26th

Had been cut off from the Internet for quite awhile now because the PLDT hasn’t fixed our almost 2 week old DSL connection problem.  Got a connection with good old weefee at Krispy Kreme and was pleasantly surprised to find all these Facebook wall birthday greetings waiting for me.  Ganito pala bumertdey sa fezbook na yan.  Saya.

Pasta Run

Just finished sneaking into my old office of Mabuhay magazine people to deliver some baked macaroni that I cooked (spending part of my birthday cooking has been a ritual I’d been doing for the past four years).  It was a bit stressful since I got there a little before 9 am, and I was worried that I might bump into the fresh-grad I used to work under who, until a week after I quit my job was still telling me to do work and had actually wanted me to stand by in the office “in case she still had questions to ask me.”  On hindsight I guess it was my fault for politely offering to help out even after my resignation.  It was a good thing she was late for work .

Later in the day I received messages of how they like my pasta and was very pleased at this.  During my three week’s stay in the company I did not really get to know many of the people in the office but I miss them anyway.

Makati

I liked how my birthday went yesterday.  I started it off by dropping my resume at a bookstore with the hopes of getting myself a nice second job as a “book associate”, which I think involves mainly reading and ordering the supply of books for the store—a swell job don’t you think?  After that I met up with Gail, whom I haven’t seen in a long time.  It was nice of her to take time out to have lunch with me despite her being sick and in the midst of some problems her office was having.  For the most part I was very thankful that the work I do didn’t require me to slave away at an office.  Most of the people I saw at the mall taking their lunch seemed so stressed and in a hurry—practically zombies in corporate attire.

I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for toys and comics.  I’d never been good at negotiating Makati-space (I’d always end up at the wrong end of Ayala for some reason), and it was a good thing Gail helped me out with the directions.  I ended up at the Makati Cinema Square, a place which I remember being brought to on weekends when I was a kid.  Back in the 80’s it used to be a big thing for me and my siblings to be taken there or Greenbelt (which was just Greenbelt 1; nowadays there’s 5 of them already) since at the time it was the high-end happening place against Greenhills, Virramall or far away SM North EDSA.  I was surprised how run-down MCS is nowadays.  Conversely though, it’s the dilapidated places that has more character and contains more finds than pretty malls.  I loved Virra Mall that way when it used to catch fire every so often and how it used to have this dark labyrinthine character—where getting lost can actually bring you to secret shops full of rare treasures.  MCS was like that but 57 times worse.  I liked the sub-level shops best—the gunshops and their shiny ware (who would ever think such pretty things actually take life?), the shop with stacks of boxes filled with records that were probably older than me, and the stereo shops that sold refurbished but rich-looking, wood-paneled sound systems that churned out old jazz music.

Geekdom

On the geeky end, false alarms went off when I found some Naruto figures of the set I’m collecting, only to discover that they were the usual bad copies: they’re the mass produced types that were probably made with the same molding machines as what’s used to create the originals, but used inferior plastics for the job that wouldn’t hold up the casting very well.  The end result is a figurine that’s warped at some areas (sometimes they don’t resemble the characters at all), which also means the detailing doesn’t turn out well.  The paint job they do isn’t at all spectacular, you’d see all these errant streaks all over the place—which also reminds me of some badly accomplished coloring books I owned as a kid.  Most people would be content to own copies, but being a Virgo I’m very detail-oriented—those little things stick out like a mushroom cloud.  I mean, who wants to own a Sasuke figurine with a sword bent out of shape?  With clothes painted in a color that’s not the right shade?  Or with toes and fingers fused together?

And the annoying thing is that the copies also come in copy-boxes that makes you think they were the real thing.  This is very tricky for me, since I’ve always thought that when the figures come in boxes, they’re the real stuff.  In any case, I found an original Ban Dai figurine of the Last Exile at the same shop, and I look forward to that line getting restocked.  I want a miniature version of the Van Ship for my desk.  I also found out that there would be another Toy Convention this year on October, at Robinson’s Malate.  They normally hold it annually (I attended the previous ToyCon last June), but apparently they’re holding another one this year due to public demand.  Am very excited at the prospect of getting myself more figurines and manga.

Late in the afternoon I got my biggest treat of the day: not one, but two original Japan-grade Naruto figures of the Kyukyoku Shinobi Takei line.  I got a Naruto doing his signature shadow clone jutsu pose, which I’ve begun seriously collecting (worth mentioning is my SD gashapon phone keychain, which is also Ban Dai, and hangs from my desk lamp).  Ban Dai places the different figurines in identical boxes, so you wouldn’t know what was inside; if you want to collect a particular figure, you’ll just have to hope that you chance upon it by random, which also means you have to keep buying till you get the one you want (an effective, but cruel marketing strategy if you ask me).  JJ correctly guessed the Naruto in the box she handpicked herself.  While I trusted her clairvoyance, I decided to make sure I got the Sasuke figurine for my next purchase by having the store clerks open the other boxes to take quick peeks into the contents.  I got the Sasuke one drawing his katana; both figures had AMAZING detailing, which made me very very pleased.  I made a promise to hold off opening the Sasuke box until I got hold of his brother Itachi, both of which will be great pieces to start off the collection of “brother” sets I’m planning to get into (think Allen Schezar and Dilandau, Iroh and Ozai, Solid and Liquid Snake and so on).

Cineuropa

Cineuropa runs until the 20^th, and am making it a point to see all the movies that I can (I intend to hang out in the malls and do my work there this week).  JJ, mum and I saw “Blindgangers”, a film about blind kids in Germany and how they wanted to resolve the problems of a Kazakh runaway by earning some money playing as a band.  I have the impression that European education requires students (including the blind ones no less) to learn playing at least one instrument, which reminded me of my own plans to master the guitar.  Like most German films I’ve seen it was very simply done and efficient with its storytelling, something that I rarely see in local productions, which puts a premium on hysterical wailing when a character dies and is still very weak in the use of subtext as a powerful tool to establish plot or character development.

Today I walked out of a Romanian film which I found boring and typical that I just decided to work on my articles while waiting for the next film.  “Rec”, a Spanish horror film made up for that disappointment, which, to quote JJ’s friend was “sick” since it was shot from the perspective of a cameraman following his reporter, forcing you to partake of the terror as if you were there, trapped in an apartment building full of zombies.  I found this first person experience rather obscene, but also very effective as a technique.  I could never tire of zombie-epidemic movies, they’re so trite but it just gets you hooked once you start watching.  I only wish characters in zombie films had actually taken the time out to watch zombie flicks so they’re more equipped in handling their situation.  Like: stay together, and don’t run around screaming.  That loved ones, when zombiefied will not think twice (or think at all, for that matter) biting you or making you one of them.  Or keeping calm and composed on the moment of truth when that cute little girl in her PJ’s comes into view with her mouth dripping with red stuff.

In any case my sister and I were screaming along with the rest of the theatre and came out of the cinema quite stressed and thrilled to be alive.  We were so shaken by “Rec” that we spent the next hours wandering around the mall just to immerse ourselves in the normalcy of reality, and talked endlessly of what we’d do in a similar situation.

“My weapon of choice would be that steel pipe we have at home.  You can use it to butt their mouths away when they lunge at you, and it makes for a very effective swing.  I’d cripple the zombies first so in case they come back to life at least they won’t come at you as fast,” I said.  “You can also break doorknobs with it for easy access to locked rooms, then you can use it to bar the door from the inside.”

“A steel pipe would be a very realistic choice, since you have a lot of those lying around in the debris,” my sister agrees.  “Pero kung ako yung tatanungin, magdadala na ako ng flamethrower.”

Flamethrower amp.  Ahylavet.

Saberdey!

My right arm is hurting after all those laps I did at the pool yesterday, which weren’t much, but were pretty challenging for someone who hasn’t been swimming for quite awhile now.  I tried out my uncle’s training paddles (for some reason, he bequeathed his Speedo gear to me on my lola’s birthday, along with his pretty swim cap, his goggles and pool buoy) for my freestyle and while I moved considerably faster, every stroke engaged my arms around 10x more—hence today’s pain.  My uncles paddles are these yellow, rectangular looking things, which when compared with the ones people use today are pretty heavy and cumbersome.  I think I will have a look at buying a new pair soon.

I always get a bit scared when I begin my laps.  I think this is a residue of a very strong fear of the water back when I was a kid.  I was the poor guy who stayed in the boat while my sisters and my cousins jumped into the sea, or the little boy whose idea of swimming was doing a perimeter lap while clinging to the ledge of the pool.

At some point today I thought: if I push through with my water rescue, I’d be required to swim a mile’s worth of open sea.  Shit, that’s around 1.6 kilometers, I computed, 16 laps of this 50 meter pool.  And I find it even tough to do a half-lap crossing the entire length of the pool.  I guess I gotta get used to that kind of length.  I try not to think about the prospect of looking into the depths of the sea as I do this.  I don’t think I will like that part.  (Not to mention, my irrational fear of sharks lurking down there.  Not even Phelps has a chance against those guys.)

Today’s going to be a pretty long day.  It’s market day (I’ve been in charge of cooking and buying food in the house since I began my work at home setup), and afterwhich I’ll be heading to Tagaytay to visit a farm that uses hydroponics systems to grow their stuff.  Am just planning to do a lightning quick survey of their hydroponics setup, the materials they used and the tools I need.  According to my timetable, I have the last quarter of this year to build my prototype NFT, and I should be able to get it to work.  It’ll require a lot of tinkering, but am very excited to be able to finally apply the stuff I learned at the seminar I attended November last year.  I’ll see if I can drag Gregg and Mo for this adventure.

I’ll be hitting the malls after, to look for a Naruto volume #1 manga; I missed out on buying the collector’s edition, and I was pretty bummed out about that.  It was disappointing to find the thing I’d be saving up for suddenly gone, and to saleslady explaining how someone had already bought the item two weeks ago.  Hmn, today would also seem like a good day to have a haircut.  I’d like to look decent when I attend an orgmate’s party later at some Italian restaurant at Makati later.

I love Saturdays.

Tarak and On Track

September 11, 2009

I’ll be leaving in a bit to work at Tiendesitas on my articles, where the wifi is pretty good.  The DSL here at home has been down for more than a week now, and I’ve had to head out for some mall to mooch free wifi since then.  Like yesterday, I’ll probably be heading for the Philsports Complex (formerly known as ULTRA) to swim for 30 minutes to a full hour, and maybe run a couple of laps around the track oval.  I ran for 30 minutes with Mo yesterday, and had begun running with Jaynee only last week.

I’m really into the whole health thing nowadays, especially now that I’ve given up smoking for almost a month now.  Cigarettes have been trusty companions while I reviewed for the Foreign Service Written Exam, and I promised to quit after it’s done.  My record isn’t really so clean, but apart from a couple of puffs, I’ve been a steady, cold turkey about it.  Whenever I find myself running out of breath while running or swimming, I remember all those alveoli in my lungs killed in the past and resolve to preserve the ones I have left.

I’ve only started running again this week after my legs had finally healed from that the mountain trek I came from last weekend.  I climbed Tarak Ridge in Bataan—the first mountain I’d climbed since 2004—along with the Loyola Mountaineers and the experience filled my reservoir of happiness up to the brim.  I was teamed up with Jason and Mansy—Team Daga—and in the midst of a tiring trek, a cold wet and dirty campsite and stormy weather I found myself really bonding with those two.  I still remember how warm and clean it was inside our tent, while the storm raged outside.  Jason’s funky LED light swung above our heads, and Mansy and I huddled together under my warm Ilocos blanket as we waited for our food to cook.  Mansy’s angel hair pasta and tomato sauce didn’t turn out very well—it was like eating Maggi instant noodles with ketchup—but we were all polite and happy about it anyway, and were very thankful that the food was warm.  In the middle of nowhere I found home.

I think I will be climbing a lot more in the coming months.

*              *              *

Am just waiting for JJ to come in from her last day of work before I leave.  She’s been quite the workaholic since she began working 2 months ago.  I rarely see her these days; she leaves for work with mum early in the morning and comes home past midnight.  It’s good that she’s getting off work.  She still has to work on her unfinished thesis, which will be bringing her up to Baguio maybe next week.  I think I’ll be coming with her to spend some time in Baguio.  Thank God for my kind of work.

Since I work at home and have been generally managing my work in a way that frees up so much of my time, I’ve been looking at doing second or third jobs.  I tried out working as a researcher at a local travel magazine, a stint in which I lasted a mere three weeks.  The workload was okay, and the office was full of really cute girls, but eventually I found out that the place was being run by some old guy who had a really big ego.  It also turns out that two of the cute girls were the boss’ daughters.  The people were all pretty cool by themselves (my favorite among them would be Pai, a girl who reads a lot, likes the Strokes and collects Batman comic books), but as a group the dynamics were dead—seemingly because the boss and at least one of his kids wanted to run things their way, and nobody really had the rights to speak up anymore, and even if they did it was all futile.  I don’t mind family run businesses; I’ve seen a lot of those that are pretty functional.  The things is, this one doesn’t actually own the business… they just run it.  Beyond that, I’ve been hearing a lot of bad things about how company money is spent.

Whether these things are true or not I noticed that I’d been absorbing a lot of negative energy at that place and I decided to get out as early as I could.  I noticed that I had a hard time getting up to cook breakfast for my family (which I always enjoyed doing), and was always tired and grumpy since I had to work on more articles for my original job by the time I got home.  I found myself sinking into unhappiness and after realizing that, the decision was easy.  A lot of people were amazed when I heard what I did, and personally, I don’t understand their surprise.  Friends of mine say they’re not “brave” enough to leave their jobs even though it turns them into the walking dead.  Why do something you don’t want?  Why stay at something that eats at you everyday?  It reminds me of something Martin told me a year ago.  When you’re doing something you don’t want, or doesn’t figure into your own plan, it just takes you farther away from your dreams and goals.

I like the fact that I know where I want to be.  It doesn’t matter if my goals are so far away.  One step at a time, I’ll get there.  Knowing what I want is my piece of security, a secret inside of me that burns like a star, and it makes me very happy.  It’s like being in my own warm, dry tent with good friends as the storm rages on outside.

*              *              *

Speaking of dreams, I had a dream about the written exam again.  They appended the exam with a “culture” test which gave you a list of literature and art, and from that list you had to identify which ones where “high art”, “mid-art” and “low art”.  It was so tough that as the time began to run out, I decided to pick things out randomly.  Later on, when I woke up, I figured there was no right or wrong answer for that kind of question, only that you had to give an answer.

I’d been having those dreams about that written exam for quite awhile now.  I’ll write about the exam sometime soon.  For now, it’s really all about waiting.

But as always, I’m focusing on other things.  I’ve been accomplishing a lot of things I’ve wanted to do off my to-do list, there’s signing up in an Aikido dojo, seriously taking up German or Chinese, getting a scuba license with Joanne, and studying my business plan.  Yesterday, I just finished signing up for a Red Cross First Aid and Basic Life Support training, which is a prerequisite to the course I really want to take: Lifeguarding and Water Rescue—a tough course that in the end, will test you by getting you to swim for a mile out in the open sea.  Looking forward to that, minna-san!

Studying and Starscream

I just got home and it’s begun to rain, the healthy kind that beats a good percussion on the rooftops.

I’ve just read Naruto issue 454 online and I have to say I’m liking his character more and more.  The plot continues to thicken as the Five Kages, or the leaders of the Hidden Villages are on their way to meeting after decades after the upheaval Sasuke and the renegade Akatsuki (something like our very own Abu Sayyaf) have caused in the ninja world.  I like the title so much that I’ve decided that as of the next payday, I’m going to start earmarking a portion of my salary towards collecting the graphic novels, starting from when Naruto first tried out for the ninja academy.

It’s really this never-say-die attitude Naruto has, apart from his fiery idealism and natural talent that sucks me into his character.  I’m really in need of that lately since I only have a little less than a month to read up for the dreadful written exams for the Foreign Service.  I’ve already given up some of my happier distractions, like searching for rare figurines (of guess who) all over the metro in order to spend quality time with my books.  I’ve also said goodbye to my level 29 Barbarian character, Kalibri (whom I’d named after my favorite font) when I uninstalled Diablo II on my computer.  I’ve also cleared a lot of work with my boss this week, and had been working really hard at finishing the lengthy output he’s been asking of me.    I’ve even given up smoking around the house as a form of deal with God in exchange for Him getting me through the impending exams.  (I think I will give it up altogether since I know it kills brain cells and I could use all the neurons I could get for that test.)

Call me a geek but I have this pseudo heads protector I got from the toy convention a couple of weeks ago that I wear whenever I’ve got to focus; something like a thinking cap to get me into fighting mode.  Wearing it banishes the laziness I have to cut through in order to finish tasks quickly and with fervor.  Whenever it’s on, I don’t mind waking up early in the mornings to cook breakfast, or sit down and write my articles or drive my mum to work–it always feels like I’m doing a great service to Konoha.  It’ll be plastered on my head for the rest of the month as I tackle my review, I think.

I’ve finally pushed further from the Neolithic Age in the asian history book I’m studying after being stuck there for so long.  Most of the time I let the words flow in and flow out, hoping my mind would in itself of important events and just really focusing on the things I’m interested in.  I’m currently on Indian culture and religion, which is fascinating.  I intend to finish the entire book down to the modern era by Sunday so I can use it as a base as I move towards more detailed readings like the the one on JPEPA and other trading treaties or current events like the Somali pirates, H1N1 developments and even the death of Michael Jackson (you never know what might come out in the exam).

Awhile ago though I spent some time eating takuyaki, fish and squidballs as I went looking for potential objects for retail therapy.  My older sister told me to start looking for a watch I like since she’s buying me one as an advance birthday present.  I’m not really a watch person; I haven’t worn a watch since grade school (my last timepiece was a good old Casio whose face had eventually faded from use), but I thought I could really use one now–it would be a useful accessory if I do pass my exam and move on to the oral exams where everything about you–how you speak, what you wear down to how many times you go to the bathroom–will be judged by the examiners in a formal diplomatic dinner.  Lora helped me pick a nice one I really really like which was well within the budget.  It was the type of watch that had a timeface that looked professional enough–the nice thing was, that at a switch of a button a digital face would appear with all the cool numbers and metrics you would normally find in a triathlon watch.  It’ll be very useful when I run the Iron Man in 2013.

I also found a nice mountaineering bag which I’ll be using on the LM trainings climbs once the exam is done.   That, along with a lot of useless things I want to purchase at one of those Japanese surplus stores that sold everything for P85.  Ah plans plans.

*   *   *

Good news: JJ is no longer unemployed.  I think she’s had enough of our side remarks on this for the past months, apart from wanting to have her own gimmick money to spend.  For the most part her bumhood had given us the moral ascendancy to make her the willing Cinderella of the household.  And with good results too, as floors were waxed and meals were cooked.  But our happy days are over, huhu.

Welcome to the ranks of the working sistah!

*   *   *

Nga pala, we have a new kitty.  Bebu and I found her at Shangrila the other day, under some bushes, motionless and bewildered the way most kittens are when they’ve just realized they’ve been separated from their litter.  She’s grown out of the milkfeeding phase, and after a few meals has become an energetic little thing around the house.  She’s three-colored like my last cat Petra who died last year, whom we had picked up under the same circumstances: abandoned, tiny and scrawny-looking.  Petra bloomed into a beauty after a year so this means that after more meals and a whole lot of lovin’ the new kitty has a future as the new Anne Hathaway of the cat world.

My sister JJ and I were still a bit hungover with Transformers 2 when we named her, which might have been a mistake since we now call her Starscream.  (She does run away to hide at the slightest noise.)  All hail, Starcream!

I feel like Fantasia Barrino.

Candy, my classmate in the Ateneo European Studies review for the FSO sent me a text this morning.  Which led me to look up the DFA website (http://dfa.gov.ph/?p=6188):

DFA ANNOUNCES RESULTS OF THE QUALIFYING TEST OF THE
2009 FSO EXAMINATIONS

The Board of Foreign Service Examinations would like to announce that the following one hundred twenty (120) examinees passed the Qualifying Test of the 2009 Foreign Service Officer (FSO) Examination, held on 10 May 2009 in various testing centers throughout the country, and in Dubai, Vienna and Washington, D.C.

1.   ABIAN, GIAN ALEXIS I.
2.   ABUBAKAR, PEARLSHA B.
3.   ACOBA, RON ALBERT M.
4.   AGDUMA, TIMOTHY PAUL M.
5.   ALAWI, ABDULHAMID JR. C.
6.   APACIONADO, LAARNI D.
7.   APON, FE T.
8.   AVELINO, DIOSIE CLAINE D.
9.   AVILA, ROSIE O.
10.  BABOR, SARAH FAYE Q.
11.  BACOL, ARIEL P.
12.  BACTOL, MARY GRACE N.
13.  BAGSIC, SARAH MAE S.
14.  BAGUIOS, JOHN MARIE T.
15.  BARRACA, RUBY AMOR C.
16.  BAUTISTA, FAITH P.
17.  BAUZON, THEODORE ANDREI P.
18.  BEJAR, MARIA FATIMA ANTONIA M.
19.  BENTULAN, ALFREDO JR. L.
20.  BORINAGA, MOSES KENT B.
21.  BRACERO, WIVINO II E.
22.  BRINGAS, MARIANNE I.
23.  BULANG, OLIVER C.
24.  BUSTOS, JANINA LOURDES S.
25.  CARINGAL, JAIMEE FELICE A.
26.  CHAMEN, CAROLINE MAY R.
27.  CHIENG, MARIE CRIS P.
28.  CHUA, MARK VINCENT O.
29.  CONSING, ANGELA GABRIELLE P.
30.  CORTES, AARON DANIEL F.
31.  CUALlNG, MAR BIANCA F.
32.  CYPRES, CANDY S.
33.  DALISAY, KARLO ANDREI N.
34.  DAUZ, TIMOTHY CLARK B.
35.  DE DIOS, MIKHAL C.
36.  DE JESUS, RANDOLPH JOSEPH H.
37.  DE VERA, MA. CRISTINA P.
38.  DELA CRUZ, KRISTINE D.
39.  DEMAIN, ARTHUR NIELSEN C.
40.  DIANELA, JOHN EARL A.
41.  DIAZ, ANTONIO II T.
42.  DISANGCOPAN, ABDEL JAMAL R.
43.  DOMINGO, ABIGAIL S.
44.  ESPINA, AILEEN LYNELLE S.
45.  FRANCISCO, MANMAR C.
46.  GABRIOLA, ALAN ROI Q.
47.  GANDAROSA, LAARNI ZORAYDA S.
48.  GARCIA, JANE HAZEL MARIE S.
49.  GARCIA, JAYSEN AMOR M.
50.  GARDON, KARINA MARIE S.
51.  GAYAS, GAMALIEL G.
52.  GREGORIO, MA. CRISTINA CARMINA B.
53.  GUZMAN, MARYVHALERIE F.
54.  JAMORA, MARIJO CYPRIL T.
55.  JAVIER, JULIE E.
56.  JUGO, JAMINA VESTA M.
57.  KINTANAR, PATERNO GENARO A
58.  KUHUTAN, IBNKHALDON S.
59.  LAO, LOREN HALLILAH I.
60.  LAPUZ, ROSALIE T.
61.  LEJANO, REGINA FRANCESCA P.
62.  LEONZON, MA RIZZA G.
63.  LIBO-ON, PATRICIA GRACE P.
64.  LIM, VANESSA LUISA SOCORRO P.
65.  LINSANGAN, LAUREN KYRA O.
66.  LUKBAN, MARIE EUNICE S.
67.  MABAYO, RAISA A.
68.  MAGCAMIT, MICHAEL I.
69.  MALDO, SHERYL B.
70.  MAMUTUK, JAMEL T.
71.  MANALANG, KRISTINA C.
72.  MANALASTAS, DENNIS GERARD F.
73.  MAPPALA, MARIE GRACE C.
74.  MARTINEZ, CERES MAY B.
75.  MERCADO, MA. CONSOLACION C.
76.  MIJARES, JARED P.
77.  MILAN, SHARON ROSE R.
78.  MITRA, ELLA KARINA R.
79.  MOGARTE, REGINALD G.
80.  MORALES, JOSE CARLO G.
81.  MORCO, MILTON T.
82.  MORTEL, ANDRE B.
83.  MUALLAM, FATIMA RHAISIETA J.
84.  NAVARRO, JAN MICHAEL F.
85.  OBMINA, PAUL ANGELO D.
86.  PAHUYO, LOUISE MAY C.
87.  PAJARON, CAROLINE H.
88.  PAJIMOLA, MARY CLAUDETTE M.
89.  POJAS, PRECIOUS AUREA L.
90.  PONCE, MARK JOSHUA B.
91.  PRE, MARIA TERESA D.
92.  RELUCIO, KATRINA MARIE D.
93.  RIVERA, ANNE PERPETUAL S.
94.  RODRIGUEZ, MARIA FILIPINA J.
95.  ROMAQUIN, ALPHA D.
96.  SADIARIN, ELIZABETH JOY M.
97.  SALAZAR, VIRGEMARIE A.
98.  SALVADOR, ANNE KRISTINE D.
99.  SANTOS, ANNA MARIA M.
100. SAROMINES, GINO C.
101. SAYCON, MICHAEL Z.
102. SY, RACHELLE T.
103. TAGALO, ROMULO D.
104. TIBURCIO, ROSE ANNE Q.
105. TIGLAO, JEROME F.
106. TINIO, LIAM ANTHONY R.
107. UMINGLI, DOMIFEL B.
108. VALENZUELA, BENIGNO JR. M.
109. VALLESPIN, ALEX O.
110. VELOSO, IMELDA R.
111. VICENTE, JONALLAIN M.
112. VICTORIOSO, MARISOL P.
113. VILLA, LEO VICENTE FRANCISCO C.
114. VILLAR, EULA BIANCA J.
115. VIRAY, CHRISTINE P.
116. YAP, SHARON BEAULAH V.
117. YASAY, EDWARD B.
118. ZABAT, MARIA LOURDES M.
119. ZETA, GESELLE FRANCES P.
120. ZOSA, ELEANOR JOAN S.
*****NOTHING FOLLOWS*****

These examinees are hereby eligible to take the Preliminary Interview of the 2009 FSO Examination, to be held from 01 to 02 August 2009 at the DFA Building, 2330 Roxas Boulevard, Pasay City. Should the examinees pass the Preliminary Interview, they are eligible to take the Written Test of the 2009 FSO Examination, to be held from 05 to 07 August 2009, also at the DFA Building.

They are instructed to submit all requirements for the Preliminary Interview to the Board Secretariat (tel. nos. 834-3080, 834-3083, or 834-4925) by Friday. 10 July 2009.

*   *   *

Candy is # 32!  I also see a couple of familiar names from my review class.  Congratulations, mina-san!  Hope we can get together to drink… then study, hihi

Looks like my plan to get back into climbing mountains this month will have to wait as I have to go into hermit mode again to cram.

From what I hear, the worst is yet to come.  In any case, I’ll be celebrating before I get back into the routine.  1 exam down; 4 more death levels to go!  It’s a long tough road before I actually become a consul.

Thanks for the prayers and I hope you guys pray for everyone on the list!

Taking advice from Gabriel Marcel

After almost an entire week of mulling over and skirting around major concerns, I’ve finally decided to take initial steps in putting things back into perspective and getting back on track.  And what better way to start than to clean up, compartmentalize, discard the unnecessary, streamline and optimize. 

My sister says Virgo’s lives revolve around tidiness (that gravitates toward OC-ness), and while I can’t really say I’m a tidy person, I will agree that I consider the clean-up process to serve as an anchor of sorts, or as a marker defining a significant point at a given period, often one that anticipates change. 

I started by finally putting away all the reviewers I used to prepare for the exam I took last week.  While stuffing them into a cabinet, I realized that these reviewers, when stacked one on top of the other measured around a foot in thickness.  (I felt a hollow laugh implode in my chest at that point.)  Then I put together all the readings I’m supposedly poring over yet haven’t touched (which don’t quite reach a foot thick but amount to considerable material anyway—which pretty much scream start reading already foo’!). 

I tidied up my everyday workstation, too.  It was a pity to sweep away the accumulation of dust, hair and food particles that was on its way to becoming a system conducive to supporting life at the initial stages of evolution, but it brought me the utmost pleasure to do so anyway. 

Had a haircut, too, at David’s Salon at Countryside.  May suki na ako doon. 

*          *          *

I have not been very productive this week, having only finished 1 article vs. my quota of 3 articles per week.  I couldn’t write.  One of the reasons is that I’ve been having these chronic headaches since Monday (I may need to have my eyes checked tomorrow).  But the main reason is because I’ve been distracting myself from what’s really bothering me. 

And I’ve done really well in distracting myself.  I did an Avatar: The Last Airbender marathon with a DVD I borrowed, which is probably the best non-anime series I have watched (it exceeded my expectations considering I initially thought the whole idea of balance and powers gained through the elements was a trite concept… I’ll write a review on this sometime).  I enriched myself with a thorough reading of Rokugani histories from L5R.  I slept a lot, too; I dreamed heaps and heaps about stray cats and in a totally unrelated dream I got to use my weapon of choice—the steel pipe—on a cyborg bounty hunter (it wasn’t very effective but it counted for a lot of cathartic release).  I ate a lot of rice (I probably gained back the 12 pounds I lost at the first quarter of ‘09) and also began re-reading American Gods—a fine copy which I was able to get at a used book stall.  As well as checking and re-checking if, by some fluke in the system, Naruto manga #447 would come out a week early (it wouldn’t).

Notice that these are all comfort-distractions I indulged in.  Mundane, yet happy stuff which might as well be the non-drug equivalent of Prozac.  Despite all that, I find myself still deeply bothered, which means I will have to write it down as a last-ditch effort at making sense of what’s happened.  And regain a semblance of equilibrium in my perturbed psyche. 

*          *          *

I don’t know how I did on the exam last Sunday!  And it’s driving me crazy!

For weeks and weeks I’ve prepared myself for the test, and for weeks and weeks I’ve trained myself to remain calm and keep steady whatever the outcome of the test is.  So far I’ve succeeded in going on with a happy, positive demeanor, but my distractions are running out!  (Okey, chillax lang mehn.  Hinga ng malalim.)

I could blame it all on the non-aircon classrooms where it was held.  Or the tiny armchair I had to negotiate, the writing area of which was smaller than A4 size (which meant I had to jiggle my test booklet on my other leg).  The table surface was also very coarse, which made shading the answer boxes very, very troublesome.   

I thought I was ready, with my dozen sharpened #2 Mongol pencils and 1.5 liter of blue Gatorade (which I didn’t have time to drink during the test because I couldn’t spare the time to do so).  But… I don’t know!  Sigh.  I don’t think I did so bad… but at the same time, I don’t know if I did so well to make the cutoff grade. 

I can’t believe how fast time went by during that exam.  Three hours, gone just like that; it’s like everything was on Hyperspace on the Millennium Falcon, those moments when the hyperdrive was working perfectly fine and not stalling like it typically does.  I can’t believe I spent the same amount of time running 25 kilometers at the New Balance Power Race… time seemed to go on forever then (yes I know; 3 hours for 25k is a terrible record). 

After turning in my test paper I found the examinees outside, a number of them gasping for air like I was.  Quite a few were very cool and confident (I hate them huhu).  Most were going over the details of the test.  Some went straight to the food stalls. 

Kaniya-kaniyang coping mechanism lang din.  Yung akin, iba.  I went on a date to see the new Star Trek movie.  It felt like betrayal since I had sworn allegiance to the Galactic Empire as a die-hard Jedi-fan; I never was a Trekkie.  (Then again I also heard Sylar was playing the young version of Leonard Nimoy’s character, Dr. Spock, which was worth checking out.) 

I also had to go as far away as possible from that exam and Examination Room #9, and what better way for me to do that than to head for outer space?

*          *          *

Everyone who knows I’ve taken the test tells me I probably did okay, and not to worry.  It’s sound advice, very easy to give; however it’s a whole different story when you’ve on the receiving end.  I often give a casual reply: “Nah, it was tough.  But it’s okay, I’ll just take it next year.”  Actually, I’m just keeping my expectations realistic, which means I’m not expecting too much.  And now what I have to do is to focus on studying for the second test (which is a lot more difficult than the one I just took) in the slim likelihood that I do pass. 

But these two things contradict each other: not expecting a positive outcome, and working hard for an exam which I can only take after a positive outcome.  This is where the problem lies. 

There are a lot of things involved: like fear, self-doubt, and pride.  Maybe pride, mostly.  And these things keep me from hoping for anything good to come out of this.  And to not hope leads to the other thing, which is: to despair.  Unfortunately there is no middle ground between the two.  It can only be either hope or despair. 

I think for the past week, I have been trying to distract myself from losing hope, and I know it has been dampening my motivation to follow through with my game plan. 

If I’m to go on with this, I must change the spirit with which I see the outcomes.  Right now, I should be studying.  Studying hard for a test I will be taking, one way or another. 

As for the results of the exam, I can do nothing but patiently wait (everyone says the hard part is in the waiting).  I must be strong, and keep myself disciplined and focused on my goal.  After all I am Crab samurai, and the battle is never over. 

Pray with me, okay?

I am Crab!

Viral Issues and Vhong Navarro

My sister JJ and I are watching the news, getting updated on recent developments on the swine flu virus.  Four people have already died and around 2,000 are infected, and the virus seems to be mutating into different strains.  Perhaps movies like Outbreak that feature rapidly evolving strains of airborne diseases, or even zombie flicks—the premise of which involve highly contagious viruses that turn the majority of the human population into living dead that feed on the non-zombie survivors (Honestly, can’t the zombies just feed on each other?  Or are they iffy about the idea of cannibalism?)—has turned me paranoid about this issue and less skeptic to the possibility that it can reach a pandemic scale.  

If this is a Zeitgeit-ish ploy by the powers that be to inject fear into society in order to maintain control over the scared sheep, then you can call me easy to manipulate in this count.  But I’m appreciating all the effort the DOH is expending to beef up the preventive effort (like the immediate set-up of thermal scanning of people coming into the country, and the indiscriminate quarantine of those who display symptoms, and even the whole issue raised with the homecoming of Team Pacquiao) and its proactive stockpiling of vaccines and counter-flu medicine. 

Indeed, distance and geographical factors are no longer as substantial as they were before now that transcontinental highways are wide open, but I still find myself lucky to be living in the P.I.  A doctor from back in HEALTHDEV once told me that viruses don’t like the climate in our country and are unlikely to survive if they do get here(namamatay siguro sila sa sipon hehe)—hence the relatively milder impact of SARS and bird flu here compared to other countries.  The other day I had this horrible scenario playing in my head where only the Philippines is spared from a zombie-outbreak that spreads across the planet.  Nonetheless I didn’t think we would last for long considering our handicap in protecting the borders of our country, which will render us vulnerable to the hordes of hungry zombies that will commandeer jumbo jets and sea vessels into the Motherland.  (I know, I know.  It’s a morbid thought.  Shall stop.)

*          *          *

Pathetically, the only way I could make light of the dark, looming possibilities is the quirky happenstance that the virus’ name perfectly fits into the syllabication of a catchy, giggly and contagiously happy commercial jingle of certain brand of ice cream (yung kinanta ni Vhong Navarro).

So whenever things get a bit serious and scary, my sister and I kind of secretly sing the song to lighten things up. 

“A-H1N1 ha-pee ka-arawan…”

Afterwhich we would admonish each other:  “Wag ganon men.  Seryosong issue ang swine flu.  Masamang biro yan.”

Another reason to bee happy

I wish my dad were alive today to be affirmed of the real estate decision he once made when he was young man.  Real estate growth at the Ortigas Extension has been steady the past years, which started off with the opening of Ever Gotesco around 15 years ago, then S&R Pricesmart (which had already closed and is now replaced by Super 8), and the opening of the small commercial compound across Countryside that has an Allied Bank, a David’s Salon and a spa called Heaven and Earth.  Convenience stores with 24-hour services such as the San Miguel Food Stop—and only recently—Mini Stop have popped up to cater to call center folk and taxi drivers in search of a consumer oasis in the middle of the night.  It’s a far cry from, say the Ortigas complex or the Ayala business district, but one can say it’s showing a lot of promise with the steady growth and a definite—while modest—potential as a commercial hub.      

The mushrooming of low to medium-rise condominiums in the area in the past years further emphasizes the point, but as of today I have just witnessed a development that definitely places our area in The Real Estate Map.  Bigla kong naintindihan yung sinabi ni Salim sa Slumdog Millionaire na “India is at the center of the world.  And I, am at the center of the center.”   

Today, I came across nearly finished structure that, when upon completion, effectively becomes an indicator of golden prosperity that will usher in the steep appreciation of real estate value in our area.  I’m talking about…

            Drumroll…

            …MAY MAGBUBUKAS NANG JOLLIBEE OUTLET SA’MEN!!!

            Woohoo!  I shall be there on the opening day of Jollibee De Castro. 

Gudjab, Pa.  Thanks to you, Cone Twirl and Chickenjoy will only be a two-minute bike ride away.

Black Saturday

Currently at Mr. Donuts, supposedly studying while my girlfriend is at some part of the mall with her friends, hunting for a top she could use for her Ateneo Law interview this coming Monday.  I did try out the ‘shopping-boyfriend’ role for a bit, though.  Boys do try. 

 A lot has happened the past week.  On geeky superficial news, #442 of the manga series has Naruto defeating the last of Pain’s six bodies, ending with a teaser for the next chapter when Naruto finally gets to meet the real Pain (Nagato).  I’m glad Kishimoto is finally finishing off the Pain arc.  It’s been quite an exciting ride with seeing Naruto’s new abilities like his perfected Rasen-shuriken and his ingenious use of senjutsu (sage mode), as well as the intriguing revelations and character development (particularly with Hinata who, in a particularly critical moment breaks the bonds of unrequited love)—but at this point I have to say that the action has long peaked and the pace will soon drag if things don’t reach a resolution soon.  I’m looking forward to the long-awaited catharsis (how will Naruto bring out Pain from his jaded, defeatist ideology?), as well as the answers to issues left hanging, like: Is Kakashi dead?  Will age finally catch up with the weakened Tsunade-sama?  What is Tobi’s next move, and how does Sasuke figure into that?  Will Naruto reciprocate Hinata’s feelings?  (On the last one I think it’s going to be a Harry-Potter-I-gotta-save-the-world-first kind of outcome). 

Aaaaanyway.  Onto the important stuff.  I’ve begun my Saturday review classes in Ateneo last Saturday (no review today due to the Lenten holidays)—which reminds me that as of yesterday, April 10^th, I have exactly a month to go before the much anticipated qualifying exams.  The ensuing countdown has me gotten all excited and anxious, and I’m doubled over with effort at tackling my reviewers. 

My current GMAT reviewer is a lot of help, providing a lot of word problems and ways to go about them.  I’m currently on “work and tank” problems, which basically has to do with the rate at which a person A works to finish a job and how long the job will take if he joins up with person B who works twice his rate.  Am looking forward to doing the timed practice exams in the GMAT reviewer—there are a total of six—which pretty much covers the stuff I need for my exam, covering math, reading comprehension and logic.  It’s a good find considering I had to comb a chunk of Recto’s second hand book shops for it.  The shop that sold it to me had hundreds of dusty books stacked on its walls, leaving a narrow space in between to negotiate when passing through.  You can just imagine the effort the storekeepers had to go through to hunt for the GMAT book (to the point na nahiya na akong makipagtawaran ng lubusan).  They’re promising me three more GMAT books along the way which I’ll be snapping up once I’m done with my current one. 

I love cheap finds