Just for Kicks

Test your knowledge about me. Actually got this from Rin.

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Belated Merry Christmas and Advanced Happy New Year to All

I'm not my "industrious" self as of late. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, or of technology, or just plain laziness. Whereas I'd write everyone personal emails, well, lately, it's just a text message (an uncreative text message at that) and perhaps this blog as a sad reconciliation.

Then again, I really don't want to join the multitudes of others greeting people at their comments boxes and tag-boards. It seems a tad too impersonal for me (unless you're the first one to actually greet the person) and there's no guarantee the person will read it in time (especially tagboards, where your message might get buried underneath everyone else's comments). Don't let that stop you from commenting on mine though.

And of course, Christmas has always been the lonely experience for me. Especically Christmas day itself. But I'll save that story next time. Meanwhile...

The Top 10 Surprises for the Year

More like shocking revalations actually.

1) Sherwin has been my classmate ever since grade school. We split ways before entering college (he went to UST, me Ateneo) in 2000 but I got to see him again last June. In Ateneo. Wearing a freshman ID.

2) Grandmother's demise. I mean it's surprising and not surprising at the same time. She's at her deathbed for the past seven years. So for it to finally happen jolted all of us.

3) Michael Moorcock and Fritz Leiber gets republished! It's a jump for joy actually. And then a startling jaw drop when I found out who was republishing them. White Wolf, after all, is a semi-smalltime game company. For them to suddenly publish novels which aren't tied to their gaming line is really surprising (especially considering they don't own the game rights). It's like Comic Quest suddenly selling Jollibee.

4) Del Rey publishing manga! Much like #3, it was so out of the blue. I mean sure, they published the Gundam novels several years ago, but to make the leap to manga was just plain startling.

5) Vin likes fruitcake! It wouldn't really be a surprise if it came from anyone else. I mean Vin dislikes pineapple and coconuts (the only other worst place to be aside from the Philippines is probably Hawaii), along with a variety of other food. For him to like the hodgepodge that is fruitcake is... shocking!

6) My blockmates are active in their socially-oriented org, teaching children and the like. They're not as spoiled as some people, and can possibly sustain themselves through their own cooking, talent, and reliable "housewife" skills. So it really came as a shock to me that they couldn't make decent ice tea (they also can't do business well but that's not really surprising).

7) I have hope in writing fiction! I mean I have few illusions in life. Writing good fiction isn't really one of my talents (I've reconciled the fact that all the while I've been envisioning myself as a writer, I was really talking about being a magazine writer). So when I actually come up with something that's salvagable (and something I like too), well, it is a startling discovery. I'm not there yet but suddenly I see the road ahead.

8) Mitzi reads my blog! It's not everyday that one of the cutest girls I know actually reads my blog and drops by to comment. The same goes for everyone else whom I don't really expect to read my blog and comments (like Gerry, Khristine, and, uh, Tim Yap [nooooooo!]).

9) The 24-hour anime channel debuting in January. My first instinct was that it's a hoax. I mean it's too good to be true. Not even Japan has a 24-hour anime channel (although I know the channel will probably just cycle through its 8 hour or 12 hour program per day).

10) Ink & Stone recognizes me! I have face value at several places: the guard house at my village, at Comic Quest, Aeon Books, at A Different Bookstore. But Ink & Stone seems to be the shop that I'm often there yet it's still a struggle (a struggle in the fact that I have to get the card out of my wallet) to avail of a discount. So when I get it just like that, even to the point that my friends can get a discount without me being there, well, all is well in this Charles-centric world.

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The Long Weekend

Saturday involved me going to the funeral at the morning, and I thankfully managed to get home to get some rest. Which is a good thing because in the afternoon, I had to go back from Rockwell to Mega Mall to Greenbelt. Mind you, people, I don't have a car, and the walk from Rockwell to Buendia is quite a stretch.

Attended the Siglo launch party in the evening but I got off early because my ride had to leave (and she was paying for the taxi). Of course on the way home, I suddenly had some wanderlust and ended up at Gamer's Shop until early in the morning.

Sunday evening involved a Christmas party with a lot of people (Dean, Nikki, Vin, Marco, his cousin Jeremy, Carl, Cams, Alex, his girlfriend whose name I keep on forgetting, and Andrew) who I'm too lazy to link at the moment. It was a sleepover.

And thankfully Monday I got to watch Return of the King. And strangely enough, it was a premier that started on time: at 7:30 pm. Of course by the time the movie finished, the gate to our village was closed so it involved me taking a long walk to the other gate that's near the KFC branch along EDSA. From Mega Mall.

Social Calls

I discovered at the Siglo launch that I'm not really built for "social events". I'm not really a social person and I'm straining myself to keep myself and others entertained. There's a reason why I don't go to parties and well, the experience was like biting into a hamburger when you just realized your dentist tightened your braces earlier that day.

Perhaps the most embarassing moment there (which didn't seem embarassing at the time) was asking Gerry why he didn't go to C3. Of course when I got home and actual read his blog, well...

Freezing

While a lot of people drink alcohol (wine, brandy, gin, beer, etc.) for lots of reason, my main reason is to literally warm myself.

This December I'm actually freezing (and I know many people find it hot). Mind you, this is coming from a person who has no ventilation whatsoever in his room, with all the windows closed, the wallpaper black, and there's a blanket covered around him. Yes, even in such conditions, I'm freezing.

Gifts

Well many people find trouble deciding what to get their friends and relatives for Christmas, the Chinese have it easy. All they do is give you a red envelope with money inside. Gift checks? Naaah, we get the real thing. It's all simple and efficient, and you can add it to your bank account too (although that's not what I do).

Fruitcake

What'll identify me as the anomaly that I am during this Christmas is the fact that I like fruitcake. Perhaps the best thing about this is that I have no competition whatsoever. I mean who else likes fruitcake?

Christmas in the Philippines

Perhaps the one thing I've been dreading is the chore of having to send a text message to everyone greeting them a Merry Christmas. The only thing worse is actually receiving those text messages. And by the end of the day, you've probably seen all the permutations of Christmas text messages possible, from all the jokes to the image-emulating letters. Sometimes, you can even tell who started which message and who're just passing it around to the same friends and family.

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