Happy, Happy People...

The Internet needs to be given technology to convey sarcasm more clearly.

You see, I have just been put into a wonderful little situation by my employers and previous employers.

First off, my last employer, Ambergris Solutions Inc, is attempting to shake me down for an amount of cash for a cellphone. The only problem is, I don't have the phone they claim I have. You see, all of us were promised a cellphone. I eventually got mine and signed all the documentation that said the phone was in my possession. No problem there. Until I resigned. You see, when I did, I found out that the serial number of the unit I had wasn't listed under my name. To make matters worse, they refused to change the records to reflect the actual situation. I eventually convinced them to just let me leave the blessed cellphone with them. They promised to fix it.

Now, about 9 months later, they're trying to take me for a fool and take it from me. I checked with them to clear this up and, according to their records, I never even got a damned phone. The worst part is that they still want me to pay for it.

Oh, the intelligence!

Now, let us move on to my current employer, shall we?

You see, with them I have a tax problem. Under Philippine law, every employee is entitled to a certain exemption to their income taxes. However, that exempted amount is valid for the entire tax year, regardless of how many employers you've been under for that tax year. Now, I had three employers in 2006. I had no problems with my 2005 records from ePLDT - Vocativ because Ambergris Solutions did their legally mandated task of fixing any problems for me. I even got my tax refund. However, when I get to *expletive deleted* Intelligraph Corporation, I ran into a snag. Apparently, the accounting and HR department here made the mistake of applying my tax exemption for each of my employers. So, let's say I don't have to pay $5,000 in taxes for 2006. Instead of just taking that $5,000 out, they took out $15,000 because I had three employers for that year. Now, they were aware that this was a mistake before the April 15th deadline to fix the problems, but saw fit not to inform me.

Now, they're asking me to pay for it. The bastards. Thankfully, I know I'm not legally bound to pay it and that if anything, that amount should come from my employer's pockets.

Idiots, one and all.

The only thing keeping me sane right now is the book I'm working on, which currently has the tentative title Cecilia & Mint.

Just One Of Those Days

There are days when it just isn't worth it to get out of bed. Right now, I feel like I'm having more and more of those. I have my reasons for not wanting to leave, but the fact that I have to for a variety of reasons urges me on. I'll never get around to working on my little project, for one thing. I kind of need sleep right now (as I haven't been getting much sleep lately), so this isn't going to be long. However, I would like to point out a couple of interesting things.

First, I really like Avatar: The Last Airbender. I particularly like Toph and Azula. Second, for no good reason, I'm going to dump a snippet of my project here, for your perusal. This is from Chapter 2: "Call Me Friday, Got It?"

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“I’ve known you…what? At least five years?” she asked as she leaned closer to me, resting her head on my arm. “And in that time, I’ve come to know what you’re very sweet, very gentle, and when you care about a person, you only give them the best that you can. Your previous romances, Jeanette and Claire, have no idea what they gave up.”

I shook my head. Stephie and I had this sort of discussion before, around a few days before our senior prom. It was considered the one time that our friendship was interrupted, but we patched up by the end of our senior prom. She also confirmed the “with benefits” of our friendship that same night. She left her date hanging, whereas I didn’t bother to find one. Truth be told, I wasn’t planning on going but she (and my parents) talked me into going. Some garbage about last chances or some thing, I don’t really remember.

“Your perception of me is flawed. You make me sound like some prize catch, but I’m not. I’m only average-looking, I’m not a gentleman, I can be a complete and utter bastard most of the time, I generally don’t have much respect for people, I deliberately don’t make sense most of the time, I actually like being depressed, and…”

“And you’re dead wrong about yourself,” she said before pausing. Then, “Okay, you might have a point about your looks but I know you. Deep inside, you’re different.”

“Yeah,” I countered, “I’m not normal.”

“You’re lovable,” she said in a soft voice. She used the voice that she used whenever she wanted to make herself feel seductive, sultry. Not that she needed that sort of help, attractive little she-devil that she was. “I knew you were from that time you saved me from that bastard of a boyfriend.”

“I didn’t save you,” I answered her before I finished my drink. “He got in my way.”

“You keep saying that and some day, I just might believe it. You can deny it all you like, Jackass,” she said to me as she leaned her face and body closer to mine. Close enough for a kiss. She was warm, sensuous, the kind of woman that men drove themselves mad trying to get close to, and I looked at her as if she was my sister. “But I know better.”

“I’m telling you,” I said to her, “you’re wrong about me.”

“I can tell you’re going to be as stubborn as ever about that. Fine then,” she said before she stood up, finished her drink, took our glasses, and smiled at me. “I have one final little question for you. Something serious, so I want you to give me a serious answer.”

“Okay,” I answered. She wasn’t drunk yet, though her mood shifted as if she was.

“This question is going to be serious, okay?”

“I get it, Stephie.”

“Alright. Ready?”

“Ready.”

“Voulez-vous coucher avec moi, ce soir?”
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