Mind Travel

Ladies and gays, I am in-crush. Unbelievably, undoubtedly, assuredly, beyond question, beyond shadow of a doubt, definitely, doubtless-ly, easily, really, surely, truly, undeniably, unmistakably, unquestionably, without doubt and irrevocably, INFATUATED!

I like the wit, the innuendoes, the grating charm. Even the poo! (Sometimes)

Meet Mike Rowe.

I first glimpsed this hunk of a guy in Discovery Channel about a year or so ago. Now I cannot get enough of him. I youtube-d him for cripe’s sake! I only youtube David Cook.

I just never, ever, wanna smell this guy.

Oh, to be in-FAT, It’s F-A-B.

It’s that time of the year again where you cannot avoid introspection. Yep. You guessed it. I’m nearing another birthday again.

Ultimately we are destined to create our own path. If I can be totally honest I can say that am liking mine at least 90% of the time lately. I finally reached a plateau work wise. All my Lead functions I can now do even with my eyes closed. My friends are all that, the best bunch of people around. I don’t drink like a lush anymore. Even if I do, I tend to enjoy it more. And my personal life is reaching a deeper understanding with my psyche. I am at peace with the world. Now, if I can only stop smoking, I’ll be perfect.

I am looking forward to my big island hopping in a couple more weeks. Gonna get me some rays, some waves and whiffsssss of fresh air. Looking forward to get out of the metro and finally hit the beach. As Noel said, it only takes the beach to melt away the tiredness and apathy one is experiencing in life. I am, at the moment, more excited than anything else. I cannot wait to lie back and drink daiquiris and frozen margaritas. This will be one relaxed vacay.

On the work front I have never been busier. But now there’s a certain fulfillment every time the deed is done. I still have lots of deadlines that I can’t hit. (Sorry Bren) but mostly I just glare, stare and rant and I get my way. (At least 80% of the time). I have learned to prioritize and let go of the things I cannot do due to lack of time and resources. Some folks would just need to wait. And I am a-okay with that.

Had a great time last Saturday. Ate at Ameci’s. First time. Via has been hounding me to go there for the longest time but it took Ron to convince me. The gelatos are to die for! Try Sans Rival and Pistachio flavors. I swear the taste explodes like a riot on your tongue. I will deffo go back and sample all the pizzas. After Ameci’s we went to Makati Cinema Square to do DVD shopping.

When I got home I staged my own gay festival. First I watched Dorian Blues. Lea Coco was great in this. I liked the line “There’s more to crying than being gay!” Haha! Here’s another from the narration: “The fairy tale had finally happened. Lonely Prince Dorian finally met his other prince, and the love Prince Dorian felt for Prince Ben cast out all Dorian's spells of depression and gave him the strength of ten gay men - or seven straight.” It was hilarious.

Latter Days was a surprise. I was just curious because Steve Sandvoss was in it and I keep seeing him in TV shows. The acting’s a little bit so-so. And the gay clothes were too gay for me. But the storyline and the dialogues are nice. They actually got Jacqueline Bisset in it so I guess the productions alright. Just wished they beefed up the acting more. They should have sent the actors to workshop or something. Oh well.

I wanted to watch Holding Trevor but I had to go to a party so, I left that until next weekend. We’ll see who’s right in the review section. J-Da or Ron.

The whole time I was praying that the guy that started it all for me would recover from the motorcycle accident he got into this week.

Get well soon Gale!

Anyhoo, to end on a happier note, here are some pics of us during Sabre graduation day. We went green!

'Till the next template!

Cheerio!

C-NGIT: Did a variation of my questions since I don't get to update on a weekly basis anymore.

QUESTION FOR THIS WEEK:

Is there a straight guy rule book somewhere that says they have to smell like a badly laundered, did-not-see-the-sun, pair of sneakers? And at the start of the day too.

Okay. Silence now ended. Actually, it was simple katamaran that ended my blogging zen. It all started with my Mom going to the hospital, me having nothing profound to write about and also being on the go from the time I open my eyes ‘till I close it again. I am never bored these days (sorry Stewie) but there’s also no respite for the soul. See? I’m profound again. Hehehe… or I am filled with too many random thoughts that I had to type it to keep myself from going silly... here we go…

I llooovvveeee Cebu Pacific. They are number one in my list. Especially since they sold zero fare all-in flights for 2 days! Now I have 3 trips coming up. All free! Happy birthday, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Cha! I am going to have a blast. Going from Boracay to Antique, to Iloilo, to Guimaras, to Cebu, to Bohol… gosh… I am experiencing wanderlust. And I still have that Mindoro road trip planned for the end of October. Such bliss! I so love it that I was too busy this year to take any time off. Now I can use up all of my leaves to go and explore.

AJS is turning into a liar. Last I looked he was mourning a fellow writer and bidding a poignant farewell in his angst filled blog. Then he follows It up with a post so mundane I couldn’t believe my eyes. He lied. Oh well… if you’re angry enough to keep the attention on you… whatever works right?

But just to vent my frustration: This one's for you AJS!

Went home to Mindoro for a while since my fave uncle died. Had a mini-reunion with my cousins and drank each other under the table every night. I am officially a slush. I now drink during wakes. Or is it a provincial thing with tong-its and mah-jong? Oh well… when in Rome…

I got shaken (not stirred) in the workplace again. Another shuffling of chess pieces to try and fit everything in the whole scheme of things. No biggie there. I like my new boss. But why is it that every time this happens I end up with more work? But same pay…. Hmmmm…. Something is deffo wrong with this picture. And I am not loving the new name when the take-over finally pushes through. I’ll be singing Halik and Ulan the whole time. LSS anyone?

Wednesday is a very welcome break at the middle of the week. Why can’t we have it the other way around? Five days of rest and two days of work? Wouldn’t that be better?

Anyhoo, that’s it. Got it out of my system. “till next time!

Cheerio!

• Yes I did watch Daughtry and they were amazing!
• Mom gave me a scare when I had to rush her to the E.R. Got confined but got out after 4 days and on the mend now. Thanks for the rock-to-lean-on folks!
• Did not get to watch E-Heads
• Went to Aub’s baby shower instead and got shit-faced drunk with her fiancée while touring BF’s night spots
• Uncle passed away so had to do a quick hop and skip to Calapan, Oriental Mindoro, while a storm was brewing. But got back okay. Albeit a little shaky.
• Living my life one day at a time until January 27, 2009 when DAVID COOK will start my new year right!

Cheerio!

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!