The Shiznit (and random updates as if you care)

Okay, okay. I'm calm now. But I have it, and so have cause to celebrate! Wooohooo!

I got the CANON EOS 20D I've been dreaming about....(well, not exactly...I wanted the 10D, but that's not on the market anymore, so I got the next best thing haha).

So, yeah, the budget's gonna be tight from hereon, for three months at least. Good thing I still have free billiard time and ceramic-painting time to keep me busy. And on the note of spending my free time doing fun things, I still am entertained by the weekly badminton and jamming stints I have. Busy, busy bee!

See, I've been trying to cut down on the caffeine. I just computed it in my head a few minutes ago, and I've been spending more or less P1,000 a week the last month or so, just on coffee. Well, that addiction's gotta get under control. Haha. I'm also kissing the Asian Tour dream goodbye....for now. Maybe it'll be my present to myself on January.

Oooh, by the way, the company's arranged for a Battle of the Bands of sorts....Me and some fellas from the office are planning to join. Could be fun. So, if you know me personally and are reading this, come support us! Or just have fun. Or drink. Haha. We promise we'll try to be decent ;D

What else? Hmm...Oh, we were down by Baywalk trying out my new cam, and Xian just clicking away with his own Elan. The sun did not disappoint, and the ambience was very, very relaxing. I urge people to go there and at least try out a stroll.

The L Word. Oh Shoot! I am in love with Shane! Hahaha. Kidding. The show is a close second favorite to the SATC series. I'ts just so intense, I love it. I'm sure most people don't even know what I'm talking about. But if anyone in the cyberworld knows any 'Shane-ic' person, ooooh, lemmeknow. Sigh. Just lemmeknow.

If Only. Yeah, the movie. Just watched it this afternoon. A tear-jerker with a solid soundtrack for those with a flair for romantic drama. Ooh, and I know some people who should go watch it. They maybe can learn a lesson or two from the whole theme.

Finally, Persuasion. The book, I mean. I'm in Chapter 11. I've gotta say that so far, it's far exceeding my expectations.

Other than that, life's been pretty boring.

Or has it?

;)

Wise Change

<-- Picture for Today. I personally love this pic. Taken while on cruise in Bahamas.











Note: Wrote this in Mar of 2001. I had forgotten about this piece, until today. Found it in an old CD of random saved stuff. Ooh, the syrupy words makes you think it's about love, but you are dead wrong haha. It's just about a bunch of friends going their own ways. Or so I imagined.

***

It’s not life-threatening. It’s not world-crashing. It’s just change.

And gut told you all along that it would come one day. But when that time came, you looked over your shoulder at all the times you’ve spent together, all the little bumps and sideroads you took to reach what you had become, and you sigh. Come to think about it, you haven’t gotten that far in years. But in your heart, you know that you have come a long way. Has it been that long since we were brought together in this place? I sure haven’t noticed.

Then again, as I think back at all that has happened, the laughter, the near tears, the frustration, the sense of accomplishment, the idle hours, the no-talk-just-act days, the go-and-have-fun times, and the stop-what-you’re-doing-and-just-catch-up time, I realize that, indeed, it is here. We are being cut loose. Being asked by the powers-that-be to go our separate ways all for our greater growth of spirit and mind.

And I know deep within me, as I believe the others do too, that this is all for the greater good. Still, it adds no padding to the sadness of parting ways. It adds a touch of hope, yes. That tomorrow might be better; but for today what we have is the blues, and nothing anyone may say can change that.

And I see everyone smiling, laughing, as if today was all we had. And in a way, I know we are all aware that it is. The moments that quickly pass by are all that’s left for us to remember each other by.

And people may say, “Don’t worry. Your paths will cross still,” and we know that this is not a lie. Yet, even they cannot smile, for memories of friendships --- once braided thinly, then more evenly, and then seemingly inseparable, suddenly cut by circumstance --- return.

And we feel absurd for feeling the way we feel. For this is life. And life will continue to be whether or not we are together…….Nevertheless……

Let’s laugh today….and tomorrow….and every single time remember all the fun we had, all the new things we learned, the friendships we built.

Friendships and bonds, they say, can be broken, but memories, never. They stay with us until we choose to forget.

So to all of us who will be parting ways, let’s smile, leave this place with our memories, and choose to…..well, just choose wisely.

Thinking For Real

What about tomorrow?

Note: Political post, so you might wanna head out the door now if you are adamant about a particular view...or continue at your own risk.

With all the hullabaloo going on in the streets, I need to wake up from my surreality. For just a tad bit.

Here goes.

GMA's not a saint. We all know that. She's no angel either. Press conferences or not, we know she's a sassy lady. But neither will the next president be, if GMA's overthrown.

No one's perfect. Especially in the government. No exceptions. Someone prove me wrong if you can. Please.

I was in 7th grade when I had my first brush with politics. We interviewed a then-guerilla leader. He was articulate, honest, and very open. He had ideals, and wanted to create them as reality for the Philippines. Yet, at the time, he was being hunted down, presumably because the government thought his ideas were way too radical for their conservative and money-making schemes. I adored him. Wished I could be just like him.

Fast forward to 7 years later, and this guy is now friends with the government. More than being taken back by the people, he is now one of those "heroes" that pet people idolized. It helped much that this person was "maka-masa" and he was well-known (had his name in the history books, I know). I cheered him on. Good for him, I thought.

Three years down the road, and with the Erap impeachment issue, I was taken aback by his new allegiance. He was pro-Erap. Back and forth the thought played in my mind and I couldn't seem to figure out what good that did him and his ideals. And then someone said some other officials had him on a chain because they knew of things he'd done that they could bribe his loyalty with.

My belief in the government sank. This same person, who helped instill in me a sense of country, was now one of those who was part of destroying it.

So maybe I'm a little mroe skeptic of the government today, a little less trusting, a little more suspicious. But I just have to believe that there are still people out there trying to right what they can. That there are people seated high up in the chain who want to make a difference.

No, I didn't vote. But, yes, I wanted to. I was out of the country, but if I had a chance, I would've voted for Roco. That's the past now though, isn't it? And we have a very capable president in my opinion. Okay, so maybe she cheated. So the others didn't? They were all clean? If they became president today, could they assure people that they could control and help the Philippines' image and economy in a day more than the current president could? Do these rallies really help solve anything? Why did this issue come out with the current president and not with past presidents? COuld it be because she was trying to do something good and stepped on those itty-bitty toes of other money-hungry politicians.

I don't even know what my own point is. I think the presiden't admission and asking for forgiveness is something we should accept. Bring her down now, and you have no assurance that anything good will come out of it. There's a chance it could get better. But there's also a chance that it could get worse. Much worse.

I guess when it comes to a fragile economy, I'm conservative. It doesn't bode well for us right now. It's a tight race between the people who want her to step down and the people who want to give her a chance. We all know much worse sins have been committed in the government. And they escaped. If you don't know this, then maybe you should do a little more reading before marching down the streets. If you wanna have a say, it's not enough that you're a Filipino. You should be an informed Filipino. And the last time I checked, being informed wasn't a rich-poor thing.

I have to believe things will get better somehow.

Surreality is so much more fun than this. Back to my world.

Relaxed and Alone

The picture of the day says it all, I think. Twas taken in Niagara (US side) in Feb of last year with my trusted Canon S230.

***

Got these 'The Notebook' quotes from someone else's blog. Thought it was much appropriate (in my head it is, anyway), for the photo.

Noah: Would you just stay with me?
Allie: Stay with you? What for? Look at us, we're already fightin'
Noah: Well that's what we do, we fight... You tell me when I am being an arrogant son of a bitch and I tell you when you are a pain in the ass. Which you are, 99% of the time. I'm not afraid to hurt your feelings. You have like a 2 second rebound rate, then you're back doing the next pain-in-the-ass thing.
Allie: So what?
Noah: So it's not gonna be easy. It's gonna be really hard. We're gonna have to work at this every day, but I want to do that because I want you. I want all of you, for ever, you and me, every day. Will you do something for me, please? Just picture your life for me? 30 years from now, 40 years from now? What's it look like? If it's with him, go. Go! I lost you once, I think I can do it again. If I thought that's what you really wanted. But don't you take the easy way out.
Allie: What easy way? There is no easy way, no matter what I do, somebody gets hurt.
Noah: Would you stop thinking about what everyone wants? Stop thinking about what I want, what he wants, what your parents want. What do YOU want? What do you WANT?

***

Anyway, nothing much to say except maybe that the fever and cold that's nogging down my system feels like a welcome relaxing breeze, a desensitizer to the many thoughts that keep entering the mind.

Oh sleep, come now.

This EQ Thing

I was supposed to write about something else that I felt more strongly about (this is just 'blah' to me), but I can't yet seem to find the right words for that other topic. Maybe this weekend...

Anyway, here's what the cybertest yielded:

Your EQ is

140 50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick! 51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese. 71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely. 91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that. 111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt. 131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin. 150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's" Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

Holy Singkamas! Hahaha.

The only thing I can do is laugh, because this test looks skewed from where I'm standing hahaha. I'm sure Carmen will agree ;-D

Or maybe (just maybe...shut up, you!) I've changed quite a bit in the last two years.

Whatever. This doesn't change anything. I'm still who I am for a reason.

***

On a non-related songnote, I'm hooked on Mariah's not-so-new song "We Belong Together". Dammit, Poch! It's all your fault. I'm LSSing all the way to dreamland!

Oooh, and my sister got me addicted to the yahoo game 'Word Racer', a web-game by Yahoo. Try it! Lemme know if you wanna play online! Hahaha.