travel tips - paris

i figured that some people might benefit with my "cheap" travel knowledge in some countries.

here's some if you're travelling to paris...

- EIFFEL TOWER: don't take the lift from the ground to the topmost section of the eiffel tower. what you do is climb the stairs (til you cant climb it anymore) and then take the lift from that section. it's approximately half price cheaper. AND, you get an exercise!

- MUSEUMS - it's free every first sunday of every month and also during nuit blanche (white night). must see: musee d'orsay!

- ST CATHERINE'S BODY & WHERE MARY APPEARED TO HER (IMMACULATE MEDAL) - for the catholics out there, this church is not in the guidebooks coz i think they try not to attract a lot of tourists as it's almost always jampacked anyway. you get off at the Sevres-Babylon station and walk towards a famous/high end department store (sorry, forgot the name). the church is right behind it.

- LOUIE VUITTON STORE - if you want some extra cash, you can wait outside the store til someone(usually chinese/japanese) asks you to buy an LV bag for them. they pay you to buy it for them. dont forget to bring your passport as they said that LV only allows u one purchase and they keep a record of it. i heard some people pay around 100 euros.

i'll try to post another blog soon on some other places...

ozzie greetings

I know this is long overdue. Sorry guys! My excuse is that I’m busy and I’m lazy too.

Anyway, there’s this one thing about ‘greetings’ in Oz that I totally can’t understand and up till now I still have trouble saying it! I don’t understand why everytime you talk or meet someone, you always have to ask how they’re doing and they pose the same question back at you without really ever meaning it. I’m sure both parties seldom mean it. Coz how can you mean it when you don’t really know the person? Duh! I’m still trying to figure out how to answer them. The funny thing is if your answer is not the typical answer, they wouldn’t really know how to respond back and both of you are in this awkward situation. So I’ve compiled a list of the usual questions/greetings and answers. Let me know if you guys can think of additional stuff. My typical answer is ‘Good’ coz that’s the fastest, safest and first thing that pops in my head even if I don’t feel good!

Questions:
- How’re you doing?
- How’s it going?
- How’re you?
- How’s everything?
- How’re you going? (This question is confusing! Going?!? In which my lovely friend, Jess, replied “By bus” and got a weird look from the bloke! Haha!)

Answers:
- Fine.
- Ok.
- Not too bad.
- Good.
- Great.

Comeback Questions: (Once they/you’ve answered, you have to return the question and go through the process again)
- Yourself?
- And you?
- How about you?

And take note, this question/answer thing happens every single day, every time you see a colleague or you meet someone and with my job, every time you answer or talk to the client! Another funny thing is that everyone rushes to answer and ask the question without really listening then rushes to the main thing that they want to talk about. Why go through all the hassle and waste saliva??

estupida

you guys wont believe what i've done today! damn it! i'm one super stupid person!

i was on my way to heat and eat my lunch at our office's pantry. walking towards the lunch table, one of the guys playing at the pool table started talking to me - asking me about training and how i find the company, etc. i answered him but i couldnt figure out who he was and what his name was. then stupid me asked, have we met before? and he replied, i was the one who interviewed you!!!!! punyeta! am i stupid or what? and to top it off, he was the General Manager and was playing pool with the Managing Director! so there i was looking stupid in front of the big bosses! damn it! i guess that's the end of my hopes for a bigger salary... bad cat! stupid cat! i feel totally shitty!

work: day 1

i know it's my second day of work today but anyway, let me tell you about my first day of going to work instead..

got up around 730am to get ready. had cereal breakfast (and stole some milk from my flatmate..shush!). left around 830 to walk to the bus stop. man, walking to the bus stop is excercise itself! it's an uphill climb to reach the main road (btw for those of u who haven't been to australia, the roads/streets here are one hell of a roller coaster ride with all the stomach wrenching twists, turns and dives). by the time i reach the street, i'm out of breath already! and that's just 5 mins walk! had to wait for the bus and i know u guys would ask -- yes, I GOT THE RIGHT TICKET THIS TIME! no inspector would or could dispute it. anyway, arrived at TT around 930 and got introduced to everyone in the company, had a presentation of the history of the company, blah blah.... lunch time came and no one invited or asked me to have lunch with them so i went out and bought lunch for myself (pathetic!) at this food court down the street and ate it at the pantry. talked to a couple of guys playing pool and doing crossword puzzles (guess that's the IN thing in TT) while eating my lousy japanese lemon chicken lunch. after lunch, it was back to company stuff again. finally, the clock struck 530 and was so happy to go home! but, not before having a bottle of beer to celebrate my first day at work! shit, my brain's shouting -- beer belly!!!! but well, have to keep up with the culture so went home smelling like beer. anyway jumping out of the bus, i followed this guy crossing the street and suddenly realised that i'm stuck in the road and the light just turned green! pucha! panic my ass! i was running across the road scared shitless and heard this car screech! ok, no more jaywalking in oz too! and no, i wasn't drunk.. just stupid! the ironic thing was, after crossing the road, i went through a cemetery as a shortcut to get home. haha. sus!

back to the rat race

hay! it's back to the working world again for lil ol' me... got a job with Tourism Technology. it's the developer of a wholesale travel management system. their website is www.tt.com.au. for my k2 friends out there, BAWAL tumawa! alam ko na yung hirit niyo! bwisit! haha.i just realised it when i emailed their HR person and saw the email address. and after much deliberation on which company i'd like to work in, i realised that sa name pa lang, this is IT! well, hope this company brings me HUGE, GREAT things (meaning BIG salary ha) ;)

oz-centricities

living in australia for a month now, here are some things that have caught my pinoy attention...

1. waking up to the sound of the kookaburras - HA HA HA! i'm wondering if it's laughing at me or what?! it's one hell of a weird chirping sound for a bird.

2. bondi beach bobo - i was so excited to get into the water and not waste summer sun but oh boy, hello ginots! FREEZING cold! puch! makes me want to go home to pinas' nice warm tropical waters.. oh, and take note, there isn't an inch of shade on their beach - no coconut trees, no sun brollies (except for the japanese tourists who carry their umbrellas with them all the time and wear long sleeved clothes. duh, BEACH!!!)... so, dont expect me to be as white as sheet the next time u see me!

3. local channels - can you believe that their local channels have better shows than cable TV?!?! they have The OC, CSI, Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, One Tree Hill, Simpsons, etc etc... who would want to subscribe to cable TV now?! oh, i also noticed that they have tons of american shows here. the people, lifestyle, fashion and the culture is actually an american/british mixture but i would say it's more american.

4. Charles and Camilla upcoming wedding - my fave comment by an aussie ---> "who cares?! their the 2 UGLIEST people in the world!!!!!" my thoughts exactly! good thing that charles had kids with diana or else who would care about the royals in UK?

blog-wagon

finally joined blog-mania! i would like to thank http://abspeak.blogspot.com for encouraging me in this venture. mwah! mwah!

i guess too many dorky things has happened to me that people need to know and laugh about! i will try to amuse you with what i can remember... tbc