CH224: Positive News

I just came back from having breakfast at the local eatery downstairs. And as I was walking past the closed shops and seeing my reflection from the dark windows, I thought to myself, what great news I've got over the weekend! ... And I also thought to myself, "man, I like my ass. For something I didn't need to work out, it sure is bubbly!" Hahaha #joke

The song above was shared to me when I was in Bangkok and as soon as I heard it, I recognized it as one of the songs in Portuguese that was played in the club I went to in Lisboa! :) My memory of the song is interlaced with the fact that the club served out the 3rd round of free jell-o shots when the song was played. Haha if I had a memory of that, I sure wasn't drinking enough! :)

I went to Bangkok over the weekend, from Friday evening till Sunday eve. It wasn't planned in the sense that there would be Martial Law in Thailand when I went, but all in all, everything worked out well and beyond expectation. My primary reason was to accompany my friend get a tattoo:

#maipenrai

I didn't go to BKK to go sight seeing or shopping - although I did end up buying a "jort" and a couple of things for my nephew and niece. For the most part, it was just hanging out with my friend, talking and eating lots of food and dessert among other things ;)

On to the good news!

1. Last week, as I was just arriving home, I called my mom and she was like, are you just coming home? Where did you go? And I was like, oh I just came back from the clinic and got an HIV screening. Lol. It's negative. Aside from the conscientious effort to be responsible, I wanted to be positively negative for something I'm anticipating for that will require the test.

2. I got my work pass two weeks ago and it's valid for 2 years!

3. I had a talk with my managers 4 hours before my flight to BKK and I was told I will be renewed. Not sure yet about final contract but it's a load off my shoulders and things can proceed as initially planned. No more of my mind thinking of wanting take my masters in San Francisco or Dublin! I actually messaged my parents if they'll be okay to support my endeavor and finance me, but my mom was like, "I'm not quite sure son, were paying for a condo right now" haha and I was like "K." In my mind I was thinking if it was still worth it to have travelled so much knowing if I hadn't I could have easily paid off the tuition.

4. I got the invitation I've been waiting for since March! I don't want to jinx it, so I won't say it yet, but if things go well, it's my ticket to the next adventure!

So, it's been a wonderful weekend! And I'm looking forward to even more wonderful things to come! I can't wait! In relation to #4, if things go well, I couldn't sleep last night thinking of doing a 1 month trip before I embark on the next adventure!

Maybe - Hongkong, Japan, Seattle, San Francisco, LA, Atlanta, Florida, New York, Washington, Dublin, Amsterdam, (Belgium), Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Vienna, Prague, Zurich, (Italy), (Greece), Singapore, (Philippines) then ????? For the purpose of a mystery :)

Bangkok Sunset

CH223: Eurovision 2014

So it's about time I started posting pictures from my trip to Europe last month. But, before I get to it, you can recap some pictures through here:
CH218: Europe (Lisboa, Madrid and Barcelona), Prelude

This entry is more of a celebration that with the recent win of Conchita Wurst in the Eurovision, the age of tolerance, respect, diversity and equality can be ushered in. Although I never really follow Eurovision, some of the people I met during last month's trip made mention of Conchita and related her performance to someone who was already doing something more pop and cheesy in Tel-Aviv. I forgot who it was though :).

So, I hope you enjoyed the video as much as I did. It's been playing almost 40 times as I try to earworm it out of my head. It's so much nicer than my earworm over the weekend - Sexercize.

I think that with a large acceptance of Conchita Wurst in Europe, people in the US and Asia and other parts of the world, see that there is an existence of these kinds of people who love who they are and what they do. And in that acknowledgement, I hope people learn to accept and respect rather than ridicule and joke.

It's just sad that in one Conchita's speeches, she mentioned that tolerance and respect is what she will fight for, but it's not something she feels she'll live to see happen.

CH222: Unshackled

Bangkok has done wonders! The people I met during the recent trip have done what I thought was the impossible.

CH220: Missed
CH221: Mai Pen Rai!

If I should be honest - my last relationship officially ended sometime December last year. The exact day, I can't even be bothered to remember. From that time till now, we've been friends. It was hard to pull off a move on when those threads of emotions tug you back to the realms that are all too familiar and common. It was harder when in the back of your mind, the hope, that faint glimmer of hope voices out that if I continued waiting, then things will eventually get back to how things were. Despite eternal rationalizations that it was a relationship built on loose foundations that grew toxic but was ignored out of *cough* "love", I couldn't fully "Let It Go." - sorry for the Frozen reference.

I was always telling myself that time will pass and things will get easier. But I couldn't decide whether that was a time I'd look forward to seeing or not. Even when I was in Barcelona, Madrid and Lisbon - despite the numerous gratification and 1 vacation fling, it wasn't enough to really ditch that hope residing.

Fast forward to before my flight to Bangkok, and I confessed to my ex about exactly how I was feeling, and that I wasn't saying those things because I wanted a change of heart from anyone, but I did so because I need to let it out and be done with it. And, now, coming back from Bangkok and with all the experiences I had and the romance I experienced, it's like, "Wow, what a difference a weekend can make."

If I fell in love that hard in my relationship, and had good and bad moments, scary moments even as some close friends know, it just comes with living. Those are experiences that have shaped me and perhaps will shape me further in the future, but it's all in the past. I enjoyed being single in Bangkok. It allowed me to meet new people, new friends, and even previous acquaintances.

I'm not sure when I'll be ready to fall in love again, but I know that when the time does come, I'll know better. Like Paloma Faith croons, it's the sweetest pain. Painful, but worth it. So for now, I'll just enjoy things as they are and worry less about this aspect of living life. #maipenrai

So....Bangkok May 23-25 tickets booked. Anyone want to come along :) I'm going there with someone though ;)

CH221: Mai Pen Rai!

Oh, Bangkok. For a short trip of 4 days and 3 nights, you gave me such an amazing experience! Although the trip was deplete of any sight seeing, I was astounded in every possible way.

"It's not just the destination that makes a vacation. It's the people you meet and the friends you make that sets the experience apart."

I finally found the ring I like to commemorate all the travels I've gone on and the places I've visited. Instead of getting a tattoo, I've sissied out and decided to buy a ring in Tiffany's. Aside from commemorating travel, I got it as a reminder to never lose myself in loving somebody else.

Appropriately, the ring is from Tiffany's Atlas collection. Atlas, the mythological God who supported the world on his shoulders. Apt and not tacky for my first bling purchase! :-) 

So what happened in Bangkok? :) that's a secret I'll never tell. Haha, I'm kidding. I won't expound the statement that Bangkok is what I would consider the Vegas Mecca of South East Asia ... But I most of what I did which I can flat out admit here are: shopping, bars, pubs, clubbing, watching a sex show, shopping and meeting new friends and acquaintances.

I was really happy how cheap the finds I found in the chatuchak market. It makes the clothes I bought the previous day an extravagance!

Day 2 shopping:

 Lacoste L!ve

Armani Xchange

Day 3 shopping (chatuchak market)

More pictures and stories!

CH220: Missed

So...I missed my Jetstar flight at 910 am to Bangkok. I woke up at 930 am initially thinking how restful my sleep was in the hotel I booked - only of course to realize I wasn't in Bangkok yet!

I was in a mad scurry to try and book the next flight out. The Jetstar at 1040 which of course I couldn't make cost 380 sgd! The next flight they had was 7pm for 180 sgd. But, I figured that's too late so i didn't go for it. Thankfully, despite the rush of thjngs, I realized that I have some flyer miles with Singapore airlines I could use. I called the booking hotline and arranged to use my miles to get tickets and I was able to! I was thinking I might not get them because the flight was just 3 hours away but I did! It was also the last seat they had for it! IT WAS AS IF EVERYTHING WAS MEANT TO BE! Haha

Also, in retrospect, it must have been rude to multitask brushing my teeth and talking to the Jetstar booking agent haha

----

Speaking of missed, this entry is also about some people I met and chatted to in Lisbon. They're a group of guys from Amsterdam. 

There they are horse playing around in the hostel. They're very much drunk with a flight in 3 hours....yes, I asked the front desk person if they made it to their flight and they did! Lol unlike me.

I'm not saying I miss them, I'm talking about their friend who they miss. Apparently, they started a tradition each year. This is their first year coming together to travel to celebrate the memory of their friend that passed away due to ecstasy - yes the drug. It wasn't clear to me if the friend died of an overdose or just a bad pill as they say they took it with him. But, that's life, you never know what it throws at you.

They banded together for this trip and will band together to travel the next year to party wild to memorialize their friend. This is aside from the fact some of them got their friend's name tattooed.

I thought it was a really touching story. I even choked a bit chatting with them when I heard them talk about it and you can see the flicker of sadness in their eyes as they recount their story. Life's short. Love it. Live it.