my BIG happy City.

Hello bloggie world! It's been a tough, tough week for me but I'm fine now...I think everyone here is keeping their spirits up and is very positive to be moving on from what the Typhoons have brought the country. Help is flooding in, that's the kind of flood we want, HELP. ^^ Everyone's been very generous with helping in kind and in prayers. Thank you all.

Meanwhile, I'm sharing you photos of Manila I took 4 days before the flood happened. Aerial shots I took while on board a plane back to the "BIG CITY", you can see the greens and the buildings and the colorful rooftops...several places there have submerged in water, but we are hopeful in restoring everything to it's beauty.

So here goes Manila's Cityscape.

greens and buildings

colorful rooftops

manila bay on view

city by the river.

This is still my BIG happy city, despite the crazy weathers!

Have a good week ahead!

Love,

Sassy

Snapshots: Tokyo - Part 1

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Photos that haven't seen the light of day since 2006!^^
Location: Tokyo, Japan

a day in the life of me.

So there I was in my most unflattering look for the site...literally clothed not "dressed" like a guy...I cannot be in my posh-iest outfit as you know being in a construction site is not the most glamorous thing! BUT, after this "technical" stuff, we will all go back to this same site for viewing in business outfits as if this never happened!

a gloomy rainy day to make things become a bigger challenge...mud on my shoes, mud on my shirt...err, *hubby's* shirt, and mud on my pants...
my boss and I,discussing numbers and halves of numbers, the panels were perfectly aligned at this stage, bravo! ... I'm still wondering at that time how I was able to climb up the scaffolding when it's slippery and I'm too coward for heights!
with my team mate doing some affirmations...he's a good guy, easy to work with, never complains and talks in a low-soft voice, who wouldn't like that! He never argues with me!^^

view of the unfinished product! It's a mock-up of what the actual facade of the building will look like.
some notes from the big boss!

...AND wrap up! Bring on the next day! :)

I am watching you.

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And in the midst of 2 controversies that should topple off the present administration from its seat and choke on the bill for expensive dinners that they had, we're like orphaned children not sure of what to do, where to go and who to trust. How do we put ourselves together after a loss of a good leader? She would have known what to do, she would have called upon people to step up against the abusive use of power and corruption, against insensitivity. That while these people we call "public servants" dine for a few hours that costed over a million pesos, an old man unable to fend for himself died last night of HUNGER... it costed him his life to have NOTHING. No food, no shelter. HUNGER, it is a cruel way to die ... to be deprived of a BASIC necessity for living, it is disturbing.

It was on the news, that man. That I was teary eyed for such a sad news. That I, having the prevelige to eat "more" than 3 times a day and could choose to control when to eat merely for " dieting" or "losing weight" feels so guilty for the food that I have not properly consumed or have left to stale. If I feel this way, I suppose these PEOPLE that we put into power feel worse for having failed in their DUTY... but who believes that they do??? NOBODY. They'd probably just consider him as part of statistics, people die. They've been burying people who live on the streets for years. He is no different.

That thought just made me sick to the stomach.

We are like orphans ... we needed that voice, we needed that someone who would say the opinion of the masses out loud and without fear. She would have spoken our truth and reason. But she is gone ... I know. This is the 3rd time that I've mentioned of bidding goodbye to her. Accepting reality that without her and the people who walked beside her, we must carry on with our OWN VOICE. We no longer have that someone who will do it for us...that while I go to work and continue living life as I know it with parties and karaoke. She and people like her, rally on the streets, hold press conferences, risk their lives for our causes. We cannot sit still and watch the world go 'round without IT noticing US... and though the STREETS are still too overwhelming for me to take, I will start with myself and mean to change my life for others. I wont be SELFISH. I promise.

I have every right to be heard because 30% of my monthly salary goes to tax! (eyes rolling...) and I wont let some dirty politician take VIP parking spaces!!! or get VIP services when we pay the same!!! Being in POWER is NOT a RIGHT but a PRIVELIGE, a TRUST given by the PEOPLE. It is a job, a commitment ... it is NOT a free BANK account!!! You owe your POWER to the people, you ARE NOTHING without the PEOPLE and if you don't believe in this you probably have STOLEN your way to get up there.

from an outfit to a bright turn ...

These are my windows... because I give my heart to it.

"Surprise! A meeting with the client and contractors in 2 minutes" ... my boss called out on me at the pantry while I was preparing to have my morning coffee ... I panicked. I was sooo dressed-down for a "not-expecting-any-meeting-with-the-client" Wednesday and practically had to make do with skinny jeans, pink RL Polo Shirt and choco-brown flats because I have NO time to change and didn't have my suit/jacket with me on this very day, while I usually have it, I could've easily put it on and it would make the difference!!! But what I have instead is: a Hollister hoodie, which will only make me lesser of a professional if I did wear that! aarrgghh... how can he do this to me?!

And so we went. Regardless of what I have on and what I know about these people I'm meeting for the first time ... what an impression I'm gonna make...hah! This is sooo brilliant of me! This is gonna go down in history!!! I mutter to myself as we drove to the client's office, walked our way to the lobby and in to the conference room ...

Making it to the meeting ahead of time made me feel so much better that I'm seated first while the others kept coming in and I wont have to parade around in my polo shirt and jeans to ease my way onto a seat. ^^ ... We waited a few minutes more, while I stayed self-conscious about whether I still have anything "more" unprofessional on ... like: are my earrings too big? is my lipstick too red? or did I put too much mascara? or I should have put on that expensive perfume ... those kind of thoughts ... and then, ack! my cellphone has dangling trinkets of pink plastic bears, 3 of them all lined up in a chain that dangles at the bottom of my flip phone! I immediately removed it ... 3 pink, plastic bears (jeez!)... biggest to the smallest ... they are sooo cute but at that moment they were like the most horrendous things I could get associated with ... this job sucks if it doesn't like cute! (I know.) But now ... the conference table is filled in by "grown, matured men" of 40 to 50-ish old, I knew I made the right decision of putting away those pink bears out of sight! Only me and my boss is nearing 30, I'm 28 and he's 29, but he was wearing one of his finest dress-shirts, khaki slacks, leather belt with a shiny silver buckle on ... and those, THOSE tan leather Lacoste gator shoes that he bought in Boston! ( ...sigh...) He makes me look even worse than I thought!

(breathing heavily.) ... The meeting rolled about site excavations, trucks, viewing decks, architects, building orientation... glass and aluminum frames ... we were dismissed ahead since we've already discussed our concerns and that ... we have NO problem with our schedule.

We then proceeded to the SITE.

Site...(aaahhhh... the ground location EQUALS heat, dust, mud, dirt, construction site, etc.) We walked a few blocks and the enclosed site was there, were trucks and excavation was on going, hah! who's laughing now?! Actually, there isn't anyone who's laughing but I just thought to myself that I have on the most site-visit-appropriate outfit between me and my boss!

It was business as usual, locations were discussed, steel tubes, frames ... dimensions, the works... I marveled at the ground and visualized how the building will look on it... It's a very unique love, between man and the "ground", when something as massive as to house businesses and people into one area is going to firmly stand on it, changing the landscape forever. It's iconic. It's one of those things that when I grow older, I'd be able to tell stories about...at that, I knew that I once again fell inlove with what I do as a job.

It takes hundreds of heads to work on just one building! ^^

... and don't panic!

There were two loud blasts yesterday that made us panic, followed by another big blast about 10 minutes later. We all looked at each other in fright. My husband who's seated about 30 metres away from my desk came up to me as I was about to throw my deadline ridden computer out the window in panic and shock! ... Our bosses who were in a meeting with a guest from the US in the conference room all went out to see whether it is something to be alarmed about.

We work at the 25th flr of a 38 storey office building and a blast like that is not to be ignored, as we have already mastered to distinguish a sound whether it's coming from a firecracker or a sound as BIG and LOUD as what we've heard ... was definitely NOT a firecracker! Of course we panicked, of course thoughts of how are we going to run down the stairs all 25 storeys below and how I'm glad to have worn flats and how I thought I'd bring flats if I'm to wear heels! 'cuz you'll never know!... All those thoughts came to me instantly!

So what was it? Oh, just bombs.

Yes, bombs! A purposely detonated bomb across the street for a fire drill! *sigh of relief*. There was a fire drill across the street, coming from a mega-huge twin tower building that's got 12 elevators and has an office for a movie production ... uhmm... not that it's related, but you know, the firemen had to set up this huge test/drill for the occupants, similar to what they did here in our building last February, remember? my post about how we ended up at Starbucks.

*cough**cough* Anyway, it's a good thing that they do what they do, the firemen ... 'cuz we oftentimes just come and go in the office, not minding the height, the exit points, the dos and don'ts in times (that you don't wish for to ever happen! ) It's better that we know all these, to be aware and not panic like crazy! ... Panic? what'z that word? hehe ... I'm calm and sensible.

Well we got trapped for a few seconds in the elevator today, 'cuz there was a change of power ... apparently, there was a brownout... grr ... the lights went off, the elevator wont open and no buttons were working ... all 8 of us got trapped inside ... I shrieked! But it was a slow shriek... a shallow shriek like all girls do when surprised but I didn't go banging the doors, or pushing frantically on the Talk button for the security! We waited about 3 seconds before doing something and held out our cellphones for light. We waved at the camera, if ever it was working on brownouts! And then viola! we went 2 floors up and then down to our destination, the Ground.

Whew.

I'm no good being in a dark, tight place. Psychological. I don't have claustrophobia but somehow I developed a few signs right there! bad. very bad.

... It just feels so good to be on the ground and would suggest that when we transfer to a new building, we'd get a lower floor! Low like 2 storeys the max!

Anyway, all's well ... I'm fine ... I was a girl scout. I know not to panic. Lesson to those who work and live in a high rise building ... Know your exit points, have fire extinguishers, never panic and walk the stairs, never go down using the elevator during emergencies like fire and know the numbers to call for help.

Lastly, pray to God that no freak accidents would happen to you or your family. He's always the best protector. Have faith.