Lately I've returned to playing badminton again after a pretty long absence.

The first game I played I literally sweat bullets. I was so easily exhausted and I ran out of breath after no more than one set. My footwork was erratic, my shots no good and my positioning always off.

I am thankful that lasted for all of one day.

In almost no time at all I was back in form, repeatedly testing my fitness to play badminton competitively. I slowly became more confident of myself and my skills. As it turns out I didn't need retraining after all---what skill I previously had were simply dormant and needed awakening.

My playing and skills aren't perfect by a long shot; I have all the old faults I had before I stopped playing 2 months ago. However I feel I've gotten more acute in my awareness of where the shuttlecock will go.

My skill was certainly enough to win the recent CAOlympics last Saturday for my team. Not to sound arrogant, but I felt that playing in Villamor AFB twice a week was more challenging than playing there. Only a handful of players there, I felt, had the proper knowledge of the game's rules, not to mention the knowledge and skill of making shots and proper footwork. No matter, it was still fun playing.

However, the previous afternoon I had played 4 games in 3 or so hours (2 wins, 2 losses) and so I felt rather exhausted---even till today. My head hurts, I feel out of energy to do anything and I feel dizzy.

Right now, no badminton for me. Today, at least.
===

I'm feeling the itch to buy another HG Gundam Seed model. Since I can't play badminton and I'm pretty damn bored at home, I figure maybe I should exercise my brain and fingers in something productive.

Money's the only problem, I guess. I have enough to buy the HG Aile Strike Gundam kit, but that's not the only expense I'll have. I'm not entirely sure if I have enough money to spare to cover my other expenses.

Maybe I should just cut down on food?

Lately I've been on a little movie-watching spree.

First I watched was the much-ballyhooed "The Terminal." In my opinion this movie has a very vapid, almost ridiculous main plot, and it's a triumph of marketing that people won't notice it one bit. They'll simply be transfixed at Tom Hanks' stellar character acting.

I had a hard time believing it was him because he pulled off his Eastern European role pretty damn well...but it IS him. The other actors (I'm so tempted to call them "bit players" because that's what they really are) have their moments, but without Mr. Hanks, this movie will inevitably fall apart.

Conversely I had a hard time believing the great Andrew Niccol co-wrote this film. Sure, the Niccol trademark of unusual situations is there, but I don't remember "Gattaca," "Simone" and "The Truman Show" being this pathetic story-wise.
===

Next one was a film I really should've seen in the cinemas last year: Quark Henares' "Keka."

I have to say Quark is a wunderkind. He wrote this film, directed it and even starred in a cameo role playing himself (a disgruntled director). The brilliant thing about "Keka" is that it comes off as very fresh; it doesn't ever try to be anything foreign as it overflows with local culture.

Yet it pokes fun at itself for being a film out of the "baduy" or tacky Philippine movie tradition, epitomized in the 1980s by the actors suddenly breaking out into a song-and-dance number that ends with some happy freeze-frame.

Cinematography's quite excellent---I love how the film has an eye for shadows and bright colors. The characters Keka and Jason have their own soliloquys on the movie and they really are cohesive to the plot's movement. Keka herself is all too human. Despite the plot premise being a bit over-the-top (she's bent on killing the five fratboys to avenge the death of her boyfriend PJ), it's still a good way of depicting how people should deal with getting over a past love.

Ending's quite lovely too...open-ended, yet fulfilling.

We should model our thesis film on this.
===

The last one was the highly popular French film "Amelie."

I don't know...I think I missed a beat with this one as I was pretty sleepy by the time I watched it last night. But for what it's worth I thought it was a fascinating film. Indeed, it was a modern-age fairy tale, with Amelie deciding to be the guardian angel of everybody in her neighborhood, doing favors for them, taking care of them and occasionally getting back at the assholes that pick on them---without their knowledge, just like a true guardian angel does. So when the time comes that she sees her happiness, she's constantly at two minds about it, not sure about following her happiness or foregoing it to help others.

I think I should watch this again...but I enjoyed it. Amelie has the greatest imagination sometimes and that endeared her to me.

Technically there's nothing wrong with it; it maintains a very homey feel throughout the length of the film through its warm, bright colors and high saturation. Sometimes the film turns very silly with its scripting though---but to good effect.
===

This song is from "Keka's" soundtrack...and I've known it by heart for quite a while.

Sadya ba talagang ganyan?
Palakad-lakad na nakatungo
Saan patungo?

Ngayong wala ka na, kailangang
Masanay na muling nag-iisa
Saan ka na kaya?

H'wag mo akong sisihin
Minsan ika'y hanapin
Ito ang unang araw na wala ka na
Ito ang unang araw na wala ka na...

Nasanay lang sigurong nandyan ka
Di ko inakalang pwede kang mawala
Hayan na nga

Nababato, nalulungkot
Luha'y napapawi ng singhot
At talukbong ng kumot

H'wag mo akong sisihin
Minsan ako'y iyakin
Ito ang unang araw na wala ka na
Ito ang unang araw na wala ka na...
- Sugar Free, "Unang Araw" (Sa Wakas/"Keka" OST)

The new term's started and so far things look like they'll be a lot smoother this time around. I gotta say I'm pretty lucky all my profs seem likeable and easy to get along with.

Time will tell I suppose.
===

I finally bought an 1/144-scale HG Aegis Gundam model kit, and I constructed it from parts to finished model in 5 hours. And I feel good about it. My friend Mark Año told me that for the price, the HG Aegis Gundam kit was good value for money as it took a considerable amount of time and patience to assemble.

For some reason I can't stop touching it or fiddling around with it. Despite its being extremely fiddly and having so many joints (due to its transformation from mobile suit to flying mobile armor), I keep changing it from MS to MA mode and back. The GAT-X303 Aegis just looks so damn cool.

I plan to get an 1/144-scale HG Aile Strike Gundam model kit next, around the same price as the Aegis. It should be fun pitting these two arch-rival mobile suits together.
===

Got to chat with Rona last night. She's just about to begin her major subjects and she sought my help for her FOTOCAM class. After that we basically talked about anything under the sun.

At first she struck me as quiet when I met her a term ago. She told me ever since entering Pops, she's changed for the better and become more sociable. Pretty much a nice girl from my point of view. I didn't even suspect her unsocial tendencies before.

I'm sort of jealous of her because she has a lot more time than I do in Pops and she's a vocalist (I love her voice), but I'm glad I'm actually in Pops in the first place. Already I can feel Rona's attachment to Pops in me too. Despite the problems that arise, I want to stay as long as I can. I want to make the most out of every day I'm still there.

I might as well move on to more creative endeavors. Literally.

I've been eyeing Bandai's Gundam mobile suit model kits lately. (Yes, I will no longer deny I am a Gundam fan, and yes, I was deprived of the toys I wanted from my childhood. Heheheh.)

I actually bought one---a 1/144 Sword Strike Gundam from Gundam Seed, at PhP350. I took my sweet time assembling it piece by piece...and I was rather disappointed that unlike my previous model (a fake Wing Gundam Zero Custom, from Gundam Wing Endless Waltz, that I later threw away), the only mobile limbs on the Sword Strike I bought were the arms. No movement from elbows or knees.

Damn. You couldn't do too much with it, ultimately.

As it turns out my fake Wing Zero Custom was a fake HG (high grade) model kit, so all the limbs were articulated in all the right places. That means I'd have to shell out PhP900-1000 for a 1/144 HG Aile Strike Gundam, colored and articulated in all the right places. (One consolation was that if I ever decided to get the HG Aile Strike, I could use the parts I got from the Sword Strike I bought.)

I decided to save up for a 1/144 HG Aegis Gundam. The cool-looking pinkish-red one with the way-cooler transformation into mobile armor mode. Damage: PhP845.00. Not bad, considering the other equivalent HG model kits they had were priced well into the PhP1200 range.

And then as if to mock my meager expectations, there still existed even larger 1/100 scale models (PhP1400-1600) and MG (master grade) models with full details and extensive armatures (PhP2600). Buying those things is going to put a serious dent into my meager finances.

1/144 HG Aegis Gundam na lang po...
===

Chrissa was very right about one thing: The main enjoyment one could get with these model kits is the actual assembly.

I guess looking into the Gundam kits is just my way of trying to make up for my clumsiness at tasks with my fingers. :p

Quote of the moment.

"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade for heaven's sake. Sometimes a bit sour, but nothing a little sugar couldn't fix. Just add sugar."
- Martin Nievera, concert artist

I realize that despite the openness I display in my blog, there are still a lot of things I don't say in these pages but occupy my mind anyway.

I am afraid, I suppose. Seeing as how things on the Internet magically and automatically become public domain (someone managed to copy my blog word for word before), I may be courting trouble once I start to pour out more than the requisite modicum of myself. I have perceptions of myself in others that I want to protect, yet I know I have little actual control over what changes these perceptions will take given future events.

Meow put it perfectly. Here was a regular HCPer (a proud ADIK I might add...don't deny it!), whom I didn't communicate with on a regular basis until just recently, and yet she managed to say quite truthfully that I was the type of person who picked out his words every so diligently. This I did so, she said, because of prudence---making sure that I didn't say anything wrong.

Yet that sort of fear is what I should be conquering in the first place.

I've got to get it into that thick skull of mine that I'm only human. No matter what I do, I cannot and inevitably will not please everybody. I am flesh and blood and as such I have the desires that come with them. Most importantly, I cannot hold myself responsible for everything that goes wrong.

It will probably take me a lifetime to fully embrace my humanity, to stop pretending that I am simply an obedient android. I've seen my innards through X-rays, I've contracted all sorts of diseases, I've hurt myself and others. How long can I keep on denying what I essentially am?

Perhaps I am blessed then, having all these good people around me to help me appreciate myself for what I am---no pretenses needed, no fake personas required. Simply me.

"Love thyself before truly loving others."
===

I've been meaning to talk about Denise. Ever since I realized my jealousy back in Bacolod I came to one conclusion.

She will always be like that. She will always attract men. I can't explain it very well but she just makes them gravitate to her because of what she is.

Call it "machismo" or whatnot but every time I see someone swoon her and actually succeed, I get so frustratingly jealous. Perhaps this is because I tried the same thing and failed, twice. Our being friends is good but it's probably just hurting me in the long run. I feel I have to stop being close to her for my own good. She doesn't need me anyway. I figure it's the other way around.

After our thesis is done I should seriously think about getting her out of my life. It will not be easy. I didn't realize it but currently she's a part of all the things I've joined, including Pops.

Haruki Murakami's novel "South of the Border, West of the Sun" suddenly thrusts forth from my memory, having re-read it during my trip. Murakami made mention of removing past experiences, as if surgically removing internal organs from one's body. "Something just dies inside you," he mentioned about hysteria siberiana.

That's something to think about methinks. In a sense, we all have hysteria siberiana...we need it. We have to head to the netherplace "west of the sun" to truly move on.
===

In that sense perhaps I need hysteria siberiana.

I am so bad at forgetting past experiences that they keep haunting me into the present. My bedroom is testament to that. Sometimes I wish I can just forget at will...but then the movie "Payback" springs to mind, the process of forgetting whole chunks of memory having serious consequences.

What a bizaare quandary, really.

My last post seems to have elicited a number of reactions---some favorable and others not so.

In spite of that, I'm thankful. It's affirmation, I guess, that the humble visitorship figures I receive in e-mail about my blog are real.
===

Last night I got an SMS message from Denise.

"Mike my ex read your blog and called me a bitch. Do you have something you want to tell me?"

I simply replied "Wala naman. Good luck sa iyo." This I said with reference to PJ.

A number of people have told me that Mike and Denise's breakup was anything but smooth, and I suppose this latest issue involving my blog is proof that these two still carry hatchets for each other.

I have to wonder...has my admission of jealousy been more misconstrued? I simply said I was jealous and that's that. Any other beef she picks up has nothing more to do with me or my blog.

The girl should start reading this goddamn blog before begging questions, for starters...
===

I've been meaning to talk about this for a long time. I have often wondered what would happen to my blog if I died.

I met an online acquaintance of mine from PinoyExchange, and I only remember her by the alias "Sacrosanct." Like me, she kept a blog. Like me, she used to post at the Electronic Gaming forum. Like me, she's also from De La Salle University.

Unlike me, she's dead.

I've heard stories from fellow PEX friends that Sacrosanct took her own life last year. From what vague news I heard she had family problems, and she overdosed on sleeping pills.

A few months ago I remember leafing through my private message inbox at PEX. The two of us used to talk a bit via PMs. I was still a freshman back then; she was already in her third year if I'm not mistaken. Reading through those precious few PMs, I felt rather down about how she's no longer with us.

I had the privilege of meeting her once. She had a reputation for being the best girl at Capcom fighting games at the University Mall arcade. I didn't think she would be that beautiful though. She was seriously very cute. Managed to shake her hand, introduce myself as my PEX alias, and do nothing else, as she was with her male friends finishing a bout of Street Fighter EX2. That was it.

Her PMs are still in my inbox. I remember I bugged her about the horrific September 11 massacre. I remember how we used to talk about a certain uncouth individual on the forums. It seems memories like that are all that exist of her, now---including a sticky thread on all PEX forums about her life, death and fellow PEXers' condolences.

Sacrosanct, I certainly hope you're fine, wherever you are. I have no doubt you are missed here.

I seem to have been born with two demons very close by, and after all these years I haven't been able to get rid of them at all.

They are demons called self-pity and inferiority complex.

They come and go, but when they do hit, they do so very hard...and they hit me right in the middle of the Bacolod tour. Right smack in the middle of the drunken Friday night revelry just beginning to unfold before my eyes, I was beginning to cry. Before I could humiliate myself any further I clambered down the stairs to my room and wept my eyes out alone. There I was, a crying fool talking to himself, feeling miserable.

I've never understood why I've had to feel like this. It's always had something to do with never fitting in, I suppose. Even though I'm active in Pops I can never muster the kind of popular rapport other people can. All I get from most of the Pops people is a perfunctory "Hi"---no nice long friendly chats, no one tugging at my hands wanting me to come along, no shared knowledge of the little things that make Pops life interesting.

It's not only in Pops, mind you. Every time I'm with a new group of people I seem to run aground, never winning as many friends as I wanted and making enemies along the way as well. It's no secret now that I suck at people skills. As much as I would want people to be with me and actually enjoy themselves, I can't. I'm so afraid of doing them wrong, of disturbing them, that most times I would simply just step aside.

Why did I join Pops in the first place? Perhaps I joined because I was their ultimate fan. I saw them perform back in my high school days and was inspired by the desire to become part of them one day. All my life I've been a frustrated performer, and now that I'm finally in Pops but working behind the scenes, a bittersweet feeling just wells up from within me. I guess this is fate's way of telling me that I'm relegated to simply being a fan of Pops for the rest of my college days---taking their pictures, doing their voice-overs, but never captivating an audience.

It makes me regret fully dedicating myself to Counterpoint back in high school when I could just as well have joined the DLSZ High School Chorale. So many people sensed potential in me to be a good singer in 7th grade. Back then I dilly-dallied with what I wanted, content on knowing that I could do all of these things (or "talents") but never cultivating them to the fullest. Seven years later, I can still sing quite well, yes, but whenever I hear the vocalists do their sectionals I retreat into my shell of inadequacy and regrets.

Yes, I am irrational, I have hopelessly low self-esteem and I have precious few friends who transcend the oft-(ab)used label. I have lousy luck with the women I like because my self-pity was one huge factor that ended my one and only relationship anyway. How I wish I could turn all these things around. I probably could, but I still don't know how.

Maybe I should fuck thinking about myself and try thinking of how to help others? But I've always done the latter...
===

Then we went to the Bahay Pag-Asa Center of USLS, a short bus ride away, the following day.

This center was for all those children in conflict with the law, as Brother Gus explained to us. Ideally the government should be able to protect and provide for the reintegration of these youths into society but they failed miserably. These kids stay in jails which are hell on earth, where they experience being physically, emotionally and sexually abused. I'll spare you all the gory details. It doesn't help that 40% of these kids are in fact innocent.

Bahay Pag-Asa was the very first center of its kind, aimed at getting these kids off the streets, giving them a proper environment for education and giving them the basics to start their own livelihood. We saw these kids and they didn't stink like street kids usually do. They're very clean---right down to their living quarters. They were shy---language barriers owing to that, I suppose---but I could sense the intelligence in them. They were able to plant vegetables, cook, cut hair, make handicrafts, and even forecast the weather for the next 12 hours. More importantly these kids were happy.

I felt tears welling up in my eyes again, and I apparently wasn't alone. Had I not hurt my eyes and run out of tears from crying the night before, I would've cried along with our young fiddler Martin who felt the same thing I did. These kids were a lot worse off than I was, yet they survived and were lucky enough to be picked by Bahay Pag-Asa to become productive members of society, to work their way out of the poverty they were born in.

What the fuck was I crying about the other night? Not fitting in? Not getting to do what I dreamed of? Being jealous of PJ's moves on Denise? I felt so ashamed at the triviality of my concerns.

I'll definitely remember this place, I told myself. When the time comes that I can earn my own money (and lots of it), I'll make sure to donate what I can to Bahay Pag-Asa. I seem to have been able to help their cause by purchasing a ticket of Pops' concert last year. The Brothers have a good thing going on here and they're planning to open similar centers in Manila and in Iligan City. They'll need the help they can get.

I am back.

Five days in Bacolod? It feels like I spent just two. I guess it can't be helped. Although we were there primarily for work, we enjoyed a lot.
===

We were on the last flight to Bacolod so many of the Marketing members, like me, missed the performance at the Carmelite Sisters. For most of us Marketing members, it was a case of getting to Balay Kalinungan (House of Peace) at the University of St. La Salle and getting rested for the next day.

We took the bus going north of Bacolod, to a town called E.B. Magalona where we had our free one-hour concert. We staged our show at the stadium behind their town hall, and it was packed full of school kids. After the show the kids went after our vocalists Blossom, Mark O. and Jigs---throngs of them asking for autographs.

Friday, September 3rd, was the busiest. Although we didn't travel all that much, this was the day when we had two separate concerts at the USLS Coliseum. In the morning, Burn, Gab, BJ and I went around the campus and coliseum area posting our sponsors' streamers, working with the marketing people of Honda Cars Negros Occidental.

Our 2pm matinee show was more for the young students, not only of USLS but also of neighboring schools. Knowing how teachers invite their little tikes to these things, you can pretty much imagine the coliseum was packed to the bleachers. Having been in charge of voice-over duty, I missed my cue because I did my spiel too early, but overall it was okay (it could've been a lot worse).

The 7pm gala show went pretty much like clockwork except for one of our vocalists irreparably destroying one of the songs in the repertoire, Hoobastank's "The Reason." In all three concerts, Mark T. made mistakes on this particular song, and I kinda took it hard because this, more than any other song in the repertoire, was MY song---I could sing it the best. At least there weren't any other major screw-ups. I wasted four rolls of film and two sets of AA and LR44 batteries covering all three concerts.
===

After the concerts we were pretty much free to have some fun. In Pops fun seems to instantly mean "alcohol"---and these guys were serious drinkers.

I got so terrified of how these friends of mine downed their alcohol. A lot of Pops members were years younger than I am and I was quite frankly scared of how they drank. Lots of noise, lots of drunken stories, lots of groggy people dancing with empty bottles in hand.

I suppose I'm just too ignorant of social drinking sessions. I never drank a sip. The farthest I went was sniff one of the empty Vodka Ice bottles just to have an idea of how it tasted...and it smelled like clear soda. Damn. This stuff was even easier to down than Smirnoff Mule---and I hardly drink more than two Mules.

Despite being averse to all the noise and confused by the red faces and unsteady gaits, I was relieved to see my friends knew how to handle their alcohol. They didn't sleep while they were intoxicated; they were aware enough to drink lots of water to get them to piss the alcohol out. When tempers flared, they kept others cool.

I might still be afraid, but at least I know now that I can help my inebriated friends.
===

I had quite a problem fitting all my pasalubong into my luggage. My mom had asked for barquillos, my sister asked for piaya, and I was curious about these napoleones pastries that Rachel kept on raving about.

I ended up ordering two boxes of napoleones, buying two large boxes of barquillos and a box of ube piaya. Yikes. It was a miracle I ever got my pasalubong to fit into my bags at all.
===

On balance I have to say, Cebu Pacific should be lauded for truth in advertising. For some reason my partners-in-flights and I always get caught in the 5% that don't make it to the carrier's claim of being "on time 95% of the time."

Still, I'd rather have a late, safe flight than a haphazard one. That said, I wonder why on our flight to Bacolod, one of the DC-9's engines gave out a loud pop on landing under full reverse thrust...
===

Bacolod was the site of some romantic goings-on.

Denise introduced me to her high school friend Beth, who had since returned to her hometown and USLS for college. I didn't get to talk to her all that much but I thought she was cute and charming, and quite a girl to talk to as well.

But when we were escorting her home I caught sight of Denise and PJ holding hands. It seems PJ's been wooing Denise for all these past few weeks and she seems to like him in return. It's probably irrational yet I can't help but feel jealous. Oh well. I might as well take it with a grain of salt.

As for Beth...well...what's gonna happen to that anyway? I like her, sure, but it's a long-distance relationship that doesn't even exist, and her being associated with Denise doesn't help matters all that much. Another "oh well" ought to escape my lips.

One of our violinists, Ida, also seems to be the apple of a lot of pairs of eyes. Vocalist Peter and saxophonist Sigay seem to have their eyes fixed on her.

...Ehhh! Fuck love, fuck relationships. I might as well stay single, keep from thinking with my dick, get no one pregnant and work till I become financially stable.

Hmmm. At this rate I ought to say a litany of "oh wells." Hah-hah-ha.
===

This...is my second alma mater song.

If I were to live my whole life again
I'd still want to be a Lasalista pa rin
Bayaran man ako I would still say to you
I'd rather be green than be blue...

ANIMO LA SALLE!

I'm supposed to be packing my stuff for tomorrow's flight...but it can wait. My flight's still in the afternoon.

Right now I'm just checking all my usual sites.
===

Tiring day. I had to accompany Bianx to the LTO branch in Las Piñas to finally get her overdue student permit converted to a driver's license.

Aside from the headaches of the actual process (I swear I ain't going there to renew my license!), what made me sore were the driving habits of Las Piñas motorists. And I thought Caloocan was bad...this was WAY worse. Everyone made his/her own counterflow, everyone wanted to make a left turn (holding up everyone else in the process) and everyone just cut in as often as he/she liked. What a pain.

I'd had my fill of Alabang-Zapote Road traffic. Sheesh. It's enough to drive anyone mad.
===

My FINAMA1 final went...well enough, on record. I did fudge my way through some items that I never understood anyway, but what I did manage to answer felt all right in my opinion.

I guess this is fate's way of telling me I ain't never going to cut it as a banker like my parents. I suck at finance.
===

Cher seems to be doing fine in Leyte, apart from another bad experience with love. Sigh. You deserve better, fwend.

The frogs will come and go...but I pray your prince will stay. *HUGS*
===

I am so darn tired. It's probably a good thing this term break's two weeks long---what a surprise.

What's nice to do after the Bacolod tour? I wonder...

Studying for FINAMA1 was a colossal struggle.

I hadn't noticed it throughout the term, but Professor Perez had actually covered so many topics that reviewing them alone the day before the final exam proved mind-boggling. An added handicap was that the formula index cards and notes we had so relied upon through the term were banned in the final exam. It meant memorization or bust.

To top it all off, my body seemed to have an agenda of its own---it preferred napping out instead of getting on with the task.

So when I came to school yesterday to face the inevitable (flunking the FINAMA1 final), I was sort of grateful for the classes being called off---literally seconds before my 1pm exam was underway. (Typical late DLSU fashion, yes.) However that meant having to move course card distribution as well as the affected exams to Monday.

Maybe they should have just pushed through with it after all?
===

Right after classes got called off I had nothing better to do. I decided to head to Greenbelt.

What did I do? I wasted PhP300 on Initial D ver.3. Yes, I'm addicted to that game.

I've conquered the Akagi mountain pass as well, and I've also tried the other mountain roads. Shomaru is ridiculously tight with poor road surface, while Happogahara is full of confusing turns (I kept losing to Daiki). The Irohazaka road seemed as daunting as navigating chicken intestines, but when I tried it I actually found it pretty easy. Sequential hairpin turns at 3rd gear = fun.

Sigh...that game's going to make a pauper out of me.
===

It's a soupy gray mess everywhere I look from my window. I feel sleepy again. Yaaaawn.

Two down, one to go.

I'm talking about my finals. QUATECH and COMLAW1 went well for the most part. For today I'm free, but come Wednesday afternoon I tackle my FINAMA1 final exam. Wish me luck.
===

I got to watch Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz last Saturday and well...it was okay. Still doesn't generate any emotional tug from me though. It's still about five pretty boys with their ridiculously powerful mobile suits. It just so happens Endless Waltz shows the Gundams they pilot as susceptible to major damage as well. The overall theme is good though.

Particularly noteworthy is the analogy of history as an "endless waltz"---the three dance steps of war, peace and revolution. Whomever thought up that concept deserves major kudos.
===

Before that I arrived ridiculously early for the HCP August EB. Deciding I had nothing better to do while burning the time, I walked to Greenbelt.

I was surprised to see an Initial D ver.3 arcade cabinet there. Off I went, buying my game card (I still got a Honda S2000 as my car), conquering the Myougi and Usui courses and finishing two legs of the Akagi mountain road. After the 9 races I was sweating like a pig and grinning from all the tension.

3pm came and I ran back to the Dela Rosa 1 carpark to meet up with the HCP guys. Some of us brought new rides---Emman had his brand-spanking-new red Jazz, Lyndon had his old-but-gold JDM EF9 Civic SiR hatchback (from the early 1990s!), and Eric had an immaculate EK9 Civic Type R hatchback in Championship White.

I spent the day mostly chatting with Angiela (Meow), her friend Sharon and Lyndon's girlfriend Ygy. Meow was too shy to make an outright appearance, so she asked us to stay with her.

Later on I met Ms. Rachell Diaz of HCPI's marketing team, among the giveaways of Lucky Strike BAR Honda F1 team stickers. She was responsible for brokering the sponsorship for our recital "Jazz Up Your Life," and I was delighted to hear that they were considering sponsoring our major concert come March 2005. Very very good news.

Overall an enjoyable EB...I just wish it were a damn bit cooler that day.
===

Lately I've been driving on a very prudent right foot. When fillup time came after the EB going home, I was delighted to see my fuel economy was at 9.89 km/L. With a bit less overtaking I could stretch that to 10, easily.

Gas is expensive nowadays...I heard gas prices have increased just now. Shame.
===

Is it just me or have I developed an addiction to Friendster?

Gundam Seed finally came to a close last night...waaah! Why did Mu La Flaga have to die? And in such a pathetic way at that? He was my favorite character by far.

The final 2 episodes were a bit lukewarm compared to the dramatic buildup of the entire series, but they do the job and they're not such a sore disappointment as to tarnish Gundam Seed as a whole. I can't wait for Gundam Seed Destiny to begin airing---subtitled or dubbed, it's a treat. The voice talents on Seed don't shame the grandiose scale of the anime at all and that's kudos for them.

I'll try to catch the movie version of Gundam Wing: Endless Waltz later. I just want to see what the hoopla was all about on this spin-off series.
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With all my blathering about Gundam I might as well plug this site.
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Cher finally answered my messages. It seems she's had more of those emotional instabilities that she's had since winning the councilorship race.

You're never alone, fwend. *HUGS*
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Good news: I'm going to Bacolod!

Pops is going to have its annual Visayan concert tour over the term break, and it seems Rachel wants me doing hosting duty. Gee. It's a great opportunity :) I've never been south of Luzon and I'd love to visit the Visayas once in my life at least. I've heard so many nice things about Bacolod...

September 1 seems so close...but I gotta finish finals and pass this term first.

For five days, it seemed everything and anything that could have been due indeed was. For that reason I had close to a week where I had a piddling amount of sleep just trying to get everything finished.

At least that's over. All I'm waiting for nowadays is finals week. I got three exams to finish---one of them at a particularly LATE hour.

So far the term's shaped up to be a pretty nice one in terms of grades. I sucked early on with two of my must-not-flunk subjects (MARKCU1 and QUATECH) but I think I've more than made up my initial sluggish start. QUATECH in particular had me scoring 95% and above over three quizzes---that's enough to cancel out my humiliatingly low early quiz scores.
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My colds and sinusitis haven't gone away though. They've simply become more persistent. To top that off I seem to have a knack for getting only 6 hours of sleep maximum, for some weird reason. I need more sleep.
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I've become reacquainted with a couple of games that have been sitting on my computer for too long.

SimCity 3000 is actually pretty fun. It's a huge challenge to balance expenses and income while giving Sims what they want and making my cities productive and healthy.

Starcraft in the meantime is one game I previously played only with full cheats activated. Now that I've started over with zero cheats (well, apart from the "black sheep wall" code), I see the huge challenge it poses.

Both games are fabulous ways of wasting time.
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I've turned into quite the Gundam fanatic lately.

It all started 9 weeks ago with the TV premiere of Mobile Suit Gundam Seed. Because of watching Mobile Suit Gundam Wing from before, having been put off by its ridiculous dialogue and confusing story, I had my own doubts about Seed. I'm glad to say Seed is a lot better. The characters are no longer simply invincible "poster boys" (or bishounen for the hardcore otaku out there) pretending to have human problems, as in Wing; in Seed they are human, fallible and susceptible. That basically makes all the difference.

This week sees Seed finishing its first season. 5 episodes to go. I can't wait to watch the second season, Mobile Suit Gundam Seed: Destiny.

Then last week came the 25th anniversary edition of the original series that started it all in 1979: Mobile Suit Gundam. Plot-wise, Seed seems to have taken a lot of its elements from this classic---no complaints there as it works really well both ways. Gundam's animation is a bit iffy and dated (but what can one expect from something done in 1979?), and the music is a bit laughable at parts, but it's also still quite interesting.

I wonder which other Gundam series have that mix of splendid animation and well-integrated plot? They'll be worth spending money on.
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I miss Cher. Badly.

Ever since she went back to Leyte, it seems she's never sent me any text messages or answered any of my calls. I've become more than a bit worried. I shudder to think of what might have happened to her. I do pray she's all right. :(

Cher was actually in Manila for three days this week; she took the flight home on Thursday. They were here for some sort of convention on audit.

This was our opportunity to catch up on each other and the things we'd missed in the past 4 months or so. We haven't exactly kept in touch as frequently as we'd have liked and while it took us a bit of fumbling around to start off, we basically talked until midnight.

Take care, fwend. *HUGS*
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Friday was the day everything seemed to click into place.

Honda's Jazz demo car arrived in school, to coincide with the "Jazz Up Your Life" jazz recital of the DLSU Pops Orchestra. Sadly no test-drives were allowed, but it's nice to see my current favorite car just inches in front of me. It was in my favorite color too (a shade they call "Vivid Blue").

Then it was the recital proper come nighttime.

Being part of the backstage crew, I was given a wireless mike and made to blurt out the sponsorship spiels. I did that pretty well, but when time came to start the recital with the Philippine national anthem, I made a bit of a booboo addressing the audience with "Good morning...er, good afternoon...er..." when it was already 6:30 pm. Heheheheh. I could hear them laughing. At least they were listening.

Pops busted out their great tunes as front act, but what really did me in was the UP Jazz Quartet, our main act of the evening. Man, they were a talented bunch. Classical guitar, bass, jazz drums and keyboards. Very very good. I especially paid attention to the drummer; it was interesting how he used different types of sticks to obtain all these effects from the usual snare drums, toms and cymbals. Most fascinating was this "stick" that was actually more of a miniature wire broom, and could be used to "caress" the snare drum's head.

Overall it was a great day...apart from my little brush and getaway from the traffic police on the way home. But that remains a secret. I'm not trying that again though.
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Watched this show "Get Real" on Channel NewsAsia, a Singaporean cable news channel, and the one I saw was about Filipino maids in Singapore.

Host Diane Ser tried to project both sides (employers and maids) of the picture and I think it's pretty good. The whole show actually reminded me of Dr. Doy del Mundo's documentary film "Maid in Singapore," which we were able to watch while enrolled in our video production class.

It's sort of sad that some maids chose to break the trust of their employers---say, by inviting their boyfriends over to their employers' domiciles without permission. When the hapless employers come home, they get to see said boyfriends in compromising positions. It's also quite sad that while "work-permit holders" may marry in Singapore, if they are caught pregnant, their permits will be revoked and a ban placed on them for life.

Still I guess that's how things work in Singapore. If we Filipinos want to earn what we can there, we have to follow the rules.

Interesting though is how some maids have effectively adopted the badly broken "Singlish" of the Singaporean Chinese...
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Speaking of Singlish, I'm having a hoot reading the Singlish dictionary at Talking Cock.

Funny how some mishaps can be avoided just by not deciding to do something or go somewhere.

All day I had planned to go to SM Bicutan on the way home to see if I could get an issue of Autocar Asean. Getting off the Skyway, I had already prepared to make a U-turn toward the mall, but I stopped because I waited for the traffic on the other lane to clear. Then I felt an infuriating thud on my rear.

Turns out a white MGE taxi braked into my right rear bumper and left a palm-sized dent. So I did the usual: check for the license, get the driver's contact info, and we were (un)fortunate (you'll see why) to have a traffic enforcer come along and sketch the accident site. The problem was that this officer took his time doing a sketch that I frankly could've done in less than a minute, and it wasn't helping things as our position already compromised the traffic on both Doña Soledad Ave. and the Skyway off-ramp.

Then IT happened.

While we were finishing up and preparing to separate the vehicles, I heard another thud on my car. This time the offending party was a police dispatch truck, and it left a black palm-size scrape on my right front bumper. I just snapped. I yelled at the offending police cruiser all vitriol and bad temper spewing out of me (to my surprise I didn't cuss).

The truck stopped and the police driver got off in an arrogant swagger. He was civil enough to ask what could be done about the damage, but he was obviously impatient and had the look that said "you're worthless" on his face. They were supposedly on red alert (God knows particularly what that was for) and they couldn't wait so he decided to run my bumper and leave a souvenir.

Before I did anything I'd regret later, I told the errant cop to get out of there.

While following the traffic cop's motorbike in heavy Bicutan evening traffic, I heard another thud from the inside. The errant taxi driver which was tailing me got off and told me my rear bumper "healed" the dent itself, so all it left was a white paint scrape half the length of my forearm. I inspected it again and he was right. We decided to lay off the police report in exchange for paying me PhP200 to foot the bill for touch-up paint. An agreeable amicable settlement for me and my parents (who are in Baguio right now), so all we had to do was to get our licenses back from the traffic management office.

I'm cool with the taxi driver now; he seemed like a good man who was unfortunate enough to passenger two lost souls who didn't know how to go to Pasay and mistook the Skyway for a route going there.

My beef is with the police. I understand they have their own reasons for red alert but couldn't they have been a little more considerate as drivers? We were already going to separate our cars and hie off to the traffic office. That could've taken just a minute. Worse, they acted as if they had every right to bash into my car. Red alert or not, that's still a quasi-delict.

Sigh...if only I decided to go straight home.

Was at the Asian Strategic Marketing Convention at the PICC the other day as a required event for MARKCU1. I thought it would be boring, but it was actually pretty interesting.
 
We had some great speakers. One of them was Pacita Juan, one of the entrepreneurial seven founders of the Figaro coffee shop chain. She talked with passion about focusing on something which one loves, and it just so happened that hers involved coffee. She and her friends loved it so much that they made a business out of it and it's still thriving. She told us that we should look for business partners not because of the cash they can contribute, but because of their talents and specialization. We should take care of our franchisees, she adds, and we should also love the business enough to do all the hard menial work.
 
Then there was Roland Benzon of Chikka, a solutions provider for cellular phone networks. Kinky voice and innuendo aside (this guy is hilarious and ought to be a voice talent for an animated movie), he pointed out that simply having the best technology won't necessarily win you customers right away. How to get culture to work for you is crucial. In our case Chikka managed to get a hold of how the Philippines became the SMS capital of the world, studied it and applied marketing plans based on that.
 
And then Philippine Marketing Association president Jos Ortega of BBDO Guerrero Ortega (an ad agency) showed us parts of the Gunn Report DVD, basically a compilation of the 100 best advertisements in a given year. The Chiclets and Axe ads were absolute hoots and they were really well made.
 
Quite an enriching experience despite the cheesy music and atmosphere. I don't regret going there despite getting into so many near-accidents along the way.
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On impulse I went into the Honda Makati showroom and test-drove the GD1 Jazz last Tuesday as I didn't have any class that day.

To be perfectly honest I felt as if I didn't spend all that much time with the likeable little car. All the test-drive allowed me was one trip around some boring village roads around the dealership which were totally unrepresentative of what the car would typically face in the hands of its owner. Because of the brevity of the test I couldn't see for myself how good the acceleration of the car was.

Steering felt a bit weird because of the electric assistance (instead of hydraulic on my car and most others) but it's accurate enough for me to attempt parking the Jazz backwards. Clutch and brake pedals were too close and the fluid-type clutch itself was mushy and a bit hard to judge. However the gearbox is slick and the engine is torquey enough to forgive mistakes in upshifting (how unlike a Honda engine). It won't beat my D15B-powered SX8 City, but for a car that'll make 15-20 km/L, it's very good.

I just wish I had at least two more trips to confirm how it gets going under full acceleration.
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This month's HCP EB was something special.

President Juno Ongteco managed to get hold of the local distributor of Johnnie Walker Black Label and arranged for a short course on Scotch whiskey appreciation after the EB proper. Basically that meant we got free drinks (5 varieties of Scotch whiskey per head!) and free food courtesy of the bar East of St. Louis at the Fort.

We had former actor-turned-interior-designer Jaime Garchitorena as host and he taught us a brief history of the Johnnie Walker heritage (JW Black is actually a blend of 40 or so single-malt whiskeys that's 200 years old). He then tuned us in on how to appreciate and taste whiskey. We looked for the "legs" (viscosity), "nose" (smell), character, palate and finish (3 phases of taste) of a brandy using a champagne glass, and noted how different single-malt Scotch whiskeys differ. Some taste heavy and dark like smoke, some taste light as fresh fruit, others taste creamy and delicate while still others taste of rich fruit (we tested each one). Being a 40-some blend, JW Black had a little bit of everything.

I don't drink very often, but it was cool to know all of this information and I didn't realize how much nuances there were to drinking Scotch whiskey. One thing's for sure: no matter how delicate the taste, Scotch whiskey definitely has a strong kick. Even with mere sipping at the 5 champagne glasses in front of me, I was beginning to feel tipsy by the time we finally got to sample and judge JW Black.

After that we got our share of finger foods. Some of us left early, like myself. I just stayed long enough to get the tipsiness out of my head. I certainly wouldn't want to receive a face full of windshield because of driving under the influence of ethanol consumption.

It was a nice drive home, unlike the rest of the damned traffic-ridden week. I took the wet, sweeping Heritage Memorial road out of the Fort and drove at a consistent 80-100 km/h around the gentle bends leading to C5 and to the SLEX.

If only everyday driving was that pleasurable.

Pretty much spend the free day today mostly online. Had a good chat with my new friend Chen from the US. Been particularly looking forward to chatting with her as I hardly get to see her online at the same time I am. She's also one of those people who's not afraid to speak her mind and be true to herself.
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Am kinda shocked at seeing some people use Friendster as a venue to set up sex EBs. My friends at HCP have talked about how some of these individuals will set up a sex EB with whomever sends them cellphone credits.
 
Imagine if these temptresses were actually men who had no interest in sex whatsoever, and went through the trouble only because of cellphone compulsion. Smells like a good scam to me.
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I can't deny it anymore. I seriously have a crush on this girl.
 
I've had her as classmate for two separate terms already and I still can't muster enough guts to introduce myself properly. Nor to be able to face her. But I seem to be crazy over this girl whom I've noticed since I was a college freshman.
 
I think it's cool she drives a GD6 City. I think it's cool she's also a Marketing major like I am (she's ahead of me by one term at that). I think she's damn cute and pretty and given the chance she's also pretty smart too.
 
Now to overcome the hurdle of actually saying HI. Can't be the hardest thing to do now can it?
 
Shit...when it boils down to it I can still be a very shy high school adolescent.
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Am glad Angelo dela Cruz has already been released from his month-long captivity and threat of decapitation. Much ado about the life of one man, yes.
 
I've read my fair share of opinions regarding the issue, most of them unfavorable. We've even been called "cowards" by what in my opinion are foolish Americans who don't know the whole details of what was going on. My stand here is that whichever decision President Arroyo made would have been a loss anyway.
 
I'm glad that Mr. dela Cruz is now safe and sound, but I'm also frightened at where our sense of patriotism has gone.

Just when we thought we'd failed in bringing in sponsors for Pops' recitals and concerts, along came a ray of hope.
 
It was ironic that Rachel took notice of the new GD1 Honda Jazz and its tagline "Jazz up your life!" as I was part of Honda Club myself. She suggested I ring some contacts and ask if they're interested to sponsor us, as coincidentally our first recital on July 30 is also called "Jazz UP Your Life."
 
I contacted Abbie, our former HCP liaison to HCPI, and inquired who was in charge of marketing nowadays at HCPI, then I called Ms. Rachell Diaz up. 30 minutes after I had sent in the fax, she personally called Rachel herself that yes, they were willing to sponsor us and they would do so in much-needed CASH amounting to PhP20,000.
 
Rachel was jumping for joy and screaming her heart out. At last! A cash sponsor! At least now I can say our efforts paid off.
 
Small victories are always cause for celebration, I always say. We've still got a lot of work ahead, though. After all, these two terms are devoted to campus tours, recitals and our Visayan concert tour too.
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Dropped by Honda Makati a while ago to scope out the new GD1 Honda Jazz hatchback. What a cute little number! I'd love to have one in my garage.
 
If only I could do something about that price tag...I'd be spending PhP670,000 for the model I want.
 
At least I'd be consoled with remarkable fuel efficiency. The Jazz tops my SX8 City 1.5's 9-10 km/L consumption with a trumping figure of 15-20 km/L.

Last Wednesday's COMLAW1 class was unusual to say the least.

We've gotten accustomed to Atty. Dimayuga coming in a little late, but this time around an ITEO officer was around to conduct the usual teacher/course surveys. After a while my classmates were spouting rumors of Atty. Dimayuga bringing in the Yellow Cab pizzas he promised us in return for the meetings he missed with us. Now I rode along with the deal but I wasn't expecting him to be serious with carrying it out.

Lo and behold, 8 Yellow Cab pizza boxes were being hauled into the classroom. Of course it's taboo to eat inside the classrooms, so we had to keep it hush-hush to avoid any trouble with the Discipline Office. (I wonder if the janitors could tell from all the printed tissue we used and threw away in the trash though.)

So there we were, sharing pizzas, thanking our kind old professor and chomping away. To make a long story short, we didn't have class at all that day. Some of my classmates were already asking if we could enroll into COMLAW2 under him next term, but Atty. Dimayuga caught on early ("...so you can get fed once again right?").

That's gotta be the strangest but most palatable classroom experience I've had, ever.
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Had an impromptu jam session with Gabby, Gerby, RL, PJ and JR at the band room a while ago, and this time I got to grab the mike and have a little fun with it. Turns out no one knew the lyrics to that old '70s song "Manila," so JR handed the mike over to me while I belted my lungs out in my trademark gravelly deep voice. Not that that was getting me any seats as Pops Orchestra vocalist, but it was enough for PJ (a vocalist himself) to ask me anyway.

Been fiddling around with the drums a little more too. Can't say I'm good at it yet but there's a little progress now.
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Stayed up late last Tuesday to finish "Bandelizing," the Pops Orchestra newsletter. That's gotta be the fastest layout job I've done ever. I managed to finish a small 8-page newsletter in 2 days.

Makes me wonder how wasteful I was with my working time back when I was still layout editor for "Counterpoint" in high school. Took me months to finish a 16-page magazine...bad, JM, bad.