Saturday, October 26, 2002

When I receive an email from the Hey Comics mailing list saying that only twenty copies of Coraline arrived for Powerbooks Megamall yesterday, I debated on whether to go to Megamall before my Sunday school at 11 am or after. I decided on the former and it was a good thing too.

I only found four copies of Coraline in Megamall. Two were on the display and another two on the shelves, one of which was open and free to be read by people (which means not exactly something you want to buy). Of course finding the shelf in itself was quite difficult, since Neil Gaiman's books were in the fiction section instead of the SF&F section. I even checked the children's section since that's where Coraline should be placed, considering it's a children's book. But no, they were in the fiction shelf, along with other famous writers (well, stranger things have happened, like Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time books being placed in the children's section).

Coraline cost me P655.00 minus the 10% discount I have. I doubt if there'll be any copies left by tonight.

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Just finished watching Finding Forrester on HBO. I remember watching that movie I think last year with Chev at G4. Chev's actually one of the few people in the PO chatroom that's actually concerned for me. *sigh*

Anyway, the movie is about this kid writer from the bronx named Jamal Wallance and he unwittingly discovers a mentor in writing, William Forester (played by Sean Connery), who wants to remain in the dark.

Did I mention Chev totally loves Sean Connery?

Moving on, in the movie, Forester gives advice to Jamal when he was interested in this girl by saying "unexpected gift, unexpected time". So Jamal gives a book to the girl without an occassion.

Okay, that might work in the movie but that doesn't work here in the Philippines. Every time I do that, people either get mad at me or become suspicious and don't accept it either way. And that's with people I'm not courting or not interested in romantically. You can just imagine how my crush would react...

And Jobert is probably furious at me right now for my post in the PBEM...

Mousse: Norah Jones <-- very cool.

Me: Who?

Mousse: Norah Jones, Jazz-blues artist

Me: I don't listen to the radio...

Mousse: Not on the radio yet. Not exactly mainstream too hehe

Me: I don't even know any Jazz artists

Mousse: Dude, do you listen to music?

Me: No...

Which brings me to the paradoxes in my life. Considering I had a stint (short, but a stint nonetheless) at MTV Ink and Pulp Magazine, the fact that I'm totally clueless when it comes to music is another of life's mysteries. Along with the fact that I'm shy but know a lot of people, and I don't read the newspaper but managed to snag the news editor position in high school. (Let's not forget that I'm Chinese yet I can't speak a word of the language, and that I end up knowing things when I'm not even trying [hence one of the "stalker" effects].)

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And because I was slowly dying at the house and getting headaches from reading Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep in the word processor, I decided to drop by the Philippine's Toys and Collectibles Convention, which was located in the Megatrade Hall OFFICE. Yes, office. It's beside the Megatrade Hall and it's not exactly that spatious. But I've been there before so I wasn't misled unlike the other hapless attendees. And I was there two hours before closing time.

Well, there are a bunch of toys, model kits, and videos, not necessarily anime. And I guess the auction would have intrigued me if I was into those kind of stuff. The attendance was 1000+ and considering they were charging P20 each, that already covers two-thirds of the rent for that day.

Since it probably took me five minutes to browse through everything, I did was was left to me: small talk. Saw a couple of GLAY CDs and Jrock magazines (which featured Glay Glay Glay) at Anima Anime and Sherwin asked me about the happenings lately. Since I'm the last person to be talking about that, I asked him the going-ons in their lives. Apparently, they've been helping organize Culture Crash's upcoming Comics and Anime Convention on December in Megatrade Hall 2, which they describe as the equivalent of Comiket and will feature indies comics.

Of course that was Elbert's idea for the Comic Collective but we couldn't find sponsors. I guess someone else thought of it and they had the budget.

Anyway, Gregorio, Pol Medina Jr., and Arnold Arre will be showing up, to name a few Filipino artists who will be in the con. And Sherwin admitted to me that the "anime" in the title was more to draw in a crowd. It's really a con about comics in the Philippines. Which is a nice change of pacing.

And of course, there will be a cosplay. It's an open cosplay though, and I'm expecting some people to dress up as the Lord of the Rings cast since December is the debut of The Two Towers.

We then dropped by Sherwin's apartment and headed for Shangri-La. From there, it was a long walk home...

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*sigh* It's been depressing for the past few days. Haven't been out of the house for three days now and I'm devoid of all social contact. My only companion is the rat and that's giving me problems of my own.

I haven't been sleeping right because the rat has been making all these noises that I'm paranoid it'll jump into my bed in the middle of the night. Worse, this morning, I got out of the bathroom to get some clothes when the rat leaped out of the closet. Attempting to catch the rat with me naked is a no-no in my book.

And of course, the rat retaliated when I got into the computer. It made a leap and scurried away, almost biting my foot.

I did manage to finish Understanding Comics and just finished watching the UE vs Ateneo game. Well, the former won and I guess everyone's going to watch tomorrow's game as it'll dictate who'll win the UAAP vs NCAA championships. Not to mention the pressure Ateneo is on considering they already have one lose in this best out of three game.

Also missed a lot today. Didn't bother going to the Collecticon and since I'm not a cosplayer, didn't attend the Cosplayer's World sportsfest. Meanwhile, people I'm sending text messages aren't replying...

And to think, it's just the first week of sem break... Maybe my email will start going haywire again this evening.

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Friday, October 25, 2002

And since I have nothing better to write, here's my *revised* list of SF&F Mainstream Reading List and SF&F Alternative Reading List on books that I've read (yes, there a several other books that should be here but since I haven't read them...).

SF&F Mainstream Reading List

1) Shannara series by Terry Brooks

- Hey, it's the series that got me into fantasy. The first book's a Tolkien-clone but the rest of the books get better as the series progresses.

2) Belgariad and Mallorean by David Eddings

- If there was a fantasy book(s) I'd give to non-SF&F readers to make them interested, this would be it.

3) Dark Elf series by R. A. Salvatore

- Heroic and dynamic characters makes this series intriguing. And a dark elf too!

4) Dragonlance series by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman

- Heroes, anti-heroes, villains, and dragons. It's a world not too dark nor too bright. The only thing that keeps this series from being good is the fact that it's merchandise-driven that prevents the series from having a real closure.

5) Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan

- Epic fantasy that utilizes Arthurian lore. Lots of characters, tons of villains, and a couple of insane men and women.

6) Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

- There's nothing more tragic than a child training for war...

7) Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlen

- The movie is TOTALLY different from the novel. And trust me, if you think science-fiction is all about escapism and has no relation with reality, think again. And it's a Filipino protagonist to boot!

8) Anita Blake series by Laurell K. Hamilton

- Buffy is nothing compared to Anita Blake. Lots of action, lots of romance, and a couple of sexy vampires and werewolves.

9) Pern series by Anne McCaffrey

- Perhaps nothing best showcases the thin line between fantasy and science fiction. Strong female protagonists and an enemy like no other makes this series an interesting read.

10) Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind.

- The first book would be ideal for someone who's not familiar with the genre. However, I'm not too happy with the succeeding books though.

SF&F Alternative Reading List

1) Song of Fire and Ice series by George R. R. Martin

- Epic fantasy that succeeds where Robert Jordan fails: keeping the reader's attention span.

2) Dune series by Frank Herbert

- These standalone novels are intriguing and shows you what politics is all about. One of SF's greatest books!

3) His Dark Matters trilogy by Philp Pullman

- This is the kind of book I want my children to read. And it has depth that keeps adults and children alike interested and challenged.

4) Foundation series by Isaac Asimov

- It's all about second-guessing your opponent. Asimov's twist and turns will provide clean enjoyment for the reader, and while it lacks violence, it certainly doesn't lack action.

5) Empire series by Janny Wurts and Raymond E. Feist

- It's a feudal system where the female protagonist must struggle against her enemies, her government, and eventually herself.

6) Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny

- A fantasy novel that has mystery, betrayal, and intrigue so much so that you keep guessing until the very end.

7) American Gods by Neil Gaiman

- With all this talk about fantasy, let's bring the genre to a modern setting and examine America's pantheon... or lack of it.

8) Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett

- It's the end of the world in a way you've never seen it.

9) Chronicles of Thomas Covenant by Stephen R. Donaldson

- You don't know what an anti-hero is until you've read Donaldson. And if you think the setting is dark, wait 'til you reach the end.

10) Discworld series by Terry Pratchett

- Fantasy satire at its best! Need I say more?

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Mich, if my last entry grossed you, it's only because I'm blunt and tactless. =P Hey, I was never known for my charm. Honesty, yes. Tact, no.

Didn't do much after that episode. Well, my random quote count is somewhere around 50+ and I'm not exactly in the mood to read as of the moment, although I did start with Scott McCloud's Understanding Comics which Elbert loaned me.

Just finished watching Justice League and you'd think that the martians being powerful and possessing all these wacky powers, that they'd get exterminated by these aliens whose weakness is sunlight. And why doesn't Superman use his heat vision until the end or the Martian Manhunter use his intangibility when he was captured? I should know better than to debate cartoon logic...

Speaking of cartoons, Dexter's Lab "Ego Trip" was rather short. If it wasn't for all the commercials and the fact that it started late, it probably runs only for 45 minutes.

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Thursday, October 24, 2002

This is not my day.

First, I thought I was over Steph. And then I start having dreams about her. What is my subconscious telling me?

Second, after taking a bath, my kuliti explodes. So I went to the dentist with my right eye having blotches of blood.

And now, I find out I can't send emails since my account is acting haywire again. Can't send emails to yahoogroups...

Lastly, a link I got from Daimira which might shock a few.

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I'm being a lonely bum by staying at home and I've been doing nothing but eating, reading, and watching TV. On a good note, finally finished reading Donaldson's White Gold Wielder.

And because I'm broke, I want a money-making scheme. Sideline jobs aren't easy to find. *sigh*

And on the things I thought I would never do (and one of the things listed there is watching basketball on TV), I just did it this afternoon. I don't watch MTV. I don't even listen to the radio. So it really surprised me when I was watching Myx. Maybe it's because they were showing all five MTV's of Daft Punk. I'm not really for techno but when your MTV is animated by Toei, that's something worth watching. At least in my book.

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Wednesday, October 23, 2002

And here's an observation on the UAAP NCAA games, at least from the games I watched (which involved Ateneo, Ateneo, and Ateneo).

Aside from it being a new experience (UAAP colliding with the NCAA), it was a game that was less serious than the UAAP games, at least from the start. Ateneo was missing its star player, the guy who won MVP (sorry but I forgot his name) as well as LA Tenorio for a couple of games. The same could be said for DLSU who was missing Mike Cortez, which probably explains its 1-3 win-loss record. Now that I didn't expect. Even UST managed a 3-1 record. I'm not familiar with the NCAA teams but I think they were also missing a few star players. UE dominated the elimination games but then again, they had their ace Yap. Ateneo lost to the Stags and during the elimination, Ateneo's coach was experimenting with various players as rookies and less-seen players made an appearance during the games. Gonzales was basically rallying the Ateneo team and he's showing great talent, being tall yet still able to dribble the ball well, as well as shoot from the inside and outside (and probably the most consistent of Ateneo's 3-point shooters).

During the semi-finals, UE and Ateneo made it on the UAAP side while the Stags (forgot their acronmym) and CSB qualified on the NCAA side. So far, Ateneo has two wins and will compete tomorrow against the Stags, the one team that beat them in the eliminations. UE lost to Ateneo yesterday but won against the Stags and will probably win tomorrow's game against CSB. The Stags won against CSB.

In yesterday's game against UE, both teams got serious. It was Villanueva's (the MVP guy) first appearance during these games and LA Tenorio's skill actually improved. I mean during the UAAP, while he brought in good offensive capabilities for the team, I disliked him because he usually made a lot of fouls. This time around though, there's more shots going in and less fouls. And Ateneo's roster wasn't filled with rookies. Coach Joey sent in veterans during the entire game and both teams made a lot of fouls. Speaking of fouls, there were a couple of injuries made during that game which makes me wonder if that'll hamper both teams in their upcoming games.

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Right now, I'm thinking of a witty way to narrate my day. But I can't. Elbert told me the other day to meet him at CCHQ by 10 am. But along the way, he sent me a text message saying he'll be late. So I was there, waiting for the shop to open. Thankfully, Tanya, Karen, and an Atenean (I honestly forgot her name... the one with the Atenean high boyfriend) were there, waiting for the rest of the "Miriam girls" to arrive.

Right now, I'm envying the Miriam students. I mean if they can finish enrollment by 10 am, that's something to brag about. Unfortunately, can't say the same for Ateneo. Will probably spend the whole day enrolling for next sem's classes.

As can be expected, CCHQ was filled with Miriam students and they soon left for Greenhills. *sigh*

I forgot to bring the Metropolis DVD I'm supposed to give to Elbert but I did bring the tape of last night's episode of Pipol which involved interviewing various Filipino comic artists. He loaned me some DVDs and some books. I wonder when I'll finally get to watch them. Still have to reply to Jobert's PBEM.

Because I am lazy and not quite familiar with the commuting route, I hitched a ride with Elbert to SM North EDSA and got home from there.

When I got home, I did my favorite pastime: sleep!

Oh yeah, and the government has supposedly captured those responsible for the bombings.

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Tuesday, October 22, 2002

*sigh* I can't access my email. As usual, there's something screwy with my ISP.

To make things more depressing, I had a dream. It was about my crush. We were actually talking with each other. *sigh* It's not real. Makes me wanna die or something.

And I have to go to school again today, which makes my tasks temporarily on hold.

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A Rodent In My Room

A rodent in my room,
Crawling all over the place.
One moment it's on the bed,
Soon it's on the terrace.

A rodent in my room,
Hiding in the wall.
It moves under the cover of shadow,
Into the wide, open hall.

A rodent in my room,
Making the queerest noise.
It squeaks in the evening,
Taunting with its constant shrill voice.

A rodent in my room,
Lying still and unmoving.
The bottle was tipped and open,
Keeping the arsenic flowing.

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Had to go to school today since I didn't know when my grades will be released nor when enrollment will be. I guess it wouldn't have been so bad if the rat hadn't kept me up all night. I heard it moving from the roof to the back of my room to near where my computer is. >.< And my brother was pestering me yesterday and today troubleshooting the computer downstairs since it couldn't connect to the ISP smoothly. Anyone care to educate me about DSL? Does PLDT have to upgrade the phone lines or anything? I guess I'm still shocked that half the population of Korea has broadband, much less Internet access.

I didn't see my Philosophy nor Theo grades at school. Oh well. As I was walking towards CCHQ, I ran into Kat.

Kat: Have you seen Chinny lately?

Me: Ummmm... Chinny doesn't study here [Ateneo] anymore. She's in UA&P...

Kat: Oh.

And of course, it's just my luck. While at the parking lot on the way to gate 3, I saw an all-too familiar vehicle. It was my crush's car. Now what could she be doing in Ateneo? None of my business.

Of course I was also supposed to meet Scythe that day and introduce her to the shop that is CCHQ. But before she arrived, Mich dropped by. Well, I did discover she has a thing for *young* boys. And I don't get it at how you can buy 3 mangas of +Anima but not the Lain artbook. -.-

And of course, Scythe was late, so Mich had to wait awhile. And when she had to go, Scythe arrives.

Of course when Scythe leaves, Arianna comes by an hour later. And thanks to her, I inadvertedly have a new stalker. I don't even know her name. >.< Yes, I have a new stalker. Not a new stalkee, S-T-A-L-K-E-R. As in someone who's stalking me. Well, at least it's a girl. I think. =P

Went home with Ari via the jeep, which I haven't ridden in quite some time. And I probably would have hitched all the way to Centerpoint again if it weren't for Arianna. Honestly, if she didn't tell me to get down, I would have probably passed by EDSA.

And when I get home, my mom messed up my timer recording by plucking in a tape of hers to record the telenovelas on GMA 7. On the good news (for me), Ateneo won against UE in the UAAP vs NCAA games.

Now I wonder if I should put a link to Jobert's blog or not. Is it too private or is it okay to be public?

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Monday, October 21, 2002

What I'd give to have a best friend...

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Since I've been doing a lot of sleeping lately, I had a dream. Aside from getting the weirdest book titles, there was this episode when I was in a chatroom, solving a mystery novel together with other chatters. We were all there, reading it page by page, and voicing out our opinions as each clue came to fore. Nice concept, don't know if it'll ever happen.

It's also quite annoying when you don't know when grade distribution is or when enrollment is...

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As usual with the lethargy that comes with rainy days, I've been sleeping.

Mental note to self: watch the Dexer's Lab movie on Cartoon Network on Friday, 8 pm.

And Yoru dear, you're trying too hard to be a stalker. =P

Anyway, I'm bored to death staying here in the house. I want to go out. With someone. I need a social life. But I can't have one. One of the reasons is that I'm broke. ^^

I think it's a healthy sign for the country where the citizens are still going out to the malls when there is a bomb threat. At least we're continuing to live our lives in spite of the fear the terrorists are generating. I mean if we stop going out everytime there's a bomb threat, what would happen to the country? And it's helping our economy as well. Look at what happened to the US after 9-11. They were so depressed that they didn't go shopping so there was a drop in their economy for quite some time (of course the sad thing there is that the Philippines has their eggs in one basket so when the US economy dropped, so did ours).

Obviously, I'm bored to death to write about this stuff. Maybe once I shake off my drowsiness and resume clarity of thought...

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Sunday, October 20, 2002

Our phone got grounded so I haven't seen any Internet action for the entire day until now. Well, found out Tchan is made out of stalker material. And she isn't even trying. =P

Sister wants to borrow my tape recorder.

Me: What for?

Sis: Will record my classes since I have to practice for a play.

Me: Can't you borrow your classmate's notes?

FYI, my sister is in third year high school, and at that rate, she has some seven or more classes every day. And she plans to record each and every one of them. -.- Which is probably why she has a dozen blank tapes now...

By the way, Arcina, Red Dragon is showing on Wednesday...

And somehow, the rat is in the lights...

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