Last week we went to a safari here in Nairobi. We paid USD50 for it. If I have seen a lion chasing and then eating a zebra it would have been well worth it. But it was still fun... expensive fun. See some of the pictures from my photo album, just click on the link on the right.
i was sent out of the airport yesterday for not having complete requirements for boarding. i didn't have a visa or letter of inviation or any document for going to Nairobi. i only had my smile... well no, not even that because i had to stand in queue for 2 hours before i finally knew I could not board my flight.
visas to kenya takes 10 days to process and they could not wait that long. supposedly i can apply for a visa directly in Nairobi, no requirements needed except for a couple of pictures and USD 50. i asked them for a letter of invitation, they said it was not required. well it is. i guess it's better that they denied me here rather than there in Kenya :p
and i also get another day with my hunny and also visit a great friend who just gave birth to her first baby... incidentally she gave birth in just about the same time i realized i cant leave. Congrats Ana!
finally after over a year I am leaving riyadh. i didn't think i would miss these guys here, but after receiving such a farewell from them i realized there was a bond, stronger than what I thought was there. these guys weren't just clients or bosses or colleagues. they we're good friends. friends that made my year here so much more memorable. but i expect to see many of these guys in upcoming projects. so no reason to be too sentimental. we will all be in touch. sooner than later. not to get news about each other but to consult about the screw-ups i may have done but until now is not discovered yet. hehe.
i don't know why we're built this way. i mean why do we feel the exact same physical dull pain in the pits of our stomachs for two radically different emotions: excitement and anxiety. i finally got the go signal to go home which is exciting. and i'm also going to kenya which is even more exciting. but then i'm only staying for 4-5 days at home with two halves of it spent in the airport or in transit. o i hate goodbyes. even if i know it's only for a few months.
...
if only there are two separate ways to physically feel these feelings, at least i can feel the excitement first. and then afterwards the anxiety. but o well, i guess that's why we have minds... to separate both.
I was toying around with a legal advice website idea for the philippines. There could be a niche. I mean i'm sure there are people out there who wants to do some legal action but dont know any lawyer. Or people who want to know what kinds of actions can be done before actually starting the legal process. Or even law students too lazy to do their own research. There are also those tideous tasks like writing pleadings, affidavits, letters, deeds of sale or what not. This site can earn from legal advice and service or perhaps even from referrals to law firms.
(well actually the real motivator is the want to take she to whatever country I am assigned to without asking her to give up her law career :D but that's another story. plus we have lots of lawyer friends who I'm sure would be willing to spend some excess free time for this kind of business)
Anyway, the next important question would be how to collect the fees :) The immediate answer to me was PayPal -- online credit card payments. Unfortunately after going through the PayPal site, I found that there's no paypal support for the philippines. (unless of course if you have an address and bank account in other supported countries, i guess) Too bad huh. After searching the net for some tips, I found this site which lobbies for PayPal philippines. So I say support it! What do you say?
Support Paypal for the Philippines
Blogger starts 'PayPal Philippines' campaign
on the day i was supposed to leave riyadh (that's yesterday) they said i have to stay two weeks. not 4 days. what can i do. i felt so bad i had to go somewhere. so i decided to go the nearest appliance and electronics store to look around or maybe buy something. nyahahaha :D then i found that the canon eos 350D dropped its price by 20%. crazy me. i have been waiting for it to go within my price range for quite some time. so bought it. hahaha, i have a new toy. but as of now nothing interesting to shoot at. so i still gotta get to kenya.
inshallah, 2 weeks :)
@#! grr.
after a month of uncertainty as to when I can go home... after having my 4-day stay meticulously planned by she... after psyching ourselves up... after packing all my stuff. then they tell me i can't go.
geez. now we have to re-schedule the church seminar, the appointment with parish priest, the appointment with the tailor and what not. She also needs to re-schedule her approved leave. i have to reschedule my life. haay... buhay.
and it's not that i have practical reason to stay. i have already turned-over my work. i have no pending tasks. i am good to go. i am staying only to comply to the contract. the contract says i cannot leave without a replacement. but, point 1: the contract is not between me and our client but between my company and our client. and it's not that they do not know that i am leaving. they know it since two months ago. and point 2: the guy replacing me will not perform the same tasks as i am doing. so its pointless for me to wait. point 3: since i have already turned over my tasks and i have no pending assignments and the guy replacing me is not anyway doing my task, then it goes to show that the client does not actually need me here anymore!
my gulay. them and their politics.
so not for another 5 days :(
haay sa wakas. matapos ang higit isang taon dito sa riyadh, makakalipat na rin ako ng project... i'm off to kenya. medyo mataas ang expectation ko sa kenya, although alam kong third world country din yun gaya natin. kahit na. sana makapag safari ako. sana makapasyal ako. at maka-kuha ng maraming-maraming letrato. sa saudi kasi pinagsawaan ko nang kunan ng picture ang compund namin tsaka ng mga kasama ko dito.
...pero malaki din ang posibilidad na sa dami ng trabaho eh baka hindi rin naman ako makapasyal. pero kahit na. safari is within my reach. hehe.
...at uuwi na rin akong pinas. kahit mga 4 na araw lang ako dun excited pa rin ako. miss ko na pamilya ko dahil wala kasing kainuman dito. miss ko na din hunny ko dahil wala akong ka-deyt dito. miss ko na ang bagyo dahil napakainit dito. miss ko na din ang polusyon ng maynila :p
mabait sa akin ang diyos :). salamat po.
ay teka, magpapa-book pa pala ako ng ticket.
i was walking around mega mall a few months ago, and this sight made me smile. i'm sure i'm not the only one who saw this. hehe. i wonder if some ultra-conservatives will complain about this.
testing lang. marami na palang pagbabago ang frienster. mas nakaka-aliw na.
para sa mga hindi nakaka-alam, nasa riyadh ako ngayon. first year anniversary actually. naka-isang taon na ako. inshallah ma-assign naman sa ibang lugar ;)
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