oh my god! now, i can, indeed, say that there are still good people left in this world. around two hours ago, i got home a bit tipsy and realized that i lost my wallet. obviously, i unwittingly left it in the cab since i was able to pay for my fare. i was extremely panicking since i have my company-issued amex card inside my wallet – among other cards. i even had to wake up two of my friends to help me look for my wallet (since i wasn’t sure if i really lost my wallet or just misplaced it out of tipsiness), and to browse for a few banks’ customer service hotline numbers for the blocking of my accounts. a few minutes after i realized i lost my number, the guard on post at the entrance of our condominium complex gave our unit a ring, and one of my friends got to talk to him. apparently, the cab driver was at the gate, and has returned to give my wallet back. i then rushed to the gate and true enough, the cab driver was there. he handed me over my wallet and told me that it was a good thing that nobody hailed the cab after i alighted. i was so elated and thankful to the cab driver that i gave him almost half of the money in my wallet. i didn’t care anymore if it was a relatively big amount coz i had my amex card in my mind all the while. i could have been liable for P45,000.00 to my company since one could’ve withdrawn a maximum of $1,000 if he or she successfully hacks the account before i could have it blocked. i even forgot to ask the cab driver’s name since i had this at the back of my mind all the while. he asked for my contact numbers though so as to “makapagtulungan kami.” hence, i obligingly gave him a business card. nonetheless, even if i don’t know his name, i am deeply and sincerely grateful for his praiseworthy act. so manong cab driver, if you ever get to read this, maraming, maraming, maraming salamat po at nawa’y pagpalain kayo ng diyos. sobrang salamat din sa guard na nakuasap ko at sa dalawang kaibigan kong tumulong sakin. again, salamat talaga – as in super! =)

• been so stressed out for the past month and a half. i have begun studying again, and been juggling it with my work. ssstttrrreeesss!!! darnit!
• my entrance scholarship was reassessed and got approved. lovet!
• this means, i have to maintain an average of 3.5 or B+. darnit!
• i'm really learning a lot nonetheless, and i'm getting the hang of dissing people who are presenting their case study reports. hahaha! sorry sila, the case studies are really mind stimulating eh, and i usually have a lot to say about them. lovet!
• my sex life has suffered though. darnit!
• mai's setting up a date for me anyways. lovet!
• but i ain’t in the good condition to go on a date. i am so emaciated now! turn off! darnit!
• finished reading the final installment of the harry potter series. it started good, waned and was boring for about 300 pages, picked up in the middle of the book, and was really exhilarating towards the end. worth the wait! lovet!

* editor’s note: yes, the last item is not related to the other items at all. eh bakit ba? sa gusto kong isama eh! angal?!?!

i was chatting with a person from my not so distant past when he reminded me of a message that i posted in one forum. i thought of posting the message here coz i think it's such a masterpiece. hehehe!

para sa baklang nagpaparinig sa akin sa cgs:

i don't know what your true intentions are, or what you are trying to achieve. are you trying to out me in public? if so, your efforts are pointless and they'd only be rendered fruitless because i am out, and neither am i trying to be discreet at all. you've already done it to me twice; so for crying out loud, put a lid on it. besides, so what if you see me here online everyday? apparently, you are too. i've done nothing to you so i don't understand why you can't keep your big, loud mouth shut. if you're trying to wage a war with me, sorry, i won't stoop to your level. your style is too crass and uncouth for me. if you are bored and have nothing better to do with your mediocre and miserable life, i suggest you try knitting; or anything that will keep you from minding other people's businesses will do. lastly, in my world, you've never existed and you will continue not to exist in it. you were nothing but a sad and pitiful figment of my imagination.

i've finally uploaded pics from our 9-day 2007 ultimate summer getaway (bacolod-iloilo-guimaras-boracay). to my friends, just access my friendster account. i've also included a few pics from our caliraya trip last april. enjoy! =) to those who aren't my friends, sorry na lang. hehehe! =P

• chismis ang jay


• hindi 94.3% ang average ko sa objective exam, essay and interview. hindi ko alam kung saang lupalop niya nakuha ang average na yun.


• according to miss mina, another admin personnel, walang quantitative ratings ang mga essays and the interview


• i checked the website and apparently, to qualify for the entrance scholarship, dapat at least 95% sa objective exam and both "high" ang marks for the essay and the interview


• also, hindi sha 50% scholarship, something like subsidy lang pala ito na ire-refund sa mga scholars


• nonetheless, i feel like i really deserve that


• at dahil dito....

May 24, 2007


Philip E. Juico
Dean
Graduate School of Business
De La Salle Professional Schools, Inc.



Dear Sir:

I am Mark Anthony G. Fontanilla and I have just been accepted to your reputable school’s MBA Program for SY 2007-08. Student ID# 10784748 has been issued to me last night during the course advisement procedure.

Truthfully, I was actually hoping and praying that I could perhaps qualify for your entrance scholarship program. However, it appears that I unfortunately did not make the cut. In line with this, I am requesting your humble office to please reassess my application for the following reasons:
a. I scored 97% in the verbal and quantitative tests;
b. I am exempted in both Business Communication and Business Writing; so I assume that I indeed got a high mark on my essays; and,
c. I got a rating of 1 on work experience in my interview because I’ve only been working for 3 ½ years. This, I feel, is unfair: and of which, I think, I should not have been penalized and placed at a disadvantage.

I am now hoping that you could perhaps reconsider my case. I understand that the entrance scholarship program only refunds a modest yet generous percentage of the entire tuition and fees. Still, this will greatly help me financially since I will be paying my way through the MBA program independently.

Thank you very much, and I am looking forward to your very kind consideration and meritorious response.


Sincerely yours,


Mark Anthony G. Fontanilla
Account Manager
GXS Philippines, Inc.

april 21, 2007
i took the entrance exam for the mba program of la salle. i found the exam relatively easy because i used the princeton gmat reviewer to prepare for this. the verbal sub-test was kinda exhausting though since i went to the exam straight from work; so i was really tired and had no sleep. and since i read really slow (i have this oc tendency to read every word in a sentence and properly pronounce them in my mind – including articles and prepositions!), it was such an eye and brain workout. imagine having to edit three lines of syntactically incorrect phrases per item or having to read around six one-page texts for comprehension and analysis when you’re actually pressed for time! on the other hand, i surprisingly breezed through the quantitative sub-test even if i’m not so confident with my rusty math skills. the essay part, now that i was really confident about. after the exam, i had a good feeling on how my scores will turn out but i wasn’t really sure if i’ll be cut out for the 50% scholarship. an examinee needs to get an average of 95% on the objective exam, essay and interview in order to qualify.

may 2, 2007
the test results are supposedly released ten days after the examination day so i called la salle to inquire. unfortunately, there were no results yet.

may 3, 2007
still, no results. ten days after daw ha!

may 4, 2007
no results. hmmm… maybe it’s ten business days.

may 7, 2007
went to la salle to check. no result pa rin! akala ko bang ten days?!?!? e ten business days na kaya, wala pa rin!

attendant: sir, tatawagan na lang kayo ni jay natividad.
cho: okay….

may 12, 2007
after three weeks, finally jay called me and said that i passed the essay and objective exams, and i’m scheduled for the interview.

may 16, 2007
scheduled interview – i was an hour late. hahaha! it was a so-so interview and i could’ve certainly done a lot better if my thoughts weren’t sabog. plus, my english sucked. hahaha! i swear my uhm’s and ahh’s were irritating, and i didn’t have organization and flow.

after the interview, the professor handed me a copy of their plan of study form. he was explaining the form to me when i saw my grade on the objective exam – 97 percentile. panalo! hence, obviously, there is a big chance that i qualify for the scholarship. in a few days, i will know the final results. and honestly, i was kinda hopeful.

may 21, 2007
cho: hello! may i speak with jay navidad please?
jay: sino po sila?
cho: this is mark fontanilla.
jay: yes, sir. ano po yun?
cho: i just wanted to confirm if i got accepted.
jay: yes, sir. accepted na po kayo sa mba program.
cho: ah, okay. pwede ba makuha yung average ko sa exam?
jay: ay, sorry sir. hindi namin dini-disclose yun eh.
cho: okay. sige, ask ko na lang kung nag-qualify ako for the scholarship.
jay: ay, hindi po sir.
cho: oh, sayang naman. hay! sige, so punta ako jan on the 23rd for the course advisement?
jay: opo, sir. tapos enrollment sa 26.
cho: sige. nga pala, may mga payment schemes ba kayo, tipong installment or monthly?
jay: ay, sir! yung average niyo raw sa exam, 94.3!
cho: huh?!?! ano bay un?!?! 94.3??? hindi ba pwedeng i-consider na yun for the scholarship???
jay: hindi po sir, eh.
cho: 0.7 na lang naman, eh….
jay: sir kasi meron pong 94.6 saka 94.7, hindi rin sila pinayagan.
cho: hay! sayang naman! sige, punta na lang ako jan sa 23.

my god!!! isn’t that frustrating??? he shouldn’t’ve told me my average score anymore. in the first place, they supposedly don’t really release the average scores of the examinees. a simple yes or no would’ve sufficed. i even changed the topic, so why’d he have to bring it all up again? it’s not as if i was pleading or was forcing him to tell me my score. now i can’t get over the fact that i’m only 0.7% shy from the cut-off mark. sayang eh! argh!!! i wish i just got 91 or 88. it would’ve been easier to get over with. sigh!

anyways, it's back to school again!

addie just got back from germany this morning and we spent a very short time catching up earlier tonight. while we were talking, he played his new cd acquisition and i was immediately drawn to the rhythm of the song that he played. british music! oh, how i love british music!!! and so i was introduced to the music of mika (mica penniman) – a lebanese-american singer with a vocal range of five octaves, who is now very popular in the uk and some other countries in europe. his album was recently released in the us and according to chrissy, apparently perez hilton loves him. hehehe!

the following is a video of his live performance at taranta 2007 where he sang grace kelly, the song that made him big in the uk. gosh, he’s so gay! for that, i love him na talaga! hahaha!



and here's the lyrics. love it talaga! =)

do i attract you?
do i repulse you with my queasy smile?
am i too dirty?
am i too flirty?
do i like what you like?

i could be wholesome
i could be loathsome
guess i'm a little bit shy
why don't you like me?
why don't you like me without making me try?

refrain:
i tried to be like grace kelly
but all her looks were too sad
so i tried a little freddie
i've gone identity mad!

chorus:
i could be brown
i could be blue
i could be violet sky
i could be hurtful
i could be purple
i could be anything you like
gotta be green
gotta be mean
gotta be everything more
why don't you like me?
why don't you like me?
why don't you walk out the door!

[getting angry doesn't solve anything.]

how can i help ya
how can i help it
how can i help what you think?
hello my baby
hello my baby
putting my life on a brink

why don't you like me
why don't you like me
why don't you like yourself?
should i bend over?
should i look older just to be put on your shelf?

(refrain)

(chorus)

say what you want to satisfy yourself
hey!
but you only want what everybody else says you should want
you want

(chorus 2x)

oooh, oooh!

kaching