Pakikipagsapalaran sa MRT

Isa sa mga ayaw kong gawin ay sumakay ng MRT sa Cubao station sa umaga. Kaya nga maswerte ako at nakatira ako sa Maynila na sobrang lapit sa aking opisina.

Ngunit hindi ko din ito naiwasan ng ako'y napilitan matulog sa bahay ng kapatid ko ng lunes ng gabi. Yung over cute kong pamangkin na si Himalaya ay ayaw ako pauwiin. Sino ba naman makakatangi kapag sinabihan ka ng "huwag kang uuwi sa inyo" sabay yakap.

Dahil mahirap kumuha ng taxi kapag rush hour sa lugar ng kapatid ko papasok ng opisina, siniguro ko na ako'y gigising ng maaga para makasakay sa MRT. Inihahanda ko na ang aking sarili sa tadhanang hindi ko maaring iwasan na lubos kong kinakatakutan.

May choice naman talaga ako eh. Ma-late or sumakay ng MRT. Hindi na ako pwedeng ma-late. Baka wala na akong sweldo sa susunod na buwan.

Umalis ako ng bahay ng kapatid ko ng 7:30 ng umaga. Nakarating ako sa station ng 7:40am. Ito na ang umpisa ng aking kinakatakutan. Pumila ako para bumili ng ticket. Hindi gumagalaw ang linya. Hindi sila nag bebenta. Tumitingin ako sa mga taong nakapila papasok ng station. Hindi din sila gumagalaw. Habang tumatagal, padami-ng padami ang nakapapila. Hindi ko na rin masulyapan ang dulo ng linya. Kinakabahan ako. Naiinip. Iniisip ko lang ay, "sana magbenta na sila ng ticket. Gusto ko lang makapila sa kabilang linya papasok." Naghintay ako ng 20minutos nang nag-announce na pwede na magpapasok. Nagsimula na din silang magbenta ng ticket.

Pagka bili ko ng ticket, agad na hinanap ko ang dulo ng linya papasok ng station. Hindi ko makita. Ang layo. Ang haba. Nakaka-tense!

Nahanap ko ang dulo ng pila. Mabait ang tadhana, gumagalaw ang pila. Agad-agad kong nalagpasan ang guards at naka pasok sa loob ng station.

Sumakay ako sa eskalator... kinakabahan ako. Nagugunita ko na  na napakadami ng tao at mahihirapan ulit ako pumasok sa train.

Nagtiyaga ako. Naghanap ng puwesto. Ang back-pack ko nasa harap, yakap ko. Nakita ko may train na padating. Alam ko na impossible para sa akin makasakay. Ang dami kasing tao. Hindi ako gumalaw. Nang humito ang train at bumukas ang pinto, agad agad na nagsipasukan ang tao. Nagtulakan, nagsiksikan. Ako nasa gitna nilang lahat. Wala akong ginagaw. Dahil sobra silang nagtutulakan ay napunta ako sa gitna ng walang ginagawa.

Nang umalis ang unang train na naabutan ko, pagkatapos ng ilang minuto ay may dumating ulit ang isa pang train. Natulak na naman ako ng tao. Parang alon na nagmamadaling bumagsak sa tubig. Napunta ako sa harap ng walang ginagawa.

Pagkatapos ng ilang minuto dumating na ulit ang susunod na train. Eh dahil nasaharap na ako, sigurado ako na makakasakay na ako. Tama nga ang aking hinala. Nakasakay ako ng train. Nakapasok ulit ako ng walang ginagawa -- tinulak lang nila ako ulit.

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This note was first drafted last November 11, 2008. I didn't finish writing it though ... I totally forgot about this post until tonight. All i added was the last paragraph, which seems to be an abrupt ending.

amazingly cheap

I'm not really a fan of "fast-food" food except for a few ones of course. One of the lucky food chain is located at the Landmark in Makati. They sell good enough Lomi at an affordable price.

A bowl, which is more than enough for Kerwin and myself would cost around P69.00.

Just about 2 hours ago, I forced myself to leave the office early and go to the supermarket to replenish my personal hygiene essentials. Yes, I had to force myself because I am literally squeezing out whatever is left from my shampoo and conditioner bottle. And thank God my toothpaste is running on empty too. Otherwise I would have postponed my trip to the supermarket to the next day.

Before I left the office, I told Kerwin that I wanted to have dinner at the lomi place. Unfortunately he already had an early dinner.

On my way to the Landmark, I had to stop over the ATM because I only have coins left in my wallet and I was pretty sure that my CC will be swiped again knowing that I will shop for more than what I need. The ATM stop over was necessary because I had nothing to pay when I purchase my lomi.

As I was going down the escalator that would lead me to the supermarket, I noticed that they were renovating half of the fast food area, including the lomi restau. I was hopeful that perhaps they moved the lomi place on the other side of the floor . I decided to search for it when I am done with my shopping.

On my way out of the cashier counter, carrying a heavy load of grocery which included two bottles of different shampoo and conditioner, I searched for the good old lomi restaurant.

Luck wasn't on my side - the lomi place was nowhere to be found.

I thought about skipping dinner but I realized I needed some fuel as I intend to return to the office to do more work, I again forced myself to buy something.


I really wanted just soup. But there was no good soup. I didn't want to have steak because I wouldn't be able to burn the calories that I will be getting from the meat. I looked around for noodles but the ones I found looked too dry. I then decided that I could either have pasta at French Baker or eat BBQ. Hmmm BBQ.

Since I spent too much on my grocery I decided to be frugal with my food. I found this place which sells BBQ, with Java Rice and a choice of side-dish for just P55.00. Hmm.

I said to myself, "why not."

And this is what I got.

My BBQ, with Java Rice and my pancit as the side dish. All for just P55.00.

How will this P55.00 meal taste? I was doubtful. I expected it to be awful. It didn't turn out so bad. A little salty. But not bad. The rice was a lot. Of course I didn't eat every single grain. I only ate about 1/3rd of it. The rest will go to my lucky kitties.

One of my priceless mornings.

This is what I consider extremely priceless.

A perfect morning with a good cup of coffee while reading a book.

Smelling the fresh air. Enjoying a beautiful scenery only a few would have experience.

Simply amazing.

Photo taken at Simon's Inn. Batad, Mt. Province. June 2006

Dakilang AE

This article circled amongst us slaves in the Ad Industry a long time ago. A  office mate sent it again to me sometime last year which I decided to keep in my archive. Now I'm posting it here so that everyone why I am always stress and why I am still in this industry.

THE AE: THE MASOCHIST

I truly believe that people who enter the esoteric (read: misunderstood, misconstrued, in
layman's terms, because most people don't really know what it is exactly) world of
advertising are the truly insane. Those who leave the industry have VERY good common
sense and a sound sense of self- worth; those who leave and come back are certified nuts;
and those who stay forever (and do not even entertain the thought of shifting into another
field) -- or for a long, long time, at least -- are the ones who love to suffer.
But the inherent, unarguably 100% purebred masochists are the ones advertising people call
the AEs. They are the Account Executives,the so- called unsung heroes of product launches
and successful market performances since time immemorial, or, to quote a recent essay
on a similar subject, the quintessential advertising person.
The AE has a thousand definitions to his name, but allow me to narrow them down into five:
1. Your parents do not understand your job description.
Excerpt from a real-life dialogue between an AE and her mother:
AE: Hey, that's my TVC!
Mom: Really? You mean ikaw ang nag-isip ng idea for that commercial?
AE: Uh, not exactly.
Mom: But you did write the script, didn't you, anak? Idea mo lahat 'yon diba?
AE: Erm...well, it was more like I orchestrated the entire production, Ma.
Mom: Honey, I don't understand. Ano ba talaga ang ginagawa mo?
In a nutshell, parents don't understand that advertising is more than just being a creative.
2. You are the sounding board of everyone. (Euphemism: Everyone yells at you.)
Your client yells at you. Your creative yells at you. Your boss yells at you. Hell, kulang na
lang that even the company driver yells at you for making him drive all the way to Bicutan
and then to Marikina, AND THEN back to Makati.
In actuality, they all yell at you because you are their connecting vein. You are the DNA of
the system. You are the air trafficker who decides which plane goes in which direction to
avoid an airborne accident. Take heart: Without you, all of them can't function properly.
(Shempre kailangan ng JO!)
3. You are supposed to exercise your (I quote) considerable powers of PR
(Read: kaplastikan).
No matter how much you hate your support groups, you'll always have to be nice to them
even if your insides are producing enough acid to burn your digestive system. This is
because you need them (and they, in turn, need you -- though they refuse to acknowledge
such. After all, without you, where else would they get their salaries -- through sidelines?).
4. You are a VERY high-paid maid of Clients.
The common perception of other advertising people is that the AE is a Client's yes-man.
"The customer is always right," goes the saying after all. This is because creatives see
AEs as the Clients' sidekicks when in the agency. I've actually heard one co-AE say
despairingly, "Prostitutes are better off. They can say no if they're tired and want to call it
a night." Not the AE. Even though you're having a bad hair day, experiencing extremely
painful menstrual cramps, not to mention having to deal with spoiled creatives, you have
to make sure your Client gets his deliverables, which were needed "yesterday."
(Sounds familiar?)
But, in defense of the AE, they do not say yes to Client all the time: it just seems that way.
The AE, in relation to her kaplastikan prowess as discussed in point #3, has to do a lot of
verbal ballroom dancing in order to make the Client see his or her view. In fact, the general
rule among AEs is (paraphrased though): You cannot just say no just because. In line with
the advertising motto that all campaigns must have a strategy, so do the AE when it comes
to dealing with Clients. As most Clients are sensitive about being brutally rebuffed,
AEs have to massage their egos if they disagree with them.
And on that note, notice how, in advertising, the word "client" is spelled as "Client?"
With a capital C? Isn't that equating "Client" with "God?"
God forbid.
5. You are...McGyver.
Resourcefulness is your middle name. Advertising urban legends claim that AEs have
gone through hell to make sure both Clients and creatives (and to a lesser degree, your
other support groups) are appeased: sitting in the broom closet until the creatives finish
the compre for a print ad, hiring a kalesa's horse to ride through traffic in order to present
a storyboard to Client, even bribing a DTI representative to give you a DTI number for a
promo poster.
These are not myths. They have actually happened.
In the same vein, AEs learn how to be jacks-of-all-trades and masters of disguise and
deception, because they know that at the end of the day, managing to deliver (and deliver
right) is what matters.
The AE is a celebrated case study for borderline personality or schizophrenia because all
sorts of persuasion and coercion methods have been exercised by him or her: the use of
charm, tears, and cleavage exposure are patented trademarks of an AE who knows how to
get what she wants.
It may sound as if the AE is a person to be pitied, but no. Because while AEs love to whine
about their dismal existence, they know, in the deepest recesses of their beings, that they
feel like comic superheroes at the immense agony they have gone through and will be going
through. If you listen carefully enough, you'll hear the pride between the angst, the
complaints, the sighs. They know they are strong people and while not a lot may be able
to understand and appreciate that, they have each other to turn to for a metaphysical
sense of empathy.
And, even if, an advertisement will merit awards for the creatives and the brand manager
gets a raise for a product's market performance, the AE knows that she (or he) was the
one who did it all.
And that unspoken truth is the reason why the AE is deemed a masochist.
BOW.

A day in the life of a hepa-a infected person

Written last July 18, 2008
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Bed rest. Bed rest. Bed rest.
Wow! My back hurst from resting.
I finished Atonement, now I'm reading a book about Imelda Marcos which I started reading 5 years ago. Because i am not a fan of bookmarks, I couldn't remember which page I stopped reading. Thus, I have to start all over again...

This is how my day is like knowing how contagious I am. I wake up early morning and lie down in the sofa near the TV and watch morning shows.

I eat breakfast while watching morning shows on TV. My breakfast is a standard bowl of oatmeal with powdered milk and sugar. Then I drink my medicines.

After drinking my meds, I go back to the sofa and read a book.

Between 11:30am - 12 noon, the TV is turned on by my parents to watch Game Ka Na Ba (Channel 2). Around that time, lunch is also served. Lunch for me would be a bowl of chicken broth with vegetables. Then I drink water and my medicines then I'm done.

I go back to my sofa as my parents continue to watch Eat Bulaga (Ch. 7). The show is really funny and it keeps me entertained. The show starts with a game called "Sa Pula. Sa Puti" (Red and White). IT's followed by another game which I can't remember. I will not get into the details of the show but it is a mind-opener for me. Watch it and you'll be surprised with unexpected facts about Filipinos and the problems we're currently faced with like povert and lack of education. Despite of this, we are still able to swiftly move in life, do things with a smile and laugh at our mistakes.

Of course I can always switch the channel to cable where we can get more informative news but shows like these keeps me grounded and atuned with the masses.

Besides I really like TVJ. They make me, my dad and thousands more entertained without being offended.

While Eat Bulaga is still airing, I go back to my sofa and I either read a book or pick up a pen and start writing. (Writing my journal felt good again. I got to practice my script handwriting again. Nicely. Not hurriedly like I always do when taking down notes during meeting.) Eventually, I would fall asleep for a few minutes which felt like forever.



Then I wake up.



Movie time!!!!



Since I'm extremely restless I get bored easily. Even sleeping makes me sooooo bored. Hehehe.



I can't do so much. Doctor gave strict instructions to rest and stay-away from any form of stress.



I started "movie time" 2 days ago. I watch one movie every afternoon. The other day I watched Kite Runner. Yesterday was Across the Universe and today I watched 21.



After movie time, I walk around the house, take a bath and read a book again. I pray the rosary with my parents too.



Then TV time with family. Pop starts watching the news with Channel 9, then 2. We watch news on channel 2 while having dinner. As usual, my dinner is chicken broth with veggies.

After the news, we watch the Singing Bee hosted by Cesar Montano. Then Claudine Baretto's soap "Iisa pa lamang" and then My Girl, a Korean Novela adaptation starring Ch. 2's Kim Chui and Gerald (i can't remember his last name).

then I watch whatever is interesting on Cable TV.

When I get extremely bored. I hit the sack.

The whole cycle repeats again the next day.

LOSER.

Confessions from a Certified Workaholic

This was written sometime July when I was locked at home, strapped in bed because of my illness called Hepa-A.
------------------------

Not only am I a certified workaholic but I am also a party girl, outdoor-sy girl i.e. parating nasa labas (always outside).

Lately, I've been working more than 12 hours a day due to the influx of work that we have.... I complained (like I always do), I cried (like I always do). Then I realized that nothing will happen if I keep on complaining and crying. Thus, I decided to do my work the best that I can and do it happily (with a smile on my face -- fake or sincere). I was on the go. Nothing and nobody can stop me from working except for God (probably).

God of course has his own way in dealing with me and talking to me, telling me when to stop -- because I just can't.

For me life simply can't wait (from Sunsilk's tagline "Life can't wait"). I have so many things lined up in my calendar. Aside from my daily grind at work... I have my occassional drinking sprees with friends. Planned or not. It can happen anywhere -- near my office in Makati or in QC (in and out of UP). In Makati that can be a few rounds of beer with fellow professionals or friends working in the area. QC would read Red Horse and Gin Premium.

I may be a workaholic but I have a life too. Yes I do. I have activities lined up for the weekend and that can be any of the following:

• Beach that now spells SURF (and someday diving again)
• Biking
• Hiking
• Malling - movies, dinning out, drinking
• Hanging out in someonelse's house and drink a "few" bottles of gin -- sun up to sun down.

That was my life before I became ill and diagnosed with Hepa A.

Because I was unstoppable - work or play, God did something. He made me sick because he wants me to rest which I badly needed. Which is what I have always wanted to do but couldn't find the time to do it.

I wanted to read novels again. I always bring a book with me whenever I go out of town, but it never got opened, flipped or even taken out of the bag. In my most recent trips, I decided to leave the book at home since they add weight to my luggage. At home, I would usually turn on the telly till I fall asleep.

I dream of staying in bed for a little longer than usually.

God made it happen. He let me stay in bed a little longer and gave me sometime to read books. I can't stand watching the telly or a movie the entire day. I get bored easily.

The past 2 weeks, I was able to finish the last few chapters of One Hundred Years of Solitude (for the 2nd time) while waiting for my turn in the hospital. I had to keep on coming back to the hospital for several rounds of test before they were able to diagnose my illness.

A friend lent me her book "Atonement" by Ivan McEwan. A novel turned into a beautiful movie. It was long read but I finished the book overnight -- out of boredom. I didn't read it from cover-to-cover. Forgive me for watching the movie first before reading the book.

After finishing Atonement, I read "Imelda and the Marcos Clan" a biography written by her niece Beatrice Romualdez Francia. I started reading it 5 years ago. I couldn't remember where I stopped. So I had to start all over again.

So what happens after this....

I don't know. Same I guess. I just want to go back to work, go out and see my friends. Everything will probably be the same except with minor tweaks like NO ALCOHOL (huwaaaatttt)?????!!!!

Yes, avoid at the very least. Perhaps on January again. I have to. This ordeal has been very scary. It was something I didn't expect would happen to me.

Before I went for a check-up i thought I had ulcers or dengue. It never crossed my mind that I would get inflicted with this horrible infection. No alcohol. Dang!

Also, perhaps less overtime work.

And more time at home. Like spend a weekend once a month at home to rest and clean up my closet.

Gaining 6lbs over the weekend

I feel like a slob. I didn't even realize that one can gain so much in a couple of days. Last Friday, I went to the doctor for my usual check-up (I've been visiting the doctor lately after my battle with Hepatitis A - which I will write about someday). I was 6 lbs lighter than my weight today (obviously). I was worried that my immune system would go down again because I lost 2 lbs prior to Friday.
Because I had this 24 Mt. Bike Endurance Race last weekend, I decided to eat a lot because I can't afford to get sick again. And I needed enough energy to make sure I get to finish a lap without fainting and I could carry my heavy bike when necessary ( I think my bike is as heavy as I am).
And so I ate, I ate and I ate. The food prepared by my team mates and other members from my org was superb. Yummy. Now look at me. I'm 6 lbs heavier. My jeans are tighter now. My belly is big (minus the alcohol) and my thighs are humoungous. Unbelievable. I hate it.

To my dear friends, please don't call me vain. I just don't feel good and I am so affected by it.