What a coincidence. My 15th post is going to be all about the 15th anniversary special of WWE Raw. Haha. But first, let's go down memory lane with this...
... fifteen years ago, ...
... I was nine years old. Elementary student. Wala pang muwang sa samu't-saring kamunduhan, ni hindi ko pa alam kung bakit tumatayo si "kapitan" on certain occasions. I haven't been into a real fight back in the day, and I firmly believed that what I saw sa WWF those days were the real thing. Lumaki ako sa piling ng mga legends tulad ni Hulk Hogan, "Macho Man" Randy Savage, Ultimate Warrior, Bret "The Hitman" Hart, The Rockers (Marty Jannetty at Shawn Michaels), The Undertaker... I could go on all day pero syempre dun lang muna tayo sa mga naaalala ko talaga. Hehe. Minsan sa mga larong namin dati someone would impersonate Ultimate Warrior then I'll do an Undertaker impression then we duke it out to see who's the real invincible guy. When it came to merchandise, andami ko dating laruan. I remember having a Ric Flair figure na nakaka-headlock. That was so cool. Ang pinaka-favorite kong wrestler nun was Shawn Michaels, especially during the "childhood dream" era. I was so sad when he got a concussion from Owen Hart (which was fucking fake pala). I had my first taste of diva fanboyism when Sunny started appearing as a manager for a tag team I forgot the name of *wait, Wikipedia wisdom incoming* ... The Bodydonnas pala. That's when I realized that there was another use for "the captain". XD My delusions that wrestling was real shattered when I stumbled upon this TV program that exposed the whole thing. Still, I had the admiration for all the sportsmanship and ingenuity these guys exhibit show after show. Hindi nasira yung pagtingin ko sa mga wrestlers and the sports entertainment industry, in fact, lalo pang lumaki ang respeto ko sa kanila. I saw some of them as role models. I wanted to be like them when I grow up, I said to myself.
Nung nag-high school ako, I remember one fateful night when I was switching between channels right after Monday Night Raw sa cable, I happened to turn to a channel featuring Hulk Hogan together with the other former WWF superstars and other new faces having a slobberknocker on what appeared as a ring smaller than that of WWF (or is it just me). It was called WCW. Being an avid fan of wrestling in general, hindi ko pa rin maisip kung bakit walang dating sa akin ang WCW. Maybe it's because of the way they present their wrestlers. Maybe because of the storylines. Maybe it was because they looked more scripted than WWF. Sabagay, tingin ko lahat na halos ng fans e nagsawa na kapapanood sa ibang lumipat sa WCW. At the time of the ratings war, WWF was busy promoting their new superstars like "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, Mick Foley (aka Mankind, Cactus Jack, Dude Love) and Dwayne Johnson (that's The Rock for you) while fortifying the mainstream status of wrestlers like Michaels, Triple H, and The Undertaker. I guess that WWF made a wise decision when they underwent The Attitude Era because that was, in my opinion, the start of their rise to mainstream audience awareness. Everyone was donning the Austin 3:16 shirt, trying to raise their eyebrows like The Rock does, and doing crotch chops and saying "suck it" because it was all the hype. Nun pa lang alam ko nang WCW was sooner or later going to lose this battle. Pero syempre I tried to watch some episodes of Monday Nitro and found great talent in the likes of Chris Jericho, Eddie Guererro, Rey Misterio and Booker T, and how I wished they would jump to WWF and have dream matches with those whom I thought would make good opponents for them. 2001 saw the start of the realization of this dream, as WWF finally devoured WCW not only in the ratings war, but also by being acquired by the former, absorbing what was left of the latter. And oh, this era, I was an Austin, The Rock and DX fan (who wasn't anyway). My diva was Sable. Hehe
*trivia: in 2000, WWF changed its name to WWE kasi World Wildlife Fund (yeah, the one with the panda logo) sued them. nakakalito nga naman kasi eh.*
Let's see, that's 1993-2001. Eight years na. I probably missed a couple of shows but remained loyal nonetheless. When I stepped to college, mas lalo pa akong nagkaroon ng oras para manood ng WWE kasi broken scheds and shit. I even watch re-runs twice or thrice. Eto na yung time na hindi na lang Raw ang palabas nila; they introduced Friday night SmackDown! para naman may choices pa rin ang audiences. It was kind of like WCW without the logo, and twice as cool. Hehe. Nung mga panahong ito, Sobrang Y2J fan ako. Though during this time, I could say that I didn't watch as much wrestling as I used to for the past 8 years. Siguro dahil I was changing as a person, and my preferences with regards to TV programming was developing. Siguro dahil wala na akong gaanong nakakausap tungkol sa wrestling at sa takot na maging social outcast sa school. Or maybe because of the silly plots they were inserting - syempre wala ka na nga namang karibal, bara-bara man e kikita ka pa rin. Who knows why. If it wasn't for this guy na akala ko e Eminem wannabe, I think I wouldn't be watching as much wrestling as I do now (save the fact that I watch WWE dahil kay Trish Stratus, but that's a story best told some other time). Yes, I am talking about one John Cena. Kahit na heel sya nung nagsimula sya, I saw charisma with the guy. I knew he was going to be big soon. And wouldn't you know it, he reached household name status like Hulk Hogan did. By the way, nung February 26, 2006, hindi ko pinalampas ang pagpunta ng WWE dito sa 'Pinas. Kahit na librang general admission tickets lang ang nakuha ko, kuntento na ako. At least I was watching the damn thing live. Sana maulit uli yun. Otherwise I'd get myself a ticket, and fly to watch a live event. Hehe. At present, WWE exhudes talent with every superstar they have, and I think continues to push the envelope with new storylines and developing new talents.
Buti na lang at nalaman ko in advance na may 3-hour special ang Raw kasi 15th year anniversary na pala nila. Napaisip ako dun. Fifteen? Has it been that long already? Anyways, nung Tuesday alam kong may mga results na sa Intarweb pero I didn't want to spoil the chance of watching it sa Jack TV. You could only imagine how excited I was to go home para makapanood. Buti na lang at 7pm ang pasok ni Rikki-chan at umuwi na ang kasambahay namin para mag-alaga kay Sean so bumulusok ako pauwi. Akala ko nga e mami-miss ko yung unang oras kasi sobra ang trapik sa Alabang-Zapote road (X-mas shopping madness, what else). Pagdating ko ng bahay at around 8:15, wala pang tao. Dere-deretso ako sa taas para mas malaki ang TV na pagpapanooran ko. Habang nasa hagdan ako eto yung tumatakbo sa utak ko:
"bakitkayawalapangsilasaankayasilanagpuntaSHETBAKANAMISSKONAYUNGGOODPARTSnagugutomnaakoahmaypagkainkayasababaSANAHINDIKOPANAMIMISSYUNGSEGMENTNITRISHSHETSHETSHETaylalakarinngapalanaminbukasyungsabinyagkelangankongmakuhayungTRISHTRISHTRISHSANAHINDIPATAPOS"
Dali-dali kong kinuha yung remote, hubad ng accessories, harap sa screen, waiting for the boob tube to produce an image... and then, it started. I caught the Carlito-Jeff Hardy ladder match for the Intercontinental Championship midway. I missed the McMahon family portrait, ruined by Triple H. Nothing big. Wala akong paki dito sa match na ito or the part that I missed, I thought. Where's all the nostalgia? Hindi naman pala ako mabibigo, for they showed footages everytime before they went to an ad break.
Eto yung comments ko sa rest of the program.
Evolution reunion/HHH-Batista-Flair vs. Orton-Edge-Umaga - This had me standing. One of the most powerful wrestling factions, together again for one night only? Whoa. Pero I had a hunch that Orton would not join them, being the bastard heel that he was. Though hindi ko na-realize yung Rated RKO thing. Silly me. Hindi ba obvious kung ano yung ending? The two heel pussies abandoned Umaga, Evolution beats the crap out of Ekmo. The sight of the three reuniting was nice.
RVD vs. Santino Marella - Wow. RVD's back! Too bad the match was short. Talaga bang ganun lang ang papel ni Santino sa Raw? Tanggalin na lang kaya siya or i-develop into a better persona? I hope RVD's back for good.
Hornswoggle vs. The Great Khali - I knew that somehow, may darating para iligtas si Horny, pero hindi ko inakalang si... Hulk Hogan. Epic sana yung kung na-body slam nya rin si Khali, the same way he did Andre The Giant dati. The guy still looks in tip-top shape!
Old School Rumble - 15 wrestlers from the past, celebrating 15 years of sports entertainment glory. Irwin R. Schyster won, then Ted DiBiase walked to the center of the ring, gave IRS some cash. The guy bought the victory bragging rights! Vintage Million Dollar Man, a LOL moment.
Bischoff's Speech - Rightly interrupted by none other than a former employee of his during the WCW days, Chris Jericho. It was sweet to see him slap the face of Bischoff and make Randy Orton tap out when the latter decided to interfere. Could this be the fate that RKO suffers this Sunday at Armageddon?
Old Rivals - Okay, prepare for the fanboy comments on this one. Nung lumabas si Jillian Hall, I knew I did not miss the best reason I had for watching Raw XV. When she was screeching a preview of her new album, I heard a familiar entrance song. My eyes widened, my heart raced, and tears started to well up. IT WAS TRISH! I was thankful no one was around to hear me shouting so loud as I threw stuff around the room out of excitement. Wow, how long has it been since I saw her on TV? A year? And she looked so gorgeous... As in mo-e. Her presence knocked me off my feet. *stops writing for 15 minutes to watch footages of that part and bathe in fanboy love* So ayun, after exchanging a couple of lines with Jillian, the sort of unexpected happened - Lita's entrance song played. Tumayo ang balahibo sa braso ko. After a long time, two rivals see each other face to face again sa ring. Two of the best WWE divas, gracing the ring again. At first I thought they were about to settle an old grudge, but after Jillian prodded the two to start a catfight, I knew what would happen next. They beat the living crap out of the would-be singer diva, and throw her out of the ring, then give a warm hug to each other to signify setting their differences aside para sa reunion. That made me wish I was there to watch the damn event live.
Marty Jannetty vs. Mr. Kennedy - Of course we know who wins this shit. Couldn't believe Marty was still that athletic, though. May konting DX reunion pa sa bandang huli. HHH was all over the place, literally.
The Greatest Superstar in Raw History - ... is none other than Vincent Kennedy McMahon, Jr. Here's my say.
- Sa isang banda, tama lang. He's the Walt Disney of sports entertainment. If not for his endeavors, wala. Ampangit ng wrestling. He made the ultimate sacrifice of being the almighty heel to elevate the whole company.
- Of course, from the storyline POV, mali. We could name a lot of superstars in WWE deserving of the title. Sa poll sa WWE.com, Undertaker got the highest votes, and rightly so. He's the only wrestler na nakasurvive ng more than a decade sa WWE, straight record.
With point #2 in mind, syempre justice needed to be served. A Mankind impostor came out to stuff Mr. Socko down Vince's throat (you know it ain't Mick Foley; he'd most probably appear as he is, not by any other personas of his). And if that wasn't enough, The Phenom came out to chokeslam the chairman into oblivion. Of course, what Vince McMahon-related event would be without Steve Austin opening kegs of whoop-ass all over the place? As Vince laid with both insult and injury served unto him, Austin opens a couple more and toasts as he declares who the real Greatest Superstar in Raw History was (well, were)... the fans. At that point, kahit na alam kong re-run na lang ang pinapanood ko, I still felt connected with the audience. Yeah, isa ako sa mga taong pinasalamatan ni Austin. I stood up and applauded. Yeah, fifteen years. After that, tinawag nya yung lahat ng wrestlers sa backstage to have a beer sa ring. It was one of those sights that you'd probably see once lang in your entire life - faces and heels sharing beer, laughing, talking to each other. Sana pagdating ng Raw XXV, andun na mismo ako para makapanood.
Konting kritisismo muna tayo. Parang... kulang ang celebration. Asan si Bret Hart? Si Rock? Si Ultimate Warrior? The other legends? Yung mga na-feature nila sa "Where Are They Now?" segment nila sa WWE.com? Tribute para sa mga namatay na superstars like Owen Hart, Curt Hennig and Eddie Guerrero? I mean, magce-celebrate na nga lang sila, hindi pa nila i-todo, diba...
How does all this relate to my life, you ask? WWE started with getting children drink their vitamins and say their prayers at night, grew up to become a company "with an attitude" to find its own identity, and is now constantly striving to become a better entity, which would set it apart from any competition. I grew up in a family where morals was a major issue. The problem was, we were a bit dysfunctional and I didn't want to fall so I developed my "attitude", and up to now, trying to become a better person. I have become both the heel and face of the show that is my life. I know that there's a lot of people there who can easily relate to my story, growing up with WWE as their substitute for Batibot. For us, happy fifteenth anniversary.
All for now, I guess. Class dismissed.~
Sabado, Disyembre 15, 2007
Huwebes, Disyembre 13, 2007
Post 0014: ... When We Last Left Our Hero...
Wow. It's been quite a while, everyone. I haven't had the chance to even check my emails lately due to a very tight schedule and an even tighter budget, pero buti na lang at medyo nakaluwag na kami ngayon sa expenses, plus the fact that there's going to be a good finacial flow ngayong holiday season. I still haven't found the time to do actual job hunts, just the online applications (which, by the way, I am also doing at the moment), pero most probably by next week I'll roam the metro again in hopes of landing the big one - and i really hope it's THE big one this time.
With accordance to this, here's my usual daily schedule.
Between the hours of 0800-1000: Wake up, realize that I was supposed to get up early but didn't dahil masarap ang matulog na walang inaalalang work schedule.
15-20 minutes after: Baba sa hapag-kainan, have breakfast while watching random channels and listening/taking to mum about Sean's upcoming baptismal.
More or less an hour after: Ligo, prepare to leave the house, hope that the public transportation I get is airconditioned, the won't be a bitch or sana may van pa na bound for SM Southmall para bumilis ang byahe.
Around 1200: Arrive at Rikki-chan's house. Scrounge the area for food. Watch her sleep. Play with Sean until he falls asleep. Karir ng Castlevania series via various emulators (currently playing Circle of the Moon, 80% complete). Depends on Rikki-chan's schedule kung anong oras kami aalis.
Nightfall: Home. Have dinner, recall the day, sleep.
Rinse and repeat.
I'm starting to hate the cycle.
I hope tomorrow turns out to be a good day.
All for now. Class dismissed.~
--
"... hungry and tired, he decides to head home. As he closed every window on his screen, he kept on thinking how monotonous everything has been lately. He knew he had to do something about it sooner or later."
With accordance to this, here's my usual daily schedule.
Between the hours of 0800-1000: Wake up, realize that I was supposed to get up early but didn't dahil masarap ang matulog na walang inaalalang work schedule.
15-20 minutes after: Baba sa hapag-kainan, have breakfast while watching random channels and listening/taking to mum about Sean's upcoming baptismal.
More or less an hour after: Ligo, prepare to leave the house, hope that the public transportation I get is airconditioned, the won't be a bitch or sana may van pa na bound for SM Southmall para bumilis ang byahe.
Around 1200: Arrive at Rikki-chan's house. Scrounge the area for food. Watch her sleep. Play with Sean until he falls asleep. Karir ng Castlevania series via various emulators (currently playing Circle of the Moon, 80% complete). Depends on Rikki-chan's schedule kung anong oras kami aalis.
Nightfall: Home. Have dinner, recall the day, sleep.
Rinse and repeat.
I'm starting to hate the cycle.
I hope tomorrow turns out to be a good day.
All for now. Class dismissed.~
--
"... hungry and tired, he decides to head home. As he closed every window on his screen, he kept on thinking how monotonous everything has been lately. He knew he had to do something about it sooner or later."
Huwebes, Nobyembre 29, 2007
Post 0013: Bits and Pieces of Seven Days
Antagal kong sinadyang hindi magpost (almost a week) just to see how good my memory is, plus to see the continuity of my storytelling, and it seems to me that I'll be starting nothing more than random bits and pieces of the past week. Anyway, here you go.
- Nung byernes ng gabi after I posted my last entry, bumili muna kami ng makakain sa grocery ng Rob Pioneer. Kind of like our last supper dun sa IVOLine. Funny enough, we saw Peggy dun and told her the news. She was shocked, to say the least. Shocked, but at the same time she knew that it would happen, lalo na at si Mr. Oh pa ata ang naging major deciding factor sa pagkaka-terminate ng account namin. Nung nakabalik kami, kumain kami saglit, then we all went down to talk to the HR personnel. We didn't have any idea as to what it was all about, but they said it was imperative that we go there so sige. I eventually got my turn to talk to Miss Lai and found out first hand what the hell it was all about. Pipirma lang naman pala ng end of contract blah blah. Plus they offered us a chance to work for IVOLine itself as an EIA or a WM employee, but with a lower pay. Tae nila. Of course, I declined. Haha. When it was John's turn to sign, medyo nagtaka kami kung bakit antagal nila sa loob ng conference room. Ayun, paglabas nya, sinabi nyang kinukumbinsi pala sya ng mga hitad na magwork for them as a language trainer. Asa pang papayag yun. All the while we were busy with this, Mr. Oh kept on appearing seemingly from out of nowhere na parang inaasar kami with his slapstick comedy and uninteresting ice breakers. Ervs just kept dissing him until he went away. Pagbalik ko sa desk ko, I decided to finally "use the Internet for personal use" by doing a Densha Otoko marathon sa YouTube, checking my Friendster account, and whatnot. I even opened the non-worksafe 4chan. Haha. Hanggang mag-uwian na, ayun na lang ang ginawa ko. Right before we left, TL Ayka hugged each of us. Sweet. As soon as we were out of the building, pinag-usapan agad namin yung mga plano namin. Syempre, we needed a job ASAP. Funny enough, one of my online job applications were answered agad - I subitted the application at around 5pm and got the response as pagbalik namin from buying food (7pm). Medyo na-guilty ako na naunahan ko sila but hey, talagang ganyan. Haha. We talked about all sorts of work-related stuff while we ate a late dinner at McDo before we decided to call it a day. Pagsakay ko sa bus, I wasn't able to figure out whether the sigh I gave out was of relief or of an empty feeling.
- Kinabukasan, dumeretso ako dun sa office ng pinag-aplayan ko. Conveniently enough, sa may business area sa may Alabang-Zapote Road lang sya naka-situate. It was a little studio-type room situated on the 7th floor of a building near the gates of Ayala Village. Pagpasok ko, a bunch of adolescent Koreans studying were the first scene I saw. Wow. Hanep sa diligence. I immediately approached the Korean girl na nakaposte sa gilid, assuming she was the HR manager (though I had a hunch she wasn't, bata pa eh). I gave her my resume then referred me to a Filipino employee. This girl directed me to a room where I took my test, then the boss' wife came in with their daughter (yung Korean girl na akala ko HR manager) for my interview. They were impressed with my experience. After a couple of minutes, Mr. Head Honcho walked in to talk to me about the work hours and compensation. Too bad the offer was a little low. Gumawa na lang ako ng excuse for me not to immediately say "yes" to his offer. Besides, I wanted to rest for a week before looking for another job.
- The next few days were nothing out of the ordinary. Did my daily routine of visiting my wife and kid, playing Castlevania: Circle of The Moon (which by the way turned out to be my greatest vampire-killing challenge so far), searching for jobs online, daydreaming.
- Speaking of dreams, nung isang araw nanaginip ako na member daw ako ng Zaido. Ayokong pag-usapan. Just thought maybe you'd get a kick out of the thought.
- A couple of days ago, mum finally got the chance to visit Rikki-chan and Sean sa Las Pinas. The moment she met her grandson was priceless. Even though she wasn't able to stay long, I already sensed that she likes Rikki-chan, and is happy I ended up with her. It was one of those moments that made me smile out of sheer happiness.
- Bad trip itong mga nakaraang araw. Parang napaka-disaster-prone ng Pilipinas. May mga bagyo lately, tapos nung isang araw lumindol pa. Nakngputs, dapat na ata akong magbalik-loob. Haha.
- Ano na naman itong gulo na ito kanina concerning Trillanes? Jesus Christ, di pa ba sila nagsasawa sa kaguluhan? Ayan tuloy, may curfew mamayang 12mn hanggang 5am bukas. Ingat sa mga nasa labas pa mamayang mga oras na yun.
Anyway, medyo kabado rin ako about the curfew so uuwi na ako. Hehe. Catch ya'll next time. Class dismissed.~
- Nung byernes ng gabi after I posted my last entry, bumili muna kami ng makakain sa grocery ng Rob Pioneer. Kind of like our last supper dun sa IVOLine. Funny enough, we saw Peggy dun and told her the news. She was shocked, to say the least. Shocked, but at the same time she knew that it would happen, lalo na at si Mr. Oh pa ata ang naging major deciding factor sa pagkaka-terminate ng account namin. Nung nakabalik kami, kumain kami saglit, then we all went down to talk to the HR personnel. We didn't have any idea as to what it was all about, but they said it was imperative that we go there so sige. I eventually got my turn to talk to Miss Lai and found out first hand what the hell it was all about. Pipirma lang naman pala ng end of contract blah blah. Plus they offered us a chance to work for IVOLine itself as an EIA or a WM employee, but with a lower pay. Tae nila. Of course, I declined. Haha. When it was John's turn to sign, medyo nagtaka kami kung bakit antagal nila sa loob ng conference room. Ayun, paglabas nya, sinabi nyang kinukumbinsi pala sya ng mga hitad na magwork for them as a language trainer. Asa pang papayag yun. All the while we were busy with this, Mr. Oh kept on appearing seemingly from out of nowhere na parang inaasar kami with his slapstick comedy and uninteresting ice breakers. Ervs just kept dissing him until he went away. Pagbalik ko sa desk ko, I decided to finally "use the Internet for personal use" by doing a Densha Otoko marathon sa YouTube, checking my Friendster account, and whatnot. I even opened the non-worksafe 4chan. Haha. Hanggang mag-uwian na, ayun na lang ang ginawa ko. Right before we left, TL Ayka hugged each of us. Sweet. As soon as we were out of the building, pinag-usapan agad namin yung mga plano namin. Syempre, we needed a job ASAP. Funny enough, one of my online job applications were answered agad - I subitted the application at around 5pm and got the response as pagbalik namin from buying food (7pm). Medyo na-guilty ako na naunahan ko sila but hey, talagang ganyan. Haha. We talked about all sorts of work-related stuff while we ate a late dinner at McDo before we decided to call it a day. Pagsakay ko sa bus, I wasn't able to figure out whether the sigh I gave out was of relief or of an empty feeling.
- Kinabukasan, dumeretso ako dun sa office ng pinag-aplayan ko. Conveniently enough, sa may business area sa may Alabang-Zapote Road lang sya naka-situate. It was a little studio-type room situated on the 7th floor of a building near the gates of Ayala Village. Pagpasok ko, a bunch of adolescent Koreans studying were the first scene I saw. Wow. Hanep sa diligence. I immediately approached the Korean girl na nakaposte sa gilid, assuming she was the HR manager (though I had a hunch she wasn't, bata pa eh). I gave her my resume then referred me to a Filipino employee. This girl directed me to a room where I took my test, then the boss' wife came in with their daughter (yung Korean girl na akala ko HR manager) for my interview. They were impressed with my experience. After a couple of minutes, Mr. Head Honcho walked in to talk to me about the work hours and compensation. Too bad the offer was a little low. Gumawa na lang ako ng excuse for me not to immediately say "yes" to his offer. Besides, I wanted to rest for a week before looking for another job.
- The next few days were nothing out of the ordinary. Did my daily routine of visiting my wife and kid, playing Castlevania: Circle of The Moon (which by the way turned out to be my greatest vampire-killing challenge so far), searching for jobs online, daydreaming.
- Speaking of dreams, nung isang araw nanaginip ako na member daw ako ng Zaido. Ayokong pag-usapan. Just thought maybe you'd get a kick out of the thought.
- A couple of days ago, mum finally got the chance to visit Rikki-chan and Sean sa Las Pinas. The moment she met her grandson was priceless. Even though she wasn't able to stay long, I already sensed that she likes Rikki-chan, and is happy I ended up with her. It was one of those moments that made me smile out of sheer happiness.
- Bad trip itong mga nakaraang araw. Parang napaka-disaster-prone ng Pilipinas. May mga bagyo lately, tapos nung isang araw lumindol pa. Nakngputs, dapat na ata akong magbalik-loob. Haha.
- Ano na naman itong gulo na ito kanina concerning Trillanes? Jesus Christ, di pa ba sila nagsasawa sa kaguluhan? Ayan tuloy, may curfew mamayang 12mn hanggang 5am bukas. Ingat sa mga nasa labas pa mamayang mga oras na yun.
Anyway, medyo kabado rin ako about the curfew so uuwi na ako. Hehe. Catch ya'll next time. Class dismissed.~
Huwebes, Nobyembre 22, 2007
Post 0012: Good Riddance, IVOLine (The Best Revenge Is Living Well)
Yeah, what a weekender news. CDI's account has finally been severed from IVOLine. Bakit? Hindi ko alam ang totoong dahilan pero marami akong naiisip.
1. CDI's planning to go solo sa 'Pinas (magtatayo sila dito)
2. CDI heard about the situation of their employees here and decided to pull out (but why at our expense)
3. CDI's Mobilish project didn't push through (but I highly doubt that this is the case)
4. CDI employees aren't good enough to make the cut (SOBRANG IMPOSIBLE)
5. CDI finally realized that their partnership with IVOLine totally sucks (amen to that)
It was such a shocker pero if you guys would analyze from the past few posts, there was already tension in the air (Alan shouting over the phone, Mr. Oh talking to Jane's manager, all the bullshitry we had to go through while we were here which was dealt by some fat amazon bitches), so you could say na matagal na naming nakita itong scenario na ito. The thing is, we didn't think about it that much since we have been given some sort of "assurance" by our superiors.
Bullshit.
They didn't have the balls to tell that in front of us. Kailangan pang sa HR pa namin malaman. I am hoping that by the time I'm done with this, we can talk to Alan or sumthin'.
I actually don't have a lot of fond memories sa company na ito, considering that we didn't stay that long naman plus there's really nothing to be happy about apart from the pay and the workload we had. I'll take this time to thank all the people who made my life here a little happier.
Chris Dundy and Peggy Anderson, my two former superiors. Thank you for the faith and trust you gave the team. Good luck with every endeavor you may undertake in the future.
TL Ayka. I'll never forget the Milky Way candy bar. :)
Valerie, Bianca, Sharon, Mykee, Nick, Ervs, Jonathan and Joy. Thank you for all the help you gave us sa training and for all the LOL moments we had. More success for us.
Finally, my two close teammates - John and Geo. Our group couldn't possibly be crazier, and I couldn't be any happier with having you two as my batchmates.
Pahabol sa IVOLine. Salamat sa pera. Sorry I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.
Here ends my blogging days dito sa cubicle na ito. Don't worry, dear readers, tuloy pa rin ang ligaya kahit wala na ako dito sa opisinang ito. The next saga is not far from the horizon, I assure you. Malay nyo, as early as next week... ;)
Finally, I'd like to end this by quoting the lines on a tattoo etched on Montel Vontavious Porter's skin:
The best revenge is living well.
Class dismissed.~
1. CDI's planning to go solo sa 'Pinas (magtatayo sila dito)
2. CDI heard about the situation of their employees here and decided to pull out (but why at our expense)
3. CDI's Mobilish project didn't push through (but I highly doubt that this is the case)
4. CDI employees aren't good enough to make the cut (SOBRANG IMPOSIBLE)
5. CDI finally realized that their partnership with IVOLine totally sucks (amen to that)
It was such a shocker pero if you guys would analyze from the past few posts, there was already tension in the air (Alan shouting over the phone, Mr. Oh talking to Jane's manager, all the bullshitry we had to go through while we were here which was dealt by some fat amazon bitches), so you could say na matagal na naming nakita itong scenario na ito. The thing is, we didn't think about it that much since we have been given some sort of "assurance" by our superiors.
Bullshit.
They didn't have the balls to tell that in front of us. Kailangan pang sa HR pa namin malaman. I am hoping that by the time I'm done with this, we can talk to Alan or sumthin'.
I actually don't have a lot of fond memories sa company na ito, considering that we didn't stay that long naman plus there's really nothing to be happy about apart from the pay and the workload we had. I'll take this time to thank all the people who made my life here a little happier.
Chris Dundy and Peggy Anderson, my two former superiors. Thank you for the faith and trust you gave the team. Good luck with every endeavor you may undertake in the future.
TL Ayka. I'll never forget the Milky Way candy bar. :)
Valerie, Bianca, Sharon, Mykee, Nick, Ervs, Jonathan and Joy. Thank you for all the help you gave us sa training and for all the LOL moments we had. More success for us.
Finally, my two close teammates - John and Geo. Our group couldn't possibly be crazier, and I couldn't be any happier with having you two as my batchmates.
Pahabol sa IVOLine. Salamat sa pera. Sorry I wasn't born with enough middle fingers.
Here ends my blogging days dito sa cubicle na ito. Don't worry, dear readers, tuloy pa rin ang ligaya kahit wala na ako dito sa opisinang ito. The next saga is not far from the horizon, I assure you. Malay nyo, as early as next week... ;)
Finally, I'd like to end this by quoting the lines on a tattoo etched on Montel Vontavious Porter's skin:
The best revenge is living well.
Class dismissed.~
Post 0011: My (Hair)Dos and Don'ts
Bad trip yung ulan kagabi. Sobrang lakas. It's a good thing na kahit may nakisukob sa akin, payat naman (si Ervs, the Lisa Kudrow look-alike). Nag-taxi na lang sya pauwi as soon as we reached the southbound EDSA road. As always, tamang abang ako ng Cher bus (it's the only southbound bus I ride nowadays) and surprisingly, it took about fifteen minutes bago ako nakasakay. Buti naman at hindi gaanong malamig sa bus that time. Nagsimula na yung hassle nung nakarating na ako ng Alabang. Sa sobrang lakas ng ulan, andaming puddles na nabuo. Okay lang yung medyo mabasa ang pants ko, pero nainis na ako nung pinasok na ng tubig-ulan yung paa ko. Shet. Naka-leather pa man din ako. Unlike when we were young na ayaw nating mag-balat na sapaatos, it's an important part of your get-up pag nagtatrabaho ka na. Anyway, buti na lang at yung sasakyan kong jeep e malapit nang mapuno para makapagpahinga agad sa bahay. Based on my experience a couple of days back, di na ako umupo sa near corner kasi baka magmukha na naman akong pinagsakluban ng langit at lupa pagdating ng Calamba. Di naman ako nakatulog sa byahe kasi laging nagsusumiksik yung ale sa kaliwa ko para makakuha ng magandang sitting position tapos yung mastodon na mama sa kanan ko naman uuguy-ugoy matulog. Nung nasa may bandang Parian na yung jeep, napansin ko na anlakas at antaas ng baha. It looked like a raging Mekong River outside the jeep. Buti na lang at sa area na yun lang merong baha. Pagdating ng bahay, wala nang patumpik-tumpik, natulog na agad ako.
8:15 na ako nagising kanina, so tamang madali ako papunta kina Rikki-chan. Nung pagdating ko, yung isang kasambahay (bawal na raw gamitin ang salitang katulong eh) namin ang nag-aalaga kay Sean kasi yung yaya raw nya e may lagnat. Buti naman at kahit matagal ko nang hindi nagawa e naipag-hele ko pa sya hanggang makatulog. Buti naman at hindi umuulan ng malakas nung umalis ako. Nakarating naman sa opisina on time.
Kanina nung pagtingin ko sa salamin para mag-ayos ng buhok, I realized na humahaba na pala sya uli, lalo na sa likod. It kind of irritated me kasi lumiliko na naman yung dulo e syempre pag mahaba yung likod, makapal ang gilid at itaas pero maiksi ang harap plus wavy pa ang buhok mo e equals to Jestoni look-a-like ka (lalo pag may bigote ka pa). I finally thought of having it trimmed after payday at baka ipa-Mr. Kennedy ko na to, complete with off-white hair. I actually wanted to have my usual hairstyle pero kulay puti pero katulad pala yun ng buhok ni Gerard Way (ng My Chemical Romance, you emo posers), so wag na lang sabi ko. You'll never see me in that sort of fag hairstyle. I'll go for those hip-hop cornlocks, afro even – but NEVER the emo hairstyle. Pilit itinatayo yung likod tapos anhaba ng isang side tapos babading-bading pang make-up at damit tapos naglalaslas ng pulso, hindi naman tinutuloy. Yak.
Speaking of hairdos, I think I've done but 5 styles in my entire life – the default kid hairdo, undercut (yung “Keempee” hairdo), spikes, skinhead and mop-top (the most common hairstyle you associate me with). Let's start analyzing the various periods and inspirations for my crazy tops.
Default – I guess this one needs no further explanation. Most boys had this sort of barber's cut style of 'do. Wala ka namang magawa dahil yun ang gusto ng magulang mo since sa mga schools dapat daw malinis tignan ang mga pogi at magagandang bata. LIES!
Undercut – Early 1990s ata nauso itong style na ito, popularized by Keempee De Leon. Yung tipong bowl tapos may hati sa gitna and shit. I have to say na considering that my hair was a bit wavy, it turned our to be more of an Ely Buendia than a Keempee. Okay lang, at least I could associate myself with a rockstar. Haha.
Spikes – Mas kilala sa tawag na “Oasis” cut (hanggang ngayon I'm still trying to connect the dots but to no avail). You basically put gel and brush the back and sides neatly, then raise your bangs. A lot of chicks dig the cleanliness, but there were too many people sporting that 'do at the time (and up to now I can still see some people having that kind of style). I remember nung high school, it seemed as if it was a prescibed haricut from a communist government because everyone had almost the same 'do. Of course, adolescence meant scoring so having a good hairdo was one step towards getting you around all three bases and back, pero sadyang magastos ang mag-gel araw-araw just to keep those bangs up high.
Skinhead – The “master reset” button. Normally done pag may drastic change sa buhay ko (or pag nagising ako at naisipang magpakalbo for no apparent reason). I've done it 5 times already, the most recent was more or less 5 months ago, after the “Betrayal of Flesh” incident, and it was done out of repentance.
Mop-top – The Beatles look (or Orange and Lemons look, whichever you prefer). This is the hairstyle I've had for the longest time. Nagsimula nung second year high school, and I still have the 'do up to now. Nagsimula as a declaration of myself being an Oasis fan, na-retain because of my fanboyism of Asian Kung-Fu Generation's vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, nagpatuloy dahil biglang sumikat ang Orange and Lemons at mukha daw akong member ng nasabing banda. Plus chicks dig it. I guess this was finally what defined me as ME, together with the black-framed glasses. Most people recognize me in this indie-looking son-of-a-bitch imagery, and of course I'm glad of the little hint of fame there. Haha.
So on with my office life saga. As expected, andito na nga si Mr. Oh. Hindi namin sya nakita pero sabi kanina ni TL he was behind us for a while. Utot naman nya, feeling nya makaka-isa na naman sya sa amin. Wala naman kaming ginagawang masama. Malamang nito kasi e nakarating na sa mga panginoon namin sa CDI ang report ng mga incidents na nangyari involving him at nag-usap na ang magkabilang panig. Hay naku, kung ako ang CDI, kukuha na ako ng sarili kong building at magtatayo ng sariling opisina dito sa Pinas.
Record time ako kanina sa pagtapos ng critical thinking question responses: under an hour. Madali lang yung tatlong topics. Yung una, all about user-created content sites (blogs, YouTube). Pangalawa, plastic surgery. Third, about celebrity comebacks. Well at least I had something to do today na work-related. And now, everyone's sort of having questions like:
What happens now that Mr. Oh is here again?
Will we see Jane again? If so, how will things work?
What was that call involving Alan really about?
What will be CDI's moves now regarding this project?
Magkakaroon pa ba kami ng maraming students? (sana hindi... LOL)
All for now I guess. Funny trivia: December 22 is my best friend Rain's birthday, and coincidentally, pati pala si pareng Jake. For more of the most handsome blogger in blogging history, click nyo lang yung link sa kaliwa (ang pinakapoging blogger sa balat ng lupa). Class dismissed.~
8:15 na ako nagising kanina, so tamang madali ako papunta kina Rikki-chan. Nung pagdating ko, yung isang kasambahay (bawal na raw gamitin ang salitang katulong eh) namin ang nag-aalaga kay Sean kasi yung yaya raw nya e may lagnat. Buti naman at kahit matagal ko nang hindi nagawa e naipag-hele ko pa sya hanggang makatulog. Buti naman at hindi umuulan ng malakas nung umalis ako. Nakarating naman sa opisina on time.
Kanina nung pagtingin ko sa salamin para mag-ayos ng buhok, I realized na humahaba na pala sya uli, lalo na sa likod. It kind of irritated me kasi lumiliko na naman yung dulo e syempre pag mahaba yung likod, makapal ang gilid at itaas pero maiksi ang harap plus wavy pa ang buhok mo e equals to Jestoni look-a-like ka (lalo pag may bigote ka pa). I finally thought of having it trimmed after payday at baka ipa-Mr. Kennedy ko na to, complete with off-white hair. I actually wanted to have my usual hairstyle pero kulay puti pero katulad pala yun ng buhok ni Gerard Way (ng My Chemical Romance, you emo posers), so wag na lang sabi ko. You'll never see me in that sort of fag hairstyle. I'll go for those hip-hop cornlocks, afro even – but NEVER the emo hairstyle. Pilit itinatayo yung likod tapos anhaba ng isang side tapos babading-bading pang make-up at damit tapos naglalaslas ng pulso, hindi naman tinutuloy. Yak.
Speaking of hairdos, I think I've done but 5 styles in my entire life – the default kid hairdo, undercut (yung “Keempee” hairdo), spikes, skinhead and mop-top (the most common hairstyle you associate me with). Let's start analyzing the various periods and inspirations for my crazy tops.
Default – I guess this one needs no further explanation. Most boys had this sort of barber's cut style of 'do. Wala ka namang magawa dahil yun ang gusto ng magulang mo since sa mga schools dapat daw malinis tignan ang mga pogi at magagandang bata. LIES!
Undercut – Early 1990s ata nauso itong style na ito, popularized by Keempee De Leon. Yung tipong bowl tapos may hati sa gitna and shit. I have to say na considering that my hair was a bit wavy, it turned our to be more of an Ely Buendia than a Keempee. Okay lang, at least I could associate myself with a rockstar. Haha.
Spikes – Mas kilala sa tawag na “Oasis” cut (hanggang ngayon I'm still trying to connect the dots but to no avail). You basically put gel and brush the back and sides neatly, then raise your bangs. A lot of chicks dig the cleanliness, but there were too many people sporting that 'do at the time (and up to now I can still see some people having that kind of style). I remember nung high school, it seemed as if it was a prescibed haricut from a communist government because everyone had almost the same 'do. Of course, adolescence meant scoring so having a good hairdo was one step towards getting you around all three bases and back, pero sadyang magastos ang mag-gel araw-araw just to keep those bangs up high.
Skinhead – The “master reset” button. Normally done pag may drastic change sa buhay ko (or pag nagising ako at naisipang magpakalbo for no apparent reason). I've done it 5 times already, the most recent was more or less 5 months ago, after the “Betrayal of Flesh” incident, and it was done out of repentance.
Mop-top – The Beatles look (or Orange and Lemons look, whichever you prefer). This is the hairstyle I've had for the longest time. Nagsimula nung second year high school, and I still have the 'do up to now. Nagsimula as a declaration of myself being an Oasis fan, na-retain because of my fanboyism of Asian Kung-Fu Generation's vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, nagpatuloy dahil biglang sumikat ang Orange and Lemons at mukha daw akong member ng nasabing banda. Plus chicks dig it. I guess this was finally what defined me as ME, together with the black-framed glasses. Most people recognize me in this indie-looking son-of-a-bitch imagery, and of course I'm glad of the little hint of fame there. Haha.
So on with my office life saga. As expected, andito na nga si Mr. Oh. Hindi namin sya nakita pero sabi kanina ni TL he was behind us for a while. Utot naman nya, feeling nya makaka-isa na naman sya sa amin. Wala naman kaming ginagawang masama. Malamang nito kasi e nakarating na sa mga panginoon namin sa CDI ang report ng mga incidents na nangyari involving him at nag-usap na ang magkabilang panig. Hay naku, kung ako ang CDI, kukuha na ako ng sarili kong building at magtatayo ng sariling opisina dito sa Pinas.
Record time ako kanina sa pagtapos ng critical thinking question responses: under an hour. Madali lang yung tatlong topics. Yung una, all about user-created content sites (blogs, YouTube). Pangalawa, plastic surgery. Third, about celebrity comebacks. Well at least I had something to do today na work-related. And now, everyone's sort of having questions like:
What happens now that Mr. Oh is here again?
Will we see Jane again? If so, how will things work?
What was that call involving Alan really about?
What will be CDI's moves now regarding this project?
Magkakaroon pa ba kami ng maraming students? (sana hindi... LOL)
All for now I guess. Funny trivia: December 22 is my best friend Rain's birthday, and coincidentally, pati pala si pareng Jake. For more of the most handsome blogger in blogging history, click nyo lang yung link sa kaliwa (ang pinakapoging blogger sa balat ng lupa). Class dismissed.~
Miyerkules, Nobyembre 21, 2007
Post 0010: Geek Alert
*read the title carefully. if you're not one, skip this part. you probably won't appreciate this.*
Sobrang boring ng araw na ito. It's the third day of our Do-Nothing-At-Work Marathon, and it's really starting to suck. Bukas daw babalik ng 'Pinas yung manager ni Jane tsaka si Mr. Oh, yung boss nya. I think they'll be here to iron out things because I'm theorizing that they are having partnership problems with IVOLine. As of the moment, our group has a lot of theories as to why everyone involved with CDI dito sa PI entered this scenario. Hindi naman sa ayaw namin ng sitwasyon namin at the moment, it's just that sometimes it just worries us na wala kaming masyadong ginagawa and they revised the schedule. I hope that tomorrow, magandang balita yung makuha namin.
So since wala na naman kaming magawa ngayong araw na ito, we were Wiki-ing and talking about video games like Diablo, Medal of Honor, and so on, trying to argue if the assassin class existed sa Diablo or not. Nagpatuloy pa ang usapan sa dinner, and this time with titles such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Sa pagkakakilala ko sa teammates ko, Geo's an elite-type female gamer and gets wet dreams over elves and assassins. John, on the other hand, is the average type. Surprisingly, he has played some games I never thought he'd play, like Legend of Legaia. Plus he digs werewolves. Cool. So I made a list of our favorite game titles and some other random stuff about our game preferences.
Top 5 games (in no particular order):
Geo
1. Final Fantasy series
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
3. Prince of Persia
4. Neverwinter Nights
5. World of Warcraft
John
1. Medal of Honor
2. Breath of Fire
3. Diablo
4. Counter-Strike
5. Legend of Legaia
Myself:
1. The King of Fighters series (except '99 and 2003)
2.Castlevania – all.
3.Final Fantasy VII and VIII
4. Tony Hawk Pro Skater series
5.Fatal Frame series
The game character that best describes you:
Geo – Lulu (Final Fantasy X)
John – Kenji (Battle Realms)
Myself – Geese Howard (Fatal Fury/ King of Fighters)
So I think this tells us that Geo likes medieval-themed, LOTR-ish games with bishie characters and stealth missions, John is fond of strategy and action, and I am the head-on, slash-em-up-until-you-see-your-sword-come-out-of-the-other-side guy. Now if I would compare ourselves to Magic cards based on our preferences, eto kami:
Geo – Lys Alana Scarblade
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/hydeistsanzo/Card143021.jpg
It's an elf and an assassin. Enough said. Ewan ko lang kung vegetarian yan pero elf assassin nonetheless.
John – Greater Werewolf
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/hydeistsanzo/Card3849.jpg
Well, it's the coolest of all three werewolves sa Magic... Maybe R&D should make more werewolves in the future...
Myself – Hand of Cruelty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/hydeistsanzo/Card74063.jpg
Pure evil. GAR samurai. Hehe.
Join me again tomorrow, and I hope to come up with a better feature than this bukas. Haha. My idleness and boredom went off the hook, wala akong naisip na ikuwentong iba. I promise, bukas, meron na. Class dismissed.~
Sobrang boring ng araw na ito. It's the third day of our Do-Nothing-At-Work Marathon, and it's really starting to suck. Bukas daw babalik ng 'Pinas yung manager ni Jane tsaka si Mr. Oh, yung boss nya. I think they'll be here to iron out things because I'm theorizing that they are having partnership problems with IVOLine. As of the moment, our group has a lot of theories as to why everyone involved with CDI dito sa PI entered this scenario. Hindi naman sa ayaw namin ng sitwasyon namin at the moment, it's just that sometimes it just worries us na wala kaming masyadong ginagawa and they revised the schedule. I hope that tomorrow, magandang balita yung makuha namin.
So since wala na naman kaming magawa ngayong araw na ito, we were Wiki-ing and talking about video games like Diablo, Medal of Honor, and so on, trying to argue if the assassin class existed sa Diablo or not. Nagpatuloy pa ang usapan sa dinner, and this time with titles such as Silent Hill and Resident Evil. Sa pagkakakilala ko sa teammates ko, Geo's an elite-type female gamer and gets wet dreams over elves and assassins. John, on the other hand, is the average type. Surprisingly, he has played some games I never thought he'd play, like Legend of Legaia. Plus he digs werewolves. Cool. So I made a list of our favorite game titles and some other random stuff about our game preferences.
Top 5 games (in no particular order):
Geo
1. Final Fantasy series
2. Castlevania: Symphony of the Night
3. Prince of Persia
4. Neverwinter Nights
5. World of Warcraft
John
1. Medal of Honor
2. Breath of Fire
3. Diablo
4. Counter-Strike
5. Legend of Legaia
Myself:
1. The King of Fighters series (except '99 and 2003)
2.Castlevania – all.
3.Final Fantasy VII and VIII
4. Tony Hawk Pro Skater series
5.Fatal Frame series
The game character that best describes you:
Geo – Lulu (Final Fantasy X)
John – Kenji (Battle Realms)
Myself – Geese Howard (Fatal Fury/ King of Fighters)
So I think this tells us that Geo likes medieval-themed, LOTR-ish games with bishie characters and stealth missions, John is fond of strategy and action, and I am the head-on, slash-em-up-until-you-see-your-sword-come-out-of-the-other-side guy. Now if I would compare ourselves to Magic cards based on our preferences, eto kami:
Geo – Lys Alana Scarblade
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/hydeistsanzo/Card143021.jpg
It's an elf and an assassin. Enough said. Ewan ko lang kung vegetarian yan pero elf assassin nonetheless.
John – Greater Werewolf
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/hydeistsanzo/Card3849.jpg
Well, it's the coolest of all three werewolves sa Magic... Maybe R&D should make more werewolves in the future...
Myself – Hand of Cruelty
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v651/hydeistsanzo/Card74063.jpg
Pure evil. GAR samurai. Hehe.
Join me again tomorrow, and I hope to come up with a better feature than this bukas. Haha. My idleness and boredom went off the hook, wala akong naisip na ikuwentong iba. I promise, bukas, meron na. Class dismissed.~
Martes, Nobyembre 20, 2007
Post 0009: High School Life
Today was even worse than expected. Sure, Alan's here now, but we still didn't have any calls (I just read a lot of past articles from Mark Rosewater's Making Magic column and did this entry), and something shocking happened this afternoon. He was talking to someone over the phone and started raising his voice. It seemed that he got into a heated argument with someone and he kept saying the word “YBM”. After that, he went out and still hasn't returned as of this time. Strange. I just hope that the argument had nothing to do with our work.
I didn't want to depress myself with negative thoughts so as always, music therapy ako to keep my sanity and to fuel my train of thought para makapagsulat nang maayos sa blog. And as for my treat for today, it's all about...*drumroll* high school life!
First Year.
Nung first year ko, akala ko sa medyo mataas na section ako mapupunta since first section ako nung grade 6 – first section out of three, to be exact. Ang bagsak ko? Ayun, seventh. Nun ko lang na-realize na ambaba talaga ng grades ko nung elementary (I was too scared to look at them, haha). Iba na pala talaga pag high school na. Subjects, approach, even the way you think will be changed. Etong mga panahong ito rin naming naranasan ang ibig sabihin ng “terror teacher”. Kumbaga, nung tumapak kami sa paanan ng eskwelahan namin (Saint John Academy, ngayon eh Saint John Colleges, literally a breath away from where I live), nag-molt kami agad into young adults. Yung mga medyo childish na laro namin e napalitan ng sports. Yung mga girls, puro mga TV shows at pop music na ang pinag-uusapan. There was nothing very memorable about this year, apart from the fact that I started playing Magic: The Gathering during this time (saka na yang kwento na yan) and having interest with this naïve girl from section 5 who'd often refer to me as “Section 7's Windbag”. Keep up with me and I fucking swear you'll just laugh after you find out what happened afterwards.
Second Year.
Section seven pa rin. This was, in my opinion, the year that I started my journey towards becoming what I am now. My musical inclination started when I got involved with a couple of students who had an Oasis cover band. They kicked their vocalist out because he was basically being an ass, and took me in. We never really got to perform sa school fair but we enjoyed all the jamming sessions we had. Though there was this one occasion that I got to perform sa school fair, and it was the first and last rap-rock performance by students sa history ng SJA. I did the rap and my friend was the human boombox. We did a couple of covers (Gangsta's Paradise and a Dog Eat Dog song pero limot ko na yung title) and then a freestyle. Much to our surprise, the audience, majority of which composed of rockers and chicks, were really down with our performance. There were even groupies who wanted to get me and my friend as blind dates. The best part of it was there was this local rap posse who wanted to feature us on their street party, pero syempre with the emergence of poser gangs (yung mga “gangsta”) I declined, baka kasi mauwi sa rambol yung party. Nung mga panahong yun kasi sobrang frequent ng gang-related violence sa amin. Also, if my memory serves me right, it was also the year when boybands and girlbands really started to skyrocket into popularity. I was actually (and still am) a closet Spice Girls fan. Haha. Now you have something to ridicule me with. On with the story. This naïve girl I've been talking about, Marcia (not her real name), was starting to grow fond of me because I started to flirt with her (along with two other girls, which up to now hindi nya alam). Exhanging letters almost every day, asking her on dates and shit, the typical puppy love crap. I didn't even know why I was into her at the time. By the time that we were having a mutual understanding, our classmates were starting and ending relationships just as quick, sometimes even swapping boyfriends/girlfriends. How hardcore is that. And of course I didn't want to be a part of that stereotype so I stopped seeing her without even explaining to her why. Hindi lang siguro ako seryoso sa kanya.
Another signifcant happened that year as well. SJA closed due to the administration apparently not giving the teachers their rightful benefits which led to a strike. Syempre nung una tuwang-tuwa kami, thinking that makakapag-bakasyon kami sa kalagitnaan ng school year, pero after a couple of weeks after, saka namin narealize na malilintikan din kami dahil maghahanap kami ng bagong school na papasukan. Kumbaga, pinatapos muna kami bago tuluyang isinara yung school.
Third Year.
Laguna College of Business and Arts ang pangalan ng rival school ng SJA at alma mater ko nung elementary. Dito rin ako pumasok ng third year at natuto ng kung anu-anong kamunduhan. SJA students were generalized as the studious and wussy type, and LCBA students were like the fucking Satan's army in-training. I often dubbed it as “educational hell”, dahil sa dami ng delinquents na pumapasok despite the school's prestigious name. Tapunan ng mga siga at bobo sa madaling sabi. The high school department to be specific. It's like Cromartie High. If you hang out with me a lot, I've probably told you my funny experiences here. Sa school na to, pwede kang mag-barge in sa kalagitnaan ng klase para banatan yung kagalit mo sa kabilang section, bara-barahin yung titser na ayaw mo hanggang sukuan kayo o ma-stroke, at hindi pumasok sa klase pero magkaroon ng highest na grade pagdating ng report card. Of course I was influenced to drink, smoke, and all sorts of shit. Nung una I was into it kasi syempre may peer pressure pero I realized I was starting to become someone I didn't want to be so I looked for other geeks and befriended them. Tambayan namin? Arcades. PlayStation houses. Magic shops. And we spend a lot of cash on our hobbies, mas maganda na yun kesa sa ubusin namin sa yosi, alak, or worse – drugs. By the way, most of the SJA students also enrolled here so there were a lot of familiar faces, including Marcia. Pero syempre, I didn't give a damn about her. I was more engaged with my hobbies and surviving that school year. Oh, and by the way – the Junior-Senior Prom here totally SUCKED.
Fourth Year.
Everyone was surprised when word came out that SJA will re-open under the new name Saint John Colleges. The school had new teachers and featured a college department. Being the practical person that my mum is, she told me to finish high school here, at syempre tuwang-tuwa ako dahil makakatakas na ako sa kabaliwan ng LCBA. Syempre yung ibang originally galing sa SJA bumalik, pero yung iba, nag-stay at eventually dun na nagtapos. I really tried to make a mark this time by being an active part of extra-curricular activities - emceeing for events, being the editor-in-chief of the school paper and captain of the Sepak Takraw varsity team. You could say that I was known everywhere within the school premises, even though I declined running for the Student Body Organization because I've always hated politics. Going back to the puppy love story, Marcia was my classmate that year, which of course “rekindled old flames”. Out of the blue, I decided to make her my girlfriend. During the course of our courtship, she confessed that she felt the same way about me, and we became a couple nung October. Of course, this was the time for me to observe if my decision to date her was correct. Apparently it wasn't. She wasn't the naïve girl I used to know anymore. After three months and a simple snap of my fingers, I decided to ditch her for this other girl from section two (yeah, I know. It's Jeff-bashing time). Akane (definitely not her name) was this shy, mahinhin type. I've always wanted one of those back in the days, so I tried my luck with her. Eto yung progression ng events: I ditched Marcia during the Christmas Fair and immediately made my admirations for Akane clear in public. I was even requesting songs dedicated to her na nakapangalan sa akin. Everyone was like, “Whooooooooaaaaa...”. Tamang iritan at tuksuhan. A flamed Marcia tried to retaliate by hitting on my Sepak Takraw teammate but it failed kasi ayaw sa kanya nung guy. Haha. Anyway, Akane gave me the chance to talk to her about whatnots so we went sa balcony ng Science Building, where everyone could easily locate us (yeah, bash Jeff the jerk now). The courtship was a good experience – nagreregaluhan kami ng stuff kahit walang okasyon, we call each other, send letters everyday. It lasted until the prom night. Yun na yung panahon na inisip kong kailangan ko nang sabihin sa kanya verbally na I have feelings for her. Sa hindi-inaasahang pangyayari, natorpe ako bigla. Inatake rin ako ng selos dahil yung partner nya nung sayaw e yung kaibigan nyang lalake (who turned out to be a friend lang talaga *facepalm*). Tumambay na lang ako sa cafeteria at nagmukmok. Nakita ako ng mga classmates ko, and they tried to comfort me. Finally, after a joint effort of our common friends from our respective sections, my magic prom moment arrived. She went inside the cafeteria, and it was just the two of us (apart from the cafeteria staff whom I know were eavesdropping, LOL). The conversation went like this:
Me: (Nervous) Umm... Sorry if I've been acting crazy all night. It's just that there's something that I want to tell you pero hindi ko alam kung paano ko sasabihin. Kinakabahan ako.
Akane: Well... Why don't you give it a try?
Me: (Bumubuwelo, insert love song) ... I've always liked you. Hindi ko maipaliwanag kung bakit pero siguro naman alam mo na mahal kita. And I want us to be together. I've done a lot of sacrifices just to be here in this moment with you.
Akane: Leaving Marcia wasn't a good decision. Bakit mo ba sya iniwan?
Me: Because I don't love her anymore. Nagbago na sya. And it's you want to serve now, as this ninja's princess (sidenote: Flame of Recca was so popular during that time, diba).
Akane: (Sighs) Jeff... Hindi ko pa masasagot ang gusto mong mangyari, but I'm not telling you to give up as well. Kasi kung tayo talaga, tayo talaga no matter what, diba?
Me: (Nods)
Akane: Why don't we just continue with what we have and see how far we can go, di ba? (smiles)
Me: (Smiles) Yeah... Thanks.
Akane: Pano, tena, balik na tayo.
Hindi pa dyan nagtatapos ang drama. After naming magsayaw ng slow, Marcia approached me and created a scene by returning the ring I gave her during one of our monthsaries. I knew it was going to happen, so I brought mine and hurled both of them towards the school roof. She then left. Nung paglingon ko, nawala na rin si Akane. Apparently e sinundo na raw sya ng parents nya so I called it a day and went home. Sa sobrang bilis ng mga pangyayari, umupo na lang ako sa living room, binuksan ang PlayStation at naglaro ng Final Fantsay VIII hanggang antukin. Everyone evetually got over the entire incident before graduation. What happened to me and Akane? Well, after graduation I decided to pursue another chick so... BASH BASH BASH!
Looking back at all these things, it makes me smile to realize the journey I have taken to be what I am now. It might have been rough, but hey, that's what life is. Hindi sasaya ang buhay natin pag walang adversity, walang challenge. Amen? By the way, this was just a highlight of my high school life. Next time pag wala akong maisip i-feature, I'll tell you other stories from this part of my crazy life.
May you appreciate your past and live to be proud of what you have become. Until tomorrow, class dismissed.~
I didn't want to depress myself with negative thoughts so as always, music therapy ako to keep my sanity and to fuel my train of thought para makapagsulat nang maayos sa blog. And as for my treat for today, it's all about...*drumroll* high school life!
First Year.
Nung first year ko, akala ko sa medyo mataas na section ako mapupunta since first section ako nung grade 6 – first section out of three, to be exact. Ang bagsak ko? Ayun, seventh. Nun ko lang na-realize na ambaba talaga ng grades ko nung elementary (I was too scared to look at them, haha). Iba na pala talaga pag high school na. Subjects, approach, even the way you think will be changed. Etong mga panahong ito rin naming naranasan ang ibig sabihin ng “terror teacher”. Kumbaga, nung tumapak kami sa paanan ng eskwelahan namin (Saint John Academy, ngayon eh Saint John Colleges, literally a breath away from where I live), nag-molt kami agad into young adults. Yung mga medyo childish na laro namin e napalitan ng sports. Yung mga girls, puro mga TV shows at pop music na ang pinag-uusapan. There was nothing very memorable about this year, apart from the fact that I started playing Magic: The Gathering during this time (saka na yang kwento na yan) and having interest with this naïve girl from section 5 who'd often refer to me as “Section 7's Windbag”. Keep up with me and I fucking swear you'll just laugh after you find out what happened afterwards.
Second Year.
Section seven pa rin. This was, in my opinion, the year that I started my journey towards becoming what I am now. My musical inclination started when I got involved with a couple of students who had an Oasis cover band. They kicked their vocalist out because he was basically being an ass, and took me in. We never really got to perform sa school fair but we enjoyed all the jamming sessions we had. Though there was this one occasion that I got to perform sa school fair, and it was the first and last rap-rock performance by students sa history ng SJA. I did the rap and my friend was the human boombox. We did a couple of covers (Gangsta's Paradise and a Dog Eat Dog song pero limot ko na yung title) and then a freestyle. Much to our surprise, the audience, majority of which composed of rockers and chicks, were really down with our performance. There were even groupies who wanted to get me and my friend as blind dates. The best part of it was there was this local rap posse who wanted to feature us on their street party, pero syempre with the emergence of poser gangs (yung mga “gangsta”) I declined, baka kasi mauwi sa rambol yung party. Nung mga panahong yun kasi sobrang frequent ng gang-related violence sa amin. Also, if my memory serves me right, it was also the year when boybands and girlbands really started to skyrocket into popularity. I was actually (and still am) a closet Spice Girls fan. Haha. Now you have something to ridicule me with. On with the story. This naïve girl I've been talking about, Marcia (not her real name), was starting to grow fond of me because I started to flirt with her (along with two other girls, which up to now hindi nya alam). Exhanging letters almost every day, asking her on dates and shit, the typical puppy love crap. I didn't even know why I was into her at the time. By the time that we were having a mutual understanding, our classmates were starting and ending relationships just as quick, sometimes even swapping boyfriends/girlfriends. How hardcore is that. And of course I didn't want to be a part of that stereotype so I stopped seeing her without even explaining to her why. Hindi lang siguro ako seryoso sa kanya.
Another signifcant happened that year as well. SJA closed due to the administration apparently not giving the teachers their rightful benefits which led to a strike. Syempre nung una tuwang-tuwa kami, thinking that makakapag-bakasyon kami sa kalagitnaan ng school year, pero after a couple of weeks after, saka namin narealize na malilintikan din kami dahil maghahanap kami ng bagong school na papasukan. Kumbaga, pinatapos muna kami bago tuluyang isinara yung school.
Third Year.
Laguna College of Business and Arts ang pangalan ng rival school ng SJA at alma mater ko nung elementary. Dito rin ako pumasok ng third year at natuto ng kung anu-anong kamunduhan. SJA students were generalized as the studious and wussy type, and LCBA students were like the fucking Satan's army in-training. I often dubbed it as “educational hell”, dahil sa dami ng delinquents na pumapasok despite the school's prestigious name. Tapunan ng mga siga at bobo sa madaling sabi. The high school department to be specific. It's like Cromartie High. If you hang out with me a lot, I've probably told you my funny experiences here. Sa school na to, pwede kang mag-barge in sa kalagitnaan ng klase para banatan yung kagalit mo sa kabilang section, bara-barahin yung titser na ayaw mo hanggang sukuan kayo o ma-stroke, at hindi pumasok sa klase pero magkaroon ng highest na grade pagdating ng report card. Of course I was influenced to drink, smoke, and all sorts of shit. Nung una I was into it kasi syempre may peer pressure pero I realized I was starting to become someone I didn't want to be so I looked for other geeks and befriended them. Tambayan namin? Arcades. PlayStation houses. Magic shops. And we spend a lot of cash on our hobbies, mas maganda na yun kesa sa ubusin namin sa yosi, alak, or worse – drugs. By the way, most of the SJA students also enrolled here so there were a lot of familiar faces, including Marcia. Pero syempre, I didn't give a damn about her. I was more engaged with my hobbies and surviving that school year. Oh, and by the way – the Junior-Senior Prom here totally SUCKED.
Fourth Year.
Everyone was surprised when word came out that SJA will re-open under the new name Saint John Colleges. The school had new teachers and featured a college department. Being the practical person that my mum is, she told me to finish high school here, at syempre tuwang-tuwa ako dahil makakatakas na ako sa kabaliwan ng LCBA. Syempre yung ibang originally galing sa SJA bumalik, pero yung iba, nag-stay at eventually dun na nagtapos. I really tried to make a mark this time by being an active part of extra-curricular activities - emceeing for events, being the editor-in-chief of the school paper and captain of the Sepak Takraw varsity team. You could say that I was known everywhere within the school premises, even though I declined running for the Student Body Organization because I've always hated politics. Going back to the puppy love story, Marcia was my classmate that year, which of course “rekindled old flames”. Out of the blue, I decided to make her my girlfriend. During the course of our courtship, she confessed that she felt the same way about me, and we became a couple nung October. Of course, this was the time for me to observe if my decision to date her was correct. Apparently it wasn't. She wasn't the naïve girl I used to know anymore. After three months and a simple snap of my fingers, I decided to ditch her for this other girl from section two (yeah, I know. It's Jeff-bashing time). Akane (definitely not her name) was this shy, mahinhin type. I've always wanted one of those back in the days, so I tried my luck with her. Eto yung progression ng events: I ditched Marcia during the Christmas Fair and immediately made my admirations for Akane clear in public. I was even requesting songs dedicated to her na nakapangalan sa akin. Everyone was like, “Whooooooooaaaaa...”. Tamang iritan at tuksuhan. A flamed Marcia tried to retaliate by hitting on my Sepak Takraw teammate but it failed kasi ayaw sa kanya nung guy. Haha. Anyway, Akane gave me the chance to talk to her about whatnots so we went sa balcony ng Science Building, where everyone could easily locate us (yeah, bash Jeff the jerk now). The courtship was a good experience – nagreregaluhan kami ng stuff kahit walang okasyon, we call each other, send letters everyday. It lasted until the prom night. Yun na yung panahon na inisip kong kailangan ko nang sabihin sa kanya verbally na I have feelings for her. Sa hindi-inaasahang pangyayari, natorpe ako bigla. Inatake rin ako ng selos dahil yung partner nya nung sayaw e yung kaibigan nyang lalake (who turned out to be a friend lang talaga *facepalm*). Tumambay na lang ako sa cafeteria at nagmukmok. Nakita ako ng mga classmates ko, and they tried to comfort me. Finally, after a joint effort of our common friends from our respective sections, my magic prom moment arrived. She went inside the cafeteria, and it was just the two of us (apart from the cafeteria staff whom I know were eavesdropping, LOL). The conversation went like this:
Me: (Nervous) Umm... Sorry if I've been acting crazy all night. It's just that there's something that I want to tell you pero hindi ko alam kung paano ko sasabihin. Kinakabahan ako.
Akane: Well... Why don't you give it a try?
Me: (Bumubuwelo, insert love song) ... I've always liked you. Hindi ko maipaliwanag kung bakit pero siguro naman alam mo na mahal kita. And I want us to be together. I've done a lot of sacrifices just to be here in this moment with you.
Akane: Leaving Marcia wasn't a good decision. Bakit mo ba sya iniwan?
Me: Because I don't love her anymore. Nagbago na sya. And it's you want to serve now, as this ninja's princess (sidenote: Flame of Recca was so popular during that time, diba).
Akane: (Sighs) Jeff... Hindi ko pa masasagot ang gusto mong mangyari, but I'm not telling you to give up as well. Kasi kung tayo talaga, tayo talaga no matter what, diba?
Me: (Nods)
Akane: Why don't we just continue with what we have and see how far we can go, di ba? (smiles)
Me: (Smiles) Yeah... Thanks.
Akane: Pano, tena, balik na tayo.
Hindi pa dyan nagtatapos ang drama. After naming magsayaw ng slow, Marcia approached me and created a scene by returning the ring I gave her during one of our monthsaries. I knew it was going to happen, so I brought mine and hurled both of them towards the school roof. She then left. Nung paglingon ko, nawala na rin si Akane. Apparently e sinundo na raw sya ng parents nya so I called it a day and went home. Sa sobrang bilis ng mga pangyayari, umupo na lang ako sa living room, binuksan ang PlayStation at naglaro ng Final Fantsay VIII hanggang antukin. Everyone evetually got over the entire incident before graduation. What happened to me and Akane? Well, after graduation I decided to pursue another chick so... BASH BASH BASH!
Looking back at all these things, it makes me smile to realize the journey I have taken to be what I am now. It might have been rough, but hey, that's what life is. Hindi sasaya ang buhay natin pag walang adversity, walang challenge. Amen? By the way, this was just a highlight of my high school life. Next time pag wala akong maisip i-feature, I'll tell you other stories from this part of my crazy life.
May you appreciate your past and live to be proud of what you have become. Until tomorrow, class dismissed.~
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