thoughts for the road
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
this title was used as a chapter ender from the book edited by ban breathnach and segell. i find it apt for this blog. i'll be writing my own thoughts soon but let me start off with something from the book itself.
thoughts for the road: ten things a man worth his salt should know how to do
by jake morrissey
1. sweep a woman off her feet.
2. calm a fear.
3. make a wish come true - for someone else.
4. keep a promise.
5. motivate a peer.
6. make a child giggle.
7. tell a ghost story.
8. change a tire.
9. write a love letter.
10. ask for directions.
posted by lex @ 4:12 PM,
top 5 scenic roads in the philippines
Monday, August 22, 2005
when asked about my occupation on online forms, i usually place 'roadtripper'. i enjoy roadtrips and have been on amazing ones. going through a scenic route with a cup of hot chocolate and a conversation with friends is my idea of a great trip. added to that, going through one makes me proud to be a filipino.
here's my top 5:
1. unpaved national road from cabanatuan, nueva ecija to baler, aurora: it's one of the most lush greeneries that i have seen roadside. you wouldn't know what a rainforest looks like unless you see this one. really soothing to the eyes.
2. halsema highway: there are actually 2 beautiful sections of hasema. one from baguio to bontoc and the other one is from bontoc to tabuk. (i consider bontoc to be a break from the scenery. sorry to people who actually like the place.) the baguio to bontoc route is the highest in the philippine highway system. it is lined with wonderful mountain formations with rocks and pine trees dotting the landscape. feels like you're in some scenes of lotr. on the other hand, the bontoc to tabuk section is an experience on its own. imagine this: the road sits beside the river. running parralel beside the road and the river are 2 mountain ranges with grassy hillsides which are sometimes used as the canvass for the rice terraces. old human bridges also traverse the river and create a distinct feel for this region.
3. national highway from malaybalay to davao city: going from plateau to lowlands to mountains and back to lowlands (near the seaside) gives an impression that this landscape allows for multidues of sightseeing.
4. east road from antipolo to caliraya: if the timing is perfect, you could just see the famed manila bay sunset from one of the outlook points on the highway. plus there's a section where bamboo grass lines on side of the road. seems like zhang ziyi and chow yun-fat would just leap out from those plants. really feels like crouching tiger, hidden dragon.
5. bohol national road that goes through loboc river and chocolate hills: just those 2 wonders of nature is enough to make me drive on this road.
posted by lex @ 4:51 PM,
monday oozing with the good stuff
earlier today, i went to the opening of the new teletech call center in novaliches. teletech invited some of the people from cali; as such, i was there. i personally wouldn't want to go near one and i wasn't really interested in this industry. i know it's not what i want to do but then again, i got an invite, so i went. also, i was curious to see what was inside.
initially, they toured us around the building. it was amazing to see an office space this large in novaliches: 2 floors with floorspace of almost a hectare. training rooms for employees to learn american, aussie and irish accents plus language rooms for korean and thai. conference rooms in the middle of the call center. their own coffee shop and a restaurant (note: it's not a canteen) that looks like a posh restaurant in greenbelt. and computers are all over the place with each computer placed in a workstation. wow. i haven't been inside a call center and this really impressed me.
and that's only scratching the surface.
when we were asked to sit down and gather in the restaurant for a ceremony, they said that this is the largest call center of teletech outside continental united states with 2,000 employees when operations become complete. in 3 and a half years, this is their third call center in the philippines. added to that, the philippine gm said that the innate character of the filipino to be caring puts it above other call centers in the world. this company is banking on the country. we have this edge and it's good that people are recognizing it. and more than that, they are helping out public school teachers by providing them with scholarships for english language training. in quezon city, they will be awarding 50 shcolarships for this school year.
i don't want to work in a call center. that i know of. but the jobs that they generate and the people that they help. that is something. and more than anything else, it gives me hope today. that this country is still worth it. that we still have what it takes to make this nation great.
i want to see the country developed in my lifetime. wouldn't it be great to tell your grandchildren that you helped rebuild this already amazing country?
*****
over lunch, they served us food catered by makati shangri-la. they served circles food. and i'm very glad that they had kani sushi! my craving has been satisfied for this week! what a good cap to great monday morning!
posted by lex @ 3:34 PM,
it makes me wanna smile!
Saturday, August 20, 2005
the other day, after i was finished buying the stuff that i needed in megamall, i went over to tower records in the same shopping complex. i wanted to browse around, while away my time and make full use of my 35 peso parking fee (which means i stay in a mall for an hour instead of 30 minutes). initially, i was contemplating on buying isha, orange and lemons, imago or bamboo.
to think about which one i was going to buy, i browsed other racks of cd's. i went through the pop/rock section not expecting to see anything that i liked: they ran out of bloc party, no new disc of the dave matthews band and no cd of aqualung. but then again, when i reached the letter 'w', i saw brian wilson's 'smile'!
this cd has been touted as one of the best cd's of 2004 by many music critics and i was quite surprised that nobody grabbed this yet. i mean, this album was uncompleted since 1967 (started writing in the summer of 1966) and has been the elusive goal of the artist since he was still part of the beach boys. 38 years in the making, man! imagine that! forget the other discs that i'm supposed to choose from. this is a cd that nobody is going to take away from me (this was the last piece). here's a cd that's already considered a classic and just for 405 pesos, getting this one should indeed be a no brainer! a smile for this 'smile'!my day is made when i find musical gems such as this one. a few months ago, it was the wilco cd in changi airport in singapore and now this. i'm really finding some good stuff in the letter 'w' section of the racks of music stores.
posted by lex @ 11:43 AM,
cotton bud-dy
Thursday, August 18, 2005
for five months, i've endured using cotton swabs that use small plastic tubes/sticks. good thing i've finished that! now, i'm back to q-tips and my ears are enjoying the cleaning! no other cotton bud can be called my bud-dy.
posted by lex @ 11:15 PM,
wednesday group
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
just to put things into perspective: no, this is not the reincarnation of that's entertainment. and no, this is not about a favorite hangout of kuya germs.
*****
for a few weeks now, my former officemates and i meet wednesday nights in the business district to hang out and talk about anything and everything under the sun (from the mundane to the insane). i find this a good opportunity to unwind mid-week and just have a great time with friends.
initially, we ranted a lot about office politics but we've more or less gotten over that. now, week after week, diversity has been the name of the game and conversations have been more and more engaging (you can only talk so much about office politics! hahaha!). talking with interesting people ranks as one of my favorite activities. add a couple of sanmig lights (or insert here the drink of your choice) to that, and you get an impeccably delightful evening!
so see you guys later! and please, no practice for a song and dance number!
posted by lex @ 11:42 AM,
blogging in small caps
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
people who write in small caps are often asked if they're fans of e.e. cummings.
well, i'm not. he's not even in my list of favorite poets. i just find it easier to type in this fashion. for one, it doesn't impede my thought process; i get to enjoy writing all the more without any minor stumbling blocks. secondly, it grants a more informal/casual look (from an aesthetic point of view).
in the past, when asked to make designs (logo, branding, brochures, etc.), i've used small letters in defining the brand unless the client specifies that i use capital letters. but with single color designs, i tend not to capitalize. instead, i play on this limitation and use other mechanisms of calligraphic design (bold, italics, font size, etc.) to communicate my point.
among consumer brands, celio, bench and greenwich all define their brands without capitalizations. it's not that caps are relegated secondary to design, it's just that most brands define themselves using all caps and using small letters provide a subtle suggestion to consumers that this brand, album or package is out of the ordinary. but then again, if everybody used it, then it would be ordinary and i'll start typing my blog with capitalizations.
posted by lex @ 5:37 PM,
aqualung
Monday, August 08, 2005
one of my current music faves is aqualung. i've found matt hales cracking voice suit my brand of emotionality. just hearing the song 'take me home' tends to recall times of inner homelessness and longings for peace. it is certainly apt that he called his debut album strange and beautiful, which is what it is. with that, most of his songs have found its way into my top 25 most played itunes list.
*****
over the weekend, i went to biga in laiya, batangas to help out a friend do some research dives. (to those who don't know, i was employed as a marine researcher for 2 years.) after one and a half years of not being able to dive, i needed to fill my aqualung with some salt water.
incidentally, the conditions that greeted me on the first day weren't all that perfect: the current swayed back and forth from time to time, it rained and wind made it all the more harsh to be on the boat. unusually though, because of the conditions, it made it sweet to be out at sea. although i told my co-volunteers about my previous experiences with this kind of weather and ranting about it, deep inside i was having the time of my life. nothing like the harshness of the conditions to exhilarate me! (weird.)
but then again, i love work dives. i got to help out in reef monitoring plus i was with people who very much care for the environment.
thanks day for the opportunity to work with you! hope to do it again soon!
posted by lex @ 10:04 PM,
stress management
Monday, August 01, 2005
enteng tagged me. wanted this to be from a psychologist's point of view but decided otherwise. i'm still half-baked in this field anyway. that aside, here's my answers:
what are the things you enjoy, even when no one around you wants to go out and play?
reading. i like devouring information, especially the written kind. reading books allows me to explore worlds other than my own. it doesn't really matter if it's fiction (hesse, coelho and williams), scientific writing (gladwell and gell-man), biographies (hendra and wiesel), fables (duffie), life's instructions (rilke, moore and peck) or picture/photo essays/stories (stine and bantock).
driving. when gas was way cheaper, i used to drive aimlessly on weekends to different places in the metro. not to go anywhere but to go. sometimes, i even turn off the radio when i drive. and i don't mind heavy vehicular traffic. it's one of my few moments when i'm allowed to be alone, find my bearing and find my peace.
graphics design-ing. i have been tinkering with photoshop for 5 years now. and i still can't get enough of it. i even have a folder dedicated to my 'workshop': delving into experimental stuff from multi-filter treatments to mixing different types of digita media. i don't think i'll ever tire of this.
sailing. ever since i've learned earlier this year (to rig the boat, to tack and to jibe), i've craved to go out on the lake and sail. after being a bit reluctant in the beginning, i now know that this is one of the activities that gives me joy and peace. being able to control the elements is an exhilirating experience. indeed, my love for the water just grows more and more.
listening. i love listening to music but then again it's not the only thing that i listen to: birds chirping, the sound of the howling wind, thunder, pouring rain, lapping of waves, even silence. wonder of wonders, this world is indeed blessed with amazing sounds.
building watching. architectural details intrigue me. like looking at the vertical signature of gt tower and how recio+casas made the skyline of makati unique. like understanding the context of greenbelt and how callison architects made it integral to the life of makati. like imbibing design philosophies of mañosa and how he tropicalized and filipinized buildings (san miguel headquarters). like seeing the way calma humanizes space and how important scale is for him (one mckinley).
cooking. don't tell anybody this but i have a big crush on nigella lawson (my jaw just drops watching her cook)! she inspires me to cook. as of now, most of my dishes more or less are based on principles of medditeranean cooking. i love using garlic, tomato, olive oil, basil.
what lowers your stress/blood pressure/anxiety level?
all of the above plus:
tennis. nothing like a good forehand down the line to make my day complete!
travel. sunsets. moonlit nights. scuba diving. salty seas. blue skies. new smells. sumptuous food. being with old and new friends.
conversations. let me quantify that: good conversations. whether it be in a car, or someone's home, or in a restaurant, i like being in conversations. allows me to know people more and good ones can really expand my horizon.
exercising. know what they say about regular exercise: it can lower psychological stress and quicken recovery. and from personal experience, it can give one better sleep!
saying no. i've recently learned this. i've been a yes man for many years and it has caused me a lot (of stress). now saying no to things that i don't want to do allows me not to spread myself too much. as such, have more time for people and activities that matter.
praying. meeting with God has allowed me to go beyond my perceived insecurities. it has given me peace and hope. that whatever happens, tomorrow is always a new day. as such, it has allowed me to rid of unnecessary expectations. as thomas moore has written, "prayer cleanses us of expectations and allows holy will, providence, and life itself an entry."
posted by lex @ 8:57 PM,
