asian trekker for a couple of weeks (part 1)

The joy of being fresh out of work and being officially in-between jobs! I know this is short-lived but I'm hoping my sideline businesses will cover my expenses for the next weeks haha.

I took advantage of this period to travel a bit. So from here in Singapore my friends and I took a road trip to Kuala Lumpur. I've lived here for almost 3 years now but I never got the chance to make my way to have my photo taken with the famous Petronas Towers haha.

We stayed in this backpackers' hostel named Guest Havenhouse which is highly recommended for its cleanliness (as it is still relatively new), good service (they actually clean up your room when you are away!) and one of it's part-owners is hot! Wahahahaha. The morning with the ol' Petronas Towers was cool but aside from that KL -- for me -- isn't a place that I would go back to soon. Or ever? Nothing much to do. The food is good, the shopping is mediocre. The supposedly tourist attraction Central Market is very lame. I guess staying overnight is more than enough for this place. The bus ride was quite comfortable though. No "bus smell" (I feel like the scent of old bubblegum permeates most buses -- or is just their air freshener?), and I managed to sleep a couple of hours. And the seats recline just like what I see in movies for first class airline seats.

So that was two weekends ago. Just this weekend I cam from Bangkok. My third visit in three years. I just want to go back! Stayed in another backpackers' hostel but I didn't like it so much. Run down, not so good location. You'd know if the location isn't good when the cab drivers demand exorbitant rates for sending you there from the Suan Lum night market! Good thing nice cab driver Mr. Rung drove us by meter! Bangkok is still THE place for any girl's shopping needs. Prices are pretty much Manila prices but the great unique finds! And flying from SG is much cheaper than flying from Manila as my airfare PLUS my accommodations PLUS my shopping equal to just the airfare to Manila.

I've got a day now to breathe then I'm flying home to Manila tomorrow! That's the best part! I'll be writing about it again soon, as we will also be going to Bohol sometime June. Woohoo!

chance to live life

I guess it's a sign when I'm starting to NOT have a life when I just keep on associating myself with the people I see on TV. Like this afternoon I was watching the latest episode of Gilmore Girls and I related to Rory's thoughts when she said that for a while she was scared that her life was undecided when her dream of joining the New York Times was shut off, and all her other chances just flew away. But now she was excited that life was wide open for her.

Yesterday was my last day in my job of 2 years and 11 months. I was telling myself this morning it was my first day of being unemployed or of being in between jobs. Was about to put in "officially unemployed" in my yahoo status message but I remembered that I am a naturally optimistic person. So instead I put in "I'm free!"

Indeed I am. So yes, I agree with Rory. I have life wide open for me! And this is my chance to live life the way I dreamt of.

And going back to my not-having-a-life tendency, as what Meredith Grey said in one of the recent episodes, "Everyone's dream is having the chance to keep on dreaming."

So allow me to still watch my TV shows. But I'm going to live beyond that. I'm actually going to do something about my life.

ideal offices on TV

My mind is filled with boob tube details as watching my US series have eaten up a lot of my free time for the past days, weeks, months.

I was watching Grey's Anatomy's two-hour special (season 3, episodes 22 to 23) when I couldn't help but be envious of the office environment of the Beachfront Wellness Centre. With hot men like Taye Diggs and the other guy, plus the yummy receptionist played by the guy who plays Piz in Veronica Mars (his name's Chris Lowell I think). The office environment is laid back, home-like.

If only I can find an architectural firm with that kind of environment. Or start one!

But then again Teri Hatcher's home office in Desperate Housewives is quite appealing too. Maybe soon enough I can have a home office as well then be free to make my own errands in my time.

Sigh. Countdown...

reprise

Guess the guy didn't get the message. He actually had the guts to come to the office and have the receptionist call me! I guess it would have been okay if he never worked here. But he did and most of the office population knows him. Mostly likely it was only the receptionist plus a few other people saw him. I told the receptionist that I was waiting for a call and could not go out. She said he had some stuff to pass to me. So I told her to collect for me. It turned out to be a couple of mini cakes and a card that I don't even want to open.

I'm so rattled by it that I'm eating the cake now. How dare he corner me like that. How dare he give a hint to our receptionist about what's going on? The receptionist is a great girl but she could be a blabbermouth. I'm just hoping that she's thinking it's more of a farewell gift for me and nothing else.

What the hell was he thinking???

glad i'm not a guy

A guy friend of mine who was a former colleague actually revealed his feelings for me over an email. I think at this time I'm grateful to technology that he actually did it through an email, as he just isn't my type. Made replying to him easier.

I just wondered if there wasn't internet access or mobile text messages, then he would have done it face-to-face and I wouldn't have handled it well. I'm just not good in expressing my feelings in an impromptu narrative. So maybe I wouldn't have had the chance to tell him what I felt.

On the other hand... WHAT IF I liked the guy? I would have hated that he revealed his feelings over an email. Would have been points against him.

Guys have it tough really. Glad I'm not one. And I'm not one of those girls who would be doing the pursuing anyway.

But then again, it's also tough waiting.

Anyways back to that guy. It felt really REALLY icky reading cheesy stuff coming from him. Which is quite unfair cuz if he was someone I liked I would have been on top of the world. But it turned out to be the opposite. I found myself just scanning through his email, skipping the gory details.

So as I mentioned, it became easier for me to reply. Since he said those via email, I replied via email. Eye for an eye, right? So I frankly told him how he stood with me. That I don't share the same feelings and that friendship is all he can expect from me. And that things are bound to change after. How pitiful for guys that can jeopardize friendships due to feelings they couldn't help.

So I thought that was the end of it. But no... he emailed me twice more after I replied. He was trying to redeem himself or making me feel guilty or whatever. But basically he just kept going on and on about his feelings, that I don't really know everything written in the emails as I just scanned through them as they were just plain awakward.

I thought my blunt reply was enough to put him on his place. But he actually said that he hoped to ask me out in the future. Stubborn, aren't we?

So my final attempt was to reply to his second email, which plainly said that his emails were starting to make him feel uneasy. And that he should give me time as I just can't handle it. I resisted to write and tell him to just stop.

I tried to be as honest as I could. It's the least I could do. The last time this happened I never gave the guy any closure. I just ran away. Or a better term would be "hid" from him. At least I know a tad better this time that guys deserve your honesty. If they can't deal, sorry.

And please don't say I didn't give him a chance. I did. A few times actually. Even when I didn't want to I listened to some friends of mine who said he deserves a chance. So I gave him two chances. And there just isn't any chemistry. It also didn't help he didn't pay for my meal nor helped me carry my shopping packages (so now can you blame me for not liking him that way?)

I hope I handled it right this time. But what's sad is I think I'm losing a friend because of this. But oh well, I guess that's how life goes. We just move on.