Thursday, October 27, 2005
Babbling
I was troubled this week. Is it really THAT bad if you go to a spa for therapeutic massage and reflexology, and then while waiting in the lounge you spot out that a dude is coming out to do the service, which you then up and leave, changing your mind? There shouldnt be anything wrong with that, right? This is all theoretical, of course. My friend Emma argued that that was just as bad as leaving the hot tub at the gym when a fat ugly person comes in, but I dont think so....
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Threes
Ever hear of the rule of 3s? You know, where everything happens in 3s? Everything. Or everything is verified after 3, or defined after 3. Or the saying "third time lucky". The instances of 3s appears everywhere. For example, first and foremost, there are the three physical dimensions that define the natural world. Thats why we call it 3D. Aristotle talked about "the three unities" of time, place and action—which is way too fancy to talk about here, but, yeah, uh, take my word for it. Other great authors and teachers taught to consider the balance of threes in writing and literature. In photography theory, there is the fundamental rule of 3s, a simple technique for taking impactful pictures. Of course theres the famous 3 times word power rule, where if you use a new word 3 times, like say my new word which is "Reticence", then it becomes yours, you permanently own it in your vocabulary (Joey from "Blossom" taught me that one). Theres the 3 second rule for dating; the rule that you should immediately try to meet a women within 3 seconds of seeing her (or her seeing you), which basically means dont ever hesitate (this is where I always go terribly wrong). You also see 3s in movies with the biggest movies of all time situated in Trilogys; Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather... Rambo... The Mighty Ducks. And then theres the triple-double and the 3 point shot in Basketball, three periods and the three goal "hat trick" in hockey, and in CFL football theres the 3 do... well who cares about CFL football. And then, of course, there is the Catholic Holy Trinity; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. Theres tons of this 3s stuff, theres a lot more, but I think I made my point (where this point is going, Im getting to that)
I like this because there is power in the number three. Like whats better than two pairs of shoes? Three pairs, homey. So anyways... I went shopping in Dublin yesterday (If you have to know... in spite of my natural "Reticence", I only shop in London, New York, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Dublin, Belfast, Tokyo, Singapore now. You have to have standards) And I bought my THIRD successive pair of expensive skinny jeans. You know what that means, because of the significance of 3s, Im officially in the expensive jeans club. Nothing else lower than Nudie Jeans or Seal Kay or Gas Jeans are acceptible now, Im afraid. And Id like to add that I came to these terms on my own, with no influence from anyone else. (Including you, J to tha M, Miss TripleFiveSoul, which, uhuh, is another instance of 3s btw) So yeah, theres no holding me back now, I wont even look at Levis anymore unless they are the designer type ones, which do exist thankfully (Listen to me, I dont recognize myself anymore).
Now on this shopping trip, I bought a few things (shoes, duh, aforementioned jeans, somemore stuff from H&M, and The Warriors XBox Videogame which will severly jeopardize my "read one book a month" challenge) and I spent quite a bit of money, or so I thought. Thing is I went shopping with my friend Josie, who is very un-"reticient" in her shopping style and put me to shame (WOHO! Thats 3 times I used it, "Reticient" is sooo mine now). Somehow with less bags than me, she managed to spend double what I did, and defended herself by saying that "girl things" are expensive. Uh huh... like you really needed another pair of FM boots and 30 euro bottle of anti-wrinkle face toner shit... (NOT that Im complaining... nuhuh)
I like this because there is power in the number three. Like whats better than two pairs of shoes? Three pairs, homey. So anyways... I went shopping in Dublin yesterday (If you have to know... in spite of my natural "Reticence", I only shop in London, New York, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Dublin, Belfast, Tokyo, Singapore now. You have to have standards) And I bought my THIRD successive pair of expensive skinny jeans. You know what that means, because of the significance of 3s, Im officially in the expensive jeans club. Nothing else lower than Nudie Jeans or Seal Kay or Gas Jeans are acceptible now, Im afraid. And Id like to add that I came to these terms on my own, with no influence from anyone else. (Including you, J to tha M, Miss TripleFiveSoul, which, uhuh, is another instance of 3s btw) So yeah, theres no holding me back now, I wont even look at Levis anymore unless they are the designer type ones, which do exist thankfully (Listen to me, I dont recognize myself anymore).
Now on this shopping trip, I bought a few things (shoes, duh, aforementioned jeans, somemore stuff from H&M, and The Warriors XBox Videogame which will severly jeopardize my "read one book a month" challenge) and I spent quite a bit of money, or so I thought. Thing is I went shopping with my friend Josie, who is very un-"reticient" in her shopping style and put me to shame (WOHO! Thats 3 times I used it, "Reticient" is sooo mine now). Somehow with less bags than me, she managed to spend double what I did, and defended herself by saying that "girl things" are expensive. Uh huh... like you really needed another pair of FM boots and 30 euro bottle of anti-wrinkle face toner shit... (NOT that Im complaining... nuhuh)
Saturday, October 22, 2005
I want it that way
3 years ago, at Joe and Kims wedding, my buddies Wayne and Sid sang up a memorable storm when the Karaoke machine was wheeled in the midst of the reception. It was magical. AND Somehow, with a great stroke of luck, a video was created with them repeating the same act on the Internet! Unbelievable... hahahahahahaha. Follow this link, Wayne and Sid sing their hearts out. Feel free to bookmark and play whenever you are down in the dumps and are looking for some pure sunlight; a chance to walk on the bright side of the road. Special Note: if you look closely, you can spot Jeff in the back, playing Ninja Gaiden.
Monday, October 17, 2005
Ramadan
Just got back from Indonesia, or as I like to now call it, our Filipino cousins with Indo-Muslim names (They look like us, sound like us, act like us, joke like us, wear tsinelas like us. I could of easily been in the Filipino Islands of the Visayas, cuz I dont understand anyone over there either). Some people were concerned about me going, considering the recent bombings in Bali, but AHHHH screw it, you have to have a sense of adventure. Anyways, I think media fear mongering by association goes a bit too far sometimes. Its the tendancy for the news to present facts that feed on fears for uncontrollable risks, things we have absolutely no control over, despite how remote or minute in comparison those risks are. To be honest, I felt as safe there as anywhere else, and to local expats, the terrorist label was a joke, for the Sumatra Island, anyways. Indonesia is a surprisingly huge country (It unbelievably has a population of 240 million people, which is just below the population of the USA) so I didnt necessarily think that terrorist fears in one part of the country would have anything to do with the safety in another part. I could of easier of died from some exotic disease instead.
On a related note, I think I might now have the bird flu. Ive been coughin like a chicken ever since I got back. I wouldnt worry though, I dont thinks its contractable through internet connections. Tomorrow I have the best prank planned; I wonder whatll happen or if Ill freak anyone out at work when I show up tomorrow on my first day back wearing a face mask, coughing like a 94 Ford Topaz, and wearing my year old contacts so my eyes go blood shot. Sooo fun...
What was I doing in Singapore and Indonesia, some might be wondering? Well work. Some people, like maybe the 8 of you that actually read this thing, might still not really understand what it is I do. In a nut shell, my company sells Automation systems to the Paper Industry, and more specifically I design and project manage the installation of these automation systems into Paper Mills. So if Im going somewhere, usually thats what its for. Now you know why it is one week Im in Germany and the other Im in India. Its why sometimes Im too tired to blog.
Other interesting notes from Singapore / Indonesia:
- During installations onsite in paper mills, Im required to wear steel toe boots. In Indonesia though, safety standards are a bit more lax... I actually saw people working in the mill wearing tsinelas / flip flops! Wow, this is so third world. Now that totally tops my list, surpassing the pipe fitter I saw in the Japanese mills, wearing steel-toe ninja shoes.
- As I mentioned, even though I got to fly in the front of the plane on British Airways on the way there, I was forced to travel in the back of the plane on the way back to Dublin. It was HORRIBLE. Like Seinfeld says, you cant go back.
- As I mentioned, Indonesias are carbon copys of Filipinos in every way possible, except for religion. Even when I talked, my filipino accent would sometimes slip, which usually only happens when I talk to parents or aunts / uncles / grandparents. For example... I was working with and got to know associates from the local ABB office, including one cool guy, Chusnull. This guy was awesome. He looks exactly like Jeff Melegrito, from the smile, to the way he laughed, to same humor about him, to the way his hair got messy and he wouldnt give a shit; only difference was his fob Indonesian accent with a touch of Singlish (Singapore English slang lah). He even had the same stories as Flips, and the same awareness for the supernatural.
(Me and him walking to the residence, late at night)
Chusnull aka Jeff: "Hey Noli... why dont you try to go swimming in da pool tonight. hahahaha you should go maan.."
Me: "Shit they have a pool here? Swimming at nite rules. Is the pool nice?" (It was 32C and 95% humidity at night)
Chusnull aka Jeff: "Okeey Maan! You should go den... the pool is bery nice... hahahaha, ip you are not scurd. Just be carepul becus you might meet the spirits. da White Lady! da Lady ghost. oooohhhh."
Me: "The White Lady! Oh my gosh..."
See, it turns out Indonesians universally believe in spooks and mythical phenomenon in the exact same way as Filipinos. They even call ghosts the same thing in Indonesia, The White Lady. Parallels were endless...
- It was nice to be able to experiement again with food in Singapore. Food was amazing and a welcome departure from the usual monotony of the Irish fare. Singaporean food is influenced predominantly by three cultures; malay, chinese and indian. It translates to the best of all worlds, or the amazing fusion of all into one. Soo good lah.
- Sumatra coffee was awesome.
- Got to watch some actual playoff baseball over there, since they had ESPN Asian / Star Sports. This was huge, because baseball is nonexistant in Ireland. The games were usually live early in the morning, or replayed later in the evening. The BoSox lost, as Wayne tried to rib me with his comments on my last post. Oh well, like as if him trash talking really bothers me anyways... what was more satisfying was that the over rated Yankees lost too. Derek "I threw Jessica Alba out of bed" Jeter, Gay-Rod, Chop-sui and "stick a needle in my ass" Giambis.. LOL what a running joke.
- I got proposed to for the first time since I was in Africa. This local canteen girl at the guest house residence, I think kinda liked me and was increasingly flirtatious, asking my name, asking where I was from and giving awesome food service, like free coke and beer... and over the days eventually she asked if I was married. No. Then she asked If I wanted to marry her... uhhhhh... I just wanted some shrimp fried rice?
-Stayed a couple days in London on the way back. Shock and Surprise, I did some shopping. H&M stores rule. Lets put it this way, it was the first time I acted like a chick and brought 8 items into the change room. Im mad.
On a related note, I think I might now have the bird flu. Ive been coughin like a chicken ever since I got back. I wouldnt worry though, I dont thinks its contractable through internet connections. Tomorrow I have the best prank planned; I wonder whatll happen or if Ill freak anyone out at work when I show up tomorrow on my first day back wearing a face mask, coughing like a 94 Ford Topaz, and wearing my year old contacts so my eyes go blood shot. Sooo fun...
What was I doing in Singapore and Indonesia, some might be wondering? Well work. Some people, like maybe the 8 of you that actually read this thing, might still not really understand what it is I do. In a nut shell, my company sells Automation systems to the Paper Industry, and more specifically I design and project manage the installation of these automation systems into Paper Mills. So if Im going somewhere, usually thats what its for. Now you know why it is one week Im in Germany and the other Im in India. Its why sometimes Im too tired to blog.
Other interesting notes from Singapore / Indonesia:
- During installations onsite in paper mills, Im required to wear steel toe boots. In Indonesia though, safety standards are a bit more lax... I actually saw people working in the mill wearing tsinelas / flip flops! Wow, this is so third world. Now that totally tops my list, surpassing the pipe fitter I saw in the Japanese mills, wearing steel-toe ninja shoes.
- As I mentioned, even though I got to fly in the front of the plane on British Airways on the way there, I was forced to travel in the back of the plane on the way back to Dublin. It was HORRIBLE. Like Seinfeld says, you cant go back.
- As I mentioned, Indonesias are carbon copys of Filipinos in every way possible, except for religion. Even when I talked, my filipino accent would sometimes slip, which usually only happens when I talk to parents or aunts / uncles / grandparents. For example... I was working with and got to know associates from the local ABB office, including one cool guy, Chusnull. This guy was awesome. He looks exactly like Jeff Melegrito, from the smile, to the way he laughed, to same humor about him, to the way his hair got messy and he wouldnt give a shit; only difference was his fob Indonesian accent with a touch of Singlish (Singapore English slang lah). He even had the same stories as Flips, and the same awareness for the supernatural.
(Me and him walking to the residence, late at night)
Chusnull aka Jeff: "Hey Noli... why dont you try to go swimming in da pool tonight. hahahaha you should go maan.."
Me: "Shit they have a pool here? Swimming at nite rules. Is the pool nice?" (It was 32C and 95% humidity at night)
Chusnull aka Jeff: "Okeey Maan! You should go den... the pool is bery nice... hahahaha, ip you are not scurd. Just be carepul becus you might meet the spirits. da White Lady! da Lady ghost. oooohhhh."
Me: "The White Lady! Oh my gosh..."
See, it turns out Indonesians universally believe in spooks and mythical phenomenon in the exact same way as Filipinos. They even call ghosts the same thing in Indonesia, The White Lady. Parallels were endless...
- It was nice to be able to experiement again with food in Singapore. Food was amazing and a welcome departure from the usual monotony of the Irish fare. Singaporean food is influenced predominantly by three cultures; malay, chinese and indian. It translates to the best of all worlds, or the amazing fusion of all into one. Soo good lah.
- Sumatra coffee was awesome.
- Got to watch some actual playoff baseball over there, since they had ESPN Asian / Star Sports. This was huge, because baseball is nonexistant in Ireland. The games were usually live early in the morning, or replayed later in the evening. The BoSox lost, as Wayne tried to rib me with his comments on my last post. Oh well, like as if him trash talking really bothers me anyways... what was more satisfying was that the over rated Yankees lost too. Derek "I threw Jessica Alba out of bed" Jeter, Gay-Rod, Chop-sui and "stick a needle in my ass" Giambis.. LOL what a running joke.
- I got proposed to for the first time since I was in Africa. This local canteen girl at the guest house residence, I think kinda liked me and was increasingly flirtatious, asking my name, asking where I was from and giving awesome food service, like free coke and beer... and over the days eventually she asked if I was married. No. Then she asked If I wanted to marry her... uhhhhh... I just wanted some shrimp fried rice?
-Stayed a couple days in London on the way back. Shock and Surprise, I did some shopping. H&M stores rule. Lets put it this way, it was the first time I acted like a chick and brought 8 items into the change room. Im mad.
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Tiger Beer
First and formost I got to say one thing: My Singapore Hotel, The Royal Plaza on Scotts, has a free freakin Mini Bar. I hope you understand what Im saying. You have no idea how excited I was when I found out! Like... free minibar? are you shitting me? Of course, I should of known better, that it was too good to be true. Once I got to my room, I dropped everything (actually there was nothing to drop because the bell boy was carrying my luggage for me. YES! And I didnt know if I was suppose to tip in Singapore, so.. ehhh... I didnt) I whipped open the mini bar and surprise surprise, I only found two Tiger Beers, a Pepsi, a Diet Pepsi (yuck), a 7UP, and some local Orange drink. What a tease. Two Tiger Beers. And no hard alcohol or snacks. At least they replenish this every day, so I better use them, or at the very least, hide them in my suitcase. If you havent found out already, Im cheap like that.
So anyways, I just got here, late in the evening. Everyone looks like my Dad or a cousin or Pierre (I swear! Theres freakin Pierres everywhere here. And all the Pierres look at me. Pierre?), which, after a year and a half in Ireland, Id have to say... all you brown people look the same. Lots of aussies too. Its so good... I love that accent, its the best ever. (The girls... not the dudes, dumbass; Aussie blokes are pompous and dodgy in general)
Im kinda relieved that I am in Singapore though, which is WAY different than any other asian city. Its cuz everyone speaks english. My last trips to Japan and Korea... oh boy... were totally different; fun, but different cuz everyone initially spoke to me in the local language. They would look at me and just speak normally, like I knew what the fuck they are saying. Its just like when Jen or Millie Jane go to chinatown. It bugged me a little because I had to constantly repeat myself, like a stupid american, asking if they spoke English. And if they did, I still counldnt understand them... oh well.. it was stress everytime I went to get sushi.
But here. No problems. I just have to turn on my Malay accent, and Im local. Also discovered a new treat. Deep fried Pineapple Pie.
So anyways, I just got here, late in the evening. Everyone looks like my Dad or a cousin or Pierre (I swear! Theres freakin Pierres everywhere here. And all the Pierres look at me. Pierre?), which, after a year and a half in Ireland, Id have to say... all you brown people look the same. Lots of aussies too. Its so good... I love that accent, its the best ever. (The girls... not the dudes, dumbass; Aussie blokes are pompous and dodgy in general)
Im kinda relieved that I am in Singapore though, which is WAY different than any other asian city. Its cuz everyone speaks english. My last trips to Japan and Korea... oh boy... were totally different; fun, but different cuz everyone initially spoke to me in the local language. They would look at me and just speak normally, like I knew what the fuck they are saying. Its just like when Jen or Millie Jane go to chinatown. It bugged me a little because I had to constantly repeat myself, like a stupid american, asking if they spoke English. And if they did, I still counldnt understand them... oh well.. it was stress everytime I went to get sushi.
But here. No problems. I just have to turn on my Malay accent, and Im local. Also discovered a new treat. Deep fried Pineapple Pie.
Monday, October 03, 2005
Lee Son
Nicole made me feel guilty for not posting. She sent me an email. Which made me look when my last post actually was, and it was a month ago. A month ago! how embarassing... so bad. Sorry Nic... I know you depend on me. Even though you have a car with no sun roof, which is unforgivable.
So anyways, I just wanted to say Ive been kinda busy. Kinda. Just got back from Germany and Switzerland last week. I drank lots of Beer and bought lots of chocolates. And Ive learned that anything above 30% cocao in milk chocolate is the freakin shit. So to all the chicks I know, I tell you, Oh..... my..... god. And I dont even want to start with the 70% dark chocolate. Ive never had anything go so good with coffee...
Moving on. The one shocking thing though was that they actually sell Swiss Army knives at Zurich Airport. I know! What the fuck! I would of bought one if I knew...
So, anyways I head to Singapore tomorrow. Told you, kinda busy. Im kinda scared of the bird flu. Freakin birds always screw things up. And bombing in Bali. Oh man. I head to Indonesia the week after... so to my siblings... just to let you know... Ill be in Sumatra next week. Think of me.
Also... Im really pissed that I was forced to take an economy flight on the way back home to Heathrow from Singapore. Business was sold out. Im going to freak out. Bullshit... how can Business be sold out before economy? How? Im developing clausterphobia.
BTW, Im kinda drunk... I just drank a bottle of Shiraz to myself... Im soooooo awesome... More from asia when I get there... hopefully...
So anyways, I just wanted to say Ive been kinda busy. Kinda. Just got back from Germany and Switzerland last week. I drank lots of Beer and bought lots of chocolates. And Ive learned that anything above 30% cocao in milk chocolate is the freakin shit. So to all the chicks I know, I tell you, Oh..... my..... god. And I dont even want to start with the 70% dark chocolate. Ive never had anything go so good with coffee...
Moving on. The one shocking thing though was that they actually sell Swiss Army knives at Zurich Airport. I know! What the fuck! I would of bought one if I knew...
So, anyways I head to Singapore tomorrow. Told you, kinda busy. Im kinda scared of the bird flu. Freakin birds always screw things up. And bombing in Bali. Oh man. I head to Indonesia the week after... so to my siblings... just to let you know... Ill be in Sumatra next week. Think of me.
Also... Im really pissed that I was forced to take an economy flight on the way back home to Heathrow from Singapore. Business was sold out. Im going to freak out. Bullshit... how can Business be sold out before economy? How? Im developing clausterphobia.
BTW, Im kinda drunk... I just drank a bottle of Shiraz to myself... Im soooooo awesome... More from asia when I get there... hopefully...
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