The Pinpricks and Papercuts of 2015

. . .or rather, all the good times, the crap-my-pants stuff, the bullshit and the misses (lots of ’em) that happened in the past year. No, I’m not saying nothing good came out of 2015, far from it. But these tiny pinpricks and papercuts must mean something. Things we learn as we go along.

So move along.

Here’s what I learned, and more stuff I have to un-learn.

• Meeting friends after so long gets trumped by two bubbby daughters whom I also missed dearly. Sorry guys, I just wanna spend more time with my girls.
• Skinny pants with garters on their cuffs doesn’t even qualify as logical. Men who wear them should be hanged.
• Boys do powder their faces. it’s sick.
• Most people tend to believe their online persona.
• Smartphones are not for stupid people.
• Cash and Carry still has the best stuff around.
• Stop calling it “hoverboard”! It’s got wheels, for crying out loud!
• People who talk big rarely has the stick to back it up. And sometimes the adage ” People who can, Do, People who can’t, Teach” applies.
• Big paying jobs are rare. Big paying jobs takes a big toll on you.
• Scott Weiland’s death has painful similarities with the music video “Fall To Pieces”.
• “Supernatural” marathons are best when spent with your crazy daughters.
• Minimum wage rocks. Never had so much fun with so little. And I’m not kidding.
• Short freaking shorts are everywhere.
• Early last year, found myself with a bunch of really good people working for a BPO gig, and I am really not cut out for this sort of work, but the people I met enriched me in some way. I miss CELO.
• Still won’t wear tracksuits and sport related apparel. It’s appalling.
• You can’t enjoy movie marathoins without that special someone to enjoy it with.
• No matter wher you live in Metro Manila, there will always be that neighbor who enjoys singing that you will not enjoy.
• Lechon Mami is a miracle in a bowl. And some chili and you’re divine.
• Reading is still one of the best past times around. Just being stuck in traffic without something to read is murder.
• Men who smell too much of perfume are, well, not men at all.
• Women with ill thought tattoos are un-cool.
• Tattoo’s used to mean something. Nowit’s a fashion statement.
• You can find a room for Php3,200 and still retain your human dignity.
• Working for and with celebrities ain’t such a drag after all.
• KZ Tandingan rocks.
• Sometimes you can’t trust a kit.
• My home setup needs an update. badly.
• Sensible shoes works.
• I regret taking daental hygiene for granted.
• Old school is the better school. Of course you can learn a thing or two from the new generation.
• Pay back old debts when you can.
• People with loud and filthy mouths and badly dressed are better individuals than those overly educated stiffs who stab you in the back when you turn around.
• Vape only makes you accept you are in denial.
• Coffee I make is still better than coffee I buy. No barrista fame can enhance the taste of badly prepared overpriced coffee.
• Sci-Fi
• Never ask the printers without the final word from your Boss. It could cost you 4grand. And it sucks.
• Anilao is beautiful.
• Need to get my teeth. Lost most of them in last year. Now I got to earn enough to get me some pearly white smiles.
• A dentist is your best friend.
• Family is cool again.
• Philippine movies, in general, suck. Only gets worse when you see Kris Aquino’s mug in some billboard.
• Indie movies, however deserves a break.
• I love Regine Velasquez again. Because of  Mrs.Recto.
• People with names like Jojo, Mark, Alyssa, Myr, Carlo, George, Maryo deserve the title “Cool”.
• Salt and pepper scraggly beard seems to be my look nowadays.
• MMFF wouldn’t be complete without a scandal.
• Pay attention to money matters. Comes with the job.
• Smartphones are overrarted.
• When you need another bag (or pouch) so you can carry a power bank to sutain your so-called gamer-life on your mobile phone is just too…pathetic.
• Sometimes a m,ovie can be secretly a sci-fi one.
• Powerbank phonnes are cool. Gonna get me one.
• Jess Lapid Jr. is cool.
• When your boss is Hagrid, expect to make a bit of magic along the way.
• El Nino in 2016 could be worse.
• I’m the most un-showbiz person you could find, and I manage some showbiz oriented stuff in my line of work.
• I was lazy with my art.
• Staying holed up in my room is never good. Need to get out more.
• Missed out on most of the friends I should be with last year.
• I could be aging rapidly.
• Gyms are overrated. HIGHLY overrated. Just do household chores and your limbs will be fit. Buying all those conveniences only makes you soft. And they want you to pay so you can shed some fat? Bull.
• I need a bike.
• I need some sleep.
• Having your workplace inside a mall does have it’s moments.
• Creative Saints has to be resurrected. With a bang.
• Need to buy a dart board.
• Need new darts.
• Ned to draw more.
• Lost some good illustrations by way of leaving them lying around for a kid to throw water on.
• Must replace my 12-String with a new one.

. . .and there are more I should be ranting about but, like a resolution, things won’t get done, even if you write them down. So let’s just leave the past back there. 2016 is just another calendar to go through, but getting through it with style is the key.

A photo of my daughters Amiya (L) with Ate Alyssa, my eldest Alia and Kuya Kian (R). I learned these kids need to see each other from time to time.

Happy New Year!

Working Works

The other day, I was having my rather late lunch at a nearby korean-deria, what we fondly call our usual haunts to alleviate the incessant hunger for shabbily cooked food, when I noticed the group of merrymakers next door. I’m barely into my third spoon of rice and yesterday’s lechon kawali, now conveniently recooked into adobo, when a burst of shouts and overall revelry came out of that videoke open-all-day-and-all-night part of the strip. Sipping some nilaga broth, I could tell these guys were singing and boozing since last night. And it was Tuesday 12 noon that I happened to have taken my lunch.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

I don’t look down on people. I don’t want to be looked down on, so I try not to be as judgmental. But on a Tuesday, the sun is scorching hot, the usual diners were just trying to ease through their food so that they could go back to their own work fearing the minutes late would take off some amount on their take home pay, but lo and behold, there’s this group of individuals, probably closer to my age than the rest of the diners, are still at it. And judging from the number of bottles on the table (and the case under the table) it has been one long night.

There are stereotypes. People who tell you otherwise are in denial. These guys will probably spend their off day sleeping off the booze and waking up with a banging hangover and their weekly wages spent. And they will be bitching.

We all need some respite. We all need some R&R. But working in the city as long as I have, I learned to limit the debauchery to manageable levels so I can work the next day, barring lack of sleep, hangovers or lack of bus fares.

Working works as long as you work on it.

In my animation days, we literally close down bars with our booze binges. Strip clubs, live bands, we took ’em all in, and we got shitfaced. And the next morning we’ll still be sober and red eyed but working efficiently. These guys, I know the type, believe me, will be looking for someone to borrow money , after getting into some mean arguments with their wives, girlfriends or parents.

And all because they can’t control the real-men-drink attitude.

A cover art study for a short story I’m working on, along with a host of WiPs that need to be done.

After I consumed a serving of rice (at least it was hot) pork adobo (at least it was tastier) and bowls of nilaga broth, I was paying for my food, when a case of unopened pale pilsen came to the table visible to me. I shook my head and added a couple of sticks of Fortune Menthol to my bill. Took a puff while waiting for change, and left the area, my ears still ringing from the usual “Zombie” videoke staple.

I walked back to the office with thoughts of why people bitch about their government, the politicians, the system and the world in general. And look, they can’t even implement a system for themselves where they can have fun and maintain a job. It’s hard work. But it comes with the territory. It will be harder if you are out of work.

I’m employed in the BPO industry. Also I do illustrations. I also Write stories. Some people can’t find jobs because their diplomas and degrees dictate job preferences.

I’m not saying I’m better. But through all the slides and slips, the hard falls and bumps, I have not blamed anybody but myself should I find my ass whupped by life.

So I got back to the office, my current task still need a lot of work, so I get on with it. Thinking I should buy myself a bottle of brandy when this is over.