[sembreak]

Nothing went according to plan when I got back.

First off, cards. I didn't think that Kuya would also be going to Baguio for the break, so I didn't bring my L5R (Legend of the Five Rings) decks (wala ako iba makakalaro e). Turns out aakyat nga rin pla sina Kuya kaya dala niya decks niya. Of course we'd still get to play using his decks but still, it's different when your playing your own deck - the games are more competitive and battles are more personal.

the DVD player at home is also missing (..Ryan? probably. more on my blacksheep brother when I finally feel like it) so all the DVDs I brought home with me are now useless (our PC doesn't have a DVD drive).

NO INTERNET CONNECTION. I'm typing this right now in an internet cafe somewhere in Bonifacio.. whatever street or something (I don't know any of the building's names anymore, or the streets. I've been away from this city for too long - i feel like a tourist). Our mom told us that the phone bill (oo, cursed 56k dial up kami dito) isn't part of the family's budget right now so NO net. Feel like a wired fish out of WWW-water.

Hindi ako makapag-drawing. At least not right now. I expected Ynna, my youngest sibling, to have pencils so i didn't bother to bring my own (besides, my mechanical pencil's still missing). When I realized that there wasn't anything to do anymore, I asked ynna for a pencil.. turns out Ynna doesn't have ANY pencils at all ("ngyarr.. elementary student ka wala ka lapis?!").

No arnis, no sword. The bloodsticks (the arnis sticks I marked with my blood - as part of the Angkan ng Mandirigma induction - we call it the bloodpact) are missing. I feel like a samurai who's dishonored himself by losing his sword (his soul). Whoever the fuck it was who took my bloodsticks are gonna be so fucked they're going to fucking wish they hadn't fucked with me. whew.

Also.. the wakizashi i've been working to restore is also missing. after (painstakingly) fixing the patterned ..thing that covers the sheath and handle of the wakizashi the last time i was here in Baguio, i promised that the next time i go back, i'd polish the blade and sharpen its cutting edge. Looks like i wouldn't be able to do that anymore. In case your wondering how i got the wakizashi, it was a present given to my father back when he was Armak Motors manager from one of his Japanese customers. Over time, napabayaan yung sword until it rusted, the sheath was broken and the cover was taken off.

So there, medyo Murphy's (as in Murphy's Law) sembreak ako ngayon. Pero siyempre, when the situation changes, all one has to do is adapt.

Buti na lang may Diablo 2 sa PC. So I'm playing Diablo 2 again and it's funny how i can't seem to shake off the warcraft-habit of moving around items by right-clicking - instead of moving the potions in the inventory, palagi naiinom ng hindi kailangan.

It was also a pleasant surprise when My older sister saw Dan Brown's Angels and Demons somewhere in the in the bookshelves - and I snatched it from her. I read it when someone else is using the PC. I'm close to finishin it and I think its great. And so far, I'm liking it more than Da Vinci Code. It's just funny how a fiction novel can enlighten me more about my Religion than a priest in mass.

Anyway.. for the next few days, I plan to just stay here at home, go EAT-SLEEP-EAT mode, gain some weight, relax, read, play Diablo and bond with the family. I probably won't go out much anymore since I don't have any money on me (yoko na rin humingi ng pang-gimik sa magulang ko) and since I'm not going out, I won't be able to go online.

I'll be back after sembreak.

[the iv-agate reunion.. thing]

Despite the sudden change in venue, no pool, no resort, not a lot of people saying they'd come (only around 25 of us were there), the reunion was still great. I mean REALLY great. I'm glad I decided to come.

It was just a simple celebration; grill, dinner, and just chilling out (with coffee, beer, gin and brandy. yeah~) in the living room till the wee hours of the morning.

Most of the details are in Marck's blog ("A Class of Our Own"), and he's pretty much said everything that needed to be said. But I'd still like to have my own take.

....

Uh.. this middle part was actually so much longer when I was still writing it as a draft. I said a lot things there that I've decided that I should just keep to myself (it took so long to get to the point anyway). Bottom-line, I've made a great discovery for myself and I'm REALLY happy now.

I've finally realized that I don't have two lives; a life in elbi and a "past" in baguio. I just have a LIFE that lives in two places. Or something like that.

It's a great feeling to have a lot of friends.

[baguio]

I'll be going home tomorrow.

But it's wierd though, I've been anxious to go back for the past few months but suddenly (I don't really know why) I don't feel like going home anymore. Pero uuwi pa rin ako, have a lot of things to do there; take break, catch up with some friends, settle some things I left behind. So kailangan ko pa rin umuwi.

So yeah, I'll be going home tomorrow.

[pencilswordfish 5.0!]

I've discovered a trend in my blog designs. The layout, the colors and the images have become... brighter and (I dunno...) cheerier than my first blog designs. It's also become more minimalist: I've been taking off more and more images from the blog, started reducing file-sizes, removed the clutter, etc.

This new layout's simpler. Cleaner. There's also lots of green.. seems I've taken to heart (unconsciously, methinks) that quiz about blog colors. I also like how the banner image turned out (on the right); that's Kali, Penny and a new Fisher - I, sort of, combined the pencilswordfish webcomic with "angkan", an old story I made about a Filipino underground resistance force that used arnis specialists as operatives (assassins) set in the Philippines in the 1860's. I originally wanted 3 main characters for that story (maybe that's why I remembered it); a farmer (/arnisador), a young mestiza woman, and a Filipino priest-in-training. I'm thinking of turning it into a ghost-hunting... thing instead of a story about war and the revolution but... I don't know, pag-isipan ko pa.

Anyway, I just like this new layout.

[best semendah evah! *hic*]

It was the best sem-ender ever. Yeah... screw Komikon, I doubt we would've had more fun there than we had in the resort. There's just so much to say about it.. I don't know where to start (tska masakit pa rin ulo ko... nakakatamad).

To say the least, I think I got what I really wanted for the sem-ender and it just makes me happy as the "organizer" and the group's current daddy. I wanted everybody to let it all out, enjoy, and well.. get "high"- and they did (bago pa man mag-inuman natural high na mga tao e). It was the group at its craziest (even crazier than we usually are). All the things I knew were supposed to be secrets weren't secrets anymore after the sem-ender, and it's all good and nobody cares.

Everyone came through, and I have a lot to thank for (I wouldn't have been able to manage alone) - Gelo as the financer and for the pizza, Therese with the music, Fernan for the pancit and Brian for the curry and with the technology, Seth with the (unexpected) adobo, Gel for all the junkfood, Ken with MORE BOOZE (medyo late na nakarating pero oks pa rin), the kitchen crew and everyone else. Not everything went according to plan but it all worked out.

Ang sarap pala maging daddy (sa grupo :D). It's funny how I was able to work more and dedicate myself to the group's sem-ender and not give a damn about this past sem's academic performance. I did most of the shopping (with Suzanne), the preparations, the math (with Gelo, of course).

It's a good feeling to be recognized as the taskmaster, and seeing everybody happy with the fruits of your labor (haha, drama). Felt like a chef (managing the kitchen, the menu: real indian curry, adobo, lotsa pizza, inihaw na liempo, saba, hotdogs, pancit..), a DJ (managing the music, the playlist: 311, Sublime, Punk (absolutely NO emo), house music, Jamiroquai, electronica, the Beachboys!, Starbucks music, Bamboo, Parokya, Brownman revival - reggae, etc.), and a bartender (taga-ikot ng shot, taga halo ng booze - Ken's classic "Emperor and the Whore" mix: emperador +red horse +sprite +grape juice, isang case ng san mig light tska shakers).

It's cool being the boss :D

Parang ayoko na nga umuwi (wala rin lang akong pera para makauwi.. hirap talaga kapag sinasagot mo gastos)... bitin ako, gusto ko pa ng isa. It'll be a while before I get over the euphoria... astig talaga.

Here's the entire [SEM-ENDER GALLERY].

Favorite sem-ender quotes:

"..hangover... gulo gulo upuan... walang tao .... banas ....walang tao... gulo gulo upuan... hangover... lang tao... banas.. hangover .... banas ...gulo gulo upuan ...lang tao..."
- Me, Gelo, Celsus, Brian, Louis ala Strangebrew

"Ang masasabi ko lang talaga.. SO MUCHED HAS CHANGED IN 3 YEARS!!! Kung dati puro anime anime lang pinaguusapan natin, ngayon... an-lalakas na ng mga hirit!!"
- Ken

"Dildo Baggins and the One cock-Ring of POWER!!!"
- err... sino nga ba?

"Ano? Ayos ba? AYOS BA!? AYOS!!!!" *high five*
- ako, tinatanong lahat ng tao at nagsusurvey

"'di pa ko laseng.."
- lasing na lasing at namumulang Butch.

"..wag kasing manliligaw gamit ang anime!! Tangina, ano yan!? I wanna be you kenshin!?"
- lasing na Ken

"I'm like a shooting star, I've come so far! ...Snipershot!!!"
- me, snipe-squirting with the Pepsi 1.5 easy grip bottle

"...Drew, penge naman ng juice" *gives me upside-down plastic cup*
- lasing at namumulang Butch

"..akala niyo kayo lang (@Kyan and Karina)!!? ..Oh! kami na ni Mara!! Wala nang papatos dito!!" - Ken, nagpapa-cradle kay Mara

"Si Fernan ooo... Nilalasing si Mara, LUMANG STYLE NA YAN!!"
- Ken

"Kaya ko paaa.. Kaya ko paa..."
- Butch

"AYAN NA SI LOUIS AYAN NA SI LOUIS!!!! Andyan na yung CLOWN!!!"
*everyone splashes Louis*

"Tahan na, tahan na, anjan na yung clown~~!!"
- Gelo, at Neil

"LOUIS!!! TRIIICKS! TRIIICKS!!!"
- at Louis, official party clown

"WTF anu yung spooning?!" - Gelo (lol, hindi talaga alam)
"Wag ka na! Bata ka pa!" - Ken
*Gelo squirts sprite bottle at Ken*

"Di ko kasalanan kung may mabubuo dito ah!"
- Ken

"LETS FEET TOGETHEEERR!!!"
- mga taong jacuzzi na walang magawa

"Si Fernan nanglalasing ng babae, pero mauuna pa sya malasing kesa sa babae."
- Ken

"MANG HOSEEE!! MANG HOOOSEEEEEE!!!"
- Gelo, wasted.

"Look at those ABS!!"
- Brian, @Therese

"Best semendah evah!!!"
- Therese, with the accent

"MANG TEBAN!!!! MANG TEBAAANN!!!! ang superhero na ....marunong .... mag-PHOTOSHOP!!!!!"
- (@Neil Amiel Cervantes; Photoshop god sung in the tune of "Mang Jose")

"Kung alam ko lang na ganyan ang hatak sa chics ng ORIGAMI!!... gusto ko ng ART PAPER!!"
- Ken, @Clemen

"ART PAPER!!! ART PAPER!!!!! ART PAAAAPEEER!!!!"
- (@Clemen's origami tutorials, sung in the tune of "Ordertaker")

"Uy biro lang ah, Clemen. Ikaw pa rin ang Necrolyte ng buhay ko."
- Gelo, @Clemen

"Walang nangyari! Bokalist ng Rivermaya! Rico Blanco BADING!!!"
- Drew, Ken, Gelo, Therese - sooo wasted, with Halina sa Parokya in the background.

".................... *ngiti*"
- Dianne (grabe, kahit lasing tahimik pa rin!)

news! [CPR]

Was reading Marck's blog and I came across some news I've been missing. I've been doing a bit of reviewing for my Monday Stat exam over the weekend and was unaware of the news (no TV either - Marck's blog and Inq7.net is where I usually get my news).

Now if the image of priests and nuns and former Vice President Guingona (one of the few I respect) soaked to bone doesn't get you pissed off, the Palace's reply of "they had it coming" should. I don't really have a lot to say about this except... fuck you GMA and screw your CPR (Calibrated Preemptive Response) Policy. <-- ha! yan, cge nga arestuhin mo nga kami.

news! [PhD - piled higher and deeper]

Just now I just discovered a great new webcomic :D

I was googling more info about "Otogizoushi", this anime I've been watching for the past few hours, and I accidentally come across this guy's blog (www.davidsLife.com) which had reviews and other stuff about... lots of geek stuff (Tolkien articles!). Anyway, Otogizoushi turns out to be something not-so-interesting so I end up exploring the said site (something I do ONLY on sites with impressive design) instead of "researching" more on Otogizoushi. He has a link on his main page to a webcomic that seemed to have nice art. So I followed the link and it led me here.

I have a new webcomic to add to my favorites now :D PhD or "Piled Higher & Deeper" is a funny webcomic about "the ongoing chronicle of life (or the lack thereof) in grad school." It's got intellectual humor, nice easy-on-the-eyes art and the website looks great too. I like the interface on the comic, there's your usual previous, next and first button and (but there's more!) it has "jump back or forward 5 or 10 strips buttons! Wala lang. Nice.

Anyway, I suck at making reviews. Basta astig 'to at basahin niyo. here's my current favorite: Desk Entropy.

....I should be getting back to work on my webcomic again. Hrm.. pagkatapos na lang ng finals :D

[con]

"An Indian discovered that nobody can create a folder or file anywhere named as "con". This is something pretty cool and unbelievable. At Microsoft, the whole Team, including Bill Gates, couldn't answer why this happened. Try it out yourself."

It was sent to me by a friend of mine, Irene, through Y!Messenger. I tried it out and wow, it was true :D You really can't create anything with the filename "con". As usual Bill Gates, world's richest ass, doesn't even know why.

But why "con"? Alas, we may never know.

quizzies [good color for your blog]

Your Blog Should Be Green

Your blog is smart and thoughtful - not a lot of fluff. You enjoy a good discussion, especially if it involves picking apart ideas. However, you tend to get easily annoyed by any thoughtless comments in your blog.

Here's a link to the quiz, if you're interested. My blog's mostly green so I guess the quiz is pretty accurate but... "not a lot of fluff"? haha. Ewan ko lang.

[posc141 and the completely pointless personality quiz]

I recently wrote a 14 page paper on Open Source Software for my POSC141 class (kung saan kaklase ko yung isa sa aking mga kras sa campus. ...forgot the course title, something about Political Ideologies and Philippine Politics). We were supposed to pick a certain government policy, criticize it and argue for or against it using whatever political ideology (or ideologies) we saw fit.

Two months ago I told my instructor I'd be writing about foreign trade policies (first thing that came to mind then - I don't even know the first thing about foreign trade policy). I start my actual research on the paper two months later, 3 days before the deadline. Desperate.. I do the first thing I do when desperate, I surf the net aimlessly - and eventually come across the Completely Pointless Personality Quiz from our Skewed Studios forums.

It's funny how a completely pointless quiz gave me the answer to all my problems. A day before the deadline (Monday, Oct. 3), I asked permission from my instructor to change my topic from Whatever foreign trade policies to the Optical Media Act of 2003, Open Source Software and ...whatever works.

Pumayag naman siya (LOL). And poof! POSC141 paper. 14-page paper in 12 hours (of course Marck can probably cough up a bigger paper in less time but c'mon! give me some credit here). Anyway, it all turned out well (passed my paper 5 minutes late of the deadline), the paper was great, the defense was even better and thanks to the Tux, I've developed a new love for the Open Source Software movement - now I know why I hate Bill Gates so much.

Wala lang.. little succes stories like this just make me feel better about this sem's (less than satisfactory) academic performance. Doomed...

[advent children OST]

This is undoubtedly one of the best soundtracks I've ever heard. Years of playing Final Fantasy games has exposed me to its diverse and creative music and has turned me into a fan of Nobuo Uematsu - the master composer of all the Final Fantasy Soundtracks - so of course I'm guilty of being biased. This is his best work yet.

The soundtrack features mostly new scores made especially for the movie but for longtime FFVII fans like me, it's the old remastered tracks that always get my attention.

The FFVII Battle theme has three versions in the movie: the piano version used in the Tifa vs. Loz fight and the techno-rock version used in the Turks vs. Sephiroth clones fight and another techno-rock version used in the highway chase to old Midgar. The remixed versions sounded so different I almost didn't recognize them. And of course, what better way to use the Boss Battle theme than on the Bahamutt battle scene!

You can't have a decent FFVII sequel without the Opening Theme, "JEHOVA" and "One Winged Angel" - remastered to become evern creepier, louder and more malevolent than before. Hearing it just as Sephiroth 'descended' made me shiver while watching the movie. Tifa's and Aerith's themes also come back as piano versions.

Of course the soundtrack isn't just a bunch of remixed and remastered songs, some of the tracks are new and were made especially for the movie. "Cloud Smiles" is my personal favorite among the newer tracks. The featured track "Calling" sung by Kyosuke Himuro wasn't so good, it's ok but it's not really my type. Overall, the soundtrack is a must-have for all longtime Final Fantasy fans, new fans of the movie and still a great soundtrack; fan or no.

Tracklisting(26 tracks! Sulit!):

Disc 1

1. Opening (1:31)
2. The Promised Land (2:52)
3. Beyond The Wasteland (4:14)
4. Sign (1:49)
5. Tifa's Theme (Piano Version) (4:23)
6. For the Reunion (2:32)
7. Tatakau Monotachi (Piano Versi (4:00)
8. Water (2:21)
9. Materia (0:53)
10. Black Water (2:40)
11. Aerith's Theme (Piano Version) (4:07)
12. Battle in the Forgotten City (3:25)
13. Violator (2:35)
14. Kita no Daikudo (FFVII AC Ver.) (1:51)

Disc 2

1. Divinity I (2:54)
2. Tatakau Monotachi (FFVII AC Ver.) (2:00)
3. Sara ni Tatakau Monotachi (FFV (4:24)
4. Divinity II (3:35)
5. Encounter (0:53)
6. The Chase of Highway (4:34)
7. Savior (2:16)
8. J-E-N-O-V-A (FFVII AC Ver.) (2:46)
9. Advent: One Winged Angel (6:07)
10. Cloud Smiles (3:29)
12. End Credits (5:36)
13. Calling (5:03)

[final fantasy VII: advent children]

Yeah, I know. This entry is a bit late.

A few minutes ago I watched Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children from start to finish (again - for the fifth or sixth time since we first got it last month) hoping to finally get inspiration for a Final Fantasy blog-entry I've been planning to write. After weeks of trying to get myself in the mood to write my comprehensive Final Fantasy VII article, I've finally given up.

Words escape me with Final Fantasy VII (palibhasa favorite e - next to FFIX of course). The whole FFVII collection is just too damn COOL to write about in just one article, and almost everybody knows about it anyway - it's already become some sort of culture. So instead of the comprehensive article thingie, I've decided to write about my favorite movie scenes - but then again, that means I'll have to write about the whole movie. That means you'll have to listen to me geek out about anything and everything about Advent Children. It will unleash the dark side of my Final Fantasy fanboy self, and it'll rant and rave and take forever to finish :D

So I'll end it here, with a few parting words: Be you Final Fantasy VII fan or not, watch it. It's the movie of the year.

[maki-monster 2]

BTW, current sushi score is 83. 83 pieces of maki. Broke my previous record (which was 70-something).

[updates]

If you're wondering where all the quizzes went well... it was testament to my laziness for the last couple of weeks, so I uh.. had to get rid of the evidence :D Looking at all those quizzes filling up the entire page made me ..loathe myself. for details.. read on. The sem's almost over (a few more final exams, removals and I'm off) and it wasn't a very happy sem.

To make a long story short (it's not exactly short but when I start making excuses and try to justify myself.. it's going to be REALLY long), I failed my 190 (which is OJT) mostly because I still didn't do the broadcasting component - because I didn't feel like doing it. I lied to everybody about a lot of things, broke all the promises I made not only about 190 but on a lot of other things. And the truth is actually worse than what I'm saying right now.

Generally, I feel very despicable. I've failed a lot of people and I amaze myself at how I can still show my face to my family and friends.

Anyway, I'm wasting a lot of time sulking and all this shit. I'll see if I can still fix things even though it's already too late. You can all hit me after that.

quizzies [politics quiz]

You are a Social Liberal (66% permissive) and an... Economic Liberal (31% permissive) You are best described as a: Democrat Link: The Politics Test on Ok Cupid Also: The OkCupid Dating Persona Test