Whiffing

Mendicants are nothing new in this city. They walk around, feet crusty with months of ingrained dirt. Seeing them huddled in the corner trying to sleep is not a new experience. In a city that's deadened to humanity, no one gives a shit about them, really.

Sometimes their situation gets to me. Don't look at me like that, must I be Cruella 24/7? It's tiresome being Cynical Miss Cruella all the time, so I had a soft moment going to Watson's (store of choice!).

A boy was face-down on the curbside, frying in the punishing heat. I wondered if he was dead, and wanted to poke him, but he looked positively bio-hazardous. Walking in, I thought "Maybe I should buy him a bottle of water."

I didn't. I forgot to.

Anyway I walked out of the store after about thirty minutes and the boy was still there. Face down, unmoving. Concerned, thinking he was dead and not wanting a dead body to rot in the streets at 1PM - imagine the smell and flies - I walked up to the security guard for Western Union, which was right beside Watson's. My heart was breaking. Poor kid. I asked the guard if that kid was fine, fully expecting him to ring for an ambulance, but unmoved, he said:

"Bali'ng rugby ana gabi-i."

I looked back at the boy - who had picked that exact time to wake up and was currently weaving his way through the crowd - and I really didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

Maybe the plan Chuck and I have in place for them really is the final solution: round 'em all up and just send them on their way... anything should be better than getting your kicks off a bottle of contact cement.

I got a quotable out of it though. The W.U. security guard is my new hero. So...

"Nag-rugby ka gabi-i?".

Tweaked

Update:
Dammit, my links are down. Was fooling around a little too much with the layout and graphics on here and they all went away as a result. I will have those links up as soon as this internet cafe opens again - they are closing. At 1AM! Scandal!

Headline Porn

More than a little stale, but good times nonetheless. The meat of the story? Four girls squeal to the feds; they paid PhP1,500 /shot for Botox treatment promised by the girly facialist. They all end up with various degrees of horrible facial swelling and other related grossness. Apparently, said girly facialist used (Kitchen? Minola? Efficascent?) oil instead.

Common-sense: if it's PhP1500 a shot, it's not Botox.

A little more common-sense: If you want Botox, you'll want it in a clinic, not a parlor stuck in god knows where, sandwiched between GI sheets and signs saying "Mila's Sari-Sari Store".

Abby: "Common-sense is not common."

I included the English version, for good measure. Brava.

At the Movies

I will gladly pony up PhP130 to watch Eric Bana slaughter the British accent in this movie. Not a big fan of the mutton sleeves, but oy. Finally, another role that showcases his absolute hotness! He hasn't been sexy in a movie since Troy. Wasn't Henry VII redheaded and pudgy? If he was, who'd want to see a pudgy king having sexy times with two sisters, anyway.

Maybe I should buy the book? Abby recommended it since there was a sale at Powerbooks. Hmm.

Hemp Rope + Ceiling Fan

This blog has been dormant for some time, and I don't necessarily hate myself for it.

The events in my very ordinary life seem to have coalesced, making for one very hectic, messed-up, busy, tiresome existence. This is why I tend to stay away from change. Change is tiresome. Adjusting can be a bitch. I thought change would be great for me, what the heck, take the next step and get a little more responsible. I now have a buttload of responsibility. Nothing compared to the great trifecta (Ronan/Jet/Darwin), though. I just have never had so much to do and think about at once.

The fun thing about being a trainer: nothing is confirmed until it's confirmed. I suppose that's even more fun if you're a whirligig of adaptability like Paulie (who wants to be known as the sexiest tranny on the fourth floor of the SkyRise building). Not exactly fun if you're me. I tend to like planning ahead, and if the plan gets disrupted and then disrupted again, I get tetchy.

If there's anything I've learned in the past few months, it's the value of prioritizing. Urgent tasks. Tasks that can be put off. Procrastinating tomorrow.

Still, I'm thinking this is a good exercise in patience and being "ready" for anything. Good for the soul. Uh huh. Mindsets. I've learned not to have a mindset because I may have to get another mindset before the week is through, and then develop yet another one when the week finally ends. Frankly, it drives me crazy. And I get scared of turning into what Paulie calls a "spontaneous lass". I like spontaneity, in short, sweet bursts. Not week-long whirlwind... I already feel like I need a straitjacket.

I really don't like not having a mindset. I think it makes life confusing.

Maybe it's because I'm finally going to get to handle my first class, and the strain of preparing for it, is taking its toll. I'm happy I get to work with Ellice, who is a client-spec diva.

So now all I have to wake up to is work, work, and even more work. I think about work when I'm at home. I have to go to work even if it's the weekend. I like my work, but too much of a good thing is... too much. I feel like it's all I sleep and eat and breathe, and right now, thinking about seeing Asiatown's IT Park makes me want to blow chunks.