week-end!

i feel so sleep deprived. my mind has turned to lugaw (or congee, or rice porridge, it's all the same damned thing) after our proficiency exam, which i flunked (got 38 out of 50, passing is 40). dang, i missed passing the exam by a couple of points.

so, anyway, before i hie off to lala land, let's sum up what happened this week. not that anything exciting happened to my life, unless you count the daily commute to and from work exciting. and no, it is not.

*****

as i predicted, the supreme court junked the petition to allow a people's initiative to revise the constitution. the vote was slim — 8 for junking against 7 for not junking — the reason being that the signatures gathered to launch the initiative (more than 6 million) were suspicious and the case was remanded to the comelec for verification of signatures.

i've always thought that the initiative would be junked because in the case of defensor santiago vs. COMELEC (serious law students should remember this — i did), promulgated sometime in 1997, the court had declared the provision in the constitution allowing for a people's initiative to amend or revise the constitution as requiring an enabling law for it to be valid. atty. raul lambino and his cohorts should have thought about that when they started the signature campaign.

then again, it is time to change the 1987 constitution so that it can go with the flow of the times. i mean, most of the provisions contained therein are unnecessary and outdated, not suitable for the changing times. i also think that there are institutions that need to be abolished, like the senate (senators cause an extreme waste of public funds by sitting on their asses all day). and there are policies that need to be reviewed and updated if we are to adapt ourselves to the changing times.

*****

the week ended brightly for the economy when the US$ was worth Php49.78 pesos, the highest valuation for the philippine peso in, what, 9 years. and the stock market has been rallying, thanks to investors who keep the money pouring into the philippines.

i suspect that a big chunk of these investments come from BPOs and contact centers. after all, how many contact centers are there in the philippines? a lot. and that means big money, more job opportunities, and more investments, since a lot of foreign companies will outsource jobs to the philippines.

if only we can do something about the security situation. and the bureaucracy. then things would really get rolling. who knows, we might even reach first world status by the year 2020.

as if.

*****

oh, yeah, this week (thursday to be exact), i went to UE to claim my certificate of graduation. then i wandered around national bookstore in recto (my haven of refuge during those days when my students would foul up my mood) and picked up 3 books: love in the time of cholera by gabriel garcia marquez (i've wanted to have this book for the longest time but couldn't find it anywhere else); freakonomics by steven levitt (or is it stephen? i don't know); and an anthology of short stories by nobel prize-winning authors.

i'm reading freakonomics now, and for a slim volume, it seems interesting. it's almost like the 21st century equivalent of alvin toffler's series.

also this week, my sister dianne gave me her advanced christmas present — an MP4 player with a 2-megapixel camera and video capabilities. so nice of her. now i don't know what to get her for her birthday (next month) and for christmas.

*****

now i'm off to lala land. yey. good night to me, and sweet dreams.

Reading: freakonomics by steven levitt
Feeling: sleepy

something interesting

20 Trends that changed our lives in the last 20 years
By Pauline Suaco-Juan
The Philippine Star 07/29/2006

1) iPod

This sleek music machine from Apple has become a design icon for its form and function, but the fact that it plays music you can download off the internet - for free - means that its success has partly changed the way the recording industry operates. The thing is the Ipod just gets smaller and thinner and better, and against normal logic, the smaller it gets, the more stuff you can put into it. First, it only played music. Then you could store pictures. Next time around it's gonna be a phone to boot.

2) Texting

Can you imagine what life would be like without texting and how you'd be able to get on with your day if you didn't have your mobile phone with you? Probably not. Pinoys have spawned a whole new syntax for text messaging: dnt 4get 2 tel evry1 ur nme (don't forget to tell everyone your name). We would rather go through the laborious process of typing away our messages rather than just calling. It's made it easier though to keep in touch with friends, relatives, and the people you work with; and made it even easier to meet new friends.

3) Music Videos

Music videos changed the way we process information. The advent of quick cuts, multiple effects and non-linear storylines was perfect for our short attention span. Abroad, they've been great marketing tools. J.Lo used it to great effect to transition from fly girl to pop star. Paris Hilton has one airing now and it's almost made us think that she can actually sing. Locally, music videos are the best way to view the new Pinoy renaissance in music (check out Up Dharma Down, Drip, and Kjwan) and film-making (look for the ones megged by Quark Henares and Lyle Sacris).

4) Ukay-ukay

Once upon a time, you could only wear what the stores carried; but in the last five years, the popularity of vintage clothing has bred a whole new generation of fashionistas. The rise of the ukay-ukay as a legitimate fashion source came about after the world's most popular designers, Marc Jacobs for one, and London's most happening fashion plates went on record to say that they trawled the world's flea markets and vintage stores. Designer collections in New York, Milan, and Paris started looking back to decades past. The ukay-ukay's most lasting effect though was to democratize fashion. Because you needn't pay an arm and a leg for ukay fashions, anyone who had a discerning eye and the imagination to reinvent could be a style star.

5) Casual Days

Although jeans have been around since the 1800's when Levi Strauss first invented them, they've only come to dominate the way we dress so completely in the last fifteen years. Once upon a time there used to be dress codes. Now it seems you can wear jeans anywhere and to almost any occasion. In fact if there's any look that will mark the beginning of this millennium it will be how everyone has begun to dress down. While the fashion industry will forever churn out its looks for the season, the fact remains that a t-shirt, a pair of jeans, and - thanks to Havaianas - a pair of flip-flops are now appropriate gear.

6) Wellness

Manila's fast paced lifestyle and being on-call 24/7 (because of texting and email) have made spas and other havens for chilling out and de-stressing a necessity. Yoga (for exercise) and hilot (for massage), are age-old practices enjoying renewed popularity among those tired of the slick and the sophisticated.

7) Reality Bites

From Pinoy Big Brother to Bryanboy's blog to "I-Me-My" journalism (the kind that's really more diary than opinion column), Pinoys can't get enough of the real and the mundane. Everyone's jumping on the reality bandwagon for their five minutes worth of fame (and hopefully fortune). Following the lead of PBB alumni Sam Milby and Zanjo Marudo, many try the TV route and audition for one of the many contest format shows; many more are opting to write their own blogs, hoping to achieve even a fraction of the attention, if not controversy, Bryanboy's site has generated.

8) Madonna

Much has been said about the virgin-wannabe turned Material Girl turned blonde provocateur turned Evita, turned model mom, turned Kabalah disciple, turned so on and so forth. There's more to Madonna than her fashion statements - and she's definitely had many. She's the queen of reinvention and has inspired people the world over to defy conventions and the expected. With her sugary, childlike voice, her pop songs (Borderline, Like a Virgin, Material Girl, Vogue) were the dance anthem of a generation. Twenty years down the line, innovation; an innate curiosity for what's new; a willingness to collaborate with today's brightest talents have kept Madonna one of today's most influential stars.

9) Cosmetic Surgery

From laser hair removal (personally, the most convenient thing to happen to women's grooming) to botox injections to banish crow's feet and change the way your eyebrows fall, never before has the power to defy nature come so easily. Cosmetic surgery is the modern fountain of youth - and there's no shame in dipping into it. If you're growing older, gaining weight, or just plain not happy with the way you look, you can do something about it and all it takes is a visit to your doctor. You're in good company. The most beloved of today's stars openly talk of the procedures they've had and stare smilingly down into the metro from the giant billboards of Vicky Belo and Pie Calayan.

10) Hyphenate Phenomenon

Once upon a time, you could take pride in having a career. Now, it's not just enough to have one, you've got to have two - or three even. Enter the hyphenate: the model-slash-swimsuit designer-slash-newspaper columnist or the investment banker-slash-DJ. Of course, all of this is done with marketing savvy and documented in the dailies and glossies. Where in the olden days, one spent practically a lifetime training and paying their dues, kids nowadays are set on overdrive and want everything done right here, right now. The downside to this? People get tired, burn out faster and suffer from the so-called quarter life crisis.

11) Internet

It's a whole world of information right at your fingertips. The Internet has changed the way we shop, communicate, research, listen to music, watch movies, play games, meet possible friends and life partners even. It's instant connectivity; instant information. WiFi has become more common that it's de rigueur for any self-respecting university or mall to have it. It's convenient, generally reliable, and fast fast fast. With people becoming more demanding of their bandwith speeds, it may very well spawn a new type of ADD.

12) Celebrity

We're one with the rest of the world with our obsession over Brad and Angelina, Jen and Vince, Tom and Katie, and the fascination over the sartorial choices of Lindsay, Nicole, and Jessica Simpson. Today, signing up to be a celebrity means a life lived in front of the paparazzi - and we're there to watch everything (whether it's on The Buzz or ET) unfold with bated breath.

13) Coffee

The green umbrellas of Seattle-based Starbucks mushroomed all over the city, and Filipinos took to coffee drinking with a fervor. As the Pinoy's appreciation for fine coffee grew, so did the number of coffee chains in the country. Homegrown brand Figaro, which has initiated the cultivation of the barako, (our native coffee bean) has even begun to branch out overseas, opening outlets in the Middle East and China where they are trying to give Starbucks a run for their money. All these coffee shops have given rise to a burgeoning cafe society, where it is acceptable to be seen lounging around over a cuppa coffee.

14) SUV's

First there was the Pajero; then came the Expedition. Now everyone's crazy over the Fortuner. Funny how Pinoys have taken to SUV's - you'd think that Manila is a city the size of Houston and you have to travel great distances and rugged terrain to get from one part of the city to the other. Though they are gas guzzlers, an SUV makes you feel like you are king of the road.

15) High Rise Living

Thanks to the rising cost of real estate, high rise condominiums have come to dominate the urban skyline. Hundreds of families share ownership of a home eked out of thin air but keep within the four walls of their individual units. Instead of expansive backyards and gardens where the neighborhood kids gather to play, children are cooped up in 90 square meters of apartment space with the TV - and family computer - as primary entertainment. When they do venture out, it is off to Little Gym, where parents willingly pay tuition for what was once freely called play time.

16) Call Center Lifestyle

As more and more call centers set up shop in Manila, a growing number of the workforce toil all night and cap work with reverse happy hour at 6-10 am. Making a living off troubleshooting and listening to complaints can take its toll, but with a starting salary of roughly P23,000, the call center folks have got the disposable income to live the good life. The question is, with a work schedule rivaling that of a vampire, can they live it?

wandergirl says: YES!

17) Cosmo and FHM

The launch - and the unprecedented success (Cosmo is the best-selling women's magazine in the country; FHM is the best selling magazine of all time in the Philippines) - of the Philippine editions of Cosmopolitan and FHM have made Filipinos more aware of their sexuality. Both magazines tackle what was once a taboo topic - sex - with candor and a healthy sense of humor.

18) Call of the Malls

Malls have replaced the proverbial town plaza as the center of community life. Everything happens in the malls. SM said it best: "We've got it all for you," and proceeded to make good on its promises and other malls followed suit. Have a toothache? The dentist is in Shangri-La Plaza's Wellness Center. Early childhood education? Even the venerable Brent has got a branch at the Alabang Town Center. Need to exercise? Try one of the many mall branches of Gold's Gym - or else walk the length of the new Mall of Asia, the country's biggest mall with 400,000 square meters of retail heaven on 19 hectares of land, and you're sure to burn off those calories.

19) Luxury

Just when you thought that things couldn't get more expensive, the world's leading luxury brands find a way to up the ante. For Autumn/Winter 2006, for example, Louis Vuitton is coming out with a limited edition special order clutch made entirely out of white gold. The French luxury house has also built exclusive VIP rooms in some of its flagship stores to give specialized attention to its big spending clients. More and more people want things that are special and are willing to pay the price to get that.

20) The Designer Diet

The no carbs mantra of the Atkins Diet and the three stage formula of do's and don't of the South Beach Diet were a hit with Pinoys, and became bestsellers at National Bookstore. They spawned a host of copycat methods (like the Hamptons Diet that was billed to be the secret of svelte New York socialites) and rehashed theories (Why French Women Don't Get Fat and Secrets of My Mother's Tokyo Kitchen basically talked about portion control and eating the correct kinds of food). Just in case these diets didn't work for you, hope springs eternal that the next diet book (Blood Type Diet, for example, which tells you what foods you can and can not eat based on your blood type) may be just what you're looking for.

Reading: freakonomics by steven levitt
Feeling: sleepy

everybody’s free…

Wear sunscreen.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience.

I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth. Oh, never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.

You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.

Do one thing everyday that scares you.

Sing.

Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. Don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.

Floss.

Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind. The race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.

Stretch.

Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life. The most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives. Some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.

Get plenty of calcium.

Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t. Maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary. Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either. Your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body. Use it every way you can. Don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it. It’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.

Dance, even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.

Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.

Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.

Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.

Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard. Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.

Respect your elders.

Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse, but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will look 85.

Be careful whose advice you buy. But be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia; dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

But trust me on the sunscreen.

Baz Luhrmann (Was an article published in the Chicago Tribune on June 1, 1997 by columnist Mary Schmich)

i feel the earth move under my feet/ghosts

700 aftershocks recorded since Friday

Although about 10 quakes hit the Philippines every day, few are felt. Only three major, destructive tremors have been recorded in more than 30 years.

*****
so it wasn't only 3 or 5 times. it was more than 700 freaking times.

i remember one time that i was asleep in bed when i felt the ground shaking and the glass doors of my bookcase were shaking as well. i leapt out of bed, woke up my family members, and ran out into the street in my sleepwear and no slippers. that was in 1999, i think, because i was still in law school.

*****

don't look now, but i think there's a ghost in my room. or ghosts. or whatever.

i've felt it (or them) sitting on my bed more than once already. it's like, i'm lying on my side, facing my side table, then i feel the bed sinking beside me, as if someone just sat there or lay down beside me. and this happens at all hours of the day, not just at midnight or 2am. it happened once at around 4pm, while i was taking my nap.

when i was still reviewing for the bar, i used to keep late hours, and i sometimes slept at 3am. during the time i was reading, i only kept my desk lamp turned on so i can concentrate. i also kept the radio turned on, playing softly, since i cannot study in complete silence. then i would feel a presence behind me, like someone (or something) just walked or whizzed by. no shadows, just a presence. or presences. this happened more than once.

at first i was a bit scared, but then i got used to it, ever since i moved into that room almost a year ago. my brother used to sleep in that room before he left for the states, and he also has felt presences, and one time he even woke up in the middle of the night because he heard, or thought he heard, someone whispering his name. he couldn't sleep in his room for days after that time, so our helper at that time made up a story that it was she who was calling his name from the window.

when the room was vacated it was used as a guest room. my lola, before she died, slept in that room whenever she came to manila. she was lying on the bed before she got up to go to the bathroom, and had a stroke which claimed her life.

i'm not scared anymore, because i know it's lola who's watching over me, especially since she knows my penchant for staying up late all the time. and if there is more than one entity there, then it must be lola, her husband, and good angels and white spirits who guard us our house every day and every night.

visitors to our house, especially our boyfriends/suitors/male friends have often told us that they felt an unseen presence watching them. i tell them those are the guardians of the house, the good spirits who make sure that nothing bad happens to us.

*****

Currently reading: the well of lost plots
Currently feeling: sleepy

earthquake!

Three quakes jolt Mindoro

Although about 10 quakes hit the Philippines every day, few are felt. Only three major, destructive tremors have been recorded in more than 30 years, according to the institute. AFP

when the first tremor hit at around 10:30 last night, i was seated in the training room with some of my batchmates. we were chatting when someone (i think it was ella) asked, "lumilindol ba (is there an earthquake)?" we all replied yes, and i panicked a bit because i have this trauma from the 1990 earthquake.

we didn't feel the second one probably because we were all at the smoking area at the ground floor, but the third one we did feel, since we were all in the training room.

i remember the mild quakes of september and october 2004, when i was still working in PS. the first time the earth shook while i was signing up a customer. the second time, i let the sale go because my seatmate (it was audrey, i think) had grabbed my arm and was ready to cry.

some experts say that manila is ripe for the big one. i wonder if this series of earthquakes (mind you, not merely aftershocks of the first but separate instances) is a prelude to the big one. along EDSA, near the MMDA building, i've seen trailers converted into MMDA disaster, uh, preparedness thingies. i don't know what's in those trailers, but i sure hope they can be useful once the big one strikes.

the thought of a strong earthquake scares me, because since it's unpredictable, it could happen while i'm in a bus traversing the ayala underpass, or at work in a high-rise office building. or even at home (thank goodness i have no more ceiling fan in my room) or while walking somewhere. my dad says that buildings designed and put up after the 1990 earthquake were designed to withstand earthquakes of up to intensity 8 or 8.5, which make them actually much safer than the older, pre-1990 buildings that were not retrofitted.

i guess what happens is that the higher the building, the lighter the materials are, so that the building will merely sway with the shaking without necessarily toppling over. which explains why those on the higher floors feel the quake more strongly than those on the ground floor.

i don't know if that fact makes me feel better or scares me more, but as long as the fact comes from an engineer with solid years of experience behind him, i'd believe it.

*****

another thing that's causing a bit of alarm is the threat of terrorism. over the past few days (or weeks, i don't know, i've lost track of time), several explosions have happened in key cities in mindanao, from bombs planted by terrorists (abu sayyaf? jemaah islamiyah? MILF? NPA? i dunno, they're all the same), and the next target could be metropolitan manila and the big cities in the visayas like cebu and bacolod.

in february 2005, the now infamous valentine's day bombing in makati caused enough terror in me to make me not want to take the bus home from SM makati. at that time, my shift ended at 6am but i went home much much later than that. after the bombing i avoided that area for weeks until i could muster enough courage to take a ride from there.

even when the situation had calmed down i was, and still am, very much alert whenever i take public transportation. if it's not a bomb i'm watching out for, it's the snatchers and holduppers. i mean, one never knows. the well-dressed yuppie type sitting next to you on the bus or jeep could be the holdupper or terrorist, and the man in ratty shorts and tshirt is a legitimate and honest-to-goodness construction worker. it's hard to tell by appearances because bad people can dress nicely and then take away your property or even your life. so it pays to be careful, watchful and alert.

and of course, praying also helps.

*****

Am Reading: the exorcist
I Feel: sleepy

the story of a call center agent

abs-cbn recently featured the story of a call center agent who was so harrassed by a caller that it led to an exchange of cursing between the agent and the caller.

(download it from here.)

the conversation, since it was recorded, is now sought after in all internet sites (at least in the philippines, since the agent was from a local call center and the whole thing was in tagalog), and i believe a lot has been said and written about this incident.

i used to think that after my almost 2-year stint at a call center i didn't want to go back to doing that job. sure, it's a hassle. it causes frayed nerves, especially when we dealt with irate callers. but never once in my life have i reacted to an irate caller in the same way that catherine rosana (the agent's name) reacted to her caller. if i felt the urge to react violently, i pressed the mute button while the caller was ranting, so that he/she could not hear me sighing deeply on my end. i took out the frustration during my breaks by shaking it off me and smiling at everyone i knew.

and we were taught that if the caller started using abusive language, which the caller in this particular case didn't do, we could warn him/her twice and on the third instance, we could drop the call.

raul (the caller) didn't exactly use abusive language at catherine. he was venting his frustration at the slowness of the repair of his DSL connection. i felt the same way because when our internet connection was down for 3 days, i had to call PLDT and ask when it would be up. being a call center agent myself, i refrained from bitching about my situation but i made sure that the agent who took my call got my point: i'm paying for service that i'm not getting, so please give me my DSL service.

but catherine rosana reacted in a wrong way. she probably thought that raul cursed at her so she cursed him. tsk, tsk. wrong reaction. she sounded too unsure of what she was saying that raul sounded like he was actually goading her. then it led to the exchange of abusive language and ending with catherine crying and telling raul that he did not have the right to curse her because she was only telling him what she was told about his service. and the bad part is, SHE FRIGGIN' HUNG UP ON HIM.

i'm not sure i want to side with either one, because i have been both an agent and a customer. what i've learned so far is that when a caller is irate, the agent should not react in an angry or excessively aggressive manner. not only is it the height of rudeness, it's also a great cause of stress to the agent.

and it's irritating that abs-cbn cashed in on that one phone call to an agent in a local call center. they made such a big deal out of it that they stated that working as a call center agent is a very very VERY stressful job. some months ago, they came up with a feature on call centers, where they emphasized that the job is so nakaka-bobo and that it's a dead end job.

i wonder what's their beef about call centers and agents. i know a lot of agents and call center people who are happy with their jobs because it brings food to the table, pays the bills, and makes them better citizens of the country because they pay taxes and make the money go around. certainly it's better than having to go abroad and work at the mercy of abusive employers, with the uncertainty of going home either hale and healthy or in a wooden box.

and it's certainly way better than rallying in the streets and making too much noise without contributing to the country's economy.

besides, not anyone can be a call center agent. it takes more than great speaking skills to be one; there are other things to consider, such as maturity, learning skills, a little technical know-how, patience, and people skills. and there's also the ability to sometimes bluff your way through a situation. take note, i said "sometimes", not all the time, because a call center agent should not be dishonest.

i think catherine rosana cannot be one because she doesn't know what she's doing, and she certainly shows it.

*****

gotta get some sleep. i'm rambling here.

My Music: friday magic madness
Am Reading: the exorcist
I Feel: sleepy

a shameless little plug

oh, well….

Shameless Plea For Link Building

Botchay and I are still working on Project MAKYU. We have high hopes and big plans for it. If you’re reading this post right now, and you own a blog or a website (a blog IS a website, duh?), help us and link Project MAKYU up. Ask your friends to link up as well.

Project MAKYU (link to http://themakyuproject.keysinunez.com)
the MAKYU project (link to http://themakyuproject.keysinunez.com)
Do the MAKYU (link to http://themakyuproject.keysinunez.com)

Dianne and Keysi would really appreciate your linking us up.

and if you want to submit your own pictures, send them to makyuproject@earthlink.net. no nudity, please.

Guidelines are as follows:

1. A solo picture has to have at least a head, plus the finger, or the ring finger up
2. A group picture has to have everyone with the finger, or the ring finger up
3. Porn or any kind of nudity will not be posted. Same goes with anything disgusting (except for your face–HAHA!), and/or anything racist and all that shit. You know the drill.
4. Pictures that do not comply with any two of the above mentioned will not be posted.
5. Email all submissions to makyuproject [at] earthlink [dot] net.