Flips, Flops, Vindication

Willing Exile: I Still Believe

I've just been here in Manila for a few days and usual, feeling my way through is part of the fun as the real fun is. Usually.

Coming back to the house, I was assaulted by color overload! For those of you who have watched "Fools Rush In" remember what Salma Hayek did to the paint job of Matthew Perry's house? Something like that.

Everything feels so small. (Because you've gotten so big.) That's what everyone says. Remember that line where you are supposed to perservere no matter what people tell you. The thing is, oftentimes that's true.

Internet connectivity in the Philippines, is astoundingly SLOW, despite our economic managers' assertions to the contrary. Truth of the matter is, the quantity of Internet connections is not yet enough. The quality is also poor.

On the flip side though, I haven't really put in too much money into this whole Internet thing. It's a shame though that my folks had to abandon my old service (it was reliable, and I thought my created e-mail address would last forever). There is still some value in investing.

Just a few observations from my two weeks' stay here in the Philippines ---

Flop: The whole idea of the Da Vinci Code the movie.
Flip: I am now even cooler because I actually read the book before watching the movie.
Vindication: Someone out there is eating crow and it's not me.

Flop: The Miami Heat are down 0-2 in their series against Dallas. While I am not a supporter of each team (I'm a Celtics diehard), I do want to see Shaquille O'Neal get a measure of vindication over the Kobe business and his resultant landing in South Beach.
Flip: That they actually made it to the Finals in the first place. I like the Pistons, honestly; they were the better team, but after reading through several forums, they don't deserve their fans, and Ben Wallace's overrating has just skyrocketed.
Vindication: The Pistons just couldn't kick Larry Brown soon enough, and yeah, Rasheed had more to do with their success than they gave him credit for. And the NBA Finals aren't over yet, Shaq may just get his chance.

Flop: Manila humidity! It's a different creature altogether.
Flip: Just goes to show that there are more things to miss about one's home country. And yeah, it makes living in Saudi Arabia more bearable (and something to look for, I might add.)
Vindication: I somewhat feel a whole lot smarter moving out of the country when I did.

Flop: The power of regular commercial liquor. No real whooping power.
Flip: So what's the use of drinking? (Shudder).
Vindication: I can't think of something clever enough to say. Yeah, I've fried enough brain cells for an army-size luau.

Flop: The probablity of my becoming a hunk. (In the words of my buddy Des, "Asa pa you!")
Flip: That being said, it doesn't detract anything from my life.
Vindication: Having personality does pay off. Now, just to get some eligible woman to buy into this entire package...

Flop: Long-distance relationships.
Flip: I haven't gotten into a real one, so maybe I'm wrong.
Vindication: Jury is still out.

Flop: Rush wedding arrangements. Six months is not enough, especially if you're doing things by remote.
Flip: The seat-of-your-pants feeling is a great way to live life, sometimes.
Vindication: The presentation is one thing; it's the eating that really counts. All the best, Ate Joni and Alan.

Until next, I got to sign off and get some sleep. Chatting and blog-posting is something you can only do with a tip-top system and internet connection (complain, complain! yada, yada...)