Bored Outta My Wits...

10:30PM...

At a construction site somewhere in Makati...

Bored.

I'm here at my office waiting. Just waiting.

We're at a point in the construction where preparations for concrete pouring is at a critical stage where the engineers are either on call or on site even at the most ungodly hour. Mat foundation and tower crane assembly. Mental note to try my darndest to explain to Emp how a tower crane works one of these days. The work around here will most likely go on well into the weekend as well as Labor Day.
Still waiting...

While we waited, I got to work some of my backlog at work here as well as on the other projects I'm working on. Good thing I brought some of my hobby stuff too. Got to do some basework for my minis. Will do some painting and final assemblies to some Menoth figs while Im at it. Missed seeing the boyz today at UPCFA/Shak. And to think I was looking forward to playing even if only using unpainted figs.

Time to go. Tomorrow I might need to show up here on site at least briefly. Might even have to consider sleeping over on Labor Day if the construction schedules get dicey tomorrow.

Such is an engineer's life. Sigh.

Fluffy At Hobby Haven...

Caught up with the boyz and Fluffy over at Molo's who were finishing up on a quick dinner. Something was afoot and it intrigued me to tag along for a couple of minutes to get to the bottom of things.

Pork's favorite top-down ride...

Right after dinner, the group decides to go to Hobby Haven for a game of Battlefield. Aha! The boyz motored on to Hobby Haven which is just a couple of blocks from where we were.

No prisoners!!!

It didn't take us long to get there and see them transform from tabletop modelers and airsoft to rabid net warriors. Not wanting to get dizzy from computer gaming, I decided to grab a brownie fudge ice at the nearby Ice Monster while I watched them at play. Didn't take long before I got dizzy just watchin them play did I finally decide to call it a night and headed for home, while they kept on gaming to who knows what time. =P

Somber Birthday Bash...

April 26, 2006...

Molo's


Happy Birthday Garrboy! An impromptu celebration was suddenly called as our buddy who answers various monickers such as Gecko Boy, or Ol' Silverback (the rest of the list is for parental guidance prior to consumption...) has turned another year older. Not that we're making it any harder on the guy... =P

Arrival of Ian "Fluffy" Pena also added to the festivities. Some jokes on the side that the Fluffman can afford a trip back and forth just to get a chance to join the gunbang hostilities for a day. Looks like he'll be doing this on a regular monthly basis. =P

Evening fare inlcuded tuna sisig, cesar salad, kilawing tanigue, and double dosage of pork sisig. Ah, the good life...

Got some quotable quotes for the year 2006:

"Life is not a game of inches. There comes a point in life where you can fudge it."

Here's some pics for posterity...

Yours truly up to some mischief... =P

Molos class picture

Ol' Sparky setting up Birthday Boy

Birthday Boy's reunion with the Calling Card Case of Cardiac Conniption... =P

Gut-Wrenching When I First Read This...

Special request from a friend...

A blind girl promised to marry her boyfriend if she could see the world.

One day she received an eye donation and after the operation she saw everything.

The boyfriend then asked her, "Now that you can see, will you marry me?"

The girl was shocked when she saw that her boyfriend was also blind and she refused to marry him.

He just walked away with tears and said, "Just take care of my eyes..."

When I Felt A Song Coming Along...

Was driving home one night when this started playing on the radio. Always count on Sheryl Crow to come up with such a simple, and so vulnerable a song that would just touch you.

Always On Your Side
by Sheryl Crow and Sting

My yesterdays are all boxed up and neatly put away
But every now and then you come to mind
Cause you were always waiting to be picked to play the game
But when your name was called, you found a place to hide
When you knew that I was always on your side

Well everything was easy then, so sweet and innocent
But your demons and your angels reappeared
Leavin' all the traces of the man you thought you'd be
Leavin' me with no place left to go from here
Leavin' me so many questions all these years

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are you left to wonder, all alone, eternally
This isn't how it's really meant to be
No it isn't how it's really meant to be

Well they say that love is in the air, but never is it clear,
How to pull it close and make it stay
Butterflies are free to fly, and so they fly away
And I'm left to carry on and wonder why
Even through it all, I'm always on your side

But is there someplace far away, someplace where all is clear
Easy to start over with the ones you hold so dear
Or are we left to wonder, all alone, eternally
But is this how it's really meant to be
No is it how it's really meant to be

Well if they say that love is in the air, never is it clear
How to pull it close and make it stay
If butterflies are free to fly, why do they fly away
Leavin' me to carry on and wonder why
Was it you that kept me wondering through this life
When you know that I was always on your side

A Late Sunday Night At The Shak...

April 23, 2006...

Dropped my sister off at San Juan to do some homework when I decided to check on the Shak to see what's going on there on a Sunday.

Met up with Paji and he was gracious enough to help me finalize the reposing of my Guardian warjack before he left for work. Conversion to a longer, more reasonable looking flame pike getting there! Yesss!!! :D

We were doing the finishing drillholes and bandili surgery to the right arm, which serves as my focal conversion when Garrick, Jun, brothers Ian and Zeb arrived from gunbang session. After a short decription of Garrick's "Matrix" maneuver in the just concluded wargames, we had a quick dinner of sisig, kare-kare, and sisig over at Molo's. Went back to the Shak to get my stuff and close up before I go back for my sister.

Sigh, another work week approaches...

Internal Audit...

For the record...

My office will be subject to an internal audit in preparation for the renewal of our ISO certification. Im ok with this, in fact I welcome it. My only issue here is that our internal auditors have not properly briefed my office in what we're supposed to be ready for. It's unfair for our staff. That's all.

Some Disturbing News...

There are some things that were brought to my attention that kinda disturbed me. Some political forces in my previous employ, somewhat similar to what has happened to me are still there and trying to set its influence still in that office. Even though I'm very much far removed from it all, I can't help but feel pissed off at that thought. That's probably one of the many vicious facts of life that people would be better off without...

Took A Little Longer Than Usual...

April 19, 2006...

National Sports Grill

Herbert and I had a small meeting first to discuss his turnover of what he's currently doing for our Cebu project. He'll be gone for a couple of weeks when he undergoes surgery next week. Good luck Dude! See you in a couple of days.

What started as a simple turnover meeting turned into an impromptu send-off when we called the other officemates to join in for a round. Andy was his usual jolly self with Janette, Mervin and Moses joining the ride. Turnover ended a little later than planned. Oh well... =P

777 Silent Visits...

Wala lang. Just liked the number when I opened it. Add them up together and they already form part of my monicker. ;)

Im Back Pipol...

March 13, 2006...

Sadly, everybody forgot to bring a digicam to the trip. What a way to start the vacation. Doh! =P

Started the trip out very early. We had a heavy breakfast at Burger King in North Luzon Expressway. Probably too heavy. Got sleepy during the long drive as a result of it. Me and Dad had to take turns in driving.

Next up was lunch at KFC in Pangasinan. Took Marcos Highway. They say it's a little longer but wider than Kennon Road. Got to test the two cars on the way up since its their first time.

The eight hour trip felt like an eternity. We arrived to see the resthouse again in what's been like ages. I missed this house. It looks older and more worn down but the flowers are still there. Wish I had the money and buy this place.

It didnt take long before we, the young ones, went to SM Baguio to buy some more supplies that we'll need for our stay. Got a call from Mabi and Kat who are in the area and are thinking of wanting to hook up and see the town. However I got sleepy right after dinner due to the long drive over here.


March 14, 2006...

Spent my first night in Baguio. Woke up late. Loved the cold which lasted as late as 10am. Time to go sightseeing. =D

Mines View Park. Lots of people! Did some shopping and found some chains for my Warmachine models. My trip was well worth it from here on in. =D Made a wish on the well by the cliff.

Went to Session Road for some lunch. Had a picture with I would say is the cutest dog using one of those simple cameras. We shouldn't have left the digicam at home. We ate lunch at Don Henrico's. Enjoyed the pizza and pasta despite the brief rainshower.

Went to Camp John Hay. Started out at the Historical Core. There was the ampitheater and the Bellehouse. Then we went down to the Commissary for some more shopping. Got me a good pair of shorts. Before leaving we had some icecream at IceCream and Strawberries. Loved the mango icecream that I ordered. Too bad we didn't have enough time to see the butterflies.


March 15, 2006...

Our third day here has been a slightly more hectic one since we had to do most of our shopping for pasalubong's and bilin's.

Good Shepherd. Got lucky here. Arrived just when there wasn't much people. Almost filled up the trunk of the car on peanut brittle and strawberry jam alone. Too bad we weren't able to go to Mines View Park a second time around because the route that we were used to going to was closed to one way traffic.

Went to the Grotto of Lourdes. Walked like what felt like 200+ steps.
Went to the City Market to buy strawberries and some other stuff. No parking so I had to drive around and almost got lost in going around to pick them up again.
Had a late lunch at SM Baguio.


March 16, 2006...

It was time to go home. I loved our stay in Baguio, despite some hassles here and there. The trip home was shorter than we initially expected. At least not much traffic.

Got home six hours later. Back to Life. Back to Reality. Sigh.

But I still had fun. :D

While Prepping For My Trip...

Almost 3am...

Getting ready for my trip to Baguio in a couple of hours...

Lets see... Socks - check. Shoes - check. Toothbrush - check. Celphone charger - check...

A couple of hours back, I met up with the boyz at the Shak. Peeps in attendance - Jun, Emp, Kim, Garrboi, and Pork (who graced us with a cameo appearance only coz he had to get going for work =P). Lotsa laughs ensued while waiting for Obi (suspected of doing a u-turn maneuver similar to Boy Denial's recent unexplained disappearance in transit). Upon arrival of ObiDoo, we motored on to Molo's where we also met up with Ronald for some serious eating before the Holy Week break. Kilawing Tanigue, Pork BBQ, Cesar Salads, Chicken Adobo, Squid Sisig, Lechon Kawali and Pinakbet were some of what was quickly consumed by everyone. Much laughter in between. Punchlines, faster than I could write/record went flying that night. Special mention of Garrboi Bayawak's reunion with my calling card case. =P

Oh well, time to get back to packing before the rest of the house starts waking up...

Some Random Stuff...

Only now was I able to get a decent internet connection. Can't tell whether it was the ISP, the phone lines, my computer, the weather or a crappy combination of all four that's screwing it all up. Anyway, here's a digest of the stuff you missed...

April 4, 2006...

WonTon at Wilson St.

YangChow Fried Rice, Asado, Giant Prawn and Broccolli, Chicken Wings and Siomai Galore!!! Ate with Mom, Dad, Lei, Les and Barry. One of those family get-togethers. Les and Barry will be staying overnight in a couple of days before they fly off to Cebu to attend Blossom's wedding.

April 5, 2006...

Went to Pitshop to get a Guardian Heavy Warjack to add to my Menite collection as well as a trio of Wracks so that I have something to do over the Holy Week! Yahoo!!! Can't wait to get to the Shak to get started in the steel brushing and flash removal.

Arrived at the Shak only to find Arvin, Emp, Jun, Ian, Jason and John. No Pork, no steel brush. Darn. We ended up opening the Guardian box and started brainstorming on re-pose possiblities. The Guardian out of the box is too static, needs a little "dynamic feel" methinks. Emp and I were thinking some major bandili(jeweler's saw) surgery when we all thought of going home coz it was getting late.

April 7, 2006...

Happy Birthday Ex-Girlfriend! Greeted her that morning (how can I forget?) and I'm glad things sound ok with her.

Andy and I later went to see Roel at his project site in Ortigas. Andy, Roel and I used to be part of what could be the dream team back then in our Philam Tower days. Some reminiscing of the old days soon followed and ended up with the three of us playing billiards at my favorite place "The Elbow Room" at the Metrowalk. Lost track of the score especially when the two were starting to provide some very stiff competition on the billiard tables that night. I just gotta get some more practice time in.

April 8, 2006...

Toxic week on it's way to a close. Still a lot of stuff to be done here at work before the break this coming Holy Week. Was able to catch the boyz at their usual hangout in UP-CFA but they were already playing their last match and I was already too tired to bring out my stuff. Went to the Shak afterwards to finally consult Pol in the conversion options for the Guardian as well as being able to steel brush the Guardians and Wracks so that I have some stuff to do during the Holy Week.

Went home and found out that we might be going to Baguio. So goes my plans for rest. :P