a place to work and play

just heard this scoop from a younger engineer in the office...
according to him, each of the Japan epc companies has certain reputation to workforce newbies.
T, my current workplace, is where people remain single. OUCH!! C, is for divorcees and then J, parent company of my first employer is where love AFFAIRs flourish!!
Hhhmm i'm not sure if he actually mean affair, knowing how words could get mistranslated. But surely if i were a new engineer there will be no doubt which will be my first choice! LOL and here i thought, its the location and prestige that draws potential employees to J.

london whatabouts

Two years back, the chance to live and work in London, was suddenly dropped on my lap. Looking back, I am glad I had the presence of mind to grab that opportunity.
It was six months of balanced life and work, of travelling and quality time with friends.
One of the hundred things that I missed when I left London, are the free newspapers distributed near the train station after work. There are actually two papers circulated, but while we say No, thanks on the Lite paper, my friend would even ask, "can i have one please?" on the one that distributes thelondonpaper, who would obligingly give at least two copies! Thelondonpaper had been our source of gossip in the city but the fun sections to read are the London Struck, and the About Town columns.
Months after I left London, and started to show signs of you-never-know-what-you-have-until-its-gone syndrome, i begun visiting the online site of the londonpaper. It's a small connection, but it helped me sort out why I seem to have difficulty letting go of living in London, and what are the things that I really miss about the place.
However, this little solace will be cut short, because as of yesterday, the paper ceased its circulation, and the website will no longer be updated.

chiba minato hanabi

together with a couple of colleagues from the office, I went and watched the hanabi at chiba minato. only this time, i was wearing yukata (japanese summer kimono). It was my first time to wear this japanese traditional dress and is actually a nice experience.
Though truth be told, I dont plan to go to another hanabi wearing yukata, as it is not exactly the most comfortable outfit.

while the bigger cat is away, the smaller cat took the mouse away

... and the mouse cant play.

It was a dinner with the team which I was not really looking forward to. If not only for the fact that the department just recently organized and that would be a chance for me to know who are going to be my teammates, I would not hesitate making an excuse not to join. Not that I’m even really interested on meeting the new members, but as a contract personnel and a gaijin at that, I thought it wouldn’t hurt to make myself be less ignorant of the ways in the office.

But the thought that the dinner is not exactly worth the while, is underestimating Small Cat’s* knack for making meetings like that worth-blogging.
(Small cat is our team manager who is not exactly small at all ;p)

At first, as there were new members new to the team (three are freshmeat)and the others because of the reorganization, everyone was asked to introduce themselves, say something about themselves. There’s even Q and A portion, mind you! (well it has to be imposed else no one would really take the effort of pretending that they were paying attention on what each one is saying). Though, there were bits of “revealing” details, like how one of the freshman just broke up with his girl… it was still not the thing that made the night ... sort of life changing for me, the little mouse.

Small cat started which I could only call now as “signing up the mouse”. I had the shortsightedness of seating beside him again!! Anyway, one of our conversation went on like this…..
Small cat: So are you busy?
Me the mouse: A bit, there’s still some work being done.
Small cat: Oh, I don’t think so.
Me the mouse: (Is he calling me a liar?). No, really. There’s some stuff on offsite.. yada.. yada..
Small cat: You see last month, I was requesting to take some people from your project to work on this proposal. But I was told Big Cat* just had some work cut out for you guys at the time. But I believe now, your project is in lull stage, that it would just get busy later this year.
(* Big Cat by the way is the department manager up until he joined our project at the beginning of this month. He’s now acting like the adviser of the project and I think of the department still.)
And you know this proposal is for 400 kbsd grassroots refinery (times three my present project), five hydrotreaters, etcetera..

And he went on how remarkable the project is. He really looked like a kid who’s talking about his chance to own the newest and coolest game console and well….one couldn’t help to be as enthusiastic as he is… and I just heard myself agreeing how challenging it must be!!
And so he went for the kill…

Small cat: I need lots of people for this proposal. So what do you think about working for this proposal? Interesting right?
Me the mouse: well yeah… (with more enthusiasm than i should have shown.. darn!)

So that was last Friday, and Monday morning, just sometime past 9, my project lead talked to me and let me know that I will be moving to that proposal project after a week. Big Cat by the way, is away and in Client’s office.

From not so busy life with my current project, I will be jumping in to another one where my only hope is at the end of the project, I get to keep my sanity! ;p

the wedding

this is quite long overdue

We are a group of seven different personalities. But somehow during our highschool days, we found ourselves drawn to each other. The first couple of years, the `barkada` was a work in progress, but during our last year in highschool we knew our friendship had blossomed enough to carry us through the years of separation to come. Truly enough, we tread our paths for our dreams individually.

After highschool we kept our channels open, trying to keep on tab of each other whereabouts and whatabouts. The meetings were not as frequent as we would want to, but every time we get together, it would be like highschool days all over again, reminiscing in between giggles, and though the thoughts and secrets that we share has more serious undertones, it always feel right confide to each other.
During our reunion last december, everyone`s in attendance. Rightly so as it is R`s wedding day!


Its the first wedding in the group, and everyone`s excited. R made sure everyone is gonna be part of her wedding, involving all of us in her entourage.



The date`s 12.27.08 at the town where we all grew up, the wedding ceremony inside the church which had been part of our highschool years ;)
It`s a very fine day, quite fitting for the occasion.

To R and R....
You were born together, and together you shall be for evermore....but let there be spaces in your togetherness. And let the winds of the heavens dance between you. - Kahlil Gibran

hina matsuri

or doll festival...

another japanese tradition (would have been better if a real holiday though). it is also considered Girl`s day and families with young daughters will display a set of ornamental dolls showing the emperor and empress and attendants.





these were on display near the exit gates of the train station nearest to my apartment. The doll set is usually 7-tiered, and from the prices I saw in the shops, they do not come cheap.

Anyway one of my japanese officemate, a cool but quite advanced in age, and has three daughters, mentioned that he put up their ornamental doll set one month early. That he did to remind his daughters they are not that young anymore, to consider to move out of their home.. and get married maybe....
the eldest daughter is probably about my age. looks like father`s wish for not quite young daughters is universal. hehehe

twenty.. thirty..

Travelling back to Philippines had been synonymous to leaving the foreign country where I am based.for good. That was how it was for my past three jobs, from Japan, to USA, to UK and then back to Japan. The vacation that i just recently took was my first official homeleave. Yesterday I arrived at my familiar apartment here in Chiba and tomorrow I will be going to the same workplace. What a change 'no? Though change is not necessarily better. Its just different. As I was boarding my plane yesterday, I was teling myself so that was how to travel to another foreign country without being grippped with the excitement and anxiety of stepping into unknown territory. Different.

Anyway, today as I went out for shopping to catch the last days of january sale, I saw young adults wearing kimono (japanese traditional clothes) outside the train station.

It then hit me, that the holiday today here in Japan is the Coming of Age (Seijin no Hi). Japanese turning twenty usually celebrates the day by wearing kimono in all its finery. Twenty, in japan is considered the beginning of adulthood in japan, as it is the minimum legal age for drinking and voting.
After I finished my shopping, I saw another group of young females in kimonos. I muster the guts to ask if it would be okay to take their pictures. And they gamely posed for one.


On the other hand, two of my good friends are turning 3-0 this month, a decade older than those young delightful adults. But I know they are both smiling and happy now, having both received very promising gifts :) I am glad for them. I wish that I will have something special to celebrate when my turn comes... in 9 months time. Amidst the uncertainty and shadow looming ahead, it does not hurt to hope right? :)

happy new year!

Oompawoompagirl tagged me.. the rule being
The first player of this game starts with the "6 weird things/habits about yourself" and people who get tagged need to write a blog of their 6 weird habits/things, as well as state this rule clearly. In the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. Don't forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" in their comments and tell them to read yours.

i decided to dust off the cobwebs on this blog with this entry, though i still dont know if i will be able to come up with 6 eccentricities about moi.

(1) heights.. heights.. im a "little" acrophobic. More so.. if there's no barrier between me and the vast heights!
(2) i usually have dreams during my sleep, some of it i even remember after waking up. It is only when I am bone tired that i get to have a dreamless sleep. also, i was told i speak while sleeping too. busy sleeper!
(3) Dory syndrome, short term memory loss! its the only explanation for my being quite forgetful. Its one habit by the way that i tend to improve on this new year.
(4) boring tastebuds! while i enjoy travelling and the adventure of discovering new places, cultivating my tastebuds for different gourmet in the world has become too much of an effort! Thus, i tend to miss the delights and hazards of experimenting on local foods of places i visit.
(5) i didnt learn how to swim until college days when I enrolled in a PE Class. That may not be quite so unique, as I know of few friends who still can't swim much up to now.. hehehe ;p. But i grew up near the beach. My father used to work in a beach resort and i usually spend half of my summer vacation in that resort when i was young. I love the beach and the sea even then.. pero p float float lang.
(6) Unique handwriting..it takes sometime for most people to decipher.

And for friends to tag.. im tagging yuki, the only other close friend i know that is still actively blogging.