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)