Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Monday, May 28, 2007
Filling In The Gaps
I have been a very bad non-blogging boi recently. Not because there's nothing to write about -- on the contrary, a lot of things have been happening -- but rather because I become too tired whenever I'm done with work. The job I do is very easy, to say the least. What makes it tiring is the amount of work we need to accomplish each day, so at the end of the week, I just feel like collapsing on the bed and sleeping my weekends off. And it doesn't help that my office is cities away from where I live, so even if my shift starts at 8:00 AM, I have to be out of the house by 6:30 if I want to get to work on time.
Right now though, I feel I need to catch up on keeping track of my life -- and the most comfortable way for me to do just that is to write about it. The fact is, I miss writing and having conversations with myself. It keeps me grounded, and it reminds me of things in my life I feel I shouldn't ever neglect. I ought to write more often.
So what's new with me? Let's see. Three weeks ago, before our trip to Galera, I purchased a very interesting deck of cards from a snug little bookstore at an out of the way place near the office. It's called Talecraft, and it's meant to help writers weave out stories using various genres and character archetypes.
I never would have heard of it had a friend and I not unwittingly stumbled into that particular bookstore one Saturday evening two months ago. We wanted to have dinner some place different so we went exploring the back alleys of Eastwood. That was when I saw the bookstore. I have never been one to resist the lure of a concentration of books in a single place, so I asked my friend if we can check out what's inside only for a little while, with promises of free drinks and possibly a slice of pizza when we find a place where we can eat.
When we entered, we noticed a small gathering of people at the far side of the room. A lady from the group looked our way and beckoned to us with a smile, "Come in, come in! One storyteller has just finished his tale and another one is about to start! Come in!" My friend touched my shoulder, as if asking me, What are we going to do? I looked at him and whispered, "Let's finish one story. It shouldn't take too long." So we then approached the nice lady with the lighthouse smile and she offered us brownies and iced tea.
The next storyteller, a girl wearing glasses and a blue shirt, addressed the whole group, "I didn't think I'd have to do this in front of a lot of people." She gave off a nervous laugh as she shuffled and dealt the cards on a glass table front of her. She studied them for a minute, and began to tell her story. From the first sentence, all was mesmerized. The story was about a young and beautiful witch and her brother cursed with lycanthropy, and how her blood mingled with a mystical ruby would be the only means of saving him. The story was made even more rich -- and poignant -- by making it sound as if it were being told from the witch's point of view to her lover who does not know of her true identity.
There was a quiet moment after the story was finished before everyone began to applaud. It really was a sad, painful, but very beautiful story. I wanted to stay and listen to the other tales, but my friend and I were hungry and he was already kicking my foot to annoy me enough to leave.
Anyway, the following day I went back to the store and asked if they had any decks in stock. Turns out it wasn't available in the Philippines yet at that time, but they already ordered some for inventory and were expecting it to arrive within a month. It wasn't after five weeks though before I received a call from them, letting me know a bunch of decks just arrived. I dropped by after work and immediately got three decks -- one for me, one for Hono'o-chan, and one for R. One of these days, maybe -- hopefully -- I'll get to post a Talecraft-made story.
Two weeks ago, our team had a visitor from our client in the States. She was the head of the counterpart of our department in Florida and the impression she gets from her visit could make or break our team. We were all very anxious the week before her arrival. We made plans on how we would welcome her, where we would take her out for lunch, how we would do things differently while she was here, and other seemingly insignificant details. Considering how new our department was here in the Philippines, we desperately wanted to impress her.
The morning of her arrival, everyone in our team was restless. We were there early -- which was already in itself an amazing feat for some of us -- and making sure our workstations were clean, our bulletin board was all set up, and the flowers were ready and happy. When we received word she was already downstairs, our Boss Lai asked me and another teammate to wait for them in front of the receptionist's area while she fetches our visitor.
I was holding the camera while my teammate was holding the flowers. We were in the middle of thinking of what to say to her the moment she steps out of the elevator when -- ding! -- she steps out of the elevator. My teammate practically shoved the flowers to her face and I forgot that I was supposed to take her picture. At first, she looked like a stern and strict Japanese-American old lady especially when we heard her first words, "I'm ready to go to work!" with a very thick Nihon-go accent.
Boss Lai was explaining things to her while they were walking hurriedly to our area, and my teammate and I were stringing along behind them like virginal French maids. I was cursing myself over and over for not being able to take her picture. When we got to our workstations, our visitor was all business. She took a quick look at the layout on our bulletin board -- which I designed for her arrival -- and said with a face similar to a captain briefing her team for war, "I'm going to take this home." Boss Lai never wasted a moment and ripped the layout off from the board and proceeded to fold it neatly. A few seconds later, a folded up fraction of what was a sketch of a lady in a kimono among cherry blossom petals saying "Welcome!" was stuffed inside a brown envelope in betwixt our visitor's things. I was stunned, and I wanted to cry. I'm never going to last two days with her, my mind wept.
That's why it was such a surprise when she looked at the whole team and her expression softened. "You are all doing wonderfully, and we have been very impressed with your work," she said to everyone. It took a moment before her words finally sunk in (partly because we couldn't understand it clearly because of her accent), and we all laughed at the absurdity of our being a nervous wreck. Of course we were doing wonderfully! We have worked our asses off to keep things stable for our team ever since we were deployed, that we forgot how things have been turning out well enough on their own!
The rest of the week was spent wonderfully. Everyday we had lunch at the nicest restaurants with our visitor, and we even visited Tiendesitas the second day of her visit after the end of our shift to let her experience what it was like to ride on a calesa. Also, since her hotel was near my place in Makati, I get to ride with her car service home! During those trips, I would tell her all about our team and our teammates, and what it was like living in the Philippines. She'd ask me about the things she'd see on the road, and in turn I'd ask her what Japan was like. She said she honestly feels her real home was Florida, and she was very happy to have lived her life, as well as made a family there.
On her final day, we all planned a surprise party for her. We got her gifts and I drew a caricature version of her on an illustration board on which each of my teammates wrote a short dedication for her to remember us by. Every minute was filled with good cheer. We were stuffed with pizza and Pancit Malabon, and our hearts were filled with love. After the party, we all took her for a final bout of videoke where she cried when one of our teammates sang "Thank You." The night ended with our team's videoke anthem, "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
We walked her to her car and each of us gave her a long and tearful hug. We really were sad to see her go. And to think the previous week we were all nervous and agitated about what impression we would leave. Now we all wanted her to stay.
On the family front, things have been a little shaky financially. What else is new, right? This time, I'm involved. I don't want to go into details anymore since anything involving money just makes my head ache like hell, but I'm hoping we all get past this little bottleneck with as minimal casualty as possible. Despite this minor irregularity, our household has been relatively calm and quiet -- which normally I would have thought very suspicious, but now it's something I'm simply thankful for.
All in all, things have been going as well as they could, I suppose. I get home tired, sure, and my salary is never enough to cover for a lot of things, true, but I'm doing fine. I might even possibly consider thinking about becoming interested in dating again. LOL. Que sera sera.
Right now though, I feel I need to catch up on keeping track of my life -- and the most comfortable way for me to do just that is to write about it. The fact is, I miss writing and having conversations with myself. It keeps me grounded, and it reminds me of things in my life I feel I shouldn't ever neglect. I ought to write more often.
So what's new with me? Let's see. Three weeks ago, before our trip to Galera, I purchased a very interesting deck of cards from a snug little bookstore at an out of the way place near the office. It's called Talecraft, and it's meant to help writers weave out stories using various genres and character archetypes.
I never would have heard of it had a friend and I not unwittingly stumbled into that particular bookstore one Saturday evening two months ago. We wanted to have dinner some place different so we went exploring the back alleys of Eastwood. That was when I saw the bookstore. I have never been one to resist the lure of a concentration of books in a single place, so I asked my friend if we can check out what's inside only for a little while, with promises of free drinks and possibly a slice of pizza when we find a place where we can eat.
When we entered, we noticed a small gathering of people at the far side of the room. A lady from the group looked our way and beckoned to us with a smile, "Come in, come in! One storyteller has just finished his tale and another one is about to start! Come in!" My friend touched my shoulder, as if asking me, What are we going to do? I looked at him and whispered, "Let's finish one story. It shouldn't take too long." So we then approached the nice lady with the lighthouse smile and she offered us brownies and iced tea.
The next storyteller, a girl wearing glasses and a blue shirt, addressed the whole group, "I didn't think I'd have to do this in front of a lot of people." She gave off a nervous laugh as she shuffled and dealt the cards on a glass table front of her. She studied them for a minute, and began to tell her story. From the first sentence, all was mesmerized. The story was about a young and beautiful witch and her brother cursed with lycanthropy, and how her blood mingled with a mystical ruby would be the only means of saving him. The story was made even more rich -- and poignant -- by making it sound as if it were being told from the witch's point of view to her lover who does not know of her true identity.
There was a quiet moment after the story was finished before everyone began to applaud. It really was a sad, painful, but very beautiful story. I wanted to stay and listen to the other tales, but my friend and I were hungry and he was already kicking my foot to annoy me enough to leave.
Anyway, the following day I went back to the store and asked if they had any decks in stock. Turns out it wasn't available in the Philippines yet at that time, but they already ordered some for inventory and were expecting it to arrive within a month. It wasn't after five weeks though before I received a call from them, letting me know a bunch of decks just arrived. I dropped by after work and immediately got three decks -- one for me, one for Hono'o-chan, and one for R. One of these days, maybe -- hopefully -- I'll get to post a Talecraft-made story.
Two weeks ago, our team had a visitor from our client in the States. She was the head of the counterpart of our department in Florida and the impression she gets from her visit could make or break our team. We were all very anxious the week before her arrival. We made plans on how we would welcome her, where we would take her out for lunch, how we would do things differently while she was here, and other seemingly insignificant details. Considering how new our department was here in the Philippines, we desperately wanted to impress her.
The morning of her arrival, everyone in our team was restless. We were there early -- which was already in itself an amazing feat for some of us -- and making sure our workstations were clean, our bulletin board was all set up, and the flowers were ready and happy. When we received word she was already downstairs, our Boss Lai asked me and another teammate to wait for them in front of the receptionist's area while she fetches our visitor.
I was holding the camera while my teammate was holding the flowers. We were in the middle of thinking of what to say to her the moment she steps out of the elevator when -- ding! -- she steps out of the elevator. My teammate practically shoved the flowers to her face and I forgot that I was supposed to take her picture. At first, she looked like a stern and strict Japanese-American old lady especially when we heard her first words, "I'm ready to go to work!" with a very thick Nihon-go accent.
Boss Lai was explaining things to her while they were walking hurriedly to our area, and my teammate and I were stringing along behind them like virginal French maids. I was cursing myself over and over for not being able to take her picture. When we got to our workstations, our visitor was all business. She took a quick look at the layout on our bulletin board -- which I designed for her arrival -- and said with a face similar to a captain briefing her team for war, "I'm going to take this home." Boss Lai never wasted a moment and ripped the layout off from the board and proceeded to fold it neatly. A few seconds later, a folded up fraction of what was a sketch of a lady in a kimono among cherry blossom petals saying "Welcome!" was stuffed inside a brown envelope in betwixt our visitor's things. I was stunned, and I wanted to cry. I'm never going to last two days with her, my mind wept.
That's why it was such a surprise when she looked at the whole team and her expression softened. "You are all doing wonderfully, and we have been very impressed with your work," she said to everyone. It took a moment before her words finally sunk in (partly because we couldn't understand it clearly because of her accent), and we all laughed at the absurdity of our being a nervous wreck. Of course we were doing wonderfully! We have worked our asses off to keep things stable for our team ever since we were deployed, that we forgot how things have been turning out well enough on their own!
The rest of the week was spent wonderfully. Everyday we had lunch at the nicest restaurants with our visitor, and we even visited Tiendesitas the second day of her visit after the end of our shift to let her experience what it was like to ride on a calesa. Also, since her hotel was near my place in Makati, I get to ride with her car service home! During those trips, I would tell her all about our team and our teammates, and what it was like living in the Philippines. She'd ask me about the things she'd see on the road, and in turn I'd ask her what Japan was like. She said she honestly feels her real home was Florida, and she was very happy to have lived her life, as well as made a family there.
On her final day, we all planned a surprise party for her. We got her gifts and I drew a caricature version of her on an illustration board on which each of my teammates wrote a short dedication for her to remember us by. Every minute was filled with good cheer. We were stuffed with pizza and Pancit Malabon, and our hearts were filled with love. After the party, we all took her for a final bout of videoke where she cried when one of our teammates sang "Thank You." The night ended with our team's videoke anthem, "Total Eclipse of the Heart."
We walked her to her car and each of us gave her a long and tearful hug. We really were sad to see her go. And to think the previous week we were all nervous and agitated about what impression we would leave. Now we all wanted her to stay.
On the family front, things have been a little shaky financially. What else is new, right? This time, I'm involved. I don't want to go into details anymore since anything involving money just makes my head ache like hell, but I'm hoping we all get past this little bottleneck with as minimal casualty as possible. Despite this minor irregularity, our household has been relatively calm and quiet -- which normally I would have thought very suspicious, but now it's something I'm simply thankful for.
All in all, things have been going as well as they could, I suppose. I get home tired, sure, and my salary is never enough to cover for a lot of things, true, but I'm doing fine. I might even possibly consider thinking about becoming interested in dating again. LOL. Que sera sera.
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Fever All Through The Night
I just woke up. Echoes of last night still vibrate on my skin. I can still feel traces of it -- the lurching and groaning of flesh on flesh on flesh. The four-walled darkness illuminated only by the thin slice of moonlight streaming weakly through the curtains, like a lost child.
I was in one corner, lying prone and unspeaking, watching you. Twenty two bodies were moving like sensuous waves between us. Twenty two pairs of hands clinging at each other in the shadows, looking for a little patch of love if only for a few minutes, if only for a few hours. All was beautiful in that little pocket of darkness. Every touch was heaven, every kiss was hot as fuck.
But it was you whom I loved. You were right beside the curtains, standing. Three shadows encircled you, like panthers guarding their prey. You, however, were a willing sacrifice. You spread your arms and welcomed them into your territory. I flinched at the sudden shift in the air, but still I watched.
If I thought watching you was painful because you were too beautiful, or because I was too jealous, I never really cared. I thrived in that burning sensation in my chest. And even though for the rest of the night I surrendered to the ebb and flow of the waves around me, still it was you I watched.
In a few minutes I will be taking a bath. I will wash off every trace of salt and moonlight left written on my body. Memories of another will be gone from my skin, and my feet will touch solid ground once again. But you, still, I will remember. You will be my vanishing point.
I was in one corner, lying prone and unspeaking, watching you. Twenty two bodies were moving like sensuous waves between us. Twenty two pairs of hands clinging at each other in the shadows, looking for a little patch of love if only for a few minutes, if only for a few hours. All was beautiful in that little pocket of darkness. Every touch was heaven, every kiss was hot as fuck.
But it was you whom I loved. You were right beside the curtains, standing. Three shadows encircled you, like panthers guarding their prey. You, however, were a willing sacrifice. You spread your arms and welcomed them into your territory. I flinched at the sudden shift in the air, but still I watched.
If I thought watching you was painful because you were too beautiful, or because I was too jealous, I never really cared. I thrived in that burning sensation in my chest. And even though for the rest of the night I surrendered to the ebb and flow of the waves around me, still it was you I watched.
In a few minutes I will be taking a bath. I will wash off every trace of salt and moonlight left written on my body. Memories of another will be gone from my skin, and my feet will touch solid ground once again. But you, still, I will remember. You will be my vanishing point.
Friday, May 11, 2007
And We're Back!
After three days and two nights of unadulterated bliss roasting under the summer sun, playing with the warm waves of the beach, and getting pissed drunk on any alcoholic beverage we can get our greedy little hands on, Team San Mig Lai returned to Manila late Monday evening tired and sleepy, but with hearts full of love for each other and the sparkling blue of Puerto Galera.
Let the picture parade begin!
At the office, before everything began. It doesn't show in the photo, but we were all looking pretty dazed. Not one of us had a decent night's sleep because of last minute packing and just plain excitement.
On the bus to Batangas Pier. We were waiting for the eternally late boys to get to the terminal.
Kimmy waking up just in time for me to click the digicam, sparing himself from the horribly embarrassing fate that befell Mitch & Mommy.
At the Batangas Pier, waiting for the person who arranged our reservations for the boat ride to White Beach, Mang Pating.
Our Boss Lai & her lovey-dovey, Kuya Joey, on the boat sitting beside a hot guy.
Me & Kimmy barely hiding our excitement, 15 minutes 'til we get to White Beach.
Alighting the boat, looking all uninterested and bored, when in truth, we were all jumping and giddy inside.
The classic feet-in-a-circle shot. Guess which one is mine.
Kimmy, Boss Lai, Mitch, & I sampling Galera taho.
Saturday evening, dinner at a rooftop restaurant while the beach crowd was partying downstairs with Bamboo and other bands who performed for the Smart concert.
After dinner, we got our bottles of Arctic Vodka and Mudslide ready for a whole night of drinking and, hopefully, stumbling along some of each other's little sorry secrets.
Kimmy being all petite and ladylike while drinking his first shot of vodka for the night. It will not last for long...
... as compared to Paris, who tossed his shot of vodka like a pirate.
Boss Lai, not drunk enough, but Dared to dance the Pandanggo sa Ilaw just so she doesn't have to answer a Truth question.
Brevin's Dare -- to kiss JP on the cheek. It looks more like he's going to gobble up the poor guy tho.
Tired, tipsy, and up to our nipples in alcohol, but the night is young and there is still a beach filled with hot guys to dance with.
Sunday morning, walking on the shore, pestering boats and kicking sand at each other. Endless childish fun!
The entrance to the infamous caves. I've been told it was small...
... I didn't realize it was that small.
Here I am emerging from the cave. "Never again, never again, never again..." I chanted as I was crawling on the cave floor, scraping myself a number of times and bumping my head on sharp outcroppings of rocks on the wall. Never again will I submit myself to such a tiresome and pointless experience.
That, my dear friends, is a snake. Pulling myself out from the other end of the cave, dusting myself and making sure my limbs were still in the right places, I heard a group of people concentrated in one area nearby talking about three snakes slithering among the rocks. I pointed to the one approximately two feet beside me and said casually, "Ito ba yung isa sa mga ahas na pinag-uusapan nyo?" (Is this one of the snakes you guys were talking about?) A chorus of oh-my-gods and random exclamations of fear erupted before I realized that yes, there was a snake beside me and I should be hurrying on away from it.
Me, Boss Lai, & Kimmy getting our fat asses moving to the other side of the crags. "Never again, never again, never again..." I chanted.
After much blood spilt, we have finally reached the other end of the little island pocket. Suffice it to say, the effort was worth what we saw.
Enjoying our little corner of paradise. There's Mommy Dea sitting on the rocks, and from left to right there's Kimmy, me, Mitch, Boss Lai, & Paris.
JP living dangerously.
We went snorkeling Sunday afternoon. Funny how excited we got, but once we were let loose in the open sea, we couldn't let go of the boat.
Pong, clinging for dear life.
Paris, in true Muro'Ami-esque fashion, caught three blue starfish. We put them to good use by scaring Mitch out of her wits.
The Sunday sunset after our misadventures in snorkeling. I took this photo myself and I'm very proud of how it turned out, despite the rolling waves. :-)
Mommy Dea, feeling pensive and sentimental.
Another beautiful sunset photo, taken by Kuya Joey.
JP, Boss Lai, Kuya Joey, Pong, and Cool on the Banana Boat. Paris and I stayed behind, not feeling adventurous enough to brave the deep waters on our final day in Galera.
Pong and Cool managing to keep their balance on the first run of the Banana Boat. The others were left floundering somewhere behind.
Boss Lai trying to get back on the Banana Boat and miserably failing.
Me & Mommy Dea enjoying frozen margaritas while the rest of San Mig Lai takes their last dip Monday afternoon.
Kuya Joey, leaving the Galera mark on his hair. (Although he undid everything the following day. Hehe.)
On the boat ride home, tired and sleepy, but happy happy happy.
By Mommy Dea's hands, another meanwhile!
Back in the Batangas Pier, our hearts left afloat on Puerto Galera shores. We're going back soon!
Let the picture parade begin!
At the office, before everything began. It doesn't show in the photo, but we were all looking pretty dazed. Not one of us had a decent night's sleep because of last minute packing and just plain excitement.
On the bus to Batangas Pier. We were waiting for the eternally late boys to get to the terminal.
Kimmy waking up just in time for me to click the digicam, sparing himself from the horribly embarrassing fate that befell Mitch & Mommy.
At the Batangas Pier, waiting for the person who arranged our reservations for the boat ride to White Beach, Mang Pating.
Our Boss Lai & her lovey-dovey, Kuya Joey, on the boat sitting beside a hot guy.
Me & Kimmy barely hiding our excitement, 15 minutes 'til we get to White Beach.
Alighting the boat, looking all uninterested and bored, when in truth, we were all jumping and giddy inside.
The classic feet-in-a-circle shot. Guess which one is mine.
Kimmy, Boss Lai, Mitch, & I sampling Galera taho.
Saturday evening, dinner at a rooftop restaurant while the beach crowd was partying downstairs with Bamboo and other bands who performed for the Smart concert.
After dinner, we got our bottles of Arctic Vodka and Mudslide ready for a whole night of drinking and, hopefully, stumbling along some of each other's little sorry secrets.
Kimmy being all petite and ladylike while drinking his first shot of vodka for the night. It will not last for long...
... as compared to Paris, who tossed his shot of vodka like a pirate.
Boss Lai, not drunk enough, but Dared to dance the Pandanggo sa Ilaw just so she doesn't have to answer a Truth question.
Brevin's Dare -- to kiss JP on the cheek. It looks more like he's going to gobble up the poor guy tho.
Tired, tipsy, and up to our nipples in alcohol, but the night is young and there is still a beach filled with hot guys to dance with.
Sunday morning, walking on the shore, pestering boats and kicking sand at each other. Endless childish fun!
The entrance to the infamous caves. I've been told it was small...
... I didn't realize it was that small.
Here I am emerging from the cave. "Never again, never again, never again..." I chanted as I was crawling on the cave floor, scraping myself a number of times and bumping my head on sharp outcroppings of rocks on the wall. Never again will I submit myself to such a tiresome and pointless experience.
That, my dear friends, is a snake. Pulling myself out from the other end of the cave, dusting myself and making sure my limbs were still in the right places, I heard a group of people concentrated in one area nearby talking about three snakes slithering among the rocks. I pointed to the one approximately two feet beside me and said casually, "Ito ba yung isa sa mga ahas na pinag-uusapan nyo?" (Is this one of the snakes you guys were talking about?) A chorus of oh-my-gods and random exclamations of fear erupted before I realized that yes, there was a snake beside me and I should be hurrying on away from it.
Me, Boss Lai, & Kimmy getting our fat asses moving to the other side of the crags. "Never again, never again, never again..." I chanted.
After much blood spilt, we have finally reached the other end of the little island pocket. Suffice it to say, the effort was worth what we saw.
Enjoying our little corner of paradise. There's Mommy Dea sitting on the rocks, and from left to right there's Kimmy, me, Mitch, Boss Lai, & Paris.
JP living dangerously.
We went snorkeling Sunday afternoon. Funny how excited we got, but once we were let loose in the open sea, we couldn't let go of the boat.
Pong, clinging for dear life.
Paris, in true Muro'Ami-esque fashion, caught three blue starfish. We put them to good use by scaring Mitch out of her wits.
The Sunday sunset after our misadventures in snorkeling. I took this photo myself and I'm very proud of how it turned out, despite the rolling waves. :-)
Mommy Dea, feeling pensive and sentimental.
Another beautiful sunset photo, taken by Kuya Joey.
JP, Boss Lai, Kuya Joey, Pong, and Cool on the Banana Boat. Paris and I stayed behind, not feeling adventurous enough to brave the deep waters on our final day in Galera.
Pong and Cool managing to keep their balance on the first run of the Banana Boat. The others were left floundering somewhere behind.
Boss Lai trying to get back on the Banana Boat and miserably failing.
Me & Mommy Dea enjoying frozen margaritas while the rest of San Mig Lai takes their last dip Monday afternoon.
Kuya Joey, leaving the Galera mark on his hair. (Although he undid everything the following day. Hehe.)
On the boat ride home, tired and sleepy, but happy happy happy.
By Mommy Dea's hands, another meanwhile!
Back in the Batangas Pier, our hearts left afloat on Puerto Galera shores. We're going back soon!
