Posted
in
flood,
jelly legs,
long walk,
road trip
If you had walked a mile in my shoes today, I would've been really, really grateful because I wouldn't have had to walk in them myself. This morning I found myself being the unfortunate victim of circumstance. Firefly and I got out of work at around 4:30 AM, but we had to sit out the heavy downpour for a few minutes. I didn't think it would rain, and i don't usually carry an umbrella around with me to work. Aside from the typical only-girls-carry-umbrellas type of biased reasoning, the only other reason I didn't like carrying an umbrella was because I hardly fit in one anyway. With my size, I still get wet so why bother? I know, that last sentence didn't come out right. Anyway, Firefly and I took a cab and I practically forced the man to take us where we needed to go. Grudgingly he obliged, but I soon realized I should never have taken a cab. Water was everywhere and the cab struggled to wade through the flood. When Firefly got off the driver explained that the heavy flood was causing his brakes to slip. So I gave him a hell no and told him I'd rather walk than get stuck in a car with no brakes. So I paid the man and got off too. By then I was too far from Firefly, with no cellphone credits and a measly amount of money. I couldn't get a ride home even if I wanted to. And if by chance I did come across some divine intervention and found a ride, I would've been stuck there for ages because traffic wasn't moving. So in my eagerness to fall down on my bed I decided to try walking and think of a way to get home. I kept thinking, and thinking some more, so much more that eventually my legs carried me the rest of the way home. Yes, I walked home from the Nagtahan bridge to Blumentritt. I'm no Olympian, so believe me when I tell you I've got jelly legs. The rain and the hip-deep flood didn't make walking easier either. Some of you may think it wasn't that far a distance, but here - you be the judge.
View A Walk to Remember in a larger map
When I got home I was touched by how worried my mom was. It's been a while since I saw her like that. I had slumped onto a stool soaking wet, and my mother bent down and took my socks off for me. It was then that I realized how tired I was. I looked at the clock and I was surprised to see it only took me almost 2 hours to cover that distance. I felt like I had been walking for days.
I can't tell if my brain's too tired or too soggy right now, but I think I ought to give it a rest. Or maybe dry it off behind the fridge.
Oh it gets a lot deeper than that.
Posted
in
enui,
guitar,
music
There are days when I just go home, walk into my room, see my guitar standing in the corner, and wonder if we'll be able to make good music again together. Today is just one of those days.
A few years ago i would've given up anything just to be able to perform on stage as part of a band and just let go. That feeling of being out of control yet still following the subtle rules of music, and the creativity of being able to add feelings to my music, are just some of the things that I really miss. Priorities of course, have all been rearranged when the reality of life dawned upon my feeble intellect. As much as there was this great passion to play, I realized that that same passion could not feed a family that depended on me.
Sure, there have been many very successful bands that are now reaping the fruits of their labor. But their success was a tough mix of pure talent, dedication and sheer dumb luck that spanned years, even decades. Back then, I had nothing going my way. I knew how to play the guitar and I learned pretty easily, but growing up amongst really talented musicians made me feel awed and at the same time insecure of myself. Don't get me wrong, my friends were great and playing with them on stage is a real blast; but when the gig was over I couldn't help feeling it was not my true calling.
Not that I know what my calling is now, though.
Speaking of callings, as you may be aware of, instead of hammering notes on my bass guitar I ended up hammering the desk on my workstation because that last caller couldn't spell "server". I work in a call center now and I won't say this is my calling either. I don't know if there's a 6-year old out there who'd tell you they'd want to be a call center agent when they grow up. I sure didn't. I wanted to be a journalist, or a composer, but fate played a different tune.
So here I am now staring at my guitar Ennui, and reminiscing all the good times we've had. I never got to play her on stage, but whenever I hang out over at a friend's house I'd bring Ennui along and our music would entertain all of the people in the crowd - yes, all three of them. I just play most of the time and have someone else sing.
Sometimes I would still strum out a few chords every now and then in the sanctity of my bedroom, just to keep these fat fingers active. I'm afraid the computer keyboard has made my fingers rather stiff and mechanical; I can barely finish a song now without nearly cramping the muscles in my hand. When all this is over though, and I finally retire I hope I can still play my guitar. I want to keep playing until the last song is played... and then I'll do an encore. Yeah.
♪ ♫ ♪ ♫ ♪
Meet Ennui.
Posted
in
aquino,
corazon,
cory,
filipino,
president
The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Today we bade farewell to one of the architects of Philippine democracy. At 3:18 AM today, President Corazon C. Aquino suffered cardio-respiratory arrest while being treated at the Makati Medical Center and lost her long-fought battle with colon cancer. She was 76. She will always be remembered as an inspiration to many Filipinos.
I was but a kid during the first EDSA people-power revolution. Back then I hardly knew that it was a political turnaround that tested the resolve of a country that was oppressed by a 20-year dictatorship. Brave Filipinos stood arm-in-arm throwing themselves in front of tanks and heavy artillery, eventually overthrowing the Marcos regime. The country sorely needed a change in leadership. Mrs. Aquino was at the forefront of that change. Only years later, after having read the history books, did I truly realize the triumph our nation had achieved on that peaceful February day in 1986.
Apart from being a great leader and despite her political inexperience, President Aquino became a source of pride and inspiration to her countrymen. Being the country's first woman President, she was simultaneously admired for her strength and dedication, and looked down upon because of her lack of political experience. And despite the military insurrections from 1986 to 1987, she handled the pressures quite gracefully and led the country to a time of relative peace until her term ended in 1992.
We have suffered a great loss today. May the life of the late President Aquino continue to inspire us to become better Filipinos. Let her be a reminder to us that we are a nation worth dying for.
And as we tie the last yellow ribbon, I offer my prayers for the repose of the soul of a truly outstanding Filipino.
Thank you Tita Cory, and farewell.
Posted
in
geek speak,
sports TV and current events
After my near-psychotic addiction to The Big Bang Theory a few weeks ago I decided that I had to look for something else to quench my thirst for entertainment while I wait for Penny and Leonard to come back in September for season three. So I scoured the world wide thingamajiggy and I found Firefly. No that's not about my adorable blog buddy Firefly, who we all think about lately due to recent events in her life. Cheer up Firefly, wink wink.
I'm talking about Firefly, the show created by acclaimed writer-slash-director Joss Whedon that aired on the FOX network way back in 2002. I remember seeing an episode or two of Firefly a couple of years back and I found the show very interesting. That was where I first saw Summer Glau, before she had me hooked on her Terminator stint. She played the character called River Tam, who apparently had psychic abilities. Then I heard Firefly being talked about on The Big Bang Theory - with the main characters being geeks and all - and Summer herself appeared as a guest on the show. So I thought that was it; I'm downloading Firefly.
The story revolves around a spacecraft, a Firefly-class vessel called Serenity, and its crew. Set in a future where moons have been terraformed to become capable of supporting life and the universe is governed by the Alliance, the crew members of Serenity venture into the depths of space in order to eke out a living doing odd jobs that usually involve transport of cargo, be it legal or not. What interests me most is despite having aired only 14 episodes the show has managed to play out so many different aspects of humanity. Yes it is a science fiction series, but all the characters are human. No aliens. A show set in the future, with spaceships and lasers but no aliens. How often do you come across something like that?
Another interesting point is that I never realized there was such a term as "space westerns". Pardon my ignorance. It's like watching those old western movies with sheriffs and tumbleweed, with a dash of Star Trek. Firefly talks about human courage and friendship over adversity and diversity. The show even traipsed over the topic of lesbianism, although for the life of me I can't see why they even had to. I'm not complaining though. Oh no.
Too bad the series only lasted one season. I personally thought it wasn't that bad. In fact, search the net and you'd be surprised to see that a larger part of the show's popularity emerged after its cancellation. A full feature film based on the defunct Firefly series called Serenity was released by Universal Pictures in 2005.
Now that's one hot Summer.
Oh it gets a lot deeper than that. 
