Sarcasm Aside

golB eht dniheB ecaF

Saturday, August 25, 2007

The fabulous cheH tagged me with a... (drum roll please...)

Face Behind the blog meme.

Putting a face to the name of someone you haven’t met helps recognition and adds a more personal feel to your conversations.
What photograph shows you in a light we don’t often see through your blog?

I thought of a whole autobiographical account (in pictures) about me... but decided otherwise. (That would be a freakishly long post) So I settled with this one particular yellowish photo.

Look at me trying out for Baywatch. (I can't swim) I miss the good ole days when I can get away with a sando (tank top)... and when baby oil was used instead of sun block (ouch!) and by this I mean, that youthful notion of invincibility. I miss that...

We don't have beaches where I live. We have beeches (oooh, how original... a play on words). We actually have pine trees here in Baguio. Beeches just sounded (while I was typing it) wittier. I would have done the other homonym but I can't claim that my city is in any way special with regard the female dog populace. Anyhoo...

The salty scent of a nearby beach can send tingles up the spine of anyone who has spent most of hisher life on a plateau and whose regular notion of "a lot of water" is the Santo Tomas reservoir. The sight of the sky blue on teal horizon line never fails to take my breath away (Just ignore the canoodling couple in the background of this particular photograph) The rhythmic sound of crashing waves is as foreign a sound to a Baguio citizen as the sneeze of an Emperor Penguin is to an outback aborigine.

The largest amount of sand one sees in Baguio would be a 3 foot hill of gray sand outside a house being constructed. Enough to bury someone totally... but not enough to play beach volleyball on.
I love the beach. The sight, the smell, the sound and the feel of it all. (I'll add taste in this statement if and when I find myself crazy enough to taste sand)

---------

I am tagging anyone who
a. reads this, and
b. hasn't done this yet.

(And by that, I mean you... I have a counter that records IP addresses so you better do it... or else, you'll find me sometime next week knocking on your door with a shovel and a bucket of sand)

Check David Airey's blog for details.

---------

Labels: alternati, memes

posted by Alternati, 9:41 PM | Permalink | |

Paper

Thursday, July 26, 2007

What do writer George Bernard Shaw, rock legend Mick "Lips" Jagger, and actors Kevin Spacey, Drew Barrymore, Helen Mirren, Jeremy Piven and Kate Beckinsale have in common?

They share my little ole blog's birthday.

Ok, I totally borrowed the first anniversary paper gift from wedding anniversaries... but humor me for a bit. Instead of giving me a "Happy Blogging Anniversary" comment on my comment box, How about giving me any of the following paper goodies as an anniversary gift... eh?

The World's Largest Paper Airplane
Ok, scratch this one... First of all, where will I put it... and second, it's made of steel and fiberglass, not really true to the whole "paper" theme.

Dillon Works, Inc.

A Lifetime Subscription of The New Yorker!
... plus all back issues since 1925! Yey! You will get me this? really? Shucks!

The New Yorker

Shoji Doors
I've always wanted a Japanese styled bedroom with dramatic lighting from translucent rice paper. It's like waking up to an Akira Kurosawa film every single day.

But for my room's night illumination, I'll need...

A Frank Gehry Cloud Lamp
He's the infamous deconstructivist architect of The Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and the Walt Disney Concert Hall in LA. He makes amazing lamps too!

www.bonluxat.com

or

An Ogetti Onesti Lamp
This geodesic paper cup lamp (yes... paper cups and held with paper clips methinks) puts tasteful recycled art to a whole new level.

www.tim-power.com

A Peter Callesen Piece
This piece is Impenetrable Castle from the A4 papercut collection. It's amazing what he can do with something as mundane as A4 coupon bond paper. The paper remains whole in a sense that the objects he creates remains attached to the paper and he doesn't use additional pieces of paper.

www.petercallesen.com

An Ingrid Siliakus Piece
The female artist creates mobiles, framed pieces and installations from paper. This one is called "Innerrings". Great conversation piece, don't cha think?

ingrid-siliakus.exto.nl

A Souper Dress!
Hanging a Paper Campbell Soup dress in your room is as good as hanging the original one made by pop art icon Andy Warhol.

Or you can always just give me...

A Paper Crane!
Not just any paper crane mind you, I want the actual ones Michael Scofield used in Prison Break. And watching CSI has taught me a thing or two about fingerprints and epithelials so don't bother with a replica...

by: Smart J

The Dead Sea Scrolls!
My reasons are monetary... mwahahaha...

Shakespeare's First Folio!
Reading Shakespeare is one thing... Reading Shakespeare and knowing the original copy of Comedies, Histories and Tragedies you're holding is worth $5.1 million is another.

A Marauder's Map!
Although I would want my version to show the entire planet. It's like GPS, without a satellite and all the fancy electronics. (The Seventh HP book was great, no?)

------------

If you manage to give me any of the previous items, I will not only thank you profusely but I will most probably do an Anchorman Jump!

My blog is growing up so fast... *sob*

P.S. It is also the birthday of CheH, our moderately confused Pinay from Deutschland, this week. Happy Birthday CheH!

.

Labels: alternati, blah (3x), list-o-rama

posted by Alternati, 5:44 PM | Permalink | |

Baby Steps

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

In an effort to gradually reintroduce blogging into my routine... I am taking it easy.

Step One: Answering a Meme.

15 of my Idiosyncrasies

I was tagged by Carey, a blogger with ideas in pink. "I" is easily the easiest topic to blog about. Baby steps... and it's fun to indulge every now and then (as wonderfully depicted by Michaelangelo) in a little...

1. I can't help myself from attaching images in my blog entries. (Case and point, Narcissus above) The visual aids aren't always entirely vital, but they do make things purtier...

2. I need to answer my daily Yahoo! crossword. (Notice my verb use) I am pretty good at it but I cheat in the impossible Sunday editions.

3. I have a frighteningly organized MP3s folder. I have an even more frighteningly organized folder of digital photographs.

4. I can read books upside down (and do so just for the helluvit) That is as long as it is written in a non-italized simple font like Arial or Times New Roman.

5. I am irked by words that have been "tagalogized". I do not mind written or verbal Taglish (Tagaolg+English), heck I am fully pledged endorser of the language hybrid. However, being visually raped by words like "teks" (text), "kyut" (cute) and "dyip" (jeep) can make me climb the nearest high-rise and plummet to my nan-eksistens (non-existence).

6. I am almost always late. There is Filipino time... and there is Alternati time.

7. (aka 6.a) I never wear a watch. I feel like being cuffed to time. I do own a chained timepiece that permanently reads 3 o'clock.

8. I keep "memory shoe-boxes". Mementos range from a Turin shroud old "Most Creative" bookmark my kindergarten teacher gave me to wine corks and shot glasses.

9. I know it's extremely inane, but words like "pianist" (properly pronounced) and "angina" make me mentally giggle.

10. I, like Ernie, like rubber duckies... and I, unlike Bert, dislike pigeons.

11. I personally believe ketchup is a major food group.

12. I collect Playboy bags. Okay, so two doesn't necessarily comprise a "collection" but I plan to increase my supposed collection. The obsession isn't because of anything Hugh Hefner or Anna Nicole Smith (God bless her soul) related. While some people go gaga over the interlaced "L" and "V" logo of affluence, I am drawn to the bunny.

13. I have triskaidekamania.

14. My greatest pet peeve is being asked "Anong balita?". I can't clearly translate it to english... literally it is "News?" or something to that effect. It's somewhere between "How are you doing?" and "Give me a 5 minute long summary of every single thing that has happened in your life since the last time we met". On a good day, I would humor the inquirer. On an extremely horrid day, I sass with a snappish "Last time I checked I am not a news anchor" or a withdrawn and predictable "Nothing much, You?" to turn the tables. I don't particularly enjoy giving a summarized autobiography via SMS or instant message.

15. I have a thing for riddles and mind games. Here's a really cool one I just finished last weekend.

Click here.

Whew! another blog post...
One small step for man, One giant baby step for Alternati.

.

Labels: alternati, blah (3x), memes

posted by Alternati, 10:51 PM | Permalink | |

Twenty-friggin-something

Thursday, May 31, 2007

I've been playing Parachutes and Twentysomething all night. Coldplay has always been my melancholy soundtrack, and Jamie Cullum... my crooner.

My 364 days of unbirthdays are over... they all seem short and useless when THAT day arrives. I always get this mixed feeling on the eve of my birthday (Gawd! just ~~saying~~ typing that out loud makes me cringe) I simultaneously feel like a child on Christmas morning and a schizophrenic awaiting electroshock therapy. I could never pinpoint the cause of this antsy anticipation because I really dread each +1 candle cake. An anticipation for time travel? for oblivious bliss? for my own Aston Martin?

I love those short tapered wax candles. Each supposedly represents a year of your life... irrelevant and burned into nothingness in a few minutes. They represent a year lost... a year where I should've read more books, a year where I would've seen the eerie monoliths of Easter Island, a year where I could've done this, could've done that... Shoulda Woulda Coulda Barracuda...

I love the cake. That beautifully crafted confection that goes straight to your thighs... that chocolate filled temptation with the scrumptilicious frosting and your name in icing you cut up into slices... that sweet, sweet reminder that you don't have the same metabolism "x" years ago.

I love that song. That happy happy four worded song that really drills the message "you ain't getting any younger" right into your right ventricle... that song which everybody knows, everybody claims to own, and everybody apparently commits a copyright infringement crime with whenever they sing it... that step above "for he's a jolly good fellow" that always necessitates your widest, most pseudo-genuine smile after it is sung to you and before you almost die of respiratory arrest from blowing out the candles.

I love the expectation to be "happy" and to feel "special". This is after all a "happy birthday"... just as "theory" always has "conspiracy" tagging along with it, "birthday" is lonesome without "happy". I love the wholehearted attempt to really be happy that often ends with either a migraine or an aneurysm. I love teeth... I love dimples... I love crow's feet... I love smile lines... I love straining the muscles n my face.

I love Brooke Shields and how she bashed Tom Cruise's skewed views on prescription drugs. I love Clint Eastwood and how he committed euthanasia on a Million Dollar Baby. I love Chris Elliot's obsession induced rashes on There's Something About Mary. I love Colin Farrell, just for being Irish. I may not know them personally, but we share a bond in birth.

I love (and I say this without an iota of sarcasm) my family and friends. They make this day bearable, sometimes even... dare I say it... may I not be struck by lightning... happy.

For the love of all things sacred... Don't Sing me that Song... or if you do, sing me a "Sometimes Happy (But Never Required To Be) Birthday To You"...

I'll be normal in June... well... like happy, normal is a relative term.

.

Labels: alternati, B-days, boo-freakin-hoo

posted by Alternati, 12:00 AM | Permalink | |

Doc, OCD.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Disclaimer: I have zilch education on psychological disorders.

In one day, I came across three cases of obsessive compulsive behavior that triggered the following trail of thoughts. Early this morning I browsed the winners of the 2006 Emmies, my resentment of Grey's Anatomy not winning have abated, and I found out that Tony Shalhoub won best actor in a comedy for his role as Monk, a detective with OCD. I was doing my blogroll and Rho talked about her compulsion to keep her counter drip free in her blog. And sometime this afternoon, I found out that David Sedaris has a compulsion to touch the heads of strangers, especially so when he is anxious and could not smoke, in Chicken in the Henhouse (Dress Your Family...).

I took this as a sign, and despite my insufficient knowledge about OCD, I gave in to my compulsion to blog about compulsions.

Without gahooyoogling, I made a mental list of all the things I stocked in the recesses of my brain relating to OCD. The first thing that came to my mind is As Good As It Gets. Jack Nicholson is a writer of romantic novels who suffers from OCD, Helen Hunt is a waitress in the restaurant Jack frequents and she had an innate way of dealing with his eccentricities. They fall in love yaddah yaddah... (It was impossible to beat Titanic... but that year, As Good As it Gets and LA Confidential were more deserving Best Picture Winners, for me at least)

I also remember Monica (Courteney Cox) Geller-Bing's hypochondria in Friends. How she finds a freakish amount of joy in organizing things and cleaning the sink. There are also patients in medical series like Scrubs and Grey's Anatomy who had OCD.

WIKI
Obsessive Compulsive Behavior is an anxiety disorder (Wikipedia). In general, people who suffer from OCD have impulses/thoughts (obsession) which drive him to perform some repetitive behavior or mental acts (compulsion) because not doing so would result in extreme anxiety. Tony Shalhoub in Monk has a fear of germs and his compulsion is to always sterilize his hands. He also has a compulsion to set everything he sees at right angles.

www.jenniferberman.com

Jack in As Good As it Gets, needed to unlock and lock a door a certain number of times (usually in a multiple of 3) before he can walk through it. He needed to wash his hands with three bars of freshly opened soaps. He also didn't step on lines in the pavement when he walked.

This got me thinking and eventually diagnosing myself. I have a lot of compulsions but I never really thought I had OCD because they are usually hypochondriacs... and I am a slob. I usually clean my room on Sundays and as the week progresses, my room gets more cluttered. Mondays means a couple of jackets I tried but didn't look good with what I wore hung on my chair. Tuesdays meant I had two empty glasses on my bedside which held my mandatory glass of water before I sleep. Saturdays meant I slept only on a half of my bed because the other half if filled with tried on clothes, books, CD cases and whatnots.

WHACKO
I found it unsettling when I discovered that not all people with OCD are hypochondriacs. So I thought of all my compulsions:

www.lastlemon.com

I can't stand a crooked framed photograph on the wall.

I need to finish the whole bag of junk food when I open one.

I need a glass of really cold water on my bedside before I recline.

When I don't have anything particular TV show to watch I need to do a complete channel surfing lap before I can settle with a show.

I always feel like I left my blow dryer on.

I always feel like I left my cellular phone.

I always feel like I left my wallet.

I need to empty my recycle bin everytime I delete something. (Need is the operative word here)

I need to google everything I don't know.

I arrange all items on my desktop by type and as much as possible in a symmetrical pattern.

I always copy and paste my entries onto a text document before I post it.

When in traffic, I do one of two things. I either make equations in my head using the 3 digits of the vehicle infront of us. I need to use the digits the same number of times in two equations that add up. i.e. Plate No. = AYD 963; 9-6+3 = (9/3)+(9/3)x(6/6)

Or, I do anagrams in my head of words I see, something Text Twist programmed in my head. i.e. Save our TREES = TERSE, STEER, RESET or Physical EDUCATION = AUCTIONED, CAUTIONED.

I go to the same 7-11 store almost every office day.

When I play MP3s at the office there needs to be some sort of connection between the songs. Sometimes it is by genre or artist so I don't burn that many brain cells, sometimes it's raining so the songs I play have "rain" or "ulan" in the titles.

My digital pictures since 2004 are so organized it scares me.

I think I am obsessive. I know I'm compulsive. The trouble is I don't know if I'm obsessive-compulsive... or just too mentally agitated... or merely a straight jacket away from the loony bin.

Labels: alternati, blah (3x), list-o-rama

posted by Alternati, 10:01 PM | Permalink | |

TAG! I'm it!

Tuesday, September 05, 2006

This is the first time I got tagged since I started blogging. I got tagged by snglguy by a long meme... lengthy posts aren't new in my blog.

The Rules:
1. Emphasize all lines that apply to you.
2. Tag 5 more people after you finish, complete with links to their sites.
3. Let the person you've tagged KNOW that they've been tagged.

Brace yourself...

I AM... I CHOOSE

>I wish I was a different ethnicity. ("pinoy ako, pinoy tayo"... that song was a rip-off)
>I have an eating disorder.
>I'm short.
>I'm tall. (relatively)
>I think I'm really attractive. (I hear Carly Simon singing... "You walked into the party...")
>I prefer winter over summer. (Any excuse to wear my mufflers)
>I'm a geek. (and proud to be one!!)
>I'm a shopaholic.
>I'm reasonably intelligent. (I think... thank god they jammed "resonably" in there)
>I'm attracted to girls.
>I'm attracted to boys. (err... men)
>I like British accents. (Jude Law, Paul Bettany, Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett... It makes people extra charming and interesting or something)
>I smoke regularly.
>I drink regularly.
>I smoke socially.
>I drink socially.
>I get drunk easily.
>I do drugs.
>I will never date a bad kisser. (... teach a man to fish, err... kiss...)
>I've lied to avoid kissing them again. (when teaching makes it awkward or when teaching doesn't work)
>I brush my hair at least 50 times a night.
>I'm religious.
>I'm not religious but have morals. (I'd like to think I'm spiritual)
>I lie frequently. (when I get in trouble frequently)
>I'm impulsive. (...too impulsive)
>I'm hardworking. (most of the time)
>I liked "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind". (very very much)
>"She's All That" is one of my favourite movies. (seriously?)
>I'm good at History. (I think so, but I never liked the History subject... too many dates)
>I speak more than two languages. (I can swear in 9 languages and 3 dialects)
>I enjoy taking pictures. (I have my cam in my bag right now)
>I like spending money on myself. (duh?!)
>I like spending money on others. (Just a select few)
>I have a regular income. (although "regular" is arguable)
>I earn money on a job-by-job basis.
>I pay my own bills. (well... most of them)
>I rely on my parents for money.
>I can cook. (not to save my life)
>I enjoy cleaning. (I think you got me mistaken for Monica Geller-Bing)
>Tidiness is a must in my life.
>I like clutter. (It makes any place homier)
>My idea of good music is Britney Spears. (*barf*)
>I have heard of Blonde Redhead.
>I enjoy Blonde Redhead.
>I'm fashion-conscious.
>I have good taste. (I don't know really...)
>People tell me I have good taste.
>I excel academically. (told you I was a geek)
>I'm told I have yet to fulfill my potential. (potential... schmotential)
>I'm good at sports.
>I'm good at certain sports. (Or I hope I were)
>I couldn't do sports to save my life.
>I'm creative.
>I'm artistically inclined.
>I wanna be an artist when I grow up. (I am grown up... I think)
>I wanna be an engineer when I grow up.
>I eat when I'm upset. (... and when I'm not)
>I cannot adapt to change. (you're filipino! adaptation is in your genes! don't be a pretentious pampered conio)
>I'm interested in politics. (was...)
>I have shoplifted. (a dare... I got away)
>I download MP3s. ("Applewire")
>I've done underage drinking. (sshh)
>I've gone underage clubbing. (sshh)
>I can dance reasonably well. (hahaha)
>I can dance extremely well. (HAHAHAHA)
>I dance like a cardboard gorilla. (that's more like it)
>I can sing. (*Sigh*)
>I sing like someone stepped on my foot. (more like a strangled cat)
>I can swim. (This meme knows all my inabilities)
>I enjoy surveys.
>I enjoy surveys when I'm bored.
>I keep a journal. (I had journals... but I can't seem to keep them)
>My teachers don't like me.
>I enjoy controversy.
>I can be a bitch/bastard. (yeah... although I resent "bastard". I am legitimate)
>I have a thing for bad boys/girls.
>I have tattoos. (gonna)
>I've been in a nudist colony.
>I'm not sure if I want to have children. (I don't have the parent gene)
>I'm not sure if I'll get married. (I don't have the marriage gene either)
>I know who I will marry. (you should be wearing an engagement ring if you highlight this)
>I'm interesting. (come on! fungus is interesting)
>I'm a good liar. (except when playing Texas Hold'em)
>People enjoy talking to me. (hmmm....)
>I annoy people from time to time. (yep, I can be pretty annoying)
>I'm a born leader.
>I'm a born leader but shouldn't lead. (hahaha)
>I enjoy felching. (???)
>I have a foot fetish.
>I have a shoe fetish.
>I watch "Sex and the City". (like a stalker when it was still on air)
>I don't think Sarah Jessica Parker is pretty. (in the conventional manner)
>I wanna be J.Lo. (and have trouble fitting into my pants? No thanks)
>I cut myself. (accidentally)
>I've cut myself. (accidentally, I said)
>I hate people who pretend to be suicidal. (nothing more pathetic)
>I hate popular people.
>I think cheerleading is a sport.
>I'm photogenic.
>I live in Chucks. (Taylors? I'm wearin em now)
>I think graffiti is art.
>I have dated a criminal. (That'd be fun)
>I have been cheated on. (blah!)
>I have cheated on someone.
>I have a temper. (no comment)
>I like playgrounds. (just did a post yesterday)
>I dance in the rain. (although I don't dance)
>I'm obsessed with Shakespeare. (I like Shakespeare, but not to the point of obsession)
>I have tanlines.
>My favourite color is pink.
>My favourite color is black. (it's green)
>I would classify myself as emo.
>I'm musically inclined. (I wish)
>I like listening to music.
>I like music-blasting cars. (only when I'm in that car)
>Thongs are comfortable. (floss anyone?)
>I like flip-flops.
>I know what monogamy is... and I believe in it.
>I wanna be a social worker when I grow up.
>I have sibling/s. (2)
>My sibling/s annoy me. (that's how all siblings are programmed)
>I think "South Park" is funny. ("Screw you guys... I'm goin home...)
>I believe in LOVE. (haayy...)

Five people to reek revenge on, hmmmm....:
En
watson
Rho
cheH
Gothic babe

If you don't do this tag, your blog will be deleted!

kidding... Answer the meme at your own risk.

Labels: alternati, memes

posted by Alternati, 3:03 PM | Permalink | |

I've Officially Moved In

Wednesday, July 26, 2006

After 3 days, 9 moved posts, a couple of blog templates and a million help pages on HTML and CSS, I have officially moved in. Not shabby for a newbie that started with zero knowledge on everything technical in the www. I love what I've done with the place. I found another use for my Photoshop skills and my OCD.

Blogging does encourage narcissism.

Labels: alternati

posted by Alternati, 11:25 PM | Permalink | |

About Me

Saturday, June 03, 2006

In a Nutshell

I'm a 26 year old (when I wrote this) architect. I was born and raised in the city atop a plateau, summer capital of the Philippines, Baguio City. (Sounds like a travel guide) I love this city, we have (most times) an "un"-tropical weather unlike most of Southeast Asia, mainly because of the altitude.

I have recently discovered the world of blogging and I'm getting pretty obsessed. I write about anything (or should I say.. will write) that passes through my head. I am one of those Jack of all trades, master of none kind of people who generally take interest in a lot of things but don't have enough of an attention span to pursue it to near perfection.

P.S.

I write better than I talk (which isn't saying much).

I have OCD... (or at least I think I do)

I have Peter Pan Syndrome.

I can be the biggest procrastinator or the most active person... depends on my mood.

I will admit that more than 50% of my general education comes from movies, TV, music, books, and other media. 25% of it from school, 20% from life experience, and the remaining from hearsays and old wives tales.

I am a movie freak. My top three fave movies (not in any particular order) are: Before Sunrise, The Truth About Cats and Dogs and Meet Joe Black.

I will watch any movie directed by Richard Linklater, Woody Allen, and Quentin Tarantino. Or, any movie that star Cate Blanchett, Jude Law, Giovanni Ribisi, Nicole Kidman (sans Tom Cruise), Christina Ricci, Audrey Hepburn and Paul Bettany among others.

I love independent films as much if not more than blockbusters.

I would read more than I would exercise.

I have a wide musical preference but most of my favorite music come from Rock (Alternative, Indie, Hard Rock, American Trad, British Trad, Folk Rock, etc.)

I am the biggest Coldplay fanatic (many may dispute this). I also love The Stereophonics, Lifehouse, The Black Crowes, Incubus, Aqualung, Ben Folds, Air, Radiohead, Evanescence, Switchfoot, Beck, Goo Goo Dolls, Audioslave, M20, The Thrills, The Killers, Keane, Damien Rice, Alanis, Tori Amos, Missy Higgins, Dido, Rufus Wainwright, The Cardigans, Fiona Apple, Bush, No Doubt, the list goes on and on and on.

I also love the classics. The Beatles, Pink Floyd, The Doors, David Bowie, The Rollin' Stones, Tom Petty, Melissa Etheridge, Queen, Bob Dylan, Carly Simon, etc. etc. etc.

I spend at least 2 hours of TV daily. My favorite shows that have ended (or about to end): Sex and the City, Will and Grace, Wonderfalls, Felicity, Whose Line Is It Anyway, Ed among some. My favorites (still on-air, in the Phil.): Grey's Anatomy, House MD, CSI (the Las vegas one), Amazing Race, Survivor, Six Feet Under, SNL, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Alias, and American Idol (pretend I didn't write that).

I am a smoker and (when I could) sleep until noon. I dunno which is worse.

I have said enough "I's" to last me 2 lifetimes. Ok... I'm done now.