My Life… My Thoughts

My best friend and former roommate Che, just texted me the other day that my former boss and her future father-in-law just passed away. For a short while, I was saddened by the thought that Kong Nick, as he was called, have already left us.  He was such a character.

When I joined Marigold, I was forwarned by some of my officemates about an elderly grouchy old man who is one of the owners of the company I was working for.  People were telling me stories about him shouting at them or him being too strict about certain aspects of the company that they have to walk on pins and needles all day.  I heeded those advices and whenever he is around, I try as much as possible not to cross his path and be as respectful as I can.  But no matter how careful I was, something, anything , can really earn his ire.  I remember one time when I gave out a memo to one of his "loyalists. "  (Loyalists are people who see Kong Nick as their only boss…and those who report to him whenever other figures of authority make them do things not to their liking.)   He never liked memos.  He was on "old school"—those days when a man’s word is their bond and authority is exemplified by verbal confrontation.   He was furious when his loyalist told him that I gave him (the loyalist) a memo.  He was like: "who is this Bantol? who does she think she is?"  I thought he was going to confront me about it and scold me right infront of everybody.  But that, he didn’t do.  Maybe because somebody told him that I was the new little harmless girl in R&D, or maybe he simply forgot about it.  You see, anything can just irk him but it would just be momentary.

On happier days, you would see Kong Nick making fun of everybody.  Yes, he has the potential to crack funny jokes too.  Funnier than his jokes was his facial expression when he laughs.  I remember days when he would just be there at the production office talking about his life experiences or about what future projects the company should be doing.  I really liked listening to those stories.  They were full of wisdom and naughtiness, the former more dominant than the latter.  It would be sad knowing that he wouldn’t be there anymore to share those stories to everybody.

Though I have already left Marigold, I still feel like I am a part of it.  Their happiness is my happiness and their loss is my loss.  It was there where I furthered the values of trust, acceptance and happiness in simple things.  It was also there where I got to know Kong Nick, one of its pillars, and probably one of the most colorful figures I’ll ever know in this lifetime.  I am sure that in the hearts of everyone he’s touched, he will surely be missed.

My first time in Vegas was in 2002.  We were on a roadtrip then from the Grand Canyon, and we got to Vegas late at night.  It was a very tiring trip, so i never really appreciated the beautiful lights due to the weariness I was feeling. Last weekend, I was again invited to go to Vegas by my roommate Georgia, and her friend Mylene.  Mylene is originally from Vegas and she still has stuff she needs to move to CA, which is why they requested me to go due to the long drive.  They promised to take care of everything and lured me by saying that we would have a lot of fun with everything that Vegas has to offer.  The first thing that comes to my mind when I hear about Vegas is gambling, and since I’m not much of a gambler, I really wasn’t enthused about visiting Vegas once again.

We left at 12 midnight and got there early dawn.  We had to sleep for a few hours before deciding to go to some spots.  However, due to the physical strain from the long trip, we didn’t go till 2pm.  We really never went to any scenic spot since Vegas has nothing at daytime.  We just visited an outlet store, which is also one of Vegas’ main attractions.  Having not enough money to splurge, I didn’t enjoy it very much.  When darkness kicked in, we decided to go watch one of the variety shows.  It saved the day, since I enjoyed it immensely.  It was a variety of magic tricks and acrobatic stunts, the kind you usually see in circuses.  I guess it awakened the kid in me.

I couldn’t really say that I love Vegas now, but this trip has somehow erased my previous impression.  I guess I still have to spend some more time out there to be able to give my final assessment about the place.

The sepikmom tagged me:

.:. ANO’NG STUDENT NUMBER MO?
93-32794 (Grabe, i can still memorize it after all those years)

.:. NAKAPASA KA BA OR WAITLISTED?
Pasado

.:. PAANO MO NALAMAN ANG ENTRANCE EXAM RESULT?
Tinawagan ako ng neighbor ko na may sister sa UP

.:. FIRST CHOICE MO BA ANG UP?>
Yes

.:. ALAM MO BA ANG UPG SCORE MO?
Hindi.  I never bothered.  kuntento na akong malaman na nakapasa ako.

.:. ANO ANG FIRST CHOICE MO NA COURSE?>
BS Biology, pero waitlisted ako….tinamad na akong mag follow-up

.:. SECOND CHOICE?
BS Food Technology

.:. ANO NAGING COURSE MO?
BS Food Technology

.:. NAGPLANO KA BANG MAG-SHIFT?
Nope, kasi nalaman kong pwede rin palang pre-med ang FT.  May balak kasi akong mag MED nun.

.:. NAKAPAG-DORM KA NA BA?
Yes. Kalayaan then Ilang-Ilang.

.:. NAKA UNO KA NA BA?
Yup, may iilan din.

.:. NAGKA-3?
Meron din…

.:. HIGHEST GRADE:
1.0

.:. LOWEST:
5.0 (Yes, binagsak ko ang Physics 72)

.:. WORST EXPERIENCE SA UP:
Na-food poisoning sa Kalayaan!

.:. LAGI KA BANG PUMAPASOK SA KLASE?
Yes, kasi taga-dorm ako… wala rin kasing magawa pag nasa dorm ka lang

.:. ANO’NG ORG MO?
PAFT - Alpha
UP Kaamulan
UP Lamdag sa Latagaw

.:. MAY SCHOLARSHIP KA BA?
Wala.

.:. PINANGARAP MO BANG MAG-CUM LAUDE?
Dati…

.:. KELAN KA NAGTAPOS?
1998

.:. FAVE PROF (s):
Dr. de Leon, Prof. Francisco, Prof. Dumelod

.:. WORST TEACHER (s):
Forgot her name.

.:. FAVE SUBJECT (s):
Organic Chemistry, Food Biochemistry, Business Law

.:. WORST SUBJECT (s):
Physics 72 (for obvious reasons)

.:. FAVE LANDMARK:
Oblation, Sunken Garden

.:. BUILDING:
CHE

.:. PABORITONG KAINAN:
Wala ata

.:. NOONG ESTUDYANTE KA PA MAGKANO BA ANG BINABAYAD MO SA JEEP?
P 1.25

.:. LAGI KA BA SA LIB?
Yes…

.:. NAGPUNTA KA BA SA CLINIC NUNG MINSANG NAGKASAKIT KA?
Nope, i usually do self-medication

.:. MAY CRUSH KA BA SA CAMPUS?
Yes

.:. BF/GF?
Wala

.:. MAY BALAK KA BA MAG-MASTERS O MAG-PHD?
Nag-attempt na akong mag masters ng stat but never got to finish it kasi na sidetrack ako.

.:. ANU-ANO ANG MGA NAGING PE MO?
Modern Dance; Taekwondo; swimming; wushu

.:. KAMUSTA NAMAN ANG BLOCK NYO?
Halos may masters na lahat. Nasa iba’t ibang sulok ng mundo na rin.  May iilan na may asawa, pero mostly single pa rin.

.:. NAKAPANOOD KA NA BA NG GRADUATION SA UP?
As a mere spectator? hindi pa.  Napanood ko graduation ko

.:. MEMORIZE MO BA ANG ALMA MATER SONG?
Hindi.  (Yikes! nakakahiya)

.:. MEMBER KA BA NG UP VARSITY TEAM?
Nope

.:. NAKA-PERFECT KA NA BA NG EXAM?
Yes.

.:. ANO’NG AYAW MO SA FINALS WEEK?
Minsan sabay-sabay ang mahihirap na subjects…nakakaloka

.:. DITO KA BA NATUTONG UMINOM NG BEER?
Yes—beer at iba pa!

.:. ANO’NG GUSTO MO SA UP?
Ambiance, cool people

.:. ANO’NG AYAW MO?
Rambol! 

.:. MAGANDA BA ID PIC MO?
Yikes! Hideous

.:. MAY GINAWA KA NA BANG ILLEGAL SA LOOB NG CAMPUS?

Hmmm…nothing serious…nag sneak in sa dorm kasi inumaga sa gimikan

Kung ikaw ay naging Iskolar ng Bayan, malaya kang sagutin ang mga katanungang ito.

I was feeling a little homesick yesterday.  Maybe it was because of the gloomy weather or the happy families at church, or simply just because the thought of being alone struck me in the face.

When I first came here, everything was so exciting…the new environment, my new friends, my new adventures.  Hence, homesickness was the last thing on my mind.  Now that everything is moving at a steady pace and has become monotonous, thoughts of home came creeping back into my mind. 

I miss my mom waking me up early in the morning to ask me to go to church; I miss silently disobeying her by murmuring;  I miss my sister being mad at me for not walking in the mall with her ’cause i was wearing high heels;  I miss my brother who always checks the oil, water, wheels of my car making sure that i’m running safe on the road; I miss my dad who always calls me to ask if I have already eaten or have gotten home safe; I miss my friends who are always there when i needed somebody to talk to or to hang out with; I miss alma’s kids who are always so smart and rowdy; I miss my roommate che who is always my confidante and with whom i can share my thoughts about life, love, career and politics; I miss my co-workers who have also been my friends and with whom i can always run to when i needed help; I miss marigold, my old company, who have simple people with simple wants but very happy about it; I miss the reckless drivers in manila who have helped me muster my patience; I miss the lady at the salon who gives me foot spas and the latest gossip about her other customers; I miss the lady who does my massage at spa 168 who never talks; I miss the parking attendants at the place where i used to park who never fail to say good morning, good afternoon, good evening; I miss the tagalog love songs being played on the radio which i seldom listen to, thinking of it as "baduy"; I miss the noise, the pollution and the hustle and bustle of Manila;  I miss the people at the shanties who always manage to put up a smile on their faces despite the misery they are in;  I MISS THE PHILIPPINES!

Yesterday was Labor Day, so last weekend was labor day weekend in America.  Just like any long weekend, it is one of the most awaited since it provides people a long time away from work.  Americans have the "work hard, play hard" kind of mentally, so long weekends are usually anticipated by everyone. 

However, instead of being excited, I was a bit sad.  Sad because I wouldn’t be earning anything on that day.  You see, I am paid by the hour.  Hence, no work means no money.  Not that i would want to work myself to death, but two days off is enough for me.  Besides, I do not have anything planned so it would only make my weekend boring.  Now I understand why hourly paid laborers don’t like holidays. 

While working at my previous company back home, I oftentimes encounter comments from production workers about them being sad since it’s a holiday.  Back then, I couldn’t quite empathize.  More often than not, I would tell them to be happy about the welcome respite from a long week of hard labor.  Now that I am on the same boat, I fully understand their plight.

Back in the Philippines, I never experienced being an hourly paid laborer.  Having a degree from a reputable school, I never had a hard time finding  employment.  I was even privileged enough to choose any company I would want to work for since I was luckily accepted to some.  I chose the one that was the most challenging and intellectually stimulating, who also gave the  highest pay, with good benefits.  However, things are different out here.  People don’t know your school or your degree.  Even if they do, they simply don’t care.  It’s a dog eat dog kind of environment and you have to prove yourself in terms of work performance for you to succeed.

Well, I guess I just need to live with my new reality now and start proving myself.