Word Problems

 

You told me you love your BF and I believe you.

Though before you tell me that, you shared an incident that happened between you and an officemate in the service elevator. You mentioned that he was your type, and he kept on insisting that you get a place on your own so the kiss in will turn out to be something more intense. We often talked about how hard it was for you to say no to him, that you were always doing your best to avoid him, and though you both know that you were both taken, things still happened.

You told me you love your BF and I believe you.

Then, the next day I saw your conversation in twitter with someone from God knows where. Both of you were talking about a human blanket, you tweeting how cold it was and you need someone to hug you in order to get warm. And him, well, volunteering. The next conversation I noticed was from him saying how bored he was, and then the next tweets came from you saying that he should ask you out in order for the boredom to subside.

You told me you love your BF and I believe you.

Our next SKYPE conversation was about you BF. You said that he saw your Officemate’s messages on your phone and he started apologizing because he was way different from officemate. After that, you said you were also crying and you want to break up with bf because you know that he will always end up getting hurt with all the things that he may find out in the future. However, you said it was hard because you love your BF very much.

You told me you love your BF and I believe you.

Honestly, I do.

But as I try to even type the proper words to comfort and console you, I don’t even know where to start. A part of me was pissed, a part of me understands, and a greater part of me was confused. “Okay lang yan,” I said. It was stupid I know, but that was all that I can think of. I know sometime I screw up being a friend. But ever since you shared me your stories, you know where I stand, as long as you’re happy, I will back you up, no matter what.

You told me you love your BF and I believe you.

In spite of everything that happened. I still and will always believe you.

Prinsesa’s Anatomy

Last December, I remember joining this blogger exchange gift. It was one of the most memorable thing that I’ve done last year. Meeting a fellow blogger for the first time and being able to get a cool orange tie is really superb.

Aside from that, because of the exchange gift, I get to know PM.

  

PM is really a good writer. Her blog is really one of my favorites. Since our gift giving activity, I always make it a point to check her page and read all her recent posts. PM influenced me a lot, from creating a Bucket List, up to making sure that I will get a copy of the book she read, there was also a time where I want to study baking because I want to create my own version of No Baked Lemon Pie, where I will use oranges of course.

She just don’t write well, she always make sure that you are always welcome on her blog. It really means a lot to me when I comment on something, the blogger will even take time to reply on a comment. PM never fails, I always see her blog comments in sky rocketing numbers because aside from the fact that a lot of people read her stuff, she always replies on comments.

PM is also a reader of my blog which makes me feel conscious and nervous sometimes. Knowing how good a writer she is and how so so my posts can get, I should be very thankful because of her presence on my page.

Well, PM always knows how much I appreciate her. From the comments to my blog to her replies on my comments, PM will always be someone that I really look up to.

Its nice knowing that someone who has a post on a newspaper, who will take care of her boy friend in the hospital for week and who reads as fast as I am (I think) can seems to be so near, so accommodating, and be so humble. She rocks!

I am writing this because of PM's contest, she is celebrating her blog’s fourth year anniversary. I have no plans of indulging her, but knowing her and her blog makes me more honest with what I have said. PM will always deserves the praise and the attention that she is getting because she is not just a great blogger…

PM IS ALSO A GOOD FRIEND.

Thank you for being so nice to me, PM.

So for your Anniversary, pagpasensiyahan mo na ang post ko, ha? Alam kong di ka pa makakacomment, teehee…

Also, as a gift, The World’s Cutest Kitten! Un sabi sa video. Enjoy!

On Addiction and Dancing with Somebody

Nagpapaikot ikot ako sa mundo ng YOUTUBE ng makita ko ang video na ito.

Ang sabi ng nagshare ng link, the video was taken May 24, 2010.

Okay, isa pang video,

Ito naman last 1988 pa.

Notice the difference? Siyempre ung pangalawang video yung dapat ang tamang paraan ng pagkanta sa I Wanna Dance with Somebody. Sa Unang video, hindi ko maintindihan kung anong problema ni Mareng Whitney, iba ang korte ng katawan, mukha siyang haggard, at ang malala, pinapakanta niya sa back up singer ang chorus ng sarili niyang kanta.

According sa mga nagcomment sa unang video, the reason for the crappy performance sa unang video, was Whitney Houston’s drug addiction.

Haist, drugs talaga.

Actually, hindi naman ako mangmang sa drugs. Hindi dahil sa gumamit ako before, pero aside sa D.A.R.E seminar ko noong elementary pa ako, mayroon din naman akong kakilala na nainvolve sa drugs.

Okay, una, may pinsan akong addict. Sabi ng tsismis na kumalat sa family namin, shabu daw. Tumira ako sa bahay nila dati sa Makati. Sa squala sila nakatira (yeah, naranasan ko ng tumira sa squatter), ang sistema ng bahay nila, parang dalawang magkadikit na kwarto. Kasama ko ang pinsan ko sa room tapos yung tito at tita ko, andoon naman sa kabila. Isang umagang wala akong pasok sa school, nanonood lang ako sa cable tv na courtesy ng kapit bahay namin na magaling mag tap. Pinalipat ako ng pinsan ko dun sa kabilang kwarto. Since may kutob na ako kung ano ang mangyayari, sumunod nalang ako. Ayun, since magkadikit ang dalawang kwarto at plywood lang ang nakapagitan, rinig ko na may mga tao sa kabila, tapos parang nag iba ang amoy ng hangin. Mahirap iexplain. Parang mabango na hindi mo normal na maamoy sa kung saan. Pagbalik ko sa kwarto namin, ayun, parang bumaba lahat ng ulap sa kalangitan, alam ko na ang nangyari. Agad ko ng tinext ang nanay ko sa nangyari. Siyempre though hindi ako directly naging part ng “party” ng pinsan ko, baka kung ano pa ang mangyari sa kin since nagaaddict siya. Sa huli kong balita sa kanya, okay na daw siya, sa daming perang naubos ng tiyahin ko para irehab lang siya, naku dapat umayos na talaga siya.

Aside from that, mayroon akong officemate dati sa call center na super weird. Swear, mas weird pa sa akin. Haha. Hindi ko na didescribe kasi nagboblog din yun, at siyempre para sa privacy na rin niya. Pero sa super weird niya, nauupset nalang siya sa kung anong daming bagay. Umulan ng konti, upset siya. May nakita siyang bag na gustong gusto niya, kaso since alam niyang hindi niya mabibili yun, upset na siya. Upset siya kasi pakiramdam niya na walang nagmamahal sa kanya, na walang may gusto sa kanya, at nauupset siya sa mga pinakamaliit na dahilan, weird diba? Umamin siya sa amin na gumagamit siya ng valium, antidepressant when used inappropriately may lead to drug addictions. Obviously, inappropriate ang gamit niya kasi hindi naman siya nagpapatingin regarding sa depression niya, sinabihan namin siya na magparehab na, kaso ang ginawa niya, gumawa ng blog entry na parang nagbigay tribute sa kanta ni Amy Winehouse na my friends says i need to go to rehab but i say no no no. Sorry Amy Winehouse, hindi ko alam ang lyrics. :)

Ever since na nangyari yun, hindi namin alam kung anong gagawin kay officemates. Siyempre, concern kami kaso kung siya hindi concern sa sarili niya, kahit anong suporta namin sa kanya, haist, wala pa din.

Ngayon tinignan ko ulet ang unang video ni Whitney. As depressing and upsetting as it may look, sino ba naman ako para malaman ang mga tumatakbo sa utak niya, siguro may dahilan talaga siya sa mga ginawa niya, pero drugs has its cause and its effects, at kadalasan, hindi talaga maganda ang effects.

Naalala ko tuloy nung gumraduate ako sa D.A.R.E, though hindi ko na tanda ang meaning ng D.A.R.E, sabi sa kin nung principal namin habang binibigay ang diploma ko, “Say NO to Drugs.”

Ngayon, tatandaan ko nalang ang video na ito pag may nagattempt na magoffer sa kin, Oh em, ayaw ko masira ang boses ko! Paano ko na kakantahin ang I Will Always Love You, chos!

R.I.P Whitney!

The Lost Symbol

It took me a week to finish this book. Probably, I really don’t like being lectured while reading something or maybe I am really not much of a fan of Dan Brown.

Don’t get me wrong. The book is really worth reading, its entertaining at some aspects, intriguing at some point, and enlightening. I even have to read a lot about Masonry to fully understand some ideas and how important they are in the society.

Dan Brown really has a thing for Secret Societies, there is no doubt about that. But I really find Illuminati and the Priory of Scion more interesting.

The Lost Symbol have a more interesting plot though. Also, it is more tragic and deadly. Nakakastress Imagine reading a book that talks about a hand that was cut and a casket that will be filled with water in order for you to not drown but to stay in a space and die because of starvation. Also, there was a part where the villain place a needle in the Lead’s eyelid in order for the blood on her body to drain. It was sort of like a human hour glass, yum! :)

Unlike the other books of the author where there will be pages where he will discuss something about the history lesson you missed in college, Dan Brown was able to incorporate the lectures to the story, he have the characters talk about them. Which is really good. I remember reading Angels and Demons before and when I felt that I will be reading about a thesis like discussion of how Illuminati was established, I skipped it. In the Lost Symbol, you cannot do that, because the history is part of the story.

If you are into history and all the shit, the book is a good read. If not, its a good book to make you go to sleep.

On Rejection

Parte na ng buhay ng tao ang rejection. Rejection sa work, sa pag ibig, sa mga opportunities, at sa kung ano ano pa. Isang bagay lang ang sigurado sa rejection, kahit ilang beses mo na siyang pinagdaanan, masakit pa din.

Tapos na ang tatlong araw kong pagaantay sa kumpanyang inapplyan ko nung nakaraang Lunes. Sabi nga nila sa akin, pag hindi daw ako nakatanggap ng tawag sa kanila, I can move on with my life at took what I went thru as a learning experience. Badtrip na learning experience na yan!

Hindi ko na maalala kung kailan ako huling naligwak sa isang interview. Kaya siguro ang bitter ng pakiramdam ko ngayon kasi bukod sa madalas akong pumapasa, confident ako sa sarili ko, at tiwala ako na qualified talaga ako para sa posisyon na inaplayan. Pero isang tanong lang ang naging batayan ng buong interview ko. Isang tanong na nung mga sandaling tinanong sa akin, bigla nalang nag black out ang utak ko, siguro dahil sa pagod at sa stress, at noong nakatulog ako ng mahimbing, kinabukasan, naalala ko na siya.

What are your career goals and what you are doing to achieve them?

Hanggang ngayon, naaalala ko pa ang sinagot ko, malayong malayo sa tanong. Shet! Haha.

Simple lang naman ang mga career goals ko.

I want to stay in a company where I will not just grow as an employee but also as an individual as well. When I apply for something, the first thing I look for a company is the working environment, it is important that I will learn something from the people I work with. Also, I really want a job that will be able to support me well financially.

Anong ginagawa ko para maachieve ko yun?

Once I get hired, I really do my best to get familiarize with the job, because knowing your job well will help you achieve greater things in an institution.

Pero, iba pa rin ang sinagot ko. Oh, pighati! Lols.

Ngunit, subalit, datapwat, at bagkus, wala na. wala pa ding tawag. hindi na ako magiging hopia (hoping) na tawagan nila ako, o na yayaman ako sa company nila. Sabagay, mayroon pa naman akong trabaho at kahit papaano, masaya pa rin naman ako sa trabaho ko ngayon.

Iisipin ko nalang na hindi ako ang nawalan, sila ang nawalan ng isang empleyadong kagaya ko. Hahaha! Manghinayang sila ng wagas! Hahaha.

Grazie

dahil galing ako sa call center, sanay na ako sa mga taong nagreresign. sa call center, minsan kapag naregular ka, achievement na. Ang ibang call center agents, makakita lang ng isang company na mas malaki ang sweldo at mas maganda ang perks, aalis na agad, minsan nga walang paalaman nalang, ang malalaman mo nalang, andoon na siya sa kabilang company, kinukutya kung gaano ka walang kwenta ang company na pinanggalingan niya. Ayun ang alamat ng call center hopper.

Kaya noong nalipat ako sa company ko now, sobrang nabago ang pananaw ko. Sa company namin, may naawardan dahil five years at 10 years na sila sa company. aside from the prestige na nakukuha nila at mas malaking profit share sa araw na bigayan ng bonus, bukod pa sa mas mataas pa ang sweldo nila sa akin though mas mataas pa ang position ko sa kanila, narealize ko na pwede naman palang mag stay sa isang company.

pero dalawa sa mga kaibigan ko from work ay nagresign na.

yeah, kaibigan ko sila, though we are hemispheres away (asa rome sila), at nakakapagusap lang thru ym at emails, we became good friends.

nakakalungkot, nakakadismaya, at parang gusto ko ng sumunod at maghanap ng iba, char! haha.

Sa mga bello na kaibigan ko from roma, maraming salamat sa pagkakaibigan, though magkaiba na tayo ng company, hindi na mababago yung pagtingin at pagrespeto ko sa inyo. kayo na talaga! :P

grazie mille bellos! :)

Random Orange III

Never go to an interview after a 10 hour shift.

Never go to an interview at 9:00 pm tapos umuulan pa at walang masakyan paputa sa venue, the stress will drain you tapos…

you will screw up, hahaha…. nakakahiya! :)

Step by Step

Years ago, I saw a video on MTV. During that time, MTV was still on channel 23, they end by lunch time. Donita was still in Singapore and doing MTV Most Wanted, damn I’m old. haha. The video has a woman dancing in a podium while all the extras were dancing like crazy, it has umbrellas, and a good beat that will really make you dancing. The song also has a cool message, check it by playing the video below.

Now, it shocks me that Whitney is dead.

Yes, she was gone too soon. I remember reading Amapola and there was really a part that was all about her. She was Amapola’s song the day he was found by his mother. I will always love you was really done in an entertaining way, imagine reading, “and ayayayayayayay…” it was crazy.

I am a big fan of Whitney, from the day she sung How will I Know, I Wanna Dance with Somebody, to their patayan duet with Mariah Carey. I still cannot believe that she is gone.

But she is.

RIP Whitney Houston.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Movie

My officemates and I decided to watch The Girl with the Golden Tattoo after our shift. It was also the time I found out that the movie was graded R-18. It felt stupid calling megamall then having the phone operator told you that their movie was not available on any SM branches. Shameful.

After reading the book, I was aware that I should not expect much. Having seen a lot of movies that comes from book, I know that the movie will be rushed, certain parts of the book will not be brought into detail, and knowing how tragic the book may be, some parts will be hard to watch. I was even covering my eyes on some parts because it was way too much to watch. It was like eeww much. :p

But it was a good decision reading the book first before even watching it. Aside from you will know when to cover your eyes on the disgusting parts, you will be able to tell how different the movie was from the book. There was a part where they really change the plot. It was way different from the book. It was frustrating to a certain degree but I understand.

I love Rooney Mara! She really gave justice to the strong and weird character of Lisbeth. She was charming in a corky and weird way. Take a look at how she transformed,

                       

Boom! :)

Daniel Craig was hot. <period>

The Girl with the Dragon tattoo is really recommended. Better watch it without popcorn. :P

Versant Test

To quote Wiki, the Versant suite of tests is a computerized test of spoken language available from Pearson. Versant tests were the first fully automated tests of spoken language to use advanced speech processing technology (including speech recognition) to assess the spoken language skills of non-native speakers.

Versant Test is a common exam if you are aiming to have a career in the Call Center Industry.

I just took one this morning. It was for a company that kept on calling me regarding my pending application before. Though I really have no plans of resigning, I was sure that they will not stop until I just show up on their office.

So I just decided to go to their office and just fail the exam, that way, they will stop calling me again.

The Versant Test was done over the phone, and it was divided into several parts. First, you have to read a sentence on a sheet of paper. Next, you have to repeat what will the voice said. Third, a simple question and answer kind of exam where a voice will ask you something and all you just need to do answer it. Then you will be given jumbled phrases that you need to construct into a complete sentence. Story telling comes after; you will be given 30 seconds to summarize a story. Last will be the open questions part, you just have to answer a question in 40 seconds. It was like a final question in the Ms. Universe. Haha.

It sounds easy at first but honestly, it was challenging. You may think that all you have to do is just to listen to the voices and follow the instruction, but it was really more than that. For beginners in the industry, the exam may seem overwhelming because they have American speakers doing most of the talking. It will be tough if you are not familiar with how Americans say their language. If you have an experience being in a call center, you may find the exam easy but it is not always a guarantee.

Until now, I can’t believe I even passed it.

The key to passing the exam is really to listen well. Know the instructions religiously and make sure you are ready before even dialing the telephone. Grammar is also important, especially on the jumbled phrases part. What I did was just to follow the pattern that we all learned during our English class, subject followed by the verb, then followed by the predicate. I think that helped. For the story telling part, concentrate on the story and what it was all about, details were also important so just make sure that you focus more on the important details. When answering the open questions, do not rush. Remember that you are being graded for every word that you will say how you will say it, and whether you will say it correctly. Compost your sentence very well and make sure that the tenses are correct.

It was a fun exam. Challenging at some parts, but fulfilling when you pass. :p

Para Kay B

Unlike all the other books that I’ve read, I don't have much information about Para Kay B. All I know was that it was written by Ricky Lee. At first, I thought that the main character will also be gay, thanks to Amapola, but I guess I have judged Ricky Lee too much.

Para Kay B is a book of love stories. It deals with the love stories of five woman that at the end will sort of intertwined with each other. Ricky Lee was able to describe love in various aspects in a straight forward, brave, bold and entertaining way. Its either you understand it or you can stop reading the book.

You have to read the book to be able to grasp what I am saying here.

I love everything about it. From the plot, to the characters, to the humor, up to how things ended really keep me smiling. It was devastating, but in a good way. Ricky Lee proved that love stories doesn’t have to end in a happy ever after, sometimes, it just needs to end the way it must end. He stick with how real love is, sometimes, it will not be sweet.

I now have a new favorite book, after The Alchemist of course.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

I really heard a lot about the book. it has also been turned into a movie, with its actress being nominated on the Oscars, and as of this moment it’s still on the Bestseller’s List at NBS.

Let us just say that, for the first time ever, I was more interested in the film and I will just read the book once I finished watching it. I’ve read a brief summary at Wikipedia about the movie and it is really intruiging.

Good thing my friend has a copy of the book. I was able to read it and right now, I am thankful I read the book first.

There is something wicked about it. The plot was exceptional, the characters were really interesting and the story, it was superb.

Now, I cant wait to watch the movie.

The Greatest Love

I really don’t believe in office relationships. There is something about it that really gives me an eerie chill every time I think about it happening to me. I even told a friend once that I’d rather have a long distance relationship than have a partner who works with me in the same company.

However, I met my last ex in my previous company. Thanks to a program that allows people within the account chat with each other, we became closer. He will chat with me every time he has a question about his calls, then he will ask me about the things that I love. In return, I will ask him about his interests. Until one day, we were sharing lunch together, we will leave the building together, we smoke together, we share the same coffee mug during coffee breaks, and we became good friends.

From good friends, we then realized how bonded we were. We started sharing struggles and victories. The day I resigned from my previous company, even though it was his off, he went to the office to help me fix my things. He even gave me a caramel sundae because he knew that it will make the emo feeling disappear. He even told me that everything will be fine, that we’re lucky we were friends, but we will be more lucky if we will always have each other. That day, we became partners.

It is always nice being in love. Though we were working on different company and shifts, we always find time for each other. Waking up in the morning receiving a message saying that, “I’m on my way home, ingat ka pagpasok ha, call me pag lunch ka na, gigising ako. ily,“ always felt better than heaven. There were also nights when I have to stay up late in order to talk to him on his lunch break. I even changed my schedule for him, that way; we will be together on rest days. We both learned to compromise, understand and complement each other.

When we were together, we seldom go to malls. Malls makes us more tired. What we love doing is just staying at his room, him playing with his PSP and staying online with his laptop while I was busy reading a book. We also love watching series together, from Grey’s Anatomy to Prison break, we don’t mind even if we don’t sleep.

We were accepted by his family. His mom once even cooked my lunch. She once demanded that I should be there at their house on Sundays because it was family day. I love being with them.

Being both gay, our relationship were close to being perfect. We have everything that we need from each other; we were accepted by our friends and folks, we love each other very much.

But sometimes, all good stories must come to an end. Things happened and we moved on. We lasted for a year. I can say it was one of the best years in my life. We are still friends though, her mom still invites me on their Sunday lunch, and his siblings still ask me to help them with their assignments. We still share our victories and defeats; the only difference right now is there is no malice involved when we hug each other. :P

He was also the person who named me Orange. Haha. We were in his room one Saturday night and decided that we should get drunk. Then, we started arguing what we should drink; I wanted The Bar Orange Vodka while he wants to have The Bar Lemon and Lime Gin. It was a stupid conversation.

Me: Ayaw ko ng gin, mas masarap yung vodka kasi it has orange on it.

Him: pwede ba ako muna masusunod now. Gusto ko kasi ng lemon sa alak, hindi naman masarap ang orange we

Me: anong hindi. Mas masarap kaya ang orange kesa sa lemon, ang orange, may chances na matamis, ang lemon mo, maasim na forever.

Him: o sige ako na ang maasim ikaw na ang matamis.

Me: siyempre naman, ako yung orange ikaw yung lemon.

Him: okay, bibilhin ko nalang parehas orange ko.

Me: Sige, lemon ko.

Him: Love you, orange.

Me: Love you too, lemon.

Ang corny namin. Haha. Pero for now, Lemon will always be my greatest love. Though our love story ended, every single moment of it was worth it, definitely, no regrets. :)

Advance, Happy Valentines guys. :)