circus flooded from taguig to dapitan

seeing the moonlight fade though the cresting waves of Dapitan flood kept our eyes open to see the first rays of the sun; spending that entire moment with a friend who shares the same passion for life is nothing but priceless..

i would have died last night had i not been able to catch even the last three or four songs of the Eraserheads reunion concert. luckily, the hands of God worked in favor of my plans. i had to stick my neck out for that one.. i literally had to crash in! although it was cut short because of ely's condition, the mere fact that those four music geniuses sang their most popular hits that paved way for the rebirth of OPM in the 90s right on the same stage once again was more than any e-heads fan could wish for. one word: bliss!

however, death arrived as the earth gave birth to a new day at midnight. god, we were witnesses to lifting a decapitated man who was swimming in his own blood and splatted organs under a ten-wheeler truck, somewhere along Sta. Mesa! after which, joseinne and i had some beer at Dapitan Square and had some moments to unwind. we ate sisig (no other choice) just like swallowing a bitter pill, with the incident so fresh, so vivid in our memory. it was way traumatic and freaking..

(random: a line from dave matthews band's grace is gone kept on running through my head--"one more drink and i'll move on.")

the first quarter of our sunday was spent with our usual philo talks. that's what i love about my closest friends.. (and god, how i miss my cousin, too!) i could dedicate my whole day talking with them about anything.. not just about what the skin can feel and what the eyes can behold.. these are stories larger than life--those that uplift the spirit and nurture your being. i guess joseinne got it right when she said, "What we really need are people whom we can share our quotes with." you take an effort to know a little of everything and share a piece of you.. but, whatever happened to those who do? lonely, choosy, and bitter.. her words hit me right, "Look at us." haha!

well, one of the nicest benefits of having your school situated in a naturally low-lying area (thanks for the beautiful phrase in defense of UST river, joycee) is that when you got stranded, you tend to have quality time learning the best lessons of life, apart from books and theories alone.. although getting to a safer place wasn't really that easy. this is, by the way, joseinne's letter M on her blog: crossing the flooded lacson street with tina at one in the morning and while both of us were tipsy. yup, almost knee-high flood + booze + 1 a.m. + idiots like us = relentless laughter. but then again, it was amazing how our feet drenched on the same water within which the early-morning people of Manila painstakingly take steps to make a living. i shudder to think how hazy life is in this city.


There hath he lain for ages, and will lie
Battening upon huge seaworms in his sleep,
Until the latter fire shall heat the deep;
Then once by man and angels to be seen,
In roaring he shall rise and on the surface die.
-from The Kraken; Lord Alfred Tennyson (1830)


and then the sun shone through the same ripples that cloaked the life of Dapitan during those serene moments.. one hell of an experience!

kill the e-heads fans instead

so, mo twister said it...

eraserheads is gonna have its reunion concert this saturday at the CCP. *sigh*
i didn't know how i felt when i first heard it on the radio this morning. it's not because of the P800 or P1300 fee, although, yes, it would have sounded better if the concert was really for free.. hey! don't play hypocrite! we're all in dire need of money, so shut up. although i don't really like mo, i loved it when he said that the game plan was so weak, that the news would just fly into the air like "really? so tapos na yun?"

so what about this strategy? i don't get the point why they had to entice, i mean, lure the people into this much awaited and almost-impossible-but-possible-indeed reunion concert of e-heads for months, only to pull out our wings for a gayer and more desperate situation. i must admit, i want it badly! but i have to come up with excuses and lame reasons to convince myself that i would not, in any way, be able to watch it.

so here are some of my childish speculations. let's just say that the e-heads concert has been announced formally, following the normal scheme of promoting gigs and other major events. whether or not the tickets are for free, it would sure as hell cause panic among e-heads fanatics. ticketnet would be swarmed with an irate mob, wherein people would kill each other with violent blows of smashes and jabs just to secure a single pass for each. there would be a riot outside their main office, after which meddlesome poser youth on skateboards and emo costumes would wrap the vicinity, squeezing voodoo dolls on every hole they see. then they would take out their mini tear gas canisters that they use as self defense from TBS/TST gangsters, take the caps off and then throw them on glass windows for the gas to squirt all over the office.. honestly, i doubt it if no posers would show up their faces in the concert. they make a quarter of the population of the Philippines and they are present at every corner in the country.

or maybe, if the public was properly informed about the event, and that it would be an open concert like those graced by aspiring rock bands (oh well, it pains me, but let's give them the license to be called as such this time) like cueshe and shamrock on liquor-sponsored gigs on barangay halls, then the rest of the humanity who are desperately in love with e-heads would flock to the venue, step onto each other's throat and murder their fellow audience in ripples and waves. they would eventually reach the stage and kill the members of e-heads themselves, taking a piece of limb one by one for souvenirs. oh how i love eric gamalinda's las ruinas del corazon! (i guess this would make a good episode for happy tree friends.)

so now i thank the producers for making the event less-accessible to the public; at least nobody's gonna get harmed. wow! one shining halo for me!

well, i'm not a die-hard e-heads fan, but i love their music down to my last bone.. and now i hate myself for stooping down into the level of being a total dork for signing up for the red list of Marlboro last month, just to have a one-in-a-million chance of securing a ticket for this event.. well, you have to prove first that you are of legal age before being able to pursue with the application, and it was hell! now i think i lost my passport without even having it scanned (procrastination is the biggest tag on my vocabulary). look at what i had to do to sink my teeth into this thing.. and now the concert is just two days away and i still don't have a ticket (i don't even know if they are still available at this time) and a companion, so there are no other means for me to crash in but, yeah, crash in! as if i can, and as if i will...

(see what happens to journalism students after cracking their brains empty with nosebleed lectures on literature, capped with as-if-we-care provisions on taxation during thursdays? and mind you, today is the 28th -- my most unfortunate date -- or at least i started writing this blog on that date. sorry, i just don't have anything productive to do tonight so i played with my keyboard... shoot me.)

newspapers will eventually be like dinosaurs

no, it's not that your favorite daily thinking slabs will become extremely gigantic..

i stumbled into this Inquirer.net news about a metrowide protest vs VAT for wage hike on thursday, and got alamed, not just of what is about to unfold the next three days, but because of the threatening growth of internet broadcast, that it would possibly eat the newspaper industry alive!

Inquirer was fast enough to update the world with the latest whatever, i mean WHATEVER, that the same article i read was posted just about the same time i started doing this blog, and now i'm freakin' scared of what lies ahead after graduation, and it doubles day after day, especially when people talk about the future extinction of newspapers and readers. yes, you read it right. READERS. it's not surprising that more people now subscribe to podcasts than spend their time reading, so how's that? will there be enough place for aspiring writers? or should we imagine ourselves venturing the cyberspace just to give a slice of justice to that piece of parchment called diploma?

my time frame is decaying. my energy needs oil change and iron pumps. my body clock shouts for new Ultimate Lithium batteries. my virtual calendar is in dire need of check-up... and oh, i'm having an LSD! (that's Lack of Soul Disease for you... i learned that from my classmate, Aphrodite) maybe i'm still infected with a lot of graveyard shift diseases that ran in my blood for almost two years, not to mention the circus in school and the overly-polluted metro manila.

i dunno where else this would go... i just feel that my habitual asking of "What day is it today?" should now be "What's in today?" thanks for blogs and online social networks. we're somehow used to this kind of thing.. and to Sir Atalia's workshop, too. we're used to "almost anything."

so after graduation....

HELLO CYBERSPACE!!!

eXXXcuses

presenting...

the descendants of the queen of the blondes!!!




and their unlucky kids....


School Excuses from Parents
SUPPOSEDLY these are actual excuse notes from parents (with the original spelling) collected from schools all around the United States.

****************
My son is under a doctor's care and shouldn't take PE today. Please execute him. (thanks to Delores Maldeos)

Amy did not do her homework last night because we went out to a party and did not get home until late. If she is tired, please let her sleep during recess time.

Diane was late on Wednesday. She fell asleep on the bus and was taken back to the bus yard.

Please excuse my son from being absent yesterday, because there is a river in our house.

Please excuse Tommy for being absent yesterday. He had diarrheea and his boots leak.

Henry stayed home because he had a stomach ache from eating too much frosting.

Ralph was absent yesterday because of a sour throat.

Please excuse Lisa for being absent. She was sick, so I had her shot.

Please exscuse John from being absent Jan. 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 and also 33.

Cody was absent yesterday because we were out bowling until 2 AM.

Gloria was absent yesterday as she was having a gangover.

Please excuse Gloria from Jim today. She is administrating.

It was my fault Mike did not do his math homework last night. His pencil broke and we do not have a pencil sharpener at home.

Please excuse Roland from PE for a few days. Yesterday he fell out of a tree and misplaced his hip.

Please excuse Wayne for being out yesterday. He had the fuel.

John has been absent from school because he had two teeth taken out of his face.

Tommy wasn't in school yesterday because he thought it was Saturday.

Please excuse Lupe. She is having problems with her ovals.

Scott didn't practice last night because he lost his tooth in the mouthpiece of his trumpet.

Carlos was absent yesterday because he was playing football. He was hurt in the growing part.

Megan could not come to school today because she has been bothered by very close veins.

Ralph was absent yesterday because he had a sore trout.

Jerry was at his grandmother's yesterday, and she did not bring him to school because Jerry couldn't remember where the school was.

Chris will not be in school today cus he has an acre in his side.

Please excuse my daughter's absence. She had her periodicals.

Please excuse my son. He will be out next week slaughtering goats for his manhood ritual. Thank you!

Please excuse Ray from school Friday. He had very loose vowels.

Please excuse Burma, she has been sick and under the doctor.

George was absent yesterday because he had a stomach.

Irving was absent yesterday because he missed his bust.

Please excuse Jimmy from being. It was his father's fault.

Ronnie would not finish his work last night. He said his brain was too tired of spelling.

I kept Billie home because she had to go Christmas shopping because I don't know what size she wears.

Please excuse Jennifer for missing school yesterday. We forgot to get the Sunday paper off the porch and when we found it Monday, we thought it was Sunday.

Sally won't be in school a week from friday. We have to attend her funeral.

My daughter was absent yesterday because she was tired. She spent a weekend with the Marines.

Please excuse Jason for being absent yesterday. He had a cold and could not breed well.

Please excuse Mary for being absent yesterday. She was in bed with gramps.

Eric hurt his knee in a karate tournament over the weekend. He won his age group, but was in too much pain to do his math assignment.

Maryann was absent December 11-16 because she had a fever, sore throat, headache and upset stomach. Her sister was also sick, fever and sore throat, her brother had a low grade fever and ached all over. I wasn't the best either, sore throat and fever. There must be something going around, her father even got hot last night.

The basement of our house got flooded where the children sleep so they had to be vaporized.

Please forgive Clarence for being absent from school the past few days. He was home sick from an operation. He had penis trouble and had to be serpent-sized.

Please excuse little Jimmy from missing school yesterday. His father is gone and I could not get him ready because I was in bed with the Doctor.

****************
© 2008 compiled from many sources by Howard Daughters

before sunrise: a sort of review :p

dear God,

give me an Ethan Hawke.

someone i will meet on a subway
whose mind i will get to know first
before all the pleasures on earth

someone who still believes in ghosts and fairy tales
whose stories are fresh, innocent, young and new
whose thoughts thrust the deepest

someone i'd love to see when i close my eyes
whose face, lovely as the sunrise
and painful as the sunset

someone whose smile brings new life to the morning
whose voice, cold as the moonless night
his mere sigh completes this journey

we'd be talking forever
about life, dreams, love, and passion
stardust would fall on our hands, and we are married

give us a palmist, a pianist, and playwrights
and people who will drive us crazy,
we'd be lying down the grass, kissing underneath the endless sky

bring us on top of the city
where we can see the lights fading
the world waning, 'til it's just the two of us

and we will meet a poet by the riverside
who will sing away the troubles of our lonely past
and write our story over milk shake and cigarettes

bring us to the cemetery
where we can bury our fears of death
and remind us that tomorrow, our hearts will die in grief

for that man, whom i will meet on a subway
will be the sweetest enemy of my fate
with whom saying goodbye will be the hardest

but let our paths cross again after some years
and give us not a single minute to blame
ourselves, for breaking our promise

grant us, o Lord, the night we had together
i will hold him tight and kiss him
'til we finally consume, all, before sunrise...


Julie

walking in mid-air

i never thought this day would end swiftly as a verse that falls to the soul like dew to the pasture...


The Day the Saucers Came
by Neil Gaiman

That day, the saucers landed. Hundreds of them, golden,
Silent, coming down from the sky like great snowflakes,
And the people of Earth stood and stared as they descended,
Waiting, dry-mouthed to find what waited inside for us
And none of us knowing if we would be here tomorrow
But you didn't notice it because

That day, the day the saucers came, by some coincidence,
Was the day that the graves gave up their dead
And the zombies pushed up through soft earth
or erupted, shambling and dull-eyed, unstoppable,
Came towards us, the living, and we screamed and ran,
But you did not notice this because

On the saucer day, which was the zombie day, it was
Ragnarok also, and the television screens showed us
A ship built of dead-man's nails, a serpent, a wolf,
All bigger than the mind could hold, and the cameraman could
Not get far enough away, and then the Gods came out
But you did not see them coming because

On the saucer-zombie-battling gods day the floodgates broke
And each of us was engulfed by genies and sprites
Offering us wishes and wonders and eternities
And charm and cleverness and true brave hearts and pots of gold
While giants feefofummed across the land, and killer bees,
But you had no idea of any of this because

That day, the saucer day the zombie day
The Ragnarok and fairies day, the day the great winds came
And snows, and the cities turned to crystal, the day
All plants died, plastics dissolved, the day the
Computers turned, the screens telling us we would obey, the day
Angels, drunk and muddled, stumbled from the bars,
And all the bells of London were sounded, the day
Animals spoke to us in Assyrian, the Yeti day,
The fluttering capes and arrival of the Time Machine day,
You didn't notice any of this because

you were sitting in your room, not doing anything
not even reading, not really, just
looking at your telephone,
wondering if I was going to call.


***thanks, monique...

so now this is random

they say and "we" say that july and august are love months. although there is none to share these overflowing emotions that we get from a handful of heart-melting and subtle lines of great poets with, my friends and i, who are so consumed with the potion of staggering words, found a way to at least size them down into a cupped-hand size, say, to sublime and scale them into something bearable by humans...


"if a woman submits herself to a man with whom she does not feel anything, then there must be a pay for that because she suddenly turned herself into a prostitute..."


"love has its destructive nature..."


"Let me come to be still in your silence
And let me talk to you with your silence
That is bright as a lamp
Simple, as a ring
You are like the night
With its stillness and constellations
Your silence is that of a star As remote and candid"
-- from I Like For You To Be Still; Pablo Neruda
(**it is only in your silence that you can say so much....)


"love is like a strong horse for those who cannot handle it..."


"In that book which is
My memory...
On the first page
That is the chapter when I first met you
Appear the words...
Here begins a new life."
--from La Vita Nuova; Dante Alighieri


"love is not situated in the heart, for it decays when you die..."


"To me he seems a peer of the gods, the man who sits facing
you and hears your sweet voice
and lovely laughter; it flutters my heart in my breast. When I see you
only for a moment, I cannot speak;
my tongue is broken, a subtle fire runs under my skin; my eyes cannot
see, my ears hum;
cold sweat pours off me; shivering grips me all over; I am paler than
grass; I seem near to dying;
but all must be endured..."
--Sappho


"because that is the nature of love, because one walks alone
through the ruins of the heart, because the young must sleep

with their eyes open, because the angels tremble
from so much beauty, because memory moves in orbits

of absence, because she holds her hands out in the rain,
and rain remembers nothing, not even how it became itself."
--from Las Ruinas del Corazon; Mario Eric Gamalinda


and again, I also could not find any way to cut these lines short:

"Tonight I can write the saddest lines.

Write, for example, "The night is shattered
and the blue stars shiver in the distance."

The night wind revolves in the sky and sings.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
I loved her, and sometimes she loved me too.

Through nights like this one I held her in my arms.
I kissed her again and again under the endless sky.

She loved me, and sometimes I loved her too.
How could one not have loved her great still eyes.

Tonight I can write the saddest lines.
To think that I do not have her. To feel that I have lost her.

To hear the immense night, still more immense without her.
And the verse falls to the soul like dew to the pasture.

What does it matter that my love could not keep her.
The night is shattered and she is not with me.

This is all. In the distance someone is singing. In the distance.
My soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

My sight tries to find her as though to go to her.
My heart looks for her, and she is not with me.

The same night whitening the same trees.
We, of that time, are no longer the same.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but how I loved her.
My voice tried to find the wind to touch her hearing.

Another's. She will be another's. Like my kisses before.
Her voide, her bright body. Her infinite eyes.

I no longer love her, that's certain, but maybe I love her.
Love is so short, forgetting is so long.

Because through nights like this one I held her in my arms
my soul is not satisfied that it has lost her.

Though this be the last pain that she makes me suffer
and these the last verses that I write for her."
--Tonight I Can Write the Saddest Lines; Pablo Neruda

how a song transcends the soul

words are not enough to explain as to what extent of glory one suddenly reaches when falling on a deep trance (see the irony? love it!). each song has its own special way of seeping through your bones. the feeling is relative that only you can describe how its fire keeps on burning forever. shoot me for coming up with an unimaginative title and call me whatever you like because at any rate, this is not a "how to" entry.

here's one of the most influential music geniuses of the 80s, the contemporary Christian singer/songwriter Michael W. Smith. probably you're a fellow who grew up with the kind of songs this so-called new generation loves to despise or bastardize nowadays. anyway, another song i love from this music titan is Somewhere, Somehow, which is a duet with an equally great singer, Amy Grant. it's a good toast for hopeless romantics.

i can get hold of the perfect blend of poetry and music in his songs... in his lips, the passion and love for the art... and in his eyes, i can almost see his soul...

i guess this is what you call "real" music.


I Will Be Here for You



When you feel the sunlight
Fade into the cold night
Don't know where to turn
I don't know where to turn
And all the dreams you're dreaming
Seem to lose their meaning
Let me in your world
Baby, let me in your world
All you need is someone you can hold
Don't be sad, you're not alone

I will be here for you
Somewhere in the night
Somewhere in the night
I'll shine a light for you
Somewhere in the night
I'll be standing by
I will be here for you

In this world of strangers
Of cold and friendly faces
Someone you can trust
Oh there's someone you can trust
I will be your shelter
I'll give you my shoulder
Just reach out for my love
Reach out for my love
Call my name and my heart will hear you
I will be there, there's nothing to fear

so far the best date i've ever had

instead of spending P200 over a glass of ice-cold frappe in an irksome, social-climber-infested place, why don't you go on asking a beggar out for a date? believe me, it's rewarding!

i'm not trying to sound like a philanthropist or a wish-a-wish foundation advocate. i didn't even expect that i would be able to experience this kind of thing. in fact, it was a blessing in disguise! i went to Quiapo yesterday without anything on my brain, trying to come up with an interview with the heretics and a cocktail of opportunists that surround the church for God knows how long. i had no plan at all. nada! all i knew was that i wanted to raise the irony in the place; nothing more, nothing less...

i'll try not to go over the details anymore, as this is just like another bullet on my brain. well, maybe tomorrow; maybe later... my fingers never know how to stop...


"i hugged her son. the little angel's touching the piercings on my ear. his giggle was soft... sweet.-- that was by far the most sentimental hug that i have ever felt..."


i seldom go to church, but what happened yesterday was a living proof which reminded me that there is a God.

surfing

matagal-tagal na rin akong hindi nakakadalaw sa yahoo groups ng Bobong Pinoy, the one dedicated for the love of Bob Ong's books. enjoy sa YG na yan. marami kang malalaman kung ano at paano na ang takbo ng utak ng mga tao ngayon. totoo nga naman, hindi lahat ng Pilipino ay tanga; hindi kagaya ng nirereflect ng mga nakaraan, kasalukyan, at mga susunod pang delubyo sa bansa.

hindi ko alam kung anong gumising sa'kin kanina... basta maaga, kahit umaga na rin akong natulog. hindi ko rin alam kung bakit sa tinagal-tagal na nakatiwangwang ng group na yan sa panel ng account ko sa YG, kanina ko lang naisip makiusisang muli sa mga bobong pilosopo.

bobongpinoy · This is where your taxes go!

ewan ko ba kung matatawa ako o ano. para kasing scene lang sa Lilo and Stitch. sabi nga sa peyborit kong series na Pushing Daisies,

Narrator: At that moment, the Pie Maker felt a mixture of happiness and trepidation.
Ned: Why is it always a mixture?

hindi ko rin alam kung ilang mura at barang pa ang matatanggap ni gory-a and the rest of the politicians na nagmamarunong at nagnanakaw at the same time. na-off nga lang ako kasi sa muling pagbisita ko sa bobong pinoy yg, medyo hindi ko nagustuhan yung ilang laman. tapang kasi ng latest post dun: "Walang Kwenta ang Pilipinas." naisip ko lang, wawa naman ang Pinas.. kawawa na nga, kinakawawa pa. sino ba talaga ang may kasalanan? maaaring "walang kwenta sa Pilipinas", pero hindi "walang kwenta ang Pilipinas."

kung kwentahan na rin lang naman ang pag-uusapan, sino ba talaga ang walang kwenta? saan sa tingin nyo napupunta ang tax na lumalatay sa bawat payslip na tatagal lang ng ilang araw ang laman sa bulsa nyo? ano na ang nangyari sa P16 billion na tax windfall mula sa EVAT ng uber mahal na Dubai oil? ano ba talaga ang nangyari sa bigas? natabunan na ba ng tuluyan ang issue sa kuryente? kamusta na ang mga magsasakang halos tumira na sa gilid ng Department of Agriculture? kailan kakanta ng "low low low" ang mga gasoline boy? malilimutan na lang ba ng tao ang balita ni gory-a na P0.50 na lang per text? lalo bang manganganak at mag-aanak ng mga future magnanakaw at makakagawa na ba sila ng sariling tribo at dialect sa bansa? tataas ba sa 1:10 ang hatian sa isang libro? magiging box office hit bang lalo ang lecture ni ma'am sa sobrang kakapusan sa klasrum? pero bakit ang tataba ng congressmen?

ngayon, sino ba talaga ang may kasalanan?

baka naman ikaw. oo, ikaw. ikaw na walang ginawa kundi mag-internet buong magdamag. ikaw na mahilig dumisplay sa gilid ng salamin ng starbucks, suot ang bago pero kahit anong gawin mo ay goma pa rin, gomang havaianas nga lang. ikaw na wala kunong pakialam pero affected din sa paghataw ng pamasahe all the way to P10. sigurado yan. bilang na lang tayo ng ilang araw. o baka naman may car ka. pero kahit anong kaplastikan gawin mo, aminin mo, affected ka rin sa pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina.

baka rin ako. akong wala ring ginawa kundi mag-internet magdamag. nag-aaral kunyari pero mas gusto pang mag-blog, makiblog at mang-akit mag-blog.

o baka naman tayo. oo, tayo. tayong mga nagbblog, nakikiblog at nang-aakit mag-blog. tayong mga sulat nang sulat at basa nang basa. baka minsan hindi na rin nakakatulong ng mga salita...

ewan ko. may panahon para tumahimik. ang tanging alam ko lang, sabi nga ng ka-blog kong si zkey, "sa panahong kailangang sumigaw, 'wag kang bubulong-bulong..."