Sunday, July 06, 2008
i want my fast food!
since i really wanted to eat a double cheeseburger deluxe "go big time" meal, i said to myself, i'll go there myself. the nearest branch is open 24 hours after all. so i walked to the matalino branch only to find out that they were closed for the night, starting 9pm on july 5. talk about wrong timing! and im not going to walk to philcoa. so i just went back home and decided to just call jollibee delivery. for me, it's the next best fast food restaurant when it comes to burgers. so i called up 87000 and i ended up ordering 2 big mac meals. good thing the guy at the other end didnt react much and just said to me that they dont serve the product and told me its equivalent. i meant to order their Champ but i was just so in the mood for a mcdonalds burger that i ended up saying Big Mac instead of Champ.
anyway, why am i blogging about this? well, its just nothing very eventful is happening lately. and if there was, i cant talk about it because its confidential.
June was a very busy month and the first few days of july is less tedious but tiring nonetheless. had my first and second court hearing last month. made some pleadings and motions and tried to meet the deadlines. had a bunch of appointments and did a lot of texting. i have two phones now and sometimes i get tired of reading them that i prioritize some text messages (the urgent ones) and the read the other ones at the end of the day and reply the following day if i suddenly find out that i have no more credits. the interesting part is (or the worst part is), things are bound to become more difficult.
so connecting it to the fast food part, its been a very tiring month and this july will not be much different. when you have so little time and so much to do, a little fast food would mean a lot. but since im a very unfortunate guy, im not surprised that the operator on the other end of the line would tell me that the delivery service is not available in our area at the moment when im really in the mood for a mcdonalds burger, because i wanted to eat something while watching a movie at home. and im the type of guy who hates settling for the next best thing. so i ended up not watching anything and relaxing in the form of sleep. what made sleep not comforting was my clogged nose because i have a cold. and when i have a cold, i have coughing fits. and usually, what makes me feel better is eating food im in the mood to eat. ok, what is a loop? point is, im a very unlucky bastard. when i want my fast food the most, i wont be surprised that i wont get it. well, conveniently get it. i have to make some extra effort. some would say, that would simply make the food a lot tastier. i would say, probably, but the thing is, the things that are supposed to make it easier and more convenient arent working the way they should be working and that sucks because im in the losing end no matter what. Soy un perdedor!
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Email excerpt: Buhay Law school
sa law school...
college is nothing compared sa law school. exaggeration man pero true to a certain extent, law school is 10 times harder than college. its a mistake to think that its just another four years of studying... its more of 4 years of training for a profession and mas makakatulong to think that we are already working, workers under training, and that part of the work is reading a lot of reading materials and acting like lawyers during recitations and the professors are the judges we have to convince kasi we are graded on how well we argue our case or the question asked
sa klase ng effort and demand na hinihingi ng law school, kung i-apply natin nung college, sure ko, A students tayo. probably anyone who survived a sem in law school pag bumalik sa college will find it impossible to fail, if not get a very high grade, pag in-apply yung same effort or same work ethic and habits... pero do it the other way around, apply the study habits nung college, one is bound to fail law school...
law school made me do things that i never did in college, like really read a lot, really study a lot and recite... on a daily basis! every prof yata sa law school is a terror prof compared sa college professors, or yung mga terror nung college will look really nice compared sa law school professors
in law school, one needs to love the law, kasi if you don't it will be very hard to survive.. part of loving the law is devoting every waking moment studying, it becomes the air you breath, it is what you eat and digest and it may also become the content of one's dreams at night. the law becomes a 7/11, kung saan we are employees in it who never stop working tipong sobrang immersed sa law na it becomes our life and only time that we get to interact with people outside is when people come along, siyempre exag pero most of the time ganito law school life
law school is expensive. aside from the tuition, may stacks of readings pa, enough to make owners of photocopying shops to have a stable supply of customers, baka nga mas magsurvive pa sila pag nagkaroon ng economic crisis sa dami ng kailangan ipa-photocopy. meron pang law books, yung mga codes, yung consti na sobrang expensive na minsan napapaisip ako na maging professor na lang kaya ako sa college of law tapos
maging author ng book? yun ay pag di ako pumasa sa bar... pwede kaya yun?
estimation of how many readings: half a sem in law school's readings is equivalent to two full sems of readings in college... syet, kaya palang basahin sa kalahating sem ang isang buong school year sa college.. so does this mean sa finals, equivalent sa two years in college yung coverage?
law school life is boring and monotonous, every day is the same thing, read and recite, read a lot and recite well. that is basically most of it.. and its boring kasi one's social life may be lost, again, because of the devotion needed. another reason for the boring nature is well, kayo-kayong magkakaklase lang ang makakarelate sa pinag-uusapan nyo and malamang the main thing that you are going to talk about is the law since it is the only thing that you've thought about all day. kung may mukha lang ang law, malamang yung mukha lang na yun ang laging nakikita
sa law school, some people become wordsmiths and linguists, well, not really linguists pero knowledge in spanish and understanding the latin terms is not only handy but sometimes necessary and big words and phrases during recitations are only useful if one knows how to really use it in a sentence...
sa law school, kung wala kang bisyo, there is a strong possibility na magkaroon, like smoking and drinking. mas bagay ang tomadores sa law school kasi it is something that is hard to do without, the humiliation and the bad grades, drinking as a social activity (and not just to drown ones worries) is a very good way to unwind and according to some, people who do drink and party from time to time are more likely to survive since they get to recharge themselves
sa law school, one become a strategist. tipong drop ko ba yung subject na to or alin kaya ang drop ko? basahin ko ba to or just start reviewing for the exam and sacrifice a few recits? magcut kaya ako sa minor subject para makabawi sa major subject? it all depends sa strategy some times on how to balance all of the demands sa law school and sa law school, every point sa grades counts...
sa law school, its smarter to be lucky than it is lucky to be smart..to a certain extent totoo... luck is more useful sa law school than mere knowledge, in terms of survival anyway... in terms of training, luck din na makuha yung mga prof na may matutunan ka talaga kasi may mga prof na di marunong magturo... well, call it luck or divine providence, basta outside of human capacity to control and foresee
sa law school nagkakaroon ng concrete meaning ang time is gold and time is of the essence... you can never waste time in law school, wasting it is always a risk (having time to unwind is not wasting time for it is needed to replenish much needed energy to survive in law school). good time management skills is necessary... and time flies even if you are not having fun. how? di ba ang bilis ng oras pag madaming kailangan gawin or when you have a deadline to meet? that is how time flies sa law school, so many things to do, so little time and sometimes under pressure to finish it before the class starts...cramming skills are tested to its limit sa law school, this is the best test on how good a crammer is...
sa law school, this probably applies to most if not all, even the most confident of men/women may doubt one's abilities pag tapak sa law school. the law school demands things that are almost impossible to do. almost impossible kasi... yes, it is possible to do pero its lying on the border of the impossible, kaunti na lang humanly impossible na gawin.. law school is overwhelming.. and sometimes crazy... the probability na mabaliw is higher pag pumasok sa law school and there are even horror stories on bar exams about people na nag-snap because of the extreme pressure... or maybe simple na memory loss kung saan may one bar examinee na nakalimutan na may GF pala sya, he just remembered while walking out of the exam area on the last day of the bar exams or nervous breakdown nung nakita yung bar questions...
sleepless nights, and even insomnia is common in law school. sleep becomes a luxury. to keep up with the demands, sleep needs to be sacrificed from time to time, in order to give more time to studying. to some, every waking moment is spent on studying up to the last minute before they go to sleep at night...
sa law school brain power is obviously needed, understanding and good memory are essential and soundness of mind din. dapat maging mindful sa mental health and well-being or baka matuluyan ang pagkabaliw...
aside from sleep, sa law school, love life may sometimes be sacrificed. not sure about the statistics pero most of the time, and ito din sabi nung mga law school professors, nagbe-break ang mga magGF and BF, kasi one common reason, lack of time and attention. so, there is also another saying, one is likely to find the partner within the walls of the law school, for reasons that both of you know the demands of the law school and after all those hours studying, kayo lang ang magkakaintindihan...
law school is a lovable hell for some... it is hell for obvious reasons, sobrang pahirap sa buhay pero if you love the law, you wont mind living in hell for four years...
law school life is overwhelming, stressful and demanding, pero its worth it if one really wants to be a lawyer, of course it is and it would really be a great achievement to be able to finally make it. so what one has to do, is adjust, adjust and adjust... like yung mga fresh members of the labor force na lucky enough to find a job, we have to adjust kasi law school is not just a school, as mentioned earlier, its a training for a profession... this is probably the main task of the freshman, adjust to the new environment...
just another school day
then i get home around dinner time and sleep around midnight usually. i consider myself lucky if i get to bed as early as 10pm.
there's just a lot of stuff to do. and the bad news is, its bound to get more difficult. im still in the adjustment stage. better get used to these long hours and short rest periods. i mean, this is really what im going to face in the next few years. not that im complaining. wait, i am! well, not really. just whining. its just because im not yet used to it. but eventually, im going to get the hang of it. and once i do, things will still get more difficult. its a never-ending adjustment stage until you reach some kind of peak and there's no where else to go but down. and then its another crash and burn, nose dive in blazing glory experience.
Monday, June 23, 2008
what is an ex post facto law?
Prof: "what are you wearing (looks at law student's tie). i dont like your tie!"
law student: "huh?"
Prof: "what's the color of your long sleeve?"
law student:"umm...sir, its blue".
Prof:"and your wearing that stupid tie! from now on, whenever you wear a blue long sleeve, the necktie should be red! that's the rule! and i dont want to see you wearing that stupid tie!"
law student: "huh? sir, im confused"
Prof: "i will give you a zero for wearing that stupid tie! it violates the rule i just said"
law student: "huh? sir why!"
Prof: "hah, and for being a philosopher another zero!"
law student: "sir, seriously!? sir, may i ask why?"
Prof: "you see, i am a believer in the ex post facto laws (a law that operates retroactively)"
Prof: "do you get it?"
law student:...
comic book movies
anyway, now that the 2 marvel movies have been released, i now wonder whether The Dark Knight of DC comics can match the people's expectations. i mean, Iron Man is just the first movie of probably another trilogy and people dont have high expectations yet. i think people were just expecting to get whats been promoted. as for the Incredible Hulk, not much expectations here also, maybe lower expectations even compared to Iron Man since the The Hulk didnt do very well. point is, im expecting much more from the Dark Knight, with all their virals and months of promotion. it doesnt look like it would be a disappointment but im hoping it would be as good, if not much better, than Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. not that im a DC fan. im really a Marvel comics fan but there's only one character from DC comics i like, and obviously, its the Batman. and as for the blog entry below, the name superman is really used in its generic sense and probably a slight reference to the DC character. well, thats how i see it. i mean, anyone can be a superman in the generic sense but only Clark Kent can be Superman.
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Superman
So here I am
doing everything I can
holding on to what I am
pretending I'm a superman
I'm trying to keep
the ground on my feet
it seems the world's
falling down around me
the nights are all long
I'm singing this song
to try and make the answers
more than maybe
and I'm so confused
about what to do
sometimes I want
to throw it all away
so here I am
looking older all the time
growing older all the time
feeling younger in my mind
I'm trying to sleep
I lost count of the sheep
my mind is racing faster
every minute
what could I do more
yeah I'm really not sure
I know I'm running circles
but I can't quit
and I'm so confused
about what to do
sometimes I want to
throw it all away
controlling everything in site
I'm feeling weak
I don't feel right
you're telling me
I have to change
telling me to act my age
but if all that I can do
is just sit and watch time go
then I'll have to say good bye
life's too short to watch it fly
watch it fly
Sunday, June 01, 2008
quotes
I lived believing my shortcomings were just amusing distractions! That my failings would build character! And in return...After all those losses and mistakes, I would be granted one great, final adventure - jiraiya
In life, nothing good comes out of hurrying. - shikamaru nara
knowledge and experience are ambiguous, thus reality can become illusion. Is it not possible to think that, all human beings are living in their assumptions? - itachi uchiha
the problem is, im too old to be acting like a kid - shikamaru nara
id always brush responsibility off as troublesome. thats why i messed up so often - shikamaru nara
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
i regret to inform you that i have no regrets
Monday, April 21, 2008
im not a landline person
i like being left home alone, especially in the morning since im not a morning person. i can be in the foulest mood and no one would mind. the only thing i dont like when home alone and not having an idea where they went is that when someone calls, i have no idea what to say where they are.
fate is a destination
if you dont feel like going to a strange, unpopular restaurant, then change your destination. the problem with doing this is when you dont know where else to go.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
its just like starting over
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Decisions, decisions
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
coming in sideways
anyway, i was supposed to have it removed a few weeks ago when i visited the dentist due to the pain the impacted tooth is causing. but we decided to have it (the tooth extraction) scheduled when the semester ends because it would take around one week to recover from the minor dental surgery. and i dont have a spare week during the semester. thats why i had to wait until the last final exam before i can have it removed.
my supposed first week of vacation would be the end of the mental stress and the start of the physical stress which should last more or less one week. it depends if there wont be complications after the extraction. life is uncertain (and earlier i was thinking that life in law school is one big uncertainty). its possible that a nerve injury occurs during the extraction and i end up like George Grieves (Sublime).
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
holy heat!
Left Hand: hey brain, im holding something, like a piece of paper. what should i do with it?
Brain: hmm.using the sense of touch, it feels like a small piece of paper and its crumpled. its too small to be of any use and like i said, its crumpled. so based from experience, its a useless scrap of paper and probably should be thrown in the trash bin. theres a trash bin on your right, throw it now.
Eyes: hey, wait a minute, let me see that piece of paper. i may not be the one in charge with the thinking but something tells me that its a bit weird for lefty to be holding a useless piece of paper. where did the paper come from anyway?
Hand: ok, here it is
Eyes: its a P20 bill. umm..with all due respect mr. brain, i dont think that piece of paper is anything but useless.
Brain: sorry, i guess i made a big mistake there. that piece of paper has a monetary value which can be exchanged for goods, services and other commodities depending on the purchasing power allocated upon it by the government that considers it as legal tender and the value granted upon it is also dependent on external factors like its value in the world market. i think. im just a brain of an average person, not a brain of an economist. but i take notice of the fact that the said piece of paper is something of value and i withdraw my former order to have the piece of paper thrown in the trash bin. i should have consulted the sense of sight first before making the decision. so, having re-evaluated the situation, i deem it best that the P20 bill be handed over to the jeepney driver in exchange for the service of transportation. there being no objections from any other body part, let the order be executed.
after that, i felt dizzy with all the non-sensical thoughts running in my head so i decided to just let my brain rest and stare blankly into space
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
My PC is a whore!
Anyway, after a week of trying to fix it, i finally removed the malware (which runs a CMIII program in the background and prevents you from opening your hard drives with an ordinary left click, and i think also prevents you from safely removing flash disks and probably other USB port devices). It took me a week because i had a class everyday, and i needed hours of trying to figure out how to remove it, and another set of hours allocated for a "worst case scenario" (i.e. Reformat the C: drive!) so i also had to back up some files. Anyway, like i said, removing the malware was a success. But that wasnt enough, i need to find the source. Thats when i thought, my PC is a whore (or like a whore) and got infected with a reversible STD. Why? Because what made it difficult for me to find the source is that many people use the PC. Not only my siblings but also my cousins. And they check their emails there and insert their flash disks too. its hard to check and figure out who inserted the offensive instrument in the slot. So one of us must be the carrier of the horrible malware. So the question now was who? Who inserted the infected flash disk in the PC's usb slot. Or dowloaded an infected email and let the malware loose inside the PC. Anyway, im still not sure who the infected carrier is but at least my PC is clean again. And the anti-virus can detect the malware now (and the anti-virus is like a condom and it just so happens that at the time the PC got infected, the "condom was defective", meaning the antivirus was not updated enough to handle the malware). If the PC was a PC in a computer shop, i would say the PC is like a prostitute and not a whore since you have to pay for the services the PC offers.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Im mobile
Life is a blur
Right now, im really trying (and i really mean that im REALLY trying) to take my law studies seriously. And thinking of what ive accomplished, its not good enough. its still way below the standards ive set for myself. Old habits do die hard. Or maybe they dont really die, they're just locked in a cage deep within one's mind and you convince yourself it never existed. so begins the never ending battle between improving yourself and becoming what comes naturally.
which is the bigger sin to your own being? To deny yourself of being who you are to become someone of greater intrinsic and extrinsic worth or to deny yourself of becoming a better person just to be at peace with one's innate being. Of course you can always strike a balance. Life isnt black and white after all, but only a few seem to operate within the gray areas (or intentionally operate within it). I mean, life is uncertain, so why live a life of certainty? My answer would be, to gain stability. But that wont escape the principle of striking a balance. So again, you are forced to recognize, adapt and operate in life's gray area. and lately, it seems that i got lost within that gray area. The only thing certain about life is its uncertainty. Cliche.
This is my first blog entry which i wrote in a pocket pc (which my cousin lent to me) and emailed to blogger (i can now appreciate wifi technology!). And i wrote it while waiting for something to finish
Saturday, March 01, 2008
Monday, February 25, 2008
Cashback Quotes
Crush. It's funny how the same word for the feeling of disappointment can be used for the feeling of attraction. The Oxford English Dictionary states one of the meanings for the word crushed as "a strong and unreasoning, but transitory attachment." - ben willis
the female form has always been a great source of fascination. I've always been in awe of the power they posses. - ben willis
The bad news is that time flies. The good news... is that you're the pilot. - ben willis
Sunday, February 10, 2008
infected with malware
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Sunday, January 13, 2008
new year's resolution...sort of
So how do i start? Well, there are three new year's text greetings that i decided to guide me in making my new year's resolution.
Ive received this one more than twice, maybe thrice. This is the original version from Neil Gaiman' online journal (because there's a little variation with the text messages i received):
May your coming year be filled with magic and dreams and good madness. I hope you read some fine books and kiss someone who thinks you're wonderful, and don't to forget make some art -- write or draw or build or sing or live as only you can. And I hope, somewhere in the next year, you surprise yourself. - Neil Gaiman
These are the other two text messages:
If you cannot be grateful for what you have received, then be thankful for what you have been spared. Life is short, live it. Love is rare, grab it. Anger is bad, dump it. Fear is awful, face it. Keep and cherish all memories that are sweet. Let us forget all hurt and grievances and start anew
Life is short, break the rules, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
So what now? Well, now with the list.
1. A year filled with magic, dreams and good madness. Well, the magic part is a little tricky. Hmm. Is this an equivalent of being wished good luck? There is something magical with being extraordinarily lucky. ok, i dont think i would have control over that. As for dreams, well, i guess it can only be done by sleeping well. So does this mean, have good nights of sleep? That's manageable. ive never been a person that deprives myself of sleep. Now the last one, good madness, what does this mean? According to Professor Roy Porter, it might be a "sort of divine experience, a holy innocence" or an "indifference to worldly things like money" and through "the power of imagination, seeing things that others couldn't". Is this what Gaiman meant? Or is it simply having a healthy sense of insanity. Sanity, for me, is overrated anyway. So, after a long discussion, the first one on the list is simply, having a healthy dose of craziness from time to time.
2. Read some fine books. This is a little difficult. Even if i wanted to read books, i dont really have that much time. But its not impossible. ive done it last year, i think i was able to read 3-4 books. thats not much. but im in law school and sometimes, all the reading i have to do gets to be so tiring that i cant even enjoy a non-law book. But this year, im going to find time to read books other than those required in school. maybe read some encyclopedias. thats what i liked to read when i was a kid. and dictionaries. the first sci-fi novel i read was Madeleine L'Engle's "A Swiftly Tilting Planet" (i was a first year high school student and i insisted on reviewing a sci-fi novel instead of classic literature).
3. Kiss someone who thinks youre wonderful/Kiss slowly. Ok, im going to pass on this one. Maybe in next year's New Year's Resolution. So, instead of kiss, maybe show some form of affection? maybe not. how about, show some emotion. positive emotion. thats a bit acceptable, and realistic and less of a "giant leap" from being "emotionally dead"
4. Make some art. Draw, build or sing. Well, i stopped drawing when i was in highschool. I stopped singing (in public) the moment i got tired of nursery rhymes. So maybe i should buy a sketchpad and sign pen and just draw stuff. and maybe sing when im bored. ok, is this a new year's resolution? well, it said it involves a lifestyle change and lifestyle involves one's activities, so i guess this can be part of a new year's resolution. its not really just becoming more responsible. it could be shaping a more enjoyable life
5. Write. Well, this is what the blog is for. but the blog entries ive done since i started more than a year ago isnt really the kind of stuff i want to write. i wanted a thought-provoking blog (like philosophical or political blogs. or my observations on human behavior and society). but well, laziness and procrastination always gets in the way (and a sudden lack of confidence). i wanted to have a blog where i can use the stuff i learned in college and the stuff im learning right now. maybe i should try writing a radio drama or short stories.
7. Live as only you can. this is probably the hardest to do in the list. the thing is, i always exhibit self-restraint. and i cant just loosen up because im like a freak on a leash (do i dare let my mood swings take control?). but im going to try to find a way to at least do this one.
8. Surprise yourself. this one would be easy. ive already done it. when i started fixing my hair, im as surprised as everyone else. all i remember is that last december 30, i went out to buy shaving cream. i wasnt able to buy one. but bought some hair wax. why? i have no idea. since then, ive been using it to fix my hair. and people think its a new hairstyle when it really isnt. the way i comb my hair is the same and its been like that since highschool (brush up). it just so happens that it looks different when my hair dries up. when i put the hair wax, my hair just dries up a lot slower, so people get to see the "combed" version of my hair. and with hair wax, my hair is less messy. so its not really a new hairstyle. thats how i look after taking a shower. well, after combing my hair, fresh from the shower. and surprising myself is a bit easy since sometimes, i do things without thinking. like for example, the next thing i know, im in cubao! why i went there, i have no idea.
9. Be thankful. This is just a continuation of what i started more than a year ago. every night, im thankful for every single day that i receive, no matter how miserable i might feel about it. why? well, because misery is just what i feel but it wont change the fact that another day is still a blessing, a continuation to enjoy the gift of life. but of course, i try not to waste every day im given, regardless of what i feel. i try to live it and make it meaningful
10. Love is rare, grab it and love truly. According to Thomas Jay Oord (philosopher and theologian), to love is to "act intentionally, in sympathetic response to others (including God), to promote overall well-being". Love can be interpersonal (like friendship and kinship) or impersonal (love for animals, activities, country, material objects, etc). So, i think this love thing is manageable enough. its just liking something on a deeper and more meaningful level but not to the point that it would be considered as an addiction
11. Face one's fears. well, i try to do this every day whenever my law classes start. i started law school not fearing anything. my professor's cant hurt me. i make my grades, not them. well, thats not entirely true. and life in law school isnt that simple. the moment you start to realize where you are exactly as a law student and where you are heading and where you will be the moment youre done with the bar, holy crap, fear no longer seems to be just in one's head, it becomes as real as it possibly can. sort of. point is, back in college, fear wasnt a problem. maybe its part of growing old too. when youre a kid, you dont have as much fears or as concrete as the fears adults have. usually a kid's fear is just rooted from imagination. as for adults, it takes a rational form.
12. Cherish sweet memories. well, i always do. thats why i think 50 First Dates is a little tragic since Lucy cant form new memories. its like a part of her is already dead. "sweet" memories and memorable moments are one the things some people value so much and they try to hold on to it as long as they possibly can. its one the things that is hard to take away from a person.
13. Never regret anything...that made you smile. ok, what makes me smile? as for the regret part, i always try not to regret things i do.
14. Be nice to doctors. Well, i mentioned earlier that im going to add this in case i make a new year's resolution
15. Exercise. i sort of started last year, by walking home. but i did that in anticipation of the baguio trip so im in a better physical condition (and december is the most expensive month, so i was under the "tag-tipid" season, so more reason to walk home instead of commuting). ever since the classes started again, the only walking ive done so far is walking inside the mall. well, i always go to the mall. everyday actually, right after my last class. maybe i should commit to walking home.
16. Study harder. Ok, last semester's efforts wasnt good enough to take me out of the "hot seat". im one step closer to the edge and im about to break (linkin park). this might be my last chance to stay in law school so i better pull myself together. problem is, i have the tendency to "zone out". i might be in the library but sometimes, im not really reading, im just staring at the page. my mind is somewhere else. and sometimes, i read for about 10-15 minutes and then, i feel extremely sleepy and im the type who easily gives in to sleep. so, i better exert a lot more effort
17. have a sense of discipline. wake up early and not give in to sleep easily. try to finish stuff that ought to be finished or can be finished. dont procrastinate and being lazy is not an option. i think this is a year's worth of new year's resolution already in one item.
18. focus. simple enough. i easily get distracted or sometimes, i dont even try to focus. i let my mind stay cluttered while im talking with someone. thats rude. sure i pay attention but im not that mindful of my surroundings and sometimes stuff dont sink in. i really have a very short attention span.
19. be friendly or be nice. well, try to expressive of it anyway.
20. last but not the least, commit! and one way of doing this is trying to accomplish all of these.
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
will this be the future of television and newspapers?
"The Japanese giant behind the Panasonic brand said Tuesday that it will introduce Internet-ready plasma TVs in North America in the spring that allow users to browse videos on YouTube and photos from Google-based web albums.
Rival Sony Corp. also announced that from this spring it will launch televisions offering access to free Internet video content from providers including AOL, Yahoo, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Sony BMG Music.
The TVs will be able to receive streaming broadband video, including high-definition content, Sony said. Both announcements were made at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas."
will this be a threat to cable companies? there isnt much to watch on cable channels anyway (especially when SkyCable dropped the Solar channels and replaced them with crappy ones. sorry but i really dont like any of the new channels). i watch my late shows, tv series, and sitcoms in my PC. and in YouTube, you can sometimes watch a lot more interesting stuff than whatever's available in cable (or whatever you missed in cable). So these announcements of an internet-ready TV is really an interesting development. but then again, cable companies are also providing cable internet services. so, i guess they would also be covered by whatever benefit would arise from internet-ready TVs.
im still more interested with the development of an electronic paper where you can download e-books or online newspapers on a device that looks like a broadsheet thats a little thicker than bond paper. its like a large version of a paperlike foldable LCD screen which has a USB slot so you can just dowload from the PC stuff you want to read. its like a reusable paper and would make it possible for a newspaper to be like the Daily Prophet with moving pictures. not sure if there is such a development. there's only a foldable LCD screen which i think Sony has produced (or planning to produce) for cellphones. i think with this technology, a reusable electronic paper would be possible. no need to wait for your newspaper every morning. Newspaper companies would just have to produce a format for an electronic paper and there would be no need to use paper or read the news from the PC. its like a high-tech old school newspaper. and also waterproof (no worries with spilling the coffee). but of course, the question would be, how much would it take to produce and develop this technology. and online newspapers might start charging the downloads since newspaper companies cant operate for free (assuming people start switching to this method of reading newspapers). am i the only one who wants to have newspapers that's similar to the Daily Prophet? or have a reusable electronic paper?
Dog saves boy from fire by biting foot
Anyway, what im trying to say is, are animals really as stupid as we think (or as i think people think)? They could probably be much smarter and secretly laughing at how stupid humans are. Douglas Adams in his book said, humans are third in rank when in comes to being the smartest in the planet. the second placer in terms of intelligence are the dolphins. the mice are the most intelligent beings in the planet. why? well, read the book :). its fiction so its not really offensive to humans who consider themselves as the pinnacle of evolution.
point is, when i watch national geographic channel, scientists and researchers say they are surprised and amazed whenever animals beat humans in some tests regarding intelligence and brain use. it depends on how we define intelligence in the first place. of course, with the way we craft the definition, its based on how we understand intelligence and the standards we set. i mean, fine, a dog is illiterate. its not capable of being literate but what use is literacy for a dog? and our form of literacy is for humans. so why would a dog aspire to adopt that? its possible for dogs having their own set of rules for literacy. they can communicate with each other dont they? literacy is for reading and writing, and reading and writing is for communicating with others and expressing oneself. dogs are fully capable of the latter. we developed this literacy thing because its convenient and complicated at the same time. i noticed that humans like to complicate things to make thing convenient. example is technology, the more complicated it gets, the more convenient things are. point is, maybe animals dont have a thing for that. they like to keep things simple. being attuned with their environment and the planet is enough. having the bare necessities is sufficient to make their lives worthwhile. that doesnt make them "stupid" as we think. it just so happens we have a different way of measuring intelligence.
my heart hurts. cant i make it numb?
i think i prefer a heart attack over a brain stroke. its like a mind over heart thing. like, i would rather have my heart malfunction than my brain.
why isnt there a change of heart status? like for example, there's such a thing as brain dead after some kind of accident. why isnt there like a cold heart syndrome or something? well because emotions do not really originate from the heart, the literal heart. emotions are still part of one's brain functions. but still it would be an interesting thing. like after recovering from the accident that damaged the heart area, the doctor would say, "im sorry but he's just a stone cold person devoid of any positive or negative emotion. he's a purely rational and mechanical being now. he's not human anymore. im sorry"
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
how this blogging thing started...for me
Well, i started blogging more than a year ago. The reason? i felt i needed to write. Just write stuff. since i became a law student, it was more of just reading. and when it comes to writing, it isnt really the kind of writing college students do. The point is, i felt my writing skills would deteriorate. im not really much of a writer but since high school, ive really tried to improve my writing skills. and i wouldnt want all of that effort wasted just because im not required to write. so i thought, maybe i could do some blogging and just write. and hopefully, i could also improve the way i write. im not aiming to be a very good writer (although i dont mind, hehe). i just want to write effectively and communicate well in written form (since im so moody, its hard to catch me in the mood to communicate well in non-written form).
but then came the problem of what will i write about? ive got lots of ideas i would have wanted to write but i ended up with a blog that serves as an online diary. why? first, whenever im in the mood to write, im not in front of the PC. the moment im logged in, im not as enthusiastic or excited to write about the idea. there's really no motivation for me to write. im used to writing stuff when the deadline's near (but the best papers ive written in college are the ones i didnt cram). so just for the sake of writing something, i write entries that arent really for public consumption. i write it with the intended reader to be me. so, its like an online record of ideas or pieces of thoughts i want to remind myself someday, aside from the usual, "what happened to me today?". So my blog entries sometimes (or most times) are just like an online back-up of stuff in my head. so thats why i continued blogging. it serves that purpose. but of course, im still trying to change that, or add to it, the purpose of writing well-made blog articles that are meaningful, significant and makes a lot of sense. in short, blog entries that are really worth reading. im not saying that blog entries that are "self-centered" are worthless. they're fun to read and could provide bits and pieces of interesting information. it just so happens that im not contented with that and i want to write thought-provoking stuff. i want a blog that serves the purpose of improving my writing skills, keeping my mind sharp and updated with current events. i need to have this kind of blog badly because i think im suffering from some sort of mental retardation
Friday, January 04, 2008
infected by the "bobonic" plague and spreading it
my cousin told me about this radio show months earlier (september 29 to be exact) but i wasnt really that interested in checking it out because it was a radio show. that simple. i dont listen to FM. DJs annoy me. if i wanted to listen to music, im going to play some CDs or mp3s. what i didnt realize back then (or didnt sink in) was that she was talking about a radio show hosted by Angel Rivero, Ramon Bautista and Tado. these are the people from the extremely entertaining and groundbreaking show of UNTV, Strangebrew! if these are the DJs of the radio show, most likely, it will be a very unique radio program, like something youve never heard before and that it would be very funny. and true enough, it is. if not for mr samonte's text message telling me to check it out (he said strangebrew on radio, which for some reason made me interested, as opposed to just telling me that Angel, Ramon and Tado are DJs. why didnt i see the connection before!) i wouldnt have found out that the show was like a radio version of strangebrew (which a lot of people miss very much, including me). its so different and funny. ive never heard a radio show like it (or DJs that speak like Ramon and Tado. but then again, i dont listen to FM). and i listen to the show not for the music but just listen to DJs talk about nothing and everything at the same time (plus adult humor). and if they do play some music, the songs they play are usually nice (DJ Angel plays an anime soundtrack from Ranma 1/2 and they have a background music from IL Postino (The Postman), "Loved By Women" if i remember the title correctly).
DJs:
Angel Rivero (astig and pretty Erning of strangebrew, and sounds pretty and astig as a DJ)
Ramon Bautista (of the Ramon Bautista show from MTV (duh!), taong grasa: ang pinakamatalinong tao sa UP who likes Malaysian Holland Tulips, tubero, diwata, Dan Michael master magician)
Tado Jimenez (amo of Erning in strangebrew who became a "bigtime" personality after Strangebrew)
Guests (among others, hehe.the show started august last year. i listened just a few weeks ago):
Inday (she's as hot as her voice. kawaii)
Russian guy (Sergei Sukmeyov...not sure with the spelling)
Miki Hahn
famous brewsters:
Sto Nino guy (with a creepy laugh)
Illiterate guy (which made DJ Tado and Ramon call on the Senate to improve the state of education in our country)
Lamokpunk (born in stagnant water)
Dahlia (ang sabon ng mga artista)
erwin the emo
katuga guy
kikong matsing
Famous terms from the show:
pa-next (ex. how old is your sister? is she pa-next?)
stages of making out: MOMOL, MOMON, MOMOP, MOMOX (ex: inday, momol tayo)
value meal
110 volts, 220 volts, autovolt (ex. is he 110 volts or 220 volts? - is he a foreigner or a local? autovolt is mixed race)
people of the phils
papaya and marang
laslas convention
early-bird callers (ex. lets bang some early bird callers)
bang the phone (ex. you want me to bang you?)
Catchphrases/catchwords:
Wasak! (DJ Angel)
Tama! (DJ Angel)
Astig! (DJ Angel)
ne, kaluguran daka (DJ Tado)
yayayayaya (DJ Tado)
hands in their pockets/hands in your pocket (DJ Ramon)
are you an emo? (usually DJ Ramon)
you want me to bang you? (usually DJ Ramon)
once again once more (all of them/show tagline?)
ur radio is not defective, its just us (all of them/tagline?)
Radio Drama:
"Iputok Mo sa Labas!"
Carding - pinakamainit na starlet ng taon, ang maginoo ng Cainta...DJ Ramon
Neknek, ang babaeng patapon - binalot sa tabloid, binalot sa tsismis, ang maalindog...DJ Angel
Efren Reynes the Third, ang tanging tagapagmana ng Hacienda Santa Filomena at tatlong talyer sa QC - kandidato para sa bise consehal sa 2010...DJ Tado
Setting: bodega ng basura sa Maynila pero flashback sa province
Lines from the Radio Drama (not verbatim):
"mas mabuting mamatay na lang ako sa impeksyon kaysa sa mga putok ni Efren Reynes the third, tanging tagapagmana ng Hacienda Santa Filomena at tatlong talyer sa Quezon City"
"ang problema ko na lang ay ang sugat ko! naimpeksyon na yata dahil sa kaning baboy"
"wow, kay sarap po ng almusal natin! tatlong itlog, isang hotdog at maraming maraming yema! kayo po ba nagluto nito inay? (inay: hindi, nabili ko lang sa 7-11)"
"inay, matagal ko na po itong pinag-isipan. nais ko pong magsakripisyo para maabot ang aking mga pangarap. na abutin ang mga bituin at anihin ang bunga ng aking pagod. handa na po akong lumipad na parang lawin at ibuka ang aking mga pakpak. ipagaspas at salubungin ang daluyong tungo sa bagong liwanag. may harang mang sibat, kahit ano pong iharang sa akin. tapakan ko man ang mga bubog na darating. hindi po ako matitinag. handa po akong magsakripisyo inay. pangarap ko pong maging....ISKWATER"
"mahihirapan ka anak, grade 4 lang ang natapos mo at gusto mo maging squatter?"
"ngunit inay, hindi nyo naiintindihan! iba na po ang henerasyon namin ngayon. at naghanda po ako sa araw na to. matagal ko na po pinaghandaan. simula po mga apat na araw ang nakakalipas, pinag-isipan ko na po ito"
"di ko inuutusan ang aking paboritong si Carding. nagkakakalyo lang ang kamay nun sa paglalaro ng DotA. pero hindi ko yun inuutusan magpakain ng aming isang libo walongraan tatlongput-pitong pabo!"
"Magkano tiket? Pupunta po akong Maynila, para maging isang squatter. Wala po bang discount? Grade 4 po ako."
"ilalabas ko ang aking bagong-bagong Ipod Classic. 160 gigabytes. kulay gray. at punung-puno ng apat na kanta"
"pahawak naman nyan oh. sige na, hawak lang eh. di pa ko nakakahawak nyan eh. oh ayan oh, hahawakan ko na ah. neknek, nasa puno ng mangga naman tayo eh."
"bakit ganito tong pantalon ko, basang basa?"
"tatlong araw na kitang minamanmanan! tatlong araw ka ring naging hunghang!"
"hunghang carding! kung bus ticket ang iyong binili, ako, binili ko ang bus na ito!"
"salbahe ka efren reynes the third, salbahe ka!"
"dugo at pawis ang aking pinupunuhan sa pagnanakaw ng tarpauline sa edsa. nakakawalo ako bawat gabi"
"pinakain na kami, nagkapera pa ko! di ko lang alam kung bakit paggising ko, masakit na ang puwitan ko. marahil sa sobrang kalangisan, ay nakatulog akong nakahubad."
"isipin mo, kung talagang mahal ka ni Carding, sana sinama ka nya sa manila para dalawa kayong squatter dun. tapos doon, aanakan ka nya ng marami, para manlimos kayo sa EDSA"
"para malimutan mo problema mo, uminom tayo ng alak. para tayong dalawa magwasakan. doon tayo ilalim ng puno ng mangga. tatagay tayo dun. wawasakin kita, wawaskin mo ako"
"Efren, ano ang ginagawa mo! tama na! ayoko, ano ba?! Aaaah! bakit may parang malamig akong nararamdaman sa tuhod ko!? kamay mo na yata yan eh! Aaaah! alisin mo na! rapist! hinawakan mo ang tuhod ko! nawalan na akong puri! ginahasa ako ni Efren, hinawakan nya ang tuhod ko! mga kapitbahay tulungan nyo ako! hinipuan ako sa tuhod ni Efren Reynes the 3rd. wala na ako mukhang ihaharap sa barrio. nawalan na ako ng puri. isa na akong patapon! sasama na lang ako sa mga patapon na tulad ko, manila! here i come!"
"Carding: pano mo nalaman hanapin tong bahay ko? (Efren: ano ko ba? syempre, gi-noogle earth kita)"
"Carding, i found you! i looked all over squatterland to look for you but now youre here."
"Bakit Carding, you dont like it? its all casualties in my search for you but now i found you and thats all that matters"
"who you calling patapon?"
"unti-unti kitang sisirain Carding. pagagamitan kita ng droga! ipapakilala ko sya sa sugal, alak at babae. isasali ko sya sa fraternity! bwahahaha!"
"kung di ka magpapakita sa iyong pinagtataguan na bodegang 10 meters, papaslangin ko ang babaeng ito!"
"sinasabi ko na nga ba, iniibig mo ang babaeng patapon na si neknek"
"ito ang ulo ko! tingnan mong mabuti!"
"neknek takbo! ilag! tumbling neknek! tumumbling ka! ilag neknek!"
"Efren: itong sayo, uppercut! susuwagin kita! duduraan kta sa mukha! (Carding: sandali, walang ganyayan!)"
"Carding, parang may nakita akong bazooka sa basurahan!"
"iputok mo na! pero sa labas, wag sa loob! iputok mo na! game na please!"
"neknek, kahit patapon ka, haliparot, halipandas, syota ng bayan. kahit sabihin nilang kaladkarin ka, panext ng sambayanan, iniibig pa din kita. pakakaslaan kita. at aanakan kita ng marami para makapanlimos tayo sa EDSA. ngunit, pa-rehab muna tayo"
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
2008 movies
1. The Incredible Hulk
(Edward Norton, Liv Tyler, Tim Roth, William Hurt)
Bruce Banner desperately hunts for a cure to the gamma radiation that poisoned his cells and unleashes the unbridled force of rage within him: The Hulk.
Living in the shadows—cut off from a life he knew and the woman he loves, Betty Ross —Banner struggles to avoid the obsessive pursuit of his nemesis, General Thunderbolt Ross, and the military machinery that seeks to capture him and brutally exploit his power.
2. Iron Man
(Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard, Jeff Bridges, Gwyneth Paltrow)
When Tony Stark is forced to create a life support suit to keep him alive after an accident he decides to use the technology in his suit to fight crime.
3. You Don't Mess with the Zohan
(Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, Emmanuelle Chriqui, Lainie Kazan)
A Mossad agent fakes his death so he can re-emerge in New York City as a hair stylist.
4. The Love Guru
(Mike Myers, Jessica Alba, Justin Timberlake, Romany Malco, Meagan Good, Verne Troyer, Ben Kingsley)
Pitka is an American who was left at the gates of an ashram in India as a child and raised by gurus. He moves back to the U.S. to seek fame and fortune in the world of self-help and spirituality. His unorthodox methods are put to the test when he must settle a rift between Toronto Maple Leafs star hockey player Darren Roanoke and his estranged wife. After the split, Roanoke's wife starts dating L.A. Kings star Jacques Grande out of revenge, sending her husband into a major professional skid - to the horror of the teams' owner Jane Bullard and Coach Cherkov. Pitka must return the couple to marital nirvana and get Roanoke back on his game so the team can break the 40-year-old "Bullard Curse" and win the Stanley Cup.
5. Meet the Spartans
(Sean Maguire, Carmen Electra, Ken Davitian, Kevin Sorbo, Diedrich Bader)
The heroic Leonidas, armed with nothing by leather underwear and a cape, leads a ragtag group of 13 - count'em, 13! -- Spartans to defend their homeland against the invading Persians (whose ranks include Ghost Rider, Rocky Balboa, the Transformers and a hunchbacked Paris Hilton).
6. Penelope
(Christina Ricci, Reese Witherspoon, Catherine O'Hara, Peter Dinklage, Nick Frost)
Penelope is a modern day offbeat fable about a young woman who, having spent her life trapped by a family curse sets out to find love and discover her true self.
7. The Dark Knight
(Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman)
Batman and James Gordon join forces with Gotham's new District Attorney, Harvey Dent, to take on a psychotic bank robber known as The Joker, whilst other forces plot against them, and Joker's crimes grow more and more deadly.
8. Jumper
(Hayden Christensen, Samuel L. Jackson, Jamie Bell, Teresa Palmer)
Once David Rice (Christensen) discovers he has the power to teleport from one place to another, he uses his ability to search for the man he believes is responsible for the death of his mother. Complicating his mission is the existence of a secret organization who want to exterminate people like David, which causes the young man to enter into a shaky alliance with a fellow "jumper" (Bell).
9. Semi-pro
(Will Ferrell, Woody Harrelson, Andre Benjamin, Will Arnett, Rob Corddry, Jackie Earle Haley)
an outrageous comedy set in 1976 , Jackie Moon, the owner-coach-player of the American Basketball Association's Flint Michigan Tropics, rallies his teammates to make their NBA dreams come true
10. Be Kind Rewind
( Jack Black, Mos Def, Danny Glover)
Unaware that he has a magnetized brain, a man (Jack Black) accidentally erases every tape at the video store where his friend (Mos Def) works. In order to satisfy the store's most loyal renter, an aging woman with signs of dementia, the two men set out to remake the lost films.
11. Horton Hears a Who!
((voices) Jim Carrey, Steve Carell)
An imaginative elephant named Horton (Carrey) hears a faint cry for help coming from a tiny speck of dust floating through the air. Although Horton doesn't know it yet, that speck houses an entire city named Who-ville, inhabited by the microscopic Whos, led by the Mayor (Carell). Despite being ridiculed and threatened by his neighbors who think he has lost his mind, Horton is determined to save the particle...because "a person's a person no matter how small."
12. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
(Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alan Rickman)
Based on the hit Broadway musical which tells the infamous story of Benjamin Barker, a.k.a Sweeney Todd, who sets up a barber shop down in London which is the basis for a sinister partnership with his fellow tenant, Mrs. Lovett.
13. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
(Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Helena Bonham Carter, David Bradley, Jim Broadbent, Jessie Cave, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis, Frank Dillane, Tom Felton, Michael Gambon, Matthew Lewis, Evanna Lynch, Helen McCrory, Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith, Natalia Tena, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Julie Walters, David Thewlis, Bonnie Wright)
14. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
(Jason Segal, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis, Kristen Wiig, Bill Hader, Jonah Hill, Paul Rudd)
Devastated Peter (Segel) takes a Hawaii vacation in order to deal with recent break-up with his TV star girlfriend, Sarah (Bell). Little does he know Sarah's traveling to the same resort as her ex ... and she's bringing along her new boyfriend.
15. Mamma Mia
(Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Dominic Cooper, Amanda Seyfried, Christine Baranski)
The story of a bride-to-be trying to find her real father told using hit songs by the popular '70s group ABBA.
16. Wall-E
((voices) Fred Willard, Jeff Garlin, Ben Burtt)
The year is 2700. WALL*E, a robot, spends every day doing what he was made for. But soon, he will discover what he was meant for.
17. Step Brothers
(Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly, Mary Steenburgen, Richard Jenkins)
Two spoiled guys (Ferrell and Reilly) become competitive stepbrothers after their single parents get hitched.
18. Starship Dave
(Eddie Murphy, Gabrielle Union, Ed Helms, Elizabeth Banks)
A crew of miniature aliens operate a spaceship that has a human form. While trying to save their planet, the aliens encounter a new problem, as their ship becomes smitten with an Earth woman
19. Baby Mama
(Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Greg Kinnear, Dax Shepard, Romany Malco, Maura Tierney, Holland Taylor, Sigourney Weaver)
A successful, single businesswoman who dreams of having a baby discovers she is infertile and hires a working class woman to be her unlikely surrogate.
20. Speedracer
(Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Susan Sarandon, Matthew Fox, Hiroyuki Sanada, Richard Roundtree, Ji Hoon Jung (aka “Rain”))
Based on the classic 1960's Japanese animated series chronicling the aspirations of a young race car driver as he attempts to obtain glory, with the help of his family and the Mach 5, the advanced car created by his father.
21. Hellboy II: The Golden Army
(Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Luke Goss, Doug Jones, Jeffrey Tambor)
The mythical world starts a rebellion against humanity in order to rule the Earth, so Hellboy and his team must save the world from the rebellious creatures.
22. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
(Harrison Ford, Shia LaBeouf, Cate Blanchett, John Hurt, Ray Winstone)
Plot unknown
23. The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
(Brendan Fraser, Jet Li, Maria Bello, John Hannah, Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Wong, Luke Ford, Isabella Leong)
In the Far East, trouble-seeking father-and-son duo Rick (Fraser) and Alex O'Connell (Ford) unearth the mummy of the first Emperor of Qin (Li) -- a shape-shifting entity who was cursed by a wizard (Yeoh) centuries ago.
24. Hancock
(Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman)
A hard-living superhero (Smith) who has fallen out of favor with the public enters into a questionable relationship with the wife (Theron) of the public relations professional (Bateman) who's trying to repair his image.
25. Teeth (limited release...so it might not be shown here)
(Jess Weixler)
High school student Dawn, still a stranger to her own body, discovers she has a physical advantage when she becomes the object of male violence.
26. My Blueberry Nights (limited)
( Norah Jones, Jude Law, Natalie Portman)
Elizabeth (Jones) takes a soul-searching journey across America to resolve her questions about love while encountering a series of offbeat characters on her route.
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
is it a good thing or a bad thing?
anyway, i didnt get any of em headaches like the last time i went to baguio (december 05 if i remember correctly). thats good news. or bad news. it depends on whose perspective were using. the fact i didnt experience any headache during my recent stay could mean my blood condition has improved. my blood's viscosity is more normal than before (i used the phrase "more normal" because last semester, my more correct doctor said that its very likely i have no polycythemia after all, it just so happens its natural for me to have an abnormal blood viscosity, more viscous than the normal level...or something to that effect). so, its good news because i dont have a blood illness of some sort. but it also means that my blood is normally abnormal when it comes to blood viscosity/density. a single stick of cigarette made me feel my blood pumping in my nape and various parts of my head (or thats just normal? i dont hear other people complaining about it. and no, its not the rush you feel. i know how that feels). its bad news if im some suicidal guy. the blood illness could have been a one-way ticket out of this miserable world. its a good blood illness too because it provides some sort of loophole on suicide (suicide is defined as intentionally killing oneself). this illness can be easily manipulated to induce death, thereby in effect, intentionally killing one's self. just clog your arteries or blood vessels and let the blood become more dense and the next thing you know youre having a heart attack or a stroke, then just drop dead on the ground. its not really suicide because the cause of death is the blood illness. and death by such illness isnt suicide. also, i dont think cigarette smoking has been categorized as suicide. so a God-fearing suicidal person would like to have an illness where death could be induced. and this blood illness is one of them. its intentionally killing oneself in a slow manner or over a period of time. i dont think God will buy that argument. the fact remains one did not take care or appreciate the gift of life. thats what makes suicide sinful right?
anyway, point is, i think my blood condition is better. my doctor still wants me to have occassional blood tests to monitor my blood viscosity just to make sure her diagnosis is correct. im tempted not to follow that instruction after the baguio trip since i think im doing ok. i dont even experience drowsiness as often as before. so, i might add it to my new year's resolution: be nice to doctors. im like the worst patient a doctor can have. i dont show up for check-ups and i dont listen. i disregard instructions. so i might post my new year's resolution to make it binding (or maybe for purposes of accountability)
worst christmas ever
thats why i was very pissed when my new phone (a nokia 3110 classic. same features as my nokia 3660 and then some. yes, and then some. i was supposed to write a review but i decided to wait a little. its a good thing i did because i would have written a review that would make the phone almost perfect where its only flaw was its camera) crashed 2 hours before christmas. i can hear the comic book guy from the simpsons saying "worst timing ever". and its exactly one full month old when it decided to crash. how nice. i abused it during the first few days to test it and have it replaced in case it breaks down and it passed the test (only in terms of usage. so i didnt drop it or hit it with a hammer). now that its a month old, when i least expected it, it decided to break down. exactly one month. and i was listening to the BrewRats when it broke (the BrewRats: DJ Angel, Tado and Ramon Bautista, on 99.5 Hit FM (formerly 99.5 RT). monday to thursday, 9pm to 12 midnight. its a really nice and funny radio show. i dont listen to FM because i find the DJs annoying, but this show is an exception and i dont listen to this FM show to listen to music, i just want to listen to the DJs)
anyway, its been my habit to greet people a little past midnight every christmas. this is how i greet people every year since 2000. and i was expecting to do the same this year. thats why i didnt reply yet to those who greeted and texted. and i was also a bit busy because i did my christmas shopping on the 24th (second time i did this. its shopping with a time limit. and i have to remind myself to wear comfortable shoes next time i do some last minute xmas shopping because what i used made me want to buy a wheelchair). thats why its convenient for me to text everyone im going to greet a few minutes after midnight. aside from just group sending some messages, im also just sitting somewhere in the room eating (we dont use the dining table because we celebrate christmas as a clan. so every year, i have to look for a nice corner or place to eat. im not the type who likes to chat while eating. im a serious "eater"). its really a convenient time to text people. its less confusing. so when my phone crashed around 10 pm, again, i got disoriented. i was so bothered that i was no longer in the mood for christmas. so i just slept instead of getting pissed until midnight. i could have borrowed a phone but my contacts are stored in the phone memory (and this time i have a backup in my pc but i cant back it up until the phone's repaired). midnight came and im still bothered with my broken phone. i got more annoyed whenever someone talks about text messages and cellphones. so i decided to sleep after i ate and get my gifts. i was so pissed and bothered that i didnt even open a single present/gift i got. i just collected them and placed it on my chair (im very possessive).
when i woke up in the morning, my first concern was still my phone (my mother had to remind me i havent opened my gifts). we were supposed to go to my uncle's house but im still not in the mood for christmas. not with a broken phone. so i went to the mall to have it repaired first. well, the nokia care center was so nice. so nice that it decided not to hold any office so its employees can enjoy christmas. cant blame nokia for that huh? thats a very good labor practice and it didnt work in favor of the customer. its christmas and they do deserve the break. im the unreasonable one. and its only the nokia care center that did that. the nokia store in trinoma was open but unfortunately, the nokia store is different from the nokia care center (i mean, all nokia care centers can be nokia stores but not all nokia stores are nokia care centers). because of that, instead of going to my relative's house, i decided to head home instead and sleep some more. i cant go and spend christmas and stay upset all day long. anyway, i woke up around night time and was still bothered that christmas day is about to end and my phone still isnt fixed.
after 24 hours with my non-functioning phone, im feeling a bit better. but if tomorrow the nokia care person tells me that the problem isnt covered by the warranty, im going to be so pissed im going to make a scene. maybe use my new knife i got from baguio and randomly point it at anyone. then wait for the security guard to tell me to put the knife down while pointing at me his never been used pistol. why make a scene? because it would mean i waited for nothing. it could have been repaired by some cellphone repair guy. but the cellphone repair guy told me that the problem is covered by the nokia care warranty (it was really nice of the cellphone repair guy to recommend availing of the nokia care warranty). thats why i decided to wait another day.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
RIP my nokia 3660 (february 2004-november 2007)
it may not be the best phone but its been with me for quite some time. i have lots of memories with it (graduation, baguio, albay, puerto galera, law school entrance exams, etc). i had it since late february 2004 as a replacement for my first phone, my nokia 3210, which broke a few weeks prior (recurrent battery problem). i didnt feel as bad then (regarding the loss of my 1st phone) because although i loved my nokia 3210, i felt it's no longer as good as most of the phones during that time. so when my nokia 3210 broke, i felt it was time for it to go. it served me well (if i remember correctly, it was functional from december 1999 to january 2004).
anyway, let me just narrate the last day of my nokia 3660, november 20, 2007:
the day was as ordinary as any other day. it was a tuesday and i had a specpro class and an agency class. the agency class ended and my blockmate (guess who) just talked with our new seatmate. she was some kind of an exchange student required to take a class in our college. and since she's not familiar with how things are done in our college, my blockmate decided to help her a little. so i tagged along and helped her too.
not having the readings for our agency class, i lent her my copy so she could have it photocopied. unfortunately, it was taking quite some time to have the readings photocopied so we decided to come back for it later (actually, the photocopier broke down when it was her turn). she asked for my number so she could text me when she's about to return the readings to me. after that, we went our separate ways to mind our own businesses and my blockmate and i went to lunch (beach haus). there i remembered that my phone's battery is running low, with one bar left. so if she was going to text me, she better do it soon or she might as well return it on thursday, the next class meeting. i didnt ask for her number because i was expecting her to return it to me soon so i thought, if she's going to text me, im going to get her number anyway. i wont have to bother asking for it
i was supposed to have another class that day (medjur) by 6pm. so i stayed in the library and read some locgov readings while waiting for that 6pm class. while reading locgov, i received a text message from luningning. just a couple of forwarded messages. i found it a little surprising because she hasnt texted me for quite some time and the timing is a little bad because im trying to conserve my phone battery. an hour later or maybe more, i received another text message, announcing that we will not have the 6pm class. ok, thats a relief. aside from no class, at least my phone battery has not gone empty. there i realized how stupid i was. if i asked our new seatmate her phone number, i could have told her that she could return it to me some other day and that my phone battery is running low. anyway, i waited til 6pm since ive told her i have a 6pm class (and besides, im just going to the mall, so im not really in a hurry). i waited and 6pm came. no text message. 6:09 came, i decided to ride the jeepney to go to the mall and have my dinner (but i already have a hunch she's going to text me the moment i ride a jeepney). a few minutes later, she texted, asking me where i was. it was 6:15. nice timing. i asked her where she was and thats when my phone finally had enough. it shut itself off. i thought it was just another empty battery. but when i got home an hour or more later, it wasnt charging. tried borrowing my brother's battery, it wasnt switching on. by that time, i knew it was broken but i was still hoping i could have it repaired. only the day after, when i went to the mall to have it repaired, that i finally knew that it was gone. the repairman said it would cost about P2.5K to have it repaired. might as well get a new phone if that would be the damage, right? so there. that was the last remaining moments of my nokia 3660. there might still be a possibility to have it repaired but it might not even last that long anyway. and its almost outdated. not yet obsolete. just outdated
so my nokia 3660, thanks for all the memories.
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
another one of em bad days!
actually, what made the day as bad as the august ones was the fact that my cellphone's broken and the timing it broke down. i really need my cellphone right now. not a cellphone, my cellphone. all my contacts are there, plus scheds and reminders.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
is it too much to ask?
i guess this is how some actors/actresses feel if they are recognized only in one sucessful film, or probably the same frustrating feeling for some authors being known only for one particular book they authored (duh!). i think tobey maguire's sick of being known only as spider-man or jason biggs as that guy who fucked the pie. they have other movies, but i think people pester them with that particular movie that launched their careers and they hope that it wont last a lifetime because if they take acting seriously, they would like to be recognized in other roles they've played. the fact that they only remind people of one role probably makes them feel that they are seen as having limited acting capabilities or some no-talent one hit wonder. maybe they get that same frustrating feeling ive just had a few days ago.
its really tiring to put up with something that you dont enjoy anymore. sure it was fun at first but how the hell should i know it would last this long (i think there's something grammatically wrong here, but what the hell). its like a very stale "knock-knock" joke that you hear every single day. i cant force myself to laugh forever now can i? unfortunately for me, people arent tired of it yet. thats easy for them because theyre just mere spectators to an act i dont want to do anymore. i mean, what the crap do i have to do to make things clear that im not interested to do the stupid act or whatever it should be called. ive been waiting for people to drop it but some just dont want to and some just dont get it. or maybe they just dont care.
behind blue eyes
To be the bad man
To be the sad man
Behind blue eyes
And no one knows
What it's like to be hated
To be fated to telling only lies
But my dreams they aren't as empty
As my conscience seems to be
I have hours, only lonely
My love is vengeance
That's never free
No one knows what its like
To feel these feelings
Like i do, and i blame you!
No one bites back as hard
On their anger
None of my pain and woe
Can show through
No one knows what its like
To be mistreated, to be defeated
Behind blue eyes
No one knows how to say
That they're sorry and don't worry
I'm not telling lies
When my fist clenches, crack it open
Before I use it and lose my cool
When I smile, tell me some bad news
Before I laugh and act like a fool
If I swallow anything evil
Put your finger down my throat
If I shiver, please give me a blanket
Keep me warm, let me wear your coat
No one knows what its like
To be the bad man, to be the sad man
Behind blue eyes.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Fifth of November
-
- Remember, remember the Fifth of November,
- The Gunpowder Treason and Plot,
- I know of no reason
- Why Gunpowder Treason
- Should ever be forgot.
- Guy Fawkes, Guy Fawkes, t'was his intent
- To blow up King and Parliament.
- Three-score barrels of powder below
- To prove old England's overthrow;
- By God's providence he was catch'd
- With a dark lantern and burning match.
- Holloa boys, holloa boys, let the bells ring.
- Holloa boys, holloa boys, God save the King!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
self-centered
am i self-centered? yes i am. very self-centered. but not because im self-centered means im selfish. i care about other people's welfare and i can be selfless from time to time. i think being selfish is more of an external act while being self-centered is more of an internal thing. not mutually exclusive though. the external act could be a reflection of one's state of mind and the internal...ummm...whatchamacallit may manifest in the external world. point is, just writing this blog entry just shows im self-centered. i could be writing about the presidential pardon given to Estrada. i have a degree in political science and im a law student, i should be affected by it and should be giving some thought on this news item. well, since i brought this topic up, might as well talk a little about it (just a little because i am writing about how self-centered i am. actually not really. it just so happens i cant sleep and i felt like writing about my being self-centered). where was i? oh yeah, the presidential pardon. i have nothing against giving Estrada the presidential pardon as long as Arroyo has a good reason for it. and for me, reconciliation and unity really isnt enough to qualify as a good and jutifiiable reason to give a presidential pardon at this moment. but then again, who am i to say that isnt enough, im not the one sitting in Malacanang feeling the pressure (or fully knowledgeable of the consequences. its not like everything we see on TV is really "everything" or really true). Arroyo cites similar situations regarding pardon in other countries but not because other countries did it means we should follow it. but then again, Estrada's been in detention for six years. so what? well, that is a long time isnt it? but it seems its too soon to give the presidential pardon. it makes the Estrada trial look like a big joke. after six long years of trial, he's free after conviction (so Estrada's lawyer should have opted to finish the trial as soon as possible and not let it extend for six years. but then again (again), maybe thats why the pardon was given, its been six years of detention before conviction). Was there even confiscation of the money plundered? maybe i should read the papers before reacting, the answers might be there. i mean, im not really updated on every detail.
why did i write about my being self-centered? i forgot. the Estrada topic distracted me. long enough to make me forget what i intended to write about. which just shows that i have a short attention span. i think. wait, i got it. im self-centered because im too absorbed and wrapped up in myself. thats it? not really. i lost my train of thought with regard to this topic. isnt this res ipsa loquitur? shouldnt be citing latin terms. im not good with using latin maxims. anyway, to support my self-centeredness, i think the next two blog entries would help. why would i want to be self-centered? because i am and i dont think there's anything bad about it. as long as it doesnt go beyond pissing people off...from time to time. besides, its not like i uncontrollably manifest my self-centeredness. i dont go around saying im such a great person. not the greatest but great nonetheless. nor do i tell people im better off not having good looks because if i was goddamn handsome, i wont notice the other people around me. wait, im not describing a self-centered person, im describing a jackass. im not yet willing to admit im a jackass.
