Just dad

Dad: When you get your first paycheck, you have to treat Bea and me.

Me: No, I'm donating everything to the Church.

Dad: What? You do know that the Church only donates 20% to charity and the rest is for operations, for the Vatican, for fattening the bank accounts of....

Me: Not the Catholic Church, a Born-again Christian Church

Dad: It's the same thing. Do you know that Christian Church leaders drive 2-4 cars, live in very big houses...

Me: I was kidding. I just don't want to treat you and Bea.

1st Week, 1st Job

It has been a week since I started my first job and I must say that so far, I am liking it.

I was warmly welcomed by the Merchandising and Creatives team and I get a table to myself in a spacious room with a fellow copywriter who has been very helpful. Most call him 'attorney'as he has taken one semester of law. I called him attorney today when I was inviting him for lunch and he said that I was starting to join the bandwagon. It's interesting to note as well that attorney and I share the same dream, we both want to get a masters degree and a doctorate degree and would want to teach eventually.

The most interesting thing in the office is a pair of 3-inch high black boots that looks like Lady gaga would own which serves as a vase for a fake bouquet of flowers. I don't think any office has the same interesting object to smile at once in a while.

The desktop computer which was assigned to me already had problems when I used it this Monday and it officially gave up and crashed yesterday. Now I'm at the desk of my boss staring at three cute rubber duckies  that could all fit perfectly in one palm. She actually has her own office and laptop at the second floor but also has a desk with a computer in our room at the third floor just so she has  a space close to the writers.

It was funny on my second day when Ray and Ray, yes we have two of them at the department and asked about my love life after sharing about theirs. One Ray, who was shocked upon hearing that I don't have one, asked, 'Hah? so nbsb ka?' I laughed and said yes. The issue was brought up again at lunch time, the following day probed into by different peeps from the department. This time I was asked why and I said, 'I just want it that way.'  They all started teasing another female employee, Joe who doesn't have a special someone at the moment too teasing her that at least mine is by choice.

Although I said that I would delete my facebook after graduation, the creatives team and I have added each other already and I don't think I will delete it now as it's a way to get know this new set of professional family.

(5 April 2013)

MJ the Meanie

Me: Let's go jogging after all our exams. I really want to tone my tummy. I hate my flabs.

MJ: Let's go to a cliff, so I can push you.

***

MJ: Your arms are so thin. You need to eat more.

Me: But do you know who's super conscious about her arms? Riza.

MJ: Why?

Me: She says she's fat.

MJ: You know, I'll push Riza down the stairs one of these days.

The Intouchables: A Film About Friendship and Independence

The Intouchables is a 2011 French comedy-drama film that tells the story of the friendship which was born out of a boss-employee relationship. It is the story of Philippe, an extremely wealthy quadriplegic who has hired Driss to take care of him 24/7.

What was notable in the visual aspect of the film was how it contrasted the differing lives of Philippe and Driss. Philippe is serious in his demeanor and lives in a beautiful mansion with rooms adorned with the dominant color of gold symbolizing prosperity. Driss on the other hand does not have his own home and was recently kicked out of the house where he lives because of his irresponsible behavior. He is a light-hearted guy who is physically healthy. The contrast between the two characters contributed to their compatibility as a duo.

The film also touches on the theme of dependence and eventually, independence. Dependence was shown in the daily chores of Driss –bathing Philippe, putting stockings on him, even cleaning Philippe’s bottom and finally tending to Philippe when he would have bouts of difficulty in breathing. Driss was dependent on Philippe financially. Towards the end of the film however, Independence was slowly taking into form when Philippe gave his blessing to Driss that he could go home in order for him to take care of his family. Philippe was also becoming independent by leaving Philippe despite his comfortable lifestyle at Philippe's mansion.

At the last part of the movie, when Driss was requested to visit Philippe once more and they went into a restaurant, Philippe got the surprise of his life when Eleanore, whom he has been sharing an epistolary relationship with for years arrives and Philippe becomes teary-eyed and expresses his thanks to Driss who is seen waving goodbye happily. This scene gives a
conclusion as to what the film is all about – learning to be independent through dependence.
Nothing is permanent in this world -people come and go in our lives but the learning, the joy brought forth by the friendship we build is what’s permanent and is the very thing that helps us be better individuals.

Straight

There was one time my college friends and I went swimming at Nina's cousins's condo and during the time we were eating and drinking we touched the topic on lesbians and surprisingly enough I was one of the persons who was accused by two of my friends who had a high chance of being a lesbian. I was so surprised because it clearly proves that they didn't know me at all.

Thank God Nina went to my rescue and asserted the absurdity of the accusation. She was also being accused of being a lesbian and having a special thing with Letlet which she found repulsive because they were only best friends and because she was truly straight.

 It was such a funny scene but for the record, I am straight.

Guilty of Being Inguilty

I don't get it. It has been four years since high school and he's still acting weird. I'm talking about a person whom I was not attached to in anyway except for the fact that he was a classmate of mine who liked me throughout high school. Creepily for that matter. Let's call him Ethan.

The most absurd thing Ethan did which infuriated me was the summer before senior year when he would call me several times everyday on my cellphone to which I never responded to. He then decided to do the next best thing, he went in front of our house at the time it was raining really hard and demanded that I come out and talk to him or else he will not leave. I didn't and he left. Thankfully.

I don't want to seem overly confident about myself because I'm not. But how do you respond to the type of person who can't seem to take a hint. I tried being nice about it and told him to stop wasting his energy on a girl that wouldn't be able to reciprocate his feelings. But when I was nice, he wouldn't give up. I then became arrogant towards him but I ended up being the bad guy in the eyes of many.

It was a terrible feeling I had that one time I was eating at the cafeteria with friends when I was singled out by the basketball coach of our school and was invited to join his table which he shared with some of the basketball team and asked me to resolve the issue with Ethan. Imagine all the trouble which we seemingly caused.  As if something happened between us but in reality we weren't even friends to begin with. We were just classmates. He confessed he liked me and I turned him down that was it.

Another terrible feeling I experienced was when the guy whom I actually liked, Joseph who liked me back was on Ethan's side.

There wasn't an easy way out at that time and there were a lot tension until the time we graduated but for Ethan's sake, I hope he finds peace. I hope that when he called me up recently on my birthday, he was just being friendly and not expecting anything. I hope that he will not be too hard on himself or me when we recently shared a jeep but I never noticed him and when I got down, only then did he call my attention and accused me of deliberately ignoring him and acted like he was a victim. I asked him if he tried to call me, get my attention perhaps and when he answered no, I hope he realizes that I wasn't being mean but just naturally aloof when I'm in public.

I don't know how he is, if he's attached or not but I do hope he is happy.

Seemingly Selfish

My dad and my Lola was guilt tripping me yesterday about my plans of buying my own condo unit in the near future.

They said I would inevitably be lonely. My dad said that in times when I would be sick I would have to fend for myself and even went into connecting how I was at the time I was hospitalized last semester. I was hospitalized for one week and was subjected to dextrose due to a very low platelet count. I was sad, sensitive and clingy at that time but then again aren't all sick patients that way? My dad even laughed at the time I would ask for acupressure and the time I kept on asking if my sister would be visiting me.

I told my dad and Lola that if that's the only catch, being lonely, then I'd take that risk. My dad went on to say that I shouldn't ask for it because God will test me. I told him that God only tests people who needs to learn a lesson. I asked what lesson do I need to learn. My dad said that I was very selfish.

If I'd lay down the reasons why they are so against my plan, I'd reveal who's really selfish but I wouldn't want to do that because I don't want to be genuinely selfish given that they can't possibly defend themselves in this platform.

Cool It

The trick is to not get cocky if you have won because success isn't permanent. It's a lesson to you so you won't be complacent and lose momentum. It's good for others around you so they don't have to endure a douche walking around in their presence. Be humble.

Consequently, don't be mousy if you have lost because it's not the end of the world. This is a cliche but it can't get any truer than it is. Plenty of other people are in the same situation but they have willed themselves to bounce right back up. Many are in worse situations than yours so don't walk around whining about it like a baby and take it like a man. Life can't possibly be without problems for how would we learn? How would we learn the value of something had we not worked hard to surpass it.

Don't get cocky and don't be mousy.

(Inspired by Leadership Smarts by Ken Blanchard)

Acquaintances

If you have watched 'When Harry Met Sally' you would be familiar with the argument of Harry and the plot itself that men and women can't really be friends.

It's the whole idea that men can't be friends with women because they would always want to have sex with them regardless if they are attractive or not which would ultimately send the friendship to doom especially when their female friends are a.) not interested b.) are interested and if they would agree to it, their friendship would usually end there more than it blossoms into something else which isn't exactly friendship anymore.

Now bringing the topic to my age group and the Philippine setting I would agree to the idea that men and women can't be friends with proper contextualization.

Firstly, let's remove the sex issue and bring it down to 'liking or loving', taking into consideration that we are not as liberated as the Westerners.

Now, I would say that there are two types of male friends, the jerks and the decent ones and based on my experience, befriending any of the two and developing a very close relationship with either produces a problematic scenario on the female friend's part.

If there would be any striking differentiating factor within the way these two types of males profess their liking (explicitly and implicitly) to their female friend, it would be the timing. Nothing more and nothing less.

Jerks, being jerks and let's admit it, a little less on the thinking area hence the term jerks, (There are smart jerks, but the fact that they are jerks makes them stupid) would be the first to hit on their female friends and due of course to the their lack in gentlemanly and romantic technique combined would promptly cost their friendship with their female friend.

The decent ones, who are usually over thinkers or cowards or sometimes both are those that survive the friendship a little longer, (thanks to their overly-thinking brains that surpasses the shallow relationship with the female friend which makes them slightly more mature and would thus be considered as an asset) tend to implicitly profess their feelings. There really isn't anything wrong with this picture except if the female friend is not in the least bit interested of taking the friendship up a notch.

So really, men and women can't really be friends. They can superficially be friends though, which is a lot better than nothing at all or call them acquaintances to be precise.

A Girly Afternoon

DMC Therapy 

Spent most of the afternoon today making dmc bracelets whilst watching Meg Ryan romcom films which I have all watched and giggled to more than once already.

There are just those times when one wants to relax and not be intellectually stimulated but rather to wallow in sentimentalism once in a while, or in other words, I was such a girl this afternoon. :))