marlon
and here i thought he was over him...oh well, maybe he loves misery...i mean how can u possibly want to be with someone when you cant have 100% of him...i distinctly remember us having a conversation wherein he (and the rest of us agreed) that in relationships, there should be no gray areas, either you have him completely or you dont...hmm change of heart, change of mind...

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rob
so he cancelled your date/semi-date for the nth time? not very nice of him...and to think, we were 'trying' to like him despite his negative status in, err, academics (we're so mean, i swear!)....sometimes methinks we'll never really introduce potential/actual boyfriends to each other because we know how each other thinks/scrutinizes...but really, despite how we are i think that we would accept/respect anyone's decision in the boyfriend arena (think suzanne)...

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final calls
in hcmc airport, i intentionally went in late (had already checked in about 2 hours in advance) to the pre-boarding area...i actually heard my name being called... "this is the final call for ms. belinda molina, please proceed to gate no. 6 for boarding"...i dunno, i guess i get a natural high in seeing if i can still make it given that i was only minutes or seconds away from flight time... the fear of not being to roam around hk prior to my conference got the better of me so i hurried up...

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hongkong
it was way too cold for me...12-15 degrees C on average...now i understand why people wear trench coats...they actually have a function...i thought it was just for fashion's sake...

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lonely planet
never called marlon's friend because i assumed he dint really wanna be bothered (called him when i was in cambodia 2 days before i left for hk)...he said something like "ok, you can tag along if we go out on saturday"...i got the idea...rude guy- or gay or whatever...thank god there's lonely planet, the single girl's guide to adventure when a man aint around...hahaha...anways, at first i was reluctant to go around alone (i swear i almost did call rude guy mark)...i dunno, i chickened out...this was my first time really because last time i did this, i was with marlon who took care of reading maps and stuff...then i challenged myself, "if you do this, then you can do anything"...hahaha...it seems weird, but it worked...i managed by using the book and asking around (mostly pinays, there were lots)- i never claimed to be totally adept at reading maps...i got into a tram (double-decked), a bus (double-decked as well), a ferry, into another island (kowloon)...hah! it was liberating...travelling is about stretching your limits, exploring the unknown and finding out you can do so much...i remembered why people travel... :)

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maids
went to the central exchange station (statue square) wherein i saw a deluge of pinay maids...they were there- around the square, along the underpass; having mass, reading bibles/pinoy novels, listening to pinoy songs, playing cards...it was quite an emotional experience for me- thinking about how much they have sacrificed (living away from home, having to deal with cruel chinese employers) and how they stood up for each other so they can remain strong together...cant explain, you have to be there to know...

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fleeting acquaintances
in one of my help-can-you-show-me-how-i-can-get-to-this-place moments, i met a guy named bal (he laughed when he found out that i was bel)...oh well...anways, he was seated next to me in the tram and i was on my way back to the hotel...turns out that he lived in the building next to the excelsior (my hotel)...it was a building that bore the name 'the president'...he asked for my business card, told him i dint have one (actually i did, but heck, para que)...so he offered to give me his number 'in case i need help'...so being the polite person that i am, i did, he wrote his number down on my book...now, im not a phony or anything, but somehow you just know that those moments are just transitory and that you'll never to get to meet that person again in your lifetime...and the only reason you met them for a while was for them to help you get to your hotel safe and sound...
had a similar experience pre-hk...i was seated next to this vietnamese guy (i would later find out that his name is vinh)...he was about my age...a viet khieu (overseas vietnamese)...he's been in the states for 20 years...grew up in la and now works as pharmacist in texas...the flight was quite long (2 hours!) so there was enough time for us to share each other's life stories...anyways, he asked me how long i'd work in vietnam, i said perhaps for just another year...then he explained later on (when we got a lil closer) that the reason he asked how long i was gonna stay in vietnam is that he would have gotten my number because he'd be going back again to visit (vietnam) some time next year...he also implied about having dinner (and asked me if i was gonna have dinner with colleagues when we land); thank god he had to follow an arrow going the left way (for the la flight he was taking in the next hour or 2), while my arrow was to the right; i dint like making excuses not to go to dinner with him... so there goes the perfect fleeting acquaintance...no numbers asked because it will all be futile...

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me bitching out
went to the front desk to check out at around 10 minutes to 7am (time the hotel transpo leaves for the airport; my flight was at 9)...i was asked by the concierge the night before to go down 15 minutes before that...but i was just too lazy to wake up earlier, i like to cherish my extra 15 minutes...so anways, the front desk girl was slow (it was early)...she made a mistake (computed for 2 night's stay only when it should have been 3)...and the concierge was bugging me about the shuttle having to wait for me, that there were others already in the shuttle...it was only then that i realized that this wasnt my normal hotel transpo, wherein i would be the only passenger...and to think the transpo costs 20USD! oh well...i felt quite guilty really but i dint show that to them hotel people...as it looked like the front desk was taking forever, the concierge said that we better let the shuttle leave without me...that i just take the airport express and a taxi...i agreed...but they would still charge me 20USD! so was infuriated...i was not about to pay for service that i dint get, i told them...the argument took quite some time (but we were pretty civilized, we weren't screaming freaks)...but i finally won in the end...so much for being bitchy...i dint feel quite myself...but somehow i knew i had to do it...

anyways, there...bought some stuff pala for you guys...sana u'll like them...