Wicked

Stories in the back of my head

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 13:14:00 +0000

I found myself lost in thoughts for a while today, and recalled what led me to enroll for a communication course, considering that I have zero talent in public speaking or socializing with strangers. All I knew was that I loved anything audiovisual. I liked film making, production, photography. But every now and then, I still wonder if I'm in the right path. But then again, don't we all?

And then I remembered the sole reason that solidified my decision. I loved writing. I still do, and I think I've been taking that passion for granted too much these years. The last time I ever wrote a story (although I always never end up finishing it) was in summer 2010, about these two girls who go to a public visual and performing arts school and meet a local music group of four boys. Not really sure where the storyline was headed, I was struggling not to make them Americanized (because that's just so boring), but I ended up creating a list of character profiles and back histories, and inventing a whole new European setting, complete with street names and standard places like banks, day care centers, tea houses, bridges, and showrooms. I was fond of making back histories for characters that I end up just simply outlining them and forgetting to write a story about them. I didn't think it was weird, but now I do. Meh.

I also made up a story (under the horribly embarrassing pen name Deathwished) about this centuries-old warrior woman named Anvanya (I tried to find a Russian/Swedish-y name) who doesn't know that her powers attracted a lot of evil forces, including this tall, dark, and handsome centuries-old-too warlock. However, he realizes that the woman is the 21st-century reincarnation of the girl he once fell in love with, and now he's torn between his duty and his own choices. Sounds like big stuff but on paper they're pretty shitty to me now. Lol.

I have never let anyone read my freaking shallow, silly stories because (1) they're never finished or even halfway done, (2) my dialogues are super simple and witless, and (3) I'm shyyyyy. I read a lot of fanfics online that were so good that make my stories seem like dog food. O_o I was like, how can they write paragraph after paragraph about just one little scene and not get the reader tired of it? Why don't I have that kind of talent?! Haha. I had a lot of plots stocked up on my OneNote, waiting to be unfolded into short stories or 90-page Word documents, but every time I pick one plot and try to write it, I feel like I wouldn't live up to my own expectations. It's like I'd just be wasting my time trying to write a story that I know I won't, or can't, finish.

Now that I'm in college, I know my biggest drawback in creative writing is: creating conflicts is just ABC. But creating clever ways to solve them and get my characters out of certain situations was ZWODMFJEIQ.

So...for several years, my stories just lay in dust. Or in long-forgotten folders, wasting up memory space.

...And then, somehow, in the past three months, I managed to bag two awards (last places, but I'm happy) in editorial and feature writing. One's a regional contest, the other national. I shrugged off the first one as mere luck, until came the second award. I would spend a long time staring at those medals, wondering what the hell happened, why were these awarded to me and not the more experienced writers of the team?

Not that I'm boasting, or implying that oh, I'm a frikkin better writer zan any of zem so promote me and make me literary editor nao! Lol no. That's absurd. But I do feel proud of it, yes, and more importantly I feel extremely grateful, because it stirred up the passion to write again. Somehow it gave that little much-needed push to motivate me to start writing again. I know my writing drawbacks are still unchanged, but I doubt I'll improve much if I simply stopped, right?

P.S. Oh goodie! I'm writing long entries again!

Wicked Wonderland: Teaser

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:54:00 +0000

(Drew and painted the Cheshire Cat from scratch. The teeth were fun and painful to paint!)

Every year, the MassComm juniors organize an awards ceremony called the Bilib Awards (Bilib = believe). It mainly gives recognition to the Top 10 freshmen who passed the screening and to the MassComm students' works in major classes, like Best Photography Portfolio, Best Advertising Agency, Best Actor in a Play, Best Sitcom, etc. It's our turn this year and I'm in the creative committee, as usual. This is gonna be fun! Bilib Awards, bring it on!

The Spectrum Fellowship 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:48:00 +0000

Logo design inspiration: Sherlock Holmes credits! The little bunch of text was murder; I had to type everything that I see from our issues. But the whole thing looked exactly like how I imagined it.

Now I can't believe it's now over! I got praises from Glen Concio of Summit Media for my works in the magazine and I freaking hate myself for forgetting to give my number (he asked for mine and Rupert's). Lol. Anyway, Fellowship is done. Sportsfest week is done. The weekend's almost done. Tomorrow is a normal day. I am not excited. -_-

Manila Weekend

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 14:53:00 +0000

The Spectrum sent Jayrick and me as delegates to the 23rd Campus Journalism Awards held by the DLSU-Manila's yearbook team, Green and White, last Saturday. I felt a little small next to the big groups of delegates from other Lasallian schools in Luzon, but my hopes were not that down. But...

The whole conference experience was, honestly, horrible. I dunno if it's just us but somehow Tagalog people aren't as hospitable as Negrenses. You wouldn't get a single good morning or is there something I can help you with? from them unless you say hi first. One of the day's highlights for me was when Jayrick and I ate lunch at 5pm (I can't believe they continued their contests with starving delegates). So Jayrick and I were at the table alone, eating, drinking Coke. And suddenly a couple of female organizers came over to check the food, said a weak hi, and a few minutes later they were making jump shot pictures. In front. Of us. Eating. My brain has exploded. It's not like there isn't any better background around. It took a short walk around one part of the campus to ease my head off.

Yay for cash prizes!

Seriously, I don't mean to insult the Green and White staff or the whole DLSU community, but really, I didn't really have a nice time. To cut it all short, Jayrick and I placed 2nd & 3rd in English feature writing, woopie! My second writing award! That wiped away all the frowns and made the starvation worth it.

***

Anyway. We didn't spend much, because my aunt treated us to almost everything: dinner at a Korean restaurant (to celebrate our awards), lodging at their house, and lunch at a Chinese restaurant the next day, to celebrate Chinese New Year.

Kalbitang! Beef, noodles, and some pechay-ish leaves. Lol.

Meet Taeyang! He really likes Jayrick. XD

Lol, Ateneo high school parking lot, while waiting for my cousin.

The chapel/church inside the Ateneo campus

We spent the entire Sunday morning at Divisoria (I left with two pairs of osam tennis shoes), passed by PNoy's residence, took pictures at Ateneo De Manila, bought Cello's donuts instead of the overrated and not-as-delicious Krispy Kreme, and went to the airport at 3pm. Thank God for the National Bookstore there: I finally found a copy of Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat! XD

And so there goes our chaotic but wonderful weekend!

Moods

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:11:00 +0000

It's like doble kara. On one hand, I'm pissed. My patience finally snapped today. I've decided that I don't think I can tolerate the teeth-gnashing and deep-breathing for a longer time anymore. On the other hand, I'm happy (and I know it but I will not clap my fucking hands; trolling) to know that I'm a nominee for the print and visual arts category of the Corps d' Elite 2012!

And now to fix this mood issue I'll just drown myself in Photoshop all night.

Bucketful of wishes

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 02:21:00 +0000

I updated my bucket list, things both ambitious and random that I want to do before I end my twenties. To discipline myself, I made it a point to at least scratch something off first before I can add something new, but for now I'm sticking to 50 things.

1. Visit my uncle in Dubai before I graduate from college

2. Visit my aunts in Toronto and San Francisco

3. Get a VISA before graduation

4. Travel to South Korea

5. Experience autumn, or better yet, winter. I easily get cold but I don't care

6. Wear contacts

7. Create a 2D-animation short

8. Get drunk, throw up, and wake up like P. Diddy, whatever that means

9. Paint a mural

10. Create a NEW Luxo Jr. lamp out of Polymer clay

11. Create a 3D doll with clay, foil, and wire

12. Buy a pair of Keds or Converse

13. Eat at Sodam or Korean Grill

14. Learn how to do a 180-turn with my car. OMG.

15. Speaking of cars, reach 100km/hr. Trolololol

16. Learn French

17. Write a story, or a screenplay. Something in the lines of Atonement, heavy plot and less cheesiness.

18. Buy something on E-bay or YesAsia

19. Submit to the Graphika Manila 2012 art book, DLSU Literary and Visual Awards 2013, and The Scribe 2013

20. Join the Illustration Friday project for a month

21. Befriend a real French/Japanese person

22. Buy a real pair of formal black shoes. Oh god.

23. Be part of a group exhibit

24. Finish 13 artworks for my art portfolio before March 2013

25. Have a 25-inch waistline before graduation

26. Avoid Coke for a year

27. Ride the MRT from end to end

28. Get published in an international magazine

29. BATANES!

30. PALAWAN!

31. Go to the end of a rainbow

~~32. Watch a movie alone~~

33. Add Remy Martin or Hennessy to our cocktail collection

34. Eat at Shakey's, Cafe Bob's, or Greenwich alone

35. Dress up as Mad Hatter for Bilib Awards 2012

36. Meet Valerie Chua, Tricia Gosingtian, and Crissey in person

37. Learn how to change a tire on my own

38. CARWASH

39. Own a pair of Doc Martens

40. Do an art commission for or collaborate with a magazine

~~41. Donate old clothes and toys~~ Go for theme park rides!

42. Create my own blog theme

43. Draw a self-portrait

44. Finish the 13 Things to Draw Before 2013 drawings

45. Attend a music concert

46. Hear mass alone

47. Be a...bridesmaid? Lol

48. Win at 99Designs

49. Mix my own signature cocktail drink (I want something vodka-based...)

50. Ride a motorcycle
51. Ride a horse.
52. Read Noli Me Tangere
53. Dye a streak of my hair LAVENDER
54. Send a fan mail to J.K. Rowling
55. Join in Arteesta Ka Ba?

2012

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 14:44:00 +0000

If there's one movie that can describe 2011 for me, it's Atonement. When they both wrapped up, there I was, unsure about what to do, feeling devastated yet happy, harassed yet at peace. In other words, despite the heavy drama, there's no other way to go than to go forward.

So now it's time to embrace this new set of 366 days (or 362, since I posted this only now) and, hopefully I can tick off more things on my bucket list, which I'll be posting soon. Happy new year!

At 19

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:15:00 +0000

Well, I'm 19 now. Gotta update my profile.

It's strange being at this age, because when I was around, what, twelve or thirteen, I had this vision of my 19-year-old self as someone without eyeglasses (my doctor told me I could get rid of them by age 18 but she LIEDDD) and who is slimmer, perfectly able to walk in heels, has a deeper voice (what am I, a guy?), and is a little bit more mature than I am now. I've had enough self-reflection these past years to know that I really learned and matured, but I'm still not there yet. Sometimes, I pause and think about everyday situations and imagining how my younger self, my present self, and my ideal self would react. I still have a long way to go before becoming the person I envisioned myself to be. I'm not even sure if I'm on the right road but hey, what are U-turns for?

And now that I'm done saying the cheesy stuff, here's what I did on my birthday last Dec 20. A Christmas party-slash-birthday-party-ala-debut celebration at my house, with my high school clique and Mum. (Yes, Mum and her star-patterned silk pants in all their glory.) Everytime we have a Christmas party we do some wacky parlor games and have exchange gifts and even give prizes to each other. This year, we had costumes. I was dressed like a retro girl. Tanya's awesome as the gothic one, with black lips and Sharpie-d fingernails. Hahahaha.

And at two in the morning, Tanya and I began mixing cocktails. Vodka, orange juice, tequila, grenadine, blue Curacao, and lots of ice. (Didn't touch the Absolut or triple sec). Jenny, Mish, and Zai joined in while the others slept and we played the 369 game until the juice ran out. Had 3 hours of sleep after that fun night.

Thanks for everything, Cho's :)

Across the Universe

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 14:18:00 +0000

Hello there, Across the Universe. I see you've made it to my favorites list.

I have no idea if it's a well-known film and passed my radar, but anyway it's a 2007 musical film starring the ever lovable Jim Sturgess, Evan Rachel Wood, Joe Anderson, and Dana Fuchs. It's set during the time of the Vietnam War and features the songs by The Beatles. Recommendation factor: 8/10. Gora.

Here's Jim Sturgess singing All My Loving -- one of my favorite covers in the movie.

And the main cast singing live on Oprah.

Dit, dit, dit, why so serious today

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 02:32:00 +0000

I think I'm losing myself. Sure, I took a lot of things for granted back then and my temper always got the best of me, but now that I have a broader sense of the world around me...I dunno, but I tend to think about what others think of me a lot more than I did before. I noticed I haven't been behaving like myself these past few months. I think too much about how I'd look to the rest of the world and to pay for that, I think I'm losing my own personality. I don't even know myself. I don't even know what my own handwriting looks like, lol. (Am I a cipher? Le gasp) Sometimes I'm thoughtless, sometimes I try to act childish, sometimes I'm reserved and isolated from the world.

I make excuses and tell myself that I need to correct a bit of my attitude, like speaking before giving it any thought, succumbing to others and not being assertive, being ridiculously obedient... And so I make conscious decisions to act this way and that, I try to act like how I want my own self to be, you know what I mean? (Not even sure who I'm talking to...) There are times when I hate my own attitude and want to break free and just be the kind of person I'm comfortable being, but I think I'm failing at it. Or maybe I'm just thinking too much? Yeah. Maybe I am. Or not. Aaargh.

On a lighter note... I'm on a movie torrent spree today. I've downloaded Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (starring Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman and Alan Rickman); Cast Away (Tom Hanks); Hollow Man (Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon); The Dark Knight (Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman); Pride and Prejudice; Jane Eyre; and a bunch of Jim Sturgess-related movies like One Day, 21, Across the Universe, and The Other Boleyn Girl.

Yep, he's my new obsession. Anne Hathaway may be the bigger star, but I think he stole the show in One Day. He was perfect as Dexter Mayhew, that's all I have to say. I'm reading the book right now and it's so easy to imagine him in the role again. I watched some of his other movies to see how good his other performances were, and he doesn't disappoint. He's fun to watch in 21, where he stars opposite Kevin Bacon and Kate Bosworth and has an American accent. I still have to watch Across the Universe (He sings! Plus points) and The Other Boleyn Girl.

Now I have to sign off. I'm transferring all my notes into one binder notebook to keep myself from going mad, and I realize I have a LOTTTTTTT to study in Devcom and Events. I can do this, I can do this, I will ace the exams. K. Bye.

The Art Books

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 02:30:00 +0000

Color keys. Perspectives. Fluid motion.

I'm so obsessed.

There's no other term for it for someone whose current wishlist is topped by art book after art book of Walt Disney's classic fairytale movies. Ever since I pooled my pocket money for The Art of Tangled, I realized that oversized art books were not exclusive to Rapunzel alone. Now, I'm eyeing and drooling over several Disney and Pixar's art books: The Art of Pocahontas, The Art of the Incredibles, and Pixar, 25th Anniversary: The Complete Color Scripts.

Each book costs around $25 on Amazon. Okay.

So...I'll need big backup from my aunts.

Ze COPRE Experience 1

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 10:26:00 +0000

HELLO POTATO! I'm proud to report that the Spectres and I came home from the COPRE Awards 2011 in Iloilo with euphoria and several awards under our belt! That includes me and my Fifth Place medal for English editorial writing -- which I treasure a lot because it's the first medal I ever got for writing something. Yay me!

We bagged 2nd Place for Best Newspaper (not surprising, it's not our best issue); 4th Place for Best Sports Page; Best Newspaper Layout; Best Magazine Layout; Best Feature Page; Best Literary Folio (The Scribe!); Best Magazine (♥); Best Magazine Cover Design (♥_♥); Best in Talent (for Carl Mark Pat and Bea, our Mr. and Ms. Copre candidates); Best in Preliminary Question for Carl; 2nd Runner-Up Miss Copre for Bea; and of course the Graciano Lopez-Jaena Award for winning Best Magazine three times in a row! (Due to some suspicious errors on the PIA's part, the well-deserved trophy may not yet be in our hands right now, but the glory is all ours and I know that we deserve every bit.)

Two of our newbies also won 2nd and 4th Places in Filipino news writing, Chabs won 3rd Place in Cartooning, while Jayrick and I won 4th Place & 5th Place in English editorial writing. XD

(photos from Simon Ballados)

The Lead, our departmental publication for AB Communication, also received several awards including Best Editorial Page for the newspaper, where Kats and I submitted columns. Congratulations to everyone!

Next on the agenda: The Scribe and The Spectrum Fellowship. This semester will be fun.

P.S. Nyur, zankyoo for clicking on the ads. I even forgot they exist on my sidebar. And yeah, I'll save you a copy. ;D

Of upcoming contests & awards

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:08:00 +0000

Every November, publications from all over the region gather for a one-night awards event called the College Press Awards (COPRE). The Spectrum will be joining too, as usual, and now it's only two nights away!

I didn't get a chance to go last year, thanks to hasty delegate decisions (but I digress). I expected to be competing in Photojournalism this year, since I'm more comfortable with it than with cartooning and I have my own camera and lenses, but to my annoyance I wasn't even given the chance to decide. So much for being a Photos and Graphics Editor. Anyway, I was too tired to argue (I hate myself for being not very assertive) and decided to land myself in the writer's stuff like editorial writing and copyreading. What the hell. Hahaha.

I'm not complaining much. I doubt I'd win in those, but all I care about is the Best Magazine Cover Design award. Just gimme that and I'm frikkin happy. I guess.

Breaking down

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 13:06:00 +0000

Am I lame for wanting to watch Breaking Dawn again?

Um. Not if I want to watch it for Jackson Rathbone and Ashley Greene, right? If Meyer had J.K. Rowling's genius writing skills, I'd want an Alice-Jasper series of its own....

But of course I can't have everything. Might as well stick to fansites.

Gee, thanks Mum.

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 06:20:00 +0000

Sometimes you really have a knack for ruining my mood, and thereby shattering my desperate search for much-needed and seemingly nonexistent inspiration to create a logo design for the frikkin Fellowship, which is now overdue. It's not your business whether I want to show my aunt the before-and-after photos for the magazine cover, which she's seen last month anyway. Can't I not obey what you say from time to time? Bwisit.

Of Jasper, shoes, and more shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sun, 20 Nov 2011 01:56:00 +0000

I hate to admit this, but Breaking Dawn was...good.

Of course, no Twilight film is good enough to blow me away, and I can barely count on Kristen and Robert to make me root for them, but compared to the past three, Part 1 was enjoyable. The direction improved and so did the dialogues. I love the subtle hilarity when Edward hands Bella the Starbucks-type cup that contained animal blood, complete with a straw. Only Carlisle looks the part of a vampire, Jacob and Charlie are two of the better actors, and although Jasper had only two or three lines, I was happy to see him in the sidelines looking pretty with his new 'do. Damn. I've read the saga and watched all the films and I disliked them all, but if there's one thing that motivates me to watch, it's Jasper. And Alice. And maybe Jacob too.

Jasper y u no have curly hair anymoar?

Anyway. It's Sunday morning. My eye bags are worse than ever. My aunts are here, I got my Bamboo Pen and Touch, a new pair of black oxfords that are one size bigger, some shirts from Ate Vance, and dark chocolates chocolates chocolates!

They're not the ones I was lusting for, but they still look and feel nice!
I doubt I'd get to wear them on Wednesdays though, heee.

Using the Touch features is like using an iPad. Time to download Paint Tool Sai!

Oh and yesterday, Mum and I scouted for some cheap but cute shoes at one of our old favorite Chinese shoe stores downtown. Three pairs for P1,500! Lol. I wore these pink, lace-up platform wedge things at the airport today with a pink shirt and a frikkin pink bag and I looked like a girly girl. Blech. At three inches, I felt good towering over my mum and aunts though lol.

This is mum's for her Christmas party. This pair totally screams her name.

Random neutral wedges for Mum. lol

That's it for a fun-filled weekend.
Toodles! - Sharpay

Brave

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 04:31:00 +0000

It's finally out! Disney-Pixar's new 3D film to be released next year has finally released a frikkin trailer this week and I'm loving the Scottish accents and ze gorgeous ginger hair! Check it out.

The thugs look like the ones from Tangled. I'm not really sure what the story is gonna be about but I'm up for anything Disney-Pixar. XD

Pretty people on a pretty cover

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 11:51:00 +0000

I was feet away from the office. The lights were on, I could see it. I knew that somewhere inside, on the desk beside the first computer or the green cabinet maybe, lay the first 100 copies. I stopped at the glass door, and there it was! One of them was on the couch, lying sideways, peeking from behind the newspaper spread, taunting me. Instantly I rushed to push open the door.

Except that it didn't open. Locked. No key. Damn.

It was right there, right in front of me, with nothing but a piece of newsprint and glass between us. The very thing that ate up my three weeks' worth of sembreak. The beautiful models and colors I had worked with. Open up, damn it. Stupid door. It was so close, yet so far.

Oh, the frustration.

I was frustrated for the rest of the day until around two o'clock, when they all arrived and the door was unlocked and I finally had the thing in my hands in all its luscious magnificent wonderful glory. Here it is! Le gaaaaaasp. Sigh.

//
Yeah I was talking about the school magazine. -shrugs-

I guess I now know how first-time magazine cover designers feel. As the Photos and Graphics Editor I got to do the front and back covers, an advertorial that was supposed to be the front cover, the staff madshack, and a two-page infographics. The covers were a big deal to me. I'm no perfectionist, but I tend to hover obsessively on details and I wanted everything to look great, something that would reach the previous covers and set another bar.

The front cover models were really great girls, one was Indian, the other half Chinese. I have a major girl crush on the former, especially when she poses her I'm-fierce-but-not-slutty pose XD (Imagine my joy when I realized that she was in one of my classes. God loves me!) I forgot to take a picture of the back cover, which features a half-nekkidd guy trying to pry open prison bars that look like bar codes, but I guess the front cover makes up for everything. Rawr.

We're releasing the magazines by next week, when all the copies arrive. There's a launch planned, a big poster of the teaser to entice students, and all I can say is I'M EXCITED.

-skips off happily-

Obligatory post-sembreak post

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:23:00 +0000

Poof, there goes the three weeks worth of semestral break and here I am, feeling fidgety and wondering what new surprises I'm gonna get tomorrow.

So far I'm totally psyched about our two electives -- events management and environmental journalism. For the former, our final output is already predetermined: we'll have to organize next year's Bilib Awards, where talents and outputs in the Communications Department are recognized, an annual event where all MC students and teachers gather and give performances. If the play was the most major output last semester, this is the second semester's, and it's got a lot more pressure. As for environmental journalism, we're finally gonna have Miss Hannah (our chairperson and former adviser to The Spectrum) and I'm excited to learn a lot from her. Not only is she intelligent, but she's incredibly friendly and motherly, fair, and really cool. :D

Juno

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:07:00 +0000

Bleeker: I still got your underwear.
Juno: I still have your virginity!

I'm happy to report that Juno is officially on my Favorites list. It's that kind of film that feels so solid and sure of itself, that everything seems to fit together. I watched it with a ridiculous puppy smile on my face. I love the sketch concept in the opening credits, although it would have been more relevant if one of the characters was an artist. I also love the soundtrack; the soft, singing-like-talking songs just make me wanna curl up in my blanket and watch the whole film again with some potato chips, Coke, and a smile.

I don't understand why but there's something about the way Ellen Page speaks that draws me in. Kind of like how Leonardo DiCaprio makes me melt when he talks. (Listening to their conversation scenes in Inception was an eargasm 8D ) This is also the first time I saw Michael Cera. I've read a lot about him being usually mistaken for Jesse Eisenberg but they don't really have anything much in common apart from the prominent nose and curly hair. They're both adorable, though.

Friendly, harmless letter

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:59:00 +0000

Dear Procrastination,

Please leave me alone. I'm not saying this to feel noble or anything. It's just that, no, I don't miss you. Don't come looking for me again.

Thanks a lot,
Joebs

New beginning.. sort of.

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 14:10:00 +0000

I would skip this blog entry and continue watching Karate Kid on HBO now, if only the TV colors aren't going nuts. My eyes hurt.

Mum and I did a lot of long-overdue errands today. I didn't expect the car aircon system cleaning to take more than 6 hours, so I didn't get to do some last layout for the magazine. I'll save the designs I had in mind for the next issue. Mum didn't want me to go anyway; she knows I already passed all the graphics I was asked to do. We came home around six with a cute eco-friendly pail (yes, pail), a new pair of pants, Reader's Digest back issues, small flower vases for Dad, and a new Paolo Coelho book. I've searched all National Bookstores in the three mall for Anne Rice's Interview with the Vampire, but with no luck.

(Never Say Never plays in the background)

I'm still getting used to this new lifestyle, new routine. I mean, there's only Mum and me. It's quieter. When we get home after a tiring day at school or at the office, we still have to cook our meal. I can't stay up as late as I used to, because I have to drive the next morning, I'm not a driving expert, I can't afford to have drooping eyes while I'm on the road. Sometimes I can't help feeling miserable about the fact that there's only two of us left. But I keep reminding myself that I'd never want to wish my father back here, because I don't want him to suffer all over again. Even now, I don't think of him as "dead". To me, it just seemed like he'd gone on a long, happy vacation.

I was actually grateful that my two aunts stayed here for two weeks after my father's cremation. At least my mom and I didn't find ourselves faced with this new life so abruptly; we had company. The war over the sugarcane fields between my aunt and my dead uncle's wife also shadowed the grief a bit. My aunts left and came back to stay for another month, then left again and wouldn't be coming back for the next two weeks. Their stays actually softened the blow that my father's death had on the two of us.

Speaking of the next two weeks, hopefully when my aunts return, they'll have the Bamboo tablet and Forever 21 oxford shoes that I asked for. XD *squeal*

Interview with the Vampire

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:30:00 +0000

Knight and Day re-introduced me to Tom Cruise, and led me to this. Throw the guns and motorbikes aside, in this film I drooled over a pale-faced and long-haired Cruise, complete with fangs, glassy fingernails, and the kind of Victorian clothing I often wanted to sew for my old Barbie dolls. Lol. If only he'd been several inches taller, he'd totally make a perfect vampire that doesn't sparkle. Nevertheless, he won me over as Lestat, so much so that I'm now hunting for and intending to buy the first book in the Vampire Chronicles.

That idiot of a woman who lives next door

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:32:00 +0000

You know those seemingly exaggerated scenes and plot devices you always see on soap operas and primetime TV dramas? I always thought the writers were creatures who lived a social-less life and had no sense of reality at all.

My dead uncle's "wife" proved me wrong.

Leaving her husband and eight children more than five times in a span of around twenty five years. Coming back only months before my uncle's death. Bringing her boyfriend to the house that our grandmother spent for. Sneaking at night for a ride on her boyfriend's motorbike to have drinks. Using my uncle's SSS money to shop and buy beer and not even telling her own children about it. Telling her eldest child, whom my aunt struggled to send to college and treat her lupus, that she should've just died already. Selling a portion of the sugarcane field even though it didn't really belong to her husband, it belonged to our grandmother. Claiming my uncle's "share" of the sugarcane field as her own, and then stopping the farmers from harvesting them because the sugarcane was "hers", and then encouraging her own son, my cousin, to fight them to the death.

Yep. What a woman. What nerve.

I heard one of her sons even backstabbed my own father, saying he didn't even give much help to them. The nerve. My father gives his younger brother allowance for school even when he had cancer. He gives them rice after harvest despite saying he wouldn't. He's a lot kinder to them than I'd wanted him to be. I have no idea what else that woman teaches her sons, but I'm not intervening in this drama. Not unless they cross the lines and do something about my father's share in the fields.

Floating Carousel

noreply@blogger.com (Joebs) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 12:34:00 +0000

When October comes, the main street closes at dusk. Bands will play, lights will keep flashing, tables and chairs will be set up at the streets, there'd be barbecues and drinks all around, and soon enough the dancers clad in elaborate costumes and colorful masks will come along. Because for Bacolod City, October practically means one thing: Masskara.

Our festival's one of the best-known in the country, and in my opinion one of the happiest festivals around. It lives up to our city's tagline, a city of smiles. It's also great opportunity for people to get creative and bond with family and colleagues. One of the festival features this year is an installation at the large fountain found at the new city government hall. It's called the Dreamer's Floating Carousel.

Well, it's not really a carousel, since it doesn't move. But around six large boats made of who-knows-what were placed right on the surface of the waters. The boats were lovely, each featuring something that Bacolod was prominent for.