Whew!

I'm posting these two blogs at once because the last one (below) I drafted at the office and had to put it aside because I got so busy (with work and personal stuff).

Well, things have gotten a lot better now. My wife and I have come to an understanding with my ex and her husband, and hopefully we've made the right decisions for the future. It's a bit of a load off the chest, really.

A couple of things that really helped cheered me up over the weekend was "Wicked" our Halloween party and the 1-hour Beatles special of my a cappella show The Blend. Both were really fantastic.

Not a walk in the park

The past week or so has been really trying. My ex is on vacation in the country, and issues of custody and citizenship of my daughter (who lives with me) have been on the table.

It's such an exhausting process; working everything out and worrying so much that you're doing the right thing for the future. There's a whole lot more to it, but it would be too draining to type it here.

The whole time, I kept reminding myself of something that a good friend told me once: "Don't pray for a lighter load, but a stronger back."

A nerd loves stats

Like most geeks, I have odd interests. Sometimes, when i'm in the mood, it's math that fascinates me. Examples...

- Last month, I was obsessed with how our station was doing with some survey results. (Our performance was decent.)

- The other week an officemate was trying to figure out his kid's algebra homework. I was consumed in finding the solution for him.

- Recently, I joined a fantasy nba league. Shortly after our draft, I was up quite late looking at statistics.


Just a couple of weeks ago, the 3rd quarter Nielsen radio survey results were released. It was an improvement for us. What a feeling it is enjoying analyzing the numbers, with the bonus of ending up with great news.

What a gift!

It seems the older I get, the less I expect for my birthday. This year I wasn't really planning anything big, just an extended weekend to rest.

I was almost shocked by the number of greetings that I got. Not just texts by friends and relatives, but also the emails and friendster messages from listeners.

I know it didn't take much work for them to greet, but in a world where we easily lose touch with friends - even though we have their cell number and email address - that little bit of effort shown means a whole lot to me.

Wow-cappella!

Last Saturday was the concert of the AKAFellas at the Music Museum. I've seen them perform so many times, yet they never cease to amaze me.

The guys even pulled a couple of new tricks out of their sleeves. Also adding to the show was the costume changes, the dancers and the nice lighting. Even their guests were so much better than I expected.

It was definitely worth a heck of lot more than my ticket price. I hope it doesn't take another two years before they come up with a show like that again.

More good news

After more analysis of the last survey (for some reason statistics just fascinate me), I found out that our station is #1 with Yuppies at the workplace! We're actually edged out a few long-established station for the top spot.

I know people at our office might be getting tired of my bugging. But I really do think that with just a little more work, we can make it to #1 for our market in all places. After helping start the station three years ago, it would be beautiful to see that happen.

Sunshine in spite of rain

These past few days have been extremely difficult for many Filipinos. My experience was trying, but I won't pretend that it was nearly as hard as that of so many others.

One thing though that made the situation a lot easier was music. Listening to the radio on my cellphone really helped pass the time spent in darkness.

Two very bright spots for me were The Blend Mall tour last Friday at The Podium (with Kilyawan, The Bystanders and The AKAFellas) and the live performance on The Blend radio program by The AKAFellas. I can't wait until their Music museum concert on Saturday!