Mindanao Bloggers' Christmas Party

This is long overdue -- to people who celebrate christmas....I don't, my religion forbids me to do so -- and so the urgency of gift giving during the season is something i don't feel.

I give gifts when I feel like it...but christmas, with malls packed, with people scratching eachother's eyes out, clawing their way to finding the perfect gift was never a motivation for me... I like to find cool stuff to give and live to see the wrapper being torn...

Which reminds me, the phrase madness sale is just apt during the christmas season. Regardless of the sliding

economy, rising tuition fees and gasoline prices, inconsistent church statements, ridiculuos spyware invasions and virus attacks, unaffordable phone gadgets... people just go crazy when they see the red tag with a blazing 50% off marked on it.

No wonder everybody's broke and ugly after... after spending sleepless nights of budgeting the bonuses and the salaries, you finally found the balance of buying everything  and being on the fringes of being a rat after...and because you're not the only one eyeing that item in the store, you wake up early and you elbow ur way in to fight for that oh so very nice dress that everybody's seems to want...with local versions of teleserye kontrabidas in the fringes waiting for achance to step up, raise an eyebrow, do a half circle turn and snatch it leaving your nose flared and your eyes watery while you suffer heartburn because you forgot to take your breakfast...

haha! wawa naman...

nah, those stuff don't happen anymore, I think. The scenario is more like this, you go to the store, look for the dress...

oh my gosh...it's not there anymore! but ...but...

you go to the saleslady, inquire about it...

The saleslady shakes her head, 

"hurot na siguro ma'am"...

You turn around...
you see a girl grinning...
you hear the one at the counter saying hi, you look back, just becuase you are nosy...
and suddenly you see everything in slo-o-o-o-o-w motion... as your eyes, wide in disbelief, follow the cashier's finger punching and then wrapping the dress you want... 

oh yes, the amiga reserved it for her. haha! sa maliba lang.

Backers are needed everywhere these days...even when shopping...

sheesh.

Anyways, Mindanao Bloggers celebrated the Christmas Fever at World Palace..The party is great but the venue's service got a double negative. With the assumption that everybody's drunk, the waiter must have been shocked to be interogated by people who never run out of opinions and things to say, who can be sarcastic and who will definitely get even because of hidden charges they were forced to pay... haha!

It was fun seeing old friends and meeting new faces. It's been while since i've been with fellow bloggers here in Davao. The last time I was with the bunch was at Kangaroo to drink the coffee harvested from the civet's poopoo... hehe. yum!

As usual, I'm late win arriving. Saw Papa Dominic at the hall first, he showed me the right door (egypt must have been too hot as they moved down to someone else's garden room), entered with people staring at the latecomer (yours truly). Blogie was groping for something to say i guess, coz he asked me the first question he asked me when i first exchanged email with him..."relative mo si..." heheh...  =P

Saw Doc Charles at the back...waved and came to proceed to sit with him and the gang.  err...actually booted him out of the couch...Kuya Lyle was funny... met nurse in cyberspace (nope...walang siyang phone hotline =P)... Being the camwhore that i am, I then proceeded to take my cam and harassed everyone with it.  

Ai tama... gi ugom pud day nako ang mic. hahaha!

mga babae dapit sa balete drive

 

see more photos when u click on the slideshow or any photos

food.food.food

mga taong di mapigil sa pagkalikot ng kanilang mga camera

ang mga taratitat sa celfon

concert moments

read posts of other bloggers about this party: 

pinoyteens

bunsoiMagazine

Random Thoughts

lylesantos

arnies website

dabawpinoy

will update this list. kaon sa ko =P

Twilight experience

I've heard so much about this movie...even the big-white-lump-that-follows-me-around-these-days commented on how a big hit this movie was in the states.

Being the curious cat that I am, I couldn't wait to get my ticket to watch and witness for myself the awesome-ness of Robert Pattinson as a vampire (hahah! you thought, it's about the movie?! =P- nope it was all about the guy)...

The moment he cme on screen i said to myself -- C E D R I C ? (is that you? hahah!)


Remember the lanky guy in harry potter that gets to die in the graveyard after being zapped? yep, that's him.

He admirably played dead and played the death thing so well that this time, in the Twilight movie, he's become the walking undead... but i have to admit, he is more gorgeous as a blood-sucking vampire (eeeehhhh!!!!!)

Cedric is definitely looking plain beside Edward Cullen --but the harry potter movie was stitched better than Twilight.

Which reminds me... watching Twilight is like watching a series of moving postcards -- also like watching paint dry, added the talking big white lump here beside me ( he just can't help himself, it is his therapy to express an opinion and may I add that he did said opinions are like a**holes, everyone has one -- somebody shoot me!)

But I do love the magnification and emotions and reactions in slow mo...reminds you of macro photography -- but this time, the subjects are feelings and expressions. The dragging feeling might have come from this direction, it has been used too much in the movie, it makes you wanna talk in slow motion too.

It has it's fast moments too... and when i say fast, i mean F-A-S-T.

The baseball scene for instance...nyeheheh! just saw an epiphany of what it would be like to play baseball with Superman and friends... without having to worry that you'll be the snack after the game...it's kinda hard to play while at the same time, you're asking yourself who'll be the first one to grab your leg.

*They do take everything the extra mile.
When the scenes are slow, it's really dragging...but baseball game and fight scenes...were also very fast, your eyes would have a hard time following it...as if someone who is in charge of the play button is messing with the rewind and fast forward.
drat.

But I love it. I love the cinematography of the movie...
the angles...the HDR effect...the way they used colors to differentiate characters, the magnified reactions, the slow motion turns, the classic 'james dean' expressions, the disheveled looks, the unusual angles, the postcard scenes...

and thus, the undead experience of Twilight, no matter how dragging in most parts was a generally a nice one...The dragging part is really unforgivable...as it is eating the whole movie!!! but oh well... one cannot have everything

Plus the pale-skinned Edward Cullens was almost making me blush...hahay... his lines are giving me goosebumps though...hey I just turned twenty-five...and so I've left the teeny bumper boat seven years or so ago... I don't swoon anymore... I get curious... I get testy...and I now do research nyeheheheh!
hmmm...i think they can redeem this movie with a more interesting sequel...

boundaries

by felixspencer2 (taken from flickr)

the boundaries of having no boundaries is to know how far one can go about running the fields without going insane.

we are so set to put a barricade of contradictions in everything we do because we always expect things to stop sooner or later. But what if the stop to occur has no direct relation to the boundaries we set?

Thinking all the while that boundaries and limits help us regulate the stop we are expecting to occur, when in fact, it is the manifestation of fear to go out beyond what we do not understand.

Thus, the stop we are expecting is but an illusion and excuse to set ourselves in our comfort zone because we fear to go and explore that which we find strange...worse...things we cannot control.

One example would be the fact that we define ourselves.

Who am I.
What makes me ME?
and what makes me different?

So obssessed we are in defining ourselves and setting a different character to be identified from the commonalities of the human race.

I am myself. I am beyond what you think of me. I am more than what you see. I am more than a product of my relationships and decisions. I have a certain quality higher than that you percieve me to have.

Yet in my moment of confusion and anger, I see myself acting against the set of rules I have conveniently fenced around me.

That is definitely me.
But I see no one doing it aside from that shell that bore my face.

Is that me?
But it goes against the set of character I've learned to fence myself around with.

Can it be me? I would have known... I am myself. and on goes the debate...

We become trapped within the limits we set ouselves with... forgetting that we could easily lift it. That with one blow and it topples like cards...

so set me a boundary...
map me out and find me, like a rat, sniff my way out.

aut viam inveniam aut faciam

There are things that are opposite to eachother but are utterly inseparable...but the world has a unison of the differences that overlaps eachother.

In order not to get lost, we map ourselves certain lines of what is and what is not. But we often forget that the dichotomy of life, though real, is never hindering and it never will. Differences are just that, differences, they are not barricades, nor are they walls to alienate the world or the people around us.

And even with boulders positioned so that we may limit ourselves in terms of co existing and interacting, so we may preserve a certain sanctuary -- too sacred for others to insert themselves in...Trancendence is what we do best.

We draw the lines so we do not get lost as we live in this complicated world. But the lines are but imaginary. And the lines vary according to the map maker...

but the the lines can only do so much as bound those who've forgotten how boundless life can be.

so take me and ill show you how it is to be me.

hapi beerday to meee!

birthday photos !

now officially hit sweet sixteen (nyahahahah!)
it's a good beerday, my bestfriend cam home from Kuwait and
the weak minded one found a ticket back here.

more photos posted on flickr. click on the image =P

more photos coming up ^.^
thanks guys...

imperfectly perfect

in a daze but not confused.
the feeling is like seeing twisting colors in round soft marshmallows as it melts in soft gooey mush.
it's like being softly pushed and pinched...not hurting but rushes the heart to beat three times faster.
it's smells like chocolates and mint at the same time.
it's is as smooth as a pebble in a stormy cruel water.

you aim to clasp it but it slips right through your fingers.
you have a notion that you own it but you can never openly mark it as yours.
it's like knowing a secret you know you'd carry with you down the grave...

it's tearing you apart.
it's warming you up.
it's makes you frown in a minute.
but can quickly jest you up in a second.

and as you feel the smooth caress of it's reality on your skin.
as you feel the dampness of your forehead being wiped.
you wish...that time would stop...
closing your eyes, pretending it did...
laughing softly at the irony of it all

so how can you say goodbye?
to something u do notunderstand?
to someone you do not know?
to a situation too fast to follow?

it never really stopped to kiss you hello
but it stole a fraction of your eternity
occupying your mind with questions you cannot ask.

it's like watching the rain pour down
as you melachonly think about the soft closing of the door
trying not to think about the footsteps u hear...
pretending that your thudding heart is nothing but an echo of an imagination.

for shounen: wanna be a dealer?

Got this from my shoutbox ^.^

17 Nov 08, 13:11

shounen: hi, was gogling about PAGCOR and your site came up. I want to be a dealer ($$$) and just wanna ask where your nephew applied for

hmmmm... didn't know that a lot people wants to be a dealer... aside from superior math skills, you are supposed to have an immune system so strong because you will be a passive smoker 8 hrs of your life during your weekday shifts and 12 hrs on a weekend shift... working every night, dealing cards, looking like a ghoul each night you stay awake...or something ^.^

anyways, to answer shounen...

My nephew went to Pagcor Office, in Cabaguio. If you know the Maharlika Foundation Office, Pagcor is located on its left side. I remember, trying open Pagcor's office expecting to see my son's surgueon...only to be told by the guard that I'm opening the wrong door. You see, the office is in the same building with Maharlika Foundation...Actually the building is called Maharlika Building...hmmm...what's a Sweepstakes/Casino thingie doing there? -- oh right! they do charity works too....maybe that's the reason why they are beside the Maharlika Foundation. Maharlika Foundation does free operations here in Davao CIty, by the way, in case you guys who are reading this is not familiar with the org. They do medical missions every year I think...

Going back to being a dealer...

They don't publicly display their requirements let alone announce if they need one. I suggest for people who dream to be a casino dealer to take BS Math, studying math for four years might do the trick (waaah!)

I think you need to have a backer.

You know, that someone to steal ur resume from under the pile to put it on top. The one who paints a picture of you to the one who's in charge deciding who to give the job to that even leonardo da vincci will feel insecure of your being perfect in the tongue of your backer.

Tagem... hehehe.

If you just pass your resume without a good backer to take it out of the stack and slam it on whoever desk that must read that part of your life, it will go unnoticed as if it doesn't exist.

Giving your resume to the salty fish vendor would prove to be more productive coz he can use it to wrap te fish, if that's the case...

In almost all cases, backers are needed by applicants, not just in this type of job. and while this ensures the company a close knit set of employees...it closes the new applicants' chances of penetrating certain jobs regardless of how good one is.

It all then becomes one big game of chance for others and a stack of privileges for the few-- or something... or am i wrong?

anyways, I've searched the net to find out people writing about being a table supervisor and found one good answer to a post:

by Archgold

I am an ex-casino dealer in Pagcor. I was amazed sa mga inquiries sa taas. Well let me give my views.

You cannot apply directly to the Corporate office for the position of table supervisor. Someone must back you up. So if you think you can get hired just by passing your resume, forget it.

They "rarely" post job vacancies on newspapers kaya good luck.

Yes, nasa 20 to 30K ang pwedeng matanggap ng isang casino dealer and inclusive with meals during your shift and tip na rin.

I have worked as a TS for more than a year din and the reason I left is personal -- akin na lang yon.

Masaya sa casino lalo na pag Christmas season dahil sa mga bonuses etc.

In an 8-hour shift, almost 2 hours ang breaktime mo.

Other than those I mentioned above, let me say here the not so positive side.

1. Work here is shifting, like in call centers, and it's toxic when you are at night shift. Dami tao siyempre at night and especially weekends. At the start of the shift, each TS is assigned to a particular table.

2. If you've never been a passive smoker all your life, you will be when you work in the casino. In CF-Pavilion where the ceiling of the gaming area is so low, you may think you're in the middle of a fog unlike the gaming area in Cebu. So trip mong lumanghap ng passive smoke 6 hours per shift, pasok ka dito.

3. If you are the type of person who desires to climb the corporate ladder of success, I don't think casino is the best place. Once you become a TS, the next level up is the assistant gaming area manager or AGAM. AGAMs are relatively fewer compared to the table supervisors and unless you are a very prolific table supervisors backed with a recommendation from Malacanang, forget being promoted as AGAM. Why? -- There are many Senior table supervisors ahead of you by years and years of experience, most of them have reached their 40s and 50s still working as a table supervisor.

4. Are you the person who is always up for a challenging work and career? If yes, being a card dealer is not the job for you. With the routine, repetitive nature of your work, it gets very robotic and mechanical as months and years go by. At first, when I was new at my work as a TS, it was really exciting for me. Everyday, I learn something new and the surroundings and the environment never fail to fascinate me. But I realized as time went by I felt stuck. If I worked in a call center company, I would have greater chances of being promoted to the top compared to the casino. It's not really worth your time.

5. Are you the person who loves to please and entertain people? Well you might enjoy being a casino dealer then. You love to please every caprice, whim, and idiosyncrasy of the gamblers? You might fit in here. As for me, no way. These gamblers suck! A brood of greedy people always ready to gamble on whatever money they have on their hand for the empty thrill of winning in the casino -- I dont want to say anymore.

6. I have met in this place some of the most ill-bred and ill-mannered people you could ever think of! Cmon what do you expect to find in a casino anyway? Of course there are few exceptions and oh my they are very few indeed. You like working with co-employees who are "balahura" and "*****" plus arrogant and know-it-all superiors? Apply in the casino.

Before I end let me just say this... If you are a person with talent and ambition in life, working here should not be an option for you. Dont waste your talent in exchange for a secure job and just a "decent" income. It's not worth it. Working abroad is still a better option.

There are many opportunities around now so unless you're so desperate of your situation, dont get in here, especially if you think that your personality would not fit in.

I can say that during the time I worked in the casino, I could never boast of it to any of my relatives or friends. It's one of my biggest regrets in life...so please dont it be one of yours too.

hope you find that post a source of good info ^.^

anyways, on my first post on this topic, I gave out a link that made me dizzy... here it is: online kasino

if you can go and browse and not get dizzy... you might have a future heheheh...as for me...my future lies where the videoke machine is... good luck to the neighbors =P

see me now.

so what am i accountable for?
in this life of ruins where people are taught to wait for a tomorrow that never really comes.

what am i to fear? when I can only speak for myself and everything else becomes what i want it to be.

what am i to ask?
when I do not know what really makes me happy.

What is happiness anyway?

absurdly treading this part of my life where I've become a warrior of many things. But battles being fought for people you find special are very hard to do -- especially when they themselves are letting themselves get caught to be killed.

I tried so hard to design my life to please others while i secretly sneak out to glutton over things that i find enjoyable to kill my time.

But It's always the same.

Year after year.

Old Friends.
New Friends.
Young.
Old

Day after day, I still get impatient with the same old routine even with new faces to bear.
i find it a burden to hear people in ways where they find themselves unhappy of the state they are in.

But I cannot forever extend myself.

I cannot forever keep the basin of loneliness i feel because i do not find it in myself to walk away from the miseries of others.

I am in no way soft hearted.
I am not sentimental either.

However, I find it disturbing to see people getting stuck in that part of their lives and seeing that they don't even know it.
but it seems as if I am most apt to destroy characters, but then again, one can only destroy that which is brittle.
That's why when one locks to destroy, one focuses on nothing but the weaknesses.

so what am i to do?
I bang the wall, to find if it is sturdy enough.
It stands tall still...My wall is as strong as ever, but that never stopped me from banging a hole. Sooner of later, it will crumble...if that happens, what then?
will that make me realize?
what will that make me?

but what are they doing?
i am confused. i get lost just as i tangle within the sheets of my mind.
are they thinking what i'm thinking?
do they know that i am but a shell of confusing characters, trying to get hold what reality is all about...

excuse me...but do you know me?
because i've been looking for answers but until now, i cannot find one.

I become the people i am with.
that's why whenever i find myself alone, i find it hard to fit in.
i become the wall i am stuck with when no one is around.
mute.
hard.
cold.
forever an unwilling witness of other people's lives.
eternally immovable.
carefully listening.
vibrating with secrets.
basking in silence.
carefully waiting for the right moment...

picking myself apart - literally...

So when was the last time i blogged about anything? i can't remember.

why am i blogging today? simple.

My nose hurts, my hand hurts...and I am to blame.

Rather than scratch my nose so that it bleeds again -- it is bleeding for almost two weeks now, or take a pin to poke my hand because i don't want to scratch my nose, I'd rather write about how I want to scratch those two parts and how I won't because I might end up losing a nose...or worse - growing another one. waaaahhhh!

blame my ever so curious self. I once remembered my dad telling me that I'm like a monkey...I like to poke and pin and re-arrange stuff - just because. No -- I'm not a neat freak...I'm just --- oh well...what's the word? annoying. hahaha

I annoy people.That's what I noticed.hahaha!

I don't purposely annoy them. They purposely annoy themselves by occupying their time on looking and deciphering me and what i do.

My assistant is annoyed to see me poking my nose...He noticed I have moved from in front of the mirror for almost half a day now. He did pointed out the fact that my nose is already bleeding and that poking it more will surely be a big step towards infection. The toothpick is not helping either, nor the toner on my left hand will do better to salvage me from picking myself apart -- literally.

Now you see, it all started with me, brushing my hand on my nose. Then I felt a bump...hmmm...a pimple...then I rushed to the mirror...couldn't see it, but definitely can feel it...hmmm...poke it with my finger...with my nail...with a pin...and two weeks later, its become a pool of blood and skin...and everything in between.

Does it hurt? not really...

is it addictive - super yes.

I can't sleep without checking if it's healed already...and before i know it...I'm pokign it open again...just so I could feel that pricking sensation of lifting a part of the scab...

I'm hopeless.

I need someone to save me from myself...but nobody is sick enough stop me... it's because I end up poking their faces in the end. Trying to get that pesky blackhead I see...or I'd be scratching to just woggle the white heads I feel...anything...it's an addiction I find myself hooked into these days...and I have to stop. It's not productive and it's making me cranky!!!! coz i look like i jsut had a noselift and the stitches on the side got infected. huhuhu...it would have been funny if it's not my nose we are talking about....waaaahhh!!!

but that doesn't stop my friends from laughing.... arrrggghhhh!!!! =P