We held our Mexican-themed party today for our idiosyncratic PE class.
So many things were needed, actually: we planned about five games (some which didn't quite push through because of lack of time), brought an insane amount of food (considering how stringent DLSU is with bringing large amounts of food inside the premises) and got screwed by the awfully timed rainshowers. Because of that damn rain, we had trouble organizing how we'd get the food into the Sports Complex without the guards noticing...and that means using my mom's van. I actually arrived earlier than expected, not the other way around. I was expecting to come in last so I wouldn't have to wait for anyone else. Worse, actually transferring the food to my van meant that we'd have to brave the flooded canals of Taft Avenue.
I'm happy though...I guess we pulled off the party quite well despite all the troubles and a cut class in Philosophy. It was more of a food-driven party than the games-driven parties our other classmates had, since we taught them how to make chicken burritos and paella with shrimp and scallops. Had some games, too...had to make do with a simple palayok (earthen pot) instead of a genuine piñata because of the price difference...had a sack-race type of game with a twist...those sorts of things.
I'm exhausted.
---
These stupid rains have caught me unawares. I was driving my sister home, honking along the Skyway at 70 km/h, when the sky suddenly darkens five shades of PANTONE gray. Every street I turned into had rollicking waves of muddy floodwater. The showers seemed tame, actually, but they were persistent enough to cut my forward visibility.
Thank goodness the Pregio van's a diesel. I would've freaked out otherwise.
---
While at the party, I brandished my old Nikon FM camera once again, after a long period of disuse. I took pictures of my constumed classmates eating, playing games, and basically having fun. While I was at it, I felt something missing in me. Taking pictures suddenly made me realize how much of a bore my life's been.
I always put off using my camera because of the most frivolous reasons---most notably that of not being "outside" of my usual daily grind. Nothing was picture-worthy if it was part of the everyday experience I get to repeat ad nauseam. I realize, though, that I have to make those picture-worthy moments happen, or at least keep a keen eye out for the unusual.
I guess this realization came just in time. I'll have my major subject in photography (FOTOCAM) next term. I can't afford to slack off, I suppose.
about the talking fish
- JM
- Writer. Wheelman. Occasional DIY mechanic. Walking collection of hang-ups. Hopeless romantic. Old-school. Analog soul in a digital world. I am all of these things and more.
Tuesday, July 23, 2002
I have busy days up ahead. Due to the two five-day weekends we've had from the recurring storms, the school's gifted us with two days' worth of make-up classes on two consecutive Sundays. Yuck. Why this stupidity has to happen on Sundays is beyond me, actually. Why not swipe some Saturdays off instead, like they've always done?
We've been given our all-important schedules for the next term starting September, in preparation for online enrollment beginning next week. Now that our LC24 block will be practically dismantled, we're now given free rein on how we organize our lives and schedules for three months. I guess it allows for some degree of freedom, but being given the worst possible times for our oh-so-unique Communications Arts major subjects stinks. I still can't quite juggle the schedule so that I can get ample breathing room in between our demanding major classes.
I guess I formally started my tenure in The LaSallian this week as well, too. I slowly started to get to know my co-staffers at the news section, but I still have my chilly doubts as to how I'm supposed to go about collecting my factual information. I haven't written news in such a long time (I did layout in my final years at Counterpoint), and it doesn't help that Zobel and DLSU, while on the same school system, are worlds apart in terms of size and scope (not to mention population). I used to simply go to events, attend them and gather my facts without much interaction with the people behind the scenes. Now I slowly realize that what little "newswriting" I did in high school was nothing more than child's play.
Why do I suddenly feel like such a freshman in my sophomore year? I feel my co-staffers and my boss Mike have noticed...
---
Am supposed to host a party with my group for Social Recreation on Thursday (it's my PE for this term...and yes, I know it's weird). We have a Mexican theme and I'm still wondering about what we need for the big "occasion." Hmmm.
We've been given our all-important schedules for the next term starting September, in preparation for online enrollment beginning next week. Now that our LC24 block will be practically dismantled, we're now given free rein on how we organize our lives and schedules for three months. I guess it allows for some degree of freedom, but being given the worst possible times for our oh-so-unique Communications Arts major subjects stinks. I still can't quite juggle the schedule so that I can get ample breathing room in between our demanding major classes.
I guess I formally started my tenure in The LaSallian this week as well, too. I slowly started to get to know my co-staffers at the news section, but I still have my chilly doubts as to how I'm supposed to go about collecting my factual information. I haven't written news in such a long time (I did layout in my final years at Counterpoint), and it doesn't help that Zobel and DLSU, while on the same school system, are worlds apart in terms of size and scope (not to mention population). I used to simply go to events, attend them and gather my facts without much interaction with the people behind the scenes. Now I slowly realize that what little "newswriting" I did in high school was nothing more than child's play.
Why do I suddenly feel like such a freshman in my sophomore year? I feel my co-staffers and my boss Mike have noticed...
---
Am supposed to host a party with my group for Social Recreation on Thursday (it's my PE for this term...and yes, I know it's weird). We have a Mexican theme and I'm still wondering about what we need for the big "occasion." Hmmm.
Sunday, July 21, 2002
I finally have a new computer. Eherm, let me correct myself: I was finally able to make my new computer work the way it should.
My new "black box" is a Pentium 4 running at 1.7GHz with a 40GB hard drive and 128MB of memory. Okay, so it's not state-of-the-art, but hey, all I wanted was enough hardware power to run Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Microsoft Word simultaneously. I don't even think I'll be using this new box for heavy PC gaming either, since it doesn't have much of high-end graphics capabilities (the graphics and sound cards are integrated into the motherboard).
Most important of all, however, the thing's got a quicker 56K internal modem than our old reliable 33.6K Sportster, and it's not as crash-prone as my old Pentium 2 was. We found out the cause of the irritating 30-minute-per-use crash habit of our old PC, and it's because the cooling systems aren't working well anymore. My dad and I cleaned out the computer of all its dust (I never thought computers could get so dirty on the inside) and had the CPU fan cleaned out too. Pretty soon I'll have to clean out my stuff from the old hard disk as well.
That's fine though. I'm just happy. Now maybe I can get on with my work...
My new "black box" is a Pentium 4 running at 1.7GHz with a 40GB hard drive and 128MB of memory. Okay, so it's not state-of-the-art, but hey, all I wanted was enough hardware power to run Adobe Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Microsoft Word simultaneously. I don't even think I'll be using this new box for heavy PC gaming either, since it doesn't have much of high-end graphics capabilities (the graphics and sound cards are integrated into the motherboard).
Most important of all, however, the thing's got a quicker 56K internal modem than our old reliable 33.6K Sportster, and it's not as crash-prone as my old Pentium 2 was. We found out the cause of the irritating 30-minute-per-use crash habit of our old PC, and it's because the cooling systems aren't working well anymore. My dad and I cleaned out the computer of all its dust (I never thought computers could get so dirty on the inside) and had the CPU fan cleaned out too. Pretty soon I'll have to clean out my stuff from the old hard disk as well.
That's fine though. I'm just happy. Now maybe I can get on with my work...
Thursday, July 18, 2002
I haven't posted in such a long while that I feel myself very detached from my blog already. Oh well...since my dear Ate Pam's been badgering me about updating my blog for quite a while already, here I am back in my little home on the Web.
---
I've had the worst luck with my computer...it's been the cause of so many headaches. Every time I use it I can only do my things for 30 minutes, after which it automatically goes suicidal, freezes and hangs itself. I can't get it to reboot until 20 minutes after the dreaded crash.
What complicates it even more are my circumstances. When you're working on a thirtysomething-page Sociology paper with all your relatives crashing your house for two successive weekly parties, and you're constantly nagged by the responsibility of entertaining your cousins from America, and you're stuck with a heinously uncooperative computer, and finally you're stuck with a dreadfully slow dot-matrix printer, you can imagine how I felt. I was practically pulling my hair out in despair, begging for God to let the typhoons stay and call off classes longer. What's worse, when I submitted the damn thing, I didn't get to study for my Sociology midterms that day.
I managed to persuade my parents that I had had enough of my work interrupted with frequent computer crashes. Just last night I got home to a new CPU unit, although my Dad hadn't set it up yet because we couldn't find the activation code for Windows. Strange thing---now my old computer behaves properly.
Very very weird.
---
Speaking of computers, my parents have expressed grave concern for our Internet bill. I personally managed to make our bill shoot up to 65 hours---15 hours beyond the limit. Now I feel really guilty because we have a bill that's almost double our normal monthly charge.
Maybe I should seriously consider getting prepaid Internet instead...and hide it from my parents...
---
Auntie Carole, Uncle Butch, and my cousins Czasha and JB left for South Pasadena two Tuesdays ago. Despite my computer troubles, I was happy that they stayed at our place and actually had loads of fun, despite their being here only for a couple of weeks. I had so much fun with JB that I forgot how traumatic our first encounter was back in 1997, when we stayed at their place. The kid was very skilled with Dance Dance Revolution, about the same skill I have with Percussion Freaks. One Monday we even went to Alabang Town Center and played almost endless games of DDR and PF. My right arm was aching so much afterwards.
Czasha and I were a little more civil now, seeing as we actually were quite similar in temperament (we both had short tempers). I learned a lot of things about her when I accompanied her to buy a prepaid calling card and took a very long detour to avoid the traffic in our suburbs. I was sorry I delayed her for so long, but I was happy I actually got to talk with her.
Uncle Butch and Auntie Carole were great company. Their jokes and stories were enough to keep me sane. I'm going to miss all of them, since the next time we see each other might be five or so years from now.
---
I've been spending more time with Pam on the phone lately. What's weird, though, is finding out that her faraway significant other even got jealous of me. (I have to say...that's a first.) I won't spill the details to protect their privacy though. Just read her blog.
I am so proud to say I successfully made a fool of myself in front of her. It all started with my penchant for remembering the most useless trivia---things such as termites eating wood faster when exposed to heavy metal music, or my remembering watching the movie "The Fly" and not remembering most of the plot except for the main character having had his first sexual encounter at five years old. (Jeff Goldblum's character matured very quickly, that at 11 months of age he was already a boy of five years old.)
Then I said that mosquitoes have an attraction to the color blue. Looking out the window and seeing my blue Honda, I remarked that I found it weird that despite my choice of college, I never liked green and liked a rival college's blue instead. I innocently remarked that perhaps I was a mosquito in my past life.
I never heard the end of it. Now my name on her phone's contact list is "mosquito." She even told me, "Now I know what the M in JM stands for." Well, she laughed so heartily that I guess I didn't mind.
---
Argh, I had my accounting midterms just this morning. It was such a nerve-wracking experience, since we didn't have much of time on our hands. I was so pressed for time that I forgot to do the simplest and easiest part of the test: making adjusting entries. That's an instant 20 points down the drain...
Not that I'm aiming for Dean's List this term anymore anyway. I just don't have the same zest I used to have. At this rate I'm going to be very lucky if I even get a 3.05 GPA.
---
Sent my little blue Honda City to Honda Cars Makati for a biannual tune-up. It was such a harrowing experience. I came in at around 9:30 am and dropped my queue slip at one of two little boxes. Ninety minutes later I realize I dropped my slip at the wrong box...it was for those who had set appointments. I swapped my slip and put it into the walk-in box.
I already managed to finish watching the film Cool Runnings when I realized nothing yet had happened to my slip and it was still swallowed under the big swath of slips. I went out for lunch...only to come back and find out that I had already been called and my slip had been marked "No Response, 12:40." I waited another two hours until I was so tempted to snatch my slip and have my turn cancelled. They finally noticed my slip---it was number 99 in a whole swath of 130s and 140s---and asked me about what I wanted.
I seriously don't enjoy having to do that again. The next time, I'll set an appointment instead of losing my cool after five hours of wasted wait.
---
I've had the worst luck with my computer...it's been the cause of so many headaches. Every time I use it I can only do my things for 30 minutes, after which it automatically goes suicidal, freezes and hangs itself. I can't get it to reboot until 20 minutes after the dreaded crash.
What complicates it even more are my circumstances. When you're working on a thirtysomething-page Sociology paper with all your relatives crashing your house for two successive weekly parties, and you're constantly nagged by the responsibility of entertaining your cousins from America, and you're stuck with a heinously uncooperative computer, and finally you're stuck with a dreadfully slow dot-matrix printer, you can imagine how I felt. I was practically pulling my hair out in despair, begging for God to let the typhoons stay and call off classes longer. What's worse, when I submitted the damn thing, I didn't get to study for my Sociology midterms that day.
I managed to persuade my parents that I had had enough of my work interrupted with frequent computer crashes. Just last night I got home to a new CPU unit, although my Dad hadn't set it up yet because we couldn't find the activation code for Windows. Strange thing---now my old computer behaves properly.
Very very weird.
---
Speaking of computers, my parents have expressed grave concern for our Internet bill. I personally managed to make our bill shoot up to 65 hours---15 hours beyond the limit. Now I feel really guilty because we have a bill that's almost double our normal monthly charge.
Maybe I should seriously consider getting prepaid Internet instead...and hide it from my parents...
---
Auntie Carole, Uncle Butch, and my cousins Czasha and JB left for South Pasadena two Tuesdays ago. Despite my computer troubles, I was happy that they stayed at our place and actually had loads of fun, despite their being here only for a couple of weeks. I had so much fun with JB that I forgot how traumatic our first encounter was back in 1997, when we stayed at their place. The kid was very skilled with Dance Dance Revolution, about the same skill I have with Percussion Freaks. One Monday we even went to Alabang Town Center and played almost endless games of DDR and PF. My right arm was aching so much afterwards.
Czasha and I were a little more civil now, seeing as we actually were quite similar in temperament (we both had short tempers). I learned a lot of things about her when I accompanied her to buy a prepaid calling card and took a very long detour to avoid the traffic in our suburbs. I was sorry I delayed her for so long, but I was happy I actually got to talk with her.
Uncle Butch and Auntie Carole were great company. Their jokes and stories were enough to keep me sane. I'm going to miss all of them, since the next time we see each other might be five or so years from now.
---
I've been spending more time with Pam on the phone lately. What's weird, though, is finding out that her faraway significant other even got jealous of me. (I have to say...that's a first.) I won't spill the details to protect their privacy though. Just read her blog.
I am so proud to say I successfully made a fool of myself in front of her. It all started with my penchant for remembering the most useless trivia---things such as termites eating wood faster when exposed to heavy metal music, or my remembering watching the movie "The Fly" and not remembering most of the plot except for the main character having had his first sexual encounter at five years old. (Jeff Goldblum's character matured very quickly, that at 11 months of age he was already a boy of five years old.)
Then I said that mosquitoes have an attraction to the color blue. Looking out the window and seeing my blue Honda, I remarked that I found it weird that despite my choice of college, I never liked green and liked a rival college's blue instead. I innocently remarked that perhaps I was a mosquito in my past life.
I never heard the end of it. Now my name on her phone's contact list is "mosquito." She even told me, "Now I know what the M in JM stands for." Well, she laughed so heartily that I guess I didn't mind.
---
Argh, I had my accounting midterms just this morning. It was such a nerve-wracking experience, since we didn't have much of time on our hands. I was so pressed for time that I forgot to do the simplest and easiest part of the test: making adjusting entries. That's an instant 20 points down the drain...
Not that I'm aiming for Dean's List this term anymore anyway. I just don't have the same zest I used to have. At this rate I'm going to be very lucky if I even get a 3.05 GPA.
---
Sent my little blue Honda City to Honda Cars Makati for a biannual tune-up. It was such a harrowing experience. I came in at around 9:30 am and dropped my queue slip at one of two little boxes. Ninety minutes later I realize I dropped my slip at the wrong box...it was for those who had set appointments. I swapped my slip and put it into the walk-in box.
I already managed to finish watching the film Cool Runnings when I realized nothing yet had happened to my slip and it was still swallowed under the big swath of slips. I went out for lunch...only to come back and find out that I had already been called and my slip had been marked "No Response, 12:40." I waited another two hours until I was so tempted to snatch my slip and have my turn cancelled. They finally noticed my slip---it was number 99 in a whole swath of 130s and 140s---and asked me about what I wanted.
I seriously don't enjoy having to do that again. The next time, I'll set an appointment instead of losing my cool after five hours of wasted wait.
Wednesday, July 03, 2002
This past weekend saw me in Subic, up north in Olongapo City. Subic is a former US naval base converted into a free port in the last decade. We caught up with my mom and my other relatives who were taking JB, Czasha and my other relatives from the US around Baguio three days before. Despite warnings from friends that I'd get really bored there, I actually had quite a fun day's stay.
The flat we stayed in had ridiculously cold air conditioning, which was non-adjustable. This countered with the dry, arid Palm Springs-like heat of the outdoors in mid-afternoon (I thought that kind of heat would be impossible here in the Philippines). All this just made my persistent cold much worse than it already was.
We didn't really get to do much since we stayed there only about a day. I brought my PlayStation there to help keep my little devil cousins busy, but eventually had to stay behind most of the time to keep them from fighting over my machine. Bianca and Czasha got to swim with whales in a nearby marine park for about 45 minutes. The cost was ridiculously expensive though...it cost around PhP4,600 just for their time with the black pilot whales. I suppose it was worth it though, seeing as the two girls enjoyed. Later on we went around and saw bats swooping over our vans. Along the way we stopped at an obstacle course probably used by the US soldiers before, and my cousins went all over it. Back at the flat, my uncles and aunts played endless rounds of Bingo, even inviting my cousins over.
It was a fun stay, but I wish I could've done and explored more. I wish I didn't have to play babysitter to the little brats.
The flat we stayed in had ridiculously cold air conditioning, which was non-adjustable. This countered with the dry, arid Palm Springs-like heat of the outdoors in mid-afternoon (I thought that kind of heat would be impossible here in the Philippines). All this just made my persistent cold much worse than it already was.
We didn't really get to do much since we stayed there only about a day. I brought my PlayStation there to help keep my little devil cousins busy, but eventually had to stay behind most of the time to keep them from fighting over my machine. Bianca and Czasha got to swim with whales in a nearby marine park for about 45 minutes. The cost was ridiculously expensive though...it cost around PhP4,600 just for their time with the black pilot whales. I suppose it was worth it though, seeing as the two girls enjoyed. Later on we went around and saw bats swooping over our vans. Along the way we stopped at an obstacle course probably used by the US soldiers before, and my cousins went all over it. Back at the flat, my uncles and aunts played endless rounds of Bingo, even inviting my cousins over.
It was a fun stay, but I wish I could've done and explored more. I wish I didn't have to play babysitter to the little brats.
Wednesday, June 26, 2002
I'm completely down-to-earth!
Find your soul type at kelly.moranweb.com.
You are the most in touch with knowledge. It's the tree of life from which you tap the sap. You know what you want and you know how to reasonably get it.
Virtues: You respect people with plans. When someone has their head on their shoulders, you know that they can see straightforward and keep their eyes on the mark. When it comes to looking at the future, you take a logical approach: what's within your ability? A fortunate attribute that you have is the ability to set a goal for yourself, higher than maybe you feel possible, but still keep yourself within reasonable bounds. You take the time to appreciate those surrounding you and they do appreciate you in return. Decision-making comes naturally to you when you take the time to consider each option. People only come to talk to you when they are looking for a logical, reasonable solution.
Aspirations: You have an idea of what you can do with your life, but you push it up a notch. You need a profession that you can enjoy, so work towards it. You want to live near your friends and family while being as far away as possible. You also want to settle down while working in excitement and variation.
Quirks: You don't appreciate drama queens and they don't appreciate you. When they need help, they won't seek you out because of your ability to see through their overly dramatic predicaments. You have leeway for humor, and sometimes love to participate in it, but when it becomes irrational behavior, others can count you out. Loud noises are bothersome, except when they come from you or your friends.
Factors: Reach for the sky! Don't decide to do something because you're merely good at it, but choose something you might like to do, despite whether you're sure you can master it or not. Don't only save room for a few empathetic friends, but open up to everyone.
Future: When looking for a job, if you work in all of your talents (logic, decision-making, planning, and definitely humor), you'll find yourself happy. Come to a compromise for location; live nearby your friends and take periodic vacations or live farther away and take frequent return trips.
---
Not to sound egotistic or anything, this quiz just piqued my interest. Ladeeda...
Tuesday, June 25, 2002
Got some mail from strangers about my blog. Apparently they stumbled over my little hut on the Net while looking for something else (really, how else would people I've never met know about my existence?), and they actually thought I write well. One of them even wanted to be friends with me.
Well, I feel quite honored. Thanks.
---
Online enlistment for my courses next term was a bitch. I can't blame DLSU for much though...most of the fault was on my damn unreliable computer. I was really close to burying my measly little knuckle into the case's sheet metal. Never seemed to work properly for more than an hour. I need a new computer. Or at least I need an upgrade.
---
My car's battery finally gave out on me. He came to the rescue and got me a new one while I was parked in a nearby Caltex station. Although I appreciate that he was there, I hate the way he, along with his other, has to rub in every little mistake I make. Being treated like this, I suppose you wouldn't be surprised as to why I hide the truth from you two so often. I don't want to be constantly bugged by my blatant mistakes again. I'm nineteen, for crying out loud. You should know that I know when I'm wrong. I should know; I have an overdeveloped sense of guilt, no thanks to my lack of credit in your perception.
Scratch that. EVERYTHING I do is never right, correct or adequate for you two. Not even the fact that I managed to stay on the Dean's List for the whole year entitles me to any benefit whatsoever. I wonder what the point is in ranting about this when I know not any amount of pleading or pleasing you will change things.
---
I felt so lethargic today. I couldn't help but fall asleep in Physics Lab class. The whole week I've been so damn tired because my sleep's been very erratic. When I plan on waking up at 9 am, I wake up at 6 for one reason or another. So weird. Maybe I need downers to sleep well this time.
---
My erstwhile crush and now close friend Denise was kidding me after I told her about my little lunch date with Pam yesterday. She was telling me that the two of us might end up as a couple.
Nah, I told her. Not likely. She's sworn off relationships.
Den wouldn't give up. "That's where things get started." Oh...kay. I just smiled it off.
---
Had the weirdest smoothie I ever tasted. I ordered a banana smoothie from a Japanese restaurant in University Mall. When I got it, it was a shade of pink and hardly tasted like banana at all. Weird. I'm never getting smoothies from that place again. I fear for my safety.
Well, I feel quite honored. Thanks.
---
Online enlistment for my courses next term was a bitch. I can't blame DLSU for much though...most of the fault was on my damn unreliable computer. I was really close to burying my measly little knuckle into the case's sheet metal. Never seemed to work properly for more than an hour. I need a new computer. Or at least I need an upgrade.
---
My car's battery finally gave out on me. He came to the rescue and got me a new one while I was parked in a nearby Caltex station. Although I appreciate that he was there, I hate the way he, along with his other, has to rub in every little mistake I make. Being treated like this, I suppose you wouldn't be surprised as to why I hide the truth from you two so often. I don't want to be constantly bugged by my blatant mistakes again. I'm nineteen, for crying out loud. You should know that I know when I'm wrong. I should know; I have an overdeveloped sense of guilt, no thanks to my lack of credit in your perception.
Scratch that. EVERYTHING I do is never right, correct or adequate for you two. Not even the fact that I managed to stay on the Dean's List for the whole year entitles me to any benefit whatsoever. I wonder what the point is in ranting about this when I know not any amount of pleading or pleasing you will change things.
---
I felt so lethargic today. I couldn't help but fall asleep in Physics Lab class. The whole week I've been so damn tired because my sleep's been very erratic. When I plan on waking up at 9 am, I wake up at 6 for one reason or another. So weird. Maybe I need downers to sleep well this time.
---
My erstwhile crush and now close friend Denise was kidding me after I told her about my little lunch date with Pam yesterday. She was telling me that the two of us might end up as a couple.
Nah, I told her. Not likely. She's sworn off relationships.
Den wouldn't give up. "That's where things get started." Oh...kay. I just smiled it off.
---
Had the weirdest smoothie I ever tasted. I ordered a banana smoothie from a Japanese restaurant in University Mall. When I got it, it was a shade of pink and hardly tasted like banana at all. Weird. I'm never getting smoothies from that place again. I fear for my safety.
Monday, June 24, 2002
Had no classes today because of Manila's city anniversary. Had nothing better to do. So I decided to ask Pam out to lunch before she went to work.
We met and ate at Cibo in Glorietta, and spent our time just talking away. She was worried that her section had only 4 pages on Wednesday, a far cry from their usual two 8-page sections. Although it meant that they'd finish their work earlier, it also meant being somewhat shortchanged by their advertisers...
Later on we went to her office inside the Philippine Daily Inquirer's halls. She introduced me to her section editor and some of her co-writers, but I was too shy to make any particularly memorable impression on them. Still, it was a great day and I had loads of fun. Not even the rude greeting of my car's discharged battery spoiled my day today (it's somewhat charged now).
Thanks a lot, Pam.
We met and ate at Cibo in Glorietta, and spent our time just talking away. She was worried that her section had only 4 pages on Wednesday, a far cry from their usual two 8-page sections. Although it meant that they'd finish their work earlier, it also meant being somewhat shortchanged by their advertisers...
Later on we went to her office inside the Philippine Daily Inquirer's halls. She introduced me to her section editor and some of her co-writers, but I was too shy to make any particularly memorable impression on them. Still, it was a great day and I had loads of fun. Not even the rude greeting of my car's discharged battery spoiled my day today (it's somewhat charged now).
Thanks a lot, Pam.
Sunday, June 23, 2002
Saturday was a hectic day. Had my admission exams for The LaSallian in the morning, then had this talk for Philosophy (which was incidentally more political than philosophical -- the talk may as well have been for POLIGOV, not INTPHIL). In the evening I went to Angel's debut at the Pan Pacific Hotel.
The exams were long. Whoever made that news test made damn sure applicants like me wouldn't take exams for other departments -- but I got the one for graphics and layout too, hahaha. It didn't help that I was an hour late for it either. I felt like my writing skills were being forced out of my latent laziness because I haven't been writing news full time for about a couple of years.
The debut was okay, but so many irritations spoiled my evening. With the Pan Pacific Hotel being in the heart of downtown Manila, I got lost driving around in circles because of Manila's maze of one-way streets. The debut was right in the middle of the Manila Filmfest as well, so traffic was rather bad. When I got to the restaurant, these waiters served an extraordinary amount of Chinese food; I think I counted at least 12 entrees. Just trying to sample them all was a chore, being all sated with food.
The greatest disappointment, though, didn't come in until I left the damn place. Since I parked in the basement and it was my first time in the damn hotel, I didn't know I had to validate my parking ticket (no one ever told me, and I swear it wasn't on the ticket). That made the difference of paying PhP90 for parking (expensive enough, but manageable) and PhP300 for parking. Frustrated, I simply palmed the bills to the parking lady and drove off on full throttle. I left there broke. I was hoping to save that, you assholes...
---
Oh well, I guess what matters is that I actually went there. Happy belated "debut," Angel. You know what I mean.
---
I finally met Pam Pastor in person. And what a surprise it was.
It was one of those spur-of-the-moment meetings, actually -- she had to do an interview of our basketball training team, and I was up long enough to be able to talk to her on her home phone the night before. I arranged to escort her around DLSU right in between my tests and my lecture.
We met at South Gate, and then I proceeded to escort her to the Sports Complex's hardwood courts. After her interview, we went down to La Casita for lunch. Far from being an awkward meeting, we were talking and laughing like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. It was also great to be able to be with Pam without being hassled by cell phone credits or excessive Net usage. As we found out, we actually had a common time where we could just hang around in Makati. Yes, Pam, I agree: we really should go out more often.
I loved making my friend smile and forget about all her recent troubles with weird guys. 'Twas just too bad that I had to leave for my Philosophy lecture, as she was free until 5 pm that afternoon. We'll do this again, Pam, I promise. You make me realize how nice I really am.
---
As I was typing this I've had to rewrite and rewrite this post at least four times. My four-year-old computer's uncooperative again. I thought I had the problem fixed when I removed 75MB of junk and temporary files from this lump, but no...
Methinks it's about time I took up my mom's suggestion of getting a new computer.
The exams were long. Whoever made that news test made damn sure applicants like me wouldn't take exams for other departments -- but I got the one for graphics and layout too, hahaha. It didn't help that I was an hour late for it either. I felt like my writing skills were being forced out of my latent laziness because I haven't been writing news full time for about a couple of years.
The debut was okay, but so many irritations spoiled my evening. With the Pan Pacific Hotel being in the heart of downtown Manila, I got lost driving around in circles because of Manila's maze of one-way streets. The debut was right in the middle of the Manila Filmfest as well, so traffic was rather bad. When I got to the restaurant, these waiters served an extraordinary amount of Chinese food; I think I counted at least 12 entrees. Just trying to sample them all was a chore, being all sated with food.
The greatest disappointment, though, didn't come in until I left the damn place. Since I parked in the basement and it was my first time in the damn hotel, I didn't know I had to validate my parking ticket (no one ever told me, and I swear it wasn't on the ticket). That made the difference of paying PhP90 for parking (expensive enough, but manageable) and PhP300 for parking. Frustrated, I simply palmed the bills to the parking lady and drove off on full throttle. I left there broke. I was hoping to save that, you assholes...
---
Oh well, I guess what matters is that I actually went there. Happy belated "debut," Angel. You know what I mean.
---
I finally met Pam Pastor in person. And what a surprise it was.
It was one of those spur-of-the-moment meetings, actually -- she had to do an interview of our basketball training team, and I was up long enough to be able to talk to her on her home phone the night before. I arranged to escort her around DLSU right in between my tests and my lecture.
We met at South Gate, and then I proceeded to escort her to the Sports Complex's hardwood courts. After her interview, we went down to La Casita for lunch. Far from being an awkward meeting, we were talking and laughing like two old friends who hadn't seen each other in years. It was also great to be able to be with Pam without being hassled by cell phone credits or excessive Net usage. As we found out, we actually had a common time where we could just hang around in Makati. Yes, Pam, I agree: we really should go out more often.
I loved making my friend smile and forget about all her recent troubles with weird guys. 'Twas just too bad that I had to leave for my Philosophy lecture, as she was free until 5 pm that afternoon. We'll do this again, Pam, I promise. You make me realize how nice I really am.
---
As I was typing this I've had to rewrite and rewrite this post at least four times. My four-year-old computer's uncooperative again. I thought I had the problem fixed when I removed 75MB of junk and temporary files from this lump, but no...
Methinks it's about time I took up my mom's suggestion of getting a new computer.
Thursday, June 20, 2002
Don't you dare start with me. You already test my patience severely, you liar. You so proudly claim to think the same way I do yet you fail to realize that you've been lacking decency toward me. You should know a lot better, kid. It's getting to the point that I can barely contain an impulse to bash your face in.
Wednesday, June 12, 2002
It's been quite a while since I updated...not that there's been much of anything worth posting.
---
Went to Otakuboard's first anniversary today, at Beia's house in BF Las Piñas. Basically had a great time hanging around with the wacky members of our little online community. Her house was rather hot inside -- most of us sweated a lot and got dehydrated -- but it wasn't too bad a deal. I actually talked and opened up more with them, not just persisting by my lonesome at some Percussion Freaks machine --- and found some pretty nice and funny people.
I got the chance to ferry two OB newbies to Beia's place; the twins were Chinese-Filipino. I felt so glad to be able to somehow rid Annabelle and Matthew of their self-consciousness, and I fully related with how they felt because I was the sole newbie in the third OB EB two months ago. I think they left my car quite satisfied with the entire event. Till next time guys. I had fun.
---
I should probably realize by now how much of a bad liar I am. Seriously, I should always remember that I'm one of the most transparent persons on earth. No amount of experience is ever going to make me a better bluffer.
I guess that means I can't play good poker though. Heheheh.
---
Pam was off to Hong Kong for an entire weekend. My cellphone was absolutely silent, void of text messages during that period. Although I missed keeping her company, I also realized how much of a big spender I've been. A lot of my expenses went to cellphone loading. I've spent an easy PhP6,000 off my bank account during the last summer, and I haven't been saving up any.
I really want to keep in touch with Pam, but maybe I should think of meeting and hanging out with her sometime and someplace convenient. I can't phone her at home, and I'm limited by cellular calls and texts. Kind of in a fix. Maybe I should return to e-mail. Then again...
---
Went to Otakuboard's first anniversary today, at Beia's house in BF Las Piñas. Basically had a great time hanging around with the wacky members of our little online community. Her house was rather hot inside -- most of us sweated a lot and got dehydrated -- but it wasn't too bad a deal. I actually talked and opened up more with them, not just persisting by my lonesome at some Percussion Freaks machine --- and found some pretty nice and funny people.
I got the chance to ferry two OB newbies to Beia's place; the twins were Chinese-Filipino. I felt so glad to be able to somehow rid Annabelle and Matthew of their self-consciousness, and I fully related with how they felt because I was the sole newbie in the third OB EB two months ago. I think they left my car quite satisfied with the entire event. Till next time guys. I had fun.
---
I should probably realize by now how much of a bad liar I am. Seriously, I should always remember that I'm one of the most transparent persons on earth. No amount of experience is ever going to make me a better bluffer.
I guess that means I can't play good poker though. Heheheh.
---
Pam was off to Hong Kong for an entire weekend. My cellphone was absolutely silent, void of text messages during that period. Although I missed keeping her company, I also realized how much of a big spender I've been. A lot of my expenses went to cellphone loading. I've spent an easy PhP6,000 off my bank account during the last summer, and I haven't been saving up any.
I really want to keep in touch with Pam, but maybe I should think of meeting and hanging out with her sometime and someplace convenient. I can't phone her at home, and I'm limited by cellular calls and texts. Kind of in a fix. Maybe I should return to e-mail. Then again...
Friday, May 31, 2002
This afternoon I collected what was due me from the old guy who crashed into my bumper. Trouble was, though, he paid just PhP2,000, which wasn't the amount I had in mind (PhP4,000 was more like it). Good thing Papa knew of a repair shop that was willing to charge PhP1,500 for the damage.
I'm still green with these things. I still have zero street smarts.
---
This term, we have this subject called PETWODA. It's supposed to stand for Physical Education 2: (Ballroom) Dancing, but somehow we got something so weird that we wonder how it managed to fit into the PE program in the first place. We got "Social Recreation." In short, we were going to plan parties. Uh-huh. Strange things happen in college, indeed.
---
There's this guy on television whom Bianca claims to have seen on almost every major game show. I wonder how much money this crazy guy's won already. "Why don't you join in game shows yourselves?" Papa told us. "With the money they offer you could buy a car...and you wouldn't have to run after a PhP2,000 debtor!" It seems like a good idea, since I know a lot of trivia, but maybe there's truth to the adage "easy come, easy go."
---
I've been dreaming of owning a garage full of the best Japanese cars, the inevitable result of being immersed with car magazines these past five months and a healthy chunk of my summer spent on Gran Turismo 2. I lust after rally machines (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Subaru Impreza WRX), hot hatches (Honda EP3 Civic Type R), supercars (Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R, Toyota Supra RZ, Nissan S15 Silvia) and the ridiculously small k-cars (Mitsubishi Pajero Mini Turbo, Subaru Vivio RX-R and the cute Honda Beat convertible). It's a shame most of these cars are unavailable here in the Philippines, save for the PhP2.1 million Impreza WRX and the gray-market Lancer Evo VII (I was lucky enough to see a red one parked along a Buendia car seller).
Then again, I'm not really stuck with the worst car on the planet. When I think about it, my little runabout -- a second-hand blue 1999 Honda City 1.5 -- is actually a go-kart with four short doors, seating for four and a trunk, which is pretty practical. That little steering wheel makes cornering the car a joy. The tricky spring-loaded clutch takes getting used to, though, and so does that stick shift, which sometimes refuses to go into reverse. The low hood gives the best visibility of any car I've tried; you can even see the dust on the road with it. The non-VTEC engine doesn't accelerate the quickest but has good grunt (Autocar Asean Edition claims 103 horsepower), and it's brought me to a top speed of 145 km/h along the Skyway, which I am ill-advised to surpass since cops might flag me down this time. Economy's great too, since it's kept a consistent 9 km/L in city traffic (it really is a CITY car).
Not minding the dents and the scratches from the crash, I think my City's a good car for a bargain price -- PhP325,000. I could drool for the performance and practicality mix of the 215 hp EP3 Civic Type R, but I'm just happy I have my blue car.
I'm still green with these things. I still have zero street smarts.
---
This term, we have this subject called PETWODA. It's supposed to stand for Physical Education 2: (Ballroom) Dancing, but somehow we got something so weird that we wonder how it managed to fit into the PE program in the first place. We got "Social Recreation." In short, we were going to plan parties. Uh-huh. Strange things happen in college, indeed.
---
There's this guy on television whom Bianca claims to have seen on almost every major game show. I wonder how much money this crazy guy's won already. "Why don't you join in game shows yourselves?" Papa told us. "With the money they offer you could buy a car...and you wouldn't have to run after a PhP2,000 debtor!" It seems like a good idea, since I know a lot of trivia, but maybe there's truth to the adage "easy come, easy go."
---
I've been dreaming of owning a garage full of the best Japanese cars, the inevitable result of being immersed with car magazines these past five months and a healthy chunk of my summer spent on Gran Turismo 2. I lust after rally machines (Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII, Subaru Impreza WRX), hot hatches (Honda EP3 Civic Type R), supercars (Nissan R34 Skyline GT-R, Toyota Supra RZ, Nissan S15 Silvia) and the ridiculously small k-cars (Mitsubishi Pajero Mini Turbo, Subaru Vivio RX-R and the cute Honda Beat convertible). It's a shame most of these cars are unavailable here in the Philippines, save for the PhP2.1 million Impreza WRX and the gray-market Lancer Evo VII (I was lucky enough to see a red one parked along a Buendia car seller).
Then again, I'm not really stuck with the worst car on the planet. When I think about it, my little runabout -- a second-hand blue 1999 Honda City 1.5 -- is actually a go-kart with four short doors, seating for four and a trunk, which is pretty practical. That little steering wheel makes cornering the car a joy. The tricky spring-loaded clutch takes getting used to, though, and so does that stick shift, which sometimes refuses to go into reverse. The low hood gives the best visibility of any car I've tried; you can even see the dust on the road with it. The non-VTEC engine doesn't accelerate the quickest but has good grunt (Autocar Asean Edition claims 103 horsepower), and it's brought me to a top speed of 145 km/h along the Skyway, which I am ill-advised to surpass since cops might flag me down this time. Economy's great too, since it's kept a consistent 9 km/L in city traffic (it really is a CITY car).
Not minding the dents and the scratches from the crash, I think my City's a good car for a bargain price -- PhP325,000. I could drool for the performance and practicality mix of the 215 hp EP3 Civic Type R, but I'm just happy I have my blue car.
Monday, May 27, 2002
While on the way to school I got into an accident. Was driving through a clear intersection along Estrada St. when someone suddenly hung a left turn and hit my left rear bumper. Shocking, but I was okay. The Honda's still okay, but it now has a lot of long white scratches and a shallow dimple in the sheet metal.
When we pulled over to the side to talk matters over, I even stepped on dog shit while getting out of the car. Yuck. When I got to school I immediately used rocks to scrape it off and used a janitor's mop and alcogel to clean my left shoe. (Thank God for alcogel...it's being sold in sachets in DLSU.)
The culprit was an old guy from nearby Malate. Claims he was distracted by a nearby noisy ambulance which passed him by. Didn't see me coming through. Wasn't too angry with him though, because he was quick to admit that it was his fault.
I just hope he stays true to his word.
When we pulled over to the side to talk matters over, I even stepped on dog shit while getting out of the car. Yuck. When I got to school I immediately used rocks to scrape it off and used a janitor's mop and alcogel to clean my left shoe. (Thank God for alcogel...it's being sold in sachets in DLSU.)
The culprit was an old guy from nearby Malate. Claims he was distracted by a nearby noisy ambulance which passed him by. Didn't see me coming through. Wasn't too angry with him though, because he was quick to admit that it was his fault.
I just hope he stays true to his word.
Friday, May 24, 2002
This feels like one of those days when I'm invariably feeling stupid or tactless. Nothing I say or do comes out quite right. Perhaps it's just because I'm actually a little nervous of how things will be when class starts.
---
There are those things which are extraordinary the first few times one sees, hears or experiences them. All too soon however, familiarity begins to set in and robs us of all that is remarkable about those things, leaving them mundane and overplayed. I just can't seem to get through that trap. I guess this is my curse. I'm just too bland and boring.
---
Dug up something from Pam's blog. I bet this information's going to be a real find for people who hate me. Here goes.
three things that scare you:
death
the sight of internal organs
the thought that maybe life has no purpose
three things that make you laugh:
myself
Jay Leno
hearing other people laughing -- it's contagious
three things you love:
music
cars/driving
women
three things you hate:
helplessness
inferiority
making others angry
three things you don't understand:
accounting
law
Filipinos' irritating traits and their persistence
three things on your desk:
sketch pad
mechanical pencil
my very old boombox
right now you are:
seriously bored
longing to be bugged by a friend
a little drowsy
three facts about you:
I'm esoteric (thanks to JM Ibañez for that one)
I'm shy around new people
I brood
three things you plan to do before you die:
formally learn how to play drums
keep my future wife happy
buy and drive a Subaru Impreza WRX...but that's worth PhP2.1 million :(
three things you can do:
listen
operate a 1977 Nikon FM manual camera -- at least it's a bit unique
do magazine layouts
three things you can't do:
stay motivated for long
keep a cool head
pull-ups
three famous people you want to meet:
Michael Schumacher -- I want to beat his face to a pulp
Zhang Zi Yi, just for kicks
the guys of Hoobastank
top 3 songs you currently like:
Lamb's "Gorecki" -- original and remix
Hoobastank's "To Be With You"
The Dawn's "Talaga Naman"
top 3 things that turn you on about your sex of choice:
sensitivity
sense
smile
top 3 movies you watch all the time:
"Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?" -- easily my fave Filipino movie
"Disclosure"
"The Hunt for Red October"
top 3 things you say the most:
"basically..."
"shit"
"easy lang"
---
There are those things which are extraordinary the first few times one sees, hears or experiences them. All too soon however, familiarity begins to set in and robs us of all that is remarkable about those things, leaving them mundane and overplayed. I just can't seem to get through that trap. I guess this is my curse. I'm just too bland and boring.
---
Dug up something from Pam's blog. I bet this information's going to be a real find for people who hate me. Here goes.
three things that scare you:
death
the sight of internal organs
the thought that maybe life has no purpose
three things that make you laugh:
myself
Jay Leno
hearing other people laughing -- it's contagious
three things you love:
music
cars/driving
women
three things you hate:
helplessness
inferiority
making others angry
three things you don't understand:
accounting
law
Filipinos' irritating traits and their persistence
three things on your desk:
sketch pad
mechanical pencil
my very old boombox
right now you are:
seriously bored
longing to be bugged by a friend
a little drowsy
three facts about you:
I'm esoteric (thanks to JM Ibañez for that one)
I'm shy around new people
I brood
three things you plan to do before you die:
formally learn how to play drums
keep my future wife happy
buy and drive a Subaru Impreza WRX...but that's worth PhP2.1 million :(
three things you can do:
listen
operate a 1977 Nikon FM manual camera -- at least it's a bit unique
do magazine layouts
three things you can't do:
stay motivated for long
keep a cool head
pull-ups
three famous people you want to meet:
Michael Schumacher -- I want to beat his face to a pulp
Zhang Zi Yi, just for kicks
the guys of Hoobastank
top 3 songs you currently like:
Lamb's "Gorecki" -- original and remix
Hoobastank's "To Be With You"
The Dawn's "Talaga Naman"
top 3 things that turn you on about your sex of choice:
sensitivity
sense
smile
top 3 movies you watch all the time:
"Bata, Bata, Paano Ka Ginawa?" -- easily my fave Filipino movie
"Disclosure"
"The Hunt for Red October"
top 3 things you say the most:
"basically..."
"shit"
"easy lang"
Wednesday, May 22, 2002
Adjustment was a total bitch yesterday due to that island-wide blackout. Woke up at 5 am to get to school only to stand in line for seven hours waiting for a server which had not enough power for its client PCs to begin with.
At least I don't have to return tomorrow and try my luck once again. My parents seem to be okay with my sked. They've pitched in with fetching Bianx, swapping with me every week. Wow, they cut me some slack this time...
---
Having my right wisdom tooth pulled next Saturday. Just when school starts, I have to deal with all the hassle and bleeding of my damn wisdom tooth. Bad, bad timing.
At least I don't have to return tomorrow and try my luck once again. My parents seem to be okay with my sked. They've pitched in with fetching Bianx, swapping with me every week. Wow, they cut me some slack this time...
---
Having my right wisdom tooth pulled next Saturday. Just when school starts, I have to deal with all the hassle and bleeding of my damn wisdom tooth. Bad, bad timing.
Monday, May 20, 2002
Was finally able to talk to my best friend Paolo "Kwapaw" Lacdao, after what seemed to be an eternity apart from each other. College does that I guess, even if you study in the same university.
I say the guy has his busy summer better than I have. Yes, he has work and he's the sports editor of The Lasallian (which they're planning to turn into a magazine in 3 years), but the important thing is that he has fun, he actually meets people and he enjoys what he does. Heck, the guy's had a new girlfriend. Me? Kwapaw put it best: "You're still alone?"
Listening to his tales makes me somehow apprehensive. Listening to him makes me suddenly hungry for the presence of tangible friends, no matter how inadequate they might seem, not just those I meet online and never otherwise. I feel like I somehow wasted my summer -- all that short respite away from school. I feel upset. I know I can't just blame it on numerous failed plans to go to South Pasadena, to watch the Spider-Man premiere, etc. I simply don't have the drive and initiative I should've had, most especially while I'm on vacation.
It's the fucking most critical time of the year and yet I have no drive. Everyone my age is celebrating life while I'm stuck in this fishbowl. Why?! Goddamned fucking why?!
I'm going to DLSU to have my freaking schedule adjusted once and for all. Suddenly that last week from school seems so far away. Forget the promises my friends made with me, invitations to do things before my vacation was up. It's practically up, goddamn it. Where the hell were you?
I guess Panjee Tapales-Lopez was right after all. I gotta grow up. Naivete is just making me a disillusioned idealist. Fear is making me a prisoner of failure. I feel like throwing away the computer and my cell phone in frustration, but I can't. They're not exactly mine to throw away.
I feel so helpless.
I say the guy has his busy summer better than I have. Yes, he has work and he's the sports editor of The Lasallian (which they're planning to turn into a magazine in 3 years), but the important thing is that he has fun, he actually meets people and he enjoys what he does. Heck, the guy's had a new girlfriend. Me? Kwapaw put it best: "You're still alone?"
Listening to his tales makes me somehow apprehensive. Listening to him makes me suddenly hungry for the presence of tangible friends, no matter how inadequate they might seem, not just those I meet online and never otherwise. I feel like I somehow wasted my summer -- all that short respite away from school. I feel upset. I know I can't just blame it on numerous failed plans to go to South Pasadena, to watch the Spider-Man premiere, etc. I simply don't have the drive and initiative I should've had, most especially while I'm on vacation.
It's the fucking most critical time of the year and yet I have no drive. Everyone my age is celebrating life while I'm stuck in this fishbowl. Why?! Goddamned fucking why?!
I'm going to DLSU to have my freaking schedule adjusted once and for all. Suddenly that last week from school seems so far away. Forget the promises my friends made with me, invitations to do things before my vacation was up. It's practically up, goddamn it. Where the hell were you?
I guess Panjee Tapales-Lopez was right after all. I gotta grow up. Naivete is just making me a disillusioned idealist. Fear is making me a prisoner of failure. I feel like throwing away the computer and my cell phone in frustration, but I can't. They're not exactly mine to throw away.
I feel so helpless.
Sunday, May 19, 2002
I've been burning my cell phone's text credits these past couple of weeks, but I don't mind very much. I've kept company with new people along the way and I'm glad my phone isn't just for emergencies anymore.
I know it's a risk exposing my identity and personality to practical strangers, but somehow I haven't been struck by the misfortune of blending in bad company. The whole experience has made me a little more adventurous and sociable, even only through electronic means. Even though Panjee Tapales-Lopez wrote in last week's Philippine Star that the only tangible relationships are those founded on trust and personal acquaintance (and consequently not those founded in the one-dimensional field of e-mail or text), I've been lucky enough to meet people online and off --- and somehow make a good friendship, or at least a functional acquaintance.
A Cynthia Alexander song somehow came to mind while I was thinking about this:
I have seen/ I have been to places far and deep/ in my mind/ Only to find/ Comfort in your strangeness...
---
I've been talking to friends and blockmates (they shall remain anonymous -- I respect their privacy) who've had philandering fathers that can't quite keep their commitment to their original families. Some of these fathers are staying with other women; others have another family to tend, not leaving the original family what is due them; still others even have many families with which they have sired children with. Listening to their stories makes my own problems with my dad feel miniscule and mundane.
People say that there are more women than men in this world. My dad used to tell me it was two girls to one guy (that was back in his day, thirty years ago). In college alone, there are only 6 of us guys in my block of 42. Maybe it's denying the doctrine of nature for us males (I hear it's to have as much sex and sire as many children as possible), but I don't see the point of leaving families, children, spouses and other such commitments behind.
Maybe it's the effect of all these women's lib/feminism movements and "girl power" statements, but sometimes I don't see the point of being male at all. We're lazy, lethargic, lying creatures. Most of us don't know how to swallow our own pride, myself included. Most of all, it seems the sole biological purpose of our existence is to impregnate women. Hearing all these stories about philandering fathers and incestuous uncles makes me wonder so. We don't even do a good job of rearing children -- almost universally it's the moms who get that credit, unless the dads are single parents.
Don't even get me started on how humans are supposed to perpetuate without men -- human cloning's almost around the corner. I watched the anime VanDread a couple of months ago, and it explored the idea of men and women living in separate worlds in the future. Baby boys were essentially cloned and mixed up in machines, while women had families consisting of parents ('Homme,' the egg donor, and 'Femme,' the pregnant mom). After watching the scenario, I would say the women were better off.
I know my line of thinking right now's rather sexist (actually, it's sexist in reverse -- Webster's says sexism favors men), but this is just what I've been thinking. You guys don't even have to agree with me.
---
Thanks so much Pam. Good luck on your gig tomorrow.
I know it's a risk exposing my identity and personality to practical strangers, but somehow I haven't been struck by the misfortune of blending in bad company. The whole experience has made me a little more adventurous and sociable, even only through electronic means. Even though Panjee Tapales-Lopez wrote in last week's Philippine Star that the only tangible relationships are those founded on trust and personal acquaintance (and consequently not those founded in the one-dimensional field of e-mail or text), I've been lucky enough to meet people online and off --- and somehow make a good friendship, or at least a functional acquaintance.
A Cynthia Alexander song somehow came to mind while I was thinking about this:
I have seen/ I have been to places far and deep/ in my mind/ Only to find/ Comfort in your strangeness...
---
I've been talking to friends and blockmates (they shall remain anonymous -- I respect their privacy) who've had philandering fathers that can't quite keep their commitment to their original families. Some of these fathers are staying with other women; others have another family to tend, not leaving the original family what is due them; still others even have many families with which they have sired children with. Listening to their stories makes my own problems with my dad feel miniscule and mundane.
People say that there are more women than men in this world. My dad used to tell me it was two girls to one guy (that was back in his day, thirty years ago). In college alone, there are only 6 of us guys in my block of 42. Maybe it's denying the doctrine of nature for us males (I hear it's to have as much sex and sire as many children as possible), but I don't see the point of leaving families, children, spouses and other such commitments behind.
Maybe it's the effect of all these women's lib/feminism movements and "girl power" statements, but sometimes I don't see the point of being male at all. We're lazy, lethargic, lying creatures. Most of us don't know how to swallow our own pride, myself included. Most of all, it seems the sole biological purpose of our existence is to impregnate women. Hearing all these stories about philandering fathers and incestuous uncles makes me wonder so. We don't even do a good job of rearing children -- almost universally it's the moms who get that credit, unless the dads are single parents.
Don't even get me started on how humans are supposed to perpetuate without men -- human cloning's almost around the corner. I watched the anime VanDread a couple of months ago, and it explored the idea of men and women living in separate worlds in the future. Baby boys were essentially cloned and mixed up in machines, while women had families consisting of parents ('Homme,' the egg donor, and 'Femme,' the pregnant mom). After watching the scenario, I would say the women were better off.
I know my line of thinking right now's rather sexist (actually, it's sexist in reverse -- Webster's says sexism favors men), but this is just what I've been thinking. You guys don't even have to agree with me.
---
Thanks so much Pam. Good luck on your gig tomorrow.
Sunday, May 12, 2002
Just when I finally felt like blogging, the power trips on my computer and deletes the post I was typing ten minutes ago. Damn. Have to start over.
---
Quoted from Blogger's news page:
U.S. News: "One vote here in favor of the blogging revolution. Bloggers (from the words 'Web log') write online diaries and commentaries. The best bloggers weigh in on social and political issues, report nuggets of information that the national media miss or suppress, and provide links to other bloggers with something sharp to say."
When I set up this blog back in October of last year, I never intended it to be nerve-wracking and all so serious. I never intended my blog to be the best, much less the most famous. I believe I've posted only one thought-provoking and intellectual post here, and that was back in January. Had I possessed greater proficiency with HTML and all its idiosyncratic protocols, I would've learned to do so much with my plain-vanilla blog. Had I learned to put up a Web counter to know just how many people visit this little page regularly, I won't be surprised if I return just a mundane number of hits. Just how many people know me anyway, as myself or as my online alter-ego?
I'm happy with my blog just as it is. Granted, if Web page layout were as easy as using Adobe PageMaker or InDesign, I would've relied less on Blogspot's templates and created my own very slick-but-static page. (Then again, there's that Java and Flash/Shockwave bullshit I have to contend with. Not willing to learn that anymore.) But I'm cool.
This page has been something meaningful to me and to my closest friends. It soothes me from my unhealthy constant hunger for attention. People I've never even met in person have written to me about my less-than-rational thoughts, some criticizing, some praising, some simply forgetting that my page possesses a certain Blogspot URL. The dearest people to me actually know what I'm doing because of it.
Okay, enough about that. I'll shut up.
---
Pam texted me just as my mom's friends were over for a little lunch party here.
Normally people avoid texting me unless it's something they need or have to tell me, so my cell phone is usually extraneous and just there for emergency purposes. As time passed, though, we were talking about a lot of things -- watching the Karate Kid over Coyote Ugly, her appointment with her orthodontist, my hyperacidic stomach remedied by green tea, and how Matt LeBlanc used to be a personal obsession. Before I knew it, we'd spent twelve intermittent hours texting each other...and that is a personal first.
All summer long, I've been chasing my high school and college friends for just a little uninterrupted chat on the phone, and I've largely been either left out cold or on the wrong trail(s)/phone number(s). I wonder how much more boring my summer might have turned out if I hadn't had Pam as my friend. Thanks a lot, Ate. It really means a lot. Given the chance, I would really hug you.
---
Quoted from Blogger's news page:
U.S. News: "One vote here in favor of the blogging revolution. Bloggers (from the words 'Web log') write online diaries and commentaries. The best bloggers weigh in on social and political issues, report nuggets of information that the national media miss or suppress, and provide links to other bloggers with something sharp to say."
When I set up this blog back in October of last year, I never intended it to be nerve-wracking and all so serious. I never intended my blog to be the best, much less the most famous. I believe I've posted only one thought-provoking and intellectual post here, and that was back in January. Had I possessed greater proficiency with HTML and all its idiosyncratic protocols, I would've learned to do so much with my plain-vanilla blog. Had I learned to put up a Web counter to know just how many people visit this little page regularly, I won't be surprised if I return just a mundane number of hits. Just how many people know me anyway, as myself or as my online alter-ego?
I'm happy with my blog just as it is. Granted, if Web page layout were as easy as using Adobe PageMaker or InDesign, I would've relied less on Blogspot's templates and created my own very slick-but-static page. (Then again, there's that Java and Flash/Shockwave bullshit I have to contend with. Not willing to learn that anymore.) But I'm cool.
This page has been something meaningful to me and to my closest friends. It soothes me from my unhealthy constant hunger for attention. People I've never even met in person have written to me about my less-than-rational thoughts, some criticizing, some praising, some simply forgetting that my page possesses a certain Blogspot URL. The dearest people to me actually know what I'm doing because of it.
Okay, enough about that. I'll shut up.
---
Pam texted me just as my mom's friends were over for a little lunch party here.
Normally people avoid texting me unless it's something they need or have to tell me, so my cell phone is usually extraneous and just there for emergency purposes. As time passed, though, we were talking about a lot of things -- watching the Karate Kid over Coyote Ugly, her appointment with her orthodontist, my hyperacidic stomach remedied by green tea, and how Matt LeBlanc used to be a personal obsession. Before I knew it, we'd spent twelve intermittent hours texting each other...and that is a personal first.
All summer long, I've been chasing my high school and college friends for just a little uninterrupted chat on the phone, and I've largely been either left out cold or on the wrong trail(s)/phone number(s). I wonder how much more boring my summer might have turned out if I hadn't had Pam as my friend. Thanks a lot, Ate. It really means a lot. Given the chance, I would really hug you.
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