The last two days were a tad bit draining. I woke up at about 7:30 am yesterday to attend the baptismal of my friend's kid (co-worker at a different department). The event actually started at 10:30 am, but I had to leave early because it was all the way at Kalookan, near Monumento. I slept late (2:00am) the night before...my wife and I met up with some college buddies, and we finished up late. I left the house at around 9:30am in a mad rush, after feeding the pair of ever reluctant puppies that we have. To be more specific, they're reluctant to eat...haaay jusko, ayaw kumain. What I usually do is just leave the food there in their dishes even if they don't start munching right away. They eventually chow down after a while. I'll be posting a picture of them soon (if they could only stay still for one good shot).

The sketch (for the way to the church) was incomplete...I mistakenly printed out only about half of it. So we were partially flying blind, but thankfully we didn't get lost and made it on time. The rituals finished at about 12pm and we headed over to Erwin's house for some good old grub. The selection was excellent; in no particular order:

-Pancit
-Lechon
-Kare-Kare
-Beef and Mushroom with Broccoli
-Hipon
-Fruit Salad
-Leche Flan (always my favorite)

A lot of other company employees from other accounts showed up as well. I knew most of them from my earlier months at work. They're fun to be with -- they asked me if a certain co-worker of mine (and their former co-worker in the past) was promoted to a higher position. 'Hindi noh', I replied. I added in fact, he's in trouble for pulling some boo-boo. I wonder how that news came around? I have nothing against the guy honestly. He's a nice and friendly guy, but sometimes he's too chummy with people that he just recently met. He acts like he's already close to folks, including me. It makes me feel uncomfortable watching him talk and act around other people in a familiar way. I feel bad when his behavior annoys the hell out of me, but I can't help it.

Moving on, I had a small glass of Fundador and a smoke after our hefty meal. It was great. Going home was not. EDSA was packed with cars almost every step of the way (Christmas shoppers? thankfully we're done buying gifts), not to mention the buses weaving haphazardly along the road. Those moronic mammoths just cut your lane anytime they please, but when we civilians use their designated PUV lane, the boys in blue bust us. WTF is up with that?? It didn't help that I had a heavy spell of sleepiness on the road either. I was literally slapping myself to stay awake (and in one piece).

All in all though, it was a great day. I'm at the office now, cleaning up some customer emails sent over the weekend. I forgot to go online while answering a couple of them, hopefully that'll count in my stats still. On another note, I've taken only five calls as of this writing -- still slow at present.

I know Kung-Fu

So many things to write down, so little brain cells, heheh. My mind's still trying to digest Matrix: Revolutions...it was a great movie, but like Reloaded, it doesn't have the same emotional pull or dark sleekness of the first. Technically, the third one is a great acheivement. There are a lot of great special effects action sequences, and a lot of nicely done CGI going on. The trick with doing this kind of stuff is to balance it out with an intelligible plot and dialogue so that the action scenes don't dumb down the movie.

It was great to finally see the whole thing come to a resolution...well, almost anyway. It was pretty much an open-ended kinda thing though; but at least the Watchowskis didn't settle for a crowd-pleasing ending. I was honestly expecting and hoping that the machine empire would come to a screeching halt, with the big explosions and all. I was picturing that Neo would just wave his hand and the calamari, spider-like thingies, and other assorted things that go 'clang' in the night would go KA-BOOM! But no, peace with the machines? That was a great way to end things....leaves plenty of room for spin-offs movies, comics books, and another volume of Anime revolving around the truce between man and machine. I guess that Keanu doesn't have to get a day job just yet.

Change topic: I happened upon a copy of Wayne's World on sale at the mall. It's a nice non-pirated 2 CD set that I got along with another VCD I bought for my Dad. The first time I saw the movie, I was barely in my teens watching it with my long-time friend and next-door neighbor. It contributed greatly to my love of rock and roll. Honestly, who else but Wayne and Garth can come up with "Schhhwiiing!" (or maybe it was the scriptwriters)?

It's funny, because now that I watched it again with my wife, I realized that I've come a long way since i last saw this movie. With my hand on her tummy, feeling the baby kicking, I remember the old days when I didn't care about anything but myself. It's so much different now...all the years that went by...so many changes.

Anyways, Wayne's World is a cornerstone in our civlization's culture. For a review of this movie, click here.

I just came down from a state of seething anger. Ok, so I was late when I came in today, the clock said 6:01, no problem about that. It was my fault I was late....but to have someone cut you in line just to freakin' logout??? The moron (that's the best civilized term my feverish psyche can come up with right now) clearly saw me waiting for the stuck-up system to load the last person's login when he just took the liberty of punching in his own Goddamn employee number right in front of me. I just made a mad dash from the ground floor so I was too much out of breath to say anything. All I could do was give him a very evil, weary and pissed-off look while panting.

This whole post is an exercise in futility (aside from a means of venting my fuming soul), but I'll carry on to bitch and moan anyways...this is my blog, dammit. To that person who cut me in line and incurred my wrath: I wish a thousand curses upon your pathetic and socially inept ass that lacks breeding and proper ettiquette. Death is to good for you, sir. May you suffer a terrible accident on the way to whatever hole in the wall that you call a home. This is way too much for something as fickle as this, but still...I was wronged. I'll be praying that you run into the worst luck you will ever experience in your worthless life.

Zzzzz....* wha? What happened? I had the most bizzarre dream. I was really angry at someone and...oh well. That's now just a dull ache in the back of my head - I wonder what that was all about.

Last minute post before I go home (prepare for some really random ramblings):

It was rainy these past few days. Looking at the gray sky, I felt something stir inside of me. Right before the onset of rain, I looked at the clouds...there they were, fat with anticipation, hanging over the rest of humanity. The air was cold and harsh, promising nothing but bare solitude stretching into infinity. The horizon looks bleak and dull, but this shade of sadness was beautiful in its own way. Like Black Sabbath's music, it was darkness without pain. These are the words/feelings that come to mind when I was staring into this sweet oblivion: sublime, subdued, somber, melancholy, poignant.

It's moments like these that I wish I could freeze in time and put away -- so I can experience it over and over, until my being has satisfied its appetite for the abstract, intangible things in this plane of existence. As what was once said, what is essential is invisible to the eye.

Not a lot of calls today at work...as of this writing, I've gotten only five. Needless to say, it's quite a slow day here. I guess I'm left with nothing to but to articulate my anger at a certain co-worker (not in the same immediate department).

I've been putting this off for some time now, but the gloves gotta come off...at least here in the comfortable anonymity of cyberspace. Well, not so anonymous to my co-workers and to the coven of bloggers. Anyway, this person has a penchant for sarcasm, you know? It's as if he thinks he's better than everyone else, including this job. Well, why don't you quit for fuck's sake? I mean, rather than jumping at every chance of mumbling some half-assed, feeble attempt at wittiness, just shut the hell up aight?

I'm musing myself when I think I'm still nice by not naming any names here. Whatever it is, this post was inevitable. He doesn't even have an inkling of what an asshole he is. He's oblivious to the fact that his self-important tirade on other people's comments is not amusing to a LOT of people. Harumphhhh.....I dedicate this chorus to him ("Full Nelson" by Limp Bizkit):

but when it takes place and you wanna talk shit then step your ass up
and say right to my face you'll get knocked the fuck out
'cause your mouth's writing checks that your ass can't cash

Articulate, is this not? That's all for today.

Daijobu Desu Ka??

It was a long day yesterday...I was alone again on the morning shift but fortunately some fellow reps were kind enough to go on OT. It was ok until about 10am when I was alone and the calls started coming in. There was a time that I was on a call, and there were two more waiting in queue. I wanted to say out loud: "I only have one body, dammit! Go to sleep people!". I don't blame anyone if they get sick and don't take it against them if they can't make it, it's just that recently it happens to be me that's left alone on A shift more often than not. It gets to you, ya know?? Whew - I needed that.

Moving on, I barely have enough moolah to cover the upcoming delivery. I just put together our savings from various sources, namely:

a. Salary Loan
b. Uncle's wedding gift (CASH)
c. X-Mas bonus...I hope.

This is really eating away at my peace of mind. Well, I hope my dad helps me out with this, and my loving Aunt is willing to do so too. I was watching "8 simple Rules" last night and it occured to me that if I have daughters, I'm gonna have to go through the same thing as well. It's at this point in my life that I appreciate what a parent does for their children....because I'm about to be one myself. To be honest, it scares me out of my wits when I think about the challenge of Parenthood. At this time, I'm just praying I don't screw up my kid in any sort of psychological way. Thanks to my folks, I turned out pretty OK (and I use the term "OK" loosely).

I'm applying for the APAC opening as well....this is the 3rd time I've done so, and I hope that they pick me. I really need the daytime schedule because my wife is almost due, and so that I can take care of the baby. Also, I plan to take advanced Japanese language classes to enhance my language ability,and I need to get out of work early. Who knows, maybe I can do Japanese support for Macromedia too...the bigger pay wouldn't hurt either, heheh :)

Up, up and away

We finally had another ultrasound session for the baby yesterday. The doctor wouldn't allow another one too soon, but she gave the go signal during our scheduled check-up.

It was awesome - I'm still getting my mind around the fact that my wife has a little human being inside of her. The images on the screen resembled a dark place with light filtering into it, revealing the baby against the rays seeping in. I didn't know it could show his bones too; I could even see his little heart beating. I felt like Superman with X-ray vision. We had a look at him last September and the nurse says it's a boy but she wasn't 100% sure because they couldn't get a good look with the baby turned away. Well, it was the same yesterday since the baby had his legs closed. She got a glimpse for about a few seconds, but he was moving back and forth. Not that it matters if the baby's a boy or a girl, but it's maddening when you don't know for sure...the suspense is really something. This entry can't really do our experience justice, but any parent could tell you the same thing, about what it feels like.

Ever since I started this blog, I've made more of a conscious effort to make mental notes of my thoughts so I can tuck them away when I get the chance to get online and post here. Sometimes it's frustrating when I forget what I want to say when I'm here at blogger.com. So now when I get a revelation, make an astute observation, or just have nonsense I'd like to immortalize on the web, my brain goes into recorder mode and makes neural post-its.

Anyways, it was great to get a long overdue dose of sweet Rock last night. Paul (from tech support) was kind enough to lend me his Red Hot Chili Peppers DVD. It's concert footage - it was already late so I wasn't able to see all of it. I zipped right to the songs I knew. For some time now, I thought I was too old for Rock...it seems like I lost interest in the heavy stuff. Hahah, guess not. I don't really follow the new stuff right now, it's like I stopped updating myself after college. It was a great rush seeing them jump and jam on stage. Anthony Kiedis really knows his shit. He has a way with words, and the way his verses and words gel together is simply wicked. The DVD had subtitles for the lyrics, so I caught every crazy word. Sometimes it seems like he's not making any sense, but he says it so gosh-darn well, ah-hyuk (invoking a goofy voice:P). I didn't realize after all this time, that I miss this kind of stuff :-)

To point the topic compass in the other direction, I'm contemplating on what a doozy remorse can be. It's funny how you can get carried away with your emotions and up end doing something you'll regret. In some cases, you can undo it, but sometimes you can't. Too bad life doesn't come with a reset or rewind button. Oops, I'm late for work - *click* - rewind to the past, and wake up earlier. Hahah, dream on I suppose.

This is just marvelous - I just got a new Site Meter for the blog....hahaha yun lang :-)

More on the Pimp Juice issue. I'm glad they slammed Nelly for his nonsense. He's always yapping about how much money he has, or how phat his ride is, or other materialistic BS. I'm not about to rattle off on morality or anything like that but come on, this is just nuts. What's in a name, some might ask, but would any self-respecting woman really drink that crap? He's narrowing down his target consumer group, he should have also released "Ho / Bitch Juice" to diversify his market. Yeah, I bet all my bling-bling that would sell like hotcakes.... pure genius (NOT).

He says, "Pimp Juice is anything [that] attract[s] the opposite sex ...It could be money, fame or straight intellect; it don't matter! Pimp Juice is color blind; you find it works on all colors, creeds and kinds, from ages 50 right down to nine." Uh-huh, sure. Well, when I last checked, Pimp is a guy peddling flesh out on the street (http://www.m-w.com):

Pronunciation: 'pimp
Function: noun
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: 1600
: a man who solicits clients for a prostitute

Was Nelly the brains behind this concept? This will really help African-Americans eliminate the notion that the majority of them are gang-bangers and lowlives. After this all of this dies down, I just hope Nelly won't whine about how other people stereotype Blacks as criminally inclined. Not after this s**t that he pulled, and his songs. This testoterone junk is just way too cliche for me.

Look at me, blah, blah, blah, I'm important, listen to me whine, blah, blah

Boy, it's been quite a day. It's been pretty sedate towards the end of today's shift, but I got off to an exciting start early this morning. I got an assortment of irate callers, and one of them even swore at me. I can handle an upset customer, but when they start cussing, it's hard for me to keep cool. Come on, how can you have a decent conversation (with someone you don't know, let alone see), who hurls a 'f*** you' at you? Just because you're the customer doesn't give you the right treat other people like crap.

Ever since I became a CSR, I've become a much nicer customer myself. Not that I was inclined to start a verbal skirmish with other people giving me customer service in the past. It's just that I'm more sympathetic of where they're coming from. Of course, there's no excuse for lousy and/or rude service, and that deserves the appropriate hostile reaction.

In other unrelated human events that I came across on the web, rapper Nelly was boycotted recently. He's currently promoting his new health drink Pimp Juice across the U.S. and some people/organiztions took offense at the name. They're pulling it off the shelves at some stores as a result of the outrage his drink sparked. Honestly, who names their drink Pimp-freakin'-Juice??? (in a Dr. Evil voice...) What is up with these guys anyway? There's more to life than Bling-bling, money, cars, and bitches.

Anyways, I'm outta here, just as soon as I'm done with the shift update....

Monday: a fresh start, a clean slate. I'd think of it as that rather than picturing the first day of the week as the bottom of a very steep climb.

Well whaddaya know? I was going over some emails from the T3 folks, and they were talking about a customer's vile and venomous feedback (with the inclusion of certain expletives) that went straight to the top. To my horror, it turns out I spoke to the guy. Hot damn! It was a good thing that I followed procedure (and have notes to back it up), so I'm in the clear even if the customer raises hell about the issue. The email was dated back in Oct. 29, so if T3 was gonna ping me about this, they would have done it already.... *sigh of sincere relief*

I don't want to use this blog as a venue for griping and moaning (not too much anyway), although I guess I have the right to. On
the way to work today, amidst the backdrop of the rising sun, I was thinking about starting the week by counting my blessings. I'm dead sure my work-related close call is probably one of those things to be thankful for. Heck, I'm greatful I have a job too - and at a nice account at that. Yeah, this job does have its exhausting moments: the mounting call queue, the occasional angry (and oafish) caller, etc. But still, considering that other people are breaking their backs carrying a heavy load under the scorching sun for barely half of what we earn, I'm still very lucky.

The previous company where I worked at wasn't too great to put it nicely. It was a total lack of communication from the client; I felt like they didn't care what happened over here, just as long as we could somehow knock down the 50-100+ queue (this is not a typo). The client base was mostly a bunch of homeowners who weren't too good with a computer. And the workflow....it was a total mess. We were one of two call centers for the client, and the other one was based in India. This agent would promise the customer a refund, and I get to be the object of her fury and wrath when I deliver the news that she isn't getting one. I mean, there was no way I could get in touch with that other agent, so I was pretty much in deep ca-ca.

So given that, I felt a sense of relief that my current account is light years ahead in terms of well, everything. Chalk that up to another good thing.

Ah lunch....it's time to have some of the packed lunch my wife made for me (very) early this morning.

Wow...I'm speechless. This rich darkness that is the new template rocks! I finally figured it out, and used one of the skins i got off of blogskins.com. It feels like a great thorn has been removed from my side...

That's all for today...whopee-de-doo :-)