Challenge for the day: Writing Travel Articles

I'm a semi-bum. Semi because I already have a 3-month trial contract with a company, but just the same, I don't earn as much as I did and well, it's just a trial period. At this point, I'm trying to get into as much companies as possible so I can stick with having a home-based job.

I just finished an article about buying art -- very interesting and educational. But the real challenge I'm facing right now is writing a travel article. I was thinking, I don't think it's the genre I find difflicult but my topic. You see, I need to write about my hometown. About the usual stuff you'd typically find in a travel article -- places to go, things to do, etc. I've lived in Pasig all my life -- on the outermost portion of it. Sad to say, I've spent my entire life "living" in other parts of the metro. I studied and worked in Quezon City, my fun leisure places are Quezon City, Makati, Mandaluyong and even Cainta, and the one place I'm truly fond of and wish to be a citizen of is Marikina City. Not to diss my supposed hometown, but I guess I'm just not a Pasigueño by heart. In fact, there are a lot of places in Pasig, which I've never heard of, morever gone to! Sad to say, I need to do tons of research about Pasig! Oh man! What to do, what to do...

I'm seriously thinking of not submitting the article -- tantamount to withdrawing my application and screwing up my chances of having additional income... but I know that's really impractical and totally stupid.

Oh well, gotta get back to work. :(

Funny Things Around Me

Have you ever experienced going somewhere through public transport then you saw some interesting stuff in the street -- so interesting that you wish you have a digital camera to capture them?

Well, this morning, I went to the only barangay hall I know -- it's not necessarily the nearest one in my area, but I'm the kind of person who's more comfortable with something familiar over something well, practical. So anyway, on my way there, I was on a jeep and I saw this gotohan. The sign says GOTOHAN, ATBP. OPEN 24HRS... but when I looked at the actual store, it's closed.... Hmmmm... Is it me, or...?

Then while I was on the tricycle... I like riding at the back of the driver, by the way... I saw this guy -- a dirty ice cream vendor -- peeing on the wall. When I looked at the writings across his ice cream cart, it reads SANITARY. Yeah, right...

Lastly, I was on my way to KFC with my wife and my big sister, May, when we saw a policeman looking through the goods of a "stall" selling pirated CDs. And trust me, he looks nothing like raiding the store or arresting the vendor. We were even thinking he might be buying porn for his horny self.

Oh well, ONLI IN DA PILIPINS!

Updates

I just realized that I post too much about the things I bitch about... things that makes me sad... but never about the things that happen afterwards. So, where do I start?

Well, I'm no longer pissed with my phone... I was able to get in touch with the Nokia Helpdesk where a rep assisted me via phone in troubleshooting the problem. As it turns out, there has been a conflict with my mRouter... probably because I use the same USB port for Bluetooth and the HotSync cable of my PDA. Everything's back to normal with my phone.

About my supposed job... well, they totally screwed me up. After the "job offer" meeting with "the boss" here in Manila (he's from CA), they totally ignored me... my immediate supervisor even had the gall to login in YM in invisible mode -- like I wouldn't figure it out -- and as of the last meeting, which was Tuesday, 12MN MLA time, "the boss" talked as if nothing happened... he said there was no position ever offered... Whatever. Anyway, I withdrew my application and told him how unprofessional they were in handling these matters... but then I was polite enough to say "Thank you for your time" GAG ME

So there, I've been having a hard time sleeping night after night... I can't believe they screwed me like that! Oh well, I belive in karma... So there... oh and of course, that makes me a professional bum... As such, I've been very busy submitting my samples and other application documents to different Web Content companies. My mission is to find a home-based writing job... a good-paying one... and of course, one that will not screw me up!

So far, I've landed a 3-month trial contract with one company, which I feel is very good -- not to mention, I'm dealing with Filipinos. I'm hopeful that things will get better from here.

I've also been working out like hell... I vow to lose a portion of my adipose tissue by the 25th anniversary of my existence. I've been playing badminton, lifting weights, doing some "so-so" yoga and has significantly reduced my food intake. And mind you, I'm eating healthier too. Can you imagine that's even possible?! Well, welcome to my TWILIGHT ZONE!

So there... that's it for now. Everything else seems normal. I'm still madly in love with the same woman for the past 4 years and some months, We've been staying at my parents' house during weekends -- frying our brains with the CATMANIA 1000-pc Jigzaw puzzle I've had for years. Oh well, we've been doing it for the past couple of weekends and intend to finish it this weekend. I've been watching a whole lot of TV as usual (a lot of CSI and American Idol) and I'm still madly in love with the same woman for the past 4 years and some months... So there!

'Till next time!

Damn-sel in Deep-stress

I've always described myself as a person with an extreme personality. As long as you're sincere with me -- though not necessarily nice -- I'd also be nice to you. I might even be your best friend. But regardless if you're being all nice and sweet to me, but really it's all a put on and you're nothing but a certified plastic -- forget it -- I swear, you wouldn't like the side of me that you'll see.

But now, I feel that I'm in a major crossroad. I feel happy and unhappy at the same time; both content and ungrateful about my life.

It all started with my job. I describe it as "a shift in priorities." I felt that I was already in a dead-end job. There's nowhere else for me to go. I've tried the other departments and I'm most happy where I'm at; yet I don't have plans of going any further up the organizational ladder. Salary-wise, it pays the rent. But trust me, it's not anywhere competitive. The people are the best colleagues you can find and they're the only thing that I miss. But the job itself has gone boring and I hate everything about the schedule -- it's shifting, I may not be available during weekends and holidays, etc. After over three years, all these drove me to burnt-outville, so I finally decided to leave.

Right before I left, I found a couple of jobs, which I thought were a dream come true. But I guess both weren't really for me. The first one wouldn't have fitted my employment schedule and the other one kinda screwed me up. So now, I'm officially a bum. I've long wanted to experience this employment freedom -- but it's weird how awful it feels when you have it. I guess it doesn't fly when you're independent and you have bills to pay and you've somehow gotten used to a certain kind of lifestyle.

After three years of living a fairy-tale life with my own princess charming, we're now pondering upon the possibility of leaving our own castle and going back to my parents' abode. The stress being brought forth by this matter is quite unbelievable. Weighing the pros and cons alone can be very confusing, let alone having to come up with one final decision.

What to do, what to do... I'm all tired and confused and stressed and scared and unhappy. Yet at the same time, I feel blessed and happy and thankful that I at least have my wonderful, wonderful wife to share all these stress and confusion with. I feel lucky that we don't argue about it and look at it as a task we have to accomplish together as a team. I am grateful that I have a supportive wife who believes in me and has faith in what I can do, lifting me up in spite of out common dilemma. I just love her.

But at the end of the day, I still feel stuck... because the truth is, I am. I am stuck with this decision we have to make... the responsibilities that will never ever go away.

What to do, what to do... Someone please help us...

Feeling bad

I'm in a rut right now. Something tells me that a lot of major changes are coming my way. Change is fine... but I'm not really sure if I'm ready enough for them. Times like these, I feel awful being all grown-up and wish that I'm a kid again. ***Sigh***

P.S.
I wish my Ate May is here right now... ='(

Thinking

I'm back in my house and still alone. My wife is in Laguna for a swimming thing with her family. I just got back from my parents' house, where I'm supposed to stay until tomorrow afternoon but my wife wasn't able to return the gazillion VCDs we rented at Video City and the penalty would've cost me a new VCD if I wait til I get home tomorrow.

Well, it's almost 2AM so that makes it Sunday already. Whatever... I got everything screwed up as usual... with the time, I mean.

Now, I have a question... how driven are you? Sometimes, I find myself dreaming a lot... dreaming of really big stuff... but then again, it kinda takes me forever to actually get off my ass to actually get anything done. I guess I'm just a professional dreamer... 'cause that's all I'm good at.

A friend once told me that there was this seminar of some sort that she went to about procrastination. The speaker said that a lot of people procrastinate to avoid failure and to have an excuse in case of a failure. This is apparently most true for those who tend to be perfectionists, or simply finds it difficult to accept failure.

I guess it's very true for me. I mean, why set yourself up for disappointment?! Maybe that's the reason why I never got around to start a story... because i'm afraid not to finish it. Or why I never really tried going to school for an MA... because I'm afraid to fail. Oh well... I'm so pathetic.

Someday, I hope to gain more confidence... Someday, I wish to be a dreamer and a doer as well... Someday...

PISSED TO THE 6600th POWER

I’m sooooooo pissed right now. Last year, my girlfriend applied for a Globe post-paid line, leaving us with an extra pre-paid SIM, which I decided to swap for an AMP SIM. It was then that I discovered that my phone, a N6600 unit – at least it’s lock code – doesn’t work anymore. I swear, I’ve used the most sensible, no-brainer codes I would’ve used but nothing seems to work. The same thing happened with me with an older phone, a N5110i, when the security code stopped working but when we had it unlocked, it revealed the exact same security code we were trying to use. With the N6600, I needed the effing lock code to unlock the feature called “Lock when SIM card changed.” To date, it only recognizes the two SIM cards I’ve been using.

Late last year, my Dad also got another Globe post-paid line, leaving us with an extra post-paid line of a lower plan. Considering that I (both lines are under my name) received a rebate of Php10K for one whole year, and buying pre-paid has become such a hassle, not to mention expensive for me, I decided to keep the older line and maybe downgrade it to an even lower plan by next year. However, because of the issue with the effing lock code, I’m so stuck. Globe even tried to help me already but we found ourselves in major catch 22 – resetting the phone will restore factory settings, but to reset the effing phone, I would need the effing lock code!

So there – I’m stuck and apparently, my phone needs a software upgrade. I then went to the nearest Semicon location in my area, but since they would have to send it to their main office, I would have to leave my phone with them for 3 to 5 days. That won’t work for me, so they referred me to their Megamall branch, where I can apparently wait for my unit. One weekday after work, I then went to Megamall to have my effing phone fixed – but alas! Since it’s already 5PM, I would also have to leave my phone and get it the next day since they need 2-3hrs to fix it – still doesn’t work for me. Also, I was advised that both the phone and the memory card needed to be upgraded so I would have to back them up both. Since no one told me about this, I backed up my phone by storing everything on my memory card. That’s just peachy.

I decided to wait ‘till weekend then. But hey, I’ve got other plans… plus, I got really sick (still sick now, actually) so I was only able to bring my phone to Semicon Megamall yesterday. Prepared – meaning, backed up both phone and memory card, already in Megamall when they opened at 10AM – I was hopeful that everything will be fixed yesterday. After 3hrs, I went back for my phone. The unit itself has been successfully upgraded but they have issues with my memory card. Apparently, it’s locked. I can’t figure out the effing password at that time so they referred me to the mobile shops in Cyberzone, where they can apparently unlock and reformat my memory card. When I got there though, they can’t do it either… I might need to leave my memory card for a day – nah, wouldn’t do that. After a few minutes and a flight down the escalator, I miraculously unlocked my memory card and went back to the shop to have it reformatted. After 5mins and a hundred and fifty bucks, it was done and I was just so eager to finish my remaining errands so I can go home in time for American Idol and restore everything in my phone using the Nokia PC Suite.

As of press time, which is 3AM, I’ve been sitting here in front of my effing PC for 3hrs now and guess what, I can’t get my effing phone connected to the suite. I was able to pair the phone with the PC but that’s it. Ironically, the Help feature of the PC Suite wasn’t able to help me at all. I figured I have to do my own troubleshooting. I’ve even uninstalled and reinstalled the effing PC suite on my PC, but still, nada.

Since I’m able to pair the two Bluetooth devices, I figured that connection is not the problem. But just to make sure, I decided to send a picture from my phone to the PC and vise versa. Guess what – everytime I try doing the first one, my phone hangs! Nothing seems to happen when I try doing the second one. So again, I’m stuck… and pissed… rrrrreeeeaaaaallllyyyy pissed. I mean, my phone’s problem now is far worse than what the problem was in the beginning!!! GRRRRRRRRRRR!!!

If I’m not able to resolve this today, I don’t know what else I’ll do if it means another trip to Megamall and another 500 bucks!!!