Ulan...

March 30, 2008...

Its raining outside. Despite it being a nuisance in my line of work sometimes, it's a welcome reprieve from the heat. It also brings a flood of memories to some.

Got this from something Kim sent me. The guy's a library of links. :D Thanks for the cool video man. Loved the artist's interpretation.

Ulan
Cueshe

Lagi nalang umuulan
Parang walang katapusan
Tulad ng paghihirap ko ngayon
Parang walang humpay
Sa kabila ng lahat ng aking pagsisikap
Na limutin ka ay di pa rin magawa

Hindi naman ako tanga
Alam ko nang wala ka na
Pero mahirap lang na tanggapin
Di na kita kapiling
Iniwan mo akong nagiisa
Sa gitna ng dilim at basang-basa pa sa ulan

Pero wag mag-alala di na kita gagambalain
Alam ko namang ngayon may kapiling ka nang iba

Tanging hiling ko sayo
Na tuwing umuulan
Maalala mo sanang may
Nagmamahal sayo…

Lagi nalang umuulan
Parang walang katapusan
Tulad ng paghihirap ko ngayon
Parang walang humpay
Iniwan mo akong nagiisa
Sa gitna ng dilim at basang-basa pa sa ulan

Pero wag mag-alala di na kita gagambalain
Alam ko namang ngayon may kapiling ka nang iba

Tanging hiling ko sayo
Na tuwing umuulan
Maalala mo sanang may
Nagmamahal sayo---ako
Lalalalalalalalala...

Hanging Out...

March 30, 2006...

Dropped by Lito's place to see Jay playing Warhammer! Haven't seen the guy in a long while. I'm glad to see him playing again. Also in attendance were Jay, Justin, Lito, Jeff, Gelo. Obi went with me. We arrived to see them in the middle of playing their weekly campaign. Some pics...

Manong Guard is in da House!!!

Scene of the boyz right in the heat of the game

Shrine of Pork

Went to Da Shak afterwards. Saw Kim, Emp, John, Jason, Arvin and Marco (quick exit). Brought Gelo and Obi with me. Today's Kim's birthday that night and we caught them eating what looked like hamburger... =P Happy Birthday Dude!

Obi then showed the group his new pride and joy: a Cygnar Thunderhead (boo! hiss! burn heretic burn!). Enough said. ;)

Had a chance to get hold of Sir Opoy's highly modified M4. "Cool! What is it?". Jason, who was finishing the mod work, tempting me... must... resist... Aaarrrggghhh!!!

Kim da Birthday Boy, Gelo, Obi, Big Grin Emp, Arvin

Me giving Obi's new Thunderhead card the Menite treatment =P

Jason da Mad Scientist working on his new creation...

Told you he was mad. >:)

Nothing like the smell of CO2 in the evening...

The Devil whispering in my ear..."Sige na Romy. Sumali ka na rin!!!"

Da Shak Scene...

March 28, 2006...

Went to Da Shak again to pass the time and let the traffic ease up. Found Emp, Joma, Marco, Johnny and Pol. Johnny had his tanks in the works... Some of his works in progress are so good they make my head ache just looking at the expert detailing as well as how he does them with an airbrush. :P

Some posing-posing of the people in attendance...

Joma, Marco, and Johnny (Pork da Heretic in the background)

Me and my favorite mug at da Shak

"Ok boys, back to work! =P"

Some of Johnny's insane work

Getting Ready For The Week Ahead...

Last Minutes of March 26, 2006...

Dropped by the Shak to hang out. Emp, Kim, Arvin, Johnny and Pol were there. We watched a couple episodes of Samurai7. I just gotta get me a copy of the dvd. We then went out to grab a bite to eat. Met up with da Lego Man on the way out, so we were able to drag him as well. Mozied on over to Jordan's to grab a quick bite of some baked tahong and lots of other sizzling stuff; surely Kim was within his element. Lego Boy regaled the group with a collection of war stories from the previously concluded airsoft bivouac. Had a laugh at some of the adventures and misadventures of the boyz in action. Heard Jacob and Garrick in particular have had their hero and zero moments.

Doing a little music tripping here at home to psyche myself up for the surely toxic week ahead. This kinda stuck... =P

Blurry
By Puddle of Mudd

Everything’s so blurry
And everyone's so fake
And everybody’s empty
And everything is so messed up
Pre-occupied without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

You could be my someone
You could be my sea
You know that I’ll protect you
From all of the obscene
I wonder what you're doing
Imagine where you are
There’s oceans in between us
But that’s not very far

Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When ya shoved it in my face?
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When ya shoved it in my face?

Everyone is changing
There’s no one left that’s real
So make up your own ending
And let me know just how you feel
'Cause I am lost without you
I cannot live at all
My whole world surrounds you
I stumble then I crawl

You could be my someone
You could be my sea
You know that I will save you
From all of the unclean
I wonder what you're doing
I wonder where you are
There’s oceans in between us
But that’s not very far

Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When ya shoved it in my face?
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When ya shoved it in my face?
This pain you gave to me

Oh, Nobody told me what you thought
Nobody told me what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Told you where to run away
Nobody told you where to hide
Nobody told you what to say
Everyone showed you where to turn
Showed you where to run away

Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When ya shoved it in my face?
This pain you gave to me
Can you take it all away?
Can you take it all away?
When ya shoved it in my face?
This pain you gave to me

No, this pain you gave to me
Take it all away
Take it all away
Pain ya gave to me
Take it all away
This pain you gave to me
Take it all away
This pain you gave to me

Slow Saturday...

March 25, 2006...

In a construction site somewhere in Makati...

Our first week in the new office. So far we've gotten the office working and hopefully we'll set our operations and technical meetings at the new conference room by next week and the living quarters for the stay-ins the week after that. Everything seems to be going well, except for the paint fumes that could get people nauseous if you stay in the office too long...

Ever since moving into the new office I've been trying to make it a point to get to the project site an hour earlier than our usual office hour to be able to take part in the project site's usual early morning formation and exercise ritual. It's a common tradition here in any construction site here in the Philippines I think and it's a fun experience and a good start to the morning. Gives me some time to plan out what I have to do and what I have to delegate to the staff for the day.

Saturdays are usually slow. Not much in terms of meetings with the Client or coordination with Consultants. Just a lot of paperwork, reports, some file clearing takes up most of the day. Now's a chance for the others to tidy up the office since the move.

Concon came by to visit us probably for the last time in a long while. He'll be going to Qatar in a couple of weeks. Good luck Dude!

Herbert just arrived here in the new office to transfer his base of operations for our other project so that I can better monitor and guide him here. That updates the count of projects I'm handling to three. So far so good.

Most of the Shak Boyz will be out the whole weekend for an overnight airsoft bivouac thingy over yonder San Mateo Rizal. Looks like I'll be getting some rest this weekend. Well, hopefully...

Some last minute requests for the on-going construction work outside. Sheesh. It will still be a while before I close up the office at 5pm on a Saturday. Part of the hazards of being a manager in construction, this "first in, last out" principle. Something I would prefer to miss. =P

But seeing something like this at the top of where I work everytime I get to close the day is priceless... hay.

PS. Sunset dedicated to fongi who's just finished her 2nd term and still finishing some projects and dissertations before being finally free albeit briefly. =D Go girl, knock 'em dead... not literally of course. =P

Out Of The Blue...

March 22, 2006...

Somewhere in Quezon City...

Went to Quattro to meet up with Pol and Garrick. No billiard tables for a change, just some serious eating and drinking. Hehehe... Major hilarious conversation ensued between the veterans-in-denial. (For discretionary reasons, details of said conversation is reserved to those that participated in this most holy gathering of teenageds. Tough luck to the rest. :P)

Tokwa't baboy, grilled boneless chicken, kilawing tanigue, and pork sisig went down well with our macho mugs!!! Advisory: macho mugs are not for the weak at heart. Kaya nga macho e! :P

Lesson learned for Garrick: never look into Romy's calling card case. Gecko Boy ends up opening a can of worms as echoes of his past come to haunt him. Will The Restless Boy Bayawak finally bite the bullet at the last minute? Abangan! But before we parted ways, Garrkid hurriedly got away with my Tesla and Harem Scarem albums and sped into the night. Acoustic Rock Rules!!! Yeah!

Went back to the Shak to see Jun "da Lego Man" Ubay and Joma “da Swedish Chef” Ramos hanging out. The Borja bros, taking turns ogling the picture files of my friends in my cellphone (mental note: must save some images to clear up some space as well as prep some money to buy a replacement case.). Sheesh. :P

Molo's Revisited...

Went to play badminton after office hours to get a little workout. Sadly, my game wasn't really that good. Whether it was due to a long time since I last played or it was one side comment by a player that put my game off, I couldn't tell anymore. I left the games early with a slightly bad taste in my mouth. I wanted to see what other action is out there. :D

Heard some of the Boyz are assembled over at the Shak. Was able to drag Jun, Ian Beefcake and Pork to Molo's to grab a little grub. After some sisig, tokwa't baboy and sashimi, I was able to regain my balance. :D It was shortly thereafter that I wanted to play a quick game of billiards and Pork was able to oblige and convincingly won the very first game! Hmmm... always wanted a challenge...

Billiards 9-ball Final Score: Pol 1 - Romy 2 :P

Music Trip...

Suddenly felt playing this song while blogging. It suddenly brought me back to last Friday when I bumped into somebody who's a common friend of someone I've missed for too long a time. Got news that she's doing fine and things have been busy for all of us.

This song kinda reminded me of her. I like Vienna Teng's version of this song over Damien Rice's. It sounded more melancholy which suited it more. This is for you girl, wherever you are...

Cannonball
By Vienna Teng

Still a little bit of your taste in my mouth
Still a little bit of you laced with my doubt
Still a little hard to say what's going on

Still a little bit of your ghost, your witness
Still a little bit of your face I haven't kissed
You step a little closer each day
That I can’t say what's going on

Stones taught me to fly
Love, taught me to lie
Life, it taught me to die
So it's not hard to fall
When you float like a cannonball

Still a little bit of your song in my ear
Still a little bit of your words I long to hear
You step a little closer to me
So close that I can't see what's going on

Stones taught me to fly
Love, it taught me to lie
Life taught me to die
So it's not hard to fall
When you float like a cannon..
Stones taught me to fly
Love, it taught me to cry
So come on courage
Teach me to be shy
'Cause it's not hard to fall
And I don't wanna scare her
It's not hard to fall
And I don't wanna lose
It's not hard to grow
When you know that you just don't know

Favorite Cook...

Giada de Laurentiis, probably my most favorite cooking show host to date. Got to watch her show Everyday Italian this weekend. She has this talent to present everything she's cooking sound and look so appetizing. Once I was even able to tell Obi she reminds me of Natalie Portman only much more beautiful. Imagine yourself married to somebody that gorgeous and can cook a mean lasagna too! Hay...heaven! :D

What I Missed Out This Weekend...

Missed out seeing the boyz at the Shak last night. I had to supervise the transfer of my site office to another, much bigger area. It was already late when I had all the office stuff transferred. Monday will mean some more tidying up of the new office, re-establishment of the computer network, transferring of phones and dsl line (no blogging at the office for a couple of hours... doh!) as well as getting the contractor to finish the new conference room, the private office, and new living quarters for the stay-ins. Gotta normalize things ASAP...

I then had to drive for my youngest sister whose working on her finals paper. She was on zombie-mode that night, so had to pick her up at her classmate's house, then drop her off at my other sister's house to continue with her paper. Figured it was already late to check on the boyz so I went straight home.

A Friday Night At Molo's....

March 17, 2006...

Ronald wanted to go out. He said he needed to vent some of his frustrations from work.

So we dropped by Molo's in Sikatuna and after a beer he started venting away. His vents were very much the same as mine:

a. How to manage your personnel in the office and in the field.
b. How to handle problem employees. Command responsibility always keep popping up in the discussion of that topic.
c. Establishment of efficiency of personnel. Including the personnel's time management.
d. Trying to instill to individual employees what you know so that when their time comes, they can actually do your job. Is that a familiar feeling or what?

While we discussed and waited our turn at the establishment's lone billiard table, we had a few of Molo's specialties. Molo's version of the kilawing tanigue is my usual side dish of choice (mental note: must dedicate a post to this dish one time) while Ronald went for the chicharong bulaklak.

The came the arrival of the Marlboro promo girls! Nyahahaha! Got to use "I'm smoking now" line as well as the "For you Baby, I'll smoke anything" line. Some of these girls are cute. Even their supervisor was not shabby looking as well!

We got to play billiards in the end. Despite breaking the tip of my break cue, Ronald finally had his chance to validate his bragging rights in beating me the last time we played.

9-ball Final Score : Ronald 1 - Romy 7. :P

Thursday Night Billiards...

March 16, 2006...

Went to Detour with Mervin.

9-Ball Score : tied at 7 games apiece.

15-ball Rotation Score : Mervin with the edge 2 games to none. I'm suddenly challenged to take some time to play this game. Playing rotation is different tactics altogether...

With An Officemate At The CGG...

March 14, 2006...

Circle Garden Grill in Mandaluyong...

Had a beer with Andy after a long day at work. Talked about a lot of things:

a. Our contractor leaves much to be desired. We kinda figured early on that they will be a handful to manage in the next couple of weeks. :P
b. Issue on leaving employees.
c. Different treatment with the youngbloods over the veterans.
d. Some of Andy's sentiments regarding my being single. Talks of settling down, additional responsibility, etc... *shiver*
e. Some talks about my leaving my former employ.
f. Some discussions on how we will handle our present set-up of people on the project.

The TalabatLea (kilawing talaba served by Lea :D) is still the best. Andy wanted to get another taste of Crispy Pata before going up Baguio.

Some Words I Lived By These Couple Of Days...

Been reading this in my organzier as I go through my day:

To begin a journey one must have courage; to finish a journey one must have perseverance - Alex Sun

The jump is so frightening between where I am and where I want to be. But for all I may become, I will close my eyes and leap. - Mary Anne Radmacher

The willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life is the source from which self-respect springs. - Joan Didion

Other After Office Detours...

March 10, 2006...

Friday night! Didn't feel like going straight home early considering the traffic and all. So I went to Ñubar before going home to check on some friends. Saw Maf and Migs (and co). Congrats on the engagement guys! Joy and Ivy were in the area but were planning to come in late. Had to go.

March 11, 2006...

Had a beer with Garrick over at Quattro. Funny conversation has ensued (contents of which maybe for another post), along with much grub to go with the grog. "Pogi kami!!!" Bwahahaha!!!!

Went to Da Shak afterwards to see the boyz do their pre-wargames rituals. Got to see Princess Bride once again! I gotta get me a dvd of that movie. For those who haven't, you just got to see it! I finally got to get my hands on a G36C and was instantly in love! I am definitely getting one of those. Hay.

Some pics:

Jason Da Mad Scientist at work...

Me and a slightly modified G36C. Feeling MI3...

Jun and Ian Smiling for the Camera...

Obi and Ian(aka Kim) Candid...

Yung isa pang Ian(aka Beefcake) Daming Ian ano? Dude, mag-bra ka nga! :D

May umorder ba ng pizza?

Ian trying to use the Force to change the channels...

I'm Back...

March 6, 2006...



Spent some time at Detour to try and get my billiard game back as well as get some time to unwind after the recent events these past couple of days. My game could be better. Later in the evening, my game starting to look more presentable. Diesel pala kung mag-operate. :D Pictures of me courtesy of Michelle's artistic photography (well, the off-focus was more like movement caused by her constant laughing. :D)

Stephen, Mabi (and Efren) and Michelle arrived a few minutes later. It's great for them to come over and play a few games with me. Thanks for coming over guys!

Stephen in an unusual pose

Mabi's photo-op with The Magician :D

Some of the Guys and Gals of Detour

500 Visitors And Counting...

As of March 3, 2006...

500 Silent Visits and counting.

More blogging soon! Thanks for viewing guys!

Trouble At Site...

March 3-5, 2006...

Hey.

A lot of things have happened on site these past couple of days. One of the projects I'm currently working on had an accident which involved a portion of the excavation to collapse. At the first sign of danger, the quick-response procedure formulated and implemented by the project team resulted in no loss of life and kept collateral damage to property to a minimum. For discretionary reasons, I won't be posting any pictures of the damage nor mention of names of people involved. Kudos to the unsung heroes on site for a job well done.

I've been awake for the better part of 40 hours since the collapse. Lots of precautionary/safety measures to put in place, official statements to media to take, meetings with countless authorities to set, restoration and protection works to be done. Looks like I'll be very busy for the next couple of weeks because of this.

Talk about baptism of fire on the my first two weeks at work...

Where Were You When The Earthquake Struck?...

March 3, 2006 7:00pm...

Where was I when it struck? In my office, and it was raining too. Bad timing in not bringing the car to work. Sigh...

My office in a building right next to an excavation. Hmmm... that doesn't sound like the right place to be in when an earthquake strikes right? Im not a bit worried considering the ingenuity and know-how put into this project. But a mental note to have it checked by the people concerned first thing tomorrow morning wouldn't hurt. Standard procedure anyways.

Got into a music trip while waiting for the rains to subside. Got me some .mp3s from the office to pass the time. Got me thinking of what faysessions said in her blog about people being either a lyrics person or a melody person. A very interesting read. Hmmm... suddenly made me think of what I would be. I'd say a little of both, with me digging the lyrics for what they mean and how it applies to my life, and yet I wouldn't have come to dissect such a song until I heard it and found the tune "catchy".

March 1 - Ash Wednesday...

March 1, 2006...

Nothing really spectacular about March 1 in my life. Maybe the extra turn on the watch one must take to change the date from "28" to "1"...

This year, March 1 is Ash Wednesday, which marks the first day where Catholics observe 40 days of the Lenten Season. Received ash in Greenbelt chapel. People still go about their business and fit right into the hustle and bustle of work, unrest, etc. but still observe a sense of unity in observance of this day.