Not A Thing

06.02.2009
00:10
Bedroom

My brother has started his own blog a couple of weeks ago. He added me up to his featured list... now, I'm pressured to update mine. The problem is I coudn't organize my thoughts to come up with a solid entry.

There's just so many things going on my head, things to write about, where to begin, work tomorrow, need for sleep... and so many other thoughts whirring up in my brain. There's just so many... there's not a thing.

Makes sense?

Every Now and Then

06.30.08 Monday
9:11
Living Rm

Yup! It’s another start of the work week and I’m still at home. WAG is banned for coding on a Monday and I have to wake up at 5:30 in the morning, breeze through my morning rituals and be along EDSA by around 6:30. I usually arrive a little after 7 every Monday but today, my sched has pretty gone haywire because I unconsciously ignored my alarm and woke up at 6:30. Instead of beating the time and risking another MMDA encounter, I decided to text my bosses and be on emergency half day. I know it’s kindda lame to waste a good emergency leave but it’s not all the time that I skip my Monday mornings (unlike some people I know). Let’s just put it this way, today is a half day reward for a job well done in June….

>>>>>>>>>>>>

23:42
Living Rm

Since I came to work during lunch, I was set to work the entire afternoon until late tonight. Coincidentally, my sister was having her first Accounting long test until 9 and I was asked to pick her up. When I was on my way, she requested for Comfort Food! We usually resort to this after something draining (in all aspects of life). Yeah yeah, I know that it’s a bad thing… given that life is full of draining things... well, I’ve got that as an excuse for… (not a weight entry again!!!) Oh well, it has been a while since my sister and I did some bonding. We used to go out on sister-dates but with our own busy schedules and our own love lives to handle, we’ve got less time for each other. So, we went. We just had some chit chat over dinner. She’s 10 years younger than I but she has always been mature for her age and that made talking to her very sensible. Thanks sis for the wonderful talks! We should do our bonding time more often.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

EVERY NOW AND THEN
Earth, wind and fire

I think that the worst is through
I’m almost over you
I guess it was just a matter of time
Oh yeah
I started going out
For how can anybody go without?
Before you start moving out of your mind
Deep inside, I confess
There are times when my heart rules over my head

Every now and then
I find myself
Wond’ring about you babe
Seems I can’t forget
I can’t escape the thought of all that might have been
Every now and then

Morning’s the hardest time
I wake up dreaming bout you and I
Some days I can’t remember them all
Oh yeah
Evenings are painful still
I can’t help wondering if they always will be
How can I throw our secrets emptiness babe
I don’t mind every night
Just the times when I feel like I feel tonight yeah..

Every now and then
I find myself
Wond’ring about you babe
Seems I can’t forget
I can’t escape the thought of all that might have been
Every now and then

When I’m alone
Any time I hear music playing
And when I reach for the phone
Why does everything good make me think of you babe?
Babe… so... yeah, yeah


Here’s to someone I know who’s been thinking if it’s too late. It’s not too late yet… so just talk to her if you need to. She might be wanting to talk to you too. I guess, not really to talk about the what might have been but to finally accept the reality that it can’t be. Both of you are already happy. She knows she is and you… well, you’re probably doing the right thing but, that is not the issue. TALK. Talking it out has always worked between the two of you so do. If you won’t do it now, it’s always going to be “every now and then” and trust me, life wouldn’t be peachy…

Isn't It Ironic?

06.29.2008
03:11
My room


I’ve been finding time to write entries for my blog for the past few days. Still not as regular and monitored, just free flow of thoughts and words. The funny thing though is that our connection to the internet is still down. Hopefully, I’m still in my writing zone once I could connect to the web.

Walk With Me

at the Rockwell Tent during the Make Your Own Havaianas '08 event
06.25.2008
00:15
My room

Slippers days…
My fetish for slippers started way, way back (ask my soccer team mates, they know). I have always loved wearing them because they’re so comfortable. My feet are claustrophobic… they’re under therapy(due to office regulations) but they’d always rejoice at the presence of slippers! Hehe! Back then, my slippers were more of “kikay”. It would seemingly be ironic to find me in the field with my mud covered spikes dribbling, juggling and hard-core kicking while my flower embellished or bead studded slippers patiently waiting, laid-back under the shade of the kiosk, resting on top of my duffel. Slippers have been a wonderful part of my wardrobe. Don’t get me wrong, I love wearing shoes but it doesn’t give me the 100% comfort that slippers give. I had slippers from all over, high ones, flat ones, made out of rubber, made out of abaca, branded, tiangge bought, bright ones, neutral colored, embellished, transparent, with laces, with clips, name it… Really, it doesn’t matter where I purchase them. To me, it’s how they feel, they look and they exude the “me”-ness that matters.

A whole new world…
In 2005, when my favourite pair of slippers (purchased from EDC which was a perfect match to my tankini and bag) had to retire from all the beach frolicking, asphalt pacing, mall strolling… (you get the point). I decided to buy my first Havaianas. I found it expensive during those days but I wanted to make an investment since I needed a pair that could survive the next few months of summer and post summer adventure. I couldn’t remember where I bought my first pair. All I remember was out of all the designs (there were a couple) I fell in love with a light blue (not the baby blue kind) pair. It’s straps were white and it had white stencil-like flower patterns printed on it. I so wanted it but the sales lady had to convince me that the print wasn’t going to wear out right away and the straps won’t snap and the rubber is a different kind of rubber… in the end, I parted ways with my 800php and hoped that the words of the sales lady will hold true.

My new flip flops measured beyond expectations. They were the most comfortable pair I’ve ever worn in any terrain! Ares bought a pair as well and he loved it just the same. We brought our pairs everywhere and it didn’t disappoint us. After six months of hard work, the print was still there, the soles were intact and the comfort was still unparalleled! (Overkill for a pair of flip flops? You have to experience it to understand). The only problem I had was that I had trouble pairing it with my other non-blue-complimentary-colored outfits. I then bought my second pair. It was a white Joy, the one with flowers. It was different since it was more versatile (being neutrally colored) and I loved that it wasn’t so flat since it was a mid. I must say that when Havaianas High came out, my first pair was still intact, rubber, strap and print and it just gave a whole new meaning to flip flops! So, even though High cost more, I immediately got one… and there were 3.

Only a memory…
Unfortunately, along with my High, a new puppy was brought to our lives. It was an energetic, attention-grabbing mini-daushund who I regret not befriending early on. Used to our lazy unconcerned shitzu, I am used to just leaving my things lying around and coming back after a few hours with my stuff still intact. Now this new puppy was into his teething stage.. and you get what happened next. When I came home one evening from work, I was shocked to see my blue pair sole intact without the strap. I was crushed! I am not exaggerating… I hated that darn dog. My favourite pair, my first Havaianas which withstood all terrain… gone! From then on, the door to my room was shut to that dog and to the owner (my sister). But, that wasn’t the end. Somehow, she got to my Joy and chewed of a small part of the strap of the left slipper. I thought I’d be able to kick that dog as if it were the penalty shot of my life but I didn’t. My anger turned into sympathy when I saw the fate of my sisters pair… it was… let’s just say Hyatt in Baguio during the 1993 earthquake. Seeing how sad I was, Ice, our maid, took the initiative to sew the chewed off part with a white thread. It was amazing how became re-usable again only to be chewed off some more after we thought that Pang’s (the mini-Havaianas-eating-daushund) teething days were over. I was able to save my High from Pang’s hellish fangs but it was to suffer a different fate. One time, my foot kind of twisted such that my ankle touched the floor and I had to hold on to something to prevent me from tumbling, I guess my weight was too much for the strap that it snapped right in the joint. This time, Ice had trouble connecting it and after a few failed attempts, I accepted its fate.

The rainbow after the storm..
During those terrible Havaianas times, I was able to purchase some other pairs. Some were from a different brand but I found myself loving the pairs that came from Havaianas that I developed a bias for them. They were coming out with so many designs and so many colors that it was panicking at times.. hahaha! I have different stories for each pair. End point, I love them all. I don’t purchase them for myself alone, I guess I’ve come to really like them to give them out as gifts (to share the comfort and trendiness, so to speak).

The Roster
1 Pink Ipe - thanks Tito Jojo (my only pair(yet) straight from Brazil)
1 Lmtd. Silver Crystal Top - ATC
1 Lmtd. Purple Metallic Logo - ATC thanks bei
2 High (Orange, Brown) - Paseo de Sta. Rosa
1 Black Top - thanks Bei (he has his pair too) Trinoma
1 Gold Flash - Greenbelt 5
1 Lmtd. Chiso Marino - thanks Bei (he has his pair too) Glorietta 4
2 Create Your Own (red, blue) - Rockwell Tent (this one’s from my baby too)


My sister thinks I’m addicted… I think I am. It’s my new collection… and I love it!

SMARTBRO Rants

06.25.2008
22:48
My room

I’d so much want to rave with my new acquisition(s) and how wonderfully productive my day went but über poor performance from our network service provider forces me to rant instead. For the past 3 days, we’ve failed to connect once again to the net. This happening after a 3-day none connection just the previous week! Yeah… 2 weeks in a row… can you believe it? Right when school just started. Here’s what happened…

Last week, I tried to connect to the internet to check my mail but failed to even after I’ve reset our router. (Nope, the router isn’t the problem because the status says so and we tried connecting directly. It’s not my notebook either since Steph and Jas couldn’t connect with their notebooks as well.) As confirmed by my sister, it has been down since the day before. I called up SMARTBRO’s customer service Saturday morning when we still couldn’t connect to the net. We’ve experienced this kind of problem before and I knew that it would take some time to perform the troubleshooting and having the location of the phone which was at the living room and the network connection (wirings) at my sister’s room far apart, I tried to do the troubleshooting with the connection via router. Initially, the service rep insisted that we connect directly to the cable. They were trying to imply that the problem was with the router connection. Okay, sure… I understand that they were trying to isolate the cause of the problem so with scepticism, I obliged. To make things less tedious, I stationed myself at the living room. I was the one going to talk the customer rep while Ares was stationed at Steph’s room where he’ll execute the instructions I’d be shouting to him and so the 45-minute troubleshooting commenced…

We started out with checking what they call the base server. It’s usually the first thing they do to check if their server is down or not. It takes about 3 to 5 minutes to check this. According to the customer rep, the base server was up at that time and we have to check our connection. We were asked to check the ip settings, have it rebooted, check the ip settings again, try to connect to the net, tell him what it says, log in again…. Wait… wait… unplug, re-plug, check ip settings…. Blah.. blah.. blah… and after 45 minutes of going around the merry-go-round and assuring us that the base server was up and we did the initial troubleshoot to no success, he finally booked us up for a visit from the tech guys. We were scheduled to be visited on Monday but the tech people arrived on Sunday. Good thing my sister was there to look over things. According to the tech guys, there was no problem with our “physical connection”. The problem, they said, was at the base station… huh? WTF! (Excuse me) We spent 45 minutes of shout troubleshooting only to find out that the problem was with the base server! I didn’t get back to them on that… for me, as long as we could connect again, no problem!

Then, the weekend came. With Frank (signal no 3 storm) gushing its winds and none stop rain, it wasn’t a wonder that we couldn’t connect to the internet. Besides, tv cable was down plus several occasions of brownouts. But when electricity finally stabilized and we could again surf through Arirang… we expected that the internet connection would too be up. But nooooooo! We tried to connect directly, re-boot and re-pug.. nada… no connection! I was feeling terrible last night and went home quite early only to find my sister just coming home from the internet café because she had to do some research.

Once again, I called up their customer support to make a report. I’ve waited for 10 minutes... enough for me to be pis*ed (excuse me again) in addition to the annoyance I was feeling for the loss of connection and my pestering headache. When I reported that we couldn’t connect to the internet… it was like deja vu! I was once again being asked to execute the gruelling troubleshooting process!!! I was to irate to give in this time and I had to tell the unsympathetic customer rep that I wanted to terminate their services and transfer to another provider that can assure us of a better connection… to which he lamely replied a superficial “We’re sorry for the inconvenience but you can visit any of our SMART outlets to terminate our services..” Those weren’t his exact words but it’s pretty tantamount to that.

Being in a service oriented industry myself, it’s a no brainer that the no. 1 product that we sell is SERVICE! It is being instilled in us time and again that the client and his needs should come before pretty much anything. SMARTBRO has to do something about how they do things. I know at the end of the month, I’d still be collected the same amount for subscription fee… for poor internet service… boo! I wouldn’t want to call their customer service hotline ever again… they make me feel unimportant and my concerns petty… for poor customer service.. boo! With that, I have resolved that I really will terminate my services with SMARTBRO and hopefully, I can find a better network provider that can deliver what they assure their clients… efficient service!

To Bora and Beyond

03.28.2008
17:49
Ofc

As I wait impatiently for the clock to tick 18:00… I get excited with the thought of our upcoming family trip to Bora. After the back and forth calls and e-mails to our contact for accommodations, the countless internet hours for rush booking flights, the numerous excel sheets and computations for the gruesome budgeting… it’s final… WE ARE GOING TO BORACAY!!!

This trip is going to be our family vacation this summer. It has been a long time since we, the immediate family, got together for an out-of-town trip. My sister whose schedule has been chaotic ever since her ‘Inggo’ days until now that she’s so busy with college life; my brother who’s constantly battling with the toxicity of med school; my mom whose only rest days, are… um.. none (that is, before her retirement), and I with the irregularity of work schedule; we’ve all got together, with the corresponding better halfs (excuse me, mom), and decided that whatever happens, we have to go somewhere (a.k.a. Boracay) on the first week of April. If the trip doesn’t push through on this date, the postponement will be indefinite! So, after pulling all kinds of ends, we’re finally going.

A major concern for Boracay goers apart from the budget is the “physical preps”. I even know someone who enrolled in a gym to get his bod ready. I wish I had prepared too… but, who cares! I’ll be with my family, some of my dear friends will be there, I’ll be with my teddy… with the sand, the sun and the sea… what more can I care about. (Besides, if some girls who are as um…curvy (ßthis is used quite relatively), as me can sport themselves in two piece string bikinis, I can get away with my own version of 2 piece (tankini, that is). A, heck! I couldn’t care less. I have resolved to having ultimate fun in Boracay whatever happens. More on the bora trip when I come back!!!

Year Starter

03012007
17:37


I have left everyone (who bothers to read my blog) hanging with my previous entry. I apologize for not updating… There were so many times and instances that I wished to write… for the sake of informing friends, to release pent up emotions, to share whatever… but, I didn’t even have the time to write or type it in draft.

As I have come to realize much too often, time can be a brutal nemesis in the race called life. Just when you think that you’re meters ahead and comfortably pause to catch your breath, before you even look up, it has passed you by. Time stops for nothing, for no one. It’s my constant struggle to catch up.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Here are snippets of what has happened and what is happening with my life:

2006 was a good year for me. It was difficult but I could now say that I have regained footing. With the closure of lots of things, I can now say that I’m ready to face a brighter future.

The year closed with a series of momentous events. 5 of my friends got married in December including my best friend in high school and my bessy (both coming from long term relationships). Although I haven’t got lengthy updates from them after their weddings, I’m sure all of them are enjoying their married lives.

* * * * * * * * * * *

My family started 2007 with a new experience. Instead of spending on fireworks that would expire in a few minutes, we decided to check in a hotel and view the fireworks from neighboring sites. The experience was great and the hangover brunch buffet the next day was greater!

Thanks to the spill over of orders from our mini-baking business, I was able to comply with the last payment of my HSBC, registered my car on time, renew my Wheelers application and spent a little on my wants! It was indeed a great start for 2007!

* * * * * * * * * * * *

February was a mix of sorts. One of the reasons that pushed me to get back to blogging was the very unfortunate passing away of a close friend from college. His death brought sound to the suppressed clanging of wanting to renew past relationships. It was sad that it had to be this to make me put my relationships in top priority. Well, it has always been but now, there’s more meaning and more feeling to it.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

For Valentine’s we were supposed to go on a cruise to Palawan. Due to unfortunate events, we ended up in Puerto Galera. I guess this marks our annual visit to White Beach which wasn’t at all bad. We discovered that Feb. was a great month to be here. It wasn’t crowded like during the summer season. Since it still wasn’t peak season, prices were still low in terms of accommodation. Water was cold but the sun was out during the day time and that was enough for me. We tried something new too… for a few extra pesos, we went island hopping and snorkeling. We were supposed to go trekking but again time caught up with us and pushed us to postpone the trek for next time. Good thing coz’ there’s always next time for Puerto Galera!

* * * * * * * * * *

On the boat to White Beach, I met Janelle (not her real name of course). Thinking that I was a foreigner (because of the color of my skin) like herself, she introduced herself and her cousins and after a henna tattoo session and a lousy strawberry shake and the complicated conversation (she’s Korean and travels around with an electronic dictionary… go figure) in between, we’re now friends… as plain as that!

I don’t mind trying to figure out that she’s asking me if I’ve been to Korea from all her gestures or wait up for her to type in, search the translation and listen to her electronic dictionary for the pronunciation of “foreigner”. I believe that communication shouldn’t be a barrier to be friends with anybody. Janelle is a nice person, trusting, friendly and willing. There’s nothing really wrong when somebody extends out a hand and you take it. I’m old enough to be friends with complete strangers and it has taken a few stumbles for me to know when to draw the line. In Janelle’s case, so far, so good… we’re actually having dinner tonight!

* * * * * * * * * * * *


Now that March is starting, we’ve got loads of activities ahead of us. Hopefully, our trip to Palawan pushes through this month. It’s going to be my first time for both the cruise and Palawan. I’m really really excited!!! I was also able to finally install The Sims 2 in my notebook (yeah yeah… scoff at me but what can I do? I’m addicted!) (No) thanks to my annual check-up,

Rat Race

09.12.2006
16:08
Ofc.

Just when I was prepping up to start applying in other companies, my current employer decides to give us the regularization we’ve been waiting for 5 loooooooooooooong years!

At the start of the year, HR told me that my contract renewal along with a measly increase in compensation will be delayed for at least three months in line with higher management’s decision of the no movement (um, let’s say) policy within the company, I was crushed. At that point, I felt like calling it quits. After considering my relationships, especially with Mojacko, I have decided to stay until the end of this year. Anyway, his contract will be ending by December too and we could leave the company the same time thus opening the possibility of applying overseas. So, the final decision was for me to sign my new contract with the adjustment in compensation but to haggle to keep the end of contract to the original agreement which is December 2006.

It took me sometime to convince myself that I need to get through one more year of what I deemed were small but injustices still. I knew that I would have to exert extra effort to go through my work so I created rewards, a look-forward-to list and other kinds of motivations. To make my day go faster (to cheat time..) I made a count down chart. I listed all the months from January to December and the days with their corresponding how-many-days-before by the end of each day, I’d cross the cell out; by the end of each month, I’d cut out that column. I posted it on the side of my cubicle in spite of the 5S implementation. It served as a reminder that I’d get to my destination one day at a time… when I was pissed off with a client, I’d just look at that reminder and tell myself that… “It’s just another day closer to my day of redemption!” And so... the days passed and very quickly indeed. Before I knew it, half of the year has already gone by! Yey!

I started to update my resume. Mojacko and I started to talk about our prospects. Ms. U and Kuya, they’re my co-contractual employees since 5 years back, we’ve set up a series of “learning sessions” every Saturday wherein each of us would be discussing the sub-modules that we’re currently assigned so that we could have even a glimpse of the other sub-modules, that way we could increase our “market value”. We were also scouting possible companies that we could apply in. We deemed that application time would be around 2 to 3 months therefore; we should start applying by Aug. or Sept. and so comes the dilemma with regards to my very first statement.

(Today is 09.21.2006 11:37 ofc)
I had to postpone the whole entry since I attended to other matters first…. I continue to write:

As I write this, I am already out of the dilemma. Let me back track a bit… what’s the dilemma in the first place? Okay, as I’ve said I have really psyched myself to be moving on to another company towards the end of the year for possibly greener pastures. Two years ago, I’ve been offered twice my current basic salary by a rival company. I was so tempted but begged off out of fear that I might not be able to meet the demands of a new project. Given that, I felt that I’d be able to haggle for a better offer this time now that I am more experienced. Plus, my stay here has generally been tough. I felt that there has been great injustice by the company towards its employees.

(Today is 10.10.2006 17:33 ofc )
I have decided to make this a series of entries… it’s practically impossible for me to finish this in one sitting as persistent callers evolve to pestering callers… I promise… this ought to be a worthwhile read.

Perdition

09.04.2006
11:30
Ofc


I’ve been climbing this cliff anxiously striving to reach the top. With my body bruised and aching, the skin on my hands torn from the sharpness of the rocks that are the only things I cling on, I search for the edge of the cliff but my eyes are blinded by the glare of the sun. I can’t move further. I decide to let go.

As the wind opens its doors for my descent, time cushions me and I see every stone tainted with my skin and my blood. I have come so far from the bottom… but there’s no time for regret. My body breaks the water and claims my senses. The light that has glared my eyes is transformed into a single light drawn from the path of my fall. Into the depths, bitter cold draws out the warmth in me and the pressure starts to mount affecting the only source of life in me, my heart, for my whole being has been left numb.

Erratum

Just dropped by to correct some mistakes... before I do... I'd just like to thank you to those who have corrected me on some of my mistakes from the previous entry. As I've said.. experts, correct me if I'm wrong... who else would than those who know best...

Okay...

1. The file that I was frustratingly downloading which by the way I failed to during that time but, was successful just this evening/midnight (I'm enjoying it right now with full head bob for the past hour...) is not Paul Thomas' August 6 mix... rather it's Paul Thomas' 2006 August Mix.

2. Also, the file isn't 1 hour and 25 minutes long, it's 1 hour and 25 seconds long... not 1:25:00 but 1:00:25.

3. The group I was referring to... the one alongside Wolfgang is not Kamikaze but Kamikazee

4. Anton Ramos' cd is not entitled Chillout Project: House Series, it's Chill Out Project: House Sessions Series.

.... so far that's it. I'd be posting my comment on the Paul Thomas mix soon. I'm just a bit busy with work plus I'm doing my surfing and net-related stuff over the notebook since our desktop is down at the moment. Need to catch some zzzs now! Post and comment on...