Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Road Rules
Need to vent, vent, vent. Just had an encounter with the most aggravating, uncouth, #@! neanderthal this side of the planet! It was a relatively cool night and my family and I were all set to enjoy a nice, quiet dinner at Aristocrat along Roxas Boulevard. It so happened that everyone else seemed to have gotten the same idea. Ergo, it was each man for himself for parking space. After circling the area five times, I was lucky enough to spot a vehicle right beside the entrance door beginning to back up. I asked the guard on duty to courteously tell the other driver that I was waiting to take his place and he rolled down his window to give me the thumbs up. As I was the car nearest to it, I backed up a little to give it space to move out. Just as the other car had slowly maneuvered its way out towards Malate, another car suddenly came from the other side and usurped the space I was about to park in. The absolute gall! The driver obviously knew what he had done as he wasn't getting out of his car at all once he saw that I was still waiting at the exact same position. The guard came over to him to admonish him that he should've waited his turn. The ass____ had the temerity to get out of his car and say this in a loud voice, "May reservation na pala ang parking dito." That made my blood boil! Despite my parents' protestations to let it go, I got out of my car (I know, I know, that was not a wise decision but he got me sooooo riled up, I couldn't just play nice) and in a voice dripping with sarcasm replied, "Wala ngang reservation dito pero wala rin naman dapat bastusan. If our places were switched, I wouldn't have done this to you. So hope the meal that you're going to be eating tonight is worth the karma you'll be getting a thousand-fold" or something to that effect. I then just thanked the guard for his efforts and told him I'd rather eat someplace else with my folks. I wanted to gun my engine then but there were so many pedestrians I didn't want to run over anyone accidentally just because of that arrogant swine. Mind you, I'm not normally a combustible driver. Am actually one cool cookie on the road. As long as I have the airconditioning on full blast and my music blaring, I'm fine. Maybe I just got fed up this time around.
Ended up eating at one of my favorite places, (Korean Restaurant in Remedios) instead so can't complain. I was still seething throughout the meal but calmed down later on since I was sure that guy was going to get his come-uppance soon. Just like Paulo Coelho's book said, "if you want something hard enough, the universe will conspire to give it to you". Call me mean but I really, really, REALLY want that guy to get what's due him (cue cackling)...
Later that night, as I got ready for bed, I got to thinking about how only in the Philippines do motorists get away with so many traffic violations. (Well, this wasn't really a traffic violation but road courtesy is supposed to be one of the lessons taught in driving school.) Buses and jeepneys load and unload passengers indiscriminately along major thoroughfares, running a red light is a common occurrence, the pedestrian lane/overpasses are hardly used, one-way street signs are disregarded, cars sporting sirens use these to bypass clogged areas and the honking of horns is a bane to most everyone. What doesn't cease to amaze me is that when Filipinos go abroad, or to just Subic even, they become law-abiding citizens. Bayani Fernando, who performed miracles in his bastion of Marikina, seemed to have been stumped this time around. Even he can't seem to do anything about the situation. Only way we can probably fix it is if we impose heavy penalties on violators (the prospect of languishing in jail will surely prove to be a deterrent) and if we can remove graft and corruption from among the ranks of the traffic police. Sure, and monkey's will fly out of my butt...
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Meanderings
I just realized that the Avril thingy is going to be on a Thursday and not a weekend! Aaaargh! Even then, am not going to be able to leave the office early since because of the color-coding, I can't take my car (whose plate ends with an 8) out until after 7pm. And the show's supposed to start at 8! Whatever! Still have a month to go to come up with an alternative plan. Maybe just ditch the driving to Fort plan and take Taxi Dispatch instead. At least, I won't have to experience the hassle of parking in some dark, muddy area. Plus I get to choose when and where I get dropped off and picked up. Or I can find someone to hitch with going to the venue and back if ever...Seems to be a better idea come to think of it. Less dangerous too...
Am also kinda frustrated as I can't seem to figure out how to change the look and feel of this blog yet. Really haven't had the time to experiment (especially with regard to changing the fonts) so I'm just sort of winging it as I go along. Until then, you guys just have to bear with this commonplace template a wee bit longer. Hope someone out there will be nice enough to give me tips - wink, wink...
Anyways, have you seen the latest Nokia phones? The 6680 is now officially my dream phone. Get a load of it's fine features: two cameras (1.3 megapixel and VGA), 2-way video call and live video sharing to during voice calls, bluetooth, MMC card and USB (PictBridge), 3G & EDGE* technology web-browsing, quad-band operation, smooth 6x digital zoom and camera activation and control slide, Integrated LED Flash, advanced camera modes: still, burst, video and options for night, brightness adjustment, image quality, self timer, white balance settings and color tones, up to 1 hour video recording, video streaming with 3GPP technology, music player, multimedia player (RealPlayer) with 3GPP video streaming support, multimedia messaging: MMS 1.2 for creating, receiving, editing, and sending videos and pictures with AMR voice clips, text messaging: supports concatenated SMS; picture messaging; SMS distribution list, voice dialing, voice commands, voice recording, integrated handsfree speaker. Pretty impressive, huh? Plus it isn't bulky as the 6630 (my dream phone prior). Here's what it looks like: Let's hope I get to afford it once it becomes available. In any case, the 6630 below will do just fine. Whadyathink? I know, I know. The question running through your minds is why pine for a Nokia when there are other brands offering similar (or even better) features? I guess it's because I have this misplaced sense of loyalty. Since my first phone was a Nokia and I've never had cause to complain about each one I've had since, I'd rather go with what works for me. Remember that old adage don't fix it if it ain't broke? That's how I live my life. As long as I'm in my little comfort zone and things are just fine and dandy, hardly will I ever venture out of it. I will only test the waters if (a) the idea of it is so irresistible I just HAVE to try it and (b) if either my family or friends push me incessantly enough that i have no choice BUT try it. Don't think that'll ever change...
For all you techies (or wanna-be techies) out there, check these out to see if anything catches your fancy: http://www.nokia-asia.com/nokia/0,8764,27023,00.html, http://www.t3mag.com.ph/.
Saturday, February 19, 2005
Avril In Manila
Avril Lavigne's coming for a concert March 31st! What more, Simple Plan will serve as her front act. Double cool! It's been a long while since I've been excited to see any concert. My only concern is that it'll be at the Fort Bonifacio Open Field. Would rather it be in a more controlled venue. Tickets are reasonably priced considering that we'll be seeing two big foreign acts in one show. Am sure my sister Eirene will definitely want to go if I decide to watch. Hmmmm....wonder if Jen, Hail or Annie will come to see it with me?
To know more about AL and SP, simply click on: http://www.avril-lavigne.com/indexframes.html and http://www.simpleplan.com/
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Music Makes My World Go Round
Lovin' these songs right now currently on RT's playlist. In no particular order, they are: 1. I've Just Begun – Britney Spears 2. Get Right – Jennifer Lopez 3. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams – Green Day 4. Over – Lindsay Lohan 5. Emotional – Diana DeGarmo 6. Wonderful – Ja Rule f/ R. Kelly & Ashanti 7. Rich Girl – Gwen Stefani f/ Eve 8. 1, 2 Step – Ciara f/ Missy Elliot 9. Let Me Love You – Mario 10. Shut Up - Simple Plan 11. Drop It Like It's Hot – Snoop Dogg f/ Pharell 12. La La – Ashlee Simpson 13. Karma – Alicia Keys 14. Since U Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson 15. Obsession – Frankie J f/ Baby Bash 16. Do Somethin' – Britney Spears 17. True – Ryan Cabrera 18. She Said – Brie Larson 19. Sige – 6 Cycle Mind 20. Minamalas – Mojofly 21. Bulong – Kitchie Nadal 22. Leaving You – Session Road 23. Baby It's You - JoJo & Bow Wow 24. My Boo - Usher f/ Alicia Keys 25. Rumors - Lindsay Lohan 26. Soldiers - Destiny's Child 27. Over And Over - Nelly f/ Tim McGgraw 28. One Thing - Finger Eleven 29. Hush - LL Cool J 30. Breakaway - Kelly Clarkson 31. Lose My Breath - Destiny's Child 32. If I Ain't Got You - Alicia Keys 33. KLSP - Spongecola 34. These Days - Bamboo 35. I Just Want To Live - Good Charlotte 36. Beautiful Soul - Jesse McCartney 37. It's Like That - Mariah f/ Fat Man Scoop & JD 38. Caught Up -Usher 39. This Is Your Life - Switchfoot 40. All Because Of You - U2 And that's just the pop charts! On occasion, I have been known to play broadway albums all day long. Other times, I just feel like curling up in a favorite chair while Jobim sambas my blues away. In fact, the first thing I do when I get in my car to leave for work is turn on the radio. I just have to have that to jumpstart the workday. My mood doesn't dampen even in the most horrendous traffic snarls as long as I can groove along to the beat. When my siblings and I were kids, our folks would just put on 'Ol Blue Eyes' records and his soothing voice would whisk us off to dreamland in no time. While in school, I'd study from dusk til dawn while music played softly in the background. Maybe it's just because I really can't stand silence. Or maybe it's true that music echoes the cadence of the soul. I'm certain it'll always be that way for me.
Cool sites: http://www.995rt.fm/, http://www.vh1.com/music/radio/.
P.S. Mirroring Jennie's sentiments, do pray for all those who were victims of misguided elements in the Valentine's Day bombing 2 days ago. To intentionally kill and injure innocent people in the name of some cause or other is unconscionable...aaargh, don't even get me started. If these terrorists truly believed in what they were fighting for, they would have willingly died for it. Question: How come there are never any suicide-bombers hereabouts? Answer: They're all cowards.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Hearts Day
I have always been the ultimate romantic. I love anything to do with hearts and flowers, chocolates and stuffed toys, sappy movies, mushy poems — the works! I have a massive collection of romance books from when I was in high school and college which I still read to this day. You can make me sit through a whole-day marathon of "chick flicks" and I'll be happy as toast. Back when I was younger, I'd often imagine myself as the princess in a fairytale, one where I would meet a prince who'd sweep me off my feet and we'd ride into the sunset on his noble white steed. In fact, one can even surmise that my fascination with frogs stems from a deep-seated desire to find that one true prince among the hundreds of toads out there in the world.
Come February 14th, I expect the flowershops, bakeries, bookstores, restaurants, hotels, movie houses, concert venues and parks to make a killing. After all, this is THE day for them, much more profitable than Christmas even. I'm sure that I'll be meeting up with harried messengers carrying the biggest and most extravagant flower arrangements imaginable in the halls and elevators of my office building for delivery to their intended recipients. Every now and then, I'll hear squeals of delight from different corners of the office and hear people finalizing plans for the night. I, too, have plans for that day. I plan to do my darndest best to leave work by 5pm. I'm not leaving early for a special Valentine's date, mind you. Am leaving early so that I can get home and avoid the anticipated gridlock once people are let off for the day. Yup, as I don't have anyone special right now to spend the day with anyway, might as well try to escape the mad rush.
This time of year instead brings to mind images of when love had touched my life — a glimpse of my crush at the end of the day, an unexpected visit from a friend whom I hardly see, an inspiring text message from a former officemate, my Mom’s gentle smile, an act of kindness from someone I hardly know. Take for instance last weekend. I was with my mom when I decided to pass by the gasoline station to have the car's water, tires and oil checked. The attendants there immediately alerted me to the fact that the hose which connected the radiator to the water pump seemed to have slid into the water container. Being the novices that they were, they didn't know how to get it out. As they didn't have any tools either, they kept trying to fish it out with a finger. I, on the other hand, was scrambling around for a hook, chopstick, or whatever tool I could use to pull it out. Fortunately, there was this cab driver who upon seeing the predicament we were in, decided to help out. After about half an hour, he successfully got it out. He even stuck around to make sure the station attendants put some kind of stopper around the hose to prevent it from happening again. He even refused our offer of a tip and just drove off smiling when we offered our profuse thanks. Then this Friday evening, my mom asked me to buy a bag of ice after work since the ref was acting up. I passed by the convenience store at around 9pm and was about to pay for the lot when I realized I had not been able to withdraw money as I had intended to that day. Mortified, I asked the lady at the counter if I could return the ice first and come back after getting the needed cash from the nearest ATM. She smiled and said that it was ok, I could go on and bring the bag of ice with me since I was only short 3 bucks. She'd handle it. Of course, I said no but she called the owner (who happened to be doing inventory at the time) and he also said it was okay. Again, I refused. Then the security guard came over and gently put 3 bucks on the counter and said it was really okay. After that, it was really embarrassing to refuse a third time. I said thanks over and over again and hurried out. In my car, I couldn't help but think that there really are still some good people in the world and I just got to meet four of them in one week! All this time I had despaired that the world was spiralling down to you-know-where...How'd that cheesy song from Ronan Keating go again? "Love Is All Around?" It had been part of my life every day, but a lot of those times, I hardly saw it.
Sometimes I still catch myself sighing longingly upon seeing row after row of heart-shaped balloons or red teddy bears lined up in the malls. Then I try to remember to say a silent prayer of thanks for all the real love that is in my life — love that is so much more than I had imagined. Happy V-Day! To bring back that lovin' feelin', check out: http://www.theholidayspot.com/valentine/, http://www.blackdog.net/holiday/valentine/ Or try this out for size: http://www.meish.org/vd/
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