It's Only 5 PM

... and I'm already tipsy at Bora.

WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHKAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAskfghaldgaw.eofga.dfgadhihgiotuwpo..

Many Thanks

Dear Marijo, Tin, Buddy, Richard, Kath, Duane, Emer, Marlon, Julie, Val, Maimai, Yang, Ian, Tina, paul Chang, John, Fiel, Quito, Bettina, Macky, Rurik, Nikko, Dee, Jugs, Rae, Jayjay, Annelle, Keith, JP, Orange, Boom, Choy, Vern, Nelle, Raquel, Jonas, Louie, Jenny, Mig, Bai, Chewy, Serge, Rina:

Thanks for celebrating my 30th birthday with me at Mag:Net Cafe! Pucha, I wasn't counting on seeing all of you in one place!

We totally rocked Mag:Net on March 14th! Without you there, it wouldn't be my best party ever.

Thanks also to Glenn, Janice, Gyro, Paul Chang, Ube, Lissa, Marj, Donna, Shierry, the rest of the ultimate kayumanggi group, the rest of my airsoft friends, my family and extended families, the management of Mag:Net cafe, my high school batchmates who greeted me online and the others who greeted me but I missed out in this message.

I thank the Lord God for all of you. =)

Mar 14th 2009, Mag:Net Cafe along Bonifacio High Street. 9 PM to 3 AM! TOP PICTURES, clockwise from top-left: (1) Niks, Chard, Stip, Chew and Bai on a smoking break. (2) Raise up your hands! (3) Bettina signs Stip's birthday shirt. (4) Team KAYU signs Stip's birthday shirt.
All photos by tinters and buds. Thanks!

More photos at tin& buddy's smugmug: http://bugnotandkulot.tintoot.com/gallery/7597299_ZqGeJ

Bloody March 14th 2009

I’ve been thinking about this for more than three years now.
And I finally decided to had it done.

I got an ink job from Gene Testo as my personal birthday gift. I’ve booked an appointment for the tattoo at 11 am last Saturday after providing Gene’s studio the tattoo pattern the night before. He was impressed that I’ve brought my own pattern and remarked that I must be really committed on getting my first tattoo.

It was the most painful experience in my whole life to date. To describe the pain of getting a tattoo is beyond words.


And here’s what it looked like.

The tattoo is really simple: its composed of four alchemy symbols arranged in an inverted-Y position. The simplicity of the pattern gives me expansion options to add-on more symbols in the future (if I do decided to get more). I had it placed across my left shoulder blade, the side of my brazo de Diablo.

There are both short and long answers to the question “What does the tattoo mean?”

The short answer is: I enjoy activities on the air and land, I’m a Pisces, and I’m an accommodating person. I’m left-handed, so I placed it at my left shoulder blade. Pretty much a shallow explanation.

The long answer is:

The top symbol is the alchemical sign for air and directly below it is the sign for earth. At the back of my head I’ve always thought that I was an “earth” person – climbing mountains, running across fields, rappelling, camping – anything outdoor. Earth also represents the firmness of beliefs --- religion, morals, intelligence –- effectively using these as the groundwork for all their actions and reactions. Most of the time ‘earth persons’ are quiet and have a melancholic temperament.

My life experiences in the past few years dictated that I was really an “air” person. The reason for my outdoor activities’ preference is not because I had my foot on dry land but rather because I enjoy the feel of the wind against me and the thrill of being at heights. Flying objects fascinate me. I formulate ideas quickly when needed. I talk my mind when I think it is necessary. Such are the traits of people who have an affinity for the ‘air’ element. Air also corresponds to the heart and the blood, and people with such an affinity would usually serve as the most loyal of friends.

At the lower right of the tattoo pattern is the alchemical symbol for “quicksilver”, or mercury. It also stands for the planet Mercury. Quicksilver, also known as “living silver”, is one of the three prime substances used for most alchemy processes, able to accommodate any substance for purification. It was believed that quicksilver has the ability to remove the impurities of other substances to be used in alchemy, making it as pure as possible.

It took me some time to finally decide on using the alchemical symbol of quicksilver for my tattoo. I did a lot of research online. Later on, I found out that quicksilver has been ascribed to critical thinkers, because it is the nature of critical thinkers to distill out the unnecessary from the necessary.

The last symbol at the core of the tattoo has two representations. First, it’s the symbol for the Pisces zodiac. Secondly, it’s the last process in an alchemist’s quest of transmuting ordinary lead into gold, and this process is called ”projection”. In alchemy lore, by letting the Philosopher’s Stone come into contact with lead (or any other material), that material is changed into gold. Projection, however, is the skill of the alchemist to turn any material into gold without the Philosopher’s Stone coming into contact with that material (but of course, the Philosopher’s Stone must be in possession of the alchemist).

Such a simple tattoo pattern has an extensive meaning for me. Paraphrasing all the discussions above, my tattoo represents who I think I am and can be: I’m steadfast in my beliefs, quiet, occasionally melancholic, adventurous and have a deep sense of loyalty. I aim to be a better person by always thinking critically. And if I’ve become a better person as I become older, I hope it inspires others to be better themselves.

After enduring the 2+ hour session, gritting my teeth and taking deep breaths, the tattoo was finally done. It’ll take about 2 weeks for it to completely heal. I was bleeding for about three hours after the session (the shirt I was wearing was blood-stained by the afternoon).

I felt more “complete” with the tattoo on. It made me feel satisfied with my 30 years so far.

Yup, I turned 30 on March 14th of 2009, on the day that I got my tattoo. =)

Singing Francis M

I’m a terrible singer. I used to be a tenor during my elementary Glee club days (yup, believe it or not), and during my choir stint then our group won for two consecutive years at the Yamaha Con-Con (Concert Contest) district level. I even have a few lines on solo for those contests. In particular, these are the only lines that I recall:

Kung nag-iisa’y alaala
Ang yakap mo at pagmamahal
Hinding-hindi malilimutan
Ngayong walang nagmamahal.
At ang lumipas na pag-ibig ay alaala
Ng puso kong…

I can’t remember the last couple of lines. I occasionally hum this song when I’m swimming or in the shower.

Then, puberty sets in and my voice cracked. I can’t carry a decent tune afterwards, hahaha.

Nowadays, I usually shun singing in public. Unless there’s alcohol involved. Everytime there’s a videoke gathering amongst friends and colleagues, I rarely volunteer to pick a song and sing a tune.

Except for one song in particular.

It’s Kaleidoscope World by Francis M.

Sadly, Patay na si Kiko. He passed away last Friday.

I’m pretty sure that there are thousands of blogs paying tribute to Francis M, one of Pinoy music’s icons. Back during my glee club days, I’ve memorized ”Mga Kababayan Ko”. Whenever I’m on the beach lying in the sand slightly buzzed and on the lookout for shooting stars, I sing ”Cold Summer Nights in my head.

His Kaleidoscope World? It gets me singing.

"Every color and every hue
Is represented by me and you
Take a slide in the slop
Take a look in the kaleidoscope
Spinnin’ round, make it twirl
In this kaleidoscope world."

Ma-miss ka namin, Kiko.

Photos taken by STIP. Francis M at SAGUIJO. Mar 31st 2007.

First of Summer: Surfing at San Juan

After attending the planning session of our group at Subic last Thursday and Friday, and facilitating the entertainment for Friday night, my colleagues decided to drive up to La Union and try surfing.

Haha… they had me and another colleague on a leash for this spontaneous trip because we were basically passengers in the carpool. Although I’m partial against trying anything in open water, I’m willing to try anything once.

So after checking out at Subic International Hotel on Saturday morning, we headed off to San Juan, La Union.

All it took was less than an hour’s session. The instructors will teach you how to lie on the board, how to paddle out, how to get up on the board, and lastly, how to stay on the board. I got to stand on the board after 6 attempts. Among our group, ako ‘yung late bloomer, hahaha.. I think Jay got it on his first attempt, followed by Bai (second attempt), and then Chewy (on her fourth or fifth attempt).


Note to beginners: Do stretching of your neck muscles beforehand. I’m nursing a stiff neck today.

For particulars:

Stayed at Se-Bay surf resort at San Juan. Room for 4 was 1600 Php/night. Strong airconditioning and clean toilet. Meals at the in-house restaurant ranged from 150-200 Php per dish, although the waiting time is a bit long (we had to wait for about 40 minutes before our orders were served). Breakfast at the nearby Lola Nanny’s is ~100 Php per pax.

The resident instructor and operator of the place, Badz, is friendly. He’s got a good crew of instructors. Surfing lessons are 400 Php/hour (inclusive of 1 hour of surfboard rental), strictly on a 1:1 basis.

The area is friendly for non-swimmers-who-want-to-try-surfing: water depth at the launch area is 6 feet max (if you don’t know how to swim, you can ask your instructor to launch you at a shallower depth), but do add 3-4 feet for the waves that you’ll come across.

Other things to do: ultimate frisbee. The sand is very fine, and great for playing frisbee on the beach. I had a good time diving for the disc. At nighttime, an area of the beachfront is well-lighted (stadium-quality lights!) which allows for night games. We managed to invite a few people to try out ultimate frisbee and play a friendly game for about an hour.

How to get there: Take NLEX + SCTEX, exit at Tarlac. From Tarlac, pass through Pangasinan and then La Union. At La Union province, the sequence of towns will be Rosario >> Agoo >> San Fernando >> San Juan. Travel-time from La Union/Baguio junction to San Juan is approximately 2+ hours.

Many thanks to Carmela and Kath for providing me quick tips for this spontaneous trip. Much appreciated!

Summer’s officially started!


Photos:
Top -- Chewy
Middle -- Bai
Bottom -- Jay

... and as usual, no photos of me since I was the one taking the photos.

The Things That I Learned from the New Year League

Last Sunday was the finals for the New Year League for ultimate frisbee. We lost a very critical game (against Team Jogadores). Sigh…

But the game last Sunday was the one where I really leveled up.

I have the throwing skills to be a handler. Well, that’s what the Class A boys (Blue and Sher) and girls (Nina) told me last Sunday. Ever since I started playing disc, my comfort zone was really in running, defense and catching. I’m only half-confident with my throwing skills. Truthfully, I was both shocked and scared at last Sunday’s game when the team captain announced that I’m going to be one of the handlers.

Very thankful ako to Sher for the tips on how to act and move as a handler. He literally crammed me into the role, giving me pep talks and coaching me at every opportunity that I was off-field. It’s really a great feeling for me when he told me in one of his pep talks that I have the talent for handling. My next step should be not to hesitate to throw. Nina said the same thing to me: ”Magaling ka magbato. Kayang-kaya mo yung pwesto (as handler).”

Talk about team pressure.

Babad din ako sa field. Out of the 13 points played, I was in there for ten points. From my last league participation, I would have expected that I’d be down on my backside suffering from leg cramps and sore muscles by the end of the day. Amazingly, my overall condition was still okay after the game.

Despite all our team’s efforts, we lost that critical game 7-6. I have this feeling at the back of my head that I could have prevented that loss --- there was this one goal scored by the opposing team that I could have prevented if I kept to the basic rule of never leaving your eyes off your opponent. I made the crucial mistake of stealing a glance at where the disc will be coming from, and the next thing I knew is that the man I’m defending has already bolted away from me towards the goalzone.

Next time around, I commit myself to playing better.
Perfect the basics.
Remove my hesitations.
Practice.
Practice.
Practice.

And as always, have fun.

It's a Girl!

I had anticipated the kid, but we didn't do the diligence of determining its sex via ultrasound beforehand. Everybody just assumed that it was going to be a boy.

And to our surprise and collective astonishment, at 0004H of 21st February, the baby girl was born.

And here starts one of my bigger challenges in life.

Chopsuey

Too many things to write about...

1. ROCKBAND

For the last 3 weeks, I've been playing an hour each night online on Rockband. I've met some really good guitar players and superb vocalists when I sub as a drummer for their respective groups. Haha.. I've received my share of compliments for my drumming skills, like "Nice work on the drums, man!" and such.

Anyway, playing as a 'sub drummer' in the online Rockband community has earned me quite a reputation already. When I opened my Playstation account last night, I had a half dozen invites from "strangers" (online players who I haven't played with) to sub as a drummer for their "jam" sessions.

Also, out of boredom, I've created character profiles for a few colleagues who play with me occasionally. Ahahahaha.


2. TERIYAKI BOY

It was really hot yesterday afternoon.

I had a very late lunch (3 pm!) at Teriyaki Boy in Glorietta yesterday, as I've been craving for Japanese food. I was expecting that I'll be the lone customer there at that time, but there were a couple of cute Japanese college girls there chatting away over their cold soba noodles. One of them had a Hello Kitty charm dangling from her mobile while the other girl had red irises (special contact lenses, I suppose).

I seated myself across them, gave my order to the waiter, and eavesdropped on their conversation while I had my sashimi appetizer.

Now don't get me wrong... I generally don't eavesdrop. If ever I do, I have a perfectly good reason for doing it. In this case, I wanted to test out whether my Japanese language skills are still good enough for a conversation.

Halfway through my unagi don, Hello Kitty girl said something like this: "hadagi uetto waga... atsui!!". I burst out laughing! Bwahahaha! And the girls glanced at me suspiciously, with RedEye girl saying "Domo...?"

I apologized, said "Hai!" and blurted out a "sumimasen!" while smiling at them. I took out my pen and scribbled some stuff on a napkin and handed it to them, babbling that I'm not really fluent in Japanese speech but I'm pretty good at kanji writing.

Here's my rough translation of what they were talking about:

Hello Kitty girl: It's so warm here... my panties are actually wet!
Me: *snickers*, then goes "Bwahahahaha!"
Red-eye girl (suspiciously looking at me): You understood that?
Me: Yes. But I'm really sorry about it. =)


3. I went to the F.O.B. concert...

... and all I got was a t-shirt. Just kidding. I had a great time!(picture to be posted)

The last time I watched a concert at the Aranate Coliseum was when The Corrs were in Manila. Last Friday, I had the chance to watch Fall Out Boy.

Scanning quickly through the crowd (not bad... about 90% full!), I realized that:
a) almost 2/3 of the audience were kids in the 12-16 year old age bracket
b) two-thirds of the two-thirds mentioned above were girls
c) of the 1/3 who were not kids, about half of them looked like parents or chaperones, and they seem to have no clue who Fall Out Boy are

Thus, that leaves only 1/6 of the original audience who are in my age group and know that they're at Araneta Coliseum to enjoy the F.O.B. concert.

Front act was by Hey Monday, and in case you don't know who they are, tune in to Animax channel on your cable TV. Think Jonas Brothers meet Paramore, and give the female vocalist a New Yorker punk twang. Goodness.. I don't know any of their songs!

Finally, at 930pm, FOB got onstage and performed 17 songs for the night plus another 2 songs for their encore. They basically played the songs that's in their "LIve in Phoenix" concert album. Plus of course, their two hits from their newest album Folie a Deux namely "I Don't Care" and "America's Suitehearts".

Their stage presence was awesome. Neat tricks by the guitarists and energetic headbanging and stick-twirling by the drummer. The stage effects were also fantastic, specially when they performed "I Don't Care" and had all the lights onstage turned off --- all their instruments glowed in the dark, flashing on-and-off synchronized to the music and to their stage choreography.

By the end of the night, my voice was hoarse from shouting out the lyrics to their songs and joining the audience in some cued singing.


4. Gyro Now Smiles

Ngumingiti na daw si Gyro, according to Janice. I visited them early evening yesterday.

Unfortunately, Janice is a bit jealous of her husband Glenn because their 2-month old kid Gyro only smiles to Glenn (so far). Hahahaha!

Belated happy anniversary to you two, by the way.

Logic Problem

Two friends were at a hospital, just outside the delivery room.
One of them is the father of the child to be born, but the other will be the father of the same child to be born.

How is that possible?

Reality Check

I was at our head office yesterday to deliver a presentation to our group’s regional envelope manager and his successor. It was also an opportunity for me to be introduced to them and showcase my technical and supply-chain skills –- I was under the impression that it was a pre-conceived tactic by our leadership team.

Anyway, I delivered the presentation smoothly and confidently (I only stammered once!). Our guests commended our group’s showcase of competency. Even our group’s VP gave us a pat on the back.

Later in the night, after a few games of badminton with some colleagues, I joined my co-worker and our VP for drinks at a bar just behind the office. As I took my seat, our boss ordered me a beer and shot me a question:

“What’s the next job you would like, Stip?”

With no second thoughts, I confidently answered, “In the long term, I want the Fuels Technical Manager position, sir.”

”You didn’t answer my question. What next assignment would you like to have?”

“I figured that I have 2 to 3 more years of tenure at my current position. By that time, if the Fuels Technical position is vacant, I would apply for it.”

Boss took a sip of his beer, nudging me to do the same. And I took a few gulps of San Mig Light.

”There’s no way you can get that position as your next assignment.

Over the next few minutes, our boss explained why I cannot get that next assignment on my next job transfer. I needed to further broaden my skillbase. I also didn’t realize that the FTM position was two rungs above my present job level, and hence I needed a “springboard position” in case I really want to pursue that assignment.

At the end of that one-beer discussion, I’ve gained a broader view of my career options.

I wonder if an assignment in our Lubricants business is as exciting and rewarding as my current stint in our Fuels business?

I need to give that some serious thought.

I’ll start asking around.

Leveling Up

I’ve been posting a lot about disc (or more commonly known as ‘frisbee’ for non-frisbee players) recently because I’m hooked into the sport. Here’s another disc post.

Last Saturday, I believe that I’ve played my best game in a disc tournament.

It’s our team’s first time to play in pool A for a tournament league, so clearly we’re the underdogs in the bracket. Moreover, I was one of the team’s newest players --- -- barely 6 months experience of playing ultimate frisbee, along with Bai.

The veterans say that playing ultimate frisbee is 50% skill and 50% confidence. I started out in this league with some skill and little confidence (specially after hearing about the story of the big-bald-guy-frisbee-player who taunted “I’m gonna break your head like a piñata” in one of the 2008 tournaments, what little confidence I had slid down a bit more). But despite the nervousness and having clammy hands, I took the plunge just like the time when I went bungee-jumping. Once you jump out, there’s no turning back. Well, that’s how my mindset was.

Finding myself in the familiar air and grounds of Alabang Country Club, I religiously participated in the warm-ups and drills. I know that I just need to push myself harder to be worthy of being in pool A (and hopefully get a decent number of minutes on the playing field so that my 700php tournament fee won’t be a regret spend). Trying to perfect my passes, my footwork, field vision, reflexes and endurance, I wanted to assure myself that I’m good enough to be in the pool A line-up.

And on my first game for the day, our team captain Blue fielded me in for our starting line. I couldn’t believe what I heard! For the last two weeks, I get fielded during the non-critical periods of the game (such as when it’s obvious that we won’t win the match) --- that was okay with me since I’m basically a greenhorn and I perfectly understand the need to let the more skilled players have the field in hopes of still salvaging the game. I was content with watching the game, taking in how the other disc players execute their plays so that I could learn more.

On the field, Blue struck another surprise at me. He announced that I’m to be his secondary handler. Whoa! For disc games, playing as a handler is one of my low points. It’s like being the point guard in basketball --- it’s the handler’s responsibility to bring the disc down to their goal zone, and rescue the disc from their teammates if they’re being trapped by defense. It requires very good passing skills and field vision. My passing skills are only mediocre --- my key skills in ultimate are catching, defense and running/endurance --- and that further rattled what little confidence I had.

For the next 10 minutes, despite that lump in my throat called ‘fear’, I played with focus and determination. I was amazed that I can keep up with my “match” (“match” is the player from the opposing team who’s defending against you or the one that you’re defending on). My defense was good too --- I’ve managed to bring the stall count up to 8. 75% of my passes were good. I was playing at par with pool A players!
And the culminating point is that I scored our team’s first goal for the game. Wahoo!

In a span of 10 minutes, my experience and confidence leveled up considerably.

Throughout the game, Blue would field me in every so often like a regular player. I didn’t get the chance to score another goal though, but I was tough on my defense and made a couple of assists. One particularly tall white guy on the opposing team even complimented me on my running --- he admired that I was able to keep up with him during the game, applying tough defense and preventing him from scoring goals despite our large height difference.

Although our team lost, last Saturday was the best game I’ve ever played in for frisbee.

P.S.
Thanks to my workmates Julie, Val and Jay for covering my duty last Saturday. The Krispy Kremes were very much worth it for my great game experience.

I Don't Care

I say I don'te care about what you think
As long as it is about me.
The best of us can find happiness in misery.

This song has been playing over and over in my head for the last month or so, ever since I downloaded it for my Rockband game in my PS3. I love the drum sequence (really simple, but very catchy). I even played this song on drums AND on vocals at the same time.

"I Don't Care" is from the Fallout Boy's newest album Folie a Deux. The Rockband game had a great influence on my music taste for the last 2 years. I wasn't sure before that Fallout Boy was a good band with good music, but playing their songs on the game made me realize that their music (and beat) is just right for me.

And by some wild coincidence, my best friend gave me 3 tickets to the Fallout Boy's concert on Feb 13th --- not just any ticket, but Lower Box tickets. Sweet! It's a big coincidence because he got the tickets from his employer, who in turn has those free tickets because they developed the Rockband game I'm playing, and it was Rockband that got me to listening seriously to Fallout Boy songs.

It's a pity that they weren't VIP or Patron tickets, but what the heck. I don't care. Beggars can't be choosers. *grin*

I just realized that the chorus of the song "I Don't Care" is how my demeanor has been for the last many months.
As it goes, the best of us can find happiness in misery.