Tick or Tweet

First, there were four girls dressed up in cow costumes singing, "Trick or Treat".



Then came in eleven kids, one who grabbed a handful of candies (I guess, one-candy-per-child policy, doesn't exists anymore).



Last batch is consists of two girls. They asked how many candies can they get from the serving dish? I said it does not matter so, they got one of each of the three brands of candies I had for them.



You see even though I dislike doing the distro of Halloween candies, I have to do it just because I was paid by "lola puti" to do it. Hehehe




I don't celebrate Halloween. Oct 31 in the Philippines is the day you go to a cemetery to pay respect to your departed loved ones. Only in the Philippine you'll see a food kiosk (such as Jollibee) put up in a cemetery.



.............................................................................



There's a Halloween party/potluck at work.


I actually dressed up as an invisible woman. Yes, invisible woman - I didn't come in at work/training. No-show during the training period leads to termination.





Will somebody buy me a badge that says, "Professional Quitter"? =)

The Choo-Choo Ride

What: Spirit of Washington - Dinner Train (website)
Where: Renton, Washington
When: Oct. 29, 2006
Dress Code: Business Casual

tickets

(prepaid meals and souvenir photo)

it's the choo-choo train

train depot

Table Set-up

Supposedly we will be sharing our table with two other people (completely strangers) but they didn't show up! That means, Ryan and I will have all the bread/pastries to ourselves and their prepaid stuffs (flowers and balloons)? Now belong to me! Oh yes! Hehehehe

our table








a set of fresh flower from Ryan
another set, paid by our
supposedly-tablemates





their birthday balloons.. ALL MINE!
(I gave them to my ex-roommate's kids)





Vegetarian Lasagna
(yumm-0! it's in the sauce, I guess)






Stuffed Portabello Mushroom
(another vegan dish)

The train's only stopover is at Columbia Winery in Woodinville, WA (Kirkland's neighboring town). Dinner train passengers were given 10% discounts on all wines.

Columbia Winery's giftshop




Inside the winery
(where it's freezing cold)
FYI: Each barrel can make 300 bottles of wine!




The winery's sampling bar
(and it's for FREE!)





dessert on our way back to Renton -
Chocolate Paradiso
Amaretto Cafi (Italian Coffee)

Renton Museum

which is a few steps away
from the the train depot

Magnificent views during the trip ---

Renton's Liberty Skate Park

Lake Washington

downtown Bellevue

my Dinner Train souvenir
(purchased from the winery)

prepaid souvenir photo

with fafa Ryan

That's all!

Hope you all had fun viewing our pics! =)

Don't Go!

Please don't click away!


Dinner train pix will be uploaded shortly....

Cure for Depression

Back in Kirkland, I only had one job yet would often go out with some roommates and would dine out, a lot!



Now I'm in Bellevue with two jobs and a curfew of 7:30pm (7days/week) leads to my having a mild form of depression.




Do you know my cure for depression? Shopping (well, if budget permits)!

medium-sized luggage made of carton
I envisioned it to be my jewelry box

necklaces

Holiday Season means lots
of
plaids and reds

In case you're wondering, I bought the above stuffs from Claire's and Ross. Am not fond of buying ordinary-looking yet expensive stuffs like those being sold at Macy's, Gap, etc. I own more than 14 pairs of shoes (Imelda Marcos-in-the-making.. Hehehe) and most of it were purchased either in Walmart or Payless. =)




Daylight Saving Time will end this morning at 2am. That means an extra hour of sleep for me.



Have a great weekend to all of us!




Next Blog Entry: Spirit of Washington - Dinner Train

Caution, Fuming Ahead

Past 5pm today, I was making a beeline in the post office. The lady infront of me was taking a while to do her "business" so I walked just four small steps away to reach for the Customs Declaration form. When I turned around, this old woman (originally behind me in line) took my place. My instinct made me stand beside her, hoping... just hoping she'll understand the meaning of first come, first serve. But no! She's on a stand still and won't even make an eye contact with me.




Without saying a word, I decided to walk a few steps away from her. While I was filing up the declaration form, I overheard the old lady requesting for patriotic stamps. Patriotic my arse.




Can only think of two reasons why she's like that. Either because -


1) am Asian


or


2) I look naive/young



Well granny let me remind you that even though you're born here, your parents/ancestors were immigrants too! Unless you're of Native American descent. Am positive that you're not!



When she's about to leave she glanced at my direction only to see me, smirking and making evil eyes (see photo below) at her.

Yoshitomo Nara's character

Hala sige lola baka bukas, hindi ka na sisikatan ng araw.

Shattered American Dreams

Outsourcing jobs does not seem to affect me at all until TODAY...



It's confirmed today, that one aspect of our job* will be outsourced to Manila, Philippines by third week of November.



*the easiest one... it follows to say that it's the most coveted task!



Funny yet sad.



..................................................................................................................


When our Departamental Manager called my name and sat beside me to initiate a small talk, I was stunned. How did she get to know my name when I haven't introduced myself to her?


In spite of having an intimidating aura (she's British by the way), she's all that nice, very smart and has this classy look that only a New Yorker could pull off. Sorry Casual Seattle!




Nga pala, nagbabalak ako mag resign... Di ko trip yung trabaho. Kaso di ako pwede maging pobre ngayon lalo't magpa pasko. Palimos po! Hehehe

Boink of America

Bank of America recently updated its online banking interface. Instead of making it seamless they confused me more. For two consecutive days now, all am getting when viewing my current statement, is error messages.




There's a dollar charge right below my credit limit that reads "Temporary Authorization". I have no clue on what is it all about. I have NEITHER signed up for any of their service (am even planning to close my account with them sooner!) NOR over my credit limit.




Boo Boink of America...Boooo!



-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Did you know that



Too many credit background checks conducted on you could lower your credit score?



For instance, you're shopping for a postpaid telecom service.


You go to Telecom#1;

Telecom#1 conducts background credit check prior to activating a line;
That's -2 (minus two) points from your credit score


You decided to go to Telecom#2 in search for a better deal


Telecom#2 conducts another background credit check.
That's another -2 (minus two) points from your credit score



By the time you go back to either Telecom#1 or Telecom#2, your credit score had already been down by four points.




Now you know! =)

Filipino-Speaking....Working for Google

Google is in need of a Filipino/Tagalog Adsense Coordinator (click here for details).


It's not stated though if they're willing to sponsor the visa for applicants, outside the United States.

It's sweeter the second time

No memories of my first trip to Ikea - Renton (blog entry here) were captured in photos. Well, that's not the case on my second visit (which was hours ago) :

Swedish Meatball Combo

(two red potatoes, swedish meatballs
and lingonberry jam)

Lingonberry soda






my sisters
a.k.a Lyn Ching and Manay Lolit! hehehe

with Marivic

Holiday Inn Hotel - Renton
(where Marivic is billeted;
she enlisted in the U.S Air Force and
will have her military boot camp tomorrow)

The following pics were taken while inside a speeding car:

approaching downtown Seattle
from I-5 South

Greenlake area
(the tree changed color
in preparation for halloween! LOL)

Fremont (or was it Ballard?) area

That's all. Thanks for the hits!

You've got spam.....mail!

On my inbox for today -

A guy* e-mailed himself (why? I don't know) but used my e-mail address instead. The funniest part - he asked himself if his e-mail was intended for himself.



*if you check out the domain name (uul@alybebe.com) it will lead you to a webpage for a Bachelorette Party's invitation.







People these days. Hehehehe

Bakeeettt???

Mahigit na dalawang taon na akong nagta trabaho dito sa Amerika, ngayon lang ako kwe kwestyunin nitong agency ng educational background ko.



Siguro nga mukha akong tatanga tanga pero naman, kanina sa klase namin (na binubuo ng mga puti at isang asyano na dito na ipinanganak) walang nakaka alam kung ano yung Kanji" (Japanese character) at hindi nila kilala si Sam Walton (founder of Walmart).... Eeek!

Tang Ina Mo.. Tang Ina Mo Rin!

A PLDT Customer Service Agent swears back at her caller:



Listen here




URL courtesy of:
http://penoycentral.blogspot.com/





In my previous tech support jobs, I interacted with telecom subscribers via the phone. Most of my callers can't take the fact that we don't troubleshoot/support certain products, thus asking me for my supervisor, which happened a lot of times. Of course, I had the last laugh.




Fortunately, never I had been cussed at. In spite of my non-American twang, I think it helps that they know I AM IN AMERICA. Or maybe because they sensed that if they become verbally abusive, I'll tranfer them back to Customer Care.... hehehe

You don't have to be rich, just smart!

Amidst heavy pouring rain, I and Ryan were able to make it to Ikea in Renton.

Here's a question for you.





A trip to Ikea will not be complete without :


a. shopping for furnitures
b. checking out their Swedish Food Market
c. sampling their Swedish food



If you're a food aficionado like us, then your answer should be


c. sampling their Swedish food




Their swedish meatball combo is consists of red potatoes, swedish meatballs with gravy, and lingonberries. To wash it all down, we had some Lingonberry-Apple flavored water. My sweet tooth needs to be satisfied too, so I asked for a marzipan roll (too sweet for my liking) and a mazarin (tastes exactly like Bicol's pili nut tart).

Ikea makes me feel like home - I saw a lot Filipinos manning the cash register and information desk. No sarcasm intended.





*Walang litrato. Maarte kasi yung kasama ko eh.

BLURB - Blog book

I just downloaded a beta software called Blurb that allows you to convert your blog into a book. Downloading the application is for free, but the printing and shipping costs... ready? Check for yourself, here.


Will keep you all posted on the results of the beta testing.

Blog Service Announcement

Unless you derive satisfaction from getting more than eighty (80) spam mails EVERY single day, then don't sign up for Associated Content. It tricks you into creating an account for free so you'll get paid for uploading an image/video files and for blogging about any topic you can think of. Associated Content NEVER really sends you the confirmation code for you to continue the registration. Clicking on Forgot Password a million times doesn't make any difference at all.




---------------------------------------------------




Then there's Metacafe, a free video portal service that is trying to follow the footsteps of Youtube (which was recently acquired by Google for US$1.6Billion) . Submitted videos are thoroughly screened or filtered out before they become available online. With that being said, it took three business days for my videos to be up and running. Actually, two of my dance videos had been removed due to "copyright infringement" since I use a popular music for my background (Chumbawamba and Dance Dance Revo) .



More Cons:

- does not allow you delete comments (there's a moderate comments link but it doesn't work!)

- you can't remove your own video(s)

- viewers can modify the description of your own videos which CANNOT be undone by the video owner (which happened to one of my videos.. click here.)




More Pros:

- after a million hits, they'll pay you US$5.00 for it (good deal if your currency is in Philippine Peso..Heh!)

- signing up is for free




---------------------------------------------------



Last night I exchanged messages via Yahoo! Messenger with this person (he? she? am not certain). Let's assume this person is a "HE". He said am on his contact lists and that he finds my blog, interesting. Two minutes later, he asked for :


- my blog URL (he said he forgot it?!? I advised him to google it.. hehehe)
- my real name
- my picture (it's in my blog, you dumbass... hehehe again)



Sorry but I refused to be a victim of social engineering tactics and so, I logged out without saying goodbye.




- End of Story -

Oktoberfest 2006 (Pics Overload)

Oktoberfest 2006
Puyallup Fairground
with Ryan and Hugo

Blue Gate Entrance

Vemsan with
Beer, Pretzel
Sauerkraut and Bratwurst....hehehe

Scandinavian products
were on display and for sale

the infamous Bryanboy pose...

German folk dancing

Oktoberfest coaster

German beer and curly fries

Our preferred
German food stall

Menu

I had meal #2
Ryan and Hugo opted for meal #10
Bavarian cheesecake
Strawberry lemonade

United colors of benetton
(am referring to our eye color..hazel, brown, blue! hehehe)

"I attended the Oktoberfest
and all I got was this lousy blouse"
- unknown

Irish hat borrowed from Ryan. Hehehe



That's all. Thanks for the hits!

Babysitter for the Day

More than an hour spent on the road en route to Mt. Vernon, only to find out my siblings had gone to Leavenworth (Bavarian town in Wenatchee) to attend Oktoberfest. Since there's nothing interesting to watch in The Filipino Channel (TFC), I drove back to Eastside instead. I figured my ex-roommate's kids missed me so, I dropped by Kirkland and took them out to Redmond Town Center.

Wulf sisters | Fountain Area

4-year old, Aralyn

with Aralyn
(I could pass for a 12-year old..ack!)

at the Upper Level
munching on Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Video sans sound
(that Digicam Repairman from Everett caused it! Grrrr)





Job Updates



Yesterday, a guy recruiter offered me an Entry-level Technical Recuiter position, but I have to turn it down because I don't feel like doing it.




My second job (located in Issaquah) will start this coming Monday. Call center environment but there will be no interaction with customers, be it via e-mail or phone. Not exactly my ideal job but then Holiday Season is coming up (and my birthday too! harharhar) that I need some money for gift-giving. Yes am being materialistic... aren't we all?




Next Blog Entry ---- Oktoberfest 2006

Last Song Syndrome (LSS)

Presenting.........

Alaine's version of
Wowowee's Boom Tarat Tarat

Alaine with her puppet, VemSan

and the Audition video (!?) :






We're just bored. Babooosh!

See you at the "Crossroad"

Oh no, am not going to blog about Britney Spear's movie!




Crossroad Mall in Bellevue was our weekend hangout spot. Just a typical, low-level mall but it offers free wi-fi throughout the complex. Thus, it's not unusual to see mallgoers surfing the internet while inside the foodcourt, grocery stores or parking lots. Now if you're in for some mind-body games, you're welcome to play on the giant chess set, which is right infront of QFC.





First stop - Jones Barbeque (Foodcourt area) which prides itself as the Best BBQ in Seattle and that it had been featured in Food Network's BBQ with Bobby Flay. For US$8.50, you'll get a large plateful of ribs (with sauce of your choice), crisscross fries and coleslaw. Definitely worth our visit and money!





After our bookstore-hopping, we went to check out Bush League Racing (right next to QFC). A car racing activity, wherein you hop onto a real racing car (with full motion), compete with other cars (eighteen of them) using the widescreen monitor infront of you as your guide. Racing simulator at its best.




We didn't intended to play but the lady-in-charge started explaining how it works, the price per hour and all those fun stuffs. She said I can join Ryan inside the car. Since it's our first visit, she will allow us to play for 4minutes, free of charge! How can you say, "NO" to that?

As if I did the driving..hehehe

at the bleacher
(blame padires for my "lip mannerism"..hehe)

Finally, the main reason why we paid Crossroad Mall a visit - Piroshky Piroshky!




Such a pity that I know nothing about Russian food except for Stone Soup. At least that's what I read when I was younger (read the popular Russian children's story here). Stone soup may not be a Russian fare but there's such soup. Recipe here.

So much for the introduction...




Piroshky Piroshky is a Russian bakery located in the foodcourt area of the mall. I thought it's an Eastside branch of the one in Seattle but to my dismay. They sell just a few Russian pastries. They have Russian combo meals though. Ryan had the ham 'n cheese piroshky while I opted for the Bavarian Sausage.



"pirozhki or piroshki is a small Russian pastries filled with finely chopped meat or vegetables, baked or fried." - answers.com

Bavarian Sausage Piroshky

That's all for now. May your belly be full forever!