MISS

I miss my loved ones in Pinas…

“Wala talagang papantay sa saya ng Pasko sa Pinas.”

Malamang sa hindi, lahat ng expats ganyan ang sinasabi tuwing December. Nung nasa Pinas pa ako, shempre hindi pa ako nakaka-relate pag naririnig ko ung mga ganitong statement. Naisip ko kasi dati, sure, masaya ang pasko sa Pinas pero bongga rin siguro magpasko sa ibang lugar, ung mas maganda; with the grand decorations, fireworks and all pati na rin snow.

May mga decorations at fireworks naman dito sa Dubai pero mas maganda pa rin pala ang mga parol at pailaw sa Pinas. At kahit magka-snow pa dito, I’m sure hindi pa rin makakapantay un sa Pasko ng Pilipinas kong mahal. Ang bayan kong Pilipinas, lupain ng ginto’t bulaklak. Pag-ibig ang sa kanyang palad, nag-alay ng gan.. (stop singing, brain)!!!

Anyway…

Un nga, sad lang. Nakakamiss talaga. Not only the Christmas in the Philippines; what I miss even more are my family and friends whom I usually celebrate the holidays with.

Numero uno kong namimiss ang mommy ko. Ang super bait, loving, caring, ever supportive mommy ko… I miss going home and seeing her there, talking with her. I miss scenarios like these:

Scenario 1

MI : Mommy, may sopas ba tayo?
MOM : Magluluto ako para meron na.
MI : Mommy, may kape ba tayo?
MOM : Eto, pinagtitimpla na kita.

Scenario 2
MOM : Neng, aalis ako, pupunta sa lamay sa patay.
MI : Sino naman namatay?
MOM : Si Bencio, namatay. Biglaan nga, inatake sa puso. Kawawa pamilya, may maliliit pa naman na anak un.
MI : Hindi ko kilala si Bencio.
MOM : Si Bencio, ung kapatid ng classmate ko na si Bert nung elementary na taga-Bagumbayan.

MI : Hindi ko kilala si Bert.
MOM : Hindi mo pa nakikita si Bert.
MI : Okay…

I also miss my daddy. Ang tatay kong half of the time ay no reaction at half of the time ay nagna-nag.

Miss ko na din ang 3 kong barakong kapatid…

Si Mikel na palaging masaya at aliw na aliw sa mga kasamahan nya sa trabaho. Nakakamiss marinig ang mga kwento nya tungkol kay Basilio na kamukha ni Diego ng Bubble Gang, kay Grant na may topak, Jon-jon na may sapi, mga bading na naka t-back sa Packing Section at si Rolly the kalbong supervisor na hinabol ng tubo ung 1 worker dahil akala sasaksakin sya…


Si Marc and Marlon… Ang bruskong kambal na very friendly; super daming tropa at hataw sa basketball. I miss being their senorita ate:

LON : Te, dun ka nga muna umupo sa isang sofa, lilinisin ko lang yang jan.
MI : Timpla mo muna ko ng iced tea. Ung maraming yelo ha.
LON : Labo e. Naglilinis ako.
MI : E di wag.
LON : Wala na tayong yelo e. Pengeng dos, bibili muna ko.
MI : (^__^)

MI : Mac, hilutin mo nga likod ko…
MAC : Labo e. Aalis ako te.
MI : E di wag.
MAC : Asan nba ung lotion? sampung minuto lang kita hihilutin ha.
MI : (^__^)

Namimiss ko rin si Tito Benny, ang tito kong makulet. Pati na si cool auntie beng, auntie nene at gigie. Hinahanap-hanap ko ang lambing ng mga pamangkin ko sa pinsan, ang ingay at takbuhan nila sa bahay namin.

I want so see Alyssa a.k.a. Neneng again. She’s my sweet pamangkin na lagi na lang tinatanong kung nasan si Momon kapag hindi ko kasama umuwi ng bahay. Si Neneng na nakikinig pala sa mga usapan naming kahit na 3 years old pa lang sya. Naalala ko nung umuwi kami sa Pinas, one time nanonood sya ng TV tapos kami ni mommy, nagkkwentuhan. Tinanong ko si mommy kung bakit may poknat si neneng sa ulo. Hindi pa nakakasagot si mommy ay tumayo na sya sa upuan sabay takbo sa kwarto at balabag ng pinto. Wala pang 10 seconds ay narinig na naming ang : “WAAAAAHHHH!!!” nya. Hehehe… Bata pa lang, emotera na ang bagets na un!

Si Babu naman ang isa ko pang pamangkin na ubod din ng kulit at sobrang nakakatuwa na miss na miss ko na din. Actually, ang name nya ay John Carlo. I just call him Babu, short for Tamburuknoy na ewan ko ba kung san ko nakuha. One of my fondest memories of him goes like this:

MI : Babu, mahal mo ko?
BABU : Opo.
MIKEL : Ako babu, mahal mo?
BABU : Opo.
MAC : E ako, mahal mo?
BABU : Opo.
LON : E ako?
BENG : Babu, ako din ba mahal mo?
BABU : Kakasawa na!!!


Then there’s the Batang Looban. Ang mga childhood friends ko na lagi kong kainuman tuwing New Year’s Eve up to well, until it’s already 5AM of the New Year. I miss hosting the Batang Looban children’s party, the videoke galore and becoming wasted with the no longer bata na mga batang looban.
I miss Joycie and Nicky and Ate Love, Bossing Rangee, Ponkan, Nico, Gino, Iyah, Andrew, Royce, James,Jamie, Shyla atbpng kabilang sa tropang maligalig. I especially miss the singhot buga queen a.k.a. conyo taratitat who used to make me drink more than too many by bringing out the senti in me during inuman by saying stuff like, “Don’t be sad mimhiemhie, kahit di ka love ni ngarag, nandito naman ako…” Tama bang sabihin ang ganun pag inuman?!? So I was like, “Alak pa!!!”

I also want to hang out so, so much with my best friend/stalking buddy / kikay girlfriend / confidante / conscience ala safe guard commercial na si Kit. The one who always shakes her head when finding out that I got myself wasted again on a New Year sabay sabi ng, “Diyatat ang iyong bahay alak ay gising na gising na naman! Tsk, tsk, tsk!”

I miss her and the rest of the pamosong Madamba’s Angels namely (arranged according to the seat plan of Mr./Doctor Theo Tisbe) : si binibining organized Madam Annvy, si Ailyn na mababa ang threshold sa pain, si mahiyaing Eca, the girl with a contagious laugh Yang, fashionista Karen, Jhen - my impromptu gala buddy and kakwentuhan till tumilaok ang manok friend, the dancing teletubby merged with kokey na takot sa clown na si Erin at si Aye – the group dancer with a killer smile.

And of course my Ate Maybs… My sister, not by blood, but in all other sense of the word (these are her words and my heart says, amen to that, Te. I couldn’t have said it better). I miss her so much and I long to see her again and goof around together and discuss everything and anything. Si ate ung tao na kahit hindi kami nagsasalita, nagkakaintindihan kami. My soul friend ika nga. Yuletide season with ate Maybs means going to church for misa de gallo, walking from church to our house on a chilly December streets, walking her to Sta. Clara before the batang looban children’s party, her showing up to our place riding a bike and then me going with her to their house na naka-bike din. Sobrang dami naming masasayang moments, naiisip ko pa lang napapangiti na ako agad. One makulit moment namin goes like this:

MI : Te, ibili mo nga ko ng inidoro…
MAYBS : Sige, mamaya.
MI : Te, payag ka inidoro ka, payag ka inidoro ka?
MAYBS : Ayoko.
MI : Payag ka inidoro ka, payag ka, inidoro ka, payag ka, inidoro ka?
MAYBS : Ayoko… Mi, payag ka, tae ka?
MI : Hinde.
MAYBS : Payag ka, tae ka?
MI : Hinde nga.
MAYBS : Payag ka, tae ka?
MI : Ayaw.
MAYBS : Payag ka, tae ka?
MI : Hinde.
MAYBS : Dali na, pumayag ka na, tae ka...
MI : TE!!! AYOKO NGANG MAGING TAE!!!

Ang kaso mo, nasa bus nga pala kami… So ayun, lahat ng tao tinginan sa amin, ang dalawang babae na nag-uusap tungkol sa tae.

So un nga, sa hinaba-haba netong isinulat ko, what I just wanna say is that I miss my family and friends, hindi lang ung mga nabanggit dito kundi ung iba ko pa ding friends…

And I am grateful for all those amazing people in my life who always serve as a reminder that I have so much to be thankful to God.

I thank God for them and for all the years of happiness that He gave me. Here’s to 2010! I trust that it would be a great year for all of us.

crazy Mi

hay naku, umiyak na naman ako nung Pasko!

bisyo na talaga ito!!!

green apples, cloud nines and tears

My earliest Christmas memory was that when I was 4. My mom woke me up with a kiss and gave me the big sock that I hung near my bedside window 2 nights before. In the stocking I found green apples and Cloud 9 chocolates, which I immediately open and gobble up like it’s just normal to find foods on Christmas stocking and not gifts.

Really, I was not expecting gifts coz my mom did not tell me that ‘Santa will come to our house and leave gifts under, if not inside my hanged stocking at Christmas Eve (only if you’re good) kind of crap.’ She just told me that I’ll get my gifts from her and daddy and maybe from some other people later after we went to church. And then we’ll eat together with the rest of our relatives and have a great time.

For the rest of my childhood, I had my perfect Christmases and I literally grew up as a happy kid with apples and chocolates during Jesus’ birthday.

Then puberty stage sets in and the I’m-always-crying-during-Christmas phase began. I don’t exactly remember what started that but since 2nd year of high school up to last year, I spend a small portion of my Christmas day crying. From trivial things like broken eyeliner, melted ice cream and cheesy TV commercials to who came back late into the house can be a reason for me to cry. I’m not actually sad about all those things; it’s just that when my Christmas seems even little bit less perfect, my tear ducts suddenly get it’s own mind and produces all the waterworks it can let out. And after that, it will all turn out A-okay and I’ll get to have another yuletide season of joy.

Now, why am I writing all these?.. Maybe to get myself into the holiday spirits… To remind myself that I used to be this happy girl who’s always optimistic of having a happy Christmas; who always gets her happy Christmas.

As I write this note less than a day before Christmas, I still feel so blue. I’m not sure why; it’s not as if it’s my 1st Christmas away from home but I just can’t find my happy mood to tolerate Dubai’s no big deal attitude towards my favorite holiday. Oh well, whatever. I should not care what they think. SERIOUSLY! I’m going to snap out of this holiday blues and start having a merry little Christmas time!

Will start singing: C is for the candy trimmed around the Christmas tree, H is for the happiness for all the family…

Oh God, why do I always seem to have bipolar disorder when I write?..

Maybe I’ll go get some apples and chocolates later.

Har, har, har!

elementarya

Bioman, Chicadee, Mirinda, Shaider, water guns, pick up sticks, Sailor Moon, luksong baka, Cedie, ube, braids, Mary and the Secret Garden, siatok, baseball, undin, bazooka, texas, cherryball, crayola, Care Bears, Pong Pagong, Kiko Matsing, halaya, Robert Akizuki, Annie, Little Twin Stars, feeding, tart, yema, Sunny orange, basaan sa San Juan, mga batang looban, pagbubunot ng damo, gantsilyo, blade, pakwan, bukid ni Totoy bato, dyame, Maria, Lotie, Ermengard, ilog, itlog ng palaka at suso, Baby Love the movie, Nenuco, Funny Komiks!, nano candy, panda panda na parang chippy, nerds, matchbox, piko, chinese garter...

Hay... Ang sarap maging bata!

Fay

Last Thursday, immediately after coming home from work, I relax myself by lying down on my bed while watching a movie. I picked one of my all time favorite, which I haven’t watched for a long time – Riding in Cars with Boys. Even just when the movie is just starting, I’m psyched to see again my favorite scene where Bev is practicing to her best friend Fay how to say to her parents that she’s pregnant.

I’ve watched this scene several times but when it came to that part again, I still can’t contain myself and ended up laughing so hard that it borders out to insane (good thing I’m alone in our room). Brittany Murphy is just so hilarious while saying, “my daughter is a tramp… my daughter is a tramp!” with her wide eyes and cutie looks. She’s so brilliantly adorable!

Then come Sunday, I saw on the news that she died. Sad… She’s really a loss to the movie industry. May she rest in peace.

Cheers to you, Brittany!

Dubaidubaidoo

I've been living in Dubai for one year, five months and 3 days now.
Dubai... A city full of tourists, working expats and locals with totally different upbringing than I have.
Living in a too culturally diversified city and working with other nationalities made my head spin and until now, it sometimes bring out the worst in me. It certainly is not easy but nonetheless fun.

Here are some of the things that I have learned during my first few months in Dubailand...

1. Look after yourself. Don’t expect other people to care for you like when you’re still at your home in the Philippines . People are too busy and haggard with the fast-paced Dubai life to be consistently concerned about your well-being.

2. Learn how to cook, otherwise starve or spend too much dirhams on take away foods.

3. Know who your real friends are. Be wise enough to assess the character of the persons whom you consider friends. Coz if not, you might end up being used to finance a shopping spree by some ‘friend’ and she goes back to the Philippines, leaving you Dhs 400 short for rent payment.

4. Have the skills to develop what people call ‘patience of a saint’; trust me: you’ll need this. Every day in Dubai , you’ll meet someone who thinks they’re so smart but not knowing that in reality, they’re as dumb as ass. What to do with those people? That’s where the saint-like patience is needed... Ever so subtle, make them aware how stupendously stupid they are and maybe, just maybe, they’ll take a hint. That’s the only way you can feel slightly satisfied coz there’s no point in shoving it into their faces for they will just look at you in a confounded manner and no matter how angry you become or how hard you shout at them, after 5 minutes when they see you in the corridor or in the pantry, they will smile and say, “hi, how are you? Enjoyed your holiday?” It’s like they have amnesia or something.

5. Be accustomed to guys who stare at you like it’s the first time in their life that they’ve seen a girl. Most of the men here who came from other neighbouring nations are like that... though you are wearing decent clothes; they will still ogle at you like a laboratory specimen and hope to see something. And when you look at them, they would just stare back ogle some more and enjoy that they were able to catch your attention. Also, try not to be startled if when you’re walking on the streets and the guy walking from your opposite direction would suddenly shout, “I love Filipini, ma-ganda, ma-bangow!” Sigh! Men here are so freakin’ weird...

6. Bear in mind that in U.A.E., gurgling sounds that you hear may not be simple gurgling sounds after all... 99.98%, those are Indian ‘Pana’dols speaking. Yup, they talk like they’re from Stone Age or something, or like they’re gurgling Listerine all the time. Maybe there’s a law declared by some Panadol cult that they should try to speak and at the same time make gurgling sounds. Annoying thing is that when you did’nt understand what they’re saying, they would look annoyed and puzzled, as if really confused and deeply contemplating why you can’t understand them. Haller! Then they would try to spell it out for you, which would turn out to be more confusing. Sample conversation as follows:

MI : Could you spell that out?
PANADOL : yem,you,eh,ye,dobl el,ye,bi,ayi,ye.
MI : A, okay. Bye!

Grrr… Wanna inject botox to their tongues! So if I ask them to spell my name, they would say, ‘yem,ayi,ye,yen’ What to do, yani?...

7. Prepare for emergencies… or at least what it seems like an emergency to your officemates. You may find scene like this unfolds in the workplace:

MI : [enters in the lobby from the pantry… hears shouting from
the fax room]
[passes the fax room despite the commotion]
PANADOL : [sees Michelle] (shouts in a very panicky tone) Mishal,
Mishal, come kyucly, kyucly! Jaldi, jaldi!
MI : What?
PANADOL : Something happened to our fax machine. Look! Red
blinking, blinking. You know number of technician? We should call.
MI : [lifts the lid of the fax machine paper cover and pulls the
jammed paper out] There, now it’s working…
PANADOL : Where you learn that? You have friend Filipini technician?
You genius.
MI : ???

Gud luck naman sa paper jam!

8. Guys in U.A.E. are single… or so they say. If you’re looking for romance here, be very careful. You may never know who’s being truthful about their status. Make sure that your prospect habibi doesn’t have a wedding ring hidden somewhere in his pocket or inside his closet drawer.

9. Find humor even in the most annoying happening in your life at Dubai. So even if you always hear people saying, “You do one thing, first…” (which turns out to be a series of complicated tasks… and haller panadols: when you say ‘one thing’ it shouldn’t be followed by ‘first’ because that wouldn’t be a ‘one thing’ anymore!), just relax; laugh at the situation. You might suffer from stroke if you let your blood pressure go very high just for stupid ‘one thing’.

10. Be open-minded and at least welcome changes. I know most of the personal and cultural diversities here are annoying and may drive people to the verge of insanity if not handled properly, but still, you have to be flexible enough to adapt to this crazy world. Even if there will be a time that you would just want to hurl the computer monitor into their stupid faces, don’t do it. Just relax, and chant with me… Yani,mamu,shani… think zen. Aahmmmm!

I hart U!!!

my first babble...

Naturally, the proper way of starting a blog is to talk about yourself.


Hweee...
Imbento ko lang un.

Actually,I just can't help being the narcissistic me so here goes...


Michelle – that’s the given name in my birth certificate.

I do not like it and I often get startled when someone calls me that. Looking back and racking my brain what might be the underlying reason for such absurdity, it brought me to the realization that I associate my real name with my elementary teachers and the instances when they always call me to give me tasks which are utterly and embarrassingly annoying like becoming a member of an inter-district speech choir contest with almost 50% of the script to be recited ‘dramatically’ by me, parading as one of the humble people who went to the manger to celebrate the birth of Jesus (my face was smeared with charcoal powder and I was carrying bananas and malunggay during the whole parade then kneeling for almost 30 minutes during the reenactment), joining pageants (e.g. Ms. United Nations, Ms. Girl Scout and Mutya ng Aklatan [I’m having doubt what is more ridiculous-- for Girl Scouts or the library to have beauty contest])?!?… These and other stuff that all started with,”Michelle…”

I am a chocolate-dependent person.

I cannot recall a day in my adult life that I did not eat chocolate and most probably, if a day will come that I can’t get hold of one, I will not be able to finish that day without being bitchy and snappy at people.

Once I crave for a certain food, I will never give it a rest until my craving is satisfied; even if it means getting out of the house at night just to buy Sundae and eat it while walking on chilly February Tagaytay streets. Momon is always saying that I’m worse than a pregnant girl in her 1st trimester when it comes to food tripping.

My personality style has got features of obsessive-compulsiveness. One of the evidences of this is the fact that I cannot sleep without having arranged the pillows in a specific position identified by my head. Also, my books should not be touched, turned or re-arranged without notice and never to be folded otherwise I will be effin’ miffed. And, when I think of something, I will do it right away regardless of the timing (not only once did I get up in the middle of the night to pluck my eyebrows or to have a pedicure).

My bag is always heavy due to the unnecessary stuff that I always want to bring with me. Like the different colored gel pens that I have… My mom once asked me why I bother to bring them all. I answered her jokingly that it’s for when I encounter a dying, demented millionaire who would give me his entire estate if I have a unique-colored gel pen right then and there that he could use to sign all the necessary documents. Hwehehehehe…

Moreover, immediately after brushing my teeth, I will brush it again. Woa! Now that I’m writing this, I seem to be so abnormal. Waah… Hmm, but no, since I can still function well and not disrupting my normal way of living, I’m still sane. (I should stop writing like this before this whole thing turns out to be a Psychological Abstract).

Books are the main priority in my shopping list. The longest portion of my time in the mall would be spent in a bookstore and my trip is never considered happy and successful if I did not buy even just 1 paperback novel.

I don’t like guys who talk too much, especially guys who constantly repeat what he just said as if he’s talking to dumb people and nobody can get his point.

Climbing high places is one of my hobbies when I was a kid and up to now, I can easily climb trees, walls or roofs and I bet, till now I can win a tree climbing contest.

I believe that there is 1 default number in the universe and every wish that falls in that nth number would come true; we just don’t know what number is that. What I'm pretty sure is that 12 years ago, when I wished for my boobs not to grow, my wish fell into that nth number and came true. waah! :'(

Another competition that I can win is the “stay sober after drinking so much beer/vodka/tequila/martini etc. even gin bulag contest.” There used to be a wager that I’d give my one whole month salary to the person who can make me drunk while he/she stays in a conscious, clear-headed manner after a drinking session. But now the bet is off as I stopped drinking for the sake of being an improved girl and for realizing that drinking can do no good for people with peptic ulcer. Haller! Hehe…

Pepsi is my all time favorite drink. I know it can do no good for me but I like it!

There’s a belief that if a person is good in math, he/she does not excel in English or vice versa… I think it’s only a theory and it would never be substantiated into a truth. I like Math and English and I did pretty great on both subjects.

Kids like me. I can always make a baby smile and can absolutely relate to young people as if I’m one of them. I enjoy their company so much and we get along so well that sometimes I fear I’m suffering from regression. Lol!

I do not eat vegetables. It would not be good for me coz in this state, my body is so immune with the unhealthy foods that it is receiving and consuming vegetables, even just a little bit, would upset the healthy unhealthy state of my body.

I couldn’t care less about my hair. I only brush my hair after taking a bath on work days. If not, my hair is lucky if I ran my fingers into them.

I’m not comfortable wearing skinny jeans. I think it emphasizes my thighs and I worry that people might freak out at the sight of my humungous pata.

My energy level is heightened during evenings. I’m a nocturnal person and if I’m able to sleep before midnight, I’m on drugs (antihistamine). Hehe…

Before I die, I hope I could: (in no particular order) get to tour Europe, experience how to sky dive, ride a dolphin, drive & own a Wrangler Jeep and have a baby with my ning (I hope to accomplish this one before I turn 28.lol)!

Gilmore Girls, Will & Grace, Ally McBeal and the likes are the kind of TV series that interest me. Love watching witty shows with my Ate Maybs… She appreciates the subtle, brilliant comments that are usually hysterically funny the way that I do.

Until now, I can’t think of any useful talent that I have. I know how to dance but I cannot consider myself a great, graceful dancer; there is no team in any sports tournament that would want me as one of their players coz I am a major klutz. I never ever learned how to play musical instruments and I cannot draw a human caricature that would not be mistaken as a cartoon ant and my handwriting resembles barcodes.

And if you think that maybe I can sing, well, you’re mistaken. Few times I experienced that when I would sing a tune to ask my friends the title of that song, they would say, “could you just recite the lyrics instead of singing it?” waah… So to my friends who would happen to have a free time and care to read this note, if you ever think of one useful talent that I have, kindly inform me, okie?