the cebu life

Jip 07B Jones Av

2011-11-28T05:23:00.001-08:00

On my way home from skol

Oooopss. Student again!

2011-11-28T05:18:00.001-08:00

The Empty Chair

2011-10-05T13:50:00.001-07:00

The melancholy
Of an empty chair
In a corner of my
Thoughts
Strikes each dawn
When i lay still
Staring from the
Dark into
Nothingness.
How cold can
The world get
While lights outside
Dance and music
Play in rhythm
With life.
Just how many
Souls at this instant
Wither
In loneliness
In a dark room
Just staring
at an empty
Chair
They can't even dare sit?
The chair in my thoughts
I will keep empty
If only to console a heart
That it's not alone
In its solitude.

Fear

2011-10-05T13:48:00.001-07:00

What do i see
When i stare at
Darkness?
Should i be seeing anything
At all?
i am making out
All these troubles rushing
Chasing me
Like an avalanche
From a summit
I could not see.
Im playing with shifting
Shadows pulling me
Yelling and cursing
And some conniving
And whispering
Pockets of prayer for
Someone else's bad luck.
I stare back at them
And beyond the nothingness
I am seeing a blankness
That magnifies
Fear.
An illusion in august
that uncertainty
Creates
In the darkest nights
In 28 years.

ALIGUAY ISLAND

2011-09-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

I had the chance to go back home a few months back after an unfortunate turn of events which turned out pretty well in the end. I got sick for over fatigue with all the book-juggling and work on the side which made me ski classes and work for 3 weeks including the full week I was a recluse due to sore eyes. I had no salary as i have used up all my vacation and sick leave credits but i was able to go back home and enjoy a few days with friends...

Fast rewind - i went home to visit Aliguay island. It's been ages since the last time. I really hope i can go back there. It's being developed right now and I'm quite sure going there to bask under the sun won't be free soon. Looking at these photos, I just wanna be there this instant.

McDonald's

2011-09-15T14:58:00.001-07:00

Sucks if u have a few houra and over 300pages to read.

Waiting

2010-11-11T14:11:00.000-08:00

WAITING

in bed
the lights turned low,
i gaze at the ceiling
and in the cracks
i see moons shining
and stars dancing
from universes away.
i count the minutes
in the length of each
tiny light's twinkling
as they're consumed
by nothingness
only to peep out before
i could gasp another breath.
i entertain myself with
the galleons of clouds
passing by
until they all sail away
into the window,
into the light.
the door creaks open
and my waiting ends.

Sidewalk Thoughts

2010-11-11T14:09:00.000-08:00

SIDEWALK THOUGHTS

i sit on a sidewalk
my life in stationary
while thoughts run
round and round
in a race
i could only wish the road
will run out.
i could finally hear
silence.
the littlest gust of wind
creates a sound as i
let out a breath of smoke.
18 cars past,
i wished they had dragged
these thoughts to where
i do not know of
until they all dissipate
until i couldn't care less
until all i could remember
was counting cars and
a vague memory
etched on paper
that i painfully erased.

The Hurt

2010-11-11T14:03:00.000-08:00

THE HURT

Sometimes
The heart aches a little
The body feels old
The mind convinces both
That the day is too lovely to detest.
The thirst, i try to drown in
Glasses of beer and ice
'drink me, im your troubles' panacea'
The hunger, in the abyss of my thoughts,
I suppress with crispy chicken thigh
'eat me i'll let your mind fly'
My body parts going
In different directions,
my muscles moan
My bones hurt
My head diffusing and expanding
and back again
always in the verge of exploding.
The thoughts,
the endless worries I cannot suppress
all collapse into air
Only to return bigger and scarier.
I laugh at myself and
all i could hear is a cough.
Or a whimper.
I am not a happy soul these days
My body tells me so -
Cos the laundry is waiting
The credit card's screaming
The office is fogged of rumors and withering smiles
My dog's always pooping
My polaris not in synch
with my compass.
And i miss my family badly
And my heart's pining for home.
The heart aches sometimes too.
I will give it to my heart.
To ache to wallow to hate
Even for a moment.

Issues

2010-11-11T13:58:00.000-08:00

ISSUES

We whine about work
We yammer about bosses
We squeak about
how the complexities
Of the roles we assume inside
This two-doored, four-walled
War-cage
Make us almost vomit.
We catch gossips
Hurled in the air from all directions
Like bombs hitting us
And exploding like stinky Poop.
We chatter
Of dirty kitchens and
Wild outbursts in British accent
and sometimes
Smile at british sarcasm we
Couldn't grasp in an instant
- Like a meerkat
That goes 'kruk kruk kruk'.
We talk about love and sex
Everyday during smoke breaks
As if the stories never end like
The cigarettes we consume.
We talk of boobs and boners,
Of Newcomers and blabbers,
Of Gold-diggers and
boyfriend/girlfriend-grabbers
Like a recently watched
Soap on primetime tv.
We breathe huge heaps of air
On the fifth
And face in front of a pc
On the twelfth
Only to breathe a greater amt of air
As if air would give us the energy
To carry on.
We are balloons
Puffed and puffed
Ready to go boooom.
We complain
But we work anyway
and never give anything
less than our best.
At times, we have issues
But resolve them anyway.
We applaud ourselves for
The little things we
Feel we triumphed on
and pat each others back
when one does well.
It feels like a 5 yr old
All over again
Rewarded with a vanilla ice cream
When a rare compliment comes by.
We lift each others spirits
Because no one else raises
A glass for us but ourselves.
We have laughter for lunches
And a cold set of beer reserved
After work on days when our
Wallets have enough to spare.
We have allowed a space
In our hearts for what we do
Though hours come by
when we'd ask
If our job could ever love us back.
We learned. We matured. We loved.
And together
We inhale and exhale toxic.
We've been hurt.
We've cried. -
For not being listened to.
We've got our hearts pounded.
We've rebelled.
- For things we felt worth standing for. Then we whine again.
We are big whiners with each other.
And then we laugh again
- reminiscing the good ol days-
And get back to work
Pouring our heart n soul
- Like beleaguered soldiers
In a seemingly eternal battle
Always looking out for that
Spark that promises an end
To this long dreary night

Dawn Thoughts

2010-11-11T13:37:00.000-08:00

DAWN THOUGHTS

Here i am again
Terribly missing home
In a city
I can only count
The hearts that understand.
Counting cars again
One two three...
Twenty four... Thirty nine..
Their numbers piling up
Like the uncertainties
Of tomorrow.
The dawn is creeping again
Swallowing this sidewalk
In its coldness
In its indifference
To a lost drifter
Trying to make sense
Out of his purpose.
The daylight is breaking again
Through the early morning clouds
Painting the sky a lonely
Shade of blue.
The kind that makes your eyes water
The kind that makes you puke
The kind that tugs the chest
So hard it makes you
Grasp for air.
The kind that makes you
Feel like you're dying..
Or dead.
Here i am again
Thinking
Wallowing in perplexities
Fighting with reasons
Digging in concrete
Trying to strike a spring
That promises this
Breaking day of unfamiliar
Silhouettes will be mine
To conquer

The Building

2010-11-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

THE BUILDING

The office
Standing tall
Teeming of faces
I cant all recall.
Ive always thot
That skyscrapers
Are made of concrete
But this firmament that
Sticks over the skyline
Are made of walls
That are just slightly thicker
And a just a little bit wider
Than that of the faces
That occupy its spaces.
It's cappillaries start moving
And then pause.
The Elevator stops
On mid-floors - suddenly our
Imagined Corporate-movie lives
Flop and someone just yells
"Holy Crap Im trapped! "
Back to reality.
Passengers awaken.
This lift might just be
Metal coffins transporting
Live people to hell.
Funny but It hurts when
At times one has to
kneel to the devil
To make a living
and then thank God
for the job
That provides each weekend
A set of beer at a club.
Twelve floors up
Where birds outside fly
And occasionally peep
On glass windows
chirping mutely
And choking of polluted
Air rising from below.
From the outside
The birds mummed of
The events inside -
The subtle insults
And sarcasm that bite.
The smiles to a computer screen
That doesnt smile back.
The laughs to a voice
That comes out from the wires
Stemming out from
Across oceans
where birds outside
Would not attempt to try.
The cursing hurled
Are nauseating.
The bodies walking
And running in squares
and circles
Back and forth,
Its maddening.
The weight of the problems
Of a foreign country
Resting on the shoulder
of this building

Ginabot 4 Lunch

2010-08-19T02:38:00.000-07:00

I love ginabot with its staple - the reliable puso!!! If u ever come visit cebu, don't miss it! The best ginabot in town is nearby Redemptorist Church.. I wanna go back there!!!

Chopsticks 101 @BIG MAO

2010-07-03T11:16:00.000-07:00

I don't how to use chopsticks . I have tried. Futile.

Today I and few of my workmates - Maimai, Aisha, Joseph and Roni - went for dinner at Big Mao at the Terraces. We were gonna watch movies. People were still crammed waiting for the day's last show of Eclipse and all seats have been taken when we arrived around 9pm. We planned to buy tickets for Knight and Day but changed our minds last minute and headed to dinner anyway.

Big Mao serves great food. We ordered a whole lot of food plus bottomless iced tea. I have a hard time memorizing food names so I have forgotten what they're called after we ate. We weren't able to eat everything.

Then we had fun with the chopsticks.We had challenged ourselves at first to eat using chopsticks but when the food were served, our hands were already spoons-and-forks ready. We were too hungry we forgot the chopsticks altogether. Then we did chopsticks 101 when we were so full another spoon of pansit would have made me vomit. Maimai was so funny with the chopsticks and they were all laughing at me on my attempt to pick a slimy mushroom using the sticks. I can't believe I could use so much of my energy picking up a lil slimy mushroom!

Panget almost paid the whole bill...hahaha...Thanks nget! And then a few photos after, we headed for a smoke. Everyone knew we needed a cig.

From that dinner onwards, we planned to eat at a restaurant no matter how expensive once a month. A splurge on food once in a while isn't a bad idea, we all thought. So Big Mao is number one. Let's see what's next!!! Can't wait!

UP DHARMA DOWN @ Ayala

2010-07-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

On my way to the office, I got the chance to see Up Dharma Down live at the Active Zone inside Ayala.

The band is forward and you don't really get to hear any other band having the same sound. It was a bit intimate having the crowd very close to the stage. Aroud 300 people watched the band perform alongside a little less known but equally talented band Sleepwalk Circus.

The bands performed some of their hits to the crowd's delight.

The event was sponsored by PUMA and was dubbed Archive Uncovered.

I enjoyed the whole forty minutes only to be distracted by college students acting like preps. Yesm you have your SLRs and you are sitting at the front. You don't have to f*ck with it the whole time the bands were singing. Someone's singing, pay attention! You're all behaving like prep schoolers!

MEET YOUR NEW SPIDERMAN

2010-07-02T11:28:00.000-07:00

A virtual unknown will be donning the Spiderman suit on the next Spidey installment come 2012 (too far ye think?).

Andrew Garfield, 26, is a British-AMerican actor was seen in small roles in movies like 'The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus' and headlined a little-unknown UK crime-drama 'Boy A'. This sounds like another Rob Patz in-the-making.

Hot hollywood actors auditioned for the role to replace Tobey Maguire but Andrew nabbed the spot for the 4th installment. The movie will be released in 3d.

Excited.

FINALLY MY NEW PHONE!!!

2010-07-02T10:59:00.000-07:00

I had said on a previous post that I was getting a Blackberry Curve. Turned out it's gonna take ages if I will wait for Globe to get the next batch of Blackberries. The unit was a sellout for post-paid subscribers which meant I have to wait on queue until it's available. I know i gotta do something. Excitement and waiting don't blend well to me.

Well, yesterday I finally got my phone. Not a Blackberry but the Iphone 3GS with 32GB memory storage. I called Globe and changed my unit and got in two days. I could never be happier with my new phone but it also meant I have to tighten up my belt.

I am yet to discover the features but have used it's WiFi feature at Ayala. What else for - facebooking!! I don't have any contacts yet and don't even know my number. As of the moment, I'm waiting for my Globe number to be activated. I have downloaded some songs and yet to download more. The first photos taken on my phone were of my puppy, Angus. She was adorable on the pics I shall be posting soon!!!!

The next few weeks, I shall receive my first bill. For the next few days, I will be eating dog food.

FOR SALE: X-Rayted Calendar

2010-06-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Would you buy an X-rayted calendar?

A cheeky calendar from a Japanese X-ray company was designed to promote it's products. Models pose in nude with only stilettoes on and were captured in X-ray.

The supposedly raunchy photos are one of the weirdest things I heard in a long time? I dunno, but it doesn't appeal to me. Is this what they supposed to call artistic photography?

P.S. : Mommy Che, a colleague, summed what this craziness is all about. In her own words, "Bisan unsa ka kagwapa, didto ra gihapon ka padung sa kalabera". Nice one mommy!

The ANGEL is Back

2010-06-29T12:10:00.000-07:00

Angel Locsin was hailed as Philippines sexiest this year by FHM Philippines ahead of Cristine Reyes and Marian Rivera.

Watchathink?

NOW SHOWING: ECLIPSE

2010-06-29T11:35:00.000-07:00

I am no Twilight fan. Really. I have watched the two installments but not really crazy about the Edward Cullen story. I prefer Interview with a Vampire by Anne Rice back in the 90's. The Twilight series is a bit too teeny-bopper for me. But yes, I have to admit I enjoyed watching Twilight and New Moon.

I have friends, more than all my fingers can count, who are crazy over the Twilight saga. I couldn't even believe my sister, on her thirties, is also going gaga over Edward Cullen.

To all the Twilight die-hard fans, the long wait is over. Eclipse has arrived at the local theatres!

Eclipse had started showing at the Ayala Mall a few hours ago - at 12 midnight. I heard it was sold out weeks before! Regular showing starts today and I'm contemplating watching it over the weekend with colleagues. Yay!!!

Just a thought, can a wolf become a vampire-wolf after this (see foto below).....?

Some Sam

2010-06-28T10:59:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, I lazied up in bed watching two big movies I missed to watch. It's lame, I know. Almost anyone I asked have watched the movies and the DVDs have been gathering dust already in a corner. I spent the whole Sunday dawn watching Clash of the Titans and Avatar and learned that both of them starred the same actor, Sam Worthington!

Avatar was a feast for the eyes. It must have been amazing to watch it on 3D.

Watching Sam Worthington for 5 straight hours flashed back scenes from Into the Wild. Tell me if Emile Hirsch doesn't have the slightest resemblance with Sam.

Sam Worthington

Emile Hirsch

REPAIR? ANYONE?

2010-06-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

Are we talking about the same appliances here?

WIPROITES on an AMAZING RACE

2010-06-24T12:20:00.000-07:00

June 20. Wiproites sacrificed their Sunday to participate in the first ever account-wide Amazing Race. I was appointed as one of the marshals together with the QA team. More than thirty teams joined the fun-filled race that had them searching for clues on each stop and racing on to the next. The race brought the contenders to the Family Park in Talamban, the Abellana Sports Complex where members of the the teams had to swim across the Olympic-size pool and back and then sprint back to Ayala Business Park where the race commenced. The five-member teams raced thru the city streets begging jeepney drivers for free rides. The final challenge required eating dried lizards. Though not everyone hurdled on to the next challenge, the adrenaline at the start of the race was enough to keep the whole event alive. Let's all hope a bigger and a more challenging Amazing Race will be planned for next year!!

Kudos to Peachy and her bf, ALbert Uy for the really neat fotos!

And the winners were...***drum roll***

2nd runner up: TEAM JAKE GORDON GO (aka JUSTIN BIEBER)

1st runner up: TEAM RTA

The Champs: TEAM JEYSON SALANDRON

Til next year Wiproites!!

Going the Extra Mile

2010-06-22T12:41:00.001-07:00

Come on Miley, this is too much. Not really a good role model for Hannah Montana kiddo fans huh? At least she shaved. LOL :)

photo from perezhilton.com

The Good Things

2010-06-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of things we feel we lack. For so many reasons, we miss to count the many blessings we have. A little instropection might help us realize that what we have is more than what we need. Truth is, I think I have more than what I need to survive. It is the insatiable want that makes us shallow. Though it feels good to have the good things in life, it feels better to count the ones that matter more. And it isn't the material things that I'm talking about.

Today, I am celebrating two milestones in my so-called little career. I have just been confirmed as a full-fledged Process Trainer which means I will have an increase in salary (YEY!). I am also the happiest trainer today, having seen my first set of trainees ever to graduate from the 5-week process training I am handling. It has been fun. At times, my patience was tested to the last straw but I was able to keep my cool. I know pretty much that I am patient and considerate, which I think are not bad traits of a trainer. I do not consider such as a weakness. In fact, i consider them my strengths. And maybe it was for those reasons I have bonded with my trainees well. I have the best class in th world, well maybe the rowdiest one too, but I couldn't have asked for more.

During the short graduation rites we had, I knew that were gonna perform a sing-and-dance number for the audience who attended ( they were gonna sing BABY by Justin Bieber. haha!). Though they retreated back to their shells the time I asked them to show off, they instead read from a small piece of paper a little tribute to me where they expressed the ten things they like and hate about me. The list included how they like/hate my curly hair to the smoking breaks where i continued to rattle on about the topic we discussed in training. It was hilarious. More than the friendships I made, it felt good because I felt loved.

P.S. My trainees also bought me a shirt from the Adidas shop in Ayala which I thought was a bit too much knowing that every penny counts these days. Thanks for the nice tee guys!

I'm Getting a Blackberry!!!

2010-06-14T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am excited to receive my first Blackberry phone. I am not a techy person when it comes to phones and I am not someone you wanna talk with about the newest mobile in town. In fact, I dont use my phone much at all. I rarely text even and my mom would rattle about how i don't get in touch with them for weeks which sometimes makes her wonder if im already a rotting corpse in some room in Cebu City.

I keep a Samsung phone right now. One that has no camera, no memory to save music, no games to keep me occupied- the cheapest you can find at the mall. I dont need something more than the basic texting and calling and i probably wont be using a phone other than that.

But I learned recently that I could get a plan from Globe under my company's corporate account where I could get a Blackberry for a phone. I got the 99-peso plan and get a blackberry. I will be paying for the monthly amortization of the phone way cheaper if I go inside a Globe store and get a personal plan. The idea sounded neat though I will be locked-in for a 2-year contract which means I should keep my job for the next two years or else I'd end up fried with debt. With my confirmation as a trainer this month, i will be getting my mobile allowance so it wouldnt hurt much my budget. I admit i am pretty careless and history shows I have lost a couple of phones - not really fancy phones but phones nonetheless. Friends tell me I should get my phone tied on my neck all time which is a not something I can be proud of really.

Can't wait for the blackberry. I should be texting more otherwise I will be keeping a white elephant in my drawer.

Hot Sunday, Good and Bad Customer Service and a Frap

2010-05-30T10:19:00.000-07:00

Long hot Sunday.

Alih, a fellow trainer, was recently promoted as a GL which is nothing short of a reason to celebrate. She had intended to celebrate her achievement at Casa Verde but had to make quick change of plans due to the long queue of hungry mall rats. JV, another trainer, also had a very bad experience at Casa Verde yesterday which made Alih decide to jump over to the resto next door - Bistro Ecila. Restaurants oughta give good customer service to 'customer service people'. The food was great at Bistro Ecila - I love pork chop! There were eight of us - Alih,JV, Aisha, Jix, Miah, JV's bf, Dexter and me- and with a few good laughs over sumptuous food, the dinner completed my day.

After Bistro, we went to Bo's Coffee to chill and cool off. Today was the hottest day ever that we needed coffee to keep our body temp at normal levels. Everyone agreed. I had frap. One of the good-looking baristas caught Jeremiah the Tank's eyes that confidence took over the good side of him and asked the guy for the seat that was an inch away from where he was standing. Asking for the sake of being noticed - so patagad. The guy obliged with a smile and even more so when Miah's name was called from the counter under the pseudonym Anne Curtis. That quite caused a commotion.

It was a nice dinner ALih! Congrats!

mobile

2010-05-24T07:29:00.000-07:00

(an ode to my cheap nokia phone)

moving.
we move tirelessly
crisscrossing miles
that get us no
farther than our
first step.
like connecting dots
like drawing constellations
our destinations form
random shapes
from our arbitrary thoughts.
we move and stop and stare
then move again.
picking up memories
and saving them in
our hard drives
like we collect numbers
of people we keep
in our mobile phones.
in losing them,
the puzzle
we so patiently built
crumbles.

signs

2010-05-23T06:58:00.000-07:00

if you wanna have a good laugh, you might might be surprised you'd get a hearty one at an ukay-ukay market. here's some that i collected over the years plus contributions from Atty. Benjie Zosa and Oliver Lancin that they posted on the Facebook page I created named KARATULA.

chatter

2010-05-23T06:16:00.000-07:00

talk over french fries
and cigarettes
turns into
childhood tales
that make us recall
the oddness of the years
gone by
and the sweet familiarity
of innocence
that had slowly withered away.
in reminiscing,
we mourn.

city dogs

2010-05-23T06:14:00.000-07:00

dogs in the city
they bark on concrete
that towers them, envelopes them.
they bark on speeding cans
that roar back louder
in a scary, deafening noise.
they bark on people
who bite back and backbite.

dogs in the city.
they bark at a world
that swallows them alive
and consumes their minds
until they become mad dogs
running around the city streets.

clueless

2010-05-23T05:23:00.000-07:00

you tell us
to retreat to our shells
because you can't
get out of your own.
the chains that bind you
the mask that you wear
grows heavier
creating lines on your face
that you cannot deny.
you put on a puppet show
and we gladly oblige
as we clap on your fantastic
performance
knowing that you only have
yourself to fool.
clueless.
you are.
because everyone knows.

waiting

2010-05-23T05:03:00.001-07:00

in bed
the lights turned low,
i gaze at the ceiling
and in the cracks
i see moons shining
and stars dancing
from universes away.
i count the minutes
in the length of each
tiny light's twinkling
as they're consumed
by nothingness
only to peep out before
i could gasp another breath.
i entertain myself with
the galleons of clouds
passing by
until they all sail away
into the window,
into the light.
the door creaks open
and my waiting ends.

SRP Tunnel Now Open

2010-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

Photo by Rey Roman Tura)

THE South Coastal Road tunnel finally opened to motorists May 8.

The 0.97 kilometer twin box tunnel traverses beneath Plaza Independencia in Cebu City and will allow access of vehicles to the South Road Project.It is the first undergorund tunnel of it's kind in Cebu and is expected to decongest the main city streets.

That's something to smile about!

I LUV CEBU!

2010-04-29T23:24:00.000-07:00

If ever you find yourself in Cebu, don't miss to grab one of the I LOVE CEBU shirts. You can get it customized and have your name on the shirt in 30 minutes. Shirts are available at ISLAND SOUVENIRS at the Ayala Center.

I have seen more and more people wearing the shirt and I am at the verge of getting my own. It certainly is great for tourists.

Bantayan Summer 2010

2010-04-04T01:24:00.000-07:00

My second visit to Bantayan with the QA team on our first beach outing. It was so much fun I could only hope it could happen again sometime in the future. But, i guess not.

I tell you, Bantayan can change lives. You'll get out of it and you're never the same. Well, that's what happened to us. :)

sidewalk thoughts

2010-04-04T01:16:00.000-07:00

i sit on a sidewalk
my life in stationary
while thoughts run
round and round
in a race
i could only wish the road
will run out.
i could finally hear
silence.
the littlest gust of wind
creates a sound as i
let out a breath of smoke.
18 cars past,
i wished they had dragged
these thoughts to where
i do not know of
until they all dissipate
until i couldn't care less
until all i could remember
was counting cars and
a vague memory
etched on paper
that i painfully erased.

Gothic Halloween

2009-10-30T18:03:00.001-07:00

WOrk.Sleep.Work.Sleep.Work.

and then Halloween comes along.....

HAPPY CHARTER DAY CEBU!!

2009-08-05T15:45:00.000-07:00

MY TEAM

2009-08-05T15:32:00.000-07:00

I've been with my team for two months now and I have to admit it's been one of the best times I've had despite not having a team outing yet. That's a record considering my fond memories of my previous teams were mostly out of work. With them, I actually really enjoyed working... hahaha

On Angels, Demons and Adventureland

2009-07-30T07:03:00.000-07:00

I watched Angels and Demons last night on dvd. Throughout the movie, I wondered where the movie was shot especially on scenes inside the Vatican Palace ( I am at work and I don’t have time . For a sequel of a movie that lambasted the core of Christianity not to mention the Roman Catholic Church, I thought they won’t be given the chance to shoot the film inside the splendid walls of the Vatican. It was a thrill. That sort that keeps you awake because you have to listen to all the words they say about history and signs. My brain shut off just when the end credits began to roll. I was stressed of the conspiracies of how angel statues are supposed to be pointing at something.

In a country where signs are said to foretell the next cataclysmic event, I wonder if somebody can work some tidy piece of conspiracy story about statues in the Philippines. How about starting with Jose Rizal on every town’s plaza?...Hmmmm?

There are also two other movies I watched this week. I particularly liked Adventureland.

It kinda makes me things how all our thoughts of what we'd become slowly slip away. Not because we didn't try harder but simply because circumstances just lead us somewhere else where we don't neccessarily become any less of who we are. There are just some other things we are meant to do and it doesnt eqaute to failure. Sometimes, we have just got to embrace it. :)

Holy Goodness!

2009-07-30T00:12:00.000-07:00

Tell me this isn't the Queen of Pop?...

I AM GETTING FIT..and damn serious about it!

2009-07-27T02:25:00.000-07:00

I went to the Cebu City Sports Complex ( popularly known simply as Abellana) 4am to do a little exercise. I usually run ten rounds straight on most occasions but thought a little deviation from the usual wouldn’t hurt. 7 straight rounds in 20 minutes and my chest was already pounding so hard I had to stop. After gulping a bottle of Fit n Right, I slipped on a dry tee and went to Pier Uno. I am yet to see the effects of drinking FitnRight and there I was waiting at the pier for some fiesta leftovers. More than a month later of swearing off rice, I broke my own covenant and cooked one cup of rice and devoured it like I haven’t eaten rice for years. The lechon, humba, afritada, bola-bola were all greasy but it was heaven in every chew. I felt guilty after eating knowing that I have to double my exercise to shed off the fat I ate. It’s for health reasons I’m starting to be conscious of what I eat and it feels light if exercise is coupled with healthy food – i.e veggies!!! I am in the habit of going to Carbon after a couple of rounds at Abellana in the morning and I there I buy my veggies. Ten pesos of mixed veggies and a sinigang mix, I am ready to make my chopsuey when I arrive home.

I miss eating greasy food, drinking coke on each meal and just lounging ( in the words of our Indian boss, Aparna. 'what are you doing, chilling?) in my bed for hours sleeping or watching television until my head hurts. But I am beginning to like a healthier lifestyle. And I am keeping it.

KARATULA

2009-07-23T08:50:00.000-07:00

These photos have been doing the rounds in the office through spam emails. I thought these were funny. I haven’t been noticing signs these days in Cebu that really cracked me up. I should bring my digicam more. I need focus focus focus to catch those signs.

MICHAEL JACKSON : 1958-2009

2009-06-26T08:53:00.000-07:00

My cousin bob texted me around 9am today. I was deep in sleep having slept around 6.30am already. Bob doesn't text me alot nor do i text him. I probably havent sent my cousin a message more than 5 times this year, not neccessarily because i don't have anything to say to him but simply because i don't really text people. even my own mother would wail about how could i not text them back home for weeks, sometimes months. how would they ever know if im already a rotting corpse in my room here in cebu, she'd cpmplain. What a lonely corpse i must be if that happens. Simply put, i always say, im not really a text fan.

I was sleeping when that Mario Brothers ringtone sounded and thought the beep was my alarm. I grappled from my bed to get hold of my phone a the chair where i left it a few hours back and was disappointed that it was just a message and not my alarm that woke me up from such a dreamy state. i read the message and thought it was odd that my cousin would send me one. The message my cousin sent was "Mike patay na si Michael Jackson". I thought it was a joke or a cruel prank. Half-awake, i scrolled down ten times and hoped the screen would move and would flash something like "u got punked" with Ashton Kutcher wearing a devilish smile. Well, there wasnt any of that page so i replied, "That's sad".

Arriving at the office, the buzz was about Michael Jackson. Suddenly, everyone is a fan. Everybody claims to know his songs. And everyone else seem to know the moonwalk. I grabbed my chair and took my calls of the day.

I am a fan of Michael Jackson's music. Not so much the uber fanatic type, but i used to listen to his music back in the 90's when i discovered his Thriller album (which was released in the 80's) and when i was introduced to his moonwalk and crazy dance moves via a local TV station's almost daily airplay of his Bad Tour. His concerts were like prayer rallies, I thought back then. People collapsing and bursting into tears when he goes out of the stage. It was like the people were looking at the face of God and chanting songs like it's gonna save them. It always seemed to me like fanaticism gone way beyond but hey, i liked him anyway and the concerts were so...Michael Jackson. Until now, after watching numerous concerts on dvd, nothing still beats the showmanship of the gloved one . I remember I even bought his HIStory album- a compilation of his well-loved hits on cassette (CDs were unheard of back then).

The King of Pop is dead and BBC says the internet suffered a great deal of lag when news broke out about his demise. I am just glad that in this lifetime I lived to witness a true legend. We never got to live the days of the Beatles or Elvis but we were witness to the complex life and music of MJ.

Michael Jackson. May you rest in peace. 1958-2009

WHY TEACHERS ARE SO STRESSED...

2009-06-25T09:33:00.000-07:00

These are forwarded by a colleague at work and I cant help but laugh so hard going through them. Makes me realize teachers should get a raise. :)

Lucky Strike

2009-06-23T07:37:00.000-07:00

Lucky Strike

sitting.
waiting.
sighing in intervals
and waiting for
Newtonian apples to fall
like rain.
when will my luck ever come?

10.06.09
6.44am
in my room/cebu

BOB's just got hitched!

2009-06-20T12:10:00.001-07:00

so the bride walked down the aisle and his man was waiting at the altar. fast forward, the groom on his tailored white suit kissed the bride and nothing could be more picture perfect than these two people who looked like models on television. the lady in the flowing white gown with a long train every bride would envy is Barbie Alvez and her man is Charles Calunod, my cousin, whom i and the rest of our kin fondly call BOB.

Watching my cousin say his vows sounded weird simply because my memories of him was when we were still little kids running around their wide backyard. The I do part snapped me into reality--- i am a kid no longer. For heavensakes i am 25!

So with my handy digicam, i couldnt help but snap and shoot some photos...It was a beautiful wedding. It was an expensive one! and i have never surrounded myself with that much socialites (Kim Chiu's sister was there and Cebu's hottest young designers Lord Maturan and Lorymer Villareal) in my whole life, ehem...but well, i did just fine and truly enjoyed watching my cousin tying the knot. from the edge of the one of the chapel's pews, i sat as one of the groom's men and i couldn't be any prouder to be there to show support.. May the newlyweds be blessed with a happy life together..:)

and the prenup photos courtesy of one of Cebu's top photographers were nothing short of sexy....

WHAT I DID LAST SUMMER

2009-06-20T11:32:00.000-07:00

it's june. sunny days are over. rainy days are back. and with the change of season i have buried this blog in a tiny spot in my head hoping i'd forget my blogging duties as i tend to life's routine squabbles.

the past months have been quite a rollercoaster for me. i've had some highs and terribly low lows. cofusion, loneliness, homesickness, the feeling of being lost,of being meaningless, of being directionless, of fear that the future is bleaker than it already is....all of them toyed with my thoughts.

and it was such a treat that in between the sleepless days of anxiety, the always reliable summer is always there to refortify my state of being....talk about BANTAYAN ISLAND!

it was fun and i realized it's been quite a long time since i genuinely had one. i'm not so much a people person and i could bask in the sun alone and truly enjoy the beauty of the island. despite my companion's heeding to the call of sleep, i savored bantayn like i might not be able to go back to its fine white sand and crystal blue waters. can't wait where to go next..the Bohol plan with friends was a flop...now im thinking...i should plan alone...tsk!

a>

LEMONADE sa COLON

2009-04-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

sa usa ka jip labay sa colon.
usa ka manong ka higkod ang panuigon naneguro sa iyang destinasyon.

manoy: bai, siguraduha baya bai ha nga di ko malapas sa lemonade.
a few seconds later...
drayber: diri ra naog noy. colonnade na.
manoy: di ni mao bai. unahan pa man to. sa may lemonade ba..
drayber: wa may lemonade noi. colonnade ra may naa diri sa colon.
manoy: drayb lang doi kay ako ray tan-aw kung mao na. dako man to kaug ngalan nga lemonade
drayber: wa lagi lemonade diri. colonnade ra.
manoy minaog. wa mibayad. gabagulbol.
manoy: peste ning draybera, magbuot.

5 GOLDFISHES

2009-03-07T15:25:00.000-08:00

1.55am / 2.24.09

Five goldishes in an aquarium
thinking they are treading the empyrean
inside a burning room of loud music
and murky thoughts .
Have their mothers told them
their memory only lasts three seconds?
Just when they learn they're swimming in hell,
they're back in heaven again.
Three-second memory. a bliss?

****just so you know i have 5 goldfishes that i feed everyday. last weekend i saw them in my dreams drowning which is a very strange way of telling me that i had to change the water in the aquarium. never really thought goldishes have telepathic powers.. tsk tsk

kurtina

2009-03-07T15:24:00.000-08:00

1.47am
2.23.o9

i feel a change coming.
the dust that cling on the
billowing breeze go past
the window pane.
it is sadness they always bring.
they blur the glass windows.
they antiquate the television
and alter the shade of things
into the lonely color of wood.
from my bed, i noticed
the green curtain swaying to
the direction of the air
spun by the whirring electric fan.
it's a shade sadder than yesterday
a color almost like the half-withered
leaves of May.

SINULOG 2009 - 2.8 M People in Attendance!!!

2009-01-24T04:31:00.000-08:00

the pics are kinda late.. i was quite busy the past weeks that i didnt really have time to update my small space here... i have ots of posts lining up but cant pst em all at once...tsk tsk...

anyway, these are my pics last Sinulog. 2.5-2.8 Million people went out to celebrate the feast of the Sto. Nino...undeniably, Sinulog is the queen of all festivals and Cebu, the country's powerhouse of faith. Tangub won the contest for the traditional category while the Bee contingent won in the free interpretation category. Cebu was teeming with people. Celebritie were around to join the festival and everyone was on high spirits.

There was a photo contest held and I was kinda jealous of the contestants' high-end cameras. I just love the sound when they click and click. I bet they were taking great photos...well, i can only do so much with my digicam. I am posting em below...hope they're evn good enough...

My First Mass for '09

2009-01-15T04:31:00.001-08:00

i had the time of my life when i wen to the Sto. Nino Basilica to hear mass. The novena is said each day until Sunday whne the big feast will happen and thousands upon thousans flock at the basilica to say their prayers and pay homage to the Sto Nino. It was a sight seeing all the devotees of all ages waving their hands to the Holy Child. It has been a long time since i have heard mass and I am glad I did. Somehow, my feet carried me to Colon and down the Basilica without any plans at all of going there.

And i took pics!

Sidetrip in Dumaguete

2009-01-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

On my way back to Cebu, I had a little spare time to roam inside Silliman University, walk along Kagwasan Avenue, pray inside the Dumaguete's centuries-old stone church, and wander aimlessly around the city streets. Though I always pass by the city evrytime I go home, I never had the chance til last weekend to really immerse myself in the crowd (again)of the ever gentle Dumageuetenos. Indeed, the city has come along way since I last studied there - hmmm circa 2000, haha. more traffic, more stores, more bars, more booze lying around the boulevard, more foreigners and more people rushing to and fro. It wasn't as busy as it used to be and I love more the way it was before.Hmmm, but that didnt stop me from taking my precious time and enjoying it with the sights and sounds of the city.

I just love Dumaguete...except the weird NORECO posts that are literally on the street already. hahah...

ALIENS BAI
and then there came the omnipresent Koreans who are slowly invading the country - they're just everywhere. Next thing we'll hear they are also in Sulu studying at the Notre Dame of Jolo...LOL...well, this group of the arirang race does look somewhat lost..

I also was able to take, well, better photos than what i have above..LOL.. and of me at the Silliman University Library.

Meeting the Original Punk
....but nothing could prepare me to see Krissie's dad like this ----- which led me to ask, didn't the Dumaguete punks know that Ninoy was the original punk?...tsk tsk...

LET's TALK ABOUT BODYBUILDING

2008-12-26T05:25:00.000-08:00

I have been passing along V. Rama for the longest time (on a jeepney of course) and have noticed the sign outside a fitness gym. It perplexed me how that person came with the whole idea of saving the country from the pit of poverty through....what else but BODYBUILDING.

i think the idea is very original...politicians should consider the idea. after all, body builders are a disciplined pack of people. maybe thru it we'll be less lethargic and be more alert and active with healthier lifestyle. the country will be sunnier with people beaming with smiles doing fitness exercises early morning or after work. no one is fat. everyone is lean and healthy. some can choose to have the mr universe bodies. or maybe not. with people who are on the go, we will spend just enough time for sleep instead of sleeping ten hours at night and still doze off in the office. it will be inevitable that with a healthier mindset, we'll ultimately see a progressing country as we slowly shed those fat.

maybe it will work. hmmmmm....it will be expensive but how about starting by sparing a room in health centers for working out...DOH?

SHAVED

2008-12-26T05:02:00.001-08:00

sa jipney padung colon. 3 ka kolehiyala naghisgot-hisgot.

girl 1: di gyud ko ganahan mag short kay balhiboon man ako legs. nipis ra nuon.

girl 2: ako pod gali. pero dali ra na ui. unsay gamit sa shave. tig shave mu?

girl 3: di ko tig shave ui.lain kay manuslok-nuslok man gud.

girl 2. ako kay every after day jud ko tig shave.

girl 1: lage nuh? mag shave na diay kog sugod every after day arun masuot nako tong mga shorts nako.

KAWATAN? are we?

2008-12-24T22:52:00.001-08:00

Sa may call center dapit sa Sugbo. Mga ahente nagtubag sa nagpanawag nga mga Amerkanong nanginahanglan ug tabang. Customer Service in short.

Caller: You are stealing our jobs. Why are you stealing our jobs?

Agent: I'm sorry sir but we are not allowed to answer such questions. But I can definitely help you with your account.

Caller: Your job is to answer questions. I am asking why are you stealing our jobs? ...Dya wanna know why?

Agent: Hmm, sure sir. Why?

Caller: Because you are cheap. All of you people are cheap.

Agent: Not at all. Sir... We have our jobs because we are smarter and we are better than you are. And we did not steal your jobs.

Caller hung-up.

Agent: dah.. hung-up lage ka!

***********************

Caller: I want an American agent. Tell your bosses they should transfer back all callcenters to America.

Agent: I appreciate that you raised that concern sir. Certainly, we will be escalating your views to our higher management.

Caller: And why in the heck am i calling all the time to the Philippines for chrissakes?

Agent: You see sir, your president and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who is my president, are very close friends. That's the reason why you are talking to someone in the Philippines right now.

Caller: That's bull. I don't believe you.

Agent: It's true sir.

Customer hung up.

ANDRES VOUITTON? - what's on his mind?

2008-12-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

So what the heck is on Andres Bonifacio's mind?...

A bad cae of halitosis? Bad breath ba cya?
Kiss mark on his neck?
Hmmmmm....Andres Bonifacio going gay?
Babaeng Pilipina na ba xa?
Ka Andres can't breathe?
Is Cebu too polluted?
Is it a "Bawal UMIHI dito" sign?
Is Ka Andres trying out modeling? hankies in place of 'nek-nek mo'?
No decent hanky designers in the Phils?
Or just wala lang..

Tell me what u think....

BELEN sa JONES

2008-12-24T21:20:00.000-08:00

i was walking thru jones when i saw this belen. their faces weren't mannequin-like with features that are rough on the edges. i thought, this is the pinoy belen - Cebu style. i took a snapshot.

looking at the belen, i can't help but want to go home and be with my family. i think that's what any belen that you see just about anywhere reminds us - Christmas ( or at least Christmas Day) is family time just like the three inanimate statues along the busy Jones Avenue. I'm glad i know better.

THE CROWN OF CEBU

2008-12-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

Cebu's tallest building is also its tallest Christmas tree. The Crown Regency hotel and Suites boasts of its flickering neon lights that runs up and down and around its sides that anyone who'd manage to glance up would notice the towering edifice at night. It is flamboyant and ostentatious, as if telling anyone who glances the building in envy, 'Your month's electricity bill is worth our day's use for the lights alone". But yes, it is a sight at night and people waiting for jeepneys would strike a pose just about anywhere along Jones with the landmark as background.

I have also watched more than week ago in a local TV Show the Edge Coaster on the top of the skyscraper. The coaster ride goes around the edge of the topmost part of the building - probably the roofdeck. Surely, the view must be fantastic from there during sunset and at night - the whole of cebu in 360 degrees. Hmmmm, i saw the ad of the ride and it said it costs P800 per person which already includes a buffet dinner. I'm not sure however if the ride is the freebie or the food is...tsk tsk...

I have been telling friends about it and everyone is suddenly all interested. I told them how much it costs. They never spoke about the ride since.

I MISS K n K

2008-12-23T07:06:00.000-08:00

if there is anything i regret being away from home, it's not seeing my niece and nephew - Kindra and Karl - grow up....

BLUE CHRISTMAS

2008-12-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

for the second year in a row, i will be celebrating christmas alone in cebu..

last year, i prepared food and had some friends come over to my place where we ate noche buena. it wasnt much and the party didnt really take long, hehehe. the food didn't require much preparation. just some items i had picked up earlier that day from monterey - embutido that didn't need cooking, bola-bola and lumpia ( i only know prito ...hahah). my friends came with some food too. the day wan't as merry but it was more than i could have hoped for...when they went home before midnight, i slept...

this year, it's worse i guess. the friends who came over last year are not around anymore. most have gone home to their places and some i barely bump into because we work for different companies already. I will be greeting Christmas alone in my room. :(

i was also used to receiving gifts back home before. not really the expensive ones. just the clutter-bound things that are wrapped neatly with Christmas wrappers. this year, i haven't received a single one just yet. the kris kringle we had at the office doesn't count since it is obligatory.

so to anyone out there, who reads this...can u spare me a nicely wrapped present?..please?...sob sob

( the photos are taken at twilight. looking at the lone star hanging on a tree, makes me miss home...i miss home terribly... tsk)

SAYONG BUNTAG

2008-12-18T04:48:00.000-08:00

photos taken just before sunrise...

SIRENA SA MALA

2008-12-18T04:40:00.000-08:00

So this is how a mermaid looks like on land.....

HEADLINERS TODAY....or YESTERDAY

2008-12-08T03:48:00.000-08:00

MAN OF THE HOUR

Congratulations Manny...You made us proud!

MANNY - The MEXECUTIONER

Manny was interviewed in an early morning show today. With the whole country in a frenzy celebrating his victory, the morning show joined the wagon and splashed the boob in little Philippine flags and jackets of red, blue and white like it's june 12 all over again. Waking up and seeing them in Independence Day mode during Xmas season made such a confusion i had to check my calendar for a moment. Manny was interviewed by Igan.

Igan: Manny, may bago nang tawag sayo.Anong masasabi mo sa bagong bansag sayo na
MEXECUTIONER?
Manny: Hindi naman. I am just a boxer doing my job inside the ring.

*****Owwsss see?... Manny delivered it like a pro. Seems like Manny's past the HIDDEN SHOULDERS days huh... LOL..

GETAWAY VEHICLE

One news i picked up in TV Patrol tonight was the shootout that cost the life of a man in black jacket and black helmet. Apparently, the man is not a suspect as the immediate family claims, crying foul over the death of their beloved and contending that one cannot be simply judged a suspect just because one wears a black jacket, a black helmet while driving a motorbike. The report however, did not say if the dead guy was using a black motorbike.

The mom of the dead guy was interviewed.

The MOM: Sa liit ba naman ng motor na yon, pwedeng gamiting getaway car?

****Hmmmmm.. Forget about the color black..The mom has a different angle of the
story....

2008-12-03T08:23:00.002-08:00

TGI FRIDAYS sa LUNES

Sa AYALA, duha ka manang milabay sa TGI FRIDAYS...

Manang 1: Ay kalain pud aning restorana, abri man diayg lunes.

Manang 2: Mao. Dapat unta alisdan na ug TGI Lunes inig Lunes uie.

Manang 1: Haaay, makalibog.

xxxxx

What can i say? They have their calnedars checked i guess...

2008-12-03T07:26:00.000-08:00

Center of the STOMACH

When my sister was here in Cebu for a medical check-up, she and her husband did their rounds of shopping at the malls. They bought presents, decors, clothes, books for my niece and nephew and God knows what the rest are. It wasn't really a big shopping spree. Just the normal shopping for Dipolognons who visit Cebu - usually pasalubongs. And so while shopping at a clothing department in one of the big malls an American guy was busy grabbing clothes (probably for presents) for her Filipina girlfriend who happened not to be with her. He was specifically looking for revealing clothes. At least that's what I thought with the gestures he was making to the saleslady. Two other salesladies were kind enough to offer help to sales lady number 1.

Saleslady 2: Hala ang amerkano o, nangita daw og sanina sa iya uyab kana dawng makita ang pusod.

Saleslady 3: Kani ipakita day o kay nindot ni na color

Miduol sa Amerkano si saleslady number 2 and 3..

Saleslady 2: Sir you choose this one, it's nice. For sure, u can see your girlfriend's center of the stomach...

Saleslady 3: Yes sir, and for sure it will fit. Promise.

Amerikano: Ahhh, I see. Salamat. This looks great.

Amerkano, mi-smile ug after a few minutes ug pamili ug laing mga sapot, mibayad sa counter. Saleslady 2 and 3 mibalik sa ilang pwesto duol sa akong in-law while saleslady 3 nag-assist sa Amerkano pagbayad.

Saleslady 2: Day, sakto ra tong ako ingon?

Saleslady 3: Di jud ko sure day.

Saleslady 2: (Miduol sa akong in-law ug nangutana) Sir sir, unsa gali iningles anang pusod.?

Bro-in-Law: Navel. Pwede pud bellybutton.

Saleslady 2: Ay, hala sorry abi jud nakog center of the stomach. Hahaha...

Saleslady 3: Hala uie kalain. Wa jud ta tudloi ana sa grade 1...

XXXXXXXX

MORAL OF THE STORY: We should include bellybutton and navel in the anatomy charts in elementary school. i remember caption only reads stomach....hmmmm....may point ang mga salesladies...unsa ba namay center sa tyan, PUSOD man...tsk tsk

2008-12-03T06:02:00.000-08:00

KRISMAS NA SA SUGBO...

well, we're down to the last 28 days of 2008 and its another year again. i am not that giddy of the whole new year thing, i noticed. i have become less hopeful about my future, not to mention the future of this country. i am still glad though that there is that part of me who tries to hang on to that little spark of hope. maybe because i still wanna live. Ergo, i struggle to survive. i'm still keeping that teeny weeny hope under my sleeves. life hasn't been all that bad to me and i have more than a handful of lessons that i learned this year. but yes, i am the most forgetful person so i surely couldn't remember all of them. and since this isn't really a blog about lessons, i will spare you from that harangue.

it's christmas...hmmm almost. i am sad that the only carols i hear in Cebu so far are those of the out-of-school youth that hijacks jeepneys and sing their piece of 'Pasko na Naman' which would put you in shame if you give just a peso. Their songs literally demands 5 pesos. It's funny that everytime they jump on a jeepney and sing their carol, everyone inside the vehicle has something very important to do - checking their phones,texting, fixing their hair, changing the songs on their ipods and some just pretend to doze off or just stare blankly out of the window. Dedma. Well, i am one of them when i don't have a penny to spare. hahaha...I miss the carols on the radio that wakes me up at dawn when Christmas day is fast approaching. Especially the Max Surban song about the Krismas Tree... I might just have to visit the mall to hear it if that's even played there...ts tsk...

and so the jeepney speeds through jones avenue and approaches Fuente Osmena...it's Max Surban's giant Xmas tree you'll see.

the giant Xmas tree was lighted on the first day of December. fireworks and all, the hoopla gathered people inside the Circle and caused a humongous traffic. I took a few photos. it's hard getting photos using the cam i'm using because it's nighttime and the tree is a bit far from where i was doing the clicking. While taking the photos, some professional photographers not so far away were flashing their Nikons and Canons - professional cameras with all the lengthy accessories. My camera paled in comparison and retreated back to my pocket. I swore I will have that cam one day. Hehehe....

2008-11-27T00:58:00.000-08:00

PASSERBY - ala lang, labay lang

Passing by the Sto. Nino Basilica, the Magellan's Cross, the Cebu City Hall and Fort Santiago, I took some snapshots again. i liked most the photos of the two old ladies selling candles. i felt a tug in my heart seeing them there under the heat of the sun working to the bone when their bodies are too old for it. . But then again, i was glad they're not one you see begging for pennies. Oprah should give them a vacation in that Tucson, Arizona Spa featured in one her show episodes where she gave some 50 women a treat of a lifetime for being such formidable forces in another person's life. Well, she ain't seen our ladies at the Sto Nino church. Somebody should write Oprah real quick...

and yes, i was only passing by all of them...LOL...

2008-11-26T23:13:00.000-08:00

TULAY ni KA MARCELO

(Sidenote: Remember how Cebuanos are so lazy to pronounce the letter L so that balay is pronounces as ba'ay, wala as wa, batikolon as batikon and so on? The list is endless but Cebuanos never fail to pronounce the word TULAY as it is...hmmmm? what possibly could it mean?)

In a truly unplanned trip, i and three other friends - Nanoi, Diane and Eric - went to the Marcelo Fernan Bridge. It was not some big trip idea but that which randomly pops up and beats your ass to keep that feet moving instantly.

It was my first time to be under such humongous bridge and be on top of it. There is a nice small park under the bridge which i noticed is pretty popular hangout of lovebirds. we did a little videoke in a small sari-sari store where diane belted almost all Regine songs effortlessly. when dark cam, it was time to go. But not until we have crossed the bridge from Mactan island to Cebu. Yes, we walked across the bridge and took pics along the way. It was a such an experience. i probably won't be able to do that again. the Cebu city nightscape is breathtaking.

i was tired. but it was worth each sweat.

As i learned, the bridge was named after former Senate President and Supreme Court Justice Marcelo Fernan - a true-blue Sugbuanon and the only Filipino to date who has the distinction of having occupied the highest positions of two separate branches in the government. the bridge was opened in August 1999 and is 1237 meters (4058.40 feet) in length and is 185 meters (606.96 feet) high at its center. Thanks go the bridge, traveling to Mactan is not so much a hassle.Well, the fare still is...tsk tsk..

2008-11-26T21:49:00.001-08:00

The TERRACES at AYALA

Competition is good. SM opened the North Wing a few months ago and it was spacious with its high ceilings, wide alleys and high-end shops that I could only afford to peep from their shiny glass windows. My meager salary ain't enough ticket to even look at those pricey tags. Duty Free also recently opened its doors to those who have passports to get inside and dollars to spend on chocolates that could otherwise be found in the supermarket. Bread Talk had also got people talking about the prevailing price of flour and sure, coffeeshops is almost everywhere like a painful reminder that i can only afford to drink the free coffee at the office pantry. Thank god there is Powerbooks!

Well, Ayala seemed to notice most people are flocking at SM recently. And so they came up with The Terraces - an extension to the the jigsaw puzzle architecture of the Ayala Center. The Terraces boasts of its ambiance. The park feel of the area is an easy spot to lounge around for people who don't really have cash to spend in the mall, errr like me. At least the designers were kind enough to consider the fact that, really, most of the people who go to the mall are simply window-shopping or just cooling the steam off their heads brought about by the increasing world temperature due to pollution. And so there are a few Talisay trees around, a carefully maintained garden and nice sights of the Cebu skyscrapers. Coffee shops are virtually everywhere. Food is in all directions. It is a well-planned design, I thought. Most people think so too.

Now, i can go to the mall without having to worry i am not bringing a paper bag from one of its shops. I can just sit around the its garden, ponder about life, get lost among the people and go home. if budget permits, i can always go upstairs and watch a good movie..tsk tsk...or better yet, just keep my fingers clickin' on my cam..

2008-11-24T05:42:00.001-08:00

ANNE FRANK-what's with this girl, eh?

I have just finished reading THE DIARY OF A YOUNG GIRL by ANNE FRANK. I know, I know.... I should've had read the book already a long time ago but it was only last weekend when i got to convince myself to pick the book up and bring it to the cashier at National Bookstore.

It was a good read. I was expecting stories of death, of people saponified, gassed to death, bloody killings and bombs raining from page to page. Instead, i was welcomed by an intelligent young lady recounting each day of the lives of 8 people hiding in a Secret Annexe from the Gestapo for 25 months during the holocaust. It was a very honest, heartfelt story of unwavering hope despite the odds. Bombs did rattle their very beings but it did not stop them from searching for that light in a dark place where clouds seem to close in faster and faster. It showed their brave attempts to live normal lives in times that simply do not allow them to live normally. The girl has such great insights and maturity it made me feel like an idiot. I couldn't have reasoned the way she did on things that I may have similarly experienced. It also reawakened my desire to read more books...sigh!

HMMMM......right now, i'm starting to read TWILIGHT... yes, its because of the movie. ..and yes, i read the book at work.. tsk tsk...

2008-11-24T05:03:00.000-08:00

ESCARIO

i travel the whole spine of Escario each day to work inside the speedy jeepneys that seem to drive their drivers. it worsens a bad hair day. stepping into the elevator has become such an awkward mahangin-ba-sa-labas moment. it's easy to pick who rode the jeepney or the taxi. thank God, its dressdown all week -- a bad hair day can easily be mistaken as your mood of the day...

i snapped the pics while waiting for a jip bound for home...

2008-10-24T21:16:00.000-07:00

Flora de Dipolog

it's refreshing to see flowers again even just in photos. The last time i saw real flowers here in cebu was in , of all places, SM ( yep, the mall) where an flower exhibit gathered flower enthusiasts. Well, im not one of them but i took a few minutes to see what they have. Most of the flowers can be seen in the backyard of my ate's house or just around the neighborhood back home.

Flowers do not grow in concrete. We clear gardens, build towering facades only to gather flowers inside the very building that made them impossible to blossom again. i dont know but it's ironic to see a flower exhibit in a mall...

anyhow, feast your eyes with what i've got from back home...got only a few though but hey, they're just some careless snapshots back then..

i also want to inser this one here...i thought this little angel in a bucket looked nice...tsk tsk tsk

2008-10-22T10:10:00.000-07:00

CANDLES of LUPE

photos taken at Guadalupe church.
There's something melancholic about candles, don't you think?
They flame on but sadly to their annihilation. the way the flame sways almost unwillingly with the most gentle breeze makes me wonder what they'd say about them burnin' into thin air.. hmmmm, i bet they'd rather be gone with the wind than be a stiff useless candle hpoing to rot in a corner only they couldn't rot ( wax doesn't rot).

i'm glad there are candles. we go to church, entrust our hope in them in fervent anticipation that our prayers will come true...

well, i hope...it's been a long time since i have one in prayer...with all that's going on in my life, i should..LOL

2008-10-18T18:40:00.000-07:00

SIMALA - Hallowed Ground

these pictures were taken by me using Sigrid's digicam way back last summer I think....i have always promised myself to post this when i could but couldnt seem to remember where i saved them...at last, i found them again!!...yipeee....

taken at SIMALA, a popular Mama Mary Shrine located an hour south of Cebu City..it was my first time to visit the place. i heard it is teeming with people on sundays.. there were lots of people still when we were there - and it was a weekday..stories say the place is miraculous. it did feel light when i was there. the altar inside the chapel smells of fresh flowers... there wasnt any flower at the altar at all - yes, they say its something no one can seem to explain....

in a newspaper months back, i saw a photo of Gloria visiting the place...hey, the place is pretty popular, u should visit it soon!!!

i promised i will be going back...i dont know when yet but i definitely will...

2008-10-18T18:24:00.000-07:00

no one spells it like we do...

and who would've guessed......it's from Sunday Sun Star!!!...

and what if you're a kid and you find ogie gyrating just below this word...funny it seems but a little sensitivity pls.....it just doesnt sound right....we should be putting some Bisaya people in MTRCB...tsk tsk.... type the word in ur internet browser and see what site you'll find...

Don't black the driveway, color it!!...

2008-10-15T17:58:00.001-07:00

"PWENTE" - The Heart and Soul of Cebu

The Fuente Osmena Circle, Pwente as commonly referred to by locals, can never be missed when you are in Cebu. Located in a rotunda where the main avenues of Metro Cebu meet, the fountain in the midst of the park is a daily sight of commuters. It has its own share of contributions to the local history of the city. To this day, it remains one of the most important landmarks where cebuanos flock to exercise their freedom.

The circle is the soul of cebu city - like an eye of a storm, it provides calm to those who take their time inside the circular park to relax under the shade of trees while the whole city around goes through its daily hustle and bustle...

The photos were taken one unlikely afternoon--- unplanned, very humid and not really the best time to go out...tk tsk...well, im not complaining....

2008-10-05T22:24:00.001-07:00

DipoLog Boulevard

i went home again a few weeks back and for the few days i stayed, i made it a point to go to the boulevard every afternoon to watch the sunset or at least pass by the area to peek of the grand sunset that is a normal sight to Dipolognons (well not here in Cebu)...

i will be posting the sunsets soon but here are few photos i took on one of those days... i miss home...im posting these because it reminds me how slow life is back home, how relaxed, how laidback...getting something or getting somewhere within the city could take no less than 5 minutes...im thrilled to go home again...i hope this year....sob sob

2008-09-18T03:43:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'M Not DEaD

i know i have been lazy these days, what will all that fat gathering
along my waste line...darn...

but it doesnt mean i haven't done anything productive...i just turned 25 ( cant believe i have lived a quarter of a century! )...im quite candid about my age..LOL...i had just resigned and am presently in between jobs...which meant i have been using all my time on dvds and sleep....but but but i also havent forgotten to take snapshots wherever i go...which makes me think my wanderings aren't all that fruitless....

yes, 25 and jobless... what could be worse?...but hey...its not all that bad... o already have a job waiting....im kinda just taking a break...tsk tsk

anyway, here are some photos i took from home (dipolog and dapitan) when went home early this month. I didnt wanna go back to the heat of cebu...i just really wanted to sleep forever back home..too bad i only had 20 hrs straight of sleep ...anyway, i hope the photos arent that bad....will be posting more...hmmmmmm, or just dont expect at all....LOL

dipo

2008-08-01T22:05:00.000-07:00

MINDANAO THE BEAUTIFUL

hmmmm, i am postiing this video because i had sleepless nights making this. i'm now thinking if i should've gone in to filmmaking of some sort before...LOL...anyway this was a project i had to accomplish for my report in my masteral class about wel, my home island - MINDANAO...i posted the video on youtube as well for others to see. i made a little story line to make the vid interesting...this is my first moviemaking attempt---if u call making a montage of pictures already a moviemaking...but twas an experience...im loving the feeing after seeing it..LOL

help yourself!!

2008-07-08T18:27:00.000-07:00

SUNDAY SIDETRIP

Remember the money I had to follow-up from BDO because their ATM at Watsons went amok more than a week ago? Well, I finally got it today after 8 days and 5 times of calling customer service. I’m from the same industry and I understand how sometimes getting issue resolved is but lip-service. Had I been told I’d get my money back in a month, I could’ve saved my time worrying if I’d ever get it back and money too for the fares I spent going back and forth to the bank. Well, that’s how things go sometimes – one has to get his share of bad customer service. What was meant to be 3 days became 8 days. I am definitely not a satisfied customer (as if I have millions in deposits). More than that crap, I just needed my money really.

After the big disappointment at the ATM machine - again- I hopped on a jeep headed to the Guadalupe Church. I have heard a lot about the church and how the miraculous Lady of Guadalupe inspired great stories. I reckoned my money somewhat needs a little prayer and BDO needed some enlighenment that somebody in Cebu is running out of food to eat. So in an abrupt decision, I went on a side-trip before heading home. Hiyyyaaa, to Lupe!

The church was grand from afar and the glass mosaic looked amazing. The statue of the Lady of Guadalupe wasn’t in the church and I wasn’t able to ask why – too bad. It was a Sunday so the church was full of devotees. I arrived halfway thru mass and I took time to complete the rest of the celebration. After the mass, I clicked and clicked and clicked around the church for some photos. I looked like some tourist, only I look like everyone else—LOL.

Here are some of the photos I took. Hope you like it as much as I enjoyed taking them. I have lots more but it would take up my whole blog so here are some. Will post more soon...

2008-07-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

BOTTLED LIFE

Life. What if you are that life inside a womb who for the longest time that seemed like eternity yearn to have a taste of air, of hugs, of kisses, of love but never made it to that moment when you could’ve first seen light. For sure they wouldn’t have know yet all those but life holds so much promises that the unborn must have so much expectations of what it would be like to be human. So near to life but yet so far.

I had always held a small thought with me. I don’t wanna grow old. I don’t wanna be an old stinking old man who wallows in misery because youth had dissipated from me. I don’t wanna see myself with a failing body who depends on others to do things for me. I don’t wanna be dependent on somebody else on so many things especially personal ones. I don’t want others to decide and think for me. I don’t wanna waste another’s life taking care of my own. So, I had always this thought - I wanna die young.

Well, until I saw these.

I am currently continuing my masters at Southwestern University – the story why SWU could take another whole post. My classes are held at the 6th floor of a building inside the campus. During one of my trips to the 6th floor on an elevator, I managed to peek on bottled fetuses when a student got off on the third floor. I couldn’t help myself thinking of the image like it was some frozen photo in memory so I went down on one of my breaks to witness “lives that never were” in bottles. The bottles were aligned for everyone to see. It was bordering on disturbing as I went over from one bottle to another. They were displayed along the corridors so casually like they were some forgettable paintings - like they were some imitation of life. Only they used to be life themselves that never came full circle. The sight was creepy but interesting and I had chills the first time I saw the faces. I thought of what those lives could’ve become from those small underdeveloped bodies. The looked like soft jelly floating on water it seemed like I could see through their muscles if I stare harder. They have formed faces, limbs, even noses. They were also dead little people.

I asked myself if those lab specimens were lucky to just be bottled up instead or if they were crying souls eternally sorry for themselves because they were never able to kiss life outside the abyss of one mom’s womb. I like to think that they should be thankful for being spared from the cruelty of the our world. Would they have even liked to live if circumstances had been different? Too bad, it was too early for them to experience the world’s cruelty, I thought. At least it was a favor they only get once. Besides, will they even live life in full circle had they experienced life thinking how many lives are wasted each day around us? Or maybe it just wasn’t meant to be.

But life is full of possibilities. I couldn’t help thinking of those little limbs of life who would’ve become strong bodies by now had they survived- maybe even doing better as a human than most of us. Looking at the photos while editing them for this post, I questioned my old belief if I still wanted to die young. I still do. But I also realized, it’s out of my hands.

2008-07-03T17:15:00.000-07:00

UNLUCKY STRIKE

June 30. Last day of the first half of the year. My worst day of the year so far.

The ever reliable jeepneys were on strike – I didn’t know particularly if it was because they wanted another fare hike or if it was because the price of gasoline increased again or it was both.

I decided to do a little accounting early morning. Budgeting can be real taxing especially when at the back of my mind, I already have a plan where each penny has to go. So after a mental balance sheet was done, I dressed up, got my lazy ass out of the boarding house and voila, people are lining up downstairs for the next jeep or taxi. At first thought I though they were lining up for NFA rice but no, it was because the piece of work that delivers them to their daily destinations failed them that day. It was like Good Friday. Good Friday was even better – jeepneys were running down the avenues of Cebu when some jeep drivers realized it was their obligation before God to serve the commuting public even on the day God died for the nth time. But June 30 was a massacre. It kept the city on still. Well, almost. The papers the next day 80% of Metro Cebu was paralyzed. Worse, June 30th was payday and people were supposed to be rushing to the banks, atm machines to withdraw and to lending offices for those whose atms are safeguarded by 5-6 guys. It was also shopping holiday for most. Each passing jeepney was a sight to behold which comes about once in every 20 minutes and filled to the rafters – if jeeps even has that. It took me like an hour or so waiting under the heat of the merciless sun for a ride. At last, Khaosiung bus arrived – a rusty bus reeking of tetanus provisioned by the local government to give free rides to stranded commuters. Faces of late employees waiting for a ride all looked like they have early-morning dyspepsia. Thank God to the Kaohsiung they now look like on the verge of urinating instead of dyspepsia (hahaha) as they readied themselves to get into the bus. We also looked like prisoners on the bus. Despite the crankiness – the full bus rode along the streets of Cebu in style. It was the queen of the road of the Queen City of the South. We were all smiles in the bus like we were going to some field trip. It wasn’t fun really because we were all sweaty and hot but the passengers smiled a lot to each other – especially when the vehicle stops and a passenger comes in sashaying along the aisle to the far-end of the bus. Fifteen minutes after, I was glad I arrived at Fuente.

The worst of the day was having to wait again for 30 minutes at the ATM machine for my turn to withdraw. After waiting a good 30 minutes being the 16th in line, it was finally my turn. Alas, the ATM is out of cash. Whatta luck!..I swore never to withdraw again from that darn machine - the one inside Watsons. If I owned it, I would’ve disassembled the poor thing. Worse, it deducted from my balance which means I have no money to withdraw anymore. What with all the waiting, it was what I got? I had to go to BDO, got the incident reported and informed the lady on blazers with the details. She tried to help me but it wasn’t good customer service at all. She didn’t offer to call their atm center. Instead, she just gave me the phone and let me dial. She didn’t even seem sympathetic – not that I needed it. I talked to a call center rep over the phone who told me about the details which I wasn’t able to get except the fact that I can’t have my money until Friday. I asked what to do because I needed the money like it’s a matter of life and death. She just said sorry and jumped to offering me a case number. Okay, I didn’t exactly say a matter of life and death, I said I have to pay my rent. Maybe that’s why she just said sorry . I wondered if it had been different if I told her an outrageous reason – hmmm, maybe like robbing the bank…tsk tsk…

After all I’ve been thru, I thought I needed a sleep. It was 2pm and my trip downtown was nothing but a burnt skin, tired feet and hungry stomach. I bought a two-piece chicken at Jollibee for take-out and waited another good hour for a taxi and arrived past 3pm at the boarding house. I felt I deserved a hearty meal.

Along the way, I managed to take 2 photos of the Sto. Nino and the Virgin Mary's image glued tightly in front of where I was seated. I thought ' even God doesn't go on strike'. I let the idea pass and I was back to the city's distractions.

I was dead tired. I slept hoping I’d wake up on a Friday.

2008-06-24T20:39:00.000-07:00

GOING DIGITAL

so, i finally got a new digicam...yehey!!!!it has been a dream for so long that when i had one i didn't know what to do with it. it sat on my table for days like an aching appendix. i knew it was there but i was denying its existence precisely because i didn't know what to do with it at first. it took days before i finally gathered enogh courage to tell myself "ok, digicams are for taking pictures, daggumit. take one for chrissakes!". so one sunday morning i went to sto. nino basilica and took a few hotos. i still had a hard time taking in the fact that i actually own one so i took like 10 photos from the trip. not bad i thought. for one, i didn't wanna look like a lost tourist in cebu, not to mention colon. secondly, i also definitely didn't want to look like the koreans who were flashing their smiles and V-signs all over the basilica while the priest is proclaiming the mystery of faith. third, i didn't take a bath when i went there. i'd like to think the trip was spur of the moment. something that wakes you up at dawn and gives you that feeling " this is the day i'm gonna use my camera!". without a bath, i certainly didn't wanna draw attention among the churchgoers.

so here are the first photos i took...hope u like 'em..

UNHEALTHY

2008-06-24T20:07:00.000-07:00

today, i've just come to realize one thing. i'm at my most unhealthiest-if there is more unhealthy than unhealthiest.

not that i am living with improper hygiene. i'm not crazy. LOL. i just felt my days have been limited to a routine that i can't seem to pull myself out from. it has all been sleep, work, movies and back again. such are the highlights of my days. i'm lucky enough if i could manage to insert a movie between sleep and work. of course i still eat. LOL. i feel i should be exercising more. my muscles and all the chubbiness i have inside have not been stressed at all for the last months. i need stretching and walking and jogging and all of that sort. i had always promised to start lifting wights again. not the heavy ones. just enough to tighten the arms and stretch the ligaments on the joints but i always end up dozing off dreaming of exercising. i need a motivator real quick. help...anyone?

anyway, i have also been the laziest bum in the city. well, i thought so. i spend my time watching DVDs. exercise is limited to riding a jeepney to colon and walking a few steps to get to the DVD racks and back to the jeepney again. ukay-ukay on sundays is also an exercise for me. it's my most mobile activity. 80% of my time is spent on bed sleeping or watching TV and at work facing the computer on an equally lazy-looking chair and doing tongue exercise. so u can imagine where all the fat from jollibee junk would go. the past month was spent watching the following movies. some were brilliant. some sucked. nevertheless they kept me entertained.

in between films, i sometimes think i've become a robot. pinch me!

here are the movies i watched in a month----like aaaaaaaaaaallllll of them...some were old movies too which i had a real great time watching once again all of their splendor like the Godfather Trilogy which i watched straight overnight without feeling a bit of drowsiness...looking at the list now, i can't imagine how much ive spent on DVDs...

21
4 Months, 3 weeks and 2 Days
The Oxford Murders
Awake
Margot at the Weding
Sleuth
Godfather I
Godfather II
Godfather III
Magnolia
Dorian Blues
Nim’s Island
Spiderwick
Hank Williams First Nation
In Bruges
Rock Haven
Music Within
Meeting Bill
What Happens in Vegas
The Onion Movie
Vantage Point
The Tracey Fragment
American Crude
Untraceable
The Libertine
Black Snake Moan
Shelter
For One More Day
Welcome Home Rosoe Jenkins
Meet The Sparans
Longford
Inside I’m Dancing
Romulus, My Father
Rail and Ties
City of Men
Honeydripper
An American Crime
Grace is Gone
The Valley of Light
St. Trinians
Nim’s Island
Casas de los Babys
Superfighters
Romeo and Juliet
Scent of a Woman

2008-05-27T21:33:00.001-07:00

THERE GOES THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Let yourself out into the wild. Open your eyes wider and you'll never get bored. Here are some of the latest discoveries i had here in cebu and back home when i went home a month ago. Help urself.

**** Remember the rules 'Kung anong sulat, syang basa'.

Zimply amazing.

They don't serve batchoy anymore. They just wanted you to know that they used to serve 'em 24 hours. Now they don't. So don't ask. Errr, did I tell you they dont serve batchoy?

Obviously, he got it wrong. Should've been DAY-OP PRIDAY.

Bread in honor of CHEZ ESCUDERO. Try it! Or was it chiz?

Well, how do you luck a door? Maybe what it meant really was DON'T LICK THE DOOR. :)

Fush it back after fulling up. Clear?

MOALBOAL - once again!

2008-05-18T17:36:00.000-07:00

A week ago, I and my colleagues at work went back to Moalboal for another team outing – probably the last for the team. We will be dispersed with our new schedules and will have new teammates and team leaders. In a sudden, all of us just wanted to come together have fun and maybe forget for a while what will happen to the team. It’s sad the we wont be a team anymore, the past 9 months have been memorable, marked by moments I will remember for long – the fun was like high school fun and the laughs are those that would make your jaws grow stiff. It has been a ride but moving on is part of this journey. We can only hope we have prepared each other to become better persons.

Anyway, too much of the of the mushy stuff. Have I mentioned already we were there to have fun? Two hours down South of Cebu ain’t worth it if we’d just spend our time there wallowing on what’s to happen. So, with a few bottles of beer, food and a few dips of the clean waters of Moalboal, we made our last outing a blast!

I have taken a few photos of two of my newly adopted pets. I have always wanted to have a pet but from where I live it would be a disaster to own one. I didn’t stop trying until I met two very unlikely creatures along Colon Street. I was trying to exchange the airbed I bought at Gaisano Metro (I had the bed for a day and it diffuses. Turned out it had a small hole where the air could escape) when I saw ukay2 stuffed toys through the glass window of a store. It was like I was destined to be at that part i of the busy Colon Street. Among hundreds in a mountain of stuffed toys piled up I met Bloo – a blue horse with his underwear worn on his head for reasons I am yet to uncover- and Baboi – a maong jacket-wearing lion who seems to suit better in a life of travel rather than rot on a high chair in the jungle. It was like they were there waiting for me all this time, so I picked em up and named 'em. From now on, I will be carrying them wherever I might be traveling and will be capturing places with them as well, my models. It’s frustrating seeing the progression of my weight in my own blog so I figured it would be better if I have somebody else instead.

The idea came from the movie Amelie. I recently relived the adventures of Amelie where I got the genius idea of taking photos of my subjects – Bloo and Baboi (B&B) – at interesting places I find myself. In the movie, Amelie robbed her dad's dwarf statue which had been displayed in their garden. Her dad was confused who would gave a fart robbing such an ugly dwarf (it's not really ugly, LOL). Amelie sent photos of the statue featuring some of the world's most famous places. It took quite a long time for her dad to process that the dwarf wanted him to travel. The dwarf returned safely one day, tucked neatly in a corner of the garden with a smile that Amelie's dad envied. Dad decided to pack up and travel. I had watched the movie thrice – it's funny. Amelie had so much ideas going on. Little did she know, she gave me one.

I find my two new buddies cute, so they are debuting here in our Moalboal trip where the two definitely had fun under the sun.

Living up to their dream - hot hot models!. .Simply fieeerrrceee..

Having a great time playing. Don't they look natural? ..tsk tsk

Stuffed toys reflect on their lives too.

My TL also raises her own dog - Brennan. The three got together for a souvenir. Looks like they enjoyed more the Moalboal trip....Good thing they are too independent we don't need to look after them all the time. Tsk tsk...

And here comes me---- posing with my pets..hahahha

HOME SWEET HOME ---- Dipolog!!!

2008-05-13T21:07:00.000-07:00

PARTY PARTY PARTY ---- it's my niece's 1st Birthday

I went home to Dipolog City a few weeks ago to attend my niece’s first birthday. I took a two-day leave from work before my rest days so I had plenty of time to get lazy back home, only I had too much to do with so little time. The birthday was memorable – what with the blackout just before the dinner began. In a twist, the party became a candle-lit dinner under the stars. The food was great and the lechon tasted so darn good. The blackout made my sister remember the exact day a year ago, when Kindra (that's my niece) was born – there was also a blackout the whole time she was on labor.Life has its amusing ways of making us remember things that would otherwise be just some cobwebs hanging around unnoticed. The party was over in a few hours and just when the visitors were slowly packing up to leave, the lights went back on.

That's one hell of a memorable party...with style...:)

DAKAK---once again!!

Nothing still beats Dakak. I am biased on this but iits always a great feeling everytime I feel the sand and the pristine waters of Dakak - simply peaceful. It's a perfect getaway and for cleansing all the dust I gathered in the city. Photo-ops are my favorite, so here are some of my pics at the beach, the chapel, the trail to the woods and just about anything nice about Dakak. Enjoy.. :)

METROBANKERS at Dakak and more---SUMMER '07

I can stil remember the summer outing of Metrobank- Dipolog branch at Dakak last year. We had a great time bonding, eating and relaxing not knowing that a few months later I would be submitting my resignation. I miss my colleagues at the branch and I was planning to visit during my short stay at home. I failed however to do so and I vowed to pay them a visit at the branch on my next visit, probably if i can go home again for the fiesta- fingers crossed. :)

I am posting these great pics from last year with my colleagues. The photos are just too great to pass up, so I am posting it. I think Cookie and Melbar on the kayak makes a perfect brochure pic and the cow just looked perfect for a postcard. I couldn't believe I took 'em..LOL.. Hmmm reminiscing mode now. I certainly miss the lunches at the kitchen and the laughters with my family at Metrobank Dipolog. In all seriousness, I sometimes wish I could still be working with them – maybe bring them wherever I’d be working. But hell, I left and that’s one price to pay.

BLACK SUEDE SCANDAL - transcript of a discussion

2008-05-13T19:55:00.000-07:00

All sorts of stories have been told of the blue suede scandal or canister scandal or Vicente sotto scandal or whatever they call it. It’s a shame that it was posted on youtube. No videos of that sort shouldve been allowed to be taken. But what’s done is done. Someone’sgotta pay for the humiliation it had caused the guy – no matter what background he’s from,no matter what social status or sexual preference he has. A few weeks ago when the story was all heated up and gossip of the incident had just started circulating, my teammates had discussed thematter faintly during work in our chatroom. As a team, we are gathered in a conference or a chatroom like yahoo or MIRC where we could ask each other for help and for resolutions to issues customers have the we are not familiar yet. Sometimes, the chatoom can get rowdy especially when the topic concerns everyone.Other times, it’s a place where we vent out frustrations when customers are too stupid not to find the power button on their cellphones and then curse you for it. It was one of those times when in some universal spontaneity, the black suede scandal was brought up. The chatroom has this English Only Policy but nobody seems to follow. In fact it’s a trilingual chatroom. People speak in Tagalog to spice up the discussion. It just seems funnier with Tagalog and English spoken by a Cebuano. The stories seem funnier and it keeps us awake.

(Note: The discussion below is of people who have very different backgrounds. Gay, lesbian, straight etc with ages from early twenties to late thirties. I took off the hahahahas and smileys because it would take up the whole space. )

ME: What’s important is that people get to learn something from it. Lesson learned, anyone?

TAMBOK: Lesson #1 :Though shall not pasukays?

ME: Nice one Bem. Hmmmm, Lesson #2: Huwag perfume?

JUN: Dili na mang-callboy…wehehehe

CHET: Pratice safe sex. Always.

JUN: Not perfume? Inhaler na lang.

ME: Hahaha… Inhale – exhale with it Jun?

CHET: Or di bale perfume basta lagyan ng tali para mahila palabas..hahaha

ME: Another lesson, ‘wag magpunta sa Sotto?

BARBIE: What if you don’t have money? You’ll definitely end up in Sotto.

ME: If no money, go back to Lesson #2: Huwag perfume…hahaha

Dining at Bigby's, Coffee at Bo's, Milkshake at EastWest and a stroll at Fort San Pedro...Whew!

2008-04-15T00:21:00.000-07:00

BIGBY's

food is great at Bigby's. a bit expensive but well worth each cent i paid for. Sigrid and I went for a late lunch at Bigby's at SM after accompanying her for something I now entirely forget. it was good talking over baby-back ribs and cold bottomless iced-tea. Sigrid got a cake for herself and it looked so yummy would've bought one for myself if i wasn't full already. i should do more fine dining next time. too bad Sigrid had resigned already and went off a few days ago to New Zealand for vacation.

BO's COFFEE

branding itself as the soul of coffee, Jun and i went to Bo's to test his newly bought laptop. Why Bo's? well, surely it looks cool surfing the web with your laptop over a cup of coffee....hahaha...seriously, Bo's has free wi-fi and it's the first place we thought of (well, second after EastWest bombed our idea of surfing over milkshake). I didn't order anything. I thought the price of coffee is silly and besides i'm not really a coffee fan myself. i'm still waiting for that day i will go gaga over coffee. well, if i need some there's always free coffee at the office.. tsk tsk....

EastWest

before going to Bo's, Jun and I went to EastWest at the thought that the place was less crowded. Bo's was jampacked and noisy of all the chatter and bustle inside. it sure did look nice inside but we opted first to go to eastWest. we had ordered chocolate milkshake. to our disappointment, the shop had cut-off their wi-fi. i wanted to spit aout the milkshake and return it in full glass. the wi-fi connection was the main reason we were squatting there on their comfortable sofa. too bad. EastWest should get their wi-fi back. without it, a milkshake for 90 pesos just ain't worth it...

FORT SAN PEDRO

My dad came to Cebu recently and before he left we toured Fort San pedro. I've been atthe site but it was my first time to step inside. it was a nice stroll inside. i thought the place reeks of untold stories. maybe, we could do more to make the place extra interesting. ... i love history a lot so it made my day. after the tour, we went to the pier where the boat that would take my dad back to dapitan was docked. my father can't stand cebu. he said it's too hot. he looked at me with pity as if asking what the heck am i doing here. he implied it's not worth the trade - the fresh air, the comfortabel life, the slow days, the time with family, the job i left etc....he said, if i should grow tired, i could go home anytime. it felt good knowing that if things should go bad, i have my family waiting for me with their embrace...it had a different tug in my chest and for that instant i wanted to go home...sob sob

PERSONAL ENCOUNTERS: Call Center Booboos

2008-04-15T00:09:00.000-07:00

ME: Thank You for calling $$$$$, my name is number may I have the mobile number you are calling about please?

(what number is my name again?)

ME: Don’t’t worry ma’am the box-office will be looking into the matter. Rest assured, we will come up with a resolution to this concern within 72 hrs.

CUSTOMER: What deparment is a box office?

ME: The back office ma'am. Did i say box office?

JUN: Hello? Hello ma’am? Are you still there? Hello? Hello ma’am?
****no one answering****
JUN: Hello? Hello? Is it me you’re looking? (To the tune of the Lionel Richie song)

CUSTOMER: Where are you from? (in a Hispanic accent)

ME: I am located in the Philippines, sir! Cebu to be exact?Have you been here Mr. ****?

CUST: I can’t believe it! I'm amazed. How u doin’ down there? I hear it’s sunny all year ‘round in your country.

ME: Yes sir, we do have the sun most of the year making our country a great place for vacation. We do have a lot of beaches here sir. You might want to google and see them for yourself.

CUSTOMER: Bitches? Hmmmmm....

ME: Yes sir, like Boracay, Palawan? Heard of them? Beautiful, pristine beaches we have here in the Philippines sir.

CUSTOMER: Will definitely google it. Thank you for the tip papo!

Breaking the Myth

2008-04-14T23:29:00.000-07:00

So this is the point when I finally felt tired. Just tired.

I still get surprised how fast people come and go in and out of call centers. In our wave alone, we started out twenty. In a span of 8 months, 12 have left and another two are on their way to leave by month end. So that would leave 6 of us remaining . Of the six, God knows who are secretly scheming to get that perfect timing to just vanish and that near-believable reason to put in that resignation letter.

So why do call center agents leave so fast? The pay is considerable. The workplace is so damn cold. They throw helluva parties every now and then . Food is served every now and then for free. Coffe is free. Movie tickets, disposable items or whatcahmacallit, and more perks come free-flowing. You get to pay a 60T-hospital bill for 500 pesos with your med insurance. Your team get funds for summer outings and you get to speak English with that mimicked American accent. So, the big question is, why leave?

The question have been haunting call centers for years. In fact, an article I read somewhere stated that the hight attrition rate is one of the foremost problems that plague the industry. Why? For one, the call center is just filler. A filler for nurses awaiting to take the NCLEX and those awaiting for the results of board exams they took. When they pass, they evaporate with happy smiles like leaving a place of misery.

If we are to change how the people inside call centers collectively perceive their work to be, I believe call centers, before anything else, have to break the myth that the jobs they offer is disposable. The belief is entirely false but it’s what most who share the profession, especially fresh grads, embed in their consciousness. I strongly think the job is stable. The work may be just all talk but it’s not too different from any customer service job. It’s not too different from my work at a bank before. I still do the same task –answering inquiries, getting things done for the customers, wrapping up a transaction, educating them of their accounts, providing information about products etc. The only difference is that aside from talking in a fake accent I imagine their faces – Americans cursing and screaming when they get upset. Nevertheless, it is a real job. A profession. In fact I am amzed by the academic backgrounds of many whom I had the chance to meet at my workplace. It's sad how underemployment have gone worse - engineers, nurses, accountants, teachers, bankers, businessmen donning headphones instead of practicing their craft.

The problem is that not enough is done to change the mindset of those who have the job. One can easily drift from one call center to the other. A year or two is too long for most that I can't help but notice though that the ones who stay the longest are those who have previous job experiences, except if you are a supervisor already who is cashing in the big bucks. I could deduce from such observation that the call center is not a good learning place for work ethics. The ones who had previous non-call center job experiences are most likely to have better working habits. They show more professionalism and are more serious doing their tasks. Many of those whose experiences are limited to call centers, I noticed, are less caring about their jobs. I would like to stress, not all but many. Lates, absences and other basic employment no-no's are not uncommon. During my probationary period in my previous job, I was never absent the whole time I was I probation. I was made to believe my job is serious, something noble and decent many would die for. I acted professional in handling my job because the people around me acted professionals and I was reminded everytime I walk in the office that I am one. I lived up to it and diligently and went to work on time. I was never absent for silly reasons like not able to wake up on time. It was always a consideration that my load will be passed on to my workmates when I don’t report to work. The job was more stressful than the callcenter job but it taught me so much about working habits. I am not saying call centers suck in work ethics. Apparrently though, people in it fare way below than other jobs. Looking around, it amazes me how call center agents can afford to be absent 3 months on probation for reasons that couldn’t pass for an emergency. It may be tough but the mind must be shaped to think this is not just a lip-service job – you dress for it, be serious about it and get paid for it like any other normal job. In short, it is a feasible livelihood. I have not heard of that being said yet.

There are times when I wish call centers could overhaul itself altogether and begin a paradigm shift. Certainly, it’s a comfortable place for unsettled professionals awaiting for their lucky strike somewhere else like me. Somewhere they can find peace of mind. Yeah, maybe that’s what call centers failed to realize, they have not tried to brand themselves as a place where with the sums of money they invest on their agents, they are also providing a stable job. Mind you, a stable job is something near having peace of mind in a time when a kilo of rice is nearing the peso value of the greenback. Instead, the industry fuel the flaming myth – call center jobs are disposable. There’s got to be something wrong. I can name more but it will be long. …

Just spilling out thoughts. I hate the thought of leaving. Or maybe I'm just tired.

EASTER AWAY FROM HOME

2008-03-25T00:05:00.000-07:00

GOOD FRIDAY

it's my first time to celebrate easter away from home. i have never felt so unreligious my entire life - letting Good Friday pass by at work and answering calls from the most irate Americans who couldn't care less aboutlent and are mor concerned about their financial woes in time when their economy is slowly crumbling down. it was utterly different from home. i'm not complaining but i would have loved to go home and climb Linabo Peak or join a procession. after work last Good Friday, two of my colleagues and I went to KFC for lunch. I had a two-piece chicken meal. I felt guilty after eating. Wsan't i supposed to be fasting? if i want to put it mildly, i couldve just settled with a piee of chicken drumstick. i'm not really religious but i value my traditions . i somehow feel it's a part of me. i felt it missing this year.

but wait! there's more......the Lord saved my Good Friday! after arriving at my dungeon, i change clothes and went to Colon to buy a sun card - i have to do my duties as a son to call my mom nd at least let her know i'm still alive. it's been over a week i haven't called home. the trip to Colon were full of surprises. first, i left my wallet and noticed i left it when i'm about to pay the card (the embarrassment, sigh). I had with me my coin purse with a few pennies just enough for fare back to my place. i wasn't able to buy the prepaid card. instead, i went to church in flip-flops and casual shorts. at the sto. nino basilica, i spent a few moments amongst the horde of people praying and, with the looks of their faces, trying to purge their sins. i said a small prayer and so hoped i could be a better Christian this year - i sincerely do. a busload of Koreans could be seen marvelling at how we worship. many were on their knees praying (not the Koreans of course, hehehe), others listening to a live telecast of 'siyete palabras' while some are just lounging inside the church - maybe feeling the need to be where most people are right now. the Koreans could be seen smiling and posing with their V-signs just about in every corner of the basilica. manang beside me was pissed, whimpered a few inaudible words and gave that what-the-heck-are-you-doing?-can't-you-see-the-Lord-is-dead look. i left the basilica at 3PM. the Lord has died.

i went to the nearby Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral - a block away from the Basilica. i found out the 'siyete palabras' was telecast live at the cathedral. Cardinal Vidal gave the last words of the series of pious speakers. i was glad i was able to make it to the last part - it was my first time to hear the cardinal. ( the controversial cardinal is leader of what Lozada mockingly described as 'Archdiocese of Malacanang') Cardinal Vidal also led the mass together with a couple of priests and a bunch of singing seminarians. It was my first mass this year - i couldn't believe it. I'm also not proud of it.Hmmm, it has always been church visits and I'm glad I was there. It was also my first communion this year.

************* I don't have the best photos but i sure do want to let you witness what i saw.

EASTER SUNDAY

after work, my workmates (5 of them) went to Ayala for a lechon feast. I'm pretty sure lechon is on almost ever table at the beach back home. it almost felt like home, only we were seeing people piling up to see 'Horton Hears a Who?' instead of soaking in the water.

On my way home,we passed by the Redemptorist Church. I took a few photos while stuck in traffic inside Sigrid's pick-up. the sun was setting then and we were worn out after over 5 hours of whining about our jobs. it's a favorite pastime - hahaha - and a stress-reliever. we know we can't fight it, so we whine and whine more. it's a good thing though that after each discussion, everyone agrees it's healthy practice....at least for us..

CAUGHT

2008-03-24T23:19:00.000-07:00

I crossed the street when the walk sign turned green. I quickly hopped on a jeep when the lady in front of me grabbed my arm and pointed at a traffic enforcer blowing his whistle. I was boggled because from afar he appeared to be staring at me. i took off my earphones and checked if indeed he was eyeing at me. i was in a rufus wainwright trance and it pissed me thinking i was cut off by some lady who could very well be a snatcher for all i know. but she wasn't. i was told by the driver to step out of his jeep - i never felt so humiliated but i did. the traffic enforcer waved at me so i grabbed my bag of groceries - stiff, confused of what wrong i have done. i walked to his direction.

"Sa sunod gali dili ka mag ipod-ipod sa da'an (Cebuanos are too lazy to pronounce the letter L) aron kung tawgon ka dali ka makadungog", the man in CITOM shirt apprehended me. I asked why? Is this a new ordinance of the City of Cebu? Is Ipod now illegal in public places?...thoughts kept on racing.

"Unsa man, mubayad na lang ka'g singkwenta or paseminaron ta ka ug upat ka oras?", he asked. It felt like a threat. Like I didn't have a choice. And i didn't know what seminar he meant. People were looking at us and i could feel sweat running down my spine. I wanted to melt and become one with the asphalt road I was standing on. Paying the fine seemed the quicker alternative to get me out of such a very uncomfortable situation.

I asked why again. He gave me a ticket. I paid him 50 pesos. The ticket didn't bear my name.

For the first time, I was caught in Cebu City for 'UNLAWFUL EMBARKMENT'. It was also the first time I received a ticket for doing something illegal. I have always been a law-abiding citizen until that ticket came. I needed a seminar badly. I honestly didn't know it was illegal to hop on that jeep around that area of the avenues. I learned my lesson the hard way. Goodbye 50 bucks!

********the second time i'm caught, they will never know i'm a two-time offender. my name wasn't on the ticket and for sure there really isn't any way for them to know i guess. do i tell them? guess it will always be first time then.

MOVIES IN 10 DAYS

2008-03-24T22:07:00.000-07:00

Movies I watched in a TEN DAYS (not in the order of viewing..hehe)

Of the movies, the most memorable is probably the Japanes movie, Nobody Knows, a story based of a tragic story of four siblings abandoned by their mom in a city where their existence is oblivious to anyone else. The real story happened in 1988 and became popularly known as the 'Affair of the Four Abandoned Children of Sugamo' . Though the real story that shocked Japan is far more grisly than the adaptation, the raw emotions of inexperienced child-actors playing their parts were amazing. In fact, the director, Hirokazu Koreeda, did not use any script to guide the child actors with their lines. Instead, they were only told what the scene was about and acted on their own and spoke their own lines. The result was an astonishing portrayal of how children are gradually grabbed with their innocence as they start to grapple and survive on their own while slowly coming into realization that in a metropolis where nobody knows them, there is no one they can rely on but their tiny bodies and their pieces of ideas they have of a world bordered only by a nearby park, a grocery store, the subway and the strip of sky airplanes conquer as viewed from the space they are forced to call home.

The story becomes even more heartbreaking if you learn the story the movie was based upon.

Yuya Yagira, who portrayed the role of the eldest child in the movie earned the Best Actor trophy at the Cannes Festival in 2004.

The movie is like witnessing fragile flowers in a desert slowly drying up while no one notices, simply because nobody knows of their existence but themselves - small kids slowly robbed of innocence and of hope with no witnesses but each other.
You don’t wanna put Big Brother’s teens in such self-reliance tests. The movie in fact is like watching Big brother’s house. Without the pastel paint that covers the house making it glossy and shiny. And it's definitely without the usual lachrymal and whiny drama.

windowshopping

2008-03-24T20:56:00.000-07:00

i have been shunning the malls lately. saving has been a constant mantra that i'm coping with right now and the mall is one big lump of temptation - the reason why as much as possible i avoid the mall. but it's not too bad to do windowshopping when i'm already there with colleagues who, like me, sometimes go to the mall for the sake of going there and end up spending on food - lechon, shawarma, super jumbo iced tea etc.( who doesnt?) i'm beginning to realize unplanned trips to the mall costs more. and then off to windowshopping. it's a waste of time but at times i feel victorious when i visit the mall without spending a penny. it's like a triumph against my own urge to cave in to temptation, vanity etc.

silly but it helps to think that way sometimes....

taken outside the bennetton shop....sigh, their goods are worth a fortune...

circlin' the fuente osmena, uhmmm, circle...

2008-03-16T03:20:00.000-07:00

Fuente Osmena Circle by night...a must-visit place when going to Cebu...

whoever said its cheap?...

Lenten Reminders

2008-03-16T02:48:00.000-07:00

Lenten is back...once again we are reminded of the sacrifice Jesus made for mankind - offering His life for our salvation. Other than that uncomfortable feeling of seeing the Lord beaten again and nailed on the cross this year, i could already smell the sweet scent of binignit. (I will miss binignit for sure this year - sob!)

It seems like signs are following me everywhere I go... check how God's humor never stops surprising me with impossibly unnoticeable signs...

photo taken at the grotto of the Lady of Lourdes at the Cebu City Cathedral...

and the walang kamatayang Binignit... or is it benignet?...manang must be so confused making the sign...