The Adventures of Tarabusaw

I went to the client yesterday to do some walkthrough of their processes and that oh-so-exciting-systems stuff.  I was excited of course, because I can now use my brain which is slowly tarnishing (due to almost three months of inactivity) … hahaha!!!  But along the excitement was apprehension.  I am not really sure if I can carry a meeting IN ENGLISH for two full hours!  Not that I don’t know how to converse in English, it’s just that I don’t know if I can express myself well. I always believed I am a better writer than a speaker.  Ehem! =)

Luckily, everything went fine.  Of course there were instances when all I can say was “ah-huh’s”, “yes’s” and the all-time favorite “pardon” and “sorry, kindly repeat that”… hahaha!  But, I just added my warm smile (naks!) and voila, the meeting ended great.  We even went overtime for thirty minutes (imagine?).  Maybe, it also helped that the client was very accommodating and very helpful to auditors.  (Di katulad nung isang kliyente ko diyan sa Pilipinas na ayaw man lang magpalabas ng document!  Hmp!)

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English 101

Use "Perfect!", "Great!", "Excellent!" or "Superb!" when someone did something for you and you don’t know what to do or say.  Clear?  To give you an example, here’s a true-to-life scene…

Teller:  Hi!  How are you doing?

Ian: Oh! I’m Great!

Teller:  What can I do for you sir?

Ian:  Oh! I need to wire some money to the Philippines.

Teller:  Superb!

Ian:  Do I need to fill this up?

Teller:  No!  I’ll fill that up for you.  I just need to swipe your card and then you enter your PIN.

Ian:  Okay.  A piece of cake.

The teller got Ian’s card and swiped it in the machine.  Then Ian entered his PIN and the transaction was approved.

Ian:  There you go.

Teller:  Puuuurrrrfect!

And Ian went home.  So many superlatives there ey!

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Yey!!!  At last, I got my last pay from PwC!  I was also able to see the breakdown.  If not for the bond that was deducted, I would’ve gotten a bigger amount.  But anyway, I should be thankful since I was still given a share in the firm’s profit.

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Dreamt of the Mount Maculot team last night.  We embarked on another hiking adventure somewhere.  The funny thing is that we were hiking with Earl.  Hahaha!  Earl, by the way, is my nephew (from a cousin) who is barely two years old!  Haaay… Guess I just miss them.  Hoy mga Pili, punta na kayo dito!

Yey!!!  I alreay got my Canadian mobile phone!  The plan I chose came with a free Samsung SGH-c327.  It was not a very “entertaining” phone as my MojaMoto is, but who cares?  Really, people here don’t care what brand (and even model) your phone is.  Oh I can’t help but compare how Pinoys go gaga with the latest Nokia models (at least ngayon, kilala na rin ng Pinoy ang Sony Ericsson, Motorola at Samsung). 

Actually, I can take a “more entertaining” phone since the activation fee is waived for EY employees (What a nice perk, ey?  And monthly fees are also discounted… hihihi).   But, I thought that I can just use my MojaMoto since it’s an open-line phone.  Also, I still don’t have the luxury to spend as much as I want since I don’t have enough savings (hindi pa nga ako sumesweldo eh, ang pocket money ko pa rin from the Philippines ang bumubuhay sa akin). 

But, in fairness to my new buddy (Hmmm… I think I’ll also give him a name.  How about MojaSam?  Pwede na siguro yan.  Sige MojaSam na lang…hehehe.), okay naman siya.  He has a very crisp display.  If only it has a camera and music player, it would be a very good contender of my older buddy (Sorry MojaMoto, just telling the truth…hihihi)

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Ngapala, I was able to take a picture of my client’s building earlier(Name disclosed for confidentiality reasons.  Pero meron din ‘tong branch sa Pinas).  Though some of the new buildings here in Toronto are boxy (and without personality, IMHO), there are still some preserved neo-classical towers around.  And Manulife is one of them (ooopsss… slip of the tongue… hahaha!!!).  Even EY’s tower was built over the old Toronto Stock Exchange just to preserve the façade of the old building.  Oh how I wish Filipinos would also appreciate the "OLD" and realize that not all that is old is ugly.  Old is heritage.  Old is culture.  And preserving IT means preserving our heritage and culture.  Haaay… Am I being too preachy? 

Anyway, I was also able to take some pictures downtown when Jun was getting some money from the bank (ooopsss… hindi siya nang-rob ng bank ha, nag-withdraw lang siya ng kanyang kayamanan mula sa mahiwagang kahon na mas kilala natin sa tawag na… repeat after me… EY-TI-EM… Nyahahahaha!!!).  Here are the pics.

From left to right: (1) View of Toronto Dominion Centre from First Canadian Place (yung building na itim sa tapat ang EY Tower); (2) Old Bank of Nova Scotia building.  The new Scotia Tower is right beside it (it was initially planned to snatch the title of Toronto’s highest tower from First Canadian, but the bank’s owners just decided to go for aesthetics and design instead); (3) King and Bay intersection - headquarters of Canada’s top banks (At the background is the Canadian Imperial Banking Corporation); (4) The Ernst & Young insignia (Not really a downtown picture, wala na kasi ako mailagay, sayang naman ang space… hehehe)

I went out of the office earlier to send some money for my mom back home (naks, bayaning-bayani ang dating).  I went to PNB in Sherbourne Street (yes, there’s PNB here!  Nakakainis nga bakit walang BPI… Calling Madam, pakisabihan nga ang BPI!!!). It’s actually accessible by subway so travelling was not really a hassle. I decided not to take the PATH (underground walkway) to Union Station and just brave my way through the seven-degree sidewalk. 

After sending money to my mom, I thought of taking my lunch since it’s already thirty minutes past twelve noon. And that’s when my greatest quest began…

I’ve been eating a lot of Chinese food lately. Well, you can’t blame me.  It’s the closest food that suits my Pinoy taste buds.  But, of course, after some time, you get tired of that usual taste, especially if it doesn’t taste great (Chowking can give these Chinese fast-food a run on their money). So, instead of taking my usual eight-dollar meal, I decided to find something new that can satiate my hunger for Pinoy fast-food. And since Jollibee is non-existent and I hate the HUUUUGEEE oily McDonald’s burger, I tried to find… Kentucky! Admittedly, McDo and KFC (and in reality, even Jollibee) are not Pinoy, but since I often take my lunch here during my working days in Makati, I still long for them, kaya pagbigyan niyo na ako. 

I saw from the map (that I googled yesterday) that there is a KFC near Bloor Street, which is only one station away from Sherbourne. But since I don’t exactly know where it is (and I am not a skilled map reader), I just walked my way to Bloor from Sherbourne. Gracing my “leisurely” walk were gusty winds with two or three degrees wind chill… Brrr…  But I went on, knowing that a bucket of KFC’s chicken is waiting at the end of the rainbow. Hehehe…

And then, there was light. I saw Bloor Station.  But there was no KFC around.  All I saw was Harvey’s – a burger chain famous for their slightly done patties… eeewww!!! I would never eat a semi-cooked burger.  I looked around, but no KFC was in sight!  My quest was unrewarding.  Haaay…  I felt defeated.  I just decided to go back to the office.  I took the train and got off at King Station and went straight to Commerce Court.  Oases of food stalls abound, and there I saw my dreaded Chinese fast-food. But since I am so hungry (that I can eat a horse), I had no other choice but to order my usual eight-dollar meal. Can I just throw up, as in right now?  Haaayy… I hope my next quest for Kentucky will be successful. O kaya para mas masaya, Jollibee should break through the Toronto market. Ang saya nun! =)

We went to Chinatown last Sunday for lunch.  As Sisley put it "Gusto kasi naman naming kumain ng totoong pagkain." 

Of course, the place was full of Chinese.  Hehe.  You will instantly know that you’re in Chinatown because of the large Chinese symbols and characters as well as the tiangges that flourish everywhere selling anything from umbrella to footwear to bizarre Chinese medicine.  It was a totally different area and it felt like I was not in Canada! 

I was told that we can buy Pinoy products in Chinese stores.  So we headed to every Chinese stores and malls.  It gave us the same old feeling and travels us back to our very own…Divisoria… hahaha!!!  But of course, it’s a bit organized here as compared to ours.  But hey, who said the Philippines is the hub of piracy?  I can tell you that most Chinese malls here sell pirated DVD’s!!!  Pinapalabas pa nga si Booba (movie ni Rufa Mae Quinto) dun sa isang store!  Hahaha!!!

Anyways, we continued our quest for that great Pinoy buy.  And we found a Chinese supermarket.  There were a lot of people, mostly Orientals (that’s what they call Asians since they don’t know how to distinguish Koreans, Japanese, Chinese, Thais, Pinoys, etc. etc.).  And so we went inside…

I don’t know how to describe the emotion, the feeling, the SMELL!!!  Grabe, sobrang over to the max at sagad sa nostrils ang baho talaga!!!  Nakakabaligtad-sikmura!  Kung hindi ko lang hinahanap-hanap ang pagkain sa atin hindi ako magtitiyaga dun.  But every sacrifice paid off.  I found my great Pinoy buy… drum roll pleaase… SILVER SWAN SOY SAUCE!!!  Hahaha!!!  Huy, tuwang-tuwa talaga ako nung nakita ko yun. 

Now my adobo will be tastier.  You know that I really love to cook, but the problem here is that most of the ingredients do not match the Pinoy taste.  Soy sauce here tastes bland.  Kaya nga nung nakakita ako ng garlic na Product of the Philippines ang nakalagay eh yun kaagad ang binili ko.  Hahaha!!!  Makabayan pa rin ako… =)

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Its good to know that there are other Pinoy auditors who are willing to get out of their way to welcome you. 

Jun, Sisley and I had a very sumptuous dinner last night with a bunch of cool Pinoy auditors here in EY.  Nakakatawa lang kasi sa Pilipinas magkakalaban ang mga firm namin pero dito magkakasama kami.  We were also told that another Pinoy will be joining the TSRS boat this month.  Wooohooo!!!  Mabuhay ang Pinoy!  Indeed, there is a growing population of Pinoy IT Auditors here.  Hahaha!!!  We’ll give the Indians a hard fight in the numbers  battle.  Hihihi…

It’s freezing outside.  The temperature reached the freezing point - zero degree!  Snow drizzles came yesterday according to my friend.  But I wasn’t able to see it coz I was inside the office.  Morning news announced big snow downfall in southern part of Lake Ontario and northern areas of the New York State.  (Glad Toronto is on the northern part!)  Some say it is unusual especially that it is still October and autumn has not yet relinquished her crown to winter.  Guess, I need to prepare my winter clothes already.  Brrr….

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It was Sisley’s birthday today, so Jun prepared a dinner for her.  Incidentally, Azin - a friend (and previouse officemate) in PwC is currently in Toronto for some client work.  They have invited us to share this day with Sisley and delight in Jun’s chicken pastel!  Oh, maybe you’re wondering who the heck these people are.  Let me introduce them:  Jun was a co-senior associate in PwC who is now married to Sisley, who had a close-to-a-year stint in the IAS group of the same company, where Azin also worked as a manager who became a consultant in Singapore but now has a budding career in the bustling megacity of New York.  Got that?  Pretty straightforward, ey? =)

Everybody was trying to catch up with all the years, months, weeks and days that slipped away.  Mader, as we fondly call Azin, has never changed.  She is the same old her - makulit, makwento at maraming conclusions and theories.  Hahaha!!!

We finished eating our sumptuous meal but the stories seemed to be overflowing.  It was already twelve midnight when we started to bid our adieu’s.  We sent Azin to the nearest subway station so she can go back to her hotel.  Oh! How I long to see some old friends again like Cresta, Paz and Mitch! The weather might be freezing, but the warmth of old friendship remains and is enough to uplift a dampened spirit. 

Hello everyone!  It’s been a long time since I’ve posted something in this blog.  It’s not that I became very busy.  Nawalan kasi ng kuryente sa Pilipinas bago ako umalis kaya hindi ako makapagonline!  Hmp!  Nakakainis nga eh. 

Dito na ako ngayon sa Canada.  Napapagod na ako mag-English ha!  Dinudugo na naman ang ilong ko dito!  Minsan nga wala na akong pakialam kahit balu-baluktot ang English ko … BAHALA SILA!  Hahaha!!!

O siya, saka na lang ako magsusulat ng maayos at medyo mahaba.  Mahal ang internet dito - $2!  Grabe!  Isang internet card na yun diyan sa atin. 

Adios!