A Break-up Letter


I never expected I'd be writing you this letter. We've had six years of wonderful memories but I'm afraid it had come to the Read more

Welcome to the New Yoshke.com


New look. New attitude. New experiences. Honestly, I had been neglecting this blog the past few weeks because of my awfully hectic schedule. Work had Read more

Sometimes We Burn to Live


Whenever I meet people for the first time, it always happens. When they start their sentence with "I hope you don't mind me asking but," Read more

Judging By the Cover


Our office is just a stone's throw from where I live. In fact, all I have to do is cross EDSA and voila, hello Read more

Fireworks, Hormones, and this Blog Post


You remember last week when I told you I found it difficult to blog since I met you? Since we became a couple officially, Read more

Do They Read Blogs in Heaven?


Whenever I say that the earliest memory I have is the accident wherein I had my left arm somewhat toasted, I lie. My earliest Read more

Unusual Breakfast


Here we are again. In the usual corner. Usual table. Usual diner. Usual time. And most probably, usual meal. I'm getting tired of this Read more

Top 10 National Stereotypes


Heaven is where the cooks are French, the police are British, the mechanics are German, the lovers are Italian and everything is organized by Read more

EDSA


It could have been a horrible Saturday. I was in the passenger seat. It was a bit raining. Normally, EDSA gets on my nerves. That's why Read more

Why Nursery Rhymes Are So Violent


A few months ago, I was teaching my 4-year old nephew some nursery rhymes with a DVD. After a lot of singing, he slowly Read more

Top 10 Worst Things to Say During Sex


Sex is the art of love. It must be done in the most enjoyable and most satisfying manner. This act of love of two Read more

The Promil Kid Drops the Bomb


Of all the living things created by God, I love my nephew the most. I call him the Promil Kid. He’s the cutest thing. Read more

Career

My Top 9 Unforgettable Moments of 2006

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Lists, Travel, University, Vanities |

Status: Reminiscin’
Music:
Say It Right – Nelly Furtado

I know this comes a bit late. But what the hell? I just want to say this. You know, 2006 is not that pretty a year for me, but it’s not terrible either. But surely, the past year gave me a lot of memories I can never ever let go of. Here are the top 9 highlights of the past year:

9. World Tour (?).
Have you ever gone to more than five countries in just one day? Sounds impossible, eh? Well, Maw and I have. Some time in July or August, the quest for a Film school scholarship started. Maw and I did a little world tour. And because technically, foreign embassies are foreign territories, we felt like we were having a world tour when in fact we never left Manila, entering one embassy to another, sending letters to ambassadors, and talking with some foreigners. It was fun.

8. Mugged!
Talking with Tonet while walking has to be my biggest regret last year. Just a block away from Andre‘s apartment (which is now my apartment), a stranger with a knife approached me and forced me to hand him my cellphone. I did not become upset because of the cellphone. It was the idea that I was mugged. It was terribly traumatic. And for the longest time last year, I was cursing the entire urban poor population, and whenever I saw a squatters’ area, I secretly wished for a big fire. See this post for more. But after several months, I grew tired of hating them and learnt to understand them, and eventually got over it. I’m a good boy now.

7. This Kiss, This Kiss
It’s not the kiss per se that is unforgettable. It’s how the issue exploded way out of proportion in no time. Nah, I rather not discuss it.

6. North Luzon Trip
Straight from a Palawan trip, I joined Winwin, Icang, Dohna, Pam, Lei, Nep, and KZ on a three-day trip to Northern Luzon — Pangasinan, Baguio, and every place in between. A lot of things happened that I don’t know what to say. Heehee.

5. Thesis Defence
Yes, it was nerve-wracking, but after a few months, I could barely remember the entire thesis defence experience. Maybe because, there was really nothing spectacular and nothing horrible to remember. It was just, all right, we faced the faculty, defended our film, and that was it. All happy.

4. Palawan Trip
A simple trip to Palawan turned into a wake, when my grandfather died while we were having a vacation there. All my plans were cancelled and for a week, I just helped my relatives take care of the wake and ran some errands. But less than an hour after the funeral, I went island-hopping. Hahaha. And it felt fantastic. I told you, I’m the type who easily moves on.

3. World Cup — Germany
Unlike Ayn who really flew to Germany and its neighbouring countries and felt the stagerring energy the world’s favourite sport creates, I satisfied myself by just staying inside my room and having my eyes glued to my TV screen as I watched football game after game after game. And when the quarterfinals kicked off, I stayed in Manila just to see the games live in Ateneo. And yes, the lowest point of last year for me was when Germany lost to Italy in the semi-final. That was totally bad… and painful.

2. Thesis Production
The memories of the entire thesis production linger longer than the thesis defence. I learnt a lot of things and met new friends in the process. Pre-production — I got closer to Prech. Principal photography — I got closer to several people, some of which I did not even imagine I could be friends with. Editing — I got closer to Andre. And of course, from the very start up to the very last minute of production, Winwin was with me. And that was really unforgettable.

1. Graduation
Finally, after four years in a hell-like heaven, it was over. I was very proud, and indeed, it was the most unforgettable.

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Civilisation at Last

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Euphoria |

Status: Freezing and Starving.
Music:
Irreplaceable – Beyonce

Yeeha! I’m back in the civilised world at last! I terribly missed the polluted air, the congested streets, the irritating noise, and the violent jolt of cosmopolitan Manila. Whew. I’m back! But not for long. Tomorrow morning, off to Matabungkay Beach Resort in Batangas again. In case you didn’t know, I didn’t spend my entire January at a resort just to have fun. It’s work, baby. Work.

Damn. I missed Manila so much. Sooo much. And of course, what did I do the moment I arrived? I met up with my college friends. Gosh! Some people just don’t change. Hehe. And then, I went online, and geeked out. Do you know how awful it felt when I hadn’t touched a mouse for a month? Awful. Awful! Last night, we went to Sidebar Cafe and had a few rounds of booze. Damn. Zombie tasted really good! In Matabungkay, I only had beer every other night. It was nice to drink every other night but I needed to taste something else. And God knows how that glass of zombie quenched that thirst last night. Uhmmm. I just got home from an afternoon of shopping and coffee drinking, and watching a film. It was also my first time to enter a movie theatre in a month. I watched Babel. I like it but I really think that 21 Grams is way, way better than this. I will publish a decent review later.

I missed Manila. But it’s funny that I want to go back to Matabungkay asap, because believe it or not, I miss that place now. I miss the free meals, billiards, tennis, the beach, the sunsets, and my hotel room. And I miss the kids.

I’ll be back on the 16th to take care of the documents I would be needing for the Foreign Service Exam. And I will not work until June.

See you guys, soon.

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So Much for Gratitude

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Rants |

Status: Infuriated.
Music:
Too Little Too Late – Jojo

It annoys me so much when the people you usually help suddenly accuse you of being the cause of all mishaps in the world.

Yesterday, despite being deprived of sleep and feeling a little sick, I decided to go to work because, although there’s not much to accomplish this week, I wanted to finish what I would be able to so I could just relax in the office for the rest of the week. Then came the time that I needed to print something out. Here’s the scenario: there’s only one printer in the office and it is directly connected to the secretary’s computer. There used to be a network that connects all the PCs to that printer but I don’t know what the fuck happened.

Here’s what happened: I appoached Mariah Carey (name changed to protect identity) and told her that I would be printing something out so I would have to use her computer for a few seconds. I was smiling, mind you. And then she blurted, “Bakit ba parati nyo na lang akong iniistorbo? Hindi mo ba nakikitang may ginagawa ako.” (It was a good thing she said that in Tagalog cos I can hardly stand her English.)

I was shocked, like seeing-Britney’s-pussy shocked. She’s crazy. First of all, the printer is connected to her PC and only to her PC. Second, what was she doing anyway? She was just chatting. Yes, chatting. She was just chatting with men from all over the world trying to find a boyfriend. What’s wrong with that, you ask? Well, get this. She’s married.

Being the warfreak that I am, I answered smilingly. This time, I was faking the smile. “Uhm, maybe because the printer is connected to your PC and not to anybody else’s.” But of course, here’s what I wanted to tell her, “Duh?

Ano ba kasing nangyari sa network printer sharing?

“I don’t know. It is you and Celine Dion (again, name changed) who are here outside.” (Because two other colleagues and I have our own room, separating us from the rest of the employees, and our PCs are not connected to any network, so we really have to use the other computers when printing.)

“E ikaw ang nakasira nun e!”

“Huh? Me? Why me?”

Di ba nasira yung connection nung may pinaayos sayo si Celine Dion sa computer nya? Di ba ginalaw-galaw mo yung PC niya kaya hindi na maka-connect ang PC niya sa printer na ‘to.”

That’s the point I lost my cool and released the magnificently angry gay me. “Excuse me! It was this network printer connection that she was asking me to fix! Meaning, if you still don’t get it, it was already broken before she even asked me to touch her PC. Nagpatulong sya saken kasi hindi sya makapagprint. I was trying to help, and it’s not like I volunteered. She asked me to help her.”

She was speechless. She must have realised I was really furious and that she was wrong. She then said, “Ikaw naman, nagalit kaagad. Para konting biro.

NEKNEK MO, LECHE KA. Biro ka dyan. I was waiting for a “sorry,” but it never came.

Sa susunod at may mangyare sa PC nyo, kahit maglupasay pa kayo sa sahig, hinding hindi ko na kayo tutulungan.” I walked out gracefully.

What made me really angry was the idea that whenever they experience problems with their PCs, they would always call me to fix it. And I would always try. But with the limited computer skills, I can only do so much. They call me when their PCs catch spywares, and to install something on their system, and to ask me the how-to’s. They always turn to me when it comes to technical stuff, and never have I heard a word of appreciation. As if it were really my job to help them with computer-related stuff.

Like, haller? The last time I checked there’s nothing about computer troubleshooting and maintenance in my job description.

And the last time I checked, I’m the Research and Development Head and she’s the secretary.

And oh, the last time I checked, I earn more than she does, more than she could imagine I do, I could even buy her a new husband (definitely an exaggeration), hehe.

Bitch.

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I Didn’t Say It was Your Fault; I Said I was Going to Blame a Bulgarian

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Conversations, Friends, Personal Life, Sports |

Status: Gosh. I’m sooo… RICH. Haha. Kidding.
Music: Pag-alis - Barbie Almalbis


Wow! It’s been two weeks since I last updated this blog. Well, I don’t have any reason to go online anyway. Aside from updating this blog, the only reasons I step into cyberspace are (1) Fantasy Football, which I don’t expect you to understand because who cares about football in this basketball-crazy country aside from Ayn, KZ and myself; and (2) Plam, who is now attending a university and is very busy studying that he seldom goes online. Who is this Plam, you ask? Secret.

Anyway, another reason I haven’t updated this blog for so long is work. I sooo love my job. I was in Matabungkay Beach Resort last weekend and it’s considered a business/company trip. It was fun — especially when everything was paid by the company including my meals and they provided a car and a driver. Wowowee!

This Thursday, off to Villa Escudero in San Pablo City. Next Thursday, Enchanted Kingdom in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. And my boss requires me to go to different places every week (Who wouldn’t want to go to these places for free with a driver and a car and free meals)? And he calls this work. I call it fun, especially when he pays me thousands of pesos a day for “working”

.

# # #

Here’s another news. A friend in the province, Andrew, found out that I’m bisexual. He said he had no idea at all until he googled my (real) full name and found this blog.

No one in my family or in my province knows that I am bisexual or that I have a blog or that I use the name Yoshke as my pen/nick name. Although I have been posting several pictures of myself lately, I didn’t know that anyone would actually find this blog by googling my real full name.

But it’s okay. Andrew is a good friend, anyway. Nevertheless, as I’ve said a thousand times before, if you want to ruin my life, all you have to do is tell anyone in my family about it. And that’s it — I’d be dead.

It’s a good thing Andrew first talked to me and not ask anyone else in the province. So I was able to tell him not to tell anyone. Hihi.

I’ve been avoiding to type my full name on this blog but SOME BULGARIAN GUY unintentionally mentioned my real first name when he reacted to one of my entries. Hehehe. (Hey, I’m not blaming you. Hahaha. It’s okay.)

# # #

By the way, I would like to — I don’t know — thank or hate Bebs for sort of featuring me on his blog:

“Naisip ko dapat umeport ako ng English sa blog.  Kasi. Kasi. Si ES kasi.  Umieport ng inglesan sa blog.  Me nakabasa. Gwapo. Kamukha ni Tom Cruise slash Brandon Routh. In ader words, naging sila.  Kasi natuwa siya sa blog ni ES…”

Bebs, I don’t know what to say. I can’t say everything you said is absolutely true. Hmmm…. Let me see… Here: How was envy for dinner? Nyahaha.

Pero seryoso, Bebs, magkaibigan na lang kami. Wala naman kasing sense ang pagiging mag-on kung nasa kabilang parte siya ng mundo, ano? Ayan, nag-Tagalog tuloy ako.

# # #

One of the crazy conversations I had with Reen

:

Yoshke: Reen! Help! Waaaah! I think I’m falling in love with an animé character!
Reen: Gagu! You’re asking the wrong person. I’m married to one!

Mabuhay ang animé! The only world where everyone is cute and pretty. It’s just that… it’s not real.

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No More Drama

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Health, Personal Life |

Status: No More Drama
Music: No More Drama – Mary J. Blige


Three weeks ago, I woke up smiling. It was the first time that it happened to me for a very long time. You see, my last year in college was hell. Filthy org politics, thesis, friendship issues, identity crisis (haha), days of depression, black-outs, standstills, failed one-month relationships, and so on. But that morning was different. I didn’t know if I just had a very nice dream, but it really didn’t matter. I was smiling. And that moment, I told myself: My life is good. And I’m gonna be happy.

Since then, a lot has changed in me. I have consistently refused to go to Starbucks and avoided coffee. Waking up early (no matter how late I went to bed the previous night) has become a habit. And with the help of someone, who, ironically, is very far (yey, Plam!), I have successfully finished the last stick of cigarette I’m gonna put between my lips ever. And beer? It’s not included. Beer is already a part of my circulatory system. I love beer so much. But I have been controlling my alcohol intake. (After all, Andre is the only bad influence around.)

And for the past month, I have not only puked all the unhealthiness out of my system. My career is also doing really good. A new company adopted me and made me the Research and Development Head. And the compensation? Heavenly. Let’s just say that my monthly salary is more than what a call centre agent earns in two months. Cool, huh. All because of my work ethic, my good relationships to my workmates (and bosses), the Book of Success that I’ve been reading for the past four weeks, and the fact that I’m from UP. Really, being from UP does matter. At least it did for me. I’m also setting up my own business, and hopefully, I could open it to the public before October ends.

So there. When I attended some success seminar in Makati, I was hit by what a speaker told me: “You’re on the right path. You’re in the right vehicle. You just don’t know how to drive.”

And now, I’m not an expert yet but at least I know how. And I’m pretty aware that learning how to drive is just the start of the journey. But at this moment, I’m so glad. After all, finding the right path is the most difficult and the longest phase of all.

What do I want to say in this post? Simple. I’m happy.

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And All I Can Do is Try

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Music |

Guess what….  Dandarandan….

I resigned from the job… again. Might’ve mastered the art of resigning.

If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, just quit and don’t make it hard for yourself. I shall look for another job. Nyahahaha.

[ Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm proud of it. I just try to laugh at myself and how stupid my decisions were. ]

# # #

This song made me cry. It’s just now that I finally listened to this song attentively and I can say that at one point in my life, I felt for the persona in the song. And it fuckin’ hurt.

“…All of the things we want each other to be
We never will be…
…Then I see you standing there
Wanting more from me
And all I can do is try
Then I see you standing there
I’m all I’ll ever be
But all I can do is try…”
Try, Nelly Furtado

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Dwelling Like a Frozen Zombie

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Conversations, Friends |

We were about to go to Starbucks but we couldn’t move a bone because we were waiting for Tonet. Knowing how impatient Dohna was, I lent her my cellphone so she could text Tonet. After handing back the cellphone to me, I checked out what had happened to their little talk on my phone. Here’s the entire conversation.

Dohna: Wer na u? D2 na us at Vinzons.
Tonet: Stil along Q.Ave. U wait me there ha?
Dohna: May choice ba naman us? U bilis urself. We’r being rained at.
Tonet: E di u wait me der at a shaded area!
Dohna: Oh so bobo naman us. Ok. We’l be at d railings of d Vinzons ok?

Haha. It’s always really fun to be with Tonet and Dohna. And oh, with KZ, too.

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People, Like Opportunities, Come and Go

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Emo, Friends, Sports |

THE POST-GRADUATION EFFECT
You think life after graduation is much happier than college life? You’re wrong. It’s a complete change of lifestyle. And it’s not easy. Looking for jobs, leaving and being left by people you are used to be with, missing the review and lecture days…. It’s difficult

I have a couple of reasons to be sad. Kuya Amiel has officially moved out of the house this morning. He’ll be working in Clark. (sigh) Four years of being roommates ended just like that. Anyway, I’m also moving to Makati soon.

Another is that I used to complain because of all the companies that I have sent my resume to, no one was calling me for an interview or exam or whatever. But now, I’ve been receiving a lot of offers. It’s cool, really. But they’re challenging my decision-making skills. I can’t choose. But at the end of the day, I think I’ll just go for the company which gives the biggest compensation.

One thing is for sure, though. I’m gonna be a diplomat in two years time (naks, confidence) and so, whatever company I would work for in the next months, I won’t be staying there for long.

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‘Work’ is Always a Noun, Never a Verb

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Friends, Travel |

Before anything else, I would like to thank Lamer (for a meaningful talk over Starbucks coffee), Tonet (for the concept sessions), Asta (for the company and for getting rid of my screenplay’s major loophole) and Jerwin (for the treat)! You guys made this day very enjoyable. Sa uulitin!

# # #

Don’t you find the names of BINALOT‘s meals funny? The first time I heard it, I was laughing my small and large intestines out at Food Choices in Glorietta. As Tonet once said, it seems like you have no right to be sad when you order, say, Wana Bet Pakbet or Love Me Tenderloin Tips or My Dinuguan and Only or Anytime Inihaw na Baboy. Here’s more.

# # #

One question: Owen Wilson or Luke Wilson

?

# # #

Two months before typhoon Florita went landslide-crazy.

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Everybody is Capable of Change

Posted on by Yoshke in Career, Conversations, Friends, Public Affairs, The World |

I had a little talk with Eric Declaro. He encouraged me to pursue taking the Foreign Service Exams. But I have just found out that the deadline was May 29 for this year’s applications. Oh well, I might as well wait for another year. We also talked about some other stuff…

Eric: So, where do you want to be assigned if ever you become a Foreign Service Officer or a diplomat?

Yoshke: Germany… or France.

Eric: France, I understand. But Germany….

Yoshke: Why not? Have a problem with the Germans?

Eric: Oh, those racist, Nazi, holocaust yadda yadda…

Yoshke: Easy… easy. You sound more racist to me. That was Cretaceous Period you’re talking about. There’s such a thing as ‘change’, a’right? Did you know that after the Asian tsunami incident a couple of years ago, Germany donated more than 375 million euros to the affected nations namely Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India? That was unmatched by any other country and probably bigger than all the other donations combined. They also set up a early warning device. And besides, forget about the holocaust. They have also constructed a holocaust memorial in the heart of Berlin.

Eric: You know what, all those things, there is a word for it… I just forgot what it is… [pause] Oh! I remember!

Yoshke: What’s the word?

Eric: GUILT.

Yoshke: Get outta here!

# # #

The World Cup is finally over. The hell with the Italians. Congrats, anyway. The World Cup was over for me since Germany lost to Italy in the semi-final.

Oh, I really need a job now. I’m starting to rot. I can feel it. Waaaah!

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