Out of my mind

Tomorrow morning, December 1, I will begin the day by being sedated and having some instrument rammed down my throat (gently I hope) so they can poke at my guts and see what is causing this persistent pain that I have been feeling for some days now. I was actually rushed to the Tagaytay General Hospital Sunday night because the darn pain just wouldnt go away despite doses of h2bloc, buscopan, pain killers, maalox, kremil s, etc. In fact I suspect the pain was caused by some chemical revolution happening inside my stomach - the medicines must have argued and debated about who should do the work and couldnt arrive at a mutually agreed upon decision. Thus the pain. Anyway, the Tagaytay General Hospital, surprisingly, was clean and efficient. Along the way, I was actually dreading the thought of having to share the emergency room with people screaming in pain or kids flailing around with missing - ehem - how shall i say this delicately - parts. And of course, I was quite ready psychol...

Yes, yes, yes…I am gloating. Yes, I am ecstatic. Yes, I am very, very jubilant and is very close to hugging everyone in sight. In fact, I think I did hug everyone inside the hall this afternoon when the last ballot was tallied and the results were announced. My team, the GOLD TEAM won practically all seats in the 2005 elections of the Personnel Management Association of the Philippines held yesterday. The only post that was won by the other party was that of Secretary, which was won by a mere one vote (210-211). This post could have been won by our candidate had there been no spoiled ballots – and there were many. If this sounds like I am making a big deal out of the victory, it is because it is a big deal to us! Having lost the PMAP elections in the last many years, the victory yesterday was not only sweet vindication (almost a landslide!); it was triumph of a good cause. It was also proof that pure intentions and a campaign conducted fairly and without malice can still win even in th...

I haven't been able to make up my mind about this and I know the jury is still out on this one as well: are Pinoys really born whiners or are we by nature used to suffering that we tend to accept things as they are even if we really shouldn’t? Some people I know complain at the least provocation - they whine and rant over anything real or imagined. But I also know that there are many Pinoys who just seethe privately and let go a number of things on occasions when they should stand up and assert their rights. The reason why I got into thinking about this is because this week, I found myself in a supposedly swank hotel in Lapu Lapu City in Cebu. I was billeted in the hotel by my client (I was there for a consulting business). The hotel is rather new - one of those late additions to an area that is seeing a major growth spurt. It is located a few meters away from the gate of an export processing zone. Proof of the fact (at least one) was the fact that the hotel swarmed with local cele...

Discrimination and bigotry exists in various forms. I have been at the receiving end of it many times. No, I have not been denied entry into some country because of the color of my skin, although I do have this nagging suspicion that every single time I line up in front of an immigration counter in some country, the immigration guy subjects me to more critical appraisal. This is why I do bother to dress up when going abroad. The kind of discrimination I get subjected to every once in a while is courtesy of my Visayan accent. Yup, I am from the Visayas; stamped, certified, authentic Bisaya. Thanks to a grandmother who forced me to speak English at a very young age, my accent is not as pronounced as some of my friends who get most of their long e's and their short e's confused. But sometimes, it does slip out unconsciously since I do think in my mother tongue. But I don't get it why Tagalogs find this funny. I mean, we don't find it funny when European people speak Englis...

The movie is opening tomorrow and as expected, there is this air of excitement that is almost palpable hanging around diehard Potter fans. No you won't find me in the moviehouses tomorrow. Yes I did read all the HP books and found them quite interesting; but I am not going to risk life and limb for bragging rights ("I watched it na!!!" yeah right, as if that means one's IQ has improved a notch higher by being first in line at the ticke counter). But go ahead and watch it asap if you think your whole mental health and self esteem hangs on watching the movie before everyone else. The witches and wizards I know have also been all agog over this website ( www.dumbledoreisnotdead.com ). Okay, okay, in the interest of fairness, those who have not read HP6 (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) should not read any further as what follows contain spoilers. Yes, in that book, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore gets killed in the end by Severus Snape, Potions professor a...

This is going to be a quick one. Just one to check in and just in case anyone is actually wondering what has happened. The last few days have been really hectic for me. I havent been able to set aside time to write anything for this blog. Oh sure, I did a lot of writing - for work and for others. I even completed a documentation project, a brochure for a campaign, some campaign letters, a concept paper for a national conference, etc. But darn it, it is difficult to mix business with pleasure. Anyway, on the way back from lunch today, I got to thinking about what it is that makes us slaves to time and pressure and work? From a purely personal viewpoint, here are some of the things I came up with. In no particular order, of course. 1. Failure to say NO. I wish I said no many times in the last three weeks. The only reason why I am up to my neck in work is because I am doing things others should be doing. 2. Being distracted. Many times in the last few weeks, I have not been able to do ser...

So what did you do during the long weekend? October 30, Saturday night (the official halloween party night in Manila, never mind if it is a day early for halloween - you know how it is in our culture, we prioritize convenience before meaning) I was in six places. No, no, not at the same time. First I met up with some friends from school for early dinner (6:30 pm) at Quezon City. We had this really great food at my favorite restaurant (Uno). What I like about Uno is that in this place, food takes centerstage - the place is so devoid of clutter and decor. The walls are painted dark, there are hardly anything hanging, and the tablecloth is a simple white cloth. People come here to eat good food, not show off. And the food is always goooood. While I have nothing against themed restaurants (from ethnic to avant garde), sometimes one can not help but think that one is paying for the decor and the ambience than for the food. Goodness, if I wanted ambience, I would wangle an invitation from re...

In the beginning was The Vision….…and then came The Assumptions…and The Assumptions were without Form.. and The Vision was without Substance. The workers said to their supervisors: "It is crap, and it stinks." And the supervisors said to their managers: "It is a pail of dung, and it has a strong smell" And the managers went to their Assistant Vice Presidents and said to them: "It is a vessel of Fertilizer, and none may abide its' Strength." And the Assistant Vice Presidents went to the Vice Presidents and said: "It contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very Strong." And the Vice Presidents went to their Executives and said to them: "It promotes growth, and it is very Powerful." And the Executives went to the President, and said to him: "This powerful new Vision will actively promote the growth and efficiency of our departments and the company overall." The President looked upon the Vision and saw that it was Go...