BOUNCE WITH ME

As I was dressing up this morning, I was about to put on my favorite red shirt, but then, a voice in my head told me not to. Later, as I was saying goodbye to my folks, I realized it was Valentine's Day...good thing.

***

Valentine's Day has always had some signifiicance to me. It marks the anniversary of my worst date ever. I won't go into detail but trust me, it was bad. It was also Valentine's day when I started working at Lowe...and it was also exactly Feb.14 when I left it three years later. This day also marks the anniversary of my favorite Valentine's moment... the most amazing kiss I ever had.

I figure that it's safe to tell this story now...we were sworn to secrecy then but it's too good a story not to tell. It was valentine's day 2001. After a long day at work, the "single" creatives decided to go out for drinks at a nearby bar. It must have been fate because it ended up being four of us drinking - me, another guy and two girls - including Corina, the hottie, crush-ng-bayan art director. After a few rounds, the other guy tells us that since it's valentine's we should all have someone to kiss that night. He then got some paper then wrote his name and my name down. He then put the paper in a container and told the girls to pull out a name. Whoever they drew, they had to kiss that night. This would be revealed when we got back to the office.

After a few nervous giggles, the girls did draw lots and we headed back to Rufino tower. When we got there, the girls revealed who their partners were gonna be. Corina drew me.

We made our way to one of the CD's rooms and let the other couple go first. As I was standing outside waiting my turn, all I could hear were the girl's giggles and the guy frustratingly telling her to get it over with. Finally, they came out and we went in.

I admit that I had the biggest crush on Corina and I knew all the stories of guys who tried and failed to go after this beautiful woman. And here I was, about to lock lips with her. We leaned in and kissed fow a few seconds. It was one of those lingering kissses where she actually hung on to my lower lip as our heads slowly pulled away. My lower lip was literally quivering afterward. After the kissing, the rest of the night was spent lighting up doobies. Tee-hee.

Anyway, she ended up marrying this guy from the States a year later...they now have a little girl and they've settled abroad. She still sends me emails and pics from time to time. But still, it was one hell of a kiss.

Posted by Jay at 10:10 AM | Permalink | Comments

Have you ever gotten that feeling? The one where you feel that your world has come to a complete, utter and grinding halt? That's how I feel right now...stalled...and I desperately need something to jumpstart me, quickly.

The last time I felt like this was in 2003 when I made the unfortunate decision to leave Lowe. I felt like I was stagnating then. That I wasn't contributing anything of worth to my team and the company. That's exactly how I feel now.

It just seems that my life is getting nowhere and I've settled into a routine. Which is what I have been fearing would happen since I started here at 141. I've gotten comfortable. I feel safe. It's not right.

God, I hope I snap out of this funk soon.

Posted by Jay at 11:19 AM | Permalink | Comments

Thanks to an earthquake in Taiwan, internet connections around Asia have slowed to a virtual crawl. In the Philippines, full internet capability in our office network has only recovered by 21%. Now, it takes so much longer just to open websites and check your Yahoo Mail - much more for us to open photo sites like Corbis or Getty Images so we can make our ads.

I've found myself also having a rough go at shaking off the holiday rust. I feel so lethargic and slow that the work seems to be impossible to finish. Must...for...coherent...thoughts...

Bought a new phone though. After much ribbing from my friends and officemates, I retired my 6170 and bought myself a Nokia N70. It has all the standard features one would expect, and for P16,000 I wouldn't expect any less.

Oh, and I talked to Bubbly last night. She said the strangest thing. She was tuned into CJ the Dj's show on Magic 89.9 last night and CJ announced that he was officially welcoming back Jay Bounce into the fold. Hmmm...Max hasn't told me anything yet...

Anyway, hope you guys can catch our new show. It's called Saturday Slam - the Nicest of the Nineties - every Saturday night from 6-9, replacing Nitelive. That's 3 hours of everything from Grunge to Boy Bands so I hope you children of the 90s do tune in and join us on our stroll down memory lane.

Posted by Jay at 4:52 PM | Permalink | Comments

Let's start the year off right with a new entry.

Actually, I didn't start the new year right. My curiosity was piqued by the news that there was a cellphone video of the Saddam execution circling the internet. First thing I did when I got to the office was go to youtube.com and search for it. It was pretty much the same as the one they showed on CNN, but of course, they showed the part where he was dropped through the trap door. The shot wasn;t spectacular if you ask me - he just dropped out of frame as the camera was jostled around and there was kind of a commotion. Then suddenly, out of the darkness, there he was, his neck tilted to the side, mouth slightly agape, eyes slightly open upward...dead from a broken neck. I watched it with morbid fascination for a few seconds then realized I just saw a man die. Not a good man, yes - but a man nonetheless.

But anyway, I did enjoy ringing in the new year. As is our family tradition of late, we headed to Eastwood to watch the fireworks show. Turns out, Magic 89.9 was hosting the street party so I headed down to the Centre Plaza and joined James Bang and Mighty Mike for the festivities. I got to go on the mic and do my thing with the audience, but the biggest thrill was standing at the top of the stage, with dancing girls all around and helping lead the countdown to 2007. Can't wait for 2008.

Anyway, here's to a great year ahead for all of us. Happy New Year everyone!

Posted by Jay at 11:34 AM | Permalink | Comments

A lot of my friends' posts in their blogs have been about moving in, moving on and moving up. This is kinda like that...only really abbreviated.

Moving in (out) - I'm in the process of looking for my own place. Something in the 8K - 10K range, somewhere near Makati.
Moving on - No more bubbly for me...applications and referrals are welcome.
Moving up - got offered twice this past November - one was for an ad agency, the other was for a new radio station

So how have you been?

Posted by Jay at 2:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

That's the sound of me kicking my own butt to get me to update this thing. It's not that I haven't had the time to write nor can I blame a lack of material. I just haven't had the patience to sit down, gather my thoughts and put them down in an article that makes any sense.

Enter music.

ANNOUNCER: We now return to "Bounce With Me". When we last left our intrepid hero, he and his lady love "Bubbly" had a falling out, leaving him bewildered and baffled. Since then, they resolved to put an abrupt end to their budding romance in order to save their friendship. At the same time, our hero was making his way through a mountain of work and emerged victorious, claiming a pitch victory along the way. He then retreated to his hideaway on the 27th floor of Ayala FGU and used the precious free time to recharge his batteries and gird himself for another battle.

In a cruel twist of fate, his former lady love "Bubbly" has returned to his life and is making it hard for him to "move on".

Where will the road lead our valiant warrior next? Stay tuned to find out!!!

Exeunt.

Posted by Jay at 11:19 PM | Permalink | Comments

Wow, two posts in one day. I must have a lot on my mind.

I finally got to go out with Bubbly last Friday. It seemed perfect...the traffic coperated with me and I got to her place right on time - although she wasn't ready and I had to wait an additional ten minutes. But when she came out...wow. Worth the wait.

We went to dinner at Paparazzi in Shangri-la Edsa Plaza. I always enjoyed eating there when I was younger and I thought she'd like it. And she did. She even said that the risotto was the best she ever had.

Afterwards, we went to Metrowalk to catch the Itchyworms play. After a good set, she got a text message from her best friend asking if they could meet up in Makati. She asks if I could make hatid and of course I obliged. I was kinda tired din at the time but she asked me if I wanted to hang with her first. So I did. Then, after an hour and a half, I yawned. She saw this and asked me if I wanted to go home. She told me that she would be okay and that I shouldn't worry about her. Of course, I didn't want to leave her alone in Makati at 2 in the morning so I volunteered to stay. She insisted and threatened that if I didn't go home, "Away tayo", in her own words.

I finished my cigarette, said my goodbyes then walked to the car as she went to the ATM. I told the driver to go ahead without me and went after Bubbly. Upon seeing me, she got irate. She stormed off in a huff and said something about being able to take care of herself.

I decided that it would be better for me to back off rather than argue my point so I made sure she was settled in at Starbucks and hailed a cab. As soon as I got home, I gave her a call. She answered coldly and I apologized. I asked her if she was still angry. Se said that "It will pass." And then said good night. I waited by my phone till 430 in the morning when she finally texted that she got home safe.

And that's the last I've hard from her since.

There's a reason I've been single all these years and this is it....

So why do I miss her so much? And why am I so affected that she's mad? And why is she so mad in the first place? We're just dating right? Right?

Argh. Women.

Posted by Jay at 1:53 AM | Permalink | Comments

It's 1:37 AM as I write this entry...and oh, by the way, I'm at work. The only thing different about this OT is that I have some Bukas Palad, Hangad and Days with the Lord songs playing in the background. Obviously, I missed mass again. My dad has been the most vocal about my absence and although I don't show it, I'm equally as frustrated. I really need to find someone to go to mass at Gesu with. I know it may sound bad but a this point where my spiritual energies are at an ebb, I need the inspiration and presence of God in the place where I feel most connected to Him.

It's an altogether different spiritual experience to sit in the Gesu, amidst the green fields and trees, with familiar faces and wonderful Jesuit music serving as a perfect backdrop.

Oh well...back to the salt mines. Pray for my soul everybody.

Posted by Jay at 1:43 AM | Permalink | Comments