the mungo conspiracy

I am now a certified scribie transcriber. Just got the approval this morning. Had to do it. I need every last dollar I can squeeze out of this internet side-business thing-a-majig. And oh yes, I did say "dollar". The audio transcription website pays 1 USD per 6 audio minutes transcribed. And you get to pick and choose when to work, even what files to work on. I waited an extra 2 days, in fact, hoping to get a clear audio test file which I got this morning. Within 6 hours, I got the certification. So yeah, I'll be typing away my free time mostly from hereon out. If you are interested in becoming a transcriber click on this link .

It was not the result that I wanted. But because it is what it is, it is the result that I want, after all. The significant other had been a little battier than usual the last couple of weeks. I mean I get it. When that time of the month comes, I have to get out of her nutty ways. Darwin never wrote it in his book, but this, actually, is the best survival tactic for the reasonable man. Expediency is the name of the game. What am I supposed to do? Beat the senseless crap out of her? If nothing else, my father taught me to never physically abuse women. Thanks dad for taking that out of the menu. But last month was way nuttier than usual -- even for her. She was angry with me for no reason. She says she wants fish for lunch. And so like the dutiful partner that I am, I buy fish from the market. But no, it is never the fish that she wants. I can never figure that puzzle out. This kind of craziness went on for around two-three weeks. Until one hot afternoon, I've finally had enough...

It was my first job and I wasn't making much. It would have been a lot, actually,  if I was single and without responsibilities, as most people are at that age. But no, I was single, yes, but I had responsibilities. Parents were both retired. And my younger sister was just starting her AB Political Science course in UP Manila. And it was up to me to fill in the gaps. It wasn't that bad. We had a house, and in fact, had some income (aside from my meager salary) coming in from an apartment we were renting out. But still, money was really tight. So much so that mom had to literally laugh out loud when she found out from the news that the daily budget for food for a New Bilibid prisoner was in fact 2 pesos more than ours. And they were complaining! The nerve. One night, coming home after two weeks of working on an out of town assignment, I pulled out my wallet to give my salary to my mom. After I'd given the budget for the house, all I had left was 500 pesos and change.  M...

Allergies. I am lactose intolerant. Not too bad though, I can get away with cream on my coffee, even eating some ice cream. But anything more than a small amount would give me indigestion. I am allergic to dust, pollen, and most alcohol based perfumes. They give me sneezing fits. Alcohol based perfumes is of particular annoyance when I am in confined spaces. And because there are people who insist on using these perfumes, knowing full well of my condition, it can be said that I am allergic to some people. I am allergic to strong detergents, adhesives, and even diesel fumes. When I wash clothes (even if I use the washing machine) my hands get itchy to the point that it becomes flaky and it bleeds. I used to be a video editor. When I was still using the linear editing machines, I needed to constantly label and re-label tapes -- a simple enough task if not for the fact that it required me to touch adhesive tapes. That was a pain. I used to wear an earring. I can not wear...

A Toyota fan. I am the fourth son with three older brothers and one younger sister. I am tempted to say that I was my father's favorite, but that might start another debate between us siblings. So, let me just say that I was my father's pet. When my father was still assigned at the Theft and Robbery division of the Western Police District, I believe he used me as a convenient excuse to get away from the Sunday chores of filing paperwork for the week and manning the store. Sundays should have been rest day anyway, so my Dad did all the paperwork at home and would go to the station with assignment done and me in tow. "Hey I'm taking my kid to Luneta later!" was often his excuse to his colleagues whenever asked if he can man the store for the day. So Sundays was Luneta day for me and my dad. He wasn't making much money at the time and Luneta was free. After Luneta, we'd go to Araneta Coliseum to watch basketball. I don't know how much tickets cos...

one year old me Near death experiences: Three times I nearly died before I turned 9. The first one was when I was around 3. An electrician was doing some work in the house and I don't know how it happened but I got electrocuted. I don't remember the event. But I have some faint memory of having my left hand in bandages as it was badly burned. My mom attributes the event for giving me superior intelligence. The spider-bite gave Spiderman his powers, electrocution gave me the powers of math even before I started school. When I was 6, me and my brothers went along with an uncle who had this contract to build a pier in Iligan. Naughty me fell into the very deep waters and nearly drowned. I remember being very calm about it. So this is how it is going to end. This is what it feels like to die. A cousin rescued me in time though. But not soon enough that I was traumatized for a time. But my father would have none of it and got me over it quickly. He would take me swimmin...

This should have been done at the start of the blog. And apparently is now the trend with my ka-bloggers. So let me share something really personal about myself. But let me do it one item at a time. First thing about me (favorite food): (1) My most favorite meal in the world would be fried to a crisp tinapa served with tahong stewed in sprite, and of course steaming hot plain rice. The entire meal would roughly cost no more than 30 pesos per person. That this is so cheap is one of those things that makes me believe God is fair. You do not need Bill Gates' salary to enjoy the most glorious meal in the world. I've had caviar, lobster, and 1,000 Php steaks. If I have to choose just one meal to eat everyday for the rest of my life, believe me, I'd choose my tinapa, tahong and plain rice.