Last night, my former co-apprentices and I celebrated our absorption into the firm we are currently working for over a glass of red wine and Castillan cuisine. Originally, we wanted to try out the M Café at the Ayala Museum, but there was function so we had to dine elsewhere. My officemates were the picky sort, so after snubbing off almost the entire registry of restaurants lined up along the 2nd and 3rd floor of GB3, we ended up eating at Casa Armas, the restaurant beside Di Mark’s. (See last Friday’s entry.)

The food was okay, but I liked Twist of Mingoy’s much better. (Note: pricey food doesn’t necessarily translate into yummy food.) Hmm. Don’t they have same owner?

Well, anyway, yesterday was super fun! It was the first time I really got to bond with my office “batchmates”. For one thing, we were finally talking about things I can relate to….like the people and issues from work. Normally, every lunch time, my friends would talk about people from school…their school. Although I know some of the people they are usually talking about (some were my batchmates from HS), of course I still couldn’t really relate.

It was liberating to finally talk about things from work, things we couldn’t really blurt out in the office. In a way, I was enlightened because I didn’t really realize that my friends felt the same way I do about some of the issues at work, or some of the people in the office. I suppose there were things in the firm that I just didn’t know or chose to ignore, since what I felt about things could just be my own biased opinion. And of course, I’d like to believe the best in people, so even though there are things that I don’t exactly find to be nice, well, that’s… that. It was a revelation to be hearing some of your own thoughts from other people. And of course, some of the things you never really thought about.

Also, I discovered a lot about the issues from work. It was bothering to learn that a lot of our junior staff are leaving the office for another firm. One firm, take note. Just when we already got settled with them in the office. Just when we already became their contemporaries. And leaving for one firm?! Of course, there are issues regarding this mass diaspora much larger than our present concerns, but then again I’m just talking from a grass root point of view.

Christian proposed a toast to our entry into GF. Well. It might as well be a toast to the start of good times, happy times, bumpy roads, biases against certain people/gender in the firm, overtime work, unsatisfactory performance, wrath of bosses and colleagues, slow pace at work, and all other possible work-related issues.

It’s good to have friends in this highly competitive field I got myself into.

Cheers.



#1 BULL HEADED. Just a shot of one of the animals hung on the wall.




#2 FEMME. A shot of Lorraine and moi. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.




#3 HOMME. A shot of Marvin N. and Christian. Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf.




#4 GROUP PIC. The four of us at Casa Armas.

Chatted with a friend yesterday.

mush1124: this is so depressing. gosh.
friend: o bakit smile tapos cry? nababaliw ka na?
friend: haha joke lang ha
mush1124: natawa lang ako sa sinabi mo.
friend: depressing? di ba dapat natutuwa ka.....
mush1124: pero naiiyak ako kasi i'm in a weird situation that i'm not sure i want to be part in.
friend: just go with the flow... sooner or later alam mo na kung ano ang gagawin mo dahil necessity dictates it.....
mush1124: just go with the flow... sooner or later alam mo na kung ano ang gagawin mo dahil necessity dictates it..... - wow. you make it sound so simple.

how true.

I'm just happy to say that I finally saw my bracelet. That was the first thing I saw when I reached my desk this morning.:)

See what amusement park ride you are.

I can't believe this. Me crazy? Me popular? The only thing I could associate myself with the tilt-o-whirl is the fact that I feel restless yet lazy. My life seems ok but something's bugging me.


***

I may have lost a charm bracelet someone gave me ages ago. I can't find it. Shucks. I feel bad. That bracelet had much sentimental value attached to it. :(

Just a short entry, since I already want to go to sleep. And I feel like I'm coming down with sore eyes. :( Anyway, my college friends and I met up in Greenbelt earlier this evening. Nung una akala ko kami lang ni Mikey at Lesley ang makakapunta. So it was really a nice surprise that we were around 7.


From L to R: Janrey, Mikey, Anna, Joyce, moi, Lesley, Mia. We ate at D' Mark's.

Saya talaga kapag Fridays. There's always a gimik to look forward to.:)

***
Sidenote: Is it me, or why is it that I get depressed talking about work? Gusto ko na lang magmukmok sa bahay.:(

Last Friday, my officemates played an Eraserheads song, Minsan, together with their usual fave Sugarfree songs. Funny how that song triggered a lot of memories – some happy ones, others bittersweet.

I remember being an usherette to batch 2001’s graduation. They used the song as their grad song, and I couldn’t help but think, what an apt song. Sayang di namin ito naging grad song, hehe.

Minsan sa may kalayaan tayo'y nagkatagpuan
may mga sariling gimik
at kaya-kanyang hangad sa buhay
sa ilalim ng iisang bubong
mga sekretong ibinubulong
kahit na anong mangyari
kahit na saan ka man patungo

ngunit ngayon
kay bilis maglaho ng kahapon
sana'y huwag kalimutan
ang ating mga pinagsamahan

at kung sakaling gipitin
ay laging iisipin
na minsan tayo ay naging
tunay na magkaibigan

minsan ay parang wala nang bukas sa buhay natin
inuman sa magdamag
na para bang tayo'y mauubusan
sa ilalim ng bilog na buwan
mga tiyan nati'y walang laman
ngunit kahit na walang pera
ang bawat gabi'y anong saya

ngunit ngayon
kay bilis maglaho ng kahapon
sana'y huwag kalimutan
ang ating mga pinagsamahan

at kung sakaling gipitin
ay laging iisipin
na minsan tayo ay naging
tunay na magkaibigan


minsan ay hindi ko na alam ang nangyayari
kahit na anong gawin
lahat ng bagay ay merong hangganan
dahil ngayon
tayo ay nilimot ng kahapon
di na mapipilitang
buhayin ang ating pinagsamahan
ngunit kung sakaling mapadaan baka
ikaw ay aking tawagan
dahil minsan tayo ay naging
tunay na magkaibigan

How it brings back memories.

I’ve never been a Kalayaan dormer when I was a freshman in UP, but I lived in a boarding house inside UP for the first two years of my stay in college. The house I stayed in stood on a corner lot. It was a semi-dilapidated structure that was typical of most of the rowhouse units in the area. Anyway, I met and bonded with some girls when I was a boarder in G. Bernardo. We lived under one roof, and slept in the same room – the room directly facing the street. We shared stories, the same bathroom, and the irk of the landlady who slept in the room next to ours. We had our cd player, computer, and ‘secret’ tv. And as icing to the cake, Britney Spears and the Carpenters made our room home sweet home.

I also remember those days when instant pancit canton was one of our staples in the boarding house. It was tasty, and it was a way to save on a few bucks. At the height of the pancit canton mania, one of my boardmates practically subsisted on pancit canton noodles (breakfast, lunch, dinner) for the entire week. Hehe. And we actually offered pancit canton noodles to any visitor to our small but happy home!

***
I have been to a Kalayaan dorm party. One of my blockmates had her debut, and I met a lot of dormers, mostly Cebuano ones. They were all nice, decent people. One boy even escorted me home. He was courteous. He even offered to draw my portrait.

***
I never saw the stars at the observatory, but I was able to experience some stargazing. One was with my friends from the org. We brought carton boxes and laid them out on one spot in the Sunken Garden. There we lay down, content in watching the vast sky in front of us.

Another time was underneath the ‘stars’ in our room. We had a lot of small glow-in-the-dark stars stuck to the ceiling of our room, so much that they already formed constellations on our ceiling. My roommate and I joined our mattresses together and lay down, staring at the ‘stars’, and talking about our troubles over Math 53. Pass or fail. Delayed or not delayed.

***
I remember those days when I was able to watch the sun rise over the Sunken Garden with a friend, with him offering consoling words while I cried on his shoulder, weeping over some boy who broke my heart.

It’s nice to think of that moment. I’d like to think that that instance was one of those moments that helped in solidifying my friendship with this particular friend. He truly was my kuya in arki, seeing me through ups and downs, acting as confidant and advisor in many of my seemingly “monumental” problems in life.

>>FAST FORWARD

And suddenly I’m transported back in front of the "touch screen” monitor, pondering over places and people that have been long stored away in some portion of my heart.

Jasmine Trias, flowers et al.

This blog entry was born out of my "suppressed" desire to write a reaction to Ros'entry about Jasmine Trias.

You might hate me Ros, but just moments before reading your entry, I was about to email you that YOU REMIND ME OF JASMINE TRIAS, without the flower...

...I should shut up.

Pero..diba? Kamukha ni Ros si Jasmine?!

Anyway, Jasmine Trias is all over town nowadays. Just earlier, I heard a couple of guys in the office singing the last lines from that (annoying) 'Luv ko to' song that Jasmine sang. Gosh. Jasmine, just like her flower namesake, just has a cloying effect.

Anyway, I don't have any strong opinions about Jasmine, or against Jasmine. I actually find her cute. It's just too bad she's fast becoming a commodity nowadays. And though I don't have anything against Jasmine's songs or way of singing, hearing that 'Luv ko 'to' song (with the fil-am girl twang) for the nth time was just a little bit too much for me.

And the flower. Speaking of which, I wore a flower brooch to school work today.

Siyempre feeling Ma'am Chico. But I have admit, the brooch looked cute on me. Tee hee. Ma'am Chico hasn't cornered the market on flower brooches just about yet!:P

I went to a friend(ster)’s website just to check out all the model info he’s been emailing lately. Not knowing this guy personally, the only help I extended him was to forward all the model requests he’s been sending out. (Note: I think he’s honest naman with what he’s been saying about himself and his work so far. I mean, would you actually give out info like MIDDLE NAME to people you barely know?!) But since I was being an “agent”, quote unquote, might as well check out what they really do.

www.deliremodels.com

Here are their qualifications:

FOR FEMALES
Do you have what it takes to be a TOP Model?
natural born Filipina
clear skin
well proportioned bone structure
confidence and right attitude
photogenic
at least 14 years of age

FOR MALES
We are looking for a few good men with:
clear skin
well proportioned bone structure
confidence and right attitude
photogenic
14-30 years of age
minimum height of 5'7"

Given the lofty criteria they’ve put out, I checked out the roster of models they have. (I’ve been going to ANTM’s website far too often for my liking, hehe.) Hmmm…okay lang. Although the devil in me felt like saying, if this is their roster of models…

….then I could be THE NEXT TOP MODEL. Or you. Or anyone else.

*bow*

and screw extra inches to height! As if!:P

Okay, so that was me semi-griping. Hahaha.:)) Anyway, objectively speaking, they could have at least come up with uniform profile pictures for all of their models so they wouldn’t look like they were just plucked from somewhere. Hay. Impressed pa naman ako sa site layout nila.

Wala lang. Minsan hindi ko lang mapigilan di tumawa. I find it amusing that the line “Do you have what it takes to be the next top model”, “Do you want to be the next top model”, or any phrase with the words “next top model” attached to it is the catchphrase nowadays. Haha. I admit, it just simply rolls off your tongue the moment you say it. Or maybe I’m reminded too much of Clueless and Brittany Murphy’s memorable line:

“You’re a virgin who can’t drive.”


Wouldn’t it be funny if tomorrow’s catwalk queens would be tagged as “________, next top model” instead of “___________, supermodel”?

Hail to the future ‘next top models’! :P And yeah -- To my friend(ster) Shaun – good luck with the modeling agency.

***
In the midst of talking about models and stuff I almost forgot to share what I was really planning to write in here.
My boss just told me RSR has decided that my apprenticeship days are over and they want me out of GF.

JUST KIDDING! (Gosh, if that really happened I don’t think I would ever live it down!)

Anyway, I had just been absorbed in the company. Yay!

Okay, so I don’t really know if that’s such a good news in terms of…ah, well, financial compensation. But at least they’ve acknowledged that I’m cool enough to be a part of the firm.

To be wanted. That’s a nice feeling.:)

***
Oh yeah, it’s my cousin’s birthday today. Mae, Happy Birthday!:D

***
And yeah, for a darker side of fun, let me share this email that has some stalker tendencies. Creepy pero who cares? JUST AS LONG AS WHOEVER THAT PERSON IS DOESN’T FOLLOW ME TO WORK AND HOME. What do you think?

Arch Peyups wrote:
A schoolmate saw you driving towards Hope st., QC, recently. He followed you and reported seeing you with your relatives attending a party there. You know you’re quite prominent to us ‘coz you just graduated with honors. If you’ll confirm this, we’ll tell you the assignment given by our prof.


Mumtaz Quevedo wrote:
How would this information about Annie Quevedo Alabastro be exactly related to your assignment? Thanks.

Arch Peyups wrote:
May we ask if you are related to Annie Quevedo Alabastro who is an employee of Development Bank of the Phils.?

This is related to our assignment in UP Col. of Architecture. Thank you for your response.

Btw, if anyone of you knows who Arch Peyups is, tell that person that I think he’s rude and creepy.

Well...don't really have an inspiration behind this blog entry. Just want to post this cute link about a hippo which I got through email. So cute! Perfect end to a nice day.:)

Got to spend QT with best friend Armie today. Watched a suspense movie featured in Instituto Cervantes' Pelikula/Pelicula, a festival of Spanish films. Looking forward to tomorrow -- will watch Ros' recital tom and spend the rest of the day in UP. I miss school!:P

TALES FROM THE CRYPT OFFICE

COFFEE CAT

Shucks. I feel a bit disoriented today. I downed a couple of cups of coffee – one tumbler of Maxwell Iced Coffee at work (my new daily work habit :( ), then another 2 small cups of not-so-instant coffee in Glorietta. When I was on my home, I passed by an exhibit of some independent local coffee producers, and each exhibitor had stalls offering free coffee taste. I drank two cups from two different stalls, and bought a bag of grounded coffee (for my uncle-wala lang, naisip ko lang) at the first stall.

I WILL NOT DRINK COFFEE TOMORROW. Promise. Not only does it give me unnecessary caffeine rush, it also stains the teeth. I read somewhere that it would take around Php 20,000 just to have a set of teeth whitened through laser. Gosh. :P


FREE AS A BIRD

My boss didn’t come to work today! Yay! Hehe, not that I have anything against my boss…. but honestly, every day I spend with him gives me a bruise to my already battered ego. I always feel stupid whenever I talk to him, without fail. Could it be he’s such a smart guy (who happens to be dripping with sarcasm)? Or I’m such a dunce? Or I let my stupid (and maybe not-so-stupid) hirits get to me?

In fairness, I’d rather be working for someone who knows his stuff than someone who’s not. Hay. I used to think all the seniors in the office are like that – yun bang kapag tinanong mo palaging may sagot? But I have encountered one architect who does not seem to have a ready answer for some questions. (Haha, pareho kaming clueless.) Although I’m relieved that there was one senior in there who seems human, it must be disconcerting if all the seniors were like that.

Anyway, my boss was out today, so I was left alone with the door hardware schedule and specifications for one of our projects. I spent the bulk of my time today looking for the brochures of all the finish hardware indicated in the specs, then checking whether the specs and the schedule match. In fairness, may natututunan naman ako - konti na lang pwede na po akong magbenta ng door hardware.

*Bow.*


PAYING MY DUES

Today was one of those rare days I felt less of an apprentice. I actually felt in control with what I’m doing, and I was happy that I could breathe more deeply in going about my work.

*sighs deeply*

But shucks, hanggang kelan kaya itong apprenticeship feeling na ito? What a crazy feeling – I am always in an alternating state of happiness/sadness. Happy because there’s always a nice rush of feeling that flows inside whenever I learn something new, but sad because I know I have eons more to go. And people treat you like a blank slate...and you feel like one…:( Door hardware pa lang, dang, bokya na ako. No wonder it has its own division. Paano pa kaya iba?

Sometimes I wonder what would have happened to me if ever I worked for another firm, or at least assume another job within the firm I work for. A more “exciting” job like doing 3D models or something? Masyado ba akong nagpapaka-martir sa trabaho kong ito – forsaking everything for knowledge? (And yeah, ka-OC-han.) I’m not even sure whether the things I’ve been learning at work are worth it.

Hay.

RESOLUTION

Yesterday, I went home frustrated because I couldn’t seem to speak to my boss without stuttering/eating up my words. And recalling what Sir Silvestre had said to us people back in thesis year, palagi kaming gumagawa ng tirang takot -- I think that’s what I’ve been doing for the past couple of months I’ve been working in that firm.

Tomorrow will be another day, and most likely my boss will be back on his feet. I’ve made a couple of resolutions. And I plan to stick to it.

I will exhaust every possible source of information before coming to him.

I will eliminate the phrases “I guess…”, “Sa tingin ko…”, “basta…”, “kunyari…” whenever I would talk to him.

I will look at my boss straight in the eye.

I will be sure and forceful with the way I talk. No more timid, whimpering, clueless me.

TO HELL WITH NAMES!

YOUR PORN STAR NAME:
(Name Of First Pet + Street You Live On)
Pepsi Santol (Holy crap)

YOUR MOVIE STAR NAME:
(Name Of Your Favorite Snack Food + Grandfather’s First Name)
Donut Dominador (Hahahahahahaha)

YOUR FASHION DESIGNER NAME:
(Your First Name+ Favorite Restaurant)
Mumtaz Italianni’s

"FLY GIRL" ALIAS (à la J. Lo):
(First Initial + First Two or Three Letters of your Last Name)
M Que (What the….?!)

ICON ALIAS:
(Something Sweet Within Sight + Any Liquid in Kitchen)
Sugar Water

DETECTIVE ALIAS:
(Favorite Baby Animal + Where You Went to High School)
Puppy CSA

BARFLY ALIAS:
(Last Snack Food You Ate + Your last beverage)
Buko Pie Soda

SOAP OPERA ALIAS:
(Middle Name + Street Where You First Lived)
Mahal Santol (Oh yuck oh yuck oh yuck)

ROCK STAR ALIAS:
(Favorite Candy + Last Name Of Favorite Actor)
Snickers Crowe (Now this makes sense! Parang Counting Crows…hahahaha)

QUESTION

This is NOT. in response to Fongi's question of the month. But I'm going to copy her idea of posting a question because I feel like posting one right now... I'm too confused right now to write out a decent entry.

(I'm just clarifying that this is NOT a question of the month.)



Have you ever felt you were saying one thing and doing the other?