stained violet shirt

it is my officemate's birthday today [happy birthday, dhess : )] and yesterday over lunch, someone suggested that we all wear the same color tomorrow.  sure, yes, go -> everyone was receptive : )

come then the question of what color to wear.  someone says red.  objection right away from someone who does not wear red.  how about green?  another objection from someone who does not have green.  how about blue?  someone prefers orange; another, yellow.  no consensus : }

i break the jovial disagreements by suggesting we just go ROYGBIV, i.e., wear the different colors of the rainbow.  they all excitedly agree.  they ask me what color i'd prefer.  i said they all choose first and whatever's left will be what i'll wear.  guess what, i was left with violet : }

i don't really have any violet outfit so, today, instead of going home to my place, i go instead to my parents' place where i have access to my mom's and my sisters' closets.  (yup, we borrow each other's clothes.  in our family albums, you'd see one outfit on my mom;  flip the page, it's on me;  another page, it's on my sister.  years back when i was still a programmer, i'd go to the office wearing my mom's manager clothes.  dress for success, ha-ha)

anyway, upon arriving, i go straight to my parents' room for the customary mano then ask my mom whether she has violet tops.  she shows me two but i find them somewhat formal for casual friday.

i check out my sisters' clothes.  so many outfits and not a single violet!  ugh!  i was resigned to wearing my mom's top when my sister arrives.  i ask her whether she has a violet top and she brings out a wrinkled, super casual violet tee i didn't see earlier because it wasn't on a hanger.  the shirt definitely has a more homey instead of office feel but it's something i'd prefer over my mom's blouse.  the thing is, i noticed it had bleach marks near the right shoulder part.  hmmm...

i think about my schedule for tomorrow.  i have a lunch invitation.  office hours, i don't really have a meeting but i'm supposed to check out something at another office at another building.  nighttime, we'd be celebrating my officemate's birthday at a karaoke place.  hmmm... hmmm... hmmm... does not sound favorable to stained tees  : }

wait, i do have long hair.  i can use that to cover the bleach marks.  hmmm... yeah, maybe i can pull it off.  i'd just try to hide my right shoulder.  in case anyone of you still sees it though (and cringes at my shirt), this blog is my explanation  ; )

good begets good

yesterday as i was leaving our office building, i overheard someone asking the lobby guard where the CR (washroom) was.  the guard told her all the CRs are inside offices.  it was past 6 pm already and regular office hours are only up to 5 pm.  the guard then directed the visitor to another building.  instead of going to the other building, which actually is not that near, the visitor just walked over to the side as if waiting for someone.

i asked the guard whether we didn't have any 'public' restrooms in the building.  the guard said no.  i thought awhile and realized that of the four buildings in the compound, ours is the only one which did not have an open restroom.  the only restrooms we had are those within office areas.

i told the guard the visitor had to relieve her bladder so kindly just allow her to use the restroom at the ground floor.  the guard declined telling me the ground floor restroom was in the restricted area.  i knew that actually : }

just then, my officemate who was supposed to ride with me arrived.  i asked her whether our office area at the second floor was still open.  she said she wasn't sure.  how about the third floor?  she did not know.  i therefore asked her to wait awhile and i proceeded to tell the guard i'd just accompany the visitor to the restroom inside the restricted area.  the guard did not object  : )

i walked over to the visitor and asked whether she'd like me to accompany her to the washroom.  the visitor said yes.  as we were walking, she told me, 'kami 'yung may dala nu'ng sasakyan [there was a vehicle idling on the driveway], kasama ko si jim...'  i went, 'ay, kilala ko si jim.  dito siya nag-o-office [at the restricted area].'  then she added, 'kapatid ako ni jo.'  i go, 'ay, hipag ka ni jim?!  kilala ko rin si jo (jim's wife).  kasama ko siya dati.'  just then i saw jim going out of his office.  he waved hi from the end of the hallway.  i asked, pointing to the visitor, 'kapatid ni jo?'  he replied yes.  i said i'd just leave her with him then.

i went out and told the guard i've left the visitor with jim.  my officemate and i then went on our way.

thinking back i felt really good about how things turned out.  i thought i was being kind to a stranger but she turns out to be closely connected to people i know after all.  the probability of this is slim as so many people work at our building and most of them i do not really know.  what more, one of the persons she has ties with, i.e., her brother-in-law jim, is someone who've extended me a helping hand a couple of times before.  we'd have problems at the office, i'll SOS jim and he readily sends his people to help.  well, looks like i unexpectedly returned his good deeds somehow.  we do reap what we sow and that is good  : )

substitution

i was resting in bed, eyes closed but awake, when suddenly i break out in a laugh. my sister asks why. (nope, we don't share a room. i am supposed to be alone but she uses where i sleep as her reading/TV/work area : }) i tell her i remembered something which happened at the office.

so my officemate was reading my blog and he was ribbing me about some of the stuff that i wrote. (yuck!) he was supposedly reading one entry aloud when i heard a familiar line said somewhat differently. i go check his screen and see that he has pasted my blog to word and edited the entry. he replaced the word 'mom' with a guy's name (it rhymes with mom) so that instead of

'i love you, mom... thank you for the ring... thank you for your love... thank you for everything...'

on his screen was,

'i love you, _ _ m... thank you for the ring... thank you for your love... thank you for everything...'

huh? huh! very clever... ; D

just handsome

i slept over at my parents' place last night because i will be meeting some batchmates in quezon city today.  i just blogged about cutting down on these activities then i receive an oh-so-public invitation, i.e., sent to our batch e-group, to another get-together.  specifically named as invitees were me and my best friend.  oh, louie, how can i decline???

anyway, it is not even 10 a.m yet and i've already

- eaten breakfast (i don't usually do)

- scanned my mom's PC for viruses and spyware

- defragged my mom's PC

- updated our batch web page -> i did the page way back in 1999 and only now completed the class rolls : }

- been on the phone with two batchmates.  i really appreciate how these two regularly check on me, i.e., how am i, am i still alive, ha-ha-ha (i don't normally call, text or e-mail, you see).  they're not just a part of my life now, they're a part of my day -> for that i am thankful  : )

anyway, i'm blogging now because i wanted to document something which made me chuckle so early.  i was in bed, half-awake, half-asleep and my sister was beside me reading bo sanchez's 8 secrets of the truly rich.  at one point she reads aloud:  "Many years ago, when I was still young and handsome (now, I'm just handsome),..."  ha-ha-ha.  suddenly, i'm all awake... ; )

my longest call

it is midweek and it is the third day i was sleepy at the office : }

i started the workweek sluggish as sunday 10 pm to monday 1:45 am i was on the phone with a high school batchmate.  it is so far my longest phone conversation, an overseas call from japan at that.  uh-oh, i wonder how much the call cost.  good thing i'm not the one paying, ha-ha...

it is only wednesday and i have already begged off from two after-office see-yous -> i wanted to be able to sleep early.  i haven't recovered up to now though as yesterday and today i had to wake up early.  yesterday, because my car was coding and supposed to be off the road between 7 am to 7 pm.  today, because i wanted to be at the transportation office early for my car's registration.

i was looking forward to a long, restful sleep this weekend but this morning i already received an invitation for saturday.  i did not yet accept.  i enjoy the company of these batchmates but i think it's really about time i slow down as all these activities are exhausting me.  yup, i am up, about, all bubbly and giggly during the get-togethers but the moment i am alone in the car, i start to feel sleepy and my eyelids begin to droop.  very risky...

going back to the call, i was actually suprised i was able to stay that long on the phone.  one, i am not really a phone person (ooops, don't over-read -> i do appreciate caring, hello-how are yous.  keep 'em coming, ha-ha).  two, i've only had minimal interaction with the said batchmate.  nevertheless, we had a really enjoyable conversation :)

i was amused at her observations about me, based on our batch pictures posted on the web:

  1.  i am very simple, neither accessories nor makeup

  2.  i don't have a bag

  3.  i always have a key hanging around my neck

ha-ha-ha... i am sure there is a fourth one she simply did not mention  ->  4.  i am always wearing slippers

on the first, i don't know whether she meant it as a compliment or a criticism.  anyhow, true, i rarely wear make-up.  and the only stuff on me are my clothes, ha-ha... well, plus my rings, one on each hand... and earrings, three of them, two on the left ear, one on the right...

on the second, i do have a bag but i don't carry it around with me.  at the office, it sits atop my desk.  when i'm out and parked nearby, i usually leave it in the car.

on the third, that key is the key to my heart.  joke!  it is my car key.  i hang it around my neck so i don't misplace it.  if it's in my pocket, i might lose it.  besides, i don't always have pockets.  a neck, i always have ; )

on the unmentioned fourth, ha-ha-ha, i do wear decent footwear at the office.  the thing is, after office, i change to those slippers.  i like them because they have spikes on the sole and are supposed to promote good circulation and press certain accupressure points.  i've had several pairs and i know it is time to replace the ones i wear but i haven't had time to go back to where i buy them.

it's been my habit to change into these spiky slippers when i leave the office.  one time, i had an interagency meeting someplace.  parking is scarce at the venue so what i did was park someplace else then just hailed a cab to my destination.  horrors!  i was already near the venue when i noticed that i was in my slippers!  ugh!  i was attending a meeting of national import with respectable attendees and there i was wearing slippers.  i did not have time to go back to where i parked so i just tried to hide my feet under the table.  embarrassing... : }

anyhow, i was touched by the effort the batchmate put in to contact me.  boy, did she incur a lot of charges.  first, she called me at my place.  i was not there yet so she just left a message on my answering machine.  next day, she called again.  i was home but she hung up before i reached the phone running from upstairs.  she then called my parents' place.  my mom told her i was at my place.  so again she called me at home.  this time she caught me but i was on my way out to hear mass.  she said she'd just call again.  she called in the afternoon, again i wasn't able to reach the phone before she hung up.  later, she called again.  again i ran from upstairs but still didn't catch her call.  i stayed beside my landline waiting for it to ring.  nope, it does not ring but my cell phone does.  good thing i brought it downstairs with me.  finally, we were talking, ha-ha-ha.  we transferred to my landline and was on the phone two hours when my cell phone rings again.  what do you know, it was another batchmate calling from new york.  i don't know why of all times he called me midnight.  anyway, i told him i had an overseas call from japan in the other line.  he said he'd just call again.  i then resumed my conversation with my batchmate on the other line.  we were talking and talking and talking not noticing the time then suddenly i lost her.  now i've been told by a friend they were on the phone some other time and the call ended only because her battery went dead.  i assume that's what happened in our case, too.  i looked at the clock and it was 1:45 am.  time to sleep... with happy thoughts... : )