Random Thoughts XIX
A Tag
Bam! I was tagged by my friend, Jaja from her post yesterday. Only two questions. But I am beginning to think of true answers now.
1. What are the things you enjoy doing even when there's no one around you?
Bihira akong mag-isa sa bahay, eh. But when I am (This usually happens if it's a Sunday and there is an ocassion where my mom is invited and my ate and her family would go malling.), I play my cd of choice. The sound would be at volume 3 plus two minus signs. Ganun yung cd player ko, eh. 3 tas 3 na minus, pinakamalakas na sa volume 3. Tas food trip. Mas ok kung ako yung nag-prepare at nagluto kasi iba ang sarap ng kain. Pritong itlog, kanin, kalamansi at patis, talu-talo na. O, kaya instant pansit canton o instant coffee lang, pwede na. Upo sa sala. Kakanta-kanta kasabay ng music. O, kaya parang adrenalin rush. Magwawalis at magpo-floorwax ako. Tas magpupuno ako ng tubig sa mga drum. Bilis nun.
Sa office, pag may naka-leave at ako lang. Blog hopping lang o kaya browse ng gif files. Kain din maski bawal.
Sa labas, briskwalking. Kukuha ako ng pix ng kahit anong trip ko gamit ang phone.
Praying. I am not that comfortable going to a place for worship where a lot of people are just loitering around.
Reading weird stuff like Metaphysics. ;)
2. What lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level?
Blogging at posting sa threads sa messageboards. Bawal 'to sa office pero sinisiguro ko naman na wala akong sasabihin na bawal tungkol sa company namin. Nakaka-release din yung ng kung anuman tsaka nakakaalis boredome din.
Drinking softdrinks or eating chocolates. Nakakapagpasaya ang sugar sa pagkakabasa ko.
Texting a close friend. Pero alam ko na may kani-kanya na kaming time. Kaya blogging na lang din talaga ang pinakamainam na pang-release ng stress.
Briskwalking ulit at pagkuha ng litrato lalo na to and fro the office. From Ayala to Buendia. Madami talagang makikita. Paulit-ulit lang yung establishments. Pero iba-iba yung mga tao. No, I am not checking out the people I walk with on the streets. I am just curious on what story they have just in case I become their friend or if I was their friend. Sabayan mo pa ng buga ng hangin at paghinga ng malalim, nakakagaan ng damdamin. Uy, rhyming Hehe.
At least 5 minutes timeout. Mag-iisip muna ko bago ko magpadalus-dalos. Iba na ang nag-isip at naghanda.
Doing a thing which I never had the chance to do again because of a busy sched, etc. Enjoy yung fishballs sa stick, uminom ng samalamig, maglakad sa baryo namin.. kumain ng fishballs na nasa stick habang umiinom ng samalamig at naglalakad sa baryo namin.. magluto ng popcorn at pancake, magtimpla ng grape juice na matagal ko nang di natikman.. manood ng koreanovela.. magluto ng popcorn at pancake at sabayan ng panulak na grape juice while watching a koreanovela. Whatta combination!
Scent of menthol. Soothing.
3. Tag five friends and ask them to post it in theirs.
Liza, Goldi, Mitch, Agnes and Kim. An all girl line up. :teehee:
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A Fortune
Out of a long downtime on my account, I decided to check these sites: numerology and cards from Francis' blog, my teammate.
On the former, here are my results:
Arnold, your Life Path of 1 ...your Expression of 1 (Your Potential Natural Talents and Abilities)...your Soul Urge of 11 (What You Desire To Be, To Have, and To Do In Your Life).
From the latter, I picked these cards randomly:
The Judgement, The Magician, The High Priestess, The Sun, The Empress, The Lovers
* The more detailed results are in my file.
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An Excerpt
The following was taken from the email sent to me by my former teammate and batchmate, Zig. These are small things to ponder. Light but smart.
I am thankful for:
...
FOR THE TEENAGER who is complaining about doing dishes because it means she is at home and not in the streets.
FOR THE TAXES I PAY because it means that I am employed.
FOR THE MESS TO CLEAN AFTER A PARTY because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
FOR THE SHADOW THAT WATCHES ME WORK because it means I am out in sunshine.
FOR WEARINESS AND ACHING MUSCLES AT THE END OF THE DAY because it means I have been capable of working hard.
FOR THE ALARM THAT GOES OFF IN THE EARLY MORNING because it means I am alive.
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A Rant
The five people you meet in corporate hell posted on July 8, 2005 by Marlon James S. Sales
The first time I was employed, I kept on telling myself that working on a new job would just be like my first day in kindergarten. You know--new faces, awkward glances, the customary "hi"s and "hello"s, the probing questions like, “Anong merienda mo?”
What I unluckily failed to remember was that kindergarten was also a period teeming with bullies, upset tummies, late mommies, and broken crayons. As cheesy as it may sound, my kindergarten years were hell here on earth: being colorblind, I detested my art classes. I distinctly remember that one teacher taught us how secondary colors are formed by making us paint the color equation.
“Blue plus red equals violet,” she recited in the most docile manner. Ten sheets of oslo paper later, I was still struggling to make my red-violets and my violet-reds simply just violet. “Marlon, hindi mo ba nakikita ang difference?” She asked me finally out of desperation, “Paint another one...again.” At which point I cried, yes, then I cheated by not mixing the colors in the equation and instead going for the paint tube that read VIOLET on its label. It was the first and the last time I cheated thus far.
Then one time, in PE class--which was just the pompous name for playing on the playground on Fridays while Teacher gets a breather--I clumsily slid down a rusty slide. Not only did my immaculately white-and-pink ensemble (our elementary school colors) get dirty, but also my so-called pals laughed their heads off at me. “Teacher, Teacher, na-t*e po si Marlon!” they said in reference to the poop-like rust stain on my shorts. In kindergarten, pooping on one’s shorts was anathema and mentioning body parts usually covered by clothing was the ultimate joke. I got so scared to death that (1) I never went down the slide again, (2) I just consoled myself on the swing henceforth, and (3) I actually asked my Mom to take me out of school when finally I did poop my shorts months later.
When I think about it, corporate life is very much the same as kindergarten. The bullies may now be dressed up in suits. The intrigues may now be more than just mere rust stains. The pressure may now be beyond achieving the perfect shade of violet. But the point is, they can be both hellish.
So who makes a yuppie’s life a living nightmare? Please meet the five people in corporate hell:
1. The Buzz-er. Had this person not been in your company, you’re very sure that s/he would be writing a gossip column for a tabloid. S/he is far more effective than any employee’s manual there could ever be for s/he peppers her orientation with the juicy details on who slapped who, who slept with whom, whom to cling to just in case, etc. Of course, expect that s/he would dig up on your personals as well, so that the next time s/he would orient a new employee, s/he has you as the new specimen. S/he loves a chaotic workplace for more chismis are generated in chaos.
2. The Dominator/The Dominatrix. You secretly suspect that s/he has a thing for sadomasochism for s/he simply loves domineering people. S/he may not be the Top Guy or Top Gal, but when it comes to planning and brainstorming, s/he always has the final say. This type has an impenetrable skull; reasoning is futile. S/he wants this done this way, and s/he expects it to be done this way. And you should be wary: s/he can always ask you suddenly to do overtime on a Friday evening just when you're ready to meet your date--or worse, slap you with an insubordination complaint.
3. The Credit Grabber. Of all the lowlifes the Omnipotent created, s/he occupies the abysses. S/he always has the chutzpah (the plain ol’ kapal ng mukha) to brag on successes that, more often than not, are the group’s achievement. No meeting passes by without him or her referring to his training here, her diploma there, his endeavors here, her glowing records there. But the one thing that really gets on the nerves is the fact that s/he is almost always the first one to cower in fear or blame his/her colleagues when the project didn’t succeed. In the world of the Credit Grabber, s/he is the only one without mistakes. All the rest are mortal sinners.
4. The Sloth. Everyplace has The Sloth, I guess. S/he reports to work a millisecond before the official time. After logging in, s/he would most likely spend the next 30 minutes to an hour munching on snacks, fixing himself/herself, reading the newspaper, greeting everyone in the office, calling up people, texting...the list goes on. The next hour would be spent in checking and sending the e-mails, surfing the Net, talking to people, and inquiring on all personal matters through the company phone. Thirty minutes before break time, s/he is already preparing to go. At around 4PM, just when everyone else is ready to call it a day, s/he would notice what’s left to be done and would cram. Unfortunately, you’re obliged to cram with him/her.
5. The Ho-hum. While most people seem adversarial, s/he apparently exudes a positive vibe. That is, up until you get to talk to him/her. Immediately after striking a conversation with the Ho-hum, you get the sense that the Makati traffic jam is much more exciting. S/he doesn’t generally know how to talk in polysyllables, but when s/he does, the weather or the color of paperclips is the topic of choice. You try bringing up other “normal” topics: your crush, your favorite restaurant, the game you watched the night before, the sex video you saved in your mobile, but there’s a distinct danger that s/he would go over the edge and start talking about statistics, figures, blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. S/he is also called The Wuss.
So there, the five people in corporate hell. I know there are more, but most are but permutations and combinations of these five. But you know what would be hell-er than hell? When you get all five people in just one person. Sometimes, this composite character goes by the title The Boss.
Marlon has been on an extended post-graduation hiatus for the longest time now. He recently won the grand prize (plus the first and second prizes!) for the short story writing contest in Spanish at the Instituto Cervantes and will go somewhere on the other side of the planet soon to pursue further studies. This may probably be his penultimate article for CTC. As usual, comments are greatly appreciated.
* I was about to rant about something. But I would have to allow the author to do the talking. At least, it didn't come from me.
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A Champion
Last Sunday, the grandfinalits for the Search for the Star in a Million Season 2 was completed. Call me jologs but I've been watching the show, including the starter where Erik Santos and Sheryn Regis went head on, before it was reformatted with this title and format. Hmm, the only time I was hooked in American Idol was the time of Jasmine Trias and camille Velasco, where the latter was my favorite among all.
Back to our local talent. Among these 12 hopefuls, my top 3 would have to be:
1. Kris Lawrence. From what I've read, he used to sing with RnB singer Jay-R back in the US. It was also Jay-R who convinced him to join the show. If he would win, he would be the most unique among all the champions in ASAP because he does RnB.
2. Tata. Again, from what I've read on the "On The Rise" column of one of the leading broadsheets here, she just recently passed the nursing board exam. She's small but she could belt out songs.
3. Anna. This one I have to say is already a champion. I remember her singing "On The Wings of Love" in one of the Metropop star search on Channel 7 where she was announced champion. I later saw her during the opening of the UAAP games when her school, FEU, was the host. I saw her again on Star in a Million contest where Frenchie Dy won. But she wasn't part of the grand finalists. From what was posted on TV, she's now in Mapua.
I have this eye on her because she is/was the girlfriend of my friend's (Kookai) friend (Kalid). There's a connection somehow from her, to Kalid, to Kookai, to me. Haha!
I know some of the finalists in this show, or in other talent search if I may add, are underdogs compared to, lets' say, some AI finalists. But I think, some AI finalists could also be shaken off by our young OPM singers or those who joined and won contests like this.
Bottom line is, it's happier and more inspiring to see a fellow Filipino aspiring and fulfilling his/her dream. And that cheers me up. That makes me believe that after sacrifices, a good thing happens. And that makes me believe that our country could produce quality OPM artists.
PS. I don't wanna hear or read comments which sounds like that of the judges of AI. Please.
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A Celebration
Happy, happy Birthday to my cousin, Jerome (Aug.17) and JJ (Aug.20), my officemate!!!! 
posted by Arn 
at 1:28 PM
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