incessant rambling

i admit, i have taken up my old profession. yes, i work at night, staying up late and servicing all kinds of customers. haggling for prices and services. i go home early in the morning only to get some sleep before getting up in the evening to prepare for a workout in the gym (to make sure i am fit and healthy for the work that i do) before going back to work. yes, i am a call boy. i work for a call center. he he he

just to set the record straight, am a catholic, i do my sunday mass, completed a number of novenas, pray for my family, friends, enemies and partner every night, i ask my angel to look over me every morning, engage in healthy discourse about my faith, i believe in the One True God, my family is very religious (ask my great grandpa, he's a spanish friar), i have a number of cousins who are priests, nuns (throw in a couple of NPA rebel commanders and some PMA military officers) i don't want to be born again, i prefer to be THHHHIRTY SOMETHING am perfectly happy with being catholic though not necessarily in agreement with everything said in the lectern what i'm not is one who follows blindly like the sheep .

i was having a conversation with erich about the pope and the recent events surrounding his speech. out of the blue, erich mentioned: erichjao: i never really liked the way he looks erichjao: i've always had this name that pops up when i see his face erichjao: judas iscariot erichjao: funny but its true i thought it was just me who had this feeling about the way the pope looked. i'm the last one to judge anyone by the way they look, but there are emotions evoked that seem to come out of nowhere. then erich said... " jeez, i've always told ruby that the end of the world is at hand... oh i don't mean just around the corner but its nearer now than ever. " let's hope he is a madam auring or madam rosa protege. puro chika, walang katotohanan, walang kabuluhan dahil ang reporter ay natutulog din. add on... popped the same thought to my friend cybs, sabi nya... "Actually, rumor has it that he's the devil incarnate!" I told her.. "but you know ...

am treading on dangerous ground. someone once said that when having a discourse among acquaintances, avoid topics of religion and politics. there is no greater struggle waged among men and countries in the name of politics thinly veiled with religion. over the weekend, raw emotions have emerged among the muslim groups over a speech delivered by the current pontiff, pope benedict xvi, that purportedly quoted emperor manuel ii paleologos of the orthodox christian byzantine empire (the seat of what is now known as modern day turkey) saying: " Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached. " ( for those inclined, click here for a copy of the speech in pdf format, courtesy of bbc ) this is part of a discourse related to the concept of "holy war", of religion and of violence - a topic that the current pope is known to have a very strong stance. it is un...

just got off from a conversation with an old friend. we used to have our sunday brunch after gym, then hit seattle's best in the mega strip for coffee and talk about life. fast forward to the present and our conversations are held between polar timezones. thank God for technology. we laugh in turn remembering the things we did as young(er) men, then getting all serious trying to assess where we are right now. at that point he was engaged to be married while i was in between relationships. he's now dating again whereas am getting settled with my partner. talk about reversal of roles. ever had a pal who shoots you down when you get too high up on your saddle? a pal who picks you up and consoles you when the echo of hitting rock bottom seem to ring between your ears? he does that for me, and he bloody knows that i'd do the same for him. despite all of our accomplishments, we are still at that point in our lives where our linear lives hit a crossroad at every turn. purely out o...

an acquaintance sent me a text message: " saw you today, called to say hi but you were busy swinging from one tree to the next. " my initial reaction is to simply delete the message. but at one point one gets a bit tired of snide remarks, though sent as a joke, can be rather demeaning. specially if that someone barely counts as an acquaintance, much more, a friend. i replied.. " i heard the call, just didn't want to say hi to the fat (pause), ugly (pause), elephant. " another possible reply would be... " i didn't know elephants had thumbs and fingers! it's amazing how you can text! " he stopped texting, and am glad to be rid of another annoying asshole. ouch.

open my passport and you'd see stamps from all over asia: malaysia, thailand, singapore, vietnam, japan, hong kong, sri lanka, india and you're bound to form a false impression that i must be having a grand time on vacation. i am getting close to becoming an expert in international airport interiors, that and hotel rooms, office boardrooms and the semi-catatonic state of catching precious sleep from one meeting to another. people have the mistaken notion that travelling internationally = glamorous lifestyle. it may seem like that, but at one point you wake up in a hotel room and you can't even remember what time it is or where you are and you get the feeling that there is no place like your own bed. note: the picture above is an architectural detail of the interiors of KLIA, the one on the right side is myself on board a cx plane, unsure of where am going...