Vacation!!!! AT LAST!!!

once again i have proven to myself and to rest of my overly thrifty "bench/penshoppe" friends that spending a little bit more in apparel could really change your already miserable life... i haven't got the chance to prove this before because all the proof i need is that 100 million dollar feeling whenever i wear my donna karan knitted jacket... but finally... after spending almost a years savings for a vintage dolce and gabbana 3-button suit, which costs me almost $700 (and i got this on a good bargain...) and a $50 banana republic diagonal black and white stripped slim tie and another $500 for a pair of black ferragamo leather shoes... the heavens finally noticed that they might consider people with good taste in clothes as one of the major factors to get sure seats up there...

it was last monday when this all happened... i woke up around 9am in the morning and got ready for the make or break moment that would shape the rest of my vacation plans for december... once again here's a flashback...

last may my lovely girl friend got the thing we all have been waiting for... her fiancee visa to be approved... and in a blink of an eye, without hesitation nor any teary goodbyes i just realized that she jumped on the first plane going to las vegas and left everybody here in the philippines to rot!

and so she got civilly married there and because the pinoy blood still holds her already bisaya accent... everybody still wanted to have another wedding ceremony together with all the white curtains they could muster and the longest trail they could put together and all the white petals they can cover the floor with... and the date was set... december 27... AND I AM GOING TO SING!!!

well, that was the original plan until we realized that my attendance was enough destruction for the ceremony already... so we just stick to the lesser evil (bwahahahaha...)

and then i forgot that my US Visa was already expired... but how can i miss this life threatening event? the timing is just right... got 3weeks vacation leave available... the semester for my MBA is about to end... i have free tickets to the states and I HAVE FREE TICKETS TO THE STATES!!! who am i to stop myself from another luxurious trip half-way around the world... besides it's already been a year since i really got out of the philippines or anywhere within it's vicinity (i mean... south east asia... you get the drift?)

so now we go back to the early part of the blog... i got up one monday morning and fixed myself to look as expensive as the clothes i'm wearing... (IT WAS HARD!!!) i spent all my life trying not to eat too much... thankfully it paid off... i haven't been over 150 pounds and the only flab that appeared in my body was that ounce of fat around my love-handle... but i maintained my lean figure.... problem now is... i look too thin... it's exceptionally great when the suit fitted like a runway model... but also exceptionally malnourished (bwahahahah!!!!)

my friend picked me up and dropped me off to the US Embassy... he said it was a form of support for all my efforts... but of course he's expecting me to bring him that D&G watch he's been eying on ebay when i get back from the states... (oh well... meet my friends...)

The line outside the embassy was long and exhausting... imagine wearing my coat and tie under the heat of the manila sun (talk about overdressed!) and what made matters worse is that i'm pretty sure i was the only one there who thought it best to wear something formal... NOT... but i kept my composure and just imagined everybody wearing the same thermal suit that i'm wearing...

it was'nt that long when somebody tapped my shoulder and introduced herself... she was one of the applicant's... she was a dentist and by the looks of her she's quite a good one... we made small talk and i learned that she was intending to attend a confrence in san francisco... i didn't realize that it's going to be one of the countless petty stories i will hear for the rest of my stay in that irritating line... there was an old lady who has a sister in the states who was dying, another was attending a wedding and a funeral right after, another wanted to take acting classes in the states... it just goes on and on... and then i reflected on my reason... it was simple, short and unconvincing... VACATION!!!!

right after graduation, i was one of the stupid people who thought that working immediately was the sane thing to do... i didn't realize that you have the rest of your life to work and only have a year of spending your 20th year here on earth without worry and burden... but i was excited to earn (actually i was excited to buy the new chuck taylor sneakers... well it was in style 5 years ago)... and so while i was reviewing for the board exam i worked... it was fun but extremely tiring (specially when it's pay day and i need to drag myself to the mall and SHOP!!!! hahaha)... then i got to work for an AIRLINE company that was more of HELL than actually a little room you call an office (with which the only thing that made me stay is that i get to wear my ties and shirts and my shoes everyday at work)... then after wasting 30 long months of my life i decided to go for what i really wanted to do... build data communications networks... (hahahahaha... geeekkkyyy!!!!! well after this i'll be working for NASA... you just wait!) and then after more than a year of tweaking routers and switches i decided to TAKE A BREAK!!! and this was it...

my number was called... 2970... i walked confidently towards the window where the consul was on the other side... and gave him my $130 application form and my passport... he looked at me while i streched my shirt inside my suit... he asked my age... and where i'm going to in the states... i said i am 24 and im going to san francisco and then new york... he gave me a smirk and inserted a yellow slip in my passport... i was ready to get all my requirements in my little black keeper when he suddenly said that i was approved and to pay at the pavillion for the courier... i was on the verge of jumping, but i remembered my $700 DOLCE will not be so proud of me if i do that... so i smiled at the consul and told him to have a GOOD ONE!!! A REALLY GOOD ONE!!!

Next Major BLOG!!! Hello San Francisco and New York!!!!