time for evolution?

the heat is really unbearable these days. i wake up at 4.30am, and i am already sweating. we didn't have airconditioning at home and when my mom noticed we are getting sick (well, because we tend to have our fans fixed at us) she decided to get one. oh well, there goes another grand or two for electricity. but at least we won't be irritated much by the heat.

i remember when i was just a child, my parents wouldn't let us out at night 'coz we might get colds. if we really needed to go out, we would be covered with at least 2 clothings from head to toe. fastforward to today, i could take my nephew out at night with just a sando and shorts on.

it is raining. but the rain does not help cool the air. the environment is really acting up.

the world really is changing. it might be too late to act on this. we could all help save the environment from global warming. but as we try, i think we should also brace ourselves to whatever worse might be coming. it'll be survival of the fittest. hopefully we won't evolve to have shells, it won't be light to carry along. plus think about the color it would have - might not even match a blue denim.

graceful exit

the hardest part in leaving, is saying goodbye.

thanksgiving

27 on the 27th.

thanks for all the blessings.

amen

homecoming

i was once invited by my colleagues to attend this 'gathering'. i was shocked when i found out that we had to sing and do some 'sharing'. lucky me, only one was assigned to share. and i swore to myself to never come back.

well, sharing is not my thing. i keep my relationship with God private. i wasn't raised a catholic - no confessions and though it is common in my congregation to share during some group 'meetings', i opt not (if i could).

growing up and until now, i am confident about my faith. in my younger years, i have never missed vbs. i was even one of the first youngsters to be in our children's choir. i even had a short stint being a church pianist.

i used to pray every night. but when i got my first job and worked in graveyard shifts i stopped. that doesn't make me less of a christian, right? i do feel bad that i haven't got much personal time with Him.

yesterday, i promised my mom that i'll go to church. since i'm not much of a people person, i didn't want to go alone so me and my mom and my brother went to vesper service. and boy, i got the shock of my life. first, there's a band. really! playing praise songs and all and people (well, maybe due to the band, most were young adults) were dancing. if i remember it right, we were in a 'conservative' protestant church were the congregation are born to sing in unison in SATB voices accompanied by a piano - no dancing except for junior worship (i.e. with kids!). then, there was no liturgist. well, that i could live with. and no more, 'family of God' hymn on the greeting part. apart from that, there was this new arrangement of the doxology... the list of new things just go on.

i really have been gone for so long. the changes - i must say isn't bad. honestly, i like it more as it feels 'happier'.

the only thing i didnt' like was the feeling i had when the new pastor (not really new since he's been on the church for years) had to reintroduce me to the congregation. i really felt bad. seriously. this was the church where my parents got married, where i was baptized, confirmed, and had my communions. i wanted to cry. i was estranged.

magasin

sa moment na ito, naririnig kong tumutugtog ang eheads sa kukote ko. p'anu ba naman kasi, habang nafefriendster ako sa kalagitnaan ng trabaho napadaan ako sa profile ng isa sa mga kaibigan ko nung HS. ibang iba na sya. gulat ako!

Iba na ang 'yong ngiti.
Iba na ang 'yong tingin.
Nagbago nang lahat sa
'yoooo oh ohhh.

natutuwa akong sobra sa kanya. ngayon ko lang napagtanto ang lahat lahat. bakit nga ba hindi pumasok sa isip ko na may potensyal sya? matangkad, slim, maganda ang facial bone structure.

sobrang proud ako sa kanya. go jyas!

pagbati

doc joven fule
doc sugar blanco
doc april anne lambio
congratulations dear high school batchmates errr classmates...


at syempre, babatiin ko rin ang blockmate ko, si doc analee sabadao. congrats!!


hmmm... may susunod pa sa kanila. syempre sa tagal mag-aral ng med, yung ibang friendly friends ko nag-asawa at nagpahinga muna. sila naman ang susunod.

in quest of greener pastures

my current YM status is "2 months to go". yep, i'm doing another countdown. in less than 2 months, my employment bond will be gone. hurray!

now i'm looking for a new job. it's not that i don't like my current one, i'm just looking for better opportunities. a boss even caught me last week browsing jobstreet.com and jokingly said "you'll never get an offer better than what you have right now". he might be right. but then i haven't told him that i chose to work here eventhough the offer was half of what i used to get. but honestly, i'm hoping for a better salary.

so far, i've only got phone interviews. well, i wasn't able to come on some invitations since the companies were so far (cavite, taguig, singapore) from work (qc) and i can't be gone for too long during business hours.

speaking of interviews - think this stuff really make my brain work. in most cases, i give answers that i never imagined i could say. feel ko nga pag sumali ako sa mr. pogi e mananalo ako sa dahil sa question and answer portion.

well, i just wish myself luck.

- - -

by the way, congrats to china for winning the men and women's gymnastics team competitions.

goodluck to nastia on the all-around competition. i never expected that aside from the beam and bars finals she'll be on the floor finals as well. hmmm... should i say, break a leg?

sino ka?

nakakaasar lang talaga 'pag may mga taong hinuhusgahan ka base sa mababaw na pagkakakilala sa iyo. ang masama pa, e yung tinitira ka ng patalikod at walang kalaban-labang sinisiraan ka sa iba. sino ba sila sa akala nila?

madalas 'feeling close' na ako sa isang tao na nakakagaanan ko ng loob. hindi ako mapagpanggap. at ayaw ko sa mga taong nagpupumanggap. pero hindi naman sa konting panahong nakakasama mo ang mga tao ay nakikilala ka na nila ng lubos.

ang sa akin lang, bago sila namintas e tignan muna nila ang sarili nila. akala mo kung sino, wala pa namang nararating sa mga buhay nila! akala mo totoo, e sila mismo hindi nila maamin kung sino sila.

hypocrites!

tayp tayp

lunes. unang araw ng linggo. hay! sa kasamaang palad, miembro ako ng monday group (natatanging nilalang na kailangang magreport sa office 'pag lunes). maaga tuloy ako gumising kaya heto, masakit pa ulo ko dahil sa puyat. wish ko lang kasi marating naman kami ng sibilisasyon para hindi ko na kelangang makipagsabayan sa mga byahero pag lunes.

- - -

pansin ng mga boss ko na tuwing lunes ang taba-taba ko tapos pag byernes, lumiit na tyan ko. panu ba naman kasi, 'pag asa maynila ako todo diet ako tapos 'pag umuuwi ako nilalantakan ko ang kanin. panu ba naman kasi, nasasayang ang kanin 'pag dahil maraming magsaing pag weekend sa bahay.

buti na lang ngayon, super inspired na ko magdiet. sa mahal ba naman kasi ng bilihin at pamasahe ngayon, napapatipid na ako. hindi na ako nagkakanin talaga 'pag weekdays, fruits na lang. tapos 'pag weekend, hindi ko mang maiwasan manghinayang sa kanin, dinadaan ko na lang sa hiphop abs at konting pagbubuhat. ayan, may konting resulta na naman ngayon. medyo maluwag na damit ko, normal na BP ko, nakakapaghandstand na uli ako at hindi na ko masyadong pinagpapawisan. sana lang talaga magtuloy tuloy na para mabili ko na yung damit na gusto ko. ahehehe!

- - -

madalas TV lang ang pinagkakaabalahan ko 'pag weekend. nitong huli, hindi ako nakabili ng mga dibidi kaya tyaga na lang ako sa re-runs. natuwa naman ako nung napalipat ako sa channel 9, aba may olympics. kakaasar lang at panay boxing at football yung palabas. buti sana kung may pinoy na pinakita para makapagcheer man lang, kaso namuti na mata ko sa kakaabang wala pa rin. kung gymnastics prelims na lang nung aug9 at 10 na lang ang pinalabas e 'di sana mas masaya.

- - -

kagabi medyo late na nakatulog ang mom ko dahil sa pag-aalala sa mga kamag-anak namin sa mindanao. panu, yung panganay na kapatid ng lolo ko at yung pamilya nya e nasa maitum (sa mindanao) pa at balitang all-out war dun ngayon. balita pa na pinapatay dun ang mga christians. hay! hindi pa namin alam kung san sila tatakbo. sana lang talaga matapos na ang gulo dun.

- - -

speaking of mindanao - minsan narinig ko sa radyo yung commentary ng mga announcer. hmmm... ba't ba kasi 'di pa maayos ang consti ng pinas at maging federal na lang ang form of gov't. hayaan na may autonomy ang bawat 'regions'. ganun... pero kung magkakaganun, pangit. kasi naman, dadami ang mga ka-federasyon! ahahaha!!

hmmm... what if bitawan na ng pinas ang mindanao? since lagi magulo sa ibang parts dun, hayaan na sila ang maglabo-labo! kaya kaya nila magsurvice na sila lang? well, siguro sa dami ng international fundings dun ngayon. pero syempre, since may magic word na funding papayag ba naman ang gobyerno natin na wala silang kick-back sa ganun? saka, panu na ang del monte? ang dole? imported na ang lahat ng fruit cocktail natin kung ganun. mahal na maghanda pag fiesta at pasko. ganun? pero siguro naman, makakatikim na ako nung saging from mindanao na super kinis at malaki ('di gaya ng saging dito na maiitim at lamog) dahil mag-eexport na rin sila sa atin (kasi naman for export lang ang mga sosyal na saging e).aside from fruits, mababawasan na ng congressman from mindanao like zubiri. tapos kelangan na ng visa 'pag bibisita sa tourists spots sa mindanao? sad naman kasi 'di pa ako nakakaapak sa mindanao.

pero seriously, sana talaga matapos na ang dapat matapos dun. peace na lang sana dun.

- - -

balik tayo sa olympics... hay! kada 4 na taon lang nagkakaroon ng ganun. ba't ba walang matinong coverage? yung mga videos sa youtube, pinag-aalis. asar naman!

this is it!

august 8, 2008... a day of celebration (well, yes it includes birthday celebration of my bro and a couple of other people i know).

today's the opening ceremonies of the olympics! after 4 long years of waiting, finally it's here! too bad i don't have cable, i don't have pay per view. i don't even have a TV set for crying out loud! good thing i have a vpn connection to our chicago and dallas offices so i'm able to watch some olympic videos from nbcolympics.com.

olympics. who never dreamed of becoming an olympian as a kid? sad to say, i live in a country where athletes (except for some boxers, read: pacquiao, and basketball players, as in PBA folks) can't make "sporting" a living.

olympic protests. the hell! olympics is not a venue for political interest. dreams are ruined. even athletes who made some gestures of protests has found themselves as outcasts. look at what happened to Věra Čáslavská, Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Peter Norman.

today's a big day for all the athletes. celebrate humanity. celebrate life! cheers to our olympians. hmmm.. should i say, "break a leg"?

let the games begin!

one day to go before the olympics. can't wait! of course, among the spectator sports like synchronized swimming and rhythmic gymnastics, i'm dying to watch the women's artistic gymnastics competition (WAG). well, my fascination with WAG started because of this girl during the 1996 olympics.

(source: http://isportspix.com/2008/04/04/svetlana-khorkina-picture-gallery)

yes, it is the queen of bars, svetlana khorkina. no, she wasn't wearing that in competition! anyway, i've seen her performed her optional floor exercises and she simply took my breath away. that time aside from the optional competitions, gymnasts were still required to perform compulsary exercises (gymnasts performing the same routine).

- - -

well, so much has changed on my favorite sport. first, gone are the days of perfection. yup, no more perfect 10 like nadia. say hello to 14's (mediocre), 15's (safe) and 16's (possible medal).scoring has been changed in the code of points (read: the rule book). since 2006 world championships, there are 2 kinds score that a gymnast can receive. the A panel score (additive) which is all about the difficulty - meaning the harder the skill, the higher the score. aside from difficulty, connection of movements/bonus points are also in included in A panel. the B panel, however, is the execution score. basically, it rates how a gymnast perform a skill. this scores is deductive from a perfect score of 10. deductions are counted from unpointed toes during tumbling (0.1 deduction) to a fall on a skill (0.8). final score is the sum of the A panel and B panel scores.

the new scoring was due to the controversy in the men's all around competition in the 2004 olympics. korea's yang tae young was given a start value of 9.9 in the parallel bars instead of 10. a 0.1 difference cost him to just take the bronze medal instead of the gold. the international gymnastics federation (FIG) suspended the 3 judges who made the mistake, but paul hamm (the all around winner during the games) kept the gold. the FIG standardized the scoring for both the men and women. other than this controversy, the difference in the level of difficulty among the exercises the gymnasts are performing also led to the establishment of the new system.

for the equipment, bars has changed since nadia. during her time, there was just a narrow opening between the low and high bars. well, the bars hasn't changed since 2004 olympics but some of my readers may have fallen as sleep for about 30 years so i think it's worth mentioning.

in the 2000 olympics, many gymnasts got injured during the all-around competition because the vault was set 5 centimeters lower than the standard height. so no more side-horse vaults. we now have the vaulting table which is both used by men and women.

(source: www.fig-gymnastics.com)

since 70's the beam and floor has improved as well, with the inclusion of springs on the apparatus.

with today's level of competition, the artistry in artistic gymnastics is literally a thing of the past. wish i could see more of this, this and this instead of this and this. only a few gymnasts like my current fave, nastia liukin, can still combine difficulty and artistry.

- - -

i am no expert on the sport. luckily, i found a beginner's guide to today's gymnastics. according to the author, "Gymnastics is a dynamic, always-evolving sport. It's about power, beauty, grace, athleticism, virtuosity, and, perhaps most of all, innovation. A, uh, great PHILOSOPHER once noted that the best example of this is how, in gymnastics, when you're the first to "climb a particular mountain" (do a skill no one else has done) they name it after you in celebration. This is one of the many reasons that the style of gymnastics, the rules, the skills, and even the athletes all evolve quickly and constantly." good thing, the author was able to describe the new scoring better on different four apparatus - "Women's Artistic Gymnastics is performed on four apparatus. EACH ONE MORE DEADLY THAN THE LAST."

anyway, here's the dummy guide about the women's vault, bars, beam and floor.

home

umuwi ako nung friday na nag-eexpect na nasa bahay ang mom at mga kapatid ko at may food pa na nakatabi para sa akin. almost every week, ganun kasi ang nangyayari. pero nung umuwi ako, walang tao sa bahay, walang pagkain. ang lungkot.

sobrang napagod ako sa byahe ko. 'di ko na rin natiis ang kalam ng sikmura ko, buti na lang lucky me dahil  may instant pancit canton pa sa tindahan ni lola. carebear na kung mamatay ako sa pacute pancreatitis sa pagtulog ko matapos kumain ng pancit canton basta busog ako bago matulog.

buti na lang may mga dibidi akong nabili kaya pinalipas ko muna ang kabusugan ko bago natulog. napaisip tuloy ako habang nakatunganga sa harap ng tv. nawari ko, wala man ang pamilya ko, masaya ako at nakauwi ako sa aming tahanan. siguro nga, dapat masanay na rin ako sa ganito. 'di na magtatagal, tuluyan na ring bubukod ang mga kapatid ko. darating ang panahon na minsanan na rin kung magkita kami.

kumusta ka naman?

international relations. bow!

sabihin man nating bawat undergrad degree program ay narerequire ng 9 units ng communication/english courses, hindi pa rin sapat yun para maging effective communicator lalo na sa panahon ngayon kung kelan sikat ang globalization. dagdag mo pa yung english subjects mula nursery/prep until 4th year high school, kulang pa rin sa dami ng 'version' ng language na ito.

sa dami ng lahi ng mga nakausap ko, so far napapatunayan ko naman na english nga ang universal language (should i say global dahil malay ba natin kung may martian na nakakaintindi ng english?). pero tama ba talaga ito? o baka naman akala ko english ang ginagamit kong salita pero sa totoong buhay american lang sinasabi ko at australian naman ang salita nung kausap kong indian. gets ba?

naalala ko na naman tuloy ang topic isang topic sa philosophy 1 nung kolehiyo: "all terms are equivocal". well, totoo nga. nakakalito ang mundo, parang kanta ng smokey mountain tuloy - kung sinung mahal mo syang ayaw sa iyo... ahehehe!! ayan, napa-segue na!

minsan ng take ako ng 2-hour training about cross-cultural communication dito sa company namin, bitin naman. wish ko lang talaga, naituturo sa school kung pano mabawasan, kung 'di man mawala, ang language barrier lalo na kung hindi mo nakikita ang kausap mo.

anyway, feel ko lang mag-rant ng ganto ngayon dahil matatapos na ang employment bond ko, ni hindi man lang ako napadala sa ibang bansa. hay buhay!

emote

'di ako perpekto. maraming beses ko na ring binigo ang sarili ko. sa dami ng nangyari, 'di ko maisip na nagawa ko ang mga yun. 'di ako nagsisi. nabaon na ko sa kahihiyan. pero natutunan kong bumangon. 'di ko man matuwid ang lahat, ang mahalaga nakakatayo na ko.

bull's eye

my mom has told me that as a baby, i can't help without hearing chiquitita. it wasn't a surprise to me. as a kid, enjoyed listening to all of abba's songs. i remember that i used to dance when take a chance or mamma mia is played.

good thing mamma mia is now on theaters. it's basically a movie celebrating abba's music. hurray for me!

- - -

i checked out youtube if some mamma mia clips are available. and i saw this:

I work all night, I work all day
To pay the bills I have to pay
Ain't it sad and still there never
Seems to be a single penny left for me

Amen.
Kakasweldo lang, parang hindi ko naramdaman na.

feel at home

i love spain. i love spaniards! i feel like i'm with my family when i talk to them. the accent, the tone, the emotions, everything - parang asa pinas lang din ang kausap ko.

the impossible dream

PDA o Pinoy Idol? hmmm... sa PDA ako. 'di hamak na mas nakakasabik panoorin ang PDA. (pinoy idol: one word, lame. kelangan pa bang imemorize yun?)

pero bakit sa tuwing may oras akong makapanood ng PDA, may nagdo-drop out? nakakapanggalaiti. imagine, libo-libo ang gustong makapasok tapos heto ang mga pinalad na scholars nag-aalisan. ang mas nakakainis, ang bababaw ng mga rason nila. hay! TARUPA!

late night call

another late night at work. got another conference call to attend. how i wish that there is only one timezone in the world.

- - -

i'm so amused when people attend conference calls. upon entering the call, participants do their intros - usually name/team name and location. sounds like a beauty pageant to me. and i wonder why people in the philippines do their intros like "hi, this is dean from manila". this is also true from other companies/projects i have worked for. people from other parts of the world say something like "kuntal from india" or "michelle from UK". well, personally i think that manila is easier to say than philippines. ;)

is it in the genes?

breeding... parang pang-hayop ang term 'di ba? napakascientific. pero 'pag in-apply sa tao, ba't sinasabing 'pag walang breeding e asal hayop? at bakit may mga taong bihisan mo man o pag-aralin, hindi mawawala ang pagkahayop? hmmm... sadya bang nasa dugo ito?

TAX me not

matapos ang mahabang batuhan ng email ng aking pinakamamahal na HR Controller (read: nagpapasweldo) napagtanto ko na luging lugi ako sa kinikita ko. p'ano, ang mahal mahal ng bilihin ngayon, mahal pa pamasahe, ang utilities mahal rin. tapos ang sweldo ko, mahigit sa kalahati napupunta sa tax: 35% sa income tax (o, wag nyo nang alamin kung anung tax bracket ko!), tapos pag nag-grocery ka o bumili ng pagkain sa labas may VAT at eVAT. kung nisweswerte pa ko sa lugar, may local tax pa. hay!

kaya naman napapa-amen na lang ako 'pag may nagsasabing "kasalanan ni gloria yan"! sa laki ng inflation rate ngayon, walang ginagawa ang gobyerno para tulungan ang mamamayan. ang alam lang nila, mamigay ng pagkain dun sa lugmok sa hirap. e p'ano naman ang isang ordinaryong mamamayan at empleyadong tulad ko? hindi ba ako mamamayan? hindi ba ako pilipino?

sana man lang mabawasan ang tax natin. konting hinay lang sana ang gobyerno sa pangungurakot muna.

- - -

paunawa: hindi ko po pinatatamaan ang mga empleyado sa gobyerno. patukoy po ito sa mga nagpapatakbo ng nito.