The Focus of Ads
POSTED AT 01:03 AM

platinumangel

All the ads these days are slowly shifting their focus from men to women. Where before, we could see that all these women were being shown on billboards, magazines, large scale ads and the like, barely covering their essentials, now we see all these half naked men on billboards.

It's all for the women, you see. All the fashion choices that are promoted are also for the women. No men's wear.

Now this may have something to do with the fact that women shop waaaaay more than men, and thus, have larger clothing lines available to them, but this also touches on the focus of ads.

Gone are the days of (blessed) chauvinism. Now, it's just feminism everywhere. I think this whole girl-power kick the world's having has gone too far, it's gotten to their heads, and now they need to just stop. Women are no longer discriminated. Now, the men need something to themselves too.

So I say, MEN MUST NOW HAVE RIGHTS!!!!!!! WOMEN, STAY DOWN!!!!!

Family Outings = Sitcom
POSTED AT 11:08 PM

platinumangel

We were about to leave the house (we hadn't decided where to go yet) when this happened. Little did I know that it was to start a whole evening of sitcom-like laughs.

Me: I’ve got to go to Q.
Alex: What Q? The place in PowerPlant? It’s called O.
Me: It’s Q.
Alex: O.
Me: Q.
Alex: O.
Me: Q.
Alex: Fine, so we reach a compromise, P.

We decided on the Fort, and after getting there in thirty minutes, we decided to walk around and look for some places. We split up as mom and Alex decided they wanted food, and I decided I wanted sweet stuff. Dad and Andrew sided with me.

At the Iced Cream parlor:
Andrew: Did you see the girl there a while ago?
Me: No, why?
Andrew: Did you see here leave?
Me: Why, should I have seen her leave?
Andrew: I thought she was hot.
Me: Well, let’s see . . .

The girl reappears. I see her.

Me: You have such shallow taste.
Girl: Are you sure you want that in two cups? Cos we’re gonna charge you for the extra cup.
Me: Dad, you wanna pay ten pesos for the extra cup?
Dad: No.
Me: Oh, never mind na. Isang cup nalang.
Iced cream comes. Both flavors are crammed into the cup.
Andrew: Oh…

We go outside.

Andrew: Why didn’t we just buy the stupid cup for ten pesos?
Me: Because dad’s got several broomsticks shoved up his ass again.
Andrew: I mean, it’s just ten pesos.. what the hell?
Me: Being all anal retentive again.

Dad comes along.

Dad: Hey, you don’t want to go walk around?
Me: No.
Dad: Why?
Andrew: Because it’s very hard to eat!
Dad: *picks up a wooden spoon* Hey, how come I don’t have a plastic spoon?
Andrew: *notes the wooden spoon Dad’s holding* That came from the floor!
Dad: Oh. *drops it* Can I get a plastic spoon? Did you guys pay extra for the plastic spoon?
Me: No. *Dad goes inside*
Andrew: Damn… she hot.
Me: She looks stupid.
Andrew: Yeah, so?
Me: I thought hot chicks turn you on.
Andrew: Yeah, hot chicks, and airhead-y chicks.
Me: Both extremes.
Dad: *comes back out with a plastic spoon* Oh, now I know why we’re sitting out here, bearing the heat.
Me and Andrew: Why?
Dad: So Andrew can look at the hot chick.
Me: Malay mo, may boyfriend na siya.
Andrew: Nah. Can’t be.
Dad: *looks at some guy* There’s her boyfriend.
Andrew: *scrambles to look* Where?
“Boyfriend”: *girly voice* Sorry, ma’am, sir, for waiting . . .
Andrew: That can’t be her boyfriend.
Me: He’s very gay.
Dad: He can’t? Why not?
Andrew: He’s just gay.
Me: That’s what I said!

We continue eating.

Andrew: Look at her, just sitting pretty over there, letting all the others do the work.. who does she think she is?
Me: I don’t think there’s enough Ferrero. There’s a lot of Very Strawberry.
Andrew: Oh?
Me: Yeah, they’re jipping us off because no one buys the Strawberry flavor, but everyone buys Ferrero.
Andrew: Yeah, NO ONE buys Very Strawberry.
Me: *ignoring* Not enough Very Strawberry.
Dad: So there’s not enough Very Strawberry noh?
Me: Yeah! That’s what I said! Why does NO ONE seem to be listening to me here?
Andrew: Hey, I got what you said, dad’s just slow!

Went to find mom and Alex. On the way . . .

Andrew: Ah, yes, these are the times I wouldn’t trade in for riches.
Me: Except when you’re picking up girls.
Andrew: *grins* Yeah, except when I’m picking up girls, then I’d rather be rich and screw these moments!

We see them in an Italian Restaurant.

Andrew: Notice how it’s only the overweight people were at this table?

Pizza and some beef-in-bread thing are on the table.

Dad: And that’s why they’re overweight!

Alex gives the beef thing to dad, who gives it to Andrew.

Alex: Kakainin mo yan?
Andrew: Anything to stop you from eating!
Dad: Ey, for this sitcom on your blog, kanina yung part one, eto yung part two!

Alex and Mom talk.

Alex: What do you like better, long hair or short hair? For my wife, I mean.
Mom: I have no preference.
Me: *to Andrew* Now why would he ask that?
Andrew: Such a strange question.
Dad: But one thing’s for sure! We like GUYS with short hair!
*All eyes slide over to Andrew, whose hair is really, really, really long!*
Me: Okay, okay, what names do you all want for this sitcom I’m writing on my blog?
Andrew: Charming.
Alex: Anti-Andrew.
Andrew: My name can’t be mentioned!
Me: *points to Andrew* Charming. *points to Alex* Anti-Charming.
Alex: Hinde, alam ko na. Ako nalang yung si… si… yung kalaban ni Prince Charming?
Me: Si… Maleficent?
Alex: Oo, yun.
Me: Okay, dad?
Dad: Ah…
Alex: Pick one: Sleepy, Dopey, Grumpy . . .
Dad: Ah! Yun! Grumpy… I think that suits me well.
Me: Mom?
Mom: I want to be . . . Cinderella!

Silence.

Dad: Wrong fairytale!
Me: Hindi, kasi diba, may Prince Charming sa Cinderella? *points to Andrew*
Andrew: I’m in both fairy tales. Snow White and Cinderella.
Dad: May Prince Charming ba sa Snow White?
Andrew: Duh! Who do you think picks up her shoe?
Mom: Hindi, ako nalang si… yung nanay ni Simba.

Silence.

Me: Uh… *furrowed eyebrows*… bakit siya?
Mom: Ganoon ako e.
Me: Wala naman atang pangalan yun e!

When we decide to leave (really late in the evening, by the way), it's when we get into the car that it starts up again.

Mom: Nag-drudrugs ka ba?
Me: *bursts out laughing*
Andrew: Oh, yes, mom, I smoke marijuana every other day, I buy ecstasy sometimes and I also sell coke on weekends. And when I come home late every night, I don’t look at you guys to hide that my eyes are flaming red.
Alex: Uy, medyo mag-ingat-ingat ka lang, baka paniwalaan ka ni mom.

A few miles later . . .

Me: How do you say “drive” in Cantonese?
Dad: Uh… zaa che.
Me: Oh. Man man zaa che. Now how do you say it in Mandarin?
Mom: Fang che.
Me: What? This is really weird. It’s like… hold car, put down car, grab car. Cos diba, Fukien, it’s hua and that’s hold. Fang is to let go and zaa is to seize or grab. Chinese is a weeeird language.

Oh, my, Sem Break's ending
POSTED AT 01:25 PM

platinumangel

The only freedom I've had seems to have passed by in a blur. I cannot stand school, and I wish never to return to that place of dread.

No, for once, I am not missing school, like my friends. I despise it, and wish to be free of it until I want it again. When years descend upon you in months, you tire swiftly of the workload.

I think I've reached the point where thinking of school is sort of like thinking of my own slow, deliberate and very painful death.

The only refuge I've ever had in these long, cold months has been--this. Semestral Break. My butterfly--nakakaaliw. Rejuvenating.


I've been feeling very romantic-y and sad recently... the kind of beautiful melancholy that envelopes you, and you wish you just had more music to thresh out with. I know I do.

This is a kind of enrapturing darkness that I think very few people would want to seek out. It's not an evil darkness. It's just a darkness--the absence of light. Neutral. Impeded. Subdued. Black.

Time to live again. That's what I need. But Alex and Mom have not been cooperating. So I'm thankful for this gimmick--this time for me to see again what it is that I'm missing.

Old days... but lovely days. And it started with a simple step... one step into Rockwell.

Jackie and Cath were at Fully Booked, chattering away in their uniquely Jackie- and Cath- manner. Walking around with them was just like a stroll through great memoriees that I'd forged. Like a modified version--everything's different, but it's the same feelings.

Even just doing mundane things with them--walking, laughing, joking, checking out the movie time slots, arguing about when and where to have lunch, going down to check the wall climbing rates... everything was just as it should be. Condign. Exact. I love it.

Running into Walter. More complete. Now the talking is more animated, funny; i guess, sort of kinder.

Go up the elevator again, and see the mirrors and I see what I wanna see--me with my friends.

A nice, normal and quiet lunch. God, I feel like Piper "I want a normal life!" We're just beginning when Kenn comes back. He bounces in and acts quirky, in the usual Kenn-like way that I've come to find endearing. Finishing lunch. Strange, they roped me into having lunch in a Japanese restaurant, and made me eat disgusting maki. My, you guys have some sort of spell on me.

Walking up, overly full--never take the last maki.

Katan, Mark, appearance. Yeah, they pretty much stick together, so their presence was not really felt, in my opinion.

The whole time, I felt like I should hurry everyone up, make them move faster and stop wasting time letting the topic drift, but then, I felt that that was what I had been missing--just going with the flow. Throwing my life into things I was interested in seemed a bit of a heady rollercoaster ride. Hanging with friends was like having a soft river gush around me, and making me feel content.

So, i ended up sitting back a bit, just letting them be, and reveling in the inner tranquil but outer dapper.

Legend of Zorro was good. A bit of a ride when you have the right mindset. Peoples' opinions on it seemed rather... wrong. I haven't a clue as to what movie they were watching, but Legend of Zorro was good. Christian's arrival in the theatre was also a good relief. Missing just hanging like this--so special to me but so common for them. Aaron Lines has taught me to celebrate the mundane, and see the wonderful in them.

After the movie, no one cared to comment, and we headed straight to the wall climbing place. My first wall climbing experience. Ever.

Lovely. And instead of a Vanessa Carlton reference, I think I'll talk about it.

It took us twelve minutes to decide what we wanted to do, and we decided on the biggest rip off of our lives (unless you went to that Eastwood Longest Buffet Table thing)--400 pesos per person. Times six, as Katan and Mark refused. Yet somehow, my anger at this was not flared. Maybe it's that I had my friends there, to just immerse myself in their presence.

So Jackie and I begin. The man hands me a harness and gives me a few pointers--when I want to climb, I say "climbing" and he gives me the cue to start. The rope has to be between my arms. When I reach the top, then I can let go.

I start climbing, and it's surprisingly easy. Of course, the rocks are lined up all nice and stuff, so it was a quick climb. I get down, and the others start. The two belayers then lead us on to the next set after everyone's done their rounds.

They walls got progressively harder to climb, and Jackie commented on how it was certainly harder than at the one she used to wall climb in. With steady determination, we both scaled two different walls afterwards, but both failed at the fourth set.

Sitting down, we waited until everyone did their thing, and I took some videos. Kenn suddenly had to go, and after a quick set of goodbyes, he takes his leave. I play two sets--with Jackie and with Walter on the super easy ones.. the ones with the stones neatly lined up for you.

We watch Katan and Mark do flips in the air in their jumping thing. Mark does not have nearly as much grace as Katan, but he certainly bests her when they wall climb.

We walk out of there, satisfied. We stop by Starbucks for some water, and in Jackie's, Cath's and Walter's cases, food and coffee. I leave shortly after, and as I'm walking out of the place, I imagine bumping into Y. We'd talk, and laugh and hang, and my driver would be waiting.

Driver, yeah. I run out just in time to see the car about to turn the corner, so I make a somehow sweet run to the car, and it reminds me of Bridget, and her story (with Eric. Yeah, Jackie, that's his name) from Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants. I loved their scenes, and when I run, I think of the love they have--stalled but there. And I realize... yes, Y. Except ours'd be more passive.

Kenn is surprisingly deep. He understands things like no one else i've met. And he speaks a lot of truth. Truth, nothing. It's all the same.

Being nothing is the only truth. Death. It's the only certainty, the only unavoidable. But we can't all live the truth, or in other words, die. We need a few lies still.

But just because I live a lie, doesn't mean I'm not free. And perhaps I need to circle back to my Filipino. Chinese has been a breathtaking ride, but I think I needed Mano Po to kick my sensibilities back into place. Bakit ko tatakbuhan ang di lubusang matatakasan? And Maricel writes her citizenship down as Filipino.

Yeah, I'm Filipino. And I'm free, Y.

Free by Maria Mena

I've been walking around all day thinking
I think I have a problem, I think I think too much
I've been taught to hold back my tears and avoid them
but you've made pain into something I could touch

I've been walking around all day laughing
Think I'd be better off without you here
And I bet you're sweet and hard to get over
So I'll cry and people will stop and stare
Now that's ok, let them stop and stare

Cause I am fragile
I am hopeless
I'm not perfect
But I am free

I've been walking around all day waiting
And waiting is all I seem to do
Cause I never get it unless I'm fed it
But this time I'll just have to
Yeah, this time I'll just have to

And I'm fragile
I am hopeless
I'm not perfect
But I am free

Say you're not around, am I finished?
If you're not around that's too bad
Hope you're safe and sound, not alone now
Cause you know I believe in you

I'm still fragile
I'm still hopeless
I'm not perfect
But I am free

And I'm fragile
I am hopeless
I'm not perfect
But I am free

Cause I'm fragile
I am hopeless
I'm not perfect
But I am free

It's My Very Last Day
POSTED AT 12:15 AM

platinumangel

This is gonna be the last day I update my blog in a VERY long time.

Yup, yup, it's now come: The Sabbatical, just in time for the beginning of classes.

Yeah, so maybe I'm making a big deal out of it. I'm gonna spend more time reflecting instead of YM-ing. My phone will be on, but I'll probably stay loadless. Weh.

Also, no contact with my friends. All work. And all thinking. It should be a refreshing experience. I am somewhat afraid that I won't have any social skills by the time I come out of the said sabbatical, but what the hey--it'll be all worth the risk.

Of course, I'll still keep a journal, but it'll be on Microsoft Word instead of Tabulas. I'll post it when I finish the sabbatical.

All the best to you guys, but please respect my wishes.

Back from a long break
POSTED AT 11:08 AM

platinumangel

I'd been delayed by the fact that our computer had to be fixed TWICE because some idiot couldn't fix it properly the first time. And other idiots did something and wrecked it.

Now, there's no sound. Annoyed am I.

But okay, let me talk about what's happened.

My sabbatical was a complete flop. A lot of people who i didn't think saw me as important actually did, and i could not selfishly continue to put their lives on hold for mine.

I stopped, after a while. There was a lot going on in my life, and so little that i still had to get in touch with anymore. But I'm grateful i was able to touch on it on the last day of my so-called sabbatical. Well, that's over and done with.

Things are resuming to normal, Henry being his usual, eclectically different, oddballishly call self. I'm going round to Mr. Young's a bit too, just to talk things down and round things out. Evan and Mark and Walter are being their ever-busy selves, but Christian seems to be more distant than usual. And Kenn, Gian, well, we're getting closer now I guess.

A beautiful song called You Were Meant For Me by Bellefire (originally by Jewel, though) has invaded my iPod's most-played list. Blues-y, yeah, I know. But I love it, and it means something to me.

I hear the clock, it's six a.m.
I feel so far from where I've been
I got my eggs and my pancakes too
I got my maple syrup, everything but you
I break the yolks, make a smiley face
I kinda like it in my brand new place
I wipe the spots off all the mirror
Don't leave the keys in the door
I never put wet towels on the floor anymore cause

Dreams last for so long
Even after you're gone
I know you love me
And soon you'll see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you

I called my momma, she was out for a walk
Consoled a cup of coffee but it didn't wanna talk
So I pick up the paper, it was more bad news
More hearts being broken or people being used
Put on my coat in the pouring rain
I saw a movie, it just was wasn't the same
'Cause it was happy and I was sad and
It made me miss you oh so bad

Dreams last for so long
Even after you're gone
I know you love me
And soon you'll see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you

I go about my business
I'm doin' fine
Besides what would I say
If I had you on the line
Same old story, not much to say
Hearts are broken, everyday

I brush my teeth and put the cap back on
I know you hate it when I leave the light on
I pick up a book and, turn the sheets down and
Take a deep breath and a good look around
Put on my pjs and hop into bed
I'm half alive but I feel mostly dead
I try to tell myself it'll be alright
I just shouldn't think anymore tonight

Dreams last for so long
Even after you're gone
I know you love me
And soon I know you'll see
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you

Yeah
You were meant for me
And I was meant for you

Hey, people, I guess I'm back, eh? Definitely not for good, but for now, anyway.