Breakfast at Dencio's

On Friday morning, I enjoyed breakfast with my team at Dencio's. I wanted to thank my agents for their performance this September by treating them to a delicious meal of garlic rice, sisig and inihaw.

We talked until the late hours of the morning about our job. Not business, mind you, but the effects of our work on our impressionable young minds. An example would be delivering the greeting when we answer the phone at home. Or waking up screaming that we're late only to realize later that we were on our day off.

Below are some pictures of the event.

(from left to right: Eliza and Cathy)

(from left to right: Kyke, Averill and Dimples)

(from left to right: Aldrin and Marvin)

Cutting Ties

An old friend has decided to cut ties with me. I should be sad about the turn of events, but I'm not. Partly because our friendship has lessened to such a degree that we hardly talk anymore. I admit that this has been mostly my fault. Work has kept me busy; I'm unable to find time to write a email, even though I sit in front of a computer at work for most of the day.

I don't have that many friends. I've lost a few over the years, mainly because we've grown apart - literally and figuratively speaking. It's hard to maintain friendships with someone you seldom see in person or whose interest have become different from yours. But even then, I still have more than I've lost.

Whereas most friendships fade over time, she felt it necessary to let me know that were weren't friends anymore. That's something I could not understand. I have always felt that friendship was an easy-going relationship; I mean, how often do you hear people ask you, "So, are we friends?" in the same manner they ask if you are lovers?

To ask for commitment changes that friendship to something else entirely. So maybe it is for the best.

Gargaz the Blood-drinker

Not really a nice name for someone who is supposedly a cleric for good. But then, that is just one of the many ironies of the game "Desparate Souls", a one-shot d20 game TROPA played last Saturday.

I can tell you right now that I dislike d20. It has too many complications compared to White Wolf's d10. Other than many calculations for skills,damage,armor, etc., I also found the alignment very constricting. I prefer WW's method of nature and demeanor. Which is why I usually avoid games that are based on the d20 rules.

The character sheet was pre-generated so that saved us a lot of time. And TObie was kind enough to provide notes. I sort of felt like an actor in a play or movie. Gargaz appealed to me because of his "history". Here's a simple-minded half-orc trying to save a world that fears and hates him. Sounds a lot like the X-Men, huh?

Of all the characters, Gargaz came off as the most enjoyable to play. Tobie suggested I speak in-game like Peon in WarCraft. Think of Yoda with an IQ of 80. Now, imagine a 6-foot 7-inch mass of muscle with gray skin, scraggly hair, sharp teeth and nails, telling you he can make it feel all better. Not too convincing is he?

But this is exactly what makes him stand out. One of his many ironies is his nature and appearance. Another would be his status as a chosen cleric of good while being considered one of the evil races. How is it possible, you ask? No one knows really. But it cannot be denied that Gargaz is special.

The game's plot revolves around the city of Bastion which sits in the pass that divides the continent between north and south. It is being held by the Alliance - composed of the good races (humans, elves, and dwarves). The Lichking's armies cannot move north unless the go through the pass. And the heroes are assembling there for their last stand. Kind of like Helmsdeep in Lord of the Rings.

How did it turn out? I don't know. I had to leave to go home and get ready for work. But this game was one of the few d20s I enjoyed because of the character.

Working Too Hard

Here I am again, writing another rant about work. I usually do this once a month to get things off my chest. Customer service has got to be the hardest job in the world. No wonder we get the higher paychecks!

It's official, I have been working too hard. Either that or I've been pushing myself too much. Even my co-supervisors are agreeing with one another. I don't know if I'm really working too hard or just taking on too much responsibility. The former means that I don't settle for anything less than perfection. The latter suggests I don't settle with just doing what I should be doing.

For example, I got suckered in to leading a project at work. I can't get into details but let's just say it wasn't something I needed to do. But I ended up doing it to help out. I'd like to think it was I was one of the best choices for the job...Iw ouldn't be so arrogant as to claim that I was the only one who could do it.

Anyway, I did it and it's done and everyone is happy...except me. I ended up being sick. I wasn't feeling well when I woke up yesterday and work seems to have made it worse. So I decided to take a leave for 3 days but I'll be gone for 5 because my day off is in-between. I just know I'm going to regret coming back to work on Monday.

That's one of the things you can't do when you're part of management; you can't take off just like that and expect everything to be fine and dandy when you report for work. LEaving for 5 days means I've got a shit load of stuff to do to catch up. *sigh* Even a vacation isn't a vacation if your worried about comign back to reality.

Legal Sin

The newspapers are accusing the administration of paying off the Church thru donations of Pagcor for not supporting the call for GMA's resignation. A bishop says there is nothing wrong with accepting money from legal gambling...

Sorry, your Execellency, but I beg to disagree. Gambling, whether legal or illegal, is still a sin. To benefit from a sin is worse than commiting the sin yourself.

My mother asked me what my opinion was and I told her this:

"Think of it this way: The Church says taking the life of a human being is a sin, unless it is in self-defense. It is legal for this country to execute a man for severe crimes. Does that make it right to kill man?".

All Over Again

As I came home work, humming the tune "I wish I could go back to college" from the Avenue Q OST, I began to wonder what it would be like to wake up one day and find myself going to college again but remembering what had happened in those 9 years that had passed.

At first I was excited at the prospect of going through it all over again knowing what I know now. I would take advantage of the opportunities I missed and avoid the mistakes I made. I'd go o out with my batchmates and get to know them more, drop Math 17 and 53 before I failed it, write the novel I've always thought of writing...

But then then I began to think about a lot of serious other questions: Should I change my major sooner to Library Science instead of Computer Science since the former was what I finished not the latter I chose? Would I have stopped the murder of a student knowing I might get in the crossfire? Would I have pursued the girl of my dreams instead of letting her go so easily? Would I have used what I know about my friends to find those I have grown close with sooner and never bothered to spend time with those who would have hurt me?

I got tired thinking about it. It just seemed so much work that I'm glad I won't have to worry about it. I just didn't have the strength to live through it all over again..