Rep. Joe Wilson of SC heckled Pres. Obama during his address to the joint congress - "You Lie"!
Serena Williams bad-mouthed a line woman during the 2009 US Open semi-final match against Kim Clijsters - "im gonna shove this bleeping ball into bleeping mouth"!!
Kanye West interruppted 19yr old Taylor Swift while she is delivering her speech after winning the 2009 MTV video music awards. "He's such a jackass - Obama".
One week to go and I am flying to Sao Paolo, Brasil.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
DAY 19 -- Monday, Sep. 7 --- NEW YORK Trip
First in our list is Statue of Liberty.
Passed by Ground Zero where construction is on-going for the 9/11 Museum, and spent the rest of the day at the 2009 US Open in Queens. We watched the 17yr old American ranked #70 Michelle Oudin beat Petrova (ranked#13) at the big screen outside the stadium. There was a huge crowd outside the stadium, watching through the big screens, cheering for Oudin. We also watched in court Wozniacki (ranked#9 Denmark) beat Kuznetsova (ranked# 6 Russia).
Passed by Ground Zero where construction is on-going for the 9/11 Museum, and spent the rest of the day at the 2009 US Open in Queens. We watched the 17yr old American ranked #70 Michelle Oudin beat Petrova (ranked#13) at the big screen outside the stadium. There was a huge crowd outside the stadium, watching through the big screens, cheering for Oudin. We also watched in court Wozniacki (ranked#9 Denmark) beat Kuznetsova (ranked# 6 Russia).
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
DAY18 - Sunday, Sept. 6 --- NEW YORK Trip
Spent half-day catching up with friend Juna over breakfast @ IHOP.
Checked-in at Broadway Hotel in 101st St., Broadway Avenue. This is a budget hotel and we paid $93 for a night.
Spent the rest of the day on these locations:
Top of the Rockefeller Tower - this is only 60+ floors which sounds not unusual until you learn about its history. it was built in 1930s and once the tallest building in the world. It was built during tumultouos time by extraordinary people. There is no such thing as skyscrapers in Asia that time.
Checked-in at Broadway Hotel in 101st St., Broadway Avenue. This is a budget hotel and we paid $93 for a night.
Spent the rest of the day on these locations:
Top of the Rockefeller Tower - this is only 60+ floors which sounds not unusual until you learn about its history. it was built in 1930s and once the tallest building in the world. It was built during tumultouos time by extraordinary people. There is no such thing as skyscrapers in Asia that time.
Day 17 - Saturday, Sept. 5 --- NEW YORK Trip
Flew to New York for the long week end. It's long week end due to US Labor Day and I will meet up with my sweet beautiful girlfriend in New York.
Arrived at JFK at around noon time. My kind and generous friend Juna fetch us at the airport and we drove to their house in Bronx. Later in the afternoon we started our NYC adventure with the Grayline hop-on hop-off bus. It was a good way to get introduction of NYC. We spent the rest of the day at Times Square.
Arrived at JFK at around noon time. My kind and generous friend Juna fetch us at the airport and we drove to their house in Bronx. Later in the afternoon we started our NYC adventure with the Grayline hop-on hop-off bus. It was a good way to get introduction of NYC. We spent the rest of the day at Times Square.
Day 16 - Friday, Sept. 4 --- Hard Rock Seminole, FL
Went to Hard Rock Seminole after office. A former officemate of my officemate is resigning and they planned to have this get together.
Since i do not know the place i do not have GPS, my only choice is to follow Gus on the road. Its a 30min drive but we drove for almost an hour. Dark cloud is all over Miami and @6pm the rain dropped like there's no tomorrow. Cars are literally crawling along the hi-way due to low visibility. When we reached the turnpike, Gus went through the Sunpass which i cant and i had to go through the cash toll gates. But Gus was an excellent guide so I was able to follow him all through the parking of Hard Rock. We did the same way going home.
At Seminole I met Italu, a jujitsu practitioner who used to attend the same gym as UFC champion Norgueira. Had fun chatting with Mario and Gus former officemates.
Beer is expensive @ $5 per bottle or Php250. While chatting with Gus i learned some basics of American Football. Nice!!
Since i do not know the place i do not have GPS, my only choice is to follow Gus on the road. Its a 30min drive but we drove for almost an hour. Dark cloud is all over Miami and @6pm the rain dropped like there's no tomorrow. Cars are literally crawling along the hi-way due to low visibility. When we reached the turnpike, Gus went through the Sunpass which i cant and i had to go through the cash toll gates. But Gus was an excellent guide so I was able to follow him all through the parking of Hard Rock. We did the same way going home.
At Seminole I met Italu, a jujitsu practitioner who used to attend the same gym as UFC champion Norgueira. Had fun chatting with Mario and Gus former officemates.
Beer is expensive @ $5 per bottle or Php250. While chatting with Gus i learned some basics of American Football. Nice!!
Friday, August 28, 2009
DAY 10 & 11 -- Ted Kennedy died
U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy died and CNN, FOX and others offered full coverage. It was interesting to learn more about the 3 Kennedy brothers.
And by the way, upon watching Fox News TV and listening to Fox radios almost everyday, I thought that this media network is bias against Democrats or just critical with the government. I searched the Internet and there I saw lots of same opinion about Fox being bias towards conservative Americans.
And by the way, upon watching Fox News TV and listening to Fox radios almost everyday, I thought that this media network is bias against Democrats or just critical with the government. I searched the Internet and there I saw lots of same opinion about Fox being bias towards conservative Americans.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
DAY 9 --- Classic stories during Lunch
Classic true story @ lunchtime:
Its middle of month close and Armando (not his real name) suddenly asked the boss for a week long leave since her aunt died and he needs to be in Colombia. So out of compassion the boss let him go. Armando, as it turned out, is a liar. He also thought his officemates are idiots, so while away he posted his activities in Facebook.
Armando is not in Colombia. His Facebook wall says he is enjoying Paris (together with a lady officemate!) and that they also went to Rome.
He was confronted by one officemate when he reported the next week. Armando, after several questions, finally admitted he lied... and he said he was in Seattle for an interview the whole week!! The next day he came in with an obviously not new "Seattle" shirt!! Haha.
Its middle of month close and Armando (not his real name) suddenly asked the boss for a week long leave since her aunt died and he needs to be in Colombia. So out of compassion the boss let him go. Armando, as it turned out, is a liar. He also thought his officemates are idiots, so while away he posted his activities in Facebook.
Armando is not in Colombia. His Facebook wall says he is enjoying Paris (together with a lady officemate!) and that they also went to Rome.
He was confronted by one officemate when he reported the next week. Armando, after several questions, finally admitted he lied... and he said he was in Seattle for an interview the whole week!! The next day he came in with an obviously not new "Seattle" shirt!! Haha.
DAY 8 -- Ordinary Monday
Yes it was ordinary. Documents from Chile came in and I started working on it. Had lunch @ Wendy's and seated on table beside group of Miami Police (having their lunch too). That's it.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Day 7 --- Inglorious Basterds
Arrived in my apartment, from Key West, 6am in the morning. Got lost on the way and spent almost 3hrs on the hi-way desperately trying all the exits.
Spent Sunday afternoon watching Inglorius Basterds at Lincoln Rd Cinema. $10 per person. Cinemas here are small. Its like 1/4 of the size of Manila cinemas. But well in terms of turnover, ticket price here is almost x3.
Spent Sunday afternoon watching Inglorius Basterds at Lincoln Rd Cinema. $10 per person. Cinemas here are small. Its like 1/4 of the size of Manila cinemas. But well in terms of turnover, ticket price here is almost x3.
Day 6 -- Saturday in Key West
It was almost 4 hours of straight hi-way drive down south of Florida.
Key West is packed with tourist and it was almost impossible to find parking near the sunset bay view. It took us nearly an hour driving around looking for free parking. Pay parking is $.25 for 10 minutes!!!!
Tips: 1. Get a map on the tourist info center right after arrival. 2. Look for parking, virtually no free parking but you can find one if your really dont want to spend on parking 3. Duval St. is the center of activities (bars & restaurants) 4. During sunset go to bay view at the back of Clinton Mall, there are street shows as well 5. Don't forget to try the famous Key Lime Pie and Key Lime Juice found at the bay view area. 6. You can come in the morning and leave at night, but it is highly recommended to spend one night at the island.
Key West is packed with tourist and it was almost impossible to find parking near the sunset bay view. It took us nearly an hour driving around looking for free parking. Pay parking is $.25 for 10 minutes!!!!
Tips: 1. Get a map on the tourist info center right after arrival. 2. Look for parking, virtually no free parking but you can find one if your really dont want to spend on parking 3. Duval St. is the center of activities (bars & restaurants) 4. During sunset go to bay view at the back of Clinton Mall, there are street shows as well 5. Don't forget to try the famous Key Lime Pie and Key Lime Juice found at the bay view area. 6. You can come in the morning and leave at night, but it is highly recommended to spend one night at the island.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Todays discovery
Latin America speaks Spanish except Brazil which speaks Portuguese. If you're good in both language you'll gonna end up speaking Portunyol (Putuguese-Espanyol) :D.
In Brazil Monday is Segunda-feira, Tuesday is Tersera-feira and so on. This is because Sunday is the a day of fairs and its counted as the first day.
Just a refresher: Arroz is rice. Pollo is chicken. So Arroz con Pollo is rice with chicken. El Pollo Loco means "the crazy chicken". Pollo is pronounced as "poyo" so paella is pronounced as "pa-eya".
In Brazil Monday is Segunda-feira, Tuesday is Tersera-feira and so on. This is because Sunday is the a day of fairs and its counted as the first day.
Just a refresher: Arroz is rice. Pollo is chicken. So Arroz con Pollo is rice with chicken. El Pollo Loco means "the crazy chicken". Pollo is pronounced as "poyo" so paella is pronounced as "pa-eya".
Day 5 -- Lunch out, again
Rio, the boss, is now in the office.
Had lunch with the team in this Cuban fish restaurant called Bahama's. Great food but too bad i wasn't able to eat up my meal for the second time. The serving is just huge. Then we split the bill --- some gave cash and some credit card.
Had lunch with the team in this Cuban fish restaurant called Bahama's. Great food but too bad i wasn't able to eat up my meal for the second time. The serving is just huge. Then we split the bill --- some gave cash and some credit card.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Day 4 --- Gus... Lunchbreak
Now I have Gus sitting next to my cube. He just came in from visit to Puerto Rico, its about 2.5hrs from Miami.
Had lunch at the office pantry with the team. This guys are hilarious. They tell funny stories and would just laugh out loud. A lot of funny stories told -- from cheat-diet of Gus to temp employee named Lorie who told them he had sex with the cable guy (haha) and the movie Hangover.
Had lunch at the office pantry with the team. This guys are hilarious. They tell funny stories and would just laugh out loud. A lot of funny stories told -- from cheat-diet of Gus to temp employee named Lorie who told them he had sex with the cable guy (haha) and the movie Hangover.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
DAY 3 -- 2.999 per Gallon
It's an ordinary Wednesday and nothing much at work. During lunch time I drove toward 7th st from Blue Lagoon looking for food shops but ended up in Mc Donalds. I see good reasons why lots of people go to Mc Donalds. First, its cheap. There's 1 dollar meal and with 8 dollars you can have the best burger which can fill you up enough that you can skip the next meal.
The challenge of the day is at the gas station. Its my 3rd day of driving and i have to re-fill gas. I know that buying gas is a DIY in this place, and i do not know how. So i asked my sweet beautiful girlfriend to join me to the gas station.
We went to this Shell station and as we are reading instructions on the pump machine, the other guy on the next pump (filling his Jaguar) approached and asked if we speak English. I said "I am sorry man but we don't speak English... i am serious". Hehe... Of course i said "yes". So he gladly helped us and we were thankful. A rare show of kindness in this place where the norm is to MYOB.
The challenge of the day is at the gas station. Its my 3rd day of driving and i have to re-fill gas. I know that buying gas is a DIY in this place, and i do not know how. So i asked my sweet beautiful girlfriend to join me to the gas station.
We went to this Shell station and as we are reading instructions on the pump machine, the other guy on the next pump (filling his Jaguar) approached and asked if we speak English. I said "I am sorry man but we don't speak English... i am serious". Hehe... Of course i said "yes". So he gladly helped us and we were thankful. A rare show of kindness in this place where the norm is to MYOB.
DAY 2 -- Lunch @ Versailles
Versailles is the most famous Cuban restaurant in Miami. President Ronald Reagan dined here. Indeed - there is one US Congressman seated near our table. I was told every time news broke out that Castro is dying, many Cubans would flock to this restaurant/cafe and would "celebrate".
The food is superb and it is not so pricey -- mid-range they told me. Its a welcome lunch and we talked about work of course.
At 4PM, strong rain with twisting winds just popped out. I thought typhoon just reached Miami and I was worried how to get out of the office. But after 15 minutes it was like somebody switch-off something and the rain and wind stopped. And then it is sunny again. Weird.
The food is superb and it is not so pricey -- mid-range they told me. Its a welcome lunch and we talked about work of course.
At 4PM, strong rain with twisting winds just popped out. I thought typhoon just reached Miami and I was worried how to get out of the office. But after 15 minutes it was like somebody switch-off something and the rain and wind stopped. And then it is sunny again. Weird.
DAY 1 -- Meet and Greet... Valet Parking
Went to Enterprise rent-a-car to pick up my car then scoured the streets on my way to the office. I only have the exact address, yahoo map and my sweet beautiful girlfriend (as navigator hehe..).
Arrived at the office almost 1 hour late. Met Lida and she introduced me to the people in the office. Then spent the rest of the day calling other team members in Caracas and Sao Paolo. I was impressed.
6PM and its time to go home. But how. This time i only have the address, a map and couple of instructions from Rolando and Romy. Its not as simple as going opposite the way i came in. As expected, i missed the entrance to the high-way and have to drive about 2 kilometers, turn around and then go back into the entrance of hi-way 836.
I arrived at my street after about 40 minutes. Next problem is, where do i park? The parking is gated but when I came close to the gate it opened. Wow. So I drove down to the underground parking and just parked in an empty slot. Then a guy came in and just blurted... "why are you parking here??"... i don't know if he owns the slot and he's mad or felt insulted or he is just somebody who just don't have the right english to tell me. Turned out he's one of the valet parking attendant. He said i have to go back to the lobby, leave my car on the ramp, get my parking slot number and just give the key to the valet attendants. OK!! -- wala kasing ganito sa bundok namin.
Arrived at the office almost 1 hour late. Met Lida and she introduced me to the people in the office. Then spent the rest of the day calling other team members in Caracas and Sao Paolo. I was impressed.
6PM and its time to go home. But how. This time i only have the address, a map and couple of instructions from Rolando and Romy. Its not as simple as going opposite the way i came in. As expected, i missed the entrance to the high-way and have to drive about 2 kilometers, turn around and then go back into the entrance of hi-way 836.
I arrived at my street after about 40 minutes. Next problem is, where do i park? The parking is gated but when I came close to the gate it opened. Wow. So I drove down to the underground parking and just parked in an empty slot. Then a guy came in and just blurted... "why are you parking here??"... i don't know if he owns the slot and he's mad or felt insulted or he is just somebody who just don't have the right english to tell me. Turned out he's one of the valet parking attendant. He said i have to go back to the lobby, leave my car on the ramp, get my parking slot number and just give the key to the valet attendants. OK!! -- wala kasing ganito sa bundok namin.
Driving in Los Angeles
Rented a car @ Fox for one day and tried driving the whole day from airport to downtown and the side streets of downtown. The rent-a-car is for 24 hours so i drove at night as well going back to LAX area through Figueroa Ave.
To make this short, i was stopped by LA police along Figueroa for driving with headlights off. The officer approached with his one hand on his taser gun -- just like what we see in movies. I was scared big time! Luckily the officer is nice. He asked for my license and realized I am a visitor. He told me my violation and warned us to be careful otherwise i might be ticketed.
Car rental rate is $30/day but we ended up paying $140. We had no time to complain and later i found that the bill included full thank of gas and $38 dollar insurance. Lessons learned: (1) always check your bill and ask question (well i trusted the place)!! (2) do not trust anyone, be diligent before giving away $.
To make this short, i was stopped by LA police along Figueroa for driving with headlights off. The officer approached with his one hand on his taser gun -- just like what we see in movies. I was scared big time! Luckily the officer is nice. He asked for my license and realized I am a visitor. He told me my violation and warned us to be careful otherwise i might be ticketed.
Car rental rate is $30/day but we ended up paying $140. We had no time to complain and later i found that the bill included full thank of gas and $38 dollar insurance. Lessons learned: (1) always check your bill and ask question (well i trusted the place)!! (2) do not trust anyone, be diligent before giving away $.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Las Vegas!!!
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. Period. So i am not going to write on what happened in Vegas. Hehe. I am serious.
But i want to write something informative for whoever stumbles into this blog.
Vegas is a city in the state of Nevada which is located on the proximity of Arizona and California. This region is basically dry and has vast dessert areas. Vegas as everyone probably knows is the Sin City.
There is Las Vegas strip (which represents the word LAS VEGAS), its like Ayala Avenue with hotel & resort casinos instead of commercial towers. Mandalay Hotel & Casino and Venetian Hotel & Casino are at the opposite ends of the strip. For boxing and UFC fanatics, MGM Grand, Mandalay, Cesars Palace, Hard Rock hotels are all in this strip.
Humongous -- thats the description of every single major hotel in the strip. There is vast area of gambling floor and slot machines in each hotel. If I am not mistaken, Belagio and Cesars Palace are the biggest.
At night, you'll see lines of "pimps" on the street giving calling card of call girls. It must be legal.
And there is Hooters Hotel & Casino as well.
Imelda Papin and Lani Misalucha have regular shows somewhere in the strip. You can see their names on the show-schedule magazines at the hotel or at the airport.
Well, i will tell one thing we did in Vegas. We watched Zumanity by Cirque Du Soleil at New York New York Hotel & Casino. Very nice.
But i want to write something informative for whoever stumbles into this blog.
Vegas is a city in the state of Nevada which is located on the proximity of Arizona and California. This region is basically dry and has vast dessert areas. Vegas as everyone probably knows is the Sin City.
There is Las Vegas strip (which represents the word LAS VEGAS), its like Ayala Avenue with hotel & resort casinos instead of commercial towers. Mandalay Hotel & Casino and Venetian Hotel & Casino are at the opposite ends of the strip. For boxing and UFC fanatics, MGM Grand, Mandalay, Cesars Palace, Hard Rock hotels are all in this strip.
Humongous -- thats the description of every single major hotel in the strip. There is vast area of gambling floor and slot machines in each hotel. If I am not mistaken, Belagio and Cesars Palace are the biggest.
At night, you'll see lines of "pimps" on the street giving calling card of call girls. It must be legal.
And there is Hooters Hotel & Casino as well.
Imelda Papin and Lani Misalucha have regular shows somewhere in the strip. You can see their names on the show-schedule magazines at the hotel or at the airport.
Well, i will tell one thing we did in Vegas. We watched Zumanity by Cirque Du Soleil at New York New York Hotel & Casino. Very nice.
LA Disneyland and Universal Studios
I am not a Disney fan and i have no special interest with Universal Studios as well. But since I am in LA, my sweet beautiful girlfriend guided me to these places.
LA Disneyland is huge. Bigger than in HK. And they say the biggest of them all is in Orlando.
LA Disneyland is huge. Bigger than in HK. And they say the biggest of them all is in Orlando.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Missed Manila-Tokyo-Los Angeles flight
I know my deaprture date is August 7, 2009. What i did not know is the correct time of departure. I marked JAL flight departs at 2:25pm at the old NAIA airport.
At 11pm, i received text messages from the office saying i have to call our travel agent because i was "No Show" on my 9:00 AM flight. I thought Rico and Paolo are just joking. But there was a missed call and then another text message. So i called Bangie and the first words are.. "what happened???"
Was lucky that my flight is a business class so Bangie was able to re-book the flight right the next day and free of charge.
At 11pm, i received text messages from the office saying i have to call our travel agent because i was "No Show" on my 9:00 AM flight. I thought Rico and Paolo are just joking. But there was a missed call and then another text message. So i called Bangie and the first words are.. "what happened???"
Was lucky that my flight is a business class so Bangie was able to re-book the flight right the next day and free of charge.
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