the mungo conspiracy

First editing job for a US client. Well, not exactly. I've done projects before for international clients. What I meant by that is, first editing job with me here while the client is halfway across the globe. Talk about telecommuting! The world has become just that smaller. Imagine, while I have my day job here (not editing), I get to moonlight in the US (or elsewhere for that matter).

me at work I work for a company tasked with the technical support for the high-tech equipment you see above. That's me at the main bridge of a full mission ship handling simulator that can be linked to an engine room and 5 cubicles representing 5 independently controlled ships that can join the same simulation scenario. From the control booth, the instructor can simulate storms, engine trouble, rough seas, even make it snow in Manila Bay. As far as the simulation goes, the instructor at the control booth is god. He can, of course, always give the students smooth sailing conditions -- the perfect easy life. But this is almost never done. For that would be just a waste of simulator time. The simple fact is, rough seas make better sailors. Maybe that is something to think about whenever we encounter rough sailing in life. Perhaps someone at the control booth wants to make better sailors out of us.

When my job takes me out of town, this is the usual scenery that greets me. Yes, I hate my life. If only because I so much prefer the traffic and smog of Metro Manila. Sunrise viewed from the national highway, San Felipe, Zambales. Sunset viewed from the beach, Bgy Sto. Nino, San Felipe, Zambales.  

I always have a bag  ready  and  packed with a week's worth of clothes. That is because my job requires me to travel out of town on a moments' notice. It is hard and sometimes it gets to me. But as fringe benefits go, how's this for a view? Fernando Amorsolo himself couldn't have painted a better picture. San Narciso, Zambales

Long day. I am tired (and handsome). Too tired to even celebrate properly my 3,000th visitor  (according to sitemeter)  which happened today. Here's a lame "yipee!"  I hope to come up with a better blog update tomorrow. :)

Thankfully, it’s not all bad news on the homefront. Credit must be given to the few that deserve it. We are not all crabheads, some people actually lead. Take Joey Concepcion and his advocacy, Go Negosyo! Joey is successful and confident enough that he can afford to encourage potential competition. I am sure no one would be happier if any one of his disciples would become so successful that it would even challenge his own business empire. This is the hallmark of true success. When you are that successful you don’t even worry about the competition anymore. Look at Meralco, if you can monopolize your market like that, you might even need to advertise calling on consumers to use less of your product. Inspired, my brother and I are working on a business idea of our own. We are thinking we could commercially market his wife’s delicious puto pao. It’s not the regular rice bread stuffed with meat, mind you. It is the quintessential adobo for stuffing accentuated by the local lu...

A writer friend of mine was applying for a job in one of those Makati ad agencies. Feeling that she got through most of the interview just fine, she was finally ready to face the big boss, the last interview that will make or break her application. “So do you like Air Supply?” a simple enough question, if you don’t think about it. But underneath the seemingly harmless question was a trap. A “yes” answer means you have no taste. Anything that you can half-expect blaring out of a clunker jeepney can’t be that good. A “no”, on the other hand, would mean dishonesty. After all, who has not hummed to an Air Supply song or two? But being the real writer that she was, she had the perfect answer.  “Do I like Air Supply? Yes... secretly.”

A little something I produced way back in 1995. Yes, I am that old. But remember kids, Ely Buendia and I were BATCHMATES in UP. Although he went to Diliman and I went to Los Banos. I wrote the script, did the intverview (no, the oncam talent is not me, though we sound alike). I even did the video editing using a BVU U-Matic editing machine. Enjoy, fellow Gen-Xers. Part 1 Part 2

Busy week. Plus bad internet connection (where we work). I spent most of the week lying flat on my back screwing around. Wait... that didn't come out right. I spent most of the week crawling under a computer simulation system and literally screwing and unscrewing heavy metal panels. I'll try to post pictures once our "fat" German colleague posts our pictures on his facebook. Yes, he hates that I call him fat. But this is my blog, so tough. :D But no, we actually love the guy. He has made these last few busy days a little more bearable. And eniweys, most of our pictures are nothing but of us enjoying beers at Punta de Uian after a hard day's work. I'll post fresh material maybe tomorrow. Too tired right now. And there is still the laundry to do.

image from here Leonardo Da Vinci didn’t have a client when he painted the Mona Lisa. And here’s how I know. It’s the most beautiful man-made creation without being perfect. The horizon behind Mona Lisa is not even level. Surely, a client, out to prove she’s not in the production meetings for the free donuts would have noticed. “I like the general flow so far, Leo, but can we do something about the horizon?” I guess that one comment would be fine. Problem is these geniuses do not stop at that. “I think it would be better if she didn’t have too large a forehead. Can we somehow deflect the focus from that?” And some other genius, not to be outdone, “Ah yes, and she looks pale. Is she sick?” At the end of 200 such production meetings, the most famous painting of Leonardo would have ended with a Hitler mustache. No kidding, it is a strong confident statement, some cubicle-jock daring to be known as a risk-taker would insist. Once, a long...