Happy New Year!

Bago magtapos ang taon, gusto ko pong ipaabot ang taos pusong pasasalamat sa mga bloggers na palaging napapadaan dito sa aking munting blog.Thanks po sa mga comment at sa mga payong kaibigan. Diko na kayo maisa-isa pero you-know-who-you-are hehehe. Maraming salamat din dun sa Anonymous blogger na nagcomment ng masasakit na salita about sa article ko sa "Dear Makati Express",hahaha, feeling ko dun ka nagtratrabaho!

Anyhow, cheers to 2010! Here's to a more years of blogging!!


theonoski

p.s.
regular blogging will resume after New Year (pagbalik sa Al-Khobar)

Christmas Wish List

Dear Bro,

Hello po! Advance Merry Christmas po sa inyo dyan sa heaven. Sa inyo po ako sumulat ng aking wish list at hindi kay Santa Claus kasi hindi naman kayang gumawa ng miracle ni Santa, at saka kung hihiling lang din ako dipo ba dapat dun nako sa supplier hihingi at hindi sa delivery boy?

Kung inyo pong mamarapatin, eto po yung mga gusto ko po mareceive sa darating na taon. Nakaindicate din po kung kelan ko sila gustong mareceive. nakasaad po kasi yan sa timetable ko.Ang galing kopo diba?

1. Nikon D90 (Expected date to received: now na!)

2. End of Overseas Assignment in Saudi (Expected date to received: June 2010)


3. Site Assignment in Algiers (Expected date to received: August 2010)


4. Manalo po sana yung iboboto ko sa eleksyon sa pagka-pangulo. (Expected date to received: June 2010)

5. Makapag swimming sa World's famous beach.(Expected date to received: June 2010)

Yun lang po Bro ang wish ko sa darating na 2010!Sana po mapagbigyan nio ako kasi good boy naman ako this year diba???

Thanks po in advance and Merry Christmas po!

gumagalang,

good boy theo

Ba..Baa Bakasyon sa Bahrain!

In celebration of Eid-Al-Adha here in Saudi, we had six days off from work, and thank god we learned from the experience last Eid-Fitir where we rot ourselves in our room and sa office (overtime hehehe) so before the holiday comes we arrange a trip to a very very far-away country known as Bahrain.

Our original plan was really to go to Syria and Jordan, but due to visa delays it was not push through. And Thank God again it didnt materialize because during the Eid hoildays there were bomb attack in Damascus main bus station.
Imagine muntik pa pala kami mapahamak ng di oras kung natuloy kami!

Moving on, we started our trip from Al-Khobar to Bahrain on Thursday afternoon and leave Bahrain Saturday afternoon. Lots of pictures i took from the camera that i borrowed and saved it on my laptop but after a couple of minutes of downloading suddenly my laptop got a virus! So ayun deleted lahat ng pics from the camera. (wawa!). Only remaining pics we're the one taken from my cellfone and from a friend's camera (thanks raymond for the pics!).

Lesson learned:
1. install a more reliable anti-virus
2. buy my own dlsr!

Anyhow let me share you what I did in 2 days 2 night stay in Bahrain.

1. King Fadh Causeway
Ang 33km na bridge na naguugnay sa bansang Bahrain at Al Khobar Saudi Arabia. Swerte talaga at dito ako naka-assign sa Khobar at malapit kami sa Bahrain.This magnificent bridge was built since 1988 pa ata, and is a source of tourist attraction sa mga taga Al Khobar. Malapit sa boundary there is Starbucks, McDo, and many other fast food.Ganda rin mag picture taking pero hindi na namin ginawa kasi ang daming tao!

Immigration area of Saudi Arabia

Sunset over the Causeway

2. The Gold Souq Mall
Gold, Gold, Gold everywhere! Malamang kaya nga Gold souq ang name ng mall! Ang daming tindahan ng gold; gold necklace, ring, hikaw, palamuti sa bahay, etc. Magandang tignan pero masakit sa bulsa! =(
According to my friend, mas mahal ang ginto sa bahrain compare to Saudi. And until now im wondering, saan ba nanggagaling ang ginto dito sa middle east at sobrang dami nila? From Iran to UAE to Qatar and Saudi ang daming ginto! Nakatago ba sila sa mga buhangin? Teka makapghukay nga sa labas ng bahay namin at baka may nakatagong ginto sa mga buhangin na yun!

2. I love you Pork
Ang isang luxury ng mga Pinoy sa Saudi eh kapag nakabili ka (ng patago shempre) ng baboy. Yep ginto ang baboy sa Saudi, 1 kilo is almost 780 pesos (puro taba pa yun!) But in Bahrain, dahil mabait yung hari nila, eh allowed ang baboy sa bansa nila. Kaya when we had our first dinner in Manama bumili kami ng baboy and we cook it as lechon kawali and sinigang. It was heaven i tell you =D.

3. Twisted in Twister
After we had our dinner, its time to paint the town red! And what better way to celebrate gimik night?what else edi sa Twister Bar!
A common hangout ng mga pinoy young and old alikes is Twister bar located in Ramada hotel in Manama. Para kalang nasa Malate kasi puro Pinoy, and the band are all Pinoy. Galing! Word class talaga ang talent natin!
Entrance is free and you don't need to buy a drink to be there. Kung gusto mo lang sumayaw at makipagkilala sa mga single ladies eh puede rin =D. I've met a lot of Pinoys in Twister. Ang cool ng mga people kahit na may edad na hehehe. The place is so cool we even returned the next evening, and still we found the same peple/crowd there. Mga gimikero! LOL!

Hindi ba halatang enjoy?

4. A very memorable First Sunday of Advent @ Sacred Heart Church
Kinabukasan, Friday, together with the owner of the house we went to the largest and one of the Catholic church in Manama.It was a happy feeling to be in the Lord's house once again after almost 6 months of non worshipping in his house. The message of the sermon is "the Lord will provide".Galing!

5. I left my heart in Manama City
Manama is a beautiful place. Ang gagara ng mga buildings.He may not be as popular destination as Doha or Dubai but steadily Manama is being recognized as "business friendly" country in the Gulf. Being an open city gives them advantage from neighboring countries. That's why a lot of expats from Saudi Arabai and Kuwait goes to Bahrain for a weekend R and R. A sight to see in Manama is the Al fateh Mosque, which is the biggest mosque in the country.A good thing about this mosque is it is open to the public even to Non Muslim. Sayang when we visit the place it was closed for tourist. Nagtyaga nalang kami sa labas to ake picture.

City Hall ng Manama?

Al-Fateh Mosque

Sha parin....


City Hall ulet....

Ayan na papalapit na sa Mosque

Opppss..stop muna

6. On Guard at the Arad Fort

Before we end our trip sa Bahrain, shempre we shouldn't miss visiting the famous Arad Fort of Bahrain. It's an early structure build by the sea rulers of Bahrain, to protect their area and pearl industry from pirates. Its only a small fort but considered to be the oldest structure in their country. Its so cool to visit and actually walk on the same area where sinaunang Bahraini used to walk and maybe sometimes defend their land from pirates. Good timing ang pagbisita namin dahil konti lang ang tourist, so hindi matao at parang malaki naming playground ang Arad Fort.Lol!

Sir Jon and Me on top of the tower

The bay in front of the Fort


Arad Fort

Prayer carpets used in the afternoon Sala in Arad Fort

In conclusion, the trip was worth it! I love the way of life in Bahrain, parang Pinas lang kasi, they can go to church, eat pork, uminom ng alak, just like normal Piinoys do in Pinas. And after 3 years ngayon lang ako ulit nakabalik ng Bar w/ dancefloor, nostalgic talaga!. Though its a good thing this is prohibited in Saudi kasi at least nakaktipid kami hehe. If ever somebody asked me to join him to Bahrain for a weekend get-away man lang, ang isasagot ko..."Tara na!".

Gala @ Manama

Three days,two nights in the pleasure capital of the Gulf.I had an opportunity to visit the tiny kingdom of Bahrain.And in this vacation i did prove that Bahrain is one of the best kept secret of the Middle East.And one word that stick to my mind about this trip:R-U-S-S-I-A-N-S!Abangan!

Guess where I'm going?

Due to visa application constraints to Jordan (minimum two weeks processing according to our informant) and lack of detailed information on how and where to stay in Damascus we cancelled our trip to Amman and Damascus this Hajj holidays.

Though the planned R & R on hajj is still on, but with a different country nalang, much closer and i believe is much fun and exciting.

Can you guess where it is??





Kung sino man makakahula ng lugar na ito, ililibre ko ng kabsa with 1/2 chicken plus kabos at 20 riyals na pan de coco from queens bakery.

Let's Sing It!

Para mailabas ko ang inis ko sa aking trabaho at co-workers kahapon eh naisipan kong pumunta sa bayan ng Al-Khobar at mag-ikot ikot. After 15 minutes of walking para maabot ang bayan at makabili ng bente pirasong pan-de-coco eh napadaan ako sa tindahan ng mediacom karaoke.Hmmmm..naisip ko since uuwi naman ako sa Pinas at para mas masaya ang dec. 24 at 25 sa bahay eh why not bumili ako ng videoke. It's been ages since na nagkaroon ng videoke sa bahay, VHS tape pa ata ang ginagamit namin dati para lang mag videoke hehehe.

So after kong itesting ang videoke at magbayad sa cashier eh umuwi akong masaya, at least kahit hindi maganda ang araw ko sa work eh napasaya naman ako ng pan-de-coco at ng mediacom hehe.

Pagdating sa bahay, agad kong sinuri ang laman ng songbook, nakalimutan ko pala tignan kung kasama dito ang favorite kong kanta sa videoke na hanggang ngayon ay hindi pako nakaka 100 points. And after checking the songbook, voila, meron nga..yahoo!

Eto pala ang lyrics ng favorite song ko sa videoke...

TILL MY HEART ACHES END

I recall when you said that you would never leave me
You told me more, so much more like when the time you whispered in my ear
There was heaven in my heart
I remember when you said that you'd be here forever

Then you left without even saying that you're leaving
I was hurt and it really won't be easy to forget yesterday
And I pray that you would stay
But then you're gone and, oh, so far away


CHORUS
I was afraid this time would come
I wasn't prepared to face this kind of hurtin' from within
I have learned to live my life beside you

Maybe I'll just dream of you tonight
And if into my dream you'll come and touch me once again
I'll just keep on dreaming till my heartaches end


And then you left without even saying that you're leaving
I was hurt and it really won't be easy to forget yesterday
And I pray that you would stay
But then you're gone and, oh, so far away

[Repeat CHORUS]

AD LIB
Woh oh yeah

[Repeat CHORUS]

CODA
Keep on dreaming till my heartaches end...


Ang drama anoh?

Seriously, this song is very sentimental to me, The first time I sang this was before I graduated from college. I have a premonition at that time that my relationship with someone would end up just like what stated in the second paragraph of the lyrics. And ayun nga, after graduation it did happened to me . Sigh. =(.

Eventhough the break-up was indeed painful, i managed to survive it and now we're very good friends. And everytime i sing this song i always remember to keep in mind that whenever a relationship end we should always move on. Mourn for it for a week, cry if you like, maglabas ka ng sama ng loob pero after that we must still move on.

Thank God I did and now I'm happy =D.

Ikaw ba anong favorite song mo sa videoke at may sentimental value ba ito sa iyo?

The Queen is back!

Showbiz muna...

Oi para sa mga chismoso't chismosa dyan, tigil muna tayo sa chismis about Pacman at Krista, give credit naman to Mommy Dionisia and her singing skills at ang kanyang idol na si Imelda Papin .


Pero, have anyone noticed how Imelda looks younger today?

In fairness kay Madam Imelda "Isang Linggong Pag-ibig" Papin ang pretty nya ngayon ha....





Hmmm...parang ka-level na nia si Sarah Geronimo ah...


AYOS!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...in Al-Khobar

Hindi ako makatulog ngayon ng maaga, dahil siguro naparami ako ng kain ng tinola at pickeld garlic kaya eto malapit na ang 12:00am e gisig pako. Sa ngayon pinapatugtog ko nalang ang kakadownload ko na mga Christmas Songs (150 songs in one album, ang galing!) para pampaantok.

At habang nakikinig at nagtatanim ng pakwan sa farmville (oi aminin,naglalaro karin nito!) eh biglang tumugtog ang kantang "It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas" at bigla akong napaisip, hmmmm..honga noh dama ko na (hindi po ikaw ang tinutukoy ko Mar roxas) ang pasko dito sa Saudi!

Unang unang ibidinsya (ika nga ni mommy D) eh 5pm palang e parang 7pm na!ang dilim na kaya kahit bagong labas palang ng opis. Then ang lamig na ng simoy ng hangin (yahoo!), at masarap maglakad-lakad kahit 10am kasi malamig ang hangin at hindi na humid =D. Pangatlo eh SALE na sa mga mall para sa kanilang Summer collection. Ayos, tamang tama pag nag sale ngayon ilang buwan lang eh summer naman sa Pinas hahaha. Hello Skyfreight Cargo Express!

Hay, buti nalang this Christmas eh i'll spend it in the Phils, talagang inisakto ni Papa God na pauwiin ako sa Pasko para naman hindi nako malungkot ulet pag Pasko na (katulad ng nangyari sa Iran). At para naman sa maiiwan naming friends dito sa Khobar eh may "secret" Christmas Party naman kami para sa kanila para di na sila ma-sad =D.

Ang dami ko na ngang plano sa december vacation, mga guesting, hosting, ribbon cutting, binyag, kasal, kumpil, you name it i got it. Akala siguro nila pag galing abroad eh mayaman, haha! Im excited as well for this vacation coz makikita ko narin ang aking best friend mula sa seminario, and ililibot nia daw ako sa mga hidden treasures ng Tagaytay (andun kasi seminary nila). Iba talaga pag may matalik kang kaibigan, talagang you'll treasure every moment with them.

Sa mga kabayan ko dito sa Saudi Arabia, advance merry christmas po sa inyo! Ihanda na po natin ang ating mga jacket dahil tag-lamig na at kaibiganin na ang mga pinoy na nagtratrabaho sa Saudi Aramco para makapagsimba po tayo dun!

Dear Makati Express

Dear Makati Express (also known as LBC express) Al-Khobar,

This is an open letter to you guys, management or personel, and you should read very carefully.

I've decided to sent my "gift" to my family this Christmas via your courier service. I must admit i was encourage by my respectable officemate to have my package delivered by you guys.

Without thinking, after i've bought my gift from the store i immediately told the salesman to have it delivered in Makati express office since it is much nearer compared to Sky Freight office.
And after waiting for 15 minutes outside your office (due to sala), i finally pay up and give you my package knowing and believing that it will arrive maximum of 50 days via sea freight in Las Pinas.

Today, i just think of google-ing your courier service and lo behold, you're not an affiliate of LBC express padala.Tsk tsk, you got me there ha, and also i found out a LOT of complaints about your service.
Package are being opened, binubutasan, or worst arrived in phils after 3 months or the box is gutay gutay na, which is totally un-acceptable for a box package. And since mine is only a tv with wooden crate i dont think it will
suffer the same fate as this guys had.

So, i have two directive to you:

1. Deliver my tv in one piece, without any damage.
2. Delivery it till jan.5 (this is my return date to ksa, meaning the package SHOULD be in phils coz its already exceed the maximum 50 days delivery).

Worst come to worst....
If my family receive a damage tv i promise to you, i'll make sure you're going down real hard.
If my package didn't arrive on time, i'll expedite you like you've never been expedited before. You're talking to a guy who succesfully tracked and expedite on time a 1000 meters 36" stainless steel pipe from antwerp belgium to assaluyeh iran. I'm that good.

So, i hope to receive the package this jan. 5 ok?

xoxo
pasaway ng al=khobar

Foreynjer!

Eksena sa Panasonic Showroom kagabi:

Pinoy Salesman: "Sir maybe you would like to buy this brand new Pnasominc SC-PT570. It's got blah..blah..blah..inglis..inglis..inglis..And it's very cheap if you buy..balah..blah..blah..inglish..

Ako: "Tsip, gagana ba to sa Pinas?"

Pinoy Salesman: "Ay, kabayan ka pala sir! nahirapan pako mag-english hehe."

Ako:"Oo naman, pinoy ako.mukha po ba akong foreigner?".

Pinoy Salesman: "Oo sir, kala ko nung pumasok kayo dito may pumasok na Lebanese. Mukha po kasi kayong Lebanese!".

Ako: (palakpak dalawang tenga)

Come to think of it, mukha nga akong Lebanese...

(minus the pointed nose, halos magkamukha nga kami*)





*ang kumontra walang pasalubong

The chart is out!

It's a simple chart showing how am i dealing with my officemates here @ KSA, and the chart will speak for itself.

Battle for the Airline Booking

Yesterday morning i noticed that some of my Indian officemates are busy printing and filling-up vacation leave for the upcoming Christmas holidays. Turns out they haven't filled up their vacation leave form and waited till November to submit it. And my friendly secretary asked me; "You're going on a vacation in December right? Did you submit already/" to which i replied "Yes, like 2 months ago!".

Working for almost 31 months here in middle east taught me one thing about December vacation; When the month of June start, you should submit your vacation leave! I remember when we we're in Iran our HR dept had a hard time booking the Pinoys who are going on vacation, since they submitted their leave on November. Turns out they still made it for Christmas time but with a gruelling 3 days trip that brought them from Tehran-Dubai-Seoul-Manila. The worst itinerary was the one where they landed in Cebu just to go home for the holidays!

Last September before the Eid holidays I submitted my vacation leave form and when my Manager asked me "Why so early??" I replied "Sir, try to go to Phils on December, it's crazy out there. And most probably the only seats remaining are the First Class and I dont think our HRD will permit me to fly on that". Suprisingly my manager agreed and so as the HRD manager (i think they understand my point hehe) and off my application go to our booking agent.

Me being a pro-active guy/OC person attached in my application is my prefered flight schedule for Emirates, since I still have a return ticket from Emirates and according to their website economy class is still available therefore i print the itinerary and attached it to my application. And since it was wednesday our agent advise me he will inform me the result on Saturday (first working day of the week).

Me, again being a makakalimutin (sign of old age naba ito?), forgot to follow up my application and i just remember it when Monday the next week come. The agent didnt told me the result because he knew what will be my reaction. And the Visa section manager talk to me and turns out all Emirates flight on December are fully booked!!!

My pencil snap into two after hearing those words.

Darn, i should have applied last June when I have the time, Kaso nakakahiya coz i arrived here June din! LOL!

Thank God our HRD here tried to squeeze my flight on a Qatar Airways, same date and time on my itinerary from Emirates. Now Im happily booked for a flight on Dec.22 2009 via Qatar Airways =D.

And as for those who still doesn't have flight booking for your Christmas Vacation, all i can say is "Goodluck".

(Goodbye Emirates, Hello Qatar Airways)

After King Darius, Saladin, here we come!

Dear Lord,

I promise I'll be a good boy till my stint is over here @ KSA, basta matuloy lang lang lakad namin dito........


(The Omayyad Mosque)


Your faithful son,
Theo

p.s.
sana po may pocket money din po ako para mas masaya =D.

Wag Poe! Wag Poe!

So it's official: Ex-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada is running again for the highest seat of the land, together with Makati mayor Jejomar Binay as his Vice-President. I have nothing against Mayor Binay, in fact i admire his admistration job at Makati City and I've experienced his good governance since I lived in Makati for 20 yrs. But as for Erap, oh no, can he just please shut himself out in the political setting of our country and just stay home and do some movies and stuff. When Erap dabs himself in politics, everything became disarray. I remember an old quote before "Ma-Erap pag si Erap ang nanalo".

I just hope and pray (a lot!) that the Filipino people would now choose the best President for our country.
God Bless the Philippines!

Living in a Multiverse

My post is inspired (again) by the Season 8 episode 1 of Family Guy, where Stewie and Brian was visiting the Multiverse . One of the universe they visited was everything was drawn by Disney animators. Stewie love the idea of Disney world and this is one idea that he and brian agree ("this is perfect! everything is so nice and wonderful, let's live on this world"). Of course when it's disney there SHOULD be a song a dance portion together with the birds and squirrels, and rabbit and those tiny animals you see in the forest (think Snow White and her furry little friends). It was funny because the lyrics are ryhmed till the very end to the word "Pie" (well, they actually sang about the Pie Stewie's mother made). Another Disney must-have is "kontrabida", which was played by their neighbor Hubert (who dressed up like the evil witch of Snow White). The story ends up Stewie and Brian left the Disney World when their neighbor Jew was attacked by the Disney characters (fyi: some people think that Mr. walt Disney hates jews).

I wonder if anyone would like to live in a Disney kind-of-world, all happy and gay (no pun intended), free flowing, everything is nice, problem free and not much to think about. Personally, if i'll live in a disney world i might die of diabetes coz there's too much sweetness everywhere. Though the perks of living in a Disney-world are:

1. You'll have Princessess as you're neighbors.
2. If you're car broke down or without gasoline you can always borrow the magic pumpkin or Aladdin's flying carpet.
3. You can borrow Abu or Stich or the 101 Dalamatians from their master and make them as your pet for a day
4. If you need baby sitter, just call Mary Poppins.
5. Swimming in the sea with Ariel and Nemo..when hungry why not look for sebastian......to lead you to the best lobster resto in Disneyworld
6. If seafood is not your thing, try the French resto Ratatouille
7. Hanging around with the Mickey Mouse club.

Hay, the possibilities are endless, but if i we're to choose what kind of multiverse i would live i rather be in a multiverse where:

1. the setting is like the Dino-Rider cartoons.
2. the British did not leave the Phils after they defeated the Spaniards (edi sana lahat tayp may accent na ngayon!)
3. Japan did not succeed in conquering Manila, therefore retaining the grandeur of the Ever Loyal City, especially the Intramuros and Malate.
4. im living with Shaun the sheep.
5. the Phils is in a parliamentary setting and we have a good prime minister and our country belong to G20.
6. the most number of First world nation comes from Africa.
7. Since Phils is a first world, we have many expats coming from Europe and have inter racial marriage (more blondes, more happiness).

Well, it's just a imagination, malabo pa sa mata ko na totoo ang multiverse. Sabi nga ng isang kanta "libre lang mangarap".

Though i would love to live in dino-rider setting....

When Anxiety Attack

A couple of days ago, i was confunded by a tremendous anxiety attack while here @ Saudi Arabia. i was very anxious (more to my normal self) on personal decisions and certain actions that i asked myself:

is this for real?
is this the right thing?
why do i have to do this?

there's no time to ponder if this action is right or wrong, there is no turning back once you're there on that situation. i just say a little prayer asking the lord "pls forgive me".

and i believe god never let his sheep gone astray. i've been a good boy naman for quiet sometime.

an hour passed.nothing happen.
second hour... nada
until i finally succumbed to sleep..and i must say it was one of my best sleep ever.

the next day, the thought still circling on my mind. maybe yesterday was not the day. maybe today or tomorrow, or the day after tomorrow.

thank god nothing happen even after the day after tomorrow.

yesterday, i was talking to my good friend floro over the fone and confess to him this certain problem. he told me that god's love is far bigger than your sins. no matter how you have sin, when you repent about it, surely god will forgive you. and then he talks something about sins and forgiveness and some very deep religious term that i cannot even understand it already (hahaha, sorry bro, you really lived up to your desire to be a priest). But the only thing that i understand from his sermon was god loves me, dont do it again.period.

and my motto for that "JUST SAY NO!"

and now, after days of anxiety and nervousness over some thing. i finally have some peace.

mental note to self: must-improve-prayer-time

The story of the deaf frog and Mr. Compliment Guy

Naalala nio paba yung kwento about a group of frogs who fell on a deep well (or anything basta malalim) then each one of them tried to get to the surface but they end up dead by doing so and their frog friends in the surface keep on telling this one frog to stop jumping coz he'll be killed by doing it but eventually he manage to jump to the surface alive. And when the surface frog ask this survivor why he didn't follow their instruction to stop jumping and come-what-may-wait-and-see-attitude nalang he respond to them "i can't hear you coz im deaf".

Basta the story goes like that...

Anyway, the moral of the story is what we say can either make or break a person. Though actions speaks louder than words pero what goes out in our mouth sometimes can either be helpful or destructive to other people.

Gets nio ba?

I just remember this story after watching the season 8 episode 1 of The Family Guy last night (try to watch that show, it’s so hilarious!). Bryan and Stewie were transported in another universe where there is only one living man, and this man is called Mr. Compliment guy (or something). All he say is compliments and pampalakas ng loob kind of words to Stewie and Stewie want to stay on that universe coz he thinks it’s the best. Then it hit me, is our way of talking really affects other peoples life?

After watching the show, I ponder the lesson in the cartoon and the story of the deaf frog, and applied it to my personal life. Well, to be honest, I’m not the best person who compliments other people, nor give them good advice or words of wisdom. If I we’re in that frog story maybe I’m one of the “surface frog” who discourage the deaf frog not to jump. One “surface frog kind-of-attitude” I did was just recently, before I went here @ KSA and thank God my friend had a severe case of deaf ear coz he did not listen to me hahaha!

Now he’s living in a place where he found his true happiness, and I’m so proud and happy for him.

The point is, whatever we say or express to other people, whether you’re making an opinion or just plain being tactless, it still affects other people’s life whether on a positive way or the negative way =D. Well as for me, I’m trying to let go my “surface frog kind-of-attitude” and be the “Mr. Compliment guy” nalang. I think the later is much more fun than the former.

Tantantaran....

Andami kong mga kaibigan at kakilala na ikinasal or ikakasal ngayong taon. Marami rin akong pinuntahang mga binyagan ng mga anak ng aking mga kaibigan.Nakakatuwa actually to attend this kind of gathering, and to be with your friends on their special day. Pero minsan napapatanong ako sa sarili ko, kelan kaya ako naman ang magiinvite sa sarili kong kasal, or sa binyag ng anak man lang. Aba, im in the right age and im ready physically, spiritually and financially naman na, baka puede naman na. Sabi ko nga dati, pag na-achieve ko na ang mga requirements na ito eh gogogo na, wala nang makakapigil pa. And now i finally achieved this requirements baka puede na!

Then it hit me, "teka may GF ba ako?".

Wala nga pala akong girlfriend.Wahahahahaha!

On second thought, since nasa abroad ako now, mahirap pala ang long distance relationship (had experienced a very traumatic long distance relationship that almost ruined my life) so mahirap mag ka GF. Maybe next year pagbalik ko sa pinas i will finaly meet the "one". NO, it's not true na ang pagibig ay dadating ng kusa, in my understanding dpat hinahanap ito, we have to pursue it. it's like finding a diamond in piles of lupa.

Walang sense tong sinusulat ko pra dun sa mga taong hindi naniniwala sa kasabihang "first love never dies" or "love at first sight" or "love is a many splendored things" pero para sa mga taong marunong magmahal diba totoo naman ang kasabihang "ang pagibig pag pumasok sa puso ninuman, hahamakin ang lahat masunod ka lamang".

Let share our love to everyone, but our heart should be to the only one lang.

Basta pag nakita ko ung perfect girl, at minahal nia rin ako, invited kayo sa kasal ko. Pramis!

How you can help if you're in Al-Khobar K.S.A. for the Ondoy victims

Para sa mga Pilipinong nasa Al-Khobar Saudi Arabia, maari po ninyo ibigay ang inyong mga donasyon para sa mga nasalanta ng bagyong Ondoy sa representative ng Migrante International sa Al Khobar na si Mr. Choie De Leon with telephone number:0569117563.

Maraming Salamat po at pagpalain nawa ng Poong Maykapal ang sambayanang Pilipino!

God's plan is always the best plan

I don't feel like working today.

No, it's not that i'm a lazy employee, it's just that my body clock seems not yet adjusted here in KSA.
My mind and body is in working mode but my heart is in reflection/worshipping mode coz it's Sunday!

Well since worshipping God by the sacrament of holy mass or even a simple prayer is as impossible as having Jake Cuenca getting an acting awards for best actor, i'll just share with you a little story about hope, trust, and leaving everything to god. For God's plan is always the best plan. I hope You'll get encourage by it =D.

When i graduated from college, my mindset was that i'll end up working after 2 months maximum. So i planned everything for my future, what to do with the salary i'll be getting, what to buy, how to spend, etc. Everything seems perfect and all i need now is the JOB itself. 1 month has passed, 2 months, then 5 months no company was accepting me. So okay i think there's some kind of a problem here, I consulted my sister why does this thing happen to me,and she said "Magtyaga ka lang mag-applly, malay mo you'll end up in a good company". Then one year has passed, i end up very depressed for not having a job. Then one day while I was praying I asked the Lord "Lord, ang daya naman, i've bee faithful to you all my life, this simple request I asked you hindi mo pa ibigay. When will you ever hear my prayer?". But no reply came from him. Another 3 months has passed, i believe it was Christmas time 2003 when I attend a mass in Baclaran, the priest sermon was about how God is responding on your prayer. He told us that God answer our prayer in three ways, "Yes", "No" and "Wait". Yes is the answer to your prayer if you deserved it. No if its not for you, and "Wait" if it's not yet the right time. I have a realization by then that maybe God's answer to my prayer is "Wait" (pampalakas ng loob hehehe). And surely come January 2004 i got 3 calls from 3 different companies, the 2 company asking for final interview and the third one is just a preliminary interview. The first company was in Laguna technopark, the second one is in Malabon Powerplant, and the third is in Madrigal Bussiness Park in Alabang. I was so happy about it but the problem was the final interview is on the same day and time! The night before the interview day I prayed to God to lead me to where I think he'll want me to work, "bahala kana lord, lead the way" . And surely the next day, my aunt and uncle who was at our house that time asked me if i want to ride with them to Alabang. Without any thinking I rode their car and attend the preliminary interview in Alabang. I said again to Lord, "there goes my two other sure-ball work, I just hope this one is the best one", and surely the next day I received a confirmation about my employment in JGC. The Lord's plan was for me not to get work for a long time so that I'll strengthen my faith to him, which was hitting a all time low on 2002. His plan was to seek his righteuosness and leave everything to him.

Second experince was last year when I arrived from overseas as a broken man. Again God made his most wonderful plan for me. You see when I learned that they are needing a Engineer in our KSA office i immediately offered myself for the job. The managers promised me for this job but come April 2008 they told me that the vacancy has been filled. Then May 2008 came and i've met an officemate in a most unusual moment which turns out my turning point in life. After we've talked and share her experience I decided to join her on volunteering work in Tuloy sa Don Bosco. And here in Tuloy another turning point in my life happened when i met Ate Rosa who introduced me to Lingkod. This two turning point leads me from a broken man to a servant person. The experience on both Tuloy and LIngkod made me a better person again, same feeling that i've felt on 2004. You see it was God's plan for me not to go abroad on April 2008 because he has other plans for me, a much much better plan for me actually. If i did go to KSA on that time surely i've missed many many wonderful events that until now i still cherished remembering. And after a year I was assigned here in KSA, a better, more spiritual enriched, and full of love person =D.

For you guys out there whose reading my blog (ilan lang naman kayo hehehe), i share my insight about God's plan. Yes sometimes our desired plans never happens, sometimes it even leads us to heartbreaks, sometimes nadadapa tayo, it leaves us broken, but after suffering all of this heartbreaks makes us heart more stronger, natututo tayong tumayo mula sa pagkakadapa, we became whole and most of all we learn from this experience for us to become a better person.

OK. balik trabaho na! ;D.

Yun lang po at maraming salamat!

=D.

Dino Riders the Movie

Heard over the radio that Hollywood is preparing to do a movie based on a 1980's cartoon called "Dino-Riders", and I was like "Wow, Really?!!?"

I've never been this so excited since the first X-Men movie was shown!

To learn more about Dino-Riders click here.






















I love watching this cartoons over at Chanlle 7, and my fascination with dinosaurs starts from here. Imagine the cartoons has some learning factor to my life pala! IT was shown early 90's when I was still in elementary so im sure most of my friends can definitely realte on this. I just hope this movie will push through :D.

Thank you Madam President

Thank you President Cory for keeping the nation intact during the most crucial times in our histiry. Thank you for bringing back democracy in our country, and most of all for telling us that the best weapon there is would always be the prayer.

Silencio!

I cannot remember when was the last time i've been tis quiet. Even when I had my tooth extract or when the brace is newly installed in my mouth, where it is really hard to talk, I still find myself engage in conversation even if its just a plain kwentuhan only. When i was in elementary and HS, im always in the noisy list of our class. As in consistent scholar ako in our noisy list! That's how noisy I am. Got also into trouble due to my tactless remarks on people, tsk tsk, sucha bad attitude for a man like me.

If im gonna summarize in hours all my verbal actions in one day siguro I just talked max of 1 hours a day. Let me see:

1. 5 minutes talking while on service bus going to office
2. 10 minutes entertaining phone calls
3. 2 minutes saying good morning in nihonggo, english and arabic
4. 20 minutes when walking from office till house
5. 5 minutes entertaining charlie's phone call

It's not that i've turned hermit here at the office, i still communicate with other people, that is thru emails, ym chats, facebook, twitter, text messages but the actual conversation is almost as nil! Thank god for close-up red hot hindi napapanis ang laway ko :D. My breath is still much more ok than my coutnerparts here (hehehehe! Thanks Doc Mayettes!). It's just that I've nothing else to talk to, except Charlie of course. I believe one of the reason why i survided living in iran for two years is that i have someone to talked to, may sense man o wla ang topic. I love talking to Jasper, who coincidentally is also my officemate at Phils an a very close friend of mine. We talked everything under the sun..showbiz, news, work, lovelife, personal stuff, etc. No topic is mundane to us. I remember i love engaging him into a debate wherein when i know im losing I just put my hands to my ear and say "lalallalala, i dont hear you" or sometimes i jus throw at him our gigantic pillow and in return he'll throw two gigantic pillow at me naman! From work till bedtime we always talk and talk and talk. And of course there is Ka Rene, our venerable master of Piping, he loves to talk as well,same as ours, and i love it when he's talking about the history of our company and our officemates (specially the juicy parts hehehe). And of course there is Charlie again, our 6:00-7:30pm chat time everyday we religiuosly followed, the people at warehouse wherein i spend my 3 hours just to chat (and work also), and the people at construction site where everydya is a chismisan day! In short I never ran out of someone to talk to and thats why I enjoyed every minute of staying there.

Fast forward..Saudi 2009..Now im stuck here with only charlie as constant kausap (bless him napapagtyagaan nya pa ko), and most of the time its all by myself (insert celine dion song here)!
Actually keeping my mouth shut for a while has its benefits naman. At least now before I talk iniisip ko muna ang sasabihin ko :D. It also lessen my unwittingly remarks on people, hahahaha!
Second, having a quiet life makes me think clearly and makes me focus more on important stuff. At least i have time for myself to reflect and discern about certain things in life. LIke for example, i finally realize that its about time to this certain activity while im here at abroad because I know no one will disturb me here. No pressure from the outside world hehehe.

On a sidenote, since this i my officially first time to live alone i gained a number of skills while im here like:

1. I know how to cook adobo, nilaga, spaghetti, sopas, mechado, fried chicken, potato with corned beef. And the list will continue as I stay here. I thank my friend tinerts for the recipe she send me :D.
2. Almost mastered the art of laundry. Still havent got the correct combination of how much powder to put in washing machine or how many hours should it soak and spin. Now i know that it's not right to put your clothes in the dryer for almost 2 hours for it will shrink your clothes! I had to learn this after2 pants and all my sando and office clothes shrunk! Wahahaha!
3. Grocery stuff is so easy now that we have a service that will bring and fetch us from the store.
4. Saving money. It's hard to go around in mall here in Al-Khobar because there are a lot of stores that sells nice stuff, at a reasonably price. But I always remind myself "House @ BF Homes, House @ BF Homes,"....
5. Knowing wher to buy cheap stuff, fresh meat and vegetables and fruits, and where are the SALE items!
6. WAlking fast than usual because its too damn hot to stay outdoors.
7. Eating with bare hands, just like the locals do..And have clean nails all the time.
8. Appreciate wowowee, eat bulaga (esp. the pinoy henyo), tayong dalawa, the wedding, SNN, tv patrol, 24 oras, only you.
9. Super appreciate simple "hi" at text messages, phone calls, emails from family and friends.
10. Pray the rosary everyday.

So as for me, it's 1 month down..5 to go (before vacation) !

Open letter to Mr. Defensor

Dear Mr. Defensor,

Ang tagal din po namin hindi kayo nakita sa TV nor marinig sa radyo, siguro bising bisi kayo sa trabaho nio sa Philippine National Railways. Pero noong isang araw muling nakita namin kayo sa TV at this time ay kasama nio si Presidente Arroyo at VP de Castro na pinasinayanan ang mga bagong tren ng PNR. Aaminin ko sobrang natuwa ako (at maraming Pilipino siguro) dahil binalik ulit ang bagong sigla ng PNR.

Maganda ang naging renovation sa PNR, mula sa pagkakalipat ng mga squatter mula tutuban hanggang alabang (undergoing pa ata ito ngayon) at yung mga pocket parks sa ilalim ng Magallanes flyover (Edsa station). For the first time naging malinis ang riles :D. Minsan napunta rin ako sa school namin sa Sta Mesa (PUP po skul ko) at nakita kong maluwag na ang daanan ng mga estudyante papasok sa skul. Naging mas less ang panganib na nakaabang sa mga estudyante everytime na pumapasok sila sa PUP (at sa tingin ko nabawasan din yung mga mandurukot sa lugar). Mas naging exciting ang pagbabalik ng PNR dahil may balak daw kayong irevive ang linya to Bicol! The last time na narinig ko na may byahe pa na papuntang bicol ay noong 2002 pa! Sana nga maibalik ito para mas maginhawa ang pagbyahe papuntang kabikulan kesa mag bus (at mas enjoy din).

Isang special request lang po sana, kung hindi nio mamasamain. Nakikita nio po ba yung larawan sa itaas ng sulat ko na kinuha ko lang sa skyscraper website (thanks po sa m!)? Yan po ang Paco station ng PNR, kitang kita po sha sa highway pag napadaan kayo sa Paco. Maaari po bang IRENOVATE nio itong napakagandang edipisyo according to its original form. Bigyan ko lang po kayo ng konting background about this station, Pre-War pa po naitayo itong station na ito, at madaming pangyayari napo ang pinagdaanan nitong istasyon na ito. Naging daan ang tren at ang istasyon na ito (at pati narin ang Tutubn) para magpadala ng mga pagkain mula sa mga probinsya papuntang Manila noong panahon ng hapon dahil mahirapa at delikado ang magbyahe sa daan. At noong "Battle of Manila' naging sentro ng labanan ng mga hukbong Hapon at Amerikano ang mismong istasyon. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali halos tatlong araw pinagaagawan ng mga sundalo ang paguukupa sa istasyon dahil maganda ang lokasyon nito para masiwata ng mga Hapon ang mga Amerikano na galing sa bayan ng Makati at para mahawakan parin nila ang Paco, Singalong, at Taft area na kasalukuyan nilang sinusunog noong mga panahon na iyon. Maraming Pilipino ang nagkubli sa istasyon para makatakas sa mga kabahayan nila at tumungo sa La Consolacion (or Assumption ba yun?not sure) para magtago. Ang lugar na rin ito ay malapit sa Pandacan na isa ring strategic point dahil sa mga tangke ng langis na nakaimbak dito (opo, matagal nang panahon na imbakan ng langis ang pandacan). To cut the story short, isang historical building po ang Paco station sa aking pananaw, nagtataka lang po ako kung bakit hindi sha ginawaran as such tulad ng pagpapahalaga natin sa ibang mga Pre-war building sa Manila like the Post Office, Aduana Circle, Manila City Hall, Intramuros, etc.

















Nagulat nalang din ako nang nabalitaan ko dati na gigibain ang Paco station, though di ko alam kung ano ba talaga ang dahilan. Pero everytime na humihinto ang tren sa istasyon ng Paco tanging nakikita ko lamang ay unfinished structure sa katabi nito. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali at kamag-anak ni ex-President ramos ang may-ari daw nito pero hindi naman natuloy ang proyekto. ngayon makikita nating half demolished na ang building. Buti na lamang at hindi pa nila ginigiba ang harapan ng istasyon at makikita parin natin ang magandang art deco nitong disen yo. Sana hindi matulad ang Paco station sa Jai-Alai building na isa ring napakagandang edipisyo na pinagiba ni Mayor Atienza dati at hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa naitatayo ang naipangakong "hall of justice' daw.

In short, sana naman po maisama nio sa inyong proyekto ang pagrenovate sa Paco Station at tiyak ko po, kung may balak kayong tumakbong senador sa 2010 ay ako mismo mangangamoanya sa inyo sa internet hehehe. Hindi ko po maipapangako na maibibgay ko ang boto ng mga internet users katulad ng pagbibigay ng mga Garcia ng boto kay Pangulong Arroyo sa mga taga Cebu pero sa tingin ko po malaki po ang tsansa nio sa mga internet savvy peopleD. Magandang simula napo ang pagbabalik ng PNR, sana po magtuloy-tuloy pa po ito.


lubos na gumagalang,
theonoski

Ang Riles at Ako.

Kagabi naisipan kong manood ng TV Patrol sa TFC instead na makinig sa internet radio and it was a good decision.Binalita ang pagsasabuhay (or should i say renovation) ng PNR, pinakita na pinaandar ang mga bagong train from Tutuban to Buendia. Maganda ang mga bagon train, malayong malayo sa imahe ng tren dati, para kang nakasakay sa MRT/LRT sa itsura, and from the looks of it mukhang mabilis sha tumakbo compare sa luma.Ang sabi sa balita ang pamasahe from tutuban to buendia ay 16 pesos lang daw, ang tipid ha! Pero alam ko na dati pa na super mura ang PNR dahil ang alam ko from Alabang to PUP sta mesa ay 15 pesos lang.Pag nagkukuripot ka at gusto mo mag wantutri e libre pa :D.

(ganda diba??)




















Marami din akong masasayang ala-ala sa PNR, third year noon ako at bagong lipat lang kami sa laspinas. Buti nalang ang mga newly found tropa ko ay taga Bicutan at Alabang kaya kapag umuuwi kami sabay sabay na kami sumasakay sa tren. Kahit madalas "late" or nasisiraan, or sobrang sikip kapag rush hour ay sumasakay parin kami kasi masaya sumakay, tsaka masarap makipagkwentuhan sa mga kaibigan habang nasa byahe. Actually noong nasa 5th year nako sa kolehiyo (5 years po ang engineering ha, baka akalain nio bumagsak ako!) saka lang natigil ang pagsakay namin ng tren dahil late na kami umuuwi (last trip kasi is 6pm, ang labas ko sa skul ay 8pm na) at natuklasan namin na mas mabilis pala mag LRT from D.Jose to Baclaran then pauwi sa laspinas or mag bus sa Sta Cruz. Derecho na mabilis pa =D.

Anyway, sa loob ng 2 taon na pagsakay namin ng tren maraming pagkakaibigan ang namuo, naging isang malaking tropa kami. Shemmpre hindi rin mawawala ang mga "crushes" at mga "ligawan". Aaminin ko may niligawan ako na nakilala ko sa tren, at yung isa naman ay tropa ng kasama ko sa tren (RIP). Pero pareho hindi nagtuloy dahil busy ako sa pag-aaral at wala akong pang date =P. Pero minahal ko naman si "Alabang Girl", yun lang niloko lang pala ako. =(.

Ang isang maituturing kong magandang naidulot sakin ng tren ay naging matibay ang pagkakaibigan namin ni Onin, ang aking bestfriend. Limang beses sa isang linggo ba naman kami magkasama, mula pagpasok at paguwi ay magkasama kami eh ewan ko lang kung hindi pa kami maging close hahaha. Marami kaming mga napagkwentuhan ni Onin like sa buhay namin, mga pangarap, crushes ulet, plano sa buhay, etc. Isa ito sa maituturing kong "treasured moments" namin. Hanggan ngayon ay magkaibigan parin kami (shempre!) at ninong ako ng anak nya at nakatira sila sa Cavite. Kapag naalala ko ang mga moments namin sa tren eh napapangiti nalang ako.

Isang exciting trippings naman namin dati ay nung sumakay kami sa driver coach ng tren at nakita namin kung papano paganahin ang tren. Nabigyan din ako ng pagkakataon na pihitin ang busina ng tren, in short nanggulo kami kay mamang driver =P. Pero sobrang saya namin noon, para kaming mga bata (tho bata pa naman talaga kami kasi 21 lang ako nun!0 na first time nakasakay sa tren!

Sana sa bagong labas na tren, mas maraming pagkakaibigan at pagibig pa ang umusbong para mas masaya lalo ang buhay =D.

The quest for Post Office and the Rice Cooker!

Since I arrived here at Saudi, the first thing that I've asked the people here is "where's the post office?". I only got a hearty laugh from this people, well in the age of cellfone and email why on earth I would like to know where's the post office. My answer is simple: its not of your business..hehehe joke, its because my bestfriend is in the seminary and they are not allowed to use the internet (i doubt if they have one) so the only communication from the outside world would be by snail mail.

First try to find the post office is a trip near in our accomodation. A big sign says POST but when I enter the building the local man told me they are not a post office. WHAT!?!??! Sure?? I asked. Yes, we are only a P.O. box something to that effect kind of post office..I didn't get his explanation because he's english is bad (not as bad as my grammar naman hehehe). Though the local man was kind enough to tell me where's the local Post office. He asid I have to go to the city center, and there I can find the post office. Great! City center is as big as glorietta and greenbelt combined, how on earth should I find it there! Oh well, I'll just rely on my instincts and sense of direction.

Second try was this afternoon, I didn't wait for my friend to arrive and ask him to accompany me to the city center (thank god i did coz now, he's not home yet from qatif!) so I just went there by myself. Btw, its my first time to go to the city center, and being a newbie without any iqama (residence permit0 is really very risky! The walk going to that place took me about 25 minutes under the scorching heat (its 4pm and the temp is 38C).I manage to finish reciting the sorrowful mysteries from our house to the city center (without the litany of course), that's how far the place is.

Eventhough im here at the city center i didn't know where the post office is, frustrated i am i just went to LBC branch at Al Khobar. I was about to go to DHL but my patriotism comes first. The man inside LBC asked me whether im sending a very special documents, and after I said no its only a letter he told me to just go to the Post office. Again, flabbergasted i asked, where is the Post office ba? And since the courier guy is a pinoy he smilingly told me its just besides our store.Hahaha.r Great! And before I leave the place, i asked them how much is sending a mail to Philippines using LBC, he told me its worth 1800 pesos. Afer i learned that I immediately left their premises and proceed to Post Office.

In the post office there is a Pinoy and Indian staff, and after I gave my mail and paid the postal fee (its 48 pesos only here!!!) i've left the office with a happy heart and hoping that my bestfriend would read and reply to my mail.















Next on my action list is to buy rice cooker. Im having a hard time in cooking rice in my non stick pots. Obviously this pots are not used to cooked rice but I have no choice but to use it anyway. I manage to buy the rice cooker with brand name BEAC. I heard its the people's choicee as a rice cooker, but when i visit a couple of electronics store its the ONLY rice cooker in the market. In short no choice again! waaaaaa!

After buying the rice cooker and also food for my dinner, i went home happy and satisfied, while reciting again the rosary. God is good talaga, all the time =D.

Eating "Bitay Meal"

After eating chicken adobo for a couple of days, it was a great relief to finally taste a different food for dinner. My officemates decides to eat the so called "bitay" meal at Khobar area. Why bitay meal you might asked? Well, im curious as well for the term of endearment to the food but i have some ideas floating into my mind on whats the meaning of the bitay in the meal.

We make our journey to "bayan" or so called hte Khobar area, where the tamabayan of pinoys are, to make way to the restaurant at around 6:30. It was quite a walk, long walk actually, then running on the intersection (literally run for your life, no overpass and overspeeding highway here as in!) then walking past some small malls and alleys until we finally reached our destination.

(I made a serious mistake for not knowing the name of the restaurant, but if youre here in Al-Khobar I would love to take you there, that is if i still remember it hehehe).

Upon arrival, first thing to notice of this resto is there's a lot of pinoys here. As in puro pinoys!Great i say to myself, its like in Jolibee lang =D.

While waiting, we help ourselves in washing our hands.Curious why this people wash their hands, I did the same thing. Then I remember watching a Lonely Planet episode where the host travels to Jeddah and arrived in a feast and in that feast eating Arabian style is eating with your own hand. Yikes! Thank God I have clean nails or else I'll get sick by my own fault pala =P.

After good ol 10 minutes the food arrive and viola here it is!

Bitay meal is popularly known as Kabsa or Fried rice with meat (whether chicken, beef, fish) and some vegetables. We ordered barbeque chicken, which in fairness is very tasty. The rice I' ve learned was cooked using the oil from the chicken bbq..or wherever the chicken was cooked the rice was there to cook as well..tipid right!? But what caught really my attention was the vegetable, its like a kangkong or talbos ng camote but very very very juicy. Smelss like mint as well. And the onion is like a bayabas, juicy but not smelly. If i mad a trip to the market anytime soon I'll surely buy 1 kilo of this green and leafy vegetable. Come to think of it, Persians and Arabs have the same tast for food, the like their food served with vegetables. Though Persians are more conservative when it comes to vegetables, they serve with tomato, cucumber, lettuce, repolyo,and so many other vegetables that i dont know what's their name.In arab reso they only serve two type of vegetable (see picture above) hehehe.

Why bitay meal is because the meal is served in big serving. It's lke 5 cups of rice was served and 1/4 chicken. After eating you can die na for kabusugan, hehehe.

I've eaten my part for 20 minutes, without any leftover (sayang kasi!),and the cost was 15 Saudi riyals (or 180 pesos). Expensive yes, but worth it for a monthly dine-out.

Chicken Adobo Ala Bachelor

After eating noodles for the past few days and buying some needed groceries at Carrefour last weekend, this is my first time to cook chicken adobo after so many years.

It's been almost 4 years since I last cooked my own adobo meal, thanks to my nanay who cook it perfectly, i have no reason to cook this cuisine naman. But now, since I have to cook my own meal here at Saudi, i have no other choice bu to cook my own fod. And the easiest food there is: Chicken Adobo!

After office, i immediately went home, nad excitedly prepare the things for my cooking activity. Nyak! When i check the chicken at the freezer it was solid frozen (duh!). Here's what it looks like as a frozen chicken.






















Oh well, since its still frozen, I prepare the other ingredients like soy sauce, vinegar, laurel, pepper.

(mantika is not included in the ingredients ha!)




















After 20 minutes, dyaran! It's malambot na!

(Are you ready??)


















(Chop-Chop chicken)


















And since i've mentioned earlier that its been a long time since i've cooked my adobo, what I did was I just mixed all the ingredients plus the chicken in a deep fryin pan (i dont have any choice!!!), without thinking how much is the soy sauce to put nor how many laurel leaves to be put in, Bahala na si batman what happen!

(Halo-Halo together!)


















(Ayan sizzling Adobo na!)


















And since it takes a while to cook adobo, i decide to clean my room muna.


(Kitchen is now clean, while the adobo is cooking)
























(Hallway is free of dirt as well)
























(Banyo is squeaky clean as well)
























(Bedroom looks untidy pa)























(Always connected to the outside world =D.)


















(Never gonna be hungry again!)




















After 30 minutes of cooking and cleaning my room, finally the adobo finaly has come into reality. With matching Thai milagrosa rice and an apple I had my delicious dinner in my newly cleaned room. The verdict:

PUEDE NA MAG-ASAWA!

Why not?!

Airport Hopping

After 1 year and 3 months ocne again i set my foot @ NAIA International Airport. But this time im not heading to Iran but to Saudi Arabia naman. So typical Filipino expat/ofw diba?

My trip is scheduled @ 6:15 pm boarding EK333 bound to Dubai. I insist our HR manager that I should ride this plane because (1) the food is great (2) 30 kgs. of bag allowance is unbelievable (3) stewardess is accomodating and (4)I wanna see Dubai's new airport.

Earlier before the flight i tried doing the on-line checking little did I know that it was way so cool to do it. Super convenient. No long line in the counter and preferred seats as well. And in fairness to me, i manage to keep my baggage to a minimum 30 kgs. That's another yey for me, to think that I almost got into fights and too much begging at the excess baggage counter before due to too much lucky me pancit canton and de lata.

What time will they be open?

Tagal magbukas ng counter!

After checking in, my next stop is the most scariest portion of the airport which is the "Immigration"! Flashback 3 years ago, I was almost detained in the Immigration room because (1) insubordination (don't you know our compnay?sikat kaya kami duh!) (2) questionable location (officer: diba may war sa iran? me;duh, 2 years ago pa yun!) (3) lack of docs (yan lang ho bingay ng HR namin, promise!) Maybe due to prayers of my friends and family 9thanks guys!) I pass through the immigration without any fuss and long debate.Thank God!

Nothing is much to blog about our airport.Didn't take an effort as well to take picture. IN short we really need to open NAIA terminal 3 for International Airport where it is more beautiful and exciting! heck, Tehran's airport is much bigger and better than our NAIA =P.

The ride with Emirates is pleasant, though there was a long turbulence from Vietnam to India due to bad weather, which is a major headache! The only thing that I hate about riding a long haul ride is the sleeping part (not enough space for economy class) I have to endure a 8 hour flight with almost no sleep and a turbulence pa.Waaaa

Personal tv monitor for passengers

Dubai's Airport is huge! Its twice the size of the old airport. And the duty free is so large as well! It's very tempting to shop here, thank god i don't have time to shop, my money was saved hehehe. The airport is wi-fi area as well, and I had a chance to update facebook, twitter, yahoo mail, etc.

trip to Damman from Dubai only took 1.5 hours, and since acoording to my travel guide, its not advisable to take picture here in KSA, I refrain to do so. But when I was inside the car, I took some shots of the countryside in early morning!

Let's all rise up and build!!




Hello and Welcome to my Saudi Life. It's gonna be a wild ride!