A fire drill

It happened yesterday afternoon and it was good, now I know where the exits are. Also, if a fire does break out, I know better than to stand around and wait for everybody else to make a move. It's best to be among the first ones out of there than exit with the crowd because it takes so long to get out. If panicked, it's easy to see how a slow orderly exit can turn into a bloody stampede. I realized why my officemates hesitated when they heard the alarms go off. We were all the way up on the 20th floor. Some wanted to stay behind, complaining about the disturbance, knowing it was only a drill. Curious, I joined the obedient sensible ones and descended twenty flights of stairs with people from the other floors. By level 12, my legs were shaking. Although it was no surprise, I was distraught to discover how much weaker and more out of shape than I had previously thought. When I reached ground level, my legs were a spasmodic mess and I fought to keep my knees from buckling.

The entire drill took a little over half an hour and my legs were still trembling by the time I got back to my desk. It gave me little comfort to know that everyone else had the same problem. I really should sort out this lack of exercise.

I've just rubbed ointment on the backs of my legs. They burn each time I flex them. Oh how they burn!

And I know it's off topic but Saddam Hussein has been executed.

Internet disruption

My internet connection at work has been shockingly dreadful for the past two days. Several sites I use for translation don't work at all, including Google. It takes an eternity for one page to load, if it does work. I was using WebCrawler to do my research for crying out loud! And Alta Vista! Yes, it's still alive! Yahoo works very very slowly and it doesn't yield as many results as Google does. Then again maybe I'm just biased. I've also started using a ratty book dictionary! It was in such bad shape that I spent over an hour taping pages because they actually crumbled when I flipped too fast. It was literally falling apart. Teehee.

Since I can't surf the net properly and read anything, I only just discovered the magnitude of the damage caused by the recent earthquakes earlier this evening. My connection at home is fine but the one at work is truly fucked. According to our tech people, it's going to take at least three weeks to have everything fully operational. Three weeks! The misery I feel right now is beyond description.

Chrismiss, merry enough

I spent a quiet and very productive Christmas with my parents. We worked on my mom's project for three days and I was staring at the computer for so long that my right eye started twitching and wouldn't stop for two days. It would have been funny if it wasn't hindering my sight so much and I was actually worried that it might have been a developing psychosis.

It's strange spending the holidays without my sisters. They both got married earlier this year and for the most part I've felt like I've gained two brothers instead of losing both sisters. They've moved out since and I thought I took it all in stride. However, not having them around never had the sense of permanence that I felt over this past weekend. It was slow and took me completely by surprise. Without a warning, I just felt so depressed and I started thinking that maybe I did lose them after all. I guess that's probably why everyone's been solicitous towards me all year. Good thing there was that project to finish which kept me suitably occupied. Thegan arrived the next night and we had another dinner and while we still weren't complete, I took solace in the fact that we can still spend time together, albeit infrequently.

A book: American Psycho

I don't know what to say about this except:

Oh my god I think I'm going to be sick. I had a ham with lettuce and tomato sandwich for a late lunch and I thought I was going to throw it all up. I kept imagining the ham to be raw human flesh and the tomato had the squishy quality of an eyeball or any human part that would feel slimy after being skinned. Ugh. I still feel ill. Brilliant and utterly insane. I want to see Christian Bale as the evil psychopathic Pat Bateman.

Three things and their lessons

Thing 1. I have a broken tooth that needs urgent attention. It's been broken for over a month now and it's beginning to hurt. It's going to cost me a lot of money. I consider it a lot since I expect to spend an amount roughly equalivent to zero on my health.

Lesson:
To chew food carefully and to take special care when dealing with tough bits of bacon. Oh but bacon, you hurt me so good.

Thing 2. I tore my left contact lens last night. It's a special one because it goes in the eye that has a scar on the cornea. A corneal ulcer developed in my left eye in 2005, leaving me with a scar right smack in the middle of the cornea. Therefore, everything that I see with my left eye comes with a fuzzy dreamlike appearance. The only way I can see clearly is if I get a corneal transplant, which carries a lot of risks. The replacement contact lens is going to cost me a lot of money.

Lessons:
a. Always take your time when putting in contacts.
b. The water in Boracay is swimming with all kinds of vicious organisms.
c. Do not swim with your contacts in.
d. If you insist on doing so, do not leave them in overnight.

Trust me on letter d, you do not want to get corneal ulcer. Without immediate treatment, it will make your cornea rupture until it eventually explodes. The treatment involves taking injections of special medication to your eyeball. I took two. It made my eye horror-film red for over a week.

Thing 3. I bought a little digital camera last night. She is called The Bitch. Yes, that is her common name. We have a loving relationship. She needs an SD card. I am getting one for her tomorrow in Quiapo. Why am I going to Quiapo in this season, you ask me? Because:

1GB SD card in Manila = 3,000
2GB SD card in Quiapo = 1,700

Lesson: If I am willing to go over the budget to get me a lovely little toy, then I am certainly not above trying to remedy the situation by doing something extremely stressful, possibly unproductive and totally asking for Murphy's Law to be all over it.

Malaysia: A holiday destination part 1

Paula and I booked flights to Malaysia last April with AirAsia. I did it on a whim, I had no idea where I was going to be in January, I was in the middle of changing jobs and I felt lost in the transition to Actual Growing Up. And I cringe (so violently it hurts) when people say, "Oh, are you having a quarter life crisis?" Yes, that's right I'm going to live to a hundred, insert derogatory term here please. In short, I was probably drunk when I decided with ironclad resolve to go. Best move ever. Anyway, the year has been extremely kind to me. I'm happily out of credit card debt, I know, I must have said this a thousand times already but I'm absolutely swimming in pride and love for myself for having accomplished this and I haven't gotten over it yet. I'm really full of myself about that, so just leave me alone. I've made plans and have surprisingly been consistent in following through on most of them (I'm normally one of those full speed ahead and then lose steam halfway through a project types) and I've got more planned till June 2007. All this is so unlike last year's me when I didn't know what I was doing the coming weekend and couldn't care less. Ed said I looked mature at lunch today (not old but mature haha) and sounded pleased. I vacillate between being pleased and being worried so much that I think I'm going batty. But the growing up wagon set off ages ago so I'll just have to sit back and enjoy the ride. I do miss spontaneity and that's where the Malaysian adventure comes in! We're flying from Clark (Pampanga) so Paula and I need to get up bright and early to catch the bus that takes us there. And as soon as we arrive in KL, her friend (my friend now too!) is picking us up and we're driving north to Cameron Highlands. Woohoo! Go go go!!! I'm so excited I want to start packing. I probably will start doing so next week even though it's over two weeks away, I love packing. It's all so very exciting.

I want to know if Malaysia is truly Asia.

Budget: USD 500 / PHP 24,700 / MYR 1,770
Spent so far: USD 106 / PHP 5,200 / MYR 375 (on plane tickets, MLA-KL-MLA and Langkawi-KL)

Elevator Stories #4: Goodies and a can of Sprite

Yesterday during our break, I met Hairboy outside across the building for a smoke. He's leaving in January! So many people are leaving the company this month and next month too, but there are loads of newly hired...hirelings. Hihihi. Anyway afterwards we went to the building canteen to get something to eat. Nothing ever looks appetizing there (although I do dine there quite often) so I just bought a can of Sprite. We dallied in the elevator lobby while waiting for our ride. There were several people walking around carrying large gift packs and we griped about how small and light ours were. We talked about how we expected to have a difficult time carrying them around at the party last weekend before they were distributed and imagined how we would strain under the weight of the goodies. We even devised elaborate plans of getting them home successfully. One of the gift pack carriers was particularly burdened by his basket, it was full of yummy chips and fruit and loads of canned stuff, I think I even saw a bottle of cheap wine in there. HB and I were very envious indeed.

So we got in our lift and tried to laugh off our envy. By this time, my hand had gotten very numb from the cold can so I shifted it to the other hand that already held my phone and wallet. That can was freezing cold. Our lift had only a handful of people in it and there was room to move around. I wasn't sure if popping open a can of soda is considered rude but I feared my fingers would start falling off. Loudly I asked HB if it was okay for me to open my can. He said it was fine but looked a little doubtful. The others glanced at me briefly and looked as if they would frown upon this sort of thing. I was going to wait till we got off at our floor but I wanted to know if they would say anything and more importantly, I wanted to know if the pressure from the can would interfere with the smooth elevator operation. Hehe. I popped it open. I took a sip and it tasted like Sprite. Nothing happened to the elevator. I got frowned at though. I did discover that the popping sound is a lot noisier and more intrusive and I felt rude for not having waited. So now I know better. You really do learn by doing.

Partied out

I skipped two parties tonight and went home straight after work. Parties I actually would love being at because close friends will be there. I think I need rest more though. Work was a bitch (although I did have free pizza for dinner yay) and I've been having trouble sleeping of late. Ugh I feel older. I need to recharge. I can't wait for the weekend.

Office party

I went to my office christmas party last Saturday dressed in a cheongsam as planned. I tried putting my hair up in a bun and sticking a chopstick in, you know, to look all cool and everything. But loads of waiters were bustling about and they kept bumping and messing up my lovelily coiffed hair. I thought it might make my hair look sexily tousled. But really I just looked unkempt. Frustrating, I know. So anyway, we ate heaps of food and participated in heaps of games and singing and dancing. I won a box of swissmiss which Hairboy swiped later that evening, by accident he says. It's fat free! Everyone wants a box of that! Anyway he gave it back to me this morning. Swissmiss for chrismiss yay.

Then someone suggested going to a karaoke bar, which I thought was a brilliant idea. There were over a dozen of us lugging our gift packs and raffle prizes (some won oven toasters and rice cookers hehe) to Music 21, where we spent hours singing and dancing and drinking beer. I think we split the cover of one of the seats, I felt the foamy insides tickling my feet at some point. Whoops. I blame Like a Prayer. Sweet Madonna in the midnight hour.

What audacity!

Someone has defaced my sign! (if confused, read previous post Such villainy!)

What cheek! I am beginning to take this as a personal affront. Some joker has taken it upon himself (or herself, as I suspect) to write a suggestion for me! It is here:
Loose translation: "Get another one (tissue roll) from the restroom"

Of all the impudent things! (I must say, I am a little amused by this turn of events). I will not tolerate this!

And I didn't. My reply is the bottomest line, in Tagalog no less! I mean business!

Loose translation: "And turn me into a thief as well?"

Notice how perfectly my handwriting reflects my rage? Well, it was more like the crouching position I had to maintain to be able to write my response. But indeed, raging I was!

This cannot go on. I believe I know who this brazen writer is but I do not think it is she who has made off with my precious tissue. Although I deduce that several members of my team are privy to the identity of the culprit. I fear that they are turning it into a joke. Cruel cruel joke.

A book: Haroun and the sea of stories

It's a cuddly book! I was very wary at first because I'm not a big Rushdie fan (I thought Shame was a disaster) but Paula is and she lent me this book, probably to change my mind. Well good on her (good on you, Paula!) because it has and I am very grateful! I was very tough on it too but after a few chapters, little giggles of delight kept bursting out of me, forced their way out really, despite my best efforts not to be amused. It's got a The Little Prince feel to it, for me anyway, but it holds its own.

Such villainy!

Despite my mother's insistence that I stay home and convalesce properly, I decided to go to work. I got to the office without incident. I sat at my desk and got settled in. I reached into my drawer to take out the supplies I was to use for the day. To my utter horror, I uncovered that a miscreant has inflicted a malicious act on my person. I am appalled that this malefaction can take place in this office! To think that a company of such high standing in the international community (At least that's what they've been telling us. Telling me. Has it all just been a bunch of lies? Lies, LIES! Scoundrels!) could employ such a vile reprobate! This debasement, this wicked deed, cannot be allowed to happen again!

Someone has stolen my tissue.

Thief! Rogue! Brigand! Plunderer! Marauder (I've always wanted to use that word)!

Now I don't actually care about the lost item. I could just as easily take a whole roll from the restroom. But the point is, there was no need for me to pilfer one as I had my own. It's the principle. And now this. This this. I have decided not to let this slide. Obviously I'm not about to go around accosting every single employee on this floor like some madwoman. Okay maybe I would for fun. But not for this. I shall not be distracted.

I taped this sign on the bottom drawer of my desk, the scene of this dastardly deed.


I will NOT be terrorized! *shakes fist*

No time for being ill

Maybe this is payback for calling in sick last Friday when I wasn't actually physically ill. I've been running a slight fever and feeling generally weak since the start of this week and I've been conserving energy because I get so tired with the littlest things. I've refused to call in sick till today. Well I said I would try to come in and work the second half of my shift. I can't call in sick as that may jeopardize my trip to KL next month for a week. Paula and I booked our flights ages ago (last April) with Air Asia because flying with them is dirt cheap. 4k for a roundtrip fare! Score! Anyway so yeah, I'm really excited about that and I'm supposed to behave like a model employee until the supervisor approves my leave. I was supposed to talk to him about it today but forget that, I'll have to wait until next week. He's just come out of a management training seminar/conference as well and he's been walking around with folders in his hand and looking very serious and busy all week. I wonder if this affects my chances of going on holiday ever again.

I've got a nice dinner tomorrow night and I get to dress up and I can't be ill for that! And the big company party is on Saturday and I have to go! We get to wear costumes and everything. I was supposed to go as Chun Li but my cheongsam looks nothing like hers and because her thighs are unbelievably ripped in a I-can-kill-you-with-these-big-mommas-so-don't-even-try-it way while mine are nice and they wobble in a friendly way from time to time. Come to think of it, it could very well be one of those cosplay conventions I keep hearing about. Not sure how I feel about that now.

Catching up on Friday and Saturday

Last Friday, I called in sick at my family's insistence. Well I did have a tummyache the night before and I am sick of work after all. Anyway my family and I spent the entire afternoon together as we went to Eastwood to go bowling, play billiards and have dinner. At bowling, I was best as Mildred but I would have to say that Bertha is definitely my favorite bowling name. I didn't even break a 100 as Helga so I may never use that name ever again. After nearly tearing my arm out of its socket, I stopped to play billiards against Donoval as I teamed up with Dad. I still suck but I'm relieved to note that there are signs of definite improvement. I intend to play a little more regularly and a little bit better next year.

We had a lovely dinner at a Japanese resto. It has a good reputation but we had a major miso soup misunderstanding with the staff and there was a little bit of commotion that could not be sorted for the longest time. In any case, we finished our meal, paid the bill and left without leaving a tip, to my dad's dismay.

--

I was too lazy to get up early on Saturday plus my body was sore from the previous night's activities so I had to skip getting beauty services done, resulting in me looking like a complete troll for a party I had later in the evening and most likely for the rest of this coming week as well. I went shopping in Market Market! (I think that exclamation mark is a nice touch), thinking the crowd would somehow be thinner, but I was dead WRONG. Furthermore, I don't think some of them bothered to bathe. I did still manage to get presents for my exchange gift person. I made it to the party pretty much on time despite a little bit of rain and the rush shopping. Brought a friend with me and we changed into evening party wear in her car on the way over from the mall. My officemates were funny and we drank beer and ate loads of food. There was a bunch of parlor games with prizes for the winners (I snagged myself a cutie photo album which I will try to use but honestly hardly anyone prints photos these days) and people performed dance numbers. I had to participate in a guitar-accompanied, offkey-singing number and smoothly avoided playing the guitar. There was a pool and I went swimming with a few people and hugged dry ones whenever I was out of the pool. Of course a Filipino party is not complete without karaoke singing and dancing but I left early because I was too frightened to take a cab home and public transport going my way doesn't operate all night. I just found out that one of my sister's officemates was a victim of the taxi modus operandi going around this season, where the cabbie drives a bit off your route and two men get in and robbed you of everything. I really should sort out renewing my driver's license but a couple of nights at the beach set my detox period back so I will need to start over again. So wait I must, unless I decide to drink a glass of vinegar a day. I don't really know why that fixes everything but I'm very impressionable and heaps of people have sworn to me that it works.

--

I've also started getting very obsessed with increasing my fan ranking in the The Amazing Race Asia forum, which has risen from number 2500+ to 382 in just a few days. I accomplished this mean feat by uploading a lovely photo, voting for photos and videos and posting comments that are designed to instigate conflict, all with a cutesy attitude. Bearing in mind that most of the forum posters are 12 to 16 year olds hahahaha. It's all amazing in a very sad way. I feel strangely loved in that community of badly written English.

A book: Suite Française

My sister borrowed it from her library in Melbourne for me. They're leaving this evening and I've only gotten as far as chapter 20. Nooo! It's really amazing how consistently the author (Irène Némirovsky) depicts the depth and range of emotions the refugees go through as they flee Paris. Also, the clarity of insight in this story is mind-boggling, it means she was writing this story, which is a work of fiction but steeped in history, while it was unfolding. A kind of clarity that is normally found in hindsight. I don't know why I didn't make time to read it all the way through. Huhuhu! I have to wait for bookstores to re-stock before I can get a copy now.

Film: Hard Candy

Saw this about a week ago and I'm still thinking about it. Psychologically intense and painful but so worth watching. Google it if you want actual information. There's enough information about it online.

After talking about it with friends, we decided that it was a Canadian film. Lots of good, obscure and disturbing films are Canadian for some reason. Like Cube. Hehe. Anyway it's an American film set in the US, the director's British (David Slade) but the girl character is Canadian (Ellen Page). Aha!

Watch it watch it, it's goooood. Never thought much of pedophiles before this film but have long hated rapists with a passion. They should all have their balls cut off.

Mad month of December

So I'm back and December craziness has begun. Work has been understandably harrowing because I was away the first two days of this week. I haven't done any Christmas shopping at all and I'm putting it off knowing full well that I'm making it worse. Traffic is worse and a short trip to the mall can be very daunting on account of the crowd. Donoval are leaving this Sunday so there's a lot of mad dashing around for last minute dinners/talks etc. There's a lot of pipe installation going on where I live and although it's progress, it's really annoying the way they're making a lot of noise tearing up the roads. They'll probably be at it for another couple of months. There are heaps of Christmas parties to attend and I'm on the drinks committee for the one (office thing) on Saturday. They want me to play guitar at the same party and although I'm not looking forward to it, I'll probably still do it. And I need to buy presents!

I'm panicking!

Beached

I'm back and brown and bone tired. But happy. Real posts to follow.

Weather update: Reming is a wild one

Honestly I've never been as giddy about going to the beach as I have been about this weekend's trip. I've been so excited that I've been partially packed for about two days now. I didn't realize that I've missed the sun, the sand and the water so much.

Then this stupid typhoon comes, threatens Manila, turns into a supertyphoon, an indecisive one at that, threatens other parts of Luzon, and now I read this article:

‘Reming’ weakens, heads for southern Luzon

This is what's pissing me off:

"The storm will rip through Mindoro island and Batangas province south of Manila this morning."

and this, too:

"Reming has changed course. The ultimate targets are now Batangas, Marinduque and Mindoro,” said Cruz at a news conference."

Ugh. Apparently it's so bad in Batangas that our resort had to cancel our reservations.

Reming is a spiteful fucker. Who knows where it is tomorrow. I'm very annoyed but I'm going to go to the mall to buy beach provisions anyway.