October WAS eventful

Surely everyone will agree with me that the whole October was relatively eventful despite the blandness of the month per se. We don't celebrate Christmas nor New Year in this month, but apparently it confected much fuss.

October 5. Two bomb blasts occurred in Kidapawan City, Cotabato. The mentioned tumult killed a child and left 36 people injured. Nothing new, actually. We hear this kind of news everyday.

October 18. Oil prices reached $90 per barrel for the first time due to the low dollar and ongoing tension between Turkey and Iraq. Thus, the re-augmentation of public transportation fare. Basically, everyone from West to East will suffer. The only difference is that WE endure more.

October 19. Glorietta ________ (still under investigation). Eleven civilians died. Hundred more were injured.

October 20. Hello, Harry Potter aficionados! J.K. Rowling revealed that Dumbledore of Harry Potter books is homosexual.

October 25. Piolo Pascual divulged his ongoing affair with Sam Milby. Lolit Solis gathered lots of kudos from everyone.

P.S. Okay, the last one is totally made-up. I just like to poke fun at them. Peace!

S-L-E-E-P. What do we have? SLEEP!

Poster's Note: Pardon the title. I am a frustrated cheer leader. 

This Christmas, all I want is a good rest.

See, there are people who tend to be more effective at work if they were placed under time constraints. Also, there are people who tend to be more efficient if their efforts will be remunerated. And there are individuals who perform at their maximum capacity if they were given enough rest. I am one of these individuals.

On any given day, one is likely to perform effectively if he had enough rest before that. At least, that's my case. I have to have sufficient sleep in order for me to do all daunting tasks the next day. Yes, gallons of brewed coffee might suffice, but the potency that sleep can give me is very significant in my daily activities.

According to sleep scientists, one night of inadequate sleep can impair one's reaction time and mental functioning, and chronic sleep deprivation can negatively impact one's immune system and contribute to the development of a whole host of serious ailments.

Need I say more? So, I hereby suggest that we all should ditch our academic craps and indulge ourselves in a good good slumber. No Macroeconomics. No Economics Statistics. No Obligations and Contracts.

P.S. On second thought, I want David Sedaris's Barrel Fever this Christmas! Hahaha!

Must lift weights, er.

Admittedly, I always cringe whenever I see those bulbous biceps of Josh Duhamel or the washboard abs of Kelly Slater. Compared to them, I am dreadfully inferior. I don't have the perfectly carved bod. All I can boast is my buoyant disposition.

See, I don't go to gym and fitness centers. But I can proudly say that I have toned abdominals and I got it from my everyday crunches. Other than that, I don't lift weights or do those biceps development stuff.

However, I am greatly pressured by outside forces. That is to say, the modern Taong Tabon, my friends and uncles. They keep on telling me that I should spend some quality time with the gym, so girls would dig me. I retort, "Reality check guys, I already had a couple of one-night stands." See, my philosophy in life is, "What I lack physically, I make it up in bed." Hahaha! But seriously, I would rather read books than develop muscle. I'm afraid that in the course of my muscle development, they might grow so big they would squeeze my brain. LOL.

 (To be continued…)

Good alibi

While Pots and I were playing Tekken 4 last night, the sleepover people had come up with some deal: the person who can trounce five opponents consecutively gets to have a free breakfast the next day. Then I assessed myself. Do I stand a chance?

As I evaluate myself, I remember beating my uncle once in one of our Tekken fights. My uncle was the best in this field, he knew every move of every character.

Considering this monumental event in my Tekken career, I agreed to participate in the deal, thinking that I stand a chance. So, the game proper. Of course there are rules.

The losing player must surrender the controller to anyone who wishes to contend with the winning player. So basically, it's the winning player against everyone. Then, the winning player should pick a different character for his/her next match, ergo the winning player must not choose the same player consecutively. One must win five times in a row to win the bacon.

To make the long story short, no one won the prize. Hahaha. I was about to win it, actually. But my fifth match went kaput. Pots beat me using Hwoarang, the kicking machine. I was really pissed at him because he kept on using the same technique. Hahaha. What happened to spontaneity, Pots? Hahahaha. But we all had fun, which is considerably a better prize.

Never shall we fail

Let me dedicate this entry to the entire De La Salle University community for a great riposte this year, after being suspended last season in UAAP.

The De La Salle University - Manila Green Archers pocketed this season's bacon on UAAP Men's Senior Basketball after beating University of the East Red Warriors in two straight games. Yes, two straight games. Sweet, indeed.

In the entire game season, I was only able to watch four games of the DLSU Green Archers . However, my attendance as a Legitimate Archer(pun intended), I think, is relatively good enough, considering my constricting class schedule this semester.

The entire season has been a long journey for the whole team. Lots of gauntlets had been thrown at the posse, yet they were still able to reach the Finals. Odds of La Salle bagging the title? I reckon it was slim. University of the East has proven that they are this season's powerhouse by finishing the round robin with no losses. They looked very decisive in every game they played. There was even one game when they outscored La Salle by more than twenty points. They were really good, they had a really good grasp of their foes' strengths and flaws. Not to mention their full-scale abilities in the court.

As for the Green Archers, I thought they were inconsistent. They had their high and low points. In one game, they come through, in the other, they miscarry. They have had their tough matches against Ateneo. But what brought them to the Finals is their passion and fervor in the sport.

So, the Finals proper. Game One. Through divine intervention(LOL!), the match went to the DLSU Green Archers. How crucial is this first game? Let's see. The winning team gains advantage; one more win then bacon is grabbed, momentum is on their side. Then again, the losing team should not be overlooked. They might boost forward in the second game.

Game Two then. I was able to see the game live through Kenneth Yu's dad. Got an Upper A ticket, but no seat was available. LOL. La Salle occupied more than half of the dome. Green shirts and red tees were everywhere. Even before the ball was tossed up, both sides were already yelling clamorously for their own teams. Of course, I exemplified my screaming prowess. I even thought my throat was going to lose its spunk.

And so the game started. Dramas and actions took place, but at the end of the day, it was the De La Salle University - Manila Green Archers who seized the momentum and won the match. Everyone was holding on to their seats and breaths up to the very last millisecond. We were so ecstatic when the buzzer made the seething sound which indicated the conclusion of the game. We won. We did it.

It was indeed a glorious moment. As we clenched our fists, the crowd thrust it forward with so much passion and together we sang our Alma Mater Song. Sublime it is!

Kudos to the De La Salle University - Manila Green Archers for bagging this year's title.

From Kingdom of Lemuria to Atlantis

Last Friday, my amigos and I went to The Fort to, uhm, unwind. 

We weren't really planning of going to The Fort. Shang was our first plan, well it's our only plan actually. We were only thinking of suspending our buns at Starbucks and have coffee or whatnot. But on the spur of the moment, when we were on our way to Shang, I decided to change itinerary. Yes, I. Being the decisive person that I am, I was able to convince them to change plans. Thus, dragging us to The Fort.

We paid Crumpler a visit. I've seen Crumpler bags before(Power Mac Center has a shelf which houses Crumpler bags). But never this huge. Crumpler bags are literally all around me! I'm in heaven! Nyahahaha! I perused on the mailman bags, and picked up the brown one. Examined the whole bag, and decided to buy it on December. Nyahahaha! Nikole got envious and he began to search blue ones for him. Pfff you! Nyahaha!

Oh, I almost forgot. Book lovers, this is for all of you. Pay Fully Booked in High Street a visit. This should suffice your search for a nice, cozy bookstore. Fully Booked, Bonifacio High Street is literally the most ginormous bookstore in the whole area. It's a five-storey building that houses books of various genre. It also has a basement which contains stacks of comics and toys. Not just toys, but the "collector's item" type. It metaphorically is a heaven for book lovers and uh, collectors.

Our stomachs went growling after our Fully Booked trip. We decided to indulge our hunger to Krispy Kreme doughnuts. I have to give credit to Gam for treating us some ring-shaped friedcake. Thanks Gam! Hahahahahaha! Krispy Kreme had UAAP Final Four Doughnuts on their menu. That is to say, they have green, red, blue and yellow doughnuts. I think the doughnuts were glazed in hard sugar, then spattered with colored sprinkles. Yum!

The art of delivering a blow with a foot

Drizzly Thursday afternoon. Rainwater strewed the ground. It's a bit humid. I had to wear a hoodie, to retard the development of colds.

I was hanging out with my friend Marco that afternoon, who happens to be an awesome footballer. He plays as defensive midfielder if I tapped it correctly from my memory, and he does his stint very well by the way. So, we talked about the usual stuff, the How are you's. As I binged on my barbecue-flavored fried potatoes minced into thin slices, we shifted the conversation to what else, football.

In this archipelago, normally, you won't hear people talking about football. Translation: Majority of the Filipinos do not patronize the sport. I can then conclusively say that this is owed to the influential contribution of Uncle Sam to our culture. Basketball. I guess we, Filipinos, love aggressive sports. Something that should surprise and amaze us. Not to mention, fast-paced action. Thus, we were easily clutched by basketball.

But wouldn't it be so nice if we expand our inclination to sports and not just limit it to basketball? Yes, we are already at par with other countries in terms of our competitiveness in basketball, but we should not stop there, should we? What I'm trying to say is that we should at least try harboring other sports, say football, since it is also widely played professionally. You ask, "How are we gonna get the players for this sport?" Oh, we have lots of talented footballers in the country. What we need to do is to subsidize these players. Support them. For maybe in the future, they might be representing our country in FIFA.

UPDATE:

FA Premier League

1st - Arsenal (19pts)

2nd - Manchester United (17pts)

3rd - Manchester City (16pts)

4th - Liverpool (15pts)

5th - Portsmouth (12pts)

6th - Blackburn (12pts)

7th - Chelsea (12pts)

8th - Newcastle (11pts)

9th - Aston Villa (10pts)

10th - West Ham United (10pts)

Talk about vengeance. Five consecutive wins in a row! Hail Manchester United! Hail Sir Alex Ferguson! I think the dark horse this season is Manchester City. Chelsea FC should gain more wins under their belts. 'Bout Arsenal. Hmm. They're starting to look very decisive. This would be a great great season!

[EDIT 7:43 P.M.]

La Salle won against Ateneo by five points. As I always say, the real winners at the end of the day are J. Amado Araneta and the chunk of sponsors. But kudos to the De La Salle University - Manila Green Archers. Next game: >–UE—> 

After thirteen effing days

Hiatus officially ends today. Obviously.

Thirteen days it has been. Short, indeed, but much has happened in my draggy life. I sprained my ankle, went to a get together, watched porn videos, lost keys, cut fingernails, bought a Belo Essential lotion, combusted some clothes, ran into Ryan Agoncillo, spent three days bumming around in Baguio, etcetera. Disclaimer. The Belo Essential lotion is not for me. My mom asked me to buy her the thing. What's a poor son to do? Thanks Mom for making me look like an, uh, urban-living fashion-conscious man. Nyahahaha!

Much as I want to rant about the recent ZTE controversy, I'd rather not talk about it. I will just be thrusting the level of noise pollution in the country, which is relatively getting worse. Fundamentally, the overarching source of most noise worldwide is generated by transportation systems, which includes but not limited to motor vehicle noise and aircraft noise. But today, most of the nuisance noise worldwide are not necessarily from transportation systems anymore, but from the incessant babblings of our public officers. I had enough. I can just shove plugs in my ear, so to prevent the complete devastation of my auditory organ.

Photos were taken at Baguio, Camp John Hay, Manor Hotel. 

Hiatus

I will be out for a while. School is driving me nuts!

Girls, girls, girls

I found this topic in Atenista.net. Since I am quite in the position to give out comments about this one, let me have my fair share of ideas.

I'll start out with: (random order, and we're talking about high school girls here)

Poveda - Povedans are usually victims of the first impression phenomena. Normally, college guys tag them as high-maintenanced, uber sosy, bitchy brats. But they are totally the opposite of those. Yes they act bitchy at times, but I would have to say they are rather bunch of erudite ladies. Most of them are levelheaded, not to mention their articulateness in English and Filipino languages. In addition, they never fail to impress guys with their jaunty style. SCORE: 13/15

St. Scholastica's College,  Manila - "Nasa loob ang kulo." I guess the best word to describe them is laidback. If Kulasas were placed under stark stress, they still remain carefree, yet they were able to finish the tasks given to them. Plus, they're good cooks, too. Girlfriend material, eh? SCORE: 12.5/15

Immaculate Conception Academy, Greenhills - I'll try to put it this way: ICA Girls are damn great in numbers! Why? It is because they're Chinese. Peace. I cannot say much about them. But I think they're a clump of exquisite ladies, possessed with "singkit" eyes and porcelain skin. Take them out of their dark blue and white uniform, then put them into chic clothes. DEYM! SCORE: 13.5/15

Miriam College - Girls here are so diverse. I sort of consider Miriam girls the most clever among its ilk. 'Nuff said, I guess. SCORE: 13.5/15

St. Paul College, Pasig - Then again, SPCP girls should not be overlooked. Paulinians could be bracketed into two groups: maarte and non-maarte. Despite the dichotomy, I find most of them very friendly and apt, as well. Beauty and brains? Exactly. SCORE: 14/15

St. Therese's College, QC - They're the type of ladies who prefer to reserve themselves. However, if you single them out from the pool, you'll get to know them deeper, and they're quite thinkers. SCORE: 13/15

Assumption College, San Lorenzo - The girls who are born with a silver spoon in their mouths. Peace, Pam. Kidding aside, I find them humble, simple and clever. SCORE: 12.5/15
 
Colegio de Sta. Rosa, Rockwell - These girls are smokin'! I love Taro(how do you call yourselves, by the way) girls because of their simplicity, yet they are hard workers and creative. SCORE: 13/15

I must then note that this is only my opinion. My own perspectives might be disparate to others.