Five Hundred Twentyfive Thousand Six Hundred

Today is the last working day for the year. Since yesterday, I've been outlining my self-appraisal of my performance for 2006 which I'll be discussing with my supervisor early next year. It's essentially a whats-good-whats-not list of my assignments, projects, tasks and extracurricular activities for an oil giant. Ultimately, it becomes a basis for comparison of how I fared the previous years against the present year.

And this got me thinking. On a personal level, how did I perform? Am I in a better place than I was last year?

There's a song that goes, how do you measure a year in life?

in daylights, in sunsets
Some posts back, 2005 was a good year for me for career and health. I thought that nothing could top the ecstasy I had in 2005. But 2006 was eventful for my career, health, family and friends. Of course the year had its share of hardships and failures but the sheer number of achievements I've done and seen this year were truly gratifying.

in midnights, in cups of coffee
Coffee is my new therapy. Even if only for a short moment, being alone with a cup of good coffee relaxes me. And coffee bars have become one of my social venues: reunions with old friends, monthly Saturday-night sessions with my fishygroups, and plenty of 'almost-dates' (that is, as if we're "almost dating"). And yes, those coffee socials reach well-past midnight.

in inches, in miles
This year, I was traveling on vacation or on business all over the place. Malaysia in February, Bora in April, Laiya in May, Singapore in June, Australia in July, Davao in August, and successive trips to Malaysia and Singapore starting September. Saw a lot of places and did a few things for the first time (like drifting in the white water rapids -- damn, that almost killed me, and climbing Sydney Harbor bridge).

in laughter
Old friends stayed, new ones came. Some crazy gimmicks and antics were done. It's a good thing that the men in white coats haven't come yet to take me and my friends away.

in strife
The country needs a lot of help. In my personal capacity, I tried to do my part. I spent a whole day painting roofs for a GK Village. I donated almost all of my children's encyclopedias (which I earned in 5th grade by successively winning a TV quiz show on ch2) to various orphanages. I went treeplanting and beach cleaning. On a more ambitious project, I sponsored a Nairobian orphan under the Wold Vision program.

in the truth that he learned
This year was all about decisions -- how to decide, when to decide. Should I resign? Should I apply abroad? Should I stay and wait? Should I speak up? I learned that I should command my life, and not let the events command me. I learned that options can be seen as either opportunities or burdens. I learned that decisions make a person. The small ones build or break character, the big ones give life direction.

in times that he cried
I cried twice this year. One was due to a physical injury: I fractured my little finger while playing badminton. Never did I realize that such a small body part can cause me to cringe in pain. Hell, I almost fainted.

Oh yeah, and I saw my best friend cry. Even giants have a soft side.

in bridges he burned
Personally, I wouldn't want to burn bridges. But if that is what it takes for all of us to move on to new chapters in life, so be it.

in the way that he dies
The second time is for the death of the father of a cousin-slash-good friend. I cried for his loss, but I cried more for his situation.

There. That's a rough, disjointed lyric-by-lyric account of my year. It was a big year; it was a crazy year. Overall, it was a good year. If I do the whole time-series analysis: yes, I am in a better place. Yes, I did achieve my objectives. And most of all, I am happier. I've never felt more blessed, accomplished, connected, inspired, challenged, and most importantly, loved. Measure in love, indeed.

To my loves: Mom and Pops, my siblings, Quito, Maqui, MJ, Chard, Tin, Ube, Chie, RG, Lissa, Roms, Kaye, Julie, Jackie, Emer, Geland, Janice, Carmela, Cris. Chito. College friends. High school friends. Airsoft friends. Badminton friends. Bachelors group. And everyone else I cannot categorize, but nonetheless remember. God.

Thank you for rocking my five-hundred-twentyfive-thousand-six-hundred.

Why there is Christmas

Christmas, for me, is a good excuse to show appreciation and thanks to the people who have contributed to my personal well-being --- a healthy sanity level, physical well being, a reasonable E.Q., and managing matters of the heart. =D This is actually the basis of my annual Christmas shopping and gift-giving list for non-family members. I admit that when it comes to saying 'thanks' sincerely (even if the recipient perfectly does not expect it), I'm a perfect chicken.

Coming from where I am, I find this the best Christmas message I've received among my peers.

"Days coming and going and the lack of immediate intimacy don't have to change how we have been, how we are and how we will be for each other. Thanks for everything everybody.

Apir!"






Pao is my second cousin and incidentally was my classmate from kindergarten to fourth year high school. He's such a good boy that if my mom can have her way, she'd officially announce that she is his unofficial ninang.

This year, Pao survived a break-up (11 years of going steady), his father (uncle Tommy) had 2 degenerative stroke attacks and finally surrendered a month ago, he was unemployed for a time and still managed to find means to keep his core family (mom and sis and nephew) live decently. In his times of need, even without asking me to, I'd dip into my funds and readily aid him. His cause is worthy and sincere; in fact, it's both heroic and admirable.

Christmas is about giving thanks. And this is the most sincere one I've seen. =)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Blooper

Last night, Mac (one of our trainee-interns) invited me for drinks at Jake's/Bryan's place. So over holdem-style poker, I, Emer, Mac, Jake and Bryan finished a liter of Chivas.

At certain points of the game, Geland will send me an SMS to update me on his whereabouts (he borrowed my car three days ago and was returning it late last night).

We adjourned the drinks at around 230am. As I'm already sleepy (and consciously drunk), I drafted an SMS for Geland: "Pogi, tulog na ko. Iwan mo na lang ung car keys sa candle holder sa labas ng bq ko."

Well, it seems that Geland didn't get my message because when I woke up I had the following messages on my phone:

304am, from Geland: Gcing ka pa pre?
336am, from Geland: I left ur keys sa lalim ng floor mat. Lasheng ka na hehehe. Nyt. And thnx u sbra.

Puzzled on why would I get those messages on my phone, I reviewed my 'Sent Items' and found out that I sent out my 230am SMS to a girl-friend of mine instead of Geland. Wahahaha!

1002am, to girl-friend: Wahahaha... I think I missent u a msg dis morning. Hehehehe. Hapi thursday!
1009am, from girl-friend: yep, for a while i was flattered you called me pogi. mwehehe. happy thursday!


Hahaha. That bit of light humor ought to give me a good start for today.

Vote Vote Vote

Aaaarggsss... time for me to downgrade my otherwise 'reserved-quiet-geeky' look for another ham.

I have this dance performance on the 'Bagets' theme tomorrow and I sort of ransacked my closet yesterday trying to mix-and-match.

So which one is it gonna be?

A. B. C. D.

Seven Years and a Day

Seven years ago I stepped across the threshold separating my strobe-lit city life from the rural lifestyle of my to-be workplace.

I turned seven years and a day old today as an employee for Shell, more specifically as a technologist in their refinery.

It's been a motley of frustrations, long nights, stress, surprises and weekend works. I've also had my share of fulfillments. Occasionally, it's fun but most often it's really a very serious and challenging workplace.

A close friend of mine asked me how's it like working as an employee for the last seven years. My reply:

It's like scaling a very huge rock formation, freestyle. It's hard, it's difficult, it's demanding. Every inch you gain in the climb is an effort, and there will be points along the way tbat you seem you'll get stuck. There's little room for mistakes --- make a wrong judgement and you can plummet straight down. What drives me is the same as for any climber: getting to the top, seeing what I've conquered and being proud of my OWN capabilities.

I'm not at the top yet --- I'm stuck somewhere in the middle. Like any climber, I'm trying to figure out a way to get to the next level.

Surprising Atsi and Niks

There are people who deserve pleasant surprises now and then.

The victims:


The masterminds:


The entertainment:


Our birthday greetings to Atsi and Niks! Hope that many more pleasant surprises come your way.

Relax

In the last couple of weeks, I had (no kidding here) 2 key investigations, 3 business trips, 4 workshops and 5 work-related telecons. I must have missed the partridge-in-a-pear-tree to make the set complete; it probably got buried in my inbox somewhere.

But despite the work, I'm thankful for the opportunities to relax.

In my last business trip to Malaysia, Cris took me and Frat to one of his best-kept secret places to chill out: the SKYBAR. It's located on the top floor of Traders Hotel. Inside, it's got a relaxing atmosphere with the subdued lighting, soft music, a 25-m lap pool in the middle and a jacuzzi pool on one side. It also has a spa on its mezzanine. The place is open air, but overhead beams give the place a homey feel and make it appear enclosed. It's best feature though is the spectacular view of the Petronas Twin Towers overlooking KLCC park -- the place has glass walls on the side facing Malaysia's most-known building.

Anyway, we got seats by the windows and Frat treated as to two rounds of 'Tiger Towers' -- it's just Tiger beer in very, VERY tall glasses -- and unlimited wasabi-peanuts. We chatted a lot --- it's actually my first time to have an open chat with 'adults'. We talked about regional economies, leadership at the workplace and future options (career and marriage --- Cris was evading the latter topic). I was surprised to find myself finishing my two glasses ahead of Cris and Frat, hehe. Maybe it's because of those peanuts.

Last Saturday it was the 2nd Chairman's Cup for Badminton, held at The Zone in Makati. I just got back from Malaysia then. My problem everytime I return from a business trip, my biological clock is all messed up because I always fall asleep on the plane, no matter how long or short the flight is. The day before the tournament, I had insomnia.

In the elimination games, I and my partner won our first game fairly easy (me: awake for 26 hours straight). An hour later, our second game ended in a draw --- we could have won it except that my mental state was already bad and I was playing the game purely on instinct; hell, I had a lot of unforced errors on my serve. Fortunately, we had a 90-minute wait for our last elimination game. I took that chance to sleep underneath one of the bleachers (and skipped lunch). When I woke up for our third game, I felt totally great (thanks to those power napping tips!).

Anyway, we qualified for the finals. The finals game in our level was an exciting match-up. Unfortunately, our opponents had a series of mishaps during the game (one of them got hit on the face by his partner which resulted to a minor cut on his forehead, and later on, his partner got leg cramps twice). We won the championship trophy after 3 sets. =)



We celebrated later that night at Sherwin's house. Geland poured some brandy for everyone (mostly to me, Jourdan and Ferdie, but Ferdie had to leave early) and poured again and poured again. When we adjourned, all of us were drunk but Jourdan was worst. Hahaha... his speech was slurred and was walking like a drunk Englishman so Geland had to escort him home.

On Friday, my best friend booked appointments for him and me at a spa along Roxas Boulevard (Senko -- it's a very decent place, in case you're about to ask). He thinks that both of us could use a break and could use the time to discuss with me his hesitations on his next big step forward (changing careers). He told me that he needed me in my most relaxed state when I dish out my advice.

And what else makes me relax?

- Alone-time at Starbucks
- Emails from my parents and sisters. Even if there's a nagging tone in their messages, reading through them makes me feel nostalgic and homesick hehehe.
- Receiving happy xthday messages daily. You know who you are. =)
- my Xbox360
- long phone chats with MJ, or Ube, or Tin
- browsing through Lissa's blog

Happy Wednesday to all! =)

Lucid Moment

After a hectic evening with my best friend last week when his wife delivered their third son at Makati Med and going over his personal 5-year plan to manage his family and potential career change:

"Dude, thanks for being my best friend."
And I blurted, "No need for that, Kits..."
"Shut up, let me finish."
(ooops...okay....)
"Really, I am very thankful in having you as my best friend. I really wouldn't have survived college, employment-hunting, settling with Marge and raising my family without you. You were there for me when my parents separated, when I got Marge pregnant, when we were troubled financially, raising my family... (he's getting teary-eyed at this point)... Really pare, thanks."

I was sort of smiling already at that point.

"What are you smiling at?"

"First time I've seen you cry."

"Tangina mo, pare."

Hahahaha.... and we were back to our schoolboyish behaviors.

Tidbits

The FLU

I was pretty badly knocked out by the flu last week. It took me 5 days to recover but I managed to do it without antibiotics. Also, I had to come to work on the last two days of my flu bout because of very urgent work items.

So urgent that my colleagues had to apologetically call me up and 'requested' me to check my mails and attend meetings and telecons because they're in a schedule crunch at that time.

Going back to my flu, Tuesday night was the worst. I was having very severe chills and body pains to the point of deliriousness. Gawd, I thought I was going to die that night.

And I lost 3 pounds. No exercise, 4 days of liquid+juice+gatorade diet, and 14+ hours of sleep per day. I've been absent from the gym for more than two weeks now, so I'm back to square one on my program.

But I learned some new tidbits regarding the flu:

1) You cannot take flu and cold medicine for more than 5 days. These meds have a high strain on the liver, and it can lead to liver damage.
2) You cannot have alcohol if you're frequently on paracetamol and ibuprofen. San Mig Light + Biogesic = liver damage.
3) Colds can cause symptoms of sore throat IF your nose is blocked. The mucus secretions for your colds have nowhere to go, hence they drip down to your throat (gross!). If you're on cold medicine for 5 days already, you can't take any cold meds further.
4) My doc recommended that I go to a sauna to unclog my nose. Hahaha. But having a nebulizer or looking over a pot of boiling water will have the same effect.


WEDDINGS

I attended Normann and Jenny's wedding two weekends ago. It's the biggest and most posh I've attended so far. Guest list is over 800 people! Congratulations Normann and Jenny.

Only a handful of the college friends were invited, so I'm pretty flattered when Normann called me up weeks earlier for his wedding. He even had my invitation delivered to me.

Back in college, Normann is one of the few guys who weren't bashful in asking for my help for reviewing in exams and going over their projects and thesis papers. I've always declined his (and his parents) offers of monetary compensation for my time. To show his gratitude (despite my protests), he'd usually take me to various country clubs and road trips (like the 'day-trip' to Baguio Country Club).

Pin's wedding is coming up next month. Advanced greetings, Pin!


OVER CUPS OF COFFEE

Ube was in town last week, and we had a long chat at Starbucks Batangas. Initially she was hoping for a scrabble game but we couldn't find two other players to play with. Anyway, it was really nice chatting with someone about anything in general who is not from my workplace.

We talked about my friends and her friends, and discussed in length about MJ. Hahaha. We also talked about when will my next trip to Cebu be (probably Sinulog?) and when will be her next time in Manila.

Last Saturday night, Chie joined me, Tin, Buddy, Chard and MJ for coffee at Starbucks Fort. Haven't seen Rhichie in a long time. All of us were perspiring heavily that night from all the laughing at Rhichie's remarks (mostly on MJ, haha). Too bad he had to leave at midnight because he's got a party to go to.

Chard was with Kat by the way. She's the latest addition to our group.

Oh, and according to them (a private joke that night), apparently a couple of gays were checking me and Rhichie out that night. Ngak.


XBOX-ing

Last night, I played online on XBOX Live (Splinter Cell Double Agent). I was simply awed with what Microsoft was able to do for the XBOX360.

I played about a 5 games last night. Hehehe... I teamed up with a guy from Korea and a girl from Australia. We went against 2 French guys and a German gamer.

We won 4 out of 5 games, haahahaha. Asians rule!

It's a good thing I got the headset for my XBOX last weekend. It was pretty intense gaming with me issuing out the orders to my squad, and them reverting back on what they're doing.

Later tonight I'm hosting the connections for some Pinoy XBOX gamers. Apparently I have one of the faster connections available.

7 Reasons Why I Haven't Been Blogging Recently

7. PLAY: It's October! Daming Octoberfest gimiks!

6. FRIENDS: Been very busy with coaching and coercing MJ on her first official blind date! Wahoo, it's the end of the world!

5. LIFE: Badminton. The Shell Chairman's Cup is upcoming, and I'm sort of re-training.

4. LIFE: Gym. I had to shave off those pounds that I'm gaining in the wrong places because of all the business trips and company-sponsored lunches/dinners.

3. WORK: Short-staffed. Several of my colleagues are on business-travel recently, so I had to cover for some of them.

2. WORK: Review review review. I personally want to make sure that I understand all the premises in the 1+ billion-dollar-project that I'm participating in.

1. PLAY: This is called an XBOX LIVE gamertag. =) As of Oct 14 2006, I'm part of the XBOX LIVE community.

Rainy Day Thoughts

I was thinking, what do people need on a rainy day?

Something to keep them warm and dry
and something for them to indulge in,
Maybe something to let idle moments pass by
and something perhaps that's good for cuddling?

Something perhaps that elicit smiles
or something that could make them cry in surprise?

It's raining today, so I wonder
will I get any of these when the shower's over?

Or will it just rain forever?

=)

You're So Special

Mad was right. Yesterday, schools and offices were closed, banks announced bank holdiays, and about 11 million people had dinner by candlelight last night.

What a way to celebrate your birthday!

Since you love the rain so much, nature decided to let everyone in the mainland experience rain. =)

Belated happy birthday greetings, Ube!

What's On My Mind

It's not super-dry beer.

LEADERSHIP vs AUTHORITY

In my mental dictionary, leadership is the quality to influence people's actions, thoughts and behavior towards a set goal or vision. Authority is a power of rank to dictate one's expectations and actions to an individual or group of individuals.

What I look for in my workplace's management team is leadership, not authority. It seems that recently, most of them have lost their sense of leadership because one has decided to exercise authority, in my opinion, frivolously.

Senior colleagues at work whom I looked up to before as role models seems to have lost their balls. Their sense of leadership is only one of the few things that make me look forward to working every day and under current circumstances, it's in dire need of a defibrillator. Or a Doctor Frankenstein.


CAR PROBLEMS

Speaking of Doctor Frankenstein, my car decided to play dead on me last Thursday night. I arrived at a new bar in Batangas (San Mig Station, quite a good place) and as soon as I turned off the engine, there was no juice! No courtesy lights, no cabin lights, no indicator lights at the dashboard. Fortunately, Ferdie and Jun Z. were around and did some tweaking here and there. Soon, we got lights back on the car.

On Friday night while stuck in traffic along EDSA, my car almost stalled on me. Got scared at that point.

On Saturday morning, I stripped off the car battery, cleaned all the contacts and re-installed everything. The cause of my problems: a loose connection on my electrical system's grounding.


PERSONAL TIME
After three weeks of absence from the gym (because of business travel and an injury to my left hand), I dropped by at Ponte Fino on Saturday night. I've gained about 3 pounds from my business travels, so I hit the treadmill and stationary bike for half-an-hour each. After that I did 45 reps each of cruches, leg raises and oblique twists for my midsection and proceeded with 45 reps each for leg curls, dumbbell squats, calf-raises and fisherman's walk.

When I got back to my pad, I rested a bit and decided to take a very long hot shower. Feeling the need for relaxation, I turned off all the lights, lit some candles in my bathroom and turned on my iPod to play acoustic music. For over an hour, I did a body scrub, foot soak, shampooed and conditioned my hair and rinsed.


XBOX 360

To buy or not to buy, that is the question. And the answer is: I'm buying an XBOX-360 next week. Wahooo!

I'm ditching PC-gaming (and probably retire my PS2-gaming) in favor of the XBOX-360 and its LIVE capability. I miss the days when video games had to be played cooperatively or against another human being --- playing with/against the A.I. is too anti-social.

The irony in this is I'm getting an XBOX-360 to socialize my video gaming world at the expense of my social life. =)


...ad infinitum

1) I lost a couple of bets to Rhichie two weeks ago, so I owe him dinner AND a venti coffee frappe. I need to invite another guy or girl for this, lest the two of us might be mistaken for a couple of males on a date.
2) Emer, Jherae, and others (colleagues at work) in their band group will be performing at a local bar here this coming Wednesday.
3) Marijo, Blossom and Kat will be taking up street-dancing lessons next month.
4) Tin and Buddy are attending boxing classes, in preparation for their upcoming wedding (intended for physical fitness and for Tin to be in shape for her wedding dress fitting, but the skills can also be used when they're already married hehe...)
5) Maqui: Happy birthday! Ninong will take you out this Saturday for toy shopping. Then ninong and your dad will go drinking in the evening.
6) Marge is due to give birth on the last week of October.

U'd be happy to know that...

I gave in to my personal whims.

It was raining heavily in Kuala Lumpur tonight when I checked out of the office.
Taxis were scarce.
The hotel where I'm staying at is a 20-minute walk.
I didn't have an umbrella.
So guess what?

I walked in the rain. Dressed in business attire. With an occasional jig here and there. =)

Half an hour later, I was inside the hotel lobby with my shirt all wet.

Happy rainy Thursday!

P.S.

I'd dare you that you the same. =)

Pseudo-SGSI

People here at the Kuala Lumpur office of Shell Global Solutions are saying that if I can survive my two-week stint with them, it would be a great achievement for me.

I flew here last Tuesday to join the project group and assist in making the Basis of Design for one of the project's key areas. You see, we're trying to design a new refinery. Actually, just a preliminary design and scope. In half the time that is normally required.

Normally, a 6-month time frame is needed for the preliminary design of a refinery. But since SGS is a service-provider, and their client wants the preliminary design in 3 months.

This week, I've been pushing 12-14 hours of work. Technical work. Very technical work. Very technical geeky work. The type of work that I need to make use of all sort of charts and graphs and do engineering calculations and triple-check everything. The type of work that requires me to visualize abstract concepts of flow across several piping routes to aid in solving a puzzle of logic. The type of work that requires me to test every sort of permutation in an array of equipment to make sure that it's economical but robust.

UGH!

But hell, I'm enjoying it despite the pain. I must be getting crazy.

--------------------------------

Something of a confidence booster for me (also gives me a good start in the morning):

Wout, the section head of the group I'm assisting, is about 25 years my senior. Every morning since Wednesday, he'd pass by my temporary desk and ask me smiling: "Are you sure you don't want to work for us here at Shell Global Solutions?"

Hahaha... thanks Wout. Now if only my company will release me to SGS...

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Benny, Erick and Ronn tagged me along for lunch at what they call a 'chipipay' food stall. It's a stall in an old building just across Petronas Towers. They serve food carinderia style. Hallelujah, there's pork!

The next day, Cris tagged me there for lunch. Hahaha... I don't mind.

Thursday night was dinner at Benny's place with Ronn and Lorelei, Erick and Cong, and Sam. Dyaske, andito lang din pala sa KL si Sam, hindi ko man lang alam. As usual, we talked about the inadequacies of Tabangao in terms of management and training. What's mentioned at that dinner table is best left there. Ngapala, Benny's pork binagoongan was good! After dinner we went to Hard Rock to escort Sam buy a Hard Rock shirt, and had a round of beer.

Friday, Cris and I were last to leave the office (Friday night, and we're still working). Cris suggested a break at around 730pm and have a quick bite to eat. We had dinner at a cafe outside of the building, and a 'kabayan' was our waiter. Very friendly and professional, but he knows when to be personal to us. Good food, good service, and a hearty discussion with Taga regarding the project and the career.

Much as I wouldn't like to admit it, I've enjoyed Cris' company and his mentorship. I wouldn't have thought of that situation years back when he was still with us in Tabangao. Benny's a superb mentor and great company too. But they are as different as a good book and a pistol, yet I enjoy both.

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If this is life as SGSI, despite the hard stuff, I'm confident I can conquer AND enjoy it.

Need a Laugh?

The following in their virgin form (not corrected for grammar or spell-checked) are scribbled on the whiteboard at Julie and Maimai's office:

Yellow rule: Do not do unto others what you can't do.
Red rule: Do unto others, before they do it unto you.
Blue rule: You do not need to do unto others what they can do to themselves.

If things get tight, kelangan mo nang mag-diet.
..... If things get tight, sit next to a fatter ass and feel sexy.

If others can do it, don't help.

Ang ilog na tahimik ay malalim, ang ilog na maingay may naglalaba.

Oilyness is next to ugliness.

Kung maigsi ang kumot, punda yun.

What doesn't kill me only makes me stronger. RAAR!

Pag nahuli, wag aamin. Pag huling-huli na, mandamay.

J1: Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain.
...... J2: BADING! Anong dancing?? Di ka marunong sumayaw!!
..........J3: Bakit ako ba ang tinutukoy ko? Baka ikaw ang bading? Iyakin pa!!!

Ahihihihi... I think there's a case of craziness inflicting my workplace. =)

Saturday Socials

The nature of my current work has deprived me substantially of socializing with my peers outside of the workplace. The last time I played airsoft was sometime in March, I think, at the Steel Mill. The last time I climbed at Power-up Pasig was October last year! My present life priorities are skewed and needs normalization. It's work first, followed by family, church, personal health, and lastly friends and leisure.

Despite my very tight schedule, I decided to make a day-trip to Manila (yiiii...me talking about 'day trips' to Manila is so low for me).

A. Climb at Power-up

Blossom and Kat gave me a default invitation to join them in their wall-climbing training for the month of September. I joined them yesterday and found myself a bit overwhelmed by Power-up Pasig. It's been almost a year since my last visit there. Kat tagged along her pamangkins and guy named Sam.

Dong was there too. Ha, he still remembers me from the days when I join up with Chie and Mad for the regular Tuesday climbs a year ago.

Anyway, I climbed walls 3 and 4 flawlessly, had a bit of difficulty at wall 5 (my pinky finger is still giving me grip problems), and traversed the whole length of the wall including the bouldering section. And I thought I wouldn't finish it, because my arms were already pumped towards the end of the afternoon.

Kat's endurance has very much improved, and her techniques have upped a level. Blos has also shown improvement but needs to focus more on twisting and weight shifting (or lose some weight hahaha -- just kidding, Blos).

B. Starbucks at Power Plant Mall

Blossom hitched a ride with me going to Power Plant Mall (well, I had to get a haircut at Bruno's Barbers anyway). She invited me to have coffee with her and I agreed.

We talked about furnishing her pad, Marijo's sluggish lovelife, siblings Chard and Mond, and her and Kat's plans to study street dancing versus Marijo's preference for ballroom dancing.

We parted after our coffee socials. On my way to Bruno's, I met Tito Gabs (Papa Hondo) of RBG at the escalator. We exchanged warm handshakes when we were both level at our opposite escalators. RBG was having a team dinner at Dencio's.

C. TMS Dinner at Saisaki

The most 'cozy' team dinner I've attended, it was a night of revelations. Hahaha.

It was just Nikko, Dee, Kara and Mikko at Saisaki G3 when I arrived. And I was 40 minutes late even!

I haven't seen Kara since our team's Christmas party at their residence. She's still the same bad-ass girl I know, sporting her trademark Gothic fashion. She's the only girl I know personally who's comfortable with the Gothic look, and has the attitude to look good in it (probably I've been watching too much anime lately hahaha).

Nikko and Dee are looking more and more as a couple. Blooming people. Niks needs to go on a diet really soon; their wedding date is near already and the pictures won't look that great if his tummy shows. =D

Mikko is still the funny man. As usual, he's got plenty of stories to tell. He's so good at telling stories that sometimes I find myself at a doubt -- whether or not to believe his narrative -- when he's telling something serious.

And the revelations? I'll have to be cryptic about it. Hehehe.

1) "It's because our schedules won't match."
2) "The 'It's not you, it's me' speech is actually good, but because of the movies it now seems lame."
3) "Number two."
4) "Custody-battle for a 10-month old..."
5) "May sinapak akong lalake..."



Tin and Buddy joined us late in the night.
Anyway, hanging out with TMS was a welcome thing for me. Sa uulitin.

Fishyfishy Chronicles 24531: The Davao Incidents

Sorry for the late post. Doing so many things at the office recently. Photo attachments to be done later.

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Hayaaaa... Fishyfishy availed of the 10-peso flights from Cebu Pacific and we were lucky to get travel dates for Davao's Kadayawan Festival (Festival of Festivals). For 4 days, I, Richard, Marijo, Tin and Buddy checked out what Davao has to offer at its peak tourist season.

Well, yun yung official 'reason' nung trip. But underneath that, the trip in itself is another junket session to (1) humorously torture Marijo and (2) get to know Buddy better (aba! eh pakakasalan nya si Tinters next year so kelangan ma-scrutinize siya ng malapitan at matagalan!).

If this were a traveler's diary, I'd simply say that we:
1) Spent the first two nights at the Marco Polo hotel
2) Dinner in Davao City's street party scene(which looks more like an open-air booze-and-barbeque tiangge)
3) Went to Paradise resort for a day at the beach
4) Went white-water rafting
5) Watched the Kadayawan festival dancing
6) Shopping for souvenirs and durian
7) Spent one night at Eden Nature park

But there's nothing exciting in that, right?

So here's a list of the exciting and memorable incidents.

1. As usual, the group sticked together --- nasa isang hotel room lang kaya kaming 5 (officially checked-in 3, yung 2 itinakas!). May target budget kasi for the trip e. So everybody had to bear with MJ's no-lights policy, hilik ni Stip at kakulitan ni Chard. Si Tin and Buddy... hmmm... wala e, ang tahimik nila. *hehe*

2. Eating durian is an acquired taste. Eto proof. Does it look like that we're saying 'yummy, ang sarap ng durian!'?



3. Football catching at the beach (Paradise resort). Okay sana, except nag-fumble si Stip on one of Chard's throws. Ayun, he got his finger forked. Kelangan tuloy i-splint yung pinky finger nya.

4. White-water rafting! Enjoy kami sobra! It's an exciting activity. Buddy, Chard and Stip also went drifting. At the last section of the rapids, they were 'encouraged' to get off the raft and drift in the last section of the rapids with just their lifevests and helmets on. Safe naman daw e. End-result: lahat sila maraming nainom na tubig, got near-death experiences (that almost-drowning-and-i-can't-hold-my-breath-underwater-any-longer trauma), bumped into rocks underwater, that washing-machine-tumble-dry feeling. The three boys agreed that it was exciting but doing it once in their lifetime is good enough for them.

Question: Sino sa kanila ang naiiba at bakit? :D



5. Kadayawan Festival. The street dance performers were very entertaining. Daming pa-cute na kuha si MJ and Tin with the dancers.

6. Shopping at Aldevinco. We bought a lot of shirts. And, magaling pumili si MJ ng blouses para sa mga nanay nila Chard and Stip. (Actually, si MJ yung pinapasukat nung mga blouse --- so mala-mommy pala yung appeal/projection ni MJ).

7. Kwentuhan sa Eden Park. Spent the night there. Over beer, pringles and snickers, we got to know everyone better specially MJ (tungkol sa automatic rejection nya sa mga suitors nya) and Buddy.

8. Fishy-fishy goes fishing. Ni-science ni Stip yung fishing dahil sya yung unang nakahuli ng isda using worm bait lang (no aid of fish food pellets while fishing). Chard insists na chamba lang daw yun. Hahaha.

Davao's been fun. Have to do that again in the future, or something like that.

-------------------------------------------

OUr official travel itinerary: 2 nights booking at Marco Polo hotel, 1 night booking at Eden Nature Park, day trip to Paradise Beach resort, dinners at the following places: Kaan Dawet, Inihaw sa Flyover, white water rafting (jump-off fro Crocodile farm), shopping at Aldevinco, durian hunting at Magsaysay, watch Kadayawan at Roxas avenue.

Climbing with the Charmed Ones

Blossom invited me to join her, Val, Kat and Agnes in wall-climbing at Play Underground in Power Plant Mall last Saturday. I met them at three in the afternoon.

Here's my assessment of their climbing skills:

Kat: Has highest potential. She managed to do some twists (I think it comes naturally to her), and almost conquered her first overhang. And her competitive nature is a plus.

Blos: Okay for a beginner. She knows how to shift her weight and use that to get a better hold. She also has some of the basics right (see Val).

Val: She has the basics right. She extends her arms fully and at least one of her legs. Both Val and Blos breezed through the beginner walls.

Agnes: The ultimate beginner! Hehe... Okay, Agnes needs to avoid being in a squat position while climbing (hence her legs become shaky). She also has the tendency to lean into the wall (trying to keep her body as close to the wall as possible) which is a bit demanding to the forearms. Lastly, she settles in grabbing the next nearest hold (when there are better holds a bit farther off) and rarely tries to extend her arms fully.

As for me, I was really surprised in discovering that I managed to climb on my first attempts walls number 5 and 6 (intermediate) with ease. Wall number 5 had an overhang, while wall number 6 had a negative gradient. At least my climbing skills haven't disappeared yet despite my 10-month absence from the wall-climbing scene.

Anyway, I had fun with you girls! Hoping that there's a next time! =)

---------------

After the climg, we rested a 'bit' at Starbucks and the girls grilled me on my lovelife. Hahaha!

Getting My Blood Boiling

A high school acquaintance of mine recently contacted me insisting on meeting up with me. Honestly, I don't know him with enough familiarity so I naturally have some hesitation on his request.

I found out from some of my friends that he's been asking almost everyone for money, even small amounts will do. Most (if not all) of them declined, citing financial obligations and their personal fiscal statuses. And none of them were able to elicit information from him on the purpose of his money-borrowing spree.

Anyway, when he contacted me last Friday night via SMS, I asked him blatantly what's the money for. I told him to lay out his cards and that there's no sense in giving me vague stories.

And the only thing he told me is that he needed the money to (1) avoid a court hearing and (2) finance his niece's education. He was hoping to meet up with me to help him out and discuss a payment scheme, granting that I'll agree to it.

That got me thinking and my blood boiling.

Charity is a virtue, but helping out someone on his fiscal problems due to his personal/business activities does not merit charity. I believe in the saying that 'you reap what you sow'. I deduced that he must have involved himself in some 'get-rich-quick' scheme (which I very much disapprove of) like those multi-level marketing scams.

But his is a business proposition. Too bad that I have an occassional business frame-of-mind.

If he's resorted to borrowing from friends (and to some people that he doesn't know well), then clearly his credit is already bad that formal credit institutions are not keen on providing him credit.

The fact that he's soon to be undergoing litigation also points out that his fiscal problems have been around for quite some time. And I presume that it must involve a fairly large amount in order for it to be presented for litigation. Under these circumstances, a gentleman's agreement will not suffice. Business controls will need to be set-up and observed.

How much does he need?
How much does he owe?
How much does he regularly earn?
How much does he regularly spends?
What payment scheme do you propose?
Will you agree to surrendering all your financial controls to another person so they can monitor and control your financial activity?
Will you agree to meeting with your creditors once every two months to update them on your financial status and capability?
...
..
.
and so on and so forth.

And using his niece as an excuse is very lame.

He'll need to pass through a needle's eye before I lend him any amount.

Again, the reason for all these scrutiny on my part is that he's just an acquaintance.

-----------------------------

If there's one thing I hate, it's those pesky telemarketers who are very insistent despite me politely declining to whatever promo or product they are pushing. I understand that everyone has to make a decent and honorable living, but everyone has to have some sort of respect to whomever they're dealing with.

So after burning out my limited patience nowadays, I thought I'd give them a lesson.

Last week for five straight days I've been receiving calls at my mobile phone AND my office phone AND my residential phone from telemarketers (let's see, their names are Nicole, Samantha, Rachelle, Grace and Angie so far). Suppossedly I won a 2-night-3-day stay at any of the Days Hotel. All I needed to do was just go to a nearby Days Hotel and attend a product presentation for 90 minutes. No financial obligations for the prize, they added.

I politely declined, saying that I'm not interested and that my schedule has been very busy with work recently. They'll probe and probe, and I'll say that I'm not really interested. Finally, I'll manage to say 'Goodbye and thanks'. I thought that was the end of it.

But nope, another telemarketer would ring my mobile a couple of hours later and we'll go through the same routine again.

And then another one would call my office phone and repeat the process.

And they repeated everything the following day.

By Friday, I was already pissed off that I decided to spend my lunch break by surprising them. I trooped over to Days Hotel in Batangas. Boy, I've got everything ready. I was actually pumped up in delivering an ultimatum to them.

"Hi Sir, what I may do for you?"

"My name is Stephen Cruz. I'm here for the product presentation that your telemarketers have informed me about."

"Right this way, sir."

I was directed to a function room full of people, tables arranged in such a way that there's one agent for each prospective customer. Some tables were already midway the presentations.

"Hi Sir. I'm Samantha and I'll be orienting you on our product offer. blah blah blah blah.... Before we begin, is there something you'd like to ask?"

Bingo. That's the opening that I was waiting for.

"Now that you mentioned it," I stood up and said in a loud voice, "I have a brief announcement to make."

"The only reason why I came here is that for the last 4 days, I've been spending nearly an hour every day on the phone talking with one of your telemarketers. I have politely indicated that I am not interested in your product or service that you're offering. Despite that, they'll still call the following day and we'll go through the same routine again."

"Seeing that your telemarketers seem not to understand the meaning of the word 'NO', I am here in person to say that I am clearly not interested in your product or service. Am I clear?"

No reaction from Samantha. Her mouth was hanging a bit.

"Can I talk to the manager?"

Manager whatsisname raised his hand in acknowledgment.

"Sir, as manager, I suppose that you're capable of understanding what I mentioned earlier."

"I understand, sir."

"Thank you. And if any of your telemarketers call me again, I will personally talk with the hotel's manager and express my dissatisfaction with the operations that you're conducting. Shame on them for partnering with your group which currently rates zero in terms of customer service. I hope there are no questions for I have no intentions of entertaining them."

Saying that, I walked out. Smiling.

And so far, I haven't received any phone call from them.

ANNOUNCEMENT

I am pleased to announce that Glenn Pamplona

-- rotating engineer, casanova-in-disguise (like a wolf in sheep's clothing), armchair warrior, diver-in-hibernation, occasional athlete, movie addict (including those cheesy Tagalog movies that go well with popcorn) and football fanatic --

is now 30 years old.

With regards to Glennski's future plans on the termination of his bachelorhood, that will be the subject of a separate announcement. Hehehe.. =)

Happy birthday bro!

Huli Ka!

Godddammett!

I got flagged down by a Makati Traffic Enforcer yesterday afternoon for making a left turn when it wasn't our turn yet. Red-light violation. Geeezz...

That's what I get for stupidly following the car ahead of me while singing in my car. I wasn't paying attention to the traffic light at Pasay Road corner Paseo de Roxas. Anyway, the enforcers flagged three vehicles (including mine). After some discussion, I didn't contest my traffic violation ticket. I agreed to claiming my license at Makati City Hall sometime in the future.

On hindsight, I was singing "Wasting My Time" [Default] when I got flagged. How apt.

My Smugmug: Australian Vacation

Out of necessity, I availed of a smugmug account.

http://stipmeister.smugmug.com



Happy browsing! =D

A Word of Thanks

I, my mom and my dad would like to thank everyone below for making our 2-week stay in Australia a very memorable one:

1. Tita Tess Andres, Tito Art, Tammy, Tricia, Nick, Michael and Annalys: for the homecooked meals, accommodations, Blue Mountain tour, and shopping tours
2. Tita Pat, Tito Robert, Marie, Iasmin, Adrian and Jeremy: for the splendid dinners and chitchat
3. Tita Menchie: for the Bowral tour, cheese and wine
4. Tita Lilian and Tito Arnie: for the kangaroo steak
5. Mike, Rebecca, Elizabeth, Mahak and Naomi: for Bridgeclimb
6. Kyle, Georg, Arthur, LJ, Merlin: for the uluru outback camping
7. the great staff at the Cityrail stations and University of Sydney
8. Paul: for touring me in Melbourne
9. Elisa and Erik: for the fun night at King's Cross *sneer*

From the bottom of our hearts, maraming salamat po!

----------------------------------
This post was drafted and published at Kingsford Terminal, Sydney.

Being Young at Heart

I had dinner last night with Iasmin (a 32 year old Pinay) and Adrian (her Australian husband) at their suburb home in Sydney. Dinner was a gastronomic platter of spring rolls, barbecued pork loins, water chestnut salad and wine.

After dinner, their 5 year old kid Jeremy (such a cute and playful kid) tugged at me to go play with him. Adrian "agreed", so Jeremy and myself scooted off to the living room to play with his rubber bug collection.

After an hour or so of playing and making squishy sounds with bug dialogues, with Adrian and Iasmin talking to me half the time regarding our common interests, Jeremy asked me in a matter-of-fact tone: "Are you a kid or a guy? You play like a kid and talk like a guy." Adrian and I laughed after hearing Jeremy's question.

So, I shrugged my shoulders and told him, "Sometimes I'm a kid and sometimes I'm a guy."

It's then that I realized that I'm really young at heart and will still be 50 years from now. =D

----------------------

I met Adrian and Iasmin while having coffee at "The Rocks" in Sydney City. It turned out that Iasmin was also from Baclaran (my "hometown") and that they lived in the same Sydney suburb as to where my parents are staying.

A Message for the Loony Bin

To the funniest, wackiest, smartest, most profound and most sensible lady I've met offline and online across four continents:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, L I S S A !. Cheers to you and the loony bin! :D

Cold Wild Ozzy

I've immersed myself for three very cold days (temperature range: 2-12 deg C) in the uluru, Central Australia's outback wilderness. It was bushland as far as the eyes could see except for one major landmark in the area: Ayer's Rock. :D

There were 9 of us in our group: 6 Sydney University students (Kurt, Kyle, George, LJ, Rigg, Key), 1 tourist (me), 1 guide (Arthur) and 1 dog (Merlin --- that Arthur guy has some sense of humor), and all of us were blokes. No girls, drat.

Anyway, the objective of the trip is to experience "soul cleansing", uluru being sacred ground for aborigines and what-have-you mysticism with it. The way I look at it though is trying to survive uluru at its harshest condition.

It was a great experience for me. My only regret though is that all we were allowed to bring were clothes, toiletries and a thermos. No iPods, no junk food, no cameras, no cellphones. But after enjoying my experience there, I then understood why Arthur wouldn't want those things on the trip. Read below.

Here's the run-through of the last 3 days:

1. Walk 14 miles from the airstrip to our campsite (in 6 hours) with about 30 pounds of food and gear on my back.
2. Cold weather at night: 2 degrees! And what's the easily available fuel in the bushland? Dung. Dingo and kangaroo dung. Because it's winter, they're freeze-dried (hahaha) so they don't smell that bad when we were collecting them. But when we started burning them as fuel... *whoo boy*.
3. I was the only one who didn't have mitts for my hands. So, I tore a pair of my socks and cut-out fingerholes in them.
4. In the absence of an iPod, group singing is the next best option. And the group's favorite artists: Britney Spears and 3 Doors Down. Weird combination.
5. Learned how to make a stone knife. :D
6. Ooo-ba: some sort of spiny bush whose leaves can be used for smoking using a pipe.
7. Ma'mata: another spiny bush whose branches, when boiled in water and drank as tea, has the same effect as sake.
8. Built some stone markers along the way. Route marking in the outback is very different from what I know for forest trekking.
9. Learned animal trailing: snakes, dingos (dogs), kangaroos and foxes.
10. Pratical exam: trap either a snake or a fox. And our group (me, LJ, Rigg) trapped a snake! Wahooo!
11. Gutting, Cooking and Eating Snake 101: Snake lechon.
12. Coal picking. That's much better than dung fuel.
13. Tribal marking.
14. Rain + cold weather = 9 shivering blokes.
15. Woke up on the third day (after the rain) with a whole herd (?) of kangaroos surrounding us! There's easily 30 of them. That was cute! And scary... hahaha.

The adventure was really challenging on my body. I was dead-tired at the end of the third day. But I'm glad I took that trip --- it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience. :D

Thanks to the Sydney guys for the swell company! And for the record, I'm already 27; I'm not a student on vacation as you guys first thought. Hahaha. :D

Funny Caption

I leave it up to you to develop your own funny caption for the following series of photos. =D



Photos taken last July 1, a belated birthday gathering for Marijo.

COUNTDOWN

A. ONE

Wahoo! I survived this week! I never would have thought that I'd be able to pull-off a decent job in facilitating one of the technical reviews for the refinery's ultimate site lay-out for the refinery's future upgrading. However, at the end of our 3-day exercise, my brain (ouch, I've a migraine coming up) and legs (been walking around the site in the last 3 days) are almost ready to give up.

But a pat in the back by Carlos and his team (our consultants) for a job well done (suppossedly hahaha) makes all my sacrifices this week worthwhile.

B. TWO

Mental note to myself: In case of need for a kaladkarin to help me entertain my business guests, Gelhandsome is a good choice. I found that out last night when he tagged along to entertain my guests at Leslie's Tagaytay. Thanks dude!

C. THREE

For a taste of humorous reality, Marijo and Ube have become my staple sources. "Nakakapayat ba ang jogging?" "MJ, for you it won't work." Bwahahahahaha!

D. FOUR

I went on a splurge last weekend. I bought this cool Northface jacket at 10% off on the Power Plant mallwide sale. So instead of shelling out eleven thousand, i only had to shell out less than ten thousand pesos for it. Crazy, Stip! And I also bought a thermal shirt, a pair of shoes, a lot of books and a sweatshirt. I won't post the total amount I spent in 1 1/2 hour; some of you readers might have a heart attack or die of asphyxiation from holding your breath. :D

E. FIVE

Just two more days and I'm off for a vacation. Really looking forward to it!

F. SIX

By the way, happy birthday Quito!

Thank Goodness for my Ipod

... for it gave me a valid excuse to act like I don't see or hear one of my bachelor colleagues on a date (?) at the gym yesterday. Bwahahahahaha!

Right, Jackie? Apir!

The Visit

Truly enjoyed your company last weekend, even if it was just for a short time. It was a welcome break in my crazy schedule. =) Despite how it looked, I enjoyed the company of your barkada. Nevermind if they sing crazy songs and laugh to their heart's contents --- fun is fun and it's contagious, even to the perfect stranger in the crowd which is me.

It's nice to see you, have coffee with you, talk with you and laugh with you in person again. Too bad we didn't get to see our other friends, watch a movie or two, or even dance in the rain.

Next time, it'll be my turn to visit. And I'm hoping it'll rain.

See you soon!

Catching Up

CONCERT CONCERT

Fishyfishy might disband by next year, so we had a small 'concert' at REDBOX two Fridays ago:




Meron ding videos of MJ's public performance. If you wish to view it, send me an email and I'll give you the link.

-----------------

TREEPLANTING

Two Saturdays ago, to culminate the company's Safety week, I participated in a treeplanting activity. Nyahahaha... the shovels were too soft and the ground was too hard. But, I got to plant a 3-year old narra sapling and put my name on it.

Here's me on a banana+gatorade break while helping out Geland plant his tree. Photo by Gelpogi. Shades by Oakleys and boonie hat from my airsoft gear collection.

Well-Placed Words

Well-placed words have a manner of being very effective despite its simplicity in form. Looking back into my 3-or-so weeks of stress from work (and thus creating havoc in my personal and social life), I am fortunate enough to have received a few well-placed words to keep me going and feel appreciated.

I leave it to you to figure out who told me which and when.

1. "Anger gets the best of us. I've known you long enough to know that it'll consume you. Take a swim tonight, then let's talk about it after. I'll drive over." (Well-placed words: "I'll drive over". He's two hours away from where I am, and it's 10 in the evening).

2. "HONDA.............. HONDA wing's of love, up and above the clouds the only way to fla-haaaay!! Smile!" (This was an SMS actually. And I replied "Are you trying to make me laugh? You only got to make me smirk though." And she said, "Ang sungeeeet! Magiging soltero ka nyan!". Hahaha!)

3. "Thanks for your excellent handling of this activity."

4. "We put in a word mate to Steve that you did a very good and very professional job for this exercise. Let us know if you'll consider a career with Foster Wheeler mate!"

5. "Good morning! Smile ka ha? Baka nakalimutan mo na kasi kung pa'no. Ahihihi..."

Okay, back to regular programming.

Mainit ang Ulo Ko

Tingininingining kumpanya at project 'to.

Nakngtokwa naman o... kahit anong plano talaga gawin ko para sa bakasyon ko di talaga masunod!

Background: Meron akong 3000 euros worth of travel credits. Napalanunan ko sa isang project na pinaghirapan ko (note: iniyakan ko 'tong project na 'to dahil angtaas ng expectations ng management eh wala naman silang binibigay na training sa 'kin. para bang pinaghuhukay ka ng balon pero kutsarita lang ibibigay sa 'yo. 'kala nila siguro superwhizkid ako. leche.)

Original plan: Bakasyon sa Australia ng end-April for two weeks.

What happened: Had to postpone it to 1st week of May dahil sa lecheng project na binigay sa 'kin. But more and more items emerged, so ni-postpone ko siya uli to 4th week of May. Di pa rin pwede, dahil may mga business trips. Finally settled on last week of June and 1st week of July. Medyo nahihiya nga ako sa parents ko dahil isasama ko sila. Proud sila that their son will be able to bring them to Australia, and they were very excited about it.

What happened 30 minutes earlier: Sabi ni boss, i-cut-short ko daw yung bakasyon. May kelangan asikasuhin yung project on the 1st week of July. Hindi daw pwede i-delegate sa iba.

Pota... so much for rewards and recognitions kung di mo naman magamit kung kelan mo gusto.

I am entitled to take leaves when I want it.

Di pa ko nagbabakasyon simula nung shutdown duty namin.

Di ko man lang naramdamang mag-enjoy sa beach ngayong nakaraang summer.

Ilang linggo na kong di umuuwi namin sa Manila (8 weeks and counting?). Parents ko na nga ang lumuluwas sa kin dito para makita lang ako. I skipped mother's day and will be skipping father's day too.

Halos mabaliw na nga ako sa puyat nung 2 linggong nakaraan. Buti na lang nung nakaraang Sabado e lumuwag schedule ko. 20 hours straight akong tulog nun, bumawi yung katawan ko sa puyat.

Curse this project.
Curse the management.
And akala ko hindi ko 'to masasabi, pero right now i think it's very appropriate: Curse the company!

Punyeta.

Having Kids

"N-nong stiffie!!"

That was the greeting made by my almost-3-year old godson Maqui.

Quito sent me an SMS early last Sunday morning to remind me of spending half a day with his two kids. My schedule really hasn't been that friendly to my family and social life, and even worse for touching base with my inaanaks (I missed out on their last birthday parties and Christmas). He had it planned out as a very busy Father's Day but I had to point out that Father's Day is every 3rd Sunday of June, not the second. Hahaha...

Anyway, I drove to Manila and met up with Quito, Marge, Maqui, Justin and yaya Sol for lunch at Blue Wave. After lunch, we trooped off to nearby SM Mall of Asia.

Marge had to buy some stuff at the grocery and the department stores so she left Maqui (age almost-3) and Justin (age 1) to Quito and me. She took yaya Sol with her. She'd like to see how the Quito and myself would manage (she had that mischievous look when she handed me Maqui's baby bag) for 3 hours without female assistance.

Quito took Justin while I got Maqui. I think I got a raw deal there. Not five minutes has passed by, Maqui was tugging at my hand and babbling "Twuck... twuck...".

He wanted one of those truck-type baby strollers that you rent at the malls. No problem. Ninong Stiffy can afford that.

But that proved to be a hasty statement on my part. After going through three stalls where they rent out those strollers, none were available. "Sorry po sir, ubos na po." And Maqui was making tantrums already by the time we got to the second stall.

I gave Quito a look saying "Uh, a little help here?". He just grinned, as if saying "You're on your own, man."

So being desperate, I offered Maqui a ride on my shoulders. "Sit up on my shoulders, Maqui? Go like Superman?"

"Soo-per-man...soo-per-man... teeheehee...". Jackpot. I found out how to manage him. So I boosted him up over my head and onto my shoulders.

Thank goodness for my gym sessions. Maqui weighs about 40 pounds!

Sitting on top of my shoulders, Maqui would point out somewhere and say "Dat?". I'll say it's a tree, but he'll say it's a "G-raff". Another "Dat?". My reply was "chair" and he say's it's a "ru-mo". The kid's playing mind games with me. Are there any toddler dictionaries for adults being sold somewhere? I'd like a copy of that, thank you.

While walking in the mall we came across Timezone. Maqui, still seated on my shoulders, began bouncing up-and-down. "Timezone, timezone, ball...basket...ball". "Kits, Timezone okay with you?" "Sure man, no problem. We've brought Maqui to Timezone once." "Okay Maqui, basketball?" More bouncey-bouncey on my shoulders.

I got a Timezone card loaded with 300 pesos. Maqui and I played hoops. On the first game, I got Maqui shooting the balls while I handed it to him. On the next game, it was the other way around. On the third game, he climbed up again on my shoulders and went at it together.

Next stop was Daytona racing. With Maqui on my lap, I had him doing the gear-shifting. We were fortunate that another dad-and-kid joined us in the race, so we weren't pressured to race like professional drivers. After the race (which we won), Maqui and I made high-fives and did a friendly wave to Dad-and-Kid next to us.

"Superman..." Okay, back to my shoulders.

There are plenty more stuff that we did until Marge got back to us (riding the escalator back-and-forth, ice skating for 20 minutes, taught Maqui how to catch popcorn with his mouth, etc.) but the funniest one is the bathroom incident.

"poo-poo...". Major bathroom break for Maqui coming up. With the nappy bag slung on my neck, we trooped off to the nearest men's room.

First problem: Maqui has been taught not to touch any part of the toilet bowl with his hands. So, I had to support him by holding him under his armpits while he dumps, and pretty much took his time doing it.

Second problem: Washing the baby's butt.

(to be continued...)

My Kingdom for a Horse

... i'd just about give anything now for a massage at the back of my neck, my temples and 6 hours of decent sleep.

YAY! Somebody Misses Me. =)

This phone conversation absolutely made my day today.

* rrrriinnng....
Me: Hello!!
Her: Stippydippydoo... so how are you? Worried na ko sa 'yo.
Me: (jokingly) Why, you missed me?
Her: Of course! baka napa'no ka na dyan sa work mo. You're so busy!
Me: Hahaha... tell me about it. You've seen my out-of-office reply?
Her: Yup!
Me: I'm really sorry if I couldn't reply to your text messages. Dami ko talagang inaasikaso. Puro work kaya, and by the time I get to my BQ eh direcho tulog na ko.
Her: Kawawa ka naman...
...
..
.
------------
Anyway, we discussed other things like my dentist and her impacted tooth, what are each other's plans for the long weekend, the suppossedly surprise cake for one of our acquaintances that didn't materialize because I could find a decent cake here in Batangas and the latest incidents with our common friends.

I'm just really glad that there are still some people out there who know of my existence. Curse my schedule! It's wrecking my social life to rubbles.

-------------

Finally, I finished all the requirements for my Australian visa application. The courier picked it up today. Let's just hope that my application (and my parents) don't get snagged.

-------------

It's now 11:11 pm. Have to go back to work. I'll probably clock in another two hours.

Spice Huns Sing

MJ brought four of her office friends (Blossom, Kat, Lu and Val) down over to Tabangao and spent the weekend here. They had the option of staying either at my pad or at the guest house. As soon as they saw my pad, they declared it as their own --- think along the way of female Huns conquering lands and territories. I then had to relinquish my sleeping rights in my own pad.

Highlights:

1. MJ's preferences for divers
2. Revelation of MJ's secret life in Tabangao (e.g. back-to-back title holder of Miss Talaba and Miss TALIM titles)
3. How to shower using hot water only (Kaye's water connection burst, so we had to isolate the cold water supply)
4. Dinner of sinigang, inihaw na liempo and crispy tadyang
5. V I D E O K E Marathon. The girls' theme song (with rehearsed dance and vocal choreography): All 4 Love
6. The "MJ phenomenon": she now sings on-key at first note. (dati kasi, it'll take her around 5 songs before she finally gets to be on-key...)
7. Jourds vs Marijo (winner: Jourds)
8. Jourds vs Kat (winner: Kat)
9. Jourds vs Blossom (winner: Bubbles, este... Blossom pala)
10. Emerson being known as The "Kuya Emer"

It seems that the girls enjoyed their stay and even left me a "surprise":



Last note: Babalik daw sila. Hahaha, sure girls. Looking forward to it. =) Your company is always welcome in my book.

Insanity

all work and no play makes stip a dull boy.
all work and no sleep makes stip an insane boy.

Just to amuse myself and put a twang on my very hectic schedule (getting 4 hours of sleep per day in the last two weeks was really stressful), I posted this 'out-of-office-autoreply' on my office email on the night before I left my Batangas office for a meeting in Kuala Lumpur.

"I am very busy for the next two weeks and am almost to the point of insanity. Following are my priorities:

May 30 - June 1: OB at KL for TAAL Project Kick-off Meeting
June 2: OB at Shell House (Makati) for TAAL Due Diligence discussions / challenge
June 1 - 8: Scoping work for Basis of Design on TAAL Project (Oil Movements) at Tabangao"

And guess what: out of the 211 messages that accummulated in my email the last 3 days, 44 of them replied to me to "console" my insanity.

1 out of 5 people has a good sense of humor. :D For that I'm thankful.

--------------------------------

Proof of my insanity: (1) Hahaha CARMELA, nice post on the "surprise" incident at Dencio's. I'm not really sure if I'll blog it because I'm not sure how you and ROMS will take it. :D (2) Hey UBE and JACKIE, sorry but I couldn't find any of those linen pants you wanted. Actually, I had nil time to shop. On my next business trip, I'll keep it in my list. (3) Happy 1st birthday to LORENZO JUSTIN SAN AGUSTIN. Sorry I couldn't make it to your Barney-themed party. Uncle Stip was out of town, but I got you a set of Barney feeding bottles. (4) EMER, why-o-why there's no wan-or-tu tonight? I was looking forward to the alcohol hehe. (5) Hey WENG, why is your first-born named SQUIGGY?! But he's cute and adorable. (6) JOHN, where the hell are you? You're supposed to be back last month pa! Nabili mo na ba yung game na pinapabili ko sa US? :D (7) All of you: if you've spent more than 10 minutes on my blog so far, thanks! NOW GO BACK TO WORK! (8) Hi to my mom and dad! =)

Pork Chop Duo sa Dencio's

Last Saturday, I had dinner with some of my airsoft friends at Dencio's in Capitol Hills (? -- basta yung lampas ng Celebrity Sports Place --- great date place, diba Roms?). After getting drenched in the rain and gorging on sisig, crispy pata, and nilagang baka, nag-umpisa ng magkwentuhan. Here are the two best stories at our end of the table.

------------------------------------------------

FIRST: The UPCAT Kuwento (as narrated by RG)

"Tanda nyo ba nung 'pag nag-UPCAT e titignan nyo sa Palma Hall yung results? Kasama ko dad ko noon nung i-c-check namin yung results ng UPCAT ko. Grabe... sa labas pa lang may mga nakikita kang umiiyak o natahimik... nakakaawa na lalo yung mga galing probinsya pa para i-check lang kung pumasa sila kasi for them it's either State U-or-nothing."

"Well anyway, so punta ako sa Palma Hall para i-check kung pumasa ako. Yung dad ko naiwan sa kotse; naka-hazard lights nga lang siya e. So akyat ako tapos punta sa listahan..."

"R.... R.... Reyes... Reyes... Reyes.... YES!!!" (makes a mime action of scanning the list then pumps fist in the air as if rejoicing)

"So labas ako ng Palma Hall ng nakangiti and feeling proud ang lakad. Feeling ko nga yung mga katabi ko dun na tumitingin sa listahan eh iniisip nila 'Yabang naman nito porke nakapasa'.... Sakay ako sa kotse."

" 'O, pumasa ka?' tanong ng Dad ko sa kin. Sabi ko, 'Hindi.' 'Eh bakit ka nakangiti?' 'Eh kasi naman nakakahiya diba kapag pinakita ko dun na iiyak-iyak dahil di ako pumasa. At least umalis ako dun with pride and dignity intact."

Hahahahaha...

Note: RG, or Jugs, or Regulo Generoso Reyes, is an ID # 93xxxxx from DLSU. He runs his own water business and USED to play airsoft. We eagerly wait for his comeback to the game.

--------------------

SECOND: The KULANGOT kwento (as narrated by Miks)

"Alam nyo ba na merong mga tao na nag-d-drive eh feeling nila di sila nakikita ng ibang tao kung ano yung ginagawa nila sa loob ng kotse?

One time kasi nag-d-drive ako... so tingin-tingin ako left and right. Tapos may nakita akong isang mama na..." (makes nose-picking action)

"At hindi lang yun! Tipong yung (makes nose-picking action uli) eh yung parang kaloob-looban ng ilong nya eh gusto nyang maabot (makes deep nose picking action)! Naku eh pag pinilit pa nya lalo tipong utak na nya yung makukuha nya.

[At this point sobrang tawa na kami ng tawa]

And... sandali quiet makinig kayo... and hindi pa dun tapos. Binaba nya yung bintana nya and (makes flicking action with fingers)."

[Tawa uli kami]

"Meron pa siyang isang ginawa... Pagkatapos nun eh (makes action as if nagbubunot ng buhok sa ilong mag-isa using fingers lang). Dude-pare, kukuhaan ko sana ng video pa nga e. Kunwari eh tumatawag ako sa phone ko pero yung camera ng phone eh nakatapat sa kanya..."

Wahahahahahaha....

Note: Miks, or Mikko Yap, is a Makati-based yuppie who was also one of the original members of the mainstream local band Parokya ni Edgar. He specializes in single-shot 'kills' in airsoft.

-----------------------

Postscripts:
(1) First-time kong maka-friendly fire sa airsoft. Syo and Ver, soriposoriposoripo. =D
(2) One of these days, babawi ako kay Miks. Courtesy of his sniping skills, I've a black-and-blue mark at my inner thigh, very close to my 'future'.
(3) And lastly, apparently it's an all-time record for TMS attendance on the weekend's game. Dami namin!

Stippy Needs to Do...

1. Attend to my Australian visa requirements.
2. Complete the Due Diligence exercise / tasks.
3. Prepare for Front End Development work on a 70M$ project that I'm integrating.
4. Attend LJ's Barney-themed party.
5. Get more sleep.
6. Finish logistics list needed for a badminton tournament on June 3rd.

Pick-up Lines

I cite the following as a direct benefit of going to the gym regularly.

----------------------

SMS from Quito last Tuesday night: "Wow dude! You look hot and sexy, men!"

--- I arrived at Harbor Square first than him. Apparently, while I was chatting with a girl at Teriyaki Boy (old acquaintance), he was observing me from a distance. Since it was a humid night, I opted to unbutton the top two buttons of my shirt. Was in business attire that night.

I think my best friend might be gay. Nyahahaha...

At my 'medical exam' for my driver's license renewal: "Ay naku utoy... ang cute mo! Medyo nerdy ka pero cute yung pagka-nerd mo. I-date mo nga yung anak ko."

--- I dunno if I'd take that as a compliment or an insult, or both.

At Boracay, after wall-climbing in the afternoon heat: "Wow you finished it! Would you mind showing me how tonight? Ayoko ngayon, mainit pa e... By the way, I'm ... "

--- Ahihihihi... what happens in Bora stays in Bora. :D

Yesterday afternoon, at Starbucks SLT, by a female barrista: "Anything else sir Stephen? Oh, I like your shirt. Looks nice on you."

--- And my imaginary reply to that was: "Thanks. I hope you're not asking me to take it off." Dream on, Stip!

Okay, that's it for my stress-release today.

Doing My Share of Our Generation

I spent last Saturday with my 3rd attendance to our company-sponsored Gawad Kalinga-Build. There's a 1-hectare GK site just 5 minutes away from the refinery. My first participation involved a lot of soil compacting (great workout for the arms and shoulders, hehe). My second visit had me down on my knees laying brick tiles for the GK village's small park (best done by obsessive-compulsive people). Last weekend, I did some more tile-laying for the front pathways of the houses and painted a roof.

Yep, I scrambled up a makeshift ladder to one of the duplex unit's roof. The roof was nothing more than 1 layer of GI sheet (yero) nailed to steel trusses of the roof frame. It's a bit unsafe; I had to maneuver my task such that I'm always stepping on a truss. Add to that the heat of the sun and voila... one roof painted red and one burnt Stip. =)

Despite the sweat, the thirst and the sunburn, as soon as I got down from the roof and saw the result of my work, I had this light and warm feeling inside of me. I hope that the family who'll get to stay in the house that I painted will find my work satisfactory.

------------------------------------

BOO-BOO.

Setting: Starbucks Fort, 1130 pm. Myself, MJ, Richard, Tin, Buddy, Duane

Marijo: So kamusta na sa Tabangao?
Myself: Okay lang. Just a few happenings. Two of the newbies are 'sila' na.
Marijo: Eh si Jackie, kamusta?
Myself: Hmmm... si Jackie... galit pa rin yata sa mga lalake yun.
Marijo: Bakit naman?
Myself: Parang ikaw, galit sa mga lalake.
(Richard tumaas yung kilay)
Marijo: Bakit?
Myself: Same story as you. Nagkagusto sa isang lalake, nahulog ang kalooban, di naman sinalo ng lalake.
(Tin lalong nanlaki yung mata)
Myself: [...holy shit, nandito nga pala si duane!...]

Ayaaaaa.... big oopsie for me. Peace, MJ!
... Ikaw kasi e, tanong ng tanong. =D I had 4 shots of coffee that night na, and it may have affected my thought-processing.

P A K !

My most used words in the last 4 days:

* PAKINGSYET! -- upon seeing the damage of Typhoon Caloy to our housing compound here in Batangas. Decades-old trees got uprooted (pakingsyet!) and galvanized roofing flew (howlipakingsyet!) here and there. I had to defer (again) my trip to Manila because I sort of got stranded here in Batangas. [I'll post some pics soon].

* Ay PAKSTER! -- frustration over tasks delegated to me today which are labelled as "URGENT-ASAP-IMPORTANT!" (Stip, need these by Wednesday...) and I found out that the request has been at some of the managers' inboxes since two weeks ago. pakster talaga.

* PAKSYET! -- helplessness in needing to attend to several matters at once due to the fact that we are currently overloaded at the workplace; first expression upon realizing that our plant's power generator (Gas Turbines) tripped on Sunday afternoon while I'm covering for someone else's duty/

Damn... i mean ... pakingsyet!

Personalized Faith

Here's a question: If I strip down my religion into a customiz-built personalized belief system, does that make me less faithful?

The National Geographic documentary "THE GOSPEL OF JUDAS" has stirred quite a controversy, especially with the recent observance of the Christian Holy Week. It detailed the discovery, verification and interpretation of ancient papyrus texts that allegedly contain a gospel according to the infamous disciple.

Although the documentary left me with more questions than answers, it did impress upon me a lot of learnings on the development of the religion I claim to practice. Like a lot of persons and things in my life, Christianity, or more specifically, Catholicism, and I have a love-hate relationship with it. I love the part of it which makes me a better person, and I hate the part of it that is tainted with human fallibility, weakness and corruption. This part of the development of Christianity is what brings about the controversy on the Gospels in the first place. The documentary tells of the need to edit out a huge number of "gospels" available to early Christians in order to preserve the religion by selecting the more popular gospels with a coherent message. One of these is the Gospel of Judas.

It has to be understood that around and after Christ's death, the communication of his message was done through word of mouth, and in secret, due to Roman persecution. In the transfer of the stories, parables, messages, it is inevitable that details will be added, deleted, embellished and downplayed. Even after the documentation of Jesus' life on paper, reproductions were made by hand, which left a large room for error and editing.

The transference of Jesus's life, works and message through unreliable and unverifiable means would necessarily result into different interpretations of different peoples with different agendas. As are the dangers of interpreting any literary work or the life of one person, there is the danger of fundamentalism on one hand and recklessly individualistic interpretation on the other when it comes to reading the Bible or the Gospels. When you factor in the realization that there is no one true account, that there is no one reliable author, it may diminish your reliance, or at most your faith, in the Scriptures.

This is one reason why many people, especially of my age, may view the Bible as little more than an awesome piece of literature. I admit I subscribe to this view, in an attempt to strip down my faith to the bare bones. I just pick out the stories that I like, the concepts that I agree with, the tenets I believe in. We have been told it's not the way to take the Bible or religion, but that's what we've been reduced to.

Just as how the Bible is a living document weaved by countless faces, Christianity and Catholicism has been built and is built on the acts and decisions of a lot of men, not all of whom are beyond reproach and had the interests of the faithful in mind. Thus we have outdated traditions and world views that are not responsive to the spiritual needs of the people (like birth control!). It does not surprise me that the percentage of Catholics in the world had declined considerably in the last decade. The percentage that do claim to be Catholic do what I do, and follow what they think is right, while ignoring what is inconvenient, irrational, or otherwise what just doesn't feel right. Like the final message of the documentary, one can always choose what he wants to believe.

However, as with the Bible, one cannot just pick out the good parts and the bad parts of one's religion, and choose to follow what he wishes. The first stumbling block would be determining standards by which parts are adjudged as "good" or "bad". But more importantly, religion isn't that way. One can't be part Catholic, or one can't say I just like the Bible's ending. It has to be taken as a whole, interpreted as a whole, contextualized as a whole. This describes an almost academic approach, but that's the only way of understanding and appreciating it.

This is where faith comes in. The Bible will tell you things you don't accept; the Church will dictate things you don't agree with. They always have and always will. You just have to have faith that it's right. Does stripping down my religion into a custom-built personalized belief system make me any less faithful? Yes and no.

If the question is whether I am faithful to the Catholic Church and its leaders and what they teach, then it's a no on a technicality. Some leaders and teachings I like, some I don't, like the whole birth control thing, or the whole divorce thing, or the stem-cell research / cloning thing. That's not full-on faith, so maybe I don't have faith in the Church. If the question is whether I have faith in Christ as I have come to know Him, and experience Him and understand Him, then the answer is yes.

This piece may mark me as not religious, but hey I believe I'm at least spiritual.

---------------------------

I wonder what grade will I get in my RELIGIO course for this post if I submitted it as a reaction paper 10 years ago? :D

To my readers, bear with my serious side. That's only occasional for me. :D

Morning Call

Time: 0615H today.
Where: my pad

(my mobile phone ringing) ** Krriiinnggg!!!! ***

Myself: (sleepily) hello...?
Caller: STIIIFFFYYY!!!
Myself: ... who's this?
Caller: Guess who, man!
Myself: ... I'm still sleepy. Kits, is that you? What's the emergency?
Quito: Wala lang, dude. Just thought of calling you.
Myself: Okay dude. Let me get back to sleep.
Quito: Ano ka ba, man? Get up! Get your ass off your bed!
Myself: Quito... I'm really sleepy.
Quito: Make some coffee.
Myself: Okay, I'm going back to sleep. I'm hanging up, Kits. Talk to you later.

(Myself hangs up the phone)


in less than a minute...

*** KKKKRRRRRRIIIIINNNNGGGG! ***

Myself: (mumbling) paksyet...
Myself: Hello?
Quito: STIIFFFFY!!!!
Myself: Quito? Weren't we through this earlier?
Quito: SO you've made your coffee na?
Myself: (getting off the bed) Fine, fine, fine. You're going to tell me something. Let me put you on speaker mode so I can listen to you while I make my coffee.
Quito: Great, man.
Myself: Okay. Go ahead. Kwento?
Quito: So how are you man?
Myself: You woke me up for that!?
Quito: So how are you nga?
Myself: The usual... work, work, work. Went to Bora by myself two weeks ago. My parents are good, my social life is fine, no girlfriends at the moment, lots of friends, been going to the gym, John is in the US, Tom I haven't a clue... Hey, greet your mom and Marge a happy mother's day for me.
Quito: Got laid?
Myself: Who?
Quito: You.
Myself: When?
QUito: That's what I'm asking.
Myself: Hell no!
Quito: No what? "No" you didn't get laid or "No" you're not telling me?
Myself: No I didn't get laid. I'm a good boy so far.
Quito: Since January?
Myself: Since January. Why are you so interested?
Quito: You're my best friend! So I just want you to be happy.
Myself: Thanks for the flattery, but getting me laid is not the best way to make me happy.
Quito: How's your coffee?
Myself: Fine. Where are you?
Quito: Doesn't matter. So not even at the gym?
Myself: Hahaha. Keep your fantasies to yourself.
Quito: Wanna go out with my friend?
Myself: No.
Quito: Why not?
Myself: Knowing you, it's because you want me to get laid. Next topic.
Quito: I'm offering my pool.
Myself: Hahaha.. tempting, but I'm not biting. She pretty?
Quito: Seriously, she's your type. I can sense it.
Myself: Doesn't matter. I'm not doing it.
Quito: Hahahaha. You're really a good guy, Stiff.
Myself: Thank you.
Quito: Aren't you making porma to someone?
Myself: Err... that's a complicated thing for me right now.
Quito: Okay, tell me.
Myself: Not now, some other time.
Quito: Promise you'll tell me? Maybe I can help, for a change.
Myself: Err... okay.
...
..
.
Quito: So how come we became best friends?
Myself: Dunno. Opposites attract? You, the jock and me, the geek?
Quito: Not anymore. You're more athletic than me, so I heard.
Myself: From whom?
Quito: Doesn't matter. Here's our set-up. We only meet what, once or twice a year? Yet, we remain close and sometimes even closer than back in college.
Myself: Agree.
Quito: That's all you can say?
Myself: That's how best friends are, I think.
Quito: You know, for a geeky person you could have taken the time to expound further.
Myself: It's early morning!!! We'll discuss this at a later time. I got to get ready for work.
Quito: Next week?
Myself: Nope, can't. The weekend after?
Quito: Call. My place.
Myself: Fine. Barbecue?
Quito: Good. Drinks on me.
Myself: Okay. Time?
Quito: 4 pm. Pool. Swimming gear.
Myself: No problem. Maqui will be there?
Quito: Yeah.
Myself: Cool. I can finally hand his birthday and christmas gifts.
Quito: See? We haven't met in a long time!
Myself: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been meaning to, but there's just a lot in my head lately. Gotta go, kits. Thanks for the morning call.
Quito: Wait wait wait. One more thing!
Myself: What?
Quito: LJ (his second son) is having his baptism on May 28th. Lunch at Saisaki in ATC ha.
Myself: Okay. I'll schedule it.
QUito: And ninong ka ha. Just 3 sets of godparents for LJ, same as Maqui. Village chapel.
Myself: Okay. Bye Kits!
Quito: Wait wait wait. One more thing!
Myself: (impatient)... ano pa?
Quito: Marge is 3 months pregnant. Okay, bye!!

*hangs up the phone*

Random behaviors like that truly make my life interesting.

Weekend Tidbits

1. Aaaarggss... Janice got a white XTRAIL. Shucks, I so wanted that for myself, but she got her hands on one first. Inggit-inggit-inggit. Oh well, have to wait for a new kursanada. Yun nga lang, our reasons for wanting an XTRAIL are different: I want one because I can go on farther road trips aboard one (with all my weekend-slash-lakwtsa-gear) while her reason for wanting one is because of the mini-ref/cooler inside. Tsk. Another difference between males and females...

2. My folks came over to visit me at my pad in Batangas. My mom and dad, eldest and youngest siblings, 5 cousins, 3 sets of titos and titas, and one yaya. We had a good time barbequeing pork and fish while exchanging stories and senior-citizen-type jokes. At night we played badminton and went night swimming. This morning after breakfast, my tres marias titas went around the compound picking siniguelas, duhat and indian mangoes.

3. Last night after settling my folks at the swimming pool, Emer and Maimai texted me to join them for coffee at the nearby Starbucks. We talked about the bosses, their mannerisms, their lookalikes, the mr. popular mister "GO", and whatelse. After "adjourning" at around 130am, Mai had the inkling to have one-or-two beers so we crashed House 3 (Emer's quarters). More stories and more laughter.

4. Tonight, I plan to watch MI-3 finally. It's a long-distance date hahaha. Much as I would like to go see it together with U, 600+ km of land and sea is a hard thing to bridge at the moment. Man, mahirap ipasa yung popcorn if that's the case!

It's a hot weekend! I wanna go to the beach! Wala bang mag-aaya?

Recently Completed

Best game in 2006 so far for me: Kingdom Hearts 2. Absolutely left me speechless, awed and sweating when I finished it. It's a Walt Disney films meets Final Fantasy type gaming (storyline, gameplay, music).

It's not only the game itself that fascinated me, but items in the plot...

... like how two best friends both think that the other is better than himself;
... like how a boy declares it his personal mission to watch out for a girl; and
... like how someone thinks that there are other worlds apart from the one he's standing in

appealed to me greatly because these were also scenes in my life.

Playing a good video game, for me, provides the same mental challenges and personal reflections I get from reading good books.

If Kingdom Hearts 2 were a book, it would be at my bedside table always.

And The Universe Shall Give a Sign

I like the way the sun shines
and makes even the weariest soul
take a while
and enjoy
one moment
under the sun's smile.

I like the way the moon beams
at night, catching the look
of a lovely lass
giving radiance
to her beauty
and let the night pass.

I like the way the clouds shift
into shapes and signs
and make secret codes
between friends
and lovers
travelling down the roads.

I like the way the stars twinkle
and make portraits in the sky
first dim, then bright
as if whispering
then singing
a coded ballad in the night.

When the stars twinkle
and the clouds shift,
when the moon beams
and the sun shines,
...
..
.
such is the universe
giving all its signs.

Boracay First-times

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Well, I did another first two days ago. Actually, I did a lot of firsts.

It was my first time to:

1. ... go on an overnight trip to Boracay...
2. ... by myself.
3. ... participate in a yoga class...
4. ... and achieve a state of meditation that allowed me to hold dry ice for more than a minute without flinching.
5. ... hang out at Cocomangas at night...
6. ... by myself...
7. ... and make new friends...
8. ... that are Korean girls...
9. ... who watched and applauded me as I down 8 shots of tequila...
10. ... in 8 minutes...
11. ... and won a T-shirt for it.
12. ... parasail. It's boring, except for the take-off and landing parts.

It's a crazy (and expensive) thing to do, but I can do it again!

:-) In 48 Hours...

... all by MYSELF starting from now, I would have...

. gotten a venti iced mocha at starbucks,
. driven from Batangas to Manila,
. hopped on a plane to Boracay,
. hit the beach,
. gotten a massage,
. met a fabulous lady,
. had dinner with the fabulous lady,
. decided on getting a henna tattoo on either my arm or nape,
. drunk at least the equivalent of 5 beers
. gone wall-climbing,
. took a couple of dozen of pictures,
. bought some souvenirs,
. exchanged stories with old and new friends,
. done whatever crazy deed that can be done,
. hopped back on the plane to Manila,
. drive back to Batangas,
. and check my emails in the office.

Definitely something's wrong with my schedule, but I really really do need a break. Summer's almost out of my grasp.

This is another one of my "first-time" things, i.e., "when was the last time you did something for the first time?". This will be the first time I'm doing a vacation trip to the beach alone. =)

Oh yeah...

Blood Lines

After being away from my desk for the whole afternoon yesterday, I found a fruit jelly cup at my desk.

Somebody likes me.

Nyahahaha... gawan ba naman yung sarili ko ng tsismis... Ohwell, I'm no fan of gelatinous foods --- coagulated blood has the same texture! And it so happens that the fruit jelly left by my secret admirer (dream on, stip!)looks like coagulated blood.

But thanks for the fruit jelly cup. I'll do a Dracula tonight and gorge on it while watching a horror film on DVD.

------------------------------

Janice and I were chit-chatting yesterday during our regular de-stress break. After going through our workplace's 'current events' -- nilagang love triangle, Business Improvement Review tasks, coded project status -- Janice mentioned that she has relationship ties in Cavite and has roots tracing back to Emilio Aguinaldo.

"What?!"

I explained that I'm a direct great-great-great grandchild of Emilio Aguinaldo himself from my mother's side. My eldest sister and youngest brother did a couple of research works on our family's genealogy (both of which were published in different magazines) years ago.

So in short, Janice and I are distant relatives. Small world, huh.

-------------------------------

Jourdy has been contemplating on getting a tattoo on his upper back, and asked me the other night how long it'll take him to donate a gallon of blood. So that's 4.2 liters divided by 700 mL per donation equals 6 donations. The interval in-between blood donations is 3 months minimum. Therefore, it'll be 18 months before he's accomplished his target. Good for him --- at least he had the foresight to secure his blood supply in case he needs one in the future.

Getting a tattoo will ban you from donating blood, and that's one detail I forgot. I've been thinking of getting one myself (thanks to Lissa for the bright idea and to a couple of lady friends who gave me a gift certificate to a tattoo parlor for my birthday). However, I completely forgot about my blood donation status.

So far, I've donated a total of 2000 mL. I'm limited to 500 mL per donation because of my weight and body type. But according to my sis, that's enough blood in the bank for normal medical emergencies.

And what tattoos to get? I've reduced my options to either a celtic design of the Pisces zodiac or Squall's emblem on Final Fantasy VIII. Jourdy's asking for ideas on kanji translations of his name or virtues, but a-li-ba-ta writing may be good too.

My "You" Post

if i can discern that it is you
from afar by just a wisp of your hair
or your lovely ears
or your graceful shoulders

what is it am i feeling?

if i can hear your melodious voice
clearly among the chorus
or in a crowded bar
or in a throng of ladies
when I am seated away

what is this that i feel?

if i know is it you
when you pat me at my back
or when you approach me from behind
or when you leave an unsigned note

what is it that i feel?

You make me feel happy.
You make me feel at ease.
You make me feel light at my feet and do stupid things.
You make me feel welcomed.
You make me feel at peace.
You make me feel ecstatic over the simplest things.

what is it that you feel?

all i need is a sign
a point of discontinuity in time
to make my daydreams real
and tell you how i feel.