A Trafficker in Climaxes

My hard disk died on me earlier this week. For the 30 hours that I was out of town over the weekend, an army of vicious ants marched towards my HD, killed it and then built a nest on its body. My lovely tan was welcomed with a disk read error. It wasn’t very pleasant but the corpse wasn’t my main media storage so moving on was relatively easy. What is almost-unbearable though is the lonely lull  that permeates around my room without the desktop. Even with a nice laptop and all my songs, TV shows and movies present, it still gets lonely. It’s totally not an overstatement to say how much my desktop PC gives my room life. In fact, it may be the only life this room ever had. Ha! A sad Michael Johnson song. How apt.

Stupid ants.

Another un-pleasantry that this unfortunate incident brought into my life is not having any means to monitor the songs I listen to. Ever since I (finally!) got Last.fm’s scrobbler thing installed, I can’t quite get over it. It’s the most beautiful app for someone who listens to music often and is obsessed with lists and annals (lolol i still laugh at that word. i’m so mature.) at the same time. I’ve been looking for ways to upload scrobbles from my iPod touch but all means found were in vain. The songs I can listen to on the site’s radio were also limited and my PayPal account is 2 dorrars short for the subscription. However, after badgering my friends endlessly, someone finally gave me $2 so I could subscribe to the Last.fm radio. I am now enjoying beautiful music without limits. Also, uploads by cool people from tumblr!

I hate how several days this week have become nondescript. I try to remember details but I get absorbed with learning a lot about the new job I’m in that I forget to pay attention to things that might make one day different from the other. I generally enjoy each day but nothing has been memorable. Except Monday and Tuesday and Thursday nights maybe because they were spent with teh boyfriend.

This post is so dull lol. Anyway, pictures!

I spent my weekend here. It was very, very nice.

The clutter in my room is not girly. Instead of bracelets and other accessories, I have wires. LOTS OF IT.

I started work this week and I’m tired. It’s not due to laboring over at the office though. It’s mainly due to the sudden change in sleeping patterns and my body’s inability to cope with the alteration during the first few days. My shift is earlier than my usual wake-up hours  and my body’s suffering as a consequence but give it time and it’ll be back to normal. I hope.

Work is amazing. I am surrounded with extremely intelligent people who have excellent technical, people and language skillz and whom I know I can learn a lot from. It’s crazy how smart and talented they all are to the point that they make me doubt my own abilities knowing I’m the only one in the team who’s without a title (one has two titles even! lolz). The only thought that consoles me is knowing that getting a job with a lot of other people as competition speaks of my potential to be just as great as my teammates are. Haha. I hope.

I know my diagram sucks. Shut up.

Basing on the presumption that a good job is something that fits what you love doing, what you are good at, and what people would pay you for, this job is more than good. I have always subscribed to the philosophy that when you do something you love, success and money will follow. It’s a great job because I know that I can be really good at it and knowing that people see me for what I can contribute is really heartwarming. It’s also something I can do for a long time because I learn something new with every project.

Nothing is stale. Nothing is boring. I am so blessed. ^^

Anyway, if you are one of those people who are unfortunately not quite so happy with their job or with the paths that their careers are going (sadface :( ), I suggest you think about it. I know it’s too early for me to know if I end up successful or not but right now, the future looks bright. Do something that you are eager to wake up early in the morning for. It will be worth it in the long run.

Here’s a cute hamster to help you ponder about it:

I decided (just now) that I’ll be keeping my hair short this year. I never really had short short hair before because the density and texture of my hair tend to be painstakingly  uncontrollable. I grew up hating my hair because it was dry and dull but when a neighbor barber brought out my curls through layers, I fell in love with my hair and grew it as long as this:

But I think I’ve had enough of long hair. I really like it but it tends to be heavy, flat and hard to manage. Also, given the almost-unbearable climate that my country has this year, long hair is uncomfortable and hot. Really hot.

However, this decision isn’t just a matter of comfort. I also feel like I’ve had only a few hairstyles in my lifetime. I know that I never really cared much for looks and never thought about hairstyling as a big deal but life is too short to be afraid of haircuts. I need a little more adventure and if a short trip to the salon every month or so is what it takes to reduce the dullness in my life, then bring it on, scissors. I am not afraid of you!

Anyway, here are some inspiring photos of girl crushes with short curly/wavy hair.

Morena Baccarin. If you don’t know her, GTFO!

Ala. I’ve always liked her style. And she looks adorable with short hair.

So a number of downright awesome things happened the past few days. Last week was crazy but it was a good kind of crazy – I graduated, I was interviewed (for the third time) for a job I would love to have, I silently partied with friends, five houses several blocks away from my house burnt to ashes, two firetrucks rushed to our neighborhood and parked in front of our house, I celebrated a year of being together with my boyfriend, my friend gave birth to a beautiful baby girl, among many many other things.

Graduating was really cool and it’s the highlight of the entire month of April. I know I’ve said numerous times before how graduation is just a silly ritual and how it’s negligible and blah blah but the commencement exercises last week felt surprisingly good. I felt so fulfilled, everything felt right and I just took it all in knowing how I deserved that day.

All the good things that have happened and are happening to me are overwhelming and my heart is flooded with so much thanks and praise. I have never felt so good about myself and about everyone and everything that surround me and have been with me all these years. I seriously can’t think of anything else to say right now but thankfully, I have prepared my own speech to mark the end of this very important part of my life. It’s like my own valedictory address to the people who have greatly influenced me and whom I couldn’t have ever done this without.

I am not one who give credit to gods/deities/voodoo for my achievements but I honestly believe that I couldn’t have done this without a powerful energy hovering over me during the last years of toil and turmoil. For this major milestone in my life, I would like to thank The Force, The Intelligent Designer and what my mom refers to as The Almighty, for giving me the strength to move on even during trying times and for giving me back the courage and belief in myself that I thought have long been gone. I call you The Force for a reason. Thank you.

I would like to thank my friends from high school, college and online, and especially my partner, Jonathan for always supporting and encouraging me in all of my decisions and for being a good influence in my personal and academic choices. Thank you for keeping me focused and for steering me back to the right direction every time I go astray. You guys are my personal cheerleaders and mentors. I will be forever grateful for having you around.

To the people in the industry who have inspired me to do what I do and become great at it, to my former colleagues and to IWC in general, thank you. You took me in even when I had so little to give and taught me a lot of things I couldn’t have learned anywhere else. You are all cool and I’m sorry for being so silent all the time.

To my Mom for giving me undying inspiration to finish this project to the very end, for respecting every decision I’ve made and for letting me make mistakes knowing that mistakes are some of the best lessons I could ever have. Ma, thank you for always supporting me in every endeavor I take, no matter how senseless they might seem and for constantly believing in me even when I fail. Thank you for always being proud of me even when I am not deserving of it and for always having faith. Thank you for devoting your life to me and I’m sorry that I cannot be the best daughter. You have my heart and I dedicate this lifetime to give back to you what you have selflessly given me.

I would like to thank my thesis adviser, Miss Pauline Wade, for taking me in as her advisee for the second time and for showing me the right path into making this project so much more than what I have initially thought it would be. Thank you to all my teachers – from grade school, to high school to college – for all the academic challenges which, when seen in retrospect, are some of the most meaningful lessons that have shaped my character, have brought out the best in me and have made me realize that I can keep going long after I think I can’t.

To everyone else who has been a part of this journey, no matter how little or how big your roles have been, thank you!

It’s time for me to face the “real world”. I’ve always felt like I’ve been having slices of it for the last few years but I have to be in it full-time now. Can’t say I’m not scared but I’m excited more than anything. HUZZAH.