Happy Christmas

I met a man in Nigeria years ago,
an Ibo,
who said he had three hundred relatives
he knew by name.
His wife had just had a baby.
They were going to take it
on foot
to be welcomed and marveled at
by as many of those relatives
as they could find,
even though
there was a war going on.
Wouldn’t you love to have been
such a famous baby?
I wish I could wave a magic wand
this Christmas,
and give every desperately lonesome
and hungry and lost American
man, woman, or child
the love and comfort and support
of an extended family.
Just two people and a babe in the manger,
given a heartless Government,
is no survival scheme.

- Kurt Vonnegut, 2004

Customer Service

Me: May reservation ba kayo?
Genius on the phone (GOTP): Papunta ho saan?
Me: Sa Olongapo.
GOTP: Wala ho.
Me: Sa Zambales?
GOTP: Wala din ho.
Me: Maski yung last trip? Yung 11 ng gabi?
GOTP: Meron po.

(Trips to Zambales, just in case you don't have a Philippine road map on hand, go through Olongapo.)

Cooling-Off

I have absolutely nothing to do tonight.

Or, tomorrow night and every single night for the next two weeks, for that matter. There is absolutely nothing that I have to photocopy, highlight, read and/or, God forbid, memorize. There will be no opportunities for other people to inflict moral damages upon my person, and aside from lining up behind total morons in the ATM, there will be no opportunity for me to wish harm to befall, presumably, a fellow human being.

This is probably how drug-induced altered states of consciousness feel like. I know this will not last, but at least, I will be celebrating the holidays on a high - drug-induced or otherwise.

Rehab

"There's not a day goes by I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try and talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone and this old man is all that's left. I got to live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So you go on and stamp your form, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a shit."

- Red, The Shawshank Redemption

More Deep Thoughts

I finally qualified for a Nike Park VIP card. Yay.

* * *

I can't wait for my authentic Ryan Buenafe Ateneo jersey. Hopefully, I'd get my hands on it before Christmas.

* * *

Jover had me hooked on fantasy basketball. As of this writing, my team is tied for 6th in a fifteen-team league.

* * *

I took the long route home last Tuesday: I walked from the office to the train station at Ayala, took the train all the way to North Ave. (after missing 2 text messages, 3 calls and 1 crazy woman pounding the train before the train left Cubao), crossed over to the other side of the platform, took the train back to Guadalupe, and after futilely waiting for an FX ride, took a cab home.

Home, which ordinarily, is 1 jeepney and 1 tricycle ride away from the office.

* * *

For a game show host, Richard Gomez makes a very good pervert. I don't know, is it just me, or does he really just naturally appear as if he's molesting every female contestant on the show?

* * *

Speaking of TV shows, Zita was voted off the island and she's mad. Note to Zita: it's a game. Anyone can be voted off. When the Good Lord said "Blessed are the poor," He doesn't mean that the poor are entitled to win every single TV game show on the planet. But, I know you'll get over it. Hopefully, soon.

#34

Dave Matthews Band plays #34, at the Hollywood Bowl, October 2, 2007.

Sour Grapes

"The best-laid plans of mice and men / Go oft awry"

- Robert Burns, To A Mouse, on Turning Her Up in Her Nest, With The Plough

Apparently, the CRS is to the College of Law, as speed limits and pants are to Homer Simpson: a suggestion.

Here is what I propose: the college should just do away with the CRS and simply hand out pre-filled Form 5s to students, who can then proceed either to Palma Hall or to the OUR and pay the assessed fees immediately. It will not only save everybody the time and effort needed to craft a class schedule, pre-enlist, fill out a Form 5 which, at the end of the day, are all pointless anyway; it will also save much-needed bandwidth because people no longer need to access CRS. This would also do away with validation, checking and assessment. Imagine how easy registration would be.

They can leave the electives to the students. They just need to make sure that electives with the right number of units, which are not in conflict with any of the predetermined courses (and sections), are actually available for the student to take.

Just a thought.

Cow Dung

Reliving the Moments

"When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band."

- David Bowie, Ziggy Stardust

My wishlist for my first office Kris Kringle contained a solitary item: the Eraserheads' Cutterpillow album (I think I just dated myself). I was fresh off college, it was my first job and I was so cheap (some will say that I still am) that I was willing to wait until a few weeks before Christmas before finally getting my hands on my own copy of the album. That album, incidentally, went platinum the day after they launched it at the UP Sunken Garden.

A few years and a few more albums later (including one - Natin99 - which was brought to the US by a friend when I was there, signed by the members of the band), I now get to enjoy more luxuries in life, like not waiting until Christmas to get the Heads' latest - and most probably, really, last - album. The Reunion Concert is their first live album, containing all 15 songs performed by the band last August 30, before Ely's heart went into "overdrive." The best part about the album, of course, is that I am actually in it (yes, along with 30,000 other people counting down, and chanting "group hug").

I was planning to go to Music One before going to work earlier today, but let's just say that I got lucky. The press release said that the album was going to be released on November 3 - today. That is why I was pleasantly surprised to find Odyssey selling the album as early as last Saturday. The saleslady told me, matter-of-factly, that they were releasing it early ahead of everybody else. I don't know if that's alright, but, who am I to complain? I spent the entire weekend reliving the best concert I have been to in recent years. It never gets old.

Best Movie Lines Ever

Jeff Portnoy: Hey, Alpa, if you come over here and untie me, I will literally suck your dick, right now.

Alpa Chino: Man, what did I tell you? I love tha pussy!

Jeff Portnoy: I'll cradle the balls, stroke the shaft, work the pipes, and swallow the gravy.

- Tropic Thunder

Bliss

"Enjoy what's left of your semestral break."

Including today, we have 11 days of reprieve before we all go back to Shawshank. I have already started reading Playing for Pizza last night - a book which I bought way back in June, in premature anticipation of this break. Later, Weng and I will try to catch Tropic Thunder at Glorietta (Power Plant and GB3 are now showing High School Musical 3 - no, I will not pay any money only to see that). It's been a quite a while since we've been inside a movie house - I think the last movie we saw was The Clone Wars.

(I also hoped to be more productive at work for the next two weeks. I think you have a pretty good idea on how that is going so far. Harhar.)

I also need to get a copy of SI's NBA Preview Issue, which should be out in Manila next week. Which means that I have to finish registration early in the morning sometime next week so that I can immediately visit the friendly neighborhood Bufini store. Speaking of registration, here's hoping that the people who actually run the college stop scrutinizing peoples' Form 5s too much, get the fuck out of the way, and just let people determine and drive their own fates. Really, I am confused as to why the fuck they even care.

Nego is coming up, and so is PrIL (which, incidentally rhymes with "kill"). We're also getting Admin and Tax 2, and if the gods smile down upon us, IPL without any conflicts in schedule, whatsoever. If things go as smoothly as we hope, there should be a better than even chance that we can watch more movies in the coming months.

Song of the Moment

Hinihingal ka lang
May oras pang natitira
Kahit parang ang layo pa
Habol

Kung harangan ka man
Sumalakay man mga bantay
Lahat kami Maghihintay
Habol, habol!

Refrain:
Dehado kung dehado
Para sa'n pang mga galos mo
Kung titiklop ka lang
Titiklop ka lang
Matalo kung matalo
Huwag ka sanang magkakamaling
Sumuko na lang
Woah

Maagawan ka man
Lalung huwag kang papipiga
Kumpiyansa lang bawat bangga
Woah

Kumaripas ka na
Humanda ka na sa paglipad
Pakpak nati'y ilalantad
Woah

Repeat Refrain

Chorus:
Ang puso
Iaalay
Sa laban
Kapalit ay tagumpay

Ang puso
Iaalay
Sa laban
Kapalit ay tagumpay

Repeat Refrain

Ang puso
Ialay
Sa laban
Kapalit ay tagumpay

Chorus:
Ang puso
Iaalay
Sa laban, sa laban, sa laban, sa laban mo

Intrumental

Coda:
Ang puso
Iaalay
Sa laban
Kapalit ay tagumpay
(Repeat thrice)

- Puso, Sponge Cola

One To Go

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

-Reinhold Niebuhr

We are finally done with Medjur, Puboff, Evidence and Locgov. Of course, when I say "done," I mean we have done everything on our part that is humanly possible (including taking leaves without pay from work, for instance) if only never to see the same faces (or the same cases) ever again. (Not to mention, that we also want to get out of Shawshank on time.)

Medjur is really done - "as sure as night follows day." There is no chance in hell anyone would flunk that course. Puboff and Locgov, assuming that the final grades will be computed in the manner the professors said they would last June, should be mathematically impossible to flunk given the previous numbers. (But, of course, stranger things have happened.) That leaves Evidence, which answers to the exam questions I still could not figure out, even after the exam (which was also the case last sem with Civpro, so please God, I am not exactly praying for a miracle, I just want the same results).

And then, there's Tax. I got myself a 119-page reviewer from some law school along Mendiola which I will use in trying to prepare for it. (In comparison, their reviewer for Evidence had 57 pages, Puboff and Locgov both less than 10, and yet all these subjects are worth 3 units. Go figure.) As was the case in the six previous semesters, it is most difficult to get yourself to prepare for the last exam. At this point, people are really drooling in anticipation of the semestral break. You truly, honestly just want to get it over and done with. (Note to friends: it is a good idea to take the Civpro or Evidence finals last - you want to take the other exams with hope still in your hearts.)

Wish us luck.

So Close

So, after watching My Cousin Vinny just before the Great Ateneo Bonfire, cutting LocGov and missing Toyapi's spoken word performance, staying awake through Tax, watching two of the most depressing, suicide-inducing films I have ever seen in my life - one after the other, and surviving GR in Puboff, there is but one class left, and I somehow cannot get my lazy ass to prepare for it.

How "Sweep" It Is

I'm back.

The win last Thursday was the sweetest win against DLRT that I have ever seen live, and I am saying this not only because it was the first and only Ateneo championship that I have been blessed enough to see with my own eyes. That win made it a clean season sweep for the Eagles - regular season and the finals. That, boys and girls, should effectively expunge all that shit about "2>3." Not only is "4>0" better, it is also mathematically correct. Leave it to the PEPsters to screw not only everything we learned about spelling, but arithmetic, as well. That win marked the first time, either team won four times against the other. It won for the Eagles its fourth UAAP seniors basketball title, the third at the expense of - you guessed it - DLRT. When it matters? It couldn't matter more than in the UAAP finals, you dorks, where we have already beaten your sorry asses three out of four times (four out of six, if you include the NC years). Now, I can forget all the bad things that happened during the 2006 season and get rid of those Jojo Duncil nightmares for good.

The Game 2 win was made doubly sweeter by the fact that I did not have to look for a TV set to get updates on Game 3 last Sunday, which incidentally, was the day my sister finally got married. I don't think she would have forgiven me if I started cheering lustily during the offertory.

With the season over, I can now get back to less serious stuff - like Evidence and Tax. And, of course, there's work. I still have to pay the bills.

But, before all that, I have to go to the bonfire tonight.

I am Nonoy

So, who's your daddy, now?

---
Photo courtesy of Aaron Vicencio.

Manna from Heaven

Class

Ignominy

Yesterday's game is a testament to why I prefer boring blowouts over heart-stopping, gut-wrenching ordeals. They make for enjoying, relaxing afternoons with your friends. No suspense. No surprises. The better team should win, and win easy. After watching two hard-fought games against UE during the elimination rounds, with the second going into overtime, and only after Chris Tiu and Ryan Buenafe made four consecutive triples, we were expecting another close game. Afterwards, nobody was complaining that we were all wrong.

The game started shortly after DLRT won by five points against FEU. Their crowd was understandably, well, happy. They were, in fact, so happy that they started chanting "Go UE!" even before the red-clad people in the audience could find seats. Some of them, probably hoping for, if not expecting, an upset, stayed to enjoy the second game. I am not so sure if they enjoyed what they saw as much as we did.

How bad was the game for UE? At one point early in the fourth quarter, Ateneo has already scored twice as many points as UE did. They were able to whittle it down to a more "respectable" 20-point margin after the final buzzer by scoring 22 points in the garbage time that is the fourth quarter. UE team captain Marcy Arellano, playing what turned out to be his last game in the UAAP, scored a grand total of 0 points, going 0-6 from the field (including one horrible airball) and 0-2 from the line. The Ateneo crowd started celebrating as early as the third quarter, when chants of "We want La Salle!" wafted through the coliseum. After the Eagles came back from an early 11-5 hole to erect what turned out to be an insurmountable 17-11 lead at the end of the first, little did we know that the Warriors have already given us their best shot. While UE couldn't buy an easy basket from anywhere, Jai Rayes was making jumper after jumper, and Eric Salamat was making ridiculously difficult shots off the break. In the end, only a handful of UE supporters remained to sing their Alma Mater hymn with their players. One would be hard-pressed not to feel bad for the UE players, after seeing their crowd disappear long before the final buzzer, who look so alone after yet another playoff disaster.

The Eagles are in the finals for the 7th time since joining the UAAP in 1978. They have won the title three times, twice against its old, hated foe. Everything thus far has been to true to form. The two best teams during the season will face-off for the basketball title, and an entire year's worth of bragging rights. Two more games. One big fight.

Go Ateneo.


---
Photo courtesy of PizzaGuy.

Blueberries and Cream

"Donuts. Is there anything they can't do?"

- Homer Simpson

Yet Another "13-1" Game

Only this time*, after the final buzzer, we were the ones with 13 wins.

I did not expect to be at the game last Saturday, since getting tickets proved to be much more difficult than getting a pair for the Eraserheads reunion concert. But, it pays to have friends who regularly watch all the games. I got a call three hours before the game, a few minutes before Tax class, that one Upper B ticket was available. I arrived at the venue with the Eagles leading the Pepsters 16-6. Ateneo never trailed.


Go Ateneo!

---
* In 2002, DLRT had a 13-0 record going into its last elimination round game against Ateneo. Suffice it to say that there was no sweep that season.

Photo courtesy of the Ateneo Sports Shooters.

Rock the Night Nostalgic

"we prepared 3 sets. the first was just a warm up. the remaining two was going to be the fun part."

- Raymund Marasigan

Through 15 songs, which every single person in the venue apparently knew by heart, Ely, Marcus, Buddy and Raymund - collectively known as the Eraserheads - drove more than 20,000 people into fits of delirious excitement and nostalgia last Saturday at the Fort in Taguig. For the first time since the greatest Filipino band ever broke up because of "height differences," amid chants of "group hug" from the all-too-happy crowd, the Eraserheads - all four of them - are back together and performing once again - even if only for one night.

The anti-climactic ending notwithstanding, I believe everybody, with cellphone or camera on hand, who sang, and danced, and swayed with almost everybody else, had the greatest time ("Alapaap" alone, as far as I'm concerned, already covered the ticket price). There were no front acts and no segues, it was one song after another, and you want to keep on asking for more. If anything, the people at the venue can now only wonder what the second set would have been like, after experiencing the first.

Or, we can all look forward to the second reunion, instead.

The set list:

I

Alapaap
Ligaya
Sembreak
Hey Jay
Harana
Fruitcake
Toyang
Kamasupra
Kailan
Huwag Kang Matakot
Kaliwete
With a Smile
Shake Yer Head
Huwag Mo Nang Itanong
Lightyears

II*

Maskara
Poorman’s Grave
Torpedo
Trip to Jerusalem
Back2me
Maselang Bahaghari
Maling Akala
Tikman
Spolarium
Magasin
Para sa Masa
Overdrive
Pare Ko
Minsan
Huling El Bimbo

---
* After the word went out the Ely Buendia was okay and in stable condition after playing a whole set during the Reunion Concert last [Saturday], the three Eraserheads, musicians in the audience, and music scenesters alike converged at Saguijo in Makati for an impromptu jam containing the songs of the aborted second set. - Philmusic.com

Ang Muling El Bimbo

Ligaya

Eagles Win

. . .

tiu suffering from cramps 1:33
salamat for tiumarcy wins the tip
marcy missd fb
espiritu putback and fould by rabeh
54-57 ue
espiritu 0-1 ft
salamat rb 1:21
buenafe fould on drive 1:11
buenafe 1-2 ft
55-57 ue
baclao bounces ball off ue player 1:07
rabeh fould by espiritu 1:01 penalty
rabeh 2-2 ft
57-57 1:01
ue bad pass 35 sec
buenafe drive on triple team
59-57 admu
timeout 21 sec
espiritu missd drive
baclao rb 6 sec
zamar pf on baclao penalty
baclao 2-2 ft
61-57 admu
salamat steal
end of overtime


rabeh 19 pts 11 rebs 1 steal
nonoy 10 pts 13 rebs 3 blocks

---
live updates courtesy of www.bask3tball.com.
photo courtesy of the Ateneo Sports Shooters.

I am Ninoy

I am a hero.
I do what I believe is right.
I do what I believe is good.
I fight for justice.
I fight for freedom.
I am a hero.
In a big way, in a small way.
In my own way.
I am a hero.
I am Ninoy.

---
For more information, visit I AM NINOY.

It's Time To Add Another Stripe*

---

* courtesy of Rick Oliveros

Signs of the Times

On the way from Katipunan to the ULTRA for yesterday's game against the NU Bulldogs, we saw a sign painted on a pedestrian overpass proudly saying:

SIGE, PASIG. SIGE PA.

I am actually ambivalent as to whether this is simply a cheap attempt by the Pasig city government to emphasize its use of the letter "E" in its slogan, or a magnificent marketing ploy to promote its most (in)famous industry (No, it's not retail).

What's next? Here are a few suggestions:

GANYAN, PASIG. GANYAN.

BILISAN MO, PASIG. BILISAN MO PA.

MALAPIT NA, PASIG. MALAPIT NA.

For any more suggestions, please contact Pasig City Hall.

Last Song Syndrome

Di ka na mababasa ng ulan
Di ka na mababasa ng ulan
(Di na, di na, di, di, di)
Mababasa ng ulan
(Di na, di na, di, di, di)
Mababasa ng ulan
(Di na, di na, di, di, di)
Mababasa ng ulan
(Di na, di na, di, di, di, di, di, di)

The lines above came from what is probably the most stupid song I have heard since Mirahel's vomit-inducing attempt at tragicomedy was released sometime ago (it was also PCSO's highly successful attempt to irritate Filipinos to the point of suicide). While Mirahel's music (this is me being generous) was pounded, everyday, on every Filipino who watched TV, I had the misfortune of hearing this one, for the first time, on the way to the office on a cab ride from Diliman. I thought the music was familiar, and before I realized it, I think the driver was lucky that, at that moment, I did not have a gun on my hand.

These days, a cab ride from Diliman to Makati will expose you, not only to the unimpeachable solutions of cab drivers to this country's ills, but sometimes, also to free legal advice from a UP Law professor, and to free medical advice from an old woman sounding really dead-bored while talking to her guest MD that day. If you are really lucky, you will find a amiable cab driver who likes music, and you get to enjoy the music that sells to the Filipino, right now.

Apparently, this shit sells right now. I don't know what the fuck is wrong with people who write these songs, but I thought I had heard the end of it with Sumpa Ko, which is nothing but an uber-literal translation of, you guessed it, All 4 One's I Swear. But of course, life is full of disappointments. Something which unfortunately (this is me being sarcastic) hit Mirahel after their widely-seen PCSO ad, and which hopefully will soon embrace whoever unleashed this horror upon an unsuspecting public. God willing, those sick bastards never will be seen or heard from ever again.

(I feel I have to make a disclaimer right now. The Visayan version of Low that is hitting the airwaves - Butete - is cool. In fact, it is so cool that a friend of mine, an Ateneo College instructor and UP law student - ranked 8th in his class - has committed its lyrics to memory. "Diay kadtu makahilow low low low low low low . . .")

Decapitated Fowls

O CAPTAIN! my Captain! our fearful trip is done;
The ship has weather’d every rack, the prize we sought is won;
The port is near, the bells I hear, the people all exulting,
While follow eyes the steady keel, the vessel grim and daring:
But O heart! heart! heart!
O the bleeding drops of red,
Where on the deck my Captain lies,
Fallen cold and dead.

- Walt Whitman, O Captain! My Captain!

Wanted: Tubero

Once upon a time, in a kingdom far, far away, was a little hamlet where 16 silly and very unfortunate people lived. The kingdom was ruled by four wicked witches (five, actually, but no one in the hamlet, took the fifth one seriously), any one of which, by comparison, by most people's estimation, will make Dolores Umbridge look like a charming, old lady. This early, their fledgling reign of terror may have already surpassed the magnitude of horror and sheer evil of all those which came before.

The first witch is not new. The silly people from the hamlet has had her as administrator before, and each and every one of them was her biatch at some point. Some were eventually exiled. Some ran away. Most decided that they can probably just humor the bitch and let her be. No one knows to this day whether that worked or not. Those who ran away came back after a few years, after finding out that resistance is, ultimately, futile. Mercifully, the gods decided that the hamlet has had enough suffering from the periods past, and reduced the scope of duties of the first witch, such that the hamlet will not be reminded of Madonna, as often as before.

The second witch was born when all the hate in the world was for the taking, and everyone else but her was perfectly sound asleep. She took all the hate - ALL - that the world can give, and kept it all for herself. A great majority of that hate has settled on her ass. That burden, has disfigured her face forever - cursed never to smile again until the end of time.

The third witch is confused and is confusing. She hates all things with little dongs swaying in the wind. She is most definitely a narcissist, and also appears to be a psychotic sociopath whose episodes can be as confusing as her gender. She tries to make her subjects at ease, that is, until one of her episodes kick in, and tell you matter-of-factly, that she'll have your head chopped off by sundown.

The fourth witch appears to have a life outside the coven. She had a husband and a child long before she became a wicked witch. She looks happy, and at the beginning, may have tried to stoke fear into the hearts of her silly subjects. The people are not yet sure as to whether they will love her or hate her, but they are not (yet) trembling from fear of pain and suffering, upon hearing her footsteps. She appears to be quite a reasonable witch, but the hamlet has been wrong before.

The hamlet, is now wondering, "what the fuck is wrong with the first three witches?" Is it in the water? Is it in the plumbing? Maybe the plumbing no longer works, and water no longer flows through the pipes. Who knows?

Rumor Mongering

The rumors are true.

They are back.

Even if only for one night.


I wish I could go back to those fairy book tales
Forget the real world awhile
And seek the seas of the talking whales
A place of wishing wells and magic spells
Where everything starts out once upon a time
Long, long ago and ends happily ever after

- Wishing Wells

Res Ipsa Loquitur

Lucky Charm

Ateneo won all three games that I watched live from the Big Dome's Upper Box section against La Salle last year. The Eagles also lost both games that I watched from my bed at home. Being the rational man that I am, I have come to the conclusion that I have to watch the game live, if the Blue Eagles would have any shot at winning their games.

That theory was promptly dismissed last night, after Ateneo beat the living organic fertilizer out of DLSU, 79-73 (OK, that was biased), when I was five MRT stations and one jeepney ride away. While the result admittedly deprived me of an irrational basis to blackmail my ticket-toting friends (which never worked anyway - so much for team spirit), I'd always take an Ateneo win against La Salle (or Al Salle as some cheerleaders spell it) any day.

Next up: Adamson, which has not, incidentally, won a UAAP game against Ateneo since the Erap administration.

---

Image courtesy of the Ateneo Sports Shooters.

How Sulpicio Lines Arrived at a Decision to Sue PAGASA

Manny Pacquiao and the Boston Celtics

If you suddenly thought the Pacman can now play center for Team Pilipinas, you might want to check his height again after he steps down from whatever it is he was standing on.

But, who the fuck cares? These are the Boston Celtics, baby. The Boston freaking NBA champions Celtics!

There Really was a Real Power Plant Here Before

It took all of two weeks for me to figure out a routine for all the Saturdays, for the next five months - go home, pick my wife up, and kill time at the Power Plant Mall. Whereas before, when I usually spent the late afternoon and early evening after Malcolm sleeping soundly, only to wake up hours later to watch TV and play NBA Live; so far this semester, we were able to catch two films in the last three weeks (Kung Fu Panda and Incredible Hulk) - that's already two more movies than last semester, when we mostly watched movies at home, courtesy of our enterprising brothers from the South (no, I do not mean Alabang).

I wasn't able to see Get Smart last Saturday, but I was able to ogle see Michelle Madrigal instead. I also saw a Philippine Idol finalist and his Viva Hot Babe girlfriend (who, according to Weng, is expecting), and one of Da King's progeny and her rumored boyfriend - a Senator's son, whose family's propensity to reproduce is quite notorious in these parts. I was not starstruck, mind you - since we started spending most of our free time at the nearest, least-crowded mall near our place, you'd always almost expect to see someone famous (for whatever reason) at the Power Plant. I could make a list here but I won't. But, I have to say that Dolphy is on that list. Come on. You have to acknowledge the man.

But, yeah. Michelle Madrigal was hot that Saturday.

Since Weng didn't want to relax and see a movie, she spent her time over at the mothership - Kamiseta - instead, whose rule of no fitting whenever there is a sale, still does not make any sense to me, up to this very day. I spent time browsing at Fully Booked and Bufini, and came up with a mass-market paperback copy of John Grisham's second football novel (Playing for Pizza will only be the second Grisham book I have ever read, the first being Bleachers), which title, according to amazon.com, will be released on mass-market paperback format on July 22, 2008; and the June 9 and June 16 issues of Sports Illustrated. I know the Celtics already won, but I am a creature of the 80s. Short of bringing back new wave music, I believe I am, at least, entitled to reminisce.

I'm Moving to Japan

Ready on the Right?

Definition

Board and Lodging, n.. see Ransom.

Nothing Left to Lose

Shadow Reads The News Today, Oh Boy

Any NBA fan born before 1980, takes one of two sides: the Lakers or the Celtics. If you were introduced to the NBA before bald heads, tats, and baggy shorts, back when Michael Jordan was just a brash, skinny kid who could really jump, you would think that in this league, only the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics matter.

Not without reason. During the 1980s, the Lakers and the Celtics won eight NBA titles between them (Lakers - 80, 82, 85, 87, 88; Celtics - 81, 84, 86). They played for the title three times (84, 85, 87), with the Lakers winning twice. Each team had one of the two best players in the league - LA had Magic, Beantown had Bird. The other players were not too shabby either: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, James Worthy, Robert Parish, Kevin McHale.

Both franchises fell into the pits after both Bird and Magic retired. The Lakers won three more titles with Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, but tomorrow will be the first time, in more than 20 years, that these two old rivals will play for the trophy once again. This time it will be the Lakers' Bryant and Pau Gasol going up against the Celtics' Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen.

* * *

My Modern History professor (God bless his soul) at the Ateneo was an old American Jesuit. He taught history as if he were simply recalling what he himself witnessed just the day before. History according to Fr. Leonard was like a first-hand account. He was already old at the time, and it wouldn't surprise me if someone told me today that the old man was really there at the Battle of Verdun.

I remembered him last night after I heard the news that Barack Obama has clinched the Democratic Party's nomination for US President. In one of his classes, Fr. Leonard told us how he never imagined that he would still be alive to see the fall of the Berlin Wall and the fall of Communism (specifically, the Soviet Union). Well, I lived to see the day that one of the two predominant political parties in the United States nominated an African-American - "a skinny kid from the south side of Chicago" - for President. Come November, we might also very well live to see the day that an African-American is elected President of the United States.

Quote of the Day

"No disrespect to Kyra Sedgwick, but that damn boy Kobe Bryant is The Closer."

- Analyst Charles Barkley using the name of TNT's popular television drama to describe Bryant's ability to make critical plays

Here We Go Again

July 5 - Araneta Coliseum
2 PM - ADU vs FEU
4 PM - UE vs UST

July 6 - Araneta Coliseum
2 PM - UP vs NU
4 PM - DLSU vs ADMU

July 10 - Ultra
2 PM - NU vs UE
4 PM - ADMU vs ADU

July 12 - Ultra
2 PM - UP vs UST
4 PM - DLSU vs FEU

July 13 - Ultra
2 PM - ADU vs NU
4 PM - UE vs ADMU

July 17 - Ultra
2 PM - FEU vs UP
4 PM - UST vs DLSU

July 19 - Ultra
2 PM - UP vs ADMU
4 PM - DLSU vs NU

July 20 - Ultra
2 PM - ADU vs UE
4 PM - FEU vs UST

July 24 - Ultra
2 PM - DLSU vs ADU
4 PM - UE vs UP

July 26 - Ultra
2 PM - UP vs DLSU
4 PM - UE vs FEU

July 27 - Ultra
2 PM - ADU vs UST
4 PM - ADMU vs NU

July 31 - Ultra
2 PM - UST vs NU
4 PM - FEU vs ADMU

August 2 - Araneta Coliseum
2 PM - ADU vs UP
4 PM - DLSU vs UE

August 3 - Araneta Coliseum
2 PM - NU vs FEU
4 PM - ADMU vs UST

Heroes Returns

Reboot

"Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them - if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry."

- J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

With the looming end of summer break, and the onset of another semester at Malcolm, I am about as prepared to go back to my "normal" routine, as I am excited to hear the word "discombobulating" in Evidence class.

The summer went well. I was able to finish most of the things I set out to do after Civpro finals, to wit: have seven teeth filled (one tooth has undergone endodontic therapy, otherwise known as a root canal), bring my wife to her PT sessions (check: she can now walk without the aid of crutches or a cane), finish De Quiros' book (one speech left to read), attend an outing (the Laguna scandal was well documented by Pekto at Youtube), and plan a trip (still working on it). For the past two months, I have been coming in late at the office - much later these past few days, because the first four working hours and live coverage of the NBA Conference Finals just happen to coincide. It's not even a tough choice. And no, it does not bother me.

News that he-who-must-not-be-named will regularly see us again promptly welcomed us from Laguna. I have to give props to the people who immediately made all the right moves (and phone calls), pulled the right strings, and averted what would have been a certain man-made disaster. Never again, dickhead.

As expected, early returns show satisfactory results from last year. Granted, that we are still waiting for the most significant and most important result of them all. I couldn't care less what it says in the end, I am just looking to move on. No man in his right mind, would want to go through that again.

Soundtrack

Di ko malilimutan ang Elbi nights
Siomai, Petrino’s at Big Mac
Lechon kawali at Bug-ong
Footlong na pagka-sarap-sarap
Pagkain para sa lahat

- Elbi Nights, Hemp Republic (17-18 May 2008)

Hindi ko talaga ma-gets kung bakit ka ganyan
Ang feeling mo ay sabik sa iyo ang lahat nang kalalakihan
Sorry, pagpasensyahan mo na
Mali talaga ang iyong inaakala
Lahat kami ay nandidiri sa iyo
Ikaskas mo na sana ang mukha mo sa semento

- Silvertoes, Parokya ni Edgar (19 May 2008)

It's something unpredictable, but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.

- Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), Green Day (20 May 2008)

Again, Deep Thoughts

Metro Manila cab drivers are the scum of the Earth.

The day cab drivers in the metropolis stop refusing to convey passengers, is the day a public utility jeepney that can comfortably accomodate all its passengers is invented and mass-produced. It will never happen. If you need to show the utter inutility and incompetence of the LTFRB, the only thing you need to do is try to get a cab ride in Metro Manila, without the driver coming up with some lousy excuse why he cannot go to wherever it is you're going (you'll swear they have some manual on coming up with these excuses), or trying to extort a few more bucks out of you.

* * *

After much thought, I have come to the conclusion that Pokwang is the most annoying person on television now, and probably, ever.

Pokwang, for the uninitiated, is trying hard to be a comedian. The only problem is, the only thing she has going for her, and the only thing she is banking on, is her funny face (read: she is fugly). She tries hard to be funny every freaking day by overly exaggerating every word she says, every facial expression and gesture she makes, and by wearing outrageously stupid costumes so lame, it can probably set off someone with the slightest hint of homicidal tendencies, make him go up the stage, and start chopping her up. The tragedy is, she thinks she's cute that way. Every day, she goes up the stage with Precious Lara Quigaman, Valerie Concepcion, and Mariel Rodriguez. Once you see them all together, you could almost swear you're hearing a Sesame Street song on the background ("Three of these kids belong together; Three of these kids are kind of the same . . .").

(Folks from Honolulu actually shelled out $100/head to party with Pokwang, presumably, among others. If this is not a sad commentary on the Filipino migrant, I do not know what is.)

* * *

We really have a new dean.

Coming through on his promise of encouraging students to "take more responsibility in their choice of electives and professors," CRS, for the first time, is posting the names of the assigned professors. No more TBAs.

(So far, he-who-must-not-be-named is nowhere to be found in CRS. Looking good.)

The Prestige

Suddenly-English-speaking Bearwin Meily is taking himself too seriously. Really now.

He should look Ramon Bautista a.k.a. Dan Michael up. Now, that's entertainment.

The Owl Has Landed

Hooters is a good place to find good chicken wings in the United States. Several friends and colleagues (mostly male) at my first job loved their wings so much that they were not able to resist coming back for more, and usually for the first-timers, asking the Hooter girls to have pictures taken with them. (Yes, you. You know who you are.)

I have been to several Hooters in the US, and I have never had my picture taken with a Hooter girl (I am still ambivalent as to whether that is good or bad). Which probably explains my hesitation at having my picture taken with local Hooter girls. It just doesn't make sense to (1) go home to the Philippines, and (2) wait for over ten years, to have your mugshot finally taken at the Hooters bar.

While our server for my first visit (it won't be the last) at Hooters Manila Bay is admittedly pretty, I noticed that some, if not most, of her colleagues might remind you of those who chose careers of the domestic kind. There were still some "trainors" (Hooter girls from the US) around, which gave Weng a more pronounced idea on the origin of the restaurant's name.

We went there without realizing that the World Pyro Olympics was likewise scheduled that day. The geniuses who run security at MOA screwed up the traffic going there, but it was all well and good, since most of the people in the area were outside waiting for the fireworks to begin when we walked in. According to Claudine (our server), the place is usually packed, and it was packed two hours later, just before we left.

By the way, 20 wings cost P750. I tried the "naked" wings, since I don't remember eating them breaded in the US.

Global!

You have to hand it to their marketing people. After comparing themselves favorably with the likes of Ateneo and La Salle, Informatics is now going after UP.


They have testimonials! From UP alumni, to boot.

Para sa mga Mag-aaral ni Pekto, Ngayong Tag-Araw

"Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins. My sin, my soul. Lo-lee-ta."

- Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

Superego

Justice Cruz noted in his column last weekend how Philippine schools confer "scores of awards" on every graduate during commencement exercises. While I barely received any honorific after elementary school, it brought to mind the one and only award I received from my "beloved alma meyter" (their pronunciation, not mine) many years ago.

It was an award given to me by default, since I was the editor of the school paper that year (I actually shared the award with the valedictorian, who was that year's editor of the Filipino paper). I presume that all previous editors of the paper received the same award in all the years past since its inception. I guess it was mine to lose, and apparently, I did not piss enough people off to lose it (This, notwithstanding the fact that I was summoned to the principal's office, and was personally approached by two teachers, who gave unsolicited advice, because of what was published in the first issue. The adviser later publicly claimed all responsibility, as he should have).

(During my junior year, someone who was bold and presumptuous enough, through sheer confidence and audacity, conceitedly claimed to know who was going to be the next editor, and announced the same to everybody who cared to listen - nevermind that she was in no way, shape or form, connected with the paper. Had she been right, I wouldn't have received this token honorific at all. Why do I still remember these things?)

(That year's Corps Commander - a classmate and a friend - may have pissed off one person too many - the Commandant. He lost the Cadet of the Year award to the Corps Ex-O that year; not that I cared about the CAT - if I remember correctly, I was one of only three persons with the rank of Cadet Private in our class, and I am, to this day, very proud of it.)

Justice Cruz likewise mentioned that he congratulated his grandson "for being the only graduate in his big class who did not receive a single award, not even for being handsome." With that qualification I can no longer say that I can completely feel the Justice's grandson's pain (or bliss, depending on how you look at it) - not that I do not deserve an award for being mouth-watering - my name was, after all, printed twice in the program (the second being in the class list). What prompted this random rant, however, was Justice Cruz' observation that his grandson was able to later accomplish something, that in my really biased opinion, more than adequately made up for whatever it is he missed on his graduation. To that, I can totally, absolutely, completely empathize with.

And I Thought Cogon Grass Was Nasty

"Baby out, baby out . . ."

I guess it's safe to say that I will not be able to look at a canister of Black Suede body spray the same way ever again.

Nirvana

"No more classes, no more books, no more teachers, dirty looks!"

- Bugs Bunny

Since summer classes were required for the duration of my stay in college (the last summer term was optional, but I was dating someone then, and the allowance that I had to forego if I did not enrol, was rather quite difficult to resist, moreso for a "starving" college student like me), the last time I had a real summer break was the summer immediately after graduation. I remember haggling with my then future employer about starting in May. I remember sorely needing a respite. Either that, or I was just plain lazy.

While there are no summer classes at Malcolm, the flexibility of the final exam schedules usually result in a virtually non-existent summer break. At the end of 2006, we had to deal with a professor who supposedly sent his questions via email to his staff, which questions, we were told, mysteriously got lost somewhere in the maze that is the information superhighway. We found out later on, that we had the exact same questions with us from the very first day of classes.

Last year, a professor who I saw for a grand total of four (4) times in the classroom, asked us to submit our answers to his final take-home exam on the last weekend of May. Enrolment for the coming academic year, was about a week thereafter.

This year, after dropping one persecution syndrome sufferer, we were left with (1) a course in which a failure is as close to an impossible condition as one can get, (2) another in which we knew that nobody is going to flunk if this one particular person passed (he did, so we're all expecting 1s), and finally, (3) the mother lode of all pain, suffering and perseverance.

For the first time in a long while, I have two months to do, well, absolutely nothing. So, for the next 60 days, except for the few times that the government decides to ruin my day and air propaganda (or their version of fiction) instead of regular programming, I get to enjoy RPN/CS; I get to wonder why Lyka and her pack don't just get rabies shots (mostly I just stare at the lead actress, ogle is too strong a word); I get to see a high school classmate flip her hair in a detergent ad on TV; I get to watch all the basketball I want (but, I missed KU-Memphis - the best college game in recent memory was aired the morning of Civpro finals); I get to play all the NBA Live that I want; and maybe, just maybe, I get to have some productive work done at the office.

I also have 60 days to have seven teeth filled, and bring my wife to her PT sessions. I have a book to finish, an outing to attend, and a trip to plan. I have all these lovely things to do, which does not involve, among others, getting screamed at and remembering periods for filing petitions and appeals.

Can you believe it? Fantastic.

Shock and Awe

"No matter how great and destructive your problems may seem now, remember, you've probably only seen the tip of them."

For close to three hours last Tuesday, I felt like a deer staring at headlights. Since yesterday, I have been feeling like an ostrich looking for a hole in the ground to stick my head in.

Now, I know what "not knowing what hit you" means. Ugh.

Proud to be a Cervinian

B-sides

Chris Webber, the most famous and the most talented member of Michigan's Fab Five retired from the NBA last week. The Fab Five - Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson - played college ball for the Wolverines for two years, and went to two Final Fours and as many championship games (they lost both). They started as freshmen for Michigan during the 1991 NCAA title game - a first in NCAA history. I was on my first semestral break from college when I watched five bald young kids wearing baggy shorts, trash-talk and showboat their way to the championship game on TV. Some say it revolutionized college ball. That year's Final Four got me hooked for life.

This year, the US NCAA Final Four will feature all four No. 1 seeds for the first time ever. North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and UCLA, will play for the top prize in US college basketball, after disposing of their respective Elite Eight opponents over the weekend. Worth staying up late for: UNC vs. KU - The last time the Jayhawks were in the Final Four, some guy name Roy Williams was coaching the team. He bolted for his Alma Mater, UNC, after KU lost to Syracuse and Carmelo Anthony.

This season, the NBA will possibly feature a 50-win team that will miss the playoffs. As of this writing, Dallas, Denver and Golden State all have 45 wins, with 9 games left to play. One of these teams will miss out on the eighth and last playoff spot in the very strong Western Conference. These three teams are only 5 1/2 games behind the current leader. On the other hand, the East's No. 4 seed, Cleveland, currently has 41 wins.

Later today, the Chicago Cubs will be entering their 100th season without winning a World Series title (If you are really bad at math, the Cubs last won the World Series way back in 1908). This is the longest-running championship drought in all four major leagues in American sports (MLB, NFL, NBA, NHL). If you have a thing for contrasts, the National University Bulldogs last won the UAAP men's title in 1954. It's not even close.

On the local front, Magnolia's Enrico Villanueva was traded for Purefoods' Marc Pingris last week. It should really be that simple, but for the PBA rules prohibiting direct trades between sister teams. So, Purefoods sent Pingris to Coke, who sent second-tier guard Chester Tolomia for Villanueva and Willy Wilson of Magnolia, before shipping them to Purefoods and Barangay Ginebra, respectively. From Coke, Pingris will move to Magnolia for a second round pick, while Wilson will end up in Ginebra for Mark Macapagal. Simple, huh?

Post-Hibernation

I spent my very first Holy Week in Metro Manila, reacquainting myself with Messrs. Regalado and Armstrong. I had to deal with the former if I wanted to have the slightest chance of finishing the enormous backlog that I created during the course of the last two weeks of the academic year. It's not that I had a choice to begin with. The last 200 pages or so were covered in two sessions. The last two sessions. I dealt with the latter, on the other hand, to keep my sanity. Jessica Zafra once wrote, that we are "a generation without closure" - we did not know what happened to Mr. Armstrong and his three kids, namely, Steve, Big Bert, and Little John. Well, GMA-7 delivered closure to those who still needed it over the weekend, by airing Voltes V's The Secret of the Mechanical Eagle, and The Last Saga. I have already seen both several years ago and several years apart. But, who's complaining?

Weng and I spent Easter Sunday watching the PBA's Graduates vs. Dropouts game on TV. It ended in a way only the PBA could have wanted, 90-all. Following FIBA rules on exhibition games, no overtime was played. The PBA and it's players' educational trust fund went home Php 2 million richer. The fund is meant for players’ post-PBA career studies. (A wiseass remarked that this puts our players at a distinct disadvantage since all of them graduated. On the other hand, the only "graduation" the DLRT boys know is on 6 fouls.)

P.S. LA and Larry have been traded to Alaska for Cortez and Bono. As a true-blue Atenista, and an SMB fan since a long, long time ago, I really wanted LA to follow Olsen's footsteps in SMB (calling it Magnolia doesn't sound right after all these years). I wish them luck.

Holy Thursday

Look at all my trials and tribulations
Sinking in a gentle pool of wine.
Don't disturb me now, I can see the answer
Till this evening is this morning, life is fine.

Always thought that I'd be an Apostle.
Knew that I would make it if I tried.
Then when we retire, we can write the Gospels
So they'll still talk about us when we've died.

Look at all my trials and tribulations
Sinking in a gentle pool of wine.
What's that in the bread, it's gone to my head
Till this morning in this evening life is fine.

- The Last Supper, Jesus Christ Superstar*

---
* Mga Awit, Papuri, at Panalangin ng Days With the Lord

Advisory

Easter Sunday's charity match at the Araneta Coliseum, between graduates and dropouts, is set at 4 p.m. and will be televised live on Studio 23. Proceeds of the event will go to the PBA Players’ Educational Trust Fund.

Lenten Thoughts

Cleansing Diet

I am practically done with Specpro. Hooray. I found the answer to my assigned question about two minutes after Mia sent us the assignments last week, and I forwarded it to her posthaste. There were 20 other unassigned questions, which I and two - later four - other likewise lazyass blockmates decided to distribute among ourselves. I have already finished drafting the answers to 3 out of the 4 questions assigned to me, and solved the problem regarding the correction of typographical errors in a person's surname, not by referring to any Specpro textbook, but by calling up my sister, who incidentally, works in a Local Civil Registry office.

After getting the blue books last night, I think most of us can also already cross Labor out of the list of problems we have to worry about. You really have to make an effort to screw this one up to have to take it again.

Civpro, however, is another thing altogether.

Anyway, since Playing for Pizza won't be out in paperback until July, I picked up a copy of Conrado de Quiros' Tongues of Fire earlier today for my SCRA-free summer reading pleasure. Actually, the SCRA-free summer season really won't start until after the second week of April (after Civpro, see above), but really, who cares?

Just for good measure, I also got the latest issue of Time, DVD copies of The Land Before Time (yes, I have seen it before), Mona Lisa Smile, and Coach Carter. If The Land Before Time cannot desensitize your legal gobbledygook-filled brain, I don't know what will.

Looking (Way) Ahead

Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken.
The Force shall free me.

-The Code of the Sith

That will be my write-up for the Memorandum 2010. I can't wait.

In fact, I can't wait for March 18, 2008. Once this month is over and done with, there will be nothing but bliss for the next two months - that is, of course, assuming that everything goes well this month. I don't even want to think about the alternative. Right now, I am hoping and praying that VA will reaffirm my belief in the inherent kindness of human beings.

May God help us all.

Witness

I finally found Toyapi near the steps of the Enterprise Center fronting BPI, after chasing whatever group he's with, from Makati Ave. We tried to find the group from Malcolm, and between the two of us, we figured out how difficult it was to find a group of probably less than a hundred people from a mass of bodies all asking for the head of an evil bitch on a plate. A couple of photographers were angrily asking some people to put their banners down so they can get better shots. I seriously considered throwing a hard, blunt object in their direction, but, I couldn't find a hard, blunt object within my reach. Unfortunately, I didn't see their names, or the organizations they're affiliated with, I could have happily published them here.

There are reportedly around 80,000 people at and near the intersection of Ayala Ave. and Paseo de Roxas right now. It was announced that the PNP prohibited ABC 5's news chopper from flying over the area. Bishop Oscar Cruz, Sr. Mary John Mananzan and Bro. Eddie Villanueva spoke onstage. Notable people in the crowd include Noel Trinidad, Etta Rosales, Manolo Quezon, Butch Abad, and Dinky Soliman. Schools such as Assumption, La Salle, Ateneo, Adamson and UP are well represented (note to mouthpiece Ignacio Bunye: four of these are not SUCs, hence, these have not always been a “source of discontent”). Cory Aquino and Erap Estrada addressed the crowd for about a minute each. Armida delivered a rather weird spiel, which, as we were told later, was apparently a poem. Some guy named "Peter Parker" wearing a Spiderman costume, rapped to the delight of the Bayan Muna crowd.

As I was leaving the area (by following a woman riding some small contraption, much like how drivers follow ambulances at EDSA during rush hour), I heard that Jun Lozada has arrived. He will not be speaking until 6:30, just in time for the networks to cover it live for their news broadcasts.



---
Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Relly Carpio from the 10th floor ledge of the Philippine First Building in Makati City.

Would Luli Watch?

If you want to (1) express dissent/disgust/pure and unadulterated hatred for all things related to fake presidents and evil bitches, (2) support your alma mater, and (3) watch a basketball game, all at the same time, then this exhibition game is for you.

But on March 16, the two squads and their rabid fans will set aside their history of bitter competition for a friendly match in Araneta Coliseum dubbed “La Salle at Ateneo: Magkasangga Para sa Katotohanan (Team for the Truth)” to raise funds for the legal expenses of broadband whistleblower Rodolfo Noel Lozada, Jr.

I wonder if Araneta would allow Ben's Diner to sell its borjers to the fans. I heard it is to die for.

They Said It

“I was the one who made the recipe. It’s the best borjer. The documents show that you ate here a lot of times. You claimed I threatened you. You’ve been there at Wack Wack, having my borjer.”

- former Commission on Elections Chair Benjamin Abalos Sr., in a futile attempt to convince the Filipino people - on national television - that he did not threaten Jun Lozada.

Puso, Pare, Puso

XVII

I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.

I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.

I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way

than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.

Ang pag-ibig ko'y di tulad ng sa anumang bato tulad ng topasyo,
O kahit ng sa bulaklak na napupuno ng bango.
Mahal kita gaya ng mga bagay na madidilim,
Sa pagitan ng anino't kaluluwang kimkim.

Mahal kita tulad ng halamang di namumukadkad
Ngunit taglay ang sinag ng tagong rikit ng mga bulaklak.
Salamat sa iyong pag-ibig, 'sang laksang halimuyak
Ang umuusbong at nabubuhay sa aking katauhan.

Mahal kita, kung paano o kailan o saan ay hindi ko alam.
Mahal kita, walang bahid ng kabuktutan o pag-aalinlangan.
Datapwa't mahal nga kita dahil wala na akong alam pang iba

Maliban dito... na maging ang ako at ang ikaw ay di umiiral:
Na ang bisig mo sa dibdib ko ang aking sandalan;
Na sa iyong pagpikit, ako ang nahihimlay.

- Pablo Neruda

When You Have Eliminated the Impossible

Assuming, for the sake of argument, that Sen. Francis Escudero is wrong, and that the government does not, as a matter of policy, engage in "kidnapping, coercion, violation of anti-wiretapping law, obstruction of justice and other violations of Article 143 [Act tending to prevent the meeting of the Assembly and similar bodies] and 144 [Disturbance of proceedings] of the Revised Penal Code," then I guess we should all be thankful for being blessed with a government that, as enumerated by Inquirer columnist Rina Jimenez-David, gives it citizens (1) free trips to Hong Kong, (2) planeside welcome, (3) protection, (4) joy ride, (5) free legal advice, (6) steak dinner, and (7) P50,000 cash ‘panggastos’ [spending money].

O ha. Saan ka pa?

Wag the Dog

---
strip from INQ7.net.

Life After DRP*

A law student from Diliman recently shared with all the readers of the Inquirer, his rather unfortunate experience of getting a 5.0 in Nego - something he apparently shared with 29 other souls. He mentioned that it was his first failing mark ever, and confessed to all who cared to read, what every single soul with a Form 5 in Malcolm knows - resistance is futile. In his words, "he is still the professor and [...] that is the same as god."

Recently, an entire block was held hostage to the resentful and vindictive musings and posturings of a closet drama queen. The hairless wonder was apparently upset (I am being generous here) at the evaluation that that block gave him three semesters ago (which proves that not only don't elephants forget, they don't forgive either). From what the block saw and heard during the make-up classes (he was out for a month on official business), between the 5s that he generously distributed like pancakes to the class, one cannot help but surmise that somebody probably made a lewd comment about his momma in one of those evaluation forms.

He also made insinuations that members of the block provided the fodder to some other professor's weblog. Nevermind the fact that the block has never had the blogger for a professor, in any subject, before. He was sure the blogger was referring to him. He was sure that the information came from this ungrateful pack of recit cards oh-so-screaming for more 5s.

So, after one 15-minute class session, two make-up classes cum ranting and raving sessions, and 11 5s on most recit cards, all the members of the block - with the exception of five or so people - decided to drop the good professor. While a DRP doesn't look as bad as a 5.0 in the transcript, I can only hope that these people, suffer the same fate that the Inquirer contributor referred to above did - get a 1.75 from Professor Avena.

---
* with apologies to Jobert Navallo

Failure to Communicate

This silly war really has to stop now. Not only does it get more stupid and more annoying, you also get to hear about it more and more, every single day, whether you like it or not. The level of animosity between the two protagonists is already threatening to reach the Ang Dating Daan vs. Iglesia ni Cristo proportions. Unlike the latter, though, it is not even half as entertaining.

I am writing, of course, about this silly tit-for-tat mudslinging between the two largest TV networks in the country today. Mind you, the case is already in court - you know, that place where a supposedly impartial judge sits to hear both sides' arguments, and render judgment according to law - and they still won't stop babbling. Obviously, both networks are loathe to lose in the court of public opinion, and are leaving absolutely nothing to chance. But, most of the viewers cannot intelligently decide who's right or wrong in this stupid and protracted conflict. Most of the viewers don't even know why the show is called "Big Brother." Are you fucking kidding me?

Everyday, every time you watch the news, you have to tolerate hearing all about each side's claims and defenses, as if you have a say in whatever damages one side to bound to pay, and the other is bound to receive, if any. For the sake of everyone's sanity, I do hope that the court hearing the case decide this soon, with finality, and with prejudice.

(Of course, the loser will appeal, but at least, the RTC will not hear it again.)

Otherwise, we all won't hear the end of it. In the meantime, thank God for RPN/CS.

Institutionalized

"I believe in two things: discipline and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord; your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank."

- Warden Samuel Norton, The Shawshank Redemption

The past three months has been, so far, a piece of cake.

To be more precise, a piece of cake, dropped, in a cesspool of organic fertilizer, teeming with a seething mass of slimy, healthy annelids.

Lovely.

Brotherhood

Imagining Sisyphus Happy

"All Sisyphus' silent joy is contained therein. His fate belongs to him. His rock is a thing. Likewise, the absurd man, when he contemplates his torment, silences all the idols. In the universe suddenly restored to its silence, the myriad wondering little voices of the earth rise up. Unconscious, secret calls, invitations from all the faces, they are the necessary reverse and price of victory. There is no sun without shadow, and it is essential to know the night. The absurd man says yes and his efforts will henceforth be unceasing. If there is a personal fate, there is no higher destiny, or at least there is, but one which he concludes is inevitable and despicable. For the rest, he knows himself to be the master of his days. At that subtle moment when man glances backward over his life, Sisyphus returning toward his rock, in that slight pivoting he contemplates that series of unrelated actions which become his fate, created by him, combined under his memory's eye and soon sealed by his death. Thus, convinced of the wholly human origin of all that is human, a blind man eager to see who knows that the night has no end, he is still on the go. The rock is still rolling."

- Albert Camus, The Myth of Sisyphus

Baker's Dozen

Here's twelve things I learned during the holidays:

1. Takezo Kensei?! Takezo Kensei?!!!
2. A lateral patellar dislocation really looks awful. (Apparently, it also hurts like hell.)
3. It is not that easy to look for an orthopedic surgeon on Christmas Day. It also pays to personally know the hospital owner.
4. The Olongapo City government has spent my taxes wisely. Either that, or I just never had the opportunity to really appreciate public property before.
5. Sedatives have interesting effects.
6. Spending Christmas Day within the confines of a private hospital room is not as nice as it is made out to be.
7. Emergency medical care is freaking expensive.
8. When driving on the South Luzon expressway, time and space are distorted, and the Calamba exit will be farther than it appears on the map.
9. You can overtake slow vehicles at Bitukang Manok (otherwise known to locals as Zigzag Road, or Eme Road; otherwise known to me, as the scariest highway ever created or imagined by man). It is not advisable. It is not wise. It does not even make any sense. But, it can be done.
10. Welcoming the New Year is not the same when it is raining. Hard.
11. You can (a) get an unlicensed copy of NBA Live 08 for PS2, (b) get a DVD copy of Enchanted, (c) buy toasted siopao from Naga Restaurant, (d) get a copy of the Inquirer, and (e) buy Tenderloin Tips, Cordon Bleu, and Pork Kebabs from Bigg's to go, and be back home in less than an hour.
12. Isarog Lines can traverse the distance from Naga to Manila in less than seven hours.

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[13.] HB, D(+).