C3 Pic Links

OAV Website under Gallery then Cosplay then Culture Crash Con 2003.

Cmdr. Gabe's HQ under Cosplay then C3 Convention 2003.

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Help!

On a side note, if anyone can loan me a Political Science book of Joel Migdal, it would be greatly appreciated. I have an assignment over the Christmas break from our teacher requiring us to use Migdal as a source but someone borrowed the only copy at the library and isn't due to be returned until next year.

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2 Days After the Funeral

Chinese ritual dictates that the grave be visited two days after burial.

So I had to wake up at 5:45 am to go all the way to Heritage (which, by the way, isn't apparently located at Makati since the border was changed during president Ramos's time and through more convoluted politics) where I was freezing.

Of course perhaps what the most shocking discovery to me is the fact that my relatives haven't told my grandfather that her wife's already been dead for a week.

Mom's reasoning is that she doesn't want to give grandfather a heart attack (he recently had a stroke and has never left his bed for the past two months). That being the case, does that mean he'll never be told that the woman he's been married to for the past few decades is dead?

Of course one of the crazier ideas by my relatives was to have breakfast at UCC Cafe. At the Fort. Even when there's a UCC here in Greenhills, and all of us live near the area.

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Taken Out of Context (How to Lie by Telling the Truth)

Last Tuesday, Elbert told me and our friend Cathy this:

Elbert: Yes, yes, I'm gay. I just don't make a big fuss about it. You don't make abig fuss about you being straight, do you?

Of course the next day, he gives me version 2 of his comic, Two Color Truth Theatre. At the end of the comic, he leaves a note saying the statement above. Vin, Nikki,and Andrew can bear witness to that.

And tomorrow, Elbert is having lunch with a male "friend". Aforementioned friend is treating him out to pizza, and is also the same friend who incessantly calls him frequently in the evenings with him talking on and on for several hours. The two also hug (!) and share an interest in comics, as well as sharing the same classes and network of friends.

Also to quote Elbert, "gender is elective". And let's not forget the fact that he claims to have sex appeal, and it's not really surprising that guys come up to him during conventions and asks for his picture.

Flowers from FPJ

Regarding something less "fictional", my late grandmother did receive condolence flowers from FPJ at the behest of a certain uncle.

The clan was divided in whether to be happy or sad (yes, some of my relatives are voting for FPJ, others squirming at the thought).

The Wake

In the past five days that my grandmother's corpse is at the church, there's been three different necrological services.

For example, we're Protestant, but one branch of the family is Catholic. In addition to that, my grandmother has a church group with the sermon in Chinese, and I did spent this morning listening to songs and sermons in a language that's incomprehensible.

Let's not forget the rituals needed to be observed, such as putting a red and white sash over ourselves (Chinese ritual).

Funeral

Early this morning was the funeral. And of course, certain cousins were late. Perhaps what made the whole thing unbearable was that the entire event was held in Chinese, complete with Chinese rituals unfamiliar to me. There was even a point when some cousins, with sashes of white, were touching the car carrying the coffin. My sash was white and red and one of my "relatives" (again, another problem is not only am I not familiar with their names, I'm not sure who's related to who... luckily, my ignorance of Chinese serves me best as when someone talks to me asking me if I remember them, I merely reply "I don't know Chinese" [in Chinese]) pushed me into touching the vehicle, so I did walk all the way to the village gate touching the car, when I'm not really supposed to (something only those with the white sashes are supposed to do).

After getting buried at Heritage in Makati (which my mom initially told me was "near" but well, Makati is a bit far from Greenhills, you know), it was just 9:30 am and I thought I'd be getting home early. But apparently, Chinese funerals involve eating at a Chinese restaurant in the end. And since we were early, the restaurant was just opening when we got there.

So again, I am forced to eat Chinese food. I'm already dreading next week when it's Christmas time.

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In Honor of Today's Oblation Run

Every year, UP's initiation involves lots of naked men (with probably paper bags covering their faces) running around the university.

In light of one of the presidential candidates for next year, I'd just like to mention that the model for UP's oblation (the statue of a naked man with arms open wide) is none other than Fernando Po Sr.

And while I'm at it, in an ironic twist of fate (Filipino style), Fernando Po Jr. isn't really Fernando Po Jr.; it's really his brother's name. Of course the real Jr. eventually had to change his name for obvious reasons.

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"Power" in the Philippines

Did you know that the Philippines has eighty two (82!) documents of identification, in contrast to Indonesia that only needs four.

Of course what's even more surprising is that when lacking the appropriate ID (such as a Mandaluyong ID if you live in Mandaluyong), your mobile phone bill (like Globe or SMART) can be taken as proof of your residence.

Which just shows you the power heirarchy in the Philippines.

Philippine English

For starters, since yesterday and today are together, every day is also spelled everyday.

Perhaps something gone unnoticed by many is the expression we use while on the phone. Like "for a while" instead of "please wait".

The Art of Making Ice Tea

In another attempt to raise funds for the publishing of my block's book, we're selling siopao and ice tea.

Of course the ice tea tastes bitter, which really shouldn't surprise me considering it didn't taste any better during our last food sale as well.

Honestly, my blockmates are more capable than me. They can cook, for example (unlike me). So it really baffled me when they faltered in making something as simple as ice tea (in powedered form, mind you, not the raw thing where you put in the syrup like in the restaurant Le Souffle).

Apparently, what they do is they dump a bunch of water in the cooler and then dump an arbritrary amount of ice tea into it. Sure, we don't have a mixer, but there's something called proportion whenever preparing something, whether it's food (more carbohydrates than fat and protein!) or drink.

I mean it says at the back that for every one liter of water, add half a cup of ice tea. At the very least, I expected Creative Writing and Theater Arts majors to read.

Unfortunately, these are the same people sensitive to criticism. I told them that maybe the next day, they could start measuring the amounts of water and ice tea they put in. Then they suddenly went wild and blamed me for not being there when they were preparing the ice tea.

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To Vin (And Any Other Serious Fantasy Fan)

Here's an old strip posted last year, but my friend hasn't done the rest ever since he got published in Siglo. =)

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Ghosts

Early today, my grandmother died (not that we were really close, since it's hard to get close to someone you don't speak with a common language).

Wakes aren't really for me, especially considering I'm socially inept. Add that to the fact that I'm coming from a Chinese family and I don't speak Chinese. I believe funerals are for the living (since no matter what religion you are, there's not much else you can do for the dead) and quite frankly, I really can't comfort people.

In the hour that I was at the wake, I was like a ghost since everyone else had someone to talk to and I was all there, alone. Highest point was probably when somebody was adding the time and date of the funeral and the strip of paper was too large; I got out a scissor from my really big bag and got thanked for it.

Of course regarding my grandmother's death, I view it as a good thing in the sense that we can all move on. To begin with, her legs have shrunk so much so that they're thinner than her arms. For another, even if she did manage to speak English, she lost the capability of speech several years ago ever since a tube was inserted into her throat to suck out the phlegm. And this has been going on for nearly a decade now (the female members of my family are a hardy lot... my other grandmother lasted three years in what was predicted to be a lifespan of three months).

Rick Jones

Of course the said event above is a complete contrast to C3. I was helping people left and right, acting like the extra that I am. It seems I'm built for being errand boy, since one tends to stand up all day long and walk around a lot, something I can actually do.

To everyone who won/volunteered/participated/organized in the event, congrats.

Jan. 17 is the scifi convention, and while it won't be as hectic, I'll probably come in as someone's sidekick again.

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