Day 61 - My Last Day

Although it's Saturday and technically a Rest Day, it's the official last day of July and my official last day at work. I went to the office to clear out my desk, as you can see from this picture, and also to finish all my pending tasks.

It's the first time in the 4 years that I've been in that company that my desk has ever been this clean, so they're probably a bit glad to see me go. Hehe. I'm really going to miss it, though. You can't be in a certain place for 4 years and not have it become a big part of your life. I feel really sad to be leaving it, but at the same time, somewhat happy that I have a new life starting today.

Or am I just romanticizing this too much and that the truth is that I'm broke, unemployed, and have taken my "no direction in life" status to an even worse state?

Day 60 - My Farewell

I guess it's only fitting that on my last day at work, the farewell party is at Music Match, where our team had its first videoke session. Somewhat funny story: I had been telling the team over and over that we should go and have a videoke party and when they finally did, after the Christmas Party last 2008, I wasn't even able to go because I went home earlier than everyone else.

Of course, we'd gone to videoke several times since then, and I was able to go to each one of them, but those were at different places (mostly at Center Stage, at Jupiter St., Makati). This was the only time we went back to Music Match.

In this picture, I'm holding the cake that our team leader K specifically had her best friend J make for this occasion. It's a blueberry cheesecake, which I'm not particularly fond of, but who has a right to be choosy with presents? :P It was delicious, anyway. :)

Again, I don't want to be too sentimental, but I'm really going to miss them.

P.S. Since you can see both my hands in the picture, I obviously can't take credit for taking this. But I was the one who asked E to take it. So it still counts as my photo of the day.

Day 59 - Stopover at Sunset

STOPOVER - the term for the general area in The Fort where some well-known establishments are found (e.g. Jollibee, Pizza Hut, Shell Gas Station, Starbucks, South Star Drugstore, etc.) It's a pretty popular lunch destination and general place to hang out for both students and employees in the area.

On my second to the last day in the office, I decided to take advantage of the big windows and take a picture of the view from our 12th floor. I guess I won't be able to see this view live again, except if maybe I find work in the same building. But there's very little chance for that to happen, so yeah, this is so I won't forget what it looked like. Gah. I hate being sentimental.

Anyway, I took this at around 5:30PM so it's technically sunset, though I guess it's not obvious here since the sun is setting on the other side. Still, I guess it's pretty neat to see the colorful lights on while there's still a bit of light from the sun.

Day 58 - Special Delivery

I have always loved receiving things in the mail, whether they're packages or letters. (The only thing I don't like are bills.) I think I equally enjoy sending things in the mail, through the post office or couriers like LBC.

This is a receipt I got when I mailed my pasalubong from Kota Kinabalu to E and his officemates in Quezon City. It cost me P205 to send, but considering the distance, the transportation fare probably would've cost me the same even if I delivered it there myself. And they got it on the very next day, which is of course, convenient.

I made this in black and white because I think documents look better in black and white.

Day 57 - Fort Bus Fail

Due to "faulty wiring", one of the older Fort Buses was suddenly on fire. Some officemates and I heard an exploding sound from our office on the 12th floor of a building near the area. At first we thought that it was something that fell from one of the buildings that were under construction, but it turned out to be this bus' engine.

I took this photo along with a few videos of the incident through the window of our office building. My camera's zoom worked overtime since I took this from the 12th floor. I wasn't the only one taking pictures, though. Just a few minutes later, the news of this was already on Twitter and in Yahoo! Philippines News.

Fortunately, the driver and all the passengers were already out of the bus when the fire started. But it does raise some questions about the old Fort Buses that we still see operating.

Day 56 - Football Plushie

"Borrowed" this plushie from a friend's work station in the office. This day is so boring that that was the highlight of it.

Day 55 - Mr. Snack Bar

I saw Inception for the second time today. Because it's just the kind of movie that you have to see twice to really understand. Or maybe, enjoy in a different way, like The Sixth Sense.

Anyway, this is one of the guys who walk around in the theater during the trailers to sell snacks and bottled drinks to the people who maybe didn't have time to line up at the snack bar outside. I know, Filipinos are so spoiled, we've come up with a way to make the snack bar come to you, right when you're on your seat and waiting for the movie to start. (Or maybe it's because there's just a lot of people who need the income.)

I took this picture outside the cinema, while waiting for my brother who bought the tickets.

Day 54 - North Bound

We scored some free tickets to see the movie The Last Airbender. The catch? The cinema is at SM North, a place that's literally about 50 kilometers away from where I live. I had half a mind not to go because of the distance, but who says "No" to a free movie? :P Besides, my friend and almost-neighbor L was going, too. So I was sure that I wouldn't have to be alone on the long commute.

I took this picture while we were on the MRT, the fastest way to get to the north of Manila for south people like us. L is the one holding the hand rail and making a funny face. >:P

And, I just want to say that because the malls there (SM North and Trinoma) are so crowded (like really really crowded), nearly the entire time that we were walking to the cinemas, we talked about how much better it is to live in the south. ;) Hahaha! Call us the most biased of all southern people. >:)

Day 53 - Hong Kong Lunch

As a thank you for our good work, a branch of our office treated us to lunch by sending money to our director. I think it's because it was the Hong Kong branch that sent the money, that's why the bosses picked the Chinese restaurant next door to our building. Luckily, it's a very good restaurant, and this was one sumptuous meal. :)

Thanks to my team leader K for including me in the list, even if I'm not technically assigned to work with the Hong Kong office.

Day 52 - Treats from Cebu

TURTLE AND OTAP - Otap is a kind of biscuit covered with sugar, and the keychain is a purple turtle with the word "Cebu" written on it.

My best friend went to Cebu and Bohol with his officemates last weekend (on the exact same weekend that I went to Kota Kinabalu with my mom) and thoughtful person that he is, he brought back biscuits and a keychain for me. :) I didn't even have to ask him or anything. Now, if only he could be as nice with regard to other aspects in life. >:)

I should note that I'm not actually very fond of otap. But one of these packs did get opened a mere hour after I got them courtesy of my hungry brother.

Day 51 - Mirror / Bulletin Board

You know how in some houses, they post notes on the refrigerator door so people are sure to see it? Well, in our house, since the refrigerator is already cluttered with magnets (my mom has a collection), it's more practical to post notes on the mirror in the bathroom.

You won't be able to read it at this size but that's a note to our helper to wake me up at 8:00AM so that I won't be late for work. (Alarm clocks aren't very reliable for deep sleepers like me.)

If you look closely, you'll see part of my hand and part of the camera on the edge of the mirror. ;)

Day 50 - After Hours

My officemates and I went to watch Inception today. But because we went after office hours, we could only catch the last full show, which ended at around 11:45PM. The mall was closed and the only way to get to the bus "station"* was to walk along Ayala Ave.

It's not everyday that you get to walk around the city at such a late hour so I took a picture of what it looked like. The building behind the bus here is The Peninsula Manila, a 5-star hotel that's pretty much a landmark of Ayala Ave., Makati.

* "station" is in quotation marks since it's not actually a station, but just one of the common stops of the bus.

Day 49 - Planner

I didn't have anything interesting to do today so I just took a quick snapshot of this, part of the cover of my 2010 Starbucks Planner. My coffee addiction has made me mainstream.

Day 48 - At the Movies

LOVE - This poster/cardboard display actually has 3 sides to show the 3-word title of Julia Roberts' new movie, Eat, Pray, Love.

Thanks to Citibank and its rewards (Php100 off on your movie ticket for every Php1500 purchase using your Citibank credit card), Sunday night has become movie night at ATC for my family. Tonight we saw The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicolas Cage and Jay Baruchel. It's pretty OK, for a kid's movie. Although I was really expecting more since it was produced by the same people who brought us Pirates of the Carribean. Oh well. Maybe on their next project.

I took this picture while waiting for my brother and his girlfriend to buy food. I could've walked a bit further to take a picture of the other two sides of the display, but I actually like this side best. :)

Day 47 - Lit by Lightning

Today, I got to catch up with my sleep so I woke up at 6PM. Seriously. Anyway, when I woke up, it was raining pretty hard and I got to take a shower in the rain. :)

Because my camera is waterproof and awesome, I was able to take this picture of the park near our house just as lightning lit up the sky. This was taken around 7:30PM, way after the sun has set, and I did no editing to it. This really is how it looked like because of the lightning. Quite beautiful really, except that lightning is dangerous. :(

Day 46 - 48 Hours

After I got home at 1:00AM, I found out that one of my teammates had an emergency so I would have to come in at 7:00AM the next day (technically later that day). Having only a few hours left to sleep, my insomnia struck and I wasn't able to sleep at all. The result, other than a sort of disorientation and dizziness at work are dark, disgusting circles under my eyes. Not that I haven't always had eye bags, but the ones you get from 2 days without sleep are really more irritating than the usual ones.

Picture is in black and white because it just looks weird when it's colored. And you can still see the dark circle anyway.

Day 45 - Office Bus

One of my officemates J, has never ridden the office bus (a free shuttle service for our company's employees) before, and said that he wanted to experience it at least once. It might be because of Fate that on his last day, while we were waiting for a cab (we thought the office bus had gone), the bus came late and he got to ride it. We (E, L and I) sat at the very back row. J's head is the one visible on the right side.

Day 44 - Storm Souvenir

NATURE'S MESS - Fallen leaves and branches from trees around the park

Sorry for the night vision effect. I took this when I was on my way home and it was very very late so I had to edit it a lot (obviously) just so the picture would come out.

Anyway, there was a strong storm the day before (Basyang), which had pretty strong winds so leaves and branches were all over the city. Luckily, there wasn't too much damage, at least, not compared to the previous really strong storms we've had (Ondoy, Milenyo, etc.)

Day 43 - Ruby McFloat

Another day that I forgot to bring my camera #-o or take a picture of anything more interesting than a drink from a fast food joint. I had just come back from Kota Kinabalu and was still disoriented from post-vacation laziness when I got to the office. So I just took a picture of this ruby float from nearby McDonald's. It's just Sprite with strawberry syrup and vanilla ice cream. Nothing to rave about, though it does kind of look cool, being red and all.

Day 42 - Orangutan

MOGLEY - Meet Mogley. He is 7 years old. He lives @ Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Sabah. He is currently eating his reward for entertaining all us tourists.

Apparently, Sabah, Borneo (where Kota Kinabalu is located) is "Orangutan Country", which explains all the orangutan stuffed toys and other orangutan-themed souvenir items. So naturally, we went to the zoo.

I took this photo during the "Wild Borneo" show at the zoo. It was fun, but too short, in my opinion. The orangutan was featured for maybe only 15 minutes and the rest of the animals featured were birds (and a snake, which I'm not too interested in). Still, I had a nice time at the zoo. I discovered recently that I like going to the zoo.

Day 41 - Purple at the Pond

This morning I took a walk around and the hotel and found this on the pond between the hotel building and the beach. I suppose I could've chosen my other shots of the hotel itself or more beach pictures as photo of they day, but I was quite happy to spot this perfectly bloomed flower.

Day 40 - Sunset on the Beach

Sometimes I think that there is no better view than a sunset on a beach.

And then I see a sunset somewhere else and think that that view's just as good. Well, wherever it is, sunsets are always beautiful.

I took this one near the Sunset Bar & Grill of Nexus Hotel, where we stayed at for our second night in Kota Kinabalu. The beach is awesome (6-miles!) and the resort is huge and amazing. I definitely wouldn't mind going back.

Day 39 - Sweetness Overload

My mom and I arrived at Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia today for a 4-day vacation. My dad was supposed to come with us but he got sick. Actually, my mom is also sick, and I almost went alone, but luckily she felt better in the afternoon and was able to come.

We saw this store at the airport as soon as we cleared Immigration and got our baggage. It sold all sorts of sweets and teddy bears and fake flowers. I don't really know why a store like this is at an airport. Maybe it's for those impromptu airport chase scenes in romantic movies? Hmm... now there's an idea for a story, right there! :)

See my Multiply for more pictures re this trip: Kota Kinabalu 1

Day 38 - Reunion Dinner

K and A @ Mile High Diner, Burgos Circle, Bonifacio Global City

More than 2 years ago, the 3 of us always used to hang out and have impromptu dinners because our schedules allowed it. Eventually though, K and I changed our shift schedules and even the building we were located in, and so meetings with A became less and less possible. Once in a while, we remember that we have a lot of fun when we're eating and talking with each other so we arrange get togethers on some nights. I'm really going to miss these.

Day 37 - Flowers! :)

Flower centerpiece of previously mentioned romantic dinner I helped plan

I have always loved flowers and think that they're one of the best ways to express love. Say what you will about them, how they die, and that that's not a good way to tell someone that you love them, I still think flowers are beautiful, and doesn't everything and everyone die anyway? I'm actually planning on writing something longer about flowers, I'll link it here when I find more time. :)

I took this picture just before my fellow organizer and I left the room to the happy soon-to-be (fingers crossed) couple. Hence, the lack of light. She has a picture of this same bouquet on her 365 Project. Linking it because I think the picture she took is prettier than this one.

And see below more pictures from this event. So you can see the difference in lighting. (I told you flourescent light is unromantic.)

Day 36 - Drug Dependence

Isang banig ng Biogesic

I never thought I'd make like an old person and rely on medicine, but headaches (and insomnia) have been attacking me lately and on some nights, taking one of these (paracetamol) is the only way I get to sleep. I know, this maybe a symptom of something bigger (like some sort of depression), but that seems like an overreaction, too.

I took this picture late at night. It's on top of our dining room table.

Day 35 - Pseudo Stars

Extreme close-up of stars night light

A guy friend from the office asked for my help (and 2 other officemates) to turn the meeting room into a romantic dinner venue. I thought, "Why not use this night light that simulates stars in the sky?"

Unfortunately, it only works when a room is pitch black, and obviously, if they're going to be eating dinner, they're going to need a brighter light. My lighting "skills" weren't wasted though because we ended up using another one of my lamps (with yellow light). Bright fluorescent lights are just not romantic.

BTW, this night light was a gift to my parents from my brother. He bought it in Japan.

Day 34 - Bieber Fever

After buying tickets for Toy Story 3, I had some time while my parents were still on their way to the mall. I went to the music store and saw this. And I found it so fascinating that they bundled notebooks with Justin Bieber's face on it (or other singers, see Taylor Swift right beside it) with his CD. Not a bad marketing strategy, I guess. They probably did this because school's just started and everyone's been buying school supplies lately.

Day 33 - Basketball

For the last several Saturdays, my officemates and I have been attending the basketball games of our other officemates playing against teams from other departments in our company. Before this day, they were playing at a court on top of a mall, which had cement floors and very poor lighting. We took pictures there, too, but I never felt like posting them since it wasn't the nicest court to look at. Today however, they got to play at a nice hardwood-floored court at a Christian Fellowship center, thanks to the sponsorship of our office's Executive Director, who apparently can be a sports enthusiast.

We got there early and I took this picture as my officemate E, stared at the basket, just before their game started.

Day 32 - My Favorite Mall

Alabang Town Center Activity Center

Since my shift has changed to 2-11PM, I have some time in the mornings. Today I went to Alabang Town Center (ATC) to buy Pacific Rims.

I've been coming to this mall since I was a kid, when it was still Alabang Twin Cinema. I've always loved it, and although it's undergone a gazillion changes, it's almost unrecognizable from when I first stepped foot in it (way back in the 80s or maybe early 90s), but I love it just the same. It's my favorite mall in the world, and I think that says something, considering that I've gone to a lot of malls not just in this country but in the others that I've visited, too.

Day 31 - Global City Skyline

Took this picture while stopped at a traffic light on the way home from work. Sunset + Few buildings = Amazing city view.

P.S. This is the first day that the no. of the day is no longer the same as the day of the month. :( Hello, difficulty.