Happy Birthday...

His appetite is mind-boggling, he could give Jughead a run for his money (or his hamburgers). He can wolf down two large servings of carbonara and still have room to spare for leche flan, chop suey and what have you. He is the human janitor fish of our office pantry, always to the rescue of damsels who could not finish their lunch. And despite the calorie intake, he does not get fat !!!

You might think he’s immature for all the stuff he’d think about is food.

His sense of humor is biting. He can deliver the funniest of punch lines straight-faced. Sometimes you’d wonder if he’s joking or serious.

His range of human expression is limited. He’s either stoic or not so stoic.

He is such a killjoy .You can never force him to sing even the ABC’s in a harmless game of truth or dare.

He is a man of few words; his responses are mostly short or monosyllabic or evasive.

His coping mechanism is maladaptive. He is so averse to goodbyes that when he left the company, he never informed anyone, not even his closest friends.

And for that we abhor him.

But despite his eccentricities and flaws, we miss this guy so much.

He has always been dependable, IT concerns or otherwise.

He has been the one person I have counted on when I was pissed or depressed or devastated or just when I felt like shouting my angst to the world– sober or otherwise.

He had been my anchor in a storm. Well sort of. Once on a stormy ride in Leyte, our boat almost got capsized. But having him by my side somehow doused my fears. I guess it will always be a poignant reminder of life’s journeys.

He has shown me the grandeur of nature and the immeasurable joys of conquering one’s self, of scaling heights, of defying the odds, of surpassing limitations.

And despite his impenetrable wall and his lack of words, he has taught me life’s great lessons through his actions- the immense power of belief in oneself, of fortitude amidst adversities, of never losing sight of one’s dreams, of being steadfast in deeply cherished values.

He has truly left a dent in me.

So let me take this opportunity to thank and greet this guy whom I owe a lot.

To Empoy… a great friend… a brother…. an idol.

Happy Happy Birthday.

The Climb (part 2)

The Climb part 2

This blog was started in 2007 and for some strange reason I was not able to finish it

My memory fails me now as I attempt to recall the first climb in 2007 that triggered some changes in me as a person… imperceptible yet meaningful.

However I felt compelled to finish this blog if only to put some sense of closure.

The journey started in our old cramped office in Pasong Tamo, the so-called Big Brother house, a conference room that had been converted into improvised workstations. It was in this room that four guys coexisted: Lester, Gian, Martin and me.

Lester, the self appointed Big Brother, toyed first with idea of a hike suggesting that the activity would help us maintain a healthy lifestyle (Lester was considerably gaining some weight, and the extra pounds were taking an extra toll on him)

So we contacted Jesse James our regular IT guy whose pictures from his mountain climbing escapades were gleefully spread all over his friendster photo album. A date was set , Mt. Makiling would be the place, and James would be our guide.

However as the date approached, one by one each resident begged off. (Somehow I was not surprised. The very same thing happened to my Dole Asia colleagues when we planned the Matutum climb)

I have lived on earth long enough to notice that gimmicks thought of on the spur of the moment have a greater chance of pushing through rather than the ones meticulously planned. You can get the affirmation when the plan is laid out but somehow when the day comes people just come up with excuses.

The GBS Mezzanine folks had a catchy term for this… “drawing”.

Needless to say with the other “drawing” residents out, the thought of going to the climb no longer seemed palatable.

However they haven’t factored out my stubborn nature. I guess it was something I learned from my dad. Once my heart is set unto something there would be no letting go unless absolutely necessary.

My fellow residents in a way have abandoned me and somehow I felt betrayed. But I had to stick to my word. I guess it was something I owed to myself.

That morning of May 5, 2007 the thought of going back to sleep and letting go of the foolish plan was very tempting. I could just cuddle underneath the warmth of my blanket and text James I couldn’t make it and come up with some valid excuse.

But there was a call that I had to respond. There was a promise I had to keep. There was something unexplainable that I had to prove.

And no lame excuse, no hurt feelings, no sense of abandonment, not even a body that refused to move, could stop me from conquering my damn mountain that day.

And so I clutched my mountain pack and did the most basic of all heroic acts. Show up.

(to be continued)

To all the folks I’ve worked with before..

There once was a dilapidated building, a stone throw away from the busy street of Pasong Tamo. It had stood there for 30 quiet years and stuck like a sore thumb amidst the newer structures that mushroomed through the years.

The place was a safety engineer’s nightmare. Fire exits in the wrong places, electric wires dangling from the ceiling, trip hazards from all corners.

I spent the first few months of my return to the company on this old building and God knows how I wanted to shun the place.

Last year the building finally had to be dismantled and our company sought a new home amidst the sprawling Bonifacio Global city.

My office now has a commanding view of the Taguig skyline.

The lobby is elegantly marbled, floors are carpeted, glass doors are machine-activated.

It was a dream come true.

But somehow despite the classy corporate feel, going to the office no longer feels as exciting.

And then like a jolt, I had a realization.

You know how it is in life. You go through the same routine thinking each day was the same as the last. What you don’t realize are the small unobtrusive changes that happen along the way.

Until one day you wake up and realize that things were no longer the same.

I miss my friends and co-workers. The ones who gave the human touch to my work.

I realized it was not the number of audits I’ve done, or the number of findings I’ve closed or the number the business metrics I’ve met that mattered (while they are important come evaluation time)

No, it was the human connection that made things memorable and meaningful.

Those small talks in the pantry. The asaran in the Big Brother house. The kulitans in the Same time.

They may not be work related. They may not contribute to my promotion. They may not add up to the bottom line. But these are the stuff that made the fabric of the memories of my stay with the company.

The stuff that made those stretched goals bearable.

I miss the times I had to trump Yuri’s hirits in ST.

Or the time Martin and I placed “Feel free to talk to me” as Gian’s wallpaper.

I miss making hirit to Kat, the fan club or to CheG the pres of the other fan club.

I miss eating Spanish Sardines on bread with Empoy in the pantry while watching the vacant lot beside our building.

They have long left the company and I surely miss them

And now with LesMatu, the other half of the CPSO dynamic duo, leaving, going to the office will never be the same again.