Eh-hum # 239

"Five fifty-five, fifty-five! Dial limang five! Five fifty-five, fifty-fa-ha-ha-ive"

MAKE IT STOP!!!

If you, like myself, are part of the thousands (if not millions) of Filipinos commuting using the Metro Rail Transit, MRT for short, then you will notice that we no longer hear the driver's voice over the train's PA system telling us which station we're already at. Thankfully, a pre-recorded friendly and articulate female voice tells us that, which saves us from getting confused when the drivers still have not memorized the correct order of the stations (have experienced this).

(Also, saves the driver from being jeered at just because they came from certain provinces. Story: my brother heard from a friend that while they where riding the LRT yellow line, the driver announced "Pedro GEL" instead of "Pedro Gil", which prompted once passenger/another friend to say loudly, "Delikado pala sumakay dito, may byahe papunta empyerno". Oh well).

This improvement in the MRT station is welcomed, of course. Some trains even have small TVs for ads. But what is annoying (and speaking of ads) are the commercials being played after the friendly and articulate female voice makes her reminder. It won't be a big deal if there was variety, like a radio station. BUT, as what I have experienced yesterday, it was just ONE commercial, played over and over and over again. From the time I got on the train in Taft, until I got off at North Ave. Much to my chagrin, I found myself humming this Greenwhich pizza ad (to the tune of an Eraserhead hit) on my way home via FX taxi.

MAKE IT STOP!!!

Well, this little experience proves that 1) repetitive commercials are annoying, worse than LSS; and 2) it really works. If I suddenly crave for pizza/pasta, I know what numbers to dial.

All together now: "Five fifty-five, fifty-five! Dial limang five! Five fifty-five, fifty-fa-ha-ha-ive"

Note: I should demand money for even mentioning said pizza company in this blog, especially if people started calling. Hehehe.

Eh-hum # 238

I knew it!

Congratulations, David Cook, for being the American Idol's Season 7 winner!

What can I say? He had us at HELLO.





(Sorry, I had to say it, heheh).

Eh-hum # 237

Before I share thoughts on life/work and a couple of pictures, let me dedicate this post to two interesting entries made by Ms Jessica Zafra in her blog:

1. "Geek History"

"Are nerds born or are they made? Now that geeks rule tech companies, lead billionaire lists, and are the auteurs, subjects and stars of Judd Apatow movies, has it become cool to be a nerd? Even people who must’ve been popular in high school now claim that they were nerds. If everyone was a teenage outcast, then who cast them out?

I do not like these belated claims of membership in the tribe.

Here’s an interview with Benjamin Nugent, author of American Nerd." ; and

2. "Children are not PC."

"Panchito (not his real name) and his six-year-old son boarded the elevator in their building. There were two other passengers on the lift: a middle-aged Australian and his young Filipina wife. The Australian was a friendly sort–he looked at Panchito’s son and boomed, “Hello! How old are you?”

“I’m six,” the little boy replied.

“You’re too big to be a six-year-old!” the friendly Australian said.

“You’re too old to have a yaya (nanny),” the little boy said.

Panchito was unable to take note of the Australian’s reaction, or that of his wife. He was too busy looking for an elevator shaft he could throw himself into."

***

Eh-hum...

1. So, are the nerds brining sexy back? Maybe not entirely, but I did noticed that nerd is the new cool. I also have met a few claiming to be nerds back in high school, but were obviously the cheerleaders, prom queens and the jocks. What's up with these airheads? Even though they are the center of attention (and people are supposedly dying to be like them), they are also in a perpetual state of trying to fit in (pretending to be somebody they are NOT). Revenge of the nerds indeed.

While I am not that smart, I would consider myself as a nerd. In GS/HS, I was very much into cartoons (i.e. anime), fantasy films, thriller/horror novels (Christopher Pike), encyclopedias and National Geographic magazines. Yeah, I remember a few of my classmates gave me an unflattering nickname, which I thought it was pretty nasty. I may be a weird girl, but at least I have always been true to myself. Rather be a nerd than a poser. ;)

2. Yep, a bonafide "the Emperor's New Clothes" moment right here, a child stating the the obvious that we adults dare not talk about out loud. Funny, this was a topic of conversation between me and my Indonesian friend back in Japan. You know, the observation that Westerners tend to marry, uh, not so pretty local girls. Nothing wrong with that, of course, everybody deserves to be happy (or married).

Its just that, well, you know...why?

Maybe...its just me.

Heheh.

Eh-hum # 236

Hullo! So much has happened in the last week after our office outing at Laguna. Though I cannot share it in detail due to the nature of the work, I don't mind sharing a couple of things I learned about the industry I'm in so far and myself.

Also, I like to post some pictures I took in the past couple of weeks, which may describe what I am feeling right now about life and work.

***

For now, I would like to share my fondness for a television program I remembered watching as a child, Jim Henson's The Storyteller. As the titled suggests, the show was created and produced by Muppet master Jim Henson in the late 1980's. It lasted for two seasons and is now available in a boxed DVD set.

The show basically retells various folk tales/mythology with a combination of actors and puppets. The original Storyteller was John Hurt, he was replaced by Michael Gambon in the second season. Amid these changes, the show's format remained: an old storyteller sitting by a fire telling each tale to both the viewers and to his talking and realistic looking dog (a muppet voiced by Brian Henson).

I loved this show as a child, but I must admit there were times I was a wee bit scared due to the presence of some dark elements in the stories.

I hope there is a way for me to purchase the DVD set. All I can do, for now, is visit YouTube. Anyway, here's the opening sequence of the first season. Enjoy!

Eh-hum # 235

Laguna, here we come. Our office (rather, the department I belong to) will be spending our weekend in a modest resort located in, as mentioned, Laguna. A much deserved break from the demands of work and the bustling (not to mention polluted) urban jungle.

I was hesitant at first, due to the possible awkward moments that could make any seemingly normal conversation a source of ridicule and major embarrassment (am one of the newbies at work). But since its free (food, lodging and transportation), I convinced myself to attend. Also, if I find myself in a painfully uncomfortable situation, I would only be scarred for life, not dead. Hehehehe.

***

I have great, wonderful, fantastic news! But its better to keep it to myself. Next week, next week.

***

Also, next week, will be having dinner with a couple of friends from Shindai. Looking forward to that (right next to my great, wonderful, fantastic news, hehe).

Eh-hum # 234

Whew!

My sister's home for the weekend after spending five days in Baguio. Hence, the house became noisier with more trips to the kitchen for family discussions and before dinner snacks.

After being tag-teamed by my siblings, I finally was able to watch 300. Its a bit late, but watching movies months after it has been shown in theaters is a habit of mine, so am not complaining (part of my "against-the-flow" philosophy, I guess). And I am certainly NOT complaining about this:

Let me just repeat what I've said before, those abs are REAL...real...real. If Gerard Butler gets any more hotter than he already is, we might just found an alternative source of energy.

***

I am a bit annoyed that one of my new blouses is ruined no thanks to a few loose threads. When I first saw the rip (it could be caused by a washing machine mishap or apathetic ironing), I wanted retribution since I used it only once and it did cost me some hard-earned money. However, I realized later on that putting the blame on other people (particularly household help) will not make it any better and I ought to find other ways to have it fixed so that a relatively new blouse won't go to waste.

One option was to have it replaced, but I figured it won't fly since it has been more than a week. I could also try asking the boutique (where I purchased it) if they could fix it. Or visit a shop that specializes in these things.

Oh well. The bottomline is, I am trying not to make this incident ruin my Monday. Or the fact that I am sniffling and coughing since yesterday. But thanks to a certain coffee shop near work, I am feeling much better.