Sing it, Alanis!

And it happens again.

The school informed me that there are no classes.

But they informed me when I was on my way to school already.

Isn't it ironic, don't you think.

Say that again...

It's probably because of too much Christmas music blaring everywhere.

The past 2 days, I've ridden cabs whose drivers seem to be hard of hearing.

CAB # 1:

One Saturday morning, I took a cab from 20th avenue in Cubao:

Driver: Saan po kayo?
Me: Greenhills.
Driver: Ang layo naman!
Me: Diyan lang ho 'yon, Manong.
Driver: Malayo ang Fairview.
Me: Bakit ho sa Fairview?
Driver: Banda doon ang Litex.

CAB # 2:

It was after our team Christmas party and it was past midnight. I was dropped off at P. Tuazon corner EDSA and was planning to take a cab going home:

Me: Boss, sa 20th po.
Driver: Saan?
Me: Sa 20.
Driver: Bocaue? Huwag na! Ang layo!

It must be something in the air. Christmas air, that is.

The Christmas rush isn't through...

This morning, I asked my class this question that almost everyone I know has been asking:

"Why has the past 2 weeks been so crazy-busy?"

In my case, for example, there was the usual work load, 6 theses to read, 4 groups to advise, 1 MTV to edit, 1 number to pseudo-choreograph, 2 Christmas parties to prepare for, and 3 classes to hold today!

Yes, it's that kuh-ray-zee!

It's really a good thing that I've done most of my Christmas shopping. At least I can concentrate on the other things I need to rush.

A picture of tragedy

Just on the heels of the Australian Metro ad, here comes a shocking story that happened in the New York subway system.

It turns out that a commuter was pushed off the platform by a deranged man. As the train approached, the man desperately tried to lift himself off the tracks.

He failed, though. And the man in this picture died after being run over by the on-coming train.

A freelance photographer was able to take a photo of this soon-to-be-grisly-scene, and the New York post made it their lead story. Needless to say, citizens and netizens were up in arms about it.

Why did the photographer take a photo instead of helping the man? Why did the NY post even buy or run this photo?

This became an issue of journalistic duties versus human compassion. Does the photojournalist fulfill his duty as a news man first? Does it take precedence over his being human? This is a topic that's sure to be fodder for our Journalism classes in the weeks to come.

Personally, I think the photographer should've helped him. Then this tragic photo would never have happened.

Oh snap!

There have been a number of events the past week that I've wanted to write and post photos about.

One would be Ate Bullet's pictorial last Saturday, my first round of gift wrapping, the birthdays of Mona and Ate Bullet, and a host of other mini-events.

Unfortunately, since I haven't cleaned up my picasa just yet, I haven't been able to do add snapshots to my posts.

I have to fix this soon.

There's spell checker people...

While checking today's batch of email, I got this letter which once again appalled the journalist and proofreader in me. Here's an excerpt from that email:

Seriously? "Dis bisnis?"

There's a thing called spell checker, people! Learn to use it!

The proofreader in me is appalled

Being a student of journalist, we were taught to proofread print work early on in our lives. I remember how Prof. Rolly Fernandez would stress the importance of ensuring that an article should be flawless before it even sees print. That's why he would ask us to check every word and every punctuation mark before our article sees print.

When I started working as a copywriter, we were asked to proofread all our print ads, too. At this time, there was more pressure on us. After all, if you make a proofreading mistake in school, that's just a minus point. If you make a proofreading mistake in real life, you'll have to pay for the ad placement. (Or at least that was what they threatened us with.)

That's why I can't help but feel disturbed whenever I see typographical and factual errors in articles - whether they're printed or on-line. And as I was reading my daily dose of style news today, there wasn't one error. There were two!

First is this commonly committed error which baffles me no end.

It escapes my how people mistake "peek" for "peak." And I've seen this mistake so many times before, even from my students and colleagues. Come on people, you "peek" into something and you go up a "peak." There's a difference!

Second, is this article from an on-line news paper about Narciso Rodriguez.

Last time I checked, Narciso Rodriguez created the wedding dress of Carolyn Bessette, not Caroline Bisset. I mean, is she Jacqueline Bisset's daughter? Well, she isn't! This error is particularly appalling because it's so easy to fact check a name. But I guess someone wasn't doing his or her job.

As one of our thesis groups reported last year, the peril of on-line journalism is the fact that they're always in a hurry to get things published on-line that they skip the proofreading and fact checking part. And judging by these two articles, it's a common practice, anywhere in the world.

Taho-udini

As it often happens, whenever I'm craving for something, they magically disappear.

I've been craving for taho the past few days. And the problem is, well-mannered taho vendor is nowhere to be found. He's not in his usual spot, nor is he in his alternate spot.

How's that for a great escape.

When fast food is slow food

Waiting for an hour for food in a restaurant is bad enough. So, waiting for an hour for food at a fast food joint is the worst.

Alas, that's how bad the service was at Pepper Lunch in Robinson's Magnolia was today.

The queue to order and pay was long to begin with. Plus, they only had one cash register. If they had a good system and better staff, I'm sure the line would've moved fast. But no. They only had one counter manned by a slow moving order taker and cashier, which translated to customers waiting for 30 minutes just to get their orders taken.

Eventually, (yes, eventually) they got our orders and it took another 30 minutes to prepare our pepper rice. To think we just ordered 2 plates of pepper rice. And it took them 30 minutes! Gosh.

What got my goat (actually, it was the guy behind me who noticed it) was the fact that while this chaos was happening, we saw the manager and 2 staff just sitting behind the counter doing nothing. They were just idly sitting there, chatting while the line was snaking all over the place.

I mean, maybe they weren't on-duty yet, but they could've made an initiative. One of them could've started order taking and alerting the kitchen for advance orders. Or someone could've helped the counter person get drinks. Yes, the person taking the order and payment is the same person who has to assemble the drinks. No wonder the service was punishingly slow.

If it weren't for Dad, (he wanted to eat Beef Pepper Rice for lunch) I would've left and just gone up to the 3rd floor and ordered at Sizzling Pepper Steak. Heck, their service is so much better.

On days like this, I sure miss the efficiency and quality of Pepper Lunch in Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo.

Sit down, price up

Being a semi-regular Kenny Rogers diner, (they have an awesome Cold Chunky Tuna sandwich!) I can pretty much track the changes that are happening in store. From changes in the menu to little tweaks in their decor - I've seen them all.

But their latest change, which happened within a week, is the most surprising of all.

I had lunch at their Robinson's Galleria branch and found out that they've reinvented themselves into a sit-down type of restaurant. Now, you have to wait for you to be seated, they take your orders at your table, and you get your bill that way as well. It's a far cry from the fast-food style, no-frills Kenny Rogers I've known.

The most shocking change, though, is their price. Heck, their prices have also gone up to sit-down restaurant levels. The Cold Chunky Tuna combo that I used to buy for P125.00 is now P160.00! The Spicy Hot Roast set that I ordered last week for P199 is now P225!

I didn't know sitting down could be this expensive!

Corny!

I have this pet peeve. Whenever I pass by a Chef Tony's outlet, there's always some girl shouting:

"Sir, Ma'am, try Chef Tony's pufffffcorrrrnnnnnn!"

It's such a pet peeve, that I often mock that term whenever when I'm with my friends. For example, whenever we go to Goldilocks, I ask them if they want Caramel puffffffcorrrrrnnnnn.

When I dropped by SM Supermarket this afternoon, the joke became real!

Yes, Puff Corn is now officially a brand name.

Ugh!