Have you ever felt loving from a distance? I have never felt this feeling for the longest time. I almost forgot what it's like. -Go placidly amid the noise & haste, & remember what peace there may be in silence-. This is one thing that I know for a fact is true specially when it comes to love. Love, such a strong word to say now that I'm unsure of the consequences that I am to face when he finds out. I don't know what to do or say whenever he's near. I want to speak the truth quietly & clearly; and listen to others, even the dull & ignorant; they too have their story.... Hesitant to tell it to others for the world is full of trickery. But I'm just being myself. Especially, I do not feign affection. Neither am I cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass. I take kindly the counsel of my friends and gracefully surrendering this feeling. As much as possible, I do not want to distress myself with imaginings. I want to be gentle with myself.
Being the OD-Employee Engagement POC for the account is really fun. As in! hehe I started meeting up with the OD team for the first event that our account will be joining - PS Idol 2007 last August. At first I was hesitant to interact and speak up during the few meetings that we had. The event was a success to make the story short. Then came Halloween '07. This time, the shy-newbie feeling me was gone. I slowly started giving out suggestions as to what theme this year's Halloween celebration should have, judging date, deadlines, waivers and many more. It was decided that this year's theme will be "American TV Series" (both past and present). A number of really good TV series came out that each account in PS has chosen, and I must say, they were pretty good series that if you make it come to life, will really wow the judges. There was one account who chose CSI:Who Killed Barbie in the Mardigras, one chose Heroes, another submitted Rome and Purple Titans picked "Ugly Betty" for our theme. So the themes that were submitted were all approved and it's decoration time! Each account was given a budget of Php3000.00 for the floor decoration and centerpiece which was to be judged on the big night. Raymond started giving out suggestions and even sent out emails as to what the peeps could possibly wear in adherence to the theme. The other Supervisors discussed to their respective teams the contest and I sent out some teasers to hype up the event. We started soliciting for a lot of clothes for the "Closet", mannequins for props, the never-ending visit to Nationa Bookstore for the materials that we need for the floor decoration, and the hours of staying at the office just to finisht our piece. Then came the big night. There were invited judges which are commendable on their own right. I must say that we have chosen a good set of judges since we bagged the Third Place! Not bad for a new account here in Cebu! Trust me, we are starting to build the account's name here and we are building it BIG! A few of us also won individual prizes: Honey and Roan won the best individual costume (Php200.00 worth of Starbucks GCs for each of them) and Raymond won the best Mascot award for the account (Php700.00 worth of Starbucks GCs) which he used to treat me when we went to Starbucks Ayala Center - Thanks Marse! : ) It was a really fun, yes exausting, but a fun event for all of us.
UGLY!? Nah... Who says you can't be beautiful on Halloween? How? Well, let me tell you... er.. Let me show you....
This was taken at PS Bay2, HR Area
These were taken on the floor (3/F Skyrise Bldg., IT Park, Apas, Lahug, Cebu City
Jeff (the one who did my hair), Naina (one of our LILs), Standing Prop Ad, Connie (As Betty), The "Closet", Honey (our QA Analyst), Roan (one of the Super-Supervisors) and Moi (as Wilhelmina Slater)
Of course you know Raymond! See the hat? He made that on the day of the event. He was Marc that night.
I told you, need not to be UGLY this Halloween!
And this is the team that organized the event.
I am the girl kicked out of her home because I confided in my mother that I am a lesbian.
I am the prostitute working the streets because nobody will hire a transsexual woman.
I am the sister who holds her gay brother tight through the painful, tear-filled nights.
We are the parents who buried our daughter long before her time.
I am the man who died alone in the hospital because they would not let my partner of twenty-seven years into the room.
I am the foster child who wakes up with nightmares of being taken away from the two fathers who are the only loving family I have ever had. I wish they could adopt me.
I am one of the lucky ones, I guess. I survived the attack that left me in a coma for three weeks, and in another year I will probably be able to walk again.
I am not one of the lucky ones. I killed myself just weeks before graduating high school. It was simply too much to bear.
We are the couple who had the realtor hang up on us when she found out we wanted to rent a one-bedroom for two men.
I am the person who never knows which bathroom I should use if I want to avoid getting the management called on me.
I am the mother who is not allowed to even visit the children I bore, nursed, and raised. The court says I am an unfit mother because I now live with another woman.
I am the domestic-violence survivor who found the support system grow suddenly cold and distant when they found out my abusive partner is also a woman.
I am the domestic-violence survivor who has no support system to turn to because I am male.
I am the father who has never hugged his son because I grew up afraid to show affection to other men.
I am the home-economics teacher who always wanted to teach gym until someone told me that only lesbians do that.
I am the man who died when the paramedics stopped treating me as soon as they realized I was transsexual.
I am the person who feels guilty because I think I could be a much better person if I didn't have to always deal with society hating me.
I am the man who stopped attending church, not because I don't believe, but because they closed their doors to my kind.
I am the person who has to hide what this world needs most: Love.
Homophobia is wrong.
Oh well. I know I haven't visiting you for quite a while. My bad. Anyways, i missed you a lot. I have so much to tell. So much.
First thing's first, I'm in Cebu already. Got her last July 9, 2007 to help in the account expansion. I live in a townhouse wanna be with Ray (my forever "kasangga"), Mitch (the little-faced, cellulite infested, banshee like, super kulit and fun to be with supervisor from telesales) and Ella (the weight conscious who never comes out of the "Harry Potter Room") here in Nashville. Yes in Nashville but not the one in Tennessee but the one in Talamban! Ha! It's a 5 minute cab ride away from the office. Outside, just a few hill-climbs away, there are a lot of cheap eateries such as JRJ Chicken, The Kantunan (where they sell the famous Lucky Me Pancit Canton served with Rice!), NeoNeo, Cheavers, and a whole lot more. Also, there are a lot of Internet cafe's infested with online gamers because of the ever cheap rates that they all have to offer. Multicabs, cabs, taxis and not to forget the Jabal-jabals (motorcycles) for a minimal charge. I know, I've began to start liking the city already. Despite of the unfamiliarity with the vernacular. Harsh, but I'm slowly learning it. Give me three more months and you won't be able to tell the difference between a native Cebuana and me. A lot of beaches that are minutes away from where we stay! How's that?!
In the office, things are going pretty fast already, we currently have batch 7 in the pipeline, two new supervisors went live a week ago and I finally got the restdays I've been dying to have.
Anyways, during the first few weeks living here, it has been a struggle. Missing my family, friends, the things that I love doing when I was still in Manila, my housemates, the dampa days with my fellow supervisors, the trips to MOA and Glorietta, getting drunk at Carafe', the never ending voice rest sessions at SONATA, the hourly AHT Updates with the bells and whistles every freaking day, Cheerdancing, DVDs, and a whole lot more!
Now, it's almost two months, I guess I can say that I already have adjusted in so many ways. Cebu is just a small place but has a lot to offer. Ray, we still have to see the other beaches and Kawasan Falls! Slowly, I am starting to feel that I belong already. Sooner, it might be hard for me to leave Cebu but Im really not sure. We'll see...
For the longest time, i have been bugging Ray for details about this site and how it works but never got the chance to try it out....
One Saturday morning, Third (my bestfriend) woke me up because our water pump was leaking like a water fountain. I asked what happened and he said he doesn't know. Oh well. I checked my phone and read a message from Ray inviting me to have brunch at the Park. Replied yes then immediately got up to prepare.
Ray, Charlie (newest addition sa bahay ni ate), CJ and Dexter came to pick me up. At the park, after eating, Ray asked me if i want to check out this internet cafe that he was talking about. With much gusto, i agreed and that's when I launched this blog.
I must admit I was amazed by the things that you can do to this site! I said to myself, I'll do this often. Seldom do I encounter sites like this. Mostly limited to just creating a profile, uploading pictures for networking. In short, BORING. Thank you Ray. Thank God for Vox.