Davao Trip

last week, tuesday, short notice was received that i was to fly to davao for an overnight stay (wed x thurs) to do a stand alone test on equipment i have absolutely no familiarity with and supervise a cut-over i haven't been previously informed about. i was to leave my work to someone else, not really important who and get my ass shipped to davao.

now here come the rants:
1. WTH? i can't even begin to explain how messed up this move was. there was no one even remotely competent to take over my work for me (no offense meant to colleagues. i just mean no one in the office has ever comprehensively handled my work before) since this is just a one time thing and i don't get to handle msc/mgw in the near future, i have declared it to be a waste of time and resources. for one, i'd have to still do the work i'm leaving behind and in addition, would have to consume additional time in constructing grade 1 instructions for whoever takes over in my absence.
2. so, ok, i haul myself to davao, and ask for a hotel recommendation. i then ask for someplace near the site. boholand inn... of all god-forgotten places, i think this one takes the prize. since i don't have much of a choice and was at the time really really pissed off, in no mood to go search for anything else, i checked in. the creepy place was complete with mosquitoes (even though air-conditioned), dripping faucets, leaking pipes, chipped and anay-infested walls. it had the feel of a cheap motel with hidden cameras to record scandals and whatnot. but since i'm just staying there for a few hours, and would spend majority of my time on site, i tried to ignore it. BUT hell i wasn't taking anything off in that place. i'd just have to suffer 24 hours without a shower. (yeah, i know, eeew. that's how creepy the place was) the worst thing bout it was that it was far enough from supermarkets that i would have to take a jeep to get to one. needless to say, i was on starvation diet for about 24 hours. still not sure how i survived. i was so darn thirsty.
3. the stand alone test was fairly ok, and we got through it in less than 3 hours. unfortunately, the cut-over failed. if i heard correctly, similar problem was already encountered before. i guess they just didn't expect it to happen again or something. anyhoo, i was almost required to extend my stay. (--> no way short of holding me at gunpoint would i have agreed to this)
4. dragged my sorry butt back to the airport and ate. i was literally thinking "food, oh glorious food!" the meal wasn't tasty now that i try and look back, but hey, if you're hungry, everything's delicious. went back home and got this killer headache that i swear i get every time i come from davao. must be the durian stink overload.

being to misery's edge and back, i finally had my silver lining. had a nice movie marathon weekend with my wonderful bf. ^_^
all's well that ends well.