UnorthodoxY Archive It's wasn't what you thought

Well I’ve got no excuse not to update since I’ve spent the last two days mostly lazing around and doing very little.

I’m in Manila, for the next month, it’s about as hot as I remember, but I think I can comfortably live with it. I have my own apartment for the month and it’s pretty cool once the air-con has been cranked up (down?) for a while. Hit the jump for a completely uninteresting update post with some pictures.

I’d love to relate some interesting tale about Manila, but I have none — yet. I’ve spent most of my spare time pottering around the apartment — I’ve only made it to the pub once. I’ve been mostly working or experimenting with technology in order to do important things like stay in touch and keep up with the US TV I’m addicted to.

A few pics of the apartment, the lounge, kitchen and the view (more in the Manila flickr set)

Regrading staying in touch, I’ll be keeping this site up to date and there’ll be stuff on the other sites I use (linked off the sidebar on the front page). I’ll have a local mobile number when I move out but I’ve set up a local Edinburgh number that redirects to my Skype account, if you want to know what it is then subtract my current Edinburgh flat number from this one:

262 761 8588

Tack a zero on the front and you’re set, should be easy to remember too. It’ll probably just go to voicemail until I have a headset and computer on-line most of the time. Free WiFi seems pretty common in the big malls over here so I think using Skype on a iPhone or a NetBook might be a viable mobile replacement. Another thing to think about.

Work is still up in the air, my relocation is definitely going ahead, probably at the end of April (they seem pretty confident about that date now, we’ll see). The job is already not the job I applied for, which is probably a good thing. Big expansion in the Manila office, it’s a very interesting time. But it also means I have to be careful not to say too much as I’m not sure what’s ‘official’ yet.

All in all I’ve settled down quite well, everything you could want is within walking distance (including two 24hr shops, and a 24hr McDonalds). I’ve got more than enough work to keep me busy. I’ve got a kitchen, ‘tho an oven and/or a toaster would be nice. I’ve sorted out communications. I’ve got a decent enough internet connection to snag TV shows and I’ve got cable to provide background fluff.

And I’ve got a whole city to explore — as soon as I get my energy back.