Perth on Dead Poets Society

found this on Dead Poets Society's page on watch-moves.net:

Perth: "Back when you are young, you never really stopped to think what in the world you were doing with your life. You simply lived for the day, hoped your grades would be enough to pass, and that's it. Long term thinking involved maybe flirting with someone you fancy, nothing more.

What this film showed me was that we have the responsibility and the joy of being alive in this planet. That we only have precious little time to make a difference. That we have a moral obligation to "seize the day, and make our lives extraordinary". That the world, basically is ours. That the only limitations are within ourselves, and that we owe it to us to fight, to rebel against conformity, to change what we hate and keep what we love. That living in this world is a beautiful responsibility, and that only cowards dare not to change it for the better."

when the call gets pranked

after two long weeks of paid leave (woohoo, it's paid! - one of the major benefits of being a loyal employee), i finally went to work last night. i had this call with "mr.gatekeeper" which really turned me gaga, i almost tumbled down from my seat. hell, it was a hard "RFLMAO" (rolling on the floor, laughing my ass off) joyride!


mr.gatekeeper: ELO.

me: Yeah. Hi. I'm try'n'a reach "mr.label person"

mr.gatekeeper: SHE IN the RESTING room. YOU CALL later, ok?



yes, i know. holy guacamole! that's a lang bang! you know, language barrier: spanish no-pik-eeenglish peolple (most prominent) - they are the HINOJOSAs, the CECERESes, and the CABALLEROs; vietnamese: the NGUYENs - call them NGUYEN and they'll scold you like hell. guys, it's ngyen.; the TRANs, SINGHs, NGs, and PATELs.

most of them usually do not speak nor understand english. or if they do, then it's a "sorrri, pik-little eeenglish" case.

we call them lang bang. well, i do not have any personal grudge towards these people. it's just that in a call center, whenever you have mentioned the name of your company, client, or the product itself (or even your own name!) then you should end that freakin' call with a tiring TCPA (telephone consumer protection act) close, "thank you for your time. if you have any questions about this call, please dial 1-800-blah blah blah blah.... have a nice day!"

at the beginning of the call, these people would just say, "uhuh. me. me." so there's no reason for us to drop the call. we would get into the middle of the spiel until they give up, "ohh sorrri... no-pik-eeenglish." darn it!


ok, so what's with language?
1. we call restroom a restroom and not a resting room
2. neither can we call comfort room a comforting room
3. we call powder room a powder room and not a powdering room
4. why is no-smoking area not no-smoke area? can an area smoke?
5. why is sleeping quarters called as such? are there really sleeping quarters?
6. is there an english-speaking school?

well, the answers are falling flat on our faces. it's just than when you're into the call center industry, you'll get used to hearing hard-hitting errors. i swear! it's mortifyin'!

you'll get calls with label persons as mr.langis, mr.biological nutrition, mr.tule, mr.dude... now who would not laugh, especially when people around you are just as crazy as the label persons' names? it's a phone call away from that house in mandaluyong.

flash fiction: "balisong"

Takot na takot siya sa balitang nasagap niya nung gabing iyon. Gusto na sana niyang maniwala na ang Pilipinas ay isang bansang isinumpa sa dami ng mga halang ang kaluluwang umaaligid-aligid at ang pinagtitripan ay ang mga kapwa nila mahihirap.

Ang sabi sa balita, may serial killer daw na gumagala malapit lang sa bahay nila at kinukuha ang laman loob ng mga kabataang napapatay nito. Pakana daw ito ng ilang mga mayayaman na walang mapagkunan ng organs para sa mga kapamilya nilang kailangang magpa-transplant. Marami rin namang nagsasabing gawa-gawa lang daw ang issue para sumunod ang mga tao sa curfew. Napakalawak ng deskripsyon sa killer. Basta ang palatandaan lang daw ay lagi itong naka-puruntong, may dalang camouflage na buddy bag, at nag-aabang-abang sa mga kanto kapag kaunti na lang ang mga tao sa gabi. Naku, hilig pa naman niyang umuwi ng madaling araw galing sa inuman. Napapadalas ito nang napapadalas simula nang matanggal siya sa trabaho. Hindi man sila umiinom, tumitira naman sila ng bato. Naisip niya, mas madali siyang mabibiktima ng serial killer dahil laging siyang lupaypay kapag umuuwi at siguradong walang laban.

Nasabi na lang niya sa sarili, “Ah, mabuti na lang at mayroon akong balisong dito. Kahit atakihin niya ako ngayong gabi, siguradong hindi ako mapupuruhan. Kahit papaano’y may panlaban ako.”

Alam niyang malakas siya kapag nakaka-tira ng bato, pero hindi rin siya sigurado dahil bago sila gumamit, nagpapakalango muna siya sa alak hanggang sa halos hindi na magising.

“Bahala na,” nasabi na lang niya sa sarili matapos maligo. Ayaw niyang maka-miss ng kahit isang session. Panlibang niya ito sa sarili at panlaban sa sunud-sunod na kamalasan sa buhay.

Dali-dali siyang nagbihis at kumuha ng tatlong alak sa aparador pang-ambag sa session nila. Ngayon lang siya makakapag-ambag dahil ngayon lang siya nagka-pera. Gin-bulag pare. Hassle bitbitin. Dali-dali niyang isinilid ang mga ito sa kung anong nadampot na bag at isinama na rin ang balisong na inaasahan niyang makakapagligtas ng buhay niya sakaling maispatan siya ng killer, sabay sibat.

Mabilis natapos ang session nila. Nakasulit siya ng alak at bato. Oras na para umiwi. Wala na siyang takot. Nilakad niya ang daan patungo sa madilim na kanto, malapit lang sa kanyang bahay at nakakita ng anino isang ng animo’y demonyo sa di kalayuan. Agad siyang naglabas ng balisong at...

“Huli ka!” sabay sunggab sa demonyo.

Pinagsasaksak niya ito at hiniwa ang tiyan, hinalukay ang buong kalamnan, ibinato sa kung saan. Kinuha niya ang atay nito, isinilid sa plastik at ipinasok sa camouflage na bag. Wasak na wasak ang pobreng estudyante at iniwang nakahandusay sa isang gilid, habang siya ay mabilis na tumatakbo papunta sa isang malaking bahay. May katagpo. May bibili.

reflections

lethargy got the better of me. i'd rather post it this way. i don't think there would be a better way of expression than real conversations... (what an excuse! ) this one was with my cousin, tj-- one of the few people i'd spend my entire strength with talking about the greatness of life...


tina: we are left w/ no choice but join the cult of education and labor when in fact, the best things in life are for free

tj: yeah but lyk that they say, "u aim high, u pay high." "u want a gud job, gud life, beter hav a gud education."

tina: kaya i don't like math eh

tj: me 22222222222222

tina: it makes life complicated: math=technology

tj: i knoe

tina: pero san ba mas masaya ang tao? diba sa arts pa rin? ano yung nakakapag-nurture ng soul? don't tell me it's numbers! hindi naman sa against ako sa changes, pero kasi ngaun hindi na praktikal eh. sobra na yung innovation na sa sobrang bilis e ang daming naiiwan. the world becomes exclusive para sa mga may pera. so tau, nagiging followers na rin ni kuya "money"

tj: i'll give u a quote. one of my favorites. dont forget this

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, "O me! O life!... of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless... of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?" Answer. That you are here - that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play *goes on* and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be? "

tj: that's robin williams as john keating in the movie Dead Poets Society

tina: wow........ ganda!

tj: yup. one of d most beautiful quotes ive heard

ako: ganda... wat wil your verse be?- panalo


so there. life is a continuous statement. at the end of the day, how you spent your life within the entire day is what counts. it feels good to go on and tell the world what your own statement is. the world is ours. you are a part of it. make it a part of you... :)

Is it their search for truth or the other way around?

Over the years, the government and media are slowly losing their reputation and credibility. The politics of survival has long been affecting the very nature of profession that interests were trimmed down to that of the personal and profitable; and now that the country is facing serious issues of corruption and left-and-right double deals, it is a bit ironic that the institutions known for candy-coating salient issues are now at the forefront of the country’s search for truth.

In Richard Linklater’s animated movie, Waking Life, offered was a keen observation on how powerful the media has become—that it has changed the way people looked at things: “Sure, the media tries to put a sad face on these things, painting them up as great human tragedies. But we all know the function of the media has never been to eliminate the evils of the world. No. Their job is to persuade us to accept those evils and get used to living with them.”

Who’s to blame? If media allowed their honest opinions to appear in the newspapers, before twenty-four hours, their occupation would be gone. The government, on the other side, is playing hero in the country’s search for elusive truth. But who really conceals it?

We are always in search of truth when the answers are already falling off our faces. The truth is in us. In fact, it was probably in search of us for God-knows-how-long. A Jun Lozada is not enough nor credible enough to claim it. Just look at the way he defends his sudden declaration of his “truth” and probably you’ll doubt. What does he want? He is now swimming in the pool of fame. I still could not believe the stardom he got from the Ateneo people when he visited there for his “in-search-of-truth campaign.”

People grew tired of believing. The quest for truth is always open-ended and most of the time left unanswered. The responsibility should not only be claimed by the government and the media. They alone are not enough to call for truth. They, too, have their own delineations. If at this time, people cannot absolutely entrust their affairs with the two powerful clusters, then the change must start within themselves. In either way, people just have to learn how to let the truth speak for itself.

rebound

at ano naman ang akala nyo sa amin? hingahan ng sama ng loob? kwentuhan ng lablayp?

hindi kami diary na binibisita gabi-gabi para lang mag-digest ng kung anu-anong nangyari sa inyo sa araw-araw na lang na ginawa ng Diyos. napupuyat at nagsasawa rin kami sa mga kwento nyo! wala kaming balak gumawa ng thesis ng buhay nyo.

we're not always fond of your stories, your so-called philisophies, angst, dreams and whatever else you can think of. yes, we can be so tolerant to share the same laughter but it doesn't mean that we're so damn into your routines.

we also have our own nights. we have our own stories. if you could just try to listen, maybe our puzzles are much more difficult than yours. we are also capable of making silly stuffs, or just fool around to cut the cold moonless nights. we are women; we are human. we can feel... and probably it's deeper than you do...

so if you think you're earning another mean-time girl, better think again. we may lose ourselves to someone for some time, but a heart runs fast as a bullet. it kills, then it's emptied...

on my own

 

And now Im all alone again
no where to turn no one to go to
Without a home without a friend without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near
now I can make believe hes here

Sometimes I walk alone at night when everybody
else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy with
the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head

On my own,
Pretending he's beside me,
All alone, I walk with him till morning.
Without him, I feel his arms around me,
And when I lose my way, I close my eyes,
And he has found me...

In the rain,
The pavement shines like silver,
All the lights are misty in the river,
In the darkness the trees are full of starlight,
And all I see is him and me,
Forever and forever...

And I know it's only in my mind,
That I'm talking to myself and not to him,
And although I know that he is blind,
Still I say, there's a way for us...

I love him,
But when the night is over,
He is gone, the river's just a river
Without him the world around me changes,
The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers.

I love him,
But everyday I'm learning,
All my life,
I've only been pretending,
Without me,
His world will go on turning,
A world that's full of happiness,
That I have never known...

I love him... I love him...
I love him... But only on my own...

just a thought

"if horses could draw, they would draw their gods like horses." - xenophanes of colophon

CRUELtural differences

- found this in my mail
- sent by my cousin, adey
- even pictures alone tell a story - something we don't see... or maybe something we just care not to see...
- try not to be too pious.

i need to repost this: type my mood in lowercase

BUT I REALLY CAN'T!!! I'M NOT LIKING WHAT I'M FORCED TO DO! (IMAGINE ME DOING AN SMS - ALL CAPS FROM AN IRATE TEXTER!) EVERY NIGHT FEELS LIKE I'M BEING DRAGGED OUT OF BED, AND SHOWERS MAKE ME WONDER IF I'M REALLY SCRUBBING MY BODY WITH HARD,POINTED STONES THE EARTH COULD EVER IMAGINE BEARING! IF ONLY CAP ONE WERE NOT MOVED TO MARIKINA, AND NOW, HSBC'S TURN, THEN NO NEED FOR ME TO ASK FOR TRANSFER, EXCEPT FOR SOME UNEXPECTED SHIT OF COURSE, THE QA, TO NAME ONE...

lahat na yata ng santo natawag ko na. lahat na rin ata ng mura naisigaw ko na. kung may ilang beses na rin akong nagplanong magpasagasa sa loan mower, hindi ko na alam. nabibwisit ako! namumuhi ako sa ginagawa ko ngayon, pero hindi ko kayang talikuran. maraming bagay na tumutulak sa akin para umalis at siya ring humihila pabalik. tuwing papasok ako sa gabi, hindi ko mapigilang mag-senti mode dahil nakakaburyo talaga. hindi ko maialiwanag. para kong unti-unting nauupos. yung feeling na hopeless, yun yung kinaaasaran ko. wala akong magawa. wala akong magawa. pwde bang magmura dito? haaaaaaay! PI!

be infectious. smile. :)

-i don't do new year's resolutions. they don't resolve anyway, but i'd go on trying to make something a habit from now on: SMILING.

-smile! happy new year everyone!

-this is one of my cousin's silly messages that really made me smile today:

WHY MEN WEAR CLOTHES

 

-i believe this is my first time to put tags. haha!

The Top Baby Names of 2007

By the BabyCenter editorial staff

What happened in baby names in 2007? The results are in: Emma has finally been knocked off its number one perch for the first time since it landed there in 2004! Sophia has been making steady progress since 2002, cracked the top 10 in 2005, and jumped six slots to be the new number one baby name for 2007.

Addison jumped a whopping 20 spots this year to land in the top 10 — no doubt thanks to flame-haired actress Kate Walsh's portrayal of Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd on the hot TV series "Grey's Anatomy" and its spin-off, "Private Practice."
In boys' baby names, Aiden still rules, as it has since 2005. But Jayden, Caden, and Jackson have jumped quickly into the top 10 this year and are the new rising stars.

And here they are, in order: The BabyCenter® Top Baby Names of 2007

Top 10 Girl Names:
Sophia
Isabella
Emma
Madison
Ava
Addison
Hailey
Emily
Kaitlyn
Olivia

Top 10 Boy Names:
Aiden
Ethan
Jacob
Jayden
Caleb
Noah
Jackson
Jack
Logan
Matthew

(Oh, i knew it!)

thanks to: MSN LIFESTYLE

on living and leaving (part2)

kurt kobain. freddie mercury. marilyn monroe. princess diana. yes, they were all famous... and dead for years now. what ties them all is that they all died at the height of their careers, when they were the masters of the center stage, when they owned the lime light, when everybody loved them, and when they had all what it takes to feel human.

i want to die on a christmas season. i may sound too selfish and pathetic but i can not think of any other moment better that this. i know nature has taught man that one could not really choose his death day, unless he commits suicide, of course. so spare me from stones as i let myself state my own ideal dying season.

it is mostly during the cold december that people feel loved and special. gifts flushing into your house, greetings clogging in airwaves, and friends, those you've known ever since you said your first hello to the earth, coming into sight, and making you feel important, remembered, cherished - is there anything more you can ask for? you feel great, you feel loved, you feel more than what the great dead people felt. what happens after life, you know no more, but what matters is that you keep those memories with you and preserve them like a jar of fragrant kisses which, while the grownups fooled us, multiply into thousand sweet little memories.

i can't think of spending another year with those love messages diminishing like decaying trees and being thrown into a state where they were totally lost and out of my grasp. i love the philosophy of freud but i reserve my regards to jung as his philosophy conforms with my claim. the swiss psychologist once uttered, "ultimately, the self is fully realised in death..." and i can't help but agree.

death it is the last enemy i have to conquer, and a friend when it defeats me.

they died long before their names get dragged by nonsensical controversies and before they themselves ruin them with frantic acts. it took them years to build their reputation and death stopped the people from staining them. now who will say they ever died?

on living and leaving (part1)

i saved this in my drafts folder sometime in november, but i don't know how to end it now. my drive has grown short for this one:


hot talks about life has been very stimulating on brains and spirits alike. lucky am i to be surrounded by extraordinary intellectuals whose brains give me more than my daily need for cerebral supplement. i'm not talking about persons alone. books are also geniuses - they are far more than what the mouth can speak.

what visits me often these days are my endless questions about life - how we live (and do we really live?) at the moment and why people are dying for the future. talking about things like this has been a trend when taking our meals after classes or even in drinking sessions... or even when doing the self-talk.

questions come as to why humans are so obsessed with planning carefully for the future that they almost forget how to live the "now". nobody wakes up one morning and tells that that day is the future of his yesterday. then why do we still bother? we never really get to hold our future. it is intangible. abstract. illusion.

everybody who has been to school could remember that some years ago, our teachers asked us how we would be ten years from that time. imagine that this is your tenth year after making that seatwork. what happened? you are still looking forward to another ten years. we can't help but think of tomorrow. we study to have a "bright future" (excuse to the BOOBtifuls), to have a good job; then we work, again, for the future. we are missing half of all the good things life offers. we forget to greet the beautiful sunhine as we hurry down the bathroom. we ignore the relaxing sound and smell of the morning because we are too vexed of the ticking clock as it whirls its way into our eardrums and bangs our brain. we prevent ourselves from getting those things we really want because we need to save for tomorrow; then we do resent when everything is gone.

there are some small things we care not to sumbit ourselves into - the passion of living for the "now".


style ni sir emer:
--------------------------nothing follows-------------------

(pagaya, sir...) akin:
-------------------------something will follow-------------------

for joseinne

leaves fall like manna from heaven, but your silence slammed the tips of my nerves... the depth of your eyes told me your story... something you yourself cannot tell... the only thing you cannot write...


how when talks least essential
my mouth drieth of toil
when actions least intended
my limbs jerked in distress

ye who encompass the extremes of both worlds
too vague for them to understand;
who struggles with a naked arm,
how, then, can a breath weave ages?

for the fruits of earth all drieth for bliss
an unborn child cries over his first and last torment
for the world to hear the whispers of thy wind
silence is all i can give

on that lower "kingdom"

thanks to joseinne. at least, now i have an idea where i'm heading to. haha!


The Dante's Inferno Test has banished you to the Seventh Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Very Low
Level 1 - Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	Low
Level 2 (Lustful)	Moderate
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Moderate
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	High
Level 6 - The City of Dis (Heretics)	Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Very High
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	High
Level 9 - Cocytus (Treacherous)	Moderate

Take the Dante's Inferno Test


anyway, think this isn't that accurate.

yes i personally don't believe/sumbit myself into confession. however our theology classes taught us its why's and how's, still it didn't work (don't throw stones at me please). ok, it said very low.

i can only think of one personal question about food. something like if i was eating at restaurants several times a week... well, no not at restaurants but fastfoods, yes. where else can we do when we're not at home? whatever kind and preparation of food, still we pay for them, even at canteens.

violent=very high?! ok, no comment. well, questions were about violence on one's self. don't think i'm harmful, for godsake...

fraudulent? yes i'm a good liar. but i don't forge documents. i'm not into selling social security numbers we get from credit card applicants. well, just think how rich i can be if i'm one.

treacherous? well, i've already said. i'm a good liar.

and everything else-- i think i must agree. :)

PANAWAGAN

bagong libro ni eros atalia-- "PEKSMAN mamatay ka man, nagsisinungaling ako"

mga bagay-bagay na kapansin-pansin na hindi natin napapansin, o hindi lang talaga natin pinapansin.


before anything else, please give me back my Taguan Pung book...

the sons of war

children walking barefoot
soles feasting on shrapnels and fragments

city painted with blood

a dirty race, all heading to
boundaries separating silence from war

hands reach out for a beloved
not strong enough even for one's self

everybody is running
tired of killing each other
on a murderous trip to the summit

a thin thread of hope
no room for a single soul

dreams crashing to the ground
as each falls lifeless

way too far from salvation
too distant from God's embrace

on(e) (h)our faith

there was this exhibit in Thomas Aquinas Research Center (TARC) our professor in theology asked us to visit when we were in our second year. it was - if my memory serves me well - about Islamic soteriology and interreligious conferences, promoting unity among churches or religions.

i did not feel anything when i first set foot on the exhibit area, not until i saw pictures of children in different occasions professing faith. they stole my attention that i began studying their faces, expressions, poses, and details on how they appeared in the pictures. some were so attentive that one could really feel their devotion... and some were not. i started wondering if those little angels were completely aware of what they were doing or if they were just there for the sake of taking part in their rites.

religion is one issue i find complex and delicate when being discussed. much as it is perplexing, it is ultimately interesting and liberating at the same time.

but have we really asked ourselves if we fit right into that religion we belong to? in the first place, we did not choose it. rather, we wholeheartedly embraced what the grownups believed and followed what they did. they went to churches and we were with them, tugged tight, thinking we might get lost into what they introduced to us as our real home. they joined in prayer meetings and we were also there singing, waving our little hands in the air, clapping to death just like what everyone else did, regardless of whether or not we really knew what we were doing. we were taught how to pray and we took our daily dose of Biblical quotes and parables. we were dragged during sleepy saturday or sunday mornings or any day they deemed as worship day, then we slept and played inside the house of praise. punishments would follow right after we got back to our houses. those were the things we lived by; then we started calling ourselves religious.

but however we create the thought that religion is imposed, it is still dependent on one's orientation. freedom of religion was literally translated as that in which one has the right to practice one's religion within reasonable legal parameters. but if we look at it blunt and dry as a legal aspect, then we slowly move away from its sanctity. it is just as if we consider it as a plain constitutional right.

still, human knowledge knows no limit. the more we know, the more we ask, and the farther we get away from our faith. one word leads to another- off to a long and winding quest.

innocent as they were, those children in the pictures were a bold manifestation of authentic faith - that which did not ask but believed. there's no intention of saying that all we need to do is nod, accept and believe what we are being fed. i just had a different feeling when i saw those children whom i think had faith stronger than what we have, regardless of the what and the why... then i tried to remember if i did the same when i was a kid.

i also found it interesting when i saw a book about who Jesus and Mary were in the Koran, though i was not able to leaf through its pages. comments were suspended until i get the chance to read the book.

:::thanks to www.2muslims.com for the pic

el cielo

clouds are there to remind us that there are still things unreachable my human alone...