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.





Link-o-Rama

David Airey :: Graphic Designer
Gayla at Mom Gadget
Char at Essential Keystrokes
Paul at Reflections
Rob at 2Dolphins
Zep at The In-Sect
Ingo at Stixster
Stevie at Lost In Cyberspace
The Paper Bull at (oddly enough) The Paper Bull
Lisa Sabin-Wilson at Just A Girl In The World
Dawud Miracle at dmiracle.com
Wendy Piersall at eMoms at Home
Dennis Bjørn Petersen at The Beta News
Randa Clay at Randa Clay Design
Drew McLellan at The Marketing Minute
Becky McCray at Small Biz Survival
Phil Gerbyshak at Make it Great!
Steve Woodruff at StickyFigure
Dave Olson at Live the GREAT life that you desire
Greg at Become a Remote Control SEO
Ariane Benefit at Neat & Simple Living Blog
Genesis at the At Home Mom Blog
Armen at iFFECT.NET
Mihaela Lica at Online Public Relations
Tara at Graphic Design Blog
Doris Chua at Home Office Women
Edward Mills at Evolving Times
Tony D. Clark at Success from the Nest
Jonathan-C Phillips at SmartWealthyRich
Karen at A Deaf Mom Shares Her World
Lisa Gates at intrinsic life design
Rammel Firdaus at rammelfirdaus.com
Carol at Pentimento
Adam Kayce at Monk at Work
Thomas at Technical Blogger
Tammy Lenski at I Can’t Say That!
Chris Brown at Branding & Marketing
Rory Sullivan at Hamelife
Derek Wong at Going The Wong Way
Embuck at embuck.com
Ms. Q at QMusings
Shelly Tucker at This Eclectic Life
Steve at Ramblings from the Marginalized
Troy Worman at on!blog
Lilith at Lilith’s Owl Nest
Revov at REVO-OVER
Karin at Stop/Start
Sha at Sha Money Maker dot com
Derrick Sorles at Life By Design
Ken Xu at Mysites Advisor dot com
Roberta at Roberta Ferguson
Donovan at Blog That Outside
Leanne Wildermuth at Artist by Nature
Ingrid at Through My Eyes
Don Lawson at Affiliate Watcher
The Giddy Tiger at Giddy Tigers
Mike Busson at Twenty Steps
Rosemarie at Miscellaneous Matters
Charity at Design Adaptations
Nancy at Erik Quinn: The Heart of a Family
Robyn McMaster at Brain Based Biz
Chris at Chris Hoyt
Faddy at Girl Next Door
Thess at In Nederland
Jean at A Great Pleasure
Suzie at 1Day@ATime
Jason at Blisslogs
Johnny at Really Smart Guy
Bob at BobMeetsWorld.com
Chin Nee at De ‘moments
Skipper at My Life Starts At Forty-Two
Seiche at Seiche
Leah at Leah’s Cafe
iRonnie at I Set No Corner
Andrew Boyd at Facibus on Blogging
Josie at Josie Two Shoes
Dr Ellen Webber at Brain Based Business
Mika at Text Unlimited
Nell at Tales of a Melodramatic Moron
Pen at the pen is mightier than the sword
Jamie at Terinea Weblog
Orlanes at Wanderlust
Cheh at Moderately confused Pinay in Deutschland
Mrs Pektus at Borrowed Heaven
K at K, speaking!
Chase at Queer Chef
Hanne at Lucid Unreality
Jill at Gelb9
Tish at The Kat House
Jessica at Life is RANTastic!
Logtar at Logtar’s Blog
Julie at TeacherJulie.com
Wilson at Get it Funk
Sue at Life in the Urban Zoo
Isabelle at Tricotine

Labels: alternati, memes

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.





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Labels: alternati, blah (3x), memes

Last Saturday, I had a fantabulous night with three of my closest college friends. It was a post-birthday celebration of sorts. It was our version of a typical Sex and the City coffee shop scene... we weren't as thin and hair-perfect as Carrie, Charlotte, Samantha and Miranda, we were nonetheless as chatty and animated as they were. Between the blues and "blue moons", douchebag exes and current trysts, the joys of motherhood and the joys of singlehood, the reminiscence of past outings and the planning of future ones... it was as if none of us were twenty-friggin-something.

H.G. Wells had his time machine... I have my Teejay, my Fio and my Ems.





I saw this interesting meme on Ann's blog Fighting Gravity. A meme you ask for.


What's the most daring/interesting thing you've done (and are willing to divulge)?

I stole my first Van Gogh when I was 4. I published my first book "Lite years" when I was 5. Many found astrophysics coming from a five year old pretty ludicrous, but my book found readers. I won my first Olympic bronze medal for canoeing when I was 9 and a gold for the same event when I was 13. I stole my second (and final) Van Gogh when I was 15. I joined the Peace Corps soon after and resided in Sierra Leone for 6 years. Through some twist of fate, I found myself involved in the restoration and preservation of the marbled walls of Duomo di Milano. This is where I found my calling. I am now Donatella's personal dog walker.

My actual life is pretty bland. Between work and jet-setting, I am a normal run-o-the-mill homo sapien. I have dared to do some insane things for an acrophobic like rappelling and riding that Enchanted Kingdom seatbelt-less ferris wheel which seemed like it was gonna topple over and roll toward the plains because of the winds from the lake. But by far, this was the most daring thing I've done of the extreme-sports-ish-slash-carnival-ride variety...


Seven friends and I wrote that darn ride named "Maximum Sensation" until our insides were inverted.

As for daring in the Samantha Jones sense, I have yet to join a buck naked anti-fur protest. As for interesting... I have yet to stage a coup.



What's the story behind your header?

During my bum days post-college, I went through a kitschy, pop-art-ish phase. Given the free time then and a need to waste it on something, I covered a wall in my room with folded squares of magazine pages.


That was my attempt at creating "order in chaos". The phrase was a second choice for my blog's name because it pretty much describes my brain and my life. Making the banner on Photoshop was a whooole lot easier though than the first time I voodooed my wall with tacks. The banner contains partial images of things I love; my niece, my nephew, Chris Martin, Mr. Law, the Mavs, rubber ducks, Daria, places I've been to, album covers of artists... etc.



What do you think is your contribution to the rest of humanity?

Biologically, I believe how my body, and everyone else's, converts oxygen to carbon dioxide is my most relevant contibution. Being a part of the carbon cycle makes me feel relevant in maintaining balance in the global carbon budget.

Truthfully, I think I am a pretty selfish person who takes more from humanity (whining in the process) than I contribute (also whining in the process). I wanna, but I'm a whina.

The mere notion of comparing myself with significant people who have actually done something for humanity is just downright pretentious, but I'll do it anyway. Apple-munching Newton discovered gravity, bearded Darwin studied evolution, the perv Freud developed psychoanalysis. Lennon influenced the world with his music, Picasso with his paintings, Shakespeare with his writing, Scorsese with his movies, etc. etc.

In all fairness to us living in the twenty first century, everything worth discovering and not requiring a degree in rocket science has already been discovered. And, nearly everything has been invented, sung, painted, written and put to the silver screen already. Plus, the amount of work the great people of our past has done would be enough to entertain us and keep us busy for two earthly lifetimes.

My preemptive response to "it's the small things we contribute that matter" is yeah, there is consolation in that. I contribute to the population of pigs and cows by not devouring them. I contribute to the database of the net by blogging. I contribute to the fight against multi-million dollar company monopolies by supporting Jack Sparrows. I contribute to the betterment of Philippine cinema by not watching any of the crap they currently dish out. I contribute to the global warming movement by being scared to drive a car. The small things.

I can't help but beat myself up every now and then though, for not contributing something that really matters. Perhaps I can create a perpetual motion machine or discover the missing link or something. Some things aren't entirely ridiculous.



What do you like best about yourself?

The hollow below my neck. (Ok, I totally ripped that off The English Patient) I'll stay away from anything physical and say, my resolve to never fully "grow up". Peter Pan syndrometer goes off the charts. I am anything BUT naive and I'm 95% jaded (ask my physician) There is a repressed but influential 5% of me though where unicorns and purty butterflies roam freely.

But then again, I am one of the most likeable people in the world, no? I know you guys love me.



What do you plan to achieve in the next five years?

*Passes out*... I'd be 30+ by then... *passes out again*... a whiff of NH3.

I am not much of a planner. Dead Poets' Society had that effect on me. Carpe diem!
If I am however forced to think of it at gunpoint, I'd probably say:

1. Total independence via geographic means
2. A mind-blowing job
3. Mastery of german, french and japanese
   
4. The metabolism of a five year old
   
5. Understanding the theory of relativity
6. to name a few...

If you're interested to let me put you on the hot seat...

The Interview rules:

1. Leave me a comment saying “Interview me.”
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
   

It's Independence Day tomorrow (technically) I know it should be a time to be proud of our quasi-independence... but I can't help feeling paranoid to discover a humongous disc like UFO in the sky over some landmarks.






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Labels: blah (3x), memes

Ok, so last Monday night, I got smashed... A fitting end to the long vacation. I had one margarita too many... and let me just say drinking a margarita after a Bora (a vodka-rum based drink) isn't a fabulous idea. Of course it was all good while I was still vertical and laughing like a hyena but once you go horizontal... all hell breaks loose (and swirls around like a kaleidoscope too). Let me just say that sometime around 2 am in the morning I was face to face with my regurgitated dinner... yum...

Anyways... too much information...


A Movie Meme
from the newly laptopped snglguy...
(I wish all memes were about movies *sigh*)

1. Name a movie that you have seen more than 10 times.
I don't really keep count but I've seen the following movies multiple times:
Before Sunrise (1995) - Celine and Jesse. This is one of my all time faves. I asked a friend of mine to watch it and her initial reaction after was... "They sure talked alot". I can't even begin to tell you how much I love it.
Meet Joe Black (1998) - This is one lone movie, but... Anthony Hopkins, Brad Pitt, Claire Forlani, Marcia Gaye Harden, the actor that plays the Bluth patriarch in Arrested Development... what's not to like eh? Oh, there's also all the long conversationless scenes, the topic of death and peanut butter!
The Truth About Cats and Dogs (1996) - A romantic comedy with the statuesque Uma Thurman, the fabulous Janeane Garofalo and the hot Ben Chaplin. The Premise: "If you were stranded in the Biosphere, who would you take? Time Magazine's Woman of the Year or Playboy's Playmate of the Year?".
The Lord of the Rings (2001 - 2003) - Yes, all three. And the last marathon of it I did was a director's cut which extended far longer than the cinematic releases. It showed many deleted scenes. What I'd give to sound like Cate Blanchett as Galadriel.
There are more, but this is only the first question... hahaha


2. Name a movie that you’ve seen multiple times in the theater.
I don't really go, as snglguy mentioned, Titanic (noun, watching a movie a million times in the cinema) for any movie (especially the blasphemy that is Titanic). Makes me wish there was a theater here in Baguio that shows matinees of movie classics...


3. Name an actor that would make you more inclined to see a movie.
Actors:
a. Anthony Hopkins
b. Al Pacino
c. Giovanni Ribisi
d. Jude Law (ok, eye cand but he's a terrific actor as well with terrific eyes and mouth and...)
e. Kevin Spacey

Actresses:
a. Cate Blanchett
b. Christina Ricci
c. Annette Bening
d. Meryl Streep
e. Emma Thompson
f. Parker Posey

Directors:
a. Richard Linklater
b. Woody Allen
c. Quentin Tarantino
d. Martin Scorsese


4. Name an actor that would make you less likely to see a movie.
Manny Pacquiao? ahhh... actor as in film, I get it. hmmm... I'm stumped.


5. Name a movie that you can and do quote from.
I don't really quote from movies in everyday conversation, it's just cheesy... Imagine:

Them: Good Morning!
Me: I love the smell of napalm in the morning. (Apocalypse Now)
Them: Huh? Na-what?
Me: You talking to me? (Taxi Driver)
Them: Yeah I am, why do you sound like a weird shrieky Robert de Niro?
Me: You had me at hello, my preciousss. (Jerry Maguire, LOTR)
Them: What is wrong with you? Who are you?
Me: Bond. James Bond. (duh...)
Them: What the fuck are you on?
Me: Watch your words Persian (300)
Them: Why you little shit. I'm outta here..
Me: Here's lookin' at you kid... (Gone With the Wind) (Errata: Should be Casablanca... Tnx snglguy... hehehe)
Them: Yeah, yeah... get a life.

6. Name a movie musical that you know all of the lyrics to all of the songs.
Let's see. I know all of the chirpy, alpy, "high on the hill is a lonely goatherd" songs of The Sound of Music; all the rock-flavored "no day but today" songs of Rent; some of the eerie, orchestral "that's all I ask of you" music of The Phantom of the Opera, and all the music from Disney films between The Little Mermaid to Pocahontas from my childhood. I wouldn't be caught dead singing any of these songs... or any song for that matter. My singing voice can bring bloody tears to your eyes, literally.


7. Name a movie that you have been known to sing along with.
You know that "Say a Little Prayer" thing they did for My Bestfriend's Wedding? Not that... You know that "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" montage they did in Zoolander? Not that either. I don't sing in public. Thank you.


8. Name a movie that you would recommend everyone see.
I highly rcommend everyone to see Snakes on a Plane, Crossroads, Battlefield Earth, The Producers and Kazaam. Oh the humanity! They are the worst excuses for films I have ever had the misfortune to see. I don't wanna be the only one scarred for life!!!


9. Name a movie that you own.
Although I do own a lot of marked down original VCDs and DVDs, a greater percentage of the movies I "own" are debatable. Thanks to our industrious DVD Jack Sparrows.


10. Name an actor that launched his/her entertainment career in another medium but who has surprised you with his/her acting chops.
Lately, there's Jennifer Hudson for all the obvious reasons (which neither Madonna, Kelly Clarkson or Britney Spears succeeded in)


11. Have you ever seen a movie in a drive-in? If so, what?
Honey, If I see a drive-in theater in the Philippines, I'll call you okey?


12. Ever made out inside a theater?
I don't kiss and tell. (making a key locking motion over my mouth and throwing the key)


13. Name a movie that you keep meaning to see but just haven’t yet gotten around to it.
On my movie back log:
The Last King of Scotland,
Pan's Labrinth,
The Good German,
Notes on a Scandal


14. Ever walked out of a movie?
Hmmm... how dramatic. Not really... I never walk IN one I don't like to see.


15. Name a movie that made you cry in the theater.
Aside from singing, crying is another thing I don't do in public. Ok, ok... so I cried when Bambi's mother got shot by the hunter. I need to call my psychologist now.


16. What’s the last movie you saw in the theater?
Now that I think about it, it's been ageees ago! 'Twas The Prestige.


17. What’s your favorite/preferred genre of movie?
Indies.


18. What’s the first movie you remember seeing in the theater?
Maria and the Golden Bibe. Hahahahaha! Hahahahahah! In my defense, I was like 6 years old or something with my nanny (A die hard Maricel Soriano fan). I remember eating red Chippy and drinking Zesto and really enjoying that movie, Pinoy slapstick in all its glory.


19. What movie do you wish you had never seen?
See: question #8


20. What is the weirdest movie you enjoyed?
I have a high tolerance to weirdness. But some films I've enjoyed that probably enters the popular notion of "weird" include:
Dogma - Jay and Silent Bob save the day... and Alanis is God.
Evolution - the longest ad in history! hehehe... Head and Shoulders anyone?
A Scanner Darkly - Keanu Reeves looks hot as a toon.
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer - I was totally rooting for Jean-Baptiste to complete his perfume.
Punch Drunk Love - Where can I buy a harmonium?


21. What is the scariest movie you’ve seen?
See: question #8


22. What is the funniest movie you’ve seen?
Fahrenheit 9-11. Not funny "ha-ha"... but more of a "the world is playing a practical joke on you" funny.


So I am tagging a couple of people to do the meme:
Hmmmm... I am pretty curious how Ann and Tin-tin will say about this meme. hehe



I have been meaning to post this meme for some time now... and what better time to do it than right now eh? I first heard of these 10 questions from James Lipton's "Inside the Actor's Studio", It's a talk show where Mr. Lipton interviews an actor infront of an acting class. Will Ferrell does a hilarious kick-ass impersonation of Lipton.


I used to see the show regularly on a Japanese channel in the forgotten 50's section of local cable, but that channel is gone now. I think. These 10 questions originally came from a French series, "Bouillon de Culture" which was hosted by Bernard Pivot.

Basically, just answer the questions. hehehe

"Inside the Actor's Studio" Meme

1. What is your favorite word?
plush

2. What is your least favorite word?
diarrhea

3. What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally?
truth

4. What turns you off?
fakeness

5. What is your favorite curse word?
fuck

6. What sound or noise do you love?
electric guitars

7. What sound or noise do you hate?
blackboard scratch

8. What profession other than your own would you like to attempt?
marine biologist

9. What profession would you not like to do?
long distance bus driver

10. If Heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?
Aloha


Simple eh? Harder than it seems. Ok, so I did this meme as a sort of retribution, hahaha. I'm tagging snglguy. hahaha








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Labels: blah (3x), memes, movies

30 Rock
premiered on Starworld yesterday.

Jack Donaghy (Baldwin): Alfredo 2pm.
Liz Lemon (Fey): I'm not dressed for that.
Jack: You're dressed for Burger King. Should we make it Burger King?

(Liz borrows a pink suit from the wardrobe stylist)

Jack: That’s how you should dress for work, by the way.
Liz: Yeah, if I was president of the Philippines.

A cast of stand-up comedians, SNL alumni, and that girl that played Ally Mcbeal's secretary, quick and witty repartee, hemorrhoid cream... I love the show already.


3 words
that made my day yesterday

Basti Artadi is baaaack.





5 blogs (and my futile attempt at haikus)

A meme tag from Tin-tin (one of my fave posts of hers is Birthday Gift... clever. hehe)

The rules:

1. Choose five blogs randomly (I cheated, I chose) from your blogroll.
2. For each blog, choose at least one entry (you could add more) which is your favorite post by this blogger.
3. Include a link to this post and explain why you like it.
4. The chosen five bloggers are considered tagged and they will also have to do the same in their blogs. (I waive this rule. hehehe)

Don’t be too hung up on grammar or some writing technicalities, just choose for the simple reason that you enjoyed reading the entry - it made you laugh, shed tears, fuming mad, motivated, inspired - whatever your reasons are, you think it’s the blogger’s best post so far and could even make it to the list of the blogosphere’s all time favorites.

I'm off to Bulacan for the weekend. Happy weekend everyone! (Look at me all bright and chirpy... this soon shall pass)

Labels: blah (3x), haiku-lowku, memes

It's been a while since I had a meme on my to-do list. This one is courtesy of Snglguy.

Who is the first blogger you met?
Aside from my pre-blog friends who blog once in a blue moon (Jackie, Ely and Vic), the first blogger I met was Jessica Zafra (a book signing), I have met Carlos Celdran on an Intramuros outing before her, but I didn't really share a long enough conversation with him to consider it a "meeting". Now that I actually think about it, I might have met dozens of people who blog without my knowledge... with aliases and all.

Who is the blogger ‘You Most Want to Meet’?
Marat Safin (ok, ok, so it was only a week long blog, but quality over quantity, eh?)
...oh and James Mcavoy if he has one.

Who is the ‘I can meet, want to meet, but somehow never got to meet’ blogger?
None really, Most of the bloggers I wanna meet are either an ocean apart or as busy/ lazy as I am.

Who are the group of bloggers that you most want to meet?
Shonda Rhimes and her posse of writers, not really a lot of group blogs on my blogroll.

Do you have any bloggers/blog readers that you would like to meet right now?
Oohh, I would love to:

1. Accompany En on her next ultrasound, Grimm's Fairy Tales optional.
2. Share a yosi break with Snglguy and talk politics and/or see the Screw Master.
3. Gatecrash in one of Kat's gigs with the now bassist-less Plastiq Passion, I'd babysit Rockstar Baby of course... I'm immune to vampires. :P
   
4. Be knighted by His Royal Orangeness, Karl Willem, with The Nashman's and PA/PR Gromit's blessing of course.
5. Spend a week, yes a week!, at the movies with Talamasca.
   
6. Get an IV induced adrenalin rush courtesy of my fave nurse, Howling.
7. Tailgate on one of Ferdz' treks.
   
8. Learn photography from clicking extraordinaires, Abaniko, Sidney and Iskoo.
   
9. Spend A.S.S. with Verns.
10. Do set designs for Chase.
11. Get a Hula 101 course from Rho and J.
12. Get guitar lessons from Will.
    
13. Know a thing or two about RSS Feeds, pageranking and website whatnots from Shari.
14. Just hang out with Tani.
15. Share a giant bowl of buffalo wings with BW.
16. Freshen up on my less than mediocre German with che. The only phrase I know now, aside from pleasantries, is Rauchen Verboten.
17. Mourn with Tin-tin over her phone that went kaput.

... to name a few.

There! Another meme done. No tags... If you wanna do it, you have my blessing.

Labels: blah (3x), memes

Will tagged me with an "I never" meme. It's basically writing ten things you'd never do.

At first I thought the meme was like the "I never" drinking game (someone says a statement starting with "I never..." and whoever hasn't done it drinks a shot of the alcohol of choice... preferably tequilla) I never really got drunk when we played this. I've always believed in trying anything at least once (well everything except dog meat)

Hence, my mental list of things I'd never do border on absurd and/or amoral (killing someone with a dull samurai, coal mining, wearing spandex, getting a Winnie the Pooh tattoo, sticking chopsticks into my eyes, getting a gym membership, swandiving from Taipei 101, etc etc etc)

So instead of enumerating things noone in their right mind would ever do, I'm listing the 10 things I can't do:

1. I can't whistle. I know I'm pathetic. Try being a five year old watching Snow white and the Seven Dwarfs, discovering you can't do a basic human skill when they start singing Whistle While you Work... It's devastating.
2. I can't swim. If living in Baguio has any disadvantage, it's the absence of a beach. Many Baguio residents like me are born anchors. Buoyancy eludes us. But we do try... "Alternati Greenleaf long under tree, In joy thou hast lived. Beware of the Sea! If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore, Thy heart shall rest in the forest no more."
3. I can't play the piano. Something is haywire between my brain hemispheres. The Piano: I can read notes... I can play the piano with my right hand... and my left... combine them together and what do you get? the sound of a cat running across the keys.
   
4. I can't play the guitar. I look like I'm having seizures when I do try to do any chord requiring a bar. Those who can't, collect and admire.
   
5. I can't keep a pet alive for more than a month. Don't worry I never really owned a four legged critter, just a number of aquarium fishes and an imaginary hippo.
   
6. I can't write with my left hand. Ambidexterity has become a frustration since I saw The Wisdom of Crocodiles.
7. I can't keep a written journal. Stacks of journals occupy one of my storage spaces. Each has a maximum of 20 entries... the time intervals between entries occur in a geometric progression to infinity. Thank gawd for blogging!
   
8. I can't drive alone (yet) I'm a big scaredy cat behind the wheel... especially when I'm infront of a semi or a Philex Peter Belt.
9. (Addenda to #8) I can't go from one place to another without consulting a map or asking a gazillion "Where is..."s and "Enshuldigung, Is this the way to..."s. Like 3rdwill, road signs appear to be written in hieroglyphics and directions in cuneiform.
10. I can't shoot a basketball even if the fate of the world depended on it. (Go Mavs!)

Nothing like a list of your incapabilities to boost self esteem! "Soy un Perdedor... I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me..."


The tag ends here. I can't get Beck's song out of my head now...

Labels: boo-freakin-hoo, list-o-rama, memes

This is my second third meme. Snglguy tagged me this morning and I like this meme although it's pretty difficult to select just 7 songs! I was so glad cheH tagged me with the same meme! This means, if my math is correct, that I'm entitled to 14 songs! haha


The Tag Goes:

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your LiveJournal/blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they're listening to.

I enjoy lots of different types of music so imagine my dilemma in picking just 7... I mean 14. So, I've decided to pick 9 foreign songs and 5 local ones that have a sufficient amount of air time on my Winamp player.


The Foreign List:

1. Edge of the Ocean - Ivy (Long Distance, 2001) = "There's a place I dream about, Where the sun never goes out..."
   
2. Good Morning Baby - Bic Runga (Beautiful Collision, 2003) = "Between an overload of information, And a striving for pure dedication..."
   
3. Sparks - Coldplay (Parachutes, 2000) = "Did I drive you away? I know what you'll say, You say, Oh, Sing one we know..."
4. Strange and Beautiful - Aqualung (Strange and Beautiful, 2005) = "I've been watching your world from afar, I've been trying to be where you are..."
   
5. Maybe Tomorrow - Stereophonics (You Gotta Go There To Come Back, 2003) = "I've been down and I'm wondering why these little black clouds keep walking around with me..."
   
6. Hoppipolla - Sigur Ros (Takk, 2005) = "Smiling, Spinning round and round, holding hands, the whole world a blur but you are standing..." (Actual lyrics in Icelandic)
   
7. Swan Dive - Lennex (Part Math, Part Euphoria, 2006) = "Weightless, I've made my decision..."
8. Original Fire - Audioslave (Revelations, 2006) = "The original fire has died and gone, but the riot inside moves on..."
   
9. When You Were Young - The Killers (Single, 2006) = "You sit there in your heartache waiting on some beautiful boy to save you from your old ways..."
   

The OPM List:

1. Blanko - Session Road (Bakit Hindi?, 2006) = "Blanko, walang laman ang isip ko, Blanko, bulag at para para bang tuliro, Blanko, walang halong biro..."
   
2. Oo - Up Dharma Down (Fragmented, 2006) = "Di mo lang alam naiisip kita, baka sakali lang maisip mo ako. Di mo lang alam, hanggang sa gabi inaasam makita kang muli..."
   
3. Ewan - Imago (kami nAPO muna, 2006) = "Hindi ko alam kung bakit ka ganyan, Mahirap kausapin at di pa namamansin"
4. Manila High - Kala (Manila High, 2006) = "Paikot-ikot na parang circo, nakikipaglaro sa perang pangkain mo. Nababaliw na yata ako, buong araw kong sinayang sa kauupo..."
   
5. Gusto Na Kitang Makita - Session Road (2000) = "Parang ang bagal ng takbo ng panahon pag wala ka. Alam kong walang dapat sisihin na ako'y nandito at nandyan ka..."

Karma (6x) Chameleon
Now, the fun part of doing memes... hahaha. I need to tag 7 people. I'm curious what the following bloggers listen to so I am gonna tag:

• J - Voices in my Head (Revenge of the memes!)
• En - Me, Myself and Eileen (hahaha, I did it again!)
• Jin - Teh oThEr siDe of [Jin] (enjoy!)
• Marc - Digital Playground (to help with your blogger's block)
• Kat - Kat's Scribbles (I'm pretty sure I'll see a couple of songs in there by The Cure! hehehe....I'm curious what other songs you and your band like)
• The Nashman - Random Thoughts (I'm not even sure if you're gonna do this... haha)
• Iskoo - Out of Specs (so we'll know what's in that MP3 player of yours)

I took this photo last week. This is a photo of one of the office's bathroom doors. I wasn't really sure what to do with it... until now.

Labels: memes, music

Yesterday evening, I met my married friends Rai and Cheerie. It was a pre-birthday celebration for both of them. Rai's is on the 11th of September, he was dancing and getting drunk when 9-11 happened. Cheerie's is on the 13th, and when she was pregnant with Asti, we all hoped he'd be born on the 12th but it was a gestative impossibility. The great thing about Rai and Cheerie is you never felt like a third wheel when you were in their company and we never ran out of things to talk about.

I was at their hotel room sometime around 9 in the evening. I haven't seen them for about a year, they live now in Manila, but still I felt like I just hung out with them yesterday. Bert arrived. After catching up with the latest things Asti did and work and whatnots, we were headed to Cactus Bar. Rai was a regular there during our college days. He was/is an amazing bassist. Think of the songs of Kala and you'll get not only a good idea of the music his band played but also of his personality.


Syd Barrett Would Rock and Roll in his Grave

We were extremely disappointed by what the bar is now. It used to be one of the places-to-be, everyone dressed to kill, great local bands, beautiful people... beautiful music. Now, mediocre is an understatement. I haven't been checking out the local live-band scene lately, my friends and I now go for the bar with background music kind of scene. I guess its one of those growing-up things.

The other so-called happening places now are usually jammed with incoherently noisy gangster wannabes. I could appreciate, and even really like, some aspects of hip-hop culture like music, clothes and expensive jewelry (I am irked by people with no African-American heritage saying "bling"). However, the whole need for stabbing, unlicensed guns and a thirst for violence escapes me. I thought night outs are for good times and not visits to the hospital emergency room, I guess they changed definitions without me knowing.

Thankfully, Cactus Bar wasn't one of these places. It just became bland and boring. The torture did come, but in another form. The oily-haired, looks like he just came out of bed vocalist sang Another Brick on the Wall... terribly. This was an insult to Pink Floyd. I get the "image" he's trying (or not trying) to portray, but c'mon, take a bath for pete's sake. The greasy hair looked good on Ethan Hawke when he sang I'm Nuthin in Reality Bites, and you dear... are no Ethan. When the vocalist did Elvis' Suspicious Minds we paid the tab and left. How many songs must he murder?


A Hop, Skip and Jump

Across the street is 18BC, another buzz worthy bar during the golden era of barhopping aka our college days. It was a viable contender of Gimbals for the yuppie demographic then. Gimbals is now closed... a big loss *sigh*. It didn't seem as full as it did outside. We spent just a short while in the outdoor waiting area when a group of Koreans left. As we sat on the same red metal chairs, it felt like a time-loop... Nothing about the place changed. Well except maybe for the fact that the crowd was 50% Korean.

Koreans come to Baguio in droves! Mainly for a cheap English language education. Cheerie is an English tutor and we talked alot about the misadventures of the profession. How it all starts with a point-point teaching methodology, and later a barok type of English defined mainly by the use of nouns and verbs and the absence of prepositions and grammar. Bless these Koreans for giving us another source of employment. I find them a pleasant people always smiling and very fashion forward. I have yet to make a Korean friend to know what they are really like. All I know about them are the Koreanovelas I don't watch.


Space Flower and Access Band

Space flower is an amazing Ska band. Each band member, nine of them, wore suits and did something different with their head. One had dreads, another a semi-combed-over mohawk. One had a golfer's hat, another a fishing hat.


The vocalist looks like a chubbier Alan Cumming (fabulous shades included). As I've learned from a friend, any song can be Ska-ized(?). They did a couple of Bob Marley songs, some Frank Sinatra, some originals (really good), and some pop songs. When they did Lady is a Tramp, Cheerie and I wanted to get ur hair done and "dress to the nines" and use phrases like "I do declare".

Access Band is as much a staple in our bar scenes before as beer was. That night they did their memorable renditions of Half Crazy, Universe and Bongga Ka Day!.

We were so glad we changed bars. We left while Space Flower played Putre-ska's Manila Girl appropriately changed to Manila Boy to match the vocalist's gender. And on the other side of the road on our way to the hotel, we heard another ghastly rendition of a rock classic at Cactus.


Chasing Cars

On my taxi ride home, a dog out of nowhere was chasing us. I've always seen this strange canine behavior on TV but I never actually saw one. He chased us the whole length of Legarda Road. It made me think that a dog chasing a car was much like a generation gap. You hear about it but never really know what it is until it chases the taxi you're in. My mental juxtoposition of the bar scenes during my bar-hopping days and the current one made me realize I'm old(er). However, thanks to 18BC I'm comforted that the spirit of my bar era is still in a way, alive.

I hummed Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars in my head as I watched the BMW infront of us with its top down. I felt like I was in a 007 chase sequence and I was a back seat passenger in the villain's car.


18 BC Bands:
Space Flower Friendster Page
Access Band Friendster Page



Oh yes, before I forget. I was tagged by J. I'm gonna make this long post even longer!

6 Random facts about me:
1. I answer try Yahoo! crosswords everyday.
2. I hate the beans they put in halo-halo.
3. The first novel I read is The Prince of Tides.
4. The one I'm reading now is David Sedaris' Me Talk Pretty One Day.
5. I have a Spice Girls cassette tape. (don't ask)
6. My left hand is rapas. (a straight line running across my palm)

This tag ends here. I saw this meme on a lot of my regular reads already. Breathe a sigh of relief fellow bloggers...

Labels: B-days, baguio, memes, music, nyt-out, quarterlife

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

I am a struggling wannabe vegetarian. I have given up most of red meat (pork and beef) for almost three years now. But I have yet to give up fowl. Chicken may taste boring but it's my only protein source aside from fish. I guess chicken ennui comes from everything else tasting like chicken. "How does it taste like?"... "Like chicken".







Why did the chicken cross the road? Because Chicky was on the other side. I swear to god that chicken is evil! Evil I tell you! Chicky is the KFC mascot. If you think about it, he's a frickin sell out! He acts all jolly around children, welcoming guests, etc etc. when what he's actually saying is, "I made a deal with Colonel Sanders, as long as you come and eat my brethren, he will not deep fry me! So come on in, eat eat eat!" Don't be fooled by his big innocent looking eyes, his blue bow tie and his striped short pants... That chicken is the feathered Hitler! Pure evil!

How could he possibly do that? Just imagine deep frying Chicken Little... horrible! There should be a Chicken Coalition or something. The holier-than-thou Foghorn Leghorn can chair the committee and Chicken Little can do the PR. Other notable members would include Chicken of Cow and Chicken and the whole cast of Chicken Run.

I guess, What it all boils down to (no pun intended) is the eternal un-answerable question:

Which came first, the chicken or the egg?

Did this make any sense at all? The caffeine hasn't kicked in yet. These rantings are a futile attempt at convincing myself not to eat chicken anymore. No chickens were harmed when I wrote this.


Chicken Scratch

What does your handwriting say about YOU?

You plan ahead, and are interested in beauty, design, outward appearance, and symmetry.
You are a shy, idealistic person who does not find it easy to have relationships, especially intimate ones.
You are affectionate, passionate, expressive, and future-oriented.
You are a talkative person, maybe even a busybody!
You enjoy life in your own way and do not depend on the opinions of others.

First of all, my Graphics professor will die if she saw this handwriting (In my defense, I wrote it with a mouse, I almost had Carpal Tunnel trying to maneuver the blasted thing) Ugly handwriting aside, this is amazing! I expected something like, "You should stop wearing that pink jacket" or "You have the tendencies of an axe murderer". The first line is so so true, that's why I became an architect. Line 2 and Line 4 contradict, how can I be shy and talkative at the same time? Talkative probably suits me more. Line 3 is right except for the "future-oriented" part. Right on! (Last line)

Thanks shenski, got this from your blog.

Labels: blah (3x), kids-r-i, memes