Ramblings on Riding the Bus and Others

One of the worst things I have had to endure while riding the bus has been the Filipino movies they show on it. I'm pretty sure that it's illegal for them play the movie as it says so in the openning screen. Anyway, what really gets to me is the feeling of being VIOLATED by the quality of the movies they show.

For example, the particular movie I was forced to watched chronicles the story of a man who is abused by a group of thugs who happen to be police officers and his subsequent road to vengence. To make a long story short - because my brain could not contain all the things that was wrong with that film - it was terrible. I felt so VIOLATED intellectually that I wanted the victims to suffer for their STUPIDITY. I was actually laughing at the drama and action scenes. I think the person sitting next to me thought I was insane.

---

Speaking of aircon buses, I read in the news that bus operators were demanding an increase in fare of almost 90%. I wouldn't mind it so much if their air-conditioning was actually working properly. If these bus operators want to dictate the fare, I suggest we enact a law that sanctions buses that have air-conditioning that are not able to maitain a certain temprature. That's fair, right?

---

I was reading a newspaper while waiting for my interviewer and I could not help but feel sickened at the politics in the country. According to Inquirer, Jan 30 issue, we have 2 candidates gfor the most corrupt leaders in the world - Marcos and Erap. We are number 47 in the most corrupt countries of the world which might not be so bad if you don't take into account that there's approximately more than 200 countries in the world.

This is so depressing.

---

I've been sneezing every morning. I don't think it's a cold. It might be an allergy. But what could I be allergic to? Hmmmm, could it be the dogs? It would have been weird if it work stress or work. But I've been jobless for almost a month now so that can't be it. It all started when our house was renovated so the doctor said it was probably all the dust. But if so, then it would be weird since it's been two years since that time. I should probably see an allergologist soon. The medicine is pretty expensive, it costs about P25 a pill.

Rite of Passage

Today, I am a man.

Okay, not really. But still, I did what any male capable of driving should do: fix the car. Or rather get someone to fix it. Either way, what ever problems it had is now fixed. It cost a pretty penny and I spent an entire day waiting, watching and asking questions. But I got it done.

Normally, it's my brother who does this. He's the more mechanically and socially inclined. He works well with people and machines. Whereas I pretty much keep to myself and let other people do the talking. But recently, Adrian decided I should learn to do these things. Especially since I have the time (re: unemployed). My lazy ass should be put to better use than just taking up space.

So I went to the mechanic, watched how they did what they did, asked questions so I could understand it and pay them their due. I think I did a pretty good job. Especially with the asking questions part.

I'm usually quiet and unmindful of other people until they decide to talk to me. I'm used to being the go-to guy. This time around though, I acted as the I-haven't-got-a-clue guy. Wasn't so hard seeing that I really didn't have a clue. But they were patient enough to answer my questions.

One thing I do not like to do is bargaining. I pretty much hate trying to haggle with someone. But apparently, it's expected. Which is why some merchants put the price high. Still, I think it's not right to do either (raising the price and asking for a discount). I especially don't like it when people do it in a department store.

Tuazon Family Reunion of 2008

Last Sunday, the Tuazon family (my mom's mother's side) of the family had a reunion. It was a small, intimate gathering. Not everyone could be present but each branch of the family was able to get at least three representatives each. This came about with the visit of Tita Nancy and Tito Sonny who came from the US.

We also had good a bad news. Catherine Baking, my cousin, gave birth to a baby girl last December but passed away soon after on Christmas day. I haven't seen her since we left for Australia back in 1987. Even when we visited the US, she wasn't with her family because she and her father had an argument. It's sad they weren't able to patch things up until her father passed away. I guess now, they'll have that chance.

Warlords

I just finished watching the movie called Warlords starring Jet Li, Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro. The operative word there is "watched" because though the DVD copy was crystal clear, I couldn't understand a word being said. The subtitles seemed to have been done by a 5 year old then run through spell check. LOL

Anyway, that didn't stop me from enjoying the film. The visuals (and some of the subtitles) were enough to tell me the story of brotherhood and betrayal. There's a lot of drama mixed in with the fight scenes. I've never seen so many grown men cry. But it all fits nicely into the story.

Like Hero, the story is a tragedy of how ambition can turn the closest of allies into enemies. I only wish our (Filipino) movies could be like this. But then, what I noticed about most Filipino movies is how they focus on the person and not an idea or a cause. Sort of like our politics. But I digress; that's a debate for another time.

Dampa

Last Friday, I went to Dampa at Diosdado Macapagal Avenue with my former co-supervisors and managers. It was the first time I had gone there to eat as well as an all seafood menu. Still the prawns, mussels, crabs and squid were great. I liked how they cooked each one but my favorite were the sizzling gambas and buttered garlic shrimps.

This would be a good place to treat my friends on my birthday.

My First Day Jobless

Okay. I'm jobless. Now what?

I'm not too frightened at the prospect of being unemployed. I know I'm good; I have the credentials and the testimony to back it up. I decided to quit because I was burnt out and I needed a break. I don't plan to be a bum for long. In truth, I can't afford it. I still have payments to make on this laptop.

I should probably create an itinerary for what I need to do for the next few weeks. It should help me get things done. I am so O/C. Maybe MS Outlook can help me with that...

---

Good thing I sold my stocks. I managed to get a good price for them. I could have sold them last year around this time and gotten twice what they're worth now. But I made the mistake of waiting. Funny thing about waiting; sometimes you end up losing a lot more than what you have.

I told others to wait too but that ended up being a bad idea. The price plummeted to a third of the highest price. I don't know if they blame me for it but I feel sorry for not having told them to sell it at a time it was at an all-time high. Some people could have gotten close to 10,000 to 50,000 pesos. That was the last time I gave advice about the stock market.

---

I'm afraid; I think I might end up being a lazy ass instead of making good use of this time to work on a lot of things like my weight. I also wanted to work on this blog, as well as the other one for the Giovanni Chronicles. The game may be a year old and has no chance of being continued but I have to admit, it should be saved for posterity's sake.

Karl made some awesome portraits of the characters. Joan submitted some great entries for her character's journal. I forwarded the emails from my office inbox to the one at Gmail. I should probably put it all in a Word document first and design some format of displaying it; I'm O/C that way. But my need to put things in order can often be trumped by my laziness.

---

I finsihed watching Battlestar Galactica Season 1 to 3. It's hard to believe that this show was originally shown in the late 1970's and revived several times. But this is the first time it actually clicked and managed to get 3 seasons so far.

I like the premise of a society trying to survive, making hard decisions that question their values. In a sense, you can see how a society changes in an almost daily basis. Their values are questioned to the point where they must discard it.

---