i got this off liz' blog and since i was tagged, i am obliged to answer. i normally consider myself a weird person, but be that as it may, it still took some time for me to look back and reveal the weird things about me. so, in no particular order, here goes:

1. i love the smell of gasoline – well, not as much as before, but i still enjoy the scent that fills the air as i stop to have gas pumped into my car. i would roll both front windows down and inhale (read: sniff) the aroma of unleaded gasoline. i guess i picked up this weird habit one day when i was still a kid while my dad pulled into a gas station.

2. i absolutely find spongebob squarepants creepy – i see him as a mascot for zombies. i mean c'mon, that f**ker has two enormously large eyes which match his huge front teeth… ugh! creepy, if you ask me. if you want me to throw things at you, give me anything spongebob for christmas or my birthday.

3. i sometimes don't consider professional wrestling as "scripted" – the thought never occurred to me that this form of "sports entertainment" could be just that, entertainment until the late 90s. nowadays, everyone in the world knows that it's just one big play, but for me, watching it doesn't stop to surprise me at times. i guess that's why i'm such a big fan.

4. i haven't watched a filipino movie inside a theater since herbert bautista's "puto" in the late 80s – weird but true. i catch most of filipino movies when it's aired on tv, yet i don't even finish it. basically, what i realized is that every plot is the same. and why do comedy filipino movies always have to have a song and dance segment? i mean, WTF? i promised myself that i won't be watching any, and i mean any filipino movie unless it's in english. meaning the script, dialogue, everything should be in english. if countries like singapore that have their native tongue produce films in english, why can't we? it all boils down to the sad truth–filipino actors can't speak–heck, even pronounce–english well.

5. i usually go out to the mall, watch movies, and eat alone – typical for a guy like me to solitarily wander out into the world, but i always get surprised reactions when i tell friends that i usually watch movies alone. i guess it's my way of enjoying the movie itself. my attention being glued to the big screen and not thinking whether my companion is enjoying the movie or not. don't get me wrong, i also like going to movies with friends or with a significant other (yeah, right, as if i have one!), but if i really want to enjoy a blockbuster, i'd rather watch it alone.

6. i sometimes still have the fear of cockroaches – i guess i haven't outgrown it ever since i was a kid. though would eventually end up getting rid of them critters by hitting them with my slippers, it would take a good five minutes for me to do so. i believe that's weird because for a big guy like me, i shouldn't be bothered by those things. hey, to each his own, right?

well, there you have it. hmmm, it would be interesting to know the six weird things about brew and erlyn. i guess this marks my first time to tag someone with an entry. i know there are more weird things about me, maybe i just can't separate being weird from odd. if you know something that i may have missed, let me know. =)

i never did pay much attention to the sport of tennis, mainly because it's one of my frustrations not having time–and the monetary resources–to properly learn the sport (even though i had–and still have–a wilson professional tennis racket collecting dust at home). unlike basketball where it's easy to pick up the game because it was part of physical education class in school, as with swimming; billiards where i basically taught myself how to hold a cue stick and hit the ball using the laws of physics; and bowling, where, for the most part, i guess i inherited the skill from my dad who used to play the game "semi-professionally" (in company-sponsored tournaments back when he was still employed here at home). well, maybe one exception is american football where i never played the game itself, but learned the basics and the rules just by watching espn–and ultimately, liking it. i would've done the same with tennis, yet at times, i found it too formal. no, wait, that's not the word i was looking for. i guess the right word i should be using is, the sport was too proper. except for one player who i followed, not too closely, but just enough to satisfy my frustration of playing the sport. andre agassi played his last professional tennis match today. though he lost, he'll be remembered as one of the greatest players ever.

andre broke into the tennis scene during the late 80s, a time when john mcenroe, boris becker and bjorn borg were masters of the court. but he didn't make headlines until the early 90s. yet what set him apart from the other players was his brash, cocky, image-first, and devil-may-cry attitude which raised the ire of tennis purists and the fans of a distant generation. fans who viewed tennis as one for the elites; the higher society where rules are synonymous with maintaining a social standing. yet he defied all these with his rock-star like hair, colored outfits (white is only color that should be worn by players) and a disrespect to the history of the sport. while most tennis fans became disgusted with his boorish behavior, others took notice and believed that he was put there to revolutionize the sport. soon, endorsement deals for sportswear and other products came knocking on his door. he appealed to the generation x of that era which stood for radical change, disrespect for authority and the youth movement. i started watching his games during the mid to late 90s as i saw him with that raw talent and energy, his desire to win in his eyes, and of course, that brash attitude he was known for and i instantly became a fan because of that. i then quietly started following his career and watched as he rose to greatness. as he won tournaments left and right and accumulated his titles, his fan base grew and other players slowly recognized the potential of this kid.

but not all change was towards the sport andre entered. he also made a name for himself outside of the tennis court which made him fall in the world rankings, most notably his marriage and divorce to actress brooke shields. i guess at the point towards the end of that marriage, he himself suddenly changed. he began taking tennis seriously and started the long road back to winning. gone were the long locks, the trash-talking and the chameleon outfits. he started to conform with the sport whose rules he once defied, which won more fans to his side. he also became an advocate to humanitarian missions and a crusader for underprivileged and disadvantaged children. to sum up all of these changes, he simply matured and grew up. yet his desire to win never faltered. battling injuries and age, he began competing at a higher level in his career of which the pinnacle was this year's US open. when he announced that this would be his final event, i tried to watch most of his games as possible. i was witness to the game between him and marcos baghdatis and it was, in my book, his greatest performance ever. i initially thought his match with benjamin becker (no relation to boris) would upstage his previous encounter as he showed flashes of that agassi flair of old as he tried to match experience with youth during the first two rounds. but after seeing him wince and grimace in pain while chasing shots during the latter half of the match, i then knew it would be impossible for him to overcome the odds. yet i endured the hope that he would beat his aging body and injuries that wore him down, but in the midst of the third set, it was clear: this was andre agassi's swan song. and as becker's final launched his final serve, andre, who had four cortisone injections given to him just to keep him playing, just stood there, didn't even move to chase and make the return, and accepted the end.

he was still standing, but the crowd stood with him as he walked to his seat. tears began to fill his eyes as he broke down amidst the roaring applause and cheers of the crowd at hand. a very long standing ovation was in effect, a worthy final send-off for arguably one of the greatest to ever play the game. his determination to keep playing was evident in his comments prior to the tournament, saying, "for me, it was never about winning and stopping. it was about getting the most out of myself as long as possible." and as he took the court one final time to address the fans at hand, he had this to say (transcript courtesy of the Associated Press):

"the scoreboard said i lost today, but what the scoreboard doesn't say is what i have found. and over the last 21 years, i have found loyalty. you have pulled for me on the court and also in life. i've found inspiration. you have willed me to succeed sometimes even in my lowest moments. and i've found generosity. you have given me your shoulders to stand on and reach for my dreams, dreams i could have never reached without you. over the last 21 years, i have found you. and i will take you and the memories of you with me for the rest of my life. thank you."

i'm proud to say that i'm an andre agassi fan. tennis will never be the same without him. as i saw him bid goodbye to the sport he shook to its very foundations, and to the crowd who faithfully followed his every move, that also sealed the fate of me at least following the sport itself. clearly, there will never, ever be quite another player like him.

these past few days, i found myself being in a state of "trance," meaning that i'm now listening more to trance music than my usual routine of alternative and contemporary music. in fact, over the weekend i just experimented with a new music mixing software i had on my pc. well, it's not exactly new, i had it installed all along, i just found the time to tinker with it after catching myself often bobbing my head up and down to beats running in my head. i actually finished my first running mix compilation of 90s trance and hard house music with artists ranging from underworld to alice deejay, robert miles to dj eion, js-16 to sash! and bonnie bailey to the warp brothers, and so forth. i could say that my first try at mixing these types of sounds are okay, considering the fact that i'm just feeling my way through the software i'm using. yet i obviously still have a lot to learn and i also still have to expand my knowledge and familiarity with this type of music genre.

i would very much appreciate it if anyone would suggest titles of songs, names of artists, or even albums of trance and/or hard house music to add to my limited collection. i'm trying to make the most out of my new musical infatuation and what better way to do it than to build up my array of tunes. honestly though, i may not be able to listen to it as often as i do with my other music, but at least expanding musical horizons doesn't hurt. having variety on my music collection is also a plus for a person like me who depend on music to relax after a rough day at work, or to keep me occupied on a lazy afternoon, or to get me through a traffic jam. any information would be highly appreciated.

september is almost upon us. start of the -ber months!! have a good week to all!! =)

as i was going through my usual stuff at work one very early tuesday morning:

liz (out of nowhere): darn it!!

markie (startled): darn what?

liz: "it!!"

markie: what is it that you need to "darn?"

liz: it… you know… stuff… things… "it!!"

markie: oh… okay… so, i guess it's "darn it" then.

liz: yes, darn it!!

markie: right.

i seriously need to take another vacation….

i still can't get this huge smile off my face. rarely does this happen to me, so i'm making the most out of what seems to be the most memorable weekend of the year by riding on the coattails of that event and bringing a positive attitude into the work week. to add icing on the cake so to speak, is that i had a four-day weekend. saturday night was a night to remember.

it began as an informal talk weeks ago between me and one of my reps who also happened to be a teammate at a former center back when i was also a rep. that time was about close to four years now. this rep and i would talk about how things were with the fax team and how a closely-knit group we became. we would reminisce on coming to work everyday not because of the work itself, but for the real reason of our teammates being there to enjoy another fun-filled day at the office (i mentioned that it was the "real" reason because that reason is often misused, mostly by employees wanting to impress their bosses; it's different in our team's case). but ever since me and some of the other fax team members got promoted, it was the beginning of the end of what i would call the highlight of my career in the call center industry. not that we wanted it to end, but the truth is that we all had to move on and move up to better positions. so there we were, that rep of mine and me talking everyday of how life was back then when an idea suddenly cropped into my head: "hey liz, why not have a fax team reunion of some sort?" liz' eyes brightened with agreement. "cool! i'm sure the others will definitely jump at the chance to have that!"

from then, it spread like wildfire. i immediately got in touch with two or three other members of that team, to see if they are amenable to the idea. both of them replied with a resounding "yes." since most of them are still in that center, i asked them to spread the word. most of the team members also had moved on to other positions within the company, yet they were just an email away. so an email trail was started for those who were still working there. for the very few who had left, they were reached through their mobile phones. almost all signified their intention to be there, except for one who left for the US more than a year ago. even our supervisor at that time will be attending. we learned that he got promoted to an even higher position, so we even joked that he'd treat us that night, although we had no qualms of pitching in since we all had "moved to better positions," as one former colleague wrote on the email. what's important is that most, if not all of us, will be there.

though the event itself lasted for only about three hours, it was something i'm guessing that all of us who were there needed. a chance to reconnect and touch base with one another, share a meal together (come to think of it, this was the very first time that majority of the team went out!), and of course travel back in time and remember what was it like back then. stories, anecdotes, and laughter were heard throughout the time. even though some who confirmed of coming didn't arrive for one reason or another, i'm pretty sure that they felt they missed out a lot. but there will be another one soon. that teammate who went to the US will be back here next year so it's most likely that we'll be having another one by that time. there's nothing i'd love better to do now than to post the picture that was taken before we all went our separate ways that night on this blog. but until i learn how to do that, it'll just have to wait.

being on that fax team was the highest point of my career–bar none. being promoted was a different high, but not as much as those days brought out. that team was filled with the best people, including the supervisor, who by fate came together and became the best, if not one of the best teams ever on that account. i'm proud till this day to say that i was part of that team. we became not just teammates, but friends. for those who were there that saturday night: gil, chi, fabs, step, liz, ces, david, and kei: 'twas really, really nice being with you, sharing stories and just being with your company again. let's do this again next time, ok? to the remaining members of the team: kitt, sandy, eunice, rams, kelvin, julius, vhann, mitzie: you were missed terribly yet with the hope of you joining next time we have this. cheers to the best team and best people i have worked with. ever. hope to see all of you again soon.