tea time thoughts and tales
from rants to politics, from leisure to city stress, from Kaffeklubben to Madras….. all the things, all the places, all the experience, all the people and memories are kept forever. “Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose” ~The Wonder YearsHow writing, Richie, Jacky and Jay changed me
I used to write a lot back in high school. As an editor-in-chief of our school paper and associate editor of our church publication, writing, to me, is not just a requirement. It is not just a commitment to fulfill the roles and duties of the post. It is to me, my very soul translated into visible images in the form of words, phrases and sentences. I write a lot (or used to) about even the most simple, nonsense mundane things, thoughts and feelings in my journal or in my electronic, MS Word format diary. Writing gives me a different feeling. It takes me into a different dimension, into a world where, no matter how simple the words were written only I can truly understand – my thoughts, feelings, emotions and ideas.
I created a blog – thrice! But I never took time to maintain any of those. I was too busy, or rather felt or thought I was too busy to write. I also felt I suddenly lost my writing style. I was so envious of my friends, my bestfriend Marinel in particular, on how good they have become as writers. But, when I went to the university and pursued my undergraduate and master’s degree, I was too preoccupied with term papers, reflection papers, critical analysis papers and thesis works that I got too engrossed into the technical and academic style of writing. I departed from my freestyle-type of writing features materials and simple news articles, but I love it! I love the feeling of writing in an academic and technical style as I became more inspired by the authors of book articles and reading materials handed over to us by our professors. It makes you feel very intellectual, I thought.
Over the years, as I work on projects in the social development sector, I am becoming more passionate about writing proposals, grants, project briefings and the like. I feel good about my craft! All the hard labor, all the long sleepless nights and no-“gimik”-Saturdays or weekend night outs back in college and graduate school are slowly paying off. I can see the fruits of my tedious cut-throat training back when I was still a student slowly bearing. I feel satisfied seeing and knowing that I am able to apply my skills and knowledge into my work and that writing an academic and technical papers show how mature I have grown with my craft. More importantly, I felt extremely happy and excited when Sir Tony asked me to co-write a book article with him that will be published by the university this year.
Then one day, I got an email from Atlas Corps and One World Youth Project that I am to go to Washington DC for a fellowship training and work to learn the best practices of the US non-profit sectors. GREAT! I can improve all my skills, particularly technical writing, during the training, I told myself.
So I flew to DC. At first I was so excited to be in a new place. I am excited about the fact that I get to stay, live and work abroad for more than my usual two-to-three-weeks trips abroad. The first week was so busy and fun, but after several days, homesickness started to take over me. I was feeling extremely emotionally sick, like a dry well in the desert and a barren wasteland that misses the rain.
God, I was in a flight! I tried to escape the loneliness living in a foreign land where the only faces you meet everyday are those of strangers, like blank walls without any image or life in them. I tried to make friends but my mind was set that I will not stay here for more than a year, thus an effort to do such would be futile. I can make friends but not deep relationships with those that I meet. Friends back home are always better. I tried to come up with ideas on how to divert my attention to other things. I stayed up until three in the morning finishing off work from my last project in the Philippines that I still have to accomplish (by the way) and I constantly called my family and Joseph until my phone card minutes would run out or until my neighbor shuts off his wireless internet connection that I regularly leech at night just to be able to connect to Skype for free call. However, they were only helpful to the point that these activities tire me out ‘til I fall asleep. They made me forget about homesickness and how I badly miss mama’s Adobo and Kare-Kare, my brother’s mess in his room that I regularly tidy up and Joseph’s gentle voice that calms me down whenever I’m stressed at work (or to be more accurate, the 3-to-4-hour commute going to work). But it only cures the symptoms; it doesn’t really solve the issue.
On September 17, I went to New York with my colleagues for three missions – meet with Isabelle of UN Alliance of Civilizations and attend the International Day of Peace at the UN HQ as well as meet with Jeffrey Sach’s team at the Earth Institute in Columbia University.
Richie and Jay, two of my friends back in college happened to be in New York. Richie was doing rotation (an internship-type of immersion program) for his med school together with his sister Jacky (who happens to be my friend and senior in a school organization back in college – I only found out they were siblings when I went there and stayed with them by the way. Comment to self — Great Tieza! It took four year before you realized they were siblings). Jay was in his last semester in grad school in Fordham. When Richie and Jay found out via Facebook that I am bound to NYC, they immediately messaged me and I was offered a place to stay.
Thursday night was set for Jay, Richie and I to meet and have dinner at Serendipity Restaurant. Finally, friends! Friday became more interesting as I also met three other Ateneans – Peter, Ariel and Mel – who are in the same program that Jay is taking up. Good! More familiar people! Then it occurred to me… Back in college, I never went out with Jay or Jacky on a weekend. At least for Richie, there were few times when we went out together but that was with other friends. Ariel was in my batch in college but I never knew he existed (and I thought I knew half of the population of the university!). Same goes with Mel and Peter. But in New York, we went out at night, had fun at the festival in Little Italy and at the bar, went to Times Square and Ground Zero and tired ourselves out. I asked Jacky and Richie when we were taking photos at Time Square, “When we were in Ateneo, did you guys ever imagine we would see each other in New York and hang out together?”
What happened to us in New York was unimaginable back in college as each of us had separate barkadas and friends, living separate college lives. Yes, we were friends but we were not that close and the only moments we would hang out together are when there are organization activities or team-buildings. But never in our wildest imagination that being miles away from home would bring us closer together in one of the busiest, craziest and fast-paced cosmopolitans in the world.
The NYC trip was a retreat for me. It also made me realize and value two important things:
- You do not realize the value and importance of the person you meet until you are brought together by fate or circumstance; especially in a place where only you and the other person could both understand the life away from the usual comfort zone. Sometimes, the people you take for granted or used to have no time for would end up to be your best ally in times when you feel threatened or a link that will reconnect you to your roots
- Old friends are gold and they are truly the best, but you will never know when the new ones are gold too until you give it a chance
Similarly, the process of writing is like reconnecting with old friends and finding new ones. The techniques do not matter as to having friends being listed under the “old” and “new” categories don’t. It does not matter whether you feel more comfortable with your new style or with the old style. What is important is the process of doing it, the process of jotting down your thoughts, writing them in phrases until they complete a paragraph and a great written masterpiece. And regardless of whether you have forgotten about your old style or not, part of your “old” skill still remains; that no matter how good you have become at being a technical or academic writer, when you feel you need to write a simple blog or a journal entry to pour out your thoughts and feelings, you will still be able to find your old magic trick. Friends are like that. There are new finds and there are some like old toys forgotten on the top shelf gathering dust. Most of us are able to find new friends. We get very excited about the acquaintance. When a relationship has been established, we will feel drawn into relating with the people we meet on a more personal level. A new comfort zone has been made. The old one is still there, forgotten, but not entirely lost. But then again, when you see familiar faces, when you have previously had a connection with these people in the past, no matter how strong your relationship has become with the new acquaintances, you will realize that the old ones are not lost. They are strengthened.
That has been me for the first month of living in DC. I was too scared to make friends because I fear the day that I might be too comfortable with the new ones, just like I have become too comfortable with my new writing style for the past years. I was too scared to lose connections with my family and friends back home, scared I might no longer be the same person that I was before I decided to embark on a new journey to a foreign land. I was frightened by the thought of not being able to write a blog entry that would not bore my readers because of the development and academic jargons I might put. But when my fingers touched the keypads of my laptop, when I began writing my first blog as an Atlas Corps fellow, I suddenly realized, hey, I still have my magic! Not a single technical jargon is written here. It’s just me, the real Tieza pouring her soul out.
Thank you Jay, Richie and Jacky, for the experience in New York! More than just enjoying the scene at Times Square, the fiesta at Little Italy, Richie’s Japanese Chicken Curry and the crazy subway-bus station marathon we did so I won’t miss the bus, I had a great experience of sharing a wonderful friendship with you. Yes, I am still crying at night, missing my family and all the folks back home. I am still missing Mama’s Adobo and Kare-Kare and my brother’s messy room. But I am no longer afraid to make new friends because I believe that one day, one of them would be travelling with me to a far-flung province in Tibet or to the Eternal City of Rome.
25 Random Things About Me…
1. I have tons of phobias: cats, heights, tall buildings, riding elevators (but I developed the skill of pretending to be not afraid of it), closed spaces, crowded places, dark and murky waters, riding a boat or big ships, back seat of the bus or a van, all forms of reptiles (especially snake) and amphibians (especially frogs) and sometimes even cold blooded animals like fish.
2. In relation to #1 – I don’t like animals at all but I pretend to. Though I dislike animals (actually, I’m hell scared of animals) I still believe I am an environmentalist. I believe not liking or being scared of animals doesn’t necessarily mean I am not an environmentalist.
3. I used to watch Batibot, That’s Entertainment, Eat Bulaga, the Inday Badiday show (was it Eye for Eye or something?) and all those classic Filipino TV programs back in the mid-80’s to early 90’s. The ironic thing is, I am a Disney-Sesame Street baby.
4. I pretend to be extremely apolitical but I’m a political junkie in mind, body and soul.
5. I’ve always wanted to be a princess but I know that’s far from reality so I gave up dreaming about it. I’m a girl (straight!) deep inside even if I sometimes appear tough and behave in a tomboy-ish manner.
6. I’ve always wanted to be a beauty queen and/or model but I don’t think I’ll ever pass their standards.
7. I am addicted to the beach! I LOVE THE BEACH!!! and I don’t care if I get negra after. I also love water sports. Right now I enjoy surfing but I hate riding large ships and boats.
8. I don’t like going up the mountains. It scares the hell out of me.
9. I am an extremely OC person and a control freak when it comes with deadlines, priorities, tasks and schedules. I have high uncertainty avoidance that I always make it a point to plan my schedules and tasks weeks ahead. I have two planners that I cannot live without: one for writing my general agenda and overview of weekly schedules and one for jotting all necessary details per agenda and schedule to make sure nothing goes wrong with my schedules and that I don’t miss anything. I spend a lot of time jotting things down in my planners and carefully think of the things I need to write.
10. In relation to # 9 – I always carry with me a pencil case containing an eraser, two mechanical pencils (one for back-up), colored pens and a case of extra lead for my two mechanical pencils, which I use to write in my two planners. I also have a set of mini transparent post-its (pink, blue, green, yellow, orange and clear white) that I can stick in my planners in case I run out of space or I need to emphasize an important task. In short, the things written down in my planner are extremely organized by color coded notes and pen colors.
11. The things I mentioned in #’s 9 and 10 equal to half of the total weight of the load of the bags I carry to work everyday. The other half is mentioned in #12.
12. I am a walking National Bookstore, Kikay Kit and Mercury Drug – other stuff you can see in my bag includes the following:
- a pair of scissors
- a roll of scotch tape
- a ruler
- a chalk case and holder
- highlighter pens (usually 3 different colors)
- correction tape (I used to carry fluid)
- a stack of business cards to give out to people I meet for work-related matters
- tea bags in case I eat out and the place where I’ll eat doesn’t serve tea
- a bottle of cologne or perfume – a bottle of moisturizing water spray (usually Evian or Avene)
- a tube of Nivea face sunblock
- Nivea day moisturizer for sensitive skin
- Facial Wash (usually Nivea or Cetaphil)
- Nivea lip balm
- Nivea lip balm with spf
- Nivea hand lotion
- The Face Shop face powder with spf
- The Face Shop mascara
- an eyelash curler
- a blush on
- travel make up brushes
- a palette of eyeshadow
- a tube of lip gloss
- a comb
- a roller brush
- clips or pins for extreme hair emergencies
- sometimes a bottle of hair spray
- a toothpaste and of course a toothbrush
- my not-so-reliable anti-stress balm
- a nail file and a nail cutter
- tissue paper (traveler’s pack)
- wet wipes
- a bottle of hand sanitizer
- a bottle of Acalka medicine for my kidneys
- a banig of Vitamin C and Multivitamins
- a bottle of Kamillosan spray in case I get a sore throat
- a small medicine organizer containing Biogesic, Bioflu, my tummy ache medicines such as Pariet (in case I get hyperacidic attacks), Motilium (in case I get indigestion out of eating too much), Buscopan (in case I get stomach cramps) and anti-histamine medicines (in case I get an allergic reaction to a food or to something in the air or environment)
13. In reference to #’s 9-12 – I always carry two heavy bags to work everyday (and I commute – take the tricycle, the jeep, the FX, the bus and train!!!). I never go to work carrying only one small bag because I always try to control things and anticipate emergencies (from breaking a nail to having something green thing stuck in between my teeth to getting a severe migraine on my way home).
14. I am a die hard fan of Nivea and The Face Shop (refer to #12) since they’re the beauty products that really matches my skin type. They should pay me for this endorsement!
15. I don’t have a bed in my room at home because my brother took mine so I sleep Japanese style!
16. Because I love drinking tea, I got the habit of drinking a cup early in the morning before breakfast and most of the time after every meal. Because of that, I can easily tell what type of tea I am drinking.
17. When I was 4 years old, I have a favorite stuffed toy which I used to call “Bilog” because it’s round. I don’t have it anymore because one of my playmates stole it from me.
18. I miss dancing a lot. I wish I could still dance ballet, jazz and hip hop.
19. I also miss painting, sketching and playing the piano.
20. I can’t find a time and sometimes, the energy to do #’s 18 and 19 anymore
21. I love encountering different cultures, trying out and eating a new dish, meeting new people, going places and traveling (my goal is to travel to 20-30 countries before I reach 40!) I also love learning a new language and I can speak French and Spanish but I need to practice and master the languages more. I am also starting to learn Japanese, Italian and some German.
22. I love writing essays, composing an article or writing about anything that interests me. In fact I own a blog account, but I get lazy at times so I don’t update it regularly anymore. I think after this I will try to write something.
23. In the morning, I allot a minimum of 15 minutes for prayer time, try to hear mass at the college chapel in Ateneo at noon and also allot around 10 minutes for prayer time before I go to bed everyday.
24. I wish I could be a political analyst-diplomat-economist-social entrepreneur-fighter jet pilot-fashion designer-ballerina-beauty queen-writer-crime scene investigator-social concerns and peace advocate-policy lobbyist and analyst-college professor-historian-anthropologist-cultural analyst all at the same time
25. I am so deeply in love with the nicest, most wonderful and greatest guy in the world and I always pray to God that he will bless us both.
The beginning of the end
Compared to last year’s summer where the Hong Kong trip with my brother, aunt, uncle and cousin was the only interesting thing that happened to me, this year’s summer was better than the previous one. Although my summer is not as delightful as it was when I was still a non-working individual (where I have the whole two months to stay up late at night for DVD marathons and wake up much later in the morning) or as it is to someone who has all the money to burn for a trip to the Caribbean, April 2008 and the first few days of May went pretty well with me.
Summer 2008 marked the beginning of the end of long summer breaks for me. I had my last 2-month long summer holiday last year after finishing graduate school. That would be goodbye to the times when I just had to spend the whole months of April and May bumming around the whole afternoon or just sitting or lying on the couch watching TV and DVD’s or reading a pocketbook or spending some time with relatives in the province or going to the beach or pool for a swim. This year’s summer also ended my happy days when I spend my time just thinking of what productive thing I could do for the rest of the week or spend more meaningful hours attending an art class or dance lessons.
This is the first summer where I don’t get to wake up later than 7 or 8 in the morning since I became part of the working population. Although I am normally a morning person (I wake up between 5:30 – 7:30 AM even during holidays and weekend), I can still stay in bed as late at 9:00 or 10:00 AM, especially during summer breaks when I was still a student. However, being an income-earner now, I seldom get the privilege to get up from bed later than my usual waking time.
This, for me, is the end of being a simple ordinary student and the beginning of being a person who just got a more challenging and bigger role in life.
Anyway, as I said, the past month and the first few days of May went well with me. I spent five years in college including graduate studies tussling with the ups and downs of academic challenges. Having gone through the struggle of staying up late to meet tomorrow’s term paper deadline or trying not to mess things up while juggling school, extra curricular and personal issues, I finally landed into a job.
My current job allows me to meet different people from different sectors and levels of society. Being part of the team for four months now, I already find it very challenging to keep track of the number of people I keep meeting as weeks go by.
When I taught History to college students in Ateneo right after graduation, I was also given the opportunity to meet young people from different backgrounds. That was one of the perks of being a teacher, which I love very much. Now that I am exposed to a bigger network, things became more interesting and enjoyable for me (not that I don’t enjoy or miss teaching because I still do and I am trying to find a way or some sort of arrangement where I could teach part-time and still work at my current job).
Now, like I said (and I’ve been saying this since the beginning of this journal), this summer became really interesting for me given the fact that my work involves meeting people from various networks. Being part of various organizations and civic groups, I thought I already have enough friends and acquaintance on my list. However, this exposure made me realize that there is still a lot more in store for me.
This whole new world where I am in (being part of the renewable energy development sector and being part of a global charity network as well as international youth organizations) made me see the bigger world out there. I began to realize that my world doesn’t stop after school. My entire world doesn’t end where I thought things are just enough for me. I began to realize that I can reach and acquire something bigger.
This may be the end of my long summer breaks but in fact, that’s what just ended. In reality this is not the beginning of the end but the beginning of something bigger and new.
My summer highlights…
I thought I might just want to log these things in my digital (online) journal for “record purposes”…
Last April 4, I attended the VSO Bahaginan National Conference. I met representatives from various NGO’s in the Philippines as well as Dr. Steven Rood of the Asia Foundation and Che-Che Lazaro, one of the well-respected prominent journalist in the country.
On April 9 – 11, I went to SM Megamall to have a look at the exhibit of entries for the World Bank’s Panibagong Paraan event.
Simultaneously with that event, there was a conference on renewable energy and energy efficiency for Asia and Pacific-based NGOs and energy developers at the Asian Development Bank headquarters, which was organized by FDC, GVEP and ADB. The theme of the conference was “Financing Village-Level Energy for Development in Asia and the Pacific”. I had to go back and forth to the two events to represent our company and the foundation where I am also part of (but ended up representing the two other organizations I am part of, which makes it four!).
Five days after the energy conference at the ADB, I had to go back with my boss and our coordinator to attend another conference (on energy again), which was later followed by a one-on-one consultation with the ADB representative in-charge of our hydro energy project.
On April 24, I attended the QBP with my bestfriend and boyfriend (which I already posted previously… you might want to check it out and read it as well) and personally met one of the consuls, John Chick and the UK Diplomatic Couple themselves, Amb. Peter Beckingham and Mrs. Jill Beckingham. I was at the party where almost all the consuls and ambassadors from different countries that are presently assigned on a mission to the Philippines were present.
However, even with my busy schedule, I was still able to go to the BEACH!!! to swim, sunbathe, snorkel, ride the banana boat and ride the jetski. Since our company did not plan of having an summer trip out of town, I joined my mom in their company’s trip to Nasugbu, Batangas last April 12-13.
My summer might not be as cool as the other’s who think that summer is all about out of town trips, beach, sun, surf and sand. It’s still better than having nothing at all.
Party fit for a Queen…reprise
I recently attended a party the 82nd Birthday of Queen Elizabeth II of England at UK Ambassador Beckingham’s house in Forbes Park with my best friend and boyfriend last April 24.
I was supposed to go with John and/or Mike but they refused to attend the QBP (Queen’s Birthday Party). One of the reasons why they don’t want to go was the prescribed attire for the event. The guests were required to wear lounge suits on a hot summer night! Mike Wootton, a well-known guy who used to Chair the British Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines is used to going to diplomatic events and has been attending the QBP at the UK Ambassador’s house for a long time. Try to imagine the comfort it will give to a British person who is used to the nice cold weather in the UK. So he gave me a note of warning telling me that if ever I decide to go, I should expect all possible discomfort imaginable: the heat of the summer night and standing for hours on the grass with my stilettos sinking in the neatly-manicured lawn of the Ambassador’s garden.
I was at first having second thoughts after hearing that from Mike and also because I have nothing decent to wear. However, with Mike and John incessantly persuading me to go, I had no choice and ended up worrying about what to wear and how to convince my boyfriend to be my escort for the night in 24 hours notice.
I went there to represent the Philippine Youth Business Foundation (just a plug in… PYBF is the local programme of the Youth Business International under the International Business Leaders Forum, a charity foundation and project established by HRH Princes of Wales himself – thought I might need to explain this because my best friend failed to or cared not to explain this in her blog entry which I reposted below). I had no choice but to go there since the people who were supposed to be there (Mike, the Chair of the Foundation and John Baybay, the Executive Director) had no intention of coming. The person next in position who was required to be there was me.
Anyway, so I went there and brought along with me my best friend and boyfriend (details as to how Mnel got suddenly invited is also explained below).
When we got to Forbes, there was a long line of diplomatic cars along the Ambassador’s driveway: BMW’s, Jaguar’s… all luxury cars in the world were there! Still with full confidence that my best friend’s dirty Jazz won’t look out of place amidst the pool of cars all wearing the “1000″ plate with flaglets representing each diplomat’s country, we queued up and found a parking spot, away from where everyone could notice the little dirty Jazz that my best friend was driving.
Upon reaching the security, Mnel and Jopaw suddenly felt uneasy and felt like backing out. The place was filled with Ambassadors, diplomats and all important personalities in politics and the upper bracket of society. I told them to just feel important and think that you are an important person. So we did!
When we reached the UK Ambassador’s front door, there were three women and two men welcoming the guests as they go in. Jopaw, Mnel and I had no idea who the UK Ambassador and his wife were. All we knew was one the three women was Mrs. Jill Beckingham and one of the two men was Ambassador Peter, it’s an either-or guessing game.
We went in and let the “welcome party” accommodate us to their lovely diplomatic home. The Queen wasn’t there of course. She was in England with the rest of the Royal Family. The Queen was only represented through Ambassador Peter Beckingham and her lovely picture posted on one of the walls of the diplomatic house.
After shaking hands with the “welcome party”, which at that time we still could not point out who the diplomatic couple was, Jopaw immediately escorted me and Mnel to the little exhibit where several photos were on display. We looked at the pictures and tried to figure who Ambassador Beckingham was, luckily we were able to.
The party was not what we expected. It was quite boring as there was little chance to interact with the other guests. People were minding their own business and they just go with their own circle. Some were gatecrashers (including my bestfriend and boyfriend, well that’s what they believe they were) and were just hanging around for the free food and booze. It wasn’t really something you would really look forward to if you’re the real party animal.
That is why I have nothing else much to say. I just wanted to repost my best friend’s blog entry (with her kind permission of course) that listed the details of what she realized after attending the QBP.
I just want to add some few points to her list (I start with 11 because she ended with 10 – just read the first ten on the list after reading the eleventh or you could read her list first before reading my addition).
*****
11. If you do not know the people at a diplomatic event or in this case, party, pretend that you know everybody, especially the diplomats at the occasion. Looking at the exhibit or at the pictures (if there is) is the best way to figure out who the Ambassador is especially if the event is held at the host’s house. This is very important to remember especially if your mission is not to really socialize at the event but to meet the Ambassador and talk to him about something really important.
12. Never wear stilettos even if you are not so sure whether the party will be set up outdoor or in an indoor venue. Stilettos are the worst enemies when attending cocktail events as well. A pair of neat high-heeled shoes that does not go more than an inch is enough to get you through the night.
13. If you are anticipating a situation where you will have to suddenly leave your companion (i.e. boyfriend) to talk to someone (and you have no idea how and when to cut the conversation), bring an extra friend (i.e. bestfriend) who knows your other companion. Make sure they know each other and they are comfortable together. The extra person is the best ally of the other person in such situation and a good way to provide them a bonding experience (especially if they decided to explore all possible ways of creating a crepe dessert in a party that serves a “do-it-yourself crepe”).
14. If you are driving a small dirty car, pretend it’s not small and dirty. After all the only difference is diplomatic cars are cleaner because they are well-maintained and get carwash almost everyday and you are just lazy to bring yours to get cleaned. If you feel intimidated with the little flags on their hood, then put one on yours too. You may even put another at the trunk and a couple more at the windows if you like as there is no limit to doing that. You could also park your car blocks or miles away from the party venue so that no one could see your little piece of metal. Never worry because diplomatic cars have their lifetime and eventually end up in junk gathering rust and dust after a couple of years, similar to a 19-or-so forgotten year old car.
So I think this is enough to add to my best friend’s list, unless of course Jopaw suddenly decided to create his own blog as well and add his personal horrible experience at the QBP.
*****
(The blog entry below was posted with permission from my bestfriend)
I just came home from gatecrashing a party for a queen. No. This is not some party of a socialite-wannabe or a gathering for a queen-for-a-day. It is indeed for the queen herself – Queen Elizabeth II – in celebration of her 82nd birthday.
My bff caught me online this morning. What started as a friendly “how are you” chat ended with an unexpected invitation to a party she was to attend this evening. You see, my best friend, the cause-oriented, diplomat-wannabe is currently involved in some organization. Now, don’t dare ask me further ‘coz all I know is that it involves: Foundation, Youth and the Prince of Wales (just connect the dots). She wanted me to gatecrash ‘coz she didn’t know anyone else in that party.
Her boyfriend, who would also be gatecrashing the event, also prodded me to come with them. I planned to attend the jazz dance class this evening at 8 pm and I had to rewire my brain a little bit so that I wouldn’t feel guilty of having skipped dance again for tonight’s event. Clad in the best attire I could come up with at the last minute, off I went to the British ambassador’s home in Forbes Park, ready to be kicked out for not having been properly invited at all.
After spending almost three hours being a wallflower (hooray for me I wasn’t booted out of the party!), here are ten things that I came to realize:
1. Bring your car to the carwash when you feel the uncanny urge to. As much as possible, DON’T DELAY TO THE LAST MINUTE. Else, you’d have to parade your dirt-ridden Jazz amongst BMWs with funny plates and little flags flapping on the hood.
2. Make sure your hands are clean and dry so that you’d always be ready to shake hands with ambassadors and diplomats from all over the world. Who knows? You might be shaking the hands of the ambassador from Timbuktu.
3. Get a drink from one of the waiters/waitresses lining the entrance door. They were there for a purpose. It doesn’t matter if it’s wine, beer or orange juice you’re holding. Just hold anything! It makes you look and feel less awkward in the midst of a crowd.
4. A smile and a nod are your best allies in a party filled with people you won’t get to brush elbows with on an ordinary day. You don’t have to know everything they’re saying. Just pretend that you do.
5. A $6 dress is as good as the $1,000 Vera Wang cocktail dress – trust me – they won’t notice the difference.
6. In a venue filled with people from all races, you won’t be able to pinpoint a gatecrasher from an invited guest. Everyone thinks everyone in the party must be someone important – except of course, the gatecrashers who are in fact, a bunch of nobodys.
7. If you think someone looks familiar, chances are you do know him/her, it’s just that you don’t remember. Try to recall where you first encountered that person. If you can’t, YOU HAVE TO!
8. Bring two gatecrashers along with you to the party. At least if you get caught in a conversation, the gatecrashers can just get themselves busy tasting EVERYTHING on the buffet table.
9. Don’t act like a giddy kid on the crepe bar. Peaches, raisins and white chocolate bits don’t taste good together. Adding vanilla ice cream with candy sprinkles on top, does, however, make the crepe more palatable.
10. And lastly, don’t even think twice when asked to gatecrash come to a party for the Queen of England. Deep inside, you know you want to! You may not really get to meet Queen Elizabeth II or bump into Prince William himself but his lookalikes are as hot and as yummy as the original.
Hehe. That’s it. Enough of daydreaming. Back to the real world!
XS: Taste Turkey with Cranberry Sauce last! Tasting it first would shoot up your expectations of the next food on the plate – which sadly, rarely happens since you’ve already tasted the best in the menu.
You think blogs should not have disclaimers?
I am not a ‘blog person’ nor did I ever own a diary or journal (unless of course you count my ‘dream diary’ where I log every dream I could remember from my sleep, which I also kept for only a week) back when I was at the stage when young girls are supposed to be keeping a notebook containing the day’s experience and list of unforgettable moments with boys and and locking it up in a tightly secured box where no one could see. I tried writing journals on my notebook and even shared a blog site with my ex-boyfriend. I also had many attempts to blog and promised to write diligently but I never really got myself hooked into this leisure.
I love to write – A LOT – but I don’t really keep blogs or journals or diaries, and that’s the irony of it. I don’t write regularly and diligently and the only thing that made me write journals every week was when my Religion teacher in high school and Sociology professor in college required the class the keep a weekly journal. The bigger irony of that is I used to write for the school paper back in high school (I was the editor-in-chief of the school paper and the yearbook). I also loved writing term papers, book reports and all imaginable and unimaginable articles and papers required in school (I could even write a 50-page-minimum term paper in one sitting, dang!). I also used to write for the parish newsletter and even contributed a lot of features article to several publications on a freelance basis. But I never loved writing journals or blog entries. I do not know why.
Maybe I am just too lazy to recall my day or week and keep track of the personal events that happened in my life. I prefer to do a scrapbook more than write every single detail of what has happened to me.
Then it hit me. I suddenly felt I was losing my art and style. Writing has been one of the things I love and writing school reports and term papers back in college and in my MA days as well as writing feasibility studies, information memorandum and business plan (some of the basic things that come with my job at present) does not necessarily count as “writing because you love writing”. They’re more of “writing because there is a need (or you are forced or required) to write”. If you know what I mean… So I want to write again not just because I am scared to lose my skill but things have been very busy with me as I get to different places, meet new people, experience something new everyday that brings me to this whole new wide world of possibilities and encounter.
Other people say that they are too busy to write and share their day to others, I am one of them. Then I realized that the more you become busy, the more you need to keep all those memories secured in a place where you could retrieve it after and reminisce the experience.
Since I am a busy person and my job requires me to always use the computer and connect to the internet, add the fact that almost everybody is hooked up in the cyberspace, I decided to blog.
I don’t have that much secret to hide and most of the things I want to put in writing are my thoughts about almost everything I encounter and enjoy doing, so what’s there to hide? Besides, I am no celebrity or royalty who needs to keep everything in strict confidentiality. I am also past the stage of puberty where crushes are meant to be hidden.
So what will (should) this blog site contain?
This will contain almost everything!
Simples Rants, Random Thoughts, Globalization, International Peace and Security, Religion, Politics, Economics, Culture, Travel and Leisure, Travel Journal / Log, Food, Arts, Photography, Dance, Social and Global Issues (in particular poverty, energy, global warming and climate change, education, human rights, environment, sustainability), Fashion and Style – all of which are my fields of interest and things I love… and maybe some other things which I do not love…
Enjoy!
