Goodbye, '07!

This is my last post for 2007.

I have lots of things to thank for. Lots of blessings were given to me this year:
- 365 daily opportunities
- 52 weekly lessons
- 12 months of loving
- 1 year of life

I may have missed some good stuffs this year, but maybe it happened so I won't miss the much-better stuffs next year.

2008 will be a very exciting year for sure (for me, at least). Wedding, married life, new house, (new car???). Entirely new life.

Goodluck to all of us!

Bangungot

It's almost 4am. An hour ago I just had my very first nightmare. It was so vivid I can retell everything in full detail. But I don't want to share it here because it involved some very close friends and the scenario is pretty personal (though I didn't really care how gory it was). Now I know how hard and darn freaky it was to be trapped in a bad dream. I knew that I was screaming to death and jerking every muscle of my body in a hopeless attempt to escape from oblivion. I felt that all my effort to get off from that nightmare was non-existent in the real world. Luckily, I was still able to wake up and goosebumps greeted me in all their glory. Now I lost my sleep and feel so hungry.

Coming closer

Galing kami sa magiging venue ng wedding reception namin ni mahal. It's a nice place and fits within our budget of ?00K. The venue manager also presented (almost) complete wedding packages na sa tingin namin ay ok na ok na. In short, siya na halos lahat ang bahala, ikakasal na lang kami. =)

We also looked at some sample wedding photo albums at hindi na pala uso yung 15x15 na ang kakapal at puting puti na style. Mas hi-tech na ang layout at packaging.

Sa food naman, mukhang mabubusog naman ang mga magiging bisita namin.

Excited na ako!

Lotus Feet

My vertically challenged attribute justifies my small feet for a male homo at 7 (US size). Unfortunately, Nike has no male size for moi pieds. Bye Airmax 360. Bye Nike Free. Welcome Adidas (my second choice).

***

Sarap ng feeling ng nag-iipon na ng gamit. Bumili kami ni mahal ng Airbed at Steam Iron. Tumingin na rin kami ng dining set at ref pero magagalaw budget namin sa kasal. Baka microwave na muna.

"I'm sorry... for your face."

*Title c/o an American Boulevard tee print

***

Natutuwa ako sa youngest sister ko. She's just 6 years old but she has her diary na. I'm not reading it but my mother told me about it. Actually she showed me the diary notebook but I didn't want to open it, though I wonder what stuffs are written in there.

***

Mahal pa rin yung Nike Airmax 360, kahit 3thou na ang ibinaba (from 8 to 5thou sa Nike park-Fairveiw). Gusto ko na bumili kaso kelangan na magtipid, malapit na ang March.

***

So far maganda naman ang katatapusang ng taon ko. Tinupad ng bossing ko yung usapan namin about my "value" in our company. Sa January magkakaalaman talaga kung deadma na sa mga offers sa labas.

Go Pinay!

Another YouTube Hit Wonder, this time Pinay naman:

Charice Pempengo Live on Ellen Degeneres Show

Salamat part 2

Salamat sa alarm ng aking cellphone at nagising ako sa oras na dapat akong magising.

Salamat sa lahat ng tumulong sa bid ko at umabot ako sa 2pm deadline, kahit photo finish, abot pa rin.

Salamat at napirmahan na ang Final Acceptance ng project ko matapos ang dalawang taon.

Salamat at huling pasok na namin bukas, at may libreng lunch pa.

At sa nag-comment sa post ko noong Martes at binura rin agad kaya hindi ko na nabasa, salamat na rin.

Salamat. Salamat.

Salamat

Salamat sa Amoxicillin, Neozep at Enervon-C dahil hindi nagtuloy ang sipon ko sa trangkaso at ubo.

Salamat sa mga taong nagpasaya sa ginawang Yearend Company Party namin kagabi.

Salamat sa byaheng mabilis ngayong umaga.

Salamat sa nanay ko na gumawa ng peanut butter sandwich na baon ko ngayon.

Salamat sa Mahal ko at sa nanay niya para sa baon ko namang pananghalian.

Salamat sa banyo at sa lahat ng mga gamit sa loob nito para sa maginhawang pakiramdam.

Salamat. Salamat.

Feeling Fotografer

Using my 1 year-old Kodak V603 camera:

May reklamo ka ba sa trabaho mo ngayon?


MoA bay area yesterday afternoon


San Isidro, Bulacan: Quick escape from Manila's pollution and traffic congestion. Only 40 minutes away from Quezon City.


A San Isidro oldie plays his harmonica while returning to the city.

Late night Sunday delight

Hindi pa raw pala bukas ang Manila Ocean Park? Sabi kasi sa balita Dec.15 ang opening e, pero i need to verify pa.

Last punta ko a MoA during the Pyro Olympics pa last January at kanina lang ulit ako nakabalik:








Hindi na gaano masama ang amoy ng hangin sa bay area at maayos na ang lakaran.

The Return of Introboy

After a busy week, sa wakas mabibigyan ko na ng panahon ang aking bagong gitara. At sa tagal ko na hindi pagtipa, dadaan ulit ang mga daliri sa parusa.

College days nung kasagsagan ng jamming namin sa AS lobby at minsan sa CMC lobby. Nakaka-miss rin yung mga panahon na wala kang iniisip na mga monthly charges sa kung anu-anong kautangan, mga pagpapasensya sa mga kliyente, at iba pa. Pero ok na rin ngayon lalo na tuwing December dahil bukod sa parang school ang office namin sa haba ng holiday vacation, nandyan pa ang kadatungan. =)

Teka, gitara muna ako.

Haw deys play so past

Isang tulog na lang, open na ang Manila Ocean Park. Bad trip naman yung website nila, wala man lang preparation for its historic opening. Ni countdown, wala. Makapunta nga d'un sa Linggo.

***

In 7 years, ngayon lang napaaga ang 13th month pay namin. Dati kasi sinasabay ng boss namin sa bonus at ibibigay niya in cash via "ang-pao" (tama ba?) sa last working day before the long vacation. Buti pa yung iba, may 14th, 15th, 16th month pay. Pero ok lang naman, baka sumpungin ng pagiging galante si bossing para sa bonus namin.

***

Update sa SEAG: Bumalik na tayo sa ika-5 na pwesto sa medal standings; pangalawa naman sa total number of medals. Sa nangyaring protest ng RP Boxing team, okay na sana yung 1 bout na hindi paglaban to stress a point then they could have given all they got. Totoo na may mga obvious na dayaan sa scoring system, pero kailan ba hindi nawalan ng controversy dyan? Nabastos lang natin ang mas magagaling nilang boxers. Hindi tayo sports.

Blah blah

Iniisip ko pa lang ang mga pending ko sa trabaho, nahihilo na ako. Sa halip na medyo magrelak-relak na e, sangkaterba pa ang aasikasuhin. On the brighter side, mas ok na ito kesa sa iba na walang projects. May patutunguhan naman ang pagiging busy ko. Sana.

Pang-anim na lang ang Pilipinas sa SEAG. May balita na ibo-boycott natin ang natitira nating laban sa boxing dahil hindi na nila masikmura ang pandaraya ng Thailand. Isa lang kasi sa anim na lady boxers natin ang nanalo. Last time n'ung tayo ang host, pinaratangan din nila tayo ng malawakang pandaraya para maging overall champion tayo. Yun naman pala eh, they are just returning the favor to us. Weather-weather lang.

Lahat ng klase, sampung piso lang!

Heto na ang kinakatakot ko, ang pag atake ng shop-a-holism namin ng mahal ko kapag may dumating na konting biyaya (katas ng sideline). Katuwa mamili at mamasyal ngayon sa Robinsons Fairview dahil anlaki ng tiangge sa tapat ng mall, at parang Greenhills na rin sa presyo. Mas accessible pa dahil may FX na direcho sa tapat ng subdivision nila mahal at less than 30 minutes ang byahe. Sana mag-extend pa sila ng oras hanggang 12MN, ngayon kasi hanggang 10:30pm lang e.

Nakabili na ako ng gitara. Si bats kaya, nakabili na rin?

Cellphone, Cellphone Wallet

As of this blogging, panlima na lang ang Pilipinas sa SEA Games. 26 golds against 78 sa Thailand. Sabi nila maraming tinanggal na sports na kung saan tayo ang naghahari. Excuses.

***

Nakakatuwa naman ang act of generosity ng RP men's basketball team sa national team ng Cambodia. Ang balita raw e ipinamigay nila halos lahat ng kanilang gamit (bola, practice jerseys, sapatos, etc.) sa Cambodian team kasi napagalaman na nung nilabanan nila ito, e yung mga players nanghiram pa ng gamit sa volleyball team nila. Sabi rin daw ini-sponsor ng Sports Authority of Thailand ang pagpunta nila sa SEA Games.

***

Lapit na ng deadline ng bid namin sa Globe, halos wala pa akong nasisimulan. Kawawa naman ako. Mukhang masusunod ang bid schedule na binigay sa 'min, which means (almost) no vacation this December.

***

Okay ang bagong album ng Parokya ni Edgar. Hindi nawala ang tatak PnE sa mga bago nilang kanta. Walang bahid ng paglaki ng ulo at hindi jologs ang pagiging novelty. "Solid" ang pangalan ng bagong album nila, bagay sa karakter ng kanilang barkadahan (o banda) na sa loob ng maraming taon eh buo pa rin, hindi gaya ng mga kasabayan nila na nagkawatak-watak na. Hindi sila ang paborito ko pero masasabi ko na sa ngayon e sila ang dabest.

TransPOORtation

As I was watching Mike E.'s Imbestigador last Saturday, my despise meter shoots up towards the people who are responsible in putting our transportation infrastructure in total mess. I couldn't help my self. These guys are so disgusting to their bone marrows.

The most memorable part of the program for me is when Mike compares the inter-country train of Singapore and Malaysia to our very own MetroTren. Their train has clean toilets while ours is, well, a toilet itself (the video even shows plastic bags full of human &h!+ being thrown on passing train cars by railroad squatters). I laughed upon seeing it while my Pinoy blood wanted to freeze in shame.

Lack of planning, lack of budget, lack of discipline and corruption are Mike's conclusion to our transport demise. Letting these eat up our conscience and will is the scariest thing that could happen. I'm pretty sure that in other countries they do have these problems, too. But I agree on the program's further assessment that we Pinoys are far better in terms of ingenuity, resourcefulness and hardwork. These are our inherent qualities. Discipline can be taught. We already laws. All of these plus a little patriotism can bring us back to where we should be.

biyernes busyness

Kahapon pa maraming trabaho (that's why absent ko dito kahapon). 4pm na ako nag-lunch kahapon:


Then I went to Church around 7pm. Pati ang homily e tungkol sa work, particularly about not accepting bribes. And sobrang timing naman sa nabasa ko sa Inquirer.net this morning:

RP on top 10 list of petty bribery

BERLIN -- One in every four people has been asked to pay a bribe to the police, and political parties and parliaments are the most tainted by corruption, a Transparency International study released on Thursday shows.

The poor are targeted for bribes in both developed and developing countries, according to the watchdog’s Global Corruption Barometer 2007.

The study found that the countries with the highest level of petty bribery, with 30 percent of respondents reporting paying bribes, were Albania, Cambodia, Cameroon, Macedonia, Kosovo, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Romania and Senegal.

By region, Africa experiences the most demands for bribes, the study found. Transparency polled more than 63,000 people in 60 countries between June and September 2007.

The Berlin-based organization also produces an annual ranking of countries perceived to be the most corrupt.


Read the full article here.

Friday na, dami pa rin work. Hay.

Makatang Tren

Natutuwa ako at maraming nakaka-appreciate sa naging pakulo ng Instituto Cervantes de Manila dahil pinalamutian nila ng mga tula sa wikang Kastila at Tagalog ang mga tren ng LRT. Tawag nila sa proyektong ito ay Berso sa Metro. Tama yung sinabi ng isang blogger na hindi na matutulala sa kawalan at puting pintura ng tren ang mga pasahero.

Mas ikinatuwa ko nang makita ko ang isang tula ni Pablo Neruda (paborito kong makata sa paglikha ng makekesong tula). Pero snippet lang ng tula niya ang kinuha:

Tu Risa

Ríete de la noche,
del día, de la luna,
ríete de las calles
torcidas de la isla,
ríete de este torpe
muchacho que te quiere,
pero cuando you abro
los ljos y los cierro,
cuando mis pasos van,
cuando vuelven mis pasos,
niégame el pan, el aire,
la luz, la primavera,
pero tu risa nunca
porpue me moriría.

(Laugh at the night,
at the day, at the moon,
laugh at the twisted
streets of the island,
laugh at this clumsy
boy who loves you,
but when I open
my eyes and close them,
when my steps go,
when my steps return,
deny me bread, air,
light, spring,
but never your laughter
for I would die.)

Heto ang mga ilang larawan na nakita ko sa Internet:
c/o imogen_ph


c/o manila cat

Nasa ilalim ng panahon

Hay grabe, tindi ng sipon ko! Hindi kinaya ng Enervon C at Neozep. Siguro pahinga lang ang kailangan ko. Aabsent sana ako para hindi na makahawa, kaso me problema pa sa client. Heto ang hirap sa isang SI (system integrator) company, hindi ka makagagalaw kung walang ginagawa ang partner mo who owns the product. Kaya heto, manghahawa na lang ako.

***

Nakabili na ako ng isusuot ko sa racing-inspired party namin, hehe. Kulang na lang sasakyan. Di bale, 2009 meron na ako for sure! Sige, libre ang mangarap!!!

Enter December

"It's the most wonderful time of the year..." Cool weather, mall sales, bonus, long vacation, and opkors, food, food, food! Kung sa mga nagdaang December e lustayan to the max, ngayon e tipid tipid muna ako (hmmm, parang na-post ko na ito ah). Pero I still hope to get these stuffs if my budget permits:
1. external DVD writer
2. SE T650i
3. Acoustic Guitar
4. Desktop PC for my younger sis

Konti lang yan, ha. =P

***

Buti naman at walang masamang nangyari nung Friday at Saturday na national ang scope. Kahit na sandamakmak ang mga pasaway nitong anak, mahal na mahal ko pa rin ang Inang Pilipins. Sa kabilang banda, meron pang good news dahil 3 pinoy ang muling nagpakitang gilas sa larangan ng boxing: Nonito "Filipino Flash" Donaire, AJ "Bazooka" Banal at Rey "Boom Boom" Bautista.

Speaking of sports pa, medyo hindi maganda ang pinakita ng Filipino shooters natin sa pre-opening ng SEA Games sa Thailand. Sana no excuses na lang tayo, it's just that other teams are way too better than us.