Leisure Suite

2005-12-13T09:26:00.000-08:00

This is why my sleep-deprived weekend was totally worth it..........

I'll might write the stories later depending on how bored I am.... it involves a car ride with Switchfoot, dinner with Lifehouse, and an invitation followed by a bizarre conversation with Howie Day. Interesting stuff, I promise.

Speechless

2005-11-11T11:10:00.000-08:00

Wow.

2005-08-23T09:34:00.000-07:00

Okay, are these not the cutest kids ever?! Their names are Adrian and Alvin and they're nephews of one of the maids at my Uncle's house in the Philippines. They're soo adorable! They live in the backyard area of my Uncle's house. Adrian is 4 and my cousin Jennifer bought him a basketball because all he had before was a deflated ball. Since he got it he's been playing nonstop.

I played with him for like an hour one day and watched him make basket after basket (he was pretty good for a four year old).... and I showed him how to play defense.... but he wore me out.

He doesn't speak english so I'd try my best at putting together most of the tagalog words I knew, but that caused him to think that I spoke tagalog fluently so that plan kinda backfired. He'd look up at me with his big brown eyes and talk and I'd have no idea what he was saying. It was sad. I'd have to take my cues from his facial expressions. And he was so polite and respectful for a little boy. We spoiled him and his brother so much while we were there because we kept giving them American candy and popcorn. They loved it.

When I think about it, it really breaks my heart knowing that he'll most likely grow up to become household help just like his mom did because that's the way things go in the Philippines if you're poor.... His future was determined pretty much the day he was born and he'll have little opportunity to explore his own natural talent. As soon as he's old enough he'll begin spending the rest of his life serving other people just so he'll have food to eat and a roof over his head, and no chance to live life on his own terms. It's a sad cycle and I wish I could do something about it. I feel so spoiled knowing that I, and many other Americans, take for granted the things that he'll never have.

The Best Buffet Experience. Ever.

2005-08-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

This is at the Makati Shangri-la- the hotel we were so lucky to stay at for three days while in Makati City. My aunt was on business and the company paid for everything. It rocked. Or at least we felt like rockstars. It was five star, regarded as the best hotel in the Philippines, deluxe room, killer mini-bar, but I gotta say the best thing about it was the breakfast buffet.

From l-r with my cousins Sabrina, Christine, Jennifer, and I.

First of all, I love food. Second of all, I love bread. This breakfast buffet was my downward spiral.... and my Mecca. Dr. Atkins would've had a heart attack.... again. As soon as you walked into the restaurant- which in itself was gorgeous- to your left was an exorbitant amount of pastries, to the front was a colorful tropical fruit assortment, and to the right-- sushi! That's right, I had sushi for breakfast. It was delicious.

That was just the beginning because the buffet tables went on and on and had the widest assortment of not just breakfast food but international cuisine. My cousins and I stuffed ourselves before a day full of shopping. After finishing breakfast we sat at the table for a while- mainly because we couldn't move- but I just kept thinking, I'm a glutton, I'm a glutton. God bless the hotel buffets of the far east.

Here's us at the pool and a closeup of the minibar:

A Blast in Boracay

2005-07-31T10:39:00.000-07:00

I was leaving mass in Bulacan with my aunt and cousins and this beggar approached me. It's a casual occurence since this is a third world country, but this guy was a little different... a persistent little bugger he was. The typical beggar asks for money and if you shake your head or say 'no' he usually leaves you alone and pursues the next person. It's not that I wasn't going to offer him money, he just never gave me a chance to do much of anything since he kept following me, closing in with each step we took. I could practically smell the alcohol in his breath. SO uncomfortable. I looked at my cousin Sabrina standing several feet away watching- and laughing at me and my predictament and even moreso my utter disbelief that this guy has no shame in invading my personal space. Finally my aunt gave the beggar 20 pesos to back off of me and leave me alone. It worked. That was this morning.

Yesterday we got back from Boracay and the trip was a blast. It is sooo beautiful there. We went snorkeling, sailing, layed out on the beach, and my favorite- went parasailing. I also had the very best mango shake ever. I did, however, see far too many speedos on old nasty men with breastacles. That was the downside. Trying to make lemonade out of lemons, and at the risk of looking stalkerish- I seized this opportunity and specifically sought out older men with speedos and took their pictures. I had to be sneaky. It will be titled Hot Boys of Boracay so don't miss it.

Every day in Bora was a near death experience.....

On the way there, our little Asia Spirit plane experienced severe turbulence. This wasn't your normal turbulence. This sucked so much more. I seriously felt the plane plunging for five to ten seconds all while it violently shook back and forth. My stomach was in my throat by the end of it. Everyone on board was terrified, especially these two Korean girls sitting opposite of us. As the plane rapidly descended they both were holding onto the armrest so hard that they ripped it from the seat at which point they started freaking out. It was hilarious.

It sounds crazy, but the plane ride was worth it. Bora was amazing. The only downside was the transportation. Anytime we had a water activity (i.e. snorkeling, sailing, parasailing, etc.) we had to dock from the other side of the island so we had to ride a tricycle to that area. A tricycle is basically a motorcycle attached to a sidecar so several passengers can ride. You can comfortably seat four in a sidecar of a tricycle. Tricycles are common in the Philippines- some call them 'rats of the street' which is an apt description. Christine and I were in the back of one when I finally found out the true meaning of 'oh shit' handles. That's because driving here is CRAZY and we were going freakin fast on a busy street with oncoming traffic, pedestrians, animals, everything. I glanced at the spedometer to see exactly how fast we were going but it was broken. Go figure. No seatbelts, no doors, just two bars of metal to hold on for dear life.

The shopping was great, too. Everything was so cheap. A pretty shell necklace and earrings for less than three dollars. You could get a massage on the beach for like five bucks. I would've but I was burned. Besides, I got my massage fix on one of my last days in the Philippines (more on that later when I recover from the trauma)....... And one of the coolest things about Bora was this restaurant called "The Hobbit" where all the waiters were midgets. I'll post more pictures when I get them, which will be soon.

Damn that Rooster!

2005-07-23T10:37:00.000-07:00

I will kill that rooster with my bare hands. It's the reason why I've been waking up at 6:30 each morning. That's earlier than when school was in session.

Rewind::

The plane ride here was tolerable and I couldn't complain since from Dallas to Seoul, Korea (14 hour hell flight) there were a bunch of empty seats so we could all sprawl out. It was nice. The Korean airport was swank. They had a Gucci, Burberry, and several other nice stores. I had an Italian BMT from Subway while we were there and it was funny to see a KFC and Burger King in Korea. Of course it's expected since they have TGI Fridays and Chili's here in the Philippines, but it's still weird. And the bologna in my sandwich tasted a little off.

The flight from Korea to the Philippines was a bit tighter as far as space goes. I had to sit next to this random guy who kept burping. I really wish they hadn't served dinner on the flight because first of all I loathe airplane food; second of all, I could smell this guy's dinner and complimentary bag of peanuts after each belch. SICK.

On Wednesday we're leaving for Boracay and it's gonna be so much fun. We'll be there for 4 days and 3 nights.

That's it so far. It's nice seeing my grandmother and my family. More later.

The Other Side of the World

2005-07-22T10:22:00.000-07:00

I'm in the Philippines now. Everytime I come here I forget just how different it is here compared to the US. For instance, yesterday morning I was awoken by a rooster cock-a-doodle-dooing in the backyard. And the driving here is so crazy. Every driving trip is an experience because no one pays any attention to stop lights, signs, or anything at all. In America we're taught to drive defensively. Here I think everyone is taught to drive offensively and get wherever you need to get however you need to get there. It's pretty scary. Then there's the heat and humidity. It's hard to complain about Oklahoma heat after experiencing this.

I'll post more later.... the internet here has been shaky so I haven't been on that much. Here's a picture of my grandma's/uncle's house (where we're staying).

Cruel and Unusual Punishment

2005-07-19T23:39:00.000-07:00

The summer's gone by quickly I'll be leaving for the Philippines in a day. I officially worked my last shift at Borders last Saturday in which I spent the whole time recovering from stupid Harry Potter night the evening before. Potter night can be summed up in two words- freaks and mayhem. Working in the store from anytime between 9pm to 2am would've been a sufficient catalyst for the suicidal. There was barely any walking room, muchless breathing space. As I walked through crowds of people I was inadvertenly violated by the masses since there wasn't much space to move. Disgusting. I actually found that I was in the newspaper yesterday. A Norman Transcript reporter took my picture at Potter night and my name was in the caption. The only problem is you probably won't recognize me because the photographer managed to only include a shot of my hair in the picture. If you happen to obtain a copy... that big black blurb-- that's me.

Before the chaos I was amused by a middle-aged man resembling Kenny Rogers who was wearing a "Vote for Pedro" shirt. I'll really miss Borders since it was probably the most fun I've had working.

And I had another run-in with the cops. I was coming home from Borders at 3am after Potter night and I was tired as hell. Unfortunately, I was greeted with red and blue flashing lights in the rear view. What was it this time? I was going the same speed I always go, I didn't run any lights, I was totally dumbfounded. Suddenly it came to me-- the cop must think I'm drunk. I was so delirious at this point that I grabbed for my change compartment and aimlessly stuck a penny in my mouth. I had learned in Org 2 that a penny neutralizes the alcohol that the breathalizer test detects. But I wasn't drunk at all, just paranoid enough to stick a disease ridden coin in my mouth. I was afraid that if the cop made me walk the line that I'd fail since I was so tired. The penny seemed to work to my disadvantage since talking with a penny in your mouth tends to cause you to slur your words. I just didn't want to spend all my hard-earned money from Potter night on yet another ticket. It turns out she pulled me over for going 37 in a 25 mph zone. I don't know how I pulled it off- maybe because I was so tired- but I managed to squeeze a few tears out just in case. It worked... the kind woman let me off with a warning.