Symptoms of Cretinism

"Realize, then, that impoverishment is also a teacher, unique in its capacity to renew, and that its yield, when it ends, is a passionate openness which in turn re-invests the world with meaning.” - Louse Gluck I found this quote in Naya's blog, which I visit from time to time, because she is a writer I have great admiration for, and reading her entries shows just how much more of my writerly self I have to improve. Along with Dean and Andrew , these people write about daily life like poetry. I, on the other hand, don't even know if that last sentence even made sense.  Anyways, I found this quote extremely appropriate for my situation now, even though I have already graduated and have a stable job (the quote is from a graduation address). But it is exactly those things, I think, that made it resound with me so strongly; that despite having a job, I still find myself helpless against the travails of life (to which, most often, the solution is MONEY), struggling to keep u...

Without going into specifics, I'd say I've found quite a pleasant diversion in Bones, a CSI-like series with a dash of humor thrown into the mix. All the characters are lovable and extremely unique, the dialogue is fast-paced and clever enough to keep me occupied temporarily. Of course I hardly understand any of the scientific jargon they regularly throw at me, the hapless viewer, but it's really just like House--you don't watch primarily for the nerdiness of it, but for the way it's all presented in one unique package. All those high-sounding terms simply lends an air of authenticity to it. It's a great show, really. The way the relationships and tensions between the characters are portrayed provides a stark contrast to the gravity of the cases they take. I realize some might have a problem with this, but not me. Lightness is a welcome feeling. And I've always liked David Boreanaz ever since his Angel days. It's now officially one of my favorite TV ser...

It's hard to put down something profound, something decent on paper--digital or otherwise--when there are things (read: thing; read DEEPER: PERSON) that just bleeds you dry. Still, here are some tips that might help that I hope she never reads and remains oblivious to for the rest of her life that I hope somebody richer and more powerful will tell her to her face and she will consequently melt (very painfully) in embarrassment or subsequently resign and live on a deserted island like the one in Lost and then find a hatch then be crushed to death by a giant snake-type monster that's always surrounded by smoke. - learn to Google. Just type the letters w-w-w-.-g-o-o-g-l-e-.-c-o-m - do not click on things like the world is ending. - the scroll bar is on the right side of your screen. The arrow pointing down, which also looks like an inverted triangle, means DOWN. The arrow pointing up, that looks like an upright triangle, means UP. - stop lying to your relatives. - stop having othe...

From Steven Sondheim's broadway hit 'Company' Watch the video here . ROBERT [speaking]: Stop!...What do you get? [Sings] Someone to hold you too close, Someone to hurt you too deep, Someone to sit in your chair, To ruin your sleep. PAUL: That's true, but there's more to it than that. SARAH: Is that all you think there is to it? HARRY: You've got so many reasons for not being with someone, but Robert, you haven't got one good reason for being alone. LARRY: Come on, you're on to something, Bobby. You're on to something. ROBERT: Someone to need you too much, Someone to know you too well, Someone to pull you up short And put you through hell. DAVID: You see what you look for, you know. JOANNE: You're not a kid anymore, Robby. I don't think you'll ever be a kid again, kiddo. PETER: Hey, buddy, don't be afraid it won't be perfect. The only thing to be afraid of really is that it won't be. JENNY: Don't stop now. Keep going. ROBER...

...and attractiveness. But there is! 110 pesos to be exact (prices based on SM Cinema deluxe seats). Still, it was well worth the price to catch Kung Fu Panda with my brother Jemoi last night, which now tops my favorite animated movie list, displacing The Incredibles. Sorry Jack-jack. Kung Fu Panda tells the story of Po the Panda (Jack Black), a big, fat and clumsy panda who dreams of learning kung fu while tending shop at his father's (who happens to be a goose) noodle restaurant. The world as he know it changes when he is chosen by ancient master (tortoise) Oogway (Randall Duk Kim) to become the 'Dragon Master', the powerful hero destined to defend the village from Tai Lung (Ian McShane), the evil snow leopard determined to learn the secret to limitless power. Of course, he has to contend with varied degrees of discrimination and ridicule from the legendary Fearsome Five--Mantis (Seth Rogen), Tigress (Angelina Jolie), Monkey (Jackie Chan), Viper (Lucy Liu), and Crane (Cro...

From Yugatech.com/blog: iPod Shuffle and YugaTech T-Shirt Winners Published by: yuga under: Contests. posted: June 9th, 2008 Published by: yuga under 18 hours, 14 minutes ago in Contests. --> We’ve got 5 iPod Shuffles and 20 YugaTech T-Shirts to give away today. Check out the name of our winners below and follow instructions on how to claim your prize. Congrats to the lucky winners! For the iPod Shuffles , we’re giving 1 unit to the most active participant in TradePort Forum. and the winner is: iamstorm We also have 4 iPod Shuffle winners to bloggers who helped promote the Tradeport contest: Jan Alvin of Blog Tambayan Yohan of Yoedelbarrio.com Bunny of It’s a Bunny Life Flisha Fernandez of Random Detox Then, 20 YugaTech T-Shirt winners to members who registered at Tradeport. We had 69 people wanting a T-Shirt each but I can only give out 20. lord_art8/P365D Shannelle itzmeeh juvic blozoomdotcom kaliwete dhoy005 Ivy ralphswurld Raein superbong suspect cocoie Xeltran acidcrush13 shin...

I. Last night I dreamt of her dancing the boogie with me at a local dance club in downtown I vaguely remember my parents bringing me to one night when I was a kid. We were the only ones below thirty there, she and I—everyone else seemed to be these tired couples who looked old enough to have kids out of college, longing for the good old times. I had asked her to dance and to trust me, and she said yes, and we took the house down. We were absolutely great. I felt absolutely great; she was smiling and holding me tight and telling me that that was the best time she ever had in ages. And we never danced, ever—it was of those things I had just thought of doing on the spot, and she was good enough to humor me. But as we walked back to our seats, I wanted to stop time, suddenly seeing all those aged faces looking at us like we had been just the thing they wanted to be again, all aglow in the nostalgia of remembered youth and years long gone. II. The other night had me seeing all the familiar ...

There comes a time when I feel like writing something but can't seem to put my finger on it; my fingers grow itchy and my mind wanders to every conceivable this and that and here and there. It's been almost a month too, since my last post, and I do owe it to the few people--some I know, some obscure, some just plain annoying--who come here once in a while to check out my random bursts of insanity and maybe drop a line or two, to put up something (that aspires to be) clever. Don't get me wrong, there are a lot of things I want to put here, but I've always imagined this blog to be more of a repository for thoughts about life--hence the title (if you don't get it, don't worry--the word that starts with a 'C' automatically excuses you from any fault)--rather than a chronicle of my day to day or week to week activities. The whole "Dear Diary" crap is old and retarded, and is best reserved for overly-giddy teenage girls who like Hale and sissy emo m...

Denial is the most predictable of all human responses. - The Architect, The Matrix Reloaded For months now, I've consistently avoided coming face to face with the fact that the day will come when she has to go away, that there will come a day when we will be thrust into the uncertain and topsy-turvy world of inter-continental relationships. I guess something inside me wanted to believe that there'd be an easier way for us, that some sort of bizzare miracle would occur, and everything would be fine; no more hurdles, no more difficulties--only bliss. And only recently has reality--like it always does--punched me in the gut so hard that I am left gasping for air. How does one deal when someone goes away? Death is easier, I think (although more painful), with its finality and definiteness; what do you do when someone is there but not there at the same time? Some people treat SOs as if they were accessories; there's that longing too, of course, that hankering for its presence, f...

My breath smells like sisig now, that delectable mix of diced pork ears, pork liver, onions, and chili peppers served sizzling on a hot cast-iron plate. If only I had a bottle of Pale Pilsen to go with it, and the company of someone particular, ah, that would have truly made my day. ============= I’d really like to rant about work—well, not really work, but one fantastically idiotic person at work—but that wouldn’t be right. I just get really burned out sometimes, sitting in my workspace right beside her office, hearing snatches of conversation (" Ay, Mother! Chika chika chika! Blah blah blah! ") that have nothing to do with work—this coming from someone who tells everyone else to stop talking to each other while working—and saying robotic yes-es to senseless and utterly stupid demands. I keep telling the people here who have a like mind that I am slowly evolving into some synthetic polymer product. I keep remembering last Christmas, where she kept telling anyone who cared to...

I am here, microscopic dot on microscopic dot without any fairy cake. from the wisdom of Wikipedia : The Total Perspective Vortex, in the fictional world of Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, is the most horrible torture device to which a sentient being can be subjected. Located on Frogstar World B, it shows its victim the entire unimaginable infinity of the universe with a very tiny marker that says "You Are Here" which points to a microscopic dot on a microscopic dot. The machine was originally invented by one Trin Tragula in order to annoy his wife. Because she was forever nagging him for having no sense of proportion, he decided to invent something that would show her what having a sense of proportion really meant. Unfortunately the shock of being placed in the Vortex destroyed her brain, but Trin Tragula's grief was tempered by the knowledge that he had been right and she had been wrong. The Total Perspective Vortex had proved that in an in...

It’s been awhile since I’ve put down anything that can even be remotely described as concrete, much less sensible. So, in lieu of the just-barely-so-new year, I’d like to say the following: Last year was great. Sure, it was also one of the saddest and crappiest years I’ve ever had, but there were good things too, and I’d like to thank God for that. Sorrows aside, it was a year of finding love again, overnights and New Year’s Eve in Tarlac, meeting families old and new, surprising generosity and the subsequent Mr. Pookums, watching Into The Woods with a good friend, watching Avenue Q with my best friend and favorite person, and smatterings of small good things scattered in-between. It was a year of a lot of good books and (still) trying to write; a year of realizations and lessons learned. ========= Moving on. I wish I had something massive to write about. Not love, because I love for me (and her, of course), and it’s nobody else’s business—I think I’m past the stage and age where I lik...

Reserved Realist

What better way to start the year than with a song? ================ Stop this Train John Mayer No, I'm not color blind I know the world is black and white Try to keep an open mind But I just can't sleep on this tonight Stop this train I wanna get off And go home again I can't take the speed it's moving in I know I can But honestly, won't someone stop this train? Don't know how else to say it Don't want to see my parents go One generation's length away From fighting life out on my own Stop this train I wanna get off And go home again I can't take the speed it's moving in I know I can But honestly, won't someone stop this train? So scared of getting older I'm only good at being young So I play the numbers game To find a way to say that life has just begun Had a talk with my old man Said "help me understand" He said "turn sixty-eight You renegotiate" "Don't stop this train Don't for a minute change the place...

We all know relationships are hard. It wouldn’t be too much of a stretch to say that we all have at least a vague idea that real relationships are more than just kisses and walks in the park, or candlelit dinners and holding hands while watching a movie. Nevertheless, it is not unheard off, that two people who previously thought that their promises would hold suddenly drift apart and discover that all that remains between them are broken pledges, old hurts, and that good old “sorry”. They ask themselves whether they could have done something to prevent it, they ask themselves where along the road did they lose it, they ask themselves what went wrong and who’s to blame. But at this point whether or not these questions are answered is of little consequence—the damage has been done, and the whole house of cards has long since fallen down. I guess it’s just as simple as saying that people who are always there are also the ones who are the easiest to take for granted. They’re low maintenanc...

I’ve always been a big fan of the play—the way it is dynamic and alive (both figuratively and literally), the way it involves the audience in every step and song and dance and line, the way the actor’s voices aren’t just from speakers (Dolby or not, real life is still the best), and the way the scenes aren’t just the best parts cut out and put together in editing from a long timeline of takes one to one hundred. That being said, I must confess that I haven’t been to a play in ages—the last one, if I remember correctly, was way back in college, and was about a closet gay stuntman whose number one idol in the whole world was Ariel the Little Mermaid. After, academics, girlfriends, breakups, heartaches, Ragnarok and DOTA, and a part-time job got in the way, so I never got to watch another. I was able to finally rectify that last Friday, thanks to the indomitable Conrad, cartoonist and graphic artist extraordinaire (albeit a very frustrated one), who was kind enough to supply me with a fre...

It is human nature, I guess, that we are constantly dissatisfied with what we have. Even during the times fate does give us better circumstances, it is not uncommon for us to see, much less appreciate, how better off we are. It’s always the “should have been” and “what could be better” things that preoccupy us. We are hardly ever satisfied. I guess there’s something in that phenomenon that explains the increasing callousness and lack of attention we have for the people around us as time goes by. We constantly mull over their mistakes, weaknesses and shortcomings, and it is only when they’ve gone—oftentimes for good—that we say wholeheartedly that he or she was a good person, that his or her heart was without peer in its purity and kindness. Only then we say that we wish we were more understanding, more accepting, more adjustable, more loving. Only then do we apologize for our insensitivity, only then do we realize how we’ve failed them, how WE could have done them better, and only then...

Tagged by Avi. Rules: 1. Mention the person who tagged you and create a link back to them. 2. Copy-paste the traits for all the twelve months (see below). 3. Pick your month of birth. 4. Highlight the traits that apply to you. 5. Tag 12 people and let them know by visiting their blogs and leaving a comment for them. 6. Let the person who tagged you know when you’ve done it! I was born in: APRIL: Active and dynamic. Decisive and hasty but tends to regret. Attractive and affectionate to oneself. Strong mentality. Loves attention. Diplomatic. Consoling, friendly and solves people’s problems. Brave and fearless. Adventurous. Loving and caring. Suave and generous. Emotional. Aggressive. Hasty. Good memory. Moving. Motivates oneself and others. Sickness usually of the head and chest. Sexy in a way that only their lover can see. Aaaaannnnddddd..... THERE IS NOTHING IN THIS HERE LISTED TRAITS THAT I THINK APPLIES TO ME. Pfft. Unfortunately, I've no people to tag, but if you're a ...

I haven't looked forward to payday as much I do today. That's what happens when there's only an un-withdrawable 80 pesos left in my ATM and a measly 200 in my wallet. And that's all I have left for food (food, glorious food!) and transportation until tomorrow. The situation has become so dramatially dire that while eating lunch this noon, I seriously considered walking all the way home. I am that destitute. And when tomorrow does come, the ATM downstairs is probably going to go bonkers again, which means that I have to pay an extra 11 pesos to withdraw from another ATM. UCPB sucks. Damn you, agent of the Matrix! I can't even think straight. I have 5 (or more) articles I have to write from scratch, but everytime I try to write, instead of coherent sentences, something more akin to mush comes out--thank goodness the deadline's still a few days away. Ah, I totally suck. @_@ Only Chuck Norris rules (see below). LOL. ========= Some fast facts about the great Chuck N...

The good: - Very spiffy-looking interface and graphics. - Customization galore! - Easier to understand system functions. The bad: - the dreaded "Vista Pause"--which effectively renders void all the good things. Ampf.