Nice Dream
Mood:  happy
I woke up with a nice smile on my face this morning. I just dreamed about being 15 again. It was supposedly the first day of my high school senior year at my alma mater in the Philippines, Letran. I was telling my classmates that this is our last year together and we better make the most out of it. I don't actually recall if had a conversation like that fourteen years ago, but we indeed made the best out of it. In fact, I would consider my years in Letran my happiest days.

Tired, Depleted, Run-down
Mood:  not sure
Tomorrow, I shall embark on my long awaited vacation. It seems like all my day to day activities, both work and play, are insidiously sucking the life out of me. I don't think that a two-week vacation is sufficient time to fully recover. At this moment, I don't really want to specifically do anything... I don't want to learn, I don't want to love, I don't want to fuck... I'm just feeling generally crappy right now. Having said that, I must move on and continue to march on the road of life...

Compassion in Car Accidents
Mood:  accident prone
This is my third car accident in the past thirteen months. God knows none of those were my fault. And I'm more than glad that I'm still alive to tell the tale!

The first one I barely made it through. I was driving at around 50 mph when a guy made a blind illegal left-turn that caused me to T-bone his car. My life flashes before my eyes in a matter of a few milliseconds and BHAMMM!!! My brand spankin' new Nissan Altima was totally wrecked, my chest muscles were torn, and the gentleman in the other car was also hurt. If not for the seatbelt and the airbag, I would have had an early trip to Saint Peter's domain. After a few months, I fully recovered. I was also glad to know that the other driver did not die. In my heart I wish he also fully recovered but unfortunately I was not able to verify that.

The second and third accidents were not as bad as the first one but they were definitely a pain in the ass! The second happened while I'm at a complete stop when this guy hit my back bumper. The driver can hardly speak English and he probably didn't have a driver's licence - much more a liability insurance. I managed to squeeze fifty dollars from him for the accident. I was basically in the same situation a few hours ago on my way home from work. This time the driver crashed into my damn Cadillac! The damage was more severe than the second one but I only managed to claim $120 from him.

For some fucking weird reason I feel a lot of compassion for these drivers that hit me. I'm almost sorry that I have to ask them for money for my car repairs (dealing with the police and car insurance company is another story). It's really all the Dalai Lama's fault! If I haven't read and practice his lessons in compassion, I would have taken this reckless drivers to the steamer! Anyway, as most people say, it could have been worse...

Anticipation for Vacation
Mood:  a-ok
Ahhhh... Vacation. A time for break, contemplation, and reassessment of my life after another year of physically, mentally, and psychologically insane year in the corporate ladder. I shall have two weeks free of corporate politics, backstabbing, customer/supplier complaints, and RESPONSIBILITY. Why do I have to put up with this BS anyway. I guess I'll have two weeks to think of the answer to that question.

I shall be a kid again the moment I reach my parents' residence in Reno. As always, the most exciting time will be in the morning when my Pa brews his Asian Tea, my Ma toasts the high carb bread, while my brother and I prematurely munch on our family's supposed breakfast. I miss little things like that - especially after living alone in a superficial place like Los Angeles for over two fucking years now.

I'm still very concerned with my responsibilities at work, though. Could anybody cover for me while I'm gone? I just hope things work out well for everybody while I'm on my vacation...

Frustrated Engineer
After working for over five years in the industry, I can't believe that I can still miss the most rudimentary aspect of magnetics testing. I must have designed and tested thousands of transformers and I still forgot to test the dielectric withstanding voltage and proper lead interconnects! Unbelievable! Not only that I have to explain to our customer why their order will be late, I also have to look at my bosses and co-workers straight in their eyes and tell them that I screwed up. I have been in a lot of pressure this past few months to complete a lot of projects. My response, as always, is "bring 'em on." Now I feel overwhelmed.

My upcoming vacation to Reno should help me clear things up a bit. I just want to relax, read, and watch movies for a change. Three more days! I hope we could finish and ship these transformers ASAP. That would definitely give me a more peaceful holiday. I can't wait...