stories from the middle earth press room

no one calls me "ale"!

I AM NOT STILL AN ALE!!! i should have torn him to pieces when he called me an ale. busit sha.

earlier this evening when i was going home, one neanderthal sat beside me and one across me at the back of the FX i was riding. i paid P20 and was waiting for my P2 change when these two non-human beings began making snide remaks about the aircon.

then the driver asked, "sino pa ang di nasusuklian?"

"manong may dalawampiso pa ako," i said.

seems like the driver didn't hear me so one of the neaderthals said, "mama yung dalampiso daw po nung ale."

EXCUSE ME, di pa ako ale!!!

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forgive my vanity, just this once.

for me, my image of an "ale" is that of an old woman, past 50 years of age.

i firmly believe that i could still pass for a college student.

aggggh! what a way to end the week.

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AND I MADE A RASH DECISION but i think i am happy with it.

hopefully.

yesterday after i finished my articles, i went to UP diliman to sort out my life by going around in circles inside the campus. funny but whenever i am troubled, i always go to UP to think. kahit na gano pa ako kalayo.

i talked to my boss about prospects and stuff. then i went to the church and prayed and almost cried because of conflicting emotions. then my feet brought me back to CMC. i dunno why.

nagbakasakali, i went up to the journ dept., hoping i could talk to someone.

surprisingly, may nakausap naman ako kahit gabi na.

because of that, lumiwanag ang mundo ko bigla.

so when i got home, i emailed my boss and said i would be sticking with the paper for a while and i may have to apply for a leave of absence by first sem next school year (june/july to sept 2008) to finish my thesis before the college could kick me out. i have to work on the preliminary research plus the topic defense this coming second sem SY 2007-2008 then concentrate on the body of my thesis. seryoso na talaga.

if management does not agree to my unpaid leave, then i would have to resign from my post. raraket na lang muna ako habang nagtatapos ng thesis. bahala na. actually, it would be a relief to get away from the industry for a while. habang wala pa akong anak.

i think that solved my dilemma whether or not to move to another company. God works in mysterious ways.

so this morning i called the boss of the company who wanted to get me and sadly i had to turn them down because of this decision. the boss said the doors are always open for me after i finish my academic pursuit(s).

i realized priority ko pala ang edukasyon (the formal and nonformal kind i.e. learning experience) than money.

stupid, really.

i just hope i would have a higher market value by the time i would finally leave my present company.

i hope i'm right about my decision.

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some of my colleagues couldn't understand why i have to finish my master's degree when i can earn my living without it. one even thought that the one i'm going to finish was my undergraduate thesis. when she learned that it was for my MA, she asked, "hindi ba pwedeng i-drop mo na lang yan?" 

bakit nga ba kelangan ko tapusin?

i don't know. maybe because i grew up in a household that puts a premium on education, esp. higher ed. i could see fromy my colleague's face that she thought i was nuts. 

i know i am not. it's just that people don't understand different people have different sets of priorities.