just missing the old days

feeling melancholic ako today. could be brought by the cold wind..

anyway, i just needed to get this out of my system..

i miss a lot in singapore.. people i took for granted, small things or gestures that remain unnoticed. its true, you only get to see the value of something when its gone.

i miss my friends, my housemates. i miss the good old days even the tampuhans and the silent disagreements. i miss the laughters and the fun.

i miss having lunch at the food junction. i miss cooking for a lot of people, yung pang-carinderia. i miss going to the holy trinity church and visiting Mama Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

i miss the sunny/rainy weather, i miss using my umbrella :)

i miss the bus and the mrt. i miss going to LP. i miss the friday night movies and dinner... even the makan sutra.

i miss singapore. and mostly, i miss my friends.

you know, life here is a lot different. maybe, im just adjusting. or probably, im just truly, really missing the good old days.

i just realized that in chasing my dream, i have to leave a lot of people behind. people who affected me in a lot of ways probably they're not aware of. but i know, that these people are going to support me all the way..

sweet dreams

back in sg, i normally sleep past 12am.. sometimes, 2 or 3 depending on what i was doing that night. and at morning time, i have to snooze my alarm a couple of times before finally moving out of bed.

oh well, here things changed a lot. whenever i see my bed, i wanted to go under the duvet and cover myself. you know, pag malamiggg masarap matulog. and i guess thats what happening now. for the past few days, i've been home before 6pm. and there's nothing to do here. i dont wanna clean the house (because there's like a lot to clean!!!) nor stay at the living room all by myself. so what i normally do, go inside my room and changed. then, go to bed. would you believe that for the past few days, i slept before 10pm and woke up by 730am.. that's like 9.5 hrs of sleep. galeng!

i survived the night alone

when joan and joboy brought me to my house, i setup my laptop and connected to the internet to checked for my emails.

by 8pm, i was already cooking downstairs. syempre, no dinner for me.. bread and juice lang. i was not in the mood to eat din naman, i have a sore throat kase.

when i was done cooking, went upstairs and watched 'one more chance'.. then, went to sleep na.

well, the problem was not with the wind nor sleeping alone. my sg mobile keeps on disturbing me. i think i had 3 phone calls during the night. one from ait, diners and another one from a chinese lady.. naku! how much naman kaya ang babayaran ko for receiving roaming calls nyan :(

im looking forward to heroes marathon tonight...

my new place

written feb 25

when i moved out of the b&b after 2 days of my arrival here in ireland, joan and joboy adopted me for a couple of days. they welcomed me into their house.

last satday, i moved in to my new place. its not homey and relaxing compared to tropica. think of pinevale, last wkend, its messier than pine times two. and that made me realized how lucky i am to have friends who helped me move out/in in singapore. here, im all alone and all by myself talaga ang cry ko :( my sister was here last weekend again, to accompany me and helped me clean the place na din. buti na lang.

the place is nice din naman. my fireplace sa sala, i think every house does. ang lamigg ba naman dito.

and we had to drag the mattress from the double room to my room pala. the owner ordered a new bed for me but the delivery will be on wednesday pa.

why ireland?

someone asked me.. why ireland?

hmmm.. let me think about my answer for a while..

few years back, i've been thinking of moving here to be near with someone i know. however, there was no opportunity at the time and i did not make any effort in finding one either hehe

after some months, things changed. and i thought about moving out of singapore. you know, just running away from bad memories. but still, when the opportunity presented itself, i was not ready to move.

then a year later, luck came and i grabbed the opportunity. i believed after all these years, i am no longer running away from something. i have a lot of memories in sg and i am not letting go of those. they may remind me of my past but they made me who i am today. plus, my friends there will kill me if i forget them!

so, why am i here? i just want some changes in my life. i've been in sg for more than 3 years, its about time to move.

and, i can come back there anytime i want naman. and i know that my friends will be there waiting for me.

mahangin ba sa labas?

for the past few days, i've been sleeping before 10pm here (6am sg/ph) and waking up before 7am (3pm... that's almost 9 hours of sleep). but if you know me, this was actually the time i put myself to sleep during friday nights or wkends. does that actually mean that my sleeping habits are still the same? 'coz by 8pm here, im already too sleepy to move :(

today, i was awoken not by my alarm clock but by the howling sound of the wind. its actually scary, i thought someone upstairs was dragging something :( well, the howling sound continues. and its really really cold outside. yung tipong tatangayin ka sa lakas ng hangin at pagbalik mo indoors, someone may ask you... mahangin ba sa labas?

1st day at work

written feb 20, 2008

today begins my first day at work, joan accompanied me until i met the hr and my team lead.

and then my team lead showed me to my desk and help me get settled, like logging in to my pc, installing everything that i'll be needing,introduced me to everyone on the team and helped me get my badge (that's my id). ohh, he also requested for some starter pack for me.

and i am actually amazed on how he did devote some time for me to do those things. i mean, he can just show me where to go or who's to contact but to be there and do everything when i can also do those things, i was truly honored (feeling hehe) and its a lot different to the one i left behind. i have my id, my pc, my stationery and my desk. its nice :D

and they welcomed me here, everyone is nice and giving me smiles.

oh by the way, tl just checked on me. i told him that the lotus notes is not working when i launched it. so, he has to logged some request and he just told me to read some things with regards to the project on the net or i can just go home when i feel like it. wow!

another by the way, its 430pm here and i just saw some employees going home.. double wow!

1st days at ireland

arrived here sunday 1030am ireland time (that's 630pm ph and sg time). my sister met me at the airport. however, it took me some time to get passed the immigration. there's just a long queue for non-eu peeps.

travel by bus from dublin to letterkenny took almost 4 hours. and the route is awesome. fields everywhere, parang north expressway hehe tipong postcard views.

arrived in letterkenny around 5pm. joan and joboy met us at the bus station and brought us to the b&b where i stayed for two nights and two days. we just put our things inside our room and then went to glendale (this is like a subdivision at the back of the office) to view one room.

actually, the entire house is for rent but the owner is sub letting the place by room. so, there are 3 rooms available: en suite, double and single. the en suite is like a master's bedroom in sg, it has a bathroom attached. however, the bathroom is smaller compared to the common bathroom where the tub is. well, the place seems nice and its like a 10-15 mins walk to the office.

we had dinner at a chinese restaurant (parang di ako sa country ng mga intsik galing hehe), pero ok lang. same wavelength ata at that time ang isip ni ate at ni joan. after dinner, we went to joan's house and had dessert while watching tfc and making chismis and just admiring the fireplace hehe syempre, na-mesmerized na naman ako.. first time eh :P

before i forgot, its cold at night... like shivering cold. but when we reached our room, thats another story. where the heater is on, and its a lot warmer.

the next day, we went to the mall and ate showed me some of the stores here. we went shopping and its a lot cheaper here compared to sg if its on sale. i was able to grab jeans at benetton for 10 euros, thats 20 something in sgd.. not bad, ayt?

and i have my shoe size here too.. so, shopping pa din hehe

after joan's office, she and hubby picked us up at the dunnes store (where muntik na kong bumili ng clogs for summer, excited eh?). we went to their friends' place where there's a vacant room. their place is a lot nicer than the one in glendale. the catch? it will probably take me 30 or more so minutes to walk to get to the office. norvs and lenny are kind enough to accommodate me though. they said that they can take turns giving me a lift. pero syempre, kakahiya naman yun na everyday na lang ako makisakay diba? so, i just decided na i'll just get the en suite for the mean time while im still carless (is there such a word?) but i think if i want to join norvs and lenny, i have to get a car and hopefully by that time, ok pa din sila makipag-share. i'll just cross my fingers.

on my 3rd day, ate has to go back to galway and work. and i have to checked out of the b&b and moved in with joan and joboy. they picked me at the b&b and adopted me from tuesday to sat or until i move in to my place. their house is homey and they left me there for an entire afternoon while they were at work. i just unpacked some things and clothes and then cooked my alfredo's pasta-- which tasted bad actually. im not familiar with the ingridients here, i bought the wrong all purpose cream :( well, i threw the sauce away. too bad. buti na lang, i cooked ginataang sitaw at kalabasa hehe

and it was still cold. brrr!

my departure

i left singapore just right after dinner. and my housemates and friends were there with me until i reached the departure area of the changi airport.

the send off party

my housemates and friends organized a send off party for me last feb 15. everyone were invited...

-----Original Message-----
From: Ongkiko, Ma Zarina Farrofo [CMB-IT]
Sent: Monday, February 11, 2008 1:00 PM
Subject: You are all invited! - Feb 15 830pm


You are all invited!

Olive's send off party
Feb 15, 2008
8:30 p.m.
at The TROPICA
Tampines Ave 1
Blk. 61 #14-01

and this was my reply:

Hi,

Tomorrow is my last day here in Citi, rather in SG.
And I wish to share with you my last night here before I embark on a new journey. I hope to see you there!

I may be leaving
But this is not goodbye
I may be far away
But in my heart, all the memories will stay...

- olib
oliveray76@gmail.com

-----------------------

the party started a little late, syempre pinoy hehe

the first guest was che... eh sabay kaya kame umuwi :D
everyone was there, len arrived from the philippines. i guessed she thought that its going to be a surprise, well, it was. if not for che wehehe

jim cooked minatamis na saba, chelle brought pasta, my housemates ordered menudo, tita vangie had cheesecake, nette and hubby brought cake and len imported bibingka from pinas. may nalimot pa ba ko?

i had gifts too: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=4u808ff9.1c6la3ht&x=0&y=-fhi1tm

i had real fun girls, and im surely gonna miss you!

thank you notes

this is the email i sent to all my managers and correspondents in ny, a day before my last day.

--------------------------------

Subject: Thank You

Hi, tomorrow is my last day here in Citigroup. And I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere appreciation to all of you for the support, guidance and help you have given me during my stay here. Its been a pleasure working with you. Thanks again for everything and I wish you all success in the future.

Regards,
Olive

--------------------------------

and these are some of the replies i received:

--------------------------------
Olivia,

Best wishes for your future endeavors.

Thanks for everything!!

Peggy
--------------------------------
Olivia,

You were a great aid in getting PIDS live for Asia.

It was a pleasure working with you and wish you the best in your future challenges.

Best Regards,

Ken
--------------------------------
Olivia,

It has been a pleasure working with you. Wishing you much success in all future endeavors.

Terrence

--------------------------------
Olivia,

Best of luck.

Thanks,
Mahmud
--------------------------------

and this is timeless...

hey....wish you all the best...

oh my god........why are everybody leaving....

my goodbye letter

Hi Girls!

I just want to say thank you for the friendship. Cliche as it may sound, but words are not enough to tell you how much I appreciate knowing all of you. You've been an integral part of my life here in Singapore. And that makes it hard to say goodbye.

It's been quite a long ride.. but a ride I deeply enjoyed. There may be tears and heartaches along the way but I found solace in knowing that I have friends like you. It is indeed a time-well spent.

I know this journey is not going to be an easy one. Syempre, you're no longer there :) Pano na lang ang mga special occasions without you, girls? But I know that this is a blessing that I've prayed for quite a long time (not 6 months but 2 years in the making ata 'to..). Its not yet the end and we may probably grow apart. Nevertheless, rest assured that I'll keep in touch.

- Olib
for updates on my ireland life, you can check this link -- http://myjourneytoireland.blogspot.com/ -- dont send the link to anyone.. im not yet ready to share my life with others :D

PS: pa-fwd na lang kay lenski and gay..
PSS: i'll see you in paris :D

... and the countdown continues...

i had a bbq party with my close friends. we had chicken wings; pork; chorizo and bacon with asparagus, cherry tomatoes and bell pepper... courtesy of chelle and con...

it took us a long while to start the fire. buti na lang jim was there to save the day, este the bbq pala hehe she knows how to start a fire wehehe

and before i forgot, my housemates prepared the bbq goodies the other night.. thanks to raqs, joy and gay :)

the bbq goodies

while we're busy starting the fire

still grilling

picture perfect with the guests

we had an underwater pictorial too.. unfortunately, the pictures are too censored to post it here.

uncle guard was kj though. he didn't allow us to have our time at the kiddie pool :(



i had a really good time today, i hope you guys had fun too.

... and the countdown continues...

the plan was to go to night safari (never been there), have dinner at makan and watch the second screening of ps i love you at the cathay...

it was a memorable night running to the bus stop of the shuttle to safari. we were so late that on our way there, we were discussing whether we have to go via chua cho kang or take the shuttle from orchard. if we take the 1st one, it would probably take us less that 2 hours. if via shuttle, it can be 1.5 hours. we decided to take the second one.. but the last bus just left when we arrived. to think that we walked and ran for more than 10 minutes.

hotel rendezvous bus stop is just beside the cathay where we're going to watch the 140am movie. and i've decided to get our ticket instead and change the time to 1115pm hehe

upon getting our ticket we went to makan to have our dinner... hoping that its open as almost all of the stores are already closed for the holiday. fortunately, its business as usual. however, our favorite oyster omelette store was closed already :( we had chicken wings, baby squid, sweet and sour fish and yang chou fried rice.. yummy!

afterwards, we walked again for 30 minutes going to the cathay to watch our movie. and then we went home..

to my friends who were with me (you know who you are), this is for you...

thanks for being with me as i watched my last SG movie THIS YEAR.
it was not good as the book but your presence made it better.
nyt!

.. and the countdown begins - part 3

i was supposed to meet my GT friends today for dinner. unfortunately, we're lost in translation. i went undertime and i was not able to check the forum. i sent out sms's to a few of them but everyone was busy.. i waited in orchard for an update until only viols showed up.

we went ahead and had dinner na din even if it was just the two of us..

it was nice seeing you again viols. next year, hopefully, i can come back for a visit and see you again.

london bridge is falling down

i booked my ticket, finally!

and im leaving soon :(

im flying with the british... airways lang hehe and the stopover is on london. goodluck to me, i know its mahigpit there pero sana naman wala ako maging problem.

its gonna be a long flight.. almost 20 hours :(

.. and the countdown begins - part 2

went out with my housemates.. watched bahay kubo and cried a river.

ang sakit sa ulo as in... plus, ang kulit ng mga filipinos. ang ingay sa moviehouse!

we had my fave ice cream too... ben and jerry's double chocolate fuder brownie.. yummy!

we went shopping too. by the time we decided to go home, each of us were holding an esprit shopping bag :(

the embassy called

ok ok... i dont want to see raised eyebrows.. the embassy wont be able to give me a call, i know..

oh well, one of the staffs called me. my passport is ready for release. but i was so busy earlier i could not even go to the restroom. so, i told her that im gonna pick it up on monday..

and thanks to joy, i realized it too late.. as in late, coz its midnight when she asked me about my contract start date.

the contract that i submitted to the embassy has a start date of feb 4. tangeks! feb 4 na kaya sa monday and my passport is still with them.. sana na lang when i go on monday, they wont question me about it :(

.. and the countdown begins - part 1

.. chili crab dinner with my former kapitbahays at pinevale: chelle, che, elay, con, pau, cernan and joy.

we're supposed to go to no signboard.. because of a lot of reasons or probably busy sched , we opted to stay at pinevale na lang.

and i had an urgent call to attend to, work related naman,.

anyway, sobrang busog ako knina..

thanks to che for buying the chili crab sa hawker.. first time nya ata hehe saka for buying the bread na din..

and to chelle, for helping me to do my laundry and for buying me groceries..

i owe you girls.. big time!