When It Happens

Nothing much

2007-08-10T10:02:00.000-04:00

wala lang, so long since i've posted anything. so i decided to post this. a random bit about nothing. here goes... NOTHING!

Harry Potter

2007-07-13T00:44:00.000-04:00

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix rocks!!!!
It was awesome.
Really awesome.
Not better than Goblet of Fire (that one almost made me cry) but awesome nevertheless.

2007-07-11T00:14:00.000-04:00

Recent events concerning the earth's status have brought several issues to surface of human social consciousness. Such issues range from your run-of-the-mill energy conservation, calling for the concientiousness in "flicking off" or turning off lights and unplugging any unused appliances. Another calls for the more challenging reduction of carbon emissions such as those coming from the excessive number of vehicles that populate our roads. Leonardo diCaprio suggests using a hybrid car. This will significantly lower the harmful chemicals that are emitted into our atmosphere. I, myself have taken a personal oath to purchase a hybrid car when I become able to. Another is the call to recycle and minimize the use of those bothersome plastic shopping bags.

I am socially conscientious. I care about the future of our earth and humans as well. I, like our many revered (and sometimes loathed) celebrities have chosen to answer the call to try and stop global warming.

However, all our efforts will go to waste if we do not, and I mean do not, pay attention to apparently the biggest issue of all.... BURPING COWS. I call upon all the citizens of the world to try and reduce this green house menace. Next time you go to your nearby burger joint, boycott that burger. After all, it has nearly destroyed our home.

Spotlight: Paolo Nutini

2007-07-06T14:12:00.000-04:00

20-yr-old Paolo Nutini, Scottish, good lyrics, nice voice...

I instantly loved this song because it's optimistic enough. And the lines "short on money but long on time"... I don't know what else to say. I guess I have another album to add to my long list of "To Buy".

New Shoes

Because Faith tagged me...

2007-06-28T15:57:00.000-04:00

And I owe her for not being able to go out for drinks when I was in the area...

RULES: Each player of this game starts off with 10 weird things/habits/little known facts about yourself. People who get tagged need to write a blog of their own 10 weird habits/things/little known facts as well as state this rule clearly. At the end, you need to choose 6 people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs.

1. I edit, parse and restructure sentences a couple of times in my head before I actually say it aloud. I edit, parse and restructure more when I'm writing. Yet I still find typos and grammatical errors after.

2. I rock on Dance Dance Revolution, call me Happy Feet

3. I don't like watching horror movies despite the fact that I used to love horror novels. I'd rather scare myself silly with my imagination than scare myself with what someone else thinks is scary.

4. I love coffee. I can drink a mean espresso and still love it. I can burn my tongue off on coffee and still love it. You can give me the most bitter cup of java and I'd still drink it. (Told you I'm not normal)

5. Stuff I've created have been included in exhibits at least 4 times... (Gratuitous self-promotion)

6. I like cracking my knuckles. Hehehe. Nasty, I know.

7. People think I'm really tough, but I'm as melodramatic and as soft and whiny as the next person.

8. If I teased someone relentlessly or fought with then made up with them, that means I care about them. Hahaha!

9. I come up with the best comeback lines well after the verbal exchange has finished. Maybe hours after. But I still fare pretty well during verbal sparring.

10. My last one (for now) is that I have many deja vus within the day and that my dreams literally do come true. (At least the mundane ones not involving some extra terrestrial or a turn in my current monetary, social or personal status, unfortunately)

I tag..... all the people who read this blog. Wahahaha!

Things I Remember

2007-05-18T06:54:00.000-04:00

There are some things that I've forgotten that I now just started remembering for the last week...
1. Personal space is non-existent: There are people crammed in any given surface area of land.
2. You don't clean up after yourself: In fastfood joints, you don't bus your own table. Just leave it like it is and someone would do it for you.
3. No one has the right of way when driving, except you. That's one reason for the dismal traffic situation.
4. There are more telenovelas than there are reality shows on TV.
5. There are more salespeople than customers in the store.
6. Malls are considered attractions, even though there are many : The bigger, the better. Case in point, Mall of Asia.

So if you didn't get it yet, I'm back in the Philippines. Big summer plan. Will be in Australia first week of June. Be back in Canada on the 25th.

Rental time over. Done!

The Zimmers

2007-04-23T10:05:00.000-04:00

This is proof that old people still rock and roll.

This is another one of those videos that I came across while aimlessly meandering in the land of YouTube. Anyway, they're apparently the subject of a documentary made by BBC regarding the state of care older people have. This is The Zimmers' cover of The Who's My Generation, which is really brilliant because it was written as Pete Townshend's way of giving the finger to the older (at the time) generation who really doesn't get the younger people. The Zimmers reverses this, effectively giving the finger (quite literally) to the younger generation who doesn't understand what it is like to be their age.

Enjoy!

Artist Spotlight: Mika

2007-04-18T00:26:00.000-04:00

Time once again, for my artist highlight. I think so far, I've done James Morrison and Corinne Bailey Rae. Today, I'm focusing on yet another Brit: Mika. Well, he's technically Lebanese, who spent his childhood in Paris and then moved to London. Brit nonetheless.

His songs are really infectious. Really catchy and his voice ridiculously high pitched at times. He's been compared to the great Freddie Mercury, which I think could be possible... they are, after all similar maybe in more ways than one. Yeah, persistent rumors and questions about which way he swings. Which is a shame really, cause it should be all about the music, right?

His music, much like his performances, are entertainingly flamboyant and just pure pop-y joy.

A video for you:

Let the Playoffs begin!!!

2007-04-12T00:15:00.000-04:00

Since the Leafs didn't make it in this year, (surprise, surprise) I'm temporarily trading in my blue and silver for black and gold. I'm going to root for the Pittsburgh Penguins even though they lost today. They're the underdog of sorts, especially when it comes to their defence (shape up!) and their experience (young'uns). They have one of the best gosh-darn offence though. If only they can make it past the goalie...

Game 2: April 14, Pittsburgh @ Ottawa (sucks!, kidding)

Sidney Crosby, The next great hockey player

The Great Procrastinator

2007-04-10T15:19:00.000-04:00

It's that time of the semester again, folks. When I need to finish my requirements: essays, assignments and such. It's that time when I seem to find a lot of things to think/write about. Although right now, I can't think of anything particularly remarkable. Odd...

Still thinking....

Wait for it...

Ah! Guitar! (Thanks Eric Clapton!) I have one. I don't know if you knew that. But I do. I bought it for my 20th birthday (I think). Some statistics about it: I has been with me for 2 years, I may have played it about 40 times during that time, got 1 instructional book, learned to play maybe 5 complete song intros, I remember none of it, and it has been played by other people more than I have. Wow. That's sad.

I keep thinking why I can't commit fully to learning to play. I think it's because I can't bear to hear the guitar being played really badly. Sucks for me, then cause I wouldn't be able to play, EVER! I know it takes a LOT of practice, calluses and blisters on my fingers, I can do that. But the moment my fingers touch the frets and my other hand strikes the strings, I'm out. I think that I have produced one of the most dreadful, painful sounds on my acoustic and frankly, I'm not too jazzed to do that again.

I know it's not lack of ability, because I have been able to play some fairly basic stuff without any snafus. I just have to get over that aversion to the initial "bad" sound that comes with inexperience.

Now, about that essay...

The (happy) English Major (part 2of 2)

2007-03-27T10:30:00.000-04:00

Part 1 of 2 within:
One of the amazing benefits of being an English major is the fact that I am given opportunities to meet authors. Yesterday, my scifi literature class played host to best selling author Robert Charles Wilson. His name might not ring a bell, but he's a really well-known author both to scifi fans and non scifi fans (Stephen King for example). Anyway, he came to talk about his novel The Chronoliths. I must admit, for the record, that I have and never have been a huge follower of scifi (novel, tv series, etc); I am more inclined to read fantasy. As a result, I didn't really enjoy a bulk of the course readings for this particular class.

Here comes the exception: Wilson's book doesn't read like a science fiction book. It doesn't load you with nonsensical bits about how the ripping of the space-time continuum was caused by some stray ion that disturbed the whole balance and as a result, all humans turned into several canine species. It's not anything like that (thankfully). It was more about the journey of the protagonist Scotty and how he reacts to the arrival of these chronoliths from a mysterious entity named Kuin. It's not scifi, it's human interest.

Well, to close this section off, I'd like to say that he was nice enough to stay awhile after class and sign books and answer questions. I figured that I have a question stupid enough to need an answer and proceeded to ask him if the Chronoliths were a malevolent version of the monoliths in 2001: A Space Odyssey. He said that in scifi, there's a thing called "big dumb object" that authors use as a focus and thus, they were similar. And he said that it's hard not to be influenced by such a big movie. After that, I made up my mind and decided that I really am going to write the story floating around my crowded head.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part 2 of 2 within:
This is another perk of being an English major: getting to read some pretty nice poems.
This one here is for Raissa. For no particular reason but for her appreciation of poetry.

Though I am Young and Cannot Tell (by Ben Jonson, friend and rival to Shakespeare)

Though I am young and cannot tell

Either what Death or Love is well,

Yet I have heard they both bear darts,

And both do aim at human hearts.

And then again, I have been told

Love wounds with heat, as Death with cold;

So that I fear they do but bring

Extremes to touch, and mean one thing.

As in a ruin we it call

One thing to be blown up, or fall;

Or to our end like way may have

By a flash of lightning, or a wave;

So Love's inflamed shaft or brand

May kill as soon as Death's cold hand;

Except Love's fires the virtue have

To fright the frost out of the grave.

Sad (part 1 of 2)

2007-03-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

I was being hasty when I said I was going to the concert. Turns out, I'm not. Isn't that just sad? It's mainly because the start time's too late. (It starts at 8pm). I can't get a ride when it finishes at around 10. Serves me right for waiting to get a license. I really don't want to use public transportation at night, especially in the downtown "club district". I don't want to risk it. So I guess that's that for the concert. I'll have to wait for another one.

I'm excited!

2007-03-12T15:47:00.000-04:00

Well, lots of things happening lately: travel plans for the summer (which I won't divulge for fear of getting them jinxed), better marks in school, planning on going to a concert....

I'm excited. So excited I could jump out of my seat and run around the whole neighborhood block screaming my tonsils out. My travel plans are nothing short of amazing, really. But as I've said before, I won't say them just yet because I believe that this will jinx it.

But the concert - the concert is something else. I know that if I say "James Morrison" you'll just say "Who?" I'm telling you, this guy is going international. He's already big in the UK where he's from and he's starting to come out here in North America (I think I may have been English in another life, just saying). His music is just breathtaking. It's like hearing a mix of rock, pop, blues, R&B and soul coming out of a single voice. I've already posted a video before (I think it was "Wonderful World" if I'm not mistaken). I've seen a listing for his concert downtown on Ticketmaster and I'm saying right now that I'm gonna go!!!

Technically, I haven't got the ticket or the money for the ticket yet. (It's only $20, but I'm saving for the summer trip) Technicalities aside, I'm as good as there. I just have to convince one of my friends here to come with. It's an opportunity, right? I'm not going to let this window close on me (because who knows, maybe the next concert he has, he'll charge $80 a pop like John Mayer). I've told myself this before when I missed three great concerts in a row just because I hesitated.

So, that's what's got me all wound up and excited despite my head spinning like crazy from sleeping late again.

Cheers, mate!

Looking Forward...

2007-02-01T09:17:00.000-05:00

I am a person with a lot of plans. Some of them aren't really set in stone but nonetheless, they're plans. Some of them are "career"-based, more are travel-based. There are plans for my little TV night (which practically is all the time, but that's beside the point), plans to buy cds, possibly take in a concert, get clothes or whatever. Point is, nothing's defined. Except one:

You could expect that on the morning of July 21st, I will be at my local bookseller, In line for the last Harry Potter book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I'm that excited. I will wait for morning. I'm just not one to line up just before midnight and spend the whole night reading my eyes out, if possible I would pre-order it. But I suppose for most people, half the fun of these book releases is the anticipation and the moment of "3,2,1... midnight" when they start chucking the books out at buyers. Ah well, I'm just excited. Childishly excited.

Corinne Bailey Rae

2007-01-18T09:26:00.001-05:00

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is not good

2007-01-10T18:06:00.000-05:00

So, the new term has started. I was relatively excited to begin new classes, meet new students and be amazed (to some extent) by the genius of professors. I still am a bit excited and I am still amazed by some professors. My enthusiasm has only been dampened by the ridiculous amount of reading I would have to finish and understand within four months.

For example, in my sci-fi literature class, I have to read a staggering total of 14 novels. Of course some are longer than others, but 14 is still an enormous number even for a book-lover like myself. The first novel is Tolkien's The Two Towers. So I've read that one two years ago. However, we are to be tested on these and are expected to remember some of the passages within the book. Aside from my scifi class (which is my second "favorite" among my classes), I am still taking a poetry class continuing from term 1. Sadly, I have to read about 15 long-ish poems per day! To satisfy my brain's left hemisphere, I also have 2 psych classes. One of which requires me to read three humongous chapters per week, which isn't that bad but combined with the other readings could become toxic and potentially lethal (kidding!). The other psych class, I've no idea yet what it's going to be like.

I have another english class still that I might or might not drop. The material bores me to tears and the professor seems equally soporific.

I think that my biggest mistake up until now is that I've decided to go for a double major. English and Psychology. What was I thinking?!?

happy resolutions week

2006-12-31T18:11:00.000-05:00

Dear Everyone
It's time once again for the resolutions week -- the time of the year when everyone desires to better themselves and really mean it this time. So, just like everyone, I have my list of resolutions for the coming year among which is the perennial lose weight and to stop being lazy. But this time, I think I will not fully form such resolutions. Instead, I will approach the new year with a mind open and accepting to any way I could improve myself (in a lot of aspects).

2006 has been good to me. It had presented me with opportunities that I may have missed in 2005. With that said, I believe that 2007 has the potential to top 2006.

I wish everyone the best year and party safe!!!

Cheers!

From,
Your designated driver

merry christmas

2006-12-22T00:22:00.000-05:00

and so Christmas is just around the corner. And I say Merry Christmas to all people, including those self-righteous ones who think Christmas isolates people who are not Christian. And so I say again, Happy Hannukah and Happy Kwanzaa. Happy Winter Solstice too, while I'm at it. Leave that Christmas tree alone! And so again I say:

MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR too!!!

Oh yes, I've got my Christmas spirit back!

Bah Humbug... I think.

2006-12-15T17:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas feels different this year. Maybe it's because of missing all my real friends. Not that any of my newer friends are fakes because I don't think they are, but knowing someone for six years has a different kind of impact. It's like that person has been seared to your bone or branded into your brain. It's that different. Or maybe it's because the season's been completely sensationalized as being a gift-giving season. I mean, sure it's nice to give gifts but the pressure of giving something extravagant? Come on. The simplest things can give a lot of happiness. Really.

Or maybe, it's that situation where you're constantly being pestered to plan out the rest of your life. (Oh yes, here I go again). Well, maybe I'd like to live in the moment right now. Maybe I'd rather appreciate the nuances of my life than calculate mortgages or pension. I mean jeez, when did your 20s become the new 50s? Let me live my life. Trust me, I have a plan going. It's just not as concrete and written in permanent marker as some people would like it to be. I've been living my life according to how other people would want me to live it and I really think it's time for me to live it like how I would like to live it.

And on that note, now that I've vented quite poorly, maybe my grumpiness about everything is just about that and nothing more. I've got nothing against Christmas or the festivities that go along with it. It's just probably the exam blues and quite possibly the spirit-crushing, brain-melting pressure of growing up.

Wonderful World - James Morrison

2006-11-18T18:34:00.000-05:00

Rant Away

2006-11-16T13:47:00.000-05:00

ughhh... i can't think of anything. My mind's blank, and it doesn't seem like it's going to be registering anything soon. It doesn't seem like a huge dilemma but if you have 2 essays due in a week, it is a big thing. I've tried a lot of things but nothing's working. I painted, picked up the guitar and tried to play (which only made me feel more incompetent), watched other people play guitar, watched tv, listened to songs (which usually works wonders) and did a myriad of other things to try and jump-start my brain. NOTHING worked. I have no idea, no inspiration, no motivation -- nothing to make working on stuff easier.

See, I used to know what I wanted to do. I was so sure that I was heading that way that I didn't really think of doing anything else. Now, I can't seem to picture what I'd want to do for the next 50 years of my life. Really, really frustrating stuff. I wish we can do anything we wanted and not do something only because of the necessity of earning money. Does that even make sense?

Money sucks. Once you have it, it's gone too fast then you'd have to earn more doing something you don't really want to do.

Musicality

2006-11-02T14:39:00.000-05:00

Recently, I've been asked why I listen to the music that I listen to now and how I became intereseted in these artists. I got to thinking -- turns out, who I listen to is a product of the interconnectedness of musicians and popular culture. So, humor me as I take you through my musical journey...

For some people who knew me well (or even vaguely knew me) before 2002, you would say that "There is a person who only listens to sugar-coated pop music". Yes, in a way that is true. It was "all boybands, all the time" as it was in the airwaves back then. Then I moved to a place where I knew no one. I was homesick and sick of what I have been listening to before. I couldn't take anymore sweetness from the pop music that I have been indulging in. I didn't listen to a lot of music for a while. I didn't know what to listen to. One day in 2003, during a long trip while feeling frustrated and annoyed, the radio station played John Mayer's "No Such Thing". Turned things around, that did.

But now, you're thinking, "Well, that's not a big stretch from pop music!" I realized that too, as I realized that this guy who sung the song with that "I'm-gonna-show-you" attitude was the same person who sung that "wonderland" thing shocked me. I kept on listening anyway. From that point on, it became a musical revolution, for me anyway. Started listening to songs again, music became intertwined in my life more than ever. Coldplay and Franz Ferdinand came in, and almost all the whole history of British rock. With that, The Beatles, Queen, The Rolling Stones and The Ramones.

Oh yeah, and by way of Queen, I started listening to David Bowie... Annie Lennox, not so much, Cyndi Lauper (though she's American). Not to forget The Police and Bob Dylan. After that, I decided that the mid 60's to the early 80's is the most fascinating time period

Surprisingly, TV also played a huge bit in this music thing. That little TV show House, it introduced me to Jeff Buckley and Ryan Adams. However, the guitar and Mayer's switch to the blues genre opened a whole new dimension of music. BB King, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix... Hendrix, especially. That guy was amazing. His existing music still is. Yeah, Eric Clapton too. I've got nothing but awe and respect for all these guitarists and musicians.

Needless to say, pop is still in there but I have expanded my musical tastes that I hopefully won't get sick of music anytime soon.

the great big ballpoint pen conspiracy

2006-10-26T20:14:00.000-04:00

have you ever noticed that most ballpens run out just after you've started using it? I have, for many years now. This is how it all goes: First, you go into the store, ask for the most high-quality ballpen you can afford on your money. And since you are a student, you get a relatively good pen in crappy ballpen standards. So now, you go home and try to start on some serious studying. You get your purchase, open it and touch the nib to the paper. As you do the first pen-strokes of your familiar writing, you bask in your geniusness of having one-upped "the man" who supplied your previous pens. You marvel at the dark, rich ink coming out of the magical thing you hold in your fingers. You then get into your studying -- BIG MISTAKE!

a few hours after, your familiar handwriting becomes ragged and blotchy. You shake your head and you refuse to give in to the idea that your pen - your investment - is failing. "Tap it on the table, that will work," you say to no one. The pen gets tapped, and you hope that the tapping was enough of a defibrillator to shock the pen back to life. You continue on, like nothing ever happened. The pen is back to its writing glory but a shadow of doubt lingered in your head. A few more minutes later, a clot forms at the tip. You furiously swipe the pen on an innocent piece of paper trying to get it going again. The attempts were futile. The pen writes its final stroke and gives out leaving you pen-less and frustrated.

The next day, you go back to the store and ask for a different brand of pen. And then you go home. And then, you sadly realize that you are now caught in a vicious cycle that is masterminded by "the man" who owns the pen company and there is nothing you can do about it except buy more pens.

moral of the story: use pencils!

my life's soundtrack...

2006-10-16T16:02:00.000-04:00

sorry Rob, thought the soundtrack thing is really cool so I copied it from your blog...

IF YOUR LIFE WAS A MOVIE, WHAT WOULD THE SOUNDTRACK BE?

So, here's how it works:
1. Open your library (iTunes, Winamp, Media Player, iPod, etc)
2. Put it on shuffle
3. Press play
4. For every question, type the song that's playing
5. When you go to a new question, press the next button
6. Don't lie and try to pretend you're cool...

Opening Credits:
Ticket to Ride - The Beatles [yeah, she don't care]

Waking Up:
My Little Corner of the World - Yo La Tengo [welcome to it]

First Day At School:
Let It Be - The Beatles [times of trouble? hehehe]

Falling In Love:
For Reasons Unkown - The Killers [it's enough to feed the cynic in me]

Fight Song:
Get Back - The Beatles [again...]

Breaking Up:
When I Come Around - Green Day [you can't go forcing something if it's just not right]

Prom:
Something's Missing - John Mayer [a prom date, perhaps? :P]

Life is good:
Swallowed in the Sea - Coldplay [er... i'm completely baffled]

Mental Breakdown:
Stop this Train - John Mayer [it's gonna be a pretty twisted breakdown... more like anxiety]

Driving:
In My Place - Coldplay [i was lost, i was lost... that's what's going to happen if i do drive]

Flashback:
A Rush of Blood to the Head - Coldplay [whoa, that's a dark flashback]

Getting Back Together:
Walk Away - Kelly Clarkson [yes, I do have Kelly Clarkson on my iPod]

Wedding:
American Idiot - Green Day [can't comment... laughing too hard]

Birth of Child:
Tracing - John Mayer [sad..]

Final Battle:
Heard 'Em Say - Kanye West/ Adam Levine

Death Scene:
Love of My Life - Queen [sad and sweet...]

Funeral Song:
The Ballad of John and Yoko - The Beatles [yoko ono... heeheehee]

End Credits:
Cry - James Blunt [appropriate, i guess.]

my conclusion - if these songs are to be used in a movie or something describing someone's life, it would be pretty twisted for the most part. based on the randomly chosen songs, i conclude that my iPod has an unfair preference for The Beatles and Coldplay... Ryan Adams didn't even make it.

this is really it.

2006-09-13T23:02:00.000-04:00

i'm staying here. at blogger. not tabulas. reason: i found it too difficult to operate. so here i am, back again at blogger. under a new name/alias/identity/thing... whatever. so, that's it. promise.

soundtrack: John Mayer's CONTINUUM, stop this train