A Close Encounter of the 3rd Kind

        Yesterday at around 11PM I rode on my motorcycle to savor the cool evening air and to drop by the Citibank office in Paseo de Roxas to pay off my Credit Card bills.  Since it was already late at night, I felt kinda tired and sleepy already and I reckoned it will be risky to ride in such a condition.

        A bit of coffee and sandwich wouldn't hurt, I told myself, and so I left the motorcycle parked in front of the building and started walking towards the Petron Gasoline station located at the corner of Gil Puyat and Makati Avenue. 

        As I was approaching the corner of Makati Avenue and Paseo de Roxas (in front of the HSBC Savings Bank) I spotted a lady all by her lonesome self at the corner, presumably waiting for a taxi.  She was wearing tight fitting jeans and a tanktop that showed her bare shoulders and very long hair. 

        I continued walking.  As I neared her I took a closer look so that I could see how she would look like from up close.

        Hmmmmm.... 

        She has a cute butt eh?  And my!  What broad shoulders! 

        The light shone on her face and I saw her chiselled looks with a prominent jaw and cheekbones.  She noticed my presence and, turning her face towards me, we made eye contact.

        Immediately, as our eyes met, I got shivers down my spine, my hands started to sweat and my heart seemed to beat double time...  But it wasn't because I was attracted to her... 

        That "lady" I was admiring turned out to be a "barako baby!"

        Alarms went off inside my head.  Lights started flashing.  Adrenalin quickly pumped through my veins... 

        It was either fight or flight for me. 

        I started walking faster.  Left... right... left... right... not looking back.

        I thought I had already walked a good distance away from her when I slowed down.  As I relaxed my pace I could hear someone mumbling behind me.  I didn't bother looking back.  Maybe it's just the wind playing tricks on me. 

        I continued walking.

        The voice behind me started getting louder and out of the corner of my eye I noticed that it was this lady (or barako baby) walking behind me.  She (or HE) continued mumbling but I could not understand what she (or HE) was saying.  Maybe she (or HE) was talking to someone on her (or HIS) phone. 

        Or so I thought.

        She (or HE) was now about to overtake me.  We were in front of UCPB Building in Makati Avenue when I glanced at her (or HIM) and I noticed that she (or HE) wasn't talking on the phone at all!  She continued her mumbling while looking straight at me with dagger eyes as if she wanted to eat me whole. 

        What the...???! 

        I still could not understand what she was mumbling about.

        I stopped in my tracks, planted my feet firmly, turned towards her (or HIM), and matched her dagger looks with my very own version of Annakin Skywalker's fiery eyes when he was dueling with Obi-Wan Kenobi in Mustafar in Star Wars III - Revenge of the Sith.

        With the loudest voice that I could muster, I looked at her (or HIM) in the eyes and yelled at her (or HIM) from close range. 

Me: "WHY?????"

         My voice could have been loud enough to be heard from the other side of Makati Avenue. I could see the whites of her (or HIS) eyes growing large as she (or HE) reeled back from surprise.

Her (or HIM):  Huh???

        Realizing that she (or HE) couldn't possibly understand the context of my question, I continued my verbal offensive.

Me: "WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING ME???"

        She (or HE) immediately stepped back and started walking towards the stairs of UCPB Building, away from me , and mumbling loudly this time.

Her (or HIM): I'm not following you...  (with pa-cute voice)

        She (or HE) is now on the defensive!

Me: "DON'T FOLLOW ME, OK!??"

        She (or HE) sat on the stairs sulking.  Happily relieved that I got rid of her (or HIM), I quickly walked away. 

        She mumbled loudly again.

Her (or HIM): "You're so suplado..."

        Without looking back ('coz I had this stupid grin already on my face) I talked back to her in typical Dexter speak:

Me: "Yeah, I know!"

-------------------------------------
Lesson learned:  Never make eye contact with people you don't want to mess around with.

Random Shots

Here are some random shots taken with my phone cam during the Christmas Holidays:

Row, row, row your boat at the Burnham Lake.  Did you know that the water in the lake is actually chest deep only?

This was taken somewhere in Tarlac while traversing a "shortcut" to Baguio (alternate route kuno) that actually added 1 hour to our travel time.   Ano daw yung Xerox???

Here's a sign outside a barber shop in Magsaysay Avenue in Baguio City.  Translated in Tagalog, "Pukis" actually means "Gupit".  Did you have anything else in mind?  ;-)

This is the Giant 200-ft Ferris Wheel at the new Euro Show Carnival in Fort Bonifacio.  The photo does not do justice to the Ferris Wheel.  You should see how the wheel is spinning while the lights are blinking, giving the illusion like the wheel might roll off its spindle and come crashing down the road.

P.S. Euro Show Carnival started operating last December 30, 2005 and will continue to operate until March 2006 only.  It is open from 6:00pm to 2:00AM everyday.  Tara lets!

Ahhh... Love!!!

(Writer's Block! -- the most dreaded "disease" that can ever afflict a writer.  And I've got it!  Aaarghhh.  It must be the Christmas and New Year events that did it.  I'll have to build up momentum once again, so for now, I'll mix and match some thoughts, notes and ideas that I've casually jotted down on my phone's notepad for the past year... wow, my phone's notepad function has its use after all.)

 
        So here it is -- it's not yet Valentine's Day but this being the start of a new year, I'll attempt to write about making this year a "Love Theme" or a "Love Episode" or "Love me Tender" or "whatever-you-wanna-call-it-love" syndrome.

        So what is love anyway?

        Here's some wacky definitions:

"Love is a heterogenous conglomeration of absurdity calculated to bamboozle the anatomy of the individual who becomes intoxicated with its abominable and irresistible power."

      - and -

"Love is a feeling you feel when you feel that you're going to get a feeling that you never felt before. "

        Huh?  Say that again???

        But seriously now... 

        One of the greatest descriptions of love is found in the Scripture: "Love is patient, love is kind; It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps ho record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always believes, always hopes, always perseveres." (l Cor. 13:4-7)

        After that comes the profound statement: "Love never fails." (verse 8)

        And what's the shortest, most profound statement on love?  Again it is found in the Bible -- just three words: "God is love." (1 John 4:8)

        Many people think that they are in love when in fact they are only infatuated.  Love's counterfeit is infatuation. 

        So how do we distinguish which is which? 

        Infatuation is ruled by feelings alone.

        But love's feelings are ruled by principle.  True love has feelings - Tender feelings which are put in the human heart by a caring God. In true love, all feelings are under the control of principle.

        Infatuation is in a hurry. 

        But love takes time.  We can build a shack overnight.  But if we are building a house that will stand the fury of a typhoon, that takes time.

        Infatuation is a ditch into which narrow-eyed people fall.

        While love is a ladder onto which wide-eyed people climb. In a sense, we do not "fall in love". rather, we "climb on to love".

        What's the recipe for love? 

        It's called J.O.Y.

J for Jesus - love Jesus best of all.
O for others - love your partner and other people better than sourself
Y for you - love yourself last.

        Ok ngarud!  That's my piece. 

        Let's make this year a "Love Year" for everyone!

Retrospecting...

        It's now 2006!  Another year to live, a new hope, a fresh start, and many many things to look forward to for the next 12 months and beyond.

        Looking back at 2005, I could say that the past year was very significant for me in many aspects.  Much of the most significant events happened in the latter half of the year; The first half of the year was basically a "boring" period with me getting involved in a card distribution business that I eventually closed down since it was taking too much of my time, effort and resources.  After I freed myself of that bondage, things serendipitically fell into place...

        So here they are, in no particular order... my year 2005 in a nutshell

1. I lost my old Nokia 3650 cellphone... I actually left it inside a taxicab.  I realized it too late as I saw the taxicab speeding away after I had alighted infront of our house.


2. My project proposal (CameraSafe for Nokia Series60 phones) landed in the Top 10 of the Smart-Nokia SIP Apps Challenge.  Too bad I didn't land in the Top 5...


3. I received a cash grant from Smart for the development of the CameraSafe application.


4. Smart also gave me a brand new Nokia 6680 phone (Yipee!  pamalit sa nawalang 3650)


5. I celebrated my birthday in the air on a Tiger Airways flight from Singapore to Clark, together with Tiger's reknowned "masungit" stewardesses.


6. And I fell in Jesus' loving embrace  :-)


7. My parents, my sis and me had the time of our lives in Singapore and Thailand as we got "reunited" and enjoyed each other's company while travelling together (my sis had been working in Singapore for more than a year already, my parents are based in Baguio, while I'm based in Manila)


8. Someone gave me a copy of the book "The Purpose Driven Life" last June.


9. I started reading that book only last November.  I haven't finished reading it yet.


10. I'm a member of the "Loser's Club"!  I was able to lose 15 pounds in a four month period while simultaneously trimming down my waistline by four inches  (Wanna know my "loser's secret"?)


11. I was able to achieve my goal of running 5 kilometers in under 30 minutes and my rest pulse rate is now 60 beats per minute =)


12. Finally, I was able to make amends with people with whom I've held grudges with for so many years already, or those who held grudges against me.  All it took was a phone call and enough guts to say "sorry, it was my fault"  =)

 

A blessed happy new year to one and all!