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She is not a creature of your imagination. She is not just a creepy sighting. She is real.
Barbara is an old fashioned girl and she refuses to update her look. Hairy legs, bushy eyebrows, and all.
Catch her in resplendent sepia glory and take her photo (stolen shots are best) and upload it on this website and you might just win a Macbook Pro.
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Tags: barbara, veetI’d go to New York. Or Paris. Or Italy. Seriously, getting denied by the Japanese embassy for a visa is so frustrating! Oh yes, what I was raving about a few weeks ago suddenly disappeared in a cloud of dust. Kapoot. Gone. The Japanese embassy had the heart to deny half of our company’s visa applications, and all of those were us females.
That afternoon a few weeks ago when our HR Manager announced there’s some “very bad news”, I knew my Mt. Fuji exploits (all of them about photography, don’t worry) would never materialize. I silently cursed the powers that be that probably thought these single ladies would only be looking for husbands to milk there. (Do I hear Beyonce in the background?) More »
I ventured into unfamiliar territory with a just a click of the mouse.
Whatever reasons I’ve cooked up in the past year or so just so I can stay put are quickly vanishing into thin air. This isn’t just a function of x squared multiplied by the square root of y divided by one half of infinity, you know, financial reasons.
I’m finally mustering enough energy to go see the world out there and live in it. I’m applying for an immigrant visa to a country where Christmas isn’t Christmas if it isn’t white; you fail the driving exam three times for turning a corner too slow and a 5-year driving history does not even hold water; feeding the dog leftovers is a crime; and if you’re unemployed the government makes use of its faithful citizens’ taxes to give you an allowance.
It sounded absurd to my virgin Pinoy ears that the government actually works in some parts of the universe. And maybe it’s about time that I did. All these corruptive deals and unscrupulous first gentlemen and crooked systems and evasive tax benefits are seriously getting on my nerves. I purposely do not watch the local evening news because it’s tiring to hear about politicians squabble over who gets the bigger share of the pie. (I only get updates whenever I take a crap in the toilet where there’s a newspaper, and what perfect place to read it because it’s still full of sh**). To hell with their shares. What about mine? The middle-class worker who pays taxes diligently and yet gets screwed over by a society filled with kotong cops, lawless rich people running amok (and free) with drugs and government officials who do not function without padulas. It sucks, really.
But hey, don’t take my word for it. That clear and bright future remains elusive. At least for me.
But it’s not just the government. There’s too much history for me here. Those who know me will know. Wow how redundant. It’s too much to consider if I want to get a move on. No matter what I do, this is a place that the shadows of not-so-good things will always follow me around. And somehow the idea of getting away from it and living adventurously in a land far away is so much more appealing.
And besides, you can get so used to living up to so much expectation and pressure to make it big, that the concept of simple living is like paradise. You know, just earning enough to have food to eat, clothes on your back, and to enjoy the simplicities in life. That’s not to say that I don’t aspire for big and grand things. It’s just that here in the Philippines, you can’t expect that. One must work twice (or even thrice) as hard to even have something on the table. Again, that brings me to the making-taxes-work-for-you point.
So. I’m going blind into the future, not knowing what God holds in it for me, but still sure that it’s going to be better than what I can manage. What else can I do right? I may be able to live comfortably here and provide for myself and my family. But I guess I just need a change.
Anyway. Downloading forms. Taking assessment tests. Check, check. Now to fill up the forms and send them away.
- Mia put on her shorts/pants/undies by herself once or twice. What a proud mom I am. Now if only she would stop removing her shirt when she sees dancing girls on tv.
- Sometimes what you think are ghosts from your past could still be very much alive. The problem is, it’s quite hard to distinguish whether you want them haunting you or not.
- Mia can count 1 thru 10! She keeps missing 5 and 6 but hey, if she got everything perfect all the time then I really wouldn’t have much to do.
- Working to live. Living to work. When you start wishing time would stop so that you can work more, it’s not good. But I wonder if i’m gonna get a raise this year?
- That little dream of becoming a pro photographer is fading fast quickly. sigh.
- Mia is playing with her V-Tech laptop from her ninong Joel. I wonder if she’ll
get the same British accent? 
- I’m missing my friends. All work and no play. *pout* I just wish some of them would get married already. Para makaabay na din si Mia. 
- To go or not to go. That is the question. Unfortunately I only have 6 days left to come up with an answer.
- 2009 will be my year. Anytime now. Anytime…
- To write and to shoot. And get paid ridiculously high fees for it. That is my dream job.
- Getting unexpected hugs and kisses from that little person who calls you mommy is bestest feeling in the whole world.
…world!
For the first time in 4 months, nakaramdam din ako ng pagod.
Hope this isn’t leading to burn-out. Tsk. I’m leaving for Davao (Pearl Farm on the side, ahem) and I’m supposed to be excited right?
If only some people would actually do their jobs right! *hay*
So, goodnight.
I’m just about ready tp plop down a comfy bed, curl up with a book, and have a good night’s rest. In the history of my happy-go-lucky, nothing-ever-fazes-me life, this is the first time I’ve been unbelievably busy. Organizing a party and looking for party rentals would’ve been easier. (Did you know that those dancing and floating men you commonly see at large events were called air tubes?) Work had been a wild but fun ride, save for a few people who just live for the reason of making your life more difficult. And yeah, I did have to look for air tubes and choose between them dancing men and giant inflatable party rentals. I mean who will want flying air tubes when there are water slide party rentals available? It’ll be great, except that I wasn’t planning Mia’s 2nd birthday party, but for clients’ store openings. Or, I could set up an entire theater experience, all in the convenience of renting it out courtesy of this company. That would surely make it a memorable opening day, and with our brands the highlight of the day. That’ll be the day. If I still had the job. Hehe.
I’m an escapist by nature. A beach getaway would be more appealing to me than facing all the pressures of work and life, even for just a little while. Like today for example, when it’s the beginning of the month and it’s supposed to be pressure-free because, hey, it is the beginning of the month. Crunch time is supposed to be during end of monthly cycles and everyone is at nerves’ ends trying to meet sales quotas and requirements. Not now. But as it is, my life is run by meetings and fieldworks and endless troubleshooting. Why am I having a phone call from the office at this hour (10:22p.m.) then? My home is my sanctuary and I purposely do not bring any work at home (unless it’s an absolutely life-or-death kind of reason). But today was an exception, and I was hoping to finish everything business related by 7p.m., which I was able to. Except this darn phone call. Come on. This is one of those times I would readily look for Costa Rica vacation packages or wherever, and book the next available flight out. I wonder if travel experts have a certain kind of travel cruise for stressed out working professionals like me looking for a quick escape. That Hippo river cruise now sounds like paradise to me right now.
Mahirap na, kung itong kombinasyong ito ang pinag-uusapan. Lalo kung magsisimula ka ng ala-una ng hapon hanggang alas-dos ng madaling araw. Walang tulugan, maliban nalang kung naunahan ka ng kuhanin ng lupang kinatatayuan mo. Kuha sa Batanggas, 3 taon na ang nakakaraan.
At dahil walang tulog at basag pagkagising, bangga ang inabot. *baw*
Hindi na naulit yan.
Tags: beerWARNING: loads of angst up ahead.
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i think my N70 is giving up on me. pictures taken last weekend with it are disappointingly unpleasing to the eyes, to say the least.
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i think that one enervon pill this morning has something to do with me still being up despite the loooong day. i desperately need the sleep. and that one freakin’ phone call. just one.
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how long does it take for an average person to compose a 25-character SMS and send it to a recently used number? less than 2 minutes. for certain people, it’s virtually impossible.
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how many untruths can one person convince himself with in a lifetime?
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i need a new phone. an N-series, if you will. time to throw out my pretty unimpressive 6070. and i have two of them. akkkh.
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how hard is it to negotiate with a buyer, manage your accounts, visit your branches, and all with just less than 50 SKUs in your portfolio!?
i can do it with my eyes closed. some people on the other hand, need all hands, feet, and extra alien limbs to do it. come on.
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and you, alligator guy, cut the crap and do something!
I feel like donning a backpack, putting on hiking boots, and staring out at the horizon to start my quest again to find my personal legend. That would’ve been possible, except that the backpack has to be LV or something stylishly leather-ish, the hiking boots should have at least 3-inch heels, and the horizon roughly covers the Makati skyline.
About a few weeks ago, in reference to Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist (don’t mistake me for a fan though), I feel like the shepherd boy (or girl) who’s relaxed in the fields, tending to my sheep and knowing that I could do this even if with eyes closed. It had been my comfort zone. Five years is a long time to stay put in one place.
Finally, the urge to get up and move the sheep to another grazing ground came again, after a year’s remission; this time the sheep are no longer permitted to come along. I’ve stayed in a crystal shop, and much to my surprise, I did not flourish there. I just felt I was destined for something else. Hence the LV backpack and the 3-inch heels.
But this quest may be anything but a walk in the park. I am soon beginning to realize that I am not free yet from proving my powers to make the wind do as I say. There will be many times that it may fail me, but that’s something God may deem it is in His discretion to let happen. For now, I will let the desert sun do its thing, the sand dunes shift however it likes, and the caravans to go wherever it pleases. Because pretty soon, they will find themselves obeying their new master — in leather boots and crisp jacket.
Tags: paolo coelho, personal legendCatch Veet at the following malls:
or visit www.VEET.com.ph for more!
in the next couple of weeks my life is about to change. not to be too melodramatic about it, but it really is a big deal for me. i can’t explain the jitters or the butterflies in my stomach that this big change is giving me. but i am trying to be as nonchalant about it as much as possible, as if it were meant to happen anyway. you know, sooner or later.
it shouldn’t be so hard, leaving your comfort zone right? at least that’s what i tell myself and at least i’ve proven it before. i once stood at a bus stop along a major highway, with nothing more but my back pack and a lot of guts. i lived and breathed in a town that i didn’t know existed until my work took me there. and i conquered disappointing loves, and really stubborn ones too.
and that’s not all. i’ve had so many challenges and learnings, i’ve lost count; and i’ve collided with so many walls, at first i wasn’t sure if i would ever be put back together again. but here i am, living to tell an adventure of a lifetime.
thinking about everything i’ve gone through makes the challenge now so harmless. thinking about it makes me feel nostalgic and sentimental. but even more so, thinking about it reminds me that in every little thing, there’s always a bigger purpose.
i may have been as stubborn as a 2-year old learning to say “No” for the first time, but ever so persistently, He reminds me that there’s always a better way. that my way isn’t always the best one. i’ve tried to be profound and all that, but nothing beats the things you get for letting stupidity ruin parts of your life.
and this is the best part about being human. you live, you learn. you breathe, you learn, you cry, you learn. you love, you learn.
It was good while it lasted. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me, and I’m sure the feeling is mutual. Things were great for a while and you offered me a life of excitement at some point. But we both know it won’t last forever. Relationships like this, especially for a young person like me, aren’t meant to endure forever. 5 years maybe at the most. Well for us, it was a 4-year-and-9-month itch that was waiting to be scratched.
(photo by iris; taken at pagudpud, 2006)
So I’m letting go, for both our sakes. More »
field work today, and tomorrow. hay. but i’m not complaining. this is what i love doing. being out of the office. it’s just that it’s making me miss my previous job. hay.
i love my trusty Nike shoes. when i wear them, i can go on walking all day. no wonder i’m a sucker for rubber shoes especially Nike. yeah, i love Nike. take this survey with me! it’s quick and painless, i promise.
i wonder which Nike shoes i’ll be wearing tomorrow. see you on friday.
pahabol: mia is officially taking more than 2 steps by her self now. konti nalang!
