Or waters high

It was the exercise that I wanted that I really did not want. Obviously, if you're cohabiting with me in the same country, much more, in the same region, you would've been treated to the massive ocean Metro Manila became in a day. I was part of those stranded folks out there. Mom already discouraged me earlier that there's a typhoon and I could always re-schedule my orthodontic appointment at Roxas (QC). I insisted and the big idiot that I am wore my rubber shoes thinking that the rain would be consistently moderate. How I was fucking deluded. I woke up from my hypocritical thinking when I bought slippers and bagged my waterlogged Cortez. I was stuck at the clinic for an hour before I decided it was time to conquer the rain or something equally pathetic that by the time I got to Roosevelt the length of Quezon Avenue I can see was clean as paper. An MMDA officer told me that just past Pantranco, the flood was thigh high already. I felt faint when I really saw that. It's a pretty typical sight when you live in this moribund country but seeing it in front of me with people intrepidly walking past it was downright daunting.

After much pondering with more than half of my body already soaked, I was able to detour to Kamuning thinking that there would be enough buses still traveling to get me a ride home. Wrong. In the end I had to walk with tons of stranded people from GMA 7 to Luzon (just past Iglesia ni Cristo main); met a bunch of folks here and there sharing the same exhaustion and adrenaline rush to get home even just by walking. All of that under 5 hours. I realized that if you're under that kind of stress (soaked, exhausted, thirsty, hungry) you won't notice how much will pass by. Seriously. Beth did a great help while I was stranded so a big heatfelt thanks to her. I hope they're doing well; I think Las Pinas is still out of electricity.

One level down

I could not stop thinking of that espadrille from Celine so I finally bought it; must be madness at first sight. As I've promised myself I went to Booksale and scoured the shelves for treasure. I got 5 classic books for 210 bucks. A great deal isn't it? The only thing I regretted was leaving 1984 for another day. Here's the list of books I got:

P75 - Vintage Nabokov
P40 - Pudd'nhead Wilson - Mark Twain
P40 - Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
P40 - The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - Mark Twain
P15 - The Merchant of Venice - Shakespeare

Mom insists I already got a copy of Tom Sawyer but all I can find with my adept indolence is Huck Finn so I bought one. As for my list of Shakespeare books, I have yet to finish King Lear--I think I've postponed reading it for like a year or so already--so the new one will be the second in line. Anyway, it's all going down my Shelfari archive. Yep, I got one. Made one a month ago I think just for the heck of it. Want to be buddies there (although god knows I don't do such)? Send me a message through any means.

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I will try to watch the Villareal - Real Madrid match later but I can't promise anything. I'm pretty much knackered already. Ciao.

Messy dream

I dreamt of being chummy with Lionel Messi. What in the name of Barcelona is the world coming to? Pretty funny that the dream itself had an air of fantasy; I rubbed elbows with Messi when I passed by him and greeted him a happy birthday. Intriguingly, the idea of me as a Madridista never came up. Ah, it's probably because in my dream I kept thinking what his name was. I actually loaned a book from him, surprise, surprise. Is he actually smart in real life? And I was looking for my rapier. I never thought I would like fencing.

I watched the Real Madrid - Xerez match and it was a good thing that I got up an hour early to pick a good live stream although with gritty graphics. Cristiano Ronaldo's goal under one minute pretty much woke up Xerez. And woke up they did. Their defense is pretty tight for a recently promoted club. Half time passed by and the score was still 1-0. Gago was a starting line up and it made me a tad nervous. The team obviously missed Xabi Alonso's ability to handle the pace; I actually thought the match was going under Xerez's pacing.

Pellegrini doesn't look too happy with the results too; probably underestimating Xerez led to that. Sergio Ramos is back however the defense still has more to improve. Marcelo's play makes me cringe. He often loses the ball and can't even get a decent pass or cross. By Real Madrid's performance on the second half, on what I would have seen, is a proof of them being rattled by such a puny team. Cristiano Ronaldo scores (I wasn't able to see who made the pass). Guti scoring the third goal is the last thing I saw before our Internet connection died. Ruud Van Nistelrooy finally played! How unfortunate that I wasn't able to get a good glimpse of it because of my disconnected Internet; I'm already looking forward to Adam's podcast and review on the game.

A 3-0 (assuming this is the final score) is an appalling play, I have to say. It's not that I have to compare it if Barcelona took up Real Madrid's place and pounded Xerez to a 5-0 or more; it's more of the air of underestimating a promoted team that's faulty from the start. Pellegrini failed to give Xerez the respect they deserve by assigning Gago and Marcelo (did Garay play decently? Blame the gritty video quality) as part of the starting XI. I would've given the best line up I could If I were the coach to show that Real Madrid takes all competing teams seriously. Understandably however, there is Pellegrini's rotation on players and the compressed schedule of La Liga and Champions League matches in preparation for next year's World Cup. All players are under duress and it's not helping Real Madrid that they still have to improve their correspondence among players.

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I'll be off to my former employer at Makati tomorrow to get my backpay. I'm looking forward to seeing my former officemates not to mention the latest in the gossip mill. My former boss has finally resigned, albeit forcibly, because the new boss (my ex-department) is gay and will stand by what he wants and needs. The Root of All Evil Fruits might be next, according to intel. If that ever happens then the world is pretty much aligning with the stars and the planets already. It will be a good deal for the company although with the current knee deep in debt they are suffering from I doubt if they can surface from it. Even Beth partially agrees with me on that. The retrenchment is still running with a former colleague and one of the longest employees in the company immediately sacked. It's bad enough that he has recently suffered from a personal loss but he also recently turned down an offer from ADB. His partner, who is still in the company, is down to being a contractual employee. That's how the company treats their employees fair and square. No amount of justifications and alibis will suffice that kind of treatment. And that's one of the many reasons why I think the company will go down.

On another note, I'm getting addicted to BBC's special programmes. I've actually downloaded several torrents of BBC Horizon and I'll try to look for more of the sesquicentennial celebration specials on Charles Darwin. I might write reviews about it, god knows I need it for posterity's sake, although I'm sure it won't be halfway decent. I promised myself that before my pittance dissolves into thin air I will buy a book or two. I'm hoping for a treasure like The Origin of Species on Booksale; NBS is still on big books sale. right? It's a good thing I drop by Cubao everyday. There's two NBS branches and a Booksale to feast on.

ETA (22 Sept 2009, PM): Real Madrid ruled the match with a fantastic 5-0! I got my own predictions right! Benzema and van Nistelrooy scored! Fuck yeah! On the downside, RVN injures himself with his goal. C'est mal. I got my backpay (I told you, it's pure pittance all right) and my quest for a decent pair of shoes has failed. I've already scoured Naturalizer, Aerosoles, Easy Spirit, Bass, PabDer, Ecco (6 grand, wtf?) and Nine West without a good choice. Sacrificing aesthetics for comfort is a bit wrong. I actually saw a good pair of light pumps from Celine but I'm getting skeptical over it (aesthetics > quality?). Yvette, we should meet up this week already before my moolah flies off the window.

What's that?

I really wanted to watch a film or two at Cineuropa it's just that I'm often blinded by indolence and exhaustion after work; I'm not even properly working in the first place so I don't know what it's all about. First week and a few days of employment are so-so. Not too much work and I'm slumping on the table, never mind my bosses walking around seeing me like that. They understand it on a certain degree, my work is seasonal. The food is outrageously on rotation. Every conference is filled with snacks and lunches and merienda and whatnots. If I go to meetings twice or thrice a week continuously, I will be a pig by the end of the month. Good thing Tuesdays and Thursdays are Exercise Days so I will opt for some jogging sessions starting next week.

Last night I met up with Cors and Beth to watch the 9pm film but the gossip swapping segment of our dinner got extended and by the time we went to the ticket booth, the queue was like a John Lloyd - Ruffa fans days affair. Richard informed be about next week's Korean Film Festival which I think has a more low profile advertisement so hopefully there won't be enough school field trips and capitalizing elites trying to fish for pro bono films when they can very well go abroad and get lost there.

As planned, Cors went home by 8:30pm to try and catch for a bus trip back home while Beth and I, seeing the absurdity of the free film decided to stroll around Shangri-la. Or it could be that I dragged her to Kamiseta because they're on sale and I was able to buy a dark blue tunic top using Beth's cash. I still owe her a thousand bucks but I swindled some money again because I lack the cash. Not to worry, I paid her that same night. I'm going to the office in Makati on Tuesday to get my backpay. Finally. After several weeks of hypocritical reasoning of the HR from shortage of cash (oh come on!) to a re-computation I'll finally have my hands on my millions. Let's see how much of a pittance will I get.

Saving grace

I survived my first week at work with the presence of ennui and Robert Louis Stevenson's aid. That's a given, isn't it? The first week will always be filled with observing and trying to socialize with your new officemates. I'm the hapless lass stuck with nothing much to do and with a building frustration over the poor means of correspondence. That's what irks me the most--I can deal with dilapidated buildings and restrooms and even hollow officemates but not the lack of IT infrastructure. It's maddening! Another onus is the goddamn fucking delayed pay; is it not enough that we're only receiving pittance for an absolutely cheap work? I've got no idea about stenography yet I have to jot down the minutes of the meeting. What surprises me the most is the teeming funds being utilized inside the institution. Every meeting is funded with sustenance, not to mention the quarterly socials that is bombarded with a feast of food and prizes. Why not use those funds to buy new facilities like for IT? It's frustrating! I want to file for resignation already. It's only for the sake of those people who got me in who treated me fair and square that makes me waver. Anyway, it's all fucked up.

The 3rd quarterly social was held last Friday to which I quaffed a bottle of Novelino wine which made me indubitably tipsy due to my inability to hold down liquor. Can I be blamed? I have never drank that much in my entire life; the hunger pangs only forced me to fill my stomach with what's available.

On another note, I was supposed to watch the Espanyol vs Real Madrid match this early morning but had decided to sleep out because it was cold and I thought I can watch a replay. It was a bad decision. Real won by 0 - 3 with Granero (yay!), Guti (whoot!) and Cristiano Ronaldo (ah). Adam provided a link for the match's replay which I had enough patience to finish the first half then switched to YouTube to see the goal highlights. Cristiano Ronaldo's goal is lame! Kaka's assists are brilliant and he's seriously proving that he is worth the moolah. The defense is still bad; without Pepe and Sergio Ramos I think they still lack the knack for defense leadership (I agree with the concrits at RealmadridTalk). I promise myself to watch their match against Zurich though, it's a must! It will be Real Madrid's opening game for the Champions League so work be damned I will get up on Thursday morning. I'm actually thinking of installing Veetle already to facilitate a better match feed.

Too slapdash

Funny how my libido for blogging only lasted during my unemployment period. That pretty much expresses how fucked up my new job can be. Tomorrow's the big day and I've realized how nasty my new itinerary is. Anyway, last Saturday was a total blast! Shows how much I've missed my buddies. Cors and Beth met up earlier and then I dragged them to St. Francis Square where I squandered two grand on dress pants, a button down shirt and an adorable pair of flats. To top my shopping off, I bought a knitted cardigan at the department store. Now I'm itching for my first pay check no matter how puny it is.

Bigby's, which was referred to me by Aya, had an amazing ambiance. They pretty much lacked an eyeful of menu (they currently got no desserts) and the food was hunky-dory. That goes for the seafood pasta which Cors mentioned tasted similar to palabok to which the four of us unanimously declared that Gumbo's counterpart still reigns supreme; the steak was downright brilliant. The chatter was as vivacious just like always--from the latest gossip at school to this year's disappointment and aspirations. We went to Crepes & Cremes for dessert and parted ways too early for my liking; provided that Cors and Beth live on the other side of the planet so it's pretty understandable. Beth loaned me her Sherlock Holmes vol. II which I plan to read after slowly dissecting Kidnapped (I found it! My grandma kidnapped it); I'm looking for a hardcopy of 1984 (I got an eBook and I can't enjoy it) because Orwell deserves that. On a bright side, I'm through with Eco and it came with a big sigh of relief. It's not everyday that your brain goes down the drain, eh? You can just imagine how ridiculously elated my face was upon briefly scanning Doyle's book and found that I won't have to deal with semiotics and mull over each sentence's correlational dimensions.

Now I'm wondering when I can drop by at the office to get my pittance, oh excuse me, my lovely backpay. As the norm, the personnel's services are shitty beyond comprehension. I don't even have an idea how much of a pittance will it be so I'm guessing most of it will be thrown to books, clothes (my new work is pressuring me about dress codes, merde) and treats.

And lastly, a big happy birthday to my high school buddy Hannah! I miss her. Mannel still owes us, or rather me, a big dinner. I wonder when will that come to pass.

My name is not Audrey

Right. It's a bit disconcerting that I was only unemployed for exactly one month. I pretty much had some inkling of a hunch the first time I was interviewed at AFP that this might be it. And it is. And that's the downside of everything. I went back to the headquarters yesterday for a deliberation which I seriously had no idea what it was all about. I had to wait for nearly two godforsaken hours before I was called up for, who might've guessed, a panel interview. For a researcher position. I aped a goldfish for some moments there when the captain (who was familiar to me) gave me last minute pointers.

"Did I apply for the wrong position? CEO position or something?" Was what I would've said if the captain didn't abruptly open the door and ushered me inside the conference room. How's a round table with four 3-star generals and the Chief Admin Officer and a singular chair positioned in front as an interrogation process? Honestly, if they wanted the terrorize-the-applicant they did not succeed with me. All the time they kept inquiring, I had to stifle the urge to smile goofily or even laugh outright at the absurdity of it. All throughout those minutes asking me about my perception of the military and how can I adjust to the workload there was the notion of hilarity that could not escape my consciousness. The atmosphere did not exactly oozed of intimidation; I could almost dub the whole interview as a jolly good ol' conversation among peers and a newbie. It didn't help that the highest ranking general (I think, since he was leading the group) looks like a genteel grandfather.

There was another candidate who surprisingly went with her mother who chatted me up while her daughter was terrorized, er, interviewed. As it turned out in the end, I was already off for Makati, when the captain called me up because, hey! I got the job! Only the line was not decorated by an exclamation point but rather an ellipsis. I mean, why the hell in Merlin's name was I chosen? I exuded enough chutzpah during the panel interview (I had the guts to volley underhanded comebacks to some generals) because I got nothing left to lose. I am not dying to have this work but somehow karma's giving me the finger again so I'm stuck here. The only good thing about this is it's contractual and my contract will run until December. They will renew it if my service is still needed although I'm hoping it won't be since by that time my civil service exam result is out and I'm off to NCMH.

There is a foreboding air about this new job that is hauntingly similar to what I had felt two years ago when my former employer called me up for getting the job. That is, I'm leaving my professional bum status with an unappeased lust for loafing. Unfinished fanfictions, stacks of to-read books, my supposedly to-edit works, unfinished BBC programs, albums to listen, ad infinitum. I know I'm much of a turtle when doused with indolence but I'm leaving everything behind without polishing things and it's already grating my nerves. Frustrating!

On another note, the chief admin officer softly reminded me that dress pants and formal tops define their dress code and not jeans. Bummer. Now I have to buy last minute dress pants on Saturday and some collared tops provided that my dwindling money is still clinging a bit. I'll meet up with my college friends on Saturday also for Cors and Beth's long awaited and delayed annual dinner treat. I'm hoping for juicy gossip and current news about college friends I haven't seen since the Pleistocene Age.