Winding Down/Up

Only a couple of days more before we say goodbye to 2006 and hello to 2007 with a bang. And I mean that literally; in many areas here in the Philippines you'll hear nothing but the booms, pops, and whistles of firecrackers especially in the hours between 10 PM of 31 December and 2 AM of 1 January. Seems like nearly everyone is out in the streets, lighting those firecracker fuses and/or watching the night sky light up in a million dazzling colors and patterns. Nothing like the ringing in one's ears and the acrid aroma of firecracker fumes (and the resulting jet-black detritus one digs out of one's nose the morning after) to welcome the birth of the New Year here.

Many of my online friends know that I spent the past two days with family at a hot springs resort. We had a great time: there was much singing, food, laughter, relaxation. I could write an analogy about the whole experience and life in general--it's been gestating in my mind, actually--but I won't! Well, not now anyway, because my Internet connection is crappy as a result of this. I'm unable to catch up on everyone's blog just now because everything is sooooo slooooow.

Let's just say that life is still good and beautiful, in spite of the headache that we get from soaking in scalding water, the tummyache that we suffer because of overindulgence, the aching armpit muscles from swimming, the sore throat from too much karaoke. There is still beauty and love all around.

And laughter. Never forget the laughter. It keeps us young, peaceful, ALIVE. May we all have much laughter in 2007--finding it in all things big and little.


This is from a list of karaoke songs. I'm Leeeeeee-byan on a jet plane/Don't know when I'll be back again just sounds odd. But maybe that's just me. :-)

And the muscles in my armpits are still sore. I hope 2007 doesn't take that against me.

Tuneful Tag

I got this meme from the blog of that wonderfully flaky (and I mean this in a good way) Brit blogger Ghost Rose. It's a musical meme. Hey, just because I can't sing to save my life doesn't mean I can't appreciate music!

Some of the songs are available on bestaudiocodes.com; I uploaded those that aren't onto Odeo.com.

These are the rules:

If you want to play along with this, go ahead. It's surprising how fitting some of the answers are! Making up a soundtrack for the film of your life is such a great concept, especially when you leave it down to chance.

Instructions:
1. Open your library on your Zen or Ipod or other MP3 player (since I don't have a portable MP3 player, I'll use my computer's playlist)
2. Put it on shuffle.
3. Press play.
4. For every question type the song that’s playing.
5. When you go to a new question press the next button (actually you don't have to do that. You can listen to the whole song if you want).

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Opening Credits: Windmills of Your Mind (Swing Out Sister version). Beautiful song. But I like the Colour Field version, too--and Sting's version.

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Waking up: Loosen Up My Buttons (The Pussycat Dolls featuring Snoop Dogg). Rap isn't really my thing, but this one would get my booty shaking. (If only the aforementioned body part would cooperate!) Maybe with lots of beer it would. Haha!

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Falling in love: Truly, Madly, Deeply, by Savage Garden. Sappy, yeah. I have lots of sappy songs on my playlist. So sue me. (No, don't!)

Truly Madly Deeply
By Savage Garden
BestAudioCodes.com

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Fight song: My Friends, by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It isn't really a fight song, but what the heck. It's the song that came up.

My Friends
By Red Hot Chili Peppers
BestAudioCodes.com

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Break up song: You'll Think of Me, by Keith Urban. I don't really like country music, but this one doesn't sound too country-ish. I just happen to like this one.

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Making Up: Savin' Me, by Nickelback. Nice song, this one. Plus, I like Chad Kroger's voice. It's so masculine.

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Life's Okay: You and Me, by Lifehouse. Life is okay--more than okay, actually--especially when you see and talk with the ones you love.

You And Me
By Lifehouse
BestAudioCodes.com

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Mental Breakdown: Mystify, by INXS. Loved Michael Hutchence, but I think JD Fortune is such pretty eye candy. But his good looks are fodder for another post. :-)

Mystify
By INXS
BestAudioCodes.com

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Driving: Tattooed on My Mind, by Sitti Navarro. Never mind that I don't drive, I still love this song. Sitti's a Filipina singer with a sweet, soothing voice. She does covers in addition to her own songs.

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Flashbacks: Un Giorno Per Noi, by Josh Groban. This was taken from "Romeo and Juliet." Very touching, and his voice is just awesome.

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Happy Dance: Just Like Heaven, by The Cure. Haha, this one is just sheer fun.

Just Like Heaven (Acoustic)
By The Cure
BestAudioCodes.com

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Regret: Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang, by Ogie Alcasid. A sappy Filipino love song. If you don't know yet by now, I like sappy.

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Final Battle: Layla, by Eric Clapton. Terrific song by a terrific musician. At least that's what I think.

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Death Scene: Onderweg, by Abel. This is a nice song that my friend Vic kindly shared with me. He's so kind to everybody. I like the melody--it's sort of haunting--even if I don't really understand the lyrics. Haha! Also, I can't quite get the accent, and I'm usually good at imitating accents.

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Final Credits: Thinking of You, by the Colour Field. I like this one. It's a good enough song for saying farewell, methinks.

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I'm tagging Ian, Morgen, and Gale this time. :-) Happy New Year, my blog buddies.

I'll be leaving for a couple of days to soak up some hot water with family at a hot springs resort an hour or so away from Manila. The water comes straight from Mount Makiling (FYI, we have about a gazillion mountains here in the Philippines). I just looooove soaking in almost scalding water--perhaps even have a beer or two while I'm at it. I'll catch up when I get back.

Have fun, everybody!

Merry Christmas!

Here's something from one of the webcomics I visit: xkcd.com



I hope everyone got presents that they like, or that they're enjoying the company they're spending time with during this holiday season--or both!

Dona Nobis Pacem, Reprised

There's a line from the popular Christmas carol It Came Upon a Midnight Clear that goes:

"Peace on the Earth, goodwill to men
From heaven's all gracious King..."

The days leading to Christmas are hardly peaceful in many cases. The Christmas rush; people arguing over that newly-vacated parking space at the mall; adults in a tug-of-war over that last toy that each of them absolutely must have; skyrocketing tempers because of traffic jams; anxiety that the gifts one bought might not please the recipient; the hustle and bustle of preparing the Christmas dinner and the onslaught of family and friends.

Peace?

What will this Christmas be like for many people in my country? While the malls are thronged with shoppers doing their gift-buying, street children are knocking on car windows, begging for coins. While the rich and the not-so-rich-but-not-poor-either have their tables overflowing with food and drink, with laughter as a side dish, parents in the slums are heating water to boil a pack of instant noodles to feed a family of six. Lacking even instant noodles, some resort to just sprinkling their rice with salt. And that's it. Many young children don't even have homes where they could celebrate Christmas; home is a dry place on the street for many. I exaggerate not.

Peace?

In a world that's been filled with strife since the dawn of civilization, is the word peace still relevant?

I, and many others, believe that it is.

Mimi Lenox, for one, believes it with all her heart. Will her BlogBlast for Peace initiative end war and hunger? By itself, probably not. But thinking about peace, believing in its possibility, can spur a person to hope, and to do his or her small part to make their corner of the world a more peaceful place to live. To take the focus away from war, hunger, child abuse, etc., and bring it back to the beauty that surrounds us all.

Each action that we take can bring us closer to it: smiling at a stranger. Hugging a friend or family member. Giving to charity. Volunteering for a cause. Out-of-this-world sex. Leaving a kind and sincere word to a fellow blogger. Signing a peace globe for all the world to see.



Such simple things to do.

Oftentimes, though, it's the simplicity of things that makes them have such a great impact--both on ourselves and on others.

Inner peace, and peace for the people we love and who love us--these are my holiday wishes for each and every one.

Blogworld Saturday

We're just a few days away from Christmas -- where did all the days, weeks, and months go? Time seems to fly so fast these days. Maybe I'm just getting old. I've been prone to thinking about what transpired throughout the year; as John Smith says in the movie Mr. & Mrs. Smith: "I guess that's what happens in the end, you start thinking about the beginning." Except my ruminations aren't confined to just the beginning.

Anywaaaay...

On to the penultimate Blogworld Saturday for two-oh-oh-six (which has been a most interesting year, a year of discovery to say the least).

Irene is a fellow Filipina blogger who has an excellent, excellent post about why she opts to stay here in the Philippines in spite of the decision of her friends to seek greener pastures abroad. I can relate to her post: my siblings live in other countries now (though one of them lives abroad nine months out of twelve since he works on a cruise ship). Travel is on my agenda (crossing my fingers for next year!) but this sweet, heartachingly beautiful, and quirky country is where I want to live, notwithstanding the hardship as well as the farce that goes by the name of politics.

Oregon's Scott is a diverse writer. He blogs about everything from the size of his poo to balls to NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). But his post about perfectionism, love, death, and adroit pizza-making (yes, they're all related) held me in thrall.

My blog buddy Kiyotoe is another person whose writings I enjoy. He can talk about everyday things, but in such an insightful and thought-provoking way. Case in point: his entry about how looks can be deceiving. Judging people by how they look is a common failing and it can prove disadvantageous for both the judge and the one being judged.

Snap judgments are made by both women and men--or the "rougher sex," as Aileen calls them. This rough-and-tumble species can be many things that drive women to despair, but they can be such adorable, exhilarating creatures too. Read about what Aileen loves most about the menfolk in a post that she wrote recently.

The war between the sexes may never come to an end (do we want it to?) but wishing for an end to other kinds of war is something that most of us do. Mimi Lenox has taken a step towards uniting and solidifying these wishes--at least amongst us bloggers--with an initiative called Dona Nobis Pacem. If you missed the maiden voyage, which launched successfully on November 7, 2006 and want to take part in Round 2 on December 24, 2006, just go to her BlogBlast for Peace site, download a Peace Globe, write your name across it, and post it in a blog entry on Sunday, Christmas Eve. At least two other bloggers have been helping Mimi spread the word: Sanni and Prometheus. Like a snowball it's gathering momentum.

Speaking of snow, I was simply bowled over by pictures posted by Ian and Sunrunner showing the incredible amount of snow that fell where they live in Colorado during a recent snowstorm. Here in Metro Manila, Christmas is almost always dry and balmy. But I couldn't help being captivated by the pure, silent beauty of those images of snow.

Bloggers have been writing about what they've been cooking and eating this holiday season, but Michael's post about reindeer hotdogs gave me pause. Poor Rudolph, Dancer, Comet, and the rest of the team. I hope they were too busy to read Michael's blog this month!

What would Christmas be without a little song and merrymaking? Frank Sirianni's 12 Days of Christmas and Matt-man's Christmas Carol are prime examples of these two rolled into one. Sure, they're a bit irreverent and naughty, but what the hey. 'Tis the season to be jolly and these two made me go ho ho ho ha ha ha!

Thanks to Wendz and Sanni for my Christmas presents: virtual bikinis! Now if only I could get the belly to disappear so that I can wear one in real life. :-D Have a great weekend, everyone. Let the bells jingle and tintinnabulate. Happy Holidays to all of you!

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Carol of the Bells (David Benoit)

When God Created Mothers

Today is my mother's birthday. She's a funny, great lady, and the following short story is one that we both like. Hope you like it, too.

Happy birthday, Mommy!

WHEN GOD CREATED MOTHERS

by Erma Bombeck

When the Good Lord was creating mothers, He was into his sixth day of “overtime” when an angel appeared and said, “You’re doing a lot of fiddling around on this one.”

And the Lord said, “Have you read the specs on this order?

• She has to be completely washable, but not plastic;
• Have 180 movable parts... all replaceable;
• Run on black coffee and leftovers;
• Have a lap that disappears when she stands up;
• A kiss that can cure anything from a broken leg to a disappointed love affair;
• And six pairs of hands.”

The angel shook her head slowly and said, “Six pairs of hands... no way.”

“It’s not the hands that are causing me problems,” said the Lord. “It’s the three pairs of eyes that mothers have to have.”

“That’s on the standard model?” asked the angel.

The Lord nodded. “One pair that sees through closed doors when she asks, ’What are you kids doing in there?’ when she already knows. Another here in the back of her head that sees what she shouldn’t but what she has to know, and of course the ones here in front that can look at a child when he goofs up and say, ’I understand and I love you’ without so much as uttering a word.”

“Lord,” said the angel, touching His sleeve gently, “Go to bed. Tomorrow...”

“I can’t,” said the Lord, “I’m so close to creating something so close to myself. Already I have one who heals herself when she is sick... can feed a family of six on one pound of hamburger... and can get a nine-year-old to stand under a shower.”

The angel circled the model of a mother very slowly. “It’s too soft,” she sighed.

“But she’s tough!” said the Lord excitedly. “You cannot imagine what this mother can do or endure.”

“Can it think?”

“Not only can it think, but it can reason and compromise,” said the Creator.

Finally, the angel bent over and ran her finger across the cheek. “There’s a leak,” she pronounced. “I told You You were trying to push too much into this model.”

“It’s not a leak,” said the Lord. “It’s a tear.”

“What’s it for?”

“It’s for joy, sadness, disappointment, pain, loneliness, and pride.”

“You are a genius,” said the angel.

The Lord looked somber. “I didn’t put it there,” He said.

Edit to add: Good heavens, I just remembered from reading Aisby's blog that today is Global Orgasm Day (I wrote about it too a few weeks ago). So go do your part, guys and gals!

Never again

Well, never is probably just an exaggeration. But I don't think I'll be doing this template changing thing again for a while.

I was in the midst of changing everything when my ISP suddenly went bonkers on me. Right before I lost my Internet connection I saw only the title of my blog against a white background, and no blog posts whatsoever--just some weird squiggly marks and dollar signs and the like.

I didn't panic (well, not exactly). Suffice it to say that if I were a man, my sacs would have been in my throat instead of in the nether regions. I rushed to the phone and called up my friend LAR in the middle of the night to ask her if my posts were still there and she said they were. Sacs then sank back down to where they belonged, hypothetically speaking.

This has exhausted me; I'm off to hit the sack. I'm such a wuss when it comes to tweaking stuff like this. I'll post something nice in a few hours, because today is a most special day: it's my mother's birthday! I'll catch up on some blog reading later, too.

Toodle-oo!

Verbally Chained

(cartoon from Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal )

Who hasn't suffered through a similar situation? You say something awkward and push your foot even further into your mouth when you try to backpedal--but wind up saying something even worse. Honesty is the best policy, they say. Sure, but I think tact and diplomacy are important, too.. I mean, why imply or tell a man that he looks like a wart on a toad's back if it doing so would serve no good purpose? Why tell a woman that she's too melodramatic when probably all that she's doing is trying to sharing her frustrations?

Sometimes, though, some of us go overboard on this tact thing, especially when it comes to the people we care about. Maybe to avoid offending someone or hurting someone's feelings, we sugar-coat our words or subject them to twists and turns until they're so convoluted that what comes out bears only the slightest resemblance to our original thoughts. We rationalize, saying to ourselves that what we're doing is ultimately for their benefit: to spare them the slightest bit of embarrassment or self-consciousness. Or maybe some of us do it to avoid bodily harm ourselves. (Honey, do these jeans make me look fat?) Haha!

Say what you mean and mean what you say. But sometimes we mean what we don't say or do, which is pathetic because the message doesn't reach the party for which it was intended. We bite back the words that we originally meant to utter.

Yes, it can be especially frustrating if we find ourselves guarding what we say--not out of fear of offending the other person--but to protect ourselves from hurt. We're afraid that by being honest about what we think or feel, we are left vulnerable to whatever it is that that other person will say or do in reaction to what we say. We feel defenseless, naked even. And so we keep the conversation abnormally light-hearted; we hedge, hem and haw, go around in verbal circles. The mentality is that "I won't give you the chance to hurt me because of what you'll learn about me. Never mind that I'm not sure you will. Better to be safe than sorry."

Pride? Or perhaps hubris?

So we decide to leave important things unsaid. Feelings are chained inside and left unexpressed. Instead, we settle for near-meaningless chitchat, indulge in niceties, refuse to free the thoughts that are clamoring to be spoken. Because of this, misunderstandings arise, miscommunication occurs, relationships come to a standstill, emotional intimacy isn't given the chance to blossom--all because we decided to hold our tongues, because we decided to hold back. And something precious dies even before it's born.

Woman In Chains
By Tears for Fears
BestAudioCodes.com

Full and pleased

I apologize for not posting the past few days. I've been a bit preoccupied. And some things just aren't bloggable. :-) But I'll catch up on your posts soon!

I know that many of us blog about things that we sometimes don't tell the people around us in our offline lives. Isn't kind of strange that we reveal what's on our minds, write down our thoughts, for strangers to read? We share our joys, talk about our anxieties, complain about the crappy day that we're having to other bloggers people near and far. And the strange thing is that some people can relate to what we're saying--they empathize. We can also be drawn to them and/or vice-versa for a number of reasons: the way they write, their sense of humor, their sensitivity, their weirdness. And there emerges a mutual feeling of friendship, even in the absence of any physical and personal encounters.

Yesterday, Tuesday, December 19th 2006, was a very good day for me. I had the privilege of spending time with three people I've never met before, yet have had the pleasure over the past few months of reading about their lives, their thoughts, and their quirks. We stuffed our faces over lunch, getting to know a bit more about each other, talking about the countries we live in, and sharing lots of giggles over each others' blogs. I just wish we could've spent more time together. But there's always a next time, right? And it was really so heartwarming to see that two of them (who are visitors to my country) were so excited and appreciative about the Philippines. They are amazing.

So to Kyels, ZeroImpact, and HB, thank you. I had a lovely time with you lovely and fun people. (H, Nunu's Mum, Irene, we wish you were there, too!)


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This song also goes out to a quirky lady I'll call French Fries. Thank you, my dear, dear friend. Words can't express how much I appreciate your support, love, and friendship.

Blogworld Saturday

Okay, Matt. Hats off to you if you read anything remotely risqué in the title of this post!

Speaking of the devil, Matt has a fun take on having sex during the holidays. Anyone can do it: men, women, kids; you can do it alone or with your friends and family. Some do it well, others need practice. But what the heck, as long as you're having fun then everything's good. After all, 'tis the season to be jolly!

Here are just some of the other blog posts I've read and enjoyed over the past week:

Dan recounts his crush (to put it mildly) on a bumperrific teacher he had when he was a kid. And it shows that he was a good kid at heart. Awwwww!

My buddy Prometheus is a geek. But he's a geek who knows how to have fun! His post about Leetspeak (or L33735P34K) was just a tad too much for my poor grey matter to handle, but it was an enjoyable read nevertheless.

Bond's stories about his dates from hell (sort of) when he was younger had me in stitches. It's somewhat of a long post, but it was worth the read. I also liked the way he matched a song to each encounter. Well, going through all those experiences was worth it for him, I guess. But reading that post makes me glad I'm not a man!

Amost everybody who's been online has seen or at least read about Britney Spears' underwear faux pas. Bud's interview with the erstwhile pop princess makes me think she'll do it again.

I like visiting webcomics, and one that I go to regularly is Ian's Adventures of the S-Team. These Lego superheroes (and the villains) make me smile. If reincarnation is true and if by some chance I'd have to be reborn as a Lego superhero, I'd love to be Silence, Ian's female ninja. She rocks.

But is there such a thing as reincarnation? We've probably speculated on how we'll cross over, what our funerals will be like, or even if there is an afterlife. Last Life in My Universe has a series of posts about death and dying. Interesting stuff.

Death, love, and sex--at least one of these can be found in movies. It's the Little Things' post about her favorite movie lines reminded me about one of my favorite books: Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I haven't seen the film adaptation, but I'd sure like to read that book again.

I'm no authority on great literature or great movies, but maybe they are. You know, those people who seem to know everything, who make up this elusive and mysterious clique known as they. The Thinker, a young lady many people admire tremendously (me included), has a post about this know-it-all group. At 16, The Thinker is more mature than I am at 35!

Happy trails to those who will be spending the holidays in places other than home. I'm wishing all of them a most enjoyable and memorable trip: Kyels, Zero Impact, Houseband00, and Sidney.

Leaving you a with a live version of Pink Floyd's classic Wish You Were Here. I just love this song.



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Have a safe and fantastic weekend!

Going Down?

My parents told me this anecdote, and it still amuses me whenever I think about it.

A Western tourist was in a hotel elevator here in the Philippines. The doors opened and the following conversation ensued between a woman outside and the elevator operator:

Woman: Bababa ba?
Operator: Bababa

Translation:
Going down?
Going down.



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The tourist was sort of flabbergasted at the fact that a cohesive (mini) conversation took place through numerous repetitions of just one syllable. If I try putting myself in his shoes and pretend I didn't speak Tagalog I'd be a bit freaked out at that exchange of words, too.

Languages are fun, I like learning new languages. I have some pronunciation issues with some of them, though. But listening to foreign songs helps a lot.

Tagalog doesn't pose any such problem: it's phonetic: how you read it is how you speak it--not like some other languages where the words bear little or no resemblance at all to how they're pronounced. I mean, you see letters like T and S in the written form, but they disappear once the words are spoken. (Wendz and Doc, are you reading this? Haha!)And you don't have to subject your throat, tongue, and uvula to torture when speaking Tagalog either. But I'm not sure if the same holds true when it comes to other Philippine tongues: there are more than 100 dialects spoken here.

Of course, unspoken communication is widely used and recognized. A smile, a laugh, a frown, a hug...these are all pretty much universally understood. Then there's the bird, which I've been tempted to flip quite a few times...at arrogant Filipinos and non-Filipinos alike!

Tattered

Back in the day I had a favorite pair of Levi's jeans. It didn't make me look as gorgeous as the model in the picture, but that's not the point. I had it for the longest period of time. It took on a naturally soft texture through countless washings and exposure to my everyday activities over the years. The color faded to a pale blue...almost to white in some places. And the denim tattered naturally--on its own--over one knee, gradually growing larger. After a while, the same thing started to happen on the other knee.

I let those holes be. No patches, no repairs. I thought that they gave my jeans its own character. Tattered as it was, I loved that pair of jeans. My skin rejoiced at the sensation, feeling at home in it--those jeans felt like second skin actually.

But one day my jeans disappeared. I searched high and low to no avail. Turns out that my mother gave it away along with other things "to charity." Evidently she didn't look at those Levi's the same way I did: to her it was just an old pair of tattered jeans.

Sometimes we come across things or people in our lives with whom we've become so comfortable so effortlessly. The length of time spent together can be irrelevant...a couple of months or years can bond the two of you irrevocably and you think "Jeez, where was I before you came along? Where would I be now if you hadn't come along?"

Sometimes, though, unexpected things happen. A newer phone model comes out, or that someone is moving on and doesn't have that much time to spend with you anymore, or your favorite pair of jeans is given away to charity. And you find yourself missing it terribly, but life goes on. At least that's what you constantly try to tell yourself.

I just hope those Levi's went to a person who loved it as much as I did.

Losing Grip
By Avril Lavigne
BestAudioCodes.com

Itty-bitty tag

Ha-ha-Houseband00 tagged me with this one.

Ze rules:

1. Grab the book closest to you. Don't choose!
2. Open to page 123, go down to the fifth sentence.
3. Post the text of next 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Name of the book and the author.
5. Tag three people.

I can't use the book closest to me; it has only 65 pages. Nevertheless, it's a great book. It's an abridged and edited version of Vatsayana's classical text with *ahem* "philosophical" implications. Hey, who said sex picture books can't be philosophical?

Since I can't cite from that book, I will from this one instead: The Unexplained: An Illustrated Guide to the World's Natural and Paranormal Mysteries," by Dr. Karl P.N. Shuker.

This particular passage talks about the shitty luck that came with owning the Hope Diamond, which was found in India, and brought to Europe in the mid-17th century. Throughout the years, it acquired the nickname "The Diamond of Doom."

"[Jean-Baptiste] Tavernier (who brought the Hope Diamond to Europe) travelled to India in the hope of recouping his losses, but was mauled to death by a pack of wild dogs. Meanwhile, the dreaded diamond passed successively into the hands of several royal owners, and each suffered a grim fate. King Louis XIV, formerly a monarch of unparalleled magnificence, lost much of his empire and all of his popularity; Princess de Lamballe was beaten to death, and both King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette were executed."

I'm passing this meme to the following (with consequences less dire than if they ever find themselves owning the Diamond of Doom):

Inamini
Marlayna
Prometheus

Only if they want to do it, of course. Those of you who haven't done this one yet, feel free!

Fishy thoughts

Just for a gander, I looked at my horoscopes for today.

MY selfless nature? Hahaha! I'm probably the most selfish soul in my corner of the Philippines. Not to mention one of the laziest. I do open doors for other people, though. And I give my seat on public transportation for the pregnant, the aged, and the infirm. I regret that I can't let someone else pull in front of me in traffic since I don't drive. I can think of a hundred ways to make myself and someone else feel good, but I'd probably get arrested and go to jail for about a third of them.

What are the characteristics of a person born under the sign of the swimming fish?

This was taken from laughsend.net. I guess I'm not a true Piscean then? Mathematics and logic simply do not agree with me. But it's good to learn that I and the other fishies swimming in this big bad world aren't all that bad. And that though we are "devoid of spirit," we are gentle souls. But I guess that depends on your definition of "gentle."

Blogworld Saturday

A big welcome back to Natalia and Aisby! Natalia flew from the USA to Ireland, where she had a smashing time with her boyfriend. She kindly gave us a rundown on what she did there; she posted some pictures, too.

Aisby has had to take a short respite from blogging to finish school work. And she's done it! I'm glad to read her posts again.

A huge welcome back, too, to Prometheus, the Man Whose Moving (Middle) Finger Writes. This guy is one of my earliest and bestest blog buddies. His posts are witty, funny, and smart! Sometimes, people like him will inspire admiration or stir up jealousy. He's done both.

Wendz has a wonderful post about living. Not existing. Living.

Romance is in the air! Itisha's post about just how much she loves her husband had me in stitches and going "awwwww" in the end. It's full of little hearts. :-)

What is it about the moon that's affecting some bloggers these days? *ahem* H's post about the (possible) burgeoning of a long-distance romance had me all thrilled and giggly. The moon makes a cameo appearance in this sigh-inspiring post. Some men scratch their heads in puzzlement at the thought of grown women getting all "wiggly and giggly" like teenagers over something. Guys, just accept it.

Julia Scissor talks about stars and the moon in a very enlightening post. Learning a bit about Indian lore is very interesting. For instance, I was tickled pink to know that in Indian mythology, the moon is a lecherous, philandering male! That kind of moon isn't too romantic, I guess.

Insidious advertising and marketing campaigns. They mess with our minds and our wallets. Michael C's post about cookie-scented bus stops is alluring, though. (But his next post about farting in airplanes isn't. Haha!)

Many of you follow blog post themes during certain days. Bond puts a nice twist to Wordless Wednesdays over at the Big Leather Couch. He puts up a tune and readers try to guess the name of the song, the name of the band, the names of the band members, and the name of the album on which the song appeared. I've had no success so far.

Sanni, who lives in Germany, is a kindred spirit in terms of loving coffee. It's always nice to read about what she's up to over there, her quirks, and to look at the pictures she posts regularly. Her Homer Simpson quotes are good for a laugh, too!

Sidney has a black & white photo series showing scenes in public school classrooms here in the Philippines. I like the way Sidney showcases what he sees and experiences in my country: they're not always pretty, but his photos draw me in.

Yaxlich was troubled over something he came across at the BBC website: an implication that there's such a thing as an international standard when it comes to penis winky size. Or maybe that was just his interpretation of the whole thing. Yaxlich can be weird sometimes, but enjoyably so.

I won't be able to go online much this weekend; I'll catch up on all your blogs next week. Have fun, everyone!

Fullness of the moon

The italicized text is taken from parts of the lyrics of the song "Kabilugan ng Buwan" by the APO Hiking Society, a Filipino musical trio. These dudes rock! Translation was done by yours truly, pardon me if they suck. Translation isn't my forte. Fellow Filipino bloggers, feel free to suggest other (better) translations.

"Kapanahunan na naman ng paglalambingan" (Once again, it's the time for romance)

Is there really any specific time for romance? Candlelit dinners, flowers and chocolate, sure, they can bring on a romantic moment. I think those are a tad bland, though. A stroll along the beach under the stars, whispering and laughing at sweet nothings...those sound better. An unfathomable look that makes you feel all hot and cold at the same time can be more than enough to set off a romantic moment. And the last three things that I mentioned don't even cost any money.

"Kabilugan ng buwan, at ang hangin ay may kalamigan" (The moon is full, and the breeze is a bit chilly)

The full moon and cold weather have been blamed, perhaps unfairly, for the impetuous things that people do. Maybe because there's something so enigmatic about the sight of the full moon. Maybe people do things that are out of character for them and blame them on the full moon's unexplainable mystique.

When it's cold, one sometimes drinks. And when one drinks too much, one is apt to do things that he or she wouldn't usually do--and then blame the consequences on alcohol. Wuss.

"Aakapin kita, mahal ko, sa buong magdamag" (I'll hold you in my arms, my love, the whole night through)

Cuddling is nice, but certainly not all night, every night! In a romantic moment it can be heavenly...until it leads to something else...then you rest by cuddling again...then start Round Two after a while. Or not. Either you go to sleep or get a pizza.

Pagmamahalan lang naman ang mararanasan/Sa sariling mundo, tayo lang ang may alam" (Loving each other is just what we'll experience/In our own world, that only the two of us know about)

Isn't that one of the thrilling moments of being in love? The two of you can enter your own little world at any time of the day or night. Again, even the most innocuous things can set this off. Like saying or hearing words like "whisper" or "bastard"--which might mean nothing special at all to other people, but which strike a resounding chord within the two of you. Or (again) a certain look that surpasses all that words can ever say can be all that it takes, and absolutely nothing else exists during that moment--just the two of you in your own world, oblivious to everything else.

"Lapit na, ohh, lapit pa" (Come closer, closer still)

The feeling of closeness, of intimacy, isn't limited by physical proximity. But that's important, too, of course (how can the two of you shag hold each other close if you're in North America and he/she is in Burkina Faso?). However, the marriage of true minds admits no impediments. It transcends geographical and physical boundaries. As does romance. And sometimes, the fullness of the moon.

Seek and you shall find...what?

I've been undergoing some search term blues (among other things) lately. Why, oh why isn't my blog the destination of some kickass search terms? Nunu's Mum gets some interesting search phrases, as do Wendz and Yaxlich. Also, I was told that the Expat Interviews site, which my friend Victor created, gets some pretty strange search engine referrals (e.g. Filipina who eats body parts, or something like that).

So, for fun, I looked up some of the search terms that led people to this blog (thanks for the idea, Wendz!):

*robert frost "bereft" critique" - I like some of Robert Frost's poetry; I feel bereft sometimes, but that's about all the person who used this phrase is ever going to find here. Nothing too helpful.

*funny tagalog horoscopes - Eh...I have a funny (as in weird, not haha) personality and my native language is Tagalog (tahg-AH-lawg). I've done only one post about horoscopes, and it wasn't in Tagalog. But I did think it was funny.

*I also noticed a link from a site run by Tino Buntic. The referring post is titled What Do Bloggers Look Like? It was a pleasant surprise seeing this post and finding Tino's blog. And he never even let on that he had visited this part of the blog world! Natalia, you're there, too.

*date woman see meet men now - I have absolutely no frigging clue about this one.

*blogs about memoirs of a seductive woman who drinks all day - *giggle* *giggle* and *giggle* again. Hey, I don't drink all day! And I'm even less seductive than Marge Simpson (she has bigger boobies). The only thing this searcher got right was "woman." Maybe he/she was the one who's been drinking all day.

We don't always find the answers we're looking for. Or can it be that we're not asking the right questions? In any case, color me happy. :-D

Falling & missing, part II

Falling off a bike as you're learning to ride it (because the person who was helping you decided to let go), getting all bloody in the process, and getting up (after you've had a good cry) are like bits of life in general. (If you're all confused about the point I'm making, read the post below, haha!)

You learn something--sometimes with the help of another person--then you're left alone; you screw up; you recover and do a good job even with that other person in absentia.

The shoe can fit the other foot, of course. Sometimes you're the one who decides to let go, cut the other person some slack, let him or her discover the joy of flying alone, of living, without you having to worry about every possible bruise and scrape; knowing and having every confidence that he or she will be fine, notwithstanding the bloody knees and elbows. You do it because you love them with every beat of your heart; you are ecstatic for them in their pursuit of their joy, their passion, their enjoyment--whether it's dancing to acid jazz or riding a bike.

You sometimes find yourself hoping that the people who matter to you think the same way about you. That they're in full support of your most personal and deepest quest...even if it means that they--or you--recede from the line of sight. That your (or their) eyes drinking in the sight of them (or you) waving bye-bye or fare-thee-well is shocking, however expected it may be. But then, the heart and soul see much farther and further than the eyes ever could, don't they? So the line of sight is never fully severed.

Because no matter how near or far they are, no matter how much you miss them (or you yourself are missed), no matter the words exchanged (or lack thereof), no matter how much you love them (or are in turn loved), the underlying mutual feelings and support hold fast and true. I think this is true also, even though you find yourself falling into a frenzy of (sincere!) well-wishes for that other person's happiness--even as you miss them terribly and feel miserable at stepping aside in order for them achieve their dream.



N.B. The Cure is one of my favorite bands and I simply adore Lovesong. Thanks to my blog friends Natalia, Houseband00, and Deb, who inspired me to remember just how wonderful Robert Smith and company's songs are.

Falling & missing, part I

I was reading the blog of Mad Munkey earlier (well, one of the blogs that this person has) and discovered that this particular blogger has a passion for cycling. In fact, Mad Munkey is about to join what I gather is a rather large competition--and I'm sending my best wishes.

I don't share Mad Munkey's passion for riding a bike, but it got me to thinking about my own bike-riding days when I was a kid. I learned to ride a bike when I was about seven years old, I think. None of those training wheels for me; my beloved older brother would plop me on his bike and hold onto that metal thing behind the seat to help balance the bike and keep me from falling flat on my face. I was always confident that I wouldn't fall because big brother was running behind me, holding the bike, keeping me safe.

Until one day.

There I was, sailing down a slope at the church grounds near our house. I remember the feeling of exhilaration caused by the speed at which I was going, without hardly any effort at all. I turned my head a bit to share my idiotic grin with my brother, and lo and behold, what did I see? The bastard was standing some distance behind, grinning an equally idiotic grin and actually waving at me! My mouth immediately transformed into an "O" of shock--just a tad bigger than my eyes that suddenly grew saucer-like in size at the implications. He wasn't holding onto me anymore! I was alone! I managed to sail on a few more meters before encountering the speed bump in front of our house--after which I crashed most spectacularly. This was during the days of no helmets, no knee pads, nothing. I'm a lucky bastard to be alive. The scars on my legs have faded to nothing, but the memory has not.

Staring at my brother unbelievingly as he grew smaller in my line of vision before disappearing altogether, me crashing, and then getting up with knees and elbows all bloody-- all these can somehow be seen as metaphors. Some of us have become complacent in the knowledge that someone is behind or beside us to save our sorry asses if we take a fall. Then suddenly we find that they aren't there anymore, that they're waving bye-bye and grinning idiotically while doing it.

Alone, we falter. Or we fall. We miss that guiding hand that's there one minute and gone the next.

It can be an unsettling experience, to say the least.

Six and stones will break my bones...

...but words will never hurt me. Yeah, riiiight.

It's so great to be back! I have a ton of blogs and work to ketchup on, but first I'd like to thank my great blog buddies (and some newcomers) for taking the time to stop by and leave comments. You are all such wonderful people!

I was tagged by the snazzy Shadowfalcon (a great gal in London) to reveal Six Weird Things about me. I did a similar tag sometime ago, only that one called for nine weird things. So I'll just add seven more facts about me--judge for yourself whether or not they can be termed "weird." Or at least quirky. Right, Howie? ;-)



ONE: The toenail on my right foot's second toe grows unusually (a euphemism). A heavy piece of metal fell on it when I was a kid, which started the abnormality. Suffice it to say that it's a damn eyesore. Anyone with a foot fetish would be so repulsed by my right foot. Not that the left foot would win any beauty contests, either.

TWO: I used to have the hots for Robi Rosa when I was 14 or 15. He's Puerto Rican, a member of a disgustingly cutesy boy band called Menudo. And I had several of their vinyl records, including one or two hard-to-get ones.

Are you done throwing up yet?

Menudo came here several times to perform (and yes, I saved up my allowance to buy tickets. Okay, go retch again). Ricky Martin, who was also a member at the time, was only about 12 years old then. Robi's all grown up now, and there's one song of his that I do like: Mas y mas.

"Si te sueño mas, ya no podré dormir
Nunca jamas

Asi susurrándome
Tu, te vienes a mi

Y mi habitacion
se llenará de verde agua de mar
Verde, que me pierde

Mas y mas
Si más te quiero
Quiereme
Tu mucho mas

Mas y mas
Dentro de mi
Entrarás tu mas y mas"

Mmmmmm...

I love the song, but hate the video.

THREE: I was in a fashion show for a local apparel company when I was eighteen. Ahh, those were the flat-belly days. Didn't like the fashion show scene all that much; the highlight of the event was when I bumped shoulders during rehearsals with the guy I had a crush on. He also gave me a brotherly peck on the cheek after the show was over. The bastard.

FOUR: I absolutely will NOT eat ice cream or chocolate that has nuts in it. I LOVE nuts (yeah, those kinds, too) but not when they're in ice cream or chocolate. (Hmmmm. On second thought...)

A twisted kind of purist, that's what I am.

FIVE: Tequila, vodka, and wine are the only non-beer alcoholic beverages that I can drink. Beer is the numero uno alcoholic drink for me, though.

SIX: I don't much enjoy watching porn, but I like reading erotica. 'Nuff said.

I won't be tagging anyone...this time. (And the world breathes a collective sigh of relief.)

Blogworld Saturday

It's Saturday morning in my part of the world now. Time flies by so fast nowadays, it seems. The year is almost over, and I find myself reluctant to say goodbye to it for some reason. I know I should look forward to the coming year...to all the new things it might bring, but I just don't feel it yet. On to Blogworld Saturday then, before this touch of the blues becomes a full-blown blob!

These are just some of the posts I've had the pleasure of reading this week; maybe they'll bring you some measure of enjoyment, too.

Sony is another person who's been having somewhat ambivalent thoughts about the coming year. Will the breaking of habits, like chronic planning and ambivalence, happen in 2007? I like the way this man writes and the ways he makes me think.

Scott has a thought-provoking post about feelings in blog reading and writing. Was this brought about by post-NaNoWriMo depression? Mental gas? Flatulent ennui? (okay, not really; I just wanted to use those two words today, ha!)

Can a man and a woman have an honest-to-goodness friendship without feeling sexually attracted to each other? Houseband00's short post about it was inspired by the movie When Harry Met Sally.

Ladies and gentlemen, listen up. Cuddling is a myth, at least according to Mimi. And I see her point! She made me laugh, yet again, with this one. Belated birthday greetings to thee again, O Queen.

It's so adorable when man's best friend starts acting like man (or woman) himself (or herself). Humans complain to God, so do dogs, as you'll see in this hilarious post from Odat.

Pawlie Coconuts, also known as the Laughorist, has a touching post about his brother, who died last year. No smartass witticisms, just heartfelt pain and love.

No parent or child-rearing technique is perfect. Parenthood doesn't come with a manual and there's no one-size-fits-all method for raising children. Marlayna has two posts that show a little bit of how she raises hers. Very interesting reading!

Many of us have done those silly Internet quizzes from Blogthings; Natalie is one such person. I enjoyed her comments about the results of several "girlie" quizzes that she took. Her post is great fun!

Shadowfalcon, who was freezing her buns off in London a couple of days ago, has an interesting post about the possible why's and wherefores of wanderlust. It's a topic that's close to my heart. I haven't done it, but to travel extensively and lose myself (or is it find myself?) in other countries and cultures is one of the things that I would dearly love to do.

Words can't describe just how much I admire the way that H puts her thoughts into words. One example is this post about a dream she had. I've had some weird dreams, but I don't think I could write them down as well as she did. Or even if I could, I wouldn't have the guts to post them here!

Congratulations to all NaNoWriMo participants! Now get back to blogging, people. :-)

More great blog posts to share next week, I'm sure. In the meantime, everybody please keep safe, be happy, and have a kickass weekend! Some of you may have seen this before, but for those who haven't, here's a pic to make you smile. Hey, I said smile, not laugh hysterically.

Lingua constraintica

Sitting here all by my lonesome in the wee hours of the morning is one of my favorite moments, as some of you know. Everything's still; the silence is conducive to working. (Yes, HB, I'm working! At least I was, now I'm taking a break, haha!) We have a typhoon roaring through the Philippines, but it isn't passing through Metro Manila (where I am), thank goodness. So here I am: it's been raining, the wind has been blowing, the air is cooler than usual, and I'm listening to some good music.

Music is one of life's greatest gifts. We hear it almost everywhere, not just in songs: in the wind sighing through the trees, in the uninhibited laughter of children, in the tinkling of chimes as they sway with the breeze, in the drumbeat that the rain makes on the roof, in the crescendo of moans and ragged breathing in the heat of...well, never mind.

[note to self: keep this a wholesome blog]

Thank God for musically gifted people. I know there can be some question as to who can be called "musically gifted." After all, taste is relative. What is music to my ears may be to another like the sound of nails scratching across a chalkboard.

Instrumentation is important, and the rhythm that you can dance or at least sway to, but it's lyrics I'm thinking about right now. Hell, even the topic of lyrics is subjective. What comes across as banal to some people would tug at another person's heartstrings. Lyrics can be sappy (not that I have anything against sappy) or incomprehensible (at least to me) even if they're in English! However, there are many, many English-language songs that a lot of us find meaningful; I've come across several that just stopped me cold in my tracks because something about them reached deep inside of me and captivated my heart and soul. Conversely, there are others that just made my ears bleed; I regret ever hearing them.

One thing that I also regret is my inability to share some wonderful Filipino songs with you guys who don't speak my language. Sure, there are English translations, but I feel that something falls through the cracks in the translation process--and the secondary audience misses out on something that's vital in the song's essence. I think this holds true for any song that's been rendered in another language: something gets lost in translation. No matter how poorly or how well it's done (heck, sometimes the lyrics of the translated version are better than the original!) there will always be something missing. I find that to be ineffably sad somehow.

It's like you have something you really, really want to say...but you can't, simply because no words exist that can convey the depth and magnitude of your feelings. And approximation just doesn't cut it.