Saturday, September 28, 2002

I'm semi-depressed but not to the point that it's noticeable. I've been living the past few days in a hopeless kind of way but not to the point that I emit an aura of despair.

As proof of depression, I just told Tchan I'd buy her the Slam Dunk artbook. I mean I'd gladly do it as I haven't been giving her birthday and Christmas presents for the past few years. I'm known to randomly give gifts to people during this stage of my life. Oh well, it cheers me up when I make people happy. Yes, I'm weird.

Anyway, ISP is up and running again. Hopefully permanently. Can't watch TV since the cable is a bit blurry. Was planning to watch Mutant X but oh well. Had to wake up at 9 am today to meet my gaming group at Robinsons Galleria. As usual, people came late and the game started at around lunch time. Finally managed to level up. My character is now a level 4 rogue. Unfortunately, our cleric is still level 2 and the party really needs a lot of healing, especially since there are seven of us in the party and there's only one character capable of casting cure spells. Our GM is also stingy when it comes to gold. Right now, I don't think we even have 1000 gold pieces and our magic items only consist of 2 +1 short swords and a +1 scale mail. That's it.

During our breaks, my gaming group was talking about books. We all love George R. R. Martin. It's epic fantasy that's so descriptive and keeps you quite interested. Jordan's world is also descriptive and has a lot of twists but somehow, manages to bog down somewhere in the middle. The world isn't less descriptive or less exciting. It's just that Martin does a better job at keeping the reader's attention than Jordan.

Naturally, we'd also end up with Tolkien. The GM and I agree: Tolkien set the benchmark but a lot of today's works are written better and more intriguing (and exciting).

Terry Brook's Sword of Shannara is a Tolkien-clone, but his subsequent books are a lot more imaginative and realistic. As Jobert noted before, in Elfstones of Shannara, a lot of characters die at the start. It's more realistic that way. My take on Brooks is that his works get better over time, in contrast to Goodkind who's succeeding books are making me lose interest.

Dragonlance and Forgotten Realm's setting is nothing new. It's a Tolkien-clone as well with humans, elves, dwarves, and hobbits... I mean halflings/kender. But characterization and plots are what make it interesting, from the anti-hero Raistlin to the outcast dark-elf hero Drizzt. But then again, that's just me.

Oh yeah, I guess the rise of DVD-Rs are going to proliferate soon. Melody, a generic supplier of CD-Rs, have released boxes of DVD-Rs. I've seen them at Robinson's Galleria and each disc can store up to 4.7 GB. Wow! That's like last year's hard drive. Then there's the really small discs which store some 200+ MB and CD-Rs 99 minutes long.

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Friday, September 27, 2002

Yes, what a horrible day it is...

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Fate has been conspiring against me. Yup, I don't have Internet access again and my ISP is down for the second evening. Ummm, if you've sent me any email, wait for a few hours and resend it to me. I'm at Area 51 right now using their Internet service just to update my blog (and check up on everyone else's blog).

Yes, Jobert, I obviously can't post right now for obvious reasons. Sorry I can't participate right now in the Play-by-Email. My ISP probably doesn't like you as things like these happen just when I'm in the mood to play.

Today was dentist day. My consolation is that my orthodontist didn't hit any vital parts. At least eating isn't a problem as it was two weeks ago.

Khristine was in a bad mood today. Didn't share though. I told her speaking out her problems is therapeutic. Oh well, different people cope in different ways.

Oh yeah, there's one thing less to buy in CCHQ: the Blade of the Immortal postcard set. Someone else bought it for his birthday. Spekaing of birthdays, there was a girl who also entered the shop and bought a couple of comics like Watchmen and Arnold Arre's After Eden. And the usual Miriam students dropped by to celebrate the birthday of one of their friends. Yes, September is spending week. Oh yeah, John was also finally able to get the Slam Dunk Artbook he's been saving for the past month. Perhaps the must-see art there is Lukawa and Hanamichi slapping each other's hand (seen in the last tankobon as they scored two points for the team).

Speaking of Slam Dunk, our Philo teacher promised to give us a bonus quiz on Monday about the past lesson if Ateneo wins this game on Sunday. If not, it's a pre-lectio quiz.

Of course on my way back to school, I was ambushed by a friend who needed to perform a test on me for their psychology subject. Unfortunately, I was busy. I was actually going to meet someone for her psychology class as well. I actually filled out a long form and the test isn't over yet. Oh well. Did I mention the test is for abnormal psychology?

Mr. Buloang: Freedom just isn't the exercise of choosing McDonalds or Jolibee... or your course *points at Charles* What's your course Charles?

Charles: Creative Writing

Mr. Buloang: Creative Writing is your course?!

FYI, most people think I'm in Management Engineering at first glance. I don't think Mr. Bulaong thought I was in ME but I'm sure he was surprised when he found out my course was Creative Writing.

Of course getting home proved to be a problem as two of my possible carpools are staying over at school. Ended up going to CCHQ to find someone I could hitch with. Viola! Enzo was there so I asked him if I could hitch even though he didn't know what time he was going home.

Ended up at Jeremy's apartment as Enzo wanted to watch the Vampire Hunter D movie courtesy of Jeremy's DVD player. An hour and a half later, he called for the driver to pick him up. And then Jeremy's roommate enters. It's a girl! I forgot her name but we talked. She's taking her MA in Filipino Literature. Anyway, treated them out to dinner at KFC before getting home at 8 pm. Drat, I missed Saiyuki and Zoids. And then finding out that my ISP is down also hurts.

Scythe: Do you know where I can get a copy of Neuromancer aside from online? Or if you have one I could buy?

Charles: I'll give you mine.

Scythe: Let me pay for it.

Charles: I bought it for P25.00 ($0.50)...

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Thursday, September 26, 2002

Yes, my ISP was down the entire evening. It's a good thing I saved what I was writing last night. Can you beleive it? Totally no email for the past twenty four hours? And I'm in like 24 mailing list!!! Something really went wrong... That was a totally unproductive evening.

Finally got to finish reading The Cat Who Walks Through Walls by Robert Heinlein after some one and a half week of trying to read it. It's a mix of science fiction and comedy, although the satire is not as obvious as say, Douglas Adams. I guess the real problem I had was that the "exciting" part was in the middle of the book and it took me quite awhile to reach that part. The story soon shifts from science-fiction to metafiction and leaves me with an ending that seems hanging.

I guess another factor in me not reading the darn thing is that I bought it for P25 and at that price, the book is really old, dusty, and yellow. You know there's really something wrong when a bug comes crawling out of the book when you're reading it. No, that is not an exaggeration. That's why right now I'm hesitant to read the other SF books I got for P25.

And since my Internet wasn't working last night despite futile attempts (it connects but you can't surf at all... at least people who can't connect know they're not connecting and it doesn't waste their time), I managed to sleep early. *yawn* 10:30 pm is quite early for my bedtime. At least there wasn't a mosquito that bites me while I'm asleep or worse, semi-awake, like what happened the other evening.

Today, I wake up to the strangest dream that it takes me quite some time to realize what day it is. Oh wow. I'm a student who along with a couple of other people I don't know is trying to build a flying contraption (much like what da Vinci had in mind) except that it's supposed to support eight people. Of course I was also having an exam in the Ambeth Ocampo style.

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Began the day by cramming my nonfiction. >.< Not exactly the best way to start the morning but you know me.

I was in Katipunan by 11:30 am although my classes start at 4:30 pm. Had to meet up with Daimira at 12:15 and since I was early, I stayed at CCHQ to see what was new. At the door was a sign scribbled on paper via pental pen: X manga and Yami no Matsuei set... restocked. Still no X#18 though.

Khristine also gave me a postcard from the Sandman postcard set despite my vehement protests. There's also posters of After Eden now available and on display. Gosh, Adarna books is going all the way with their Anino publishing line as After Eden even has mugs for sale.

Finally met Daimira. Met her at the FBR lobby while talking with her on the mobile phone. Her voice on the phone is so different in real life, aside from the fact that she's shy and the silent type. We were basically just staring at each other during lunch. Of course that was before I dragged her to Anima Anime and CCHQ where she went on a shopping spree. =P

Had to meet up with Cyril at 1:30 pm so I left CCHQ at around 1 pm despite me wanting to look at the pretty Miriam students. =P

Of course sadistic Cyril gave us 5 5th-level rogues to beat up on us 4 3rd-level characters. We weren't totally creamed. Me and Lloyd fended them off for three or four rounds after Elvin's character died. Lloyd's Paladin managed to kill one of the suckers before he went down. Yaiba was just plain useless, throwing magic missiles at an insolated foe. =P

I was planning to treat out Elvin, Cyril, Yaiba and Lloyd but the last two had class at 3 pm. When the game ended, Elvin and Cyril went with me. The plan was Red Ribbon but they were too lazy to walk so I settled for the uber-expensive Pancake House (hindi nahihiya ang mga taong ito eh). Of course Marcel tagged along and went with us despite me NOT INVITING him. Never mind the fact that he's celebrating his birthday this Saturday and he's asking people to bring beer since his mom doesn't allow them in the house.

Oh yeah, I borrowed Elvin's Warlord deck and ended up playing an elf deck full of rogues and ranged attackers. It went against Elvin's fine-tuned deck of ballistas and spellcasters. I lost a lot of times before I finally manged to win. And then, I realized I was late for class.

It was a dash from Pancake House to the CTC building in Ateneo. I managed to get there only ten minutes late and started reviewing each other's stories. Of course it also happened that we were dismissed early, an hour and a half to be exact. When I left the room, I saw students hanging around in SEC watching the basketball game between Ateneo and DLSU. Even the org rooms had TV sets as people brought them to watch the game.

I got home at around 6:30, just when the game ended. Ateneo won the game by two points. Of course the strangest thing is that the scoreboard was the same as the battle with Ateneo and UE last week: 72-70. But as I said before, today's game isn't the pivotal one. It's the one on Sunday (my mistake, I previously wrote that it was going to be held on Saturday). I'm sure people are now desperate for tickets, with the school rivalry and all.

Of course now, my ISP is acting up strangely and I come home to zero mail (except for SPAM). Something must be wrong. I don't think I can even email, much less blog.

@sols at Mindgate...If there's anyone who sent me an email in the past 24 hours, please resend them. It's a good thing I'm not expecting an important email (like from my crush... as if she's going to email me).

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Wednesday, September 25, 2002

Technically, I should be doing a lot of things right now, like writing my nonfiction story and revamping the layout so that other people can distinguish my links from text. But I'm lazy so it'll be postponed to sometime next week.

I guess today was a big leap for me. I didn't go my usual route after Theo class in the hope that I'll run into Steph (today's the day when she has to commute home as her car is color coded on Wednesdays). Of course it also happens that my groupmate wanted to discuss what she'll be writing for our Theo paper. It took me around an hour to explain how the flow of the paper will go. It really surprised me that Diva didn't know what to write, especially considering the fact that it's been a couple of weeks and we already had three consultations. Technically, I want to write our paper but Diva wants a draft by Friday so that we can consult with Fr. Dacanay and as of today, not everyone brought the necessary materials (interview answers, outline, etc...). I don't think I can cram it tomorrow considering I have class until 7:30 pm and my classes start at 10:30 pm the next day. Oh well, at least I won't worry about what to write for a change. I just hope the grade we get is high enough to make up for my lost 35%.

And then it was off to CCHQ. Fortunately, it didn't rain when I was headed there. Got acquainted with one of the people who often hangs out there: Meia. I think that's how her name is spelled. Anyway, she had borrowed before John's copy of After Eden and wanted to finish it so I loaned her mine. Several minutes later, the Miriam girls had to get back to school and so did Meia since she had to do some research. And then it rained.

Khristine, one of the shop owners of CCHQ, chides me to write this on my blog. Everyone's hyped up for tomorrow's UAAP basketball game between Ateneo and DLSU. Get over it. The fate of the championships does't hang on the balance on tomorrow's game. It's a best out of three. Whoever wins tomorrow's game isn't defining. It's the Saturday game that's important. And even then, it's the last quarter that's the game to see as no matter how high your lead is during the first or second quarter, it's the final standing that has a bearing. You may have a lead of twenty points but by the fourth quarter, that lead might as well have been zero. Of course if you want to learn Basketball tactics...

My spider-sense was tingling so I headed back to Ateneo at 2:15 even though my class was still at 3:30. Sure enough, Mich sent me a text message asking me to meet her in the library. How she got into the library without an ID I don't know. Anyway, I'll be kind as she's probably going to read this entry if she's bored enough. =P

So I was there in the library, meeting Mich and Ela. Mich hands me this book on homosexuality and asks me to borrow it. I decline. She then asks me to borrow it FOR HER. Oh. To make long story short, MK borrows it for Mich. And then I carry Mich's book outside of the library when the detector beeps. I ask Mich if all the books she was carrying were borrowed. Apparently, I accidentally brought an additional book. Rushed to return it and joined Mich and Ela.

Charles: So Mich, what's the topic of your research paper that you need all these books?

Mich: These books? Oh, I just want to read them for leisure.

Mental thought: Mich? Reading for pleasure? She must be really bored there at UA&P.

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Tuesday, September 24, 2002

*yawn* Nothing like a good night's rest.

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Lethargy hit me. Spend most of the morning sleeping (as can be seen with my morning post) and spent most of the afternoon sleeping as well. My view on sleeping is like Arcina's. I feel it's a waste of time. Not that I don't enjoy sleeping but given the choice whether to sleep or do something "productive", I'd rather choose the latter unless my body forces me to do the former.

Somehow though, I managed to wake up in the afternoon and head to "the malls" to look for a new book to give as a gift and look for Mindtrap as well. I breezed through Glorietta, Megamall, and Robinsons to no avail. Oh well, at least I have money. =P

I was supposed to meet Krizelle (Dice) at Jolibee in Robinsons at 6 pm. Of course it so happens that there are three Jolibee branches in Robinsons: one on the fourth floor and two on the ground floor. After twenty minutes of going back and forth, finally found where she was.

She was waiting for Dominic (yes, Mao the cosplayer who a couple of girls either love or loathe) since she had to give him something. And then we went around to look for a place to eat since Dice wanted somewhere quiet and had rice.

Krizelle has way too many suitors for her own good. I guess that's all I'm going to say.

Strangely enough, I don't feel like writing today, mainly because of my lethargy and my cold. And I still haven't replied to a couple of emails...

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Monday, September 23, 2002

One of the advantages of not having school is that I can actually wake up late. And I'm glad Sharky returned me my VHS tape so I recorded the 7:00 am replay of Saiyuki while I was sleeping. Yes, I am one of the people who knows how to program their VCR. =P

Yey!!! Sheila's blog finally linked me. =P

Since I just woke up and read through a backlog of emails and blogs, there's not much I can tell can I? Unless you want to hear about my dream where I was in a vampire-infested mall with the strangest companions.

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Forgive me. The last post was just something to satisfy my ego. =P

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After browsing through a couple of web logs for the past few weeks, I sincerely hope people are familiar with Vampire: The Masquerade with all these Vampire tests they're taking. I wonder if these Vampire tests have been updated as the Gangrel isn't part of the Camarilla for quite some time now. And as a last comment on White Wolf's Vampire setting in the World of Darkness, strangely enough, a lot of people were looking through CCHQ's single copy of Encyclopedia Vampirica.

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Just finished watching Boston Public. It was a Thanksgiving episode. I don't think Filipinos practice Thanksgiving. Even my family didn't have Thanksgiving until a few years back. It's probably one of the fancy ideas my mom caught, one of the "in things" to make herself more popular with her "friends".

On a side note, it's my second time around getting over someone. It's never easy. I don't think it'll ever be. It's just that I say her name to myself whenever I need encourage or inspiration. I have to stop that habit now. I guess it's difficult not referring to her. I've embedded her into my psyche for the past two years. It's going to take awhile to get her out of my system.

I'm planning to loan Ela After Eden. I guess the nice thing about Ela is that I can loan her stuff: books I read, magazines I like, comics that are interesting, etc.... I guess it's a break from Steph whom I have to move heaven and earth just to get her to borrow something from me. I guess I'm also pretty dysfunctional. I find myself cheering other people up to soothe my loneliness. And that usually involves buying stuff for them. I mean just today, I had on reserve the last copy of Sandman Postcards. Who I'll give them to, I don't know. I don't think I even have anyone who's interested as I've already given one to Erin. Perhaps a worse case was when I was giving Sandman: Dream Hunters to friends a few years back. *sigh* At least I'm giving them to people who really want them, not some random person I happen to know. What kind of consolation is that?

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I have no regrets in purchasing Arnold Arre's (Mythology Class, Trip to Tagaytay) After Eden, one of Adarna's new line of graphic novels. For P295, it's almost paying P1.00 per page. I enjoyed the story although it's a romance. I actually want to buy a couple of copies and give it to some friends and probably even mail them to people abroad (Mia, Qara, and Vern).

Anyway, as I said, it's a love story, although one not as idealistic as the slew of romances we often see on TV or hear on the radio. Heck, the plot even revolves around the fact that ideal love doesn't exists. And while there's intervention of the divine (both "good" and "evil"), it's interference of the beleivable type rather than the fairy godmother syndrome some love stories have.
The setting is clearly Filipino, from the mobile phones to the TV commercials. Even the male protagonists are products of Philippine gaming pop culture. There are a couple of in-jokes the comic, ranging from Filipino pop culture to comic afficionados and gamers.

The art is nothing outstanding but neither is it horrible in my opinion. You're also buying this comic for the story rather than for the eye-shattering visuals some might find in the superhero genre. Arre's visual technique is also good and there are a few pages wherein he makes good use of the panels.

I do have a complaint though. The characters are too neatly paired. As in everyone. You can probably surmise what happens in the end.

It's a great story and in my opinion manages to balance fantasy from reality. And at P295.00, it's certainly within the budget of any fan who loves a good story.

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Bought myself a copy of Arnold Arre's After Eden. I was supposed to get one last Friday but I exactly had P300 and Elbert needed P200 to buy a prepaid card for his phone. Since there were still a couple of copies left at CCHQ and me being who I am, I loaned him the P200. I'll write a review of the graphic novel later.

Today was Mr. Bulaong's birthday. Our Philosophy teacher was a Libra. That's perhaps a vital information as it's on the borderline. I'm a Virgo but only barely. One or two days later and I'd probably be a Libra too. But then again, who am I to discuss something based on a false belief? The sun is the center of the Solar System, not the Earth.

Anyway, the topic today was on death. Mr. Bulaong was talking on how people transcend their bodies. I mean I could communicate with another person through various mediums yet if there really is a relationship, with that medium gone, we'd still be communicating. In a way, perhaps that's why I'm eager to meet people I meet online. Speaking of which...

Oi, Daimira, hope to meet you (and treat you out) next week. Yey! I finally know your real name. Call me obsessive-compulsive but the address book of my mobile phone has to have the complete names of people. ^^ I honestly don't feel comfortable filling in just "Daimira" in it.

And tomorrow I'll be treating out Dice to dinner. Ah, the privilege of having no school tomorrow.

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Sunday, September 22, 2002

I set up my alarm clock at 6 am so that I can wake up at 7:45 am. >.<

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Here is what is presumably the last post of a day filled with long posts:

Ateneo won against UE in the UAAP games. It was actually a close game. The scores were tired and Ateneo had the possession of the ball. They had seven seconds to get the ball from the opposite side of the court to the other and make it sink in the basket. Some were probably thinking the game would go overtime. Fortunately, Ateneo shot the ball in the nick of time. I'm sure the bookies at school are having a field day, considering that it was only a two point lead. Not only do bookies keep 10% of winning bets (I bet you P1000 and if you win, I give you P1900) but there's usually a catch to the winning team. Depending on the team, a win isn't enough. They need to lead by a certain number of points or higher. For example, since DLSU is a strong team, a better would win if DLSU won a game with a lead of ten points against, say, Adamson.

Of course if DLSU wasn't playing at their peak when they were fighting against Ateneo, the same goes for Ateneo against UE. I mean their normal scorers only made a few baskets. It was the other players that were gaining points for Ateneo. Heck, the winning shot was made by the unlikeliest of people. If it weren't for all the fouls of UE, Ateneo wouldn't have won. I mean probably half of the points scored were due to free throws. During the 3rd quarter, Ateneo was down by eight points. Ateneo managed to catch up because of the free throws.

If there's anything I've learned from watching these games (and watching Slam Dunk), it's that the game isn't over until it's over. That's why I usually just tune in during the 4th quarter because high leads early in the game are usually gained back by the time the game is at an end.

At least next week will be a promising game between Ateneo vs. DLSU. Since it's a best two out of three, it'll be interesting if both teams win a match and compete for the last, crucial victory.

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Damn. I really should clean up the questionnaires my groupmates made for our Theo term paper. For one thing, it's confusing as it asks questions about relationship but you don't know if they're referring to homosexual ones or to heterosexual ones. For another, terms should be clarified or better stated. Some people might actually find it offensive.

And now, I suddenly have a craving/addiction to Combos (the snack). Mmmmm, cheese and salt.

God, I still can't get over the fact that Garrick broke his ankles. Not that I haven't done stupid things in my time. It's just that he's been reprimanding me often. =P Garrick's like the caring older brother I never had (yes, I have a brother, but as some might have figured out by now, I don't get along with my family, much less my relatives). Maybe September is a bad month, especially with all the storms and the tragedy that's been happening left and right.

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I don't know how idiotic you can be, Garrick!!! Breaking both ankles?!?! In the bathroom?!?! I don't know if you're catching my clumsiness or something. The last time something horrible happened to me in the bathroom was when I pulled on the sliding doors a few years ago and because I misjudged my strength, they came off, landing on my foot. I forgot if it was on my left or on my right because a few months later, the same thing happened again, this time on the other foot. >.<

Speaking of accidents, I almost ran into a car this afternoon. I was walking downhill towards Virramall. I was in the downhill slope that leads to Mister Donut and since I wasn't exactly walking, a car suddenly pops out of nowhere and because of my momentum (and gravity), I couldn't stop. I almost hit it but I managed to jump and swerve a bit, glancing my arm on the car's rearview mirror.

Oh yeah, grandma's out of the hospital and she's back in her house now, although she's in the bed instead of the rocking chair she's usually in.

And I need to find gay college students I can interview for my group's Theo paper. It's regarding their relationships and I understand that's kind of a private thing so I can't just ask anyone I run into...

Lastly, Futurama just cracks me up.

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As BJ was bringing me to Congo Grill yesterday, he was raving about The Ring trilogy (Ring 1, 2, 0). He commented that after watching them, he couldn't sleep until 5 am. That and the fact that there was a TV staring at his bed. (Since I haven't seen the movie, I don't get the allusion but I'm sure other people will.)

Of course when he was bringing me home, he asked me where he could get a copy of the movie. I told him at Virramall, probably among the people who were selling rated X videos and porn. I mean Elbert was talking last last week of his great finds at Virramall, like Amelie and other art films, in addition to Asian films that Khristine at CCHQ would die to get a hold of.

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Here's a sample of Mindtrap puzzles:

A black dog stands in the middle of an intersection in a town painted black. None of the street lights are working due to a power failure caused by a local storm. A car with two broken headlights drives towards the dog but turns in time to avoid hitting him. How could the driver have seen the dog in time?

Professor Herring just returned from a six month vacation in the Middle East. In one of the lectures she gave, she said the highlight of the trip was seeing many of the ancient artifacts first hand. She made mention of having seen several mummies and tapestries dating as far back as 200 B.C. She claimed to have seen coins dated 46 B.C., and weapons made of metal from approximately 500 B.C. What is wrong with Professor Herring's claim?

Picture a bridge four kilometers long and strong enough to hold ten thousand kilograms, but no more. A loaded transport truck weighing exactly ten thousand kilograms drives onto the bridge. At the halfway point, a sparrow weighing 30 grams lands on the truck, yet the bridge doesn't collapse. How could this be?

Six glasses are in a row. The first three are filled with joice, and the last three are empty. By moving only one glass, can you arrange them so that the full and the empty glasses alternate?

Yes, I'm a sucker for mental puzzles. Anyone wants to answer these without looking at the answers on the site?

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When I was in the US, one of the games I played with the family I was staying with was Mindtrap. It was a puzzle game with questions like "Someone was found dead. There were broken glasses everywhere and a puddle of water. How did he die?" and then some. I was talking about it with Erin and Chanty last Wednesday. I saw it in National Bookstore around seven years ago but it's not there anymore. The only other place I found it in was Gamer's HQ in Glorietta but even then, the thing was only out for rent, not for purchase. If there's something I really really want as a gift...

Speaking of gifts, I also got from Chris and Ellaine last week a book entitled "If... Questions for Teens". I don't know if that's the sense of humor Chris and Ellaine has, considering I just turned twenty and technically not a teenager anymore. Reminds me of the time when one of my classmates got a book entitled "How to Make Friends" for another classmate of mine.

At least it wasn't like the time when the class pooled their money to get a hooker for one of our classmate's birthday. Nope, sex wasn't involved although there was a lot of nudity and some pictures taken. Since it was held on a school day, I wasn't present. I didn't even know they got a hooker. >.< I was just told the next day and it was alluded to during the rest of the school year in high school.

To finish this anecdote of presents, my aunt Lorna often gave me wallets for my birthday. I don't know why but it happened consecutively for some years when I was in grade school or so.

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