This is only the 10th blog post for the year so far. Seems like I'm averaging about a blog a week which isn't really bad, all things considered. I've done worse the last two years when my progress was something like a post a month.
In any case, this a late, quick post as work is swamped. It has been since this Monday and more than ever do I find the need for an assistant more imperative. Unfortunately, the Desk has other things in mind and the request for additional hands and brains has been "put on hold", so to speak. So, I'll be spreading myself too thin again (if only this saying extends beyond the metaphoric into the physical, alas!) and I hope my absence from this here ole blog can be excused.
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Dead-tired every evening arriving from the Desk that I don't have enough energy left to grab Stranger in a Strange Land and finish it off. Reading has been slow this week because of the aforementioned lament but last night I was able to go through more pages than I've ever had these past few days and hopefully this weekend I'll be finished with the book and come up with a review.
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The Desk had its annual physical exam for its employees this week and this morning I had several cc's of blood extracted for my every-sixth-month complete blood-urine-uric-acid-cholesterol check-up. Come Monday, I'll be heading to my executioner (aka my doctor) for the verdict (I can already hear her saying "You're grossly obese!").
Anybody who has been fat all his or her life will understand it's not easy to lose it, the pounds, I mean. I envy certain people (my wife included) whose body type tends to be on the slim side. I most envy one of my pals, Glenn Cabasug, who can eat a bucket of rice at mealtimes and still have that girth of 27 inches. As for me, my waistline is larger than my age sadly.
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Looking forward to a 4-day mini-vacation next week that stretches into the weekend. It's my freaking birthday on Thursday and while I'm not much into birthday celebrations and stuff, we'll most likely have something prepared. Recalling the grocery trip to the newly-opened Shopwise branch in San Pedro last weekend, we'll have spaghetti for sure. Cake? Depends on available budget.
That's been the problem with my birthday falling on the 24th -- it's stuck right smack in the middle of the two paydays of the month. It's one of those days when you're balancing the budget, stretching it so that it'll last until the 28th. That makes partying or celebrating a deferred decision. I recall only a few instances when I celebrated my birthday when I was a kiddo and it was a joint celebration for myself and my sisters (Rochelle celebrates her birthday on the 27th, while Wheng has hers on the 26th) usually held towards the end-month payday.
I guess that's what contributed to my non-affection for my birthday. Yes, I still treat it as a special day since it's my birthday but I've learned to live that day without cakes, balloons, or a celebration. I don't make much a fuss about it, really.
Next year I'll start a new tradition on my birthday -- getting my driver's license renewed!
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Oh, how did next week become a 4-day mini-vacation? Birthday leave on the 24th then I filed a vacation leave for the 25th. Then since the next two days are a Saturday and a Sunday, then that means it's 4-days of no-work. Barring any unforseen commitments, we'll likely be at my folks at Laguna on the 25th until morning of the 27th. It'll be a whole day off for me on the 24th here in Makati. Probably just bum around, buy a book (or two), or something.
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I've been relying on Facebook to remind me of my friends' birthdays so having no access to FB regularly means I'm missing on greeting friends.
To all of us who've celebrated and are celebrating our birthdays this February, HAPPY FRAKKIN' BIRTHDAY!
