gigoy

Happy New Year!

We greeted the new year this year with a bang!.. or a honk since Davao City has this firecracker/fireworks ban. I actually had some plans for this year's new year celebration but I got lazy and decided to just use "torotot" and use my Yamaha Chappy to make some noise. My Yamaha Chappy - that little baby can belt out some decibels. And aside from that, it can also produce smoke that would put the anti-riot's tear gas to shame.

So I was gearing up to ride Chappy and go around the neighborhood to make some noise and suffocate people. I cranked its kick start pedal and vroom, vroom, vroo... it went dead. I cranked it again and it won't start anymore. I checked the gas tank - lo and behold, it was empty. So much for Plan B. We were stuck with our torotot.

Five minutes past midnight, the family ate together, had a little chit-chat and we retired to our rooms. Sooki and Quinn were already in dreamland so it was really peaceful which, mind you, is a very rare occasion.

The day after, we went to the mall and bought some new stuff for the kids. They say that you shouldn't spend money on New Year's day but hey, if this means that I'll be spending money for the kids the whole year, then so be it. This is the reason why I'm working right?

That night, some friends came to the house: Sdna, Jun-jun, Kim, and Tristan. I took care of the booze, Sdna brought tilapia (big ones!) and the others brought food too. It was a fun night for me since I seldom see these guys. It was a night of catching up and laughter and traveling down memory lane.

So that was my first day of the year.

Family and Friends. Life is good.

I'm back in Davao City and I am back for good. I've been here since October 22 and a lot of things has happened since then.

First off, my wife has given birth to another baby girl. Her name is Alice Quinn Palileo. She was born through Cesarean Section. Although the pregnancy went well (unlike the 1st one), Alice's pediatrician heard some heart murmurs - a probable indication of PDA.

I love Cebu City and I love the company that I worked for. But several factors and opportunities made me decide to come back to Davao City - my home sweet home.

to be continued

I haven't posted anything for 3 months so I'm going to summarize everything that has happened so far.


MAY
At work, we're on the production floor already. We were evaluated for 2 weeks and luckily, everyone in our wave passed. A big THANK YOU to our trainers and to the MODS who assisted us... You know who you are.

Paul in his pambalay/pambahay clothes

JUNE
Cebu is a populated city. That was the impression it made when we arrived here last April. It wasn't until June that I understood that the sentence "Cebu is a populated city" was an understatement. It seemed like one night it rained people and the next morning the population increased by fifty-percent. It was the start of the semester and I think parents all over the country think that Cebu Colleges and Universities are competent educational institutions and sent all their children here.

During this month, I was struggling to adapt to Cebu's crazy weather. One minute it's raining so hard that it would put bagyong Ondoy to shame and the next minute it's so hot that you'd think it's hell on earth. 'til now, I'm still trying to cope with it. As a matter of fact, while I'm writing this I'm suffering from the weather's effects - chills, cough, colds and fever.

At work, after passing the transition, the wave members were assigned to their new teams. I was sent to be a part of Team Joyce. Team Lead Joyce Cinco.

Joyce Cinco

I am glad that I was assigned to this team. The TL was really brilliant and I learned a lot from her. She has her own style in managing the team and I think it's really effective. If someday, I'll be in that position, I'll try to adapt and implement her leadership style.

A friend of mine just recently revamped his business. From a "dog-themed" coffee shop, he turned it to a Cuban  inspired cafe - Cafe Cubana.


It's located along J.P. Laurel Avenue (Bajada), Davao City, Philippines.


Experience hot Havana nights at Cafe Cubana from Monday to Sunday, 3:00pm to 2:00am.

No, the title is not a typo of "Hardy Boys." It's really supposed to be "Tardy Boys."

Today is our first day of work. Armed with SM sponsored long-sleeved polo, slacks and leather shoes, we were good to go. We were a little bit complacent with the time since the office was not that far from Alicia. What we didn't think of though was whether there were any jeep that would pass by our place going to the office.

It was already quarter to 7 before we went out and it took a few more minutes to get the information we needed. When we arrived at the office, we were a bit late - bit, meaning a minute or two. It's a blessing that we didn't get reprimanded so I guess it means we don't get any demerits of some sort. Yey!

We are Convergys' TWC Wave 58:

TWC Wave 58

There are still a few people missing from the list. Will update this soon.

A Walk In The Park

Knowing the route from Alicia Towers Residences to Asia Town IT Park, we figured that maybe we can walk home instead of riding a jeep or taxi. So we literally had "a walk in the park." Contrary to its idiomatic meaning though, for me it was actually a difficult and painful walk.

Aside from the fact that it was high noon when we started walking home, I was also wearing long sleeves and leather shoes. I could forgive the extra heat given to me by the polo that I'm wearing but what was killing me were my shoes. This was the first time that I wore that pair of shoes from the time I bought it. And you know how leather shoes can be. But I had to bear it. We were almost like half-way there already and it seems like nobody else was having the same problem I was having.

But all is well that ends well. I'm just thankful that my feet didn't get any blisters. It was just a tad bit swollen - nothing that cold water can't fix. All in all, I think I had a fairly good day.

When I was here in Cebu 10 years ago, it was my past time to go around Colon so I had a fairly good idea where is what. I thought I still had the knack for the place after 10 years but I was wrong.

Croni (Jann Earl Galupo) and I had 2 items in our agenda for today. Number 1 is to look for "Tita Rose" and number 2, to buy some business-casual clothes. We need to do them in that order.

For those who do not know who or what "Tita Rose" is, let me give you an idea. "Tita Rose" is the slang term for "ROSEVER" which is a popular pawnshop in Davao City. We needed to pawn our cellphones so our chances of survival here in Cebu City will increase. We also needed extra money so we can buy the needed attire. I remembered (from 10 years ago) that there were a number of pawnshop in Colon so we decided to go there.

Finding Tita Rose was fairly easy but the rate they provided for our "goods" was less than what we expected so we tried looking for other pawnshops. But other pawnshops were more stingy than Tita Rose so we went back to her and succumb to her rates.

Now that we have our money, it's time for item number 2 - attire. Since we were already in Colon, we decided to just buy in the area. And this is where things got a little messy. I don't know what happened but we just kept on walking trying to find stores that could have what we need until we realized that we didn't know where we were. My memory bank of 10 years ago was empty. I don't know where we were. It was not until when we got to Sto. Nino Church that everything became a little bit more familiar. I think we were going around Colon for at least an hour before that though.

It was a tiring yet fun adventure. I'm having doubts now whether I would still be able to navigate around the city effectively. If that's the case then this experience definitely won't be the last of the series "Lost - Cebu Edition."

Just arrived in Mactan. After 10 years of exile, I'm officially back in Cebu. Will be heading to Alicia Towers Residences in Banilad. It will be my temporary home for the next 30 days. Click on images to make them bigger.

Alicia Towers Banilad Cebu	Bunk Beds
Lavatory + Comfort Room	Bunk Beds

I came here to Cebu with a good friend - Croni. He stays on the top bunk near the AC. There are two other dormers  Tatay and Deebough. However, Tatay decided not to stay here because he has a brother who lives in Lahug and it would be cost-effective if he stays with him. So that explains why one of the top bunks is kinda topsy-turvy.

The room is okay. Each of us have our own lockers. We have our own lavatory, shower and comfort room. What made me a bit uncomfortable is the comfort room inside the room (pardon the irony). It would have been fine if it was totally closed but the problem is it was partially open. Sure they installed a small exhaust fan on top but given that the room is air-conditioned, God help us! (And knowing how toxic I can be sometimes, God help them!).

They had several house rules: no using of iron, rice cooker, water heater and no smoking. They're doable. Although I can't promise until when I'll be adhering to those rules.

Another concern that I have is laundry. They have a laundry shop at the lobby but their rate is quite steep - Php35.00/kg and minimum of 3 kilos. That's steep given that I am currently in a tight budget of Php2,000.00 from this day to the 30th of April. So I have to find a way on how I can do the laundry inside the room.

One last thing about this place is they don't provide beddings. If you don't have your own beddings, you can rent a set for Php250.00 for one whole month. Php250.00? I can make use of that money for something else so I guess I'd just be sticking with the basics - the mattress and my thick skin. It's going to be a cold first night for me here in Cebu. And I know it's going to get colder because I'm starting to miss Sooki already...