I Have Learned

I miss this tool where I can express myself in more than 140 characters. I have been so hooked into the microblogging world when, in fact, I deserve the macrocosm universe, having a lot of things to say about everything and all.

Speaking of world, the planet of love is such a dense society that I don't feel the need to enter it, as of this time. I don't see the need. Yes, the inertia have tried to move this resting heart, but the force is not that great to put me in motion. After all, it should be me who should decide when to tell my thalamus to stop performing.

I am a thinker after all. I hardly cry a tear when watching those sappy movies. Don't get me wrong. I'm touched by some simple gestures of kindness, of heart-warming stories, of things that create a positive effect, but I am so dehydrated yo have my lacrimal glands excrete fluids.

Crushes will be there. They inspire me to go to work, to attend meetings, and to be dragging myself into places when I feel lazy and tired. But it all boils down to my decision to inspire myself. After all, those sources of inspiration will just go like a flash of light. But I will always stay inside of me, through thick and thin, until death, and I should count on my self and my eccentricities more than counting on other people.

I have learned that I have nothing to depend, to nurture, and to love more, but myself.

Happy new year to myself. Cheers!

Emersion

I'm new in this team. And it's pretty difficult. People are passive and apathetic and they don't value what they're doing. I don't like the atmosphere.

But this is what I chose and I have to face this challenge. Sooner or later I'll get comfortable with them and I'll be back at my element.

Perception Management

Now is the comeback of self-expression. The great huge self-expression. I have been raised in an environment where self-identity has been hugely encouraged. That one needs to be who he is in order to know who he is. People who PERSONALLY KNOW me understand that I am vocal about everything. Why do this company suppress me from what expressing what I feel? I'm not badmouthing anybody so what's the point? Fuck protecting of your reputation. I don't have anything to protect. I'd rather be hated for what I am than be loved for who I'm not. Goodbye twitter. Or should I say, so long.

Annoying Orange

If I were to die now and God would ask me how many people have I offended, I think it would be more than the number of days that I lived on earth.

The first time I watched TBBT, Sheldon Cooper immediately caught my attention. He thinks, speaks, acts, and reacts like somebody so familiar. My friends are right. I am like him minus the outstanding omnipotence in Physics and the spontaneity in the English language. But when it comes to annoyance, we're of ghe same level. Or I think I may be worse.

My sarcasm has hurt a lot of egos - my Mom, sisters, friends, everybody else. I even saw some people cry and I feel sorry for them... because they don't get the joke. Ha ha!

A friend told me to shut up when I don't have anything to say. But I just can't help it. It's torture!!! So people have to live with my sarcasm and if they can't suck it up, then they have to get rid of me.

I Hate Puerto Galera

I spent the weekend on that island and I didn't enjoy it. A friend used to tell me it's basura and she's right.

Puerto Galera isn't tourist-friendly. The pier itself in Batangas sucks. The boat going to the island is terribly hot covered with plastic cellophane to prevent passengers from getting wet. Imagine yourself in an oxygen-deprived sauna for almost two hours while subjecting yourself to lung cancer from those smokers who can't stop from puffing cigarettes.

Then the island. The sand isn't fine. Rocky in fact. There are too many people. Don't expect to enjoy privacy. Those vendors would bug you even in the middle of your meal. Island hopping and any other activities are a rip-off. They would give you this price but there will be hidden charges along the way.

Food prices are too high considering the taste isn't splendid. It's competing with Boracay and Palawan when it comes to the prices but it's not at par with those places.

I don't think I would like to go back to that place. Except when I'll be with a far better company.

What's Happening With Me?

I know I had been notorious

We Change

I've been with my clique for 16 years. Some drifted away, most of them are still there, although not geographically. I still consider almost half of them my real friends while the rest are still friends, the type you would casually chit-chat but not the type who you could get deeper to the personal side.

Yes. People change. My friends have changed and so I have. We've grown up, grown old, some got married and have kids. Some flew away and got rich while some feel that they are rich. I'm not in the position to question their financial capability. Who am I to do that? I'm not their accountant!

It just saddens me that the people I used to love as friends are totally different now. Or it might be that they were already like that but the trait was kind of recessive that it only manifested recently.

Good thing is, I'm given the options - to be friends with them or to leave them and move on. I'd rather leave them. It's for the best.

Powerful

Just yesterday, I was offered to take the Area Governor position because Cameron, who is supposed to be the AG for this term, resigned. I normally don't say no. But knowing that there had been an issue with the current administration, on how they try to sabotage our home club, everything has to be done according to my terms.

The Division Governor called me up and I demanded for two things before I accepted the position - (1) That the division will NEVER hold any activity that would conflict with our club meetings and (2) for her to write to our President a letter of apology for conducting and planning Division activities on the 2nd and 4th Saturdays of the month.

To my surprise, she just said yes - without any hesitations nor objections. That made me feel so powerful and manipulative. And I congratulated myself. Bwa ha ha ha!!!

The Voice – The State of the Club Address

We love to talk. That’s undeniable. That’s the reason we’re here in the first place. Thank God that we have the voice to express what we feel and help deliver our ideas right before everybody in this hall. But the hypothetical question is, what if, the time comes, when we lose that voice?

Will we be able to stop delivering our speeches? Will that hinder us from expressing ourselves? Will our Toastmasters life become lifeless?

A pleasant morning to all of you, my fellow Toastmasters and friends! Today marks as [technically] my last day as president of this beloved club. And I should say this presidency is one of the fruitful years of my life. Let me tell you why.

The Beginning

In my inaugural speech, I was vocal about my advocacy to help our members realize their purpose of joining this club. My motto – pressure is a privilege. Pressure, as absolutely different from stress, is a positive thing, because with it, one’s potentials can be generated. That is why, I had come up to my term’s theme as “Branding Camanava with Excellence.”

Maya Angelou, an American author and poet, said “I’ve learned that people forget what you said, people forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” A lot of us have forgotten my being a tormented torpe, and only a few could still remember how I impersonated the great Wilson Lee, but on my case, I could never forget how some people boosted my confidence when they pushed me to join contests. I would like to make that unforgettable feeling of being inspired be felt by all the members of this club.


The Struggle

Admittedly, we struggled when it comes to membership and retention. What started out as 23, has slowly gone down. Some members had to pursue their other dreams, thus, they opted to leave the club. I felt sorry that the club strength our immediate Past President Cameron left wasn’t maintained. I felt I did something that made them leave, or I failed to do something to make them stay. I also thought that there’s something in me as a leader that made our guests decide not to sign up with us.

We want to grow as a club but I realized, we can attract new members and retain existing ones, not by focusing on membership strategies alone, but by nurturing the core of the organization. We need to address the main reason people join the club. Why are we all here?

That is why we had to tailor-fit our approach to each member. We had to help each of us realize our quest for self-improvement. Our group mentoring program, so far, helped us realize that goal. Unaware of the other effect, that also made each of our members feel the comfort with each other, making everybody in this club gel with everybody else that easily, giving that feeling that we are not just a club, but a whole family.

Our closeness is evident in our meetings. We could poke fun with each other without being offensive. We could even get to the point of sharing our secrets. And that created the ionic bond which makes us difficult to leave this club, thus, we were able to retain more members.

The Triumph

To date, our club has completed the distinguished club program with 10 points. To date, we have reached 20 members. To date, we are waiting for the official announcement of Toastmasters International that we are one of the President’s Distinguished Clubs in the entire world, the highest award a club can get. We achieved those goals not because we primarily aimed for them, not because we treat this club as an inverted pyramid institution that only aims for more members and members and members, but because we aimed for quality. We aimed for high quality. We aimed for excellence. And with excellence, everything else that we aimed after followed.

During the term, we had discovered brimming potentials of some members. Camanava continued to produce champion speakers with a new list of names – there is Nice who placed runner-up in the area contest for evaluation. We have Marion, who’s only barely six months with the club, but placed runner-up both in humorous and international prepared speech categories in this year’s speech contest. Karen and Matt continued to wave the banner of the club by emerging as Area champions in the impromptu speech and humorous speech categories, respectively, and runners-up in the Division speech contest. Shall we give them a round of applause please?

To our non-Toastmasters guests, let these champions be your inspiration. They didn’t get those trophies in just a snap of a finger. Our club meetings serve as these individuals’ practice arena in order for them to better themselves as speakers. Excellence is not made overnight. With constant mentoring, with constant practice, delivering of speeches, listening to evaluations, and practicing again, they have emerged as champions. In connection with that, I would also like to thank these people who have wholeheartedly shared their time and knowledge in making us improve as speakers and as a club – our General Evaluators. You have made us see our blind spots. You have motivated us to do better. You have helped us. With that, I thank you.

Acknowledgments

Of course, I can’t survive a whole darn year of presidency without the enormous help of my co-officers. Cameron, our immediate past president, thank you for constantly reminding me to set my choleric personality aside and learn to delegate tasks. Jacques, thank you for your brilliant suggestions and for heading our special events which made them extra colorful. Frances, thank you for ensuring that everything is in order in every meeting and for being our club Ate. Jean, you played a huge role when it comes to renewals. You even got to the point of shelling out your personal finances to temporarily fund for some members. Nicee, thank you for trying to sell Camanava to potential members, radiating that ever-amiable personality of being a princess to everybody. Noel, I know you spent a lot of money for the text blast. You are my ever reliable shock absorber. Thank you. To Karen, my right-hand, and my successor. We produced 4 competent communicators, 2 advanced communicators and 2 competent leaders because of your assistance. And of course, Zaldy, my mentor, and our area governor, I thank you for the constant reminders of my responsibilities for the club, for making me aware that my personality and attitude have to change for the good to become a better leader, for putting my feet back on the ground. Ladies and gentlemen, these individuals deserve your thunderous applause.

Most importantly, I would like to thank all the members of this club. You are the reason, we, officers persevere to make our meetings interesting. We couldn’t afford to lose you. Without getting to the midst of my hyperbole, a threat that you will not renew pains me so much. You have been dear to me and I would like to thank you, for choosing Camanava, among hundreds of other clubs in this metropolis. Every meeting makes us work on to give you a valid reason that you made the right choice of signing up with the club. Thank you!

What’s More?

Now that the core of the club has been well-established, we have decided to bring this out of Toastmasters and share what we’ve learned from our manuals. Camanava Brunch Toastmasters Club will leave a mark to our community by starting to do community outreach project next week by sharing inspiring and entertaining stories to those less-fortunate, sick and abandoned kids in an orphanage. It is our purpose of sharing our talents and skills to these kids and make them feel even a bit of fun that we have been constantly sharing with in our every meeting.

The Security

Fellow Toastmasters and friends, these highlights and milestones make me realize that sooner or later, if we would lose our voices, we don’t need to worry because we have already left an imprint to other Toastmasters, and we will be leaving another imprint to the children outside of Toastmasters. Because I believe that our voices are infectious and they multiply. As what Barry Manilow said in his song, “It takes just one voice and everyone will sing.” That one becomes two, then two become four and before we know it, we have influenced and touched other peoples’ lives in one way or another, and that we teach them that it’s not paying back that will make them better individuals, but it is in paying forward where they can generate more voices.

On this note, as the outgoing club president, I bequeath my responsibilities to Karen as the incoming president. Support her the way you supported me, not only because she is way nicer than I am, but because like me, she also has a lot of plans for our club. Fellow Camanavans, my name is Eduardo R. Catayoc III, your humble president. It has been a pressure to be at this position for a year, for leading the club in branding it with excellence, but you know what, it has been more of a pleasure for me to have served you.

(To be delivered before my club later this morning. Good luck to me)

Snob

I woke up so early the other night. Somebody undefined called me up at 1230am and looked for Danny. In my very low bedroom voice, I asked "Danny? Who's Danny?!"

If you could imagine me saying that, with my wide eyes, great. If you don't, no problem.

Anyway, she texted me yesterday morning, apologizing. I said that was okay. It was an honest mistake and carelessness of dialing the wrong number. But she asked if she could call me. I ignored her message.

Evening came and she asked again if she could call me. I said what for? She said she wanted to talk. This was what I replied:

Unless there's something VERY important that we need to discuss about, I don't see any sense talking with each other... And by the way, I would be thankful if you could remove me from your contact list. :)

Honestly, what would the phone conversation be for? I'm not that desperate to get into a relationship. I don't want stranger friends. And Idon't need any textmate. I'm too old for those stupid games.

Waiting

Some things are best tasted when well-done, cooked under low fire, prepared for a looooooooong time.

I spoke with our Senior Operations Manager yesterday, presented our training module, and he appeared supportive. He's not really impressed but he approved the proposed module, with some suggestions, of course.

Next week, I'll be training my fellow engineers and I'm excited and pressured. But I'm more excited. I feel it's worth the wait.

Which leads me to thinking that my lovelife will also be worth all the patience I have.

Tired

People tell me I've gained weight and they think I'm hiyang with my job. It's really stressing the hell out of me. Take for example this one case I've had. We're doing beta testing on a new product and right after I installed it, I lost the internet connection. The remaining parts of the questionnaire were left unanswered because of it. This led to the Beta team emailing me about the case, asking me to redo the same experiment.

At first, I replied but since they didn't stop from pestering me with those instant messages popping every now and then in the middle of my cases, I got annoyed so I stopped from replying. One of the things that they required is the debug log. I wanted to submit their names because they kept on bugging me. For Christ's sake. After days of no reply, they emailed me:

Eduardo, I hope your doing OK. It seems that there is no issue on you end at the moment since I have'nt receive any update from you. if this is correct, I will now proceed on closing this case since this is the last day of this beta as mentioned before.

Beta Team

Since I'm an asshole, I wanted to send a reply:

Dear Beta Team,

I am okay. I am actually better now that you've finally closed the case which means you will stop bugging me from now on. It appears to me that you're not okay, as far as English, punctuation and grammar are concerned. Your and you're are different as the former is a possessive pronoun and you're is you are. One of the purposes of apostrophe is to replace a missing letter. In the phrase "Have not," the abbreviated version is haven't, replacing O. Proceed is followed by the preposition with, and not on. You might also need a refresher on the different kinds of pronouns as you and your have their own different purposes. With those, I would feel very much better if you will allow me to open a new case on grammar and I will be closing it as soon as I have seen some improvement on your end.

Very sincerely,

Me

-o0o-

I hate it when my name is misspelled. For a couple of times, I'm getting the same email with my last name misspelled. I planned to write them a letter.

To Whom This May Concern:

I would like to inquire who created the excel file for the consolidated schedule. I feel insulted, and, in fact, irritated, that my last name has been misspelled, not once, but twice, making the very precious CATAYOC to CAYATOC. How would you feel if your last name is BAGAY and somebody interchange the last two consonants?

Misspelling one’s name is a capital crime, and under some countries, it is punishable by death. I don’t want this to happen again as it may turn me suicidal. Hoping for your corrective action towards this demand, on top of a public apology done via CNN, as I respectfully remain,

Sincerely,

Me

Of course I didn't send any of those two letters.

I Deserve

I deserve a job, much more than
stupid clients who can only say Sorry and Thank You
speaking English like a force of habit without sincerely delivering those memorized lines
apologizing for something I don't mean and never did in the first place

I deserve a supervisor
who not only sees my capabilities
not only laughs with me
but looks at me with much depth and sees beyond my superficial laughs
and also bonks me in the head when I need to work my ass
who KNOWS how to motivate me

I deserve to be a star on TV who
can make people laugh with my sarcasm and wit
enriches people's mind power by providing them facts
unravels big personalities' other sides during some vis-a-vis contacts
look better than Boy Abunda, Kim Atienza and Arnold Clavio

I deserve to be on hiatus
where I cease to exist
where I can sublimate
annihilate

I deserve to see my Dad
Not with his blurry images in my dreams
But see him and touch him
And talk with him in flesh
And cry out to him and feel his hug until I'd feel fine

I deserve to lie on a white sand
sleep all day under the sun
as its beams kiss my fair skin
and wake up burnt but satisfied

I deserve to start scribbling my pen
and write a book with some funny random thoughts
or start my screenplay
or even just a short telemovie.

I deserve to sing and act on stage
where I can be a son of a bitch extraordinaire villain
or a gorgeously fragile protagonist
where I get a standing ovation
during the curtain call

I deserve to be a kid again
play patintero along the streets with my friends
or shout shatoooooooooo until I lose my breath
or hide where the it can't see me
or that bahug-baog, or slipper game or whatever
or even as safe as sungka or jackstone

I deserve to be a great speaker
inspiring people with my personal story
hearing my name being called by the chair
receiving my trophy of being the champion
getting blinded by camera flashes

I deserve a pretty petite chink-eyed girl
who can sweep me off my feet with her fluency
and impeccable grammar
playful enough to take me away from the bondage of my stiffness
who can make me laugh and feel light after a stressful day

I deserve a time with my kids
where they raid my room and silently awaken me by just standing beside me
and staring at me
or play with them at the park
or have some photoshoots with them, play dress up and let them emote
finish all the fries, pancakes, fried bananas and everything I cook
and play with the baby powder, or pillows, or what have you

I deserve what I deserve more
and most of all, I deserve because I deserve
a life other people who deserve less.

Silence

... may also mean no. Strike three. No answer. And the moment that I've been waiting for to, at least, let me express what I feel, was disregarded. I'm not insensitive. I don't need to push myself to somebody who doesn't want to waste her time listening to a sales speech of a man who wants to be loved back.

So there I was, decided to stroll around Megamall with my teammate until my feet got weary. I slept on the bus while on my way home and when I reached SM Nork, I pigged out for family-sized pizza from Greenwich. The cashier's face drew some surprise when she learned that I'd be eating it alone. I'm depressed so my stomach keeps on secreting gastric juices.

I asked the crew to clean the table for me. He wiped it. I saw a grain of rice left on the table with some moist areas and some undesirable odor left. I said CLEAN. Never mind. I didn't want to make a scene. After all, it's Greenwich so it's not expected of them to be CLEAN.

So I ate. No, I devoured each of the slices in just three bites. That's how hungry I appeared. No emotions on my face. I just ate. A young girl looked at me and smiled. I stared at her for a few seconds, and tried to give my "truest" smile. I tried. For the effin essence of this commercialized season, I tried.

I finished eating the entire pizza in less than 10 minutes. I drank my Sprite that has already lost its dissolved carbon dioxide because some stupid fastfood staff don't know the solubility property of a gas in a liquid that they decide to serve it before the food.

I left the place, strolled around the mall, and checked the sling bag that I wanted. It's not that great-looking after all. There are only a few compartments and it's only at 10% off. There'll be more sale next time. So I went to this boutique where I've spotted the fedora hat that I've seen more than a month ago. It's still there in its exact rack, waiting for me to purchase it. And it's half the original price. I tried it, I look good at it, so I bought it.

I walked back home, did my laundry, cleaned my room and prepared more mango float for later. Now I'm in my room, contemplating on what happened this day. I'm supposed to be sad but I'm making myself busy to not think of my sadness.

My friends say it's okay to cry and it's not healthy to hold back what I feel. So here I am, with my lacrimal gland ready to release its first drop of fluid through my eyes. And since I'm tired, I must hit the sack, crying myself to sleep, until the last drop will wash away the pain I have felt inside. And my pillow will only be the one to comfort me until I wake up anew, with high hopes that I'd still believe in love, in ever after, and in true happiness.

Goodnight world!

Stone

Suppression is my game. If there's something I've really learned a lot from my CAT and ROTC officership training, it's about keeping your emotions to yourself.

It's been years since I haven't cried. I laugh and I laugh out loudly. I get mad and get furious. But crying isn't my thing nor do I express love and appreciation. It's because I have the heart of stone and a stone-hearted body is all I need to shield myself from any emotional stress that I may encounter in the future.

If there's something that could change me, it must be love. But love is something that I can't have. Not from the girl I like, or maybe love, or choose to not love, unless, otherwise, I will get out from the bondage of this pretension.

Mama

Dear Mama,

I'm sorry that I can't go home for your birthday tomorrow. It's so sad because I've been annually looking forward to celebrate your big day with me doing all the preparations, cooking, dragging you to the salon to have a makeover, buying you new stuff.

But what you taught me was to have a sense of responsibility. That there are still other things that I need to be responsible of other than my family. And that is what I'm doing now. I need to stay here to work and stay with my job because I need to work for my own future.

I could have told you I feel sad now because my heart starts beating again. Sad because things are getting complicated. I don't want to be a part of a competition where my heart is at stake. You told me I need to take courage in everything that I do. I grew up being confident, I won many competitions, people saw me as the most confident person who they have bumped into. But I am insecure when it comes to love. I feel I'm not even an inch compared to any other guys around. I hope you could pray for me. That someday, I'll be over this feeling, if it's not really something that comes from Him. And if this is really love, then I hope I could endure everything and be triumphant in the end.

I miss you Ma. You don't tell me vocally how you love me but it is in your loud voice and piercing eyes where I feel I'm home. It is in your silence where I feel your cradle. I wish I could just go home and hear you remind me of things indirectly when I fail to get out of my room because of mere desperation.

Happy birthday Ma and happy holidays!


With all my heart,

Your Third

Ert

So I have enabled Timeline in Facebook. And this is my cover photo.

On Stage

Once upon a rainy and gloomy late Sunday afternoon, when usually lazy butts opted to sulk in their rooms, perky Trenders’ minds were preoccupied with ideas on what to wear, how to look and what to expect for a weekend party. We had to swerve from our usual routines of attending late afternoon church activities and head towards the altars of Rihanna, Justin Bieber and Chris Brown.

Rainy day on a Sunday certainly makes me down but not on December 4. I thought of throwing tantrums in my room for having that bed weather – of all the seven days of the week! I even thought of not going to the party at all but thinking about the free food, savoring every inch of the fun, bonding with newly found friends in the company, and seeing the girl who I consider as the watermelon of my wide eyes, I think those are enough reasons to get myself kicking. But wait here’s more! If I would be present in the entire duration of the event, I would have the chance to win the Macbook that I have been salivating for all this time. So while praying to all the Gods to make all the cosmos align and reverse the water cycle, I had to prep up, shine my shoes, iron my clothes, and get ready for my much-awaited moment of witnessing the so-called grand party of the company.

So there I was, one of those excited spirits who braved the strong winds and challenged the rain in order to reach the office before 3pm. On the 11th floor, online and Premium engineers were still dealing with their clients while the dancers were still polishing their every move on the 9th floor. Props folks were still sewing those costumes and building those props. I thought to myself, “Could they put up a good show?” Anyway, the Momordica charantia in me shouldn’t care about them. I should only focus on what I could do, and what I could have.

Buses were provided to accommodate the hundreds of concert spectators to make the far-flung city of Pasay more accessible. Finally, after a strong battle with nature’s precipitation, and the heavy traffic, we got to SMX at almost 5pm.

Impact

Sound and lights checks were performed hours before the show. Early birds got a preview of the musical numbers because the performers had to do their blocking. Some carpenters and props men were still even roaming around. Thank goodness to the presence of prompt employees, who were in their concert best attires, waiting for the program to start wasn’t made boring.

The show officially commenced at past 7pm. After the program hosts Rosabelle Castillo-Bala and Juven Edillor welcomed the crowd with some bland opening salvo, dinner was served in numerous buffet tables, with wide choices of delicacies for the herbi, carni, and omnivores. While Trenders were busy fulfilling their gastronomic needs, last year’s Trender’s Got Talent Champion, our very own, “No Drama” filled the air with pop and alternative songs. Winners of the minor prizes were also flashed on screen where I got to spot some familiar names.

When the employees and guests were [almost] through in filling up their stomachs, the first portion of the program started. Senior Technical Manager Jay Yanezza and Mario Robles went on stage to honor the individuals who had made a huge achievement in the community outside of Trend Micro. Tech Support’s Kevin Bautista and McAllen Cacacho, together with the four other finalists came infront, walked the runway and introduced themselves. Each nominee’s profile and taped interview was then flashed onscreen for the judges and the audience to watch. My short attention span started to go shorter until all of the six individuals were invited onstage to answer the judges’ questions. Good thing there’s audience participation when we were asked to vote through SMS for our favorite nominee.

The Talented Trenders

After drawing the first part of the [sort of] major prizes, segment hosts Oscar Abendan and Paul Oliveria took over the center stage to lead the portion. Before presenting the performers, a video of the elimination process was projected in the monitor. I should say being a finalist was already such a huge feat after going through all those series of tests. Each finalist was introduced with an animated audio-visual presentation about the group.

While C3 showcased its hip-hop dancing skills, the bands of Unsigned, Chuck’s Band and Shyr touched everybody’s aural senses with their music.

Intermission

The momentum skyrocketed when the managers and directors conquered the stage during their production number. True enough, it was a grand production number because everybody was so game in strutting his/her stuff, showing everybody’s terpsichorean skills to the tune of the latest popular songs. SVP Tech Support and Site Executive Mitchel Chang wowed the crowd with his unabashed dance moves.

I thought that was it but when Japan’s Sr. Director for Marketing Takeshi Yoshida, in his Santa attire sang “It’s My Life,” I was able to say to myself, “Man, this is THE party!” He even surprised everyone when he took off his costume and transformed into a novelty artist with Bayani Agbayani’s “Ocho-ocho,” with his every step staying faithful to the original choreography.

Concert Artists

Then came the highlight of the show – the department presentations. Core Tech group number one with Chris Brown as the featured artist. I’d say they did great because their every move was precise.

Tech Support people started raiding the front side of the stage with their glue sticks when it was Rihanna’s time to shine. I thought I lost my voice as I was screaming in my headtone in the entire duration of their performance. Truly, the restless weeks of rehearsals have paid off. From the tango opening routine, to Carla Doros’ entrance on the motorbike to the seamless transitions and the well-rehearsed lip synch (I love that mineral water drinking part) to the last bow, the second contestant rocked the house.

Small Groups was the last to perform with Justin Beiber as their featured artist. They need a commendation for making the competition stiffer.

Winners Take Them All

Lalaine Gregorio of Core Tech emerged as the first-ever Trend Idol who bested five others. Unsigned took the trophy as this year’s Trender’s Got Talent winner. Tech Support people went berserk when the judges gave the nod to the Rihanna performance, beating the girlfriend-beater Chris Brown who placed second and Justin Beiber as third. This is the third consecutive year that our department won in this category.

Once upon a Sunday evening, when the skies failed to hold the heavy water, when the breeze chilled everybody’s skin, Trend Micro people had a blast going home smiling, satisfied and slightly sober. I may not have won any prize but I didn’t have a single reason to be a bitter gourd. After all, with all the fun that we had, who came home empty-handed?

The Party-meter – What’s hot and what’s not on the party. Our thermometer evaluates that.

Uppers

• Now that’s what we call concert stage! The set, with LED backdrop and fiberglass floor, equals to those seen on TV.
• Show-stopping dance number from the Managers and Directors with Mitchel Chang as the scene stealer.
• Japan’s Sr. Director for Marketing Takeshi Yoshida Bon Jovi and Bayani Agbayani’s song number proved a lot that officers could offer high entertainment value.
• Trend Micro is a nest of individuals with brimming potential. Everybody’s got talent!!!
• Yes, SMX is far but the company is so kind to provide us free transportation to make things easier and nearer.
• Trend’s big men were so reachable during the party after the show when they danced with the employees. It was very humbling of them to do that.
• The fact that there were slots for guests is very accommodating for Trend to do. Other companies don’t do this.
• Overflowing drinks in many varieties quenched everybody’s thirst for alcohol.
• Raffle prizes were generously provided to the employees.

Downers

• The first half of the program was kind of dragging. It tested the short attention span of the audience.
• Hosts lack the enthusiasm.
• Food, though many, lack the palatability that people we’re asking for. They’re just plain… bland.
• Glaring misspellings and grammatical errors on the Trend Idol AVP (Mettallic, Descrive, What do you think you should...) not to mention the poor quality of the videos with some indie film touch and a backdrop that looks… odd.
• Party started late.
• Party ended abruptly at around 12 midnight without any warning from the DJ. That left us on a cliffhanger.
• The photobooth closed very early. Of course participants opted to stay in the room for fear that their names might be called in the raffle.
• Kudos to some employees who took an effort to look like some concert celebrities such as Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Rihanna. Some arrived in their normal clothes while others look out of place for looking matronic in their wedding entourage attires.
• Dead air, dead air, a lot of dead air. It’s the hosts’ responsibility to keep the show alive. They could have roamed around the audience to divert people’s attention from the stage while performers were setting up.
• The sound system didn’t work well. There were only mics which made it difficult for the oral adjudication portion for the Trender’s Got Talent. The accompaniment was louder than the vocals.
• I didn’t get the voting system. Days before the event, an email was sent to everybody for voting. But it appeared that everything was scrapped out because SMS voting was introduced at the hall.

This is the original article that I've written. I don't know what would happen after the editor would blatantly censore my write-up.

Free Your Mind

You know that scene in 300 where the texture is kind of glossy, violent scenes are in slow motion and colors are sharp where red is so red?

That's my dream this afternoon and after one hour of sleep, I woke up, thinking, rethinking, and still trying to contemplate on that.

It's a scene where a faceless man was shot close-range at his nape, bullet traveled and got out of his forehead. Same scene repeated thrice as the shot gets closer until it's a close-up of the man's head. Blood spurted out.

That's the similar assassination scene of my Dad. And now I'm about to cry.

Il Padrino

TO ALL MY GODCHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS:

Don't be hopeful that I'll be like Santa who will be giving you a present this Christmas. Let me count the reasons:

1. I am geographically far from where you are and sending my gifts would be an additional expense.
   
2. I was never in your baptism to begin with and I did not authorize your parents to place my name in your baptismal certificate there and even... though I said no to some of them, there's this belief that one shouldn't turn down a forced invitation to be a child's godparent.
   
3. I am experiencing financial crisis and I believe that charity begins at home so I'd first feed my own needs and luxury, then share with my family before I could share something to others.
   
4. As far as I know, a Godparent's responsibility is to be a second or nth parent to the child in case his/her parents fail to do their jobs., unless, of course, your parents lack the sense of responsibility to raise you properly.
   
5. I am Grinch.
   
6. As a typical youngest and only son, I am selfish.
   
7. I am not fond of kids unless they are cute, brilliant, talented and well-behaved.