* Creating Enchantment *

Technically, it was just my teammate P who won, but since he’s representing our team, the win includes all of us!

What am I talking about? The department I’m in in our office holds a department activity once a month. Sometimes it’s a film showing or a seminar, other times, it’s something else. This month, we had a Trivia Game Show! It’s just like any other trivia show I suppose; there are several contestants and they’re asked some questions about a certain category. The one who answers the most number of questions correctly wins. The categories were general information, mathematics, and the information about (and therefore unique to) our office.

I really really wanted us to win. Not just because it would be cool if we did, but because it would be really embarrassing if we didn’t. I’ll explain something so you’ll understand: For some unknown reason (at least, it’s unknown to me), there is some kind of a rift between our team and the rest of the teams in the department. I don’t know how it started, but it’s always been that way ever since I got this job. As I’m not very sociable, I’ve never really had a problem with it, but I do hear every now and then that people from the other teams feel uncomfortable around us, because we’re kind of snobbish.

Anyway, I don’t know exactly what their honest opinions of us are, but as for me, I’m already happy with how things are. I have fun with my teammates. We go out, eat lunch together, and make our own jokes. There’s no need for me to complain. But, back to the topic at hand, because we’re kind of separated from the rest of the department, during the final round of the contest and there were only 2 contestants left, and one was from our team, it did feel like it was an Us VS Them thing. You can hear it from the cheers. There are only 10 people from our team (not including the contestant), and the rest of the department consists of around 70 people. Naturally, their cheers were louder than ours. But we won anyway. And when we won, it did feel like we were the only ones who were happy. Everyone else started to get busy with the food, while our team cheered on and took pictures and congratulated our contestant.

I guess we really have our own little world, because it felt like we were the only ones happy with the results. I’m still not sure if this is a good or a bad thing. I don’t mean offense to the other contestants of course, the other finalist in particular, was also really good. If I were to compete against him, I’m sure I’d have lost. Especially when it came to the math questions. Maybe we’re just lucky, because our contestant is sort of a trivia geek, and he’s pretty good at Math, too.

Oh well, there’ll be other contests and I’m sure the rest of the people from the department will be winning those. Our contestant may be good at trivia games, but not all events will be about trivia games, right? It’s all just a matter of what activity a certain person is good at. In the meantime though, because my teammate is really good at trivia, and the activity happens to be about that, then we have the bragging rights (and a cash prize!) until next month, ’til the next activity comes ’round.

Congratulations to my teammate P, and to the rest of my team! (I’d mention names here, but I don’t know, somehow Google feels like a threat to me. Hehehe.) It was certainly one of my best days as a member of the team I’m in. I’m really happy that they’re the people I work with. (Okey okey sobrang senti na, tama na.)

Giving It Our All. That’s us, screaming at the top of our lungs while waving around make-shift posters. Lettering done by me. Hehe.

I might as well begin this post by telling you about my family. I know all families have their quirks, but that doesn’t necessarily make the members of every family any less funny. Personally, I always get surprised at what the members of my family say. Then again, it’s easy to make me laugh anyway. Still, I’d like to share with you my mom’s semi-funny line for the day.

We all work quite a distance from where we live. My dad works the farthest, so to get to his office, he drops me and my mom off in our respective office buildings. In getting home, it’s the same. From his office, he picks my mom up, then me, and then we all go home together. Today, my mom sent me a text message saying they had an appointment with the doctor and won’t be able to pick me up later. And this is how her message went:

Papunta kami ni papa 2 doctor now. Uwi ka na lang aftr ofc. Sori short notice. Hope OK shoes mo.

I don’t know about you, but I think it’s funny how she took into consideration how it would be difficult for me to commute home if my shoes weren’t comfortable. It’s just like my mom to think of things like that. Well, it may not be funny to you (since she’s not your mom), but it certainly made me chuckle today. Lucky for her, I’ve got flip flops in my drawer.

Here’s something different: It’s a Sunday, and I’m in the office.

I wasn’t required by anyone to come here. I just had some work I didn’t get to finish (because I’ve been so unproductive lately, don’t ask why), so I came here. Supposedly, it was okay, because I was going out of the house today anyway to meet my cousin for her birthday. But she sent me a message just this afternoon that she wouldn’t be able to make it. Normally, I would be upset about something like that happening (I’d bought and wrapped her gift already!), but I can’t say that I wasn’t expecting it. Some people are like that, right? And I happen to know that she’s one of the people like that. Besides, she just gave me more time to catch up on my work, which again, I’m supposed to be doing now, but am taking a break from.

What I can’t believe is how I’m alone in this entire floor of our building. Okay, no. I’m not alone. There’s a security guard here, but normally, other than him, there would be people from the other departments (or even the same department) who would be rendering overtime on a Sunday, too. Today, however, there isn’t. I’m alone.

Now, there are good things and bad things about being alone: One good thing, is that I can play music without needing to put on my earphones. No one else is here, ergo, no one will be bothered if I play music while I work. Another, is that I can slouch on my desk all I want, without having to wonder if the managers are mistaking me for sleeping in the office. But what I like the most, is actually the peace, of the office, which lets me concentrate on my work better (although I’m really not great at concentrating, hello, I’m blogging right now, aren’t I?). That, and the fact that I can open the covers to the window and see the view.

I’m on the 12th floor, and the view of The Fort Strip from my window is really nice. It was nicer when I was at the 14th floor of the previous building we were at– I could see the Makati skyline. But the view from here is good as well, and it’s not that bad to have a change in view from time to time, right?

This entry isn’t making a lot of sense, I know. It’s really just to get my mind off of the work I’m doing, because it gets boring after a few hours. Anyway, it’s 4:28PM in my timezone right now and I’m going to have to leave the office soon (before dark, so it’ll be easier for me to get home). I don’t think I can finish what I really wanted to do, despite my being here for nearly the entire day. I honestly think I’m slowly ruining my life. It starts with this seemingly uncontrollable unproductivity at work. Despite my having said so many times that I’ll definitely concentrate and work hard, when I get here, I fail. I fail to think about what I need to think about, and end up thinking about the things I don’t need to (or shouldn’t be) thinking about. Are you confused? That’s because this blog doesn’t contain too many things about my er, issues, on life. Hehe. I want to tell you about them (believe me, I do, because no one I know personally likes to listen to me these days), but I think the world will just think it’s petty (because it is). *sigh*

I shouldn’t be complaining. I’m the only one who can help myself at this point. I’m the only one who can make myself productive, and therefore not needing to go to the office on Sundays, but lately, emotions are getting the better of me, and my life slowly gets destroyed. I should think about other things like

Free Food from Chowking

I ate lunch at Chowking today, and was asked a couple of questions about their new product Sjora. It’s some kind of fruit juice with milk. Anyway, after the survey, they gave me a merienda set, for free. I wonder if there’s a way to know the schedules of all these surveys so I can just go to fast food outlets and eat without having to spend anything. Hehe.

Can This Be Love (2005)

Starring: Hero Angeles & Sandara Park
Directed By: Jose Javier Reyes
Nationality: Pinoy!

Masaya rin manood ng mga pelikulang napanood mo na dati. Kasi may dalawang posibleng mangyari: Mas-magugustuhan mo sila kaysa nung una mong napanood, o mas-aayawin mo sila kaysa nung una mo silang napanood. Para sa pelikulang ito, para sa’kin, mas-nagustuhan ko siya.

Akalain mong maganda pala talaga ang pagkagawa nito. Hindi ko naman sinasabing ‘di na’ko sang-ayon sa dati kong isinulat tungkol dito, pero matapos ko ‘tong panoorin ulit, at basahin ulit ‘yung nasulat kong review, sa tingin ko, masyado akong harsh na mag-judge dati. O kaya naman, mas-marami na lang akong napanood na pelikula mula nun kasi, kaya medyo nag-iba na ang opinyon ko ngayon.

Kung dati, sinasabi ko na sayang lang at nagbukas sila ng mga problemang hindi naman nila nabigyan ng resolution sa dulo, tulad ng side-story nila Jed (Joross Gamboa) at Bebs (Roxanne Guinoo) (na sa tingin ko pa rin ‘eh isiningit lang para lang masali sila sa pelikula dahil sila naman talaga ang kasabay nila Hero at Sandara na sumikat). Ang problema kasi nila ‘eh si Jed, gustong magpuntang Japan para magtrabaho, pero siyempre ‘yung girlfriend niyang si Bebs, ayaw siyang paalisin ng Pilipinas. Nung una, nainis pa’ko dahil hindi ko nalaman kung nagpunta pa rin ba si Jed sa Japan matapos ang lahat. Pero ngayon naisip ko, hindi na kailangan ‘yun. Ibig kong sabihin, hindi ko na kailangan malaman kung anong ending ng kwento nila, dahil ang relevant talaga ‘dun sa pangyayaring ‘yon, ‘eh ‘yung pag-uusap ni Ryan (Hero Angeles) at Bebs matapos ang mga kaguluhan:

“Pupunta siya ng Japan hindi pa iwanan ka, kundi para pagandahin ang buhay niya.” - Ryan, Can This Be Love

Kailangan kasi nung pelikula ‘yung linyang ‘yun para ipakita rin na ‘yung mga umaalis ng Pilipinas, hindi naman talaga para iwanan ‘yung mga mahal nila dito, pero para lang magkaroon ng mga ibang opportunities, para malaman na rin kung ano pang mayroon para sa kanila na wala dito sa kinalakhan nila, sa kinasanayan nila.

Naisip ko rin dati na hindi malinaw kung ang mensahe ba nung storya ‘eh kung mas-mabuti bang umalis ng Pilipinas ang mga Pilipino, o kung mas-okey na manatili na lang rito. Pero matapos ko siyang panoorin ulit ngayon, parang mas-okey nga na hindi malinaw ‘yung ganung mensahe, kasi nasa tao na lang talaga ‘yun kung anong gusto niyang gawin sa buhay niya. Ang ginawa lang ng pelikula ay ipinakita kung anong kalagayan ng Pilipinas sa ganitong panahon na halos lahat ay nagpupumilit nang umalis para makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa. Ang totoo, medyo mas-nagutsuhan ko pa nga na walang kumbaga “thesis statement” ‘yung pelikula kung alin ang mas-maganda, dahil minsan nakakainis rin kapag halata mong ang isang kwento ay may ipinipilit na ideya o kaya “mentality” sa audience nito.

Ang isang hindi nagbago para sa’kin, ay ‘yung kagustuhan ko sa pagkaka-ayos nung kwento– ‘yung flashback lang ang lahat at sa gitna ng mga eksena ‘eh may ipapakita silang isang bagay (kunwari, salamin, o kaya plane ticket) para masimulan ang sunod na yugto ng kwento. At sobrang gusto ko pa rin kung paano nila tinapos ang kwento nila Ryan at Daisy (Sandara Park)– ‘yun bang, hindi na masyadong explicit, walang arte-arte. At *SPOILER ALERT* bagama’t nauwi pa rin sa kasalan pagdating sa huli (dahil halos lahat ng pelikulang Tagalog na may love story ay ‘yun ang ending), masaya ako na hindi na nagkaroon pa ng eksenang nasa simbahan ang dalawang bida at ang buong cast ay naka-formal attire. Nagustuhan ko talaga ang ending nito. Masasabi ko sa ngayon na ito na ‘yung pinaka-gusto kong “style” ng ending sa lahat ng mga Tagalog movies na napanood ko na love story.

Medyo nalulungkot lang akong isipin na ang tambalang Hero-Sandara ay hindi na mauulit. Hindi naman ako sobrang fan na fan nila, pero tuwing nakakarinig ako ng mga kwentong hiwalayan (kahit as friends, or as co-workers), at lalo na sa buhay ng mga artista, nalulungkot ako. Dahil alam kong ang pinakamalaking dahilan ay ang media. (Hindi lang naman kasi dito nangyayari ‘yan, pati sa Hollywood grabe kumilatis ng mga tao ang media ‘dun kaya naaawa ako minsan para sa mga artista.) At hindi rin ako naniniwala ‘dun sa sinasabi nilang dapat alam na ng mga artista na iintrigahin at iintrigahin sila dahil sikat sila kaya dapat alam na nila ‘yun. Para sa’kin, dapat alam din ng tao kung kailan dapat tumigil sa pag-iintriga, kasi minsan nakakasira na talaga sila ng buhay ng ibang tao, tapos para lang naman sa mataas na ratings sa isang gabi ‘yun. Ewan, ayoko nang pag-usapan ‘yan dahil feeling ko ‘eh wala na ‘yang katapusan. So, balik na lang ako sa pelikula…

Can This Be Love. Kahit pa masyadong maraming parang “social commentary” na mga linya at eksena, para sa isang pelikula na tungkol dapat sa pag-ibig, sa tingin ko ‘eh okay pa rin siya, dahil maganda rin naman pala ang pagka-pakita nila sa kung anong maaaring mangyari sa dalawang tao na mula sa magkaibang bansa, kultura, atbp. pero nagkataong ipinagkilala ng tadhana.

Kung napanood n’yo na ‘to dati, panoorin n’yo ulit. Masaya rin siyang balikan. At kung ‘di n’yo pa napanood, sana magustuhan n’yo.

*Movie Recall - Ito na pala ang itatawang ko sa mga “second reviews” o kaya ‘yung mga reviews ng pelikulang luma na pero kamakailan ko lang napanood.

I don’t know if I’ve told you, but I actually like clothes. No, I don’t think they’re a way to express yourself or whatever other deep things that people who like clothes tell you. I’m not a fashionista or anything (in fact, I don’t/can’t dress well), but I like looking at fashion magazines and looking at people who dress well. A number of my contacts in Multiply are those “business sites” that sell clothes, dresses in particular. I’ve never actually bought anything from them (mostly because I don’t have the money), but I like looking at the new designs that they come up with.

Anyway, one of the sites, let’s call it Fashion Site A (I debated on whether to put here which site it is, but I’m deciding not to because I don’t think it’s fair to give them bad publicity, they’re not bad people after all) has just posted a new fashion line, and the dresses look great, but I want to comment about the photos that they took of it. The photos are, well, they’re not very good. In fact, they’re very not good, that even though the models are beautiful and the dresses are beautiful, I don’t think they were able to advertise their product all that well.

We all know that advertising is a big part of selling things. If you’ve got a bad advertisement, it doesn’t matter how good your product is, it might not sell. And vice-versa (meaning, if you have a bad product but good advertisement, then people will still buy it). I don’t want to be a stick-in-the-mud (in Tagalog, Epal) and PM the people behind the website that their photos suck (because to them, they might not actually suck), I should just leave them be, it’s their business anyway, and I shouldn’t be sticking my nose into it. Still, I can’t help but think that maybe what I want to tell them can help them advertise their product better somehow.

A newer website, which I’ll call Fashion Site B, has shown up recently and although they haven’t started selling their clothes, they put up a few pictures from a photo shoot they did, as a preview of what people can expect from their store. From the comments in the websites, I can tell that more people are more excited about Fashion Site B than Fashion Site A (A’s website hardly had any comments/responses at all), even if it seems that the clothes they’re selling are equally great. Of course, I can’t base everything on the number of comments that a website gets. Maybe Fashion Site A’s customers just aren’t as internet savvy as the customers of Fashion Site B, but still, I still think that Fashion Site A needs to step their ads up a notch.

Especially when you’re selling on the internet, where the only basis of people for your products are pictures, shouldn’t you, as a seller, do everything you can to make the pictures of your products look great? I’m really tempted to send a private message to Fashion Site A and tell them to hire a professional photographer (a good one), and have someone better direct their models, but another side of me wants to see how they’ll improve, even if no one tells them that their pictures aren’t that great. (It’s possible that I’m the only one who thinks their pictures suck, but I think after looking at so many fashion websites and magazines, I can also tell what’s good and what’s not.)

I actually don’t understand how they can allow sub-standard pictures on their site. I mean, being fashion designers (and they’re good designers, too), shouldn’t they be good artists as well? Shouldn’t they be able to tell whether a photograph is good or not?

I know, I know. I should just leave these people alone. Hey, I’m already not mentioning their names, so I hope this isn’t considered bad publicity. It’s just a rant, which I hope they’ll read, and will make them improve their advertisements in the future. I’m not starting a war here, I just like looking at pretty pictures is all.

Hey y’all! How’s everyone? It’s my first day back from my summer vacation to Cagayan De Oro with some of my friends in the office. It’s my longest summer trip this year, and I had lots and lots (and lots and lots) of cake! Oh wait, I mean, I had lots and lots of fun. Hehehe. I’ll tell you more about the cake later. Anyway, I realized several things on this trip:

1. Although my family isn’t from Cagayan De Oro, it’s actually my 3rd time to have gone there, which makes it the farthest province that I’ve gone to the most number of times (I’m not counting Batangas, Laguna, Bulacan, Pampanga and the other provinces that are really close to Metro Manila. Since they’re just half an hour or a few hours away, I’ve been there more times than I can count :P).
2. It’s actually my first longer-than-overnight-out-of-town trip with a group of friends. All my trips before this one have been with my family (either my parents and siblings, or my siblings and cousins), and the trips I go to with my friends have all been for only 2 days and one night, and less than 4 hours by land, away from home. (Again, I’m not counting the times I went abroad (because those trips were for at least 4 days) with a friend because then, I was only with one friend.) I’ve never gone on a plane with friends before.
3. I can actually do adventurous things without my siblings. Because I think I’ve only experienced the extreme stuff, i.e. skydiving, because my siblings like it and it just makes sense for me to go with them. But now, coming from a trip where we not only did the white water rafting, but rapelling by a waterfall, sliding on rocks and jumping from a cliff into a lake, I think I can say that I can do some things on my own now.
4. Summer is not just about the beach! There’s plenty of places in the Philippines with other kinds of bodies of water that’s good to spend your summer in, too. Like waterfalls and rivers, which Cagayan De Oro has plenty of. Plus, the mountains are really cool (I mean literally cool), so even if you’re not swimming or surrounded by water, you can still enjoy just looking at the view from the top of a mountain in the summer time.
5. PAL (Philippine Airlines) is still the best airline in the Philippines. Internationally, it’s not that great. But if you compare it to the other local airlines (e.g. Cebu Pacific, Seair, etc.) it’s still a lot lot better. Of course, their being in a newer terminal/airport helps. And of course the snacks. I swear, the people in charge should really do something about our domestic airport (the one you go to when your flight isn’t Philippine Airlines.

Well, that’s about it. I’ll just edit this entry later when I think of something else. And as for the other details of my trip, I’m planning on writing about it in my travel blog (Why yes, I have one of these, too). But I don’t have any more time right now (I’m really sleepy), so just wait for updates. In the mean time, I want to share one of our pictures taken on the trip:

(L-R): Will, me, Karen, Carleen, Monica and Brent at Mapawa Nature Park, Cagayan De Oro

I said I wouldn’t post anything about this topic, because it’s just too mainstream and it’s not like I’m a fan of the thing. But it is kind of interesting to be able to relate to what the people around me are talking about, for once.

I’m not an American Idol fan. I’m really not. Truth is, this is the first time I’ve watched episodes of it. It has to do with my being not really a music fan. Or maybe I’m a music fan, but I’m definitely not a singer fan. I don’t care much about vocal range and all that technical stuff. For me, as long as a person can sing in tune, it’s really the quality of the song writing that’s the basis on whether it’s a good song or not. I think that even if a person can sing really well, if the song he/she is singing sucks, then the whole thing will suck, in the same way that when a movie has a bad story, then no matter how good its technical aspect is, it will ultimately be forgettable.

I actually only watched an episode of this because they had a Beatles week, and I’m kind of a Beatles fan. Of course, after that episode, I didn’t watch any more episodes, but I’ve found that you can find out what happens just by listening to the people around you. So I found out that the final 2 contestants are the 2 Davids. Good for them. I think they’re both really good. Then again, you have to be really good to be able to reach one of the final 2 slots. So there’s no question about whether they’re good singers or not. I think, at this point in the show, it will ultimately boil down to who’s got the bigger fan base.

Personally, I think it’s unfair. Or if not, then it’s still not accurate to say that one David is a better singer than the other. Because they’re just too different. They have different images, they sing different song genres. I mean, if they always sang the same song, then maybe you’ll be able to really compare them, but since they don’t (because if they did then people will get sick of the songs they sing), then the competition isn’t really just between the two Davids, but between Rock music and Pop music.

I’m going to be honest. I like Rock better. Pop songs are just too shallow for me, too commercial, even. I think they’re made deliberately to make money, to become popular, and not really to send a message to the audience, or change the world. I know, it’s too idealistic to think that music can change the world, but you never know. Music is a powerful force. I think it’s a waste of the art if you’ll just use it to make yourself rich (I’m talking about the producers/marketers, not the singers). I even think it’s a wrong use of the medium. But that’s me. I’m not saying Pop music is bad. I’ve been known to enjoy shallow pop songs from time to time (Proof: I own Hillary Duff’s album. Both of them.) But it’s just fun to listen to, it’s nothing I think I’ll learn anything from. It’s nothing that I think can change or even affect my life, even for a little while.

Obviously, since I like Rock better than Pop, then I guess it’s not hard to guess that I like David Cook better. No offense to David Archuleta, he’s really good, too. But I honestly think that David Cook is more consistent. I mean, David Archuleta so murdered We Can Work It Out by The Beatles. Well, I can forgive him for that. Everybody gets bad days. And I honestly think that the only reason I don’t like David A that much is because I don’t like the songs he sings. Because they’re always Pop songs. And I don’t really like Pop. But anyway, the point of this post is really that I don’t really care who wins, even if I prefer one contestant over the other. I think they’re both really really good. I’m glad they won over the rest of the contestants. Although even if I like David Cook more, I think it’s David Archuleta who’s going to win. Because the deciding factor will be the number of votes, right? And we all know that Pop music is way more popular than Rock. Hello, it’s the very reason it’s called Pop music. So:

Pop > Rock ergo David A > David C

I don’t really mind. Like I said, I don’t care who wins. I think the other will have a good career after the contest, no matter what happens anyway. But it is interesting for me because it’s the first time I can relate to all the American Idol chatter around me. It’s the first time I actually have an opinion about it, and I’m quite proud of myself for trying to find out about things I’m normally not interested in. I just hope people won’t start talking to me about R&B, or Pinoy Big Brother*, because those things, no matter what, I’m never going to be interested in.

[edit: 22-May-08 10:12 AM] Well, David Cook just won, making my prediction incorrect. I guess I’m not psychic after all, hehe. I like him better, but I’m kind of disappointed he won. Haha! I just don’t think American Idol is the right venue for someone like him. I’d like it better if he was an independent artist whose claim to fame isn’t through a “reality” show. Not to mention, I think there would be more fans sourgraping about David A’s loss because he has the younger fan base, ergo their opinions would be more immature. Not that I’d go looking for their sourgraping comments.

This is a little weird. This is the first time that the optimistic side of me has won (yes, I’ve secretly been hoping for David Cook to win, but my realistic side kept telling me that David A has more mass appeal), and I guess I’m not used to it. Hehe. Although I do kind of feel bad that Rock has really gone mainstream now. Well, it went mainstream in the 90’s, but still… Wait, I’m really confused. Am I disappointed because the contestant that I like is the one who won the contest?!?! Something must be wrong with me! /: )

*Disclaimer, just in case you think I don’t like Pinoy Big Brother because it’s a local show: I don’t like the Big Brother franchise. I think the whole thing is a pointless invasion of people’s privacy. I personally can’t care less about the personal lives of people I don’t know and am not likely to meet or be friends with. And it’s not reality TV in my opinion. The camera distorts any semblance of anything to reality. Hello? Haven’t these people ever heard of the Observer Effect?!

(Click on Image to Enlarge)

The poster already has these details, but I’ll say it anyway. The Filipinas Heritage Library is holding an Art and Writing Workshop from June 7 - 28, 2008. As much as I want to join, I can’t because it conflicts with my Japanese classes. It’s too bad really, I’ve gone on one of their workshops before (Travel Writing & Photography) and it was lots of fun. This one is also something I’m really interested in, but oh well, maybe next time. I’m putting it up here anyway in case anyone else is interested.