last supper for 2007?

this was the last dinner before i head off to London, sasha heads off to Holland and tanya heads off to china. so we went to this jazz resto somewhere in chistie prudie. i dont know the name. sheesh. ate some good salad, pasta and had some mellow red wine. listened to bossa nova/jazz music and talked and talked (unfortunately in russian). good thing my seatmate, sergey (?), was good enough to translate for me :p happy holidays friends!!

ps. yeah adlib ang two pictures. thats how dark it gets here at 8 in the morning and 4 in the afternoon

my red sea

mygosh. i am soooo relieved right now. what just happened is a thorn off my heart. thank you Jesus.

okay okay let me start from the beginning. i had/have this client that was sooo headache/ depression/ helplessness triggering for the past 3 months of my 5 months' stay here. the client was uncooperative and was into shady dealings and they didnt tell and give us all that we need to go on with our work; and to make it worse, our head of office was giving us undue pressure because the engagement has been going on for 11 months and nothing much was being done. In my 2nd month with the client, all hell broke loose.

(for those who dont know what my work is, in a nutshell, we prepare a report that attests that a company's financial books are somewhat representative of the actual financial position of the company.)

ALL, and im not exaggerating, that could go wrong went wrong. and who else would bear the brunt of the partner's wrath? everyone was at fault but the person who got the most flack was me. to save face, we were told that we should produce any report; we were forced to prepare financial reports that were "cooked" (hehe. lack of an english term for luto). I dont even know where the figures came from if anyone asked me. i was really conjuring figures to put in the report. and the report we issued was a clean one. a false one, just to appease the client because they pay well. no ethics. no reasons. failure. big time.

those 3 months have been the most excruciating months of my life here. as i said, i was sooooo about to quit na because it was really depressing me much. my previous work experience was a far cry (i was a star there) from my current one, in which all my efforts are basura.

but the Lord is good to me in my weakness and my folly, He really "snapped" me back and convinced me that this is part of my plan. it was a really really hard pill to swallow. the last month have been bloody cold battles and constant laying down of my preferences and my will.and the weather (bitter cold, gloomy and constant raining) was cooperating with me. My spirit was in a constant battle with my heart and my mind.

Last Friday was the worst. The client was getting angry with us and we had to release the report before the day ended. and then the inevitable happened, the client started asking about how we came up with the figures in the reports. as i said before, we just conjured (literally) some figures and we wont be able to substantiate them. the client will not sign the documents we were asking them to sign if we werent able to give them proof. i was at the end of my rope. i cried at the office washroom that day. i just couldnt take it anymore. i really asked the Lord to intervene coz it was so out of my hands. i literally did not know what i was going to do.

i kept telling the Lord na "i submit Lord. even if everything fails. even if they dont like me, even if i get scolded every single day, i will stay here as long as you want me to stay coz i dont want to remain in the desert for 40 years."

and you know what happened? it was totally crazy. i know it was the Lord who did it. while we were waiting for the client's feedback on the balances we sent to the client, little did we know that our admin director actually sent our report to the client coz she didnt know that the client has not yet agreed with the contents of the report. we all went berserk coz we were not yet supposed to send the report until the client agreed. another palpak!! BUT No, this is the sweetest part. the admin director called the client and i dont know what she told the client but the client actually agreed to receive and sign the report!! i think it was an ambush on their part. caught unaware. hahaha.. so, the story is. the engagement has come to an abrupt end without them fully interrogating us. and today i was supposed to do a separate engagement with the same client, but hahahaha.. it seems that there was a miscommunication between the client and our office today and ayun. the engagement didnt push through. left everyone scratching their heads. but i know that its the Lord.

isnt it great when the Lord intervenes? now i only have one client to attend to until next week before i leave for the holidays. thank you Jesus.

101 Things You Must Do While in London

http://www.virgin-vacations.com/site_vv/101-things-to-do-in-london.asp
if i think of all the superhuman (and inhuman) things i have to do before this trip, grasya ra jud tawon. so m taking a break from work as of the moment. yep. im planning to scour london in 3 weeks. kinsay kuyog?

on tenacity

Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. Make level paths for your feet, so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed. Hebrews 12:12-13

we fail and we fall oh so many many many times, but we pick ourselves up, we forgive ourselves as we have been forgiven and go on with the race. we never quit.

как дела?

its amazing. the last two weeks were literal hell on earth for me and I was really on the verge of giving it all up. but you know what? ive survived and i so thank God that i didn’t quit (and go to luxembourgh.hehe). True, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger. im in my 5th month now and im actually really enjoying life here despite the negative temperature, the gloom and the slippery snow which makes everyone walk like penguins.

Happy thoughts:

1. im loved and im covered! even if im the only one here and ive never met any pinoys, i am never ever ever alone and lonely.
2. ive developed sailors' feet now. i could stand in the middle of a metro train car without holding on to any handles. and i can brisk walk/run like any of them russians now.
3. people actually think im russian or if not russian, european. hehe. how flattering.
4. ive overcome my dread of ordering in meat counters (i dread that the old ladies will misunderstand me and give me 10 kilos of meat) and im currently experimenting (literal haha) with cooking.
5. my work is hard - its always a given everywhere i guess. but i have new friends now and i like this motley crew. everytime i want to resign, i think of these guys and how much i enjoy their company. my crazy greek boss chris who sits in front of me and calls me mate and talks to me like im a guy (classic. wherever i will go, i will always be one of the guys.); sasha - my partner in crime everywhere!!; veronika - my russian email translator, bank spokesperson and gigglebuddy in my office area; steve and matthew - my brit antagonizers, who sharpen my ability to retort really fast; andy - my conspirator boss who will be my "lover" so i wont be included in a particular nightmare of a client next year. haha. joke lang; robert - my swede friend who has introduced me to the goodness of torrent (after 5 months of no cable tv and movies and being exposed to an all pa-russkie dubbed tv, torrent is heaven!); maxim, pasha, kolya and masha - my very first friends who brought me to MuMu lunches for almost 2 months until russian food was coming out of my ears.
6. the cold cold temperature outside coupled with the warm warm centralised heating in all buildings.
7. Im excited to explore London for 3 weeks. Alone. Gosh! Im such a loner already and Im actually liking it. Hahaha.
8. I have nene’s flat all to myself over the holidays coz shes going to Wales until after the new year.
9. meeting up with Anya, Lilia and Mark in London. I might go to edinburgh during the new year holidays.
10. chel campos, see you in april. spring in St. Petersburg! yipee!
11. the 2008 itinerary with sasha, tanya and probably chris: turkey (i love these office conferences!), paris, ibiza (pronounced as ibitza or ibitha?), prague and probably germany.
12. weekends. i love weekends. i only had to work once on weekends and its nice.
13. im learning to love moscow again. im not fighting it anymore. im not leaving this place until ive fully overcome it. which reminds me to remind helen that i need to continue with my russian lessons which i stopped 2 months ago (i was told i would be reading war and peace in unabridged russian after a full set of lessons with her. hahaha. whatevs.)

forgive michelle forgive.

I really regret why oh why did i have to try to be friendly and accommodating with these people. when i know that they dont like me and i dont really like them much either. its the story of people i used to tune out and totally ignore when i was in pinas because they were mean, exclusive and pa-sosyal (i dont really like these crowds - very pretentious). one particular girl, which really grated on my nerves like nail on chalkboard, i started communicating with when i went out of the country. i mean its time to let go of the petty irritations naman noh. now, im even making offers to be friendly and all. aba. they, she spurns my efforts. HELLO.

im just trying to forgive and forget my pre-conceived notions about you and im even entertaining the chance of actually becoming friends with you. and now, you have the audacity to reject and ignore me? hey, im just being diplomatic mare. and i dont really need you in my life, truth be told. i have friends and i am happy with all of them.

but then again, okay Lord. I FORGIVE. and i release forgiveness.

sabi na nga ni Lord. its good to be friendly. but its better to actually filter and know what and who you will accept and be voices in your life. at least, ive made efforts noh. and i will continue to make efforts to be friendly with them now, if the Lord leads me (not on my own volition anymore). one thing i just learned thu this experience though, even in making friends - INQUIRE of the Lord. unguided diplomacy is overrated. it can actually cause rejection issues and garbage we wouldnt have gotten if we were careful and attentive.

you guys know me. i am soooo friendly and i accept everyone in my life. grabe this is new for me. Lord, i reject bitterness right now. because my identity is not with crowds but in You lang jud.

wedding chuvavells

another friend, mae esperon, is getting married by the end of this year. i just knew as in now lang while i was surfing through friendster. It seems that all my friends are married or are getting married next year. Next year, 3 from my high school barkada are getting married. one is even gonna be on my birthday. Anovuh Dad. well, i dont know. im not really pressured and all. but alam mo yun, i cant help but have this teeny tiny (well not so teeny tiny) feeling of loneliness in my heart. they are all getting married. while I, i dont even have a lovelife to speak of! hahaha..

well, honestly, i could say that im not yet ready to get married. it is such a big step and its a life of further calling, its not just honeymooning and all that romance stuff. but you know, when i hear of people close to me announcing their engagement and wedding plans, i cant help but think. i cant help but ask the Lord, when is my time?

Musings of a QUEEN…

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Thursday night

well, as i promised. i will blog about and post pictures of my night-out with sasha, chris and sasha’s friends last thursday. we went to this music town house in bolshaya dmitrovska (in the center of moscow) to watch a famous russian jazz band it wasnt really jazz (it was a fusion of blues/rock or something) perform. sasha and i went to the place early because i was getting sleepy (i was already having second thoughts of going) and she was so hungry (she wouldve finished off all the biscuits in the pantry if we stayed longer. haha). we had a reservation and we got a table right in front of the platform. we got the table reserved for the musicians! haha.

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This too shall pass..

This too shall pass (Hebrew: גם זה יעבור‎) is commonly used to offer condolences or sympathy to someone in pain or suffering.

One day Solomon decided to humble Benaiah Ben Yehoyada, his most trusted minister. He said to him, "Benaiah, there is a certain ring that I want you to bring to me. I wish to wear it for Sukkot which gives you six months to find it." "If it exists anywhere on earth, your majesty," replied Benaiah, "I will find it and bring it to you, but what makes the ring so special?" "It has magic powers," answered the king. "If a happy man looks at it, he becomes sad, and if a sad man looks at it, he becomes happy." Solomon knew that no such ring existed in the world, but he wished to give his minister a little taste of humility. Spring passed and then summer, and still Benaiah had no idea where he could find the ring. On the night before Sukkot, he decided to take a walk in one of the poorest quarters of Jerusalem. He passed by a merchant who had begun to set out the day's wares on a shabby carpet. "Have you by any chance heard of a magic ring that makes the happy wearer forget his joy and the broken-hearted wearer forget his sorrows?" asked Benaiah. He watched the grandfather take a plain gold ring from his carpet and engrave something on it. When Benaiah read the words on the ring, his face broke out in a wide smile. That night the entire city welcomed in the holiday of Sukkot with great festivity. "Well, my friend," said Solomon, "have you found what I sent you after?" All the ministers laughed and Solomon himself smiled. To everyone's surprise, Benaiah held up a small gold ring and declared, "Here it is, your majesty!" As soon as Solomon read the inscription, the smile vanished from his face. The jeweler had written three Hebrew letters on the gold band: _gimel, zayin, yud_, which began the words "_Gam zeh ya'avor_" -- "This too shall pass." At that moment Solomon realized that all his wisdom and fabulous wealth and tremendous power were but fleeting things, for one day he would be nothing but dust.

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I had to make a choice

I just had a major fight with the Lord last night.

 

Recently got back from a trip to Riga and was confronted with my old desires. To go back to my life of so-called “freedom”. Parties, drinking, boys, not caring about anything and anyone. Before I went to Riga, I was already asking, more like demanding, from the Lord why in the world did He have to bring me into such an extreme situation and such an uncomfortable country? I am so in the most uncomfortable position in this place and everybody without exception has always reminded me that. I am alone, no friends, no church, no family, expensive everything, different language, radical changes, really difficult job. I kept asking the Lord why? And then I got to Riga. Lets just say it was a total release and a “liberating” experience for me. I got a whiff of the old life again.

 

Since last week, I was already giving the Lord a cold shoulder. All the old thought patterns were coming back. and that included the depression, moodswings and stuff. Yesterday was the worst. I was so ready to give everything up and turn back. The depression and anger got so bad that I knew I had to stop avoiding the situation and fight this out with God. So I fought with Him.

 

Well, of all the things I ranted and raved about, He just answered “Do you really want to go back to your freedom, MICHELLE?”. He did not the least bit sound compassionate, he sounded firm and angry with me. And I was silenced. All my maldita-ness drew back.

 

I remembered the prodigal son. I thought that I didn’t want to go back because I KNOW, I SO KNOW that it will just end up in dissapointment. Just fleeting happiness. And all the climbing back again will be very very hard.

 

And I complained again that my flesh is so hard to conquer but my spirit is willing and that I need grace blah blah blah. And the Lord just plainly said “no excuses Michelle, you have to make a choice.” And that was all He said. I was so sobered I couldn’t even try to cry and pity myself.

 

I had to make a choice, NO EXCUSES.

 

It took me about 5 hours to pull through. All my eating of tunafish (fyi, omega 3 lessens depression) during the day couldn’t lessen what I was going through (and I ate 3 tunafish out of the can!!).

 

I COULDN’T GO BACK. I COULDN’T. and I just couldn’t keep my feet on both grounds as long as each is convenient for me.

 

so I made my choice. I choose Jesus. And its not even funny or dramatic. I didn’t know it would be this bloody.

Red square and Tverskaya

Здравзтвуйте друг! (read as:zdravztvuitye drug/translation:hello friend..hehe sencya sa adlib of some new words i just learned)

Ive been told that there will be two weeks of sunny days in the middle of a Russian autumn. After that, it will start raining and winter-ing already. Sooo since this is the last sunny weekend, I went to the Red square to take some pictures and do some shopping in гум (must…find…perfect..boots!). And it seemed that just like me, every moscovite took advantage of the few sunny days left. The Red square was packed with all kinds of people: from newlyweds to orators (who were actually making speeches in the middle of the square) to foreigners (like me, taking pictures!) and families buying lots of balloons.

Then, I walked along Tverskaya (тверcќая), the most happening place in Moscow and just windowshopped and drooled. Because I paid a whopping 2 grand (usd) just for rent this month, I am forced to a tight budget of Zara retail only. Bummer. Hahahaha.

London trip

Start:	Dec 15, '07 09:00a
End:	Jan 5, '08

Christmas and New year in London only. I cant get a schengen visa to Paris. bummer. Its okay. theres always next year. :p

(all set na! got the tickets and the visa. and i have a flat all to myself coz nene and family are leaving for wales before christmas til new year. nice. hee hee.)

Aaaahh Riga...

It was the best "training" (with emphasis on the quote unquote) ive ever had.. hehehe. another country and a very very cute one at that. training from 9-6, larag from 7-4am!! i really hope i learned something from the conference..ahihihihi..

Im loving Europe very very mucho!

star auditor

walay lingaw. i just got my business cards and it says: клаудиа уи, Старший аудитор - roughly translated as claudia uy, STARshei auditor. this is my work here. hehehe. i am a star!

Recovery version of the Bible??!!

 

Ummm… I had this “experience” during the weekend that I am still not sure if it came from the Lord or not. If you know anything about any of these, please do inform me. Ingon si Lord diba in 1 John 4:1 that we must test the spirits to see whether they are from God or not.

 

Anyways, its about some russian christians I met last Saturday. I got to know them from the pinay who was supposed to work with me here in Moscow. She told me that she is also a christian and her church was named after the place where it is located, like for instance, the church in Cebu City or the Church in Mandaue, here sa Moscow, the Church in Moscow. I asked her what their beliefs are and she said full gospel daw sila na church and they imitate the church of Ephesus daw. So okay, since wala pako church, I tried this Church of Moscow and I met with the christian contact last Saturday for fellowship at their house in some faraway part of the city.

 

At the start, everything actually went well. The sisters were really nice and I shared with them why I was in Moscow. I shared with them my testimony and everything. And then we had lunch. And then, we started singing. Mga hymns. okay ra nako. After that, sharing na. Syempre, nanggawas ang Bibles. DAR, nalisang ko sa bible nila dar! RECOVERY VERSION of the New Testament? Huh? Naa diay Recovery Version? Unsai narecover? Apparently, its the New Testament with ¾ of each page kay napuno ug footnotes; almost every word sa verse kay naay footnote/expository. It was a version made by a Witness Lee of the Living Streams Ministry in Anaheim, California (I will research on it this Monday). Nangovering jud tawon ko sa Blood ni Jesus. Actually, I think Christians sila, because they talked about Jesus saving us, Jesus dying for us, preaching the gospel and all that. Pero one thing I don’t understand is the ¾ footnotes part sa bible! Uhm, na-backdoor si Holy Spirit?

 

It was funny when we started reading the Bible verses and then the footnotes. Mura jud ug nahimo nga verses pud ang footnotes. I kept on expecting that they tell me some far-out doctrine like, for me to be saved, I have to raise my hands and say Jesus is Lord 3 times or something to that effect. Kataw-unon kaayo ko aszin. Pero wala man sila gihisgut (kay everything was translated to me in english) nga tipas sa Word, aside lugar sa footnotes nga makalisang. Haha.

 

Now Im really asking the Lord if He wants me to fellowship with them. Kay IF they are just evangelicals, and IF (big IF) the Lord really wants me to stay with them, I could take the hymns and pagka KJV talk. But Im not sure about the recovery version though. I still think Witness Lee is some sort of Felix Manalo (founder of iglesia ni kristo). It would be sad if dili pud coz they are really nice. And they seem to really love the Lord.

 

If not, please help me pray na makafind ko ug church here. no recovery versions of the Bible please.

 

PS. si watchman nee is a well-known evangelical minister sauna diba? Sakto ba ko? Kay they also use his books.

 

PPS. (update) im not going back to their church na. ma-witness Uy nya ko. hahaha..

a conversation with an agnostic

Last Friday, I was busy working and minding my own business when my greek manager, whose workstation is in front of me and who by the way happens to be very very cute (hehe adlib lang), suddenly asked me if I had one wish, just one wish, what would it be? From the top of my head, well I said of course I would want to win the lottery so that I won’t have to work anymore. Id just travel to all the places that I want to go to and just like work for some non-profit organization like UNICEF or something. And I don’t know where the conversation went that we were then talking about God and cruelty and would I have someone killed for 10 million dollars and all those philosophical stuff. I was having a hard time explaining why I wouldnt have someone killed for money because he was rebutting everything I said! He is an agnostic and he doesn’t believe in God. And there I was, stammering about what I said about Jesus!! In the end,  what I said were just babblings and I know it showed. It was a disaster. Where was all the unction I had before for sharing and preaching the Word? The moment was so unexpected and that is so not the question to ask me while I am totally engrossed on studying the Karpensky and Vostochny-Makarovskoye subsalt and supra-salt reserves in Volga for my report.

 

Until now, I am actually thinking about it. Come to think of it, what should have been my answer? I mean, yeah, Im in a place where people don’t know God. Where people don’t actually acknowledge a God. They don’t know the Bible and they don’t know Jesus and Sunday and Christmas is just another regular day for them. I tried to explain to Chris that I believe in God and the Bible because I experience God and the Bible in my life. But he just chalked it up as a theory I believe in because of my religion and cultural upbringing. He doesn’t believe and hasn’t read the Bible, why would he believe me? I couldn’t use it as a basis because for him, it was just a book.  How would these people know that I have something different? How would they distinguish me as someone who has Jesus and that Im not just a good-natured person?

 

Grabeh. My life Lord. The Russians are demanding to see this Jesus in my life. Not in my words. But in my every-single-living-breathing action in life.

 

And I see so much the gap between my life and the life Jesus lived. I still have a long way to go, Dad. GRAACCEE!!!!! I call on you one million times!!

a wonderful morning!! aszin!!

I woke up to the sound of a very heavy downpour outside. It was so dismal; thunder and lightning ang show. I prayed to God na i-stop ang rain coz, pretty me, I seem to have taken with me to Moscow my bad habit of not bringing an umbrella even if bagyo. Well, Ive lost countless payongs in my life and I don’t like payongs that much. Hehe. Anyways, as I said, I prayed to the Lord to make Him stop the rain coz I don’t have a payong (yet) and I don’t wanna be soaking wet going to the office on a Monday. After that, I snoozed my alarm and napped for 15 minutes, talking to God na He did it for Elijah, why not do it for me.

 

Aba, when I woke up, hahahaha, the heavy rain honest to goodness stopped! Aszin in 15 to 20 minutes, th weather outside was like from really gray skies (with the ulan2x) to the sun shining and breaking forth!! I was like…OKAY..Hahahaha.. I told the Lord, “God, it is sooooo good to have you as a father!” Laliman kag He stops the rain just for me (hahaha..im serious..I know He stopped it just for me). Amazing. Papa ko na bai. What a way to be greeted on a Monday morning!!

 

Happy week everybody!! Abounding blessings!

One sunny sunday

I finally, finally got the guts to explore parts of the city on my own! It was sooo sunny outside, my itchy feet could no longer bear my inability to read and speak russian. Haha. So I went out of my flat and wandered around alone. I got as far as Kremlin and the Museum of Christ the Savior Cathedral. (sorry I wasn’t in the mood for appreciating art so I didn’t try to get inside these places. Hehe. Just wanted to get out of my flat, enjoy the sun and take some pictures)

wala lang..now i know..hehe.

Some wala-lang-chikka from my day to day experiences here in Moscow. Just stalling time coz I don’t want to start working pa.

 

1.       Hahaha.. its funny because they SO don’t speak english. When they (my clients) talk to me, its like pulling teeth. Its just plain excruciating hearing them pause 15 seconds before saying something in english. I really should learn the russian language if Im going to stay long.

2.       In my first week, I was really wondering why russians, regardless of age, fashion sense and gender, are always aszin always carrying plastic bags with them. When I ride the metro (subway), I even count people who carry the plastic bags and most of the time, its usually 70-80% of the people in the train car Im riding in. hehe. Now I know why. The shops/groceries seldom give plastic bags when you buy something from them. Its bring your own plastic “пакѐт” here or else you’ll carry your food in your arms or they’ll give you a trash bag to put your goodies in :p haha.

3.       Russians are pretty straightforward and impatient people. So no offense-offense jud or they will eat you up alive and won’t even care.

4.       They’re not like us pinoys who think of others’ welfare or feelings first. Walay Atenista dari (men and women for others!). Its each man for himself.

5.       Russians are very very praning about security. I think it has something to do with their spy-spy chorvala. Buildings have access cards at ALL entrances (gates,floors,offices,rooms). Even in my flat, theres a sensor at the main entrance, 2 locks in my floor and 3 locks in my flat. Hahaha.. when I go out everyday, have to allot 5 minutes for locking and unlocking all the doors and gates. And ang keys are not ordinary, theyre the ancient ones where you have to feel the lock pa if it will catch.

6.       Ive also learned to love the Metro na. I could understand the operator announce the stations already. The picture below is the Moscow metro system..all those circles are stations. scary noh?

 

                                                         

 

7.       [these are for my fellow auditor-friends] Hay na! now I know what it feels like to be a senior :p it sucks when your staff is reaally helpless and you have to teach him everything and then you have a lot of other responsibilities to fulfill. Patience is a virtue I need very much. I repent from all my binuang when I was just a staff. Hahaha.

8.       People drink beer/vodka/kvas/any liquor anywhere. aszin anywhere! especially on Thursdays and Fridays. People sitting on the sidewalks or riding the metro, basta everywhere, are  drinking. Drinking is like yosi breaks lang here!

9.       Food is very. very! expensive here. aszin. what I eat for lunch here (salads,veggies,fruits) is equivalent to me eating out in Italianni’s Greenbelt already.

10.    Ive finally discovered the malls.. hihihih.. I am so excited!! European brands galore. Mango and Zara are just retail here. like SM! Cant wait for sweldo time. Hehehe..

m goin to Riga, Latvia

Start:	Sep 13, '07 06:00a
End:	Sep 20, '07

blogging coz i aint got anything to do..

Oh well.considering my 2 disastrous days in the office, things are going well now. I died and I've resurrected.

I know how to handle the metro subway and i can sprint and dodge a bit like a local now. hahaha.. as one british colleauge said this morning "i though i had it bad in the london subway, but here in moscow, i have to expertly dodge 'em russians because they are like buffalos trying to ram me with their horns when i get in their way." i still wear flipflops though coz d ko carry ang heels inside a traincar pa coz its one big balancing act.

I am already familiar with 15 letters of their alphabet. hehe. big thanks to happy for the book she gave me. 16 more letters to go.. hahaha..

I already have a flat. Its only one metro station away from the office and its only 20 minutes walking distance. Its near a mall and a market and theres a mcdonalds at the ground floor! yipee! heheeh..

My roaming service will be activated tomorrow. thank you she for the asikaso! you could text me at my globe number starting tomorrow. no calls please. hehe.

At work, though i already have a formidable workload. I still havent started yet coz there are still some pending documents i need. so its all easygoing for me this week.

My diet is totally radically changed. hahaha.. People are not much into eating here so I have to conform. haha. and besides, the food is really weird. Yesterday, all I had for lunch is PINK soup (I dont know what it was, i think its beet?). I havent adjusted to it yet. papayat nako!! yipee! hahaha.

I already have some friends in the office now. They all call me Claudia here.

Hihihihhi..and last but not the least, there are so maaaaany many mAany gwapo guys everywhere. hehehe.

my first 3 days in moscow.

Sorry the pictures are late. I just got my laptop yesterday and bummer, I couldn’t install anything on it :p Finally, I am in Moscow. I didn’t get to take a lot of pictures yet because im kinda scared some police guy (they are everywhere here!) might put me in jail me or something. Hehe.

These are just random pictures from my first 3 days in Moscow (and maybe 2 pictures in Qatar - the airport, that is). These are all just in the vicinity of the hotel im staying in. I didn’t get to go far. ALL signages EVERYWHERE are in Russian. Go figure.

All I know is PECTOPAH, roughly translated as Ryestoran. Guess? Hahahah..

Maybe this weekend when my colleague from Uzbekistan tours me around the city, I will take more pictures. I will even take pictures of (my dread) the Metro (subway) and its deadly 85 degree-tilt/200 kph ancient escalators.

the BEST first day!!!!

Okay so now is my first day at the Moore Stephens Office in Moscow and it was a complete disaster. I couldn’t have described it in any other way. I will enumerate the following:

 

1.      I have to get to 3 stops before I get to the office. You have to understand that as a newcomer, the Metro is like a life and death experience. It is sooooo old and rickety that as it speeds through the tunnels, the lights inside the trains go off and it sways from side to side. It doesn’t help that the Metro runs like 300 kph. There is no air-conditioning and therefore, the “spicy” smell of the people around me really overpowered the train.

2.      I rode on the wrong side of the escalator inside the Metro station and therefore, I got a lot nasty words that I didn’t understand. :p

3.      The heel of my FAVORITE shoe broke off as I got off the escalator because the escalators are also fast, like 100 kph whatever. *SOB* totally broken!!!

4.      I had to go to the office in flip flops. Remember friends, this is my first day in the office!!!!

5.      I was introduced to the people in flip flops, which of course did not match with my corporate outfit!!! :p I was introduced to Dimitri, my very, very gwapo lawyer seatmate. It was so embarrassing. hehehe.

6.      I do not understand even ONE BIT of anything that the people around me where saying! My head hurts. (Happy, I need you!!)

7.      I couldn’t buy a sim card! (Globe!!!! You said there’s roaming here!)

8.      Going home, I got scolded at the Metro again because I was in the middle of the traincar, with my hands full of bags, and I couldn’t move because the freakin train was going fast!

9.      There were no supermarkets in sight and I had to buy food and water!

 

All these events compose my whole day. You could just imaging how bad my day was that when I got back to the hotel, I bawled my eyes out to God till my head hurts silly from all my crying.

 

What did He say? Stay. He brought me here and He will sustain me. If it weren’t for my decision to follow Him no matter what happens, I would’ve been on the next flight out of Moscow. But I will stay. As long as He wants me to stay.

 

Tomorrow, I will no longer have Yelena to accompany me inside the Metro. I am left alone to explore it. Hopefully, by God’s grace, I will arrive at wherever I should be (I couldn’t litok the name of the place).

Im flyin to Russia with love!! part 2

Start:	Jul 20, '07 4:30p
End:	Jul 21, '07 07:45a

Delayed! due to some frustrating circumstances (note: if ur flying QatarAirways and ur ticket will be prepaid by somebody outside the country, give a lot of lead time coz stressful cya iprocess), my flight was postponed.but its okay im flyin business class and im not complaining..haha!

the very last stand

this is the very last MMG get together before magliparan ang mga resignees. winaldas ang natitirang MMG fund (race to P10K para sa 3 tablegroups) sa national sports grill (NSG).after that, punta sa timezone where we had lots of fun!!

Im flyin to Russia with love!!

Start:	Jul 19, '07 06:30a
End:	Jul 19, '07 7:00p

sooo OFW!

this morning i attended the pre-requisite OFW seminar. i went there with my mind already programmed na its really gonna be lame. hehe sorry. but yeah, i still had to submit to the 6-hour session so that i can fly away. it was actually informative, in fairness to the speaker. Like, be aware of STDs and AIDS and how to deal with becoming the BAGONG BAYANIs. hahahahaha. it was good to know about the health issues and other adjusting to stuff though. i was actually believing that i will be immune to all of these and everything's gonna be oh so rosy for me when i get there so it was good to see the real picture because no one is exempted from loneliness and homesickness. i got my certificate now and im one step closer to becoming an ofw na. mabuhay ang mga bagong bayani!! hahahahha..

wala lang factoid: do you know that there are 8 million filipinos out in the nations right now?

april's visit from china

Start:

Jul 10, '07 11:00a

bacolod-april 2006

just rearranging albums.haay i miss bacolod!!

the yancha twins

visited paz and the twins at u 204. joaquin and miguel are nearing 2 months and theyre leaving for cdo na. joaquin looks like paz while miguel took after wysz (complete with the brooding look!).

comfort zones

Why is it that every time I get a bit settled and comfortable with the way my life is going, God always, ALWAYS uproots me out of my comfort zone and drops me off someplace uncomfortable (at times,dangerous)?

 

It started when I passed my board exam. I went to Cebu because I actually suffered (no joke) when I started to entertain the thought of just staying in Cagayan for work. I really fought with all the doubts and the fact that nobody wanted me to leave. Everyone was against my going to Cebu. But still, I went although it was all steps in the dark. And when I was finally starting to understand why I was supposed to go to Cebu and I was just starting to settle and have a good time there, He then hurls me to Manila! Oh how I promised before that time that I would never, ever stay for long in fast-paced Manila (to think I was born and raised in Manila). Hah! I actually settled and worked here in Manila for almost 4 years until now. And guess what, now that I’m starting to love it here in Manila (goodness. It took me almost 4 years to like it here) because I already have lots of friends, a really, really good career, and a bright, predictable future, God sends me off to (tadaa!) Russia!!! Oh God. This is so typical of you. You always have the knack of making me squirm. I feel like a kindergarten kid who wants to pee but can’t raise her hand to ask the teacher to excuse her- so she resorts to being fidgety in her seat.

 

I can only scratch my head in response because despite all my complaints, dramas of running away (ala-Jonah type) and everything, I wouldn’t dare (and don’t want to) disobey Him. I know He will hound me with it until I give in. Hahaha.

Bacolod trip

just rearranging albums. This was last April 1, 2007. hay love sleepy Bacolod. Will go back next year and go to Sipalay!!!

my last day in the office

pictures from my official emancipation from pwc....and yeah, for the blurred pictures, sorry pasmado eh.its the thought that counts.

batch despedida

MMG Batch November 2005. Soms Thai Resto. Weird food. Magic Sing. Showdown ni Eunice and Poppers sa videoke. Score? varying from 01% to 65%. Future OFWs. Boyfriends: Diego, Ivan and ABDUL (peace popin!). Aaaaawww.. I will surely miss you guys, aszin!!

family day

last family day with pwc, jollibee and friends *sob*. and last videoke session with the bugoks.

they dont know any better...

My day started off with me and my sister being totally clueless and laughing our heads off as we were standing in line to get a police clearance to supplement my visa requirements. I mean.. haha.. what was funnier than having lots of people gawking at you while your mug shot (complete with your name on a board and a serious criminal-look face) was being taken? Eheheh.. we looked kalibangon in our pictures from holding in our laughter. Anyways, being the uninformed people that we are, we continually asked the security guard for instructions on how to expedite the processing. Then he simply told us with a straight face, "Bigyan nyo nalang ako ng bente para mabigay na sainyo yan mamaya". Ok. So we told him no thanks and we resorted to standing in line inside the police station so we could pay the legal "rushjob" fee. When our turn came up, I asked the step#2 lady behind the counter how much a "rushjob" is, she just said "kahit magkano gusto nyo, bahala na kayo.." I asked her again like 2 times and that’s what she answered. HUH??! We were totally confused so we gave her a hundred (for me and my sis) as that was what the other people gave her. Then we were told to wait. When my sister and I started talking about it, we pieced things together and realized that the "rushjob" fee is actually the lagay or bribe. Ohmigosh. I felt used and was angry with the lady for taking advantage of our ignorance. I then thought about how much they get everyday from this lagay (which actually looks legal since the lady was receiving it from behind the counter, and she is in charge of step#2) and how many people were led to believe that these were legal (but then again, maybe people know it and they just ignore it). It was a blatant display of corruption and it was actually my first encounter during the day.

I left my sister in the police station somewhat disgusted about what happened and went to the NBI to get another clearance. When I stepped into the taxi, the driver sped away and just demanded that I pay 200 pesos flat, instead of the flag down rate. Since I was on a rush, I begrudgingly agreed with the price and reasoned that it was near the usual rate anyway. With the traffic from Makati to Carriedo, I think the actual rate would have been 170 or 180. The driver was able to effectively mooch 20 or 30 bucks from me.

When I got inside the NBI and while I was, again, standing in line to have something checked, I tuned in to my surroundings and overheard some people behind me ranting about something. It was a man talking to people behind me and complaining about why some people were let inside the bureau wearing tsinelas when a certain guard refused him entry because he was wearing sandals. I turned my head behind me just in time as the man took a picture (yeah. a polaroid picture) of my “flip-flopped” foot (yup. I was wearing rubber flip-flops). Okay??! I looked at him and saw that he was wearing socks with his leather tsinelas like a Japanese guy. In defense to my flip-flops, I told him that there were a lot of people wearing flip-flops and it was actually not prohibited. It turned out that the security guard just deceived men (as there were other guys who were wearing socks and flip-flops) so that they will buy the socks from him! Talk about a thriving business.

On my way home, I thought about the happenings during the day and resolved that the people involved were just plain lazy and without morals. Don’t wanna work hard. Just want the easy money. Trying to mooch off money from innocent individuals. But then again, more than these issues, could it be that these people, these unsaved Filipinos just don’t know any better? We could not totally blame them for acting like that because that’s what they see happening in the nation. Corruption, poverty and a feeling of hopelessness stemmed from the fact that they don’t know Jesus. It is hard enough for a Christian to live life in this world but it must be harder to make ends meet when you don’t know the God who can back you up. Hopelessness will really make people do desperate things. This is not to justify and tolerate the doings of Mr. Guards, Taxi driver and step#2 Lady. In fact, the next time I ride a taxi which does not use the flag down rate, that driver will surely get a sermon from me about hard work. I just pray that we Christians will continue praying harder for revival because we really, really need the Hope of Glory in our hope-starved Land. Oh Lord Jesus, we so need you.

surrendering

“Jesus died for me.”  Yup, we know this very well. The meaning of this has somehow been lost on us as we go on with our daily lives. It has become some sort of cliché, some sort of familiar statement that has something to do with the foundations of Christianity.

 

Do we truly understand the magnitude of such claim? That this means that our lives were BOUGHT at the price of Jesus’ life? GIPALIT; GIBAYRAN.  This life- this body, soul and spirit that we have -no longer belongs to us. The rightful owner is already JESUS. Who then are we to say na unfair kaayo, or i don’t want to, or unyanakaysakitmangud when God wants us to surrender something?

 

HELLO. Reality check. Ngano man tawon ta mag-struggle2x nga d mani atoa nga kinabuhi oi? Sometimes bitaw, we are just plain spoiled. Mga feelers kaayo. Good thing God has much much love and patience with us. Kay If I were God, I would’ve struck myself with lightning a long time ago kay dugayan kaayo, daghan arte.

 

If we could just get it that our lives are not our own, we would not be struggling too much when the Lord asks something from us- which reminds me, I have to buy myself a hammer so I could daily hit my head with this truth.

 

Enough na drama nako Lord uy. I have decided in cold blood that you can bring it on. If you want it, hala sige, kuwaa na! I know You are worth it.

end of my vacation leave..back to reality :p

Start:

Jun 11, '07 1:00p

cebu trippin..

camille limbaga's birthday

Start:

Jun 4, '07 02:00a

cebu cebu!

Start:	May 24, '07 02:00a
End:	Jun 3, '07

my emancipation from pwc!

Start:

Jun 30, '07 02:00a

mitchUy's birthday

Start:

Jun 7, '07 02:00a

my bday 2006

coffee with jill and ron at eastwood

me.jill anne.ronron!!!..hahaha..i was told that ron didnt have a hard time "pagpananghid" from everyone so i was the one who gave him a hard time, naningot gud cya sako mga questions.heheh.. now who wouldve thought their loveteam would really come true? well, theyre planning to get married napud next year (like sanch and ron). why are all my friends getting married na??!

diana's going away party

diana and eprul are leaving na for China to study mandarin! as if they are gonna do that (study) :p we had a despedida dinner at (omg.i forgot the name). this is actually the last Unit 404 cellmates get-together. :(

jovi's despedida

jovita r lopez spearheaded the resignation committee of our batch. we had a despedida for her somewhere in rich's village in cainta rizal (?).

TS 2005 reunion

meeting up with the batch 2005 ts people.clara.karla.me.mileah.armie.

temple bar

PS day 2006

PROFIT SHARING day! the day when the big bosses give us back a little of our hard-earned money! they give us .5% while they get the rest!! :p

november 2006 happenings

many many happenings! videoke nights.comedy bars.embassy nights.dampa pig-outs. starbucks on oct31-nov1. etc! etc! all of these marked the beginning of the busy season. hehe.

miscellaneous

MMG pictures (nov 2005-june 2006)

MMG!!! the best group that ever, ever graced pwc history! :p this album compiles all of the happennings between november 2005 until june 2006. we are simply the best!

c d Oh jan 2007

i so love it when my work gets me travelling to other places for free (cyempre there's work but it doesnt matter). especially when i havent gone home to cdo for almost a year and my sup suddenly tells me to pack my bags coz iyl be leavin for cdo the next day! hurray for unexpected "work" related trips!

zebu- part 1

cebu!! its been 3 years since the last time i went here. meeting up with old friends. engagement ni sanch and ron. meeting up with mai and ate and other cdo people. etc etc! i so SO love cebu.

boracay 2007

the good life....minimal work but still getting paid,meeting long lost friends,shopping,sleeping all afternoon,spa treatments,good food,the best beach!!!!, beachparties, beachparties, beachparties,hunks(and finding out they are not gay)! thank you PWC for giving me this client..haha..

embassy- april 29

started out in Bed but we soon realized that our beauties will never never be noticed there bisan unsaon ug bale sa world..hahah..so we (me.louie.raissa.cookie.sarah.and sarah's friend) went to Embassy and had lotsa fun!

boracay april - 2006

just rearranging albums.

http://www.friendster.com/mitchgwapa

http://www.friendster.com/mitchgwapa