Rush Hour

"Too many people miss the silver lining because they're expecting gold.” -Maurice Setter

It’s been a very hectic month of April for me but I have no reason to complain. On the contrary I love every minute of it. I wake up with the sound of beautiful music in my head and feel so light these days. Though there was a brief awkward moment and this happened when the boss asked for my passport for work permit re-chap and I had to tell them that it’s not with me at the time. I was supposed to give my notice letter on the same day but naunahan. So of course, they were caught in surprise and were aghast that I want to stay until 15^th May only. Discussions ensued but not for long. They decided they will wait for my passport which was supposed to arrive that same week before finalizing everything. And sure enough, it came (with a hefty collect payment price). So it was decided that my last day in Brunei will be on the 30^th April, earlier than I anticipated but I’m okay since I still have time to meet Jojo in PH, I can stretch my vacation until after May 18. Now I’ve finished all document deliverables and just waiting for my last project meeting. My garage sale is complete and my luggage is ready.

Since last week, I have been occupied with meeting up with friends. Thank goodness for internet we can still keep in touch and see each other’s adventures through the web. I just had open house with very tasty caldereta, Mimi’s mom’s specialty – chicken pandan and a humongous chocolate cake.



Saturday was shabu-shabu dinner at Fratinnis in Kampong Ayer - good food and ambiance that is uniquely Malay and Bruneian.

Sunday was late meryenda with a few gym friends.

Monday was delivery of last of my sale and sauna time for me. Carol is back in Brunei so we had late dinner with my fave Mango Fish. House guest was Mark, sitting in for the couple. Too bad Lucas is sick. Today and tommorow are last stretch for work hand-over. After that, its Manila baby! Hello traffic jam, noise pollution and air pollution but still, there’s no gimik life like Manila’s.

2007….The Year That Was

"You don't do the right thing because of the consequences. If you're wise, you do it regardless of the consequences." - Jeannette Rankin

It was in general, a fruitful year for me. I was able to buy my dream house, my bio-fueled car and travelled Europe. Or at least, what my dream was about before the sound of the alarm shattered them and woke me back to reality. I’m in Brunei. It’s a day after Christmas. I have work. Bahumbag!

But no scrooge attitude here; My Christmas Eve and Christmas were actually fun. I had dinner at my officemate Thelma’s house and I brought fruits for potluck share. We had exchange gifts afterwards and I got a Stich minus Lilo car décor. Then my officemate Amor invited me to their flat for lunch Christmas day and watched a Migrant Xmas Party at the Church’s ground. I was with our consultant from Taiwan and didn’t know we needed tickets for food stab. We sat there, under the tree just a few feet away from the Bishop’s table. He must have read our minds or our face gave us away (mukang gutom?) that he approached us and asked one of his assistants to usher us to the line upon learning that we didn’t have tickets. God bless his soul. We later went to Brunei’s one and only 24 hours café for dessert and that was how Christmas went for me.

Here’s what I’ll remember 2007 for:
1. Went home to PH and met my sister and her husband whom I haven’t seen in 10 years and my mom whom I haven’t seen in 5 years. Distance was kind to us and we actually feel closer than we were growing up.

2. Took driving lessons, got my driver’s license here in Brunei and bought a car. Special kasi it’s right hand drive here. Feeling ‘Mr. Bean’ every time I have to go thru roundabouts, hihi.

3. Went back to gym. I miss my gym buddies in PH but I like Fitness Zone and the Les Mills classes. I’m currently crazy about Yoga and Body Balance.

4. Bought my own ref. Now, I can do panic buying without ever worrying about space. Sabi ko nga, bawal magutom. And food is every woman’s bestfriend, especially bcoz diamonds are quite expensive, hehe.

5. Travelled to Phuket, Thailand and Singapore with Shawie (who’s getting married, finally!). Went island hopping and saw Fantasea and Simon Cabaret show, both are must-see shows.

6. Dinner reunion with close ex-Trenders: Jojo minus the bf, Pedro minus the gf, super Mario and Jupee and Shawie(also getting married next year). Too bad I missed Jaja but I also met some of Jupee’s friends. So nice to see them again and to know that they have each a happy and healthy relationship.

7. Took IETLS exam. It’s long overdue if you asked me but it was quite an experience mainly because it’s my first time to talk with and be interviewed by an Australian. Umikot ata tenga ko trying to understand her accent, lol.

8. Met Dinky and her friends in Kota Kinabalu. I also got to meet a Filipina local girl there and her friend. She has Filipino parents but was born and raised in Borneo. She speaks fluent Tagalog and Nihonggo which is quite impressive. Filipino kids here in Brunei are like the Filipino kids in the States – can hardly speak Tagalog, sad. They are so friendly and now we are friendster friends ^_^.

9. Bought 4 books and finished reading 3 (Freakonomics due next year) – Paulo Coehlo’s ‘The Witch of Portobello’ and ‘The Zahir’, Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt’s ‘Freakonomics’, and the book of the year (at least for me!) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

10. Discovered ‘7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, ‘For One More Day’ and ‘The Tipping Point’ and actually liked them. Although I like Mitch Albom’s first novel better.

11. Discovered the blog of Wanda Ilusyonada and eventually bought her book – uniquely beautiful and superbly entertaining! Di ba pang critic ang feedback?!

12. Got the latest Pugad Baboy 19 and as usual, the humor is worth the maximum star rating.

13. Got Howie Severino’s DVD compilation of his 10 best documentaries (so far). This kind of show should rule the primetime shows of Philippine TV instead of all those telenovelas. Inspiring, intriguing, intellectually stimulating and witty topics. Truly an eye opener.

Now if I can only put anything relating to romance at number 14, it would be complete. But for that, I might need to go back to sleep.