my first live PBA game :)

i watched a PBA game live for the first time last january 18, wednesday. i was with some of my co-MT's - crystal, kris, sarah & jamie. we took a cab to cuneta astrodome right after our 7 habits for highly effective people seminar. i was lucky that i didn't even have to pay for tickets - jamie's dad works there as a financial something something, so they get tickets for free. coolness! :)

we made it just in time for the second game - air21 vs. talk n text. we were rooting for talk n text because it's sarah's favorite team, but they lost.

pero grabe! i couldn't believe how hyped up some of the audience can be. other than those who were clapping and cheering, there was an intermittent release of expletives from some people on our side of the court. i felt like saying, "hey, this is just a game."

but other than that, it was fun to watch a game again, after 10 million years of shying away from watching it on the idiot box. good thing, tala was right beside me. i was able to ask about things that i've forgotten - 3-second violations, penalty, technical foul, etc. after all, my last time to watch was way back in grade 6. it was that long ago.

maybe next time, we could watch a game in araneta. jamie - hint, hint! ;)

cheers to cute female yuppies watching basketball games in business attire! :)

i walk just fine

Your walk is: 'Dandy' Take this quiz at QuizGalaxy.com

reminds me of something my co-MT benj said about me: "grace, isa kang graceful na kiti-kiti."

so true.

lalong maling akala

our revalida is not on february 4. neither is it on february 2. it will be on tuesday, january 31.

need i say more?

argh.

maling akala

turns out that our revalida would be on february 2 - a lot earlier than we thought it would be.

argh.

there's going to be a debate on a banking-related issue, & there will be a leaderless discussion & an extemporaneous speech (public speaking) on an issue with social relevance.

did i ever say that i abhor speaking in front of a group, & that i quit my high school's debate team even before i could participate in a debate? it might not seem like it most of the time, but i become quite nervous when i face people in structured situations (eg. orals, defense, extempo, revalida). i am unable to eat hours prior to the activity. my hands begin to rival a fridge & my mind...well, my mind just sort of flies into oblivion for a while.

double argh.

putting off procrastination

i'm putting off cramming for our sectoral direction of lending paper because i work so much better when it's late at night & i'm alone.

* * * * * * * * * *

i was able to watch rounds 8-10 of pacquiao's bout with morales. it was great to know that he won 'cause way before the telecast on channel 2, my dad heard that he lost by knockout in round 6. yay! but his victory aside, thinking of boxing saddens me a bit.

(disclaimer: it's not my first time to watch a boxing match. i grew up watching not only boxing, but also wrestling matches on TV.)

i find it quite unfortunate that some people have to earn their keep through a process that involves inflicting physical injury on another person. i know that many consider it a sport, taking into consideration the hours put into strategy-formulation & training. while i have yet to make up my mind on whether i consider it a sport or not, i am inclined to believe that given other opportunities, some boxers might not have decided to become boxers. they might not have chosen the path that makes them probable victims of mental & motor disorders later on, when the ring lights have dimmed & the adulation has ceased.

(but hey, maybe the joke is on me. after all, they enjoy far richer & more comfortable lives than i probably ever will as an employee. the admiration of a whole country isn't so bad either. :) )

* * * * * * * * * *

my sister pinky works part-time for sun cellular to gain experience. here are some of the "serious" queries that she & her blockmates got from customers:

"may signal pa rin ba kahit gabi?"

"pwede ko bang i-maintain ang line ko sa globe (on the same phone) kung kukuha ako ng line sa inyo?"

"ah, line. so bibili pa ko ng prepaid?"

* * * * * * * * * *

i love selecta's choco peanut! whenever i'm in the office & i feel like eating ice cream, i head straight to ministop's ice cream fridge & grab a choco peanut on stick. needless to say, it was quite satisfying (gastronomically) that we had it as our dessert after breakfast. my dad however, was not so thrilled: "naku, hindi pwede kay nimbus yan."

can someone tell me if it's true that dogs can't have chocolate?

* * * * * * * * * *

i woke up on time last wednesday, but for some reason, i ended up leaving our house around 10 minutes later than usual. while this might be okay on other days, it's not on wednesdays. it's "baclaran day" - people flock to church to hear mass. thus, i made myself vulnerable to tardiness. to make matters worse, i was not able to get a ride on an FX or van that would take me straight to vito cruz. i ended up taking my chances in getting an FX or bus to vito cruz in baclaran, of all places.

i was in baclaran by 8:10. i had a few minutes to spare, because it takes only 10 minutes to get to vito cruz from baclaran. but, surprise, surprise (sarcasm dripping) - it was an herculean task trying to get into any vehicle that would take me to my destination. after five minutes of running towards different forms of public conveyance that filled up with passengers even before i got near the open door, i was tired.

a big van came along, & i ran to it. however, a swarm of passengers that was nearer to it beat me. i almost gave up hope in getting to the office on time when the front door opened, & i was able to get a seat. whew.

i think that i've got my petite frame to thank for it. i noticed before i went in that the person closest to the front door is a tall guy. after i went in, i saw that the woman on the front seat was on the heavy side. i guess she opened the door when she saw me, & accurately concluded that both of us will be able to sit comfortably. haha... :)

* * * * * * * * * *

i miss you. (& MYMP's song "miss you" is not helping matters. argh.)

rambling on...

birthday ni elcie nung friday the 13th. ang saya!

kiddie party ang theme ng celebration. ang lunch namin, jolly spaghetti at chicken joy. nilibre namin siya ng ice cream, kaya kiddie na kiddie talaga, to think na 23 na siya. hehe.



elcie also organized fun, fun games (with prizes!). yung first game, name that body part. our models were the boys: justin & robbie. andun din si sir leslie, so model din siya. haha! roxy, aisha & i were in the same group, with robbie as our model. so eto na, name the body parts that start with "b", & mark these with small strips of masking tape.

nanalo kami! kasi naman, ang kulit namin. we had body parts like: bunbunan, buhok, buhok sa kilikili, balahibo, bituka, balun-balunan, & taste buds. hindi lang yun...



ayan po ang kakampi kong si roxy, tinatanggal ang masking tape sa body part na kilala sa tawag na "bird". idea ko yun. wahahaha! dapat may isa rin kaming masking tape para sa "balls", pero ayun kay robbie, dalawa yun kaya dalawa rin dapat ang masking tape. dalawa nga ang idinikit namin - isa para sa ball #1, isa rin para sa ball #2. so, there. robbie ended up with three small strips on his crotch. hahaha!

after nito, charades naman. movies muna. grabe elcie, saan mo kinuha yung iba? sabihin niyo nga sa kin, ano yung movie na "sa akin ang itaas, sa iyo ang ibaba ng bahay", at "ang tatay kong nanay"?! pero in fairness, narinig ko na naman yung "walang matigas na tinapay sa mainit na kape".

ang saya-saya! sarah, crystal, kris, me, & roxy were in one group. nanalo kami!

same grouping for the next round of charades. songs naman. we had to guess the song's title, then sing a few lines of it. grabe, kinareer ko ang round na to! medyo nakakahiya nga lang dahil ako lang ata at si elcie ang nakakaalam ng ibang kanta. grabe. nag-solo tuloy ako sa "bituing walang ningning" at "ako ang nagwagi". siyempre, nanalo ulit kami. :)

next game, kantahan pa rin. may criteria, tapos kakanta kami ng song na fit sa criteria na yun. example, songs na may number. matino pa nung una - "back at one", "6-8-12", at nursery rhymes. habang tumatagal at nagiging desperado na ang mga tao, nagiging kalokohan na ang kantahan. robbie started it with "8-700 jollibee delivery". sinundan ko ng "9111111 pizza hut delivery"! hahaha!

there was a round for colors also. the best si sarah! "purple roses, purple roses"! paper yun, di ba? obviously, natalo kami sa round na to, pero okay lang. :)

may mga sumunod pa - places naman. as expected, okay pa nung una. but when justin sang a song with the word "hell", joke time na ulit ang sumunod. the next places were heaven, ocean, shore, & farm. grabe, ang saya. :)

masaya talaga, i swear. lots of games & food! nagpadala rin kasi si ms. may (head of the credit policy & portfolio management department) ng 18-inch new york's finest. feeling ko nun, patabaing baboy ako. haha.

i did not go home straight, as we finished at just a little past five. dahil magmi-meet kami ni bene at around 8 pa siya darating, i begged sarah to let me stay at their condo. good thing, crystal tagged along kasi the more, the many-er. shocks, ang corny ko.

eto po ang kinauwian ng pamamalagi ko sa silid nina kris at sarah sa vito cruz towers:



isang bed scene. grabe ka talaga, crystal. sana pinag-pose mo naman kami ni sarah ng mas maayos. ;)

at around 8:20, i left vito cruz towers to meet bene at chowking buendia. we left immediately to go home.

* * * * * * * * * *

my days as a management trainee are about to end. in less than a month, i will get a position which i'll probably hold for at least a year. some of us heard that no one will be assigned to the support groups because all 15 of us will be put in the business units. this is bad news for me, because i really want to be assigned in HR, or corporate affairs (which are considered support groups in a bank). oh, well. i hope that things work out well for all of us.

on a lighter note, some of us are thinking of going to 168 after our graduation as MT's. i'm so excited that i'm already making a mental list of clothes, bags, & shoes that i want to buy. i deserve a reward, after all. :)

* * * * * * * * * *

may kulang sa araw ko ngayon. nakalulungkot isipin.

naks!

i'm currently participating in a seminar on dr. stephen covey's 7 habits for highly effective people. while having our afternoon break, mr. caloy bulatao, our facilitator, leaned over the table & said:

cb: i was impressed with your answer a while ago.
me: sir, which one?

wow. i just had to ruin that moment by being utterly clueless, but i had to know so...

cb: the one about the three teachers.
me: ah. but sir, i'm a psych major.

he was referring to an experiment regarding the self-fulfilling prophecy which i'm familiar with, having taken up social psych in third year. anyway, he went on & said that i am able to articulate my points well (at least, something to this effect).

wala lang. it's just nice to be complimented once in a while, specially when you weren't fishing for it. ;)

overwhelmed

ang daming nangyayari. ang daming kailangan isipin. ano ba ang dapat kong unahin? lahat kasi, mahalaga...

* * * * * * * * * *

my work-related issue is okay. actually, the issue was that they wanted all 15 of us to go into sales. this must be no biggie for some, but i don't want to go to sales! in my interview, i said that i'm into HR & corporate affairs. also, we were made to understand that after our final revalida, our preferences will be taken into consideration when they decide our positions.

so there, that was what all the brouhaha was about. but i'm okay already, & i trust that things will turn out just fine. after all, our positions have been decided already last friday by our SVP's & HR officers.

(there was a rumor though, that i will be assigned to enterprise financial services - probably the equivalent of corporate banking in other banks. why? i absolutely have no idea.)

* * * * * * * * * *

our credit policy & portfolio management department gave us projects. our group opted to work on a paper entitled "sectoral direction of lending". basically, we will review different industries & recommend that the bank lend to these industries or not. it's interesting, but it's going take time. oh, well.

* * * * * * * * * *

if i'm not mistaken, our final final revalida will be on the first week of march. besides the usual question & answer thing, they also seem to be considering making us do an extempo speech (on what, credit? branch operations?) or holding a leaderless discussion (?!). shocks, God bless our futures.

* * * * * * * * * *

i went to frio mixx in BF resort to meet up with my classmates from embryology (my 4th year high school class). it was a despedida of sorts for kitkat, who flew to the states to work last friday morning. as usual, yours truly was there way before the appointed time. hence, i had to text people who lived close to come already, so that i wouldn't look so despondent being on my own in frio.

to say the least, it was nice to be with embryo again. at around 9, we went to kitkat's house to watch the clips that louison made for her. these videos were from our 2004 Christmas party & past two New Year's toast parties (a certified embryo tradition, thanks to papu). i was only present in our toast for year 2005, & i can't help but reminisce. shocks, ang babaw ng isyu ko nun. haha... :)

* * * * * * * * * *

ang tatay ko, nagpapabili ng digital camera. ang mom ko, gas range with oven. grabe, mukhang biglang may pupuntahan na yung inipon ko, whether i like it or not. okay lang yung gas range, practical yun e. plus i've wanted an oven for the longest time, so okay talaga. pero digi cam? hindi ko pa nga pinapalita yung 6210 ko tapos bibili na ko ng digi cam?!

gas range na lang. siguro, bibilhin ko yun in time for my parents' 23rd wedding anniversary on may 21. gift ko na rin sa sarili ko sa 22nd birthday ko on may 23. hehe.

teka, magkano ba ang matinong gas range with oven?

* * * * * * * * * *

salamat sayo kasi hindi ka pa bumibitaw kahit na hindi madaling kumapit. hindi mo lang alam kung gaano kahalaga yun sa kin.

two scenes, one stage

Taken by Crystal last Thursday, at the Training Room. This was around 15 minutes after the news was delivered. Note the vastly different facial expressions. Not entirely a happy Kodak moment, but memorable enough to keep, I guess.

going back 525,600 minutes

i haven't even started the FGD outline that i'm supposed to pass tomorrow, yet i found myself opening my college files. guess what i found? a reaction paper i wrote on the MMDA's wet-flag policy, dated january 6, 2005 - just a little over a year ago.

a year ago, i was a college senior taking up research in psych 2, counseling, organizational behavior, foundations of moral value, politics & governance, & theo of the catholic social vision. i was most likely jotting down notes for my final paper in philo, brainstorming for my counseling sessions, & analyzing the data we got for our thesis. all these things put together was hell at that time, but i would gladly do all of these again than deal with the problems i am facing now.

with each day that passes, i find more & more serious issues that i have to face on my own. i know that a year from now, i would probably write this same thing. a year from now, i would probably want to deal with my current problems than face the issues that i would be having at that time. however, this thought does not offer me much solace.

during the past two days, two of my high school friends sent e-mails regarding the "quarter-life crisis". being twenty-one, this must be the phase that i am in. i am currently unhappy & lost. i long for the day when i can feel light again.

i think that i deserve this treat...

because of the way things have been going lately. i feel, among other emotions, shocked, mad, irritated, confused, sad, & lost.

nothing, i swear that nothing, gave me an indication that what happened yesterday was really going to happen. it's so unfair.

i guess that all we can do now is pray, cross our fingers, & hope for the best.


ps. this book was subsidized by my laking national card e-purse points. yey! :)

panalong hirit for today

(sa jeep)

kunduktor: sampu na ba kayo diyan? hindi pa!
unang pasahero: sampu na.
ikalawang pasahero: baka sobra ang daliri mo.

it's a little early to be senti...

but our final revalida's just a month away. in a month, the 15 of us will graduate from being MT's & will be assigned to different departments. ika nga ni robbie, baka after grad, sa picture na lang na to kami magkakasama-sama. horribly cheesy, nevertheless likely.

that's why i'm posting this pic - to have something to remember our fun times by.

(thanks, sarah! - for giving us this pic mosaic & for uploading this in your blog, where i stole it from. hehe!)

Clockwise from the upper left corner: Aisha, Justin, Roxy, Rina, Elcie, Kris, Connie, Sarah, Crystal, Jonah, Jamie, Benj, Robbie, me, & Cecille. Ako lang ang putol! Hehe... :)

courtesy of the year-end tax refund :)

lately, i've been in the habit (again) of buying books for myself. just two weeks ago, i bought lipstick jungle by candace bushnell (same girl who wrote sex & the city). last friday, i bought small miracles: extraordinary coincidences from everyday life by yitta halberstam & judith leventhal.

one of the ways by which they described coincidence is that it is a "random conjoining of inexplicable events that defies our sense of the reasonable". the stories in the book support this definition. indeed, how would you explain siblings reuniting after over thirty years, in the post office where they both ended up working? how would you explain a woman finding her lost house key in a train station she didn't even come near to during the day? & what do you make of the blind date that reunited two friends who were separated from each other fifteen years ago in a concentration camp?

a lot of us would probably say that these things are nothing but flukes of nature. the ones among us who are more spiritual in thinking would probably say that God had planned these all along. cheesy as it may sound, i subscribe to the latter opinion. it has often amazed me how some of the things i need come to me at the precise moment that i need them, not long after i have prayed for them.

it is my wish that now that i have finished reading the book, i will be more sensitive to the "small miracles" that unfold in my life. i find it so lonely that most of us (i, included) only notice things that are grandiose in scale, & overlook the little things that make each day slightly less typical & slightly more magical.

(in hindsight, what a fitting way to start the new year. :) )

ps. thank you Lord for the tax refund that liquidated me enough to buy this book without guilt. :)