Ripped

Nope. This post ain’t about my ripped beach body. This post is more on my ripped beach shorts.

You see, I’ve been to three trips this year and I managed to rip 3 shorts and 1 pajama. The first I ripped in Samal Island in Davao while riding a motorcycle. I bought a replacement at the Samal market for a measly 50 bucks but ripped it again while doing the slide. That was the second.

The third, a brand new board shorts which I really digged, got ripped when I sat on a limestone while trying to take a photo of Banol Beach in Coron.

The last was the worse. I ripped it while jumping on top of a hill in Daet as the sun rose on a Black Saturday morning. The rip left a gaping hole that I could actually fit my head on. I guess that’s the price to pay to get a picture-perfect jump shot.

The Prom

My cousin, who is a high school senior, is said to be excited over an event taking place on the coming weekend – the JS Prom. I heard he wanted to get a tux but it turned out to be quite expensive and impractical since he was going to outgrow it within a year or two. He settled for the most common attire worn on a prom in the province – slacks, long sleeves, and tie.

I vaguely remember my own JS Prom in the mid-90s. It was one of my high school memories – and there are only a handful - that I’d rather have the Haitian erase from my brain. I would probably cringe when I stumble on a photo of a 15-year-old me wearing cream colored pants and a blue plaid long-sleeves that was a size bigger than my 100-lb frame. I was rail thin then with a serious inferiority complex.

To make matters worse, I was also selected to receive the “Book of Knowledge” from the senior class. That means writing a speech, committing it to memory, and speaking in front of around 400 students. That’s practically my nightmare right there – public speaking. I’m pretty sure my heart stopped for a split-second when my teachers relayed the news. I probably tried to decline but my teachers wouldn’t take no for an answer.

So I caved. I was the obedient student. I went up the stage on prom night, received the Holy Bible aka Book of Knowledge, and gave my speech. I remember dancing to a few songs with someone whose name and face escapes me now. I remember spending the rest of the night guarding the Bible like a hawk and restlessly checking my watch, waiting for the prom to end.

I guess if the JS Prom was held a year later - the prom back then was a bi-annual event - I would have jumped at the chance at making that speech. I would have danced more slow songs. I would have not sulked. I would have tried to mingle. And I would not be embarrassed to show a picture of me holding a mic on one hand and a Bible on the other.

Wishlist

I wish for the following this Christmas:

- a baseball cap
- Andre Agassi's autobiography
- tickets to Ne-yo's January concert
- Nike running shoes
- a Nikon D90 (the D5000 model will do)
- an all expenses paid to next year's Australian Open
- a fully-paid, fully-furnished condominium
- Sampras' serve, Agassi's return, Federer's forehand, Safin's backhand
- Eclipse and Breaking Dawn failing miserably at the box office
- GMA, the Ampatuans, and their ilk abducted by aliens

200

This is my 200th post, time to revisit my own version of 100 things to do before I die. I have not accomplished much but it's a start.

ADVENTURE
1. skinny dip
2. sky dive
3. go whitewater rafting
4. bungee jump
5. get involved in a bloody fist fight
6. backpack around the philippines
7. attend boot camp

ANIMALS
8. own a dog

BOOKS
9. read nick hornby's books
10. read haruki murakami's books --> read norwegian wood
11. read khalil gibran's the prophet
12. read james ellroy's la confidential
13. own hardbound copies of all Harry Potter books (i have softbound copies of books 1, 2, and 4).
14. read stephen hawking's brief history of time
15. read ian mcewan's books --> read atonement, saturday, amsterdam
16. read kazuo ishiguro's books --> read never let me go
17. finish reading my backlog of books (a total of 16 and counting)

CAREER
18. be a top-notch business analyst
19. be successful in my career and smugly turn down my former bosses who want to pirate me

CHARITY
20. help build a "Habitat for Humanity" shelter

EDUCATION
21. get a master's degree
22. get a mensa membership

FAMILY
23. pay off all of my parents' debts
24. watch a sharon cuneta concert with mama
25. watch an nba game with papa
26. watch the world cup match with my bro
27. have my own family

GADGETS TO OWN
28. nikon d90
29. macbook pro
30. nintendo wii
31. nokia e71

HEALTH
32. gain 10 more pounds
33. achieve 6-pack abs
34. run the treadmill at >= 9kh for at least 30 minutes without resting
35. wear contacts
36. discover a cure for cancer and diabetes
37. get a monthly massage

MONEY MATTERS
38. save a million pesos
39. set-up my own business

MOVIES
40. watch the decalogue
41. watch the best of youth
42. watch lav diaz's films --> watched melancholia
43 watch kung mangarap ka't magising
44. watch it happened one night
45. watch akira kurosawa's films
46. watch gerardo de leon's films

PLACES TO VISIT
47. new york city
48. paris
49. mt. pinatubo
50. mayon volcano
51. batanes
52. antulang
53. palawan
54. bantayan island
55. caramoan
56. grand canyon
57. phuket
58. camiguin
59. pagudpud
60. banaue rice terraces/sagada
61. great barrier reef

PEOPLE TO MEET
62. martina hingis
63. marat safin
64. arundhati roy
65. conrado de quiros
66. my great love --> almost but not quite

REAL ESTATE
67. own a beachfront property
68. own a resthouse in tagaytay
69. build a house with my own library and entertainment room with kickass sound system

SEX/DATING
70. watch a live show
71. interview a sex addict
72. get on the mile high club
73. go on a blind date
74. speed date

SKILLS
75. learn a foreign language
76. learn chess
77. learn tennis
78. learn to cook
79. learn to drive a car
80. learn to play the guitar
81. learn to swim
82. personally design my blog template

SPORTS
83. win a badminton tournament
84. win a bowling tournament
85. score a perfect 300 in bowling
86. attend a tennis grand slam tournament

STATE OF MIND
87. be fearless
88. be friendly
89. be cool

TV
90. join Survivor
91. join The Amazing Race
92. watch all seasons of The West Wing
93. watch all seasons of The X-Files --> 2 more seasons to go.
94. watch all seasons of The Wire
95. watch all seasons of OZ
96. watch all seasons of Battlestar Galactica

WRITING
97. write a book
98. write a screenplay
99. get published in PDI's Youngblood
100. win a Palanca

Score: 10/100

Hell on Earth

This week has been a test of patience.

It started over the weekend when the new 500Gb hard drive I bought crashed a day after I mounted it on EFA. All my files died with it. The good thing was I have backup drives where I backup my digital copies of movies, TV series, mp3s, personal videos, and photos. I spent most of Sunday and Monday getting a new second hard drive, requesting for a replacement for the crashed drive, installing the OS and other applications, transferring and organizing files from the backup drive, and downloading software updates. I was frustrated I wanted to metamorphose as Hellboy (credit goes to a former teammate who said I transform into Hellboy when I get mad/embarrassed) and pick a fight with anyone to vent out my anger.

Sunday tennis was frustrating too. I can’t get in the groove of hitting the balls inside the court. I lost all of my singles matches. On top of it, our trainer seems to see every flaw on the way I play – from the way I grip the racket to how I volley to how I bend my knees when I hit the ball. I don’t really get it since my friends hit the ball the same way I do and they don’t get called for it.

Then there’s work which is not getting any better. My lead, who is based on India, does not respond to any of my emails unless I remind him via email or instant message which should really not be the case. Request for new software installation takes ages to get approved. Tickets (Issues) assigned to me are written in Finnish. The internet connection speed sucks. And my office crush went AWOL.

Tomorrow marks my 6th day of hell on earth. It sucks.

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part VIII

I miss doing my random thoughts and since I have things in mind that I want to blog but too tired to do separate posts I might as well revisit this for the nth time. Here it goes...

*****

They were twins, born a week apart. One was extremely intelligent, the other a semi-retard. One was mean, the other lovable. One speaks with the head straight, the other angled to the side. They are Kimmy and Dora, played superbly by Eugene Domingo with the same title sans the and.

The film is a riot. I haven't laughed out loud over a non-festival Filipino film since Ang Tanging Ina many years ago. The Aiza Seguerra song at the end was pretty good too. And Miriam Quiambao is hot.

Watch this!

*****

Three years after the extremely gross and funny Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again with Bruno. This time he is a gay Austrian desperate to make himself famous or rather infamous based from what he was doing the entire 83-minute running time.

This film is a disappointment. The filmmakers were trying too hard to top Borat. Scenes that were actually funny - the Paula Abdul interview, the Jerry Springer-type show, the wrestling match turned into a gay makeout scene - were few and far between.

Don't pay your hard-earned P140 pesos for this. Eight minutes were cut from the original version. If you really do want to give it a try, buy the dvd. It costs a 100 bucks less.

*****

The US Open, the last tennis major for the calendar year, is underway. As I write this Roger Federer is down a set against Lleyton Hewitt. That is good news since I don't like the 15-time Grand Slam Champion. Bad news is that Novak Djokovic, the only person capable beating Federer before the Finals, is down a set against an American and crowd-favorite Widden. Dammit!

Here's hoping my bets on the men's and women's singles - Murray, Nadal, Djokovic, Sharapova, Clijsters - win the tournament. Magpapa-cheeseburger ako pag nagkataon!

*****

Speaking of tennis, the pact that I and three of my friends made last year to begin playing the sport finally pushed through. It was only this month that all four of us were free from work obligations.

We learned the basic strokes - forehand and backhand - and I tell you it ain't a walk in the park. My forehand sucks but my backhand, which a friend of mine envied, was pretty good. I did hit a lot of moon balls though. The trainer said I was using too much power and was flicking my wrist like I was playing badminton. Arrrggghhhh!

I need practice. More practice. Maybe I should give labs a ring and ask for some tips. Perfect timing too since she's turning 29 within the month.

*****

I don't like my new job. There. I said it. Finally. It sucks. Big time. The tasks are few. I don't get any development work. Documentation of resolutions to application issues are non-existent. My manager don't act like he is one. My lead is an ass. My teammates are a bore. Some of them anyway.

I'm not quitting though. The pay is good. And my finally needs me. This is not the time to be selfish.

*****

I arrived at the office on Friday and found a stress ball on my desk. Nobody knew who left it when I asked around. Someone must have sensed I was stressed for the past few days investigating a production issue and thought the ball would be of help. It didn't.

I only squeezed it once then immediately tucked it on the same place where I first found it. I was not, even remotely, interested in doing a little bit of sleuthing on who gave the ball. Maybe after that damned production issue is resolved.

*****

I was trying out a shirt at the Megamall when I heard a couple talking from separate dressing rooms. I heard a rustling of clothes. Then I heard the woman say out loud "I can smell myself in here".

My mind started working on overdrive. I wondered "What must she be smelling?".

Hiatus II

By the time this gets published I will be at the airport awaiting my flight to a place called home.

This time I won't be leaving Manila to escape from someone. I will be leaving Manila because I want to and not because I need to.

I will be gone for a week.

I plan to go to the beach if the weather permits. I plan to spend many hours sleeping. I plan to meet up with friends who I hid from on my last visit. I plan to get drunk. I plan to get laid.

And I will have fun.

Have a great weekend and 3rd week of June everyone!

Heartless

My friends told me to move on. That I deserve someone worthy of me.

I tried. I tried not to make memories of us linger on my thoughts. God knows how hard I tried to let go.

At the back of my mind, though, I could not totally let go. I held on to the thought that we could get back together. That the memory of us could somehow rekindle what we once had.

I had a particular day in mind. Judgment Day I called it. That day would tell me if we still had one more stab at us.

The day arrived and I hoped and expected and waited but it was all for naught.

Every text message I received my heart would skip a bit thinking it was finally you. It wasn't.

I checked messages from all of my email addresses and YM account but none were from you.

I realized then that you are not coming back. Gone from my life. For good.

I realized too that it is finally time to totally let go and move on. There's no sense of holding on. You no longer care. I know that to be true. And it hurts. A bit.

For the first and final time, allow me to quote your last line -- "Salamat na lang sa lahat."

Goodbye, baby. I love you.

-----

To those who think I should not be the one doing the waiting think again.

I didn't want to make the first move since I have exhausted all possible means to bring her back without losing my soul. The ball, as they say, was in her hands and she chose to throw away the basket.

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part VII & Roland Garros Predictions

I'm going to start with an emo random thought. Pasensya na.

Today could have been a happy day. A milestone on the matters of the heart. Today would have been me and X's nth monthsary. A bit depressing. I wonder if X remembers what today signifies.

*****

Why are there no airport staffs at the exit of the NAIA Terminal 3 (or some domestic airports) that make sure the check-in luggage(s) a passenger is carrying out of the airport is actually his? One can actually take any luggage from the conveyor and walk out of the airport undetected.

*****

I watched Angels & Demons yesterday. I read the book many years back and could not remember exactly the plot. It was like watching a movie without any prior knowledge of the premise. It was a pretty good adaptation although a friend who watched it with me (and read the book a week before) said the filmmakers made quite a few changes. Still it was far better than The Da Vinci Code. I was entertained. Ewan McGregor rocks.

*****

The 2009 French Open starts today. Here are my predictions. I hope I get most of the quarterfinalists right. My predictions for this year's Australian Open were not good.

MEN
Quarterfinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Fernando Verdasco
Roger Federer vs Gael Monfils
Andy Murray vs Fernando Gonzalez
Novak Djokovic vs Juan Martin Del Potro


Semifinals:
Rafael Nadal vs Fernando Gonzalez
Roger Federer vs Novak Djokovic

Finals:
Rafael Nadal vs Novak Djokovic

Champion:
Rafael Nadal


WOMEN
Quarterfinals:

Dinara Safina vs Ana Ivanovic
Serena Williams vs Svetlana Kuznetsova
Venus Williams vs Nadia Petrova
Elena Dementieva vs Jelena Jankovic

Semifinals:
Dinara Safina vs Venus Williams
Elena Dementieva vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Finals:
Dinara Safina vs Svetlana Kuznetsova

Champion:
Dinara Safina

Hiatus

I am no wuss. I confront problems and conflicts head on. I am not the type of guy who downs bottles of beer to escape from personal issues. I don't go partying or sleep around.

I am strong. Or so I thought. Until my recent heartbreak. I did what a wuss would do. I escaped.

To set the record straight, I didn't sleep around. Nor went partying. I did drink bottles of beers. Smoked a few cigarettes. I drew the line there. I didn't wail. I didn't smash things. I was cool on the outside but was actually a wreck.

What I did was I stopped blogging. Some of you may have noticed. I did not approve any of your comments. I didn't comment on my blogroll's recent posts. I distanced myself from the internet. I went on a self-imposed hiatus. And I didn't announce it.

It's been almost 2 weeks since. I didn't want to post more about what I'm going through. I didn't want my blog to be a diary of my current state of mind (emotions?) - mad, sad, disappointed, angry, melancholic.

But I'm back now. I will still write about my loss but not as often as to make you cringe and click that x button faster than one could say SCUD.

*****

Allow me to make updates. Be warned though. This is going to be a long post. My longest, I think.

To start with, I finally bid farewell to my company over a week ago. My last day was not as smooth-sailing and enjoyable as I would have wanted to. I almost butted heads with upper management. Not a great way to end my 2.5-year stay. The day ended in a great way though. I had dinner and a few drinks with a couple of my best buds from the office.

A day after I went to watch the Archuleta/Cook concert at the MOA Concert Grounds. Archuleta was good but Cook was freaking fantastic. He sang 'Always Be My Baby' and 'Come Back To Me' which made me a little bit wistful. Tagos hanggang buto ang lyrics. It was the best way to spend my last night in Manila.

A few hours later (and 3 hours of sleep later) I was at the airport ticket, backpack, and duffel bag in hand. I was, as I mentioned earlier, escaping.

I needed to get out of the city. I needed to recharge. I needed to be with people who would help me forget, even for a bit, her.

So I flew to DC. I spent a week there.

I hugged my 93-year-old lola who, as expected, was ecstatic to see me then immediately asked me for money. Haha. Si lola talaga.

I played with my niece.

I went to the beach.

I bonded with my bro, sister-in-law, cousins, aunts, uncles.

I went to visit my aunt's final resting place. Next week is her first death anniversary.

I sang my heart out during a night of karaoke and over 6 Red Horse Grandes. That was the first time I sang and got drunk with my folks.

I slept too. I slept for like 10 hours a day which is more or less the same amount of sleep spent for 3 days in Manila.

I completed reading Russell Banks' The Sweet Hereafter about a sleepy town in New York coming to terms from a terrible bus accident that claimed the lives of their children. A wonderfully written book. A must read. You guys should also watch the movie adaptation starring Sarah Polley and directed by Atom Egoyan. That is if you want to get depressed.

I watched Sex Drive. It was hilarious. The plot has been done countless times before. Lanky teen desperate to lose his virginity meets a hot chick on the internet, fakes his identity, steals his brother's hot car, and goes on a road trip with friends for an eyeball.

I finished my Season 2 marathon of The West Wing. I have seen all episodes of The Sopranos, Six Feet Under, The X Files, Lost, Friends and none of these can topple Aaron Sorkin's creation of a fictional Democrat president's stint in the White House on the top of my all-time favorite TV shows. It's extremely intelligent, funny, superbly acted and shot, and full of heart. The rapid-fire dialogue is nifty and reminds me of Mike de Leon's oeuvre. Never mind that there are times I don't get what Leo, CJ, Sam, Josh blabber on, the show still rocks.

I was also able to watch the final performance night and finale of American Idol. I haven't blogged about this show this season but I have made comments on other blogs. That I liked Gokey in the semis but shifted allegiance in the finals when I noticed his song choices was too blah. That I am not a fan of Lambert's screeching although his Mad World and The Tracks of My Tears are two of my personal favorite performances this season. That I was rooting for Kris Allen because he has amazing song choices (Kanye West's Heartless, Falling Slowly from the Once soundtrack to name a couple), cool arrangement, and nice jackets.

I thought the finale was great. From the top of my mind the most memorable were Allen and Keith Urban's duet, Gokey's Hello, Black Eyed Peas, bikini girl and Kara, Allison Iraheta and Cyndi Lauper's Time After Time, and Michael Sarver and that tattooed chick performing with Steve Martin.

Before I forget, Kris Allen won! I'm pretty good on choosing my bets - Underwood and Bice on S4, McPhee and Yamin on S5, Lewis on S6, David Cook on S7.

And yeah. While I was in DC she was on my thoughts . Every day. Morning. Noon. Night. In my dreams. In the middle of watching a movie.

I miss her terribly. And still mad. And saddened by the thought that we can never be together again.

*****

I'm now back in Manila. Plane landed a few hours ago. I'm blogging again. I approved comments. I backread posts from my blogroll. I made comments on their posts. I blog-hopped.

I'm catching up with my reading. Movies to watch. TV show marathons to complete. Hobbies that I put on hold when I met ex.

Now that she's gone. I'm back. With a vengeance.

Black Snake Moan

One of the things I did during my stay in Bantayan was having a massage. Although I have a bad back, which I think needs a weekly rub, that was only the second time I had a professional massage.

I had the massage early in the evening on a Friday night. Around 8pm. I lay on my back on the bed while the masahista started her whole body massage routine. While I talked to her in Cebuano I was mildly amused that she and another masahista whom my buddy also hired were doing an almost synchronized massage. It was actually quite cool.

I stopped talking a few minutes after the massage commenced. The continuous rub made me drowsy. When I was in between consciousness and sleep my phone rang. It was a friend from my hometown.

In the midst of our talk I told her that I was currently having a massage and that was why I have this "drowsy" voice. As she talked about what was bugging her the masahista started concentrating on my back. It was heaven. It was amazing. It was tingly. She was pushing all the right buttons with her fingers and her palms.

I remember I had my eyes closed with my chin resting on the pillow and my right hand holding the phone to my ear. My friend was still pouring her heart out. Then I moaned. You know that sound when you're in the point of no return.

A second after I made the sound I realized what I just did. I was horrified. Embarrassed. My friend laughed. I did too. I apologized. She said she had to go. I said my goodbyes. And so did she.

The massage continued. I no longer moaned for the next 30 minutes.

25 Things About Me

This post's title is popular in the world of facebook. A friend requested that I make one. I politely declined. Listing down personal tidbits is not really my thing particularly if people I know will be reading it.

Since this blog is pretty anonymous I'm going to join in on what's in - this time on the blogosphere. Posting the list won't be such a big deal since there are only two or three people I personally know who read this blog. And they don't know each other. Hehe...

1. My mom had a difficult labor when she gave birth to me. It was a friday when her water broke and they managed to pull me out, via forceps, two days later. Ang sabi ng matatanda pag naghirap ang ina sa paglelabor madalas hindi binibigyan ng sakit ng ulo ng anak ang mga magulang niya paglaki nito. Tama nga sila. For now.

2. I never met my grandfathers from both sides. They died in the late 60s and 70s when my parents were still in their teens. I only saw a photo of one of them when I was in grade school. I have not seen it since.

3. I was well-known in high school but not popular. I ran for the student council twice and lost twice. I guess public (student) service is really not my thing.

4. I have pretty good penmanship. People particularly women, after seeing my single-stroke handwriting, would often exclaim that I have a woman's handwriting. I wonder what they would say when they see my Paulinian handwriting.

5. I was a member of the school band from grade school to high school. I played the drums. One time the resident bass drummer got sick and I, a rail thin kid, had to carry and play the damn bass drum across the city during a school parade.

6. Weeks before high school graduation, some of my classmates placed a bet that I would graduate second among the batch. I didn't want to tell them i didn't have a chance. It turned out i was right. I placed third.

7. I got a grade of 99 in English when i took the entrance examination in my college where I got my degree. I was ecstatic when I saw that grade.

8. If you were to get the average of my college grades, you would notice that i was 0.02 (or was it 0.12?) shy of graduating cum laude. (dong, if you're reading this don't tell any one!)

9. I was an altar boy in grade school. My friends would often be surprised when I would tell them that I was one. Ang haba na nga talaga siguro ng sungay ko.

10. In fourth grade, I and a classmate got caught cheating. Since my classmate was rich and I was not and since the teacher was infamous to having a "soft" heart for rich kids i was the only one who got punished. She sent me to attend class in another section for half a day. In the afternoon, i took my seat in my real section. When the teacher saw me she muttered "You really can't wait to be called from the other section, can you?". I hate that teacher.

11. I love to read books. At thirteen, I read my first novel - Sidney Sheldon's The Sands of Time. I was enthralled particularly the sex part. During that summer I devoured Sheldon's books. Then I discovered John Grisham, Anne Rice, Michael Crichton, Richard North Patterson, John Irving. My cousin changed my taste in books a bit when she introduced me to JD Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, Erich Segal's Love Story, and Dave Eggers' A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius.

12. I used to watch movies alone in college. One time i went to watch this suspense movie and someone proposed that he would give me 500 pesos if I would allow him to give me a blow job. I told him no. He insisted. He gave me another offer - name any price. I shook my head. He gave up and left. Then i started shaking uncontrollably in my seat.

13. I weighed less than 90 lbs when I saw my name in the papers as a licensed ECE. I have since gained 50 lbs.

14. I don't watch Pinoy soap operas. The last time I religiously followed one was way back in high school - Villa Quintana. It was often the topic every morning at school so to join in the fun I watched it even though I wanted to wring the neck of the characters for being so dumb and stupid.

15. During my sophomore year in high school, we were told to think of a quote to print on our shirts for our T-shirt printing class. I chose "Knowledge is Power". Our principal saw the quote and I could see the disgust on her face. That was the start of our hate-hate relationship till senior year.

16. I have never been to the Araneta Coliseum, the Manila Zoo, or the Luneta Park.

17. At age 5 I fell into an empty swimming pool while playing with my classmates. I remember telling my kindergarten teacher that I think my tongue is gone. Little did I know reason was that my mouth was filled with blood. The doctors had to stitch back the right side of my lips (the part where the upper and lower lip meet).

18. I used to dig Michael Learns to Rock in high school particularly 25 Minutes. That is one of the things a friend would immediately remember about me in high school.

19. I would chain smoke at least one pack of cigarettes during a night of drinking session back in college. I drastically limited my smoking then gave it up entirely when I started working. I have not smoked a stick in two years.

20. Many years ago I didn't miss Sunday or any Holy Day of Obligation mass for a whole year. I was a devout catholic. This year, the number of masses I have attended is nill.

21. In college, I refused to cut my hair for over a year. Since I have wavy hair it would look really unruly even if i spend minutes putting on gel and styling it. My hair was one of the many things me and papa fought on. I succumbed to the pressure to cut it when my aunts told papa that I was definitely hooked on drugs. A college friend almost fell on a manhole when he first saw me with almost bald hair.

22. I had a chatmate who worked two jobs - in PDI and in an ad agency. This chatmate would offer me free concert tickets. I would refuse since it would mean personally meeting and I dont't do EBs. Then one time I mentioned about a certain TV personality who I saw (and stalked) while vacationing somewhere in the north. The next day I read my little story printd in PDI's Entertainment section. I wonder where she could be now.

23. I won a Jessica Zafra book frm one of her early contests from many years ago when she first started writing her Emotional Weather Report column in The Philippine Star.

24. I am terribly afraid of heights. i don't like riding on the Ferris wheel. The last time i rode one was 4 yrr ago at EK. The entire time I sat on the floor and hugged the center pole. I'm not exaggerating. There's a video of it somewhere in my cousin's place.

25. I am a pretty good caretaker of things. The blue Sony cd player that my folks bought for me in 1998 is still fully functional. I gave it to my niece during my last visit as one of my Christmas presents. I also still have the Timex watch that my folks bought for me in 1997. I still use it once in a while.

The Day The Earth Stood Still

It was a busy afternoon at the office.

I was venting the slowness of my virtual machine, which was hanging every other minute, on my mouse banging it repeatedly on the table.

To make matters worse, I could not make a macro-enabled Excel 2003 spreadsheet work in Office 2007 which I was debugging all week. Sucks right?

Then my phone beeped. A message from a friend.

"Honestly I like you."

I almost fell off my chair. Those 4 words sucked the breath out of me.

Then the Earth stood still...

100

9 months, 4 days, 100 posts. That's a personal milestone, averaging 11 posts a month. Not bad for someone who used to maintain two other blogs and only managed 4-5 posts for each

This blog is stating put (for good) and since the last quarter of last year I started planning my 100th post. I thought of listing 100 things to do in my lifetime, same as raft3r's, but discarded the idea when I could not stretch the list to a hundred. I then contemplated blogging about:

a. my 100 favorite movies. I have more than 100 but could not make up my
mind which movie to scrap from the list. I ditched the idea.
b. 100 best blog posts of others. I have a few favorite posts but it was
too daunting a task rereading every post each blogger from my blog roll
had posted. Maybe next time.
c. my 10 best blog posts. I didn't even come close to making the list. I'm
not a big fan of my writing.

Discarding all three and leaving me with no choice, I reverted to my plagiarized idea. I classified the items into different categories to make it easier to reach 100. And by the way, some of these are fillers.

ADVENTURE
1. skinny dip
2. sky dive
3. go whitewater rafting
4. bungee jump
5. get involved in a bloody fist fight
6. backpack around the philippines
7. attend boot camp

ANIMALS
8. own a dog

BOOKS
9. read nick hornby's books
10. read haruki murakami's books
11. read khalil gibran's the prophet
12. read james ellroy's la confidential
13. own hardbound copies of all Harry Potter books (i have softbound copies of books 1, 2, and 4).
14. read stephen hawking's brief history of time
15. read ian mcewan's books
16. read kazuo ishiguro's books
17. finish reading my backlog of books (a total of 16 and counting)

CAREER
18. be a top-notch business analyst
19. be successful in my career and smugly turn down my former bosses who want to pirate me

CHARITY
20. help build a "Habitat for Humanity" shelter

EDUCATION
21. get a master's degree
22. get a mensa membership

FAMILY
23. pay off all of my parents' debts
24. watch a sharon cuneta concert with mama
25. watch an nba game with papa
26. watch the world cup match with my bro
27. have my own family

GADGETS TO OWN
28. nikon d90
29. macbook pro
30. nintendo wii
31. nokia e71

HEALTH
32. gain 10 more pounds
33. achieve 6-pack abs
34. run the treadmill at >= 9kh for at least 30 minutes without resting
35. wear contacts
36. discover a cure for cancer and diabetes
37. get a monthly massage

MONEY MATTERS
38. save a million pesos
39. set-up my own business

MOVIES
40. watch the decalogue
41. watch the best of youth
42. watch lav diaz's films
43 watch kung mangarap ka't magising
44. watch it happened one night
45. watch akira kurosawa's films
46. watch gerardo de leon's films

PLACES TO VISIT
47. new york city
48. paris
49. mt. pinatubo
50. mayon volcano
51. batanes
52. antulang
53. palawan
54. bantayan island
55. caramoan
56. grand canyon
57. phuket
58. camiguin
59. pagudpud
60. banaue rice terraces/sagada
61. great barrier reef

PEOPLE TO MEET
62. martina hingis
63. marat safin
64. arundhati roy
65. conrado de quiros
66. my great love

REAL ESTATE
67. own a beachfront property
68. own a resthouse in tagaytay
69. build a house with my own library and entertainment room with kickass sound system

SEX/DATING
70. watch a live show
71. interview a sex addict
72. get on the mile high club
73. go on a blind date
74. speed date

SKILLS
75. learn a foreign language
76. learn chess
77. learn tennis
78. learn to cook
79. learn to drive a car
80. learn to play the guitar
81. learn to swim
82. personally design my blog template

SPORTS
83. win a badminton tournament
84. win a bowling tournament
85. score a perfect 300 in bowling
86. attend a tennis grand slam tournament

STATE OF MIND
87. be fearless
88. be friendly
89. be cool

TV
90. join Survivor
91. join The Amazing Race
92. watch all seasons of The West Wing
93. watch all seasons of The X-Files
94. watch all seasons of The Wire
95. watch all seasons of OZ
96. watch all seasons of Battlestar Galactica

WRITING
97. write a book
98. write a screenplay
99. get published in PDI's Youngblood
100. win a Palanca

Scud's Random Thoughts: Part VI

Fever. Asthma. Cough. Colds. I have all of these inside of a week after moving in to our new office location. I blame it on (house) dust, which I am allergic to, and bad management. They made us move to the new site without vacuuming the whole floor. I heard that the floor was foggy with dust early Monday morning. Ggggrrrr...

I had dinner with a few friends a couple of nights back. Two of them are leaving - one for Melbourne, the other for Philadelphia. That means no summer outing, no dinners, and no Red Box for the whole gang.

I got my annual salary increase and it had me grinning from ear to ear. The amount isn't worth bragging but still it is way better than what I expected. I think I even got promoted since the percentage increase I got was in the same range as those from my team who got promoted earlier in the year. No cause for celebration. Performance evaluation rating is yet to be discussed with me and it is already a month delayed. Bad management!

Oscar nominations are out and you can find the official list here. There were major surprises. The Dark Knight was scratched from the Best Picture list and replaced with The Reader (the book, by the way, is a great read). Clint Eastwood's acclaimed and box office hit Gran Torino didn't get any Oscar love. Kate Winslet got nominated for Lead Actress, not for Revolutionary Road as widely predicted, but for The Reader. And Dev Patel who played the Slumdog Millionaire got shut out for Supporting Actor.

Today is the fifth day of the Australian Open. Roger Federer and Marat Safin will battle it out later for a place in the fourth round. I hope Safin wins. I'd be comfortably propped in my bed by then. I called-in sick.

Tagged!

I'm tagging myself on this blog which I recently discovered while passing the time in the office. Dahil panay documentation lang ang task ko for today, I might as well write a blog entry. Haha. Here is my list of ten weird things or habits or little known facts about myself.

1. When I was in kindergarten, I fell on an empty swimming pool which tore open the side of my mouth while playing habulan with my classmates. I remember telling my teacher that I can't feel my tounge and it might have been removed when when I fell. The innocence of a child. Haha. The reason? My mouth was so full of blood. A small reminder of that incident is a small scar which looks like a dimple (even whem i'm not smiling) on the left side of my mouth.

2. I have the habit of removing my leather shoes while working. I roam around the vicinity of my account's working area without my shoes. It feels very comfy. Parang nasa bahay lang. This shot was taken by RR from my previous company.



3. I usually use the word "Lintek" when I'm pissed and things are not going smoothly sa office (read: slow internet connection). I also slam the mouth on my desk to show that I'm really pissed.

4. I don't mind watching movies in theatres by myself. In fact, I watched The Dark Knight at GB3 alone since my friend, who I made plans with to watch the movie together, could not make the 8:15pm screening. I no longer watch obscure, non-mainstream movies shown in theatres by myself since I had a not-so-memorable experience(s) back in college.

5. I'm afraid of heights. I don't remember when I started having achrophobia but I'm pretty sure I wasn't during my student years. I remember me and some relatives went to Enchanted Kingdom and I pretty much sat on the floor of the Ferris Wheel cage that we rode. There's a video of that somewhere in my cousin's house. Here's hoping it won't get uploaded into you tube.

6. Maingat sa gamit. In fact I still have my Sony cd player that mama bought for me in '99 and a Timex watch in '97. I still use the Timex watch when I go on dvd-hunting and the cd player still works but I no longer use it.

7. I won an online contest conducted by Jessica Zafra when she first "premiered" her column in the Philippine Star. That's the second time my name got printed on a national newspaper. The first one was when I passed an engineering licensure examination back in 2002. I won a free book. Too bad it wasn't autographed.




8. I only got into a one-sided fist fight once. It was 9pm and raining very hard. A neighbor accused me of giving the dirty-finger to her sister, which I honestly did not do, and wanted to drag me to their house which was only a few meters away from where he stopped me to talk about it. Naturally, I brushed his arm aside but hell ensued when his other siblings appeared and started pointing fingers at me. I wasn't afraid then. I was fuming mad. When the brother lunged at me, his siblings struggled to refrain him. That was my cue. I jabbed him in the jaw and ran home. That must have hurt and I was able to put to good use my college ring.

9. I was a sacristan (altar boy) back in grade school. When I told my friends from my previous company that I was once an altar boy they thought I was kidding. Who would have thought that the meek and obedient boy that I once was could become a curse-loving, opinionated, and reklamador (not-so-young) man.

10. Dahil number 10 na dadamihan ko na. Hehe.

I don't know how to cook. Marunong naman ako magsaing ng kanin without the use of a rice cooker, boil eggs, fry hotdogs, and cook pancit canton but that's about it.

I don't know how to swim.

I don't know how to play chess.

I don't know how to use chopsticks.

I don't know how to whistle.

I don't know how to multiply using my fingers (pointing the tips of the fingers towards each other).



I only started wearing prescription glasses after graduating from college.