Sumo Sam Trinoma

It was Saturday night. It was our Date night. Dinner and a Movie.

Me and Gregory were walking around Trinoma looking for a place to eat. He asked me what I was in the mood for.

"I don't know" I answered.

We walked around until he asked me if I've ever eaten at Sumo Sam.

I said no.

He smiled and said that we should have dinner there.

The place was kinnda packed. Understandable since it was a Saturday night.

The waiter gave us the menu and here's what we ordered.

Rainbow sushi. I had the tamago, the crabstick and the shrip. He had the one's with raw fish. Im not a big fan of those.

California Maki Salad. This salad was REALLY good. I love the dressing they used. And this was good for two. If I had this to myself, I would be full already.

Salmon. I forgot the name of this thing on the menu. I dont really eat fish so I can't pass judgement. Gregory said the fish was really good daw.

I do not remember the name of this dish but its chicken with cheese and carrots in the middle. The meat melts in your mouth. Very delicious.

This place is a bit pricey, almost on the same level as Mr Jones but the food is exquisite.

After dinner, I went out to smoke and since there were tables there, Gregory asked for tea which he drank while I smoked.

After that, we walked around a bit until it was time for the movie.

We were gonna watch The Avengers.

Good movie, good food, and as they say, the rest is history. :)

2 Years Na Pala!

April 2010

I had just arrived from our Hong Kong trip nang tanungin ako ni Mama kung gusto ko daw ba magwork sa Manila.

I asked her why.

"One of our neighbors is working for a call center and they need agents."

I agreed.

I remember the day of my interview in perfect detail. It was a Thursday. I was wearing a blue and white stipped polo and cream colored khakis. My interview was scheduled at 10AM. I arrived at the RCBC Building in Makati at 9:30.

When I entered the office, I waited for about 20 minutes. I was the only one there. Suddenly, I saw this really tall guy and asked me if I was Anton. He introduced himself as the Operations Manager. 

The interview started. He asked me typical questions. Where I was from. My previous work experience. All that shit. The interview lasted for 12 minutes. 

I was hired.

I'd be starting Monday.

As I left the building, I was overcome with joy. Then it hit me. I'd have to go to Baguio and pack 6 years worth of things overnight.

April 2011

I have been working for the call center for a year now. But I knew it was time to move up. I was not meant to be a call center agent forever. My dreams are as big as my waistline.

I applied for a position in the Media team after a friend of mine from the HR Department told me that they were in the process of hiring a Copy Editor.

I also remember how my interview went. How I was asked to rate my fluency in English from one to ten and without batting an eyelash, I looked at them and answered, ten.

"Cocky. I like it." said one of the interviewers flashing me a smile.

I found out that I got the job. I beat out every single applicant and all of them were external.

April 2012

Its been two years that I've been working for our company. I'm as happy as I can ever be. Slowly but surely, things are looking good for me.

I have a great job. I have a great boss. The money is kinda good considering what I do.

I'm happy right now. But my dreams are big and my boss knows that and he said he likes that about me.

He said that he'd help me in whatever way he could.

It's been two years since my life changed overnight. Two years of living in the city again. I have made a lot of wonderful friends and have met a lot of terrific people. 

Two years and about 50 pounds later, the boy from Baguio is still living in the city and working in the same company. 

And just as how he felt the day he got hired, he's still perfectly happy.

Sa Taxi

Me being the maarte person that I am, kadalasan ay nagtataxi ako. I dont really like riding in jeeps. First of all, mainit and I cannot stand the heat dahil sobrang dali akong pagpawisan. Second, natrauma ako sa holdapang nangyari a few months ago.

But don't get me wrong. Nagjeejeep din ako lalo na pag sobrang lapit lang ng pupuntahan ko.

One morning, I was running late for work. Well, I think late na talaga ako non so sumakay ako ng taxi. Pagpasok ko sa taxi, sosyal si kuya. Touchscreen and radyo at may GPS ang taxi niya. Pero ang hindi ko kinaya ay ito.

I discreetly took a picture of it using my phone.

Tambling!

May life vest daw sa ilalim ng upuan ko. At yang maliit na sign na yan ang nagpasaya sa araw ko.

Baguio Part 3

Monday morning nang umalis kami ng Baguio. Dahil may work ako kinabukasan, I had to go home. Sina Mariah at Alvin, pumunta pa ng La Union dahil gusto ni Alvin magswimming sa dagat.

I didn't tell any of my friends na umalis na ako. I'm not really good with goodbyes when it comes to them. I always end up crying inside the bus.

Honestly, I was nervous of going back to Baguio and I was unsure as to why. It was my friend Bongga who made me realize why.

" You're probably nervous kasi pagdating mo dun baka ayaw mo nang bumalik ng Manila."

She made perfect sense.

But I haven't seen my friends in over a year and I miss them a lot.

I was happy to see them. To visit Darnell in his office, Jet in his office and Lyve came to the hotel. I was suppose to meet up with a few more people but I was pressed for time. There's always a next time.

But one thing I've realized, Baguio isn't the same anymore. It has changed. More buildings, more establishments, less tree's. The only thing that makes me want to go back are my friends.

So to my friends over there, I miss all of you. To those I wasn't able to meet up with, I will be back very very soon. I've already squeezed it into my schedule :)

Promise.

Baguio Part 2

Dahil sa pangungulit ni Alvin, pumunta kami sa Tam-Awan Village. He also wanted to eat Pinikpikan, kaya ayun pumunta kami ng Tam-Awan.

I haven't been to Tam-Awan in a VERY long time and it looks a bit different now compared before.

After kumain, inakyat namin yung bundok. In fairness, I was not prepared for that. Pero enjoy. Tawanan lang kami ng tawanan.

May video si Alvin na tumitili sa taas ng bundok dahil pinagtritripan ko siya pero baka patayin niya ako pag inupload ko yun dito hahaha.

(To be continued...)

Baguio Part 1

A few weeks ago, Mariah, Me, and Alvin went to Baguio for a quick vacation. Pagdating namin dun, the first I did was call up my friends.

So we had breakfast at Zola with Darnell.

After breakfast, Darnell had to go home to rest kasi katatapos lang ng shift niya. Kami naman, naglibot libot sa Baguio. First time ni Mariah dun.

At around noon, we went back to the hotel to rest. I txted Lyve and told her to meet us there. Pagdating niya sa hotel, I swear to God I lost my senses and started the hysterics the moment I saw her. I haven't seen Lyve in more than a year so sobrang tuwang tuwa ako nung nagkita kami.

We had lunch at Good Taste. A trip to Baguio would not be complete unless you've eaten at Good Taste where one serving is good for three people.

Naloka si Mariah at Alvin nung dumating yung food.

After lunch, Lyve had to go home so naglibot-libot kami ulit. We ended up in John Hay.

We stopped by Tsokolate De Batirol.

I can't find any pictures of when we were there. Baka nakay Alvin or Mariah since sila ang nagdala ng camera.

After that we went back to the hotel to rest.

I woke up at around 10PM and got dressed dahil kailangan kong pumunta ng Kaffeklatsch para i-meet ang isang friend ko dun. Plus I miss that place, dun ako nakikijamming noon.

I went back to the hotel feeling happy because I got to see my friends that day.

(To be continued...)

Shirts

Since I always wanna make a statement, I had some shirts made based on some designs I thought off. Its a good thing that I found this place that prints shirts for a good price. Since I had multiple shirts made, they kinnda gave me a discount on them. The price I was able to save was equivalent to one shirt. Pwede na diba?

My favorite is the first one. The blue doesn't really go well with me though. I become darker when I wear it pero kiber. I like it eh.

I love the fabric of the shirt. It's made of cotton but not too soft so less chances of the shirt getting ruined. With the quality of the print, so far so good. I've tried washing them by machine and by hand but the design doesn't chip or crack so yey.

Oh, a big thank you to my officemate Joey who helped me with the designs. He is a photoshop genius.

At dahil medyo pasaway ako, I wore the blue shirt to church. Well, their reaction is a story best saved for another day :)