at work: as caution to H1N1

in the office, we have some precautions to prevent the spread of the swine flu:

• check body temperature everyday upon coming in to work.  there's a designated person to check our temp.  those above the normal temp will have to go home.
  
• there's a mask handy in our first aid kit for people with respiratory problems.
  
• self-quarantine oneself if you've travelled to infected countries.  
  
• if you're sick, DON'T report to work.  go home and have yourself treated by a doctor.
  

OA?  i think, just better safe than sorry.   with the rising number of cases in hongkong, the government thinks it's just a matter of time when the disease will be contracted locally.  i believe that the precautions done in the airport for incoming travelers are enough.  however, due to the common symptoms and incubation period, it's hard to track down all the people an infected person comes in contact with.  imagine if he went to a mall, boarded a public transport, walked along the crowded streets... that would mean, A LOT!  for now, we just have to do our part to take care of ourselves in any way we can.  avoid crowded places when not needed.  

lost in tuen mun, hongkong

i thought that with the efficient transportation in hongkong, going from one place to another would be a breeze.  i just didnt realize that besides the MTR's familiar routes, there are others... like LRT.  as in pinas, it stands for light rail transit which travels short distances in New Territories.  i dont frequent this area but i wouldnt mind exploring this part of hk.  i was confident... as long as we are on the MTR line, everything should be fine.  

however, one rainy saturday, my fwend and i braved the 2hr travel by train from HK island to tuen mun, which is practically the "other" side of the line.  from our place in the east, we traversed the upper western part of hk.  

1pm-ish --> already on board the MTR from quarry bay, changed trains in admiralty and rode until tsuen wan station (last stop on the tsuen wan line)

2pm-ish --> arrived at tsuen wan, looked for bus 61M heading towards tuen mun.  we kept looking around the area looking for the bus stop thinking it was somewhere really nearby coz the  bus terminal is there... 59M, 60M, 62M... hmm.. where's 61M???  asked some locals lined up in the bus stop, but to no avail.  tried to ask the 'friendly' cleaner.. but he cant speak english.  sigh.  we opted to ride 60M thinking it might lead us to 61M (right!)  one stop after, we alighted.  we're on the main road now... and no bus stops in sight.  we asked some locals BUT we're uneasy about their directions.  we thought of taking a cab, waited... until we saw a bus -- 61M!  we walked and walked and found the stop.  finally.  it was a relief.  i was already a bit wet in the rain, even though i have an umbrella...turns out water seeps thru my umbrella's tela. LOLZ.  fine, it's just for sunny weather.

  

3pm -->  arrived at our destination.  at last.   sooo late for our 2:30pm schedule.  

i dont like to enumerate our route back.  it makes me tired even more. hahaha this was the adventure we're looking for.  at least, we learned new things, discovered new places.  this area is not the typical hk that we know -- crowded, busy, old.  it's peaceful, quiet, has well-kept buildings.  just too bad, we have low tech phones that inhibited us from using GPS.  hahaha  next time, will just try to be more "prepared" and perhaps, not on a very rainy afternoon. 

prison break: season 4 finale

*sigh* 

so finally, it's the end for one of my all-time fave series.  i didnt thought i would love prison break in the beginning.  but once i watched the first episode, i got hooked.  even watching until the wee hours of the morning just to catch up.  i liked the way the plot keeps me up on my seat... wishing that one episode can last for hours! hahaha  i have always been smitten by michael scofield's ways (an understatement, i know) -- just not wentworth miller anymore... after seeing him in ill-fitting sweaters hehehe

fast forward, the story stuck to reality -- of life, of death.  i was a bit jaded when they were told that they will get their freedom after giving up scylla.  true enough, it was given to them.  each of the characters has his own life now.  but they still come together to celebrate the life of a person who affected theirs in a very big way.  the scene when michael's nose bled... i felt sad.  the disease is still there and with time.. it will consume him.  the truth about death is final, real, concrete.  so i guess, no more prisons to break into.  perhaps a spin-off or whatever happened in those 4 years? hehehe

shih tzu in our home

april, as mama coined her very creative name, has been with us since... you guessed it... april.  she was given by lolo pilo after having the mom give birth to 7 pups.  as my friends know, im not really fond of dogs.  not a pet lover also.  i just admire them from afar and i would not miss them in my life.  im even scared of dogs coz my bro got bitten by a ravaging doggie when he was kid.  and during those times, we were all afraid of THIS same dog coz we know that if he's out of his cage, all of us would just run for our lives. hahaha 

we had 2 pet dogs before: 1) sirius - that's his name. i dont know why.  when we moved in to our house ages ago he has his own place in the house coz we're all afraid of him.  eventually, mama told papa to let go of the dog.  too bad for him, he was the pulutan during an inuman session.. yaiks!  2) lady valerie - female, i suppose.  papa named her after this musical group, i think.  she was given to us a pup german shepherd.  as in so small, she can fit in a shoe box.  papa took care of her... i dont know how but after a while she died... the diagnosis, she swallowed a chicken bone.  

i guess our love for animals , dogs at that, is evident.  that's why i was surprised when mama agreed to take april in.  besides being a gift, having a toy dog isnt so bad after all.  the first time i saw her, i was just awwww.  i saw her in the webcam looking all meek and mild and cute while bro is holding her.  the fact that bro is also fond of her, endeared me all the more.  i felt betrayed by my own partiality to this lil creature.  hahaha  bro would tell me stories about how he's grooming her, walking her at night and how she sleeps at night... in our room.. hope not in my bed though.  

bgt: greg pritchard's nessun dorma

delamar's brain farts

i was inspired by del's may 11 post in her blog....

• "you just want someone to be on your side…maybe not to fight for you but just to be there to hold your hand when you’re done fighting for yourself…"
  
• "like an outsider looking in when I see how happy my friends are..."
  

she speaks so openly and direct.  that's just so brave of her.  to open one's self to vulnerability.  to expose yourself to the entire blogosphere your emotions.  to recognize that you're lonely amidst the love of people who surrounds you because you know you yearn for more.  in spite of all this, she maintains a happy disposition, dealing with whatever life throws at her, knowing that happiness is now a choice.  

prison break: season 4 episode 20

this is it.... we're nearing the finale of prison break... awwwww i can't believe it!

spoiler alert!!!

episode 20 entitled "cowboys and indians", i felt 90% of the episode was predictable - normal cat and mouse chase. michael and lincoln were hounded by the authorities inside panda hotel after suspecting they were behind the killing of the son of india's powerful figure. eventually, of course, they were able to escape. they went back to their hotel, where the general is staying, empty-handed. the general is growing more agitated and needed to "motivate" his team. part of it, killing don self's wife. self lost himself and jumped to the water to escape. meanwhile, michael, lincoln and mahone gets scylla but NOT without any problem.

michael's dilemma: lincoln was captured and shot by christina (giving him 5 hours before linc finally loses his breath) while sarah is held captive by krantz. who will he choose? how will he go around the situation?

mothers' day

first off...

HAPPY MOTHERS' DAY TO ALL THE MOTHERS

especially those dear to me... mama, my aunts: chit, stelly, vicky, flor, angie (she's like our "mom" for being there for us), my fwends: gewi, vero, borjy, gcel, ate ai, ate caryl, tita harriet.... i could go on and on.. this goes out to all the women, who gave life, risking their own at some point, to let another person see how wonderful our world is... 

to my own mudra.. THANK YOU, even though sometimes, uhm, most of the times when we do talk, our point of conversation is always money,  i know that you're only concerned for my future.  i cannot grasp how you can take other's problems as your own (and pass it on to me.. haha).  maybe it's just your selfless nature.   if i can only confidently tell you to quit working and retire now, i would but i couldnt.  i dont know how our family would be if you dont do what you're doing right now.  someday soon, i'd like to share in your (non-financial haha) responsibility to somehow ease your load.  for now, i only pray that you have enough strength to carry on.  i HEART you, ma! 

paolo santos is backkk

yey!!! i got excited over this news bit even though i know i can't really be watching him in his gigs.  i missed him!  i recall first hearing "moonlight over paris" over the radio.  it was unfamiliar to me.  but i loved the song.  i could go all day, listening to his version.  that was the time when acoustic was at its peak.  i would follow him in his shows when i can, even have him sign a copy of his limited CD in greenbelt. hahaha  he may not be the most pleasing to the eyes singer (i hope he gains some weight haha) but his voice is enough to just lull me into nostalgia.  

pep.ph also reported that paolo santos will sing the theme song of judy ann and ryan's wedding special and possibly, that same song will also be used for their new sitcom, "george and cecil".

h1n1 quarantine end for affected hk hotel guests

the week-long quarantine for mexican swine flu patient, along with 283 metropark hotel guests in wanchai, has ended tonight, may 8.  this is a welcome news to them, included were 4 filipinos billeted in the hotel for some RnR.  this is good news not only to them but also to people in hk because we don't have to be uber paranoid roaming around.  i guess hk is h1n1-free, for now?  still, i believe authorities are vigilant especially in visitors coming in from affected countries.  overall, it seems the virus is contained and hopefully, all other infected areas and sick people will recover from this ordeal.  

hk weather promises to be a beautiful one in the coming days, i would like to go out and explore... wanchai? hahaha

manny pacquiao: TIME 100

yep... our very own, manny "pacman" pacquiao is IN.  time magazine's top 100 most influential people ranked him 22nd after Rain, korea's singing sensation.  with fans all over the world can't seem to get enough of him especially fresh from his winning streak over ricky hatton.  boxing, or non-boxing fan, we are proud, of course, as filipinos.  it's just that... he's trying to enter politics... again.  it might just complicate things for him and corrupt his ways.  still , we'll never know what he can bring to the table.  maybe he can knock out some sense in to those politicians?  sa ring na naten pag usapan yan... hehehe

TIME's full list is linked HERE.

H1N1 confirmed case in HK

as of last night, this news struck hongkong pushing swine flu to the emergency alert level.  i guess hk people didnt want to risk any further.  prevention than cure.  it only takes one to spread the disease and once it's carried to more and more people, the harder it is to contain.  there has been precaution on the virus on different levels - national (news, TV), company (memo), even building memos are release.  

"Hong Kong has confirmed its first case of swine flu, Chief Executive Donald Tsang Yam-kuen said.
''We have our first confirmed swine flu case in Hong Kong. He is Mexican,'' Tsang said.
The Mexican arrived yesterday via Shanghai from his home country, Tsang said.
The man checked into Metropark Hotel in Wan Chai before seeking treatment at Ruttonjee Hospital for flu symptoms. He developed a fever in the middle of the night after being warded. 
Tests conducted by both the Department of Health and the University of Hong Kong found he was positive for swine flu. 
He is in stable condition, Tsang said, at Princess Margaret Hospital, the designated facility for any swine flu, or H1N1, cases. 
The hotel has been cordoned off.
''I will raise the alert level from serious to emergency,'' the chief executive said.
Despite putting the city on the highest level of alert, Tsang said all social activities and exhibitions will go ahead as normal and schools will remain open."

wanchai is around 5 MTR stations away from my place, 5-10mins by train.  i would have wanted to hear mass in Central, remit money in western union but that would mean passing by wanchai.  i guess i'll find a nearer Church and shop.  there's this growing paranoia, which i cant shake off , and i won't , just to be on the safer side.  plus, i havent started wearing mask yet.  though i saw people buying them by boxes in dispensaries.  i'll just ask from the office when the need arises.