the cat, the mangoes, and the soaps.

I woke up this morning thinking about the readings that made me sleep for the night. As soon as I got up, I tried dragging myself to the bathroom so I can take a bath before finishing things up. It’s not that common to see Sean, my beloved cat, to be sleeping after most of my family left for school or work. So before immersing myself to the cold water of morning, I went to where Sean was sleeping. Still in his uncanny sleeping position, I whispered his name so to wake him up, poked his body lightly, and scratched his head. But, there was no response. Panic attack. I can’t help but think that he might be dead. Paused and checked, he was still breathing. But still no response. I was starting to imagine things; like those were his last few breaths before he dies.

Mutilating as it may sound; I tried to open his eyes by force and kept calling him by his name. The feeling was so vague. I don’t want him to die because he’s Sean. At the same time, I don’t want him to die because I don’t want to be the one to carry a cat’s carcass for its decent burial. In any case, I told Sean that he won’t die today.

Then, I knew what to do. I got food and scooped it in to his feeding dish. With a few wiss, wiss, wiss, he was alive.

***

I think we have the largest mangoes here in the Philippines. I’m thinking if it’s possible that we also have the largest mango in the whole world! Well if ‘largest’ can’t get the message across, think of HUGE mangoes. Check this out! And please remember that the tree from where these fruits were picked is found in our yard. No fertilizers, no special care. It was just left to grow and be fruitful.

***

I was in the grocery last Sunday. It was the same grocery where I found the ‘fake imitation’ warning on a gelatin box and others (clueless? here). It never failed to surprise me every time I go there. You just have to know where to look and you’ll see things like…

Yes. Because penises need to be clean and fresh. Just in case.

Do we really have to use ‘fem tight’ as a brand for an antiseptic vijeyjey wash? And ‘virginity soaps’ inside groceries? Come on!

i am a social being.

I can’t really remember the exact date I got hooked on social networking sites. Friendster wasn’t my first account. It tells me that I’ve been a member since January 2004. So, all of my accounts should be divided into two categories: Before Friendster and After Friendster.

Before Friendster

I think my first social networking account was on MySpace. I actually forgot why I signed up for this site. During that time, I was stupid enough not to know that email addresses are case-sensitive; got pissed for not being able to receive their confirmation message; forgot the password; and abandoned it altogether.

I also had an account on Xanga. Xanga is a free Web-based service that hosts weblogs, photoblogs, videoblogs, audioblogs, and social networking profiles. And since I didn’t know what ‘blog’ and HTML meant at that time, I wasn’t able to move on after signing up. If you want to double check, you can try searching for my username – xXxOrEoxXx. The ‘xXx’ connotes something pornish. But trust me; you won’t be able to see anything (as in anything)!

Friendster

I’m a self-confessed Internet addict and you can put the blame on Friendster. I can still remember when I created this account. It was a sunny day in an almost-hidden computer shop sometime in … January 2004.

I can’t believe how addicted I was then. The shop rents computers for P40/hour and I was there almost every day just checking out what’s in store for me. Take note: the shop wasn’t even on broadband. My first friend was Lean/Alejandro because we created our accounts together. And to date, we are sharing 111 friends.

After Friendster

I am a fan of Multiply because aside from posting blogs, I can also upload videos, music files, links, etc. Being able to see who visited and where they went on your site is a plus.

I created this account during the second semester of my first year in UP. ‘Brightboy’ was inspired by Ernest Hemingway’s The Killers from my English 11 class.

My Livejournal is my Multiply’s twin. It survives because of cross-posting. I created it for my Creative Writing class because we were supposed to upload our works in a LJ group. I had plans of abandoning it, but I just can’t. I get a little sentimental when I try to.

I signed up for MyHeritage just because I wanted to try their face recognition algorithm. The widget scans a person’s uploaded photo and matches your face with celebrities’ faces stored in their database. And that’s how I found out that I look like Takuya Kimura daw.

Eskwela is a Filipino-made social networking site that’s supposed to be a directory for Filipino students and alumni. I don’t why, but they’re currently by invites only. I once had a problem about the site so I emailed its developers. Surprisingly, Terence, a member of the Eskwela Team, emailed me back on the same day and even offered to fix my site. Sweet.

I don’t really know what Zebo’s purpose is. But I have an account. It’s supposed to be “the world’s largest repository of what people own.”

At some point, I realized that social networking should also deal with global relevance (choz). That’s when I’ve decided to sign up for Tree-Nation. The site is supported by the United Nations Environment Programme. It aims to help solve global warming by planting trees. Interested? Check out the site.

I had an account on LoveHappens and I am not desperate in finding a partner. The site was, yes we can use was because the site is dead, an introductions network where your friends can pretend they’re Cupid and create matches for you.

NamesDatabase is a social network, owned and operated by United Online, the parent company of Classmates.com (which is like one of the pioneers in terms of social networking back in ’95). Unlike most social networks, it requires that new registrations include five email addresses of friends or acquaintances.

I also have an abandoned Wordpress account. Don’t ask why. I don’t know either. Wait, is that even a social networking site?

I have an Imeem because I love music. Honestly, I just have two friends, but they’re enough to keep me updated on the latest tracks to download.

And there are sites where you sign up because you love your friends and they tell you to, like my Bebo and Blogger account.

There was a time when my PC caught a virus and it blocked a number of sites from being accessed. Bebo was one of the sites that was overlooked by the virus, so that’s where I sent Annel my SOS.

While my Blogger account can be considered as my Multiply and LJ’s triplet. It lives because of the magic of cross-posting.

The latest addition to my collection of social networking sites is Facebook. I currently have 5 friends – Jhem and Emjae, Alfha, Lj (who’s just an Internet friend), and Anna O. So sign up now, so we can be Facebook friends.

I have standing invitations to join Tagged, hi5, and other sites like FanBox where members sends you questions like “have you ever dated two people at the same time?” and asks you add them as fans. Oha! Feeling sikat. So, what are your sites?

no upcat for michael?

Finally. My brother has made up his mind. I thought he has no plans for his future. But, he has! [This is the part where I’m supposed to be teary-eyed. Ready?] He wants to be an OB-GYNE!

When he was much younger, everyone was stunned to hear that he wanted to be a priest. And at some point, he even wanted to be a policeman. Plans and ambitions got blurred eventually when he entered his elementary and high school years. Nobody knew what he wanted to do. My father, with subtle suggestions, wanted him to be an engineer. Just like what most parents believe, you can never go wrong with Engineering. Akala lang nila (That's what they think).

My mom was very supportive. When she knew that my brother was putting much effort on his guitar skills, she gave Michael the option to pursue Music later on. But I can’t blame her if sometimes she can’t help but influence Michael to take Nursing instead. Well, that’s after I decided not to.

Me? I just wanted him to make a decision of his own; make plans for himself so that he wouldn’t blame anybody for dragging him to the wrong road. But I was specific for one thing, I wanted him to be in UP.

As early as the first week of enrollment, I was excited to get him his UPCAT application form, took it home, and placed it on the bookshelf for him to see. A week has passed and it seemed like that the application form wasn’t moving anywhere. So I talked to Mama about it. That’s when I discovered my brother wanted to be a doctor. She wanted my brother to take Nursing as Pre-Med. So okay. That’s the same thing I’ll tell him. But! Mama wanted him to take it at … Trinity University of Asia.

I was like, “WHY?! He can go to UPM if you want him to take Nursing.” Unfortunately, she was too tired to answer me back. I am not giving up without a discussion. It’s not that I have something against Trinity or I have anything bad to say about them. It’s just that I believe in my brother so much and I wanted him to have the best. Let him be in UP! Pleeeeease…

because language majors are oppressed.

I once heard that most Creative Writing and Comparative Literature majors of CAL look down on English majors – those whose field of interest is Language, to be more specific. Why? I don’t know. In what way? I don’t know either. Since it seemed like a rumor, I didn’t bother thinking about it; such a waste of time.

Months later, I’ve heard that Madonna said something about Language majors. It was something like, “Language majors are so cliché.” I don’t know what its context was and I really feel like Madonna is just an attention-seeking, unclassified being pretending to be a student, so I didn’t bother thinking about it. I could not care less.

I have had a number of CW and CL classmates. I am proud to say that they haven’t lived up to the rumors. As a matter of fact, some of them are good friends. Until…

Professor: What’s your course (or something similar in Italian)?
Marc: Studio Inglese?
Professor: What’s your major (or something similar in Italian)? La letteratura o la lingua?
Marc: La lingua.

Professor proceeds with the next student;.goes back to Marc.

Professor: Aren’t you planning to shift to Anglo-Am?
Marc: [firm] No.
Professor: You know Anglo-Am was my minor and Anglo-Am majors are blah blah blah (where blah blah blah can be summarized to: “We are great. We are brilliant.”).
Marc: [whispers: oppresive] That’s something subjective [smiles].
Professor: You know Anglo-Am goes for quality, not for the number. AND that came from the Department Chair.
Marc: [in deep thought] Yah, whatever. Just teach Italian, please.

Professor proceeds with the lesson. End of story.

Now, I am thinking of all the possible reasons why we, the Language majors of CAL, are so hate-able. We are peace-loving, positive vibes-emitting, underwear dropping, knee-popping, shoulder-locking, jaw-breaking, limelight stealing students! (Oh! Maybe that’s why.)

positive vibes, positive vibes.

It’s the start of classes tomorrow and I’m trying hard not to bring negative vibes with me. I can’t understand why Lean had to be so naïve. Add the fact that he can’t even stick to his word makes me want to slash his throat. Let him bleed to death! He likes Sweeney Todd anyways.

I am really pissed that my high school batch wasn’t able to have fun before summer ends. It became a protocol that nobody would go and start their classes without a mini-reunion. I wasn’t able to see them last semestral break. That is why it really breaks my heart that this happened. We were supposed to try ice skating! Too bad. Good thing Fred was sharing the mood last night. But compared to me, he was more of “there’s always a blue sky waiting tomorrow”, while I was like “let’s all enter abyss or better yet let’s burn to hell together!” Sometimes, I would fake my optimism over YM and stop playing the blame game. I told Fred that I should do this for my own sake. I have to be the “better Christian.” But, I can’t help it! Before I knew it, I was the “bitter Christian.”

For the lack of initiative, pack-Q friends!

Which leads me to another thing...

I am still not done with my registration. I still have to pay for another 3 units for English 119 to seal everything. I am afraid to be kicked out of the subject if my professor finds out that I haven’t followed my adviser’s note (actually, her’s) to finish English 117 and 118 first. So I really have to pay before she finds out.

As of typing time, it’s 2:21 a.m. and since my dad is off and away, I have to go to school with my mom. I have to wake up by 6, leaving me with less than 4 hours (to be spent ideally for sleep); Minus 1 to 2 hours for my pseudo-insomnia/staring contest with the ceiling mode before I fall to sleep, leaving me with less than 2 hours (to be spent ideally for sleep). Ideally, I should spend those two hours for sleep. Sleep. Two hours. Ideally. Sleep. So two hours of sleep should be enough to harbor positive vibes. Let’s see what happens tomorrow (or should I say later?). Positive vibes, positive vibes.

Hello Academic Year 2008-2009!

independence day fashion show at embassy fly, everyone is invited!

I'm inviting all of you to watch the June 12 FASHION SHOW at EMBASSY FLY, 9pm.

Happy Andrada will be showcasing her latest punky collection.
It's OPEN BAR, no entrance fees, it's open to everyone!

spread the word!

p.s.
PHILIPPINE FASHION WEEK 2008 closes tomorrow.

who am i.

This was probably the question that cracked the tiniest thinking element in your water-floating brain. From the text that you read, my goal is not to reward you in any way by telling you who am I. In your efforts to dig this page, here I am doing my best not to give you anything grand. Consolation. That’s all I can give. Master the art of reading through the abstracts of texts and solidify my being diluted by the play of words.

Who am I?

I am nobody in this vast and crazy world. I am part of the spec that was sprinkled over the earth to make things crowded, wild, and fun. Crazy, as I would like to believe, is an understatement. I can never be a two-faced coin for I do not settle for duplicity. I will be who I will be. I will, and will always be, dictated by the bendable circumstance that we all create. Let the society be my guide in whatever shape I will take tomorrow.

Who am I?

To believe an answer is the art of fooling yourself. Truth exists because you and I, we, created it. Truth is a choice that we make. Truth is the consequence of things. The truth is not the truth. For some of them are accepted lies that we all embrace to make things conform to matters we are comfortable of.

Who am I?

To ask such question lays the assumption that I exist. But the bitter part is, are you even sure that I exist? Never did you doubt my being that you even hassled yourself clicking on the intangible matter that leads you here. My being is as flowing as water and as invisible as air. I can be a fragment of your imagination, a product of an addiction, a vision of your restless eyes.

Who am I?

Never will I say pardon for being vague. To be able to comprehend my being implies that you discovered somebody else. I refuse to be encapsulated. Never will I rest my assurance that any letter, word, sentence, paragraph or what-have-you has the capability to spell out who am I.

This is who I am - a question of who.

© 2007.