Decade

2009 is not the end of the decade. 2010 is. Same as 1999 was not the end of the century. 2000 was.

It's just simple math really. If a year is said to be the end of a century, say 1999, you only have to divide the year by 100 and the quotient should be a whole number. You don't get that in 1999, you get that in 2000.

It's like buying a 10 kg of rice. You don't pay for a 10kg of rice which tips 9kg in the weighing scale. Lugi ka kung ganun.

That is why I don't understand (and pisses me off) why some people and online publications are churning out their 10 best of this and that. Unless the title says 'Best of the 2000s', that is just unforgivable.

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.

Office Space

I used to love my job. I used to get a high, a sort of euphoria, when I see a new production issue logged to the team. I know I’m good with what I do and I almost always get the job done.

But that love has gone to semi-hatred in a span of five months. I almost hate my job. I don’t like going to work. It has become a chore, a hassle. I don't like it that no production issues or requests are coming in that I could sink my teeth into. I don't like it that forums and vendor sites related to my job are either blocked or access is limited. I don’t like sitting on my ass for nine hours with not much to do but watching out for breaking news on www.inquirer.net, staring at MS Outlook, or discreetly watching The X-Files on my Ipod.

Friends have told me that I must be the luckiest guy in the world. I get paid to sit and surf the internet and write blog drafts. I tell them having idle time for once or twice in a month is good. But for 4 months and counting?

My brain cells are stagnant. They’re asleep. They need to be woken up and do some serious exercise.

*****

I thrive on teamwork. On quick lunch outs. On small non-work-related chats within an 8-hour shift.

Now, how do I survive on a team who are on war with each other? Where One gives Another the cold shoulder because Another earns more than the One? Where the boss does not try to defend his subordinates in times of head-butting with upper management? Where the boss is meek and assertiveness is an alien word? Where, in short, the boss has absolutely no leadership skills?

Working on a team such as this one sucks the life out of me. Signing in on to this job was a mistake.

Thank You

THANK YOU. These are two words that a receiver can convey his gratitude to the giver. It doesn't take two seconds to utter these words. It's not even phonetically difficult. But why is it that some people take these for granted? Why is it, like the word SORRY, so hard to get out of the receiver's mouth?

Do these receivers not realize that two simple words can make the giver deliriously happy? That the time, energy, and effort spent to provide this and that were not done in vain? That the giver does not care if no material gratification is received? That what giver cares is an acknowledgment of the sacrifice no matter how small it was.

Is it really that hard?

The giver does not understand. The giver shows his appreciation all the time. The giver says THANK YOU to the guard who opens the door for him. To the lady who prepares his lunch. To the woman who does his laundry. To the cashier who hands him his change. To the baggage boy who bags his groceries. To the woman who expertly massages his body each month.

THANK YOU is a phrase the giver uses more than once in a day. The giver believes the phrase can never be overused. It must be spoken to those who deserve to hear it.

Package Counter

I always have a backpack/messenger bag with me whenever I report for work, buy some stuff at the mall, or do my weekly grocery shopping. It has become a staple of the 'Scud look' that an officemate expressed her surprise one Friday many months when she saw me without a bag strapped to my shoulders. I grinned. I had an important date that time and I didn't want to look geeky. But that's another story. One that I won't blog about.

The thing is whenever I enter some stores, like Bestseller at the Galeria, I am always politely asked to leave my bag at the package counter. I begrudgingly abide but is silently pissed when I see women with really BIG bags strolling the aisles.

I'm no sexist. I'm all for equality. But c'mon. Isn't that discrimination too? Women can bring in their bags and men can't? Is it because women keep their wallets in their bags and men keep it in their jeans? Is there a study published somewhere that I do not know of which shows men are more prone to shoplift than women?

Khonspirator

I haven't seen any of the sex videos filmed and produced by Haiden Kho. I do not intend to download the videos via http/torrent or watch them via YouTube.

I have seen too many personal sex videos in my 20-something existence that all of them look the same to me. Bad video. Bad audio. Sloppy and stagnant camerawork. Unimaginative and repetitive sex positions.

One should watch film features to see how sex scenes should be done sans shots of male and female genitalia. Take for example the spit-swapping scene in Scorpio Nights. Or Klaudia Koronel and an actor doing it on tree branches in Tuhog. Or Michelle Aldana getting it on with Gary Estrada in Segurista. Or Graciaaa of Eat Bulaga fame on top of Albert Martinez while furiously fanning herself in Sidhi. Or that helicopter scene in Live Show.

Now those are imaginative. But I digress. I couldn't help inserting that last paragraph. Haha.

What really peeves me though is how some senators are exploiting the scandal for their own political ambitions. Plus pogi points.

Look at Jamby Madrigal. The Judy Ann Santos-lookalike (duh!) heading a Senate investigation on the sex videos for for legislative purposes.

Look at Bong Revilla. A man, who has sired children from women other than his wife, delivering a speech on morality. Putik!

Patricia Evangelista in her Method To Madness column in PDI a couple of Sundays ago argues about this splendidly.

Read the article here.

Unbelievable!

Reading the news in recent days makes me want to rant and curse. Here's why.

- ConAss
- Right to Reply bill
- Kho sex videos
- Nadal, Murray, and Djokovic losing in Roland Garros
- Roger Federer most likely crowned King of Clay and GOAT
- Tax on imported books (since revoked by GMA)
- Cheche Lazaro harassment
- rain and traffic

Ggggrrrr!!!!

Heartbreaker

When you want to get into a relationship, be sure that you are ready. Do not say you THINK you are ready because thinking is too academic. Cerebral. Heartless.

Do not make someone your guinea pig. They are not toys to be played with. They have hearts. They get hurt. They are humans.

Committing to someone is serious business. You do not say "I THINK I am ready". It is not a thought. I repeat. It is not a thought. It is a feeling. It is an emotion. It is a belief.

*****

When you want to get out of a relationship, don't do it virtually - may it be through SMS, email, IM, phone call. It reeks of cowardice.

Have the decency to break the news personally. It is the hardest thing to do but it is the right move. Explain your reasons. Answer their questions as honestly as you can. It can be brutal but breakups usually are.

Do not say that you want a cool off AND then say that they should not, for now, expect that you would return anytime soon. Those statements are contradicting.

When they ask you if cool off for you meant you're coming back or you're breaking up for good, do not say MAYBE YES, MAYBE NOT.

Do not sugarcoat.

Do not give an answer with gray areas. It must be in black and white. It must be a YES or a NO. Maybes are not welcome.

If you want a breakup then break it. If you want a cool off mention a timeframe. It may not be accurate but at least they can hold on to this small flicker of hope.

Do not leave them holding the short end of the stick. That's selfish.

Do not leave them with mouth agape. And questions begging to be answered swirling in their minds.

*****

You. Too bad the last thought you have of me was a pathetic, pride-swallowing, and pleading scud. What you don't know is I was mad. Less than a minute after you finally broke it off. I AM mad. Stark. Raving. Mad.

I am blinded by rage.
You did this to me.
I want the old scud back.
I miss the guy.
Where could he be hiding?

Don't

Two days ago I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. All day I wanted to punch someone on the face. Anyone. I didn't.

This morning I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Again. All day I wanted to pick a fight with someone. Anyone. I didn't.

But I chanced upon a comment a former officemate wrote on a Facebook movie quiz she took. She perfected the quiz about mainstream movies and wondered in writing that she really is a movie addict.

That kind of pissed me off. If you say that you are a movie addict then you should not limit yourself to mainstream movies like Notting Hill, My Best Friend's Wedding, 50 First Dates, The Wedding Singer, 27 Dresses, and the like. I mean these movies are entertaining but does that make one an addict when one consign to watch outputs from mainstream Hollywood, Star Cinema, and GMA Films? When one abhors reading subtitles? When one abhors sad endings and wants every movie to end happily ever after?

Methinks a person should label himself one when he does not only watch Spielberg, Howard, Lucas, Bay but also of Godard, Truffaut, Kubrick, Coppola, Scorsese, Almodovar, Lynch, Kurosawa.

Locally one should not only watch Garcia-Molina, Lamangan, Deramas, Roño, (Joyce) Bernal, (Joey) Reyes, Tony (Reyes), Quintos but also of (Lav) Diaz, (Raya) Martin, Jeturian, Mendoza, (Ditsi) Carolino. One should be interested in movies made by Brocka, Bernal, (Mike) de Leon, (Eddie) Romero, (Gerry) de Leon, (Gregorio) Fernandez, (Lamberto) Avellana.

One should have seen the sad story of a father and son looking for a lost bicycle in The Bicycle Thief, or that 20-minute scene in an apartment in Breathless, or that long-take towards the end at the beach in The 400 Blows, or the lengthy silent scenes at the start and end of 2001: A Space Odyssey and was given homage by Pixar in last year's terrific WallE, or the middle-aged filmmaker watching snippets of famous movie scenes in Cinema Paradiso, or the claustrophobia and shocking ending in Kisapmata, or the murder scenes shot with Beethoven's Für Elise playing in the background in Elephant, or getting baffled over the ending of Mulholland Drive and frenziedly searching the net for an explanation, or getting awed by creatures created by Guillermo del Toro in Pan's Labyrinth, or watching an entire movie like L'enfant that has no musical score from start to finish. And many more.

Don't label yourself something when you're not. Even when it's only on social networking sites.

*****

I wrote this post earlier in the office. When I read it again in my room many hours later it reeked of conceit. Elitist. Forgive me. That was just me ranting.

Condoms, Corruption, Conscience

"Pope Benedict XVI, who arrived Tuesday in Cameroon for his first trip to Africa as pontiff, denounced condom use on the AIDS-ravaged continent, saying there were better ways to combat the disease.

AIDS "is a tragedy that cannot be overcome by money alone, that cannot be overcome through the distribution of condoms, which even aggravates the problems," the 81-year-old pontiff told reporters on the flight from Rome.

The solution lies in a "spiritual and human awakening" and "friendship for those who suffer," said Benedict, who will also visit Angola during the weeklong trip."

Read the full story here.

Pasensya na sa mga magagalit pero di ako nag-aagree sa sinabi ng Santo Papa. Sa tingin ko condoms o artficial means of protection pa rin ang panlaban sa AIDS epidemic na yan. Hindi lang sa Africa kundi sa buong mundo na rin.

Sabi hindi daw 100% effective ang paggamit ng condom pero ang "spiritual and human awakening" ba ay isang mabisang solusyon? Ang mga edukadong tao nga ay di makpagpigil sa tawag ng laman, ang mga Aprikano pa kaya na ayon sa aking kaalaman ay lugmok sa kahirapan at di makapag-aral?

Hindi ba pwedeng pagsabayin ang dalawa? Prayers and use of contraceptives?

*****

"Jesus Martinez capped his public career by being disgraced. Manuel Gaite Jr. has previously been disgraced, and has been rewarded for it by being given a promotion — to take over Martinez’s job as a commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission."

Yan ang unang paragraph sa Editorial ng PDI ngayon. Bad trip.

"What stuck in the public’s mind was that Gaite gave Lozada half a million pesos and then insisted the funds came from personal resources. We’re hard-pressed to think anyone believed him then, just as Martinez’s demonstrating shock — combined with protestations of ignorance — about his son’s business dealings with the son of Legacy boss Celso de los Angeles inspired public skepticism."

Ang kapal. Bad trip.

"The moral of the story, as Philippine Daily Inquirer columnist Ramon Farolan put it Monday, is an immoral one: “If you must lie, lie to protect the administration. If you must steal, make certain some of it goes to the administration. If you must cheat, cheat in favor of the administration. You will be assured of protection and you may not see the inside of a courtroom. Like Gaite, you might even be rewarded.”"

Wala akong masabi. Walang kwenta pa rin talaga ang gobyerno natin. Nakakainis.

Read the full editorial here.

*****

"The Filipino woman who accused an American Marine of raping her in November 2005 has not only recanted more than two years after winning a conviction but has also accepted money from him and flown to the United States for good.

Nicole also issued a sworn statement on March 12 saying she expected her motives to be questioned.

She raised doubts that US Lance Cpl. Daniel Smith had raped her, and suggested that she might have welcomed his sexual advances at the Neptune Club in the Subic Bay Freeport Zone.

She added: “My conscience continues to bother me realizing that I may have in fact been so friendly and intimate with Daniel Smith at the Neptune Club that he was led to believe that I was amenable to having sex or that we simply just got carried away.”"'

Read the full story here.

The smell of money and milk and honey work in not-so-mysterious ways in this country. Kaya siguro hindi tayo umaasenso.

Reds

I don't know about you but i am very particular about time. Or to be more precise, I don't want anyone wasting my time. Or anyone letting me wait. I just don't have the patience.

You see, I am almost always on time. Filipino time does not exist on my world. If ever I was not going to make it on time (for a date) I tell whoever I was meeting that I will be running late. I text. I call. I email. I give my reasons. I tell them how many minutes I think I will be late. Or where I was if I was caught on traffic. And that I was sorry.

That's the reason why I don't have much patience for people who are habitually late. Who cancel dates on the last minute. Who always asks for a rain check. Who make me wait for hours.

I have been stood up many times in my life. By family. By friends. By dates. And I still am not used to it. I get pissed. I give them the cold shoulder for days. Or weeks. One even lasted for more than a month. Or was it two?

Yesterday, I got stood up twice. By two friends. Two separate lakads. It was horrible.

I wanted to beat someone up. I wanted to pick a fight with someone. Anyone.

I wanted to scream. Punch a wall. Rant.

It's been almost 24 hours since and I still see red when I think of last night. But I'm trying not to. I just don't know how.

Beep Beep in the Early Morning

I'm a late sleeper. I usually hit the sack between 12mn-1am and wake up at around 7-8am. Araw-araw yan including weekends. For the past week, a former classmate has been forwarding messages to me at 5am. I didn't particularly like reading forwarded messages. It's a waste of bandwidth and money.

For a few days, I didn't mind the messages since the double beep message alert from my ancient mobile phone didn't disturb my sleep. I did notice that my phone beeped but it didn't fully woke me up. Nakakatulog kaagad ulit ako. Yesterday was, as they say, the straw that broke the camel's back. Right on the dot my phone beeped and it woke me up. I tossed and turned in my bed but I couldn't get back to sleep. I tried putting on a shirt but no success. I was pissed. I thought of putting on my pajamas but instead I groped for my phone in the dark and furiously texted him with "Wtf! Don't send me nonsense messages at 5 in the morning. Fuck!". Para akong nabunutan ng tinik when I pressed SEND. I finally fell asleep at 6am and slept for another hour. The classmate has not texted since then. Natakot na. Alam naman niya how I get mad. Wala akong sinasanto. Sabi nga ng manager ko, nakakatakot daw ako pag galit. haha.

FYI. Mabait akong kaibigan. Tinotopak lang paminsan-minsan.

Nightmare at a Laundry Shop

My favorite black/white striped shirt is gone. The culprit? Ang lintek na laundry shop kung saan ako nagpapalaba for the past 3 years. Namisplace daw nila at di na makita kung saan. Baka daw nalagay sa laundry ng ibang tao at di na binalik. Dobleng lintek.

Ilang beses na akong na-bad trip sa kanila.

Una, halos lahat ng mga white undershirts ko nagka-mantsa. Ang iba hindi na kulay puti. Dirty white na. Dahil sa mabait akong tao (haha) hindi na ako nag-reklamo at bumili na lang ng bagong set of undershirts. Ganun din ang nangyari. Nagka-mantsa at dirty white na ang kulay. Pinagalitan ko ang babaeng nagbabantay sa shop. Napilitan akong maglaba ng lahat ng damit kong kulay puti.

Pangalawa, hindi nabanlaw ng maayos ang ilang damit ko. Kitang-kita na nakakapit pa rin ang detergent sa damit. Bumalik ako at pinagsabihan ang nagbantay.

Pangatlo, half ng pair ng white socks ko nawala. Puma pa naman ang brand ng socks. At madalang lang ako bumili ng socks na branded. Di naman nakikita. Bad trip na naman.

Pagkatapos ng mga pangyayaring iyon, nag desisyon akong lumipat ng laundry shop pero hindi nagtagal at bumalik din ako sa dati. Ang rason? Masyadong malayo ang nilipatan kong laundry shop. Mas ayos dun sa dati. Lalabas ka lang ng compound at andun na ang shop.

Pero nagpatuloy pa rin ang kapalpakan nila.

Pangapat, kukunin ko yung laundry dala-dala ang tatlong 100 peso bills. Inabot sa nagbantay. Tinignan ako at sinabing wala daw syang panukli. Ano naman ang gagawin ko dyan sabi ko. Natakot at nagpabarya na lang sa katabing shop

Pang-lima, sabi bukas na sila ng 8:00-8:30am. 8:45am andun na ako sa shop. kailangan kong kunin ang laundry dahil wala na akong damit na gagamitin sa gym. 9:00am wala pa ang magbabantay. 9:30am na dumating. pagkabukas pumasok kaagad ako. sabay bigay ng claim receipt at bayad. tinignan ng magbabantay ang dala kong pera. wala daw syang panukli. bad trip na ako. gusto kong suntukin ung tao sa inis. lumabas na lang ako at nagpabarya.

Pang-anim. Nakalagay sa claim receipt pwede ko na kunin ang laundry ng martes. miyerkules pumunta ako. laking gulat ko na lang na wala pa daw ung laundry ko. isasalang pa daw nila sa washing machine.

Pang-pito. Ito na. Namisplace nila ang isa sa mga paboritong office shirts ko. Babayaran na lang nila ako ng 300-400 pesos para sa damit.

Ganyan sila ka incompetent. Pero sa Sabado sa kanila pa rin ako magpapalaba. Wala na akong choice.

sorbaybor pilipins

napanood ko na ang sorbaybor pilipins kagabi. i wasn't impressed. ito ang mga tinayp ko sa aking cellphone habang pinapanood ang sorbaybor:

"poor editing"
"dragging"
"far-cry from the US version"
"walang suspense ang immunity challenge"
"di malaman kung gaano kalayo ang lamang ng nangungunang team"

in short walang kuwenta. pagkatapos ng show nag-text ako sa kaibigan ko.

ako: ang boring ng survivor philippines!
sya: wahaha. i dont watch it. eh ginawa araw araw un showing.. gagawan nila ng drama yan.
ako: alang kwenta tlg. poor editing. slow pace. terrible camerawork. walang suspense ang challenge. binutcher na nila pinoy idol, pati survivor sinama pa.
sya: Oooh wel.. it happens

pinatay ko ang tv. nanood na lang ng friends sa ipod hanggang inantok.

What Was He Thinking?

I chanced upon Ricky Lo's column last Friday in the Philippine Star on Mark Meiley's new movie Baler which I think is an entry to this year's Metro Manila Film Festival. Below is an excerpt from his column.

"Through the fictional characters of the local lass Feliza Reyes and the half-Spaniard/half-Filipino Celso Resurrecion, the story weaves real events with imagined incidents as fictional characters interact with historic real-life figures of the long siege."

Then on the last paragraph Lo wrote:
"Now, the question: Did Celso Resurrecion and Feliza Reyes have a child or children? Are the children’s children, if any, still alive and living in Baler?"

When I read the last paragraph I was dumbfounded and irritated. Hindi ba nya alam kung ano ang fiction?

Sexist

I have been many stopped by guards of shops and supermarkets many times and told to deposit my knapsack, which I always bring with me when I go to work or on my weekend escapades, on the baggage counter. The last time it happened was a couple of weeks ago. In exasperation, I asked the guard the reason why and she told me that they don't allow "big" bags inside the supermarket. I was like wtf! My knapsack was just the normal size. What irked me was that I could see women doing their groceries with really big shoulder bags and they weren't told to leave them in the baggage counter. Is this the dawn of a new brand of sexism? That men are now prone to shoplift more than women? I dont know if surveys have been made on who shoplift more - men or women - but most high-profile shoplifting cases I know of involve women. Remember Winona Ryder? Call me sexist but I'm just pissed at those guards or whoever give them stupid instructions.

Songs for No One

Is the Philippine music industry in dire straits that they now constantly churn out revivals of saccharine ballads from centuries past or hit songs from the r&b and pop genres? I know this has been going on for years but these past few weeks I've been barraged with these songs on radio and tv. I was preparing my things for work this morning while the tv was tuned to mtv when bam! I saw Nina sitting on a chair, twisting her legs at an incredible angle like she was a rag doll, and sang her cover of Aerosmith's I Don't Want To Miss A Thing. I don't know with you but this "singer" has been churning out "revival" albums from Nina Live!, to an album entirely devoted to Barry Manilow, and just recently another album of Dionne Warwick songs. wtf!

To make matters worse, the fx I was riding in to get to work was tuned to an fm station where sheryn regis was belting out an old song, seemingly determined to damage her vocal chords for good. Good riddance.

Here's hoping on my way home tonight I won't hear Miss Ganda's Payong (Umbrella) or any songs of that type (I refuse to call it a genre). Although I don't mind hearing the acoustic revival of Gary Valenciano's Di Bale Na Lang. Its quite good but then again that's just an exception to my rant.