Let Me Tell You All About It

Art Contest Results are Out! 

I'd been at the edge of my seat since the moment I submitted the entry. What if they don't get it on time, if they even get it at all? What if it gets there on a weekend where the person in charge is not there and the one who received it misplaced it and forgot about it the coming Monday? What if? What if? What if? It's amazing how my nonsensical imagination can run amuck in a matter of seconds!

December came and went with me eyeing the 9th closely as this marks the contest's judgment day. I constantly checked their website hoping for a hint of the results. I even memorized their contact number, just to be prepared, while I debate with my alter egos whether to call for update or not. Impatience got the best of me as I eventually did pick up the phone - only to learn that the results were still with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) for verification. I was told that it would most probably be out by the end of the month. Week after week, I waited. During idle moments in the office, I'd occassionally look up and see my entry hanging proudly in my cubicle. Does it stand a chance? Is it even competition-worthy? "Yes!", I'd beam with the thought. The longer the wait however, the usual "Yes" answer would be accompanied with a "Kahit consolation man lang diba?" (At the very least, it's worth a consolation prize, right?)

Fortunately what little hope I had left did not go with the year 2004 as it bid its goodbye. My visits to the website still remained the first thing I do whenever I'm online - half hoping to see a list of the winners posted (it's the new year already, update your website!) Still no list, still no phone call, still no telegram though.

Surprisingly on January 5th, out of his own accord, my brother texted me to ask about Sterling's contact number. The following conversation ensued:

Him : Num ng sterling?
Me : -I gave the number-
Him : Adult or youth?
Me : Adult
Him : Nah
Me : Anu ibig sabhin nun? Wla?
Him : Hmmm la award
Me : Kahit man lng consolation wla? tlga? o?

At about this time, I looked solemnly at the entry posted on my cubicle wondering if I had just been falsely hoping all this time. Are my works eye candy to just me and nobody else? Those who had said that it looks good could have just said it so as not to hurt my feelings. I so wanted my brother to reply back to say that he was just kidding and that I did win the first prize (haha fat chance!) Just then, my celphone beeped again with an incoming message.

"Hmm mayrun Pahabol", the message read.

"...U won!!", the next message said, arriving shortly after the first.

With my hands trembling and my heart beating a hunderd miles a minute, I deliriously replied, "Anu ba talaga? Should I be jumping for joy or crying out na?"

The reply came much too late, a single word "Jumping", which I had not understood the meaning of until much much later. Even before the reply came, I had already called him up on the landline. He confirmed that I did win an award, some sort of an award, the prize of which he didn't know. It could have been something lesser than a consolation prize but during that time, I could have cared less. I was just thrilled to know that after skimming through the list, the person he had talked to did find my name, even if it's at the bottom of the very bottom.

Despite the sudden rush of emotions overwhelming me, I managed a silent thank you to God before drifting off happily to Smugville...

Author's note:
Pardon my enthusiasm but this is the first time I've won something from a nationwide contest. The complete list of winners was posted in The Philippine Star dated January 22, 2005 (Saturday) and it turns out that what I had won was an LSL Special Award. I've often joked that LSL stands for LaSaLista. Kidding aside, LSL stands for Lim Seh Leng (if I got it right), the founder of Sterling. It's below the top 5 but at least above the 10 consolation prizes. I haven't gotten my prize yet as I'm still supposed to wait for a telegram. In the meantime, I'd better be thinking of what to do with PhP 7000 worth of Sterling products. Now, those who had cried out "Libre!", would you care for a free notebook? Some specialty paper perhaps?

P.S. Don't worry, I'm back from Smugville and am quite normal again hehe Ü

Don't Stop the Tears from Falling

'Fraid not when it comes,
Lip quivering and then some
All becomes a blur
As the eyes well up, yes sir!

Drop by drop it falls,
Much like tree leaves during Fall
Bit by bit is cast
of emotions hid'n alas!

Convulsions can't stop
and a heave with every drop
All pain and all ire
Panted out of thine Empire

When all's sobbed and done
look out and out comes the sun
Wern't you sad just b'fore?
Behold! You can smile once more!

Author's Note:
Women have been given the wonderful gift to cry. Despite swollen eyes and stuffy nose afterwards, it remains to be a wonderful prerogative treasured by many. Not that men are not allowed this privilege, they rarely use it however. The poem tries to paint a picture of how it's like to "cry it all out" for those who know not.

Some tips to the one comforting the crying,
1. Listen
2. Give comforting words
3. Stop doing other stuffs
4. Offer a shoulder if you can
5. Offer a hanky (a clean one, please!)
6. Don't make jokes (this ruins the momentum)

Maxthon Browser

Are you getting tired of your ho-hum browser's boring look and dull capabilities? Well, today must be your lucky day 'coz I've got some hot news for you! Fresh out of the house is the latest version MyIE2 - Maxthon. (Yea, yea, I'm sure you've heard of it before...pardon me then for being the techno geek of the Jurassic Age, I just learned about the browser yesterday *sheepish smile*). Tagged with a caption "The Way We Surf the World", Maxthon promises a lot more in terms of enhanced features and better security.

I just downloaded my copy of the browser and I sure am enjoying every minute of my browsing exerience. I've been changing the skin, toying around with the settings, playing kung-fu with my mouse (mouse actions) and "tabbing" my way along the busy streets of Netville. It's a very different approach that needs some getting used to (I sometimes still wonder where my opened pages had gone) but is truly a step, if not a leap forward from the conventional type that the likes of Microsoft has introduced.

Maybe you'd like to try it out too :)

P.S. Thanks Bong for telling me about it :)

New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve 

HapPy NeW YeaR eveRyoNe!

6 minutes from the start of 2005 and I'm blogging already! Talk about starting the year right hehe.

We had the usual New Year's Eve dinner with some kinsfolk, which lasted far shorter than the whole preparation. As there was not much to do afterwards, each family member went his own way. A pang of loneliness started creeping in as I was not able to find anything to occupy myself with. I knew that there was no place for it though. It's New Year's Eve! Not even the loneliest of the lonely should feel the least bit lonesome even just for today. But there was just no one to talk with on the phone, no one to chat with online, no one to text with (and I don't mean just sending a New Year's forwarded greeting and getting another version back), and no one to do stuffs with.

"Phew! Bo-ring!"
"Might as well clean some mess up before the coming year."
I was in the midst of rearranging stuffs when the I caught sight of the yellow smiley ball grinning at me, as if beckoning me to pick it up. Well, who can resist a smile like that? I grabbed the ball, totally forgot about cleaning up, and started shooting some baskets on the miniature basketball hoop stuck behind the door. My kid brother evenutally joined me and challenged a game of shooting. "Sure", I said. Not even bothering to change from the clothes I've worn to dinner, I folded my pants up, and donned a pair of plush Hello Kitty slippers (the thick one with cushions, with the big head design) to finish my utterly inappropriate outfit. An hour or so of shooting later, our clothes were soaked, our legs were tired (at least mine was), but our spirits soared. We had a great time. It was a great way to kill time while waiting for midnight to strike.

Less than an hour before 12, the house was silent again. My kid brother had gone back to their place, my big brother had gone to sleep (so much for getting all worked up for midnight). I spent the remaining time changing to cleaner clothes, stuffing my pocket with coins (and some bills), opening up all the lights, and sending some last-minute New Year greetings. I constantly watched the clock, tick tock, tick tock, impatiently waiting for the hand to strike 12. When it finally did, I started jumping. Yes, jumping. While texting more Happy New Years with one hand and clanging the coins loudly in my pocket with the other, I jumped happily, without any care that I'm already 21 and have no chance of getting any taller. For me, ushering in the New Year just won't be complete without jumping. Twenty years from now, when I'm already 41 and you still catch me jumping, don't think me weird hehe.

Once again, haPpy new year! Hope 2005 will promise a brigther and better tomorrow Ü