Non Compos Mentis

What would be the appropriate time to use the legal phrase, if at all, it would be used in its colloquial form? Should I say, “I’ve been lacking sleep, I feel non compos mentis today.” or “I drank so much last night, I’m not sober yet, I’m non compos mentis.”?

Or should I say, “I can’t think straight right now. I’m feeling a bit out of it.”

It sounded funny when you use the Latin phrases in your everyday conversation. To most people, Latin is already a dead language. Even Latin Americans don’t speak the language.

Am I non compos mentis?Not unless if you’re studying or practicing law or medicine or religion but then again Latin would sound humorous when used in conversation with ordinary clueless people. I am neither a lawyer nor a law student. I’m not a priest or a doctor. I’m just as clueless as anyone else.

Non compos mentis. It’s the first latin phrase that comes to mind besides tantum ergo sacramentum (a song I learned while actively participating in Flores de Mayo during my high school years) and quod erat demonstrandum (which my high school math teacher would often use after he’d successfully proven trigonometric identities on the board).

And there are several instances where people can be non compos mentis.

A certain classmate in high school began spreading news to all her friends that her ex-boyfriend had a teenee-weenee willy and that it was the major cause of their break-up. Our batch mates thought that she was not completely in control of her faculties. We thought that she was just bitter that the relationship ended.

A friend was non compos mentis when he fell in love with his officemate. He could not focus on his work for days. But one time, he finally had the courage to express his feelings thru a text message. He sent this message “Aishete masu means I love you. I love you and I mean it.” When he went to work the next day, he saw his officemate in a terrible state. The guy could not gather up his act. He could not even look at my friend. He was non compos mentis.

My sister Beverly was not in full control of her mind when she was here on vacation. There were a lot of flaws and inconsistencies in her stories. We were confused of the things she said. She was pensive and disturbed, but most of the time she’s lost in thought. The truth never came out of her mouth.

We’ll these are all I could write for today. After a month, I still remain jobless. Soon enough, if I still remain jobless, I might become non compos mentis.

Her Name is Shekina Effie Drew

The prodigal daughter of Santiago and Felma gave birth to a baby girl last January 24 at 9.15 pm (about 11am of January 25 in the Philippines). She named her Shekina Effie Drew. I don’t know where and why she picked such a forename.

Hers was such a very different case. No one was excited when she sent the news that she gave birth to Drew, unlike my sister Christine’s delivery where all of us were so happy and excited for the birth of the little Baby Kim.

The news came rather late because the ‘madonna and child’ were advised to stay in the hospital for 5 days more. The baby was under observation because Beverly had a “forcep” type of delivery. According to her e-mail, the baby was forced or vacuumed out during her labor.

She ran out of breath (as she was asthmatic)while in labor that caused her baby’s heartbeat to drop from 142 to 72. The baby came out rather small, a little above 5 lbs and 19 inches long. In the hospital, Baby Drew was placed under a certain type of light for a few days because her skin was yellowish.

So let’s breakdown the baby girl’s name.

SHEKINA – a very uncommon name. Is the name related to Shakira???? Whenever, wherever… Freaky. There’s a Hebrew word Shekina or Sh’kina which means “dwelling place” and is more linked to the concept that God had no “home” without her. Shekina is also the Jewish-Kabbalistic version of Shakti which is the female soul of God and is believed to be the source of all “soul” in the universe. Hay naku. Shekina to me is a very mystic name. But did the prodigal daughter know of its meaning? Whenever… Wherever… Whatever…

EFFIE – the first thing that comes to mind is that Dreamgirls character played by Jennifer Holliday on Broadway and Jennifer Hudson on the screen adaptation. Why? Is it because Effie’s popular song “And I’m Telling You…”  was an apt song for the father of her child? No no no way! No no no no way! Or was she referring to the comic character of the same name played by a certain Australian actress Mary Coustas whose catchphrase in the TV series Acropolis Now was always “How embarrassment!!”

DREW – from Drew Barrymore? Drew Arellano? Nancy Drew? Drew Carey Show? Hayy.

To me, the three names didn’t fit well together. At least it’s not my child. The surname was not even mentioned in the e-mail. So we don’t know if she used our family name or that of the father.

But everyone’s relieved that her baby was okay and that the prodigal daughter had a safe delivery. It was what we prayed for after all. How to raise Shekina Effie Drew well is entirely up to her.

Emprunter et Prêter D’argent

The downside of knowing a lot of people is that you become a possible redeemer of their misery.

It is not at all wrong to help those who are in dire need. I have nothing against helping other people out. Be it a help extended to friends, family and people I do not know. But there are times that you really need to say no and turn down any request for aid because you do not have anything else to give.

Just like today in my friendster account, I got a message from somebody I knew way back in my Rotaract days asking a favor from me. She used to be a member of the Rotaract club that I used to handle. For people who are not familiar with Rotaract, it is a youth version of the Rotary International that Paul Harris established way back in the 1900s.

In the message, she was asking if I could lend her a certain amount of money because her sari-sari store got demolished and her daughter got sick while her husband is still in Manila processing his papers for a work abroad. She further stated that she’s going to pay me back with interest on the second week of February.

Wow. I was surprised that she asked a favor from me. I was even more shocked that she sent me a message at all. It surprised me because I have yet to meet her again after I left the Rotaract club and worked in Luzon for 6 years. I never met her husband or her daughter. I only knew now that she’s married, that she’s got responsibilities.

While it is one thing that people come to you to seek help, it is also another thing that people would only come to you when they desperately needed help. Now this is a classic case of desperation.

I was pushed back a little bit because this kind of desperation has happened to me before, not just once but a couple of times.

A few years ago, I had another Rotaractor friend who I met frequently in Manila because of her business. She was running an IT company in Cebu staffed with people from Rotaract clubs. One time, I got a text message from her asking a favor from me. She said she was short on budget and that she needed to borrow money from me so that she could pay her brother’s tuition.

Wow. This person had a huge responsibility of running a company with limited capital and funds at the same time she had a big responsibility of sending her brother to school. The point in case is that there was a lapse in the management of resources that led her to seek deliverance from overdraft. She sought my help for a bail-out.

Because she was a friend and because we were quite close, I lent her the money. She promised to pay me back on a certain date that she herself set. I was a bit disappointed when she broke her promise. I thought she completely forgot to repay me. Weeks passed before she finally decided to meet me up.

But when she did, she paid me back not in cold cash but with a post-dated check. Great. I was supposed to use the money to pay some of my bills, but she gave me a PDC that I couldn’t immediately convert to cash. But I was relieved that she paid me back.

I have another Rotaract friend who borrowed some money from me but never even remembered to pay me back. It was a couple of years ago at Christmas time when I met him in Ermita. He texted me that he just came from a Baguio trip and he will be in Manila a day before his flight back to Cebu and that he needed a favor from me to meet him up.

I thought that he might need someone to show him around Manila. Well I was the willing host. I met him at Robinson’s Ermita; we passed by the baywalk; and took him to dinner at Max’s. We talked on the updates on our Rotaract friends and then I came out to him and told him that I have a boyfriend. I even treated him to (you have to forgive me guys) Star City and I think he had a grand time with the rides.

It never occurred to me that he wanted to borrow money until we were about to part ways. While we were walking along Pedro Gil towards Taft Avenue, he told me that he was short on budget and that he needed to augment his resources. He explained that from Cebu he would proceed to Leyte for the Rotaract Mid-Year Forum.

He promised to pay me back a month later. I knew that he was into fish-trading at Pasil, the fish port of
Cebu City, so I lent him money. I saw the desperation on his face so I told him to just pay me back when he’s able. I also said that when he decided to pay me, he’d just have to course it through another Rotaract friend (the one who runs an IT company) so I could get it from her when we meet again.

Of course, he never paid me back and I didn’t know where to find him. He had completely forgotten about his responsibility. Bomber!

There is a great responsibility that comes with the borrowing of money. Emprunter et prêter d’argent, to borrow and lend money, one must consider that the lender is putting his trust in you and that he would be expecting you to pay the money back on a date that was set or promised. One must be responsible enough not to ruin the trust because there might be no other opportunity for you to borrow from him again.

And for some people who had borrowed from me before and broke their promises in process, please be informed that you could never ever borrow from me again. Because I don’t trust you guys anymore.

And for my Rotaract friend who wanted to borrow money from me now, I could not lend you any for the time being. Sorry girl. You have knocked on the wrong door. I am jobless and I don’t have spare money to lend. I hope you’d try asking favor from me some other time, when I already have a job and when I am ready to put my trust on you.    

Job Application Updates

It’s been over a month since I resigned from my job and there were some developments with the options that I was working on.

Plan A: Technical Sales and Distribution

Merck has been seriously considering my application as a technical sales representative. I was already interviewed by the area manager last week and I have already undergone the requisite medical exam. The results will be directly sent to the head office.

So the next step of the application process will depend on the results of the test. While waiting for further development regarding the course of my application, I am currently taking driving lessons. Only 3 sessions left before I will apply for a non-professional driver’s license.

If I get a call from Merck next week, I will be flying to Manila for the final interview. If things will be doing well, I may have to check first if the offer is really good, i.e., if the compensation is justifiable to the scope and demands of the job. If not, I will try to negotiate with the company and ask them to consider my suggestion.

Plan B: Operations Management Position at Timex

From the panel interview with the operations and production manager a week ago, I was told to keep my phone lines open. The panel was asking for at least a week to decide on my application. They said that they will need time to accommodate other qualified applicants as well.

It has been more than a week since. There was no call from Timex at all. I am more than ready to accept the outcome of my application with Timex.

Later in the week I learned from Dad that his officemate was also called for an interview with the company. The position offered to him was the same position that I was applying for.

But for now, I’m giving Timex a couple of weeks more before I completely remove it from my options.

Plan C: Overseas Oil and Gas Operation Job in Abu Dhabi

The deployment date will depend on the completion of the additional requirements such as the Phase II of the medical exam. I am still on medication for my elevated cholesterol and triglycerides and I still got 10 more days to go before taking the tests.

The agency has already reminded me on this concern. But I have yet to decide when and where to take the exam.

I will be deciding next month on how to complete these requirements. But right now, I am on a certain kind of diet that includes only vegetable and fish, no meat or seafood high on cholesterol. The diet is also being paired with cardio-vascular and aerobic exercises.

The Next Move

For now, I have to wait for the outcome of the above-mentioned plans. While waiting for the results of the medical exam for Merck, and the decision that will be brought down from Timex, I will have to resume sending applications to other companies.

It is very important at this point and time that I will not be running out of options. Like in all raffle draws, “The more entries you send, the more chances of winning,” catchphrase is very much applicable.

L’examen Physique et L’auto-école

I woke up today with an empty stomach. I heard grumbling sounds in my tummy when I woke up at 6.30 am. But I couldn’t eat because of a standing instruction to fast at least 8 hours before the medical exam.

I was scheduled to take the tests at the Gillamac Diagnostics and Medical Lab along Gil Garcia street. I got there at 8.30 am after a brief ‘city tour’ courtesy of my ever reliable taxi driver. Apparently he wasn’t familiar with the location so he drove me twice around a block where the Cebu Doctor’s Hospital was. The clinic was on the other block near the Provincial Capitol.

It was a good thing that they immediately took blood samples for the CBC and blood chemistry. I told the receptionist that I needed to eat breakfast already as I began to feel the riot in my tummy. Well, two chicken turn-overs and a mocha frapp from Bo’s Coffee eradicated my hunger.

I went back to the clinic with a full stomach. I gave urine samples and underwent x-ray, eye test and the physical check-up. I was done by 10.30 am. The results of the tests will be forwarded to Merck, Inc. I would know next week if I pass the examination. A final job interview with the division manager is in the offing in Makati.

On to my second agenda for the day.

I finally enrolled myself in a driving school for a 10-hour crash course. The 10 hours will be divided into 5 days that will be spread starting today until Wednesday. The first session will be from 5-7pm tonight.

The driving instructor assigned to me goes by name of Leo. We might be using a Toyota VIOS for the training. I don’t know where he’ll take me but I’m hoping that on our first session, he wouldn’t take me to those busy streets. I don’t want to be the cause of any traffic considering its weekend.

I’m hoping to drive daddy’s car soon. That’s why I would want to learn fast as I could. Driving skills are very much needed if I want to get into the sales and marketing world. Otherwise I won’t survive.

A Lifetime Pledge

Today is Mom and Dad’s 32^nd wedding anniversary. It’s quite a remarkable feat. Thirty-two years of loyalty, 32 years of emotional roller coaster ride, 32 years of commitment.

This was taken on January 25, 1975 after their wedding in Hinigaran, Negros Occidental – my mom’s hometown. The photo appeared old and wrinkled. It’s one of their few wedding day pictures that survived. Dad was only 21 years old when he married mom. Felma was older by 4 years.

32 years, 6 kids, and a grandchild  after, Dad took mom to the Marco Polo Hotel (formerly Cebu Plaza Hotel) for a dinner at the Café Marco.

I owe it to them. Everything. My life, my upbringing, my brother and sisters, everything. And I’m happy that they are my parents. I’ve never met anyone who love us more than they could and who sacrificed more than they should.

In spite of all the problems and the ugly event in our family, my parents remain steadfast. They remain committed to hold the family together, no matter what.

To Santiago and Felma, to mom and Dad, happy anniversary! Thank you for the love. 

LTO et Les Dieux du Stade

I barely had 4 hours of sleep today. I was so fixated by the photos and videos of the 2007 Dieux du Stade (Gods of the Stadium) that my eyes were glued to the computer screen until 3.30 am. Wow. They were black and white photographs and clips of the French rugby players in various degrees of nudity. They kept me awake. They made me temporarily obsessed, hmmm a bit fanatical. But hey, they reminded me that I’m only human.

Note: Please do not click on the clip if you think the contents would be offensive. (Click it anyway and see if they’re nice.)

And because I’m human, my body surrendered at 3.30am. I was asleep until 7.30am when my cell phone rang. It was Biba who called, asking me about a sample of an employment certificate. Great. I was disrupted from my forty thousand winks.

I decided to rise from bed. It’s 7.30 anyways. Government offices will open in about 30 minutes so I might as well prepare to leave the house by 8am and be at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) at 8.30.

Taken from their site, LTO is a branch of the Department of Transportation & Communications or DOTC which is responsible for the inspection and regulation of motor vehicles, issuance of driver’s license and student permits and some other functions such as the enforcement of land transportation rules and regulations and the collection of revenues for the government.

LTO has an office in Mandaue City but I didn’t know exactly where it was located. Dad said that the office was just 3 blocks away from the City Hall and that I should just walk instead than take a tricycle ride.

And so I walked. At 9am, the sun was already high and the heat of the day was scorching my skin. I walked the 3 blocks that Dad said. But I got lost. I must have walked around 4 blocks before I finally located the office. It’s in Antipolo St. but my goodness, the road was unpaved and dusty.

Aside from the grime and the limestone dusts that greeted me, fixers of all types imaginable welcomed me at the gates of hell. They were like sharks who could smell blood and flesh several miles away. They could easily detect a person in dire need of assistance and directions. They followed me until I reached the office for new applications.

I just wanted to get a new student permit. My old SP had already expired last November 2006 so I had to undergo the steps again. I had no problems with the process of securing a student permit. There were instructions posted in visible areas so I knew how to do it.  What pissed me off were the vultures at my side, telling me where to go and what to do next.

Sharks, vultures, fixers. They are predators. They are relentless. They wouldn’t stop until they get something from you.

The fixers didn’t get anything from me. I didn’t allow them. In government offices where fixers abound, one should be tough enough to shun these people away. They would often pose as helpful and accommodating people but beneath those obvious disguise lurk the selfish motives. They suck so much from people.

I overheard from one applicant that he paid 700 pesos for a student permit. I was shocked because the permit will cost you only 143 pesos if you do the application process alone. Fixers charged so much.

I did the entire application process for just under 3 hours without availing any service from fixers. I was patient enough to wait until my name was called at Window 3 (picture taking) and later on at Window 2 for the release of the SP. It was almost lunchtime when my name was called at Window 2. 

Now that I have a student permit, the quest for a good driving school is on. Perhaps the Gods of the Stadium will show me the way.

On the Prospect of Driving Again

Part of the great plan for the next five years is for me to experience driving in the city. I am already 29 years old but I still don’t have a driver’s license. And I don’t have a car of my own.

 

My dad used to teach me how to drive, way back in college. Every weekend, we drove around the subdivision, me on the driving wheel and dad holding the hand brake. We had an old Lancer that has manual transmission. For beginners like me, driving a manual shift car was a challenge.

Dad wanted me to learn how to drive a car with manual transmission. He said it would be easier to drive a car with an automatic transmission once I get to learn the manual shift. In the automatic shift, the driver simply adds gas to let the transmission shift through the gear itself. While in the manual mode, the driver has direct control over which gear the car is in all the time.

I was only limited to driving within the subdivision. I never get to drive around the city because back then, the roads were bumpy and potholed. Traffic too was horrendous.But driving in the streets of Sta. Lucia was also a challenge. Most of the roads are inclined and are not all straight.

Whenever I drove, I negotiated a lot of curves and climbs. The difficult part was learning how to move again when your car stopped on an inclined road. I find it really hard to start a car coming from a halt on the uphill. Manual transmission cars often roll back on hills. I fear being stuck in traffic with such condition.

But I did have an experience driving in the countryside. One weekend, we were off to visit some relatives in Samboan. I drove about 50 kilometers from the town of Argao up to Santander. Driving in the countryside was supposed to be very calm and relaxing but I drove like hell because I was tensed and I sweat like shit. Mom and Dad were with me in the car, scared as hell also. But I was happy that I get to drive. I drove everyone crazy.

In the phone interview yesterday, I was asked if I have a valid driver’s license. I said I don’t even have a valid student permit. She said that in sales and marketing, a driver’s license is a requirement. She wanted me to enrol in a driving school as soon as possible. I also learned from her that a brand new car will be issued to the successful applicant and that after 5 years, the car could be bought at a very low price.

So today, I got myself a new residence certificate. This is one of the requirements for the student permit. I’ll be applying for a student permit tomorrow. After which, I’ll enrol myself in A1 driving school. 

The Planner, the Call and the Interview

The Planner

Finally, I have collected all 21 stickers in exchange for a nice, I mean FETCH, Limited Edition Starbucks Coffee® 2007 planner. I must have spent at least 2500 pesos for the stickers. But the planner is not pour mois. C’est pour ma bonne sœur. Yeah. It’s for my sister Karen and she was very ecstatic about it.

I wouldn’t mind if I’d fall for such a corporate promotion. I think it’s for a good cause. Sure the coffee shop may have earned a lot from this kind of marketing but part of the earnings will be donated to the SparkHope project. According to the coffee shop, Project SparkHope is a partnership with UNICEF that provides sustainable early learning programs for underprivileged communities in the Philippines.

I’ve been using planners and organizers for the past 5 years. It made my life so much easier because I get to schedule my activities well, budget my resources, manage my time wisely and prioritize things. I’ve been so dependent on them.

But I don’t have a planner yet for 2007. So I’m collecting stickers again. Now I need 12 stickers more.

The Call

Earlier today, I received a call from the agency that handles my application for the overseas work. The agency was asking for an update on my medical exam.

I have not submitted myself yet for a medical examination. It is because I’m still under medication for my cholesterol and triglycerides. The 1-month treatment will end on the first week of February. I informed the agent that I would take the tests only if my ‘fats’ are already within normal range.

Phase II of the medical exam is being required by the employer. Applicants must have to take additional tests for blood chemistry, hematology, body mass index or BMI and ECG. We were also required to take the spirometric test (for the lungs) and audiometry test.

I could take the tests here in Cebu but I still don’t know if the audiometric and spirometric test could be administered here. I might be taking the said tests in a medical clinic in Manila.

The Interview

Later in the day, I had a phone interview with the Area Sales Manager of Merck, Inc. Merck is a German company that manufactures industrial & specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals and laboratory & clinical instruments.  Merck has a distribution and marketing arm in the Philippines. It was a job interview for a technical sales representative.

It is an urgent requirement. Merck is looking for someone to handle the sales and distribution in the Visayas-Mindanao area. Geographically, the scope and responsibility covers more than half of the entire
Philippines.

Marketing and Sales is a dynamic and exhaustive field. I may not have a background in sales but it is this field that I am willing to try. It has been a growing trend not only in the Philippines but also in Europe and the Americas. Companies in the Philippines are starting to shift from manufacturing to distribution & marketing because they could no longer compete with the manufacturing costs in China, India and some neighboring countries. Soon enough, there will be a huge requirement for sales.

The interview went well. As I see it, Merck was the most aggressive among the options that I was considering. There’s a promise of a brand new car, flexible time, allowances, trainings, etc. We even get to talk about compensation and benefits and we also discussed about the rest of the application process.

I am in need of a job. My resources are already dwindling. I may grab whichever opportunity came first. I need a job that could afford me to go to the coffee shops and collect stickers in exchange for free planners.

Pit Senyor!!!

True to what we planned, Biba, Noche and I didn’t go out to watch the festivities in the streets of Cebu. No sir, we didn’t watch the Sinulog street-dancing because we just wanted to avoid the crowd and the horror of walking and squeezing through the mass of sweaty, ugly and dirty people. We didn’t want to rub elbows and skin with POOR PEOPLE. Heheheh. I was just kidding.

So we met up at Ayala at past 6pm. At this time, there was congestion in the main cellular networks that it was too difficult to contact Biba and Noche for our rencontre. We agreed to meet at 5.30pm but because of poor communication, we managed to get together only an hour and a half after. Bhob Wire was not able to come because of an out-of-town obligation.

At dinner, we talked about Biba’s predicament on the matters of the heart. But I promised him that I will not mention the details in my blog. So in general, he didn’t know what to do, whether to dump his feelings for the person or to risk the friendship if he decides to continue on.

After dinner, we walked around the mall and saw people gathered in front of Island Souvenirs. We saw Sinulog dancers performing to the beat and for the crowd.

This was the closest we ever got to watching the Sinulog parade. Yes, inside a mall at 8.30pm.

 

The mall was packed with people. Yes, it was packed with people of all sorts. Cross dressers, fugly fags, high-schoolers uniformly dressed in black with hints of the EMO look (EMO for emotional rock look as explained by Lester and Dad yet I still didn’t get the whole idea), noisy bothering kids, closet queens and the cute men with their ugly girlfriends in tow.

We decided to leave the mall and explore the activities outside.

 

This was an event organized by Mitsumi Electronics. They invited their employees to the driving range for the fireworks display.

For the past 3 years, Mitsumi organizes the firework show after the Sinulog parade. This time, the event took place at the driving range just across the Ayala mall. There was an enclosed area at the driving range but of course, we managed to sneak in without having to pay anything.

There was a program prior to the major event. An emcee with a high-pitched voice greeted us when we entered the grounds.

We were in shock when she said “PEOPLE OF THE CROWD”. Ano raw? She was as confident as Melanie Marquez was with the English language. THE Melanie Marquez participated in the Sinulog parade. She was on a float prepared by Placenta Soap. ’People of the Crowd’ was of similar degree to Melanie’s “Definitely, we are giving away.” (Nothing followed po.)

I think she meant that they were to give samples of Placenta soap to people. Melanie also said that “Cebuano people are very beautiful. Even the guys in our float who are Egyptian-looking are handsome”. Huh???? Maybe what she meant by Egyptian-looking was the guys wearing eqyptian costumes but hey, her float didn’t have an egyptian theme. Melanie herself was wearing a victorian dress. Cleopatra didn’t wear such a dress. So I guess she just had too much placenta soap in the head. But she was still beautiful in spite of her age and 6 multi-national kids.

Because of the emcee’s PEOPLE OF THE CROWD remarks, we decided to leave the area and wait for the fireworks display outside. In about 10 minutes, the city vice-mayor pressed the ceremonial button and the fireworks show started.

 I heard that Mitsumi spent 2 million pesos just for the fireworks. But it was very nice watching it. All 15 minutes of it. I was able to record the display in my cam. Wow. 2 million pesos just for that show. Better than new year’s.

We parted ways after the show because Biba had to work early the following day. I waited for my bro Lester at a coffee shop. Dad picked us up a couple of hours later.