Thursday, September 22, 2011

Saturday hangout



I have this certain affinity to UP. When I get to own an SLR camera, UP will be my first subject. But for now, I'll settle with my reliable Nokia X2 5MP camera. haha


AS walk in sepia




edited version of the photo above


scary!


Wednesday, September 21, 2011

The 'JuanMa' experience


The thought of meeting an international celebrity and being able to get near him and have a little chit-chat with him face-to-face, in the WORKPLACE, never occured to my mind. Thus, as soon as we knew that Juan Manuel "El Dinamita" Marquez would be paying a visit to our office in connection to the promotion of his fight with Manny Pacquiao, we (my colleagues and I) were thrilled. To tell the truth, our bosses were so preoccupied with the arrival of their famous fellow Mexican that they let the whole office floor be polished ahead of the scheduled date and went the extra mile ensuring the security and 'peaceful'  stopover of the boxer.

A day before the visit, various tasks were given to us to guarantee that the privacy of the office would never be disturbed by any unwelcomed intruder. I was assigned to man the entrance to the office of the 'big boss' and was told that no other person can enter it aside from Marquez. I was very nervous that someone might get hysterical upon knowing that he could not enter the big boss' office even if he is part of the entourage. I also felt jittery that I might greet Marquez "Magandang umaga" instead of "Buenos dias".

The 'day' has come and we were suprised to find a GMA van parked outside the office building early in the morning. Upstairs, we were bombarded by calls from different radio stations and periodicals asking what time will the boxer arrive, which added to the tension that we were feeling. But the moment 'el dinamita' came inside the office, everyone of us waiting for him was so quiet as if a silencing potion was poured on us. The boxer went straight ahead to the big boss' office but before that he smiled at me and greeted me 'buenos dias'. I greeted him back and felt relieved after doing that. The feisty warrior is a gentle celebrity after all. He seemed to be very nice and welcoming when asked for autograph by his fellow Mexicans or by other people inside the office at that time. What a pity that I was not able to bring a camera. Nevertheless, the function was fine and we got to have a photo with him posted on the ESPN website.

I hope he and Pacquiao will have a great fight on November.

Thursday, September 8, 2011

On writing

What would you do with all that knowledge if you can't translate it on paper?

Writing has been a big dream for me, specifically writing for a certain magazine or periodical. However, in the 22 years of my life, I have never yet tried to submit a written piece of my mind to any journal or publication. I mused on contributing articles to principal newspapers in the country and daydreamed of seeing my name on the editorial box of a lifestyle magazine. The farthest my writing has gone to is the office's official newsletter.

When I was in college, I remember talking to one of my roommates about the joy of reading. I told her that I love to read and learn a lot of things and let those linger inside my mind and that I would be fine without sharing it to other people. I told her that I did not like to teach and share my knowledge since I know how hard a teaching profession can be. Likewise, I did not want to write, specially after recently suffering a dismal average I got from a creative writing class. My roommate retorted that all the knowledge I acquired shall go to waste if I intended to just store it inside my head and keep it to myself.

Today, as much as I would like to share it, I am having a hard time on organizing my thoughts to be able to share my opinion and supporting it with things I've learned or read in the past. Sometimes, I cannot believe that I am like this despite having a college diploma from a very reputable university. Is it the standard of education in this country or I am just underestimating myself?

Long overdue: Lessons learned

Do not fall for someone you only chat with. Don't fall for words. Take note of the red flags and do not be let yourself be blinded...