Hard to Handle

I’ve come into terms of assessing myself. Oh no – not in terms of job performance, silly, that’s one self-assessment I really am not keen on analyzing. I’ve come to assess myself on how much people want me around.

Now I have to admit I am not easy a person to be around. It takes a lot of skill for someone to get into terms of my mental maturity (or rather, immaturity). I talk to myself quite often, I raise really stupid questions to the point where it’s rather senseless even for a well-seasoned scholar to answer, I sometimes blurt out jokes that aren’t really funny and sometimes rather offensive and I don’t really realize it until much later when damages have been done. I like making sound effects just for the sake of idiosyncracy. I can cackle like a witch until my roommate notices me and asks if there’s anything wrong with me. I jump around the house, do a little jeté on my way to the kitchen. Hum a self-made tune. Sometimes I start laughing without reason. A mix of childlike naivety with the markings of a dirty mind. Sharp-tongued, straightforward. If I don’t like you I don’t pretend to like you. And the list goes on.

You may think I’m weird. From the weirdness scale of 1 to 10 I would say I’m 7 or 8 – just the verge of being a “sane” psycho and an antisocial freak. As a kid I am the introverted type, and I maintain my invisibility to the world as much as possible. I actually started learning to interact with human species when I was in secondary school. By college, I finally broke out of my own shell. I guess all those years of being invisible bottled up the weirdness of this world finally released into some creature called Katsy. So beware.

I don’t really think I’m the type of person who can make a lasting impression on anyone. I don’t really make a lot of friends – it’s either I have a problem interacting with them or they have a problem interacting with me. Will this defect make me loyal to the few friends I have? I really don’t know, and I am almost afraid to answer.

So I’ve come to ask myself – am I the type of person one could easily forget? Yes or no, what type of person would be able to forget or remember me, respectively? Will it be somebody my opposite, or someone who shares my same craziness? What traits should that person possess? If I am gone from this world, how would the world remember me? Will I actually be remembered?

I asked someone if I am forgettable, and if there is some distinct trait or character that can be associated with me. I got a sensible answer – Is it required that I have to have something distinct to be unforgettable? As long as we get along well, that’s what matters.

Best answer I’ve got. Thanks.

There goes my hyperactive brain.

Anticipating Twilight

Twilight is coming!

In one week, Twilight will be showing.I am anticipating this for quite some time now, ever since I finished reading Stephenie Meyer’s hit series, I really am looking forward to the big screen version of her first book.

Getting hooked to this book was actually quite accidental on my part. I was scouring the bookshelves in the local bookstore because I was running out of books to read at that time. It was an aimless search, since I really do not know which genre should I start looking for. Then I came across Twilight. It was lying by the store window, all wrapped in plastic. Normally I flip through the book just to see if I could be able to understand what was written (there are some books that are hard to understand and there are some that are too easy to understand you could finish 500 pages in a minute). This book just somehow mesmerized me. I went around the store for a few times but I finally ended up standing in front of the book. The next thing I knew, I was paying for this book together with a few others I picked up along the way. I never even started reading that book until after finishing the others that I bought with it.

When I started reading it. I got hooked. Damn hooked.

Frozen Stiff

Whoa, damn! I hate cold!

Today the temperature just dropped a gazillion degrees. The lowest for this week – 36 deg F. My feet are numb even in their thick socks, my fingers are frozen, I can’t use my nose to breathe, although it’s fun to see your breath come out in puffs of vapor (in Manila this only happens when you smoke). I hear forecasts of frost in parts of the state… Frost! I already have a bunch of coats and sweaters, and I still feel like I need more. My winter 2008 fashion collection consists of the marshmallow look.

I bought a bed just yesterday – currently I am using an air bed, which unfortunately demonstrates the principle of convection very well. I already have two blankets and a comforter on top of me but I am lying on a bed of ice. I resolved to buy an actual bed with an actual mattress so winter hibernation won’t be too uncomfortable. I also bought another thick comforter – hah! Beat that! With what I imagine the winter weather would be, I might have to carry the comforter around or simply refuse to get out of bed.

I’m going to look for an affordable space heater – I’ll see if I can get a small one before I freeze to death. It’s better than turning the thermostat up – electricity is kinda costly. Maybe a humidifier too – before me and my roommate’s skin cracks from the cold and ultimately look like the Thing.

And something to neutralize static. Somehow my office bin hates me and likes to zap me off.

Never A Dull Moment

Gosh, I hate Mondays.

I don’t know but my internal bodily processors tend to have a delay in absorbing the fact that it’s the start of the work week, aside from the very obvious reason that I still have a weekend-happy-go-lucky-break hangover. Here, I can’t wait until the weekends (which is normal for most), but in Manila I usually look forward to going back to work. In Manila, I can’t go over a 3-day holiday without getting extremely bored, but here, I look forward to spending the day just lounging around with the TV on or have a movie marathon or basically just curl up with an interesting book.

My typical work day usually involves emails. About a hundred emails overnight – so an estimated of a couple hundred (maybe more) during the day. At first I was diligent enough to check them while having my breakfast – but afterwards I decided I would give my sleepy mind some rest by just enjoying my breakfast peacefully.

The next major chunk of my work day involves meetings. A deluge of meetings. Meeting invites popping here and there like mushrooms! Ironically, I get more meetings when I am really too busy to have them. But they are a necessary evil. Without these meetings, everything would go berserk, and I’ll be the unfortunate one left to clean up the pile of damage left behind.

End of the week spells out more tasks to be done, but just as long as I don’t encounter issues doing them, I’m fine. Better having a lot of tasks to do than having a lot of tasks with issues. Gives you a sense of accomplishment to see tasks completed, minus the stress.

Amazingly, workdays here are quite short. I wake up complaining it’s a Monday – soon I’ll glorify that it’s a Friday.

The Force Is Not With Me

This week, I already have three bloopers – all amusing, but kinda embarrassing. The more I think of it, the more I laugh at my stupidity.

Monday – I worked really late, and most of the office exits are closed by 8PM. Now I am not really familiar with which exits are still open and which are not, plus exhausted as I am, I badged out the nearest exit without thinking, assuming this was one of the “valid”exits. Of course when I badged out, the alarms sounded, but some entrances sound an alarm anyway, so I ignored it and went on my way.

Only to receive an email from the security guy, saying that the exit I used is closed, and that next time I shouldn’t pass by there after 8PM. Hahaha. I quickly replied an apology. What a day!

Thursday – it’s another busy day, and based on Monday’s escapade, I decided to take another exit – basically through the parking lot. I was also contemplating on going out the main entrance but I have no idea what came into my head and I decided to take another exit. On my way out I met Darth Vader. No kidding. Not that I am a Star Wars fan, but that was really funny. I walked into the deserted parking lot, looking for signs I could follow toward the exit. There were signs pointing to the pedestrian exit. Arrows, arrows, and more arrows. Follow this path to the end. I was expecting Yoda or something else pop out of nowhere to lead me to the right direction (“The exit, this is! A nice day, you have!”). I reached the dead end and looked around. No exit anywhere. There were three doors in front of me, but all of them have the foreboding “Emergency Exit Only: An alarm will sound” sign, and I wasn’t about to get into trouble passing through another exit that wasn’t meant to be passed through. Because maybe this time I don’t only get an email – I get a bunch of security personnel jumping on me. Besides, there might be freaky surprises behind those three doors. I turned around, went back the way I came from, and promptly asked the security desk where I could finally get out of the building, which ironically, was the main entrance that I was contemplating on a while ago. Darn you, Vader!

Friday – I started dialing an overseas number when I got shocked by the response:

Phone: 911 Emergency…
Me (caught between speechless and nervous blabbering): Oh! Sorry! I punched the wrong number *click*

I practically threw the phone back into the hook. Seconds later I received another call:

Phone: Hi, I believe you dialed 911?
Me (really nervous of the repercussions of what I did): Oh, yes – ah, I’m sorry it was supposed to be another number.

Luckily the guy at the other end let me off with a nice thank-you for my clarification on this. I shakily hung up and let out a deep breath. Wahahaha. I’m not going to dial numbers starting with 911 ever again. That shook me up. Looking back, it was hilarious.

I just realized I don’t belong in this galaxy.

MRT North EDSA Battleground: Level-Up! (Part 2)

Level 0 – Ground Zero
The initial level of the MRT battleground. It starts with arriving at the MRT North Avenue station during rush hour. Expect a humongous crowd waiting at EDSA. Pick a small slot between other people to squeeze into. It’s not that simple. Beside the station is an FX terminal. FX vehicles exit there. You must pick a spot where you can get closest to the entrance of the station and try not to be in the way of exiting FX vehicles, because there can be situations wherein these vehicles pass so close to you, you can practically kiss the windows. Oh, and try not to be in the way of buses that drop off more opponents at the station. If you fail this stage, you’re not worth advancing to Level 1. Health points can drop to almost 0% if you fail ‘coz you may end up face down on the asphalt.

Level 1 – The Push Zone
Once you have secured a spot within the throng, it’s time to wait until the crowd starts to move. Brace yourself for a rough experience as your lungs begin to struggle for air. This stage is a simulation of the Black Nazarene procession in Quiapo – minus the saint’s caravan. People will push and shove to get to the stairs or escalator. If you have fallen into the elevator queue, you’ll have to wait for your turn, but you lose a lot of time and it will be no fun. Stairs will be the best option, as most people crowd at the escalator because they are too lazy to make an effort to climb the stairs. Besides, climbing the stairs will practically use up the same effort as taking the escalator (maybe even less) – while you have to push your way through to the escalator, you would most likely stop at every step when you use the stairs. Be prepared to get squished on all sides, but keep yourself on your feet. You wouldn’t want to end up like a stampede victim from the ULTRA tragedy. Health points drop to 40% and will revert back to its previous value after you catch your breath.

Level 2 – Counterflow War
After the first flight of stairs, keep right, as the left lane of the second flight seems to be too slow. Beware, as there are also other opponents that may think the same way that you do and grapple for a space in the right lane. Some are more violent, as they use elbows and shove with all their might. If they do this, give them a deadly glare and subtly shove them back. The trick here is to show them who’s boss while trying to avoid making a scene. The challenge – you have to do this while there are other pedestrians trying to get down the stairs, hence the counterflow. Health points may vary, depending on the weapon you use in this stage.

Level 3 – The Estuary
Here, the pushing gets harder, as there are more opponents coming from EDSA northbound via the footbridge. They try to push you back down the second flight of stairs, while the people from the second flight of stairs try to push you back up. It’s the law of equal and opposite reaction at work here. To avoid getting squished by the mob, push yourself toward the third flight of stairs, with all your might – lean if you have to. Some people will get noxious of all your pushing and might give you a killer look. You might need a little bit of drama here – use a disguise to make it look like it was you who is getting pushed by the crowd behind you, and not you doing all the pushing. Try looking pained, like you’re about to cry, even when in fact you are the one elbowing and shoving these imbeciles around. It’s survival of the fittest, honey, not a beauty pageant. The more ridiculous you look, the better.