Where in the World...?
If January is any indication of how the rest of the year will be, 2007 promises to be a hectic, stressful, travel-ful year. In just the 1st month, I've already spent 2 weeks in Paris/Brussels (I'm so over my depression! See pic of the Atomium below) and spent the 2 weeks after that fighting with my bosses over my next assignment.
And the next few months doesn't look like it's going to get any better. I'm in Japan from Feb 2-5, back in Singapore from Feb 6-14, Europe from Feb 15-Mar 5, US some time after that in Mar and Latin America some time in April.My mom doesn't even ask where I am in the world anymore. Hay... I'm definitely not getting married anytime soon at this rate.
Be Careful What You Wish For...
You know how you can spend so much time chasing after things that, at that time, seem like life or death if you don't get it; And when you do get it, you realize it may not have been what you wanted after all. It's a weird kind of feeling -- like you wasted time, or you feel stupid because the answer was so obvious, or it's all-around 'sayang', or suddenly you have no purpose. Because what you've been working for, what you thought you wanted, you actually may not.A bit like moving to Europe for me. I've been wanting it and hounding my bosses for the last 3 years about this. I still haven't gotten it, but I've been working here for the past 2 weeks and I find myself asking if this is really what I want. I mean, it's really great and all. Lunch is terrific and subsidized, there's a coffee bar, foozeball, a great company store, company car, working hours are short... It could be that I just have a lot of time on my hands walking back and forth to the tea dispenser. But I can't shake that depressing feeling.I'm not just talking about the sun or the 20-minute lunch breaks. That bothers me, but it's also how the Marketing guys aren't friends (and I used to think it was bad in Singapore) and are locked up in their cubicles the whole day (score one point for the open office). I mean, you could go to work and not see anyone, how crazy is that! The office is so quiet you feel like you're in a library and the secretary's about to shush you any minute. It does get quite lonely especially if you're single, or don't know anyone, as is my case. Yeah, people ask you out and there always seem to be something going on. But everything is just background noise. I'm in my movie and everything around is going past me.I don't quite fit. There's something not quite right.Update (1/14/07: my last night in Brussels): Had dinner with Karim and his wife, my doppelganger, Ranna, the other day. And I've got invitations to a couple of other housewarmings and parties. Stéphane and his team have also been incredibly nice. I have to say, after the initial hump... It's been fun. I know I'm fickle because now, Brussels seems like the bomb -- especially if I can get that Mercedes convertible Karim has. :)
I'm in Stage 4 Right Now
Six Phases of a Project:1) Enthusiasm2) Disillusionment3) Panic4) Search for the Guilty5) Punishment for the Innocent6) Praise and Reward for the Non-Participants
Brussels Days 1-2
It's cold, rainy, gray and drab. My hands are like ice and my nose feels like it's about to fall off. I've never drunk so much hot tea in my life, which I do to let the steam warm my nose and prevent the formation of certain solid-like structures that can obstruct my ventilation pathways. I'm in Brussels for work, and I'll be here for the next 2 weeks enduring 5-degree weather, the frequent rains and 6-hour days.Good news is, I have no jet lag which is probably a result of the fantastic pita I had for lunch. There's not much to see especially if you've been here before so I've taken to just wandering the streets and enjoying the ambiance. I don't think the city allows any building to have more than 3 floors, so much of the city is flat and retains the old world architecture that gives it so much charm.For all the depressing grayness of Brussels, it's still a nice place to live. There's enough restaurants to satisfy my foodie cravings, the people are nice and speak English (which is quite rare for a European city) and it's small enough to feel very homey very fast. The only thing I'd have a hard time adjusting to would be how the sun is only out during winters from 10am-4pm. Imagine waking up at 8am when the world still looks like it's asleep -- completely dark and almost noise-less! I have enough trouble as it is waking up in Singapore where the sun almost blinds you in the mornings.And the other thing, people here don't eat lunch. They shovel it in their mouths. We Filipinos like to linger over our food, savor it, have a good conversation with the meal and generally, enjoy the full experience. It would be quite rare to go for a regular lunch and finish in under an hour. But here, everyone wolfs down the food and they're finished and done in 30minutes. It's really quite disconcerting. I've just started on my soup and they're staring at me expectantly to stand up and clear my tray. Really. I'm eating so fast now, I don't even have time to choke on my food. I need to find me some Filipinos to eat with. At least then, no one will look at me funny if I eat my pineapples with salt.
