out of plan

tomorrow will be the graduation for my Master’s degree. at last,… there’s this sheer breeze of awe that succumb me everytime i realized that i made it. it’s like being on a cliff and looking on a perfect view of horizon and nature. and i can’t help but to look on the things, plans and decisions that i made. and i gave my life, as of today, one hell of a ride! yeah. i stood in front, took it blow by blow, stared at it in the eye, smiled and say “more! is that all you’ve got?”.

i made so many plans in my life. some came true. some didn’t. some are still waiting.

some came true. well, in fact most of it. i was lucky that He never run out of patience on me. He guided me all through out. despite of my often, random out-of-sanity decisions i was able to pull it off with some of the very important decisions of my life. some didn’t. these are the things that i have to let go. maybe it wasn’t intended to be. some of them, just by mere thinking, makes me laugh  already. some are still waiting. some plans are never intended to happen overnight not even in a couple of years. maybe it’ll take some times. or maybe it won’t happen. either way i’m glad that i planned it.

and now that i am out of plan i will make new ones. plans that will keep me moving. plans that’ll give me reasons to stand again against life and take its punches.  plans that may came true. plans that may not. or plans that’ll just be in between.

a career thought

after 4 years of crusade in my career i am here entangled with a lot of questions. its not that i am having second thought that i pursued this one but its more of future steps that i’ll be taking. this is a fact: we make investments, in any way–financially, emotionally, etc.– in our jobs. many people move from places to places because of it. we learn not only professional ethics but a lot more here so why would i not think about it.

our jobs shape us into men and women. it makes us responsible professionals.  we maybe working mainly because of financial reasons but we are getting more than that. first, we learn to assume responsibilities. taking the thought of somebody is depending on you is no joke. spending 8 hours a day, 5 times a week, year round just to deliver services is a serious matter. this kind of dedication, enables and , furthermore, introduces a lot of possibilities. second, we learn to depend to other people. “trust” is a big word for most of us so making it come is not easy. but in a working environment you are not only given some responsibilities but more importantly, you are asked to trust others do their jobs. every worker  act as  a  block that makes up the “big picture”.  and only by trusting each other they can make the “big picture” work. third, we strengthen our principles here. whatever wisdom that we carry it is in our job that we pound it and convert it into rock-solid belief. it is here that we realized that our voice should be heard and our ideas should be entertained. fourth, we build dreams, through here we are able to clarify our ideals and goals. since our job allows us to define the fine things in our lives, then the foundation of our future are built.

so where am i heading with all of these? be in charge. i know it’s an obvious thought but really, be in charge of your career. if our job affects a lot of things in our life then it is must that we should be in charge with it. decide according to your priorities. sacrifices are always welcome but only up to certain extent. and last, know your value well. do not be afraid to lose your job if the consequences of having it is too much.

changes

so many changes, so little time.

let's party!

last Sunday i was invited by a friend to drop by at her place. when i got there she asked me if i could come with her on her friend’s birthday party. i was reluctant at first but since i was already there i decided to go anyway. i should have remembered that we have our own definition of party, especially out-of-town folks party. the situation started to get uncomfortable when i found out that her entire family is also coming! it took me a few minutes (thats the only time i got) to digest that im gonna party with her entire family!

ok, after a while — since her family was kinda warm — i started to get comfortable again (another deadly mistake). i was blown away when she told me that we’re gonna be riding at the back of a truck! but i told her that “its cool, it’s been a while since i ride a truck (specially going to a party, hehe)”. Here’s the deal, we have to push everybody into the truck because there’s no ladder! it was really hilarious! the back of the truck is open so we had a nice air coming as the vehicle moves. honestly, it was fun doing it. after 15 minutes we arrived at the party, or so it is.

as i’ve said, we have our own definition of party. if you imagine party  with a lot of classy people, great music and awesome food.. well, this is not that kinda party. as we enter the house, a group of drunk men invited us and said, “mga pre, tagay muna”. everyone refused  drink though. next, i found myself seated next to a group of people that i barely knew. and i can’t do anything but to grin and nod with what their trying to say. i was a bit relieved when the food came. on the menu: 2 bowls of spaghetti that could feed an entire starving urukhay, roasted chicked – pinoy style, 2 pieces of barelyete fish with the size as big as my arm doubled, ginataang bilo-bilo (i don’t know how to explain this) and what would be a party without a drink — Pop Cola. hahaha. it was really fun observing all of the people there as they, happily, devour the food. in a way, i envy those people. they have a very plain way to be happy. you could just listen to them as they tell their stories by heart.

after a few hours of “partying”, we decided to hit that road. of course its a custom here that we should take some of the food with us. haha.

i carry.

in her shoes.

one sappy movie, but i must admit it almost made me cry (hehe, taena). it was really worth watching. the poem was beautiful. very straightforward. it really connects.

here.

joefort bloopers 101

OK, after a long debate with my inner self i decided to blog this sickness of mine. ‘you see, i have this incurable clumsiness that always brings me to predicament, funny predicament. i suspect that it’s not only the clumsiness that caused this disease. i believe that its the combination of inexhaustible curiousity, poor luck and, well, filthy clumsiness. ugh. after all, i should document my periodic stupidity by now before it comes out of my memory. so, here it is, some of the strands of my so-called unprecedented adventures:

1. “IT ba yan?” - this is one my recent, and i believe it will be one of my favorites. it happened a few months ago when we attended a Microsoft event in Shangrila Hotel, Manila.  It’s a conference so there were at least 2000 people. During lunch break, getting our food turned out to be a struggle. Everybody was literally trying to grab their food. Gladly, after several push and bumps , we were able to get ourselves some food and a table where we can eat. While eating, a nice (ok, beautiful! now satisfied? ) lady was standing, and eating, besides us, so i invited her on the table.  We had small talk and my mind started to fly. As i drink my ice tea the lady say something to me like ”IT ba yan?”, and i laughed confidently assuming that she was pertaining to those people who are in disarray just to get their food. but when her words started to sink in, i realized that what she just said was “Ice tea ko yan!!”. And my world just  suddenly turned into humiliation, i apologized to the lady and quickly take another glass of ice tea to replace it. after that, i sit to it that the lady never sees me again. ever.
2. Dinuguan flavored fingers – it happened when we were in a mall, trying to find a place to eat. since we are in a food court a lot of food cafeterias are available. i was trying to point where i want to eat and i didn’t noticed that we were standing beside a group of people having their lunch. when i was about to return my hands on my side pocket, my fingers landed on one of their plates and *splat* my fingers were covered with dinuguan.  
3. joefort the stalker – one of the most embarrassing experience but definitely the one that i am proud of. me and my bud were going to his apartment when this happened. i have this hobby that i take pictures randomly on anything that caught my interest. i was trying to play with my camera when one of the passenger took the wrong impression and accused me that i was trying to take some pictures of her. i was blown away. i showed her the contents of my camera, and none of them were her picture. i am pissed already. there were at least 15 people on the vehicle.  she told me that my plan just didn’t succeed, and that was it. she crossed my line. i told her, “you think you’re that pretty?”. and she stopped. she didnt know what to say or do. i know that it was harsh but she forced me to do it. i felt sorry looking at the girl. when we were about to get off the vehicle i left her with “if i wanted your picture, i’ll ask.” 

there, those were the first batch. i’ll blog some more if i have the time, and guts, hehehe.