Tuesday, December 30, 2008

Facts About Me

1. My full name is David Paul Gonzalo Mejia
2. I went to three schools, namely, Christian Learning Lab (nursery-kinder 1 <1989-1991>), St. John's Academy (Prep-High School<1991-2002>), University of Santo Tomas (Bachelor of Arts - Communication Arts <2002-2006>)
3. I learned how to drive at the age of 13
4. Never had a real girlfriend (why? dunno. place your bids! )
5. My dream job is to become a pilot for Philippine Airlines (It's all set!)
6. My current job is bank officer in one of the top banks of the country
7. My best cousins are: Cara(+), Paolo, and Dianne (mother side); Bella and Mikki (father side)
8. I was just watching "Beauty and the Geek" earlier and I realized that I did not like pretty but dumb girls.
9. I think that these people are my best male buddies: TJ (from work), and Gene (from college), and Paulo (from high school)
10. I think that these people are my best female friends: Tori (former co-worker), Bianca & Jenny (from college)
11. I only loved one girl (romantic) in my life. A selfish kind of love...
12. At my age I still get excited when I see or hear airplanes
13. I like to listen to music - from folk songs to jazz to bossa nova to hip hop (not hardcore), OPM, trance, and almost anything that Alyssa Bernal sings. Just don't ask me something about them.
14. I love photography but unfortunately I don't own an SLR camera
15. I'm not much of a movie fan. I seldom get to watch movies in theatres.
16. I used to love being one of the cops in the game cops and robbers
17. I love to drive
18. My favorite city near Manila is Tagaytay
19. My favorite aircraft are the B747-400 and the A340-300 because they have taken me to far places like the US and France
20. I don't like people who mess with the organizations / groups that I belong or belonged to
21. My favorite sport is basketball
22. My favorite basketball teams are the UST Growling Tigers (college), San Miguel Beermen (local pro ball) and the Los Angeles Clippers (NBA)
23. My favorite city abroad is San Francisco, CA, USA
24. My favorite credit card is Diners Club
25. My favorite airline is Philippine Airlines (my father served that airline for 38 years)
26. I started dreaming to become a pilot aboard a Philippine Airlines B747-200 when I was just four years old.
27. I worked as a practicumer in Eat Bulaga... The longest running noontime show(2005)
28. If you see Kyla's music video of "till they take my heart away" (2005)you will see me in the background
29. If you watch the film "Ang Anak ni Brocka" (2005) you will see me
30. I am fascinated by the military (seriously)

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

2008 Retrospect (Part 1)

As 2008 comes to a close, I thought of the many experiences I had. Many were very nice and some were not so nice. Here is a recap of some 2008 events and discoveries.


GOOD-BYES
:(
On February 14, Pastor Kevin Alamag and his wife were killed in Commonwealth Ave by a rushing Nova bus. I did not expect that I would be affected by this because we were not close. I wish that we had more time to talk because our only encounter (thru text) was a real blessing. They left their two children behind.

:(
In April, my closest cousin passed away due to complications. She had brain tumor. (refer to "Dear Cara" entry). She was 20.


DISCOVERIES
:) :) :)
Some time in February I was searching for the video of Sara Bareilles' "Love Song" in YouTube. When the search results were displayed, I saw this headshot with this pretty girl in it. The title is "Singing Love Song". Boy I've been her fan ever since because not only is she talented, I also find her veeeerrrryyyy prrrreeeeeetttyyyy. Her name is Alyssa Bernal. She's one of my best discoveries this year. Search for hchsknights08 in YouTube and fall in love with her voice. It's her 19th birthday on December 22. She never fails to make me smile everytime I watch her videos. I wish I met her when I went to the States last July. She's a recording artist now. Hope that she does not forget me-- she posted a comment on my one of my posts. She told me "I like you. You're knowledgeable :)". I still keep that message in my email. :)

:)
I discovered that it is exciting to drink a little alcohol during flight. It calms the body. On my flight to the States I drank beer. On the flight back I drank champagne. :)









BLESSINGS
I have so many things to thank for this year.

My Family











Sorry I can't find other pictures





My Friends
Office Friends!!


High School Friends!
















And College Friends! (no photo available)



My US Trip (July 16-August 8, 2008)
Burning Hearts Genesis Growth
GCF Ushering Ministry
Pastor Eph Pascual and Venus


MY BASKETBALL TEAMS
University of Santo Tomas Growling Tigers



Los Angeles Clippers



San Miguel Beermen



That's all for now. Can't think of anything else to write anymore. Be back with part 2. :)

Sunday, November 16, 2008

bloggable event!

Nov 14-- celebration ng birthday ni pau.. sobrang saya. may bar c/o sober club... may pulis na pumunta para sabihan kaming tumahimik kasi madaling araw na... si JB nag level 8.. wasak instantly... suka agad... nalanta... nahulog... sweet moments nila ni... natulog... hindi na nakaalis... awkward moments... hehehe... sorry moments... emo... galit... saya... sarap?... speechless... no judgments... demonyo at anghel...

sorry na lang sa mga hindi makaintindi nito.

damn!

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Dearest Cara

(First posted in MySpace)
The song that I posted in my profile (whole again - atomic kitten) reminds me of my dearest cousin Cara. She would have been 21 years old this November 17 but that won't be anymore.
She was my closest and dearest mother side cousin. Being two years younger than me, she looked up to me as her kuya. We were together for as long as I could remember. From those annoying "cry baby" days of hers to her last breath... Well, almost.

You see, she was diagnosed with brain tumor sometime in 2005. Oh was she tough during those times. I was in my last year in college then. I remember the days when I went to Makati Medical Center to visit her. Those were bittersweet days for me. Bitter beacuse of the situation and at the same time sweet because that was the first time that I saw her resiliency and faith in God.
When she was having some sort of radiation treatment, she did not complain. Not once did we hear her scream or cry because of the pain. And then her hair began falling off. We cousins decided to support her by shaving our heads. Yes, also the girls. But no! I was the only one who shaved my head.

Support was overwhelming and before we knew it, she was back on her two feet and doing things she loved like playing sports (badminton, futsal, etc).

Everything seemed normal. In 2007, on my birthday, Cara, Paolo (another cousin) and I went to Tagaytay City-- our favorite resort city about 80 kilometers from Manila. We went there without the knowledge of our elders (hey I was 22 already then). We had a fun drive though it was traffic. We reached the cool city at dusk. Because the trip was made at the spur of the moment, we were not able to bring jackets that's why we were shivering while going tiangge (bazaar) shopping. We ate at our favorite Japanese Restaurant, had a few drinks, had coffee before going home. I remember that she even let Paolo pray for me... that I be given a long life, good health, she thanked God for me, etc. We had a fab time.

Last year at around October we noticed a change in her. her health was deteriorating. I remember crying during my trip to Boracay beacuse I was thinking of her. I won't go through all the details anymore.

During Christmas she seemed to be okay again. It was very unfortunate that I began to be very busy at work and we were not able to spend so much time together.
All of a sudden she was so sick again. She looked worse than she did when she was first diagnosed with the disease.

Then on April 15, 2008 she was rushed to Makati Med again. I said that I would visit her the next day. Unfortunately I was so busy at work that I totally forgot her. I called my aunt up to say that I would go the next morning. Well, it was not meant to be. When I woke up early in the morning I received a text message saying that she was no longer with us. I was shattered... bothered by my conscience for not visiting her the day before.

Oh well so where does the song fit in the equation? Well one of her fave bands was Atomic Kitten. The song "Whole Again" was one of our favorites. The music video shows the three members walking side by side while singing. Cara, my sister Carla and I used to always walk in the village and they would start singing the song. Cara would be Liz, Carla would be Jenny and they keep on insisting that I be Natasha. hahaha.
Oh well... I know that she's in a better place now.

Thursday, July 31, 2008

Driving in LA

First time to drive outside the Philippines. I was driving home from DeVry University with my cousin Ate Anna. We were cruising through Interstate 10 West when this video was taken. Pretty cool. Chicken! haha... Law abiding driver naman ako so I did not make any traffic violations.

This video is from my trip from Manila to LAX (Los Angeles). It was pretty turbulent at first because of some weather disturbances in the Philippines/Taiwan area. I was just eating my appetizer when I took this video. I heaved a sigh of relief when it ended. The flight was pretty much smooth after that. I was seated at the fourth row (4B, B747-400, N754PR) Mabuhay Class of Philippine Airlines flight 102 (July 16, 2008). It is a direct flight from Manila to LA and is about 12 hours 30 minutes long. I was with my parents and aunt but they were seated away from me. I was beside a nice American lady from Dallas, TX who works at IBM and was crippled because of a freak accident at EDSA Shangri-la Hotel. What I did not like about this flight was that my personal video was not working. Actually, I shouldn't have been in that seat but some Congressman requested that he be seated elsewhere. I not being a complainer, I gave him my seat... partly because I was given an aisle seat. Also seated in the same section as us were GMA VP for Entertainment Ms. Wilma Galvante and actress Princess Violago (aw), Vic Sotto and Pia Guanio.

We landed in LAX at around 8.15PM of the same date. Very nice because the flight left Manila at 10.15PM so I gained at least half a day. It was a very smooth landing for us... a trademark of Philippine Airlines pilots, whose ranks I hope to join within the next 2-5 years as a B747, A340 or B777 second officer. hehe Ü

Monday, July 14, 2008

Last Inuman with my High School Friends






Last FRiday my Friday group drove all over the Metro from SAn Juan, our hub, just to have fun in Coco Cabana in Kalayaan Ave Makati. We wasted two hours and about 5 liters of gas. Here are some photos of my last inuman with the Friday group.


Saturday, July 12, 2008

Dinner with Gabby, Ina and Linny




We just had a simple dinner with the family of Kuya Gabby.. here are some pics. Sana hindi kayo magkaroon ng stiff neck.







Thursday, July 3, 2008

First Day JAM

Nyeta!

Sobrang sama ng araw ko kahapon (July 1) sa trabaho. Ang okay na sana kasi official na yung posisyon ko pero parang nakalimutan ko na marami pa ring tao na mas mataas sa kin.

First day na first day ko pa lang pinutakti na ko ng mga problema kaya hindi ko na-enjoy. Buti na lang kanina medyo masaya kami sa office. At sana naman bukas makalabas na ako kasi almost one month na ko hindi nakakapag field ng maayos.

Kanina nga pala may nagtatangkang sumira ng araw ko. Yung mga tao sa ibang dako ng Pilipinas na parang walang common sense. Nagkaroon tuloy kami ng problema. Kung ako lang yung boss nila memo kagad sila...

Buti na lang hindi kasi baka isipin nila power tripper ako. Pero sa totoo lang parang masarap mantrip paminsan.

HEHE!

Sunday, June 29, 2008

Functional Evening

Last June 13, 2008 my high school friends and I went to Tagaytay for a functional evening after work. Ako, si Pau, Bim, Ron, at Queen... Dapat kasi nung birthday ko pa namin gagawin ito kaso lang nung paalis na ko sa bahay that time, biglang umulan ng malakas and kahit na bihis na ko, hindi ako pinayagan umalis ng bahay ni mama. so kahit naka jacket na lahat ng dapat kasama ko, hindi na kami tumuloy....

so back to june 13, 2008... Natuloy kami finally. umalis kami ng Manila at around 9.00PM. Dating kami sa Tagaytay siguro mga 11.00PM. We first bought some refreshments sa 7-11 (Orange Juice, Tropicana, Water, Antonov, Soju) then we had dinner at Carlo's Pizza (refer to earlier posts.. wala lang starbucks after!)...

after that dinala ko sila sa tagaytay kabayuhan... literal na horseback riding area. naka park lang kami dun. playing music, drinking the refreshments that we bought earlier, puffing some victory cigars, and having a great time. bumaba kami mga 3.15AM and dumating kami sa manila at aroung 4.30AM. nakakatulog na ko sa manibela nung nasa may Dasmarinas na kami pero I got my second wind pagdating sa Coastal Road so maangas na uli ako mag drive.

anyway, Pau, sorry na lang at hindi kita uli pinagdrive nung time na yun kahit na obvious na nagpapapansin ka sa rear view mirror... :)

next time na lang yung mga pics. ibang file extension pala dapat...

Thursday, June 26, 2008

btw

nakakalungkot nga pala na hindi ako makakapunta sa Houston next month because of time and budget constraints.. sayang yung oplan hanap ____ ko.

deamn

Staff --> JAM!

First time mangyayari sa kin ito. after one full year as a merchant accounts specialist, team leader na ko... junior assistant manager.. fastest promotion in three years sa department namin. hehehe... mahirap lang i-handle yung south metro manila. pero kakayanin...

first promotion ko ito. sa mga makakabasa nito, i'm sorry pero marami pa kong binabayarang utang so pass muna yung libre.

lol