Liberated @ MindSay 
"Come Right Out & Say It"
by Matt Thiessen
I'd better rest my eyes
Cuz I'm growing weary of
This point you've been trying to make
So rather than imply
Why don't you just verbalize
All the things that you're trying to say
Thought things would turn out so well
But I'm beginning to see
That instead it's trouble
Into a pattern we fell
Of prolonging the inevitable
Why don't you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are probably gonna hurt
I'd rather have the truth
Than something insincere
Why don't you
Come right out and say it (come right out and say it)
What it is you're thinking
Though I'm thinking it's not what I wanna hear
I gotta check my pride
Because I was starting to think
I was starting something good
I couldn't start it this way
I was sinking in retrospect
And understanding that I misunderstood
I'd like to make up your mind
And then this decision locks up
So tight it couldn't be touched
Thought you were being so kind
But keeping your mouth sealed shut
Rather than just opening it up
Why don't you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are probably gonna hurt
I'd rather have the truth
Than something insincere
Why don't you
Come right out and say it (come right out and say it)
What it is you're thinking
Though I'm thinking it's not what I wanna hear
And I tried
To guess what goes on in your head
Cuz in your mind
I just might find
All those things you left unsaid
And I'll try to maybe not regret anything
Later on after I'm gone
You'll wish that you
Had listened to me (listened to me)
Why don't you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are gonna hurt
We're better off this way
Why don't you
Come right out and say come right out and say
What I know you're thinking anyway
Why don't you
Come right out and say it
Even if the words are probably gonna hurt
I'd rather have the truth than something insincere
Why don't you
Come right out and say it (come right out and say it)
What it is you're thinking
And just what it is you're thinking
Relient K always seems to come out with a song right when I need to hear a certain message and I find my solace in it. As of yesterday, my employment with HMV is coming to an end. I put in my two week notice due to the fact that my employers have backed out of giving me a promotion that was promised. I am so tired of being taken advantage of that I decided that this was the last straw. I obviously do not mean enough to the company for them to be loyal to me, so why should I be loyal to them? I mean, I love my job and all but I have bills to pay. And obviously this job wasn't going to pay them. There are a few things that I will miss after March 17th (my last day). I will miss the free tickets to concerts. I will miss the promo copies that we got on occasion. I will miss the discount. But most of all, I will miss the people. A few people in particular actually. If everyone knew how great these people are, they would understand how sad I am about leaving behind a place that I have worked hard for over the past 3 years. Let me tell you a little bit about our staff in the video department...
Aaron. He's my supervisor and he's kind of a prick sometimes. At present, I am extremely angry with him and despite the fact that he was an amazing supervisor, I think that I will always remember him as the guy who screwed me over.
Jamie. He is our security liason and resident Anime/video games expert. He's kind of abrasive at times but at the truth of the matter is that he cares about the people in our department. He cares more than he lets on and more than people think.
Eric. What can I say about the guy that used to hit on me a lot and follow me around? Well, he's an asshole and he's creepy. But every store needs one of those guys...He was usually nice to me (because he was hitting on me) and so he cares in his own stalkerish way.
Andy L. To be perfectly honest, if I never saw him again I would be happy. He annoys the hell out of me. He annoys me so much that one day, he was hovering around me and getting in my way while I was trying to fix the printer. Finally I shouted at him "GO FIND SOMETHING PRODUCTIVE TO DO!" Yeah. I get rage when I think of him.
Sophie. I call her my Sophist. She is this crazy and free person who doesn't care about what anyone else thinks. She listens to Rob Zombie and loves horror films. She is one of my closest friends at work.
Kristi. She's getting married in July. And she's getting my promotion. I don't think that I'm going to miss her all that much.
Luke. He's the new guy and he's already made an impression on me. Okay, so on the first day, I nicknamed him Pretty Face. He's a good person though and I wish him all the best. He's only been at the store for a couple of weeks but I still count him as a friend.
Josh. I have known Josh from almost day 1 with the company. He's this amazingly fun guy who makes his own sound effects while living his daily life. He amuses me to the very core and for that I am extremely grateful. He can make the most boring of days the most memorable.
Kirsten. Josh's best friend. She's is a great person too. She's funny and smart and I have found a friend in her.
Ryan. He's a really decent person. He can take a joke and give back just as good. On the outside, he comes off as sarcastic but he's a good person.
Lisa. I met Lisa on my first day at the store. She is one of my dearest friends there and we've been through a lot together. We went through the death of a friend together, management changes, promotions/demotions, frustrations with other staff, I've watched her fall in love and remain "ridiculously happy" for the past 2 years (with no end in sight), and we even gush over guys with cute accents together. She's great. And I'll miss her.
Dave. What can I say about Dave? He's this cynical musician who doesn't speak alot (unless he is talking with his friends) and he's got amazing taste in music. But there is more to him than that. He's got this heart of gold that is really full and he really cares but he's so afraid to show it. He's my bad boy crush too. He's funny and smart and talented and he has this edgy side to him because he is so freaking mysterious about his habits. He recently quit smoking (okay he did it in January) and he's trying to improve himself. When I found out about not getting the promotion and told him that I was quitting, he just got really quiet and was really supportive of my decision. He was there for me when I needed a friend.
Bree. Bree is pretty much the closest thing I have to a best friend at work. We laugh and cry together. We share war stories about life in general. We mourn with each other when a family member passes on. We tell each other about our crushes and what our plans are for the future. We talk about school because we are in the same faculty. We talk about our families because they are important to us. We share pretty much everything (including our waterbottles on a rare occasion). She's fantastic and I'm going to miss working with her.
As for the management that I will be missing...
Tammy. She is my manager and also the same person that has somewhat screwed me over. I love her but she's betrayed me. I'm pretty livid about it. She was a great manager though and I'll always remember the good times that we have shared.
Van. He is one of the two supervisors from the audio department at work. He is a close friend of mine and I have watched him rise in his rank here at the store. He began as a Christmas temp about 4 years ago, became a full time worker, and then just last year was promoted to the position of supervisor. He has been through a lot but has still come out smiling at the end. I love this guy to pieces.
Andy. What can I say about Andy? He is the assistant manager of my store and he's just amazing. He was taken aback when I shared the news of my quitting and I really do think that he was hurt by what happened as well. He's always had faith in me and has always made sure that I know how much I mean to him. Sometimes I think that he only sees what he wants to see but then again, I could be only seeing what I want to see in myself. He has always made me feel like I'm special and that I belong where the cool kids work. I do not believe myself to be a cool kid so it's hard for me to see myself as part of that group. Anyways, I'm going to miss this guy. He's absolutely wonderful.
There is plenty more staff that I have left off of this list but that's okay because these are the people that I dealt with on a daily basis. There are so many memories that I am going to cherish from this job such as...
Johnny Cash Dance Parties on Monday mornings.
working Christmas Eve day with Bree and Andy.
meeting Relient K.
discovering the truth about popular bands and how they treat fans.
secret smiles with certain people.
the dance breaks that were held when DJ Tiesto's dvd was played.
the fight between Josh and Eric.
the ridiculous customers that we only could shake our heads at.
two words. Jerry Mills.
break room chats.
when Andy wrote on the white board in permanent ink and he didn't realize it. it stayed like that for about 3 weeks.
Antoine the paper bird that has nested in Lisa's locker.
explaining what christian crunk rock is to Andy.
and so many more things...
Anyways, this is my farewell to the store I called home for so long. As of March 17, 2007, I will be working at another place that I call home. That is to say that I will be working at home.
Ah Valentines Day, a day where lovers buy roses to love ones, a day where people wear red clothes to heighten the ambiance. Every February 14, restaurants are filled with dating lovers and love stories fill the cinemas. Love songs fill the airwaves in every radio stations you hear as you pass houses going to the market. Lodges are filled to the max by lovers doing their “thing”. Ah this day….really sucks!
You know as I grow tired of this day. I sometimes wonder…why are modern day Filipina becoming soooooo cheap. Yep you heard it right folks…CHEAP! Why? You don’t know why? I’ll tell you why.
If compared long ago, I really appreciate those “babe worshipped” songs in the 80’s. Songs like “Sinasamba Kita” (I Worship You) by Rey Vallera, “Be My Lady” by Martin Nievera, “Kamusta Ka” (How Are You) by Nonoy Zuñiga and a lot of songs composed by Mr. Jose Mari Chan talks about how beautiful a woman can be. Here are songs that place a woman on the pedestal. These songs give credit to a woman’s mystery and seductiveness. They show how a lover adores his beloved, like a real treasure. Let’s talk about movies. In the time of the Sampaguita pictures and LVN, We find Filipina women being courted by their suitors. In those times “pinaghihirapan ng lalaki ang panliligaw sa babae.” Films like Takipsilim, Igorota, and Sa Lumang Simbahan shows love themes where women are not insatiable fish pickers.
Alas! Gone are those great days.
Look at the going thread. This so-called modern lifestyle is not really beneficial. I’m not saying that every modern life style is bad nor am I saying that being a liberated Filipina is cheap. But there is a big difference between being liberated and being down right cheap. Liberated means an independent woman. A woman who can have her own flat, she can raise her status on a male dominated world, and she doesn’t need men to tell her what to do. Now that is being liberated. Now what is down right cheap?
Now a days, those love songs that I said earlier where being re-issued. The difference is that today girls with squeaky voices sing those songs. Now you may say that there is nothing wrong with that. Really? Just try to listen to those songs in their cheap versions. If a girl sings the song it’s like that she is pleading for a guy’s love. OH NO!!!!!!! How desperate can she be? Why is there no other guy interested on her that she has to kneel down and embrace the guy’s legs? Now we hear song that makes a woman sound too anxious on a guy’s affection.
Aside for those songs, there are songs composed to sound like girls admiring a dork. Example, the song Close to You by the Carpenters. Here is a girl singing praises to a guy who she compares to something which angels go down to, like a god. Now I know why Karen starves herself to death. Here in the Philippines…well the only think I can do is to puke.
Now even in movies, WHAAAAAA!!!! The worst. We see girls fighting over a dope. This is very prevalent in Asian telenovelas. So ano yung pinag-aagawan nila? Those “swangays” na mga mukhang kutuhin like those long-haired effeminate Chinese they called F4? Example here in this trash of a TV show called “Meteor Garden”. The girl rented a large sign board to place a sign telling her feelings for the leading creep. Now, why can’t the guy do that for the girl in the first place? Maybe they are too in love with themselves to notice the girl. On the other hand, there are movies, especially western movies, were the leading men, take their desirability because they are great business men, scholarly professors, inventors and the likes that had little time for their wives and female lovers. From these movies, scenes that show these very busy and exceptional men submerged in pressing things like, business growth or radical mathematical equations. Then here comes his better half , girl friend or female lover who does nothing but embrace him from behind and try to entice him to go to bed with her as if that’s the only good thing she could do! What kind of movies are these, showing girls only good for sex, but the male character are exceptional leaders of society? Is this what some women justify as being “liberated”?
Because of these media hype, the Filipina are losing her “magic touch” and are now being replaced by trashy girls who hang around in malls, internet cafes, and sleazy movie theaters. Today, just to be noticed, modern day Filipinas tend to be noisy, talkative with their squeaky voice, rivaling the screaming faggots, to flirt around their crushes. NGIIIEEE!!!
Just thinking of it, makes me puke!
Today, men collect girls, cheaper by the dozen. Gone are the days of women where being courted and respected. Now you can pull them by the hair to the nearest motel, use them and discard them like candy wrappers. Another lust satisfied, and then calls it a day. I had friends, showing off how many women did they conquered. I don’t find it amusing.
I’ve heard news, about the famous dolls Barbie and Ken; after a long separation, Ken is trying to win Barbie back. Mabuti pa yung mga manikang iyan. At least here we see a man, trying to win back a woman’s heart. But here in the Philippines, women are just being collected like lifeless dolls. And as I notice, Filipina women seem to agree with the situation. Oh MY PAPAYA!!! Have they gone insane? Have they loosed their sense of pride and self respect?!?
I still believe that somewhere in the nooks and crannies of this decadent Philippine society, a woman with pride and dignity just like the old days, still exist. I just hope that whoever she is, dumami pa sana ang katulad niya…
…At twing umuulan ay kapiling ka….
Pinoy Atheist
I just did something for the first time! Bought two concert tickets!!! I've been to conerts before, but I've never bought the tickets before, and not on my own...I feel liberated (I think that's the right word).
Two tickets to Missy Higgins on the 29th October. Brisbane River Stage, gates open at 5:00pm.
