and after the storm...

...come many little things that contribute to a relatively good day. Which is great after that not-so-splendid day yesterday. Okay, so my screen protector didn't go on quite that well on AchTungBaby, and I don't think I consumed anything remotely healthy today, but still.

Things that made me break into a smile:

the prospect of lunch with besprens on the natal day

was able to find a download of a good Sergio Mendes song (Magdalenha)

we are suddenly able to access our Yahoo! accounts, which we have been unable to do since Big Project Weekend

R.E.S.P.E.C.T. suddenly comes on LAUNCHcast (which I am listening to because I have been able to log onto Yahoo!

Maleen suddenly giving me a Kitkat bar

the BawalPikon barkada all know it's nearing my birthday although they don't really know anything except that it's sometime around Halloween

relatively good presentation for user training

Sigh. Maybe it really does have to do with your own personal wellbeing, how you deal with circumstance. However extenuating circumstances may seem to be, they still, after all, are a test of character. Feh. I think I lost mine somewhere since starting Big Projects.

Last Song Syndrome : Pardon Me - Incubus

fohtah, they've done it...!

Yahoo! Sports - MLB - A catch, a celebration, a dynasty of disappointment is over

The Red Sox are the World Champions!

'Nuff said.

i am in a strange blue funk

It's funny how I could start a day

and now feel so


People can just really clash, even people who apparently like each other and go out on gimmicks with each other. It's hard when you put so much importance and exert so much effort on your work, because someday, sometime or another, it will let you down. You will have a bad day; it's just that it's something I could really do without now, not after being at work the entire weekend and finding out that the PDA that I wanted to buy on zero-percent installment wasn't on zero-percent installment anymore (talk about vague advertising--apparently some products are available until the 31st, but the majority, well, aren't).

Immediate Director-Boss sent me and JP an email reprimand because we came back from lunch late (after buying the Tungsten E, by the way). And then the matter of the training scheduled for this afternoon, which was well-attended. However, this funky little tongue of mine let slip a statement that wasn't well-received by some people, these friends of ex-Medium Immediate Boss (ex-MIB). And now, ex-MIB, with whom we were supposed to meet tonight, suddenly cancels, heaven knows where she is.

CB wanted to meet up after the training but I'm in no mood to socialize right now. So there. I'm going home. I'm watching The Grid and then CSI: Miami and then I'm tuning out. The hell.

Last Song Syndrome : nothing. i can hear nothing.

hands on manila

The zeester#1 is taking quite an active role in some of these charities. Maybe you could also help make a difference in other people's lives. I like that it isn't very much philanthropy but more of assistance--the whole teaching a man to fish shtick. Anyway, the various project descriptions are listed here, from story-telling at Museo Pambata to Habitat for Humanity. Hands On Manila is your Megamall for volunteerism. I'm all for giving it a try.

something stupid
I did something utterly stupid a few hours ago. JP was asking me for help tweaking his file and I accidentally erased everything that he had done for the past hour or so. He was peeved. I know he was. You know when people say, "No, I'm not mad..." because it's what's expected; but they're really seething. I stopped saying sorry after about 10 tries. It wouldn't get anywhere. I feel so stupid for having caused him additional strain, not like the stress at StingyCo's enough. Right now the peer-relationship is a little strained; we haven't directly spoken to each other since (aside from the apologies). Sigh. Takes one little thing to ruin a day.

Last Song Syndrome : All Apologies - Nirvana

advice for the young at heart

a.k.a. a certain someone who is problematic right now

Note: Yours truly is no Dr. Love, nor have I enough life experience to actually give good advice. I just thought this over.

I still go back to my basic concept. Do whatever makes you happy. Don't do anything out of paranoia, or out of fear that someone is going to end up with someone. Listen to your head, too; take that advice from someone who's constantly listened to her heart and has nothing to show for it. What have I learned after all this? Sometimes doing the right thing is hard; you will regret it, but never for very long. Sometimes doing the right thing will lead to heartbreak but in the long run you will realize that it was for the best. Sometimes, on the other hand, doing the right thing will require you to swallow your pride and endure countless jabs at your heart, your ego, your self-esteem. Either way, doing the right thing will be hard sometimes, and you need to think it through and pray it through.

Last Song Syndrome : Broken - Seether

sunday at stingyco

Or 'Things to Do in StingyCo When You're Bored (and still at work on Sunday evening)'

yay red sox
It might actually be a Cinderella season after all. Yay for the underdog!

birthday celebrants on friendster
Apparently, friendster has a new feature showing your friends with upcoming birthdays. Because of this I have received birthday greetings from a couple of people whom I don't always come into contact with. It was nice, actually.

people who share my birthday

• Markee - okay, so he has better-shaped eyebrows than I do (natural yun), but this founding member of the LasPinyeros is one person whom I can always count on for droll, frank comments and advice that more often than not are true.
  
• y_slaybelle - Ms. Russia, PinoySlayer, Digital Dave-owner and inveterate blogger all in one! One of the first PinoySlayers to welcome me to the fold... wonderful person.
  
• Tristan - former student and volleyball varsity player, now based in the US. Funny and fearless.
  
• Shirley from the lower batch - don't really know much about her... just that we share the same birthday. Hahahaha.
  
• According to The CelebrityCafe, I share birthdays with the following notable people: Ezra Pound, Ruth Gordon, Louis Malle (husband of Candice Bergen, right?), Ivanka Trump (aak! daughter of The Man), Diego Maradona, Henry Winkler (hey Fonzie!), Harry Hamlin, and Gavin Rossdale. Not so notable: Snow (1, 2, 3: inFORmer! watermelon-watermelon-watermelon...)
  
• A check at IMDb yields two more interesting personages with whom I share a birthday: Gael Garcia Bernal (yummy... exactly the same age as Markee, by the way) and Adam Copeland, known to wrestling fans as Edge.

There can be absolutely no truth to people with the same birthdays having the same characteristics.

And now, back to work.

Last Song Syndrome : White Houses - Vanessa Carlton
For some insame reason, I like this song.

still at work

I've just about had enough of dividend balances and reconciliation. Would that it were reconciliation between me and Z.

(Lagot ako nito kay g! at kina Besprens D, J and M. Hehehehehe.)

Last Song Syndrome : Mr. Jones - Counting Crows

this can't be true...

Got this from magnifique_f8h:

You are 10% geek

OK, so maybe you ain't a geek. You do, at least, show a bit of interest in the world around you. Either that, or you have enough of a sense of humor to pick some of the sillier answers on the test. Regardless, you're probably a pretty nifty, well-rounded person who gets along fine with people and can chat with just about anyone without fear of looking stupid or foolish or overly concerned with minutiae. God, I hate you.

Take the Polygeek Quiz at Thudfactor.com

Moi, self-confessed geek, algebra-lover and avid Star Trek: Voyager fan? Apparently it takes more than that to be a certified geek. And Drew is the poster girl for this level. Kyut.

Last Song Syndrome : No Blue Sky - The Thorns

red sox, stephen king jubilant

Yahoo! Sports - MLB - Red Sox 10, Yankees 3

For the first time in major league baseball, a team has clawed back from a 3-0 playoff deficit to win the series. And for a storied team that hasn't won the World Series for 86 years, it was a wonderful story indeed, one that will reverberate for ages. The mighty New York Yankees were struck down by the Boston Red Sox.

I don't really follow major league baseball all that closely now, although I used to cheer for an Andy Petitte/Tino Martinez-lead Yankee team as well as Tom Glavine and Chipper Jones over at Atlanta. That was half a decade ago. The Yankees are still mighty, but nowadays I prefer European football to the American national sport. When the Yankees raced to a 3-0 series lead, it was almost a done deal. And then when I was home recuperating, I watched as the gutsy Red Sox fought through 12 innings to win Game 4. And then 14 innings worth of Game 5. The series was actually shaping up to be exciting.

And now this. It's the perfect cap to a historical series. Diehard Red Sox fans Stephen King and Stewart O'Nan chose a great season to chronicle. Props to the Boston Red Sox. They really deserve this.

Now, back to soccer, where there are a lot of cuter dudes.

Last Song Syndrome : Take On Me - a-ha

matinong usapan

An email exchange ensues:

Bespren D: pwede ba akong mag-request...ng baby shower

Ri: kelan? kelan ba usually ang baby shower? ilang months?

Bespren D: ay hindi ko alam pero 7 months na ako next month kaya time na rin for me to buy stuff (actually dapat 8th month pero alangan naman i shop during the christmas rush!). and i dont know where to start.

Bespren M: Sure ba! Hello.... I may not be around when the baby is born (you're due in March, tama ba?)

Bespren D: confused ka talaga M, pero excused ka dont worry. magbilang ka iha--7th month = november, 8th month = december, 9th month = january...11th month = march -- baka nagsasalita na ang baby kung patagalin ko hanggang march sa tyan ko ;)

Last Song Syndrome : Stay - Lisa Loeb