Me, too...

I had a good dinner, a nice stroll at Ikea (that place is my “park”) and topped off with an even better chocolate Haagen-Daz concoction on a cone. And I was in the company of my girls.

All is good. Then I got home.

It’s almost 2 years now that I find myself going home to an empty apartment. 1 year and a half in Jakarta and now close to 2 months in Hong Kong. I’ve moved countries, changed companies, took a step towards my dreams—a lot of things I have willed to change and some I have no will over. I am alone but for years, I have managed to convince myself that I am not lonely (and for the longest time, I truly wasn’t). But now, at least at this moment, I think I am.

I can be distracted by a desk full of work, a dinner out with friends, a trip somewhere, a pair of shoes—all temporal antidotes that half the time, leave me tired to the bones for any decent retrospection. And to give credit where it is due, I got by for years not really bothering to sit down with myself and pouring my heart out. Not getting to it kept me sane.

I don’t know what triggered this emotional honesty but for once, after a long while of denial, I sat down with myself.

As a good friend put it on an over-a-cup-of-coffee talk during my brief visit in Manila, “I look forward to the day I fall in love again. A time when my knees weaken at the sheer thought of someone.”

I don’t want marriage and all that hoo-ha (at least for now) but yes, me too.

My Girls

I read in a magazine once that your girlfriends are just as important an investment as say, a health insurance. They are your "emotional" insurance so to speak. Thus it's important to spend time with your girls and the fun is doubled when you do the things you do best: dining and shopping!

This past weekend was just that, all of it! Saturday was spent sleeping in until around 12 noon then I met up with Stephanie (my bestest Honky!) for lunch. I wasn't in the mood for Chinese so we had lunch at this Italian upstairs cafe (places that are in higher floors of bldgs., they have people distributing flyers in the streets to announce their existence-- another of the HK space quirks). It was good Carbonnara Alfredo and even better girl talk! We had a trip down memory lane-- how different we were before we left the country (Steph was with me in Jakarta before but she left earlier) and how "grown up" we are now. From our fashion sense to our perspective on life and MEN! My regular weekend time with Steph (she is based in China so we just have weekends to meet) is always a breath of fresh air.

My other girls were out shopping in Mongkok (a very "exciting" shopping district in Kowloon--very touristy!) so after Steph had to go for a prior engagement, I rang to meet up with them. Mongkok is always an exciting trip.. the exhilaration of getting a $100 top down to $30 is a victorious feeling unmatched by any other! I got a silk halter top (very BCBG according to the girls) for 30 bucks and it fit like how you'd expect a thousand grand top would! Haha! Very proud of that purchase. The only downside of Mongkok is the crowd-- it's like a MANGO sale multiplied as much as a peso to a US dollar. Wicked crowd. To get away, we boarded a bus to IFC (a posh mall in Central, HK Island). There we had some coffee and muffin at Starbucks followed by a Japanese dinner. My day was made.

Bart (a crazy Polish friend who's like a big brother to me) came by HK from Manila where he was based for the last 6 months before he flies back for a short holiday in Europe then another assignment in Bangkok (whatta life!) and he's staying at my place (I had to take him in after the boxful of shoes he hauled from Manila in his last HK trip and the promise of taking me to the beach when I visit Thailand) so we spent Sunday morning together. Had lunch at this Indian resto in Wan Chai and talked about his "silly, little dramas" then he was off to meet some old friends from his 2 year stay in HK.

Ceha and I then went to Pacific Coffee in Cityplaza for a quiet afternoon reading of the fashion magazines Bart brought from Manila at my ardent request. At around dinner time, we got some take out from KFC and met up with my favorite girls, the North Point crew (we live in the same, friendly neighborhood) at the Marble Road Apartment, our HQ. There we talked about past & present loves, categorized men into 3 groups based on our very limited experience, gossiped about who's gay, who's dating who and who has been with who, all this over spicy chicken wings! Hot. ;P

Time with my girls is always a weekend well-spent.

The Backside of the 20 Yuan --for real!

I mentioned in my last entry that we went to this place along the Linjiang River where the scenery is where they got the photo imprinted on the backside of the 20 Yuan (Renmimbi), China's currency. Well, I posed there. Haha! On the green, green grass (Bart, the crazy Polish) was right, China is crazily green in spring! I came from a country of nice sceneries, too, but nothing quite compares to this look of one limestone mountain after another in an order, asymmetry and beauty that only the magical (Chinese?!) hands of nature can create. Also, the way the right amount of fog gave the scene a certain haze that makes it so postcard-perfect.

And notice the clarity of the photos, my trusty Ixus and Ceha's magical touch caught the rather big dragonfly on camera! :)

A Chinese Holiday

I've just finally got the time to write a bit since I came back. A frenzy of panic since we are having a launch this July and the budget is not really much so we are a bit pressured to go through proposals from the distributorsquite quickly.

Anyway, the trip to China was not easy but the things I saw (and you will, in the photos) more than made up for it. We went with this tour group of Chinese students from Shenzhen University. Well, we biked a lot on the way to Yulong River from the town proper of Yangshuo.. it wasn't a leisure type but more of biking to get there.. the views were nice so I wouldn't have minded but it was around 12 noon.. the sun was scorching hot! You should see my back now, the tan line from my shirt is stark! Anyway, so there. Almost all the tourists bike, except for those who came with a really expensive tour (China is cheap but rip-offs are very likely esp since we don't speak the language!)

So on the first day, we biked towards this river Yulong in Yangshuo and took the 2 hour bamboo boat along the Moon Hill (called so because there's a hallow spot atop the mountain which kind of shows the faces of the moon as you progress through the river-- in short depending on your angular sight towards it). I was a bit tired from all the biking so I slept.. we only paid 30 Yuan each (around HKD 28). We were pairs in each bamboo boat but much to Ceha's company, I was fast asleep! Save for the river breaks that send us holding on to our dear lives lest we emerge wet to the insides! I felt a bit guilty because the boatman was even singing to us. It's an Asian version of a gondola ride in Venice?? Hahaha! It was good, pretty much like the floating market in Bangkok since a lot of old ladies were selling oranges and drinks in boats of their own.. that was a bit annoying but towards the
end it was quite peaceful and the scenery was all good.

After that we biked back again (I think around an hour or so!!) and had lunch at this "very" Chinese place (it's so authentic, it looks like one of those break stops of Chinese movies where villains are flying with swords!).. the famous delicacy of Yangshuo is the Beer Fish (fish cooked in liquor)so we had a taste of that. I don't want to go on tour groups again because it feels like you are being hauled in hordes.. it's not how I want to travel at all! So after that, it was time to visit the Water Caves (like the underground river in Palawan) but since I've done it in Palawan before & I felt claustrophobic, plus I am dead tired from all the biking, I just opted to join the group who wanted to get back to the hotel. Besides, I wanted to take a bath and do a little exploring around town (Ceha and Meicy went to the cave).

So I got back to the hotel and showered then I slept a bit since a headache seemed to be creeping in. When I woke up, the girls were not back yet so I got dressed to get some Italian ice cream in West Street (this long street where most travelers stay.. so called since it is lined with western-type cafes, restos and souvenir stalls). Our hotel was just right around the corner so it was a short walk. It's right in the town center. It's very cute at night, quite wonderfully illuminated with light posts along the Chinese bridge. So, I walked around with my ice cream and came upon this pizza place where I wanted to eat. So off I went to the hotel and met up with the girls. We went back to the West Street for dinner. We went around a bit, Meicy shopped and we went back to retire for the night.

The next day was the trip to Guilin for the river cruise along Lijiang. I read that it is supposed to be one of the most scenic place in China and sure, it was! Although the photos won't quite capture the wonder that I saw, I hope they come close. We saw mountains after mountains of folklore. One was the Mountain of 9 Horse because you can see formations of 9 horses on the face of the mountain.. no traveler has yet counted all 9 but we came to 7! Darn close. :) Then we docked at this small island that has for the backdrop the photo they imprint on the backside of the 20 Renmimbi! It was beautiful! And I held up the money against it, super exact how it looked. Hehe. After the cruise it was free time, we just went around and had lunch at this quaint little Chinese place.

Beijing and Shanghai may have put China on the map, but these little, provincial gems put China in the hearts and fond memories of travelers. :)

Rat Race: Who's running?

At my desk, in front of a computer, deciphering a 250-slide research from Australia and trying to summarize the learnings in as few pages as I can so my bosses won't have to plow through the lengthy report. And still more projects to attend to.

All these got me thinking to how far reality is from my idealistic scenarios back in college. When people asked me how I saw myself 10 years from then, I'd close my eyes and envision a successful, corporate professional with a corner office with floor to ceiling windows overlooking some great landscape. I never saw myself toiling through a ton of presentation slides before sitting on THE Chair. I'm not complaining. I learn a lot from what I do and I am willing to work hard to get that corner office someday.

Just that, now I know, how wrong I was.

Life through my window...

I am coming on with this nightly routine of putting on the air con when I get home and letting it cool the room while I'm doing all my before bedtime regimen... then I'd get into my pajamas and climb under my thick quilt to read a bit... then as I put off the nightlight to sleep, I'll put off the air con as well (it still gets a bit cold in HK at night these days). I am a creature of habit (in everything but fashion!) so this is a comfort zone for me. :)

Last night, as I was on to this stage of my so-called routine, I stopped a while and pulled up the window shades to look, I don't know why, but it's just now that I get to appreciate a "window" (thanks Niqui!). It wasn't even one of those things I particularly noticed when I was flat-hunting but I'm happy the place I got has quite a lot of them. Anyway, so I looked out albeit I don't have the amazing view of the harbor that the lucky girls at Marble Road have (this from the fact that I am right along King's Road-- aaah, convenience!). Rather, what I have is a good view into my neighbors' lives.

The best view I have is that of the guy in the flat right below the one across from mine (abuse of prepositions, eh?!) and add the fact that he doesn't have curtains. When you come to HK and live here, your concept of living space will have to undergo a total paradigm shift. It's a pity since HK is such a developed country but it's just really small and no matter how much reclamations they do, it's still on to studio-living for most of the population. Anyway, so back to Mr. Neighbor-- he lives in this (what I assume to be the total floor area of his apartment, I was trying to figure the lay-out) studio box-- a bed against one wall and a table with a rice cooker and some kitchen utensils in one corner and a wardrobe against the other wall. I've seen him quite a number of occasions, while he's eating, watching TV and lying in bed. All of these activities he does in that square box. And I complain about my apartment with a bathroom, a mini kitchen and a separate room... it's no mansion but I get to cook without leaving my whole living space to smell like curry.

Then I scanned the windows of my other neighbors-- most of them are probably families since the apartments are bigger (again, HK standards) and most of them have installed an HK version of a clothesline-- because really, people here barely have a kitchen so where are they expected to dry their laundry?! And I myself have adapted. I bring my clothes to the laundry house but I prefer to wash some delicate apparel myself and I hang them outside my window (I'm careful to secure them with clothespins, of course, after hearing the horrific story of Ceha's new blouse gone with the wind one fateful winter day) so all apartment windows have clothes drying outside them. Even on the main road (for those apartments whose windows happen to overlook the main road), it's quite amazing to see modern shopping places on buildings with drying clothes when you look up.

The quirks of HK that make it endearing.

HONG KONG: Another Chapter

Yes, I have not updated this blog in quite sometime and I know how long it's been because I even forgot the password already, such a shame. And yes, I am in Hong Kong now, for a year at least. So much stories to tell since I left Jakarta in mid-March.

Well, in a nutshell, I left Jakarta earlier to see family and friends back in the Philippines before I head off to Hong Kong. I was home for almost a month and I enjoyed re-connecting with my parents albeit the occasional getting-on-each-others-nerves episodes (which re-affirmed my conculsion that perhaps I can never live at home again without the assurance that it's only temporary thus I am "visiting" and not living). I saw less of friends than I would have wanted given the limited time that I have so that's a bit sad. It's okay though, Hong Kong is so much nearer. Well, it doesn't make much of a difference but it's a comforting thought. ;P

Things I realized in my transition between Jakarta and HK (a.k.a. "my time at home":

1. My mom is so much into Korean soap operas & "vintage" clothes

2. My dad wears colored shirts now!!

3. My parents argue about the most petty of things but they are on to their 24th year together. :)

3. My sister's idea of cooking is popping a box of Minuto Meals in the microwave.

4. Niqui and I click so well, virtually and actually. ;)

5. My friends are doing well... moving on with their own lives. This makes me sad but I have moved on, too, haven't I? :(

6. I have finally gotten a certain person off my system. A smart move I am proud of.

7. I and God can make my dreams come true. :)

And oh, by the way, life in Hong Kong is GOOD. :)