The Man Who Can't Be Moved cover

My cover of The Script's The Man Who Can't Be Moved.

My father makes a cameo in this video. He wasn't aware I was recording it. ;)

You're Still You cover

This video is the result of boredom a few days ago. Here's my cover of You're Still You popularized by Josh Groban. ;)

Baby Out!

Remember the status I posted on my FB before? The one about the Yakult bottle that got stuck in our toilet bowl because my nephew wanted to test the bowl's flushing power? Well, after a series of unsuccessful attempts of pulling it out manually or pushing it further, we figured we needed help from someone whose expertise is on toilet bowls and toilet bowls. :) So the expert plumber from the neighborhood came to the house yesterday. He had to destroy portions of the floor tiles in order to remove the bowl and pull out the bottle and when he finally succeeded in doing so, he showed me the culprit that has made great inconveniences to the bowel patterns of the entire family. "The baby's out, finally!", I said.

Janssen, my clever nephew who "accidentally" dropped the bottle, managed to flash his signature grin upon learning that his not-so-admirable act of testing his curiosity has now been corrected. 

And finally, I can now resume my daily morning ritual. ;)

Hangover Part I

The birthday party of my cousin last night turned out to be more than just eating the scrumptious food prepared but also enjoying the karaoke over bottles of wine. I haven't been drunk for a long time and last night's drinking spree almost went over the top for me. Sometimes, you just want to push yourself to the limits for the effect of alcohol to sink in - less inhibitions, more laughs, interesting topics to talk about - and before you know it, the struggle of trying to contain everything in your stomach turns out to be a challenge and vomiting eventually becomes inevitable. Good thing I was aware enough that I already reached the maximum point before my gag reflex could not hold it any longer. It was like I knew an impending doom is going to happen so I had to raise my hands in surrender as my cousin handed me a half-full glass of brandy on the rocks.

When I woke up this morning, my world slightly revolved around me so I had to go back to sleep. Then my dream prompted me to get my a** up and fill my empty stomach with something. Whenever I'm asleep and my tummy feels hungry, I always dream about food, salivating foods at that! So I got up, went to the kitchen, scavenged whatever I could find as edible and found a hot pork soup to which I exclaimed, "Perfect for Hangover Part 1!" 

Dear AUGUST...

I dunno if i'll be happy or not having you around. The result of the boards is a few sleeps away from now and my birthday's just around the corner. I'm having mixed emotions, really. You better have good things in store for me. After all, I was named after you so please cooperate will 'ya? ;)

Movie Review: MATCH POINT

by THIRDIE PALMA

It’s very rare for me to see a movie where the story revolves around how an antagonist (in this case, a murderer) gets very lucky in getting away with a crime or several crimes committed against unsuspecting and innocent people and where the ending ironically celebrates a somewhat successful and blissful life over a toast of champagne. The story is about a guy who married a woman from an upper class English family; lived a posh life watching plays, musicals and operas from an exclusive opera box; maintained a very active sexual affair with a stunning albeit a struggling actress; and had a baby boy in the end with his wife who once had fertility problems. All these he got as if getting away from killing his mistress, his unborn child and an innocent old lady - weren’t enough luck for him. This is the case of the movie Match Point starring Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Scarlett Johansson, and Brian Cox, among others.

Chris Wilton (Rhys-Meyers), a poor Irish lad, was a tennis pro player before settling in London. He had to quit due to his career that has already reached a stagnant point. Although his peers who believed in him said he just needed a little more patience so he could give the top seeds a run for their money, he decided he would give up playing and become a tennis instructor, instead, for an elite club in London. He got along very well with his first student, Tom, who immediately invited him to join a family gathering, where he met his soon-to-be wife Chloe, Tom’s younger sister.

Chris had made a very good impression on Chloe’s parents so he was offered a position in one of her dad’s companies. He was groomed to be the perfect son-in-law, who would eventually hold a major position of the company in the future. In yet another family occasion, Chris came across a beautiful woman whom he later knew as Nola Rice (Johansson), Tom’s fiancée. Chris learned that she was a struggling American actress trying her luck in England. He was instantly attracted to Nola’s come hither look as what Tom called it but out of respect to Tom, he kept his distance. Besides, he was already very intimate with Chloe and the family was expecting them to announce their wedding plans.

Eventually, Chris and Chloe got married and everyone was happy, even Chris, who still had lustful fantasies for Nola. Nola, on the other hand, couldn’t get the thumbs up from Tom’s mother, Eleanor, who thinks that Nola isn’t good enough for her son. During one of Eleanor’s innuendo-inspired speech in front of Nola and Tom, she once again offended her son’s fiancée, who became upset and walked out of the house. Chris saw Nola and followed her to the wheat fields, where he took advantage of her emotional fragility and kissed her. One thing led to another and Chris finally got what he wanted.

Because of what happened, Chris became more sexually attracted to Nola than he had ever been before but Nola tried to do the right thing by not giving any meaning to what happened between them. She told Chris they were both engaged to different people and that she was soon to become his sister-in-law.

In a surprising turn of events, Tom suddenly announced his break up with Nola because he fell in love with another woman. That gave Chris more reason to pursue Nola but she was nowhere to be found so for the time being, he contented himself with his work and wife, who was still trying hard to conceive a baby with him by going to fertility clinics. After a few years, Chris saw Nola in an art gallery where he was going to meet with his wife one day. He desperately wanted to see Nola after missing her presence for a long time and even in the presence of his wife, he quietly asked for Nola’s phone number. Their sexual affair began again and this time, it was more passionate or obsessive for both of them.

To cut the long story short, Chris succeeded in his plot to kill Nola. He also killed his own unborn child and an innocent old lady in the process. He said, sometimes the innocent are killed to give way to a grander scheme or something to that effect. The police initially concluded it was a drug and money-related murder of the old woman, who was killed first and that Nola, who lived next door, came home and was shot next – a case that according to the police was a classic example of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.  What they didn’t know was the murder was all planned by Chris to make it look like a robbery case - that the old woman was the primary victim and Nola, a coincidental victim. There was one detective, however, who theorized that Chris was actually the culprit. His theory was very accurate in all sense of Chris’s involvement of the murders. The only problem he encountered in the end was that a certain ring owned by the old woman that was stolen by Chris was found in the possession of a drug addict who was apprehended the day or two after the murders. That made the police more convinced that it was, indeed, a drug-related murder. But the truth was, Chris threw all the jewelries owned by the old woman into the river simply to get rid of evidence and the ring missed a few inches from the river and was picked up by the drug addict. In other words, Chris had been ultra lucky from the very start until the end of the movie.

What I admire about this movie is its bold and bodaciously daring approach to its theme of injustice, of committing several crimes and getting away with them and of depicting the triumph of bad over good. Not that I approve of or appreciate the wrongful acts committed by Chris or the immorality of everything he did but the film makers were brave enough to go beyond the usual or ordinary.  In terms of acting, the lead actors displayed their adeptness in representing their characters especially Rhys-Meyers and Johansson, who both gave very convincing portrayals to Chris and Nola, respectively. The supporting actors could also hold their own although they only had limited screen times compared to the leads.

My appreciation, however, ends in the movie’s approach and technicalities. The theme itself disturbs my moral principles and foundations that I couldn’t almost believe they make movies like this one where the bad guy gets exonerated and favored by luck and virtually by everything in the end. I was taken aback when the ending depicted a happy family (Chris and Chloe, Tom and his wife, and their parents) wherein everybody welcomed a future member inside Chloe’s womb. I was expecting that justice would be served, that Chris would be apprehended or be held responsible for Nola’s, his unborn child’s and the old woman’s murders, that there was a major twist just right before the credits start rolling, that somehow I would see a handcuff or a prison cell where Chris would be paying the price of everything for the rest of his life. But they all had a cheerful celebration by opening a bottle of expensive champagne – a very ironic celebration of life at the expense of three innocent lives sacrificed by Chris for his own good. Of course, they all didn’t know about the truth except Chris but how the movie ended bothered me a lot. I would say, though, that Nola’s (Scarlett Johansson) come hither look and her seductive appeal, in general, were very compelling and that she gave me many sleepless nights after watching the movie (winks). 

Call Boy

by Thirdie Palma

LifestyleBohol Section
Bohol Chronicle
Published: May 25, 2008

Working as a customer service representative or associate (CSR/CSA) or more popularly known as call center agent for a well-known and one of the biggest outsourcing firms may be a glamorous job for those who want to be part of the call center industry in the country. One may think highly of a CSR as someone who has a kind of job that’s totally simple yet financially rewarding. But those who are and have been part of it may not share the same thought. It is true that the pay is way better than what a bank teller or a regular government employee receives. True that four or five-digit bonuses and other perks like free movie tickets, cell phone loads, DVD player, iPod, Starbucks gift certificates, Sony PSPs and even all-you-can-eat buffet from expensive restaurants may be given at least on a weekly basis. Even more true that if you get promoted, a bank manager’s salary is only a quarter of what you would earn plus your overtime pay and night differential. That’s even a generous estimate. There are so many things one can get in this kind of job that enumerating them all would be time and space-consuming. But did I really enjoy being a call boy? Did I take pleasure in being scolded or worse, screamed at on a per call basis because of something I didn’t personally do? Did I like the constant nagging for services not working as if they were all my fault? And did I benefit from the emotional, physical and mental stresses this kind of job put me through? The answer is a resounding no.

Sure, many call boys and girls I know say they don’t take the harsh and more often than not profane words personally. Of course, they don’t. I don’t, either. The customers are on the other line, anyway. There’s no way they can grab my collar through the mouthpiece of my headset and they’re on the other side of the planet so why worry? But here’s the thing about how sharp words can get. Several times I wake up from a nightmare (which happens during the day when I sleep after work) wherein a customer screams at the top of his lungs after saying so many F and S words at me because a sales agent signed him up for an internet phone even though he has no internet connection. Yeah as if that’s my fault but since I was from the account management department, it was my job to provide the best solutions possible before painfully deciding to disconnect or close the account as a last resort, which would then greatly affect my performance. One time my sister called from overseas and because I was dreaming that I was at work, I answered her call with my opening spiel, “Thank you for calling (Company)…How may I help you?” She answered back, “What’s happening to you? Are you crazy?” then she went on laughing.

It was then I realized that money’s not everything. Money can buy you a lot of things, yes. But how about your physical and mental health? At some point, maybe. Not when you lose your sanity or when you literally drop dead on the floor at work because of stress, like what happened to a poor guy in one of the call centers in Manila. Before, I didn’t believe much in the effects of stress but I have seen so many colleagues being brought to our clinic because of several health conditions they never thought would afflict them. Personally, I had to quit due to my osteochondroma (a benign tumor in my left femur), which didn’t bother or cause me pain ever until after I was in my fourth month as a call boy. Later on, I learned that stress is actually more sinister than what most people think of it. Some studies say stress is linked with serious conditions like cardiovascular diseases and even cancer. And here I was thinking that my daily supply of A-Z vitamins and a full glass of fresh milk was enough in dealing with the taxing work I was into.

I am not badmouthing any call center or any employee nor am I instilling fear among those who aspire to take the challenge of taming wild beasts pretending to be English-speaking customers (pun intended). I am only presenting the facts I knew and have seen as someone who used to be in the business even for a relatively short period of time. I am not even sour graping, not after getting huge bonuses twice a month, free movie tickets and cell phone loads almost every week or receiving a thousand bucks right after a quality assurance evaluation for getting a hundred percent rating of my recorded call. My point is, if you want this kind of job primarily because you want to be identified with the English-speaking Filipino population and enjoy the apparent luxury and glamour and glitz of it, then forget it. Usually, you won’t get nor enjoy the luxury part because stress will deprive you of it. Sitting pretty in an office all day preparing coffee for your boss albeit having a meager pay might be a better one for you. However, if you’re not only aiming for the trend but for the money itself, which I admit is very tempting and materially rewarding, all for the sake of your family’s subsistence and your own without having to fly to Dubai or anywhere else in the world, then take the job. Don’t be scared. Not all customers are beasts, by the way. There are still nice people out there who would need your help and who would go as far as commending you through your supervisors or even the President of the company for a job well done, that is of course, if you’re able to help solve the problem for them. But think about it ninety-nine times before diving into it.

Have you ever heard of jobs that are not for the faint-hearted? This is one of them. You think that just by engaging in a phone conversation with customers isn’t a tough job and an easy way of earning money? Think again because what you get from this job is hard-earned cash. Hard-earned in the sense that most of the time, you try your best to be resilient and unaffected by the insults or stupidity of some customers who are determined to bring you down emotionally or prove you wrong no matter how right you believe you are. Some customers do it just for the fun of seeing you crashing down. Then there’s racial discrimination, too. I could still recall the times when I had to deny my roots whenever I sense that the customer’s heading towards color coding scheme just to avoid an argument and finish the call the way I suppose to. As a result of these and some other things mentioned earlier, I always get exhausted and felt empty at the end of the day. I may have been a quitter but I was brave enough to make a choice from what’s good for me and what’s not. That was a personal choice. Like anybody else, I needed the money, too. I also enjoyed all the perks that went with the job but even with all the pampering stuffs the company was showering us, the excitement died down eventually. Money can only take me somewhere but not to a place where I can fully taste the sweetness of contentment.