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Saturday, July 19th, 2008
thefool
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10:15p
more random ramblings
Rough day at work yesterday…I was feeling tired and frustrated…Just way too many things to do…I really can’t complain…I know I’m blessed…When I got to the shop, I found out we had no kitchen staff…No time to think or relax…Just dove into kitchen duty…The girlfriend came over at around 11:30…brought some really good cake to feed the masses (a.k.a. my friends) because it will be our fourth “monthsary” on Sunday…yes, you can cringe now…being in love brings out the kabaduyan in me…Joined Andy and the gang in the private room to watch a movie…I was so tired that I fell asleep in her arms...the girlfriend’s arms…not Andy’s…The girlfriend went home at 2:30am…I washed dishes that were piled sky-high (gross exaggeration, of course) then I went home too…Looking forward to tomorrow…the monthsary…ang baduy…I know…but I’m loving being baduy…I missed the cheese factor…watching Batman and maybe have dinner after…I am Christian Bale or rather, I want to be Christian Bale…where to have dinner, maybe Mickey’s Deli? Or maybe somewhere in Eastwood…Really tired right now…Another good day at the shop…but just exhausted...There's a party at Jardine's...boohoo...stuck at the shop...i could follow but I'm really way too tired...don't even know if I can muster enough strength to go home...Lasalle trounced NU woohoo…that was brutal…Collapsing on a beanbag sounds like a good idea...MUST do so now.
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(comment on this) Wednesday, July 16th, 2008
giish
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5:19p
My Arctic Char
I woke up scared, in my bed last night. A bad dream that made me sleep the remaining hour with the lights on, and missing another body in the house so bad.
Helicopters are constantly thundering above my head, lately. I feel as though I'm in some sort of military state where flights are the norm and that I ought to be expecting soldiers to slowly re-enter the community like lost brothers. But the town has been quiet lately, a lot of people have left to inhabit their summer camps and enjoy being 'out on the land'.
It's just me and helicopters, I suppose. It's such an odd sound to hear...one would expect it to be very quiet.
I've been rather ambitious the past few days. Yesterday I decided to venture out on the land and get some photos of flowers and things that are growing. I was eagerly anticipating the growth of a common flower in the arctic called Arctic Cotton.
They resemble cotton balls on sticks, the flower itself feels and also looks like white rabbit fur blowing in the wind.
Then today, I decide I am going to find someone to give or sell me an Arctic Char which is a common fish and also considered a delicacy around the world. I'm not normally a fish person, the best I can usually do is tuna from a can, or maybe perch or halibut. Something that doesn't taste fishy, which sort of defeats the purpose, right? So, I was driving all over trying to figure out who were regularly fished, and who might want to part with a fresh one that I can cook for dinner tonight. A friend gave me two idiot-proof recipes, and I was anxious to try it.
The thing about the north is that nothing comes in a tidy little package. I ended up coming home with this gigantic fish in a grocery bag, with his head still attached. At least his innards had been cleaned. At least, I think I was supposed to leave the main blood line in there...eep.
So, I chopped off the head, it's sitting in the sink right now. I was planning on taking it over to one of the sled dog teams that are posted on the outskirts of the village, but one head for 7 dogs doesn't really make any sense. So it will likely end up in the trash. I can't stop looking at it's eye balls. I feel as though I want to keep it around for awhile, like a little friend.
I made some steaks, I guess you could call them and saved those for tomorrow (in the event this evening's dish turns to disaster) and the other half of the fish is currently wrapped in tinfoil and being baked in the oven. I seasoned it with salt and pepper, some garlic (because I like garlic), a tad bit of olive oil and wrapped it up and tossed it in there. The only thing is...umm, well, I couldn't get the tail fin off because my knives are crappy, and the tinfoil wasn't long enough, so it's sticking out of the pan. Clearly, and this should be no surprise to you, this is an amateur job.
Hopefully, that won't hurt the cooking of the rest of the fish.
And for the first time, I touched the water that was the ocean. Salty water on my tongue.
And it just amazes me, the view from the shore of my melting ocean...
current mood:  creative
current music: Prime Time Deliverance - The Matthew Good Band
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(2 comments | comment on this) Tuesday, July 15th, 2008
giish
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3:21p
...and your love was like a broken bottle.
yep, been slacking on the updating action. I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but I've become enamored with instant potatoes and fat Bing cherries. Not together, of course...but those are the two things that I've been subsisting on lately. It's just the way I eat, if left to my own devices. I would have had it for lunch today if I hadn't been invited to the DEW line, which is cool because they have an indoor smoking room. And tons of new guys that I haven't met before. Nice on the eyes, and it's not like I'm expected to make conversation. Or rather, I am...I just don't. I use the shield of shyness nearly everywhere I go.
I promised photos of the new bedroom. I didn't want to post any after awhile because it seemed like a trite thing to take pictures of, but here's one of the closet and window area.
I just love the angles of this place.
drawing circles in your concret, I will know your every move...
Sometimes, I crank the music up in my office while I'm typing away at whatever I'm working on. In the blandness of the afternoon light, my fingers are a stark colour against the black of the keyboard. It keeps my eyes moving. Makes me miss typewriters. Where your eyes had something to follow, back and forth. I wish I had a typewriter.
I will love you....I won't let go...
Anyway, I'd better get going. I'm planning a walk tonight, did I say that? I will post pictures when....I feel like it. heh.
G.
Broken Bottle - Pete Yorn
Undercover - Pete Yorn
current music: Broken Bottle - Pete Yorn
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(comment on this) Monday, July 14th, 2008
thefool
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6:04p
Fake Perfume Scam
You can chalk this up to stupidity but here is my attempt to warn others who might fall victim to this kind of scam.
A guy walked into our small office. He was well dressed in a long-sleeved shirt and slacks. He also spoke English well and he looked like a typical office worker. He had a box of perfume with him—Lacoste “Touch of Pink.” I ignored him at first but then he sprayed perfume on me and started going on and on about how Lacoste was doing a promotional thing and they were giving away Free perfume. My ears prickled at the word “Free” and I started paying attention.
The next thing I knew, my officemates started purchasing 50ml bottles of the perfume for 200php. I did say something like, “I thought it was free?” but the man ignored me. He seemed likeable enough, laughing along with our jokes. An officemate of mine bought three bottles. Most of the men bought bottles for their girlfriends. I bought a bottle for the girlfriend too.
He then asked which of us wanted Lacoste paper bags. Since most of us planned to give the bottles as a gift, we thought that was pretty cool. He then promised he’d be back in 5 minutes and he left the office. After he left, we started getting suspicious. Then the president of the company walked in and castigated us for falling for the guy’s tricks. That was when I found out that two of my officemates paid the guy without getting perfume in return. The guy told them he ran out and that he needed to go down to get some more.
I asked one of my officemates (who purchased the bottle for herself) to open her box. The moment the box was opened, we recognized the perfume as a fake. To add insult to injury, it smelled bad. As expected, the guy has disappeared by now. Although this sucked to the bunch of us who got fake merchandize, it sucked even more for the people who got absolutely nothing in return.
I don’t mind being stuck with fake perfume. Honestly, I was an idiot. I should have known it was too cheap. That was my fault. But this is a scam nonetheless. I wouldn’t have minded too much if the guy just sold us fake perfume, what disturbs me is that he ran off with the money of two officemates without giving them anything in return. I can live with the fake perfume and the lies that it was authentic. Outright theft is one thing.
So be warned. Anyone, and I do mean anyone, can fall for shit like this.
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(comment on this)
thefool
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2:27p
The Baguio Trip
Andy set up a Baguio trip for the FriiSpirit peeps after she got tired of hearing us complain how tired we all were. Expenses were minimal and the company was great. Carol couldn’t go in the last minute and she was missed but we talked about her every single day so in the end, it was like she was almost there.
We had a blast on the way there…mainly because Andy brought a bottle of Jack and by the time we were half-way there, we’ve had enough Jack Cokes in our systems to shrug off the long car-ride (In case you were wondering, I did drink during this trip with the girlfriend’s permission).
It was a very laid-back trip. No one was in a hurry to go anywhere and everyone was just happy being away from the heat and grime of Manila. We stayed at Andrea’s house and it felt great sitting in front of a fire and having some good conversation away from the frantic demands of our jobs.
We did try to be tourists on the second day and we went to Minesview and happily parted with our change (maybe 40 pesos worth) by getting ourselves lured into paying for tourist traps such as “Have your pictures taken with our giant St. Bernard” and “Have your picture taken in an Igorot costume.” We also went to Camp John Hay to visit the Cemetery of Negativity at medyo kinareer namin ito.
It was hard going back to Manila. The girlfriend and I were dreading rejoining the rat race but some things can’t be helped. The only thing we could was to promise each other that we would have more of these moments to somehow alleviate the exhaustion and the stress.
Pictures are uploaded to my Multiply: http://croces.multiply.com
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(comment on this) Tuesday, July 8th, 2008
giish
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3:41p
television and the almighty credit card
give me streets to burn
Truth be told, I haven't thought much about updating lately. I've been just going to work, coming home and going to bed. Rinse, reuse.
I always go home for lunch and watch episodes of Oz. I grabbed the first three seasons while on vacation and have been working my way through them ever since I got back. Trouble is, that show is freaking depressing. After a week of lunchtime drama, I'm sure I've been reprogrammed to think that I'm in an Arctic prison of sorts. So I've been walking around in a fug since Saturday. It's all in your own perception of things. Freaking t.v shows...
Yesterday, I tried to bake a cake. Yeah. Me, baking. Pretty simple, I figured. Instructions were on the box, you just added eggs and water, wisk and into the oven. Tell that to my cake that came out. It was lopsided and an ugly yellow colour. It's still sitting on top of the stove as I type this. I don't know whether I should eat it anyway or throw it out. *sigh*
I also procured a credit card, with which I immediately started perusing the internet with. I ordered some Kids in the Hall dvds (actually, all of them), and the last 3 seasons of 3rd Rock from the Sun. Then I remembered that I wanted Claire Fontaine paper, so I ordered that, too. It turns out that Flickr, my main photo dumping ground has all sorts of neato affiliates where you can order post cards, posters, calendars, etc all using your photos as the backgrounds. So I ordered a shitload of post cards. I finally stopped ordering today, when I tried to send flowers to Rose as a joke. You know you're nuts when you try to send your favourite flowers to everyone else except yourself.
I've also been paying close attention to the character of Tim McManus. I used to think this guy must be some sort of layabout actor, until I learned Terry Kinney is one of the three founding members of the Steppenwolf Theatre along with Gary Sinise in Chicago. I was like....damn.
There. I just did it again. That's it. I'm staying away from Amazon.com...they just have everything I've ever wanted in the way of dvds, so it's just best to cease and desist. But I couldn't resist those John Cusack movies, and how am I supposed to know what happens in Oz if I only have the first 3 seasons??
I know, I know....
I'm sick.
Gotta go. T.v is waiting, don't you know.
current mood:  okay
current music: Everytime I see you falling - New Order
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(1 comment | comment on this)
thefool
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10:14a
#lasalle reunion
Back in the days when few people had Internet access at home and chatting was cool (we’re talking about way back in 1993 to maybe 1996), I stumbled upon MIRC and #mabuhay which was then being managed by its creator BoyBlue a.k.a. Jardine of poker and Rockband lore. Giz01 a.k.a. Rolly created a spin-off channel and #lasalle in undernet was born. I was founding member of the channel (my e-mail address was one of the 10 listed to get it approved) and admittedly, I still get a kick out of visiting the channel on undernet and just seeing it still exists although I no longer chat.
Last night, we had a sort of mini reunion with the gang and needless to say, it was amusing to say the least. Funny guy Kazmut a.k.a. Darwin who got a lot of ribbing last night for his infatuation with several women in the channel now works for IBM. Bakekang a.k.a. Miles still works for Cathay and we had fun reminiscing how we’d both get drunk during parties and puke by the side of the road as she was driving me home. Giz01 is no longer this skinny Chinese guy whose eyes disappear when he smiles. He’s now an average-built Chinese guy whose eyes disappear when he smiles. But seriously, Giz01 has the best story in chat. He ended up marrying Clio, who he met in chat, and they are now happily married with children. A_x, who now works for a credit card company, has turned into XXX as like me, he has now come out of the closet. Trissie a.k.a. Trissie (baduy!) is still the same Trissie. Seriously. Same hair, same eyes, same built…she hasn’t changed! As for me…well as they were pointing out, TheGirl has now turned into TheBoy and I guess that is the weirdest transformation ever.
I left relatively early and could no longer join them at Max Brenner (we had dinner at Italliani’s where I happily freeloaded off Jardine’s food) because I had to be at FriiSpirit in Katipunan (Aside from the fact that it was my shift, I was seriously itching to play “No More Heroes”). We made plans to keep in touch more often and I set a tentative night out with Miles although we assured each other that no one is going to be puking by the curb this time. Needless to say, I’ll be seeing them all again (especially Jardine of http://iamclockwork.blogspot.com fame).
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