Jul 2008

I consider myself a very passive observer (not participant) in Philippine current events. But this one hit close to home. Have you heard about the whole hoopla happening around the reproductive health bill? I mean, it seems simple enough logic when applied to economics. The more mouths and needs to satisfy, the more resources needed. Any advertising and marketing scheme has banked on this philosophy since time immemorial. For science, it just stands to reason that the more people in a given space, the more mass it occupies, again, the more resources consumed. Now, this will probably work well if the resources are reproduced as fast as those needing the resources are born. But we all know that’s wishful thinking.

My sister Faith is one of the brains behind the reproductive health bill. She has been giving trainings left and right on the responsibilities of every human being to know when enough is enough and make an intelligent decision when it comes to procreation. She also has been handing out condoms like flyers to illustrate the point more. As one of the authors of the said bill I get quite an earful every time there’s family gatherings about how this would help (not solve) our country at this time of crisis. I agree. My agreement is based on the simplest logic I stated above, not nepotism.

So, my being just a passive observer, my simple interpretation should still make sense. So why can’t the government or the Catholic Church make sense too? Isn’t providing basic necessities (Like, duh, clothes, shelter and food) and not to say the most basic human rights (Like the right to live a productive life) to the existing population a moral obligation too? The Sunday PDI had an article by Kristine Alave regarding Archbishop Rosales telling couples to “control themselves in bed.” In my opinion, the Church’s stand in this issue is tantamount to turning it’s back on it’s people. They just love picking at what works for them in the scriptures and it’s really getting my goat. Didn’t they know that the Bible’s content is around 80% metaphorical vs. literal? They need to go back to Bible school then.

Lord, the leaders we create. This makes me dread procreation more.

Do I really need to watch GMA’s SONA tomorrow?

On another note, I am starting a copy-cat of my self-appointed mentor Angry JS’ “Why I’m angry today.” Here’s the first:

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

What do you do if a guy you reeeaalllyy like professes to love Gossip Girl?

This weekend is a much deserved rest. It’s also a much needed wallet break. Tepid compared to the weekend before. The Saturday before yesterday was like a marathon of activities that I needed to pause and catch my breath.

Here were my plethora of activities:

After a long, long time I actually went to the Salcedo Park Saturday Market again to eat my ever fave bacon cuapao. Three of a kind. I could feel Noel's dagger looks and on-coming sermon about my un-healthy eating habits. Quiver. Bonding moment with my Stewie too. Although it was too short. I’m sure we’ll get together again soon.

After the park I went to Glorietta to watch Mamma Mia with Tito Marl and Aris. Did I tell you about Aris? I think he’s my new gay-best. Although I actually might change my mind when I think about it some more. Since we were an hour and a half early for the movie we indulged him his addiction. Can you believe the sweat pouring out of me and the work-out I got (under duress) in Time Zone? I played the basketball thingy, air hockey and even indulged in a little videoke. Hah! I beat Tito Marl in air hockey too. Who would have thought? My armpits were aching when I woke up the day after. I started cursing Aris then.

I had a blast with Mamma Mia. (With Tito Marl singing the whole score beside me) I highly recommend this movie as “THE” movie to watch after a sh*tty week. It’s so feel-good. I love Meryl Streep more and more. She is amazing. Usually “The Winner Takes it All” bores me to tears ‘coz it’s too long. But Meryl singing it was riveting. I swear even if you can see the struggle of a singing Pierce Brosnan, it's still worth it. And gawd, the setting was great! I think it’s the perfect vacation spot. (Beach! Beach!) Wouldn’t wanna live there though. Too much climbing involved.

After the movie, we met up with Via and indulged in my fave past time. We went to Gilligan’s to end the day with beer. Nobody got drunk though ‘coz the conversation was too good. Insights, insights. Over all, it was a perfect way to cap off a week filled with too much work.

Last Wednesday, Aris and I watched Dark Knight. Gawd, Heath Ledger does deserve a gold bald guy for this one. He was sinister. His character was so creepy it gave me goose bumps. The writer also deserves both thumbs-up. The storyline was great. I don’t usually like “hero” movies, but this one takes the cake. I’ve always loved Michael Keaton as the masked crusader, (Those lips!) but Christian Bale is something else. He fits the dark leanings of the character. (Especially after being arrested for assaulting his mom and sis. That’s irony for you.) This movie is a must see on the big screen. It just wouldn’t be the same in DVD.

So, this weekend I am hibernating at home and locking my wallet inside the cabinet. I have perfect sleeping-in weather too. I am totally looking forward to watching Daughtry’s concert on Tuesday. Teena’s my date. She is my perfect American Idol co-addictee. She gets my fascination.

Who wouldn’t love that bald head?

And soon I will be front row and center for E-head’s reunion concert. I couldn’t believe it when they said it was free. I’m not a snob or anything but I would rather pay. Can you imagine the pandemonium that this would cause? I almost pity the organizer. Good thing Marlboro came up with the sign up scheme. But bummer for the non-smokers. You would have to lie your way through the sign-up. And good thing too that I have been a PMPMI member for about 4 years now. That should give me some clout... I wish... I hope. I am keeping all of my fingers crossed ‘till confirmation. Wish me luck!

See you all there!

“Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.” – Victor Borge

I attended this off-site training last Wednesday. One of the topics was humor for the Trainer. It looked and sounded promising and since as an intro the speaker introduced himself as the top 5 speaker in the recent Phil Call Center Convention, I happily trotted along even knowing that 5 hours out of my day would set me back about 10 hours with my Excel duties. We know how discriminating Trainers are. We’re the hardest and most critical audience after all. (The arrogance of a Trainer thinks we can always do a better job than the one in the current spotlight. And it’s mostly true. Hehe.)

Well, he started out with a Zip-Zap-Zung (whatever) activity. Unfortunately the venue where the training was held did not cooperate with him. Not to say that we just went through an ice-breaker activity that the facilitator was the bitchiest gay I’ve encountered in a long time and not to say very ineffective: he left us to process the why’s of the ice-breakers. So, from the ZZZ activity he started every paragraph with how the venue was not a good arena for training like his. And unfortunately his PowerPoint prezo went haywire and his hand-outs were not printed. (Typical Trainer dilemmas) Suffice to say he bombed.

I was itching for an IOF. (Instructor Observation Form for you)

The topic was not covered in any cohesive manner. I think he let the venue throw him off and he couldn’t get his groove back after that. So the next 45 minutes didn’t fare well. He had some basic, useful tips on how to use humor in trainings but the samples that he had were horrendous. For what was supposed to be catch-phrases, it really stank. He blamed our non-laughter with us reading the samples off the projector in advance so the “supposed” desired effect was not effected. Yeah, right. Personally, I always use humor to promote learning. (Or to wake up a graveyard class) Humor makes a topic memorable. (So does disgust, but I digress) but I always thought that humor can extend to all situations and that like empathy statements, should always be tailored fit to the situation. (Such a Trainer!)

In conclusion, I think he would have done better if he just winged (?) it and shot from the hip (his statement) and used the situation he was in as fodder for his jokes. The audience was too diverse and you can’t assume that everyone will “get” you.

Oh well, we can’t all be comedians.

I have not had the time (Or the inclination) to look at my HTML. As you can see, there's something wrong with it. I'm sure if I think long and hard enough I'll figure it out. It's deffo simpler (Aubs! SIMPL-I-E-R) than my blogdrive. But I just don't have the energy to decipher Greek right now. So I guess it'll have to wait 'till the weekend. I wanna revise it anyway, so I have to hunker down and get to work sooner or later. It pisses me off everytime I see it. So, if I get reaaalllyyy irritated by the end of the week, I'm thinking I'll get inspired.

Yeah.

Waaaaahhhh! E-Heads will have a reunion on Aug. 30!

PS Christmas Party '06, Fort

I will be front row, center. Or bashing everyone in the moshpit (If there'll be one). Or backstage (Calling friends in the production!) Or just plain in-your-face!

I think it's about time to bury the hatchet anyway. This fight has gone on for waaayy to long and a lot of stuff has happened since the split.

Aside from Daughtry, this makes my year. Now if only the rumor of a U2 concert here would come true...

Got another crash course in using Excel. I swear, this software was invented expressly with idiots like me in mind. I am constantly reminded of my inability to comprehend simple formulas and worksheet/spreadsheet lay-outs or whatchamacallits. I still remember John E. enrolling me in Excel Basics (twice) because I totally whacked out his ever loving TAP template. Is it my fault he does not know how to lock the formulas? I feel that I was unfairly subjected to almost 10 hours of pure torture. How anybody can fit all those characters, brackets, commas, semi colons and the difference between =IF, SUM, AVERAGE in such a small brain is a mystery to me. And not to say the cute custom button in the drop down box when you filter, what the hell do I know if it’s less than greater than equal and or WHATEVER! It boggles the mind.

And then at the end of it all, I got another go at the plotting machine. Being taught how to read IDPs, variance, firm forecast versus (what, I am drawing a blank here) forecast with a 6% variance and 30% overstaffing. WTF! It totally went in at one end and exited the other. My body is adverse to painful thoughts and info. Alas, I’m ready for the weekend never to end. I wish.

On to better things.

I want this. Yes. With the CD. This is my Ninoy Aquino Day, National Heroes' Day, Labor Day, Eid'l Fitr, Columbus Day, All Saints’ Day, Birthday (Yes, I consider this a Holiday), Veteran’s Day, Thanksgiving, Bonifacio Day, Christmas, Rizal Day, New Year, WISH. It’s $20.00 thereabouts. Any takers? I can’t find this in the normal bookstores so I’m gonna have Fully Book sniff it out. I swear I am so totally in love with Paul Sr. He is one big teddy bear. I’m pissed ‘coz Vinnie left the show. But they’re hiring a girl last I watched. For diversity and sh*t. Wonder how that’ll work out? It’s looking more and more like Miami Ink. (I still love my Ami!) Anyhoo, we’ll see if it’s interesting.

Was watching the new channel that popped up in our cable called The Bio Channel yesterday and they featured Tommy Lee. I was sooo green with envy. He was covered with way, way, waaaay amazing skin art. I swear I’ll use the ten year US visa that PS gave me (And haven’t utilized mind you), fly to Miami and have myself the coolest tat ever. (Calling Ami!) I’m going to the Dutdutan convention this year with Tessa and Vi. I will happily volunteer to be a guinea pig (no pun intended) and get myself some free and amazing art. I can see my mom having a coronary. Oh well, it’s my skin. I better do it while I have the guts to. Haha! I have two months to think of the design.

Got an invite from my Bro for a photog convention in UP Diliman this weekend. It’s called Pagbabakas and it’s part of the Sunday Love Affair org they started up with the other folks in the Film school. It looks interesting. I might drop by. If I don’t catch the bug at least I get to see my bro. Haven’t seen him for a couple of months now. Busy lives. Not forgetting that my job keeps me up at night and his has the sun as a backdrop. It’ll be an opportunity to bond.

I am going to finalize my all girl’s vacay this Sept. Office wise, by the looks of things, I might be totally wiped out by then. I cannot believe that half the year is gone and I still haven’t glimpsed a beach yet. Manila Bay and Coastal Road does not count.

Speaking of my everyday sojourn home, can anybody believe how much the fare hiked? Gawd, it’s almost double now. Didn’t give the kunduktor a hard time though. Last night I sat at the back of the bus and witnessed how the poor soul was lambasted time and again for the increased fare. He was so patient in explaining to each and everyone who does not read the papers or do not watch the news. I felt so sorry for the poor guy. It’s not like he was the one who decided to double the price. Some people are just plain mean.

Anyhoo, that’s it for me. I’m trying out my reformatted PC to check if it’s faster. It seems to be working fine. Have to get some shut eye. Still have one more night to work myself to the grind. Thank God for Fridays! Gonna see if I can harass someone to watch Mamma Mia with me tomorrow before folks in the office start sprouting spoilers. Ciao!

Been talking colleges and universities this weekend. My nephew is on his last year of high school and in a year would be embarking on higher education. (Which is code for fraternities, booze and college bunnies) As early as now we are shopping for schools.

On that note, I don’t think I was ever this excited when it was my time. Never the mind when, but marked difference is that now we can download the application forms (for the more progressive colleges anyways, some archaic schools still haven’t heard of PDF.) I remember Witty and I travelling to the universities of our pick and lining up just to get the forms. And all those fees! Gawd. I should really think about putting up a school. Seems like a good business. The entrance exams fees are unbelievable.

Anyhoo, we listed down the schools of choice for my computer obsessed nephew:

1. University of the Philippines – Of course. Can be Los Baños or Diliman. Although I can bet my left arm (And throw in my leg there) that my nephew’s more inclined towards LB. No surprise there. No more curfews, no more sermons. (5 days out of 7 anyway. Seems like a good deal.)

2. De La Salle University – I’m having a stroke now. But they do have a great ICT program. (Excuse me while I faint. Just the thought of the tuition fee is enough to make my already high blood pressure soar some more.)

3. Mapua Institute of Technology – Seems like a good idea. Needs to get me more info. I know they’re good with Engineering, dunno with computers though. Have to research.

4. University of Sto. Thomas – Go Tigers! (Tama ba?) This seems inevitable. Bumabaha pa rin ba dun? Makapagtanong nga.

5. Polytechnic University of the Philippines – Yey! I can happily live with this. I think my social and financial standing (Naks!) can take this.

We have a few more in our list, but for the most part I’m happy if he passes at least 3. That’ll be decent.
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Speaking of lists, here are some of my current faves and my acerbic, sometimes moronic, but definitely simplistic, comments and views on the body of people creating it.

The EW 1000

They listed the New Classics. Top 100 Music, Movies, TV shows in the past 25 years (1983-2008) that influenced pop culture.

I say bull. Here’s why:

Number 5 in the movie category is Toy Story, trumping Schindler’s List and the Fight Club. Number 10 is Moulin Rouge, again in a better standing than Schindler’s List and the Fight Club. Lion King is number 20 with no mention of The Little Mermaid (chuckling here) and then Speed was at 40. I swear we would have benefited more if Keanu was on speed during the filming. Then he wouldn’t have looked so bored during the scenes. It was such a waste of space. I agree with The Breakfast Club and the Scream. Kinda iffy with the Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind (Bored, had to watch it at least 3 times before I got it), good thing I just watched Y Tu Mamma Tambien last night. Commendation on putting Dazed and Confused and Clueless. One question though. Where’s St. Elmo’s Fire? If we’re talking about influences on Pop Culture, I think it deserves a mention in the 100 list. (Along with 16 Candles, maybe) I mean, shoot, the Naked Gun was listed at 52. Go figure.

Then the TV category didn’t have the cult classics like the A-Team, In Living Colors, Perfect Strangers, Doogie Howser, Murder She Wrote, or even kiddie classics like The Great Space Coaster and Fraggle Rock. I swear this list is bunk. And they dare include Lost and The Wire? WTF? Who the hell created this list? And let’s not forget the soaps that created the phenomenal (And totally mystifying) fad for shoulder pads. Where were Dynasty, Dallas, Falcon Crest and Knots Landing in the top 100?

Under the videogame list, I think they missed out on Counter Strike. Although is this considered as a videogame? And I don’t care who disagrees but I think when the Family Computer was just priced at PHP 999.99 I got addicted to Battle Tank, Gattaca, and Karateka with purpose. And why is Crash Bandicoot not in this list? Why!?! I know my nephew has been sniggering his ass off ‘coz I am totally addicted to this in his Playstation. But heck?! Seeing that Tasmanian thingy running, jumping and swaying his puny butt is enough to me happy on a cloudy day.

Now, on to the music category. When you see a list you always go for the music part first. Music is universal dude. It heals. It creates peace treaties. It transcends death and taxes. But then when Britney Spears gets listed in the Top 100 albums of the past 25 years, you know your leg is being pulled.

I stopped reading.

And yes John, I don’t know what being “digg-ed” is too. But if I ever am, I’ll celebrate with random shots of Absolut Berroca slash Extra Joss and blog about the momentous event. Maybe I'll put the digg logo everytime I create a post and see what happens.

Nah.

Haw-Haw.

Ok, so I just fell in love again. He sings, he plays the guitar, the piano and gawd knows what else. He has a bod that would put Beckham’s Klein posters to shame, and he has really great teeth.

His name is Gavin DeGraw. Hehe. Gotcha there.

I was watching a Jay Leno rerun and saw him singing. He’s… hmmm… That’s it! The weird thing though is if you listen to his music, the voice doesn’t really match up to the image. He is such a poster child for an all-American-hunk but his voice is Steven Tyler-ish. It’s disconcerting. Oh well, he’s still cute.

I attended our team building two Saturdays ago and had a blast at Villa Mapue. (As usual) The food was great. But it was too much for us to finish. I didn’t even get to taste some. I was too happy with the salads, the huge shrimps and the humongous crabs. It was heaven. Everyone was taking their allergy meds just to enjoy the food. Vinnie decided to experiment and bastardized our drink. Introducing the Absolut Berroca. It was bleh. I take Berroca when I’m hung over from a night of drinking. Now I can’t even smell it without remembering the taste of it mixed with vodka. It was one of the ickiest drinks I’ve ever tried. I like Ron’s version of “I Died” better. (Red Horse, Extra Joss and Grape Juice. I know, yuck!) But it got us drunk, so I guess it’s fine.

Here are some pics to commemorate the occasion. (I lurvs my new phone!)

The Beauties and The Asa Pa

Emote Ang Mga Lola And Ang Tatay Ng Future Inaanak Ko

Ang mga Goody-Goody at Pa-Goody-Goody with Boss Goodie (Daw)

Di-(DAW)-Nalalasing na Sales Lead Vinnie With Kahit-Hindi-Naka-inom-Mukhang-Lasing Peers

The Group Enjoying The Food While Yaya Grazie Looks After Fonzie

Hay naku, I just bet someone's hitting the print screen button right now. Haha!

'Till the next Team Building! (Kuno)

Why is it that when what life gives us falls short from what we expect that’s the time we turn to a higher power? It seems to me, only a sudden fall from grace has people bending their knees these days. It just seems too contrived when you suddenly start sprouting all this quotes and thoughts when your other hand holds a cig and you’re swigging a beer. Newsflash, just because you say you believe does not necessarily mean everything would come up roses. I commend you if you’re doing it for the right reasons, but if you’re only practicing because it seems like the thing to do at the time, well… I think you just lost the objective.

Just food for thought.