Happy new week! :)

its very seldom that i display a happy mood on a working Monday, but then again, i'm glad that i'm in a light mood today. I was early again today and had to stay on the waiting lounge for about 40minutes. This is the 2nd day that i am early at work and have no keys to open the office. Maybe i could demand a duplicate key for myself.

* * *

two Sundays ago, i was at our barrio in Minalin, Pampanga with my mom, as we went there to witness my dad cutting the ribbon in one of the doors of the newly-opened multi-purpose hall beside the bisitas. It was also the barrio's annual fiesta, a commemoration to its patron saint, Sta. Rita. I'm just not sure if that saint is the same as the one named Monica. anyway, the barrio officials arranged a procession of 'saints' as per annual tradition, and some of the carts that displayed these 'saints' include 'Mary' & 'Jesus'. I used to be amused with these fiestas when i was in high school, when i was still residing in Minalin. Many Catholic traditions are always eagerly awaited: Holy week traditions that include cenakulo, penitensya, and even literal nailing on the cross. Salubong was also anticipated and kids (like us then) enjoyed watching an image of Judas Iscariot being stuffed with firecrackers and they make it explode, one part of the body at a time. Then the month of May... this is fiesta month especially for a dominantly Catholic town. I remember doing the task of buying and taking care of the blocks of ice that were needed to cool off the drinks. We buy them in blocks, put them under the pile of palay, and slice the blocks using a not-so-sharp itak. Well, those were the days... i have been opened to the many Catholic traditions that upto now, my relatives embrace. But noticing them during my last fiesta visit, they are not so engrossed with the traditions anymore. They even didn't bother to attend the mass celebrated in the afternoon before the ribbon-cutting. They preferred to stay at home and be with each other chatting out the time that the family is together. For me, its a better practice. I mean, being with the family instead of going out on the streets practicing those traditions. A lot has changed.

* * *

My sister called yesterday and we had a nice long chat with her. Actually, i slept early yesterday. READ: 4:30pm i was in bed already. My mom woke me up around 8:30pm saying that my sister wanted to talk to me. Ok. So i did get up and talk to her on the phone. She was telling me that my nephew is getting circumcised for 300CAD. WOW! That's a whooping 300 x P42 = P12,600.00! This practice (tuli) is offered free in the Philippines during summer in some health centers. And i can't imaging spending even a thousand pesos just for circumcision. That's a note for me: My future son is gonna get tuli here in Manila.
Anyway, my sister just wanted to inform me that she's been using my Fila green jogging pants. I said, its fine.

* * *

I'm wishing to get a single entry to Canada by October. Juvy & Ed is getting married by then and i am supposed to be one of their groomsmen. Still hasn't contacted the embassy for that. *crosses-fingers*

samu't-saring istorya

panay ang hingi ng dagdag-pasahe ng mga tsuper. hindi ba nila naisip na sa "paghihiganti" nila sa gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng paghingi ng dagdag-pasahe ay maliliit na tao at mga mahihirap na mamamayan ang tuwirang nagdurusa? Hindi ba nagco-commute ang mga anak nitong mga tsuper na ito?

* * *

masarap ang Manila Mango na ibinebenta sa Estados Unidos. At gustung-gusto ito at hinahanap-hanap ng mga kano. Kung susumahin ang perang ipinapasok nito, napakalaki. Proud ka ba bilang isang Pilipino? Sana. Pero hindi eh. Ayon sa ulat na nabasa ko, bansang Mexico ang may rights sa mga produktong ito. Mahabang istorya. Kung uugatin ang dahilan kung paano ito nangyari, madadagdagan lang ang pagkainis mo sa gobyerno natin kung bakit hindi ang bansa natin ang nakikinabang sa sariling atin.

* * *

kumain ako at ang kaopisina ko sa Pancake House kaninang tanghalian. Pumasok si Henry Omaga-Diaz, kasama ang dalawang cameraman at isang lalaking ininterview sa loob ng establisimento. ang mga crew (sa Pancake House) at ibang kumakain, hindi matanggal ang tingin sa kanila. ano ba yun? nun lang ba sila nakakita ng reporter at camera? buti sana kung wala ang mga taga-dos sa tabi ng lamesa namin. eh di parang binabantayan ang bawat subo namin ng pagkain. at halos mahagip-hagip pa kami ng camera. may studio naman kase, o kaya naman, malaki naman siguro ang opisina ng dos para dun isagawa ang interview? wala lang. nabwisit lang ako.

* * *

nagbreakfast meeting kami kanina sa DOME sa may PODIUM. alas-siete y medya ng umaga. dun lang pala yun sa tabi ng Starbucks. Mas masarap sana ang meeting kung idinaos iyon sa Cafe Breton.

* * *

maalala ko, usapang broadcasters ulit. nakasakay ako sa FX kahapon papuntang trabaho. naka-tune in sa DZMM ang driver at nakikinig sa programang Tambalang Failon at Sanchez. As usual, ano pa nga bang aasahan mo sa paraan ng pagi-interview ng dalawang ito na itinuturing na "batikan" ng kanilang istasyon? kapag kausap nila ay isang gobernador, mayor, pulis, at iba pang opisyal ng pamahalaan, parang sila ang presidente at bise-presidente ng pilipinas. yan ang tinatawag ng: "feeling" bahala na kayong dugtungan ng mga salitang aangkop sa dalawang ito.

* * *

ikinasal na si Ate Ning. Nagninang si inay, abay ang magkapatid na Eva at Lyn. Dapat abay din ako. Pero ganun talaga, hindi ako sukat na mag-abay dun. ganun talaga. para sa mga hindi nakakaalam kung bakit ko ito nabanggit, wag nyo nang alamin. :p

* * *

makulimlim ang kalangitan, nagbabadya ng panahong tag-ulan. ilabas ang mga kapote!

TGIF again!

This sunset signifies the end of a day. The photo i took from our office window, 21st floor of Medical Plaza Ortigas, shows another beauty of nature combined with human architecture... sun setting in the west, slightly touching Manila Bay, giving a nice shade in the sky signalling an end of one busy day in the metropolis.

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Thank God Its Friday again! A busy week i had and while i still have to report to work today and tomorrow, I'm thankful that the weekend is coming. Last Monday, i was caught in traffic in Meralco area, resulting with a tardiness to start my work week. Then, Didi (my department colleague) and i just have to realize that one of our pharmacist's job will still be an additional load in our work. No problem with us being a jack of all trades. In fact, its enjoyable to work for everybody and work at anything you can but once you have to do the tasks that are really expected of you to work on, then you can't just attend to the other "responsibilities" that are being pointed at you. do i sound like i'm complaining? naaah... i'm just being realistic here. i just got a "break" during dinner time with some PEx friends, while the reason for the dinner EB *ehem... L-Ey* was not present, well, due to some personal reasons.

Tuesday, i was at the Land Transportation Office in Marikina, together with Bongertz, to renew our respective drivers licenses. We got to LTO Marikina around 7:30 in the morning and in the process, Bongertz told me that he was to process his license in LTOs Cainta office. So he left me while i wait for mine to be processed. I got my new drivers license around past 10am. In the course of my waiting, i was sitting beside a girl who was talking to someone over her mobile phone: "Bakit ganun? Kailangan pa naming pumila. Wala kase si ________, at sabi nung isa, pumila daw muna kami. Ganun ba talaga?" In my mind i was asking, "At bakit naman hindi na kailangang pumila? Kaya walang asenso 'tong bansa natin, puro kayo nasanay sa 'palakasan' system." bwiset talaga!
Anyway, i arrived in the office around past 11am and after office, i have to brave the strong rain that poured early evening. It was accompanied by thunder and lightning and of course, flash floods were expected. Our new choir mentor visited our practice that night. Good to know he's the one handling us now.

Wednesday started the things that we need to reconcile in the office. Problems started to arise, discrepancies begun to be discovered. "it sucks."
After office, had a dinner with jary & ivy, while kerwin made some "escape reason" not to attend the dinner. Its all because jary scared him. :p

Thursday, the office made a total of three incident reports. For those working already, you know what these incident reports mean. Its definitely not a sign of having a smooth operation at work. I started sending emails to concerned people and good thing i got a Gmail account. Its what i use for business purposes while my office email isn't available yet.

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Nice to hear from Karen so early in the morning. She is at my sisters house when she called and she's gonna accompany my niece to her performance in school. Tita-pamangkin bonding, 'ika nga. hehe..

computer clock reads 7:11. gotta prepare for werk. :p

kahapon

Salamat po sa LAHAT ng bumati sa akin sa pamamagitan ng SMS, email, blog shout out, Friendster at doon sa mga bumati sa akin ng personal. gusto ko na ring humingi ng paumanhin sa mga tumawag sa mobile phone ko dahil kahapon ay hindi talaga ako makokontak doon.

anyway, nagpakain ako ng tanghalian sa mga ka-opisina. mabuti na lang at nasa field yung iba kaya apat lang kaming kumain. ang dami no? nag-imbita ako ng dalawa pang empleyado mula sa DKT pero nang malaman nilang kasama sa lunch yung dalawa naming bossing, nag back-out sila. buraot.

nagkuhanan kami ng litrato sa opisina bago umuwi. eto ang isa sa mga candid shots namin:


Pagkagaling sa opisina, nag-date kami ni inay, kasama ang pinsan kong si Faith, sa Almon Marina at nagyaya pagkatapos si pinsan na magkape sa Starbucks. Syempre, dahil ayoko ng kape sa Starbucks, orange juice ang inorder ko. yun lang, umuwi na kami pagkaubos ng mga ininom namin.

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ok rin palang gamitin ang budget card ng PLDT. sa halagang dalawandaang piso, nagkakausap kami nang malinaw ni Karen nang mahigit sampung minuto. kung may mas mura pang pantawag dito, pakisabihan lang ako. dati kase, ang ginagamit ko ay yung net card ng Net2phone. 10(US) cents per minute lang ang tawag sa Amerika at Canada. Kahit ganyan kagastos, ok lang. Masarap kausap si Karen sa telepono. Parang ang lapit lang nya dito. Pero syempre, hindi pa rin natin maaalis ang katotohanan na ang layo namin sa isa't-isa. kapag naiisip ko ito, dun ako nalulungkot. hindi na namin magawa yung dati na kapag naisip naming pumasyal sa mall o kumain sa burger king, pwede agad kaming magkita. hindi posible sa ngayon yan. pero kung iisipin ko, ang bilis lang ng panahon. sa katunayan nga, malapit nang mag-isang taon buhat nang mawala ako dun. kaya ang pag-asa ko na lang, isang umaga pag gising ko ay nandun na ulit ako kasama siya. hay... LDR. ang hirap nga naman. pero pag napagtagumpayan namin ito, hindi ko alam kung anong pagsubok pa ang hindi namin makakayang harapin nang sabay.

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eto po yung litrato na kuha namin noong May 02 sa ShangriLa. Kundi ako nagkakamali, nasa California Pizza Kitchen kami nito:

my prayer...

WITHIN THE CHOIR

O glorious gift from Christ, my Savior,
That I have found within the choir,
This wondrous wealth, this joy that fills me
Be evermore my heart’s desire.

’Tis I He called, ‘tis I He chose,
‘Tis through my voice His spirit flows—
Such is His grace, such is His will
That I shall cherish and fulfill.

Whatever road that I must travel,
Though harsh and lonely be the way,
There I shall go still singing praises,
I shall continue come what may.

O blessed cross that I must bear—
An honor for my soul to wear;
My strength by day, my peace at night,
My consolation and my might.

When death at last shall overtake me,
May I be found within the choir,
And may the robe of my conviction
Be evermore my heart’s attire.

O Jesus Lord, please hear me now,
And with Your love, affirm my vow:
When I arise and live anew,
I will be singing praise to You.

Maligayang Araw Ng Mga Ina

SA UGOY NG DUYAN
(l. san pedro/l. celerio)

Sana’y di nagmaliw ang dati kong araw
Nang munti pang bata sa piling ni nanay
Nais kong maulit ang awit ni inang mahal
Awit ng pag-ibig habang ako’y nasa duyan

Sana’y di nagmaliw ang dati kong araw
Nang munti pang bata sa piling ni nanay
Nais kong maulit ang awit ni inang mahal
Awit ng pag-ibig habang ako’y nasa duyan

Refrain:
Sa aking pagtulog na labis ang himbing
Ang bantay ko’y tala, ang tanod ko’y bituin
Sa piling ni nanay, langit ay buhay
Puso kong may dusa sabik sa ugoy ng duyan

Sana’y di nagmaliw ang dati kong araw
Nang munti pang bata sa piling ni nanay
Nais kong maulit ang awit ni inang mahal
Awit ng pag-ibig habang ako’y nasa duyan

Sa aking pagtulog na labis ang himbing
Ang bantay ko’y tala, ang tanod ko’y bituin
Sa piling ni nanay, langit ay buhay
Puso kong may dusa sabik sa ugoy ng duyan

Nais kong matulog sa dating duyan ko, inay
Oh! inay

05.05.05

Wow. First May entry and its the 7th day. I had a lot to blog about but then, after calling it a day @ work every 6pm, chances are, i either get too tired or too lazy to sit in front of my home pc and do the updates. aargghh... i need something like the WIRELESS JOURNAL.

Howell, Labor Day was a Sunday so PGMA declared the next day as a non-working holiday. Does it make sense? Hmm... a holiday that falls on a weekend (if the people of the Philippines noticed, MOST of our national holidays THIS YEAR either falls on a Saturday or a Sunday). What's the idea of declaring a non-working holiday on a Monday if a holiday falls on a Sunday? Higher popularity rating? Or maybe, let's think about it this way: PGMA declared May 2 a non-working holiday to avoid and prevent a chaotic Labor Day rally that usually turns out to be more violent each year. well, at least the most violent one was the Labor Day attack in Malacanang after Pres. JE was ousted from his seat. That was 2001 if i am not mistaken.

may 02, where was i? oh. i had a lunch out date with my long-seen internet (and real life) friends: jawee, kerwin, LA & wife Mia. We dined in at California Pizza Kitchen and afterwards had a Figaro kofi session. We were in ShangriLa as requested by sir LA (sorry guys, i'm TOO LAZY to upload the single group picture that i took with my digicam so i can't email them to you yet).
While i was waiting for them in the meeting place (yes, the FOUR of them were late), I saw one of my high school bud, Joel, strolling around the mall with his preggy wife and younger sister. It was quite a surprising scene that we weren't able to get each others mobile numbers for future references. sheesh..

may 03, our new company's official start date of operation. needless to say, we were all busy.

may 04, we're still busy.

may 05, some note-worthy things this day: it's 05.05.05 (May 5th, 2005). It comes only once in a blue moon, like two years ago, this blogs title --> "03.03.03". Thing is, the month should coincide with the day and year.
This day, i saw ex-basketball star Benjie Paras sipping coffee with his kids to JF, at a nearby coffee shop in our office in Libis. whatelse?
hmm... after office, Sha, Ate Mabel, and i chipped-in so we can have Ice Monster and a double-sized Greenwich Special pizza while we discuss some of lifes more serious matter. A good conversation always make me feel good. redundancy? bleh.

may 06, which is yesterday, we started moving to our new office in Ortigas. Medical Plaza Ortigas to be exact. The new office looks good and it was simply inaugurated this morning, May 7th, with just us (6 pioneer staff) and our two "big" bosses, Mr & Mrs Ed Chua. This couple has been very good to us eversince (and i'm praying til forever they will be). We had our brunch at Pancake House courtesy of the couple, and another star-gazing note, we saw Michael De Mesa with his (new) girl and his (big) dog. I didn't care much seeing them so don't ask me how the girl looks like or what's the breed of his dog. All i noticed about that brunch date was the FREE PARKING spaces along Pearl Drive (and there was a note saying it is courtesy of Mayor Eusebio) anytime, anyday of the week. you just have to be careful with the chop-chop-car gang whenever you do park your car there, if you wouldn't want your car parts ending up being sold in Banawe, Quezon City.

I bought a PLDT Budget Card which is scheduled to be used anytime next week to get in touch with a girl who is on the other side of the globe. hmmm... sino kaya yun? *wink*

:p

(images courtesy of ICE MONSTER & Greenwich Pizza websites)