This year hasn’t been smooth sailing. There were rough rides at some point but I must say that I had a wonderful year, all things considered. A lot of things have happened which made me a better person. I had my share of stupid decisions but I’m glad I was able to pick up the pieces and move on.

I have learned to be more independent and be more responsible. I had the chance to know myself more, to love myself more, and to spend more time alone. Which I realized is not at all a sad or bad thing.

God has also showered me and my family with so many blessings. The best gift, of course, was the addition of Baby Gian to our growing family.

Career-wise, I must say that 2008 has been an eye-opener for me. This year has helped me know my priorities. It also made me realize that money is not everything.

I have started living healthy this year. I went to the gym regularly. Ate healthy. Tried to sleep early. And thanks to the flu shot, I didn’t get sick that frequent.

As the year comes to an end, I look back with a happy and thankful heart and look forward to another year with a heart filled with hope.

Happy New Year to everyone!

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Forgot to say Happy Anniversary to my blog last Christmas. Blue Rendition has been up for a year already.

So after my adventure-packed flight, I got myself a cab and headed home (Did I just call our condo my home? Ah yes!). That was a little past 1AM. It took me more or less 45 minutes to reach the condo. ‘twas raining a bit and the wind was cold.

I was happy to be back. Alone.

When I got home, the first thing I did was to turn on my laptop and check out some available movies that I can download. After more than 30minutes of surfing, I felt really tired and my eyes became very heavy. So I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face.

When I turned the faucet on, I was surprised to see rusty brown liquid coming out of the faucet. It was crazy. It was like a scene in your favorite horror movie wherein a monster suddenly comes out and holds your shoulders with his hands dripping with fresh human blood. Good thing I’m not afraid of ghosts.

Was able to sleep at around 3AM.

I enjoy riding an airplane.

That’s until the day I watched the Air Crash Investigation program in the Discovery Channel.

That program is a real b*tch. The air crash scenes kept on playing in my mind for weeks after watching it. And it never went away completely. From time to time, I would find myself thinking of more gruesome scenes.

Yesterday, I took a flight from Manila going to Kuala Lumpur. You guessed it right. The same crappy scenes plagued my mind. I was actually wide-awake the whole duration of the flight. It must be due to the large cappuccino I drank after checking-in my baggage. Or maybe not. I think it’s due to my growing fear of flying.

I remember that there were times during the flight that we encountered some light turbulence. Though it was nothing serious, I was really scared.

I was checking out the time from my seatmate’s watch – who was asleep during the entire flight – whenever she’s not covering it with her other arm. I was smiling when the clock ticked midnight. I told myself that it’s just 20 more minutes and I will be taking the taxi going home, relieved.

Unfortunately, lady luck was asleep during the last 20 minutes of the flight. We encountered a moderate turbulence for about a minute or so. My knees were shaking and my hands were perspiring like hell. I couldn’t help but be envious of my seatmate. She wasn’t aware that the aircraft was shaking up and down, and sideways. Good for her.

I actually prayed for the turbulence to stop while watching the bottle of mineral water get crumpled. And while my ears were popping. The feeling was really terrible.

When the aircraft touched down at KLIA-LCCT, I was pissed more than relieved. Pissed because I felt like a complete loser.

Merry Christmas!

My current office is actually in the outskirts of Kuala Lumpur. It’s your typical Technology Park. Still part of the city but not quite.

Lots of trees, birds, squirrels, and some occasional monitor lizards greet me on my way to the office.

With this kind of environment, one can expect that the ground is not all concrete. Some parts are actually muddy when heavy rain pours. The kind of mud that sticks on the sole of one’s shoes like a leech.

During the rainy season, I usually find a pile of soil under my table. No magic, really. It’s the accumulated mud that has dried up. From my shoes, of course. Out of embarrassment, I would try to push it to one corner so that it is not that visible. Haha.

I don’t know but I think I have become overly handsome or overly hunk. LOL

I went to the gym late in the afternoon today. Well, it’s always been like this for the past couple of days. I had my usual routine in the gym. Some treadmill, crunches, biceps exercise, more crunches, and others that I forgot how they are called.

After an hour of exercise, when I was on my last set of the biceps exercise, there’s this tattooed guy who was stretching some 2 meters away from where I was. And I noticed that he was looking at me. Scary. I immediately went to another machine and never looked back. Then he passed me by. He also went to another machine. He was still looking at me. I was really scared. I just went straight to the reception and got back my gym card and headed to the elevator.

Wahahaha. Really scary. Naalala ko si jems henry ching aka uber-homophobic guy. LOL

I was impressed. Really impressed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_y7xKttqzE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y1SNUHbn8ng&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jjvdJqk68Uw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQrtozS-gIw&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDCyL5rar_I&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSxkOcxgnsM&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J3Bg75bfTak&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9A7jC67WkM&feature=related

Because I didn’t have much to do today (and yesterday), I just called some of my friends in my previous company and pretended to be a credit card agent of a leading multinational bank.

Friend 1: (Around 3:30PM yesterday)

<Phone rings>
JUN>> Hi. I’m looking for Ms. XYZ
GUY>> Ummm. Sorry but she has just left. <pause> Left her cubicle.
JUN>> I see. Thanks a lot.

Nakakatawa. Kala ko umuwi na si XYZ. Yon pala may kaduktong pang “left her cubicle” yong script nung sumagot. LOL

Friend 2: (Around 9:30AM today)

<Phone rings>
JUN>> Hi. I’m looking for Ms. ABC. This is Arthur from Citibank.
ABC>> Speaking.
JUN>> Ah yes, I just want to know if you already have a card from us, Ma’am.
ABC>> Yup, I have a Citibank Shell card. Why?
JUN>> I see. Would you be interested in getting a Citibank Cashback?
ABC>> Hmm. How does it differ from the other cards?

Daming tanong ni ABC, tapos talagang english din sya.

JUN>> You will not earn points when you use this card. You will get a corresponding cash rebate for your purchases, instead. By the way, would you know anyone in Malaysia?
ABC>> Malaysia…? Huh?
JUN>> Yes, Malaysia. Specifically in Kuala Lumpur?
ABC>> Walanghiya ka Jun-Jun..

Hahaha. Ok di ba?

Friend 3: (Around 9:35AM today)

<Phone rings>
JUN>> Hi. I’m looking for Ms. EFG.
EFG>> Who’s this?.
JUN>> This is Arthur from Citibank.
EFG >> Eto na nga.

Ayus, nagtagalog si ma’am. Haha. Hindi dudugo ang ilong ko.

JUN>> I’m just wondering if you already have a Citibank credit card.
EFG >> Actually, kakapa-cancel ko pa lang nung Citibank credit card ko.
JUN>> Would you be interested in getting a Citibank Cashback.
EFG >> Sorry, pero nagbabawas nga ako ng credit card.
JUN>>  I see. Would you know anyone in Malaysia?
EFG >> Nakakainis ka Jun-Jun.

Haha. Ang saya-saya.

I saw this movie entitled “August Rush.” It was one of the few movies that I really enjoyed. I was absorbed by it right from the very start.

Talk about superb story and the use of music to make it even better. If you liked “Across the Universe,” I bet you will love this one as well.