Continuing my first week in Vienna

23-Jan, Friday
Oh, after all, the reason for my wardrobe shopping yesterday was today's walk to Vienna University of Technology (Technische University, TU: read as "te-u"). Pseudo-scientist that I am, I insisted on going to the university on my own to experiment on my yet another adventure. Subtly worried, my brother suggested that I should just take the U-bahn (in Philippine context: MRT). Still, I didn't waver. So I went straight ahead, just as he instructed me. He told me it's on the right side of the road and when I see cars coming from different directions (maybe an intersection) I must be in close proximity already. Upon seeing vehicles from different directions, I looked around but didn't see any sign of TU. And so I turned right, the nearest direction I could see. Alas! Across the street, I saw it! Only to find out that the Institute of Chemistry is in another building. I got to ask the desk officer and he wrote me the address. Guess what? I was fortunate enough to interpret his directions accurately. He can hardly speak English, that's why. In about 4 minutes I'm walking through the door of the building I'm looking for. Hooray! And then I asked for that particular department I'm looking for. Again, damn language barriers! But I got the message, nonetheless. The desk officer answered me in 6 words -- "stairs", "left", "automatic door", "4th floor". Yes, sir, thanks a lot. To be fair, it was clear enough. All I had to do was to follow the exact words he mentioned and voila! I'm on the right track. Who would have thought that I'd meet yet another obstacle? The door won't open. It says "ziehen", which I know means "pull". But the strength of my arms doesn't work at all so I figured I must be doing the wrong thing. So there I was looking around somewhere for some clues. I found one. I found a switch, but I can't understand the words written on top. I had to ask my brother for it. He told me to press the switch and open the door simultaneously, which, by the way, I can't do at all. Maybe because my arms are quite short. Have I mentioned that there are 3 swithces in there? Left with no choice, I pressed all the switches! Yes! Someone opened the door for me!! Well, thank you, Ma'am. What's the catch? Here's the catch, the person I'm looking for is on a business trip and the lady told me to just come back next week. Great. What can I say? 'Twas another adventure for me. Then, I walked home.

24-Jan, Saturday
Woke up early. Dad tagged me along in his sofa shopping. We went to three big stores to look for one that fits in our place because almost everything seems to be too big. When at last we found one, it had to be picked up in the afternoon. Evening came and the sofa arrived. By any chance, did we ever remember to measure the dimensions of our cute little door? Because how else is that sofa gonna enter our place if not thorugh the main door? Nobody cared to think of that beforehand. We're all left dumbfounded. To return or not to return, that is the question. But one of us (can't remember who) suggested that we open the sofa and see if we can unscrew some parts of it to make it pass through the door. After about an hour of trying to unscrew things, everyone seemed hopeless. But after I left the "crime" scene, minutes later, they found a way to unscrew it. Yey! The rest is history. The sofa was put in its rightful place...


...but the bedroom looked awful.


Seems like this would be a never-ending makeover for our home. Enjoy!


.Raph.

Herzlich Willkommen in Wien, Raphlin!

Cheers! My first trip this year, my fifth in my lifetime. Welcome to Vienna! The last time I was here was about four years ago. This is by far the longest I haven't been here. 1996, 1998, 2001, 2005. Uh-oh, I could be wrong. I just felt like it was a long time. In any case, it's been a week already spent in an almost foreign land. I might need to backtrack a few days.



17-Jan, Saturday
Negative 2 degrees Celsius. It's a freezing afternoon at Vienna International Airport. My dad and my brother came to fetch us. Our small apartment unit was a mess when we arrived. We're doing a home makeover. What in the world is jet lag? I ignored that term for a while because definitely I'm not supposed to have one when every thing at home is not in place. So before hitting the sack, we made sure that SOME things were put in place especially the living room cabinet that we had to assemble.

18-Jan, Sunday
With our newly made-over home, this is my new personal space.




19-Jan, Monday
I woke up as soon as everybody did. One by one, I sent my parents off to work and my brother off to school. I'm home alone. Yes, the same old feeling in our QC apartment unit. Feels good.

20-Jan, Tuesday
Dad left me something to do today. He's tasked me to organize sewing stuffs into the brand new sewing box.



After accomplishing my task for the day, I immediately grabbed a plate for my much-awaited breakfast and devoured my sandwich and pasta. Yummy.


22-Jan, Thursday
Time for winter wardrobe shopping! Yiha! My brother volunteered to be my shopping buddy. Aw...how sweet. Haha. We went to Vienna's famous shopping street, Mariahilferstrasse, which is just a few blocks away from home. It's definitely a pain in my a** to buy clothes that I'm not used to wear. We spent more or less two hours trying to find a decent jacket and a pair of boots (yes, boots!!). But at the same time, it's equallt fun to try on these kinds of clothes. My mom gave us a hundred euro to spend. We ended up spending a hundred and forty for two jackets and a pair of boots. Stores close at 7 or 8pm so we just got whatever we saw at the last minute. Whew!


.Raph.

T.G.I.T. (Thank God It's TIU's-day!)

(nahalungkat sa hard drive...hayayay, yet another fanpost. )

September 30, 2008 Tuesday

A memorable Tuesday talaga! Putek na Bonfire yan! Literal na putik experience kasi. Putik as in mala-quicksand putik kasi umulan, eh yung venue sa uncemented grounds. Pero happy naman.Salamat sa sorpresang imbitasyon, Teph! At talagang pinuntahan mo ako sa bahay...kahit na last choice mo ako sa pwedeng isama...

Grabe, ang hirap talaga pag sanay nang naka-slippers parati...ayan tuloy. Nung una, ma-poise pa kaming maglakad para wag maputikan ang paa. Pero di talaga kinaya. Halfway papuntang stage, nagbreakdown na talaga ang slippers ko dahil di ko na sila mabuhat dahil sa sobrang pagkalubog. Kaya ayun, nag-paa na lang talaga para lang makapunta sa harap. Worth it naman dahil nakita si Chris Tiu! Although mga 5 meters away, pwede na. Di ko na nga lang kinaya ang meet-and-greet part kasi ang haba na ng pila sa putikan. Next time na, pag di na maputik. Tsk.

Funny lang when we were struggling to lift our buried feet (with slippers) out of the mud, nag-comment ang isang middle-aged woman/alumna sa tabi na, “wow, atenistang-atenista!”. Hehe, ooops hindi po! Pero syempre ganun din naman talaga ang nangyari sa mga atenista (or Chris Tiu fans...haha) na andun na naka-flips lang. ¼ ng length ng pants namin ay putikan din kasi lubog kung lubog talaga! Tapos pati sa may gripo ang haba din ng pila para maghugas ang mga tao after. At eto, ang traffic pa sa katips. Buti na lang sa may tabi-tabi lang kami nakatira ni Teph.

More Chris Tiu

Thanks to Chris's blog, I get updates. :) Enough to make my day! Haha.


First update, I was just thrilled to know that a "Chris Tiu" would actually enjoy a movie that's Twilight (Twilight Fever blog entry). Yeah, this chick flick, almost teeny-bopper movie...that I intend to watch, by the way. Bilang naging instant fan ng book last week (not that it's good, though. Funny read lang). Minutes ago, I was still undecided whether to watch the movie or not. Hmmm...50-50. Not until I've read his blog entry. Now, I'm so 101 % sure to finally see Twilight. Maybe not this week, but it's definite that I'll go see it. Nah, so I think I'll just have to endure the shrieking and giggling of high school girls (and the not-so-high-school ones as well) in the movie house. No, I would definitely shriek and giggle like a high schooler. Yes? Yes. Hahaha.


Second and latest update, Chris Tiu won the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards Philippines as favorite athlete, beating Manny Pacquiao, Miguel Molina, Efren “Bata” Reyes, and Japoy Lizardo. CongraTIUlations!! Bilang ako ay adik lang na bumoto sa yo online, I'm so proud of TIU!!!

Things about Chris Tiu are among the few things that get me teary-eyed. Haaay...I've come to accept the fact that Chris Tiu has a really big influence in my life. Oh, I'm not a fan. I'm just...you know, yeah, a fan. I really look up to Chris as a person. He's actually "too good to be TIU" --- good-looking, rich, smart, nice (at least, sa tingin ko), famous (at least, sa UAAP) athlete, politician (former SK chairman and present kagawad in Makati). Woah, talk about being perfect, eh? So, what's the flaw? I wouldn't know. Oh, I know one...his hosting stints. I don't watch his GMA shows because he's not that good. I wouldn't want his perfect image in my mind to blur. But he's getting there...little improvements every now and then.Anyway, Chris, all the best! Gambatte ne!

Why we somewhat hated Mommy Cora when we were a bunch of high school kids

C'mon, maybe she's just living up to her name -- SERMONia. That's why she has "pampered" us with her sermons. By the way, can someone enlighten me on how the Filipino language (or is it the people? the culture?) tends to negate/contradict the meanings of DEFINED words in the English dictionary (i.e. sermon, salvage)?

Remember how people in school (both teachers and students!) often joke around, tagging our boarding house either a prison or a monastery? Funny, really.

Remember how we often sneak through the gate (after calling a roommate or housemate to unlock the gate, that is) just to keep Mommy Cora from knowing we came home past our curfew, like 7 or 8pm is already late? Was it 6pm, our curfew? Whoah. And by calling, I mean sometimes we really had to shout at the top of our lungs loud enough for someone inside the house to hear but soft enough for Mommy Cora not to hear. Ang labo. Nakakatawa lang. Ang hirap i-describe pero nagfla-flashback ang experience. And just imagine when you're sneaking through the unlocked gate already (not to mention, succeed in not calling the attention of Mommy Cora), that's when Alpo blurts out his revenge. "Holy cow! I've been staying here for years and yet the damn dog still barks at me?!" Mapapaganun ka talaga! Later we've learned that the dog's losing his eyesight (was that Alpo? kung sino man...). But can't dogs recognize people's smell? Oh well, give it a break, maybe it's confused na lang talaga dahil madami tayo. Seconds later, Mommy Cora's on her way out of the sliding wooden door to check up on his beloved dog's outrage. Ayun, in the end, huli ka din lang! A shower of sermon for you.

Remember how Mommy Cora makes rounds at late nights (parang nasa kulungan talaga e, noh?) making sure the lights in our rooms are out? (Shocks, parang nasa kulungan talaga, kulang na lang flashlight. hahaha.) Then, she goes, "SHHhhhhh...sinong maingay dyan?! blah, blah, blah..." when we're laughing our hearts out or when we're chit-chatting. Sometimes we just ignore her (thinking she's gone already) and continue making noise. That's when we'd hear her yet another angry voice saying, "Isa pa, ha, isa pa..." (something like that, I think. I can't remember exactly). And then we'd stop, errr lower our voices a bit. :)

And how can I forget. Remember how Mommy Cora appears with her planggana, collecting our cellphones during exams? This makes me wanna do a "roll on the floor" laugh for real. :D

But like a normal person, Mommy Cora has her soft (cheerful and even funny) side. She'd treat us at times like donating food during our Christmas programs or to her granddaughter's play in Manila (Julia and Amet lang yata to). She'd let us watch TV, too. I remember the shows we used to watch -- Kay Tagal Kang Hinintay with JLC (Yuri Orbida) and Bea Alonzo (Katrina Argos), Digital LG Quiz, Click, MYX, Sarah G's Star for a Night, etc. Mommy also has her pets -- Mommy Cora's pets (like a teacher's pet, you know). Haha. I certainly was not one of the pets, how sad. :D Being the Mommy's pet equates to being a saint. Haha, exagg. Simply put, mga pinakamababait sa aming mga mababait. :)

Remember [insert whatever memory you can think of]?

High school kids that we were, we harbored so much animosity towards Mommy Cora. Now, twenty something's that we are, I think we've come to realize why it had to be that way. Actually, I still don't fully understand why. No pain, no gain? Diamonds are made under pressure? What can't kill you will only make you stronger? [Insert whatever quote you can think of]. Whatever. But I like to laugh about those experiences that I've/we've had.

I somehow miss Mommy Cora now. And Daddy Cora, too. I miss my bed (for 4 years) back then. I miss my boardmates. I miss my roommates (not much, I see them from time to time. haha). I miss high school.

Then and Now: RS and Benedikt

Browsing through the pages of our photo albums just now, I saw this interesting photo from 7 years ago during our summer vacation in V, AT. As always, hangkulet ni RS kay Benedikt sa pic na to.

THEN... (2001)

Seeing this picture, I was so excited to find a recent photo of these two. Alas! I grabbed one fromRS's multiply album (bro, pa-post ng pic dito, ha?). And here are those two kids then, both grown-ups now (not really that grown-up, though). :D Perfectly amazing.

...NOW (2008)

Just spot the difference(s). :)



P.S. Inspired by Bad's "Then and Now" movie-watching, I'm starting my "Then and Now" series.

On My LIGHTEST Note -- Chris Tiu and the gang

Cheers for me!! My fingers led me to certain realities. I found three separate interesting stuff about my crushes (Crush in the sense na natutuwa lang akong panoorin sila sa kani-kanilang endeavours -- Faust in theatre, Michael in singing, Chris on the court. Tipong katuwaan lang na ako lang ang natutuwa...haha.)

• Faust Peneyra's, 23, paglisan (link secured)
• Michael Cruz's, 27, MySpace
• Chris Tiu's, 23, blog -- ...the whole nine yards!!

Friends often mock me how fairytale-ish daw my crushes are. Whatever. Hehe. Basta crush ko pa din sina:

1 -- Faust Peneyra of Dulaang UP
From Faust's Multiply:

"wesley3p wrote on Jul 29

faust! i never knew not unti jaecy's post... waahhh!!! ur leaving na!!! bigla tuloy nag flash back highschool days; u being a great leader till the havana nights sing along!!! magmi-meet pa ba kau before u go?,,, wah, felt like wer losin one great dreamer... but hei, remember wat i said, di lang dreamer, dreamaker ka na!!!! im so happy and proud of u... remember the 'brown raise' renaissance, ur part of it.. go global! show them what ur made of...talentado ka talga! haha! maraming salamat sa lahat ha..sna may chance na makita ko si mr.peneyra ulet... kelan alis mo? kudos! asteeg! galeng! we'll miss u! surely!"

Aalis na daw si Faust?! Ha?! San sya pupunta?! Di pa kami nagkikita up-close and personal! (Harriet, na-sad ako...haha, korni.) Well, kung ikabubuti ng career nya, eh di cge, go lang!

2 -- Michael Cruz of The Singing Bee (true-blue bading, as in!!)
and 3 -- Chris Tiu (syempre, ang true-blue Atenista).
Chris Tiu...as a "masarap maging Atenista" icon. Hehe.

Chris Tiu (in white)...as a...business socialite?

I find the U.P. Fighting Maroon's Basketball Team hopeless, really. That's why during my undergrad years, I used to watch the Ateneo Blue Eagles (Actually, I just watch their games with Chris Tiu as an eye-candy, yay. Even his missed shots are eye-candies!), instead. Ayayay...nasan na ang pagiging hard-core taga-U.P. ko?!


May I singit lang...I remember how I initially wanted to go to Ateneo but later on settled for U.P. Actually, I just got scared of U.P. before because of the I-don't-know-if-they're-slums-or-what areas I saw when we were going around campuses during the summer before college. But eventually,syempre, di ko ipagpapalit ang U.P. kong mahal. Chris Tiu, sayang...haayyy..nagkikita sana tayo parati. Hehe.


Anyway, I found another article related to Chris Tiu that he's hosting Ripley's at GMA. Whaaat?! Eh wala nga yung talent sa hosting sa Pinoy Records eh! (I-mock ko daw ba?) Gudlak!


Bottom line lang ng post na to ay nalungkot ako na aalis na si Faust, pero natuwa ako na nakahanap ako ng myspace account ni Michael Cruz at ng blog ni Chris Tiu. Period, no comma.