some people

this morning, i know that i will be late by 2-3 minutes if i took the jeepney going to the office so when i reached Guadalupe and after i bought a bread for meryenda, i immediately look for a taxi and luckily i found one.

the taxi driver asked me to go the taxi loading area in front of the guadalupe mall/market because he's not allowed to load on the area that i stop him (oh, my bad!) so i run/walk towards the Edsa side of the building to wait for him. when he arrived on about the same time that i did, and then almost at the same time (hmm, paulit-ulit ah hehe) that i am about to hop on the taxi, a group of another three persons also went inside (of course not at the same time lol). i seated on the backseat and then one person occupied the front passenger seat. and then told me to go away as they're the first, hence it should be their taxi.

huuwwhaat?

i smiled and then told them calmly that i'm sorry but i got this taxi first on the other corner and the driver just asked me to go here. and then there was an eruption! the other person (okey, okey, a woman) outside the taxi already let a mouthful of explosive words aimed at me like i should be killed and be dead right then and there!

whoa! i just told them i got it first and the taxi driver affirmed it and then she, out of nowhere will cursed me like she owned the world? geez, where's this woman's reasons? or does she have any? kung magmura sya ng ibang tao para lang syang kumakain ng mani! masyado syang galit sa mundo! goodness!

and the person in front told me "pare wala ka namang pakisama!" hala, paki-spell nga yung pakisama? ano ba naman to, gusto ko lang sumakay ng taxi para makarating ng maaga tapos namura na at mabubugbog pa yata ako? hahaha

my sheepish smile is now turning into a wolf grin as i explain again that it's like this and it's like that, and what did i get? isang malaking "ah, sh*t!". buti na lang, pasensyoso akong tao na kahit mainit na yung ulo ko, i can still control what to say kahit umuusok na yung tenga ko at handa nang maglabas ng apoy! deep breath lang ang katumbas nito.

syempre, in the end kabutihan pa rin ang nagwagi! naks, hehehe. but of course they will not let go of the taxi that easily without the P words at ang malakas na pagsarado ng pinto. nagkatawanan na lang kami ni manong driver as to how some people could behave like that. sabi ni manong, andaming ganyang tao, dapat talaga di sinabayan ang mura ng isa pang mura or else gulo na agad. which is correct di ba? let our humbleness be the cold water to douse the fire.

hay, i just thought that maybe they just woke up on wrong side of the bed or maybe they're just pressured with something or maybe just as pressured and tense like me to go to our destinations early? hehehe.

it was a good thing that i kept my cool and reasons, i am willing to give the taxi to them had they asked me properly but they did not and instead attacked me with expletives.

before the taxi left, i told them "pasensya na po, God bless", and the reply? oh well... kumain ulit sila ng mani...

tawa

mga lumang jokes mula sa baul ng aking mailbox:
===================================

JINGGOY: Dad, bakit ba maalat at may asin sa dagat?
ERAP: Sinadya yan ni Lord para sa ganun hindi mapanis ang mga isda..

===================================

TITSER: Ano ang PAST TENSE sa LABA?
BOY#1: Naglaba mam!
TITSER: Tama! Ano ang PRESENT TENSE?
BOY#2: Naglalaba!
TITSER: Tama! Ano naman ang FUTURE TENSE?
BOY#3: MAGSASAMPAY mam!

====================================

ERAP: Hello, I would like to inquire how long is the flight to San Francisco?
OPERATOR: Just a minute, Sir...
ERAP: Really? Thank you..

====================================

SA RESTORAN...
CUSTOMER: Waitress! Ano ba 'tong binigay mo sa akin, kape o tsaa? Lasang gas 'to ah!
WAITRESS: Kung yan ay lasang gas, Kape yan! Ang tsaa kasi lasang pintura!

====================================

ENRIQUE ZOBEL: half Filipino, half Spanish.
HENRY SY: half Filipino, half Chinese.
JUAN FLAVIER: half Filipino, half Igorot.
LITO ATIENZA: half Hawaiian, half Polo.
JOHN OSMENA: half Filipino, half Filipina.
MIKE ARROYO: half Filipino, half Pork.
AI AI DELAS ALAS: half Filipino, half Moon.
GMA: half...

====================================

smile and the world smiles with you. :D

Sunset tripping (Zambales edition)

whenever we go to the beach, we always look forward to seeing that golden sunset at the end of the day. as in my obsession with sunset and following the series that i started with the manila bay tripping, this Candelaria, Zambales experience should never go unphotographed. (this is going be a second of the Potipot Island series).

not yet golden but still beautiful
it's a pine sunset

a sunset posting

the boat

two beauties

as golden as it could get

colored sky

the bald and the beautiful
kiss the sun good night and let the stars shine

happy weekend! KANPAI!

Semikal

bo. skinhead. bokalbs. yeah.

for the first time since birth, i let my barber cut my hair almost bald, no, he razorred my hair to its almost baldness glory, cool.

when the hair is gone, before and after: episode one

that's how i wore my hair more than a week ago, gelled/waxed to stand up to its end. now, i don't have no use, at least for the remaining summer hot days, for my bottle of liquid gel and that white, cream-like hair wax.

anatomy of a skinhead: razor number three

i don't usually change my hairstyle (it's a guy thing, i think), i can count years before i can try another one. the safest haircut for me is the reliable barber's cut, but i also tried the gwapings look (haha, remember eric fructuoso?), the required and damned 3x4 haircut during my ROTC days and the untidy ehead's magbabanda college boy look (the latter's the result of my two years of being deprived of a decent hairstyle, thanks to ROTC).

when i started working, i made the barber's cut as my standard haircut, and then Jerry Yan and the meteor garden came, i let my hair grow a little longer to have that F4 look (now i cringed why oh why did i do that hahaha) but i also cut it after two months and tried the short, anime/spiked hair and have it for years until i decided to try skinhead, for a change.

i did a lot of thinking and did a lot of imagining at how will i look like after everything's done, how my gf, my friends, my officemates, my family and other people will react to this one big step for baldkind hahaha. it was such a big deal for me, like stepping into an unfamiliar territory, a psychological thing of walking blindly in a dark tunnel or swimming into the deep blue sea, simply put, i was undecided. and i haven't decided yet even after my barber started trimming my old hairstyle, and then like a thunder coming from nowhere in a bright sunny day, i said "pare, iskin head na natin!" in a flash, he held two razors on his hands, razor number 1 and razor number 3. i choose number 3 as I don't want my scalp to announce to the world that i am such a scarhead (aksidente, na-piko po ako sa ulo nung elementary dahil sa kalikutan) and so i can also have a little protection from the sun and a little security that i can grow it back, fast. hehehe.

and so it happened. in less than two minutes, my hair's on the floor and what remained on my head are just tiny strands of my once spiked hair and a scalp peeping brightly against the flourescent light. i did it.

...ayaw nila ng skinhead o kalbo

am i happy? yeah! but not without the initial shock and confusion. you see, with my old hairstyle, i rarely check my reflection on the mirror (confident??? lol) but with this new look, i STARE WIDE-EYED at myself! hehe. and after staring, there's the second look and a third look LOL. i was even confused at my own shadow because what i am seeing is a bald man's shadow and i am not, oh well, i am now, almost. haha.

my shadow (and not michael jordan's)

i actually liked it, and on my first day with this look, i got the attention of the entire world, sus, para silang nakakita ng kalbong multo! hahaha. the shock!

this one's best for the hot summer days, preskong-presko. and my bath time is now faster by two minutes as i shampoo (yes, i still does) my head, err... hair almost in an instant, i can now fixed myself faster by at least five minutes as there's no more gel/wax to put on my hair, no more combing, no more extra time for washing off my hands (for the wax as i applied it using my hands) and no more of those extra effort to have my hair look decent and have those butiki-killer look. i might wear it for the next three months. so good luck to me. hehe

i asked the barber kung bagay naman ba yung gupit sa akin, sabi nya "buti na lang, bilog ang ulo mo."

i asked lyn kung bagay naman ba yung gupit sa akin, sabi nya (after much thinking) "ok lang." hahaha. i didn't bother asking other people as they might just roll their eyes and ask what's that again? hehehe.

hmm, bagay nga ba (scratches head). ah basta, skinhead is cool. c",)

Potipot island rushes...

for now, just a few glimpse of Potipot Island (in Candelaria town, Zambales), i'll post some more later. (photos taken using my trusty four year old buddy Sony DSC P32).

that's potipot island

getting there...

footprints
isn't it beautiful?

tree, dead tree
vandalism :)

what's new on philippinestoday.net?

after Verns, i got my photos of the World Light Expo featured on the Philippines Today website. now, i can run outside and share the good news yihhaaaaaaa. LOL.

no, they did not asked me for my photos, i volunteered my photos for them to consider, kulang ako sa pansin eh. lol. :)

seriously, one time, when i visited their site, i found out that they're looking for contributors for their gallery and since it doesn't require any fee or for me to say "minikaniko ni monico ang makina ni monica" 30 times for two minutes, i did not hesitate to share with their webadmin some of my shots (i don't want to use the word "works", nakakahiya sa mga professionals). i was informed immediately that my photos were considered and it will just need a couple of weeks for it to be published because they need to feature first those that submitted photos earlier than i am (oks lang, kahit nga one year i am willing to wait lol). and they told me that they will inform me when it's already up.

and today, Baggy Bagarinao informed me that it's there already! yipee, yipee, yippeeee.

(and i let other bloggable things like the "razor number three" and our potipot island-zambales adventure last weekend to take a back seat and be posted later hehe)

hindi ako masyadong excited no?

thanks Baggy! (ayan, close na kami hehe)

sunset tripping, the next day

with the bitin photo-ops i had before the farewell party last friday, i decided to come back the next day just to capture the famous manila bay sunset. unfortunately, it was a bit cloudy and clouds were arranged in a manner that's not generally ideal for a sunset tripping, but since i'm already there, i just made use with what i have. and these were some of the shots i took. (i experimented on different settings, hence the different color/s of the horizon.)

the thinker

into the cloudsmais con sunsetparang ice cream na bilad sa ilalim ng araweto yung tumira sa ice cream :)
pwesto!

saksi ang araw
yosi bos, kendi..
this is my quest to follow the sun

next stop: Potipot Island, Candelaria, Zambales

HAPPY WEEKEND. KANPAI!

split seconds

last night, while i was sitting pretty tired from a gym session and trying to relax beside the driver's seat in front of the jeepney and while waiting it to be full, there's a jolly videoke session happening on a sari-sari store con carinderia on the other side of the street, maybe less than 10 meters from where i am sitting, obviously they're enjoying their every turn on the microphone and happily shouts, err, sing their hearts out, but in a matter of seconds, everything will be replaced by shock, grief, anger, shouts, tears and blood.

as i look on this sari-sari store, a white isuzu crosswind came in very fast and without any warning, hit the store and anything and anyone on it! walang sabi-sabi, halos nagiba yung tindahan, at nakaladkad at dalawang beses napailalim at nadaan ng gulong ang dalawang matandang lalaki! all in a matter of seconds!

the crosswind halted but not that long when throng of people, including traffic enforcers, came rushing and angrily towards whoever's the driver. the driver locked the doors and drive away albeit not that easily and almost hit anyone and/or anybody who's trying to stop the vehicle from leaving. but it's machine against men and that heartless driver never bother to look at what he'd done and screechingly left the scene. maaring nakaalis sya but he won't get away that far because the montrous traffic of the aguinaldo highway in cavite will stop him and the traffic enforcers had his plate number, radioed all units and some biked officers immediately followed and look for him.

we attended to the two men lying on the road and immediately dispatched the jeepney we're supposed to ride on to the hospital, which fortunately is just 50 meters aways. the victims were trying to get up but they're so weak and shock and has some blood on their shirts and have this expression asking what had just happened!

moments later, andami nang tao, usisero't usisera, then the policemen came, some vehicles endlessly pressing their busina for the traffic it had caused (not knowing what had just happened) and then, more people coming in, some women still crying, even my co-passengers as they were really shocked with we've just witnessed.

parang pelikula, pero totoong buhay. nakakaramdam pa rin ako ng gulat pag naaalala ko kung pano parang gulay na nakaladkad at nasagaan yung dalawang mama, seconds before nagkakasayahan sila tapos biglang-bigla, halos ikamatay naman nila.

ganun pala talaga ang buhay, any moment pwedeng mawala sa yo, ni hindi mo alam kung ano yung mangyayari matapos ang isang kisap-mata o kung ano ang pwedeng dalhin ng isang segundo sa buhay natin.

i am thankful i am alive,

i am glad i still get to do things i thought were routinary and boring,

i am happy because i still get to wake up very early eventhough most people are still asleep,

i am grateful for my love ones,

i am contented with all the little things i have.

and i am still praying for the two old men who were victims of this unfornate event to survive, and for that driver to be fully aware and be accountable for what he'd done.

manila, manila

before the farewell party and while waiting for the others who were held by the super heavy friday Manila bay traffic, with nothing to do and with my trusty old little camera in hand, a little photo ops outside wouldn't hurt...

this one's near the CCP side

no matter if you're black and white

and the sun sets on the bay as thy boat docks..

when the night has come...

quite deadly (beer at yosi)

quite delightful (beer and tuna sashimi)

quite happy (beer, origami and me)

the bay at night (taken using the automatic setting, w/out flash)

on this bay (taken using a night mode, no flash)

toast!

Tonight's going to be the farewell dinner/party for some Japanese teachers. It's going to be held at the Manila Yacht Club.

In my four years of stay here, I was asked many times to be one of the emcees for some of our parties (about one each month), while the other two emcees, Japanese. And it's always like this: I will speak in Nihongo (of course, the script will be provided by them, otherwise, away ito hehe) and then one of my japanese partners will talk in english and the other one in tagalog. It's quite a torture, actually, but funny at the same time as we always asked each other if we say the word/words or phrases properly, or asked each other why are they laughing or make a sign that it's his or my turn. If only we can record it on video, pwedeng ipadala sa Bitoy's Funniest Video. hehe.

But tonight's different, I was asked to do the toast, or offer a toast, or make a toast, basta, toast whatever. :) Not that I haven't done it before, but it's the first time that a non-Japanese was assigned to do it, and it was me they choose! (parang nakita ko si rufa mae "to the highest level tooo" hehe). Nung una syempre nagulat ako, kasi ako parati yung gumagawa ng speech ng Principal for the opening remarks o di kaya sa closing remarks, saka pati na rin yung sa toast, pero ako yung magbabasa ng speech?? kakaiba to.

The funny thing is hindi ko alam yung sasabihin ko, parang naubos na yung mga idea ko sa mga lumang speech ni principal at ng boss ko, until I look at my files and saw LAST YEAR's closing remarks! Bingo! At magrecycle talaga ako ng speech hehehe. Here's an excerpt:

"...we are saddened that you will be leaving us, but we are also glad that you share with us a very memorable three years of your professional lives." (may drama?)

"...our thank you is never enough to show our gratitude for all the wonderful things that you did to our school, for all your contributions that are just too many to mention, and for your unmatched dedication that will be remembered forever."

"...you served not just a teacher to your students, but more importantly, as a parent, as a friend, and as an inspiration."

and I have to say those in Japanese! Hindi, biro lang hehe. :)

Happy weekend. KANPAI!!!

Handwriting

When i was still in high school, or even in college, my handwriting has always been mistaken as that of a girl or maybe better than some girls (hehe). Maybe because i write smaller or finer and i think it's quite rare for a guy like me to have a little arte, believe it or not, on his penmanship.

I think i was influenced by the awesome handwriting of our class valedictorian in elementary, she writes so good that she made scribbling an art! She writes as if her pen was floating and every letter she wrote was perfect, with that little slant to the right and each word was finished with that little kulot at each end. I tried to emulate her writing, but sorry, no success on that. Still i tried and did not give up, until such time and without any realization from myself that i created my own handwriting style, my own penmanship.

It also help that I made a hobby out of joining on-the-spot essay writing contests and taking down notes on almost all of our lessons or physically transferring the content of our textbook into my notebook (so kapag time na ng pagte-check ng notebook, mine will appear like i've been so attentive in class lol). Me mga instance din na kapag tinatamad ang teacher namin (just my thought ok), ako yung pinagsusulat sa pisara (tagalog-english 101: blackboard) and of course who am I to protest, dagdag pogi points din yun sa character: matulunging bata, noted, 95 yan! hehehe. While I am strutting my wares (as if! lol), my teacher will be chatting and/or telling stories to my classmates and my classmates are either pretending they're listening or pretending they're copying what I am writing but actually they're drawing something or rushing that next subject assignment! been there, done that. LOL.

But nowadays, i thought my handwriting has deteriorated to the level that I myself cannot clearly read what I've written, kumbaga sa picture blurry ang dating o kapag salita naman ay hindi na malinaw sa pandinig. One may asked what happen? Simple lang, kawalan ng practice. With the onslaught of technology encouraging people not to use their own handwriting in communicating plus the convenience it offers, one cannot resist not to use it hanggang sa punto na nalilimutan na ang sulat kamay (hmm, parang hawak-kamay no hehe).

I've been using the computers for the last nine years, and instead of making a handwritten draft for any office memo or correspondence, typing it directly into the computer is, of course, more convenient, sabay edit na rin, mas madali ang trabaho. And don't start with cellphone/SMS/text, it does not only lessen my handwriting strength, it also affected my sfelling (anak ng spelling bee naman, wala na nga akong swerte sa spelling contest, heto at naliligawa pa ang letra ko!). From time to time, confusion regarding my spelling sets in and makes me wonder, and not to mention my failing memory on suject-verb agreement or that of the figure of speech or part of speech... whew! It's getting complicated hehehe, and I thought my only concern was my "deteriorating" handwriting, as usual, mali na naman ako. LOL.

It took a post from Toe to convince me to write something about handwriting, AND for me to write it first WITH A PEN AND PAPER and not directly into the computer. Quite a feat that i made it and if only you can see the draft of this post, iisipin nyo na "m" at "l" lang ang kaya kong isulat dahil parang puro "m" at "l" lang ang pwedeng basahin. hehe.

I am now more than convince to do first a handwritten draft before anything because right now, I am having some difficulty writing my own name nang dugtong-dugtong at hindi printed. Weird pero totoo yun, parang automatic na pirma lagi yung nangyayari kapag pangalan ko na ang isusulat, eh hindi naman ako artista na dapat sanay sa autograph, approval lang sa check vouchers ang pinipirmahan ko hehehe.

Seriously, we need to go back to basics, maaaring mas mabilis na ang takbo ng mundo ngayon at halos lahat na ay de-numero o di kaya'y nadadaan sa tiklada ng keyboard o sa pagpindot ng keypad, pero iba pa rin pala na nakikita mo yung sarili mong handwriting, na kahit gaano pa ito kalinaw o halos walang pinagkaiba sa kinahig ng manok, it always feels good dahil nakikita mo yung effort, or at least yung pagsubok at pagpipilit na mag-exert ng effort. And besides, it's more personal. :)

Ellen at the Oscars best of

i missed the 2007 oscars, but thank God for Youtube, i saw Ellen's opening monologue and some of her antics during the show. love this girl!

it's raining!

at least here in Quezon.

and i am surprised that it's still cold here, and raining! quite opposite with the hotness that we call Manila. oh wait, and it's also windy, ansarap naman!

hmm, medyo hassle lang ang dial up, took forever to access this site and maybe another lifetime for this to be posted. hehehe. ansama ko, nakigamit na nga lang ako ng PC ng sis ko, nagreklamo pa.

i have nothing to do except to wash the dishes, play with my nephews, watch tv, more playing time, sleep and eat and then wash the dishes again. i am supposed to do my laundry here pero yun nga, umuulan kaya dala ko ulit pabalik yung labahan ko (na para namang andami, eh yun lang namang suot ko kahapon hehe). napansin ko rin sa sarili ko na everytime umuuwi ako rito, the moment na pumasok na ko ng bahay, ibang iba yung pakiramdam, relax na relax at parang di ako umalis, na-time warp kumbaga kasi the house is still the same as it was at least for the last five years (me konting renovation pero the homey ambience that i grow up with is still as fresh as the air here).

nagpapaka-senti pero parang routine na sa akin na tingnan parati yung pictures ng kabataan namin, and how i laugh at myself kung gaano ako kapayat nung high school at kung gaano na kataba ang mga batch mates ko ngayon (hmm, hindi isinama ang sarili? hehe).

i had my medals framed (medals talaga ha) and my junior tennis racket on the wall (yep, once upon a time, nag-tennis ako and once na lang yun , di na nasustain kasi lagi akong talo hehe). my mom loves to hang our pictures around the house, pero ngayon sa tabi na lang kaming magkakapatid kasi ang kanyang mga apo na ang bida! na okey lang naman at least di ko na pagtatawanan ang sarili ko hehehe.

andaming changes sa buhay pero everytime i go back here, i also go back to the old me, simple ang buhay, promding promdi. wala halos stress at walang kuplikasyon ng buhay lungsod.

hay. bukas balik ulit sa dati.

ekskyus lang, gawa daw ako ng garahe para sa ga-bundok na mga kotse ng 2 tsikiting. hehe.