It so happened that I even had a virtual salubong with college friends which lasted for more than three hours until around 3:00 AM. Seven Kelers made the cut and I still made it (I think?) to a meeting 30 minutes past six. The statement below is so on point. Even I myself was bothered.

Nabother gd ko sg gastorya si nelson about sa former housemate nya tas tsura ya amo. Tas nagtimo pa sya rice.

With people just staying at their homes, I didn’t really plan any form of celebration but then one of my Filipino colleagues was expecting a Filipino couple at their place and so we arranged for some drinks. That Topple game was very handy, a great alternative to Jenga. We also lasted until around 3:00 AM and for staying that long there was no helping sharing to them how I almost didn’t make it back from Colombia (the trip which triggered a “birthday rant“).

***

In other news, let’s go to the title of this post. With the pandemic ravaging economies, things have not been easy for so many people. Many plans went down the drain and so many lost their jobs. In fact, it wasn’t any good news for us at work too, as majority of us ended up in the same boat. The moment I heard from the client that measures were already being done on their side, I already knew what was about to come.

It’s been quite stressful that in the end I decided to use my earned leave credits this year, towards my last day. It’s not the best time to be away from home especially that my parents are not any younger so I’m totally fine with going home but the problem is currently there are no flights and even if I make it back, I may not be able to ultimately get to my hometown because of the lockdowns.

Everyone’s fighting their own battles even more right now with the world fighting against something it can’t even see. It actually made me realize that I wanna be on sabbatical until the rest of the year. However, given my circumstances, I might as well try my best in looking for a new opportunity until such time that the dust settles.

The post The Coronavirus Situation appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

The post A Resume in Photoshop appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

• April 2015: Celebrated my 27th by going out with different sets of friends and officemates on different nights. On the final night I was surprised to see all of them gathered at a Jollibee Kiddie Party for me. That. Was massive. 😯 And for that I owe you a lot! Capped off the night at The Butcher and Walkyrie.
• May: Summer outing of my then company where on our way we were already drinking lambanog to our hearts’ content in the bus. During the socials there were two groups by the pool and one in the cabana. That was wild over there. ¶ Camped in Cagbalete with folks from my first workplace where at night while swimming we were invited by another group to join them. And that’s after we made a scandal of ourselves by singing 90’s boybands’ songs on top of our lungs.
• June: Frolicked in Fortune Island. ¶ Revisited Enchanted River, Tinuy-an Falls, and Britania Islands with two good friends from college and one from high school. Couldn’t have been more chaotic.
• July: Flew to Cebu to be with high school classmates (a first out-of-town involving flights for us) for the whale sharks, Tumalog Falls, and canyoneering. ¶ Flew to Iloilo the weekend right after Cebu for Siquijor, Apo Island, and Dumaguete with college friends. On short notice while serving a 30-day notice.
• August: Iwahig Firefly Watching, El Nido, San Vicente Long Beach, Underground River, Honda Bay, and Puerto Princesa City tour in Palawan with college friends. The most jam-packed trip to date. Seven days DIY for ~10,000 PHP each!
• September: First bottomless experience at Tides. Sulit na sulit. Some night for everyone that was.
• October: Attended the overnight birthday celebration (and Batangas tour the following day) of one of our tourmates in Fortune Island, became a godfather and spent a ghastly night in Pangasinan, and wallowed at Walkyrie (with my Fortune Island mates) and Chaos. Did you notice the use of Oxford comma somewhere there?
• November: Almost shouted “Itigil ang kasal!” at the wedding of a college classmate in Bacolod and experienced Prism in Smallville by flying in, once again, via Iloilo. Side tripped to Campuestohan Highland Resort and Mambukal Mountain Resort afterwards. ¶ Moalboal and canyoneering happened (yet again!) with the boys from my first workplace and ran amok at Liv in Cebu. :laugh:
• December: Materialized in Guimaras, with the same boys less than a month prior, the morning after my current workplace’s Christmas party (which didn’t bring out the fun in me). And did I mention that a college friend tagged along? ¶ The Christmas party of our college batch didn’t just conclude after dinner but at Club Haze. ¶ Dropped by General Santos to meet a college friend working for ABS-CBN and scrambled nights at V, Pahayahay, and Xplore before going home for the holidays.
• January: Found solitude in Puerto Galera after a planned trip to Borawan went astray only two days before the schedule. Dark times.
• March: Hopped on the RORO to Caticlan and visited Malumpati Cold Spring and Malalison Island in Antique with a college classmate. Headed to Boracay thereafter (where we met up with another classmate) and joined PubCrawl for the second time.

And then I needed to select another adjective. But before that, there was the lovely Calaguas with my very first workmates for our annual summer getaway. Given its distance from the metro, it’s just not right to spend just a night there, which we didn’t do. As one of us also gets a year older on the same month, we did a double celebration a week later with other friends at Walkyrie. Such a long night. I’d consider attaching a GoPro to my head next time for me to watch everything and laugh at myself first thing in the morning. Two days before finally flipping another digit, I skydived in Bantayan and spent a memorable time in Cebu. 😎

• June: With two different college friends, Boracay happened again. As well as PubCrawl. Guess you guessed that right. Two officemates were also there!
• July: First international trip of the year it would’ve been if I were granted a Japan visa. So I resorted to Tatlong Pulo in Guimaras and Anawangin in Zambales with college friends instead. It’s so cool they were around. 🙂

Like most people with itchy feet, most of my wanderings are born out of seat sales, so I guess I’m saved from being labeled as a spendthrift wanderlust. As of writing I’m currently in Palawan. My tickets, bought last year, only cost 485.62 PHP. Who could resist that, right? Well, my company last year. But not me. And I look forward to blogging about this trip.

I wouldn’t say I’m getting tired of going to places, and here are the cents I’ve picked up along the way up to this very day:

1. Plans can go haywire, with most of the group suddenly being unable to make it and then the entire trip crumbles. When planning, it could help to have a group chat with only those people who have something to say in it. Ditch those who just read and send thumbs-up signs. (Yes, there’s a bit bitterness there.)
2. Even just once, travel alone. Just you and your own two feet. It’s liberating.
3. Priorities change so eventually all your travel buddies will no longer be able to always go with you. Learn to accept that.
4. Your priorities will eventually change as well so be prepared for it, because what-ifs and if-onlys are such inglorious bastards.

The post Wallowing to Undaunted appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

For this year’s Halloween celebration at work I once again ended up in a costume. Well, technically I wasn’t really in any because of the mythical creature I was portraying as part of our team’s theme. If last year I was a zombie in a Barong Tagalog trying to become a part of Plants vs. Zombies 2 (damn, this makes me remember how that dress got ruined), this year I happened to be a Kapre. During the trick-or-treating activity some kids actually didn’t go near me unless they hear me sounding like a human or reaching out candies to them. It seemed they were truly terrified after seeing the other side of the office where apparently horror flicks were being shown on the screens. All in all, I once again had fun in Halloween. Also, I got to keep the pants-turned-shorts that I wore, and I have this very great feeling that I’ll be using it again in the future.

The post Zombie to Kapre appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

I got a new job in the business district where I first worked. So far, things have been going very well. What I’ve been prohibited in my previous workplace are all back, and I really mean back. Of course I’m not saying everything sucked there. For one, we went to Bataan for our team building slash company outing. The beach may not be that wonderful, but I truly had fun. The activities were quite organized and the socialization by the beach at night… Priceless. My stay with the company was exactly two years. My three managers may have been unable to talk me out of it but the mere thought of not having to burn bridges and having smooth and friendly conversations was fulfilling in itself. It was never in any way ill-mannered, or something. On my last day I received a customized album with everyone’s messages and cutouts of my Facebook profile pictures. Not to mention the three mini liquors to start my collection! 😎 Thanks, mite!

The smartphone that I mentioned above was a Nexus 5. Yes, was. It was pickpocket-ed ’round two months ago. It’s a long story, and I was truly frustrated with how it happened. The saddest part of it was that I didn’t back up all the pictures of a recent trip to Ilocos and Pangasinan when I had all the chance in the world. It took me eight drinking nights before finally getting over it, somehow. I sure miss its camera… Other than that, after hearing from friends many things I never even seriously considered until now, I’m in an attempt to prove something in life. If by the year-end I still don’t see it, then we have a predicament in our hands. No, wait, that should be just me.

The post Rundown of the Recent appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

We watched Non-Stop starring Liam Neeson afterwards. Boy, that was truly suspenseful, I must say! When we were finally able to let go of our seats, we headed to Starbucks for more chatter, this time on travel overseas for the most part. Korea, I didn’t know, is a beer haven. Japan, of course, have porn everywhere. Then there’s this particular place in Taiwan where youths dwell, which also happens to be a party place of some sort. Someday! I’ll be there. When we parted I told the bastards them to sign up on Facebook for the love of God. Yeah, even until now I can only wonder what will make them do so.

The post Been Almost 4 Years appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

The post Life in Technicolor appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

After coming back from the trip I rushed to YouTube to get blown away by the hands-on video of the Samsung Galaxy Camera. The device is badass, that not owning one would mean I’m better off being allergic to alcohol. If you haven’t seen it yet, go see it. As for the Curve 9360, well, I intend to make it the replacement of my Bold 9700 which, after two and a half years, rested in peace one night after I went juggling shot glasses. (Yeah, yeah. You don’t need to lecture me.) It’s obviously camera over cellphone this time.

Last Friday I dropped by Electroworld and, as luck would have it, they have the two gadgets, both payable in 12 months. I’m just on my first month of paying the Seagate portable drive but I’m actually willing to gamble even more. I’m looking at it as restraining the plastic money which has done nothing but provide me with an endless set of bills. (I actually need to have it reactivated as it’s been rendered unusable due to some suspicious transactions they have monitored recently. You don’t say?) Lastly, I can only hope that my five year-old Acer Aspire 4715Z won’t falter. That would be a totally different story.

The post Gadget Lust appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

It was on my birthday when I got into a series of interviews which ultimately landed me a new job. It was a whole day of torture. Out of the four, two were panel interviews, with the last one surprisingly as the most intimidating. :faint: As for my celebrations, I had three, with three different sets of friends, too. Until last year, I have never gone out to celebrate, and most of the time I end up sulking for such stupidity.

Departing from my first job was, well, quite memorable. After all, it was my first. They played two multimedia presentations with one mostly showing me drinking. 😆 I had great and wonderful messages from my bosses, particularly one which simply said, “You’re already old, you already know what you wanna do.” Somewhere in that statement, was a curse. :laugh: I’m pretty sure my scandalously boisterous laugh made a mark in my teammates. I left with no hard feelings. It was a choice carefully considered and planned.

By the time I get back on January next week, I should already be a regular employee at my second workplace. The two performance appraisals came by with me hardly realizing it. The comments I received were very amenable. It’s gonna be a high road. Before I left for the Christmas break I almost died on this one project. :no: In terms of people and the culture of the company itself, it’s quite different from what I have gotten used to. But what’s being a human for if you’re not able to adapt?

The post The Last Days appeared first on Beer & Skittles.

January

Despite all chances in the past, it was my first time to attend the Sinulog festival. On the night before my flight were the wildest parties. You know, the type that instantly makes you realize that next year you’ll be doing it again. Beers were splashed around as if the streets were beaches. Sadly, I had to call it a night at one o’clock. (Yeah, boo.) At the airport, my ATM card got blocked.

1. Machine was, let’s say, Bank A’s.
2. Card inserted was Bank B’s.
3. I also have a Bank A card.
4. PIN inputted was that of Bank A’s.

Thankfully, I borrowed money from friends before getting on the cab to the airport. That’s how my arse got saved from being left by the plane. In the darkness of the night, I had sunglasses on. :laugh: To my discomfort, the stewardess awoke me when I had just fallen asleep. Turns out the aircraft’s already landed and everyone’s already deplaned. 😯

February

It was time for a much awaited Hong Kong trip. UNFORTUNATELY, (yes, it has to be in CAPS) two of us didn’t make it while the other one did. Like her flight, ours was delayed too; moved to a different gate, bought something to eat, had our names called on our way back, and hurried to an already closed gate. :wtf: I’d bet my balls that we were called only once. They claimed there were three. We weren’t even given time to reach the gate when our baggage was already on board! Cebu Pacific Air was such a bitch. Their management sucks like a porn star. The days that were supposed to be spent partying in another country were spent on checking our friend’s whereabouts. It was her first time, after all!

On other news, a classmate’s daughter, who’s a goddaughter, celebrated her first birthday. Many people who promised they would go didn’t come. Seriously, it’s the most frustrating feeling when someone commits to you but end up not showing the slightest sign of life on the agreed schedule. One should at least have the decency…

March

…would be the month I never thought it would be. Every weekend was an official getaway!

1. Spearheaded (wow, that sounded just like a statement in a resumé) the biggest, by far, gathering of our college batch in Metro Manila. It was a blast. Classic!
2. Went to Camaya Coast on the morn after I turned lots’a bottles down with college buddies. Thanks to my noisy ring tone, our sole soon-to-be lawyer almost threw my BlackBerry out of the window I arrived at the meeting place just in time.
3. Trekked the wonderful ruins of Pinatubo and swam in the great crater lake! It’s hard to imagine that it’s where it exploded. The freezing water was worth the long walk and scorching sun. Going there with no sunglasses would be like suicide. Jump shots: 1 2
4. Joined a roommate in college and his friends in a rather unusual bar. That’s on the night after the day of our volcano exploration.
5. Experienced Baguio for the first time but was disappointed at how it was not as cold as I expected it to be. Our stay with the relatives was matchless.
6. Splash Island! People flooded the entrance with such a tense atmosphere due to the resort’s poor processing of the discounted vouchers everyone had. The queues to rides? Everywhere. :faint:
7. Played tennis after two years! With playmates/sports fest opponents from college!

Tomorrow’s Good Friday. Repent in one way or another!

The post Pwning the First Quarter appeared first on Beer & Skittles.