There's nothing quite like discussing someone's mortgage and trying to inform them that they have to pay more every month for the next year because of an increase in their taxes. There's nothing more like doing that while in the middle of an Earthquake.
It was around 3:15am this morning when it hit. We were on the 35th floor of an office building, taking calls, when the rumbling started. I ignored it at first, still too busy trying to convince the man that the company I represent isn't some evil Anime Mega-Corporation trying to steal his money when I felt the floor shaking up and down. I brushed it off as probably something in the air-conditioning.
Then I realized that we had centralized air conditioning, and that couldn't be possible. That was when the rumbling grew even more powerful, making it feel like I was standing on top of a powerful engine.
"Okay, sir. If it'll be all right with you, let's just stop a little here..."
"What?"
"We're currently experiencing an earthquake, sir."
"Oh my God!"
"It's alright sir, let me just take a look around, everything is shaking pretty badly, but we're alright so far."
"But it's an earthquake!"
"Yes sir."
"I can hear people screaming behind you!"
"That they are, sir."
"Oh God."
"Well, it seems to have stopped shaking. Now the building is starting to sway. Just allow me to catch my bearings again and we'll get right back to your Escrow."
"Wait, are you guys all right?"
"It looks like the building is still standing. I'll tell you now that it's not fun getting caught in an earthquake on the 35th floor."
"I can imagine... we're getting Hurricanes over here, but at least we've got a warning, you know?"
"Good point, Sir. At least you know now that even when there's an earthquake, we're still here to help you out with your house payments."
"Yeah... you guys should get paid for this."
The swaying part was the most annoying, it was imperceptible to everything around you except for the fact that your body somehow knew that something was terribly wrong.
Oh well. The good part about it is that it's over now and there wasn't anything severe that happened. News has it that it was about a 6 on the richter scale... pretty strong, admittedly... I'm just glad that everything is still okay.
Thursday, September 16, 2004
Thursday, September 09, 2004
Here and Now...
Hey there,
Updating has been sparse this week due to a forced 10 hour shift for the past two days. I've never known the true power of the lack of sleep as I have now, having seen myself accidentaly fall asleep in the middle of a call and end up screwing over my documentation.
It's tough work, and now that I'm supposed to be back on an 8 hour shift, another great surprise hits me... I've been moved to the 11 - 8 shift this week. Oh well, at least it's only two more days to go, but the 11 - 8 is the toughest shift because it's the one where I get the least amount of sleep.
----
Game wise, I'm still working on the characters for Christine's Ghost Girl/ Fatal Frame idea, and the modified version of my character, John Armstrong's powered armor for the upcoming HERO games that Alex is holding.
----
Just spent most of my September allotment for expenses even before my first paycheck arrived. :p I know it's an impulse purchase, but I saw Metabarons #1 on the shelf in Comic Quest and I couldn't help but buy it right then and there. Othon's story is by far the most human of all of them, and I can't help but feel that the Metabarons story is one of madness as much as it is of epic tragedy.
I also saw Red Star: Prison of Souls, but with the P1,600.00 price tag on it, I couldn't buy it just yet. ;_;
----
My next article in Seeker is going to give me a hard time. The Editor wants me to write about Eberron, the new D&D setting that just arrived. The problem is, I've never even seen the inside of the book, much less read or played it. I'm hoping that at the very least I'll be able to get my hands on a review copy, but I'm vaguely aware that my hopes are in vain.
I certainly don't want to write based on second hand information, and I'm crossing my fingers that they reconsider and allow me to write about the new World of Darkness instead.
Updating has been sparse this week due to a forced 10 hour shift for the past two days. I've never known the true power of the lack of sleep as I have now, having seen myself accidentaly fall asleep in the middle of a call and end up screwing over my documentation.
It's tough work, and now that I'm supposed to be back on an 8 hour shift, another great surprise hits me... I've been moved to the 11 - 8 shift this week. Oh well, at least it's only two more days to go, but the 11 - 8 is the toughest shift because it's the one where I get the least amount of sleep.
----
Game wise, I'm still working on the characters for Christine's Ghost Girl/ Fatal Frame idea, and the modified version of my character, John Armstrong's powered armor for the upcoming HERO games that Alex is holding.
----
Just spent most of my September allotment for expenses even before my first paycheck arrived. :p I know it's an impulse purchase, but I saw Metabarons #1 on the shelf in Comic Quest and I couldn't help but buy it right then and there. Othon's story is by far the most human of all of them, and I can't help but feel that the Metabarons story is one of madness as much as it is of epic tragedy.
I also saw Red Star: Prison of Souls, but with the P1,600.00 price tag on it, I couldn't buy it just yet. ;_;
----
My next article in Seeker is going to give me a hard time. The Editor wants me to write about Eberron, the new D&D setting that just arrived. The problem is, I've never even seen the inside of the book, much less read or played it. I'm hoping that at the very least I'll be able to get my hands on a review copy, but I'm vaguely aware that my hopes are in vain.
I certainly don't want to write based on second hand information, and I'm crossing my fingers that they reconsider and allow me to write about the new World of Darkness instead.
Sunday, September 05, 2004
Tribute to an old man...
I'd like to take this moment to dedicate this post to the passing of my father's most competent, trusted, and opinionated mentor, the irreplacable Mr. Steve LaTorre.
Mr. LaTorre, or "Lolo Steve" as we've always known him, died early this morning from complications from a throat operation. It was the first news I got today, and one that I have difficulty coping with.
It's funny how Lolo Steve's death affected me. I rarely see him, but the times that I have had a profound effect on me. Lolo Steve was my ideal old man, when I grow old, he was the ideal that I aspired to be, successful, intelligent, sarcastic and endearing. He was a foul-mouthed old man at times, who always had something to say about anything, but past the initial shock of being subjected to his language and his unrestricted opinion, he was an intelligent and caring man.
He has always treated my father as his charge... he took my father under his wing from being a simple supervisor in a factory, and taught him the ins and outs of management. Seeing the two of them together during the parties when Lolo Steve would visit was always touching, as I felt that the two shared a bond that lasted decades. They would sit down and talk, and I'd see them, with Lolo steve with his trademark beer and cigarette, and they'd discuss anything from business to his failing health.
The sad thing about all of this was Lolo Steve had called up just yesterday, looking for my dad over the phone. I guess he somehow knew he was about to go, and just wanted to say goodbye.
Mr. LaTorre, or "Lolo Steve" as we've always known him, died early this morning from complications from a throat operation. It was the first news I got today, and one that I have difficulty coping with.
It's funny how Lolo Steve's death affected me. I rarely see him, but the times that I have had a profound effect on me. Lolo Steve was my ideal old man, when I grow old, he was the ideal that I aspired to be, successful, intelligent, sarcastic and endearing. He was a foul-mouthed old man at times, who always had something to say about anything, but past the initial shock of being subjected to his language and his unrestricted opinion, he was an intelligent and caring man.
He has always treated my father as his charge... he took my father under his wing from being a simple supervisor in a factory, and taught him the ins and outs of management. Seeing the two of them together during the parties when Lolo Steve would visit was always touching, as I felt that the two shared a bond that lasted decades. They would sit down and talk, and I'd see them, with Lolo steve with his trademark beer and cigarette, and they'd discuss anything from business to his failing health.
The sad thing about all of this was Lolo Steve had called up just yesterday, looking for my dad over the phone. I guess he somehow knew he was about to go, and just wanted to say goodbye.
Thursday, September 02, 2004
Looking Forward to the Weekend.
Hey,
In early at the office today for more mandatory overtime. Things are hectic over here, but I'm not letting that get to me. I guess I've grown up over the past few years, and I'm taking my responsibilities a little more seriously now. Work is Work now, and no more of the wishy-washiness and half-hearted dedication.
Doesn't mean that it's any easier though. I'm weaning myself off the multivitamins now, going on just one pill a day to make sure that I don't poison myself with too much medicine in my system. Work, like I said, is hectic, with very high standards set for both the call times and the standards. Given the nature of my work, it's a high stress situation, but somehow I'm making things meet.
----
And so I look forward to the weekend, the only time where I get to relax and perhaps live a little. Got Nicco's Exalted game on the afternoon, and Alex's HERO game up in the evening. My parents wonder at how I can sit around and just play a game that involves just talk for hours on end, but I'm thankful that they allow me to go anyway.
I'll be bringing along the new World of Darkness book for kicks, and see what it'll look like if we try making ourselves in the system. That should be interesting... I'd most likely be Vampire feed. :p Can't wait to see the new Mage: the Awakening when it comes out, if Vampire is going to be any sort of indication, the new Mage will be incredible.
----
Speaking of characters, I've been mulling about the possibility of making a new superhero character for Alex's Champions campaign. So far, I've got a power-suit equipped energy projector type hero based of Voltes V, but I'm thinking of what else to play.
Some initial ideas I have would be to make some sort of Martial Artist / Brick type of character, someone who can take a moderate amount of damage while kicking butt with some hand to hand combat. I'm tempted to try and figure out some cinematic "moves" that would work great in a fighting videogame to apply for this kind of character.
Looking back at it, I don't have that many favorite superheroes... Batman is certainly one of them, and Robin and Nightwing due to association. But as for the Marvel Superheroes, I have to admit that I'm not too impressed with the X-men, or with the Fantastic Four. I dunno, I guess it just doesn't work for me very much.
Oh well, I guess I'll just wait for inspiration to strike... I'm sure it will eventually. :p
In early at the office today for more mandatory overtime. Things are hectic over here, but I'm not letting that get to me. I guess I've grown up over the past few years, and I'm taking my responsibilities a little more seriously now. Work is Work now, and no more of the wishy-washiness and half-hearted dedication.
Doesn't mean that it's any easier though. I'm weaning myself off the multivitamins now, going on just one pill a day to make sure that I don't poison myself with too much medicine in my system. Work, like I said, is hectic, with very high standards set for both the call times and the standards. Given the nature of my work, it's a high stress situation, but somehow I'm making things meet.
----
And so I look forward to the weekend, the only time where I get to relax and perhaps live a little. Got Nicco's Exalted game on the afternoon, and Alex's HERO game up in the evening. My parents wonder at how I can sit around and just play a game that involves just talk for hours on end, but I'm thankful that they allow me to go anyway.
I'll be bringing along the new World of Darkness book for kicks, and see what it'll look like if we try making ourselves in the system. That should be interesting... I'd most likely be Vampire feed. :p Can't wait to see the new Mage: the Awakening when it comes out, if Vampire is going to be any sort of indication, the new Mage will be incredible.
----
Speaking of characters, I've been mulling about the possibility of making a new superhero character for Alex's Champions campaign. So far, I've got a power-suit equipped energy projector type hero based of Voltes V, but I'm thinking of what else to play.
Some initial ideas I have would be to make some sort of Martial Artist / Brick type of character, someone who can take a moderate amount of damage while kicking butt with some hand to hand combat. I'm tempted to try and figure out some cinematic "moves" that would work great in a fighting videogame to apply for this kind of character.
Looking back at it, I don't have that many favorite superheroes... Batman is certainly one of them, and Robin and Nightwing due to association. But as for the Marvel Superheroes, I have to admit that I'm not too impressed with the X-men, or with the Fantastic Four. I dunno, I guess it just doesn't work for me very much.
Oh well, I guess I'll just wait for inspiration to strike... I'm sure it will eventually. :p
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