[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!)