Speedy

Every time we enter an establishment or a parking lot of a mall or a building, we are frisked or requested by the security personnel to open the trunk of our car for inspection, but do they really know what they are looking for? Were they really trained to identify what a bomb looks like or is it just an act routinely done to make it seem that they have followed an order? In malls, why don’t they just use metal detectors instead of frisking everyone who enters? What’s worse is they still frisk you even if they have those damn contraptions with them. I feel violated every time I enter a mall.

What happened the other day is a result of the inefficiency of those so called security personnel and the management of these establishments. The technology is there at their disposal. Why don’t they use it instead of frisking which all it really does is violate and humiliate the legitimate visitor? They invest in expensive bomb sniffing dogs, why don’t they use them to inspect the trunks instead of literally just looking inside. If you ask me, I would feel safer if a 500-thousand-peso well-trained bomb sniffing dog inspects the trunk of my car rather than a clueless security guard.

After a nerve-wracking , stressful work week comes a laid back Sunday. We came home late yesterday from a birthday celebration and a funny movie at the TriNoma mall. Got up a little past ten and immediately went to the grocery store. There was no more food in the freezer and it’s my day to cook meals. Bought some fruits, lettuce for the salad and roasted pork belly for lunch. Since I wouldn’t be getting home until 12 noon, a ready-to-eat meal was necessary.

The grocery was packed as usual with the normal Sunday crowd. When I got back, everyone was up and hungry. Sam helped me do the salad by peeling an orange and an apple. I couldn’t bother Alex because she was busy watching her favorite Disney show. After lunch, I checked my mail and made coffee for Connie and me. After that I went to “Kire” (our car) to replace the spark plugs.

I use the “SlitFire” spark plugs with the three year warranty. You just have to clean them periodically so they will perform properly like any other component or any other part of the car. As for me, I keep a log book where I jot down everything that I do to the car, whether it be changing the oil or rotating the wheels. I started logging-in everything since the day I acquired “Kire”.

I cleaned and arranged my things inside the baggage compartment. I was trying to look for something that was causing a knocking sound at the back whenever we run over a hump or a pot hole. It wasn’t the shock absorber mounting because I checked that earlier. Later in the afternoon, we’ll be doing some groceries for the week ahead. I won’t have to worry about dinner because I’ll just fry some boneless bangus (milk fish) which I bought earlier. At around 9 or 10, it’s bedtime for me since Monday is coding day for “Kire” and I have to wake up early.

This is the third day that Connie has been away and I think the three of us are doing ok - I guess? I haven’t gotten any complaints regarding the food. It isn’t true that I’ll be feeding my kids with Spam all the time. Like last night, we had onion soup and beef stir fry. Tonight we’ll have fat-less tocino. Tomorrow, they’ll be having adobong manok (chicken) for lunch, which I’ll be cooking in awhile, and maybe boneless bangus (milk-fish) for dinner together with chopped salted egg with diced tomatoes. Actually we are only on our second can of Spam this morning. They had it for their packed school lunch. It’s good that my wife will be back on Sunday. I won’t be able to pull this off longer than that.

Do you hate your hair? Does your hair look different every time you look in the mirror? If it does, then it’s time to buy a Wahl clipper. An electric razor, actually. Throw in an additional adjustable mirror so you can see what you’re cutting at the back of your head. You can purchase your clipper from your nearest DIY store. It’s simple. I’ve been cutting my hair since 1995. I decided to do my own hair cut because no one could do it the way I wanted. Maybe it’s because my hair is straight and thin, that makes it so hard to cut.

My hair now is less than a centimeter short and it’s hassle free. No combing. Dries quickly and the best part is that it looks the same from the time you wake up till the time you go to sleep. You might also want to sport a goatee with it. hehehehehe… Remember to brush off the excess hair from the clipper and oil the blades after using.

My eldest daughter Sam, recently gave me her MP3 player. It’s a Creative Zen Nano Plus with a 512MB memory. It has a loose battery cover but it’s still special because it’s a birthday gift from my Sam. Of course I was thrilled. I can now listen to my kind of music. But before I can do that, I have to bear the insults of my two hi-tech kids, including my wife because I have to ask them how to operate the damn gadget. It’s quite simple actually and fun. Now, during lunch breaks at the office, I listen to the music of “Blood, Sweat and Tears”, “Yes” , “Dave Brubeck”, “The Rolling Stones”, “Earl Klugh”, “Firefall”, “Chuck Mangione”, “Fleetwood Mac” and many many more artists from the 70’s and 80’s.

Thank you Sam!

I’ve been driving through the streets of the metro since the late 80’s and there are things and places that really piss me off:

• PUJs stopping in the middle of the street to pick up or drop off passengers.
• Passengers cross the street right after alighting a PUJ.
• Tricycles without any light plying a dark street at night.
• Vehicles counter flowing through a busy street.
• PUVs just stopping anywhere to wait on passengers.
• Tricycles plying a national highway.
• Vehicles without any taillight or warning devices at night.
• Drivers who do not know when to go high beam.
• Drivers who cant seem to wait for the traffic light to go green.
• Drivers who have no sense of timing.
• Too aggressive drivers who think its a MACHO thing they have to be always ahead of the rest.
• Stupid traffic enforcers doing nothing even though there is a pile up in front of them.
• Stupid traffic enforcers un-managing a traffic situation and making it worst.
• The series of U-turn slots along Marcos highway going to Sumulong.
• The narrow street of Ortigas Ext. just right after Ever Gotesco and made even narrower by the waiting G. liner buses and pujs plying that route while the blue boys of pasig look on.
• The moonwalk streets of Grace park, Caloocan.
• The chaotic Aurora boulevard in Cubao.
• Ortigas avenue, to be exact, in front of La Salle greenhills.
• Katipunan avenue, in front of Ateneo and Miriam College.

They still piss me off!

Father’s day is fast approaching and I can’t help but remember my dad. My mom would tell stories that when my dad was courting her, he would fly over FEU with his plane and do all sorts of rolling and tumbling. He was a cadet at the Phil. air force at that time. When they married, he got grounded for life by the commander in chief so to speak.

He then did all sorts of jobs just to raise his family. He became an appliance salesman, a chauffeur in his own limousine service, a distributor of an oil company, etc. etc… Actually his professional career was a big roller coaster. But despite it all, he was able to raise 4 hunks and 2 babes.

When we were growing up, my dad wasn’t the affectionate type. He was more of a provider kind of dad. Maybe it was how he was raised by his parents back in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. My dad was raised in a big family where my grandparents were very strict. I felt the affectionate side of him only after he retired. I felt it through my kids, nieces and nephew. I remember the time when he would walk around the Balara hall carrying baby Alex during a Mason family gathering. How he would make faces to make Sam smile. I remember how he would slip butter between Sam’s lips when Connie wasn’t looking.

My dad wasn’t perfect, and neither are we, but somehow we can say that not one of his children went wrong. We all have a little Ado in us. I’m proud of my dad, for what he was, and what I am now. In your ways dad, you’ve shown me how to be strong in life, and for that I am eternally grateful.

So Tota, as my kids called him, Happy Father’s day wherever you are. We miss you…

Six years ago, we bought our first house here in Antipolo. Although it was not the house that we were dreaming about, it had vacant spaces in the front and rear which was perfect for the gardens that my wife and I were planning to set up. In fact, even before we moved in on May 27, 2001 we had already bought a couple of trees to be planted in the front garden. Some of the trees we bought in Laguna when we were having those family picnics at U.P. Los Baños.

After moving in, one of the very first things we did was to plant those trees and have the vacant spaces planted with carabao grass. For weeks, I watered the front and back lawns so that the grass would start to grow roots. Eventually it did. It was cool to the eyes but not for long.

The grass grew and grew because we became too preoccupied with work that the only time we would be able to see the garden was in the morning before going to work and at night after arriving from work. We saw the garden slowly transform itself into a forest. At first, when I had time, I tried using a grass cutter to trim the grass but it was really too much for me. I even borrowed an electric shrub cutter from my brother, but it was not the equipment for the job.

It was then I decided to look for a lawnmower. After several price comparisons from different hardware stores and D.I.Y. stores, I purchased a “Bohrer”, an American brand. It’s simple to assemble and easy to maintain. Is has settings for how high you want the grass to be cut and these settings could easily be adjusted by just turning some bolts and nuts. Although a lawnmower is not the total solution to your growing wild grass problems, it is the easiest way to manage your lawns especially the straight aways. You’ll have to use a grass cutter for the sides and edges and for hard to reach spots.

Storing the lawnmower is easy. Just wipe off all the excess dirt or blades of grass from the mower and apply WD-40 all over to protect the metal parts from rust and keep the moving parts lubricated. Store it in your garage or somewhere dry. This equipment is not a toy. Toying with it can dismember a finger so please use caution while operating a mower.

It’s not cheap to hire a gardener for 500 php to cut the grass and trim the plants. Buying a lawnmower isn’t cheap either but if you consider the rate of return on your investment, you’ll be happy to know you bought one.

Speedy who? Who the hell is Speedy? Well first of all, I’m the proud husband of the one and only Sassy Lawyer. You all know our two lovely daughters, Sam and Alex, who are equally vibrant and witty as their mother.

I’m _t5 years old. Currently working as a sales manager for a manufacturing and distribution company, when I’m not doing any movies anyway. I was born and raised in Quezon city by my loving parents Ado and Ada. I’m the fourth of six siblings. My mother says I look like Brad P while my father-in-law said I look like Andrew E. If you’ve seen my picture in Connie’s blog, then you be the judge. If you haven’t seen any of my pictures, here’s a clue - my children says they don’t look even a bit like me except for their hair.

My waistline used to be 32″. I’m a very attractive person especially to gays. I really don’t know why. I’m a member of the secret “Torpedo Gang”. I was recently in the movie “300″ but for some freaky reason, the board of censors cut the part where I was in. They said that my being in the movie was too much for the viewers to handle. Here are some of the BOX OFFICE HITS I’ve made: Fight Grub, Mr. & Mrs. Smegz, Legends of the Poll.

Kidding aside, I am a mechanical gadgets freak. Working with my hands gives me pleasure. Although I really wasn’t able to practice what I took up in college, which was BSME, applying the basic principles of engineering is an advantage in maintaining things that we use daily like the car. Maybe that’s the reason why I always open the refrigerator door, to regularly check whether the hinges are in good working condition.

Before I forget, the highest grade I ever got was in conduct when I was in grade 5.

Now you know who Speedy is!

I never imagined myself writing about something, and then have it posted so that people can read it. I always thought that I would grow old doing what I do best, that is selling.

Just last year, I got promoted and I got my first computer after so many years of computer illiteracy. Early this year, at our national sales conference, I delivered a report with a powerpoint presentation which I myself prepared.

It is true what I’ve learned in sales “that there is nothing permanent in the world but Change”. You must always be up to the challenges of change to survive. The most successful salespeople are the ones who can quickly adapt from one customer to the other. It’s all about choice. I can choose to remain unaffected by the changes that surround me, or I can change the direction of my sail.

Well, I choose do to do something about the threats that might affect our lives as a family. I remember a liquor ad saying that you have to have passion in your life or else your life will have no meaning, no purpose. I may be eons and eons behind my wife, whom I consider the Oprah-Queen of blog, but I will certainly try to at least contribute a piece of myself to the blogging community.