RIGHT BRAIN ::: Aren't Gas Prices Crushing You Yet?

It being the third day straight in a very long weekend, I blithely expected Metro traffic to be a breeze. As such, I scrapped 30 minutes off my usual commute time allowance of 90--because I like to live on the edge. I bragged that I'd get to Makati in forty minutes, tops. Boy, was I wrong. Sure, no pile-ups met my trek to work but people were still everywhere. So now I had to get a taxicab! I don't particularly like that because drivers NEVER GIVE CHANGE. Those LED indicators should also say how much your change is, just like the POS registers. "Wala 'kong panukli eh." Lokohin mo lelang mo, maghapon ka nang nag-bi-biyahe, walang panuki!? No matter how insignificant and raggedy I look, taxi drivers seem to read 'anak ni Lucio Tan' on my forehead all the time. Long story short, I made it with just a few minutes to spare.

Wipe that drivel off your chin, I'm almost done.

On that same cab ride, I saw children in Halloween costumes rounding the corner of Ayala and Makati avenues with paperbags of candy. Oddly enough, they were not accompanied by any adult. That's The Philippines for ya. The rich brats will be in and around the San Lorenzo, Dasma, Forbes Park, and Magallanes villages' streets later tonight while the poor kids hang around for leftovers at their pearly gates.

The carpark at Ayala Center was full. Folks do have money for gas. Tell me, how are we to send the message that we're drowning in penury when brand new cars keep showing up at the streets and filling up parking spots? I don't like to advocate the idea that only the lower margins of society are affected by the economic slump but it's painfully obvious.

My sister was putting up our fake plastic fire hazard Christmas Tree when I left the house. It was funny how everyone with bad moods quickly got all giddy after they joined in on the decorating. By the way, we'll all be at the cemetery tomorrow for Undas and I'm so looking forward to seeing my lovely relatives again, they always have nice things to say to me. *doubles over*

WHIMSY ::: My Return to Dilbert

Look at this, it's really funny on so many levels. I used to read these each Sunday when the colored comics get posted.

There was one strip from a couple years back where it mentioned tech support for Dilbert's company was being outsourced to Mexico, which outsourced to The Philippines, which outsourced to India. At the time, I worked for a company that did offshore outsourcing and I guess it hit home. Hehe! All I can say is, "Deal with it, cheapskates!!!"

RIGHT BRAIN ::: Public Transport's Entertainment Value

In a crowded bus to Baclaran, the radio blared a popular remake (when will they stop!?) of an old 80s Kylie Minogue-Jason Donovan hit. When it got to the chorus, a rather loud singing voice was heard above the din. It was this kid of maybe 9 or 10 and he reminded me of how some people with headphones forget their own volume.

This lady on the seat in front of the boy, obviously ticked but kept poker-faced, turned and gave him the look as if to ask "who are you with and why can't they shut you up?"

You'd think the child would have gotten scared by that but he kept on singing each time it got to the chorus! I smirked and thought how devastating it must be for any child when it came time for them to realize their cuteness has turned to nuisance.

EVENT COVERAGE ::: October Jam

Today is my cousin Jam-Jam's 4th birthday. It's also Trinity's 5th. Happy birthday to you both!

I took this photo of Chessie, Jam-Jam, and Ayie last weekend. Days later, I walked into their room and Shrek 2 was on. They were hardly watching it. Ayie was jumping on the bed and throwing pillows while Jam laid on his side, fetus style, very near the edge. Chessie was on one corner. Jam got up to show me his notebook where he had drawn and colored some shapes. I noticed there were stamps and signatures on the pages and he told me they were of his teacher--when he was in school. Yes, Jam went to school, albeit, for a very short time of barely a month based on the dates on the signatures. I didn't know he was even enrolled. But I guess he really wasn't up for it yet because he's back to being a bum while his older brother carried on with school. I remember my earliest days in Unida Christian School when I told my mother I would stop after Kindergarten.

RIGHT BRAIN ::: Somewhat Unsettling Yet Desirable

I'm at the office -- my new workplace for the foreseeable future, that is. It's definitely not like a call center here at AskMeNow although it feels like one. I came in about half an hour before my shift and now I'm blogging. Feels weird because in my previous call center jobs it was always loaded on the first day. Actually, the reason for this lagtime is because I've yet to get a log-in name for the tool they use here. I'm just enjoying the ride while it lasts.

U2 ::: Bono attributes Meldific.

First off: Where do you get those sunglasses?

Bulgari. A lot of people think that, when they see a "B" on the side, that it's just my own megalomania. Only half the time it is. I'm the Imelda Marcos of sunglasses.

Really now? I know he sported D&G shades not long ago. In any case, this issue should be available at FullyBooked by next week and will probably set me back a thousand, easily. Click the cover photo below to read an excerpt from RollingStone.com.

I don't know about you but he looks to me like a cross between The Boss and Elvis Costello underneath all that facial hair.

RIGHT BRAIN ::: Step 138, Surrender Your Liver

I've just been informed that I will need to get a tooth extraction, prophylaxis, and tooth filling. This is yet another of PAGCOR's challenges in their long and winding pre-employment road. And I thought I'd start working for them before the month is through. Who was I kidding? Right now, it looks more like 'before the year is over' to me.

Of course, I'll have to do as they say! They, again, did not disclose what happens after all this alien probing.

RIGHT BRAIN ::: 3 Looks Like 5

I know we're going full-speed ahead with the holiday season when I look out the window and the sun's angle makes things look like it's closer to five o'clock than it actually is. Plus, the temperature's a bit cooler in the afternoons. *sigh* Then you hear John Lennon's "Happy Christmas, War is Over" on the radio and, suddenly, it dawns on you that time doesn't really take time. Something about this part of the year gets me contemplating.

Before all that, November 1st is just a couple weeks away and it's always a considerably big event, atleast in my uber-extended family. While growing up in the fabulous 80s, we were shown the importance of knowing and meeting relatives. It wouldn't matter if the last person responsible for the consanguinity died ages ago("nineteen for-gotten," they often quipped) because family is family. Each time All Saints' Day came around, our 'pantheon' would be swarming with people. Later on, some of the regular faces would be missing and the annual body count waned. A few left the country and others couldn't make the trip due to illness; while some opted to remain in the cemetery for good. What used to be tag-along children back then are now the ones in-charge of arrangements: flowers, food, candles, etc. Because it has always been part of our childhood, my siblings, cousins, and I don't need to be bribed or, in the off chance, emotionally blackmailed to get moving with it.

They are, again, doing some rennovations on Ninang's puntod so steel welding and carpentry are what you might see at the driveway these days. It's not as bad because I've been sleeping in my room (in the nighttime, finally) so the noise they make doesn't cut into my precious slumber. I'm also hoping to get my official appointment from PAGCOR next week which means I'll be out of the house all day until well into the night since I work part-time for AMN.

This is all I care to write about today. Maybe something will kick in later. Quien sabe?

U2 ::: Boy Meets Band, Boy Gets Awestuck

First, this random U2 update that I simply love to blab on about although nobody really gives a monkey's.

As you can see on this photo, it doesn't have to be Saint Paddy's for Irish folk to take over New York. By the way, how lucky is that person who won the K-lite contest for a trip to see U2? I can only hope that person brushed up on vintage material since the band have been injecting quite a few early 80s album tracks into the setlist. Anyway, I don't think Late Nite with Conan O'Brien has ever had such a monumental episode as "U2 Thursday". For those who don't know, U2 are in the midst of another NYC invasion--their second one for '05 and third within the last twelve months.

The interview gave us fans a chance to see the band tell stories with such comic assertiveness. (Did you feel like you were in a pub with them, cold Guinness in hand?) Conan, clearly overwhelmed in the presence of greatness, offered that self-deprecating wit he's known for making the interview one of late night TV's classic moments.

Dead cowboy! Bon Jovi! Hahahaha!

* * *

PAGCOR finally called me and said I've been hired as writer for their corporate communications office. These past two weeks have been spent running here and there putting together the ridiculous list of documents they're asking of me. The experience has been nothing short of a rude awakening for me on how government employees relate to the general public seeking their services. Initially, the absence of courtesy and abundance of high-and-mighty attitudes they displayed got on my nerves. You couldn't help but believe they behave this way as a result of sheer job dissatisfaction. Every office I walk into had blank faces and a general feel of crabbiness in the air. When I told this experience to my peeps, they shared the statement that it's just the way it is with government workers. Still, coming from a customer service environment like I did, the widespread disregard for grace and professionalism I witnessed was repulsive. We pay an enormous amount of taxes that let these loafers sit behind desks to chitchat the whole day then act all irritated when you show up and they'd have to earn their keep. Crudeness was so rampant I quickly learned to expect the worst from each of my stops and they didn't disappoint. I think it boils down to our culture. Our long history of bowing and looking up to Spaniards had such an impact on us that we Pinoys thrive on finally having influence, grabbing each chance to be in control of someone or something. That explains the title of this post. I think this de facto mentality has got to go.

* * *

There's a new BPO in town called Ask Me Now. It's a contact center, which means they don't actually do voice support. Instead, they process information requests from customers sent through email, text, or phone voice messages. I'm scheduled for a final interview there on Monday. My plan is to work there part-time, juggling it with the PAGCOR job. I had 14-hour days with my last PS shift that I don't think working two jobs will be that much of a stretch. We'll see.