Buhay sa Japan

Sabi nila maganda daw sa Japan. Tama naman. Hehehe... Maganda nga. Pero mahirap din kung minsan.

When I was invited by my project manager to go to Japan as onsite support engineer for the project, I took the offer not only for the sake of the project but also to see the country and its people. When the decision came final I asked my team if I could take a two days leave vacation to visit Cebu. And they gladly said "yes". I was more excited on going back to Cebu than going to Tokyo. I don't know why. Maybe at the back of my mind I see Cebu as a place of where I belong, where my loved ones are, and where my childhood was. On the later, I see Tokyo as a busy city, much paper works, more emails, endless project issues, etc.

I visited Cebu not just to visit my family and friends but to also visit my best friend who just came from Peru as a novice nun. We have been best friends since grade school and we haven't seen each other for three years since she left the Philippines. She will be leaving by the end of August so I grab the chance to meet her before I leave for Tokyo and extend my happiness to what she have achieved so far.

I have to go back to my office in Manila before I leave for Japan. And that means: "magdala ka ng danggit, dried manggoes, dried pusit, lechon... etc..." Out of hospitality and gratitude that they granted me this two day vacation, I have to go to the airport with the exotic scent of danggit purfume. =) It doesn't matter anyway, I have to rush to the office to settle everything before I leave the country the next day. I took the morning plane so I could still report to the office.

On the next day:

I have to leave my girlfriend in Manila. We will be away from each other for a few months. Before I went inside the cab, she kissed me goodbye and well-wishes. I never knew a kiss would hurt... Heheheh.. Maybe when it's with the thought of not being able to see each other for a few months.

When I arrived in Japan and while I was queueing in line at the immigration booth, I was thinking about their customs, what they eat, the tourist spots I'd be visiting, how will I ride a train or bus, their conciousness about time, the exchange rates, their suicidal tendencies, the frequency of earthquakes...

"The frequency of earthquakes." Just when this thought came to my mind, the airport building began to shook! It shook not only once but twice. I don't know how to react. Normally we Filipinos would panic. But the people just went on with their stuff and acted like nothing happened. I'm not sure if it really was an earthquake or maybe a train passed by, I don't know. Judging by their reaction, it doesn't seem to be an earthquake. But the shaking was heavy, I swear!

On my first night in Toyoko Inn at Chibaminato, I had my first challege: Dealing with how stuff works. I wanted to go outside the hotel to see the place and get some food. Just when I was about to go out of the door, I noticed there were no door knobs or handles. I thought: "Japan is a hi-tech country maybe this is an automatic door with sensors." So I stood in front of the door waiting for it to open. But it didn't! To save myself from embarassment, I immediately pretended I forgot something and went straight to the hotel receptionist. There was a computer station at the side and asked her, "is this free internet." Wow! Mighty segway!

I have to spend some time browsing the internet while observing other people how on earth they could open the door. I'm getting hungry and I need food. Help me God I'm starving! It took some time before a Japanese guest went to the door to go outside. I noticed him pushed something on the door. Aha! You just press that button and it opens. Gladly I was out of that momentary prison to get some food.

The second challege was: Buying food. Near the hotel I had three food choices. One is the bakery, two is a noodle house, and three is another noodle house. I wanted to eat heavy so the first choice (the bakery) is not the right one for me. The second choice, the noodle house, there were a lot of customers eating, no vacancy. The last one, the other noodle house was perfect. I came inside and took a table.

Again, I was observing other people what they are doing. I was expecting a waitress to come and take my order, but that's not how it works. Again, I was doing my "pretending stuff". This time I was pretending that I was waiting for somebody. I was pushing buttons on my cellphone, pretending that I was talking with somebody on the phone, etc. Oh yes, I'm the great pretender. I can't do this. Not much Japanese people speak english and I don't speak much Japanese. "Watashi wa nihonggo ga sukoshi wakarimasen." I went out the noodle house and decided for plan B: McDonalds.

There were no McDonalds on that area and I have to ride train three stations away. And then comes my third challenge: Riding a train. I had my initial lectures of how train works in Japan. There are a lot of trains here and it's their major means of transportation. Before I was sent to my hotel at Toyoko-Inn by Tamami-san, the one who met me at the airport, she already gave me my initial lectures of how to buy a ticket and what are the stations that I have to remember.

So I bought my ticket, and went up the platform to wait for the train. To make the long story short, I stepped on the wrong platform. I have to be on the other side or else I'd be riding a train to twighlight zone.

Those are just some of the little challenges I had on my first few days in Japan. Usa ka probinsyanong bisaya nga nasaag sa lugar nga gabaha ang mga hapon.

Mahirap nga minsan buhay dito. Mahal ang bilihin, ang hirap kumain kasi hindi uso ang fast food restaurant karamihan, mahal ang pamasahe sa train, hindi pwedeng tumawid sa daan basta naka stop signal kahit wala namang dumadaan na sasakyan, hindi pwedeng magyosi kahit saan, hindi pwedeng ipagsama ang basura, hindi uso ang magpalaundry kaya ako ang naglalaba ng mga damit ko (pero ayos lang kasi nakawashing machine at dryer), ako mamamalantsa, ako nagluluto para makatipid sa pagkain... Hahai Buhay sa Japan.

Tae In The Context Of Karma

I was having my afternoon break today at eat n out, a small restaurant in front of our office building. I was sitting at one of the tables outdoor, alone taking a break away from the pressures in front of my MS Outlook. I bought buko juice while sitting outside the restuarant and looking at the busy people passing by the street.

The thing that caught my attention were those three girls taking their white and hairy puppies for a walk. While I was sipping my buko juice, one of the puppies pooed at the sidewalk. I saw it right in front of my face, FLAT, while I felt the coconut meat down my throat. I gave myself a little grin and said "huh"...

It was then that the short lived fun I had that afternoon began. Those nasty girls just ignored the bomb that their dogs dropped and left. I then started counting how many inocent bypassers would step on the poop and how many are the lucky ones. From my counting I got 3 landmine victims and a dozen of survivors. Hehehe... I told myself that I’m one of the lucky ones because I was aware of where the bomb was planted.

After my break, I went back to the real world: answering issues, resolving troubles, analyzing problems, etc. I had forgotten that brief and silly moment.

But not after I got home. While I was changing my clothes, I remembered that I took the way in front of the restaurant I went that afternoon. I have already kept my shoes and I wouldn’t bother taking a look at the my shoe’s soles. Whether my count of the landmine victims be 4 (which would include me) or not, it doesn’t matter. I’d rather not know.

Tweeting at Twitter

I once fancied on tweaking my 3 weeks old iPod touch. My boss jailbreaked my iPod and from then on, I started installing whatever eyecandy can be installed. He even configured the gadget to connect to the office's secured wifi network so I can internet all I want... Hahahaha...

I never heard of twitter.com until I installed Twinkle. In a nutshell, it's like Friendster's "Shout Out" feature or your Online Messenger's status message. You put a brief description of whatever you like to put on. Be it how you feel, what you are currently doing, backbite, news, or even gossip! With hundreds of twitter clients (software like Twinkle for iPod touch), you can always stay in touch anytime while you're at home or in the office (via web), or while you're on the go (via mobile gadgets). Rule is: you can follow tweets or some people can follow your tweets and be brief as you can.

Almost everywhere I go there's free AP signal... That means free internet! In my house I get free wifi internet. In the office I am already connected to the wifi network. At Burger King, wifi's free. It's good to be FREE!!!

Just now, I installed TwitterFox on my laptop and tomorrow on my office PC... ehehehe... I configured my Firefox browser to play seabirds when tweets come.

I was surprised when some of my friends were already tweeting. They knew this new fun stuff on the internet before I did! I hope I could share this to you too... It's really fun... I'm not addicted to writing blogs coz I'm lazy, but I think tweeting will... hehehe...

Follow my tweets: https://twitter.com/javamankrub

A dangerous alliance

This is taken from inquirer.net worth sharing:

Youngblood
A dangerous alliance
By Leondro R. Lojo
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:33:00 03/01/2008

We are all being made witness to an amazing spectacle, and although this isn’t the first time that blindness and hypocrisy are seen holding hands, it is, nevertheless, an amazing sight.

Two forces have come together. Each already poses a lot of danger to any society, so just imagine what they can achieve together.

On one side of this alliance are the misguided idealists. These people never outgrew the martial law era. They believe that the only way to express patriotism and love for country is by screaming their lungs out in the streets while holding a placard with a defaced picture of the President. These misguided idealists have arrogance running through their veins as they believe that they have a monopoly on righteousness. Whatever they do, they do because it is in the best interest of the nation. Well, since when did spray-painting a U-turn sign on Commonwealth Avenue with bold black letters that read “OUST GMA” [“OUST GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO] become part of promoting the nation’s interest?

They have so much hate against the government that they have become allergic to rules. Their ideas push them to believe that the government and the people running it are perpetually bound to oppress the poor and enrich themselves. They make this eternal call for change, yet they don’t change—or better yet, they don’t want to change. These people waste resources, time and energy by burning effigy after effigy. They believe that only through noise, disorder, turbulence and confusion can a new society be born—descending slowly and graciously from the heavens, like the New Jerusalem, with angels singing in the background. Yes, that’s how blind they are.

In their minds, they are catalysts of change. In reality, they are plain and simple anarchists. They should start looking for jobs and become more productive.

On the other side of this alliance are the politically motivated personalities, hypocrites to the bone. They are using scandals and controversies to become more popular, and their end-goal is to get the highest political position possible. And they have been quite successful. Last year, we saw young congressmen rise to the Senate based, not on merit and achievements, but on controversies they had destructively stirred.

They are populists because it’s the only way they can climb the political ladder. They can’t enact strategic legislation, which will provide long-term benefits, such as developing the transportation system, increasing exports, improving revenue collection and assisting businesses, because all these entail short-term sacrifices, which might cost them their positions—a risk they are unwilling to take.

All they do is complain, and they complain with a fiery passion to make the people believe in the fantasies they are selling. They are polemicists, criticizing without presenting solutions and alternatives. They speak only words that are pleasing to the ears of the masses. When they face political dilemmas, their decisions are based on what would profit them politically, not what is right and just. They are slick talkers, and if you’re not careful enough, they can easily deceive you.

This is a dangerous alliance, as it seeks to plunge society into chaos. They want our society to lose any semblance of stability so that they can create a new order. But even they themselves have no idea how it will function.

But I am not afraid. They cannot achieve anything unless we let ourselves be used by these political clowns for their own blind and selfish goals. They can make as much noise as they want, but they need many more warm bodies to join their ranks before they succeed in destabilizing our society. I have already counted the many curious, naïve, gullible, ignorant and politically immature countrymen who are neither misguided idealists nor hypocrites but will take part in this political adventure, and they still won’t make it.

I can hear the noise, but I still can’t feel the heat. After each and every protest rally, the crowds would fizzle out, the streets would be left empty and dirty, and the leaders of the carnival would be eating a fancy dinner while most of the gullible people they drew into the activity would be walking home. Every demonstration sends a clear and strong message to the whole world that while countries across the globe are taking measures to strengthen their exports, develop their industries, attract new investors and ensure their competitiveness in a fast changing, globalized world, we are busy playing on the streets of our financial district.

Having taken this unpopular stand, I ask:

Why do we have to change the government, when we are all part of the problem? Imagine how much more we could have achieved if all the wasted time, resources and energy were utilized to enact good legislation, build more houses, establish more schools, help small and medium enterprises, and construct more roads.

Why do we waste time, resources and energy in asking the President to change or to change the President when we can, in our own little ways, bring about change? When will we realize that we have better things to do? When will we understand that regime change, right here and right now, will not solve anything?

In this day and age, genuine reform and revolution no longer necessitate the dramatic street episodes of the martial law era. Today, our society’s transformation depends on small, quiet, often undocumented steps toward political and economic stability.

I refuse to be part of this political circus of blind and selfish clowns.

Leondro R. Lojo, 23, has a master’s degree in political economy from the University of Asia and the Pacific and works as a research analyst in a risk-advising company.

Copyright 2008 Philippine Daily Inquirer. No infringement intended. Visit: http://www.inquirer.net

.:: Post a Memory of Me ::.

DALIIII fun to!!!

Got this from my officemate Lois.

If you read this journal, even if I don't speak to you often, post a memory of me.
It can be anything you want.
It can be good or bad, just so long as it happened.
Then post this on your journal too!

Be surprised (or not) about what people remember about you. :)

Ang aking Utang...

After a weeklong and a much anticipated conglomerate forces of “Libres” from our Hong Kong and Thailand balik-bayan officemates together with two birthday celebrants, and a reunited-with-her-husband girl, nangyari na ang dapat mangyari: “Libre Spree”.

Only 2 out of 10 people lang ang nakinabang dito kasi the rest of us is obliged to take part on the “Libre”. Si Pew lang at si Ms Jane ang nakinabang sa libre na to kasi halos kaming lahat has no excuse not to celebrate life’s blessings.

First hop was on Gilligan’s at Glorietta
At sinimot ang big bottle of tequila
Si BB at GB ay ginawang pulutan
Sa kaliwa’t kanang malutong na usapan

Gusto daw nila akong paiyakin
Ngek ngek nila nag-focus sila sa pagkain
May sinigang doon, may pansit dito
Sa kaliwa ang hipon at ang manok na pinirito

Nang medjo tipsy na ang galaw
Trip ay magdisco at sumayaw
Sabi nila sa may Edsa Shang Waterhole daw
At doon ang continuation ng paghataw

Ngunit nang dumating kami doon
Acoustic naman pala sila sa gabing iyon
Walang nagawa kundi maghanap nalang ng iba
Para ipagpatuloy ang pag-arangkada

Sa Libis nalang daw kasi may marami
Sa walang pag-aalinlangan pumunta kami
Pero ang ginawa ay naglibot-libot lang
At nagpapicture na parang kagalang-galang

Hindi pa nakontento ang makakating mga paa
Gusto pang humirit sa Malate, Manila
Dahil doon daw siguradong may sayawan
Para maipagpatuloy ang kasiyahan

Pumasok sa Bed Rock nag-order ng pizza
Kasama malamig na iced-tea tig-iisa-isa
Doon yumugyog at nakisayaw sa banda
Solved! Dahil nakaindak na

Nang panahon na para umuwi
Kelangan na magbayad ng salapi
Dahil sagot ko kasi despedida raw despedida ko
Ako ang magbabayad ng bu-o

Dumating ang itim na leathered folder
Nakalagay ang bill ng aming in-order
Dahil nga cash ay wala sa pitaka ko
Swipe nalang sana pwede to

Bumalik ang babaeng sa amin ay naniningil
Sabi rejected daw card ko nakaka-minus-appeal
Pano ba yan eh wala nga akong pera
Buti si Ate Badette binayaran muna

At dun nag umpisa ang aking utang
Kung kelan ako ay sana lilisan
At least ung card ko hindi ko na ginamit
Pero may utang pa akong 1400 kay Ate Badette

Import

Hahaha... Pwede palang mag import ng blog from Blogger to Multiply?! Hahahaa..