chronicles of portland

i couldn't wait for friday to get to fly to portland and meet up with morgan, jessica and reuben. we were planning to hangout in portland from two weeks back when morgan sent out that invitation. the flight was uneventful (got delayed a bit) and i landed safely but a bit late in portland. morgan was already at the airport when i came out and he gave me a big hug before we proceeded to the baggage claim area. morgan drives a big F150 and since he just moved to this part of portland a week ago, we actually had to make several u-turns before he finally figured out where his house is. the house was big and sits on 23 acres of land and morgan's room was big and comfortably fits 2 sofas aside from his bed. i got a chance to meet flo, morgan's roommate who was quite chatty (almost in a drug-induced state if i might say) which helped in a way bridge the silence. we drank our beer/ale at the roofdeck as jess pulled over the driveway with reuben. i finally got to meet jessica's husband this time.

the first night in portland was spent by first checking out the white eagle where they have me try out the spanish coffee (coffee liqueur, rum, coffee & whipped cream) while we listened to some bluegrass music. we chatted a bit with some hummus and nachos when mesh came in before we proceeded to this tapas place called collosus (?). mesh's wife (rajestri) joined us for dinner and we learned that the chitgopekars were expecting their first baby - yahoo! congratulations to mesh & rajestri!!! the sangria at this place was awesome - smooth, fruity wine that was just unbelievably good every which way i drank it. the tapas we ordered were very good too (clams, empanada, veggies, mushrooms) that we finished most of what we ordered. after dinner, we checked out some bars before settling to this school-turned-bar/theatre/etc called kennedy school. this was really fascinating and weird in the sense that you have this old, history-rich place and you're chugging beer as you walk by the halls. i was pretty buzzed by the time we decided to call it a night.

saturday. snow day. it was a long drive going to breitenbush where i finally managed to see snow in all its natural, uhmm wet from the rain, glory. thankfully, jess & morgan lent me winter clothes that kept me warm enough to appreciate playing in the snow. we couldn't really find a steep enough slope to sled on so what the guys did instead was to tie a rope and the sled at the back of the pick-up truck and drag it along the snow. it was a big adrenaline rush when i tried it. we also had a snowball fight - yeah, real life snowball fight. we were wet from the rain and after a couple of driving to find a slope for sledding, we gave up and decided to go to the hotsprings instead. after we managed to find morgan's friend who works at the hotsprings, we were on our way to dip into the hot pools (there were a number of them) and the pools we walked to were packed with literally naked people, yes - you heard me - naked. while we walked by, most of them seemed like they were sizing us up from head to toe - can't say i blame them, we were definitely fresh meat (translation : uber gorgeous) - hahaha. we settled at the spiral pools instead where we stayed for an hour or so - in our bathing suits (conservative? naah ... would have i done it naked? hmmm probably. maybe.). it was surreal being soaked in a hot tub while there were snow all around - it even started to snow for real right after.

when we got back to portland, we showered and changed and decided to go see jujuba play at the goodfoot. jujuba is a 12-member band that delivers funky, danceable style of nigerian juju and afrobeat music. it was different but it was quite good music to dance to - and after a few rounds of beers and reuben starting up with the cocktails - crown royale+coke and gin tonic, we were quite drunk soon after. jessica was the designated driver and so that gave reuben, morgan and i permission to drink non-stop. i think i was half-asleep during the drive home - half-sleeping & waking to tap out the newspaper morgan kept poking at me.

we woke up sunday quite late and decided to get breakfast at this place called genie's where i had really good eggs benedict and huckleberry pancakes. the wait for breakfast was worth it since the food was great. over breakfast, we talked about our plans for the future, what we want to do with our lives and this is the part i felt like we have really bonded. after our meal, we went to downtown portland soon after where i finally managed to buy my macbook -no sales tax and intel discount. that was sweet. we met with jessica's brother chris afterwards where we got to hangout, drink some more nitro (pale), play some pool (to which i sucked so badly) before deciding to have some mini-burgers, tater tots and hummus. jessica and reuben left that night back to seattle.

i managed to try and be a potter kid this time - trying in a few for the sake of it. pottery barn it seems is legal in oregon owing it to its medicinal benefits - oh yeah! we watched some of morgan's roomies play some tunes in the basement but i turned in quite early later on seeing i had an early flight in the morning. i almost felt sorry having to wake up morgan so early to drive me to the airport but well, i had no choice.

i was leaving portland with a heavy heart - missing already how great the last two days, three nights have been.

you can also view these pictures here : hanging out in portland

finding good friends at the other side of the globe

i started working with jessica when during the infamous IE reorganization a couple of years back and we've developed a friendship having worked on numerous projects. i met morgan during part of the systems explore efforts last year only but it didn't take long for us to hit if off seeing he was already friends with jessica and mindy. morgan's invitation to come to portland came two weeks prior and it wasn't a hard decision to purchase a $218 roundtrip ticket to portland seeing that jess and her husband reuben was going to be there to spend the weekend showing me around.

i was expecting already a great time ahead but the real bonus to the trip was really getting to know the real jessica and morgan - the "them" outside of work, the "them" that you get to talk to about everything and anything under the sun (or the lack of it in portland). people can and will surprise you if you have the time to talk to them. i never realized morgan was philosophical, that he was into books (yes, i will check out the Celestine Prophecy) and that he knew or even heard of the gnostic gospels. i knew he was well traveled having spent a good year roaming around asia and parts of europe and it was really a part of his life i was quite intrigued with. one-way ticket to asia, selling all of his properties back here in the US - basically leaving your life behind and venturing into the unknown. that is truly remarkable and i don't know if that is something i will be able to do - in more ways than one, i like having a security blanket. can i live life as simple as he does, not crave for so much clothes, and so much of the good stuff? i probably should and then maybe i can finally save enough money to go and travel around europe like i always wanted to.

jessica, nothing much to say about her except i love her. she's one of the few people in the group i'd trust with everything. she's exceptionally chatty which makes for good conversation, can be highly opionionated and somewhat bitchy if you don't give her her morning dose of caffeine. in portland, it was the first time i met jessica's husband, reuben, and they make for a lovely & attractive pair. Reuben is goodlooking and jessica has always been quite fetching.

i hope both jessica and morgan have a trip to manila soon so i can take them out, bring them to boracay or something. jessica can get a good, cheap pampering at the foot/nail spa and both of them can get a great full-body massage at sole-2-sole. it will be fun to hang out with them in boracay.

this weekend made me realize that i've found really good friends on the other side of the globe, not just acquiantances but real friends. i don't expect to see them that often or hear everything that's happening in their lives but i know that when next we see each other, the friendship will always be there.

mac and me

and so finally, after years of drooling not being able to buy it (cause of the processor and yes, it was hard to afford it), i finally managed to get my hands on my first ever apple computer. yes, i am now the proud owner of a 2GHz, 80GB HDD, 1GB RAM, Superdrive, 13" widescreen white macbook.

i got my macbook in oregon over the weekend where there is no sales tax so i get the full 6% intel discount. thanks to jessica for dissuading me on buying an ipod shuffle (which i think i should be able to get with a little cash using my credit card points - teehee!). haven't really used it that much yet except a few tinkering here & there. i'll probably get a wireless mighty mouse tomorrow since i don't really like using trackpads. i already know what my first project is - create a picturebook for my nephew and have it printed. that will be really nice since he doesn't really have a lot of printed pictures right now.

so right now, i have the best of both worlds ... pc for my desktop and work laptop ... mac to manage my digital life - and then some!

living independently

for the longest time, i've wanted to try living independently off my family. the desire is not because i don't like living with them (ok? sometimes they do get into my nerves) but because i want to see how its like not having to depend on people to cook your food, pay the bills, wash the dishes and stuff - you know what i mean. at 32, i've never really done any of that - and by that i mean for an extended period of time. this trip changes all that, and sure its just 1 week more than the longest trip i had before but the difference this time is i chose to stay at an apartment-type lodging complete with kitchen, washer and dryer, dvd players, the whole gamut of a bachelor living his own life and earning his own keep. in a way its not really the full experience i've had in mind - not having to pay the electric bill and the rent but hey i do budget my allowance, do the groceries, wash and dry my clothes, wash the dishes, the pots and pseudo-clean the house (yes, they provide housekeeping). but the thing i like the most is cooking and most turn out to just the way they should be and sometimes i learn a lesson or two on how to make it better the next time i make it. while i don't really make everything from scratch - kind of hard seeing i don't really have all of the ingredients and hey, i work here too (did i tell you that?) that i use prepared sauces and mixes already on some of the dishes.

so far i know how to do sinigang, nilaga, beef with brocolli in oyster sauce, baked salmon with mayo & onion sprinkles, menudo (without the liver eh), afritada, adobo - these at least take some time to prepare. those that sort of quickies (due to the prepared sauces) include black pepper chicken, lemon chicken, and orange fish fillet. i should be able to try some more filipino dishes when i get back to manila. i probably should try kare-kare (but i'd have to find a good recipe) - i'll ask cindy for her mom's recipe, they make a mean kare-kare. its not hard to cook here since i can immediately wash everything in running, hot or warm water.

this is living the life. but there are people i do miss back home.

five weeks & counting

i can't believe its been five weeks already since i came here to the US. time really moves fast whether you want it to or not. this is like a tug-of-war because during the weekday when i need to work, i can't wait for friday to come, dread the weekend will be over, and then wake up the next week wanting for my trip to last longer. there's three more weeks left in my trip and next weekend i'm going to portland, then the next week i'd have to do my shopping. crap, i can't believe i haven't bought any shoes yet in the last five weeks - this is a first, yay. i guess i'm trying not to squander so much of my savings since i really want to buy a mac computer. i did splurge a bit already by buying a $100 bose earphones (which i do not regret a bit, its awesome).

work has been busy the last few weeks. after i got that "scolding" from nurse betty, it sort of woke me up just a little bit from my "work slumber." so i've been pretty active after that incident cause damn if i let my good name get sullied by nurse betty. its about to get busy some more in the next three weeks since there will be more discussions and a presentation i'd have to prepare. i should start planning for it really but i'm having a really lazy weekend.

i miss my friends back home - there's really no one to go out here and its too uninspiring to go to the gym by myself - hence the fat inducing stupor i've been in since i got here. the only good thing here is that i've been quite good at cooking for myself (well i've been using mixed sauces) and i think i've been quite good in cooking sinigang and nilaga (stew). i'm watching the food network right now and i just realized "wow, it'd be nice to be with someone who will cook for you." so add that to the list of traits i'd love my SO (significant other) to have.

ahhh what should i do today? i need to think of what to do, perhaps i should just go to the mall and see where that takes me. should i check out some shoes? or clothes? tempting ... but i should hold off until i get my mac. oh yeah.

valentine treat

i saw this video from the movie "love actually" from dj's multiply account. thanks for posting this. in the spirit of hearts day (though the scene is actually at christmas), i think this is one of the sweetest gestures one can make to somebody they love. whether that person belongs to somebody else. so in the spirit of this day, i love you mcb. i will always love you and i will always look back and cherish all the best times i had with you.

counting down the days ...

hearing it the bose way

the main reason i haven't been going into any of the malls of late was because i didn't want to be tempted and buy anything. i was quite proud that four weeks has passed and i have not bought a single pair of shoes - bummer right? hahaha
seeing i didn't really have anything to do today, i decided to go to az mills to .. you know, just look around. i didn't really buy anything at az mills so i decided to drop by fry's electronics which was just across the freeway. i finally managed to get the measurements of the imac 17" i've been eyeing since i got here. i'd have to check later whether i can fit it (sans the box) in may carry-on luggage (crossing my fingers here and hoping that they release Leopard before i leave).
one of the things that i've been toying around was whether to buy a logitech speaker (similar to what gizie has) or a bose ear/headphone. i knew the earphones would be something i'd be able to use more so i was settled on that. it was quite a difficult decision because the earphones were quite expensive ($100) - but what sealed the deal really was being able to try the bose speakers (tried the headphones) and hearing the difference. oh my, i am so loving these earphones right now, the sound coming out is just awesome.

i am so going to be deaf.

life & times update

hmmm its been quite a while since i last posted anything in my blog. things has just been busy with work, with going out ... just lots of stuff happening. let me see if i can remember most of what has happened the past few weeks.

• i went to Chandler Regional Hospital to get my final vaccine shot where after all the hassle of bringing the vaccine, they weren't going to use that because no doctor will administer anything that is not available in the states. bummer! it was fascinating because it was the first time i've been to a hospital in the US. anyways, i did a bit of waiting just for the medicine but luckily there wasn't a lot of folks in the ER that time. imagine, the last shot should have just cost me probably 1k in pesos, but i had to deposit $200 and call back for the final bill - not sure if that will be higher or lower than $200. well, the company is paying for it. the good news though is that they said i could drink again, so i've been getting really re-acquianted with my bud lite.
• am is here in the US so we (with GC and husband LDC) have been going out for dinner and lunch and everything else during the past week. its super pig-out fest (and yes, i am getting heavier by the day ... dammit!) from oreganos (best cookie/ice-cream dessert), cheesecake factory (best cheesecake), kc moore's (very nice salmon dinner), in-n-out (best fastfood burgers & fries hands down), kfc (uber favorite chicken), panda express (whatever, cheap but uber good orange chicken) and texas roadhouse (unbelievable bread & cinnamon butter + fall-off the bone full slab of ribs). oh well, am is leaving next week so i will start to lose weight and go to the gym - i'll try to do 5x a week. yeah, as if.
• did i say how much i love dr pepper (softdrink)? that's really the only other softdrink i drink here in the US ('course i can do diet coke and mountain dew, and yes, they still call it diet coke here). i love dr pepper!
• i recently had a 1:1 with nurse betty where i got an earful about how i am doing managing my project. let's just say she wasn't happy and i sat there listening to her diatribe. i hated that time cause i was super making pa-cute to this cutie seated at the other table and i was embarrased if the cutie heard me getting a lecture. i knew it was coming - it was just a matter of time - i was seriously slacking off not because i couldn't do the work but because i hadn't been feeling motivated this whole time. i've been having a very difficult time being creative and all that it wasn't just working for me this whole time. short to say, nurse betty screwed up my aura that day. i didn't make any excuses - there wasn't any point to so i just said "i will work on it." i wasn't used to getting scolded like that - i always made sure my work was top-notch but as rln puts it, we're all working just to get by lately. so i did adjust my approach after that - been more talkative (with sense of course) in meetings, taking the initiative to finish my overdue requirements. i'll prove to her i am as good as my reputation.
• nurse betty asked me where i want my increase for this focal - more on base pay or on eb%. it would have been great to have both but after consulting with friends, i decided i wanted it more on base pay. besides the increase probably isn't that big this year and i'm not expecting to get promoted. dammit. haaay wish wish ko lang ... hoping the increase is good enough.
• mb invited me over and stay at his 6-bedroom, 25 acre land in portland. jh was cc'd in the mail and she was coming over too with her husband. jh & i are very good friends. sigh, i really don't know if mb is flirting with me but it doesn't matter, whether he does or doesn't, i'm pretty sure i'd have a great time in portland. flirting back will just be icing on the cake.

let's keep things at that first. i would have wanted to write more details but words are starting to escape me already with today being a friday (in Az) and me getting ready for the weekend.

oh, and by the way, i've already booked a plane ticket to portland. oh yeah!

happy birthday abet

today is the birthday of a good friend. happy birthday abet!
i wish you peace, happiness and love wherever you are.
i (and everybody) miss you.

let's sit & talk a while

feeling like grown-ups, lvt & i talked about what will happen in the next two years. the conversation filled with anxiety over the seemingly unending uncertainty of our professional life. life was quite promising for the lot of us - lvt, acs and myself. our careers were on the fast lane and i think it still is or at least there's still a promise to it. being adults though complicate things a lot - there are more responsibilities to take (whether you want it or not), people to take care of and a growing list of expenses.

we've been toying with the idea of either setting up a business or venturing into something that generates additional income for all of us. lvt has started already with a home-care service thing here in az - good for her - biatch! hahaha acs, em and i doesn't really have anything concrete in place. still ideas that hopefully will come to fruition soon. i am lucky to have found real friends in acs, em and lvt. soon, if the wind blows right, we're probably going to be business partners too.

grand canyon finally! snow finally!

i finally was able to visit the grand canyon yesterday and as an added bonus, got to touch, play and shiver in the snow. yes, snow was everywhere. and it has been fairly cold here in arizona since i got here two sundays ago. the trip to the grand canyon was really an experience - there was one instance we made a wrong turn where we got stuck in knee-deep snow, had to push the car and luckily made it back to the road. we took a lot of pictures along the way (still waiting for photos from larry's camera though), even wrote our names in the snow and marveled how light the snow felt and how freakin cold it was outside.

sidebar : migs and i shopped A LOT the day before mostly from abercrombie & hollister. i so love love these stores, they're really my favorites. on the road towards getting broke.

pictures from the grand canyon posted here : grand canyon/snow

I love the Legacy!

I am so loving where i am staying for the duration of my trip. It is a fully-furnished 1-bedroom apartment complete with kitchen, washer/dryer, jacuzzi, two 27-in televisions, two dvd-players, dishwasher and cable. broadband is a bit expensive though @ $9.95+ per 24-hour block. i'm driving a PT Cruiser Convertible and with the weather right now (pretty damn cold), that's perfect (though its too cold to drive with the top down).

this is living the good life.

Hanging out with the MBA'ers

we finally were able to get together last friday (Jan 12) at shanda's place along TM Kalaw in Manila. it was dino's birthday also that day and he had to beg off going to the party because he had to go home and spend his birthday with his family. imee & i met up with him pre-party at starbucks in g4 to which i came in late having underestimated the traffic from cavite to makati. the party was fun, even though a few people were not able to come (notty, tm, jm, ron ... who else?). with the usual display of karaoke singing prowess, richard & annie entertained us throughout the night. i really miss these guys, now moreso since most of them have graduated or are on the final stretch of the MBA program. i'm the only one left ... doesn't really bother me that much since i have to prioritize work these days.

click on slide.com to view the pictures.

alternately, the pictures are also posted in the following : MBA Get-Together (Jan 12)

or go to www.yuan1025.multiply.com and click on the photo's section.

sitting here watching the world pass by

there's something about waiting in the airport that's in a way uhmmm calming, which doesn't really last that long once boredom sets in. but looking around the myriad of people from God-knows-where pass you by, i couldn't help but wonder in amazement. the airport is a melting pot of people of all ages, sex/sexual orientation, race and everything - everything is right here, in front of me. and while i marvel at this thought, i shudder at the long flight that awaits me. boredom.

hopefully, things will proceed smoothly, no hitches, no hassles. i'd stop there for fear that i might jinx it but the day has been extremely marvelous so far. i checked in conveniently (given my marco polo membership) and my manila to hongkong seat was upgraded to business class (hurrah!). and while wasting time at the business lounge, this gorgeous eye candy came in. to top it off, eye candy sat just one seat away from me in the airplane. yumminess. if you could get diabetic from excitement, i would have. yumminess again.

gotta wrap up and walk to my gate. the journey begins.

wicker park : airport scene

this is the airport scene i love so much from the movie "wicker park."

can we really end up with the one we truly love?

while flicking through cable a few days ago, i chanced upon the ending of this movie with josh hartnett. it was a scene at the airport where it seemed he reunited with a girl he loved. that scene didn't really make sense to me that time but i was glued to the ending because i really liked the song that was playing. the voice was familiar but i couldn't make who the singer was and later on during the credits i learned that the song playing was called "the scientist" by coldplay. i didn't know the title of the movie still.

coincidentally, a few days after that while exchanging emails with dj & trixy, coldplay was mentioned and i diligently squeezed in a description of the movie as well as the title of the song. turns out dj has already seen the movie and its called "wicker park." now, i've had that dvd for quite a looong time now but just hasn't found the time and interest to watch it ---- until now. i knew i missed a great film so i popped it into my dvd player and stayed there until it finished.

the movie is a love story but its told in a uniquely interesting way, that is from the different points of view of the characters. and as each angle is told from their perspective, the truth behind what is happening is pieced together. stuff that's happening suddenly makes sense.
i particularly love this movie for the following scenes :

• when matt was tearing down the pictures in his room when he thought lisa left him. that was one tearful moment cause it showed how guys can be vulnerable to hurt and cry about it.
• the confrontation scene between matt and alex at the restaurant with words being said like : "when you see something from afar, you develop a fantasy. but when you see it up close, 9 times out of 10, you wish you hadn't." "love makes you do crazy things, insane things. things in a million years you'd never see yourself do. but there you are doing them ... can't help it."
• and lastly, the airport scene is the best scene of all. this is probably one of the best endings of a movie that i've seen. matt's face when he finally saw lisa was priceless. i was teary-eyed the whole time (damn it! hahaha).

seeing "wicker park" made me believe in love again. that after the hurt of losing someone you dearly, dearly love, you can find it again even after a long time. fate brings you back together. i guess i'm still a romantic fool after all.

bitten

after happily receiving a foot spa at fitness first last night, i drove home satisfied that my feet were silky soft and smooth. when i got home and went down to open the gate, the evil dog i think accidentally grazed my left foot with either its claws or its teeth. i had a very small puncture wound which i thorougly washed and diligently placed some alcohol.

as a precaution, i went to asian hospital to have it checked. they told me to go to RITM instead and it was there that i got injections for anti-tetanus and anti-rabies. it was a freakin good thing i got some money before i went there because the medicines for the injections were so expensive. i got 5 injections today some of which actually hurt - ouch! and 2 injections on the skin to test if i was allergic to the medicines.

i need 3 more injections for day 3, day 7 and day 30. its the day 30 that i'm having problems with since that is feb1 and i'm supposed to leave on jan14. so if i can't get anybody in the US to administer the injection then i will have to pushout the trip. bummer.

i hate dogs.

my top tv show pick for 2006

having broadband internet connection made it easy to follow the new tv shows in the US ahead of pirated dvds plying the market. while admittedly having this addiction sent our electric bill through the roof, it was worth it. here is a list of the shows in the US that i just had to have a weekly dose of and why (no particular order).

1. prison break (fox). after season 1, who wouldn't die waiting to see what happened to michael scofield and lincoln burrows? or the better question would be - having wit & dashing good looks, who wouldn't want (or be) michael scofield? each episode in season 2 is a cliffhanger, pushing you at the edge of your seat and hating fox for having this much control over you.
2. grey's anatomy (abc). the brains behind this series is a genius. this series for me is the best show right now on television, and it has proven itself so after it moved to a thursday slot and being pitted against juggernaut CSI, it now only proved it can survive, it actually is at par or even beating CSI in the ratings. this is in my can't miss list.
3. battlestar galactica (sci-fi). arguably the best sci-fi show. it has everything, romance, drama, action, and suspense. after doing a marathon catch-up of season 1 and patiently watching season 2, we were hooked. season 3 ... its painful to think how many more days, weeks or months before the next episode.
4. heroes (nbc). when i first saw the trailer of heroes, i thought "this is going to be interesting." and i was right. i found it a bit boring during the first few episodes but they sure have picked up the pace since then. i think we are going to see more of this show.
5. justice (fox). this is "the practice" meets "CSI". i don't know why this show is not rating and why fox is pulling the plug but for me, this was one show that i loved this season. kerr smith is awesome.
6. friday night lights (nbc). this is a recent find and after watching 10 of its aired episodes in a row, it was clear i was missing a lot. i think along with heroes, this is actually one of the best new series this season and i am hoping the ratings will pick-up so it doesn't get yanked from the schedule.
7. brothers and sisters (abc). damn, talk about heavy drama. yeah, that's what this is. it has an outstanding cast including calista flockhart and sally field. i always have a tear watching this series - so heartwrenching. i guess i can connect to how dysfunctional this family is.
   

of course, there are still the staples like one tree hill, the oc (i love this show) and supernatural (scary, intriguing and a true eye-candy). ugly betty is also a very good show to watch (i watch this right after grey's anatomy). desperate housewives is still funny. 3lbs seems like a rip-off of house md. the mini-series "the lost room (sci-fi)" was great i consider it a must-see. hmmm, worth a mention is nip/tuck for a weekly dose of sex, intrigue, mystery, grim & gore. oh did i mention sex? nip/tuck is cutting edge and i think that's why it remains so appealing (and yes, wouldn't we all want to look like christian troy?).

ahead of 2007

the good news is that my boss confirmed that there is budget for me to go the US next year and when that is entirely up to me. i had planned to fly on sunday at the end of the 2nd week of january and stay in chandler for the next eight (or ten) weeks. i've actually already started making the arrangements for my trip and hopefully things at home will be ok enough for me to confirm my trip. i hope this piece of news is the beginning of many more good news to come in 2007. cause i tell you, i need a breather.