You will not believe the week I'm having. From last Friday, the 26th to today, the 30th, things have been so unpredictably good I can't even make sense of it.

26th: I got my impromptu Pizza Party and a very sincere farewell from all my co-workers

27th: We went to Grand Rios and had a blast

28th: I was supposed to fly home to the Philippines (with my cousin Kris) but lo and behold something happened with the aircraft and so the flight had to be cancelled! We stayed the night at the Ramada Inn at the Mall of America.

29th: Finally we took off for Tokyo, things have gone smoothly... until we landed at the Narita Airport on the...

3oth: We find out that we were booked for a flight for the next day, a Wednesday via Japan Airlines. Sooo it meant we had to stay in Japan for the entire day and therefore we were given a visa to enter their glorious country. Nice! Japan is one of the places I've been dreaming of going, and here's a free pass to Nippon country! Yeah.

So right now, I'm at the Radisson Hotel enjoying a beautiful twin suite... But I'm very tired so I'll expound on this some other time. Right now, I'm tired from being so elated by all these unpredictability. Thank you Lord for all these.

I had finally mustered the courage to get up to my boss, and tell him I quit. It was a terrible ordeal. I was ashamed for whatever subconscious reason. But a man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, right? Right.

And so I quit. Told 'em I'd stick around for a good two weeks. Not very true since I'm leaving 3 days prior to my supposed final date. And they don't know that. Another dilemma. Jeez. I don't wanna keep coming up to my boss and telling him my dramatic situations. If anything I don't want to see him and come across him, much less talk to him. He's this military type, ya know. So, I don't really like to be under scrutiny all the time. You never know what goes on behind these army people's heads.

I feel as if I shouldn't be there anymore. It's a little awkward. I already quit, for Pete's sakes. I shouldn't have to stick my butt inside that room. The fact that I'm still gonna get paid is the only consolation-- and the bonus I expect to be getting for being a part of Medtronic's successful fiscal year. Other than that, I would really be sooo much happier just spending time lounging around like a whale at home.

You know how they say in the Philippines that the moment you are born, you are already buried under so much debt all before you can even count?

Well, in America, you potentially actually are in debt.

Let's see...

Philippines: "Mag-impok sa bangko," says a public advocacy advertisement.
USA: An American Express slagan says, "Don't leave home without it."

Philippines: Banks have advertisements for elementary-age kids to save their money.
USA: What advertisement?

Philippines: Banks give you a hard time before you can get a credit card.
USA: Credit cards have replaced real money.

Philippines: Want a house? Get a loan.
USA: Want a house? Get a loan--but first, I have to see your credit history!

This credit history thing is what baffles me the most about this country. How can a first-world country, one of the world's superpowers encourage its citizens to dig a hole for themselves just to build a credit history?

You can't buy a car, a house, get a cellphone plan or take a loan if you do not have a credit history. They have to know that you can pay your bills, after all. But how do you build this history? By getting a credit card. Yup, by asking money from a third party first, then try to promptly pay it later. There's a flaw here, however. People who have a lot of money on their hands--or think they do(even if it's on a plastic), tend to splurge. It's called spending beyond their means.

This is what corporate America gorges on the dining table with-- their citizens' gullibility. Actually, it's not so much their citizens' fault. They are forced into this set-up. I point the finger on corporate America and the people at the top of the hierarchy.

My point in all these? Ayokong magka-utang! whaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!!

This is the kind of movie that will leave you reflecting on your way home. As the title suggests, this is about the life of Truman Capote, dubbed America's most famous contemporary writer. An openly gay and eccentric persona, Capote as captured by the wonderful Phillip Seymour Hoffman, is as believable as they come.

I don't even want to write a review of the movie, I just want to sing praises to Hoffman. This guy delivers a staggering performance every inch worth the Oscar gold. I'm a Joaquin Phoenix fan and I've seen Walk the Line and Joaquin was deep and troubled in that movie, but in Capote, Hoffman became Truman Capote. That's how good he was.

I've always thought the true measure of being a great actor is when the actor ceases to be an actor, when he becomes the character. And it is when the audience has blurred the lines between the superstar actor and the flawed character he portrays that he becomes effective and generates empathy-- or ill-regard as in the case of character actors.

I highly recommend Capote especially for the true film and acting enthusiasts who enjoy a good performance. The film itself isn't so bad, but it's kinda long. You'll endure it just to see how hoffman carries the character through.

I feel lost.

I'm mad.

I'm lost in a blizzard of madness--

In the middle of spring.

I catch a dandelion and try to sneeze to freeze my brain for a nano second.

An eternity of peace.

What I'd give for peace of mind.

Alas, who am I to be given such luxury?

I am nothing but a speck in the cosmos,

some petty daughter of a distant supernova.

Unabashedly betrayed, guiltlessly forsaken.

And now I am lost...

Finally found my way to the bus stop.

Right here

Waiting for the universe to take my atoms back into the arms of its stars.