as surprising as it may sounds, i decided to entitle my review of 2008 as such because i want to end the year and everything that has happened to me as it is:  dead and buried.

2008 was…  how would i say it… a disaster.  and that’s putting it lightly (read:  being polite).  i was almost hesitant to write a review about it because of the many unfortunate things that came my way during the course of the year.  but in keeping with the tradition i started in giving yearly reviews, plus the fact that i had to be fair in posting both positive and negative things that happened to me, i had to go back to both sweet and bitter memories and once more relive the year that was.  take note that i’m writing this as i go along like i always do.  no drafts, no sketches, no rehash, no revisions.  and so i begin…

old folk used to believe that how you start the year reflects on what the rest of the year will be like for you.  or something like that.  i suppose you can chalk one up for them old folk as 15 days into the new year, i was forced to leave hsbc, the company i was working for more than two years.  you may quite remember the fiasco i had with my former superior–who i’ll be talkling about more a bit later–and the mess he has brought upon me.  almost a year later, i still haven’t forgotten.  a fire still lights inside me whenever i think or talk about it with someone.  there is a saying that goes, time heals.  i guess one year still ain’t enough to heal that wound.  with me leaving the company, i was jobless for two months until i finally landed a job with a local financial institution’s call center.  although i was able to pick myself up after the near-devastating setback i had, things were not quite the same.  yes, the schedule was very good, with weekends and holidays off, and my physical life back to normal, i had to endure the complete opposite of how things are being done in a US-based call center.  i’m feeling that all i have learned in the more than six years of being immersed in operations were useless in my new environment.  that instead of being brought in because of my experience, i was forced to adapt an old-school management philosophy where the gap of superior and subordinate is likened to heaven and earth.  i never thought i would miss the US call center atmosphere, but i found myself continuing to look for better opportunities outside of where i was.  and i still am.  hopefully 2009 will hold a better chance for success than this year.

regarding my personal life, nothing changed much this year.  though i have forged new friendships and retained & revived old ones, there were two paticular persons who topped my blacklist; who i damn to the deepest parts and recesses of existence; who by the mere mention of their names, i utter a curse; who to me are persona non-grata:  eduardo de jesus jr., and candee dela cruz.  the male and female worst person of the year.  you may also recall the entries i posted regarding both of them.  the former of course, for corporate backstabbing and lying straight to my face, and the latter, well, let’s just say for personal and character abuse.  i never thought in my entire life that i would come to have such ill and deeply rooted feelings of negativity and hate for either man or woman, but i was proven wrong.  inasmuch as i would like to expound or summarize what they have done to me over the year, the blog entries i posted speak for themselves.  i have learned from trusted sources that candee has read my entries about her and i don’t care less.  in fact, i’m quite glad that she has seen for herself the kind of person she was to me.  the truth hurts, doesn’t it?  as for the other one, well, i heard that he’s in the running to succeed his former superior who was promoted.  if there’s a prayer that can be said for someone to fail, i’d say it for him.  but if by some act of lucifer he gets the post, well, if i could warn everyone in the department to leave, i would do it in a heartbeat.  yet as hard as i am and feel toward them, there’s only one thing that can maybe change things (emphasis on the word maybe):  an apology.  but not just any apology.  an apology in front of common friends and colleagues.  you may mistake this for a public apology, but it’s not.  a public apology includes people who have no association with us.  so just in front of friends, acquaintances, and colleagues.  oh, and they should be on their knees when doing so.  if they do that, then maybe, just maybe, i could let bygones be bygones.

as far as my lovelife is concerned, the only major event that happened this year was the resurfacing of donna.  but like she has done in the past, her re-emergence was short-lived.  she confirmed her marriage last year, we continued the exchange of messages over a course of a couple of weeks, and then just like that, she’s gone.  if in case you’re still wondering, i don’t have feelings for her anymore.  not like what i had a couple of years ago.  she’s just an ordinary friend to me now.  other than her, no significant person made a positive impact on my personal life this year.  as far as personal goals are concerned, one thing i have accomplished this year was after almost a 10-year drought, i was able to complete the 9-day christmas dawn novena masses.  though i am not a very religious person, it has been a part of my christmas celebration since i was in high school to attend and complete the novena in hopes of a wish to be granted for christmas.  though no wish has been granted yet, i’m still hopeful that someday, something i wish for will finally be granted.

yet there are also people who say that it’s not how you start things, it’s how you end it.   and that’s what i’m trying to do right now for this year.  no pedestals of recognition, poems or songs of remembrance for 2008, but just to bury it six feet underground with tombstone just marking a footnote that 2008 came and went.  i’m sure that i’m just one of a few people who can say that i had a totally…  challenging year (read:  still being polite).  as the year of the ox comes, i look forward to a brighter year for me.  hopefully more good things than bad.  as i have mentioned several times in the past, though i am positively hopeful about the coming year, i still set lower expectations so as not to be disappointed.  aim small, miss small.  yet i go forth steadily, meeting whatever lies before me head on.  with this, i leave the plague that was 2008 and receive the blessing that is 2009.

hope everyone has a safe, boisterous and joyous new year’s celebration!!

with barely under a week to go before christmas day–again, my favorite time of the year–i’m sure everyone already has gifts under the christmas tree waiting to be opened on the much anticipated day.  yet while most of us will be getting stuff we wouldn’t be expecting but have an idea already (apparel mostly), rarely do we get something we really, really, and i mean really want.  for one maybe, we tend to exaggerate what we really deeply want to get for christmas.  ultimately, we end up giving ourselves (read:  buying) what we want for christmas.  and just like everyone else, i have my own heavenly list of things i want for christmas (with emphasis on the word “heavenly”).  and since 2008 is the year of the global financial crisis, i have narrowed my heavenly list this year to just three which i’ll be describing in detail and determining whether i’ll be able to finally get them or not.  starting with:

  number three on my wish list:  a sony playstation 3 –  this has been on my list since last year.  yet the reason why it’s still included on this year’s list is not because i still don’t have it, but how it’s price has dropped sharply since it’s introduction.  when i went window shopping for the items on my list last week, the price for an 80GB unit is now down to PHP28,000.  when i canvassed for the same unit last year, it was PHP62,500.  with stiff competition from the xbox 360 and the nintendo wii, it’s no wonder sony had to slash the price to keep the sales moderately sound.  although reviews for the other units show the ps3 being third in overall performance, i don’t see myself learning a new control scheme for games on the xbox 360 or looking stupid playing with a wii controller.  and of course, i started with a playstation one console.  so once a playstation fan, always a playstation fan.  procurement forecast:  although i don’t play console games on my ps2 like i used to, getting this one realistically will be around sometime next year, either third or fourth quarter at best.  also, it depends on the game titles that will be coming out next year.  i’m a big fan of console games, but having the time to play them is another story.  so unless i’ll be sold on the games coming out next year, i can hold off on getting this one for myself.

  number two on my wish list:  an htc tytn II pda phone – i’ve been salivating on this one also since last year.  mainly because my nokia n90 will be turning three years old by february of the coming year.  don’t get me wrong, the n90 has serviced me greatly and it’s now the longest mobile phone unit i’ve had since i started owning mobile phones.  i never contemplated on using pda phones even though there are others in the market that are more powerful and robust.  but ever since i laid eyes on this, i never stopped drooling over it and having nightmares about being the only person in the country who doesn’t have a pda phone.  weird, huh?  yet amidst the hefty PHP48,000 price tag which hasn’t gone down since it’s introduction into the market, this gadget is the cheapest among it’s competitors and it packs more punch than others when it comes to specs and features.  i’ve read numerous reviews about this product and i have yet to see any negative comments.  though i rarely take into consideration those reviews until such time i have seen, felt, and tested the product, the mere fact that there were no negative reviews unlike the others in it’s class already makes me a fan, even if i really don’t have one.  procurement forecast:  this tends to be the more unrealistic of the three items on this list and will most likely remain as just that:  a wish.  the only time i’ll decide to get this one is when i really have spare cash lying around, which will also be something short of a miracle.  but then again, playing bingo at the malls for cash wouldn’t hurt…  but i think i’ll end up losing more than what i’ll be winning if i get lucky enough.  looks like i’ll be holding on to my n90 for a little bit longer.

   number one on my wish list:  a neo élan L3101 or an acer aspire 4930Z-592G32Mn laptop – this has got to be the surprise product of the year for me.  like my perception of credit cards before i finally got one in 2006, i never imagined that i’ll be needing or at least wanting a laptop computer.  in my line of work, i have learned to realize that a laptop computer is essential if i need to be on top of what i do.  even if i switch companies but being in the same industry, this will prove to be very useful especially being on-call 24/7.  now you may be asking, why these two particular models?  well, i believe that these two are worth the investment compared to other laptops in the market.  almost the same price as the htc tytn II at PHP49,900 and PHP49,000 respectively, these two are identical in specs and features.  both come with windows vista home premium edition, 2GB memory, 320GB hard disk space, built-in webcam, wi-fi, bluetooth, intel centrino 2 processor, and intel core 2 duo p7350 for the neo élan and intel core 2 duo t5900 for the acer.  i have seen other brands that cost more, but is fitted with less hard disk space or lower memory capability and even just a windows vista home basic OS.  so this would be a bargain at it’s current price.  procurement forecast:  unless things change drastically, i’ll be snagging either one by the first quarter of 2009.  i’m just slowly paying off my remaining credit card balance in order to have enough in my credit limit to secure a zero percent installment package.  though i do hope there will still be that package come next year as i have come to know from the salespeople i have inquired that these units will have the same purchase package while supplies last.  but one thing that might happen is the price may yet go down.  which is certainly welcome news.

i believe that i have been a good boy this year.  so santa, if you’re reading this, would it be possible for me to have all three at no expenses on my part?  hehehehehe…  the last time i had something that was on my list was when i got my nokia n90.  that was two years ago.  and it wasn’t even christmas at that time i got it, but i still considered it as a late christmas gift (or an early one since i got it during the month of february).  in any case, as the saying goes, “dream on,” and “there’s no price to pay for dreaming,” or something like that.  so that rounds up my wish list for this year.  yes, as mentioned, it’s heavenly (again, with emphasis on the word “heavenly”) since it’ll take a miracle to receive–again, keyword is “receive”–all three or even just one of them.

my next entry will be my review of 2008.  if i don’t get to post on christmas day (which i think will be close to impossible), let me wish everyone an advanced merry christmas.  i suppose everyone is affected by the global financial crisis, but despite that, i do hope that every one of you will still find the real reason to celebrate the season.  it’s not too late to have a little christmas cheer inside you.  stay safe everyone and enjoy the christmas weekend!