Gated

Prospect Employer called and scheduled an interview. *Gasps* I only have two days to prepare. *Breaks out* Twelve months? It has been barely three months; why did they have to set false expectations? Being caught off-guard on something as significant as this can be so frustrating. Blame's on me I admit, but still! It's like leafing through Vogue if you know what I mean. (Lame, bleh.) I still have unfinished business, "Um, how shall I put this?" If you know what I mean. :(

Latest Downloads

Linked images.

Suga Shikao, "NOBODY KNOWS"

Utada Hikaru, "Prisoner of Love"

Stimulate My Brain

Gray is my new favorite color. It suits the general atmosphere of my life right now: boredom.

I'm so bored I harbor delusions of being in love and, worse, of somebody falling in love with me. I feel like an ad for Centrum. I want to be complete (God as my Last Resort). I want to do this and that, but I'm broke; I want to have this and that, but I'm broke. Ah, the pursuit of worldly and material things, stuffing for the void expanding within.

To save myself from shiteous ponderings, I read. In my spare time, I read Atkinson & Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology which isn't bad at all. If I had not taken up Business, I would have studied Psychology. It's liberating to understand the workings of a disturbed mind, especially mine. I always fancied myself possessing superior intrapersonal intelligence. (I said "intrapersonal", not "interpersonal".)

Jessica Zafra's books I recently bought I'm done consuming cover-to-cover. Mankiw's Macroeconomics I dare not pick up-- not just yet. (It's Vigile's copy, heehee.) On my next trip to National I'll scour for Minna no Nihongo with instructions in English. It'll be my fifth attempt to self-study Japanese. (Is "self-study" a verb?)
---
Latest Downloads (linked images)

Hirai Ken, "Itsuka Hanareru Hi ga Kite mo"

Itzhak Perlman, The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)

JUDY AND MARY, COMPLETE BEST ALBUM ''FRESH''

Madonna, Hard Candy

YUKI, "Kisha ni Notte"

Untitled, Part I

My life has been peaceful recently. Or uneventful, rather. No pressing deadline to run away from, no unlucky bastard to obsess over, no nothing. At least I'm less prone to those horrible zits.

Well, I have my work at which I cockily aim (but not consciously strive) to improve and excel. It is not so much the love for it as much as it is the need to prove myself. Nor is it discipline as it is just a whim. While I wait for the 12-month employment block Prospect Employer imposed, to pass, I might as well make the best out of my stay with Present Employer. Wonder if my lust to jump fences will wane over the span.

Fortunately, I've grown to enjoy what I'm doing. I already have the hang of faking an accent while troubleshooting over the phone. Wireless is my favorite, finding WEP keys and creating Preferred Networks. There are the occasional irate customers or the much dreaded, bloody File and Printer Sharing that will cause you to utter God's name in vain or insult one's mother-- you have to press "Mute" of course. In either case, the Release button is at your disposal. Just mistag the interaction with "Could Not Reach Customer".

(To be continued.)

Boys of Summer

For those who care, my new work sched:

Shift: 3AM-12NN
RD: Wed-Thurs

Yay to haggard pay. Boo to... bootoytoy boolootong? Ang init, que puta!
---
Oi, Chris Tiu, why keep that black shirt on? In summer, on the beach? Hiding (God, forbid) some flab under? Embarrassed of your pasty complexion? (Leche flan, yum yum.) Never mind Will Devaughn and Derek Ramsey. We want you, Chris Tiu! Naked.
---
Hoy, Pinoy Big Bother, that Slav-looking guy in your house, stitch back his foreskin! (Poor boy, his shame seen by the whole nation.) What a waste! In a BelAmi flick it could've appeared. Sliding up and down his third leg.
---
Psst, Office Crushee, heehee. You're 25 but how come I look older? You've been reminding me of someone, and only recently did it hit me you're a deadringer for Marky Cielo. Albeit with a more chiseled bone structure. *Faints, dies, resurrects* Since I can't rely on my sociopathic tendencies (or just plain repulsive personality) for you to befriend me, I bribe you with food. Haha. Loser.
---
Latest downloads (click image for Wiki link):

Pokpok kung pokpok si Lola Mariah! Ano yan, twalya?

Who would've though karton could be chic?

Sour-graping Rationalizing

Finally I bought my own portable music player (PMP). No, it's not an 80-GB iPod. I'm not that rich... yet, nor am I a fan of the MP3 file format (much less the AAC). I prefer my music files in 64-bit WMA: space-efficient. What, you're bionic? You can distinguish the difference in sound quality given your plain audio speakers or headset? I don't think so.

Anyway, it wasn't really a planned purchase nor was it an outright act of impulse. For the longest time, I've been contemplating buying a PMP, you know, like how one would idly daydream about a successful future career. Labo, noh? Speaking of career... okay, later. So I headed to Trinoma with a cheapipay, CD-R King-branded, 2-GB PMP in mind. Long story short, I ended up with a vagina-sounding something.

Official site

Brand: Kingston
Model: K-PEX 100
Memory: 2GB (expandable)
LCD: 2in color (220x176pi)
Playback Time: 17hr
File Formats: MP3, WMA, OGG, ASF / MPG, WMV, AVI, ASF / JPG, TXT

I've been drooling for the all-in-one N96, but that would have to wait for a looong time. Like loving you looong time. Like bridging the gap between your current and desired states. Labo ulit.

---
A couple of weeks back I took the employment exam of this company the name of which I shall withhold-- let's just pretend that you don't know and that I don't know that you know-- for it hurts my ego. I passed the first part which was an aptitude test. Well, that's a given. KAPAL! And *pluk*, I failed the second part which was a personality assessment of sorts.

What was I thinking?! Hoping with intestines crossed that I'd fit the personality profile the company is looking for. Even wet-dreaming that I'd reach the interview in which I'd dazzle them with my call-center soft skills. "Is this a good callback number? With whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" My ass!

"We encourage you to apply again in 12 months and consider the available opportunities at that time..."

Twelve months is a looong time. Soooper long. Soooper Stick. Awat na.

P.S.: Sorry, Kattyleegifford, no referral incetive GCs for you. Hehe.

HEART STATION

Hikki's Website (Official Site)
Wiki.ThePPN


1. Fight The Blues
2. HEART STATION
3. Beautiful World
4. Flavor Of Life -Ballad Version-
5. Stay Gold
6. Kiss & Cry
7. Gentle Beast Interlude
8. Celebrate
9. Prisoner Of Love
10. Take 5 (テイク 5)
11. Boku wa Kuma (ぼくはくま; I'm a Bear)
12. Niji-iro Bus (虹色バス; Rainbow Colored Bus)
13. Flavor Of Life [Bonus Track]

Update Ulit

Martyr-martyran

Haloo! Hehe.

Our shift assignments for March were already announced. Mine's below.

Start: 9:30PM
End: 6:30AM
Rest: Tues-Wed

The employer deliberately set it that even when my shift adjusts one hour earlier (8:30PM) for the daylight saving time (whatever that is); I'm still 30 minutes shy from receiving hazard pay. Grrr.

And originally, my rest days were supposed to be on Sat-Sun; however, I swapped schedules with a workmate.

She is a 29-year-old mother of two and has held jobs as an architect and a band vocalist. She's beautiful and intelligent, too (la lang, had to include that). Thing is her husband will force her to resign if her rest days fall on weekdays that's why I readily swapped with her. That means sacrificing weekend eat-outs/lakwatsa on my part. But I guess it's okay, she has been my work companion recently and I wouldn't want her to go.
---
Archuchuchu


David Archuleta, you had me at "Hello" "Heaven". You rock my world and you don't know it! Waah!

Notice he has this quirk of licking and licking and licking his lips. We'd just wish we were those plump, soft, and red lips. He'd set our underwear drawers on fire. Pati mga brief at panty nagliliyaban sa sampayan. He'd even pass for a Zac Efron look-alike. (Hehe, that's pushing it.)

But you have to admit David's more than just a cutie pie, he's got talent.

√ Vocal Quality
√ Vocal Range
√ Vocal Control

Emphasis on the control: melismatic, can pull off a riff without breaking a vocal chord sweat. That poses an internal conflict on my part though because if I had that voice, singing black songs would be as smooth as writing in cursive. And I wouldn't need to lower octaves! But I guess I'd let admiration overwhelm envy.

Obviously, David Archuleta is disturbing the peace. My peace of mind.
---
Explicating

I: Anong ibig sabihin ng latest post ni Utada? Nagdadrama b sya? At bkt? Dhl b kulelat single niya? Dhl b apprehensv sya sa sales ng album nya? In luv b sya?

J: Wala lang, mahilig lang syang gumulong sa sahig. Parang feel ko din gumulong.

I: Nagdadrama ka rn b?

J: Di naman, gaya2x lang.ü

This Will Be the Day That I Die

If I cared for this year's Buhlemtime's, I wouldn't be able to celebrate it fully. It's my rest day today but I'm required to report for work to attend training. At least, it's RD OT. I can't wait for tomorrow's payday!

This morning the office pantry bathed in red casa light. The four-piece strings orchestra band playing the corniest of love songs made the free pasta taste even yucchier. But it's the thought that counts, right? Wrong.
---
I was to go home and seconds after the elevator doors opened my jaw dropped. I was facing Lady A wearing the same dumbfounded expression I had.

A: O, anong ginagawa mo dito?
I: Sa pantry ako [nagtatrabaho], bakit? (I said that jokingly, of course) E ikaw?
A: Hindi kita kilala ha.
I: Di rin kita kilala.

CE people, she's the Queen of the Nile. Or Jollibee, whichever you prefer.
---
Forty feet away I spotted a long-time crush inside Pancake House in our office building. First glance and immediately I recognized it was Rich Herrera. He modeled for Century tuna and Gold's Gym. His is the face plastered on Close-Up tubes as well. It's Valentine's and I wish he'd rape date me.

Rich Herrera

---
Have you heard that Marc Jacobs named (or will name?) one of his bags BB after Bryanboy? They are friends now, sort of. Amazing, noh? That lucky bitch.

BB Ostrich Bag by Marc Jacobs (Fall/Winter 2008-2009)

Goodbye to Love

Gawd, my life's so humdrum these days. I’m having a hard time coming up with silly anecdotes/narratives for this blog. It’s like waking up at 4PM, the heat of the afternoon sun taunts you, but you’re too hungry and dazed to even get annoyed. Nonetheless, you proceed wracking your brain to write something you know only you would care about, still hoping it would amuse your readers as well. So, here it goes.

Last time I mentioned that starting this month I’ll be getting an additional 2,000-peso “hazard pay” because of my night shift. I take that back, I will not be getting that 2,000-pesos-less-tax pay anymore because. For me to be eligible, my shift should start or end within the 12AM-5AM time window. But my shift’s at 8:45PM to 5:45AM. Oh well, I just have to content with the night differential premium and wish “hazard” to anyone qualified for the extra 2,000 pesos.

What else, um, there has been an organizational reshuffling in our account that’s why my team is getting assigned to a new team leader (TL). This sucks because my present TL is TL material (as in true love material, hehe). He’s one of the two passable crushables on our production floor. He’s 25, Tsinoy, a La Sallista, and a basketball jock. The second one is 23, tisoy, taga-UP, and a dragonboat rower (possibly gay, too). I could only stare at him as much from afar, I dare not sit near his station lest my ugliness be magnified by his auric presence. (May ganyon?) And now they’re taking my TL away from me. Huhu.
---
I like. Buy me.

Audio Technica ATH-SQ5

"HEART STATION" screenshots

Money Talks(eek!)

I'm trying to be the most diligent I can in posting nonsense here at least once a week. Because doesn't it annoy you when you chance upon only one update in a blog you actually read out of, like, the one hundred gazillion times you visit it? I do. (Do I sound like I'm insinuating you actually read my blog?)

Moooving ooon. It's payday today! Woot! I prefer the 30th more than 15th because monthly contributions are deducted on the 15th.

Anyway, four days ago I checked my mahiwagang sobre to find only two money bills left inside. I panicked and mentally computed if I could survive on the measly amount until the next payday. I also recalled if I had been spending that recklessly to leave me that cash-poor (or poor in general). I guess I was because normally I would ride a jeepney going to work, but because I had been waking late for work for the last couple of weeks, I had no choice but to take the taxi. That's like 80 pesos per ride, that's two meals' worth for me! Also, I might have been too generous for my own good, treating people out to lunch/dinner. Hehe, feelingera!

Good thing all was not lost, I still had cash-in-bank and A/R's. But that incident thought taught me a lesson (which I will soon forget) not only in curtailing expenditures but also in planning finances. I went as far as generating an exhaustive monthly expenses schedule. May sensitivity analysis pa akong nalalaman! It showed me that I could save as much as 500 pesos per week (500 per week pa rin yon, noh.)

Come February I'll be a bit richer because my new work shift will be 8:45PM-5:45AM (binutal pa ang puta), covering all hours for the night differential premium, plus our tender-loving company is thoughtful enough to shell out 2,000-peso "hazard pay" per month per employee. WTF, that's still 2,000. However, every instance of absence deducts 500 pesos from that so in reality, it's just our slave-driving employer's scheme to curb attrition and absenteeism.

I know I should be grateful for and take advantage of the low cost of living here in KNL. Parang pamprobinsya lang. However, I'm predicting rent here will skyrocket in th near future. Commonwealth Avenue is poised to be the next Ayala Avenue, loko! Haha.

So there goes my boring and petty entry. Ganyan talaga pag boring and petty rin ang life.

Trinoma Date and More Gong Yoo

I had to edit my previous entry because it read so awkward(ly). At least I have an excuse for the crappy prose: I was half-asleep when I posted it.

From which I segue to my a-whole-day of being awake last Saturday. 2AM to 2AM, baby! After my 4AM-1PM shift, I headed straight to Dona's apartment to pick her up (yucch, feeling de kotse) for our date. Here's her own account of our Trimona outing. Below is my highlight.

Super Bowl. We ordered a four-person meal's worth of fried everything: shrimp, chicken, and rice. Deeply breathe as I could, I wasn't able to devour all of what we ordered so I took home the leftover. Here's the interseting part: I forgot to put it in the refrigirator before I hit the sack. I remembered as soon as I woke up, checked my bag and smelled the content of the plastic wrapper. Each food item smelled/tasted fine still, except for the fried rice. Keber! Breakfast was bountiful that morning, maasim-asim pa. Haha. Gross, ne?
---
Gong Yoo (GY) DVDs c/o Dona


In furnace, Spy Girl was a major yawn. Its only redeeming point is, well, GY and *coughs* his shirtless scenes. Yes, there was more than one! (Trivia: The subject "more than one", albeit it denotes plurality, takes the singular verb.)


On the other hand, the second DVD She's on Duty was more engaging. Although it felt as if GY's presence was like a cameo appearance with several scenes. As if he lacked character development. But what do I know about character development, right? (Pretentious prick.) And I was bracing myself for the sex scenes which only now I discovered are from another GY and Kim Sun Ah ("My Name Is Kim Sam Soon") movie, S Diary.


So what was it like watching these movies? At the sight of GY, I literally felt my chest tighten it made breathing a task. Beautiful people stumbling in love over each other. I just wish I have someone whom I can be vulnerable to and emotionally depend on. I think I'm ready. WTF! Haha.

It Can Never Be Mine

I already finished watching "Coffee Prince" (CP). Too bad my DVD doesn't include the eighteenth, one-hour special episode. Oh well. Anyway, if you liked "Full House," I'm sure you'll enjoy watching CP as well.


So what kept me looking forward to every episode of CP? First of course was my Gong Yoo. Second was the homosexual theme around which the main conflict developed. Gong Yoo's character, after a period of self-denial and inner struggle, finally gave in to his feelings for and confessed his love to the lead female character with him knowing that she's a "he". Confused? Go and buy the DVD. My take on the series: Well, that's about it. Haha.

---
In losing precious sleep over a Korean/Japanese series, my primary (and sometimes my only) requisite is for it to feature at least a mouth-watering shengwa in the cast. It's a bonus if its plot is fresh and well-written. I'm a "visualist" rather than a "literaist", meaning I prejudge with what first hits the eye. That's short of saying I'm superficial (which I am).

Every once in a while there are those Korean/Japanese series that challenge my views on romantic love: that the care-free and the self-absorbed wouldn't ever fuss over such folly. That being in a romantic relationship is the exact opposite of preserving one's well-being. I realize, however, that such convictions (if you may call them) form as a manifestation of defense mechanism. I'm speaking both of the characters and myself.

In my case, I tend to over-appraise my intelligence (yeah, I am intelligent), but when it comes to appeal or just plain "likeability", I believe I am the last gay man on Earth (and I'm neither brandishing nor feigning modesty as the preceding parenthetical comment would prove). So what am I driving at? (I don't know, the urge to sleep is so strong as I type this.) It just feels pathetic, you know, squeaking senseless in kilig, then proceed to sobbing right after because of Gong Yoo's (or any shengwa's, for that matter) hotness. It doesn't melt you; it burns you. Add to that that you're emotionally stunted that your range would allow only up until obsessive (not to mention self-destructve) crushes.


Zzzzzz. ~_~

And every time I see your face
The oceans heave up to my heart
You make me wanna strain at the oars
And soon I can see the shore

Official First Day

I'm supposed to write about "Coffee Prince" and its male lead Gong Yoo. He's the new(est) love of my life. You should see him shirtless! Haha. I'll post about the series and him just after I finish watching the DVD: three episodes to go.



For the meantime let me tell you a bit about my first and current job. If you're still left in the dark, I'm a call center/call-center/callcenter agent *fidgets* in a certain company "C" along avenue "C". To be exact I'm a technical support representative for the AT&T Bellsouth Consumer DSL account. I receive calls from nine Southern US states and troubleshoot DSL hardware, software, and connectivity issues.

Honestly, I doubt myself because I'm feeling as dumb as the Americans I’m talking to. The job is harder than it sounds. I can say I'm comfortable when it come to things techie, but given our very wide scope of support, I need more time digesting completely whatever was bombarded to me during the barely-a-month, product training. And solving the customer's problem isn't all there is to it. While doing so, I must also adhere strictly to tricky procedures, pass subjective customer surveys, and effect impossible call-handling metrics. Constantly, I imagine myself getting terminated any time soon and it scares me. :(

I hate challenges, but I know I'm in no position to complain. I just force myself to see them as things that could help me improve as a person. (May ganyon?!) At times when even that couldn't console me, I just carry on and cry trying.

I’m Buck, Beaches!

A two-month long hiatus had served its purpose. It cleared my head and helped set my priorities. Now I can say I’m in a much better place (not the afterlife kind) than I was a couple of months back. It’s about time I resume blogging.

Dear readers, did you meesh me? Haha, feelingera!
---
Resolutions for the Rat

Hamtaro

1. Never absent. In my classes and especially in my work. I couldn’t afford to do so lest I get terminated, hehe. Even in my affairs with my high school friends. Another one had left for the US. :( More of that in the next post.

2. Be punctual. Time is gold. Therefore I conclude that time lost is gold lost. Besides, it doesn't really help one’s image to be tagged as always being late. Even less for the not fashionable like me. (Huh?)

3. Be competitive. Because I’m competitive only some of the time (i.e. when there’s no competition). Exerting a little more effort makes a big difference. Well, I believe it should. (As if I haven’t learned that great expectations is a movie in which Ethan Hawke felt Gwyneth Paltrow up the skirt also lead to great disappointments, e.g. Wave-O Revolution.)

This Year of the Rat, I hope I could be as shrewd as a shrew (yucch, pinilit) when it comes to my finances. Dahil ika nga ni Meja at ni Judy Conti, “It’s all about the money.”

Mayaman lang ako sa apelyido. Currently, my meager salary wouldn’t allow me to achieve a status of filthy richness that can support my whims and caprices. Nowadays, even cheap thrills aren’t cheap anymore. The more pressing it is that I finish my degree. Already! (Anong petsa na?) After which, ika ulit ni Bb. Conti, “Be at the right place at the right time.” Swertehan factor ba.

For the meantime, I, Ivan Rico, a technical support representative of the world, would die trying.

One-Month Hiatus

I need to sort out certain things in my life. I'm practically a mess right now. Let's just say I'm in a point of a nerve-wracking transition. (No, I'm not turning into a woman.)

For the next one month, the Internet will only be for checking e-mail and some Y!M chats on the side.

I'll be back on November 19, 2007. Note to self: Keep trying!

Beautiful Boys Part II

Osamu Pacute

Zacquisha

Sources: Mukai Osamu Official Blog; Perez Hilton