Cafe Amapola

i'm back!!! and i just quit my job again...

2008-09-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

So it's been three years.

Looking at my last post, it seems that i have a pattern of abandoning my job.

3 years ago I left my job of six months to join another company in the same industry. this time around i lasted three years. those were fruitful three years though. from a manager trainee, i led my office to 2 Office of the Month awards (out of 160 offices) and then finagled my way to becoming a District Manager. It also moved me back from SoCal to Sacramento. but the grueling pressure of making budget and goal and hitting them no matter what just kind of made me realize that there must be some other way of turning a profit without screwing with your clients. it's just insane what we do to make the most out of every procedure we do. and the added unnecessary subjunctive procedures were tacking to the bills of our clients. i swear my last company was an Anthur Anderson waiting to happen. should i be the whistle blower? if they were publicly-traded, they could be the next Enron. anyways, they can still turnaround their practices but i can no longer partake in this scam. so i left...i just decided never to show up for work again. And now that i've left this company, i am back in the City of Angels. it's been three weeks but finally i landed my newest gig. yup same line of work in the same industry. i'm hoping my newest supervisor(s) would at least have some ounce of ethics in them. i'm ready for my meteoric rise in this company again...hopefully there wont be a burnout this time.

so what about you? what's happened with you in the last three years?

So I quit my job...

2005-08-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

"The Call To Sacrifice"

2005-08-02T20:45:00.000-07:00

from a forwarded email...

"The Call to Sacrifice" by Juan T. Dela Cruz III

One call we often hear today, when people ask
President Arroyo to resign, is the call to make the
ultimate sacrifice for the good of the country.

Now that is a call that we can endorse. No,
not the call for the President to resign, but the call
for everyone, not just her, to make sacrifices for
the good of the nation.

. Loren Legarda: you are challenging the
legitimacy of Vice President de Castro. If and
when the President does resign, de Castro will
ascend to the Presidency. That is the
constitutional process. Your continuing
proclamation of his illegitimacy can become
destabilizing. Can you make the sacrifice of
withdrawing your suit and just allowing him to sit
as President?

. The 10 Cabinet members who resigned:
many of you are known for integrity. Let your
record speak for itself. Can you make the sacrifice
of just shutting up now and not defending
yourselves, for this contributes to further instability?

. Frank Drilon: your salivating for the Vice
Presidency leaves a bad taste in the mouth. You
manifested extreme hypocrisy and political
opportunism in extolling GMA to high heavens and
then stabbing her in the back, within the space of
one week. Can you make the sacrifice of stopping
all moves, including those of your Liberal Party
cohorts, of political maneuvering?

. All traditional politicians: kayo ang tunay na
SALOT NG BAYAN! Can you make the sacrifice of
resigning your posts and fading into complete
oblivion?

. Activist bishops and clergy of the Catholic
Church: we appreciate your concern for the good of
our people, but we do not appreciate your being at
the forefront of political activism. Can you make
the sacrifice of sticking to your pastoral duties of
ministering to the spiritual needs of the flock and
leave the political posturing to the lay people?

. Brother Eddie Villanueva: God has blessed
you by giving you a big flock to take care of. That
is your calling. While many disagree with your
entry into politics, we leave that between you and
God. But what is difficult to take is your
insistence, and that of your apologists, that you
won the Presidential elections. For goodness
sake, you were number FIVE! If you were cheated,
it was not only GMA who did so but Fernando Poe
and the others as well. Can you make the sacrifice
of leaving partisan politics entirely and focusing on
the Father's business?

. Imee Marcos, Jinggoy Estrada, JV Ejercito:
is it not enough that your parents plundered the
nation and you were part of that, and now you have
not only kept all your loot but are also back in
power? Can you make the sacrifice of removing
yourselves from the limelight? In reality, you are
the major reasons why the middle forces are not
responding positively to the call to a change in
government.

. Big business: many of you really just care
about having a positive environment where your
businesses will thrive. Can you make the sacrifice
of some of your profits to give more to the poor?

. The poor: we understand that "sapagkat kayo
ay kapit sa patalim," you allow yourselves to be
exploited and brought to rallies of unscrupulous
politicians. Can you make the sacrifice of a few
pesos, of bearing with your hunger, and not allow
yourselves to be exploited, so that you maintain
your dignity and you help sow the seed for true
liberation and well-being, in God's time?

The call to sacrifice is a wonderful call. God
himself showed us the way. Jesus sacrificed his
life on the cross in order to win our salvation. Such
a call is pure, noble, worthy of emulation. Let us
not use it for selfish motives. Let us not prostitute
its purity by polluting it with the filth in our
HEARTS and our SOULS!

no visitors

2005-07-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

i was away from blogging for a good six months, and now it seems like nobody visits this site anymore. i really don't blog to attract visitors but it sure is nice to check your counter and see that people still visit. well, if there's no new entry then there's no reason to visit. i just hope i'll find more time now to start posting more frequently again.

*****

so i'm permanently in Pomona now. i moved here in March to be here for the birth of my daughter. i found a new job doing the same thing I was doing in San Fran but in a bigger setting. unfortunately, i inherited a lot of problems left by the previous manager. it's hard coming to work every morning. i just know there'll be problems coming along from clients and staff. i also have a Regional director who i feel is always looking over my shoulder. she's not really micromanaging me but... i guess it's just different for me to be working for a corporation this time. and we have superiors in the corp office that have no clue as to what's going on in the field yet they still feel they know what's best for the local offices. anyway, let's see how long i'll stay with this company.

*****

i'm a proud dad! but i'll refrain from talking too much about my daughter or about fatherhood. i don't want to turn CafeAmapola into a gushfest over my daughter. i love her and let's leave it at that. i'll just post about other insignificant occurences in my life...

12 Days

2005-07-24T12:36:00.000-07:00

How will I cope?
12 days is such a long time. Everyday I come rushing home to be with her. And while at work I, time does not pass by without me thinking of her. And now she'll be away for 12 days? What is a father to do?
My daughter Neva is leaving on Tuesday to visit her grandparents in Canada. She will be there for the next twelve days. 12 days that I will not see her smile, hear her cry, nor change her diapers. These are things that have been part of my life for the last two and a half months. And now, it will be quite here at home. Quite when I leave for work. Quiet when I get back.
12 days. I miss my baby already!

more GG predictions

2005-01-16T18:14:00.000-08:00

i know you don't care about the Golden Globes but you're already here so might as well read on. as promised earlier, here's my prediction for the TV category of the Golden Globe...

Best Drama Series - 24
Besty Comedy Series - Desperate Housewives
Best Mini-Series of Tele-Movie - no prediction
Best Drama Actor - James Spader - Boston Legal
Best Comedy Actor - Jason Bateman - Arrested Development
Best Drama Actress - Jennifer Garner - Alias
Best Comedy Actress - Teri Hatcher - Desperate Housewives
Best Supporting Actor - Michael Imperioli - The Sopranos
Best Supporting Actress - Drea De Matteo - The Sopranos

well, we'll find out in about an hour and a half if I get any right

* * *

so i'm 2-2 on my NFL picks this weekend. obviously, i still think the New England Patriots will take this all the way. however, the eagles will finally win the NFC championship but will still come up short in the Super Bowl.

* * *

i was stuck for 2 1/2 hours in I-5 last night because the usually 4-lane highway only had one lane open. arrgh, i hate that. i could've been here in pomona at 8:30 but i got home at 11:30 instead. i really should've just flown last night, but that's over now...sorry, i'm just unloading.

what a crazy NFL playoff

2005-01-13T13:08:00.000-08:00

so i was 1 out of 4 last weekend. well that wouldn't stop me from making my predictions for this weekend sans the points:
Patriots over the Colts
Steelers over the Jets
Vikings over the Eagles
Rams over Falcons
* * *
yes it'll be an all wild-card teams for the NFC Championship...
and it'll be Patriots vs. Rams again for a rematch in the Super Bowl...
prove me right so I wont make predictions for next week...
* * *
chin up San Diego! it was a great season. now let's work toward re-signing Brees.

Golden Globes! and the winners will be...

2005-01-11T13:19:00.000-08:00

what the heck! everyone's doing it so here I go with my predictions for the Golden Globes. The ceremony will be held on Sunday and televised on NBC. these predictions are for film categories only. i'll give out my TV predictions next time...

Best Film - Drama - The Aviator
Best Film - Comedy/Musical - Sideways
Best Actor - Drama - Javier Bardem for The Sea Inside
Best Actor - Comedy/Musical - Jamie Foxx for Ray
Best Actress - Drama - Imelda Staunton for Vera Drake
Best Actress - Comedy/Musical - Annette Bening for Being Julia
Best Supporting Actor - Thomas Haden Church for Sideways
Best Supporting Actress - Cate Blanchett for The Aviator
Best Director - Martin Scorsese for The Aviator
Best Screenplay - Charlie Kaufman for Eternal Sunshine Of the Spotless Mind

just because these are my predictions (not choices) for Golden Globes, it doesn't necessarily mean that these are my predictions for the Oscars, too. that's a whole different animal. i'm making these predictions with the foreign press correspondents (the GG people) in mind. i'll give my Oscars predictions next month...

of course if I'm wrong...at the end of the day, does anyone really care? it's just an award show...

Happy New Year...but I'm stuck here in SoCal!

2005-01-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

Holy Mamaw! This weather is terrible. It has caused flooding, landslide, icy road, road closure, flight cancellations, pot holes, road accidents...and it will continue to pour. But in the grander scheme of things, we're still fortunate to be here in California. I just keep in mind the 150,000 confirmed casualties (and hundreds of thousands injured) in South Asia caused by last week's Tsunami, and it keeps my perspective in line. I just have to keep on counting my blessings.

And so I'm still here in Pomona! I have work tomorrow but I am not sure if I'm going to drive up north today. The I-5 along Grapevine and Castaic Rd was closed all day yesterday but has finally reopened at 10:30 this morning. Now, the afternoon newscast is saying that they may close it again. I don't want to get stuck there, as I've heard that it'll take you 3 hours just to make a u-turn once you're there. But we'll see...I'm still hoping.

* * *

So how was everyone's new year's celebration? How's the new year treating you so far? Any resolutions?
I don't make new year's resolutions. I just don't see the point of it. I think I made my last new year's resolution in grade school when my teacher required us to write an essay about it. But since then, I've never bothered to make one. I do make changes on my habits and my plans throughout the year as I deem it fit, but not at the beginning of the year, and not just to be able to say that I made a new year's resolution. Change for me is a constant, continuous process. Sure you have your own reasons for making your resolutions, but I don't wanna hear about it. Write it in your own blog, ha-ha.
Our new year's celebration was quiet and subdued this year. We went to cousin Ray's house and waited there for midnight to strike. It was good just to be around your loved ones. Kay and I didn't make plans for the night, and as it got darker and darker that night, we realized we didn't want to spend it alone. So I called Auntie Demi and kind of imposed ourselves to their family celebration. I invited myself again! Kay was not feeling particularly well that night but it was worth the drive. I got to see my nephews and niece on my cousin's side, and it gave me a glimpse of how it is having kids running around the house. It was a good night!

* * *

I think the Chargers are more than capable of beating the Jets this Saturday. I predict that the Colts and Chargers will move on against the Patriots and Steelers, respectively. As for the NFC, I really don't care for the wildcard match-ups. But I'll give my prediction anyways:
Chargers 24, Jets 13
Colts 31, Denver 14
Packers 28, Vikings 24
Seahawks 28, Rams 17

...a baby girl

2004-12-23T10:39:00.000-08:00

yup, we're having a baby girl. we can't think of a name yet. any suggestions?
* * *
i may not ba able to post again before Christmas...so here it goes...

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

Of Chargers and Sideways

2004-12-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

am i really the only one who called on San Diego Chargers going to the NFL PlayOff? Well yesterday they sealed the deal with a win over Cleveland Browns and captured the AFC West Division title as well. didn't i also say after they had their 4-0 streak that they can very well sweep their remaining schedule? but this coming game against the Indianapolis Colts will be the toughest one of the season. oh, how sweet would that be to end up with a 13-3 record after finishing 4-12 last year. i think this is a very potent team and will go deep into the playoffs, even to the AFC Championship game.
* * *
i saw Sideways last saturday and i highly recommend it. it's very funny and moving. it reminds me of one of my favorite movies, Swingers. Thomas Haden Church channels Vince Vaughn's character from Swingers while Paul Giamatti was the lovable, loser-type that Jon Favreau embodied in that movie. the backdrop of Southern California's wine country also plays beautifully in the movie. it's smartly written, witty, and full of excellent performances from the four main actors. Virginia Madsen and Sandra Oh costar. Go see it.

and the SEX is...

2004-12-19T21:44:00.000-08:00

are we going to have a son or a daughter? are you interested to know? we got the result of the amnio and that means we know the sex of the baby for sure. but first it's really good to know that the baby is perfectly healthy and sound. we're really getting excited about this. we have a projected delivery date of May 7th. on that day the stork is bringing a baby...
* * *
well, maybe that can wait. right now i just want to plug my new favorite show Project Runway on Bravo. last spring-summer, i was hooked on Blow-Out. it was fun to watch the ups and downs of the process of opening a hair salon in Beverly Hills. it was also a good management case study. this time, Project Runway features the creativity of aspiring fashion designers. these designers/contestants are given a weekly thematic challenge but they are faced with certain limitations of what materials they can use, or where they can get their materials. and of course just like in any competition, there are the mind games that the contestants play with each other. they've only aired 3 episodes so far and i'm telling you it's addicting. of course it also doesn't hurt that Heidi Kulm hosts.
* * *
i guess it's that time of year... when everyone announces "we're pregnant". i swear everyday i find out that somebody is pregnant. and today i heard a really surprising news about a certain someone. i just can't believe he is going to be a dad at that very young age. well, young or old...parenthood is both scary and exciting. so good luck to him, and good luck to us.

2004-12-14T23:08:00.000-08:00

this cartoon was on blogshares.com's website while they were doing system maintenance...

that was the week that was

2004-12-11T10:45:00.000-08:00

12/1 - worked in San Fran
12/2 - left Sac at 1pm and drove to Pomona; traffic was horrendous, i arrived at about 7pm
12/3 - 9am prenatal appointment for amniocentesis and ultrasound; went to San Diego to pick up my Dad and drove him to LAX; traffic was horrendous
12/4 - Lyda's wedding; had a lot of fun with my sis and cousins; let the cat out of the bag; traffic was horrendous
12/5 - rained all day; lunch at Souplantation; watched Chargers beat Broncos on TV; went out to get Christmas tree; 'twas raining still and traffic was horrendous
12/6 - 10am appointment with Kay's regular OB-GYN; cleaned around the house; heater was broken - made appointment with Gas Company and Heating Company; ran to Target to buy a portable electric heater
12/7 - left Pomona at around 1:30pm and drove to Sacto
12/8 - worked in San Fran
12/9 - bum around the house; did laundry; picked-up Kay from Sacto International Airport
12/10 - drove to San Fran with Kay; she had her meeting; i worked; dinner in the city
12/11 - i'm here at work; made new blog posts

...what a boring life I live

The Big News

2004-12-11T08:56:00.000-08:00

Okay, so the cat is out of the bag.
Some people already know about it so I might as well put it here.
Kay and I are pregnant! She's on her 4th month and so far the pregnancy is doing well. We finally let it out of the bag after all the precautionary tests came in negative. We had to wait for that before we can start spreading the news.
Anyways...more on that later.
Gotta get back to work. My boss isn't paying me to blog, you know.

Thanksgiving is about family and tradition

2004-11-21T10:56:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving is fast approaching and I'm in that awkward period again of being asked where I'm going to spend my Thanksgiving. You know how it goes, you meet with people and somehow because the holiday is in the air, they inquire about your holiday plans. For me these our my clients who don't know much about me, yet they want to know how, where, and with whom I'm going to spend the holiday with. I know it's a rhetorical question, but somehow they expect you to let them in in your plans and give them a definite answer. Of course I wont be making this big deal if I have a definite answer, but I don't. I don't know how Kay and I are going to spend our Thanksgiving.

Well, we know how we want to spend it: with a large, sumptuous, baked turkey in front of us and with all the trimmings that goes with it. You really can't celebrate Thanksgiving without a turkey. It's tradition. It doesn't matter if noone in your family eat turkey, you need to have it served on your table on Thanksgiving dinner.

My coworker said that if Kay and I have no plans then we're invited to her Thankgiving dinner. So I asked her if she's going to cook the turkey herself. She said that all her guests are mostly Filipinos too and that Filipinos don't eat turkey that much. So I said, "I guess you'll be serving fried chicken, pancit and spaghetti with hotdogs." And we both laughed. (I know it really sounded crass, but she's a good friend.) Later on she said that she's thinking about making turkey after all.

Kay and I want to start our own tradition. We really want and wish that we could go to Ohio to spend this time with my Dad and my siblings. But for personal (and also financial) reasons, it's just not that easy to hop on a plane and go there. So we'll probably spend it with each other, bake our turkey, and be thankful for all the blessings we received this past year.

Of course we can also spend it with our relatives in San Diego. But we didn't get an invitation yet (Kuya Ron, I know you're reading...nudge-nudge,wiink-wink) so we just don't want to show up (Although I'm already known for doing that.) Of course it's always fun to spend the holidays in San Diego! I don't often verbally thank them for their support, but I can't imagine surviving in the US without their help. They opened their house for me and my brother when we were still fesh off the boat, ha-ha.
Except Kuya Ron has turned vegetarian on me so I might find a turkey-shaped tofu on their table Thanksgiving night. Somehow that just doesn't sound traditional. But hey, it's family.

back to standard time

2004-11-04T15:59:00.000-08:00

it gets too dark so early. you look out the window at 5:30 pm and it's dark already. it feels like it should be 8 pm. why do we have to go back to standard time? just keep daylight savings time forever. and make that our standard time. i just don't like it getting too dark so early.

* * *

money is tight! i hate november. the bills just keep pouring. first the property tax bill came. then the home insurance bill. and the flood insurance is now overdue. i just sent out the check today. i thought i'm already paid up until 2005. thank god for grace period. now, i just received my car registration notice. and i just paid the car insurance, too. why do they all come in the same month? money is tight!

* * *

i am lucky. yes it gets dark early. yes i have a lot of bills to pay. but i'm still lucky. i have a lot of blessings to be thankful for. i know more people are doing worse. and i really shouldn't complain. i just need to adjust to the time change. i do have the money to pay all these bills. i shouldn't complain. i am lucky.

i'll close my eyes

2004-11-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

it's 10:07 pm PST and the media is projecting OH to go to Bush. it looks like Bush will finally get elected, not re-elected. i'm going to sleep now. i'll close my eyes and when i wake up tomorrow morning, i hope we'll have a different result. good night, america.

Election Day

2004-11-02T13:21:00.000-08:00

It's Election Day here in the U.S. and I urge everyone who are eligible to vote to go out and practice their civic duty. I hope this presidential election will be less controversial than the last one, and I'm hoping we'll have a clear winner so as not to bring a legitimacy question to this presidency. Go out and vote!

* * *

Ha! October came and went and I didn't have a single post. I'm not going to say that I don't have any blogworthy news to share (because there's plenty!!!), let me just say that I don't want to burden you all with my anxiety about certain issues. I guess we're still on a need to know basis here and right now I'll just keep private stuff private. O intriga, di ba?!

* * *

My Dad left for Cleveland today. Not to vote, mind you, but to visit my other siblings in Ohio and Virginia. He arrived from Manila last October 11 and has spent some time with me in Sacramento and Pomona. The rest of his stay was spent with our relatives in San Diego. He'll be back here in Cali in December to attend a wedding, then he might go visit Florida after that. He's scheduled to fly back to Manila after the holiday. It was great to see and spend some time with my Dad after eight years. Maybe in May the whole family will come for a visit. Kumpleto na naman kami!

* * *

Didn't I say the San Diego Chargers are going to the playoffs? Well, halfway through the season, their record is 5-3 and it looks like the rest of their schedule is pretty light. Only the Colts and the Broncos have a winning record among their next opponents. They have a great chance of winning their division and even sweeping the remaining games. Wow, a 13-3 record would be awesome. But first, let's beat the Saints next week.

still here

2004-09-29T02:26:00.000-07:00

i'm still here. just blog resting...

i got a new roommate

2004-09-13T19:51:00.000-07:00

liegh is my new roommate. he moved in on the 3rd (while i was in LA) and so now there's four of us living in this house. i have a three bedroom/two bath house and the third bedroom has been empty and idle for about a year. so last month i finally decided to post for a new roommate in craigslist. liegh is the first one to look at the room and when he said he wanted it, i pretty much handed the key right away. i don't want to put a whole lot of effort in finding a roommate. if it doesn't work out, i can always kick him out (he-he). i'm not naive about the dangers of living with strangers but sometimes you just have to be trusting. but i'm really hardly home nowadays so i think this will work out. plus it's also a few extra dollars in my pocket every month.
jen and chris occupy the other room. they've been renting that room for more than a year now. you wont read much about them in my blog because our interactions are pretty minimal. they pretty much just stay in their room and to themselves. now i just hope all three of them wont fight over the bathroom.

What have you been up to, Don?

2004-09-12T20:35:00.000-07:00

I know it's been a while since my last post and I really should tell you all about what's going on in my life right now. But...yes there is a but! But I cannot divulge yet what's been keeping me busy lately. At the right time, I'll be telling the whole world about it. For now, let's just talk about the mundane things in life...

New Fall TV Season - The official new tv season is starting this week, although NBC has already rolled out some of their new shows (Father of the Pride, Joey, Hawaii, MI, Apprentice 2) and new episodes of their returning shows (Scrubs, Fear Factor), ABC, CBS, Fox, WB and UPN will come out with their new slate this week and the succeeding weeks. Here are five new shows that I am excited about. I want to keep this short so I will not go into details why I think they will be good shows. Maybe you can watch them with me and let me know what you think of them. Here they are: 1) Desperate Housewives (ABC, Sundays at 9) - looks like a whimsical, eerie, eccentric, melodramatic soap. A mesh of Melrose Place, Twin Peaks and Picket Fences. I hope I can watch this show because it's on a tough timeslot going head-to-head with Law & Order:CI on NBC, and Jack & Bobby on the WB...which brings me to the second show. 2) Jack & Bobby (premieres tonight) - from the writers of West Wing and Everwood...need I say more? 3) Joey (NBC, Thursdays at 8) - Raymond is bowing out after this season so we need a good, quality sitcom to take its place. I just hope it'll be as funny as other sitcoms who have occupied this timeslot. 4) Kevin Hill (UPN, Wednesdays at 9) - the concept and plot is nothing new but I really want to give this show a chance, it's sort of like Taye Diggs' character from Ally McBeal but with a baby. It's up against The West Wing and The Bachelor so I don't know how many will actually see it, but hey it's on UPN...their fingers aren't that quick in cancelling shows so just maybe this new show might survive. And 5) Veronica Mars (UPN, Tuesdays at 9) - only because this may be a perfection companion to Gilmore Girls after I watch it on the WB at 8. Other new shows I may just give a chance - LAX on NBC, Lost and Boston Legal on ABC. And for those of you questioning my choices...yes I left out CSI:NY. I just don't watch CSI.

Speaking of TV, my sister called me last Friday on my drive home to tell me that she saw Kay on TFC (The Filipino Channel). I knew what it was about. They had a presscon last Tuesday regarding the slavery case of Nena Ruiz. I guess it was carried on TFC. And yes, slavery still exists. I really need to get TFC.

On a lighter note, the NFL kicked off its opening weekend and the San Diego Chargers is already on its way to its first playoff in nine years. Yes, I said it...the Chargers are going to the playoffs. Ciao!

happy labor day!

2004-09-03T13:01:00.000-07:00

it's the labor day weekend here in the U.S. so i'll be gone for a few days. have a safe holiday everyone and don't do anything i wouldn't do. take care!

i'm a little bit tired

2004-08-31T20:24:00.000-07:00

I'm a little bit tired from my weekend in LA. No, I did not party...it was just the drive back was so long. i guess that's because I left Pomona at 1 a.m. Monday and drove straight to San Fran to work. I arrived at the office at 7:30, changed clothes, and started working. By 3 p.m., I was sooooo sleepy. So I've been catching up on my sleep and by tomorrow I'll be all good!

Funny thing that happened at work last Monday - We have a client who's coming in after her move from San Fran to San Diego. I told her that I'm originally from San Diego. So she asked me for a referral to a good dentist in San Diego. After I gave her one of the names of my previous employer, she then asked me for another referral...but for a gynecologist this time. I just looked at her funny! I just said, "Sorry but I've never needed one so far. I don't know any." She turned red and said, "Oh, what am I thinking? I'm sorry it's just hard finding all these new doctors and not knowing anyone in this city." I just told her that I understand how it is. Or do I?

Shout-out to grade school friends - Just in case somebody google these names, maybe they'll be redirected to this blog and get in touch with me. Seems like a lot of people are google-ing to find long lost friends (or even potential dates). Yeah admit it, I'm sure you've googled yourself too. So here's a shout out to my grade school friends from Highway Hills Elementary School! Hello to Virgilio Viana, Carlo Buenaventura, Alexander Gabriz, Arli Bumatayo, Jimmy Pamintuan, Lani Lacanlale, April Bacud, Cherry Fernandez, Cindy Tan, Marjorie Jo, Fatima Caparoso, Paulino Peregrino, Philip Pesebre, Arvin de Guzman, Alex Arcilla, Amelita Ranola, Arlene Ercia, Maria Elena Feliciano, Dulce Pumareja, Romeo Lanuzo, Edgar Tilla-in, Sheila Roque, Rose Natividad, Rowena Racelis, Veronica Quesada, Bernadeth Mia, Enrique Paulino, Reyden Roa, Jorina Barroga, Alberto Garcia, and Maribel Villanueva. I'm sure I forgot a few...but I'll keep on updating these.

2004-08-27T17:56:00.000-07:00

i'm off to LA for the weekend

Sex toys, anyone?

2004-08-26T15:54:00.000-07:00

It's a slow Thursday and I didn't feel like doing anything here at home. I was tired of the Olympics coverage on TV and I really didn't want to clean the house or start on a new project. So, I decided to go thrift store shopping. I was not looking for anything in particular but if something would catch my eye, then I would buy it. I mostly looked at furnitures. I'm not talking about antique stuff here, but merely second-hand stuff that could be turned into something. After looking at three thrift stores, I came out empty handed. There were a few desk that I saw as possible "projects", but knowing myself, it'll probably just end up lying around in the garage. Then I'll probably just end up disposing it too.
Feeling tired and defeated (that I'm not as creative as those folks in HGTV and TLC) from my window shopping, I decided to go to Goldilock's for some merienda. So I got an arroz caldo (rice porridge in ginger with chicken) and kamote-Q (fried sweet yam on stick). I also got the most recent issue of Asian Journal where it had an article about a thriving sex toy store in Manila. Sex toy store? Now, why didn't I think of that? Having lived in Hillcrest (San Diego) and San Francisco, I should have thought of this business in Manila. Anyhow, the article said that the store can be availed of through appointments only and they now have a website where they do the bulk of their business. One of their biggest seller is a penis enlarger, which made me laugh. And the story continued to say that it's the women who buy it for their partners, which made me laugh even more. It's a pretty interesting article, I only wish that I would have thought of it first.

Chona In the City

2004-08-25T21:57:00.000-07:00

Funny as hell. (Not that I've been to hell...) Chona In the City

It could have been My Carabao Life

2004-08-22T21:19:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have been reading this blog since the very beginning know that CafeAmapola was not the original name of this site. It used to be simply called Don's Raves and Rants. However, after the first three or four posts, I noticed that I was neither raving nor ranting. So I decided to change it to Cafe Amapola.
So why the name? CafeAmapola is a screenname that I was already using in Yahoo and MSN. I'm using it as a tribute to my favorite watering hole in Baguio City during my college years. I also want to name my restaurant, if I ever open one, Cafe Amapola Bar and Grill. (Yes, I do have a dream.) I have a lot of memories in Cafe Amapola and had great fun in this restaurant/bar during my freshman year with my blockmates, dormmates and partymates from Alliance of Concerned Students. Unfortunately, the establishment came down with the earthquake in 1990. And after the quake, the building it was in was condemned and demolished and it never reopened, rebuilt or relocated for that matter. I eventually found other hangouts in the City, but Cafe Amapola will always be extraspecial to me.
I thought of and considered several names for this blog...and there were plenty. But there's one that still linger in my mind: My Carabao Life. Now, how does that sound? I thought it was cute because it reminded me of a cover we had for Habagat, the Filipino Literary Magazine I edited in high school (Yes, I considered Habagat, too.) But I decided against it since it didn't really relate to me. I was born and raised in Manila and I don't want to falsely project an impression that I grew up living and riding a carabao. Not that there's anything wrong with that, I wish that I did, but the truth is I just don't know much about our national animal (except that we use them for plowing the fields).
So there, now you know the history of the name Cafe Amapola.

Lost, lost, lost

2004-08-21T20:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it! I am so pissed! I just lost the post I was writing. It was already like four paragraphs long and now...s**t! My computer screen just froze and then all the open windows/browsers closed by themselves. Ahhh, I don't want to write on the same topic again so I'll rewrite that some other day. Now, just bear with another freeflowing stream of consciousness.

Kay and I have been together for six years now. Wow, can you believe that? We met in August of 1998 and six years later, we're still together. Before her, my longest relationship was 11 months. Or 4 years if you consider the long-distance relationship I tried to keep with my ex-girlfriend in the Philippines. Now I have a six-year relationship and it keeps on getting better.

For a while there I thought the whole family would be here for Christmas. Now Jay-R has decided against taking a leave of absence from Ateneo and will probably come here next summer instead. Well, Mom and Dad might still come before the end of the year. Yeheyyy!

Happy Anniversary to Kapatirang Anno Domini! Brods and Sisses, you know who you are...and thanks for all the good times!

It's been quiet at Barrio Alimasag. I would log on and there would only be 2 or 3 active users and they're not even posting. This has got to change! Anyhow, it's still my current favorite hangout in the web. It's a bulletin board for down-to-earth, simple-minded Filipinos here in the U.S. and back home. Check us out and join our little community on the web.

It seems like all the relatives in San Diego are doing some home improvements. Granite countertops. New hardwood floors. Stainless steel appliances. New furnitures. I wish I can be doing the same here in Sacramento but I don't have the money for it right now. And I don't want to spend money in this house if I'm going to move to Pomona anyways. But I'm still undecided on that. Now if I would only get all six numbers in tonight's lottery drawing...

Just for the fun of it, here's my playoff picks for the upcoming NFL season:
AFC- Colts, Chiefs, Patriots, Bengals, and wildcards Jaguars and Chargers (hey, I can wish, right?)
NFC - Seahawks, Panthers, Packers, Eagles, and wildcards Buccaneers and Rams
We'll check back in January and we'll see how I'll fare

Don is out of the office

2004-08-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

I'll be here in LA until Thursday. I'll also take some time to visit San Diego. Have a great week everyone!

I had a burger today

2004-08-13T22:34:00.000-07:00

Thinking aloud:
"Where is my checkbook? I need to pay some bills. I can't remember where I left it."
"I need to clean my room. I need to do the laundry, too."
"I don't want to go to work tomorrow. It's so boring!"

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

Okay, let me talk about the Seattle trip real quick. We really had a great time. It was very relaxing although we did a lot of walking. I think the only drawback was that we didn't like the hotel that we stayed in. Edgewater Hotel was advertised as the only waterfront hotel in Seattle, and I think it was true until last year when Marriot Waterfront opened. We should've just stayed there instead. For the rates Edgewater were charging, it was a real letdown. (We actually complained to the front desk and tried to find vacancies in other hotels, but in the end we jst decided to stay and concentrate our effort in having fun, fun, fun)

But our idea of fun is mostly eating. We went to Elliot's which most of the locals recommended as the best seafood restaurant in the city. We unfortunately arrived at a different conclusion. We also tried Icon, a new trendy restaurant that is mostly known for the 200-something glass-blown-lamps adorning the ceiling. Food was good, too, but I would take any upscale San Francisco restaurant over this in a heartbeat (Think Lulu's or Asie's) We also shopped and ate some more at Pike's Public Market.
We also wanted to go jetskiing but we found out that even though seattle has a waterfront, the beach is actually 2 hours away! So we went sailing instead and it was very relaxing. We just laid there in the boat for about two hours and enjoyed the sun and Seattle's cool breeze.
The downtown's landscape is comparable to San Francisco's Union Square. A lot of shopping buildings standing side by side with business high rises. It was great just to walk the city streets and act as one of the locals. I was mistaken as a local once, and people assumed we're from Alaska. Kay said that's because I look like an Inuit. It must be my dark features and long hair!
Seattle's a city I can see myself living in. If Frasier can live, so can I!

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

Work was so boring today. It was slow and there was nothing for me to do. I was just online all day posting in the Barrio. I need to find something more challenging, but then again I'm lazy anyways, so maybe not. I'll just kep on collecting my paycheck. Hoping my boss doesn't run into this blog.

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

Speaking of my boss, he just separated from his wife last April after being married for almost 20 years. It's sad but they are still in good terms and both said that they knew it was going to happen. Now he wants to start dating again at 52. I was shocked when he first told me it about and until know I just can't believe that they are now separated.

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

Oh yeah, and I had a burger today. In-N-Out, baby!

Sundays with the family

2004-08-08T14:00:00.000-07:00

Nowadays I spend my Sundays in front of the TV and the computer. I usually wake up at 11 am, get some coffee and look for something good to watch on TV. If the NFL season is in progress, then it's a no-brainer that I would watch whatever game is on. I root for the SD Chargers but they are hardly on TV since they are on a different TV market. The hometeam for the Sacramento market is the Oakland Raiders, but you can't watch them here either because their games are on blackout since their homegames are never sold out. So I'm really held hostage to whatever NFL puts on Fox and CBS. Okay I've digressed, that's a whole different post and will visit the issue again once football season starts...

This morning I thought of how I spent my Sundays growing up in Manila. 'Twas a lot of fun and it revolved mostly around the church and family. If I remember it right Sunday service at HHUMC was at 9:45. And although that means we have to leave home around 9-9:15 to make it on time, our Sundays really start at around 8 am. We're not allowed to sleep in and our mom would wake us up so we can all have breakfast together. Breakfast would usually consist of fried rice, pan de sal, eggs, fried spam, daing (dried fish) or corned beef, with coffee (instant, not brewed) or Milo (have always preferred this one over Ovaltine) and orange juice (no, not freshly squeezed but Tang...yes, Tang). Typical Filipino breakfast.

After breakfast either my older brother or I would wash the cars. This would take a lot of time because my brother and I are very thorough in washing the cars. After that I would shine my Dad's shoes, which I actually like doing. My sister on the other hand would start getting ready for church since it takes her a loooong time to get ready. Then Mom would prepare and start whatever we're going to have for lunch. She'll leave it for our maid to finish while she gets ready herself. Once we're all ready, we all drive together to go to church.

Oops, wait up...that's actually not true since the whole family wontfit in one car (there's six of us). Most of the time my brother and I would leave early to join in the choir. I'm not really good at singing but since the youth group (the MYF) is in charge of the church choir, I would participate once in a while. Sometimes we'd leave early, too, to attend Sunday school. If I feel like not going to church, I just wont get ready and by the time the family's ready to leave, Mom and Dad wont have time to argue with me about not going to church. Which is really never a big deal because we're never forced to attend church anyways. But I still make lame excuses sometimes like not having anything to wear.

Church service in a Methodist church can be long. It's typically an hour and a half long. But there's more activities after that. My Dad will have the United Methodist Men's meeting, my Mom will have the monthly board meeting or the weekly kababaihan meeting (for the life of me I can't remember the name of the women's group in our church), and my brother and I will have the United Methodist Youth Fellowship meeting. We'll usually discuss the youth activity for that afternoon, or if there's no activity we'll have a meeting about the next meeting and the activities for the rest of the week (Choir practice, Prayer Meeting, Bible Study). Boy, there were a lot of meetings!

Again, the whole family would be together for lunch. It's also typical for a Filipino household to have the TV on during lunch. And during this time it would usually be on Spin-A-Win (I'm really dating myself here for those Filipinos who know when this TV show was on), or Germspecial (which eventually became GMA Supershow). These are Game Show-Variety Show-hybrid similar to those that can be seen in Univision and Telemundo (think Sabado Gigante). If there's no church activity, my siblings and I would just watch Lovingly Yours, Helen or I would spend the afternoon with church friends (Angel, Benjie, Bong, Eric, Jimmy) and go to a mall or see a movie. My Dad would usually take an afternoon nap and Mom would go to the store. My sister? I don't know what she does on Sundays but maybe she can comment here and enlighten me or freshen up my memory.

Sundays are fun for me. I have great memories with the family and with the church. Funny now that it's been years since I went to a Sunday service. It's also been a while since our family had a Sunday lunch together. Well, that's part of getting old and having separate lives I guess. We just all live so geographically far apart. But we're still a family.

It's an Ichiban night!

2004-08-06T21:47:00.000-07:00

*Yup, I'm just having a ramen tonight for dinner. Ichiban, my favorite noodle brand.
*Got back from Seattle yesterday. It was a nice trip but maybe just a day too long. I think three nights is enough to see most of downtown Seattle.
*Pike Public Market reminded me of the wet market in Edsa Central. Passing by those seafood stalls and fruit stands brought me back to my days in our tindahan. It was fun to be thrusted back to my childhood days.
*There's something about Northwest food that doesn't sit well with my taste buds. I think the lack of taste of the food is what it is. Northwest food is a little bit bland for me. I'm just a spoiled Californian.
*Work was busy today...just in case you're asking. But I survived my first day back. Gotta do it all over again tomorrow.
*Peja wants to be traded. I can't imagine Sacramento Kings without Stojakovic. I guess he 's not happy that the Kings didn't try to keep Divac. Peja won't be traded though...
* Miles is back posting again. It's her blog that got me started in weblogging.
*Can you tell I'm forcing myself in trying to come up with something in this post? I'm afraid it's not working.
Okay, have a nice day everyone! I'll try to gather my senses and write a better post next time.

I should be dancing...

2004-07-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday night and I'm sitting here at home watching Law and Order when I could be out swing dancing. Well, maybe next week. I do need to dust off my dancing shoes :) So now instead of clubbing and schmoozing, I'll be updating my blog. It's about time don't you think?

Summer Trip - Kay and I are planning on going to Seattle on August 1-5 for a mini-vacation before she goes home to Canada for her Mother's birthday. It's really hard for us to plan a long vacation right now since she's so busy with her work in LA. But we'll take advantage of these few days to relax and have a little recreation. I've never been to Seattle so I don't know what to expect. But it'll be low key since we just really want to rest and enjoy the sights. Hopefully we can also go jetskiing while we're there. That's only more than a week away and I'm excited...

Another One - Unfortunately, I got pulled over again a week and a half ago for overspeeding. And I wasn't really going that fast! Damn CHP! California is so broke they wont even let me go with a warning. And I just paid the $200 fine for my first ticket in LA. Arrgh, I wonder how much this is going to cost me this time? I need to slow down.

Diet Update - So how's my diet so far? It's so darn freaking difficult. It's really not just a diet but a lifestyle modification. And it's so hard because fastfood is so convenient. I'm happy to say though that I haven't had a burger since my last post. I still go to fastfood restaurants but I've been ordering grilled chicken, salads, sub sandwiches, or bbq chicken from L&L (it's a Hawaiian fastfood that's starting to expand in California). I've also been going to ChowKing and Goldilock's in Sonoma to satisfy my Pinoy food cravings. Pero I haven't lost any inches on my waist. Masikip pa rin ang pantalon.

Finishing Unfinished Business - Since I only work three days a week, I spent most of my time this week finishing the projects that I started last year, hehe. I finished painting the baseboards in the master bathroom. I finished caulking the moldings that we put in the master bedroom. I emptied out one of the other rooms and I'm planning to rent it out. There's still other unfinished projects in the yard, and I need to cut and shape the wisteria in the front yard. It's starting to look like a jungle out there and I think the wisteria might be choking the roses. Well, Kay will be here this weekend so maybe we can clean up the yard together. Except that it's going to be hot this weekend, it could even reach triple digits. Ayyy, and init...nagpudot!

No surprise here...

2004-07-11T23:03:00.000-07:00

what decade does your personality live in?

quiz brought to you by lady interference, ltd

Okay, so I don't wear topsiders anymore but I can admit that a great part of me is still living in the 1980s. Sometimes I would catch myself singing Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go while driving. Or when I'm alone at home and I feel the urge to play some music, I would pull out the Mike Francis' Greatest Hits CD or some Rick Astley CDs and dance to it. Or if I'm going on a road trip, my music of choice would be Depeche Mode, New Order, Fra Lippo Lippi, Book of Love, Prefab Sprout, and B-52s. I just can't help it...the music of my high school days is still the music I listen to.

I gotta stop eating junk food

2004-07-10T09:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I posted something. I've been busy driving and eating junk food.

* * * * *

My ever-expanding waistline is asking for help. My trousers and jeans wont fit me anymore! I've gone from 29 to 34 waistline and it really doesn't look good. I'd be walking down the street and I would see my reflection in the glass windows and notice my protruding bulge. My beer belly. The love-handle. Call it whatever you want but I gotta do something about this.
It wasn't that long ago that it was very difficult for me to find good pairs of pants. It's not that there aren't any, it's just that they don't make them in size 29 or 30. Well they do, but stores would only usually get a pair or two in those sizes. The bulk of their merchandise is in sizes 34 and 36. I should know because I used to work in men's retail.
That's why whenever our store will get the new season's line, I'd buy those size 29 pants right away. Even with suits. I'd get those 36-regulars, and with a 7-inch drop cut, it came perfectly with size 29 trousers. Now all those suits and pants are a thing of the past.
The last year or two, my explosion began. It happened gradually. And I was actually very happy to gain some weight and move up to size 32. I also started wearing size 38-39 suits. I felt that that was perfect for my body size. But within the last two months, shopping for clothes has been a great ordeal. And now I've stopped shopping because I do not want to buy size 34 pants. I keep telling myself that I'm going to get back to my old 32-inch waistline. Well, we'll see. I need new pants soon and I'll let you know what size I bought.

* * * * *

My belly is full of junk food. Well, you can't really blame me...I'm single! That's what a single person's diet consists of. Burgers. Fries. Donuts. Hotdogs. Greasy Chinese take-outs. Okay, maybe that's a lame excuse. I guess you can be single with a healthy diet. That's what I intend to do. Except that this morning I already started on the wrong foot.
It's 9:40 am and I'm at work, and on my way here, I stopped to fill up for gas, and got my morning coffee. But I also got 2 corndogs for 99cents. And I think I'm paying for it now. I don't feel so well. And I have to drive down to LA again later. Who has corndogs for breakfast anyway?

* * * * *

Last night, I was thinking of what to have for dinner. Cooking was out of the question since I was sooo tired. I don't want another Chinese take-out because that's what I have been having the last few nights. So I started rubbing my tummy and I immediately felt bad about myself. (I'm telling you my self-image is staring to slide down so fast I'm going to need Dr. Phil's help soon) So I settled for a salad from Wendy's. I know that's still fastfood but under the circumstances, that's the best I can do. People who know me know that I'm not a good person when I'm hungry. I can be a monster. So I figured I'd get something real quick to go. The salad actually was not that bad. It's not as good as Kay's homemade salad but hey, I'll be happy just to minimize my burger intake. Now if only I can start doing those sit-ups...

A bird pooped on me

2004-06-24T23:04:00.000-07:00

So I was at the carwash and there was a line. There were probably three cars in front of me. So I decided to turn the engine off, turn the AC off and then I opened the window. As the window was sliding down a bird pooped and hit my driverside window and my jeans as well. Right on the side of my left thigh. What were the chances of that? Well, I think getting pooped on by a bird is a good sign. In some culture, they consider that a good luck. Woohoo, more luck for me...

I'm not evil after all

2004-06-20T11:05:00.000-07:00

Just for the heck of it, I did this

How evil are you?

Father's Day and This Week's Journal - Part Deux

2004-06-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

It's Father's Day!
I called my Dad at home, but as it turns out, the whole family is in Bataan. So my "Happy Father's Day" greeting will have to wait a few more hours. But to my readers, if any of you are Dads, Happy Father's Day to you.
****
So on to this week's recap.
Tuesday-Kay thought that I was going back to Sacramento this day because of my class later that afternoon, little did she know that I wasn't really planning on leaving until Wednesday. So she was surprised when I slept in. When she found out I'm staying, she made plans for her mom to go golfing since I can drop her off at the golf course. That was fine with me. While Marilyn was golfing, I decided to see a movie. So I went and saw Garfield. It was okay...it's a kid's movie but I still enjoyed it nonetheless. After the movie I did a little bit of grocery shopping so I can make Pork-Chicken Adobo for dinner. I picked up Marilyn from the golf course and then we just rested, and took a nap, before dinner. After dinner, Kay and Marilyn played some more dice while I watched the Detroit Pistons humiliate the Lakers in Game 5 of their championship series.

Wednesday-I left early so I would miss the traffic. I wasn't really going any faster than I usually do but I got pulled over by a CHP. He said he tagged me at 92 on a 70-limit highway. Arrrgh, this will set me back around $300 (hopefully not more!) Oh well! So I got home at around noon and watered the plants and the yard right away. I also checked on Azuli (my cat) to see how she's doing. What a good cat! She didn't create any mess although I was gone for almost 5 days. She would usually throw up or pee somewhere to piss me off if I leave her for more than a couple of days. I guess she's getting used to my travels. The rest of the day, I spent online and studying for my midterm for the next day.

Thursday-I usually cannot study at home so I head out to Sac State at around 10am to do my studying there. The test was pretty easy. After that we watched a German avant-garde movie from 1919 called The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Our professor let us out early again so I decided to go to Macy's to see if there's something that would catch my eye. There were a lot! And I was very tempted to get some of them but I decided otherwise. Not right now, since I suddenly thought of that speeding ticket I'm gonna have to pay soon.

Friday and Saturday was back to my regular work grind. I really don't have much to complain about work since I'm hardly there and I still get paid well. It'll really be hard once I leave this job and move to Pomona. I have no idea what kind of work I'm going to get there. One thing is for sure though, it'll be for less money and more work hours. Ayayay!

This Week's Journal

2004-06-19T21:33:00.000-07:00

Damn, I just got a paper cut! I hate when that happens. I was just opening an envelope and now I have this cut on my finger. Oh, no point in being a baby about it. Okay, on to my post.
So I've been wanting to post something every night but as you could probably tell from my past posts, I'm just such a procrastinator. And now I can't think of anything to write. So I'll just run down my past days since my last post.

Friday, June 11, was a good day at work. Not much happened, but I had a full, productive day. I actually felt like I accomplished something. I hate it when there's nothing to do in the office.
Saturday-I worked half day in San Francisco and then head out to LA (Pomona) at around 2:30. The only traffic was along I-580 between Livermore and I-5 Junction. I didn't have lunch at work so I stopped at a Denny's to grab something to it. I didn't want to go to a fastfood so I settled for a club sandwich at Denny's. I reached Pomona at about 8:30 and Kay and her mom were home already. They just came from the Pomona 2nd Saturday Art Walk. They also told me that they got a new barbecue grill and a lawn mower from Sear's. Woohoo, I guess I'll be putting together the BBQ grill tomorrow.

Sunday-Kay's mom (Marilyn) went to church in the morning while I started to assemble the grill. It usually takes me a whole day to do this kind of thing. I'm not really a handyperson, but I guess 4 years of homeownership have taught me how to use a wrench! By around lunch I was pretty much done and ready to start on another project. Yeah, didn't I tell you? Kay usually has a list of things for me to do around the house. It's my honey-do-list. So I worked on the sprinkler (repaired a couple of nozzle heads that she ran through with the lawn mower), helped her unpacked the rest of our boxes, run a new cable in the bedroom so we can move the TV (an LCD that we bought from my previous trip), made dinner (yes, we barbecued) and did other little errands around the house. Boy was I pooped. And I had to come to Pomona for this?

Monday was uneventful. Kay went to work while Marilyn and I stayed at home. After lunch we went to Pomona Library so I can go online and take another online quiz for my class. Kay doesn't have cable and internet connection yet. After that, I finished my honey-do-list by installing the pump in the fountain. Kay got home at around 6 and we decided to go out for dinner. I thought I'd treat Marilyn since I won't
be able to go to her birthday in Canada in August. We went to Copacabana (a Cuban restaurant) first but it was closed (yup, they're closed on Mondays). So we went to Pomona Mining Company instead. Kay and I have been there before and liked it the first time. We liked it the second time as well. When we got home, I had to sneak out to go to Albertson's to get Marilyn a birthday cake. We sang her Happy Birthday when I got back and had the cake with coffee and tea. That night we also played dice. I forgot the name of the game but it was fun.

Okay, I'm going to stop for now and start the next day on a new post. I'm getting feedbacks that my posts are too loooong. Ciao!

Sometimes things just fall in their proper places

2004-06-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

I'm taking a summer class on Film in Sac State. It's not a filmmaking class, just a course in understanding movies. Since last week, I knew that I have an online quiz that is due today. I've also known since last week that the preliminary writing assignment is due the same day (today). Being the procrastinator that I am, I put off both studying for the quiz and starting on the paper. Every night I would think, "I should really be reading that chapter on editing." But lo and behold, I would end up spending time browsing on my PC or watching TV. Last Monday I just ended up watching For Love or Money. Last Tuesday night, I watched Last Comic Standing and then the news and then Letterman and Conan O'Brien. During commercials, I would go on my computer and post in Barrio Alimasag. But I would never find time for the paper or the quiz. I somehow knew that I would cram the night before to work on the paper and to take the online quiz. Except there's one problem...the night before the paper is due is Wednesday night. That's Swing Night at the Tower Club. Somehow I have this urge to go swing dancing this Wednesday night.
Wednesday morning, on my way to work to San Fran, I had my front driver side tire blew up on me. No this is not just a flat tire, not just a hole in the tire, the whole tire was split in pieces. So okay, I can change the tires. I've done this plenty of times before. I'm just glad there was a very large shoulder on lane 1 of I-80. This shouldn't be a problem. But as I was changing tires, I thought about my plans to go down to Los Angeles this Saturday. I can't use the emergency tire for this 6 hour commute. I need to get new tires for the car. But when?
So I thought about ditching work and just take care of the situation now. But I need to work because I need the cash. I don't want to use my vacation time because I do have plans on taking a vacation this July. So I decided I'd go to work and get new tires Thursday morning before class or after class. I may just have to turn in the paper late and take that 5 point deduction. As I finished putting on the emergency tire, I noticed that the tire was low on air. After I lowered the jack, the tire was almost flat. Great, now I have to drive to the nearest exit on an almost flat tire during the busiest time on I-80.
To make the story short, I made to the nearest exit and to work. I was a few minutes late but that was not really a big deal. On my way home, I was thinking of the quiz, the paper, the tires, and I still want to go to Tower Club. I know that I can take the quiz without really studying, but I'm more worried about the paper and my drive to LA. I also know that if I don't go to the Tower Club and just stay at home, I'd probably won't start on the paper until 11 anyways and will just spend the early part of the night just watching TV. So screw it. I'm going dancing.
There's a swing lesson at Tower Club before they start playing music. And tonight, they were teaching Balboa. I used to do Balboa and Shag along with Lindy Hop in San Diego but never really got good at it. It was just refreshing learning how to Balboa again. It was a fun night. I put in a few hours of swing dancing and now I'm ready to go home. Maybe I can start on that paper now since it'll be due the next afternoon.
Of course when I got home and turned on my PC, I didn't open my MS Word right away to start the paper, but instead opened all my email accounts and started reading my mails. Soon I was browsing online and reading the latest posts at alimasag. I was getting sleepy, too so I just decided to go to bed. The paper and all that studying nonsense can wait until tomorrow. I need to get my sleep. But I just had to turn the TV on while I was in bed and soon instead of sleeping, I ended up watching Conan O'Brien interviewing Kristin Davis. Okay this has to stop. Where's that remote? Let's turn this power off.
The next morning my alarm clock went off at 6 am. There's no way I'm getting up at 6 this morning. I hit the snooze button and went back to bed. When I finally woke up, it was 9 am.
My class is at 12:40. So I have a few hours to study. I turned on the PC and guess who's online this morning? Brader Ace! So we chatted on YM and then at 9:30 I decided to head out to Starbucks to get some caffeine. When I got back, Ace was still online and we chatted some more. At a little after 10, I decided to finally take this online quiz. Maybe I don't have to read the chapter beforehand. It's open book anyways. There's only 20 questions and you have 20 minutes to finish it. So I told Ace about the quiz and then proceeded to take it. After I was done, I got the result right away. 100%. Nice. I went back to YM and chatted with Ace some more. Now it's about 11. I finally decided to just write the paper tonight and turn it in late. I still have to shower and get something to eat before class. But for some reason, I finally opened MS Word, and because I was so happy with the result of the quiz, I just started typing and wrote a paper on Reservoir Dogs. Next thing I know, it was four pages long and looked pretty good to me. And it's not even 12 noon. I took a shower, went to Sac State, had lunch at the Cafeteria and head on to class. I'm starting to float on air.
In class, we just turned in the paper, and watched Run, Lola, Run. After the film, we had the usual discussion about the movie. All these postmodernist crap and psychophysiological effect that the director was trying to evoke. It was all blah-blah-blah to me. I was still thinking of getting new tires.
Our class usually ends at 4:10, and the professor usually uses all this time, sometimes she'll even go on after 4:10. Today, she actually let us out early. So I head out to Les Schwab to get an estimate for two new tires since I noticed the other front tire is also bald. There were other tire centers right next to Les Schwab (Sears, Big O, Good Year, Tires4Less) and was planning on getting other estimates. But the estimate I got was reasonable so I decided to go ahead and get it done there. It's only a little after 5 and I've finished all that I've got to do today. No failing marks, no late papers, and no more flat tires. Boy, life is good.
Now, it's only 6 pm and I'm already home posting a new entry in my blog. And I can watch TV tonight with no worries. I am a happy man!

Waiting for my piece of cake

2004-05-27T21:14:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday I celebrated a milestone in my life. Yes, a milestone! Oftentimes I would just let special occasions pass me by. I would not even partake of all the celebrations surrounding an occasion. I never felt the need to because all my life, I never really celebrated any of the other milestones in my life. Never had a birthday party. Never had a first communion. Never attended a high school dance. I attended my high school graduation, even had a special award, but somehow it felt just like an ordinary day. Uneventful. Same with my first day of work. My very first paycheck...didn't do anything special with it. I even broke up with a girlfriend because I didn't know how to celebrate our first month anniversary. Seems like my life has been devoid of celebrations. I didn't know and wouldn't know how to celebrate an occasion. But all that is going to change. I want to mark every milestones from now on with a celebration. Damn it, it's special, so I'll make it special.

Don't think for a minute though that I had a crappy childhood. I had a great childhood spent when times were much simpler. Yeah, I know, we've all received those forwarded emails reminiscing how simpler life used to be. But that's exactly the childhood I had. It was late 70s, and after school I would play with the neighborhood kids. Tumbang preso, moro-moro (agawan base), hide and seek, and even games as simple as habulan that would start with a silly rhyme such as "monkey, monkey, annabel..." would be enough to fulfill a child's idea of a great day. I had a great time growing up. But yeah, I was the one in the neighborhood or in the school who never had a birthday party.

I remember in grade school a classmate who would always have a celebration for her birthday. From kindergarten to grade six, it never fails that every year on her birthday, her parents would send food for the whole section during recess. There's the cake, and the ice cream, and of course, either pancit or spaghetti. And the whole class will sing to her, while kids from the other sections look on.

It's the same story in my neighborhood. My playmates would have their children's party complete with palaro like pabitin, trip to Jerusalem and stop dance. I would always be a guest. I would just wait for my piece of cake, and be happy to celebrate somebody else's birthday. I didn't have my own cake to share during my birthday with my playmates or schoolmates.

Don't get me wrong, our family is not devoid of celebrations. It's just me. My older brother had his share of throwing birthday parties. My sister, too. We would invite the whole neighborhood for her parties. And the same for my parents wedding anniversaries. Or our house blessing. Or inviting the whole church congregation to celebrate something. It was just me. I never wanted to celebrate my own milestones. My mom would ask me if I wanted a birthday party and I'd just say, "No it's okay, tayo-tayo na lang."

And that's what I want to change.
I don't have kids yet, but I want them to see me celebrating my own milestones so they would know how to celebrate theirs. I want them to anticipate the joy and happiness involved in reaching these milestones. I want to make these occasions special. So last Saturday was a first step. It was just my fiancee and I, but that was enough to start this change. I felt like this accomplishment was special. I wanted to celebrate it and that we did. Now, I'm ready to have my own cake.

Catching up on my sleep

2004-05-16T15:07:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done with all the projects. Woo-hooo. That was not an easy two weeks. Sometimes I wonder if staying up late really made a difference. I know everything I did on those nights, I could have done in the daytime. But still, I get easily sidetracked during the day. So my best work really comes out at night. Anyways, now I have to catch up on getting some sleep. No Letterman, no O'Brian, just bedtime by 11 o'clock. Let's see if I can do this knowing how much I love TV...

This coming week, I'll be back to my normal routine. 9-5 at work, then TV at night. What a boring life I lead. At least I have something to look forward to: seeing my new house in Pomona next week...

Of course I found time to watch the finales of Friends, Survivor All-Stars, and Frasier. Two of them are gone for good, while the other one, I'll probably never watch again. Sorry, Survivor but I gotta move on...

The dream is still alive! Sacramento Kings just beat Minnesotta T'woves in Game 6. One more win and on to facing the Lakers again. This should be a good match. But first, the Kings need to win Game 7 in Minnesotta on Wednesday...

My college friend Ace just arrived in Washington, DC last week. Another newly-arrived, unemployed Filipino in the East Coast. But I'm sure not for long, UPian yata yan...

Okay, on to Barrio Alimasag to do some postings...

Happy Mother's Day, atbp.

2004-05-09T14:12:00.000-07:00

I wish I can wish my mom a happy mother's day today. But she's in Bataan and I cannnot call her there. I may have to wait until tomorrow when she returns to Manila.
I miss my whole family and I really hope that they will all come in December. I have not seen my Dad in seven years. That's a loooong time. Same with my brother. I think it was 1999 the last time he came to visit. And my little sister, she'll be going to high school this June and I've only seen her once! One time in 12 years! If they all don't come together in December, then I'll start planning to visit them instead. I think it's about time that I go back to my lupang tinubuan.

*** *** ***

I hated last night!
First, after leading by as much as 10 points in the last 4 minutes of the game, the Sacramento Kings lost to Timberwolves in Game 2 of their 2nd round NBA playoff series. They could have been up two games heading back to Sac for game 3.
Then, Manny Pacquiao got a draw from his match last night after knocking down Marquez three times in the first round. I actually did not see the game since I don't get HBO, but I was following it last night from news updates in Yahoo. It was so close...

*** *** ***

A few weeks ago I wrote about my unexpected phone call from Brad Nick. But he's not the only one I've suddenly been in touch with, there's also Ace, Mein, Dingdong and Teody (all from KAD, just like Nick), and then there's Joji. A long lost friend I met through another friend in my past. And of all places, I found her in Friendster. She's also not too far away from Sac. She's in Fresno which is about two hours from here. Last I heard, she might not stay here in the US. I better see her before she goes back to Manila. If only I can finish all these projects.

Busy, busy, busy

2004-04-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

I want to post something today cuz I know I'm gonna be busy for the next 2 weeks. I have a lot of projects coming up and I'll be working through both weekends.
I need to do some financial analysis and SEA (Service Efforts and Accomplishments) for the city of Pomona, Sacramento and Oakland. I also have to finish the financial section of a business plan we're developing for a client who wants to start his own financial advising company. We don't really have a lot of expertise in that industry but hey, a client is a client and we need to deliver a finished product to/for him.
Next up is to review the internal control for the accounting information system of a local firm here in Sacto. And we also have a presentation on the multi-state taxation for business firms who do a lot of interstate commerce (doesn't everyone?). And that means a lot of research for me...

Okay, enough about that. Let's talk about what's important right now:

Game 2 of Sac Kings and Dallas Mavericks ((Go Kings!!!))

American Idol tonight featuring songs of Barry Manilow and the man himself

Gilmore Girls is on tonight, but damn American Idol, I don't know what's going on in that show anymore.

Kill Bill, Volume II!! Where am I going to find the time to see this. I badly want to see this movie.

JR, my bro. I didn't forget your birthday! I spoke with Wi and he said you partied til 4 so I figured I'll let you get your rest. But yeah, I owe you big time. Just let me know what you want...

Olredi then... when I get back I'll talk about something that's been bothering me lately. Nose hair!! So keep visiting this page.

Are you an asshole?

2004-04-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

Do you ever stare at the ceiling at night and silently ask yourself “Am I an asshole?” while you ponder the ugly looks and plethora of middle fingers people have offered over the course of the day? Are you doing asshole things, and just maybe aren’t fully aware these things are making you Grade A Asshole? I would like to offer my humble list of ways to help you diagnose whether or not you are, in fact, an asshole:

1. You are late (again) for work and grab your make-up bag as you head out the door. You then get into your car for the morning commute, and you slow way down at all the stale green lights hoping for a red light so you can sit there and apply eyeshadow at one light, mascara at the next. Don’t think too hard, you’re an asshole.
2. You can’t help yourself, you are driven, as if by some supernatural-glowing-asshole-power, to post comments on CL about spelling and grammar.
3. It is the morning coffee line, and you’re there, with your $1 cup-o-drip, and you NEVER tip your barista, but wow, you stand there and converse with the polite baristas about the weather, your gout, your itchy beard, perhaps even local politics, not caring there’s this line behind you. You take FOREVER to put your cash away, and then when the next person behind you finally gets their morning beverage, there you are, lingering by the milk and sugar, punching shit into your cell phone and mindlessly dumping Sweet and Low into your beverage for a looooong time. You are an asshole.
4. You are in any line that has a few people in it, and you spent all your time in line thinking about why you’re always drooling, and then after you’re all rung up, suddenly you realize you’re BUYING something. So now you go through your HUGE bag to finally locate (of course) your checkbook. It takes forever for you to figure out how to spell “QFC” and then you are shocked when asked for ID, and then dig back in the Big Bag for your ID. Asshole.
5. You believe you’re in some sort of competition whilst driving, and you’d be giving away a secret move if you used a turn signal. Ever. Yes, you are an asshole.
6. You are the Farter in meetings. That room is already small, warm, and filled with irritating people, and you have to add your gas to the mix, asshole.
7. You shush at people on the bus because they’re talking to their friend while you’re trying to read. It ain’t no fuckin’ library, it’s a PUBLIC transit bus, and people are allowed to talk on it. Yep. Asshole.
8. Dentists should make some attempt at not blinding me with halitosis. If your breath stinks like ass, can you really be trusted with someone else’s oral hygiene, asshole?
9. Only assholes scold people for starting across the street before the light was green for them to go.
10. At four-way stops, you’re the asshole who waits for EVERY car to come to a rich, robust, stop before you creep slowly through an intersection, and somehow your stupidity causes everyone to forget who’s turn it is to move their ass first.
11. You are driving and you’re talking on your cell phone…assholes, assholes every one!

from craigslist.com --http://craigslist.org/about/best/sea/26190375.html

Brader Nik II

2004-04-18T20:33:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, the voice of an old friend. It's been 12 years and bigla na lang na parang nasa Baguio ako uli. Those were happy times for me, experiencing full freedom away from the life that I have in Manila. I made a lot of friends in Baguio and because I was in a small school (less than a thousand lang ang estudyante nuon don) that's why you practically know everyone in the campus. When I joined KAD, I also met brads and sisses from Brent School, SLU, and BCF.
Nik and I quickly caught up with each other on what's happened in our lives, I won't go into details but it was nice to know we're both doing well in our personal lives and chosen professions. It's calls like this that makes me more appreciative of the life that I've lived. I treasure the friendships that I made and although I cannot completely re-live the life that I had in college, I know that once in a while people in my past will just surprise me to say hello and to just remind me that I've built some good frienships.

Brader Nik

2004-04-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

I got a surprise call last Saturday from a college friend while I was working in San Francisco. We did not go to the same university but we belong to the same confraternity in Baguio City. He was in the SLU chapter of Kapatirang Anno Domini, while I was in the UP Baguio chapter.
He was calling me on my cellphone and as I usually do, I screen my calls first. The area code was 604... that doesn't look familiar, so I just let it rang several times. I figured he/she can always leave a message on my voicemail. I checked my phone later on and there was no message left. The phone rang again but again, I just ignored it. Later that morning I decided to call back the number... a woman answered and she mentioned some company's name. I spoke with her but it was apparent that she does not know who was calling me earlier. I chucked it as just another telemarketer doing some random calls...I know it's illegal 'coz I was in the do-not-call list registry, but it really didn't bother me.
As I was going to my lunch break, I got a call again from the same 604 number, and this time the culprit left me a message. It was Brader Nik! That was a nice surprise as I haven't spoken to him since 1992. I hit reply send on my cellphone and the same woman I spoke with earlier answered the phone. This time I knew whom to ask for. And Brader Nik was quickly on the other end...

here it goes

2004-04-18T16:00:00.000-07:00

Eto at magsisimula na ang adbentyur ni Don...hintay lang at malapit na...