Pre-Deluge

Last week was a whirlwind which I wish never happens again. Four people in the team had to file leaves -- one each. Tonette was absent Wednesday shift. Unfortunately, during Wednesdays Tatum has a 10pm to 7am shift. I was alone with my trainee for the remainder of that shift. Thursday shift was Tatum's turn to file leave. Good thing it was Thanksgiving Day in the US and not too many callers. Friday, it was Art who was MIA. And he did not even have the courtesy to apologize when he came in during the Saturday shift. For the UK line, Cielo was also absent last Friday as she had to go to the airport to fetch her parents.

I am not happy with the way my trainee is turning out. It seems that his training may have turned out to be half-baked. I've been observing his live calls. He can handle the calls with rookie mistakes. Although I have heard comments from the other agents that he is a little slow. Strictly speaking he is not a computer techie. However, as pointed out by some agents, the call scenarios he's been handling are the same problems over and over again and he has not shown significant progress. He took his Final Exam (Verbals) last Thursday evening. He failed to pass that one. He re-took the verbals Friday evening with a higher passing score, and he still flunked. He will be taking his verbal exams again on Wednesday or Thursday, with an even higher passing score. I am losing faith in this guy. If he does not pass, we will be forced to have six-day weeks, until we can get 2 agents.

There is one applicant from a different account. Her papers are on still with her supervisors. There is also another agent from still another account who is very much interested. And he might make up his mind soon. A girl from the same account has also submitted to us her resume. Aside from these, there is a trainee for a technical account who wants to transfer to our group. Which case I told him to flunk his technical training first before applying with us. And, of course, there are the other resumes being submitted for consideration and interview. I hope we can get at least four of them into the team. Just to get a single trainee, we had to interview two other applicants. And afterwards, we also interviewed another, who unfortunately got a thumbs down.

We need warm bodies, with fast minds and a good work attitude. So far, the interviewees failed because of their english language skills. And the trainee that I have right now looks like he's going down the drain because he is having problems with the technical solutions. Just great.

--andoy, 29 November 2004

Calling Up Old Friends

I called up an old friend of mine last Thanksgiving Day. She was cleaning the house when I called. I should have been jumping with joy upon hearing her voice. In fact, my hands were shaking while I was talking to her. But I was inside the building, just outside of our office, and since it was beside the pantry and the comfort rooms, there were a lot of people walking this way and that.

Thanksgiving in the US is a big thing. It is a four-day weekend. And it is a truly American holiday. Everyone's busy getting home and getting in touch with family. That call I made was a gift to myself and not just to my friend. For a long, long time we were not just friends, but we were family.

I think that it is partly circumstance and partly individual fault of choice that I have not been in touch with my friends all these years. In the Philippines, they're located in Laguna, Ortigas, Makati, Bolinao, and Cebu. There are people in Canada, Oman, New Zealand, and in the United States. I hope to touch base with them through email, and soon.

Thanksgiving Day shift did have some problems, but all in all it was an okay day. It's always a great day if you're able to get to talk to a dear friend. Even if you had a cut call. That's the story of my life, the cut call.

--andoy, 29 November 2004

Resetting the Template

I changed the layout of the weblog. The new layout will be wider and allows more graphics (or graphic space). I also included the some links.

I saw a hole in the older layout template which prompted me to change to this one. This may be a temporary layout but I'll see what I can change about this.

--andoy, 29 November 2004

Novel Developments part 2

The novel blog continues. I was not able to meet the 50,000 word target of the National Novel Writing Month but I am continuing the blog. Anyway I tapered off somewhat during November.

But the concept of the blog has been laid down and continues. There are a lot of things I still want to write on the site. And a lot more pictures and poems. I will also be writing about friends and our antics.

This will be a fun site full of nostalgia. A recollection of Los Banos.

Rinspeed Splash

A car, speed-boat, and hydrofoil. Runs fast over land or water.

This looks like a great car. Might even turn out to be a classic someday. A two-seater sports car, with 750cc engine, up to 140kph, top speed on land, and 48knots on the water. What's truly great about this is that it runs on Natural Gas!

Very environment-friendly.

--andoy

RINSPEED SPLASH

Rinspeed Splash, hydrofoiling over water. 

Darwi's Art Project

This is Darwi's study of her latest school project in Art. I'm not sure what it's supposed to be, but it's a montage overlay type. The original work was done and submitted in class. This is something altogether new which used the same methods.

Darwi's project 


--andoy

Christmas Decorations 2004

It's 37 days to Christmas.  The Christmas tree is ready and lit up and decorated.  More decorations would be put on it during the coming weeks.  The furniture would be rearranged to accomodate this.  Right now it is just to one convenient corner, maybe just a little bit too prominently placed.  The Christmas lights would be put up most probably before December. 

We have not had a decent parol since I can't remember when.  When Tiong Maning was still living with us (several years before he passed away), he'd always create these lovely parols all made from scratch.  There was one he made which was all covered in paper flowers, and then there were those made with thinly cut frills bordering the parol's five points.  It seems these were always made of red cellophane with white papel the japon trim.

Christmas dinner menu would be done by Neng, by default.  The spaghetti would be included, and that would be my job.  Maybe a tropical fruit salad, or some easy-to-make crumble with graham crackers by Irene.  I'm not sure about the chicken or barbecue, I'm letting Neng worry about that.  The jamon, of course, and the quezo de bola (edam cheese).

Years before, we'd always have ambrosia.  Easy enough to do, with sliced bananas, suha and papaya, covered in cream and condensed milk.  We haven't had ambrosia since Lola Ibang passed away.

These Christmas past, we've even had some liquor or wine.  We don't usually drink alcohol.

What I'd be looking forward to is after-Christmas breakfast:  grilled ham and cheese (quezo de bola) sandwich, and (brewed) coffee with liquor.

I'm looking forward to Christmas, and I'm not blinking.  You blink and you suddenly notice you're in the middle of January 2005.

--andoy

101 posts and counting

This is the 101st (official) post on this web log. Unofficially, there have been more than 115 but because I had to edit the pictures for the page, those don't count.

What have I learned here? That I am not a "real" obsessive-compulsive, and that I can enjoy myself while doing these posts. From July, to the present, the posts have been almost everything except music files: from rants, poems, live journal entries, to letters, pictures and comments on web pages.

I have not yet reached the 50,000 word mark, having barely breached the 20,000 word count mark. I am in no hurry. I guess this is something I hope to enjoy more in the future. Definitely, more pictures and more poems. I would not be entering old poems here though, only new ones. And maybe I'd be posting poems as they evolve.

I might do something soon about the web-style or template. I don't really think that the template "reflects" me. I need to take the time though, to change that. At the moment, I don't feel like it. And maybe I'm just getting lazy about the layout. It is just a little too dark for me. I only need a little less shade of gray or blue. And some pictures on the sidebars. Maybe add some links to my "favorite" web sites or some friends' web pages or blogs. Any more than that and the page would start to turn gay.

I hope to write more often. And to write longer pieces. I am still rusty. And I can easily find excuses but not the time to write. I hope to make this a habit and a necessary discipline. At some point, I'd be just posting and not worrying about the layout or the pictures. Although I doubt that very much.

Here's looking forward to the next 100.

--andoy

Space.com: Cosmos 1, First Solar Sail Satellite

With a big aluminum sail (or sails) connected to a satellite, and using the sail to capture the solar wind you can practically go anywhere the wind reaches. For now, just around the earth, but later, this could be a cost-effective way of going around the block -- and back.

This is an idea which NASA has been toying with for the past 30 years and has been featured in Star Trek (The Movie) as well as in Star Wars (Episode 2).

--andoy

A Man and A Woman (rev.1.2)

A Man and A Woman


He was looking at her
blind to the world around
staring and gazing
intent yet soft

likewise she was
with eyes melting
scanning his face
from across the table

did it matter that they were alone
in a restaurant
in the afternoon
with tables clothed in white
dotting the dining area for customers later to come

framed the couple was
by the glass window
where their table nests
and in return
the glass window
frames the world outside
as an urban landscape
which neither notice
as the world whirls
walks bay and passes them
and notice them not

the eyes talk
their silence speaks
they know where they are
and wait in silent anticipation
of what is to come
hands linger speaking language old
speaking words deep
deeper than what words can convey
much deeper than what ears can hear

interminably long the waiter waits
approaches and asks the waiter's question
"What will you have?"

The man understands but does not hear
attention he has for the woman
sitting across the table
also sitting silent and knowing what to ask
hoolding his hands and knowing what she has and needs
the empty spaces between words and other noise
they have covered and breached
the couple
the man and the woman
understand the now
and not care for then and there

the man speaks to the waiter
and orders

"Do you have...


"a room?"

--andoy, 9 November 2004 (Rev. 1.2)

Novel Developments

I am trying to do some catch up with the novel I am writing on the other blog page (see earlier blogs). Catching up is a lame term. I'm still on the 2,000 word mark, out of 50,000 required and it's now the middle of the second week of the National Novel Writing Month. Ideally, I should be writing 2,000 words a day just so I can cruise somewhat during the last week. At this point, I am not sure if I can even meet 25,000 words! Even 15,000 looks so far away.

So far I've written 23,000-plus words for these two weblogs combined. Though the count does begin from the first weblog entry last July. Most of my log entries on the novel weblog are only about 500 words long. That would take forever to write.

--andoy

Haiku

Kapeng barako
rhum pilak na binuhos
gising ang bango

--andoy, 8 November 2004

A Man and A Woman

He was looking at her
blind to the world around
staring and gazing
intent yet soft

likewise she was
with eyes melting
scanning his face
from across the table

did it matter that they were alone
in a restaurant
in the afternoon
with tables clothed in white
dotting the dining area for customers later to come

framed the couple was
by the glass window
where their table nests
and in return
the glass window
frames the world outside
as an urban landscape
which neither notice
as the world whirls
walks bay and passes them
and notice them not

the eyes talk
their silence speaks
they know where they are
and wait in silent anticipation
of what is to come
hands linger speaking language old
speaking words deep
deeper than what words can convey
much deeper than what ears can hear

interminably long the waiter waits
approaches and asks the waiter's question
"What will you have?"

The man understands but does not hear
attention he has for the woman
sitting across the table
also sitting silent and knowing what to ask
hoolding his hands and knowing what she has and needs
the empty spaces between words and other noise
they have covered and breached
the couple
the man and the woman
understand the now
and not care for then and there

the man speaks
asks as an order
"Do you have..."
(a heartbeat pause and a flutter)
"a room?"

--andoy, 8 November 2004

Rizal Museum in Fort Santiago

Located in Fort Santiago is the Jose Rizal Museum. This is an awesome
place. If the Fort has shrunk in any way, it is because the Museum has
grown inside it and has overwhelmed all other historical significance of
the historic Fort. In many ways, the Museum is larger than the Fort.

The Jose Rizal museum is a great piece of work. Portions of it are
minimalist in approach, like a japanese rock garden asking you to
contemplate and even meditate on the item at hand. Rizal's words are
writ large. His language skills are shown in with pride, not in
arrogance, but as a matter of fact. The presentation makes one look
small in comparison. The visitor enters and sees the words on glass and
etched on the walls. In the next room are more quotations, etched in
steel and translated in spanish, french, german and english. Rows and
rows of steel etched with words on both sides. Fronting these steel
columns are the heroes own works of art, sculptures and novels. Moving
outside, are more of his words embellishing the walls.

And in a small viewing room, almost morbid in the dark are more of his
words burning across the walls are these are back lit in yellow. Going
in to this room, you see in an adjoining room is a statue of the artist
writing in the gloomy dark, lit only by an oil lamp. Almost macabre,
there is a chain across the threshold to an anteroom. The statue is
further separated by glass at the doorsill.

The stairs to the second floor also serve as a gallery of paintings
about the man, including a protrait of Obei-san. And on the second
floor landing, there is a small picture of Josephine Bracken.

What few personal items of Jose Rizal are in glass cases in the next
room. Displayed are his trenchcoat, his fencing swords, his vest, and a
bullet embedded bone. And etched are comments by historians about the
man, the legend, and discerning between the two. The exhibits are
minimal and almost zen-like in this room. Airy and light, almost
flighty with quotations from Rizal and historians.

The next room however is an absolute abstraction. The room serves as an
exhibit. The walls shout with his words. "Mi Ultimo Adios" occupies
the whole marble wall. The floor also serves as canvas for his words.
The room itself is not all that large, however, devoid of anything and
serving as an exhibit in itself, it grows in your mind and in recounting
the experience, looking in hindsight almost three-fourths the size of a
basketball court. Or even larger.

Finally outside, are the last exhibit items. Translations of "Mi Ultimo
Adios" in varios languages.

The museum is mind-boggling.

Outside of the building, just across in one of the ruins is his statue
as he was bound and about to start his walk from his cell, to the Luneta
where he would be shot. The life-size statue stands amidst the ruins,
with bars as doors, so the visitor can see how high he stood which is
barely five feet in height. Just outside is an oversized marble marker
looking much larger than the statue. The visitor sees the prisoner that
was Rizal; sees the ruins without any roof and open to the elements; and
sees the steps on the pavement leading outside, and retracing his steps
to his execution. The visitor asks why the steps are small, and he sees
the small man, bound at the elbows and knees. He can walk, but these
would be small steps.

The man presented in the museum are his works, his genius and his
greatness in life. The man shown in the ruins is the prisoner about to
die and his greatness in accepting death for country.

There are other Jose Rizal sites, including his ancestral home and
birthplace at Calamba, Laguna and in Dapitan where he was exiled. And
across Europe, there are various places where Rizal historiacal markers
were installed, Leipzig, Brussels, London, Paris, Barcelona, and Madrid.
I have no idea when I'd be able to visit those (local and foreign) places.

--andoy

6 November 2004

Roselle at the Manila Zoo. 


Neng and Naomi at the Manila Zoo. 


Roselle and Naomi at home and tired after the field trip. 


still on the parapet, clowning around the statue. 


The kids clowning around one of the statues on the park grounds. Naomi in front, Darwi, Roselle and Kenneth at the back. 


Jose Rizal statue. 


We went to Fort Santiago, yesterday. And I have to ask myself, why
hadn't we taken the time to go there before. This is not the Fort
Santiago we went to during my elementary school field trips. This is a
new modernistic Fort Santiago. More solemn, maybe, and a better park
and museum definitely. There are still maybe a kilometer of footpaths
off-limits, but definitely the improvements during the past 10 years are
worth it.

The group with the Jose Rizal statue in the background. 


The gate to Fort Santiago 


Group picture. 


Mama, Darwi, Roselle and Neng with Naomi 


Doy and Raul. 


Posing on the park grounds. 



It's my niece's birthday tomorrow (Monday, November 8). And instead of
a party or gathering at the house, my sister decided to have a field
trip instead. The original itenerary would have been Rizal Park, Sea
Wall, Manila Zoo, Fort Santiago and Intramuros. The actual route turned
out to be Sea Wall, Manila Zoo and then Fort Santiago. Afterwards on
the way home we had merienda at Sta. Lucia East Mall.

Kenneth with a grounds statue of a pinoy guardia civil. 


Roselle, Kenneth and Lilia on the bridge crossing the moat to the Fort. 


Along the walls of the Fort. 


We were supposed to be taking a picture of the cannon... 


Mama didn't want to walk too much... 


On the parapet overloooking the Pasig River. 


I was working Friday night up to 10:00am, and I caught up with them at
the Manila Zoo. After I had a quick lunch, we left and went to Fort
Santiago. Fort Santiago now looks more like a (touring) park than
before. As a museum, it is more focused now. Gone is Pres. Manuel L.
Quezon's presidential car. It has been shipped to Baler, Quezon, Pres.
Quezon's home town. There are still several areas which can be
reconstructed and made into individual museums. The entrance area (and
park) has been simplified. In the Fort proper, the focus is on Rizal,
his improsonment, and martyrdom. The historical aspects of the Fort
itself dwindles to trivia and thus serve more as backdrop to Rizal.

The first wave walking along the entrance to the Fort. 


Raul, Tatay and Doy 


The second wave... 


We ended the day at home, watching videos. I was too wasted and too
sleepy that my eyebags had eyebags!

Great day though.

--andoy

Cafe Cubano

Waiter, brewed coffee please
and silver rhum if you have any
no not together
I'll do it myself

Simple pleasures abound
in hot coffee
aroma wafting out
and tickling your palate
with heartwarming charm
body stirring warmth

Sugar spirit
vapors swirling evaporating
mingling with the roasted
slightly acidic exotic flavor
dark beauty dancing like a belly dancer
mesmerizing
langorous yet enlivening
curiously twirling like dervishes tempting
tasting and swinging flavors this way and that

As you sip
it becomes sweetly engrossing
sensations swirling
back and forth and back and forth

Waiter, brewed coffee yes
with rhum and no sugar and no cream

Holding the cup inhaling
the roasted bean silently exploding the sense
as I pour the silver liquid
into the golden brown brew
in anticipation I tingle
I sip slow
I inhale deep
and close my eyes
everytime I taste this
in wonderful disbelief

--andoy.

Guitar Strum Lament

sitting alone
in a crowd
strumming a guitar
to The Edge's riffs

a soliloquy soft
amidst a mob shouting for blood

a beau crying for lost love
in silent tears
washed by pouring rain

strumming strumming
singing
and muted howling
about waiting and waiting

beer drowned sorrow
like a shadow in the dark
unnoticed
in a large noisy crowd

--andoy 6 November 2004

The Klingon Language

New Canonical Klingon Words From the online Klingon Dictionary. A new language comes into its own.

The New Galactic Phrasebook Again and still again, on the Klingon language, a phrasebook.

--andoy

DW-WORLD.DE: Klingon Web Page

DW-WORLD.DE

Deutsche Welle German TV has a web-page in Klingon!

--andoy

Undas

Undas, November 1. Tatay and Mama went to Bolinao Friday evening and
arrived there safely before 4:00am. Me, Lilia and the kids went to my
in-laws in Novaliches last Saturday and we'll be there till tomorrow,
Nov. 1. Only Irene, Dong and Raul stayed at home.

Holy Days like these are really for family. And for remembering
family. Although local observance is unlike American Halloween, there
was a point in time when, as Tatay and Mama recall, they did go
trick-or-treating (pinoy style), nangangaluluwa. That was supposedly
when they were still in their teens in Bolinao. They would be in a
group and singing songs in front of houses and others in the gourp
would be chickens or fruit. By candlelight too. Or maybe kerosene
lamps. Crazy.

Local trick-or-treat are sponsored party affairs for kids. Either
these affairs are held within company premises or at the mall. And
kids only. Adults can dress up but not too many costume parties
either.

Here at the office we held our own version of Halloween last Friday.
There was a costume contest and a decor contest, with movies at the
pantry complete with pop corn. This is inline with the
"Americanization" of the agents, of course. Kids also had their own
trick-or-treat. This was held early Friday morning, before the
Thursday night shift ended. About 120 kids were listed. As I was not
on board during the Thursday shift, I was not witness to any mayhem.
But as recounted by one of our agents who brought his son for the
affair, he was able to fill up three plastic pumpkin containers of
goodies.

Last year, there was a guy dressed up as Sadako from the original
Japanese version of "The Ring." He had long hair so he only needed a
white dress. Supergirl (in a mini-skirt) won though. This year a
tall guy with a goattee dressed up in a St. Paul High School uniform.
That was awesome or frightening, depending on your viewpoint. One
whole account or team, maybe, wore pajamas with wizard hats. Another
team was dressed as fairies, with wings. There was an angel with
halo. The usual black costumes. My boss wore an Argentinian gaucho
hat and poncho. I don't know who won though.

So that whole thing ushered in November. October went too fast. I
hardly blinked and it came and went. Next time I blink, it would be
January!

Looking forward to December.

Slate Magazine: Avoiding the Oil Curse - What Norway can teach Iraq. By Daniel�Gross

Avoiding the Oil Curse - What Norway can teach Iraq. By Daniel�Gross

If only we can do this in the Philippines, where oil revenues (if any) would be put into a trust fund for the future business development, devoid of politics and personal interests.

--andoy