CH256: BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!

As I posted into my twitter account recently, I am officially FUNemployed! After 10 weeks of looking for a job here in Sydney, I finally found a job that is in my field of experience and a permanent position at that. It's a step in the right direction towards settling here in Australia. Previously, I have mentioned that I am open to finding jobs that may be off-tangent to what I do just so I can have a paycheck and get to start living again, as opposed to living off of my savings. But I promised myself I will be patient and avoid just jumping on any job because of the following reasons:

1. Pay range - I have 6 years of experience in the job I do and the salary range will be entirely different if I shift career just because I was finding it difficult to get a job in a competitive SAP market.
2. Career progression - My long term goal is to either to become a Project Manager or a Solutions Architect. (I am still interested in Big Data so a Masters in that direction is still something of an idea I play around with in the back of my head). So staying on the career path I am in - where my current role (Senior Consultant) is - is still in the right track to the two progressions I have plans on becoming
3. Easier said than done - What I noticed in the few jobs I sent my CV to - to test the grounds of shifting career - was that it was easier said than done. Given that I have 6+ years invested in the work I have been doing, it would seem that entry level positions are more open to finding fresh graduates or entry level people because they will be cheaper I guess.

So it was beyond elation and excitement when 6 hours after my second interview (technical), I got a call from the HR Manager telling me that they were offering me the job. 1 hour after my interview, she called me up to ask for my references which I readily gave (they were ready from previous requirements). I was looking at flying off to the Gold Coast to celebrate my birthday to get my mind off the anxiety of waiting for the news on two job prospects (I had an interview as well last Thursday with a different company).

Anyway, I wasn't too excited with celebrating my 29th birthday primarily because I don't like the number. 29 is a prime number! And my 28th year has been most amazing so maybe I was trying to hold on to being 28. 28 saw 2 trips to Europe! I turned 28 in Portugal, touring the fairy-tale like castle of Sintra and exploring the western most tip of the European continent among other things. It was a year of travel and freedom! 27th was more stifling and learning more about myself in the context of a relationship, so I'm totally over being 27. But 28 was the best year of my life so far! I met so many great friends - and I also had to leave many of them when I left Singapore. It was a year of personal development, transformation, and enlightenment!

Why am I even still talking about 28 and rambling like an idiot?! I just got a job for my 29th birthday! I think it's the best gift I can ever receive in the context of my life I am in. Not only for financial reasons, but it felt like when I got the job offer the day before my birthday, that it was some sort of sign akin to "Welcome to Adulthood!" Time to look for insurance, a post paid plan (again), set up my savings and investment, etc!

I may not like being 29, but whoever said they liked being adults and worrying about bills and life? 29 will be my transition period to being 30 which is a year I feel look forward to more!

CH212: Long Distances and Celebrations

Last Friday, I received a mail in the office telling me that a package was attempted to be delivered but unfortunately, our reception was not allowed to sign for the package so I had to get it from the post office. I had made arrangements with my friend Ange to attend body combat class and also made arrangement with my friend visiting from Sydney to meet in the gym. So, because of this unexpected delivery, I had to drop by the post office before going to the gym. It's a bit far off from where I'm currently staying in the city and I didn't want to waste time from my weekend just to go on a side trip.

To my shock, the package that was apparently delivered was 13.31 lbs. That's a 6.04 kg big box without a bag and nowhere close for me to buy a bag to be able to carry it properly. It was drizzling that Friday, and I only had a long umbrella (not the short ones we usually see in PH people use for commutes). So, I had to carry it with two hands, and then eventually decided to throw away the long umbrella I had for the comfort and ease of carrying the package.

I think I walked almost 1km to get to Ang Mo Kio Hub where I figured I could buy an eco-friendly tote bag from Fair Price to put the big package in. I was practically sweating even while it was drizzling and cold because of the effort it took to lug it around. Considering it was a Friday, there were a lot of people walking about as well so it was a bit hard evading people and avoiding bumping into them.

The effort it took to get the package was well worth it though. My sister sent me (what I think is) my birthday presents for April. Now I don't need to look around for thicker t-shirts to bring to Portugal and Spain.

She also got me my request for the cookie dough oreo! I read about it I think on BuzzFeed and immediately contacted my sister to get me some as they're only going to produce a limited bunch - maybe to test how the people respond to the product? She also sent me several spreads which I assume are sort of house warming presents for me. She sent some packs of chocolate (which I don't plan on eating by myself) which I might share with friends. The only one I'm keeping for myself is the tub of almond chocolates! Haha, I could finish the whole tub by myself.

I also requested my sister to send me Aveeno in small packs so I can bring it to Europe in my travel toiletry kit. I'm not sure of the humidity in Portugal and Spain so I can't be all dry and itchy. (I have sensitive skin :))

As a side update, the card holder (pseudo-wallet) I most often used has been fixed by Mont Blanc. Thankfully, i found the warranty card in time. I saved myself 75 sgd for the cost of repairs. The damage wasnt that big, but the adhesive binding they had at the bottom was peeling and I didn't want to go to Europe without this.

Lastly, RkGreg had a belated birthday celebration for his friends here in Singapore. It happened last Saturday hosted in Mksurf8's flat. Super fun gathering of friends with fun and games. Unfortunately, there were some casualties: an empty bottle of Absolut Vodka was shattered, a couch was dirtied and DiwangBughaw got really drunk and later on passed out. He couldn't remember anything (selective amnesia?) the next day.

For discretion, this is the only picture I could share. With Ange and Chris R. Belated happy birthday RKGreg! 

CH205: Taipei Adventures Final

Apparently, I didn't realize that I had the CH### wrong in previous links. Haha, blame it on having to type the entries at work!

CH204: Taipei Adventures 3
CH203: Taipei Adventures 2
CH202: Taipei Adventures 1
CH201: Taipei Prologue

So, we're now at the last leg of the Taipei trip (finally!). So for my mom's last day, I had planned for us to go up the Maokong Mountain and get to experience the cable car ride up. It was unfortunately a weekend and CNY, so there were a lot of people already queuing to go up when we arrived. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as the queue we had to endure for Taipei 101. There are two options you can choose, one is to ride on the "Crystal" cable car which simply meant riding on one that has a clear bottom, and the other which is just your regular old cable car.

After the visit up, we didn't linger as much and just walked around a bit. My mom was pretty tired still from previous days itinerary so we just went easy. We didn't stay long and decided to head back after seeing one temple.

We went to the Sun Yat Sen Memorial after our trip and walked a bit before finally succumbing to just getting a cab to the Fine Arts Museum which was apparently closed. Thankfully, they had colorful lanterns in the museum park which would have been amazing I think had we seen the lanterns lit up.

For dinner, I brought my mom to Ximending again as she hasnt seen it really at night. I chose for us to ate at Modern Toilet. The food was just 'k'. Nothing overly delicious and mostly bland. My mom's flight was 1am Feb 2 so I brought her to the airport soon after we finished dinner a bit of shopping at Eslite.

The next day, I woke up around 11 and just had time to go to Chiate to get Ange's favor (pineapple cakes). Hahaha. I took a cab going there as I was pressed for time and didn't want to get lost or waste time finding it. As soon as I got them, I headed back to my hotel and off to the airport.

Taipei was an amazing trip! I think this would be the first trip where it was just my mom and myself. Hopefully, she's game for Bangkok when I go on the first of May. Otherwise, ill just shop myself out or just laze by the hotel's pool haha.

long queues again despite coming in early!

CH204: Taiwan Adventures 3

Following the series: CH201: Taipei Prologue, CH202: Taipei Adventures 1 and CH203: Taipei Adventures 2, my mom and I found ourselves on our last arranged tour - the city tour.

The itinerary of the tour was as follows: a temple in the city, CKS Memorial, Martyr's Shrine + Changing of the guards and the National Palace Museum. After those tour, we had the afternoon to ourselves where I planned for us to visit The Confucius Temple, which was apparently beside another temple that was super crowded! So much so, that I had to look down most of the time we were inside because of all the incense wafting in the air and from those being carried by the people who were there to actually pay respect (not like us tourists lol). After a visit to those temples, my mom and I made our way to Taipei 101 to hopefully see the sunset and the view of Taipei in the day and subsequently at night. Unfortunately, it was super crowded there as well and I ended up queuing for 40-45 minutes to get tickets, 40-50 minutes to get on the elevator up and consequently 30-35 minutes lining up to get down! Crazy!!!

Anyway, I've said too much and extended this entry already with so much pictures! So, let the pictures do the talking this time.

More pictures!

CH203: Taipei Adventures 2

CH201: Taipei Prologue
CH202: Taipei Adventures 1

On my third day, we were picked up by our tour guide exactly on time. I had arranged for two tours. In the morning, we were supposed to go up to Keelung City and Harbor (North of Taiwan) and do a temple tour and a visit to a Yehliu GeoPark.

The tour group was bigger this time. We had to ride in a bus as opposed to a van the day before. There were 8 of us in the tour. 1 family of 3, a group of 3 Filipinas and us. The weather was again perfect for a tour. Clear skies, ample sun and a cool weather overall!

Our first stop was the buddhist temple overlooking the Keelung Harbor

There was of course Buddha

It wasn't very crowded when we went. This is the 30th of January and it was a holiday I think in Taiwan for the start of CNY. The lack of people was probably due to us getting there early.

The big Goddess (or maybe it's buddha I can't tell and forgot to ask) is also a place where you can go up for a view of the harbor from a higher perspective.

This shot was taken from inside the Goddess statue from the previous picture. My mom opted out to go up with me. There wasn't really much to see aside from different views one can get from small circular windows on the Goddess.

We were told that by ringing the bell, you can have your wish and prayers granted. It takes a bit of pulling forward and backward to get the momentum to make the bell gong.

I was surprised that I didn't even realize I might see the huge rubber duck touring the world. I remember reading the news that it burst on its tour in Taiwan but didn't think I'd see it when I was arranging the tour. Nevertheless, we only drove by the harbor and didn't really get off to walk around and have our picture taken.

Driving by the coast side to the next destination which is the Yehliu Geopark.

More pictures!

CH202: Taipei Adventures 1

Following the previous entry, CH201: Taipei Prologue, I woke up very early my second day to fetch my mom from the airport. To get to and fro the airport, the only means of transportation available is by public bus which cost 125 NTD one way from the Taipei Main Bus Station (via Guo Kang Bus). It takes about 40 mins to 1 hour to get to the airport and it was relatively quiet on the roads. Despite not having a train to connect the airport to the main city of Taipei, I have to commend Taiwan though because they had an impressive expressway network - most of which were elevated like the Skyway!

In Summary, for Day 2 and Night 2 of my trip (Day 1 and Night 1 for mom), we did the following:
1. Airport Pickup
2. Stroll and lunch at Ximending area
3. Tour to Wulai to see the Wulai waterfalls and see a show by Taiwan's aborigine youth
4. Go to Taipei 101 Mall to buy my mom's birthday gift c/o dad at Tiffany's
5. Go to Shilin Night Market

How to subway generally looks in the morning - not as much people yet

Still very quiet. As you can see, the signs are primarily in Mandarin so it can be quite daunting and confusing

Taipei Main Station - almost reminds me of New York's Grand Central Station ... ALMOST but not really :)

Mom was able to get out early. It took me 30 minutes waiting for my baggage to come out!

At the start of Ximending

Lunch at a place that had sushi and other Japanese delights served on a moving toy train around the restaurant

And then we were picked up by a small van for the tour. The tour group consisted of 7 tourists including us.

More pictures!

CH201: Taipei Prologue

I've been considering whether I should christen Taipei for myself as the Manhattan of South East Asia, but I haven't been back to Hong Kong recently to say for sure. And Tokyo isn't really part of South East Asia, so I don't think it counts (It's not like I've been to Tokyo yet haha!).

There are a lot of parallels between Taipei and Manhattan. They're both green cities. Manhattan, of course, has Central Park. Taipei on the other hand has a lot of lustrous parks, roads lined with trees and it's almost like Davao seemingly surrounded by 2 mountains (ref: http://wikitravel.org/en/Taipei). They're both modern cities with an extensive railway system - although Manhattan has a more comprehensive one. They both felt organic and both seemed to have followed a clear blueprint of urban planning.

I went to Taipei over the Chinese New Year (January 28 - February 2 2014). It was, I believe, almost at the end of their winter. I thought that the clothes I packed and the thin cardigan I bought from Uniqlo paired with a scarf would suffice as evening wear. Unfortunately, I was wrong, and I found myself having to go for 3 layers of clothing and ending up buying another jumper (in the British context of the word).

The trip was planned as I posted before, as a last minute change in itinerary because of the turmoil that was happening in Bangkok. I wouldn't have been able to book or plan for anything with news of grenade explosions, protest rallies, gun shots and other sort of violence happening. Of course, it was also supposed to be a celebration of my mom's 60th birthday, so I had to make sure to whatever extent I can make possible that it was smooth and memorable.

Anyway, I'll be posting more about the trip and the itinerary we had planned and share more pictures in succeeding posts. I took over 670+ photos (of myself, mom, sights and food) on my IPhone so there's a lot to sort through. For now, let me share some.

The video above I shot during the arrival in Taipei. I know that supposedly all electronic devices should be turned off, but I just couldn't resist not taking a video with the background music you'll hear playing.



Some pictures:

CH161: Excessive

A realization just occurred to me when I was thinking about what to pack for my short vacation in KL this Friday-Sunday...I've been going out of Singapore monthly for the past months!

Oct-Nov 2012: Los Angeles, New York, San Diego, Las Vegas, etc

Dec 2012: Krabi Thailand, staycation at Ritz over Christmas

Jan 2013: Auckland, The Shire :-) New Zealand

Feb 2013: KL, Melaka Malaysia

March 2013: Bintan Indonesia

I know I always wish to travel more each year. But I'm not sure I made it a resolution for my 26th year of living. Soon, like very soon, it will be my 27th year. What resolutions will I make? What words will I try and live by?

CH84: Hey You

\

I was honest enough to stay true and open a letter (scheduled to be read on) for the 11th of April. Thankfully, in my new work, I'm already loaded - as in doing productive things - so I had time to distract myself from a letter itching to be opened.

In other news. I turned 26 the other day. If my 25th year was spent on conquering fears and pushing myself further, for my 26th, my mantra is: "If I need to think of a reason not to do something, then I should probably do it. Minimize excuses." Just do it in short. Or the tagalized version, Go lang ng Go.

***Start Composition

So, hey! It's me. Thank you. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to craft up something personal. Thank you for the presents. It's not often that I get such sweet surprises. I was asked by someone what I like about you and it took me some time to answer. I thought of your face, your eyes, your lips, your everything - and the only answer I could come up with was, there's just this chemistry. It's not explainable in the sense that it's not quantifiable nor qualifiable for me. It's either that - or I'm just not good with words when it comes to you. Or perhaps, I was being guarded by nature.