Thursday, September 25, 2008

Inspired!

Getting inspired. Its like falling in love. It just happens. You can't control it. You can't force yourself to get inspired by anyone neither could you teach yourself not to be inspired by someone.
Anyone could be an inspiration; family, friends, people who doesn't even know you (but who you know) could inspire you.

And it's not necessarily something romantic.

If people inspire us, should we tell them?

Saturday, September 20, 2008

F.R.I.E.N.D.S


Next to my family, I value my friends more than anything else.

It's amazing how friendship is kept through the years, despite the differences, the odds. That's when you know, it's indeed real.


hot choco: sweet

Shy, wallflower, silent, snub. That's how my friends describe me. A sheep who could in a snap turn into a bull.

They're right. I could be the nicest person on earth and depends on how you treat me, I could be the exact opposite. And my friends know that. And they know that I know that. I am not the kind who would go around people I don't like, pretending to be nice when in fact I am not.

And no matter how bad I could get sometimes, they accept me. Just like that. I just thought I am so lucky for having them as friends, maybe limited in number but are giving me unlimited love and support. They may not tolerate my behavior all the time but in the end, they're there for me, staying with me... unconditionally.

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Survivor what?!

I've heard Survivor Philippines has started.

I'm confused. Hindi pala sa Pilipinas ginawa yun? Pero bakit Survivor Philippines ang title?

Hindi ba dapat Survivor+location and title? Parang Survivor Palau, Survivor China, etc. etc. kasi dun kinunanan mga episodes.

Pero yung local copycat, Survivor Philippines daw pero kahit isang isla sa Pilipinas hindi naman ata nakita.


Amf! La lang.


(Nag-complain di naman nanonood.)

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Blessings? Lemme count...

Just got back from a 5-day absence, which (due to some reasons) turned out to be a 2-day rest day, 1 vacation leave and 2 AWOLs. That may entitle me to a 2-3 days suspension, which sounds more like a vacation to me.

For someone who's tired with what he's doing, I Just realized that I'm not afraid to lose my job.


Once again my friend gave me this advise; mahirap maghanap ng trabaho, andami dyan gagawin lahat magkawork lang, mahirap walang work...pasok na!


I dragged myself to the office... and there came their birthday surprise!



That was touching.

I just realized, I have to thank God for the blessings!


After twenty something years, I finally got a cake on my birthday.

Thanks to Joy and May.

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

English 101; the untold story

Can’t think of anything new to post yet. Until I heard my officemates talking something about sexual harassments.

Another flashback.

I was a college freshman. We had this English professor who was so authoritarian, and with a threatening look in his face; no one would dare speak once he enters the room. He talks with a low, hoarse voice, enough to keep us all attentive. He would give quizzes, of 10 items to be answered in no more than 30 seconds. Most of us ended up getting failing scores if not zero.

Until later on we found out from some of his former students that he’s actually gay. Not a rumor. It’s true.

Well, it wasn’t an issue. Not to me. Until one day.

We got used to his tricks. We became more relaxed in his class, laugh at his jokes, and he eventually became a bit lenient. We just finished another set of 30 second quiz that day. Arranged one seat apart, he allowed us to check the results before passing the papers. The class was rowdy. I was silently looking at my paper when he came and stood in front of me. He stared at me and mentioned my name “Mr. ______!”

Scared, I was speechless (Sir, I didn’t cheat!) I thought he’s gonna accuse me of something.

Once again he said “Mr. _______!” still staring at me.

Nervous and in a shaky voice, I only managed to say, “Sir…?”

Then, slowly he stepped forward, grabbed me in the chest and twisted my nipples.

I was shocked. I looked at my seatmate. He didn’t see it. Everyone was so busy with their papers; nobody saw it, except this girl, who happened to be a tomboy, seated in front of me. She was shocked too, and when our prof left, she gushed; “P***** ina Ely, lakas tama!”

Friday, September 5, 2008

Psychology 101

Flashback: Second Year College.
At least half of the classes I was attending were minor subjects I had very little interest with.


But I fell in love with Psychology.

My instructor was brilliant, not to mention pretty. I enjoyed listening to her lectures. During our first day, she gave us a piece of paper and instructed us to write one question, any question about life and anything about it, that has remained unanswered.

I wrote: Why do I have a lot of unanswered questions about life?

I submitted the paper with a silly smile.

Learning about what’s occurring during our sleep, dreams, wet dreams, how the human brain works, etc, etc were my favorite topics, but memorizing the parts of my brain? That’s when my brain stops working. I just hated the memorizing part.

And so, I flunked all my quizzes and probably got the lowest during my prelim exam. I got a grade no student would want to reveal anyone, but well…

It was a 68 (our school ain’t using the ABC and D’s).


In my exam paper, my instructor wrote in bold red: “What happened?”


Midterms, I never really cared about passing anymore. I wouldn’t mind taking the subject twice, more so if it’s gonna be the same instructor. But for some reason, I passed all my exams, in the end I got a 79. That’s magic.

In front of the class, she said: "If others can add as high as 11 points to their grade, so could you... right, Ely?" She glanced at me and smiled.

I got kinda inspired, but finals turned to worse. This is the time when you realize you actually want to pass everything. I needed at least a 78 to get the much coveted 75! (Note: If you are from the Engineering and Architecture Department, 70 is normal, 73 is passing, 75 is good and getting an 80 is just awesome!). With all the failing marks I’ve been getting, I knew what to expect.



Final exams, I was waiting for my Psychology questionnaires to be distributed while still bewildered from all the (wrong) computations I did on my math exam papers I just submitted an hour ago. I was already thinking about which department I should enroll Psychology the next semester. The exam was plain multiple choice, but for someone unprepared like me, choosing between A,B,C is the hardest thing.

Then I noticed a piece of paper attached on the questionnaire. I was surprised to see the question I submitted during our first day in class, and the instruction: Based from what you’ve learned from the class, give an answer – to your own question!

How clever!

It was like my make or break. I had a strong belief that this will give me a passing grade and so I started writing,

with conviction.

I wrote about the things I’ve learned from her, how I got so interested with the course, how it made me appreciate the things around me, that I should stop asking too many questions about life because everything is just so wonderful, all I need is to love and appreciate them, take no time questioning because answers often come when we stop asking, and, the flowers and the bees.

I submitted my paper smiling.

Second semester, enrolment day. I anxiously checked my grade.


Lord, all I want is a 75!



Psyched, I will never forget that 86!

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Sa eskinita

Monday night; Team building sa Esquinita. September 1 is a US Holiday so all our support lines are closed. Time for a break.






Time to go back to work...