polka dots and round fruits

My way of greeting the incoming new year has always been different. Instead of jumping up and down, up and down in the hopes of growing taller, I just chat away in HEXrpg.com. Until the fireworks start fizzing in the heavens, one can find me in front of the computer, amused by my chatmates who'll be celebrating the coming of the new year one day later than we in the Philippines do.

Speaking of which, I got back in HEXrpg.com just three days ago. Finally, finally, I decided to give up on my old account to start a new one. There's going to be a lot of changes in my HEX life from now on because I have changed since I went to UP. Besides, this ex-Hufflepuff has just been sorted into Slytherin. I may have to start getting used to the people who trashed our common room last year and left pictures of dead pictures for us to see...

Still, my mother's right. Everything is just a stepping stone. Heartaches and pain will only make you stronger. They won't kill you unless you let them.

Happy New Year, minna-san!

Toodles! Poof...

digital memories

It was Christmas Day yesterday, my 16th so far. For the third year running, my cousins had their gift giving and as usual, I offered my services in case they needed the added manpower. When I arrived, however, it was already too late and the receivers of the gifts were already standing by the gate of my cousins' house, preparing to go home. Sigh. Totally defeated the purpose of my visit, but oh well.

There were also some other people there, workers from my aunt's karinderya business. I didn't know them well so while they were singing their hearts out in the giant karaoke set, I sat in one corner of the living room and began riffling through the ancient photo albums stacked beside me. And I discovered a lot of things.

1. When my mother was younger, she looked a lot like my eldest cousin.

2. In some angles, my aunt looks like my mother.

3. I was once a very cute kid, which leads me to wonder how I grew up looking like this.

4. Ugly Ducklings do exist.

5. Looking at pictures is a sad, sad enterprise.

Feeling some thick polaroid photos in my fingers, I wondered how my future granchildren would feel as they'd look at my photos. You might laugh and say I'm way too young to be worrying about posterity issues, but seriously, will the impact of captured moments be the same if it's seen through a computer monitor?

Or maybe a hologram, if they get to inventing hologram computers.

Just a sad thought conceived on my uneventful Christmas eve.

there's always a first time

My first Christmas as a college student is tiring, filled with lots of assigned readings, a paper on depleted uranium due on January 4th, documentation for rytwel.com and RX, and pressure to do something useful as a committee head of the First Floor Girls. I am constantly on the verge of a nervous breakdown, always sleepy. Worse, in the past three days, the number of times I've raised my voice exceeds the total count of my shouting explosions in UP. Just some of the reasons I'm don't feel like partying much even though Christmas is just two days away.

Still, I feel the warmth and see the signs that I should, for a couple of days, drop everything and enjoy. Old ladies and groups of teens lugging guitars around, young trapo vendors ditching their merchandise in exchange for homemade tambourines, and the grand green and gold lights display in front of the municipal hall. Even though my eyelids are always threatening to close and I'm perpetually in need of my jacket because of the cold weather, this season brings me a lot of positive emotions. There's the fact that life, Jesus's greatest gift, is still free - priceless. There's hope and love and hugs from friends I haven't seen in months. There's family and the fat chance that our dog will be cowering again come fireworks night. Lots of things and other blessings of Christmas for which I would willingly line up in the crowded Graphic counter, and listen to lectures I can hardly relate to. I would give anything to be home for Christmas.

And for my friends who aren't in their respective hometowns right now, it's okay. There will come a time when all of us won't be able to spend the holidays in the homes we've grown in, and you guys just happened to experience the separation earlier. Someday, I, too, will be far away from home on Christmas eve. But since I've always been a child at heart, and until now I'm still very childlike, please understand that I'd rather my parents waste money on airplane fare than let me spend a special night on my own a hundred miles away from home.

And yes, I'm mushy because I'm frustrated I can't get into the site I want to enter. And those noisy kids are at it again.

Toodles! Poof...

On Pineapple-Fed Cows and Vanity

Here in the Kalayaan Residence Hall, we have a lot of exciting activities organized for the benefit of the dorm’s residents. One of these is the Pasalubong Festival, which is scheduled on the 5^th of January next year. The main purpose of the event is for the kids from the different regions of the Philippines to showcase what their places are known for, like delicacies and plant-life or head-hunting practices. I’m from Region X, Northern Mindanao, and I’m proud to say I love my region mates very much.

We’ve decided on a lot of things tonight. What kinds of food to bring, how on Earth the booth should look like, who should usher the guests, etc. I never really meant to bring what I was assigned to bring, but because I was the one who mentioned the pineapple-fed cows from that golf course in Bukidnon…

Sigh. And each kilo is worth more or less 300 something. Grrr.

It should be worth it though. At least I’m going to bring something special, something no one’s heard of until I opened my big mouth. I’m happy to say that although I’ve never tasted that steak, I’m sure it’s top quality. Where on Earth have you heard of cows being fed pineapples?

…

What? Japan? Oh, yeah. Japan. Still.

I also volunteered to be in the Docu Team for our PasaFest entry, and I’m sort of heading it together with Aliyah Batara, who is very nice and always puts smileys in her text messages. As of the moment, I can’t imagine what we’re going to do for documentation. Are the team members going to tour Region X and take pictures of the scenery? Or are we just supposed to visit my next-door neighbor, who works for the Department of Tourism, to ask for some CD’s promoting our place?

Bah, whatever. All I know is I’m excited to go see those fireworks the Region III people are exhibiting. I just love fireworks.

Speaking of lovable things, I also like surveys. So I made this survey for myself. It’s not really vanity that’s motivating this self-centered deed. It’s just that in English 12 with Sir Falgui earlier, I realized that our choices define who we are. Maybe, somewhere in the middle of choosing my favorite color of index cards, I can discover more about myself.

This thing is a reflective, meditative, solemn act. Supposedly.

Role Playing Game: Miss Universe, Question and Answer Portion

Q: If you were Superman’s ten-year-old cousin and you were on your first mission, what would you want that mission to be?

A: I would want my first mission to take place in a busy street. If there was a child in the middle of the road, in danger of being run over by a vehicle, I would rescue him/her. Remember Eugene from Ghost Fighter? How about Qi Yue’s father from Devil Beside You? Both of them died because they both tried to rescue little children crossing the street. To avoid accidents like that, I, Superman’s ten-year-old cousin, shall do the saving in their place.

Q: The Goddess of Harvest offered to give your farm an abundant harvest this year. What fruit would you like to have a large stock of and why?

A: I would like to have a lot of mangoes in my inventory. They’d better be topnotch, like the ones they grow in Guimaras. I want them because my father says they’re high in demand and my mother happens to like them to. Besides, I also like drinking mango shake, so it’s all good.

Q: You’ve read Harry Potter, right? If you were J.K. Rowling’s editor, what would you advise her to write as an alternate epilogue?

A: Even though I don’t like the epilogue, I probably won’t tell her to change much about it. It is her brain-child after all, and I may not know much but I know artists are very sensitive about their work. I am, however, her editor, so I’d probably give a few comments and ask a few questions that would make her think twice about putting anything in pen and ink forever. I won’t tell her to do anything, but I’ll make sure she’ll do something on her own accord.

Q: What kind of part-time job would you want?

A: I’d really like to be a student assistant. Or a waitress. Or a jeepney driver (originally, I wanted to drive buses, but I realized they were too big). Just nothing concerning a desk and paper. I’d really want to do something with my hands.

Q: According to Charles Schulz, “Life is like a ten-speed bicycle. Most of us have gears we never use.” If that were true, what are your unused gears and why aren’t you using them?

A: Most probably, my cross stitch skills. I’ve been trying so hard to follow cross stitch patterns but I just can’t get them right!? But seriously? I think I’m not using my Math skills very well. My aptitude exams insist that I am capable of doing quite well in the subject but most of my achievement tests prove otherwise. I think I just have a poor foundation in Math. 

for the love of sheep, let me blog

This is my third draft for this blog entry. I don't know what's wrong with me right now; maybe I'm just sabog. But seriously, I can't find anything sensible to write about. So bear with me, O practically non-existent reader, and venture into the world of the sabog teenage girl typing this down.



Among all the types of cattle in the world, I favor sheep. I was watching Brokeback Mountain (well, half of it, anyway) with Nina yesterday and I was simply awestruck by the large quantity of sheep Jake and Heath were guarding. They looked so gentle and mild, and I suddenly found their bleating stuck to my head. Aargh, no wonder my father didn't want to raise sheep in the orchard. He said that by the time we'd have to stew them, we'd pity them. And pity them, we probably would.


Pity, according to the Cyborg code from that movie starring Bi and that girl from I'm Sorry I Love You, is one of the seven deadly sins. Pity is supposedly a hindrance because it prevents one from doing what ought to be done. Most of the time, it leads to unwanted situations. For example, if you were the protagonist in the movie Tiyanak, would you hesitate in killing that monster? Yeah, it may bawl like a baby, but you know that if you don't stab it twenty thousand times it's gonna bite your head of so why would you think twice before doing the deed? The reason: Pity. Pity, piteous, pitiful.


Pitiful students of the University of the Philippines, rejoice. Not all of us may get a chance to earn an UNO this semester but all of us are invited to The Pre-Centennial Lantern Parade! *insert whoop here* Of course, we may not have gotten the ultra-special paper invites sent by the U to VIP's but it's a given fact that we're expected to witness that event! *yebah!* And I'm ecstatic because it's the last thing I'll be doing before getting on that plane bound for CDO! I'm going home, Friends! And guess what? I'm not bringing you guys anything! Tee hee hee!

See you soon, people! People, see you soon!


Toodles!
Poof....