I am an insomniac. That explains why I can't sleep.
I am infatuated, but I cannot publish the name of the person on my Facebook profile.
Damn if you do, damn if you don't. This is how I see my situation. If I post a name on my status message, I will stir up controversy. If I don't put a name and leave it blank, I will still reap the same results. However, keeping the name to myself will save me from ruining the friendship that I have with her, so I will keep it at that.
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Chad thought about living up to the meaning of the word "smoulder," but realized that it is such a wasteful concept, and thus, changed his mind, deciding on living like a "laser beam" instead.
I am passionate like fire. That's why I was thinking of the word "smoulder."
I chose "smoulder" instead of "smolder" because I like the emphasis brought about by the letter u.
I told my program manager that I try to live by the meaning of words that I can relate to. Then, I realized that I need to also direct my passion into something creative. That's when I decided to change it to "laser beam." It seems that "laser" carries the same kind of heat, but it is focused, making it more appealing to me.
I easily get distracted, so I have to live by that phrase until I can confidently say that I am a living, breathing laser beam.
I chose "smoulder" instead of "smolder" because I like the emphasis brought about by the letter u.
I told my program manager that I try to live by the meaning of words that I can relate to. Then, I realized that I need to also direct my passion into something creative. That's when I decided to change it to "laser beam." It seems that "laser" carries the same kind of heat, but it is focused, making it more appealing to me.
I easily get distracted, so I have to live by that phrase until I can confidently say that I am a living, breathing laser beam.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Si Korina Sanchez at ang Aking High School Classmates
Grabe! Napaka-weird ng panaginip ko kahapon.
Sa panaginip ko, nasa classroom ko daw ako noong high school ako. Galing ako sa all boys school kaya medyo weird na may kaclassmate akong babae, at ang teacher daw namin ay si Korina Sanchez. Eto pa ang mas weird -- ang exam daw namin ay ang pagkanta ng Telephone ni Lady Gaga. Sa sobrang disoriented ko sa panaginip, natakot ako na baka ako na ang tawagin ni Korina, kaya nagtanong ako sa classmate ko.
Ang sabi ko, "Mich, anong nangyayari? Kelan inannounce na may test?"
"Ewan ko. Hindi ko nga rin alam kung bakit ako nandito," ang sabi ni Mich na hindi naman si Mich. Yung mukha ng tinawag kong "Mich," mukha ng isa ko pang kaibigan, si Marge.
Patapos na yung isa pa naming classmate sa pag-kanta kaya naghanda-handa na ako. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, "Hello, hello, baby..." nang biglang may biglang may lumapit kay Korina at binulungan siya.
Lumapit din ang babae sa akin na may dalang headset. Ang sabi niya, "May nag-hihintay sa iyo sa labas."
"Sino daw? Mga applicant?" ang tanong ko. Busy kasi ako ngayon sa pag-rerecruit ng mga bagong writing consultant kaya siguro naitanongko yon. Pagkatapos, ibinigay niya sa akin yung headset na may tao pala sa kabilang linya. Parang wireless na headset yon, at ako ang gusto kausapin.
"Hello. Thanks for patiently waiting. This is Chad. How may I help you?" ang tanong ko. Static lang naman yung narinig ko kaya lumabas ako ng classroom papunta sa lobby. Parang hotel naman bigla yung lobby. Paglabas ko dun, nakita ko ang isang pulutong ng mga classmates ko sa high school at iba pang mga lower batch sa akin. Nakita ko dun si Ericson Nantin at kung sinu-sino pa.
Napakaweird talaga.
Ang sabi ko, "Mich, anong nangyayari? Kelan inannounce na may test?"
"Ewan ko. Hindi ko nga rin alam kung bakit ako nandito," ang sabi ni Mich na hindi naman si Mich. Yung mukha ng tinawag kong "Mich," mukha ng isa ko pang kaibigan, si Marge.
Patapos na yung isa pa naming classmate sa pag-kanta kaya naghanda-handa na ako. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, "Hello, hello, baby..." nang biglang may biglang may lumapit kay Korina at binulungan siya.
Lumapit din ang babae sa akin na may dalang headset. Ang sabi niya, "May nag-hihintay sa iyo sa labas."
"Sino daw? Mga applicant?" ang tanong ko. Busy kasi ako ngayon sa pag-rerecruit ng mga bagong writing consultant kaya siguro naitanongko yon. Pagkatapos, ibinigay niya sa akin yung headset na may tao pala sa kabilang linya. Parang wireless na headset yon, at ako ang gusto kausapin.
"Hello. Thanks for patiently waiting. This is Chad. How may I help you?" ang tanong ko. Static lang naman yung narinig ko kaya lumabas ako ng classroom papunta sa lobby. Parang hotel naman bigla yung lobby. Paglabas ko dun, nakita ko ang isang pulutong ng mga classmates ko sa high school at iba pang mga lower batch sa akin. Nakita ko dun si Ericson Nantin at kung sinu-sino pa.
Napakaweird talaga.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Isang Birthday Wish
Ayun, kabayo nga siya. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, gel pen ang gamit ko niyan at sa isang pirasong papel lang na medyo scratch ko pa nga ata yan dinrowing. Tapos, ini-scan ko siya para i-post sa blog kong luma.
Ano naman ang kinalaman nito sa title? Nasira ang scanner ko. Gusto ko ng scanner na stand-alone lang for my birthday. Ayun. *hint* *hint*
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Job Opening
Naghahanap ang company namin ng mga bagong empleyado. Dahil TL na ako, naatasan na akong mag-recruit ng mga bagong Writing Consultant. Heto ang mga details:
Position: Writing Consultant
Requirements:
- We are looking for college graduates
- We are looking for people with good English writing skills.
- We are looking for people with the ability to teach English writing and grammar.
- We are looking for people who are proficient in Microsoft Word.
- We are looking for people who are able to work in Alabang, Muntinlupa.
Job Description:
- The position entails the writing consultant to be able to read and provide constructive comments to essays, research papers, and on occasion, resumes and formal letters.
Ayokong mag-commit ng salary expectations pero I can say that I earn a lot from this job. Sabihin na lang natin na nagagamit ko ang sweldo ko to pay for my expenses:
- Meralco bills
- Internet bills
- Grocery
- Housing Loans
- Credit card bills
- Cell phone bills
- Gimik
- Allowance
Lahat yun, bayad ko kasi ako ang may pinakamalaking sweldo dito sa bahay. Hehehe! Serious tong job posting na to. Kung serious din kayong nag-hahanap ng trabaho, email niyo na lang ako: chadthecoffeeholic@gmail.com.
Monday, April 19, 2010
Waiting
Matagal ko nang naisulat ang kwentong ito. Base sa research ko, noong December 30, 2009 ko pa ito ipinost sa luma kong blog at sa Facebook. May nagpasulat sa akin ng kwento tungkol sa commitment at eto ang kinalabasan:
Yesterday, it was all about the aphids. Kristoff saw them sucking the life out of a rosebush near the train station. There were clumps of them – white, fluffy clumps of sap-sucking aphids preying on the life juices of the rose bush. Then, Kristoff saw that here were also ladybugs on the rose bush. The red and black beetles were feasting on the sorry, little botanical vampires. It made him smile; somehow, he knew that the rosebush will be right as rain, and he got off the bench that he was sitting on to head back home.
Last Friday, Kristoff thought that the bench near the train station was rather uncomfortable, and he thought that he couldn’t bear sitting on it anymore. Every time he sat on it, the hole where a nail should have been seemed to suck in his skin and make the bottom of his pelvic bone chafe onto the wood. It felt abrasive and raw. He would not have continued sitting there if not for the doves that flocked in front of the train station, swarming at bread crumbs and the French toast that he has thrown on the black and gray pavement to keep most of the birds cooing near where he waited. The cooing made him feel impervious to the irritation that waiting caused him, bringing him back to a time where all he needed to hear was the sound of Taylor’s giggles.
“Ummm, that’s so sweet of you, Kristoff,” he recalled what Taylor had said as he was handing her a bouquet of roses – a going-away present to wish her luck in her studies in Milan.
“Well, what can I say? I want you to remember what you’ll be missing for four years. Are you sure that you can’t just study here? We have good universities here, too, you know?”
“Oh come on, Kristoff. It’s only four years,” the memory of Taylor in Kristoff’s head went on. “I thought that we are through this? I promise that I’ll come back to you as soon as possible. I’ll come back to you even if I were already in a coffin lined with satin and gilded with roses.”
He thought that she was always morbid.
“Don’t say things like that. It’s creeping me out.”
“What!?! If I die, I want to be buried in a coffin with silver roses as decoration. That’s why you love me. You love my attention for detail! Hahaha!” she joked. “But promise me that you’ll wait for me, ok?”
“Do I even have to? You know that I will. I will wait for you here every day if I have to.”
With mischief in her eyes, she said, “I’ll hold you to it.”
Then, instead of the deep, rumbling of iron train wheels, the sound of flapping wings shook him back to reality. Kristoff let out a deep sigh as the memory faded away. He got up, and headed for home when the last of the sunshine followed the lead of the evanescing thought.
Last month, Kristoff noticed that the street lamps went on at exactly 5:57 PM. He wouldn’t have noticed if not for his cellular phone sounding an alarm. He had set an alarm for that exact time because he had an appointment to keep with Mr. Lathenbaum, the store keeper of the bookstore right beside the station. He had a book from Africa for Kristoff.
“What a chilly evening to you, young fella,” Mr. Lathenbaum said as he was hauling some boxes full of books inside his store when they first spoke to each other back in November.
“Good evening to you, too, sir,” answered Kristoff. “That’s a mighty big box of books you’re hauling there. Do you need any help?” offered Kristoff in all earnest.
Hesitating but feeling his aching back due to arthritis, the old man answered, “I don’t want to bother you. It seems that you’re waiting for someone, but these books are really doing a good job of following the law of gravity.”
“No, I insist, sir.”
“All right. If you insist. The name’s Lathenbaum, Lysander Lathenbaum, bibliophile extraordinaire!”
Without any second thoughts, Kristoff took the box from the old bibliophile and asked, “It’s nice meeting you, Mr. Lathenbaum. Kristoff Jones at your service. Where do you want these to go?”
“Would you kindly put that on the counter? And for your trouble, we’ll guzzle down some vodka.”
Bashfully, Kristoff obliged. Mr. Lathenbaum realized that he always saw Kristoff on the same crummy bench, which he also absolutely disdained for those nails that stuck out.
As he was pouring the vodka, he asked, “What are you doing there in the cold, young man? Oh, youth! Good thing you can still enjoy a crisp evening, so savor it while you can. You see, when you get as old as I am, your bones will not be comfortable with each other. It seems that in my case, my backbones have argued, and now, they’re fighting each other. Oh, flabberfruits! I’m prattling. Where was I? Ah, yes, what are you doing there, sitting in the cold?”
“I’m waiting for a special friend.”
“A lady friend?”
“You’re still sharp. You’re not as old as you think,” Kristoff chided.
That evening, Mr. Lathenbaum learnt of Kristoff, Taylor, and the tryst that should have happened a year ago. Since they weren’t strangers anymore, Kristoff always made it a point to say good afternoon to his elderly acquaintance before he sat patiently on his waiting bench. And as such, the two acquaintances became friends. Just like that, Mr. Lathenbaum came to know that Kristoff was looking for a book about Anansi and other African legends.
That month, Kristoff was accompanied by the tales of Anansi, the wise, mischievous spider from Africa. He was so amused of Anansi and the adventures that he totally forgot the alarm that he set. On the next day, it sounded again, and magically, the street lamps went aglow.
“Coincidence?” Kristoff wondered, so he didn’t put out the alarm on his cellular; for a week, he monitored, and for a week, the street lamps never failed him. They all went on at exactly 5:57 in the afternoon with or without darkness.
A few months back, maybe four or five, Kristoff noticed that the bench paint was wearing out. It was wearing out on the left side, the side where Kristoff took out a nasty nail with its exposed head irritating Kristoff’s behind. With pliers that he took out of his tool shed because of sheer irritation, he awkwardly tried to pry out that dastardly nail out of the wood, trying his best not to attract the crowds that poured in and out of the train station. With all his effort, he was able to succeed in taking out the nail, but to his surprise, the hole left by the nail on the wood didn’t make it comfortable in any way.
After pulling the nail out, Kristoff’s waiting bench offered him a dilemma – to sit on the right side where there was another nail sticking its head out to irritate those who unwittingly sit on it or to sit on the left side where there’s a vindictive hole on the wood that is Kristoff’s punishment for tampering with the bench. In the end, Kristoff decided to own up to his actions, be a man, and accept his punishment. He always sat on the left side of that bench ever since. With the help of the doves, he was able to tune out the irritation and wait patiently. He just noticed the fading paint because he had to avoid some bird droppings that landed on his usual seat.
However, today, Kristoff didn’t leave the bench anymore. He didn’t say hello to Mr. Lathenbaum. He didn’t feed the doves that kept him company. He didn’t draw close enough to notice if the ladybugs have eaten all of the aphids off of the rose bush. He wasn’t even able to stand up from the train station bench that was especially painful on his buttocks.
He just sat there staring with the help of the flickering 5:57 street lights, staring at a telegram he was holding. It read:
Earlier this morning, this telegram made him run to his kitchen and cook an especially hearty breakfast. He cooked a cheese omelet, toasted some bread, and indulged on cottage cheese. Then, he prepared for work, and he took some changing clothes excitedly out from his closet. He folded them nicely to avoid roughing them up for this much-awaited reunion. When he was ready, he dashed down the staircase, side-tripped to the kitchen, and snatched the two telegrams that he fished out of the mailbox.
With giant but gleeful strides, he sped out the door. He made quick work of his lawn, reaching the sidewalk in only three seconds when it usually took him a minute to get there. With briefcase in hand, heavy with paperwork and clothes, he fumbled for his keys to lock his gridiron gate.
The day went so fast that he forgot to read the other telegram until he got to the bench. He got there at 5:28 PM. He sat patiently until 5:30, but when 5:31 came, he was fidgeting. He took out Taylor’s telegram to pass away the time. He looked at it until he couldn’t see the letters anymore. He was thankful when 5:57 came; with the aid of the street lights, he’ll be able to read the telegram again.
As he was holding the piece of paper, he realized that he hasn’t read the other telegram, so he took it out. After reading, the street lamp beside him seemed to have read the telegram, and its light flickered. He couldn’t tell if the lights dimmed, or if he blacked out. He wasn’t able to read the entirety of the message, but he got the message clear. He should be at the train station at 6:00 PM to meet a white mahogany box lined with satin and gilded with silver roses.
Waiting
Last Friday, Kristoff thought that the bench near the train station was rather uncomfortable, and he thought that he couldn’t bear sitting on it anymore. Every time he sat on it, the hole where a nail should have been seemed to suck in his skin and make the bottom of his pelvic bone chafe onto the wood. It felt abrasive and raw. He would not have continued sitting there if not for the doves that flocked in front of the train station, swarming at bread crumbs and the French toast that he has thrown on the black and gray pavement to keep most of the birds cooing near where he waited. The cooing made him feel impervious to the irritation that waiting caused him, bringing him back to a time where all he needed to hear was the sound of Taylor’s giggles.
“Ummm, that’s so sweet of you, Kristoff,” he recalled what Taylor had said as he was handing her a bouquet of roses – a going-away present to wish her luck in her studies in Milan.
“Well, what can I say? I want you to remember what you’ll be missing for four years. Are you sure that you can’t just study here? We have good universities here, too, you know?”
“Oh come on, Kristoff. It’s only four years,” the memory of Taylor in Kristoff’s head went on. “I thought that we are through this? I promise that I’ll come back to you as soon as possible. I’ll come back to you even if I were already in a coffin lined with satin and gilded with roses.”
He thought that she was always morbid.
“Don’t say things like that. It’s creeping me out.”
“What!?! If I die, I want to be buried in a coffin with silver roses as decoration. That’s why you love me. You love my attention for detail! Hahaha!” she joked. “But promise me that you’ll wait for me, ok?”
“Do I even have to? You know that I will. I will wait for you here every day if I have to.”
With mischief in her eyes, she said, “I’ll hold you to it.”
Then, instead of the deep, rumbling of iron train wheels, the sound of flapping wings shook him back to reality. Kristoff let out a deep sigh as the memory faded away. He got up, and headed for home when the last of the sunshine followed the lead of the evanescing thought.
Last month, Kristoff noticed that the street lamps went on at exactly 5:57 PM. He wouldn’t have noticed if not for his cellular phone sounding an alarm. He had set an alarm for that exact time because he had an appointment to keep with Mr. Lathenbaum, the store keeper of the bookstore right beside the station. He had a book from Africa for Kristoff.
“What a chilly evening to you, young fella,” Mr. Lathenbaum said as he was hauling some boxes full of books inside his store when they first spoke to each other back in November.
“Good evening to you, too, sir,” answered Kristoff. “That’s a mighty big box of books you’re hauling there. Do you need any help?” offered Kristoff in all earnest.
Hesitating but feeling his aching back due to arthritis, the old man answered, “I don’t want to bother you. It seems that you’re waiting for someone, but these books are really doing a good job of following the law of gravity.”
“No, I insist, sir.”
“All right. If you insist. The name’s Lathenbaum, Lysander Lathenbaum, bibliophile extraordinaire!”
Without any second thoughts, Kristoff took the box from the old bibliophile and asked, “It’s nice meeting you, Mr. Lathenbaum. Kristoff Jones at your service. Where do you want these to go?”
“Would you kindly put that on the counter? And for your trouble, we’ll guzzle down some vodka.”
Bashfully, Kristoff obliged. Mr. Lathenbaum realized that he always saw Kristoff on the same crummy bench, which he also absolutely disdained for those nails that stuck out.
As he was pouring the vodka, he asked, “What are you doing there in the cold, young man? Oh, youth! Good thing you can still enjoy a crisp evening, so savor it while you can. You see, when you get as old as I am, your bones will not be comfortable with each other. It seems that in my case, my backbones have argued, and now, they’re fighting each other. Oh, flabberfruits! I’m prattling. Where was I? Ah, yes, what are you doing there, sitting in the cold?”
“I’m waiting for a special friend.”
“A lady friend?”
“You’re still sharp. You’re not as old as you think,” Kristoff chided.
That evening, Mr. Lathenbaum learnt of Kristoff, Taylor, and the tryst that should have happened a year ago. Since they weren’t strangers anymore, Kristoff always made it a point to say good afternoon to his elderly acquaintance before he sat patiently on his waiting bench. And as such, the two acquaintances became friends. Just like that, Mr. Lathenbaum came to know that Kristoff was looking for a book about Anansi and other African legends.
That month, Kristoff was accompanied by the tales of Anansi, the wise, mischievous spider from Africa. He was so amused of Anansi and the adventures that he totally forgot the alarm that he set. On the next day, it sounded again, and magically, the street lamps went aglow.
“Coincidence?” Kristoff wondered, so he didn’t put out the alarm on his cellular; for a week, he monitored, and for a week, the street lamps never failed him. They all went on at exactly 5:57 in the afternoon with or without darkness.
A few months back, maybe four or five, Kristoff noticed that the bench paint was wearing out. It was wearing out on the left side, the side where Kristoff took out a nasty nail with its exposed head irritating Kristoff’s behind. With pliers that he took out of his tool shed because of sheer irritation, he awkwardly tried to pry out that dastardly nail out of the wood, trying his best not to attract the crowds that poured in and out of the train station. With all his effort, he was able to succeed in taking out the nail, but to his surprise, the hole left by the nail on the wood didn’t make it comfortable in any way.
After pulling the nail out, Kristoff’s waiting bench offered him a dilemma – to sit on the right side where there was another nail sticking its head out to irritate those who unwittingly sit on it or to sit on the left side where there’s a vindictive hole on the wood that is Kristoff’s punishment for tampering with the bench. In the end, Kristoff decided to own up to his actions, be a man, and accept his punishment. He always sat on the left side of that bench ever since. With the help of the doves, he was able to tune out the irritation and wait patiently. He just noticed the fading paint because he had to avoid some bird droppings that landed on his usual seat.
However, today, Kristoff didn’t leave the bench anymore. He didn’t say hello to Mr. Lathenbaum. He didn’t feed the doves that kept him company. He didn’t draw close enough to notice if the ladybugs have eaten all of the aphids off of the rose bush. He wasn’t even able to stand up from the train station bench that was especially painful on his buttocks.
He just sat there staring with the help of the flickering 5:57 street lights, staring at a telegram he was holding. It read:
Dear Kristoff,“I am not late, but where are you?” he asked as though Taylor was standing right in front of him.
Guess who’s finally coming home at 5:30 PM, March 18? Train station. Don’t be late.
All my love,
Taylor
Earlier this morning, this telegram made him run to his kitchen and cook an especially hearty breakfast. He cooked a cheese omelet, toasted some bread, and indulged on cottage cheese. Then, he prepared for work, and he took some changing clothes excitedly out from his closet. He folded them nicely to avoid roughing them up for this much-awaited reunion. When he was ready, he dashed down the staircase, side-tripped to the kitchen, and snatched the two telegrams that he fished out of the mailbox.
With giant but gleeful strides, he sped out the door. He made quick work of his lawn, reaching the sidewalk in only three seconds when it usually took him a minute to get there. With briefcase in hand, heavy with paperwork and clothes, he fumbled for his keys to lock his gridiron gate.
The day went so fast that he forgot to read the other telegram until he got to the bench. He got there at 5:28 PM. He sat patiently until 5:30, but when 5:31 came, he was fidgeting. He took out Taylor’s telegram to pass away the time. He looked at it until he couldn’t see the letters anymore. He was thankful when 5:57 came; with the aid of the street lights, he’ll be able to read the telegram again.
As he was holding the piece of paper, he realized that he hasn’t read the other telegram, so he took it out. After reading, the street lamp beside him seemed to have read the telegram, and its light flickered. He couldn’t tell if the lights dimmed, or if he blacked out. He wasn’t able to read the entirety of the message, but he got the message clear. He should be at the train station at 6:00 PM to meet a white mahogany box lined with satin and gilded with silver roses.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Dahil Bored Ako
Dahil bored ako, sinamahan ako ng mga friends ko gumawa ng mga kalokohan.
Nung Saturday, sa office, sinamahan ako ng frilled lizard ko magyosi.
Nung Monday naman, habang walang magawa sa office, nagpunta kami sa gubat. Kasama ko naman ang snake ko at ang wallaby ko.
At higit sa lahat, nagkape kami ng snake ko sa office habang nagtatanggal ng stress.
Ayan, cute diba? Super busy ako ngayon, so eto muna. Til next time.
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