Friday, December 06, 2013

Mandela, Walker, Et. Al


“Your time may come. Do not be too sad, Sam. You cannot be always torn in two. You will have to be one and whole, for many years. You have so much to enjoy and to be, and to do.” 
― J.R.R. TolkienThe Return of the King


Paul Walker passed away too soon last November 23. Last night, December 5th, Mr. Mandela, the champion of anti-apartheid in Africa met  his Maker. 


I'm sad. Really sad. 

And recently I got papers from my esteemed Rockstar writers that they are quitting. 

I'm sad. Really sad. 

What's with the leaving? I understand, but I don't understand. Good people die young. Good employees go. I hate to see them leave, but I have no choice but to move on. Life is really like that. 

People come. People go. And one day, we will all go. 

I'm sad. Really sad. 

Monday, November 25, 2013

Catching Fire: The Mocking Games


Well, well, well... it seems that the whole world is talking about Catching Fire. Who wouldn't? Rolling stones says it's the best November opening. Saw the movie last Saturday with my folks. We all loved it! Sorta. Kinda. Just too long. 3 hours? You kiddin' me? My butt hurt for sitting there for that long, but seriously, it's worth it.

Love Katniss, her kakikayan, her Mocking Jay gown (now I know what I'm gonna be next year for our Halloween party!), and her braid! Love her love her! Just didn't like that she  had to kiss both boys. I mean, come on. Make up your mind! Who do you really wanna be with? Gale or Peeta? I like Gale! He's hot like his Thor brodah - Chris. Peeta reminds me of this geek from Alias before? Marshall? And he 's too short for Katniss I guess.

I also miss the fabulousness of Cinna. Not much exposure in this film. Worse, he died. Like hello! You don't kill Lenny Kravitz! He's the god of hotness! What were those people thinkin'? Why don't they kill the anchorman with his super shiny white teeth instead? Love him in the Devil Wears Prada, but not in this film. Something in his character is missing. I dunno. He sounds more interesting in the book. I guess, this is why books are always better than movies? I dunno. I think... except Twilight and Lord of the Rings. Cause really, the books were uber boring. But the movie versions are  way way exciting! Don't your dare judge or mock me!!!

Didn't like the game portion either. Really? Bring back the old old victors? And they are either senile or catatonic? Not an ounce of hotness or cuteness on any of them, not even that Finnick boy. He's so self-conscious, I couldn't tell whether he's smiling or showing off his nice set of teeth. Looks like he's mocking Katniss with his smile. I really dunno. I should given him more credits. It's just that, I love President Snow more.

Anyway, I'm already looking forward, eagerly, if I may say, to the last book. Wonder how long it's gonna be this time.


Thursday, November 14, 2013

Typhoon Haiyan and Inflamed Ear Vessel

You all probably heard by now what happened to the provinces south of the Philippines. I have stopped reading the paper, watching the news, and following feeds in Twitter concerning those who have been devastated by Haiyan (named Yolanda locally).

My heart breaks every time I see posts in Facebook and Twitter asking friends to help find missing relatives. I couldn't imagine what would I do if I were in their shoes. The thought of not knowing how my family fared in such a calamity is already nerve-wracking. I thank God that we didn't have to go through that.


Help from all over the world is pouring in. Bless this generous people. I hope our government officials won't use those help for their own need. Hello! Don't you dare touch those money! Shame on you, bitches! You should be ashamed of yourselves. Makes me think that if I were Janet Napoles, I'll offer a plea bargain: I will donate 10 billion to the victims, provided I walk scot-free. But we all know she won't do that. She's just not  that smart. If she were smart, would she be caught?

Anyway, other than the disconcerting news about the wrath of Haiyan, my ear has been bothering me for some time that I decided to see the doctor yesterday. Apparently, that strange noise I am hearing is not the voices of the dark side, but an inflamed vessel in my right ear. This is also causing me to get dizzy now and then. I was hoping the doctor would tell me that I am having those symptoms of schizophrenia. I dunno really the connection, but according to the doctor it is what it is it is, so I believe her with my life.

Had to take meds again. I hate meds. But what can I do? I can't afford to get sick. Mum said I am lucky I am able to see a doctor and buy meds, unlike those people in the south who don't even have clean water to drink.

I am  going to stop whining now. Thank you for listening. 

Sunday, November 03, 2013

Dia de Muertos

Or Day of the Dead, All Hallows' Eve  or Halloween is one of the biggest holidays here in the Philippines (and in some parts of the globe). Other than Christmas Day, from October 31 to November 2, Filipinos prepare (a lot!) to honor their departed loved ones.

Our office had a little Halloween party last October 31st. I said little because it was not as extravagant as it was last  year. Considering the short span of time to prepare, HR peeps pulled it off. I volunteered to be one of the judges.When asked why I wanted to be a judge, I couldn't admit that I have already told everyone that I'm a judge and I've accepted bribes, right?

As always, the creativity of Truelogic members is amazing. Look at these photos!


Ops Night Shit - Plants Vs. Zombies theme. Had there been more time to prepare, I'm sure they would've done better.



Elmo is a friggin perve and here's the proof!

Ops Day Shift won second place. 



Even the OJTs had a lot of fun! 






The boss attempted a selfie with me. Looks like he loved the kitty cat ears Ciara lent us.

More photos in FJ's album.

I think people took a bunch  of photos during the party. Everywhere I go, there are groups taking photos. Never a shortage of photos. I am sure the Halloween party is just one excuse to take photos of themselves in fancy costumes. Just my theory. You can always prove me wrong.

The following day, we visited my daughter's grave. She passed away on All Hallow's Eve 16 years ago. Sucks huh? You left her all smiling and giggling that morning. Then  in the afternoon, you find yourself holding her tiny hand in the ICU while she drew her last breath.

They say time heals all wounds but this one is definitely not  healing at all. Never.

We brought her pretty flowers and had a picnic. The nieces and nephews ran around. There were so many people in the cemetery, with some even playing loud music, probably enticing the dead to wake up. 

It was all good. But Hallowen will always be a sad sad day for me no matter what...

Monday, October 21, 2013

The Morong Experience

Last Saturday, October 19, our company went to the Phi Phi Beach Resort in Morong Bataan. It was a tad late for a company summer outing, but the wait was all worth it.


After an almost 6-hour drive from Makati, we arrived at the place exhausted, hungry, but definitely looking forward to a fun-filled weekend. And we were not disappointed. The organizers, the HR team, made sure of that.


The Boss decided to sit beside me, but told me to keep quiet. It was the longest ride ever... 

The Triad: Itamar, the CEO; Clayton, the Marketing Director; and Bernard, the Ops Manager, were the Kings (team captains), while Gaia, Zhai, Carla and I were the princesses. Hell yeah I got to be a princess for a few hours, how fab is that?!!!. I picked Bernard's team. I knew I was in good hands! Yay! Bernard’s misery was just about to begin.

The first game is Sandcastle Building. Each team needs to create the sandcastle within 15 minutes, with the company logo properly included. I tried to sabotage the other team's castles, but the Game Marshalls were too strict!

Next is Amazing Race inspired. Each princess and a pawn have to find the sticks with the King’s picture, scattered all over the shore. I chose one of the Onpage guys, Jojo, and made him search for all the sticks. I didn't know that I had to find the sticks with him. I just hopped and jumped all over the place and realized we were losing. I tried to cheat and convinced the other players to give me their sticks, but they were all so sticking to the rules and didn’t give me any.




The third game is finding those plastic spiders, centipedes and rats. Each item has an equivalent point and the team with the most number of points, wins. Again, I tried to cheat and steal one of the other team’s loot, but was booed instead.

The fourth game - The Voice spin-off - was the best seller and had everyone screaming -  boys and girls alike. Each king had to sing and the one with the loudest  applause (or scream) wins the game. Clayton sang an NSYNC song, which had those girls screaming their lungs out. What?!!! It’s your first time to hear a white guy sing?! Duh!!!

Itamar sang My Way (he played it safe, but the girls were also screaming like it was Justin Timberlake singing, huh?!!) Our King, Bernard -- Oh gawd, I can't remember what he sang, but we cheered for him anyway because he's our King! According to Karen, it's a Kris Allen song, "Live Like We're Dying".



After the screamin' comes the grossin'. Inspired by Fear Factor, the players need to gobble up all those gummy worms placed in a baby's diaper. I wanted to join and decided against it coz I don't really like the idea of eating something from a diaper. Like hellooo!!! My 19-year old son was once a baby. Yuck!

And the last game, where I did my team shame, was called "Coke Sakto." There were 3 pitchers of coffee or chocolate (can't remember) and 3 meters away were 3 empty bottles of coke. We need to transfer the coffee to the empty bottle using either our hands or mouth or both. I thought we were going to drink up the coffee once transferred to the coke bottle and thought it would be so gross, I decided to just use my hands and failed miserably. I tried to cheat, like pour the pitcher directly to the coke bottle, but got disqualified.

I dunno why they take games seriously. I mean, hello, games always have cheats. How else do you explain those cheat websites for Dota, Angry Bird and Candy Crush?!!

After the games, we went back to our villas and Mike (who, along with Sam, did a great job hosting the games) decided we have one more little game before dinner. Like they didn’t have enough games already! While everybody else was busy swimming, taking pictures, playing frisbee or volleyball, some of the Content Boys, SEO guys, and I were busy getting drunk.

There was a little program before dinner for the 3-year anniversaries of 3 employees: Jonas, Mica and Clayton. I kinda missed the program because I got busy puking my guts out (imagine drinking on an empty stomach) and waiting for the heater to turn really cold water to hot.

After what seemed to be an eternity waiting for the dinner to be served, Content Team and I went back to the boy's villa and continued Pik-Pak-Boom and got drunk again. The guys were kinda pissed that I rarely made a mistake so they sort of it made it a mission to make sure I will get the game wrong and get a penalty (drink one straight shot of rum). It was so much fun, we consumed about 5 bottles of Emperador. I decided to go to bed at 10:30. No way I'm going to stay up and drink side by side with those kids. This old woman knows when to stop.

I tried to wake up early the following morning, but having just 3 hours of sleep the night before that, I woke up at about 6:30 and missed the sunrise. After coffee, I joined the winners of the game (Team Clayton) to Turtle Island. The boat ride was fun and boring. Fun because I got to see some salt water (I love the sea) again, boring because the boat was too slow. Had a blast having photo-ops at the island though. My chance to be an ANTM model was fulfilled.

Here, see how fab my shot is:


Thanks Mafe!

After Turtle Island, it was brunch and prep time. I didn't want the day to end. It's one of those badly needed weekend. But all good things come to an end. The bus ride home was faster than I anticipated. No heavy traffic.

The  best part of the outing? We had a really great weather. While it’s  been raining consistently this past few weeks, that weekend, there was not even a hint of rain! Just sun, pure glorious sun to let us enjoy.

As always, bonding with co-workers is always a blast. Memories like this are forever treasured. Hopefully next year, it will be this awesome again!



Friday, May 24, 2013

Why Women Cry

So I pray this time
I can be the man that she deserves
'Cos I die a little each time
When she cries
~Restless Heart

I don't know about you, but I've seen women cry for no reasons at all. True. This fact is based on a study conducted by  this really famous university. Just as men are confused on what women really want, they are also curious to know why women bawl for no reason at all. Or so they think.

Based on my personal experience, the following are the 5 most common reasons why women (or I) cry.

5. Women cry when they are hurt. Like physically hurt. Like when they tumble while wearing killer heels. I mean come on, that's embarassing. It's worth crying about. 

4. Women cry because they seen  or read a really really sad story. They just need to sympathize with the protagonist,  you know. It's a girl thing.I cried a gallon reading Tuesdays with Morrie. I will slap anyone who didn't. 

3. Women would choose to cry instead of mutilating a cheating husband/boyfriend. Trust me. You would rather she cry. 

2. Women cry because there are times that it's the only thing she could do. Yeah. Women. Weakling. You know the works. 

1. Women cry because it's a hormone thing-y. Period. Do you want a scientific explanation for that?

Do you have any idea why women cry? And why of all the 1,000 topics I could write about, I am writing this?

I don't really cry. I eat. 

Monday, April 22, 2013

5 Awesome Ways to Pretend You're Doing a Great Job!

I've worked for like almost 25 years now. Yeah read that. A couple of decades and a half. I know a hard worker when I see one. And I can tell right off the bat a pretentious-lying-stupid-son-of-a-moron as soon as they open their mouths.

These assuming  turds amaze me so much, I just have to blog about them:

1. You ask them a question about a process and they  give you a blank look. Like for a couple of minutes, wait, count that, a couple of hours. They stand there in front of you, trying to be hip en cool, but actually looking like you just asked them how to create the universe in 5 seconds.

2. You ask a solution about something you emailed a few hours ago, hoping that this person will enlighten  you. She fumbles about her e-mail and tells you, "Sorry, I was so busy sucking my toe in the toilet. And it was so darn hard, I had to spend about half a day figuring out how to reach it without bending over. I mean, if that's not a major dilemma; I don't know what is." The story was so dramatically delivered, you'd offer to solve the problem yourself.

3. They always blabber about their accomplishment, even if it's limited to arranging the  papers in the work station. Awww, come on!  Who can beat that? Seriously!

4. They take credit for just everything under the sun. Dude, don't be surprised when this person starts telling everyone that he's responsible for the creation of post-its. I mean, seriously. Really.

5. They send out a  mass email asking for an action plan about a  matter that has been resolved eons of years ago. "Uhm...we had a meeting about that. And you were there..." Wait, was it really you? Or you sent in your doppelganger while you sneaked out to watch GI Joe! Shame on you!

I could write more. Trust me. It's just I need to go back pretending I'm working hard.

Duh.




Thursday, March 21, 2013

CEO For a Day

We have this  Holy Week contest in our company. It's so fun, I've been having sleepless nights already. Ha! 


The winner will get to be a CEO at least for a day. And to top it all our CEO will be assisting the winner. How fab is that?



I've told everyone that I wanna win the game. I mean, I am not dying to be a CEO or anything like that, I just wanna experience the feeling. LOL. No. I wanna know how hard it is to be  CEO. Is it fun? I doubt that since our dear CEO seldom smile. I dunno. 


Anyway, don't get me wrong, but I don't plan to do any power tripping. Like hello! Power tripping is so Bonaparte. You get to be a CEO for a day, you should seize the moment and do something monumental! 


This is what I'm planning to do: 

Have the CEO write 5 SEO articles, 3 blogs, 1 press release and 1 magazine feature. If he doesn't finish those within 8 hours, my stint as the CEO will be extended for a week.
I know! I'm so brilliant, right?

And when I get to  be the CEO of the company for a week... I'm going to write about it when the result comes out. 

In the meantime, I should start drafting the company's fabulous new mission/vision. Yay! 

Sonnet to Fathers