a F.R.I.E.N.D.S. marathon realization.

You CAN have too much of a good thing. After watching my 10th straight episode, i wasn't laughing as hard anymore. I hate marginal utility. Well maybe it isn't Chandler's fault. I think that's the difference between an sitcom and say, an action-drama-thriller. Episodes like Lost or 24, you prefer to watch in one go, personal hygiene aside. It's gripping, cliff-hanging. You welcome one unwashed hour after another. Less storyline driven sitcoms are snack-sized treats. better taken intermittently, savored and indulged.

Fake pack

Now that the workshops are done and my wheezing is tapering off (i think), i'm starting to get worried about my trip. it's a month away and i havent planned an itinerary yet! Not one bit! I just have a vague idea of where i want to eat. that's about it.

i travel to eat. and to immerse myself in everyday life. pretend how it is to be a citizen of the foreign. that's why a normal train ride is better for me than a roller coaster. at least i know my priorities.

FOOD! It is a cultural pleasure like no other!
WALKING. Getting a feel of the (friendly) streets. Getting lost in the hustle and bustle, with a map in tow just in case, of course.
SHOPPING. Might as well take advantage of the enormous lemon (aka global economic meltdown) and do a little bargain hunting. it's my way of helping the global economy.
MUSEUMS. It's nice to go to museums that are a little bigger than Ayala museum or museo pambata. i actually visited some official museum sites already. i will start preparing my 'school ID' to get discounts.

I think it's interesting that while the rest of the world is faking IDs to look older so they can buy beers, people like us are faking IDs to appear younger and get in free in MUSEUMS. Ok maybe libraries as well. How cool is that? :D

To victors and sore losers

Despite having another hellish pitch week (among others), it wasn't all that bad. Actually, it was great since Ateneo won! The team didn't choke!

Even if the game wasnt that close, i still felt like having a heart attack. Ateneo games always get me worked up. That's one of the reasons i don't watch it, aside from the fact that i seriously believe i am the bearer of bad luck.

But we won and i couldnt be happier. I just hate it when SOME people can't be sports about it. I think the result was pretty expected. The team is really strong and they weren't beaten ONCE by La Salle. but then you hear comments like LUTO or NAKASWERTE lang daw. And these comments weren't even provoked. I'm sure if it were the other away around, they'd be gloating non-stop. Now they're just being rabid sore losers. Haha, i can't believe i'm getting affected. But in the end it's better not to argue coz really, people know better. Lets just shrug it off and drink to our heart's content at the bonfire! Ü

The geeks have prevailed! Ü

Travel Time

I love to travel. Its prospect alone makes my happy. I think aside from experiencing a new culture, and trying out new food, what i really want to do is get lost, to be in a place where everyone's a stranger, where everything is new. When you travel, you can be silly, be weird, make up a new personality, tell lies or be entirely truthful about yourself. It allows you to start anew, albeit temporarily.

You're free to do anything and mistakes can be less damaging. Because you know that once you head home, you've effectively pressed the reset button.

**********

I'm almost sure of canceling my September trip. I'll try again in Feb when i have more money and hopefully, more friends who i can travel with to San Fo. I don't feel too bad about it though. I'm still excited to go to Boracay and maybe i can take a quick regional trip in the latter part of the year instead.

**********

Just saw Mamma Mia and Greece is lovely. Abba songs are great and so was Helen Hunt. The wedding scene was also great but that's about it. Maybe i came in with different expectations. I generally like musicals, even their movie versions. But i think this movie feel prey to the same trap as Across the Universe where the songs were bigger than their stories. Songs should aid in storytelling. Instead, the story was beholden to them. They force fit songs that may have entirely different meanings. Plus, it was a bit too campy for my taste. Traces of Pik Pak Boom everywhere (although this was set in a lovely greek island instead of in Pansol). But a lot of my friends liked this movie, though they were mostly girls. I guess it appeals to the chick flick demographic primarily. Ü

Notes this weekend

1. Speed Racer crashed in the box office. It crashed really bad. So bad, it did just as well as Ashton's 'What Happened in Vegas' even if it spent like $100 Million more than the romantic comedy. I think it's totally unwarranted. Sure, it won't win any Oscars, especially for Best Screenplay. The Wachowskis will never be compared to the Coens (TRIVIA: Larry Wachowski was absurdly rumored to have had a sex change and was now answering to the name Lana). But I think people are too hard on it. Did they expect to be moved to tears? Was Speed Racer supposed to change their life? It was fun. Its art direction was amazing. I loved how they captured the campy, anime-ish style of the original and the racing scenes had me on the edge of my seat! Although I think the fact that the cinema was cold and I was peeish helped. Overall, it was a great waste time. Sure it wasn't as good as the original Matrix movie or V for Vendetta but it was miles better than Matrix Reloaded. It's better than many blockbuster hits. And that's good enough for me.

Perhaps one reason for its demise is that the original cartoon wasn't too popular after all. I've had many conversations with different set of friends and they don't even know what the cartoon was about. They don't even know its plot. One even said it was based on a video game or action figure. Huh?!?! I found this weird. My childhood was really pre-Cartoon Network and a gazillion cable channels and i really feel lucky for this. It means my peers and I were watching the same shows, no matter how sucky they were (Think Teddy Ruxpin and Beverly Hills Teens). You feel like you have something in common. You have a connection. I guess Speed Racer aired during nappy time and I was the only one awake.


2. With all his hosting experience, would Alex Trebek win in Jeopardy? Is he a genius himself? Or is he just a good at reading teleprompters?

3. I dunno if this just applies to my Church but have you noticed that people don't hold hands anymore when singing 'Our Father?' The cause: the SARS scare. I remember the Archdiocese actually discouraged this practice at the height of SARS and i thought it was a good precautionary procedure. The disease has come and gone but years after, people are in no hurry to exchange extended handshakes again. I think people didn't like this habit to begin with, especially if you really don't know where your seatmate's hand has been. Most were just too polite to break tradition. But SARS gave them a way out. And as a result, masses can feel less like a community.

My Big Bang Theory

Like an unresolved scientific theory, this show is a big enigma to me. First, the indications.
1. It doesn't talk to teens, to women or any significant demographic.
2. Most of the cast members look like people you'd see anywhere...and then avoid!
3. The jokes are made by geeks for geeks. Its esoteric. Just watch the opening credits and you'd get what i mean. You'd need to play back the dialogue and consider Collier's encyclopedia your bible to get it.

Despite these apparent disadvantages, it is rating well and has been renewed by CBS while the fate of other shows like 'How I met Your Mother' is still being decided by the celestial CBS gods. I don't know why people like it though. Personally, i like the show, sometimes i think maybe a bit too much. But i consider my liking for it similar to my choice of historical textbooks as bedside reading--something i enjoy but i dont expect anyone else to understand. I doubt if the geek market is that big. Because really, how big is the table of kids in the cafeteria playing Magic Cards? Geeks are a minority. They're already over represented in High School Musical. Plus, I doubt if normal rural Americans get it.

Maybe there's a large closet geek market. People all around us, who aren't wearing retainers or suspenders or high waist, pleated pants. They could be your neighbor or your friend, who won't admit they make quadratic equations for fun. The combined closet and screaming geek population must be the driving force behind them, as well as sustaining all the incarnations of Star Trek. For other normal peeps, maybe the scientific gibberish is just so strange it's funny, and getting at least 1 joke per episode makes them proud, like its an accomplishment, like getting the $200 question in jeopardy.

I just hope its novelty is sustained. I'm now on my 12th episode and its starting to be a bit of a drag. Sheldon is becoming annoying, similar to how the cute ally mcbeal became loathsome very quickly. But if shows about nothing like friends and seinfeld became big hits, i guess it can be done. I wish these geeks well.

investing on friendships

Any good relationship is founded on a strong, constant connection. It's an investment in time, in everyday personal anecdotes, in multiple eye contacts, in texts messages, in meaningful personal contact, in spittle. Enough funding will lead to laughter and good times; when even the most mundane topics are most enjoyable because it is shared. It is personal. It is yours. However, in some cases, previously good relationships that have become sporadic are more complicated. While the past will always be with you, the present (and future) can be a bit harder to wrestle. The lack of shared inanities lead to less topics of conversation. The lameness of jokes aren't enjoyed. Everyday personal anecdotes seem too insignificant to share. You are left to discuss big issues such as personal struggles and achievements if you don't want to succumb to small talk. And there are only so many issues to tackle before you get bored, before awkward silences arise.

Silences are broken by nostalgic trips down memory lane because in the end, that's the only thing you have left. That is unless you clear your schedules, decide to make a commitment, save your saliva and start investing.

to blog again

After reading so many raw and brutally honest blogs, i became envious. I've come to the realization that i should stop blogging just to rant and to just start writing. anything. like everything else, introspection is a habit that needs practice. and because i am highly lacking in a little self-analysis, i will blog.

It's 2am and my body clock is still whacked. this all started when they started showing Globe Trekker (aka Lonely Planet) for a limited period that ended at around this time. And with a 'new' second hand TV in my room and wi-fi in my laptop, i've come to realize that there's just so much useless but fun stuff you can do. if only these were important enough to be remembered in a week's time, then i'd say the shorter slumbers were all worth it. Right now i'm not so sure.

It's my mom's birthday and we ended up spending it in one of the best kept secrets in Binondo. It's really amazing how a country's massive population and strong culture can convert an area, no matter how foreign into, Chinatown--a community so distinct that it's like a sovereign state in itself. I really found it interesting that i was eating authentic duck beside a table of teens that looked like they really came from the mainland. I'm not exaggerating on this. They really looked nothing like any of the Filipino-Chinese friends i have and i have quite a few. They looked like pedestrian versions of the Meteor Garden cast, with their authentic accents, disheveled hair and deconstructed get-ups. It was surreal, really. However, I think they were more shocked that a group of 10 indios with 6 rowdy kids in tow were eating dumplings with forks and celebrating a birthday in an old noodle house. Tit-for-tat.

A high school classmate of mine is getting married on sunday and i was really shocked that i was invited. Totally unexpected. He was never my 'barkada' though we did share a love for comics and he did hitch with me because his house was along the way, but other than that, i've never really hung out with him the past 14 years. I don't even know his fiancee. Heck, i didnt even know that he wasn't married yet! I was touched, though, and i did RSVP. He's a decent guy and i'd love to witness an important part of his life. It's the least I could do for the trouble he went to to personally deliver the invitation to me. And its not like we had a tumultuous past or anything. If he thinks i'm worthy enough to be there, who am i to refuse? It would be fun. And i wish him (and her) the best of luck.

There. i think this will do for now. A little more practice and i should be introspecting like Siddhartha.

On choosing friends

I recently got an email from a friend:

"Associate only with positive, focused people who you can learn from and who will not drain your valuable energy with complaining and uninspiring attitudes. By developing relationships with those committed to constant improvement and the pursuit of the best that life has to offer, you will have plenty of company on your path to the top of whatever mountain you seek
to climb."

I think my subconscious wanted to add something to this as I was trying to take a nap this afternoon:

We need to stay with friends who believe in our potential, whose vision of us is loftier than our own dreams.

CRITICAL Acclaim

I just saw the premiere of Sweeny Todd, the Demon Barber from Fleet Street. It was a film that left me speechless because I didn't know what to make of it. I knew it won the Golden Globes, I knew it was a Tim Burton movie but it still turned out to be stranger, bloodier and more disturbing than anything i'd expected and up to now, i'm not sure if i liked it.

A few people clapped after the movie, a few walked hurriedly to the exits while many others (my friends and I included) were a bit burdened and confused that we needed a minute to gain composure. OK this may be a bit exaggerated but our anxiety was real and the applause or apathy of others didnt help allay our lingering unease.

I think the extremely mixed reactions for the movie had a lot to do with the reviews it got. Oftentimes, a good review is much deserved and everyone's happy. Other times it brings in the crowds but raises people's expectations too much that it ends up disappointing. And then there are other times, though few and far between, that a film is a collaboration of the best in the industry and rakes in the awards and the praises that personal opinion is superceded by the film's stature. This is when there are only 2 groups of audience--those who got it and loved it and those who just didn't get it but have a forgiving 'it's not you, it's me' attitude about it. I think Sweeny Todd will be one such movie and i'm part of the latter. :P

One Good Day Coming Up

I woke up early for work today primarily because i woke up a little too late for my nth attempt at a morning gym workout. Though early is relative (i really woke up at 8am), for a night person like me, it was a welcome experience nontheless. For once i was not praying for time to slow down as i was brushing my teeth. I even had a leisurely breakfast (i made mozzarella & herbs toasts!), lied down a bit longer and even did some morning exercises to compensate for my absence at the gym.

Just as the success of a hit song lies on its first few chords, the overall feel and experience of a whole day seems to be largely dictated by the first few waking moments. Now if only that was a good enough reason to convince myself to wake up early, or at least make this a more frequent anomaly. Ü

High school never ends.

The new year is a perfect backdrop for the traditional class reunion. I didn't realize that we were 10 years out of high school and from how everyone acted that day, it really didn't seem like a decade has past. Sure most have added meat (or is it fat?) on their bones, a few more laugh lines, slightly higher hairlines but you could put us in a classroom and be transported to the mid-90s sans Doc Martens and Girbauds.

I'm sure many of us have hopefully grown up since then but i guess its difficult to act like a hotshot lawyer, a 'showbiz' personality, a manager with an MBA or to be pretentious around people who've seen 4 year's worth of your boogers and bloopers. The dynamics are no different either. The clowns were still funny, the leaders were still leading, the 'outcasts' still ostracized (although a bit toned down this time) and everyone still had the same brand of kenkoy humor that we've grown to miss.

I don't think this will change. Ever. A school of thought in market research says its better to segment your consumer by their personalities because unlike economic class and age groups, these hardly ever change and people carry these throughout their life. I guess there's some truth to that. Mother nature may bestow on us with flabbier bellies and grayer hair but we're still basically the same old immature kids. High school reunions are just perfect excuses to regress to our real selves, minus the disillusions and regrets, to return to hopefully happier times when your biggest problem was how to pass an exam.

Overtime Work: The Need of Man

It's past midnight and i'm cramming an important presentation.
I'm working from home.
I’m experiencing the first symptoms of an advertising pitch that will surely progress into a tiring, sleepless and chaotic typhoon that will suck in everything in its path. Daunting? Yes, but also very, very exhilirating.

It’s been months since my last pitch, since I last feared for my job and thanked the gods that I have tenure. However, I think that to a certain degree, we all enjoy the work-life balance upheaval, albeit in a weird, masochistic kind of way.

In today’s hypoallergenic world of health insurance, hypermarts and organic free range poultry, our primal urges to hunt, and its accompanying perils of possible death or decapitations have been channeled to capitalistic pursuits that are of equally great consequence. And I guess we’re all hungry for our next catch—a mammoth of an account!

20 is the new 30

Before, people lied about their age when they hit 40, then 30, and now its not uncommon for 23 year olds claiming to be 18. Heck, i even dreaded the thought of being part of the "late 20s" club.

It seems like people's concept of antiquity is getting younger. Youth's shelf life is getting shorter. This really isnt surprising when you see 6 year olds learning about mathematical cardinals, teenagers getting boob jobs and tweens smoking and going to all night parties when they used to be having slumber parties and playing patintero.

Sure it's great. We are progressing as a race, because kids become smarter, stronger, more mature and more attractive earlier, thus becoming more productive members of society faster. But all this comes at the expense of stunted childhoods, just like Michael Jackson's. And we all know how he turned out. So do we really have more to gain?

Happy Ordinary Day

It was one of the most ordinary birthdays i can remember. I went to work, had meetings, ate at Max's (of all places!) for dinner yet i couldn;t be happier. Well, maybe that's an overstatement but the truth still remains that it was a very happy occasion. I delighted in the warm greetings, the jovial office banter, the good normal food and even the chance to get an early night's sleep.

Happiness is really a state of mind and i was glad i was in its territorial waters last Thursday. Ü

Smells like school spirit

It's been a very Blue day today. Firstly because I got a birthday letter (it wasn't a card) from Fr. Nebres/Ateneo alumni office and second, well, it was game day for Ateneo vs. DLSU part 3. Well as many people know, Ateneo did lose. By 1 measly point. It was disappointing at the very least, even for a relatively moderate fan like me. But after all the heartache and awwws, the jeers and taunts, i just can't help but feel proud of my school. And it's not because they played their hearts out or any of those empty self-comforting rationalizations. PLEASE.

I just realized that it's easy to love your alma mater after a win. Even the most disloyal subject adores a king returning from a triumphant campaign. But deeper school pride transcends momentary victories. It actually reveals itself more brightly when things are in the pits. When you can honestly say that you'd take on ridicule and defeat any day, when you're proud to represent even when you're still bludgeoned and licking your wounds, THAT is real pride. After 13 years of watching the game It took this particular defeat to realize i had this in me. I guess i'm not much of a 'moderate' Atenean after all. Ü

On friends

A friend of mine gave a great insight about me regarding friendship. It has something to do with our other friend whose presence in gimmicks i absolutely love and hate at the same time. I love it that she's so bubbly that she's opinionated, that she's witty and you need to constantly catch up with the banter. But these are the same things i hate about her at times--that her opinions are sometimes so disagreeable, or negative, that conversations are exhausting, its like a mental 100 meter dash but taken to marathon proportions.

But deny and complain as i may, I really do like her presence. She has the ability to bring out the best in me--i feel like i am at my wittiest, my bubbliest when i'm with her. I like the me that she brings out. She never crosses the line (for she values her privacy even more than i do) yet im less of everything that i hate about myself--less shy, tongue-tied or uneloquent. Though i believe that we shouldnt rely on others to complete us, friends really do help in revealing the great persons we already are.

On getting older...

When you were in college with limited allowances, you were happy with an order of 3 piece siomai and 2 cups of rice and McDonald's was a treat. Dencio's was regular gimmick fare and you'd go to a Greenbelt retaurant for extra special occasions like Christmas celebrations.

When you start working, you realize how hard it is to make money and though you can afford to eat in swankier places, you opt not to because your computations reveal that a dinner can cost you a day's wages.

But after several years of working and several wage hikes down the road, no resto is too expensive and no luxury is too great because you've been working so hard, you deserve to enjoy every peso you make. And sometimes, you end up with less money than you did when you started. When life was less complicated and your joys less sophisticated (or expensive!). Don't you miss the old days?

Seasons of Life

I just learned that one of the nicest and friendliest security guards in Burnett passed away due to a heart attack. He was just 40 something. The father-in-law of our officemate just passed also. So did my uncle. All in a span of a few weeks. I dunno if its just coincidence but it seems like we are in the middle of a season of death. It's weird how life events such as weddings or births, hook-ups (and break-ups!) can be totally be absent for most of the year then suddenly occur consecutively, almost as if a higher power is really orchestrating life.

On traveling

Just got back from a 6 day Indochina pseudo-adventure. Despite the numerous air transfers, language barriers and wet weather, i can't wait to do it all over again. Like a chance meeting, a first date, I think those 6 days were enough to make me want to get to know the place more, although a second date could be years away. That isn't so bad either because by then, the land would have changed enough for it to be both familiar and new.

Walking along the backpacker areas and seeing so many Caucasians who seem to have taken months off to go around the world have done nothing but fuel my inner wanderlust. And though i'm a stickler for good personal hygiene, I can't help but envy them, their reused clothing and sweaty looks notwithstanding. There's something so exhilarating about an unfamiliar city, where every turn leads to unexpected surprises and every stop is a new experience. Nothing can make me feel more infinite than turning the world into one big road trip. Nothing is boring. There are no routines. Everything is seen with new eyes.