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.