figures

i was in a meeting where the first slide had a 1.3 x 1.3 = 1.69.  the one presenting, however, explained it to mean she assumed the database size doubled.  i said if it doubled, it should be 1.3 + 1.3 or 1.3 x 2 which should give us 2.6.  our big boss joked, it was 1.69 because there was a power of 2 somewhere divided by n, to which i added maybe a square root of some factorial, too, ha-ha



in the same meeting, the one in charge of DB said database size was 1MB.



i butted in and said maybe she meant 1TB.



to my surprise, she objected and repeated it was 1MB.



i said that couldn't be otherwise that would be smaller than my pictures which are already more than 3MB each.



she insisted it was just megabyte.  i said when i was DBA DB size was already more than 1 terabyte.



i asked whether i could see her stats.  she showed me and, true enough, it was TB.



the DB did not shrink after all... ; )



oh, math...

transition stage

i transferred to a new office last may 16.  it is my nth transfer since joining the company in 1993.  i've held office at 5 of the 6 wings of our computer center and at both of the major buildings in our compound.



i started out as an analyst/programmer, then was assigned to a project where initially i was with documents processing then later with credits and refunds.  after that i went to the integration team, then to application support and maintenance, then to enhancements.  from there i was assigned to security, then to systems standards, then to database administration.  after that i was designated technical assistant to one of the big bosses.  from there i moved to computer operations and network engineering in one of our data centers.  now i am back to security.



except for the moves to then, 7 years later, from database administration which i requested, all my other transfers were initiated by management.  ooops, i am not a problem employee, ok.  modesty aside, i'd say i am a highly regarded worker  ->  after this blog that regard might go down a notch, ha-ha



anyway, today is my 6th day at my new office.  may 16th, supposedly my first day, i was on training someplace else.  monday to thursday i reported for work;  friday i was on leave.  yesterday and today i was there.



well, today:



1.  i was talking to one of my new officemates and i was explaining to her what we should prepare to make things easier for one of the users.  with a puzzled look she asks me, "should we really be doing that or cebu (data center)?"



suddenly i was, "ooops, sorry.  yup, cebu should do it.  i forgot i wasn't anymore data center  : }"



2.  my phone rings and i greet the caller with "... data center"



the caller replies, "data center ka d'yan!"



yikes, the caller turns out to be my replacement at the data center.  we switched positions.  from data center i was transferred to security.  from security, she was transferred to the data center.



3.  i was at my former office giving my replacement a walkthrough of one of her new assignments.  suddenly, someone from security pops up holding a bunch of papers that need to be signed.  i move aside and tell my replacement, "sign those first..."



the arrivee corrects me, "ma'am, yours..."



i roll my eyes and go, "ooops, yup, i'm security now..."



aaarrgggh!!!



they say things come in threes.  i've had three now.  that should be it and no more...

medical mission

i came back today from a 2-day medical mission in laguna.  it was my first time to witness one, and the scenes are at the same time heartwarming and heartbreaking.

heartwarming because you have all these volunteers (over a hundred!) giving so much of themselves, their resources, their precious time and energy, for free.

heartbreaking because you have so much more people lining up  ->  early afternoon of the first day, the number at the registration area was already 632.  and this was not a one-to-one number.  one number could have as many as 8 registrants as they gave out only one number per party.

these registrants put up with long waits, just to avail themselves of free items and services.  there were medicines, eyeglasses, medical checkup, minor surgery (!), circumcision, dental services, ophthalmology, x-ray, ECG, even reflexology.  at some point there was even free chips, donuts, spring rolls and sweet corn.

the medical mission was organized by our townmates in the US, among them my aunt.  she being a part of it, my mom, her sister-in-law (they're enviably close), became part of it as well.  it was the organizers' second time to hold it and this early they're already talking about a third one in 2010.

on my own, i wasn't really going to join it.  i am not really comfortable with anything that has to do with sickness and medicines and doctors, etc.  i was in laguna when they first held it in 2006 yet i did not go.

this year, however, my mom asked me to take pictures.  of course, i readily said ok.  it is unusual for my mom to ask me to take pics.  most of the time, she actually shoos me away horrified that i take pictures even at far from picture-perfect moments.  she calls me paparazzi actually, ha-ha

anyway, i thought the medical mission was going to be on a saturday and sunday.  well, past 5 pm of thursday, my mom texts me telling me i need not come early as there's going to be registration first anyway.  i was like, huh, it's tomorrow already?!  i earlier filed a friday leave at the office precisely because i did not want to wake up early.  yikes!  anyway, friday 6 am i drove off to laguna and got there close to 8 am.   i rested a bit, took a shower (yup, i hopped in the car without taking a shower first  : }  hey, i wanted to avoid traffic!)  then went to the medical mission site.

at the site, i clicked away, taking long shots, as i wanted to somehow respect the privacy of all those people lining up.  i moved around, sat around, hang out at the registration area where my mom was stationed.

come breaktime, my mom brought me with her to the canteen.  there were free meals for the volunteers and i was sort of feeling guilty that i was there as i never really thought of myself as a volunteer.  i was there just to take pictures, at the request of my mom, or so i thought.  i actually stuck out as everyone was in the official red medical mission shirt and there i was wearing my gray top.  was i surprised to learn there that i actually have volunteer shirts (one for each day) and a volunteer ID as well.  yikes!  i did not know i was an official volunteer.  it turns out my aunt had my name included in the roster.  hmmm... explains why when i sent an e-mail to one of the organizers (about something not related to the medical mission), her reply included, "see you friday..."  i just took it to mean my mom mentioned to her that i was going to be there.

anyway, after the first day of the mission, i got my shirts and washed the orange one supposed to be worn on the second day.  come morning, the shirt was still wet!  i ended up going to the medical mission site wearing my own top again, this time, however, with my volunteer ID.  when one of the organizers saw me, i told her my official shirt didn't dry in time.  she told me she has an extra shirt she could give me.  ooops!  i embarrassedly told her i don't wear stuff that hasn't been washed that's why i washed the brand new orange shirt the day before.  her eyebrows arched up, but i know in my heart she didn't really take it against me.  we just chuckled as i told her, "ang arte ko 'no?"

as the second day was winding up, the organizers told the volunteers to go to the reflexology area as the reflexologists were going to give us a free massage.  i didn't want to go as

1.  i don't really like strangers putting their hands all over me  : }

2.  i am thinking the reflexologists themselves were already tired from the long day and i did not want to add to their fatigue

3.  i am ticklish

well, my mom was persuaded to go and she asked me to go along.  ok, go i did and we both told the reflexologists we're just going to have a head massage.  well, before i knew it, the reflexologist was massaging my neck then my arms.  i said i just wanted a head massage but she said it's better if i get the whole package.  she asked me to lie on my stomach and then she started massaging my back, my thighs, my legs, my feet even.  all throughout i was twisting and laughing like crazy as i really am very ticklish.  she was amused and kept on saying, "bai, kasasaya nitong minamasahe ko."

the tiring but meaningful day ended with so much laughter and amusement, at least in the reflexology room.  outside, laughter was not as loud but there were smiles everywhere and inner joy that comes from knowing you've contributed somehow to making others feel better.

i think everyone's looking forward to 2010...

homonyms

the program ID for the TV series 'lobo' flashed onscreen and i asked my niece beside me what lobo was in english. she immediately replied "balloon." ooops...



i tried again saying, "it starts with W..."



she counters, "balloon... that's not W"



i explain, "yup, lobo is balloon but i'm not referring to that one. what animal starts with W?"



"whale?" (ha-ha-ha... battle of the brainless redux...)



i say, "no, the animal lobo. what angel (locsin) is in the show. what do you call it in english? it starts with W."



finally, my niece gets it, "ah... wolf!"



; )

shaking my resolve

last night i was in a dinner where i think i have very convincingly put to rest whatever questions remain on the direction the current situation is going to take.



then today i hear mass and the priest's homily off-tangently touches on broken vows.  ouch!



i thought i had it all down pat.  now i am not quite sure...

through a child's eyes

my 9-year old niece was playing chess with her playmate.



she asked her brother, "pag chineck ba ako ni pauline nu'ng parang boobs puwede ko siya kainin?"



my nephew replied, "bishop!  oo, puwede."



ha-ha-ha

peach rose

i dreamt about a former suitor last night. i haven't even been thinking about him (the last time i saw him was before i got married) and suddenly he appears in my dream. i was trying to figure out what possibly could have triggered this and the only thing i could come up with is that a batchmate from japan called me last sunday and this guy took graduate studies in japan. seems like a stretch but... whatever.

anyhow, the dream brought back a lot of memories. before i proceed, i'd like to say i am sure the guy is not on friendster -> not his type.

the first time i met him was in graduate school (in the philippines, not in japan). so it was the first day of class and we were classmates in one subject. after our class, i went to the university shopping center and there i bumped into him. only when he was already courting me did he tell me that he actually followed me to the place. huh? huh! : )

it is from this guy i first heard, "kung gusto, may paraan; kung ayaw, may dahilan." he dropped me that line one time he was asking me out and i was begging off, ha-ha

and then, before he went to japan, he reappeared at the house after a long absence and when i asked what brought him back, he replied with, "yayayain sana kitang magpakasal."

i was like, "huh!!!??? di ba dapat girlfriend muna bago kasal?!"

another time he came back from japan, he called the office asking me out. i said i can't as i was already getting married in a few months. at the other end of the line, i could feel his shock as he kept muttering, "bakit???!!!"

and the first and only time i ever saw my husband flare up, it was because of him. i was already married for quite a while and one time i casually told my husband, "du'n sa e-mail ni _____ ...."

i wasn't able to finish the sentence anymore -> from 0 to 100 in a fraction of a second, my husband flared up, angrily asking, "nag-e-e-mail pa ba kayo ng _____ na 'yan?!"

i said yes, explaining there's nothing wrong with it.

my husband, in what was already a calm but nevertheless rather firm tone, told me he doesn't like it.

the dutiful wife that i was, i abruptly cut off communication with the guy, someone who's been in my life ten years before i even met my husband. (uh-oh, sorry, friends. i go by priorities. if my man does not like you, i'm going to drop you. i'm thinking you'd understand if i choose my man over you. but i doubt my man would understand if i choose my friends over him...)

most notable:

i do pray a lot but i'm not really the type to ask God for signs. true, i've often decided by signs, but these are either signs i did not explicitly ask for or ones i propose to myself. the former, something's up and all i pray for is discernment. the latter, trivial ones like, i'd say if upon walking out the door, i see a girl, then i'd go to this place. if it's a boy, i'd go home : }

one of the rare times i actually prayed to God for a sign, come to think of it, the only time i could recall i did, i asked Him to give me a sign as to which suitor should be my choice. the sign i asked for was a peach rose. i've received red, pink and white roses but no one has ever given me any of the other colors. (not that i like flowers; actually, i don't. at least, not the ones that have already been picked. i'd rather have them on the ground, planted.)

now, this guy has regularly been giving me red roses. within days after i asked God for a sign, he shows up at the house with peach roses!!! i was stunned! i ask him how come his roses were peach. he said the seller ran out of red. imagine!!!

i should have taken my cue from there but i faltered, thinking, personality-wise, we really didn't seem a match. i've actually told him this before and he simply replied that he'd be the one to adjust (aw, sweet!). i thought that would be hard for him so i declined.

all the time that he was courting me, the guy was actually my crush. a schoolmate was telling me many others had a crush on him as he was tall, dark and handsome. the thing is, i couldn't see us as a couple. he was too serious for shallow, little me. granted i make it a point to do my share to make the world a little better somehow but, unlike him, i don't really enjoy discussing the world economy and stuff in my spare time. i cringe at the thought my life would be too serious and too dry, my activities, too restricted, if i end up with him : }

i asked for a sign and i didn't heed it.  times like this, i couldn't help but wonder about what could have been...

contrasting views

i was walking out our office building when i saw two officemates talking to the side.  i approached them, and was greeted with, "you've lost weight!"

was i surprised.  i told them i was with some other officemates just a few hours earlier and they were telling me i've gained weight.

now, these are officemates i see at around the same frequency.

reminds me of a similar occurrence sometime back.  i was walking at our office grounds when i chanced upon an officemate who told me it was the first time she saw me wearing pants. ("ngayon lang kita nakitang nakapantalon.")

i was like, "huh?!"

although i prefer dresses/skirts, it is not at all unusual for me to wear pants.

within that same week, i was in a meeting where one of the attendees made a remark that i was wearing a dress.  ("uy, naka-dress!")


i went, "but i do wear dresses!"

she said she always sees me in pants.

hmmm...  interesting how different people could have contrasting views about the same person...