Finally reached my destination and I'm blogging through my friend's laptop. It was a long haul flight actually... from Manila to Nagoya to Detroit to Lexington. I'm really tired from the trip but somehow we managed to walk to Walmart, buy groceries at 12 midnight! and came back to the hotel all on foot. Trip lang... It will be Sunday tomorrow for us here. Quite a "ghost" town I could say. I don't see much people walking around. They all travel in their vehicles and drive them at really fast speeds. My hotel accommodation is great and I hope that I will have lots of fun in the next days to come. Till here 'coz have to sleep na.

Happy Birthday to my dear MOM!
Bought her a pink bag from my first salary. hehe She loved it.

T'was 10:20PM last night when I had the last sighting of my "Baby". T'was a nice meeting and a wonderful night. Had dinner at Il Sole and requested their staff to cook some of the dishes which are no longer in their menu, but have been my all time favorites (the Sole Ice Tea and the Tagliatelle ala Siciliana). Yan and Selle were there and I was happy to be talking with them and just being with them before the clock beams at me 5:00PM tomorrow. Said a few things, gave them a few things to remember me by, surprised my "Baby" with cut flora as what I'm fond of. Her reaction has always been consistent... a simple thank you and she uses it like a caveman's club to hit me once. hehe I will miss that one for sure.

Floating in heavenly bliss for the moment.

As I went to bed last night, I recalled the dinner and how much I wanted to keep the moment playing all over again... as if it were a broken record. I tried desperately hard to have a fixed image in my mind and then (in computer terms) "write it on memory". I wanted to remember them just the way they were. I hope they won't change (for the worse). I know I'll miss all my friends here in Cebu, especially those who went on my dispidida party, and most of all the one that this heart of mine still beats for. I don't think the USA or Pres. George W. Bush, for that matter, can ever change that in me.

I'm looking forward to the adventure that lies ahead. I know I'll be happy there and I've always wanted to live there someday... hopefully somewhere in San Francisco... bring my family and all I can take with me to live in such greener and verdant pastures. I guess this experience will definitely teach me a lot in deciding where I'd wanna live for the rest of my life. Cebu is paradise, but there's too much suffering I just couldn't stand looking at it. I'm helpless since I know it's due to the corrupt politicians. It breaks my heart. But I know it's still what I'd like to call HOME. I dunno. For what it's worth, this trip will be an adventure and will be a taste of how it is to live in the so called Land of the Free. Need to learn a lot from my mentors there. They are one of the best in their fields and being their apprentice surely beats taking a Ph.D. on my own.

Will blog next at a different gateway.

Walter had been planning a dispidida party for me all along. I thought that we were just gonna talk about business last night at Tongs... turns out all my friends were there. I was so shocked to see how many of my friends he has gathered. I was so happy to see all my friends together again before I will leave this Friday. Wow!!! Even minutes after my initial shock, my heart was still pumping fast because I still couldn't believe what I saw. Thank you very much Walter for planning the whole thing. Thanks also to those who went there and be part of it. You know who you are. God bless ninyong tanan. Email me lang if you need anything in the States or if there's something you've wanted to buy there all along. Just let me know. I wanna post more but my eyes are burning na. Slept very late last night (3AM) since we finished at Off Roads around 1AM+... and had to wake up early for work at Lexmark.

*sigh* I can't believe I'll be leaving soon. I know deeply that my heart will always be in this place I call home.

I'm now working for Lexmark as a Junior Firmware Engineer. I'm so happy to be finally a working citizen. It's nice to be paid to do something, to enjoy the work and at the same time contribute something to my field. In a few weeks I'll be traveling abroad for training. Been busy preparing for my trip. I guess I'll be happy there and I really wanna visit the States once more and see it from a different perspective. I'm so happy to be given this opportunity and I hope to make the most out of it.

Hmm... what else should I write here... Oh yeah, I spent my Saturday with Rouselle, Leslie, Pancit and Lolo. Haven't seen Selle for so long na and I kinda missed talking to her... miss her totally would be more appropriate... hehehe... after the busy and nerve wrecking ordeal we had with our thesis... I needed some push in my life. We watched Wedding Date. 'Twas a nice movie... I liked the story, kinda typical romance story. The setting was in the States and I could relate somehow to what I'd be seeing in the next few weeks. *sigh. I'm not so sure about how I'm feeling about the whole trip thing right now. I'm very excited for the trip, but somehow afraid how I'd manage in a very distant place away from home. I guess I should just get used to it since as a working individual, trips such as these would come once in a while too. I guess I'm prepared for it... I know how to cook and do chores so living far on my own wouldn't be such a biggie. I'll be having my officemate as my roommate. Hmm... I guess that's all for now. I'll still be blogging there. Hopefully I could post some pictures for you peeps to see. Just email me if you want anything there in particular. Gotta go. Ciao.

Yesterday was a blast! I had dinner with 5 of my batchmates, Kim, Bess, Aleng, Cristelle, and Tis. We had dinner at Roma Mia... had a marinara. Then we went to Off Roads for coffee and talk. I had a great time with them all. T'was one of the best night outs we've had. Work officially starts Tuesday since Monday is a working holiday... accd to Madame President. hehe Well, this is all I could blog for now. Till the next blog. Hope you peeps like the new look.