Friday, December 31, 2004
5 words/phrases to sum up 2004
1) Crisis
I stopped working for MYX, and graduated from college, and felt afterwards that I was left with nothing to do. After years of achievements that made me proud, my hands suddenly felt strangely empty. Soon I started to question my self-worth and started cursing myself for not being the great painter/writer/amazing person I thought I was destined to be. I saw people around me doing great things and it would just make me feel even more worthless. The whole crisis climaxed when I started forgetting things that were important to me in order to pursue the hero I thought I was in my head.
After a few radical episodes, I spent alot of time sitting around and trying to think clearly through the mess. I decided to just ride the wave instead of trying to swim against it. I still battle with my demons and I still haven't found myself (when do we ever anyway?) but I've come to accept this period in my life as one of gestation, as an exciting time wherein anything can happen and I have nothing to lose. I'm going through this for a reason. We all go through this. I'm calmer now and I trust that everything will turn out okay.
2) Travel
All in all I must've spent about 2 and a half months abroad this year, going to different countries. It's always been my dream to live the life of a jetsetter, always travelling and seeing new places. This year alone, I went to Thailand, Hawaii, San Francisco, Florida, Botswanna, Zambia, Seychelles, and South Africa (that's not even counting local trips yet). While I was able to live that jetsetter dream this year, I also realized how insustainable a dream it is. It's tiring to be travelling so much. And because I was always away, I kept losing my momentum and couldn't start on any projects. I'm happy this year was filled with so many new places and new people. But I think next time, I'll take my travels in littler bites. :-)
3) Shedding selfishness
I know I'm probably still more selfish than unselfish but I did consciously shed behind old ways of thinking. When I was younger, I thought I was invincible, and that nothing would ever hurt me, and I'd always be okay, and that I could always make it on my own.
Things are diffferent now. For one, relationship-wise, I can't be Little Miss Girl Power anymore. I used to believe it was right to be one of those girls whose idea of being an "independent woman" was to act superior to men, to never compromise any of their own personal desires, and to never let one's self get hurt (all this stemmed from a bad relationship and from watching too many Girl Power movies).
It all sounds nice when we're younger, but when you get older, you realize that it really is one big lie. How are you supposed to sustain a good, healthy relationship if you think men are the enemy, and if you never open yourself up because you're afraid of being vulnerable, and if you never want to work things out because that would mean compromising what you want? It's not wrong to make yourself vulnerable. It's not weak to get hurt because people who are close to each other will always hurt each other one way or another, be it your boyfriend, your mother, your siblings, or your best friend, and that's a fact.
One of the wisest things I heard this year came from my Auntie Rosanne:"Love is much more about being the right person than finding the right person".
It all sounds incredibly martyr, but it's not about that at all. It's about making a choice to be a bigger, more loving, more encompassing person at every moment.
It's not about finding the perfect man who will never hurt you and always treat you like a queen. It's more about finding the person who'll bring out the best version of you (and vice-versa) even if it's not always wine and roses. And yes, in the process of loving each other you will get hurt, but that's life. At least it teaches you forgiveness.
4) Closure
I used to let alot of things hurt me for so long. This year, I looked behind me and realized with surprise that I had dropped all that excess baggage somewhere along the road. I found my closure this year, even before I came face-to-face with the person who used to hurt me. It's a good feeling.
5) Joy
Despite the confusion, this was also a year of joy and surprise. Joy when my niece was born. Joy when I see her everday, growing, and learning something new. Joy when my mom beat cancer. Joy when Nino looks at me with such deep appreciation for the person I am. Joy at acing our thesis and graduating. Joy with my family and the people I love! Despite a tough year, life is still so good!
the eternal dance of destruction and creation
I have a special place in my heart for the Hindu god, Shiva.
Shiva is known as the destroyer of the world. He is responsible for death and destruction, after which Brahma, the creator, rebuilds the world in a never ending cycle. Shiva is often depicted as dancing, and this dance represents birth, death, and rebirth. Shiva is also a destroyer in the positive sense of shedding behind old habits and old selves.
I love Shiva statues because it reminds me that everything is a cycle, and destruction is only a way of ending bad cycles, and making space for new and better things. At any given time, there is a part of ourselves, or of our relationships with others that we must destroy or abandon, the same way we tear down structures in order to renovate or rebuild. I think it is so wise to view destruction not just as something that can be positive, but also as a natural thing.
In this time of tragedy, so near the New Year, I think Shiva has a special significance. Destruction exists, but without it, there cannot be creation and rebirth. May this destruction bring in better things.
happy new year everyone! may it be a great one
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at 4:42 PM 12 Comments!
Friday, December 24, 2004
Thursday, December 23, 2004
because i love costumes
Krang seated in "Le Souffle";Distraught Krang; Contemplative Krang.
Krang with his new millenium robot (sleeker design, smoother, classy interface)
Okay, it was the Higad Christmas Party and the theme was "heroes and villains" and I decided to come as Krang. Or more like the robot that Krang controls. The whole night I felt like a pregnant woman protecting her child. (Kung hindi niyo kilala kung sino si Krang, hindi kayo cool!:-p)
Bin Laden and Bush even had their own little, cardboard jet planes and twin towers respectively. But as always, Genie had the coolest costume:
Party's over and Krang's new home is our living room sofa till he disintegrates. After all, I only made him out of newspaper, Japanese paper, Scotch tape, and Elmer's Glue. I had only an hour to make him but he turned out pretty terrific. He looks very nice amongst our Christmas-themed throw pillows.
Somehow, he didn't turn out looking very evil... more like anxious and terrified. I think he feels very vulnerable. Poor baby.:-(
The people wearing him on their heads in the first 3 pictures are my siblings Aycs and Mio , taken when we ate at Le Souffle.
badass couple
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Monday, December 20, 2004
the wonder years
Note: Marla, you will always be my collage idol, but I will never be you. :-p So forgive me if I rip off your collage style. Imitation is the best form of flattery (besides you still would've done a better job anyway).
December 18, 2004, Ala's house was what the invitation said. It's been nearly five years since we graduated from the School of the Holy Spirit, Quezon City in March 2000. I shall always remember that day when dressed in our gala uniforms, we marched solemnly down our school auditorium to the beat of "Pomp and Circumstance", under the gaze of our joyful parents. To the passersbye, perhaps our graduation looked the same as any other, the candidates, giggling and squriming in their seats, facial expressions slowly becoming more glazed as the monotonous drone of the principal's voice lulled them to sleep.
But take a closer look, and you would've known what was really going on. Take a closer look and you would've noticed the somber air that marked the ceremony; the people holding back tears during certain parts of the mass; the one, strangely, empty chair somewhere down the middle row in the candidates section.
This was supposed to have been the chair of our batchmate Paula Lee. On the night of our Grad Ball, she had a stroke, experienced complications, and was a vegetable by the time she arrived at the hospital. Her family kept her hooked up to machines for the next 4 days or so, wth futile hopes that maybe, just maybe, she would come back.
Before Paula landed in the hospital, we, like any other batch of graduating high school seniors, we're excited about the new shoes we were going to buy for the ceremony, the graduation celebrations we would throw, the new cel-phones/ cars our parents would give us as graduation gifts. When we found out we might lose Paula, the very meaning of graduation changed. What use was a cel-phone, or new shoes, or a graduation party if we couldn't be complete? Who cared about graduation dinners and all the little frills that came with the event, if Paula wasn't going to be with us?
It was during those last 5 days before graduation, that we all learned the most important lesson of our high school lives: the greatest gift we could give each other, the most important thing, was our being together and being there for each other.
Suddenly, we were all filled with a new sense of importance and appreciation for each other. If someone wanted to grieve, there'd be a shoulder waiting. If someone wanted to talk, there'd be an ear listening. Instead of partying after school (i.e. graduation practice) we would go in large groups to the ICU and squat on the floor outside Paula's door, sometimes in silence, sometimes in song. Sometimes we just needed to cry. We looked at each other with a renewed sense of value and gratefulness, gratefulness that we were all together in ending such a significant chapter in our lives.
Paula died a day or two before graduation. We went to her wake after school and grieved. Then we pulled ourselves together because we had to graduate. On the day of our graduation, we all knew that we weren't marching for ourselves, we were marching for her. We left her seat empty, so it was as if she was graduating with us.
Her name wasn't mentioned in the mass, but we all bowed our heads and held back tears when we were told to pray for the sould of those who had moved on. Her name was still called during the Graduation Rites, and we all had a long, emotional moment of silence for her. Hands were squeezed, lips were bitten in sorrow.
But we were young, and we were graduating, and during the final song, we couldn't help but feel the joy, the victory of having made it, and we laughed, and hugged, and promised to keep in touch before going off with our families for a graduation dinner at a fancy restaurant.
The very next day, leaving behind our families who wanted to celebrate with us, we all saw each other again at Paula's funeral as we bid her our final, tearful goodbyes. She was buried in her gala uniform, her graduation outfit. That was the last time we were all together, in an event that changed our lives, and propelled us into college a little more grown-up than we used to be.
I was all too happy to be out of high school. I enjoyed it, and had many friends, but I was always aloof, and just dreamed of the day I could be out of there. I loved my classmates, but at the same time always felt misunderstood. It didn't depress me or hurt me. I knew I was a little different, and there was nothing wrong with that. I still felt loved and accepted. And I still missed my classmates terribly.
For 12 years, I shared my life with these people. Now we are off one our individual destinies, and time for each other is rare. But we all made an effort to be at the reunion (Danica Sotto even flew all the way back from Cebu). And even if it was just in my garden, and all we had for a "program" was my Magic Sing Karaoke Mic, we were all overjoyed to see each other.
In a way, things are still the same except everyone is taller, and sexier, and prettier now. :-p
But I guess alot of things are different, too. The petty labels we cruelly gave each other in high school have been stripped away. The ground has been leveled off. I think I like alot of my classmates better now that they're not my high school classmates anymore (anyone out of high school would know what I meant).
I wish I could've written a more fun, light-hearted entry about such a happy night. But I thought about high school and got sentimental there. Each graduating batch has their own story to tell. I guess this one is our's.
p.s. To my young SHSian readers, yes, that is your teacher Camille Besinga there in the pictures. She is my batchmate, and even my bandmate at one point. :-)
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it's not everyday a complete stranger tells you what to do with your life
I cannot help but let me express this constructive criticism.
I cannot believe 40 plus people find this subject matter or Your Wish List, interesting. That's great if you want to continue to perpetuate our ME-First Culture that is already so d*mn instrinsic in Filipinos character. No wonder our country is in deep rut.
Yes, you are also in a real rut, Ala. Why don't you read a really good book (not some fiction or even attend your Dad's great workshop. Better yet, pick and read some of your Dad's great books) and write about it or take up a cause! Be a woman of SUBSTANCE! Let that woman trapped inside of you screaming out loud have a chance to express her true nature be given a chance to SHINE for crying out loud.
You are 21 and obviously very smart, but, you are currently stuck in your own crossroads still pondering on what to do with your life. Many young Filpinos obviously look up to you.
Don't move from a rut by getting married, because you will only jumped from the frying pan into the fire.
Someday, you will appreciate my unsolicited advice.
Godbless.
Do I know you? I obviously don't, otherwise you would have put your name and/or called me or emailed about this :-)
Okay first of all, I appreciate that you "care" enough to write all of this down, even if I've probably never met you. But sir/maam, it also amazes me how someone can seriously sum up my life or my person based on the tidbits that I put down on an online blog. Do you seriously think that what I write down is even 15% of who I am, or even 5%?
As for the wishlist, if you notice, most of the stuff I put down are either immaterial, or really cheap (i.e. chocolate bars, cookies). I don't think it's very "me first" to desire the company of your friends, especially now that it is Christmas time, and it's so hard to get together since college ended. I don't think that putting down that entry online is putting our country into a "deep rut" as you say. It's not wrong to ask for what you want (even my dad's great workshop says so. Even Jesus Christ said so.) :-)
Now, if you want me to be a woman of substance and start writing about more important things (politics, society, religion, philosophy, whatever), well that's not the kind of blog I want this to be. I intended for it to be playful, because I am a playful person. I never intended to change the world with this blog (although if it has for the better, then good).
I will write/ campaign about more substantial things when I decide that I am fully capable of enlightening the masses. As of now I write what I want to write about, and I don't pretend to be smarter than anyone else.
I'm sorry I'm not the person you want me to be or expect me to be. I'm sorry that at age 21 I'm not yet Mother Teresa, or Mahatma Ghandi, or Nelson Mandella, or MY DAD, or whoever that great, idealized person is in your head.
Well actually, I'm not sorry, because I do know what I want to be, and I know those plans are slowly unfolding even though it may not be visible to people who read my blog. :-) No, I don't broadcast these plans online because I don't write down personal things on a document that is read by 500+ people a day. Like I said, what I write isn't even 5% of me. Probably not even 3%. We all have our own ideas of what we want other people to be, but it's another thing to think you know what other people should be.
One thing you got right, I am in a rut. Yes, I just graduated from college, and like many of my coleagues, am plunged in confusion. It's a normal part of everyone's life, and it's a healthy struggle we all go through at one point (numerous times in one's lifetime in fact). It's confusion, but I have decided to celebrate my confusion because it is at this time, when nothing yet has solidified, that I am allowed to step into any door I please. What a grand time in life! And I can proudly say that despite the rut, I still have such a creative outlook and have picked myself up from the initial despair.
As for marriage: where on earth did you get an idea like that? From the entries where I write about my dream wedding? Don't tell me I'm the onyl girl you've ever met who dreams about what kind of wedding she is going to have.
Even though I don't think you are the person to give me this constructive criticism, I appreciate that you obviously see alot of potential in me :-) Thank you for that. Keep visiting the blog in the meantime, and feel free to muse over my unsubstantial entries. :-)
p.s. I do read. Ravenously, in fact. And I've taken my dad's great workshop more than once. We've obviously never met because you don't know these things.
As I have learned a lesson from you, may you have learned a lesson from me.
up next: an entry about my HIGH SCHOOL REUNION! :-)
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Thursday, December 16, 2004
this one is going to be harsh
To the makers of all those horrific Green Papaya Whitening Soap TV commercials (I'm sure you've seen those TVCs with Aetas and black babies in them):
Let me tell you a few things.
1- Your commercials are in bad taste. Your ad campaigns are offensive, and politically incorrect. And no, portraying dark skinned people as freakish and less attractive than lighter skinned people in your ads will never be funny, EVER, no matter how humorously you try to present it.
2- Maitim does not equal ugly as your commercials seem to suggest. Pinoy ako, at maitim ako. In fact, when I was born I looked just like that dark-skinned baby being baptized in your latest ad. And I look that way because I'm Asian, not because I'm a brown ape whose skin tone needs to be corrected by papaya soap.
3- Stop misleading people. White or "Tisay" is not better. Neither is brown or Morena better. They're both equally beautiful. But the most beautiful thing of all is accepting your natural skin color.
4- I am really offended, as I'm sure other people are.
If this were a first world country, those ads would be taken down in a minute. Shame on you.
and speaking of ads:
My favorite ads to lambast are shampoo commercials. Who was the first person who decided that "perfect hair" should look the way it does in ads, witchy, jet-black hair that doesn't move? I mean, the strands stick together like the hair is one piece! Also, it's so impossibly shiny that it looks like plastic Barbie hair. It just gets more and more exaggerated and ridiculous with each ad.
Does hair like that even exist in real life, outside of the studio lighting, glossy film, and CGI? And if it did would you want your hair like that, all limp, and fused together, in an unnatural shade of black?
What really kills me is when they show a picture of the lead model with buhaghag hair prior to when she started using the shampoo. They always make the models look sad, like their entire lives are miserable just because they have a strand or two sticking out of line like any normal person.
And do you notice how they down-play curly hair in hair ads? I think that's why I hate shampoo ads so much. There's always the pretty, glowing, straight-haired model playing the lead, and she has a best friend, or chismosa in-law with curly hair, who's always less-pretty than the lead. What's up with that?
It used to really affect me growing up and I'd try to straighten my hair all the time, until I went on a beach trip one day and realized that my frizzies, when left in it's natural state, became wild, beautiful spirals. Imagine walking down a road, and meeting yourself, only it's a wild, different self, and you're shocked but delighted and proud at the same time. But I digress.
Listen, shampoo-ad makers. Real hair, vital hair, has movement. Real hair communicates. When a person is stressed and tired, it shows in the hair. When a person is happy and healthy, it shows in the hair. Why then would you want to reduce hair to a lifeless, characterless thing that never changes?
When you're playing by the sea side, sharing passionate kisses with your loved one, rocking out on stage, running a marathon, dancing at a party, climbing a mountain, playing with children do you want your hair to be neat? No, because hair that moves, and tangles, and gets messy is beautiful and alive and sexy. Imperfect hair is beautiful and unique.
And I'm not just saying this because I have curly hair (exactly the kind of hair shampoo commercials don't want you to have). Yes, it is often unmanageable, frizzy, and buhaghag. But it has spirit and character and I like that. Both men and women want to touch it, run their fingers through it, feel it with their hands, always with oohs and aahs over how unusual it is. It is never boring. But again, I digress.
Whether curly or straight, don't let those shampoo ads fool you (and those papaya soap ads, too). Maybe you can discover a wonderful new aspect about yourself if you'd only just let the hair be. And I'm not saying we shouldn't take care of our hair, or that we shoudn't keep it neat. All I'm saying is, don't try too hard. Natural is sexiest. And that's coming from someone who has bad hair days 5 out of 7 times in a week.
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Monday, December 13, 2004
click...
<-- on my new Deviant Art entry.
alaism.deviantart.com
elf
I got this from Em. I know 95% of people who read my blog are people I've never met so I'd like to stress that this entry is for the people I do know who read my blog. Just so I don't get any offers from strangers to take me to the spa or something. :-p That would be a little awkward.
STEP ONE
Make a post to your LJ or blog. The post should contain your list of 10 holiday wishes. The wishes can be anything at all, from simple and fandom-related ("I'd love a One Tree Hill slash story that somehow made Nathan and Lucas NOT half-brothers") to medium ("I wish for enough stickers for my Starbucks Christmas planner") to really big ("All I want for Christmas is for Tony Leung to show up at my doorstep naked, horny, and willing.") The important thing is, make sure these wishes are things you really, truly want.
If you wish for real life things (not fics or icons), make sure you include some sort of contact info in your post, whether it's your address or just your email address where Santa (or one of his elves) could get in touch with you.
Also, make sure you post some version of these guidelines in your LJ or link to this post so that the holiday joy will spread.
STEP TWO
Surf around your friends list (or friends' friends, or just random journals) to see who has posted their list. And now here's the important part:
If you see a wish you can grant, and it's in your heart to do so, make someone's wish come true. Sometimes someone's trash is another's treasure, and if you have a leather jacket you don't want or a gift certificate you won't use--do it.
You need not spend money on these wishes unless you want to. The point isn't to put people out, it's to provide everyone a chance to be someone else's holiday elf--to spread the joy. Gifts can be made anonymously or not--it's your call.
There are no rules with this project, no guarantees, and no strings attached. Give, and you might receive. And you'll have the joy of knowing you made someone's holiday special.
Here goes:
1. Spa. Massage, hot-oil, pedicure. Things to get all the Africa residue out of me.
2. Someone to go Karaoke with me. Someone who won't be hiya to sing also. Must be willing too sing for hours on end.
3. A nice conversation over coffee/ hot chocolate. Talk about where we are in life. I need something like that. Preferably with someone I haven't done it with yet, or someone I haven't done it with in a long time.
4. A Flake bar (or many Flake bars). Reeses Pieces. Meiji Dark Chocolate
5. A burned CD of songs you think I'd like. Or even if you don't think I'd like 'em...I just want something new and interesting. (Okay I think it would be cool if I made just this wish "open to the public". Let's swap music!)
6. Freshly baked chocolate chip cookies (ALEXI!!!!)
7. A trip to Paskong Pasiklab.
8. A nice self-made, original drawing or painting I can hang on my wall.
9. A simbang gabi partner (Malabo toh because I won't go to the real early one. I'd rather go to the sosyal ones in Gesu with the churros outside in Bel Field. I'm bad at staying awake.)
10. An evening of candlelight, chocolate, cheese, champagne in my living room with 1 or 2 of my closest friends.
It is obvious that I want the most is companionship...
EXTRA! Number 11. A surprise phonecall from someone I haven't heard from in awhile.
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Saturday, December 11, 2004
special anouncement from manny and iea!
They were so happy, they went all the way to Mini-stop outside Peligro at 1 am to tell us the good news! They are probably making their rounds as I write, anouncing the good news to everyone they know.
AAAAAAHHHHH!!!! My college friends are getting married! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
An interesting side note: Me, Cory, Carlos, Sara, and Mark were at Mini-stop because Loquy had cancelled their Peligro gig leaving us with absolutely nothing else to do but grab a quick bite. We thought the evening was a royal flop, especially since most of us would normally never even go that area. But after Manny and Iea passed by, I figured God brought us together in Mini-stop tonight for a reason. Amidst the flourescent lighting and steel-counter top atmosphere, surrounded by the artificial colors of instant noodle packets, canned milk, candy bars and soda cans, we bathed them both in hugs and camera flashes.
Trina, Therese, and Dewi: Dapat di na muna kayo umalis! Di niyo tuloy naabutan!
Friday, December 10, 2004
wedding bell blues
My friend EJ married his high school sweet heart Erika yesterday. They met at a soiree and have been together almost 6 years!
It's still so hard to believe that one of my college friends is married. They had the most beautiful ceremony I had ever seenand only someone like EJ could've planned it that way. He has taste, that boy. I swear he could be a member of the Fab Five if only he was wasn't straight. Come to think of it, Erika has pretty great taste, too. A man and a woman with good taste make a great wedding.
They got married in a garden patio lit up with Christmas lights and candles which made it look like a romantic Lothlorien. The bride wore a gorgeous, embroidered, spaghetti-strapped pina gown that was cut really low in the back, and tiny flowers in her hair that made her look like a diwata. She wore very light make-up. The entourage wore gowns in a lovely sage with pink, beaded, floral appliques. Beautiful, beautiful!
Even the band was to die for! It had a pianist, a guitarist, a string section, and a girl who could sing love songs in that perfect, dreamy way that makes everyone go "Awwwww".
I love it when people in their 20s decide to get married even though it goes against the norm these days, what with all these career-driven men and women wanting to get married at age 35-40. I know the thought of getting married in one's 20s can make shivers go down anyone's spine. We're all expected to go out there and become great, independent achievers and hold off marriage till the the last minute. So I love it when two young people decide, as early as their 20s, that they want to spend their lives together.
I'm no romantic, but I'm a sucker for weddings. I really am.
EJ told me two weeks ago that he wanted me to host his wedding with my best friend Jenn. We agreed to meet a few days prior to the wedding to discuss the program but he never got in touch with me so I assumed he called the hosting off.
Imagine my panic when at the reception, 5 minutes before the program, I was called on stage to start the evening! Jenn, being Jenn, refused to do it but I just couldn't say no. It was EJ's wedding! How could I refuse to host EJ's wedding? I ended up hosting the evening, which turned out to be fun and went smoothly despite my being unprepared. But boy, does EJ owe me a nice, big, yummy lunch for this one!
Like most weddings, this one had a "favor pulling" where all the young ladies gather around the wedding cake, pull on one of the numerous tiny ribbons dangling from the cake, and see what little treat awaits them at the other end of the ribbon. At one wedding I went to, the treats were little, gold charms. At this wedding, the treats were rolled up fortunes which we all read out loud one by one. Mine said:
Don't envy the happy walk down the aisle;
an old friend will soon give you reason to smile.
Ooooh!
On the way home, Jenn asked me that if money were no object, what would I give to the guests at my wedding as a souvenir. I knew the answer right away: iPods!-with our initials engraved on the back, and our wedding playlist already uploaded into it. Hmmm, maybe if I marry royalty.
Aside from my dream souvenirs, I already have my dream location, dream reception, and dream wedding band all planned out. I've even sketched out my bridesmaids' dresses.
And no, I'm not getting married anytime soon. This is all purely fantasy. (Scared you there, Papa!)
P.S. When I get married, I want to walk down the aisle to "Setembro" by Quincy Jones.ananda got her ears pierced the other day!
When the gun went through her ear, she went into total shock for about 2 seconds before letting out an angry, tortured wail. She started screaming even harder when the gun pierced her lobe the 2nd time. Kawawa naman! I felt horrible. And to think I'm not even her mother!
The other day, I was dabbing alcohol on her ears to clean the piercings. She was going hysterical, screaming, and crying, and shaking, and going off in all directions with big, fat tears rolling down her cheeks. It hurt her so bad! I felt so sorry for her because you know that a 6-month old is completely incapable of faking pain. And what's more, they don't even understand what pain is in the first place. They have no idea how to process it.
But now she has cute, new, little pearl studs. Pretty!
pet peeves
1- Nasty, mean people at American airports who act big and self-important and powertrip on minorities (especially folks who can't speak good English) even if they have really low-ass positions (i.e. security guard, customs department "extra", etc. ).
2- Hussies who flirt with your boyfriend and blow him kisses while completely ignoring you and not acknowledging your presence, even though you're standing 2 inches away from him. (I'm obviously talking about someone very specific here.)
3- Bored, lazy sales ladies who follow you around acting you're going to steal/break something. Either that or they act like they have the most miserable jobs in the world and roll their eyes when you ask them a question.
4- Bad service in restaurants. Waiters who don't listen.
5- Groups of men who whistle and hoot at you when you pass them in the street. I get this violent urge to go up to them and confront although I know that would be very unwise. I would, however, not hesitate to kick their a**es if I was hooted at by high school/ grade school boys (which is what I should have done the last time it happened). I'd even be doing them a favor that way. Those kids need to be taught that it is not right to hoot at women.
6- People who still throw their garbage on the ground despite being taught repeatedly as early as grade school that it's wrong. We know it's bad. We know it's irresponsible! Our grade school teachers taught us that it's wrong! "Batibot" taught us that it's wrong! So why don't these people stand up, walk over to the garbage can, and dipose of their mess there?
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Tuesday, December 07, 2004
kagaguhan 1: barbarella
I don't know what possessed my boyfriend to buy me a Raquel Welch outfit in Thailand.
The print is hideous. It has roaring tiger heads all over it.
I decided to try it on anyway. Here I am wielding a black, plastic coat hanger. Barbarita!!!
I want it to be my new Friendster pic.
Now we can be the perfect neanderthal couple.
kagaguhan 2: this man is not human
Nanood kami ni Nino ng DVD ni Steve Vai kagabi na "Live at Astoria" (or whatever the title was). The man can play guitar with his tongue without it being sliced off by the steel strings. Lahat ng tunog na pwedeng gawin sa gitara, kaya niyang gawin. What's more, he perpetually has a wind machine blowing on his face so his hair always flares out dramatically while he plays. Ah, love.
Bakit ang galing, galing ni Steve Vai? Nino and I came up with two theories:
1- He is the chosen one.
Parang "The Sword in the Stone" ni King Arthur ang iniisip ko. He was the only one who could pull Excaliber out of the stone, except Excaliber is a guitar and the stone is a guitar rack.
Hence, he is the chosen one. One guitar to rule them all. Teka, ibang kwento na yata iyon, ah.
2- he is an alien from the planet Vai.
Ang cool pa ng pangalan niya. Tamang pang-guitar hero talaga. Steve Vai!
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Monday, December 06, 2004
a day for the kids
I am back from my Cebu trip! I, along with the other Club Pen people were sent there to participate in a fundraising event called Children's Hour. It was held in Ayala Center, and the goal was to get people to donate a small amount of money in exchange for t-shirts, caps, stickers, bookmarks, OR pictures with the Club Pen models (which would be us). I thought we would be playing a more active role but as it turned out, all we had to do was wait around, and smile for pictures. :-p I did get to mingle a little with the kids of SOS Children's Village, though. So cuuuuute!
I met up with Kate Uy while I was there! I haven't seen her in months! I spent my first 2 years of Ateneo with her because we were blockmates and we've been through everything from Tagalog theses, the 7:30 classes of Salvadore "Badong" Bernal, getting lost in Mt. Banahaw at night, and the caves of Sagada. We also threw a couple of ukay-ukays on my driveway last year. But apart from all that, she was totally there for me in college when it came to boys, boyfriends, crushes, and other matters of the heart. I miss you, Kate!!! Waaaaaah!
penshoppe pimpin'
Allow me to pimp my Penshoppe dawgs :-p :
Pretty girl Dawn likes to keep fit by eating huge sundaes!
It's Cogie da pogi! Aiyeee!
Vince Canizares! This hunk is now single and available!
Matteo Guidicelli, 'toh! 14 pa lang iyan, gwapito na diba?!
template help
I've been receiving tons of requests from people to help them out with their templates. Sadly, I have had to turn away most of them. Helping 20 different people with their templates is quite an overwhelming task. Besides, I also mentioned earlier that I am selective with "clients". I choose to help close friends, or owners of blogs I like to frequent. So I'm writing this entry to answer questions once and for all.
I am really no expert. I know a little Photoshop, and a little HTML, and that's about it. I took a semester of graphic design, but didn't learn anything you can't learn from a day or two of playing with Photoshop. My blog may look pretty but it's really all just in the graphics. Otherwise, it's still based on the old, free templates from Blogger because I don't know how to make my own templates from scratch.
Anyway, here are some of the very basics:
1- How to post pictures- Go to Photobucket or Flicker and sign up for an account. That's where you upload your pics. The link you'll need to display your pics will be displayed after you upload it. Or you can also go to Tinypic and upload your pics there. You don't need an account for that. Once you have uploaded your desired picture, you will be given a code. This code is what you paste on your site, where you want the picture to appear.
2- How I made my header- Get thee a copy of Photoshop. Photoshop 7 is still pretty good. Play around with it or ask a friend to teach you. I make all my graphics with Photoshop.
3- Javascript- One link: Dynamic Drive.
4- HTML- Buy this book: Using HTML: the fast and easy way to learn by Neil Randall.
There you go. I cannot teach you anything more. As I said, I really am no expert, I know so little. I pretty up my page with cute little graphics, but that's all they really are: graphics. Once you know how to post pictures, it's really not very hard to do. All these things I learned through trial and error and that's really the best way to learn.
That's all the help I can give. It's really very basic. Goodluck!
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Wednesday, December 01, 2004
lonely...
It bugs me how people are so unreliable these days. I know it's not easy to hang out with friends anymore now that college is over and every one is working. We use to be able to see each other at the drop of a hat. Now we really have to plan plan plan.
My cousin cancelled our merienda date today because she forgot about it, which makes me feel kinda bummed, considering I've been canceled on a number of times within the past few weeks. When I make plans to hang out with people, I try to stick to it, and gear my mindset towards it, and since I don't have a license, I reserve the car and the driver days ahead of time. It sucks when they tell you last minute that they can't make it because they're busy or whatever. That's what I hate, last minute cancellations, especially when you're stuck with nothing to do.
My piano teacher cancels on me all the time, and always 30 minutes before the lesson, and always with the same excuse: "May pupuntahan kasi ako eh. Ok lang ba?" (My reply in my head: "Eh binigyan mo ba ako ng choice?"). Whats' more, she's often a little late. All my frustrations from her last minute cancellations have snowballed into a giant rolling mound of resentment. I secretly cannot stand her. She had the nerve to ask me yesterday if I was going to re-enroll with her after our final session. I said, "Ay hindi na siguro, wala kasi akong time eh". (reply in my head: "Hell no!!!"). She called me today to say she was going to be 30 minutes lates. I told her to meet me next week since I was going to meet my cousin. My cousin cancelled on me after.
As I said, I've been cancelled on a number of times by different people within the last few weeks, and I've come to realize that there are only 1 or 2 reliable people who make plans with you and mean what they say.
I've been stuck at home, I'm bored, and I really, really want company. :-( Even just lazy, stupid company will do. Watch "Havanna Nights" and "Y Tu Mama Tambien" with me. Go with me to the grocery store. Take me out for a beer and karaoke. Take me to Paskong Pasiklab or to watch "Santa Santita". I dunno.
p.s. The boyfriend is in Thailand which explains this entry
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