M.O.B. (Memories of a Barnacle)

Honestly?  I want to flush my phone down the toilet.  Or change my number.  If I don’t receive another text message which says that the machine is (once again) inoperative, that would be too soon.  Some bizaare coincidences:

(1) 9 out of 10 instances happened during weekends.  holiday weekends included.

(2) it takes me half a quarter of the time to fix the machine than the looong commute time

(3) it goes offline just 2 - 5 hours after i left, and i get the message on my way home, traffic and all.  stuff a sock in it why don’t you.

(4) all it takes is to press one button.  well, a couple of times i had to call for backup, which again begs the question… why doesn’t it happen during weekdays, when i’m not in hibernation mode

(5) reminiscing my own experiences with offline machines - siguro napamura ng kaunti, pero lipat na rin sa susunod na malapit na machine (or sisihin ang sarili dahil d nagdala ng enough na moolah - irresponsible!).  never ako naging violent.  and promise, never akong mangingibang-bansa na hindi equipped, loaded, and ready for action.

hahaha.. of course mga fellow MBOs lang makaka-relate sa akin.

chari - out!!!

(under the category special occasions - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!)

all gimmicks should be quality gimmicks - with a handful but toptastic group of people.  a degree in chemistry might come in handy, because you have to get the right mix, decide on the right place, and start / end at the right time, to make it all worthwhile and memorable. 

And of course - Kodak-friendly!!!

Perfect example - CPK G3  with bon/pol/rosebad/moses

Watch out for our April (post-Holy Week) adventures. But sana may mas maaga.  Oh well, mas masaya naman talaga pag hindi planadong-planado, para may element of surprise.  Basta funded!  Hahaha….

just to set the record straight (as I’m unable to post a comment on Mark John’s despedida de joven blog post due to some techical difficulty - f*$&!!!*)$#)*** dialup), some minor corrections sa casualty count namin ni bon:

bon:

-PLUS 0.5 baileys vodka tube shot > the baileys half

chaw:

-PLUS 0.5 baileys vodka tube shot > the vodka half (see it’s a suspension kasi and we were able to divide the contents of the single tube left into the vodka half and the baileys half-> this was at bed space pa rin);

-PLUS 1 bottle of smirnoff ice after i decided i’m not going back to that furnace of a dance floor (maano ba namang i-full blast nila ang aircon diba). I actually wanted just another bottle of smirnoff, but paul lim said we should get something harder - and so the story of the 9 shots x 4 rounds began, and as they say, the rest was history. Initially, the first round was to be divided among paul, me and grelyn but thanks to the alcohol gods, you came to my rescue joven dahil lasang basahan (hindi putok! pero pwede rin) yung isang napunta sa akin. but to be fair, the doublemint vodka shot WAS really good.

-Here’s what you don’t know, around 4pm pa lang, had a raspberry drink spiked with rhum at fusion, upon paul aguinaldo’s recommendation. To think that I started the day at a very wholesome and sober binyagan para na rin ako’ng nanood ng gua ai di (or super noypi) –> walang connect! btw, can’t believe i really broke the water glass. did we pay for that as well?

(dear readers - for the total count, visit joven’s blog http://jovenmarkjohn.blogs.friendster.com/mark_johns_blog/2006/12/despedida_de_jo.html)

thanks for the leng leng award. it really was unexpected, i swear! and like all coveted awards, i’d like to share the honor with some people - bon, paul a, and paul l for helping me not lose my dignity in front of the guard on duty at remedios, and not leaving me for dead, basically. congrats din sa iba pang awardees (sayang d ko napanood ang winning declamation piece (pieces?) ni andrew.)

sabi nga ni paul l, at least we do despedidas with a bang. missing you already joven!

cheers!

<a href="http://www.myheritage.com" title="MyHeritage - trace your ancestors" alt="MyHeritage - trace your ancestors" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.myheritagefiles.com/H/storage/site1/files/59/27/81/592781_412983b8ecf954v852zw06.JPG" width="500" height="574" border="0" ></a>

<a href="http://www.myheritage.com" title="MyHeritage - find your celebrity doppelganger" alt="MyHeritage - find your celebrity doppelganger" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.myheritagefiles.com/H/storage/site1/files/46/30/80/463080_49070766cb7954c1urwh17.JPG" width="499" height="297" border="0" ></a>

<a href="http://www.myheritage.com" title="MyHeritage - photo albums with facial recognition" alt="MyHeritage - photo albums with facial recognition" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.myheritagefiles.com/H/storage/site1/files/46/31/32/463132_65032506eb7954o12rch17.JPG" width="499" height="297" border="0" ></a>

<a href="http://www.myheritage.com" title="MyHeritage - photo albums with facial recognition" alt="MyHeritage - photo albums with facial recognition" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.myheritagefiles.com/H/storage/site1/files/46/31/68/463168_3294167cfb7954kxafgd17.JPG" width="499" height="297" border="0" ></a>

As i inch yet another year closer to the silver marker, once again, i come to realise that there is another stage in a person’s life which may not be as trying as adolescence, or as challenging as midlife, but causes almost as much stress at that particular compressed moment in time you’re in it.  If you don’t know what I’m talking about, consider the following signs:

1.  It is when you find yourself too young to be enjoying talks of parenting, gardening or festive dinner entrees, but too old to still be raving about the latest trends in hairstyles, belts, bags, Smallville, The OC, One Tree Hill, and other what-have-yous. 

2.  It is when you find others either a bit overwhelmed or put off by your hyperactive discourse on how the numbers on the financials or the events on the dailies do not appeal to the intuition.  Finally, the things they teach you at school make sense, but others just wouldn’t be prepared, or might no longer be as interested to try them out with you. 

3.  It is when you’re neither content nor restless.  At this point, you pretty much have an idea what you want in life… Time is not your enemy, but there are lots of distractions.  Sometimes you veer away from the prize, when you give yourself small rewards (because you can!).  You have the resources to reinvent yourself, experiment a little - but all the while, subconsciously controlling your impetus to splurge and overindulge.  So you don’t enjoy yourself too much, but end up spending a lot anyway. 

4.  It is when you find yourself wanting to spend more time with your parents (which is fine with them), and your younger siblings (who may NOT like the idea so much), but at the same time, knowing that you could have spent some more time dating, exploring your prospects, because face it, you don’t want to be running after the clock when you find yourself in your midthirties and still convincing yourself that you’re enjoying your single-blessedness.

5.  Related to #4, you don’t see the merits of speed-dating, or cyber-relationships, nor do you fancy being set up by your parents, aunts, uncles or grandparents, or even neighbors, with their own searchees who are just as lucky as you in the spontaneous hooking up and settling down department. 

Then again, I could be singing a different tune tomorrow.

This is a tribute to the world’s favorite bear.  Whom I just met this weekend.  Better late than never, they say.

(So I switch.  From the usual gothic black, to this putrid shade of cheery sunshine yellow.) 

At times, we feel that there  is just NOT ENOUGH time.  Other times, we find ourselves on the other end of the spectrum, asking over and over how it is possible to have SO MUCH of it, that even if we spend half of our time, just thinking about what to do during the other half, there is just not enough to fill the seemingly endless gaps.  In between these two points, we travel a hopefully long distance of contentment.  But at each pit stop is a refueling station - and there, where and while we catch our breath, we experience plain boredom. 

Ironically, boredom is where and when it all starts from.  Most of our energy is spent breathing life to that spark that transforms static to dynamic.  That which creates something out of nothing.  The mind is most active in this state of ‘unrest’.  Because we all dream of greatness, or at least our image of it.  But dreaming, in itself, is already a curiously wonderful thing — one very few people wish to acknowledge. 

I usually have three things on my shopping list: 

(1) something that would make my brain either go numb or totally combust from too much activity

(2) something that would make the lonely grey cells up there melt and drip out from my ears

(3) some musical thing which either frustrates me or makes me happy

I got my doze this weekend.  And had a satisfying meal of seafood pasta and tender ribs.  Sweet.  Talk about little indulgences. 

A good piece of incoherence, if I do say so myself. 

And why, of all the things that could have stuck with me during the weekend, did i choose to remember the truth about what REALLY happened to Barney.

I love you, you love me,

Let’s go out and kill Barney

With a shotgun, bang bang, Barney’s on the floor

No more stupid dinosaur. 

Isa sa mga mahahalagang tanong sinasagot ko araw-araw – where to eat lunch?

Pag dating sa pagkain, may adventurous streak din ako.  Try La Caruso (or something that sounds like it) along Reposo (tax evader? Tama ba namang run up tape lng ang resibo nila, and luma na ang nakapaskil na BIR notice).  Or Krustacea sa Podium or Rockwell (na dapat you come in with empty stomach and full wallet).  Winner talaga!  As in.  Tama na ang pa-Dencio’s Dencio’s or Gerry’s Grill.  For smaller groups, try the more obscure streets of the metro, and you’ll have precious finds worth a segment hosted by one of the F ladies!

Yesterday, we decided na magpapadeliver kami sa Rufos (Makati or Pasig).  Sabi nila Ma’am, ok raw ang T-bone steak dun. It was chicken barbeque for Sherwin.  Rufos is famous for their tapa raw.  I didn’t order that though, dahil the first thing that caught my attention was the mushroom adobo.  Matagal na rin ako nagcrave for adobo.  May adobo republic sa Pasong tamo but I haven’t gotten their contact number kaya d pa kami nakahingi ng menu. So yun, mushroom adobo. 

Aba….Surprise, surprise.  Dumating na ang delivery.  After magpalabas ng cheke at mag-EasyPay, at mag disposition sa clearing (samakatuwid, alas-3 na), umakyat na kami sa pantry.  Surprise, surprise.  Pag bukas ko ng package ko – aba mushrooms nga.  As in mushrooms lang.  I smelled a faint whiff of adobo, so I figured baka nakaseparate ang mushroom sa meat.  Pag bukas ko ng isa pang package, chicken barbeque na.  And sa isa, un T-bone.  Wala na.  Yun na yun.

Naisip ko, onga naman.  Meron Adobo Peanuts.  Wala naman meat dun.  D naman siya pedeng ulam.  Ganun din ang Mushroom Adobo.  My lunch?  About 30 pieces of button mushrooms, adobo style.  Swell.  I eat mushroom – on pizza, in salads, soups, and other dishes.  But I’m not a mushroom fan.  And definitely, not a Mushroom  Adobo fan.  Kaya balik McNuggets meal tuloy ako. With barbeque sauce. 

Next time babasahin ko nang maigi ang menu.  And… maybe I’ll try the tapa.  After all, Rufos is famous for it. 

Haay, mag-12 na.  Ano kaya lunch namin?

If 2=3, are the following statements true?

1) 2+1 = 3+1; therefore 3 = 4.

2) 2-1 = 3-1; therefore 1 = 2.

Mark Vincent Mercado.. this is for you, at sa lahat ng nagssuffer sa memory gap.  Totoo lang hindi rin ako sigurado sa mga words. Haha.. mas kabisado ko pa ang theme ng PBB!  Kakahiya!

—

Panatang Makabayan

Iniibig ko ang Pilipinas

Ito ang aking lupang sinilangan

Ito ang tahanan ng aking lahi

Ako’y kanyang kinukupkop, at tinutulungan

Upang maging malakas, maligaya at kapakipakinabang

Bilang ganti ay diringgin ko ang payo ng aking mga magulang

Susundin ko ang mga tuntunin ng aking paaralan

Tutuparin ko ang mga tungkulin ng isang mamayang makabayan at masunurin sa batas

Paglilingkuran ko ang aking bayan nang walang pag-iimbot at pag-aalinlangan

Sisikapin ko’ng maging isang tunay na Pilipino

Sa isip

Sa salita

At sa gawa.

In no particular order:

(1) Work, and the training courses

(2) Meeting old and new friends

(3) Reading Dan Brown

(4) Playing with our 5 new puppies

(5) Watching LIP all over again!!!!!!

(6) My phone - reading and sending senseless SMS

(7) Eating pancit palabok and creamy macaroni soup from Jollibee

(8) The people at HSBC

(9) Business prospects (hehehe.. Waiting to Exhale or WatEx, or JP’s Somewhere Nice & Quiet)

(10) Harry Potter (I’m rereading books 5 & 6)