It's a long weekend for most people here in the country, but not for me. I had to work yesterday though I did manage to take a leave today.

Didn't do anything special, as planned. I just wanted to rest. It's been a long week. Here's a rundown...

* If you don't have to get your passport renewed (or get a new one for that matter), try to wait it out. Right now, the whole process takes a day, I kid you not. I had to personally process my renewal as per advise, due to the newly implemented MRP (machine readable passport). I got there a little before 8AM, started lining up, and in two hours, I finally got to Step 1 - Verification process. Yey. (Insert a huge dose of sarcasm here).

Since I came from my shift, I had little sleep (1 hr, the most), and I started to get cranky. I almost bailed. But when I asked what will happen should I come back another time, I was told that I will have to do it ALL OVER AGAIN. No freakin' way. I decided to stay and get it over with, and by 3PM I was finally able to go inside DFA to proceed to Step 2 and beyond. I had a small bag of Chiz Curls for lunch (as that was the only chicheria available inside), and deliberately drank a small amount of water because the restroom was all the way across the street. So yeah, be sure that aside from a lot of patience and tolerance for hunger, you should also be very well-versed at holding pee.


I was finally done a little over 5PM, and I opted for the passport delivery option because I don't wanna have to go back to that place as much as possible. By the end of the day, I was very hungry, sleepy, sweaty (I forgot to mention that there's no ventilation of ANY sort in the waiting area) and all I really wanted to do was forget that ordeal. This has got to be the worse government agency experience I've had so far. The driver's license horror story in Tagaytay paled by comparison.

* And what is the best way ever to forget any excruciating ordeal? Shopping, of course. (Alright, it's only the 2nd best way, but given the circumstances.. hehe).. I had to go to the mall to buy my Halloween outfit and some other stuff for our office cube decor contest, so I sneaked in some shopping time as well. I stumbled upon the Havaianas sale, and managed to get 2 pairs. Unfortunately (or fortunately), I didn't get one for myself since they ran out of my size. Haha. Well, the sale is one for a few more days.. Hehehe.

* I'm a green tea frap afficionado. That is one of my best pick-me-uppers. But the green tea cheesecake is definitely fighting its way to the top. I must say it's heavenly. Definitely much better than chocolate. ;-)

* I finally got the goodies I bought online. I liked my purple strawberry bling the best. The Popobe bears were a little too overrated. But at least I got a lot of my Christmas shopping done. For the 1st time in years, I've finally started my Christmas shopping early! 65% complete for my family. Definitely a feat!

* We won the best decor at the office but was only 2nd in costume. A little bit disappointing after our huge effort on this. But it was fun along the way and I'm beginning to like the dressing up part during Halloween. One of our expat PD's wore a security guard uniform and it was really cute.

Next year, I wanna go as Britney, with a huge Venti cup in tow. Harhar.

* I've found my newest guilty pleasure -- Gossip Girl. In fact, I've totally abandoned Prison Break because no-brainer shows like GG is what I need to de-stress after a long week at work. I love Blair's bitchiness and Serena's perkiness. They kind of remind me of myself. Hahaha. And Humphrey is just the perfect boy next door. Cute boy alert! :p

Need to go to sleep. First day of photography class later. Jitters!! hehehe.

XOXO,
GJG

:D

Labels: government horror stories, mundane

It's been a while since I last updated. Life has a way of taking you away from your blog sometimes. Hehe.

The pace at work has increased exponentially, what with the launch coming up in less than a month. As our Fil-Am program manager (who I didn't realize spoke Tagalog) quipped in our 1st 1on1 - "Ngarag ba?" Yeah, ngarag super :)

R came home earlier this week, and I managed to get a short time off to spend time with him before we went back home. Things are still ok between us, but as I always say, it could be better. And yayness, I got my D80! Yahoo. All I need to do now is figure out how to use the gadem thing. Hahaha.

I still haven't spoken to my sis since our brothers and sisters episode. Well, in the right time, we will. Sometime after that incident, my parents got into a really bad accident (as in the car was totalled), but thank God they are alright. My mom's arm in on a cast, but they are otherwise ok. Haay, it's so hard to be away from home sometimes. I almost dread it everytime I get a call from them (fearing bad news all the time).




That's what R doesn't get sometimes (or at least I think so). How being away from each other makes me praning so much that it takes a huge toll on me. And it doesn't help that I look around me and there are some people I could like if I wanted to. There's this guy at work -- we sort of have this "tension" that people around us are starting to notice. I don't put meaning to it, but it's nice to feel kilig when someone makes pa cute, and all that banter helps make our dreary days feel a little bit more interesting. Haha. My original crush on the other hand is still working days, so I hardly get a glimpse of him. But he still wins the cutest boy alert, hands down. Hahaha!

I had my second maginoo encounter at work. Another stranger offered to help me carry my things. We were on the elevator on the way down and he took my laptop bag and he carried it for me. I was on my way to do a talk for the new-hires, and nice surprise, he was in the class (also kinda cute). Hahahaha. I feel like I'm in high school. Daming crush!

I'm still enjoying this new life of mine. Things are not always easy (super long days, always having to shift work sked), but it's also not as hard as I thought it would be. And I love living in the city - traffic aside. I got to rearrange my home again because I actually live here now instead of a boarding house somewhere.... I still plan to change some furniture and appliances, but unfortch, those take a little more effort than I could handle right now.

I'm still thinking of getting a new notebook. Este, portable. Haha. Inside joke. There's a Globe broadband package that allows you to get one at a decent price. The catch - the processor is from the competitor. Plus, I still want that Pink Flamingo Dell portable (which is apparently a big big hit in the states). Wahaha. How so girly girl of me. So maybe this one would have to wait it out a bit.

I'm so tamad to go out nowadays. I'd much rather stay home and read, or watch movies/TV. Or SLEEP. Hahaha. I don't get enough of it during weekdays so weekends I have a sleeping fiesta. :) And speaking of reading, I finished HP Book 7 in 1.5 days. It wasn't as action packed as I liked. And the twist was kind of predictable. No one important died. So, it was kinda anti-climactic for me. But, it's still Harry Potter, so I still love it and don't mind adding it to my collection.

And speaking of collections, I'm happy to say I'm not as addicted to Havis as I used to be. This year, I only have ~5 new pairs so far? One of them a gift pa from Aussie boy :) Though I did succumb to this pink metallic ones last weekend coz I miss the smell of a new pair. Hahaha! But, while Havi addiction is winding down, my passion for shoes have been rekindled, and there are weeks that I buy not just one pair. I bought this new white platforms last weekend, and my favorite of late is the red patent platforms I usually wear with my white/black corporate outfit :) I almost went and bought this pair of mustard wedges, but I managed to stop myself knowing it would be a pair that will most likely sit it out in the closet. I gave myself a thumbs up sign for not making the purchase, but I have been dreaming about the shoes almost every night (or day, in our world). Hehe. Howell, in time I will learn to let go.

I wish letting go was something they teach you in school. I'd sign up for it in a heartbeat.

Labels: mundane, R, work. letting go

Labels: daily dose, mundane