Of Icings ang Cakes (A Re-post)

A friend of mine brought over a chocolate cake he bought from a grocery bakeshop. It was reputedly one of the best undiscovered cakes in town. Supposedly very much under-rated.

I opened the box. It did look good. The ganache was all dark and glossy. I couldn’t resist but take a swipe at the icing. Not too sweet. Good. Yummy.

Random Thoughts at 5 A.M.

1. I just finished special project # 2 for the office yesterday.  At my level, only two of us are being pulled out to handle projects for the entire account and not just our line of business.  So far, everything I've been involved with has been very successful. Mabangong-mabango ako sa ExeCom of the account. They know me even if we haven't been formally introduced. Hmmm, can I smell the promotion just around the corner? Teehee

Masks (A Re-post)

I am Eternal Wanderer, but yet I am just a mask.

It is not me, but it is still me.

It is not the whole of me, but a part of who I am.

We all put on masks. Different masks to different people. To our parents. To our siblings. To our friends. To our lovers.

Sometimes, we even layer it. One at a time. A careful and calculated construction.

At the end of the day, we take it off.

I take it off.

Only to discover that I am the mask underneath.

Have I become the mask, or has the mask become me?

-----

A postscript to Kane's entry.

P.S. Sorry di ako maka-reply kaagad sa last post. Sobrang toxic ang projects na binigay sa akin sa opisina. Nakasalalay ang promotion ko sa mga 'to! :P Pahinga muna mode muna ako mula sa pagkukwento tungkol sa teleserye namin ni Pedro Penduko. Abangan na lang ang susunod na kabanata hehehe

Office Vignettes 2

Office Vignettes 1

The call was mercifully short and sweet.  It was a matter of re-directing towards the e-mail support page of a department in our company.  Before the call, I was experiencing something akin to stage fright; I was a tight bundle of nerves right before the call.  But the moment I opened my mouth, I fell into a light and confident banter with the caller.  The flow of words had an easy feel to my tongue.  Everything dissolved into a blurred background.  There was no coach, no department head, no on-going activity in my surroundings.  It was just me, and the caller, and his issue on hand.

The Bird (A Re-post)

At the break of dawn, I arise from my slumber to face another day in my life.

As I go out to the fields, ready to toil under the soon-blistering heat, I spy a lone maya flitting through the rice stalks. Curiously, it does not flee as I approach.

Questions #1

Bakit ganun?

Marooned on the Isle of Lesbos

The yosi group and I found ourselves in a whole-in-the-wall inuman place.  It was small and bordered on being dingy; the music was so pumped up I that could barely hear the small talk of my seatmate. I ended up wondering: what in the world am I doing here?  Fact of the matter is, I don't drink.  I also abhor extremely noisy places.  But against my judgment, I still stuck out with the company.  It wouldn't hurt to get to know the people that I'm working with.

As I let my attention wander about, I overheard pretty Boss Lady recounting the state of her love life.  I couldn't quite make out the whole conversation because of the ambient noise.  All I could pick out were "boyfriend" and "girl."  I assumed it was another typical third-party sob story.

Then there was a sudden lull in the music, and I realized I assumed wrong.

Eternal Wanderer Experiences Failure

"This is Ternie," the Big Boss said as he introduced me to the Department Head. "He got the highest score in the first part of the training."

"Oh, so you're Ternie.  I've heard a lot about you. Do good ha. I'm expecting a lot from you."

One Hundred Fifty Pesos

It was past noon.  I was tired and light-headed from pulling an all-nighter.  If I had my way, I'd rather be in bed, sleeping away. But I had no other time to do it.  I had three days to compile my  documents out of thin air.  Time was running against me as there was a holiday looming.  It was now or never.

Spoken Like a True Kabit

"Lilisan ako oras na maging hadlang ako sa inyo."

Farewell to Never Never Land

"We can only offer," she paused for a moment, "this certain amount. Tell me then, why would you accept it?"

The girl in front of me was pretty and charming.  And she was made of steel, too.  Being of the petite and fragile looks, I thought she would be a pushover.  I was shooting back questions after questions even as she was interviewing me. But she held her ground against my not-so-subtle probing. I was impressed.  I made a mental note not to judge a book by its cover. Looks can really be deceiving.

Memento Mori (A Repost)

I was silently admiring the orchids of your mom while you were off and about rummaging through her things. Some of them were in bloom, painting the simple garden with vivid shades of violet, magenta, and ochre. It's not easy to coax an orchid to bloom, much less have several of them sprout at the same time. I couldn't help but think, "What a beautiful and impressive sight!"

The Magic of an Untroubled Heart

It was half past two in the morning when my phone rang. Since I was already curled up in bed, reading a book, the temptation to ignore it was just a little bit too much. "I wonder who it is," I mused, "It's not everyday that someone calls at this ungodly hour."

The continued ringing broke my train of thoughts.  It was insistent, so grudgingly, I rose and went to the table where my phone was.  I looked at who was calling - and I couldn't help but grin.

Something to Think About

"Do you think if you seal it up, that the pain is gonna go away?"

- from the movie Lovely Bones

Fairy Tales Suck. Big Time.

"You know what?" I said to him in between puffs of my cigarette as we were resting on the bed.

"What?" he replied drowsily.

It was the third time we had sex.  Tisoy, chunky, and balbon, to boot - the quintessential gallant Prince Charming figure, he was.  But it wasn't just the physical aspect.  We connected really well on a lot of levels.   He was smart and articulate. We could talk about everything and anything under the sun.  I enjoyed his company, and I thought he enjoyed mine.  In fact, we've already had several dates.   What more could I ask for?

On Being a J3j3mon. Or Not. 2

Then again, grammatical and misspelled blunders could always be corrected and refreshed.  What was really more disturbing was the flow of thoughts and ideas in the essays.  Or more accurately, the lack thereof.  They were disappointing considering these were college-level essays.  At best, the writings were poorly strung together in terms of clarity and cohesiveness.  At worst, they were a jarring read: paragraph after paragraphs that were almost non sequitur in nature.  I couldn't help but shake my head and wonder, "How in the world did these students even pass the English portion of the college entrance test?!"

On Being a J3j3mon. Or Not. 1

A few years ago, Ting Ting Cojuangco decided that it was time to heed the call of the noblest of professions: to be a respected educator at an equally respected university.  So off he went, and dutifully applied at his alma mater.  He got accepted, not surprisingly, on the strength of his skill, charm, and solid backing from a senior faculty member.  On the eve of the first day of classes, he was so nervous with his prep work that he called me to share his jitters. I said, "You have the personality and the chutzpah. But most importantly, you have the fab wardrobe. You'll do just fine."

Eternal Wanderer is Grateful

Thank goodness, I'm over that nasty bump.  I hate it when episodes like those occur. They're nasty, and absolutely ruin my long, flaxen locks perfectly coiffed into a sweeping french twist.

Humpft.

Raw

You see the edge of a blunt blade as you slowly bring it to your wrist.

It starts with a dull sensation as the blade goes back and forth across the thin skin. 

Then comes the searing pain; the skin finally rips.  You know it is coming, yet a part of you is still caught off-guard by the immediacy of the sensation. 

The Futility of a Dialogue