourhood. Haha. One thing that is so gratifying with the place that they picked for us is the utmost convenience that the location gives. It is very near stores that sell almost everything that a person could possibly need. There are fruit stands, salons, pet shops, grocery stores, appliance hubs, boutiques, bakeries, drug stores, pizza houses, restaurants, coffee shops… and the list goes on. Best thing— it is very, very near a subway station. Just about five meters from our building’s façade is the Gong-deok station, at Subway no. 5 of the Seoul Metropolitan RAPID Transit or SMRT (Na-miss ko tuloy MRT sa atin… huhu). It is just three stops away from the Yeoido station, where we should always get off if we are to go to the office. We could always leave the condominium at 7:45 a.m. and still make it to our 8:00 a.m. work. That’s how near it is. Thanks to the subway.The whole subway ride lets us cross the famous Hangang River.


We will never forget and will forever be grateful to the jolly lady who is administering the building for she has always been so welcoming, even if she hardly speaks English. We’d talk to her and see her scratch her head but smile, while thinking for the right word to say to get her message across. You would really thank heavens for people like her who make life an inch easier in challenging situations like what I have just gotten myself into.

Talk about the pad, which if I may share, gives us a very good, yet sometimes nostalgic view of the district from our window atop (especially at night with all the bright lights), is nearest to the elevator.

There have really been freakin’ cool adjustments in the house made possible by the technology of this unit that we are in (parang galing tuloy ako sa bundok, haha).
For one, we need not bother keeping keys with us. The door has a password-enabled system, which is just four numbers away to opening it. When the door starts saying something like “ya-ya-ssumnida”, we know we just hit the right digits.
Next, the washing machine is a “do-all” system that lets you just put in all your clothes in the tub and push on the right buttons, to make it fill itself with water and spin to wash. The powder detergent should’ve been poured here beforehand, of course.
(Sanay kasi ako sa bahay namin na maglalagay pa ng tubig sa mismong tub bago makapaglaba eh!).

We also use an electric stove in a sleek design, being all black and flat. I call it, the “easy-knob” stove. Hehe. I probe it to be a bit dangerous though- baka mapatong ko bigla kamay ko kasi flat siya, tapos naka-on pala, haha!


My most favourite gadget of all though is the toilet bowl. It has a “plug-in, no-tabo” system (haha)… we just have to plug it in and press a particular button, and it will squirt water from under and wash your butt after each poop. I was all smiles when I did it for the first time, and my, I’m sure it will make lazy people all the more lax and lazy. Haha.


The unit doorbell is also cool. I’ve seen this in movies already, where it uses video, so you'll see the person outside when he buzzes, aside from the sound that it creates.


Our studio-type unit also has enough cabinets and compartment functions, and thankfully, we have somehow fill them with our very own clothes and some other stuff. Korea's electric outlets are also different from ours. It’s a good thing we were able to buy adaptors beforehand to fit in to the ones that they have here. The whole unit is still pretty barren, though we don’t really see the need for much appliance or furniture to use. We would actually be fine with just a table where we can put our laptops, and maybe two chairs for us to sit on. We also hope to buy another bed, because the bed that is provided is ideally for just one person. The unit itself, actually, is ideal for solo-living. My colleague and I can pull it off together though, for it will save us money if we just share the rent of the place. Just count on me embracing the responsibility of living independently, and pursuing a career that I hope to succeed into.

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First Weekend in Seoul

Friday: 6pm onwards

A big improvement this time, we caught on our huge bags more easily in the wide luggage counter of Incheon’s airport upon arrival in the evening, unlike that previous trip in January where it took us almost an hour to find our checked-in luggage. There were then a couple of short talks with Filipino men, while pushing our way out with our bag cart, giving us that little tap of comfort in a place entirely not so like home. Mr. Funny Guy, our ‘fetcher’ and colleague at work, waved at us immediately when he saw us finally went out the immigration area. We quickly exchanged our money in one of the foreign exchange counters found inside the airport lobby and went straight to the car after.


It sure was nice to have that 45-minute drive to Seoul with Mr. Funny Guy again, who, in six months time since we last sat the car with him, has become a father. He let us see his new phone that wallpaper-d his child’s face, which interestingly led to talks about romantic relationships and drinking sprees. He really is so amusing and fun to talk to.

We ate at a Chinese restaurant for dinner near our condominium building in Mapo-gu, a district in Seoul, after parking our car and speaking for the first time with the lesser. That, Mr. Funny Guy paid for, and he even bought us food groceries from a convenience store before calling the night off with us. He sure did not forget to remind us that we are to meet with Mr. Why Guy at 8.30 am the next day at the bread shop found at the ground floor of our building. We took note of it of course. But I guess not too seriously. Hehe.

Anyway, here's where we are staying:




Saturday: 8.30 am till noon time
I woke up at the sound of some singing machine, only to quickly realize that it was our unit’s intercon connected to the phone at the ground floor. I checked my watch and saw that it was 8.30 am. I knew then that Mr. Why Guy has arrived, and it was him making that call. I woke Angeline (my fellow Filipino colleague) up, and rushed to changing our clothes. Take note, we did not take a bath anymore because thirty minutes after the call from that intercom (which by the way, we did not answer since we were still preparing), it was already the sound of the doorbell that made us panic. Mr. Why Guy has gone up to the 18th floor of our building to meet us for the first time again since January.

He sure was pissed off, saying that he would not accept our apology, having stood him up for more than thirty minutes. He met us up to drive us to some market where we could buy stuff that we need for our unit. So much for the assistance that he has been providing. Harhar.

But you see, and I find the need to explain, after that goodbye for the night with Mr. Funny Guy at around 11pm, there were still a lot of things that we needed to fix and settle, and that, we accomplished seriously. We were able to sleep at around 3 am already, feeling so tired and drained, giving us reason now to wake up late for this Saturday’s meeting.

Anyway, we got to the supermarket, and bought these stuff to initially aid us in our living-the-condo life.



Saturday: 1pm onwards
Having ended the morning with Mr. Why Guy, Angeline and I decided to take a stroll in the neighborhood and look for an internet café. The laptop that I bought, and the mobile phone that Angeline had activated for roaming proved to be imbecile in communicating to our folks in Flip City. Our unit has no phone line/ wi-fi installed, and Angeline’s roaming service did not work.

A very kind policeman whom we asked directions from, after having walked for a couple of kilometres with no internet café yet found, introduced us to the term Koreans use for computer shops. PC ROOM.

One last inquiry from a guy manning his computer accessories shop pointed out a green label that read “PC ROOM”. It’s like our very own NETOPIA brand in the Philippines.

One hour PC rental costs 1,200 won, which is at around 55php. I used the ever reliable Chikka service to reach my mother in her mobile phone, and used Yahoo Messenger to chat with my younger sister in that hour that I spared.

On our long walk back to condominium, we snatched some buys and got a broom (3,000 won) and dust pan (1,000 won). We then took another route in our stroll and chanced upon Lotteria, the most famous fast food chain in Korea, where we then decided to have our dinner at. We ended our night with it, since it rained after we got inside our condominium after that dinner.

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Thank You

We all go through our own journeys in our own paces in life, and along the way we meet people whom we share all that makes the experience wonderful. They are friends whom I could simply be grateful for, and they are friends I now would want to dedicate some words to. To these people, I think you know why I am so overflowing with expression to each one of you. From the bottomest of my heart, THANK YOU ;-)


Sharsky.
You have no idea how much respect and admiration you have gained from me in your most recently shared life experience. Such profoundness is no match to my personal account of naivety to that crazy, commont theme that we had in our two most significant dinners together. Thank you for the trust and for re-assuring my worth as a friend. You’ve always been someone whom I regard as genuinely kind back in high school, and you stay true to what I always think of you. I look forward to seeing the both of us catch up on how far we’ve grown since our one-on-one talks. I’m just here for your stories, with the promise that they are forever safe with me.

Muks.
Just thinking of how we actually started out as friends makes me shudder and be thankful at the same time. Shudder because you came alongside someone who proved that there actually exist horrible people who are willing to put relationships in jeopardy just to selfishly get what they want. Yet thankful because you showed me that there still are heaven-sent people like you who redeem the meaning of a true friend to a trauma-d paranoid like me. Your hardwork and simplicity makes me so grounded and appreciate the simplest of dreams, as well as the simplest of what life has to offer. You and Tita Araceli are one of the best mother-daughter relationships that I’ve ever seen, and I am grateful that you make me feel the most comfortable in your home. I hope you know that I will always be here for the both of you. Thank you so much for the sisterly love, and I will be the best ninang to my inaanak from you and your bembe, promise!

La Mari.
I never really thought that a once intimidating-ly smart Spanish language instructress would gratefully turn out to be a friend whom I sure have more appreciated the UP sceneries with. Thank you for the occasional Sunday walkathons and biking sessions together around the campus. More importantly, thank you for helping me strive for a more meaningful spiritual life. I am amazed by how easy and practical your advices are to me, even without having to vent the innermost details of every story that I confide to you. I just find myself stopping my senses for a few seconds hearing those words from you that shoot right into the hole. I sure cannot afford the fee that you may charge to the counselling that you do. I anyway look forward to affording my own bike that I can use for our future Sunday UP meet-ups. I thank you for being such a great ate.

Debyang.
I may have felt a bit unsure of you the first time we met at work, being so quiet and looking so snobbish. But whatever it was that prompted us to start talking to each other in the orientation we both had to attend that eventually led to lunches together before we owned our different work schedules-- I could just be thankful enough. You will always be a reminder of how I stoop so low with work habits and attitudes beside someone like you who have always strived to work efficiently. And so with that, I would be very willing to be under your management someday, haha. Thank you for sticking with me during my whole unemployed status because of my own ‘koreanovela saga’. You’ve been equally shared of this story of mine, and I thank you for being a friend. Goodluck to your 1 million dollar worth of Goldman-Stanley-Bear dream! Hehe. I promise to treat you out and splurge you with all the good food someday-- just to show how I very much appreciate those times you’d feed me when I visit Makati still, after leaving our company office there. I would never forget your kindness in that.

StrangeBrew.
It’s not like we’ve spent considerable, quality time together as friends back in college, but I know deep inside that even if I don’t see or hear from you in five or ten years, you will still be among those few people I won’t have seconds thoughts of getting in touch with (you and Ayie, actually). I don’t know, maybe has something to do with the fact that I really appreciate knowing you as a person yet I haven’t been given much opportunity to create crazy adventures with you. I’ve always regarded you as someone who speaks little but with much sense. A bit formal at times, but never intimidating. But I also know that you’re real fun to be with because you’re the down-to-earth type who don’t really mind getting all so dirty and muddy. Practical and a real cowboy, and I love hanging out with people like that the most. You must me my dream travel buddy. Thank you for the little friendship. You may not know this but you’ve helped me a great deal in those times when I was struggling with my life, thinking if there is still a good headstart waiting for me. I’ll wait for your much-saved travel with me. I hope you know that you can always hit me up for anything.


Ms. HotWater.
I am amazed at how I have always found such a comforting friend in your naturally coy character. You’re the only one I feel most genuinely being listened to, whenever I talk and share nonsense-ries, really, and I thank you for that. Thank you for always making time for our little friendship, and I want to tell you that you always have a friend in me. Just hit me up for anything I can do to help you out. Goodluck to your Chinese-air dream!


Ms. Psycho-Analyzer.
If there is anyone whom I strive to be the most reliable friend to in this world, it is you. You may think that I can never fathom such complicated brain that you possess, and you are right. Your naturally deep thinking, though has sure helped me understand myself more. You even surprise me with how you seem to understand me better than I can ever understand myself. You always have a way of putting into words suppressed feelings and emotions that I just cannot voice out, being the real psycho-analyzer that you are. I sincerely wish you your heart’s desire. You’ve told me everything there is in your life, and you can count on me to forever be someone you can confide things to. You can count on me to support you all the way. Thank you for making me always strive to be a better friend to you and to everyone. I will always be just a phone call away.

Blurp.
You are simply one nice friend to keep, for I admire your well-maintained, easy-going life and I am sincerely inspired by it. You’ve also always been so game with life and all the fun that it offers, and that makes you such a lively companion. I laugh the longest and hardest with you, if I may just tell. Thank you for being one of the people whom I can now share intimate stories with. Thank you for being a good listener and for personally believing in what my ass could do. I hope you know that I am always available to listen to whatever it is that is just worth pouring from your heart.

Ms. CleanNotes.
You will always be an epitome of an academics-freak for me, hehe. Thank your for sticking with me all throughout college, and for being a friend. I just want to remind you that you are beautiful as you are, so just do what you do best, Angela and I will be there to support you.


DramaQueen.
What honestly makes me so grateful with the kind of friendship that we have is that it's just so lovely to take good care of, having rooted it from as early as our elementary years. Imagine having known you for like, ten years of my life. I can't brag about knowing you fully, but I just want you to know that I take pride of the fact that you trust me with your stories and allow me to help you in your problems by simply being there to listen. I thank you for the calls, which have always been there ever since we went separate lives in highschool. I hope you know that I'll always be here, may I be just among your options. Hopefully in the future, we could already set some out of town together.


Pretzel.
You are one real friend who fully understands all that there is to like and despise in me. You've always been someone whom I can just tell anything... practically anything. Just as you are able to put your stories on me, I am able to sincerely open up thoughts to you-- from the most stupid and trivial, to the most profound of things. I hope you realize that, no matter how you may feel that I don't generally open up, and how I can be so stoic and indifferent at times. If there is anyone whom I don't need to remind of my presence in his life as a friend, it is you. By now you should know that you can always come up to me for anything, and I will do my best to help you out just as you have always been there for me. I feel so grateful to have you as a friend, really. Thank you.

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Flight on a Solar Eclipse

A solar eclipse is happening today, which will start passing through Northern Canada at 8:04 am UTC, and will end in China a little after noon (12:38 UTC). The totality of the solar eclipse, which will last for about two and a half minutes at around 10:22 am UTC, will happen in Russia.

And in what other people may consider as a spectacular, scientific, natural phenomenon, a momentous, personal transition will be happening to me this same day.


A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passes between the sun and earth, enough to wholly or partially cover the sun, thus contributing to some moments of darkness.

And people... well, the ancient ones, have never really been pleasantly receptive of this event and considered this particular happening as some "bad omen".

I could just scare the negative vibes away from my skull with it.

Flight today will be at 1:15 pm via Korean Air. Choice for the airline is mainly brought about by the cheaper rate, being the national carrier of our place of destination, and the bigger allowable carry-in lugggage. Korean Air allows up to 12 kgs, compared to Philippine Airlines' 7 kgs. Check-in luggage is the same for both mentioned airlines at 20 kgs, for an economy class trip.

Calculations on time has made me conlcude that by the time we arrive in Seoul at 6:05 pm, the solar eclipse has already been happening. It will be 9:05 am in unversal time, that's why, and as I've mentioned, solar eclipse starts at 8:04 am UTC. So that puts me in mid-flight when the general eclipse actually starts in Canada. Wow.

Goodluck to me and this heavenly happening.

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