Milenyo

Yesterday was my birthday, and I spent the day pretty much waiting for the big storm to abate. Of course, storm signal #3 was already raised in Manila the night before, and classes on all school levels had already been suspended but this doesn't mean that work was automatically suspended too. Last week, I friggin left my mobile phone in a cab (more on that later) and so even if our Office Manager supposedly sent me an SMS to say that work was suspended... I wouldn't have known. Besides, PAGASA had been wrong before and I lived 10 minutes away from work, I had conf call meetings with HK and it wasn't even raining yet. So why not?

I parked across the building and went up only to then find out, that there were about 15 or so other employees that didn't get notified. Plugged in my laptop and saw about 15 emails that needed to be cleared. One email went on to look like I might be going to HK next week to monitor some vendor work, so might as well settle this issue today. About 30 mins later, it started to rain and boy did it really pour. We were on the 29th floor and by around 10:00 AM, the windows were chattering and the whole building was swaying... actually more like shaking. Got a little nervous of course since all I could think of was 9/11.

After several calls with the wife who was scolding me for ever going to work that morning, I decided to gamble driving home at about 1:30 PM. Can't really understand why it would be better to do so, since it would obviously be safer to stay in the building... but wives have never really made sense, so why bother arguing this time right? Of course I was fucking drenched as soon as I stepped outside the building. I had to wiggle my way out of a tight parking and then arrived home relatively without any incidents. Hooray! There was a blackout. Now I'm stuck at home with no TV, no light, no internet. Great!

Of course the little cretin (my daughter) was very happy I was home. She made me a birthday card with a nice dedication. We played for a while until I gave up and took a nap. About 3:00 PM, my brother called asking me to pick up his stranded ass in Makati. So off we went and it would have probably taken longer had I not taken a side street. Paseo De Roxas and Buendia was packed with vehicles. Apparently the roads were filled with uprooted trees and other debris. On the way back, we tried the Makati-Mandaluyong bridge but it too was packed. Was a stupid choice really since it was probably flooded. Went back to Makati Avenue and then avoided Buendia by going through Jupiter street. Of course there was no exit to EDSA so I had to go over the island in Buendia and make it to the EDSA-Buendia flyover. North bound EDSA traffic was almost at a stand still because of this:


I had to take the C5 flyover and then make a U-turn at the Fort. At least I was now closer to the accident and should be able to wiggle my way through easier. Long story short, I arrived back home at about 5:30PM. It wasn't really that bad actually since I know it could have been worse if we really got stuck in traffic. Watched the news and found out that Manila was hit pretty bad. 30 deaths and counting.

Can't beleive how stupid the news reporters are these days. On the pic below, the fx driver was killed when he got squizhed inside. One reporter asked a witness, "Ano ang itsura nya nung nadaganan sya?" Another one even asked, "Pano bumagsak ung billboard?"





Well... Happy Birthday to me!

Botox

Last night, I saw Ray Liotta on Letterman and he looked horrible with his forehead and cheeks looking so bloated with botox. It looked like he had difficulty smiling or even smirking. I mean, I know he's in showbusiness, but why would you want to do something like that? Sure you look younger when you pull a straight face, but you give yourself away everytime you so much as move any small face muscle. His face looked like the mask Robin Williams wore on Mrs. Doubtfire. Actually, it probably was a mask since the only semblance of life were the two eye holes and the moving mouth. Sheesh!

Circa 1978

This was Microsoft Corporation way back in 1978. Found this on the iternet while surfing earlier. You recognize anyone?

Rainy Night

Crap! I'm back at my desk. Wasn't able to bring the car to work and it's raining outside. There were about 20 people lined up outside the building fighting for the infamously rare cab ride on a rainy night. Called my wife. I'd rather wait for her.

******

Yesterday, I caught the latest update on the wild river ride issue while watching late night news. It seems a bumper car has malfunctioned and actually started to smoke. The city government has ordered the theme park to be closed anew, pending a new inspection. I can't believe the mayor and the engineers had the guts to face the TV crew and valiantly proclaim that they're ordering Start City to close again. What the fuck did they do the first time around then?

A 12 yr old girl fell and died while on top of the wild river ride and so everybody was a-buzz with such an unfortunate incident. They supposedly did a thorough inspection. They eventually reopened the place a few days ago, and now this? Excuse me for a fucking minute here... but which nincompoop did the initial investigation then? But who cares really... we all know public security certificates from the LGUs are so cheap these days, you wouldn't bother to get the change if you bought one.

*******

Last saturday, I was at Elorde Gym for my boxing workout. We went 6 rounds this time, and I didn't really get exhausted. Of course, there is a difference between tired and exhausted. Tired is when your hands get a bit weary and maybe you take a minute to sit down or sip some activade. Exhausted is panting like a motherfucker fighting for his life. I was exhausted the first time, but not this time. I'm at least starting to build back a stamina that resembles someone who used to bench press 4 reps of 250lbs, or play 4 hours of continuous basketball drills and full court games. OK maybe not exactly like my old stamina, but at least something that doesn't immediately label me as a pussy.

I still weigh between 210lbs and 215lbs, but at least I feel better. I also found out that part of the reason my knuckles got sore was because I was trying to punch the heavy bag with the fist, and not like I should when my fists are wearing gloves. OK, I just reread that sentence and I don't really know if it made any sense. I just know that I can punch the bag really hard now and it doesn't hurt anymore. I've also started to work the medicine ball like a metronome, but I still need to polish up my speed ball.

Not bad for my second time at Elorde.

Neutered

Went down for my lunch at the local resto in the building. Ordered adobong kangkong and fried tilapia. Went to the condiments section for the usual calamansi, suka, sili, and then... where the fuck is the soy sauce?

Some bastard took it with him to his table. I called the resto crew, he looks around for a while and finally finds it. And it wasn't a "he" who took it. It was a "she". And this she, was cute... and was eating with other cute friends. 4 of them actually. All of them in their early twenties.

Sat across them and watched of course. What else can a fucking neutered married man do? It's not like I can approach and do something... they fucking work in the same building for chrisesakes...

*sigh*

Oh to be young and single again...

Airport security comics

In light of the recent controversy with airport security, and all the hoollaballoo about the security expert smuggling explosives inside a domestic flight. I present these comics to humor your day:

Haven't had the chance to see "Snakes on a Plane" yet. But maybe this is how all those snakes got there.


"I'm afraid so. Please empty your bladder on that tray over there...."


Bring the fun back to flying!

Change of perspective

The great Fred Brooks once said:

"The hardest single part of building a software system is deciding what to build. No other part of the conceptual work is as difficult in establishing the detailed technical requirements, including the interfaces to people, to machines, and to other software systems. No other part of the work so cripples the results if done wrong. No other part is more difficult to rectify later. Therefore, the most important function that the software builder performs for the client is the iterative extraction and refinement of the product requirements."

It really is true. Anyone who has done any consulting work even if it's not in IT can truly vouch for this. And for the first time in my life, I am now on the other side of the table as 'the client'. I am not really quite sure if I'm enjoying this change of perspective. I know I still have that consutling instinct specially when I talk to vendors now and itnernally quickly assess how I would do their presentation differently or maybe better.

But I guess this is really a breath of fresh air. Consulting/Sales can really be despicable. Specially if you've ever tried to sell anything to the Government. I've always known how deals are made there, but it's different when you're seeing it first-hand. As one colleague once quiped over a couple of beers, "Dito lang naman talaga ako natutong maging talamak."

Road to 190 (Day 1)

About a week ago, I blew a tire just 50 or so meters after leaving my gate. I had to change tires and while jacking the car up, the thing slipped and I scraped my knuckles on the asphalt road. Mostly just scratches, but I also got a pretty nasty but small cut. Had to wait for it to fully heal.

And so today, I finally decided to go to the boxing gym. Been planning to for several months now, but was only able to buy my very own glove some weeks ago... and then the scraping accident. Anyway, I was pretty pumped up to start. Excited even. So after the stretching, my trainer decided to start off with lioght sparring in the ring since the floor was a bit crowded. We did three rounds up there. After the first, I was pretty ok. I was getting compliments for knowing how to throw a punch with power. Of course I did. I did some real punching back in the day. And without the gloves.

Second round came and I felt my knuckles beginning to hurt. Third round, and I was panting like a motherfucker. I had hand wraps around my knuckes, and a pair of leather gloves. My trainer was wearing those cushion pads in his hands, and still everytime I was trying to hit with force, I felt my knuckles twitch. It really puts things in perspective when you remember seeing all those pro boxers hit the heavy bag like a battering ram.

And then 3 rounds of speed ball and 3 rounds on the heavy bag. By this time, I was hitting the bag like a fairy. Worse part was, I was doing this beside a skinny guy standing around 5'2", who was fucking swinging his heavy bag with left hooks. Fucking pathetic!

Then we did 3 rounds on the medicine ball, and then the ab workout. For the love of god, I have never been so fucking humiliated inside a gym. A girl who was doing the same routine was outlasting me. I would stop on the 13th count primarily because I couldn't breathe and she would go on to 20. We did about 8 sets of different ab routines. I thought I was gonna die. Nothing jolts the reality of being fat and out of shape to your face better than feeling you are about to die while doing an exercise.

I dont really know how I let myself go like this for so long. I went up to the scale and was kinda shocked. Ever since the scale in the house broke, I always thought I weighed the same when it was still working. I was 205lbs at my heaviest. And I thought this was the heaviest I've ever been. Well, it turns out I was dead wrong. I am now actually 215lbs.

By the time I took the gloves and the wraps off. My knuckles were red and sore. The ice tray will be empty tonight!

So I am taking this fucking thing very seriously, and very personal. Im gonna fucking sweat and bleed to drop my weight to 190lbs by Christmas and this will be a solid commitment. My blog shall bear witness... and so ends Day 1 of my new quest.

I hate being CCd

I am technically and officially no longer connected with my previous company but surprisingly, I seem to still have access to our OWA (Outlook Web Access)... which is really uncharacteristic of the Data Center guys in Florida.

I have always been pissed off with the "cc the world" mentality there, but now I just noticed that I currently have 14,051 mails in my Inbox. This doesnt really sound that staggering except when you consider the fact that I was employed there for only 8 months. This essentially means:

8 * 24 (working days per month) = 192
14,051 / 192 = 73

So I was really getting an average of 73 emails per day.... not counting the spams that I have always been deleting daily. Sounds about right!