Recently Completed

Best game in 2006 so far for me: Kingdom Hearts 2. Absolutely left me speechless, awed and sweating when I finished it. It's a Walt Disney films meets Final Fantasy type gaming (storyline, gameplay, music).

It's not only the game itself that fascinated me, but items in the plot...

... like how two best friends both think that the other is better than himself;
... like how a boy declares it his personal mission to watch out for a girl; and
... like how someone thinks that there are other worlds apart from the one he's standing in

appealed to me greatly because these were also scenes in my life.

Playing a good video game, for me, provides the same mental challenges and personal reflections I get from reading good books.

If Kingdom Hearts 2 were a book, it would be at my bedside table always.

And The Universe Shall Give a Sign

I like the way the sun shines
and makes even the weariest soul
take a while
and enjoy
one moment
under the sun's smile.

I like the way the moon beams
at night, catching the look
of a lovely lass
giving radiance
to her beauty
and let the night pass.

I like the way the clouds shift
into shapes and signs
and make secret codes
between friends
and lovers
travelling down the roads.

I like the way the stars twinkle
and make portraits in the sky
first dim, then bright
as if whispering
then singing
a coded ballad in the night.

When the stars twinkle
and the clouds shift,
when the moon beams
and the sun shines,
...
..
.
such is the universe
giving all its signs.

Boracay First-times

When was the last time you did something for the first time?

Well, I did another first two days ago. Actually, I did a lot of firsts.

It was my first time to:

1. ... go on an overnight trip to Boracay...
2. ... by myself.
3. ... participate in a yoga class...
4. ... and achieve a state of meditation that allowed me to hold dry ice for more than a minute without flinching.
5. ... hang out at Cocomangas at night...
6. ... by myself...
7. ... and make new friends...
8. ... that are Korean girls...
9. ... who watched and applauded me as I down 8 shots of tequila...
10. ... in 8 minutes...
11. ... and won a T-shirt for it.
12. ... parasail. It's boring, except for the take-off and landing parts.

It's a crazy (and expensive) thing to do, but I can do it again!

:-) In 48 Hours...

... all by MYSELF starting from now, I would have...

. gotten a venti iced mocha at starbucks,
. driven from Batangas to Manila,
. hopped on a plane to Boracay,
. hit the beach,
. gotten a massage,
. met a fabulous lady,
. had dinner with the fabulous lady,
. decided on getting a henna tattoo on either my arm or nape,
. drunk at least the equivalent of 5 beers
. gone wall-climbing,
. took a couple of dozen of pictures,
. bought some souvenirs,
. exchanged stories with old and new friends,
. done whatever crazy deed that can be done,
. hopped back on the plane to Manila,
. drive back to Batangas,
. and check my emails in the office.

Definitely something's wrong with my schedule, but I really really do need a break. Summer's almost out of my grasp.

This is another one of my "first-time" things, i.e., "when was the last time you did something for the first time?". This will be the first time I'm doing a vacation trip to the beach alone. =)

Oh yeah...

Blood Lines

After being away from my desk for the whole afternoon yesterday, I found a fruit jelly cup at my desk.

Somebody likes me.

Nyahahaha... gawan ba naman yung sarili ko ng tsismis... Ohwell, I'm no fan of gelatinous foods --- coagulated blood has the same texture! And it so happens that the fruit jelly left by my secret admirer (dream on, stip!)looks like coagulated blood.

But thanks for the fruit jelly cup. I'll do a Dracula tonight and gorge on it while watching a horror film on DVD.

------------------------------

Janice and I were chit-chatting yesterday during our regular de-stress break. After going through our workplace's 'current events' -- nilagang love triangle, Business Improvement Review tasks, coded project status -- Janice mentioned that she has relationship ties in Cavite and has roots tracing back to Emilio Aguinaldo.

"What?!"

I explained that I'm a direct great-great-great grandchild of Emilio Aguinaldo himself from my mother's side. My eldest sister and youngest brother did a couple of research works on our family's genealogy (both of which were published in different magazines) years ago.

So in short, Janice and I are distant relatives. Small world, huh.

-------------------------------

Jourdy has been contemplating on getting a tattoo on his upper back, and asked me the other night how long it'll take him to donate a gallon of blood. So that's 4.2 liters divided by 700 mL per donation equals 6 donations. The interval in-between blood donations is 3 months minimum. Therefore, it'll be 18 months before he's accomplished his target. Good for him --- at least he had the foresight to secure his blood supply in case he needs one in the future.

Getting a tattoo will ban you from donating blood, and that's one detail I forgot. I've been thinking of getting one myself (thanks to Lissa for the bright idea and to a couple of lady friends who gave me a gift certificate to a tattoo parlor for my birthday). However, I completely forgot about my blood donation status.

So far, I've donated a total of 2000 mL. I'm limited to 500 mL per donation because of my weight and body type. But according to my sis, that's enough blood in the bank for normal medical emergencies.

And what tattoos to get? I've reduced my options to either a celtic design of the Pisces zodiac or Squall's emblem on Final Fantasy VIII. Jourdy's asking for ideas on kanji translations of his name or virtues, but a-li-ba-ta writing may be good too.

My "You" Post

if i can discern that it is you
from afar by just a wisp of your hair
or your lovely ears
or your graceful shoulders

what is it am i feeling?

if i can hear your melodious voice
clearly among the chorus
or in a crowded bar
or in a throng of ladies
when I am seated away

what is this that i feel?

if i know is it you
when you pat me at my back
or when you approach me from behind
or when you leave an unsigned note

what is it that i feel?

You make me feel happy.
You make me feel at ease.
You make me feel light at my feet and do stupid things.
You make me feel welcomed.
You make me feel at peace.
You make me feel ecstatic over the simplest things.

what is it that you feel?

all i need is a sign
a point of discontinuity in time
to make my daydreams real
and tell you how i feel.

Holy Week Horrors

Finally... a long break from work is coming up, a chance for me to slow down my pace and recharge my batteries.

Not really.

You see, every year for the last six or seven years, the week I dread the most is Holy Week. It's the time of the year when I don't know if I'll live to see the next day.

There is some truth in the superstition that during Holy Week, the devil and his minions and the spiritual mumbo-jumbo traps are most active and predatory. My lola would say "Patay kasi ang Diyos" and hence evil will be at its strongest. What makes me believe all these is that during Holy Week, I always experience weird, supernatural and sometimes horrifying event whenever I'm sleeping or when the clock strikes 3 am.

When I first encountered this "problem", I dismissed it as a case of over-eating and hence the popular 'bangungot' theory. My first Holy Week nightmare involved a lady clad in black at the foot of my bed and four dark men holding me down on my bed at my wrists and feet. I tried to relax, but panic overtook me and I endured the whole ordeal by reciting three complete rosaries.

The following year, my semana-santa experience was at a beach while I was on vacation. My best friend and I just downed a whole bottle of vodka by ourselves. Straggling back to our room, we realized an unusual number of black cats congregating at the front of our room. In what seems to be choreographed by some unknown force, all the cats hissed at us with fangs open. Time-check: 3 am on my watch.

In the succeeding year, I encountered a hermit in my dream. He told me a story about how the devil and his minions go after people with unnatural abilities and eat their brains. At the end of the dream, when I was about to stand up, I discovered that I could not. And the hermit removed his cloak and his appearance changed to a demon. My... what big fangs he has! (the better to eat you, my dear...). I woke up in a break of cold sweat.

I have more stories of my Holy Week horrors to which I have compiled in one of my personal journals (it contains everything macabre that I have encountered so far).

The reason I write this is that last Sunday early morning, I had my most recent Holy Week horror. At exactly 3 am on my digital clock, I felt a continuous electric shock going through all my body (is that how epileptics feel when they have seizures?). I was caught off-guard. From year 3 onwards of my abnormal experiences, I've made it a point to keep a silver rosary under my pillow as my anchor/amulet. But that time around, I only had a Timex watch under my pillow.

I guess I need to prepare once more for my yearly ordeal with the devil and his minions.

And that will be the subject of my next post.

My Humps

This one is for the books.

Seven young male engineers (who 10-15 years from now will most probably be holding senior positions in the refinery) literally brought the female audience to their feet screaming hysterically in a surprise dance number last Saturday night. It was the despedida-bienvenida event for the refinery's outgoing and incoming refinery managers.

Dressed in tight HerBench shirts with a bold 'TEASE' printed at the front, I, Volt, Glenn, Jourdan, Emer, Ian and Tudoy performed what could count as a 'most embarassing moment' for all of us -- a hunky-naughty-male dance rendition of Black Eyed Peas' "MY HUMPS" onstage.

High-pitched screams and thrilled laughter from the audience as we did our jilly-whipping slaps, gyrating turns and sultry poses almost drowned out our music accompaniment. According to Grace, the shouts were almost 'osgasmic' in nature.

We received a standing ovation at the end of our 3-minute number and several shouts of 'More! More!' (dunno if the women were referring to us dancing some more or us taking off more pieces of our clothing).

Not bad for us, considering we rehearsed the whole thing in a span of two dinners and one lunch break.

Special thanks to Julie who choreographed the whole thing.

Wish the seven of us that we'd still be treated by the rest of the staff here as qualified engineers and not an ounce less because of 'My Humps'.

Booyah!

+ Sid

Sid passed away this morning after a heart attack. He's in his early thirties. Condolences to his family and Maya.

Sid is one of the warmer people around the airsoft community. When I was a newbie more than two years ago, he was one of the most approachable players around. He'd welcome me with a warm "STIPPY! 'Musta na pare?". He's got the talent to make anybody he talks to feel welcomed in our informal underground community.

We'll miss you, pare.

Cheers.

Einstein's Dreams / Weekend

About 12 or 13 years ago when I was in high school, my literature "coach" provided me a bunch of vignettes in newsprint to demonstrate a writing style she called "perspective-setting". It's part of my exposure for an upcoming creative writing competition for high school students at that time.

The central theme of the collection was 'TIME'.

The vignettes demonstrated how, if we look at the concept of time from different angles and references, we can explain certain behaviors of our friends, lovers, family, God, pets, enemies, colleagues and of people who are perfect strangers to us.

In one story, there is proof that time slows down the farther you go from the earth's core. Thus, people who wish to gain a few seconds more in life scramble for the higher grounds. Going and living 'Higher' gains stature for those who are successful. And hence everybody wants to be of 'High' status.

In another story, there exists an area where time stops. People who are caught in it are mostly parents in the act of hugging their children and lovers cherishing their 'most memorable moment'. Unfortunately, some choose to remain trapped in this area even if the children and lovers have already moved on away from this area. And so those who choose to remain in the area where time stops doesn't see nor feel how the rest of the world has progressed.

There are 20 or 30 more similar theories of time, all of them fascinating and intriguing. All these have provided me some scientific and philosophical reasoning to explain why the people around me (and more importanly myself) choose the actions they choose.

Now why am I posting this? Last Saturday, I was browsing at Powerbooks and came across EINSTEIN'S DREAMS.

It was a thrilling flashback for me. A recommended read to everyone. :D

--------------------

On to lighter stuff:

Last Friday I got to see Ice Age 2. Very hilarious! I think I was those who laughed the loudest inside the cinema. It's just what I needed for a very stressful quarter of work so far.

After the movie, Richard said that he missed the 'inuman' days. MJ and I agreed to go for one-or-two. We had beer and fries at Merk's. Drank, exchanged stories, at ang walang kamatayang topic na 'MJ needs a boyfriend soon + Swerte ang mapapangasawa ni Stip + who's it gonna be for Richard'.

Saturday was badminton day --- I had a tournament at the Zone in Makati. My partner turned out to be a 'Johnny Bravo' (picture tight-fitting muscle shirt and tight-and-skimpy shorts) who competes professionally in bodybuilding. We almost made it to the finals but our last elimination game was very terrible. Johnny Bravo was all-power and no finesse and made a lot of errors. But nevertheless, it was fun. My crosscourt backhand drop shot is more spectacular than usual.

Saturday night was a post-birthday dinner celebration with my family at Super Bowl of China. It's my first time in 2 months to see all my siblings and parents seated together in one table. :D

Shopping: bought (1) Nautica board shorts (2) a simple white shirt from F&H (3) a couple of PC games from Datablitz (4) DVDs of Fearless, Lord of War and Nanny McPhee and (5) a couple of books from Powerbooks. Almost bought a Toshiba laptop (there's a BPI installment madness at that time) and a Playstation Portable, but my willpower was just strong enough to prevent me from buying them compulsively.

That's a nice weekend. :D