Just a Rather Ordinary Day in Port Moresby

For what seems to be a normal day for somebody else, Thursdays and Fridays, for sure aren’t one of those days that simply dart across me. Especially when it’s Thursday, during which I become preoccupied mostly with running an errand around various shops.  Fridays however, are a bit of a relaxing day to which I attributed most of my feeble triumphs in basic cooking. That day, I prepared a Sinigang Na Hipon for dinner. For Filipinos, we’re kind of addicted to Filipino Cuisine although we don’t usually take notice and may not admit it. And for me, Sinigang is one of a kind. There’s always a silent notion in my head that says nothing can come between me and my Sinigang.  But what is better than Sinigang Na Hipon?

Yes, free meal.

Our company is one of the generous local companies that sponsored a Corporate Dinner organized by Team NCD to support the local sports athletes. As a gesture of appreciation, the organizers in turn gave away 10 tickets to invite representatives from each sponsors. My name was written on the list. Although I feel thankful, I’m quite unsure if it was right to feel that way. For all I know, some managers didn’t make it to the list because there were not just enough tickets. But moving on and setting these thoughts aside, my Sinigang could wait the other day.

Here’s Harold, Emerson and I. The Corporate Dinner is held at Dynasty Restaurant in Vision City. We were a lot earlier than expected and there was plenty of time to sit around doing almost nothing. With the advent of mobile technology, one can just pass the time by loading a game app to keep oneself fixated on a mobile phone screen. It’s very common to see nearly everyone carrying a mobile phone around. How does it feel like not bringing your own phone in times like these?

Please refer to Emerson’s face for guidance.

On one occasion during that night, the speaker introduced local athletes belonging to NCD Kickboxing Team. Apart from giving them exposure, they were given the chance to demonstrate their current skills in kickboxing through a controlled duel. Although what has been exhibited is a mock fight, those lightning kicks that went with the demo were stunningly real. Without protective sparring gears, any of whom could have taken quite a beating. But thankfully, no one was hurt in the process. 

While I've been involved in some street fights in my younger days, they were just silly fights and did not necessarily require an upgrade to my fighting skill. That begs a question, what would a mild mannered, ordinary neighborhood person, like "me", do if faced with a guy like them in a ring? 

Fortunately, it only happens when pigs fly and most athletic fighters are humble. 

The man speaking at the podium is The Honourable Governor Powes Parkop, MP of NCD. His humorous remarks has kept everyone smiling during his speech. Most of it were about giving inspiration to both the athletes and sponsors and discussing the significance of sports in sustaining a secured and thriving economy.  

The Sports Minister, Honourable Justin Tkatchenko, MP, was also present in the event.  Most of his speech that night has circled around the importance of sports, unity and sports facilities. What I like most with politicians is their ability to deliver powerful and inspiring speeches with confidence on short notice. I’ve never been invited to speak before a large crowd yet and I’m not sure if I can overcome my stage fright.

In the office, Fridays and Saturdays are the busiest. This is my desk in the office. I find it more productive to use two computers instead of one. My work involves many things including software programming. In this picture, I’m working on HTML and CSS codes on the left to design our website. I am more of a desktop programmer guy but I can also do web whenever there’s a need for it.

It’s all about shifting focus.

This area is a business centre around Waigani. It houses BS Mart, Datec and Able Computing which has just recently relocated here. This is where I suggest one must go if one wants to buy computer stuffs. I have just emerged from Datec here and took this shot to share.

The parking space is occupied most of the time but transactions in the convening stores are quite fast, you’ll get to see an open parking space after just a few minutes of waiting. You can make a few rounds around the centre while waiting for your turn but that requires that you go through the exit gates and come back again to the entrance a hundred meters apart which will expose you to traffic.

This is a screen for the rear camera of our bakery’s delivery truck.  This enables us to see what is going on behind the truck. The truck is originally from Japan, hence, those Japanese inscribing. I find this truck very amusing because almost all common functions inside the cockpit are coupled with synthesized voices messages.

When you shift to reverse, for instance, you will hear a voice repeatedly saying something in Japanese word which, if I were to guess, was saying “reverse, reverse, rubbish bin, watch out!”