Paradox

Strangely, the more free time I'm supposed to have, the more busy I end up. Take for instance my Friday morning. I was supposed to go to the dentist but duty calls...

Community Service

Those who got their student's handbook late had to complete one hour of community service. That's why from 9 am to 10 am until Monday, you'll see random Ateneo students cleaning up the school.

We were asked to bring trash bags and our group was assigned to pick up cigarettes at the Bel field because of the other night's Blue Roast celebration. Others were relegated to the SEC field, and Elbert was at the air-conditioned office, shredding paper.

Since I am immune to heat, I wasn't like my other companions who were just standing in the shade (since there were huts all around) or strolling around the Bel field pretending to be doing something but are actually just looking for shade. Had to do the dirty work of bending and picking up those cigarettes.

My bag had a hole so I had to tie it up. Girlfriends went with their boyfriends but the girls would point at a spot and their boyfriend would pick the trash. Then, I saw a girl complaning to her boyfriend that it's hot and all, while the guy is just there, resuming his job of picking up cigarettes. And of course, people were sending text messages throughout the entire time.

CCHQ

Next stop was CCHQ where I was supposed to meet Elbert and Jaime for our potential occupation. I was told to meet them at 10:30. They came at 11. On a side note, a girl had Elbert sign her copy of Grafic as he was strolling around in the Riverbanks. And again in CCHQ. Looks like someone is getting famous.

Malabon

After having lunch (yes, I ate), it was off to Elbert's place in a land far, far away. Had to sleepover to finish the first scene of a flash movie, and Elbert's family was quite hospitable. I was well-fed, for one thing.

Home

Of course the next day I manage to get home by 12 pm where I eat a quick lunch, read a comic, then went to sleep. Of course after two hours of rest, it was off to Justin's birthday party.

Filipino Time

Justin did tell me that the party was starting at 6 pm but he didn't arrive there until 7 pm or so since he had to pick up his friends from Alabang. Stayed at Candy's room so that I didn't look like a thief in their condo.

Girls will be Girls

Candy told me she has a problem with her friend, Pam, whom she finds unoriginal. Candy being who she is, she was opting not to tell her friend, or tell it to her just before she leaves for America, or worse, tell it on Pam's birthday. Since I'm usually the direct-type of person, I told Pam that Candy said that so that they can resolve the issue. In the attempt to prevent me sending the text message, Candy strangled me and I ended up hitting her guitar, which injured my backside.

To make a long story short, Candy called up her friend to help resolve it as she had to dig up points wherein Pam's work plagiarized some material. Of course apparently, Pam is the evasive type who does not want to listen to criticism (strange thing for a writer... then again, maybe not) and tends to be sensitive about these things. Candy, on the other hand, wants to pretend it never happened. But either way, that's not really resolving the problem but either 1) delaying the inevitable, or 2) putting up a facade whenever they meet. Still, got bashed by Katherine, one of Candy's friends.

At Justin's party, Katherine grappled me, kicked me, and whacked me a couple of times. Katherine grappling me just shows how weak I actually am, at least when it comes to my hands. I'd strike back for the other attacks, but Katherine is five years younger than me, so...

Justin's Birthday

Well, Justin invited a lot of people, especially from those in his university. Of course I felt so out of place, so I went with Carlos in this dark corner of the venue, the bar which no one goes to. Later, other people I knew started to come like Patrick and Dennis.

Learned a new skill by playing one round Landlord, a non-collectible card game. Seven won the game, and I lost it by two points since people kept interrupting my plans. Not bad for a beginner though, Carlos thought.

Alcohol does not suit me

Well, did drink a can of beer during the party. It's not as effective as wine when you want it to warm your body and I couldn't stand the taste. I mean I've drank a bottle of beer but those cans have more content than the usual bottle. Anyway, my vision was a bit hazy and this isn't the first time that's happened so I can confirm that I have a low alcohol tolerance.

Animation

AWN has an article about Animatrix, the series of short films pertaining to the Matrix mythos. And Shinichiro Watanabe (Cowboy Bebop) made one short film for the series entitled Detective Story, a tale of a private-eye tracking down Trinity.

The Cowboy Bebop movie will also be showing on April 4 in US theater.

I Love Flash MX

Twiddling with Flash MX, it's a great tool that eliminated the redundacies involved in the previous versions, including Flash 5. I soooo love it.

The Advantages of Being Alone

After sleeping over at Elbert's, whose items have broken down because of certain people, I'm come to appreciate living alone. There's no one to pester you with the surprise entrance, and no one to wreck your PC as they suddenly grab your things and start fiddling with them. Then again, I'm all alone...

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Pet Peeves

1) People who send emails to mailing lists about their quiz results.

2) Blogs that contain nothing but quiz results. Aside from the bandwidth strain, it's more fluff than sense.

3) Blogs that don't have comments so I can't give input.

"Evil"

Lately, I've been hearing and reading that Mr. Hussein is "evil". Well, I think that the word isn't being used in the right context. Some say it as if Hussein was the devil himself. But he's not. Every human person is evil to a certain extent, Hussein perhaps more so than others. Good and evil aren't forces that you either belong to one side or the other. They actually overlap, which brings about some human complexities. But to say that "Sadam is evil" and that in itself is enough justification for war is errorneous.

I'd also like to point out that some of the gravest crimes arise from the best of intentions. And while people are quick to point that Hussein is evil, might I remind you that not all evil persons are in the public's view. Even the anti-Christ in the Bible is said to appear to be good but actually means to lead the world astray. I wouldn't go as far as to say that Bush is the anti-Christ, but people should have an idea of how causes (whether they're actually moral or not) might seem justified to a certain audience. And if people can be persuaded that waging war is righteous, well, what else can they be persuaded to do?

At least with Hussein, people realize he's a dictator. With other world leaders, they use more subtle propaganda to further their own ends. But either way, the end result is the same.

Gone

Will disapppear from the face of the earth for the next few days... it's not as if anyone will miss me.

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No Rest for the Wicked

I was supposed to be resting yesterday, but duty calls. Our comic magazine, Grafic, just got released. Had to meet up with Elbert yesterday at CCHQ to claim my copy as well as hold 40 or so copies so that just in case Elbert's house burns down, there will still be copies of Grafic.

Waitng, Waiting, Waiting

Since I'm supposed to be relaxing, I traveled light yesterday. Which meant nothing to read while I wait for Elbert for two and a half hours. People were playing CCGs, Go, their laptops, and I was staring into oblivion.

Community Service

Just got my Student's Handbook today. Since I got it late, I'm supposed to do community service tomorrow. Actually, I wouldn't have gotten it if Elbert didn't tell me. And since I didn't bring my ID yesterday, I was frowned upon by the guy managing the counter. Time to look for a trashbag...

Comic

Comic below is courtesy of Elbert. My script, his drawings (I always wanted the gift of drawing but alas, some things weren't just meant to be). And buy Comicol's comic, Grafic. P60. Contact me if you're interested. It won't disappoint you... too much. =P

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Finals Over

I'm done with all my exams and papers. No more classes! Of course now, I have to face one fact: I have no life.

Stalker-Sense Tingling

Felt it on my way home as I was boarding the MRT. My instincts were telling me to go to Glorietta. But I didn't want to unnecessarily so I headed for home. Of course an hour after arriving from home, got a text message that the other book I ordered had arrived and I had to get it from Glorietta. Which is why I should always trust my instincts.

Book Purchase

D&D Supplement Arms and Equipment Guide - $27.00. ADB price - P1363. Price I bought it - P1226.70. All is well in the world.

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The War

Vern dear has an insight about the war that I feel some people should read. =)

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The Land of the Free doesn't have Freedom... of speech

It was mentioned yesterday in class that a guy wearing a pro-Iraq shirt in a mall in the US got kicked out for doing so. Similarly, a kid got suspended in class for a similar act. Since I'm not exactly aware of the news and not so savvy with finding headlines (or lack of it, considering US propaganda), I can't find a link to those particular news articles.

The Folly of the Self Righteous

Just so that no one makes any mistakes, when I talk about the self-righteous, I'm talking about me (although it will apply to other self-righteous people as well). Yes me. Me, me, me. I'm arrogant enough to say that. But not everything I will say applies to me. Moving on...

Each person has their own set of morals (or lack of it). I guess what makes the self-righteous annoying is the fact that he/she expects other people to have the same standards. I don't smoke? No one else should smoke. I don't cheat and lie? No one else should cheat and lie. And sometimes, this imposition can be detrimental to relationships with other people.

The self-righteous might act as the constant police, the "killjoy" of the group. Others might just totally burn their bridges, or if you take it to the extreme, choose to make the other person their mortal enemy.

Are self-righteous justified in doing so? To me, it depends on the moral standard. I mean I wouldn't want to be around a serial killer, but the occassional liar can be tolerated... by some people. I guess the dilemma is when to draw the line. From personal experience, I've been ex-communicated by some people because I didn't meet their moral highground or behave they expected me to.

I guess empathy should be in order, for the self-righteous to understand what the other is feeling and in the context a "crime" is placed. I mean the moral culture of Filipinos is different than that of Americans, or Europeans, or even the Chinese.

But still, that doesn't mean one should let go of their own sets of values.

Via-Astris SF&F Con on Digital Tour

Yup, today's episode was about the con and I got it on tape. And it's a good thing too.

For one thing, the regular anime cosplayers (like Robert, Pablo, Hazel, Kestrel, etc.) were caught on tape and even got interviewed (although Kestrel's name was spelled wrong).

Interesting sights as well since Arianna represented the Tolkien Society. MM, Tin, Zhynchan, wanna see the tape? Arianna in a suit, and facing the camera as well. =)

Regarding Aegis, the RPG group I'm in, well, the footage was kind of a flop since they were showing Jacob playing the LotR CCG. Then again, Aegis's demo wasn't exaclty spectacular since they weren't exactly running RPG games at the time so...

Other groups got airtime as well like the Pinoy X-Philes, Pinoy Slayers (damn, they were selling the Collector's Ed of Fellowship of the Ring, along with other Buffy DVDs), Pinoy Harry Potter (hmmm, my pic isn't on their site yet), Star Trek (which probably got the most airtime), and Star Wars.

Actually, most of today's Digital Tour ep was all about the con. I mean their "You Got Game" was still within the con since the Filipinos developing the first Philippine RPG game was situated there (although I didn't visit their booth since it wasn't outside). Even their ads involved the participants of the convention (kawaii Kestrel!).

I also noticed that one of the faces that appeared frequently is what I think is the producer, since during the con, he was directing the camera and telling them when to do retakes and stuff. And the co-host's (and probably host's) smile is so fake, since he always maintained it during filming and retakes and could conjure it at the snap of a finger (handsome though).

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