Lights and Reflection

I just realised that Manila's streets are very dimly lit. Light pollution is relatively low here than in other countries.

The lamp post made me realize that I should take a breather from this vacation and see the beauty of things.

P.S. If I take a vacation from my vacation, is it like Inception? :)

Morning Wood

Visited my auntie at her new house on the new year and their street was pristine. The green scenery from our village is also a welcoming sight for the first day of the year and the filter from one of the apps from my Yui captured it albeit slightly.

Road Cloused ~ Dhahran Road

A portion of the main highway fronting the office building has been a sight of men and machines for almost three months now. Not only did the underground tunneling project sent chock full of dust all over the air, it successfully gave me migraines due to its nonstop noise. My daily commute from our house to my workplace has also been affected; I have to leave earlier than usual just to accommodate the increased flow of traffic.

One day, when my cab has turned right to a full stop a couple of blocks away from my building, I saw an unusual sign.

Although I promised to never let out Mokona (my phone) out in the wild to take pictures, I just could resist taking a shot of it.

My mind was racing with thoughts like, "How, in the love of God, did you not see this all this time?" and other things along that line as I stepped out of the cab, felt the searing heat of the sun, and blissfully walked in to the air conditioned lobby of our building. Yes, the road is "closed" down but I'm also sure that an underground tunnel is not called a "bridge."

Another day, another wonderful discovery of how they misuse the English language.

Coustumer ~ Ikea

Ever wondered why the 2010 in-house catalogues at IKEA instantaneously had some wrappers/covers unlike last year?

Well, there's apparently a typo error on the sticker for the catalogues.

I think applying a new set of stickers with the correct spelling of the obvious would've cost them less than purchasing the covers.

Foggy Morning

Usually the sky is gloomy in the city only when sandstorms occur. This morning is a big surprise for me. Fog is everywhere!

The city has an eerie feeling today like an alien race is going to conquer over Earth. While everyone is hoping UFOs to descend from the fog, I am secretly hoping it rains mini chocolate bars later.

Pre-Birthday Dinner

My birthday fell on a Saturday which means I have work. But, days earlier, a friend treated me to a pre-birthday dinner at Ikea. There is this pamahiin (superstition) that you should not celebrate your birthday before your actual birthday because it shortens one's life. I want to shrug off the idea at first because I'm in a different country so I guess my cultural superstitions doesn't apply here. However, just to be on the safe side, I told my friend to never treat this dinner as a pre-birthday celebration.

Being cash-strapped employees, we just ordered these simple meals and ate them in the Bachelor section.

My friend had this meal combo from the Ikea Food section.

While, in the spirit of Filipino-ness, I ordered the spaghetti for kids.

And I also added my favorite chocolate chip cookie. It's so good I thought it was from Mrs. Fields except that it isn't as chewy as Mrs. Fields cookies, but still good nonetheless.

Before heading home, my friend got me an iTunes gift card for my birthday! Sweet! It's $50 in Apple credit. And because the pre-birthday superstition bothered me so much, I extended the superstition to the gift as well. How? I only used the card to top up my iTunes account on the morning of my birthday.

Well, so much for being a devout Catholic.

ManU for You

Saw this near the place where I'm having lunch these days. It was just a tad weird seeing this soccer ball being sold at a telecom store where phones and SIM packs are the usual suspects.

I immediately remembered a good friend who is a major football fan and I'm planning to give this for the Holidays (or as soon as I'm back home). In the event that I run out of money though, I'll give the snapshot in lieu of the real thing.

Microtrends: Are we all hipsters now?

During college, we were forced to read and report on John Naisbitt's Megatrends. I'm not sour graping; it's too late for that. In all honesty, I'm totally grateful for having been introduced to the Megatrends concept, even if it's like two decades off the radar. It opened me to the little arena of predicting trends, which can be a great resource for business-minded individuals.

I actually wanted to purchase the small version of Microtrends months ago (priced at SAR 39) but something was a little off so I didn't continue. Sometime during the first week of this month, I went over to Jarir again after meeting the ex for brunch (and receiving an iTunes card as an early birthday gift) and then I saw that the bigger version of Microtrends is on sale--from SAR 79 to SAR 19. How absobloodylutely fraking great is that, huh? All I was thinking while handing out my crisp 20 riyals bill to the cashier is that Santa's giving me an early Christmas gift.

I read this whenever I'm in the trono (eew piece of info, sorry); and, sometimes, I read a chapter or two before going to sleep. I'm still far from halfway with the book but there are tons of questions popping up my mind as I held the book and read its chapters. For example, the most pressing one of all is this: If there are so many microtrends today that the distinction between them and the mainstream trends doesn't matter anymore, are we all capable of being hipsters now?

Can't wait to finish the book! *giddily whirls around*

Pota Spice ~ 6th Street, Al Akrabiya

Saw this while walking the neighborhood looking for a place to buy dinner. Definitely "Pota" smile on my face.

Haha, ang lame ng joke. ;-P

For Sell ~ Parking Lot

It was raining for days but today was a sunny but chilly one. After arriving safely in our premises, I saw something posted in a car as I'm heading to the lobby.

Yes, the car is For Sell. ;-D

Tekla - Ikea, Dhahran

I went to Ikea yesterday to buy some inexpensive, all-cotton dish towels because I don't want to use the ones that my mom left. Caprice aside, I just also wanted to see the newly set up showrooms upstairs to get some decorganization inspiration.

I browsed the kitchen section to look for the dish towels but as soon as I saw the item's "Ikea name", I stopped at my tracks and my jaws dropped in full awe.

I heart Ikea more for splitting my sides yesterday. This store never fails to amaze me every single visit.

Lost with The Lost Symbol

I wanted to buy the latest book by Dan Brown, but which cover of The Lost Symbol should I buy?

Treats from Jordan!

For the holidays, one of my co-workers went home to Jordan. As soon as he arrived, he placed this transparent tray on top of my desk and told me to tell everyone to get one when they pass me by.

I asked him what it was and he said that even he didn't know. So naturally, I got one so I could check out what the pasalubong is.

It's a cookie! A fat, fat cookie in which I don't know what the filling is.

The second I took a bite, I was in heaven. The exterior was sorta between uraro/puto seko and a muffin while the filling is a mix of custard and pistachio. Yum-oh!

I didn't have breakfast that morning and, being in that sorry state, I grabbed a few (okay, a quarter of it) to keep me going for the first half of the grueling day.

Can someone identify this pastry for me? I really, really do like it. I think I've had this when I was a kid here in the kingdom.

No Entery - Prince Mushin Road

I was on my way with my family to our very first mass for this year (and the last, probably) inside the Aramco compound. As the stoplight hit red on the corner, my parents saw the traffic sign and it says, "No Entery."

We couldn't figure out why they even misspell the word Enter, but I'm guessing it helps with the pronunciation.

Keep Clean This Area - Just Outside My House, Khobar

It's obvious that I'm kind of oblivious to my own surroundings because I just saw this beside my house this morning.

The hierarchy of the morphemes are downright wrong, and is probably the reason why the area isn't litter free. I asked my one of my neighbors after the morning prayers as to who did the signage for the area. According to him, it was not a kabayan if that's what I'm ultimately worrying about. Right then and there, I let out a huge sigh of relief.

Oh, hey, Congratumalations pala, Efren. Thank You, Manny, and the rest of the expatriates for making the Pinoys back home damn proud everyday.

A Week of No Interwebs Makes Bouie Buy More

A whole work week of no interwebs connection (not even intranet) could drive the knowledge worker in you crazy. A little trip to my favorite Japanese store is always a good pick-me-upper. I had the ex drop me off there so I have someone to talk to along the way there.

Browsed the store for over an hour and filled my little basket with these things:

A cute head of a bear which is actually a milk tooth box. It's kinda gross if you use it as a repository of your milk tooth (or even teeth!) but you can also use it as a trinket box.

The box out of its packaging. The bear makes you smile, no?

The head detached from the neck (or is it the stunted body?).

A dirt cheap stainless card case. Most card cases I saw on bookstores where a bit expensive so I got this one.

I'm not using it for my business cards but to use as an extra storage for my secret stash of extra cash.

Speaking of card cases, here's another one:

I'm not sure what size of your normal, everyday business cards can fit in this case but I guess it's for those "social" cards you give to friends and acquaintances during gatherings and reunions.

I heart the print for this case. I'm still not sure what I'm gonna use it for. Yet.

I picked up these stickers on the aisle where they were placed. It is so not obvious that I love anything with teddy bears (or anything that resembles an adorable furry creature). Print one of it on your product packaging and I'm already a sure buyer. Just one of my weird favorite habits.

I find the colors of these character adhesion memos cute. I'm using the green now in my office.

I'm using the small ones as the marker for my time card while the big ones are for the things in my workspace.

I'm not sure what these handicrafts were for, or what they are made of, but they're cute right? Sshhh... I secretly blush whenever I see an ampersand.

How cute are these Bs? It's a great gift tag for friends, no?

How adorable are these stamps? It's okay for me to do stamping all day long as long as I'm using these.

The stamps out of their packaging. I really, really love doodles like these.

I found a cheap alternative to the Thumbthing! They're called Page Stoppers.

They only come in just one size unlike the Thumbthing. They also have smaller "wings".

It fits perfectly! Woot!

I'm so glad things at Daiso are cheap because I can't go broke for now.

A Boo and An Eep for Halloween!

What does Halloween mean to you? For me, it usually entails an overnight party filled with tons of snacks, frightening stories and urban legends, pranks that turn your pikon on, and just a great time laughing out with friends from the village.

I miss our little honimi alowin ithmetnyal every year. I'm not pretty sure if they celebrate it here in the kingdom so I'm sulking badly because of the lack of decorations.

Here's something I just drew on a sticky as I'm remembering the village tradition:

The sticky is currently posted proudly in my board in the office. Seeing it cheers me up with a hearty chuckle. ;-)

Spotted: B Plate

At Zara Home, I found this cute bowl at the kid's section. Kawaii, no?

I was supposed to take this home but I bought a towels and silverware instead. Right now, I just find the whole situation illogical.

Spotted: Boris, the Teddy Bear

I found these cute bears lined up neatly near the cash register of a nicely lit boutique selling things for those expecting moms and their newborns. I wanted to take one home if only they came dirt cheap.

Surprise, surprise! The name of the musical stuffed toy is *drum rolls*Boris. And it's supposed to be musical, just like me. (I already sharpened the image but my name printed on the tag is still hazy.)

I'll be on the lookout for more things associated with my name (or the letter B) aside from the other things posted for the scrapbook label.

Why I Think The Afternoons Are Great

~ Annie Dillard

The photo I used was shot way back in 2005. This was when my siblings and I went to Quezon to visit our lot and decided to side trip to the nearby beach (literally within the limits of my "walking distance" measurement) for some afternoon fun.

Speaking of fun, that thought from Annie Dillard reminds me to lay down my uptight personality and just enjoy the moments spent with my family particularly my parents.