Life is Unfair(?)

I started this post intent on ranting about the recent unfair, unjust, unbelievably effed up turn of events in my life. Then I thought about it a bit, and decided, what the heck, I might as well think about the positives in my life.

But life is unfair. It is a jagged little pill that is painfully hard to swallow, but we swallow it all the same. Not because we want to, but do we really have a choice?

I guess at some point we have to put on our big girl panties and face the world with a smile. C'est la vie, I say to myself. But I am not quite sure I have convinced myself enough.

To be honest, I am on the verge of going back to my favorite place by the river and cry another river about it. The only thing stopping me from doing it is the thought that there are worst cases out there, and mine... well, I'm just making a mountain out of my molehill.

I figured that we can curse life as much as we curse Mondays, but these things always come anyway. They hit us when we are down, daring us to stand up. Most of the time, I've stood up, brushed the dust off my gorgeous self, and mosey on. I hope I can do it this time around.

So yeah... life is unfair.

I hereby leave you with a last idea for this post. I think it makes a lot of sense.

By the way, if you are feeling sad, lonely, unappreciated, effed up, bewildered, crappy, unhappy, and all those damning thoughts, I hope you cheer up and see the sliver of hope all storm clouds have. Besides, if not for those storm clouds, we never would appreciate the light of day.

Cheers.

Dinner at ViNi Garden

My brother is flying off back to the Philippines in a few hours and as a way of celebrating his good fortune at landing a job, my mom took us to ViNi Garden for hours of unadulterated gorging.

While ViNi Garden is far from being a fine dining joint, it is quite appropriate for a bunch of Filipinos going on a food craze. Why? Because you pay around $10 per head, and then you can eat all you can, get as much as you want. And contrary to most buffet-style, eat-all-you-can restaurants, ViNi Garden does not mind if you have a few leftovers. They trust you enough to eat to your capacity! Awesomesauce!

ViNi Garden offers its patrons with a variety of dishes to choose from. Basically, they provide you with your own melting pot and grill where you can dunk seafood, meats, and other yummy stuff as you please. Naturally, we went for the seafood and meats, without paying much attention to the greens. Yes, you can dunk all sorts of greenery if you wish. A total free for all, I tell you!

When dining at ViNi Garden, you get the food, various dessert options, various drink options, etc. - as many as your stomach can hold! If that is not SATISFYING dining, then I don't know what is. My favorite dessert would have to be the ice cream. I just love, love, LOVE their ice cream!

While ViNi Garden is not the only place in Phnom Penh where you can eat all you can - they have a lot of those here! - I shall leave adventures to those areas some other time.

ViNi Garden is located at: No. 108, Wat Langkar (St. 55), corner of Phuong (St. 264), Behind Mobitel HQ, 12207 Phnom Penh

Sleep is for the Weak

“I've always envied people who sleep easily. Their brains must be cleaner, the floorboards of the skull well swept, all the little monsters closed up in a steamer trunk at the foot of the bed.” -  David Benioff, City of Thieves

A year ago, if somebody asked me about my sleeping habits, I would've said, "I have no problem. I sleep like a log." Which was true by the way. So true, in fact, you would just snap your fingers as I hit the pillow and I'd snore from here to kingdom come. Yes, that is a by-product of exhaustion and juggling more than 1 job.

These days, however, I've found sleep to be elusive. Though my talent in sleeping in a blink of an eye remains, it only happens when I get a foothold of the train to dreamland. Other than that, I toss and turn and make it seem like the bed is too small, too hot, too uncomfortable. This is so weird.

I've never had sleep problems, but as of the past few weeks, I've found myself simply awake until the wee hours of the morning, with thoughts running around my mind, complete with background music and narrators.

Take last night for example, I figured out that I was already asleep because my eyes were drooping after doing some reading. So I shut off the light, closed my eyes, and then... waited. But nothing came.

Instead, I hear Bob Marley in my brain talking about life, hardships, and I forgot the rest. I was not looking at Bob Marley, but he was definitely talking about what's going on in the world. Hmm.. when I tried to think about white clean spaces and focus on my breathing instead, I conked out for a few minutes, and then 'Could You Be Loved' starts playing in my mind. Just the chorus part though.

I guess I do not have to tell you the excruciating details when one suffers insomnia, but I can tell you for sure, it is anything but quick. I think I managed to nod off to sleep at around 3 a.m., and then woke up at 6 a.m. Normally, that is fine with me because I used to work like that. But these days, it is not so nice.

Oh, and you can forget about me going online during those hours. Aside from having trouble sleeping, I am also getting bored with the Internet. After being online since 1998 or 1999, I think that I may be a little bit tired of it?

To Sir, With Love

I like writing emails. Do you? I've said this perhaps a thousand times in the past, and those who've read my previous blogs would say, 'Yeah! Yeah! You like writing emails... we KNOOOOOWW!!' But since this is a new blog, heh, I would like to inform you that I do love writing emails. Impossibly lengthy ones that sometimes my friends mistake it for a novel that I have created. But no, I am not a novelist - but I do like to write!

What my friends do not know, however, is that despite the fact that I love to string up stories, rants, complaints, and nonsense in my emails, there is one thing about emails that siezes me with a mixture of apprehension, dread, and a certain amount of queasiness... the valediction.

For those may not know what a 'valediction' is, this is the part at the end of the email, just before you sign your name. Maybe some of you do not use valedictions now with your emails and whatnot, but I do use these even though it makes me uneasy.

It is not really a problem when I am emailing my friends because I could always sign using XOXO, or 'Love,' or nothing at all. But in general, I pause to think, "How do I end this?"

I used to love using the classics such as: "Best regards," "Bests," "Regards," etc. But now, not so much. While I do know when to properly sign formal letters with "Respectfully," "Respectfully yours," "Sincerely yours," and others, I am still on sea legs when it comes to the informal parts. Gah.

Let me tell you a secret: It takes me at most an hour to decide what to use as valediction whenever I send work emails.

As of late, I have resorted to using parting words as valediction. Although I've read somewhere that these may not exactly be acceptable. I don't want make my boss rethink his decision to hire me over a nutty valediction, but I cannot bring myself to make serious declarations in emails by saying "God be with you," "Truly yours," "From the heart," "Forever yours" Hah! Okay, I'm kidding on those things, but sometimes you want to be light but still present.

Help?

If I had my way, I'd sign my emails with the following: "Ciao," "Fare thee well" (but this is not ancient times!), "Smell you later," (but they might think I smell them through email!), "Think of me" (uh, no) "Toodles," (cute, but I think I'd sound ... not like myself!). Hah. No, I won't use those, but I will figure it out one of these days. Besides, since Cambodia is still in its infancy when it comes to English and slang, I've been asked in more than one occasion what the heck I was talking about. It can be tiring to have to explain.. and in most instances the brunt force of the joke is lost. Le sigh.

One time, I signed "May the Force be with you!" and a former colleague asked, "Why are you forcing me?" ... Nevermind. Or maybe I didn't get the joke? Hmmm...

What about you? What valedictions do you use and what do you think is appropriate for work emails?

MAY THE FORCE BE WITH YOU! 

Cheers!

Arrivederci!

Stay happy!

Stay healthy!

Take care!

Ta-ta!

Toodle-oo!

Write to me.

Hullo!

So, I'm back.. on track. But maybe not that much.

Been quite busy for the past few weeks (read: lazy), and I was not able to blog much. I don't think it was because of a lack of things to say, perhaps because I was busy and at the end of the day I felt so lazy and tired that I just wanted to vegetate.

What's up?

Good news, about Marion. Although they are still in need of your help and kindness, I believe they have reached an agreement with the hospital to proceed with the surgery that Marion really, really, needs. So, thank God, Goddess, Allah, Buddha, and all the higher beings for their help and guidance.

In other news, the Philippines is being attacked by torrential downpour. There have been many lives lost, especially in Luzon, which is quite terrifying. While August remains to be the rainy season in the Philippines, I wish it did not have to be so catastrophic.

While I was traipsing through the web, I chanced by the Inquirer page and found some trolls making rude remarks on comments made by concerned citizens. While I normally do not bother with people such as these, it can be sad and annoying to find commenters who have nothing better to do than curse others and/or put people down. Peace and Love, yo! Peace and Love.

Meanwhile, in Cambodia, the heat is killing me. But, there are worst things in life, so I am thankful that I am alive, and I pray that may Angels guide, guard, and comfort those who are suffering.

So.. what have you been up to?