a year of waking up on the wrong(?) side of the planet

it's that time of the year to reminisce, recount and re-examine the year that was. a new year has dawned on me and i found myself in the other side of the equator, in a land not my own but where i chose to tread my own path.

last year, i was in one of the most alive cities i've ever known, where only tuesday nights are delegated to the twilight zone. the place was vibrating with energy. each day was a reason to celebrate, to commiserate, or to simply enjoy the company of friends and family who were just one holler, IM or SMS away.

the malls and the the tiangges* welcome the shopaholics, fashionistas and bargain-hunters alike with open arms, embracing them until exhaustion pulled them away or until the stores close at 9pm, whichever came first. the aroma of fresh coffee then beckoned you, and you find yourself sharing a cup or two of latest java mix while swapping stories and great finds with your posses. you step out outside of the coffee hub only to find yourself being drawn to the music being played by a local band in the pub next door. the doorman greets you and shows you to your usual couch where you sit and order a bucket of your favorite home-brewed amber drink, in this case, San Mig light or Red horse beer, with a plate or two of sizzling sisig, buttered garlic mushrooms, or a tray of pizza. the music gets louder and faster as the night progress. eventually, you get back to your senses and find your way home happy and revitalized for the day ahead.

tired of the usual movies and club scene, you head to the local rock climbing gym and literally climb your way to the top. tuesdays and thursdays are badminton nights, while weekends are spent at the pool or if you had booked early enough, at the white sand beaches along one of the thousands of kilometers of coastline that surrounds the land i call home (the top banner was shot in Boracay. also check out busuanga and panglao).

my favorite lola (grandma) whom i fondly call 'ima' was just a short road trip away, along with my cousins, nephews, and people who saw you 'evolve' from a lanky kid to a much taller but still lanky kid who looked like an adult.

as i'm writing this, i am seated lotus-style in one of the university lounges in the environment building alongside other students, who are busy tapping the latest assignment on their laptops or most checking out their facebook pages. not one of us look the same, as always - not the color of our skin or hair, not even the slight slant of our eyes. we can very well be poster kids for one of those benetton ads that used to fascinate me when i was growing up. neither of these grown kids are my classmates, as my own class starts in three and a half hours and in a different building.

i am a student again and have been one for almost a year now. i've traded my office bags for a backpack or tote. my feet had a hiatus from walking in stilettos for fear of being injured. i have worn my high heeled boots once and my feet did not forgive me for it.

the edgy corporate look was shelved for something more relaxed. no more leather pencil skirts and dress trousers. it's either t-shirts, singlets/ tank tops paired with jeans, shorts, or short skirts with comfortable, flat shoes or thongs.

i don't catch the fx, g-liner or the flamboyant jeep to work, but instead wait for the brisbane translink bus, or train, or sometimes citycat to take me from one place to another, mostly from home to uni, the mall, south bank, the city and everything in between, and back again.

my lungs have grown accustomed to the crisp, clean air that envelops brisbane, especially after this morning's brief rain shower.

there aren't as many familiar brown faces now, except when i go to attend church and fellowship meetings on sundays, or when my friends go to the movies or the city. instead, i'm surrounded by friends, classmates, and team-mates from every nook and cranny of the earth. my closest mates have hailed from bhutan, japan, taiwan, philippines (of course) and thailand, with new friends from italy, brazil, china, zimbabwe, mongolia, austria, sweden, iraq, australia, new zealand, egypt and canada.

i haven't picked up a badminton racket for almost a year now. i do run for my life with a rugby ball every wednesday night since the start of the semester playing touch football. before taking up touch football, i used to go to the local gym where i swam every once in a while or took a long leisurely walk to the nearby park to burn off some energy. (this partly explains where the kilos went since i got here.)

i still miss filipino food and i'm always eager to try the next best thing. so far, the closest i found was the roasted pork (in lieu of pork liempo) at the quaint Vietnamese BBQ restaurant at Sunnybank, or any of the chinese stir fried noodles for pansit in Little Hongkong at Market Square, as well as the taho dessert that they sell across the street, all at Sunnybank. There are a few Fiipino grocery stores but I never go there for fear of buying everything in sight. Their pan de sal bread is good though, my auntie buys some from there once in a blue moon.

i probably have sent out hundreds of resumes now and have revised my CV for an awful lot more times than that. i've seen career counselors, attended career talks and fairs and have amassed a fair number of giveaway pens and toys from all those events. i still continue to scour the job market, network and send CVs out in hopes of finding my match, and never losing hope. somehow, it seems that the J-man is preparing me for something really big, that's why i'm not getting any of the small-time gigs i was willing to settle for.

so now, i'm going back to perusing course readers, doing assignments, preparing for my seminar, and sending an application or two.

i'm facing challenges head on, as always, welcoming each day as an adventure waiting to be conquered.

there must be a reason why i'm still here, so why not make the most of it and have fun in the process? i will go back to manila someday, but for now i'll spend my days as an environment grad school student in oz, until the next adventure beckons.

comedy at lrt-2

it was a scene that might as well be taken straight out of a movie.

we were at the recto terminal station of lrt-2 violet line, settling down for the train ride home. suddenly, two kids - a girl and a boy probably within the ages of 7 to 9 years old - stepped into the coach just as the doors were about to close.

the p.a. system went taaan - taaaan - taaan and then we heard a heart-piercing collective shriek: "mommmmyyyy!!!!"

the kids left their mom at the terminal station.

the whole train was now faced with two crying kids with nothing on them but the clothes on their back, their shoes, and the knowledge that they were supposed to get off the other end of the route - the santolan terminal station.

anyone could understand why the kids would cry their eyes out. we tried to pacify them at that time and said that their mom would most likely meet them at the terminal station. we even offered to be at their side while they wait for their mom on the next train. the kids were later escorted to the front of the coach after their mom reported it to the station.

all i could do while all this was happening was to try my darnedest to suppress my laughter. the sisters at the convent have done their best to instil the notion that good catholic school girls do not laugh at others' misfortunes but i guess this time the constant exposure to mr. bean and chinese slapstick films took the better of me. i suppose it could count as a moment of weakness. at least i didn't burst out laughing while the kids were in front of us. oh well.

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the week that was

we were in indonesia last week for the better air quality (baq) 2006 workshop. it was the culmination of half a year's work, blood and sweat all rolled into one of the biggest parties of air quality and sustainable transport peeps in asia and beyond.

picture this.

four months ago, we started writing at least four country + city synthesis reports on urban air quality in asia. mine were those for hong kong s.a.r., singapore, cambodia and indonesia. we wrote the drafts and had them checked and verified with our local partners in each area. this exercise made us gain new friends and unfortunately, break some old ties. it was also a test of patience and a chance to evaluate our job quality criteria and management skills. all of these were done while....

...preparing the final editing stages for the sustainable urban transport in asia main report. this is officially my first book which was co-authored with cornie, lee, and wei shiuen of cai-asia and embarq. the report was published in time for baq 2006 but a preview of the strategic framework on sustainable urban transport in asia has been presented at the transportation research board last january 2006.

...coordinating the best practices exhibit for baq 2006. in the end the exhibit was composed of at least 50 booths and at least 200 poster exhibits. too bad the weather did not cooperate with us on some of the days of the exhibit but it sure was fun and enlightening to interact with the exhibitors. note to self: the cliche on french guys is just that - a cliche.

...coordinating the bus rapid transit technical working group for metro manila. there was a welcome lag in the latter part of the year but the knowledge and ties we gained from the BAQ events on BRT and NMT would not go to waste. the meetings resume on january.

...keeping abreast of the latest development on AQ and SUT in Asia. as always.

during baq week, we even managed to squeeze in some shopping nights at malioboro, dining with new friends at jogja and jakarta, sing along at the vredeburg fort in jogja, toured the borobudur temples for more shopping, toured Jakarta through our TransJakarta field trip, and go to singapore for more shopping and sightseeing c/o chow kuang, nancy and ninette. we took lots of pictures to document the whole thing.

the hell on earth at jakarta airport where our flight to singapore was delayed for five hours was replaced by the blessings that we got after the ordeal. net's special powers were mightier than someone we know, even getting our friends flights confirmed and getting them booked at one of the finest hotels at orchard road with free meals, hotel-airport transfer, and international calls all at the airline's expense.

more to come.

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