Catching Up with Friends

On the way home, I decided to text hi to some friends I haven't been keeping in touch with lately.

Yvette just had her right hand operated on for carpal tunnel. She would have the same surgery on the left hand once the other one heals. She said she got it from typing too much on the computer as part of her previous job/s. It hasn't stopped her from texting though ... while getting a trim somewhere in Rockwell.

She hasn't had a job since she returned from Australia last March. Well, with the hand surgery, maybe she'll wait a while before finding another job. She admits to spending most of her recovery time being a couch potato. She'll be visiting Banaue next weekend with her folk. I'll probably read about that trip in Facebook. After Banaue, I guess she plans to go the the US next. She is scheduled to be interviewed at the US embassy for her visa in June. We decided to meet for lunch after her inverview at the Mall of Asia.

Rachel's parents are in the country for a vacation and would be staying for 1 week more before returning to the US. The parents spent a week in Capiz but Rach and her family didn't go with them. Rach jokingly said that she's afraid aswangs may take a fancy on Yohan. Capiz is another place where lore says aswangs are supposed to live. Actually, one reason she and her family didn't go with her parents to Capiz is because it would be expensive.

Told Rach to say "Hi" to her parents, that is if they still remember the kid who's always hanging around their house after school hours when we were in grade school/high school. He he he. My mom used to scold me for getting home late and spending too much time in the Roxas household. She would tell me to at least be courteous enough to leave before Rachel's family have dinner. Considering that the first time I tasted Bopis was in their house, that meant I didn't always leave early. Ha ha ha! Bad kid.

Emma answered my first text by asking who I was. She had changed her phone and my number was in the other phone's memory. She jokingly asked me why I'm texting her on a Friday night instead of being on a date. I asked if she was on a date and if I was interrupting it, and she replied that she's too busy these days to be on dates. I wonder if I was interrupting her work. He he he.

Esther's Birthday

It's Esther's birthday, and some counterparties of the International Markets Group sent some food as gifts.

Usually, counterparties send pritchon, or fried suckling pig, (Pritong Biik) to IMG birthday celebrants:

Since Esther's religion forbids her to eat pork, the counterparty sent turkey instead.

Called Pritchopabo, and available from Charlie's Pritchon, the turkey is deep fried, then sliced and wrapped in pita wedges. The sauces available are mushroom gravy, curry, cranberry and Mexican salsa. A lot of people in the dealing room liked the cranberry sauce.

Around 3pm, another counterparty sent pancit, and another sent pizza.

With all that food, I was full and felt no need to eat dinner. I was fine with the free popcorn and soda that came with the tickets for the Indiana Jones screening at Rockwell cinema.

The screening at Rockwell is around 7:25pm, which is an hour earlier than at Greenbelt, so Rey joked to Jan that he'll be texting her the plot to ruin her movie experience.

Left the office around 6pm with Rey, we picked up his wife and kid at Ayala Ave and then picked up Jon along Makati Ave before proceeding to Rockwell.

Saw someone from FID in the cinema restroom after the movie. Got a little lost in leaving Rockwell and ended up at the Bel-Air village gate where the security guards stopped us and pointed us the other way. Ha ha ha. The way they stopped us made me think the Bel-Air folk are paranoid with security. Couldn't blame them. This part of Makati is a bit scary at night.

Ticket swapping

Tullett Prebon sent tickets to a screening of the latest Indiana Jones movie at the Greenbelt Theatre in Makati. The heads of offices got around 2 tickets each, but the rest only got 1 ticket each.

Citibank also gave tickets to the Dollar bond traders for a screening of the same movie at the Rockwell Cinema, which is on the other side of Makati. Each of them got at least 2.

Funny thing, the bond traders want to watch the movie at Greenbelt, Rey and I didn't care where we would watch as long as we got at least two.

We swapped 1 Greenbelt ticket for 2 Rockwell tickets. At the end of the day, Rey got an additional Rockwell ticket.

Rockwell is not a favorite destination since it is not accesible via public vehicles and the parking fees are higher than at Ayala Center. Whether you commute or bring your own car, you lose.

Abbreviation Overkill

Someone forwarded me this text message

we spNt
tym 2gdr
Lyk b4
wn wE
aLwys laf
& hav fun
bt i cnt
4gt d spciaL
m0mnts i hd
wd u
i jst wNt
u 2 n0e
dt i stL
smyL
evRytym
i miz u

The skill to write this stuff is like using a cipher. It takes more skill to reduce words into this than it takes to read and understand it.

That said, I still find such excessive use of abbreviations annoying though.

Getting struck by typhoon

Sam asked me last month if I was interested in going to the Pahiyas festival, which is scheduled on May 17. I said yes. Last May 4, we texted each other to confirm the trip.

Ofcourse, the way our planned trips usually go, this one didn't push through.

Sam got sick and texted me May 12 that she won't make it. She had a cold and suspected she got it from one of her students.

Friday, May 16, it was raining hard and news say that 2 typhoons, Dindo and Cosme, are within the Philippine area of responsibility. This meant that whether Sam was sick or not, the Pahiyas trip would not push through.

May 17: Typhoon Cosme lands at Northern Luzon, leaving Southern Luzon a bit sunnier than expected. Jon left the house early for the Batangas Medical Mission/Summer Outing and won't be back till Sunday. I felt sick. Think I got a cold. Didn't left the room till after lunch. My mom was surprised to see me at the refrigerator looking for food. She thought I was at Lucban attending the Pahiyas festival. Told her I was sick.

May 19: Thought I would be going to work today, but I was still not feeling well so I called in sick. Asked Rey by text if there was an ALCO, as someone said Friday there will be a session today. Rey answered in the negative. He he he. No one knows who started the rumor of the ALCO meeting but I think I heard it from either Lenny or Maggie.

Time Difference

Passed by my room before lunch and saw this message:

• Rey 10:57 a.m.: Pag 3 eastern time what tme sa atin un

Texted back to tell him it's New York time and therefore 12 hours later than Manila time. I was thinking he saw something online or on Bloomberg regarding foreign exchange.

• Rey 11:24 am: Tks so 3am pala d2 hehe nba game un e. d ko mapapanuod pala

Okay ... this only means that in a few weeks I'll be expecting every tv in the dealing room tuned in to the NBA finals.

Another Commercial Shoot

I passed by the Long Gallery yesterday on my way out of the building, and one third of the place looked like a Prada store with mannequins, dresses, shoes and bags on display. The other end of the gallery looked like an airport.

This afternoon, they shot a commercial there. Some said it was for a Philippine Air Lines.

Guess I'll find out for sure when they start showing it, probably on TV.

Pasalubongs and Running Late after the Convention

Rey texted me at 7:00am to tell me he's just leaving the house and will be late. He, Dennis and Ted took the evening flight out of Davao City and he got home around 11:30. I was a bit late myself and we ended up exchanging text messages on the road about the ACI convention to pass the time.

Julpha also texted me around 8am to repeat which people would receive the pomelos she sent through Dennis and durian bars she sent through. Good thing she did that since I had mixed up the instructions she gave me in Davao City.

The bus I was riding was still on the Skyway at 8:21 so I texted Shayne that I would get to the office around 9am. Shayne told me that Rey is also late and I told her that I know because he had texted me. Shayne replied in jest that it's unfair for Rey and I to be late on Monday after leaving her alone to trade last Friday. Told her to keep cool since I will be arriving to help her in a few minutes.

Since I came in late, I got to work the moment I arrived at the office, and did not distribute the pasalubongs till lunch break. Julpha had been texting Dennis and learned that he gave all the pomelos to Jong. She texted me around 12 noon to tell me about the predicament. Told her not to worry as Jong will no doubt share the pomelos with the other people in the list she gave me.

Jong himself contacted the other people who should receive pomelos. One of them was not answering his cellphone and Jong learned from someone that he was taking a vacation in Siquijor at the invitation of relatives. Jong related this to me as he was leaving the office at 6:00pm. He jokingly quipped that he hoped the guy hasn't been eaten by aswangs, as horror movie stories usually start with a guy being invited to attend a fiesta in a remote province only to find out later that he is the feast (Siquijor is one of those places associated with aswangs - the Philippine version of vampires). Relayed the joke to Julpha although I'm not sure she found it funny.

Bringing my Dad to the Asian Hospital

The moment Willy learned that Papa had been bed-ridden for a month, he wanted us to check him into a hospital. Edith's nephew Edwin knows a doctor at the Asian Hospital. He arranged for Papa to have a check up at the said hospital. Willy and Edith sent some money to Edwin for the check-up.

Before this was arranged, Jon was planning to bring our father to Makati Med which has the equipment he wanted at a lower price compared to St. Luke's. Papa wanted to be in St. Luke's because that's where my uncle is... although at his age, he probably doesn't practice anymore and is most likely busy being a mentor and doing other stuff related to being that hospital's Assistant Medical Director for Professional Services (one of those would be talking and making amends with patients that have complaints against the hospital or its doctors - so that they don't have to go to court). His son, my cousin Gus, who's also a doctor in that hospital, wouldn't be much help to my dad either because he is an opthalmologist.

I had thought we would bring my dad to Asian Hospital on May 1, but after Jon called Edwin, we learned that the check-up was scheduled for May 2.

On the trip back to Marco Polo hotel from Eden Nature Park, I texted Jon to ask about the check-up. I expected that my dad would stay in the hospital overnight, but Jon told me that they brought him home yesterday too. Jon told me that he brought Papa to another laboratory first for a "work-up" before bringing him to Asian Hospital.

The cardiologist Edwin referred, whose age is within 40-50 and therefore should have more experience than Jon, had the same assessment and opinion of management of Papa as Jon had...even to the massaging of Papa's legs ... which Edith said might be dangerous as she has seen some old people bursting a vein this way (she is a nurse). Jon had Papa's knee x-rayed beforehand in a Las Pinas lab as he suspects that the pain Papa is feeling is mostly caused by arthritis.

I felt better knowing that my father didn't have a more serious condition.