Dear ol' me,

It's good that you're still earning money even if you're self-employed now. But do heed my advice, save some dough and don't spend it all. Okay? :) You'll suffer in the end if you don't.

Bow.

Love,
Yanyan

Every time people experience a power interruption, they usually make a loud rant first followed by a quick call to the Meralco Hotline.

Now I don't know if this will be a pretty good thing, but did you know that since a few weeks ago (could be months, I only found out about it recently) your Meralco Hotline experience will never be the same. WHY? Because you'll be hearing my voice! Haha. Yup, it's me who will be greeting you whenever you cal 16211. :))

I actually did this voice talent project last year while I was still in my first job as the Corporate Communications Specialist of a local systems integrator here in the Philippines. One of our project managers approached me and asked me if I could do a voice talent project for Meralco and of course I said yes! Why not, this project involved talent fee anyway? Hehe. :P So there, it was a very grueling project with revisions and additions here and there. It wasn't a one-time thing because as the actual IVR (Interactive Voice Response) project progressed, they needed more voice recordings from me. This involved recording the entire alphabet, months of the year, cardinal numbers, ordinal numbers, days of the week and many other things. For those who think that being a voice talent is easy, it's not. It''s fun true. But easy? Heck no. :)

I usually checked the hotline every now and then that time, to see if my voice is up in the system already. But apparently the project took longer to finish. Time passed and I almost forgot about it.

Then came June 2010. I was no longer working for that company and am now a freelance writer and events host. I was happily surfing the net at home when the power went out. Bored, I browsed my mobile phone for people to text. I was amazed when I saw that my phone had stored numbers of local fast food joints and delivery services. I even saw that utility providers were there too (Maynilad Water, PLDT, etc.). Then I thought of looking for Meralco's number to report our power failure situation. I dialed 1-6-2-1-1 then ...

KAPOWWW!!! It hit me! Hey, that's my recording! That's my voice! That's me! Hahaha. It was like some act of God to let me know that most of the Philippine population can now hear me on their phones if they call Meralco. Pretty surreal if you ask me. :)

My first thoughts were, "Damn, I hope I don't sound too giddy or annoying", "Do I sound like a kid?" and "This is cool! "

So to all of you irate customers calling the Meralco hotline during power failures, I'm sorry. Please do not blame the very nice girl answering the phone. The brownout is not her fault. :))


PS: Imagine all the people hearing my voice during weather storms. Hahaha. Once again, the number to call is 16211. ;)

Here are some of the (material) things I want this Christmas:


1. A hot new pair of heels - To go with the dress for my cousin's wedding

2. iPod Charger - So I don't have to depend on my laptop too much

3. A funky headset - Either the big chunky ones (Philips or Skullcandy) or the light and slim ones from Nike

4. The Lost Symbol - Just to update myself. (any new book actually)

5. Dresses - To wear? doi. haha

6. A nifty new phone that doesn't lag - Needs to be wi-fi ready and have a kick-ass camera

7. Doll shoes - For comfort of course

8. A new planner/diary/journal for 2010 - Please, not the ones from Starbucks.

9. A pen to go with my journal - Something that will have ink for a year. haha

10. External hard drive - To store my files in so as to be as ready as a boyscout.


That's it for now. Let's keep it at 10. I could buy some of those for myself, but of course, wouldn't it be WAAAAY better if you got them as presents? ^_^ Maybe if I think hard enough, they'll come to me ala-THE SECRET- style. hahaha.

Okay, since I'm feeling all lost and out of sorts again today, I shall once again try to define something. Somebody once told me that I'm the type of person who likes to give definitions or labels to things. So in connection to my mind-explorations for today, I shall now try to define my predicament.

Twenty-one years old. That's how old I am right now. That's the number of years that I have spent on this earth, doing I'm not quite sure what. Although, I've always had this belief (and I'm not alone in this thinking) that people are put on this planet for a purpose. The struggle arises in trying to find that purpose, that meaning. The original concept of why I am here in the first place. But finding your purpose is not easy. It's mighty damn gruelling actually. But based on the books I've read, and movies I've seen, people I've talked to and things I've observed, one could better (if not easily) find their true life's purpose, once they've discovered what makes them HAPPY.

Happy in the sense that, whenever you do that thing, or have that thing, or see that thing, everything is alright. You feel that everything is just where it should be and even if the situation is hard, it still feels easy. These are the things that you breeze through, something you could do even with your eyes closed or hands tied. Something that makes your heart skip a beat. Something that makes you wide-crazy-googly-eyed. Something that you most definitely sure of.

My point here is that, in order to get out of this limbo of confusion and wandering, I need to find what makes me happy. Find it, and stick to it. I need to search for that all-important thing and wrap my days around it. Only then can I improve to the best of my potential. Only then can I truly affect the lives of people - something that I have always believed I should do. Only then can I be contented. Only then will I be at peace.

Isang Panawagan
sa panulat ni A.C.A.


Bagyong dumaan ay nag-iwan ng bakas
ng kanyang hagupit, lupit at lakas

Sa sandaling panahon lahat ay huminto
nagulat, naiyak, natakot at nanlumo

Tunay na kayrami mga taong nagdurusa
nawalan ng tirahan, kabuhayan, kapamilya

Sisikaping tumayo at mabuhay muli
para sa sarili, sa angkan, sa lahi

Ngunit mahirap magsimula sa wala
mula sa impyernong kalamidad ang may sala

Kaya’t ito’y panawagan sa lahat ng nakatindig
Tayo’y kumilos at magkapit-bisig

Sadyang kayrami ng dapat ayusin
Kalianga’y aksyon, puso at panalangin

Kung hindi kumikilos ang nasa itaas
Tumingin sa sarili’t hanapin ang lunas

Ang unos na dumaan ay maaaring maulit
Kaya’t pahalagahan ang bawat saglit

Mga kapatid ay ating akayin
Bago umihip muli ang hangin

Unahan ang tubig na muli’y babagsak
Isilong ang mga sa hirap nasasadlak

Sa ating tatag ay walang titinag
Masisilayang muli ang mahal na liwanag


- - -
Kwento sa likod ng tula: Nalulungkot ako at hindi ako personal na makapunta sa mga relief operations kaya't minabuti kong isulat na lang ang aking mga saloobin. Huwag niyo sanang tawanan ang pananagalog ko. (o ang pagtatangka) Naramdaman ko lang na mas mainam ito para sa pagkakataong ito. :)

Here are some things that have been hovering on my ever-so-active mind:


1. Raket - I'm not sure if the global economic crisis has ended or if we're still trapped in it, but for me, additional income will always be a more-than-welcome friend. I've been eyeing two prospects lately. The first one is being an outsourced writer. A couple of my newly-grad friends (who don't have full-time jobs yet) have jumped into the pool of outsourced writing and I think it may work for me too. They even take on several projects and employers at once and still manage to breathe. Of course in my case I wouldn't be trying to bite off more than I can chew. I'd probably take a part-time gig with no strict timelines or unworldly demands. The second one is being a voice talent. Oh this is one thing that I'm sure I can be good at. Talking is like breathing to me. Putting in a little effort for emotion and diction ain't pretty hard as well so I think this could work also. I've actually been doing this on the side for some time now, but they're mostly small projects (some even with no pay ugh). But I intend to target more and based on what happened the other day, it could be something to look forward to.

2. Exercise - I've been thinking about this a lot. Emphasis on THINK. Haha. It's just so darn hard to actually start and do something. Sometimes I do play badminton with friends, and there are also times when I run/jog/walk (in that order) in the park, but they aren't really regular things. So if I want to really "suit up", I should really give more effort. I've also been thinking of joining a gym, but the fees give me something to think about. :P

3. Hand - My left hand has been bugging me for some time now due to a nerve that gets caught up in an inflammed tendon (says the doc). I've since then been wearing a glove-looking, wrist and thumb support to prevent unnecessary movements and keep the pain away. It was also hoped to get rid of the inflammation but since it clearly hasn't worked, it's time for step two. On Thursday, I'm going to get my hand injected with (steroidal) medicine. I pray that it won't hurt too much. 0_0 It better work.

4. Lunch - I like to have lunch. Lunch is good. Why aren't my officemates (co-workers if you're strict) eating lunch anymore??? What the heck!


to be continued soon. . .