home sweet home?

the past 5 days since i flew home from hk has been bittersweet.

it's great being in touch again with friends, witnessing my dear cousin get married to a really good spanish guy, seeing old friends and classmates from high school and college.

while i'm having a nice time here, there's also a big part of me that misses life in hk. i guess being away from home for almost a year has taken its toll.

within a minute from disembarking the wild-wild-west chaos of manila immediately hit me.

there are crazy lines at immigration, where two queues (which i definitely won't describe as "straight") suddenly merge into one. then there are the huge balikbayan boxes jamming the baggage carousel (two hk flights in one carousel - a baaaaad idea).

then there's the everyone-for-himself mindset when it comes to traffic (and crossing the street). and i don't even want to get into my frustration with the mrt.

but the biggest challenge for me is contending with an overly protective mom, and dealing with a "sensitive" grandmother who's staying with us temporarily while she recovers from a traffic accident. albeit just temporary, it does require some adjustment.

it doesn't help that i quite long for the same routine and the freedom of living alone in hk. you miss familiar surroundings (and things). and you miss being independent and fending for yourself.

in fact, although i was sometimes sick of the food, i kinda missed hk eateries and food court food. i got so used to doing dinner take-aways that i instinctively grabbed to-gos on my way home during my first few nights in manila.

but gripes and frustrations aside, i must say, nothing can really match christmas in the philippines. it just makes all these nuances and inconvenience worth it.

merry christmas everyone!

what a (big) waste

Malacañang household bills: P2.4-B tab on taxpayers money in 2006

i shouldn't be complaining since i haven't been paying taxes back home since i earn and reside in hk. but still ... and why am i still shocked?

it's dishearting to think that even just a quarter of that 2.4B can go a long way in giving better education to more children, or providing subsidized medicine for the sick, feed the hungry, or promote entrepreneurship so the poor learn to fend for themselves.

and what about the environmental impact of wasting paper, electricity, gas, etc etc etc?

someone should really teach these guys some social responsibility.