all firsts

November 16, 2006

a philosopher once theorized that human beings' mind is a tabula rasa, an empty tablet. When we were born, we were an empty slate ready to be filled with experiences, memories, and learning. every year, i'm lucky that i continue to fill my "emptiness" with new experiences — things i only dreamt about when i was a young lad. just like the previous years, i marked 2006 with a lot of new things i experienced for the very first time–some are great and some are trivialities; just the same, they're all marked number one.

goodbye. march 31st when i officially ceased my contract as a Customer Relations Specialist for Rustan's Commercial Corporation. it was my first time to submit a resignation letter. i addressed the letter to no less than the VP for Marketing Services, a Tantoco himself, Sir Joel. i expected it would be difficult to leave; not the job but the people whom i dearly called as friends. when i left rustan's, i joined Digicon Wizard Events Group, which truly marked a new chapter in my life as part of the work force.

a view from the top. june 22 on-board a Cebu Pacific flight bound for Iloilo. this was my very first time to be on a plane. i've always dreamt of riding a plane. i remember, when i was young, i played (alone) acting as if i were a business traveller. i never thought it would be this year that i'd fulfill that dream to be amid the clouds. that trip to iloilo was a first in itself. actually, a lot of firsts happened during this trip. first time to ride almost all types of transportation in one day. From the time our plane touched down in Iloilo airport, we were picked up by a private car going to Mommy Jo's ancestral house. Then, we rode a cab, a trike, then, we went to Bacolod by boat. Air, Water, and Land…we rode virtually all modes of transportation. this was the first time i visited the known Boracay. although the experience was not a perfect 10, i could still say (at last), i've been to that place.

amid the clouds (again) just recently, we went to cagayan de oro (a first for the four of us, actually). it was my first time to board philippine airlines — asia's oldest airlines. the experience was good except for the throbbing ear (the left one). it is as if my ear was going to explode. even minutes after we arrived, i still felt the pain in my left ear. i hope it was just the altitude (and nothing serious happened inside my ear). just like the usual set-up, ace and i were on the same room (room 208 then, transferred to 222), while the three girls stayed in another room (210). by the way, we stayed at the newly-constructed Mallberry Hotel beside Robinson's. for more than five times we (digicon wizard) stayed in the hotel (either in metro manila or in the province), it was my first time to appreciate the comfort the hotel gives to travellers. maybe because, that was the first time we were not "jampacked" in a room. simply amazing. we stayed in cagayan de oro for three days. i would like to mention that the people there especially Amway staff and, of course, Mr. Mario and Mrs. Evelyn Tero were so great. what they let us experienced there was an epitome of hospitality. i really thank them for the wonderful treatment they provided us. and, i should say, it was my first time i experienced living as if i were a "businessman," which i am technically. great. oh, i should also mention, Tito Nards (operations manager of amway cagayan), who resembled the look of my deceased grandfather (oh, i just missed my lolo+).

a friend on the plane. truly, expect the unexpected. on board flight PR184 (going back to Manila), on my way to my designated seat, a friend of mine approached me. i was surprised to see him on the plane. it was wacky, i friend i met during the abc-5 dokyu days. what surprised me the most was that he's already a flight attendant. the wonderful encounter was abbreviated by this b*tch, a colleague of wacky whose surname i'd never forget — SAMBILE. i really had no idea (at first) what her problem was. every time she passed by our area, she would look at me and raised her thinly-shaped eyebrows. the nerve of that girl to do that. thank me, i'm this kind of person who doesn't want to get involved in any scandalous events. argh! the thought of her makes me sick!

As of this writing, our events group is preparing for the cagayan de oro event this december. that's another reason to fly. true enough, things you really desire will come to you in God's own perfect time. who would have thought that this year, i'd be able to fly, not only once…but half a dozen in the same year?

c'est la vie!

*sparkles!

we remember

“During those times it was human to be inhuman.” -Elie Wiesel, Holocaust Survivor

I am of no great scribe to be writing about the horrors brought forth by the Auschwitz Camp. Writing about this requires one an immeasurable amount of knowledge about the death factory. However, the immensity of the inhumanity and the simplicity of death inside the walls of the camp have stirred anger in me to shout about the horrors of the holocaust.

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