Gettysburg is My Waterloo

Another blast from my quizzing pat: Korek na Korek ka Dyan on Eat Bulaga (ca. 2001).

The Weakest Link Philippines

I fInally got around to converting my old VHS recording of my stint in THE WEAKEST LINK. My dad recorded this way back in 2001. Watch it on Google Video directly via http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-3298570973951730067

Something to start the year right

I’m not a big fan of New Year’s Resolutions. One doesn’t have to wait for a new set of numbers displayed on a piece of paper to mend their ways and live for the better. If one resolves not to smoke, he can do it mid-year, he can do it on a leap year or he can do it whenever the urge comes.

Instead of fooling myself with promises to eat less, quit smoking and exercise more, I’d rather enumerate the simple things in life that made me look back at 2008 with appreciation and look forward to 2009 with optimism. With the prospects of a truly global economic meltdown looming large over the horizon, the crazy state of peace and order and the accelerating decay of modern society, I do believe there is still something to smile about after all.

I have a job
in this job, I get cussed at a lot over the phone. Unhappy customers would normally hurl a lot of colorful adjectives at me then say “It’s not you, I’m just mad at your company!” Getting escalated calls like that 6-7 hours a day can be pretty stressful. On top of that  I hear “live”  people cussing around me, co-workers ranting about how stupid or unreasonable this or that customer is. Some would even look around first (to see if the’re’s any manager around) then throw a dirty finger at the screen or slam the keyboards on their station out of sheer frustration. Between the two, it’s much more tiring to hear co-workers cussing and cursing at the customer. Come to think of it,  without the “bobo” and “idiotic” customers that we call center people love to hate and make fun of, there won’t be any jobs for people like us. I know it’s a lowly job but hey, it beats sleeping on the cold sidewalk with a jute sack for a blanket and cockroaches as bedmates. I’m not a picky eater but I’d take that 711 pastarrific meal anytime over rotting Kenny Rogers or Jollibee leftovers that “mambabatsoys” “re-process” to feed their starving families.

You hate your job? Forget your parents’, siblings or whichever benefactors allowances and live in the streets for a month on your own. I’d bet you’d die first from missing your cellphone than actual hunger or disease.

I have a loving and loyal wife who treats me like a king
I did not marry an heiress.  I did not marry a princess. I did not marry a fashion model. I did not marry a scholar. I did not marry an athlete. I did not marry an actress. But I’m proud to say that if ever I’ll marry again, I’ll be marrying the same person. She’s not perfect but she tries to be everyday, and I can say everyday she’s getting better at it. She’s a child at heart and doesn’t crave material things. Most of all she doesn’t nag (let’s just say I found out that a wife won’t nag if she doesn’t have valid reasons to do so, or if that delicate thing called trust is never tampered with). See, she’s never remiss in her duties as a wife that’s why I don’t find any reason to renege on my duties as a husband. Sounds too simple but it works for us somehow.  Still, we’re not a perfect couple, mind you. We do find time to quarrel, since we both agree that being in good terms all the time can be quite boring .

We are both alike and different in many ways and I think that makes us click.   She loves Dari Creme which I hate, and I love Star Margarine which she hates but we both love Lily’s Peanut Butter. She likes Dream Day Wedding and I like Max Paine 2 but we both go gaga over SIMS 1 and 2 (3 will be coming out this feb. yay!). She likes Christopher Pike and R.L. Stein and I like Umberto Eco and J.R.R. Tolkien but we both love Elizabeth Kostova.

We’ve been married 2 years, going three but I felt we’ve spent an eternity together already, and even that won’t stop the (cheesy thing called) love from growing bigger and better. I guess I’m lucky, and for that I’m very thankful.

I have a computer hooked up to the internet
It ain’t dual core. It ain’t overclocked. It ain’t badass-touchscreen-voice command-top-of-the-line-geek-magnet- eye-candy but it lets me type, do photoshop, blog, do email, fiddle with  my deviantart, read wikipedia, log on to facebook, friendster and multiply and read the news @ inquirer.net (I don’t buy newspapers anymore). Oh and did I mention it lets me play video games? If I had the money to burn I’ll surely got something better but my trusty Neo Endura lets me do things I used to imagine doing 20 years ago on a typwriter, a Casio pocket diary, a game-and-watch, a set of Encyclopaedia Britannica, a canvas and a TV screen. What more can I ask for?

I have a pet turtle
It doesn’t bark at strangers or wake  people up in the middle of the night. Doesn’t need expensive anti-rabies shots. doesn’t poo on the streets or the roofs. Doesn’t lick my face. Isn’t always thirsty for attention (well sometimes he likes to stand on his hind legs and knock on the walls of his terrarium to draw attention whenever he sees my wife and I). Most of all, he’s cute and low maintenance yet hardy enough to be a lifetime pet. Excuse me, I’ll have to walk my turtle.

I’m lucky to have wonderful parents
They didn’t have it easy growing up but they made sure we have all the comforts of life when it came our turn to grow up. They’re not perfect and do not harbor illusions of being so but I believe they raised me well and that is perfection according to my own standards. They’re also the best storytellers. They don’t tire telling us all those goosebump stories from the provinces even though we’re all big and grown-up and reasonable enough to scoff at some of them. Up until now that I’m married and not living with them, they keep my room intact and clean for the days I’ll be dropping by (which I rarely advertise in advance).  They’re not big on words but definitely the sweetest parents one can have.  Sometimes it’s amusing to see how they take pride in taking good care of us and treating us like we’re little babies even though we’re much bigger than them.

They never finished high school or college but they imparted valuable wisdom and a sense of responsibility no book made by man has ever taught me. They don’t have fancy job titles and simply go  by the names “Tatay” and “Nanay” but I believe adjectives like “Greatest” and “Best” won’t do justice describing them.  They’re very strict when I was growing up but now I understand why they were that way and I appreciate them all the more for being so.  They’re old fashioned and frugal but fully respect my radical and sometimes extravagant and overbearing opinions.  They hear cussing and cursing from our neighbors, in the streets, everywhere they go but they never utter a single cuss word at home. “gago” and “tarantado” has and will always be the worst  cuss words you’ll hear from them. They like to keep things simple but won’t think twice about giving only the best for their children. They don’t like to reading how-to books especially those on raising a family but by example taught us  how committed, selfless parenting can hold a family together in the darkest hours of turmoil and financial crises.

They can’t quote passages from the bible and go to mass every Sunday but they’re more  Christian than  some of the most well-dressed, well-educated and self-important religious hypocrites that populate this hypocritical side of the world.  Most of all they have a free-thinking son who hates religion with a passion but they never fail to pray for his safety and the salvation of his soul.

There’s a thousand and one more reasons for me to be happy and hopeful this new year but I’ll stop right here. Lest cynics accuse me of spreading too much cheer amidst the gloom and blowing my own horn when no one wants to hear it.

Ciao!