it was a little past 530pm. just a normal afternoon at the office. phone calls, meetings, reviews, sign-offs. we were all finishing off the day's pending tasks. then the lights suddenly went out. brownout - the first i've experience in my three years in hk.
but it seems like it's confined to our building. outside, the others had electricity. the caltex station right across the street had lights on. within view, the jumbo restaurant had just turned on its neon signage.
something went wrong at one of the maintenance rooms in the building. heard that the police and fire department were called in.
we were allowed to leave since we can't work anyway. besides, it was almost 545pm (how we wished this happened much earlier in the afternoon). the other side of the building was shut, and everyone had to pass through our side to exit. we walked down 20 floors through semi-lit staircases.
i wanted to stay a little while to take advantage of the opportunity to finally clean-up my desk. but it was getting dark and everyone's leaving. i didn't want to get caught in the dark, alone - in vita tower. so i obliged and left with one of the last groups to leave our floor.
but before i left, i did grab the opportunity to "account" for the chaos, that is my workstation. see for yourself what's driving my oc-ness to hell!
brownout
multitasking
if there's one thing i really - as in really - need to learn at work, it will definitely be multitasking.
let's face it. while the company i'm working for has given me good opportunities, it still is a darn greedy and stingy one that continues to drown itself in its so-called greatness. very much hollow, if i may add.
anyways, a greedy and stingy company means it'll squeeze the heck out of each and every employee - all in the guise of "maximizing resources". and that's what's happening to me and my entire team.
we're all just maxed out. i personally feel like we're being squeezed and constricted by a dozen pythons. having to manage three or four minor projects, five or six major ones, and prep for a couple more projects - all simultaneously.
when we were still young, we were taught to sing "i have two hands, the left and the right...". i guess, once you get to the very top, you forget all about it and imagine everyone's schizophrenic.
so here i am, struggling - badly - to manage ten thousand things at the same time. as if i'm this buddhist god with hundreds of hands.
and with an attention span shorter than my boss' hair - if any - i absolutely can't afford to be distracted. once i get pulled into a different direction, then whatever project i got pulled away from is bound to forever rest in peace.
unfortunately, i am being pulled towards different directions. and it's utterly frustrating
i guess, a "can-do" attitude does take you somewhere, but reality keeps you in check. i'm only human, of flesh and blood i'm made... geesh, i need a break!
all that i am
santana's back with a brand-new album, once again filled with collaborations with interesting artists. and he's again banking on michelle branch to help attract interest and sell millions of albums.
but unlike 'game of love' which debuted and stayed on number one on the billboard hot 100s for a long time, 'i'm feeling you' is nowhere within the top-50. (by the way, it's refreshing to see billboard.com getting a makeover!)
i guess, 'i'm feeling you' is not as sticky as 'game of love'. it's not even the strongest song in the bunch. for me, 'baby cry' featuring joss stone and sean paul is one of the best, if not the strongest, songs in the album.
the other strong track being 'brown skin girl' featuring bo bice (yipee!).
two other tracks that I find sticky, but not as sticky as the two i mentioned above, are the one featuring steven tyler, and the one with mary j. blige. the titles just evade me at this moment.
overall, 'all that i am' is a relatively good listen ... you just have to contend with 4 or 5 "purely santana" tracks, which i personally just couldn't appreciate.
pasko na
38 days to go...
as i entered my apartment building's lobby tonight, i immediately noticed snowflakes etched on the glass, christmas balls hanging from the ceiling, trimmings around the guard's desk, and a christmas tree.
pasko na nga!
bleach and vinegar
learned something new today...
those of you who had experienced using chlorine bleach (or clorox) to wash or soak clothes - without using rubber gloves - would know that the bleach leaves an irritating smell and a weird slimy feel to your hands.
that's what exactly happened to me earlier. so i tried to wash and wash and wash the smell and slime off my hands using soap, but to no avail. but alas, i found a quick solution right out of the kitchen cabinet! vinegar.
just rinse your hand with vinegar and - at the very least - the slimy feeling is gone!
apparently, bleach is alkaline and vinegar is acid. so they're supposed to cancel each other out... it does work... you just have to contend with the stinking smell of vinegar on your hands, though only for a brief moment.
tickets
wala na 'tong atrasan. finally bought tickets for rent.
all of the center seats at the first floor have been taken so we settled for the frontmost and center seats of balcony 1. crossing my fingers that they're still good seats - they should for the amount we paid for the tickets.
can't wait for dec. 21st.
plakda
had a good time with some peeps from work last night. marion is in town. after a nice vietnamese dinner at nha trang, we dediced to have a round of drinks (actually it was two rounds since it's still happy hour). brought the guys to 2m bar.
for some weird reason, after two rounds of my usual lychee martini, my allergy started acting up. my nose started to clog, my left eye started to feel puffy, and i suddenly felt super sleepy.
marion and i got back to the flat past midnight. we sat on the sofa resting, watching tv just before get changed. and there i was, cuddling my pillow, off to snoozeville i went, and i woke up this morning - on the couch - still wearing the same clothes i wore last night.
txt joke
had a good laugh when i read this text joke from edu:
1nyt Mark walks alone n Balete Dr wen he herd "MARK! MARK!" Lumingon sya wlng tao! "MARK! MARK!" 2mkbo sya! Pgdtng s kanto, he saw a sign: "BEWARE: NGONGONG ASO!"
hehehe!
webcast
...a little over an hour more and i'm off to attend my second odd-hour webcast in less than a month. i'm now dead tired, been up for over 18 hours now, my eyes are getting heavier by the minute, and i still have to endure a freakin' 75 minute session! i'm soooooo damn hoping this will be the last non-asia webcast i have to attend...
now, let me get some cup noodles, my tummy's growling...