The Innovative Pinoy

Working on the insight that a lot of their passengers sleep during the ride, one jeepney I rode had a padded bar sa may window to serve as headrest. I really appreciated that kasi at least, hindi na ako mauuntog sa bakal.

Okay, back to sleep...

Bad Week part 2

Di ba I was having a bad week?

One time, on my way home, pagsakay ko pa lang ng jeep sa Crossing, I felt so drained, nakatulog ako in an instant. I didn't know where I was when I woke up to pay the driver. Basta I was so sleepy, I just fell right back to sleep.

Then I heard the driver said, "Valley Golf..." I thought binabalik lang n'ya ang sukli noong isang ale na bababa sa Valley Golf. Then I saw Jollibee and the giant golf ball... Oh no, that's my stop!

PARA!

Dang -- had to walk quite a distance in the dark. Malas talaga.

Soft porn on TV

I helped a teammate with what she was doing kasi we were trying to beat the deadline. It's an American TV show pero grabe -- ang laswa. As in, frontal nudity, pumping scenes, a lot of swearing in the dialogue... I wonder if sa free TV siya ine-air sa U.S.?

Anyway, yung telenovela from Argentina na ginawan ko ng dubbing script before was pretty bold too with pumping scenes and nudity (datapwat hindi frontal, betchabygollywow those sexy Argentinians are really hot!) Nakaka-shock ha!

Sa El Cuerpo nga lang (aired at ABS last year), shock na ako when they showed a pumping scene (but no nudity). No wonder some guys would rush home in the afternoon just to watch it.

A bad week at work

Ever had those days na meron kang one palpak after another?

Ako, I had an entire week of it!

Started off with my first assignment for the week. Nakalagay sa board: spotting. Meaning, may script na. I just have to clean it up and swak the subtitles in the video. Eh ang lola, di nakita yung script, which was on a separate folder pala. At ang lola assumed na walang script and proceeded with blind spotting the thing. (Meaning, putting the subtitles in the video without words. Dialogue to be transcribed later na lang.) Nakita nung katabi ko what I was doing when I took a break and told me -- hey, may script yan. Whaaa---?! He showed me where the script was and I quickly cleaned it and combined it with the file I've done. Siyempre may adjustments pa to be made. Overwrite-overwrite galore. Palpak #2: putol yung script na na-save ko kasi I didn't have enough subtitles to accommodate them. Buwiiii---!

Eh panic mode na ang lola. Hindi nag-iisip. Dinagdagan ko lang yung number of subtitles and combined my first cleaned script again. Wrong move. Syempre nawala yung previous subtitles that I've already fixed. Ngak. 200+ subtitles na sana yun. Kaya back to square one. Mangiyak-ngiyak na ako.

Mabuti kung interesting yung show. Eh gera-gera. Chechnya ek. Ang daming research involved pa, kasi we have to verify the spelling ek. Ang baduy pa ng plot, ng script, ng acting. Yung type na sinu-spoof sa Simpsons. Joskoday. And I had to do it all over again!

Wednesday after lunch I finally finished the whole damn thing. Next assignment? Same show, different episode. Ngak!

Anyway, knowing na it takes so long to do (40-minute file, around 800 subtitles and there's so much resarch involved) nag-OT ako noong Thursday. While working, I got a text. E tamad na ako to get up and leave the room to read it. So doon ko na binasa sa table ko. Tyempo naman, nakita ako ng boss. My luck. Syempre I got reprimanded for doing something against company policy.

Haynaku malas talaga.

Supposed to be pa naman, last day na of training noong Friday. We're supposed to know na who goes to probationary level, sinong tigok.

Wala namang balita come Friday. Pero before I left the office that night, (I was the last to go at hindi pa rin ako tapos sa lecheng file), boss said -- "Monday ha."

Tanong ko, "Anong Monday?"

"Pasok kayo sa Monday."

"Syempre naman, hindi pa naman kami pinapalayas, right? Siguro hinihintay mo lang matapos ko yung file 'no?"

Boss laughs and says, "Tuesday na ang hatol."

Okay, unless he has a weird sense of humor, I guess I'm gonna make it and become a probey really soon. Basta not this week. Kasi it's a bad week through and through.

The Mister's Beauty Salon

The hubby has decided that he will manage the beauty salon. Good for me kasi then, I'll have more time for myself and the kids (and sidelines) on weekends.

Pero hayan -- delayed na ang payment and filing for various stuff like BIR, SSS, and PagIBIG ek. Joskoday, I don't wanna think na how much kaya ang penalties na aabutin. Tapos, the husband plans to "train" one of his construction guys to do the purchasing sa Divisoria. So what? - you may think.

Well, like when hubby was tasked to do the purchasing, syempre he didn't know the difference between fast-drying colorless nail polish and QuickDry. I bet he also wouldn't know the difference between cellophane and cling wrap. Naku, isang malaking good luck sa aming beauty parlor.

Betty La Swerti

I don't like Betty La Fea anymore. Kasi, how lucky can she be -- in love sa kanya two very good-looking men. Like, BAAAAAKKKEEEEETTTT?! Eh she's supposed to be ugly, right? Ang haba ng hair n'ya ha...kulot pa!

Patawad

photo by: 'El Photo

Overheard at the jeep the other day...

MAN: Magkano hanggang Rosario?
CONDUCTOR: P16
MAN: Ba't ang mahal? (From his tone, it is obvious that he's really pissed.)
CONDUCTOR: Sa terminal ka sumakay e. Yan ang minimum. Kawawa naman kasi ang mga papunta talaga ng Antipolo, hindi nakakasakay agad dahil sa mga pasaherong maiksi lang ang biyahe. Dapat sa (Tanay ba yun o Taytay) jeep ka na lang sumakay.
MAN: Labo naman. E itong jeep ang tinuro ng tinanungan ko.
CONDUCTOR: Sana sa barker namin ka nagtanong.

(At this point, the man gets all his loose change from his pocket.)

MAN: (sounding very arrogant)Pasalamat ka, kasya pa 'tong pamasahe ko. Kung hindi...
CONDUCTOR: Wala namang problema 'yun e. Basta marunong ka lang makiusap.

So you see, forgiveness is given to those who ask for it. O di ba?

Lucky Me!

Twenty years na pala ang Lucky Me! brand? Do you know that I was an extra in the very first Lucky Me! commercial starring the sexy Carmi Martin?

During the shoot nga, a bunch of fans were watching me from behind the cordon several meters away, thinking I was Carmi Martin. Of course that was around 40 lbs. ago when I had long wavy hair. Sabi ng boss ko, "Lenore, hwag kang lilingon. Akala nila ikaw si Carmi Martin." Eh syempre, nalimutan ko. When I turned my head, nag-alisan na sila. Ngak!

Extra lang role ko noon. Pero for Lucky Me! pancit canton's launch, I was part of the creative team who handled their ad campaign. Remember the one with the goon played by Archie Adamos (a character actor) and a kid? Do you know that the original talent we had in mind was Robin Padilla? (that was the height of his "Utol Kong Hoodlum" phase) Everything was settled with his manager and we were all set. It was Robin who backed out. Afraid daw siyang masira career n'ya, like when Lito Lapid endorsed Ajax ba yun? I don't remember.

Anyway, fast forward to present. You see, aside from our training allowance at eSI, we get a P100 food allowance, consumable sa canteen ng office. Yesterday, I got two cups of Lucky Me! Supreme para iuwi sa bahay. Kakainis kasi naiwan ko siya sa Zagu booth sa Shang yesterday. Sabi siguro ng tindera, "Lucky me!"

Sana ako rin.

You Don't Give Me Flowers

I love roses. Even attempted to have a little rose garden. But not having a green thumb, of course they all died.

Anyway, if I don't get many roses while I am alive, I wish there'd be lots of them when I die.

So, that is my request. Roses on my grave, when the time comes. And the scent of brewed coffee in the funeral chapel.

Just some morbid thoughts on Valentine's Day.

Valentine Schmalentine

photo by peasap

Valentine's Day doesn't bring back happy memories to me. I was never the "ligawin" type when I was young and that's the time of the year when that fact really hits me in the head. I usually find myself at home, watching TV with my mom. Tapos during commercial breaks, may I shout out the window, "Mga bulag! Mga bulag!"

When I was living at Molave dorm during my college years, I'd look forward to hearing my name on the loud speaker sa hallway. Meaning, may delivery from a secret admirer or something. Syempre never natawag ang name ko. Ngak!

I always thought -- bakit kaya hindi ako ligawin? I'm not bad-looking. I'm quite smart. And people say I'm pretty funny. But somehow, I guess, I never really had that X-factor that drives guys crazy.

But then Oca came along. Somehow, he saw what other guys never did and married me.

So, is love blind? No, I think it has perfect vision.

To all the young lovers out there, Happy Valentine's Day!

A Happy Ending

Oh, God is good. God always provides.

Remember when I said that I won't go na lang to the balikbayan party last week to cut down on cost? Well, a good friend insisted that I go, so she treated me and the hubby. Total of P1000 din yun ha. How generous.

About the costume -- well, I already set aside P2000 for that. And indeed, total cost was P2000. Nakakatawa nga kasi my costume was technically a blouse. So the price was a "blouse" price of P1500* (a dress would cost P2000, a gown - P2500) Pero kung tutuusin, mas maraming fabric pa ang na-use up n'ya kesa sa dresses ng iba. Ang dami pa n'yang beadwork. Kaya kahit umaray ang bulsa, sige na nga, I'll say sulit na rin.
*P500 was added for the Cyndi Lauper skirt

Di ba I mentioned that my costume woes didn't end there? Well, instead of buying a new short black jacket, I just had the househelp sew up the hem of my black sweater. And tadah -- short black jacket na siya! The belt, I got from Rea, our classmate, for free. The silver shoes, I got at 70% off (from P699, reduced to P209) As for the silver blouse, I spent only P125 since it was sourced in UK, as in, Ukay. Yung make-up ko care of Free Time Salon. Pinapunta ko na lang yung bakla sa school and had it done there. So again, no cash out.

My dinner ticket which is worth P400 was paid for by the batch (first 50 registrants got their dinner for free). I wanted Oca and the kids to come and watch me sana. Pero balak ko, pakainin na lang sila ng dinner sa Jollibee. Pero to my surprise, my mom, who was a diamond jubilarian, offered to pay for their dinner tickets. Pagpunta ko sa Saturday rehearsal, a former classmate naman gave me her two extra tickets for free. O di ba? So my mommy just had to pay for one. Binigyan ako ng P500. P100 ang sukli, keep the change.

Ang galing 'no? I had no money and I ended up with P100 in my wallet. Nice.

Well, the homecoming was a success... kahit megacost-cutting ako... kahit walang tubig sa area... kahit ang daming road diggings... kahit umulan. Because God is good, everything just fell into place, everyone's happy.