boing! boing!

Welcome to spring everyone! [Minna-san! Haru no toki he youkoso!]

Like the sweetest, most fragile of blossoms, the first quarter of this year concluded quickly and fruitfully. To say the least, I got most of my "to do list" done... and then some. F*cking plenty of some actually, which kinda sucks. What the heck am I going to do the rest of the year?

Firstly, the Singapore trip was a whopping success! Thanks to our gracious Singapore hostess Ate Dai, last year's 13 month pay, and my fellow excursionist's contagious gung-ho spirit, we took off mid-February to spend the 5-day weekend (made up of a 2-day weekend, and 3 unpaid leaves T_T) to enjoy the sounds, sights and savory samplings of Singapore culture -- in ascending order of appreciation. There weren't any interesting gigs, there really wasn't a lot to see here in "urban-everywhere", but I enjoyed walking into every resto and playing a round of "gustatory gambling" with the menu.

Secondly, my confidence as a skilled software engineer has been finally validated! We all came together at PhilNITS' induction/soiree/ball/seminar/smorgasbord/photoshoot to celebrate the 6 long months we've been sloughing through technical terms, redundant questions and engRish. They fed us at the Mandarin Oriental and there were much said along the way, mostly painting the broader picture of how far the local IT community still has to go. At least the extra 1k per month I'll be getting from now on will ease that so-called going.

Thirdly, an unexpected, yet gladly recieved, surprise arrived this week: and old friend with minus zounds of pounds! Good ol' mike returned this week and seeing as he IS the center of the universe, old college buddies came together over at Shangrila, Shaw Blvd. to eat, reminisce and secretly compile the "Who got hot after college" list. Bribes are welcome. We also accept dollars ~wink wink~.

Fourth, I've finally decided to end one of my more meaningful long-term relationships. We've been together for a while now: him staying at my place and I going to work. He feels I haven't been giving him much attention, which I truly am guilty of, and I feel he's been quite a drag. Suffice to say, the pressure of graduation season was the final straw and I finally got the nerve to cut the deal short. I started working on ye' ol' unfinished thesis documentation just this monday and I handed the revised copy the next day. I'm sure he'll spare no time at all replacing me with his new, sexy, faux-leatherbound bookshelf neighbors. He's kinda kinky that way.

Fifth, our team ventured to the far off lands of the Cebuanos to proudly wave our project banner -- in the silliest ways possible. Our company, NEC, holds a software quality convention every year. There, the company hopes to raise the standards of quality and customer satisfaction; us normal people, to eat great food and get to travel around for free -- all in the spirit of company success and innovation, of course. With Paz-san at the helm, we presented our project "Mastering the Art of Excely Kung-fu", with healthy helpings of judo-chops in between. We're going back this week for round 2 and, if our kung-fu's better than everyone else's, we'll get to do our jabs in no place other than the 2nd home of all martial arts: Japan!

Sixth, since we were there anyway, us buddies ventured around Cebu and Bohol, seeing and, almost just as much, eating everything in sight. Cebu's feels a lot like Manila, 'cept a lot safer but less intelligeble. Nothing is as disconcerting as hearing someone speak a language you almost understand. Being someone's who's been through his fair share of multinational media (read: anime), droning out other languages is as easy as focusing on sub-titles. But when they spoke Bisaya, my brain kept getting caught in the familiar strangeness of the language. But when we reached the falls of Kawasan, the cross of Magellan, the Chocolate Hills, the tarsier and the beaches of Bohol, all it took was a look between us Manilenos and our kind guide, Kuya Noel. In spite of language barriers, beauty is something everyone agrees on, apparently.

Seventh, I'm all giddy like a virgin promdate, what with discovering the joys of online ordering. With plenty of thanks to Jen-sama, I got to contribute my share to the global economic community by purchasing my first set of Manga online at www.hmv.co.jp. It'll take them a week to find their way through the sea and arive in the welcoming embrace of my outspread fanboy arms. So, until then, I'm trying to distract myself as much as possible. Bring out the beer and brevity!

Eight, as anxious as a constipated man on an 8-hr bus ride, I've been stalking the online forums in search of the news --any news-- of the much acclaimed ASUS eee. Since December last year, when the word got out about the growing demand (and supply) of ultramobile and ultracheap laptops, I've been diving into cyberspace checking, comparing, and finally deciding on acquiring a triple-E. Why spend money on an laptop that can't play Crysis? Because I'm getting this laptop to whole-heartedly commit myself to writing. Though it hasn't much muscle, it completely redeems itself in its absolute mobility thanks to its diminutive size and sturdy SSD(solid state disk that isn't as prone to errors as a HD with movable parts) which'll allow me to write any thought, anywhere. Plus, it comes in 5 colors! Yey, consumerism!

... so much accomplished in so short a time. Finishing this list actually took me longer than I first expected. Between being too busy to finish this post and completing some new milestone worth posting, finishing this article almost felt unattainable. Especially with a big wedding, Bohol escapade part 2, SWQC final confrontation, 23rd birthday bash and a new project coming up, all I feel now is pressure.

So many people, so many tasks, so many opportunities: a lot is riding on what I need and intend to accomplish in the next few weeks. The very thought makes me stop, stare blankly into space and then slap myself back into waking life. The gym-borne endorphins, supportive friends and felicitous tunes egging me on have done a great job. But, ultimately, the simple act of typing all this down, here in this obscure corner of the internet, is all it'll take.

When the stress, the joys, the worries and the triumphs of the day have all been eaten up by this blog, there in my heart is left the boundless space to accommodate the ills and thrills of the world. And if no one ever notices, no one ever takes the time to read, I'd just be as happy. All this I do for an audience of none, one and all. As long as the opportunity to write is here, to be able to humbly articulate what I think and feel in such ways as to enflame the heart and touch the soul, contentment is surely mine. And when someone hapahazardly finds a tidbit of inspiration, even a tiny spark of cognition, only then does joy follow.