damn it's tres aves all right

i think the surprise went really well, aside from the fact that only a few turned up. the highlight of the whole thing was, of course, deciding to watch mulawin the movie. of course, we were there to make fun of the whole thing. i was halfheartedly considering to spoil the whole ending to the incoming batch, but i decided against it. ganoon ako kabait eh.

the best scene of the movie (when i say best, i mean the funniest) was the scene where a fly was perched on angel locsin's left breast. this is obvious because she was wearing a white blouse.

i guess the fly likes it there. i don't blame it. :P

it's all so funny

the day started out at midnight, getting our presents from the tree. the lord must've been smiling down on me when i opened the tourney pack that i got: all three rares were red, and sitting at the top of the pile was char. yes, the lord is smiling down on me.

afterwhich i opened all the presents i'd gotten during the party two weeks ago, and i have to say that i have never been adorned with as much bracelets than this year. i considered wearing
all of them but my intense foresight gave me this warning:

"if you wear them all at the same time, you'll look so emo."

and with that, i went to sleep. (by the way, i absolutely love the wallet iris gave me, next to angelic's bracelet. they're like, the best presents so far.)

waking up at 5, we readied for our annual christmas mass over there in tagaytay (because it's so damn close *wink*). halfway around the trip we thought one of our tires was flat - finding nothing, we moved on and stopped at the nearest caltex so that my father could take a piss. (i have fond memories of that one - it's where the retreat bus stopped and bought some buko pie. unfortunately i did not discover my penchant for buko pie until later that year.)

trying to move out of caltex, we heard a grinding noise beneath the chassis, and we couldn't move forward. we inspected again, and look! bearings all over the floor! the rest, as they say, is history, and we didn't pursue with the mass - we were all too disheartened, even after a jolly cup of yakisoba. not to mention, sleepy. so my uncle just picked us up and drove us back home, while directlink towed the car for free! woo!

moving on, we had the moran family christmas party (we would have a bascon christmas party only if the rest weren't abroad) and the best things i've ever gotten were two big cans of ultimate chocolate chip cookies (that's what it says, ultimate) and the ability to make bubbles! (by blowing, of course, through a small whistle.) the inner kid in me, unleashed.

and now, i look forward to tomorrow, because tomorrow is another day. ;)

the time is now

it's the time when everyone gives gifts, cheer is in the air, and the networks are clogged because everyone is texting each other. (dammit.)

merry christmas! ;)

the weather outside's frosty

hey, what do you know. i don't think no one is reading this blog as of now due to the holidays, and i don't think i can blame them. anyway, it's december 23, and my sister sam is probably going to or in singapore right now. christmas is two days away, and it's sort of crept up on me (like my birthday last year).

the weather outside is wonderful. just this morning at 10 am or 11 am or so, it was colder than usual (sans wind). today's temperature was really low. i love it.

anyway, i look forward to opening your gifts tomorrow night (and starting to eat the chocolate sir john and julian gave me). i just wish i could spend christmas midnight talking to someone else on ym again, just like last year. i just wish.

a few plugs for people:
leiron (it's his birthday on the 26th! be sure to greet him!), wowie, ryan, jam

looking back, i think MNM is just a glorified, modernized, and revamped version of the old edge and christian formula. when you break it all down, the concepts are basically the same, especially "for those with flash photography" (both the paparazzi and the fans, respectively). they're both tag teams comprised of handsome individuals (and capitalizing on it, heck, they've even got the long hair) and both tag teams have the chemistry.

i've been impressed with the tag team since their debut on smackdown, to say the least. now if only the heart throbs were pushed harder and had a makeover - those tights are pathetic.

and... as much as it will pain me to say it, i will reveal the secret in a few days' time.

revelations

the secret... i will reveal soon. really soon. as in a week from now soon.

of unfinished business and blog preferences

i think it's already the most infamous story to happen this week to the whole batch - the story of how 200+ students weren't able to finish the algebra test. the next most infamous story is of junior-a, though - the story of how many junior-a students failed physics. (the exact number, i do not know.)

i didn't take like 40% of the tests that seriously, anyway. but if i fail physics, i know that at least i didn't go down without a fight.

moving on.

i was reading wowie's blog earlier and i chanced upon an entry of his where he states that "LJ is for wussies". i respect wowie's opinions very much since i know him very well, and here's what i have to say about it.

i hold both blogger and LJ accounts for the reason that they're double the number of my "canvasses", if you will. both are pretty much open, thank you very much. i seldom post friends-only posts in LJ. the reason i post my friends-only posts is because i want to vent some frustration without attracting the people i refer to in such a post. you could say that i don't have the balls and that i'd rather start yapping to my friends, but such friends-only posts of mine are spur of the moment "emotion-posts".

i do agree that a more open blog promotes an open forum-like interactivity. and most of the time, i've got the balls to say what i mean, in spite of those who are watching out for me. (i do know that the danger is real.)

but do know this: there are really some things that you really need to keep to yourself or to your closest friends. a blog is, after all, a diary for the tech-savvy. i do agree with what wowie said in the very last line, but some things are really meant to be kept secret from most of the web.

a pleasant rearrange

it's been a while since i last posted. mind you, last week was hell, even with a day removed. thankfully i got through cl, t.h.e., and p.e. (false alarms galore), and the only scar i had was failing the algebra long test (damn you, mental blockage).

anyway, i would like to state a new opinion.

i know and you know that i've been ranting about hale since they became hits with the oh-so-damn-gullible masses. at home, i'm rather indifferent to hale when it comes to my brothers listening to them - i practice common courtesy, even if they don't. i don't switch the channel or change the song if they're watching or listening, respectively.

i heard on the radio about their second of two tagalog songs, kung wala ka. i thought it was going to be a vocal flop like kahit pa was. i caught it on the myx premiere (blame channel surfing) one morning, i think. i brushed it off at first after staying to it after a few seconds - due to my anti-hale impulse.

then i heard the song playing on the radio. due to said common courtesy, i didn't change the station. then - it was then, i heard the violins.

they were beautiful. i fell in love with that violin riff. you could say that i was impressed with it.

of course, i couldn't really say much about kuya champ's vocals, but cher, i'd have to say that that song scored a point for the hale team.

shocking, isn't it? (rodney, no spamming.)

it's over and done [and the heartache lives on... inside]

so the fair's over and done. it had both its good and bad points, but i think people will agree that there were definitely more of the bad. my fair was spent going around and playing cards (both magic and pusoy dos.) this week i learned many things, being:

• - dota is fun. F-U-N.
• - always check if a restaurant accepts your credit card before eating in it.
• - edric is a bad shuffler, while...
  
• - rodney is a very good shuffler.
• - we love niel, and it shows
• - amazing i have a girlfriend! not.

i also ditched the animo night because i didn't want to watch hale (and mostly to save the trouble of possibly angering cher) in favor of chris's party. i had the honor of accompanying russell in his first visit to casa de limchoc. it could very well be considered S-B party #2. (if not, 1.5, then?)

anyway, here's the biggest thing i've learned and conceptualized. click to continue.

if i may say, with the onset of the events that are currently going on in school, that the school's administration has a certain philosophy that i've finally identified. it's some sort of sick, twisted, and demented form of utilitarianism which maxim is not for the greater happiness of the paying students, but for the greater sadness, disappointment, and resentment for the said people.

i mean, look at it. no intrams. a retreat schedule almost cancelled. a plethora of useless activities designed to replace the non-special music clubs. a foundation day and a half which they try to pass for as the foundation week. with a schedule like that, none or not many young students would be really happy.

it's almost a dystopia in here.

and i now dub this twisted philosophy as contrautilitarianism - greater sadness for the greater number. and they're sure as hell doing a good job.

meanwhile i'm going to go plan my all-gunner FFTA clan. (of course, that's with the exception of marche. he's going to be a thief-white mage.)

a fan's eulogy and tribute

ad memoriam.

IN LOVING MEMORY OF

EDUARDO GORY GUERRERO LLANES

OCTOBER 9, 1967 ~ NOVEMBER 13, 2005

Somewhere, in a wrestling ring up in the sky, Eddie Guerrero is making his debut. Who knows, he may be having his first match in heaven with the Big Boss Man (who has recently passed away as well), or maybe he is fighting alongside his father, Gory Guerrero. Whatever the stipulations of his debut may be, all of the fans and Superstars in the denizens of the earth are missing him right now, and most of them are still reeling from the shock of his sudden departure.

My heartfelt condolences to wife Vicki and kids.

When my classmate Wowie told me this in the morning, my day was sort of torn asunder. How, I asked myself and my friends, could a luchador as healthy as Eddie and one who is still in the middle of his career - in fact, he was supposed to have a Triple Threat for the World Heavyweight Championship on the next week's SmackDown (which he was highly speculated to win, but it is rather rare and unthought of for a title as grand as this to change hands on a non-PPV show), and he was just coming off from a victory in his last televised match versus Ken Kennedy - die like this? He's only 38 years old!

Those questions have already been answered. It is relatively simple - his demons came back to haunt him. Alcohol, drugs - those same demons he overcame four years ago - they took his toll on him recently, and his heart finally stopped. He was feeling some pain recently which was brought on by stress and the effect of his addictions on his heart, and I'm just glad that his the Lord had mercy on him and stopped his pain, to our expense.

It's just his time, even if it was really way ahead of him. He was unable to lie to fate, cheat death, and steal life. Let's face it. He's gone.

I'm just glad that he was able to catch the big fish. I'm just glad that he was able to hold almost all of the WWE titles a man could ever hold in the business. In truth, he was already a living legend. He really knew how to fire a crowd up, being either a babyface rebel or a brutal heel. When he was a heel, you'd really hate him, but when he was a face, you'd really like him. He was another amazing cheater, alongside The Dirtiest Player In The Game, Ric Flair - I just fell in love with the way he cheated. He was a technical master, like his best friend Chris Benoit. The adrenaline would rush through me like it rushed through him when he would call on the Three Amigos. I also knew, like he did, that his opponent's fate would be sealed when he successfully cast himself on top of him from the turnbuckles. I use most of his taunts, heck, I've always wanted an Eddie goatee. In short, he really knew how to put on a show, love him or hate him, and he'd capture the hearts of many.

He left us all shocked and sad, in the middle of his storied career. Storylines will have to be changed. The #1 contendership might be given to Randy. Team Smackdown has one open slot. The 10-bell salute will be in order.

Don't worry, Eddie, Latino Heat will continue to live on as long as we are la raza. God bless, ese vato - hommes.

As you loved to say.

Viva.

La.

Raza.

We'll miss you, ese.

it's all so bizarre

the week flew by so fast. much to my prediction, i had indeed failed the fil long test. (not to worry though, i swear by my chinny-chin-chin i'm gonna pass the next one.) anyway, there are also more dance practices that get more strenuous by the day (i missed two this week, but that's fine since i made up for it today) but it's all for the greater good. we're gonna have to abuse the next week, i guess.

time for a story. one day my father was goofing off one morning, eating pan de sal. for every piece of bread he ate, he would throw the last bite to our (bigger) dog, maxx. (justin named him. don't blame me.) there's this woman and her child passing by, who asks for some food. so my dad offers her some bread.

and you know what she said?

"wag na lang ho. ipinapakain niyo ho lang sa aso eh."

and i'm all, "what the fuck?" when i heard it since obviously she's so ignorant to the fact that beggars can't be choosers. ah, whatever. more for us.

and today, coming home from practice i heard that a policeman came around because one of our neighbors complained of the horrid smell of dog shit emanating from the house. since my parents and i were out, phim and justin were the ones talking to him. they eventually agreed to something which i don't know, but i doubt my dad's gonna follow. what's more is that neighbor is a relative. after the whole thing, my dad was ranting on and on about it; his points were things that i would've said. yes, it was all dishonorable, but the most dishonorable was when he told us to disown the neighbor as a relative.

andy, don't you get shit like this from your neighbors? i mean, you have 13 more dogs than i do.

fo' shizzle

a recent picture.



that there's my not-so-little brother justin flexing a pose as hercules for a batch play competition, sort of like that dramafest with that awesome gangster prequel of romeo and juliet. but just so you know, i have better biceps than he does.

it's a religious impediment

for those who don't know, i enrolled in zobel at grade 4. although montessori was a religious school (yet less restrictive), it wasn't as religious as zobel, so its religious practices took some time to get used to.

the outcome of this is two things:

one, i don't know the exact way of how the angelus really goes. two, i don't know the "hail holy queen" prayer.

i don't know if ryan or the other montessori expats know these things, but as for me, i don't. my excuse is that there was no angelus every noontime, and although the rosary was sort of enforced, and the prayer is in the "my first cathecism" book, the thing is it was never really enforced on us (or me, at least) unlike the act of contrition was. and my parents didn't tell me to learn it, assuming that the schools taught me.

ah, whatever. it's how things are. if you want to teach me, please do.

holy smokes... i'm getting fatter.

8 simple rules for dating my teenage sisters

taken and slightly modified from here. enjoy. julian, take heed. =))

• Rule One: If you pull into my driveway and honk you'd better be delivering a package, because you're sure as heck not picking anything up.
• Rule Two: You do not touch my sister in front of me. You may glance at her, so long as you do not peer at anything below her neck. If you cannot keep your eyes or hands off of my sister's body, I will remove them.
• Rule Three: I am aware that it is considered fashionable for boys of your age to wear their trousers so loosely that they appear to be falling off their hips. (I only wear mine only slightly loosely but only because my waistline is small.) Please don't take this as an insult, but you and all of your friends are complete idiots. Still, I want to be fair and open minded about this issue, so I propose this compromise: You may come to the door with your underwear showing and your pants ten sizes too big, and I will not object. However, In order to assure that your clothes do not, in fact, come off during the course of your date with my sister, I will take my electric staple gun and fasten your trousers securely in place around your waist, while wearing a devious smile.
  
• Rule Four: I'm sure you've been told that in today's world, sex without utilizing a "barrier method" of some kind can kill you. Let me elaborate: when it comes to sex, I am the barrier, and I WILL kill you.
• Rule Five: In order for us to get to know each other, we should talk about games, politics, current affairs and the like. Please do not do this. The only information I require from you is an indication of when you expect to have my sister safely back at home, and the only word I need from you on this subject is "early."
• Rule Six: I have no doubt you are a popular fellow (nevertheless still an idiot), with many opportunities to date other girls. This is fine with me as long as it is okay with my sister. Otherwise, once you have gone out with my baby sister, you will continue to date no one but her until she is finished with you. If you make her cry, I will make you cry.
• Rule Seven: As you stand in the hallway, waiting for my sister to appear, and more than an hour goes by, do not sigh and fidget. If you want to be on time for the movie, you should not be dating. My sister is putting on her makeup, a process which can take longer than painting the Golden Gate Bridge. Instead of just standing there, why don't you do something useful?
• Rule Eight: The following places are not appropriate for a date with my sister: Places where there are beds, sofas, or anything softer than a wooden stool. Places lacking parents, policemen, or nuns. Places where there is darkness. Places where there is dancing, holding hands, or happiness. Places where the ambient temperature is warm enough to induce my sister to wear shorts, tank tops, midriff T-shirts, or anything other than overalls, a sweater, and a goose down parka zipped up to her chin. Movies with a strong romantic or sexual theme are to be avoided; movies which feature chainsaws are okay. Hockey and/or basketball games are okay.

talk about the overprotective brother :P

if the day after tomorrow would be two days ago, what day would it be tomorrow?

maybe it's just me, but i feel like i'm a real-time wanderer with a real-time watch and conscience stuck into a fast-time zone. (if you don't know what a fast-time zone is, read Time Streams, but here's what it is in a nutshell: it's a zone wherein time passes faster than it would in a real-time zone.)

why did i just say that?

it feels like all my days are lived in a heartbeat or two. today's monday, and the next thing i know, the lazy friday will come by (WALANG RETREAT. telen kasi eh.) without me having to blink.

the days just go by really really fast. as i said, it's a monday but soon friday will roll around. and monday will roll around faster than friday did. it's so weird. could anyone explain it?

teeth-grinding

the awards have come and gone, and my two friends here are feeling morose (i'm suspecting it's more of not winning any, and not of being tired. nah, i'm kidding, russ and leiron). we won best music and best comedic performance.

i have a timpanic membrane to pick with these guys. (it's the smallest bone in the body.)

i would like to speak in protest against stef stefanowitz's being crowned as the best supporting actress. in fact, there were two nominees of the same category that were drawn from the same film. (what's up with that?)

i would like to speak in protest against this decision, for all stef really did was that psycho-esque shower scene. and that already won her the breakthrough performance award. okay, fine. i'll live with that. but if i were the head judge, i would've crowned inah bautista (from the same movie, yes) or gabby faeldan.

now if you want some, come get some, but hear me out. what was the criteria in judging her, anyway? in my not-so-humble opinion, i believe that she didn't deserve the award. the movie deserved an award, i'll give you that - but ms. stefanowitz doesn't deserve the best supporting actress award. to be honest, the part she played was rather insignificant to warrant a nomination.

that's all i've got to say. now if you want some, come get some.

anti-hale champ

this little post started out as a few lines. in the few lines going in, i decided that i'm probably being too harsh, and at that time, i don't know exactly how to display my "hatred" of hale without people rioting in the streets. so i just saved it as a draft, shelved it, and aged it in an oak barrel.

and now, rodney, here's the promised post. it's five months overdue, but hey.

every close friend of mine knows that i hate hale. some of them share my hatred, while some of them go on and enjoy it. my brothers are semi-sorta-addicted to it. my sisters love it. there's a hale phenomenon sweeping the nation. (long life to us who have resisted the evil wave.)

but i can't be close-minded for all my life, you know.

since my brothers listen to it, i have enough respect and courtesy not to deprive them of hale by not switching the music channel/radio station or changing the track now playing. so since i'm sort of exposed to the music, i've one thing to say, really.

the music and the lyrics are really good. it's just that champ, the lead vocalist, sucks ASS.

A-S-S.

i'm not going to delve deeper and analyze his style. i'm just going to say that if i were to sing my own covers of hale songs, i would do a better job. his "singing accent" is just plain weird - i told rodney once that to properly sing hale, one must be drunk. (he then said that to properly sing hale, one musn't sing properly.) so does he intentionally down a couple of bottles of red horse as preparation before a gig? sounds like it.

really, i love the musicians. as arun said, their bassist packs a wallop. i have to agree with that - listen to kahit pa. (the voice sucks ass, but try paying attention to the background as you struggle to keep your sanity.) maybe they were better off as an instrumental-only band.

the "rockstar hale" idea is a good concept. find a new lead singer, or give your lead singer some voice lessons; mayaman naman siya eh. teach him to sing in a chad kroeger or bo bice or maybe even a constantine maroulis style of singing voice.

so to cher, i have no beef with you. just your older brother.

now if you want some, come get some.

it's real funny when i think about it

i was alone in the house yesterday morning when i opened my tenor sax case and assembled the wonderful instrument. (i'd promised myself that i'd bring it home just to play it in the house, even for a little bit.) i was also chatting with julian, casey, and my sister at that time.

when i finally set the sax up, i was fooling around with the notes like i always do. besides, it's not just plain fooling around, anyway; i was just going up and down the scale really fast. (it makes a jazz sound, but it's really basic, really. i should've practiced the etude.)

while fooling around the notes, i suddenly discovered the opening notes to *nsync's "it's gonna be me". not really discovered, but playing some riff and recognizing it as the popular opening notes. (i say popular because julian can recognize the song only by hearing the aforementioned notes.) so i was all "wow" and immediately "experiment" and "explore" for the notes of the chorus.

now, having said that, i'm guessing that you probably wouldn't give a damn. but allow me to tell you that most of the songs i discover by myself are pop! iris, hinahanap-hanap kita, ulan, as long as you love me, and now, this - i was hoping i'd discover more of jazz or swing than pop or rock. then again, we could always make remixes of pop to jazz or something like that.

maybe i'd fit in an instrumental band playing more of mainstream in jazz form.

yeah, it's real funny when i think about it.

empêchement de la parole

i was going up the stairs yesterday morning when i met manda. well, the story was, she greeted me and i was rather off-guard. my response to her ever-so-familiar "hi, peps" was a quick and surprised mixture of "hi", "blah", and "manda".

oh, i hate it when that happens. on to the detailed explanation.

so my main worry is that people might think i'm a snob when this happens in the hallways and along the corridors. despite the numerous high-fives and back slaps i get whenever i go up or whatever, there are some people who take the time to greet me, but sadly, all i could come up is a short "hi" or "hey".

i believe that mentioning the person's name along with the greeting is a sign that shows that you respect him or her and a sign of recognition.

but the thing is, the name usually escapes me! why? it's either one of two things - i'm ambushed or i'm feeling shy. it's more of the former, i assure you, but it's damn annoying for me.

so to you who have been victims of this, forgive me - it's not intentional.

the wonders of google

read. maybe you'll weep. i don't know.

pray tomorrow takes me higher

everyone (okay, not everyone, but a lot of people) seem to be on a spring fever right now. everyone (okay, a lot of people) have (8) somebody toooo love (8). (and of course, that somebody to love loves them back.) me? i'm sitting here. by myself.

and this one new couple that's just sprouted, they just re-confirmed a wonderful thing about life. 'course, out of courtesy to the people involved, i won't tell you who they are. because they are together (at least, MU, but that already qualifies as 'together' for me), they have ultimately confirmed that love is damned definitely blind.

i'm jealous. but i'm not jealous because he got the girl. i'm jealous because he got a girl. *applause*

yeah, it's good that it works that way.

even if spring fever is on everyone but myself. :P i'm sure my time will probably come soon. it's just that the people i fall for aren't usually willing to start a relationship in this age yet. :))

or something like that.