stranger in a strange land
Funny how egroup-mates come together to be friends in real life. I don’t see these ladies all the time, but whenever we meet up we know we are in for tons of laughter.
Pebbles was a beautiful bride, and her and Mike’s wedding was one of the very few I’ve been to where I did not want to leave at once 
They looked happy and in-love (but not mushy). I actually got teary eyed during portions of the reception.
I think I have fallen victim to my own pickiness. It’s taken quite a while to finalise the last 3 pages of our wedding album.
I think we’ve finally nailed it though. I just have to send a few photos to J so he can format the comments, and we’re good to go.
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It was P’s bachelorette party last Wednesday and I had a blast. (My bachelorette party was really tame — dinner, drinks, smokes, and a lot of kwento — but nothing that could be considered risque’.) My lips are sealed as we made a vow of silence about the party, but I have to say it was a blast. And the “entertainment” was a first-time for me heh heh.
R, the Maid of Honor, made a delicious drink out of 2 parts pineapple juice, 1 part red bull, and 1 part rum. I glugged it like water only to find out it is fucking traidor. I spent the next 2 days with a throbbing headache, hungover like a drunken dog.
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Monet sent me an email with a list of the “top 10 desserts” and they all sound so scrumptious! I added contact info to my Goodies List. I’m trying to cut down on sweets, but it is so difficult. Sigh.
Geez. I find it quite hard to believe that J and I have been married for 6 months already.
Well, technically we were only together for a week or so and we never really went into an adjustment period (we’ve got time to do that in SF), but 6 months is 6 months — and even if he is not around it is quite different how I go about things now — always considering him in the decisions I make
When J gets here we will spend a couple days in Boracay — this time at Nami Villas. I’ve always looked longingly at the place when we are at the beach, and I’m quite excited to sit at the balcony, with a frosty glass of pina colada at a table beside me, and watch the beach below. Hopefully we get to go to Mandala for a great massage again (and I am really longing to have an “Exhale” session)
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We’ve gotten the revised album layout from Pilar and although I still have some niggles about a spread or two, most are good to go. J and I will finalise comments and get back to her by mid next week.
I cant wait to get the album. I really love the heaviness, and mattiness, and period-ishness of it all.
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My dad picks up the neighborhood stray cats and takes them to the animal shelter every Spay Day to get them fixed for free. He usually catches 2 or so at a time, and then nurses them until they have recovered from the operation before setting them free again. We really cannot take in all the strays we find, but Papi does this trap-neuter-release thing in the hope that the number of future strays gets minimized.
I was at the office last night finishing some work when Papi called me on my mobile. One of the strays he had fixed was bleeding profusely from her incision — and despite his cleaning and bandaging the wound the bleeding had not stopped.
So at midnight we found ourselves on the way to the vet together with Mother (the name Papi gave the bleeding cat) and Mike (a male cat he had fixed earlier that day who had to go with us since we had no spare cages left for him). The vet and his assistant placed a pressure bandage around Mother’s stomach and placed her on an IV drip. They did not operate because the loss of blood had left her weak and opening her up immediately ran a high risk of her dying.
I got a call from Dra. Siday to tell me that the wound had not stopped bleeding and that they would need to operate. They found that the stitches inside her had slipped and that there was a muscle tear as well. They restitched her and placed her on an IV drip, and gave her painkillers and antibiotics (as she had a fever).
I hope she gets better quickly.
ETA: Mother’s a-ok and back on the street.
At the office kitchen
A: (taking out the trash) AKKKKKKKK!!!!
M: (rinsing her coffee cup) What??!
A: M! Gross, there’s a dead mouse at the back. I think one of the visitor cats killed it. Could you please clean it up?
M: Oki no prob. Is it in one piece at least??
A: Yes, but its got a bloody head….
M: Aggg. No way will I clean that up, can’t we leave it there till Monday and ask Philip to clean it up??? Will it start stinking up the place?
A: dunno
M and A leave the kitchen / back area and go back to work.
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Phone rings. Conversation on phone:
Erika: Hey, will you be at the office? Can I pass by after work?
M: Surely. (Hmmm, she can clean up the mouse….)
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E gets to office.
E: Hey hey
M: Hey, glad you’re here. There’s a dead mouse out back…can you clean it up?
E: Whats wrong? Why didn’t you do it yourself? You’re not scared of mice right?
M: Well….A says it’s got a bloody head 
E: Ahhh…poor mouse
E goes out back with a broom and dustpan. M and A stand by the door listening.
E: Oh look! Poor mousey…ayayay its stuck to the concrete….
M and A: (horrified silence)
E: wait…I know, I’ll scrape it off using the dustpan… scrape scrape scrape
M and A: (horrified silence)
E: ayayay its stuck bad… scrape scrape scrape ah, good its free. Here you go dead mousey poor mousey stuck to the floor into the trash bag you go…hmm it actually is starting to smell a bit….
M and A: (horrified silence)
I had only just made some comments in my daily chat about a fiasco involving a bride-to-be and her contracted photographer when I suddenly found myself in a similar situation.
Short on the b2b-photog incident:
B2B hires photographer, signs a contract. Photog messes up at a wedding which was handled by B2B’s coordinator. Must have messed up terribly as B2B’s coordinator tells B2B that if she retains the photographer, coordinator will give up her role. At some point previously B2B requested for an amended contract, and was waiting for the photog to issue the contract. Hooo hah hoo hah. Final decision is to drop the photog, and ask for a refund of downpayment made. B2B ends up speaking to photogs wife. Wife freaks. B2B slams phone. Wife writes nasty nasty unprofessional email. B2B posts on wedding forum.
My own private idaho:
I say my sad story is similar to this because I have just received some pretty nasty texts from a supplier / subcon of ours. It’s a long story, but in essence we have held retention payments pending (1) recomputation of their costs based on actual quantities used — as stated in our Purchase Order, (2) completion of rectification, and (3) receipt of funding from the client. All stated in our PO.
I have to admit I have been getting teed off recently as this supplier has a habit of overstating quantities (hence the provision that final costs will be based on actual quantities used), and omitting items from his quote. And I was really thinking this would be our last project using him as a dealer…
Anyhoo, he freaked out at me last month when I said that we would not release payments until the items above were complied with. Scream scream on the phone, “Aba aba akala mo ikaw lang ang designer blah blah blah” and the phone slam.
Although I was reallllly annoyed I decided to “try” to not get into a screaming match with him. He can get his money when the 3 items are done. I would have loved to rush to his office and grab him by the hair and drag him to the ground and stomp his face into the pavement until nothing was left but gristle and blood — and then SPIT ON THE REMAINS. But hey, I love my work too much to be any less than professional (even when my veins throb), and I really don’t think this little freakazoid subhuman aberration is worth losing my (difficultly maintained) composure over.
What’s with these folks anyway? I’m paying this subcon and my client is paying me, and my client and I deserve our money’s worth. So whats the fuss, diba? Fix it, get paid, get lost.
So today I was on my way to a meeting and he texts me — saying he will send a demand letter and cc my client, and all my past clients, so they will see how salbahe I am. Jeez. I told him to please consult with his lawyer and make sure he is aware of all the repercussions of his actions, because we would take appropriate action as well. To which he replied with some poop about being just a tiny poor supplier yadada dadada dadaada. I ended this farce with a “do what you must”. Called our lawyer when I got back to the office so I could update him.
I feel sort of restless because I haven’t let all my annoyancerageangerpissinesspeeviness out, but really…how else could I maintain my (goddamfuckingsometimesitssohardtobe) professional demeanor.
Sometimes I just wish I could get down and dirty and not care about the consequences.
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Oooh, looks like I’ve been in a pretty foul ranty mood recently. I really must try meditating and releasing all this NEGATIVENESS. It’s not doing me any good.
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On to happier things:
J has got his work permit approved! It cost an additional 1000bucks for the rush processing (thats like a camera or a lot of shoes ), but I think it is totally worth it as there’s the security of knowing that everything has been approved from the US side, and of course — now there’s no stopping his Manila visit in September. I am realllllly excited to see the guy I can go on wife-mode again :)
Mom is still ok. She has lost her hair and sometimes gets moody because of her restricted diet. But she’s walking and she’s alive and she’s still able to get treatment. Thank you God.
We may start venturing into residential design because most of our recent referrals / leads were for this sort of work. I’m still a bit nervous about this as residential work is a lot more taxing than corporate design. Still, it is an opportunity to expand our market and we’ll do about 2 projects so we can ascertain whether we want to go in this direction or not.
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Lolit Solis moment:
My bloggie friends Mik, Pia and Pebs are on the final leg of their wedding preps. Good luck and best wishes ladies. Lilac!! malapit ka na rin
I know its sort of gross but I couldn’t help but nick this from the toilet cubicle of a Makati building where we’re constructing one of our projects.
Amazing, huh?
Our company has special needs when it comes to office space. We need to have a place where we can commute easily to Makati (where most of our clients are). We need a place where we can crash if we work late. We need a place with a shower so we can bathe after a site inspection, where we can store our “business clothes” (usual attire here is a t-shirt, jeans / shorts, and sneakers)…and the main requirement (a dealbreaker really) is that we need a place that will accommodate the office kitties.
We’ve been staying in a dinky little apartment in Kapitolyo for almost 2 years. It’s the generic 2-story, 2 bedroom deal — but we tore down the walls at the 2nd floor and installed our workstations, rack storage, meeting table and filing cabinets. It’s quite run-down, but is beside our bank, 4 carinderias, a massage place (!), a parlor, a photocopy place, a grocery, and a gym. So all in all it was a great place to be.
Except for the toilet. The fucking toilet has a fucking backflow problem. This is usually due to the owner trying to save money by doing some shortcuts with the piping and using undersized pipes. And it is so not pretty. Michael, our officemate, even jokes about us peeing and taking a dump over the floordrain and just stepping on the goo since everything gross just ends up returning through our floor drain. What is grosser is that most of the ick isn’t even ours I’ve not used the john for almost a month and the thought of going to Starbucks makes me doubly happy because (1) I get my caffeine fix, and (2) I get to use a decent washroom.
I’m sick and tired of spending about 5k every 2 months to have the plumbing fixed, so we’re moving to a new place. Still an apartment, still in Kapitolyo, but a bit bigger, better plumbing, and 2 bathrooms (so the girls get one for themselves). The bonus is there is a small maid’s room we can use as a “cat room” and I plan to install the kitty litter boxes and an exhaust fan in this room.
Not So Short Rant:
I spoke to the landlady about the backflow problem and the imbecilic bitch blamed our cats, saying cat hair enters the toilet drain, and blocks the pipes, ergo the dreaded backflow. Forget the fact that our cats never enter the toilet, drains have strainer covers, are supposed to be on 4″ pipes, and that I’ve made it a habit to pour drain cleaner down our pipes regularly. But no, when I explained to her how pipes work (and I should know it’s part of my bloody job to know) she just waved her diamond ring clad hand and dismissed me. I swear I felt like biting her diamante wearing finger off or taking off me shoe and swatting her on the head with it. As usual, I smiled and tried to control myself. No point in arguing with an idiot, our lease is ending next month, and I just want to leave peacefully.
Wow, I’ve come a long way din pala — In my younger days I would have sic’d our lawyer on her. Now I try to choose my battles.
I am very excited because J is arriving in Manila on the 9th of September. I was a bit sad about not seeing him for a bit because I was going to stay in Manila to be with mom so you can imagine how I got a happy pitty patter in my heart when he told me he had booked his flight. It’s still a good thirty days away, but I know time will fly and it won’t be long until I finally get to see the husband. Yay
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I got our wedding video from Threelogy today and I can now see the importance of the video documentation. I was so spaced during the wedding I can hardly remember what happened. Bong, Chug, and CJ did a great job, and best line of the video goes to my dad — for the ending credits candid statement that goes “I am very happy for my daughter and Joel…they are really meant for each other…Ay, puta naiiyak na ako“ Hahaha! Mom laughed out loud when I told her about it.
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Mom is still undergoing radiation and she hasn’t lost her hair yet, so she is quite pleased. I can’t visit her because I’ve got a cold but we talk everyday and one of us always keeps her company.
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Ita was seizure free for a month and then started with milder seizures recently. He had one at 4am this morning and although it wasn’t as bad as the ones he had in previous months, he was having difficulty standing after. So it’s back to the vet for little boy, he is there tonight and I will call to check on him tomorrow.
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I am reading Eleanor Rigby by Douglas Copeland. Seems interesting. From the little I have read I find that I agree with most of the thoughts of the “lead character”. More later.
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