Sunday, November 16, 2008

a series of unfortunate (and fortunate) events

I don't know what on earth is happening, but this has been a weird day. It's started like any typical Sunday with us going to church and having our usual Sunday lunch with family and Filipino friends... but when I came back to the office to doodle a bit with some work and do some blogging updates, I couldn't boot my black macbook anymore... tried all sorts of things and what nots, but nothing happened. My black mac is officially dead after more than a year's worth of service... I just renovated the office into an all-white affair, so could it be that it felt out of place??? Do I need to get myself a white macbook as well?!



The sad thing is, I haven't backed up my files for the last 3 months since returning from Beijing. All those months worth of work - from ad campaigns, to corporate identities and a whole bunch of design work. Luckily, I saved most of my photos in our 500 gb network drive. But 3 months worth of work is still beyond repair... and I have a million deadlines to catch by tomorrow!

And it doesn't end there. After the misfortune, we decided to go out and do some vintage shopping (read:ukay) but as we reached our shopping haunt, the car overheated extremely that I thought somebody was cooking steamed buns in my hood! I was still able to drive the car to the car shop but they told me it's a lot of work so it's gonna take around 2 - 3 days to get the work done.

Great! So I don't have a car. I lost my macbook. What else could go wrong?

As I was walking out of the shop, the heavens poured so I was stuck there without a ride... and I have a meeting in 15 minutes! Yup, a meeting on a Sunday, and I'm stuck in the rain!

Well, I did make it late and all, but just as I thought that I'm gonna be totally bombed out the whole day, I got a call from the gallery.

I sold five artworks!

And losing things that I was totally dependent upon meant I began to look at life differently again... I took a tuktuk going home and I was able to see my neighborhood again in a brand new level. When I'm driving the car, I always looked straight.

When I still have my macbook, I was working like crazy - even on Sundays. Today, I was able to teach my 3-year old son Freedom how to paint for the first time...

40 comments:

Dakilang Islander said...

wow 5 artworks being sold..di bale na mawalan ng mac at sira ang sasakyan..na-compensate na yun hehh

Borneo Falcon said...

We are have our bad days sometime. Sometime I attribute it to bad luck or act of God

Anonymous said...

Ang cute naman ng anak mo :) at least ngayon cguro BMW na mabibili mo dahil ang dami bumili ng mga artworks mo, hehehe

Felix said...

mabuti at mabilis mong nakita ang kasagutan na idinulot ng ilang kamalasan.

meaning:

1. i-save sa ibang hardrive ang mga trabaho. huwag masyadong umasa kay mac.

2. ipa-check up regulary ang kotse.

3. i-check ang weather bago mag-ukay shopping.

4. simulan nang pagpintahin si freedom at baka makabenta din ng maraming paintings.

at least exciting buhay mo. :)

the spool artist said...

@dakilang islander: pero yung files ko! there's no amount of money that can make me recover them again. huhuhu...

@borneo falcon: well, i hope my misfortune doesn't last that long!

@ar-wee-der-yet: geesh, i wish my artworks are THAT expensive! hahaha. siguo BMW lang na tires ang mabibili ko!

the spool artist said...

@jake: hahaha. you bet i learned my lessons well! nung fujitsu pa lang ang laptop ko, hindi ako nawalan ng files for the past 3 years i had been using it... yung mac, hanggang 1 year lang! Grrr...

Oo nga, maybe i should have my son's paintings curated na! lol

fuchsiaboy said...

i can curate. you have me at your disposal.

and did we tell about the brown butterfly we saw that afternoon after the ukay? we said pera to. aba, pera nga!

it's really nice that you still have freedom when he likes hanging out with you. trust me, there will come a time when hanging out with mommy and daddy isn't cool anymore. i think we should arrange for freedom to have play dates with other kids.

ehem, btw yung longchamp x jeremy scott i hope you havent forgotten. malapit na christmas. hehehe

pusangkalye said...

I guess things go wrong sometimes so that we could have anopther perspective in life. You can't have it all but you can't lose it all naman. All's well that ends well though. The future still looks very orange for you KUYA LOVEN. The future is bright, the future is Orange.....

pusangkalye said...

good thing ang mumurahin kung notebook na assembled ng isang company sa PINAS is still working till now despite long hours of work....

..but I know the feeling of losing some important file and it really is very irritating. Wish you could catch up on all the work kuya. By the way, your son FREEDOM looks very healthy. And he sure has a talent. Looks like he is in to a very bright future too.....

pusangkalye said...

good thing ang mumurahin kung notebook na assembled ng isang company sa PINAS is still working till now despite long hours of work....

..but I know the feeling of losing some important file and it really is very irritating. Wish you could catch up on all the work kuya. By the way, your son FREEDOM looks very healthy. And he sure has a talent. Looks like he is in to a very bright future too.....

Gilbert Semillano said...

I am using a macbook for DJing, I'm hooking it up with 2 turntables and a Finalscrtach2 preamp. My Laptop decided to die one fine day and unfortunately eh, may gig ako sa Redbull BC One! Good thing is that I have all my music files backed up, Kaso, I have to get a new macbook and install the programs and apps! Dayumn! Imbes na kumita, napagastos pa ako :-(

The Dork One said...

i also don't back up my files, kaya pag bagsak ang pc...ugh the pain of lost "memory"

you kid looks cute, enjoy niya ang painting hehe

the spool artist said...

@fuchsiaboy: of course, i haven't forgotten your Jeremy Scott Longchamp bag no! I just have to make that trip to bangkok! kasi naman you guys love things na hindi available sa old market or psar krawlayn! hahahaha

gani man, it's a good thing that freedom is on the stage where he needs us. i am so not looking forward to that day when he only needs us to get money for allowance! hehehe.

maybe we should arrange an exhibit for him na sa arts lounge? lol

@salingpusa: thanks anton... that's why i dont see a bad occurence as a misfortune in actuality. i've learned that all of them lead to some things better or they teach you some invaluable lesson! yup, i think sometimes mas dependable pa ang mga non-branded electronics than the rest!

@Gilbert: it's just heartwrenching that you pay too much money for one thing to work well and to perform what it's supposed to do but don't turn out that way! haaay, that's why siguro ang next laptop ko ulit will not be mac anymore! I pity you... i cannot imagine if it was me! good thing na back up mo yung music mo!

@alex: hala ka! mag back up ka na! dont wait na mangyari din sa yo yung nangyari sa files ko! huhuhu... :-(

Kiks said...

the good thing about the black and white things in your life?

freedom.

he added color - in paint and in real.

Luis Batchoy said...

Because you had a bad day
You're taking one down
You sing a sad song just to turn it around
You say you don't know
You tell me don't lie
You work at a smile and you go for a ride
You had a bad day

But freedom's smile is all it takes to melt everything to oblivion and blast the blues to smithereens... lucky guy you!

lucas said...

wow...your son is so cute!

and i bet he's also talented as you :) san pa ba magmamana! hehe! way to go FREEDOM!

tsk..sayang naman yung mga files mo.uhmm hindi naba talaga yung marerecover? but at least a good thing came out from your almost sucky day... :)

btw, your office is the most artistic office i'd ever seen...(hindi naman kasi ako madalas sa ga opisina hehe)

peace out!

the spool artist said...

@kiks: yup, and no amount of freaky sunday disasters can amount to that!

@luis batchoy: yes, i am indeed lucky to have freedom to take the bad day away and turn it into sunshine... hahaha, funny because i've been singing that song too when this all happened!

@roneiluke: thanks ron! hahaha, i'm sure he'll grow up to be much much better than his dad!

there is still hope... i brought my mac to the mac store where i bought it and they said they have different ways of salvaging the files, so i am keeping my fingers crossed!

i spend most of my time in the office so it's just fair that i invest time and effort in making it match my personality... cheers!

Looking For The Source said...

you may have unlucky days but your always lucky having Freedom! cute!

the spool artist said...

i sure am lucky for having him! cheers!

RedLan said...

First off, THIS IS A GREAT GREAT GREAT STORY!!!! You touched me and i guess not only me. You're great despite of unfortunate events happened in your life. Not actually life but i can say it was just a bad day.

Kapag may nangyaring masama, be positive kasi may darating na magandang balita. It's the way lang naman to look at life in a positive way at may marealize ka talaga kapag you isaisip mo lang at i-appreciate ang mga bagay bagay. Nakarelate ako sa story of the day mo.

Malaki na pala ang anak mo. I was browsing your previous post last week lang kasi. Keep up the good work Loven! Goodluck and more projects to come! Marami pa yan kasi marunong kang mag-appreciate ng mga bagay-bagay.

kawadjan said...

awww cute story!
all those realization on impermanence is very buddhist.

Eds said...

things happen for a reason. siguro, pinapaalala lang sayo na mas masaya if you spend more time with your Freedom. he is so cute! pwede ba kurutin ang mkha nyan? hehehe. joke!

the spool artist said...

@redlan: yup, i think that we can turn around our bad days into sunshine when we think positive. i always believe that thinking about good things will bring good things... thanks for the well wishes. ;-)

@kawadjan: that maybe the spiritual being thriving in me... hehehe.

@blue rose: you're right. there are things i forget and take for granted that it was a good reminder for me to pause and take time to enjoy the world other than work. hahaha. sige, kurutin mo. mahalig ding kumurot yan!

chezza said...

Badluck always come in 3's: ur macbook's dead, your car was steaming, and it was raining! BUT, when it rains it pours too! like you've sold 5 of your artworks---so then u can buy a new macbook, a new car and by this time I hope the sun will be shining, he,he,he...

Anonymous said...

If the black mac is broken its time to purchase the new macbook pro and besides naka macair kanaman ngayon heheh.. If the car is sira na pallitan na ang camry and buy na tayo ng lexus SUV..If its raining, ok lang yan, the rain is just reminding you how you used to love to run around sa cpu elementary football field when its raining..

God is so good to us and gave us so much blessings.. more than the artworks sold, the most precious blessing he had given is our little coochiemomo who loves to paint!

the spool artist said...

@chezza: oo ng no, it usually comes in threes! hahaha, i wish my artworks' worth are enough to buy me a new car! wish ko lang!

@anonymous: thanks for lending me your macbook air. do you know that the new macbook pro costs $2,800? Do you know that the Lexus SUV even at second hand costs $20,000? So pili ka... designer gifts for you for christmas or yan?

atto aryo said...

hmm. at least, ambilis ng balik ng swerte. pasalamat ka pa rin talaga. marami dyan, puro malas na lang.

Anonymous said...

We have that good and bad days sometimes. Wow, your cute son has a really special talent. Lovely painting.

In the meantime, you might want to take a look about New York New York Shopping Center in Taipei, Taiwan. Hope you like it and have a lovely day. :)

the spool artist said...

@r-yo: oo nga, i'm thankful na bumalik agad ang swerte! hehehe.

@asian traveler: thanks! i'll check your new post out! cheers!

escape said...

kakalungkot naman. hirap din kasi talaga magback up kung wala ka ding ibang drive. siguro ok na rin na i-burn ang mga ito sa cd para sa back up.

buti na rin at may swerte sa dulo.

Sreisaat said...

Kawawang MacBook, pinagkaisahan ng mga upuan at lamesa ... non-conformist daw kasi! Sorry to hear about the unfortunate events, buti na lang may Freedom ka to brighten up your day :)

Jake said...

5 ARTWORKS!!! Pa-burger ka naman dyan!!!

Grabe dude, it's time you hold an exhibit in places like Milan or New York where you will get much better exposure.

Congrats!

the spool artist said...

@the dong: actually, i have a big drive where i store my past files and i normally back up my files but for the past months i have been really busy... and i regret being lazy to do it!

@zj: oo nga mabutin na lang andyan si freedom! hahaha, maybe i need to spray my macbook white too!

@jake: sige, punta kayo dito ni doc m at more than burger pa ililibre namin! oo nga, sana magdilang anghel ka at maka exhibit ako sa milan or new york! pag yun nangyari magpapaburger ako sa new york! lol

Anonymous said...

amo gd na hambal ni kuya kim, ang kabuhi kuno pa tyempo tyempo lang, grabe gabaha ang khmer sang water festival, didto sa iloilo mag dagyang ga baha ang beer ya!

On-going pa guihapon imo exhibition sa de la paix? pa siem reap ko sa sabado, id like to check it out also.

the spool artist said...

hi patrick. gani man... weder weder lang talaga yan! hehehe. tapos na ang exhibit ko but i do have a gallery sa alley tubang sang linga bar kag tupad sang mcdermott gallery... if you're around town, give us a message so we can meet you up for coffee or something!

eDreGiN said...

-ganda naman ng jufis mo broderhud' at ang cute cute naman ng junakis mo...

anyway, me unfortunate man na nangyari sayo ang importante eh naibsan din naman agad ng fortunate events at pag hinde eh talagang malas talaga...huh' hehehe...kulet noh'

sensya na ngarag ako 2 hours palang tulog ko eh :=)

the spool artist said...

sister, kamusta naman yung problem mo sa booking last time? i hope napalitan na rin yun ng swerte! hehehe

eDreGiN said...

-nakuh! deadma ako dun sa booking na yun...hehehehe' Ang alam ko dumating na yong bill nung booking (covering the whole amount) pero ang sabi ni Amo kase eh he'll deal with it daw at sabi sa akin next time be careful...I guess my swerte is yong amo ko...despite sa unfortunate case na un, whatcha say? Hehehehe...

the spool artist said...

aba, buti naman... so dapat i treat mo kami ng boss mo... kahit burger lang sa jollibee hongkong! hehehe.

the boomerang kid said...

at least, you still had one happy incident to offset all the bad ones that happened... life's still good, right?