Overwhelmed

October 9, 6:40pm Chicago Time; October 10, 7:40 Manila Time

Had a long day of meetings and expectation setting today. Boy, was i overwhelmed with the task at hand. Grabe, parang kulang ang 80 days ko dito to cover and really digest everything that is expected of me. Hay, i just hope that i will meet or exceed the expectations of my counterpart. Sana din makabalik pa ako dito soon for further trainings.

Parang na drain ako today but my mind is still active. Gusto ko matapos muna lahat ng mga gagawin ko for today before i call it a night. I still need to email my boss in Manila, submit my time report and syempre while catching-on on what’s new in P.I. hehehe. (that would mean reading on line papers and blogs, reading and answering emails). I also would want to get in touch with some friends who are in the US. Sana makausap ko at mabisita sila.

Ay oo nga pala, medyo nalilito pa rin ako sa currency dito. Ok lang ang mga paper currency, madali lang yun noh. Nalilito ako sa coins nila. bwhahahaha. For the first 3 days here, i always pay in paper or traveller’s check. ok lang, kaso dumadami na ang coins ko sa wallet kaya i need to use it di ba? So kanina at taco bell, i tried paying in bills and coins para sa lunch ko. hehehe. nakakatawa kc the cashier has to help me figure it out.

Actually ok n sana, kaso lang sa bansa ng milk and honey, yung nakalagay na amount sa menu nila ay di pa inclusive of tax, unlike sa manila, kung ano ang nakalagay dun, yun na ang babayaran mo. Dito amount plus tax pa, kaya kanina nung binigay ko sa cashier yung amount na nakalagay sa menu board ($3.79) sabi nya kulang daw, dapat daw $4 something. So what i did was just dump coins on my plam and asked him to just take some para mabuo ang payment. bwhahha.. My counter part even remarked “so you are still getting used to the currency”. bwhahaha ka loka.

Pag dito sa Merka, di ka dapat mag compute ng mga bibilhin mo. Kc kung nag compute ako, I’m sure di ako makakabili ng food kanina. Imagine mo naman, i spent more than $4 for food. Parang 200 or more na yun for lunch ha. Wala pa dun ang dinner ko at kung ano ano pa. bwhahaha. Tapos kahapon naman $8 for some pizza, water and a puff pastry. tsk tsk.

Sana nga lang at tataba ako ng konti dito. Ang payat ko n daw kc eh, parang bangkay. hehehehe… oks lang tumaba, wag lang sobra kc naman kasal ng brother ko sa January and I want to look fit not baboy noh.

The weather today has been great. A perfect weather - not too cold to need a jacket and not too hot. Parang weather sa baguio or sa tagaytay. Perfect for talking a long walk around the park (ang daming trees dito, grabe, ang ganda!) with that perfect someone. Yun nga lang, wala akong someone. bwhahahaa…may chance kaya ako to meet him here? hay, wishful thinking lang talaga.

Anyways, i hope the weater continues till the weekend. Sana i can go downtown and do some sight seeings. I would love to see some parks, the changing of the leaves, the sears tower, visit some museums and see a play. Shopping? well kung may pera pa at kung may mailalagay pa ako sa bag ko without going over. Why do i always pack too much stuff?