Painting Black

Merry Christmas, everybody!

2006-12-22T16:27:00.000+08:00

I still believe in Christmas. Despite my recent harrowing experience (I just had the scare of my life when a rather daring robber grabbed my bag from behind me, and took off to the Podium parking lot, all under the bright christmasey lights of Ortigas. Needless to say, leaving me with literally nothing but my battered company ID in my pocket and nothing else) that left me moping around (and broke!) for days. I am still not out of it but I am determined to make myself a merry Christmas. For one, even though it's hard for me to find any silver lining, I know in my heart that I am still lucky I wasn't hurt. It makes me think I am meant to live long and celebrate more Christmasses with my family. I can still save up for a new phone, a new iPod, a new flash drive, a new wallet, a new kikay kit complete with makeup, a new parker pen, a new bag, and replacement cards for all of the atm/credit/health/club membership cards I lost. Ngarks...I awfully did lose a lot, still I want to believe it was a good thing I haven't withdrew any more money than the P1500++ in my God-forsaken wallet. Hayz.

On the brighter side, days before the robbery, our team won the "Best Performance of the Night" award, which made us P5,000 richer, and I won a portable DVD player in the company Christmas party, which I actually consider a miracle since I haven't won anything major in my whole life. Now I am planning to sell the DVD player so I can somehow feel better buying back everything I lost. I haven't decided yet, but whatever. Also, I realized my teammates value me big time, that upon knowing of my ordeal, they actually went from cube to cube to pool money so they can buy me a new iPod. They even involved our bosses in the US and they emailed their concerns and their willingness to help. It made me feel really special...but I really couldn't bring myself to accept the "donation." A little more coercing and I just MIGHT accept it. Hehehe.

All in all, I still feel blessed despsite the bad things. And I wish to bless all of you back. Have a Merry Christmas, all!

All my love,
Shaui

Erm...this new version of blogger still wouldn't allow me to post any pics, so until I figured things out, it's going to be all bare postings for me...

And I'm Back!

2006-11-09T17:59:00.000+08:00

It's been a while. Mainly it's work that kept me from posting. Tis the season to be busy, so they say. But there has been a lot of goings on since my last entry. For one, everybody's fave college couple are finally getting hitched! So we prepared some sort of wholesome bridal shower for S, knowing her, she would have died if we did something naughty, never mind that she and A have been together for like half their lives. She's still lil miss goody two shoes for us.

Then of course, a former boss came home from the US and it was time for a little get together. We had dinner @ Metrowalk to reminisce about the good old days. It's actually nice to get in touch with the past because of these people. I only spent a good six months with them (since another boss decided to pirate me for another company where I get to see practically the same faces for the next 3 years) but the ties are still strong and it's enough to make you pat yourself on the back for maintaining the bond all these years.

All Saint's Day was celebrated the only way we know - spend it with Nice @ Manila Memorial. My little sister should have been 18 by now. I wonder what it's like to actually have a younger teenage sister...I wonder what it's like to have a Kuya, too...memories...

When we least expect it, Myk gave us a little jolt. He's on his way to Singapore, albeit a little ambivalent. So the Burgoo lunch was darn good...but we'll surely miss the kid at heart that you are. Goodluck, dude!

Where can one easily get P10k-P20k for a simple referral fee? Only at Vf! That is one of the many reasons why I love it here. Unfortunately, I didn't get anything but E and D did. I was simply invited to join in the fun of it all. Karaoke night at Muchos and crispy pata was divine!

Kaya Toast + Kopi Roti

2006-10-14T19:29:00.000+08:00

I suddenly mustered the courage to prepare the food that I've been salivating to eat. While in SG, I was facinated by two foodies - laksa and kaya. A couple of days ago, I read from one excellent food blog that Bread Talk in Malaysia serves kaya bun, and then just the other day I read from an equally great blog that kaya toast is being served in Kopi Roti in Mall of Asia. My salivary glands began to work overtime. I could have easily gone to MOA but the adventurist in me affirmed that I can make a good bottle of kaya (wishful thinking). So on an overcast Saturday afternoon, I tugged the bf to the nearby Rustan's supermarket to buy the ingredients - eggs, sugar, salt, and coconut milk.

Armed with an anonymous recipe from the internet, and another one from Chubby Hubby, I started to follow the procedures by heart, which to my surprise, were so darn easy...or so i thought. The end product of this brave attempt? Yummy, actually, (even my officemates think so, too!) and the taste is reminiscent of the kaya toast we had at the airport, only the texture isn't as good. My kaya never made it to the jam state, instead, it turned into some sort of flan-ish mixture minus the wobbly form. It was like a soft, fluffy, greenish, scrambled egg in texture. What's puzzling to me, though, is the greenish color of the kaya without even a drop of pandan essence, hmmm...At least it tasted like kaya, hehehe...and what better way to serve it than to slap it on a toast with lots of butter, served with soft boiled eggs, and a home made cowboy kopi roti (generous tablespoons of condensed milk + black coffee) to wash down all the carbs, ahhh, life.

Fancy Puto

2006-10-13T18:49:00.000+08:00

Puto is a staple meryenda food for Pinoys. I toyed with the idea of fancying it up to mimic a cupcake. You know, like Sonja’s cupcakes that everybody is raving about. I’ve yet to visit Sonja’s at the Serendra in The Fort, but I will one of these days. For the moment, I tried making my own buttercream puto to compensate my cupcake craving. The result, yummy! The downside, buttercream puto can’t be served hot. Anyhoo, this is just okay since cupcakes with frostings aren’t served hot either.

Puto (makes 22 medium-sized puto)

2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ tbsp baking powder
1 ½ cups milk
1 ½ tbsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
grated cheese
add a drop of yellow food color if desired

Mix all dry ingredients and set aside. Beat eggs and mix with milk and vanilla. Gradually add the dry ingredients until mixture is soft and creamy. Pour into greased muffin pan and steam for 5-10 minutes. Remove puto from the mold and cool.

Buttercream Frosting (enough to lightly cover 22 puto)

½ stick butter
½ cup sugar
¼ cup milk

Beat butter until creamy. Gradually add sugar and milk, and continue beating until mixture forms spikes. If you don’t have an electric mixer (like me) a good old wire whisk will do (with extra effort of course).

random weeks

2006-10-10T16:32:00.000+08:00

I've been out of commission for the past weeks because work has been toxic. I've just juggled simultaneous projects (three in all!) and it left me leaving the office at three in the morning, sigh. Two of them were already put to bed, while I'm still wrestling for the last one to see finalization.

A lot has happened since my temporary hiatus. The biggest of them all is typhoon Millenyo. Scary, I tell you. I watched neighbors scamper after their roof and walls, watched my non-functioning cable tv wire frantically wave at me from its harness, watched my front gate gather floodwater decorated with a motley of debris consisting mainly of plastics, tree branches, broken glass, cast iron, and anything and everything that a 200kph howling wind can ever throw out of its course. Even the ten-year old mango tree in our Paranaque home was uprooted and landed on our neighbor's roof of all places. Yeah, a casualty charged against us, huhuhu. But to top it all off, the 3-day total darkness! It was so stone-age backward. I'm glad I kept myself sane and didn't start killing myself in the process. I've got to give credit to all Filipinos for pulling through the rough times as always, as ever. I hope everybody is safe!

On to a lighter note...me and my food trip buddies went wild on a binging spree despite work. Since I've yet to get past my disappointment over Sorabol, I've managed to sway our small crew to favor Korean food instead of fusion (if Cafe Ago-go serves such). We braved Meralco Avenue and headed toward Yedang. It was authentic and filling korean dining for us, and definitely way over the league of my first korean foray at Sorabol. The Bibimbop (P250) was so tasty just as it was satisfying for 2 people. And the bulgogi (P300 -P400) was really a feast of meat for us that it barely fit on our table grill. Not to mention, the greens consisting of lettuce and spinach, were abundant, complementing the exciting miscellany of side dishes that go with the bulgogi. Sadly, no pictures of the food this time as we didn't expect to be food tripping on a hectic work week. We promised to go back, though, can't wait.

We also tried the now famous JT's Manukan (of course the initials stand for Joel Torre, the actor) at Granada corner Valencia Streets in Ortigas Avenue, with Mr. JT himself seeing that his customers eat well. I may be too tired to even notice how special JT's inasal is, as I munch on my pecho with a dash of chicken oil, but my foodtrip buddie, Ercel, swore that it was the best chicken she's tasted so far...compared to Chicken Bacolod's, anyways. No picture again, as we were too busy with our spoons and forks (and bare hands!) to even use our phone camera. Just this for now, back to work :(

Happy W-Day Erwin and Tin!

2006-10-06T19:28:00.000+08:00

This is one of the nicest, most adorable, ideal weddings I've attended. I fell in love with the motiff, the church, the ambiance...and the looong buffet table, haha!

First off, I can't believe we can actually change clothes at the Holiday Inn (former Galleria Suites) without so much fuss about reserving a room or ordering from the bar or anything, hehehe, nice. But still, we arrived late at the St. James The Great Parish Church in Ayala Alabang even if Pencil drove wildly like he's rushing us to the hospital. Too bad we missed Erwin's march. After a solemn ceremony and the not to be missed photo sessions, we went to the reception at the Palms Country Club and got entertained by the couple's emcee. Officemates say she's DJ Crystal from one of the local FM stations, erm...I really can't recognize her...Anyhoo, The couple looked
perfect together that we can't help but adore them and smile all through out the program.

I am beginning to love weddings!

Sorabol

2006-09-10T19:44:00.001+08:00

I know very little of Korea and seen very little of Korean novellas to be interested in Korean food. But after watching "Attic Cat" on DVD, I was suddenly intrigued by Bulgogi and Bibimbop. It certainly sounded way more sophisticated than kimchi and instant noodles, which I used to have at a Korean convenience store during my Trends stint in Globe Tower.

And so, after Gabby lost interest in arcade rides and games at Worlds of Fun in Mega Mall, and after almost having dinner at McDonald's (due to Gabby's prodding), I convinced Leo to try a Korean resto called Sorabol at the lower ground of Mega B. Sorabol (named after the capital of the Shilla Dynasty in 57 B.C.), established its first outlet in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1979, and then some more in Southern California before it reached Manila.

Naturally, we ordered what already sounds familiar to me - Bulgogi and Bibimbop. I was never a fan of anything pickled, so I let Leo feast on Kimchi while I contented myself with the bean sprout appetizer, which they served free of charge. When our orders arrive, they didn't make much impression on me.

Bulgogi is thin slices of seasoned beef usually cooked on charcoal grill and served with lettuce, spinach or other leafy vegetables. We ordered a variation of Bulgogi that includes squid, pork, and chicken meat apart from the usual beef, which we were told is good for 3-4 persons (P250+). However, there were scarcely meat on the hot plate when it arrived. To boot, the meat were all pre-cooked, hence, there was no table grilling for us (we should have asked first!). We were also waiting for the greens with which to wrap the meat before eating, but not a lonely leaf ever came. I'm not sure if the greens weren't included in the whole shebang or the waiter just plainly forgot about it.

Dolsot Bibimbop (P180+) is rice with mixed vegetable, beef and egg. It wasn't much of a let down since the waiter was honest about the serving being good for only two persons. Although I actually expected a little more veggies and beef.

Yes, Gabby had a great time with the chopsticks, but all in all, Sorabol is just another one of those forgettable fastfood, or at least in my experience. There was a little scrimping on ingredients here and there, and it was just too obvious to go unnoticed. Even the bottomless iced tea tastes bland.

Lust

2006-09-06T17:55:00.000+08:00

Once in a while, its fun to gorge on sweets than keep a desperate watch on losing the inches. Well, it may sound as an act of defense to cover up a shameless gluttony, but I don't really give my two cents in it. In other words, I am guilty of greedily wolfing down an innocent lot of chocolates. Bwahaha!

This is what I get from reading food blogs. Lori's blog, most specially. Her entry on chocolates fed sublimimnal messages to my brain that I had to visit Rustan's supermarket to satisfy my rabid craving.

My current favorite is M-azing Peanut Butter bar - a yummy milk chocolate infused with M&M's peanut butter minis. Unlike Reese's, the peanut butter minis aren't overwhelming. The fusion is heavenly, just perfect. Only, although adorable, I don't dig the extremely cute M&M mascot figures embossed on the chocolate. Maybe it's there to make you feel guilty for biting the daylights out of them...one advice though, don't fall for it! :p

Books galore

2006-09-02T18:56:00.000+08:00

This is my first time to check out the Manila International Book Fair (now on its 27th year) at World Trade Center in Roxas Boulevard. Safe to say that the last exhibit day is as calm as it can get. There were still a lot of book aficionados who attended, but I can only imagine how the place must be cramped on the first four days of the exhibit.

I bought a couple of intriguing books to add to my backlog, along with some back ish of Preview and Real Living magazines, which comes at 3 for 100. I also got a few activity stuff for my pseudo-daughter, Gabby; a Dan Brown lit as present for my father on his birthday, and a nice environment-friendly bag to carry them all.

All because of Prada

2006-08-31T14:37:00.000+08:00

"Cheers to the job that pays the rent." So was the toast Andy and her friends made in Devil Wears Prada. The moment I heard it, I couldn't fight the urge to raise my coke and click it to Eden's and Ercel's, my movie buddies. It turned out my copycat toast was the highlight of our movie moment...well, second only to the lamb Gyros from Cafe Meditterian that we devoured before the movie even started.

Truth is, as much as I feel that I am blessed, I can somehow relate to the movie...err..maybe just that single line. The movie came across as blah only sprinkled with Hollywood glam here and there to raise it to the level of "watchable." Unappealing as it was, that single line stood out to me the most and got me to thinking that I should somehow make a pseudo-assessment of my so called life.

My job pays the rent, along with other things necessary, and sometimes, some things that aren't as necessary...but I'm not really sure if this is where I should be. For one, I could swear my brain is relapsing here. On the contrary, I don't hate my job. In fact I adore it. Who wouldn't love a job that lets you come in anytime you want? Or at least, most of the time. I guess the loose, lenient rules and the long period of idleness after a toxic project is put to bed, is seriously getting to me. While most people would kill for a job setting like we have, I think I need a break from my catatonic state. I probably need a bit of challenge. I need to be competitive...at least once in a while. To boot, I thinkI am losing my communication skill as well. It feels like I'm not in my element anymore.

Buuut after saying all that, I think I'd have to antagonize myself since I perfectly know that I am far from being a TW guru and I may be a little too off in saying I need challenge. Dang, life is indeed a complex bitch. I used to joke that my employment loyalty has an expiration date. I'd hate to see the joke materialize but when I get tired of something, I do lose focus and interest, and all things essential to making a solid career. It's probably not such a pretty good image to take on, but I think I am still searching for my own niche, for my special place in the sun and all that bullcrap (pun intended).

I am somewhat like C, we both claim that we aren't ambitious. I don't really give much thought about climbing the corporate ladder. The weather down here is just fine. But of course, it shouldn't hurt to roll my sleeves and play the game. But the million dollar question is, do I really want this game in the first place? Sure it pays the rent and gets me through the day all day of my yuppie life, but how do i know if my childhood dream of being a Bayanihan dancer is my eternal happiness all along? Argh, midlife crisis, why do you have to come too soon?

Picture picture

2006-08-24T13:55:00.000+08:00

The first camera I've ever seriously handled was a Pentax SLR film cam way back in college. I chose it myself for the school paper's use with no apparent professional photography reason apart from the fact that it fits the paper's budget of 15-20k. What I loved about it is that you can dismantle the flash and the lens for easy carrying and storing, plus, you can do amazing effects by just adjusting (or changing) the lens.

That's all about everything I know of college photography. As long as the subject stays in the middle, the clicks are stable, and the shots come out clear, there's no fretting to be had. But even with my short attention span, I love photography...or at least I appreciate nice photos.

As a late birthday gift to myself, which goes without saying that it falls under the category of DEBT, (Nick, thanks to the nth power!!!). I got a digital camera (although Myk puts it as "just one of those nice-to-have things"). Quite pricey for my taste, but I love it, so no regrets from this girl ;). My new Nikon Coolpix 5400 is quite old (oxymoron bring it on!) as it is a 2003 release, but I got it way cheaper than the Canon Powershot A620 that I had hoped to buy (thanks to David's connections). I specifically love the flip-out LCD similar to Powershot, although a tad too small. The black finish gives it an SLR look and feel (feeling!). I love the auto and scenes features for easy point and shoot moods. And I love the fact that Nikon is good at macro shots. You can actually come as close as 1cm to your subject and see the details come out perfectly defined.

Here's a play at Nikon's macro mode.

Palm

Abaca

Rubber slipper

Pebbled counter

Comfort drink

2006-08-21T17:25:00.000+08:00

We called off our Avilon Zoo adventure since it is quite impossible to commune with the animals on a wet, rainy, day like today. With no Gabbie to accompany me, I thought I should finally catch up on my reading, instead. A Million Little Pieces still lays half-read along with all the other books I brought home from the Powerbooks warehouse sale several moons ago, and it is my bad that these books lay idle on most occasions (I half-blame them addictive TV-series DVDs).

To further evoke that I-feel-like-reading-today sensation, and to complement the unperturbed, relaxed, monsoon atmosphere, I thought of making myself a nice, thick, hot chocolate :). Mind you, by thick I mean serious melt-in-your-mouth thick. The first time I made a hot chocolate, I let the milk-tablea mixture simmer for a good 20-30 minutes by accident. This lovely, yummy, kitchen accident made Leo and our friend, Eva go gaga over my hot choco. I, on the other hand, always make sure that there's a glass (or tea cup) of milk available to wash down the chocolate. Normally, I use one sweetened chocolate tablea to one cup of fresh milk, but since I already have a half kilo of premium chocolate (tastes a tad sweet, much like your regular choco bar) sitting on my kitchen counter (bought from Deutche, a chocolate stall in Mega Mall), might as well embark on another kitchen adventure and skip the tablea just this instance.

I heated two cups of fresh milk (I used CowFresh) and made thin slices of chocolate from the big slab, about 150-200grams.

Then I slowly added the strips of chocolate to the milk, mixing it using a whisk. To give that extra-thick texture to the drink, I bring the heat up to medium and let the mixture simmer some more. When you get a faint tug in the consistency of the mixture, it is a sign that your hot chocolate is thick enough. You can always pour in more milk if you like it a little more soupy. Serve in a mug or tea cup, add some marshmallow bits, and enjoy with your favorite rainy day book :).

(If you want a silky, gooey texture, you can bring the mixture to simmer some more, and you'll have the perfect chocolate dip for your churros. One of these days, I might try making churros myself :p)

Greenpeace!

2006-08-16T18:26:00.000+08:00

I went to Robinsons Galleria to get myself lunch to go before i fetched Leo from the airport last Friday. Just fronting the mall entrance was the Greenpeace stall encouraging mallers to sign up and support the organization. Having visited the Greenpeace website a couple of times before, I thought of signing myself upand pledging my support. The catch is, by support, they mean monetary support (i think it was the main purposeof putting up a stall, in the first place). I thought of backing up right then and there, but I realized that this is a chance for me to really help the environment, and small contributions from random people will definitely go a long way in protecting Mother Earth. I debated with my thoughts a little and decided to go on with my pledge, anyway. Besides, what is a few hundred bucks debited quarterly from my credit card, right? Erm, it's actually quite a bit for a scrooge like me, but hey, this is Mother Earth we're talking about. After all, I can stop my pledge with a simple phone call to my credit card company should I decide to do so. Besides, it's also a nice way of giving back something to this planet we call home. It took care of me for 28 years, and I think it's just fair that I do something to take care of it somehow.

The famed Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, is in the Philippines, and a free invite to tour the ship is given to those who sign-up for support. Also, if you plan to go there for a look-see, you may just catch Angel Aquino as she holds a story-telling session for kids. Visit their website by clicking here for more information. You can pledge any amount that comes from the heart, which you can instruct to be debited from your credit card or bank account via monthly, quarterly or annually deductions :).

I am 28!

2006-08-14T20:05:00.000+08:00

Another candle, another year, none the wiser :p. I just turned 28, yes, 28 (there's some kind of eerie feeling to it when one says 28...it's like wisdom should be dawning on me or something to that effect). Anyhoo, the years may continue adding up to my age, but i will still probably feel like I haven't grown mature one bit. Erm, I'm not even sure if that thought is good or not, but what the heck, I know myself. I am still 100% childish. Exceptions of course, include life and death decisions, and the like, where maturity comes effortlessly natural.

Officemates ask me how it feels to be 28 (i know this is one silly question), and i simply tell them that it feels exactly like what I felt the day before my birthday. It's not like I am expecting to feel a whole new level of undiscovered feeling I haven't felt before. After all, age ain't nothing but a number.

Oh yes, the birthday celebration...erm, there's no time for one this year and will probably have a late celebration next week at the Avilon Zoo with family :). Leo and I were busy peddling live crabs to unsuspecting churchgoers in the Sunday flea market. Leo brought 25 kilos of them from Capiz. I'm not so keen about selling, I am one bad crab tindera, I'd rather eat the whole bunch than sell them. Despite that, only 3 kilos remained and it was, after all, a fine day (erm, actually, if it counts, I tried the Karaoke Hub in SM Bicutan while waiting for the rain to stop on our way home, aliw hehehe).

On hindsight, I am more thankful than I have ever been. I have been blessed and able to bless back the people I love in my own little way. Honestly, I am not yet where I imagined myself to be a couple of years ago, but I am working on it :) and I have my family and my friends to thank for making the journey worth taking :) Love y'all!

And just for the heck of it, I made the following wishlist. Not that I am expecting anything from my family and friends, but creating one makes me want to *cough* save up. Here goes:

5. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
4. A bookcase to decently store my books
3. Sounds too red-neck but I want a fresh linoleum on my floor
2. Lotsa ornamental plants for my balcony
1. A digital camera that can convince myself to afford (either Canon Powershot A620 or Nikon Coolpix 5400)

Lie to me

2006-08-07T17:21:00.000+08:00

Metrobank Emerald sucks! What kind of customer service lets you wait on the queue line for a full one and a half freakin hours?!! If i didn't need to deposit money, I wouldn't have gone through that agonizing wait. I arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon and finished up at 4pm. They see the throngs of people and only two tellers are open to accomodate all of it. Man, man, so frustrating. And their sales pitch says "you're in good hands." Yeah, lie to me.

Full Moon

2006-08-05T19:26:00.000+08:00

He mesmerizes her, she captivates him. He amuses her, she charms him. They could have been satisfied suspended in that sweet limbo, but he was made weak. Was it the moon that lighted his flame? She can never tell. But that one stolen embrace stirred everything out of place. They both know they can never be, and the more they try to wish it away, the deeper it sows a feeling that feeds on them…until they catch a different light in each other’s eyes…until a smile kindles longing…until a simple touch burns.

Emancipation

2006-08-04T19:29:00.000+08:00

She breathed him and stopped living. Though he will never know, he was her master and she, the slave. Time and space tamed her desire to be owned by him. But the phantom in white, her omen, her salvation, kissed her enchanted world away. In the fullness of time, her feelings will ebb…but the full moon never forgets.

Sinong Sosi?

2006-08-01T19:18:00.000+08:00

I read a comment thread gone crazy on shopcrazy about Topshop's Preview fashion show collection. The girls were arguing which topshop location (and clients, needless to say) is more sosi like it's the most important topic in the world. Hello? We are living in a third world country!!! It's just so frustrating to know that well-off people (supposedly!) are kicking each other's asses off just to prove who is the most sosi of them all. People can really get so disgustingly self-absorbed.

Happy Birthday, Kurims!

2006-07-23T16:54:00.000+08:00

Happy Birthday, kurims! Cheers to a wonderful friendship! Sana mahanap mo na ang perfect someone mo...this year na, heee-hiii!

Summer in Habagat

2006-07-17T19:35:00.001+08:00

(no good pictures here, just a few that I've taken on my phone cam, the darn camera decided to die and my bro can't find a way to recover the pics :( so sad)

It's a gamble going to Boracay at the height of the Habagat season. But since the plane tickets have been paid for months ago (on sale), we simply had to take the trip like its still summer :p. Typhoon Florita had left, but it did a good job delaying our flight for two hours. Ergo, we had to move double-time getting out of Roxas City airport, spotting our pre-rented van service (only P2000, thanks to Leo's connections), and picking up Kat and her kids. The supposed four-hour travel time from Roxas City to Caticlan shrunk to three hours at a rollercoaster crazy speed. Despite that, we arrived at Caticlan a little before 7:00 PM, then side tripped to Tabon for a short banca ride that ferried us to a bigger banca in the middle of the sea. The Caticlan jetty port is out of service as water there becomes too shallow for the banca to dock this time of the year.

Probably one of the biggest perks of visiting Bora during the Habagat is that prices of most everything is at their super low. At P100 each, two tricycles brought us to La Isla Bonita in Boat Station 3 (note to self: I saw Mandala Spa along the way! Should have left a message to Donish for that let's-see-what-i-can-do winking blog response, hehehe). Our lovely Bora home is only P2500/night! It's a well-furnished two-storey air-conditioned apartment, with ref, cable tv, kitchen, dining area, sofa, a hammock in the upper veranda, and five double beds! A mini island-hopping tour costs only P1300, with an added service of having our talipapa-fresh seafood cooked by the boatman.

At 11am the following morning, we made our way off the beaten track. On the back side of Bora, the water was surprisingly calm, Bora clear, and busy with tourists. There were banana boats everywhere and a couple of jet skis and parasails, too, which were all missing at the white beach. After a hearty lunch at the boatman’s island home, we went to the Crystal Cove where further improvements are in the works. Leo and I accompanied the first time Bora tourists as they enjoy the caves. Unfortunately, we had to cut their fun short for fear of finding an empty coral bed come snorkeling time. True enough, except for the occasional schools of fish that pass by every time the kids throw our packed snack in the water, there was scarcely fish in the area. Sad.

We were later dropped at Tambisaan where the sand is as immaculate white minus the waves. It could have been perfect if not for the constant arrival of boats everywhere. Still, the kids were ecstatic. We went back to our cottage for a quick snack, and not a moment later, the kids began marching to the beach lead by my 6-year old nephew, Ton-ton. Ang kukulet! Hehehe. I guess it's one of the downside of having a beachfront cottage.

By tradition, Leo and I "pilgrimage" every time we visit Bora. This means walking all four kilometers of white sand to Willy's Rock, and back. It was already past 12 midnight when we reached Willy’s Rock, complete with the familiar leg aches. And since there isn't much happening on the beach, we just had to break the tradition for the first time, and ride a tricyle going back. Hehehe.

Before we leave Bora the following morning, Leo and I succeeded at luring my mom to visit Willy's Rock. As expected, both the kids and the not-so-kids dived in the water at the sight of the pristine beach. Ergo, we reached Caticlan a couple of hours late than what our van service driver instructed. This resulted in us eating lunch inside a moving speed-maniac van. It was a happy mess, hahaha.

We reached Mom's hometown four hours later. Casanayan is a fishing village and Mom's house is a stone's throw away from the sea. The kids schemed and had their Tito Dodong take them to the sea hoping for a swim. Too bad the tide is high and the water isn't safe for swimming because of jellyfish sightings. Come dinner time, Manong Neil, a good family friend, invited us to his place. It's impolite to turn down a good offer so we shared their dinner of sinigang na bangus, chorizo, daing, and fried fish.

Capiz night sky is always heavy with stars, always enchanting. However, sleeping the rural way isn't as pretty. It takes time to appreciate the simplicity of bamboo walls and the raised bamboo flooring of the bedroom. Plus in the witching hour, you're mind is better off thinking ways to avoid mosquito bite than getting bitten by the creatures of the night that Capiz is quite well known for. Needless to say, i didn't have a good sleep. We woke up to a drizzling morning, naturally missing the passenger van that rounds up our street. After breakfast, we rented a tricycle that brought us to Lutod-Lutod in Pres. Roxas where our friend, Che-che, prepared a sumptuous seafood feast for us fresh from their fish farm. Everybody pigged out on king crabs, yum!

After that perfect lunch, it was deja vu at the airport as our flight was again delayed for another hour. In a sense, it was good because it bought us time for pasalubong shopping. Oh, and despite the bumpy plane ride, it was fun especially since Mom won in the Bring Me contest, at long last! Hehehe.

Day 1 - Welcome, lah!

2006-07-07T23:39:00.000+08:00

It's a shame that this thing has long been overdue. Quite frankly, I've actually planned for this trip because I was counting on myself to save...and it goes without saying that I failed miserably on the "save" part. Despite that, I’ve had a dazzling seven days, especially with my travel mate, Eva, in tow.

Firstly, Tiger Airways is fun. Despite the scrutiny of Singapore's Immigration, I've nothing but praises for Changi Airport, er...we actually landed on Budget Terminal where we had to walk for what seemed like forever, but I love the goodie bag they give away so that makes me love Changi :). The goodie bag made me feel welcome. Firstly, it is chicly designed and it holds plenty of nice things like a cap, a pen, a cell phone chain, a luggage tag, and two stacks of sticky note. I love freebies :).

Urban trek with Ces - Dinner at Thai Express in City Link. Ice cream at the Esplanade Bridge. Missing Merlion. Walking tour of Boat Quay. Chismisan galore at Coffee Bean. FIFA World Cup on giant screen at Clarke Quay (David Beckam is one helluva pretty boy!). Made a blood compact with Ces, she promised to join us on our Sentosa tour.

Day 2 – Chill!

2006-07-07T22:12:00.000+08:00

Arrived at Costa Sands Resort way too early for check-in. Stuck on Siloso beach waiting for Ces…and missing her. Air-conditioned kampong hut is quaint. Checked out Palawan beach and Tanjong beach. Verdict? I love Boracay! Hehehe. Fell in love with the Magical Sentosa Show. Kachang dinner! It’s a cool, not to mention really tall desert made of crushed ice, showered with different food colorings and a hefty serving of assorted sweetened beans. Yum!

Day 3 – Sea creatures galore

2006-07-07T21:13:00.000+08:00

Trekking spree cancelled because of the rain. Lunch at the Koufu foodcourt in Palawan beach (the genial Chinese cook never pass up the chance to ask us “you have asawa?” or simply say “Filipina maganda.” Right. So I made it a point to always eat there, hahaha!). Hypnotized by the Underwater World, loved it, loved it, loved it! Saw pink dolphins. Sand arts at Siloso beach. Took pictures of the Sentosa’s Merlion from the Carlsberg SkyTower.

Day 4 – Bye Sentosa, Hello Hive!

2006-07-07T20:15:00.000+08:00

Woke up late. Lunch at Koufu. S$15 photo with Mickey the monkey, don’t remind me again, kabwiset. Defying gravity at the Luge and Skyride, woohoo!!! Getting high up on the cable car. Took the walking challenge of the millennium – the Merlion Walk, the Herb and Spice Garden, and the Orchid Garden. Had the most expensive Burger King ever. Loved our room at The Hive hostel in Lavender/Serangoon Sts. Spencer the housekeeper is cute. Stalked by two Indian males because they want to “introduce themselves” according to our wise cabbie driver.

Day 5 – Apple @ Orchard day

2006-07-07T19:21:00.000+08:00

Broken hearted over the sold out 50% off iPod Nano. 1GB shuffle is a fine sub. Orchard Road mall tour. The complimentary tourist massage is uber relaxing. Perfume shopping at Lucky Plaza. I love the Night Safari!

My best buy:
Elizabeth Arden’s Green Tea 100ml for $29

Day 6 – Alone in the city

2006-07-07T18:21:00.000+08:00

Last night in SG didn’t go as planned. Pasalubong shopping at Mustafa. Failed Maxwell dinner, re-route to Asian Cuisine. Revisited Suntec City Mall , City Link Mall, the Esplanade, and the newly-scrubbed Merlion. Ces and Hazel are missing, ergo, failed to chug Singapore Sling. Retraced our way back to Boat Quay before bidding the city good night...erm, good morning, more like.

Day 7 – Manila here we come!

2006-07-07T17:22:00.000+08:00

I rarely surprise myself but day 7 is different. I’ve only been away for seven days, and now I genuinely miss home, even more excited for the trip back. Maybe I just miss Leo or the “fresh” air, or the unobtrusive, even grubby charm of Manila. Our flight was at 7:45am, and since we haven’t had the time to sleep from last night’s wandering, we checked out from The Hive at 4am and went straight to Changi’s Budget Terminal, which I must say is way too classy to be called budget (point of comparison being Philippine airports). The cab driver charged us another 50% of the total cabbie fare since we flagged it between 12midnight-6am. Surprisingly, it did not bother me this time as I fish for bills in my wallet. I discovered I still have $120++ dollars! It means I survived the whole week with only P10,000 (S$290) allowance and still saved almost P4000 of it. I am so proud of myself (ugh, good luck with the credit card bill, though).

We collected our tourist refund from our iPod purchases. If only I was mindful enough to go through my receipts, I could have collected another $10 from other purchases. Dang. Anyways, I got another nice treat before going home. Hans Café at the check-in hall serves kaya toast!!! For $3.50 I had kaya toasts, two poached eggs and a real coffee that spelled power breakfast. Kaya is a sweet local jam made from eggs, sugar and coconut milk. It is served with butter between slices of toasted bread, along with soft poached eggs and dark (or light) soy sauce. Yummy!

With our stomachs full, we made our way to the check-in queue line, got inside the terminal and waited for the boarding time. In one of my emotera episodes, I realized it’s a good decision to have made this trip. I enjoyed every minute of it. Singapore is clean, modern, and highly-organized. Plus, the people are cute as they are fashion forward. Love looking at them. I won’t mind coming back in the future, hopefully with my Mom, or Leo, or Eva, or whoever wants to be my travel mate. In the meantime, Eva's eyes grow hot for Thailand, whoah!

Shutdown!

2006-07-01T02:13:00.000+08:00

After months of hectic and chaotic, not to mention, humdrum existence, it's that time of the year again :-)...this is exactly what I love about my company, the first installment of the paid yearly shutdown! This means a full week of rest and relaxation. Oohlala!

Haha, smartass! :-)

2006-06-22T19:01:00.000+08:00

"Before you criticize people, walk a mile in their shoes. This way, when you criticize them, you are a mile away from them and have their shoes."

-Frieda Norris

OU will have to wait...

2006-06-19T18:53:00.000+08:00

I've been remiss and I let the opportunity pass, now I have to wait for the next sem. Until then, I'd have to content myself with self-study, which I am bad at. Great.

Powerbooks therapy

2006-06-18T18:10:00.000+08:00

The hectic Saturday morning did not dampen my spirit. I needed stress therapy so I went to the Powerbooks warehouse sale with Leo, hehe. Intriguingly, there were a lot less people than I expected. Thus, book hunting bacame really therapeutic.

Leo can't help but ask, though, why people hoard books. They were literally pushing carts and carts and it seems unfathomably funny. I don't know about them, but this girl still has a life. Anyhoo, needless to say, my grit was duly rewarded. I went home with C.S. Lewis, Dan Brown, Sophie Kinsella, Ann Brashares, Nicola Krauss/Emma McLaughlin, and Margaret Mitchel (talk about classic!). I got six library-worthy books for a knockout price of P630-ish. Oh yeah!

Fab Finds:
1. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe - P199
2. Digital Fortress - P99
3. Can you Keep a Secret? - P99
4. Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants - P79
5. Citizen Girl - P79
6. Gone with the Wind (60th Anniversary Edition) - P79

Deja vu

2006-06-16T21:42:00.000+08:00

It's a freaking Friday night and Im still in the office slaving away...again. Another rush project that gets me all jittery. Leo's been waiting at the lobby battling boredom. Stomach's grumbling for lack of nourishment for the last ten hours. Need to recharge because i need to hurdle another saturday morning in the office. My precious saturday morning. Neo, is this another glitch in the matrix? Hahahay buhay......gotta get back to work.

Powerbooks Warehouse Sale

2006-06-15T13:26:00.000+08:00

For all the bookworms, Powerbooks is having a warehouse sale on June 16-18, from 10am to 7pm @ #25 Brixton Street, Capitol Subdivision, Pasig City.

Bahay Kubo with a twist

2006-06-14T17:53:00.000+08:00

Gabbie's rendition. The girl is hilarioius :))

Bayanihan is alive

2006-06-13T19:20:00.000+08:00

On my way to work this morning, i noticed a small traffic build up in Shaw Blvd, near EDSA. It turned out that a jeepney conked down and was in dire need of a good old push to kick it to start. With the driver's bidding, bystanders nearby jumped over the fenced gutter to help. At first i thought it was another one of those hold up scenes you see frequently. Nice to know it wasn't. Even a student in his white school shirt came to aid. It made me smile of course. I stil believe in bayanihan :).

Tourist Exclusive

2006-06-09T20:06:00.000+08:00

Saya naman maging turista sa SG!!! If you're a tourist you get to buy iPod Nano @ 50% off during the ongoing Great Singapore Sale. Hanep!

Fab find @ Chocolate Warehouse Sale

2006-06-04T16:46:00.000+08:00

Usually, I have to convince myself that an item worth more than P500 is indeed as fabulous as it appears. I am a certified scrooge, you see. Plus I'm not especially a big fan of expensive things. All of my jeans are less than a thousand bucks. The first time i ever owned a real branded denim was in college, a REPLAY bought from HK by our neighbor. I had to painfully save my allowance to pay for it in four installments. Hahaha.

One of my fab finds for the month: GRAB jeans @ P2000 (P50% price-off) from the Chocolate warehouse sale in Pasig. If you read Cosmo you'll get acquainted with the wicked Aussie brand. The first fit blew me away! Never mind that the legs are obviously too long for somebody like me...I'm still finding a way how to upload the picture from my phone without a data cable...Ooops, 2005 Havaianas were also on sale @ 20-30% off, but too bad, small sizes go first.

Oxymoronic as can be...

2006-05-31T20:25:00.000+08:00

Presenting the waterless swimming pool of isla grande...

Now you see...

Now you don't!

Isla Grande, Bulok!

2006-05-30T12:04:00.000+08:00

When we're disappointed, we can't help but choose to see the ugly things that get into our nerves. We tend to magnify every little flaw and blow the minutest issue out of proportion until we exasperate ourselves. There is no reason to whine, really, because all there is to do is get out of that situation and free yourself of worries. But what if, that option was suddenly taken out of the equation, and all that's left is the hovering reality that you can't do anything about it anymore?

Freaking out is a valid option. And that's just what we did the whole two days on that freaking island. We also tried hard to enjoy the very little activities we can do, given that miserable situation. Pinoy eh! But one thing's for sure, that was the last of Isla Grande for us. Bulok!

Before the deception...

The alcatraz

Almost paradise...kuno!

This is beating David Letterman's Top Ten.
Top Ten Nightmares that will haunt us until the next summer:

10. Visitors cant bring food and water into the resort. Apparently, a 320ml of bottled water in the resort's menu costs P27.00. Back on earth, it's only P10.00

9. The 500m brisk walk from our chalet to every important point in the resort. It's like the eco-challenge of the century!

8. Swimming inside a perimeter fence made of floating Shell and Caltex oil gallons.

7. Provisions for snorkeling when there obviously isn't a coral bed anywhere within a radius of 1 mile. The only colorful things in the water are candy and chip wrappers.

6. Each chalet has a shower room with huge glass windows facing the bedroom in case visitors get a bit kinky.

5. Jumping off busted walls before getting to the beach where the sand is scarce (let's not forget that this used to be a rest and recreation place for American military officers during World War 2).

4. Holding off hunger for almost 10 hours because the evil, deaf, bus driver hates stopovers!

3. The fresh orange juice for P66.00 (+10% VAT) is actually a freshly opened bottle of Tampico juice, that costs a freakin P7.75 in SM!!!

2. Five slices of loaf bread + 2 medium-sized pandesal to be shared by 2 people. And we ought to have a freaking continental breakfast! (In fairness, We were able to talk to the head waiter that an assortment of bread does not amount to a continental breakfast. And so we were given a real continental breakfast composed of 2 poached eggs, 2 sausages, a small serving of greens, and a small plate of fresh fruits).

Smile! Ilang minuto nalang balik Earth na tayo!

1. Frangy: Miss, wala bang complimentary drinks, or bottled water?
Receptionist: Sir, wala po eh, potable naman ang water sa faucet.
Us: What the freaking F$@#k!!!!!

Me: San po ang swimming pool dito?
Waiter: Yung malaking area sa labas. Kaya lang wala pa pong tubig.
Eden: Kelan po mapupuno yung pool?
Waiter: Mga one week po.
Me to group: Sinong gustong mag-Pansol?
Group: Ako! Ako! Ako!!!!!

Uwian na, wooooo!!!!

the inevitable circle

2006-05-25T19:56:00.000+08:00

She bares her soul. Another succumbs to weariness. The other admits defeat. I miss these talks... i miss the honesty. The laughs. The tears. The stories of triumphs, of defeat. The story of our lives. It doesn't matter if we dish out the garbage we hide from other people. Or the lucid fantasies we try so hard to suppress in our waking hours. It doesn't matter how trivial the issues are, or how life-changing they can be. We take comfort in the fact that we are not being judged. We are simply heard. Our words are taken as they are...raw and unpretentious. We are heard. And in the tacit silence of the moment, we knew we belong. It's amazing how far we've come.

I am blissful. And i miss both your presence more.

One less chronic coffeeholic in the house

2006-05-19T12:10:00.000+08:00

See you in two months! Oh, and don't forget to get an accent! Hehehe ;)

No rain

2006-05-17T15:20:00.000+08:00

I never liked the rain :( and the constant showers the whole weekend wasn't lovely at all. I missed home, naturally. So I failed to give my mothers day gift to my dearest mama. Gave her a call instead with Gabby first taking the call and greeting me "happy matirs day po tita." Awww....hehehe...and she's only two years old! Smart kiddo.

Too lazy to lift the pages of James Frey. Watched tv the whole day. Poor bean bags would have protested for abuse if they can only talk. Feasted on popcorn and all sorts of junk. Kept the 2-pounder dumb bells within my sight just in case the urge to break a sweat finally happens (it never did over the weekend). I watched the rain outside my window...while watching tv. I watched the street turn from yellow-orange to black. Thought of finally getting on my feet and popped in the belly dancing 101 disk...changed my mind a few minutes later, watched Lorenzo's Oil, instead, until its 2am. Dang, i sure am a professional bummer. Damn you, rain.

Re-living King Kong

2006-05-10T20:16:00.000+08:00

One of the early memories I have is watching movies with my father. Before my mom took over, where all I was able to watch for childhood entertainment were strings of Tito, Vic, and Joey films, I know by heart that I have watched ET, King Kong and Return to Oz on the big screen with my father.

I failed to catch King Kong last year and had the chance to watch it just last night. I knew Kong died in the 80's version (although what i vividly remember is Kong biting off a man's head and spitting his hat...) but the way Kong died in the recent version was shocking...even bothering for me. I don't know what was wrong, but I was actually secretly crying the whole time Kong was climbing the Empire State. As if i knew what's going to happen next. The scene where Kong touched Ann before he fell from the Empire State was just too much :(...Then of course it could be that I have this image of Kong in my head as a child, hence watching it again last night got me emotional. Buut...i checked the official filmography and it says that Kong was last shown in 1976...weird...it can't be because I wasn't born until two years later...It's another one of those things that boggles the mind.

Calloused

2006-05-09T19:26:00.000+08:00

I'm sorry I forsake you
I'm sorry that I left you
I'm sorry I did forget you
And I'm sorry that I made myself feel better
By making you feel never good enough
I know you'll shine much brighter than I ever could
Maybe that is why I was scared of you
and in everything I do I'm still thinking of you
And I know you were scared of me
but everytime I tried to love you I just fell through
--Nelly Furtado

I don't know if I want to salvage anything, if at all. I want to wash myself clean...stay numb for a while, deadened. I am broken but I'd wallow in emptiness to see how far it can cripple me still -- the atonement for all the wrongs I've done. I'd like to believe I made you. But I don't have any right. For I myself am unwhole...broken. I like watching you drift away like you do...only to swim your way back to me. You always do. It is now your fault. There will never be a better version of me. This is what I am...I am sorry.

Iron Chef Shaui

2006-05-08T14:23:00.000+08:00

Fire said my fetuccine ala pobre was a hit. Krix played iron chef judge as he named my creation the best pasta in the party. Wasn't there to witness the "judging" since i fetched Gabby for our celebrated Gabby-Tita day out. On my way home, I dropped by Barbie's place again just to say hello to the girls. Too bad they already left "laughing all the way." Not shocking at all, i bet the foodies were spiked as always, either rhum-ed or wine-d, or maybe even tequila-ed. No doubt that Barbie's and Fire's signature are all over them.

I actually played iron chef, too. Hence, my fetuccine ala pobre. I first prepared this dish sometime before Christmas for my buddy Eva. She loved it too, for some reason. For the brave and the curious, here's what you need to prepare the pasta:

1/2 kilo of fetuccine, cooked until al dente and set aside
4-5 medium cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 cup of fresh ripe tomatoes sliced into slim wedges, seeded
3 large bulbs of sweet onion (the white ones), sliced into slim wedges
1 large can of button mushroom ("champignon" in french)
1 cup of fresh sweet peas
1/4 cup olive oil (I used extra virgin)
1/2 cup soy sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Dried basil for aroma and extra taste (I used McCormick)

Heat olive oil in a pan. Brown the garlic and toss in the rest of the ingredients starting with the onions and then the tomatoes, the mushroom, and the sweet peas. Sweet peas are best crisp so try not to overcook. That's my mantra now, hehehe. Add the soy sauce and bring to simmer. When done, pour the cooked ingredients over the pasta. Gently fold it with the pasta to make sure the pasta is evenly coated. Add salt and pepper to taste and season with dried basil. Voila! Enjoy with your favorite bread.

Gabby's Weekend

2006-05-03T19:02:00.000+08:00

I could have bummed around for the long weekend, but not this time. Borrowed Gabby for two days in a row, we went back to Loreland Resort for another bout of swimming. First because I know lil Gabby was not satisfied when we had our night swimming there. The cold was unbearable. Second, Antipolo is a stone's throw away compared to Laguna and Batangas. I had to sacrifice the sea and sand for a child-friendly swimming pool. This time I made sure Gabby enjoyed the water, and she did! We stayed all day in the water, only getting out when Gabby starts shivering. By 5pm, Leo thought we had enough. I even protested a bit because, obvously, Gabby hadn't..okay and maybe Tita, too. Leo was adamant,though, so we had no choice but prep to leave. It was a nice day with both Gabby and Leo. My only downer is the loong freaking line to the shower room.

Taking it one day at a time

2006-04-27T14:06:00.000+08:00

Yes, I am still frenzied and frantic, but there are two reasons that'll keep me going through the coming days. First, since we have been working our butts off so hard, K decided to surprise us with a summer outing next month. Finally, sun, sea, and sand!

Next, Elliott rocks! He just takes my breath away everytime he sings. Last night's performance was "superb" as Simon said.

Working hard for the money

2006-04-20T11:49:00.000+08:00

If there’s one thing to describe the past weeks, it’s toxic, with a capital T! There was never a day that passed that I never felt harassed. I never get to drink enough water and have never even brushed my teeth after lunch lately :(. To top it all, I worked on Maundy Thursday until 1am on Good Friday! The weeks ahead are looking up to me like mad dogs waiting to devour every happy thought inside my head. I need sunshine, sigh. And oh, I couldn’t be even gloomier than ever since Bucky was voted out. I hope Elliott stays longer. I fondly love these guys.

Doggie pic shamelessly stolen in the vastness of the web. Credits to whoever owns this.

Happy Birthday, Doths!

2006-04-03T17:49:00.000+08:00

Many more blessings to you, sis! Miss yah!

This is MY cube!

2006-03-28T11:51:00.000+08:00

A nameplate for my cube! How cool is that?! Just before lunch, lovely silvery nameplates arrived and the manong came to each cube mounting them one by one. So nice and so vain, hehehe.

C'est la vie, eh

2006-03-27T19:05:00.000+08:00

Human nature is very interesting. Frustrating sometimes, because a person can only take as much of somebody's depressing personal outlook as his patience can absorb.

Payong kaibigan: Stop whining about things that you did not get. Learn that everything always happens for a reason.

Yey to new office!

2006-03-14T23:44:00.000+08:00

The invite says come in business formal. Haven’t heard the phrase since my Globe stint. I rarely fret these days so a day before the event, I calmly rummaged through the old wardrobe and found a black and white striped skirt that will do. I did bought a new pair of red sandals because black shoes are a bore, and they won’t match the skirt. None of my old blazers fit anymore and the nearby Ukay-Ukay saved me so much effort, not to mention, big bucks. I got an almost brand new Bossini coat for a bargain basement price of tadaah, P150.00! And I got good compliments for that, oh joy.

Back to my story. Filipino time was immortalized by none other than the priest blessing the office. Kinda felt a little embarrassed to have all the foreign bosses wait. Of course, I was overacting. I was too hungry to even feel anything. Good thing the priest studied his piece and impressed the guests with his sermon. It was amazing how he connects secure payment transactions to people going to church, wahehehe! That made half my night.

Got P25 worth of coins that were tossed, I followed the priest everywhere while he blessed every nook and cranny, and in between, sneaked a few moments to my cube in the hope of finishing a SELF-IMPOSED deadline, which was voluntarily moved by my boss. Life is good.

I still don’t think that pica-pica made the event classier. If anything, it made us look like a bunch of nicely-dressed hungry people. The band was entertaining. The bar was…well, okay. I was hoping for a glass of tequila but they only have tequila rose, which tasted slightly better than Bailey’s. R was smashing! What a cool dude our boss was, banging his head like a rock star. And yeah, the hair added to the flair. K was the best, he danced with all the girls in the room and he’s not even drunk yet, hehehe. Our team is really lucky to have these guys as bosses.

Bowling Disaster

2006-03-10T22:34:00.000+08:00

It’s one of my biggest regrets. I have all the time in the world to play it, and had a college friend who was part of the Philippine Bowling Team as a willing coach, but I did not give a damn. R wanted a little bonding time before he leaves next week, which was good. Bad thing was his idea of bonding was bowling; and for someone who hasn’t even touched a bowling ball all my life, it was way too much. But it’s not like I have an option.

Buffet at Dad’s didn’t calm my nerves. I didn’t even get to eat as much as I want to. The stuffed elephant I got was cute, though. I can actually talk all day about the stuffed elephant just to divert my bowling disaster experience. But I won’t do that because it seems that ending this blog is more fitting. So there, you got the picture.

Best what?

2006-03-08T23:29:00.000+08:00

Not the usual petiks day. The big bosses are all here, need to put the best foot forward. Whatever that means!

Loving the change

2006-03-06T19:28:00.000+08:00

We’ve moved! Yep, it’s farewell to other teams at the 17th floor because our department just relocated 15 floors up. We have the whole 32nd floor to ourselves and to top it all, we have a great view of Ortigas centre from up here. Needless to say, I love my new 1.5 x 1.5 cell! I’ve a UPS, a telephone and nobody can see what’s on my screen, except when somebody decides to go into the library, which anybody hardly does, haha! Beat that! Im not all out with how the rest of the office looks. Zen-like Convergys and PeopleSupport isn’t really my style. Anyhoo, I love the change.

Help Rebuild Lives, Help Rebuild Leyte

2006-03-02T16:45:00.000+08:00

We all know what happened in St. Bernard in Southern Leyte almost two weeks ago. We all know that husbands, wives, and children were buried underneath the piles of mud and boulders due to a series of deadly mudslides. Very few of the residents escaped the disaster, even fewer were rescued. To this day, hundreds remained missing and feared dead. The search and rescue phase, as you may have already known, officially ended last Friday. But this does not mean that our compassion should also end there.

I appeal to everybody to make small sacrifices so we can contribute, in our own little way, to the rebuilding of Leyte and of the lives of the people devastated by the tragedy. It is never too late to send help because there is still a lot to be done, and Leyte needs all the help it can get from us. Our personal donations will go a long way in protecting the lives of the survivors and in restoring their dignity.

You may send your donations (cash/non-cash) to:

*Philippine National Red Cross at telephone numbers +63 920 9527268, +63 917 8068513, +63 2 5270864 (telephone and fax), and +63 2 5270000 (trunkline) or
*The nearest SM mall through SM Foundation’s Operation Tulong Express, or
*Contact your local parish if they have an ongoing relief mission (the Edsa Shrine is one of the many churches accepting donations for Leyte).

To Resist or Not To Resist

2006-02-26T17:02:00.000+08:00

The Philippine Navy seems to be confused whether they want to support Ka Roger or Gloria Arroyo. Either way, this is one helluva episode where they say history unfolds. Not in a good way, though, not in a good way. Something tells me, martial law is just around the bend.

Pasalubong Galore

2006-02-25T23:07:00.000+08:00

Went to Eva’s place to fetch her pasalubong for me. I got a charming watch from her trip to SG and Leo got danggit and dried pusit fresh from her trip to Iloilo, and Eva keeps on taking snapshots of Gabby. Thank, kurims!

Only in the Philippines

2006-02-24T14:05:00.000+08:00

Early in the morning there are speculations that Gloria Arroyo plans to put the country under a state of emergency because of the brewing unrest influenced by the opposition forces and disguised by the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the people power revolution. Then there’s a buzz that some critical personalities in the armed forces will join the mass rallies which will then signal the start of coup d’etat. Then the President went on air to announce that the country is under the state of emergency. It was like Marcos immortalized. I thought it was the beginning of the end of democracy. Just as we thought the economy recovering from the previous blows, here we are once again making awful things that only drag the peso back to the nether regions of the market. We are like a nation of masochists. Sometimes I feel like we never really wanted peace and quiet in this country at all. It’s like we live to fight one another.

It is sweet to celebrate the people power revolution that redeemed us all from the corrupt martial law of Marcos, but I do not think that we need another people power revolution in this day and age. It just doesn’t feel right anymore because like the taxes we pay, its meaning has long been corrupted. People’s movement has been used and abused by entities that need power just as badly as they want to take power away from the current administration. And of course, there’s no denying that Arroyo overreacted because she desperately held on to power and clung to it with all her might, sending the message that she won’t step down from her throne. She knew she had it coming, hence, the pseudo-martial law came in handy to save her palace.

How ugly can our political scene get? I think we’ll find out sooner than later. This country is becoming a mess and we can start blaming one another now.

Reset until eternity

2006-02-23T16:04:00.000+08:00

The justice system in this country is so sluggish and long drawn out. Hearing is reset to May 18. Nice. Three more months from there and the case will celebrate its second annoying anniversary.

Happy nth B-day!

2006-02-21T18:03:00.000+08:00

It’s R’s nth birthday. He treated us out for burger and fries at Hotshots. As usual the boys were rowdy and male jokes abound. It will definitely be just nice if the next tech writer’s a girl so I can have somebody to go kikay with :D…but from the looks of it, the next tech writer’s another he. I guess I’ll just have to enjoy being the princess :p.

Mudslide

2006-02-20T22:16:00.000+08:00

photo courtesy of Sun.Star Network

The horror of the Leyte mudslide is sinking in. Visit CNN and you can’t help but be emotional. I hope and pray that there are still survivors underneath the mud. Sometimes Mother Nature can be cruel. But what we did to her to earn her wrath doesn’t matter anymore, at least in this time of crisis. There are still about a thousand people missing and the people of Guinsaugon need our help in any form. The US, China, Thailand, Taiwan, Malaysia, Spain, Singapore, New Zealand, and South Korea have already expressed their support, so have Filipinos across the globe. We, too, can do our part in sending our love and support to the victims of this tragedy by giving blankets, food, tents, clothes, medicines or cash to the local government of Leyte, or sending them to various foundations accepting relief for the victims. Please help.

Thoughts

2006-02-16T12:55:00.000+08:00

Thoughts about telling the truth:

- People lie to save their butts, to make themselves look better to other people, and to put other people down
- People believe other people’s lies because it is more convenient to listen to lies than go out and look for the truth, the lies were expertly woven that they cover up the truth nicely, or they just don’t care what the truth is.
- If a person has gravely lied to somebody once, expect that s/he will lie a second time. An exception is that when lying is second nature to that person that it becomes part of his/her everyday life.
- If a person lies to his/her friend, then that person is nobody’s friend and he/she isn’t a friend to him/herself.
- Honesty is the best policy.
- People have different versions of the truth. They can pick the most convenient for them so that people easily believe in it.
- Bending the truth is never a healthy hobby.
- What comes around goes around, Karma is absolute.

Thoughts about being absurdly oversensitive:

- If you play untactful jokes on other people all the time, chances are you will fret about people’s smallest comment even if it indirectly involves you.
- Think with your brains not with your heart…or mouth.
- Do not put yourself in a situation that says “you’re not part of this”
- If you don’t know anything, it is safer to ask than assume.

Thoughts about friendship:

- Birds of the same feather flock together.
- If you can’t beat them, it’s a bad idea to join them.
- If you don’t treat somebody as your friend, then don’t use them just so you’ll have company.
- Friends never do shameful things to each other.
- Friendship is never an exclusive thing; it should be shared to everybody who wants to celebrate it.

Happy V-day

2006-02-14T23:52:00.000+08:00

While the whole world was having a date, I was having a romantic relationship with deadlines. By 8pm, Leo fetched me and handed me a single long-stemmed, red rose. I must say it did the trick. It’s just more romantic than the huge bouquets that are so embarrassing to carry. Plus he went shopping with me for some flats. I didn’t want chocolates this time, so after having bluntly asked for his Valentine gift budget the night before, we went to megamall to look for colorful flats and picked up two pairs – a green suede ensemble and a blue and yellow beaded pair. Nice ü.

Deafening silence

2006-02-12T23:13:00.000+08:00

It’s been quite empty here for sometime. I blame office work. It’s crazy in my four corners. One time I am slacking for weeks on end and another time I’m drowning in responsibilities and deadlines. The erratic schedule is making me a little under the weather. For several weeks now, I’ve been having fever on and off. I chill at night and be all okay in the morning. Then the vicious cycle repeats. Ergo, the stale pages of my space. Here goes a shot at making my self-discussion more regular.

Happy Birthday, Mama!

2006-01-25T15:07:00.000+08:00

At 51 my mom is probably the hardest working mom ever. I just hope she took care of her health well. It would be so nice if she can hug all her nieces with both hands, but she can’t– the effect of stroke some five years ago . But she’s cool with it now and she deals with it good. My fondest memory of my mother was her being touted by family members as stage momma during my pre-teen years. Back then, she would accompany me each day to Bayanihan where I practice the whole day, everyday. She made sure I was fed and comfy and would not stop telling me I was a better dancer than so and so. Ah, mothers. You just gotta love ‘em. I just hope I would be able to afford my planned birthday gift for her next year. I love you mama.

Team Building

2006-01-23T17:13:00.000+08:00

Pictures, buffet table, game room, swimming pool, room mates, games, gym, trekking, bonding, fresh fluffy linens, room with a spectacular view of the great Antipolo landscape, and watching Manny Pacquiao win the re-match on a huge tv! T’was a fine weekend, alright!

Diary of a Lost Yuppie

2006-01-18T14:12:00.000+08:00

Writer’s Note: This piece was initially intended as a contribution for the October (?) ish of Enterworks’ newsletter. I was inspired by Donish because of that first staff meeting. Unfortunately, the newsletter didn’t push through but my blog is a perfect substitute ü.

I have never been a quitter but after a short but grueling stint with my previous employer, I felt I deserved a break more than anything else. I was drained literally and figuratively. Thinking back, I realized it was very silly of me, even stupid… bordering on mentally retard to be even entertaining the thought.

“You need a break? Who are you the president of the Philippines?” My mother yelled to my face as if I was two blocks away from her. Okay, so much for the touching mother-daughter talk I was looking forward to, I muttered inwardly. Deep inside, I knew she was right. Thinking of having a break from work is only for the fortunate yuppies who are showered with daddy’s old money, not me. I will simply starve to death and it won’t be such a sight to behold.

The next day, after having realized the frightening repercussions of being a twenty-something bum, I came up to my mother in all humility. “Okay mom, you were right…I’ll look for work again”, I finally resigned. It dawned on me that I can’t stay jobless and unwaged for a long time. I can’t let myself be just a hapless dot in the statistical charts of unemployment in the country. Plus, it’s better to bow down to the most powerful matriarch than risk having bleeding eardrums if I dared say another wrong word.

Two months later (talk about eagerly finding a job!) and almost hysterical about my vanishing financial resources, an opportunity landed right on my lap. A big international forwarding/logistics company scheduled me for an interview. I remember having submitted my resume on the Internet for their documentation assistant vacancy eons ago. It was really a thrill. The HR Manager thought I was too young and overqualified to be an archive clerk. She was probably impressed by my zealous answer as to why I deserved the job more than anybody else. Thanks to the powerful motivation of living and scrimping on a low-almost-nil-budget lifestyle.

The HR Manager offered the position of product coordinator. A supervisory level she said but with paid overtime work. Shut up! Is there really such a thing? I thought to myself. Whatever, it came from the HR Manager! With a firm handshake, I took the job (in fact, I would kill for it, if anybody tried taking it from me).

“Was I really that good? Didn’t I screw up and was a little rough on the edges?” asked Id. “Damn right, you’re good as ever, excellent without a doubt!” butted Superego, toned matter-of-factly. My head suddenly ached. The events were unfolding very fast and I felt like I wanted to hit the pause button so I can breathe. A lungful of carbon monoxide-tinted air would do me good compared to the overwhelming feeling of my brain swimming in the vastness of outer space. Unfortunately, there was no pause button. Wild guess was that there is no other button but play and probably fast-forward.

“The interview went well, congratulations”, I heard somebody commented while I buried my face underneath my pillow. I knew it was the sanest of my three so-called friends. It was always Ego who gave comments that are not so alarming. If I hadn’t listened to my Psychology professor in college, I would have jumped out of bed and into the streets screaming of ghosts in my bedroom. I need not say anything but I uttered a hesitant “I thought so” out of courtesy…to myself. Was I that shallow speaking to myself again? As far as I can remember, every significant event that happened in my life was a significant event for my three “friends” to re-emerge and make themselves felt. Only this time, it was my mother who may have roused them from deep slumber.

“Sharon, get off your bed it’s 5:30 in the morning it’s your first day in your new work!” My mom, in her morning voice hollered. I stirred up and sat on my bed. Feeling wise all of a sudden, I deduced that forcing yourself to sleep is like having a fake sleep, well, come to think of it, just a little more bearable than having your mother forcibly wake you up. As expected, it gave me a terrible headache that seemed to be splitting my head. I mightily pushed the thought that some negative force might actually have its way and triumph. Oh no, not today, I convinced myself.

In my new office, the manager expertly managed to introduce me to every single person in the building. It was entertaining, and took almost half a day. There were people who smiled genuinely; very eager to befriend me so they can eventually add me to their Friendsters. Then there were those who gave side-glances as if to say “take a hint you newbie, like I care!” And then there were those who greeted a simple hi and hello and disappear in an instant. Oh what a dynamic troupe! I thought to myself sensing a little twinge of uncertainty.

At the end of the day, having hurdled my first day, I was full of information I wasn’t sure I want to put to use. “You do not want this job. Sure it pays quite well but this isn’t you”, Id declared. Oh my, she has a point. This isn’t my lot. The uneasiness began to resurface. But I tried hard to learn everything from container sizes to memorizing the formula for computing cubic meters! I’m sure with little adjustments I can pull this off, I mused. Suddenly, as if the conflict isn’t bad enough, “Yes you can pull this thing off with flying colors. You’re an achiever…need I say that you badly need a job because you are running broke?” Superego blurted.

My head felt heavy as I took the public transport going home. I wanted to deny it but it was really rough forcing myself to like and develop instant affinity to my new job, plus, my would-be immediate supervisor had a terrible case of superiority complex. She likes to think I was hired to be her humble servant. She was like a character lifted from Stephen King’s Four Past Midnight novella. A librarian with long, red nails. I’m actually worried if she can ever type on her laptop without developing ingrown. I immediately tucked the thought away. I knew I can handle a horror novel character but I was a little irresolute on having a romantic relationship with container vans, forklifts and cargo ships. Sleep, Sharon! I ordered to my subconscious. Minutes later, I was dozing off like a baby.

I woke up very early the following day with unbelievably clear mind and more incredibly, a clear hearing since my mother didn’t have to force me to get off the bed. I was showering when a thought came to me; the trio was not complete last night when I was battling with my thoughts. It was only Id and Superego. Ego didn’t bother to give her side. Hmmm… that was a little strange. There were always three of them who feed and pound confusing thoughts to my brain.

I was as calm as the ocean on a summer day going to my second day of work. I got off the cab and smiled at the driver even if he refused to give me my change. I greeted the security guard with a perky “hello, Manong!” and went straight up to the office of the HR Manager with no qualms as to what I was going to do. “Good morning Ms. Garcia…I was wondering if it’s okay if I ask for a few minutes of your time…I need to tell you something”, I trailed off, pausing after every sentence, anticipating flying desk objects about me.

“Oh, please don’t tell me you are quitting”, the HR Manager said, wrinkling her forehead apprehensively. She pulled out a long manila envelope from the enormous steel cabinet, placed it on her desk and pushed it towards me. “There, I actually made time yesterday to compile your 201 file…please take a seat. Tell me Ms. Funcion, what seems to be the matter? You looked all thrilled to me just yesterday.” Her face seemed to soften as she continued with her counselor-ish inquiry. After a couple of minutes that seemed like hours, and a little tear that almost made its way out, we shook hands, and I was heading out the door again, calmer than the first time I came in. Fortunately the HR Manager was kind enough to understand the psychology of the dilemma of shifting from one extremely different profession to another, or very plainly, how awful it feels to be in a sticky situation where one is lost. I began to develop a new level of respect for her, needless to say.

That was easy, I told myself, even congratulated myself for the newfound courage in me. I would have hugged myself if I could and if people would not think of me as a cracked nut. Jobless again, I head home and told The Matriarch of my decision.

“Why am I not surprised? I think it’s very you. I am not sure though were you got that attitude, certainly not from my end”, my mother told me in a stern but loving tone. “By the way, here’s a message from some company…didn’t understand what the caller was saying, but just the same, I pray to anything holy that you’ll be back to your senses soon”. My mother, always half of everything nice and annoying. Smilingly, I took the note and dialed away. The following day, I was on my way to Enterworks.

The usual recruitment process took place, another high time for me to deal with my charms…or lack thereof. Fresh from my previous blunder, I learned to bare myself showing both my strengths and weaknesses and very careful with everything I said. There were qualms at first but I decided to give it a shot.

Now I figured my mother must have prayed hard to the Absolute because I am now on my second month and still counting, and having quite an experience altogether. With renewed enthusiasm, I think I am back to my old self again. Meanwhile, my three friends decided to keep quiet…at least for a while.

...

2006-01-15T19:23:00.000+08:00

So they say what goes around comes around, much like Karma and the law of causality. I just wish the friendship was never trashed and traded with the “illusion of grandeur.” Quo Vadis?

Welcome Back!

2006-01-13T20:20:00.000+08:00

Dinner with Ana, Belle, Yvet (with Xavier), Perpie and HB! Except for HB, it’s been ages since I last saw these girls. If not for Ana coming home from the US, I wouldn’t have seen them at all, so thanks girl. I hope the plans of an out-of-town trip pursued. It was pain seeing you all laboring over where to go and where to stay. ‘Til next time!

First Time to Paintball

2006-01-07T23:19:00.000+08:00

Throughout the night, everybody waited for their occasional trips to the john, except for Leah. Thanks for drinking iced tea dear. We still need more sleep but we had to check out at 2 in the afternoon. I adopted the girls and let them stay in my place. Breakfast was officially served at 4pm and we still feel beaten to pulp. Muscles sore and heads burning, we still went to CCP for our paintball session.

At P200 each plus 20 free pellets, it was okay. Dan and Leo were black team while myself, Leah and Joyee belonged to green team. After being hit on the arm on our first round, I decided paintball isn’t my game. The darn bullet hurts! After that, I began to fear the game like it was real. Then of course, I was not a useful team mate anymore because all I did was hide and fire occasional bullets just so they’ll know I’m still alive. It really wasn’t a good idea to play it at night. Nobody has great pair of eyes nowadays! And I wish they would really do the gear a good washing. It would also help if the gun wasn’t that heavy and the mask not too prone to moist. Hahaha, too many complains from this girl. It means, I’m an “amateur” and will always be from the looks of it.

Night Out with Joyee

2006-01-07T18:45:00.000+08:00

It’s the first time for the good little girls to get bad and wild, at least to our own biased, crooked standards. As usual we chose to stay at Malate Pensionne since the gimmick places are scattered around it and are all just a stone’s throw away.

I caught up with the girls in Star City, of all places. They went to shop at the tiangge stalls. My legs were already throbbing in pain for having to walk all throughout the day, nonstop, so Leo and I just waited for them outside. Had I realized earlier that we went there just to fetch them, I would have taken a nap in our room, instead, and sneak a few minutes of sleep. So that didn’t happen, too. After fetching the girls, we then went back to our hotel room, to chat! A bit of drama this time, so Joyee just insisted that we get the party started.

First stop, Acoustic Bar, as usual. It was really just a stop since we weren’t able to catch Cookie Chua. A cramped room full of chain smokers without Ms. Cookie isn’t inviting at all. So we had to break the long-standing habit of “Acoustic Bar first before anything else” and try our luck in other bars, instead.

Next stop -- Suburbia. Band was great. Cute guys singing R&B. I loved it still even if one of singers keeps having seizures on stage. He was so hyper that Joyee was actually getting her groove on. Plus the drinks were wicked. A long island in a very tall glass and the good old tequila knocked me down. I happily embraced the feeling of swimming in space again. On our way to Nakpil to look for another bar, we bumped into my sister Tirso with his angels. Not in SG but in Malate! How cool is that?! I missed him sooo much that we stood there on the street for almost 30-minutes just exchanging stories. Ahh, that made half my night but me and my angels still had to shake the tipsiness off.

On we went to another bar beside Indio. Something called Blue chuva whatever. Too drunk to remember but not that drunk to party! It was non-stop dancing…and drinking. Two bottles of beer and a glass of Smirnoff. Yes, glass and it tasted like water. The blasted bartender slipped water into our vodka. Pinoy nga naman. Good thing we were enjoying the music. Well, it was danceable until it ticked 5am and the DJ became incoherent with a mouthful of malicious remarks. It was a signal that it was time to go. Five in the morning and we still didn’t feel like calling it a day. On our way to Malate Pensionne, we heard Bedrock still bursting with music. So up we went and ordered for a drink. Another bottle of San Mig for me and half a bottle of Smirnoff because it was such a waste to see it untouched. Apparently Barbs had enough. Not 30 minutes later, the band packed up and we were all too tired to complain. Bless the muses because our room was just across the street. We slept while the outside world was spinning…(oh yes, after we side-tripped to 7-11 first for toiletries) hoping to regain the energy we lost. Tomorrow’s the much awaited paintball session ü

Not like childhood Christmas

2005-12-25T22:12:00.000+08:00

It feels like I have outgrown Christmas. No more excitement, no more genuine happiness. I so need Peter Pan right now to take me to Neverland.

Holiday get-togethers

2005-12-23T22:30:00.000+08:00

OCG friends met at Dads. For the first time in almost a year, Boss Richie finally joined! The buffet table was evil. The bottomless iced tea was equally sinister. Good thing i didn't eat lunch, but still, it was like stuffing yourself sick til u want to vomit which was....fun! haha. Swapped snowmans with Fred because i want the red one :p

Mental note: need to find a way to upload pics because the new phone is missing a data cable. Think of friends on the other side of the wall who have laptops with IR, think of them all the time!ü

Office Xmas party

2005-12-16T23:52:00.000+08:00

It’s a hat party this time. I particularly liked the huge Mexican hat worn by a developer. I so want to wear a cowboy hat but I can’t seem to find one. I wonder where Chin got hers from…In the end, I settled for an old fisherman’s hat, too much for creativity.

We arrived late at Linden Suites because I had to accompany an officemate to her client. We immediately went to the buffet table, and surprisingly, after 3 hours of being late, the food seemed almost untouched. These people weren’t hungry??? That’s new. The food was fine. I wasn’t able to finish mine because I had to join the beer drinking contest and felt full after. I almost won if I hadn’t burped three times, hehehe.

Raffle prizes….as usual, I never won anything major. I was salivating over the DVD player that I thought I won (it would have been perfect with the television set I bought), it turned out that it was Yza, seated beside me, who took it home.

My monito gave me the gift I like – Harry Potter VCD series. Nice, had I known earlier that my monitor is one of the bosses, I could have gotten away with a DVD player. Chances…Anyways, I got a dry iron and nothing more. After two bottles of beer, I’m done with the party. It wasn’t grand but my team mates were hilarious and being around them is was chaos. Yet, to sum it all up, this party though great, paled in comparison with last year’s Ephil Xmas party. Hehehe. It was still my most memorable Xmas party of all time.

Not a good year for friendship

2005-12-12T15:05:00.000+08:00

Once there was a friend, he is all honest to you, pouring his disappointments about the fire-breathing dragons pestering his life. He felt helpless and he involves you in his daily grind, in finding a way out of the cursed village. And you did find a solution; he seemed pleased and would like to move to the next village. Promises were made, even curses. At fortnight, you never heard from the friend again. You thought he was just busy packing up so you go and tidied the house where he’ll move in the next day.

The following morning, Hedwig the owl brought a parchment from your friend asking for extension. The landlord being a seasoned businessman asked you what happened, warning you of profits and losses, and telling you why something like this isn’t good for the business. You do not understand what happened so you demand the friend an explanation. The friend seemed enchanted for he did not make any sense to you. He said he has so much going on. He had to shoo away the ginger bread man who comes at night to feast on his ginger garden. Then he had to make an ornate shirt for the king, for there was a village week-long street-party that the royal family will be attending. He has scheduled a search for Hansel and Gretel who were lost in the forest the other day. He promised Rapunzel to help her braid her hair, he had to meet with the seven dwarves for tea every Sunday, and the dragons still pester him, and the list goes on and on and on.

Finally you realized that he never wants to leave the cursed village after all. Exasperated, you asked him if he really intends to leave. The friend never answered the question, instead, he ran far, far away into the woods and never so much as say a word to you again, abandoning you and leaving you out groping in the dark dungeon where the landlord holds office, all the while asking you to explain what happened. Your friend goes off telling half truths to the villagers, making you appear like an imposing witch bitch. Of course, allies come to his rescue for he cannot wager a fight himself, all for the glory of friendship.

The following morning finds you cleaning the messy aftermath of groping in darkness, alone, by yourself. All this, while the friend continues to deal happily with his business, making himself comfortable with the village despite the regular irks he complains about each day, oblivious about how you managed to see the light of day. Aaahh…I bet the Grimms brothers would have loved to hear this bastardized version.

Moral of the story is, until a person learns to be honest to himself, until he learns to respect a promise or a guarantee, until he learns to trust himself and the goodness in other people, he is not a friend to himself and definitely not capable of keeping a friendship. Shorter translation would be, grow a spine and fend for your self.
**************************
C said it’s really not a good year for friendship. She is so damn right! But I’d still like to believe otherwise. Yet I can’t discount the fact that only in 2005 have I met people who act like my bratty little 2-year old niece, most of the time, that bratty niece fairs better than these twenty-something/thirty-something adults when it comes to good manners and right conduct. Frustrating.

Friendship, to me, does not need to be complicated. It neither should have any standards nor rules. It is a beautiful thing bound by mutual respect, trust, and honesty. Just these three of the most basic of human acts alone guarantee you a good, fun and lasting friendship – three very simple things that the whole world seems to lack nowadays. Failed friendships happen. I’ve had my share of them. But I take comfort in the fact that I am always the victim. It’s much easier that way; at least I know I remained a true friend until breakup.

7260

2005-12-11T15:13:00.000+08:00

After 7 months of waiting for my moto e398 replacement unit, I finally was able to talk the customer service agent into replacing it with a Nokia 7260. He was so accommodating that in two weeks, I finally have the phone. I added 1k which was soooo fine since they were initially asking me to dole out P3k for it. Out of sheer excitement, I bought some pastries from Dulcinea for the customer agent who updated me every single day of the status of my request. Kudos to Carlo de Vera for an exemplary customer service.

In hindsight, except for the ultra sleek design, I’m not happy with this phone. It’s too manual.

The power of four

2005-12-05T18:22:00.000+08:00

Just when we found the perfect place away from the Metro, people started to beg off and beg a rain check. In the end, it was Haha, Sonia, Leo, me and that big, deserted resort in Tanay. I really wished the guys were all there to share the agony of having to be seated inside the jeepney for hours! Sooo unfair! Apparently, a huge 10-wheeler truck carrying sacks and sacks of cement decided to conk out after it has happily spread itself across the stretch of the highway. Nightmare! We only humored ourselves just to survive each minute. I’m sure the passengers inside the jeepney found us too amusing that they didn’t bother with us laughing on top of our lungs. A manong even decided to join in the chitchat, hehehe.

There were three huge pools and only the four of us. It couldn’t get any colder on a starry December night, so we only stayed in the water for a few minutes and decided that it was better to chitchat in dry, warm clothes. No booze this time, primarily because Marlon, too, wasn’t present. Either way, we had soooo much fun!

God Talk

2005-12-04T22:03:00.000+08:00

During dinner, I told a friend that people get along very well until they talk about religion. A professor turned good friend expressed how she feels about what’s going on with another friend, in religion’s point of view. She said she felt the need to rescue her from some destructive force. I was saddened, more so, I was torn.

In the catholic school where we used to go in college, we were taught about everybody being a child of God. Up until now, I share Dr. Margie Holmes’ perception of God. That He (or She) is somebody who isn’t short-sided and unfair to let people (man, woman, homosexual) be thrown to hell for eternity just because they are what they are. Then there’s a movie I saw (I think it was Stigmata) that made me “doubt” religion being the vehicle with which to reach God. A verse lifted from the Gospel of Thomas was read in the movie, which was, so they say, deliberately omitted from the Bible because of its unequivocal message that fiercely clashes with what the Catholic Church has long established as the Christian way. It said,

“I am the light that is over all things... Split a piece of wood, I am there. Lift up the stone, and you will find me there.”

The message, to me, means that I can commune with God even without the church, even without religion telling me what to do, for God is everywhere and most of all He/She is within you and me. It is through faith and personal relationship with God that one will be able to find Him/Her. Therefore, I still hold that a person, as long as s/he remains productive in the community, s/he is good to other people, and s/he believes in one holy and powerful being that is far greater than us all, that person is every inch a child of God no matter how “odd” his/her preferences in life might be.

Thy will be done

2005-11-21T19:57:00.000+08:00

At the end of the day, it’s easier to blame myself for things that have gotten out of control. For two straight weeks, it hovered and loomed over like some dark cloud. I constantly castigated myself for not knowing well enough. I couldn’t even ask for help because I took hint from the very person I rely on that help can’t be offered this time around. I felt so alone. What made matters worse was the mix of subtle and overt message he conveyed that I should be able to stand on my own two feet. I wish I knew all the answers to every question in this world, let alone what she did that blew the whole thing out of proportion. But it’s easier still to blame myself and so I did. By the time I made the whole thing work, I was so exhausted and was feeling bad about myself. My conscience tells me it was a big enough problem when I found it and that if there’s one thing I should feel, it should be self-respect for finding a solution that saved it. God, I’m being too hard on myself, again.

This morning, while pondering about the hurdles of the past weeks, I thought I heard somebody whispered in my ear to let God worry about my problems…cast my burdens upon him. I could be thinking it subliminally, but I also believe in Divine Intervention, and this must be it. Then, as if loads of weight has been lifted off me, I felt light and calm. It’s now my mantra, and whatever happens, I know God is with me and all I can say is, God, Thy will be done, and I’d gladly accept.

Spilling beans

2005-11-10T19:41:00.000+08:00

I'm good at keepings secrets but now I have decided to openly join the bandwagon of weight watchers. Darn those Brooke Burk with a slimming machine and Daisy Fuentes doing Pilates infomercials.

It may not seem so but weight has always been my problem since high school. I was bulimic at age 14, that I self-diagnosed only in college, being a Psych major myself. I was never really big and was never overweight, only too obsessed about becoming thin, and never wanting to be called chubby. The episodes of binging and purging ceased for good but I was the classic example of “tabain.” My weight has always been yo-yoing. I had become as thin as I can get only to blow up to a few extra pounds outside the maximum ideal weight for a bundle my size. It’s tiring and it can also get quite embarrassing.

I haven’t had the courage to weigh myself lately. My BMI says I’m weighing normal but I can’t seem to wriggle myself back into old jeans and it’s frustrating. This morning was actually my first attempt to try diet pills. I’m pretty eager to know if xenical will work for me. On second thought, it better should because I don’t intend to spend several hundred bucks per week for nothing. I should be on the program for at least 6 months. Results are promised as early as week 2. I hope I can say goodbye to bulges soon, hopefully.

Diva Mode

2005-11-08T20:16:00.000+08:00

Call me witch, greedy, full of myself, I’ll take gladly. Just don’t force me to like her, to share anything with her. I will never like her. And I am sorry that I’m not making an effort pretending that I like her. I hate how she speaks, she is loud and uncouth. I hate how she eats. How loud should she chew her food? It’s repulsive. I hate how she ransacks my things and use them without uttering a word of permission. I hate how she acts and thinks highly of herself thinking she is “saved” because of her religion. Who is she fooling? For apart from religion, she is no different from everybody else, she’s even worse than most people I hate!

Wild thought

2005-11-07T23:15:00.000+08:00

I calculated my Body Mass Index and the BMI calculator says my weight is just normal for somebody my size, yet something tells me that I’ve gained a gazillion pounds. I don’t move as fast and I am mostly lazy to do anything. I probably need exercise but I do not have time..err..i do not feel like moving a finger, there. And so the million peso question looms. Should I take diet pills or should I not? I’m eyeing for a popular brand but I found out that it’s quite pricey even in comparison with my mom’s maintenance meds. Literature says they are safe. The pill just sits in the stomach, does its thing there and after that, it is released as waste and not absorbed by the system. Sounds easy. Leo says no, I say why not? I am tempted, wickedly tempted this time.

Unfair!

2005-11-03T20:14:00.000+08:00

Just as I am all geared up for that much-awaited 2nd installment of the long weekend, my phone broke! Just great. Went to Smart to surrender it for an old 3310 service unit. Argh! So unfair!

Ode to the faithful departed

2005-11-01T20:00:00.000+08:00

They say that when children die, they do not grow. Nice was only five then, our dear little angel. We didn’t think she’ll be taken from us a few days before her birthday. Still we celebrated it, we felt we had to or we would have died of loneliness. The celebration was just as gloomy as everybody had expected. Everybody had puffy eyes and it went without saying that we all missed Nice terribly. Mama even bought the cake that Nice begged her to buy for her birthday. It was painful seeing her quietly hide the pain…and Papa, too. But we all pulled strength from the fact that Nice will never have to suffer the pains of blood transfusion and the heinous rounds of chemotherapy. Yet, Nice was the bravest person I know. She had learned to be brave at a very young age, for instead of crying and fighting off the nurses, she submitted docilely to them, just screaming “Jesus, Jesus” when it really hurt just as what Mama had told her to do. She fought her disease and she fought it well that God would have been very proud of her. But we understood that it was best for Nice to be with God than to be with us and suffer the things her little body never ever deserved.

We visited Nice at Manila Memorial. It was almost six when we got there. The whole place was bustling with people and merchandise. It was more like Christmas in November. It helped that we didn’t bring a car. The rented tricycle was better at snaking through the now narrow streets, made narrower by heavy vehicle and foot traffic. Mac, Shery and KM arrived ahead of us. Already, they made themselves a comfortable place on the grass. At the sight of them, Gabby ran towards her Tito Mac and played with KM. It was nice to see the kids having fun. Just like what Nice did a few years back before leukemia got her. She would have been 17 by now, on the 11th of this month, to be exact. And then it hit me. For so many years now, I long for the care of a big brother. I want to be loved by a big brother just as I have loved Nice as her big sister.

I used to have a kuya until May of 2001. They said it was a failed robbery. The knife went through his rib and caught a good portion of his heart. At the force of the stab, he dropped to the ground and was dragged a few distances away in the effort to conceal his body in a grassy lot. Somebody phoned me at around 2:00 am informing me that Kuya was rushed to the hospital. Another call, and the voice hesitantly announced that we lost him. I must have screamed at the loss and shock that I awaken my father from the other room. I was especially attached to my kuya and breaking the news to my parents made it all more painful. Even then, I had to delay my grief because Mama had a heart stroke and she shouldn’t be hearing news as bad as the death of another family member. But with the needed support provided to her, mama was able to accept the news with minimal repercussions to her health. Still everybody did not cry openly for it was sure to badly affect her and worsen her condition. Kuya’s remains were buried in the province. He left us then with 2 boys, a two-year old and four-month old infant.

Time heals all wounds, they say, just as memories fade in the coming and passing of time. Ours were healed, I sense it. More so, the addition of new children in the family made an innocent repair to make the hurt forgotten. And without the hurt, fond memories of Nice and Kuya surge and dwell in the heart and the mind making them as alive as they can be. May these two people that I loved dearly rest in God’s arms forever.

Can’t get enough

2005-10-31T20:13:00.000+08:00

Not too late for the spirit of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Red Ribbon was promoting its new chocolate cake creation and with it, a small chocolate fountain. At first I thought they were giving free taste, it turned out that they charge P5.00 for 3-piece small marsh mallows dipped in chocolate. It was unreasonable of course for a scrooge like me, but then the chocolate was irresistible, so I gave in. After all, the chocolate was unbelievably YUMMY.

Lemme hear it again

2005-10-29T23:25:00.000+08:00

Five of the songs that i never tire of hearing. Thanks, kurims!

singingfool.com video codes

Make this your own

Yey for Julius!

2005-10-28T20:08:00.000+08:00

I excused myself and slithered my way out of the birthday party we are celebrating here in the office just to meet Julius, my big bro! The brother is now a few buildings away from me. We are practically neighbors, yey! Although it sure is a little weird to see the guy in long sleeves, tie and shiny black leather shoes. Hahaha! Two thumbs-up though, he is far from looking like your friendly Electrolux man. We grabbed a burger at McDo St. Francis, his treat! I was all ears to hear more of his stories but being the hectic guy that he is, we cut the chitchat short. He needs to make it to Laguna early. Oh well, catching up will have to wait until next week because he’ll be feeding us (Ms. Quel, Ate Norms, Ningsky and Moi) real dinner at Rairaiken. Yey!

Swimming in space

2005-10-26T22:45:00.000+08:00

Another wisdom tooth trying to burst open from my gum. When can a 27-year old adult stop growing teeth? I hate the feeling of not being able to laugh out loud and open my mouth big enough for a spoonful of food. My right cheek now feels heavier than the other. I feel miserable.

Make that miserable and slothful. Team practically is hibernating. Maybe I’m not really used to having long-ER periods of idleness. It’s welcoming at first, but not doing anything for days on end is a curse most of the time. After subscribing to a couple of online writers group, I forced myself to revisit Emily Bronte. Ayns lent me Wuthering Heights eons ago but it only collected dust in the darkest corner of my room. I’m not really sure if an online version will do any difference. But I have started, and chapter VIII isn’t at all bad. So I guess, I’ll finally find out the goings on between the Lintons and the Earnshaws, and Heathcliff and Lockwood.

Since everybody is entitled to their own opinion...

2005-10-24T19:42:00.000+08:00

In my search for more info about Sionil Jose’s work, I saw this comment from a thread somewhere. To whomever who wrote this, please pardon my unpredictable whim of plucking out an unsuspecting comment from the cyberspace and making a hapless subject of discussion out of it. I respect the point of view but I see another form of prejudice. The comment goes:

“I was thinking then kung sana "taga-UP" lang si Sionil Jose, his characters would have more depth, they would be more realistic, they would have more impact.”

I’ve quite a few friends from UP and I love them all, but upon reading this particular comment, what registered to me is arrogance, plain smugness. Not one of my UP friends had dared say anything to that effect to anybody who was educated at a different college or university. Maybe they have what we call sensitivity or better yet, urbanity. Surely, Sionil Jose has turned out excellent as he is, having been educated at University of Santo Tomas. UP, or any other institutions at that, does not make geniuses out of people, and one does not need to study in UP to know that. Since everybody is entitled to their own opinion, I’ll leave it at that and I’ve nothing wicked more to say.

Who is Salvador dela Raza?

2005-10-23T23:39:00.000+08:00

I love good books. I devour them (partly because of the fact that I still do not have a television set!). Yet just recently, this one good book consumed me, literally. I thank Mac, my brother, for being the closet-Marxist that he is, for each time that I feel the need to ransack his room for books, his cabinet never fails to surprise me. I read his copy of Tom Clancy’s Red Storm Rising — bored me on most parts but the Russian Maskirovka and the action in Keflavik and the mountains of Iceland made me want to understand the whole thing — and this magnificent book by F. Sionil Jose, Viajero (although Sionil isn’t pro Marx, I think).

To put it simply, Viajero is a story about a boy named Badong from the small barrio of Raza, who was orphaned during the Japanese occupation. He was taken to a secluded area in the mountains by an old man, Apo Tale, who took him as his own. His daughter, the caring Mayang stood as Badong’s mother. Yet, just as his young mind was starting to hope and forget the killings in the plains, a group of Japanese troops reached their mountaintop home and raped her Inay Mayang and killed her and Apo Tale. After his dangerous escape, he was found by an American army, Captain Wack, who later took him to the US, raising him like a real father will do his own son. Badong became “Buddy,” an American citizen who grew up to be a successful scholar and academic. His profession took him to places like Spain, Japan and Guam, among others countries, where he met people who always reminded him of Filipinas, his homeland, its history, and its people — men and women with skin sun-burned as his own. Despite the comforts of his lifestyle and of living in the US, Buddy always felt the burning need to search for himself, to search for home, to belong.

I’m not much of a story-teller and I can’t give justice to this book just by summarizing it. There are twists and turns in the book that every Filipino with a sense of nationalism can relate to. Salvador dela Raza’s soul-searching is nationalistic just as it is personal. It’s also quasi-historical that you can’t help but look at Philippine history and the personalities in it in a different perspective. If there’s anything this book is capable of doing, it is, at the least, to stir something in you and make you perceptive about the current state of our country, our freedom, our ethnicity.

I remember SSC days when TS used to join rallies. I recall telling the Eds that if the issues hit them and they feel that they should get involved, then they should be in the streets. Otherwise, they are better off inside the classroom listening to their profs (of course, it’s always different with the staff as they were ordered to be there if only to cover the story). I’m a self-confessed advocate of freedom of choice and I’ve taken it upon myself to let TS members decide whether issues affect them or not. I taught myself to rationalize that students have to have a valid reason why they should join the rallies and stink of sun and perspiration, instead of staying within the confines of the classroom just as their parents wished them to do… I used to think that except for the undying student concerns about TFI, campus journ and sexual harassment, other issues that most student feds echo were beyond my worries. But rationalization is mostly euphemism for ignorance. Maybe I wasn’t “enlightened” then. Or to put it plainly, maybe I just didn’t believe that they were prepared to sacrifice themselves fighting for their causes, making them be known and be heard. After all, to be called tibak is some sort of a laurel on the head in my time. Yet, had I read this book in college, I’m sure I would have thought of them differently, I probably would have allowed myself to be a convert. Viajero awakened something in me. It provoked me to think and search for answers why oligarchy came to be, why the Cojuangcos, Zobels and Ledesmas, among the few elitist families that benefited from the fruits of feudalism, have thousands of hectares of land while millions of Filipinos squat in their own country, bereft of a piece of land, bereft of dignity. These are questions that I’m sure we’ve asked ourselves once or twice in our occasional hours of reverie.

Is Salvador dela Raza then just a character in Sionil’s novel? Were his quandaries just imagined by his storyteller, was he all purely contrived? Or was he once walked and kissed the soil of Filipinas? Fiction or otherwise, I think Salvador dela Raza is you, me, and each and every Filipino who believes that we are far from being free. Funny but I associate all of this with The Matrix, you know, what we see isn’t what it seems. We may content ourselves with this superficial freedom but we will still remain to be the modern day Indios that we all are because we are not free from poverty, from colonial mentality, from class biases, and most of all, from the ills of centuries and centuries of dissent among us, Filipinos, making us what we are right now — miserably divided, brown against brown.

It’s been generations of decay since Filipinas was first colonized and there’s no denying that we have inherited and fostered the worst of colonial mentality and vices. The affluent Filipino-Spanish mestizo families today still have the poorest farmers tilling their haciendas. Rural farmers who were able to grow their own crops on rented land , who cannot afford to go the market themselves are betrayed by Filipino middlemen who buy their crops at unfairly low prices and sell them in the market ten times, twenty times the price they paid them. Remnants of racism exist among us, for why else would we use whitening soap if we feel comfortable wearing our own skin?

I’d like to hope that there’s still a way to redeem ourselves and atone for what we have all become. They say that we cannot forever keep on cutting wild grass. To permanently secure our view of the horizon, we must uproot the grass one by one, for it is from the roots that the blades are nourished. It sounds wise, and it’s true and I believe so. But I don’t think this means that we need to overthrow the powers that be nor call for another armed revolution to turn the wheels of parity and progress. I do not believe in armed revolution myself, for this country had had too much bloodshed. Imagine, the Philippines had unceasingly been drenched in its own people’s blood since Lapu-Lapu up to the present reign of Gloria Arroyo, yet it rarely changed anything, if at all. Their blood bathed our land but it did not give land to the landless and certainly, it did not buy back our freedom. Adding another ounce of it when our soils have long been encrusted in crimson would be a waste and it will be unnecessary to die in vain just like all the martyrs we know. They may have tried to change the course of our future but we only have to look around to know that, sadly, they failed and we too, are failing them. We could have continued on with what they started but we never did, and we thought that it’s best that we just call them heroes in the history books and commemorate them and their valor, and just cease from there and embrace the decay. It’s sad, even mortifying, that for a country that was once the seat of envied nationalism, we are divided to bits with no clear sense direction and worse, no clear sense of what we have all become — for brown as we all are, we have become our own version of the colonialist and imperialist of the past and present. Cliché as it may sound, what this country needs is unity and patriotism. I am not wise and I need no one to rub it in, but I just know that if we stop grabbing at each other’s brown neck, and focus on how we can all improve ourselves and our country, then maybe we can influence the future of our children and our children’s children who’ll inherit this land we call home. We have our revolutionary past to remind us of how Filipinas and our heroic people have suffered. That should be more than enough reminder to fire us to continue with the struggle for moral order and a just society. And as it has always been, change starts from within ourselves.

Missed my first Samhain

2005-10-22T19:33:00.000+08:00

I Missed Barbie’s Samhain dinner invite. She said it’s like thanksgiving but a bit “spookier.” Samhain is the beginning of the Wiccan new year, as she said. It would have been interesting to witness how they celebrate it. Will there be flying broomsticks and pointed black shoes, or that big cauldron boiling with animal innards? Hmmm…For sure there will be casting of spells. The last time they did it, I freaked out. We were rehearsing for their Wiccan wedding ceremony and we were supposed to read a binding spell while holding a colored cord. Fire and Barbie then scattered salt to where I was standing and uttered some sort of spell. Then their black cat, Oreo, began wandering about. If it wasn’t for my love for Barbie I would have sprinted for the door fast.

Barbie said Samhain went well, nothing too spooky for my taste. Plus the girls were all there — Yeng, Ayns and Lei, even our college biz ethics prof, Natty! Hayz…so while they were partying the night away, I contented myself by watching TV. My mom wants me to sleep in Paranaque just to make sure I’ll show up to man her Sunday flea market stall. Good thing Leo’s helping me with that.

TGIF

2005-10-21T23:52:00.000+08:00

All-hands for our group at the Discovery Suites! It started at 4pm and ended around 10pm, at least for good girls like me. I didn’t eat lunch and the gourmet repertoire was my license for filling up. I didn’t even bother which utensils to use. This isn’t the time to recall table etiquette as part of personality development 101 in college. Honestly, I don’t know why there are so many spoons and forks of varying sizes and how you must work your way from the outside to the innermost silverware until it’s time for dessert. Call me Jologs but I just grabbed a fork and tissue and it worked for me just fine. Lamb was particularly yummy! Eating with the boys is insane. I never stopped laughing. Halfway through the meal, two of them ordered something to satisfy their alcohol craving. A few minutes later, the rest decided to join the fun.

My team went to the adjacent room where smoking is allowed. Second-hand smoking is never fun so I joined the other team on the comfy sofa. The bartender suggested that I try cerveza negra. I ordered for a bottle, who wouldn’t want free booze? I later learned that it wasn't included in the cocktails menu and that it will be footed as an additional bill. Ah, wise bartender. I wonder if these hotel guys get a cut from their tactful, customer service-y hypnotic strategy. If they don’t yet, I think they should receive something. The call center industry needs people like that bartender. Anyhow, the beer was okay, just a little stronger than san mig light with a faint hint of sweetness. Also, the double shot of Absolut Mandarin vodka with sprite and cherry was unbelievably YUMMY! After the second glass, though, I realized I’ve had enough for the night. It’s too early for me to get wasted. But if I did, there’s always Gatorade from the nearest 7-11. It’s supposed to ward off hang-over. It’s one of the new things I recently learned. Thanks to alcoholics like…you know who you all are Ü

Intrigued over Julie & Julia

2005-10-20T17:51:00.000+08:00

7:28 in the evening waiting for 8pm so I can finally leave the office. Projects have seen the end of their deadlines and the very last of the minor proofreads were accomplished the other day. I just read the rules for using commas in technical papers, since I noticed that people here seem to use them rather generously, while I on the other hand, have used them sparingly in all my 27 years. I’d be a walking genius if I remembered all those rules. Thus, I only memorized a few that made sense to me:

:: use only when there are at least 3 enumerations in the sentence, and before the conjunction “and” if only to make your statement clearer
:: use to separate independent clauses (before a conjunction) in compound sentences
:: use if it compliments the sentence

Clicked CNN. Saw an article about the book “Julie & Julia, 365 days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen.” In essence, it’s a cookbook cum journal of a real-life housewife’s daily culinary struggles in the effort to cook the recipes in her little French cookbook and decided to blog about her kitchen triumphs and failures. Nice! What’s nicer is that before her instant celebrity status, she was trapped in a dead-end secretarial job. Her kitchen adventure blog attracted throngs of readers, which caught the attention — and the wooing — of several publishers. Blogging literally made her a celebrity and recently, the film rights for Julie & Julia have been sold! Okay, I’m starting to get jealous. Aspiring to be published? Read "Julie's Blog" ü

Rip-offs

2005-10-17T17:38:00.000+08:00

I remember bringing a copy of our college lit folio in the office where I used to do my practicum in HR. The HR Manager saw it and read some of the poems. He particularly liked one Tagalog poem so I asked him if he also does poetry. I find it nice that he did but I was puzzled when, during our break, he photocopied this Tagalog poem, crossing out and substituting the words he didn’t like. I was shocked when I found out that he was in the process of creating HIS poem! I didn’t own the poem but I felt insulted for the writer. It was unfair!

Just yesterday, I learned that no less than the music correspondent of PULP magazine accused the Pinoy band Orange and Lemons of ripping off the song Chandeliers by Care, an 80s British duo. This rip-off, she said, is evident in the now popular song “Pinoy Ako,” of ABS-CBN’s reality show Pinoy Big Brother. She said that people should hear both Chandeliers and Pinoy Ako to make their own conclusions. Apparently, the writer is a friend of the other half of the Care duo and she just wanted Orange and Lemons to apologize to them (Care). The music writer even keeps a thread of emails sent by OnL to the egroup where they both belong, admitting that they indeed sort of used Chandeliers for the music of Pinoy Ako. Yet, last Sunday edition of the Manila Bulletin, OnL stood their ground and defended that although their influences include 80s new wave, Pinoy Ako is an original composition note per note, adding that if there are any similarities, it can only be the intro and nothing more. This after having admitted that they were listening to Chandeliers in the process of rendering music to Pinoy Ako. Sheesh…I know, it looks to me as in-your-face copying only pretending to be discreet. It’s also interesting to note that when asked about the origin of their name, OnL admitted that they got it from XTC’s (another 80s band) album entitled tadaah! - Oranges and Lemons. Okay, you connect the dots.

It’s a pity that we continue to steal other people’s work – consciously or unconsciously. I’m not saying that Orange and Lemons really stole the melody of Chandeliers. I honestly am not quite familiar with their music. But just the same, it is frustrating. I hope we were seriously taught the value of quotation marks when we were still small…and the importance of giving credit to the source of our research or paper or music or poem. A simple “inspired by” would have made a whole lot of difference.

Proud Sistah

2005-10-16T22:49:00.000+08:00

Mac’s poem is going to be published! It will be included in a book called Truth and Consequence: An Anthology of Poems for the Removal of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo . The poem may not have the depth of Neruda or Rizal himself and the compilation may not be targeted to the usual audience but he’s published and more importantly, in a venue closest to his heart. Itaguyod ang hanay ng maralitang magsasaka at makabayang indie artists! Hehehe. Proud ang ate sayo! Ü

Note: Because I didn’t have time to publish this on time (read: bawal mag-update ng blog sa opis), the book is finally out. More about it at the launching.

Illustrator Art

2005-10-13T17:22:00.000+08:00

To make myself a productive afternoon, I decided to brush on Illustrator. David sent us a tutorial link on how to create the end of a USB cable – the plug bit and cord. The tutorial uses Photoshop so I wasn’t able to follow the directions dedicatedly. It was all building the image from scratch and utilizing a few effects like blending and bevel, among others. I wasn’t able to do much with the plastic body, but I fixed the layering, yey! Anyhow, I’m quite proud of the outcome. It may not look exactly as the original thing but who cares? I think I’m making progress ü

See tutorial here.

No to temptations

2005-10-12T16:58:00.000+08:00

Layzel dropped me an IM…asked if I’d like to go to Disney HK with her and Cherry end of October! Argh!!!! It’s so tempting…and it’s so hard to cry off but I had to. Otherwise, there won’t be seeing friends in Sing this December…and my apartment will remain as barren as its present state. I wish the muses are hearing me right now…

Of forced diets and freedoms

2005-10-11T17:06:00.000+08:00

I made cabbage soup last night for dinner and partnered with good old Skyflakes. I think I can put up with it for a couple of days more…anything to loose a few bulges…I think…I wish. On a lighter note, things are going pretty well for him. I hope he makes it. He needs to make it and I feel he will make it.

Wish ko lang…

2005-10-10T16:52:00.000+08:00

I am still waiting for that go signal to start the project. I feel fat and sluggish. It would really be nice if I can also telecommute but much nicer if we had a game room. Since FP, I haven’t been doing anything productive. I’m seriously considering taking an extra course…an associate course in IT…a teacher’s certificate in English or something…or a culinary course…I want to go to Amici for pizza- or ice cream-making course or TLRC for a small scale biz seminar. I wish I had the money to attend all these…wish, wish…