whew.

ok, so i surprised kee and the drinkers at drew's by suddenly showing up. and yes, i felt like i was attending a grand prodigal son-ish homecoming. hugs and kisses welcomed me to the group. there was jeyson, meia, gee, kee, aaron, lea, julie, annalea, chaida, donna. kuya ross followed shortly. and kuya jasper, too.

ok, i arrived drew's surprised to see new faces joining the drinkers. and i was surprised to see that most of them are already beyond their alcohol tolerance.

ok, yada yada yada... kwentuhan here and there. i became updated to the latest happenings to my dear org.

ok, i heard their side already. i hope i could hear the other side as well. soon

ok, i had drinks, four shots actually of drew's concoctions. and to think that i did not have dinner. i prepared myself for my very worse behavior that night.

ok, we were discussing things while drinking, when all of a sudden, one of the drinkers cried. everyone went to either comfort her or just be anxious about why did this drinker cried. ok, enough said, i will not delve into the details as i assume this is not for public consumption. and just as i thought it was over, another drinker cried. sheesh, aren't we supposed to be having fun?

ok, my mind is like i hadn't drink that night because of what happened. and to top it all off, another drinker cried.

ok, you can blame me for that; that's the way thing really are right now. sorry.

ok, what the hell is wrong with the drinkers that night? two-five drinkers were dancing, two of them wildly. some drinkers trying to add a new vice. in front of me. ok, i don't like that. drinker who couldn't even control himself/herself simple because the person is so drunk that person could crawl back home regardless if the drinker still has his/her stuff with him/her. sheesh. i have never encountered any of that kind in my college years, even in my entire existence.

ok, i am not mad. it's just that why would there be such people who continue drinking even if they already know they have reached their limit?

ok, i am embarrassed by what happened. embarrassed by what people saw. embarrassed by what people perceived of my friends that night. embarrassed that i wasn't able to do something to relieve them from such embarrassment.

but, they're my friends. the hell i care about what other people say about them. to hell i care about what they would think about us. they don't know us. so don't they ever bother minding us.

ok, end of rant.

the 4-day cebu expedition

ok, this is probably one of the longest, if not the longest, post ever. and since i experienced so much, i think it is very proper that this post is quite long, hehehe

day1:

met up with salve at mrt-magallanes station at 7am to go to the naia terminal 3. dapat kasi 6am yun, but then again, we're filipinos hahaha. then, met up with deo at the airport. got checked in a breeze. got board my first ever plane ride in my entire life at 8:45am, and by 9am, we were airborne. ok, since this was my first time to ever ride a plane, i was excited. yes, i even got the chance to win a prize by joining an in flight game hahaha. i liked the view of the clouds under me when it is usually above us. by 10 we were already in cebu. rode a cab with a very funny driver to the north bus terminal. grabbed a quick snack as a lunch substitute and rode a bus to Maya. and thus started the longest and most expensive bus ride i ever had. 135 pesos! 4 hours of sitting in a very uncomfortable seat! well, the first two hours was smooth sailing. on my left were vast foliage and mountains. on my right is a great view of the blue sea. great isn't it? the next hour was a dusty trip to several barangays (dusty kasi ordinary ang bus, walang aircon bus sa terminal, sheesh). and the last hour was a rough road, a very rough road. my butt sore big time. sigh, at least, when we finally got off, we saw a better view of the sea. next is a boat ride to malapascua island. whew, three modes of transportation in one day! but the long and tiring trip was worth it, as we saw the white sands of the island. awww, ganda

a guy by the name of kuya Arca approached us and led us to one of the cottages in the place. great news, we got a place to stay for a good deal. got our first serious meal at the island at ging-ging's garden. then, went off and changed clothes and took a brief dip at the beach while watching the dramatic sunset. awww, ganda.

went back to our cottage and ate at mabuhay bar and resto by 7 pm. yummy spaghetti bolognese. and since we have nothing left to do, we drank, haha. got drunk that time, and to think i only had two sex on the beach (disclaimer: name ito ng cocktail na ininom ko that  night, god bless your naughty mind hahaha). made freinds with kuya ramon, the bar owner, and her "talandi" waitresses hahaha. then we headed back to our cottage by 11pm and slept.

day2:

woke up by 7am to catch the sunrise. well, tulog pa mga kasama ko so ayos lang magdrama sa beach hahaha. then when they woke up we ate breakfast at ging-ging's, changed clothes and headed for the beach for our snorkeling itinerary. side talk: we rented a boat for 700 bucks and rented goggles (which was by the way pronounced in malapascua as GAGOLS hahahaha) for just 150 bucks each, great deal i must say. kaso lang aga aga minura kami ni kuya Arca (see all caps word). anyways, we went around the entire island for three hours, and i was seriously amazed at the sites we saw underwater. corals of various colors, shapes and designs, fishes of different colors and sizes, star fishes, sea urchins, and even a coral "garden" in a japanese shipwreck! simply amazing underwater adventure.

after the trip, we headed back and i took a bath before eating lunch at la isla bonita. ordered "Jaegerschnitzel" which is just a german term for a burger-steak look-a-like with mushroom gravy and your choice of homemade fries or mashed potatoes. yummy. and it was a big serving, which should be kasi mahal ang price haha. then we rested by the beach. syempre konting swim swim ulit hanggang dumating ang sunset, accompanied by dramatic clouds hahaha. ganda. too bad we wewren't able to capture it.

we went back to the cottage and dressed up for dinner/inuman session, again hahaha. we saw a restaurant with a great ambience by the beach side. they arranged mats, tables and pillows for you to sit on the sand. too bad it rained so we had to transfer to their bar. ordered hawaii pizza (note: that's exactly the name of the pizza, not hawaiian, hahaha) at sunsplash (that's the name of the resto). also tried two different cocktail drinks: maitai and tequila sunrise. fortunately, they bith tasted good and i never got drunk; sina salve and deo ang tinamaan hahaha. and dahil hindi kami kuntento, we headed back to mabuhay resto bar. continued story-telling, singing to the bar's videoke and laughing our hearts out to the tune of  deo's and salve's long island ice tea and my second order of maitai hahaha. my friends are so drunk when a guy foreigner named mark came by the resto and came to sit next to us. well, bilang mga talandi ang mga waitresses dun at nakainom na rin kami, we just found out we were already talking to this guy, which is by the way kinda smells like a curry dish. turn off. anyways, since sobrang lasing na nga ng mga kasama ko, they decided to go ahead and leave me talking to this stranger by myself! hala! oh well, i decided to join the talandi waitresses as they were going to watch something at the town plaza. fiesta kasi. so bilang nakainom na ako, i asked mark if he could also join us. he was actually excited as he was about to immerse himself to a local tradition. so ayun, next thing we know, andun na kami hahaha. ang program for that night is some beauty contest coronation night. ok, no partying for me, boo hahahaha. but mark was i think fascinated with the intermission numbers that he was really taking videos of it. ok, boredom and alcohol strikes, so i asked to go ahead. mark asked if he could go with me na rin kasi wala siyang kasama pabalik ng hotel niya. ok, moment alone with this guy? no thanks, na turnoff na ako sa smell niya hahaha. but then ayun, sinamahan ko pa rin siya all the way to his hotel, which is walking distance lang naman from ours. tsk3, shakes hands a bit tapos i was surprised, he gave his email address without me asking for it! hala!!! waa hahaha gusto ko na rin yata siyang landiin ng konti hahaha. but i controlled myslef hahaha. balik cottage na and slept.

day3:

woke up late, argh missed the sunrise. anyways, we ate again at ging-ging's before heading back to the main island. packed our bags and started our longest bus ride ever. grabe from 4 hours, naging 5! hayme lang,imagine all the dirt na na-accumulate sa face ko! tsk3. anyways we arrived at sm city cebu by 5pm. boo, no lunch! tsk3. then, cheked in at executive royal inn. finally airconditoned room, with hot and cold water hahaha. took avery refreshing bath while salve ate at a nearby carinderia and deo met up with her niece at sm city cebu. then, after salve's turn to bathe, we headed to sm city cebu to meet up with deo and her niece. then we went to parkmall. ate at a fastfood while waiting for a seat at pier one. yes, another booze session hahaha. yes, and with a new face, siyempre new kwento, more laugh tripping, more picture taking hahaha. well, fortunately, walang lasing that night hahaha.

went back to the hotel and more pics were taken. hahaha vain kami eh hahaha

day4:

woke up by 7am, took a bath and then went to a money transfer store. papadala lang ako ng pera somewhere hehehe. then went back the hotel and pakced our stuff and prepare for the whole day city tour before heading back for manila. our hired taxi driver was kuya roel. andami naming napuntahan

• taoist temple - ganda ng site kasi it was found at a hillside overlooking the city. prayed to the altar and asked questions answered by two wooden thingy hahaha. too bad ang answers were "no" and "maybe" for me. sheesh.
• quick breakfast at mcdonald's andwithdrew money at a nearby atm
• jumalon butterfly sanctuary - situated in a village somewhere, this eductaional itinerary taught us the value of not cutting weeds as these may be food for the caterpillars who would eventually become prospective butterflies, which would be pollinators and producers of fruits. also found out that the alphabet can be seen through butterfly wings, and that males are more beautiful and smaller  compared to females in the insect world, and other facts about butterflies, including an art form where their wings could be used as  art mosaic.
• crocolandia - a crocodile farm with more animals compared to crocodiles hahaha. but we saw very VERY big ones, including a wide range of birds, snakes, deer, wild pigs, owls, eagles, fish, ostrich, reptiles and amphibians. we even saw a tarsier!
• fort san pedro - a unique historic site where the fort is triangular-shaped. although it's quite small so no need to stay here for too long, and besides we're too hungry to walk hahaha
• ate lunch at a different mcdonald's branch
• magellan's cross, basilica de santo niño's church and museum - another historical site, made a wish at church while praying inside it. ganda ng altar, very grand. and the museum, interesting. puro costumes ng santo, plus records with very envious handwriting hahaha
• tabuan market - yes, time for buygin pasalubong. bought danggit, dried pusit, chorizo de cebu and fish tocino. yes may tocino na pala na gawa sa isda and it doesnt taste like fish talaga. interesting
• shamrock otap store - yes, pasalubong again. bought otap, dried mangoes and mango puree. ok, i hope hindi pa naman ako over sa baggage limit ko hahaha
• went window shopping for a while at a guitar store. well, hindi naman yata tamang maglabas sa amin yung owner ng grudges niya against his wealthy competitors di ba? hahaha
• lapu-lapu shrine/park - last stop. historic site pa rin, hehehe well, picture taking and more shopping for pasalubong. bought a bag for mom, a shirt for my dad, and coin purses (pronounced as CORN FERS by ate hahaha) for my two sisters
• ate an early dinner at chowking

arrived at mactan international airport at 6:30pm. take note, our flight is scheduled at 9pm pa hahaha we're too tired na rin and we do believe that we toured the entire city na. so we stayed bum there until we coudl check in. met up with gem at the airport since she and her family was also here since saturday. waited two hours just to know that our flight was delayed! arrrrrgghhh, i wanna go home and sleep na! ayun, 9:35pm we flew back to manila. i love the city lights below the plane. so nice, very very nice, especially yung manila lights.

there, uwian na. tapos ang adventure. back to work

a sunday concert...

4pm, i went over to my bestfreind's place to meet up with the other people who will also watch that concert. and fortunately, umalis kami 5:30pm. good luck sa traffic diba?

and there it was, 6:30pm, paakyat pa lang kami from c-5 going to market market, at andun na ang haggard na traffic. define prusisyon! panic panic! what if walang opening act? then that means no more extra time to eat dinner! wah

7:30 fortunately, nakapagpark kami somewhere, thanks to tons of aggravation and bad traffic management ng mga kuya traffic enforcers. dapat nga talaga kayong tawaging traffic ENFORCERs. argh

anyways, we decided to have a quick meal through brothers burger at serendra, but then again. pila. from the counter, to the orders. gahd. and then, it happened. nagstart na kumanta si chris brown ng wall to wall, with us still waiting for our orders. pakshet. so we hurried eating our food while walking towards the entrance. whew, thanks to that, tapos na rin pati jackson medley ni chris brown. argh

anyways, good thing malaki yung screens, hahaha

got the chance to bounce while taking chris brown's last number. and then there was fireworks. tina, cancel the deal! hahahaha

after 30 gruelling and boring minutes of waiting, rihanna enters the stage from below it, wearing a corset and a black panty. gawrsh, kaloka! define grand entrance! anyways, time for me to record my fave singles. but then, nag-inarte ang dakila kong phone! punyeta! hindi ko nakunan yung unfaithful! pati hate that i love you, shux. good thing naayos siya ulit, and i got to record take a bow and umbrella, which became cinderella, thanks to chris brown. galing talaga nila

hay. 70,000 people, going home, goodluck ulit sa traffic di ba? so we decided to let them go ahead first. plus we decided to have our dinner talaga at a gas station. kaya naman 2am na ako nakarating sa bahay. kaya ako puyat kagabi, kaya napapapikit ako habang nagtatrabaho. at yun ay dahil spagkat because, nag-enjoy ako :)

everything's just becoming more...

the work load, MORE demanding. imagine forcing you a good one whole week of staying late in the office just to accomplish more, just so that we could accommodate the next thing on the list. ugh, is this the consequence of having 13th month pay? hmmm...

the christmas season, nearing MORE. fine, im starting to become the grinch. but hey, it's during these times that work just starts to pile for some unknown reason i have yet to discover. or maybe let be, simply because i have insufficient time to investigate.

the wind, MORE cold. im loving the fact that it is cold. maybe its because at least i know that the wind is colder than what im feeling right now. ok emo mode.

the 13th month pay, MORE than what i have expected. yes, i imagined something less, since i heard someone having less. but woah, thank you very much for the unexpected amount. now i can sleep knowing i have something to spend in cebu. whew.

now, with all things growing MORE, im starting to hate it. i cant accommodate everything at the same time. im human, and i dont have soecial powers to flex myself and take in everything that's been taking place. shux, im starting to be unproductive. no,  inefffective. everything i juggled so well before started to fall at the same time. and im desperately picking each one while juggling whats left of me. shit.

ok back to work. MORE work, that is

albus joaquin oviedo

november 6, 2008. 3 am. i awoke to the request of my cousin to take her to the hospital; she was about to give birth.

i changed clothes, without giving a thought about my hygiene. i have to rush her.

we arrived at st luke's by 3:30. she was then taken to the labor room to lie down. my cousin's sister arrived, giving me and her sister company as we wait for the baby to be born.

it was 5 am. she was now inside the delivery rooms, undergoing a painful process we call labor. we cannot visit her inside that room, so we decided to eat breakfast at nearby convenience store. the warmth of the chocolate was good, and the smoke was calming. but it didnt erase the fear for my cousin's safety (i may be exaggerated at this point, but this was how i really felt during that time).

we went back and waited for any medical announcements for her. seconds, minutes, hours passed by. and no update was given to us, unless my my cousin asked the nurse in the labor room. we waited. and it was lunch time. another cousin arrived at the hospital. she was wearing her school uniform but decided to skip her classes. we ate lunch at a fastfood and hurried back, hopefull that at any moment, she is about to give birth. while having lunch, i realized im having chills, even under the heat of the sun. my anticipation suddenly gave me fever.

we arrived back at the hospital, only knowing that she is still undergoing her labor, in pain. relatives who weren't able to come asked information about ate's status. again, time flew and no news was announced. two more cousins arrived at the hospital. they were asking me about her status when suddenly, a nurse told one of them that she was already at the table giving birth. hope suddenly gushed through us. i updated our relatives and by 4:56pm,weighing 6.6 pounds, baby albus joaquin oviedo was born.

we were now permitted to go inside the delivery room to have a peak at baby albus, and all our worries disappeared. we took pictures of him with us and gave her back to the nurse for temporary custody. we were also told that ate janete will be resting for a while in the recovery room before she could be taken to the ward. the baby will then be taken there as well. so we got ourselves a room, and more relatives arrived, an aunt and her daughter, and one of cousin's husband. we decided to take our dinner while anticipating her release, drinking coffee shortly afterwards and telling updates from their daily lives. 

ate janete arrived at the ward after three hours of sleeping, er, resting from the recovery room, with albus tailing not far behind. the nurse then changed albus' diaper and garments, with all of us eagerly trying to help.

then, two by two, our relatives went home, as they have work tomorrow, except for me and my her sister, who accompanied me all day.

looking bask on all things that happened, i realized one big lesson i should've realized 21 years ago: my parents, more especially my mom, exerted all of their selves such that they could provide us with the life that we are currently experiencing. i hit me so much that i texted that to my mom, which eventually made her cry. why didn't i realize that before? why does it have to be just now, after witnessing the painful process of giving birth?

from now on, i promise to be a good child (yes, child).

welcome to the world albus joaquin oviedo!

finally... im done

yes, after two weeks of reading this in front of a computer, i'm finally able to say that i have read twilight.

and yes, another ebook is next in line, new moon.

anyways, i think i should write something about the book. the characters are so god-like (or devil-like). from the looks i imagined before i saw the trailer, to their economic status, to their abilities. too perfect to be real. the cars, drool-worthy. the places, really surreal. well thought of plot (ok, this is coming from a not so book-worm reader perspective). the baseball game, astig. never thought that a person could be so imaginative to be able to make it seem fictional. 

and of course, the ever so unending kilig scenes nina edward and bella. grabe, inggit na inggit ako sa kanila! talk about landian! hahaha :D

ay i just cant wait to read new moon. hahaha

an office rant

i hate the fact that im bum today when i know that i shouldn't be.

i have a simulation which i should be doing right now, but i'm not doing it simply because i have no idea how to do it. and besides, the data i need is not yet with me! darn it! the next thing i'll realize is that the deadline is just two days away, so it's crunch time for me nanaman! argh

well, ayoko ng ganun. ayoko na. i was used to those kinds of crap before. but not now, not in the real world.

why does it have to happen to me? why did someone have to take a leave when it's supposed to be one of the most crucial periods in the workplace? wala tuloy akong mahingan ng tulong. everyone here's so busy doing their own stuff, and that person is supposedly doing the same thing with me right now! argh argh arrgghh!!!

so what the hell am i doing right now? wala. hopeless. this is really shit. that person will be coming back pa next week so kamusta naman yun! grabe, im not saying na that person doesnt have the right to take a leave. im just saying na sana she comes here soon enough para magawa ko yung dapat kong gawin. i do believe im behind schedule, which in turn would mean tireless consecutive overtime sa office! darn!

garsh