Friday, October 31, 2003
//vanilla frap aftershocks
Hurray! Today, I found out what my cousin's real name is.
We grew apart, she was raised in the States, while I, I have never set foot on foreign soil until I was 26. But with all the photographs our parents have exchanged through the years, I felt like she, and all my 7 other cousins living in California, have always been there. We might not have had played hide-and-seek or patintero in the streets when we were young, but the strong sense of familiarity has always been there.
2 weeks ago, she came home in a rush with her dad to bury her grandmother. As it is with most Filipinos, any relative coming home from abroad is always cause for cheer, regardless of the circumstances. I was a bit uncomfortable when I heard that a cousin of mine came home from the states. The last time she came home, we were kids, and we could submit ourselves to senseless banter and just laugh our way through Enchanted Kingdom. Things are different now. Members of our generation have grown up to be the adult, issue and temperament-laden individuals that we are, and I thought, it might not be as easy to find that connection between us anymore.
Last weekend, a couple of days before she left for the States, we went out. Watched a movie, window-shopped, strolled around the mall. The movie was nice, window-shopping was okay, strolling was a bit tiring, but it was during dinner that we really got to talk: a real conversation between 2 people who barely knew each other. I never realized how the food could be so bad (Ate Lally, if you're reading this, you have to admit, the food wasn't exactly heavenly, was it? My fault... eeep...) and yet dinner could still be great. And how Vanilla Frapuccino could stay frozen for 3 hours as we talked. The day ended with me realizing how my cousin and I have so much in common. We're both peacemakers (conflict-phobes, i think...) and we have this common desire to blaze our own trails, and go beyond what our families expect from us. Be different from everyone else, but not in a angst-filled way. We belong to the rare breed of young professionals who do not seek out worldly pleasures, for what we seek is much harder to find, happiness from simplest of things.
I emailed her today and a bit of sadness crept through me. My cousin could have been my best friend had we gone to the same school, the same children's parties, played hide-and-seek in the backyard with the same set of friends. She could have been there for me whenever I'd melodramatically reflect on the meaning of life as an aftershock of each failed relationship I've already gone through. She could have had her heart broken several times as well, and I would have been there for her, even threatening to beat up that last guy (with the help of my bigger friends, of course...) and we could have spent so many nights sitting on the couch and having ice cream to try to beat our depressions.
A week after her departure, life goes on. I figure that it'll take another five years before we see each other again. But things could be different from hereon, just because we had bad Japanese food and never-ending Vanilla Frap. This time around, we're no longer thousands of miles away.
We grew apart, she was raised in the States, while I, I have never set foot on foreign soil until I was 26. But with all the photographs our parents have exchanged through the years, I felt like she, and all my 7 other cousins living in California, have always been there. We might not have had played hide-and-seek or patintero in the streets when we were young, but the strong sense of familiarity has always been there.
2 weeks ago, she came home in a rush with her dad to bury her grandmother. As it is with most Filipinos, any relative coming home from abroad is always cause for cheer, regardless of the circumstances. I was a bit uncomfortable when I heard that a cousin of mine came home from the states. The last time she came home, we were kids, and we could submit ourselves to senseless banter and just laugh our way through Enchanted Kingdom. Things are different now. Members of our generation have grown up to be the adult, issue and temperament-laden individuals that we are, and I thought, it might not be as easy to find that connection between us anymore.
Last weekend, a couple of days before she left for the States, we went out. Watched a movie, window-shopped, strolled around the mall. The movie was nice, window-shopping was okay, strolling was a bit tiring, but it was during dinner that we really got to talk: a real conversation between 2 people who barely knew each other. I never realized how the food could be so bad (Ate Lally, if you're reading this, you have to admit, the food wasn't exactly heavenly, was it? My fault... eeep...) and yet dinner could still be great. And how Vanilla Frapuccino could stay frozen for 3 hours as we talked. The day ended with me realizing how my cousin and I have so much in common. We're both peacemakers (conflict-phobes, i think...) and we have this common desire to blaze our own trails, and go beyond what our families expect from us. Be different from everyone else, but not in a angst-filled way. We belong to the rare breed of young professionals who do not seek out worldly pleasures, for what we seek is much harder to find, happiness from simplest of things.
I emailed her today and a bit of sadness crept through me. My cousin could have been my best friend had we gone to the same school, the same children's parties, played hide-and-seek in the backyard with the same set of friends. She could have been there for me whenever I'd melodramatically reflect on the meaning of life as an aftershock of each failed relationship I've already gone through. She could have had her heart broken several times as well, and I would have been there for her, even threatening to beat up that last guy (with the help of my bigger friends, of course...) and we could have spent so many nights sitting on the couch and having ice cream to try to beat our depressions.
A week after her departure, life goes on. I figure that it'll take another five years before we see each other again. But things could be different from hereon, just because we had bad Japanese food and never-ending Vanilla Frap. This time around, we're no longer thousands of miles away.
Comments:
Friday, October 24, 2003
New add-on! Check out the tag-board...
***************
must-listen song: Heaven Down Here
must-listen artist: Tuck and Patti
Thank God it's Friday.
***************
must-listen song: Heaven Down Here
must-listen artist: Tuck and Patti
Thank God it's Friday.
Comments:
Monday, October 20, 2003
Friday, October 17, 2003
Mutual Admiration Societies
A couple of weeks ago, a new friend of mine (I call her NFF-New Found Friend, and she doesn't know it, hehehe, hi Camille) told me about Friendster. And it really amazes me. Fine, I get to find long-lost friends just because they're friends of friends of friends. But more importantly for me, I've managed to found a way to use it to dupe my friends. "Hey, I'll make a testimonial for you, make on for me ha?" They'll make super sweet testimonials for me... not knowing that on my end, I'm writing about those embarassing things I know about them. If they refuse to approve it, here's where the guilt-trip comes in. "Sige, reject it, pero pinaghirapan ko yan ha..." It's hilarious, hehehe. The things people will do to get people to say nice things about them. If I were a Jedi, I'd be Darth Vader's apprentice. I'm the master of the Dark Side.
I like it though, being the role-playing-game junkie that I am. As Alia, another friend, once said, it's like playing Age of Empires. It's like collecting sticks and meat to build your kingdom... but this time, you collect friends.... hehehe.
My collection is hereby encased in the following glass cabinets:
1. Pisay
2. Engineering/Enggsoc
3. Shell
4. Peyups
5. Dive Buddies
6. Kalayaan/Molave
Or alternatively:
1. Friends I talk to everyday
2. Acquaintances I don't give a crap about, but can be used to boost up my friend count.
3. Old classmates you'd rather not talk to
4. Friends of friends who share the same motive for being your friendster: to use each other for that precious extra friendster count.
5. People from your college org. Same motive... (what else?)
6. Old flames, crushes, prom dates to get you to say "what the hell was i thinking?"
7. Frat brothers. Shiver me timbers, it's really weird to put the words "fraternity" and "friendster" in the same compartment.
8. Old lovers, and lovers of old lovers. *sinister laugh*
Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you mine, hehehe... *pok*
A couple of weeks ago, a new friend of mine (I call her NFF-New Found Friend, and she doesn't know it, hehehe, hi Camille) told me about Friendster. And it really amazes me. Fine, I get to find long-lost friends just because they're friends of friends of friends. But more importantly for me, I've managed to found a way to use it to dupe my friends. "Hey, I'll make a testimonial for you, make on for me ha?" They'll make super sweet testimonials for me... not knowing that on my end, I'm writing about those embarassing things I know about them. If they refuse to approve it, here's where the guilt-trip comes in. "Sige, reject it, pero pinaghirapan ko yan ha..." It's hilarious, hehehe. The things people will do to get people to say nice things about them. If I were a Jedi, I'd be Darth Vader's apprentice. I'm the master of the Dark Side.
I like it though, being the role-playing-game junkie that I am. As Alia, another friend, once said, it's like playing Age of Empires. It's like collecting sticks and meat to build your kingdom... but this time, you collect friends.... hehehe.
My collection is hereby encased in the following glass cabinets:
1. Pisay
2. Engineering/Enggsoc
3. Shell
4. Peyups
5. Dive Buddies
6. Kalayaan/Molave
Or alternatively:
1. Friends I talk to everyday
2. Acquaintances I don't give a crap about, but can be used to boost up my friend count.
3. Old classmates you'd rather not talk to
4. Friends of friends who share the same motive for being your friendster: to use each other for that precious extra friendster count.
5. People from your college org. Same motive... (what else?)
6. Old flames, crushes, prom dates to get you to say "what the hell was i thinking?"
7. Frat brothers. Shiver me timbers, it's really weird to put the words "fraternity" and "friendster" in the same compartment.
8. Old lovers, and lovers of old lovers. *sinister laugh*
Tell me who your friends are, and I'll tell you mine, hehehe... *pok*
Comments:
Master Sucker
Last night was Oktoberfest night, and for the third straight year, I am the beer-drinking champion. Fastest two years ago at gobbling down a 750 ml mug of dark lager, fastest this year at finishing 2 glasses of draft beer using a straw. Now that was a first for me.
Thus, I got my new title.
Oh, but the winner of the other contest, the fastest at hammering a nail down a piece of log, had a better title. Master Nailer.
Wise asses, these people here at the refinery are...
Last night was Oktoberfest night, and for the third straight year, I am the beer-drinking champion. Fastest two years ago at gobbling down a 750 ml mug of dark lager, fastest this year at finishing 2 glasses of draft beer using a straw. Now that was a first for me.
Thus, I got my new title.
Oh, but the winner of the other contest, the fastest at hammering a nail down a piece of log, had a better title. Master Nailer.
Wise asses, these people here at the refinery are...
Comments:
Thursday, October 09, 2003
While taking my morning break 5 minutes ago, i saw a crane parked outside the refinery. Although much smaller, the trusses resembled those of another ultra-hyper-large crane we used during our turnaround shutdown in 2002. Which brings me to today's set of musings.
A few of the unique and daring stuff I have done in recent memory:
1. Went up a 300 ft tall structure using a manbasket hoisted by an ultra-hyper large crane from ground level. It was like taking an elevator but the difference is, we're completely suspended and our lives were at the hands of those who designed and constructed (welded, yikes) the crane, the manbasket and the wire ropes.
2. Drank a bottle of ginebra san miguel gin bilog during my college days. The last image I have of that feat was me finishing half. Everything else that followed was all black. Not fuzzy, but black.
3. In Malaysia, I did a pathetic juggling act with a clown in front of a crowd of about 50-60 inside their Kuala Lumpur's biggest shopping mall.
4. Speaking of performances, I serenaded an old gf outside our dormitory with several friends, while all the girls on the building's wing were watching. An applause, I suppose, followed from my uninvited audience, but I was paying too much attention to trying to control my knees from shaking to actually remember anything.
5. After passing the board exams, being the one with the highest score among those present (number one guy was stranded in Mindanao, I was number 2) it was my task to deliver the speech in behalf of the inductees. The chairman of the PSME reviewed my speech, and asked me to change certain parts. I delivered my original piece anyway, focusing on un-engineer words like "the evils of globalization." I got a standing ovation, and the faculty members of DLSU asked me for a copy. My rebellious shining moment.
6. As a 2 year old kid, I bit Marcos' leg. He bit me while i was playing, and I just got even. Marcos was our family dog.
Whew, this reminds me of an airline ad.
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
A few of the unique and daring stuff I have done in recent memory:
1. Went up a 300 ft tall structure using a manbasket hoisted by an ultra-hyper large crane from ground level. It was like taking an elevator but the difference is, we're completely suspended and our lives were at the hands of those who designed and constructed (welded, yikes) the crane, the manbasket and the wire ropes.
2. Drank a bottle of ginebra san miguel gin bilog during my college days. The last image I have of that feat was me finishing half. Everything else that followed was all black. Not fuzzy, but black.
3. In Malaysia, I did a pathetic juggling act with a clown in front of a crowd of about 50-60 inside their Kuala Lumpur's biggest shopping mall.
4. Speaking of performances, I serenaded an old gf outside our dormitory with several friends, while all the girls on the building's wing were watching. An applause, I suppose, followed from my uninvited audience, but I was paying too much attention to trying to control my knees from shaking to actually remember anything.
5. After passing the board exams, being the one with the highest score among those present (number one guy was stranded in Mindanao, I was number 2) it was my task to deliver the speech in behalf of the inductees. The chairman of the PSME reviewed my speech, and asked me to change certain parts. I delivered my original piece anyway, focusing on un-engineer words like "the evils of globalization." I got a standing ovation, and the faculty members of DLSU asked me for a copy. My rebellious shining moment.
6. As a 2 year old kid, I bit Marcos' leg. He bit me while i was playing, and I just got even. Marcos was our family dog.
Whew, this reminds me of an airline ad.
When was the last time you did something for the first time?
Comments:
Monday, October 06, 2003
toxic: [Late Latin toxicus, from Latin toxicum, poison, from Greek toxikon, poison for arrows, poison, from neuter of toxikos, of a bow, from toxon, bow, from Old Persian *taxa-, an arrow.]
an arrow just hit me today. it's laden with impatient people, a manufacturing plant that refuses to behave properly, and plain bad timing.
my antidote: patience. (one... two.. three... four... inhale... exhale...)
an arrow just hit me today. it's laden with impatient people, a manufacturing plant that refuses to behave properly, and plain bad timing.
my antidote: patience. (one... two.. three... four... inhale... exhale...)
Comments:
Wednesday, October 01, 2003
Scribblings on my "to Do" list for today:
1. Follow up P-504B ETC for installation. May sikat tayo dyan pag bumigay yung P-504A.
2. Firm up Deep Well Pump 2 overhaul schedule, No plan, no water. No water, no boiler. No boiler, no operation. No operation, bye bye job.
3. Follow up repair plan for Emergency Diesel Genset (EDG) from Monark.
4. If Monark doesn't answer, have an arsonist burn their building to the ground.
5. Check Sootblower #1 (of F-101). Oh and have it fixed of course. Reinstate lance flange.
6. Have P-306B repaired.
7. Request for P-301A vibration measurement. May sikat tayo dyan pag bumigay.
8. Inspection of P-6802A cracked casing. Cracked na naman??? putaragis...
9. Cross fingers and hope to see some progress with the Permit to Work review final report.
10. Finalize Gas Turbine 3 major overhaul. Remember, we wants to spends the 65 million bucks within the year, my preciousss...
11. Compute MTBM for September. If not done, appear busy, sound busy, and say you're busy and will do it ASAP.
12. Count the number of days til year end, and cry if targets can't be met.
1. Follow up P-504B ETC for installation. May sikat tayo dyan pag bumigay yung P-504A.
2. Firm up Deep Well Pump 2 overhaul schedule, No plan, no water. No water, no boiler. No boiler, no operation. No operation, bye bye job.
3. Follow up repair plan for Emergency Diesel Genset (EDG) from Monark.
4. If Monark doesn't answer, have an arsonist burn their building to the ground.
5. Check Sootblower #1 (of F-101). Oh and have it fixed of course. Reinstate lance flange.
6. Have P-306B repaired.
7. Request for P-301A vibration measurement. May sikat tayo dyan pag bumigay.
8. Inspection of P-6802A cracked casing. Cracked na naman??? putaragis...
9. Cross fingers and hope to see some progress with the Permit to Work review final report.
10. Finalize Gas Turbine 3 major overhaul. Remember, we wants to spends the 65 million bucks within the year, my preciousss...
11. Compute MTBM for September. If not done, appear busy, sound busy, and say you're busy and will do it ASAP.
12. Count the number of days til year end, and cry if targets can't be met.
Comments:
