I am absent today in the office. I feel like hibernating after surviving the last quarter 2008 ordeal. I would have wanted to paste here my daily time-sheet to attest how pretty much I have worked in the past months. Anyway, my officemates are sending sms and asking why I am not in their eyesights today. I just answered them I need a rest. I already informed my boss beforehand I’ll be absent.
I am writing now while the AAMI Classic Men’s Singles is being aired on ESPN. Marat Safin of Russia (Former No.1, now ATP No. 56) is playing a game with Andy Murray of Great Britain (currently ATP No. 9). Marat won, 6-1,6-4. I knew it!
I like the silence of the crowd and the sound of tennis ball in the background; reminds me that the world is just out there still going on as it should. Hmmm… writing while at the same time at one with the feeling of competition and the exertion of the players in the match also gives me the exhilaration of taking each breath. I feel alive. Life and breath, the silence, and the meditative kind of going with the flow while collecting my thoughts on what to write is just bliss of some sort. What’s that??? I don’t know, this is just the present; the state of things; my fingers pressing at the keyboard and the letters appearing on the screen. This is freedom. Same feeling you get when you are on the beach alone for a morning walk with your toes feeling the fine wet sand or on the top of a mountain feeling the cool wind brush your cheeks and blow your hair. Beautiful! I appreciate rare moments such as this when I am by myself and thinking aloud in writing. Life is beautiful. Surely there is a Giver of life and to feel gratitude is a grace in itself.
Anyway, I started writing last Saturday. I didn’t write straight to this blog like all my previous entries. I don’t care about drafts. At first I just thought of writing but not publishing it here. I changed my mind. Didn’t I just say I am free. I am pasting below the product of my thoughts and fingers last Saturday. Here it is:
I was thinking not to have a 2007 wrap up. While doing my laundry for the week and listening to Raimond Lap’s album playing in my machine, I thought it would be good though to have a review of what transpired the past year. I don’t actually feel like writing but just sitting here and doing nothing, I might as well do something to rest. Hahaha… what’s that? Doing something to rest? Ummm… at least my hands are out of the water from washing and rinsing. Anyway, while washing my clothes I asked myself why couldn’t I just leave my laundry to the nearest laundry stand? Its just around 80 meters from my place. Not that I am stingy or something, I could well afford it. Thing is, I don’t like the thought of my clothes being washed with other people’s clothing in the laundry stand. I would rather lovingly do the job knowing they are personally taken cared of and cleaned as I want them. Hehehe… OC? Not really. I also like doing it. It gives me the time to exercise and to physically feel that my hands are still capable of doing the job. It also give me the time to think about things, to sort in my mind the tangles of my ironically so ordinary life (LOL) and whatever is cerebrally occupying my busy mind.
I guess all my life I am detached and free. No commitment; no big responsibility except to take care of myself and to finish my studies; I have complete control of my time, my work and my interests. How could it be more beautiful? Could it be more beautiful if I have a husband and kids? I would welcome it if I would be given the chance. Some say I could proactively work out on it; the thing is, i rather like when so-called fate brings me to it. At the moment, I would not waste time contemplating the could-have-beens. Life should be lived moment by moment; to not miss things if they are not there; to live life daily like it is the last; to make the best of what is given; to make the most of your God-given talents and to be the best person that you can be.
So what happened in 2007? Funny… at first I was thinking of a monthly comprehensive and exhaustive exposition. I can’t recall monthly events anymore. Probably the 12 months have been really eventless and lifeless, nada. Perhaps I don’t really have something to write about, hahaha. Ok, I’ll just do a quarterly and only on those i can recall.
1Q07:
Amang died March 22. Soooo sad for the family. She died at 98. I still play the video I took of her when she was still able to swing on her favorite hammock. That’s when I miss her. Lea, my sister does not want to see the it played anymore. She cries whenever she sees it.
2Q07:
April 4: Been to a rural farm area to kite on empty and resting rice fields; its an ideal open space to run and manipulate kites. Its our second time there with my nephews and nieces. As usual we attracted a throng of curious farm kids. When a binatog vendor passed by with the familiar ringing sound of his bell, we stopped it and treated all the kids with free cooked corn kernels topped with grated coconut. It’s a joy seeing these kids eager to get their share. Everyone happy including the vendor who sold all his stuff in just one stop.
April 7: Organized a free lecture for PSU Students. BS Math and Computer Science students attended. Some former students who are already working also went. Afterwards, lunch was served at friend Rey’s place in Matalava, Pangasinan. We had fun singing with a videoke rented by our host. Its their Barangay Fiesta, too. And the past years I never missed going to their place. Afterall, before knowing Rey, I knew his sister Marivir first; a classmate and friend.
April 26: I was admitted at Makati Med courtesy of an anthropode bite. I stayed there for five days. The critten caused me to absorb 13 500mg bottles of Metronidazole, 6 liters of Lactated Ringer’s solution and 7 400mg bottles of Ciprofloxacin into my body. Not to mention the needles from the series of laboratory tests and the capsules/tablets i have to endure taking. Arrrgggh! Luckily, I have an insurance to pay for the exorbitant hospital and medical bills. Also, I can’t forget the visits from friends I rarely see. Most of all, I like the flowers that was delivered and gave color to the room, plus the fruits that accompanied it. It would help me recover Jully said. True enough!!! Below are some images from the hospitalization 
:
April 27: Friend Julio got married. He and her wife are now expecting their first baby.
June 2007: Got a 3-day training for the SAS Anti-Money Laundering software. I turned down another possible position in a Singaporean Bank. I don’t know where they got my name. If its Australia or New Zealand, I would think hard on it.
3Q04:
July: I started blogging just for the heck of it and to have that so-called therapeutic writing. Wohoo!
August 4: Together with another friend (Ben), i delivered a free lecture on data mining to PSU Students. For a Saturday lecture, it is heartening to attract around 60 college students. Dr. RJA treated us for lunch. They had their’s first because I still have yet to earn mine. I had to met RJA’s graduate students for their statistics class, answered some of their statistics questions, did some demos, and share some how-to’s in SPSS (which I don’t get to use anymore these days).
August: I was on leave one day and was in the province. Before I travel back to Manila, I left copies of a letter to some key town officials. I saw a shameless environmental concern being done in my neighborhood. Glad that they took action and made us citizens happy that we have voted for them.
Visited the convent of Sister Dacayanan in Greenhills sometime in August or September (can’t recall really). Gave Sister Idad and Ate Glo a belated birthday treat; bought them books of their choice for gifts and watched the movie “Transformer” with them. Nice seeing the others nuns at the convent also. I have been there several times they know me already. They have this calming effect with their soft-spoken and graceful manners. The old but still active nuns surely does pacify my senses, hehehe.
August 25: A college acquaintance, Dante Ravancho, who now teaches at Salomague National High School initiated a Computer Literacy Training for Out-of-School-Youth (OSY). Weeks before the event I was contacted as one of the likely donors. I like initiatives such as this because it empowers people to learn new stuff and to have a skill that would help them explore better options. Incidentally, there are two more teachers who are acquaintances working in that school, Jenelyn Fernandez and Rizalina de Leon. Knowing that they are very good at the area they are teaching makes me happy for the students of Salomague National High School. Friends Julio and Tony were the lecturers of the training. RJ Andico, FA Andico and Pat Eslao also went to the opening and first day of the training. It was a reunion of some sort. I am proud to have friends who share their time, talents and resources for free to this kind of endeavor.
4Q07:
Our company began consulting with foreign advisors that lead to ‘nose-bleeding’ and toxic schedules; late nights and Saturdays in the office.
Cancelled a long-planned trip for a mixture of odd reasons.
Holidays went like a breeze without feeling much the spirit. I did manage to hand some gift certificates to several messengers and even to the operator of our photocopier. I belatedly gave some stuff to my officemates also before the New Year.
December 23: I went to a place and made some old people and kids happy. I shared my blessings in my own simple way.
End of my rather very short-term memory recall.
Tennis game between Speedy Gonzales of Chile and Klein of Croatia is over. Gonzales won. I wasn’t able to see the score. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Last January 4, 2008, I presented a model that took my holiday away. I hope that this model, for all it deprived me, would proved to be as effective and as stable as the last model I did. Knowing it will work as aimed is compensation enough for a job well done.
