Monday, June 27, 2005

the prevalent, pregnant pause

anyone who has watched at least two episodes (or two seconds) of csi: miami has probably noticed the distinct speaking style of horatio caine. most people absolutely hate it, but i happen to think that horatio is adorable -- maybe not i'd-like-to-marry-him-someday adorable but more like in-my-next-life-you-can-be-my-father adorable. i can't help it, this guy just grew on me. blame it on a csi: miami marathon i watched for 4 hours (and blame that on my cable-obsession).

anyway, what's different about horatio's speaking pattern is that he abuses the power of the pause -- a pause that usually comes after the first few words of his concluding sentences. if you've lived under a rock and need illumination, here are some choice samples of horatio-speak:

"we ... we have a murder on our hands."
"you ... need to find more evidence."
"my hair ... makes me look like i'm related to conan o'brien."

today i realized (and really, i should be alarmed at how this realization made my day), while watching unwrapped ("unwrapping secrets behind america's favorite foods!") that marc summers (host of aforementioned show, not related to suzanne or donna. sorry, couldn't help that) likes pausing somewhere towards the end of his sentences. for instance:

"their ice cream is still pretty much made ... the old-fashioned way."
"it's still one of america's favorite candies ... today."

what's with all the pauses? is there a pandemic of respiratory distress that makes tv personalities lose their breath in the middle of short sentences? yes, of course, it's for emphasis and all that, but really, a few times is probably enough. how hard can it be to figure out which part of the sentence is important? but then again, csi: miami and unwrapped are two of my favorite shows, so maybe there's magic behind all that pausing.

and maybe ... i really need to find a new ... hobby.

Friday, June 17, 2005

the cuteness runneth over

yet another juancho-the-3-year-old-nephew anecdote:

juancho's mom: juanch, you're too cute!

juancho: no! i'm not too cute!

mom: so what are you?

juancho: i'm just right.


i tell you, if i had received just a tenth of this kind of attention during my formative years, things would be a lot different today.

then again, from the bottomless pit of self-deprecation springeth a truckload of strange thoughts (proof: see archives on left) so i can't really complain.

well, i CAN, but i won't.

and yes, juanchy, you are too cute.

Tuesday, June 14, 2005

where's the party?

i can't believe i missed my blog's birthday.

on june 9, 2004, while i was staring at my office pc hoping against hope that a project would write itself, i decided to start a blog to entertain myself (and maybe a few bored friends).

it's been a year and (hang on, need my fingers to count) 5 days since that first entry. whoopee.

here's to laughter and seeing the silly in everything.

Wednesday, June 08, 2005

it doesn't ad up

what's happening to the print ads?

apparently, it's not a requirement anymore (was it ever?) to have the actual product on the ad.

imagine that you hibernated for 10 years in some media-deprived island. (you may or may not imagine someone on the island with you. this is not a psychological test. the "island" is not your "heart" or anything of that sort. and don't pretend you haven't taken one of those tests.) next, imagine that you decided to return to the city and the first thing you see is a billboard for MANGO and all that's beside the logo is the gaunt face of a woman who looks like she needs to eat . . . well . . . a mango. assuming that you did not conclude that MANGO sold underweight women (or maybe just their heads), would you know that the ad is for a store that sells "fashion for the young, urban woman" (tagline not from stock knowledge, mind you. i checked the site)?

my current favorite ad-of-such-nature is the GOLDTOE SOCKS ad on the side of the Market! Market! (note the effort at assuring correct capitalization and punctuation) mall at bonifacio global city. on the huge ad is the face -- just the face -- of a smiling man . . . a very happy man . . . a very happy thirtysomething man . . .

and, from the looks of things, a very happy thirtysomething man who had just swallowed his lovely GOLDTOE SOCKS.

there is no other explanation. the world makes sense again.

Friday, June 03, 2005

5 months after resigning

what i miss about my old office:

1. laughing every day. i had tons of work, sure, but there was always room for an all-out belly laugh from time to time.

2. broadband.

3. seeing more than four people -- some of which were ("are", allegedly) good friends -- on a daily basis.

4. the option to eat out every day. i like food. so sue me.

5. broadband.

6. corporate attire. i miss fussing over clothes and makeup.

7. air-conditioning that made you doubt if you were still in manila. or, as i used to call it, "air-conditioning that could make hell freeze over." (i remember making a mental note to blog about that aircon. so much for mental notes.)

8. broadband.


interestingly, these are not enough to propel me back into the ol' corporate lifestyle. i don't know what will. all the people who find out i work from home say they want to have my life. minus the acne, i presume.