Pimples, Cysts, Styes

Of all the places to have a pimple, I have one *inside* my ear. So popping it out is proving quite difficult.

And of course, by my earlobe is a cyst-like defect. And the styes around my eyelids aren't getting any better.


Wet!

From Katipunan I managed to get to Makati, and from Makati to Ortigas. Unfortunately, it was raining hard at the time, and I did get partially drenched despite my umbrella and jacket.

The World is Changing!

First, KFC relocates, and now, I find out that Burger King doesn't serve its usual repertoire. No more onion rings! No more grape juice!

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Insomia

It's been exactly twenty two (22) hours since I last slept, and I'm not even feeling weary. Of course currently, styes are developing out of my eyelids. Is there a relation? Not really, although I don't know why I'm up at this ungodly hour, especially considering I've been sleeping at 9 pm for the past week.

On a side note, I haven't really used my usual introduction to people recently. I guess I'm not as "masama, makulit, mayabang, nakakainis, weirdo, stalker, and NR" as I used to be. Right now, everything's okay, but I can't help but think about the future. How will I support myself ten years from now? And while I have new dreams to coincide with my new way of life, I want to do more.

Getting Older

I'm turning twenty two (22) soon. I don't feel order. I don't feel younger either. I merely have lots of wishes, tons of dreams. Sometimes, it's not enough. I don't blame fate. I can't control fate. I can only control my actions and hope for the best. I fear a crisis will occur soon. What form it'll take, well, all I can do is wait and see. And hope for the best. And when that fails, get over it and plan ahead.

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Penniless in Ortigas

Today was costume today and the theme was "sports". Unfortunately, any sports outfit I wear will always lack sufficient pockets (or at least pockets that don't let stuff easily slide away).

While I did remember to stuff my phones and ID in my bag, I did forget to bring my wallet. So I was in Ortigas for nearly ten hours without a single cent to my name. It's as good thing I don't eat lunch. Or spend money on anything for myself. And of course, if I got robbed today, they'd go away empty handed.

Group Dynamics

There's this Cartoon Network commercial where Sheep enters the cafeteria and tries to find his place. The cook tells him "stick to your own kind". I think that in any community, people will always break into smaller, more manageable groups or cliques. If you want to know who these groups or cliques are, one of the best ways is to go to the community's dining areas and watch who sits with whom. As early as grade school, that's how you usually figured out who was friends with whom and this is still true even until college. It's also one of the reasons why we have family dinners, I think. The family that eats together has a sense of structure, of unity, even if it may be artificial at times. When you eat alone, everyone's eyes is on you. I even know some people who won't out if there's no one to eat with them. Eating is important, not just for its nutritional value, but for the social aspect as well.

Dash to Mega Mall

My sense of time has been scrambled this past week, and I actually thought I had a meeting tomorrow when it was in fact today. Fortunately for me, Mega Mall is near my home, so a mad dash did take me there in under 30 minutes. I slipped though but caught myself in time. I have a small bruise but nothing serious.

On a side note, my biggest shock today was to discover that KFC has relocated to the opposite side of Mega Mall. I originally thought I was at the wrong floor but apparently, my insticts were right. It wasn't me that was wrong, it was KFC that moved!

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Attacked!

I was going back home to get something I left when I ran into our dog. Unfortunately the leash that chained him wasn't doing its job and he got free and attacked me.

Of course I was expecting him to bite me with his humongous teeth. I mean dogs do bark for a reason. That wasn't his method though. He rammed me and I would have fallen to the pavement if the car wasn't behind me.

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Waking Up Early

If there's one thing disadvantageous from waking up early, it's that there's no water yet, so I have to bathe in freezing water.

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One Language to Rule Them All

One of the current topics circulating around (aside from the usual floods and storms) is whether the Philippines should adopt a Filipino-only policy (in comparison to the Filipino and English language we currently have implemented). There was even a news item the other day about having our courts use Filipino, and quite frankly, many lawyers *and* transcribers are not up to the task (the latter because not only are they not trained to encode in Filipino but it really is more difficult to transcribe in Filipino since there's no "real shorthand" for the language, especially considering Filipino is syllabic).

While I do recognize there are both pros and cons for adopting such a policy, I honestly think that's not exactly the best way to go. I mean overspecialization has been a Western concept. Why can't Filipinos learn both Filipino and English? Look at Canada, their road signs and language actually uses French and English rather than just either one. Why not the Philippines, who look for multiple traits in other people as well. I mean look at our actors: they're an example of multi-talented people. Filipinos don't just require them to act well, but to sing and dance as well. The same can be said for our politicians. And yes, our writers in the country are forced to adopt other "specializations" as well (so right now, most Filipinos are adept at several things rather than just specializing in one). As for whether which should be the "primary" language, I only hold that we be consistent. I mean for some time, it was English (i.e. Marcos era), then it was changed to Filipino by Cory Aquino. However, GMA during her term changed it back to English, and the problem I have with that is not that she chose English, but that she isn't being consistent with the policies of the previous presidents. While change is good, we do want to strengthen the country, and unfortunately, that kind of policy really widens the generation gap and places language barriers between Filipinos (i.e. the father can't really have a good conversation with the son since they can't understand each other), although probably not as much as adopting a single-language policy.

My other complaint is their reasons for deliberating such a stance. To increase love for country? I'll be the first one to admit that Filipinos do lack a certain love for their country (many Filipinos often want to migrate somewhere else, and think that anywhere except here is better) and something should be done about it. Addressing that via language, however, is not the real issue. Language is merely a scapegoat for those who don't know any better. I don't think Filipinos will signficantly love their country more if we suddenly adopt a Filipino-only policy (for commercial reasons, they might even loathe the country even more). If we want Filipinos to love the country more, there are other methods. I mean one problem in the country, for example, is that there aren't enough jobs. Do you think adopting a Filipino-only policy would address that? Or feed the unemployed? There's also the fact that many Filipinos have to go abroad in order to support their families here. Or the fact that whenever it's the wet season, there seems to be a natural disaster blown out of proportion (i.e. lost houses, deaths, tragedies) and it's not like it's totally unpredictable (of course houses built on low areas will get flooded!). If you can solve or at least alleviate those kinds of problems, that'll increase nationalism for sure! I'm sorry but when you make language your scapegoat, it'll only result in the detriment of all.

I'd also like to take a look at it from the business standpoint (because I'm Chinese, hehehe). Most of our exports arise from the fact that we can speak English (we're not that good at it, but we can speak it nonetheless). Take out English and you eliminate possible jobs. One does not not cut the hand that feeds you.

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So Much for Staying Dry

On a side note, Podium gives away these plastics to store your umbrellas. Unfortunately, it's a requirement, and fitting your umbrellas into the small packets can be difficult.

Learning

I've always believed that regardless of whether your teacher is effective or not (of course it always helps if you have a good teacher), that shouldn't be an excuse for you not to learn. And until now, I still believe in that. Honestly, as inquisitive human beings, there are several ways to learn; if not directly from someone, maybe indirectly from another source, whether it's books, other people, or via trial and error.

Science is not an Exact Science

Contrary to popular belief, science is never exact. I mean while we do get the "correct answers" most of the time, there is still that small percentage for error. And our observations are usually based on controlled environments. But real life is seldom "controlled", and a lot of variables are put into play when we're talking about reality.

Unfortunately, most people think that science is like magic: it does what it's supposed to do (and this usually stems from ignorance... I mean we don't expect to know what our doctors know, for example; we just expect them to "cure" sick people). What "experts" usually have is a prescription that they hope works, but by no means are they 100% sure it'll solve the problem. I'm sure people like doctors, programmers, and meteorologists know what I'm talking about since they're people others expect to "solve" or "predict" their problems (not that they don't honestly attempt to do so).

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Dry Pavement

It's nice to walk on streets that aren't flooded.

Of course, when you're wearing two layers of clothing, the morning sun can make you sweat.

At least it beats wearing three layers of clothing and still getting wet.

Duel-Masters

It's currently on ABS-CBN so I expected card game sales will be boosted a few weeks from now (that's also your hint to start ordering more of 'em).

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U Got Game Press Release

UGOTGAME! THE FIRST PHILIPPINE GAME DEVELOPERS CONVENTION

we'd like to invite all you guys to UGOTGAME!, the first philippine game developers convention, on the 18th of september 2004 at the philippine tourism and trade convention center (PTTC), buendia road, makati city -- next to the world trade center and the CCP open grounds.

it's organized by the the international gaming development association (IGDA) manila chapter, together with ADMU's compsat, the de la salle computer society (LSCS), the university of the philippines association of computer science majors (CURSOR), and the organization of technical innovation (OTI) of the mapua. we'll be having a student games programming competition, with nearly one hundred thousand pesos worth at stake in cash and prizes.

for more information regarding the games competition, please visit our website: http://www.ugotgame.net

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EVENT

the event hall opens promptly at 1PM and will close at 9PM.

no food and drinks are allowed inside the event hall. however, there is a cafeteria and dining hall immediately outside the hall entrance, so you are free to eat there, comfort rooms are also outside of the event hall, immediately to the left of the hall entrance.

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COSPLAY RULES

we'll also be having a cosplay competition, with the first prize at a whopping PhP 10,000. the rules of the competition are as follows:

1) only characters that originated in games on all platforms (i.e. PC, playstation, x-box, game cube, dreamcast, game boy, etc.) will be allowed. characters that have originally come from anime, manga, comics, cartoons, novels, and movies that have games featuring them as characters are officially disqualified. the cosplay team and the secretariat committee reserve sole discretion in determining if your cosplay character does or does not follow this rule.

2) please bring four (4) full-color full-body pictures of the character/s you will be cosplaying. be ready to part with these, since they will be attached to the judging forms and permanently kept as part of our archives.

3) absolutely no real and/or dangerous weapons for props. fire props and messy props (i.e. fake blood) are also not allowed. nudity and/or skimpy outfits are not disallowed, but not encouraged either. all cosplayers are responsible for their own safety, so please keep in mind that that neither the staff not the organizers are responsible for any injuries and/or inconveniences resulting from participating in the cosplay competition.

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JUDGING CRITERIA

the competition will be judged base on the following criteria. the organizers would like to exercise their privileges and not release the percentages for each category.

accuracy -- how closely the costume follows the original design of the game character portrayed.

craftsmanship -- how well the costume has been made, the level of difficulty involved in creating the costume, and the creativity employed in materials and construction techniques.

characterization -- how well the contestant portrays the personality of the character they are cosplaying over-all impact (to be replaced by audience impact during the finals judging) -- over-all appeal of the costume

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COSPLAYER PRIVILEGES

all contestants to the UGOTGAME cosplay competition are entitled to the following privileges, which are not available to contestants of other cosplay competitions during the event due to time and space constraints.

1) stage and catwalk ramp for preliminary presentation

2) stage and catwalk ramp for final presentation (finalists only)

3) mirrored dressing room with washroom

freebies will also be given away upon the contestant's registration with the cosplay team.

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