It's Late

But I'm still on my laptop typing like I don't have work tomorrow. I do but I need to do some packing for our company's "summer" outing tomorrow night after work.

I decided to put my face as my avatar because I liked how that photo turned out (I took it, heh!) and also so that nobody would have any false ideas about how I look. By that I mean I'm no 'Fresh Face of Iowa'! Haha! And that's not putting myself down because I happen to like how I look with my oversized pores and large nostrils. I think I have a purpose for looking this way...just trying to figure it out.

Well, I hope to be back with photos from the excursion. We'll be spending it in a Laguna resort with all the food and booze available to man. See you guys then!

All That For Just One Lunch Break

I decided I didn't want anything on today's office concessionaire menu so I went to the mall to get some variety. So I went to Mexicali and got me some muy delicioso y muy chewy enchilada!

It was past 1 pm when I sat down to order so the place was relatively quiet. The lunch crowd had already trodded back to their cubicles. I find this idyllic and allowed me to enjoy every bite of my enchilada.

At this point, you're probably typing a new URL on the address bar up there as you realize how pathetic this entry would be. "I did this, saw that, got this, said that..." But there's always a prize for patience.

I never realized that I will receive a knee-slapping reminder of that extra quirky Pinoy culture in the mall of all places. After all, a shopping mall, being centers for global homogeny, is the last place you'd expect for a satori such as the one I had today.

People like to personalize things by putting names (ours or those of people we love) on various things like jeepneys, doors to our homes, concrete slabs, cellphones---just about anythihg!

As the practice evolved, people, particularly school kids, somehow started writing full messages in bathroom walls. They generally were intended for 'terror' teachers. Not so "gago ka sir hermino", "tanga ang bumasa nito", and "pok*** si gemma espiritu" are some examples of the bathroom literature. It was only a matter of time before replies to messages such as these began appearing on the same surfaces.

"HINDI tanga ang magbasa nito" and "mahiya naman kayo hindi kayo may-ari nitong c.r. nag-va-vandal pa", etc.

So I got a little excited when I saw the sign below from behind a bathroom stall door.

It was not actually someone's handwriting (you can tell by the lack of emotion in the message) more than a loperamide advertisement. At any rate, it got me wondering why they hadn't thought of that before. Maybe they have but mall management were against it for fear of eliciting further nuisances.

P.S. I GOT PAID

Schopenhauer

I will get paid today. I will get paid today.I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today. I will get paid today.....

The Thursday Post

Sorry, I had to go with that title for lack of creativity/sleep/excitement.

I've just been asked to write another column feed and all I was given was the topic--no purpose or target audience, just a topic. Okaaay! Let's see what the day brings me.

I got to the office at about 7:45, an hour and fifteen minutes early. Here's how that happened...

As it is, I already have trouble sleeping without getting roused by the heat. Last night, or this morning rather, my brother, sister, and cousin decided they wanted to chat and giggle at 4 am while I struggled to stay passed out despite the sweat on my collar. I usually could but since they kept giggling and just all out babbling, I didn't get to go back to sleep anymore.

Finally, at around a quarter to six, I decided to get out of bed and get ready for work. Soon I was out of the house and hailing a jeepney bound for the city.

As expected, I got to the office ahead of everyone else so I decided to take photos of the beautiful Manila bay that I've marveled about for the last six months.

I spent the day writing two editorials which I believe will be published some time next week. Neato!

U2 ::: Birthday for Paul

Irish children are given "Birthday Bumps" in honor of their birthday. While held upside down, the birthday celebrant is gently bumped on the floor one time for every year of their age - plus one extra for good luck!

I wonder what Bono's gonna look like with 46 lumps on the noggin. Should've kept the long locks until after your birthday! Hey, atleast now I know where that befuddling "intellectual tortoise" came from.

Happy birthday, Bono — singer, poet, activist, fashion icon, minister, economist, Apple savior.

Tackling the MTV Asia Awards

Yes, indeed. I skipped work today and there's a few reasons. One, it got so hot last night I couldn't get some decent shut eye. Second, I have the Monday blues and just thinking about the long commute to work and being wedged in the middle of rush hour hell was enough to discourage me from getting out of bed this morning.

Don't get me wrong now. I'd like to think I'm a pretty decent employee because I put a lot of love and attention to my work, I do overtime (a lot) without being asked or getting additional pay, and I don't lounge around and gossip about people 'cause that stuff is poison. But once in a while, I like to take a break and give my neglected self some "me" time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

They held the MTV Asia Awards last Saturday. Was alright but, to be honest, none of the performances really made an impression.

These Asian artists are way confused. You could see the Michael Jackson influence has not wained a bit in this part of the universe. Just about every performer was doing some kind song and dance routine not unlike something you saw the King of Pop do. You know who you are.

Rivermaya was the only act that I sat through without changing the channeland I'm not even a fan of that band. They had some live orchestra help with "You'll Be Safe Here". I think these guys just expanded their Thai fan base with Mark Escueta's t-shirt while Rico, as always, had the best words to say to and about the fans back home.

The Lee Ryan-Tata Young duet sounded really forced. It made me wonder about how long (or short) the amount of time they had was to rehearse that number—even the guy on the piano had his own tempo.

Kelly Rowland and Wang Lee Hom were great hosts. They had projected good vibes between them and that projected well on the telly...although Wang Lee Hom's whole "I say bang, you say kok" wasn't exactly the highlight of his whole hosting career. Who's idea was that anyway?

If you didn't watch the whole program you wouldn't have known Daniel Powter performed. His bit was pretty lackluster and I find that unfair of him to do especially how that song has been embraced by Asian fans plus the fact that it's blown up so big thanks to American Idol. Shame on you, D.P.

Before the show started broadcast, I was straining to see some red carpet footage with the MTV VJs. Instead, they had a travelogue show hosted by half of the Moffatts. Oh brother. MTV, in case you haven't noticed, the whole boyband craze has long since died a natural death and it isn't a good idea to exhume it. Where was the pre-show program? No video footage of the artists arriving at the venue? How about rehearsals? Nada? Aw, come on.

Still, I have to give the event organizers and MTV themselves for all the effort they put into that show. It's not an easy thing to contact artists' endless list of handlers and scheduling everything. I'm just saddened the acts themselves weren't serious enough to deliver decent tv. Instead, we fans had to watch something that would make Simon Cowell book an extended holiday.

Lastly, that whole animation sequence was a big waste of time. Don't ever do that again.

MTV Killed Radio...NOT!

So it seems that Max did come over last week for the Mobbed thing they did down in Boracay. Some comments about Max: he's either a total headcase or surprisingly unassuming. Too bad I wasn't there to see for myself. Oh well, I'm sure they'll have a TV special of that event soon or atleast they'll use footage from it for the VJ segments in between videos. See? I know my MTV!

I've been listening to the radio these past few days just to try and catch up on new music. When I was younger (like 12 or 13), I listened to a lot of radio—

Just got off the phone with The Boss looking for Mike, our supervisor, who's out of the office. What in the world is he calling at this time of the night for? He's somewhere in North America and should be asleep. His voice sounded stuffy. Spring allergy season I s'pose.

Going back to what I was saying before getting interrupted, FM radio was my constant companion back then. I knew all the stations and what type of music they played, knew all the commercials and promos they ran, knew the DJs' radio names and program scheds. It's all you can do when you have no place else to go during school breaks. That's why if you ask me stuff about 90s pop music, I'm pretty confident I can give you an accurate answer.

Also, MTV did not have an Asian cable channel until '92 so you can imagine the hold radio had on the youth as far as music was concerned. I mean kids still recorded songs off the radio back then, DJ talking over the ends and all, which was particularly annoying.

So how has Manila FM radio changed since New Kids On The Block? Well, for one thing, there's too many commercials. Requests hardly get played but noted down. This is because songs are scheduled and certain stations will only play a song once every shift which normally run between 3 to 4 hours. Your requests are tallied and become figures.

Another thing is SMS. Mobile service providers continue to milk the public through whatever is the current rave in the streets. They have texting contests about everything—a soap opera's ending, which girl used a certain shampoo, even a woman's sexiness factor. So goes with radio feedback. "Text in your vote" are the four words you'll hear ad nauseum over the airwaves.

Thank goodness for the music remains. Below is a list of songs I am loving at the moment and hearing them over the radio makes them more therapeutic in a way.

• Afterglow by INXS
• DaniCalifornia by Red Hot Chilli Peppers
• The Hardest Part by Coldplay
• King Without a Crown by Matisyahu
• Walk Away by Kelly Clarkson (!)

U2 ::: One Out of Four Don't Cut It

Rolling Stone magazine's 1000th issue is out with a Sgt. Pepper cover. I've been trying to make out as many names as I can from this jpeg posted on their site but they didn't post a bigger one.

So it's good that Bono's up front—but why only Bono when all four Beatles take centerstage?

OK. Maybe U2 aren't as revered as their British brothers but a band is a band. (Run, DMC, and Jam Master Jay? All there.) Then again, Bill Clinton is also in that crowd over there which tells me the cover isn't really about music...which means RS is honoring Bono the celebrity instead of him being one-fourth of the biggest band in the world right now. I can't suspect enough.

So who all can I recognize there? Aretha, Mick Jagger, Dylan, Chuck Berry, Hendrix, Elvis, Madonna, Springsteen, BONO, Clinton, Billy Joe Armstrong, Bowie, Eminem, Ali, Michael Jackson, 50 Cent, Bob Marley, Jerry Seinfeld, Neil Young, Tupac, Simon & Garfunkel, Clint Eastwood, Nelson Mandela, Run DMC, Axl Rose, Elton John, Sting, Ronald Reagan, Kenny from South Park, Bart Simpson, Pamela Anderson, and Stevie Wonder. The rest I will have to figure out whenever I manage to get a hold of the actual thing.

When Bono turns 46 next week, my parents will be married 29 years and I will mark my sixth month with my current employer. I don't know what goes with becoming "regularized" in this company except some insignificant pay raise and the opportunity to wear a stinkin' office uniform. Yay. Oh, what the heck? I could use the money for my trip to Jeddah...whenever that will be.