Passion Sings the Most Beautiful Goodbye

Sometimes I dont understand
Why I thought that I had
All the time in the world
To go and see you awhile
For just a little while.

Too caught up in my own life
I didn't see the pain you hid with a smile
And now you're not here with me
Shoulda been, coulda been, woulda been, alright

Wish I knew how to turn back the hands of time
Cus maybe then I'd be here by your side
Wish that I had done just a little more
Wish that I could see you one more time
But I know that God holds your life
Your battle is finally won and he said well done
My faithful servent well done

Too many times in our lives
do we take things for granted
I dont understand it, no
When its right in front of our eyes
Thinking they would be here for all times

Wish I knew how to turn back the hands of time
Cus maybe then you'd be here by my side
Wish that I had done just a little more
Wish that I could see you one more time
But I know that God holds your life
Your battle is finally won

Wish that I had done just a little more
Wish that I could see you one more time
But I know that god holds your life
Your battle is finally won
Wish I knew how to turn back the hands of time
Cus maybe then I'd be here by your side

Wish that I had done just a little more for you
Wish that I could see you one more time
But I know that God holds your life
Your battle is finally won
And God said well done

----
There is truth in his song. When you know they're in a better place, and yet you still miss them, wishing you did more for them.

Bring It On.

The former room mates have rejuvenated the proposal for the Burgundy Biggest Loser competition over pizza and lasagna yesterday. Least amount of percentage weight lost in one year pays for a Red Crab dinner. Isn't it ironic that the grand prize defeats the journey towards achieving the goal? Oh well, that restaurant's really expensive and we really like their "Maritess" crabs.

Bring it on, I am on a mission to win this competition, as per clocking in more hours at the badminton court, doing more runs at the gym and at the roads and being enslaved by my arch-enemy, Oatmeal. I am going to win this one girls, better watch out.

The Ber Months

September's round the corner, in comes the "ber" months. Speak of such to any non-Filipino, they will not understand what that means. But every Filipino understands this phenomenon of the "ber" months perfectly well. Radio station deejays will start counting down to Christmastime and consequently, start playing Christimas songs. Yes, we do saddle up for the holidays quite early. Malls will once more be flocked with buyers and houses will be fully adorned with their respective versions of the Christmas tree. The nights feel longer during these months, the wind a bit chilly than the months before it. HBO and the Hallmark channels often do reruns of modern Christmastime movies such as my favorite, "The Holiday". Gotta love the Jack Black-Kate Winslet team-up. My favorite scene being the one where Al Pacino glances at them while they scour the halls of the movie rental shop for movies with unique and popular theme songs. It's so geeky and cute.

Christmas is my all-time favorite holiday, it's so happy and hopeful. The food, the gifts, the parties, the merriment, these are all fine and good. But for me the best part is that this is the calm patch that reminds us to be appreciative of life.

Painful to Watch Barbecue On TV

Senators grilling policemen, <-- too painful to watch, the flavor of barbecue malingers. But this is the kind of TV drama that needs to be drilled into the psyche of people. Understand that there is so much to be fixed in this broken government, make the government accountable to fix it.

These policemen had an opportunity to be great, but instead, here they are, drowning in a sea of systemic, protocol failure. Not enough gas masks, not enough training, bad judgement calls, uncontrolled media men, buying jollibee for generals. Even Gen. Magtibay seems dazed and confused. Men in uniform with grand titles as Senior Inspector, Chief Negotiator, Captain, etc, all flow down the drain simply because of systemic, protocol failure. Where did the millions for appropriate equipment and training go? To their fat bellies I presume.

Sadly, tourists are now even more scared to venture into this country. How can the tourists, whether Chinese nationals or otherwise, possibly enjoy a weekend here in Manila if the threat of being killed mercilessly on the streets is a possibility? No wonder they were quick to call discouragement to travel to the Philippines. I like travelling alone, going to a country where I feel safe in, and according to my standards this country, sadly my own home country isn't one country I'd travel to alone. Think about it? Rogue policemen can't even be controlled by their own, what more the real hardcore terrorists? I'm a local, and I'm scared. Who do I then trust for this country's security?

They need to fix the system from the inside, and in this case, a certain hostage taker Mendoza lit the timebomb. There is EPIC failure in the systems that the government has in place. It failed for Mendoza and his lack of grievance box, it failed for the Chinese nationals who died on vacation, it failed for the foot soldiers who knew nothing better, it failed for the media men who were unlikely accomplices for this mess, it failed for the generals who just want a nice fat retirement. EPIC failure. No one person can take the blame for all of this mess simply because the failure is thickly ingrained into the roots that the government stands on. Awful.

Media Frenzy

En route to my regular Badminton game at Metro last night, I listened to the clearest AM feed on my car radio. Tado and the Brewrats had to take the backseat to the hostage-taking drama happening at Manila. The feed from the AM channel was very disjointed, on some occasions, the field reporters were out of breath, seemingly part of the whole action, and at certain occasions, the reports weren't so clear, with rain, gunshots and shouts echoing at the background. It really wasn't making much sense because I suppose, things were happening on site and people, whether it be policemen, media reporters, bystanders were all jumpy with excitement.

As far as I'm concerened, this was a fiasco, I've watched too many CSI and Numb3rs episodes to know that the circumstances surrounding this event could very well lead to a disaster.

Surely, this hostage-taker meant business. HE had a fully loaded automatic machine gun, and as a decorated cop, he probably knew what he was doing. Or so we all presume about him. As I checked fezbook this morning, I came across a reference to the case this hostage taker wanted reviewed by the ombudsman or whoever took away his privileges as a retired cop. Yes, he was accused of extortion, and through a viral email, was forever ruined. Down with his career went his AFPSLAI red book pension, perhaps he believed that these benefits were worth fighting for. But was that what he was indeed fighting for? I doubt it.

He wanted to be heard, he wanted to shake this viral email fiasco off him, if what he claims is true, that he really isn't a bad cop, then why this rogue method of fighting the system? Couldn't he just have used media to propel an assault on this Christian Kalaw instead of terrorizing the country and these Hongkong nationals with guns and the threat of having them killed? There are ways to fight a battle without guns, he should've known that because he was a victim of such. He can still regain the respect he so desperately fought for, only he should've used methods that were far less deadly in order to be actually heard. Can you actually listen to what an armed man is saying when he's pointing that gun to someone? In Filipino, we'll ordiarily say, "Um-oo ka na lang."

Then you have the media, jumping at every opportunity. Come on, the whole brother throwing a fit outside the police station, why blow that up at that instance when the media very well knew that the hostage taker had access to a television inside his locked up bus? The hostage taker had his finger at the trigger the whole time, give him a reason to pull it, he will. And so he did. The media, perhaps reflective of this, "usisero" culture we have as Filipinos was in a quandary. They were reporting what they felt compelled to report and yet, they were indirectly causing a chain events that could have very well been avoided.

The reporter at ANC today grilled Isko Moreno, asking him repetitively the What if's questions. What if the brother was contained right away and didn't throw a fit, could things have ended peacefully? What if the negotiators gave the hostage taker more than what they had given, would he have released all of the hostages? What if the SWAT team had better training, could less hostages have been killed? These what if questions are dried water under the bridge.

Again, let me repeat, he had a fully loaded automatic machine gun and a finger on the trigger. Alright, he had something important to say, but sadly nobody wanted to listen because all that everyone could see was that he had that loaded gun aimed at someone. His message of "Get my case reviewed! Now na!" fell on deaf ears because the situation was too tense, too scary and too inevitably deadly.

So what now? Learn. Policemen should have better skills, find a grievance box somewhere if you have something against someone. Choosing to be rogue will not get you anywhere. Mediamen please be careful with your actions, best in Tagalog perhaps, "Wag magpadala sa kaguluhang nagaganap."

Unreasonably Slow

Today of all days, my brain is unreasonably slow. I figured I'd write something here to get my blood going, but even this requires so much energy. I still feel exhausted from the prepwork for midterms. As a distant learning student, it's so easy to forget that I'm a real student. The exams yesterday were difficult but I'd say reasonable, I mean with better prepwork, I know I can do better next time.

So much to do. So little energy, so slow this brain today.

Special Needs

As a consequence of sparring with a new badminton crew, I perchanced to have met a new friend. He told me during our break time, that he has a child with special needs. As I dug deep into my nursing experience and theoretical training, when people use the phrase "child with special needs" they usually refer to children with autism. True enough, he told me that she's non-verbal and is undergoing intensive therapy on a regular basis.

And then he said this after telling me much of his story: "Actually, I won't be the person I am now if she hadn't been made part of my life.".

Now that got me to thinking. Provided that I'm taking up my Masters, it's been three days now since I started intensively studying my books on Theoretical Nursing, coming across words like cognition, developmental theories, systems theories, adaptation, cultural vs inherent capacity. My mind was flooded with interconnecting thoughts, these things are finally making sense to me, but before I share those thoughts. Let's go back to my new friend.

Given that I suffer from really bad muscle cramps when I exercise, I like to take breaks in between playing. During one break time, I crack open my new pretty red book, Mark Haddon's the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I've been lagging on my leisurely reading lately as the school and work load take priority on the read list. Then as I was reading it, my new friend says to me, "Hey, I know that book. Do you know he's autistic?". I said, "Huh, the lead guy in this book's autistic?". He said, "Yeah.".

Again, my brain flooded with thoughts. I just thought that the lead character in this book was an ordinary guy, only eccentric and a little off from the ordinary norms. Come to think of it, quite simply phrased, a guy with special needs. In this book, the lead character's been trying to figure out who killed his neighbor's dog as such revealing an unusual perspective on life and things, like an aversion to all things yellow, preference of odd numbers over even and a systemic discomfort with new experiences and new faces.

Come to think of it, don't we all have special needs? Like me for example, I believe that my body needs more exercise than other people, hence, if I don't exercise (run, go to the gym, play badminton), I tend to gain weight, feel the back pain that resulted from an injury I've suffered a couple of months back and and consequently laze more than usual. I need the jolt of endorphins to get me going through my days to maintain some semblance of being healthy. So that's my special needs. We all have special needs, and autistic children are no different from us -- the so-called "normal" people.

I've always subscribed to Neuman's Systems Theory in my practice of nursing. People generally develop a core that they protect with lines of defenses against stressors and external threats. These lines are influenced by their genetic makeup, developed perspective of life, adherence to cultural norms and inherent stability.

So when you apply this to children with special needs, these kids develop differently from the norm because they were born with a different set of tools to begin with. They build their lines of defenses and strengthen a core that varies from the accepted "normal". The environs often are asked to maintain congruence with children of special needs instead of the other way around. Parents and caretakers mold the environs a little different in order for the children to thrive. I recently watched an episode of Maricel Laxa-Panganiban's Momworks where these children were featured. One guest explained how her family's life and dynamic were completely changed by having a son with special needs. Her life wasn't delimited but rather enhanced and made better by her son. She is one proud mother, perhaps as proud as any other mother of every other child. She learned from her son the power of life, how it can be made special no matter how unusual the circumstances are for her fmaily. Having a special needs child doesn't necessarily equate to difficulty, rather it denotes opportunity to be great in spite of apparent difficulty.

Children are engaged in life through their parents. Guided and allowed to grow under the care of adults, children often reflect their caretakers and mirror, they become little versions of their parents. Too often though, parents will succumb to the reality that these children, the very children they are expected to mold, mold them to be better versions of themselves. The circle of life continues on.

Randomness Part 3

It's raining cats, dogs, and kitchen sinks. Here we go again with the never ending rain, the flash floods that strike fear in the heart of drivers with automatic cars and yes, the gloomy mid-days that feel like forever. Sure, the rain will be a big help to the depleting water supply, yey for water but the rain is just another excuse to take a nap even if it's not time to take one.

In my randomness today, amidst the pressure from the boss to assume the panic mode, I searched for a stapler. And couldn't find one. The search took me about 15 minutes before waving the white flag.

I think I need another cup of coffee.

Mastering the Art of Drunkenness

Yesterday, I was useless. I was supposed to study for my pre-lim exams, run at least 3 of my daily 5k regimen, log-in some mileage on my Tolstoy and run my purchasing at the mall errands.

By 3pm, still nothing. I wasn't even making sense of the TV that I was watching, these CSI guys seem to be talking faster than usual. So I commanded my noggin to make sense of the show as a measure of my ability to absorb information as I readied myself to read my schoolbooks (that's one to many "as"ses <-- I'm being random again)

20 minutes into CSI, still nothing was making sense. I set the books aside - Tolstoy and Schoolwork, I was going to waste my time pretending that I could absorb anything.

So then I figured I can haul my lazy ass to the gym, if I can't use my brain on things that require thinking, I might as well do some physical training, that shouldn't require brain cells right?

There I was aboard the treadmill, still procrastinating, still with a blank gaze. As I paced to run, I could feel my heart literally pushing against my ribs, I was hurting by the drinking. I could feel the last of Mr. Tanduay pounding in my chest, I was out of breath by the first kilometre that I was left to walk the usual run. I had to finish the 5k that I committed to, I knew I could crawl it if necessary, which I eventually did.

So then I told myself, that's some progress, at least I was able to do some training in spite of the fact that I did some drinking the night before. Mind you, I'm not really good with managing the hangover feeling just yet. Pineapple juice works, I downed a liter of it, which really helped, or so I think. How come it didn't address this surge of blank thoughts?

Then I braved the mall for the purchasing errands. Then again, I may have pushed my luck too far, I was back to being useless. I scoured the mall, and nothing, zilch, my brain was feeling defeated by the thinking it was asked to do because the mall chugs out too many choices, I could not comprehend the complexity. I was exhausted.

So there, useless all because I've only started training my liver to take in alchohol recently, in this prime age of my late 20's.

Yes, that is my biggest regret in life, I didn't drink enough in college.

The Drink List

I realized that I've developed a preference to certain concoctions whilst having aversion to some. I've never had rum coke before and last night was my introduction to Mr. Tanduay. Suprisingly pleasant. So yeah, I'd take rum coke/ rum sprite and definitely enjoy it. It's sweet taste is good for me, and chugging down a couple of tall glasses of it is all good for me.

Beer sits well in my books, especially if it's the Super Dry kind with the San Miguel line. Imported beers are good, provided they're the light brews, I can't manage the Guiness just yet. Red Horse, I'm afraid to try.

Vodka... I have nightmares about Vodka. Needless to say, I was young and hopeful when I first tried drinking vodka, I didn't enjoy the experience so the gag reflex with this alcohol is high, even the smell of it turns my stomach.

Gin, although initially I liked the taste of gin. Liking too much of something may have led to its demise in my list. In a noisy bar months ago, I drank one too many bottles of the Gilbey's brand (the green tea kind) that got me into some awful gag-reflex inducing action. I've never taken that many trips to the public comfort room before. I felt awful and I never want to replicate it so everytime gin's on the table, I take a pass.

Tequila's my best bet so far. I enjoy the straight up kind, with salt and lemon, and I also enjoy it with sweeteners and the food coloring, Margarita style. I had gotten drunk one time on this, screamed my head off during regular conversation but still no gag reflex and no bad-ass hangover the morning after which made it all good in my books if you ask me. I prefer to order this when I'm in a bar, as opposed to the usual beer.

Scotch, Johnny version is classic and cool to the lips. I heart this drink when it's on the table. The thick smell and the smooth trip down the pipes ranked this drink as one of my favorites. Feeling good after is an added bonus. This drink, taken slowly with the ice melting is like having a slow conversation with a fond friend, it gets more interesting over time. Such an old man's drink, but such a young girl's fancy as well.

Wine is tough on the senses. I tend to veer away from it because it's just too heavy and too fragrant for my taste. If given an option between red and white, I tend to lean towards the white variety, the refreshing-almost-like-grape juice taste is good enough for me. Although, developing my palette for this alcoholic concoction may be beneficial over time as people tend to drink wine as they get older. I suppose beer get's old at some point, that's why they there's tendency to drink fine wines.

Whisky, I'm too afraid to try just yet.

Chuck Klosterman is a Rockstar.

"Eating the Dinosaur" is his latest release and I recently procured a copy because I needed to buy a book that would make my updated to-read list a bit more eclectic than it already is.

Here's my non-work, non-school to-read list.

I was gifted with Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love from my Balikbayan sister, I asked for Rushdie's Satanic Verses but she said she felt the title sounded so off so she bought me a lighter, more pleasant book instead. I told her Rushdie isn't a bad man. She laughed at me as I tried to convince her not to judge a book by its cover, or in this case its title.

I bought a Tolstoy, because I figured I haven't finished reading a Russian's work might as well try one out. I tried a Dostoyevsky a couple of years back, but I was too confused with the proper nouns, they all sounded alike. The little bit that I got to read of "War and Peace" wasn't too bad, I figured I'm ready, I'm up for the challenge. Bring it on, the pages, the small font, the Royalty wars.

Then because I am attracted to books with a red cover, I had to buy one. My best bud, resident book geek Francis recommended Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I've been asking him to lend me his copy but alas, he keeps forgetting so I bought a copy of it. It really does help that the cover's red and it has an inverted dog on the cover, I'm intrigued. Plus I always rely on Francis to recommend for books to read because he's well-read and a book fan. Did I just contradict my belief of judging books by its covers?

Going back to Chuck Klosterman as a Rockstar, I'm a few chapters in and it's really good. Although I have to admit, I am not familiar with his choice of references in his writing half of the time. I am quite proud of myself that I know that Jeff Beck is a guitarist and that I've listened to Nirvana's Kurt Cobain belt out his misery. I can imagine Chuck as that guy people gravitate to during "inuman". He actually posited a quandary in his book, he said it was his favorite inuman question, he asked, if you had 15 seconds to go back in time to your 15 year old self, what exactly would you say? I really enjoyed reading his overthought, geeky answer to this. I won't do his work justice by putting it up here, so buy the book! Haha, I am such a crazed fan. I have yet to read the rest of this book and secure his other works, the only other piece I've read before was IV. His take on American pop culture is just fun to read, it's bordering geeky. He's an intelligent word user and deeply profound in a non-effacing way. This is probably why I enjoy reading blogs that are self-referential but not in a gag-inciting overly self-absorbed way.

I gotta stop writing and get back to my reading. It's so much fun to be a geek.

Random Zombie Thoughts

I am on my nth cup of coffee and still a zombie! I still have one more deadline to push through. I am so dead if I don't make tomorrow's do-or-die deadline.

Thanks to youtube, I have been able to enjoy a myriad of songs from a lot of different artists. Interestingly enough, I have a very disjointed taste in music. Just take a look at today's playlist.

Bag Raiders Fun Punch, Shooting Stars and Turbo Love
Usher There Goes My Baby, Love Looks Good on You, I Love You Too
Freestyle Half-Crazy
Green Day One 21 Guns
MAE Reflections, Release Me
Madonna Secret
The Script Before the Worst
Kjwan One Look

House music by the Bag Raiders ROCK! These guys are my get-up-and-go musicians. When you're on your 23rd zombie hour, one bad-ass upper's required and these guys do it for me.

Something to think about.... How do you eat your pasta? Do you mix it so that the sauce is evenly distributed, so that every bite is the same as the last one? Boo for you. You're boring. I realized that eating pasta without mixing it makes the experience exciting and unpredictable. There are times that you barely get a hint of the sauce, then there are times that the noodles are dripping with sauce.

Zombiefied.

Taking A Moment To Procrastinate

Before I drown in a sea of deadlines, let me hum a tune from a band that was introduced to me by my niece. It has such a catchy tune, so easy on the ears.

Release Me by MAE

if you'd get next to me and help me find simplicity
then you could be the one to take me, to break me
and flood my soul

at first this cloud burst is pulling us under
lightning and thunder
rain falls and you take me under
and flood my soul

could you be the one to release me
oh, release me
waiting for your love
oh, to free me
so, release me

Wait one more song, gotta love the rockstars crooning slow. Reminds me of The Script.

Reflections by MAE

Too quick to fall asleep again to find you
I'm rushing through a dream I can't control
This house of mirrors beckons us to walk through
But instead again I'll have to let you go
Stuck here in this stare
Revealed beyond the glare
Again you're gone
So throw a stone through these reflections
Scatter light in all directions
And sing this song

Reflection
Is all we have and when it's over
Reflections
Of the path that sends us searching
Over and over again
(Over and over over and over over and over over and over)

When does this physical
Meet with the spiritual
Is this the typical question?
But doubted of the up above
It looks the same
So I'm not so sure of anything
Where we'll have come from again

Alright, procrastination time over, must go back to work.

My Sister, the Comedic Thinker

My sister and her kids have been staying with us here at Taytay for their Manila vacation, but there are days that we stay at their crashpad at Makati and have a condo-party because the trek out back to Taytay is invariably painful (that is for me the designated school bus driver).

My sister is a class-act comedian, I swear she cracks the craziest jokes without her even knowing it.

So it was past 3am in the morning, the three of us were on the gigantic bed, Ate, my niece and me. We had a post-Usher concert analysis for my crazed-fan niece. As I started feeling the powers of sleep overcome me, my sister comes up with a game, "Unahan matulog panalo." Then my niece started to laugh and I felt my sleep fade, my sister continues on, "Eh paano natin malalaman kung sino panalo?", we laughed some more. We come up with checks and balances of this game and end up falling asleep in the process. Sige nga, paano mo malalaman kung sino panalo sa larong ito?

Oh by the way, I won that contest, I don't know how we figured that one out.

Then there's the curtain-less bathroom windows. The major bathroom of the crashpad has a full wall of windows, of which was exactly opposite the set of windows of the adjacent building. Let's just say it's not a good idea to take a shower when the curtains are being laundered. This was the case last Friday, the curtains were in the laundromat and we were stuck with using the other tiny bathroom. Then my sister goes on to say while drinking her twice warmed coffee, "Teka, so paano kung super kailangan mo nang gamitin yung banyo, anong gagawin mo?". I and the other children come up with, we're so going to hold it until the tiny bathroom becomes available, knock at the neighbor's door, etc. Then she blurts out the best answer with the straightest face possible, "Ako, I'd look for a towel, drape that over my head and use the bathroom." We laughed until our sides hurt. Only she can come up with that.

Isaw Burp and Off Tangent Thoughts

Yesterday, I took my sister and her kids to UP, they've been wanting to eat Isaw the day they arrived here at Manila. I promised them the full experience, including the Jeepney ride, although after much protest, we were only aboard a jeep 1/8th of the whole journey to-and-fro the house. Boo. They said they've been dreaming about it since I last brought them to the "isawan" four years ago.

And the irony of it all was that the night before yesterday, we were at Rockwell, watching KC's "I'll Be There", surrounded by people who pretend like there are no poor people in the world.

Ayos.

Again with the amazement with the Manong Jeepney Driver. The multi-tasking skills is just amazing, how can one person manage to do all of it: do math, drive without killing anyone, talk to the passengers, make sure all the passengers have paid, and TEXT. The complexity of being a jeepney driver is just bewildering.

Still don't know if I should get a haircut, I mean, I've been growing my hair long since last year and I've been planning on getting some bad-ass curls, but then again, I'm getting tired of buying conditioner every 5 days and managing everything else that goes with it. If I cut my hair short, I might have a hard time with the training, by the way, of which I haven't done any of for the last couple of days. I am gaining weight as I sit my ass here and write this. This is a set-back, but the good kind of set back. Spending time with Ate and her kids is taxing on the weight management but it's so much fun. Somehow, I feel like a kid again, not having to worry about broken hearts and income taxes, just plainly enjoying experiences for what they are. Simple, easy fun.

So yeah, I'm spending the next four hours on the treadmill, down a liter of banana juice and maybe get some work done today and maybe advance a bit on my readings. (There is a lot of procrastination to do also, gotta squeeze that in my schedule.)

Icebox

I need to wash my hair before going to the hospital tonight. Apparently, left on its own, I have wavy hair, big curls that need to be tamed with conditoner or gel or something. What can I say about this latest hospitalization, I'm missing Abby but I'm glad Ate's here, although Ate's so busy with their reunions, at least, I don't feel so alone.

Everything Usher touches is made even more beautiful, Omarion's Icebox is cool to the ear with Usher crooning in the background.

Running with my not so much of a bad-ass Shoes

There was something about the full moon last weekend that I feel inclined to do some blogging today. Last Satruday was largely uneventful, save for the fact that I attended the UPOU Orsem in the morning and that my friend Sandee and I started training together that afternoon. We are gearing up for the June 12 run, my first official "marathon" and I figured it's time to shift from the treadmill to a real road. She runs regularly at UP and I decided to tag along. She says the trees were her entertainment. I, on the other hand, have grown comfortable at the gym. This shift is actually good for me because I need to get used to running on concrete. I've been maintaining a good system so far, combining running with walking, shifting from sprints to a slow jog and keeping to the 5k-under-45 minute rule. So as I waited for Sandee to arrive, she was about an hour late, I watched the runners.

Apparently, this is where some of the hardcore runners and the newbies are. There was an eclectic mix of "exercisers", from the really young to the really old. Much has changed since I last ran here, two years ago to be exact. The one-way traffic thing really helps, people have some room to overtake each other or maintain an even run in spite of the high volume of people. I also noticed that the sidewalk is now paved and evenly set, mind you, I've tripped on my feet at least twice before when said sidewalks had potholes. Now they're nice and even, which is good for clumsy runners like me.

Sandee told me that the whole route is exactly 2k. She has this high tech gadget attached to her bad-ass marathoning shoe (yep, bad-ass) that records the distance that she covered, the speed and I think even the gradient of her run. I told her, that's better than how I monitor my run on the treadmill. Her shoe kicked my shoe's ass. Whereas the only pimping I could do to my running shoes was buying it clamps so that the ties won't release during the run. I was surprised to hear that the whole route was only 2k, it only means, I cover the 2k easier on a real road than on a treadmill. Yey for concrete roads. Apparently, I can do a full-run 2k in 15 minutes. That to me was amazing. We were only able to cover 4k, or 2 rounds, that day because she had to make her way home, I on other hand had a long drive too.

I noticed the full moon feels low, like it was closer to the earth or something. It probably has some significance somewhere. So yeah, after running with Sandee, I was so pumped up that I actually bought raw ingredients from the grocery and cooked dinner from SCRATCH at home. Everything was prepared from scratch, from my favorite Japanese rice, my favorite processed protein of Hotdogs, my unique coriander and red egg salad, to my coke zero infused with lemon. I credit this to the full moon. Probably, the one and only time in a while that I actually wanted to be in the kitchen for my own nutrition.

I probably won't be training today, as we are understaffed and at the same time I have to report for work. I could feel all the aches and pains now because I didn't run yesterday, usually these are masked by the high endorphin levels that I maintain because of my running. I was so lazy yesterday that I ended up watching old episodes of Crystal Maze all morning and spending the afternoon with the girls.

My right knee's now killing me, must load on the potassium real soon.

Reading Shaw

I have an inclination to buy and read books that have red covers. I know that sounds crazy but I gravitate towards books that have some red on its cover. I recently discovered the playwright Shaw, brilliant work I must say. His choice of topics and how he plays with his words create such fascinating scenes. I'm all about making scenes perfect, the dramatic buildup. I especially like it when an author zones in on one thing, and the reader is taken into that scene, slowly, one step at a time.

My favorite books vary from works of the eclectic Gabriel Garcia Marquez, the dark world of Tolkien, the return to childish dreams with Harry Potter and his friends, and of course, Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being. I'm ok with Neil Gaiman's Stardust and American Gods but I find the other works a little too far out for my taste. Gregory Maguire's take on the evil characters of childhood fairytales is just fantastic. I also like the Asian world of Yoshimoto. I've always been curious about Salman Rushdie's The Satanic Verses, Francis has been singing praises about this book for years but I can't seem to find a copy of this book anywhere. Seriously, when I go to the kitschy bookstores with hard to find titles, I always zone in to find a Rushdie, zilch all the time. If you have a copy, or know where to get one, let me know, send me an email. And you will receive my undying love and affection. Teka ano daw?

I don't get the whole Ebook movement, I like reading my books with pages, I like the smell of the paper, I like breaking the spine and writing on the sides. I can hear the collective, "No, you evil person.".

-The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for circumstances they want, and, if they can't find them, make them" -- GB Shaw

Snap!

A Cool Monday Morning

I woke up this morning to my laptop blaring, I fell asleep with the sounds on, I barely made my deadline this morning, I have a feeling this is going to be one long day. No matter, boss is back in SG, and probably passing on a ton of work this week. Beefing up the paycheck is always a good thing.

I am determined to run this afternoon, clock in my minutes on the treadmill, make up for not running yesterday.

I noticed that my UP student number only has one even number like my Ateneo student number, that's so cool. In the greater scheme of things, what could that mean? That odd things are meant to outweigh the even flow and ebb of things? Teka ano daw?

Finally, the sun's not so awful today, he's kinda behind some bad-ass clouds. For some reason, I'm in a cheery mood today. Must be because I did a ton of writing last night, (may brain cells pala ako).

I must stop procrastinating with my errands, the list's not getting any shorter. I hate errands, with passion!

Sugar and Tiny Barongs

I can't run today. Apart from the fact that I'm behind my deadline (my boss is going to kill me), I have a migraine. Actually, it's more like the vertigo I had a couple of days ago, hence I have an excuse to load up on sugar. Yey for sugar. I've already had a twix bar, a handful of dark raisenettes, a bowlful of fruit, a glass of iced tea, a doughnut and a grande iced caramel machiatto. So now, I'm all hyper and jittery, hahaha. I hope the recovery arrives soon, I need to keep running and I need to stop burping.

Yesterday, my friend Sheila's son was baptized. It was quite cute actually, he was wearing a tiny barong. I never knew they make barongs that small. Sheila had asked me to drive for them, as they don't have a vehicle and really managing two little children on their own was already a handful, to be their willing driver was the least I could do for them. It was cute really, Mika, Sheila's older child, kept calling me "Kishie", she couldn't enunciate her R's just yet. For some reason little children seem to gravitate toward me, I don't "babyspeak" them, I like talking to them like they're little adults.