tapos na po. bow.

Hon. XXXXX Santos
Presiding Judge
Branch XXX
Regional Trial Court of XXXX
National Capital Judicial Region

Dear Judge Santos,

I'm sorry to be saying goodbye to you through this blog. After all, I strongly doubt that you go online to google crazy lady lawyers you meet in court. But, at our hearing last Tuesday, it seemed inappropriate to tell you that today would've been my last day with this firm. I mean, you don't really care, right?

In the unlikely event, however, that you'll find yourself this, can I just thank you for remembering who I am? Well, not really, since you think that my second name is my family name, but the fact that you can still put a name to the face is admirable. Everyone loves the feeling of being recognized and you gave me that.

Thank you, too, for teaching me the value of humility. By your rulings, you have made me realize that I would get more favorable rulings if I were to submit to the Court rather than argue about it on the most trivial of points. (Oooohhh, how you totally put me down right after I attempted to be cocky in court took me down big time). You showed me how I should pick my battles, and how to pick the ones that I'd win, and win big.

Thank you that you never made me feel small. I may have stuttered, or I may have rushed through my opening lines on the first day (Good morning, your honor. Atty. Rosa x x x x respectfully appearing as counsel for defendants x x x x, together with Atty x x x, we are ready your honor) but you listened. Thank you for waiting for me, sometimes, to figure out exactly what I was objecting to. And, how can I forget -- thank you for making me laugh the day you tried to translate "masukal" into english. Unfortunately, your honor, it's english translation is not grassy although I will admit you gave it a good try.

I don't know if I'll ever have the privilege of appearing before you again in court. I also don't know if, by some miracle, you'll remember me if and when we bump into each other one of these days. I hope so, though, and I pray that one day, I'll have the chance to say all of these things in person. All in all, I think I must've appeared before you more than twenty times. And save for that one time that you made me feel small for being so haughty, you've always been the man you were supposed to be - a judge, always fair, always listening, always figuring out the best way to make things work for all concerned.

Continue to hear our case fairly, please, as my clients truly need a favorable ruling on this one. I'll still be drafting the formal offer of evidence so please make it easy on us and admit the evidence we submitted. Say goodbye to Atty. xxxx on my behalf. She may have hated me when I objected to each and every question she raised, but she was a good person, albeit always late for court.

I will miss you, Judge Santos, as I will miss my bosses, colleagues, and friends in this law firm.

But a new life awaits, and I can't wait to start that life ... fourteen hours from now.

Respectfully yours,

Rosa

P.S. I checked google and "masukal" is translated as filthy. Not quite the same, right? But then again, at least we all know what that witness meant when he used the word. Thank God for cellphones and pictures, even if Atty. XXX may not agree with me.

you truly have it ALL

oh henry. you truly are a genius.

and that's not even cause of the flat rate open parking that's open as early as 7am (although i will admit i benefited greatly from it). it's because you truly have thought of everything.

i mean, i've always known that had i been organized enough to keep the personal copy of my NBI clearance, i could have renewed it at sm megamall building b. and the last time i renewed my license, all i had to do was go to the lto satellite office at sm north and i was done in less than an hour.

what i didn't know, though, was that i could get my nso birth certificate (as well as nso documents) from at your business office at sm megamall. and while i could have gotten the same online, yours cost half of what they charge!**

that is just amazing. i mean, not only do i avoid the hassle of lining up at NSO, it also means that i have yet another excuse to return to megamall even after i switch jobs. you are SO smart, my dear henry.

now if only that lovely RL fuchsia floor pillow (a new product, it's so crazy lovely that i want it so bad) would go on sale, i'd be in heaven. then again, with that bit of home shopping spree i did last night, i think i already am.

hugs and kisses,

rosa

*image from http://www.people.nfo.ph/businessman/henry-sy-sr/

** while the online e-census charges about P315, and the nso birth certificate delivery costs P330, they deliver your document right at your doorstep. in the case of SM, you will have to pick it up from megamall, so the additional cost comes from the courier expenses. however, take note that the delivered birth certificate may be claimed only by certain individuals (you, parents, siblings, children) which makes it a bit complicated if you plan on having it delivered at home and the only person there is your maid.

it's not just a little crush

two years ago, binigyan ako ng lola ko ng libro, yung libro ni bo sanchez, yung -- nakakahiya mang aminin - how to find your one true love. siguro dahil lampas trenta na ako, tapos may kondisyon pa sa obaryo, na-realize niya na it's time to take drastic measures. hindi man siya nag-i-internet, siguro nakita niya sa tv or sa diyaryo yung mga balita ng mga taong nagbasa ng libro at *boom* biglang nakahanap ng super okay na kabiyak.

tanda ko tinanong niya makalipas ang ilang buwan: binasa mo na ba? may epekto na ba? kamusta na ba ang lovelife mo? ayaw ko man masayang ang kanyang pera, kailangan kong umamin -- ganun pa din po. translation: wala.

hindi ako magdududa kung next year ay biglang mag-sneak in na lang siya sa bahay ng isa niyang kaibigan at nakawin yung novena na ginamit upang makapag-asawa at the age of 65. oo, hindi yun typo. yung kaibigan niya nag-novena and *boom* nagka-papa at 65. siguro pag desperado na yung lola ko, baka nakawin na niya. (at siguro, pag-65 na din ako, o sige, yung totoo, pag-40 na ako, baka ako na mismo ang mag-nakaw ng novena. mwahahaha!)

minsan tuloy napapaisip ako, ano ba ang mali sa akin? cute naman ako. matalino. mabait (paminsan). marunong magluto (slight). mataba nga lang (yes, tanggap na tanggap ko na, obese II ako, huhuhu.) pero hindi naman siguro yun deal breaker diba? (at ano ngayon kung deal breaker siya. papayat din ako. diba cristine?

kahapon, magkausap kami ng isa sa mga matalik kong kaibigan. sabi namin, may value pa ba sa pagpapakipot? dapat pa ba talagang itago ang nararamdaman mo sa kaibuturan ng iyong puso at daanin sa dasal na sana mapansin ka ng napupusuan mo? hindi nga ba talaga dapat na kahit paano, kahit ever so slight ay medyo gawan na ng paraan ang mga bagay-bagay sa mundo. ayon nga naman sa kanya, not all girls can say that they have someone absolutely acceptable perfect in their lives, albeit in the form of a friend. kaya pag meron ka na nung taong okay na, mahal mo pa, eh, gawan mo na ng paraan.

ayon nga sa mga tinuro sa atin sa pilipino nung bata pa tayo: nasa tao ang gawa, nasa diyos ang awa.

oo nga naman. sa dinami-dami ng mga naging kaibigan ko sa buhay ko, hindi naman sila lahat, dapat mahalin. kaya kung may isang super worthy ng love, attention, affection at talagang perfect genetic material for your future spawn, eh baka nga panahon nang ipa-isang tabi muna ang dalagang pilipina mode at gawan na ng paraan.

kaya inisip ko. ngunit kahit gaano ko siyang ka-crush, kahit ilang taon na akong nagpapacute sa kanya, kahit na sasama ako sa kanya sa sandaling ayain niya akong magpakasal (mwahahaha!!!! as if. kailangan niya munang siguraduhin na jimmy choo yung wedding shoes at kita sa malayo ang engagement ring!), hindi ko yata siya kayang i-style-an.

so kahit na nag-panggap akong gusto kong mag-apply sa san beda law school para maka-chicka yung isa kong crush dati sa opisina (na naging bf ko dahil sa, *boom* na-i-style-an ko nga siya), at kahit na nag-pretend akong i-se-set-up ko sa kaibigan ko si pilot ngunit naging bf ko din, kahit na ako din yung babaeng nag-basa ng kafka para magmukhang intelektwal sa mata ng isang co-teacher ko dati, at the end of the day, iba na ako ngayon.

at iba din siya. because he's more than just a little crush, he's my future.

naks naman. so dramarama.

mind reader

a long time ago, i quit my first blog. there i was, essentially pouring my heart out and it felt like the boy i was dating then was reading what i wrote and did exactly what i wanted so that i'd fall more in love with him. of course at first that felt really sweet - if sweet meant getting everything that you wanted. but then it wasn't long before it felt a lot like a stephen king short story. because there is, a story, written by stephen king, about a guy who did everything the girl wanted until she realized that he "staged" everything so he could get her. it involved voodoo and stuff, none of which exist in my personal little drama, but having someone read your blog and then act on the information found there does sort of feel like that, right?

then again, it's so much just like the movie "what women want", except that that was more like funny/comedy than stephen king creepy.

anyway, i guess i'm thinking of those things cause i stumbled upon information -- not really confidential -- about someone. two someones, actually, from two different parts of my life. the information that i learned are all swimming about in my head, and i don't exactly know what to do with the information. sometimes i can't help but question (to the highest levels, complete with arguing with myself) or sometimes i am just amazed (really, she's taongbayan din pala). i guess in the beginning a little information would be great, but i don't think i'd like to be burdened any further.

that national geographic tshirt may claim that ignorance is boring, but sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

*yes, the picture has nothing to do with the post. but i love pictures, and they make posts more interesting, IMHO, so it doesn't really matter, right? right.

time check

pagkatapos ng araw na 'to, na matatapos na in 48 minutes, may tatlong araw na lamang ako sa opisinang ito. sa loob ng tatlong araw na iyon, kailangan kong mag-attend ng hearing, i-withdraw ang appearance ng firm dun sa pro-bono case na ipinasok ko, tapusin ang mga time-billing ko, gumawa ng status report sa lahat ng kaso na nahawakan ko, at mag-draft ng isang formal offer of evidence. kailangan ko din makapagpakuha ng isang damukal na ID pictures, pumunta sa NBI para makakuha ng clearance, at tapusin ang isang milyon at isang requirements para sa bago kong trabaho.

nung una, parang kay layo pa ng october 1. sinong mag-iisip na bigla na lamang siyang andyan at bubulaga na siya sa akin sa biyernes.

may nagtatanong, bakit di ka muna magpahinga. sana nga pwede, kaso hindi ko afford mawalan ng trabaho kahit isang araw. may humingi din ng extension, kaso, super extended na ako dun sa lilipatan ko. it feels so nice to be needed, pero alam ko, it's not me, it's just that there's no one else -- yung bago kong trabaho, naka-maternity leave yung isang abogado, dito naman, isa na lang yung matitirang associate.

ma-mi-miss ko silang lahat dito. mababait ang mga boss ko, mabubuting mga tao. ang dami kong natutunan sa kanila, marami silang itinuro sa akin. siguro, sa unang pagkakataon, mahihirapan akong tumalikod, dahil, nasabi ko na nga, pangarap ko to ng napakatagal na panahon.

paano nga ba tumalikod sa pangarap?

nung una, parang ang dali, ang exciting naman kasi. bagong trabaho, bagong buhay, bagong lahat. ako lang yung luma. pero ngayong tatlong araw na lang bago magbago lahat, parang natatakot na ako. magigising ba ako ng maaga? magaling kaya ako sa corporate law? exciting nga ba talaga ang intellectual property law? sana, no, may mga sagot na dumating sa panaginip ko. kaso alam ko namang kahit matulog ako mula ngayon hanggang biyernes, hindi dadating ang mga sagot sa panaginip. mas malaki pa yung posibilidad na yung crush ko mapanaginipan ko kesa sa masagot ang mga takot ko.

gusto ko tuloy sabihin, Lord, pwede ba ang rewind? kaso lang, kung pwede ang rewind, eh di ni-rewind ko na din to the time na hindi ako pumasa sa bar. or, dun sa panahon na inaway ko ng bonggang bongga yung gwapo kong boyfriend. pero walang rewind, walang do over. yun ang nakakainis sa panahon, parating isang direksiyon lang. tipong tricycle, walang reverse.

pero siguro, maganda din yun. after all, kung paulit-ulit ang nakaraan, paano ka din makaka-move-on, diba?

the not-so-OC's guide to traveling - part 4

just in case you're already fed up with this "series", allow me one final post -- the random stuff.

♥ bring a photcopy of your passport with you and store it in another place, like inside your luggage. while no one wants their passport lost or stolen, having a photocopy makes it easier should you need to present proof that you were actually issued a passport by your home country.

♥ US$50 and US$100 is converted at the same rate, while US$20 below is converted at a much lower rate. therefore, if you must change your dollars at the airport (just so you'll have the local currency already), bring a US$50 at least. that way, you don't lose on the exchange rate either way -- you get the best rate, but you can save the rest for a money changer in the city which gives a much better rate than the airport banks.

♥ however, if the currency is already available in manila, well you might get a better deal buying the currency of the country of destination from manila rather than buying dollars here, then buying the local currency when you get to your destination.

♥ check online (yes, the internet is my friend -- most of the information i used are available online) for the exchange rate. that way, you'll more or less have an idea if the rates you're getting are accpetable.

♥ bring a small calculator with you. while i know my cellphone has a calculator, it's so much easier to press just an on button rather than several buttons to get to the calculator application. also, a calculator is much easier to hand to the salesperson who doesn't speak english rather than an expensive phone.

♥ have a separate wallet for foreign currency and leave your regular wallet in the hotel safe (just make sure to retrieve it before going home!). if you're like me, then your regular wallet will have your credit cards, identification cards, driver's license, and a whole lot of stuff -- none of which you'll need when you're out of the country. storing your foreign currency in another purse means that you can leave the "real" one at the hotel, safely out of reach from pickpockets, and you'll be able to monitor your remaining foreign currency better.

♥ bring a pen with you -- you'll be asked to fill out a number of forms from the time you check-in so while there are pens readily available at the check-in counter and immigration, having your own makes it more convenient as you can fill out the forms somewhere else. (in our case, at yellow cab while eating dinner)

♥ pre-departure expenses: P1,620 for travel tax (which you don't have to pay anymore if it's already included in your ticket) and P750 for terminal fee. there are certain individuals who are exempt from paying travel tax and you may check it out here and here.

♥ if no one's picking you up from the airport:

☺ don't forget to set aside money for the taxi fare

☺ depending on where you live, you'll have to decide between taking a coupon taxi or an airport metered taxi. in my case, the airport metered taxi is much cheaper.

☺ if you're kuripot, then go down the ramp and take an ordinary taxi. much cheaper than any of the airport taxis.

so i've covered the technical stuff, and given that i've been writing about this for four days already, i do hope i'm done. and if i haven't covered everything, well, that's why there's google.

enjoy your flight! bon voyage.

the not-so-OC's guide to traveling* - part 3

so i don't pack light. in fact, i'm the girl who relies on "group check-in" most of the time. what can i say, i hate not having something i might need on a trip.

i know that you'll save Php200 on a cebupac flight if you choose not to check-in any luggage. to my mind, though, P200 (a little more than what a frap from starbucks would cost) is a small price to pay for extra fifteen kilos on a trip.

and so, without further adieu, more tips:

♥ if you're really got nothing to check-in, then avail of the discount. it's there for a reason.

♥ but if you're going someplace where shopping is bound to be amazing (hello, vietnam!), then don't hesitate to pay an extra hundred bucks each way so that you'll get an additional fifteen kilos of baggage.

♥ group check-in is available only for those people whose names appear on the same ticket. we made the mistake of booking two individuals at a time when we went to vietnam, so we wasted a kilo here, and a couple of kilos there which would amount to several more kilos of check-in baggage had we all booked our flights under one confirmation number.

♥ the type of luggage helps. when i was packing for bohol early this year, i wanted to take a bigger suitcase so that i wouldn't have a difficult time fitting everything in my three-day suitcase. however, when i weighed the entire thing, it was around 17 kilos, meaning i'd have to pay extra, so i transferred everything to my small suitcase which, for some magical reason, was 14.9 kilos according to the official airport weighing scale.

♥ if your baggage is already overweight, be prepared that they will also weigh your hand carry. real life story: the girl in front of us in the low cost carrier terminal in kuala lumpur was told by the counter guy that her baggage was overweight by two kilos. rather than paying, she said she'll just transfer her things to her carry on baggage. uh-oh -- the guy then asked to see her carry-on baggage and weighed the entire thing (2 kilos above the 7-kilo limit) which meant that she did not only have to repack, but actually had to leave some of her things in malaysia.

♥ bring your own -- water and snacks, that is. when i first traveled with my aunt to singapore, she told me to bring my own water and snacks since our luggage would (logically) be less full leaving manila than coming back. so, in order to make full use of the extra space, i stuffed it with water and food (crackers, biscuits, chips, cup noodles), all well within the limit, of course. going to KL, we actually had one baggage with nothing but food and water inside which was particularly useful when we arrived at the hotel in the middle of the night slightly starving after a long trip. plus, it always feels great when you save your much-needed foreign currency for shopping rather than buying water.

♥ they're not particularly strict in manila regarding the bringing of liquids on the plane but be ready to throw your carry on water when you get to customs in an airport abroad.

*note: the past two posts i spelled this word with a double "l". today, i'm using a single "l". both are acceptable ☺

the end of an era

almost two years and two months ago, i said goodbye to my government job and chose to be a "real lawyer." i said goodbye to my RATA, very good friends, 4:30 dismissal, and super affordable shuttle in lieu of expensive parking, long working hours, and crazy clients. in turn, i truly felt how it is to be a lawyer, i got my own office, and a secretary named benny. excited? i was more than excited. i had dreamed of working for my labor professor ever since he inspired me in class. of the many law firms i applied for, this was the one job that i really, truly wanted. so when i got the call for an interview, talo ko pa yung nanalo sa lotto.

so just imagine how it felt like when they hired me. i was so happy i could cry.

and i guess my bosses knew that, hence the extreme surprise that crossed their faces when i finally told them i was resigning.

when i joined the firm, i thought this would be my life. i thought that one day, i'd see my name out in front -- a name partner, the person who makes the decisions, and (hopefully) the person who brings home the big moolah. i had great visions of fixing the docket so that they're more organized, training the non-legal staff to make them more professional, and tapping my entire phone book to get more clients for the firm. when i bagged my first client, i was ecstatic -- finally i was doing not only an employee's job, but also a partner's job.

i never thought that i'd draft a resignation letter and tell them that i want out.

when i spoke with one of the partners and he tried to figure out why i was leaving, i couldn't give him a straight answer. i had a fuzzy idea why i wanted to leave, but i couldn't put into words the million and one emotions that were crossing my mind at any given time. there was a part of me that wanted financial security. another part felt i wasn't really cut out for litigation. i was disappointed in myself that i couldn't really force myself to be an advocate for certain cases. i had a falling out with an officemate. and a million other more thoughts i can't quite put a finger on.

but at the end of the day, it all boiled down to one thing: i don't wake up in the morning looking forward to being at work.

i am thankful that i am single, and i can still afford to jump ship when i feel like it. i am blessed that some company wanted me enough to accede to certain demands and wait for my to complete my thirty-day notice. i'm happy that i'm looking forward to greater adventures as i switch gears and head off a different direction.

a new world awaits on october 1. i hope it'll be bigger, better, and brighter than the one i'm in right now. and if it's not, as long as it's something that i'll look forward to doing each and every single day of my life, then it's good enough for me.

the not-so-OC's guide to travelling - part 2

if you read yesterday's post, then you'll know why certain people agree with the observation that i'm bossy -- i like things planned, organized, and not-so-free flowing. now don't mistake that for being overly rigid. as a matter of fact, i don't mind change of plans at all. what matters to me, though, is that there's a plan to begin with. change that as you will over the course of an entire trip, i'm okay with that, but i'd rather much leave manila with a thick sheaf of papers outlining a plan of action for the entire vacation than not knowing what to do when i get there.

thanks to the internet, it's now not only easy to book a flight, it's also quite easy to figure out what to do when you get to a place. as a matter of fact, hong kong and malaysia have amazing sites (here and here) run by their tourism authorities which proved to be helpful. from the websites, i got connected to a bazillion other links which allowed me to not only figure out where i wanted to go but, more importantly, how to get there.

♥ email! - months before i went to hong kong with my family and to KL with my friends, i was already scouring the internet for information and emailing the links to my travel mates. whether or not they wanted to be involved with the planning stages, at least they knew what was going on and could put in their two cents' worth should they wish to do so.

♥ don't just email, email a plan. not everyone will be exciting over seeing a bunch of links, so it will help a lot of if you draft a plan and tell them that you want to go to certain places. prior to my hong kong trip with my mom and brother, i had figured out what we were going to do on each of the four days that we were going to be there, subject to their approval. now, since they were family, i was easily able to indicate that failure to reply within an appropriate time will be deemed as a waiver on their part to comment, but this might not necessarily be a good idea if you're traveling with friends.

♥ be flexible! while i had a plan of attack for hong kong, i didn't mind it when we didn't push through with some of the things i wanted to do during the sheer exhaustion (goodbye, victoria harbor) or lack of time (goodbye, ocean park). i just filed them away for future trips to these places -- after all, given their proximity to manila and the cheap flights now available, i'm sure that i'll get to do these things next time i visit.

♥ figure out your non-negotiables. on our last day in KL, we had counted on getting morning tickets to the skybridge at petronas towers, only to get a 2:45 p.m. slot. some of the people ahead of us left after the schedule they wanted was filled up, but our group decided to get whatever slot would be available and give up instead a planned trip to batu caves. we figured that kuala lumpur = petronas towers, and told ourselves that since we had waken up early just to get in line, then this was something we had to do. batu caves can wait for a succeeding trip (see tip above).

♥ public transportation & walking = a tour on its own. while i was basically stuck in city tours and what nots on my first few trips abroad with family, my trips these year all involved taking public transport. again, information is readily available online. and, if you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask hotel staff who are, more often than not, locals who take public transportation themselves. in hongkong, we availed of the tourist day pass which ended up being really cheap since we were staying at HK disneyland. in vietnam, we walked around and discovered hidden treasures within the city which were not on any of the tour guides and maps that we got. and in kuala lumpur, we were virtually able to take all available forms of transportation except, surprisingly, a cab.

♥ have a mini-planning session. see the picture above? that was taken by one of my travel companions to KL. while i had already sent a number of emails, and we had all exchanged a number of emails between the four of us, it still helped that we sat down, discussed everything (including the maximum budget), and agreed on a number of things. that meant less time wasted abroad discussing where to go and what to do.

♥ figure out how everything costs and plan accordingly. before going to hong kong, i already informed my mom how much the admission fees were, as well as how much we should set aside for food and travel. that allowed us to determine exactly how much money to bring with some left over for something really important -- shopping! when we went to KL, we agreed to pool a fixed amount and have a designated "treasurer" pay for everything (bus, train, transfers, meals, etc) so that we weren't all digging into our pockets for change, or worrying whether or not we'll have enough money left for the rest of the trip after making a purchase.

tomorrow: part 3 - packing light? not me.

the not-so-OC's guide to travelling - part 1

first things first: i am by no means an expert. as a matter of fact, up until recently, i haven't traveled out of the country in years. that said, i'd like to think that by the time i took my KL trip last week, i had my routine down pat, and thought that it might be helpful to list them all down here, if not for the three people who actually read this blog, then for my own personal reference should more trips present themselves in the future.

on booking flights and hotels

♥ if you're a budget traveler such as myself, booking flights way in advance are super helpful. not only are you able to file your leave early, after paying off the credit card charges, you still have sufficient time to save up for your pocket money.

♥ for the KL trip, we also booked the hotel the same day we did our flight. for that, we used agoda, which gave us around 30% in savings plus a cool breakfast buffet to go with our room.

♥ if you're traveling with a big group, opt to avail of the hotel breakfast buffet. i traveled to vietnam with a group of 7 other women, and while i love my friends, i hate the waiting the comes with waiting for everyone to be done getting ready for the day. having breakfast in the hotel at least cuts down on waiting time since those who are up early can have more time to enjoy their breakfast while those who are late will be *forced* to hurry up since the others are done and ready to go.

♥ while we lucked out with our hotel in KL, i will admit that i and commuter were "duped" into picking the one we got because of (what we felt) were already cheap rooms and (seemingly) fluffy pillows on the sample pictures. don't hesitate to scroll through all the hotels and check the locations against a map. we ended up booking a hotel in the suburbs which was, thankfully, right beside the mall, but a good distance from KLCC, which wasn't that great.

♥ both my KL and vietnam trips involved red eye flights from manila and back. in vietnam, the city isn't that far from the airport which makes it relatively easy to pick a hotel within one's budget and taste. on the other hand, the airport in KL is a good hour or more away from the city and the taxi cabs are as crazy (and ganid as the ones we have here in manila) so best to take that into consideration when booking a hotel for your first night. in our case, we booked a cheap but acceptable hotel -- my hotel @ sentral -- which was a five-minute walk from where the airport bus dropped us off in the middle of the night. so, while the hotel wasn't really where you'd want to stay for a long time, it was better than sleeping on a cold airport floor after an uncomfortable flight.

♥ while i generally trust the reviews online, take it with a grain of salt. usually, asians are more forgiving and westeners have more refined tastes. therefore, what might be acceptable for you might not be for an american tourist. also, a "small" room for them might be "average" for you. and although pictures help, they usually pick the nicest rooms to picture, not to mention take it at an angle that will best show off the room. you'll be better off reading the details: does it have a ref? how many beds in the room? what kind of television (if this matters to you) did they furnish the room with?

♥ ask. most websites have a "contact us" button, and agoda has a 24/7 live chat as well. when i couldn't find the answer to my questions online, i emailed the hotel or used agoda to resolve certain issues.

tomorrow: part 2 - planning your itinerary

oh dear henry, we've got a problem

my dear henry,

you know i love you. i mean, parking at your mall alone on a daily basis means that i contribute to your great wealth each and every single day (or at least every single working day). and let's not even discuss the frequent mini shopping sprees i have at your store. if batman can be summoned by the mayor through the bat signal, well, all it takes for me is that bright sign from the letters S & M and i'd come running. as i've said countless times before, i can try, but i can never really break up with you.

you're an addiction. i can probably give up rice, heck, maybe even bacon. but not our sweet love affair.

that said, maybe you can help me with something. see, my friends and i went to kuala lumpur last weekend. from the plane tickets to the booking in agoda.com to an additional booking for a first night hotel, we used a BDO credit card and it was quick, it was reliable, and it was pain free. so, when it was time to finally go on our vacation, the BDO credit card was brought along, there being a separate dollar account with a balance bigger than what we could actually shop and not go broke.

so, imagine our surprise when the card was declined on the very first purchase.

not to be deterred from making a purchase, the item was paid for using another credit card. but, a quick text message was immediately sent to someone in the philippines, asking that the bank be called and the matter be immediately settled. according to the person called, my friend would have to call the bank himself, using a toll-free number, and the matter will be resolved immediately.

that's when we encountered the first problem: the international toll-free number could not be reached. we tried all permutations of the toll-free number until we gave up and called the local number using our cellular phone. at P100 per minute, it was a pretty expensive call to make, but shopping bliss depended on it, so the call was made anyway.

so he called and then almost immediately hit a roadblock: BDO was offline, and could my friend call again later? my friend explained that he was in kuala lumpur and was using his roaming phone so could the agent kindly text him to say when they'd be online so he wouldn't be calling every so often only to be told that the bank was still offline. the agent's reply: no, just keep on calling. horrible right?

solution: ask someone from the philippines to keep on calling until the bank goes online. person from the philippines will text my friend so that he can call when the bank is finally online. problem solved? nope, there was another problem: the call center agent kept giving my friend the wrong information. she kept on insisting that his account's balance for the peso and dollar charges were one and the same, notwithstanding that my friend knows for a fact that they're separate and distinct. after more than five minutes (and P500 on roaming charges, so hateful!) the agent finally understood my friend was saying and concurred that indeed, he has a separate balance for dollar charges.

it doesn't end there, hence problem number 3: for an eleven dollar charge (which, at the time the information was finally retrieved, was actually cheaper than the call already), BDO refused to activate his dollar charging privileges. apparently, since the US$11 was already due, his credit card was suspended, which explained why his credit card was declined when he tried to charge something. since my friend's dollar charging privileges was WAY more than the unpaid charge, he inquired why the bank was so quick to suspend his card. the additional time (and hundreds of pesos on phone charges) spent talking to the agent was virtually useless -- the agent could not furnish any explanation whatsoever, even when my friend asked for his help regarding the matter.

so my friend asked to be connected to the agent's supervisor, and after waiting for longer than the length of our train ride (yes, that long), he finally got to talk to the supervisor, who also couldn't do anything about it, as well as provide any acceptable explanation. it was several minutes into the call before the supervisor said, sir, maybe you can pay the charge.

then my friend exploded (or sort of. he's not the exploding type) sana kanina niyo pa sinabi, which bring the tally to five issues already.

after breathing in and out, and trying to relax himself after a very stressful conversation with the call center agent and the equally inept supervisor, my friend sent a text message to manila, asked that the eleven dollar charge be paid. manila person went to BDO (which is open until seven at night), paid the charge, and then sent a text message: done and done.

or so we thought. guess what happened when we tried charging our lunch: declined again! so once more a call was made to manila where he was informed -- extremely belatedly, if i may say so myself -- that even if the payment was made to BDO, since it was made on a friday, it would take several banking days before the card could be activated once more.

sigh, after almost P2k on phone calls -- more expensive than the original item being bought -- and a bazillion of issues, we ended up having to work with the money we had.

boo, henry, boo.

bdo has a very impressive tagline -- we find ways. unfortunately, on this first test, clearly, none of your people found an acceptable solution. then again, knowing you, i'm willing to bet they're all contractual, so they don't really care about a fuming customer somewhere in malaysia frustrated with their ineptitude and lackadaisical attitude.

but i'm in love with you, henry, and deep inside, i know you're a good man (that gorgeous church in megamall should be proof positive of your deep faith, right?). so please do something about this, and soon. i've a mind to sue for moral damages (extreme embarrassment over card being declined, sleepless nights over stuff unpurchased, anxiety over whether or not lunch bill would declined or not) and actual damages (cost of the phone call from kl to manila), but you know that (for now) i won't. after all, you and i, we've got history, and i'm counting on that to make sure that something will be done about this matter, pronto.

with bated breath,

rosa

*image from http://pinoyshowbiss.blogspot.com/2010/07/forbes-magazines-40-richest-pinoys-of.html

handa ka na ba sa akin, cristine reyes?

bata pa lang, hindi na ako payat. take note, hindi ko sinabing mataba, kasi hindi naman ako masasabing mataba, ngunit hindi rin ako yung batang payat na mahirap pakainin. sabihin na lang natin na katamtaman yung katawan ko.

kaso lang, mahilig ako kumain. at yung genetic material ko, well, wala rin akong kamag-anak na payat. ang masama pa dun, bilugan ang mukha ko. kaya kahit payat na ako, bilog pa din ako.

sadness, diba?

tapos, nagkasakit pa ako, inoperahan, binigyan ng gamot, at yun, talo ko pa yung lobo sa paglaki. it's as if nilagyan ako ng helium at unti-unting lumaki hanggang sa kulang na lang ay pigilan ako kumain ng aking ina.

eto, tingnan niyo -- may visual aids ako for your reference and perusal.

diba, medyo kadiri levels na siya. yung picture, kayang ayusin sa photoshop. pero yung self-esteem ko, hindi kaya. i'll need something more powerful than a computer program.

at, kung hindi pa sapat yung namumutok kong pictures nung bakasyon, kanina, dumaan ako sa isang clinic para sa pre-employment check-up. habang nag-susulat yung doktor, binasa ko yung chart sa kanyang opisina. may levels: normal, overweight, obese I and obese II. nung una, inisip ko, siguro overweight, at the most, obese I. isipin mo na lang yung laking gulat (at lugmok) nang mabasa ko na obese II ako for my height and weight.

ayan po, isang visual aid muli, letrato ng isang obese II ayon sa height and weight chart ng doktor.

at, ayon din sa chart, kailangan kong mawala ang 50 to 70 lbs para ako maging normal. hmmm, yun yung timbang ko pagka-graduate ko sa college at sobrang cute. ngayon, medyo cute na lang, at mataba pa. hmph.

pero, dahil mahal ko ang sarili ko, at mahal ko din yung crush ko (yihee!), may resolution na ako. at this time, wala nang atrasan, totoong buhay na.

magpapapayat na ako. para normal ang weight ko. para maging extra cute muli ako. at, malay natin, para mapansin na din ako ng crush ko. (yihee muli!)

kaya, cristine reyes, alam ko, twelve years younger ka sa akin. at alam ko din na ikaw ang top 1 sa FHM 100 hottest last year. pantasya ka ng kalalakihang pinoy.

sa cuteness level, sige, lamang ka na din kasi may dimples ka. pero maganda din naman ang resume ko. at hindi ako sexy star, so malamang, hindi ako magkakaisyu sa pamilya ng crush ko (yihee for the third time) pag ipinakilala nila ako sa kanya. kaya maghanda ka na. papapayat din ako, at magiging sexy tulad mo. and who knows, baka maging karibal mo na sa FHM top 100 next year.

handa ka na ba?

and so here begins the story of my fun weekend

we planned it almost four months ago. it was summer, and it seemed like yet another vacation would pass without us being able to plan to perfect holiday. so we agreed: let's plan something and whoever wanted to go is free to come.

then we agreed -- neither of us had ever been to kuala lumpur yet, hence our destination. we also said, okay, maybe january. so a barrage of text messages was sent, basically asking if they'd be interested to join us on a trip to KL. four -- including myself -- gave a resounding yes.

we were all set for january when i received an email -- KL tickets were going on sale over at cebupac, except that the flying dates would be around the time of ramadan and the malaysia carnival sale. september!!! i panicked a bit -- i had agreed to go to vietnam on august, and my mom was taking us to HK disney on june. could i afford a third out-of-the-country trip by august?

apparently, i could. first airplane tickets and hotel accommodations were booked. then emails with copious links were exchanged. and then all too soon it was the week before our trip and we had to come up with a definite plan for our trip.

and you know what? we did. i had the best weekend with the greatest people.

same place, different country

i'm at that famous coffee place with a two-tailed siren, in a huge mall in the middle of the metro.

translations: i'm at a starbucks in megamall .... except that this one's not in ortigas but midvalley, kuala lumpur, malaysia.

it's almost the end of our trip. we've learned so many things from one another, and we've enjoyed so many experiences together. had my first taste of hainanese chicken rice, and machang soft serve ice cream. i know that ate cathy cannot sleep with the lights on, that kuya ralf has a wicked sense of humor, and that kuya efren will still treat us even if he's down to his last ringgit. me, i'm still OC and bossy as ever ... and thank goodness they still haven't killed me yet.

whoever asked me why the hell we opted to go to kuala lumpur, well, boo to you. this was one of my best trips ever -- the company, the food, the experiences, and, as you must expect by now, the shopping.

more stories to follow, with pictures to boot, but for now, good night. i've a date with the line at petronas tomorrow morning.

alas singco y medya

staring at the time at the bottom right corner of my monitor, trying to figure out how and when i'll be able to finish everything. see, in the span of an 8-hour working day, things got dropped on my plate and all of a sudden, i can't help but feel like a headless chicken headed out in a million and one directions.

same time tomorrow, i'd be on my way to the airport for a brief trip to a place i've never been to before. needless to say, i'm excited -- very excited. being the (sporadically) OC person that i am, i had my schedule down pat:

• tuesday night: pack and prepare things for trip
• wednesday: go to bank, pay bills, fix everything else at work.
• wednesday night: bring luggage to friend's house
• thursday: finalize work stuff and think happy thoughts while surfing the net for some last minute plans
• thursday afternoon: leave office at five to be at meeting place by 5:45
• thursday evening: pretend like i fly out of manila every single day of my life.

not bad, right?

at 9:00 am, i received a text message: the hearing which was set last 10 September 2010 had finally been scheduled ... to tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.

a little before lunch, i received a call: an old/new client (old cause her mom was a client, new cause we've never been engaged by the daughter before) who needed something urgent -- can we meet today in the afternoon.

the meeting dragged on for two hours, with me talking and advising. then she said, wait, i'll think about it. so i wasn't really able to do anything but research some more to address her problem. after half an hour or so, she returned, okay, she'll take us.

translation: my schedule now looks like this:

• wednesday night: work
• thursday morning: hearing + more work
• thursday afternoon: meeting + more work

and i can only pray that EVERYTHING gets done by 5pm tomorrow so i can say sayonara to everyone, and see you on monday.

p.s. it's now quarter to six... i am a bazillion arguments away from finishing my pleading, and i have to go to the bank and do some more stuff. good luck to me.

all circuits are busy now, please try your call later

i've got to:

1. wrap things up here.
2. prepare to move there.
3. get ready for mini-vacation.

in the meantime, there's two pleadings, one q&a, a hearing that has yet to be scheduled, and my ♫♪♫ please release me let me go ♪♫♪ moment. and, oh, that's all scheduled for this week.

cause next week i've to prepare a witness and attend a hearing on a technical case.

and a lecture on the 25th.

(i know what you're thinking -- and yet she blogs!)

so this will be it for now. i am reserving all my creative juices on things work-related. the wit and humor and everything else that makes you want to comment are currently being used up by real life.

bati na ba tayo?

konti lang may alam nung iniyakan kita. kasi naman, to begin with, konti rin lang naman may alam tungkol sayo. at dahil konti lang ang may alam, at may press release ako na best friends tayo nung mga panahong iyon, siyempre, it was in my best interest to make it appear as if everything was fine and dandy between us.

salamat at gabi ang trabaho mo -- hindi kita kailangan makita parati. at salamat din na pag nakikita kita, baranggay ang kasama natin -- maliban sa hi at hello, hindi na kita kailangan kausapin. sapagkat aminin ko man o hindi, na-mi-miss din naman kita.

kaya nung magkita tayo muli, at sa aking wild imagination ay parang masaya kang nakita mo din ako, kinausap kita. sinabi ko na may bago na akong trabaho. ni-congratulate kita sa promotion mo. kinantyawan pa nga kita na manlibre ka naman. nakangiti ako kagabi. pati puso ko nakangiti din.

sapagkat hindi mo man naramdaman o naisip, halos dalawang taon din akong nainis sa yo at sa ginawa mo. at kagabi -- siguro dahil matagal na yung nangyari, o dahil masaya lang talaga ako these days, masasagot ko na yung tanong sa itaas --

oo, bati na tayo.

oh conti's, why are you so konti?

conti's -- that place made famous by mango bravo -- happens to be a comfort place for me and my friends. whenever we feel like eating something special and none of us want to drive very far, we hie off to conti's in bf and eat like there's no tomorrow.

last saturday, i sent out a text message to a friend and told her how i was craving for conti's. her reply: game!

after an hour or so, she picked me up and off to conti's we went. we couldn't figure out what to order (everything seemed to be so expensive all of a sudden) at first until i asked "paella?" and she said "yes!" (as it happened to be her favorite). so we asked the waiter "pang ilan yung paella?" and he said "kasya sa dalawa pag babae" so we were like "perfect!" and ordered that, as well as a side order of gambas.

we chatted but both of us had our minds on the food that was about to be served. first came the gambas ... a teeny-tiny serving of gambas. as it is, the serving platter was tiny ... and the contents could not even cover the bottom of the platter.

oh no, we both thought, this is most likely going to turn out to be a disappointing dinner.

needless to say, our fears were confirmed when the paella arrived.

maybe the waiter thought we had the appetite of birds. or maybe we didn't look hungry enough. maybe the women who generally eat at conti's shun carbs like the plague. but unless we recently had our stomachs stapled and our appetites curbed, there was no way that the tiny plate of paella was going to fill us up.

(incidentally, i must say i was disappointed with the fact that the paella was served on a ceramic plate and not a paellera.)

we ate what little we had. and, notwithstanding the mango bravo that we ordered after the meal (we needed something else real bad!), nothing could have stopped us from making a beeline for ruins and ordering our comfort food:

lumpia and chicken skin for me.

and lumpia and cheese sticks for my friend.

sigh ... finally food landed on our stomachs, and we were satiated.

that said, i think i shall log off now and hie off to ruins ... those chicken skins are calling out to me.

the ex factor

sa (dati) kong mahal na ex-boyfriend,

oo, alam ko na gwapo ka. aaminin ko na sa aking mga ligaw na panaginip ay naiisip ko pa rin kung gaano ka-cute ang mga anak natin kung nagkatuluyan tayo.

at, oo, fabulous ka. feeling ko talaga prinsesa ako pag nakasakay ako sa napakagara mong auto and kapag ka-holding hands kita sa mall. mataas ka. maporma. agaw pansin. kaya't kahit na alam kong super cute ako (wag nang kumontra ☺☺☺) ay alam ko din na pag may nakakakita sa atin dati, iniisip nila ay, mahal ni God si sister. wagi.

yes, wagi ako. at kahit na inutangan mo ako at hindi mo na ako binayaran muli (kainis, pangbayad yun nung bar petition ko) at kahit na medyo certified na from a psychologist na hindi kita dapat i-consider muli, minsan naiisip ko pa din na it doesn't get any better than the time we spent together. ay, bitter-bitteran po. pero, keber. kahit na ano sabihin ng iba, medyo mahirap ka palitan. at kung magiging totoo ako sa sarili ko, kahit na limang taon na mula nung naghiwalay tayo ay hindi pa rin kita napapalitan. yung mga ni-date ko ... hay, hindi sila counted.

pero, ipasangtabi mo lahat ng mga sinulat ko ngayon. kasi isipin ko man ang lahat ng nasa-itaas, ay may nakakalimutan ka pa rin tuwing tatawagan mo ako out of the blue:

una, hindi mo na ako girlfriend.

pangalawa, hindi mo din ako abogado.

pangatlo, hindi tayo magkaibigan.

kaya, bawal ang favors, bawal ang free legal advice, at bawal pumunta sa bahay ko.

at kung kailangan mo ng abogado, may acceptance fee po ako at by the hour ang billing ko.

that said, my dear ex-boyfriend, yung tawag niyo po kaninang umaga ay P500 na po.

ang iyong nakaraan,

rosa

the future's so bright, i gotta wear shades

by now you must know i am a huge bea alonzo fan.

and in the unlikely event that you don't, well, i'm saying it here, for the record: i am a huge bea alonzo fan.

that said, i must also admit that in my wildest fantasies, i'd be bea alonzo. once upon a time, i even launched a BEAutiful project wherein, in true bea fashion, i wanted to lose weight, pretty much the way that she did before she did one more chance.

*sigh* to be young and with john lloyd by your side.

now, all ramblings aside, i must admit now that the reason behind this post is that yesterday, i bought my very own pair of pacific blue sunglasses ... for P215.00 (or something like that). here's the back story:

i was crazy tired, not to mention crazy sleepy, so true to form, i spent an hour or so walking around my favorite mall. i got a couple of stuff that i intend to wear for the KL trip, checked the home stuff (and found treasures which i ended up not buying, good job me), and was at the second floor just walking around when i spied the area where they sell sunglasses.

now, because of my unusually round face (and head, and body ... yes, all of me is round), i've always had difficulty buying sunglasses. as a matter of fact, for the longest time, i had to live with squinting against the sun while driving. then i read how squinting makes you get wrinkles, and i started spying wrinkles around my eye area, so i said to myself that i gotta go on a quest to find shades that'll fit my face.

it was tough at first, but thank goodness that oversized frames became a huge thing, and boom, all of a sudden, i could find some that would fit me.

the first pair i got my friends called my "aging artist leaves rehab look". it was dark, it was round, and i got it from one of those ubiquitous i2i counters. i loved it and actually wore them a lot, until i gave them to a friend's sister who loved them too and wore them a lot. why'd i give them away? well cause i found pair #2 -- square-ish frames from bayo.

the bayo sunglasses were light, and i loved the case, except that (1) i lost the case and (2) the frames started peeling. i guess it might have been cause i wear them even when i'm on the water, hence the saltwater makes the plastic icky. so i used them until i found pair #3 - my "oh-so-sad-someone-passed-away" shades.

and, not to make light of my grand-aunt's death or anything, but i actually bought them the day before my grand-aunt's funeral, and i wore them to said funeral, and that's it. they're a pair from charles and keith, and i love them so, and i actually wear them all the time. and they're still fine.

but, unfortunately, it has nothing against my uber-love for bea alonzo and my desire to buy shades from a brand she endorses.

(okay, the fact that the shades are (1) cheap (2) fit my face perfectly and (3) did i say cheap? factored in too☺)

so, now i have a new pair of shades.

incidentally, i was actually intending to write more about shades -- right now my future is feeling so bright and i'm terribly excited about it. maybe that'll be part 2 instead.

true love

i don't even know who yani is, much less nicky. and sometimes, i can't help but ask, if your name is written ahead of your partner's, does that mean you love the other person more than he loves you? plus, taking into account that this graffiti was carved on a bamboo tree planted on the grounds of chapel on a hill, is this declaration of love the kind that's undying? or is it something that one might come back to, years later, if only for the purpose of scratching out the other person's name.

ahhhh, love. either things get better, or things don't. there just isn't any middle ground.

last friday, a couple of friends and i facebook-stalked c's crush. on his public profile, he had an album labeled "god's gift" which contained around 20 or so pictures of him with the girl. i didn't know which was more kilig -- the fact that they always seemed so happy and in love in the pictures or that he called her god's gift. i mean, i wouldn't mind being called god's gift to someone (i might have been, you know, called that ... by a winning client. haha!), especially someone who was as cute and godly and *insert everything else seemingly positive here* as c's crush.

then again, i can't help but be reminded of the post-it i had placed on my bathroom mirror -- i'd rather be single than to be married to the wrong man. it's there to remind me every single day that while there might be times that i couldn't help but crave for a lifelong partner, a lifetime is also too long to be live with a mistake. the original post-it i had placed was actually snatched by a person i dated a year ago who, after reading it, said he "stole" it to put it in his wallet to remind himself every day that he wanted to be the right man for me. well, we all know how that ended, but i do hope that he'll be the right man to the girl he's dating now.

right about the same time, a friend wrote on her facebook wall that "a woman's heart should be so hidden in God that a man has to seek Him just to find her." i copied the quote and tacked it to my office bulletin board, yet another reminder to me that the man i will marry has to be more in love with God than he is with me. after all, all i can threaten him with is a lifetime of regrets; God, on the other hand, will be dealing with him eternally.

am i anxious about my state in life? oh yes, most definitely. but i am more anxious about making a mistake. and as i move forward on another aspect of my life, i am resting my anxieties on this one on God. some things i can take charge of. some things i can even manipulate (with my puny will). but after a slew of heartaches, heartbreaks, and "what was i thinking?" moments, this time around, i'm taking the back seat.

tabi tabi po

as the lady beside me adjusted herself for the 27th time since the bus started moving five minutes ago, i couldn't help but ask myself, aren't there commuting rules that one, by mere common sense and etiquette, knows?

i mean, considering that we were all squished together like sardines in a too-tight row, it makes sense to wiggle at least once (to find a comfortable position) and then stay put for the rest of the trip, thereby allowing one's seatmates to continue on with the bus ride in peace. while i generally make exceptions for (1) parents with kids; (2) sleeping people; and (3) elderly, i couldn't, for the life of me, understand why the lady beside me kept moving, and moving, and moving, and moving. i was <--this--> close to elbowing her and asking her to stop.

then again, elbowing one's seatmate while confined in sardine-like manner is also against the commuter's bible.

in the beginning, i thought i was alone in thinking that there's some unwritten set of rules out there regarding commuting, until a friend brought up during conversation how she already had the "seat of honor" in front of the FX, thereby giving her the choice whether to scoot near the driver or to get off and make the second person scoot towards the inner seat. apparently, she chose to make the second person sit near the driver, which made said person complain and argue that it was she who had the right to the window seat since she came in second. my friend ended her story with a question: diba unwritten rule na ako yung may choice dapat sa situation? and you know what, i could only agree.

having commuted almost my entire adult life, i have a bazillion and one experiences with commuting. i also have a bazillion and one "rules" floating around in my head. (1) no one should play music that can be heard by others on the bus, especially if there's a movie playing; (2) if one is standing, one should mind her bag to make sure that said bag does not hit the poor passenger sitting down; (3) if you won't be getting off in the next five kilometers, it does not make any sense why you won't accede to the conductor's request to move further inside the bus; (4) if your kids have motion sickness, you better make preparations way ahead of time; (5) the bus is not a trash can; (6) neither are the streets outside the window; (7) if you can't keep your hands each other, get a room; (8) shower; (9) i don't like to hear you entire life story/love life/ business dealings the entire bus ride -- a short conversation is fine, a long conversation at the top of your voice is unbearble; and (10) i am in the bus to get somewhere, not to make friends with strangers.

do you have "rules" of your own? share them please ☺

p.s. this post was written in honor of a good friend over at commuter who has recently re-started blogging and has chosen -- obviously from the blog title -- commuting as his blog theme. i am reminded of when i started to blog and wanted to do the same thing, hence the URL http://busrider.blogspot.com, but was unfortunately unable to come up with something interesting on a daily basis. go show him some love, will you?

it's just another manic monday

i'll be the first to admit it: monday mornings are tough. they're especially tougher when you've spent the entire weekend sleeping, and then you find yourself wide awake at 1 a.m. monday morning, unable to sleep, insomnia made worse by menstrual cramps brought about by crazy ovarian cyst.

i should know -- that's how things were for me last night, or rather, early this morning.

anyway, alarm clocks notwithstanding, i woke up late, and ended up getting to work late, which was made worse by three phone calls where i was especially nasty (translation: just not my usual nice self) to the callers.

exhibit a: all i wanted to say is i told you, give it up, and things aren't going to get better IMHO.

exhibit b: short cut version of our conversation was you were terrible inconsiderate for someone who's not paying me to be her lawyer.

and, exhibit c: i turned into a tattletale by bypassing the person herself, called her immediate superior and complained in no uncertain terms about the subordinate's shabby work performance.

harsh, yes. especially when i've a million and one things to address, none of which i actually want to do. phooey. can't it all be hunky dory happy like my new favorite client?