SHORT HIATUS
Finally, I'm off to field work. Most likely I'll be back on Saturday. Hopefully, with a travel story in tow. Agusan del Sur, here I come. And ooh, I'll be traveling with two officemates. Two noisy boisterous male officemates. This will be a riot. But just in case, I will still bring my book. Tee-hee!

THE PATHOS OF ALLY MCBEAL

"I want somebody I can be totally weak with. Somebody who will hold me and make me feel held... I think I crave some kind of dependency and that makes me feel like a failure as a woman. - Ally"

”I think I need to believe that it works. Love. Couplehood. Partnerships. The idea that when people come together they stay together. I have to take that with me to bed every night, even if I'm going to bed alone. That's a McBealism.” - Ally

An Ally McBeal invited me on my friendster list. Usually, I do not accept people I do not know. But this person, I did. For the reason that I adore Ally McBeal so much and thought whoever that person is has some updates and insights about the show.

I am not sure how other people perceive Ally. I don’t think she earned the ardor of feminists. Could she be considered anti-thesis of feminism? I’m not sure.

Ally has hit the 30+ mark and is still unmarried (but with a daughter). More and more women are getting married at a later age. I believe a lot of women consider their careers first, that they are out to find their places before they get hitched. I believe that many women want to enjoy their singleness lest they regret not being able to do the things they want once they marry. I believe that some women get married late because they aren’t ready yet. But then sometimes, I think some women also don’t get married because they have not found what they are looking for or who they are looking for. Ally has made me realize that the quest for the self, the quest for success and the quest for true love are not mutually exclusive.

I think being a woman today is as hard as being a woman in the Grecian times or the Elizabethan times. Whatever era we be in, there seems to be always a dictation of society on what a woman should be. In the modern times, I get the feeling that women are expected to be more liberated in love. Romance at this time and age is considered a myth. There should be no such thing as real love. Romance is as evil as believing in fairy tales.

I think I have allowed myself to be victim of society in these terms. I kick myself in the ass during days when I wish I have a significant other to tell the story of my boring day or just to give me an embrace to make everything better. I bump myself on the head whenever I wonder will I ever fall in love again or will somebody ever love me again. I pretend to prefer a handsome face and good body on a man. And yes, who wouldn’t? But the whole time, I still wonder if he respects people, if be believes in good things, if he has a good heart.

I asked a could-have-been why he never really got to telling me straight out that he liked me, he said because he was intimidated by my confidence. It’s sad how men cower in the presence of a strong woman. Honeys, strong women want strong men. I speak for myself, but when a guy is scared of a woman, he’s not worth it. Women do not want men who fear them, women want men who love them. There’s a huge difference.

So I like Ally McBeal. Not because she is anti-feminist. I do not think so. Ally’s feminism is the kind that listens to hear heart and speaks out what it says. “I am a successful lawyer and I like being like that but I am also a woman who is looking for a man who will rub my feet and massage my back and love me for the rest of my life.”

That kind of honesty takes a lot of courage.

YESTERDAY

Was a quite interesting day. I had a consultation meeting of sorts with DECS, NCIP, Fr. Alejo and other NGOs. I'm not sure how much I should divulge in public. There is nothing secret about it, but just to make sure I do not pre-empt anything, I won't say much.

I won't say much except I hope things work out well. There are still a lot of details to iron out but right now I'm just glad there are a lot of people willing to contribute their efforts for our Lumad brothers.

Hopefully, the politcal volitility of this country will not affect the people from the government we are working with. The one good thing about Gloria winning is that the people get to stay in their positions and can continue with the programs they began.

TODAY

My mom is going home.
I'm pa-girl, wearing my roco-ish skirt.
I'm hungry. No breakfast yet. First time in several weeks.
I'm somewhat excited. That's a cool thing.

BOOKWORM (stolen from tiptoes

The rules are...steal it, post it on your site,
bold (gutsto ko italics) the books you've read and add three of your own!

so let's go.....

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen (currently reading and will be done in two hours uninterrupted reading time)
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. 1984, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott (I love JO MARCH!)
19. Captain Corellis Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres (this is a book?)
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Sorcerers philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The DUrbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alices Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell (i got until the third chapter then harry potter 4 came out and forgot about it)
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens (i always end up not finishing after I read the ghose of chirstmas past)
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King (and this was even before the ebola virus got famous)
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding (isa pang ilang chapter lang ang nabasa ko)
71. Perfume, Patrick Susskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones' Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel Garcia Marquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnights Children, Salman Rushdie
101. Three Men In A Boat, Jerome K. Jerome
102. Small Gods, Terry Pratchett
103. The Beach, Alex Garland
104. Dracula, Bram Stoker
105. Point Blanc, Anthony Horowitz
106. The Pickwick Papers, Charles Dickens
107. Stormbreaker, Anthony Horowitz
108. The Wasp Factory, Iain Banks
109. The Day Of The Jackal, Frederick Forsyth
110. The Illustrated Mum, Jacqueline Wilson
111. Jude The Obscure, Thomas Hardy
112. The Secret Diary Of Adrian Mole Aged 13 1/2, Sue Townsend
113. The Cruel Sea, Nicholas Monsarrat
114. Les Miserables, Victor Hugo
115. The Mayor Of Casterbridge, Thomas Hardy
116. The Dare Game, Jacqueline Wilson
117. Bad Girls, Jacqueline Wilson
118. The Picture Of Dorian Gray, Oscar Wilde
119. Shogun, James Clavell
120. The Day Of The Triffids, John Wyndham
121. Lola Rose, Jacqueline Wilson
122. Vanity Fair, William Makepeace Thackeray
123. The Forsyte Saga, John Galsworthy
124. House Of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski
125. The Poisonwood Bible, Barbara Kingsolver
126. Reaper Man, Terry Pratchett
127. Angus, Thongs And Full-Frontal Snogging, Louise Rennison
128. The Hound Of The Baskervilles, Arthur Conan Doyle
129. Possession, A. S. Byatt
130. The Master And Margarita, Mikhail Bulgakov
131. The Handmaids Tale, Margaret Atwood
132. Danny The Champion Of The World, Roald Dahl
133. East Of Eden, John Steinbeck
134. Georges Marvellous Medicine, Roald Dahl
135. Wyrd Sisters, Terry Pratchett
136. The Color Purple, Alice Walker
137. Hogfather, Terry Pratchett
138. The Thirty-Nine Steps, John Buchan
139. Girls In Tears, Jacqueline Wilson
140. Sleepovers, Jacqueline Wilson
141. All Quiet On The Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque
142. Behind The Scenes At The Museum, Kate Atkinson
143. High Fidelity, Nick Hornby
144. It, Stephen King
145. James And The Giant Peach, Roald Dahl
146. The Green Mile, Stephen King
147. Papillon, Henri Charriere
148. Men At Arms, Terry Pratchett
149. Master And Commander, Patrick OBrian
150. Skeleton Key, Anthony Horowitz
151. Soul Music, Terry Pratchett
152. Thief Of Time, Terry Pratchett
153. The Fifth Elephant, Terry Pratchett
154. Atonement, Ian McEwan
155. Secrets, Jacqueline Wilson
156. The Silver Sword, Ian Serraillier
157. One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest, Ken Kesey
158. Heart Of Darkness, Joseph Conrad
159. Kim, Rudyard Kipling
160. Cross Stitch, Diana Gabaldon
161. Moby Dick, Herman Melville
162. River God, Wilbur Smith
163. Sunset Song, Lewis Grassic Gibbon
164. The Shipping News, Annie Proulx
165. The World According To Garp, John Irving
166. Lorna Doone, R. D. Blackmore
167. Girls Out Late, Jacqueline Wilson
168. The Far Pavilions, M. M. Kaye
169. The Witches, Roald Dahl
170. Charlottes Web, E. B. White
171. Frankenstein, Mary Shelley
172. They Used To Play On Grass, Terry Venables and Gordon Williams
173. The Old Man And The Sea, Ernest Hemingway
174. The Name Of The Rose, Umberto Eco
175. Sophies World, Jostein Gaarder
176. Dustbin Baby, Jacqueline Wilson
177. Fantastic Mr. Fox, Roald Dahl
178. Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov
179. Jonathan Livingstone Seagull, Richard Bach
180. The Little Prince, Antoine De Saint-Exupery
181. The Suitcase Kid, Jacqueline Wilson
182. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
183. The Power Of One, Bryce Courtenay
184. Silas Marner, George Eliot
185. American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis
186. The Diary Of A Nobody, George and Weedon Gross-mith
187. Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
188. Goosebumps, R. L. Stine
89. Heidi, Johanna Spyri
190. Sons And Lovers, D. H. Lawrence
191. The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Milan Kundera
192. Man And Boy, Tony Parsons
193. The Truth, Terry Pratchett
194. The War Of The Worlds, H. G. Wells
195. The Horse Whisperer, Nicholas Evans
196. A Fine Balance, Rohinton Mistry
197. Witches Abroad, Terry Pratchett
198. The Once And Future King, T. H. White
199. The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Eric Carle
200. Flowers In The Attic, Virginia Andrews
201. The Silmarillion, J.R.R. Tolkien
202. The Eye of the World, Robert Jordan
203. The Great Hunt, Robert Jordan
204. The Dragon Reborn, Robert Jordan
205. Fires of Heaven, Robert Jordan
206. Lord of Chaos, Robert Jordan
207. Winters Heart, Robert Jordan
208. A Crown of Swords, Robert Jordan
209. Crossroads of Twilight, Robert Jordan
210. A Path of Daggers, Robert Jordan
211. As Nature Made Him, John Colapinto
212. Microserfs, Douglas Coupland
213. The Married Man, Edmund White
214. Winters Tale, Mark Helprin
215. The History of Sexuality, Michel Foucault
216. Cry to Heaven, Anne Rice
217. Same-Sex Unions in Premodern Europe, John Boswell
218. Equus, Peter Shaffer
219. The Man Who Ate Everything, Jeffrey Steingarten
220. Letters To A Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke (didn’t get to finish)
221. Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn
222. The Vampire Lestat, Anne Rice
223. Anthem, Ayn Rand
224. The Bridge To Terabithia, Katherine Paterson
225. Tartuffe, Moliere
226. The Metamorphosis, Franz Kafka
227. The Crucible, Arthur Miller
228. The Trial, Franz Kafka
229. Oedipus Rex, Sophocles
230. Oedipus at Colonus, Sophocles
231. Death Be Not Proud, John Gunther
232. A Dolls House, Henrik Ibsen
233. Hedda Gabler, Henrik Ibsen
234. Ethan Frome, Edith Wharton
235. A Raisin In The Sun, Lorraine Hansberry
236. ALIVE!, Piers Paul Read
237. Grapefruit, Yoko Ono
238. Trickster Makes This World, Lewis Hyde
240. The Mists of Avalon, Marion Zimmer Bradley
241. Chronicles of Thomas Convenant, Unbeliever, Stephen Donaldson
242. Lord of Light, Roger Zelazny
242. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, Michael Chabon
243. Summerland, Michael Chabon
244. A Confederacy of Dunces, John Kennedy Toole
245. Candide, Voltaire
246. The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More, Roald Dahl
247. Ringworld, Larry Niven
248. The King Must Die, Mary Renault
249. Stranger in a Strange Land, Robert Heinlein
250. A Wrinkle in Time, Madeline LEngle
251. The Eyre Affair, Jasper Fforde
252. The House Of The Seven Gables, Nathaniel Hawthorne
253. The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne
254. The Joy Luck Club, Amy Tan
255. The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Paterson
256. Chocolate Fever, Robert Kimmel Smith
257. Xanth: The Quest for Magic, Piers Anthony
258. The Lost Princess of Oz, L. Frank Baum
259. Wonder Boys, Michael Chabon
260. Lost In A Good Book, Jasper Fforde
261. Well Of Lost Plots, Jasper Fforde
261. Life Of Pi, Yann Martel
263. The Bean Trees, Barbara Kingsolver
264. A Yellow Rraft In Blue Water, Michael Dorris
265. Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder
267. Where The Red Fern Grows, Wilson Rawls
268. Griffin & Sabine, Nick Bantock
269. Witch of Blackbird Pond, Joyce Friedland
270. Mrs. Frisby And The Rats Of NIMH, Robert C. OBrien
271. Tuck Everlasting, Natalie Babbitt
272. The Cay, Theodore Taylor
273. From The Mixed-Up Files Of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, E.L. Konigsburg
274. The Phantom Tollbooth, Norton Juster
275. The Westing Game, Ellen Raskin
276. The Kitchen Gods Wife, Amy Tan
277. The Bone Setters Daughter, Amy Tan
278. Relic, Duglas Preston & Lincolon Child
279. Wicked, Gregory Maguire
280. American Gods, Neil Gaiman
281. Misty of Chincoteague, Marguerite Henry
282. The Girl Next Door, Jack Ketchum
283. Haunted, Judith St. George
284. Singularity, William Sleator
285. A Short History of Nearly Everything, Bill Bryson
286. Different Seasons, Stephen King (ang ganda ng mga stories dito!)
287. Fight Club, Chuck Palahniuk
288. About a Boy, Nick Hornby (maganda ang movie! I do plan to purchase the book soon)
289. The Bookmans Wake, John Dunning
290. The Church of Dead Girls, Stephen Dobyns
291. Illusions, Richard Bach
292. Magics Pawn, Mercedes Lackey
293. Magics Promise, Mercedes Lackey
294. Magics Price, Mercedes Lackey
295. The Dancing Wu Li Masters, Gary Zukav
296. Spirits of Flux and Anchor, Jack L. Chalker
297. Interview with the Vampire, Anne Rice
298. The Encyclopedia of Unusual Sex Practices, Brenda Love
299. Infinite Jest, David Foster Wallace.
300. The Bluest Eye, Toni Morrison.
301. The Cider House Rules, John Irving.
302. Enders Game, Orson Scott Card
303. Girlfriend in a Coma, Douglas Coupland
304. The Lions Game, Nelson Demille
305. The Sun, The Moon, and the Stars, Stephen Brust
306. Cyteen, C. J. Cherryh
307. Foucaults Pendulum, Umberto Eco
308. Cryptonomicon, Neal Stephenson
309. Invisible Monsters, Chuck Palahniuk
310. Camber of Culdi, Kathryn Kurtz
311. The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand
312. War and Rememberance, Herman Wouk
313. The Art of War, Sun Tzu
314. The Giver, Lois Lowry
315. The Telling, Ursula Le Guin
316. Xenogenesis (or Liliths Brood), Octavia Butler
317. A Civil Campaign, Lois McMaster Bujold
318. The Curse of Chalion, Lois McMaster Bujold
319. The Aeneid, Publius Vergilius Maro (Vergil)
320. Hanta Yo, Ruth Beebe Hill
321. The Princess Bride, S. Morganstern (or William Goldman)
322. Beowulf, Anonymous
323. The Sparrow, Maria Doria Russell
324. Deerskin, Robin McKinley
325. Dragonsong, Anne McCaffrey
326. Passage, Connie Willis
327. Otherland, Tad Williams
328. Tigana, Guy Gavriel Kay
329. Number the Stars, Lois Lowry
330. Beloved, Toni Morrison
331. Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christs Childhood Pal, Christopher Moore
332. The mysterious disappearance of Leon, I mean Noel, Ellen Raskin
333. Summer Sisters, Judy Blume
334. The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Victor Hugo
335. The Island on Bird Street, Uri Orlev
336. Midnight in the Dollhouse, Marjorie Filley Stover
337. The Miracle Worker, William Gibson
338. The Genesis Code, John Case
339. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robert Louis Stevensen
340. Paradise Lost, John Milton
341. Phantom, Susan Kay
342. The Mummy or Ramses the Damned, Anne Rice
343. Anno Dracula, Kim Newman
344: The Dresden Files: Grave Peril, Jim Butcher
345: Tokyo Suckerpunch, Issac Adamson
346: The Winter of Magics Return, Pamela Service
347: The Oddkins, Dean R. Koontz
348. My Name is Asher Lev, Chaim Potok
349. The Last Goodbye, Raymond Chandler
350. At Swim, Two Boys, Jaime ONeill
351. Othello, by William Shakespeare
352. The Collected Poems of Dylan Thomas
353. The Collected Poems of William Butler Yeats
354. Sati, Christopher Pike
355. The Inferno, Dante
356. The Apology, Plato
357. The Small Rain, Madeline LEngle
358. The Man Who Tasted Shapes, Richard E Cytowick
359. 5 Novels, Daniel Pinkwater
360. The Sevenwaters Trilogy, Juliet Marillier
361. Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier
362. To the Lighthouse, Virginia Woolf
363. Our Town, Thorton Wilder
364. Green Grass Running Water, Thomas King
335. The Interpreter, Suzanne Glass
336. The Moors Last Sigh, Salman Rushdie
337. The Mother Tongue, Bill Bryson
338. A Passage to India, E.M. Forster loved
339. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
340. The Phantom of the Opera, Gaston Leroux
341. Pages for You, Sylvia Brownrigg
342. The Changeover, Margaret Mahy
343. Howls Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones
344. Angels and Demons, Dan Brown
345. Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo
346. Shosha, Isaac Bashevis Singer
347. Travels With Charley, John Steinbeck
348. The Diving-bell and the Butterfly by Jean-Dominique Bauby
349. The Lunatic at Large by J. Storer Clouston
350. Time for Bed by David Baddiel
351. Barrayar by Lois McMaster Bujold
352. Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre
353. The Bloody Sun by Marion Zimmer Bradley
354. Sewer, Gas, and Eletric by Matt Ruff
355. Jhereg by Steven Brust
356. So You Want To Be A Wizard by Diane Duane
357. Perdido Street Station, China Mieville
358. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Anne Bronte
359. Road-side Dog, Czeslaw Milosz
360. The English Patient, Michael Ondaatje
361. Neuromancer, William Gibson
362. The Epistemology of the Closet, Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
363. A Canticle for Liebowitz, Walter M. Miller, Jr
364. The Mask of Apollo, Mary Renault
365. The Gunslinger, Stephen King
366. Romeo and Juliet, William Shakespeare
367. Childhoods End, Arthur C. Clarke
368. A Season of Mists, Neil Gaiman
369. Ivanhoe, Walter Scott
370. The God Boy, Ian Cross
371. The Beekeepers Apprentice, Laurie R. King
372. Finn Family Moomintroll, Tove Jansson
373. Misery, Stephen King
374. Tipping the Velvet, Sarah Waters
375. Hood, Emma Donoghue
376. The Land of Spices, Kate OBrien
377. The Diary of Anne Frank
378. Regeneration, Pat Barker
379. Tender is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald
380. Dreaming in Cuban, Cristina Garcia
381. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway
382. The View from Saturday, E.L. Konigsburg
383. Dealing with Dragons, Patricia Wrede
384. Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss
385. A Severed Wasp - Madeleine LEngle
386. Here Be Dragons - Sharon Kay Penman
387. The Mabinogion (Ancient Welsh Tales) - translated by Lady Charlotte E. Guest
388. The DaVinci Code - Dan Brown
389. Desire of the Everlasting Hills - Thomas Cahill
390. The Cloister Walk - Kathleen Norris (row gave this to me pero I haven’t finished pa. ulk)
391. The Things We Carried, Tim OBrien
392. I Know This Much Is True, Wally Lamb
393. Choke, Chuck Palahniuk
394. Enders Shadow, Orson Scott Card
395. The Memory of Earth, Orson Scott Card
396. The Iron Tower, Dennis L. McKiernen
397. Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand
398. A Ring of Endless Light, Madeline L'Engle
399. Lords of Discipline, Pat Conroy
400. Hyperion, Dan Simmons
401. If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things, Jon McGregor
402. The Bridge, Iain Banks
403. Practical Demonkeeping, Christopher Moore
404. Promethea, Alan Moore
405. the curious incident of the dog in the night-time, Mark Haddon
406. archangel - robert harris
407. vernon god little - dbc pierre
408. ultimate spiderman - brian michael bendis
409. The Glamour, Christopher Priest
410. The Portrait of Mrs Charbuque, Jeffrey Ford
411. The Third Person, Steve Mosby
412. Psychoville, Christopher Fowler
413. The Street of Crocodiles, Bruno Schulz
414. The Constant Gardener,John Le Carre
415. The Priestess of Avalon,Marion Bradley
416. The Mists of Avalon,Marion Bradley
417: Einstein’s Dreams – Alan Lightman (ang ganda nito, promise!)
418. The Greatest Thing Since Sliced Bread – Pat Robertson
419. Abarat – Clive Barker
420. The City of Beasts – Isabel Allende
421. The House of Spirits – Isabel Allende
422. Ameican Gods – Neil Gaiman
423. Coraline – Neil Gaiman
424. Like Water for Chocolate – Laura Esquivel
425. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – JK Rowling
426. Artemis Fowl and the Eternity Code – Eoin Colfer
427. Artemis Fowl and the Arctic Incident – Eoin Colfer
428. The Sun Also Rises – Ernest Hemingway
429. The Invisible Man – Ralph Waldo Ellison
420. Ogre, Ogre – Piers Anthony

nakigaya na naman ako sa kaladkarin pero di ko pa nababasa ang aking profile. ala lang. masaya.

Conscious self	Overall self

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Enneagram Test Results Type 1 Perfectionism |||||||||||| 44% Type 2 Helpfulness |||||||||||||||| 70% Type 3 Image Focus |||||||||||||| 55% Type 4 Hypersensitivity |||||||||||| 48% Type 5 Detachment |||||||||||| 44% Type 6 Anxiety |||||||||||| 42% Type 7 Adventurousness |||||||||||||||||||| 82% Type 8 Aggressiveness |||||||||||| 47% Type 9 Calmness |||||||||||||| 55% Your Conscious-Surface type is 7w8 Your Unconscious-Overall type is 9w8

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Which poem are you? Jabberwocky by Lewis Carroll Oh, you're silly! People probably think you're a bit kooky, but those nuts just don't realize that you've got a language all your own. But hey, you always bring a smile to people's faces.

Click Here to Take This Quiz Brought to you by YouThink.com quizzes and personality tests.

Stolen from kaladkarin.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"

He took his vorpal blade in hand;
Long time the manxome foe he sought-
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood a while in thought

And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!

One, two! One, two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.

"And hast thou slain the Jabberwock?
Come to my arms, my beamish boy!
O frabjous day! Callooh, Callay!"
He chortled in his joy.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogroves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

---
eh? anuyun?

YOU GOT SERVED, IT PHAT MAN!

Them crew, them’s got the groove. Like, mah ass, it got life wanting to bumpin’ ‘n grindin’ wid them brothah niggers. Them niggers, dey cool. Dey dance like it their life, man. Y’all, this girl here, she love them cuz they phat.

DAMNIT

Natinik akoooo! Andito pa rin sa lalamunan ko. Can’t get it out. Couldn’t swallow a ball of rice. No bananas around either. Darn. Stupid fish.

YUM

Marie’s sister, upon her orders, dropped by the office to day to share some free samples of their durian products. This merienda, I tried the jam with biscone and coffee. Yummy! The jam was so delicious! It had the right durian taste without being overpowered by the milk. Yum, yum talaga. The pastillas I have not tried yet, but I am sure it would taste as great. Wonderful, wonderful durian. Yum.

So, if any of you guys plan to go to Davao and buy our famous durian products, rush to Gaisano Mall and look for the GALOR FARMS brand. If you do not like durian, the GALOR FARMS goods will make you change your mind.

Thanks, Marie. You’re dear. :)

GOOD GIRL

My mom is away for two weeks in Cebu to visit the newest of the dela Calzada brood. Which means I have the house to myself. Which means I can go home as late as I can. But then, I have not in the last week done so. Except for last Saturday, which is still less than the number of times I go out when my mom is at home.

But then I have been content watching my Channel 2 soaps (we don’t have cable that’s why, but I do watch Smallville and CSI) and reading through Pride and Prejudice (which I have started enjoying after the terrible struggle with the first six chapters). It’s a bit lonely at times, but then right now I value the solitude. It IS boring and I dislike the routine. Even with the vast amount of time in my hands, I do not get to introspect. The slowing down feels just right presently.

SOAPS

My favorite at the moment is Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas. I used to skip the show when there was still no Diether and Angelica in the picture. But when they were introduced, things got pretty interesting. Plots of revenge don’t appeal to me (which is the oft-chosen storyline of most, if not all, soaps) but I’m a sucker for love triangles which got me hitched. I’m also a sucker for good acting.

The past weeks has been an emotional showdown between the three protagonists, Ara (Kristine), Leo (Diether) and Christian (Jericho) with Mary Ann (Angelica) whimpering on the side for her hopeless unrequited love.

I am constantly amazed by Jericho’s depth of acting. One minute he was just talking, and he still is talking but then tears and snot (of which sounds more yummy in the vernacular, UHOG) suddenly flow. And Diether, I never liked the guy, but last night he was THE MAN. He has improved his acting skill, making the whole scene feel real. I could really see and feel his pain. Grabe.

Still I’m rooting for the Ara-Christian marriage. Not because I’m a fan of their love team (I have utter dislike for Kristine, beautiful she may be) but just because the name of the soap is Sana’y Wala Nang Wakas. If they don’t get together, it destroyed the whole point of the soap. That’s about it.

Ikahiya niyo man ako for being so into soaps, deadmatology tested na lang po. I enjoy being masa. :)

I'M STILL ME

I took this test for JVP six years ago, and it's pretty much the same with a bit of tempering down.

ENFP - "Journalist". Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.

Take Free Myers-Briggs Personality Test

Stole this from tweethumbsup. :)

NICE

Thanks to friendster and blogger, I bumped into an old JVP batchmate. Uh, she bumped into me. And she's not old, she's my age. But you know what I mean.

There is much to be thankful for technology. If used well, it bridges people together. Nice to have had that chat, miss half a twin. :)

COOL

Thanks to Toni telling me about the perks of YM, I love launchcast. Thanks to tatit for recommending summertime sounds. I love the beach boys!

i need to get out. i just want to grab my backpack and run off to somewhere. argh.

TODAY IS SUMMER SOLSCTICE, the longest day of the year. Wala lang.

“AHHHH!”

Oh yes. You just heard the sound of the revitalizing feeling of very cold Coke sliding through the throat and into the body, revving up the nervous system from its Monday stupor. Never mind if it’s carbonic acid, bad for the health and evil to the waist line. Today it served as medicine for head ache and stiff neck, and an alternative to Prozac for Monday blues.

In spite of the sleeping sickness left over from yesterday’s Lazy Sunday, there is much to look forward to do this week. There are some reports than need to be done, and I want to do them. I actually enjoy doing reports from the reports of our partner-organizations. Reports give me a chance to see a quantitative and qualitative data on our day care centers in the Lumad communities. At least it gives me a reminder that though I may not be seeing it all the time, there is good work being done by the institution I am working for. Hopefully, the reports will shake me up from my prolonged apathy for the world these past few weeks.

So before I get on with a good week, let’s get back to the great weekend.

EXCITING SATURDAY

After work, I proceeded to SM to catch “The Day After Tomorrow.” I had no intention of seeing it the last three weeks it has been running, but for it to have reached a third week here in Davao is an indicator that it may just be an interesting show. Before I got in the cinema, I had lunch first. Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” together with KFC was a pretty sumptuous and filling meal.

I then got in the movie house without much expectation except for good CGI and eye-popping special effects. And indeed, the film didn’t fail on that. Surprisingly, I was much entertained (though it doesn’t take much for a movie to entertain me) by the story. Like most disaster movies, it had sensationalized science, great little unlikely heroes and love stories borne out of/sped up by possible end of the world. The movie was pretty engaging, especially with science “facts” they presented. The director/screenwriter often pulled a punch at Washington’s near-sightedness which I immensely enjoyed. One great irony was the Americans forced to migrate to Mexico, many of them declared illegal immigrants by the government. Rejoice, Mexico! At least for this movie, you had the tables turned. *evil grin*

There is a message in the movie of course. Somehow it serves as a commentary of man’s myopic vision and penchant for wanton destruction. Though I’m not sure if people actually heard it as the bigness of The Day After Tomorrow may have muted that a bit. Nonetheless, if I were a science teacher I’d use this a teaching strategy to get my students attention and get them do a bit of thinking. Of course, there must be a readiness to rebuke any possible false or manipulated facts.

Later in the evening, I watched another movie with some JVP friends. “Chronicles of Riddick” is a shitty, boring movie with no redeeming factor except for Vin Diesel and Judi Dench but they are not quite enough to save it from being a disaster.

The night was still young after the end of the movie (11 PM), so we decided to look for another gimmick. We ended up in Rizal Promenade where a pretty decent show band was playing. The four of us downed a pitcher of margarita, which was strange because none of us were really drinkers. But the conversations we were having was quite interesting we might have forgotten to get tipsy early on in the night.

A brawl ensued a few minutes after we decided to hang outside the bar. Fists were flying and bottles were strewn on the ground. The crowd was jeering which irritated me, and it took quite a while before anyone attempted to stop them. But I realized it never is easy to break a fight lest you be a victim of a broken nose yourself.

The guard finally made his way through the crowd, and the culprits froze in their tracks. Both guys were looking at each other with seething fury, one guy with fists raised, the other about to swing a metal chair.

It was interesting to note, I didn’t get scared. I stayed in my seat, not to be an “uzi” (usisera) but rather I felt detached from the whole thing (I actually felt more involvement with Jake Gyllenhall in the Day After Tomorrow). I didn’t feel the need to flee inside the bar because I was pretty sure the fight would fizzle out soon enough. But Glenn was tugging at my hands already as he was making his way inside the bar. We couldn’t get through though because those inside were going out to watch. Stupid oafs.

Anyways… after the fight everybody got back to their seats and the band resumed their set. When the night ended, I invited the gang over to my house to sleepover. Which made way for a

LAZY SUNDAY

Glenn left at 6AM since he had to facilitate something at 7. The rest of the pack woke up pretty early at 930 in the morning. None of us were making any move to do anything other than change position. We watched a lot of Myx and MTV, then switched to ASAP. We only got up for lunch and went back to bed either to nap or bum in front of the TV. Our main joy for the day was making fun of the local actors and actresses who were lipsynching songs they do not know the lyrics too, or the melodramatic Sunday soaps (which I absolutely adore).

I never realized how fun it is to hang around with friends while doing nothing, not even attempting to interact. Hehehe!

HARRY POTTER 5 is coming out in paperback this tenth of July. Whopee-doo! I already placed my reservation in National Bookstore - SM Davao. Yey! I can read it again. Yey! Yey! Can’t wait for those sleepless nights reading the book.

POTPOURRI

As posted in the previous entry, my horoscope tells me to seek advice. So here I am asking for it. Between the mind, the heart and the gut… which of the three would serve as the best guide in making a decision?

Finally got to see the MTV of “The Apl Song.” Dang, I got teary-eyed from the images. He REALLY loves this country. There were footages on the Filipino veterans there, too. If Allan Pineda, Tia Carere and Lou Diamond Philips can love our country, so should we. Fight on, Pinoys.

FATHER’S DAY

This thought has long been overdue but it seems appropriate as Father’s Day is this Sunday already.

My dad passed away last year 2000, after being a husband for 33 years and a father for 32. It was a relief for everyone as the Lord eased his eight-month suffering from his multiple myeloma or cancer of the blood.

Dad was a very charismatic and comical man, who endeared himself to his friends with his witty remarks and interesting anecdotes. He was very intelligent, often poring over Tom Clancy, David Morell, Roger Zelzany among others. His constant companion was his crossword puzzle, spending much of his time answering them.

Unlike most dads I hear about, Dad was always home. After work, he’d go straight home and grab the remote. He has disdain for Filipino shows but takes delight in Chinese ones (nye! Eh, halos magkapareho lang sila sa ka-jologs-an natin, eh!). On weekends, we fight over watching ASAP (me) or Kuwarta o Kahon (him. He loves Pepe Pimentel). I refuse to watch boxing finding it inhumane (sorry, I do but yes, glory to Manny Pacquiao!), but he finds it entertaining.

Yup, Dad is mostly home all the time. He’d rather sit on our wooden sofa with his sacred big stomach (which he does not like being touched) sticking out, flipping from channel to channel. He may have considered cable as the best invention of humanity next to television. Even when we ask him to go to the mall with us, he would refuse. He’d just give us a bit of money to buy him pasalubong. Dad hates crowds, and hates movie houses even more due to his past experience of coming out of a theater which exploded moments after he left the area.

He hardly takes us out anywhere except to our grandmother’s or uncles’ houses. Unless a family friend or an uncle takes us, the beach is a no-no because bad memories of almost drowning after my grandfather threw him in the water as a learn-how-to-swim method.

For my itchy feet, it was frustrating sometimes. But Dad more than makes up for it.

He also rarely gave gifts to us. Mom would usually do the picking and just put love mommy and daddy on the card. So when he does give gifts, it is of great value. I was in deep distress my mom gave away the blue-haired rag-doll dad gave to me when I was in third grade. I comforted myself with the idea the doll would make an orphan girl happy. That I am still luckier because I had a dad.

During summers, I would go with him to Manila (he goes home to us in Pampanga every weekend). There are days he would take me to the office. I remember him having this mini-poster saying, “the greatest gift a father can give to his children is to love their mother.” And it was true. I saw how much he loved my mom. My mom would oftentimes nag him, but he would retort with calm and quiet. Some would feel it ander-de-saya, I see it as deep love and respect for the woman he loves. There are times he’d tell us his frustrations for our mom, but would always end up with a sigh and say, “pero kahit ganyan ang bruha niyong mommy, mahal ko yan.”

In one of the eulogies at his wake, his officemate and roommate for fourteen years revealed a little secret. He said, “in the past fourteen years that Pen and I were together, not a day went by when Pen would not talk about Elma and his children.” My tears fell harder as Tito Vic said that.

And I think that is one reason why I remain single. Because I could not settle for anything less than the love my father gave my mother. Every day of my life, I saw how my father loved my mother. Quietly and gently but always deeply. My father has shown me that true love exists. True love of a man for his mother and siblings (he would often shed tears of frustration over his sibs’ messed up life). True love of a man for a woman. True love of a man for his children.

It was somewhat a relative joy seeing so many people mourning for my father. His wake was a sold-out concert. Throngs of his friends sharing their beautiful stories of him. I felt blessed knowing that my father was a good man.

I miss my father so, so much. He shall forever be my greatest hero. *wipes a teardrop away*

HOW INTERESTING

My horoscope for tomorrow according to astrology.com. (It's just now that I even attempted to read it).

It's so appropriate. Dang. I hate appropriate horoscopes. But this one is somewhat good because it does not tell me what to do except ask for advice.

Your impending decision: whether or not to give in to a certain urge, regarding a certain someone who's been sending out certain signals. Ask for advice if you need it.

Isa pa, isa pa, isa pang Wanda Jude. Aliw. Aliw. Aliw! 

The newest of my pamangkins. Cutee! Gusto ko tuloy pumunta ng Cebu. Hay. Babeeee! 

I'M A GENIUS!

With the possibility of good news looming in the air, I couldn't go back to sleep immediately last night after T's call.

My mind wandered and ended up with a memory of the neon sign saying COHOFEFEHEHE. I kept on thinking why they thought of that name.

Then with a flash of brilliance, I came up with a tagline for it to justify the name.

COHOFEFEHEHE
the coffee that tickles

or for the Filipino version

KAHAPEHE
ang kapeng may kiliti

Hanep! Ang galing ko. Hahaha! I have not lost my copywriting touch after all.

Hmmm... maybe I should sell the idea to them.

I'M INGGIT

I'm trying my best not to feel bad about not going to Fete dela Musique this year. Usually T, kai and I would be a threesome fluttering from stage to stage to catch our favorite rock bands.

Since I am here in Davao, I can't go (of course). But I'm really glad T could go because (1) she has been working like a horse and deserves the reward and (2) she really, really, really digs music and would be a more worthy audience than I am.

But rush hour hell posted his itinerary for the fete which just got me all green with envy because most of the bands he will be going to are the same as the ones I want to go to.

More than the music, I will miss seeing old faces from college and catching up with them. I will miss bumping into Bamboo amidst the throngs of people. I will miss sighing in the commanding presence of alternative God Joey Ayala (will he be there?). I will miss bowing in reverence to rock God Pepe Smith. I would have wanted to have gone to Chino and tell him, "oi, kamusta! Galing ng Sound."

Grsh. What's worse my bro kept calling me last night while Linkin Park was playing. He was at the concert kasi. Tsk. Nang-iingit. But I think that was his way of saying wish you were here.

Oh well. Fete. Tsk.

SENTI  


(kang, sensiya na at ninakaw ko ang picture mo)

Hindi ko alam kung ano ang meron sa araw na ito na nagtutulak sa akin para magpaka-senti. Pero nariyan lang sa palibot ang mga magagandang alaala na nagbabadya, nag-aanyaya na muli akong makipaglaro sa nagdaang panahon. Nariyan lang sa tabi ang buhay na nangangantiyaw, nakikipaglandian, nag-uudyok sa matagal ko nang natutulog na libog para sa kanya. Nariyan lang hinihikayat akong maging muling hayok sa mundo na matagal na ring tumutunganga lang sa pagkabangag sa mga pangyayari sa paligid.

Miss ko ang maraming tao. Bagamat napakalaki ng dapat kong ipagpasalamat sa mga tao na narito lang kasa-kasama ko sa Dabaw dahil sila ang patuloy na sumasagip sa akin mula sa mabagal na takbo ng oras, sila ang mga halakhak na nagpapaalala sa akin na nagpapatuloy na nagmamahal ang mundo sa mga nilalang na katulad ko… bagamat ganun, nariyan pa rin ang pangungulila sa mga taong nahiwalay ng milya-milyang tubig at lupa.

Ang mga seminarista ko… silang mga pasan ko nuong teacher ako sa Calapan. Tuwing matatapos ang klase, kadalasan inis ang nangingibabaw. Pero bago matulog, matatawa, matutuwa at magpapasalamat na nariyan sila para maranasan ko ang samu’t-saring damdamin ng sabay-sabay. Minahal ko sila. Mahal ko pa rin sila. Miss ko ang marami sa kanila na nagtatanong kung ano ang gagawin sa kanilang mga girlfriend na hindi nila maintindihan. Miss ko sila na nagpapa-cute lang at mang-aasar na ipaalala kung gaano ako ka-neneng sa aking pagtuturo. Hay.

Ang mga estudyante ko… silang mas malalim na sugat ang iniwan sa akin nuong nasa Bukidnon ako. Hindi dahil sinasadya nila pero dahil pinilit kong gawin ang lahat para sa kanila ngunit minsan hindi talaga sapat ang pagmamahal para baguhin ang buhay ng isang tao. Silang nagparamdam sa akin na nakikita nila ang ganda ng puso ko at pinapalagay na rin nila na pati ang mukha ko maganda na rin. Hahahah! Paano ko malilimutan ang Bukidnon? Dun ako unang nakatanggap ng love letter… mula sa isang kinse anyos na bata! Dun din ako unang nakaranas mam-busted… ng isang bente-kwatro anyos na isip- at kilos-bata! Hay.

Ang mga JVP batchmates ko… silang nagturo sa akin na hindi kailangan pare-pareho ang tao para magkaunawaan. Talo ang fruit cocktail sa dami ng mga sangkap, sa iba’t-ibang lasa… pero kapag pinaghalo-halo… haluan ng condensada o cream… wagi na. Hay.

Ang barkada ko… silang kasama na sa sobrang haba ng panahon, dumating ang punto na parang napakaliit na ng mundo… nagkakagiitan na… ngunit nangingibabaw ang pagmamahal para sa bawat isa. Paano mo naman ipagpapalit ang mga tao na nakita kang wagi, talo, bigo, masaya, malungkot, galit, pikon… at minsan sila ang nagparamdam nun sa iyo. Paano mo hindi mamahalin ang samahang pinahinog at pinatamis ng panahon? Hay.

Ang mga ‘alaga’ ko sa JVP… silang nagparamdam sa akin kung paano ang maging isang nakakatandang kapatid na bagamat gustong saluhin ang pahirap ng buhay para hindi na nila maramdaman pa ang sakit na dala nito, hindi dapat dahil sila lang ang maaring humarap sa kani-kanilang buhay. Ngunit habang sumusubaybay ka sa kanilang mga buhay… may saya sa puso dahil ‘malaki’ na sila. Sugatan man, buo pa rin at nanatiling handang muling makipagsapalaran. Hay.

Senti. Senti. Senti. Para sa mga taong nagdaan sa buhay. May ilang hindi sinasadyang maglaho. May ilang nariyan lang sa sandaling mangalabit ka. Hay.

Biyaya ang magmahal.

MONDAY RAMBLINGS

I realized over the past few days that I am a slacker who gets away with it. The only times I am really passionate about work is when it involves anything mass media or performance. The greatest performances of my life were when I was a media officer in Calapan City and when I was a teacher in Bukidnon. And though I have had my heart broken over and over by my students, I still loved them with all my heart that I could even forget about desiring personal, intimate relationships.

Okay, I don’t know why I ended up talking about teaching but to get back to my point, I am a slacker who meets the deadlines and seems to generally impress people with the output (which baffles me often).

Other than being a teacher, I am most happy when I travel especially when going to a beach or in a cave. Yesterday I remembered John. John is a Scottish scuba instructor I met in Puerto Galera when I was a Jesuit Volunteer. We were working on our video documentary on Sabang for the International Year of the Ocean (1998) and John and Skye (the Texan owner of South Sea Divers) offered us free dives so we can take footages of the beach.

John is a mason in Scotland. In his thick accent of which I often strained my ear to understand, he told me about his life in the moors where he was the son of a doctor. His father wanted him to be a doctor but he just wanted to enjoy life minus the stress of a career. So he became a mason. He then saves enough money for travel to another part of the globe.

I want to be like John. Work half the year. Party half the year. But of course, being bred by my mother to worry about a future that may never come, it would be hard. I can not bear to disappoint my mother more than I already have. She knew I always wanted fame and fortune when I was younger… but somewhere along the way fate had it that I end up working for a social development. Mom always thought I’d be a TV reporter or a journalist, something I thought I always wanted and maybe still do. But sometimes when everything steers you in a different direction, you just have to go with the flow rather than struggle against the tide.

Will I be like John? I doubt if I will ever gather the courage to be the professional backpacker that I want to be. But I still hope that I will get the push someday. To have enough money for a plane ticket to Europe (and back here of course, except it’s open dated) with just a week’s worth of clothes and the dream to see the world. I’d stay in a country, working for my keep for two weeks, then spending it all the next two.

Anyone want to come with me when the time comes?

THE WEEKEND

Friday night, Je and Nin went with me to CohOFeFehEhE (yes that’s the name of the coffee shop with an alternative Filipino name of KahAPehE) to celebrate the end of the week. I was giggling like a school girl at seeing a smoothie called CHOCO PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES AND CREAM SMOOTHIE. Wow! The works. It was so amusing that I ordered it. Lo and behold, PEANUT BUTTER NGA! I’m definitely ordering that again the next time I go to CohOFeFehEhE (this is by far the strangest Filipino concoction of a name I have ever encountered).

Saturday was mall day. I spent first part of the day with my mother who asked that we watch Singles (not the Julia Roberts movie but the Aubrey Miles one). It’s actually funny but bits of it insulted the modern woman in me while some bits celebrated it. The worst thing about this movie is seeing my former Smokey Mountain crush (ayoko sabihin ang pangalan niya so kung kilala niyo ako, alam niyo na kung sino ang tinutukoy ko at kung napanuod niyo ang Singles, kilala niyo na rin) in a bed scene with Aubrey Miles in his briefs. Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrgh! I was cringing the whole time, covering my eyes with my hands (but of course with enough space between fingers for me to look). I can probably take the bed scene but the BRIEFS! Kadiri talagaaaaaaaa! My stomach was churning and I had a small lump in my throat. That reaction, in retrospect, was hilarious. Nin mused that I must have had a big crush on him for you to react that way. Maybe. Maybe. Shyet! Euw talaga. I also realized, I really rather see a woman than a man in her undies. The naked male body is so… lumpy and hairy. Blech.

Yesterday, we went to ISLA RETA in Talikud Island. Isla Reta is one of my favorite beaches with its fine powdery cream sands and clear, crystalline waters. The gang chose to stay just by the beach front. I was feeling adventurous yesterday so chose to go off on my own the hidden stretch of beach behind the breakwater.

The beachfront were mostly sea grass and had little coral formations. The hidden stretch had a lot more excitement going on. It was all trees, sand, beach, and shells. There was a floating but empty house raft in the middle of the beach. While walking I thought of picking up the trash as I went along. And so I walked for more than a kilometer picking up all sorts of rubbish - paint cans, mineral water bottles, plastic bags, chichiria wrappers, surgical gloves(!), half a pair of sandals, baby powder containers, etc, etc (nope, no condoms). The sack I found was brimming with litter!

So around 750 meters or so from where I began my trek, there were young coral gardens flourishing. They were all still small patches but they were here, there and everywhere. Unfortunately Nin had the snorkel so I wasn’t able to see the entirety of its beauty. But thanks to the translucent aquamarine waters of Isla Reta, I could see it albeit distorted by the water’s ripples.

On my way back (I got lazy so I didn’t go all the way to the end… next time kapag may kasama na ako), I picked up this big piece of blue plastic off a pile of tided-over driftwood. When I lifted the plastic, it was a hermit crab colony! So cool. Shells were scuttling here and there surprised at the sudden movement and presence of light. Some discarded shells were just lying there in full beauty. Unoccupied. I then got for myself. I always leave shells occupied with hermit crabs alone because I always end up thinking, what if somebody took my home? But this time, they were winking at me as if reward for being a good daughter of Mother Nature.

A lot more exciting things happened in Isla Reta, including steering a banca with four other girls while hanging on the katig because the current took us farther than we could manage. But its too complicated to explain. While snorkeling under the intense heat of the sun, I was also privy to the carnivorous activity of the fish, big fishies gobbling up little fishies. There were also herbivore fishies harvesting plankton from the blades of sea grass.

If it weren’t for the tides carrying in itchy organic matter (rotten leaves, sea-mites, coconut husks, driftwood) to the beach, I would have swam until I could barely move a muscle. Sigh. *content grin*

So hopefully, the great weekend makes way for a greater week.

TROPICAL DEPRESSION

The bus seemed to be moving painfully slow. Through tinted windows, I could see the overcast skies blocking any sign of a bright day. It was only five in the afternoon yet outside everything was already in a grayish hue. The trees were somber, as if bowing in reverence to the shards of rain that fall on their leaves, and kiss their tips with tenderness.

My heart was as solemn as the surroundings. My thoughts as gray as the skies. My eyes flutter endlessly from view to view to view. A lone bird flies from the electric wire to the shade of the mango tree. The rice grass shiver in the cold breath of the monsoon winds. A mud-encrusted carabao frolics in the lea. The cement shines silver as light dances on the sheet of water.

How far until I get home? How many more roads must I travel (isn’t this a song?)? How long until I once again feel comfortable in this skin? How long until that ray of sunshine reaches my aching heart?

The questions linger.

Somewhere in the distance, not anywhere in my view, but somewhere less tangible, somewhere where dreams sleep and await an earnest soul… something beckons. A glimmer of hope. Vaguely present but there awaiting the command of the spirit eager for new life.

Down below are some of the pictures of the trip to Pearl Farm (click on the pix to get a better view). And yes... have a preview of my new (hair)do too. Enjoy!

to pearl farm 

by the pool 

floreindo island with Mt. Apo for a breathtaking backdrop 

sa pantalan. 

alumusal donya 

the beach 

the parola bar 

at with the fishies uli! 

with the fishies! 

pearl farm! 

PEARL FARM

There are a lot of things to enjoy in Pearl Farm. Three swimming pools (one was an infinity pool). A game room with billiards and chess. Quality service from the staff. Boat transfers to the island across. Multi-cab service you’re your room to the restaurant. Delicious asparagus soup (as in ang sarap!). Tennis court. Basketball court. Mansaka weavers. It was great. But I’ll get straight ahead to my favorite part of the trip.

In the docking area, at the starboard side of the pantalan, there were a lot of coral formations. No need to snorkel to enjoy since the water so clear you could see it while sitting by the dock. Just dip your feet in the water and take pleasure at the wonderful spectacle of various schools of fishes swim from coral to coral or bump into other fish schools.

The port side had deeper and darker waters. Guests often throw stale bread in the water, then the fishes race to the food. Big fishes. Small fishes. Black fishes. White fishes. Colorful fishes. I was sitting on the planks, my boss was feeding the fish and the flocked to where the bread was.

Then I spotted this stairs that led to the water. A bright idea hit me. I jumped into the water and held on to the stairs and asked Maya to throw the bread where I was. True enough, the fishes swarmed where I was (I had to keep still though). I was swimming with the fish! They were all around me! I even held a piece of bread and I felt the slimy scales of the fish against my finger. So, so, sooo cool! I even saw corals growing from the underside of the planks of the port. Galiiing!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Last night, Rowie texted the LHC people that our ORSEM (freshmen orientation seminar) was ten years ago. Wow! It has been that long.

To my dearest LHC, happy anniversary to us! To ten years of great friendship, of ups and downs, of distance and proximity, of joy and sorrow.

To Rowie… you who danced with me then to the reggae beat of Indio-I and sang “Ladeedah” together with Vic Facultad. That was kismet, girl… after that we have danced under the rain, the moon, the stars… we have danced with life. I am blessed we are soul mates. Mike, I know you know how lucky you are.

To Erik… I will always remember your Mother Earth t-shirt. You will never be my mother (thank God), but you will always mean the earth to me. You know how much I love you.

To Toni… you with the sunshine smile… and after ten years, you remain to be my ray of sunshine on a bleak day. Coffee and dessert is most delicious when shared with you.

To Karen… we have shared the ‘love’ for the same boy and have chatted endlessly about anything and everything in the dorm… there was no need for Starbucks then and there is no need for that now… we only have to remember DWRock and “Friends and Lovers” for belly-aching laughter.

To Chiqui… you who were the first boy I fell ‘in-love’ with. The image of your long, hairy legs after ping-pong class will always make me lose my appetite, but your heart and soul will always whet my zest for life. And I’m still sorry for accidentally hitting you down there. :p

To Bok… you who fascinated me with your imposing height and equally imposing wit. After many ons and offs, I am glad we have become better friends through time (distance helps. Hehehe!).

To Ganns, you who taught me that no matter how corny you can get, it is never corny to give people hugs and show how you feel. You shall always be my Pooh.

To Ordo, you who flattered me and amazed me with the word pulchritude… Hail to androgynous cats and Star Trek. I shall always be fond of you.

You guys have saved me over and over. Thank you.

RELAK NA RELAK

Kagagaling ko lang ng Pearl Farm ngayong araw. Saka na ako magkukuwento. Pero gaya nga ng nakalagay sa aking heading, ako ay relak na relak.

PERO

Namamaga pa rin ang tenga ko sa pagpapabutas. Kainis. Normal lang daw, pero pakiramdam ko puwede nang isisig ang nasabing bahagi ng katawan.

HAY

ang saya sa beach.

Reagan passed away yesterday. And though he was a president at a time when I was still playing patintero and habulan in the suburbs of Angeles City and had no care for politics, I feel sad. To me he looked like a nice, grandfatherly man who always smiled in front of the camera. He is something, I think, that Poe nor Erap will never be.

I also came across a picture of the Pope in a wheelchair in the Inquirer. I felt a tinge of sadness at how many of the leaders that were prominent in the time of childhood are all slowly disappearing. Hopefully, when the time comes for a new Pope, he will be as charismatic as Pope John Paul.

Randy David writes about her daughter who is part of the 25th Batch of Jesuit Volunteers. It feels great to be part of an institution who continues to hope amidst the chaos of this country. I can honestly say with all my heart that those two years with JVP were the best of my life. And those two years will continue to push me to love this country and its people more. (I'm still trying to find the link to the article. Tsk.)

MY KA-JOLOGS-AN

Last Saturday, it was a choice between going back to Matina Town Square (of where I have been two nights a row already) or going home to watch the Star Circle Quest grand finals. But of course, I chose SCQ.

It was already 10:30 then. The Teen Questors grand finals started at 9:00 PM. I thought I wasn't going to catch anything anymore. But well, knowing the hyping power of Channel 2, the grand finals was just halfway through (after one and a half hours!).

Though I kicked off my dancing shoes in exchange for more comfortable slippers, I still danced along with the moves of the dancers on TV. Hehehe!

Anyways, my bet won. MY HERO won! Honestly, Roxanne had the most talent but Hero had the overall package. Thank God it wasn't Sandara.

I like Hero. I hope he remains humble after all the offers start coming. He earned more pogi points when I found out he was studying Fine Arts (whopee!) at UP Diliman (whoa!). He still plans to take two to three subjects this semester. People would probably flock to him for his autography during the dreader UP enrollment.

By the way, my mom still hasn't noticed (or chose to ignore, which I doubt) my piercings. Maybe I could get away with a tattoo. Hehehe!

OVERDRIVE

I have two new piercings on my right ear. Unplanned. Out of the blue. Tripping. So cool!

It was all so strange. Yesterday, I went to SM to look for loop earrings. Since Filigrenesia was the only store that sold silver jewelry, that was my first stop.

Suddenly I remembered Mr. Dennis (my 'stylist') told me I should get a stud for day wear too. So I looked at the studs and saw this cute cat earring. I wanted to buy just one stud to pair with my lizard stud (the other pair got lost). Then like lightning, "nag-pi-pierce kayo?"

They did. But for a fee of P150 with free surgical earrings. I looked at the designs of the surgical earrings... there was a star! Hmmm... I took deep breaths hoping ample oxygen supply would give my brain more sense.

I told her, I'll think about it.

I walked around SM trying to remember if there was any Unisilver store. Then a thought flashed in my mind again, Ninin is here! Ninin is our piercing icon here. Five piercings on the ear and one on the tongue.

I texted her: "are you here na? I need your moral support. I'm going to have my ears pierced."

Since she replied excitedly, I thought to myself: "this is it."

Ooooooooooh noooooooo! No turning back.

We met up at the store then I chose the star earrings. I told Ninin to hold my hand while my ears get pierced. My eyes were closed the whole time just so I wouldn't know when it was coming. I was also in anticipation of the gun. Any second now, any second now... that was running around my head.

Then, BAM!... That wasn't so bad. That was just my earlobe.

Time for the cartilage near the eartip. Oh no, oh no, oh no, this is going to hurt! BAM!

Aw! in my teeny-tiny voice. aw. aw. aw.

But it was done. And that was it. It hurts. Like a paper clamp uh... clamped over your ear. aw.aw.aw.

And it still hurts today. But I'm happy. After so many years of daring myself, of thinking over everytime I pass by a piercing store... I've done it.

I'VE DONE IT!

Thank God there weren't any tattoo parlors around. Hahaha!

It has been a liberating week.

"NYAAAAH. Oh."

That was my reaction when I woke up this morning and looked at the mirror. Hehehehe! I did look like a ten-year old boy.

And so I went about my morning. Nag-mano sa lola, who was giving me this wary stare. Probably didn't recognize me. My mom somewhat ranting about how drastic my haircut was, how I didn't even bother to cut it gradually. D-uh. That would mean extra bucks!

When I took a bath, with my hair wet, I then looked like a guy my age. Slicked-back hair and a debonaire smile.

But ah! The wonders of a lethal combination of a full blast electric fan and a roller brush. After drying my 'tresses' in five minutes (my old hair used to stay wet for an hour!), ta-dah! I look like a girl again.

Yipee!

I like my haircut. When I bother to fix it, it's sexy short. My eyes look bigger, my cheeks fleshier, and my lips er, uh... fuller.

The dreamweaver dangling earrings look cool with the hair. And yipee, I found my silver ankh! Yipee!

Why did I cut my hair? People often think there is some underlying inner tension when drastic haircuts happen. The last time I had a drastic haircut, trip lang talaga. This time, yes there is underlying inner tension. But hey... the haircut was cathartic. I'm feeling more upbeat now.

I'm giving Ashley Judd a run for her money. Hah! Dream on. :)

Thanks Toni for prodding me to have the haircut.

I had Mr. Dennis chop of three-fourths of my hair.
I now look like a ten-year old boy.
Cool.

je, as you wish!

HARRY POTTER 3

The trick to enjoying a Harry Potter is not to review the book before the movie.

My friends and I came out of the cinema with mixed reviews of the film. Some liked it, some didn’t. I did enjoy Harry Potter but not with the same gushing conviction I have of Peter Jackson’s success in translating “The Lord of the Rings.”

Harry Potter 3 flew by with the speed of a Firebolt. Things were happening one after the another leaving the audience breathless. I liked the feeling of that witch’s broomstick ride (I am after all a thrill seeker).

Understandably though not everyone has had the chance to read the book and unless that person has a Pentium IV 2.8 gig memory for a brain, he’d end up all confused. I do agree that the movie was wanting in details. Cuaron had no attempts to explain anything and worked on the premise that people knew the story before they went to the cinema.

So why did I enjoy the movie? Because I went in the cinema hoping for a visual feast rather than a re-interpretation of the book.

Thus I got what I wanted.

Cuaron succeeded in re-establishing the characters and Hogwarts. The usual stoicism we are used to seeing in Harry has been replaced by teen-age angst and confusion. Herminone has developed breasts, er, feistiness. The hyperactive facial muscles Ron have been tempered, but his spirit and enthusiasm remains the same.

While Richard Harris chose to portray a grandfatherly Albus Dumbledore, Sir Michael Gambon infused the powerful wizard with robust energy that made him more mentor-ly and uh… headmaster-ly. And though she only had a few minutes of screen time, Emma Thompson was a perfect Prof. Trelawney.

Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were not what I imagined them to be. Sirius I imagined to be more handsome and less outwardly angry (a British Johnny Depp for the role perhaps?). This Lupin (Edward Norton? he is after all Irish) was too… nourished and healthy. Peter Pettigrew, even though short in exposure, did look like a human Scabbers.

It is unfortunate that McGonnagal and Snape did not have as much exposure. And I would have wanted to have seen Gryffindor finally wind the Quidditch Cup. That I missed much. Especially Oliver Wood.

But I prefer to enjoy this movie and delight in Cuaron’s visualization of JK Rowling’s wonderful imagery in her book. He used a lot of camera movements and whenever there was a steady frame, objects were always moving which gave more life to the movie. The Whomping Willow’s antics is always something to look forward too.

One thing that got my thumbs up were the Dementors. I had fears that they may end up looking like the Nazgul of LOTR. I liked how they look as dark, floating specters.

The best way to enjoy this movie is to go inside without any expectations.

THE MOVIE BUFF

Friends and frequent readers of my blog would attest that I am a movie buff. Instead of talking about my travels around Mindanao, this blog is beginning to become more of a book and movie review than the ‘travelogue’ I wanted it to be. But well… reading and writing is a different form of travel.

(Digression 1: I have been noticing for a while that most movies, including Pinoy ones, are starting to put the credits in the end rather than the beginning. This I consider a good move as it focuses the audience to the story rather than the stars.)

When I was still in Manila, I would still average two to three movies a week all on a Saturday with my brother (usually his treat and I’d buy lunch). Here in Davao, I still have the same average but not due to lack of time or bread but rather due to the slow influx of movies. With the six cinemas of SM, most of the time there are only two or three good ones showing. At least I am able to watch more Filipino films because my mom loves them.

(Digression 2: Two Filipino movies at the same week is actually a feat at this point because our movie industry is not as brisk as it was. Piracy is taking its toll on the movie industry and we may not have any more Filipino movies if we do not stop this. Same goes for the music industry.)

Some people prefer to rent tapes or VCDs and watch at home in total comfort, with the movie’s pace at one’s control through the remote. I, on the other hand, enjoy watching in a movie house where nothing is in my control. The movie runs at its own pace with or without me.

I love being in the dark. I love the idea of being anonymous in the middle of a big crowd yet enjoying the same thing. I love watching somebody else’s life in front of me. I love the magic of time. I love soundtracks. I love stars. I love, love, love the movies.

I acknowledge that it is my escape.

Due to my frequent visits to the movie theater, I am having more and more pet peeves with other cinemagoers though. I am not a very easy person to irritate but when I am in the theater, a lot of things tick me off.

MY MOVIEHOUSE PET PEEVES:

1. People describing the scenes they are seeing. “Naku, sumabog iyong bomba! Namatay na siya.”
Honey, I think I can see that for myself. You are not the only creature with eyes that work. Unless you have someone with you who is blind then zip it.

2. People explaining the director’s idea to his/her seatmate. “Ay, hiniwalayan niya si Bernard kasi nakabuntis siya.”
Honey, you need not broadcast your genius to the rest of humanity. We are watching the same movie after all.

3. People not turning their cellphones to silent mode.
Honey, I did not come to the movie house to listen to your polyphonic ring tone of “Otso-Otso” and “Pamela-mela-wan.” I can listen to the real thing whenever I am in a jeep tuned in to My Only Radio.
This is just so RUDE. What’s worse, their ring level is something like four or five. And they answer the call with no attempt to lower their voice, “Nasa loob ako ng sinehan. Oo. Oo. Sunduin mo na lang si Jun mamaya tapos bumili ka ng gamot.”
Can you get the hell out of here? Or at the very least if it is an emergency hush your tone.

4. People eating chicharon and/or kropeck. Especially when they dip it in vinegar.
Honey, that’s bad for health. And irritating to my ears and nose. This is not your house. This is not a party. If you would rather eat your chicharon than watch the movie, shoo!

5. People shaking in their seats thus shaking your own seat.
Honey, if you need to pee, there is a restroom near the entrance. If you are getting blue balls, there is a restroom near the entrance. If you are nervous, “boo!” I hope that scared the shivers out of you.

And so: If it’s from Seiko, it must be a watch.
Relax, see a movie.
(Ta-ta! I’m off to the 640 showing of Harry Potter. Got my tickets 1 PM).

TROY

You could say that watching it on the last day (I think) of its run here in Davao was appropriate for me.

The line that struck me most:
"Everything is more beautiful because we are doomed."
I am still pondering whether this is an optimisitic or pessimistic thought. But otherwise it was something I needed to hear.

It was actually good. Better than I expected. With the many reviews and raves from the people who have seen it, my expectations got lower and lower to the point I lost interest in watching it. But because I pride myself in being a movie buff I had to watch it.

And it was worth it. The fact that my mom didn't sleep through it should have been gauge enough, but then she was awake all throughout All My Life too so it wouldn't be accurate.

I taught bits of the Iliad when I was in Pangantucan. Unfortunately, the students did most of the work so I hardly remember. Seeing it on screen though made me remember the story. And the character of Perseas eludes me. But nonetheless she was a good embellishment it she is one, nothing obtrusive to the story.

Brad Pitt does a good Achilles. The testorone gushes forth him. Orlando Bloom suits Paris as well -- a very lucky wimp. I wanted his beautiful face crushed by a chariot's wheel! I guffawed at one point when he started wielding a bow and arrow. Did I just see Legolas somewhere?

Ah, but Eric Bana scored pogi points here. His boring portrayal of Bruce Banner was erased from memory as he gives life to Hector. The curly mop suits him too. Hector is probably the most noble of all the men in the movie, next to King Priam (peter o'toole, i love you!).

The Greeks may have won but the Trojans ran away with my heart. I am not sure if the Iliad portrayed Agamemnon as a greedy king, but I never did like the Greeks in the Iliad in the first place. Though Paris I have always considered stupid for starting a war because of a woman.

The love of Priam and Hector for their country was so genuine that I was wishing that Wolfgang Petersen would change the ending of a legend. Hahaha! But well... how can he when this is where the Achilles Heel and the Trojan Horse all began.

Thumbs up for Troy. (Pero Lord of the Rings pa rin the best!)

Kanina, I have been desperately trying to change the template of my blog the whole day. Okay na sana but I can't get haloscan to work. Inis na ako.

Ngayon, I still can't get haloscan to work pero since gusto ko na talaga baguhin ang hitsura ng blog ko... pagtitiyagaan ko muna ang template na ito. Bura na iyong dati kong mga comments. Sayang.

I tried again. I am more satisfied now but there are still things I can't understand with this particular template. Next time na uli. At least.

THE ROAD HOME

 


How I wish I can find it already.