Monday, June 29, 2009

TAMING THE THOUGHTS OF TROUBLE

Ok.

I needed to be sure what really happened last Saturday afternoon. Although me and my car were safely home the very same day it suddenly went off, (was it the same day or the next morning?haha) the trouble seemed to float around in my head. Looking for other particles of thought to put a halt to this thinking, i decided to bring the car to Mang Crispin the mechanic to run a check for other possible causes of trouble.
So here's what he found out:

1. Ignition rotor is broken.



>>>> REPLACED

2. Fuel Filter needs to be replaced



>>> REPLACED

3. Front left wheel is out of concentricity.

>>> Wheel rotation. Front wheels to the rear and vice-versa.

-- FOR TEST DRIVE --

Sunday, June 28, 2009

FIRST TIME: DEAD ENGINE AT SLEX

Trouble does not travel in singularities.

When my scarred, dented and fuel-sucking corolla 92 clawed its way to Alabang one
Saturday afternoon, i thought it to be just another weekend of feel-good moments with my everdearest friends. We were off to barge in a horde of autobots and decepticons masquerading as humans all lined-up up for the Transformers 2 (Revenge of the Fallen) movie tickets.

My car always seem to have a slight nervous breakdown as i suspect an alien residing inside the monster. The alien forces inside are enough to tick the idiot trouble signals at the instrument panel. I've been accustomed to this on and off red light at the panel as i always blurt it out to a low idle rpm. The light usually goes off at the slightest engine rev, characterized by a growling sound from my muffler.


So clawing my way to intermittent traffic along SLEX, i didn't mind the flashing idiot light at my panel.

Accelerate.. stop.. red light on.. accelerate.. red light off..stop .. Accelerate.. stop.. red light on.. accelerate.. red light off..stop.. Until everything suddenly came to a halt.

The engine was dead.

Stepping on the brake pedal, I turned the key off the ignition. turned on the hazard lights.. pulled up the handbreak lever.. double-checked the stick-shift to neutral, and turned on the key iginition. The engine choked up, but i could sense any signs for the countinuous life of the engine. I turned on the key to ignition again while pumping the fuel, but to my utter dismay (and also to those at the vehicles at my back), the engine didn't come to life. I was sweating heavily, but told myself not to panic because there's nothing i could do. I was thinking of getting towed if the engine wouldn't really kick off but the Ninoy peso-bill in my wallet wouldn't even be enough to pay for the service.

My officemate Mike passed through me at the right side of the lane. Realizing it was me, (yep, it was really your kumare.hehe) he immediately called up to check what happened. "Na-overheat ba? May kuryente ba? Merong gas? Meron oil?.. and the question and answer went off for quite a minute until he said he can't pull off because he was also in the inner lane. While he was advising me of calling the PNCC for a tow service to which the contact numbers are stored inside his low-batt phone, three bleeps immediately sounded out and he went off. Empty batt.

I was sweating to death because it was the first time my car stood me off. Not that i am blaming the monster, of course, i am the owner, the controller, the driver and everything that should be in total control. I have forged a good relationship with my car and for as long as i can remember, i have taken the utmost care and concern for my everyday road companion. SO i have resolved, at that urgent moment, to blame the aliens who have clandestinely settled their troops inside my sweetie.

As minutes passed, another vehicle of acquaintance chanced to spot my vehicle bolted on the ground, flashing its yellow hazard lights. The Makati service van found its way to be still in front of my vehicle, and Jeff, the driver, got off to extend any help he could. At that moment, the engine seemed to have waken up from a slumber, and as i turned on the ignition key, it seemed to be tickled a bit. I gave way to Jeff at the driver's seat, he revved the engine back to life, revved harder and harder, reassuring the mechanism had commenced good enough for me to reach my destination.

The wheels rolled and the monster made its own way to Filinvest exit. I was driving with extreme nervousness as the idiot lights are again flashing on and off. I was crawling my way to the nearest mechanic i could get, and chanced upon the Total Gas Station at the West Gate. Stopped there and asked a gasoline boy for an available mechanic, who immediately responded as i parked in front of the service area.

I know i could have turn the knob to increase my idle rpm. But to let an automotive mechanic do it for me would shove away the nervousness i had. As i opened the hood and say hello to the engine, the mechanic laid his hands on my idle control knob. Too bad for me to support the nation of aliens inside. Tsk tsk.

The engine ran smoothly as i got off from the Gas station. (Of course, i paid the mechanic not only for doing something i could have done in less time, but also for springing some confidence that my engine would run smoothly and i could go home with no hazard. Thought i should have consulted a mental therapist also huh.)

I was able to reach ATC with no engine hazards in less than 5 minutes but got my car parked after 3 quarters of an hour. The autobots and decepticons had all the parking fully occupied.

Anyways, here are some things that i learned from the experience:
1. Store that f%$!^%#!#*! PNCC number in your phonebook. You'll never know when it'll come handy.
2. Don't travel empty-headed. I mean empty-handed. (Ehe :D) At least fill your pockets enough for the towing service just in case.
3. The idiot lights are there for their own reasons.
4. Trust yourself. If you know what to do just in case the engine goes off, just do it. For all you know, you may be .. well .. right. If you bang it off, it's your car anyway.
5. Relax. Never mind sweating to death. At least you're not in panic.

Mike called up again to check on my situation. He said he was the one in panic for me. He went his way to Filinvest exit instead of Sucat looking for some kind of help for me. So nice of you my kumpare.

Again, thanks a bunch Mike and Jeff.

And the aliens?

Oh, prepare your troops. I'll wipe your clan in no less time.

*big evil laugh*

BWAHAHAHAHA

Friday, June 26, 2009

if someone you loved disappeared from your life


I dunno when and where my dear sister friend Jellie gave me this note, but for the most years, (more or less a decade), it was posted on the right side wall of my bookshelf.

I know the answer to this very well. She knows too.

Miss you sis.




Wednesday, June 24, 2009

AFC LABOR DISPUTE

Whew.

What a week.

We've been on the verge of a labor dispute here in our company. With the impending strike mobilization, we all here are left hanging as to how we would be able to carry out the situation. For almost half a year, we've been fed by bitter complaints and recriminations between the rank and file union and the admin.

Videos of their mobilization had also been uploaded to the You Tube which stoked the fire of wrath of the admin. Hehe. Really, it's getting a bit scary day by day, as hundreds of security guards flock the ANI Road.. To date, there are 150 :D

Tension of opposites.

The admin gets more strict with the implementation of the rules and regulations and work procedures. The union members get hard-headed and refuse to work accordingly as each day passes.

Both sides waiting for the labor decision.

And while they are both waiting for each other to pounce on every opportunity, we are all left with the tremors and frights that at one point in time, we will get caught halfway between the two opposing camps.

And how hard could it be being locked-up inside the company for days? Or how difficult could it get inside with the Union's organized protest in the entrance gate itself?

So much worries here by now.

Hearsays, anytime from Saturday night till Monday at dawn, they would fire a strike. So by Monday, we all have to get ourselves ready for whatever situation would head start our week. Whew.

Back in my college days, I used to be very proactive in scrutinizing any management that are responsible for the mobilization of any union labor group. I was a very principled writer back then, and i always feel for those hungered workers that are being deprived of their rights. I joined rallies and cooperated with different labor groups as we share our common belief that there exist tyranny in our country, as reflected in the way our labor sectors run. But back then, i knew very little about labor, as my expenses were being subsidized by my uncle and father.

Now that i am employed, i do have at least a fraction of knowledge about labor laws added to my existing database. A union member myself, (we were all left with no choice as to join the staff/supervisory union or stand independent to the management) i have at least knew and experienced the advantages of being a member. But to say all unions have parallel way of thinking is a fallacy. Because we also act and think for logical ways where both sides could mutually benefit the existence of each other. We need work, they need staff, so we work hand-in-hand (if not most of the times agreeing to each others demands).

But then maybe, since i haven't got any idea what's going on with the minds of our rank and file union, they all deserve to exercise their rights. Since the labor dispute has been with the DOLE, let's just hope that should a rampage arise, all employees should be in the safest situation possible.

Oh God please help us.

PBA094p37prr

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

CERTIFIED COFFEE ADDICT


capacity: 16 fl oz / 473ml
effect: super hyper ultra electro active coffee addict

062209
Kimi and Kers got themselves their own starbucks tumbler while buying one for Eliwood. Hahaha. Mga impulsives! Adik na adik sa kape.


1. Ang takip ay hindi pwede itakip sa kaldero.
2. Mag ingat kapag mainit ang ilalagay Para mas maganda, ilayo ang mga bata.
3. Linisin ng nakabukas. Hugasan pagkasabon.
4. Siguruhin ang takip bagi inuman.
5. :nosebleed:
6. Huwag i-microwave. Hugasan ng kamay. Huwag patigasin.
7. Huwag lagyan ng sobra. Hindi ito lalagyan ng pepsi / coke.
8.Kung tumagas, pasensya. Nagkakamali din. Tao lamang. paumanhin. Sorry.





Sunday, June 21, 2009

WHITE FLOWERS



LOVELY DAY

June 21, 2009

Friday, June 19, 2009

SWEET MORNING





from Mr. Fukaya. 061909.

delicious!




Thursday, June 18, 2009

The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence

WANTED: ENGINEERS
LOCATION: MIDDLE EAST
GENDER: MALE

Why do the Arab countries only hire MALE ENGINEERS? Why do these gender-biased region limits the potential of social, political and economic growth with their negative impact on women's opportunities for economic advancement?

The scant employment opportunities for women have long stemmed from the patriarchal interpretations of the religious rulings and ideological concept of Islam that women should remain "jural minors" with their roles as wives, daughters, and mothers. The autonomous public life for a woman was outside the norm and was often perceived as a threat to their family's honor and reputation. Hmmmnnn... guys.. does this sound scary?


Well.. arguably, the girl power have come out in the open and the gender imbalance had been addressed, if not reduced. Though not in the Arab regions, increased rates of literacy and employment have changed attitudes and perceptions toward women. Society has moved toward egalitarian ideas and the reconstruction of modern life.

***********

Actually, it just really piss me off that most of my job listings in Jobstreet have always been like this.

I wish they had a gender filter or something, so i wouldn't get a face overran by dismay having received those job offers that require MALE engineers. But tell you, i could act and look just as they wished, a male engineer, just promise not to peek under those undies so as to see the real gender. haha.

Ooooppss... i know what runs in your cranky head

Don't blame me for insisting to thrive in this male-dominated world of mechanical engineering. My profession, i wear it proudly like a medal, but humbly like a reminder. Enough said.

But then again again again, who says the grass is greener in the Arab countries?

Definitely not Robert Fulghum.

"The grass is not, in fact, always greener on the other side of the fence. Fences have nothing to do with it. The grass is greenest where it is watered. When crossing over fences, carry water with you and tend the grass wherever you may be."
o
Robert Fulghum . It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It (1988)


Hehe. Ala lang. Just ranting and raving.

stuck in a bog

Sometimes i do believe in my capacity to make an astonishing mountain out of a molehill. haha. Or could it be the other way around? A molehill out of a mountain?

It depends on how you see me as a person.. as your friend.. as your.. special someone

Well, to tell you honestly, i do get cranky at the slightest provocations. Sometimes. If not most of the times. As if i always get myself stuck in a bog, as if premature senility had consumed the better of me. Uurrghhh. I do often suppressed an expletive before i groaned. hehe.

Well, the thing is, i sometimes can't understand the way things are goin' beyond my control. Or rather, i do not want to understand things as they are.


Try not. Do or do not. There is no try.

I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers



I love you as the plant that never blooms but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
- Pablo Neruda

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

TRUE LOVE

Sobrang ganda nito.

Hays.

Pag-ibig nga naman.

**********



"In his third book, Uh-Oh, Fulghum shared some short and unconventional love stories from his own experience and casually suggested that if readers had their own tales to tell, he would love to hear them. True Love is the result of the incredible response he received. The stories, chosen by Fulghum to reflect the many faces of love, are amusing, sentimental and sometimes gritty. Fulghum’s proceeds from this book were donated to Habitat for Humanity, a love story in itself." Published 1997

*********

Where the hell can i get a copy of this?

I just listened to the audiobook posted by porpol on our symbianize. Whew. Sobrang ganda talaga. Gotta have mah own copy.


Tuesday, June 16, 2009

It's hard to pick where i left.

It's hard to pick where i left.

After that cute pink steering wheel, for the nth time, i didn't know where i had been.

Flipping through the pages of my organizer, i did have some ups and downs for the past few days. I've relished relationships and cried over some irreverent barbs.

Well, ganun talaga ang buhay.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

STEER ME PINK



love mah own pink steering wheel


center of attraction

I was a bit (yep, a bit ) hyped-up with my new baby that i almost forgot the existence of my other dinguses.

I haven't cleaned my sweetie car for the past two weeks due to the unpredictable weather condition shifts. I haven't patched those leaking windshield seals that brought discomfort to my rainy road trips. Never got my tire pressure checked for the past weeks also.

Haven't even had any set with my psp scrabble game. Haven't flipped through the next page of my Kinsella and Bob Ong books. Haven't even performed any tuning or defragmented my pc drives, nor have deleted unwanted files in my portable drives. Haven't charged the battery of my Sony Cybershot DSC w130.

Have i cleaned my room? Well, a bit.

It's like my world had revolved solely on that baby with a feeling of combination of relief and adrenaline sweeping through me.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

OUR BABY




Sunday, June 7, 2009

JUNE 6, 2009






APOLOGY



In the early 1990s, a tractor mechanic from China nicknamed Steelhead (Jackie Chan) enters Japan illegally, in search of his girlfriend Xiu Xiu (Xu Jinglei). Steelhead and his friend, Jie (Daniel Wu) meet in the busy Shinjuku district of Tokyo and take manual labouring jobs to earn money. When Steelhead finds out that Xiu Xiu has married a Japanese Yakuza leader named Eguchi (Kato Masaya), he decides to remain in Japan. To obtain citizenship, he agrees to work for Eguchi as a killer, but quickly becomes used to the power. Soon he has become embroiled so deeply in the ways of the yakuza that there is no turning back.

I was watching Shinjuku Incident last night with of course a heavier heart and soul due to an incident minutes ago that almost got me broken. I cracked the most stupid joke to someone and was having the most difficult time apologizing for my stupidity. Too bad i was also feeling a bit disoriented about the way things are going with my career. Add to that the slight fever and chills i had contacted an hour ago from my aunt.

When my all-time favorite Daniel Wu (Jie) died in the film, i was crying hard not only because the gravity of the drama had sank in, but also because i was feeling so low about myself just as Daniel Wu in the film. And in as much as i want to explain myself as i apologize for what i had said, it felt like a chance to do so was very very slim. I was crying hard which made my temperature rise for a bit, and all i could to is to grope for the slight tinge of hope that maybe just before i close my eyes, i would be forgiven.

I really didn't mean what i said.

I'm sorry.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

PARCHED

am feelin' a little parched...

water water everywhere but not a drop to drink...

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

LIFE IS A GAME OF CARDS



Uhhhmmmnnn. Downcast i am the night before 'bout hearing the news of a canceled vacation. (Yep, not postponed but canceled)

Nothingness.

Just amusin' myself with my favorite precious moments stuffs.

Cheers lois. Cheers.