Lakers in the Finals

I've never been much of a basketball fan. If and when I watch a game, I'd be hanging on to every word from the announcer so I can keep up with what's happening. I'd hear a referee's whistle and he'd make those gestures and it's all the same for me.

But recently, I've been following the progress of the Western Conference Playoffs. (I don't even know if I said it correctly.) Anyway, it became more exciting for me since I've started betting on the games. Actually, since I don't have a team and I really wouldn't know which team to choose, I let people bet on who they want and I'd be cheering for the other side, the team no one wouldn't want to bet on. Sounds crazy but it's been great so far. Spurs vs Lakers Game 4 was pivotal as a lot of people bet on the Spurs but Lakers won. Ergo, I won.

What's disappointing though. From the lines I've seen, Spurs was the underdog and given +8. Before the start of the game, the line went down to +7 or +7.5. The final score was Lakers ahead by exactly 8. The last shot by Sasha Vujacic changed the outcome for a whole lot of gamblers. Everyone who was watching the game knew it was in the bag for Lakers so there was no need to take the shot but I think that last shot was for the gamblers. Or it might be for the free tacos the audience will get if Lakers pass 100pts while keeping the opponent under 100pts. Or it might be out of inexperience on Sasha's part. Or it might be that they were just so damn happy. Whatever the reason is, I can't wait for the Finals!

Moving Out II

The expiration of my lease is getting closer and closer and we still do not have a new place to move to. At this rate, I'd be homeless in approximately 4 weeks.

When we do get a new place, it'll be awesome. I've lived alone for the longest time and I'm longing to talk to actual people.

But first things first. We have to at least decide who we're living with and what we're renting.

Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

Apparently, everyone does. As mentioned in a previous post, there’s already the http://myfirstonemillionpesos.wordpress.com/. I’ve recently stumbled on another site with the same goal but with a little variation, http://pathtomillion.wordpress.com/. Everyone seems to have been bitten by this million peso bug. This really is a good idea and it provides healthy competition to everyone involved.

I might as well try it myself. I’ll do it through playing poker and it’ll be logged in my other blog http://finaltabledonkey.blogspot.com/. If I’m unable to reach a million faster than the other bloggers, I’m sure I will have a fighting chance at least.

If Chris “Jesus” Ferguson has the $0 to $10,000 challenge, this will be my $0 to $23,386 challenge (based on $1 = Php42.76 exchange rate).

This will be the last time I write about this on this blog. Everything about this will be written on my poker blog.

The Tricycle Schmicycle Boycott Movement

I'm an active member of Tricycle Schmicycle Boycott Movement. This movement is intent on destroying the tricycle industry by not riding tricycles. These are the reasons why this movement was founded.

• Tricycles contribute to noise pollution
• Tricycles add to the air pollution
• They overcharge (P13 for the length of 2 blocks?!?!)
• They support laziness (You have feet, use them)
• There are way too many of them (I think we have 2000 tricycles in the Katipunan area)
• They add to the traffic volume
• They're a pest to other drivers
• They're an eyesore

and

• They wear their jackets backwards

If we didn't have tricycles then the gas prices probably won't be as expensive (supply and demand and all that crap). It would be more peaceful. People would be healthier. There would be less traffic accidents. There would be more space on the road for other vehicles (or vendors or pedestrians)

Note:Currently the Tricycle Schmicycle Boycott Movement is one-man strong. But I'm hoping to get more support. Membership is free.

Moving Out

This week, my college friend and I will be looking for new place to live. I've been living in One Burgundy Plaza in Katipunan for 3 years now and it's where a bulk of my salary goes. I've spent Php 336, 000 on rent for 3 years! In retrospect my money could've been spent somewhere else. Though rent is not the only major expense I have. I've also spent Php 94,000 on taxi fare since Dec 2006. I know! I don't have discipline.

But this new experience will be great. I've never had a housemate before and I'm sure it would at least get rid of those days when I'd literally not speak for 2 days. It would also force me to clean up after myself more. I'm a pig when it comes to house cleanliness but hopefully having a housemate will change all that. I'm sure it'll prepare me for the eventuality of sharing a home with my future family.

Downside is that I will also be forced to wear clothes while walking around the house but I guess that's a sacrifice I have to take.

Same old same old...

I read a quote in a newspaper article once... "Are you living 1000 days or the same day 1000 times?" The article didn't mention who said it but the question has been on my mind since.

I actually realized that in my case, it's the latter but I didn't know to what extent until I stumbled upon my old blog in MySpace. The blog entris were 4 years old but they have the same sentiments as I do right now. Which makes me wonder, what have I done to make my life better? Well apparently I didn't do anything all that significant which led me here with the same old same old.

It would probably be a good time to consider this as a wake up call and change everything the way it happens in movies or books. But it's going to be hard. I'm in too deep and I've probably dug this hole deeper than what I can climb out of.

A thousand days from now, one of two things will happen, I'll stumble upon this blog and say the same things over or I'll read this entry and think this started me on the right path. I'm hoping it's the latter.

Hi I'm Ross and I'm a Workaholic... II

Now that I was able to get enough sleep, let me expound on my last post.

I work in eTelecare, a call center in the Philippines. I started as an agent and after 2 1/2 years of taking calls, I was promoted to a team lead.

When I was an agent, we were given tasks by our direct supervisors. These tasks are normally their tasks but as is the practice in the company, we normally "help out" with our boss's tasks. This doesn't happen only to agents. The team leads are assigned tasks for the managers, the managers are assigned tasks for the directors...

It's a bad habit but everyone has gotten used to it that no one actually minds. There was an initiative before which asked everyone to focus on their job description but after a few weeks, things were back to the way they used to be. No one actually wanted to let go of the tasks assigned to them.

This includes me. I am tasked to maintain the program's roster and to assign the schedules to the agents. This is normally done by the managers but as mentioned above, the team leads do it. These tasks alone were not the reason I stayed in the office for mre than 32 hours. Of course, I still had other things to do. The main reason why I had to stay in the office for that long was because I was on leave for 2 days. The work will just ile up if I'm not there and no one else is going to do them so I had to finish everything before I left. That's the main reason I stayed so long.

It's an absurd situation. It's never ideal to have employees stay for more than their normal work hours. But this is for my future and I need to work hard.

Hi I'm Ross and I'm a Workaholic...

Hi Ross...

I arrived in the office 10pm of Wednesday. I left 6:30am of friday. Nuff said...

Written by Ross

When I was in High School I wrote a story for the school magazine. It was sort of a love story but since it was 11 years ago, the story's details are a little hazy. What I do remember about it is the positive reaction from the girls from the other school. That event actually made me believe that I was a good writer and it gave me confidence that I can make it a career.

Around the same time, I made a bet with a classmate that I'd get published in The Philippine Daily Inquirer's Youngblood section before he does. Neither of us had even sent an entry to this date.

A few years after High School, I tried to apply as a contributor for The Philippine Daily Inquirer's 2bU section. I wasn't accepted. At one point, I thought that I can be a writer for a magazine. I didn't even get the chance to apply because I couldn't find any openings.

An opportunity presented itself one day when my College friend who worked for The Philippine Star needed an article and I happened to be available. It was my first paid article. Since then, I've been getting assignments for Star every now and then. It wasn't enough to quit my day job but I'm just happy that my writings were getting printed.

This boosted my ego and I changed my goal. My goal was to win a Carlos Palanca Award. I thought that if I'm going to be a successful writer, an award would make my market value rise. So I aimed for a Palanca award. Problem is that I haven't attempted to write an entry.

But a conversation I had earlier would hopefully change my mind and give me the needed motivation to write. I have an officemate who is just 19 years old and she has been runner-up for the Carlos Palanca Kabataan Awards more than once. She's 7 years younger than I and I haven't even sent an entry. This is will be the catalyst for my nth quarter-life crisis.

Dreams

I remember the time when Air Supply released More Than Words and it was a big hit. All of my classmates started picking up guitars and it came to a point when every other person would be able to play it. Most would only be able to play the intro but it didn't matter.


Shortly after that, grunge started to pick up. And then came the whole pinoy rock revolution. All of a sudden, bands were getting played on air. I remember listening to LA 105.9 "The Rock of the World" where they would play virtually unknown bands. I even have a black shirt with an anarchy symbol on it and some fake Chuck Taylors cause I can't afford the originals. It was also the time when I was given a guitar. And it sparked in me every one's dream of being part of a band.

I studied and played and practiced until my fingers couldn't take it anymore. And as days became weeks then became months, it was clear that I had no future in the music industry and that the closest I'll be to being part of a band was if I joined a noon time show contest where I'll play farting noises from my armpits.

But though I've accepted that I'll never be in any way be part of a band people would actually want to listen to, there's still that part of me wishing for that life. Even after I've sworn off trying to play or even trying to write a song or even just trying to write lyrics, I will still want to be part of a band.

Which brings me to another point. It may be in people's nature to want what they don't have and in my case the band is not only what I wish for. I have lots of wishes which I never do something about. I brought this up because I've recently found the Philippine Blog Awards website. And I got the same feeling I had when I heard about the Philippine Web Awards and even the prestigious Palanca Awards, I wanted to win. It may be for validation and it may be for vanity but regardless of the reason behind it, I really wanted to win.

But we all know this will just be one of those things I will list in my Procratinators log. So instead, I want to wish good luck to all Philippine Blog Award Nominees and may all your blogs go unread for weeks.

Kicking the Habit

It's been 48 hours since my last cigarette. And it feels great. I've been smoking for more than 10 years and I've decided that I need to take care of my health. Have me run 50 meters and I'll be laying on the road for an hour catching my breathe. Have me run 2 flights of stairs and I'll fall asleep out of exhaustion. Yes, I need a lot of work but that's what I want to take care of by quitting this crazy habit of mine.

I've also been keeping track of my expenses and it turns out that since Dec 2006, I've spent P8,000 in cigarettes. That's a little less than P16 each day for more than 500 days.

The real test however is when I go back to work or when I drink with friends. But I'll think about that when the time comes.

Blog Makeover Done

All right. So I made some changes but nothing too drastic. The new look, well it looks gay. No offense meant to gay people but there's no other word to describe it as effectively. Oh well... This'll be probably the last time I write about the changes I make. I didn't get to find a cool counter. The current one will suffice.

I can't seem to find the option to change the signature on the posts. Hmm... I've been looking for that option for months now.

Blog Makeover

This blog needs a makeover. The layout is bland. It's like I'm reading a newspaper. Now that I'm not going to work for a few days, I may just have time to actually improve my blog.

I need a checklist:

• I need a logo.
• The header needs some design.
• The things in the side need updating.
• I need to find a cooler counter.

Checklist done. Now I can sleep and worry about sticking to the checklist when I wake up. I'm probably the best procrastinator ever.

My 500-Peso Challenge Conclusion

It was very disappointing. The very next day, I had to pay for the laundry and the disconnection notice arrived for Meralco. My 500-Peso Challenge was finished even before I left the condo.

Which answers the main question brought by this challenge, how far will P500 get me? The answer is not far at all.

My 500-Peso Challenge

I was walking home last night and a thought suddenly hit me. I've been talking about the hardships of life and all that; why don't I find out what I can do about it. So I've decided to take a 500-Peso Chllenge. How far will my P500 actually let me go?

Here are my expenses thus far.
P12 for the train fare (I walked to the train station because I'm too stingy to take a tricycle)
P24 for food bought from a lugawan I found in Cubao
P20 for the bus fare gong to Makati
P8 for 4 sticks of cigarettes (4 sticks is a real sacrifice for me)
P53 for food bought from a Jolly Jeep
Which totals P117.

But I still need to go home and I need food before I sleep. Turns out this challenge is not very exciting and it'll probably end soon. But let's see. At this rate, P500 is probably going to last less than 3 days.

Tomorrow, I may take the jeep instead which saves me P4.50 each way. Then I'll also try to lessen the number of cigarettes by, ummm..., 1.

Where Ateneo Failed

After my last post, I was still thinking about what I wrote. A friend was also going through a quarter-life crisis-ish episode and my conversation wth her help me piece things together.

What I believe as the root cause of all this is the Ateneo. I mean, from Grade School we were pampered and spoonfed and put up on a pedestal. We were taught to pity the poor, help the needy, be a Man for Others. There was not a heads up that if we weren't careful, we' be the ones to be pitied and to be helped. No one in the many teachers I had told me that life is hard and in order to live I have to work hard. I'm learning this now, 10 years after High School. I know there really isn't a guidebook for life but it wouldn't hurt give a little advice. All the while I was under the impression that everything we read about or everything that we see in the outreach projects is always going to be different from what we will have or experience. I thought that we were shielded from these and that as always, after a couple of hours of tutoring Tulong Dunong children, we'd head on back to our comfortable houses with our dinners waiting for us.

Back then, if we ran short of money, we'd run to our parents and ask and we'd receive. We'd ask for money for make-believe projects or imaginary books and we won't even have to ask a second time. If my allowance went faster than expected, all I needed to do ws to wait until I got home and I can eat whatever I want. Now, I have to make sure my salary lasts until the next pay day. There's no one to run to if it doesn't. I have to find alternative means of income to make ends meet. Now I have to learn everything through experience just like everyone else.

Comedy or tragedy

When I was in High School, I had this vision that after I graduated college, I'd get a high-paying job, I'd be able to buy anything I want, I'd be driving a Mercedes Benz or a BMW, I'd go home to my own house, I'd have a beautiful wife and have smart, responsible and beautiful children.

None of that is close to coming true. I've maxed out my credit cards, I'm striving to make my salary fit, I ride public transport, I go home to a rented condominium unit I really can't afford and the last time I had a meaningful relationship, I let her go. This couldn't be further from what I thought my future would be. You here of people encounter a crossroads in their lives and that decision made the difference for them. I keep thinking where that crossroad was in my life. When was it that I had to make a decision which brought me down this very miserable path?

My life looks like it was a tragedy waiting to happen. There wasn't a conscious effort for it to be so. It was just that I was bound to fail. Or maybe, the crossroad I was looking for hasn't come and that everything will turn out all right in the end.

My First One Million Pesos

I recently found a blog titled My First One Million Pesos. I have to admit, the title got my attention and the thought of following this guy's ups and downs while he was on his journey to get the 1st Million excited me. I felt that I was given the chance to watch this guy go from start to finish.

Except that while I read his blog, I was actually disappointed. The writing was as exciting to read as a textbook. The blog contained a lot of tips for saving and stuff but I never read any of his plans on how he was going to be able to get the 1st Million. I think he has plans of saving for his 1st Million from his salary. Bro, it's like watching water boil!

I plan on giving him a month and if I can't stand his writing, I'll go for my 1st Million just to outdo him.

Alas...

I guess there really is no such thing as a free lunch. The neighbor with an unsecured wireless connection found out about it and created a password. Too bad. But the week I had it for was a blast. I was able to play poker freerolls for hours on end. I updated my blogs and I was able to check my email. And I haven't done these for the longest time.

I'm actually thinking of subscribing to an ISP. May be after I get around to the year long goal of getting an SSS ID and renewing my 2 month expired driver's license. I'll just put that thought into my procrastinator's To Do list.

A "Big Yellow Taxi" Realization

It really does always seem to go that you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

This morning I saw an ex-girlfriend online. She really was a loss. I've made some mistakes which I would undo if I had the chance. But the fact remains that she has moved on. Funny thing was that when I realized that I want her back, it was too late because it was the same day that she told me she was dating someone else. Yes it took me a very long time to realize it and she gave me as much time as she could. What more could I ask for.

I'm hoping I won't make the same mistake when I'm faced with this scenario. But I'm really hoping that still loves me and she'll come home.