Seven Mozzie Bites

Day Two

After a visit to the grocery shops last night I realise this is the land of petite things. Little lettuce a bit bigger than my fist, little Spanish onions and tomatoes the size of my thumb. The bread have barely any crust and are only made in the sweet variety.

Robinson's Mall, Lacson Street

The Mall as undergoing an extension. White walls, floor to ceiling windows, international cuisine restuarants surrounding a spitting water feature - the slogan as 'Experience a lifestyle change' and indeed it was for these humble people. This wasnt Philippines at all. They've obviously taken inspiration from the first world and it reminded me of Dubai. After 1 hour of eating breakfast (which was of rice, bread, fried egg and Longainsa sausages) Sheila suggested we eat lunch. It's a filo thing to constantly ask your guest if they are hungry and not take no for an answer. They eat more than three times a day, in seemingly large quantities.. I'm used to me 1-2 meals a day in small quantities. But they are all so skinny. Sheila thinks it must be the asian gene that staying skinny is easy.

'I cant believe how often you guys eat here.

'I dont think its often. This is how I normally eat. Probably because its so hot here, we burn off food quickly and have a fast metabolism.

We ate at a Mexican restuarant called Mooon, yes, with the triple 'O'. Strange. I realised that a lot of the signage here are hand written or if computerised, appear to be hand written, e.g. Comic Sans and Lucida Handwriting or Lucida Calligraphy. To the unfamiliarised eye, this confirms the (insert word opposite to Modern)ism lifestyle here.

Back to the mexican resturant with the triple o. The girls had black tops with puffy arms, a ruffled skirt striped green, red and orange and matching scrunchies in their hair. They played mexican music from the large speakers and inside the walls were orange with mexican patterened tiles and ceramic pots for decoration. It was an experience. We ate outside in the gentle breeze. I gasped in excitment when I saw San Miguel Light beer on the menu. The waiter heard me and asked if I would like some to drink. haha. It was still morning! I said, a bit later.

Sheila and boy boy needed to get their drivers license renewed so I got to roam alone for probably the first time ever being in philippines. I was kinda scared.. but there was no reason to be scared. I just get stared at. And followed in the stores by the sales assistants. Sometimes they stand 50cm in front of me look me in the eye, and then look me up and down. Umm..

Awkward. She asked me for my name,

'Hi Jen, meet Raymond. Can I have your number?'

'Um, No I'm only here on a holiday'

'So I cannot have a number?'

'No, I have a boyfriend'

'Is he filippino?'

'Yeh. Okay thanks bye'

I walked straight out. I was a little annoyed, I just wanted to shop. I couldve bought sneakers and they wouldve made a good sale but the lady had to be the young boys wing man.

Walking in the Mall i see a few white old men with younger filo women. They have children with light skin and light hair. Usually a mistisa/mistiso is good looking but not all the time. Sometimes they have strange white with a purple/browny tinge especially under their eyes. I heard a conversation between a white man and his filippina wife:

Wife: There's mcdonalds over there

Husband: I'm sure I'll find Australian food here somewhere...

I wanted to turn around and say HEY! IM AUSTRALIAN TOO! but also, pfftt you're in your wife's country embrace it you idiot. I understand traveling to the phils isnt everyone's cup of tea. I learnt how to fix a toilet because here the toilets dont work 100%.When you shower you have to use bucket and pour the water over your body while you soap yourself with the other hand. There is no hot water here so you have to get used to the sudden splash of cold water on your back.. Do not bring your best clothes, make up isnt necessary since you sweat it off anyway.

I went to the Nikey store and bought three items: a purple parachute jacket/hoodie similar to my silver one but PURPLE. I had nike written in bright yellow on the chest. It made me smile when I touched it so I bought it. I'm easy like that. $75 AUD so cheap. I also got a white tshirt with the iconic Michael Jordon pose in metallic silver in the centre. And a white Manny Pacqiao shirt. all up $120 AUD.

I bought sticky tape to stick things into my travel journal and an Art of War book, just incase I need to develop some military plans. Ive also bought a navy blue chiffon dress with yellow stripes on the chest for $15.

I need to go back when my funds have gone through my bank account. Last minute and 'ohh I'll do it later' me, I transfered funds into my card on Friday night, it will take no more than two days to get in but because Monday and Tuesday were a public holiday, I've gotta wait til Thursday! Almost one weekkk... I feel anxious when I cant access my money overseas. I'd feel stranded without money. I dont know how those backpackers who work for cash do it.

Also on Thursday my dearest mother touches down s well as Tita Grace. Mum can take me shopping and buy me what I want :D

Me: No, lemme pay for lunch

Boy Boy: Let me pay, your mum comes soon anyway, she can pay next time

Driving in Philippines is stressful for everyone in the car. There are no road rules except for stick to the left lane. There are a few traffic lights here and there, but every other intersection it's who ever pushes in gets their way. Just because its a main road doesnt mean they have right of way. You've got to read the body/car language to know who goes first. Horns are overused here, not to signal the other driver that they've fucked up, but to make them aware taht you are overtaking you, or they are very close to you. The cars on the road are so close to each other that I could reach out of my window and open their door without having to extend my arm completely.

I've noticed more new or nice looking cars here compared to when I was here four years ago. I think these people are getting richer. On my ride home from the airport I saw a Hummer! in a khaki light brown colour, soooo gangsta and also a Toyota Hilux.

My humble, wheel chaired bound Tito Manual is apologetic of his little van with no aircon. And also of his english which I honestly think is better than mine because he says words I havent heard of. Tito Manual runs an electronic repair store and school at the wrong of our compound. He is a teacher. He is the repairer. He runs this business alone. He is into philosophy, psycology, religion, history, sociology and many more... He tells me his theories. He is very intelligent. He was born with a condition that binds him to a wheel chair so it seems he finds freedom in intelligence.

Tito Manual's Theories

If you believe in God, you must believe in Satan. God is an unexplained theory, and we have accepted it as a mystery. There are many mysteries before our time. We accept the mystery of creating fire, or the mystery of electricity, or the mystery of weather. If you can accept fire then you can accept God. The human body is very complicated and well designed, there must be a creator, something this intricate cannot just be. Just as there is a house, there is an architect.

Hairy men are romantic men. There was a study conducted: A group of men were told to shave off their hair. Half of them were allowed to have sex as often as they liked and half were told to restrain themselves. At the end of the experiment, all the men shaved their hair again. The men who had sex had more hair than those who didnt. Therefore, hairy men are more romantic.. or just horny. I guess hairy men is a symbol of masculinity.

This world will come to an end because people distrust each other. When you get older you begin to behave in a way that will benefit other people, instead of acting in ways that will benefit you. That is the meaning of being mature.

How can you tell a girl is from the city or the rural area when the wind blows? If she holds on to her hair, she is a city girl. If she holds on to her skirt to keep it down, she is a country girl. City girls are materialistic and prioritise appearance. Country girls are conservative and want to protect their legs from exposure.

a lot of filippino families have at least one helper. They eat after the family have had their meal, they are allowed to shower here, and sometimes even sleep here. They are paid to wash the dishes, clothing, clean the house, go shopping, sometimes cook.. from what I'm seeing it is really more like a helper than it is a slave. They are very much apart of the family, they are spoken to and respected. Nannah said her fiance's helper was with them for 40 years. But I could imagine the unfortunate few that are taken advantaged of from cruel families.

I asked Nannah how much these helpers get paid.

The minimum pay per month in Philippines is 6,000 Pesos = $133 AUD but because their meals and showers and sometimes accomodation is catered for they are paid 2,500 to 3,000 = $55 - $66. I spent someone's 2 monthly pay at the nikey store in 5 minutes today...

Is It That Time Already?

I like this technique. Going into a shit job with rock bottom expectations. I came out of the airport paid and sane. I lived another day. I developed a strategy to make 8hours fly by:

• Don't look at the time unless by accident
• If bad things happen, think that there are worse things to come, then your 'bad' wont be bad
• Work for as long as you can until you take your first break, after you come back from break all refreshed you will be delighted to know there is only 1 hour left til home time
• Get sent home 30 minutes early

Yay! home time at 9:30pm. Today I was a little more on registers. I was 8 minutes early. I was asked by 3 authority figures where my apron was, I said I forgot it at home. I made new friends, a pretty Indian girl with a nose ring. It prompted me to get a nose ring. I wish my skin was darker so my nose bling stands out more. I made a filo friend too with a Spanish surname of 'Villacorta'. Sounds so hot.

Mum's mum's surname is also hot and Spanish, 'Valencia'.

I had a Italian Croque Monssieur today. It was a heart attack on a plate. Toasted bread filled with tasty cheese, salami, ham with cream cheese packed on top. This was heated in the oven. It was divine. You must be a cheese and salt lover for this one.

During my break I sat down with a piece of paper and pen. I titled the paper 'Sorting Out My Life' and orgainsed which days of the week I want to give to Tony Bianco, Jwow, Red Rock (and Myer). Red Rock Monday - Wednesday, Tony Bianco Thursday, Saturday - Sunday, Jwow Friday and Myer nothing. I don't think I want to stay and work there, especially not in shoes. If I was in the basement then I may give up Red Rock for it. I only want Myer for their staff discount, not that I buy much from myer but team member discount on top of customer discounts = max 65% off.

Note that I have not allocated any days off for myself. Its okay. I'm young, and a gun. I can hack it. I wanna work so much I don't need to go to the gym. Calf muscles at Tony Bianco from wearing high heels, traps and biceps muscles at Jwow from the cocktail shaking and putting my mental health to the test at Red Rock.

_____________

Last Friday I went out and got tipsy for the first time in a while. I started it off at Match bar with James and Sean and drank 1 litre of apple cider. I was tipsy after the first one, I can tell I'm tipsy because my face feels hot, i purse my lips more than often, and I think I am more well spoken. I was having a discussion with Sean, a graphic design teacher at Grenadi School of Design about design and how it can improve the world. I had prepared questions for him because I ran out of Adobe CS Illustrator questions.

Questions:

• Some large companies invest just as much money on design as they do with their finance and marketing teams. How can design and design thinking help large businesses such as banks, fast food chains, law firms, who would otherwise doubt the importance of design? And what would you say to convince them otherwise? (Besides advertising/promotion)
• How can design or design thinking solve 'real' problems such as famine and poverty?
• What is the different between art and design?
• What does the process of design involve and what is the outcome?
• The modernist believe that 'good design' is simple, true to materials and 'form follows function'. What do you think 'good design' is?
• You seem to think that design is a tangible thing.
• Everyone is a design because design comes naturally, it's instinctive.

Sean was a little taken by my questions. We spoke about evolution, religion in particularly Christianity, nature and society in this discussion. It was good because he disagreed to what I thought and I heard his side of the story. I learnt that I had ambitious, idealistic and conceptual views on design.

I need more of this, these intelligent conversation.

At the bar I did a shot of Chivas 12 YO with James and my favourite bartender, Kris. I had to run outside to get my cider for chaser when I saw him pour it. I almost threw up in my mouth. I had to do the shot in two sections. I skulled the last quarter of my 500ml cider in attempt to wash away the disgusting taste. But I needed more. Kris noted the tear that had come down the side of my eye.

I went to Phuong's Design auction to steal some food. Then to Ramen Ya on Bourke Street to eat with Aaron and Yao. We went to Charlie's Bar on Hardware Lane to meet with Mel and Marty. It was 9pm and I had decided to go home.

500mls of Cider x2 thanks

Riots at QV, Max Brenner.

They weren't happy with their hot chocolates

_________

I hung out with my favourite cousin all weekend. Sheesha smoking on Sydney road, I only feel out of place at the beginning when all eyes are on us as we enter. Then after a few deep inhalations of the sweet grape and soothing mint, I have not a care in the world. I wish I could've put my feet on the couch and pass out with the sheesha in my mouth so that every puff in was a sheesha. The place was full of Arabic speakers. A little intimidating.

All of a sudden, one middle ages man stopped the music and called out something in arabic to everyone in the shop. They all looked, some replied. What was going on??? But I stopped freaking out when the music was put back on.

Ahhh back to my smoking.

We went to Charlies on Gordon Street, Footscray. The last time I was there I wasn't meant to be seen with the person I was with for reasons that could've gotten me bashed. Last night I was there, Vince's friends were too. Did it look wrong that I was having a 12 midnight meal with my favourite cousin whom they might not have known he was only my cousin?