September 30, 2012

Charice All The Way

To be honest, I am not a very huge/avid Charice fan. I am just a fan. I am just another person who is undeniably amazed by her talent and looks up to her as a performer. I am not a fan just because I'm Filipino, rather I am a fan because she is simply phenomenal.


Apart from so many other fans of Charice all over the world, I already knew and appreciated her since she joined the singing competition Little Big Star. Only the viewers of that show knew her but for me, I was already astounded by her brilliant singing ability. Despite that fact, she didn't win the competition and placed third apparently because she didn't possess enough sophisticated "star quality" that the people liked, on the other hand, about the one who actually won. I was devastated and could not believe how the competition was poorly judged.

The start of Charice's break was when she got noticed by the world through her YouTube videos and got invited by huge personalities like Ellen Degeneres and the Oprah to their massively popular shows worldwide.

I am very proud of her achievements not only because she's immensely talented but also because she is one of the few Filipinos who are popular worldwide and waves the flag of our nation. She is one icon who tells the world Filipinos are talented people.

Today, Charice remains in mainstream television but I noticed that ever since she somehow changed her image and disposition towards what she does, to the public and the media, more and more people had negative things to say.


Even if that's the case - a lot of people disagree (rather than respect) and negatively criticize her especially about her new image, I won't defend her. I will never rebut any criticisms being thrown at her no matter how exaggerated and bloated they are. No matter how unreal the statements are, as a fan, I will remain nonchalant. I will let them talk all they want because who cares. She's brilliantly amazing as she is. That's enough reason for me to say "Charice all the way!"


September 27, 2012

Cibo Series: Seafood Carbonara

I have decided to start a series of posts that will feature my long list of favorite foods (in no particular order, but this one is, I think, an exception). I keep a list of my favorite food and beverage. That is how unnecessary I am. I have this list but every time somebody would ask me what my favorite food is, I always tell them it's Seafood Carbonara - especially one that is well-made. Oh, heaven. I can eat Carbonara forever, even if forever isn't empirically quantifiable. I don't care, thank you.

Generally, I love pasta dishes except for spaghetti. I don't eat spaghetti because I don't really like food that's tomato-flavored. But I love lasagna. That is how inconsistently ridiculous I am.


My mom liked making Carbonara even when I was a kid but at that time, I just ate and ate. As long as it tasted good, I'm gonna eat it. (From that statement, you will probably have imagined me to be a fat kid. No, I was not.)

September 23, 2012

I Can Hear You

There have been a lot of times when I was having a conversation with certain people and I had to make them repeat what they just said because.. Well, not that I didn't hear them, I just wanted the statement to be clear to avoid misunderstanding or misinformation. I hate those downfalls.

Ergo, this is an announcement - a very informal announcement to all, especially to those who have had the misfortunate circumstance to experience this kind of situation with me and might think that I am slow-minded or dumb, that I am not deaf. I ain't deaf. My hearing is not impaired. Please take a moment to absorb.

There are times that when a person speaks and is directed to me, I can hear what is being said, but there are some words that definitely sound gibberish, hence my plea for clarity. Perhaps because the word was not properly pronounced, I was not in my full attention, or simply because the word is alien to me. You can't blame me. I just hope you wouldn't think I'm a freak. I'm not. No offense to freaks.

I strongly believe that my hearing is still in great condition, I just don't know if it's still perfect. I don't think so. Well, who knows. I haven't had it checked. Don't argue. Stahp.

Come to think of it, I might just be deaf. A deaf that can hear.

September 22, 2012

What's for Dinner? Dog.

Earlier tonight I had a long talk with my new out-of-town friends kuya Dexter from La Union and Kaan from Baguio, just about anything under the stars (there was no sun). We came to the point where our topic was about dogs and how eating them is a delight for many.

Kabaitan Bautista, nicked "Kaan" is from a prominent family from Baguio City. Their family owns the prestigious University of Bagiuo. He has 11 other siblings and all of them are named differently from the rest of the conventional others (Matimyas, Magiting, Pananalig, etc. I can't remember all their cool names.) I also had the chance to meet one of his brothers Rayo in La Union and his only sister Matimyas, nicked "Tims" who is a medical doctor, not to mention awesomely funny. On the other hand, kuya Dexter is a surfer from La Union. This guy is just hilarious.

So much for the background check, let's get back to the main topic. Kaan shared that in Baguio, it is not strange for dogs to be eaten. In fact, they are served as proper dishes in some food establishments there. I have been to Baguio several times but I never knew this fact. I was obviously absent during the briefing, which actually didn't occur. Kaan said, dog meat is like no other. Especially when properly served, it surpasses the usual flavors of chicken, pork, beef and fish meat.


Likewise in La Union, they make dogs as pulutan, according to kuya Dex. They even make lechon dogs there.

I never knew northern Filipinos were so friendly to dogs. I don't eat dogs, nor is eating them a normal habit in the place where I'm from, but even if it is attested that it tastes really good, I don't think I'll be able to take it in. Well, fine, I'm not sure if I can't. I love discovering new things, so who knows. I might just have a hot dog for breakfast tomorrow. :D

September 21, 2012

Ploop

This gag made my day. I laughed inside so hard, I died a little there.


I really thought only bubbles will come out. Having killed that expectation to a greater outcome, the effect on me was just unbelievably drastic. Plus, their facial expressions are just priceless.

Permission

I am not asking for your permission, I am just informing you.

(Unless of course you're my mother, you are an important person to me, I have given you that privilege, at one point you saved my life, I owe you tons of money, you fed me good food when I was hungry, you made me happy when I was miserable, you taught me something that will become handy for the rest of eternity, you changed my life, or if you're life-threatening. Then you are entitled to forbid me. Negotiable, of course.)

I Don't Want to Be a Criminal

Justice is very hard to attain, especially in a third world country like where I am from. I don't want to mention any country name even if it's already obvious. Take my advice and do not, I repeat, do not ever involve yourself in an activity that may eventually involve the government, laws, civil stuff, and whatnot. That is, if you have no interest in going through the adventure of white water rafting in the more fun Philippine Justice System.

I actually am not in the best position to say these things but hey, "this is a democratic country," this is my opinion, hopefully most of the people would respect it, and correct me if I am wrong.

To tell this blog honestly, I am scared of the idea of being involved (worse, accidental) in criminal matters. Who's not? But what I mean is, even if I have a chance to get excellent, efficient, money-hungry lawyers, being in the midst of court kembolars in the Philippines is more than just a depressing hassle. Even if, say for instance, you have just been framed up and you really didn't do anything wrong but by the looks of it you did, you are really gonna have a bad time. Your case will get old as time unsolved. Obsolete story. At least more than 75% of the time. Studies show.

(I just noticed I mentioned a country. Oops. But I'm sure it's not the only country which experiences lax justice systems. Even some first world countries do. [Rationalization, ladies and gentlemen.])


I have no idea why I used this photo, but for some reason, I think it suits this entry.

I'm not saying there's no hope, of course. There's hope. There's always hope. We still have good leaders, pure-servicing efficient lawyers, and all the other good stuff I failed to mention and I will probably not because it's difficult to think when it's this cold, the computer's on top of you, and you feel like sleeping.

Anyways, given the idea that worst things may fu*k you up if you are proven innocent otherwise, you may want to deprive yourself from engaging to the jungle-ish society we have which will give you a fair chance of being a criminal without you being aware.

Take care always.

September 20, 2012

Mukha ang Labanan

Note: This is not to make people who aren't actually what you can call "good-looking" to feel bad. This is just a thought that can be disregarded.

No matter how people argue about looks not being important, having a good one is a huge advantage in life. In terms of disposition, people having good looks are generally perceived to have a pleasant effect on other people during interpersonal contact. Pheromones?

In terms of financial assistance, having good looks will certainly help you sell yourself. You have a fair chance to be a celebrity, a model, and many other employments that good looks are a significant consideration such as concierge personnel, airline cabin crew, retail endorsers, etc. These are only a few examples of how to make money out of good looks.

Thirdly, a lot of people are generally kinder to good-looking people. People likewise tend to like these good-looking ones on the sole basis of the external outlook which, admittedly, is a bit superficial.

This may not be ideally right, but it's happening. Beware.

September 19, 2012

You're Not Mine

I like you because you're not mine.

This line is for players - people who aren't satisfied of getting stable with one person. Monogamy is their enemy. They do not want to engage in a strict, committed relationship because they won't be able to goof around with others that are same as them (well, not necessarily). If ever they be in one, they cheat.

There are a lot of people who like someone, pursue them, and the moment they get them, loses the challenge making them eventually become uninterested towards their hooked fish.

Be careful from this modus operandi. That is, if you do not enjoy being played. Fools of *love loom around.

* a cover of infatuation

Do You Have Enemies?

"Do you have enemies? Good, that means you stood up for something." ~ Eminem

What if you have enemies because you're just simply an asshole? What if you have enemies because you did something really bad to offend somebody, given that you're an asshole? What if you have enemies because your attitude simply isn't convetionally acceptable? What if you have enemies because you're evil? Will standing up for something be good if you are all these things?

I'm pretty sure everybody can stand up for something without making enemies. I don't even need to make a survey.

September 12, 2012

Vampire Blood Transfusion

I recently watched this movie called "Dark Shadows" which features Johnny Depp and,  always, along with Helena Bonham Carter. It was a really good film if I may say so myself - the humor and weirdness really added up to the awesomeness of the movie.


There was a part of the movie where Dr. Hoffman, played by Bonham Carter, was stealing blood from Barnabas Collins, a vampire played by Depp, to obtain eternal youth and be beautiful forever through blood transfusion. When Barnabas found out about this trickery, he immediately bit Dr. Hoffman's neck and then she died. At the end of the movie, it was shown that Dr. Hoffman herself became a vampire.


Now, I was wondering how the process of becoming a vampire takes place. Well, the most popular would be by being bitten on the neck by a vampire. Apparently, it was shown in the movie, though by no means of confirmation, that transfusing vampire's blood to your own gradually makes you one - at least hinted by Dr. Hoffman in the movie.

I'm also left in wonder about the idea on how being bitten by a vampire makes you one. Do the fangs of these vampires have venoms or anything of some sort that allows the prey to succumb to being a blood-sucking immortal? I wonder.

September 2, 2012

Seven Point Six

The scariest night of my life, by far, just happened on the 31st of August. The very first thing that came to my mind was massive deaths.

That fateful night on the 31st, past eight, I was happily watching an animé that I just got, Sword Art and in HD quality on widescreen TV, the reason I was happy. Little did I know that the contentment and glee I was feeling had a huge cost.

As I went on watching, the house suddenly shook. I was immediately terrified because the strength of the quake did not start weak - it began strong spot-on. I was actually about to wait for it to stop, but it wasn't, all the more it became stronger and stronger, so I decided to go out right away. Before I had the reflex to go outside of the house, I began yelling for everyone to, as well.

As we were on our way down our house's balcony, a lot of things was actually happening. The earthquake still wasn't stopping, I was thinking houses will start to crumble down and everyone was going to die. That's how irrationally pessimistic I was at that moment. My scare was intense like no other. What happened to Haiti was already the picture in my head. The excruciating pain inside was something I will never want to feel again.

When we reached the street, the quake still wasn't stopping and I was clearly seeing houses shaking because of the bright moonlight, network towers swaying, praying they won't actually drop because it will be a much worse scenario. Then it blacked out. The quake slowly weakened then it stopped. It lasted for about 30 seconds or more, not including the bit of shakes following.

What extremely alarmed me was, no other people went out from their houses. We were the only people out in the street. Waiting for an earthquake that strong to stop is kinda stupid, no offense. I'm pretty sure they couldn't have gone under their tables because going out of their homes was a lot safer, a lot easier, and given the accessibility, the first thing you do in case of an earthquake. Were they waiting for their houses to collapse and die? Jesus Christ, thank you for saving their poor souls. They were absent during the calamity dry run (there wasn't any, just kidding). They don't watch TV, I thought!

We went back inside to find a lot of figurines shattered all over the place and other glasswares broken. The chandelier in the living room was still swaying. When I saw the TV safe and sound, I was extremely thankful (after being thankful we were not dead yet, of course). Calls were made, talks, among other things.

Straightaway, I wondered where the epicenter was. When my dad called in, the temblor was apparently breaking news everywhere already and  I found out it was Sulangan, the last barangay of our town. For once, a blessed barangay was on CNN. I suddenly thought, since the Sulangan church was being renovated to a new, bigger house of God, perhaps he was testing its ability to withstand a tremor.

The initial measure was 7.9, but later revised to 7.6. My guess was 7.5. I obviously underestimated that shit.

In the essence of common sense, we immediately thought of a tsunami. After the thought of Haiti, Japan came to my head next. The very thought made the hair on my whole body stand. The next big scare was a lot frightening. That already came from me, someone who lives in an elevated part of town, in a relatively higher house. If our village was reached by water, the whole town will practically already be underwater.

On the phone, my dad asked me to go and tell my brother and his family who were living in another house to stay at home for the night just in case a tsunami comes. Alas, a tsunami alert was raised.

As I was on my way down town, there were already people walking on the streets, vehicles rummaging, and whatnot. When we came back home, trucks, cars, motorbikes and people were already on their way to our village, which was the highest part in town. A significant part of the town was already within our compound, not to mention our relatives and family friends filling our house. Everyone was scared, though it didn't really show. As for me, I felt really nervous, restless, and silently panicking inside.

I could not help but respond to so many calls and texts that came, all asking about the earthquake, being safe, and the tsunami.

We waited, and waited, and waited.

Then finally, the level 3 tsunami alert was lifted after a couple of hours. Although a huge part in us was able to breathe, we were still alert but less startled. Nothing happened until the rest of the night. It was a miracle.

I was still able to sleep. Weird.

This was my status the morning after:

Last night was one of the most frightening nights of my life. After that 7.9 magnitude earthquake, a level 3 tsunami alert was raised. We were the nearest from the epicenter - just kilometers away. Everyone was expecting something would happen since news said with an earthquake that strong, a huge possibility of a tsunami occurrence would took place. But nothing happened. It was a miracle. Thank you everyone who called, who were concerned, who prayed. Most of all, thank God for keeping us safe. Good morning.