just when i thought things couldn't get any worse, now comes this. while i'm on a silent feud with my grandfather, a beloved pet died.
for 3 days now, i've been on a constant frown, keeping in the profanity but my face surely was not hiding it. old people can sometimes be such inconsiderate assholes that they care for no one but themselves. maybe they're thinking that they only have a few years left of existence and we should make it great for them. i totally agree. but if having their way makes life a living hell for the people around them, it's a totally different thing. don't get me wrong, i do have some love for my grandpa, but him throwing his weight around is just wrong. on the contrary, i think it would be better if he would do good things for the people around him and make his last few years on earth count. that's what i'd do.
and then some more bad news. spark, our laidback companion, died this morning. he was only 3 1/2 years old. he only knows two tricks, eating and sleeping. it probably got the better of him causing some problems and now he's in dog heaven.
our first dog was puffy, a japanese spitz. a few years ago, he got away and didn't return for a week. my mom was very depressed at the time and bought another dog. she found spark, a 3-month old labrador and since his owner at the time was leaving the country, spark came with his pal tiny, a mixed breed pomeranian. then after a week puffy came back from out of nowhere and then we had ourselves three little critters. spark just slept his way throughout the day, getting up only when it's time to eat or if he wants his belly to be scratched. he grew from a small puppy to a giant dog in only a few months time. for the last few days, he wasn't eating and last night we decided to bring him to the vet. my mom had the chance to see him one last time earlier this morning but got a call later.
if there's anything in this world that i'm scared of, it's death. not only my death but more on a death of a loved one. i'm scared to lose the ones around me but i think this is God's way of preparing me for the inevitable.
rest in peace buddy...
24 September 2006
17 September 2006
the road to employment
jobstreet.com has become a friendster for the past couple of months; every time i'm online, i just have to log-in and check if anything's up. i applied for any pharmacist position that suits me and there isn't much. and after waiting for what seems like an eternity, i finally got a couple of calls from would-be employers. the dates were set and my journey has begun.
makati city is undoubtedly the business mecca of the philippines and being familiar with every street and every corner of the busy city is invaluable to a job hunter like me. and since makati is 2 hours away from valenzuela, i knew finding the right buildings would be tough. that was until the information superhighway offered some help. after searching for maps, i found the website kabeet.com, an interactive internet mapping system. a few more clicks and there it was. zoom in and zoom out, pan left and right, every building and every street is just a click a way. getting lost was an impossibility.
makati city is undoubtedly the business mecca of the philippines and being familiar with every street and every corner of the busy city is invaluable to a job hunter like me. and since makati is 2 hours away from valenzuela, i knew finding the right buildings would be tough. that was until the information superhighway offered some help. after searching for maps, i found the website kabeet.com, an interactive internet mapping system. a few more clicks and there it was. zoom in and zoom out, pan left and right, every building and every street is just a click a way. getting lost was an impossibility.
16 September 2006
another board exam scandal?
the nursing board exam leakage scandal is on its death bed. i'll give it a month's time 'til it's finally laid to rest. it will rest but not in peace. i doubt if the issue will be resolved, but i bet it will lose its fire and be forgotten. it's not a surprise considering the history of politics in the country. be it a leakage, corruption, money laundering, election cheating, or even murder, if someone big is behind it, more often than not, he'll get away with it. and while the PRC tries it's best to resolve the nursing issue, i've discovered another issue concerning board examinations. this does not concern the PRC directly, but it's an issue that mirrors the origins of the much talked about leakage...
july 2006. i, together with 1,208 other pharmacy graduates coming from 37 schools took the pharmacist licensure examinations. UST's sharlene lao claimed the top spot, 2 points clear of 2nd placer jeane constantino from UP Manila. my alma mater was disappointed to say the least but as a consolation prize, it was the only school to have a 100% passing rate.
a month ago, after the results have been released and after taking our oaths, my aunt told me that she saw a banner at our lady of fatima university congratulating its students for having a 100% passing rate. i was surprised and just assumed that it was an old banner as fatima had a 100 passing rate a year ago, with 4 out of 4 students passing the board exam.
i was on my way home last week stuck in traffic when a yellow banner caught my eye. i saw the lines "July 2006 Pharmacist Licensure Exams," "100% Passing Rate," and "Our Lady of Fatima" all in one streamer and i thought this isn't right. i tried to give them the benefit of a doubt thinking maybe they got the info wrong or something but i think by now, 2 months after the results have been released, they should've corrected themselves already. the proud banner still hangs to this day.
i have nothing against OLFU, i just want the truth to be heard. if this is OLFU's way to get more students of pharmacy to enroll in their system, then i'm certainly against it. healthy competition is always good but when things get dirty, as with the review center wars that lead to the leakage, it's a different story. besides, 11 out of 14 fatima students passed the boards for an average of 79%, where's the shame in that?
july 2006. i, together with 1,208 other pharmacy graduates coming from 37 schools took the pharmacist licensure examinations. UST's sharlene lao claimed the top spot, 2 points clear of 2nd placer jeane constantino from UP Manila. my alma mater was disappointed to say the least but as a consolation prize, it was the only school to have a 100% passing rate.
a month ago, after the results have been released and after taking our oaths, my aunt told me that she saw a banner at our lady of fatima university congratulating its students for having a 100% passing rate. i was surprised and just assumed that it was an old banner as fatima had a 100 passing rate a year ago, with 4 out of 4 students passing the board exam.
i was on my way home last week stuck in traffic when a yellow banner caught my eye. i saw the lines "July 2006 Pharmacist Licensure Exams," "100% Passing Rate," and "Our Lady of Fatima" all in one streamer and i thought this isn't right. i tried to give them the benefit of a doubt thinking maybe they got the info wrong or something but i think by now, 2 months after the results have been released, they should've corrected themselves already. the proud banner still hangs to this day.
i have nothing against OLFU, i just want the truth to be heard. if this is OLFU's way to get more students of pharmacy to enroll in their system, then i'm certainly against it. healthy competition is always good but when things get dirty, as with the review center wars that lead to the leakage, it's a different story. besides, 11 out of 14 fatima students passed the boards for an average of 79%, where's the shame in that?
14 September 2006
the adventure
A friend asked me to download the song "The Adventure" by Angels and Airwaves. I had no idea at the time of what the song was like, but from the sound of it, i assumed it was a soundtrack song for a disney movie. And so with nothing else to do on an active internet connection, i downloaded the song on limewire. and after completing the download, i was instantly brought back to the penshoppe denimlab rockfest.
it was at the rockfest where i heard the song for the first time. it played as the opening music for the program while the projectors started showing 20 years of penshoppe. i don't know why but somehow, the music matched the moment.
the short presentation highlighted the ad campaigns of penshoppe through the years. remember their slogan "Be True" and "Express Yourself?" though i'm not one of them, i recall half of the gradeschool population twirling baby towels on their fingers with a logo of either a flower for Be True or bold letters of EY! for Express Yourself. i never really figured out how to continuously spin a small towel on a finger but i do have at least 10 penshoppe shirts back then.
in a world where people would rather buy an imitation of a high-end brand than an original mid-class product, penshoppe should reinvent itself. the collections they paraded that night on the runway was definitely notches higher than the penshoppe we know of. they're in the right direction as far as reinvention is concerned but they also must not forget their roots.
it's funny how we associate anything with music. a love song reminds you of a former love, slow music brings you back to slow dances at junior prom, and angel's and airwaves' "the adventure" brought me back to araneta center. this is for sure not the last time a song will give me blasts from the pasts, after all, music is the soundtrack of life...
it was at the rockfest where i heard the song for the first time. it played as the opening music for the program while the projectors started showing 20 years of penshoppe. i don't know why but somehow, the music matched the moment.
the short presentation highlighted the ad campaigns of penshoppe through the years. remember their slogan "Be True" and "Express Yourself?" though i'm not one of them, i recall half of the gradeschool population twirling baby towels on their fingers with a logo of either a flower for Be True or bold letters of EY! for Express Yourself. i never really figured out how to continuously spin a small towel on a finger but i do have at least 10 penshoppe shirts back then.
in a world where people would rather buy an imitation of a high-end brand than an original mid-class product, penshoppe should reinvent itself. the collections they paraded that night on the runway was definitely notches higher than the penshoppe we know of. they're in the right direction as far as reinvention is concerned but they also must not forget their roots.
it's funny how we associate anything with music. a love song reminds you of a former love, slow music brings you back to slow dances at junior prom, and angel's and airwaves' "the adventure" brought me back to araneta center. this is for sure not the last time a song will give me blasts from the pasts, after all, music is the soundtrack of life...
11 September 2006
glued
i can't remember the last time a sunday night offered this much tv action. batista was featured on gma's mel & joey and on abs-cbn's rated k. then later on, he would be on smackdown trying to recapture his gold against king booker. at the same hour was formula one; schumi was battling with alonso for the championship and with kimi for the italian grand prix race lead. the invention of the remote control was a real lifesaver, but still i was wishing i had 2 tv sets on my room.
after watching the animal on a short visit to eat bulaga yesterday, i needed to see more of the former world heavyweight champion. tito sotto had the mic and the pleasure to interview batista but the whole thing was an ugly sight for me. tito was blurting out facts about batista that for a wrestling follower like me was just plain ignorance on the part of the former senator. the questions were just stupid.
tito: so you do original moves like the batista bomb? how do you come up with that?
batista: (baffled) well actually it's not my original move (the batista bomb is an adaptation of the wrestling move power bomb). shane mcmahon was the one who suggested that i use it.
tito: oh, yes, yes. mr. mcmahon! yes. you also originated the running power slam?
batista: (again confused) yeah i do it, but i didn't come up with it.
tito: how about the spine buster?
batista: (wanted to clarify but was seemingly tired of the ignorant questions) yes, yes.
(and what good is an interview with a foreign personality without the following questions...)
tito: so do you like filipino food?
batista: yeah, i love filipino food, adobo, pansit, lumpia, i love it.
tito: how about tagalog words? do you know any tagalog words?
batista: well not a lot, i just know "mahal kita?" is that how you say it?
well, compared to that eat bulaga visit, the joey de leon and korina sanchez interviews were much much better. instead of focusing on the animal's in-ring personality, they tackled much more of his personal life, how he grew up and how he is as a father to his two kids.
switching back and forth from channel 2 to channel 7, i was missing part of the pre-show of the italian grand prix at monza. just in time for the race start, kimi was in the lead on the first few laps but relinquished the lead to michael schumacher after the pit stops. alonso on the other hand started 10th on the grid but managed to gain 3rd place. but with 10 laps to go, his engine blew out, to the delight of the pro-ferrari crowd. schumi finished first for the 90th time, and gained 10 points against alonso's nil. only 2 points separate schumi and alonso on the driver's championship. then an emotional schumi called it quits, announcing that this season would be his last on the formula one circuit. godspeed michael. kick fernando alonso's ass and win that championship!
now switching from espn-starsports to jack tv, batista's championship match with king booker was the main event at smackdown. with a little help from the king's court, king booker pinned the animal and leaving him a bloody mess at the hands of finley. still no gold for batista. but hey, wouldn't it be better if he won the world heavyweight championship here in the philippines when smackdown comes this october?
after watching the animal on a short visit to eat bulaga yesterday, i needed to see more of the former world heavyweight champion. tito sotto had the mic and the pleasure to interview batista but the whole thing was an ugly sight for me. tito was blurting out facts about batista that for a wrestling follower like me was just plain ignorance on the part of the former senator. the questions were just stupid.
tito: so you do original moves like the batista bomb? how do you come up with that?
batista: (baffled) well actually it's not my original move (the batista bomb is an adaptation of the wrestling move power bomb). shane mcmahon was the one who suggested that i use it.
tito: oh, yes, yes. mr. mcmahon! yes. you also originated the running power slam?
batista: (again confused) yeah i do it, but i didn't come up with it.
tito: how about the spine buster?
batista: (wanted to clarify but was seemingly tired of the ignorant questions) yes, yes.
(and what good is an interview with a foreign personality without the following questions...)
tito: so do you like filipino food?
batista: yeah, i love filipino food, adobo, pansit, lumpia, i love it.
tito: how about tagalog words? do you know any tagalog words?
batista: well not a lot, i just know "mahal kita?" is that how you say it?
well, compared to that eat bulaga visit, the joey de leon and korina sanchez interviews were much much better. instead of focusing on the animal's in-ring personality, they tackled much more of his personal life, how he grew up and how he is as a father to his two kids.
switching back and forth from channel 2 to channel 7, i was missing part of the pre-show of the italian grand prix at monza. just in time for the race start, kimi was in the lead on the first few laps but relinquished the lead to michael schumacher after the pit stops. alonso on the other hand started 10th on the grid but managed to gain 3rd place. but with 10 laps to go, his engine blew out, to the delight of the pro-ferrari crowd. schumi finished first for the 90th time, and gained 10 points against alonso's nil. only 2 points separate schumi and alonso on the driver's championship. then an emotional schumi called it quits, announcing that this season would be his last on the formula one circuit. godspeed michael. kick fernando alonso's ass and win that championship!
now switching from espn-starsports to jack tv, batista's championship match with king booker was the main event at smackdown. with a little help from the king's court, king booker pinned the animal and leaving him a bloody mess at the hands of finley. still no gold for batista. but hey, wouldn't it be better if he won the world heavyweight championship here in the philippines when smackdown comes this october?
08 September 2006
"the animal" unleashed in manila
the beast has been unleashed... in manila! "the animal" batista comes to manila for the first time to promote the wwe smackdown tour this october. and for a wrestling aficionado like me, it was like i was hit with the batista bomb...
channel surfing while having my lunch in front of the tv, i saw eat bulaga's bulagaan portion and the questions were wrestling related. and then i overheard joey de leon saying that batista will be a special guest on the show come saturday. i was in disbelief. i knew he'll come this october for the smackdown tour but i never knew he'll be a guest at eat bulaga. i normally don't watch the noontime show but saturday was a marked date, i've got to see this for myself.
then confirmation came when i got a text message form a friend. he was at crowne plaza attending a seminar but was more interested with the rumor that batista is already in the philippines and was in fact in the same hotel as he is. he wasn't able to catch a glimpse but i knew the media would be there to tell the whole story for me.
the 2 giant networks both had batista on the "still to come" feature. it was well worth the wait. proudly showing-off a tattoo of the philippine flag, he was talking about adobo, lumpia, pancit, and of course, the pacman. the animal wants to walk manny to the boxing ring, something his fellow wrestler, the undertaker, did when manny pacquiao knocked-out another mexican prior to his 2nd fight with erik morales.
my mind explodes when i think about batista being a proud filipino. i was a witness to his rise to stardom and all that time, the thought of a filipino heritage never crossed my mind. he was, back then, just a back-up act to the greatest wrestler alive today, the game, triple h. then one by one, the great wrestlers started fading away. the rock was into movies, goldberg had feuds with vince mcmahon, stone cold was busy drinking beer, no one was left to level with the game. no one until batista turned his back on his mentor and became the wwe's hottest commodity. to this day, i think that only he can match up to triple h. not john cena, not jbl, not even shawn michaels. "to be the man, you got to beat the man." and he sure did beat the hell out of the king of kings, making the animal "the man" in sports entertainment.
channel surfing while having my lunch in front of the tv, i saw eat bulaga's bulagaan portion and the questions were wrestling related. and then i overheard joey de leon saying that batista will be a special guest on the show come saturday. i was in disbelief. i knew he'll come this october for the smackdown tour but i never knew he'll be a guest at eat bulaga. i normally don't watch the noontime show but saturday was a marked date, i've got to see this for myself.
then confirmation came when i got a text message form a friend. he was at crowne plaza attending a seminar but was more interested with the rumor that batista is already in the philippines and was in fact in the same hotel as he is. he wasn't able to catch a glimpse but i knew the media would be there to tell the whole story for me.
the 2 giant networks both had batista on the "still to come" feature. it was well worth the wait. proudly showing-off a tattoo of the philippine flag, he was talking about adobo, lumpia, pancit, and of course, the pacman. the animal wants to walk manny to the boxing ring, something his fellow wrestler, the undertaker, did when manny pacquiao knocked-out another mexican prior to his 2nd fight with erik morales.
my mind explodes when i think about batista being a proud filipino. i was a witness to his rise to stardom and all that time, the thought of a filipino heritage never crossed my mind. he was, back then, just a back-up act to the greatest wrestler alive today, the game, triple h. then one by one, the great wrestlers started fading away. the rock was into movies, goldberg had feuds with vince mcmahon, stone cold was busy drinking beer, no one was left to level with the game. no one until batista turned his back on his mentor and became the wwe's hottest commodity. to this day, i think that only he can match up to triple h. not john cena, not jbl, not even shawn michaels. "to be the man, you got to beat the man." and he sure did beat the hell out of the king of kings, making the animal "the man" in sports entertainment.
02 September 2006
free
before anything else... Heart Evangelista fell down twice on the runway! you read it here first! details later...
an appointment in the morning seemed impossible since for the past weeks, i get up at around 12 noon from a 3 or 4 am sleep. surprisingly, i fell asleep early last night and woke up 5 am. then we were off to san fernando pampanga. after waiting for no one, we then went to hagonoy, bulacan. after delivering a few medical supplies to their hospital, next stop was malolos, bulacan. there i paid for a PTR, professional tax whatever, costing me 330 pesos for i don't know what. after lunch, i was ready to go home and sleep.
with some things to do in qc, they dropped me off at sm north edsa. i took the bus home and with the summer heat boasting on the rainy season, the "no curtain" effect of the bus was terrible. then a simple invitation would change the day drastically; two patron tickets for the penshoppe rockfest.
an appointment in the morning seemed impossible since for the past weeks, i get up at around 12 noon from a 3 or 4 am sleep. surprisingly, i fell asleep early last night and woke up 5 am. then we were off to san fernando pampanga. after waiting for no one, we then went to hagonoy, bulacan. after delivering a few medical supplies to their hospital, next stop was malolos, bulacan. there i paid for a PTR, professional tax whatever, costing me 330 pesos for i don't know what. after lunch, i was ready to go home and sleep.
with some things to do in qc, they dropped me off at sm north edsa. i took the bus home and with the summer heat boasting on the rainy season, the "no curtain" effect of the bus was terrible. then a simple invitation would change the day drastically; two patron tickets for the penshoppe rockfest.
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