Showing posts with label journals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label journals. Show all posts

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Today Is Valentine's Day : Who Wants to Argue With Me?

Here we go again. Love here. Love there. Love anywhere. 

While most of you, I believe, are very busy preparing for a date tonight, I myself is so busy thinking on how I could get one. She is not available this evening. She is preggy by the way and to go out at a very cold night is a no-no for her. Yeah, I'm gonna be a father of our first baby.

So, what am I going to do then? Perhaps, I'll go out alone.

Monday, February 13, 2012

The Expectant Father

Yes, I am an expectant father. You don't believe it, do you?

From the moment I learned of  Vergil's pregnancy, I was very excited. Yet, I felt awkward about sharing my fears and insecurities. I trust this is only natural. What am I afraid of? 

I am afraid that I will not be able to protect and provide for my family. In many families when the first child arrives, there's this sudden if not temporary shift from two incomes for two people to one income for three.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Moving On

I've been silent for years. The reason was, I was completely broken. My life never turned out to be as expected. However, I tried to hold myself still as I know there's something else out there for me to discover and uphold.

This is another year of my life - a venture to the unknown yet exciting world. In the next few days, Perfect Square will continue its journey. See you soon!

Monday, April 18, 2011

Monday, April 5, 2010

Tanong

Habang nakatingin ako sa  monitor, meron akong naisip itanong sa sarili ko, sa kapwa ko at sa Diyos. Ito ang mga sumusunod:

Sa sarili

Bakit hanggang ngayon, walong taon na ang nakaraan, dama ko pa rin ang pangungulila ko sa aking ama? Palagi ko pa rin siyang napapanaginipan. Ano kaya ang kanyang mensahe para sa akin, para sa pamilya ko? Bakit sa tuwing magpapakita siya sa akin, meron akong matatanggap na di kanai-nais na balita mula sa pamilya ko? Problema na hindi nila pinapaalam sa akin. Problema na saka ko na lang malalaman sa ibang tao. Di naman ako naging masamang anak at sinunod ko naman lahat ng pangaral niya no'ng kasama pa namin siya. Ano kaya ang ibig sabihin nito? Isa ba itong paalala na malapit na rin akong lumisan sa mundong 'to? Ang aga naman! Bata pa ako. Di kaya meron siyang pamana sa akin na di niya naibigay noon? Kayamanan o anting-anting?

Sa kapwa

Bakit merong mga taong mas gustong mabuhay sa kasamaan, sa kasinungalingan at sa panlilinlang? Ano ang kanilang makukuha kung sa buong buhay nila, ayaw nilang subukang bumait? Ano ang motibo nila para gawin yon sa kapwa nila? Bakit kaya nilang ipamukha sa buong mundo kung ano at sino ka? Bakit kahit anong gawin mong pagbabago sa kanila hindi pa rin sila titino? Likas kayang masama sila? Di ba dapat namumuhay tayo ayon sa gusto Niya at hindi sa gusto natin? Ikaw! Oo ikaw. Bakit mo pinuno ng paninira ang  fb wall ko? Ano ba ang nagawa ko sayo na siraan mo ako ng ganito? At hindi ka pa nakontento pati ba naman blog ko? Wala naman akong atraso sayo, diba?

Sa Diyos

Hindi ko po kino-question  ang iyong kabanalan. Hayaan po ninyo sana akong itanong man lang ang mga bagay-bagay na nasa aking isipan. Lahat ng tao sa mundong ibabaw ay likha po ng inyong banal. You created us in your image and likeness. Your love is unconditional. Pero bakit po hindi magkatulad ang mga tao? Bakit merong mga taong hindi nakahandang tanggapin ang kanyang kapwa kung ano at sino man siya? Patawad po. Isa po ako sa kanila.

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Goodbye 2009!

Why should I miss the year 2009? Are you, guys, with me if I'd say Year 2009 had been the worst year of the decade? We may have different insights so I'd forgive you for your contradiction.

As I reviewed my life in the year 2009, I cried in tears (exaggerating huh!). 2009 had never been good to me. So many things had happened which are beyond my expectations. I should have not been looking back to this year because it brought nothing but pain. But, as we all know, we learn from our past actions, events and happenings.

Let me give you the list of my bad moments in 2009. Here they are:

  1. Dubai Driver's license. Due to extravagant charges of taking driver's license in Dubai, as always, I did not push  through my evil desire in getting it after paying huge amount of dirhams.
  2. Vacation leave.  My plan of reuniting with my family last July turned into a bad dream. Since we had not selected my temporary replacement, I decided to leave my post and opted to join another company instead.
  3. Accepting an offer. I accepted and signed an offer letter from one of the auditing companies in Sharjah with much higher compensation package and benefits. My company did not hand-over my passport so I was not able to go.
  4. Resignation. I got a dramatic resignation. Actually, it was not approved but I insisted to leave.I did a one-on-one talk with my boss a day before I should say goodbye to him. I revoked my resignation.
  5. Break-up. This is the worst thing that happened in my life. I lost the person whom I gave my trust, respect, loyalty and love. As a result, I was alone in Christmas.


    Ugh. Life is a mixture of happiness and sadness. But, I am pretty sure that my year 2010 promises ONLY good lucks and prosperity.

    To all you, guys, join me to say goodbye to the year 2009 and let's all welcome the bountiful year of 2010!

    Monday, December 28, 2009

    My New Camera

    This is my new camera. Simple yet elegant. It has a very good price. I bought it on promotions at Carrefour, City Center last two weeks ago.
    This 10.2 mega pixels ES55 is a fuss-free digital compact camera suitable for the first-time user. Actually, this is not my first camera. My first samsung camera is already two year-old. I decided to change it because it's features are nothing compared to  this ES55.

    Digital Image Stabilisation and Face Detection technology are the two main features that I found interesting on ES55.

    I am not a photographer by profession. And I don't even dream to create a studio of my own to steal the long-time established fame of Fuji and Kodak. I just wanted to carry a camera wherever I go to document those moments worthy to be remembered. Don't get me wrong, but I am almost on my time when ginkgo biloba has to be taken regularly.


    Hopefully in the next few days I could publish some of my amateur photos.

    Advance Happy New Year to all!

    Sunday, December 27, 2009

    PEBA winners, congratulations!

    PEBA 2009 is finally over. The winners are now listed on the  PEBA site. Congratulations to the winners, especially to Nebz and Pope who were my personal choices. For those who did not win, better luck next time. PEBA awarding is held annually so we always have chances of winning. We've done our best part for the success of PEBA. Kudos!

    By the way, I got a new theme for Perfect Square, courtesy of themescook.com. As usual, I encountered problems on updating the html codes, gadgets and widgets. This is why most of my favorite links were missing. If your site is not found in my current links please notify me so that I could include it immediately.

    Thanks and Happy Innocence Day!

    Sunday, October 18, 2009

    End of the road

    Well, it had to happen one day.


    My time here is coming to an end.


    But I want you to know this decision was difficult to make.


    I've made it after a lot of soul searching, and I believe it is the right decision for me to make at this time.


    I am not certain when to regain my strength – maybe a year and a half or more.


    To all my friends in the Perfect Links, I owe you a lot – your works are my inspirations. To all my readers, thank you so much – your visits are my motivations.


    I will miss you!


    Saturday, October 17, 2009

    Sunday, October 11, 2009

    Good News to Dubai Taxi Passengers

    I feel great upon  knowing that the government of Dubai has intensified its campaign against "smelly" taxis after receiving numerous complaints from various passengers.

    To eliminate the pong of body odor and food smells, it handed over 3,500 air fresheners to drivers. Well, this sounds good, but I don't think this will completely solve the problem.

    The fragrance of air freshener expires after a couple of minutes. Everyone knows that. And some people don't like the smell of  it. Why don't the government serve the most effective solution?

    How?


    1. Educate the drivers. Teach them the basic personal hygiene. Require them to take a bath daily, change their clothes (uniform) everyday, apply body deodorant, brush their teeth every after meal. 
    2. Penalize them for smoking inside. Some drivers don't care whether their passengers die of suffocation.
    3. Teach them to clean/wash their car everyday. They must be responsible. 

    If the government could not implement this solution it has to start finding ways to serve the passengers at its best. Why don't it begin operating automatic taxis?

    Saturday, October 10, 2009

    I am Sorry (Part 2)

    Inaamin ko, nagkamali ako. Nagkamali akong i-post ang Devils Convention. Actually, plano ko lang naman talagang isang entry lang ang gagawin. Pero nitong umaga, habang nagbabasa ako ng mga bagong pakulo ng blogger, naintriga ako sa bagong add-on nito - ang Sidewiki. At dahil sa curiosity ko, kinakalikot ko ang aking blog at ito ang nangyari. Nagkadoble-doble ng posting ang huli kong entry. Di tuloy maintindihan ni Kablogie ang entry ko. Akala din ni Jess edit version lang yon. Si I am Xprosaic nagdududa atang pinatamaan ko siya sa pangalawang post.

    Sa inyong lahat, pasensya na po. Isang kamalian lang po ng aking mga malilikot na kamay..hehe

    I am sorry!


    Saturday, September 26, 2009

    Thursday, September 24, 2009

    Disturbed?

    The internet connection was extremely slow. I could not open my favorite site. My blackberry was useless. It was late in the evening but my  mind refused to rest. I was bored. I phoned my friends for a hang-out.

    While we were heading to the metro station, an S350 blocked our way. A man armed with 45 caliber pistol got off the car and pointed his gun to us. We were terrified. We screamed. We ran. But the man kept on chasing us. My two friends were dead. 


    I did not recognize the killer. I had no idea why he wanted to kill us.

    I kept on running to escape from him. Suddenly, the killer was in front of me pointing his gun to my forehead.

    I heard the gunshot. I fell down. Helpless.

    Then I heard the loud voice, "Gising na kayo! Simba na tayo!"
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    It was just a bad dream after I had an LQ..Huh!





    Tuesday, September 22, 2009

    I am sorry..

    Are you fond of sending quick sms to your lover(s) and friends?

    When I purchased my first phone, nababaliw ako. Di ako nakakatulog tuwing gabi. Naaaliw kasi ako sa pagti-text. Feeling ko ang saya-saya ng buhay. Kahit sino tini-text ko. Kahit hindi ko kilala. Kahit mga number na makikita ko sa sasakyan tini-text ko. Pag-nagreply sila natutuwa ako.  Para bang ang dami kong kaibigan. Ang daming taong kumakausap sa akin.

    Pero marami din akong mga kalokohan, mga pagkakamali na pinagsisihan ko.

    Dahil naging adik ako sa text, nagkunwari akong si Mike. Tinext ko yong ka-klase ko ng elementary. Nasa college na kami noon. Magkaiba kami ng school. Maganda kasi ang kalagayan ng pamilya niya kaya nasa  unibersidad siya. Mabait siya. Anak siya ng dati kong teacher sa elementary. Napaka-strict daw ng mama niya kaya hindi pa daw siya nagkaroon ng boyfriend. Tuwang-tuwa siya sa akin. Ang ganda daw ng mga text ko. Nakaka-inlove daw. Super bait ko daw at super lambing. Kung ako lang daw yong maging lover niya tiyak daw na walang oras na hindi siya masaya.

    Swerte ko naman. May na-iinlove sa mga text ko. Hindi niya alam na ang mga text na pinapadala ko sa kanya ay puro collection ko galing sa mga ka-text ko. Nahulog ang loob niya sa akin. Naaawa ako. Ang laki ng expectation niya. Tawag ng tawag sa akin. Hindi ko naman sinasagot kasi pag sinagot ko siya malalaman niyang si Mike ay si ako - kapitbahay niya at kaklase ng elementary.

    Ilang buwan ang nagdaan at para kaming totoong magsyota - magsyota na ni minsan  hindi man lang  nagkaharap. Hanggang isang araw bumulaga ang text sa akin na ganito, "Bwisit ka Ruel! Bwisit!"

    Nahihiya ako sa kanya. Tuwing nagkikita kami parang gusto niya akong sunugin sa mga tingin niya.  Umalis ako sa Pinas na hindi man lang nakapag-sori sa kanya. Kaya ngayon, gusto kong mag-public apology. Sana nagbabasa siya ng blog ko para malaman niyang sincere ako sa pag-so-sorry ko.

    I am sorry!
    -0-



    We waste time looking for perfect lover, instead of creating perfect love.

    Every part of me wants you, maybe because I was made for you.

    Love is like a mountain, hard to climb, but once you get to the top the view is beautiful.

    If in the dark you lose sight of love, hold my hand and have no fear..we will be together forever..

    Wednesday, September 16, 2009

    Just Pretending

    Why do you need to pretend?

    I should have asked this question to my colleague. She is our newly hired Accountant. She happened to be a General Accountant (that's what she told me) for 3 years in one of the trading companies in Dubai. Since she had been working as GA, I presumed she knows everything. Well, her CV looks good, I may say, impressive!

    As GA, it is expected that she has the full knowledge in accounting. That means, she knows the cycle of accounting - from posting to preparation of Financial Statements, she knows how to make reversing and adjusting entries as well. She must be well-versed and have better understanding of the accounts.

    Her CV is excellent, not her. I do not claim that I am an excellent Accountant. I have no right to judge others either but what happens everyday in our department makes me so unbecoming.

    Actually, she was hired as my assistant, after I begged for my resignation and my company refused to let me go. She was highly recommended by one of the closest friends of my boss. She is an Indian by the way.

    I thought she could help me. I thought I could assign to her some of my responsibilities. But she is nothing. She can't handle the accounts. I have no choice but to train her.

    For three months of teaching her, she still does not understand her work. Nangangamuti pa rin. What is bad for her is that when our boss asked her if she could handle the Accounts Department by herself, without any second thought she said she can. How could she handle if she is very dependent to me? She could not even pass a simple reversing entry. She could not compose a simple authorization letter.

    I asked her to prepare an entry for the PDC's that were cleared and credited in our account. Basically, our original entry when we deposited these PDC's is:

    Dr PDC RECEIVABLE XXXX
    Cr RENT XXXX

    Here's her entry:

    Dr BANK XXXX
    Cr RENT XXXX

    If you are an Accountant you know that her entry is wrong. I discussed to her why her entry was wrong but she insisted. Every time that I call her attention or I correct her mistakes, she is mad. Maling-mali na nga ayaw pa ring tanggapin. Pwes, magtiis ka, di hamak kasing may alam ako..lolz..

    I don't have the proper command of English. But I can make a simple business letter.

    This morning, I asked her to make an authorization letter for the bank. Here's what she made:

    The Manager
    Bank XXXXX

    Dear Sir:

    Please, this is to authorized Mr. XXXX, holder of passport number XXXX to check returned collection.


    Signed.

    Sorry, guys. I am just having headaches everyday that's why I came up with this entry. Tuwing tinatanong ako ng boss ko kung okay ba ang assistant ko, nagsisinungaling ako. Why? Because I know the reason - like me, she needs job. I just hope someday she will learn and equip herself at hindi na maging sakit ng ulo.

    "Acting is a nice childish profession - pretending you're someone else, and at the same time, selling yourself"

    Monday, September 14, 2009

    0 COMMENT PUBLISHED

    Why do some posts have no comments? Is it because walang nagbabasa ng mga post na yon? Walang nag-iiwan ng comment? Or di kaya ayaw ng blog owner na i-publish ang mga comment na hindi kanais-nais?

    Ikaw, matanong nga kita. Lahat ba ng mga comment na iniiwan ng ‘yong mga mambabasa ay pina-publish mo? Hindi diba? Madalas mababasa natin sa tuwing nag-iiwan tayo ng comment sa ibang blog may magpa-pop-up na message na ganito, “Your comment has been saved and will be visible after blog owner approval.”

    Bakit kailangang may comment moderation? Sa palagay ko (sa palagay ko lang ha) kailangan natin ang comment moderation para hindi natin mailathala ang mga offensive comment mula sa mga taong walang magawa sa buhay kundi paninira lang. Sa mga taong hindi seryoso sa kanilang mga comment.

    Sa totoo, lahat ng mga comment sa blog ko ay pina-publish ko. Wala akong tinatago kahit isa. Kahit na simpleng comment na “hi” ay pinagtuunan ko ng pansin na ipublish. Offensive man ang mga comment o mga walang katuturan pina-publish ko dahil ito ay mahalaga sa akin. Tulad halimbawa ng sumusunod:

    Note: unedited
    I WILL SHOW YOU IF YOU WANT A EGOTIC,SELFISH AND ARROGANT FILIPINOS,DICKHEAD,MF,single reason for hate them is for their dull and dump ass,mentality, they and their pork cooking in public oven,using office for the 3 times of brushing theirr teeth,obviously spitting and patting and creating sensual brushing and kissing in public,wearing lingeries only in public are common you bastard,if you want a debate,come to me staright,they are very slow and complaining,and very selfish, maybe some filipinos men are good,they and their dating culture,dumphead.

    Posted by kalpen dubai2009 at January 20, 2009, 4:08 pm

    Ito ay isang comment mula sa hindi ko kilalang tao sa post ko na may pamagat na “Filipinos are Incomparable”. Mababasa ninyo ang post na ito by following this link.

    Sa palagay ninyo, kung kayo ‘yong nakatanggap ng ganitong comment ipo-post nyo kaya?

    Sunday, September 6, 2009

    Credit Card - Does it help you?

    Kaskas dito, kaskas doon. Pindot dito, pindot doon. Bili dito, bili doon. Ito ba madalas mong ginagawa noong unang tanggap mo ng credit card? Marahil, ito nga, kasi gawain ko din 'to.

    Nakakatawa noong unang tanggap ko ng crdit card. Tawag agad ako sa customer service para ma-activate ito. Tatlong minuto lang activated na ang card ko. Punta agad ako sa ATM at sinubukan kong mag-cash advance. Ang bilis. Ang bilis maglabas ng pera ang ATM. Pagkatapos sinubukan ko namang bumili sa department store. Ang bilis din. Hindi tumatanggi ang cashier. Feeling ko dali-dali ng pera. Feeling ko lang 'yon. Medyo nabulag kasi ako sa katotohanan na ang credit card ay utang pa rin. At dahil ito ay utang, kailangan nating bayaran sa ayaw at sa gusto natin.

    Sa Dubai, hindi mahirap kumuha ng credit card. Sa sobrang dami ng bangko dito, di mo na alam kung saan ka uutang. Lahat ng bangko ay nagpapautang - personal loans, car loans, overdraft facility, credit cards at iba pang loan. Simple lang ang collateral ng pautang dito - kung meron ka lang labor contract and your salary is within their specified bracket, pwedeng-pwede kang umutang.

    Dahil dito, sobrang dami ng mga expats ang nalolong sa utang. Ang mga kababayan natin, kaliwa't kanan ang utang. Umaabot hanggang sampu ang credit card. Maliban sa credit card, meron rin silang personal loans. Kagaya ko, may personal loan at credit card ako sa citibank at may credit card din ako sa First Gulf Bank.

    Maganda ang magkakaroon ng credit card. Sa panahon ng emergency pwede mo itong gamitin. Malayang-malaya kang makabili ng gusto mo.Pero sa kalaunan di mo alam na unti-unti ka na palang kinain ng credit card mo. Marami sa mga kababayan natin ang nagkaroon ng problema dito sa Dubai dahil sa credit card. Tulad halimbawa ni Ashley (nagbabasa siya ng blog ko kaya hindi ko inilathala ang totoo niyang pangalan). Walo ang credit card niya mula sa iba't ibang bangko. Apat na beses na siyang nakulong dahil hindi siya nakabayad. Paano nga ba siya makakabayad kung ang sahod niya ay hindi sapat? Kaya tiis-tiis lang muna sa jail.
    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Kamakailan lang pumunta ako sa Esprit sa may Dubai Festival Center. Binalak kung bumili ng longsleeve. Sa kasamaang palad hindi ko nabili ang gusto ko kasi hindi gumana ang card printer ng Esprit. Tatlong beses na ikinaskas ng cashier ang credit card ko pero hindi ito nagpi-print. Hindi naman daw decline ang response ng bank, hindi nga lang daw nagprint ang machine at dahil hindi ngprint hindi approved ang transaction ko. Tama ba ang narinig ko?

    Nang tiningnan ko online ang statement ko after 2 weeks, nagri-reflect ang transactions ko sa Esprit. Tinawagan ko ang bangko at ang sabi nito nabayaran na daw nila ang Esprit. Sinabi kong hindi approved ang transactions na yon at paano nila binayaran ang Esprit eh wala akong perma sa cardslip. Binigyan nila ako ng approval number at sinabing kausapin ko daw ang Esprit. Pinuntahan ko ang Esprit at ang sabi nito hindi daw nila natanggap ang bayad ng bangko at nai-reversed na daw nila ang transactions na yon. Paano nila nasabing nai-reversed na eh hindi naireflect sa statement ko ang reversal entries nito?

    First time ko lang maranasan ang ganitong fraud. Hindi naman masyadong malaki ang amount kaya lang, nakakairita kasi nagbabayad ka sa hindi mo nakukuhang produkto. Kaya ngayon ayoko nang gumamit ng credit card.

    Monday, August 31, 2009

    Sa Ugoy ng Duyan

    Kahapon naisipan kong gumagala sa Mall of Emirates. Dahil gusto kong magpalamig at mabigyan ang aking sarili ng kunting break matapos ang mga "pinagdaanan" ko nitong mga nakaraang araw nakapagpasya akong ibahin muna kahit sandali ang aking kapaligiran. Walang masyadong tao ang mall. Ramadan kasi kaya hindi masyadong matao ang lugar. Hindi nagsisilabasan ang karamihan.

    Paiikut-ikot ako sa mga stores. Kunwari bumibili, hindi naman. Ito ang naging drama ko. Palibhasa walang perang nakalaan para sa malling na 'yon.

    Nakakaboring din pala ang mag-window shopping lalo na't marami kang gustong bilhin pero nagtitimpi ka dahil natatakot kang ma-over budget. Punta doon, punta dito. Naiikot ko na ata halos buong mall. Pero parang hindi pa rin yata ako nalibang.

    Sa aking pag-iikot dinala ako ng aking mga paa sa Magic Planet. "Wow, mga palaruan!", sabi ko sa sarili ko. Ang daming palaro - may deal or no deal pa. Kakaiba ang kulay ng mga ilaw. Ang ganda-ganda. Ano kayang laro ang lalaruin ko? Subukan ko kaya ang car bumping. Kaya lang wala akong kalaro, nag-iisa ako.Sino ang babanggain ko? Mga naglalarong hindi ko kilala? Wag na lang, ayokong masuntok.

    Ilang minuto din akong nagmasid at namili, hanggang sa niisip kong sumakay ng ride. Kaya lang, ano bang klaseng ride ang pipiliin ko? Nakakalito din. Meron kasing mahigit sampung klase ng ride ang pwede mong sakyan.

    At last, nakapili na rin ako. Sinubukan ko ang Equinox. Lintik! Akala ko sa simula simpleng ride lang ito at katulad lang ng merry-go-round ang movement nito. Malay ko ba kung matindi pa pala ito sa roller coaster, eh, wala kasi ito sa probinsiya namin. Pataas, pababa, paikot, pabagsak. Naku po..Hinihimitay ako. Parang lalabas lahat ang mga lamang loob ko. Hindi ko mapigil ang mapahiyaw sa takot kaya pumikit na lang ako at hinayaang matapos ang limang minutong hampas doon, hampas dito. Lahat ata ng masamang ispiritung sumapi sa akin nalaglag dahil sa tindi ng takot sa duyan ng equinox.

    Nakakatakot man ito pero sa aking pagsakay natutunan ko ang isang bagay na siguro hindi ko makakalimutan habambuhay. Kung ano man ito 'wag na lang ninyong itanong..lolz