jeunism

Jeunism is a preference of younger people purely on the basis of age.

---from stop-discrimination.info (an initiative of the European Union)

wonder why age is such a big deal? the only time i valued age was when i turned 18. cuz that meant by law i'd be allowed to do more. it meant society would acknowledge my decisions then. it's usually called the right age.

if a group was placing too much value on age, what does it mean? i don't get it. if a group places value on age, can i use it too my advantage when it comes to certain situations?

e kung gawin ko kayang excuse yun sa mga taong to instead of the lack of cash alibi...

>sama ka? hindi, thanks. old na ata ako for dinners.
>sama ka? nah pass. too old to go out of town.
>sama ka? di po. next time na lang. matanda na ata ako for long trips.
>sama ka? mmm..hindi, uwi na ko. inaantok na ata ako. sign of aging ata.
>sama ka? di po pass. parang mas gusto ko ngayong umuwi na lang e. tumatanda na ata ko.
>sama ka? hindi. ang babata nung mga kasama e. ma-OP ata ko. i'm outside the age range.
>sama ka? hindi. mabinat pa ko.
>sama ka? hinde. layo e. hirap na kong maglakad.
>sama ka? mm..baka di na. iba na ata age group ko. baka dapat hanap na ko ibang grupo.
>sama ka? hindi. di ko alam. tumatanda na ata ko.

haay, tired of being immune. don't intend the pun, but the remark about age and everything about is just getting old.

Resigning

i'm starting to enjoy reading this blog, "Ask A Manager" in this entry, an employee is scheduled for an interview in another department.

The reader writes:

I have been selected for an interview with a different department in the same building. Is there any way to keep my current supervisor from finding out about it? I'm fairly certain she'll make my current job even more of a hell if she finds out, and especially if I don't get the job and have to stay put a while longer. HR does not announce interview schedules so someone would either need to leak it to her or she would need to ask HR directly. Any advice?

AAM replies:

This is tricky. In a lot of companies, she'd be almost guaranteed to find out. (In fact, in a lot of companies, policy would require that she be told.) And hearing from someone other than you that you're interviewing for other jobs in the same company is likely to go over less well than hearing it from you.

If you're really desperate to keep it from her, I'd say that you should mention to HR that you're concerned about a bad reaction from her if she finds out and ask for their assistance in keeping it confidential for now. Ask them point-blank if that's something they can do.

But prepare for the possibility that it may leak out regardless. Be ready with an explanation that will control any fall-out from her as best as you can -- it's an opportunity you can't resist, you love the company and love the idea of your career progression not taking you away from it (and by extension, also love her), blah blah blah.

On the other hand, maybe her reaction won't be what you fear. I've noticed people tend to be far, far more nervous about telling their boss they're leaving or thinking of leaving than they actually need to be. Unless your boss is crazy or totally unprofessional (both of which are possibilities, of course), she should handle the news like a grown-up.

somehow, i'm in a similar situation. i'm applying for a position in another department. however, i've given a heads up to my direct manager and her manager-counterpart abroad (as courtesy to them). thing is, i am not sure if either of them informed their manager who is the overall-research head. at a time when both of them are on leave, HR called me up and informed me that i'm scheduled for interview the following day. (amazingly, it seems i passed the exam). during the course of the phone conversation, HR realized that i'm internal (meaning i'm already their employee) and went on about if over-all head knew about my application. i said i don't know. next thing i knew, my department's director, ie the overa-all head's boss, is in discussion with the manager of the team i plan to transfer to. department director reacted poorly and a bit unprofessional towards the situation handing out comments to the manager like she'll block the transfer, will speak with the regional director, will refuse to give good references, will refuse to hire someone new for my position, will have my current manager handle the workload left, etc. she wasn't shouting tho. she was dissing it out devil-wears-prada style.

heck. thing is i don't know if i'll get the position. i'm applying the job like an external applicant. i'm just following usual hr procedure for interested internal applicants. somehow i'm getting the notion department director actually doesn't have much say about the situation thus the inital devil-wears-prada reaction. however, now, am getting the feeling my show of interest will be held against me. oh heck. let's hope she's not so short-sighted as to lead me out the door in case i decide to leave. hahahah...

whatever. it's business. nothing's ideal about business. people leave. people go. people change. and there's really no ideal time when people will leave or transfer or go. and as Ask A Manager stated it in USNews.com, "The reality is that it's a normal part of business for people to leave jobs, and the timing isn't always convenient for the employer. Sane managers know that. Good managers will work hard to keep good employees. But we also understand that eventually, most people move on. And you can't pass up great opportunities just because the timing isn't ideal."

vacation leaves

the past few days, i've been reading entries from a manager's blog, Ask A Manager. the entry i'm reading now is about vacation leave requests. in this entry, a writer who is a manager is seeking advice as to when to grant or deny leave requests. Ask A Manager's replies:

>look at what impact the leave will have on the work that needs to get done --- be the request made last minute or not. (sample: last-minute days off can sometimes work well. For instance, you had a really productive week, got everything under control, and now realize that you could take Friday off without impacting much. You often wouldn't have been able to know in advance that that was going to happen, but common sense tells you that you could do it now.)

>base policy on actual impact, rather than on rules for rules' sake

>let employees be adults and manage their own time

deng. if only my company doesn't require a 2 week notice for taking leaves. thing now, i tend to find out i can finally take a leave (after estimating workload based on deadlines, pending QC, project status, email replies, etc) only within the same week. (eg, i did work the whole week, the following monday seems lean or friday seems light, i'll take the day off then) before, i've tried applying for a leave weeks in advance but then eventually took it back since the workload for that week turned out to be different than i anticipated (due to new work, unexpected situations, etc).
then again, like what the author said "rules and bureaucracy for bureaucracy's sake."

starting over

was just reading a friends' review of the film, benjamin button. made one remember one of the lines used in the film. it was during one of the voice-overs when benjamin's daughter was reading one of his letters.

For what it's worth: it's never too late or, in my case, too early to be whoever you want to be. There's no time limit, stop whenever you want. You can change or stay the same, there are no rules to this thing. We can make the best or the worst of it. I hope you make the best of it. And I hope you see things that startle you.I hope you feel things you never felt before. I hope you meet people with a different point of view. I hope you live a life you're proud of. If you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start all over again.

starting all over again. it's one of those things that seems only the young can do. maybe because they have the remaining time. maybe that's why i admire people who despite being in their 30's, 40's, or 50's can start all over again. they've maintained not only their zest but their youthful spirit.

frenemy

There is nothing wrong with friends being interested in your personal life. But if they seem overly invested in your affairs or if they frequently offer unsolicited advice, you may want to take notice. Most of the time, your pal means no harm. But he/she may have an underlying desire to feel important or needed. This kind of behavior is often seen as judgmental. It might, or might not be. Nonetheless, there is nothing worse than having your personal life choices placed under a microscope. If this seems to be where you're headed, you should either address the issue head-on, or give the friendship some distance.

---From Friend to Frenemy: Three Destructive Friendship Patterns, Blurred Boundaries

ditto. in time, one just gets tired of all the advice. one eventually declines invites like hanging out or trips out of town. one then realizes that trips alone or chillin' out with a new set of friends are better options. distance is good.

China (Shanghai & Beijing) Jan'09: an accounting (part2)

tuesday-day 2

after a night of passing by manufacturing plants, open fields, and other trainstations (the sleeper train we're on had no stopovers), we reached beijing some time (7am?) and were greeted by a -2degree temperature. (note: at the end of each car was a digital monitor showing time and the temperature outside. along the sleeper train's corridor, one could also find wall-mounted seats.) one also need not worry about waking up late. if you're on the soft sleeper section, a steward would knock on your cabin door minutes before arriving at your destination. luckily for this round, our steward spoke english. before alighting the train, we asked him the nearest ticketing office for us to purchase our ticet back to shanghai. we were directed to a window right beside the exit door of the trainstation (before exiting the main doors of the train station, this window would be located on the left side. it's not an english speaking counter so better have your preferred train schedule written on a piece of paper in chinese text so you can just show it to the person at the window. if you were not able to find someone who could translate for you, then try looking for one of the younger chinese chaps. it seemed china's younger generation had a bit of a practice in using the english language. jub said the use of english in china became more pronounced during and before the beijing olympics. this educational exercise, of course, was more instilled among the youth rather than their older counterparts. additionally, try reaching this ticketing window early. we were informed that it had a closing time. half-way in the queue, the window closed on us. fortunately, it did open after a couple of minutes. (sleeper tix back to shanghai:484yuan=3872php/person)

we exited the main doors and went for one of the cabs lined up infront of the trainstation.

beijing downtown backpackers
the beijing backpackers was located in one of china's hutong area. i'd consider this one of the trip's highlights. the place was clean. it seemed the beds were intended for caucasians as they were quite big for us. we had our own private bathroom. they had a lot of activities available for guests. there's a common area, a billiards pool and an internet area at the ground floor. they had prepared cut-outs for names of places people usually visit (names were in chinese and english text). reception was friendly. it was near the forbidden city. we were allowed to leave memories by writing personal messages of thanks on their walls. it's near areas where one could enjoy a stroll or a bike ride. they had free breakfast (yummy one). i'd personally recommend this place to anyone visiting beijing.



(note: we initially booked for Beijing Downtown Backpackers via hostels.com. it was higly recommended by its visitors and by lonely planet. it was not a disappointment. cost:225yuan=34.64usd=1663php; since there's 3 of us..554php/person/night )

a slight hurdle looking for the inn mainly because our cab driver speaks no english. we ended up offering to be dropped off anywhere in the hutong area and just search for the inn on foot (cab cost: 27yuan=216php; divided by us 3...72php each. luckily, the inn was just a few establishments away from where the cab dropped us.

when we arrived at the inn, our hired driver john was already waiting near the inn's entrance.

(note: prior our china trip, we checked various websites and found john's name. emails were exchanged and schedules were confirmed. email:johnyellowcar@hotmail.com; phone:13611079697, 13683040566; www.Beijing-driver.com)

a couple of weeks before arriving in beijing, we decided to hire a car. 1) we decided to head for the Mutianyu section of the great wall instead of the Badaling section where most tourist buses go. taking pictures with less crowd in the background seemed easier in Mutianyu than Badaling. 2) we could hire the car for an entire day and go to other places conveniently. remember, it's winter and we're tropical people. 3) we didn't have to go through the hassle of communication while finding the corrrect public transport. 4) personally, i couldn't stand the cold and walking around navigating all by ourselves would really try my patience, hence, john.

aside from being a driver, john also acted as our tour guide. he mentioned he already had 3 customers coming from the beijing downtown backpackers. he'd been driving the past 20yrs initially as a cab driver then as a driver for a car hire. he also spoke good english.
since we arrived at the hostel a little behind schedule (our sked with john was at 9am and we arrived 15-20min late since we had to buy return trip tickets to shanghai), we had to miss breakfast and settle for brunch. we asked john for a place where there's rice available as we had not eaten a rice meal the past 24 hours. he said that it was no problem and we could just have early lunch near the great wall.

we were brought to a restaurant 10-15min from the great wall. we had the option to choose our fish from their pool. they caught it, weighed it, and asked us how we wanted it served (note: one fish and a veggie dish were good for 3 people. however, mark decided to try one of the meat viands on the menu so we ended up really full. cost:175.50yuan=1404php ; 468php/person for a grp of3).


we invited john to join us. however, he politely declined and instead decided to buy firecrackers for his daughter hinting that chinese new year was coming in a couple of weeks. after the filling lunch, we headed on to the great wall.

Great wall (Mutianyu section)
after john parked his car at the parking lot, he informed us he'd be waiting at the coffee shop while we do our climb of the great wall. he also suggested that the view was better if we turned right instead of left when we reached the wall. as one had the option to take the cable ride going up, we really didn't have to do the climbing towards the wall (entrance:95yuan=760php each; entrance ticket includes 1. lift going to the wall 2. lift leaving the wall or a ride skidding down the side of the mountain. if you plan to skid (toboggan ride), carefully read the stipulations for skidding found at the back of your entrance ticket. #5 stipulates "Riders riding behind should be responsible for the accident when an accident collision happens").

reaching the wall, we turned left and began our experience of china's great wall. (note: we found 2 vendors selling coffee on the wall. we didn't try it though. also, be careful going up and down the steps as these are quite narrow. notice how some visitors keep and hold on to the side while going down the steps. quite steep too actually.)


after nearly 1 1/2 -2 hrs on the wall, we then headed for the coffee shop, found john, scanned at some jade pieces, checked out the souvenir shirts, and then headed on to the temple of heaven.

Temple of Heaven
the ride towards the temple was peaceful. jub and mark were asleep most of the time. mark was even snoring. commendable for john as it seemed he knew when his customers preferred him as a tour guide and when they preferred him as a silent driver.
we arrived at the temple of heaven (entrance:25yuan=200php each) and felt the chilling wind while walking the pathway.
before seeing the actual temple, a 'through ticket' has to be purchased (cost:10yuan=80php each. note: there seems to be a ticket booth if you decide to walk through a section. however, one also has the option of walking around through the parks. downside is you wouldn't be able to see the structures inside.) walking from one end of the temple to the other end nearly took us 1 hour. we then exited the other side and met up with john.

before heading home, mark asked if we could pass by a market where he could shop, an hour at most. john then brought us to a mall. john was able to buy a gift for his daughter, mark was able to haggle for an imitation body bag, jub was able to check out some gadgets and jade pieces, and i got to have a headache. later, john brought us back to the backpacker's inn. (hiring john:900yuan=7200php; 2400php each for that day. this could've been cheaper if the chinese new year wasn't near our travel date.)

later that evening, mark and jub went to try out beijing's street food. as i refused missing the experience, i contented myself with hutong streetfood near the inn. delicious as it reminded me of fishballs, though, they'd have more ball variants. (cost:11yuan; 1 yuan per ball).

wednesday-day 3
after eating a sumptuous free breakfast at the inn, we took a cab then rode towards the forbidden city (cab cost: 15yuan=120php; 40php each. forbidden city entrance:40yuan=320php each).

(note: we checked out before heading to the forbidden city. we decided to leave our bags at the inn's storage room rather than pay for additional hours.)

Forbidden City and Tianan'men Square
the forbidden city's exits and entrances were located on either ends, one would not be able to cut one's trip short. hence, we walked the forbidden city which got all our morning then momentarily strolled along the tianan'men square. we had lunch at a small diner and grabbed a cab back to the inn (lunch:10yuan=80php each. cab:21yuan=168php; 56php/each).

before leaving, we ate some more streetfood near our inn and then headed on back to the trainstation for an overnight train ride back to shanghai (cab:25.5yuan=204php; 68php each).

for the train ride this round, jub and i tried the restaurant car (instant coffee: 10yuan=80php, viand good for one:11yuan=88php, 2cups rice=2yuan=16php). it was expensive. parang pulutan lang yung ulam, may mga mani pa na akala ko beans. first time ko mag-ulam ng mani. the soft sleeper car was also full indicating that people have started traveling in anticipation of the chinese new year.


thursday-day4

mingtown hiker youth hostel
though this was our last day in china, we decided to still book at an inn since we can't carry around our luggage on our last day. so we took a cab from the station and headed to mingtown hostel (cab:20yuan=160php; 53php each) this was a different inn from our first day . i'd recommend mingtown because it was literally a walking distance to Qi Pu Lu (15min walk. just cross a bridge, cross a street and you're there), to the street food near Nanjing rd (45-50min walk. bad idea to walk here under freezing temp't which we did), to Nanjing rd (20min walk), and to the Bund (20min walk)

upon arriving at the inn, we left our bags and headed to shop at Qi Pu Lu for nearly 3 hours (bought 3 bags:30yuan=240php each). mark bought a lot of imitation goods (rolex watch, LV body bag, armani shirts, an ipod, among others) jub bought bags for his brother and sisters. we had lunch mid-shopping. translation: while searching the stalls, (mukhang greenhills yung lugar, think greenhills tiangge) we bought our lunch from a lady, standing at the mall's corner, offering packed lunch to the vendors and passers-by (cost:6yuan=48php each). we found a bench and ate our food.

after Qi Pu Lu shopping, we went back to the inn to prepare our bags, check-out, and then request if we can leave our baggages in their storage room. they accepted.

we then walked towards the street food near Nanjing Rd. (dinner:14yuan=112each) i actually didn't know what it was we were eating but it seemed like it was mussels, with eggs, with some seaweeds, and some gooey, sticky ingredient. i just swallowed everything.

we took a cab and went to the Bund. (cab:13.50yuan=108php; 36php each) lights in this area was amazing that's why we scheduled to visit this place at night. however, since it was near the river, temperature was freezing. from this area, we were also able to see the Oriental Pearl TV tower from across the river. after a few pictures were taken, we decided to walk back to the inn.

(note: we booked Mingtown Hiker Youth online via hostels.com. we only booked for 2 since we didn't intend to sleep there, but just to leave our luggages. inn:100yuan for 2 pax=800php; 267php each for the 3 of us)

we then took a cab and headed on to the airport back to manila (cab:153yuan=1224php; 408php each).

as both mark and i still had a couple of yuan left, we decided to have it changed back to PH peso at the airport's money changer. we then decided against it after learning there's still a commission going to be taken away.

overall, i'd say this was one of the most challenging trips i'd had, basically, because of the freezing temperature. other than that, it would've been a fun trip.

China (Shanghai & Beijing) Jan'09: an accounting

sunday-day 0
before leaving the airport, one has to pay the airport's terminal fee (php750) and the government's travel tax (php1620). as with other cebu pacific flights, the flight from manila to shanghai offered no free refreshments. one had to purchase from flight attendants walking across the isle pushing their cart. quite expensive though as prices would range from php80 to less than php200. these wouldn't be rice meals or dinners but just sandwiches, coffee, water, and some other snacks. most passengers brought burgers and rice dinners with them which they bought from the airport's dining area. we left manila around 8:30pm and arrived in shanghai between 11:30-11:40pm.

shanghai airport
15-20minutes before landing, the aircraft's captain greeted the passengers, shared the plane's speed and, relayed the distance from shanghai. around this time, most passengers started switching from flipflops to shoes, extended leg warmers from beneath their pants, and prepared their winter coats. we finally arrived at shanghai's pudong airport some time before midnight and were greeted with a temperature of -2degrees. (note: january is still winter in china. advised to bring layered clothing, caps, warmers)
as jub was only wearing a pair of shorts and a shirt when leaving manila, he had to half walk-half run towards the luggage conveyor, search for his suitcase, grab some pants, a jacket, and a cap, and rush towards the restroom. mark and i waited outside the restroom, surveyed our clothes wondering if we needed to wear more clothing, and watched as other passengers passed us by. when jub emerged from the restroom, only a handful of passengers were left near the luggage conveyor.

we then headed on to go through the usual airport security inspection. as my suitcase went through the security machine, i was asked to step aside and open my luggage. the female security personnel then asked me if there was a medicine bottle i was carrying. i said no. i showed her my mineral water bottle, a ballpen, a bottle of petroleum jelly, a concealer, and any other thing that was cylindrical in nature. mark was also asked to step aside. he ended up with most of his clothes left topsy-turvy. at this point, i ended up offering letting the luggage go through the security machine again so she can narrow down where to inspect. she waived her hand and eventually asked if the three of us were together. they asked where we were staying, some parts of our itineray, when we were leaving, and our port of exit. around this time i was starting to get annoyed. it's midnight, i only had a burger for dinner, it's freezing cold, we still had no chinese currency, they were speaking very little english, and there were no more passengers except for the three of us. the only thing keeping me from exploding was the knowledge that we were visitors and we were in a foreign land (aka, wala ko sa teritoryo ko. hehe).
they finally let us through after we confirmed that the 3 of us were travelling together. it's my first time to go through such rigorous inspection. they must've thought we were planting something in the airport while jub was wearing his pants in the restroom. for some reason, mark and i must've stood out like a sore thumb some time between baggage claim and security inspection. (lesson learned: when in a country where communication can be a barrier, it's best to keep a low profile and to blend in so as to avoid the hassle of getting into situations where you have to try to explain yourself and then try to understand what was actually being asked of you. sayang sa oras.)

so as to have transportation cash, we decided to have our cash converted at the airport's currency changer. (note: not advisable. the rates were lower in the airport 1yuan=php7.46. the guy also asked for commission 100yuan=php746. i had 2 transactions.for the commissin alone, i gave up php1490 of what i carried. haay..sa glorietta nga 1yuan=php6.52 ata wala pang commission. so kung 20k dala mo, instead na 3068yuan pera mo eh 2680yuan na lang. isipin mo na lang to on a grander scale. kaya pala namomroblema malalaking kumpanya kung bumababa halaga ng piso.)

we later found a shanghai map with english characters on one of the shelves situated near the landing of the escalator. it was the usual free map for tourists. with english characters but no chinese text. the option to follow other passengers towards the location of the airport bus was dismissed after we got stuck at inspection. we decided to take a cab. the trip from the airport to Beehome International Youth Hostel took 40-50min (197yuan=php1380)

Beehome International Youth Hostel
we had to pass by the same street 3-4 times just looking for the entrance of this inn. we entered a gate and then another gate before locating this inn. they then asked for our passports and we had to fill out a registration form of temporary residence. (note: check-out time is 12noon. we ended up getting charged an additional half day since we checked out in the afternoon of Monday even though we checked in around 1:30am on Monday as well. another thing, they missed to inform us that we had to check out at 12noon. we could've chose the option to check out at 12noon and just leave our baggage in their storage area. the toilet in our room was also not working well. there is no common area so no way to interact with other backpackers. no free breakfast. the room had 3 beds. rent=262.5yuan=1958php/room for 1 1/2day)

***check out hostels.com for recommended inns and places to stay. feedback from visitors, prices, availability of rooms can also be found here. we also made reservations using this site.

monday-day 1

People's Square and Nanjing rd
we started the day quite late. (note: before leaving Beehome or any other inn, remember to ask for a card from the inn. it would have the inn's address in chinese text. this would prove helpful since you could just show the card to the cab driver when returning to the inn.) the initial plan was to walk towards the locations we were planning to visit (nanjing lu, qi pu lu, and people's square). however, when we reached a major street, we realized that most of the places on our list were no walking distance from our inn. pushed by the freezing temperature and the distance of the places we had to visit, we opt to take a cab. we hailed a cab, showed our map, explained where we were going (driver did not speak english so he didn't understand the map), and headed on towards People's Square (17yuan=php127). the cab dropped us off in front of the Nike Shanghai shop. People's Square, however, was on the other side of the road. somehow, we just looked at people's square from across the road, felt the cold, got contented we saw it, and then decided to walk up Nanjing Lu. Nanjing Lu was a line of high-end shops. walking the entire road could easily take up 30-45min. (isa siyang mahabang greenbelt). we decided to have lunch and started looking for one of those authentic restos offering noodles. however, this proved quite a challenge in an area where most brands are imported. we saw kfc, zara, nike, jaguar, esprit and then decided to eat at McDonald's (value meal: 17yuan=php127) we then decided to secure tickets for the night's trip and so headed on to the shanghai trainstation to buy tickets bound for Beijing.

Shanghai trainstation
we took a cab towards the shanghai trainstation (15yuan=php112). this was different from the shanghai south trainstation which they said was also an architectural beauty. the cab brought us towards the basement. the basement had stores, clean floors, and a busy atmoshpere. we headed towards the escalator to reach the station's facade. facing the station, one should head right towards the ticketing area and look for window 43. you don't have to enter the building. this was located outside and it was the only english speaking window in the area. since most tickets were bought well in advance, only soft sleepers were available when we reached the counter (476yuan=php3550). (note: you had to be physically present to buy train tickets. there's no site where you can buy the tickets online. however, one can use a travel agency in shanghai who will buy the tickets for you while you're still in your country. further, the main station only sell tickets for trains leaving shanghai. another site said they also sell tickets if you're returning to shanghai but we were not able to try that option. be punctual. when entering the trainstation, one had to go through security. anticipate some queue. expect people carrying sacks or bundles or boxes. for train schedules, check out chinahighlights.com which would have time tables on which train leaves at what time and the cost of travelling from one location to another).
after securing our tickets, we rode a cab and then headed on to Qi Pu Lu (pronounced 'chi puh lu', accent on first syllable) (13yuan=php100)

Qi Pu Lu
Qi Pu Lu is much like divisoria, lots of wares at very affordable prices. i bought a pair of leg warmers (42yuan=php313), winter gloves (15yuan=php112), and a jacket (30yuan=php224) as preparation for beijing's colder weather. we decided to return to this area before flying back to manila so can do some more shopping then. we returned to Beehome (23yuan=php172), packed our stuff, and went back to shanghai trainstation (33yuan=php246). before boarding the train, we bought some dinner (noodles, bread, water. not much rice in the area) and other snacks to eat on the 13hour train ride.

Shanghai trainstation
upon entering the lobby, one would have to check the train number on one's ticket then check the lobby's monitor. this would show one's waiting area since there's a waiting area for each train number. one would not get lost as the train numbers are again posted on the entrances of each waiting room. (the train number, departure time, and lounge area would be the only thing you'd understand as most were in chinese text on both ticket and lobby monitor)gates within the waiting rooms open and close within specific time frames so it's advised to arrive early at the trainstation.

the sleeper trains were comfortable and there's a restaurant on the train which closes some time around 9pm. however, food here was expensive so bringing one's food was recommended. dispensers of free hot water, restrooms, and electric sockets were also available on both ends of the car. inside the cabin, the lights, music, and temperature were all adjustable found beside the door inside each cabin.

intro to china trip

was very hesitant about the china trip. first, i had no cash to spend, and second, it was just the beginning of the year and i didn't want to start it applying for leaves. in the end, i gave in to jub's request. mark booked us tickets and jub and i applied for our leaves.

on the night of our departure, jub and mark were already at the airport. i was still at the office printing out maps of beijing and shanghai and determining which locations are walking distance from the hostel (if you can find maps/locations written in chinese characters, the better. not much english in the area. the cab drivers sometimes can't understand the china map we had since it's text was in english characters). by 6:45pm, i arrived at the airport. mark and jub had already checked in and were having dinner at the airport's second floor dining area. standing at the check-in line, i sms jub requesting to order me a burger (dinner) in case i was not able to join them by 7:30pm. by 7:25, i was still standing at the check-in line when mark and jub approached me. jub didn't have any burger with him. he noted that it wasn't 7:30pm when they left the airport's dining area.

later, jub and mark left to check out the money changer within the airport (at this time, we still didn't have any yuan. jub said changing currencies wouldn't be an issue) and then headed on to immigration where they were to wait for me where i supposed i'd be boarding the plane with them. after checking in, one has to pay travel tax (php1620) which was 3 counters away and then return to the check-in counter. i then headed to buy myself a burger. standing in line at jollibee, i heard the announcement made for our plane's boarding. i called up jub and was informed he and mark already boarded the plane. at this point, i thought if the plane left, i wouldn't mind. hahahaha!!! the situation seemed telling. it seemed jub and mark preferred exploring in their two-some and i was their third wheel.

later on, while standing at the immigration line, i heard my name echoing from an airline's staff hand radio. he called out, 'bound for shanghai? who's bound for shanghai?' i raised my hand, the crew then stood beside me, spoke on his hand radio, and reported he found the last passenger. as the immigration officer had a couple of questions about our itinerary, i seriously thought that if he denied me exit, i wouldn't mind. eventually, he let me pass. the airline's staff then advised that we run towards the plane. escorted by 2 airline staff, we ran to the tarmac and i boarded the plane running after my breath.

the plane ride took nearly 3 hrs. i was seated apart from jub and mark who were seated beside each other towards the plane's tail end.

this is one long entry. i'd key in more notes on the next entry..

chinese symbol for friendship

know how you can just get annoyed with someone? and then get annoyed with them even more? know how this happens with friends? and then you just get filled to the rim you'd rather not speak with them cuz you're so full of them?
...yea..annoying..the spiral..
eventually everything they end up doing turns out to be annoying

aw sheesh...poison tree..poison tree..poison tree...cut the poison tree