... Sleepless...

Monday was just crazy. I was suppose to sleep after doing my Sunday blog entry but Cleng and Ryan were already up when I got home sto we just kept on talking about A LOT of things.

Ryan was actually trying to get me to start dating again, not that I was ever the dater, and was suggesting some of his friends. He was giving me a list of qualities for each of his Lucien-date prospects and he went on until like 4:00 AM. He stopped when I told him I needed to get up early to go to the gym and wanted to take a shower first before going to sleep. To my surprise, however, he and Cleng were both still up and watching television when I got out of the shower.

Apparently, neither of them could sleep because they were chatting each other to death so Ryan just thought we'd both go to the gym really early then will do our grocery after. We ordered food from Jollibee for breakfast but they forgot the free newspaper so we called them back to have them send someone over to deliver it to us (Yes, we're all asses). We left the condominium around 10:00 AM-ish but I parted ways with them for like half an hour to meet my sister and walk her through some of the currently available netbooks. I then met Ryan and Cleng again in the grocery, finished doing our stuff, took food out then went home. Ryan and Cleng went straight to bed after lunch but I decided to watch 3 more episodes of Magic Knight Rayearth.

So, before I end this, I'd like to mention the netbook me and my sister thinks is currently the best choice. It's the Lenovo S10 and it gets multiple extra points due to good looks, smaller than EEE PC 1000H footprint, and instant-recovery buttons for emergencies. Yes the price isn't ideal, but Lenovo's are known for high quality long lasting products. Hopefully they'll have my sister's choice color, pink, available soon!

Oh well, I'm at work now, and it's a really great day! I'll tell you more about it tomorrow of course.

XOXO

Rayearth

I woke up Saturday night, at around 11:00 PM, and realized no one else was home so I decided to just eat dinner then head to the cafe for my latest blog entry. I've also been wanting to dabble with Samsung OMNIA's TouchWiz interface so I brought along my mobile and it's data cable. I went home an hour and a half later to start watching one of the anime DVD's I bought and saw at least 3 episodes before the door slammed open and in came Ryan, Cleng, Josh, Lawrence, and 2 other guys who I've never seen before. They wanted me to get drunk with them, which really isn't my cup of tea (I don't drink alcoholic beverages) so as Ryan started pouring me a glass of whatever-that-was, I hurried to my room, slammed my room's door shut, then slept.

I woke up barely a few hours after and Cleng was still downstairs drunk so I had to wait for her to go up to Ryan's room and sleep with Ryan and Josh on Ryan's queen sized bed. I turned on the television and the home theatre system and started watching more episodes...

It's weird how when a really nice anime DVD would sound really cheesy after being dubbed to english. The characters all of a sudden sound silly and everything else was out of whack! I missed the show a lot though cause it's been ages since I've seen it. I've already seen 24 episodes today which translates to almost 10 hours of non-stop couch-potato-ing. I'm hoping to finish the rest of the series before the week ends as I have another anime to watch starting next Saturday - Rave!

Breakfast and then some...

Senseless shopping that is. After Friday's shift I decided to go out with my officemates to eat breakfast at a nearby Greenwich. I had a slice of pizza, half a serving of pasta, and chilli con carne with rice. We then headed to SM Megamall to walk around a few, 'cause I can't work out on a full stomach, and decided to check out some gadgets. One of my companions bought a headset for his desktop which is just about everything we actually bought, hehehe.

Anyway, Friday shift itself was crazy. One of our team mates donned a highly questionable outfit with an even more questionable accessory so I, our supervisor, our AVP, and even the Site VP just had to say something. It was the running joke for the night and we were just laughing about it. The day did start really busy though, but ended well. After my usual work out routine, I bought new anime DVD's, went home, then started preparing to rest. Ryan actually woke up before I fell asleep so we got to chat for a few. A expressed some concerns with how one of our close friends have been communicating with me bacause I'm not particularly happy with it.

Well, that's that! It's Sunday now, and I'm hungry. I'll go eat lunch then will probably roam around wherever.

XOXO

Shopping for Music

Our mid-month pay were already deposited into our bank accounts before our shift ended yesterday so I had to wait for my friends to finish their banking errands before we left Makati. As usual, everyone else got of at EDSA Central, and I got off at SM Megamall. Halfway from the bus stop to SM Megamall's entrance, however, I heard a loud THUD and when I looked back I saw one bus against another... No one looked hurt though as it wasn't a big crash of any sort.

So anyway, I just let what happened pass then went my way to the gym. After working out, I dropped by a Odyssey looking for new albums to buy and took like 15 minutes to decide between Maroon 5's recently repackaged album and The Pussycat Dolls brand new album. I decided I wanted Maroon 5's instead because the latter may be repackaged as well to include a DVD or whatever in the future. It then took me more than half an hour trying to look for the OPM band with a female singer who sang Migraine because none of the sales ladies knew which band it was! I finally remembered it to be Moonstar88 but unfortunately they didn't have the album I wanted available. They didn't have Callalily's first album as well, which was just sad so I told them I'll drop by again next week.

Of course, I wasn't planning to wait an entire week to buy the CD's so I took the escalator up 2 floors and dropped by AstroPlus instead and was able to buy all 3 albums I wanted that day- Callalily: Destination XYZ, Maroon 5: It Won't Be Soon Before Long, and Moonstar88: Todo Combo. You're probably wondering why I still buy Audio CD's when everyone else is downloading MP3's from the internet instead. It's really simple - I want the best sounding MP3's and I can't be assured that I'm getting that even when downloading 320 kbps-CBR MP3's from the Internet. I also haven't used my MP3 player in the longest time and would love to fill it up with as many songs as possible so I can start enjoying it again. Looks like I'll be spending a lot of time with Ryan's laptop this weekend, hehehe!

That's it guys! Today's the last day for this week and I'll be blogging about whatever will happen tomorrow. Happy weekend everyone!

Desktop gaming on a budget

All prices below were quoted using PC Corner's online price list.

For a mid-range 3D gaming PC @ 1024*720 screen resolution, my suggestion would be:
Processor: AMD Athlon LE-1640 (PhP 2,198)
Motherboard: ECS A780GM-A AMD780 (PhP 3,248)
Memory: 1 x DDR 800 1GB (PhP 1,248)
Storage: SeaGate 160GB 7200 RPM SATA (PhP 1,998)
Optical Disk Drive: Lite-On DH-162DS SATA (PhP 918)
Casing: Orion FF+11 400W (PhP 1,598)
Monitor: Samsung 17" 793DV CRT Monitor (PhP 3,898)
Total: PhP 15,106

For an even better 3D gaming experience @ 1280×1024 screen resolution, you can:
add
Discrete GPU: Powercolor HD3450 512MB DDR2 64BIT (PhP 2,148)*
then upgrade
Processor: AMD Athlon X2 5000 (PhP 3,198)
Memory: 2 x DDR 800 1GB (PhP 1,248 x 2)*
Optical Disk Drive: Samsung 20X SH-S203N SATA LightScribe (PhP 1,348)**
Storage: SeaGate 320 GB 7200 RPM SATA (PhP 2,698)**
Monitor: Acer 17" X173W LCD Monitor (PhP 7,598)
New Total: PhP 24,332

For the best 3D gaming experience @ 1280x1024 screen resolution for less than PhP 30,000, you can:
further upgrade
Processor: AMD Phenom X4 9550 (PhP 7,748)
New Total: PhP 28,882

The first set-up is highly efficient so you won't have to worry about your electricity bills shooting waayyy up unless you leave it turned on like 24/7. It's also ideal for gaming and Internet cafes providing acceptable frame rates for LAN games, such as DOTA, and locally prevalent MMORPG's.

The second set-up enables you to use Hybrid Crossfire with either Windows XP or Vista as your O.S., using ATI Catalyst 8.8 up, which boosts the Discrete GPU's performance by up to 80%, and at the same time uses just a small amount of electricity more than the first set up does - though you need to factor the Discrete GPU's power consumption, the LCD monitor balances the increased power requirement of the dual-core processor. I wanted to suggest AMD Athlon X2 5000 Black Edition (Processor) and an AMD 780G chipset with at least 64 MB sideport memory (Motherboard) set up for enhanced overclocking potential, but it doesn’t seem like PC Corner has either of them. If they did it will probably only cost an extra PhP 500 - 750 which allows you to increase performance by up to 20-30% with just a couple of tweaks. You can also switch the processor to an AMD Athlon X2 5050e instead, once it's available, to further reduce power consumption by 20 Watts without affecting over-all system performance.

The third set-up uses AMD's K10 core which performs even better, even on similar clock speeds, than processors based on AMD's K8 Core. The only drawback on the third set-up is that it uses around 30 watts more power than the first two, while at the same time providing significant performance increases especially when playing multi-threaded applications and/or games that are capable of utilising all four cores at the same time or just plain multi-tasking. This set-up is also compatible with 2 x DDR2 1066 1GB Memory which will further improve performance for an extra PhP 500***, which will still keep your desktop's total cost below PhP 30,000.

P.S.: I am not a PC Corner endorser. They just happen to have good pricing and a complete online price list.

* - You can add this at a latter date as an upgrade
** - Storage upgrades - will not overall system performance
*** - based on prices posted on http://www.tipidpc.com/

Stay

Yesterday, after gym, I called one of my old friends from Makati up to check what's been going on. I haven't heard from him in a while and he was one of the few guys I actually get to talk with regarding gadgets of all sorts. Well, one, I was surprised to find out that he was in Tagaytay at his new partner's place because he didn't seem the type to go out of his way, and two, I was even more surprised that he was there alone, planning to prepare lunch, while waiting for his partner to go home as he was the bratty-have-my-own-way type of guy.

I guess it's weird how a lot would always wish to have someone that's very much like him/herself when in fact it's whoever that can make you do what's opposite your nature the most that matters. As for me, I just want someone who can make me feel laid back at home, and crazy outside of it... I actually had someone already, but it fell apart. Hopefully, next time, I'll have someone who is actually my own.

Anyway, here's something for everyone. I hope everyone likes it; the song is similarly titled with what I posted here.

STAY - Carol Banawa

I want you to stay
Never go away from me
Stay forever
But now, now that you're gone
all I can do is pray for you
To be here beside me again

Why did you have to leave me
When you said that love will conquer all
why did you have to leave me
When you said that dreaming
Was as good as reality

And now I must move on
Trying to forget all the memories
Of you near me
But I can't let go of your love
That has taught me to hold on

I want you to stay never go away from me
Stay forever

But now, now that you're gone
All I can do is pray for you
To be here beside me again

Why did you have to leave me
When you said that love will conquer all
why did you have to leave me
When you said that dreaming
Was as good as reality

And now I must move one
Trying to forget all the memories
Of you near me
But I can't let go of your love
That has taught me to hold on

Why did you have to leave me
When you said that love will conquer all
why did you have to leave me
When you said that dreaming
Was as good as reality
Why did you have to leave me
When you said that love will conquer all
why did you have to leave me
When you said that dreaming
Was as good as reality

I want you to stay never go away from me
Stay forever

I want to stay but I have to go my way

Oohhhmmm

Must... Blog... !

I'm not really sure how many people follow my blog because I rarely get comments on my Multiply and my Blogspot has no comments at all, regardless, I'm still trying to make sure that my blog is updated each day.

Yesterday after shift, I did my usual routine which is to the gym to work out. I was about 30 minutes late, howver, because one of our AVP's at Chase asked me to help him out with something, and I also decided to drop by Jollibee to buy myself a pancake sandwich. I barely finished all the stuff I usually do at the gym because I was already sleepy but still managed to drop by an internet cafe on my way home just to post the blog entry prior to this one.

I'm guessing some of you are already wondering why I have to blog daily, and although I can just refer you to the entry, my life lists, which explains why, I'd like to just say instead that blogging lets me look back into what happened the previous day and appreciate whatever good there was in it. It also allows me to be more realistic with my goals as it gives me what can effectively be considered as a daily accounting of my life.

Yesterday, I was given additional responsibilities by one of the AVP's ensuring that whether or not I get the position I applied for, which almost everyone is sure that I will, there's something in store for me and I won't be stuck as a regular Customer Care Professional at work. Of course, yesterday wasn't all good. I had some e-mail problems that was only resolved tonight, which is too late, but is just okay. Shit happens! That was too bad but the day turned out well still so I'm happy.

Well, I'll go update you guys again tomorrow.

XOXO

So does it always?

I didn't have the time to blog at work so this one's pretty late. Monday shift was very busy because of the volume of calls we were having and I also had to do a lot of reporting stuff.

Anyways, after work I went to the gym as usual but finished quickly because I superset-ed a couple of exercises. I went straight home, ate, took a shower, then slept and that's it! Hehehe!

So... Here's another song for everyone.

LOVE ALWAYS FINDS A WAY - Jed Maddela

We've said it all
a thousand times before
been to the wall
and always found somewhere to turn
there was always room to learn

We've reached the end
and almost closed the door
and someone went in
I never can remember who
All I know is that
we found the strength to make it through

Love always finds a way
when the clouds have no silver lining
He comes through shining
Love always sees the light
through the darkest night
in a small way
Love always finds a way

Holding you near
After the storm has passed
It becomes clear
when all our tears have finally dried
that no matter how
we fools may try to turn the tide
Love always finds a way
when the clouds have no silver lining
He comes through shining
Love always sees the light
through the darkest night
in a small way
Love always finds a way

And when those moments
when the magic seems to fade
We must remember then
that?s the time to keep on believing
and not be afraid

If we both trust
in what we really feel
The two of us
can hold tomorrow in our hands
all it takes is just
the faith to truly understand

Monday

Monday started 12:30 for me. I was actually surprised to wake up alone in our pad so I texted Ryan who was apparently out with Lawrence. They asked me to follow suit but I decided to just eat breakfast then go online to update my blog instead.

After an hour and a half online, I decided to go back home and just spend the rest of the twilight listening to more music while playing games on my phone, which I did. Of course, after just an hour or so the door slams open and Ryan, Lawrence, and Lawrence's date was there. Good thing I had my shirt on, I am sooo used to staying in the living room with just my boxers on, hahaha!

So Ryan showed me the stuff his dad bought him including a not so exhilirating digital camera which wasn't exactly what we were looking forward to, a Samsung S730 (I was hoping he got a Samsung NV24 HD). We did some crazy shots, and well... They sort of asked me to do crazy stuff. I hope those pics don't get uploaded or else I'll be uploading his videos over at YouTube. :-P

So anyway, Lawrence and his date left and Ryan went up to his room. I was surprised to find out he was still up and we talked about a very serious concern about someone which I can't post here yet. He slept around 8:00 AM so going to the gym with me at 10:30 AM was a big no-no and I had to go alone. I then had my facial treatment after; I was 5 minutes late because I increased the number of crunches I'm doing.

After I had my facial I walked around a bit and dropped by Watson's unable to find the soad I usually use. I then dropped by the grocery looking for the milk I usually buy but apparently they don't have it anymore so I instead bought some other stuff like oats, muesli, and this rice crispy snack Vicky Belo endorses. Hahaha! I went home after, bumped into Terence while picking up my laundry, chatted with him and Ryan for a few then slept.

It's another day today, like I always say. And it's a good one as usual. I'm happy.

Laid back and loving it

Sunday was pretty laid back. I woke up really early, like 1:00 AM and had nothing to do. I went out to browse my phone, riding on the unsecured WiFi networks in our community and check a few stuff out online. I then just mostly stayed at home listening to music care of Ryan's iPod.

I was dead bored around 12 hours after and started texting some of my old friends back from when I was still living in Makati. One of them needed to buy some techie stuff and asked me if I can come along so I did, given he helps me do my grocery because I'm not particularly good at doing that alone. I went home after doing the grocery then went straight to bed.

Of course, it wasn't all that boring; something else happened during the 12 hour jump. Ryan was more insistent now with getting me a date and already scheduled one, with his own date's help, for Saturday. Thank god I was texting one of my best friends that time. who was off Saturday night as well, and we were sort of scheduling when we can hang out again so I was able to find a scapegoat. It's been a while since I've met him anyway and I owe him Saturday, or one of these weekends, at the very least.

Oh well. That concludes my weekend. It's already Monday now and I'll be blogging about today when I get to work tonight. I need to get some more rest because I'll be working out every day this week again.

XOXO

5 and a half

That's how long it's been since I've graduated with secondary education. It's weird how in high school everything seemed so easy and fun, no one really took life seriously except thoush who had nothing else to live for aside from what they think will be a good future.

As usual, I went to the gym after Friday shift but had to hurry because I was meeting Ivan, Jeff and Leo in Gateway Mall for a long overdue reunion. I don't go there often so I was lost the moment I stepped off the MRT. I saw Jeff first and he informed me that Ivan won't make it, so I called Ivan up and it turns out he had something important to do. Jeff and I chatted while walking around waiting for Leo, who arrived barely half an hour later. We had lunch at Pizza Hut Bistro and dessert at Italliannis.

It's weird how much 5 and a half years can do. Jeff has lost A LOT of weight and already has his license (CONGRATULATIONS!), and Leo also finally lost his "baby fats" and has grown taller than me and Jeff. Jeff is now officially a bum, waiting for whatever it is he's waiting for, and Leo's taken over his family's business.

Some things don't change, however, we can still all remember the things we went through during our last year in La Salle Green Hills and we still had the same thoughts about them. We're all still friends and it will remain that way for as long as we can maintain it. I learned that day that staying in touch pays off, you're never too changed even for your high school friends to just forget about them - so make sure to say Hi! whenever you have an extra 5 minutes, Friendster doesn't take 5 minutes to pull up anyway. I'm also more thankful now with my work because even though I haven't finished college yet, I'm apparently earning more than twice as much as other batchmates who did get a degree.

Almost Saturday!

I had to ride the bus to SM Megamall alone yesterday after shift because the people I usually ride with had errands to do. I decided to catch up on sleep on the bus and ended up waking up too late so had to walk from Robinson's Galleria to SM Megamall.

So I did my usual stuff at the gym- nothing exciting. I called the Destiny Cable guy to pick up our payment instead because I wouldn't make it to their office. He told me he'll get to our pad by 2:00 PM but he didn't and I had to sleep. Terence was there, by the way, watching the Celine Dion I mentioned on one of my previous posts. I swear My Heart Will Go On is one of the most beautiful songs ever.

Anyway, I woke up with Ryan fiddling with my phone standing by my bed; he trying to call the laundry shop so they can pick his stuff up. I was surprised when I checked the time cause it was already almost 10:00 PM and he was still there, apparently he filed for leave tonight to date the usual guy. So I ate dinner, prepared to go out then left home. We took a cab and he dropped me off to work on his way to wherever they're meeting.

Thank God it's Friday! I'm meeting my friends from High School after working out later in Gateway and I just don't know what to expect. It's been years since I last had the chance to spend time with them and I'm hoping we can all catch up with each other.

As usual, I'll keep you guys posted.

XOXO

Studio 546

Yesterday's shift went by torturous-ly as I was feeling groggy the whole day due to lack of sleep. I woke up 3 hours earlier than usual because I had my final interview at 9:00 PM. I barely survived the day without falling asleep thanks to the 2 doses of Extra Joss I took during my lunch break. Of course, I still decided to go to the gym after work instead of going straight home. Working out with barely enough energy to keep my eyes open was definitely hard. I was able to complete my routine though I wasn't able to increase the load on any of the stuff I do.

After working out I also decided to have my hair cut because my mane was starting to look really crappy. I asked Terence for suggestion and he directed me to a Studio 54, which turned out to actually be Studio 546 on the 5th floor of Rustan's Shangri-La Mall. I had my hair cut and eye brow threading by their top stylist for PhP 500.00 and PhP 250.00 respectively and I must say I'm quite satisfied with how they look. I then proceeded to my friend's karaoke place in EDSA Central Mall and was invited to go to his birthday party which, obviously, I wasn't able to go to because I have work. I went home, ate my usual meal, did my pre-sleep routine, then hit the sack.

Today's a new day again.

XOXO

Money matters

Our AVP at work and I were talking about Filipino culture and one of the things brought up was how short term every ones' goals here are perspectives are. For instance, when asked how much we make at work, we always provide our monthly salary, and not how much we make annually. Most of us also look at each month's performance so religiously when at work when in fact, our employers would look at the bigger picture, how well you've been doing in the past 12 months or so.

Of course, those weren't the ones that hit me. It's when he brought up how we tend to live on a pay check to pay check basis. Primarily that's because we don't earn as much as they do in the U.S., but then again, every one at Chase earns way more than your average employee in the same position and with the same tenure. I guess I need to start restructuring my spending so that I always have enough to save. BPI recently had On-Call agents drop by and promoted their Save-Up product which people were proud enough to be able to enroll for with just around PhP 500 being taken out of each pay check.

My goal is that once I've resolved my financial mistakes, ergo paid my debts, I'll make sure to start saving enough to be able to survive should I end up jobless for more than a quarter. I'm not really scared of losing my job but that can't be helped if J.P. Morgan decides to pull their local offices out of Manila. I don't want to have to rely on my mom or my sister, and it's not because I don't think they'll help me, but rather, it's because they have their own things they need to spend on. I also advise you to do the same 'cause you can never be too sure of what may happen a year, or even just a few months from now.

Anyway, I need to start saving up for online schooling, and a laptop I can use for that. I really, REALLY want to get a college degree whether it be acquired through "regular" schooling or online schooling. Right now I'm looking at either LSE or Purple Train to get online schooling from, if I can save up for either.

By the way, Villman has a laptop for less than PhP 28,000 with the following specifications:

-AMD Athlon X2 QL-60 processor (1.9 GHz, 1024 MB L2 Cache)
-ATI Radeon 3200 IGP (up to 1024 MB Share Memory)
-14.1" 1280x800 LCD
-1024 MB DDR2 RAM
-160 GB 5400 RPM HDD
-Dual Layer DVD-RW ODD
-802.11 a/b WLAN + Bluetooth
-5-in-1 Digital Media Card Reader
-6-Cell Lithium Ion Battery

For an extra PhP 2,000 you can bump the memory up to 3 GB and still stay below PhP 30,000. Also, unlike Intel-equipped laptops within the same price-range, this one actually allows you to play respectable 3D games like Warcraft 3 and such without skipping too many frames. Lastly, Compaq, I believe, is the budget-friendly arm of Hewlett Packard which is currently the top laptop manufacturer/seller in the world; that should say a lot about their quality, right?

XOXO

Getting there

Yesterday's surprise was finding out that my final interview for the Global Command Center Business Analyst post was scheduled at 9:00 PM and that the H.R. girl responsible for sending out the invites for the conference call forgot to include me, the interviewee. The AVP sent me a message and we had a long chat on how I should tackle the interview and what him, and the site VP, expect of me when I get the position. The biggest challenge, of course, was getting here on time because my shift ended 9:00 AM and I still had to go to the gym, eat lunch, shower then sleep, which I ended up only having 5 - 6 hours of.

The interview went by like a casual conversation, they just asked me what I've done and have been doing lately, what my strengths and opportunities for improvement (ergo, weaknesses) are, and of course, how well I can navigate the software they use. Thank god I've been handling the entire local customer care center's attendance since January and have had the chance to use their primary software on a daily basis, I'm sure that's definitely a plus on my part.

So anyway, if I do get this position, I'll be handling not only the site's attendance, but also scheduling and exemptions processing. They also mentioned that they may fly me to Ohio for my would be training (PLEASE!!! So I can SHOP for gadgets there...) and that I'll be starting either October 1st or 15th. Of course, there's no guarantee that I'll be getting the position as not even our AVP or local VP knows who the other candidate is as he/she's an external applicant.

Well, my hopes are up but I'm still being realistic. Whether or not I get this post, I'd like to thank everyone who believed in me - my supervisor and manager, our local HR business partner and VP, my teammates and former teammates, etc. I'm already thankful that I got this far and that definitely means something.

Busy, busy...

Yesterday was definitely a busy day. Calls were coming in like crazy and we had like 160 calls waiting on queue, some of which have been waiting for a representative for more than 25 minutes already. The Global Command Center had to exhaust all available resource and required our local SME's, and even myself, to take calls the entire day.

Because there were still calls waiting after my shift ended 9:00 AM yesterday, we weren't allowed to log out until we were able to clean the queue and advise the callers to call back tonight instead. Our systems shut down at exactly 9:00 PM Eastern Time so they really didn't have any other choice. I ended up leaving the office at around 9:45 AM and arrived at the gym late. The mall was already open then and was surprisingly busy with people. I just walked to the gym like I usually do, dropping by Skin Food first hoping to find a decent body wash for myself to no avail.
I finish working out at around 12:30 PM and even though I was already starting to feel groggy, I decided to drop by SM's department store hoping to find something new for myself. I sooo wanted to try Nivea's new lotion but the 200 mL tube costs PhP 550 which was just too much, I mean, they weren't exactly Skin Food or L'Oreal. I decided to go home after browsing the vanity section's body wash and lotion choices, dropping by our place's admin office to pay the bills. They were on lunch break when I got there, however, so I just went back after fixing my stuff up at home.

Well, yesterday ended like any other day. I took a shower after eating my muesli + milk, took my vitamins, then started my morning skin care regimen. I slept around 30 minutes earlier than usual which probably why I woke up earlier tonight as well.
It's a going to be a good day again today, I know it!

XOXO

I'm Alive

My Monday work out sessions are usually different because I get to work out with my flatmate, ergo I'm alone the rest of the 5 days I go to the gym. Today, however, was extra different because one of the nice ladies who frequent the gym came up to me and complimented my physique. She says it's just right and any bigger will make me look too bulky for my height. I really appreciated it 'cause the only comments I get from my friends are "You're getting fat", "You gained/lost a little weight", and "Your arms are too big for your height". By the way, Ryan said I wasn't able to say thank you to the lady, and that's probably because I was so flustered with what she said so, thank you nice lady! I know she probably won't get to read this blog though, ahehehe. I also had my body fat percentage checked after working out and I'm back to 11.2% which is great! I just need to get it down 3.2% more to meet my ultimate goal... I mean, I really wouldn't want to go below 8% 'cause I doubt that many guys would like a super lean Lucien. Gross, right!? Oh! And speaking of guys, Ryan and his date are still insisting on finding me my own date. Argh! I gave them a flat "No!" again, I'm too busy with my other activities and I'm really not looking forward to dating yet. I'm having lunch with my high school friends this Saturday after around 4 years of not seeing them all in one place, and I'm hoping one of my other friends (*cough*Kuya Scav*cough) would spare me his Sunday.

Well, Going back to reality- I had my first nutracell + diamond peel session after working out. The nutracell treatment was great! It's a facial massage that uses electric currents to lift everything up. It actually felt way better than the diamond peel which felt good as well. After my vanity session, Ryan and I had lunch at the food court, but not before shopping for a new pair of denims, then headed to St. Francis Square to buy a DVD copy of Celine Dion's Live in Las Vegas concert. We hurried home after, excited to watch the show, only to find Terence situated on the couch, watching a really, REALLY old teen flick- Clueless. We tried to get him to skip the movie so we can watch Celine Dion but me and Ryan ended up going to our rooms to nap until Terence finished the film.

The concert was great! I had to watch it alone because Ryan wouldn't get up anymore after Terence was done watching Clueless. I love Celine Dion so much, her songs have so much meaning and her fantastic voice makes them all the more touching. I'm in love with the songs A New Day Has Come, To Love You More, and My Heart Will Go On. I wish she performed That's The Way It Is though which is one of my all time favorite Celine Dion songs. Below is my favorite song from the concert though.

I'M ALIVE - Celine Dion

Mmmmm, mmmmmmmmmm
I get wings to fly
Oh, oh, I'm alive...
Yeah

When you call on me
When I hear you breathe
I get wings to fly
I feel that I’m alive

When you look at me
I can touch the sky
I know that I’m alive
Mmmmm ohhhhh

When you bless the day
I just drift away
All my worries die
I’m glad that I’m alive

You’ve set my heart on fire
Filled me with love
Made me a woman
On clouds above

I couldn’t get much higher
My spirit takes flight
Cause I am alive
Ohhhhh

(When you call on me)
When you call on me
(When I hear you breathe)
When I hear you breathe
(I get wings to fly)
Fly
I feel that I’m alive
I am alive

(When you reach for me)
When you reach for me
(Raising spirits high)
God knows that

That I’ll be the one
Standing by

Through good and
Through trying times

And it’s only begun
I can’t wait for the
Rest of my life

(When you call on me)
When you call on me
(When you reach for me)
When you reach for me
I get wings to fly
I feel that I'm alive

(When you bless the day)
When you bless, you bless the day
(I just drift away)
I just drift away
(All my worries die)
I know that I’m alive

I get wings to fly
God knows that I’m alive

Condo tour and Sunday grocery

For crying out loud, I can't believe I'm doing this blog entry again. The nearby internet cafes are all closed until around 10:00 AM so I'm forced to post this entry using my mobile phone, which is relatively less convenient than with a laptop or a desktop. I also accidentally deleted the entry when I first attempted to post it so I'll probably miss some of the details I typed earlier.

Anyway, my Sunday started a little slow. I met my sister, my younger brother, and our mom in Riverfront Residences where my sister bought her new condo unit. I almost got lost along the way 'cause the taxi driver had no idea how to get there. We all had lunch while talking about how we can make the place look better and about random stuff that came to mind. We also toured the place whose gym was way better than what we have in California Garden Square, they actually have dumb bells that are way better than what we have in Slimmers World. The place also had more pools than CGS, each better than what we have here. And a fabulous clubhouse than can serve as a decent chill out spot when there's no where else to go.

After touring the place, I left for Megamall 'cause I remembered agreeing to meet Ryan there at around 3:00 PM. When I got there, however, he called and asked me to go home instead because he wanted to do the grocery at around 5:00 PM. I gave him a flat no, of course, and walked around the mall instead. I passed by Fitness First every 30 minutes, hoping to get even just a glance at *him*, however silly and unlikely that was. I also dropped by Healthy Options to purchase a couple of supplements including concentrated omega-3 soft gels for myself and milk thistle capsules for Ryan. I then called Ryan up to tell him we should do our grocery in Rustan's Supermarket instead because SM's Hypermart was crawling with a hell lot of people.

So, Ryan and I met in-front of Rustan's Supermarket's entrance at around 5:00 PM, 2 hours later than our originally agreed upon time and decided to eat first before doing our grocery. We talked about what happened between me and *him* and he was insisting that I start dating again. Of course I turned that thought down and told him I have better things to do. I also made it clear to him that he should never send *him* any offensive text messages again because it doesn't do any good, as a matter of fact, I felt awful after finding out what he texted the day it happened. The discussion went on even while we were shopping for a new pair of denims for himself and we ended up doing our grocery last. We took a cab home after then after I fixed the stuff we bought up, took a shower then slept.

I woke up around 3 hours earlier and decided to blog. Of course the only way to do it now is using my mobile and I ended up accidentally deleting my entry the first time around so I'm typing everything again, I'll just edit this when I get the chance to. I'll be preparing for gym in a few but not before eating a bowl of hot apple-cinnamon flavored oats with muesli, nuts, and fruits. I'm also looking forward to my diamond peel and nutra-cell session scheduled later, hopefully Slimmers World's in-house dermatologist will give her go-signal 'cause I just had my glycolic acid peel 8 days ago. Regardless, I'm really looking forward to the results and hopefully I'll get the chance to show them to you.

I guess that's it for today. Thanks for going through my blog again everyone!

XOXO

Lunch at Kozui

After working out Saturday morning, Kimmy and I met up and decided to eat at Kozui's which is in T. Morato. The place has a peaceful charm and I swear serves the best dessert I've had in years. The food wasn't expensive also, the chicken karaage vegetable wrap I had costs PhP 148.00, my gourmet green tea was for PhP 90.00, and the heavenly dessert they served me, anmitsu, was only for PhP 138.00.

While eating, Kimmy and I got the chance to talk about some issues which I hope will be resolved soon. Mahirap talaga pag maganda at magaling ka, marami kang kaaway. Hehehe! We also ended up buying a bottle of Cosmo-Body which is a locally produced fatburner whose primary ingredients are L-Carnitine and EGCG. I'll keep you posted of any results after 15 days, cause I'm doing 2 capsules instead of the once per day recommended dose.

Anyways, I'll be waiting for Kimmy to upload our photos so I can post them here.

Life is a Rollercoaster

Okay guys, I know this entry is a little late but I had to think of something nice to post about.

As I said on the most recent life list I posted, I intend to post the good things I've done as often as possible, which right now is my contribution to our company's local customer care center. In our effort to retain our mortgage customers, our managers have started requesting supervisors to look for WOW! calls wherein the customers were given extraordinary customer service by the customer care professional handling the call. They're aiming to certify around 100 WOW! calls per interval, I think, which is 1 WOW! call for each CCP because we're currently 300 strong. Well today, I got word that 4 of my calls so far have been certified as WOW! calls within the still unfinished interval. Great huh? I won't be getting any monetary or material compensation for this achievement but I'm happy still.

Anyways, the weekend is officially starting in less than an hour, I log out at 9:00 AM. I'll be going straight to the gym, like I usually do, then I'll be having lunch with one of my best friends, Kimmy, over at Kozui somewhere in Thomas Morato. I'm sure I previously mentioned that we were suppose to go there late in the evening but she decided we should go there after gym instead, which I don't mind at all. I can always just watch DVD tonight anyways.

Oh well, it's almost time for me to get back on the phone. My last break's almost over and I'll be back on the phone after. Thank god calls aren't waiting on queue anymore, hahaha!

Here's another song I thought of posting earlier...

LIFE IS A ROLLERCOASTER - Ronan Keating

Na Na Na Na Na
Hey baby
You really got my tail in a spin
Hey baby
I don't even know where to begin
But baby I got one thing I want you to know
Wherever you go tell me cause I'm gonna go

We found love, so don't fight it
Life is a rollercoaster just gotta ride it
I need you, so stop hiding
Our love is a mystery girl lets get inside it

Hey baby
You've really got me flying tonight
Hey sugar
You almost got us punched in a fight
But baby you know the one thing I gotta know
Wherever you go tell me cause I'm gonna show

We found love, so don't fight it
Life is a rollercoaster just gotta ride it
I need you, so stop hiding
Our love is a mystery girl lets get inside it

Listen
Can't you feel my heart?
Can't you feel my heart?
Can't you take my heart?

We found love, so don't fight it
Life is a rollercoaster just gotta ride it
I need you, so stop hiding
Our love is a mystery boy lets get inside it

Don't fight it, fight it, fight it
Na Na Na Na Na
Don't fight it, fight it, fight it
Na Na Na Na Na
Don't fight it, fight it, fight it
Na Na Na Na Na
Don't fight it, fight it, fight it
Na Na Na Na Na
Don't fight it, fight it, fight it
Na Na Na Na Na
Na Na Na Na Na

It's coming off...

May face that is, hahaha! Well, not literally of course.

I had my glycolic acid peel, or GAP, last Sunday and my face has started to really peel. It's funny cause I bumped into one of my teammates yesterday after gym and he apparently had a chemical peeling session as well. I'm going to have a diamon peel + nutra-cell session this Monday so I'll be twice as fresh looking after... I hope.

Well, the week's about to end. The rest of this day will go by quickly cause there isn't much left to do. I'll be going to the gym, as usual, after shift then will drop by my friend's eatery in EDSA Central again to top my Globe SIM up. Yes, I know I can do that else where but he told me to top up through him whenever it's not that much of a hassle, which it isn't right now since I don't really text any one through my Globe SIM anymore (*sigh*).

Anyway, so after I top my Globe SIM up, I'll be on my way home and will drop by the laundry shop along the way to have my stuff delivered then prepare to sleep. Boring huh? But I really need to rest more, I mean, I've been working and working out recently almost half asleep cause for some reason 7 hours isn't cutting it for me anymore. I think it's cause I stopped taking my vitamins, which I'll have to buy a big bottle of together with fat burners (I know, I know... There's almost nothing to burn) when I have the budget.

I'm really looking forward to Saturday. I tried to ask to other people to join me and Kimmy to Kozui but they won't unless I agree to go clubbing with them after with a smile. I'm reallyu not fond of clubs so it's just me and Kimmy then, hehehe!

Oh well. Take care guys!

XOXO

One dozen roses

Not much has happened today, I haven't even thought of a title for this entry yet as I type this sentence. My employer recently started blocking LiveJournal so my posts will now originate from Blogspot, which will then be downloaded by Multiply, to finally be uploaded to LiveJournal.

I got an e-mail last night that almost made me cry, it made me feel good and reassured me about a certain thing. I would have actually started tearing like a baby have my boss not shouted, "Guys! It's 12:00, time to log in."...

Anyway, I'm going to the gym again after shift, which is what I do everyday. My friends told me I should start dating again and considering the number of "eye candies" at the gym and the general vicinity of our pad, it shouldn't be that hard to find someone... Of course, that's something I'm still not capable, or even planning, of doing. I'm happy enough just making myself healthier each day, seeing my friends at work, and just waiting for whatever will come by. Kimmy and I already have plans this Saturday and we're going to Kozui in Tomas Morato. I'm hoping she'd invite some of our other officemates though I told her that's completely up to her cause I owe her this Saturday night.

Time to wrap up! Just in time 'cause I just thought of the perfect title for this entry.

Step up to move forward

My friend's been bugging me to drop by his new place since this weekend so I finally did after working out yesterday after shift. It was a small and humble place, I knew my other friends would probably scrutinize it but I thought it was a great start.

Before I proceed, I'd like to clarify what I mean when I say his place. When I say his place, I'm not referring to a condominium, a room, or whatever (perverts...). My friend has a modest eatery with a karaoke machine in EDSA Central Mall along the hallway to the MRT station, don't ask me for a name cause I don't think is has one, he only opened the place like a week ago. It's located near the bazaar stalls where they sell generic RTW stuff and pirated DVD's. He sells pre-cooked viands, chips, drinks and a couple of other stuff. Most of his sales come from the sales personnel of the nearby stalls and the people who walk by around afternoon, after "regular work hours".

So anyway, what does this have to do with stepping up to move forward? Well, we all have dreams and aspirations - to get promoted, start your own business, or even just to get leaner/sexier/more attractive. But how many of us actually take the first step up to move forward? I was chatting with my friend and he told me the little niggles he encountered in the past week - like how he purchased a couple of stuff he can use to cook food on the spot only to find out that they are not allowed to use them cause the entire place has air-conditing and the other stalls sell RTW; he ended up getting a microwave and selling pre-cooked food which they heat upon the buyer's request. He's also spent for floor tiles which no one else did and realized he can't take those with him if he decide to move his business elsewhere. I was impressed because even though he's having those little problems that may discourage others, he's very optimistic about his business and will not give up unless it's already the best thing to do. I was also amused because he was moving around and teaching his personnel the stuff they needed to do while we were talking.

You see, if you want to achieve something, dreams you want to become a reality, you need to step up. If you're working for a company and you want to move forward to the next level doing a great job on your current position isn't enough, you need to show them you're ready for the next. I know more than a couple of call center agents who brag that they are going to get promoted cause their handle times and quality score far exceed expectations, but they don't really know how to do anything else. Believe me, managing agents involve more than just having great skills as an agent. As for me, I've been doing my best to raise concerns of value to my bosses. I don't just passively wait for solutions to be provided, I point out the problem and suggest solutions. I also ensure that my bosses know that I'm capable of doing more at work and that's why I'm off the phone half of my shift looking over the attendance of the now 300+ non-exempt employees of the local customer care site. I'm also looking forward to a promotion with my final interview coming next week, I'm quite confident that I will get that post. And even if I don't, there will be more they're willing to check me out for.

So what the hell is my point with this post? Read the title - Step up to move forward.

XOXO

I'm only human after all...

So I won't be ashamed as I write that I cried last night.

I dreamt about my future, with *him*, like I always did every time he slept beside me. Only this time, he wasn't there when I woke up. As I tried to get up, the rain started pouring really bad and it was just crazy... So I started crying, wishing *he* was there to to calm me down.

Yes, Lucien freaks out when it pours like crazy, there's thunder and lightning, and the wind's howling like wolves. I think I carried that over when I was a kid when power outages were more common and lasted insanely long, like 8 hours or more in a day. And, and while I'm at it, I'd like everyone to know that I'm afraid of big black dogs, like the ones bomb squads personnel have around local malls - white fluffy pet dogs are fine though.

Anyway, I'm going to stop dwelling on my fears now cause I have good news to share! My final interview for the GCC Business Analyst position has been scheduled for next week and I'm really, REALLY excited! I know I haven't gotten the position yet, but getting where I am now is already a blessing. Thanks to everyone who believed in me, including my supervisor, my manager, the other manager, my friends, and *him*.

I'll do my best to get this position. I know I can bag this job if I put everything I have in it. I deserve it. And if for any reason I don't, it means I just need to work on a skill or two more. No biggie, right? I'm human after all, it's okay to fail at times, though it's better to look forward to succeeding.

XOXO

Saturday morning escapade

Friday night's shift sure went by fast. I was generally okay already and I was off the phone majority of the shift.

To be honest, me and my friends were suppose to drop by my place but had to go elsewhere cause of a slight niggle. We ended going somewhere in Crossing to eat and hang out with, taking a lot of pictures along the way. I attached the few that actually looked good enough to post here. We were all so giddy that majority of the pictures were either blurry, or not very flattering.

Enjoy!
P.S.: Di ako uminom, ahehehe. Sila lang yan.

Thankful (continuation)

I'm thankful 'cause everyone in my family, including myself, is healthy and alive. Maybe one day we'll all be living under one roof again.

I'm thankful 'cause although my job isn't perfect, I'm paid more than enough to provide me with my needs.

I'm thankful 'cause I'm unique - no one is or will ever be exactly like me.

I'm thankful 'cause my best friends, near and far, take care of me even though I'm almost always "pasaway".

I'm thankful 'cause I have friends at work who care about me - Ala, Cecile, Cole, Darwin, Iyc, Kimmy, Lei, Peaches, Scav, Sept, Yhey, etc...

I'm thankful 'cause I know I'm loved... ('c',)

And I'm thankful 'cause it's Friday... I get to rest tomorrow and the day after.

Thankful

Going to work last night was a lot easier than it was the night before. I was able to get up earlier and prepare for work without stopping to think what I did wrong or if there was something I could . I did stop for a while, though, and wished I could still at least say "good night" and "I love you" to *him*, but I knew well it wouldn't do us good now so I started walking again and just smiled.

I guess it's funny how such an experience would want you to change so much. I've never been a big fan of myself and I need to change that attitude. I also continuously fail to recognize the good around me which made me think my life was worse than it actually was. I wanted to change that. I want to appreciate not only myself but everything else around me. On my way home after yesterday's shift, I talked to my friends who I usually take the bus with and told them how much I appreciate everything they've done for me. I swear I haven't been the nicest person, but they were really good friends to me still. They also told me how much I've changed in a few hours as I came to work last night the same person I've always been, only more depressed and gloomy, and on our way home I was generally happier... And seemed relieved.

I decided to skip gym again today because I wanted to spend more time with my friends and when I finally got home, did my usual thing - eat oats with muesli while watching anime. Terence dropped by and talked to me, and we had a small argument about what happened. I, as usual, was adamant about what I wanted to do. I want to move on for now and just spend more time trying to get to know myself and other people in my life more. I told him I can't waste my time hating and blaming *him* for what happened because he was no more at fault that I was. We both wanted it, fell for it, enjoyed it... And even if it didn't end well, I'm sure neither of the two of us regrets it.

Life is short. I can't stop living just to hate one person, more so someone I learned to love so much. I won't regret doing what can't be undone, and what I honestly enjoyed doing. I just need to look forward. If it's meant to be, then I believe our time will come. Also, it turns out it's not only time that heals, understanding actually does it better. After *him* and I talked yesterday, with me actually willing to understand what he was saying... I'm now all better.

I'm still alive and I'm thankful for that. There will be more happy memories for me.

Life List

I posted my life list a few weeks back and though I should do an overhaul on it. I deleted what I made then because I realized everything on it were either superficial or material and I wanted a major change on that. You see, I lost something very important a little more than 24 hours ago, and one very important lesson I learned is that I need to start learning to love myself more above everything else.

I know what some of you guys are thinking, "Isn't Lucien already so full of himself he thinks he can critique everyone else around him?". Learning to love myself means accepting everything else about me. My criticizing other individuals is a direct result of my self-frustrations which needs to stop. And for my most updated life list, I have but three short entries.

1. Learn to forgive myself for the mistakes I've done, and those I might end up doing.

2. Stop thinking the world revolves around me. People don't laugh only because of me or my mistakes or what-not, and there are other people events revolve around.

3. Feel good. Live life on a daily basis and look back for just a quick while to learn more from it.

To achieve these three goals I will do my best to blog daily about the good I've done to other people, not just financially, but emotionally and psychologically as well. I will also blog the silliest experiences I have daily, until I learn to just naturally remember what I would have back then thought were insignificant. I know achieving these will be a long and rough road, but I can't back down. I can't turn my back on myself.

Truly, Madly, Crazily...

I guess I should start with Saturday where this entire drama began. In a twist of fate, all the planning me and a concerned guy did had to be scrapped because what was happening behind everyone else's back was apparently already out in the open. We ended up not seeing each other until the night after, when he decided to sleep at my place instead.

Monday morning was a drag because he needed to go to work, but we did see each other that night because he decided to stay at our place again. He even called in sick the following day, so we can finally spend time together. The morning started a little slow, but after working out at our respective gyms, we dropped by Skin Food, which I've been talking to him about for more than a week then. We decided to eat lunch at Chef De Angelo in Robinson's Galleria, and then finally watched Wall-E.

I don't really know how to explain it, but seeing him had been the highlight of my last few weeks. Those 3 short days were just perfect. And although I knew he was bothered, I didn't know that it was the last day I'd spend with him. Two mornings after, while I was still at work. He started sending me bothering messages. Messages whose meaning I already knew, but I couldn't get to accept. I decided to see him in person, hoping to change his mind, or at least see him smile one last time, I failed at both of course. He denied me the smile I've always adored.

I guess I should have expected this to happen. I have been wrong all along, and his decision, in all honesty, is probably right. I'm just hurt so much I couldn't sleep at all. What's worse is that I've disappointed and, probably angered, his friends, his real boyfriend, and his real boyfriend's friends. And although a few have forgiven me, I may never be able to befriend them again.

Anyway, while it lasted, we had this silly habit of sending each other song lyrics. Here's what I have for him now. I hope he gets the chance to read this, and think about what it means.


STAY - Cueshe

I believe
We shouldnt let the moment pass us by
Life's too short
We shouldnt wait for the water to run dry

Think about it
Cause we only have one shot at destiny
All im asking
Could it possibly be you and me?

So if you'd still go, i'll understand
Would you give me something just to hold on to?
And if you'll stay, ill hold your hand
Cause im truly, madly, crazily in love with you

Time has come
For us to go our separate ways
God forbid
But my mind is going crazy today

I feel so cold
Feel so numb
Im having nightmares but im awake
Help me lord
Fight this loneliness
Take this pain away

So if you'd still go, i'll understand
Would you give me something just to hold on to?
And if you'll stay, ill hold your hand
Cause im truly, madly, crazily in love with you

Now that you're gone, im all alone
Im still hoping that you would come back home
Dont care how long, but im willing to wait
Cause im truly, madly, crazily in love with you

And for everyone else, here's what best applies to how I feel right now


SHINY RED BALLOON - Barbie's Cradle

I'm keeping my affair in a book
so this is how a villain feels
they're running seasons in my chest
and I'm only to keep them
Maybe it's not true
love on the TV
just like we imagine it
and it's so hard to do
when theres always some distraction
a shiny red balloon
that spoils everything

I'm keeping my affair in a book
such practical and harmless vice
but I'm feeling it could end up painfully
and the TV should apologize

Maybe it's not true
love on the TV
just like we imagine it
and it's so hard to do
when theres always some distraction
a shiny red balloon
that spoils everything

I'm keeping my affair in a book
my long and lonely compromise
how can you live like that my dear
well we do

love on the TV
just like we imagine it
and it's so hard to do
when theres always some distraction
a shiny red balloon
that spoils everything

Maybe it's not true
love on the TV
just like we imagine it
and it's so hard to do
when theres always some distraction
a shiny red balloon
that spoils everything

It spoils everything
It spoils everything
It spoils everything
It spoils everything
It spoils everything
It spoils everything
It spoils everything

Evacuate the building!

I never thought I'd hear our managers say that but that's what happened like 3 hours ago.

Everything started when the HR Directress (I know the word doesn't exist, hehehe) opened her door and started asking if everyone else could smell the weird burnt-whatever fume which at that time was already starting to make everyone a little nauseous. I.T. checked the wiring of some of the P.C.'s while our on-site V.P. checked with the building's staff. It was then determined that there was something wrong with the air-conditioning and the fact that it was circulating its self-generated-foul-smelling-nauseous fumes wasn't at all helpful. Within 15 minutes from when the issue started, our managers asked everyone to log out to gather outside the building while the building's staff fixed the A.C.

It was actually a ball while we were outside our building. There were at least 100 of us gathered and we were all just crazy and noisy. My office-mates were taking picture of this "rare event" and some got into groups then went to MiniStop to buy ice cream. It was almost 2 hours after before we started going back up because they had to test the A.C. and allow the fumes to dissipate first before asking us to start working again.

Oh well, it's another day. I actually have more to blog about but I haven't really completely internalized everything that happened during the weekend. I'm troubled to a certain extent but overall happy about it.

Later everyone!

XOXO