Habang May QC May Pag-asa

Alam ko na kung bakit ganoon na lang kabigat ang dating sa akin ng mga unos sa buhay ko dito sa Singapore. Dati-rati kasi, no mattter how deep I was in whatever shit (disgusting Tagalog translation: lubog sa tae ng kung anu-ano at ng kung sinu-sino), I find solace and serenity in knowing that these are just ephemeral. Sinasabi ko na lang sa sarili ko na bukas makalawa nasa Pinas na naman ako.

That was 9 years ago! Heto ako ngayon, in the same shit I was, whining every second of my waking hour or rather working hour. Classic burn out lang siguro. Naghahanap-hanap na nga ako ng malilipatan. Hopefully by next year bago na ang work environment ko.

Hope buoys us through life, and recent series of events sa Pinas tells me that my hopes are dashed. Hindi uubrang bumalik ako ng Pinas (for good) in the next 5 years or so. In the best interest pa rin na pamilya ko na mamalagi kami rito.

Chill Out

Taken few minutes before our roll in the hay. Me holding the local beer, tiger, on my right, while my all-time favorite GRO, Sallie, snugly wrapped around my left. It's a little bit late, so it's just the two of us and it's drizzling outside. It's so quiet, we can almost hear our heartbeat. Hmmmn.. Feeling a bit tipsy, I'm officially declaring it a weekend, a badly needed relief from this turbulent week.

I was practically tossed and turned the whole week, everyone seems to be a f*^cking as%h@!e . Okay not all of them, just a few who really stink in time of crises. I pride myself as a resilient person, I'll be fine.

My wife was retrenched. Yehey! I'm actually happy for her, although I know that it hurts somehow, she is waiting for this day to arrive: walking away from her stinking company and get compensated in the process. I may seem to be biased, but with her competence, she really deserves a better place.

We are extending our Pinas holiday to one month as she no longer in conflict with her work sked, obviously.

Cheers!

WE GOT NO MONEY MAMA BUT WE CAN GO

Tuloy na tuloy na ang uwi namin sa Pinas. Excited na pati ang mga bata. Kinuha ko na kanina yung ticket namin, obvious ba yung picture sa kaliwa?

Three weeks kaming mamalagi sa pinakamamahal kong bansa. With all it's imperfections, I can honestly say that I'm looking forward to this trip. I will get to see Nanay and the rest of the gang. Di nga lang kami aabot ng Pasko because of work conflict.

It's a Dog's Day

I'm not so sober as I'm blogging this, so pardon me if things seem incoherent. I bought couple of booze on my home with the intent of washing away this inauspicious day. Things got worse as the days wears off so a tranquilizer is a much welcome relief.

Eight years ago, this kind of stress build up would merit few sticks of marlboro red--and of course the booze. But that was my previous life, I called it quits after 12 years of puffing that cancer inducer. I'm now finding solace in the presence of my rowdy kids and my loving wife--and of course a little booze. A passionate lovemaking would surely drown out whatever's left of the crap that I'm feeling right now.

Day started as anxious as can be: missed the lift, annoyed by the wave of traffic red lights, missed the company bus, petc. It was worse at work. Although I expected this day to be really a struggle, I never expected my invertebrate boss to add up to the confusion by suggesting a rather distorted priorites.

Damn!

I stayed back to argue, yes, argue and I won't be using that politically correct word discuss to describe my encounter with that moron production supervisor. Maybe we bicker more, with me dominating the arena. This is not the first time he was hard on my engineering operator, and I won't let him get away without a good tounge-lashing. He wants to play hardball, so be it. So much for the niceties, welcome Mr. Hyde!

You see I have people (engineering operators) under my wings who work 24/7. One of them (btw, all of them are girls) was complaining about the constant bullying of this moron who is somehow adding bureaucratic red tape to all the things that my EO is doing. I told him that if that is really his stand (btw, this moron is a singaporean--most of them are), at least have the balls to declare it so it can be deliberated on.

You cannot get something by putting someone into defensive, that's just what I did.

with kupal's (just give the guy any name) insistence, you are not, under any circumstances, allowed to directly approach any personnel from their department for any assistance without informing him. Please adhere strictly.

That was the extract of my email and I put my boss and his on the copy list to maximize the effect. I know it will trigger a chain reaction, which what I wanted. I'm pissed, better get everybody on the same boat and have the same sinking feeling.

Tomorrow is another day....

Kurang Nasi

--or less rice sa English...

See the similarities sa Tagalog at Malay? Kurang, parang kulang.

'Yan ang dapat mong sasabihin tuwing oorder ka ng makan (food) sa Malay food stalls dito sa Singapore kung medyo conscious ka sa calorie intake mo. Sandamakmak sila kung maglagay ng kanin, hindi dahil sa mukhang construction worker ka o masiba, ganoon kasi silang kumain kay ang assumption nila, ganoon ka rin.

Mas madalas na Malay food ang kinakain ko, hindi dahil sa converted na ako, mas malasa lang kasi ang timpla nila. Mahilig din silang mag-gata na akmang-akma sa panlasa kong Bicolano, uusok nga lang ang tumbong mo sa anghang!

Sa edad kong ito (to save you the trouble, 35 fyi) napapansin kong bumabagal na ang metabolism ko. Unless na magdadagdag ako ng exercise regime, dapat kontralado ang intake. Gaya nga ng sabi sa National Geographic, simple lang naman yan, pag kumain ka at hind mo nasunog, they will be stored as fat. Be it protein, carbo or fat.

Not that I'm thinking na magiging candidate ako sa gastric bypass, never that I know of na tumataas sa 1.o ang waist-to-hip ratio ko (ideal ballpark figure para sa male--0.9 sa bebot), iwas problema lang. Prevention is the best cure ika nga.

The Edge of Heaven

I was in nirvana yesterday, only for a moment...

Midmorning was cool, an oddity here in Singapore; the 2 boys were playing with their Yugi-Oh cards peacefully, also an oddity; Abby was in dreamland, a usual routine; the aroma of ginataang kalabasa at sitaw with alimasag, mylabsi was cooking it, seeping on every corner of the house.

There I was, a battered soul from the grinds of work and paternal responsibilities, almost at the conclusion of The Testament by John Grisham, settled at the full leather Italian couch I bought few months back. Surprisingly, I felt very light and tranquil. No aches and pain. If only I could freeze the time. What are the odds that these can happen at the same time?

Then the world came to its senses, back to its usual self.

How I wish I could have more of that moment. I heard Palawan was not in the route of typhoons from the Pacific and not even situated in any faultlines. I was thinking of getting a property there (hopefully I can afford it) to spend our golden years.

The beach is calling me every minute of my waking hours and even in my slumberworld. So once I'm done with all my responsibilities and save enough for retirement, you would definitely need to be on a chartered flight to the western side of Pinas if you want to have a chat with us. In most likelihood, you will catch us (me and my Sallie of course), cuddled at the hammock on our beach house, seeping beer or tequila and maybe a good book at hand.

Dream on...

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Find Me

The skies are not as blue, when you're not with me
The stars, they never seem to shine as bright
And the hours crack like days across the ages
And the years to pass by with every night.
It makes me know if i should ever leave this world before you do
When you follow you must promise, cross your heart and promise to

Find me...

Look hard, and don't stop, I'll be waiting 'till then
Dont sleep, and dont eat 'till I'm back, back in your arms again
I don't wanna have to spend all my forever without you.
Just knowing that you're out there somewhere too.
So darlin...please I'm begging you on bended knees...

Find me...

I've tried to tell this world how much i love you.
But they don't understand how deep it goes.
And i can't even find the words to tell you
So I'm the only one who really knows.
And though we have our times together, I am always wanting more
So if we get separated won't you do just like before and

Find me...

Look hard and don't stop, I'll be waiting 'till then
Don't sleep, and don't eat 'till I'm back, back in your arms again
Through a hundred million faces you will see me shinning through.
'Cause I'll glow when you come close , I always do.
So darlin'... please im begging you on bended knees..
We can share our love through all eternity
'Cause with you is all i ever wanna be......

Find me

Sweet Surrender

This was posted by one the members of the e-group I'm with, mostly women or to be more precise, mostly mothers, to soothe ruffled feathers. Some were making a helluva fuss with members soliciting business.

It wasn't really a big deal, at least for me, just a small price to pay for all those parenting tips and tricks that everyone shares. Of course I would also appreciate if those so called spammers, mostly parents like me who are trying to augment their income, exercise restraint.

There is just this peculiar thing about women of making a mountain out of a molehill. I should know, I married one! History also tells us that singlehandedly, they can bring down civilizations, so what do you expect by bringing together smorgasboard them?!

So much for the preliminary, let's talk about the picture above.

I was brought up believing, that it doesn't make you less of a man sharing your betterhalf's burden--which includes scrubbing the toilet bowl. Of course I do less of most household chores since my wife always take the initiative (God knows how thankful I am to this woman who wears a ring engraved with my name!), but I would lovingly pick up the task when she's under the weather, albeit seldomly, as she's certainly not a whiner.

Be forwarned though, it's a totally different ballgame with the rest of the attributes of an under-de-saya!

Kwentong Barbero

Mukhang kinakailangan ko namang bumisita sa parlor, mahaba na naman ang buhok ko. Ewan ko ba, once na mapansin kong sumayad na sa tenga , di na ako mapakali hangga't di napupungos. Hindi naman sya ganoon ka-unruly kahit na kasing kulot ng utak ko. Nakasanayan ko na lang yata talaga ang clean cut. For practical reasons, I think. In case you want to know, though I strongly doubt it, I consider myself as a practical person.

Una, matipid sa shampoo at gel. Pangalawa, madaling patuyuin. Minute precision ang preparation ko sa umaga, so, it would be a bummer drying my hair,spending precious minutes which I would rather spend tossing and turning sa pugad ng aming pagmamahal ni Sallie. Of course, pwede naman akong gumising ng maaga and enjoy a lazy start, but that's not just me. Feel ko yung adrenalin rush kapag nagmamadali sa umaga. It supplements the kick of the coffee na timpla ni kumander alibasbas. Ooops, I'm getting off tangent here. Balik sa tayo sa kulot kong buhok… Pangatlo, since maikli nga sya, no need for retouch.

Naalaa ko tuloy noon nakatira pa kami sa Manila. Sort of a friendship ritual ang pagpapagupit. Si Pareng Bong at Pareng Aljohn (sumalangit nawa ang kaluluwa nya) lang ang nag-gugupit sa akin. Usually pagkatapos mag-basketball at mananghalin kapag araw ng linggo. Kadalasan spontaneous ang datingan, nakatambay lang kami sa looban (alley), payosi-yosi habang nagkwekwentuhan ng mga walang kakwenta-kwentang bagay, and out of the blue, mapapansin kong mahaba na pala ang buhok ko.

Gupitan mo nga ako pre!

In most likelihood sinasabay namin sa inuman ang gupitan. Bili lang kami ng grande, or kung walang-wala, gin bulag. Parusa talaga kapag gin bulag ang iniinom at tubig lang ang chaser. But looking back, kahit na anong askad ng toma basta't ang kainuman mo ay kaibigan, pwede na!

THE WEAKEST LINK

Hirap talaga 'pag mahina ang amo mo, marami kang basurang ginagawa na ikaw mismo sa sarili mo ay alam mong hindi makakatulong para maresolbahan ang problema. How depressing! Okay lang sana maski medyo illogical o technically impotent sya, kaso hindi rin marunong makinig kadalasan at medyo bloated ang ego.

Tanginangyan!

Mabait naman 'tong manager kong si Y, to a fault nga lang. Sa nature ng trabaho naming ito, na sala-salabat ang functions ng bawat isa, at hindi ganoon ka-claro ang mga pinagmumulan ng mga problema, expected na ganoon ka nasty ang tulukan kapag may issue. Medyo mahina sa technical at very accomodating si Y. A sure recipe for other people to take advantage, buy some time while figuring out what to do, and yet, let you have pieces of their shit.

Hindi ka na nga mabigyan ng magandang direksyon, inuubos pa ang oras mo sa walang kakwenta-kwentang mga experiments at evaluations.

CAN U TELL ME HOW TO GET, HOW TO GET TO SESAME STREET

Google mo!

Iba na talaga ang mga bata ngayon, too much advance for their time. Siguro perception ko lang. Kaninang nakaharap sa PC si Alex, gusto n'ya raw puntahan ang Sesame Street website. Pinanood ko sila kasi kahapon ng show ni Elmo of ST sa isa sa mga mall dito, na-inspire yata. So ayun, tinuruan ko syang gumamit ng search engine.

Si Arthur naman, ang panganay ko na nasa grade 3, ginagawa n'ya yung presentation nila...sa powerpoint. Kahit na tinutuya ko sya sa format at content, I have to admit that I'm quite impressed. Mabangis na pala ang mokong. Natawa nga ako, gusto n'ya ba namang background sound yung Hey Mama ng Black Eyed Peas?! Naalala ko tuloy nang minsang nakita nya akong gumagawa ng blogs, gusto nya rin daw. Hmmmn....baka meron na sya, matanong nga.

I have this bad feeling na mababawasan ng mababawasan ang internet time ko sa bahay. Buti na lang unlimited broadband ang access namin dito sa bahay. Mas cost effective s'ya kumpara mo sa malapagong ng 56kbps.

Troubled soul...

Napansin nyo siguro na iba na naman ang skin ng blogs ko (for the umpteenth time), it's an itch I really have to scratch. And it doesn't end here! Plus, parang nagloloko pa ang hinayupak na Haloscan commenting. Sana, hindi nasayang yung mga komentaryo ng mga tropa ko sa blogging world.