Whooh! Just got back from a 4 day 4 night trip in Hong Kong with my HP friends (Irene, Kat, Min and Kent) from Aug 6 to Aug 10.  Our planned itinerary was always on-the-run (hence, go lang ng go), but it was still a blast. It's also my first time going to another country with friends, and was definitely a nice experience. The weather also cooperated with us!  The rain / thunderstorm weather forecast suddenly just vanished into thin air when we arrived! HAHAHA!  Looks like our prayer / RFC-R (as we call it amongst ourselves.. Yucckk.. Pati toh nilagyan ng work term.. Haha!) to God worked within date / SLA (Eee....). Was very hot and humid though, but it's less of a hassle than always having to use an umbrella and walk around.

We stayed at Dorsett Kowloon Hotel. HAHAHA!  Well, it's definitely not your 5 star hotel, and the rooms are so small. Butt... For the price (278 USD for 4 nights!), the place ain't bad honestly. Although of course, don't expect too much as well. The rooms were comfy enough (basta maganda banyo, oks na para sa aken), and location is okay (near an MTR station, a 7-11 store and McDo for those late nights).

Summarizing the rest of the days:

Day 1 (Aug. 6. 2009) - Arrival to HK and Lan Kwai Fong

We kinda arrived at around 5 already so we had one day gone.  Flight was quite smooth, but then the baggage claim was delayed for some odd reason.  We reached the hotel at around 8 or so already, and had dinner at the nearby mall (Olympic Mall).  After that, we went to Lan Kwai Fong to experience the night life. We saw this HK actor too who was shooting a scene within the area. As in we were right next to the scene. HAHAHA! Tried to take pix, but it was blurry since I wanted to be subtle and not use any flash. Was useless after 'coz after a while, everyone started taking pictures and *bam*, the place was packed. We decided to stay at Fong Underground after giving some thought.  Luckily for the girls, it was ladies' night so they get free vodka drinks. I ordered a "Fong Classic", which is a mixture of watermelon juice, some citrus, and vodka (you can never go wrong with vodka).  After the drink and some convincing, we decided to hit the dance floor (Yess.. go lang ng go), and not be KJ. We weren't able to stay that late since the MTR closes at 12:30 am so we needed to get there in time. By 12:00 am, we decided to head for the train. 

Day 2 (Aug. 7. 2009) - Disney Land

Woke up at 9 am. Tried the breakfast buffet the hotel (since we have no plans of eating inside Disney), and headed to Disney Land at 11 am. We pretty much stayed there the entire day 'coz we wanted to wait for the fireworks. We watched all the shows (loved the shows), and took a few rides (one on each area). Hahaha!  The Space Mountain (a.k.a mini roller coaster) ride was a refresher after long walks in the heat.  When we got down, we felt like our whole boday was blow dryed. Hahaha!

Memorable moment for me was that interactive Stitch movie thing.  I don't know if it's the AI talking (well if it is AI, damn it's smart) or someone's behind the scenes, but you sorta have this big movie screen in front of you, and a character interacts with the audience.  For some reason, I have this "luck" on stumbling upon situations where I ask myself "why me!?" (those "pinagtritripan" kind of situations). Yes.. I got Stitch's attention. The moment Stitch looked at our area. I was like "Oh shitt... Did he just looked at me?", but didn't give it too much thought. And then the seat count began.. Haha... Stitch shouted the seat and row number, and I was like in an "Oh shitt.." mantra.  Before long, one of the show people there gave me the mic, and I knew that was it.  Stitck was like "Hey I know you! I've seen you somewhere!", and asked me all sorts of funny questions like if I was a pop star or if I've been to Honolulu.  After a while, I thought "Aba... Gusto mo nang tripping ah..." so I gave some a funny answer too when he asked me if I've been to outer space.  

Stitch: Have you been to outer space?
Me: Mmmm.. Maybe.
*slight pause*
Stitch: Are you lying to me?
Me: I don't know?
Stitch: Stop lying to me!

I guess that caught him off guard with the slight pause. Hahaha! But yeah, I have  to give it to tha AI (if it was AI), it's good. Hahaha! Though, Stitch triumphed by showing my picture to the entire audience (and now, I'm space criminal 628)! I was like "WHAT THE HELL!? WHERE'D YOU GET THAT!?" Whatta Dinsey adventure.. Hahaha.. But at at least, it's something new.

Day 3 (Aug. 8. 2009) - Macau Day Trip

Whooh! By this time,I felt that exhaustion is gaining on me (especially that we slept at around 3 am I think... GRaabee.. Lagpas Asia shift na toh). Since weather permitted us, we decided to go to Macau. Took the 12 noon ferry. That ferry ride was something.. Hahaha... Like I would say "Bakit pa tayo magspaspace mountain? Eh etoh na rin yun... Mas thrilling pa..  Mas mura pa."  First stop was at Venetian hotel. Hahaha! Went shopping a while, took pictures and rode the gondola. Haha! After that, went to St. Paul Ruins for one last sight seeing at night. We decided to leave the place at 9:00 pm since the ferry closes at 10:30 (wouldn't want to get stranded in Macau). O_O Took the 10:00 pm ride to Hong Kong, and ate dinner and dessert at Sham Sui Po at 11:00 pm.  

Day 4 (Aug. 9. 2009)- Shopping Day

Before going shopping, we met with my aunt, uncle and one of my cuzin for dimsum lunch at Time's Square, Causeway Bay. Hahaha! I have to say. This was the only moment that we actually had a breather and chance to enjoy our meal (mga meals namen mas fast pa sa fast food). Love the dimsums, and got really full after wards! Hehe.. After lunch, first stop was Time's Square, and then Sogo.  We left Causeway area after that, and headed all the way to Tung Chung outlet (whooh!). By night time, we decided to go to Tsim Sha Tsui and Ladies' Market for one final go.  When our feet couldn't take it anymore, we decided to head back to pack up. Slept at around 3am.

Day 5  - Back to Manila

6 am wake up call. 8 am departure from hotel to Airport. 11 am flight. HAHAHA! Graabee.. And, till this time, we're still always on-the-run. Haha! Missed the chance to eat breakfast at the airport and retorted to taking out at Popeye's. For some reason, we always have this detour that eats our time. Hahaha! And then we end up all over the place. Though, I was still able to buy Starbucks coffee... YESSS! Finally, I was able to buy a decent Starbucks coffee (I ordered once but they gave me iced Americano coffee.. >_<) Hahaha! And then a pack of Salem Lights for my parents right before final call.

That's about it. Definitely, want to do this again (though I think some tweaking with the itinerary is needed). 

New Lessons Learned:

- Taxis go way cheaper if you're 5 in a car than MTR (MURA ANG TAXI!).
- Make sure to allot time for meals (apparently, we failed to include this in the itinerary... Having decent meals and all).
- Econo-light: you only paid for your seat and nothing more. (Wag ka nang magreklamo kung magalaw yun ride, sira yun table thing in front of you or di ka pinapansin ng stewardes. Hahaha!).
- 3rd illegal persons work out in a hotel room (kaso wag mo ren tangkain magreklamo or magrequest ng kung anu-ano pa.. Baka kung ano pa gawin sayo.)
- You can get great bargains booking online (278 for 4 nights!? How whack is that?).
-  How to get around Macau Hotels: Leech (maging linta) within the shuttle buses.
- Consider having a more relaxed and chill pace next time (di yun tipong amazing race).
- Want plastic in Hong Kong? Pay .50 cents (even if they say 5 cents).
- Personal Learning: Alcohol doesn't get me "unsober" fast, but lack of sleep does! Hahaha!

 

This has got to be the weirdest virus or whatever you call it that I've ever encountered that I even had to take screenshots.  I opened my laptop a while ago, and noticed something different when I looked the task bar (refer to the image below).



All of a sudden, my time display translated to tagalog! Hahaha! At first, I thought what the hell, did windows update now have some sort of tagalog language settings that I didn't know about till now? Though I already had my hunch that something was up, but didn't want to admit it yet. So I tried accessing my laptop's control panel, and that's when I knew something was messed up; I can't access my control panel, because I lacked permission (I'm using my admin account here) or any other applications that will let me tweak my system! I did the usual troubleshoot of restarting the computer, hoping that it was just some damn glitch. But wait this virus has some more up its sleeves. When my windows restarted, it displayed this image:



At this point, I didn't know if I was more annoyed or more amused with this one. I mean what the hell really... Is this some shit anti-GMA campaign, and of all laptops, it had to be mine. At this point, I knew it was really a virus. Just when I was about to reformat my laptop, lo and behold, the final blow, which made me laugh so hard:




HAHAHAHA! It was hilarious in an annoying kind of way, but yeah it made me laugh more than it made me angry. At the back of my mind "Potek.. Gagawa na nga lang ng virus, ang jologs pa." Hahaha! 

In the end, I managed to fix it by doing a system restore (thank god I didn't have to reformat it), and so far, things are okay. But damn, what the hell... People make up these days. Still wondering how I got the virus, it was still working fine last night and I don't remember accessing any suspicious websites or emails (was bc playing Plants vs. Zombies.. Hehehehe...) the past days..

I'm already in my 1st year within the corporate world.  Those 12 months were quite eventful, and it did give me a view on what life "could" be like if I do go on pursuing this in the next 3 years or so. But still, the question still remains that I have yet to answer, "should I stay permanently?" I've always been honest about this one, even to my manager; I'm giving HP 3 or so years, and then we'll see from there. Whether I remain in corporate, do my own thing or help in my dad’s business, I guess one year is still too short for a span in order for me to determine that answer. However, I kept this promise to myself; that if ever I do leave, I'm going to make sure first that I won't be leaving any mess (or any unfinished business) behind.  

Well, I can't say that corporate life in HP is grand and it's not really what I can call a "dream" job or life (especially that it's IT in nature), but of course, it's not always "alat" as I probably portray it sometimes. Just that, stress and other sad events just really tick me and I end up looking at everything negatively; to point that the thought of resigning lingers already in my mind. I mean, sometimes I end up working until the evening even if I'm in the morning shift (or one time, I had to work on one weekend). Not to mention, I might really end up not in the morning shift anymore, and working on weekends / holidays might come by often (*cough* .. support.. *cough*) in the future. Or, demanding project deliverables when the project expect a lot from you (even if it's not already part of your work... ahem .. ahem.. ). Most of all, I’ve seen teammates come and go (a few close ones at that), which really discouraged me at work. Seeing close teammates go really made me think "what the hell am I still doing here when everyone is leaving?" Also, IT work is really just draining and blah (pay is quite good compared to others, but at the expense of what?).  

Then again, when I think about it after a while, I'm probably just exaggerating. I mean, within the corporate world, in what other company can you go to the office without really thinking about being late or going home earlier than usual from time to time? In what other company will allow you to just go down and buy coffee from Starbucks or whatever anytime you want (guilty as charged!)? In what company can you see a big deal or leniency when it comes to taking leaves? Most of all, in what other company will allow you to work in the comforts of your own home once or twice a week (Heck, it's even part of your performance assessment)? Don't get me wrong though. Of course, I'm not saying to abuse those privileges. We also have to act as responsibly, and use these privileges wisely. I'm just saying that when one succumbs to all the bitterness, one fails to see the brighter side of things, and we fail to see these little things that also matter or things that really make our lives a whole lot better than others out there. Later on, we might regret not realizing about them and regret our impulsive actions.  And comparing myself  to others (and speaking for myself) , some are in a worse position than me, which makes my "alat" just plain whining.  So, maybe I do have a lot of things to experience still, and I'm just at the tip of the iceberg. 

As I would say, “to each his own problems and challenges”.  It just doesn't make sense to quit and end up in the same rut, and typical IT companies are all the same in my point of view. So for me, instead of looking for another IT company, I'd just stay put and try to get a sense of direction within (unless again, I don't see any direction anymore) rather than having to go back to start and waste everything that I’ve worked hard on.

So for my second year in corporate, I’m going to be less “alat” and complaining, and focus on the positives!

I went to Japan last week for 11 days. This time around, it wasn't a solo adventure; I've spent Japan days with my family. 5 days in Tokyo (stayed at Keio Plaza) and 6 days in Osaka (stayed at Swissotel).  We arrived at Tokyo around 8:00 pm so we never had a chance to go around anymore. The second day in Tokyo wasn''t that swell as well since it was raining, and had a difficult time walking around (there goes two days). We decided to just stay within the vicinityin Shinjuku, Shibuya and attempted Akihabara (though we weren't able to go around that much in Akihabara since the rain got stronger). Not to mention, my sister slipped on the ground as they were walking somewhere, and she had to be on wheelchair (for the entire trip!).

Sunday, the 3rd day in Tokyo,  was better than the previous day too. The weahther was breezy and sunny! We spent the 3rd day  Ginza and Harajuku. We decided to go to Ginza on a Sunday, because road closes there and we can walk around freely. But damn, things are so expensive in Ginza. Hahaha... Harajuku was spent on a Sunday as well, because of the Cosplayers. They weren't swarming, but there were a number of them compared last time I went. My brothers and I went to Roponggi for a while during the early hours of the night.

On the 4th day, we decided to go to Mt. Fuji and Lake Ashii in Hakone since the weather was getting better (according to the forecast). It was my first time to actually get till the 5th station. Haha! Last time I went, I wasn't able to go since the weather was bad (damn rain). Hahaha! One thing I have to say, bring gloves and two jackets! It was so freezing up there that my hands were so numb that they hurt already! As we headed for Lake Ashii, it started to drizzle again (so much for a good weather forecast). It was kind of gloomy when we got there, but it was still something to see.

5th day, we went to Tokyo Tower and Tsukiji. Haha. Woke up at 5 am in the morning to get to Tsukiji and eat some fresh sushi. Hahaha! Too bad we missed the fish aution though.. >_< I think we were a bit too late.  By mid morning, we decided to go to Tokyo Tower for the heck of it. Well, it's just a tower actually... According to the taxi driver that drove us there, it's a radio station or something (or at least that's how understood it when we were talking in Japlish). For me, Tokyo Tower is really nothing much; I'd just go to the Metropolitan Gov't and go their observatory.. Hahaha.. It's basically the same thing, and it's free!

By the 6th day, we headed to Osaka via Shinkansen. Hahaha! Well, Osaka is way smaller than Tokyo, and reminds me of Hong Kong. Everything's almost connected to each other so we didn't really have to use in taxis or trains just to go around. We basically stayed in Shinsaibashi most of the time since my family wanted to shop shop shop (withdrawal symptom ata dahil di naka-shop mashado sa Tokyo)! Hahaha! We went to Amemaru as well. They call it America Town, and no, they still don't speak english there. Hehe... I don't know what makes it America Town, but they do have a mini statue of liberty there, and the fashion there is more American-like? I wouldn't miss Den Den Town as well, the Akihabara of Osaka. Hahaha! Lots of things to see if you're into electronics, games, animes, anime/ game figurines and OSTs, etc. On the cultural side, I suggested that we go to the Osaka castle, and that we did. Hahaha! Too bad there weren't any Cherry Blossoms anymore... I heard the Cherry Blossoms there look great. We also went to Universal Studios and the Osaka Aquarium. If you're into marine life (like me), I guess the aquarium is a good place to visit. 

In a paradoxical kind of way, it was fun, and yet stressful? As I've said before, Japanese people don't really know english that well. I had to rely on my JAPALA1 learnings + my dictionaries (take note of the "s") just to get by from time to time. One thing I have to say.. NOSEBLEED!!! Hahahaha! If there's a Japanese konyo, I would probably be one of them. Hahaha! I think the most nosebleeding experience that I encountered during that trip was always on transportation. Hahaha! When we bought Shinkansen tickets, it took us 30 mins just to buy 6 damn  tickets and figuring out what the ticket person was trying to say. We managed to get it in the end after circular conversations, and a "game" of pictionary. Hahaha! Yes! Pictionary... At one point, my dad retorted to just drawing whatever both he and the ticket person wanted to say while I try to browse through my dictionary to come up with a sensible sentence. Hahaha!    That's not the end of it, on the day of our trip Osaka, my family asked me to talk to the station people there to explain that "my sister is injured, and can't walk. We need a wheelchair here and once we reach Osaka." Hahaha! Two simple sentences that almost drove me crazy. Hahaha. As soon as we got there, I was hopeful that the workers there would at least understand english, but was I wrong.. Hahaha! As soon as I started to speak in english, they started panicking again and talked back in Japanese. I was like "Oh shittt. Time to bring out my list of vocabs." Fortunately, I think they got my point (even though that it was a mix of english and japanese...), and they arranged a wheelchair for us (with an escort too). Haha!

I guess if there's one blessing that that injury gave us is that we always got special treatment (I guess out of pity?). We always had escorts when we're in the stations to get from point A to point B. People allow us to get first on elevators in shopping departments. We got this sort of fast pass in Universal so that we don't have to line up in the rides. Hahahaha! 

New Learnings in Japan: 

- The Japense help the disabled A LOT! It's like your #1 one disabled-friendly neighborhood so act like you're handicapped to get what you want! Hahaha! Joke! 
- I think the Japanese understand or get english more than they think they could. They just start to panic that's all that's why they think they can't.. Hahaha.. I think you just have to mix in some Japanese so that they don't start panicking (happened twice already.. One with the taxi driver and one with a shopkeeper at a clothing store). Both of them said they couldn't understand english, but when I started speaking Japanese they started to open up and spoke little english (I was like "WHAT THE HELL? I thought you don't know English."). I think they're more of a english speaker than a listener (like I'm more of a Japanese speaker than a listener). So we meet halfway, we speak in Japlish. Hahaha! The konyo of Japan.
- For some odd reason, I always find the good english speakers in Akihabara. Hahaha! First point is in the Mochi shop and then I found another one in Yodobashi. Who would've thought that one could find good english speakers in Akihabara, the electronic district of Tokyo? Hahaha!
- If you want to hone your charades, pictionary and "pinoy henyo" skills? Go to Japan. Hahaha! You have to rely on those to get your point sometimes.

Got this one from an email of one of my bosses. Haha...
 
To the people asking what an IT life is, here goes:

1. We work weird (night) shifts...
Just like prostitutes.
(Haha! My shift is still considered normal compared to my other officemates... For now... Anyone heard about Global Shift?)

 2. They pay you to make the client happy...
Just like a prostitute.
(Yeah... What the client wants, the client must get.. No exceptions. hahaha!)

 3. The client pays a lot of money, but your employer keeps almost every penny...
Just like a prostitute.
(I think we get less than 10% of what they get when we do the job right)

 4. You are rewarded for fulfilling the client's dreams...
Just like a prostitute.
(Yeahh.. But it isn't much I tell you...)

 5. Your friends fall apart and you end up hanging out with people in the same profession as you...
Just like a prostitute.
(Hahaha! Well this is not entirely true yet? To my friends, what do you guys think?)

 6. When you have to meet the client you always have to be perfectly groomed...
Just like a prostitute.
(I think this applies to all professions in the corporate world.. I repeat, the corporate world..)

 7. But when you go back home it seems like you are coming back from hell..
Just like a prostitute.
(Hahaha! Especially when the clients demand impossible things from you..)

 8. The client always wants to pay less but expects incredible things from you...
Just like a prostitute.
(They want us to be like Superman or something.)

 9. When people ask you about your job, you have difficulties to explain it...
Just like a prostitute.
(Based from experience, YES! My current 2.5-man subteam situation already complicated to explain at that.. What more my real job? Heard of Enterprise Portals anyone? ... I think otherwise...)

 10. Everyday when you wake up, you say: "I'm not going to spend the rest of my life doing this."
Just like a prostitute ........
(Wahahaha! Need I say more?)

To sum it up, I.T.'s just like a prostitute.

PS:
You might ask why we aren't leaving our profession? Well... The money's there...  And we're not THAT affected  (as compared to the other companies) with all the recession and global economic crisis blah blah..
Just like a prostitute.. Hahaha!

My birthday went quite well. Stress was on a minimal level (thank god!), if not none at all.  A lot of people greeted me from all over (friendster, multiply, facebook, YM, plurk and cell phone). Hahahaha! Thanks to those who greeted! You know who you are from my HS Friends, the Log, my DLSU Friends, Batchmates and Acquiantances down to my Officemates.  Hehehe.. :D

Highlight of my 23rd birthday, my officemates surprised me with a cake. Hahaha! I was doing my own thing when all of a sudden some of them were behind me with a cake. Hahaha! It's nothing much, but the feeling is nice to get something without expecting it. Hehehe.. It's my first birthday at HP too. 

Afer work, went to Edsa Shang to meet my family and ate dinner at Heat. Hahaha.. Another pigout session... There goes my diet once again. Hahhaa!

To sum it up, this birthday was ayt. Hehehe...

 Yesterday, I went to my boss' wedding at Caruluega Chapel, Tagaytay. Missed the wedding ceremonies though... Ehehehe... We had some transpo difficulties going there. I hitched with one of my officemates, and there was something wrong with the engine. Well that "heat gauge" (the one that rises when the car starts to overheat) was rising every now and then so we had to make some stops to make it cool down. Funny thing though.. We seem to stop at the most convenient places, and there were people to help us out. Fortunately, we managed to reach the place, and didn't end up stranded.

Since we didn't reach the ceremony in time, I'm skipping through it and going directly to the reception at Splendido. What's it like? Welll.. It's kinda different from the typical "Chinese Wedding Reception". First of, the lauriat's out that's for sure, and we were on buffet (Loved the desserts especially).  There were no intermission numbers.. Ya know.. The one where guests (especialy the amas) would have this special song number for everyone to hear (whether it's good or bad).   There were a lot of speeches. Hehehe.. I think every ninong and ninang had to give this wedding advice or tip to the bride and groom. 

One quote that got stuck in my head:
"Always let a woman have the ending line  in an argument 'coz if you don't, your next line will be another beginning of an argument." - True? I'll let you, readers have the say. Haha!

I had a great time during the reception thanks to good company especially to Irene and Lowell.  To pass the time, we went on a "photoshoot" since we were all suited up. Some poses were funny and some were serious.  And then we also had some intellectual conversations about the recession, politics and stuff, which ended up into sabaw-ness. Hahaha!

Sabaw line during our "intellectual" conversation:
"Eh si Eric Obama? Sino siya?"   

Damn.. Eric Obama (If you didn't get what's wrong here... Well... I will not say anything.)? Hahaha!  I laughed so hard that it made me cry, and the others were just speechless and didn't know what to say. 'Nuff said.. Hahaha! I'm not saying that I know politics to the nitty gritty detail, but damn... This is just way way below the line. Hahaha! I'm also not saying that the one who said that was stupid or anything. Sa totoo lang di ko alam kung nantritrip cya or seryoso talaga siya... He has this serious look every time, but at the same time, mahirit sha (to the Logkada reading this: Imagine him like Khristian.. Seriously, I can see a whole LOT of similarities.)... So I dunno what gives, but this is just priceless.

Left at around 10 pm just in case the car problem would start again. At least during that time, there were still gas stations open. Fortunately, the car didn't act up, which was really weird. I mean if it really had a problem, it would've happened again, but it didn't. We were able to get back to Manila smoothly, and before 12 midnight.  

Geez... Feel so old... Getting a wedding invitation, and a non-family related matter at that? Welcome to adolescence (where debuts are a thing of the past, and weddings are the next big thing)! Hahaha! 

As I am writing this blog, I am under a high level of alochol consumption (And miraculously, I can still write coherently,). Hehehe... I'm currently in Tagaytay right now for our team's offsite (a.k.a teambuilding), and as usual, there will always be drinking when the night falls. I wasn't able to count already how much I drank, but  I'm sure that it was a combination of Vodka, Tequila, Arctic and other alcholohic beverages similar to those (Naka-mix na sila eh tapos bigay lang ng bigay... Ako naman inom lang ng inom. Hahahah!).

I kinda felt it after two  shots of this certain mix after a whole coupe of cups of the others mixes (I dunno what was in that mix, but yeah... "Traydor" yun drink na yun). During the first shot, it was still okay, but after a while, my vision went a bit blurry and I was like "Damn... I think I'm starting to feel it." (Note: I'm drinking two kinds of mixes at the same time at this point). Come the second shot, that's when I realized that I was indeed getting tipsy (everything was starting to move in slow motion).  I had to stop the second drink that I was drinking at the same time (feel ko if I continued, I would end up in a mess).

Well, bottomline, the mere fact that I can still blog and walk straight while in this state of "tipsy-ness" means that I am still in control, and still in the starting level.  I'm scared to go on and actually see my actual tolerance level since I'm not really close to the people with me (If it was the Log, I would've continued further). Cguro, mga 2 more shots of that drink, and I would've really felt it and who knows what might happen? HAHAHAHA! How's that for tolerance level?

Because of these idle times that I've been having right now, it got me into thinking about a lot of stuff. When I say a lot of stuff, I really meant A LOT (this took me a few days to compose). I went a long long trip down memory lane, and I ended up thinking how my life was then (starting from Grade School) till now.  What are the things that  I came up with so far? Well here goes...

Early Grade School:
I remembered my life revolved around school and home and that's it. Well for the early part of Grade School... Long term friends and cliques weren't the "in" thing for me yet... Well I had friends, but didn't consider them as friends that you expect to be with you for a long time. Life wasn't complicated at all, and the  only problems that I was thinking about is the idea of going so early to school and those damn tests (Gee.. I wish life was that simple right now). Come the weekend, I'd be excited 'coz I will get to play all day / night long. Hahaha! Did I care what would happen the next week? Not at all.  

What were the "in" things then? Well I remembered marbles were one... Pogs too... And I remembered playing a few games of Cops and Robbers, but never really was good at it (Never was athletic). Yep.. I think we also had those Cops and Robbers tournament during breaks. Hahahaha! And oh yes, who would forget those Mosul Pencils (the one where you can refill with leads)? Gad... If you had those that time, it's like you're the popular kid... Hahahaha!

Latter Grade School:
Cliques and long-term friends did start to form at this part of my life. Hahaha! There's Vani, Albert and Toph for one. And of course. Miguel! Wahahaha! Yep, I go a long long way with these guys. This was actually the time I started hangin' with friends like going out and chillin' in each other's houses. I could still remember having those Bowling gimmicks with Vani and the others (hehehe.. Usually after school on a half-day. I gotta miss those half-days). Overnights were also like regular thing. Though it's my house most of the time (since my house is the only house that can accomodate us).

I gotta remember those class nights too. Hahahaha! Overnight at school just to have fun!? How whack is that? Hehehe... We used the HS MPH for this with our sleeping bags (and damn the aircons there... They freeze you to death).  Though I also remembered sleeping in the classrooms for our batch nights. Well.. It was pretty tight, but we managed. Hahahaha!

I started to gain a lot of weight at this point too... This was where it all started... All that weight gaining 'coz of chocolates and sweets. Gad... Hahahaha.. Ginagawa kong chips ang chocolate... Gee... And I wondered why I was getting fat during that time... Guess I didn't know better yet. O_o

High School:
Yep! Definitely the best years of school life! Minus those "teen issues" (Shet.. I'm really getting old...), which took me into a lot of mood swings and peer pressure. Another group formed here too.. The Movie Group (Jaime, Anton, Clark, Miguel, Eug, Khristian, Ivan, Julian, Paek)! They're one of the reasons why my HS became more memorable. We used to go out every week just to watch one movie (kaya nga Movie Group eh)... Whether it sucked or not, we didn't care... At least I didn't... Just the matter of the company made it worth it. Of course, I couldn't forget all those damn plannings... It was realy a headache... Jaime and I had to organize days before the thing and would talk 3 or so hours at night before the gimmick day just to get things straight and ready. Walang kwenta ang org stuff planning compared dito (I had this one to thank for my planning and organizing "skills")! From looking for a place where everyone can go, finding the right movie where everyone wants to watch, WHO will buy the tix early in the morning (usually it's me and Jaime who dthis).. PATI transpo ng tao kami na bahala (like who whill hitch and who will bring just to make sure everyone can go)! Definitely missed the early morning ticket buying... Like at around 8 am or so, Jaime and I would go to Rockwell (Rockwell ang "gimmick" mall ata nun eh... Similar to Promenade right now) to get nice seats. Hahaha! The ticket lady knew us already for being crazy... who buys ticket at 8 am in the morning besides us!? Then, I'd just crash at Jaime's building (Yep, he owns a building.. Not just a unit). 

DWTL was also the buzz at school. With all the rumors about it spreading around, who wouldn't be curious and concerned (If you're a Xaverian or ICAn or any Jesuit school for that matter.. I think you should know this)? Hahaha! Definitely a spirit booster, and will exhaust your writing hand out. Hahahaha! With all the Palanca letters that you have to write after, hahahaha... Good luck na lang... Para kang sumasagot ng Fan Letters (though I already had a template... Just that damn... It was time consuming and my hand hurt every night...). I became a staffer too to help out in DWTL... I dunno if it was just sheer luck or something, but yep, I got in among the hunrdreds of HS students out there. What did I get being a staffer? Well, I had to stay up in the wee hours of the morning to clean up and do some final preparations for the next day, and during the day, we had to make sure that everything's in place and was going smoothly. I burned some calories afterwards.. Hahaha!

Soph nigt, the Prom and Senior's Night, Soirees (ganyan ba spelling?) were also a social thing during HS, but I never really participated that much in this. Natatamad ako at nahahassle... Hahahaha! It wasn't just my thing, but I did go to the Prom (kaso setup lang). It was an interesting experience to say the least, but of course, it would've been a whole lot better if you spent it with someone special (MALAMANG... PROM eh...) And that's when I realized that I didn't know how to talk to girls... Feel ko mukha akong ewan nun... >_<

HS was also a great milestone for me 'coz this was the time I lost weight! HAHAHAHA! YESSS.... 40+ pounds mehnn (From 185 or so, it went down to 140) in just 2  months (the entire HS 3rd year summer)! It took a lot of determination and discipline to pull this one off. No sweets, No rice, no midnight / merienda snacks, no chips AT ALL! Exercising 30 mins a day (Oh thank you Konami for developing Dance Rev)! It paid off eventually. After some time, I didn't realize that I was actually losing until I was making everyone's eyes pop out. So, to the people out there who JUST want to lose weight? Di niyo KELANGAN MAG-GYM! Hahahaha! It's the little things that you do everyday that matters.

College Prelude:
"I have no idea." That was what I was telling everyone when they would ask me where I would go in college. Kase... Wala talaga.. I never got in any University (KAHET DLSU! Gad... I feel so embarrased when people say that lahat nakakasapok sa DLSU... So what happened to me?) Modesty aside, I got a gold medal and a computer dept award during grad, but where did that lead me? None! I was so bummed, because of the fact that I didn't know what happened... I got the grades, the reco letters, the right club (was part of the school paper). Buti sana kung patapon ako, but nooooo.... Anyway, enough about that... But yeah, I wasn't happy during my grad 'coz I still didn't have any school at that time... No one expected it even the teachers. But, I guess things happened for a reason... Eventually, I got in DLSU in Com Sci due to my appeal and some.. *cough*.. connections... *cough*... It was embarrasing, but that's the truth...

College:
How was my 1st year? Depressing... Thinking about all my HS friends were in ADMU while I was stuck in DLSU felt sucky (not to mention that I also wanted to go to the other school).To add to that, I didn't really blend well with most of my CS blockmates during 1st year; they're just not my crowd. Sure, I was also into video games and a bit of MMORPG, and so were they but I wasn't THAT into it. Sure I was a nerd for taking up CS, but damn... My life does not revolve around computers and internet gaming alone. No wonder other colleges call my college as Planet Gox... Honestly, my college contains the geekiest and weirdest people in tne entire university (And right now, it got even weirder... Cosplayers anyone?).

Despite that, it didn't use it as an excuse to leave or move to another college 'coz I was sure that I would find the right people and crowd eventually (even though it's like looking for a needle in a haystack).  All I had to do was to meet other people and that I did. During 3rd term of my 1st year, we were already allowed to enroll by ourselves. I enrolled to different sections without considering where my block was enrolling. Eventually, that paid off and got to meet other people. Well.. Let's just say that I was right, and I was just probably at the wrong block.

2nd year was stagnant, and I was able to adjust to college life at that time. I think this was also the time where I was slowly getting closer with some of my HS friends' ADMU friends (Ken, Aidz and Kate, which eventually turned to the fun Logkada), and was also getting the feel of the ADMU environment.  I'd go to the ADMU campus and sat in different classes (of course, hiding myself as a La Sallian) especially in the MIS classes (thanks to Vani and Ivan for sneaking me in) during my term breaks . I got familiar with some ADMU profs even though I just heard stories about them (and there's one prof I think everyone hated... VENUS IBARRA... I even got her first name. Hahahaha! Yep... That infamous Accounting prof...  even my Atenean officemates dislikes her). And of course, got to know and befriended an ADMU prof (Clark Alejandrino). So if there's someone who really knows and experienced, even for a bit, the differences between an Atenean and La Sallian? I think that I'm one of them (maybe I should write an entry about it next time... Hmmmm....).

3rd year was my peak in DLSU, and it is starting to grow on me for the better (no more alats on the school or what)! I thought to myself, "Hey, maybe DLSU isn't that bad after all." From acads to social life, things were starting to roll.  My grades were improving (for some reason), and I was starting to have a group. Webdeve class was the most memorable for me 'coz that's where it all started. I got to know great friends like Marga, Anne, Bamba and Marco, and I got my first ever 4.0 on a major subject. Soon enough I was also introduced to their other great friends (Kris, Ivy, Jannelle, Joseph, Jonas, Icko, Erico, Sheila, Toni and Julson). With my acads and social life being at its peak, I thought it was time to put some more things into perspective... ORGS! Yep, this was the only time I joined orgs (better late than never), and also got introduced with external orgs (with this I meant Celadon). At first, I didn't get accepted in Green Media, which was a bummer, but I did get accepted in LSCS and Moomedia as AVP-Publicity and Junior Officer for Publicity. Adding orgs definitely brought more spice in my college life, and as a publicity member, it was also an exercise! Imagine me going all around campus just to post the posters, and take them down again after. Definitely loved this year!

Thesis occupied my 4th year, and sadly, stress levels were high in both acads and org stuff. My social life dwindled a little. I had a difficult time organizing and planning for the Logkada since I was so busy worrying about other things. Well, in the end, I managed to pass and graduate on time (thank god that's over)!

That's probably a quick run through on how my life went so far until now. I'll have to see where HP will bring me in the future (or if I would still even be here in the next couple of years or so).

I'm statring to get sick and tired of this waiting job. The project that I was assigned to is really getting nowhere. What have I been doing? I'm still pestering people across the globe to resolve certain technical issues in the project. It seems that things just won't work the way it should be. Kung baga, ako yun nagrereklamo at nagsasabi na may kelangan silang ayusin... Not the job that I had expected for an entry level. I'm not used to this kind of thing... I mean just plain waiting and not being able to do anything... Ugh... But what can I do? The problem is really out of my scope. Now I get the feeling of too much bumming around to the point that I'm the one asking for something to do. Hahaha! How whack is that!?  That's how bored I am right now.

I already told my boss about it, and yeahh.. she told me "Waiting is part of work." Hahaha! So I guess, in some weird logical way, I'm doing something productive by waiting? Though, I might be going to the office on Saturday night for something... O_O Work on a Saturday, bumming on a weekday?

My job is really starting to get interesting.