Rude Awakening

Catching up from KL

2007-10-04T01:10:00.000+08:00

Ok so I finally get to update my blog again. I am in KL right now and it's 12:36am. I just came back from buying a very lame cheese sandwich and 2 kitkat bars from 7-eleven. This friggin hotel doesn't have room service after 10:30pm and they don't change foreign currencies. I asked the guy at the desk what the fucking forex exchange rates list sign behind him is for then, and he says it's only for information purposes. So in essence, it's so you know how much the going rate is, and now you have to haul your ass to somewhere else where the rate is most probably different than the hotel's - ok got it.
At least the wifi at the lobby was decent. But it was the fucking wifi that made me skip the 10:30pm curfew on food anyway. I was checking emails while they were clearing the tables - and it didn't even occur to my sorry ass that it's probably closing time. Of course, it's probably because I was reading the reports from Manila saying that there were major failures in the test run. And my senior engineer who lead the development is in Singapore on training, and I'm stuck here for some leadership training.
At least the hotel is quite near the Petronas towers so we have a nice view. I'm gonna get together with some former colleagues from my previous company. Our KL office was the biggest back then. Now everybody I know has moved into other companies or have been sent elsewhere on a project. But at least there are a couple of ones that are ok to meet and have a few beers for old time's sake.
I got upgraded to deluxe room, and it is essentially a 2 bedroom condo type layout. The elevator sucks though - they have attached an ELID security before you can press a floor button, and my card doesn't work too well. I had to get out on 9th floor and walk up to 10th through the fire exit stairs. Well there ya go - we shall see how all of this pans out. Will be posting some pics soon... ciao for now!

Sunday Afternoon

2007-09-02T17:06:00.000+08:00

It's a dog day afternoon; forced to work in the office preparing for the web app demo to executives tomorrow. Actually, as in other cases - work is actually baby-sitting. The consultant is here finishing his program, one of my staff is on standby for deployment, and another one is on his way.

I had to treat them to some snacks of course. We went to LASA restaurant at Podium. They have a great deal on buffet merienda. Php90 gets you 15 different viands. Actually it's Php108 becasue of taxes, but it's still a winner deal. They have a very tasty pancit canton, spaghetti, arrozcaldo, maja, palitaw, tokwa, ube something (?), dinuguan, and some other local stuff. The really cool thing about it is it already includes drinks. Well, sort of - you only have buco juice and sago't gulaman to choose from, and a very ordinary halo halo. It's nothing to write home about, but still is a sweet deal considering your in podium.

I guess it is good enough that I find myself having slack time in front of my laptop finally. Haven't written any blogs for a while. Got a lot of stuff that's happened - might as well give it a shot right now...

I think around a month ago, an executive visiting from the US was here for a couple of days en route to Sydney. He's an IT guy so my boss and I were discussing the projects we've done here in Asia Pac and the chances of maybe doing the same thing for EMEA (their region). We were the last appointment for that day, as he literally had his bags with him and was prepared to shuttle directly to NAIA after our meeting. My boss offered to porter one of his huge bags and I naturally offered to do the same for his laptop bag, but he begged me off and said he could handle it. So anyway, my boss ended up walking him out and down and I said my goodbye from our floor lobby, and that was it.

And then around 30 minutes later - I got a call from my boss asking me if we had a spare laptop. I said yes, and then he asked me to configure it to be usable for the US guy. And then blah.. blah.. blah... it turns out his entire laptop bag got swiped right in front of our building. Now I'm not gonna say which exact building, but it is one of the most prominent ones in ortigas, and is located in one of the most prominent streets here -- and that just fucking blows your mond away.

Apparently they were all standing just outside the door waiting to hail cab, and then they had to pee so they left the bag there amongst all the other US guys who were also standing and chatting. In fact, some other company colleagues were also standing there since it's the designated smoking area for the building. The way I heard it is that a couple of people actually worked as accomplices to distract all the guys there -- making some commotion about a dropped US$100 bill and then a cute girl walked over to my friend and asked for directions to shangri-la mall.

Nothing really special about that except that my friend is a freaking nymphomaniac (kind of like quentin tarantino's role in the movie "from dusk till dawn") and so the thought of a hot girl walking over to talk to him would literally shake his bones from within.

Naturally -- it rendered him impervious to other outside stimuli and so his peripheral vision was gone. And while all this was running about, a gay guy swiped the entire bag and walked away. The fucking dollar bill even turned out to be fake... what a bummer!

And so there was a police report, and everybody was shocked and amazed, etc. Besides his laptop, the bag also contained the guy's blackberry, some personal stuff, his passport and airline tickets. I felt so embarassed that it happened in Manila, and right in front of our office building. We have barong wearing security just 10 feet away when it happened. And the bag was left just a few steps outside the door. It was swiped right there... not even in the street pavement.

Security video was replayed but the whole thing was conveniently tucked behind a pillar in front of the building -- almost too coincidental if you ask me. Even looked like they knew where the camera was located. But then again, it looked really coordinated and were definitely works of pros, so I'm sure they scoped the place for a couple of days first.

The day after, I got talk to him and he at least believed it could've happened anywhere. At least he's not thinking about not returning to Manila ever. Well, another bad day to charge to experience I guess. I have been travelling a lot myself and I just can't imagine how fucking awful that would've felt if it had happened to me in some other country....

Breaking Benjamin

2007-08-22T14:00:00.000+08:00

OK, I guess I really am getting older. I just recently discovered this band through a friend who suggested we cover their song 'Firefly'. A quick google shows that they've been around for a few years now and have had some hits go mainstream.

Just downloaded a bunch of their singles from the internet and so far I like every song. But they do sound like they use a drop D tuned guitar, so learning their songs might be a second priority since my guitar has a floyd rose lock.

Well, ok maybe they are third priority since I've already told the guys that we will be playing Creed songs which uses an annoying DADADD tuning or at least drop D as well.

Saging ni Mark Lapid

2007-07-03T13:27:00.000+08:00

This has to undoubtedly be the best or worst line ever written for a pinoy movie.

Eto at ginawan nila ng remix...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYYfHGldsE0

Toilet Graffiti

2007-05-29T11:48:00.000+08:00

I snapped this photo from a toilet in Megamall, 3rd level I think.

The text reads:

"Makati ka pa sa gabi,

malaswa, sinungaling,

malandi ka Ariel Catindig

Bakla ka! Mahiya ka sa

Asawa @ Anak mo."

So what can we actually derive from this? First, that some people actually poop with pentel pens. Second, faggots actually do fight amongst themselves, and they can really be bitter.

Playing Badminton

2007-05-21T18:14:00.001+08:00

Ok, so I finally went and played badminton. I still think it's corny and as gay as roller blading but I am only doing it because of my team.

We've pretty much started the Thursday Basketball group going on in my company right now but 2 of my guys don't know rat's ass from dribbling the leather ball so I had to reluctantly agree to badminton. Maybe it's superficial, but maybe on a subconscious level, it really is hard for me to reconcile being involved in a sweaty activity that involves hitting something called a "cock". Or maybe I'm just finally starting to shed off the last remaining piece of my homophobic existence.

Well, whatever it is, now it's on every Tuesday. So we have Tuesdays for shuttlecocks and Thursdays for hoops. If only I could ressurect my boxing sessions and put it on Sundays then I'd be all set.

The Wife and the TV

2007-05-21T18:10:00.001+08:00

If you must absolutely talk or ask me something, can't you wait until the commercial?

... and then you snap on me for ignoring you... sheesh!

Elevator Assholes

2007-04-30T13:24:00.000+08:00

Don't you just hate people who go inside the elevator first ahead of people trying to go out... and then they fucking stand in front, refusing to move over to the back even if there are people still trying to get in? I mean, there's still plenty of space you jerk!

I don't give a flying fuck if you're floor is the first we'll reach... get the fuck out of my way or I will shove my arm down your throat and pull an organ out you fucking dillweed!

Christ! What is it with you people?

Boracay, Bohol, and a new room

2007-04-24T18:08:00.000+08:00

Wow! I guess it's only been exactly 1 month since I last posted. I thought it was a lot longer than that.

Just came back from Boracay with the family this weekend - the sun was fucking scorching. It did feel better than Bohol though since there is just so much more to do in Bora. The sand is finer, even the water felt better for some reason. Or maybe it was because of all the bars and hot babes around. BBC was just too laid back, and if it werent for the fact that the whole company was there, and so we had some activities and the band got to play for 2 nights -- not to mention the open bar, it would've been fucking boring for sure. Finally got to see the tarsier (this deserves a separate post) and the chocolate hills, but fun was fun because of the guys.

I just moved to a new room now so I can probably start going back to posting more regularly. Will be posting some pics too...

Project Blues

2007-02-24T16:11:00.000+08:00

Its saturday afternoon and I'm still at the office working. Been preparing some stuff for the go live on Monday. Finally, one of my projects will roll out to Production. My boss is here as well, not really doing anything but I guess he felt he should support the team on this weekend work day.

I have a whole team of people from Vietnam working on the final modifications, and 4 other people here prepping up things from our side. The truth is, with the speed things are moving right now, we probably wont be able to deploy by end of day today. But I am not really complaining too much. I have virtually done what it was that I hated most when I was doing consulting work - that is to creep some new scope into projects. I must've inserted at least 15 man-days worth of work to this 25 man-day project and only extending the schedule by 8 days.

We got a lot of features and functionality into this darn thing. I remember yesterday when I was talking to the Project Manager from Vietnam and they were trying to be tough with me, telling me that no more changes would be done, etc.. there's a part of me that feels a bit guilty but I guess that's how it is since I am now a client. I've just been through some really tough shit as a consultant and now I know exactly what it is that I demand for as a client.

The wife is starting to give me the cold shoulder already. Havent been able to spend enough time with her and the daughter lately. And now I'm working on a Saturday with a good prospect of returning here tomorrow. Sigh.

Ortigas Parking

2007-02-13T11:23:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, the security guard stopped me from entering my usual parking slot under this chinese restaurant at the back of our building -- I've been parking there for several months now, that being the only covered parking area that has a flat rate of P75 per day.

I was told that they no longer allowed non-customers to park there, more specially the likes of myself who are non-customers that park there for the entire day. I guess the P75 bribe no longer works for the buggers then since that's what it really is - a bribe. Payments of P75 without reciepts. Because really, nobody gives a flying fuck anyway. It's that or a parking fee of at least P90 and a space without any shade. The car gets a nice tan in the sun so to speak - and the inside feels like an goddamn oven.

I was hissing and cussing of course, but what could I do? Drove around several blocks trying to find something similar, but alas - all the ones with shade are for those monthly rates, and those that allow daily and hourly parking are the "baking" slots. So off I go to SM Megamall for their P40 flat rate and I walk my ass to office for at least 6 blocks.

And then I get to talk to my female colleague who I tipped about that nice parking at the chinese resto. Lo and behold, she was still parked there. No issues when she drove in or anything. Fine - maybe the other guard hadn't gotten the memo yet or whatever. And so I drive in again this morning hoping to use this new found leverage and was met up by the same fucker that stopped me yesteday. So we argued for a while and then I called my friend. She said this same fucker happily smiled at her and released the chain guard to let her in without even a single word. Motherfucker!

I guess this just means I lost favor with them and girls apparently still get to pass through. So do I lodge a complaint and let the management know that their security is letting others pass? I don't really know... I guess it all depends on how good my mood is, or if she eve pisses me off... it's just harder to swallow since I was the one who tipped her about that place.

Tablature

2007-02-08T11:25:00.000+08:00

Man i've really been busy with work I havent had the chance to write some new stuff here. But this morning I searched for a guitar tab of a song and found that fucking NMPA has been shutting down sites in the US because now they want people to buy tabs! What fuck is up with that?

That is fucking crazy!!!!

Flying

2006-12-27T02:01:00.000+08:00

It's almost 2:00 AM and I've just decided to pull out the laptop out of my bag. Been busy packing stuff for our trip to cebu tomorrow. Been married for more tahn 7 years and this will be the first true vacation for us... first airplane ride for the daughter as well, she's very excited. Next year though, we're planning for them to fly into HK when I am there for my usual rounds. At least we get the hotel for free. Maybe finally fulfill my promise for a Disneyland trip.

I guess I'm really back to moving around the region. 4 trips out of the country in the last 3 months, not including 1 cancelled trip to Vietnam. The idea when I bought my laptop bag was for it to double as my luggage bag for trips not taking more than 3 days. Now I don't have to check-in bags and wait at the conveyor belt. Fucking awesome!

The only problems are the liquid stuff. Last week, I was in HK for 4 days (details of which deserve it's own blog), and I finally took a gamble. Brought some hair gel and deodorant spray with me and I didnt get flagged on both HK and Manila screenings. I guess the paranoia is really just on US flights.

It never ceases to amaze me how nuts people are at the boarding gates. I don't really know if these people are flying for the first time, or are really just stupid at following instructions. As soon as the ground crew announces that the gate is opening, a considerable mass of people line up. Of course, they always let passengers board by row number. Rear of the plane first, then they move up to the front by 10 or so. And unless your flying business class or are with children, you have to wait like everybody else.

But that doesnt deter some people I guess. I've been on many flights. Here around Asia, and several across the US as well. Regardless of the continued instructions and placards that they hold up, some people still move up to the line seemingly completely oblivious to the clear instructions being announced. It usually goes on 2-3 times before they figure it out. It's actually kinda amusing. And when you fly around as much as I do, it's something quite funny that you actually come to expect.

I did however ran into something different for the first time. For my Cathay Pacific flight back to Manila last week, they asked everybody to just fall into a huge line. This obviously didn't go well with the passengers and it drew frustration from everyone.

Sucks for me specially, because I dont go rushing in for the queue. I ended up being at the last third of the line. Of course they had 2 lines, 1 for the business class and those with children (which as always is only about 10-15 people), and another line for everyone else. So unless you're ready to shell out a thousand greenbacks for a flight that will last 110 minutes, there really is just 1 line. What ended up being amusing was, every minute or so, someone would try to crossover to the business class line and attempt to pass through from there. Of course, they get rejected and end up being sent back to our line. Not surprisingly... another dufuss would actually try the same stunt.

Cold

2006-12-19T15:04:00.000+08:00

Went across the street to grab lunch with the guys. It's definitely confirmed. The temp outside is definitely cooler than inside the data center's...

HK blues

2006-12-18T22:32:00.000+08:00

I can't believe it's 12 degrees outside. I was here in HK last month.. it was raining a lot but it wasn't this cold. And here I am still stuck at the data center at 10:45PM, trying to trouble shoot the the network switches.

I brought 2 engineers from Manila with me. They're consultants and are the real ones who are supposed to set all this up. I can't really say I'm complaining that much. I havent exercised my techie troubleshooting skills like this for quite some time now.

We'll probably slug it out for another hour or so, and then call it a night. The Dell guys will be here tom anyway, and at least then we'll get some answers... or at least extra heads working on the problems.

*********

Lots of blog worthy stuff have happened these past weeks btw. Hopefully, I 'll have some time to catch up and write about it while I'm at the hotel.

Signing off for now...

Saved by the typhoon

2006-12-02T15:39:00.000+08:00

When I was in HK a couple of weeks ago, I barely made it to my flight back to Manila. I had a 2PM flight, and I walked in to the airport at about 1PM. Check-in girl at cathay Pacific told me I was late, but at least still made it. I promised myself I'd never let myself be late for a flight again. Until yesterday morning...

I was in Singapore the whole week and had a 9:40AM flight back to Manila. I figured the cab ride from the hotel to Changi would take about 15 mins tops, so I thought it would be fine if I grab some of those breakfast buffet at the lobby very quickly. They had those chicken siew mai (siomai) that I really loved. And so I checked out and hopped on a cab and it was 8:35PM. Crap! It's gonna be realy tight again, but still possible. Then what would've been 15 min ride almost took forever. When I finally arrived at terminal 2, it was already 9:18AM. Fuck... I am screwed!

So I went in line for check-in and then handed over my ticket. The girl looked at my ticket, then at me, and then at her monitor, and then read the ticket again. She finally asked:

"Your flight is at 9:40AM?"

"Yes"

I was thinking of some plausible excuse I could make. Of course having travelled a lot, I knew that usually, check-in would close 45 mins before departure time, and boarding gates 10 mins before. So technically, if she just let me, I could still hope to clear immigration in less than 5 mins and then run like hell to my gate before it closes in 12 mins. Never in my mind did I expect the flight would be delayed, especially since I was flying Singapore airlines. And so I was fucking ecstatic when she finally told me that it had been pushed to 11:00 AM because of the typhoon in Manila.

"That's right!... there is a super typhoon there right now"

I can't fucking beleive it. My wife called me the day before all concerned about it. I told her if the flight got cancelled, I'd stay for another day or two. But I saw in the internet that it actually veered away from a direct hit on Metro Manila so I thought everything was ok.

"Sir, we will be offering you free breakfast at the food gallery."

"Really? Where is the food gallery?"

"It's on the second floor, after you pass immigration. Just present your boarding pass."

I look at my boarding pass and see that the gate won't open till 10:00 AM. Holy Crap! Is this my day or what?

Pacquiao vs. Morales III

2006-11-23T16:33:00.000+08:00

I guess this comic strip already says it all....

Project Management 101

2006-11-06T18:04:00.000+08:00

Never start a project unless all resources are available!

Blackberry

2006-10-26T20:19:00.000+08:00

Crap! It's official now. I have been required to carry a blackberry... and so there goes my official excuse for not being THAT available. The only consolation is that it takes a month or so until the unit is actually delivered. Woe to the days of not giving a fuck about work after office hours!

Server Racks

2006-10-19T13:43:00.001+08:00

I took this while we were inside the data center in HK. I know, I know... makes you wanna pull all the cables and wait for the calls from 2,000 users across Asia Pacific pour in right?

After 2 hours of work, finally installed and configured 2 blade servers. 5 more to go...

Hong Kong Office

2006-10-16T23:37:00.000+08:00

Late friday afternoon, they finally send an email saying they'll do the power-on services for free. Fuckers! This should've been a very simple thing. It didn't really need me to be physically here. Made this into such an issue and now I need to fly here just to manage the damn thing.

One of the fist things that initially stood out was how friggin long the cab ride was. I certainly don't remember it taking that long when I was last in Hong Kong. Apparently, they moved the bloody airport sometime ago and so I guess that explains it. I looked over the meter and was shocked! It read 365.

HK$365.00!

That's how much my cab ride from the airport to my hotel in Wanchai took. That's roughly equivalent to US$50. For 1 fucking cab ride! What the fuck?!

But what do I care? My company is gonna pay for every cent I spend here anyway. My boss told me that hotel isn't cheap here, and they had to shell out about US$180/night for my little trip. And the room ain't really anything extra nice. I guess it just brings "vacationing with the family in HK for Disneyland" into a clearer, albeit more expensive perspective.

Got caught up in some confusion when I checked in since the reception was asking me for a US$400 deposit for a 2-day stay.

"Excuse me?"

I called my HK office and finally got it sorted out since they are supposed to pay for my hotel bills. All because my stupid AMEX card hasn't arrived yet.

At about 4PM, I finally went to the HK datacenter to start working on the servers. Truth is, I still can't believe I actually flew in here for this. I had to stand in that freezing server room for about 4 hours and watch the HK people install and mount the damn thing. That was my job. Make sure they didn't screw it up. And since everyone knew i was there, the group felt they needed my obligatory "I do."

"Do you want to change the layout?"

"Do you want to move the servers several notches up the rack?"

"Do you wanna us to mount the PDU's vertically or horizontally?"

Questions that on any given sunday would've been fucking no brainers, and wouldn't really need my intervention, let alone actual physical presence. But since I am there anyways... I get the customary "Is it ok?" silly questions. What else was I to do? Might as well entertain myself and give my 2 cents on every fucking thing they were doing.

"Make sure the bolt is tight enough..."

"Secure those with some cable ties..."

"Press the enter key..."

"Will somebody turn the fucking A/C down a few notches?!"

Great! What an awesome manager!

I finally installed Windows 2003 Server on one of the blade servers and enabled remote connection. Ran a few tests and left some last instructions to the team. All in all, the whole thing went on without any glitches and my work is already 50% done. The only remaining thing is for me to do the lunch tomorrow and do the obligatory courtesy call to the HK Managers and Directors. Who knows, I might even find some time to have some real fun here.

Went up to my room to splash cold water in my face. Flipped a few channels... I see that they offer adult movies for a fee. And the going rate is HK$90 per. Never fucking mind. I have better material in my laptop. I try this chinese restaurant and surprise, surprise... they don't have an english menu. What else is there to do but order "fly lies". I resist the temptation to actually pronounce it that way though. Politely, I tell the guy "fried rice", followed by the words "yang chow" and "dimsum". I ended up ordering sweet and sour pork. Just great. First dinner in HK and I order the same lazy ass food that's served back in Manila. But what can I do? It's the only one with a picture on the menu.

The bill comes in and it's HK$113 (roughly US$17). Why am I no longer surprised? I give the guy HK$120 and ask for a reciept. He comes back with a reciept that says HK$120. Smart ass motherfucker! He's lucky I ain't paying for this shit or else I'd kick his ass back to ming dynasty!

Flying to Hong Kong

2006-10-13T15:03:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, I had one of the longest conf calls ever. It wasn't technically long compared to the others that have lasted several hours, but this went on for 45 minutes and it was about a very silly thing. We were arguing that long for a measly HK$ 8,000.

About 3 weeks ago, I bought some server eqipment from a vendor worth US$120,000. As usual, stuff like that went through several rounds of negotiation before we gave the go signal to release the PO. They then sent us a separate quote for services.

Now, I've dealt with server vendors all my professional career, and I've never seen anyone unbunbdle doing at least power on services for something that you buy from them, specially servers. So when they told us that they did, and that now we had to pay them an extra HK$ 8,000 just to unpack the servers, mount it to the rack and plug the cables, my boss and I were like "Excuse me?"

So this conf call was a culmination of a week-long email thread arguing back and forth on this HK$ 8,000 power on service fee, which is roughly about US$ 1,000. The truth is, we wouldn't have really minded paying for this, but by principle, the vendor should have paid for this misunderstanding. The thing that was so elemntary about it and yet so difficult for them to understand is, that we are asking them to give this at least as an investment for the vendor/client relationship that we are building. We are a big fucking regional account! Can't you invest that small amount to show good faith?

And so my boss and I tried to be polite as we could, but eventually the discussion spiraled down when it became apparent that they wouldn't give. And they even said that they would only do that if we committed to get the other services that were worth much more. The nerve! In the end, my boss lost his patience and finally conceded and said we would pay the amount, just to end the bloated discussion and free ourselves from this issue. And then there was a moment of awkward silence. It was probably only 5 seconds, but it seemed a lot longer, specially for their Global Account Manager. Specially when my boss' last words before the silence was "Does that make you happy?"

So now I have to haul my ass to Hong Kong and personally look into this crap. They've since sent an email saying that now they will do it for free, and have asked to meet with me over lunch when I am there on Tuesday. What can I say? Free lunch is free lunch. And I know I'm gonna love doing this lunch specially when these vendors will be grovelling at my feet in hopes of overturning that nasty conf call yesterday. Damn! It feels good to be a client this time.

Scout Investiture

2006-10-09T19:16:00.000+08:00

Last Saturday was my daughter's star scout investiture at OB Montessori. I actually sprained my back the previous day at Basketball, but my wife still forced me to go. Not that I didn't want to go of course. My back was really killing me. I couldn't stand up, and I couldn't even sit straight. The embarassing thing was, this wasn't really technically strained from playing ball but actually after the game. I was sitting my ass and resting since the game was over. Nothing felt wrong. No pain. No discomfort. And then I stood up and picked up my bag in the same motion. Suddenly there was this sharp pain at my tailbone. Fuck!

Anyway, like I've said in my previous posts... and as any married man would know, there is no point in arguing against your wife, or with a woman for that matter. To borrow from Chris Rock, "Men are naturally handicapped when it comes to arguments, because men need to make sense. Women won't let a small thing like 'sense' fuck up their argument."

I popped 2 pain killers and off we went. It wasn't that bad. I mean it's not like I didn't want to go. Wait. Havent I said that before? Anyway... it wasn't entirely boring. Got to meet some young parents. When I say "meet", I meant I was oggling of course. They were sitting there minding their own business, or minding their kid... and I was busy checking them out.

There was a demo from the Tae Kwan Do Philippine team. Of course the kids enjoyed it, but it reinforced my perception of how fucking crappy that martial art is. You could think that maybe the Philippine Team was the only one crappy, and maybe the other National teams from the neighboring countries were better. But don't we win medals around asia in that sport? I have only been boxing for about a month now and I havent even started doing Muay Thai but (and I say this with consideration of the medals they've won), I would've kicked the spaghetti out of those cock suckers.

And then there was this guy who swore in all the star scouts... poor bald guy was made to wear a dead fox on his head. I'm sure he was thinking "Christ! How did I let them convince me into doing this? It's not even lunch time and I already look like a dufus!"

New phone

2006-10-06T14:05:00.000+08:00

I've been told that I'm finally getting my new Nokia 6280 phone today. Personally, I didn't really think I could survive without one for even a few days. For the record, it has been 12 days since that fateful day. Sure. People have been contacting me. But if it was really that important, they would've tried calling me on my landline at home, or at least by some other means. I guess this puts communication technology in perspective, and how a lot of the stuff that passes through your mobile can really be done without. Not all. But a good number of them.

I know for a fact that I missed several business calls. Couple ones from my former boss in Singapore. Some from my current boss. There's also that 1 important message that would've advised me that work was suspended. Some from a partner wannabe. Quite a few from well-wishing friends, and then some other trivial ones. 2 nights ago, I was out drinking with friends from highschool. I came home at about 3:00 AM since my wife couldn't annoy me with constant messages and phone calls. That was pretty nice. I guess there are always two sides to everything. It's nice to be "unreachable" for once.

1 or 2 days after I inadvertently left the damn thing in a taxi cab, we went to greenhills to buy a cheap one. I'm getting a free one anyway, so why waste money on a hi-end mobile phone? So we went around with a P1,500 budget. Fuckers kept giving me supposedly "new and original" Nokia 3310 units that felt every bit as fake as Pam Anderson's titties. Not that I've felt them before, but I'm sure those twin boys must've felt like cheap plastic too. I will never ever buy another phone from that place.

The 6280 isn't the best one out there. Truth be told, I dont really like 3G phones in the first place. Video calls? Picture this:

Wife: Where are you at right now?
Me: I'm here at the office. I need to finish a couple more reports so I wont be home till about 10PM. (Of course, I'm probably just at some bar. Seating on the toilet seat because the house is loud with Black-Eyed Peas music)
Wife: Really? Turn on the camera so I can see...
Me: Err...

Busted!

Besides, my boss will probably require me to have a blackberry pretty soon anyways. Corporate email access 24x7. No more excuse for not being "available". He must already be drooling right now thinking about me being "that" available.

Milenyo

2006-09-29T16:47:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-27T11:40:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-22T17:20:00.000+08:00

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

Rainy Night

2006-09-20T18:56:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-14T13:16:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-05T14:51:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-05T14:21:00.000+08:00

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)

2006-09-02T22:42:00.000+08:00

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

2006-09-02T02:01:00.000+08:00

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!

The week that overlapped

2006-08-29T23:22:00.000+08:00

OK, so I didn't get that chair. Motherfucker beat me to it. Oh well. I guess things could be worse. They could find out that I've actually already started work in my new company this week when I'm still supposed to be doing my last week of turn over and be working from home answering email questions. But I'm not. So at least for this week, 2 companies are paying my salary. Not too bad. Not too bad at all.

Office Chair

2006-08-16T03:01:00.000+08:00

One of the perks of leaving my current employer is the fact that the owner has practically given us each our own chair. Yes, each of us may take home the chair that we use. Actually, pretty much all of the other office equipments have been put on sale, including the PCs for a relatively bargain price since the Manila office will be closing soon.

And so we have been trying to claw at each other for the better chairs, regardless if it was ours or not. Most of the executive chairs have already been "reserved" by those who knew about this earlier. Bastards! But I have my eye on this nice one. It has a cool orange fabric upholstering and it reclines backwards enough to make you very comfortable, but strong enough to hold my weight... which not a lot of chairs here can do.

Someone is trying to challenge my claim on this one, so if I dont get this chair the legal way, I'm gonna fucking steal it next week during the times the security guard takes a nap.

Good bye 3rd shift

2006-08-14T09:03:00.000+08:00

OK, so I am finally moving to another company again. Can't say I'm not gonna miss my current job. When you get to do nothing and still get paid a lot, it kinda gets addicting. My new job pays more, but this one will involve real work.

I'm trying to enjoy the last days of turn over, and pretty much the last days of doing the third shift. I gotta admit, for all the things that you hate about working third shifts, there is one thing that I absolutely love about it and will surely miss. That of course, is being able to go and drink somewhere with your friends at night, and then go to work without your boss, or your wife being the smarter.

But hey, all good things have to end. Specially if you arent rich enough to retire at my age. And even specially if you're married. But dont get me started reflecting on being married...

Sales Talk

2006-08-07T05:53:00.000+08:00

I dont exactly remember when, but it was during the time when we were still living up north in Valenzuela... so I'd say about 5 years ago. My wife and I were at these Tiangge stores and we were casually strolling and looking for some bargains when I saw a stall that was selling towels. And we needed to buy some for guests at the house so I looked at a couple of them, hoping to find some good ones.

Me: "OK sana to, kaya lang medyo masyadong manipis..."
Guy: "Hinde boss, kakapal din yan pag nabasa."
Me: "Eh gago ka pala eh..."

OK, maybe I didnt really say that last one out loud but I really think I should have.

Not so Super in 3D

2006-07-07T03:08:00.000+08:00

I literally had to wait till today to see this movie just so I could see it the first time in all it's technological 3D glory. I watched it with my wife and daughter at the IMAX theater inside SM Mall of Asia. Of course everyone knew that this would feature a lot of cool special effects, so I just couldnt pass up the chance... specially when they showed a lot of people giving thumbs up on TV about how wonderful the 3D version was. My personal experience however, was disappointing. I came out dizzy and I felt cheated out of my P350. It was actually P1,050 since I bought 3 tickets.

A lot of the 3D scenes were blurry and actually gave me a bit of a headache. I remember removing my glasses several times in an attempt to get the blur off, only to be reminded that it only makes it worse. I kept thinking I wish I had photoshop and could hit ctrl-Z to undo. I do think the technology itself has a lot to offer, but the action scenes in this movie I guess just arent the best applications for it. Not when there's too much visual noise and the scene is pretty much shaking all over. I have to admit that there were some scenes where the depth really was astounding like when the boat was stuck midair by a rocky pike, but there were only a few of these instances. I actually enjoyed the other 3D previews before the movie better than the ones in Superman itself. There was this preview of a 3D movie where they showed the T-Rex and other Dinosaurs moving almost being actually in front of your face. I'm going back to watch that one.

The story didn't help the movie that much either. Specially now that we know that the sequel will feature an annoying kid, probably displaying his powers also. Do we really want to see Superman's kid? It just becomes too corny. It's like deciding to put Robin and BatGirl in the Batman movie and killing the franchise in the process. Of course, Joel Schumacher fucked up a lot of other things there also, but you know what I mean.

As far as casting is concerned, Brandon Routh just for looking exactly like Christopher Reeves was perfect for this. The acting could've been a little better but this is really his first film so I guess he is somewhat excused even if it's supposed to be a big hollywood movie. I've always been convinced that Kate Bosworth is a hot babe, but doesn't she look too young to be Lois Lane? Isn't Richard the same guy who played Cyclops from X-Men? Again playing the role of a goodie goodie husband/boyfriend while some other guy scores from under his nose? Is it just me or did Lois' son look really weird almost in a freaky way? Couldn't they have gotten a better looking kid or at least have someone fix his hair? I had high hopes for Kevin Spacey here. He was obviously supposed to bring some depth to the onscreen character of Lex, but there just wasn't enough scenes and dialogues to make this happen.

What I did like, was the fact the Superman wanted a bit of accolade from the people. No more of this "just doing my job" shit. If you're gonna go out an do some stunts while wearing a costume (especially if you're wearing tights), A - you want to stand out, and B - you want to be recognized. Maybe even get some blowjobs here and there. One of the things I really loved about JLU (Justice League Unlimited) is the way they developed and showed the varying personalities of super heroes, and what kind of possible arguments and conflicts you get when you bring all those big egos in one room. I even remember one scene when Superman actually berrated one lesser hero for speaking and offering his opinion while on a heated discussion. In this movie, we see Superman continously pursuing Lois even when he knew that she was no longer single and available. Of course, you could look at this positively and say that he is simply pursuing his love, but we all know this is really frowned upon by society as a negative trait... but be that as it may, I love it because it gives him a bit of a human quality, even if he's really not. At least for once, the indestructible fucker feels inferior. Or maybe that's why he does the Clark Kent bit?

In any case, the guy is jealous so give him a break. Can you imagine being the man of steel and watching some mortal smooch your ex in front of you, and that ex being the hottie Kate Bosworth? If you ask me, he played it really cool. If it was me, I would've knocked at least a couple of his front teeth off right then and there and do it so quick he would think he bit himself. That my friends, goes to show why I should never be given super alien powers. I wouldn't mind the x-ray vision though. Richard is right. There's a lot of fun that can be done with just that one alone.

Leelee

2006-07-06T00:09:00.000+08:00

I've always had a crush on Leelee Sobieski. I think it started when I saw her on Deep Impact and Never Been Kissed with Drew. Of course, she was just 16 or 17 back then but she was already quite the looker. That was circa 1998/1999. Now she's a full blown woman... legally at least, so I've done my share of digging the internet for the mandatory nude pics. Hey, at least I'm man enough to admit it. Didn't find a lot though, which is good and/or bad depending on how you want to look at it. 5'10 with blue eyes and that european look. Arrrrhhh!

US Trip pics

2006-07-02T18:10:00.000+08:00

A gorilla's foot at Busch Gardens zoo...

This pigeon would always stay by my window at around 4 PM. My office btw, is on the 5th floor and our building was the only building in Cape Coral that had more than 2 floors thus making it the skyscraper in the area...

Like I said, the whole area was flat...

Did you say panther? What the...

This was during the roadtrip while on the way to San Francisco from Bakersfield. Nothing really special except several miles of cow beside the road. I dont care what kind of airconditioning you've got in your car but it's gonna stink, so watch out for this in case you pass by this route...

Some protesters in SF making their voices heard. Now if these were college kids, it would've been more interesting...

Mandatory tourist spot in SF. Just doing my duty as a tourist...

Jumping ship again

2006-07-01T04:48:00.000+08:00

It's almost 5:00 AM here at our Makati Office and am pretty much back at doing nothing. Well ok maybe not entirely nothing. I was working till about 2:30 AM and then we played tong-its the rest of the morning. People here at the office have a renewed sense of negligence and disregard for work ethic. Specially when almost everybody opened up that they had plans of leaving. I was offered by my boss to move to Florida and be based there, of course this meant recalibrating my salary to US standards and having the chance to move my family to the west.

I used to be excited about it. The problem is, I've already been there and pretty much know what to expect and have lived what would be waiting for me if in fact I transfer. The company's stability is seriously questionable. The owner's favorite word is visibility when what it really means is he wants to micro-manage every fucking thing in the company. One of my colleagues (a fellow Senior Project Manager) who was initially promised a transfer to the US as well has now been reversed. He has actually been retrenched! What the fuck was that?

When I met with the owner, I made a very good impression with him and the rest of the senior management. But his penchance for faltering and wooly decisions plus the precedent before me that he has often changed boats mid stream has made all this proposition a very risky one. Am I gonna be the next flavor of the month? I don't think I wanna gamble on it and stay.

Besides, the phone interview that I had when I was in the US surprisingly turned out to be a fruitful one. This was initially the one that was late, and was starting to piss me off. And when we finally talked, I wasn't really looking so I was carelessly asking for the heavens when they asked for my expectations. It turns out the boss really liked me and even knew of my previous company's reputation in the asia pacific region. They eventually gave me an offer and matched almost all my bogus requests and only declined one of my original conditions on the car plan. The only thing I need to worry about now is the background check. The headhunter told me that I shouldn't worry unless I've taken candy from a candy store before without paying for it. I told him not to worry... coz no one saw me, or at least I think no one did.

No Post

2006-06-27T08:59:00.000+08:00

Holy Crap!!! Haven't been able to post in a while. Should be able to get some freetime this week. Still have lots to post on my visits to Flordia, California, and Nevada. More stories coming up soon...

Boat Ride

2006-06-05T08:11:00.000+08:00

This is my last weekend here in Florida and so the guys were cool enough to take me on a boat ride around. Can't really say you've been to Florida without spending a day just chilling in the middle of the ocean in the blistering florida sun... so I went with them. Besides, what was really my alternative? Stay in my room and read a book I've read twice already?

It turned to be another fun day. Pretty choppy water at first, but awesome ride nonetheless. We spotted a pod of dolphins and even saw several rays jumping out of the water. It was awesome. Nobody even knew that they did that... heck I've never seen rays do that even in Animal Kingdom. Of course, no one ever got it on film or camera. At one time, Steve jumped into the ocean to try to play with the dolphins.. but I guess they were only interested in playing with the boat's wake and quickly swam away just when he was approaching them.

We had lunch at Barnacle Phil's at North Captiva. It's a small restaurant in an island... dont really know if it's accessible by land. Probably not. They served some pretty mean jambalaya and some really tasty ribs. The whole place had 1 dollar bills stapled all over the walls and cieling as mementos from previous customers. Of course we all did ourselves, but instead of clipping another dollar bill... I used a peso bill. They now have the first and only philippine peso bill there... signed by yours truly.

Took a pic of this direction sign post at the docks...

And then this egret(?) who was so distracted by some fish bait at the back of the nearby boat that he let me come really close and take a nice pic...

An otter actually beat him to the fish bait. I quickly ran around to try to get a shot and I startled the little guy and he was actually staring at me for a good 3 seconds and I couldnt get the camera working. By the time it was on, the little flipper had already jumped out of the boat and back into the ocean. Would have been nice to show it to my daughter.

This is the boat docked at North Captiva...

And this is a pic of a mini schnauzer that just happened to be in a small novelty shop there. If my landlord would've allowed me, this is the breed that I would've gotten my daughter. Well, ok maybe my second choice after a Jack Russell Terrier.

Busch Gardens

2006-06-03T02:48:00.000+08:00

During my first weekend here in Florida, the guys at the office were kind enough to schedule a trip to Busch Gardens in Tampa. It was a great themepark complete with their very own zoo and serengeti park. They had about 7 rollercoaster rides in there... some week ones, but some of them were pretty awesome.

This was one of the best, and it's called Sheikra...

This is actually the beginning of the ride and they hang you on top for like 10 or 15 seconds. Of course, there really is no other way to ride this fucking thing except to be on front... and I actually rode this twice. Both times queueing up on the extra longer line just to be on front row. And during both the times that I was dangling for my life... I was thinking "Holy Crap.. what have I done!!!"

This pic actually shows the curve way too much. Coz from the experience itself, I swear that the 200-ft. drop was more than 90 degrees coz you would actually tilt inwards.

Most of the day was basically spent going through all the best rollercoaster rides first... and then going around to view all the animals. Took some good pics for my daughter and made some interesting discoveries myself. For example this picture of a sleeping hyena...

It doesnt quite show it, but I was surprised how big these fuckers really are. I mean you always see them in National Geographic or Animal Planet and I always wondered how they posed any threat or at least competition to Lions on the african wild. And then I see them up close and see that they arent really like dogs... which is what exactly they look like in TV. They really are huge... and almost the size of the lions themselves... well.. ok maybe not, I think a better comparison would be a Great Dane with a body of a St. Bernard. Yeah, thats it.

And then check out this gorilla scratching his ass...

And this tiger taking a piss...

Friggin interviews

2006-05-27T08:14:00.000+08:00

Havent really had the chance to update this in a while. Its gonna be a long weekend coming up specially with Memorial Day on Monday, and I finally have a laptop I can bring home to surf the internet and stuff so some stories should be coming very soon. Notably, our trip to Tampa last weekend was great.

I am sitting in my office desk waiting for a call. It's actually a call interview from a Company in Manila. Another referral from a headhunting firm. What the heck... let's give it a try and see if there's an opportunity worth pursuing here.

[Break]

Hmmmm... it's already 8:20 PM here and still no call. The Director of IT is 20 minutes late and counting. I can smell the chicken I bought from this chinese place. Havent had dinner yet waiting for this slow ass call...

tick.. tock.. tick.. tock

OK now I hear the Janitor has started vaccuming the corridor. I just hope this call actually does push through before the Data Center guys get here at 9PM for the routine server check.

8:35 PM - Sent an email to the guy. Will only wait for 10 more minutes and then I'm going for dinner. Of coure, dinner is already on my desk... but I'm starting to get pissed at them anyway...

US Trip, part 1

2006-05-18T05:42:00.000+08:00

I am only on my 3rd day in Florida and I am already a bit bored. Of course, this part of Florida (Cape Coral) isn't really the "exciting" part, altough I am only roughly 2 hours away from Miami. But what can I really do if I don't have any one to go out with? Mr. Know-it-all has been here ahead of me for more than a month now and has been pretty ok as a lunch companion, but I really think that's as far as we hanging together goes.

So to sum up what's happened recently... I travelled under an extreme tribulation of 4 connecting flights from Manila... it's too much from anyone else's opinion of course. My flight itinerary was:

Manila > Narita, Japan
Narita, Japan > Minneapolis
Minneapolis > Detroit
Detroit > Fort Myers

And that my friends is only 1 way! Motherfucking airports... motherfucking packed planes seated in between old farts who wouldn't budge on the arm rest. All in all, it was 20 something hours of hell. SO hoorah... Welcome to America!

First meal I ever ate on US soil was at the Twin Cities (Minneapolis/St. Paul) Airport, and good lord, I had to eat at a chinese fast food. I quickly grabbed something more at Chili's when I realized what I had done. And then I almost missed my flight to Detroit because they changed the goddamn gate. I arrived at the gate 2 hours before the official boarding time and was quietly reading my book and then realized that it was already 20 past boarding time. I looked at the podium and it was empty. More than being empty... there wasn't any activity. No attendants arranging stuff, or preparing the machines, or whatever. So I was like... WTF?

Checked back the monitors and voila... they changed the gate to the far west side of the terminal so I had to scurry there to find that I was one of the last passengers that they were waiting for.

Some more updates to follow...

C2 Green Tea

2006-05-12T05:15:00.000+08:00

I've been downing 2-3 bottles of these a shift. What makes this a damn good drink is that this is probably the only one out there that is still tolerable to drink even when it's no longer that cold. But not the other flavors.... just the apple.

A taste of Ukraine

2006-05-10T03:39:00.000+08:00

Our QC Manager just recently returned from a trip to our office in Ukraine and brought a pack of chocolates with what originally looked like cherry syrup in the middle. So we passed it around and had some... it definitely tasted like cherry syrup first time you chew it but then an obvious vodka taste immediately overwhelms your mouth.

Holy Crap! I can't believe they put vodka even in chocolates back there. I've seen chocolate flavored vodka... but vodka flavored chocolate? Christ! But then again... it's Ukraine so wadaya expect?

Scarlett

2006-05-06T01:48:00.000+08:00

Speaking of Lost in Translation... earlier today, I saw a rerun of that E! episode where a gay reporter at Golden Globe(?) groped Scarlett Johansson's tits on live telie. Of course nobody got slapped since the guy was gay and they were supposedly talking about her red dress. So what now? I guess it's ok for guys to do this as long as they're not enjoying themselves, sexually that is. Christ! I'd pretend to be gay for that.

Although if I was faking to be gay and did this, I don't really know how I'd fake not enjoying it. I mean holy crap, just take a look at that rack. If I ever meet her, I'll be a bigger fag than Prince... or isn't it TAFKAP now?

"Uhh... Let me just slide my penis down your throat... I just want to see if these earings go nicely with that pearl necklace"

Being Handy

2006-05-03T06:13:00.000+08:00

Found this while surfing on the internet. Woke me up.

Two deaf people got married. During the first week of marriage, they found they were unable to communicate in the bedroom when they turn the lights off because they can't see each other using sign language.

After several nights of fumbling around and misunderstandings, the wife decides to find a solution.

"Honey," she signs, "Why don't we agree on some simple signals? For instance, at night, if you want to have sex with me, reach over and squeeze my right breast one time. If you don't want to have sex, reach over and squeeze my left breast one time."

The husband thinks this is a great idea and signs back to his wife, "Great idea, now if you want to have sex with me, reach over and pull on penis one time."

"If you don't want to have sex, reach over and pull on my penis....fifty times."

Lost in Translation

2006-05-02T05:09:00.000+08:00

Whenever you work with remote teams, there are bound to be at least 2 issues that you will have to deal with. One is the time zone... which can be a real fucker unto itself, and the other one is the language barrier. And I've already learned this when I worked with Thais before, but I guess I have to deal with it again now that I am working with bloody comrades.

Case in point, I sent the email below:

"Please change the URL of [client] in beta environment from “prototype” to “beta” so as not to confuse anyone. Let me know as soon as this change has been integrated so I can advice the client."

20 minutes later, I recieve this reply:

"Hi,
the URL was switching."

Now, if it werent for the 6 months or so of actual combat experience that I have working with Russians and Ukranians here in this company, I would've probably replied:

"Excuse me?"

But ever since enduring dozens of conference calls with these buggers arguing on the line, and moderating chat conferences that usually end up in arguments... I have become some what of an expert in reading between the lines. In fact, reading clearly enough to know that what he really means is that the URL has now been switched. Whew!

Of course, it probably helps to know that a big majority of them dont really speak english so well so much that they actually use babelfish translator whenever they chat or answer emails so you really have to cut them a bit of slack.

Email Announcement

2006-05-02T04:27:00.000+08:00

Just 15 minutes ago, the company owner just sent an email announcement that the company President has just resigned and will be effectively moving out on May 12.

Well... well... I guess there are no more speculation about the company's stability. It's more or less certain that we friggin floating right now. In that email, he also confirmed that he hasn't really sold the company yet... ergo, the justification for the attrition they did sometime ago that there was a management buy out was pure horse shit! But we all knew that. At least all the managers did.

What's the deal with the President giving a 15-day notice? Since the email also mentions some emergency management meetings to handle all the 19 areas that he currently manages, I am assuming that the fucker didn't really give notice 45 days ago, but really just probably last week.

I can only look on the bright side, at least I'm gonna have a precedent when I pull this stunt in the next couple of months...

On Training...

2006-04-27T21:28:00.000+08:00

Since Monday this week, I have been attending the 9th ITPM training at THE best graduate school of business and management in the country, AIM (Asian Institute of Management).

I was really looking forward to this training, but was still surprised to discover that I miss going to school or maybe more aprropriately... I miss doing interesting group discussions. And I immediately knew this after the first day. Of course, this was very different from College education... as most graduate programs are. Masteral levels usually focus on peer education and the professor merely works as a facilitator. I guess it also helps that one of our professors is actually the Assistant Dean of the Graduate School of Business program of AIM.

One of the main reasons I have been shunning away from possibly pursuing an MBA is that a lot of people have told me that the MBA programs at La Salle and Ateneo are pretty much shite. The only place that really is worth going for is AIM. And even there, since graduate level programs are more into peer education... the quality of discussions you get will of course really depend on the composition of your class. It's such a pity that Ateneo or La Salle actually allows fresh grads to join the MBA program. I mean come on, how the heck are they supposed to contribute? They will obvisouly learn from the experiences that you share... but the flow doesnt go the other way. Some foreign schools usually make the cut at 3-4 years work experience, at the very least. This I can take. But fresh out of college? And they're going to suggest on how best it is to manage people or business? I think not.

Of course, I know that one of the reasons why this class is different is because there are surprisingly 55 of us in the course. And although a small majority of us came from software houses, we had all sorts of industries represented in the group. But most important of all I beleive, is that a huge bulk of us have 11-20 years of experience in each of our industries. Some even have 20+ years, while only several have below 10. Now whenever you have a mix of that coupled with a very good facilitator, you're bound to have some interesting discussion going on. If nothing else, at least I've gained a new network of people I can go to. And in the small world of IT, that will always be a good thing.

Closure and Unpaid Day-Offs

2006-04-22T06:19:00.000+08:00

Finally, I did my last presentation/defense for my big project bid. I cant beleive how long this has dragged on. It will be close to 1 year now since we first started pursuing this. So many delays, so many issues, so much politics. Christ... it feels so draining to try to sell and win these things.

Now there is nothing left but to submit the proposal. All that's left to do is write 50 page document complete with diagrams, charts, spreadhseets, and essays that will hopefully convince several old farts to part away with P50M. Heck, after what I've been through... this will be a piece of cake. Of course, we have to make sure that the bank approves the leasing agreement for 200 servers and then come up with a deployment plan for a nationwide upgrade, but what's really new with all these?

I'm beginning to feel a little jaded after that last round of Q&A at the conference room. I'm just glad that we're finally done with it. And now I just want to know if we will win or not, then move on. Finally get a closure. No more of that hanging shit when we thought this would be shelved indefinitely.

***************

Colleague from big blue invited me to a cocktail party at greenbelt for their clients. I happily went along knowing that we at least get to end this day right... with free flowing alcohol. Of course, I knew I had to punch in for my night shift later. But I guess priorities are priorities so I went ahead to the bar to unwind. Went home and slept for an hour or two. Powered up the PC to check what I missed on the first 3 or so hours at work. And then drove to work at around 1:00 AM.

I guess one of the drawbacks to earning a huge amount of money every month is that it corresponds also to a big daily/hourly rate. And so it becomes more and more difficult to take unpaid leaves, since the corresponding deduction is no longer that negligible. And when you really go on and think about it... taking a day off now suddenly doesnt seem to be worth the pay cut. Sucks to be on probation. But I only have 1 more month to go and the benefits start kicking in. And then I'm gonna milk this job for all it's worth...

A Stool Pigeon

2006-04-20T06:11:00.000+08:00

Tangina! Someone just snitched on me. Some fucker sent an email to the President that a certain employee in Manila office is actually also concurrently working for another company.

My boss called me up and asked me directly. I told him Yes, and then explained the best way I could. Eventually, he told me that he was really OK with it as long as it didnt affect my productivity here, etc... and then instructed me this time to keep my mouth shut about it. We talked about it a bit more but it was obvious he wasn't that bothered about it. Then there was also the issue of me being idle and not really doing anything. What the fuck? Is it my problem that even while concurrently handling 18 projects, I still have time to slack a bit and get my daily porn fix? Would they rather have me running around and looking so stressed with my workload? I can handle it... that's the bottomline! Let's just look at the deliverables. Am I fucking messing them up? Hell NO! At least on this issue also, my boss wasn't affected. Why would he? I've been fucking delivering the goods! One of our account managers even swore to never work with another Project Manager again after I completed a project for his client ahead of schedule and in scope of the requirements... something that has been unheard of here in this company.

15 minutes after the call, the QC Manager popped a YM message to me. He wanted to talk outside. And then I knew it wasn't just me. Apparently, the snitch ratted out 3 names. His boss called him up and also ran the same issues with him.

Still trying to figure out who the implicated 3rd person is. But we have a pretty good idea who the fucking rat is. And the rat is a SHE. And she is also a Manager, albeit a lousy one I hear.

Motherfucker will have her day!

Slevin

2006-04-13T02:25:00.000+08:00

Went to see the movie Lucky Number Slevin earlier this afternoon. There was really no other better option. It was either this, or some other shite movie. I hate it when I suddenly have a bit of free time to watch a movie and find nothing worth spending a buck on. Specially since I missed watching V for Vendetta.

I thought Slevin was gonna be something similar to Last Man Standing... which was cool because of the gun fights and the way Bruce Willis downed every shot of whisky in that damn movie... looked so good you would think whisky didnt taste like piss. Slevin also had an interesting cast, not that I'm a Josh Hartnet fan though. But Ben Kingsley and Old Man Morgan was there, so why not right?

I read a couple of average joe reviews from clickthecity.com saying that the story had a twist that you wouldn't expect. They also said that the story was kinda difficult to follow and only revealed itself half-way through. And I was like.. what the fuck? When the boy came out, didn't he look like a young Josh Hartnet? I mean is it really that difficult to figure that out? The kid's Dad and Mom got killed... wasn't it obvious from the beginning that it was gonna be one of those classic kill-em-all revenge flicks? I mean, didn't you even notice that the first scenes were shot neck down, so as not to reveal the identities of the people? Wasn't that obvious that the story was hiding the identities of these characters for now?

Overall, it wasn't such a hot movie. Wasn't such a waste of time either. If I knew I had a better choice and went with this one, then I'd have felt a lot worse about this movie. But since I know there was nothing else... I'm a bit more lenient. I thought I would see Lucy Liu be bitch-slapped again like she did in Mel Gibson's "Payback", but this too was a dissapointment. Lucy does have that x-factor thing that makes her so intriguing. Makes you wanna go on a spanking rampage.. but anyway.

Is it me or is Morgan Freeman starting to become boring these days? Don't get me wrong... he still did a good performance here. I mean if this was another actor, it would've been excellent, but he's done this before and he's starting to play the same role over and over. Same wise, old-man lines that is supposed to bequeath wisdom and experience. I wish he would play a nasty villain someday... not some mob boss that you get to only see talking, some real fucker that you get to hate... that'll be something to watch out for.

Sleeping room

2006-04-04T23:44:00.000+08:00

We've recently made one of the empty office rooms into a sleeping room. Night shift's a killer. So it's not really a big deal when one of us goes there to catch a few Zs. Of course, back when everything was so "proper" around here, no one did it. But after the first wave of attrition... people started to be less uptight about office rules, so there ya go.

Well, someone is in there right now. Mr. Know-it-all. And he is fucking snoring so loud that we can hear him even when the door is closed. And my table is like 20 feet away from the door. I know I snore too (specially when I'm tired)... but this is UNBELIEVABLE!

******

Most of the times, I use this room just so I can have a bit of privacy when I make personal calls. But jut this week, the phone was removed... initially I thought it was because of the recent inventory that was done when a lot of the other "vacant" tables were cleared. But then I go to the conference room and find out that international calls have been disabled there too. Fuck!

That was close... too close

2006-04-04T00:46:00.000+08:00

I just spent my whole afternoon at the US Embassy today to get a non-immigrant visa for my upcoming trip to the US. Had a 2:30 PM appointment and I arrived fashionably on time at 1:30 PM. Hey, the girl at the other end of the line did say to come 1 hour before... and although the wife was telling me to be earlier, it turned out I still arrived too early. I ended up having to wait on a long line for the pre-screening since the embassy seemed to be running a bit behind schedule.

Because I never really bothered to check all my documents thoroughly, I found out that I had several problems as I moved closer and closer to the front of the line. First, my application document wasn't printed very well. So much so that the middle part of the document from top to bottom wasn't actually readable. What can I say? Stupid printer from the office. I never bothered to reprint the damn thing since I figured they had a copy of this as well. Also, another colleague who was also flying to the US told me not to bother to reprint as long as the barcode and app ID was readable. Which it was, so there. Of course I was really planning on reprinting it just to be safe, but it was more than a month ago when I did this so I figured I had all the time in the world. Ass!

Second, I was sure that the pictures I brought didn't comply with what the app form required. How did I know besides the document itself describing the proper size? Well, everyone else in that line had bigger pictures attached to their forms. And all of them seemed to have the same size. What I had were extras from my passport renewal pics. Shit!

Third, the wife forgot to include my employment certificate in the envelope. Fuck! I dont have one shred of evidence that I am actually employed by the company that I am gonna claim to be sponsoring this stupid trip. And NO, I don't have an ID yet. Not even a business card. OK.. OK.. I forgot to bring the certificate, not the wife. But more on this later.

So I was essentially almost certain that I would get declined. What I was actually contemplating on doing was to try to reschedule the interview appointment maybe after a week or so, just so I dont have to reapply again and worse... have to pay the $100 fee all over again. Obviously this time from my wallet. Ouch!

I swear, if I had access to a PLDT phoneline while I was standing there... I would've tried to reschedule. I was in fact thinking of calling the office and and have one of my colleagues call to resched and pretend to be me. But then my cellphone was already safely locked at the embassy entrance. And then I look up front and find myslef looking eye to eye with the window guy. He motions me forward with his pen. Fuck!

Immediately, the app form gets noticed. He then asked me if I had another copy of it since it wasn't acceptable. I tried to justify it by saying that I was told it was OK by the call center girl I talked to when I scheduled the interview... but who was I kidding? He asks me if I remember the girl's name. I think of giving a fictitious name for a second but hesitate. She might actually exist so I tell him NO. Luckily, he gives me another form and simply asks me to redo the whole appform and just reattach the pic. I asked about the barcode on the printed form. He said it's fine. So I complete it and then submit it. I grab my yellow slip and sit on the bench to wait. I then just realize that he didn't mention anything about the size of my pic. Fuck yeah!

And so it's another line and another 40 minute wait. Finally, I do the finger printing and then to the actual interview. This is it. We do the usual Q&A. Pretty standard stuff. But I did detect a little bit of change when I told him what my job title was. I think I got a bit more credibility. If only I could prove it. So went the mandatory question:

"Do you have an employment certificate with you... an ID perhaps?"

"I dont have a company ID yet."

[In the background, I hear an old man just got declined]

"How long have you been with this commpany?"

"Three months."

[awkward pause]

Before it got too negative... I had to do something.

"Err... what I do have is an electronic ID that we use for biometric security in the office. It's what identifies the entries and exits to each section in our building and is complimented by finger print scanning in the IT room. So it's actually more important for us than those company IDs with pictures in them."

"OK. Can I see it?"

[Of course, our ELID isn't really that complicated. It's just what we use for the front door, and our rooms arent secured with more of those either. Heck, not even our server room had real biometric security like finger print or iris scan. Not even a passcode.]

He flips it over and tries to study it. He sees the only thing written on the front are the words "ELID: Electronic Identification" and nothing referencing my company name. He types something in his PC, and then hands it back. He asks a few more questions about my work and then types some more. Finally, he instructs me to go back to the embassy pavillion and pay for the passport delivery at Delbros. My VISA will be ready in a week's time. I retrieve the yellow slip from him, smile, and bid him a nice day.

Holy Crap! Did I just pull that stunt?

Graduation Day

2006-03-27T23:46:00.000+08:00

Gaddamit! I fumbled out of my seat and tried my best not to trip over and look obvious that I was rushing to the side of the stage. It's hard to contain your emotions specially when you just heard (and found out for that matter) that your daughter got 2nd place overall at her school.

They took the special exams for forced ranking some 2 weeks ago, and we knew that she was running for a slot at the top 3 graduates. She has consitently been in the principal's list since 1st quarter, so it shouldn't have been any surprise to me. But I really didnt know how it felt like until I went through it... that is, to be called up on stage to pin an award on you daughter in front of the whole school, parents, teachers and classmates at PICC. And it was 2nd place.. overall the entire prep class of 39 graduates. Damn I am proud of her!

I was fucking smiling and smirking all through out the rest of the event. Nevermind that the whole thing was almost 3 hours long. Nevermind that it was almost 11:00 AM and I didnt have anything for breakfast. Nothing was gonna ruin my mood. I cant beleive there's so much raucus over this cheap piece of metal. But I had butterflies in my stomach nevertheless. It was awesome!

I only regret that my father never got to enjoy too much of this when I was a punk kid. In fact, I can remember only a few times that they had the chance to come up the stage and pin an award on me. And I must admit... as happy as I was walking up those steps, a sudden jolt of this made me realize what I deprived my parents of. But past is past, and I can no longer go back to kicking the shit out of everybody through my academe years. What I did manage to do, is outdo a lot of my peers in my batch by accomplish everything that I have done so far. When most of my peers are still climbing the corporate ladder to middle management, I have already been keeping the sit warm for several years now.

I recently took some time to look at several MBA programs and was extremely dissapointed with what I saw. All of the theses were either an evaluation, assesment, or analysis. Fuck that! I've done the actual implementations of these motherfuckers. I dont care how good your research was... you don't know until you actually roll your sleeves and implements something. That's when you really know if what you've been saying was dead accurate or if was just horse shit.

I dont remember how many times potential employers have asked me the question:

"I can see you've got experience, but bon't you think it's still a disadvantage for you to be gunning for a management role like this one at your young age?"

I always tell them:

"On the contrary, I think it's one of my biggest assets. How many people my age can do this job and do it well?"

Work stuff

2006-03-22T03:13:00.000+08:00

I have updated all my project reports. Already submitted my billable hours for last week, and most of everything else that is pending won't be in till tomorrow.

I have this side project I'm supposed to complete this week. I need to to write a payroll program for a company and I am even too fucking bored to continue writing the codes. This kind of stuff will usually only take about 2 days if I just sit on it, but alas... it has now been 3 weeks and I have only completed probably about 30%. Who the hell looks forward to making data entry forms anyway? User Interface design is such a fucking crappy task!

[Listening to my playlist of Gypsy Kings just loop on and on for about 3 hours now]

I could probably go out, grab a few beers and go back after several hours or just shortly before my shift ends. But who do I go with? The rest of the people here arent privileged to do that.

Earlier, I just figured out that Mr. Know-it-all, who has always been yammering about his previous big projects... didn't know where the windows hosts file was. I mean... how the fuck do you go on handling servers and databases without knowing that? Probably been living off some of his guys who are more technical than him. But then, who gives a shit anyway? As long as he doesnt interfere with any of my deliverables... I can live with his ignorant ass just a cubicle away from me. I must admit though, his constant questions of what needs to be done next with his projects is starting to get annoying as well.

Some of the questions are so stupid like;

"Our boss is asking if we already have a contract for this project, what do I say?"

or

"How do I ask for an effort estimate from the teams?"

and even

"You think I should call the client about this?"

I understand that to some other IT guys, these might not come naturally but not for someone who is supposed to manage projects. In most cases, I have to actually coach him with what needs to be done next. They tell me that they hired him because of the tech and data analysis background... and not so much of the PM skills. The rationale was because he was mostly gonna handle internal projects. But now they are starting to trickle down external projects to him. So what now? Do I have to fucking mentor him? The break in I got from the existing PMs when I started here was very simple. Only about 3 weeks of giving me a head's up on how the PMO process works here, who the assholes and who the helpful ones are. And then I was on my own. So who died and made this guy a baby?

some thoughts before I head home...

2006-03-17T07:31:00.000+08:00

Great breakfast! Soup #5. I dont really remember the last time I had this treat. For the uninitiated, its a soup topped with a bull's dick or balls. Chopped of course.

My daughter is in the run for the honor list and so she had to take the special exam for the final placement. Her teacher called the wife earlier and advised that she has been chosen to speak at her graduation next week at PICC. Nothing too fancy. A couple of lines before their class sings a medley. Still... I'm fucking excited!

The wife has also finally started reviewing for the NCLEX-RN. I had to trick her into going to the review center on the guise of "inquiring" just to force her to finally start this shit. After a short discussion with the registrar's assistant... I paid the tuition in full. That did it alright. No more excuses. Wouln't want to waste P21,000 if you're gonna ba all lazy about attending the lectures.

Hospitals and Doctors 101

2006-03-11T17:33:00.000+08:00

Just came from my daughter’s Pediatrician… very relieved! We really had to get a second opinion from that jackass doctor from Medical City. Her school was asking for a med certificate for the graduation next month and since my daughter’s Pediatrician was abroad last week, we settled to get it from Medical City. I mean, why not right? It’s one of the biggest hospitals in the metro, and it’s very close to where we live.

After the workup, they told us that my daughter had Primary Complex, and was also probably positive for Diabetes. I was shocked! But I’ve never really easily trusted Doctors in my life, at least not the ones that I personally didn’t know. So after learning that her Pediatrician (who’s also her Ninang) has just arrived from the US, we went in for another workup. Lo and behold, she said the X-Ray results from Medical City shouldn’t cause any alarm, a second Urinalysis also cleared any possibilities of Diabetes. Besides being a bit thin, which has always been her problem for the past couple of years or so (mainly because of slow eating habits), she’s fine!

Of all the motherfucking... I have a very good mind to drive over on Monday and bring today’s lab results to Medical City and shove it down that bitch’s throat! I wish I could fucking kidnap her daughter (if she had one) and scare the shit out of her that I've just cut the child's index finger. Asshole!

And what is the fucking deal with the urinalysis and blood test results at Medical City taking 4-5 hours each anyway? I never remembered any of those taking that long. Our second workup here today only asked us to wait for 1 hour! And that fucking bitch from Medical City made us come back twice for some other “advice” and then billed us for "more" Consultation. Fucking Leech!

And so I end this blog with a stern warning... be wary of Doctors and Hospitals that are always cocked to rob you blind. They are as opportunistic as much as they appear to be very professional and reputable. I haven’t even started to speak about what happened several months ago when my Aunt was confined and died at Fatima Hospital due to a stroke. That my friends, deserve an entire blog altogether... but I’ll save that for another day lest I start hyperventilating.

Work in progress

2006-03-06T08:01:00.000+08:00

I drew this for my daughter sometime ago, but I never got around to finishing it. Therefore technically, this is still work in progress. No, I did not use Illustrator, Freehand, nor CorelDraw... I only used the very crude MS Paint.

Ahhh.. another dream you say?

2006-03-04T02:04:00.000+08:00

I've never really been a fan of perfumes or colognes. Right now, I have several which are mostly gifts from friends but I dont really use them that much. The ones that I do like are the Hugo Boss that's in a round bottle which smells really good, and another DKNY one. The rest I'm not that fond of. Now for some reason tonight before leaving for work, I decided to spray the DKNY on. And I really mean no special reason. But after I did, the wife suddenly interrogates me with why I am putting on perfume... with a hint of suggesting that I might have a mistress at work perhaps?

I dont know how sick and tired I am of hearing shit like this. The worst part is, she actually wants me to answer it. As a result, I purposely try to make faces like she caught my secret or something, but all within the context of making a joke of course. I mean, come on. If you had a mistress... would you tell your wife about it after a question like that? I mean what kind of answer do they really expect from their husbands?

"Actually, Yes. And it's been going on for 6 months"

Now I have already told her about how ridiculous that question is countless times already, specially more absurd since she actually demands a straight answer from me. Why the hell do women need constant reassurance? After being constantly asked about this all these 7 years of blissfull marriage... it's easy to imagine how it can be so tiresome that it's actually annoying. It feels like a fucking gnat at a BBQ. You fucking swat it away several times, and it just wont go away. Pestering you constantly even as you exert the effort to shoo it away. It's like a stubborn turd... a floater that wont go down. Why dont you just sink you little fucker?!

She even chased me down the stairs and out of the door when I refused to answer.

"What the??"

All because last night she told me about a dream she had. She dreamt she went to the office to pick me up, and saw me holding hands with another girl. Now there are a lot of things that are absolutely wrong with this dream to begin with. First of all, she never drives. One of the main reasons we bought another car (automatic transmission) is that so she can easily drive around the metro since she has been having difficulties with the stick shift. That proved to be a wrong assumption. She never drives, period. Second is, if I had a mistress... why the fuck would I shit in my own backyard? And what? Date a co-employee? What am I stupid? I may get crazy sometimes, but I'm definitely not stupid!

Dreams are really such powerful shit. I know a friend who got laid because the girl dreamt about him. And she didn't even had a crush on him before that. Talk about being a lucky SOB!

Dreams are also pretty biased. Specially when you're a married guy. I dont recall her telling me she dreamt about me being the loving and caring guy that I am. OK, maybe I dont really want something that far-fetched. Just enough positive vibe so she lets me out with the boys all night. I can live with that.

State of Emergency?

2006-02-26T04:42:00.000+08:00

For sure, a lot of the other social/economic issues will have taken a backseat because of the recent political instability in the country. One of the things that is blatantly obvious here, which has also been so in the last years, is that Gloria will do everything in her power, to stay in office. And it really means anything. That's as simple as that.

Jose De Venecia has always had a bad image almost being percieved as the incarnate of the trapo persona. But we see that Gloria is as much a trapo as the rest of them, probably worse. A friend at the office recently commented "Absolute power corrupts absolutely". And I really have to say that on this one, I dont think so. With what I have been seeing for the past years, I am more inclined to believe that she is only what she has always been.

What kind of future do we really see for our country? We have a president that deserves to be booted out of office several times over. We have an inept vice-president who seems to mind his hair better than his job. And then the rest of the usual colorful filipino political community. Should I choose to migrate out of the country like a lot of my good friends have done so? It's a big possiblity. But I will not kid myself in saying that the justification to move to the West is not really because of these wretched politics. I will move there because I see a better life there, and that is primarily related to financial compensation. Who are we kidding here? The single biggest reason is the money. It's not because I love the western culture. It's not because I love their foreign policy... god knows I abhor it. It's not because I think they are a better country. Sure they have some things going for them, but Pinas will and always be my home whether it is in a political turmoil or under the usual coup threat. This is probably the only place where people stil go to malls when a group of rogue soldiers just took a hotel in makati hostage. The first thing I thought about when I heard that was,

"I hope this shit lingers long enough to cancel work next Monday."

In some ways... there is something so pinoy about that mentality that you love. I can imagine how a foreigner would never understand this. It's just pinoy. And these events have just been too common these days. Nothing too special no more. How many rallies have I seen or been to. How many work days have been cancelled? How many presidents have we booted out? How many issues have come and gone?

I know that I will always remember and miss a lot of the simplicities a life in Manila makes possible. The fishball in the street, the stores in every corner, the cheap beer, the cheap cab fare.. relatively of course, the cheap movie tickets, the language, the culture, the people.. The truth is, there really is something so "pinoy" here that is and will always be a part of me. And I dont want to rob that away from my daughter. If there is anything that will be challenging for me and my wife, it will be to try to make that part of her life if she ever ends up having to grow up in a foreign land.

I was in Singapore attending training that time when I saw the report at MediaCorp News that the 10 cabinet secretaries has just resigned. And really... the rest of the news and images as they were presented was quite alarming. So alarming in fact, that I had to call my wife to ask what was going on, and if they were ok. And then you come home and actually see that this will go on for the next year. Yesterday, I got a phone call from my brother in California asking how things were... now I understand why I get these kinds of calls.

**********************

Whatever happened to the stampede issue? Was anyone ever sued? I have always been disgusted when I chance upon watching Wowowee or Kris Aquino's game show where they mask these as benevolent programs that are supposed to be there to help the poor. And the way the show's hosts exploit the poor and old people who go there for scrap of what these big network makes out of having them cry on TV is as evil as evil can get. Sure, I see some businessmen make money from conning other businessmen, but not the media. There is more money to make in exploiting the poor. And if something like the stampede ever blows up in their face... they make it appear that they dont even have to accept responsibility for it. Mga putangina nyo!!!

US Trip

2006-02-26T03:54:00.000+08:00

I've recently been told by my boss that they're sending me to Florida for a month or two. They also explained to the rest of the team in Manila that they're not closing the office by June, but merely downsizing and probably moving to a much smaller office because of this. But then a quick count with my fingers reveal something else.

All of the senior guys and managers have been offered to move to Florida for good. The support team will remain but only till June. The rest of the rank and file people have been or will be retrenched this month. Meanwhile myself and another guy who came in just a month ago have been told to go to Florida for 30-60 days. No offers to move there for good yet... Just a visit. And then what? Come back to Manila and be the only 2 people working in the office?

It's obvious that the trip to Florida is supposed to be an assesment or evaluation for us. The rest of the guys have been with company for at least 1 year, so they already know them more or less. And I totally understand the management since I've only been with the company for 2 months, and the other guy for less than 1. I hear that they have rescinded the 2 year bond that was originally part of the deal. Now my colleagues who are moving there are no longer bound to stay with the company for at least 2 years. I also hear that once in Florida, the company will sponsor the petition for a green card for them and their family. Hmmmmm.... it's beginning to look like an offer that will be difficult to refuse.

The irony of it

2006-02-17T04:26:00.000+08:00

I am really trying to understand why my wife is so sensitive about our househelp doing anything when she has just finished ironing clothes?! Suddenly, she is not supposed to do anything anymore. She bothers me with going out to buy some stuff when my small remaining time at home would be best spent snoozing for an hour or two just before I report for nightshift. I mean, its not like I'm a lazy bastard or I am a fucking slave driver. I am very good and generous to house helps that we've had, even if some of them have fucking ruined some expensive shirts in the past.

Why on earth is ironing work regarded (at least the physical aspect of it) with such respect? It seems the househelps are not supposed to get their hands wet after that job, but it's ok if I do even if I just changed another goddamn flat tire or whatever manual work that is obvisouly physically more demanding and tougher than ironing some clothes. Ironing isn't a joke. I know this for a fact since I used to do this for myself when I was still single and I'm fairly sensitive about how my shirts and pants should be ironed... but what is so physically demanding about it really? It's boring, yes... and all the standing can probably give you a bit of sore legs.. back, maybe. But not really that much right? Now she cant be sent to buy some fruits 5 blocks away? What the fuck??!!

I just had an 18-hour day here... give me a break dammit!!!

6th Bday

2006-02-15T05:31:00.000+08:00

Last Friday, we had a small kiddie party for my daughter's 6th bday at her school in Makati. Nothing fancy, I arranged for 30 pax from the nearby Jollibee. And for the love of me, I cannot really fathom how these teachers do their job and continue to handle these kids everyday. It was nice to see all of them having fun, but then one can immediately imagine the kind of headache it would be to have to do this all year long. Needless to say, the parlor games moved the mayhem a notch higher.

During the palo sebo, there was this 1 girl who caught my attention. She was picking up stuff from everywhere and sweeping them aside to one corner. Obviously, the rest of the kids were simply having a hard time trying to hold all the stuff they got while picking up the rest of the stuff, but not her:

She then systematically collected the loot afterwards...

1 down, several to go

2006-02-13T00:58:00.000+08:00

I just figured that it's been 1 year since I started blogging... how time flies. I know that's so cliche but so what... I can't think of any psuedo-intellectual reflection about doing this for a year now except that I've had fun doing it.

So cheers to me and to my few readers... now lets get back to the real reason we surf the internet... porn!

Mr. Know-it-all

2006-02-09T05:27:00.000+08:00

I have a colleague here at the office that's quickly becoming annoying. He's one of those guys that seems to always know something about anything. The problem is, he has this tendency to out talk even those who are really into whatever shit we are talking talking about... be it hobbies, history, sports, general info, local IT companies, trends in the industry... every fucking thing. And he is fucking getting on my nerves....

He even argued with me that back in the day he used to be very much into weightlifting that he used to be a very lean 190lb SOB, with only 5% body fat. Heck, pro athletes dont even get to that low, most of the olympians are around 8%. He also claims that he used to do anabolic steroids for 3 years, and some other synthetic crap that I'm sure he only heard from some wild story from god knows who. I told him I used to be into bodybuilding myslef and told him I used to be able to bench press 220lbs for 4-6 reps. He then told me that was light.. and he used to do around 300lb+ easy. The nerve!

I asked him about the program he had, and only proceeds to tell me that he did the whole body. MWF upper body and TTHS lower body. Of course this was beginning to get funnier and funnier. I then proceeded to tell him that his program was crap, and it was obviously overtraining. I told him about my 4 day split program and the importance of working-out opposites muscles in succession like biceps and triceps, etc.

What the fuck am I doing talking to this guy? Goes to show how there is absolutely nothing I am doing at 5:29 in the morning waiting for my shift to finish.... *sigh*

Job Interview

2006-02-08T00:58:00.000+08:00

I think the interview went ok. I'm just not too sure if the guy just had a very pleasing disposition earlier this afternoon or if I was really doing that well. I couldn't help but think about the huge salary I would be recieving if I get the job. Made me drool in my mind every 10 minutes or so. Considering the interview went on for about 80 minutes, I'd say that was too much drooling even for that amount of money.

Oh well...

Random rants

2006-02-07T00:07:00.000+08:00

Probably the best thing that I have grown to love about working night shifts is the way it has affected my eating habits. Basically, I now have no idea what time I am supposed to eat and whether what I am eating is lunch, dinner or just merienda. So the result is, I have grown accustomed to eating just a small amount of food. If rice is served, I am usually ok with just 1 cup and even in most cases, less. If you know me, you know that that's a huge accomplishment.

I feel I am losing some fat in the process... although subsequent checks with the weighing scale atumotically disqualifies that theory. But fuck the scale, really. I feel the belly has been reduced a bit, and I feel "thinner". Whatever that means...

But other than this, working on GY shift is fucking horrible. I can understand being able to live with this for several weeks or months, if you are a single guy. But a family man cannot survive on this for too long... I don't fucking care if they're paying me this much. I have basically lost my life to this nocturnal work shift. I dont get to meet with friends, I dont get to do activities with my family, and I can't stand trying to readjust back my body clock every goddamn Monday.

My company has announced that the Manila office is closing on June. So it's either you get retrenched, or you get offered to move to the US. 2 of my colleagues have been offered, one of them rejected it and the other one will probably take it. I am still the odd man out. Don't really know why they have held out the decisioin on me for this long... but something's bound to come out. The US offer isn't really that good. Of course I mean this in comparison to the other possibilities that have begun to open for me here. Getting a US Visa is great... plus the fact that you get to bring your family with you, but the compensation isnt really that fantastic. Specially since my "new opportunity" would already allow me to be recieving almost the same amount here in Manila. So in retrospect, if I go to the US, I'd be living a so-so life based on what they offered to keep me, at least contractually for the next 2 years. But if I stay here, I'd be living a very comfortable life based on almost the same salary the US is offering, but now with a different company. Tough choice really...

My final interview for this "new opportunity" is tomorrow afternoon. I have all my fingers crossed for this one. The best thing that can happen is, I get this new job together with the ridiculous salary that I have asked for and then win the 2 projects that I am working on from my previous company. And the chances for both of them are really looking good right now. If we win, I was thinking of buying a new car, but now I know I should buy a house first. Maybe some bank-acquired property somewhere in the metro that has been depreciated. At least get something so I dont have to pay P180K a year for a big apartment that will never be mine anyway.

My wife and I were at the mall most of today looking at some new furniture. Practically, we saw several things we wanted to buy... a new sofa set, a new coffee table, and a new AC for my daughter's room. Everything totalling to about P60K. I almost bought everything right then and there. Good thing I hesitated. I told myself that I'd wait to see how my interview goes first, and then we'll see if I still wanna buy the stupid velvet sofa.

And then we passed by the Lacoste shop again. Funny how having all these money now has changed the way I look at these expensive stores now. I used to cringe in fear whenever I see prices from these designer shops. Last week, I bought myself a pair of Lacoste shoes, and 2 Lacoste shirts. Also bought another pair of shoes from People Are People because it looked to good to pass. Now that I've thought about it, I just bought myself 4 pairs of shoes in the last month. Of course I know that one of the main reasons I indulge myself with these things is simply because now I can. I'm not the snotty little kid anymore... I am swimming with the big fishes now, Dad.

Mabuhay ka Manny!!!

2006-01-24T00:09:00.000+08:00

Tangina Astig!!!

After the first round, I kinda thought Manny couldnt do it. But I guess he really showed El Terible this time. Finally, he knocks the SOB down. At least this time, no doubts, no second thoughts, no questions. I would've counted it a defeat if he won via scorecards. So this time... he did it, and he did it the classic Pacquiao way... which is to beat his opponent's face to a pulp!

While am at it, who the fuck sang Lupang Hinirang? And why the fuck did they choose that girl? I counted at least 6 flat notes and her last one... that last note where every warm-blooded pinoy shudders from the inside with nostalgic images of the martyrs and heroes fighting for the freedom... what does she do? She fucking ends the anthem with a shriek that sounded it came from a cat on a hot tin roof!

The Hour

2006-01-21T06:04:00.000+08:00

Holy Crap! Last night, I arrived feeling awful knowing that in several hours, the announcement from senior management would come, and the team leads would be advised about the attrition. So my fellow Senior Project managers and I were basically just mulling around and quielty awaiting the hour as we watch everybody else casually go about their daily work routine, totally oblivious to the fact that most of them are about to lose their jobs. In certain cases, groups would be totally wiped out completely.

I was chatting over YM when I saw the support staff stand up one by one, telling everybody that there was a meeting at the conf room. I looked behind me and saw that QC guys were also starting to queue inside their bosses office. Fuck! This is it. It's ON.

Once everybody was inside, I stood up and just walked out. It was 3 in the morning and there was really nothing to do outside, but I had to go out for air and think. I didnt want to be in the office when their meeting finished. The dread of it. They all seemed nice people. They had such dynamic relationships. They seemed to be working well together...

Gloomy Day Ahead

2006-01-19T00:56:00.000+08:00

Just came out of a meeting. I already felt suspicious when my boss called us 30 minutes early for our weekly meeting. He seemed like something was bothering him, and there was. We got a heads up on a gloomy event that will unfold next Monday. Apparently, there is a management buyout that is ongoing at our US headquarters and so heads will roll. And our Manila office is gonna take a big hit. 60% attrition, actually.

We were reassured that our group would remain intact, but he was honest about telling us that he would be leaving after this tide has past. So what does that make of us? Are we now supposed to report directly to the US office? I think the only reason they are retaining us is because of our visibility to the existing clients being Project Managers, and that it is almost impossible right now to simply just hand all these existing projects to new people. Maybe I am too paranoid, and maybe we're all gonna be just fine. But then how can one treat a management buyout without a dish of a little paranoia?

What options do I really have right now? What future is there for me in this company? And so while they claim that I am safe, should I just wait until it becomes convenient for them to let me go? I think not.

Leaving too soon

2006-01-17T02:42:00.000+08:00

It feels too soon. Mom is flying back to the US and I really havent been able to spend much time with her. Between the 2 jobs on 2 shifts, time with the wife and daughter, I really dont have much left. I'm supposed to drop her off at the airport later at 5:30AM, and in the meantime I'm about to pull another 24 hour day. But I've already blogged too much about my stupid 24 hour days, and its beginning to get boring. Fucking tiring and boring.

They went to megamall for a last minute shopping last night. The wife says they bought some shirts for Dad, and some other gifts for my aunt. Would've wanted to buy a pair of shoes for Dad... but it's gonna be a tough gamble to do so, specially because he's so friggin nitpciky about his shoes. I dont really understand why he sent his 2 shoes over... supposed to be for me and my brother. We have more shoes than him, but I guess he probably doesnt know.

I got a text message for a job interview at this bank I applied for last year. Very surprising since this was probably around September - October 2005. The way things are turning up in my current job, I'm thinking I might wanna give this a try. nothing to loose anyway. I hope they can raise my current salary, or at least match it. At least I think they can give me better benefits. Plus I get to run my own department. Nothing like being able to practice power-tripping at work....

House Window Shopping

2006-01-10T02:45:00.000+08:00

Yesterday, my mom coaxed me into visiting this Canyon Ranch in Carmona Cavite. It's basically a real estate developer with some new lots for sale in this hilltop community they're developing above the new race track there. I was supposed to take my daughter to see The Narnia movie but I guess plans have changed now. Even my daughter said it was ok, just so she can spend time with her Lola. Heck, even my wife wanted to see the model houses. I protested but of course, we finally went.

The place was nice, and the air was cool because they had a nice breeze going, being on the hills and all. The model houses looked great, but then again why wouldnt they, if they were the "model" that everyone would go and see. The thing is, they were expensive... at least, the one that I really liked. But my mom really had her eyes pinned on this 3 room house option and relatively speaking, it was the best deal in the brochure as far as financing is concerned.

And for a moment I could really imagine myself seeing the community already set up with people and houses around. It would obviously be great to live there and have a relaxed life. But then again.. when do I really expect myself to do that? In 2 years? or 5? I'm not really planning on retiring in the next 5 years. I mean of course I would like to have the money to do so, but that's highly unlikely. Besides, this is Carmona, Cavite we are talking about, and SLE traffic can be very vicious and unforgiving. If I had a house in the Metro, then this would be a nice option as a vacation spot, somewhere to be a bit more laid back... but other than that, I'd rather throw my chips at buying a house in the Metro first.

And then we make the trip back and reality really snaps back into perspective. I tell my mom my thoughts about it and basically decline the offer to buy a house there also so we get some sort of discount. For a moment there, my mom sounded like she was asking me if I wanted to buy a shirt in a mall or something. But, she takes them pretty well. I do hope that they go ahead and buy the one they like, because at least for them, this would be an OK choice being based in the US and all of that. Whenever they're here, I'd rather that they have some quiet place to relax and enjoy, rather than be in the Metro and have to deal with traffic and all the other old "friends" I'd rather they not see.

My wife and I strolled around Megamall for a while as we try to convince my daughter that there are other edible food besides Jollibee. She ended up giving her consent when reassured that we would buy spring rolls.

I've been wanting to buy loafer shoes for a while now but havent really found anything that's really convincing. And then I decide to walk in to Mendrez, and there I see 3 loafers that I like. One of them, I really love. I tried my size and they looked really great. Bad news was that the third one was out of stock for my size, so what could I do? I ended buying both of them since I couldnt make up my mind.

Date with my Wife

2006-01-09T06:03:00.000+08:00

I haven't been out with my wife for a long time. When I say out, I mean a date where there's only the two of us. Of course we go to malls, watch movies, but never really anything like we used to do like young couples do and go to hip places and do whatever kids do these days.

I got stood up by friends Saturday night, so I called the wife and told her I'd take her to greenbelt and just chill. Her reaction was basically "...and do what?" So we finally went there, and for the first 20 minutes or so we had a problem figuring out which establishment to walk in to and what to actually do. She didnt want to drink, she didnt want to listen to live music, and she didnt want to sit with all the expats below at Cafe Havana. So we decided to eat. Oody's isnt really your fine dining choice, heck its not even the best asian cuisine I've been in, and the Pad Thai isn't even close to the real Pad Thai I got used to. But it's ok I guess. Mostly through dinner she was criticizing the food, and as usual I ended up having to finish whatever she ordered. We didnt really do much after that, called it a night around midnight.

Things get different when you already know people too much, specially since when you get married you realize that there are really a lot of things that you dont like about the person and vice versa. But marriage is marriage, and family is family and you do love each other, not to mention the fact that you have a daughter together. Is it true that familiarity breeds contempt? I think so. The trick is trying to control the effects of it. Chris Rock really was dead on with his joke when he said that there comes a time when you've heard everything the other person has to say, and you just wanna stab her in the throat with a pencil.

How do you keep a relationship new, specially a married one? I envy people who can seem to maintain the enthusiasm of their married life. But then again, it may all be just perspective and a projected image. Is it all a myth? Or is it just learning to deal and live with all of it? Maybe some people are better at accepting things, both good and bad, and then maybe some people are smarter than that and actually do something about it.

I think it was good that we got a chance to go out again. I am not really sure how we can enjoy it like we used to, but I guess spending some time with each other really is worth its own weight in gold. Just dont ask me on a bad day. I've read somewhere that young poeple go through life hoping to change the world, and old people just want to understand it. Am I that old?

Ministop Discovery

2006-01-07T01:28:00.000+08:00

I've just made a startling discovery!

A mountain dew soda in can @ 330ml costs P17, while the one in a plastic bottle @ 500ml costs P19... Whoa! And I've been buying my sodas in cans.... sonnavaaahhh...

Night Shifts

2005-12-30T04:09:00.000+08:00

One of the new things that I really love about working the night shift is driving to work in only 10 minutes. This really puts true geographical distances into perspective and goes to show how very near everything really is in Metro Manila if not for the infamous traffic. Let's not forget the consequential effect on your gas consumption. Sweet!

Second is the ability to park anywhere in Makati for free. If you consider that parking rates are so fucking expensive here, then it really is a big thing. Of course, I have my own parking slot at the back of our building, but it really is nice to know that I can drive to a 24-hour resto within Makati and be able to park right at the streets.

I think I'm getting a bit used to being up at night. I beleive the key is really to treat the weekends as if you were still doing night shifts and resist the temptation to go back to normal hours. If you don't, then you have to adjust every goddamn week. It's nice if you're out with friends drinking or whatever... at least you tend to last longer. But if you don't have anything planned, what the hell are you supposed to do all night at home?

Twas the week before xmas...

2005-12-24T04:30:00.000+08:00

This week will really go down the books for me. I dont remember working like this the week before xmas. The POC is finally over, and we had great results. Specially if you consider the fact that the guy I was arguing with was a powerhouse. He turned out to be the CIO of 2 companies, and they're not mediocre IT companies. We were working all through the weekend trying to get everything tested. Was only able to complete it late Monday afternoon around 4PM. And then I had to report for my first day at my new job at 9PM. Good Lord!

About 2 hours through my first night shift, I recieve news from my cousin that my Aunt just passed away. Talks with the wife and brother who rushed to the hospital to be with my Mom ultimately led to the need for me to drop by around 4AM to help in coordinating the funeral arrangements. So I leave my shift early on my first day, drive all the way to where they were to pick up my wife, and then inspect the funeral home before I head back home. We close the arrangements and call my Mom to confirm, then I finally arrive home around 8AM. For the first time in 24 hours, I am able to finally take a nap. I close my eyes and it takes a few minutes before my engorged eyelids really relaxes.

Two hours later, I haul my ass out of bed and I meet with my team around 11AM and do some last minute testing. Turns out the POC demo had to be pushed to 3PM, so we wait as my body quietly continues to eat up all but a few more ounces of energy. I take this time to draw up some slides to aide me later. The POC finally finishes at around 5PM, and I arrive home at 6PM. My body collapses in bed. I am supposed to be reporting back to work in 3 hours but I really can't take anymore. I ring my new boss and call in a family emergency.

I've actually been deprived of sleep for longer periods of time, but they were mostly if not all, simply doing nothing or perhaps waiting for something. This one on the other hand required me to actually work the whole time. I was atteding meetings, I was talking to people, I was driving, I was bloody reviewing codes, and then presenting to the committee inside the boardroom, while entertaining rigorous questions. Christ!

And now a couple of days into my new job, I have still yet to adjust my sleepig patterns. Feels like a really bad case of jetlag. Now it's Dec 24th, and we're supposed to be preparing for Noche Buena and do some last minute shopping for gifts, groceries, and whatnots. The saga continues...

Got what I wished for

2005-12-17T10:06:00.001+08:00

I am swamped! I've been extremely busy preparing for my last POC demo next week. We are waiting to hear from my first proposal to Agency X (more on that later), meanwhile this last one has been pushed and pushed until now we are scheduled for the latest possible day, Dec 20.

How ironic these last weeks have been. A couple of months ago I was wallowing in utter boredom and idleness. Courtesy client call this, client call that. I missed the action. And now I got what I wished for. I'm not really complaining that much. Just yesterday I had to trace bugs in our Visual Basic DLL that was being called from a PowerBuilder app. It's been a while since I've actually done some actual programming and debugging and I am very happy I got the chance to do it. Found out that PB didn't really handle NULLs the same way as VB. It wasnt really that much of a surprise, since I've experienced this before with C/C++ and VB param passing when I was still a programmer. For some reason, I also found out that parameters being passed by reference were not effective in a PB/VB setup. Had to use COM public properties for that. It just felt good to remember the old days and actually relive the "fun" experiences.

It would've been great if I got to be busy some months ago, and then be slacking around today. It's already mid-December and I've barely even done anything remotely connected to what we usually do during Christmas season. My mom is also here and I can't even spend some time with her. Can't even drop by until maybe late next week.

The wife is complaining, the daughter is too. My mom is asking when I'm coming over, and my Dad is sending emails telling my brother and I to check on my Mom everyday. Meanwhile, I am starting my new job on Monday doing graveyard shifts from 9PM to 6AM Tuesday next day, and then go back to Agency Y for my POC demo to the Technical Evaluation Committee by 2PM. Of course, I probably need to be there by at least 11AM to prep a bit. The POC will probably finish around 4PM and then I meet with my team and partners for a debriefing. Hopefully, it won't take too long. I then go to work at 9PM for another all nighter and be at another meeting with a partner on the previous bid at 9AM the next day. I am supposed to already be changing my sleep patterns to accomodate my new shift. Just figured it out.... if you actually invert the timezone, that would practically mean that my POC presentation was scheduled at 2AM after working a regular 9-6 day.

Fucking A!

The only thing that's driving me to do this next week is the big, fat commission. You know what they say... money talks, specially if you have to feed a family AND feed your own ambition.

Drawing to a close

2005-12-04T20:40:00.000+08:00

This week is gonna be it. I am currently working on winning 2 govt projects and the culmination of all effort to get both of them will be all this week. I actually allowed both presentations to be scheduled on the same day... only realized this Friday and so I had to call people to move mountains and reschedule 1 of them.

Tomorrow morning, I am meeting Managers from Agency X to try to convince them to allow us to only show 20-30% of a particular process for our POC. I dont really know why they would allow us to do that, them being ok with us waiting to finish what we have to. The issue here is really vendor B (which is who we are carrying in this POC) really badly needs this to close by year-end. Probably to hit some 4th quarter quota or something. In fact, they need this so bad that the local guy called his boss in Singapore, who then called my boss in Singapore to push buttons and inquire about why this thing was taking this long. I did initially tell them we could probably finish this by end of November... but that was before we really got a look at the details and what we really had to do. My faithful engineer then tells me 6 weeks. And I've worked with him before to know that this guy works really fast, and is really good. So what else can I do about it?

They're trying to pressure us to put more resources into it. Statistically speaking of course, if we put 1 more engineer into it, then it would cut the time in half, etc. But we didnt really have that option right now. Ergo, the move to try to convince the evaluating committee to only 20%. We are then supposed to present this on Friday, and my boss including my faithful engineer will both be flying in from Singapore for this event. I guess it's really ok as far as timing goes, since Project Y bid will have to be presented on Thursday now, and they can be there and show our commitment there also.

I am sitting in a cafe downloading huge Fix Packs for another try at installing the fucking problematic software on our POC server tomorrow. We are actually gonna do a remote access installation. Hopefully, they'll give us proper rights to do this inside their network so Singapore can monitor the installation. If not, then either they just cut the install image into a DVD and Fedex over, or they will have to fly in earlier to prepare everything. I feel like a useless fuck! I wish I could be of more help. What can I do? I dont know the crappy software from Vendor B really works. But then... everybody I've talked to has told me how difficult and extremely buggy it is to install the damn thing. Like I always say... you look at these big vendors and think how exciting it must be to work with them and their software... and then you actually do and all you can say is "Fucking Crap!"

I was working on designing the remote architecture diagram for Project Y the other night and when I finished 2 or 3 hours later.... I was so shocked at what little work I was able to accomplish. I used to fly through these things when the going was tough... now I'm like a fucking amateur. Too much slack time these last months...

My mom is flying in from Vegas this week. I dont really know how I can accomodate her this week with all the activities. At least I'll have more time after this week. Project Y bid would've been already in... and my engineer would be in Manila to help out on site for Project X. I guess I'm really out of shape... I used to be in worse predicaments and I handled them. Oh well...

I start at my new job on Dec 15. Luckily, my shift is on US East Coast time which is basically graveyard shift here in Manila. I've already told them to give me a bit of leniency in the first months or so but all I really want is to be able to ride this out and continue to work for my current company till maybe end of January. My Singaporean boss called me a few days ago telling me about possibly extending my tenure and letting me manage this 2 upcoming Projects. Of course, I didn't assure him of anything... but I didn't tell him NO either. I'll work it out with them soon enough.

I guess they'll all find out soon enough.. as soon as we know if we won the bid or not. I can probably help them hire a new Project Manager... but I am no longer interested in handling these 2 myself... I'll be fine with the fat commission

Early Christmas

2005-11-30T22:38:00.000+08:00

This is a great day! I finally get a job offer that's worth considering. My official job title has the new word "Senior" at the front, and the financial compensation is even better than what I was expecting. Very enticing I must say.

Also heard from my boss in Singapore that our only competition in government project X has been disqualified and actually banned from doing any business with the prime contractor. This practically makes it a 1-horse race! He then said that as a show of commitment, he and some other colleagues will be flying to Manila to help out on the POC. Holy Crap... that is fucking good news! I've never doubted our solid technical team to back me up on critical issues, but knowing that they will now be flying in is a tremendous boost of confidence for me.

I've been in the business long enough to know not to count my chicks before they hatch... but the excitement is fucking killing me. Specially because of a big fat commission that's coming my way once this thing gets awarded.

I guess I just have to play it carefully so I still get the commission and then be able to leave nicely and go on with the new company that gave me the great offer. They want me to start as soon as Dec 15 which is really too soon by any standards. Good thing is I'm gonna be working night shift with them so I might be able to sneak in morning meetings with my current company concurrently. Of course I know I wont be able to do this for too long, maybe for 15 days to a month... and then I really need to let go. But that would be enough time to seal the deal on the 2 projects that I'm cooking up so its gonna be worth all the prospective juggling effort.

Crazy week

2005-11-28T14:30:00.000+08:00

Havent been able to post anything in a while. Not because nothing blogworthy has happened... but because there was actually too much. I guess thats also because I really havent had much sleep this past week.

All in all, I am currently dealing with my dear daughter getting 3 stitches on her chin from an accident inside our home, my Aunt suffering 2 consecutive strokes that eventually led to cerebral hemorrhage and is now critical at ICU, my POC at government agency X which thankfully is recieving some attention from my colleagues in Singapore but is in danger of being abandoned because of the amount of involvement they are asking from us at such an early stage may simply be too risky, and another possible project with government agency Y which we are also supposed to submit a proposal by next week.

My mom is flying in because of the medical emergency and my brothers and I are worried about her stay here (seeing my tita), with her existing heart condition. She will make the 18-hour trip on her own since my brother and Dad wont be able to fly with her.

On the lighter side of things, I recieved a very positive update from a potential employer. They have asked me to complete an online personally test as the final step. I've been to 3 interviews with them and have always recieved good feedback. This maybe it! After all, how can I possibly fuck this up if all that's left is a stupid personality test?

More on all of this later....

Family Portrait

2005-11-14T22:17:00.000+08:00

This is one of my daughter's first attempts at computer graphics. She used MS Paint.

I think I'm supposed to be jumping here...

All in a day's work

2005-11-13T21:24:00.000+08:00

I guess I should let you know how that day went. Here goes.

I decided to go to my morning exam in QC. The building was only 100 or so meters from EDSA so I decided it wouldnt be a big deal to walk. However, it started to drizzle the moment I crossed EDSA. What can I say? It was one of those days. So the 100 or so meters became a dash to the finish line. I arrived at the gate a little soaked, both from the drizzle and my own sweat. I hated how that felt. We were finally led up to the HR testing room were we were briefed after about 5 minutes. Nothing too make you feel so icky like your shirt being soaked from rain and your own sweat, and now your sitting still in a fully air-conditioned room. Sheesh! It was 8:32 AM and we were told that we would wait for "everybody" until 9:00 AM before we began. Great. So much for my second itinerary in Manila. I was originally thinking I could ace this stupid test and still make it to my 11:30 AM meeting.

The tests started at 9:10 AM. They were divided into Vocabulary, Math, Reading Comprehension, and Abstract Reasoning. The catch was, everything was in tagalog. I pretty much aced everything except the vocabulary. How the hell do you distinguish between figuring out which to choose from the following anyway: ipahayag, iparamdam, ibahagi, and iparating?

Then I went through a personality test that is supposed to work for people who would really answer it honestly. The main directions were of course telling us to "Answer the questions spontaneously" and not give each of the items much thought. Yeah, Right!

Finally, the psychometric exam which they called "management exam". Aced it and finished everything at 10:50 AM. I probably couldve finished everything earlier had it not been for the synchronized way they conducted the exam. We all started each section at the same time of course, and so those of us who finished early had to wait. Sometimes, 5 minutes, sometimes 10. They gave us way too much time if you ask me.

Nothing much happened at my next meeting in Manila. I arrived there only to find that we didn't really need discuss anything that substantial. In fact, nothing that I couldn't have just answered through email. Fucking lamers. At least I got a chance to call my 4pm at Makati and move it earlier to 3PM knowing that I could really leave Manila after eating the cheap lunch at their cafe and relaxing at starbucks for a while.

And then my boss called me and the conversation that I have been wanting to have with him was finally afoot. We talked about it for a good hour or so and I was honest with my intentions of leaving. We did talk about all the other issues and he asked me if I would be ammenable to staying for 1 or 2 more months just to tie up some lose ends. After all, Client X was trying to re-negotiate extending the support, so I told him that's fine. At least, we could now talk openly about our strategy for the upcoming conference call with Client X for the following day. Heck, I might even be able to close this govt deal with that lead time and land myself a very thick and fat commission before I actually throw in the towel. Specially since before this conversation, Singapore has been hesitant about giving me the resources that I would need for the POC. Of course, it was because they kinda knew that I was gonna be leaving. Now that everything's been laid out, we are back on full force. And dammit... I am gonna fucking win this deal for them. Specially now that they've upped my commission rate just to make it more interesting for me.

By the time the conversation ended, the taxi cab was already pulling over at my drop in Makati. This time I was meeting with a partner. They wanted to bring us in on another govt project. And the solution? To implement product Z and compete with the other partner that I am working with for the first POC. Holy Shit! Nothing like being a partner to vendors of products X, Y, and Z, the global top 3 products in their category and being the best system integrator in the region at implementing them. I guess I'll be seeing them from 1 POC to another, from partners to competitors. I love this stuff! We're all just 1 big happy family.

I still had time before my 6:00 PM at Ortigas so I decided to head home and maybe catch some small Zs. I arrived at home and found myself unable to control the urge of checking my email. Big mistake! Before I realized it, I only had 30 or so minutes to spare. So off to Ortigas where I arrived 15 minutes early for my interview. As it turned out, I should have just slept at home and maybe called to reschedule. The motherfucker made me wait for more than an hour without any word of explanation or apology. Finally, I decided I wasn't gonna take anymore of that crap and walked out. I sent this email to my headhunting firm:

Sadly, I have to withdraw my application at Company M. I arrived very tired at their office at around 5:45PM from all the meetings I had the whole day. The receptionist told me Mr. X was downstairs and so I waited. He came up around 6:20. At about 6:35 someone finally told me to meet him at the conference room. Inside the conf room, he only came in and casually placed my resume at the table and left again while talking to somebody on his cellphone. Nobody ever bothered to speak to me or apologize for this, and so at around 7:05PM, I decided I had had enough, so I promptly walked out.

I myself am a Manager and have done my share of interviews for my team and staff. I have also been dealing with CIOs and other Execs for a long time, but have never been treated like this -- without any word of simple politeness and common courtesy. Maybe they have been all too used to treating applicants like this and no one gave a hoot.... if this is how they treat potential employees, then I don't think I would fit in their organization. I can sympathize with 10-15 minutes, but I think 1 hour (without any explanation) is really unnacceptable."

The firm apologized, and told me they would get to the bottom of it. They also told me that they had escalated the issue with the Company's CFO. I replied with this email:

Thanks for bringing this to their attention. The only thing I wish out of this is for them to be more sensitive about things like these in the future. The hiring process is usually only viewed as a 1-way evaluation. But more than just assessing the capabilities and qualities of applicants, it is a very good way of showing these people what you are as a company and an organization.

I have doubts that this can still work, specially if Mr. X is supposed to be my immediate supervisor in case I am hired. Besides, I already made my decision the moment I stood up and walked out of that door.

Please let me know if you have other opportunities I can pursue."

And so another job opportunity has slipped passed me. To be honest about it, I think the projects for the company would've been ok, them being a MNC as well. But I just couldn't let that slide. I don't really expect them to do something about it, I mean it's not as if the guy would get a memo or so from the CFO, or COO. But at least it came up... and it'll at least get mentioned in their meetings. At least I would hope so. Of course, I don't look forward to run into him again in the near future. If we do, I hope they're the ones trying to partner with whoever I'm working for and not the other way around.

And then I went home and was finally able to relax. I still felt a bit heavy with what had just happened, but at least I had a couple of hours before my next appointment. Dinner was good and I was able to nap for an hour or so. Woke up at 9:00 PM. Off I went back to Makati for my 10:00 PM interview. I arrived 15 minutes early and was surprised to be told that because of a schedule mix-up, the interviewers are actually attending an internal business training and won't be available till 12:00 AM. They actually asked me if I could wait till midnight. I was like "You have got to be fucking kidding me..."

Fortunately, they admitted it was their fault, and when they saw that I wasn't gonna wait... they inserted me into their schedule. The guy came out and we did the interview for 30 minutes or so. It went very well. After about 5 minutes, I was totally in control of the conversation. I sounded very confident, and I was clearly impressing him. Yada.. yada.. yada.. we ended it, shook hands, and they wished me luck in my next interview with the President.

So this day finally comes to an end. I call my cousin who is in town for the night from cebu, and my brother and I go to his hotel and catch up on shit and drink a couple of lights. At least this long day ended right... with alcohol!

Long Day

2005-11-09T17:58:00.000+08:00

How appropriate... a long day after a long weekend.

This has got to be a personal record for me. Tomorrow I am really swamped with meetings. I've been in very tough situations before that necessitated me to work 18-20 hours a day, but that was mainly because we were either trying to run after delays and project overruns, or simply trying to avoid more of them.

Tomorrow I have an exam in QC at 8:30 in the morning that will apparently take 3 or so hours to complete. It's bad enough that it's so early in the morning, and then I have go through 3 hours of gruelling aptitude tests!? They did say the the ones that will take long are the management tests. What the heck are they anyway? I think these are probably the ones where they have a group of tasks or action items and you try to rearrange them in a more streamlined process. I guess it really does give you an idea of what kind of problem solving/organizing skills a person does... I just hate doing these goddamn exams, specially the long ones.

The last one I took was for an IT company in Makati some 3 years ago. They told me to come to the office for an exam. It turns out there was a 3-hour aptitue test, and then a 2-hour technical test in the afternoon. Motherfuckers! If I werent really interested in the position, I would've walked away. The least they could've done was warn me right? I was cursing my way through each page. And then the interview came at the end of the day and they told me they were looking for someone who had more experience in 1 technical aspect that they were particular about. I swear, if she wasn't cute... I probably would've reached from across the conference table and strangled her to death right then and there. The fucking assholes made me go through a full day of exams for something that was bloody obvious in my resume.... Christ!

Anyway, my day tomorrow looks like this:

08:30 - Exam in QC
11:00 - Meeting with clients in Manila about Maintenance Agreement
14:00 - Visit POC Server installation in Ortigas
16:00 - Meeting with a partner in Makati about an upcoming bid for a govt project
18:00 - Interview appointment in Ortigas
22:00 - Interview appointment in Makati

I've been in meetings that lasted 12 hours, but tomorrow is gonna be different I guess. The last appointment at 10PM is for a BPO company that operates under US timezone and is probably one of the most promising prospects. I've already been interviewed by the VP-HR, and VP-IT. I scored prominently in the qualifying exam and now the interview is with the PMO Head in Manila (my prospective immediate supervisor).

The jury is still out on wether I'll actually go to the 3 hour exam in QC early tomorrow morning. I hear that their remuneration package for IT people isn't at par with the market standards, let alone competitive enough to entice me. The wife is telling me to give it a chance. But I guess it'll only depend on my demeanor when I wake up tomorrow at 6:30 AM. Odds are though... it won't be good.

Long Holiday

2005-11-03T21:48:00.000+08:00

The long weekend was spent mostly burying my lazy ass deep in my couch and watching whatever cable TV has to offer. Since my schedule freed up from all those projects, I've had the luxury of being able to work from home. When I say work, I mean answer emails and SMS. Occasionally, there are phone calls but since I have to mute the TV so they won't figure that I'm at home... I try to keep this to a minimum.

I basically divide my time in fulfilling 2 functions. First, visiting past and present clients to check on them while trying my best to talk about anything at all just to sustain a 15-20 minute meeting, and second, doing pre-sales work for prospective ones (which is essentially the same except that you get to lie a lot here). The truth is, there is actually a 3rd function that does consume a bit of my time also, and this is scheduling and going to employment interviews... but lets not mention too much of that here. So practically, if I don’t really have any scheduled meetings, you can probably find me unwillingly being tugged along by my wife as she takes the usual 3 hours to pick a new blouse at the mall (more on this later), or just snoring at my couch at 3pm in the afternoon.

I've always been one of those guys who actually keep track of whatever is on several different channels at a time. I don’t really know, but I feel like I have to get the most out of my time watching TV, so I try my best to click back and forth between the channels that I've earmarked... usually about 3-4 of them. And then an hour or so later, I slowly drowse myself to sleep. I know that this is most probably an after effect of experiencing a lot of business process re-engineering meetings with users and analysts, but I digress.

My wife has decided to start the Christmas shopping early. So she happily interrupted my dedicated snooze hours by dragging my ass out and making me drive her to the mall. To make it worse, the weekend coincided with a mall-wide sale so naturally; she had to cover more ground. Ever since we got married, I've been trying (unsuccessfully so far) to make it a normative practice to just split up whenever we're inside the mall. Not because I don’t want to be with her of course, but because I don’t want to be with her.... while she does her ritualistic shopping routine. I think I speak for a lot of men when I say that shopping is the bane of my existence. I can play basketball for 2 hours and run back and forth while sweating myself like a pig, but I cannot stand the standing and walking from 1 boutique to the next. Really. This is the only thing that you get to do. Every second feels like watching leaves fall down from a tree. Your wife decides to enter a boutique; you go in with her and wait your ass somewhere inside. Some boutiques understand this and actually place some very comfortable couches inside and they really are lifesavers. I have begun to know these stores by heart like Celine, Kamiseta, etc. because I know that I can sit there, throw my head back, and wait for my name to be called when it's time to leave. The one thing I can’t understand is why some women actually sit there seemingly oblivious to the fact that these seats are supposed to be for men only. Because if we are in there... we sure as hell ain’t shopping are we? Isn’t it too obvious that we got dragged inside?

The only thing good that comes out of me tagging along is, I get to constantly bark my objections about stuff that she fancies enough to buy. Sometimes its some new decoration for the coffee table, or something she wants to hang on the wall, or plants to put beside the door, or some fragile Chinese vase that will effectively prevent me from moving freely in my own living room. At least when I'm actually there during the "buying process", her decision gets challenged. I admit, I usually lose in these arguments and therefore our house gets to welcome some new dust-accumulating clutter, but I do win occassionally. Sometimes she loses the appetite to "look" at the other stuff because of the impending discussion so that's got to account for something positive.

**********

For the first time since she died, I failed to visit Lola for the annual semi-reunion at the cemetery. Was really a bad timing this year, I had a meeting early in the morning of Nov 2 and had to prepare some docs for that on the 1st. I hope she understands. I hope at least she understands more than my Tita's who are probably speaking ill of me right now for not being able to make the trip. But I don't really care if they do, I probably deserve it anyway.

Forwarded Emails, messages, and whatnots

2005-10-29T15:12:00.000+08:00

I do like to hear from you occassionally, but I think it is time I set a couple of things straight. I dont know about you guys, but opening my inbox and seeing it cluttered with forwarded emails is not my ideal way of starting the day. It is bad enough that I get an average of 20-30 work-related emails a day (most of them I really have to respond to), and now I have to clean my mailbox of space-consuming messages with huge attachments in them.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes I do recieve stuff that are worth the read and contain useful info or even the latest sex scandal. But I really have to admit, most of them are garbage. So to make it at least a little manageable, I offer a few things that you should remember:

First, it is very easy to make a "gullible" looking email and send it to someone in the hopes of making it spread. And then you think to yourself, "Why on earth would someone want to do that?" The answer is SPAM.

Have you ever recieved these spam emails advertising about viagra discounts, or some bank executive asking for help liquidating a huge amount of money? Or maybe just the usual advertisement emails from one company to the next? Don't you ever wonder how they got your email address? You dont know? Well let me offer you some insight...

The easiest way to do this, is to spread emails with warnings, fuzzy and chessy messages, or good fortunes. These types of emails usually go around the block 10 times over and by the time it goes back, it now has a rich set of active email addresses from all the headers it passed through.

So if you really MUST forward something, please and have the decency to remove all the trailing email headers. Surely, you dont want to let everyone know what email addresses exist in your address box do you? Great. Neither do I. The best way to forward something is to put their addresses in the BCC list so one recipient doesnt know who the other recipients are. You can put your own email addres in the "TO" textbox. Also, it wouldn't hurt to trim down all the blank ">". Besides, I don't like scrolling 3 miles down before I get to see the actual content, so let's make these rules #1 and #2 ok?

On to #3, do you know how easy it is to fake the email header and make it appear the that message came from a valid or officially looking address like billgates@microsoft.com? It's so easy, my 5 yr old daughter can do it. So don't believe it just because the email looks like it came from whoever is implied. You may also benefit to know that there are NO computer programs that track how many times an email has been forwarded, let alone by whom. So sorry to break it you, but you're not gonna get rich, nor will any money be donated by anyone on the account of you clicking the forward button. Does it threaten to delete your account in Yahoo or friendster? Heck, if I recieve anything like this from you... I will hack into your account and delete it myself.

Point #4. Yes there are a lot of people suffering, but if you're really moved and wanna do something about it, call some social service org or maybe directly donate to PGH Pediatrics department or some other worthy causes. Don't click a button and feel like you've helped someone.

Point #5. If you are one of those insufferable idiots who forwards anything that "promises" something bad will happen if you "don't" - then something bad will happen to you if I ever meet you in a dark alley.

So to sum it up, posting something on the net is as easy as writing something on the wall of a public rest room or in a backseat of a public bus (not that I've ever done that before). So don't be such a gullible schmuck. You are my friend, and I hate to see you like this...

Now forward this to at least 10 people you know in the next 30 minutes. NO! Nothing good will happen to you if you do. But if you don't, I will magically appear in front of your computer screen and beat the living crap out of you, your mother, and your dog. And then I will stand over your bleeding bodies and laugh at your sorry asses. Mwahahahahaha!!!!!

Proof of Concept

2005-10-24T22:46:00.000+08:00

In software development projects, vendors or integrators usually pass through a step called POC (Proof of Concept). This is usually still in the pre-sales period and is basically an activity wherein you try to prove or provide reasonable and substantial basis for the technical aspect of the solution that you will be proposing. And although some POCs are paid, others require them to be free. It is of course generally good if you get paid to do the POC, because even if the client chooses not to implement your solution, it's not a total loss.

However, when you do a free POC, you of course try to limit the investment of time and effort that you are willing to put into this task. After all... you don't really want to expose how you are planning to do the whole thing. Furthermore, nobody really wants to work for free.

Earlier today, I sat in a meeting to discuss an impending POC for a possible project. The goal was basically to try to understand exactly what we needed to show the client, and hopefully manage their expectations. As the meeting progressed, a lot of the details got spilled out and we basically managed to open a can of worms. The client had very unreasonable requirements. First, they wanted to subject the POC application to the same rigid testing that they use for QCing modules that are about to be deployed to Production. I immediately interrupted at this point and tried to explain to them the concept of a POC. It is certainly not a fully functioning module.... nor is it even a prototype. They failed to get the point. The juicy discussion went on until I began to hear clues about why they had these kinds of demands. Also, they didn't want us to change anything in the business process. Just move them out of the back-end, but keep the front-end. Long story short, these details came out:

1. The existing system had no technical documentation

This actually isn't the first time I've heard of this, but it still sends a cold shiver down my spine. It is fucking unfathomable. I honestly do not know, how a big software development company ever implemented a project as big as this (only 4 years ago), without following even the simplest development standards. No diagrams or other documentation whatsoever... just the source codes (all 175MB of it). And they are supposed to have already implemented a lot of projects for the Govt and MNCs all over the country and the region. Heck, I even applied for a position in that company once.

The guy I was talking to sounded like he was blaming the original implementor. And although I agreed that they really fucked up the design, my question was:

"Why the fuck did you sign the system acceptance in the first place? They probably submitted some sort of design proposal right? And they couldn't have gone forward without a sign-off from you right?"

Of course I never really asked these to his face, lest I openly expose him to everybody in the room for being the stupid piece of shit that he is. Does he really expect us to comb through 175MB of source codes to figure out what needs to me modified? Two words... KREY... ZEEE! Jeezaz... what kind of system requires that much code? I have worked on really big and complicated projects on heterogenous platfroms and have not seen code reach that big. What the fuck were they writing in there?

2. There are no longer any local support for the current system

This is really something that they have no control over, so this is really a valid point.

3. There are change requests continously coming in

I simply fail to see the real validity behind this one. Almost every software in the world eventually changes and is constantly being updated for modifications that have been requested by users. Does he think he is the only one that has ever dealt with a backlog of change requests?

4. They have existing investments in programmers for that particular front-end platform, 6 teams of 3-4 people.

This one is political in nature. If we change the front-end, the entire department composed of 6 teams lose the business justification to exist. They will have to hire new people, or train them in the new platform. Now although this is technically a valid point, you have to realize that the framework itself is flawed and has been a cause of major headaches for the past 4 years. And yet when it came time to migrate them out if the back-end, they chose to keep the front-end.

This really didn't surprise me at all. This guy was talking like a lot of programmers do. They complain a lot about their workload, but they don't want to bother changing the way they do it. And to a certain degree, this actually becomes a sort of bragging right to other programmers. It gives them a sense of pride to talk about what kind of hell they are going through for a particular client or project. This goes on until it becomes a comfortable niche. And even as they toil heavily and write codes that hack the existing codes, they subconsciously love the fact that they are actually doing it this way.

To explain this in paractical terms, let's say Program A was severaly flawed in it's design and is now generating problems for client X. Most of the times, rather than properly correcting the design, they will write codes that actually go around the poor design, gradually adding and compounding "hacked codes" into Program A. We acceftionately call them "permanent workarounds". After a couple of years, nobody knows which is what and everything is so cluttered that it's often easier to just scrap the whole thing and start from scratch. Sadly, this is a common practice that I see too often in a lot of software companies even today.

5. They wanted to roll this out in 2 months.

This was another jaw-dropper. I don't know how many times I've heard about this one. Often, the schedule is not dictated by the readiness of the solution but by something else. 2 months is fucking insane. And I am not gonna go kill myself and work long days and on weekends during November and December.

6. They have a limited budget.

But really... who doesnt right? Every fucking client is working with an approved budget. Again, most of the times these budgets were drawn without considering the scope of the requirements and they end up fucking screwing themselves up their own ass.

OK, so let's recap here. They want us to come up with a fully functioning module for their POC, which will be subjected to the same rigorous testing that they do for changes that they are about to deploy to Production. Note that the modules are interdependent. This will require us to put in a huge amount of effort specially because we were only given 3 weeks for the POC (notwithstanding the fact that next week only has 2 working days). Oh, and they will not pay for it. And then we are not supposed to change the front-end platform to protect their dumb ass investment, which is basically 175MB of code that is such garbage, that it is actually giving them a fucking headache to maintain. We have to be able to complete this and roll this out in 2 months, and be able to give them considerable leeway in the terms of payment and the actual professional fees. Hmmmm... what do you think? Looks like we have a winner right here...

Stupid...

2005-10-19T14:48:00.000+08:00

I just lost a 2000 word post because I didn't paste it in Notepad before I clicked the Publish Post button. Stupid asshole! My session expired and blogger asks me to relogin... BOOM! Post gone.

I can't believe this happened to me....

Movies

2005-10-18T21:06:00.000+08:00

I just found out that they have now began filming Rocky VI. The 59-year old Rocky Balboa is gonna go back to the ring and slug it out with a heavyweight champ? Good grief! Sly defend's the story's premise by saying "You're never too old to climb a mountain, if that's your desire." Heck, you can jump in front of a speeding bus, if that's what you want. But that really doesn't make it such a cool fucking idea does it? It is really beyond me how they think this applies to letting old farts box in the ring. What can I say? Only in Hollywood.

Don't they understand the Rocky franchise died at the last ice age? But I guess that's what you get for patrionizing Sly's boxing reality tv show. Now the old geezer thinks he can string a comeback out of his dormant career. What's next? Another Rambo? God help us!

Recently saw the movie Wallace & Gromit with the wife and daughter. I must say that for a movie made out of play-doh, it was more entertaining than other films with real actors in them. Also saw the Corpse Bride which was also OK, but this required a little bit more effort to explain some of the characters to my 5 yr old daughter.

Interesting how these animated and other "kiddie" flicks turn up to actually have very mature content in them. Sometimes, the story lines and character development are far better than most of the adult drama or action films that we have.

Case in point, Transporter 2. What the fuck was up with that? I was a big fan of the original movie. Sadly, the sequel never lived up to even half of the original one. The movie was filled with impossible moves, plots, sub-plots, and stupid scenarios. I felt like watching professional wrestling after watching UFC, you just can't enjoy it. A friend defended it by saying it was one of those dumb action movies that you just sit through and enjoy with a pop corn. Granted that the story was idiotic... I still didn't enjoy the dumb ass action!

A History of Violence was a good movie. Haven't seen movies like this in a while (except of course for Sin City) and it was a nice break to see that kind of character development and building tension in the silver screen. An interseting depiction of how society views violence and how quickly things can get complicated. Thumbs up for David Cronnenberg's film.

Software sweatshops

2005-10-17T15:49:00.000+08:00

I suppose it would be OK to rant about the menial day that I am having right now at work, but I guess that wouldn't really be too entertaining at all. Besides sitting all day and answering emails to give the semblance of 'working', the only substantive thing that I have today is a business meeting at Figaro later around 5pm. It's something about an upcoming project that would look nice in my resume, except that it is actually a goverment project and I hear that it's not something to look forward to. I really am used to dealing with corporate monkeys by now... so maybe government monkeys are just a different species. Different yes, but something probably farther on the left in the evolutionary chart of Darwin.

I am afraid that I am getting too used to slacking around. When you've been through tough shit, I guess it feels really great to get a breather. But not as long as this one because you really reach a point where you just stop enjoying doing nothing. I miss the action that I used to suddenly find myself into. I miss getting the phone calls from a client being pissed off about how the vendor is handling the escalated issues. I miss nervously writing sensitive emails that are so carefully worded that it took me 90 minutes to draft. I even miss the times that they put my balls in a fucking vice at a steering committee meeting. Of course, I'm laughing at all of it right now having already weathered through the storm, but ask me again when I'm in the same spot then it's gonna be a different reaction I assure you.

I remember my boss pulled me aside one of those days after hearing one of my engineers make a comment that went something like "Sigh... I guess I'll see you in hell again next Monday." We were doing QA then, and was racing against the schedule to make the system ready for UAT. My boss told me "I just heard Amy say [excerpt above] .... morale is low, and you should definitely project a more positive attitude about this." Of course I explained the overall situation but eventually told him "OK. Don't worry about it. I'll handle it."

Of course as the PM, I am tasked to keep the team together and be the constant strength when everybody else seems to exhude weariness and fatigue. But I know my people and I always make it a point to know how they respond to pressure. They may make those comments, and we really do joke about stuff like that but they know and understand that this is the way it is. When push comes to shove, we will have to put in a lot of extra effort, and they know that I don't take this lightly.

A lot of lay people have the natural idea that IT guys are used to working extra hours and through weekends. And although I understand what they mean, I usually like to qualify this to everyone involved. As a consultant, we provide solutions to clients and will obviously do what it takes to deliver on our promises. When it's crunch time, we don't have problems working the extra shifts. But the problem is if this becomes a trend in the way the company executes projects, then it becomes more a liability. I always spill this out to potential employers on interviews who ask me about working extra hours. If it is a pattern for each and every project, then there is something seriously wrong with how they scope out the resources. This isn't a software company you're running here, this is a sweatshop. Of course, it has probably ruined my chances of getting hired... but that was exactly my point.

Recently, I was interviewed for a management job at a BPO company. The guy told me that I would need to build this system for a client within only 2 months with X number of developers that I would still have to hire. My immediate response was to try to asses if this predicament came by accident or if it was really how they usually worked on projects. I was automatically calculating the phases, 8 man weeks would only give me 2 weeks to iron out the design, 3 weeks for coding, and 3 weeks for testing.

What made my jaw drop was his repeated rhetoric on how it had to have zero bugs. Based on this statement alone, I could already resonably conclude that this guy did not come from a development background... despite an earlier statement that he did. Who can accomplish such an unrealistic task? Holy Crap! This guy is full of it. Nobody writes a bug free program. Even Microsoft, Oracle, IBM and all the other big software companies cannot write such pristine code. No software manager can certify with 100% certainty that the delivered solution is 100% bug free. You are only assured by the amount of testing that you conducted, and you obviously cannot use the word "thoroughly tested" with just 3 short weeks. I would've enjoyed the great challenge, but the idea that my prospective boss was unappreciative of real issues in software development scared me.

Being a technical PM, I do understand what kind of bohemoth it really is we are faced against and I just find it hard to look my engineers in the face and tell them to cheer up. How can you tell the group to be positive about it when you just sequestered their weekends? It is bad news, so let them just recieve it as the bad news that it is.

I guess I just have a different approach. Others would probably say that I have to work on my "can do" attitude but I disagree. I dont mope around and wear a plackard saying "We're doomed!" It's not like they hear me openly telling everybody that we're all fucked! Whenever I'm faced with this, my natural tendency is to asses what I myself wanted to hear, if I was in their shoes. Sure, I'm no longer the one who is actually churning line after line of code and running it through a barrage of tests in hopes of trying to keep the dumb ass mistakes to a minimum.... but if I was, the last thing I wanted to hear was a manager giving me those patrionizing pep talks. Ugh!

Facing the music

2005-10-14T18:35:00.000+08:00

Last saturday I was finally able to withstand 2 games of full court basketball without pussying out and asking for substitution. It was great. Felt good to know that stamina has picked up a little bit and now I feel that my game is starting to get back to what it was back in the day. Still can't jump high enough to reach the ring with both my hands, but the shooting has definitely improved. The only thing I need to watch out for is to not give in to the temptation of playing competitively again. If I can do that, I think I can continue to enjoy being able to exercise and play... without the injuries.

After resting for about 2 hours, off I went to my friend's bday drinking celebration. Been friends with this guy since highschool and his place was were we would usually drink (more on that some other time) till the wee hours of the morning. But that was years ago. I knew that I couldn't go drinking head to head with these guys anymore because I really don't drink that much anymore... well ok, I don't drink that much when I'm that far away from home. Besides, I was really still physically tired.

We also used to have a band in highschool so when I got there, they already had everything plugged in and laid out ready to play. Guitars, bass, drums, and even a mic stand. I haven't really picked up a guitar in years but what better alibi for not getting pissed drunk than to just play and jam the whole night? Besides, they're not gonna make sure you're drinking your bottle of beer when your busy playing right? And so we did a lot of the old school stuff, and basically everything else that we could play... even daring to try on the newer songs. It's nothing worth a grammy nomination, but we didn't sound that bad either. Really. We had a blast and I actually didn't feel tired at all.

I have to say, it really made me realize how much I missed playing some music and just goofing around. Also made me realize that I shouldn't have completely stopped playing the guitar. Maybe I can't do this everyday anymore, but being able to do it once in a while should be more than enough now. Besides, I've long accepted the fact that we probably will never end up in the cover of Rolling Stones magazine.

And so starts my new inspiration to play the guitar once again. Not to get laid more than the average guy this time though, but just for the pure fun of it. We'll see what we can do about those riffs and licks. I'm sure these rusty hands still have some juice left in them.

Petnames galore

2005-10-12T20:03:00.000+08:00

Now I'm not the nosy type of guy and have always really been the "I dont give a hoot" kind of person. Whatever works for you. That's me. I don't enjoy being intrusively inquisitive about people's personal tastes or preferences as much as I detest being subjected to it. But something happened this afternoon and I felt I needed to at least comment on this one.

I was quietly enjoying my lunch earlier today until I suddenly choked on a piece of beef when I overheard the woman on the adjacent table at the cafeteria ask his boyfriend:

"Do you want some water, HoneyBunch?".

I literally had to cough the stupid piece of meat out of my throat. And it didn't happen with just one cough. These arent the fake coughs you try to make when you're trying to clear your throat of a little itch. Those are more like "eherms". These were noisy coughs.

After almost choking to death, I casually leaned over to look at the next table. Obviously, I demanded to see who almost caused my daughter to be orphaned at 5, or more appropriately, I wanted to see these people who would so casually share their cheesy petnames with the hearing public. I was surprised. They were actually an attractive couple. I'd say about early twenties.

What made this really standout, besides the obvious absurdity of the word was the fact that when I was in college, I had a classmate named Tony (not his real name, inorder to protect him from reliving the college embarassment should he get to read this blog) who was actually using the same cheesy petname. We found out about it accidentally of course. He was taking money out of his wallet for a pot session when he unintentionally dropped a picture. He didn't seem to notice it until another friend picked it up and saw that it was a pic of his girlfriend. At the back were written:

Dear Honeybunch,

Keep this as a remembrance.

Love,
Munchkins

Needless to say, we were literally laughing our ass on the floor. And when I say laughing our ass on the floor... Louie was pooping in his pants. Tony was of course embarassed and was red beyond recognition. Maybe it was because he accidentally drank the glass full of gin mistaking it for water, but I don't really remember. It wasn't a really big deal then actually. He was just the butt of jokes till we graduated and nobody ever called him Tony again after that so it was really nothing. Did I say pot? err... I think we used the money to buy food. Yes, it was food.

Anyway, it was mind boggling to find out that someone was actually using those - Honeybunch and Munchkins. I mean, I'm not alone here right? God knows what other petnames exist out there. One would think you would only hear about that in cheesy cartoons or some other fictional stories/tv ads that have been made up, just to be funny. But here was an actual living proof that people really used it. What made it worse or better (depending I guess on how you look at it) is a reaffirmation that someone else today was actually using it also. Can you imagine the odds of running into 2 people who actually used Honeybunch to refer to their bf/gf? I should drop this keyboard and buy a lottery ticket right now.

OK, so enough of making fun of them. The laughter has subsided except for the occassional smirks here and there. Like I said, whatever works for you. But really... cheesy petnames are really not for the general public to know, or hear about. It's like whips and chains, you don't really wanna announce it.

Anyone who hears about our very own cheesy petnames (not that I admit to using any) will obviously comment with revulsion about it being totally corny. Maybe some people don't go as far as naming their partners after small donuts, but I guess given the right (or wrong) circumstances, I can consider a possibility that one would actually consent to being aptly called a munchkin or a honeybunch. Maybe you two were drunk and you agreed to be called Munchkin, if she gave you an underwater blowjob. Maybe you two were supposed to be in Puerto Galera but something happened and you had to cancel your trip. Maybe it's because you are a Doctor who's on call and now all the time you have left is a small stop over at a 24 hour convenience store and the only edible food they had left were donuts. And because you've been so hungry for an hour or so, the donuts tasted extraordinarily good. In fact, they tasted unbelievably fantastic. So you tell you're partner "Wow, try this one, it's really sweet, almost as sweet as you", to which she replies "Awww... you will always be my munchkin" and so starts the petname tradition.

[Believe me, I was gawking when I was thinking of this example myself. But I had to do it to explain my point so give me a break, ok?]

As you can see, I am a very understanding guy. I hope you people can appreciate the amount of leeway that I give in trying to understand that case in question. All points taken, just try not to spill them over to others. No ones gonna find it interesting or romantic. Maybe some chics will, but guys will NOT. Trust Me! You will never hear an ounce of approval from guys on cheesy petnames. We are NOT interested to know about what you call each other. Ok.. ok, maybe only so we can make fun of you.

Otherwise, the only reason guys approve of doing this first hand is on the condition that nobody else gets to hear it OR more appropriately because it will probably get them laid. But then again, everything we do is in hopes of getting laid.

Heck, my brother and his ex-gf used to call each other "Papi". Or was it "Puppy?". Well, that's all I have to say about that.

Finding the right words to say

2005-10-09T14:32:00.000+08:00

Havent been able to post in a while. Not really because nothing blogworthy happened during these past weeks, but more because the 3 conditions of the blogging framework never really came up - 1) Me doing nothing, 2) Me sitting relaxed in front of my PC, 3) Me doing nothing. All three must exist!

There have been some recent developments in my tenure at my present company. I have been actively looking for a "better" job for quite sometime now. "Better" is really a very relative word since a lot of things are really ok here right now. I dont think it's very entertaining to go through my entire list, but there are a couple of things that really stand out:

First, is the way my bosses handle their relationship with me. I've been with several companies already, and this is the first time that I've really been able to talk to my boss... not talk as in business talk, but real talk as in a colleague to another.
Another first for me, is the fact that they actually let me do my job. Most bosses treat you like a megaphone, and you are only good for being an extension of whatever whim or wish they might have. If there is a problem, this is what you do. Something came up, execute these steps. You aren't worth anything more than a button that they can push.

They, however really understand the word "empowerment" to the very core. If there is a problem, I handle it the way I see fit... and they support me all the way. In other words, my opinion really weighs a lot since I am the one that is at ground zero. Of course there are consultations with them, specially if there are major issues, but as the Project Manager, they really make it a point that I really am the owner of the project.
I have also been friends with them during my current stint here, and have actually gotten along very well with all of my other colleagues around the region. Whenever we converged in Singapore, we would go out and have drinks and everyone genuinely seemed to enjoy spending after office hours with everybody. My bosses have actually been impressed since a lot of the technical engineers are the eccentric types and usually prefer retiring to the recluse of their apartments and watch anime until I came in and started succesfully herding everybody out.

It is with a heavy heart that I will be leaving my company. I've been trying to organize my thoughts on how I plan to inform them, but I havent really been able to form the usual coherent and eloquent composition that they are so used to hearing from me. The only thing I know is, there really is no tip-toeing my way around it so I should just be upfront with it and say it. I can't really lie to them and tell them a convenient reason... I owe them the truth. Nothing that would insult or piss them off of course, something accurate but still a bit neutral. What else is there to say? I feel that it's time for me to move on... That's it. *sigh*

Rule of thumb dictates that I wait for a good offer from another employer before I blow the whistle, but so far the offers I've been getting are shite to so-so. More importantly, my boss has been asking me to do some stuff with "long-term" implications (which obviously I cannot do), and they are beginning to wonder why I have not been complying. I can't keep mum about it while I blatantly ignore my responsibilities, I have to tell them now. I guess the good offer will have to follow...

Improvement of the race

2005-09-29T23:42:00.000+08:00

It just got better....

This afternoon, my wife happily announced that according to the Teacher, my daughter is currently running 3rd place, and not just in her class but overall the prep students in the school. I know that it's still somewhere in the middle of the academic year, but... holy shit.. that's still great news!

When I was a young student from kinder up to highschool, teachers would always say I had it in me to excel in class, but I was just lazy. And I really was. I preferred loitering and playing around and really just not giving a rat's ass. Once in a while I'd study, and whenever I did... I would excel and would even land in the finals of quizz bees, or get some stupid awards. This happened a lot in my grade school years. And then I'd lose interest like the usual... I think I just didnt understand what the fuss was all about.

Because of my student experience, I guess I have always been understanding of "people" like me. I mean people with potential to excel, but arent really interested in paying attention. My Highschool years were primarily full of pranks and stunts, and whatnots that got me into a lot of trouble. I even had my own personal section on the Guidance Counsellor's log book of mischief. I survived the last 2 years of Highschool without bringing anything to school. I never submitted notebooks, I never brought books with me, I didnt even have papers for quizzes, nor pens to write with. I survived through the generosity of my classmates, literally one day at a time. I am not too sure about Junior year, but I am 100% certain that on my Senior year, I never... not once... came to school with proper uniform. There was always something that I'd violate. It was either brown shoes, printed undershirt, my short-sleeved shirt didnt have the official school patch, or no ID. Things only changed when I went to College, and then I met my future wife which irrevocably led to studying going back to shit.

When you become a parent, I guess one of the questions that you really ask yourself is, What kind of a father would I be? And you think about your life as a kid and how things were back then, and how things are now, and how you want everything to be perfect for the little one. You think a lot about how people you know do this Father-Daughter thing, and instinctively try to assess things that you would do differently or the same. I told myself that I'd be a cool Dad. I wouldnt be the strict type. And I would try to convince myself that I'd be very understanding if she "inherits" the same laziness at school. This hasn't really hit me smack in the head until I heard the news this afternoon. It felt so good to know that she is doing very good in school. I am so proud of her and now I don't want to let this feeling go.

The truth is, I feel a bit guilty. I knew that there were times that I'd be less patient about guiding her with her lessons and assignments. Sometimes, I just flatly refuse. I guess it doesnt help when you've already exceeded your patience quota for the day because of the clients you work with. I hate it that my daughter, or more precisely my family gets the butt end of my day. Why do shifts work this way? Why do we spend the better part of our energy doing stuff for other people and let the last ounces, when you're tired and irritated, be with your family?

Maybe she would be 1st if I helped her study more. I dont really know. I only know that I dont want to be one of those Dads that are too bent over backwards into forcing their kids to be A-1, regardless of being deprived a life that is both interesting and fun. I dont need her to be on top of her peers everytime. I would enjoy the occassional icing on the cake, yes... but flowers will always blossom at their own time. After all, she is my daughter... and she will never need to do anything to impress me.

Times have really changed...

2005-09-23T13:56:00.000+08:00

Earlier this week, my 5 yr old daughter came home from school with good news. She brought home her report card and was very anxious to show me the good grades. And they really were good grades. Nothing makes a Father prouder than to see his child developing as an improvement of the race. Honeslty, I wasnt a very good student when I was her age, I practically made a cue stick out of the pencil when I was taking the entrance exams to primary school. Didn't say too much of me as a student then, but obviously said a lot about me as a budding pool player =)

Of course, I told her that there would be a reward. Unfortunately, I found out that she already had something in mind... actually two things: 1) She wanted to go to Disneyland Hong Kong and 2) She wanted me to buy this toy car that we saw in the mall some months ago. It was actually more like a mini-car complete with battery-powered motor, gas and brake pedals, working steering wheel, and even some decal strickers on the fenders. This was the mini-car that kids could actually ride on and drive around. It was obviously expensive, maybe something too expensive to buy a 5 yr old girl. After all, I already bought her a remote control car a couple of months ago. Sure she played with it for a couple of weeks, but now it's just one of those "shelved toys".

Times have really changed. I remember the toys that we used to play with. Pieces of wood tied together to resemble guns, or flattened bottle caps to throw as shuriken. We had a blast destroying banana trees and gumamela flowers to make soap bubble blowers. Every kid in the block knew how to climb a tree, even the girls were potential competitors to getting the better guava or aratilis. We occassionally even dared to climb the big mango and duhat trees.

I remember being such a F'n headache to my parents by coming home covered with mud, or suddenly having flesh wounds and scratches from climbing a tree, or playing swords with sticks, or exploring dark basements trying to find spiders we could torture. I have several battle wounds from being such a bundle of joy then. I've been stitched in my head twice. First when I accidentally head butted an exposed nail while we were crawling under a house, and the second one was when a playmate tripped me while I was running... giving me a nasty gash on my chin.

I've had a couple of bike accidents as well. There was a time when I fell off a bike and hit my forehead on the concrete pavement and got cut pretty good. My friend and I freaked out when blood started to come out. I got on my bike and quickly kicked my way home. I passed by several people that were obviously shocked. I really couldnt blame them, I would probably be shocked myself if I saw a kid riding a bicycle with his face covered in blood. And then there was this time when I literally flew off of my bike while attempting to break the neighborhood speed record in a downhill ride. I ended up landing on a bed of rocks, my head hitting one of them just missing my left eye by an inch or so. I was literally knocked unconscious from the impact. I guess I have a pretty thick skull.

I also have a couple of stitches on my left arm from a wound I got when I fell off a mango tree. And then you have the "normal" wounds and cuts from just playing around the neighborhood. No special stories... just the usual gash from running, tripping, or wrestling with the other boys, or being hit by a stick, or a rock. Or just plainly being stupid about exploring places that were obviously not for kids. But then again, I think it was pretty common during those days for kids to get scratches or gashes from just being kids and playing around the neighborhood. Maybe not as much as the ones I got, but you know what I mean.

I think about all these and I look at my daughter and I tell myself... "What a fucking relief to know that they don't do the shit we used to do." Can you imagine seeing your kid run home covered with blood? Christ! She will never know how to climb a tree, no playing with sticks, or throwing stones, no wallowing in the mud to make artificial clay. HELL NO!!! I think the mini-car is starting to look more and more appealing...

It also looks like she might get the Disneyland trip too. She's been seeing the Disneyland HK from all the TV ads in cable. The truth is, we really have been planning to go to HK for a few days. My wife is planning on taking the NCLEX/RN there, and we've been thinking of spending a couple of extra days there with my daughter to double as our very own vacation.

Oh well... What the hell are we working our ass for anyway, if not to give our family the stuff we didn't have...

Yahoo Web Beacons

2005-09-16T13:13:00.000+08:00

If you are like me, you are also bothered by programs that come attached with spyware or malware underneath the "real" programs and install themselves and report data behind your back.

As such we use a lot of antispyware programs, firewalls, and anti-viruses as our arsenals since studies have shown that no single tool has been ever shown to rid us of all of these F'n buggers.

It might benefit you to know that Yahoo itself has their own way of tracking statistics for their "partners". It basically keeps track of the sites you visit to improve their "advertisment guiding" function. Although this is declared in their privacy clauses, this is enabled by default and the clauses themselves are deeply burried underneath a lot of mumbo jumbo that not a lot of us will care to actually read.

To some, this maybe a benign issue, but to those who wish to be excluded from this, I offer you this information for a way out:

1. Go to the Yahoo Privacy page and click the "Cookies" link under the "Special Topics" column.

2. Click the "Web Beacons" link under the "Reference Links" Column.

3. On this page, click the "click here to opt out" link toward the end of the third paragraph under the "Outside the Yahoo! Network" title.

4. A page that says you have been out of the monitoring program will load. Close the window and DO NOT click the "Cancel Opt-out" button, otherwise your action will be cancelled!

5. You're done... Happy anonymous surfing!