To Slay The Beast

I'm in a random mood today, so...

I hear the higher-ups of Intelligraph Corporation (Worst. Employer. Ever.) have decided to block several social networking sites. Now, I'll be the first to admit that this isn't at all uncommon as a practice, particularly in call centers. However, that's because of the nature of the work. In the case of the good people I left behind at my former workplace, social networking sites like Friendster, Bloggger, and Multiply are their only lifeline out of the Intelligraph pit of filth. At least, they were when I was working there. Don't those two (Gene "Hitler" Cruz and Irene "Stalin" Cruz) realize that they're killing the already low morale of their writers?

Of course not! They're idiot! They wouldn't recognize the truth even if it hit them right in the face with a left hook! Seriously. The last time I saw people that dense was watching that atrocious abomination of a show called Pokemon.

I realize I'm still ranting about a company I used to work for and that it has been a long time since I was last there, but still. That place gave me the writer's equivalent of an anal violation for each and every day I was there. That place drained my mind dry of a lot of creative and literary potential with the excessively, obscenely high quota and the atrociously low pay. I realize my own stupidity for actually staying there, but there has to be a certain point when you're not the only one to blame.

I'll freely admit that I've complained about my previous employers before. e-PLDT, Ambergris, EduNara, and even TeleTech got their fair share of whining real estate on this blog. I'll also freely admit that every place I've ever worked in, no matter how short, I've learned something. Even from the infamously badly managed Intelligraph, I learned a thing or two. However, there is something that makes Intelligraph infamous, something that makes the management style of Gene and Irene Cruz stand out as the worst single office I've ever had the displeasure of being in. You see, unlike my previous companies, Intelligraph shares a trait with the city of Makati when I think about it.

Like Makati, I hate Intelligraph.

Anyway, moving along...

Darkness & Stars is moving along nicely. I'm on Chapter 21 as we speak, which is a significant improvement from when I last talked about that story. I realize that the going is slow, particularly in comparison to March 2007 (the time when I started work on this thing), but at least I'm still working on it. At this point, I've abandoned all hope of this ever becoming more than a Net-archived story, but that was never really the point of the story. The point of this story was that I felt that the story was something that both deserved to be told and needed to be told. So I continue working on it, even though I'm pretty sure the master file of it is going to reach 2 or 3 megabytes in size, go into the 500-pages or above range, and become the last, great work of fiction I'll ever write.

Make no mistake, I intend to continue writing, but I doubt I'll ever achieve the same level of dedication that I have when Darkness & Stars is what I'm working on.

Speaking of alternate projects, do any of you remember my fascination with succubi? Of course you do! I mean, Morrigan Aensland is still one of my favorite female characters of all time, standing alongside the likes of Katsura Kotonoha and Suzumiya Haruhi. Well, I think it is about damn time that I revisited my old "succubus in a high school" concept again. I think I've got a good idea to work with this time, particularly with mixing in my own interpretation and twist on the succubus myth, as well as a few Lovecraftian elements.

More on this when I finish the characters and plot outline.

With that, I bid you adieu. I'll be back when the winds carry me back here.