trick or treatMy daughter had her first Trick or Treat experience over at Elvie's office last October 30.
And what made the day (aside from the zillions of candies and treats we got to take home) was that Ikai was named 1st place for having the cutest costume! And to think we didn't even had to sweat it out thinking of her costume.
She came to the ToT as a butterfly fairy -- an orange one at that. She had this orange gown (which she hasn't used yet; was supposed to be for her Tita Erma's wedding where she was supposedly the flower girl but due to measles had to postpone) and luckily, Elvie and I managed to find a pair of orange-colored butterfly wings at the mall the night before the ToT. We matched that with her pumpkin-colored basket and topped it off with -- instead of the usual fairy wand -- an orange flower wand.
Elvie and I however are in agreement that there was an error in judging and that she should've won the Darling of the Crowd Award instead but tis ok, there's always next year anyway.
More photos at my wife's Friendster and, of course, at mine.
free spirit
It was good to see Paolo Santos again. And no, I am not referring to Paolo Santos the performer but the Paolo Santos aka Projektus who used to be the Art Director of the Company and who has now decided to make his own destiny and not be confined by 9-6 work hours and kinsenas-a-trienta payslips.
Dropped by the office today and treated the gang to a free lunch (thanks Paolo!) after getting his final check and finally finalizing the last remaining string he had with the company -- his quit claim which officially adds him to the roster of the Company's former employs.
I don't know how well the freelancing gig is doing nowadays and if it's being affected by the current global economic crunch -- he would'nt tell it out straight. But the dude looks happy and contented so, I'm guessing that means that everything must be working out fine for him.
It's always good to see friends again. Like last September, chanced upon another former office-mate turned multimedia reporter for the leading online Philippine news website in the world. Janie, kamusta coverage ngayong All Saints and All Souls?
home alone
I'm literally home alone ... in the Laguna abode, that is.
My father has a bit of a problem with his tummy and had to stay at the hospital for a series of tests this weekend. Naturally, my mother had to accompany him and that led them to worrying about our little home in San Pedro, Laguna and that it would fall victim to the notorious akyat-bahays who are sure to make a killing the next couple of days as people go on their personal hiatuses.
Of course, that left me to do the traveling last night (it's Saturday wee morning already) and thank goodness and a bewildered me had made it from Makati to San Pedro in an hour or so -- imagine my surprise that there was no traffic on the SLEX!!!
And now, I'm the night watchman and all alone with just people on the tube to keep me company. And I'm not feeling Macaulay Culkin-like, mind you.
realized
I just had a realization yesterday -- that if I am to fulfill one of my creative pursuits -- that of performing -- I have to polish up on my guitar-playing skills. Wala lang. Now, how much is that 13th month bonus ba so that I can finally buy a new guitar?
The main reason why I started playing the guitar was because I wanted to sing. And I wanted to sing my own songs. And since it's a bit difficult to get someone to play the guiter (or any other instrument) as an accompaniment, learning the guitar was imperative. Plus, knowing how helps in the creation of the melody of the song. Otherwise, it would've been difficult to develop how the song will sound like.
However, I've never progressed beyond basic chords and basic strumming -- I'm more of a chords-man than someone who learns the music from the tabsheet. I guess that's because my mindset has always been that when eventually I record the darn song, it'll be with session musicians or at least friends who know how to play (so I don't need to shell out a dime, just a lunch or dinner treat). But the reality is that I have to learn how to play the guitar better because it looks like the crooked path towards music greatness (as I see it) is a soloist path.
Hay, turning 33 next year ... feel like 50.
blog readers
A big thanks to friends who regularly visit this blog namely Kaye, Luz and Reev. Didn't know you guys were following all my rants and monologues so to know you guys and gals are reading this brings a big joy to the old palpitator :)
the workhorse
Speaking of blogs ... my other blogs are currently on vacation.
Work has piled up considerably in the past few months that I almost have no time left to blog -- except here, of course. But even the Coffee House Chronicles suffers from the onslaught of the work that has come my way that come evenings at home, I am left with not energy nor drive to write. In fact, I once again failed in my bid to write something for the Philippine Graphic/Fiction Award whose submission deadline is on Monday (I'll probably kick and punch myself mercilessly for the next couple of months until next year's contest is announced anew).
Going back to blogging ... yes, unfortunately the Company is demanding much of my time and has thus resulted in no-time-to-blog-in-the-other-blogs scenario. And unfortunately, the Company is not returning the favor for all the hard work (expletive here). Remember me blogging about appraisals, right? Well, that has been done but the monetary rewards haven't come my way yet. It's already delayed for near a month now and all because of proper timing. And we're not speaking about something definite here. The matter of adjustment (magkano ang dagdag) is still up in the air and is still up for discussion and finalization. Sheesh!
Now, really going back to blogging ... I would love to blog daily and while that is not possible, it would be great to update my blogs at least a few times per week. Blogging, like I've said before, is currently one of my creative releases and when I am remiss in my blogging, I feel guilty and feel like I'm not worthy of the space being allocated for my blogs (no matter how virtual, and for that matter, how infinite the space is).
In retrospect, 2008 has been good for the Coffee House Chronicles ... imagine 78 posts already for the year (excluding still this one)! Compare that to 2006's 54 posts and last year's meager 45. And there's still a whole couple of months to go!
love song
And to end this post, here's what I'm tripping now, music-wise.
Cheerio, folks!
