a new year is upon us. what's in store? hopefully more paychecks, because i am broke.
with all the riffraff in the last few weeks of 2008, i won't be able to get back on track financially til about the last week of january. that is quite a problem. i broke some rules of mine and became lax on discipline. unforgivable. but some of my capital went to good causes. that is slightly acceptable.
christmas (the entire holiday season in general) got me fat. i need to get back to my regular eating habits and exercise regimen. otherwise, i won't be able to catch the jeepney when i'm running for my life in tuguegarao, cagayan.
one more ridiculously busy day of work tomorrow, followed by a new year's party and a day long break. what am i going to do on the first day of the new year? probably sleep all the way through it. i haven't had a solid 8 hours in 2 weeks.
i remember when i tried to write a few letters back then. it was good while it lasted, but the fundamental flaw in america's postal system is the idea that it costs time and money to send a physical letter, while emails are free and faster. however, on an international scale, text messaging and email are slightly more expensive, while letters are decidedly cheaper. therefore, in that circumstance, a letter will do just fine. this makes me wonder about my pen pal from africa when the dominican sisters made us write letters to them in 3rd grade. hopefully she is doing well. if anything, i may have met her in college and didn't know it.
happy new year to everyone. goodbye to the fastest year that i can remember. so many things happened in 2008, it felt like a lifetime, yet the months flew by so fast. so, it feels like i lived a lifetime compacted into a few months. that sounds kind of sad - in a movie kind of way. this further supports my idea that i should die before my wife.
Female Cashier at Fun Factory: "So what are these bracelets for?"
Me: "To celebrate the best day ever. And to celebrate our friendship."
Cashier: "Oh my god..."
F: "See, J***. You wouldn't have gotten free shit by acting like a thug with your friends. We got free shit by being openly gay..."
currently: wanting a massage and some buko juice
12.30.2008
12.23.2008
luningning
why is it that at the end of the year, even without senseless spending or strange volatility in the markets (both gambling and genuine), i seem to find myself in financial distress. not necessarily in deep shit trouble, but more like "where have all my hard earned funds gone?" unfortunately, despite my best interests to invest in profitable ventures, my sense of duty and loyalty to kaibigan at kapatid alike, i refuse to charge interest on loans. because you never know when you might be in a position of need, it's not a good thing to be too strict a creditor (at least to comrades and familia anyway; fuck everyone else - if they want my money, there has to be a return in it for me).
tomorrow is kurisumasu eve. pretty much everyone i know works (at least during the daytime), as do i. that doesn't bother me, because i am in severe need of scratch (see above). also, if i neglected to mention it in my last post, my little vacation to the motherland left me minus one week of work. therefore, that negative work week equals a zero balance paycheck. meaning, i missed out on a solid week's worth of pay. that also may explain my current state of duress (see above).
i have been eating too much blazin steaks. an 8oz steak, two scoops of rice, tossed salad, and a drink for $6 flat (no tax) is too good to be true. but since it is true, i've been there at least 5 times in the span of 3 or 4 days. is that a bad thing? hell no. is it a bad thing for my wallet? slightly (not as much as say, outback or cattle company). is it a bad thing for my diet? sort of (it's all white rice). other than that, fuck it, it's steak. i can have steak pretty much everyday for the rest of my (now decidedly shorter, thanks to all that red meat) life.
i need to brush up on my tagalog. why? because that way, i won't be completely lost or sold into slavery the next time i go to PI. also, it would be nice to communicate with all my future wives such as luningning from wowwowee or christine reyes from eva fonda.
"I must have left without you, just when I thought I found you..." - Spongecola
currently: mentally preparing myself to go on a much needed run (it's been at least 2 months since i've gone)
tomorrow is kurisumasu eve. pretty much everyone i know works (at least during the daytime), as do i. that doesn't bother me, because i am in severe need of scratch (see above). also, if i neglected to mention it in my last post, my little vacation to the motherland left me minus one week of work. therefore, that negative work week equals a zero balance paycheck. meaning, i missed out on a solid week's worth of pay. that also may explain my current state of duress (see above).
i have been eating too much blazin steaks. an 8oz steak, two scoops of rice, tossed salad, and a drink for $6 flat (no tax) is too good to be true. but since it is true, i've been there at least 5 times in the span of 3 or 4 days. is that a bad thing? hell no. is it a bad thing for my wallet? slightly (not as much as say, outback or cattle company). is it a bad thing for my diet? sort of (it's all white rice). other than that, fuck it, it's steak. i can have steak pretty much everyday for the rest of my (now decidedly shorter, thanks to all that red meat) life.
i need to brush up on my tagalog. why? because that way, i won't be completely lost or sold into slavery the next time i go to PI. also, it would be nice to communicate with all my future wives such as luningning from wowwowee or christine reyes from eva fonda.
"I must have left without you, just when I thought I found you..." - Spongecola
currently: mentally preparing myself to go on a much needed run (it's been at least 2 months since i've gone)
12.17.2008
kopiko
watched "jcvd" with some friends last night. i liked it well enough (though definitely not as much as his other films). all i can say about that movie though, is that it was decidedly french.
what's been happening since i left? not much, apparently. i didn't miss too much in terms of news. although i'm curious as to the turnout of events this weekend.
company christmas party at my house this saturday. early, i know. but there will be zippy's chicken, lechon, and beer. we'll see how that goes as well.
i haven't really gotten paid in the past two weeks or so, so my accounts aren't looking as chipper as they should be. however, after december is over, we should be back on track. which is a good thing, because the purported japan trip is months away, and i'm a little behind on my savings for that.
the economy's in recession. have i cut back my spending any? not really. i still buy food and eat like a pig. have i purchased more stocks for the eventual upturn? a few, but i still don't have enough funds to get a really good allocation going. have i fallen for the christmas trap and gone out to buy presents? pssh, only in PI, where $200 US goes a long way.
i need some people to practice arnis with. unfortunately, everyone that's even remotely interested in martial arts here that i know are mostly into muay thai and mma. perchance i shall join some arnis classes at the local filcom center. waipahu doesn't scare me as much as manila, so i'm willing to take the risk of going there.
"We offer our hearts in battle in exchange for victory..." - Puso, Spongecola
currently: anticipating a session in my dad's massage chair and planning on reading El Filibusterismo
what's been happening since i left? not much, apparently. i didn't miss too much in terms of news. although i'm curious as to the turnout of events this weekend.
company christmas party at my house this saturday. early, i know. but there will be zippy's chicken, lechon, and beer. we'll see how that goes as well.
i haven't really gotten paid in the past two weeks or so, so my accounts aren't looking as chipper as they should be. however, after december is over, we should be back on track. which is a good thing, because the purported japan trip is months away, and i'm a little behind on my savings for that.
the economy's in recession. have i cut back my spending any? not really. i still buy food and eat like a pig. have i purchased more stocks for the eventual upturn? a few, but i still don't have enough funds to get a really good allocation going. have i fallen for the christmas trap and gone out to buy presents? pssh, only in PI, where $200 US goes a long way.
i need some people to practice arnis with. unfortunately, everyone that's even remotely interested in martial arts here that i know are mostly into muay thai and mma. perchance i shall join some arnis classes at the local filcom center. waipahu doesn't scare me as much as manila, so i'm willing to take the risk of going there.
"We offer our hearts in battle in exchange for victory..." - Puso, Spongecola
currently: anticipating a session in my dad's massage chair and planning on reading El Filibusterismo
12.10.2008
welcome to ghettsville
what's been happening at the home front in good old HI? i have no idea. i haven't had access to my cellphone or used the internet since now (although i still don't have access to my phone). what's been happening here in the homeland of pilipinas? a fuck ton.
first day: took a taxi from the airport to the renaissance hotel in the heart of makati, manila. there are no such things as lanes much less rules of the road. courtesy is shown through the horn and if there's an opening, you take it.
day 2: watched the pacquiao/de la hoya fight in central manila. the crowds were intense and when pacman was victorious, the newspapers venerated him to sainthood for the next few days. apparently, he's also a politician with ambitions for a congressional post. went shopping, got a sexy yesstyle hooded vest for $12.
day 3: visited rizal park in luneta and saw the site of dr. jose rizal's execution. visited intramuros and fort santiago (old school manila). started my first day of arnis training with an expert recommended by one of my father's friends.
day 4: visited the sm mall of asia, ate cheech (chicharron) made from the omentum of the pig (the apron of fat and tissue that covers the intestines) - probably some of the best cheech i've ever had. second day of arnis training. as it turns out, the training i've received is actually what's covered over several months.
day 5: visited calamba and saw dr. jose rizal's birthplace (kind of a backward order) and the giant pot adjacent to rizal's house that grants the city its name. third day of arnis training. one more day of training to go.
i still have about three days left here. the philippines is so ghetto, i love it. i've seen despair and abject poverty. i've seen people sleeping in ditches, hanging clothes in shanty towns erected next to the fish markets. i've listened to a 70 year old taxi driver tell me the story of how he survived being held at gunpoint as a door-to-door salesman. i've sat in the passenger's seat of a car while an 80 year old lady pressed her face against my window to beg for change. all this is still only in makati (the nicer, urban portion of philippines). upon my next trip to PI, we're supposedly going to the provinces - tuguegarao, cagayan; bannawag, cagayan; maybe bacarra.
i said in an earlier entry that if the world were to end, it would look like manila. if it does, i would relish it. the only order is chaos. cars here are more expensive than people. security is needed at every door to major buildings. a day before i arrived, there was a shootout between police and a gang that left 16 people dead, including a father and his 6 year old daughter (civilians). if that is america's future, bring it on. i know what it looks like and if that is our fate, all i can do is sit back and enjoy it.
"Do what you can to survive. It's a jungle out there in the streets..." - Gabay (Guide) D
currently: suffering from lack of sleep last night and the countless blisters on my hands and the destroyed muscles in my upper body
first day: took a taxi from the airport to the renaissance hotel in the heart of makati, manila. there are no such things as lanes much less rules of the road. courtesy is shown through the horn and if there's an opening, you take it.
day 2: watched the pacquiao/de la hoya fight in central manila. the crowds were intense and when pacman was victorious, the newspapers venerated him to sainthood for the next few days. apparently, he's also a politician with ambitions for a congressional post. went shopping, got a sexy yesstyle hooded vest for $12.
day 3: visited rizal park in luneta and saw the site of dr. jose rizal's execution. visited intramuros and fort santiago (old school manila). started my first day of arnis training with an expert recommended by one of my father's friends.
day 4: visited the sm mall of asia, ate cheech (chicharron) made from the omentum of the pig (the apron of fat and tissue that covers the intestines) - probably some of the best cheech i've ever had. second day of arnis training. as it turns out, the training i've received is actually what's covered over several months.
day 5: visited calamba and saw dr. jose rizal's birthplace (kind of a backward order) and the giant pot adjacent to rizal's house that grants the city its name. third day of arnis training. one more day of training to go.
i still have about three days left here. the philippines is so ghetto, i love it. i've seen despair and abject poverty. i've seen people sleeping in ditches, hanging clothes in shanty towns erected next to the fish markets. i've listened to a 70 year old taxi driver tell me the story of how he survived being held at gunpoint as a door-to-door salesman. i've sat in the passenger's seat of a car while an 80 year old lady pressed her face against my window to beg for change. all this is still only in makati (the nicer, urban portion of philippines). upon my next trip to PI, we're supposedly going to the provinces - tuguegarao, cagayan; bannawag, cagayan; maybe bacarra.
i said in an earlier entry that if the world were to end, it would look like manila. if it does, i would relish it. the only order is chaos. cars here are more expensive than people. security is needed at every door to major buildings. a day before i arrived, there was a shootout between police and a gang that left 16 people dead, including a father and his 6 year old daughter (civilians). if that is america's future, bring it on. i know what it looks like and if that is our fate, all i can do is sit back and enjoy it.
"Do what you can to survive. It's a jungle out there in the streets..." - Gabay (Guide) D
currently: suffering from lack of sleep last night and the countless blisters on my hands and the destroyed muscles in my upper body
12.01.2008
glass onion
still recovering from last week's agony. i've noticed as i've gone through the motions of everyday life (or at least tried to), everything seems completely unreal when you're tinged with sickness. aside from everything appearing blurry, everything also seems slowed down and quieter than normal. it's happened at least three times or so - when i went out driving, when i looked out the window, and when i went back to work. i look around me and everything seems unreal. maybe it's like watanabe said, "i haven't quite adapted to the world yet"...
a few days more and i will be leaving for filipinas. i haven't even packed a pair of undies yet, much less my camera (it's not even charged), toiletries, or even a knife. i leave on friday, but as i'm still trapped by the whole "everything seems unreal" ideal, i don't quite have the motivation to get anything started.
today was a productive day of work though. also, after work was finished, i managed to pay off two bills and now have nothing to worry about for the rest of the month. i am already registered and received a confirmation packet for some training classes at red rocks at the end of next month. i'll be in denver from the 26th to the 29th for classes (i assume i arrive a little before that and leave a little after). so, comrades in the mile high, i will see you again soon.
this christmas season is plagued with nothing to buy. nothing's worth spending money on and that's the problem. christmas hasn't been a real holiday in a long time now and it's been replaced with the commercialism and consumer economics ages ago. however, when even that falls apart, what's left? whatever, if anything, there are new photobooks and alo-hello dvds coming out this month.
"That's the song that did it..." - me, reflecting upon shanimuni paradise
currently: thinking about going to bed early
a few days more and i will be leaving for filipinas. i haven't even packed a pair of undies yet, much less my camera (it's not even charged), toiletries, or even a knife. i leave on friday, but as i'm still trapped by the whole "everything seems unreal" ideal, i don't quite have the motivation to get anything started.
today was a productive day of work though. also, after work was finished, i managed to pay off two bills and now have nothing to worry about for the rest of the month. i am already registered and received a confirmation packet for some training classes at red rocks at the end of next month. i'll be in denver from the 26th to the 29th for classes (i assume i arrive a little before that and leave a little after). so, comrades in the mile high, i will see you again soon.
this christmas season is plagued with nothing to buy. nothing's worth spending money on and that's the problem. christmas hasn't been a real holiday in a long time now and it's been replaced with the commercialism and consumer economics ages ago. however, when even that falls apart, what's left? whatever, if anything, there are new photobooks and alo-hello dvds coming out this month.
"That's the song that did it..." - me, reflecting upon shanimuni paradise
currently: thinking about going to bed early
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