+/-

Tuesday again, time for updates (or lack of)..

This week's theme is called: +/- (plus and minus)...

hmm. i seem to have this trend of having math-related stuff for titles. well, i know i'm a geek :P

according to wikipedia, geek = "A person with a devotion to something in a way that places him or her outside the mainstream".

I don't think that's something to be ashamed of. They even have this Nerd Pride Day in Spain. See....

hehe.

Anyway, onto my updates...

Retrenchment

One of the most significant events this week is the sudden culling of our ranks at work. It was last friday, and I spent the majority of the afternoon renewing my work permit. I returned to work and saw those weird looks from the eyes of my colleagues. I dismissed them, thinking maybe they're just confused why I came in so late in the afternoon carrying my backpack.

And then someone told me the news. Fifteen of our colleagues were suddenly laid off.

Put yourselves in their position, coming to work on a Friday looking forward to the weekends, when suddenly, at a crucial hour of the day, you are called to the boss's office one by one. Later on being asked to packup the same day.. pack up, while some senior guys are standing behind you watching you clean up your workplace.

It was terrible. Some of those people were my friends. And friend or not, the way the decision was laid down was totally unacceptable. Have they even thought about how those who were laid off would carry on with their expenses? What about their contracts in their apartments? Their bills? How about their remittances that their relatives are depending on?

There was no warning. No prior notice. I can only hope that they would find new jobs soon... or if worse comes to worst, I hope they can come home to the Philippines and eventually make ends meet.

So ironic that I got my new EP, and fifteen others got theirs cancelled.

:(


Calvin's first Movie

Check out Little Calvin's first video here: Ssshh, I'm sleeping

See the way he sleeps? Arms slightly covering the face? That's me right there :D

Me and Che are both really excited for Calvin's arrival into the world. He already has most of his gear waiting for him.. And it must also be pretty cramped inside mommy's tummy. Not to mention the minor inconveniences he's giving mommy (inconveniences which are almost gone now, thankfully :) )


Project Woes

I have this bad problem with my current project. It's still unsolved up to this moment, and it's becoming a real pain... hindering us from moving forward. Not to mention that it's been causing me to work late these past few days, but to no avail.

I hope tomorrow, this issue will magically get solved.

:)




Oh well... It's getting late. I got home today half past ten in the evening, because of my project.

That's mostly the news for last week... if memory serves right.

My life is really uneventful lately... I just lounge around the house, playing games.

:)


Goodnight!

1+1 != 2

Quote for the week:

"Today is Tuesday, there is Jongster...
Now it's time for: Tuesday's With Jongster"
- Leonidas, King of Sparta

---------------------

Anyway, this week revolves around the truth behind 1+1 not equal to 2


I'll start off with today's dinner:

... shrimps, check
... salted egg, check

Now, shrimps + salted egg = ?

In my case, a lot of things went wrong:
- all the garlic, onions, and spices were spoiled in the ref (and I didn't know...)
- when i boiled the salted eggs (I boiled 2), one of them bursted open and was thus marinated in the black, coal-like mud covering that they use here to cover the eggs. I had to get that egg, wash it up, and peeled everything away to get the "core" of the yolk. Suffice to say it wasn't very palatable.
- the only things I cooked in the past that were remotely edible, I used instant mixes :D

So there I was.. messed up the eggs... pre-boiled the shrimps. And then mixed everything together.

The end result: Steamed shrimp with emaciated eggs scattered all over. It's a far cry from the dish we liked in a Thai (?) restaurant in the Philippines.

I mean anyone patient enough would be able to separate the eggs from the shrimps in this thing I created.

There was no harmony. No semblance of a cooking masterpiece.

It's one big mess.... which I still ate.

It still tasted like shrimp anyway, and the egg yolk somehow improved it.. although I'm sure it would've been a lot better if I ate them separately.

So there.... shrimps + salted egg = overcooked shrimps + (un)salted egg + a hint of black mud

-------------

On another note, my bibe is still in the US... recently she had these rashes on her tummy that were really itchy.

At first glance, one would say that it is probably some allergic reaction (and hopefully, it is). I also told her it might be due to the weather, as the climate there is getting colder which might cause dryness in her skin and consequently some irritation.

Even her OB told her it might be an allergic reaction.

Yet my pessimistic bibe googled it.. and saw some obscure, rare condition among pregnant women that has the same symptoms.

Im sure, that's not what she has. hehehe.

This is reminiscent of a similar situation when she was still here with me, and was having rashes on her legs. Again, google got the best of her and she showed me pics of a bad skin disease that affects mostly the legs.

No bibe. Don't stress yourself thinking of such things that would happen in every 1 out of 50 to 60 thousand americans (that's what the website said).

Everything's gonna be alright.

:)

---------

(after about 20 minutes of inactivity...)

Today I've done a lot... cooked dinner, washed dishes, and even cleared out old stuff in the ref.

Tuesdays for me are really productive. :)

Umm. Sorry for the incoherence, and for seemingly cutting this short. That's what happens when you stop typing for a while, forcing your train of thought (if there was one in the first place) to a halt.

I can't think of anything else that happened in the past week that will prove this post's theme anyway. Well I guess this lack of proof, by itself, is proof.... right? :P

Oh well. Until next week.

---

Ah wait. On a more serious note, I'd just like to say that we are all very lucky to live at this time. We are witnessing a phenomenal event that's happening worldwide -- and that is the plummeting of the world economies.

I mean, it's not something to be happy about.

But it's something that no one thought would happen at this time of our race's history.

Now we just saw how america gobbled itself up in its debt-driven economy. And at this moment, we are seeing the ripples and waves across the globe triggered by this sudden fluctuation.

Some say it will take 5 years before everything settles down.

Me, I have no idea. hehe.

These are amazing times indeed. We may or may not be heavily impacted by it, but being here and seeing it all is breath-taking in itself.

Little Calvin's early years would definitely be memorable.

Such a lucky kid.

Hehe.
...

Goodnight bibe and baby!