Marcus Can Blog

Well here’s what I was drafting last Sunday when I got a bit uncomfortable writing as I’ve mentioned on my last blog:

Today is Sunday. Just another Sunday and I’m tempted to call it another SSDD – Same Sunday Different Date. But it won’t be because this is actually the 2^nd Sunday since I’ve started paying more attention to priest’s homilies. I’m actually thinking that God is most likely looking at my logbook right now. And chances are he must be writing another tick mark beside his many categories of me – I assume that this time I got one tick again for being unfair – with a comment written beside it, “in trouble and seeking help again.”

But that’s the good thing about God. At least it’s what I learned from my years under Catholic (surprised?) schooling when I was in my elementary and high school days; that no matter how his followers deviate away from him, he’s always (yes, ALWAYS) willing to accept him if he decides to repent and go back under his care. Remember the parable of the prodigal son?

Before you find my posts reminiscent of some religious leader standing and speaking spastically in front of thousands of his followers, I’d like to cut it off. I know I’m not the best man to write about this topic (and many of my friends will wonder if this is me once they read this), but right now I’m inspired of what I’ve heard for two successive Sundays already. It’s one of those times when I’d concede that the Bible is indeed the best book ever made. And let me explain about it.

Last week’s gospel was about the landowner who picked several laborers to work in his vineyard. These groups of men were however picked on three different times of the day – the first group by past early morning, the second were made to work by midday and the last group was hired and started working by late in the afternoon. The hitch of this parable came when the landowner called all the men to be paid of their day’s work. The payment was done starting from those who were hired late then to those who came in the by the first hour of the harvest. Unbelievably, the landowner paid all three groups with the same amount of money. And as anticipated, those who worked all day complained why he did it.

“…These last ones worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who bore the day’s burden and the heat.’ He said to one of them in reply, ‘My friend, I am not cheating you. Did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what is yours and go. What if I wish to give this last one the same as you? Or am I not free to do as I wish with my own money? Are you envious because I am generous?’ Thus, the last will be first, and the first will be last.” MATTHEW 20:1-16A

Upon hearing all this, I was thinking, “On whose side will I be if was in that situation?” But before, I start ranting, let me tell what the succeeding Sunday’s gospel is all about.

Well, this time it is still from the book of Matthew and by the look of it this is related to the first. Still in a vineyard setting but this time it is about a man who had two sons. Each was given a task. But each had different response to it. The first one said, “Yes, I will” while the other said, “No, I won’t.” The twist to this story soon came when the one who answered yes did not go and on the other hand the one who said no changed his mind and eventually went to perform the task. So now the question Jesus asked is:

“…Which of the two did his father’s will?” They answered, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you, tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you. When John came to you in the way of righteousness, you did not believe him; but tax collectors and prostitutes did. Yet even when you saw that, you did not later change your minds and believe him.” “ MATTHEW 21:28-32

If the first gospel confused and made me think for a while, the second one was more puzzling. Both gospel though made me realize that whether we’re living in the period when leather sandals is the “IN” thing and TAX collection is considered the dirtiest job (other than the oldest job – prostitution); or if we are now in the present under the era of Bill Gates, Donald Trump and the Chinese milk manufacturers, the rule (and reasoning) that most corporate are following is just eerily the same. That is, they pay you whatever they deemed fair and your answer to their expectations just won’t matter in the end – Believe it or not. Whether you like it or not.

Reference: The Bible Gateway

I’m actually doing another blog today and this is not supposed to be it. The reason for me to draft my first choice and to set it aside for later retrieval and continuation is that I can’t concentrate on how to properly compose it. I have actually made a fairly lengthy piece but the words and phrases seems to be similar to that a drunken line of ants – no coordination; each going about their own thing. And that’s a bad indication that one reader might pass out from nausea just at the mere sight of that blog.

As much as I hate it, I save it and that left me no choice but to press CTRL+N – or in layman’s term, make a new post instead. What I’m doing now is trying to remember and share some of the distractions that need to be avoided or eliminated when making a blog. Well in my case here it is. By the way, this is in no particular order. I repeat, in no particular order.

• 1. Clouded thinking. It’s one of things I avoid when writing a blog (or even email responses). Blogging is like driving and a clouded thinking doesn’t give good judgment and direction. So avoid it if you can. Anger, frustrations, and depression are just some factors that will result to having a clouded thinking. To solve it, I listen to my favorite music over the headset before and during a blog composition.
  
• 2. TV. Turn it off unless your topic of choice is what you’re currently watching.
  
• 3. Loud videoke sessions. No point explaining this one. Pray for rain instead, it helps disperse your neighbor’s drunken party.
  
• 4. Empty stomach. Unless of course your topic of choice is how it feels like to be hungry.
  

Last but not least…drum rolls please….

• 5. Wife. Yes, that’s right. Spelled W.I.F.E – Wife. As lovely as they seem to be and might even contribute blog ideas, they on the other hand are sneaky, unpredictable and are potent factors of ruining a good blog. If their mood isn’t right, they may even be the cause of unexplained deleted post…or worse a deleted blog. So to neutralize or tame this threat, on my part, I make sure that she’s fully asleep. But still always cautious because a snore isn’t an indication of a deep sleep. I’m always prepared of any sudden or unsuspecting pillow movement as that may prove that she’s sneaking behind my back watching for that telltale sign that I’m doing a naughty blog.
  

Although, these aren’t the complete list (for sure), these distractions are often the reason why my fingers freeze, mind stops running and usually makes me end up sleeping beside my lovely, sneaky wifey. Not bad after all, huh?! Ti abi.

I dread option this more than not having a helmet while on a motorcycle.

Come to think of it though at some point of our lives, and if some are still not aware of it, we just have to give our trusts to other people especially now that information technology is an unavoidable thing. Gone are the days when browsing through files in the filing cabinet is cumbersome. And nowadays it’s not only those nerdy (pardon the word, but some people appreciate it when they called nerdy) IT people that holds your life’s info in their hands. There are others who are hook to that imaginary camera around as if you’re one Big Brother contestant. And so you’ll wonder who these people are anyhow? Let me name a few:

• 1. Network admins – they have the privilege to access your emails, blogs and any other IT related matter. I consider them the highest threat in the exchange of information. That’s why most of them are among the highest paid positions other than nurses.
• 2. Credit card company – they know how you spend, know what you buy (and compulsion), what’s your salary and any other financial info that you’ve submitted to them when you applied for that unarmed robber inside your wallet – i.e., your credit card.
• 3. Your friendly doctor or physician – they know your body more than you do – unless you’ve personally probed your behind to look for lumps (ouch!).
• 4. NBI (or FBI in the US) – they know your fingers (print) better and has the capability to exchange it with someone else’s. So be extra friendly with your finger print technicians.
• 5. Morgue personnel – morbid as it may seem, they are the least of your worries for unavoidable embarrassment. You know what I’m talking about. At least, your next of kin will be the one who will entrust you to them.

That’s funny, but when I typed the title above, I never knew that I’ll somehow end up relating it to the last bullet. It must be a result of another bloody CSI episode this week. Anyway, and to get back to the topic, since its imminent that I’ll be spending quite some time blogging in the new days to come, I finally have to give in once again to entrusting my secret alphanumeric code – A.K.A passwords – to those behind this MS Word 2007 feature of publishing a blog directly without having to open an internet browser. It’s a compromise, I give my trust to them, and they give me the “publish” menu in my MS Word in return. That’s just the way it works and how can I complain?

This is not wordstar anymore.

And today, while the Jetman is probably still fast asleep after setting the first english channel crossing by using his wing invention, I on the other hand is celebrating in my own petty way for having my first blog published thru MS Office Word 2007.

Not Guinness book-worthy, but a record nevertheless.

I have not been into my top form lately and been desperately trying to convince my body to go back to the gym or spend some time playing badminton with my friends. But then since almost 3 weeks ago I’m into the state where the cliché, “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak” applies. I can’t stress it enough but I really hate it when this happens.

So to entertain myself, I’ve been at the mercy of the technology available inside our home. If I’m not in front of the sofa watching TV, I’d be pathetically in front of my PC lamely killing time by surfing the net, blog-hopping, lurking forums, etc. Again, I hate it when this happens.

Thankfully, while my body is waiting for it to be in action, my mind is somewhat enjoying its time in front of the PC and I think it has taken quite an interest in reading blogs. This time more intently – geeky as it may seem.

And so instead of feeling self pity for not being in the court or on a treadmill doing 5Km runs, I began to feel contented with feeding my mind, if not overload, with info from the World Wide Web. I started visiting more blog sites, participated in blog forums, and reviewed some basic grammars (I just can’t learn enough of it). And lately, I felt like I’m seeing some potential in monetizing my blogs. It must have been a premonition as today I officially become a dead-employee-walking-man. Today, I started counting down my time out of corporate life. Ninety days from now, I’d be free, I’d be jobless. Thankfully, I won’t be money-less – at least for a good 6 months…I guess. 

For now the question is, “Am I destined to blog?” Whatever the answer is, I’d like it to be yes. And if it is yes, I’d like myself to be paid for doing so. Hopefully, I’ll start small and hopefully (1000x) I’ll at least earn an amount just enough keep me from being tagged as a full-fledged bum – well, that’s the plan. I love writing, I love blogging. It’s something to keep me occupied after I’m done potty training our baby (to be). Now where is my red English writing book? If killing time is a crime, then consider me a serial killer in the days to come.

***

For the past few weeks, I’ve frequented the wordpress pinoy community and I saw its improvement today. I love the way it looks now as it has a more wordpress feel to it than before. Here’s how it appears before:

WPP before.

This is not the exact look of the site but a cached version from my new search engine – homepages friends (This too, pays. How? I’m still trying to figure it out.)

Now here’s the new WPP site:

New WPP

Obviously, this one is better than the old theme. Well, at least for me as I’m a sucker for things with coffee in it.

I’ve got a very big family and I’ve known our home as the most secured among the neighborhood. It was where we were always proud to be Inside. And like the rest of my siblings, I also look up to our parents and I was ever so proud to be one of their children. But then time changed and it’s been a year or two since our parents have given us the hint that they’re up to something.  And what that is, we were clueless then. By the middle of this year though they told us the shocking news – the house we’ve known to have endured storm and earthquakes is crumbling. That shocked us. It can’t be true.  The news was like coming out of a very bad nightmare that despite the earlier hint, still caught most of us unguarded.

That being the reason, it surprised us no more when the next thing they told us was their idea to move out of our current home; a home where I’ve spent most of my life with the rest of my older and younger brothers and sisters. This is where we learned to crawl, walk and eventually stand up on our own. This is where I learned and understand how to deal with the rest of my siblings in harmony. We’ve had our differences for sure, but we managed to hold on together with the values that have bound us as one family.

Now, since they decided that we finally move out in 6-9 months time and have announced the location of our new home, they have now started orienting each member of our family of the phases that we will undergo to make the transfer a smooth and successful one as much as possible.  We were all ears and so eager to hear about it.

Of course, not all of my siblings are happy with the move. Some are excited but most I can sense are not yet prepared. The older ones for sure have lots of memories in this present home and younger ones have still lots of things to prove and experience. But then, mom and dad have made up their mind.

And so after asking the rest of the members what they think of the transfer and if they wanted to move on or not, our parents stood steadfast.  Despite the obviousness of the pain they have to deal with, mom and dad had to finally bid goodbyes to those who choose to part ways with the house transfer. But just like any responsible parents will do, they did not forget to partake what they have to those who will be left behind hoping that my brothers and sisters make use of their money wisely.

On my part, they haven’t talked to me yet…but to keep me busy they assigned me to do my share in packing up things this week. Some of my siblings have done their share since a month ago. Now it’s my turn. Our home is almost half empty but there’s still a lot to be packed and boxed.

Rummaging to what is yet to be packed, the nostalgia of yesteryears seems to rewind just like in the movies. I can vividly recall the days when mom and dad would give us a new toy and each one of us would gather around it wondering what it was for and but making sure it works at the end of the day.  Sometimes we’d argue over it and sometimes we’d work together like we had one mind with one goal. And with each success we made in putting it to work, mom and dad would always clap their hands, give us a pat at the back and more often than not, treat us to a well-deserved meal or give us some token or gifts for the job well done. Those days will be missed. Hopefully, in our next home, they’ll do just that.

M-O from Wall-E. A familiar sight at home during the packing of toys.

(continuation of Part 1)

The second interview we had last week is far more serious than the first because what is at stake here is someone else’s life being entrusted to us we if pass it. It’s actually the 2^nd one for this process as the 1^st one was done at home. This time we were in an adoption foundation somewhere in Cubao.

Early this year I approved the long standing wish of wifey to adopt a child. I can still recall the time and place when I finally told her about it. We were having dinner in Aling Tonya’s in SM by the Bay when I see one family with small kids passing by. I guess something in me snapped when I felt like we need another one to tag along with us just like complete families do. That night, the image of one of the kids holding his father’s hand while they merrily chatted held on to my brain like stubborn road tar. And that was it; I had to admit then that we lack at least one member. We need a child.

So after that event, my wife had been busy searching thru the internet with regards to adoption, child care, etc. I myself, did some searching especially on the inevitable potty training thing. This I guess is the one thing that I might need some time to getting used to with our future kid. Other things related to raising a child, I’m now prepared to do it. At least I think so.

During the interview, we were asked to answer a couple of questions from the forms and a couple of which got me to reflect for a moment.

1.       Names of people who influenced you? Frankly, I can’t seem to figure out who did.

2.       Three (3) things you fear the most? Undoubtedly, I wrote lightning as one.

3.       I will love my wife more if…? I answered: if she cooks breakfast without being told and if she drives the car well. Because other than these, I love her as she is.

4.       What are the adjustments you’ll make when you receive the baby? I wrote a phrase or two, but for sure that will be a lot…and I’m excited about it.

Taco Bell

Coming out of the foundation more than half an hour past lunch time, we headed to the nearby The Gateway mall and treat ourselves in Taco Bell’s. That lunch for me was more than just a treat, as it brought back memories of my US trip back in ’05. The tacos smelled and tasted just like they did abroad. I just hope that wifey will soon have the opportunity to agree with me.

Red right hand

Soon after, and as if having an itinerary for every interview day, we were again headed to the cinema. Both of us easily pick Hellboy II: The Golden Army over other films. This will be our first time to watch a movie in this mall.  The cinema is fully carpeted with a wide end row and tapering towards the wide-screen. Air-conditioning is just right and its soft cushioned seats added a great viewing experience for one great movie such as Hellboy. 

What I find fascinating about this sequel is the fact that it got better than the first one. The creature characters were surprisingly well detailed that although the diversity of the aliens reminds me of Star Wars Episode III, the creatures in Hellboy are as unique as the main stars of this film. Even the villains were convincingly portrayed. And as much as they appear mean and scary, I think the tiny evil tooth fairies deserve a movie of their own. Oh, by the way, Hellboy and Liz are having their own kid. Coincidence?

Definitely not from your mom's fairy tale bedtime stories.

And there goes another busy week for both of us. It may even become busier until the end of this year if our baby arrives by October. I’m not so fully sure yet if I’d be busy at work as well. This I’ll know in a couple of weeks.

Ref: 

I’ve said it several times either to myself or to someone – Time flies so fast. And so today I was surprised to see that the last time I did a blog was on August 31 and fifteen days after that, I’m still wondering what I’ve been thru since then. Now I’m in the middle of the much waited months for us Pinoys – the “ber” months.  And being the 15^th which is the payday for most employees, I can just imagine the throng of people in the mall, in the clubs, and those in the beer bars – all of which probably enjoying at least a couple of Christmassy tunes in the process.

In spite of having lost track of my activities, the freshest memory that still lingers in my mind is the things that we did last week. In work terms, work week 37. Last week, my wife and I underwent a couple of separate exciting interviews amid my untimely colds that was made worse by the enduring rainy week.  But having prepared for these interviews for so long, not to mention that the stakes are high, we proceeded undeterred.

The first one was in the US embassy in Manila. It was actually my wife’s idea to try our luck in getting a US Visa (tourist). Although, I’ve been thru this before for my week-long Wisconsin training trip, I was a bit pessimistic in acquiring a new one as I’ve seen a couple of times the disappointment it gave my parents upon every denial in their quest to visit my sister abroad. Lately though, according to wifey, a lot of her peers got theirs without much ado. And true indeed, after a couple of anxiety-filled hours inside the embassy, our visa application got approved as well. My wife went out of the hallway skipping like a kid promised with a weekend beach picnic. “I feel like I’ve just won the American Idol audition”, she quipped. Well, that probably puts me in William Hung’s shoes when he got the record deal. (What made it greater was that our Visa expires in 2018 but the news today regarding the end of validity of the green passport by 2010 looks trouble to me.)

One thing that my wife and I are totally in synch with is that both of us agree with rewarding ourselves with every success that we had; more often than not, we love having food treats. And this time we dropped by MOA (Mall of Asia) looking for something new. Then we saw Cheesecake Etc. Inc. It is a small (approx. seats 10-15 person) restaurant but with cozy feel to it. Obviously, we ordered a couple of cheesecakes and coffee to match it. What we got were nicely presented (lovely shape and plate decoration) and were fairly priced. I recommend this place as an alternative to Starbucks.

After satisfying our sweet tooth, we headed to the cinemas just in time to catch the movie Wall-E – this time to feed our craving for comic relief. And like any other Disney movie we’ve seen, this movie didn’t fail us. The scenes in the movie despite being subtle and comical packs a serious message of what our (humans) future awaits if we lose the awareness on our environmental obligations. It also sends a strong warning to everyone who tends to entrust our lives to technology with the belief that it is there to give us convenience. Convenience that if not controlled will eventually produce more bad than good effects in the end. Do garbage problem and obesity sounds familiar? If there’s an animated counterpart to Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth movie, this is it. This is a must see movie for both young and old alike. (I love this one so much that I can’t wait to get its DVD.)

(to be contintued…)

Ref:

http://www.pinasgift.com/cheesecake_etc.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WALL-E