It's that time of the year again when clocks are moved forward by an hour. At least for the US, and since I am working for a call center which supports American clients am directly affected by this thing they implemented.
Due to this, schedules at work are moved an hour meaning I now have to be at work by 10 in the evening which means I now have to take the jeep to work as there are no more FX shuttles after 8. There could still be the last trip to Manila but I wouldn't bet my life on it as this town is already dead by 7 in the evening. I sure hope it would rain less from this point on or else I'd looked harrassed and too worn out by the time I arrive at the office.
Using the van is no longer an option with the insanely high prices of diesel nowadays, 200-300 a night. I am better off saving for more important things like DVDs and music CDs.
Speaking of DVDs, it's Saturday evening now and I still have not received them. I don't know what the problem is this time. They are still using Fed Ex/Air 21 who were able to deliver the DVDs on a Friday during the last two instances wherein I ordered.
Parconline messaged me this morning saying they called the courier service and was informed that no one was home yesterday. Bollocks! I was home the whole day, sleeping during the afternoon. My mom was also home the whole day.
So for today, I stayed up the whole day, hoping they'd show up which is quite an effort on my part since my sleep table is way fucked up. I slept in the afternoon yesterday, woke up by 7 and slept at 11. Woke up by 4 in the morning and haven't slept since. Now am going to have problems again sleeping tomorrow in preparation for the work week. Stupid.
Apologies for living in such a remote place, but simple ask the post office where the Sabapathy's live and they'd point you in the right direction. Heck, ask anyone in this town and they'd be able to tell you where to go.
Oh well, I don't have to pay for them until I receive them so I shouldn't worry too much.
Time wasn't wasted though as I was able to finish Radiata Stories, start Golden Sun on a GBA emulator, and download all Death Cab For Cutie songs.
Suffocate Me While I Sleep Tonight
I hate it when it rains and I have to commute home. This is around early morning when everyone else is trying to get to work and the easiest, most convenient means of transportation is our beloved passenger jeeps.
On normal days, it would be okay as the sun is not that hot yet, the pollution and dust is another thing though, but since I am going home anyway, who the hell cares. Besides, we are all going to die someday so why bother with pollution.
Anyway, when it rains it is awfully wet and it ruins my shoes, my pants, and in instances wherein the rain is pouring hard, I have to whip out my trusty 9-year old rain jacket.
Jeeps are pretty open vehicles which helps since we are in a pretty humid and dry country that it is until it suddenly rains. Good thing, there is a quick fix to prevent the rain from coming in. This is where the ingeniously designed "tarapal" (plastic drapes) come in.
The downside of this is that it creates one suffocating gas chamber which is further helped by the unique aerodynamics of the jeep which sucks the carbon monoxide (suddenly, War All The Time comes into mind) from the rear exhaust back into the jeep. Very healthy and I have to endure this for more than an hour. Sick.
It's way past my bedtime now and I should start sleeping now capitalizing on this gloomy but cool weather. Sadly, the rain has stopped. The rain is only splendid when you are at home and much more spectacular when you need to sleep.
A question first: Where are my DVDs? I sure hope they find my home again. They did find it the last two times so here's hoping I do not have to pick it up somewhere.
Waiting For The Fireflies To Drop On The Ground
Received some good news yesterday when I checked my mail one of which came from Parconline, which is my local DVD supplier of titles I would never find in the country. Maybe there are pirated ones available, but am too lazy to look plus I do not have the luxury of time.
Anyway, the mail listed the DVDs they received for the week and among the list was Firefly which I ordered two weeks ago but was sadly delayed. Ordered it together with Citizen Kane which they actually received last week.
Received a confirmation message on my phone that it would be delivered to my house on Friday. Excellent. Now I have something to look forward to for the weekend. This wouldn't be as cool as the very shaky trip to Puerto Galera with the team at work (being with people versus geek-ing out by myself).
I'd still pick the trip to Galera over anything else. Maybe for one thing. Nah, that would never happen anyway so we should cut that line of thought before it blooms into something which would choke us to death.
After I watch Firefly, I would then be ready to watch Serenity, the full-feature film based on the series, which I doubt would ever be released in theaters locally. Bummer. Will have to resort to ordering it again or if lucky, catch a pirated DVD somewhere.
The first week of the new schedule at work was insane. Thankfully, things are getting a little easier, pressure wise. More teams were moved to the night shift which provided much needed breaks during calls in the wee hours of the morning.
Am still starting October on the wrong foot though. Well, I have been tremendously lucky for more than a year so I shouldn't really complain. Let's just laugh it off.
I welcomed the changes with open arms. Apparently, the day-offs are the only good things about the changes as of late. Weekends, so time for gigs and drinking, plus let's mix in some girls and sex. Right!
Two days into the new shift and I am drained dry. The whole shift is very busy with no time to rest and relax. 8 straight hours of nonstop talking.
I have reduced my life to nothing already. In the past, I already did not have time to play videogames or watch a movie by the time I get home. The only thing I could do is log online and check webcomics which I do not view at work. There are website which I used to view at work during the time we have waiting for calls.
Now, I am unable to do just that and have now added more things to do once I get home. The travel time does not help either.
Like today, I have been online for 3 hours now which is sick.
Don't tell me though that this additional Internet time is not essential as it is the only thing left that keeps me entertained and alive. The only thing I do aside from work, travel, rest, and eating.
Shit! It's already 12 noon and I'd be waking at 5 and during the day, 5 hours is not enough to refresh the body. Oh boy. I am skipping lunch for sleep.
After being in such a "flexible" schedule for atleast two months, we now have a schedule which does not change in the middle of the week. Still in the night schedule though, but this time we are maximizing the night differential, 9 in the evening to 6 in the morning.
The downside though is that these hours are the busiest and with October having an unusually high call volume, it would be so much more crazier. Then again, work would seem to breeze by faster during these hours.
The day offs are much better too, Fridays and Saturdays which means time for gigs during weekends. This also means no more Movie Day Wednesday for me. I could have it on any other day though, not just the opening day. Shucks, but there are ways around this for must-be-seen-on-opening-day movies.
Since the schedule just changed this week, I am on off today and I capitalized on it last night. Well, I would have been present even if I had work today. Met up with friends over at Congo Grill along Sergeant Esguerra. Took loads of pictures. Dropped by Big Brother's house just because it was near. Drank some Milo Granma near a friends place. Got home around 7 in the morning.
It was fun.
Grabbed a copy of Franz Ferdinand's You Could Have It So Much Better and I have to say it is an awesome record. Simply awesome. So do you wanna?
No Movie Day Wednesday for me this week despite the number of interesting movies released and which I wanted to see, including Lord of War and Wallace and Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit plus The 40-Year Old Virgin which I have not yet seen.
The day turned out differently, and I'd gladly replace a Movie Day with this anytime. Anytime.
Ate out. Dad's Ultimate Buffet. I haven't eaten so many different foods in one sitting. There was roast beef, turkey, veggies, beef teryaki, cooked fished, tempura, tonkatsu, and several kinds of sashimi and sushi. Yummy! Of course, we should not forget the cake. I was so stuffed and it took us nearly two hours to eat. I think. It was fun.
Any day spent like this is definitely better than a day watching movies alone or playing videogames until my fingers go numb and/or my eyes bleed. It's true.
I want to talk to people about something just because I want someone to listen. Simply listen. Thing is, they'd be saying the exact same things I have heard from then ever since this started. I think I am better off talking to myself which I haven't done in a long time.
I just want to hear what they would have to say (again), but then I wouldn't heed their advise since I have already made up my mind.
It's made up and I doubt it is ever going to change no matter how stupid or dumb people may think it is.
Ack! It's 9 already and I have only slept for three hours. Sick. I have work later on in the day, and I doubt I'd be able to sleep again. Stupid body clock.
This week's Movie Day Wednesday was a tad insane. I normally watch movies by myself at either Eastwood or Robinson's Metroeast. It would be one or the other, but never both.
This all changed yesterday.
First off, Eastwood had quite a-not-so-impressive lineup. If I choose to watch there, I'd be stuck with Corpse Bride as the main course but nothing to accompany it with. Sure, they had The 40-Year Old Virgin but I want to watch it someone, if that would be possible at all. If not, I have a copy of it around the house which I could pop in the DVD player at anytime. It was not going to be reasonable to watch it in the theaters by myself. I bought the DVD copy thinking they'd never show the movie in this country.
Anyway, I sure as hell would not watch Corpse Bride with Dubai or Into The Blue even though Jessica Alba would be in a two-piece bikini for the entire length of the movie, so I looked elsewhere. I was thinking of A History Of Violence or Transporter 2, with History weighing a little more. The Transporter 2 had this better-to-be-seen-on-DVD vibe.
Checked Robinson's Metro East which has more cinemas meaning more options. Or so I thought. For some sick reason, they do not have Corpse Bride even though they have this huge display of the movie in front of ticketing booths. By the way, information about which movies are shown where was provided by the ever reliable Click The City.
I refused to believe what the website says as other Robinson's malls such as Galleria and Manila had it on their listings. So I called their hotline, 635-5555 and despite being amazed by the automated prompts, I was disappointed to find out that what was listed on the website was correct. Major bummer.
A grand idea came in as I was looking at the schedules. Corpse Bride is 1:15 minutes and there was a screening in Eastwood at 2:15 in the afternoon and if you do the math, it should be over by 3:30 or at worst 3:45, considering Eastwood always starts late.
Over at Metro East, there is a screening for A History Of Violence at 4:30 in the afternoon. Great, a plan was in place.
Left home slightly past 12 noon and reached Eastwood around 2. Perfect timing. The movie did not start until 2:20 though. It was 3:45 when the movie finished and I was thinking I had plenty of time to travel to Metro East.
Until I found out that the trip from Libis to Metro East changed. Despite the unexpected change, I was able to reach Metro East at 4:25 and quickly grabbed my tickets and was in the cinema at the start of the opening credits. It still amazes me how everything worked out in the end as it usually does not, especially if I plan it to much.
Now let's talk about the movie.
Corpse Bride was a visual and aural treat. The stop motion animation has greatly improved from Nightmare Before Christmas. The movements are more fluid and one could say that it looks more computer-generated than stop-motion treated. Like with any Tim Burton movie, the score was also amazing with Danny Elfman behind the musical score.
I was disappointed though as there were only a few scenes of the characters singing and there hardly was any after midpoint as though they had forgot about it. Another disappointed was the characters, they were still lovable and all but are not as deep as Nightmare's. Corpse Bride wouldn't be able to hold a candle up against the likes of Sally, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, Mayor, Dr. Finkelstein, and of course, let's not forget Oogie Boogie. Vincent Van Dort would never be able to shake a stick at Jack Skellington.
A History Of Violence was quite an interesting movie. This movie was almost 2 hours long, but it did not seem so. The ending was a bit abrupt but when you think about it, it does fit quite well. Nothing much to say other than it being a good movie.
Withdrew some money and thought of buying some much needed new clothes but I did not see anything which immediately caught my eye. That, or I am really lazy when it comes to shopping for clothes. I ended up buying VCDs instead as I needed some change. Grabbed copies of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest and Jason and the Argonauts.
The month of September breezed by so freaking quickly. Seems like the song Wake Me Up When September Ends has permeated my life more than I realized it could. I am saying this in a wholly positive way.
The month, though as uneventful as any other, was easy and so laid back. There was hardly any pressure and things at work seemed to roll so smoothly like hot iron on wrinkled fabric.
Here's hoping this month would be more of the same laid back atmosphere. You wouldn't like me when I'm angry.
There is only one thing which could most likely top up September, akin to the Super Trump. Sorry, but I am not saying what it is right now. Or ever.
After a busy month, we need a break. Day-offs today and tomorrow then leaves until who knows when (if I'd be lucky, until Monday). No big plans but Radiata Stories is resurrecting a part of me which has been beaten down to death in the past few months.
There are a lot of movies though which I'd love to watch at the cinemas. We have Corpse Bride, A History Of Violence, Transporter 2, and The 40-Year Old Virgin. Now, how the hell am I going to fit them in tomorrow?