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!

Packing 101

Most people say that when you travel you should "travel light". As for me the words doesn't exist in my vocabulary. When I go to Iran I never leave hte check-in area without a sidetrip to the excess baggage counter. Though it's painful to admit that the amount of the things inside your baggage is less than the payment for excess baggage. In order not to dampen my pride I just pay the amount of excess baggage rather than returning it to my parents (who is still outside the airport) nor give it to the airport personnel (who are more than willing to help you lessen your excess baggage).

Now, wiser and older, I learn a lot about excess travelling and let me show you how I manage to limit the baggage in the required 30 kgs. (yes 30 kgs for Emirates Airlines...The biggest allowance ever!I love you guys!!)


See those things below, they are actually the things that I,ll be bringing to Saudi. As for this trip, and since I'll be assigned to our office unit in Saudi, I just limit my things to clothes and few toiletries and shoes. I didn't brign any food stuff since there are a lot of Filipino stores in Saudi plus the gigantic Carrefour is there as well! Hello American style of grocery.























1. Tip #1: Bring light shoes: Since my office shoe is in near retirement, I need to purchase another shoe. Luckily im not bringing this one to Saudi since it's quiet heavy actually. As I was strolling in Festival Mall one thursday evening I came across a not so popular shoe store (Happy feet) and luck of luck they are on sale, buy one take one, and the most exciting part is that i tried and weighed the shoes and they are so light. 2 shoes = 1 old heavy shoe. Plus the blue rubber shoes 9which my bestfriend swears e will not wear) and a tsinelas, are all light, and I'll never have a problem in putting them on the baggage.



















2. Tip #2: Remove the carton of toothpaste to save space on the baggage. And If you purchased new undewear, remove it from its plastic as well. Pampabigat lang yan.

3. Tip#3: Dont bring sachet shampoo. Not only that its much heavy than a bottle shampoo, it eats up a lot of space as well compare to the bottled one.

4: Tip #4: For Handcarry baggage use a big bag and put inside the underwears,sando, towel, facetowel, small shirts or shorts. Never put prohibited items on the hand carry coz if this is seen by the airport official, this will be automatically confiscated. Put some space on the bag, maybe when your in duty free you might buy additional things and you can put it in your bag.

5; Tip #5: Laptop s always hand caryy, not in chec-in baggage.

6: Tip #6; If you have suit, put in a suit plastic bag and have it isampay by the sterwardess when you got into the palce. Never fold it.

7. Buy name tag for the baggage for easly identification.






















8. Tip #8: Ask your mother to fold your long sleeve to avoid further gusot of your office wardrobe.

9. Tip #9: Bring hanger and plantsa.

10; tip #10: Always weigh your baggage to avoid excess baggage para hindi umuwing luhaan =D.