Why 2013 is a Shove Towards the Right Direction

Marky Ramone Go December 31, 2013

Over the months since 2012 ended, my team has dwindled from 5 to 3 then to 2, until me and Tish remained. Together we managed to meet the research demands for the IT deployment task we belong to. It has become a routine exercise for me, and I guess same for her, that we could do our job with our eyes closed even while listening to a damn Justin Bieber song and solving a Sudoku puzzle. We were joking each other "Don't resign yet, let us wait for them to fire us" so we could have employee benefits that comes with getting laid off. One random afternoon our boss, who shows up once every three months from the States, chatted me over Gmail. He wants to see me and Tish privately. A few weeks prior, I sent the big boss an email requesting a salary increase for Tish as a reward for her years of service working for the company (5 years without a pay hike), so I was kidding her that "this meeting could be it" the day they finally would grant her a salary hike.

the writings on the wall: enjoy your freedom

Year end Read more

Yangon’s Colonial Charms and other Street Scenes | Myanmar

Marky Ramone Go December 27, 2013

I'm resting my feet in these remaining few days of 2013. It has gone through miles and miles of pavement and off-road rambling around new cities and towns I visited this travel-blessed year. Among my favorite walks of the year was along the charming colonial buildings of Yangon in Myanmar. It felt like being transported back in time albeit a few modern structures already erected, the old buildings from yester-decades still fills the streets of the city. It was a different feeling being in a country I deemed impossible to visit a few years ago because of political upheavals going on at that time. I, like the rest of the world is glad that Myanmar finally opened up and let its unique qualities be let known to all of us.

Yangon Read more

Postcard Series: Flowers and Beer | Vietnam

Marky Ramone Go December 20, 2013

I caught this snapshot of a group of friends just chilling out at Hoan Kiem Lake in Hanoi during one of my morning walks. It's always great either traveling with friends or on your own, but running into new ones along the way, just as I was fortunate to have experienced during my trip here, is even better. A winter climate, a cold Hanoi beer on hand, blooming flowers and a tranquil lake to complete the setting, all makes up for a nice gathering.

Postcard series Read more

Pay it Postcard

Unknown December 05, 2013

During my recent trip to Indonesia, I posted an FB update asking if anyone wants to receive a postcard from me. A few dozen messaged me their postal address, as much as I wanted to accommodate everyone, my budget restriction only allows me to send a few plus some to friends whom I already planned of sending one. The result was a total of 18 postcards showing scenes around Borobudur, stamped and sent via airmail. While walking around Yogyakarta I found a cozy small cafe where I sat down and wrote on it one by one, thereby using my hand again to write after years of using the pen to only sign my name on documents. There I was, again writing long sentences with my penmanship smearing all over the card, hoping it would reach the recipients in no time.

This one is for Aya, she got this after arriving from her coverage of the Yolanda aftermath in Tacloban

Post - Pablo Cateel & Aliwagwag Falls | Davao Oriental

Unknown December 03, 2013

A year ago typhoon Pablo walloped Cateel, Davao Oriental and Compostela Valley. It was one of the strongest storms that hit the country to date. I remember the owner of the restaurant where we had a drink the night I was in Cateel telling us over a bottle of San Miguel Light–as he joined me and Nunoy–told me of that horrifying night last December. "My brother in law who is a member of the US Navy called my wife already the day before" he narrates to us. "the typhoon was so huge that the US Navy and the US Atmospheric office started monitoring it, he warned us to get away from Davao Oriental. I was able to send my wife to Davao the day before, that morning I tied up some of the restaurants stuff, people who saw asked what I was doing, nobody thinks at that time that Pablo will be that strong"