The Three-Minute Management Course

Thanks to Maita--who believes in these adages as much as I do (we're such peas in a pod, I feel so sorry for her LOL)--for forwarding this email to my inbox. Now, it's time to share...to make my Momma proud. ;-)

Lesson 1

A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs.

When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor. Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800.00 to drop that towel." After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800.00 and leaves..

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs.. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?"

"It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies.

"Great!" the husband says, "Did he say anything about the $800.00 he owes me?"

Moral of the story: If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2

A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.

The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest removed his hand.

But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak." Arriving at the convent, the nun went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story: If you are not well informed in your job, you might miss a great opportunity

Lesson 3

A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world."

Puff! She's gone.

"Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Piña Coladas and the love of my life."

Puff! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two clowns back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story: Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4

An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I
also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered: "Sure, why not." So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story: To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5

A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch. Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree.

He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story: Bullshit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson 6

A little bird was flying south for the winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying t here, a cow came by and dropped some dung on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Moral of the story:
1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy
2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend
3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!


This concludes the 3-minute management course. Wahehehehe

Why So Serious?

If by now, you still haven't watched The Dark Knight, go hit your Shutdown button and run to the theaters. Like right now. Go!

It's nothing like you've ever seen before. Trust me. But then again, this coming from someone who actually sang along a la karaoke night with the entire cast of Mamma Mia!, you would probably snigger in my face saying, "moron". So don't take my word for it. From an online source, apparently, The Dark Knight took in a record $155.34 million in its first weekend. And that's not just because of the apparent Harry Potterish hype, but because of its totally staggering impact on the viewers--it leaves you staggering from the theater, stunned by its scope and complexity.

One would recall Batman Begins as a relatively just OK prequel-installment to the Batman series...so having watched The Dark Knight, it made me think that it unquestionably provided redemption to its progenitor. It had a haunting quality in it that would make even non-comic book junkies hooked on it lock-stock-and-barrel: sitting through more than 150 minutes of the movie takes you flipping through the pages of the comic-book-turned-movie...from The Joker's heist to The Cape Crusader's going forth into the pitch black that is Gotham City.

The set and design were completely apt. Location for Gotham City--shot almost entirely in Chicago--gave the feel of being surreal: like a tween between (ahehehe...sorry, redundant) a fictional city and real people's premises. Everything was in place: the whimsical buildings, breathtaking aerial shots from hundreds of feet above the ground in Hong Kong's Kowloon District, the almost bare but light-flooded workshop, the immaculate bachelor's pad bedroom with all glass windows, and the sonar-spying videowall. The costumes were of different species--dapper, chic, ergonomic, ingenious, sinister and even sexy. The vehicles used were just over-the-top: from the luxury sports car to the heavily armored and wired Batmobile, every man in the cinema would simultaneously pee and cum in his pants--it's every little big boy's toy.

And the acting. Oh my God. The acting. You can most definitely feel the intensity of every single character's emotions--from the anxiety to the anguish to the glee to the fear to the despair...no amount of emotion was wasted. Outstanding emotionally-packed sequences were: Harvey Denton's anguish over the death of Rachel Dawes; James Gordon's wife's discovery of his faked death; Lucius Fox's nonchalance over an employee's blackmail attempt to whistleblow Batman's identity; and of course the entire cast of passengers in both boats in deciding which boat to blow up to save themselves.

Christian Bale looked more, uhm, confident this time--that is, compared to Batman Begins. I wonder if that has got to do with his more sophisticated, more improved Batsuit...but you can really tell, he's literally slid into the role more comfortably this time around.

Aaron Eckart, in my opinion was just underutilized. He was a betwixt and between good portrayer of the Morally Upright Man role. In the movie, he only scintillated right when he snapped and crossed the line between good and evil--in the persona of Two-Face. I just wish his good-gone-wrong role was stretched longer than what actually was in the movie.

Michael Caine still excelled as the faggish, unequivocal butler. Although his lines were written by a bunch of quick-witted scriptwriters, he claimed ownership for every one, especially the innuendos, candid remarks, and the occasional sarcasms.

But the movie's focal point character, in my mind--as well as a league of others, I would suppose--was Heath Ledger. I found myself comparing his performance with Jack Nicholson's in the 1989 Batman...but realized that it'll be like comparing apples to lemons. The way he reinvented The Joker was quite unexpected. His mannerisms and gesticulations seemed legit, i.e. worked seamlessly into the psychopathic persona of the character. The way he'd peer at you from his maniacal eyes, his throaty sinister voice, and his mercurial shift from being somber to excessively gleeful, were surprises you wouldn't expect from a very young, supposedly novice actor. Heath was such a waste of tremendous talent. His untimely death was such a sad, sad joke of life...even less funny than his spoof of Jerry Maguire's "You complete me".

The Dark Knight isn't probably something I would watch more than twice like I did the others. Or at least not immediately after the first or second...for it was heavy and dark as (k)night. But it was really worth the ride in the back seat of the Batcycle looking at Gotham's story in a little under three hours. True enough, Batman's the hero that Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now ... and so Gotham will hunt him ... because he can take it ... because he's not a hero... he's a silent guardian, a watchful protector... a Dark Knight.

Halle-halle-halle-hollliiiiiiiiiday!

It's almost the last quarter of the year, and still lots of peeps are mystified about the actual holidays--what with the papalit-palit, palipat-lipat holidays courtesy of the bantam president. (Read: kumusta naman daw ang KMU na montik nang maging KMD dahil Mayo Dos dapat ise-celebrate ang Labor Day?!!)

With that said, ayan. Magtigil na sa pagse-speculate. Here's the official proclamation from Malacañang on the holidays of 2008. O, plano na ng mga bakashyooooooooon!

MALACAÑANG PALACE
MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 1463

DECLARING THE REGULAR HOLIDAYS AND SPECIAL (NON-WORKING) DAYS FOR THE YEAR 2008

WHEREAS, Republic Act No. 9492 (“R.A. No. 9492”) dated July 24, 2007, entitled “An Act Rationalizing the Celebration of National Holidays Amending for the Purpose Section 26, Chapter 7, Book 1 of Executive Order No. 292, as amended, otherwise known as The Administrative Code of 1987”, was issued to declare certain specific days (specific or movable) as special or regular holidays;

WHEREAS, R.A. 9492 provides that holidays, except those which are religious in nature, are moved to the nearest Monday unless otherwise modified by law, order or proclamation;

WHEREAS, May 1 (Labor Day) has been a long cherished tradition of workers, a holiday which trade unions fought very hard to institutionalize in the country and an international event that the workers want to celebrate on its exact date;

WHEREAS, in order to enable our countrymen to have a more meaningful observance of Christmas and New Year, to strengthen their ties with one another, it is fitting to declare December 26, 2008 (Friday) and December 29, 2008 (Monday) as additional special (non-working) days throughout the country;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SECTION I. The following regular holidays and special days for the year 2008 shall be observed in the country:

A. Regular Holidays

Maundy Thursday - March 20 (Thursday)
Good Friday - March 21 (Friday)
Araw ng Kagitingan - April 7 (Monday), Monday nearest April 9
Labor Day - May 1 (Thursday)
Independence Day - June 9 (Monday), Monday nearest June 12
National Heroes Day - August 25 (Monday), Last Monday of August
Bonifacio Day - December 1 (Monday), Monday nearest November 30
Christmas Day - December 25 (Thursday)
Rizal Day - December 30 (Tuesday)

B. Special (non-working) Holidays

Ninoy Aquino Day - August 18 (Monday), Monday nearest August 21
All Saints Day - November 1 (Saturday)
Additional special (non-working) day - December 26 (Friday)
Additional special (non-working) day - December 29 (Monday)
Last Day of the Year - December 31 (Wednesday)

SECTION 2. The Proclamation declaring a national holiday for the observance of Eidul Fitr shall hereafter be issued after the approximate date of the Islamic holiday has been determined in accordance with Islamic calendar (Hijra) or the lunar calendar, or upon Islamic astronomical calculations, whichever is possible or convenient. To this end, the Office on Muslim Affairs shall inform the Office of the President on which day the holiday shall fall.

SECTION 3. The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall promulgate the implementing guidelines for this Proclamation.

SECTION 4. This Proclamation shall take effect immediately.

SECTION 5. This Proclamation shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done in the City of Manila this 18th day of February, in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Eight.

By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA
Executive Secretary

UP Naming Mahal

This article about the Peyups psyche isn't mine...I wish I actually wrote it, though! Janice (fellow Iskö and Public Ad alumni) forwarded it via Gmail and I thought it was a worthwhile long-read. This was written by Maya Baltazar Herrera for The Manila Standard and first published in 6 June, 2008. I am posting it here without permission. Don't sue me. ;-)

There are no children here

This week, I went to a meeting at the UP School of Economics and I came away with renewed belief in the value of the UP experience.

If you speak to anyone from UP – student, professor, and alumnus - you will get no Latin slogans or apologies about how the school teaches values in spite of its outward materialism. This is not a student population that thinks about basketball games or memorizes school songs. This is not a school that chooses one statement to drill into the minds of its students.

This is not, of course, to say that UP does not care about values. It is that UP, in its own inimitable way, believes that values cannot be force-fed. The statue of the naked man that guards the entrance to the campus in Diliman best represents UP's approach to all education and the respect for students that is the center of its educational philosophy. All who come to this university, regardless of origin, bring themselves naked, carrying nothing but their thirst; like the proverbial empty teacup, making an offering of self, waiting to be filled.

*Adults*

For many students from private schools, the first lesson that is learned here is that this is a school for adult education. There are no children here, and that is why no parents are allowed either at freshman orientation or during enlistment.

The spirit of the oblation lies not in a mother or a father offering up his child to the world, it is that of the newly adult, freely offering of his self.

I remember quite vividly that moment that drove home how different the UP education continues to be. It was my daughter's first semester in university and she had invited a group of her high school friends to our house. One of them asked a classmate whether she had gotten her parents’ permission form approved for that weekend's outreach activity. From the UP population around the table came the mock horrified responses of: "Permission? " and "Outreach?"

I thought about it and realized that all of these students were, in fact, legally adults. I thought it interesting that only the UP students appeared to appreciate this fact.

Even more interesting was the "outreach" comment. I think back to my own university years and the last three years that my daughter has been in UP and am certain there is no lack of civic activity. There are medical missions, house building projects, tree planting, community work and barrio work and so on. I realize now that the reaction was not to the activity as much as it was to the use of the word.

One of the most important differences of the UP campus from all the other campuses my children considered going to is that this campus has no walls. Many parents fear this. They are afraid their precious children will not be protected from the ills of society in a campus that is so open to the rest of the world.

But UP is open to the world in more ways than just not having the physical walls.

*Community *

Being in UP means much more than being a student. This campus is enmeshed in a community. This community is made up not only of the transient population of students who go home each night. It includes the many, many students who lay their heads on dorm pillows each night, enduring time away from families in the firm belief that this campus will bring them closer to their dreams. This community includes the families of faculty and employees who live on campus. It also includes the many people who work not for the University, but nevertheless work on campus. This community includes the lady who remembers the brand of cigarette you smoke and automatically hands it to you in the morning. It includes the gentleman who remembers you like pepper on your egg sandwich or the one who knows you will dip your fish balls into two of his sauces, who patiently waits for you to eat your three sticks before being paid. It includes the woman who saw all her children through college by selling peanuts every day on campus.

To a UP student, the daily heartbeat of the school is never far away from the realities of the country. The word outreach suggests that civic activity is something outside of the normal, something you do once in a while. It must be immensely difficult to think of community as a thing apart when your campus experience brings you face to face with all of the world's realities every day.

*Character*

All of this probably explains that unmistakable sense of self that you will find from students who come from this campus.

Here is a campus where all have the same opportunities to learn. But, also, here is a campus that will give all the same opportunities to fail. There are no guidance counselors who will chase after you because you have been skipping classes. The attitude this university takes is that you must take the initiative – for learning, for seeking help, for realizing you need help.

That is not to say that no help exists. But it is help that is not forced upon you.

This is a university rich in both introspection and conversation. On this campus, the student is constantly exposed to people – faculty, administrators, community members, other students – who care deeply and passionately about the world. The conversations are almost never purely cerebral. A single graph can provoke comments about government policy and its effects on people.

As a result, UP is home to a student population that looks at the world and cares. It is easy to see pictures of protesting students and dismiss it as radicalism. But there are few campuses in this country where students go beyond a passing curiosity about what is happening in the world beyond their own lives. There are even fewer universities where students not only care but also actually believe they have a responsibility to make a difference – not in some hazy future – today.

And that, I believe, is what truly forges character. Character is not molded by speeches or long classes in ethics or theology. Character grows from within. It begins by being handed the keys to your own self and being told you are in charge; you now have power over yourself and your own actions – and with that power, you take on responsibilities.

Each student in this university goes through his own unique voyage of discovery. On his voyage, as he decides what he cares about, what he will fight for and what he will sacrifice, he crafts his own personal values.

That is what education is truly about.

Glam Boy

Ever since the Sinecod Forte TVC aired on national television, my identity has been synonymous with the image of "the coughing guy in the cinema". Comments like "Ayyyyy, ikaw yong umuubo!", "Anggaling mo naman umubo", or a simple irksome, "Ubo-ubo-ubo!" are but normal remarks that I would get on a day-to-day basis...especially now, that it airs like crazy, thanks to the rainy season. It's funny, but after the initial kilig of having a full-length, full-blown exposure (following my 1-, 2-second cameos in Frutos, Motilium and even DoH and Sun Cellular), it slowly ceased to be amusing. 

I was a guest lecturer/facilitator in Cebu last June for the general orientation for agency leaders (GOAL) of my company. This was attended by unit managers and some financial advisers from the Visayas-Mindanao cluster. As I'm co-heading corporate training with Maita, we don't usually have training involvement with the agency force...which explains the mention of the title "guest lecturer/facilitator" earlier. 

After a lengthy session opener/getting-to-know-you activity facilitated by the in-house agency force sales training manager, it was finally my portion's schedule. So I got my Bluetooth clicker ready, I straightened out the creases of my pants and shirt, and then stood up at the back, while waiting for my formal introduction to the participants. I was expecting to hear a spiel about me being the corporate training manager in head office, being "imported" to assist the sales training team to do this particular new employees orientation, that it was supposedly an honor to blahblahblah...heard those before. So when Jenny started deflecting from the "official" spiel after the "We're honored to be joined here by..." portion, i froze in my corner. She continued by saying, "...a very familiar face, someone you would've definitely seen on your television sets. He is a very popular commercial model, and you will remember him from his latest commercial which he will tell you of and show you later. Ladies and gentlemen, isang masigabong palakpakan para kay Ben Redulla".  Believe you me, I was beet red and was literally shaking as I laughed and shook my head as I walked my way towards the front of the class.  

That was almost exactly the same scenario when i recently attended a friend's friend's birthday party in Ayala-Alabang. Being the gracious host that he supposedly was, he would introduce whoever arrives in his townhouse to every single one of his guests. He would introduce the guests "normally", i.e. by their names...but whenever he reaches me, he'd always say, "This is Ben Redulla, commercial model sya". Imagine me turning beet red. All over again...and repeatedly mumbling, "Anobah! May ganon talaga?!"

Being a commercial model--ahem, I still half-choke regarding myself as that--isn't exactly the glamorous job everybody thinks it is. A whole lot of my gang, officemates, and mom's kumares would tell me how my life is so dazzling, so kainggit, and so bongga--and then follows it up with statements like, "Oy, isama mo naman ako sa mga projects mo"...or a variation like "Uy, yung anak/apo/pamangkin ko naman, ipa-owdishyon mo rin". 

What they don't know is that modeling isn't exactly a glamorous job. All they see is the finished product--where we're all made up, wearing nice costumes, and with perfect lightings, blockings and editing. What they don't see is the ordeal of having to scrimmage against legions of co-model-wannabes in the DIScomfort of the audition/VTR/casting venues. The long lines, the sitting on the floor, the uncalculable cab fares to and from the venues, skipping meals, occasional pagtakas from the office, the spun out wait for your turn to do a 5-minute VTR (only to be told later that the person they're hiring is a known celebrity...blech!), the mortifying requirements for the audition such as taking off your shirt or doing a macho dancing routine...or both, the early-morning call times that don't start until after six hours of waiting, the countless takes especially when the director is such an exacting power-hungry prick, the countless resetting of workshop/fitting/shoot scheduels, and the exhausting takes. And, oh, let's not forget the harrowing wait for the talent fee to be released...which really takes the cake in the worst thing about it. Because, ladies and gentlemen, we almost never get paid immediately after the shoot. That will be like one in two million chances.

Don't get me wrong, I love the attention (hahahaha), the recognition, the moolah, and the self-esteem boost that goes with it. But, hey, I'm not exactly absorbing yet the designation "Ben the Commercial Model". That's so tongue-in-cheek. Just remember...don't be fooled by the rocks that I got, I'm still, I'm still Benny from the Block.....BWAHAHAHAHAHA.

Ayyyy, Mamma!

This movie by writer Johnson and director Lloyd (both are women, ahem) is utterly kitschy, superfluously song-and-dance-y, ultra-cheesy, unquestionably clichéd, and almost a wee bit predictable.

I LOVE IT.

I was approaching my 450th calorie count on the Elliptical when the sloth bug bit me hard in the arse. It hit me: after a long harrowing day spattered with three resignations in the office, I totally deserved something more enjoyable than two hours of running, huffing-and-puffing, cycling, weight-lifting and stretching. On 448.6 calories, my fingers started hysterically typing away on my phone, ransacking the contacts list on which ones would want to catch a movie--either Hancock (whose lifespan in the cinemas is about to expire) or Mamma Mia! By 473.4 calories, I have gotten my sixth declination. I figured I could only take so much rejection, so I haphazardly pounded on the Reset button of the damned machine and headed to the locker. Just as I was entering, my buddy Jao came popping out of one of the doors. I asked him if he fancied a movie over the crazy heat at the gym--seeing that he was just about ready to start his workout. Luck was on my side. He was keen on getting a Get Out of Jail card himself. So we hit the shower and got the hell out of the gym and headed to the cinemas.

After withstanding the absurdly long queues at both the box office and the takeout counter of Burger King, we finally got inside the cinema, missing the first 5 minutes or so. Honey, Honey was already playing--apparently Sophie's already gotten hold of her mother Donna's diary and had shared it with her girlfriends already. Nothing major missed out anyhow.

Mamma Mia!, to the completely clueless, is originally a musical based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. Having said that, need I say more about the references to age, and era? Uh-uh. You shut your mouth or I'll tell you where to put it!

The movie version was pretty loyal to the musical, I must say, considering all the theatrical and stage limitations. Veterans Meryl Streep, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, and Julie Walters gave totally stellar performances--and mind you, the singing and dancing weren't exactly mediocre. You would expect something Dolphy-ish or Tito Vic and Joey-ish from these otherwise po-faced icons in the movie industry, but you'd be so astounded by their vocal prowess and terpsichorean abilities as they literally let their hairs down...and get donned in spandex and besequinned outfits.

The songs, aside from being almost seemlessly woven into the storyline, were nostalgic of a glorious age otherwise known as youth...and a whole bunch of people in the cinema were actually heard mumbling and singing along to Dancing Queen, Voulez-vous, SOS, The Winner Takes it All, and Money Money Money, among others.

The set was perfect. The rustic Greek locale where it was shot in its entirety oozed of beauty, tranquility, simplicity and unpretentiousness. The costumes--and even the lack of it on a lot of scenes--fit everyone very well...and I wasn't referring to how it drops on their shoulders like they were mannequins, but how it was effortless for everyone wearing their characters. The lighting, the decorations, the paints used, the rocks...hell, everything on the set was just facile. Just wait for the final scene where Sky and Sophia leave in a motorized boat to the tune of I Have a Dream, and tell me if it does not take your breath away with its sheer celestial aura.

Will I recommend this movie to people? Hell, yes...whether you grew listening to ABBA songs or its remakes, or you just want to see newcomer Amanda Seyfried (amazing voice) or hunk Dominic Cooper (hate him and his V-cuts and absence of fat albeit being already thirty years old). I must tell you, Meryl Streep's splits in mid-air, or Pierce Brosnan's belting SOS, or the breath-taking scenery alone should at least entice you to watch it on the big screen. Oh, yes. If you must insist on getting it on those damned pirated DVDs, at least watch it on a 42-inch flat screen TV with matching stereo surround and major subwoofers. It's well-worth it.

Now, imagine the Philippines making more movies like this instead of artificial comedies with grudgingly corny and cheesy musical song and dance numbers for fillers, and having veteran (and up-and-coming) actors who could really sing and dance (uhm...talent?).................[end of dream sequence]

Bahay-Kubo

A couple of days before my birthday, I was feeling rather shitty and felt like wading in my own vomit of self-pity. You, of course, would remember that from my Pooping In My Pants Yet Again blog entry about a month ago.

By the week before my big day, I was totally a mess. At some point (that was before the Vietnam trip--which all turned out well and great...details of that later, lest I'd jinx the goodies! Yay!), I found myself practically hysterical over being a complete worthless piece of work. I was crying at one point--thinking to myself, "Damn. I'm 32. Unlike my classmates in college and colleagues at work, I don't have my own car, my own house, and not even a Goddamned huge paycheck."

Under normal circumstances or time frames, I would never have compared myself with anyone, let alone feel envious of their good fortune or wallow in self-pity. But these days, out of all 365 freaking days of the year, were my PDDs ("Pre-Birthday Depression Days")...and on every single one of those freaking dayS of the year, I'd allow myself some time to whack myself in the head and entertain self-defamation of character. At that time, I came to realize that, at my age, all I have are a freaking laptop, an iPod, a refrigerator, and a microwave oven. At a certain point in the future, I would literally be the homeless guy with just an iPod.

The idea of me being thrown out of my leased 3-bedroom condo if it got sold (which, by the way, has been for sale in the market since 2003--no takers), and not finding a similarly-cozy new condo scared me shitless. That got me jumpstarted and started crunching numbers. I am buying my own goddamned condo.

Yeah. Sure, the four-bedroom house in Bataan will be mine eventually. I've already made some improvements in the structure and construction, yeah. But...but...I want something I could call my own. Something I purchased with my own money--from my freaking blood, sweat and tears. And not something I will inherit from my mother. Don't get me wrong...I ain't gonna complain or even decline the estate! But..but...ahhh, heck. You know what it's like. Or do you?

So, now, I've been going to showrooms, and meeting with agents, brokers, and financers (uhm...5/6???). Been collecting and collating flyers, proposals, and financing computations. So far, I've seen Belton Place, Senta, Avida West, and later today, I'm heading to Eton Parkview. I have my eyes set on either a combination one bedroom plus studio, or a standard two-bedroom, or that one-bedroom loft unit overlooking the Makati CBD. Turn-overs on 2011. Hmmm...that ain't too long a wait. I should be able to finish financing by turn-over! =)

See you at the house-warming! ;-)

Anaknaaaaaaaaaaaang!

I was Friendstering a while back in Bataan--up in my room, where there's no Wi-Fi or DSL or even dial-up, so I was using my Globe GPRS connection (tama yan, magsayang ka ng pera) when I stumbled upon this profile from one of my network's network:

Yes, ladies and gentleboys. I was staring at myself...but with a different name and a different location (apparently, the MiddlefuckingEast). I messaged the poor guy, saying "Dude, I am flattered that you would actually use my photo as your own--it's beyond complimenting me. But...may higanteng kulugo ka ba sa mukha at ayaw mo gamitin ang sarili mong picture?"

WTF???! I had to choke off the Cherie Gil exclamation ("You're nothing but a second-rate......"), but, really...what's up with that?

Now, what I need to know is did this Francis Ocampo dude actually scored with the chicks (or the Arab dudes) using my pic...! I should SO totally demand royalty fees.