Para sa Mga Tatamaan

hahaha... i was going through a couple of my scrapbook last night and found one of these inserts in it.

it's a poem that we used from our college ENGARTS course. funny and romantic.

I apologize for it's cheesiness. :D

ALL BECAUSE YOU KISSED ME GOODNIGHT
Anonymous

i climbed the door and opened the stairs,
said my pajamas and put my prayers
then turned off the bed and crawled into the light
all because you kissed me goodnight.

next morning i woke and scrambled my shoes,
polished my eggs and toasted the news,
i couldn't tell my left from right
all because you kissed me goodnight.

that evening, at last, i felt normal again,
so i picked up my mother and called the phone,
i spoke to the puppy and threw dad a bone
even at midnight, the sun was still bright
all because you kissed me goodnight!

LLL xxx LLL xxx

Lesson from the Gunslinger

"Say your lesson."

"I do not aim with my hand; he who aims with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I aim with my eyes.

I do not shoot with my hand; he who shoots with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I shoot with my mind.

I do not kill with my hand; he who kills with his hand has forgotten the face of his father.

I kill with my heart."


So is the lesson I learned from Roland of Gilead from "The Dark Tower" series by Stephen King.

And the lesson looks applicable to most of my encounters in life.

Life is So Unfair

Why is it that those fast food giants only offer Happy Kiddie Meals, those overpriced meals that comes in a nice goodie bag along with a toy that's made in China? Why isn't there a variant for adults, i.e., a Happy Adult Meal?

If there's a Happy Adult Meal, it should come with an adult toy!

Working adults account for 62% of their customer base. There's a huge marketing potential on this.

Life is so unfair. For us adults. There are times when I wish I was a kid again.

Harharharharhar... all because of a Happy Meal.

.........

*groan*....

My whole body hurts all over when I woke up this morning. Stiff muscles at my neck, thighs, shoulders and arms. I think I overdid it last weekend.

Okay lang, enjoy naman e. It's been a while since I last did it.

Naka-apat nga lang ako e. Di na yata ako ganun ka-flexible nor is my endurace the same as before. I think my performance is dipping. And I didn't bother with protection that time. And the place was so hot. Di pa kami nag-u-umpisa tagaktak na pawis ko. After one round, smoke muna pang-relax. Then a few minutes later, banat uli!

I'm leaving it to your imagination to guess what I did last weekend.

Bwahahahahaha...

Dodging the Bullet

In 5 years of being exposed to corporate life, I discovered that having a bulletproof demeanor is a necessity.

If not, then you get shot at no matter how skillful you are at dodging the bullets. Sooner or later, one of those bullets will zero in on you.

Even if you had the Matrix-like skills to pull it off.

Because the people at your workplace carry their own fireams of choice: some go for shotgun remarks while others settle for the grab-and-point pistol tactic. But the one that every employee should be wary of are those sniper-type persons who just wait and wait and wait... and when you're caught unaware, BAM! You just got shot at the head.

This is just a reminder for myself to always be on guard. Corporate life is becoming more and more dangerous, I think.

Corporate life isn't for dummies.

HAFi

HAFi - (adj) a description of a feeling characterized by elation, stress-free living, fun and frequent guffaws; (acronym) stands for High Altitude Fishyfishy.




That's us under a blanket.

Originally planned for a 4 day weekend of Baguio-Banaue, we settled to a 2-night getaway to Baguio instead. And at the height of typhoon Huaning!

Craziest Moment: how to open a bottle of wine without a corkscrew.



Funniest Moment: the "...I can't feel my feet... please tell my parents I love them if I don't make it..." SMS we received from Chard because he locked himself out at the balcony, and all of us were out shopping.

Funniest Pic: me looking stupid for the camera



What's next for the HAFi group? Wellll... we're planning for a Mt. Pulag climb soon. That'll be the ultimate High-Altitude adventure that a group of fishy-fishies can do!

Ongapala, this is to formally endorse mad as a member of the fishy-fishy group, officially replacing doogs.

Haaay... sarap magbakasyon! Okay, back to my reality that we call "work".

GLENNSTER

It would be unfair if I didn't blog an exclusive post for you.

Happy birthday, dude!

One more year, and you're off the 'yuppies group'. Hehehe. You'll be re-assigned to the 'old timers' group'. You are no longer a Padawan, so to speak. Jedi, you now are. Did Tjan Gouw handed you your light saber already for keeps?

All of us age; the creases may come out, some white hairs may show, some body aches may now be persistent, your fashion sense gets left behind and you start pondering on getting your own house, planning your dream wedding, imagining your future family. But do not forget that even when we grow older, it is to everyone's advantage to feel young at heart and body.

- Weekend Wreck

So many things happened this last weekend that I don't know how to organize this blog post. Bahala na... labo-labo na lang ang pagsulat.

1. G.T.-TRIP at the REFINERY [FRI 1830 - 2130]

Putris... the refinery I work in experienced a total power failure on Friday because our gas turbines tripped. Me, Jackie and Jourdy are at the gym, 30 minutes into our respective work-outs, when it happened. Because Jackie's on duty and she just hitched a ride with me going to the gym, we had to drop whatever we're lifting and drive back to the refinery.

Total power failure nga... the refinery's all dark except for the flare.

Impact on me: my blending system eventually shut down. Putting it back online is a big pain... *groan* It'll be a stressful Monday for me.

Power was restored yesterday early morning but the refinery hasn't normalized yet.

2. INUMAN with Shift C [FRI 2230 - 0130]

A few hours later (around 930 pm Friday), power was restored momentarily when the refinery was able to tap into the NPC grid. Since the diagnostics for my system would take some time and practically worthless without the I.T. guys, I agreed to go have a one-or-two with Emerson at VIVO.

A few minutes after we arrived at VIVO some of the outgoing operators from Shift C chanced upon us. Later on, they invited us to join them at TOTEM. We talked about the shutdown, the Pinoy-wants-to-secure-future mentality vs job security vs job hunting, the new hires, the capability of present technologists, the CBA, dieting and health ailments.

Emer and myself received invites for their next shift outing. Yung 1-or-2 namin ni Emer, naging 5-or-6 bottles tuloy...

3. SBTM Maintenance [SAT, 0430 - ????]

Lost track of time on this one. I was intermittently called by Oil Movements for SBTM. The problem with this system is that it's like the human body: so many vital organs have to be monitored to ensure that the whole system is working well. I was playing the role of the doctor-on-call then, with minimal sleep.

Then the power tripped again at around 2 pm. Back to square one. Pucharaga!

4. that LEFT BEHIND feeling [SAT, 1730 H]

I received this SMS: "Pssst... are you going to xxxx surprise birthday party?"
My reply: "I'm sorry. I didn't receive an invite. Baka galit sa kin yung organizer?"
Reply to my reply: "Si yyyyyy? But I think she asked zzzzz to invite the refinery people..."
My reply: "Then I guess galit sa 'kin si zzzzzz. Oh well... out na naman ako."

The thing that made this mind-wrecking is that the celebrant is (or WAS? i'm not sure now) who I consider to be my most-'kasundo' male colleague here at the workplace. I gave the thought two minutes tops. My decision: bahala na, I won't act on it. Go with the flow. Win some, lose some.

Taking a cue from the wisdom of el jugador, I think I've been pushed out of their circle of trust.

5. MARKET MARKET [1915 H]

Braving the persistent rain, road hazards and potential traffic jams, I left Batangas around 530 pm to shop for three items from Market! Market!: (1) an iTrip for my iPod mini; (2) an Xbox shirt for the birthday celebrant and (3) more PS2 games for myself.

Results: (1) That electronics store who told me they had an iTrip was referring to an iGriffin. Hello??? There's a big difference between the two items. Sheeeeshh... excited pa naman akong magkaroon ng iTrip. (2) the XBox shirts were already sold out, so I had to settle for an MGS3 shirt instead as my gift. (3) Glorioskiii.... no copies yet of Doom3 for the PS2. Drat!

6. CAVITE DINNER [2030 H]

Dinner was at our house in Cavite; attendance among us siblings were required by my parents. Sheessh... drayber ako buong hapon ahh.

We had my dad's adobo, my mom's menudo, my Tito Pip's fried bangus, my Tita Letty's tahong and my kid brother's leche flan. Plus spagetti care of my brother. All of them home-cooked. Contribution ko was ice for the softdrinks hehehe.

7. GILLIGAN's ISLAND, [2330 H]

Left Cavite at 1030pm for a get-together gimik called by my HS batchmates at Gilligan's Island in G2.

There wuz 4 of us only. Me, Maloy, Ipe and Pao.

Pao delivered a 'press conference'.

In tears over beers (for them) and vodka (for myself; nakakalaki kasi ng tyan ang beer), Pao told us that Weng is getting married next Friday.

That caught me by surprise... Pao and Weng have been together for 11 years, went a bit blurry last February, and now all of a sudden that Weng is getting married next week. And not to Pao.

She's getting married to some officemate.

Honestly Weng, I hope that despite your decision and actions, you'll experience happiness and peace of mind. Pao may not be the most affluent guy you've met, but he's the most caring guy I've known. Plus he's my cousin.

By the way, my mom says it's still okay with her if you want to get her as your ninang. And yes, okay pa rin sa 'kin na gawin mo kong ninong for your baby soon. Let's not sever connections because of this unplanned event. We (me, my parents, our barkada) will still be there to support you if you need it.

Press conference and counselling session ended at 0430H the next day. My liquor count: 2 beers and 7 vodka shots.

8. SBTM na NAMAN! [SUN, 0745 H]

Drat... I got a call from the refinery Duty Officer General that SBTM is still having problems. "Hello!??! Naturally, it wouldn't work because the refinery had another power failure the day before, remember?"

Of course that's just the alcohol talking in my head. I muttered a "I'll look into it, sir."

After that, I snoozed for another two hours. Bwahahahaha... Masama nga lang gising ko kasi it was only after snoozing did I realize that the refinery is waiting for my call and arrival, so harassed ako. With a hangover.

My action: two hours on the phone with my panelman operator to get a grasp of the possible system problems. Then it's a 5-minute phone call to discuss with the Engineering guy what actions need to be done, which I'll check upon my arrival.

Arrived at Batangas at 1730 H. Engineer got some of it right, some of it wrong. Had to arrange for a re-work.

9. PS2 MILESTONE [MON, 0045H]

I finished my 50th game (finish as in got the ending) on the PS2 last night. And the honors go to Square Enix' Full Metal Alchemist 2. Nice game, but it was too short for me. It took me just 7 hours to finish the game.

Next game to finish: Haunting Grounds

wowww... haba ng post ko ngayon ah. mind-wrecking weekend talaga. i need a vacation. next week.

Injured

Yesterday afternoon I got my results for an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of my left knee.

Findings: I have a short tear at my knee's posterior ligament.

Cause: most likely from badminton. The doc says it's usually common for people who often do lunging and/or backing motions.

Action: I'll have to wear a knee/thigh compression thingies whenever I indulge in activities that involves a lot of kneeling, lunging or backing. so that's basically every sport that I play. [Pilyo si doc, sabi rin n'ya I'll have to consider my 'labing-labing' positions. 'Tadu yun ah....]

Buti na lang it's only minor daw, so surgery is not needed. And at least, it'll heal by itself in 3 months if I don't play or 6 months if I continue with my usual activities.

And I have to do this every morning when I wake up: as soon as I get off my bed, I have to stand on my left leg only for about 30 seconds. If I can't do that because of pain in my knee area, then I'll have to visit the doc again and most probably I'll require surgery daw.

Feeling ko tuloy ngayon ang galing ko na sa badminton because I have a sport injury from it hehehe...

Parinig

A certain lady (itago na lang natin siya sa pangalang 'Apple') whom I've been going out with recently sent me this message to my email this morning:

"Find a guy who calls you beautiful instead of hot, who calls you back when you hang up on him, who will stay awake just to watch you sleep. Wait for the guy who kisses your forehead, who wants to show you off to the world when you are in your sweats, who holds your hand in front of his friends, wait for the only one who is constantly reminding you of how much he cares about you and how lucky he is to have you. Wait for the guy who's willing to sacrifice for you. Wait for the one who turns to his friends and says, "...that's her." ".

Period.

Haaaay life talaga. Why is it that the women I like have to be complicated thinkers?

Rigor Mortis

I learned something new today.

Rigor mortis, that stiff feeling the dead people always get, is caused by the decrease of ATP molecules in the blood which is needed to relax muscle contractions.

Muscle contractions are triggered by calcium ions when it comes to contact with muscle fiber.

When people stop breathing (or die), there is little oxygen available to produce ATP, hence the ATP concentration drops. Likewise, with no blood circulation, there is continuous migration of calcium from the skeleton out to the blood and eventually to the muscles.

Because the calcium will contract the muscles and there's a shortage of ATP to relax them, dead bodies end up stiff.

Seems like I can become a CSI soon.