Introduction

I've been exhausted the entire day yesterday and I really have to cram Rushde today but on goes the saga that is my pathetic life.

The Old Makes Way for the New

I'm talking about shops in the FBR building! My friend's brother just opened a new shop at the 2nd floor and they have in stock specialty items from plushies like Hamtaro and that guy in The Nightmare before Christmas to socks, stickers, even lollipops.

Of course Anima Anime which is beside it is having their closing out sale (until the end of the month) with lots of discounts. Too bad there aren't any employies there whenever I usually drop by.

And of course, Karl, my Asian History teacher, has just got back from Singapore and is asking people to buy Neopet items from him (like Neopet notebooks) which he bought all the way from Singapore.

Power Failure

When I finally managed to get home, power failure struck! The electricity was flickering that there's electricity at one moment only to disappear in the next minute. It's a good thing my computer wasn't on...

Uncle Left

Probably together with my aunt, my uncle left for the US yesterday evening.

Glorietta

Before heading to Justin's place to play Cyril's RPG game, headed for Glorietta to see what was new at A Different Bookstore. Had a splurge investing in the trade paperback of Dragonlance's Annotated Chronicles, as well as the D&D Supplement Fiend Folio (it's an old/new gimmick, depending on how you see it, with all the alliteration in the book names).

Also dropped by Tower Records (Powerbooks actually) and saw that you could reserve The Animatrix DVD. It's only P595 for the domestic release so I'm really hoping it comes with all the bonus features. You get a free mousepad though (not that I have any use for it).

Saw the list of those that reserve and did see a familiar name among them (and this is why I am a stalker).
A bunch of World Music CDs (mainly Japanese and Chinese music) were also on sale.

The Game

I did see Carlos and Cyril after a long time in the game at Justin's place. Of course Carlos forgot to bring the books I wanted. It was a perfect time for me though to brag of the new books I got...

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Wanderlust

I'm bored. And I don't really wanna spend the next few hours reading Rushde. I wanna go out! But I have no money...

No One's Reading my Fiction

It's at my other blog, *hint* *hint*.

My Body Finally Gives Up

Well, it's not SARS but apparently, I have cists around various parts of my body like my ear and my right arm. I wonder if it's the heat...

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The Choice

My dentist appointment took longer than usual. When my dentist finally got to me, he told me that the lower left portion of my teeth were fine but the right part wasn't. I could have retainers now, or choose to fix the right part as well and extend the duration of my braces for six months more. Since I've had it for several years now, what's a few months more?

Delaying the Inevitable

Well, we didn't have an exam on Salmon Rushde as it was postponed to Monday. Instead, we tackled Pablo Neruda today. Oh yeah, everyone else was having their finals but well, we still have class on Monday and there's probably going to be an extension on Tuesday. Then it's our finals and deadline for submission of the paper on Thursday.

It's a Loooong Day

Well, did meet up with Elbert to visit Dean, who's currently having ISP problems. Thanks for the copies of Ab Ovo!

Anyway, spent an hour and a half at Tapa King discussing comics, writing, and life (actually, my very weird life). Questions like "whatever happened to the drama that is Charles's family?" Well, thing seem to be back to normal just like that, as much as normal my family can get. "Who is this uncle?" Well, uncle came from the US since it's grandfather's second year death anniversary. Unlike my father who clings to tradition, my uncle is more liberal since he married a Filipina. I think he'll be returning to the US in a few days.

Meteor Garden

It seems my regular hits of 40+ visitors a day has increased to 70+. I have a suspicion it's mainly because of people typing "Meteor Garden" in their search engines.

And honestly, ABS-CBN (and its ilk) is hyping up the show. I mean every TV Patrol episode nowadays has a feature on Meteor Garden. And don't people notice that only ABS-CBN puts on the news that Meteor Garden is popular? Not that it isn't, but it's sensationalism with an agenda.

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Pressed for Time

My last entry ended rather... abruptly. Mainly because I still had lots of things to do, one of which involves cramming Midnight's Children, a 500+ page book. But seeing that's not possible, well, I'll move on to today's blog entries.

My Double Life

There's a lot of things I don't tell my parents or relatives. And with good reason. Anything I say gets twisted. Heck, anything they observe gets corrupted. Take for instance the ff:

I know how to program! - This is what my uncle that's visiting from the US garnered from my father. My job at Rockwell was kept hidden from my parents but dad got a whiff of it (and he should, considering the clues around my room). And apparently, he's spread the word that I know computer language since my uncle was asking me things related to SQL and Visual Basic. And while Flash does have some programming, it's not something I'm an expert at.

I've read all the books in my room! - Again, this is what father told my uncle. I don't know how he came to that conclusion. An overstimation of my abilities? And my uncle wouldn't even beleive me at first when I told him I've only read something like half of what's in my room, mainly because I'm saving the rest for "rainy days". I mean I wish I've read all the books in my room. But that's a lot, and honestly, I don't want to spend every single hour doing nothing but read.

I own Comic Alley! - Well, this has been circulating years before during my brief summer job at Comic Alley. Somehow, the rumor escalated that I owned Comic Alley (and since I look Chinese, I must be the owner's relative!) which is even being perpetuated by Elbert's ex, Jamie.

I know Japanese! - I wish this was so. But after my brother and mother observing me watching anime (with subtitles, of course), they somehow had the idea that I had mastered the language in the span of a few months from watching anime. Oh sure, I have a Japanese word processor on my computer, but I use it more as a learning tool rather than, say, Microsoft Word.

I have a girlfriend! - I also wish this was so, perhaps more than the ability to be proficient with Japanese. Sure, my relatives and their friends see me with girls, but girl plus guy doesn't automatically mean boyfriend and girlfriend. Whatever happened to honest friendships? Or even classmates? And acquaintances? And me being the flirt that I am, will often be seen with girls. But they're not my girlfriends (I wish that's the case but I'm far from the crush ng bayan).

I'm a genius! - And this is a myth perpetuated by acquaintances who've never actually seen my grades. I don't know, maybe it's the glasses (I'm sorry but I look like a geek)? Or my silent-type manner? Or the fact that I'm often seen reading a book? It's as simple as entering a room and then when people are asked about their first impressions about me, I'm labeled as the genius, the smart-guy, the dependable type, etc. People, I barely pass my subjects. I have failed subjects. And the chances of getting high grades is the same of getting a D. I'm no idiot, but I'm no genius either.

Waiting for Godot

Well, Mr. Pulan pulled a fast one on us. We were supposed to have a quiz on Waiting for Godot and at the end of the class, he told us "if you're waiting for the quiz, it's like waiting for Godot... it will never come."

On a side note, I can expect to flunk tomorrow's quiz (I haven't passed any quiz so far) considering I'm only 1/5th of Midnight's Children. Not that I'm the only person who's going to fail tomorrow's quiz...

Braces

Well, I'll be having my nth dentist appointment tomorrow, or should I say later at 9 am. It's been what, six years since I've had braces? I guess I won't be eating anything solid tomorrow/today.

ISP Difficulties

Same old complaints as I can access the Internet only at certain hours of the day. And the clincher to my ISP is that I usually connect to one number just to access my email and dial another number so that I can surf the net.

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Damn Blogger!

No wonder no one's been commenting in my short story. *sniff* The link in blogger doesn't work!

Anyway, just visit this url. It's the third draft although I've finished working on the fourth a few hours ago.

Grandfather's 2nd Death Anniversary

Well, today marks grandfather's 2nd year death anniversary. Had a dinner at Gloria Maris will the rest of my father's clan.

Oh yeah, I can finally wear bright colors.

Eat First, See it on Fear Factor Later

That's my new motto when it comes to food.

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Writing

Amazing. I've been writing again. And none too soon too since by July, me and the rest of my Creative Writing block (all nine of us) will begin the motions of publishing a book, which should be released before we graduate (great... no thesis but we have to come out with a publication).

And well, I'm in the motions of revising (revise! revise! revise!) "The Librarian" as it's in its fourth draft now (which is actually quite a lot for me since I usually only work with two or three drafts at most).

It's also one of my fiction that I can say "Oh my God... it has a glimmer of hope!" since well, my fiction is horrible as well as needing polishing. A lot of polishing. The only thing that that's worthwhile reading that I've written are my feature articles, and my hybrid essay/nonfiction.

Cute Girls in Class

Well, I was just surprised today that two of the cutest girls in my class (one whose name I don't know, but I'm happy to know she knows mine) had the initiative to pay attention and talk to me. =)

Of course by next week, we should have read Midnight's Children by Salmon Rushdie, as well as written our paper (8 pages minimum) and ready for the finals. *sigh*

The Return

Well, Carlos has finally returned from his vacation in the US. And he got me the books I asked him to buy me. Unfortunately, these are books that are going to someone else (to cute girls, no less) so whatever's in my bookshelf today will stay the same several months from now.

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The Librarian

Here is the third draft of my short story, the product of a crash in course in Virginia Woolf, James Joyce, Albert Camus, Franz Kafka, and Jorge Luis Borges. Criticism and comments are welcome!

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Film Showing

Got an email this afternoon saying that UP AME will be airing Hana Yori Dango eps 1-5 tomorrow.

And then through some strange impulse, I called up a friend.

Me: So what are you doing?

Friend: Convering Hana Yori Dango to AVI.

Me: From what file?

Friend: RM (Real Media).

Me: What for?

Friend: For the film showing tomorrow.

Me: Errr, won't the quality suffer?

Friend: Not my problem.

Me: So how are they going to watch it?

Friend: Through VCD.

Me: So you're going to convert the file from AVI to VCD?

Friend: Yup.

Me: Ha. Haha. Hahaha. Hahahaha. Hahahahaha.

Me: The compression at this point is going to be horrible...

Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck Fuck

No, I'm not the type that says that, but did get an email from Elbert. The message? His pen ran out of ink in the middle of inking a comic.

Some people would call that bad luck. I call it fate. Guess we won't be visiting Dean tomorrow...

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On TV Patrol

"Mga Poster ng Meteor Garden Pinagaagawan" or something along those lines was one of the headlines.

Tomorrow is Wednesday

Me: So when are we dropping by Dean's office?

Elbert: On Wednesday.

Me: You mean tomorrow?

Elbert: Errr, what day is it today?

Me: Tuesday... you don't have lab today.

Elbert: *looks at bag* Then why did I bring my lab apron and dissecting kit?

I hate SPAM

And worst of all, I hate the people that spam me viruses, which I receive thrice in a day or so. It's so annoying because of the time it takes me to download, and of all things, a computer virus masquerading as a screensaver.

Sometimes, the breast and penis enlargement spam seem better...

Animatrix

Hmmm, apparently, I've distributed more than one dozen copies of it in the Katipunan area (some to the faculty and staff of Ateneo)...

I spend too much money on other people...

Ugh!

Found out Jobert's not returning here in June. *sniff*

Yey!

On a side note, did see Cyril bumming around at Ateneo this morning. And apparently, he's given up the prospect of teaching.

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The Librarian

What if there exists a library that housed all books – books that have been written, books that are being written, and books that will be written. In its tomes lies the most esoteric of information, from the formula to turn lead into gold to the spell that would grant one immortality. Historians would be confounded as they cipher through endless accounts of the same event, prophets perplexed as all the possible futures are documented. But the library is not just for the bibliophile. It also contains books that are still being widely read, from the New International Version of the Bible to William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet.

The library though is not one easily accessed by many. It lies outside space and time for only in such a condition could the endless corridors of shelves and books fit. One does not feel hunger or pain in the library, nor does one eat or sleep. All one can do is stare at the stacks of books behind you, beside you, and in front of you.

Like most treasures, the library has a guardian. It takes the form of the librarian, without whom one can never find the book one is looking for. The librarian neither has a gender nor a name. He/she belongs to the eternal and simply is.

One might spend eternity looking for a particular book and still not find even the subject pertaining to it. For the librarian, it is as easy as pulling out a book from the shelf beside him/her. The librarian knows where all the books are, what categories the unnamed shelves belong to, and who has written what. He/she is a database with an infinite memory for the records of the library. The librarian knows by smell and by touch the exact location of each book. The shelves are as familiar to him/her as his/her hands, the corridors merely roadmaps to them.

One does not notice at first but the librarian is blind. This makes him/her the perfect caretaker for the library for while he/she knows where each and every book is and the subject matter they contain, he/she never knows its contents. Thus the librarian is never tempted to read the books that are constantly his/hers to access.

The librarian neither has a need for rest nor for food, and he/she does not waste his/her time on leisure. Instead, the librarian constantly roams the library, ready to welcome the visitor that drops by. And when questioned whether he/she would ever want to leave the library, the librarian would merely reply:

"I cannot leave the library nor can the library leave me. The library and I are one, neither able to function without the other. Visitors are as blind to the library as I am to the world."

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It's Been Two Days...

Since my father last talked to me. None of the usual "are you home?" stuff probably because he's still angry at me. Then again, maybe it's because my uncle's here and they have a lot of catching up to do. Nah, that's just wishful thinking. I wonder if he's taking me out of the will...

Ack!

Did spot an F4 poster beside the CATS shop at Virramall. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

And a Friend of Mine...

Is wondering if he should take the artist job for the publisher of the RPG Shards of the Stone.

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