jueves, diciembre 20, 2007

What it really takes

“Inspired” by the happy notion of friends hooking up and those getting married, it was one of those fabulous November Christmas-y mornings that I filed another dream under the “Prelude to the Rest of Your Life” folder.

If these serve an absolute prophetic purpose, I’d be the first to rush to Baclaran, and sing medleys of utter hope in hopelessness to wooden and porcelain saints, already addled with enough heartache and tragedy than they would like to see in their lifetime.

I think I was older at that time, and I was going on my daily business: delegating research project matters, and spewing out acronyms I presently know nothing about. I could hear the words “targets” and “CSS”, which are persistent benchmarks in the company I’m currently part of.

Looking on my laptop, by the admirable persistence of technology, I got a YM balloon from someone I apparently am absolutely in love with – I recall that warm fuzzy frog-in-throat feeling, though it was not accompanied by any face I am currently familiar with.

Apparently, he’s going to a conference in the US for work, and he was wondering if I could take a break and accompany him. I giddily typed out a reverberating YES! without even a glance at my calendar.

That was who he was already in my organizer status – a definite Green Light whenever, wherever.

Fast forward to Buena Park, California, where that piece of heaven called Knott's Merry Farm is. I have always wanted to go there since it opened, and we headed out as soon as we landed. While driving the hatchback rent-a-car, he would always haughtily comment, “I have work, I’ll be very busy after this and I don’t know when we can go out again.”



He then took me to this urban playground, where all the Snoopy and Charlie Brown concrete mammoths were. As usual, Snoopy was lazing on top of his red wooden house, and Charlie Brown was looking at him, his right index finger planted squarely on his chin, as if pondering how his pet can be so blasé about everything.

Staring at Linus’ 4-foot manifestation of his security blanket, the man I was with (he was hot and nerdy by the way) abruptly said, “I’ll be getting drinks, you want any?” and retreated to the crowd.

I know he was wearing glasses, because he kept removing them in the hot sun to wipe the unrelenting deposit of dust as he was walking away.

A good 20 minutes have passed, and still no sign of him bringing me a that red-blooded soda (shameless self promotion). I was already asking the other tourists and park personnel, when a big orb of foam and string blocked my view of virtually anything.

It was Charlie Brown (particularly his head that obscured the eye-scorching sun), and he was tapping me on the shoulder. As I began to ask if he has seen this man and then proceed to describe his dust-wiping ways, this Charlie Brown mascot gave me a bone.

Ah, not that kind of bone. It was made of plastic and had a clip-top opening.

As I opened this mysterious biological specimen, I discovered it contained a miniscule black velvet box. Sensing it may be a trick (as Americans exhibit extraordinary gusto in setting you up on camera), I looked at Charlie Brown, who was know bending on one knee, and struggling to remove his fabric head.

After a few seconds of wrestling with this fabric mush, Charlie brown is revealed to be the man I was looking for, the one who was cranky and haughty all the time going there, the one whose shoulder I drooled on when sleeping on the plane, the one who asked me if I would be willing to take a break from work.

With his left arm crooked over the mascot head and his right fuzzy hand now holding my left hand, Charlie Brown just asked me to marry him.

Amidst smiles and AWWWs from my friends and my mother upon returning home, I find out that he has been setting this up for months already and asking them all what would be the most ideal places where to take me to get engaged.

I think Sting sang at our wedding – a common element in my “Happily Ever After” folder.

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Why are great guys, specifically the hot and nerdy ones, already in relationships or are already married to equally fabulous female counterparts?

This has been a day of pagmamanyak from older colleagues in the morning of the team building session, but has been worth it when I, with much reckless suavity, sat beside Dante for the afternoon sessions.

We had a massage warm-up. I loved it when he guided my fingers to his temple.

That sounded really naughty.



Then he held my sweaty number-bruised hands and listened to me for at least 20 minutes. He cried because he was thankful for his life, contributed to by a wife who already did all of his Christmas shopping and wrapping.



Look at that appreciation. Made me sad that he was married, as communicated by that silver band on his left ring finger, which I conveniently chose to ignore since I started here.

He loved his wife dearly and married her at 25.

Hey, that’s my age now!

And yeah, he can carry on wearing brown corduroy pants. Hot and nerdy. Yummm.

During dinner, he sang that awesomely heartbreaking ballad “Bakit Ngayon Ka Lang?” That really was the final kick in the face.

I finally decided to retire for the night, and ask if God will send me a similar package (unmarried, but with equally significant hot to nerdy ratio, of course) in 2008.



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Happy Christmas, everyone! =) Here's to a fabulous 2008.

domingo, agosto 05, 2007

The Pink Cube Farm

You turned this old a couple of weeks ago, and I greeted you first before all of them even knew.

I wish we could go out, watch HPOTP (Harry does look like you), have dinner, but we can't.

I wish you said thanks when I gave you that muffin.

jueves, marzo 29, 2007

The Worry

Thanks, JP. =)

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hmmm...i really dont know if what youre feeling is normal or not at all. you are the better judge of it.

but working on the same parameters as you presented, at 28 i pretty know myself that well to tell whether what im going through is just a phase or its altogether the signs of moving on or an imminent crossroad...

not that im saying you dont know youself that much - im sure you have at least an inklling how your mind/heart - even hormones work and take effect on your whole persona - including work and relationships w/ friends and family.

at 24 (at the least working from my own experience) i would say that you're just, indeed, too tied up with just so little...type A people usually go through this phase so often that their general balance is under question - this is the quarter life syndrome...don't worry - you're not the only person who went through it...

my best take on your feelings right now - take the upcoming long vacation a very seroius thought...go ponder on these things...dont do it now. its taking a toll on your work...at least away from work, you'll have a clearer mind....

from your pop, i think your issues are too mixed...you have work, you have studies, you have lif ein general...tackle one aspect at a time....start with the life in general....what makes you happy and what will make you stay in this workd the best...your answers in that aspect will give you indications of how to answer the bits and pieces of your life like work....remember kat that work is not your life...its just a means to somehow earn a living to enjoy the rest of your time or even to keep you busy if you dont have anything else better to do....but work doesnt have to be not enjoyable at all....

studies (and your growth) is altogether a different story too....if i would have my way, studies is the more important thing over work.....it keeps you growing faster than work can ever do....

there goes my piece (at least heed some of it as im pretty much older and more experienced than you)...but at the end of the day, its still your battle kat....people around you may say all sort of things or events around you may dictate your actions - but in the end, you're still the captain of your ship....be the best captain because your the only captain...and your compass is God. (taray nun ah!!!!)

viernes, marzo 16, 2007

Leave the pretty coño crowd alone, alright?


It's been months since my last update and, suffice to say, a lot has indeed happened. A friend gains a fiance, while another loses a mother. Some gain professional boosts, while others lose faith. Others now settle in their dorm rooms to study, while others work abroad.


In the grand scheme of things, life is still good, and that's a great thing indeed.







jueves, diciembre 07, 2006

So True Funny How It Seems =)





miércoles, noviembre 08, 2006

Knowing

I talked to your childhood friend the other day. He told me stories about you guys going to that place in Harrison Plaza to see your idol when you were in your Ateneo grade school uniforms. You wanted to have him sign your comics.

I know you now. You're no longer an ideology, a construct, a myth.

Now I know who you are when you part your hair to look at me when I go past. =)

domingo, noviembre 05, 2006

Critical Theory via Stationary Bicycling


Being the perpetual absentee gym-nast (an interesting twist on the mainstream wording, and is simply defined as a person who goes to the gym), I have decided to cram a month and a half's worth of sessions into 3 hours of unprecedented sweating and flexing of my almost retiring gluteus maximus.

Thank God for lifetime memberships.

I had my survival pack ready containing my wallet, bulk of keys, water, hanky, and my trusty iPod, and slung its straps on the left bar handle of the stationary cycle.

As my feet pounded away to start the imaginary journey to the other end of physical utopia, words, nay, critical theory began piping from my earbuds.

To the Apple team that invented Podcasts, I owe thee the 5 pounds I lost last week.

This was the main difficulty I always pointed out during exercising: It's pretty damn boring. You're doing nothing but mindlessly lift/ push/ pull/ dance to almost anything.

In addition, it's ultimately gross. Imagine sweating, and hearing everyone else sweating. To quote a teammate, "Ma-ugly!"

Basically, podcasts are free (yes, FREE) audio books piped through iTunes, Apple's proprietary software. However, there are other pod-catcher softwares, which you can readily get at sites like tucows.net or podcastalley.com.

With the myriad of possible media wherein one can learn, it seems inescapable that one will learn some notion or concept of anything per day. Imagine the constant evolution/de-evolution of the constructs of the printed word, sounds, visuals, bytes, or any other fashionable manner of conducting information.

Oftentimes information can be tweaked beyond the point at which it would normally exhibit a change in form, but without actually triggering the change in content. Hearing topics ranging from critical discussions on Stanley Kubrick films such as 2001: Space Odyssey and Lolita to hot topics in astronomy and physics, to building a definition for narrative illustration, considering it as an artform, not a genre, and its corresponding methods of analysis is quite the treat.

On the other hand, considering this situation, I don't think meaning is lost nor changed, as these are designed to entertain via the straightforward spewing out of "data" (apologies for the cold-hearted term, but it is just that) due to its informative and "I'm going to be such a smart-ass after hearing this" nature.

However, listening to Prison Break while you're on the bike is entirely something else. As I currently have the hots for Wentworth Miller, it doesn't absolutely help that your sweat glands are further thrust into overdrive with his sultry, sultry voice. =D