yesterday was the best

it was! it was!

like i said on my previous post, we were invited to visit this software/industrial design expo at another city. but that wasn't just the agenda. we had lunch first before we got to that expo place. after roaming around (and getting freebies LOL) we went to a place nearby to ride the world's largest ferris wheel (now, that's according to them. i wouldn't know). it was wonderful! especially when you're at the topmost part, you can see a vast body of water, Osaka pier, USJ and other places in Osaka in one ride!!! next stop was the Aquarium. weee! penguins, dolphins, sharks, jellyfishes, different types of fish, seal, walrus, stingray, coral reefs, everything!!! my gosh i couldn't remember each and every name of water creatures i saw!!! it was so ganda as in! and oh!!! i saw a sloth. hahah. at 7 in the evening, we boarded Santa Maria ship and i took my first ever cruise. woohoo!!!! we had our dinner there then went outside the ship (only it was really getting cold we had to go back inside). last stop was the game center. we didn't play though and just went around when the office guy a.k.a tour guide said we should take purikura (known as neoprint in the phil). kawaii!!!!

the best best part yesterday?? we didn't spend a single yen (except our train fare on our way home, the office guy even wanted to accompany us to Kyoto which is out of his way already and i did spend on a few items when we passed through a mall hehe). and he was like, gnet-san enjoyed? hai! totemo!!!

mid-week update

• found out this tuesday that i could use ym at work. makes me connected to the phil at least. finished my module a day earlier that same day. the next day, i was able to finish 3 modules. haha. i knew ym-ing makes work easier.



• updates from phil office are interesting. makes me miss some of the people there already.



• been going home earlier than usual this week. good and not good. not good because i get free time to go to stores and again shop. today, it was the 99 yen store and the discount center where we did grocery (food and chocolates!)



• two people will be arriving here on sunday. the other one's staying at room 208, yes! right next to mine. finally! a girl, a change of scenery. no more 2 men and a lady. LOL



• a friend-officemate who's been in tokyo since july came back to the phil yesterday. the last time i talked to her she clueless as to how she can pack all her stuff! another friend-officemate left for tokyo alone early this morning (taking the place of the one who went home). she'll be spending Christmas here (which is sad). hope she got here ok and didn't get lost.



• i've been trying to save yen. if we used to take the train going to the office and walk when we go home, now, we're also walking in the morning. need to save. really. (even if it's just 150 yen).



• getting colder by the day. brrrrr.



• we're leaving the office before lunch time tomorrow. will be attending this expo at Osaka. office guy said we could be returning to Kyoto at 9 in the evening already (he has plans of touring us i think). again, nice but there's the money problem once again. got work on saturday though, to pay for this monday's holiday.

what i enjoy here

• free lunch and dinner in the office (means tipid sa meal allowance). by walking home, natitipid ko din ung transpo allowance ko.



• spending money to enjoy myself using the allowance they gave me. (hindi sana ko maglalabas ng sarili kong money but there's just so many things hard to resist na bilin. d ko na lang alam kung makakabili pa ako ng electronics dito at mukhang mag nnegative balance na ko.)



• pedestrians won't have to worry getting run over by vehicles. talagang titigil at titigil sila for you. and, everyone follows the stop light.



• trains and buses follow schedules. may oras talaga kaya alam mo wat time ka gigising para sa anong sched. there's no way na malalate ka dito. and in case malate ka because of tech problems sa train, pwede ka kumuha ng slip para ipakita sa office.



• girls and boys in uniform. i love their uniforms. although d ko gusto na they go to school 1 whole week.



• their fashion. skirts and boots. chucks. tote bags on guys! cute/pretty haircuts on girls. they don't stare at you when kahit ano pa suot mo.



• the temples, the parks, the geishas (real geishas!!). it's nice that they were able to preserve them. (kyoto used to be the capital of japan. if you wanna see city life go to tokyo, if you wanna see real japanese culture, go here.) dami tuloy tourists (not many filipinos though, in fact wala pa ata kong nakikita).



• ang linis. un na yun.

xs: kulit, i haven' seen any tenjou manga here. kahit nde translated, wala e. pero try ko pa din.
carrots, bags with prints na gaya ng gusto mo, ala din. or nde pa ako nakakakita lang? i'll try my luck this sunday, k?

weeklong update

oct 3 - arrived at kansai airport at 7 in the evening. from the airport, it took us almost 3 hours before we got to kyoto, our official city destination. after dinner, unpacked my stuff before calling it a day.

oct 4-7 - work days. i leave the apartment at 8:30 to catch the train scheduled at 8:37. usually leaves the office at past 9 or 10 (still does ot work here). we don't take the train anymore and just walks home.

oct 8 - left the office at 6 in the evening with a couple of our clients to head to this resto (which i forgot the name already). they have a new employee, thus the welcoming party. they just included me and my pl to welcome my first time in jp. dinner and beer came next. soon after that, i found myself kidding with the people trying to converse with them in japanese and english. their big boss was even joking of setting me up with some of their employees. one thing about them, they're all so accomodating. a couple even went out of their way to show us around the city even if it was raining that day. went home almost midnight.

oct 9 - woke up around 9 and met with my pl at 11. had lunch at another jap resto by the train station. checked out bookstores and their Isetan mall (the mall inside their train station. really cool). took the bus on our way to Kiyomizu temple, one of the temples that many tourists visit. Roamed around and then proceeded to check out the long line of shops. When i say long line, it's really one long line of stores. I enjoyed looking and shopping at the items they offered. It was already dark when we left the temple. Walked our way to our other destination, Teramachi. That's when I saw Maruzen, a 9-floor bookstore. Cool cool cool! Went to their foreign books floor and there i bought this really nice japanese grammar dictionary (won't find one in the phils, that's why). bought a banana yoshimoto novel as well and other school supplies for my sister. By the time we got to Teramachi, it was almost closing time already. Good thing I was able to drop by this store where i got to buy my chucks! woohoo! (it's tame colored and not high-cut though). Got it for only 3k yen (1500 in pesos). Had dinner at First Kitchen (finally i remember one resto) and then went to a Hyaku En store as well. (hyaku en stores are stores that offer a variety of stuff worth 100 yen only). Again indulged myself here. My pl says there are other hyaku en stores around but they're already closed. Vowed to check them out another day. Went home almost midnight once again. Did my laundry when i got home and slept at 2am (with my legs kinda aching already).

oct 10 - woke up at 4am. had to meet my pl by 5:45 to catch the train scheduled at 5:58. got to Osaka (another city) station and waited for jack (another one of us deployed in Kobe). took another train ride for our destination that day: Universal Studios Japan! woohoo! We arrived early (just what we wanted to do) but there were lots of people already by that time (it was bright and sunny day, buti na lang.. since it's been raining here). There were like almost 20 ticket booths there and each line had throngs of people lined up. Pictures, rides, gift shops, shows. Ah! Breathtaking. We went to the Spiderman last since they say that that's the highlight. Woohoo! Astig sobra yung effects! Bitin pero ok talaga! Only glitches: the rides were in nihongo and, i didn't bring enough moolah. Brought 15k yen but the entrance ticket costs 5,500yen already (plus the express pass which was 2,800yen) and so by the time i was buying stuff at the stores, i had to charge them all on card. Last stop was at Hard Rock Cafe before we left USJ. Stopped at Osaka station to have our late dinner before we bid jack bye. Got home almost midnight once again and did my laundry before sleeping.

oct 11 - a national holiday today. initial plan was for me and my pl to meet after lunch to visit another temple and go back to Gion. but, as much as i wanted to grab the opportunity to roam around, i couldn't anymore. when i got out of the bed, my legs were really troubling me from too much walking the previous days. and, i really lacked sleep already. sms'd my pl that we'll just have to cancel plans for the day and re-sched it for this sunday instead (we have to pay for today on saturday). slept the whole day (no breakfast and lunch anymore). when i woke up i again did my laundry and then left the apartment to go to the convenience store nearby. wasted time there, read manga and mags. i have only 1 free day to spend around the city(on sunday) and i hope i get to make the most out of it. super hirap pilitin na maikot lahat. kulang ang one day pero ok na i think i covered more than i could've and it's not like i'm here on vacation. LOL

tomorrow, work day once again.

randomness

• gloomy weather made me gloomy once again.



• something in my organizer caught my eye. months ago i wrote a list of things that i plan or wanted to do. one of them was: travel to any asian country. wasn't really serious when i made up that list, in fact, i've forgotten about it already. Guess He made a mental note of my list.



• in lieu of that, this whole business trip came at the right time. i need to get away once again. i know traveling is fun with people you know like family and friends but with my current state...just me alone in a foreign country, what could be better than that?

octoberfest

octoberfest na nga pala.

sms from burito:

Mrnin iha :) ei ges wat? Exctly a yr ago, aparty wr w u & ur buds n grilla makati 2 clbr8 0penin 0f 0ctfest :) ngttnong ibng aparty kng mauulit ba daw 2nyt yn? :) hehe


ah! but i can't tonight (goes the same with my buds LOL). i'll miss this one plus the octoberfest some batchmates would sponsor.