Wow! The headspin's really getting to me!
First it was writing a script within 4 hours, and that came out pretty impressive. Next, getting my report presentations and assignments done within the small space I had was quite liberating. But the shoot which came after hit rock bottom and I knew it as soon as I was asked to join. Honestly, given the proper time and planning, I think we could've pulled off a good movie, but in all honesty, there was plenty lacking on all our parts. We'll keep the story, but they'd better not try to pull a fast one on me... then again, go ahead, I still have more where that came from... :)
It's T-minus 1 half days til my departure/return to Malaysia. I'm not counting the hours yet, but everytime I think of it, I get pretty nostalgic for no apparent reason. I never really got the homesick bug but I guess when you feel like you're at the brink of the moment of anticipation, sometimes that excitement is just what you need to keep you going on. I'm not going 'Oprah' here so don't take my personal intimacies verbatim.
I guess sometimes life's little plans really depend on the way you lived life and the decisions you make... for me that is. I got a little surprise a few moments ago and it just goes to show how much time flies and how little of it is left. We all want to live in Neverland but the reality is far from the story-book ending. I need a stiff drink...
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Round 2! Fight!
I bought a UP jacket! Yay!! I'm officially unofficially a college brat! It looks pretty cool though so eventhough they suck at B-ball and have officially the worse name for a team; The UP Maroons (!!!), I still feel that it's my duty as an enrolled benefactor to this prestigious institute to embody the school spirit as long as I'm here.
... nuff said...
Anyways, it's been a long time since my last post (and in the truest form of JQ procrastination fashion). My list of subjects this semester are not too bad, ranging from a foundational and advanced Philosophy class to a sleep inducing Art Studies lecture, a couple of dyslexic-looking tweako's in World Music and Basic Radio and Television Studies and to cap it off, a confused Jappo named Filipina who tries to 'energise' her lectures in the Introduction to Communications. All in all, it's a pretty exciting mix of doctrines that I'm facing this sem and basically the most boring so far! My fun factor has dropped but I'm glad that I've got other plans to look towards to come end of the year and next year May - namely; Bali baybee!!!
So what have I missed that's been happening in Malaysia these past months I've been away? Leave the country for a while and see the mess it gets itself into! Haha! No, I'm kidding. I heard from my Lolo (that's grandpa in Filipino), that Badawi lost his post as UMNO Chair? Someone tell me otherwise. I'm not too bothered to dive into an in-depth research about this if I can't find it in The Star's website.
Enough politics already as I've had my fair share of incidents here too. As it is, I'm still wondering whether the weather will be beoootiful when I land my ass back there this December 20th, so please, let it be sweet!
I was almost about to sign-off...
Incident that happened in UP!
3 men were shot dead as robbers fled with cash that was being transferred out of a bank here in the campus this afternoon! Ok, lamer starting... but it happened! There was this hold-up, guys waiting in their vehicle for hours and all that - piss-filled bottles was what they left behind. There are several assumptions about the people involved in the heist but the obvious one is that UP's security is waaaay too lax that something like this could take place in broad daylight! Thank goodness that it wasn't exactly a full class-day otherwise I'm thinking panic and pandemonium... my first taste of anarchy. :) Still, this goes to show that desperate times are abound people... stick to your job as long as you can... or start your own business with the capacity to keep it going.
There's other scandals and juicy controversies that I probably should keep for later conversations so I'll end it here for now.
Asta!
... nuff said...
Anyways, it's been a long time since my last post (and in the truest form of JQ procrastination fashion). My list of subjects this semester are not too bad, ranging from a foundational and advanced Philosophy class to a sleep inducing Art Studies lecture, a couple of dyslexic-looking tweako's in World Music and Basic Radio and Television Studies and to cap it off, a confused Jappo named Filipina who tries to 'energise' her lectures in the Introduction to Communications. All in all, it's a pretty exciting mix of doctrines that I'm facing this sem and basically the most boring so far! My fun factor has dropped but I'm glad that I've got other plans to look towards to come end of the year and next year May - namely; Bali baybee!!!
So what have I missed that's been happening in Malaysia these past months I've been away? Leave the country for a while and see the mess it gets itself into! Haha! No, I'm kidding. I heard from my Lolo (that's grandpa in Filipino), that Badawi lost his post as UMNO Chair? Someone tell me otherwise. I'm not too bothered to dive into an in-depth research about this if I can't find it in The Star's website.
Enough politics already as I've had my fair share of incidents here too. As it is, I'm still wondering whether the weather will be beoootiful when I land my ass back there this December 20th, so please, let it be sweet!
I was almost about to sign-off...
Incident that happened in UP!
3 men were shot dead as robbers fled with cash that was being transferred out of a bank here in the campus this afternoon! Ok, lamer starting... but it happened! There was this hold-up, guys waiting in their vehicle for hours and all that - piss-filled bottles was what they left behind. There are several assumptions about the people involved in the heist but the obvious one is that UP's security is waaaay too lax that something like this could take place in broad daylight! Thank goodness that it wasn't exactly a full class-day otherwise I'm thinking panic and pandemonium... my first taste of anarchy. :) Still, this goes to show that desperate times are abound people... stick to your job as long as you can... or start your own business with the capacity to keep it going.
There's other scandals and juicy controversies that I probably should keep for later conversations so I'll end it here for now.
Asta!
Friday, October 24, 2008
1 down... 7 more to go... erk!
My brother's left for Bristol. (That's in England mind you) He'll be there for a year of jolly good studies and maybe longer for a hopefully bright career. I think all in all, our main concern is for our Mom who obviously is alone fending the fort.
I really want to go back... I really do. I've got nothing to lose except the time I spent and the money for the tuition... I really wanna go home.
I've ended my first semester. Finally! I doubt it's the most illustrious in terms of my grades as I feel the impending near failures (may be getting one for real), but all the same, I'm glad it's done with and I've got something to show for it. (Scratch that... I got good grades... muahahhahaha!!!)
The end of my semester was the 17th of October and my photography class was required to organise an exhibition of our photographs. Luckily for me (still quite a sad case this...) I managed to leech off some photos of the exhibit from my classmates' Multiply sites. So to Eki, Anton, and Jan, maraming salamat and I'm crediting these shots fully as yours! Although I'm gonna take full credit for the display design... (hehe), but I've gotta give props to my classmates who helped create the artistic backgrounds for the photos. Without you guys, it wouldn't have been the same. So to Abbey, Aby2, Anton, Jan, Kath, Joana, Kem, Geno, Eki, Justin, Rejane, Maricar, Geli, and last but not least Kristine, thank you all!
I now present you, disColor...
P.S.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BARRY BADER!!! :D :D :D
... right... moving on...
Event title: disColor
Theme: Colorful elements
Irony: This is a black and white photography exhibit... so what!
Irony: This is a black and white photography exhibit... so what!
Not too shabby for someone who hasn't done event fabrication in a while... I still got it!
... from another perspective...
I thought this was the same side but thankfully it wasn't
MINE!!!! MUAHAHAHAHHA!!!
I blame the photographer at that time for this blur pic... but I didn't really like this one anyways
And the most Out-Of-Place-Abstract-Art Award goes to....
Y' know, for a really good blogsite, I can't get around posting pics properly... give me Facebook anytime.
Thursday, October 2, 2008
Missives
Hello... all.
A belated shout out to my momma!!! Happy Birthday!!! I missed being there but at least force majeure allowed me to make one call before your flight. Hope you had a good time there (eventhough you were practically baby-sitting)
Sigh... it's almost near the end of the semester... not the first time I'm ranting about this innit? It's the most glorious time of enlistment and assignment cramming. I wish I didn't like it but heck, the pressure's the only thing keeping me in one piece at the moment.
(Oh, I almost forgot to wish my Tita Tess a very Happy Birthday and while she sleeps in, hope you find that missing piece of the puzzle)
I'm pretty much set towards the end of this semester... surprising actually considering I have like a helluvalotta things to do! I've got 4, or 5 papers due within this coming week itself, an exhibit to design for the 17th of October and to boot, my finals for Philippine History falls on the same date as well! Looks like I've got my hands full but if it's any consolation to me, I can't seem to feel the pressure as yet. (Maybe I'll hold off everything til Monday night...)
No matter. The only thing bugging me as of now is really the transcripts which I'm waiting on from Taylor's. It's really stupid but I can understand why the O.U.R. here wants an 'original' transcript whereas why it's taking a while in Taylor's (because of format issues) is also understandable (something to do with how old my course is). But at any rate, I ain't going no where if I don't get these things sorted and my coming semester was nearly held back because of this! But it's a good thing I'm showing some effort... still on the dreaded 'provisional' status but as long as I don't take too long (that goes for peeps at Taylor's - gotta call them soon), I think it'll be fine.
Better get my online ID activated... stupid system... it's like tyring to work with Vista!
asta
A belated shout out to my momma!!! Happy Birthday!!! I missed being there but at least force majeure allowed me to make one call before your flight. Hope you had a good time there (eventhough you were practically baby-sitting)
Sigh... it's almost near the end of the semester... not the first time I'm ranting about this innit? It's the most glorious time of enlistment and assignment cramming. I wish I didn't like it but heck, the pressure's the only thing keeping me in one piece at the moment.
(Oh, I almost forgot to wish my Tita Tess a very Happy Birthday and while she sleeps in, hope you find that missing piece of the puzzle)
I'm pretty much set towards the end of this semester... surprising actually considering I have like a helluvalotta things to do! I've got 4, or 5 papers due within this coming week itself, an exhibit to design for the 17th of October and to boot, my finals for Philippine History falls on the same date as well! Looks like I've got my hands full but if it's any consolation to me, I can't seem to feel the pressure as yet. (Maybe I'll hold off everything til Monday night...)
No matter. The only thing bugging me as of now is really the transcripts which I'm waiting on from Taylor's. It's really stupid but I can understand why the O.U.R. here wants an 'original' transcript whereas why it's taking a while in Taylor's (because of format issues) is also understandable (something to do with how old my course is). But at any rate, I ain't going no where if I don't get these things sorted and my coming semester was nearly held back because of this! But it's a good thing I'm showing some effort... still on the dreaded 'provisional' status but as long as I don't take too long (that goes for peeps at Taylor's - gotta call them soon), I think it'll be fine.
Better get my online ID activated... stupid system... it's like tyring to work with Vista!
asta
Monday, September 22, 2008
Birthday, omitted fallacy
Yes, here it is, the dreaded signifier of the inevitable decline... I am once again reminded that there's a bigger force out there which makes all of us insignificant in the eyes of Father Time.
Blah blah blah... I'll leave the rest of my lamentation to be swept away by the rainy day. Oh joy, my Nina has arrived to wash all the delusions of grandeur and hypocrisy.
*mumble* brrrthuhhh....
Blah blah blah... I'll leave the rest of my lamentation to be swept away by the rainy day. Oh joy, my Nina has arrived to wash all the delusions of grandeur and hypocrisy.
*mumble* brrrthuhhh....
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Tamad!!!
It's raining again! Raining like a bitch!! I don't wanna go to class!!!
Class is at 1pm by the way and I'm about half an hour from getting my ass canned... sigh...
This sucks... hope something will cheer me up when I get back home later... and no, I don't mean a naked Monica Bellucci covered in baby oil... (that works too actually...)
I'm still here... it's no use... the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this is what I wanna do. Just give me a blunt and I can make up my mind faster than a second of celluloid in a projector.
Nope... still here. Not working. It's fuckin freakin me out that I'm trying to write in an incoherent line of nonsense.
Yeah... that's what it's all about isn't it?
Crap, now I'm thinking about the pangs in my gut. Rice? Burgers? Or should I just let my pain remind me that there's a bigger cause to fight for? It's coming again.
Four...or was is third time's a charm?
Now my single-inverted comma is screwed... it is so not cool.
Gotta run... yeah... better go now... 20 mins left... still raining hard.
Damn....
Class is at 1pm by the way and I'm about half an hour from getting my ass canned... sigh...
This sucks... hope something will cheer me up when I get back home later... and no, I don't mean a naked Monica Bellucci covered in baby oil... (that works too actually...)
I'm still here... it's no use... the more I think about it, the more I'm convinced that this is what I wanna do. Just give me a blunt and I can make up my mind faster than a second of celluloid in a projector.
Nope... still here. Not working. It's fuckin freakin me out that I'm trying to write in an incoherent line of nonsense.
Yeah... that's what it's all about isn't it?
Crap, now I'm thinking about the pangs in my gut. Rice? Burgers? Or should I just let my pain remind me that there's a bigger cause to fight for? It's coming again.
Four...or was is third time's a charm?
Now my single-inverted comma is screwed... it is so not cool.
Gotta run... yeah... better go now... 20 mins left... still raining hard.
Damn....
Saturday, September 6, 2008
MERDEKA!!! Mat Tou Ga!!!
First off, Happy Merdeka!!! Independent from oppression, liberated from degradation... bah! who am I kidding? It's like a vicious cycle...
So I've been busy,
hence the long break in my sentence. Classes have been building up on me (and I speak for my classmates too) towards the end of our semester as the papers and exams keep piling up one after the other. Strangely enough, I think I owe it all to the cram-training I got from working and a little from the last-minute-syndrome of rushing assignments in Taylor's. Can't believe I'm saying this but I actually learnt something there! Hehe...
So what's new in the Pinoy-hood? I gotta start from the-now and back-track to... the week after my last post? (Almost lost myself for a moment there...)
I learned a new word! Flipochino... well, it's actually a title to a poem written by his Fil-Am (Filipino American) poet Cyn. Zarco but basically it's what I am. For someone who never actually had formal literature lessons in high school, I've gotta say that my lit classes are actually one of the few that I look forward to going to everyday. Not that I don't read or anything, but to be completely honest, I think I've bought more books for leisure reading here compared to when I was in Malaysia... (that brings the tally to 4 btw.). Nice!
Anyways, the past couple of weeks have been on and off pretty drabby because of the rain in the most inaproppriate (need spell check here) times of the day! Rain, rain, go away. Johnny wants to play. Boo hoo... LIVE WITH IT! Can't tell you though how much this makes me miss home... then again, I have the luxury of experiencing earthquakes and typhoons, so what does that leave me with? I dunno... bah!
Twas nice of Terence to drop me a message on Facebook. Hey bud! I'll bring back some balot for you! Muahahahahhaha!!!
Hmm... I watched a local stage production of West Side Story. Finally, I get to see what all the fuss is about! And even though it was a full dress rehearsal performance, I gotta say that the play was really moving... almost made me shed a few tears too! (Yes, yes... I have a... watchamacallit...) The actors (Christian Bautista - singer & Joanna Ampil - Theater Actress) were really into their characters and the choreography was almost flawless. Can't blame the audio personnel as there were static cracks here and there but besides the few technical glitches and a really really off-timed slip of the main cop actor towards the end of the play, it was a watch well worth anyone else who was gonna see it on its opening night. I got free tickets so I couldn't really care less. Whatever my (bad) review is, if the play comes by, just grab a ticket and watch it... or buy the DVD movie version... hehe.
I gotta get my research done... dammit!
Asta!
So I've been busy,
hence the long break in my sentence. Classes have been building up on me (and I speak for my classmates too) towards the end of our semester as the papers and exams keep piling up one after the other. Strangely enough, I think I owe it all to the cram-training I got from working and a little from the last-minute-syndrome of rushing assignments in Taylor's. Can't believe I'm saying this but I actually learnt something there! Hehe...
So what's new in the Pinoy-hood? I gotta start from the-now and back-track to... the week after my last post? (Almost lost myself for a moment there...)
I learned a new word! Flipochino... well, it's actually a title to a poem written by his Fil-Am (Filipino American) poet Cyn. Zarco but basically it's what I am. For someone who never actually had formal literature lessons in high school, I've gotta say that my lit classes are actually one of the few that I look forward to going to everyday. Not that I don't read or anything, but to be completely honest, I think I've bought more books for leisure reading here compared to when I was in Malaysia... (that brings the tally to 4 btw.). Nice!
Anyways, the past couple of weeks have been on and off pretty drabby because of the rain in the most inaproppriate (need spell check here) times of the day! Rain, rain, go away. Johnny wants to play. Boo hoo... LIVE WITH IT! Can't tell you though how much this makes me miss home... then again, I have the luxury of experiencing earthquakes and typhoons, so what does that leave me with? I dunno... bah!
Twas nice of Terence to drop me a message on Facebook. Hey bud! I'll bring back some balot for you! Muahahahahhaha!!!
Hmm... I watched a local stage production of West Side Story. Finally, I get to see what all the fuss is about! And even though it was a full dress rehearsal performance, I gotta say that the play was really moving... almost made me shed a few tears too! (Yes, yes... I have a... watchamacallit...) The actors (Christian Bautista - singer & Joanna Ampil - Theater Actress) were really into their characters and the choreography was almost flawless. Can't blame the audio personnel as there were static cracks here and there but besides the few technical glitches and a really really off-timed slip of the main cop actor towards the end of the play, it was a watch well worth anyone else who was gonna see it on its opening night. I got free tickets so I couldn't really care less. Whatever my (bad) review is, if the play comes by, just grab a ticket and watch it... or buy the DVD movie version... hehe.
I gotta get my research done... dammit!
Asta!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Wet, wet WET
No not the group... *yerch!* It's been raining at consistently random intervals! I'm stuck here waiting for the movie house to open it's doors so that I can pass the time laughing off Rob Schneider's "Big Stan" but I'm still gonna mope about the rain anyways.
Had my haircut last Friday... finally! It's been a few weeks since and I do miss the velcro-ish feeling of a 'Zero' shave... hehe... also had one of those to clean up my jawline. Feeling good now... :)
Signed up for my coming semester's classes. I'm glad I got those out of the way. This time around I managed to include myself for the soccer P.E. classes so it's 1 down, 3 more to go in the coming sems. To my cultural delight, I bought a copy of George Orwell's '1984' although it's not a required reading for my academic purposes but I've heard quite a bit about it and well, thought why not? It's ironic that I'm starting on a new book but not quite getting my other assignment reading settled.. but heck, that's what I have copious amounts of free time for :D
Wow... either their Hongkies or Malaysian Chinese but hearing these two blokes speaking in Cantonese behind me brings me back to Asia Cafe and a large suet cha!! Lol! Now they're talking about wives dating young boys?! Maybe I got the translation wrong... sigh... wish I'd learn more.
Hmm... I still got a little over 40 minutes left til I have to go... what else is there to rant about?
Nope... nothing's coming to mind. I'm just browsing through Facebook... I'm supremely bored due to lack of physical movement. Oh ya, I'm back on the bike (although I think I kinda broke it; didn't realise that imaginary weight lifting is actually quite tough, try 100 reps of bench presses and curls!!!) Yaay! Salvation! Charmander aka Blurry just got online... hmm... kacau time :D
Guess it's time to chat... Asta!
Had my haircut last Friday... finally! It's been a few weeks since and I do miss the velcro-ish feeling of a 'Zero' shave... hehe... also had one of those to clean up my jawline. Feeling good now... :)
Signed up for my coming semester's classes. I'm glad I got those out of the way. This time around I managed to include myself for the soccer P.E. classes so it's 1 down, 3 more to go in the coming sems. To my cultural delight, I bought a copy of George Orwell's '1984' although it's not a required reading for my academic purposes but I've heard quite a bit about it and well, thought why not? It's ironic that I'm starting on a new book but not quite getting my other assignment reading settled.. but heck, that's what I have copious amounts of free time for :D
Wow... either their Hongkies or Malaysian Chinese but hearing these two blokes speaking in Cantonese behind me brings me back to Asia Cafe and a large suet cha!! Lol! Now they're talking about wives dating young boys?! Maybe I got the translation wrong... sigh... wish I'd learn more.
Hmm... I still got a little over 40 minutes left til I have to go... what else is there to rant about?
Nope... nothing's coming to mind. I'm just browsing through Facebook... I'm supremely bored due to lack of physical movement. Oh ya, I'm back on the bike (although I think I kinda broke it; didn't realise that imaginary weight lifting is actually quite tough, try 100 reps of bench presses and curls!!!) Yaay! Salvation! Charmander aka Blurry just got online... hmm... kacau time :D
Guess it's time to chat... Asta!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Ba-Gi-Yo!!! Whoa!!!
Eh... lamer pun...
Just got back on a weekend getaway to the highlands. Again, I'm so sorry no pics as of yet... partially cos I can't be bothered to get them out of my uncle's digital camera but mostly cos... yeah, that. Anyways, it was bee-oootiful! First off, the weather was extremely cold and I kid you not; it kicks the shit out of Genting's climate anyday! There were pretty interesting sights, especially the architectural marvels of the mountain people. Building houses on the mountains was one thing - building them along the slopes was a work of art on its own! The atmosphere was reminiscent to being in Cameron minus the acres of plantations, and to boot; there's even a mall up there - talk about cray-zee!!
I was there for a couple of nights but despite my holiday fervor was swamped with weekend assignments that I couldn't afford to leave back in the house. (Although by now I've still yet to start out typing the lot, but I'll be done before tomorrow morning - swear on it!)
All in all, the trip was really fun plus it's been on my 'sights-to-see' list for quite some time now, and I'm glad I've gotten to see it. Next stop, Ilocos Norte; my granpop's birth place! For now, my next 'project' is getting them Eraserhead concert tickets a.s.a.p! It's restricted to 18ers and above only so I'm sure to at least get a hint of action there. :D (Strict staying-in-with-relatives rules are still in action, okay...)
Asta!
P.S.
Dammit! I forgot to say where I went. The place is called Baguio City, and it should be on your "places to see" list if you plan to visit the Philippines!
JQ-KC
Just got back on a weekend getaway to the highlands. Again, I'm so sorry no pics as of yet... partially cos I can't be bothered to get them out of my uncle's digital camera but mostly cos... yeah, that. Anyways, it was bee-oootiful! First off, the weather was extremely cold and I kid you not; it kicks the shit out of Genting's climate anyday! There were pretty interesting sights, especially the architectural marvels of the mountain people. Building houses on the mountains was one thing - building them along the slopes was a work of art on its own! The atmosphere was reminiscent to being in Cameron minus the acres of plantations, and to boot; there's even a mall up there - talk about cray-zee!!
I was there for a couple of nights but despite my holiday fervor was swamped with weekend assignments that I couldn't afford to leave back in the house. (Although by now I've still yet to start out typing the lot, but I'll be done before tomorrow morning - swear on it!)
All in all, the trip was really fun plus it's been on my 'sights-to-see' list for quite some time now, and I'm glad I've gotten to see it. Next stop, Ilocos Norte; my granpop's birth place! For now, my next 'project' is getting them Eraserhead concert tickets a.s.a.p! It's restricted to 18ers and above only so I'm sure to at least get a hint of action there. :D (Strict staying-in-with-relatives rules are still in action, okay...)
Asta!
P.S.
Dammit! I forgot to say where I went. The place is called Baguio City, and it should be on your "places to see" list if you plan to visit the Philippines!
JQ-KC
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
HIStory
Corny title... even cornier day. I had my first official mid-term test... I think I pretty much blew it - well, not quite.
For the most of it, the questions were pretty straightforward, the answers were also equally obvious. The kicker here is about the way I was supposed to answer the questions. i'm not sure whether or not my answers were as it should be in the instructions, but to have facts as proof of elaboration seems a pretty vague and quite broad requirement for an hour and half test.
I'm not complaining about the time limit or the fact that it's most probably my fault anyways, but I guess I thought too much about what to answer and I'm guessing my answers are not exactly up-to-par as my prof would want them to be... dilemma.
Apart from that, I think I fared pretty well (I'll only know in a few days time).
I still think my group's play rocked!!! It wasn't fair cos ours was definitely easier to interpret as a short presentation, but in all honesty, the issues raised by the play are definitely no joking matter (although the play itself makes fun of the main issue of war and its toll on the human soul). Pretty stoked to be going to Baguio this weekend! I'm delayed for a group meeting for my report on an Indian art house movie "Pather Panchali" but I think we'll manage.
Anything else?
Oh ya, check out this chiquita. Her name's Grace Lee, she's 26 years, a DeeJay for a local station here (Magic 89.9) and she's SMOKIN' HOT!!! And she speaks tagalog too!!!
(Source: WikiPedia. Thanks!!!)
For the most of it, the questions were pretty straightforward, the answers were also equally obvious. The kicker here is about the way I was supposed to answer the questions. i'm not sure whether or not my answers were as it should be in the instructions, but to have facts as proof of elaboration seems a pretty vague and quite broad requirement for an hour and half test.
I'm not complaining about the time limit or the fact that it's most probably my fault anyways, but I guess I thought too much about what to answer and I'm guessing my answers are not exactly up-to-par as my prof would want them to be... dilemma.
Apart from that, I think I fared pretty well (I'll only know in a few days time).
I still think my group's play rocked!!! It wasn't fair cos ours was definitely easier to interpret as a short presentation, but in all honesty, the issues raised by the play are definitely no joking matter (although the play itself makes fun of the main issue of war and its toll on the human soul). Pretty stoked to be going to Baguio this weekend! I'm delayed for a group meeting for my report on an Indian art house movie "Pather Panchali" but I think we'll manage.
Anything else?
Oh ya, check out this chiquita. Her name's Grace Lee, she's 26 years, a DeeJay for a local station here (Magic 89.9) and she's SMOKIN' HOT!!! And she speaks tagalog too!!!
(Source: WikiPedia. Thanks!!!)Friday, August 8, 2008
What You Will
A lot has happened over the past week. I acted in a short dramatic presentation, watched a few movies which were still no where near as inebriated as the Dark Knight was, learned of some valuable lessons in being penny-wise; pound-foolish, and that no government is perfect... and those who think they are are the worst of the lot!
That being said, it was pretty eventful so much so I'm just too tired to write more about it... but I'll say this much; Malaysia had better make up its mind on which side of the globe it's standing on otherwise as our populace goes - we'll all end up in the most awful rojak situation ever!!!
Cheers!
That being said, it was pretty eventful so much so I'm just too tired to write more about it... but I'll say this much; Malaysia had better make up its mind on which side of the globe it's standing on otherwise as our populace goes - we'll all end up in the most awful rojak situation ever!!!
Cheers!
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Mother Courage and her Loud Mouth
I'm almost not convinced that the world needs to be a better place.
After reading this play for the umpteenth time, it seems that there is always a reason to have a war, and the more reasons that we can think of, the more war we will have. But I'm just blowing smoke.
Recently, I was (automatically involuntarily) assigned a reenactment report presentation of a play, actually one of the greatest plays in history titled 'Mother Courage and Her Children', written by a German play-write, Bertolt Brecht. It basically revolves around a central character (Mother Courage) and her travails between Sweden and Germany during the War of Thirty Years in Europe. Written during World War II, the play exhibits many anti-Nazism and Fascism subtleties yet has almost a distancing between the characters and the audience. It's quite a moving tragedy to immerse yourself into, but I suggest an open mind and a good glass of wine to go with it.
So here I am with the play, and leading a group of nine (including myself...duh), I'm setting the context of the report and the play. It's refreshing to get suggestions and opinions from a totally (not really) different background of mentalities (it's a good thing) and perspectives because I began to also learn different approaches to a lot of thigns in life... yes, I'm suddenly being melo-dramatic... it's a real pain in the ass but let me rant!!!
Rehearsals start Monday (but there's a catch) and subsequent evenings within the week.
Why there's a catch on Monday? Well, in the Philippines, the President has a State of The Nation Address, which is a platform where she can preach her propaganda without having to bother about the objections of the Nation... pretty ironic considering it's supposed to be a State of The NATION Address. Anyways, on one side of the highway in front of the Uni is the locale where she will be holding her speech, on the other side (and the front of the Uni) will be a congregation of protesters who call themselves the People's SONA, rallying and marching towards her location. Pretty intense stuff as it's rumoured that she has called on the military (roughly 6000) to act as her bodyguards!!! I'm interested to join in, but then again, I've got other responsiblities and I'm not exactly obligated to join this rally... maybe when there's a nationwide protest (why can't there be one in Malaysia... cowards!).
Til the next post, VIVA LA REVOLUCION!!!!
After reading this play for the umpteenth time, it seems that there is always a reason to have a war, and the more reasons that we can think of, the more war we will have. But I'm just blowing smoke.
Recently, I was (automatically involuntarily) assigned a reenactment report presentation of a play, actually one of the greatest plays in history titled 'Mother Courage and Her Children', written by a German play-write, Bertolt Brecht. It basically revolves around a central character (Mother Courage) and her travails between Sweden and Germany during the War of Thirty Years in Europe. Written during World War II, the play exhibits many anti-Nazism and Fascism subtleties yet has almost a distancing between the characters and the audience. It's quite a moving tragedy to immerse yourself into, but I suggest an open mind and a good glass of wine to go with it.
So here I am with the play, and leading a group of nine (including myself...duh), I'm setting the context of the report and the play. It's refreshing to get suggestions and opinions from a totally (not really) different background of mentalities (it's a good thing) and perspectives because I began to also learn different approaches to a lot of thigns in life... yes, I'm suddenly being melo-dramatic... it's a real pain in the ass but let me rant!!!
Rehearsals start Monday (but there's a catch) and subsequent evenings within the week.
Why there's a catch on Monday? Well, in the Philippines, the President has a State of The Nation Address, which is a platform where she can preach her propaganda without having to bother about the objections of the Nation... pretty ironic considering it's supposed to be a State of The NATION Address. Anyways, on one side of the highway in front of the Uni is the locale where she will be holding her speech, on the other side (and the front of the Uni) will be a congregation of protesters who call themselves the People's SONA, rallying and marching towards her location. Pretty intense stuff as it's rumoured that she has called on the military (roughly 6000) to act as her bodyguards!!! I'm interested to join in, but then again, I've got other responsiblities and I'm not exactly obligated to join this rally... maybe when there's a nationwide protest (why can't there be one in Malaysia... cowards!).
Til the next post, VIVA LA REVOLUCION!!!!
Sunday, July 20, 2008
What can I say...
OMHFGG!!!!
I won't elaborate on the acronym but this is definitely the defining moment of my celebration of the skin art of tattooing! Calvin having my nick signed under his beautifully inked tat! I swear I was shivering as soon as I saw the final design, not as dull as what I had originally drawn but nonetheless, a work of art and when I scrolled down to where my name was placed, I was touched!
Cal, ( I know you hate me calling you that), to put my nick down there means the world to me! I can't tell you how much that honor truly means when you've got (a paraphrased version) of my work and initialed my name along with it. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Here is the original design:
...and the final work:
I'm... stoked to say the least!!!
Now's my turn... hehe...
I won't elaborate on the acronym but this is definitely the defining moment of my celebration of the skin art of tattooing! Calvin having my nick signed under his beautifully inked tat! I swear I was shivering as soon as I saw the final design, not as dull as what I had originally drawn but nonetheless, a work of art and when I scrolled down to where my name was placed, I was touched!
Cal, ( I know you hate me calling you that), to put my nick down there means the world to me! I can't tell you how much that honor truly means when you've got (a paraphrased version) of my work and initialed my name along with it. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!!
Here is the original design:
...and the final work:
I'm... stoked to say the least!!!
Now's my turn... hehe...
Saturday, July 19, 2008
The Dark Night
No, it isn't a typo. Rather, a rhetorical title to the theme employed throughout the movie itself. I saw it last Thursday on it's opening night here in the Philippines along with my 'aunt' and her entire sorority. It was... beautiful to say the least! Christian Bale's performance of the Bruce Wayne/Batman persona was near flawless as he pulled off a performance true to the comic book's description of the Batman himself. Commissioner Gordon was as usual impeccably flawed in all his righteous ways. The addittion of Aaron Eckhart playing the District Attorney/ Two-face was brilliant to say the least. For those who caught his performance of the articulate orator lobbyist in 'Thank You For Smoking', he elevates that charisma into pure mad-geniosity in the character he played. But in all honesty, the actor who stole the limelight even after his death was Heath Leder in his role as the Joker. I cannot stress how hideously beautiful was his performance! Brilliance only captures the essence of the understanding of the character when acted by the actor. Genius is only appropriate when the character itself is set apart from the intended persona. His performance was not only true to the psyche of the Joker, but it's as if every word, every move, every breath he took when acting the part just emanated the true persona that is the Joker. I'm ranting at a totally incoherent disorganized frenzy here but I swear and kid you not when I say, Heath's interpretation of the Joker somewhat induces and brings the term 'nervous laughter' to a higher level. In case you seem lost at this point, we all admittedly laugh at the most inappropriate act that conflicts with our understanding of what is right and wrong and eventually we tend to make it into a laughable matter. In this matter, it's as if Heath has somehow managed to release us from that nervousness and permit that laughter to be pure fun in the face of all that is inappropriate and taboo in our culture. I may speak only for myself but it's a hard fact to admit because we all feel this deep inside. I'm not villain but I am somewhat released from feeling repressed of that villainous person hidden inside.
We all have a little bad person in all of us... let what little of that person consume us throughout the 2 hours of the movie to better understand and appreciate what we cannot have.
On another note, the Phillipines isn't submerged underwater. We did not experience life-ending tremors. I'm talking about the 'earthquake prediction' by a 'brilliant' Brazillian teacher. Maybe he saw a vision of the Phillipine flag but it could have been just a replay of the quake that did hit the country... 20 years ago! Let it rest! I'm gonna send out an invite to all of you to come here for a vacation. I'll even skip classes to bring you around!
I'm gonna worship the evilness again tonight.
Hee hee hoo hoo haa haa!!!
p.s. Calvin's getting ink! Everyone slap him on his arm to congratulate his brave achievement!
We all have a little bad person in all of us... let what little of that person consume us throughout the 2 hours of the movie to better understand and appreciate what we cannot have.
On another note, the Phillipines isn't submerged underwater. We did not experience life-ending tremors. I'm talking about the 'earthquake prediction' by a 'brilliant' Brazillian teacher. Maybe he saw a vision of the Phillipine flag but it could have been just a replay of the quake that did hit the country... 20 years ago! Let it rest! I'm gonna send out an invite to all of you to come here for a vacation. I'll even skip classes to bring you around!
I'm gonna worship the evilness again tonight.
Hee hee hoo hoo haa haa!!!
p.s. Calvin's getting ink! Everyone slap him on his arm to congratulate his brave achievement!
Thursday, July 17, 2008
...and again... and again...
Anwar's in jail, and out- again. Same charges, a little too convenient for comfort... one has definitely to think about the repercussions of the government's actions this time around.
Again, this isn't a politically directed blog, but a rant of what I as the writer come across in my daily living abroad. I'm a foreigner foreign to the land I live in and the land where I come from. It's always best to let pent up feelings out in the open before it implodes within... but that's being conservative at best.
There was something I heard on the radio that caught my attention, but I lost it... dammit.
Nope... still somewhere in the back of my mind... I'll recall it sometime tonight - if I don't get too inebriated.
The Dark Knight descends upon my gleeful eyes tonight! I'm not a Batmaniac but I have a soft spot for the realistic superhero who doesn't possess superhuman powers unlike Superman or the X-Men. But among the whole lot, I guess Batman stands out really for his ability to be a hero with elevated normal human abilities and an inexhaustible trust fund at his disposal... rich brat.
I envy him, but that's his burden to bear. Best thing about this screening is the after party!!! Woohoo!!! I better start with the whiskey-coke's... no beer if I can help it.
Still bugged about that radio comment... dammit, I'll have to remember it and remind myself about it for the next post. Asta....
Again, this isn't a politically directed blog, but a rant of what I as the writer come across in my daily living abroad. I'm a foreigner foreign to the land I live in and the land where I come from. It's always best to let pent up feelings out in the open before it implodes within... but that's being conservative at best.
There was something I heard on the radio that caught my attention, but I lost it... dammit.
Nope... still somewhere in the back of my mind... I'll recall it sometime tonight - if I don't get too inebriated.
The Dark Knight descends upon my gleeful eyes tonight! I'm not a Batmaniac but I have a soft spot for the realistic superhero who doesn't possess superhuman powers unlike Superman or the X-Men. But among the whole lot, I guess Batman stands out really for his ability to be a hero with elevated normal human abilities and an inexhaustible trust fund at his disposal... rich brat.
I envy him, but that's his burden to bear. Best thing about this screening is the after party!!! Woohoo!!! I better start with the whiskey-coke's... no beer if I can help it.
Still bugged about that radio comment... dammit, I'll have to remember it and remind myself about it for the next post. Asta....
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Babes, babies and chow mien
Sometimes I feel that being human is just downright unfair.
Don't blame me for being a little depressive (most probably because of the rain out there) but I had a few interesting discoveries or revelations or... things... that really irked the living hypocrite out of me!
First off, there's this issue about a governor or senator (doesn't matter... they're all gonna burn when they die), that waged a war on the content of a few periodicals, namely FHM and Maxim, because of the pronographic material it published! Come on, it's a guys gloss, let us have some peace already about it! I don't wanna be caught in the socio-politico crossfires here (seeing as the Philippines is predominantly Catholic-thus the issue), but it's been a long time coming since the first publication of this beautiful magazine and now the issue of pronographic content? Where's the justice? Where's the manliness in that? I'm sure that after his own fair share of subscription and maybe due to being caught beating the sausage over the lovely pictorials does the 'sudden' desire to lash out at this innocent read. Something don't feel right here.
More on that later...
The funny thing is coincidentally, another issue was brought up regarding pro-choice supporters versus the rest of the country. There's a long-standing history of involvment here concerning the Catholic order and the state. It's also a known fact that as much as the P.I. has declared itself a Catholic state (or predominantly Catholic), it also follows very much a secular constitution which has been implemented since the fall of the Japanese and the American colonization. Now, how does a country that is embroiled in social and political turmoil, burdened by over-population and corruption, work this dilemma out? I'm only highlighting the two points for pro-choice on the basis that that's what matters at the moment. Yeah sure they can move out or even educate people on family planning etc., but there's a term used by economists that describes the advent of a collapsable cumulative effect (I don't know the term, if you're wondering), that implies the multiplication of population over the years versus the time it takes for the people to not only be educated, but also begin to practice family planning and the (supposed) positive outcome on the country as a whole. Now, defining that took some time on my part, how long do you think it'll take until a 'decent' plan can be applied effectively and permanently? I'm no expert but I think in all common sense, we must be able to weigh the cause and effect of our actions, be it intentional or accidental.
So back to why I detest being a human being. Back to the damsels in distress. Back to the wall that lets wave upon wave of problems wash up my entire self to the point of eroding nothingness... I think there's more than meets the eye to the issues at hand.
Other than that, life's been peachy but the rain got bad (some typhoon up north). It's a little cool and I've got a jacket wrapped around my bag. Time to bring out the ol' umbrella.
Don't blame me for being a little depressive (most probably because of the rain out there) but I had a few interesting discoveries or revelations or... things... that really irked the living hypocrite out of me!
First off, there's this issue about a governor or senator (doesn't matter... they're all gonna burn when they die), that waged a war on the content of a few periodicals, namely FHM and Maxim, because of the pronographic material it published! Come on, it's a guys gloss, let us have some peace already about it! I don't wanna be caught in the socio-politico crossfires here (seeing as the Philippines is predominantly Catholic-thus the issue), but it's been a long time coming since the first publication of this beautiful magazine and now the issue of pronographic content? Where's the justice? Where's the manliness in that? I'm sure that after his own fair share of subscription and maybe due to being caught beating the sausage over the lovely pictorials does the 'sudden' desire to lash out at this innocent read. Something don't feel right here.
More on that later...
The funny thing is coincidentally, another issue was brought up regarding pro-choice supporters versus the rest of the country. There's a long-standing history of involvment here concerning the Catholic order and the state. It's also a known fact that as much as the P.I. has declared itself a Catholic state (or predominantly Catholic), it also follows very much a secular constitution which has been implemented since the fall of the Japanese and the American colonization. Now, how does a country that is embroiled in social and political turmoil, burdened by over-population and corruption, work this dilemma out? I'm only highlighting the two points for pro-choice on the basis that that's what matters at the moment. Yeah sure they can move out or even educate people on family planning etc., but there's a term used by economists that describes the advent of a collapsable cumulative effect (I don't know the term, if you're wondering), that implies the multiplication of population over the years versus the time it takes for the people to not only be educated, but also begin to practice family planning and the (supposed) positive outcome on the country as a whole. Now, defining that took some time on my part, how long do you think it'll take until a 'decent' plan can be applied effectively and permanently? I'm no expert but I think in all common sense, we must be able to weigh the cause and effect of our actions, be it intentional or accidental.
So back to why I detest being a human being. Back to the damsels in distress. Back to the wall that lets wave upon wave of problems wash up my entire self to the point of eroding nothingness... I think there's more than meets the eye to the issues at hand.
Other than that, life's been peachy but the rain got bad (some typhoon up north). It's a little cool and I've got a jacket wrapped around my bag. Time to bring out the ol' umbrella.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Head-Case
Oedipus is supposed to be this incestuous, vengeful, arrogant, ignorant, wise King and somehow it just doesn't add up! Can anyone tell me what I'm missing here?
What was the 29th? I think it was a Sunday. Oh ya, now I remember... Wanted, U.I. LOL!
It's been almost a week since then... looks like I'm getting into the groove of writing my entries on a consistent basis.
My 'uncle' is here for the weekend. He's leaving for the province tonight. Gotta spend some time with the poor bastard. But I love him anyways, he's a mate. I think he's still looking for some souvenirs for his wifey and kiddo and maybe some other stuff for his mom and pops... love those guys, they always treat you as one of their own.
History has shown that the Filipino people treat their guests as though they were a part of their family and this is a well-known fact that supports their hospitable nature, to a point it's almost a fault. Let it be known though that their kindness and generosity should not be taken for granted as there will be dire consequences if it is so.
I'm hankering for a stick but I'll have to keep my train on track.
Pablo Neruda is one heck of a poet! Can you imagine how many ways someone can describe love? How deep someone can describe it? I think not everyone can attest to the idea that love is much more than a feeling, a promise, a moment; not everyone can grasp the fathoms of love that fill the human void for longing and need. Then again, love may be an illusion conceptualised to put a perfumed scent on the primal drive that is instinctively innate in our nature... it's up to you to decide but we all have to admit, the need is there and the need has to be fulfilled.
I'm gonna be using the photo lab this coming friday!! Woohoo!!! Finally, some fun (besides taking pics, of course) and once again, I am so so so sorry for not being able to post pics of my life here. Although I'm really curious as to the readership of this blog... well, what can I say? I live in my own world where the window I look at is myself.
What else am I gonna do with the few minutes I have left? Calvin's online and chatting with me at the mo, Diana just left for lunch and I am feeling a little peckish to say the least. Might hit up Divisoria or Quiapo with my 'uncle'... for technical purposes, I'll let him be known as that.
Ciao.
What was the 29th? I think it was a Sunday. Oh ya, now I remember... Wanted, U.I. LOL!
It's been almost a week since then... looks like I'm getting into the groove of writing my entries on a consistent basis.
My 'uncle' is here for the weekend. He's leaving for the province tonight. Gotta spend some time with the poor bastard. But I love him anyways, he's a mate. I think he's still looking for some souvenirs for his wifey and kiddo and maybe some other stuff for his mom and pops... love those guys, they always treat you as one of their own.
History has shown that the Filipino people treat their guests as though they were a part of their family and this is a well-known fact that supports their hospitable nature, to a point it's almost a fault. Let it be known though that their kindness and generosity should not be taken for granted as there will be dire consequences if it is so.
I'm hankering for a stick but I'll have to keep my train on track.
Pablo Neruda is one heck of a poet! Can you imagine how many ways someone can describe love? How deep someone can describe it? I think not everyone can attest to the idea that love is much more than a feeling, a promise, a moment; not everyone can grasp the fathoms of love that fill the human void for longing and need. Then again, love may be an illusion conceptualised to put a perfumed scent on the primal drive that is instinctively innate in our nature... it's up to you to decide but we all have to admit, the need is there and the need has to be fulfilled.
I'm gonna be using the photo lab this coming friday!! Woohoo!!! Finally, some fun (besides taking pics, of course) and once again, I am so so so sorry for not being able to post pics of my life here. Although I'm really curious as to the readership of this blog... well, what can I say? I live in my own world where the window I look at is myself.
What else am I gonna do with the few minutes I have left? Calvin's online and chatting with me at the mo, Diana just left for lunch and I am feeling a little peckish to say the least. Might hit up Divisoria or Quiapo with my 'uncle'... for technical purposes, I'll let him be known as that.
Ciao.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Arrivals and Departures
Grand pops is in town. Just flew in over the week and I'm still guessing it's for good. Good so, he's been away for a while now and everyone's missing him much. 84 years young and still going strong - that's my grandfather.
Sitting down with him over a coffee and a slice of chiffon cake, I'm given a brief glimpse of what the world was like when he was around during the World Wars and Martial Law. His memories are almost as fresh as the day it happened. It's amazing how someone can recall so many details; names, places, events, quotes... kinda makes you wonder how much can a person's mind really store throughout his/her entire lifespan. For you forgetful bums, take fuckin note!
I'm slightly inebriated after watching Wanted... literally and visually! 2 cans of Red Horse Strong Beer and a visually visceral visage of violence and voracious veximilitude (made that up) can only be taken in so much. I think it's not out yet but I'm gonna spoil it for you dudes... Angelina Jolie dies!!! Not before you're given a good glimpse of her (or the stand-in's) rear-end view :D good times!
My cousin sister's sweet sixteen just passed by yesterday. I got her an Irvine Welsh mind-fuck book titled "If you liked school... you'll love work." Messes with your mind from the title on... I don't know what's it really about but if it's Irvine Welsh (ref. Trainspotting), it's bound to be a good read. Happy 16th sis! Now here comes the fun part of life in trickles... hehe.
I'm up to my neck in readings but it's all good considering my lit teacher's have got totally opposing opinions about the idea of lit. One's a male idealist in his early 30s and the other's a female liberalist who looks like the lobbyist of both Burger King and McDonalds put together! Photography is slowly taking shape in weeks... not shots and school's been good so far.
It's funny how much a little issue such as reading or the idea of authority can blow up to immense argumentative proportions (as I'm proving to be true right now). Why can't people just accept the fact that we live in a world, and age where choices are no longer determined by the satisfying end, but by the complex economics of political and socio-pathological need to satisfy? Did that make sense? I dunno but who gives a shit? Rising oil prices, natural disasters left-right-center, political instabilities, social abnormalities... who can ignore the fact that the world is shrinking day by day and we're all tadpoles caught in the middle of it all? It's disturbing to say the least... there's no such thing as absolute freedom anymore. I think I'll pack it all up and become a monk... wait, isn't there some socio-political religious hoo-hah going on in Tibet? Dammit! Can't a man get a break for a few minutes in his little sane island?!?!?!?!
Let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks freedom and independance is bestowed... there's no such fucking thing! We all have to live according to the rule of survival and that's the motherfucking truth! Fuck it... I'll just have another cold one and watch as the world fucks itself on its own... I need a stick.
Sitting down with him over a coffee and a slice of chiffon cake, I'm given a brief glimpse of what the world was like when he was around during the World Wars and Martial Law. His memories are almost as fresh as the day it happened. It's amazing how someone can recall so many details; names, places, events, quotes... kinda makes you wonder how much can a person's mind really store throughout his/her entire lifespan. For you forgetful bums, take fuckin note!
I'm slightly inebriated after watching Wanted... literally and visually! 2 cans of Red Horse Strong Beer and a visually visceral visage of violence and voracious veximilitude (made that up) can only be taken in so much. I think it's not out yet but I'm gonna spoil it for you dudes... Angelina Jolie dies!!! Not before you're given a good glimpse of her (or the stand-in's) rear-end view :D good times!
My cousin sister's sweet sixteen just passed by yesterday. I got her an Irvine Welsh mind-fuck book titled "If you liked school... you'll love work." Messes with your mind from the title on... I don't know what's it really about but if it's Irvine Welsh (ref. Trainspotting), it's bound to be a good read. Happy 16th sis! Now here comes the fun part of life in trickles... hehe.
I'm up to my neck in readings but it's all good considering my lit teacher's have got totally opposing opinions about the idea of lit. One's a male idealist in his early 30s and the other's a female liberalist who looks like the lobbyist of both Burger King and McDonalds put together! Photography is slowly taking shape in weeks... not shots and school's been good so far.
It's funny how much a little issue such as reading or the idea of authority can blow up to immense argumentative proportions (as I'm proving to be true right now). Why can't people just accept the fact that we live in a world, and age where choices are no longer determined by the satisfying end, but by the complex economics of political and socio-pathological need to satisfy? Did that make sense? I dunno but who gives a shit? Rising oil prices, natural disasters left-right-center, political instabilities, social abnormalities... who can ignore the fact that the world is shrinking day by day and we're all tadpoles caught in the middle of it all? It's disturbing to say the least... there's no such thing as absolute freedom anymore. I think I'll pack it all up and become a monk... wait, isn't there some socio-political religious hoo-hah going on in Tibet? Dammit! Can't a man get a break for a few minutes in his little sane island?!?!?!?!
Let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks freedom and independance is bestowed... there's no such fucking thing! We all have to live according to the rule of survival and that's the motherfucking truth! Fuck it... I'll just have another cold one and watch as the world fucks itself on its own... I need a stick.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
A 'Frank' Experience
800 plus in total and only 57 found so far. That's the numbers following the tragic capsizing of the Princess of The Stars ferry off the coast of Romblon after Typhoon Frank whiplashed its way across the P.I. Some of you guys may have already known but for those who aren't familiar with weather patterns in the Phils, this ain't nothing yet.
The rain poured for nearly 24 hours from Saturday evening and I only saw the sun clearly on Monday morning! Talk about a wet dream! I still consider myself very much foreign and still quite F.O.B. but this tops everything I've come across so far. It's not the worse thing that could happen but it's a taste of what may come... or not (I hope).
I heard there was a frat fight this morning in U.P. Dammit! Missed the show. According to my sources (My aunt), it was bloody and the cops nabbed 4 students. Can anyone say flying glass bottles? Seems like it's the perfect indication that the school year has officially started but who knows for sure what instigated the clash. I hope there's something left for me to shoot tomorrow but I don't think this will be the last I hear of it.
Hmm... what else is there. Not much right now. Just procrastinating a one-pager on reading habits and views on social considerations regarding the former. I'm not too keen cos it's more of a localised topic but I'll put in my two sens worth for the points. Anyone check out Hulk 2 yet? I think I'm a week behind now... dammit!
Asta!
The rain poured for nearly 24 hours from Saturday evening and I only saw the sun clearly on Monday morning! Talk about a wet dream! I still consider myself very much foreign and still quite F.O.B. but this tops everything I've come across so far. It's not the worse thing that could happen but it's a taste of what may come... or not (I hope).
I heard there was a frat fight this morning in U.P. Dammit! Missed the show. According to my sources (My aunt), it was bloody and the cops nabbed 4 students. Can anyone say flying glass bottles? Seems like it's the perfect indication that the school year has officially started but who knows for sure what instigated the clash. I hope there's something left for me to shoot tomorrow but I don't think this will be the last I hear of it.
Hmm... what else is there. Not much right now. Just procrastinating a one-pager on reading habits and views on social considerations regarding the former. I'm not too keen cos it's more of a localised topic but I'll put in my two sens worth for the points. Anyone check out Hulk 2 yet? I think I'm a week behind now... dammit!
Asta!
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Literary Meanderings
No i'm not going all academia literaria... not yet at least. I'm just lamenting on the long and tiring list of literature readings I'll have to face within the coming months. Bad enough I still have to re-sit some subjects I took last semester. The tamed shrew indeed!
How are my folks back in the peninsular? I wonder if the 'island escape' (no, it's not a skin-flick) is still in motion amidst screeching-sideway dreams of anti-rational proportions...? (right, as if that made common sense) Life in campus has been pretty peachy at the moment. Meetings have been somewhat normal, that includes the fact that professors do miss classes in exchange for exotic trips every once in a while. I'm still waiting for a couple more new faces but that's neither here nor there.
Apart from the usual commuting routine I go through everyday, it gets a little mundane but not that I'm missing much over there anyways. Still, I do miss the occassional yam cha session just because it's being able to hang out with my buds. :D
Still no pics yet but I'm working on it. I think my blog's on the 'most bland' list online, not to mention the lengthy content and incoherent jabberwocky I spew in my entries.
Gotta go now, I'm on borrowed time.
How are my folks back in the peninsular? I wonder if the 'island escape' (no, it's not a skin-flick) is still in motion amidst screeching-sideway dreams of anti-rational proportions...? (right, as if that made common sense) Life in campus has been pretty peachy at the moment. Meetings have been somewhat normal, that includes the fact that professors do miss classes in exchange for exotic trips every once in a while. I'm still waiting for a couple more new faces but that's neither here nor there.
Apart from the usual commuting routine I go through everyday, it gets a little mundane but not that I'm missing much over there anyways. Still, I do miss the occassional yam cha session just because it's being able to hang out with my buds. :D
Still no pics yet but I'm working on it. I think my blog's on the 'most bland' list online, not to mention the lengthy content and incoherent jabberwocky I spew in my entries.
Gotta go now, I'm on borrowed time.
Friday, June 13, 2008
Iskolar Ng Bayan
Now... where was I? Oh ya, I got a surprise call on my way back from class last night. Pretty unexpected yet welcomed anytime! :D Sammi, Cavis and Malvin called me! (Oh, by the way, if you're wondering whether I forgot Rogie-boi was there too, I didn't; it's just cause he spoke to me last so it's sorta "in the order of appearance blah blah...".)
Nice to hear from them again, and with some good and paranoid news. Sammi and Cavis are planning a trip up here for a few days, but not after the alledged "record-richter earthquake" passes. P.S. I found out that 8.0 on the scale isn't a big deal here... it's just a big headache after.
Come on down!!! Mabuhay and you're most welcomed!
So, where was I again...? Hmm... 'Iskolar Ng Bayan' loosely translated 'National Scholar' is the title given to a successful graduate of the University of the Philippines. It's a dignified term used to also subject the poor graduate to political and social abuse and recognition, and I for one will probably benefit as well as indirectly suffer from the stigma. What's that all about? Ask any non-UP graduate or anyone who holds a 'failure-to-admit' grudge against the uni and they'll give you as frank of an answer as you can get.
I think my life as a student officially started on the 5th of June when I had to enlist for my subjects. (Bear in mind that this is also an American-styled enrollment so it may sound familiarly strange to some) Rather than me summarising the entire day, I think a time-list should clearly outline how important this particular day was for me and why I mark it as my 'christening' day:
5:30am - Up and half-way about
6:30am - On my way to UP (travel time in the morning is approximately 1 half to 2 hours)
7:45am - Reach UP (must be one of those good days)
8:00am - Admin window opens for students to get their Form 5A (it's a really stupid thing but transferees like myself were only allowed to start subject enlistment 5 days from the start of class - which meant most class slots were either full or over-flowing. The really asenine part of the enlistment was to get all 18 units or 6 subjects validated before 5pm! Talk about mission-next-to-impossible!)
8:15am - Somehow, get to know a girl who happens to be a transferee too. We both set off on our 'journey' to capture our hidden class slots.
8:45am - Reach the English Department to enlist for at least 2 classes. There's a petition list and we're required to check back at 2pm. There goes lunchtime.
9:00am - Get to the Philippine History Department to enlist for the required Phil. Hist. subject. I got in and it was the only class where the teacher taught in English! Lucky!
9:30am - The time gap is real cos it reflects the waiting line til the department's admin room! Talk about rush-hour jam, this is the SHIT. We're off to other colleges (That's what they call the various buildings which provide the different disciplines for a wide variety of majors; Engineering College, Home Economics College, etc...) Seems like all of the classes are full... d'oh! It was a tiring trip cos apart from the fact that neither of us had our own vehicle, taking the in-campus jeepney didn't make sense and the weather was still cooling off from summer.
11:30am (I think) - Back to the Mass Comm College where the Film department is. Got some advise from the academic head there and had some back-up options to fill-up our unit requirements (Every student needs to maintain at least a 15 unit/5 subject semester. Failure to do so will result in pretty fucked up shit I don't wanna mess with). I got 5 subjects in line (and to my stupid dissapointment found out that because of a technical term error, I couldn't credit the subjects I took last semester! Fucking wankers didn't tell me that! That's political ambiguity for you! Burn me now!!)
1:00pm - Missed lunch... real hungry... real tired... she looks good to eat... can't... focus... must en... list. Back at the English Dept. We've both got only 1 subject each, that means at least 4 more, and we're waiting for the english subjects to be opened. The line is looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong and I'm not exagerrating the situation cos that's the reality of enlistment day; the lines! The fuckin long-ass-giraffe-stretched-snake-like lines!!! There's a joke running around the Uni (which I've come to realise is pretty cynically-sarcastic) that UP literally and figuratively also means Unibersidad Ng Pila-Pila... translated University of Queue Lines. I'm not gonna revisit that episode but we did get our English subjects after all! Sweet! 3 down and I can actually get another 3 more making that my full load of 18 units! Nice!
2:45pm - Back to Mass Comm and now to get the 3 film major subjects. Got them (fucking have to do Intro to Film again! I don't mind photog but Intro is just pure painful, likesay) By normal standards this progress is actually unbelievably lucky and fast. So it's off to the admin to validate the classes.
3:45pm - Less than 1 half hour til the window closes. I manage to squeeze my forms in before the turn of the hour. All I can do now is wait. As I waited in painful patience, I stole away from my new-found friend for a cig. She looks totally burned out. Most likely not used to the whole hectic urgency of the System being that she came from a uni that packaged everything for her upon registration.
4:50pm - 10 minutes left now. I'm down to 3 sticks left and my view of chiqui-chiquitas is slowly fading as the day draws to an end. One window is covered... not good. (Apparently while I was slowly burning my lungs, an announcement for the extension of the validating deadline was aired.. fuckin figures)
5:00pm - Somehow, I get my validated form! Woot!!! That's a fuckin dancer! Now I'm set for the sem. Nothing else to worry about except making sure I don't fuck up this time. My friend, oh, her name's Kathleen, Kat, looks worried but she gets her form a little later. Good times.
I don't expect you to be able to stomach the whole entry at one sitting and if you managed to I hope you weren't eating. But what I've described there is the typical day that EVERY UP student has to go through. It gets easier once the student starts on his major subjects, but like life, nothing's certain and things can change anytime. There's 2 parts to a wholistic education experience in UP, one is the General Education subjects and the other is the major subjects. The former basically deals with 3 different disciplines, namely Arts and Humanities, Maths, Science and Technology and Social Science and Philosophy. These 3 are not only to burden the student with more subjects so that the uni makes more money off them, (please, it was sarcastic), but it broadens and creates a critically and creatively knowledgable student who not only is specialised in his chosen discipline, but in other life-applicable disciplines as well. It seems like a boatful of unnecessary bollocks but I beg to differ. In any case, I'll be the guinea pig and you'll be the pessimistic customer who I need to convince.
Class has started already, and I've gotten around to almost all my classes ('cept for World Literature. Dunno where the lazy bastard is... hehe)
I just got a stack of readings to sit through and Bob Marley will get Jah to help me. :)
Peace!
Nice to hear from them again, and with some good and paranoid news. Sammi and Cavis are planning a trip up here for a few days, but not after the alledged "record-richter earthquake" passes. P.S. I found out that 8.0 on the scale isn't a big deal here... it's just a big headache after.
Come on down!!! Mabuhay and you're most welcomed!
So, where was I again...? Hmm... 'Iskolar Ng Bayan' loosely translated 'National Scholar' is the title given to a successful graduate of the University of the Philippines. It's a dignified term used to also subject the poor graduate to political and social abuse and recognition, and I for one will probably benefit as well as indirectly suffer from the stigma. What's that all about? Ask any non-UP graduate or anyone who holds a 'failure-to-admit' grudge against the uni and they'll give you as frank of an answer as you can get.
I think my life as a student officially started on the 5th of June when I had to enlist for my subjects. (Bear in mind that this is also an American-styled enrollment so it may sound familiarly strange to some) Rather than me summarising the entire day, I think a time-list should clearly outline how important this particular day was for me and why I mark it as my 'christening' day:
5:30am - Up and half-way about
6:30am - On my way to UP (travel time in the morning is approximately 1 half to 2 hours)
7:45am - Reach UP (must be one of those good days)
8:00am - Admin window opens for students to get their Form 5A (it's a really stupid thing but transferees like myself were only allowed to start subject enlistment 5 days from the start of class - which meant most class slots were either full or over-flowing. The really asenine part of the enlistment was to get all 18 units or 6 subjects validated before 5pm! Talk about mission-next-to-impossible!)
8:15am - Somehow, get to know a girl who happens to be a transferee too. We both set off on our 'journey' to capture our hidden class slots.
8:45am - Reach the English Department to enlist for at least 2 classes. There's a petition list and we're required to check back at 2pm. There goes lunchtime.
9:00am - Get to the Philippine History Department to enlist for the required Phil. Hist. subject. I got in and it was the only class where the teacher taught in English! Lucky!
9:30am - The time gap is real cos it reflects the waiting line til the department's admin room! Talk about rush-hour jam, this is the SHIT. We're off to other colleges (That's what they call the various buildings which provide the different disciplines for a wide variety of majors; Engineering College, Home Economics College, etc...) Seems like all of the classes are full... d'oh! It was a tiring trip cos apart from the fact that neither of us had our own vehicle, taking the in-campus jeepney didn't make sense and the weather was still cooling off from summer.
11:30am (I think) - Back to the Mass Comm College where the Film department is. Got some advise from the academic head there and had some back-up options to fill-up our unit requirements (Every student needs to maintain at least a 15 unit/5 subject semester. Failure to do so will result in pretty fucked up shit I don't wanna mess with). I got 5 subjects in line (and to my stupid dissapointment found out that because of a technical term error, I couldn't credit the subjects I took last semester! Fucking wankers didn't tell me that! That's political ambiguity for you! Burn me now!!)
1:00pm - Missed lunch... real hungry... real tired... she looks good to eat... can't... focus... must en... list. Back at the English Dept. We've both got only 1 subject each, that means at least 4 more, and we're waiting for the english subjects to be opened. The line is looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong and I'm not exagerrating the situation cos that's the reality of enlistment day; the lines! The fuckin long-ass-giraffe-stretched-snake-like lines!!! There's a joke running around the Uni (which I've come to realise is pretty cynically-sarcastic) that UP literally and figuratively also means Unibersidad Ng Pila-Pila... translated University of Queue Lines. I'm not gonna revisit that episode but we did get our English subjects after all! Sweet! 3 down and I can actually get another 3 more making that my full load of 18 units! Nice!
2:45pm - Back to Mass Comm and now to get the 3 film major subjects. Got them (fucking have to do Intro to Film again! I don't mind photog but Intro is just pure painful, likesay) By normal standards this progress is actually unbelievably lucky and fast. So it's off to the admin to validate the classes.
3:45pm - Less than 1 half hour til the window closes. I manage to squeeze my forms in before the turn of the hour. All I can do now is wait. As I waited in painful patience, I stole away from my new-found friend for a cig. She looks totally burned out. Most likely not used to the whole hectic urgency of the System being that she came from a uni that packaged everything for her upon registration.
4:50pm - 10 minutes left now. I'm down to 3 sticks left and my view of chiqui-chiquitas is slowly fading as the day draws to an end. One window is covered... not good. (Apparently while I was slowly burning my lungs, an announcement for the extension of the validating deadline was aired.. fuckin figures)
5:00pm - Somehow, I get my validated form! Woot!!! That's a fuckin dancer! Now I'm set for the sem. Nothing else to worry about except making sure I don't fuck up this time. My friend, oh, her name's Kathleen, Kat, looks worried but she gets her form a little later. Good times.
I don't expect you to be able to stomach the whole entry at one sitting and if you managed to I hope you weren't eating. But what I've described there is the typical day that EVERY UP student has to go through. It gets easier once the student starts on his major subjects, but like life, nothing's certain and things can change anytime. There's 2 parts to a wholistic education experience in UP, one is the General Education subjects and the other is the major subjects. The former basically deals with 3 different disciplines, namely Arts and Humanities, Maths, Science and Technology and Social Science and Philosophy. These 3 are not only to burden the student with more subjects so that the uni makes more money off them, (please, it was sarcastic), but it broadens and creates a critically and creatively knowledgable student who not only is specialised in his chosen discipline, but in other life-applicable disciplines as well. It seems like a boatful of unnecessary bollocks but I beg to differ. In any case, I'll be the guinea pig and you'll be the pessimistic customer who I need to convince.
Class has started already, and I've gotten around to almost all my classes ('cept for World Literature. Dunno where the lazy bastard is... hehe)
I just got a stack of readings to sit through and Bob Marley will get Jah to help me. :)
Peace!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Enrollment Blues
Ha-HAAH!!! Ha-haah...huh...sigh... Nothing comes close to the rush of rushing from one college to the other, jostling through what seems endless hordes of students clambering on to the little hope of being able to make it for the final cut... welcome to enlistment week!
Check it out, 18 hrs a week, 6 subjects (at least), and classes from (most probably) 7am til 7pm! In spite of all this, I'm still going ahead? Well, no one for one thing has 12 hr long days, and secondly, it's pretty fast when the groove starts moving, likesay.
But all said and done, I'm still quite far away from that point yet cause I haven't even gotten enrolled for the subjects and it's gonna be war tomorrow morning! HAA-WOO!!!
Btw, Narnia 2 is not too bad to watch! For you Narnianatics, I won't spoil it for now but Prince Caspian's ... and the kings and queens of old... nuff said.
Check it out, 18 hrs a week, 6 subjects (at least), and classes from (most probably) 7am til 7pm! In spite of all this, I'm still going ahead? Well, no one for one thing has 12 hr long days, and secondly, it's pretty fast when the groove starts moving, likesay.
But all said and done, I'm still quite far away from that point yet cause I haven't even gotten enrolled for the subjects and it's gonna be war tomorrow morning! HAA-WOO!!!
Btw, Narnia 2 is not too bad to watch! For you Narnianatics, I won't spoil it for now but Prince Caspian's ... and the kings and queens of old... nuff said.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Mabuhay! Welcome to The Philippines!
So... *small sigh*... so, here I am. Where? In the Philippines. What I'm doing here? Basically got back to the basics of advanced academic institutionalisation, a.k.a. studying to obtain my degree. Yeah, the last line before that didn't make sense so I thought one of you might be choking a little. It's almost that time of the year where the mad rush to enroll and enlist subjects and courses is about to start and it may end abruptly cos the timeline is so short. Needless to say, I've had my fair share of experiencing the rush of signing-up and keeping up with the deadlines and it's been surreal thusfar. Some of you may have thought I was already enrolled but it doesn't work that way here. Foreign students are allocated certain dates and times of the year for them to register as a regular student, and that's usually the first semester (June) of the school year. And like myself, I'm finding it a little more than troublesome getting used to a completely different bureaucracy but heck, it's all part and parcel of living the student's life here innit? :)
For now, I haven't even gotten my student number yet, but as soon as I do, it's more running around for me (signing up for subjects, getting signatures here and there, etc...). The more I think about it the less I worry about what I have to do next cos going with the flow as long as you don't go too slow kinda works here. Nevertheless, one can't be too careful with the slightly more liberal culture and philosophies that are practiced here but I can't help imagining what that might be like. *Hmm...*
Most foreigners have likened the Filipino culture to the French; sensitive, less outspoken, but willing to give anyone the benefit of a doubt... seems to me that I've got some 'softening' to do on my part. It's not that I mind it at all, it's just a matter of perspective. Helpful, accommodating, friendly - some of the common attitudes found among these lovely people; I think I might just get used to living here for the moment.
In case you're wondering why the blog name suggests a certain redundancy... well it DOES! Just goes to show how much I've actually missed writing (ranting) on and on about stuff I don't figure out about much... (there he goes again). In any case, I'm running out of time for now but I'll be back posting here as often as I can. Maybe next time I'll be kind enough to add some pics along with the bombardment of words and rhetorics in each post.
Til next time, see ya sucka's!!! ;)
For now, I haven't even gotten my student number yet, but as soon as I do, it's more running around for me (signing up for subjects, getting signatures here and there, etc...). The more I think about it the less I worry about what I have to do next cos going with the flow as long as you don't go too slow kinda works here. Nevertheless, one can't be too careful with the slightly more liberal culture and philosophies that are practiced here but I can't help imagining what that might be like. *Hmm...*
Most foreigners have likened the Filipino culture to the French; sensitive, less outspoken, but willing to give anyone the benefit of a doubt... seems to me that I've got some 'softening' to do on my part. It's not that I mind it at all, it's just a matter of perspective. Helpful, accommodating, friendly - some of the common attitudes found among these lovely people; I think I might just get used to living here for the moment.
In case you're wondering why the blog name suggests a certain redundancy... well it DOES! Just goes to show how much I've actually missed writing (ranting) on and on about stuff I don't figure out about much... (there he goes again). In any case, I'm running out of time for now but I'll be back posting here as often as I can. Maybe next time I'll be kind enough to add some pics along with the bombardment of words and rhetorics in each post.
Til next time, see ya sucka's!!! ;)
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