about the talking fish

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Writer. Wheelman. Occasional DIY mechanic. Walking collection of hang-ups. Hopeless romantic. Old-school. Analog soul in a digital world. I am all of these things and more.

Monday, July 28, 2008

After 10 days on my tank of fuel...


This was a pleasant surprise, given that I roll with relatively heavy 16" wheels.

Will wonders never cease?

Quote for the moment

"Kung hindi naglalapit ang katawan ninyo, hug ba iyon?"

Thursday, July 24, 2008

It's Jack's turn to say goodbye.

Jacklyn Competente is undoubtedly Miss Congeniality personified. She could get along with everyone and anyone. She's got a bubbly personality and a genuine knack for getting people's affections.

She joined Accenture because she thought she'd have a chance to learn about her capability of choice, SAP. Not a day went by without her ballyhooing her desire for SAP and all its merits. It was unfortunate for that objective then that she landed in software testing. In her entire stay with Accenture she didn't have the chance to move toward what she wanted, and that triggered her resignation...much as she wanted to stay.

I'm pretty sure everyone who knew her in the company wants her to stay as well. Jack is infamous for her many, many, many candid and stolen shots taken on my cellphone's camera. But all we can do is wish her the best of luck wherever the winds of fate take her.





Spelunking on a Saturday afternoon


Mav and I spent last Saturday in Greenbelt 3, watching "The Dark Knight," eating Slammers Burgers and basically just spelunking and having a good time.

"The Dark Knight" was seriously scary, the knick-knacks on Greenbelt 5 were genuinely interesting, and those little Slammers were a caloric food trip.

Let's do that again.





Thursday, July 17, 2008

When your boss is actually the older sister you never had

I haven't had time to really sit down and write about anything...er, "meaty" about the people in my life. It's about time I did because a few people have thought about taking a different path than mine, and so, perhaps, a fitting seeing-off is in order.

Celine Yap is one of those older sisters I've never had. She's my boss, sure, but I've treated her more like a trusted friend. Cel was there for me when I was feeling down and needed a pep talk, which she would always give with her trademark upbeat vibe. In return, I also had the privilege of hearing some of her personal trials and tribulations. She and I had a lot of fun on the rare occasions when we'd share a cup of coffee or have lunch, just the two of us.

Ever since she assumed the managerial role she took on a lot more work...perhaps more than she could handle. At first it manifested with her barely being in her cube, attending meeting after meeting left and right. Later on, however, she started getting sick. Cel succumbed to sickness with increasing duration and frequency. Her health was literally falling apart, and we were always concerned about how she was doing.

With all that back-story, I guess it shouldn't have come as a surprise when she announced at one of our weekly meetings that she was resigning. But I was shocked all the same.

I took her aside for a minute and brought her to a quiet room, where I gave her a long-overdue hug. Ever since the last major project she led (last year) got riddled with all sorts of problems, I felt like cheering her up and giving her a little boost, the same way she did for all of us.

Tomorrow is her last day with Accenture, after eight years of tenure, after which she'll spend a much-deserved three-month break. In that span of time, she says she'll still drop by and visit us. I only hope she and I will still get to see each other and fun over coffee and lunch, as we used to.


Saturday, July 12, 2008

Welcome back, partner






Looking back, perhaps the crash was a blessing in disguise. I had been relegated to driving Bianca's ZZE121 Corolla Altis for a month, but the insurance company gave me the opportunity to finally fix the cosmetic faults I found on the car to begin with. I lost the rear mudflaps and some uniqueness/rarity afforded by the pre-facelift LED taillamps, but I gained a meaner looking rear bumper and a rear wing for the trouble---and provision to mount a high-mount brake light, with pre-drilled holes in the new rear hatch.

Major kudos to Raymond Tan and the men of Supreme Motors in Makati. Apart from some damaged fender liner rubbing on my wheels, I have no complaints whatsoever. My aibo (partner) looks better than ever.

It even has the much-vaunted new-car smell back.

Oh, the agony of waiting...





Friday the 13th: Bus 1, Jazz 0

EDSA Guadalupe. June 13, 2008. 8:30 am. Second lane.

A green EG Civic sedan had to stop in front of me because a bus cut in front of her. I braked a reasonable distance behind. A Partas bus on the other hand failed to brake in time and plowed into my Jazz's rear.

The momentum of the packed bus was such that I even hit the EG in front of me from the impact.

Especially infuriating: I had my DIY-installed LED taillamps for less than a week and this had to happen. Damage was appraised at a whopping PhP130,000---thank God for insurance.

This is the reason why I've been inactive for a month. I came out of the crash with nothing more than whiplash.





Reassuring proof that I was not alone in my predicament...



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