Oh its Philip

Hybrid Rainbows

2009-09-18T18:02:00.002-05:00

Can you feel that hybrid rainbow?

Even we who were not chosen until yesterday

Are waiting for tomorrow?

- Furi Kuri, Little Busters

I slept dreamlessly, and woke up at around 11:30 am. Synthetically, it was already the afternoon for me, as I had been up at 12:30 the day before. I showered, shaved, changed out of my clothes from the night before into a polo shirt, shorts and a pair of driving shoes. I did some light laundry, brought out my old fountain pen and I made a checklist of things that I had to do that day.

After all, it was my free day before the weekend.

Do laundry,

Prepare food,

Eat

While I was writing the list on the back of an old envelope which used contained the bill from my dentist, I was intensely focused on staying awake, as anymore napping after a disruptive sleep schedule like last night would totally ruin my sleep pattern.

Nothing much happened in the subsequent 3 hours.

Light laundry, prepared some pasta on the stove and sat in silence.

~ My roommate and I agreed on some pizza, so we had some Pizza Shuttle. Mine had some mushrooms on it~ I felt no guilt making the pasta, as it sits longer in the fridge (up until a certain point of course!) it tastes better.

That evening, I fell asleep on freshly laundered sheets. Again, I slept dreamlessly, and awakened the next day, feeling absolutely wonderful and guiltless.

Leftover pizza for breakfast, iced tea to wash it down and I headed off to work, nattily dressed and well coiffed.

After work, I went to Target and got some groceries as well as a birthday card for my friend that I had a falling out with the other day.

I choose to move forward.

The silence will not crush me.

That Shelters Us

2009-09-17T18:49:00.001-05:00

It is only 10:15am but it already feels like 5:30 pm for me…

The sky above the gas station tells me that it is a gorgeous day: azure with white tufts here and there; the sun shining white and hot. The sky above Tinley Park was so beautiful that one would think that it almost looked like it was made out of Acrylic. The sky had a shiny texture that one experiences with a lack of sleep and a head full of thoughts.

To my right is a slender Chinese woman negotiating with the gas cap of her Rav4.

To my left is a black Durango trying to get into the pump in front of my car.

~ and there I was, right in the middle of it all, getting my car ready for my voyage home ~

I decide to fill my tank up all the way, and I choose not to get a receipt. As I pull out, an older man in a late model Buick is crossing the intersection onto the highway.

I accelerate and maintain a comfortable 75mph. The radio plays some random song from Of Montreal and I scan left to right looking at the buildings and the grass that I pass by, 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

Of course there are lots of houses, businesses, strange buildings with company logos that I have not heard about and other architectural accoutrements that decorated the landscape like a malevolent necklace ~ oh so sharp and stark ~

I continue down the highway, and in about 20 minutes the Chicago skyline is in my sights. I see the Sears/Willis towers pierce the sky that from Tinley Park to about 10 miles south of downtown Chicago morphed from something beautiful to something slightly less attractive. The azure has turned into something a few pantones darker and the white tufts morphed into corrugated dragons. The sight from my car was almost Quixotic. The Sears/Willis tower was fighting huge clouds that drifted by, certainly slower than the 75mph that I was going.

Suddenly, there is this palpable surge of wind that is quickly followed by a silver BMW 7 series. It would not have been so noticeable if I had any sleep the night before, and if I were not in such a small car. It got off the exit faster than it had arrived. Now cruising at a more aggressive 78mph, I moved over to the left lane and recalled the events that had happened that morning.

~ That morning, at 12:56:32 am, I woke up in a cold sweat and insomnia that was fueled by guilt. Outside, the sky was as just about as black and as coarse as my disheveled bed head.

~I was hesitating underneath the caress of my comforter.

Should I go and do it and risk getting into a car accident?

Should I not go for it and die in obscurity?

Old jeans,

Slip on shoes, no socks of course,

A black shirt

Velour Track Jacket

Wallet

Keyfob

Blackberry

A package for a friend

All the things that I brought for that trip underneath the sheltering sky.

~ I drove away from my friend’s dormitory defeated. I tried entering the building nicely, but I was politely denied entry despite my perceived urgency. The sky as I was driving away from his school was phantasmagorical. Purple, red and yellow. The sun was also inconveniently placed in the right corner of my eye, which made the second part of my voyage difficult. The sky, was discouraging, enveloping all the street signs in a harsh white light. The little visor that pops from the roof of the car gives me the interesting choice of getting lost or risking corneal damage. I thought that since I was driving under the influence of a double shot Mc Donald’s Iced Latte and the faint aroma of poor dental hygiene, I decided that getting there earlier was better than being blind.

The neighborhood where my friend lived looked beautiful in the sunlight. It was about an hour before my trip back to Milwaukee and it seemed like every blade of grass was facing me, and that every flower on the lawn, including the weeds were well saturated with the colors flowers come in.

~The blue Toyota in the driveway was the sign that my plan B had succeeded. I took a deep breath, zipped up my jacket and silenced my phone, and

I pressed the doorbell twice. Once for my friend’s family so that they may know that I was there, and another time to signal to myself that after whatever would happen after would change my life forever.

My friend’s dad and dog answered the door. We exchanged some pleasantries with a hint of concerned suspicion. Shortly after, my friend’s mother emerged from the doorway, and suggested that we took a walk around the neighborhood. We eventually stopped at some benches at the nearby park

For about two hours, we spoke about the things that one with my disposition would find uncomfortable talking about ~ but after driving 300 miles from where I was that evening to my friend’s house, I thought that it would be foolish not to be open to the experience. There I was, getting what I had deserved.

Normally, conversations of that level of profundity would have left me completely drained of energy. For some strange reason, I felt as though a great weight was lifted off my shoulders, being able to pour such raw emotion and understand more about myself.

My friend’s mother and I walked arm in arm around the neighborhood – I was a bit scared because I don't normally like touching people while I am talking, and in that situation I was the antagonist, talking to the bulwark. Her “firm” gentleness, that reminded me of my orthopedic pillow (soft and huggable, but scientifically so).

Yes

Maybe

Forever

Never

Damage

Sorry

No Reset Button

Protect

Deep

Recapture

Perhaps

Long

Time

If Ever.

I was being slowly led to my car. I tried walking a bit slower to prolong the conversation, but I knew that she had to start her day, and I needed to finish mine. I gave her the package that I was supposed to give my friend and she gave me her number and e-mail.

After a medium-length good bye, I realized that I would never be returning to the neighborhood where my friend lived in. I took my time, at a leisurely 20mph, saying goodbye to all the weeds the grew in between the cracks on the sidewalk. The little songs on the pavement bade me farewell as a bittersweet gust of wind hastened my departure.

My gas tank reminded me to visit a gas station where I saw the Chinese woman, Black Durango and looked up at the blue sheltering sky.

Random dream

2009-08-24T20:32:00.001-05:00

I had this random dream that my Mini Cooper was encased in ice...

I miss my car so much!

Living in Manila

2009-08-23T21:47:00.004-05:00

Sorry guys but I have not had time to grab an Aloha Burger because I am trying to watch my weight - since I am going to a really nice beach this weekend! As everybody knows, its perpetual beach weather here in the Philippines, except when it rains. In fact, a day ago, there was so much rain in the city that some parts of Metro Manila were chest-deep in dirty flood water! A friend of mine even mentioned that there were soiled diapers floating down the streets! Sewage is one of the things this developed city still has to conquer.

Last week was all about staying out of the heat and bright sunlight. I realized that the sun does shine a lot brighter here than in the midwest - strong enough to cause signs and buildings to bleach. Brightly colored buildings turn into strange pastel colors in a few years because of the sun. I am so used to wearing dark colors in the Midwest but I had to switch to lighter colors here in Manila because of the heat!

Some Pictures:

I had dinner with my good pal Jed a few weeks ago at Lusso in Greenbelt 5. I tried out the Foie Gras Burger that was much-publicized online. For only Php 595 or about $13, you can have your foie gras and eat it too! Very delicious and I would definitely come back again. The owner of the restaurant is Margarita Fores, who went to the same school as my mom in NYC! They had lots of other nice looking things on the menu there too. I shared the Truffle Salt Fries with my friend. (I look so tired I know!)

The facade of my high school. So many memories! As you can see, that's me in the reflection taking a photo with my new Nokia N97. The iPhone was old and beat up and I did not like it's features. The Nokia N97 can do more than the iPhone. The only complaint I have about it is that it is huge!

The infamous durian fruit. Its really tiny but it's smell/odor travels far! In some hotels, esp. in Thailand, this fruit is banned because it really stinks! Smells like Limburger cheese with onions and some sickeningly sweet flower. At home, we open it up, freeze it and add it to salads and ice cream. Once frozen, it does not smell so much. It is known as the King of Fruits in the Philippines because it's smell betrays how deliciously sweet and rich it is. I grew up with Durian-flavored ice cream!

Some of our Malls in the Philippines are really unique! I went here a few days ago to see what new stores opened up in Manila. We have the same old things that you would not find in the USA like Marks and Spencer, Zara and TopMan, as well a few high-fashion-fashion things that you would think only existed in New York! I was really surprised that there was a store that sold Hermes with hand made leather goods that start at $7,000!!! Shopping here in the Philippines is an interesting affair. Prices are a lot cheaper than the USA except for certain things:

Cars: Lexus IS PHP 4,000,000 or $50,000 (basic features!)

Electronics: Macbook PHP 70,000 or $1,500 (Low end!!!)

and we have a 12% Value-Added-Tax since nobody likes paying income taxes come April every year... Oh well...

Otherwise,

Things here in Manila are going great! I really miss my car back in the USA (I take as well as all my friends, but my friends here in Manila as well as family deserve my attention too! ^_^

Voyage!

2009-08-14T03:11:00.003-05:00

Some Photos:

My bed at Excel Narita

HUGE KOI!!!!
GROWL!!!! GONNA BE LATE + WEARING THE SAME CLOTHES FOR 24++ hours makes Phil Grouchy

Japanese Washlet! (This one's for my friend Jack Koepke!)
BYEBYE CHICAGO!

Wow what an adventure going home to Manila

I was supposed to leave at 12:50 at O'Hare but because of mechanical difficulties made the plane leave at 4:00pm! I ended up finding a spot that had two sockets so that I could charge my phone and my laptop ^_^

The wait at the airport was not so bad. I was in the updated terminal of O'Hare and I was able to get a lot of things done there. They had $6 wifi for 24 hours and there were some places to eat and browse magazines. At boarding time, JAL was gracious enough to give it's passengers some snacks and drinks because of the delay. They also mentioned that we might have to stay over in Japan for a day because our late departure would mean that the plane in Tokyo that I had to catch for Manila would be delayed.

The flight to Tokyo from chicago was pretty uneventful. The AVOD selection was okay, I ended up watching some movie about Taiwanese Gangsters.

I got to Narita at around 7:30 and the people there were quick to give me my hotel voucher and some buffet passes. They held my luggage at customs since they were going to send them on the next flight to manila that departed at 9:00am the next day.

I cleared customs and I was super close to taking the JR line to Tokyo and spend the night wandering the city when I realized that I had 1000 yen on me and not a sen more. I decided to take the shuttle to the hotel and get settled.

I checked in, headed to the traditional Japanese sauna and soaked 18 hours of air travel away... ahhh ^_^

After the soak, I went to the buffet and had all the Ebi Tempura and Takoyaki I could enjoy. I smuggled a bunch of cute Taiyaki out of the buffet and checked out the hotel shop for some essentials.

At the shop, I got a small sachet of laundry soap, some drinks and a really interesting Manga that featured mini coopers.　僕のミニクパ (Me and my mini cooper) I was really glad that they accepted Visa otherwise I would have suffered...

I returned to my room, changed into the Yukata and headed over to the laundry room and washed all the clothes that I was wearing. I got them to dry in the bathroom and I slept pretty soundly...

I got up at about 4:00am thanks to the Jetlag and spent the time watching news on Japanese tv while holding a hairdryer to the clothes that I had washed the night before.

Breakfast was traditional japanese buffet. I really enjoyed the tasty rice and the natto!

Got to Narita at 7:45 and did some おみやげshopping and waited for my plane which left for Manila at 9:30.

Got home at 2:30, showered and went to Club Mwah with some family to celebrate a triumphant return!

I got a job!

2009-07-05T02:32:00.001-05:00

Peeps, if I have not told you already, I got a (the) job with QuadGraphics! I start in "late September"!

How exciting, I promise to talk about it soon enough!

IM BACK!!!

2009-06-17T00:02:00.001-05:00

Its been a while, I know. Due to popular demand, I will be resurrecting this blog, for the umpteenth time.

But now that I am a graduate and I have a good job, I have not excuse that I have things to do!

Thank you for your love and support, its time to document a new time of my life!

Reminisce! The Twilight of Philip Sarol's Memory Part 1 of 4

2009-02-05T21:58:00.002-06:00

~ Noisy Boys

I remember how my grade school teacher would make me stand up in front of the class and write down the names of the "noisy boys" in class while she would go to the bathroom and pee or whatnot. It was fun because I used to write the names of my classmates that I did not like as soon as the teacher left so that they would get reprimanded when the teacher got back from her evacuation.

~ Peeping Stance

In high school, I had this teacher who was older and a bit paranoid. In Mandarin, she would relate to the class how there were perverts on the jeepneys or in movie-theatres that would try to look underneath the skirts of the supposedly demure women (who, according to her, "traveled alone late at night - how scandalous!!!"). I had this classmate who had this funny habit of sticking his legs out in the aisles and sitting "de kwatro".

One day, as my teacher was talking about how much she thought the perverts in Quiapo deserved to be exanguinated, this guy's foot bumps the leg of my teacher. The guy who sat beside Mr. DeKwatro said "Yuck!!!" because the guy in front of him farted....

The teacher thought that Mr. DeKwatro was trying to look under *HER SKIRT* because he just so happened to have polished shoes that day, and construed the interjection as a vigilant warning from her pupil that the bastion of her feminimity: her panties, were exposed to the eyes of a salacious pervert.

She threw a hisitronic fit, called all the guys in class lascivicious monsters and reappeared a week later wearing a longer skirt (may half slip na *kita* pa!) and never failed to throw dagger stares at Mr DeKwatro for the remainder of the school year.

I got to speak with Mr DeKwatro after the incident and I told him: "At ano naman ang gusto mong makita diyan? Sementeryo?"

~ Pregnant Pause

I had another teacher who was paranoid. This time, she was talking about how women who go to malls must never wear skirts because men can look underneath them while walking on the lower levels (think of glass partitions between floors and glass stairs)

She also spoke very critically about how younger couples were having pre-marital sex in the back of heavily tinted cars and all sorts of things that we never really thought about while in high school - the guys in my high school only thought about internet games and the latest cellphones anyway.

The funny thing is that she was pregnant while she would rant about how sinful sex is.

Que ironic!

~

I admit it

2009-02-02T16:29:00.002-06:00

I admit it. I am depressed.

If I had not told you, my roommate left the school and would not re-enroll until the Fall of this year. From what I understand, he had some problems with class registration. What made it sad for me was the fact that he did not tell me earlier that he was faced with such an issue.

I miss him very much because we do a lot of things together and we had so many fun experiences together in college.

Now it is time to transform presence into memory.

We promised to hang out every 2 weeks (basically after my paydays) to keep in touch and all that.

I went and spoke with a counselor who said that I should distract myself from all these sad emotions, but the worst thing is that my distractions (i.e. videogames, travel, etc) are all done with my good ol' buddy who no longer lives here with me.

Lesson learned: Now I know what it means to be sad.

Message to all my friends: Please don't die ok?

For my sake, I am going to do extra blogging effort in order to feel better about the whole thing. Philip Sarol has never experienced grief like this ever!

And exactly a year ago, I was blogging about my teeth! And now this!

We got to spend a little time together yesterday. He had to pack up some of his stuff to take home and I helped him. After that, we had some Chinese food like we always do every Sunday and we caught our favorite anime shows on the internet before chatting about life.

I guess we are life-long friends now, and this is something that I should have prepared for since I plan to work abroad in the future.

Job Hunting

2009-01-20T20:23:00.002-06:00

It's humbling (and you know how used to "humbling" I am) that I have to stick to the one page resume considering that I have done so much in my academic career as well as my personal life to just have one page that summarizes all that I am for some HR. Manager to think if I am good for the job or not. I was able to do it though. With clever font-manipulation and life-experience distillation I have managed to create the most wonderful resume ever.

I kind of have a job lined up in the most colloquial sense, and it is a great place to work at and all that however the uncertain times and the scope of my work there (I am too far back in the value chain) makes me want to seek other opportunities for greater gains/more interesting gains.

As an economist, the low-hanging fruit principle (google it!) prevails in stirring horrible emotions of despair and uncertainty. It makes me wonder why I chose a field that deals with gray when I much prefer black and white?

But oh well.

I just sent out about 18 applications today. I intend to send out about 30 more before the end of this week. Its nice to have lots of options!

Back to regular programming

2009-01-18T13:25:00.003-06:00

After a long hiatus of being sick in Manila and suffering from major jetlag (and a mild addiction to Fallout 3), I am back!!!

What a crazy time it has been! Its only the 18th day of the year and New Year's in Manila felt like an eternity! I am going to miss going home for the "breaks" because this is my last semester as a student ever and ever unless I continue with my plans to pursue a law degree but then that is a different matter all together.

Anyway, I think that this semester is going to be great. My sleep schedule has been completely reset which is a good thing. Last semester, I found myself sleeping at 2:00 am doing absolutely nothing! Now, 10:00pm is considered "late" for me.

In other news, I recently bequeathed my Macbook to my younger sister Ella because she seemed to need more than I do. Im all about the latest technology and with this whole business of net-books and smaller computers, I am glad to be using a much smaller and lighter computer (Sony Vaio TZ) as a primary computer.

This year is going to be all about simplifying my life and creating abundance. I think that in these undeniably hard times, the best course of action is to live simply and be honest with oneself. With that respect:

I now have one cellphone number instead of two. I cut that silly thing with t-mobile. Although it was cheap, I hate carrying two huge phones in my pocket. I realized I have been using my iPhone more since I got it a couple of months ago. I have been using the other phone to call CHINESE FOOD DELIVERY ONLY!!! (If you dont know my facebook address or I did not tell you what it is now since this post, you better send me an email or a message!).

I am going to bring my grocery card when I go shopping (I always forget those things!).

I am going to use Skype more often to talk with my friends and family back home instead of using my cellphone (urk $260 phone bills?)

I am going to be a more efficient driver. No more DS mode on my Mini COOPER unless a homicidal manic is chasing me!

I will download games onto my Ps3 instead of buying them in the stores.

Lastly:

Im going to do my damn laundry once a week instead of once a fortnight!!!

Thats all for now. Parsimony and Honesty are so in for 2009.

Happy Changing Blog Layout Day!

2009-01-03T01:19:00.002-06:00

In the spirit of hoping to change oneself, I decided to direct all that energy on making this blog look better, however I suddenly lost that "will to change" much like how people lose the will to diet after encountering their first slice of cake after the new year. By the way, I decided not to have any New Year's resolutions. I think that last year, despite all the pain and drudgery of being hopelessly spoiled and dysfunctional has passed, I made some pretty smart decisions. I suppose I dont need to change for the better!

I promise a better looking blog in the upcoming days. At the moment, I am sleepy (at 3:30 in the afternoon por shame!)

Sick stories

2008-12-25T01:19:00.002-06:00

It has been about one week since I left the USA... What a whirlwind! First I get to see my Mini Cooper again, but then it's tires are acting all wonky again. Then the bitter cold, and almost losing my passport in Incheon airport!

I was going to document my trip to Hong Kong but the hotel was going to charge me about $20 dollars for internet access a day so I decided to spend that money shopping everywhere from Louis Vuitton to the side-streets of Mongkok. I promise several entries about the trip later on...

But first, big, or should I say, bug update:

I am sick with the flu. I have been confined in a horizontal position since Tuesday evening, and I feel like cr*p. I was able to muster enough strength and convince my circulatory system that I am in good enough shape to walk down to the Family - Mac and try out the new keyboard that we bought (we are using a iMac G5 but we got the new space-age keyboard thingy... so nice!)

More on the flu:

I had this weird dream that I was cleaning the pool at home (which was already weird because we dont have one and why would I be doing it if the maids are, as it is, idle and gossiping away while watching television in the den while the family is away!!!)

so anyway this cocoon glows green and I call my dad who takes it and hurls it into a trash heap over our fence. I walk outside and people start telling me, what did you do with *it*.

(^): Ano ginawa mo sa ku-wan? (what did you do with the *thing*)
(*): Hah? Anong ku-wan? (What thing?)
(^): Nakuu... Mamalasin ka! (Uh oh... You are cursed!)

I go home, and suddenly the house bursts into flames.

Weird huh? Thats what I get for taking all these tablets to control my fever, headache, phlegm and sore throat!

WEIRD!!! Part 2

2008-12-10T21:28:00.004-06:00

What exactly did I learn this semester I have no clue. Isnt that strange?

WEIRD!!! Part 2

2008-12-10T21:28:00.001-06:00

WEIRD!!!

2008-12-10T21:25:00.000-06:00

I cant believe it!!! Today is already a WEDNESDAY AND I ALREADY FINISHED THREE FINAL EXAMS JUST LIKE THAT!

That's all.

~ actually that isnt everything.

What really bugs me is how my life just went on "fast-forward" all of a sudden just because of cramming for final exams!

This is ridiculous. I cant stand staying in the library any more! I am looking forward to going home to the Philippines and escaping this dreary weather.

Peace!

Marginal cost, the three sisters, Miwa Shunsuke

2008-12-08T22:30:00.002-06:00

Im in the middle of finals weeks right now...
..
..
..

and I just got out to pick up a piece of gum from the vending machine. two reasons for this: potato crisps and cookies are fattening, and gum is better than a bottle of sodapop.

anything to keep me awake.

High Bb?!?!

2008-11-25T23:11:00.001-06:00

Listen listen!

Yay!

2008-11-24T21:11:00.001-06:00

Dependent Variable: MARATT6
Method: Least Squares
Date: 11/24/08 Time: 21:04
Sample (adjusted): 13 1086
Included observations: 56 after adjustments

Variable Coefficient Std. Error t-Statistic Prob.

C -41.76641 37.61925 -1.110240 0.2727
AGE 0.022235 0.019008 1.169779 0.2481
INCOME 0.099610 0.100418 0.991959 0.3264
INVOLVE -0.261150 0.161667 -1.615362 0.1131
DENMNTN -0.001407 0.013035 -0.107908 0.9145
SPREL 0.017588 0.058124 0.302590 0.7636
RELIG2 0.260173 0.153390 1.696150 0.0966
BIBLE 0.506647 0.220818 2.294413 0.0264
RELCON5 -0.148613 0.122393 -1.214226 0.2309
EDUC 0.176787 0.133389 1.325348 0.1916

R-squared 0.321272 Mean dependent var 3.982143
Adjusted R-squared 0.188478 S.D. dependent var 1.433255
S.E. of regression 1.291141 Akaike info criterion 3.509363
Sum squared resid 76.68409 Schwarz criterion 3.871032
Log likelihood -88.26215 Hannan-Quinn criter. 3.649581
F-statistic 2.419320 Durbin-Watson stat 0.565618
Prob(F-statistic) 0.024240

Estimation Command:
=========================
LS MARATT6 C AGE INCOME INVOLVE DENMNTN SPREL RELIG2 BIBLE RELCON5 EDUC

Estimation Equation:
=========================
MARATT6 = C(1) + C(2)*AGE + C(3)*INCOME + C(4)*INVOLVE + C(5)*DENMNTN + C(6)*SPREL + C(7)*RELIG2 + C(8)*BIBLE + C(9)*RELCON5 + C(10)*EDUC

Substituted Coefficients:
=========================
MARATT6 = -41.766405018 + 0.0222353447099*AGE + 0.0996103990596*INCOME - 0.26115048153*INVOLVE - 0.00140655914811*DENMNTN + 0.0175876829185*SPREL + 0.260173210184*RELIG2 + 0.506646670013*BIBLE - 0.148613007673*RELCON5 + 0.176787276658*EDUC

Look who's back!!!

2008-11-21T20:11:00.000-06:00

To all the stressed out students writing papers:

2008-11-19T22:39:00.002-06:00

Yeah I know how you all feel believe me! Dont you wish you were like the great Dame Sally Markham - the best writer in the world?

Watch this clip and then go back to writing your paper! You will be inspired!!!

Sick

2008-11-13T12:30:00.000-06:00

So I got to sleep at exactly 4:30 am today, and I got up at 11:30. Natch, I feel miserable.

I blame all the things that I have to do at school. I just have so much to do its not even funny anymore.

cleaning out the wreckage

2008-11-10T22:19:00.002-06:00

I had a pretty productive weekend aside from studying for a business law exam and procrastinating over a paper that is due in a little less than a month. I did an intense 4 loads of laundry that accumulated from not doing laundry for almost 3 weeks. It was a good feeling to finally get 3 hampers emptied. While the laundry was stewing inside the washing machine, I decided to tackle the boogieman in my closet, namely all the other things that were piled up in there. I never realized that over the course of 3 and a half years, I replicated the amount of clothes that I had in my Manila closet and then some!

I threw all the clothes that were haphazardly hung on the racks on the bed, furiously, just like a jilted school-girl throwing love-notes into a pyre.

I went through the upper-shelf AKA my bodega that housed the boxes of the different electronic toys and shoes that I bought throughout my college career. I disposed of all the meaningless tschotkes that were deposited inside the shoeboxes. I got acquainted with Rudolf Dassler, Yohji Yamamoto, Cole Haan and Kenneth Cole shoe boxes and bade them goodbye as I emptied them of their meaningless contents and replaced neatly folded beddings and a beloved comforter over their place. Then,

I plunked Burberry shirts ( I won 3?!)
after Guy Laroche Shirt
after Diesel Shirt (yeah but they dont make me look like a nascar driver okay?!)
after Y-3 hoodie
after Express pants
after True Religion Jeans
after Seven For all Mankind Pants (4 and counting)
after Barong Tagalog (2)
after Boardshorts
after Abercrombie and Fitch shirt that I swore never to wear (okay, so I have 3)
after patent leather belt
after regular run of the mill leather belt from the dark ages (hello high school belt!)
after silk tie
after froggie print boxer shorts (I cant believe Remedios thought this was Heidi's!)
after bespoke sport coat (Totally too large for me right now. I cant believe mom spent 7,500 bucks on it!!!)
after several North Face Jackets
after ironic t-shirt

into their respective Cubbies in the new and (greatly)improved closet.

I realized that I had about 20 articles of clothing that I had not worn in the past year. Por shame! Who needs to go shopping when all that you need to do is clean out your closet!

And then, I did the unthinkable...

I ironed my underwear. (My roommate thinks Im weird. Is he justified?)

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

I had no problem with socks. I made it a policy to buy only certain brands of socks so that losing one pair would not be too much of a heart-ache. I am also pretty conservative when it comes to my socks. I only have black and white ones, and a strange purple and yellow pair for extremely cold days.

My closet is much much better now. Its no longer a tsunami of clothes ready to topple over with the slightest sigh of exasperation from it's owner!

TIME SPACE WARP!

2008-11-01T18:35:00.002-05:00

I think I have to set the clock forward or backwards tonight.

But more importantly,

Life is not sucking!!! But im so busy.

Baboy ka! (You are a pig!)

2008-10-27T00:57:00.003-05:00

So someone ripped off my NObama sticker off the bumper of my car. Thankfully, my car was unharmed, but I am still outraged because I consider that tampering with my vehicle.

Apparently someone who has access to Structure 3 parking thinks that doing that will change my mind about who to vote for in the upcoming election.

I have an "opinion" and I am going to stick to it no matter what.

All I have to say is, whoever ripped my sticker off is a hypocrite.

McCain Palin FTW!

monkey restaurant

2008-10-12T18:56:00.001-05:00

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. A lot of things happened since I last posted.

so let the monkeys make you laugh Haha

I bit my tongue

2008-10-04T14:00:00.004-05:00

I had a long day yesterday. Got up for work at 6:30, headed off to Chicago at 9:30, ended up getting lost in Oak Lawn and then turning back to Willowbrook at 11:30, Had lunch with relatives and then spent 2 hours at the dentist getting a tooth worked on.

This is not the endodontic-neurotic thing of February. I had this tooth that fractured because of a cavity that was previously filled and then the tooth could not take it anymore. If I remember distinctly, it was the first tooth I had filled. I guess all it took to fall apart was a bowl of Cheerios that morning. My dentist told me to come back in two weeks for a thorough cleaning and some x-rays. I have one wisdom tooth that is exactly 90 degrees impacted with my hind molars. Thankfully no cavities on that tooth. I think its what is keeping my teeth immaculately straight. Naturally, I was apprehensive about the whole thing. The dental assistant told me that I could have clutched two pieces of coal and a diamond would have popped out. Thankfully, the dentist worked quickly and painlessly. Most of the pain was in my head, thinking about it. I dont hate the drill. What I hate the most about getting my teeth fixed is that scraping sensation that my dentist does to get rid of all the decay in my teeth! I feel like my mouth is going to crack in half!

Going back was interesting. I was stuck in a horrible traffic jam for 2 hours. There was literally no movement. I opened up the sunroof of my car, and all the windows and blasted music through my stereo to the delight of the people around my car. I was so bored, and I could not feel my chin so I decided to make things interesting for the people travelling on I-294.

I got back to Milwaukee just in time to see Dave boiling water for dinner. My roommate and I opted for CPK for dinner instead.

It was good food, but the service at the Bayshore branch was condescending and sporadic. I was about as close as you could get to a meltdown, but the staff was gracious and I was beginning to feel my lower jaw again so I was happy.

It was a weird feeling getting that numbing shot from my dentist on my lower jaw. Moments after he injected my jaw or whatever, I could hardly feel my tongue and chin. I went to Starbucks on my way back to get a pick-me up and I noticed blood on my straw. Apparently, I bit my tongue.

Yay!

2008-09-30T23:34:00.002-05:00

I got that job that I wanted today. Its a real job. Its not one of those part-time silly things that I did all summer. Its something really real and something that can probably be my future career. For that, I am grateful. I would prefer not to talk about work on this blog though because I will be dealing with very confidential information and I will be doing a disservice to my employers by talking about work.

Anyway, I just got done talking with a friend, a very good friend, about my frustrations in life. Interesting huh? in the span of 35 minutes, i was able to let go of all my anger and frustration that I had gathered in the past 6 weeks. I think I can move on now. For that, I am grateful too.

This week

2008-09-29T20:45:00.002-05:00

I had a job interview with Sterling Jewellers today! Apparently I was their first candidate since they partnered up with my school's career service center. So I will see where that takes me. In other news, I have a follow-up interview with that company downtown that does venture capital stuff. I basically carpet b*mbed (I dont want to put my blog on any watch-list!) all the companies that seemed interesting to me. I can do anything with an Economics major anyway! Hahaha.

I feel so tired. Right now, half of my brain is asleep, but I must survive till Thursday!!!

Tomorrow

2008-09-24T21:04:00.001-05:00

First job interview of the semester tomorrow!!! Argh I hope it goes well. I have some funny stories about the job fair today, but Ill leave that for when I actually get positive results.

Outrageous!

2008-09-22T23:20:00.002-05:00

I dont get it. So this website proclaims that the iphone 3g is the gadget of the year. I have two problems with that: The year aint over yet and the iphone 3g is pretty much the same old iphone with a marginally faster network and a different, more scratchable back. I wont get philosophical about marketing, because I dont care for an aneurysm...

but COME ON PEOPLE!

everybody knows that the HTC touch diamond is way better-rer!

or at least the ASUS EEE PC!

We really need to celebrate leaps in technology and not some raggedy-ass noveaux riche objet du desire!

O fortuna

2008-09-22T22:20:00.003-05:00

At the moment I am really really frustrated with my homework. I dont really have a lot to do but its just the little things that are getting to me. If this moment in my life could have a soundtrack, think of, it would be O, Fortuna from the Carmina Burana.

I really dont like it when people say that they are "stressed out" because that usually means that they decided to do something foolish instead of what they really needed to do, but I have legitimate reason to feel stressed out. Not because of a deadline though. I like calling it, lingering post-difficult exam stress. I just had a long day today because of that Business Law test that I spent considerable amount of time studying for, and yet I found it to be challenging. Good thing that I know how that professor gives out tests. really makes a difference.

Im really glad that a potential employer called me up today for an interview scheduling. I hope to do it either on Thursday or Friday. I am ready to apply all this knowledge in my head into something useful!

Al's Run

2008-09-22T00:20:00.003-05:00

Actually more of a walk. Haha. Ask me about it.

Dropped the baby!

2008-09-14T14:27:00.002-05:00

I scratched my car on my way to my haircut yesterday. I cant believe it. I was getting out of the parking lot, and I hit the passenger side of my car on the pillar of my garage. Now i have to put out a ton of money to have it restored to almost brand new condition. Thanks Jon at Tender Auto Care for promising me spectacular results...

In other news, I am planning on working with Outpost Natural Foods as a pricing clerk. I just droppped off my application today. I hope it goes well. I have figured that the whole "corporate" setting is not for me, at least for now. I hope it goes well!!!

Relief

2008-09-10T22:03:00.000-05:00

I just got the most amazing phone call today telling me that that thing that happened at work is no longer my problem. Hooray for justice!

Betches

2008-09-08T21:52:00.002-05:00

Im a grouch okay. Especially when I need to get shit done. And I dont take shit from anybody. Its gonna get ghetto if you throw me some of your drama.

So I'm sitting here right now on the library bridge on one of these booths while these two girls sitting beside me start talking about their plans for graduation and graduate school and their social aid trip to Guatemala or something or nothing.

Im watching this film on my laptop with my earphones and their voices are so loud that my sound isolating earphones cant block their gossip about their Spanish class. I get so tired of it, I ask NICELY

"Excuse me, Im sorry but do you mind keeping it down? I am trying to watch something on my computer and I am trying to listen to this thing for class tomorrow"

And the little cardigan witch tells me

"What? why dont you go to the quiet area, dont you know that there is one here?"

The other girl goes

"Yeah im so confused! Why dont you just like, go there!"

I calmly say:

"Thats beside the point. You are both too noisy and this thing would make so much noise if I would watch it in the quiet room

And they just leave me alone. The girl in the red hoodie rolls her cow-eyes as though I said something offensive. The girl in the white hoodie just goes back to her notes.

But seriously. Even though it is the "talking place" in the library, I think they needed a lesson im moderation.

And they were talking about social responsibility when they both act like the queens of Zululand!

And to butt in to their conversation,

I dont think that kind of attitude is a smart thing to do!

This is bad...

2008-09-04T22:11:00.001-05:00

I really dont feel like studying at the moment. Por shame! Its only the end of the second week of school and I already feel burnt out. Major victories this week though!!!

Vicky is coming to the USA~ !

2008-09-04T09:22:00.001-05:00

Go placidly amidst the haste

2008-09-03T12:04:00.001-05:00

An open letter to that hoodlum who ruined my labor day:

Mr X who ever you claim to be, I just wanted to let you know that you are an outrageous person. Going up to me and lying like that with that dirty shirt on was a brave thing to do. You could have at least walked out when the cops had you handcuffed with your head up high. What you did to Ms. X was a cowardly thing though.

So you say you love her?

a. She does not love you back

b. You are a horrible person

c. Don't you know that you dont hurt people that you love?

d. Whatever.

Be at peace with yourself

2008-09-02T22:08:00.002-05:00

Like every other day, I woke up at 8:45 am for my daily morning routines. I went to the bathroom and took my workout shirt and shorts that I had previously soaked in hot water and hung to dry over the bathtub the night before. I go to my bureau and take out a pair of black socks to wear with my black and red gym sneakers. I chose black because my right sneaker has this small hole on the side that exposes the inside of the shoe. I got that hole from a bike riding stint a couple of months ago. Apparently the teeth on my bike's pedals are not so forgiving when they snag on mesh fabric. Normally, I throw shoes away at the slightest sign of deformity or noticeable wear. I am very judgmental when it comes to shoes. I am reasonable, but I prefer not to wear something that looks tired. These black and red shoes are special though. They will probably live until the end of the year.

I performed my morning ablution in my little window-less bathroom. Everything about my apartment is great except for my bathroom that does not have a window. I am used to my bathroom back in Manila that had a window which had a terrific view of the sky. I carefully squeeze the toothpaste tube to avoid getting those nasty worms of white paste that end up in the sink. They remind me too much of Altoids when they go forgotten for a day or so. I walk out of the bathroom, put on my glasses, put my headphones on and get ready to face the morning.

I got back from the gym sufficiently sweaty and tired. I prepared lunch and went on checking my emails while putting my plate on top of my International Business Law book. I got some interesting offers for gadgets from Best Buy but I never buy anything from them which I found even more interesting. It was 10:30 but my body felt like it was 11:45. When I sufficiently cooled down and when it really was 11:45, I got into an ice-cold bath. Changed into a new pair of designer jeans I hardly wore and one of those collared shirts with a little man playing polo on a horse. I went to my kitchen, had a wheat-grass smoothie before heading to class, again with my headphones on, ready to face the day.

Mornings like this are my greatest luxury.

This stupid day

2008-09-01T13:45:00.000-05:00

let vicky pollard express my frustration about what happened today. I am soooo pissed about what happened this morning, although it is partially my fault, out of stressed-out-ness, I quit my job. As of now, I cannot talk about what happened and I really dont care about talking about it, but it did involve me directly. Mostly stupidity on my part, but I am no criminal. Somebody else is.

exactly how i feel

2008-09-01T00:06:00.001-05:00

Friday

2008-08-28T22:20:00.005-05:00

Im going to be honest with you.

I know I am already very honest but this time I'm getting even more honest-er.

As in, I promise you this will be the most honest thing that I am going to say aside from the fact that I had not one, but two gluten free brownies this morning for dinner instead of mushroom duxelles on fettuccine.
....
....
....

Im already feeling burnt out.

And its only what? the end of the week. Remember how I dont have any classes this Friday? So basically Thursday is the new Friday for me. Unlike the Fridays of past, I dont seem to be so excited for the weekend because I know that it will be all about the index card making and the reading and all the stuff that college is really about. I suppose the main reason for my anxiety is not the academic load, but my overwhelming desire to perform well in classes.
My ego: icelandic Hakarl (fermented shark)

The worst thing about growing up was probably my supportive and loving family spoiling my ego more rotten than Icelandic Hakarl. All the members of my family from my grandfather to my youngest sister have this impression that I am smart. Like eating tuna, appreciating Dostoyevsky, conjugating in Dutch and winning at chess, my family thinks I am a smart person. I really have to disagree. I think I just talk too much. Truth be told I see myself more of a Lacoste-shirt, khaki rebel. Even when I do stupid things like fail a test or something like that, its dismissed as my aloofness or boredom. I guess I like it that way, and this whole paragraph really does not have any point so you can just leave it at that.

This is senior year, and so I want to get amazing-er grades. I used to be happy with A- and B's but something tells me that since this is the last year of academic life/bondage, I might as well make it worth it. So i'm goin all the way. Etcho diretcho, fully beaded.

Im so damn busy now that my blog updates will be later in the evening.

Third day

2008-08-27T23:36:00.003-05:00

I went to whole foods with my roommate to get our bi-weekly comestibles. I got a lot of gluten-free stuff and I had dinner there too!

Homework is ridiculous. But this is what I get for saying that I was "BORED" over the summer!

Gotta enjoy it!

So anyway, I woke up today after having a nightmare of house centipedes swarming all over the rice cooker in my apartment. Gross huh? I thought that cockroaches are bad!

My innocent and inexperienced roommate got his computer ruined after opening an email that claimed to have some sort of electronic greeting card. Isnt that silly? Everybody know that .exe files must never ever be opened unless you want to buy a new computer.

The Second Day

2008-08-26T21:33:00.002-05:00

of school is just the second day but it already feels like I have been going to school for a billion years, which is not far from the truth. This IS senior year after all.

So AHHHNYWAY,

Today was pretty hectic. I got to meet more professors and new classmates. I got to mail 2 books for the Marquette Economics association. I also made a poster for the economics association. I also biked. Oh yeah and I also got to go to an interview for another part time job on campus, meet with the association adviser, get lost in my own building looking for a class and drag around a bike lock in my bag because I was being weird forgetting my bike lock.

I am going to be so glad when this week is over. I like being busy, but I swear when I have the money I am going to hire a factotum, secretary, chauffeur, labandera and cook. Its moments like this when I miss Manang Remedions, Yaya Darling and Manong Roy.

The really nice thing about this silly semester is that I don't have ANY classes on Friday. As in, NOTHING. And its not even because of careful class selection. I just dont have any classes on Friday, so my weekend technically starts on a Thursday evening. I hope to use Friday for extremely productive things like sleeping and videogames!

the boxfish

2008-08-24T21:25:00.000-05:00

Amazing creatures!

Senior Year!

2008-08-24T19:22:00.003-05:00

I can't believe tomorrow is the first day of senior year! It only feels like yesterday that I first set foot in O'Donnell hall!

Finally something interesting happening~!

2008-08-23T21:04:00.002-05:00

Yeah, there was absolutely nothing to write about in the past few days. As in, if you wanted to know how my canker sore was last week, I could email all the gory details to you. Nothing happened in the past week except for the fact that I spent $1500 on stuff that were absolutely important such as books, cellphone bills, credit card bills, and all the things that make my life possible.

So the most interesting thing that has happened this week so far besides the diarrhea of anticipating senior year classes is>>>>>>

I was able to finish the triathalon at the gym! So I have a new shirt to wear.

200 miles on the upright bike

150,000 strides on the elliptical machine

4,500 floors climbed on the stairmaster.

Done in 2 months!

Stories in Taglish #1

2008-08-16T06:53:00.002-05:00

Issues for the Philippine Middle Class: Tutorial Centers

2008-08-09T07:00:00.004-05:00

So I was just chatting with my sister Ella about my youngest sister Bianca today. The conversation went:

<..&..>So how is Miss Bianca doing?
<..^..>Oh she is doing great... except she failed most of her unit tests.
<..&..>HA?
<..^..>Yeah and her tutor is super expensive too!
<..&..>Thats a bullshit tutor Ella.
<..^..>Yeah I know. Hahahahaha!

And there you go.

I hate charlatans. You know, people who act as though they know everything and make you believe that you can charge some family though the nose to regurgitate lessons for you in school. Thats really pathetic - and I know for a fact that my sister Bianca is much smarter than her tutor in her finger than her tutor will be for the rest of his/her life.

Im not saying anything about the tutors inability as a human being to function, but as a tutor, that person sucks. I am a result-oriented person. I don't care if you talk and talk about stuff. I want to see results. Based on results, the tutor is clearly not doing anything to help my younger sister get better grades because she failed an exam. In my opinion, it takes just as much effort to pass an exam as it does to fail one.

Dapat si yaya Darling na lang ang tumuro diyan kay Bianca! Hindi niyo ba alam na sa kanya ako natutong magbasa?

Bike Trip!!!

2008-08-07T21:21:00.002-05:00

Dave finally got a bike and so that means... BIKE TRIP!

But we are so tired after a day of doing nothing. (Actually he was working and I was doing this and that around the city.)

Dave got a used Schwinn. Its better than buying a brand new Walmart brand bike. Sometimes "Brand" is much better than "New"!

His bike is heavier than my bike, and so he goes appreciably faster down trails than I do, however my own body mass compensates for it.

There I am taking a big gulp of water - Im wearing the Juan dela Cruz X Maria Clara Remix shirt that my sister Heidi gave me. I believe in looking good while biking, and the bright blue is a good way to warn motorists that I can very well crush their car with my thunderous thighs of destruction.
The trail. Actually the point in the trail where I saw that little snake. Its not there anymore, but I encountered some juvenile delinquents that were walking up to me. They seemed innocent looking at first, but when one of them started talking about how they were arrested by the police, or rather "The first time they ever got arrested", I made haste. So yeah, I saw a different kind of snake there. Hahaha.
Dave and I went to Hotch a Do cafe on Kennilworth for food.
Then Alterra Cafe for dessert. Haha. I guess all that biking got ruined by a Creme Fraiche Truffle huh?

Updates

2008-08-05T21:03:00.003-05:00

So I decided to give my blog a face-lift since the old look was getting dull and juvenile. I think the black and different tones of gray is absolutely rakish and very avant-garde considering the way other people like decorating their sites with phantasmagorical images that cause headaches. I also included some music to calm the savage beasts who mean to lay waste to my blog via comment section.

Yes, I re-opened the comment section however I get to moderate everything that comes in. Again, if you have strong opinions, save it for your own blog, myspace, friendster or the wall of your bathroom. Again, this blog is mine and I use it to keep sane. This is not a place where you can show the rest of the world that you are some do-gooding ex cathedra argument making second rate, trying hard, queenbee wannabe you are (takes a sip of water).

Para sa mga pinoy diyan na mahilig mag-inis ng mga blogger, bumalik na lang kayo sa inyong mga trabaho at gumawa na lang kayo ng pera pang hapunan mamaya! Alam ko yung mga ugali ninyo! Pakialam mo sa akin? Hindi ikaw aking tunay na ina!

Stuff

2008-08-05T20:36:00.001-05:00

I'm making some major changes on this blog. Check it out in the next couple of days.

Apparently

2008-08-04T19:40:00.000-05:00

I'm too

smart

dumb

asian

white-washed

talented

unexperienced

old(?)

young(!)

calm

impetuous

early

tardy

for a job here in this stupid city.

Argh.

2000 calories

2008-07-29T20:13:00.000-05:00

What will two broke college students have for breakfast/lunch?!Fast food, DUHHH.
Mmm lets go with the LAAAARGE combo
And a triple meat sandwich
and cookie dough frosties! MMM.
"Yikes!" There goes all that effort to lose weight!

Just kidding. I had a chicken sandwich, water and a baked potato.

SmartCar?

2008-07-29T20:10:00.000-05:00

On our way to the Renaissance Faire, I spotted a SmartCar ForTwo. I thought those things were not allowed on highways or something like that, but apparently they are.

Last weekend

2008-07-29T19:54:00.000-05:00

Was a pretty fun time. Dave and I got tickets to go to the Renaissance Faire in Kenosha. It was a very different experience! I went last year and I just had to go back for the mushrooms that they sold. Amazing.Dave all dressed up as a pirate
the mushrooms are divine. Im still figuring out how to cook them. They are tender and they have a slight salty-bitterness to them. The gravy around it seems to be made of beef stock. Oh yeah and that breadstick has a hearty bite out of it huh? They give you toothpicks to eat the 'shrooms but they were all mine.
Jousting. That symbol on the horse means "Half" in kanji if I am not mistaken but its supposedly the Iron cross.
The map of the faire.
A witch!

Was a pretty fun time. Dave and I got tickets to go to the Renaissance Faire in Kenosha. It was a very different experience! I went last year and I just had to go back for the mushrooms that they sold. Amazing.

Check out my mutiply website for more pics.

http://ohsnapitsphil.multiply.com

Lo hand behold.

2008-07-28T19:58:00.000-05:00

I had my first "big" bike accident today.

Actually I was making a turn and because of some law of physics, fell. On my hands. Right before I was about to enter the bike outfitter to get some cycling gloves.

But otherwise I am fine! Nothing serious although It did bust my ego a bit.

And I apologize for not being able to blog. Despite the fact that I work such few hours a week, I have been involved in this and that stuff so I haven't got the time.

I promise pictures tomorrow. Its a deal.

Right now im feeling catatonic.

Laundromat stories

2008-07-22T21:09:00.000-05:00

Today is Tuesday and the nice thing about tuesdays besides dollar burgers at bar louie and 5 dollar pizzas at papa johns is that it only cost a dollar to wash a load of laundry instead of the usual $1.50 here at my apartment building. It must be a marquette university thing but I dont want to get into the economics of all of it. So HENYWAY, I decide to wake up early to do my laundry (9:00am). Lo and behold, the invisible hand at work, all the washers are being used. Since I wanted to make my day interesting, I decided to take all my clothes (3 weeks of clothes - yes I have that much underwear and socks) to the laundromat two blocks down that offers the same Tuesday promo. I never realized how heavy my clothes were until I got off the elevator. I used to just drag my "ropero" to the laundry room on my floor. Damn thing weighs more than my sister Bianca!

I end up looking like the fat mouse in the video clip that i attached. go ahead and watch it before you continue reading, but you get the picture.

And so

I reach the laundromat in about 20 minutes after hauling all my clothes up the stairs to my car.

It was the most tiring day ever. And I didnt even get my laundry done!

Part two tomorrow.

my day in 10 words

2008-07-18T18:52:00.001-05:00

alarm. appointment. quesodilla. weights. birthday cards. goodbye. hello. fouding. tactics.

Birthday Party Pics

2008-07-18T17:55:00.001-05:00

Hello,

My birthday pictures are available on my multiply site.

http://ohsnapitsphilip.multiply.com

click the link and explore my pics!

gratzie!

Post 21 reflections

2008-07-16T20:36:00.000-05:00

I had a fun party. I am at work right now so I cant post the pictures on this blog, but I promise that I shall do so tomorrow.

Right now I am dealing with a finger infection because I cut myself with some glass accidentally on my birthday. I really didnt think it was that bad until I could barely curl my pointer finger. Good thing its on the left hand!

sloth obsession part 2

2008-07-11T18:28:00.000-05:00

if you are "anonymous" read this

2008-07-11T00:36:00.000-05:00

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Taking the smart pill":

1.) I don't think people doubt that you go to Marquette simply because you're Asian.

2.) If you don't want people to ask you questions about your field of study, maybe you shouldn't have chosen that discipline. When someone finds out that person x is studying medicine, they tend to inquire about health-related issues. When person y is studying finance, he or she is likely to field questions related to finances. It is a natural part of social convention (while sporting a holier-than-thou attitude is not). My guess is that these people are not as dumb as you paint them, but that they are simply attempting to create conversation.Who knows, maybe they think you have a passionate perspective on the economy that they themselves are not privy to. I would argue that you ought to be flattered rather than peevish. You don't give people enough credit :)

3.)RE: "Yeah so I own a really nice car, I have not one but TWO laptops, a nice cellphone, an iPod, several nice watches, an expensive education in a private school, my passport attests to the fact that I travel more than the average American and I buy only orgranic food, Yer but no but yeah. Im really rich with a supportive and loving family, amazing friends all over the world and I am thankfully quite happy and literate. That in my opinion is true wealth. Think about that the next time you spend $1000 on an LCD tv you really dont need. I cant handle debt. I find it hard to sleep at night when I know that I owe someone money."

Are you for real? What is true wealth? I am confused. Is it the "TWO" laptops and the nice watches and the "really rich" part that is true wealth? Or is it the family who loves you part? Or both? I find it hard to believe that you would ever feel wealthy without all of your "things." (Because, let's face it, you would have a lot less to blog about.)

And regarding the line where you fashion yourself as, "Being a good person," are you really? I'm sure that deep down, you are. I have faith that you are a good person. The problem is that it is shrouded in a condescending, self-righteous, materialistic, objectophilia shell. Why is that? Why are you nauseatingly obsessed with putting other people down (i.e. taking pictures of that anonymous girl and posting them on your blog and the entry about the girl from the front desk) while simultaneously lifting yourself up? Is the former necessary for the latter? I have never met anyone so convinced that his shit smells like roses.

My intention is not to hurt your feelings, but rather to ask you to think about the image you have developed through your comments, actions, and mostly, your blog.
I don't know, I just had to ask.

In the beginning,

This blog is my blog and I can write about whatever I damn feel like. Anonymous, opinions are like assholes - everyone has one!

I can be whoever I want to be on the internet. Are you sure that you know who you are talking about? You take your whole business about spirituality and being a "nauseous objectophobe" so seriously that it makes me wonder if you have ever once in your life taken a crap or something like that. You dont know me and this blog is only one small part of me. As in it is about 0.005% of who I am as a person. Why? Because I am a person. I can be whoever I damn please I want to be especially online! Look at yourself for instance. You wrote on my blog as an anonymous commenter! How should I know if you are some dilletante working for a porno-agency or one of those extra-terrestrials from Andromeda?! How are you so sure that I am not merely stalking somebody using this person's name? Here in this lovable but freaky town where I reside there are plenty of sick pervs who do that since they are so afraid to show themselves that they have to take jabs at people behind fog and thick black cloth!

I know your type - you go around telling people how to live their lives just because they are confusing you or they dont match up to your values because you think that you are the only abused person in the world! Well you are just like ME! we should be friends! We share so much in common! We know whats best for other people! We are both HOLIER than THOU people since it takes one to know one ne cest pas?

If you are one of those haters back home, boo hoo inggit ka lang sa akin! Porket marunong kang mag sulat ng mga pang Hallmark at iba pa akala mo na bongga ka na? Jejeje hindi no!
If you are one of those haters here in school who read my blog on facebook you ought to know that there is life outside your apartment, so you gotta open the door!

Do you know why I dont give any advice out to people who ask about the economy? Its not my specialty! I dont give a hoot about the macroeconomy since I am a micro-economist! I concern myself with consumer behavior especially with regard to conspicuous consumption of luxury goods. You will not be able to comprehend the number of times I was called for a "job" interview only to be asked about investment tips for their stinkin businesses or their personal portfolios! In the Philippines that behavior is referred to as "chaka" and here in America it is referred to as "being a douche bag".

If you wanted to know what wealth is for me, read the same paragraph out loud and you will discover that you and I are more alike than you ever thought we already are. We are both sloppy writers who dont bother to put spaces in between their sentences on occasion. Haha arent we the cutest little things?

Furthermore, the butt-girl at Summerfest was funny because it was so disgusting Prostitution is illegal doncha know? I like putting people who are so fully of themselves down. I love giving reality checks. And of course, I do get some in return! You are not the first one to say that I have a terrible materialistic shell. I once spent 4 days in a retreat getting bashed for everything that I like venting out on this blog! Remember kiddo, you dont know me as well as you think you know me through this blog and if you know me in person, or really really know me in person, you are so wrong.

I bet you are happy since I spent a good 20 minutes writing this out for yah! The usual hoity toity blogger would not have responded so graciously to your anonymous comment! Andy Warhol will be pleased too you know! Izznt that nice?

Since my bloggings are getting some pretty interesting vibes from the public and let me reiterate the very anonymous public, comments will no longer be allowed. That way, you can keep your asshole to yourself! Remember kids, if you hate this blog or disagree with it, bless you for coming out in public ever so bravely!

Dear anonymous

2008-07-11T00:31:00.001-05:00

I am a person. Haha.

Taking the smart pill

2008-07-08T22:46:00.000-05:00

Im really bothered every time people ask me about the economy just because I am an economics major. It usually goes:

Oh you go here? What do you study?

I study Economics.
Really so do you think its going to be any better?

Lets not get into that. I really just care about videogames and my car.

Then they go ahead and ask me about investments and what to do with their dwindling bank accounts and porfolios in the light of all that is happening. I think "geez no wonder finance people die so young!" Being a good person, I offer curt but solid advice:

Dont get adventurous with your investments.
Dont sell your car.
Pay off your debt.
Stop shopping, you really dont need that LCD tv no matter how you put it.

And reading this article on Newsweek further substantiates my claim on this whole hullaballo on money and finances. Unless you are a rockstar, dont live like one.

(google what to do in bad economy and the first "hit" is that one I am talking about)

This whole panic about the economy is best left to Mr. Bernanke, amen.

Lets all be realistic here and be conservative about our spending habits. I for one have decided to cook more at home, walk more, seek free entertainment on the internet, drive the shortest distances possible and temper the materialistic hedonistic, never satsified American inside of me. Pretending to be poor and broke is fun. Its even more fun when you look at your bank statement at the end of the month knowing that you can afford to live like a rockstar when the economy changes for the "better".

And besides, this whole high price of everything is in my opinion, a spiritual exercise in knowing what you want and what you really need. I found that realization back when I went freegan over holy week (apart from paying $50 an hour for driving lessons--- yikes but thats not for now). We really dont need much to survive.

Yeah so I own a really nice car, I have not one but TWO laptops, a nice cellphone, an iPod, several nice watches, an expensive education in a private school, my passport attests to the fact that I travel more than the average American and I buy only orgranic food, Yer but no but yeah. Im really rich with a supportive and loving family, amazing friends all over the world and I am thankfully quite happy and literate. That in my opinion is true wealth. Think about that the next time you spend $1000 on an LCD tv you really dont need. I cant handle debt. I find it hard to sleep at night when I know that I owe someone money.

But thats my two cents worth. Then again, I have everything so the interesting question is, can I afford to be content because I have so much?

.
.
.
.
.
.

of course not! Its an attitude!

I have a sloth obsession

2008-07-05T23:57:00.000-05:00

crossing the road

swimming!

babies!

Summerfest part one

2008-07-01T20:37:00.000-05:00

summerfest entranceDave and Steve
The Potawatomi thing from the sky glider gondola thing

So up here in beautiful Milwaukee, there is a super week long in Tagalog, bongga-bongga music festival that allows parking to be expensive. But sarcasm and wellschmertz aside, this was truly an event not to muss. It was fantastic. I was able to go with a group of friends on two of the 10 evenings to see Dashboard Confessionals and Jack's Mannequin. This makes me almost not miss summer in Manila at all!

Im not so into thinking about witty things to say so im just going to dump photos. and there is a video after this!

click click click

what the heck?

2008-07-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

Oh my gosh! Holy smokes! In tagalog, Ay nakuu! Bulaslas butas butas! Kaka-aduwa no?!

Who does she think she is ? Doesnt she know that prostitution is illegal?

Alas, I could not resist the perfect moment.

Beautiful parking spaces.

2008-07-01T20:22:00.000-05:00

yet again, my car is the star of the show. what can I say? Its the best thing ever!

Its summerfest now and I needed a place to park my car. I think owning a parking lot in the city is good business because I had to pay $15 dollars to park my car right by the Summerfest grounds. But I think the scenery is worth it.

Size comparison

2008-07-01T20:04:00.000-05:00

(click on the pictures to enlarge them!!! especially for this post!!!)
I have this funny habit of parking my car beside big cars which pretty much means all the cars in the parking lot but the Pontiac Solstice.

What can I say? I like acting like a smug young urbanite that never forgets to remind you that he makes the best, smartest and trendiest choices. I put my pointer finger over the license plate of the H3 Hummer so that nobody gets hurt. Alas, my license plate is visible. Whatever.

Kissinger

2008-06-27T22:53:00.001-05:00

Dear Friend,

I found out from a friend that you are still bitter with me about that incident that happened last year that I thought we resolved after a long and emotional discussion. Since that catharsis and reaffirmation of our commitment to each other as friends, I felt good and got over the issue. Word has it that you have not gotten it out of your system yet.

Understandable since the "involved" have a different level of intimacy with you. I know how its like losing a friendship over some nasty event like not being invited to a birthday party for whatever reasons that they may have or being forgotten on your very special day. Whats the word? Prima Facie or something when its implied or whatever that you have done it?

It happened to me two weeks ago. I felt shitty and downtrodden thinking "oh may gawd, I thot that person was my friend after all we went through!"

It sucks doesnt it? I mean I would never admit to anybody that I cried about it. I really did. A biig fat 220 pound 5'11 guy like me cry over something like that. I cried like a jilted school girl. I felt like I was the most insignificant asshole that the world ever gave birth to.

And then I realized that success as well as not letting it bother me was the best way to show that I really dont give a flying pocahontas about what happened.

And so I did

and now I live peacefully.

And you can do whatever you want. I know some people can be so strange, illogical and downright parochial.

I think you are entitled to your feelings completely.

However, I want to let you know that I was very recently dragged through the mud too.

What is the point of all this? Its up to you.

~If you know what I am talking about, its you~

hoy!

2008-06-24T01:22:00.000-05:00

babangon ako.

at dudurugin kita!

dinnertime! an unintelligent photo essay

2008-06-23T21:49:00.000-05:00

It's 7:30 and dave and I dont feel like cooking. We just got back from an intense workout at the gym and we are sooo hungry. But Mc Donalds wont do since its fattening and disgusting over there.

So we head over to Buffalo Wild Wings for some chicken. Again a picture of my car since I love it very much. I used my finger to cover up the license plate of my car since I cant afford to have stalkers although I fid it flattering.

Buffalo wild wings serves chicken tenders and chicken wings with lots of different kinds of dipping sauces.
I of course being desperate to lose some more weight order the Naked chicken tenders with a spicy carribean sauce I can barely touch!
The end

Click on the pictures to enlarge them. I took the pictures with my camerphone. Not the Leica so excuse my journalistic sensibility

I finally learned how to play poker

2008-06-21T16:22:00.000-05:00

Or something like that.

I went out to dinner with some of my college friends over by the East Side of milwaukee which seems to be the only nice place to go to around here (for my friends in the Philippines its like Greenbelt 3. For my friends in Japan its like Aoyama). We decided to go to the twisted fork and the food was unpretentious and very tasty. I got the Shrimp and Scallop noodle dish which I enjoyed very much. We got some gelato at Whole Foods next door and we gossiped male-style until we got back to campus.

Later that evening I got a chance to play some card games with some friends and I finally learned how to play Texas Hold'em. I dont think they play it in Vegas but it was a lot of fun!

We enjoyed some hard lemonade and pizza which burnt the roof of my mouth but it was good.

It was a fun friday!

my poor roommate

2008-06-19T20:56:00.000-05:00

first he decides to mow the lawn shirtless without any sunblock, and now he touches the coils of stoves at work to check if they are hot. He is a mechanical engineer (soon to be) but I am suddenly getting concerned about his lack of mental-being-there-ness when it comes to silly things like those mentioned above that can be avoided with a little vigilance and "thinking". But thats my 2c worth.

Related to that, what the heck was his manager thinking about checking the stove coils by "touching them" to see if they work?! I mean the smartest thing to do is to use a drop of water and see if it sizzles or something like that. Stupid huh? I hope my roommmate's manager gets fired for being an idiot.

Actually my roommate is not so poor. In fact we went to Bayshore today and he bought a pair of shoes from Rockport. They certainly improved their designs since I last stepped into their store. Very Cole-Haan like. Although its not my style, its quite refreshing.

I had lunch at Whole Foods today after my haircut and I was pleasantly surprised that they had fancy looking sio-pao there that used carrots and bell peppers as the "dots" on top instead of food coloring. I was supposed to blog about it but I ate it. I got the vegetarian one which was pretty tasty. It had tofu and soybeans in it.

Im still bummed about my past blog entries, but I promised myself to be a better person. I realized who my true friends are and so im really glad about that

(smile)

attitude problem

2008-06-18T17:51:00.001-05:00

i am not in a good mood and therefore i have the right not to use any capitalization and use wrong punctuation if i feel like it.

just a couple of moments ago, there was this thin hungry looking girl who wanted to check out keys to her apartment since she was so bright enough to forget hers at home. i told her that until she got the keys from her mother or sister in the mail she would have to keep checking keys from the front desk until then. so she gets agitated and asks me why and i tell her that because it is policy. she goes through her cheap hemp purse and slams down her id as though it was an amex card or something in a parisian boutique and tells me to get her "her" keys to her apartment. she looks pissed at me since she was like mindtalking "oh god this asian kid does not know how to speak english yada yada" or something like that. i give her her keys and she stamps to her apartment to unlock her coven and then she comes back with this scowl on her face as though she was jilted by her lover or something like that.

im like: BITCH! in my mind and my manager looks at me implying "whats her problem?".

seriously people think that they can get away with everything just coz they look good or something or nothing. i comfort myself thinking that i am way richer than her since her apartment is a dump compared to mine and she is such a loony bird for leaving her keys at home like a spoiled brat. seriously, if she were all that gracious and classy she would have just accepted her irresponsibility. i really wanna pinch her like a zit. argh. haha. ridiculous. thank god I was brought up more graciously than that.

earlier today, a story to entertain you

once upon a time in an land far far away there lived dorothy and the scarecrow who lived over the rainbow. it was a special festival and dorothy forgot to let the tin man and the cowardly lion know that it was happening on that day because dorthy was busy eating the poisonous apple from the wicked witch of the west or so the magic mirror told the tin man and the cowardly lion.

yeah if you can relate this is all about you!

pampainit ng ulo

2008-06-18T12:46:00.000-05:00

Medyo masakit ang loob ko sa isang kaibigan ko dahil kaarawan niya kahapon at sabi niya na wala siyang celebrasyon ngunit nalaman ko na mayroon pala. Hindi sana ako masasaktan ngunit magkaibigan kami, kaya nalulungkot ako dahil dito. Pero dahil blog ko ito at mayroon akong karapatan na malayang magusap, gusto ko lang sabihin na...

PANGET KA!
MUKHA KANG BABOY!
HANGGANG DIYAN KA NA LANG!
POOR KA NO!

yun lan.

absolute boredom

2008-06-15T19:13:00.000-05:00

This is what I have been up to today

The Sailormoon action game.

And thanks for me how to do screen captures ErickaA!

I promise myself I will never work 10 hours in one day just sitting here.

I am going to lose it.

Its a good thing I have 45 more minutes to go!

After about 3 hours I saw the whole internet already

amusing internet junk

2008-06-14T17:08:00.000-05:00

argh

2008-06-14T13:08:00.000-05:00

100th post

2008-06-14T08:05:00.000-05:00

This is all I can think about. So I made an online "avatar" of myself and decided to go crazy with the features...

The world's shortest but most meaningful blog entry

2008-06-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

Are we having pizza later?

memories and the rain

2008-06-12T20:48:00.000-05:00

I had this strange dream that woke me up involving hot water bottles, bad people and the kitchen back home. I basically hurled a bottle of hot water (for my family the same old air-pot that Remedios uses to make her super strong, open your eyes CAFFE PURO) at some hooligan trying to steal something from my house back in Manila. What they wanted to steal in the kitchen, I have no clue. After all, everything that was in the kitchen was pretty inexpensive save for the balisong or something like that that Thelma sleeps with at night. Oh the paranoia of old people.

~
All this rain has been making me think about Manila recently. Its probably the smell of the wet soil, and the cool relief that people back home used to welcome with the rain. Rain back home used to be a blessing, but here in Milwaukee its a portent of destruction thanks to poor architecture and choice of materials for building their Mc Mansions. I remember looking at the clouds back home and how they would swirl like a smoothie in a blender. Especially when "Rosing" struck in the dark ages. It was the first time that I saw the sky so livid. That was a crazy time, I still remember running from the old house, into the new house with Lola and Yaya Darling, complete with me wearing lola's silk robe to cover my head. Back then, I thought that those silly robes were entertaining. Now I shudder at the thought of looking like a Chinese palanquin.

There were branches and leaves everywhere. It was so bad that the santol and star apple trees lost a good portion of their canopy to the rain. As I looked out of one of the windows, Naldo used a board to move the leaves that fell out of the trees on to the side of the yard by the grotto that we had. I never saw so many grubs and ants seek shelter from the storm before. I thought that It would never end...

~
This may come as a surprise but the last time that I seriously played basketball was in high school and I think that was in freshman year when I was inspired by the fact that I got the ball in my hands for the very first time and I was able to hold on to it for at least 5 seconds. That I found was meaningless but at the same time, deliciously empowering. It was raining that time and back in my high school the gym had this roof made of metal so the sound resonated through that hall like lapidation in the old testament. I remember looking at the cracks in the floor catching all sorts of shiny little stones with a piece of a "walis tingting". Mica, or what appeared to be some sort of crystalline substance composed the campus's foundation I suppose.

The rains back home brought class suspensions mainly because of flooding concerns. It was a government issued warning in the morning and those things always made my day. I wont get into the details of "that" coffee commercial but I do remember the fact that Remedios would wake me up earlier by saying "Walang pasok, ano gusto mong breakfast?"

~
This may come as a surprise but I was not always technologically savy or high-tech. I had my own computer for the longest time, but I got my first MP3 player back when I was a sophomore in college. It was small and gold and constantly required batteries that the house never had. I had to resort to stealing the ones in the remote control to make it work. I was a lovely device which brought about my musical education. My first song, or rather my first CD was a collection of Ryan Cayabyab's songs with the cover song being "Tuwing Umuulan at Kapiling Ka".

childhood memories

2008-06-11T19:23:00.000-05:00

I still remember these two cartoons like they were yesterday. I would lie beside mom and make a fort with her pillows while watching on that godawful television set that was like 15 inches large. It was on BETAMAX!

Take a few moments to watch the video. What a sentimental moment it was for me when I came across these Disney classics. They seem childish but are actually quite profound!

back to regular programming

2008-06-10T19:07:00.000-05:00

Of course the floods and tornadoes had nothing to do with me. In fact, all that severe weather over the weekend gave me the opportunity to clean out my credenza, replace my cotton sheets with the silk sheets stashed away in my linen box and enjoy doing absolutely nothing. I was domestic for the greater part of the weekend, save for a trip to the mall to watch Zohan before all this chaos began. It was a relaxing weekend.

If I have not told you already, I have decided to become a jeweller instead of an actuary. Its a big decision that I am not regretting. It was not a difficult decision to make. After all that drama in the past that I dare not relive, as well as some serious soul searching and adhering with my eternal lifelong quest to be unique and happy the signs were clear. I have decided that my life would be more satisfying in the luxury goods market than having to listen to all the problems of other people that quite frankly, mean nothing to me. After all, I already have enough issues to deal with, and worrying about the financial health of a company or a person does not seem that appetizing anymore. In the jewelry business I will only speak to those who are interested in buying and despite the crisis right now, there are still people who won't hesitate to do business with me. I want to use my skills gained from all this preparation to my advantage as a future diamond/loose stone buyer. My knowledge in statistics and consumption behavior will certainly give me an edge in what I want to do later on in life. I leave it up to my peers at the business school to take care of the problems of people. A corner office is not as appealing to me as holding millions of dollars in the palm of my hands.

Im currently taking some classes with the Gemological Institute of America. Of course, this will not, in any way, disrupt my education at my current university.

Tornado Warning

2008-06-06T15:10:00.000-05:00

There should be a tornado or something like that hitting milwaukee today. Its time to batten down the hatches, keep the plants off the windowsills and look out the window.

I knew something was up. Although it was sunny and the sky seemed benign, my Suunto Lumi made a big fuss as I was walking back to the gym. A continuous drop in barometric pressure over the course of 3 hours signals severe weather.

June 5, 2008

2008-06-05T21:01:00.000-05:00

I woke up today because of the thunderstorms that suddenly decided to visit the city after a couple of heat-wave like days earlier in the week. It all started with my roommate's alarm clock going off at 7:00 or something like that. Half awake, I told him to take the folding umbrella that I had stashed away in the broom closet. June 5, 2008 is a Thursday and so I did not have to leave the building unless I wanted to.

I went to the grocery store the day before with my roommate. Again, like the last time, we had to get our chicken breasts and vegetables, but we decided to go to Whole Foods instead of Pick and Save because it was a payday Wednesday. A friend who worked there mentioned that he was buying an iPod on June 5, 2008 and that I was invited for the ceremony.

That was today, and so in the horribly wet weather I got dressed and went to grab some breakfast at the corner cafe. My friend picked me up about 40 minutes later and we went to the Apple Store to get his iPod as well as a floatilla of accessories. I got a new case for my iPod too. We had lunch back downtown at this bistro in the hipster-ish area of town. It looked a little more high-end than most, and it had an interesting group of patrons. We were made to stay in the back. They gave us a menu that seemed abbreviated but well thought out. They had a couple of sandwich items, appetizers that seemed more appealing and were more expensive than the sandwiches, and a few entrees that seemed unappealing and overpriced. I got a salad and a sandwich and they were good but unremarkable.

There were two people who sat to our left who looked like grandma and grandson. They were talking intensely, and they whispering a lot of things to each other as though they were spies or something. It kind of reminded me of how my grandma would take me out to lunch in Manila. My friend and I shot the breeze about future plans, his trip to India, my frustrations and all sorts of interesting things that were not too heavy enough to cause indigestion. He paid for the meal, much to my surprise and embarassment but I promised to return the favor next time.

Upon my arrival to my apartment, I got a nifty package from Mini Cooper with some toys for my car, stickers, important documentation and some more things to fill my already cluttered apartment with junk. Once again, my material wealth in this world has increased by a 3X6X8 box.

Dave and I went to our favorite Chinese place for dinner later that day since I was in no mood to cook and he was in no mood to be creative.

I spent the evening watching television in anticipation of what would happen on June 6, 2008.

pampainit ng ulo III Judge Judy wins at life

2008-06-04T16:56:00.000-05:00

"Pampainit ng ulo" is Tagalog for "things to make you upset". Literally it means "a thing to make your head hot". I dont mean to post these things to give you a heart attack or what, but there is something meaningful in these clips. Being upset is the way I express my compassion. It is the way I prove that I am human.

Hahaha

Here are some clips of the bullshit that actual people come up with. Thought provoking and profound!

disclosure

2008-06-03T19:34:00.000-05:00

This is my personal blog entitled Is This Philip Sarol. I wrote it myself, and to make things interesting I named it after myself. I hardly mention other blogs or websites on this blog but in case I will do, I will give them full credit. As much as I find identity theft entertaining, it is also serious business. I blog just because I feel like it, however I hope that you learn something from my random musings. After all, I am a person just like you!

saturday adventure part 2 and the devastation

2008-06-02T18:15:00.000-05:00

after visiting lolo tuto, dave and I went over to orland park to meet up with his family and have some deep dish pizza. it was tasty!

GINO'S EAST is the best pizza in the world. more cheese than sauce. but it probably had about ten thousand calories.

Dave and I then went over to Saturn Oak Lawn to drop off some pizza for Dave's dad. Then I got some ice cream. Then we drove home to Milwaukee.

There are a lot of dead bugs on the windshield of my car as a result of going at about 90 miles per hour on the expressway. Now I know how to drive to chicago! (golf clap).

Im devastated because my rice cooker is broken.

Im not that enthusiastic about blogging at the moment because I am watching the Simpsons and then Family Guy.

saturday adventure part 1

2008-06-01T23:55:00.000-05:00

This was probably one of the best Saturdays of my life. So this is getting two parts.

So i went to Chicago for my dental operation thingy that only lasted for 22 minutes.

Left at 9:00 and ended up at lolo Tuto's at 11:00 and had yummy chicken adobo, clam linguini and banana split cake. The funny thing was is that they were moving out of their house and so they were selling their furniture... while we were eating. So while we were about to eat our dessert, we had to give up our chairs to the people buying the chair.

Afterwards I went to my dentist who told me that my teeth looked really great and clean. He proceeded to insert posts in the teeth that were root canal-ed and sent me on my way. Only took 22 minutes and it did not hurt one bit.

Afterwards, Dave and I went to Burr Ridge to look at lolo tuto's new apartment. Really nice, I think the pictures will speak for the experience! Im jealous!

embarassing cloudy adventures

2008-05-29T22:47:00.000-05:00

I think I am getting senile.

Woe is me, at the tender age of exactly 20 years and 10 months, I am going senile.

I went to Cory the bike fixer to have a couple of things changed on my bike. First of all, I wanted a straight handlebar instead of the curved "moustache" shaped one because I felt that my weight and power was not being effectively utilized from the way I sat on the bike. I wanted to lean forwards a bit, and not sit up like in the picture below:

I wanted a faster more aggressive stance for biking since I had to outrun cars, buses, pigeons and the Milwaukee locals.

I also had to get my saddle and fork readjusted because I went over a curb and that didnt go so smoothly.

I totally forgot my wallet in my apartment as soon as I was about to pay.

I let Cory know what happened and he let me go back to my apartment to get my wallet.

All was good, except that it was raining the whole time so I was not able to enjoy my modified bike.

Oh well.

I am used to disappointment.

In other news, my manager wrote me up for being late to a shift. I blame my allergy medicine and the way it makes me foggy. Its a perfect excuse for being tardy and yet it makes me seem like such a needy brat. I wish I were not allergic to dust. Maybe I should live in a bubble?

Currently stressing about my dental crowning this weekend. Remember my endodontic neurotic posts last Feb? I have to have those two teeth crowned. I hope they wont hurt!

Oh yes, and my passport with my real name was returned today!

Summer Job

2008-05-28T17:11:00.000-05:00

This is where I work for about 25 hours a week. My desk, the security camera screens that I think are very cool and a really tasty brownie that gets me ready for biking or working out right after.

Fun huh?

Today has been quite miserable at work though. The floor was covered in dust and so being as obsessive compulsive as I am, I decided to clean it all up! I did it all with paper towels, a corn broom and a bottle of hot soapy water. Its a nice feeling though. I also got to clean up the dirty dry-erase board in the back of the room full of silly and outdated messages.

Since its too cold to bike, and much too boring to just stay at home and play videogames, I decided to take a double shift today. I worked from 9-11 am today, and I am working from 3 to 9pm today. I decided to make my idle time into money making time! In between I prepared chicken tonkatsu, managed to talk to the exterminator about a bug problem (those nasty centipedes are back again!) and basically priming myself for my dental procedure this Friday. It shouldnt be all that bad though, but it definitely deserves another post! The time now is 5:27 and I have some keys to return to the keybox as well as some compliance practices that I have to do. Ill get back to you guys in a couple of minutes about some stuff im freaking out about!

hahaha.

2008-05-27T20:24:00.000-05:00

TV Reviews

so i just took this online test to see what kind of educational attainment is required to read my blog. I like it!

funny!

2008-05-24T21:09:00.000-05:00

I find this video funny since I speak several languages!

the story

2008-05-24T11:01:00.000-05:00

That is the picture of the gasoline station where I nearly lost my beloved and very sexy mini cooper to a street hoodlum.

So the setting was Dave and I just got back from Pick and Save as well as Metro Mart hauling our much needed nutrition in the form of chicken breasts, soy milk and pasta sauces back to our apartment when my car told me to refill. Being smart, I decided to refill at the station by 15th and State however the gas pump that was available seemed to be malfunctioning to I thought that It would be best to go to 27th and Wisconsin to refill instead since it was the next closest one to the apartment. It was about 8:30 in the evening when I finally got to the gas station and being my second time ever to refill a car with gas in a self service station, Dave went out of the car to help me out. I did the usual swipe card, choose the appropriate gas and stick the hose into the tank thing when this guy appeared from behind the station shed asking dave all sorts of questions about the car. He even shook dave's hand!

"Damn! Thats a nice car!"
(dave points to me)
"Yeah, its a nice car, otherwise I wouldn't buy it right?" I decided to inject some form of snobbish wit to set up the barrier that I was not too happy to speak with someone at the moment. That did not deter him though
"Who makes it?"
"BEE EMM DABALYEW" I said as I got the hose out of the back and quickly opened the door in order to prevent him from pushing me aside with it if he tried to get into the car.

Something was not right about the guy. He was too interested in the car instead of what I had to say. He started touching the emblem on the hood as though it were an erogenous body part of some person. Then he walked up to me and said:

"I wanna see the inside!"
"Well go ahead, you can look through the window!" I said as I hurriedly got into the car and closed the door. Dave was kind enough to lock it as I instinctively but naively put on my seatbelt first.
"No man, let me in! I wanna see the things it can doo!" as he rested on the windshield trying to get his fingers through the crack. I flicked the switch to shut the window fully which made him reel back. As soon as I got the car started, he had his hands cupped over his eyes looking through the glass as though it were some old fashioned camera.
"No you can see right through the glass! It aint tinted!"
"LET ME IN!" he said as he tried pulled on the door handle several times. I looked at him in the eyes and motioned to the back (hitch hiker's thumb thingy)
"Is the back open? Can I get in through here?"
"NO FUCKING WAY!!!!" I said as I made a sharp u-turn barely grazing the wall of the building in front of us. I dont bother to look at the street, whether there are cars or not, and I make a sharp turn at Wells in order to avoid being in the line of fire if the monster ever had a gun. I got home in 30 seconds.

In the garage, Dave and I were trembling in fear. We got into our apartment, quickly unloaded the groceries and ran to our good friends in the apartment for moral support.

words cannot express how I felt as the guy approached me in the gasoline station. It was not anything to do with the racist inside all of us, as much as we would like to deny that, but there is something with the bad intentions of people that just send me bad vibes.

Hahaha

2008-05-24T10:51:00.000-05:00

wanna get colon cancer? read the first part of the email

Hello Philip,

I apologize for the delay in getting back to you. Unfortunately though I did choose another candidate for the Business Analytics intern. Our college recruiter, Andrea Reding does still have your resume and is working with other department Managers regarding a few remaining intern positions. You may be hearing from them.

Thank you for considering Brady.

Of course this feisty snobby Asian with an attitude problem is not going to give up without a fight. As I say, if you cant slap em, spam em.

Mr Jim Blessing,

This reply is as late as yours regarding my internship application, however I would rather let you know about how upset I feel than give myself colon cancer.

The reason why I am sending this to you is because I cannot get over the fact that you had made a decision about the business analytics internship without meeting me with the knowledge that I was available right after my exam week to go to your company for an interview. The fact that I am a full time student taking especially challenging courses and taking my exams seriously should not be a factor in not getting a chance at an internship. I am under the impression that you did not take my application seriously and that I was discriminated against for being a busy student. I was expecting a call from you or your secretary for an in person interview that week after final exams. I was explicit in mentioning that I would be absolutely free right after final exams in our phone interview and you mentioned that you would be the one to call me on Wednesday May 14 regarding face to face interviews. I was shocked to find out that your group already made a decision even before giving me a chance to speak with you face to face.

I hope that this email will teach you how to treat your group's future interns as valuable assets instead of myrmidons.

Thank you for not forgetting about my application even at the last minute. I shall be taking my valuable knowledge of economical decision making, econometric analysis and ability to rise above negative situations elsewhere unless your company wants to hire serious people.

Comments? Dust?

pampainit ng ulo: ang gasolinahan (a story to make you upset: the gas station)

2008-05-22T01:23:00.000-05:00

It began innocently enough. I went out to grab some groceries with my roommate and afterwards decided to get some gas for my car since it was running out of fuel. I decided to go to the Mobil station on 27th and wisconsin avenue since it was close to campus.

Im too tired to talk about it right now, but there was this dirty filthy bastard who tried to steal my car. He was complimenting me on how cool and unique it was, and then he tried to enter it. I drove faster than my guardian angel could fly but I was definitely able to escape danger. Holy moly. Call me up if you want to hear the story. And for my marquette university friends, never get gas from there again!

Kombucha

2008-05-20T19:33:00.000-05:00

My recent travels this week brought me to the milwaukee lakeside yet again on my new bike. It was for the most part, enjoyable getting some sunlight after about 55 months of winter and 10 years of sitting in the dentist's chair getting root canals. I find it strange that milwaukee has to smell like yeast when the sun is out because of that vile beer that brews all over the place. I still dont get the point of it. I mean I like beer battered chicken strips from that diner near school but that's about it. To simulate the effect of me drinking beer, try microwaving a marshmallow for about 20 seconds. Just as the timer reaches about 10, the marshmallow explodes. Thats the reaction of my gastric juices to the stuff. Now I tried several brands being a college student but all give me the same gut wrenching reaction.

I passed by Utrecht to get a sketchbook and Whole Foods for some soy milk and cereal. I tried a bottle of Kombucha. it was delicious. It smells like beer, but it tastes like sour milk. However, it is supposed to be good for you.