Merry Christmas

Today is doubly special. Its Christmas, and it also marks our six months together. Call it cliche, but I wish everyone in the world are as happy as I am today.

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

Happy 6th monthsarry hon.

I love you.

P.S. I miss my facial hair. Guys, when you commit, read the fine print! :-)

Dustin and Kandice... YOU HAVE BEEN ELIMINATED!

Thank God!!!

Sure they were competitive, and yes its a race, and yes its for a million dollars. But though I wouldn't really label them "bitches", they were a tad too sanctimonious for my liking.

Of course I wanted the redneck couple to win this one, but I guess I can't have it all.

Go 'Bama!!!

(photo courtesy of www.cbs.com)

Its been that kind of.... (insert tme period here)

This is beginning to be a whine blog. Somehow, things have been more hectic now, even if I compare it to the same time last year. Perhaps I'm just getting old, but that's not it. I'm still my fabulous self. But sometimes, the universe conspires to give you a bad day... or week... or month...

School sucks. This trimester has been tougher than those that came before. I'm swamped with deadlines and resposnibilities, and I still owe my students the corrections of the last draft of their theses. I guess its the extra load I took in accepting to team teach Strategic Management. I had to study for that one. Crap.

So what else has happened. AH! SMACKDOWN!!! The single brilliant event in an otherwise tiring few months. Seeing Batista in the ring with the Philippine flag on his shoulders was a great sight, but not as thrilling as seeing Vito's thong whenever his dress would flip up while wrestling with Cavo Guerrero. Yes, folks... his dress. A big, musclebound, mafia-type in a skirt. Only in the WWE.

Ah yes! My inet connection at home went down. I couldn't finish encoding of the subjects (academic adviser crap I have to do every term) of the marketing students, so I had to go to school early and use the connection, which meant I had to make up for lost time at work.

I guess another reason that my shoulders have been slumping lately have been the recent tragedies. Bro. Rafe Donato passed away. So did the fathers of two of my good high school friends from La Salle Green Hills: Carlo Carrascoso's dad and Vince's Tolentino's dad. My aunt suffereing a stroke didn't help much either. I guess when 3/4 of your loved one's brain has been affected, you prepare yourself for the inevitable. In 31 years I've seen too much death in my family I think.

So what is the pic about? I was with Nicky in AKIC one night. Outside the CR, I noticed a dispenser for hand sanitizer and other stuff. I figure I'd try it out. In goes my 4 pesos and as I twist the knob, the sanitizer jams itself in the chute and doesn't fall.

Pakshet.

It been that kind... (insert time period here)

Back To School Blues

Well, its been a while since I've posted anything... and that, ladies and gentlemen, is a symptom of the... hmm... well now, is it really a problem?

School's back in, and so is the ton of work I have to do. Add to that, the department is undergoing major changes in both the marketing and management courses.

And guess wh's the big loser involved in both activities.

Yep, that's right.

Crap!

Plus this term, Big Papa Moron (yours truly) decided to improve upon the current system. Instead of making my students submit their fledgling theses per module (7 modules) I asked them to submit in DRAFTS, based on their previous submissions in Stategic Management (STRATGY) last term. Yes, I am now checking and suggesting revisions for entire drafts this term... and I have 31 students. Currently I have a real estate company, a food manufacturing company, a pre-school and an automotive company pending....

Robert... ANG BOBO MO!

#####

Watch CRANK!!! Get in on dehbehdeh!

#####

Malou asked me to watch The Grudge 2 with her. Aw crap! I hate horror movies. Why? Because I get scared!!! I have an overactive imagination, and its not just dreaming about the thing! Its going home late at night, and having rapid heartbeats and sweating and trying not to look in the rearview mirror because something might be looking back at you.

Brrrr!!!!

So I told her fine, I'll watch the stinking horror show with her as long as she accompanies me to a blood donation and we both give blood.

She hates the sight of blood.

Hehehehehe

*wicked evil grin*

######

I just got reacquanited with Rufo's the past month. Pocha! Ang sarap talaga ng tapa sa Rufo's!!!

Touchdown!!!

Finally! The Rock, has come back....

... yeah, well something like that. Malou is finally home. YAY! I picked her up at the airport yesterday, and ang saya-saya ko.

So to all my fans out there, all pending lakads are called off. Most text messages and phone calls regarding gimmick and related activites will be noted but politely refused. Check back in... hmm... a week or so. Maybe.

YAY!!!

Peace out! <---- naks! feeling!

SAN KA PA!!!?

See, this is why I'm so in love with Mals. Early on, I knew that whomever I spend my life with she (or he... malay nyo di ba? Just trying to cover all my bases) would have to have a sense of humor. She's going to need it, considering my personality. When I say "sense of humor" though, I don't mean funny. I mean the capacity to look at one's self and not take everything too seriously, the ability to laugh at yourself once in a while, to give yourself a break.

Now I know at this point all of Malou's friends who are reading this are either up in arms violently protesting or laughing their guts out. Well, yeah... Mals does have a prickly side, and its a side most people are normally exposed to. Not to say that's she's a bitch. She's not. This relationship has room for only one bitch and I already have that title (not to say that I'm a bitchy person, but more of... I'm her bitch). She's actually warm and personable... just don't tease her.

Now all the folks who know me are the ones laughing. Why? Kasi malakas akong mang-asar. Believe me, I am no amateur in teasing and needling. If pang-aasar were a martial art, I'd just wouldn't have a black belt. I'd be Bruce F*cking Lee!

Mals and I have looked at this disparity. Together we've discovered the very glaring differences in our lives and personalities, and wonder how and why we ended up together. But in the course of our story part of what we unraveled were the intimate commonalities and values, and small wonderful thoughts and feelings that are alike and when put together form what is essentially a cornerstone of our shared life.

She will always be pikon, and I will always be pang-asar. But we have learned to accept that. In fact, they are the qualities we now look for and miss and love in each other. In the meantime, I have learned to recalibrate my lambing-to-kulit ratio, and she has begun to be more mellow about things that use to get her so worked up...

... and sometimes you can catch her in an unguarded moment where she's laughing at herself, or making a face, and capture it all in a photograph.

^_^

Familiar Things

This post is purposely vague. The details aren't important, its the frame of mind that is. Resolution isn't something this post is for. This is here just for expression.

I just returned from one of my drive arounds. Why? Let's just say that I needed to get away. I needed my refuge. Like I said in a previous post, driving around at night while listening to the radio is my form of yoga and therapy rolled into one.

So there I was, getting my car dirtier and contributing my monthly quota of air pollution, zoning out on the road. I was aware enough to drive safely, and conscious of the time as the first rays of the sun began peeking over the horizon (holy crap! what a cliche) but not enough to notice the details: where I was, where I was going and what exactly was playing on the radio. Its kinda zen, that's kinda not.

Perhaps its because I haven't done it for sometime that I became aware of the little things: the feel of the steering wheel, the unbalanced speaker system I never got around to replace, the exposed metal part of the accelerator that I am sure I need to replace, and all the other little things that when put together make up an "eveningdrive". It was strange that eased into familiar. It was one of those things that makes a sad thing easier to deal with, and I really needed that last night.

So why then should I harp on the things that other people find familiar in their lives, just because they have no room in mine? Ugh! What an ugly question. But there it is, and people's ability to face and answer these questions I have always found admirable. Of course, that being the case, said admiration in no way provides me with any help when I am then confronted with similar issues.

Bottomline: I can be such a selfish prick. But then again, is it a crime to know what I want, and want it?

Bleh! What a crap funk to be in.

Hey... now that's something familiar.

I'd Rather Be Green Than Be Blue MTV

WARNING: VIEWER'S DISCRETION IS REQUIRED. If you are NOT a LASALLISTA and/or do NOT have a sense of humor, this video is NOT for you. Please do NOT watch this. Those who, in spite of being forewarned about the content (hey, isn't it obvious from the title?), still insist on watching this video, then are offended, have no one to blame except themselves. No, Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene NEVER married and had offspring; Jose Rizal was NOT shot because of his affiliation with a school; and Barbie is NOT a real person but only a plastic doll. The song "I'd Rather Be Green Than Be Blue" was composed and first performed live in 2000 at the (then) Ultra (now Philippine Sports Multi-Purpose Arena); and re-recorded in 2005. This MTV, based on the said existing music, was created by students from De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde. The animation was done using Adobe (After Effects, Premiere and Photoshop). The live sequences were shot in La Salle Green Hills. [From the OOLTLS collection] ----- Javi sent this to me via email... it made me laugh. Plus, it was good to see my old high school again (La Salle Green Hills). I'm pretty sure there will be a reply to this by my friends in blue. Hey, what can I say? Thank God for people with too much time on their hands. POST YOUR COMMENTS! ^_^

eveningdrive no more?

I look at my life right now, and I can't help but contrast it to the time when the handle "eveningdrive" was born. Even after so many years, I still do not know the exact reasons why it started. Perhaps its just as simple as "I love to drive". Between getting my student driver's permit and actually getting my driver's license card (which we all know then was actually 90 days after the first day you're supposed to get it, they just stamp the extension on the piece of paper that serves as your temp license) I probably clocked a lot of distance on Aubrey's odometer, and that was just the first year of driving. For those of you who aren't familiar with her, "Aubrey" was the name of my first car, a red, box-type Mitsubishi Lancer, which was around waaaaaay before Aubrey Miles. Why Aubrey? See, the day I got the car, I turned on the Pioneer radio (the metal one, the one with the turn dial) and the very first song that played was "and Aubrey was her name...". So I thought "Hey! Maybe this car is trying to tell me something!".

If only that car could talk, hay nakoh, it would have a ton of stories to make you laugh, reminisce and blackmail me with. I recall the price of gas then was only P14 and diesel was around 7 or 8 pesos yata. So there I was, driving in the wee hours of the morning around a flyover-less metro sometimes reaching as far as Tagaytay, hence the saying "Tagaytay? Malapit lang kay Robert and Tagaytay." Everyone was in college then, and most of the folks I knew were still active with SHARE. Thus, we had a lot free time then, and because of our trips to La Salle Lipa and where else, our parents were conditioned not to see us around the house during weekends.

Yep, I think that's how it started... and eventually folks would just call (no celfones then, beeper pa lang) and ask if I would be driving around that night, and if I wanted company. Some would just ask if we just could, because they were having a bad day and just needed someone to listen to them. Des and Otep, being part of the SHARE core group, were the usual suspects, followed by Cris, Charmaine, Nicky, Sheila and the rest. I recall referring to Des and Otep in a past article as the "evil mutant car accessories".

Soon it wasn't just me, often the body count would be more than just 3 people. The cars changed too, along with passengers. I recall driving a Kia Pride (yes! i fit!) and eventually the Mitsubishi Adventure I have now. The names changed too. Kath and Ranier would top that list, along with Mon, Jehan, Aileen, Euge, Simon, Anton, Jason, Maricon, Angela and Anna Sob who were my constant backseat drivers. In recent times, the guys from high school would re-assert their passenger status: Rhob, Jene and Javi being the most notorious. In the end though, if any had an all time claim to fame, it would be Ayette.

It never really bothered me, in fact I was always grateful for the company. Though the price of fuel would skyrocket as the years passed, and most thought that it would curb my wanderlust, it seemed I always had an extra 200 bucks to spare for drive-juice. Of course, 200 bucks now doesn't go as far as it did then, but hey, as long as the car moved without me pushing. Even during my thesis, or now when I need to spend more time reading the theses of my students, I still found time to cruise even if it wasn't as prolific as 3 times a week, unlike before.

Meeting Malou though, created a jump in the frequency of my night time drive arounds. See folks, Mals is insomniac (I can now actually hear the lot of you saying "Aaah, kaya naman pala. Now I get it.") and so it seemed that everything fell into place.

Things changed however. At this moment, as this sentence is being written, it is now 12am. That is prime evening drive time. Yet for the past month since Mals left for India (dai Accenture!!!) I find myself rushing home so I can get the chance to hear her voice and talk to her over the YM PC-to-PC call feature. Reflecting more, I realize that this behavior, this lack of driving around, had been gradually surfacing in my life.

This bothered me. The "eveningdrive" persona is a big, big part of my life. It has been a defining factor, a guide post to who I am and more importantly, who I choose to be. That name and all the memories and activities that come with it has been a significant slice of my personhood. Driving around at night while listening to the radio and being alone with my thoughts and dreams has not only been my joy, it has been my refuge.

So there I was, unmoving in the middle of this thought that threatened to overwhelm my already lacking contemplative ability. I was paralyzed, not knowing what to do or how to think. I was torn between my life then and the road that lay before me. I'll be honest, when I chose this path from all those available to me at that turning point, I didn't exactly know what I was getting into.

Funny thing is, sometimes, you don't have to. I will be the first one to say that we should all discern the paths before us and be conscious of the possible consequences our choices may bring. When you are on a ledge with an inviting body of water below you, you wouldn't want to blindly jump in like every other idiot that God, who works in mysterious ways, seem to tolerate and allow to contaminate the gene pool. What if there were rocks down there, or piranhas, or if the water was only 3 feet deep? What if somebody just peed, and jumping would mean gulping a mouthful of piss from previously mentioned idiot?

However as you stare down at the water weighing the consequences, some idiot rushes past you and jumps into the water, yelling at the top of his lungs and creating a big splash as he hits the water. As he falls you see him, smiling and exhilirated, eyes wide with fear and joyful anticipation.

And then you realize that sometimes, you just have to leap. You just have to see for yourself what is out there and for a moment rediscover what magic is. A moment, agonizing because of its brevity, where you throw away all your fears and doubts and let go, eyes wide with fear and joyful anticipation.

I did that. And like that glorious idiot who ran past and leapt, you find that you eventually surface, laughing so loud and so damn pleased with yourself. No wonder God tolerates them... err... us.

I am still "eveningdrive", but not the same eveningdrive that I was before. I know that now. If in the past the faces of my passengers would change, now there will be one face who will always be there when I turn to my right. Now there will always be a warm embrace when the stoplight seems to damnably persist in staying red.

Now I know that everytime I go out to drive, I will no longer be alone.

And that, makes me happy.

This is now who I am, and more importantly, this is who I choose to be.

-----

I look at her and have to smile
As we go driving for a while
Her hair blowing in the open windows of my car
As we go the traffic lights
I watch them glimmer in her eyes
In the darkness of the evening

And I've got all that I need
Right here in the passenger seat
Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she's inches from me

We stop to get something to drink
My mind pounds and I can't think
Scared to death to say I love her
Then a moon peeks from the clouds
Hear my heart that beats so loud
Try to tell her simply

That I've got all the I need
Right here in the passenger seat
Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she's inches from me

Oh and I've got all the I need
Right here in the passenger seat
Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she's inches from me

Oh and I know this love grow

Oh and I've got all the I need
Right here in the passenger seat
Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she's inches from me

And I've got all that I need
Right here in the passenger seat
Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she's inches from me

And I've got all that I need
Right here in the passenger seat
Oh and I can't keep my eyes on the road
Knowing that she's inches from me

And I've got all that I need
Right here in the passenger seat

On this day...

Miles apart across the sea
My fervent prayer, come home to me
Through rain, through fire, through wind and hail
I keep the faith that love prevails

Alone at night I see your face
Your voice I hear, your warm embrace
I miss
The night breeze sings its midnight trance
The evening vows a future chance
of bliss

Love that welcomes each new day
Love that cloaks the night I pray
Hold our hearts and keep us dear
Warm our souls and hold us near

Over land, over sea, past mountains high
Over canyons, over dunes, past vast blue skies
Your voice I hear across the miles
Your pledged return, my heart then smiles

Until that time I wait and pray
On my knees I raise my voice and say
"Be warm. Be safe. Be free.
Remember love and come back to me."

Sheila's back!

RUN FOR THE HILLS!!!

Yep, Sheila "Dolly Ann Carvajal" Barba is back from the UAE. Hooked up with Honey, Vince, Hazel and Baby Rafe. We also had another male companion who sat beside Sheila and will remain nameless for now. Why? So that you can pester Dolly Ann yourselves, hehehe.

Cris was supposed to go, but... well let me explain: on my way to the meeting place (Chili's Greenhills) I get a call from our beloved cum laude engineer. She said she was at Chili's na and that she couldn't find sina Sheila. I told her to hang on since I would be there for a while. This then is the text message I received from her...

*turns to celfone to type Cris' text verbatim*

"Sorry dude. I'm in the wrong branch. I'm at Greenbelt. Tanga ko talaga."

Normally at this point I'd type: HAHAHAHAHAHA!

Pero I won't, because I don't want Tetay to keel meeh.

It's okay Cris... this rarely happens anyway. You're bound to screw up sometime, it just so happened that I was around to document it. ^_^

It was the usual... asaran, mainly from me. Baby Rafe was looking at me the whole time. Thought bubble siguro niya: "Wow! Ang laking teddy bear naman nito!" Actually, I got to carry the tyke (pics to follow) problem was I started talking to him. His wide-eyed wonderment slowly turned to a crinkly face however, and his mouth slowly opened wide, ready-to-wail. I guess he was too overwhelmed: "Waaaaaaaaaah! Oh my God! Why is the teddy bear talking to meeeeeeeee!!?"

Now for chismis... honestly I can't figure it out between Hazel and Honey, but it seems Honey has an italian stallion in her life right now. Uyuyyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuyuy!!! I dunno if I can smuggle pics onto this blog but he's tall (at least in the pics I Honey unwittingly showed me) and kinda looks like Hugh Grant... DAW!!!!! When Hazel told me na magaling magluto, sabi ko: Sino 'to, si Molto Mario? So Honey, is it like eating in Italiannis araw-araw? Hahaha!

The night ended early... the Magno's (hehehe) had a stroller with them so that meant curfew. The Barbas and... um... him, had to go as well (sabi ko sa inyo, kulitin niyo si Sheila eh, or si Honey for Sheila's number). So alangan naman magpaiwan pa ko di ba, since umalis na rin si Jen Rosendahl (yes, she was there. Second time I've seen her. Not as tall as I thought pero RRRAWWWRRRR talaga) at wala akong balak maghugas ng pinggan... I already do that at work.

Hazel, talagang kukulitin kita for the pics. I wanna have a copy of the pic of me with Baby Rafe.

Welcome home Sheila!!! (aka Dolly Ann Carvajal and Nanay-ni-Wolverine)

*ehem*

Tumaba ka.

*runs for cover*

Summer, S.H.A.R.E. and Alicia Silverstone

I know!

I was out with Jene and Janice last night. We watched Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Man's Chest, and while we were having dinner at North Park they asked the question: "What's up with the blog?".

F*ck, I don't know! Wala lang talaga akong magawa at that moment in time. Combine that with surfing and reading Otep's blog then Nicky's blog and then ka-blam!!! Yun na.

Yeah, the title of this post is familiar to most of you. In fact, its classic. You know that. So perhaps I'll treat this the way I treated my regular contibution back when there was a SHARE newsletter. So get out your knee pads and start worshipping.

I'm back.

-----

Its tough that SHARE isn't around anymore. Everyone is occupied with everything else. But then again, I doubt we'd be able to keep it alive anyway, without any new blood. For good or bad, we are not the same folks we were, and our lives have passed that phase. We have families, careers, loved ones, etc. Sure, I don't doubt that the spirit of service is still strong in many of us, but the nature of it has changed. I seriooously doubt we can all pile up in my car and travel at 9 pm at night (siyempre... p.m. nga eh kaya night, bobo. Nevermind, I'm not changing that na. Bleh!) and drive to Lipa (or wherever) and conduct a training/seminar/retreat/recollection for the weekend.

Hahaha!

I can see Hazel, Noemi, Nicky, et al bringing yayas and strollers and bottles and diapers to the retreat, and having their kids watch them while mommy is doing Expe/Appre. Vince, Gerard and Dhonn, finally doing clean up because their wives made them to (hahahahahahahahaha!). Otep will probably still bear the brunt of the work, and Des will still make fun of him. Pero pagagalitan na si Des ni Neth kasi magpapa-dede pa siya ng baby. Segway: why is it that everytime I encounter the word "dede" or "dodo" the image of Anchit forces its way to the top of my thoughts? Bro. Hans will still be there with lots of food, and I will still be there to eat it. Yay!!!

And Jay will be... aaah...

OH MY GOD!!! Jay will still be Jay!

*shudder*

... well that just ended that thought!

-----

I heard from a reliable source who will remain anonymous (anonymous = Hazel) that Shiela Barba is in town. Hoy Shiela!!! When will we (we = I) reap the benefits your hard earned (yeah right, you do nothing in your office but abuse the YM on your PC) money? We can go to Leslie's sa Tagaytay. Maraming baboy doon: sisig, crispy pata, liempo... YUM!!!

For everyone not in the know, Eula is in Singapore. She says she's working daw. DAW. I'll bet Des' left hand that she's just visiting restaurant after restaurant. No, I'm not being cruel kasi Des doesn't need his left hand anymore. He's married.

Speaking of married, go check Charmaine's friendster account... it says she's married. WHAT THE F*CK!!! Someone (preferably you Charmaine) please confirm this because I need to know if I need to start building a fallout shelter and start stocking it with food and a good number of healthy child-bearing women.



Bro. Dodo is now interim president of DLS-CSB. I haven't shown myself to him yet. Why? Because for the past two trimesters, I have been a member of the faculty of CSB. YES, GRADUATE NA KO. So I'm going to keep myself below the radar 'cause baka mautusan ako ng kung anu-ano. I can see it now:

Bro. Dodo: Hello Robert! Its nice to see you! I hear that you're working for me now.

Me: Hi bro. Yes, I am. I'm with the CDP.

Bro. Dodo: Good, good! So, do you like it so far?

Me: Well actually, the pay suc-

Bro Dodo: Good! Good!Anyway, its fortunate that I encountered you here in the parking area.

Me: We-ell... uh, about the pa-

Bro Dodo: I'm glad you asked! You see that car?

Me: Um, yeah...

Bro Dodo: That's my car.... and you know what?

Me: ....

Bro Dodo: The car isn't going to clean itself you know. So carry on, chop chop!

-----

Janice (Pascual) just got her license, and Grace (Fulgencio) just got her new Mazda 3 zoom-zoom (katas ng Nestle). Great... the streets just got more dangerous. Ladies, text me when you're driving ha? I will gladly wait a while before hitting the road.

-----

I never thought this would take off, but judging from the comments in my first post, it seems people still find me an interesting read. As to the tastes and stability of these people... well, I'd rather not say anything without more proof, preferably a diagnosis. Still, I'll ride this pony (pony = blog. Its a metaphor. I don't have a pony. If I did, I won't ride it because I don't want to kill it) for as long as this baby rides.

Oh, and I love you Mals!!!

-----

EDITED:

Otep stumbled over to here, and dedicated an entire post to yours truly. See, that's what I mean! A perfect example of someone down on his knees in praise. Hehehe...

http://noalias.blogspot.com/2006/07/and-then-house-fell-down.html

That's the link to his post. Apparently, he found an old piece (actually, its a piece of a piece... well, you know what I mean) of mine from allegedly 10 years ago. Go visit and read!

Well, well, well...

Call it a moment of weakness, but as of this post I really don't know what the crap I'm doing here. No Friendster account, didn't jump into that myspace thing but oooooooooooh sure, I had to create a blog.

I doubt I'll even find the time to update the thing. Ah well, might as well make the most of it.

... and since this place looks so barren, any help on the site like how to add pics, linking to other sites and blogs and what-have-you will be appreciated (ititirik ko kayo ng vigil candle).

Hoy people, you know who are! (... and I know where you live, at least most of you!)