Affidavit of Loss

I still don't have my stuff from Manila. The forwarding company that J&J hired was supposed to deliver it last Monday. I have been following up the admin assistant everyday since then. The problem was, she hasn't been able to contact them in the last 2 days. So yesterday, the admin assistant decided to just go to their office and follow them up directly once and for all.

The address didn't exist.

They've been had. The guy they were talking to was misrepresenting the forwarding company. And so he got away with around a thousand dollars payment. And my passport.

So together with 2 office colleagues, I went all over the city last night; first, going to the Philippine embassy, which ended up already being closed. Then we had to look for the central police station in order to get a police report. We were prepared for a long and costly night there but fortunately, the officer in charge was extremely friendly and relatively fast in coming up with the document (and he didn't even charge us a single cent!).

Really grateful though to my officemates who pretty much screwed their Friday nights to help me weave through the bureaucracy.

So I'm off to the embassy again on Monday. In the meantime, I hope no one's flying off to Europe using my passport!

Band-Aids

I'm so restless. Been alone in the apartment for only a few hours and already, I have a strange, urgent need to get out asap. Funny. In Manila, I live in a messy, fluorescent-lit building in the middle of squalid downtown Quiapo and yet, I loved nothing better than to lock myself in my room all day, just watching TV. And here I am living on my own in the most gorgeous bachelor pad, and the only thing I can think of is to be somewhere, anywhere else but here.

I guess you see your home differently when you're living alone in a foreign place. Instead of being a secure, quiet cocoon that allows you to escape from the chaos of the day to day world, here, the absolute quiet and solitude just emphasizes how alone you are. This is surprising to a loner like me, who's never had an issue being by myself and has always wanted to live on my own.

I've also been craving for social connection a lot more here. Like I can't stand not being with anyone, or not having someone to talk to (maybe that's why I'm in facebook all day). It's probably because in the isolation of adjusting to a strange, scary new place, you end up desperately seeking emotional comfort and affirmation anywhere you can find it (including all the clubbing and drinking I've been doing).

Good to recognize this and in a way, I think this is a necessary experience I have to go through. But after all that's been said and done, will just have to mature, center myself, and learn not just accept, but actually enjoy the solitude. And this time, without the emotional band-aids.

God has a weird sense of humour

This has been a very interesting night...surreal, but interesting.

Soliliquy

Spending a quiet night alone in my apartment with some contraband vodka. This is only the 2nd time that I've been able to do this in my almost 2 weeks here; quite a feat for such a loner like me. This is so the complete opposite of my regular Manila life. Well, it's nice to know I can actually be both if I really wanted to.

Work is becoming a bit frustrating, not really for the workload or the type of work, but more because of the people I have to manage. They're really eager to learn and work and all, but it just takes so much more effort to get anything done because of the language barrier and the (sorry to admit) competency level. In fairness, I'm a lot more patient here, maybe cause I'm the new guy. Or maybe cause I haven't reached my boiling point yet.

To be honest, I haven't really been too focused on work beyond what is needed. I've been much more distracted by fixing my apartment, my crazy, burgeoning social life, and the drama of adjusting to a new way of being.

Mom just called, telling me to stop eating in restaurants all the time and find a way to eat healthier. WTF?! While I could still bear with all the nagging in Manila, here, it's just plain ridiculous, considering that I'm perfectly surviving on my own. It sounds really bad, but I haven't missed them all that much. And seriously, I don't think I can ever go back to that old life in Manila.

Ok, you can shoot me now.

Maturation

I know that being mature is about seeing and accepting reality for what it is. But when did it become about no longer believing in a better world than what's in front of your eyes?

Turning 40

Sigh...living in a new place really does make you grow up much faster. I probably added no less than 10 years in the last week alone...

Why I Heart Jakarta

1. All the Indonesian food is 1) deep fried, 2) in rich, tasty sauces, and 3) are either sweet or spicy or both. Can life get any better than that? Plus, they're really proud of their local food, which I found fascinating.

2. Swanky malls galore. Perfect for a city slicker like me.

3. Jakartans are really knowledgeable and choosy about their House music. I've actually heard chillout music playing in the mall! Beats hearing a loop tape of the SM jingle anytime!

4. Those exotic Sumatran and Sulawesi coffees you order at Starbucks? That's their Nescafe here.

5. J. Co glazzy donuts (Brewed coffee and a donut = 60 bucks!)

6. Lots of places with free wifi and more importantly, you're welcome to use any of the tons of electrical sockets!

7. Bluebird Taxis. The most efficient taxi service I've seen outside Singapore.

8. Gas is half the price of Pinas!

9. You can't converse in English with a lot of people, but most everyone I've met has been very nice, friendly, and unpretentious. That's such a refreshing change!

10. J. Co glazzy donuts (they deserve 2 mentions!)

My Loft

Sorry pics are too big. Check them out in flickr!

Everyone's saying it looks like something from a design magazine :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80739939@N00/

My Office

Haven't been able to blog lately; this open office set-up isn't very conducive to personal surfing...


Adjusting to the new work life has been strangely easy. I don't mind the horribly small, open space (calling it a cubicle would be an exaggeration!). I was assigned an old Vios which suits me just fine. I don't understand anything anyone says, and I'm obviously excluded from most interactions. The language barrier makes everything doubly inefficient and their presentations are...not to my usual standards. Yet none of that bothers me one bit!

I guess when you're the bagong sal'ta (new guy in town), you naturally become the one that adapts and adjusts to everyone else. You also come to accept that you can never truly be one of them. So the usual social acceptance desires because less of an issue. At the same time, the exciting and overwhelming novelty of it all more than compensates for any inconvenience that comes with it.

Work hasn't been too difficult for now. Just a lot of orientations and short meetings which are quite chicken. The projects per brand are quite light, compared to consumer (cause there are so many things you're not allowed to do in pharma). My boss has been too harassed to watch out for me which is perfectly fine with me. I really do hope I get along well with him, although I'm still adjusting to his "dictate everything step by step" style of discussing. I'm not used to this as I'm usually the one who dictates! hehe

My subordinates are much better than I've been led to believe. They're actually pretty good, they just really need some guidance. I want to be a good boss to my people, especially since they haven't had a boss for a whole year so no one's been taking care of their careers! I want to be seen as a smart, value-adding, but nurturing boss. Shit, I'm so changing here!

This is Third World Jakarta?

The view from my loft:

Love Part 2

drunk drunk drunk is love love love

and what makes it even better? It was all for free!!!!!