Imagestories

7 years and 4 months and my mahal still never fails to make me blush. Lovenote niya iyan sa akin kanina, ipinadala pa sa ka-opisina niya. How chueet.



Pagpunta ko sa Yahoo homepage. Yes, sikat na naman ang Pinas.


Kaso palpak naman ang related na article sa Forbes.com. Baka akala nila yung Manila Bay yung Olympic-sized pool. =P

Round 1 TKO

Gusto kong ma-depress pero hindi ko naman magawa. Baka kulang sa motivation. Baka hindi naman talaga kelangan.

Matapos magpuyat, gumastos, mag-print ng sandamakmak at mag-isip, maba-balewala lang pala. Ganito kalupit ang mundo ng vendors when participating in a bid.

Sabi nga ng boss ko, don't waste you time on things that you have no control. After matalo sa bid, naisip kong dagdagan ang sinabi niya: Take the risk on things that you have some level of influence; and seize the opportunity on things that you have full dominance. We took the risk on this bid, kaso the things that were out of our hands outnumbered the manageable ones.

Better luck next time.

Kasal, kaibigan, kanta

Yay, kasal na ni boss Rommel today! Nakakatawa at nakakatuwa dito sa opisina at sobrang big deal dito kapag nagsusuot ng pormal. "Shet, naka-neck tie!"; "Wow, naka-slacks!" Kukulet. =)

***

Nagbabakasyon ngayon ang kaibigan ko after mag-work sa McDonalds Kuwait for 2 years and 7 months. Hindi raw gaya ng dati na kapag nagtrabaho ka sa Middle East, makakapundar ka ng bahay at negosyo. Ngayon parang for daily survival na lang ang kinikita ng mga kababayan natin doon. Apektado rin sila ng US economic recession. 4K pesoses din ang nawala sa kanila simula nang bumaba ang dolyar ng mga Kano. Isa pa, dumami na rin ang ibang lahi na kumukumpetensiya sa low labor cost ng Pinoy. May 3 months pa siyang kontrata kaya kailangan niyang bumalik.


***

LSS:

Fragile life

Marvin, the youngest brother of my soon-to-be sister in law's husband, passed away yesterday after a long battle with heart complications. My thoughts and prayers to Muncal family. See you in the other life, brother.

***

Nakakatakot tumabi sa oil tanker. Kelan lang isang tanker ang sumabog na kinamatay ng isang tao. Natusta kasi yung Toyota Altis na sinasakyan niya na katabi nung tanker. Kaya hangga't maaari, huwag tabihan sa kalsada ang ganitong truck, lalo na yung mga itsurang nabubulok na sa kalawang. Better be paranoid than get toasted.

Wheel of Fortunecare

This post is bashfully dedicated to the doc whom I consulted yesterday at the MegaClinic:

How would you know if the attending lady physician is a newbie in her profession:
1. When she asks you on the history of your self-medication in a surgically precise and detailed narration (day 1 - type of drug, dosage, effect; day 2 - type of drug, dosage, effect; day 3....)
2. When she teaches you of medical facts about your health problem as if she wants to show off her broad medical knowledge and expertise. No simple explanation is available for unsuspecting patients.
3. When she lets you take more than usual deep breaths when using her stethoscope (about a minute each on your chest and back).
4. When you get some sarcastic remarks when being asked of your family medical history, as if you should know all types of asthma.

Lastly (this one's priceless):
5. When you return to her clinic and tell that the medicine that she just prescribed is non-existent; and then you hear her asking herself in disbelief, "bakit ganun?"

Pahabol:
Interchanging "capsule" and "tablet" to refer to a single drug seems unacceptable to me, especially if this was committed by a professional medical practitioner.
Tablets and capsules are not the same, doc. THEY ARE NOT THE SAME!

I could've let this pass if she'd just uttered, "sorry" to me, who went 5 floors down, looked for this silly drug, verified the pharmacists "no such drug" finding to another pharmacist of another drugstore, and finally went 5 floors up to tell her mistake (Darn, bababa pa pala ako ulit).

I hope she learned a lesson from it. I just did.

Now showing: life at 30

Salamat sa mga nagsipagbati sa akin last Friday. This is my first post as a 30-year old virgin and 100th since I started this blog (historical, huh!).

I didn't get the bday gift that I needed...a time to rest. Worse, I was under the weather on that day (I'm still under it, actually). I'm willing to pay big time, just let me rest for a while. A good, well-feeling rest.

My first time to visit Market Market last week. So, it's an Ayala mall with all kinds of tiangge. Sobrang layo lang kasi nito sa 'min (Novaliches). Since nand'un na rin naman, hindi ko na pinalampas mga good buys. Good bye na rin sa one thousand pesoses ko, hu hu hu.

three dimensions

The good news that I was hoping to hear last Saturday never came. Dead on arrival pala yung kapitbahay namin na tinulungan ko. Ganun kabilis ang buhay ng tao: kakakita mo lang na bumili ng balut tapos wala pang dalawang oras, patay na. Naputukan ng ugat sa batok ang dahilan raw ng pagkamatay.

***

Maaga ako umuwi kahapon at hapon na ako nakapasok ngayon dahil sa trangkaso. Buti na lang eksaktong magluluto si inay ng nilagang buto-buto para sa hapunan. Sarap ng pakiramdam nung pinagpawisan ako dahil sa paghigop ng mainit na sabaw. Tumira agad ako ng Amoxicillin, Biogesic at Solmux para hindi na lumala.

***

I miss my college orgmates/coursemates/batchmates. Habang nagpapahinga ako kanina, naisipan kong basahin yung mga pinagbibigay nilang sulat sa 'kin. Letters and notes dated 1995 - 1998 (grabe, isang dekada na yun, ang tanda ko na). Kumusta na kaya sina Relle, Ryllah, Jade at Danice? Sana ok ok kayong lahat.

So far, so near.

Ikakasal na rin ang boss ko sa January 28. Buti na lang nauna siya ng halos isang buwan sa akin, nalalaman ko rin kung ano pa ang kulang sa preparations namin ni mahal.

Aabot daw ng Php.6M ang expenses nila, though medyo may halong panghihinayang siya kasi may mga hindi napagplanuhan na gastusin kaya lumobo nang ganun kalaki. Pero tanggap na naman niya kahit papaano, minsan lang naman daw eh.

Sa amin naman ni mahal, ang kulang na lang ay:
- seminar
- sing sing
- flower arranger
- invitations
- design ng cake
- sukat ng mga lalaking abay
- honeymoon destination =)

Limampu't tatlong tulog na lang!!!

Sunday Sesame St.

Keeping both eyes on five young girls aged 3 to 8 for a couple of minutes inside a mall is more exhausting than a five-on-five basketball. Believe me, I've just realized and experienced it last Sunday. Minsan lang naman ito mangyari, and I enjoyed it. They are my future pamangkins with my li'l sis pagkatapos sila masukatan ng aming mananahi.

Every second counts

Just after I got home this evening, our neighbor called us up, asking for help to carry their caretaker outside of his room and be taken to the hospital. I went out immediately to see him: all pale, totally unconscious and he looked really bad. This guy looked like he either had a heart attack, or stroke, or bangungot. He was dying, and I could do nothing much. He's quite heavy and things gone worse when we could not easily get him out of his room which is at the second floor and uses a narrow spiral staircase.

He was taken to the nearest clinic. We don't know if he's fine now as of this writing. I'm hoping for the good news in a few more hours.

Weeken agen!

We went to the dress shop yesterday at sinukatan na kami ni mahal for our wedding attires. Sa Sunday, yung mga abay naman. Todo na 'to!!!

***

Grabe ang basura sa Plaza Miranda after ng Black Nazarene procession. Bukod pa ito sa dalawang namatay at 40 sugatan. Sabi nga ng isang Catholic priest, "most Filipinos [are] still in the level of popular religiosity which he said involves elements of superstition, culture and folk belief." Hindi tama ito.

h UP py centenary!

My alma mater turns 100 this year. Sarap balik balikan ang nakaraang apat na taon ng aking buhay habang nasa kanyang pag-aaruga. Sa UP ko...

... nalaman na pwedeng magturo ang titser na naka-tsinelas lang
... natutunan ang pagtulog sa banyo habang may tatlong oras na vacant
... nalasahan ang pinakamasarap na isaw at pork BBQ
... nalaman na may talento pala ako sa judo at marathon (pareho akong naka-uno)
... naranasan ang pagkakaroon ng 6-pack abs (salamat sa weight training class)
... naranasan ang makapanood ng dula na may halikan at konting nude scenes (for arts sake daw)
... nakilala ang mga tunay na kaibigan at mga taong tunay sa sarili
... naintindihan ang diwa ng salitang "malaya" at "paninikil"
... nalaman kung gaano kadali pumatay ng kapwa mag-aaral
... napatunayan na ang buhay ay habambuhay na pag-aaral

Viewtiful, indeed.

Paakyat ako sa office namin when I got to see the video ad of Viewty mobile phone by LG. 'Kala ko it's just another iPhone clone, pero mali pala ako. After reading some reviews and watching video demos, mukhang mas maganda pa ito sa iPhone, aside from tha fact that it's cheaper kahit kalalabas lang sa market.



For pro specs and review, click here.

Ang pinakamalupit na feature is the 180 fps video shooting capability, look at these sample shots (medyo matagal ang loading):





Buti na lang 'di pa ako nakakabili ng SE T650 (as if naman can afford!). =)

1488: Final Episode

**Previously on 1488**

**This Episode**

1488:00

Dan while browsing the Net in the coference room a.k.a. office workstation annex:

DB: Yay, I received an e-mail from a Nigerian national saying that I won in their lottery! It must be true! I am rich! I'm done here!

Dan packs up all his stuffs and leaves the office with no plan of going back to work again, ever.

** THE END **

Writer's note:
I have decided to end this "fiction." This is not an act of sympathy to US screenwriters crisis. I'll just let its gist pass as a part of last year's uncertainty.

Yesterday my boss fulfilled the other 50% of his offer, thus completing my reason to stay in his company a little more longer. I believe it's a win-win situation (kapal!).

Now, the ball is with me. I have to prove that I'm worth of such deal, though he apparently had easy time in thinking how valuable I am in the organization (kapal talaga!). Sus, pagbigyan n'yo na 'ko, minsan lang naman.

Thanks to all who have shared their wild, dark, eye-opening and mind-boggling thoughts which, on some extent, had helped me think of my career and career-wise determine my current value.

I just wish that everybody else is getting what they deserve.

Numbers

Ika-pito na ng Enero, wala pa kaming sweldo. Pero hindi ako masyado magrereklamo, meron pa namang mahuhugot kahit papaano (di po sinasadya ang pagkakatugma ng mga salita). Medyo ok kasi 50% ng napag-usapan namin ng amo ko last year e natupad naman. Yung kabiyak na 50% malalaman ko mamaya o bukas. Nae-excite ako, sakit sa tiyan...

Dalawang buwan na lang at bagong buhay na. Si mahal busy sa pagsi-set ng schedule para sa pagkuha ng sukat sa mga abay at sa design ng kanyang gown c/o her cousin who'll be the next big name in the fashion industry - Dimples Lim (uy na-feature na siya sa Inquirer at designer siya ng Freeway). Ako naman sa wedding rings namin. Wala pa kaming flower arranger at make-up artist. Pressure. **dub-dub, dub-dub**

Happy Better Year!

Nakisabay na ako sa pagpapalit ng taon. 'Di ko alam kung bakit pero wala lang.

Ayoko sana simulan ang taon na ito sa paglalabas ng negatibong komento sa mga bagay bagay 'coz it will defeat the purpose of this entry's title, pero talagang ganun eh.

Paano ba naman, unang pasok ko this year, 5:40am pa lang sa MRT, pila na agad! Nang malapit na ako sa lobby, aysus kaya pala, isang guard lang ang nagi-inspect ng gamit ng mga pasahero! It took me 5 minutes before I reached him.

Heto ang mas masaya: matapos makipagsiksikan sa pagpasok sa tren, nag-announce yung driver na, "sira po ang tren, hindi na po ito makakapagsakay." Wala pang alas-sais yun ng umaga ha, sira na agad!

Bonus pa: Nung pumunta kami sa ticket booth to somehow refund or re-program our tickets para bumaba na lang (baka kasi matagalan pa bago maayos), tinanong kami nung babaeng nasa loob nang may boung pagkagulat, "SINO'NG MAY SABI NA SIRA ANG TREN?"

Hay, happy new year na nga lang ulit.