ACADS
Time always seems to slow down during finals... hahaha
I just went through my Philo orals, not really A material but good enough for me to secure that B in the final grade. Getting a B+ however requires some eggs to be offered and chickens to be sacrificed. I hope Sir Soh takes into account the fact that I always have things to discuss with him after the lessons... It's such a waste to have those uncredited towards recitation...
Regardless, I really screwed things over. I bombed the second LT. I'm not saying I studied, I'm not saying I didn't study either... Hay... I really need to fix my study habits. Just a while ago, two hours before my orals I finally printed out all the notes for the thesis questions. Then an hour before my orals, I did the actual studying (you gotta eat something to survive!!!)
Crazy. Just crazy...
Now I only have the pitch for Strat Plan, History finals, final group paper for Comm Res, and my resume for Copywriting (this is killing me... I have no idea what to do...)
The week is long :D
I'm pretty happy with my performance in the last Copywriting class though. We discussed radio ads and as a sort of test we were asked to write a radio ad in the span of an hour.
I did four.
I was asked to read my work out to the class.
HAPPINESS!
Well after screwing up the previous requirements/churning out mediocre work, this really really qualifies something about my skills as an ad man.
Let's hope this really is the industry for me.
Vintage
It was the first time I had used so much power in a deck hahaha. It felt good :D And my opponents were no less the top contenders of their respective teams. The swiss saw me duking it out with Payabyab, then Cheng, then Mike Juan in order before i got to draw into the top 8. Where Cheng unmercifully beat me... Merchant Scrolls should be restricted I tell you!!! hahaha
Regardless that day was pretty gratifying.
One sad thing to note was the fact that Cheng was considering liquidating/quitting already. It's really sad how quality players are quitting left and right. Just recently Lauren had announced his "retirement", then when I speak to David he says he's thinking about doing the same thing. And now Cheng will be gone as well. That's three of TX's heavyweights gone. Compound the fact that my teammates have also decided to quit, it's rather depressing. Regardless, the vintage community doesn't suffer losses in terms of quantity. Team Budget (rather Big Budget) is showing up in great numbers. It's almost scary, almost half of the people who joined in the tourney were from budget!
Oh well, we'll see where the road leads me.. I'm praying my drains arrive soon...
If that fucking bastard rips me off, I am going to get Jaundice to hunt him down. Karma bites. Hard.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
Love is about timing.
I just finished 2046. Brilliant movie, just brilliant, I've long wanted to watch this since I saw In the Mood of Love a few months back :D
Anyway that quote just really really hit me.
Love is about timing. - Mr. Chow, 2046
Now is not the time I guess. If I claim to only want a relationship when I am sure to be financially secure then I shouldn't be entertaining thoughts of getting into a relationship right now.
If I do it only means that I am looking to fill a certain void in my life right now, oh well nothing a little workaholicism can't fix :D
Either way, and with conviction, ACADS MUNA!
But Jessica Alba's so hot!!! :p
Anyway that quote just really really hit me.
Love is about timing. - Mr. Chow, 2046
Now is not the time I guess. If I claim to only want a relationship when I am sure to be financially secure then I shouldn't be entertaining thoughts of getting into a relationship right now.
If I do it only means that I am looking to fill a certain void in my life right now, oh well nothing a little workaholicism can't fix :D
Either way, and with conviction, ACADS MUNA!
But Jessica Alba's so hot!!! :p
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Heroes Come Back
Heroes S02E01 was great! It really tickles the audiences with all the tensions surrounding each character. I am just quite miffed at how Parkman's first sequence seem rather iffy. I guestimate that the director said, "just improvise," for the sequence.
Good things to come I supposed with the revelations of the last season as well as the introduction of the new characters.
Crappy conclusion to Hiro's dad though.
Psyched!!!
Good things to come I supposed with the revelations of the last season as well as the introduction of the new characters.
Crappy conclusion to Hiro's dad though.
Psyched!!!
Thursday, September 20, 2007
"Women, what is it about them. Can't live, with them or without them!"
1. Man A is attracted to Woman A.
2. Woman A is attracted to Man A.
3. Man A and Woman A communicate through a mutually understandable channel.
4. Man A and Woman A become a couple.
5. Man A and Woman A live happily ever after.
Is it ever this simple?
Let's discuss this point by point.
Numbers 1 and 2 happen way too often, independently. However if both occur at the same time and place...that's a rare happening. It is not enough that the two individuals have a certain "connection." They must go through number 3.
We all know men and women aren't the same. We all know men and women don't talk, think, or act in the same way. So does number 3 ever happen? It's called marriage baby, when they're forced to do it, then when they stop they go to the past tense of marriage which threatens the wedding industry according to Confetti Magazine EIC from the movie Confetti. Kidding aside number 3 is when Man A and Woman A live the perfect life of mutual understanding, hope, and lurve. Well not really, that's number 5. Number 3 is when Man A and Woman A can talk about their emotions and eventually do something about it. Which leads us to number 4.
Since some people hold the views that the youth today should enjoy teenage life and wait for the right time before committing physically and emotionally with someone, then number 4 should be the product of a long and beautiful friendship.
Number 5 is when everything falls into place, the starts hit the right spot, the mountains have moved, Jessica Alba is my wife (hey if Sir Ty can say Sarah Michelle Gellar burns his loins hehehe.)
Now why in heaven's name have I made such a stupid post? I don't know. I'm still confused with what I should do. Am I to be presumptuous as to put meaning in what she says in a public channel? Am I so self-absorbed that I think what she says only refers to me? (God I hope she's referring to me, there I said it. But even then, then what??!?!?!!??)
Life is way too confusing.
Interesting trivia I've found out about myself this sem:
1. When pushed to the limit of sanity and frustration, I laugh uncontrollably
Case in point:
Hi165 video of doom. We were at Matteo at night doing the cursed video. We had no experience whatsoever with video qualities, file types and what not. After publishing a prototype of a scene we had just finished editing, it came out uber shitty as in the video had to be viewed in the smallest size to have some modicum of clarity. We were screwed. Then Irv came and right-clicked the videos in Adobe Premiere (feeling high-tech kasi kami) and did some sort of scaling thing.
Problem.
Solved.
At this point, JJ, Ed, and I were laughing like crazy, right there at Matteo which looked like it could pass for a call center, the Ateneo Call Center, with Mcdo delivery randomly dropping by provoking us with the hot and tasty food he brought. I felt tears well up under my eyes (you see boys and girls when you've been stuck doing something for oh I don't know 3-5 hours then find out it's screwed up and spend the next 2 hours trying to fix it and then a guy comes in and fixes it in what 3 seconds, YOU GO F@%#ING CRAZY!!!)
Quotable quotable:
Ed, to Irv, "Pwede pasuntok? Isa lang, kanina pa kasi kami eh."
The fun doesn't stop there ladies and gentlemen. A few hours later we continue editing but we don't finish. The result? We troop to JJ's house to finish it. We still don't finish and Ed and I leave JJ's house at 4 am. I ask to be dropped at Cubao and I was dropped along the place where the buses wait? Yeah it's quite a walk to the LRT hehe considering I wasn't myself at all. After the long walk I waited for the bloody train to open...at 5. Now that's the earliest I've even been riding the train. All throughout the commute take note my eyes were insanely heavy and I was feeling quite filthy, Cubao without sunlight is not a clean sight. So after the train I take a jeep then walk to my house. I get home at around 6:30. Mom wakes up, there are some exchanges which all leads to "I need sleep." I wake up a couple of hours later and attend my Strat Plan class...Which turned out to be a free cut (It's my only class during TTH.)
Quotable quotable:
Alexa, to me, "I feel sorry for you." And she didn't even know what I went through the previous night and morning.
Afterwards calls are made and then I go to JJ's house to do the editing again. This is the night before Atchi leaves to study again by the way. We finish editing after some arguments. And after Adobe Premiere stops exporting the file, we find out the finished product is huge. FREAKING huge. A 12 minute video is 2.55 GB. Real movies that last for 90 minutes can take up 650 MB.
I start laughing again. The crazy sort of laughing. Until some divine revelation dawned upon us: DVD-R.
I take a cab home and apparently Atchi's flight was 3 pm. Not am. So I wasted some cash taking the cab but either way, fatigue was getting the better of me so I slept. Crazy things happen the next morning as I do some stuff for my sister, both finished and unfinished. I wake up late, proceed to CD-R King to buy the DVDs and go back home. I burn the dvd which takes next to forever. Things go even crazier as apparently no one could drive me to the LRT. I was afraid of running late as I had already cut my Comm Res class to burn the DVD. I speed out of the house, wearing slippers (aha, here lies the reason of my viral infection, insofar as I have deduced...)
and rush to school. Now while I was on the train, specifically at V. Mapa, JJ calls me and asks if I am going to make it to school on time. Apparently the class had already started and I was officially late. Twenty minutes later I zoom to class and submit it, afraid that the submission would no longer be counted because I was late. I already had a speech in mind if Sir Dave would not accept the DVD. It went along the lines of I almost got run over, twice; got bumped by a trike, etc. But thanks be to God, class time is submission time.
Wow that's quite a weird story.
2. I cannot work without eating something
Case in point:
Hi165 again, zoom in JJ's semi-empty cupboards. Zoom into JJ's thought bubbles, "Ano kaya ipapakain ko dito?"
After doing the Review of Related Literature for the Comedy Bars paper, there are candy bar wrappers in my pseudo-workspace.
Next time I take a Philo LT I'm bringing food. Oh by the way, I bombed the Philo LT... I think I have some explaining to Sir Soh when he corrects my paper hahahaha...
3. When sabaw, I listen to stupid music.
Case in point:
Comm Res deadlines... I type. Winamp churns out Anime, and quite recently Backstreet Boys, and the Spice Girls. I'm currently finding a torrent of the Moffatts to feed my idiosyncrasies.
QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY HEART!!!!!!!! I mean this... Please, I want some peace of mind, and you... if that isn't too much to ask :P
4. I have been Leonardized with regards to food.
Case in point:
Once a week I have lechon. Once a week I eat at the teahouse (Golden Fortune liit is open again btw!! Happiness!) DAMN YOU HONGKONG EXPRESS!
5. Pocket Tanks is fun.
Case in point:
Strat Plan, Sir is discussing, I'm playing. This is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. I have notes though :p
6. I'm a sucker for Chinese girls.
Case in point:
I'd rather not say. But oddly enough all of my crushes are Chinese. Not that I'm a racist in that respect. Jessica Alba is Latinanese!!!
7. MAGIS ako, minsan nga lang at sa maling oras pa.
Case in point:
Going to consultation, attending class. Problem is I'm only MAGIS after the worst has hit. ARGH!!!
8. Malas ako sa ADMU team kapag nanunuod ako ng game.
Case in point:
I only ever watched a crucial game once. It was the game three of ADMU and DLSU. And ADMU lost. It's a sign I tell you!!! A SIGN!!! And and... It was Mutya's second time to watch, and both times that she watched ADMU lost. I'm not crazy! It's true, it's true!
Sana manalo kami, I want a bonfire at Bellarmine...
9. "Boon" is a fun word
I'm glad to have had coined it in the other context that it's being spread throughout ADMU. Well... Maybe.
It's the chocolate talking. Tomorrow I co-host Mid-Autumn Gratia. Woot! I wonder if I get to join the dice game...
I need to finish this damn typing job, it's almost October for crying out loud and I'm barely halfway done.
The semester is about to end. And unless I pull miracles out of miracles I probably won't be able to make the Dean's List... Sad... oh well, I'm taking Dacanay next sem. Go me!
Formula for the last few sentences in my post:
Random thought, sad reflection, bow.
BOON!!!
2. Woman A is attracted to Man A.
3. Man A and Woman A communicate through a mutually understandable channel.
4. Man A and Woman A become a couple.
5. Man A and Woman A live happily ever after.
Is it ever this simple?
Let's discuss this point by point.
Numbers 1 and 2 happen way too often, independently. However if both occur at the same time and place...that's a rare happening. It is not enough that the two individuals have a certain "connection." They must go through number 3.
We all know men and women aren't the same. We all know men and women don't talk, think, or act in the same way. So does number 3 ever happen? It's called marriage baby, when they're forced to do it, then when they stop they go to the past tense of marriage which threatens the wedding industry according to Confetti Magazine EIC from the movie Confetti. Kidding aside number 3 is when Man A and Woman A live the perfect life of mutual understanding, hope, and lurve. Well not really, that's number 5. Number 3 is when Man A and Woman A can talk about their emotions and eventually do something about it. Which leads us to number 4.
Since some people hold the views that the youth today should enjoy teenage life and wait for the right time before committing physically and emotionally with someone, then number 4 should be the product of a long and beautiful friendship.
Number 5 is when everything falls into place, the starts hit the right spot, the mountains have moved, Jessica Alba is my wife (hey if Sir Ty can say Sarah Michelle Gellar burns his loins hehehe.)
Now why in heaven's name have I made such a stupid post? I don't know. I'm still confused with what I should do. Am I to be presumptuous as to put meaning in what she says in a public channel? Am I so self-absorbed that I think what she says only refers to me? (God I hope she's referring to me, there I said it. But even then, then what??!?!?!!??)
Life is way too confusing.
Interesting trivia I've found out about myself this sem:
1. When pushed to the limit of sanity and frustration, I laugh uncontrollably
Case in point:
Hi165 video of doom. We were at Matteo at night doing the cursed video. We had no experience whatsoever with video qualities, file types and what not. After publishing a prototype of a scene we had just finished editing, it came out uber shitty as in the video had to be viewed in the smallest size to have some modicum of clarity. We were screwed. Then Irv came and right-clicked the videos in Adobe Premiere (feeling high-tech kasi kami) and did some sort of scaling thing.
Problem.
Solved.
At this point, JJ, Ed, and I were laughing like crazy, right there at Matteo which looked like it could pass for a call center, the Ateneo Call Center, with Mcdo delivery randomly dropping by provoking us with the hot and tasty food he brought. I felt tears well up under my eyes (you see boys and girls when you've been stuck doing something for oh I don't know 3-5 hours then find out it's screwed up and spend the next 2 hours trying to fix it and then a guy comes in and fixes it in what 3 seconds, YOU GO F@%#ING CRAZY!!!)
Quotable quotable:
Ed, to Irv, "Pwede pasuntok? Isa lang, kanina pa kasi kami eh."
The fun doesn't stop there ladies and gentlemen. A few hours later we continue editing but we don't finish. The result? We troop to JJ's house to finish it. We still don't finish and Ed and I leave JJ's house at 4 am. I ask to be dropped at Cubao and I was dropped along the place where the buses wait? Yeah it's quite a walk to the LRT hehe considering I wasn't myself at all. After the long walk I waited for the bloody train to open...at 5. Now that's the earliest I've even been riding the train. All throughout the commute take note my eyes were insanely heavy and I was feeling quite filthy, Cubao without sunlight is not a clean sight. So after the train I take a jeep then walk to my house. I get home at around 6:30. Mom wakes up, there are some exchanges which all leads to "I need sleep." I wake up a couple of hours later and attend my Strat Plan class...Which turned out to be a free cut (It's my only class during TTH.)
Quotable quotable:
Alexa, to me, "I feel sorry for you." And she didn't even know what I went through the previous night and morning.
Afterwards calls are made and then I go to JJ's house to do the editing again. This is the night before Atchi leaves to study again by the way. We finish editing after some arguments. And after Adobe Premiere stops exporting the file, we find out the finished product is huge. FREAKING huge. A 12 minute video is 2.55 GB. Real movies that last for 90 minutes can take up 650 MB.
I start laughing again. The crazy sort of laughing. Until some divine revelation dawned upon us: DVD-R.
I take a cab home and apparently Atchi's flight was 3 pm. Not am. So I wasted some cash taking the cab but either way, fatigue was getting the better of me so I slept. Crazy things happen the next morning as I do some stuff for my sister, both finished and unfinished. I wake up late, proceed to CD-R King to buy the DVDs and go back home. I burn the dvd which takes next to forever. Things go even crazier as apparently no one could drive me to the LRT. I was afraid of running late as I had already cut my Comm Res class to burn the DVD. I speed out of the house, wearing slippers (aha, here lies the reason of my viral infection, insofar as I have deduced...)
and rush to school. Now while I was on the train, specifically at V. Mapa, JJ calls me and asks if I am going to make it to school on time. Apparently the class had already started and I was officially late. Twenty minutes later I zoom to class and submit it, afraid that the submission would no longer be counted because I was late. I already had a speech in mind if Sir Dave would not accept the DVD. It went along the lines of I almost got run over, twice; got bumped by a trike, etc. But thanks be to God, class time is submission time.
Wow that's quite a weird story.
2. I cannot work without eating something
Case in point:
Hi165 again, zoom in JJ's semi-empty cupboards. Zoom into JJ's thought bubbles, "Ano kaya ipapakain ko dito?"
After doing the Review of Related Literature for the Comedy Bars paper, there are candy bar wrappers in my pseudo-workspace.
Next time I take a Philo LT I'm bringing food. Oh by the way, I bombed the Philo LT... I think I have some explaining to Sir Soh when he corrects my paper hahahaha...
3. When sabaw, I listen to stupid music.
Case in point:
Comm Res deadlines... I type. Winamp churns out Anime, and quite recently Backstreet Boys, and the Spice Girls. I'm currently finding a torrent of the Moffatts to feed my idiosyncrasies.
QUIT PLAYING GAMES WITH MY HEART!!!!!!!! I mean this... Please, I want some peace of mind, and you... if that isn't too much to ask :P
4. I have been Leonardized with regards to food.
Case in point:
Once a week I have lechon. Once a week I eat at the teahouse (Golden Fortune liit is open again btw!! Happiness!) DAMN YOU HONGKONG EXPRESS!
5. Pocket Tanks is fun.
Case in point:
Strat Plan, Sir is discussing, I'm playing. This is baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad. I have notes though :p
6. I'm a sucker for Chinese girls.
Case in point:
I'd rather not say. But oddly enough all of my crushes are Chinese. Not that I'm a racist in that respect. Jessica Alba is Latinanese!!!
7. MAGIS ako, minsan nga lang at sa maling oras pa.
Case in point:
Going to consultation, attending class. Problem is I'm only MAGIS after the worst has hit. ARGH!!!
8. Malas ako sa ADMU team kapag nanunuod ako ng game.
Case in point:
I only ever watched a crucial game once. It was the game three of ADMU and DLSU. And ADMU lost. It's a sign I tell you!!! A SIGN!!! And and... It was Mutya's second time to watch, and both times that she watched ADMU lost. I'm not crazy! It's true, it's true!
Sana manalo kami, I want a bonfire at Bellarmine...
9. "Boon" is a fun word
I'm glad to have had coined it in the other context that it's being spread throughout ADMU. Well... Maybe.
It's the chocolate talking. Tomorrow I co-host Mid-Autumn Gratia. Woot! I wonder if I get to join the dice game...
I need to finish this damn typing job, it's almost October for crying out loud and I'm barely halfway done.
The semester is about to end. And unless I pull miracles out of miracles I probably won't be able to make the Dean's List... Sad... oh well, I'm taking Dacanay next sem. Go me!
Formula for the last few sentences in my post:
Random thought, sad reflection, bow.
BOON!!!
Saturday, September 15, 2007
It sucks to get sick
There are few moments in my academic career that I can truly describe myself as MAGIS. When I got sick the past week, that would be one of them, of course in the dumbest sense. My fever started when I made my way back home on Monday. With mind-numbing pain, aching joints, and fever, I took the jeep then walked the rest of the way home. When I got home, I slept. And slept. And slept.
I forced myself to go to school the following days until the fourth day when my family started getting worried as the fever hadn't broken. I had a cbc platelet test and then went to the doctors. So apparently, I have a virus thingy, not dengue though. Up to now I'm not sure if I'm perfectly well yet. I'll have to get a full blood chemistry done, see if my platelets are back on a healthy level and if the rest of my body is intact.
But what did I do after my fever broke? Comm Res.
Now because of Comm Res, viewing pornography, playing DotA, going in gay bars, laughing at comedy bars, etc, are now considered academic research :D So our group went to Zirkoh on Friday to do our research.
Um yeah, booze :D
It was my first time in a comedy bar and it was pretty fun. It kind of annoyed me how a large chunk of filler action was happening when the performers sang. But when the jokes came, they really brought the house down.
Since we had to have permission from the management, we weren't allowed to conduct interviews that day. So it was just participant observation. It was quite fascinating to note the quirks of the Philippines comedy scene. We're still going to analyze this strange fixation of Filipinos and the body.
Foreigners were also around Zirkoh, that day there were Americans, a Malaysian, and Russians. Allan K was pretty up front and at em whities. He showed them the otso-otso and when the American (who was pretty good looking) couldn't do it, he showed him a "new" one that is supposed to be launched daw. The onse-onse, which involved putting ones hands on their waist while doing pelvic thrusts. His instructions were then, ok you do the onse-onse, I'll do the otso-otso, and he began to bend over...
It was seriously shocking. I had no idea that Filipinos were very open and tongue-in-cheek with matters of sexuality and practices. Funny trivia, gay people think pussies look like tarantulas: they're ugly.
Tonight we'll be doing another round of research. This time it's Francis M. headlining. We'll see what the night brings.
Um, yeah... MORE BOOZE!!!
I forced myself to go to school the following days until the fourth day when my family started getting worried as the fever hadn't broken. I had a cbc platelet test and then went to the doctors. So apparently, I have a virus thingy, not dengue though. Up to now I'm not sure if I'm perfectly well yet. I'll have to get a full blood chemistry done, see if my platelets are back on a healthy level and if the rest of my body is intact.
But what did I do after my fever broke? Comm Res.
Now because of Comm Res, viewing pornography, playing DotA, going in gay bars, laughing at comedy bars, etc, are now considered academic research :D So our group went to Zirkoh on Friday to do our research.
Um yeah, booze :D
It was my first time in a comedy bar and it was pretty fun. It kind of annoyed me how a large chunk of filler action was happening when the performers sang. But when the jokes came, they really brought the house down.
Since we had to have permission from the management, we weren't allowed to conduct interviews that day. So it was just participant observation. It was quite fascinating to note the quirks of the Philippines comedy scene. We're still going to analyze this strange fixation of Filipinos and the body.
Foreigners were also around Zirkoh, that day there were Americans, a Malaysian, and Russians. Allan K was pretty up front and at em whities. He showed them the otso-otso and when the American (who was pretty good looking) couldn't do it, he showed him a "new" one that is supposed to be launched daw. The onse-onse, which involved putting ones hands on their waist while doing pelvic thrusts. His instructions were then, ok you do the onse-onse, I'll do the otso-otso, and he began to bend over...
It was seriously shocking. I had no idea that Filipinos were very open and tongue-in-cheek with matters of sexuality and practices. Funny trivia, gay people think pussies look like tarantulas: they're ugly.
Tonight we'll be doing another round of research. This time it's Francis M. headlining. We'll see what the night brings.
Um, yeah... MORE BOOZE!!!
Friday, September 07, 2007
Manila Book Fair
I missed the proxy tourney last Sunday because I volunteered for Read or Die. Pretty good stuff. I didn't get to hang out at the book fair because I was assigned at the forums. Interesting though being a runner/Anvil's bitch (as Mia so fondly puts it) as I ran into a lot of friends along the way, both from relatives to Ateneo to SJCS (several batches.)
The great thing about the day was being able to listen to the guest speakers. I was really impressed with the panels of speakers. Tin, the organizer, did a great job putting that bit together. It was seriously insane how she managed to recall everything she had researched about all the speakers! Seriously, those are CVs of each panelist. That's just insane.
Either way the panelists ranged from all sides of the book creating team, from writers to artists to publishers; critics to readers! It was great sitting through the whole day just listening.
I think I've been inspired to give writing a try haha.
I can't wait for next year's activities!
The great thing about the day was being able to listen to the guest speakers. I was really impressed with the panels of speakers. Tin, the organizer, did a great job putting that bit together. It was seriously insane how she managed to recall everything she had researched about all the speakers! Seriously, those are CVs of each panelist. That's just insane.
Either way the panelists ranged from all sides of the book creating team, from writers to artists to publishers; critics to readers! It was great sitting through the whole day just listening.
I think I've been inspired to give writing a try haha.
I can't wait for next year's activities!
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Smile
It's been over a month since I've updated this blog. Good lord what have I been up to... I guess blogging about HP7 and the HP5 movie would be quite old news. Even the typhoon days have passed... Except I didn't have that much of a break considering I was always either in school or at JJ's house filming for our whang bang shebang history requirement (only Lozada's students can get it.) Anyway, the reason why I decided to blog today was because something made me smile this morning.
It is funny how seeing certain people make you smile. And when they smile back, it seems that your day has been well... made...(even though I still had to get to class, visit a store, hand in some cash, contact some people...)
Anyway...
It felt nice. For a change. To smile... am I getting infatuated again???
Speaking of which, I've been a sissy for a long time regarding women. There's one I need to have a serious heart-to-heart with. One who I want to catch up to. And some... well... :D
Man up Ozy.
But in the meantime, smile :D
It is funny how seeing certain people make you smile. And when they smile back, it seems that your day has been well... made...(even though I still had to get to class, visit a store, hand in some cash, contact some people...)
Anyway...
It felt nice. For a change. To smile... am I getting infatuated again???
Speaking of which, I've been a sissy for a long time regarding women. There's one I need to have a serious heart-to-heart with. One who I want to catch up to. And some... well... :D
Man up Ozy.
But in the meantime, smile :D
In retrospect
These days, with my sister in town, I often find myself thinking about my high school days...of how I was as a person, of my convictions, passions...
In retrospect I can say I was a very misguided individual, who claimed to be a realist just because he thought in the most depressing and plausible way. With such views I conducted myself in my day-to-day thinking. But as I looked into my relationships with people, with the people who I call my true friends, with the people who I have hurt, with the people who have hurt me; I find that I was quite the idealist.
The convictions and principles that I fought for were quite fanciful. Looking back at the limits of jurisdictions given to teachers and students in SJCS and my reactions to them, I was always doing my thing (not my best) to attain a certain semblance to a certain model that I had grown into accepting. Work at the Judenites I thought had to be professional (deadlines can be excused :D,) there is a certain pecking order (and I deserved my spot for spending 6 years in that paper!), a certain protocol, a certain system. These things I thought should be preserved. These things that really don't matter because you're just in some shitty high school paper. Because principles don't really matter back then, it's just do your work in any form whatsoever and kiss ass to the top. I was in too much of a hurry...too "professional." By the way, if any undergrads in the paper are reading this, ask for a detailed breakdown of the publication fee.
It was the same thing with the varsity, I expected people to conduct themselves in a certain matter. And again I pushed too far for people who just didn't care, and in the end were right.
And now, I'm in college when these things matter. I quit TheGUIDON because it was TOO professional and another reason... My actions in my orgs are relaxed and unrefined. Where is the Osmond in high school I wonder.
Life really knows how to throw those curveballs.
I wish I could go back to high school, fix my life there and enjoy my college life.
In retrospect I can say I was a very misguided individual, who claimed to be a realist just because he thought in the most depressing and plausible way. With such views I conducted myself in my day-to-day thinking. But as I looked into my relationships with people, with the people who I call my true friends, with the people who I have hurt, with the people who have hurt me; I find that I was quite the idealist.
The convictions and principles that I fought for were quite fanciful. Looking back at the limits of jurisdictions given to teachers and students in SJCS and my reactions to them, I was always doing my thing (not my best) to attain a certain semblance to a certain model that I had grown into accepting. Work at the Judenites I thought had to be professional (deadlines can be excused :D,) there is a certain pecking order (and I deserved my spot for spending 6 years in that paper!), a certain protocol, a certain system. These things I thought should be preserved. These things that really don't matter because you're just in some shitty high school paper. Because principles don't really matter back then, it's just do your work in any form whatsoever and kiss ass to the top. I was in too much of a hurry...too "professional." By the way, if any undergrads in the paper are reading this, ask for a detailed breakdown of the publication fee.
It was the same thing with the varsity, I expected people to conduct themselves in a certain matter. And again I pushed too far for people who just didn't care, and in the end were right.
And now, I'm in college when these things matter. I quit TheGUIDON because it was TOO professional and another reason... My actions in my orgs are relaxed and unrefined. Where is the Osmond in high school I wonder.
Life really knows how to throw those curveballs.
I wish I could go back to high school, fix my life there and enjoy my college life.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Movies
Ok, I haven't had the chance to watch Ocean's 13 and Transformers. I think I'll just download the former, and with the latter I hope Direq doesn't forget that we're watching it together. :D
What I was able to watch just recently are:
Cyrano de Bergerac
You Got Served
Evan Almighty (God bless the internet!)
Cyrano de Bergerac
Well this movie was from 1990 with Gerrard Depardieu playing the lead. All I can say is that it's a must see. Depardieu shows why when non-French people hear the words "French actor," his name pops up. Brilliant acting.
You Got Served
I'm contemplating downloading Stomp the Yard now. This movie was just I don't know... lacking a whole lot of stuff, from acting to script, of course nothing on choreo (amazing dance moves!)
It's just annoying how there are instances when the actors look like they forget their lines. The characters are just meh. It offers no new insights whatsoever as well as possibly painting a negative picture to whities and Asians. Call me paranoid but the ethnic differences between the groups and the character attachments are quite evident. And the whole Lil' Kim? WHAT THE HECK? She looked really weird there, and her script was exactly like what it is, a script. There is no trace of reality with what she was saying. Oh and the "father figure" big black guy whatever his name was? Just brushing off celeb security? WTF? Seriously, they should have pushed this character further I mean you can't really see how he's supposed to know everything when all he does at the start of the movie is host the dance contests.
Evan Almighty
Now this is a really really great movie. Of course there already is a suspension of belief about the seriousness of the characters. I mean Wanda Sykes as a congressman's assistant? No way.
The movie plays around a lot with the characters. There's a lot of puns and figurative language going on that contribute to the humor of the movie. Note major corporate sponsorship from General Electric and Idiot's Guide :p
But seriously the story and the direction were excellent. The camera angles show clearly the characters "God" and "Man."
The story this time is God calls Evan Baxter who's campaign slogan is "Change the World" to change the world after Baxter prays to God for the ability to do so. God sets Baxter with Noah's (of Ark fame) job. And from then on the story erupts to include the various themes of the movie.
Following its predecessor Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty hosts several of the usual explanation to God's nature. The implications on prayer, faith, and fellowship are quite strong. It is shown quite clearly how men of faith are called by God and discriminate against by the populace. It is a clear symbol of how people act when they see things bigger than themselves playing in their lives. It really is a masterfully-written script, you have to see it to understand the nuances of the characters of the movie. And in the end, there is a very beautiful message for all of us, but there's a spoiler alert.
The "Ark" is given by the movie a new meaning. It is termed as an act of random kindness. Despite is literal figure given in the movie, the Ark symbolizes that each person has the power to change the world by helping each other out. Just as the litereal Ark works on a form of contagion (population increase) thus so is the treatment of random acts of kindness.
What I was able to watch just recently are:
Cyrano de Bergerac
You Got Served
Evan Almighty (God bless the internet!)
Cyrano de Bergerac
Well this movie was from 1990 with Gerrard Depardieu playing the lead. All I can say is that it's a must see. Depardieu shows why when non-French people hear the words "French actor," his name pops up. Brilliant acting.
You Got Served
I'm contemplating downloading Stomp the Yard now. This movie was just I don't know... lacking a whole lot of stuff, from acting to script, of course nothing on choreo (amazing dance moves!)
It's just annoying how there are instances when the actors look like they forget their lines. The characters are just meh. It offers no new insights whatsoever as well as possibly painting a negative picture to whities and Asians. Call me paranoid but the ethnic differences between the groups and the character attachments are quite evident. And the whole Lil' Kim? WHAT THE HECK? She looked really weird there, and her script was exactly like what it is, a script. There is no trace of reality with what she was saying. Oh and the "father figure" big black guy whatever his name was? Just brushing off celeb security? WTF? Seriously, they should have pushed this character further I mean you can't really see how he's supposed to know everything when all he does at the start of the movie is host the dance contests.
Evan Almighty
Now this is a really really great movie. Of course there already is a suspension of belief about the seriousness of the characters. I mean Wanda Sykes as a congressman's assistant? No way.
The movie plays around a lot with the characters. There's a lot of puns and figurative language going on that contribute to the humor of the movie. Note major corporate sponsorship from General Electric and Idiot's Guide :p
But seriously the story and the direction were excellent. The camera angles show clearly the characters "God" and "Man."
The story this time is God calls Evan Baxter who's campaign slogan is "Change the World" to change the world after Baxter prays to God for the ability to do so. God sets Baxter with Noah's (of Ark fame) job. And from then on the story erupts to include the various themes of the movie.
Following its predecessor Bruce Almighty, Evan Almighty hosts several of the usual explanation to God's nature. The implications on prayer, faith, and fellowship are quite strong. It is shown quite clearly how men of faith are called by God and discriminate against by the populace. It is a clear symbol of how people act when they see things bigger than themselves playing in their lives. It really is a masterfully-written script, you have to see it to understand the nuances of the characters of the movie. And in the end, there is a very beautiful message for all of us, but there's a spoiler alert.
The "Ark" is given by the movie a new meaning. It is termed as an act of random kindness. Despite is literal figure given in the movie, the Ark symbolizes that each person has the power to change the world by helping each other out. Just as the litereal Ark works on a form of contagion (population increase) thus so is the treatment of random acts of kindness.
"Well you just work here!"
This is a very very overdue post. I had thought about blogging about this since...a few months ago when my relatives from Canada and my family went to Greenbelt to shop. We were at Greenbelt whatever, that place with the fancy shops and little to no people.
So after a while my cousin started to notice that the salesladies and salesnotquitemen were giving the "customers" once overs. And thus the title of the post.
"Well you just work here!"
Isn't it funny how people are able to put themselves on pedestals and then proceed to judge and condemn other people? Oh yeah, without deserving to be on those pedestals.
Really bad management.
*trivia, after converting some stuff are more expensive HERE than in Canada.
So after a while my cousin started to notice that the salesladies and salesnotquitemen were giving the "customers" once overs. And thus the title of the post.
"Well you just work here!"
Isn't it funny how people are able to put themselves on pedestals and then proceed to judge and condemn other people? Oh yeah, without deserving to be on those pedestals.
Really bad management.
*trivia, after converting some stuff are more expensive HERE than in Canada.
Confused. Tired.
July 2
It's 8 am, I wake up, then there's this eureka moment. "Isn't today the deadline for the Comm Res review of literature?" I scramble for my notebook and check. Yes. There in clean and plain writing was: Deadline: July 2. And for two weeks I had thought it was July 4...
My class is at 9:30-10:30. That is the deadline as well. I am so screwed... Getting to AdMU takes an hour in commuting. How much more time will I have to write that damned paper. Oh and I'm supposed to have at least 5 journal articles as sources. I'm so screwed.
I bring my laptop to school, head over to the lib and start the measly paper. After 5 hours I was done.
This is really disappointing. I need a better reminder system.
It's 8 am, I wake up, then there's this eureka moment. "Isn't today the deadline for the Comm Res review of literature?" I scramble for my notebook and check. Yes. There in clean and plain writing was: Deadline: July 2. And for two weeks I had thought it was July 4...
My class is at 9:30-10:30. That is the deadline as well. I am so screwed... Getting to AdMU takes an hour in commuting. How much more time will I have to write that damned paper. Oh and I'm supposed to have at least 5 journal articles as sources. I'm so screwed.
I bring my laptop to school, head over to the lib and start the measly paper. After 5 hours I was done.
This is really disappointing. I need a better reminder system.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Updates
The next time somebody says "beware of sugar rush" I will be.
Not many updates but my list of things to do is quite long, as usual. Procrastinating is EVIL!!!!!
Gotta make time for the important stuff.
lol I can't quite remember why I'm blogging right now but oh wells. Til the next post.
Not many updates but my list of things to do is quite long, as usual. Procrastinating is EVIL!!!!!
Gotta make time for the important stuff.
lol I can't quite remember why I'm blogging right now but oh wells. Til the next post.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Summer Daze
A rather uneventful summer.
The RegCom first sem has officially, but not technically, ended and now I'm home. I'm pretty grateful for a lot of things right now. Like the 7 hour sleep I'll be getting. I just hope my sore left eye heals, as well as my cold sores...
Because of this RegCom session, I've met a lot of new people. It's a fun experience but ultimately quite taxing on one's physical and mental health. Either way I've had my fill of enjoyment, school starts quite soon.
Oh yeah, I played Ultimate Frisbee (dramatic music) yesterday! Fun times, though I seriously suck at catching the damn frisbee, in the "assist" part, I'm pretty okay.
Tonight was the banquet and Rana and I sang Crazy For You. Well Rana sang and I dramatized :p I really, really have to fix my inhibitions.
The RegCom first sem has officially, but not technically, ended and now I'm home. I'm pretty grateful for a lot of things right now. Like the 7 hour sleep I'll be getting. I just hope my sore left eye heals, as well as my cold sores...
Because of this RegCom session, I've met a lot of new people. It's a fun experience but ultimately quite taxing on one's physical and mental health. Either way I've had my fill of enjoyment, school starts quite soon.
Oh yeah, I played Ultimate Frisbee (dramatic music) yesterday! Fun times, though I seriously suck at catching the damn frisbee, in the "assist" part, I'm pretty okay.
Tonight was the banquet and Rana and I sang Crazy For You. Well Rana sang and I dramatized :p I really, really have to fix my inhibitions.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Independent Days
Living Alone
Ok, it’s my second night alone in Mau’s pad. I must say living alone is quite enjoyable. I’m cooking my own food; stuffing my laundry somewhere-I-can’t-smell-them-until-I-start-to-and-then-I’ll pop-them-in-the-cleaners. Not bad. I’m back to prepaid for a few days, and for some reason I can’t log into my YM account. I still have so much to do… I need sleep. RegCom stuff again tomorrow. Cooking really eats up a lot of my time, not to mention washing the dishes and pots.
Argh. I have to finish this typing job! And why the hell do I keep forgetting to buy toilet paper?!?!?!
Stealing Candy from a Baby
The world is a big, scary place. People aren’t who they seem to be, whether they intend to or not. Not everyone sees the world as you do. As surely as you say one thing is the truth, the next person is also as sure to say another thing is the truth. Truth, is opined. The world is subjective, one’s ethics doesn’t reflect the other. Trust is a very tough issue. How can a person entrust something to someone? How can someone put himself/herself out there?
So what is left?
Bawal Umihi Dito.
(Yes my fellow Ateneans, I‘m waaaaaaay behind on the reflection paper, but it just came to me.)
People create spaces where they are in control, where they rule. These places are so special because in our world today, each person is assigned tasks. There are roles that each person plays, and every time he/she fulfills the duties those roles entail, he/she answers to someone higher up.
After all the stress, it is easy to see why people need to lay claim to objects, or spaces, or traits. “Mine” is empowerment. “Mine” is triumph over authority. “Mine” is possession. And when these personal spaces are usurped, one loses his/her hold on himself/herself. And the usurper, willingly or unwillingly, takes away something special from a person and gains something that may or may not be special to him. The scales may be balanced but the objects on the scale aren’t the same. For example, a person may mean lust to another or companionship to another person. And the objects (for lack of a better term) taken define themselves differently as well. Life is an amalgam of definitions and subtexts. Living in our day and age takes a certain cognitive intuition. Sounds strange doesn’t it, because I‘m pretty sure I‘m using a wrong term but forgive me, it‘s 12:50 in the morning…? But think about it, an average person goes out, throughout the day he/she will meet a lot of people. This includes the passers-by, policemen, waiters, not only one’s co-workers or fellow students. What makes you trust these people. Of course they aren’t going to randomly take out a knife and stab you to death (but you never know lol…) but the thing is, how do you know what thoughts each person you run into entertain? How many people are megalomaniacs? How many people feel like they ought to kill someone? How many people feel that they can trust you? With your cognitive intuition, you try hard to assess that person and see if you can let that person into your life.
Experience is the best teacher, that is how we can sharpen our ability to tell apart who to trust and who not to trust. Because eventually, you will let someone into your heart, and they will break it. And I’m not just speaking in the romantic sense, or love in all it’s baggage for that matter. All we can do is pick up the pieces and make sure these things don’t happen again.
But hey theoretically you are bound to run into people who you connect with. These are the people whom you read about in all those inspirational texts. These are your real friends. You know like having one real friend is a fortunate thing and all that. Not “best,” “real.” There’s a difference because with real friends, trust becomes easy, love becomes a familiarity. These are the people who will willingly sacrifice themselves to help each other without a quid pro quo subtext. These are the people who will share their lives with you. These are the people who will be beside you as you live and die. And of course, you will reciprocate that trust and do as much as you can for those friends.
Hm…I’ll stop now, I think I have to start pissing.
Watchlist
Well I’ve got a couple of stuff to watch here for when I get bored, which I often do but for some reason never really get a fair amount of time to practice.
Cyrano de Bergerac (Woot got subs!)
Lady in the Water (It wouldn‘t play in the DVD player…)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (heehee…)
City of God (I know I‘m way behind)
Darker Than Black (Saw the first episode and it seemed kinda meh but I’ve downloaded up until episode 7. We’ll see if it is worth continuing.)
A Clockwork Orange (Seeing Sai in The Wedding Singer show reminded me that I have yet to watch it and return it to her.)
And up next in the download spree
History Boys
Spammalot Bootleg
Wicked Bootleg
Some more librettos :D
Ok, it’s my second night alone in Mau’s pad. I must say living alone is quite enjoyable. I’m cooking my own food; stuffing my laundry somewhere-I-can’t-smell-them-until-I-start-to-and-then-I’ll pop-them-in-the-cleaners. Not bad. I’m back to prepaid for a few days, and for some reason I can’t log into my YM account. I still have so much to do… I need sleep. RegCom stuff again tomorrow. Cooking really eats up a lot of my time, not to mention washing the dishes and pots.
Argh. I have to finish this typing job! And why the hell do I keep forgetting to buy toilet paper?!?!?!
Stealing Candy from a Baby
The world is a big, scary place. People aren’t who they seem to be, whether they intend to or not. Not everyone sees the world as you do. As surely as you say one thing is the truth, the next person is also as sure to say another thing is the truth. Truth, is opined. The world is subjective, one’s ethics doesn’t reflect the other. Trust is a very tough issue. How can a person entrust something to someone? How can someone put himself/herself out there?
So what is left?
Bawal Umihi Dito.
(Yes my fellow Ateneans, I‘m waaaaaaay behind on the reflection paper, but it just came to me.)
People create spaces where they are in control, where they rule. These places are so special because in our world today, each person is assigned tasks. There are roles that each person plays, and every time he/she fulfills the duties those roles entail, he/she answers to someone higher up.
After all the stress, it is easy to see why people need to lay claim to objects, or spaces, or traits. “Mine” is empowerment. “Mine” is triumph over authority. “Mine” is possession. And when these personal spaces are usurped, one loses his/her hold on himself/herself. And the usurper, willingly or unwillingly, takes away something special from a person and gains something that may or may not be special to him. The scales may be balanced but the objects on the scale aren’t the same. For example, a person may mean lust to another or companionship to another person. And the objects (for lack of a better term) taken define themselves differently as well. Life is an amalgam of definitions and subtexts. Living in our day and age takes a certain cognitive intuition. Sounds strange doesn’t it, because I‘m pretty sure I‘m using a wrong term but forgive me, it‘s 12:50 in the morning…? But think about it, an average person goes out, throughout the day he/she will meet a lot of people. This includes the passers-by, policemen, waiters, not only one’s co-workers or fellow students. What makes you trust these people. Of course they aren’t going to randomly take out a knife and stab you to death (but you never know lol…) but the thing is, how do you know what thoughts each person you run into entertain? How many people are megalomaniacs? How many people feel like they ought to kill someone? How many people feel that they can trust you? With your cognitive intuition, you try hard to assess that person and see if you can let that person into your life.
Experience is the best teacher, that is how we can sharpen our ability to tell apart who to trust and who not to trust. Because eventually, you will let someone into your heart, and they will break it. And I’m not just speaking in the romantic sense, or love in all it’s baggage for that matter. All we can do is pick up the pieces and make sure these things don’t happen again.
But hey theoretically you are bound to run into people who you connect with. These are the people whom you read about in all those inspirational texts. These are your real friends. You know like having one real friend is a fortunate thing and all that. Not “best,” “real.” There’s a difference because with real friends, trust becomes easy, love becomes a familiarity. These are the people who will willingly sacrifice themselves to help each other without a quid pro quo subtext. These are the people who will share their lives with you. These are the people who will be beside you as you live and die. And of course, you will reciprocate that trust and do as much as you can for those friends.
Hm…I’ll stop now, I think I have to start pissing.
Watchlist
Well I’ve got a couple of stuff to watch here for when I get bored, which I often do but for some reason never really get a fair amount of time to practice.
Cyrano de Bergerac (Woot got subs!)
Lady in the Water (It wouldn‘t play in the DVD player…)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (heehee…)
City of God (I know I‘m way behind)
Darker Than Black (Saw the first episode and it seemed kinda meh but I’ve downloaded up until episode 7. We’ll see if it is worth continuing.)
A Clockwork Orange (Seeing Sai in The Wedding Singer show reminded me that I have yet to watch it and return it to her.)
And up next in the download spree
History Boys
Spammalot Bootleg
Wicked Bootleg
Some more librettos :D
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Updates
Toys
mm.... DSL is good. :D Torrents... mm...
Sharpies... whee......:D Me happy.
And I'm in the process of getting drains again :D
How I Met Your Mother
I'm in a production, a double bill entitled Not Another Cup of Coffee from Roofdeck Productions. I'm really having a lot of fun and things are going...well not great since I'm not delivering as much as my boss likes but things are fine.
What I really love about it is the pegs that I have been given. And thus my bosses have introduced me to this show. Hahaha addictions galore. This is the first straight-up sitcom I've followed and seen in a while. And I'm enjoying it a lot!
I'll be performing around August. Nood kayo ah!
My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada
To those who get the allusion good for you. But no I am referring to my relatives who have come over to Manila for a while. That being said I think I will be out and about these next few days until my RegCom duties drag me out of the house for two weeks of hellish and ultimately fulfilling volunteer work. Going to be living in Mau's pad. Woot! That's at least 2 hours of extra sleep EVERY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
mm.... DSL is good. :D Torrents... mm...
Sharpies... whee......:D Me happy.
And I'm in the process of getting drains again :D
How I Met Your Mother
I'm in a production, a double bill entitled Not Another Cup of Coffee from Roofdeck Productions. I'm really having a lot of fun and things are going...well not great since I'm not delivering as much as my boss likes but things are fine.
What I really love about it is the pegs that I have been given. And thus my bosses have introduced me to this show. Hahaha addictions galore. This is the first straight-up sitcom I've followed and seen in a while. And I'm enjoying it a lot!
I'll be performing around August. Nood kayo ah!
My Girlfriend Who Lives in Canada
To those who get the allusion good for you. But no I am referring to my relatives who have come over to Manila for a while. That being said I think I will be out and about these next few days until my RegCom duties drag me out of the house for two weeks of hellish and ultimately fulfilling volunteer work. Going to be living in Mau's pad. Woot! That's at least 2 hours of extra sleep EVERY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some reviews
The Pursuit of Happyness
A very inspiring and well-made script, refined with great casting and acting makes a movie great. People should flock to see this if they want a tear-jerker.
The Banquet
Now this is quite an amazing story. Though I feel the movie was trying hard to become an art film with all the excess scene and symbolic devices shots.
Basically The Banquet revolves around the treacheries/trickeries of the leading lady. It really hearkens the days of vile court officials and poisonous alliances. And even with the politicking there is the recurring idea of love which just makes the movie brilliant. And of course the accurate and exquisite portrayal of the life and times of the Chinese court!!! Excellent!
The crafting of the characters are excellent, from the innocent servant to the haughty empress! Brilliant work! And the ending was exquisite! After that well-delivered speech, her death was just so unexpected and that made for a great coup d' grace ending!
Zhang Zi Yi kinda has this scary smile/look doesn't she? When she smiles with her teeth out...
House of Flying Daggers
Erm... Nothing much to see here. Not much emphasis on the relevance of the House of Flying Daggers... The movie centers on a love triangle, with lots of fighting in between! The knife-throwing scenes are just well um... off. Great fight scenes though! But anyway there are strong themes of love, duty, and fanaticism involves here. Great plot twists but all in all a very weak script makes for a meh movie.
Little Miss Sunshine
I was laughing from the start of this movie. This is sheer genius. The exposition at the dinner table was just golden. After hearing those exchanges you KNOW it's going to be a brilliant movie.
Seriously it's an excellent laugh trip even without reading into the script for deeper subtexts. And the script! Masterfully written! When the father said "good luck" I was already applauding the movie! And the daughter was just exceptional in the stock character of a curious and innocent child. Her exchanges with the Miss America was it? about ice cream really emphasizes how children view consequences and role models. From the start of the film one could already see that the themes of beauty and judgment would be running all through-out the movie. As the father's program is further explained the definitions of winners and losers are in themselves words of brilliant script writers.
The whole "life is a beauty pageant" was a recurring concept throughout the movie. The brother who committed suicide kept saying that he was America's number 1 scholar as a sign that he still clings to his laurels. To the father, winning and losing is the beauty pageant. To the grandfather, the beauty pageant is his family. To the mother...well holding things together I guess but I think I have to watch the movie again to see her tie into this concept. The son explained the whole concept! To the daughter the apparent physical beauty pageant is there.
The scenes of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant were quite disturbing as those little girls were literally dolled up. The skanky clothing and routines? Or over-rouged and sprayed hair? The clothes? They all stand in contrast to our heroine who goes about the pageant as bluntly as a stone. But that is our culture as the son says. Everything is a fucking beauty pageant. Has our lives been transformed to hold a judgmental image culture? The whole porn star routine, though tagged as inappropriate for the conventional talents and shows, further illustrates the message that everything in life that we do is judged by other. Conventions and traditions are held sacred and those that seek to break the status quo aren't given any dinero for their time. This is quite a serious implication but I do mean, in the context of the story since the girl didn't know what she was doing, that people are being processed and compacted to meet expectations. Beauty pageants are homogenizing each and every single event in our lives.
The ending can bring its viewers to tears because the scenes were just so damn funny. As the family joins in the porn star dancing, they illustrate the defiance they have with those who dare step on people's dreams. And with their display of rather funny choreography they have solidified their positions as family. No judgments, no beauty pageant. To each his own niche in the family on the verge of breaking down.
A very inspiring and well-made script, refined with great casting and acting makes a movie great. People should flock to see this if they want a tear-jerker.
The Banquet
Now this is quite an amazing story. Though I feel the movie was trying hard to become an art film with all the excess scene and symbolic devices shots.
Basically The Banquet revolves around the treacheries/trickeries of the leading lady. It really hearkens the days of vile court officials and poisonous alliances. And even with the politicking there is the recurring idea of love which just makes the movie brilliant. And of course the accurate and exquisite portrayal of the life and times of the Chinese court!!! Excellent!
The crafting of the characters are excellent, from the innocent servant to the haughty empress! Brilliant work! And the ending was exquisite! After that well-delivered speech, her death was just so unexpected and that made for a great coup d' grace ending!
Zhang Zi Yi kinda has this scary smile/look doesn't she? When she smiles with her teeth out...
House of Flying Daggers
Erm... Nothing much to see here. Not much emphasis on the relevance of the House of Flying Daggers... The movie centers on a love triangle, with lots of fighting in between! The knife-throwing scenes are just well um... off. Great fight scenes though! But anyway there are strong themes of love, duty, and fanaticism involves here. Great plot twists but all in all a very weak script makes for a meh movie.
Little Miss Sunshine
I was laughing from the start of this movie. This is sheer genius. The exposition at the dinner table was just golden. After hearing those exchanges you KNOW it's going to be a brilliant movie.
Seriously it's an excellent laugh trip even without reading into the script for deeper subtexts. And the script! Masterfully written! When the father said "good luck" I was already applauding the movie! And the daughter was just exceptional in the stock character of a curious and innocent child. Her exchanges with the Miss America was it? about ice cream really emphasizes how children view consequences and role models. From the start of the film one could already see that the themes of beauty and judgment would be running all through-out the movie. As the father's program is further explained the definitions of winners and losers are in themselves words of brilliant script writers.
The whole "life is a beauty pageant" was a recurring concept throughout the movie. The brother who committed suicide kept saying that he was America's number 1 scholar as a sign that he still clings to his laurels. To the father, winning and losing is the beauty pageant. To the grandfather, the beauty pageant is his family. To the mother...well holding things together I guess but I think I have to watch the movie again to see her tie into this concept. The son explained the whole concept! To the daughter the apparent physical beauty pageant is there.
The scenes of the Little Miss Sunshine Pageant were quite disturbing as those little girls were literally dolled up. The skanky clothing and routines? Or over-rouged and sprayed hair? The clothes? They all stand in contrast to our heroine who goes about the pageant as bluntly as a stone. But that is our culture as the son says. Everything is a fucking beauty pageant. Has our lives been transformed to hold a judgmental image culture? The whole porn star routine, though tagged as inappropriate for the conventional talents and shows, further illustrates the message that everything in life that we do is judged by other. Conventions and traditions are held sacred and those that seek to break the status quo aren't given any dinero for their time. This is quite a serious implication but I do mean, in the context of the story since the girl didn't know what she was doing, that people are being processed and compacted to meet expectations. Beauty pageants are homogenizing each and every single event in our lives.
The ending can bring its viewers to tears because the scenes were just so damn funny. As the family joins in the porn star dancing, they illustrate the defiance they have with those who dare step on people's dreams. And with their display of rather funny choreography they have solidified their positions as family. No judgments, no beauty pageant. To each his own niche in the family on the verge of breaking down.
Spiderman 3 Review
Spiderman 3
All right this is one of the big 3s! (Pirates, Shrek) And after months of anticipation...........................
What a let-down. Sure the action scenes were great. But come on the movie should have been edited or something to trim it down to 2 hours. It saw like a TV series. Will Mary Jane ever pick the man she truly loves, find out during the next episode where [DEUS EX MACHINA] the butler reveals all!!!
or
Previously on Spiderman.
"You were always a disappointment, Harry."
"Avenge ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
(Scene opens. Harry sits on a couch, a therapist has just stepped out to take a leak.)
"Damn daddy issues."
or
(Jazz music. Peter enters with the "changed man look.")
Peter comes out of a shop with a new ensemble and starts doing his disturbing dances.
"You can't sing, you can't dance. What are you even here for?"
(American Idol theme plays.)
OK, seriously. The movie did have its moments. Things just weren't really cohesive. And Raimi's penchant for side comments and shenanigans really doesn't help. Some of them may be important with the character build-up but with 2 frickin movies prior to this I highly doubt if you need that much bullshit/extra scenes to build the characters.
From what I can remember:
1. The waiter at the restaurant where Peter was supposed to propose. It was funny but they could've cut down 2 minutes from there.
2. Harry telling his Butler to get some food. Apparently this signals that the Osbourne family actually has a butler.
3. Mary Jane and Harry dancing to the Twist. Now there might be some symbolic reference to the Twist but the whole thing was just a fun moment. On that note, Mary Jane you skanky whore! And you Parker, moron! Same with the fallen omelet. Fallen friendship. Sad really... Or maybe I'm over-reading.
4. The singing of Mary Jane's replacement. And the "That was handled (something something)" by the directors. The whole Mary Jane losing the role because her voice couldn't reach the back just doesn't make sense. Did everyone get a good look at that theater? I mean some people have loud voices but I doubt if people could sing and have everyone hear without a frickin microphone. Yeesh.
Now on to the characters!
Venom. Erm... As Kester pointed out, the only reason why SpideyVenom was uber strong was because Spiderman already had his own powers. Where did Venom get his powers? Hm...? He was so pissed that he got so strong? Or maybe the symbiote absorbed Peter's powers... (Maybe this one, something I didn't pay attention to while the good doctor was explaining.) Which leads us to...
Doctor... something. :D I'm sorry but with what sort of materials are you able to understand and diagnose the symbiote. It's so Marvel really.
Sandman. WTF was he even doing in the movie?!!?!
"He could learn a thing or two from Gaara"- Bola.
Hahaha good one. Since apparently he was the one who killed Uncle Ben, the script writers just debased the whole "With great power comes great responsibility" scthick that was so essential in the molding of Spiderman's character. Oh speaking of crappy script writing, we move on to the...
Butler. I wonder if Stewey actually possessed the Butler in Spidermans 1 and 2 and then signed a contract that made him miss a Spiderman 3 appearance. Imagine this:
"That's right boys. Fight to the death! While I take all your armaments and wealth to rule the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!L33t eleventy-one!!!!!!!!!!!!"
COME ON! SERIOUSLY, the Butler is the sign that the script writers seriously didn't know what they had to do to have the movie progress to the epic friendship pawns the world Naruto psychobabble! I mean they had to wait 2 movies? WHAT? Pathetic writing. Which leads us to...
Harry. I have no idea how many times he flashed the "dumb jock smile" but it sure got the girls' votes. Because I don't think he ever smiled that way in Spiderman 1. Yep daddy issues... When he helped Spiderman it was quite apparent that he was going to die. Why? Love triangle stuff that apparently the script writer didn't want to pursue. Which moves us on to...
Mary Jane. I dunno but she may have been the start of the emo stuff. EMO you say?
Peter. Disturbing. Very disturbing. But very well-performed by Toby Maguire. I just think it was exaggerated. But hey it's Raimi so those little vignettes sorta kinda make sense.
And as we progress through the movie people can (well maybe over-reading) pick up some racist stuff. Notice the impotent cops. Of what skin are they...? Hm... But who knows I may be just over-reading.
The most annoying part of the movie was the whole AMERICA PAWNS EVERYTHING crap. I mean all the whole 911 allusions? Newscaster talking, scene location? AND THE MOST GOLDEN MOMENT.
I don't have a picture... Remember when he was web-slinging around New York and he stops and has a MOMENT with the American Flag as a backdrop. Erm yeah...
MY GOD! That was a very blatant American propaganda scene. But of course I'm just reacting to it because I'm not an American...Damn them why couldn't they have had made the Philippines one of their states way back.
All right this is one of the big 3s! (Pirates, Shrek) And after months of anticipation...........................
What a let-down. Sure the action scenes were great. But come on the movie should have been edited or something to trim it down to 2 hours. It saw like a TV series. Will Mary Jane ever pick the man she truly loves, find out during the next episode where [DEUS EX MACHINA] the butler reveals all!!!
or
Previously on Spiderman.
"You were always a disappointment, Harry."
"Avenge ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
(Scene opens. Harry sits on a couch, a therapist has just stepped out to take a leak.)
"Damn daddy issues."
or
(Jazz music. Peter enters with the "changed man look.")
Peter comes out of a shop with a new ensemble and starts doing his disturbing dances.
"You can't sing, you can't dance. What are you even here for?"
(American Idol theme plays.)
OK, seriously. The movie did have its moments. Things just weren't really cohesive. And Raimi's penchant for side comments and shenanigans really doesn't help. Some of them may be important with the character build-up but with 2 frickin movies prior to this I highly doubt if you need that much bullshit/extra scenes to build the characters.
From what I can remember:
1. The waiter at the restaurant where Peter was supposed to propose. It was funny but they could've cut down 2 minutes from there.
2. Harry telling his Butler to get some food. Apparently this signals that the Osbourne family actually has a butler.
3. Mary Jane and Harry dancing to the Twist. Now there might be some symbolic reference to the Twist but the whole thing was just a fun moment. On that note, Mary Jane you skanky whore! And you Parker, moron! Same with the fallen omelet. Fallen friendship. Sad really... Or maybe I'm over-reading.
4. The singing of Mary Jane's replacement. And the "That was handled (something something)" by the directors. The whole Mary Jane losing the role because her voice couldn't reach the back just doesn't make sense. Did everyone get a good look at that theater? I mean some people have loud voices but I doubt if people could sing and have everyone hear without a frickin microphone. Yeesh.
Now on to the characters!
Venom. Erm... As Kester pointed out, the only reason why SpideyVenom was uber strong was because Spiderman already had his own powers. Where did Venom get his powers? Hm...? He was so pissed that he got so strong? Or maybe the symbiote absorbed Peter's powers... (Maybe this one, something I didn't pay attention to while the good doctor was explaining.) Which leads us to...
Doctor... something. :D I'm sorry but with what sort of materials are you able to understand and diagnose the symbiote. It's so Marvel really.
Sandman. WTF was he even doing in the movie?!!?!
"He could learn a thing or two from Gaara"- Bola.
Hahaha good one. Since apparently he was the one who killed Uncle Ben, the script writers just debased the whole "With great power comes great responsibility" scthick that was so essential in the molding of Spiderman's character. Oh speaking of crappy script writing, we move on to the...
Butler. I wonder if Stewey actually possessed the Butler in Spidermans 1 and 2 and then signed a contract that made him miss a Spiderman 3 appearance. Imagine this:
"That's right boys. Fight to the death! While I take all your armaments and wealth to rule the world!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!L33t eleventy-one!!!!!!!!!!!!"
COME ON! SERIOUSLY, the Butler is the sign that the script writers seriously didn't know what they had to do to have the movie progress to the epic friendship pawns the world Naruto psychobabble! I mean they had to wait 2 movies? WHAT? Pathetic writing. Which leads us to...
Harry. I have no idea how many times he flashed the "dumb jock smile" but it sure got the girls' votes. Because I don't think he ever smiled that way in Spiderman 1. Yep daddy issues... When he helped Spiderman it was quite apparent that he was going to die. Why? Love triangle stuff that apparently the script writer didn't want to pursue. Which moves us on to...
Mary Jane. I dunno but she may have been the start of the emo stuff. EMO you say?
Peter. Disturbing. Very disturbing. But very well-performed by Toby Maguire. I just think it was exaggerated. But hey it's Raimi so those little vignettes sorta kinda make sense.
And as we progress through the movie people can (well maybe over-reading) pick up some racist stuff. Notice the impotent cops. Of what skin are they...? Hm... But who knows I may be just over-reading.
The most annoying part of the movie was the whole AMERICA PAWNS EVERYTHING crap. I mean all the whole 911 allusions? Newscaster talking, scene location? AND THE MOST GOLDEN MOMENT.
I don't have a picture... Remember when he was web-slinging around New York and he stops and has a MOMENT with the American Flag as a backdrop. Erm yeah...
MY GOD! That was a very blatant American propaganda scene. But of course I'm just reacting to it because I'm not an American...Damn them why couldn't they have had made the Philippines one of their states way back.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
WTF Ad!!! And no not in the pretty sense.
Anyone seen the Gago ang Oposisyon ads? If not, head over here. Thanks to Shari Cruz (Misteryosa) and Lincaotun for spreading the word about it's existence.
Seen it yet? Good.
Now what in the world is that!!!
Is this even legal in our country? What did the Adboard have to say to this ad or "public service announcement."
It's just funny how the ad was paid for the Friends Against Crime and Corruption (FACC). How aptly names. People who give a FACC. But kidding aside, I hope these FACCers, um yeah, do show their faces and actually do something in the future. Assuming of course that this is an altruistic organization bent to saving the Philippines from crime and corruption. They've spend quite a fortune already with the airing of their ad now I wonder what else they will be doing with their money, wherever they got that from. Hm....
But if your like most skeptics, then you probably know that these FACCers are related to the tutas (oh yeah we love puns) Team Unity.
Now onto the ad!
The tune and lyrics are rather catchy, well-made and well-written to be perfectly fair with them. Kinda sticks to the head doesn't it? Hm... Psychological warfare! (JAUNDICE IS BEHIND THIS!!! BE WARNED ROFL! erm to non-Judenite readers just excuse this.) But seriously come on, eventually this will be stuck in the heads of the people who view these ads. Whether you follow the psychobabble, it HAS an effect. I'm not sure what but I've taken it up in Comm Theory, lolz this is bad...
Then with the imagery. I don't really understand why they have to censor those faces if they are already defaming a certain group then already the attachments are quite apparent. Not familiar? Refer to the ad of DLSU advising parents to invest wisely using the University Rankings Survey results as a backdrop. Was this some sort of ethic/moral issue? Haven't the FACCers realized that their vehicle for their message had already thrown any modicum of ethics?
With "Barkada ni Erap" in the lyrics we can deduce (albeit not totally accurately, like I said maybe the FACCers are altruistic Filipinos) that the enemies of Erap have created this ad. Who is the greatest enemy of Erap? Hm... Gee I wonder who...
"Hindi man lang nagsorry"
This throws all sensibility out the window! In case people haven't notice the Mole of Asia (damn puns!!!) is still sitting comfortably, skipping meals from time to time but still up there in the top, despite CHEATING IN THE ELECTIONS! SHE FREAKING APOLOGIZED! Which apparently given that line in the ad is ENOUGH to appease the masses.
I certainly find this amusing. Just think about it. Let's imagine you guys are in some other country, say America. And for your homework, you've been asked by your professor to read up on the Philippine Elections for president, apparently there was something juicy there. And you read about this Gloria lady and how she duped her whole country. What would you think?
"Smart girl!" ?? or "Dumb country!" ??
How in the heck are we able to look at our children in their faces when they ask us about this? Imagine with those Shrek 2 Puss in Boots eyes your children, asking "What did you do after?" This whole Hello Garci thing will after all be written in the history books. But I guess that's digging up old baggage.
This ad is a wake-up call, and the Philippines has had many already; of how morals are thrown about in this country, of what politicians' motivations are, of what the future holds!
To the voters, the future of the Philippines is in your hands! ...Barring Hello Garci shenanigans.
Woot, but seriously, this IS a democratic nation. Let's practice it.
To the future senators (why Miriam are you not running...), I hope you guys do your jobs well. Correctly, honestly, and most importantly guilt-freely. It is amusing to note that the Philippines is the most religious country in Asia. But looking at the slums and the government processes of the Philippines, how could one prove the statistics awarding the Philippines with this title.
I wonder if the corrupt officials are religious, for with their actions I highly doubt if their reservations in hell could be set in stone any harder. That is if they are religious. If they aren't well, karma and all. What comes around goes around, in this lifetime or the next. Enjoy that Pork Barrel!
EDIT, I just saw the ad while surfing. At the end it tells the viewers to go to Youtube to download the song! WHAT THE HECK!!! IS THAT LEGAL!!! I wonder what Youtube authorities have to say about that!!!
Seen it yet? Good.
Now what in the world is that!!!
Is this even legal in our country? What did the Adboard have to say to this ad or "public service announcement."
It's just funny how the ad was paid for the Friends Against Crime and Corruption (FACC). How aptly names. People who give a FACC. But kidding aside, I hope these FACCers, um yeah, do show their faces and actually do something in the future. Assuming of course that this is an altruistic organization bent to saving the Philippines from crime and corruption. They've spend quite a fortune already with the airing of their ad now I wonder what else they will be doing with their money, wherever they got that from. Hm....
But if your like most skeptics, then you probably know that these FACCers are related to the tutas (oh yeah we love puns) Team Unity.
Now onto the ad!
The tune and lyrics are rather catchy, well-made and well-written to be perfectly fair with them. Kinda sticks to the head doesn't it? Hm... Psychological warfare! (JAUNDICE IS BEHIND THIS!!! BE WARNED ROFL! erm to non-Judenite readers just excuse this.) But seriously come on, eventually this will be stuck in the heads of the people who view these ads. Whether you follow the psychobabble, it HAS an effect. I'm not sure what but I've taken it up in Comm Theory, lolz this is bad...
Then with the imagery. I don't really understand why they have to censor those faces if they are already defaming a certain group then already the attachments are quite apparent. Not familiar? Refer to the ad of DLSU advising parents to invest wisely using the University Rankings Survey results as a backdrop. Was this some sort of ethic/moral issue? Haven't the FACCers realized that their vehicle for their message had already thrown any modicum of ethics?
With "Barkada ni Erap" in the lyrics we can deduce (albeit not totally accurately, like I said maybe the FACCers are altruistic Filipinos) that the enemies of Erap have created this ad. Who is the greatest enemy of Erap? Hm... Gee I wonder who...
"Hindi man lang nagsorry"
This throws all sensibility out the window! In case people haven't notice the Mole of Asia (damn puns!!!) is still sitting comfortably, skipping meals from time to time but still up there in the top, despite CHEATING IN THE ELECTIONS! SHE FREAKING APOLOGIZED! Which apparently given that line in the ad is ENOUGH to appease the masses.
I certainly find this amusing. Just think about it. Let's imagine you guys are in some other country, say America. And for your homework, you've been asked by your professor to read up on the Philippine Elections for president, apparently there was something juicy there. And you read about this Gloria lady and how she duped her whole country. What would you think?
"Smart girl!" ?? or "Dumb country!" ??
How in the heck are we able to look at our children in their faces when they ask us about this? Imagine with those Shrek 2 Puss in Boots eyes your children, asking "What did you do after?" This whole Hello Garci thing will after all be written in the history books. But I guess that's digging up old baggage.
This ad is a wake-up call, and the Philippines has had many already; of how morals are thrown about in this country, of what politicians' motivations are, of what the future holds!
To the voters, the future of the Philippines is in your hands! ...Barring Hello Garci shenanigans.
Woot, but seriously, this IS a democratic nation. Let's practice it.
To the future senators (why Miriam are you not running...), I hope you guys do your jobs well. Correctly, honestly, and most importantly guilt-freely. It is amusing to note that the Philippines is the most religious country in Asia. But looking at the slums and the government processes of the Philippines, how could one prove the statistics awarding the Philippines with this title.
I wonder if the corrupt officials are religious, for with their actions I highly doubt if their reservations in hell could be set in stone any harder. That is if they are religious. If they aren't well, karma and all. What comes around goes around, in this lifetime or the next. Enjoy that Pork Barrel!
EDIT, I just saw the ad while surfing. At the end it tells the viewers to go to Youtube to download the song! WHAT THE HECK!!! IS THAT LEGAL!!! I wonder what Youtube authorities have to say about that!!!
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Days are going by...
Ok, it's May... That's one more month before my duties in RegCom take over and I miss summer...
And I have done... well... not much...
Surgery
Well, it's been postponed since apparently I have brachycardia so I can't be cleared for surgery.
So I've got to increase my heart rate and have it in the stable rate... hay...
Acquisitions
Right now I'm beside with happiness! I just got my own laptop. So after all of high school and 2 years of college, I have my own computer! Woohoo!
I also recently bought a 250gb external hard disk. I'm not really sure why I did it but I'm sure it'll come in handy over the semester.
Killing Time
So I decided to tickle the ivories, well plastic/resin... After all, I just printed a whole slew of music sheets of songs that I would love to master. And after a couple minutes of struggling to read the notes and putting everything together, I have concluded that I suck at playing the piano... I've got no technique, no sight-reading skills, no play by ear skills, no mastery of the keys, nothing.
Sad really, I guess I'll have to teach myself everything, the orthodox way.
And I have done... well... not much...
Surgery
Well, it's been postponed since apparently I have brachycardia so I can't be cleared for surgery.
So I've got to increase my heart rate and have it in the stable rate... hay...
Acquisitions
Right now I'm beside with happiness! I just got my own laptop. So after all of high school and 2 years of college, I have my own computer! Woohoo!
I also recently bought a 250gb external hard disk. I'm not really sure why I did it but I'm sure it'll come in handy over the semester.
Killing Time
So I decided to tickle the ivories, well plastic/resin... After all, I just printed a whole slew of music sheets of songs that I would love to master. And after a couple minutes of struggling to read the notes and putting everything together, I have concluded that I suck at playing the piano... I've got no technique, no sight-reading skills, no play by ear skills, no mastery of the keys, nothing.
Sad really, I guess I'll have to teach myself everything, the orthodox way.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Bye Bye Drains
Um yeah...Just having some withdrawal symptoms...
Well at least I know they're in good hands...
Thinking about playing less vintage.
Monday, April 16, 2007
The past few days
I love dog.
Yes that is grammatically correct, in some sense. I love Cha-cha, Ms. Joy Alano's dog :D
I never liked dogs, well most probably the people associated with the dogs but still. I liked this one, let's see if I can steal a picture one of these days. LOL cute and cuddly! It kept gnawing at my hands and covering me with dog slobber though but it was fun!
Any schedule conflicts over the summer?
Free...I'm so pathetic
So I'm bumming! I'm watching DVDs, playing the piano and violin (hopefully), mastering photoshop, cleaning my room (in progress), reading tons of books, cooking, altering some cards (once I find my sharpies dammit! I want some!) etc. Maybe if someone could hook me up with a summer job? I'd be pretty grateful :D
But other than that, I just auditioned for a role for Roofdeck Productions and things turned out all right!
Hanging out at the Alano residence was pretty cool! Nice to be around fun and friendly theater-goers! Finally got to watch Pride and Prejudice, yeah all of us wanted something from the movie.
Joy: I want Mr. Darcy
Mia: I love that dress, I want it (Referring to Keira Knightley's gown)
Ozzy: Let's share her, you take the dress and I'll...
After the auditions and cold reading we were watching the best leading ladies in musical theater, well in a certain time anyway, great stuff :D then I scooted over to the MANI party then we scooted over the MAX3D for an impromptu DotA session.
Same hero Shandelzare=HEADACHE! Why couldn't we get a bobo hero like Kardel or Naix or lesser evils like Zeus (joke) Chen, Yurnero, any hero without STUN!
All right guys sugod, STUN! STUN! SWAP! ST...SWAP! SWAP! STUN!
Crazy stuff...
GRADES
DAMMIT I got a measly 2.88, none of the teachers who I expected to give me a higher grade did! And I even got a lower grade because of that damn SA ethno study (to my partner, I still hope you burn in hell for the pathetic excuse of homework you did [and almost did not do])
DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! No final advertising class for me... DAMMIT!
I really have to DL, I have 4 sems left, hear me pawn!
Cut and Paste, Gio's Side Event Finals Coverage
The two has met in the center of the playing area and were taking a look at their cards.
Will Allan’s super duper lucky topdecking of Black Lotus prevail and win the tournament just like his match with Lance in the semis?
Or will Osmond’s deck where everyone calls it gay Oath (well… most players here call Oath gay anyway…) stand and make everyone tremble just like the scene where Xerxes’s fingers tapped on the spapartan’s shoulder?
Will Nigz ever change his shirt when he plays a tourney? Will the Mythril Sando Shirt ever go away?
Will I ever stop making brokeback comments? Will everyone ever stop making brokeback comments?
Will that lady that had those great assets be back in BCI for me to see? A lot saw her while I was writing down the scenes!!! Damn it!! Hindi tinuro sa akin ni Andrew!! ^#%^$@%^$%^%$^%$^#%
Well we will see…
Round 1…. FIGHT! (With that Voice from Streetfighter)
The die roll began and Allan won the die roll. Allan mulls to 6 and was good. Osmond was good with his hand as well. Allan starts the game with an Island and go (I can’t remember if it was a foil island). Osmond then proceeds with a Polluted Delta, breaks it for Underground Sea, and then plays his Chah-nees I know kung-fu Imperial Seal (bling count starts from here?) then says go. Allan then drops a Wasteland and rips it against the Underground Sea. Osmond then proceeds with a Flooded Strand and says go. Allan plays Plains and says done. At the end of the turn, Ozzy breaks his Flooded Strand for another very Underground Sea, plays Mystical Tutor, and fetches a Force of Will. On Osmond’s turn, he draws the FoW, plays Forbidden Gaychard and then plays that brokeback enchantment of Oath of Druids Who Love Men. Allan then plays a Flooded Strand, breaks it for an Island and says go. Osmond on his turn of course wanted to see something big that he can play with
, then activates his Oath. Gay A$$ blessing was revealed and then Akroma was put into play. But before the draw step, Allan plays Thirst for Knowledge. BUT WAIT! THERES MORE! Osmond in response plays Ancestral Recall. Osmond has now cheated the game with Ancestral Recall alone… BOOOO…. Allan discards Salvager and Tundra. Osmond proceeds to his combat step and attacked with Akroma. But wait! There is still a whole lot more! Ozzy wastes his own Underground Sea, then plays another baklelong card named Balance. Allan then FoWed it pitching a shiny Cunning Wish where I had to close my eyes because it was soooo shiny. But Ozzy made a mistake by telling him that he thought it was a Power Sink! (Low blow!!!! Technical, Offensive, Flagrant Foul all in one!!!! Red card!! Kurot sa ut*ng!! )
Allan retaliated with that comment by attacking the Spirit token and tickled Ozzy. Ozzy’s Akroma attacked then it was gg from there.
Oath wins game 1…. Booooooo… baduuuuyyy... Matindi ang lola e…
Quick Sideboards in and out… then we go to straight for round 2 action!!! (What?! No hooters?! Yung mga waitress na lang sa BCI!! Pwede na yun!!!
)
Round 2... FIGHT!
Allan proceeds and starts off with an Island. Ozzy goes with an Island and done… all right… we got a draw go game… Allan plays Adarkar Waste… and then… plays Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage (The light! The light! I’m blind!). At end of turn, Ozzy goes plays Mystical Tutor (baduy.. no bling) and fetches Ultra Blling DCI Swords to Plowshares (where the hell do you get these cards anyway??). Ozzy then plays Wasteland on his turn and destroys the Adarkar Waste. Allan proceeds to his turn and then attacked with the Mage making it inflict 345454436565 points of damage with Light element but was reduced to 2 damage because the deck he was against was gay. Ozzy then plays Orchard, taps it producing a token, then plays Null Rod (now this card ain’t gay. I love this card. If Null Rod was a real woman, I have already married her and have made about 15 babies already.) Allan plays Brainstorm while it was still on the stack but still let it resolved. Allan gets his turn then plays wasteland, then wastes the Orchard where it belongs. Then Ozzy plays Orchard (Two! Two orchards... bwahahaha…) then plays his Ultra Bling DCI Swords to Plowshares on the Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage. Ozzy needed to use the Ultra Bling DCI Swords to Plowshares to kill the Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage because any other Swords to Plowshares is not worthy and will just bounce off the Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage. But! Allan, in response, plays a bling Echoing Truth targeting the Mage. Ozzy counters it with FoW pitching SSS. Baduy nga lang dahil hindi na bling… BOOOOOO….
Allan plays Brainstorm on his main phase and plays Flooded Strand. Flooded Strand was cracked for an Island, then swings in for a tickle against Ozzy. Ozzy was now at 13 life. Ozzy plays Gay a$$ Blesing (Bling! Bling!), then plays another Orchard (3 Forbidden Orchard! Bwahahaha!!!) then says done. Allan then attacks with 3 tokens then plays a shiny spapartan Auriok Salvager. Then Osmond plays another Orchard (Four! Four forbidden Orchard. Bwahahaha!!). Allan attacks and brings down Ozzy to five then Ozzy conceded after that. Four Orchards? Damn! We know that Oath is already a gay deck but they still had to come out? Geez..
But still, Bomberman prevails! By beatdown too. Yey!
I then receive a text message from Nigz that he was looking for these gay cards and I just told him that Oath is the deck for you, Mr. Mythril Sando man!!!!
Round 3!
Ozzy plays Polluted Delta, cracks it for Underground Sea, then plays bling Duress taking out Allan’s bling Brainstorm. Allan then plays Island, go. Ozzy then plays Forbidden Gaychard, then plays a My kung is better than your Kung-fu Chah-nees Oath of Druids. Uhuh… it was now looking bad for Allan. Allan just plays Tundra then go. Ozzy oaths up a Simic Gay Swallower, then plays Demonic Tutor, then plays Null Rod. Allan then attacks with the tokens, then plays Echoing Truth on the token which was countered. Ozzy then attacks with the big swallower (Wag po, koya!!!!). Allan then STPs his token at EOT and gains 1 life. Allan attacks with the token, then plays Flooded Strand. Ozzy again attacks with SSS (Koya! Wag po!!!), then plays Imperial Seal. Allan attacks with the token, Ozzy attacks with SSS (Koya!!!!!! WWWAAAAGG PPPOOO!!!) then with his final energy, Allan attacks with the token with big iron shiny balls of fury just like what the Spapartans did. Unfurtonately, Simic Sky Swallower was really large and took the game.
So the champion of this brokeback tournament is:
Congratulations to Ozzy for winning the tournamaent!
OATH AGAIN?! ITS THE SECOND MONTH!! BAADDDDDUUUUUYYYY!!! YUCK TO THE 345525th POWER!!! BOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Si Cheng nga rin pala yung Champion sa proxy... baduuy rin... booooooo!!!! Pero kakaiba yung topdeck. First time talagang napa-iling ako ng sobra-sobra!!!
Till next time! Keep it in the same bat channel, same bat time!
dawgie out!
WOOT CHAMP AKO!!! Now for next month's Mid-Year Tournament!
Yes that is grammatically correct, in some sense. I love Cha-cha, Ms. Joy Alano's dog :D
I never liked dogs, well most probably the people associated with the dogs but still. I liked this one, let's see if I can steal a picture one of these days. LOL cute and cuddly! It kept gnawing at my hands and covering me with dog slobber though but it was fun!
Any schedule conflicts over the summer?
Free...I'm so pathetic
So I'm bumming! I'm watching DVDs, playing the piano and violin (hopefully), mastering photoshop, cleaning my room (in progress), reading tons of books, cooking, altering some cards (once I find my sharpies dammit! I want some!) etc. Maybe if someone could hook me up with a summer job? I'd be pretty grateful :D
But other than that, I just auditioned for a role for Roofdeck Productions and things turned out all right!
Hanging out at the Alano residence was pretty cool! Nice to be around fun and friendly theater-goers! Finally got to watch Pride and Prejudice, yeah all of us wanted something from the movie.
Joy: I want Mr. Darcy
Mia: I love that dress, I want it (Referring to Keira Knightley's gown)
Ozzy: Let's share her, you take the dress and I'll...
After the auditions and cold reading we were watching the best leading ladies in musical theater, well in a certain time anyway, great stuff :D then I scooted over to the MANI party then we scooted over the MAX3D for an impromptu DotA session.
Same hero Shandelzare=HEADACHE! Why couldn't we get a bobo hero like Kardel or Naix or lesser evils like Zeus (joke) Chen, Yurnero, any hero without STUN!
All right guys sugod, STUN! STUN! SWAP! ST...SWAP! SWAP! STUN!
Crazy stuff...
GRADES
DAMMIT I got a measly 2.88, none of the teachers who I expected to give me a higher grade did! And I even got a lower grade because of that damn SA ethno study (to my partner, I still hope you burn in hell for the pathetic excuse of homework you did [and almost did not do])
DAMMIT! DAMMIT! DAMMIT! No final advertising class for me... DAMMIT!
I really have to DL, I have 4 sems left, hear me pawn!
Cut and Paste, Gio's Side Event Finals Coverage
dawgie da pogi productions bring you...
(Insert here some Kenny G music…. Yung pang-romansa na type… )
(tenen-nenen.. tenen-nenen-nenen-nenen-nen… teeeeeennnnn-nen)
A BrokeBack Finals Tourney Report
Side Event Finals April 15, 2007
The Duel Between the Mighty Bomberman Spapartans and the Baklelong Oath Persians of Xerxes
Allan (jester) vs Osmond (scribe888)
(Insert here some Kenny G music…. Yung pang-romansa na type… )
(tenen-nenen.. tenen-nenen-nenen-nenen-nen… teeeeeennnnn-nen)
A BrokeBack Finals Tourney Report
Side Event Finals April 15, 2007
The Duel Between the Mighty Bomberman Spapartans and the Baklelong Oath Persians of Xerxes
Allan (jester) vs Osmond (scribe888)
The two has met in the center of the playing area and were taking a look at their cards.
Will Allan’s super duper lucky topdecking of Black Lotus prevail and win the tournament just like his match with Lance in the semis?
Or will Osmond’s deck where everyone calls it gay Oath (well… most players here call Oath gay anyway…) stand and make everyone tremble just like the scene where Xerxes’s fingers tapped on the spapartan’s shoulder?
Will Nigz ever change his shirt when he plays a tourney? Will the Mythril Sando Shirt ever go away?
Will I ever stop making brokeback comments? Will everyone ever stop making brokeback comments?
Will that lady that had those great assets be back in BCI for me to see? A lot saw her while I was writing down the scenes!!! Damn it!! Hindi tinuro sa akin ni Andrew!! ^#%^$@%^$%^%$^%$^#%
Well we will see…
Round 1…. FIGHT! (With that Voice from Streetfighter)
The die roll began and Allan won the die roll. Allan mulls to 6 and was good. Osmond was good with his hand as well. Allan starts the game with an Island and go (I can’t remember if it was a foil island). Osmond then proceeds with a Polluted Delta, breaks it for Underground Sea, and then plays his Chah-nees I know kung-fu Imperial Seal (bling count starts from here?) then says go. Allan then drops a Wasteland and rips it against the Underground Sea. Osmond then proceeds with a Flooded Strand and says go. Allan plays Plains and says done. At the end of the turn, Ozzy breaks his Flooded Strand for another very Underground Sea, plays Mystical Tutor, and fetches a Force of Will. On Osmond’s turn, he draws the FoW, plays Forbidden Gaychard and then plays that brokeback enchantment of Oath of Druids Who Love Men. Allan then plays a Flooded Strand, breaks it for an Island and says go. Osmond on his turn of course wanted to see something big that he can play with
, then activates his Oath. Gay A$$ blessing was revealed and then Akroma was put into play. But before the draw step, Allan plays Thirst for Knowledge. BUT WAIT! THERES MORE! Osmond in response plays Ancestral Recall. Osmond has now cheated the game with Ancestral Recall alone… BOOOO…. Allan discards Salvager and Tundra. Osmond proceeds to his combat step and attacked with Akroma. But wait! There is still a whole lot more! Ozzy wastes his own Underground Sea, then plays another baklelong card named Balance. Allan then FoWed it pitching a shiny Cunning Wish where I had to close my eyes because it was soooo shiny. But Ozzy made a mistake by telling him that he thought it was a Power Sink! (Low blow!!!! Technical, Offensive, Flagrant Foul all in one!!!! Red card!! Kurot sa ut*ng!! )Allan retaliated with that comment by attacking the Spirit token and tickled Ozzy. Ozzy’s Akroma attacked then it was gg from there.
Oath wins game 1…. Booooooo… baduuuuyyy... Matindi ang lola e…
Quick Sideboards in and out… then we go to straight for round 2 action!!! (What?! No hooters?! Yung mga waitress na lang sa BCI!! Pwede na yun!!!
)Round 2... FIGHT!
Allan proceeds and starts off with an Island. Ozzy goes with an Island and done… all right… we got a draw go game… Allan plays Adarkar Waste… and then… plays Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage (The light! The light! I’m blind!). At end of turn, Ozzy goes plays Mystical Tutor (baduy.. no bling) and fetches Ultra Blling DCI Swords to Plowshares (where the hell do you get these cards anyway??). Ozzy then plays Wasteland on his turn and destroys the Adarkar Waste. Allan proceeds to his turn and then attacked with the Mage making it inflict 345454436565 points of damage with Light element but was reduced to 2 damage because the deck he was against was gay. Ozzy then plays Orchard, taps it producing a token, then plays Null Rod (now this card ain’t gay. I love this card. If Null Rod was a real woman, I have already married her and have made about 15 babies already.) Allan plays Brainstorm while it was still on the stack but still let it resolved. Allan gets his turn then plays wasteland, then wastes the Orchard where it belongs. Then Ozzy plays Orchard (Two! Two orchards... bwahahaha…) then plays his Ultra Bling DCI Swords to Plowshares on the Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage. Ozzy needed to use the Ultra Bling DCI Swords to Plowshares to kill the Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage because any other Swords to Plowshares is not worthy and will just bounce off the Ultra Bling DCI Meddling Mage. But! Allan, in response, plays a bling Echoing Truth targeting the Mage. Ozzy counters it with FoW pitching SSS. Baduy nga lang dahil hindi na bling… BOOOOOO….
Allan plays Brainstorm on his main phase and plays Flooded Strand. Flooded Strand was cracked for an Island, then swings in for a tickle against Ozzy. Ozzy was now at 13 life. Ozzy plays Gay a$$ Blesing (Bling! Bling!), then plays another Orchard (3 Forbidden Orchard! Bwahahaha!!!) then says done. Allan then attacks with 3 tokens then plays a shiny spapartan Auriok Salvager. Then Osmond plays another Orchard (Four! Four forbidden Orchard. Bwahahaha!!). Allan attacks and brings down Ozzy to five then Ozzy conceded after that. Four Orchards? Damn! We know that Oath is already a gay deck but they still had to come out? Geez..
But still, Bomberman prevails! By beatdown too. Yey!
I then receive a text message from Nigz that he was looking for these gay cards and I just told him that Oath is the deck for you, Mr. Mythril Sando man!!!!
Round 3!
Ozzy plays Polluted Delta, cracks it for Underground Sea, then plays bling Duress taking out Allan’s bling Brainstorm. Allan then plays Island, go. Ozzy then plays Forbidden Gaychard, then plays a My kung is better than your Kung-fu Chah-nees Oath of Druids. Uhuh… it was now looking bad for Allan. Allan just plays Tundra then go. Ozzy oaths up a Simic Gay Swallower, then plays Demonic Tutor, then plays Null Rod. Allan then attacks with the tokens, then plays Echoing Truth on the token which was countered. Ozzy then attacks with the big swallower (Wag po, koya!!!!). Allan then STPs his token at EOT and gains 1 life. Allan attacks with the token, then plays Flooded Strand. Ozzy again attacks with SSS (Koya! Wag po!!!), then plays Imperial Seal. Allan attacks with the token, Ozzy attacks with SSS (Koya!!!!!! WWWAAAAGG PPPOOO!!!) then with his final energy, Allan attacks with the token with big iron shiny balls of fury just like what the Spapartans did. Unfurtonately, Simic Sky Swallower was really large and took the game.
So the champion of this brokeback tournament is:
Greenhills Parking Area since people who brought their cars paid more than P120 pesos for parking since walang flat rate.
And
BCI Sisig Rice and Iced Tea since it was ordered by almost everyone.
And
BCI Sisig Rice and Iced Tea since it was ordered by almost everyone.
Congratulations to Ozzy for winning the tournamaent!
OATH AGAIN?! ITS THE SECOND MONTH!! BAADDDDDUUUUUYYYY!!! YUCK TO THE 345525th POWER!!! BOOOOOOOOO!!!!
Si Cheng nga rin pala yung Champion sa proxy... baduuy rin... booooooo!!!! Pero kakaiba yung topdeck. First time talagang napa-iling ako ng sobra-sobra!!!
Till next time! Keep it in the same bat channel, same bat time!
dawgie out!
WOOT CHAMP AKO!!! Now for next month's Mid-Year Tournament!
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Summer days
The distance between Escaler and SS has never been this far...
RegCom days are going by. I only have three more days of dutiful working to go since I will be taking Saturday off for an audition and a party afterwards.
Being in RegCom is relatively fun, you get to meet a lot of people, tone your muscles. lol. I've been carrying chairs, tables, heavy stands and whatnot to various locations in ADMU. I'm way out of shape. hahaha. A few more days to go...
Kathleen and Leo's birthday celebration
Lan Zhou La Mien. Yeah we tried it. The noodles are kinda ok. Kinda :D, I'd prolly go there if I were too lazy to head over to Wai Ying since it is a stone's throw from my house.
The short dinner continued into a random hanging-out session at my place. Yeah WTF, some light booze: Vodka Cruiser, Tsingtao Beer, Gin, and for those who don't drink some fruit wine. Mahjong, Pusoy Dos, and "Poker"...Seriously guys, if you want to bond (make kwento as Clar so puts it), let's do it elsewhere in a more conducive environment ie Starbucko. The room is meant for gambling albeit not that snazzy but still, I was really looking forward to some real poker. Sunod ulit, preferably planned :D
Connoisseurs
Yeah I've been meeting new people. What amazes me is the extent of these people's expertise and passion. I should find my genius... I really should. Oh and these connoisseurs, if you must know are Graphic Novels, Film, and Pornography. Yeah, I've been meeting some interesting people.
RegCom days are going by. I only have three more days of dutiful working to go since I will be taking Saturday off for an audition and a party afterwards.
Being in RegCom is relatively fun, you get to meet a lot of people, tone your muscles. lol. I've been carrying chairs, tables, heavy stands and whatnot to various locations in ADMU. I'm way out of shape. hahaha. A few more days to go...
Kathleen and Leo's birthday celebration
Lan Zhou La Mien. Yeah we tried it. The noodles are kinda ok. Kinda :D, I'd prolly go there if I were too lazy to head over to Wai Ying since it is a stone's throw from my house.
The short dinner continued into a random hanging-out session at my place. Yeah WTF, some light booze: Vodka Cruiser, Tsingtao Beer, Gin, and for those who don't drink some fruit wine. Mahjong, Pusoy Dos, and "Poker"...Seriously guys, if you want to bond (make kwento as Clar so puts it), let's do it elsewhere in a more conducive environment ie Starbucko. The room is meant for gambling albeit not that snazzy but still, I was really looking forward to some real poker. Sunod ulit, preferably planned :D
Connoisseurs
Yeah I've been meeting new people. What amazes me is the extent of these people's expertise and passion. I should find my genius... I really should. Oh and these connoisseurs, if you must know are Graphic Novels, Film, and Pornography. Yeah, I've been meeting some interesting people.
Sunday, April 01, 2007
PTQ San Diego 2HG Tournament Report
PTQ San Diego Two-Headed Giant Tournament
Team Go:
Osmond Go---RB support
Paolo Go------GU fatties
I had all the removal (Sudden Shock, Sudden Death, Strangling Soot, Midnight Charm, Fury Charm, Shambling Swarm), cheap beats and beats with evasion (Corpulent Corpse, That Swampwalking Lemur, Skirk Shaman) and Empty the Warrens and Boom//Bust...and Ground Rift and Dust Corona..... Um...Yeah... :D
and Pao had the suspend fatties plus Psionic Blast, Spectral Force, Gaea's Anthem and Teferi ($$$ bawi) oh and 2 Mire Boas.
Game 1 Team R3negade
I developed pretty well as did my opponents but Pao got stuck without any green sources. At the time that Pao tapped for a spell and passed the turn, our opponent activates his Phyrexian Totem and swings. Pao @#$#@ Psionic Blast $#%@%!!! I cheese it with a Orcish Cannonade. Things even out for us for a while since Pao was still screwed. Eventually, we power up a Ground Rift powered turn then our opponents play a Bogardan Rager and Pao pumps the critter it (Skirk Shaman) blocks with Strength in Numbers.
1-0
Game 2 Team Spiral Co Go
Pao gets a perfect curve. That is Turn 1 suspend Baloth, Turn 2 suspend Ephemeron, Turn 3 suspend Viscerid 'walker and some other stuff. After which Spectral Force joined the party.
I handle their early beats. Subterrainean Shambler pawning Faceless Devourer and Mire Boa is pretty good! :D
2-0
Game 3 1 Dozen Eyes (Mark Rivera and...)
Ok their deck has 2 Tenebs. This match was just way too badly played on our part as we had 5 misplays. Anyway our opponent powers up a 3 storm count Volcanic Awakening removing Pao's blue sources. Soonafter I Melancholy Mark's Bog Serpent, they Boom//Bust. I play Swamp and Vampiric Link that serpent. Pao and I draw into more lands and proceed to stabilize.
The end was a Utopia Vow+Ground Rift storm-powered turn for the win. And a Psionic Blast the turn before.
Misplays
1. Veiling Oddity or that thing that unsuspends to unblockability and Viscerid 'walker were suspended. I had Warrens and Pao has Mire Boa, a morph, and Gemhide Sliver. I also had Keldon Marauder. So our mistake was not playing Warrens for 5 then attacking the next turn when the oddity resolves for 15 damage. Pao could've played the Gemhide Sliver first then cast the next two spells he had in hand in the next turn when the 'walker resolves. Then I cast my marauder then Empty the Warrens for 10 tokens.
2. Teferi hits play Pao has morph critters in his hand and 6 mana open. He also had Dismal Failure. Opponents pass the turn. He does nothing...
3. Twice
4. There's a removal spell that hits our 'walker, Pao pumps it and does not realize the pumping it does not add to it's toughness. The mana used could have flashed Teferi into play.
5. Sooting a Nantuko Shaman instead of a Viscerid 'walker.
3-0
Game 4 Powerpuff
Pao suspends the beats then plays a Gaea's Anthem. I play the removal. We flood the board. Then our opponent casts Porphyry Nodes and passes the turn to us. We do the math, I cast Boom//Bust.
4-0
Game 5 Jaro Brothers (um...duh...)
Ok they are playing seriously broken removal and light beats with only Calciderm and 2 Crovaxes to top their curve.
I Mindstab turn one and force Crovax to enter the graveyard. We just keep casting critters and they keep killing them. We eventually pump out more critters than they can handle.
Highlight:
Pao casts Spectral Force and gets ready to swing the next turn. Jaro Brothers draw and...
Out of the corner of Dominaria a time rift opens (well not really) and a gigantic Shivan Meteor slams into our Spectral Force with a resounding blam! As Jaro slams it down on the critter.
5-0
Game 6 Each Hit and I (Nick Ortega and Manchester Sy)
Both of us were mana screwed as the game progressed.
Pao and I decide to keep our hands as they were pretty decent anyway. I had turn 1 Mindstab and Pao has Gemhide Sliver. Needless to say we got our asses beat. But Pao had his Shaper Parasite kill a morphed Akroma :D One question remains here if I had used Sudden Death on the Rathi Trapper instead of the morphed Shaper Parasite, I think we would have won.
Game 7 Phil=Pulitika
Top 4 Phil=Pulitika
So we walk away with $$$ and a lot of packs. Go Team Go!
Team Go:
Osmond Go---RB support
Paolo Go------GU fatties
I had all the removal (Sudden Shock, Sudden Death, Strangling Soot, Midnight Charm, Fury Charm, Shambling Swarm), cheap beats and beats with evasion (Corpulent Corpse, That Swampwalking Lemur, Skirk Shaman) and Empty the Warrens and Boom//Bust...and Ground Rift and Dust Corona..... Um...Yeah... :D
and Pao had the suspend fatties plus Psionic Blast, Spectral Force, Gaea's Anthem and Teferi ($$$ bawi) oh and 2 Mire Boas.
Game 1 Team R3negade
I developed pretty well as did my opponents but Pao got stuck without any green sources. At the time that Pao tapped for a spell and passed the turn, our opponent activates his Phyrexian Totem and swings. Pao @#$#@ Psionic Blast $#%@%!!! I cheese it with a Orcish Cannonade. Things even out for us for a while since Pao was still screwed. Eventually, we power up a Ground Rift powered turn then our opponents play a Bogardan Rager and Pao pumps the critter it (Skirk Shaman) blocks with Strength in Numbers.
1-0
Game 2 Team Spiral Co Go
Pao gets a perfect curve. That is Turn 1 suspend Baloth, Turn 2 suspend Ephemeron, Turn 3 suspend Viscerid 'walker and some other stuff. After which Spectral Force joined the party.
I handle their early beats. Subterrainean Shambler pawning Faceless Devourer and Mire Boa is pretty good! :D
2-0
Game 3 1 Dozen Eyes (Mark Rivera and...)
Ok their deck has 2 Tenebs. This match was just way too badly played on our part as we had 5 misplays. Anyway our opponent powers up a 3 storm count Volcanic Awakening removing Pao's blue sources. Soonafter I Melancholy Mark's Bog Serpent, they Boom//Bust. I play Swamp and Vampiric Link that serpent. Pao and I draw into more lands and proceed to stabilize.
The end was a Utopia Vow+Ground Rift storm-powered turn for the win. And a Psionic Blast the turn before.
Misplays
1. Veiling Oddity or that thing that unsuspends to unblockability and Viscerid 'walker were suspended. I had Warrens and Pao has Mire Boa, a morph, and Gemhide Sliver. I also had Keldon Marauder. So our mistake was not playing Warrens for 5 then attacking the next turn when the oddity resolves for 15 damage. Pao could've played the Gemhide Sliver first then cast the next two spells he had in hand in the next turn when the 'walker resolves. Then I cast my marauder then Empty the Warrens for 10 tokens.
2. Teferi hits play Pao has morph critters in his hand and 6 mana open. He also had Dismal Failure. Opponents pass the turn. He does nothing...
3. Twice
4. There's a removal spell that hits our 'walker, Pao pumps it and does not realize the pumping it does not add to it's toughness. The mana used could have flashed Teferi into play.
5. Sooting a Nantuko Shaman instead of a Viscerid 'walker.
3-0
Game 4 Powerpuff
Pao suspends the beats then plays a Gaea's Anthem. I play the removal. We flood the board. Then our opponent casts Porphyry Nodes and passes the turn to us. We do the math, I cast Boom//Bust.
4-0
Game 5 Jaro Brothers (um...duh...)
Ok they are playing seriously broken removal and light beats with only Calciderm and 2 Crovaxes to top their curve.
I Mindstab turn one and force Crovax to enter the graveyard. We just keep casting critters and they keep killing them. We eventually pump out more critters than they can handle.
Highlight:
Pao casts Spectral Force and gets ready to swing the next turn. Jaro Brothers draw and...
Out of the corner of Dominaria a time rift opens (well not really) and a gigantic Shivan Meteor slams into our Spectral Force with a resounding blam! As Jaro slams it down on the critter.
5-0
Game 6 Each Hit and I (Nick Ortega and Manchester Sy)
Both of us were mana screwed as the game progressed.
Pao and I decide to keep our hands as they were pretty decent anyway. I had turn 1 Mindstab and Pao has Gemhide Sliver. Needless to say we got our asses beat. But Pao had his Shaper Parasite kill a morphed Akroma :D One question remains here if I had used Sudden Death on the Rathi Trapper instead of the morphed Shaper Parasite, I think we would have won.
Game 7 Phil=Pulitika
Top 4 Phil=Pulitika
So we walk away with $$$ and a lot of packs. Go Team Go!
Thursday, March 29, 2007
some pictures
Yeah I'm such a geek but there, BORDERS!!! Next shops to go to: Chapters, Barns & Nobles.
My funnest roomies. Yo (Japan), Sean (England), Mark (England).
Magic speak, this is Michael French! Hahaha, yeah he teaches English to Japanese people. Must be pretty lucrative haha
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
hindsight is 20/20
Summer Happenings
Nothing. I'll be bumming. Except I'll be a very active bum. No summer. No job. Guess its just me, my books, the operation, and the gym.
Sem, Grades
I have no idea if I can make that B in my QPI. I'm rather happy though because no matter what I've reached the grade requirements for a minor in Economics. My realistic grade forecast versus my if by some miracle but still realistic forecast:
Com 160 B----------------- B+
Com 161 A----------------- A
Sa 21 B-------------------- B+
Hi 18 C-------------------- C+
Sci 10 C -------------------B (the super curvalicious)
Eco C---------------------- C+
Life Evaluation + Emo Stuff
This is going to be way too emo and I don't feel like it right now
Romantic Life
What you say? A love life? I'm interested in a lot of people. Interested not in broad strokes definition. I'm just not sure if I can commit...
Though I walk in the shadows of blah blah blah I fear no evil...
Good lord, I was apparently in enemy territory in a party I went to the other day. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you Phoebe but you look like you've moved on. But then what's with your friend's attitude?
If there is anything you want to talk about, let me know. I'll always be here for you. (I mean it.) If you want me totally out of your life, medyo mahirap yan since we're neighbors and all :D But please please tell me what you want from me.
Series Addictions
Must have Grey's Anatomy. Mmmmm.... Great stuff! The script, the filming, the actors! WOOHOO! And watching this series confirms the impossibility of being a doctor/surgeon. I really can't imagine myself in a position to move and poke around internal organs despite the fact that science has always fascinated me. I need to get some DVDs.
Spacing Out
Everytime I finish a show, log-off the net, take my eyes off a book, I feel like I'm back in reality. Seriously, I'm getting very very detached to everything that I have. Oh wells...
Nothing. I'll be bumming. Except I'll be a very active bum. No summer. No job. Guess its just me, my books, the operation, and the gym.
Sem, Grades
I have no idea if I can make that B in my QPI. I'm rather happy though because no matter what I've reached the grade requirements for a minor in Economics. My realistic grade forecast versus my if by some miracle but still realistic forecast:
Com 160 B----------------- B+
Com 161 A----------------- A
Sa 21 B-------------------- B+
Hi 18 C-------------------- C+
Sci 10 C -------------------B (the super curvalicious)
Eco C---------------------- C+
Life Evaluation + Emo Stuff
This is going to be way too emo and I don't feel like it right now
Romantic Life
What you say? A love life? I'm interested in a lot of people. Interested not in broad strokes definition. I'm just not sure if I can commit...
Though I walk in the shadows of blah blah blah I fear no evil...
Good lord, I was apparently in enemy territory in a party I went to the other day. I don't know what I can do to make it up to you Phoebe but you look like you've moved on. But then what's with your friend's attitude?
If there is anything you want to talk about, let me know. I'll always be here for you. (I mean it.) If you want me totally out of your life, medyo mahirap yan since we're neighbors and all :D But please please tell me what you want from me.
Series Addictions
Must have Grey's Anatomy. Mmmmm.... Great stuff! The script, the filming, the actors! WOOHOO! And watching this series confirms the impossibility of being a doctor/surgeon. I really can't imagine myself in a position to move and poke around internal organs despite the fact that science has always fascinated me. I need to get some DVDs.
Spacing Out
Everytime I finish a show, log-off the net, take my eyes off a book, I feel like I'm back in reality. Seriously, I'm getting very very detached to everything that I have. Oh wells...
Sunday, March 25, 2007
2 last days and I want to leave more than ever
Future posts to post...
Summer happenings
Sem, Grades, Life Evaluation
Romantic Life
Emo stuff
Series Addictions
Reality and it's weakening grasps on me
Tuesday
Histo finals, risk free. Not much of a problem
Monday
Ad Reporting
Our group has to do our final report about our advertising campaign for bench. disasters here, there, and everyfuckingwhere.
We are so not ready.
Laslas moment.
Summer happenings
Sem, Grades, Life Evaluation
Romantic Life
Emo stuff
Series Addictions
Reality and it's weakening grasps on me
Tuesday
Histo finals, risk free. Not much of a problem
Monday
Ad Reporting
Our group has to do our final report about our advertising campaign for bench. disasters here, there, and everyfuckingwhere.
We are so not ready.
Laslas moment.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Updating
Hell weeks are ending. Finals are coming up.
I'm not sure I can make DL... I just want a B for my QPI...
And at the very least a C for Eco...
Getting by...Just getting by...
Oh well at least I've gotten my summer vacation bum lifestyle down. I've stocked myself with books to read, several series to watch, videos that I will be borrowing from Ponsi to analyze...
I need a job...
See ya.
I'm not sure I can make DL... I just want a B for my QPI...
And at the very least a C for Eco...
Getting by...Just getting by...
Oh well at least I've gotten my summer vacation bum lifestyle down. I've stocked myself with books to read, several series to watch, videos that I will be borrowing from Ponsi to analyze...
I need a job...
See ya.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
whee...
DOESN'T ANYONE HAVE THE VIOLIN SOLO MUSIC SHEET OF SUTEKI DA NE? (as if magaling ako mag violin diba?)
Just got addicted to Grey's Anatomy. Finished Season 1 in two days... this is bad.........................
That one episode about carpe diem...
This is insane...
Just got addicted to Grey's Anatomy. Finished Season 1 in two days... this is bad.........................
That one episode about carpe diem...
This is insane...
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
GP Singapore Tournament Report
Making my deck was a rather long process. It involved a lot of resolve and dedication to run black white. After all, I had sworn that I would play black white. The problem however is what kind of deck I would ran. Paolo Go ymed me and suggested that I run Damnations, Bob, Exalted Angels, and Jotun Grunts. Then Bola ymed me and told to sleep and play with a deck that I'm familiar with. So I went with the same banana, I Hate Everybody (Reprise) No decklist kiddies :D
Round 1 against Trinket Tog
I was later told I played against Singapore's National Champion...'s Twin.
Game 1
I roll a 4 he rolls a 5 and he elects to go first.
him : Turn 1 fetchland, go
me : Turn 1 fetchland, go. EOT he breaks his Delta and I break mine in response. His look was priceless, but when I fetched a Godless he relaxed a bit.
him : Plays Island and Counterbalance, go.
me : [OMGWTF I'm screwed!] Play land. Play Gerrard's Verdict. He tops up a Bob. #$@&! Go.
him : Plays tapped Watery, Bob, go.
me : Play land. Vindicate Counterbalance? He flips over TFK. @#$%! Go.
he then proceeds to resolve Trinket for Sensei's and a Tog. To my credit, a Bob and a Grunt came down but when he decided to attack I misplayed with assigning blockers. As it were I would have lost anyway as I looked at the top cards in library and found no answers to Tog.
Game 2
Early CounterTop lock /gg
0-1
Round 2
I get paired up against this random combo jank deck. It's RUB and seems to require an immense amount of luck to pilot.
To the pilots credit, game 1 saw me tendrilsed twice for the win. Games 2 and 3 had Cranial and Extirpate raping the deck.
1-1
Round 3
I get paired up against Affinity. Oh crap...
Let's just say we both got rather fast starts but slow follow throughs. Imagine getting beaten by Blinkmoth Nexi... Without counters or Plating.
1-2
Round 4
Starting to feel depressed and I was paired up against this prick of a player... basta yun tipong humihirit ng hirit... He was player RG Beast Utility. I know appreciate Stomphowler Indrik, and the power of Contested Cliffs.
Game 1
Lost to beats
Game 2
Spectral Lynx with SoFI? Whatcha gonna do?
Game 3 saw us both at a Standstill as I had several Lynxes and he had lots of beaters plus 3 Contested Cliffs. I couldn't attack for fear of dying the next turn. He couldn't attack coz none of his beats trample. I eventually drew more threats and won. Learning to appreciate Ancient Grudge as well. It's amazing!
2-2
Round 5
I get paired up against Goblins.
Game 1
He keeps a slow hand, I power out early beats with Jitte back-up.
Game 2
Parang Vintage!
him : Mountain, Rite of Flame, Chrome Mox imprinting Matron. Play Warchief. Go
me : Land, go.
him : Piledriver. Piledriver. Swing.
me : @#$%!#%#$%#@%#!$
Game 3
As he jokingly put it, Silver Knight plus Worship does him in. Apparently, he opted not to run the Barbarian Rings for Stomping Grounds Ancient Grudge tech.
3-2
Round 4
Damn DCI Reporter is biased. I get paired up with Chrysler piloting Goblins.
Serg sees us and laughs, "Ano to FNM?"
I say, "Pare, mahal na talaga ng FNM ngayon!"
Chrysler, "Di, nagpunta kami sa Singapore para lang magFNM."
I win.
4-2
Round 5
I get paired up against Flow Rock. Except this version was slower, ran Kokusho and Smallpox.
I win both games though we were at various standstills all throughout the game. Baloths are annoying. Witnesses getting Baloths ...ew...
5-2
Round 6
If I win this, I think I would have made it to day 2. I get paired up to some Chinese prick who lies to me. He played UW Tron with Gifts lock. The horror...
Game 1
I just play the beats. He has Chinese cards. So I had to read most of them and seeing as how my Chinese isn't perfect I had some trouble. When he laid down his Talisman of Progress and I asked him if it produced Blue and Black, he said Talisman of Progress... So all the while I thought it produced Blue and Black, it cost me the game I guess. But then again, if he had countered my Vindicate targetting his Signet then he would have probably countered a Vindicate targetting his Talisman. Screw you though. Lying prick.
Game 2
Yeah we delayed the whole GP. Here's why:
I play Gerrard's Verdict. He plays Thirst for Knowledge in response. He dumps two lands then a Mindslaver and I tell him, you have to discard one more card. Then he goes, in Chinese, something like don't complain, I'm giving you 6 life. I call the judge. What ensues is various story telling. Cursing SJCS (Wish I spoke better Chinese.) Judges crowding around us. Basically our story deviates with when he said I gained 6 life. I said he declared the life gain only so when he discarded Slaver, which the lying bastard did, he just assumed that I got the point of gaining 6 life with the first 2 lands discarded. He had written on his life total to prove it but nope he didn't tell me. His version saw him declaring that I was gaining 6 life. In the end, the Head Judge declared that the spells would follow the stack and he had to discard an extra card and I wouldn't gain any life. While this was being said, that prick went on in Chinese something something ki yi ma? And I'm like, DAMN DUDE NOW YOU'RE @#$!ING ASKING FOR A FAVOR! But the Head Judge's decision stands. Now I'm not one to question the judge but in my humble opinion, the decision shouldn't have had taken that long, read 20 minutes. If he discards 2 cards then it would automatically be for the TFK since the Verdict hasn't even resolved yet. You can't discard for the Verdict while TFK is still resolving. Either way I proceed to win that game.
Game 3 was a draw. I misplayed playing around a WoG and over-committed and then he established control with Spellburst buyback. Can't do shit. Time was called and the last 5 turns saw us staring at each other until he plays TFK then Condescends it then topdecks a Repeal which he used on my Needle. Then he activated it to get Trike back. Then draws it via TFK, then plays Gifts and I give him nothing of note. He got Mindslaver, Plats, TFK, Serum Visions. He plays Trike and shoots me down to one life. He was down to 2. Game ends in a draw.
Or something to that effect. Basta yan yun nangyari. Down to 1 ako down to 2 siya.
Well no politics since all the judges were staring at us.
Turns out he was 59th, and I was 100th.
5-2-1
I ended up placing 82nd.
Damn... Lumaban yun deck. Ako hindi. Shameful... I'm still contemplating about quitting Magic. Pero... I don't know. I hope my ratings will shoot up, after all I did win several games in a row. Sana naman 1850 or something para hindi na ako magConstructed until Nationals.
BLARGH
Round 1 against Trinket Tog
I was later told I played against Singapore's National Champion...'s Twin.
Game 1
I roll a 4 he rolls a 5 and he elects to go first.
him : Turn 1 fetchland, go
me : Turn 1 fetchland, go. EOT he breaks his Delta and I break mine in response. His look was priceless, but when I fetched a Godless he relaxed a bit.
him : Plays Island and Counterbalance, go.
me : [OMGWTF I'm screwed!] Play land. Play Gerrard's Verdict. He tops up a Bob. #$@&! Go.
him : Plays tapped Watery, Bob, go.
me : Play land. Vindicate Counterbalance? He flips over TFK. @#$%! Go.
he then proceeds to resolve Trinket for Sensei's and a Tog. To my credit, a Bob and a Grunt came down but when he decided to attack I misplayed with assigning blockers. As it were I would have lost anyway as I looked at the top cards in library and found no answers to Tog.
Game 2
Early CounterTop lock /gg
0-1
Round 2
I get paired up against this random combo jank deck. It's RUB and seems to require an immense amount of luck to pilot.
To the pilots credit, game 1 saw me tendrilsed twice for the win. Games 2 and 3 had Cranial and Extirpate raping the deck.
1-1
Round 3
I get paired up against Affinity. Oh crap...
Let's just say we both got rather fast starts but slow follow throughs. Imagine getting beaten by Blinkmoth Nexi... Without counters or Plating.
1-2
Round 4
Starting to feel depressed and I was paired up against this prick of a player... basta yun tipong humihirit ng hirit... He was player RG Beast Utility. I know appreciate Stomphowler Indrik, and the power of Contested Cliffs.
Game 1
Lost to beats
Game 2
Spectral Lynx with SoFI? Whatcha gonna do?
Game 3 saw us both at a Standstill as I had several Lynxes and he had lots of beaters plus 3 Contested Cliffs. I couldn't attack for fear of dying the next turn. He couldn't attack coz none of his beats trample. I eventually drew more threats and won. Learning to appreciate Ancient Grudge as well. It's amazing!
2-2
Round 5
I get paired up against Goblins.
Game 1
He keeps a slow hand, I power out early beats with Jitte back-up.
Game 2
Parang Vintage!
him : Mountain, Rite of Flame, Chrome Mox imprinting Matron. Play Warchief. Go
me : Land, go.
him : Piledriver. Piledriver. Swing.
me : @#$%!#%#$%#@%#!$
Game 3
As he jokingly put it, Silver Knight plus Worship does him in. Apparently, he opted not to run the Barbarian Rings for Stomping Grounds Ancient Grudge tech.
3-2
Round 4
Damn DCI Reporter is biased. I get paired up with Chrysler piloting Goblins.
Serg sees us and laughs, "Ano to FNM?"
I say, "Pare, mahal na talaga ng FNM ngayon!"
Chrysler, "Di, nagpunta kami sa Singapore para lang magFNM."
I win.
4-2
Round 5
I get paired up against Flow Rock. Except this version was slower, ran Kokusho and Smallpox.
I win both games though we were at various standstills all throughout the game. Baloths are annoying. Witnesses getting Baloths ...ew...
5-2
Round 6
If I win this, I think I would have made it to day 2. I get paired up to some Chinese prick who lies to me. He played UW Tron with Gifts lock. The horror...
Game 1
I just play the beats. He has Chinese cards. So I had to read most of them and seeing as how my Chinese isn't perfect I had some trouble. When he laid down his Talisman of Progress and I asked him if it produced Blue and Black, he said Talisman of Progress... So all the while I thought it produced Blue and Black, it cost me the game I guess. But then again, if he had countered my Vindicate targetting his Signet then he would have probably countered a Vindicate targetting his Talisman. Screw you though. Lying prick.
Game 2
Yeah we delayed the whole GP. Here's why:
I play Gerrard's Verdict. He plays Thirst for Knowledge in response. He dumps two lands then a Mindslaver and I tell him, you have to discard one more card. Then he goes, in Chinese, something like don't complain, I'm giving you 6 life. I call the judge. What ensues is various story telling. Cursing SJCS (Wish I spoke better Chinese.) Judges crowding around us. Basically our story deviates with when he said I gained 6 life. I said he declared the life gain only so when he discarded Slaver, which the lying bastard did, he just assumed that I got the point of gaining 6 life with the first 2 lands discarded. He had written on his life total to prove it but nope he didn't tell me. His version saw him declaring that I was gaining 6 life. In the end, the Head Judge declared that the spells would follow the stack and he had to discard an extra card and I wouldn't gain any life. While this was being said, that prick went on in Chinese something something ki yi ma? And I'm like, DAMN DUDE NOW YOU'RE @#$!ING ASKING FOR A FAVOR! But the Head Judge's decision stands. Now I'm not one to question the judge but in my humble opinion, the decision shouldn't have had taken that long, read 20 minutes. If he discards 2 cards then it would automatically be for the TFK since the Verdict hasn't even resolved yet. You can't discard for the Verdict while TFK is still resolving. Either way I proceed to win that game.
Game 3 was a draw. I misplayed playing around a WoG and over-committed and then he established control with Spellburst buyback. Can't do shit. Time was called and the last 5 turns saw us staring at each other until he plays TFK then Condescends it then topdecks a Repeal which he used on my Needle. Then he activated it to get Trike back. Then draws it via TFK, then plays Gifts and I give him nothing of note. He got Mindslaver, Plats, TFK, Serum Visions. He plays Trike and shoots me down to one life. He was down to 2. Game ends in a draw.
Or something to that effect. Basta yan yun nangyari. Down to 1 ako down to 2 siya.
Well no politics since all the judges were staring at us.
Turns out he was 59th, and I was 100th.
5-2-1
I ended up placing 82nd.
Damn... Lumaban yun deck. Ako hindi. Shameful... I'm still contemplating about quitting Magic. Pero... I don't know. I hope my ratings will shoot up, after all I did win several games in a row. Sana naman 1850 or something para hindi na ako magConstructed until Nationals.
BLARGH
Monday, March 05, 2007
Singapore Trip Recap 2
Wednesday night introduced me to a guy from England who was backpacking through Asia. Half a year off after college. Coolness. He and I were chuckling about how Lonely Planet screwed us over by telling us YMCA rates were S$25 a night. He left the next night to find a cheaper place near Little India.
Day 2
Tuesday
I got up late. ARGH sayang oras! And headed down for breakfast. My arrangement apparently gives me free breakfast per night that I stay. I thought it would be some cheap set meal but lo and behold, a buffet.
Bottomless Ha Kao, Sio Pao, cereal, ham, noodles, sausages and more! With OJ to wash them down with. There were also pastries, toast, and coffee! Yeah! Let's just say most of my breakfasts were when I was really full :D
So I decided to hop on the MRT to go to Harbor Front then walk to Sentosa Island. But apparently, it is quite a distance so I took the bus to get there and see the sights. I really didn't know where I was going or what I was doing there but the good thing is that the place has maps and most of the activities are lined up. I headed over to the Underwater Park, took some pictures. It was like a high school field trip. It was fun walking on the walkalator seeing those sea critters. After which I headed over to other parts of the island to take pictures. Sadly, since I was alone and my camera isn't built for vanity shots, I didn't get my picture taken with the Merlion... Photoshop... hehe... when I learn it... I ran into my Korean roomies and they said the 4D movie was pretty good. So I headed over to the 4D Cinema... which was a total rip-off. It's for kids, I understood after going through that 15 minutes of crap. I walked around the beach, until I found out my shoes and sand don't get along and then I made my way back to the Harbor Front.
There was a foodcourt of some sort over there. Economic prices so yeah, I was happy. I decided to try some Indian Cuisine and ordered Mutton Beryani. Basically, its Kalderetang Kambing with curry served over spicy rice with a chaserish side dish. I foolishly neglected to order a drink and my tongue was burning after two spoons. I was panicking since I didn't want to leave my table to get a drink so I tried the side dish. I mean after all, there has to be some balancing factor to that spicy dish! The side dish turned out to be sweet, and spicy. There were onions, peppers, cardamom, and whatnot there. Good thing an Indian guy came over and offered to bring a drink to me. So there was my Indian lunch. I walked over to Harbor Front and Vivo City, two shopping malls within the vicinity and just strolled around. The funny thing about these malls was that they weren't as geometric as the SM malls so getting around was rather fun. Cinema tickets are exhorbitant. Clothes are expensive. Well, I was converting everything so yeah hahaha. Bee Cheng Hiang sort of couldn't fit in my budget so no pasalubong. After that little tour of those two malls, I returned to the food court and had me some Prata, which is an Indian pancake. The pancake tastes pretty good on its own but paired with the curry sauce, mmm... After finishing my snack I took the train to Chinatown.
Letr's put it this way, where Chinatown is, the dirt concentration is as well. The place was rather messy as opposed to the general way Singapore looked. I was hoping to find a calligraphy artist but all I saw were money changers, 168 ish stores, food stalls (durian, ew... the smell) then miracle of miracles! I saw my first set of Tagalog words.
SABIK SA PAG-IBIG. A porno movie... With little recourse and time slipping by, I decided to hop into an internet cafe to finish my homework and find out where I can go. I asked for directions and I was walking towards the wrong direction to head back to YMCA. Since I was running late for a playtest session with Chrysler I ran back to the MRT, took it to YMCA, had dinner and walked my way to the Swiss Hotel. It was only a short walk after getting used to goignt hrough the right places, but it was my first time and it was raining. I had my map in front of me and was walking around the vicinity when I spotted a man emptying out a garbage can. Apparently, there are scavengers in Singapore as well. Anyway, I ran into an Indian woman and I asked for directions and I was pointed to the right place.
Playtest session done, cards lent and borrowed, I return to the YMCA. As I was fixing my stuff, an Indian guy came over. So um... yeah... Sleep time. Morning found me having to suffer through my Indian Lunch...
Friday
Breakfast done and I headed over to Suntec Convention Center for the Last Chance Qualifiers. For those of you who don't speak magic let's just say I donated a lot of money and didn't get shit. I borrowed some more stuff from Chrysler and went home. While I was fixing my deck, in came Yo, a Japanese guy visiting his friends. He was in and out. Then came Matthew and Sean. Sean was slightly drunk so we had to entertain him for a while. We were all joking about the Indian because he was so miserable and apparently didn't like either one of us. Not that we did anything to him but he had left earlier on that day. Apparently either Sean or the Indian guy slept naked last night so... Um yeah there was some disturbing talk about that. Some blackjack and stories later, then I read their fortunes. While I was doing so Yo came back and we had our pictures taken. It was fun. These were the funnest set of roomies I had.
Day 3
Saturday
GP proper.
Tournament Report to follow in a different post.
I finished 5-2-1 and ended up 82nd out of 327 players. I needed to be in the top 64 to get in day 2. ARGH!
I went back home, dejected and urging for some night life. When I got back to my room there was another Japanese and Englishman talking about music. They were a bit settled in but I asked them if they wanted to go out for a drink anyway. They politely declined. DARN. I suddenly felt sleepy and decided to go to bed. Thinking about joining Sunday's tourney.
Day 4
Sunday
Overslept, misinformed. I didn't make it to the tournament so there. I just spent the morning and early afternoon bumming around an Suntec. Having my cards signed and cheering on my fellow countrymen.
I made my way back to YMCA, charged my phone and packed. Then I headed over to the Singapore Arts Museum and the National Museum of Singapore. Fun times. There were realy interesting pieces in both museums. SAM mostly had classical Asian pieces that is Mao Pi. There were mostly Singaporean painting subjects as well. It was a pretty good experience anyway. Now, NMS was something else. Turns out some exhibits don't require a ticket so I got in for free. Yey. I learned a lot about Singapore culture. There were galleries about food, entertainment, fashion. The whole theme of their current exhibit was about Singapore and how it has evolved. The first room I entered talked about all sorts of food. There were glass bottles filled with exotic spices (to Americans and Europeans anyway) as well as various food paraphernalia. Finally, there were short films about trademark Singaporean dishes like the Prata, Nasi Lemak, Tok Tok Mee. It was quite fun. The next room I entered was a colletion of photos and their stories. There were poignant stories about prostitution, tales of women's strength in cross-cultural marriages, as well as vignettes of amahs. Pretty interesting stuff. The exhibits came mostly from a reknowned photo studio at the time. It was quite evident that that studio was THE studio to have your pictures taken. So there were marriages, thrones, etc brought out for the visitors. The next room I entered was the entertainment area. There were three screens showing movies from way back. I learned a lot about the history of Singapore film. There were also several headphones where you could listen to old musical scores. The next room in that gallery had beautiful Chinese Opera costumes. Yep, Jade, Ruby, Turquoise, the whole shebang. And the costumes were awesome! There was also a bit about puppet shows, the exhibit there had Se You Ji. The next room I entered was the Fashion room where I saw the lifestyles of Singaporean women evolve. There were also some tracks and interviews to listen to and some clothes on display. I crossed over to the bridge and walked around and then went down to see another set of photographs. This time, these were present day Singaporeans whose lives were revealed in pictures. While I was walking around that floor, I noticed a bunch of chandeliers swinging overhead and I went back up to get a closer look. Turns out they were 8 blood red chandeliers choreographed to "dance." It was a pretty interesting thing to see. If only they had turned off some of t he museum lights, then people could appreciate that exhibit more.
After that I went home, had dinner and decided to go to Orchard Tower to drown my sorrows. I had thought that the place was the name of some trendy club but after finding it, after some trouble since I had to take the MRT to Orchard and walk about for a while, it was just a normal tower with spaces for rent. Those spaces were the clubs. Oops , I'm sorry, I mean places where you can sit down and drink and not dance or anything. Darn... Wasted trip. I went back to the station and saw how Orchard Road really is quite conducive to shopping. There were malls in all directions and one particular name stood out. BORDERS. Oh yeah, BORDERS! I'm such a geek. So I went in and browsed a bit and bought some interesting books as well as a Borders bag.
And that concluded my Sunday night.
Day 5
Monday
4 am. Yo wakes me up and we get ready to leave for the airport. We parted ways soonafter as his flight was in Terminal 1 and mine was in Terminal 2. It was nice of him to pay for the cab ride hehehe.
A few hours later and I was back in Philippine soil. A few more minutes later I was back in campus for Diyco's class.
Amazing. Race.
All in all, I'd say it was a fun trip. I learned a lot that's for sure. But I'm a bit disheartened by the results of the GP and my dismal performance. And the money that I spent. I'll have to make it back up somehow.
Anyone wanna buy my Drains?
Day 2
Tuesday
I got up late. ARGH sayang oras! And headed down for breakfast. My arrangement apparently gives me free breakfast per night that I stay. I thought it would be some cheap set meal but lo and behold, a buffet.
Bottomless Ha Kao, Sio Pao, cereal, ham, noodles, sausages and more! With OJ to wash them down with. There were also pastries, toast, and coffee! Yeah! Let's just say most of my breakfasts were when I was really full :D
So I decided to hop on the MRT to go to Harbor Front then walk to Sentosa Island. But apparently, it is quite a distance so I took the bus to get there and see the sights. I really didn't know where I was going or what I was doing there but the good thing is that the place has maps and most of the activities are lined up. I headed over to the Underwater Park, took some pictures. It was like a high school field trip. It was fun walking on the walkalator seeing those sea critters. After which I headed over to other parts of the island to take pictures. Sadly, since I was alone and my camera isn't built for vanity shots, I didn't get my picture taken with the Merlion... Photoshop... hehe... when I learn it... I ran into my Korean roomies and they said the 4D movie was pretty good. So I headed over to the 4D Cinema... which was a total rip-off. It's for kids, I understood after going through that 15 minutes of crap. I walked around the beach, until I found out my shoes and sand don't get along and then I made my way back to the Harbor Front.
There was a foodcourt of some sort over there. Economic prices so yeah, I was happy. I decided to try some Indian Cuisine and ordered Mutton Beryani. Basically, its Kalderetang Kambing with curry served over spicy rice with a chaserish side dish. I foolishly neglected to order a drink and my tongue was burning after two spoons. I was panicking since I didn't want to leave my table to get a drink so I tried the side dish. I mean after all, there has to be some balancing factor to that spicy dish! The side dish turned out to be sweet, and spicy. There were onions, peppers, cardamom, and whatnot there. Good thing an Indian guy came over and offered to bring a drink to me. So there was my Indian lunch. I walked over to Harbor Front and Vivo City, two shopping malls within the vicinity and just strolled around. The funny thing about these malls was that they weren't as geometric as the SM malls so getting around was rather fun. Cinema tickets are exhorbitant. Clothes are expensive. Well, I was converting everything so yeah hahaha. Bee Cheng Hiang sort of couldn't fit in my budget so no pasalubong. After that little tour of those two malls, I returned to the food court and had me some Prata, which is an Indian pancake. The pancake tastes pretty good on its own but paired with the curry sauce, mmm... After finishing my snack I took the train to Chinatown.
Letr's put it this way, where Chinatown is, the dirt concentration is as well. The place was rather messy as opposed to the general way Singapore looked. I was hoping to find a calligraphy artist but all I saw were money changers, 168 ish stores, food stalls (durian, ew... the smell) then miracle of miracles! I saw my first set of Tagalog words.
SABIK SA PAG-IBIG. A porno movie... With little recourse and time slipping by, I decided to hop into an internet cafe to finish my homework and find out where I can go. I asked for directions and I was walking towards the wrong direction to head back to YMCA. Since I was running late for a playtest session with Chrysler I ran back to the MRT, took it to YMCA, had dinner and walked my way to the Swiss Hotel. It was only a short walk after getting used to goignt hrough the right places, but it was my first time and it was raining. I had my map in front of me and was walking around the vicinity when I spotted a man emptying out a garbage can. Apparently, there are scavengers in Singapore as well. Anyway, I ran into an Indian woman and I asked for directions and I was pointed to the right place.
Playtest session done, cards lent and borrowed, I return to the YMCA. As I was fixing my stuff, an Indian guy came over. So um... yeah... Sleep time. Morning found me having to suffer through my Indian Lunch...
Friday
Breakfast done and I headed over to Suntec Convention Center for the Last Chance Qualifiers. For those of you who don't speak magic let's just say I donated a lot of money and didn't get shit. I borrowed some more stuff from Chrysler and went home. While I was fixing my deck, in came Yo, a Japanese guy visiting his friends. He was in and out. Then came Matthew and Sean. Sean was slightly drunk so we had to entertain him for a while. We were all joking about the Indian because he was so miserable and apparently didn't like either one of us. Not that we did anything to him but he had left earlier on that day. Apparently either Sean or the Indian guy slept naked last night so... Um yeah there was some disturbing talk about that. Some blackjack and stories later, then I read their fortunes. While I was doing so Yo came back and we had our pictures taken. It was fun. These were the funnest set of roomies I had.
Day 3
Saturday
GP proper.
Tournament Report to follow in a different post.
I finished 5-2-1 and ended up 82nd out of 327 players. I needed to be in the top 64 to get in day 2. ARGH!
I went back home, dejected and urging for some night life. When I got back to my room there was another Japanese and Englishman talking about music. They were a bit settled in but I asked them if they wanted to go out for a drink anyway. They politely declined. DARN. I suddenly felt sleepy and decided to go to bed. Thinking about joining Sunday's tourney.
Day 4
Sunday
Overslept, misinformed. I didn't make it to the tournament so there. I just spent the morning and early afternoon bumming around an Suntec. Having my cards signed and cheering on my fellow countrymen.
I made my way back to YMCA, charged my phone and packed. Then I headed over to the Singapore Arts Museum and the National Museum of Singapore. Fun times. There were realy interesting pieces in both museums. SAM mostly had classical Asian pieces that is Mao Pi. There were mostly Singaporean painting subjects as well. It was a pretty good experience anyway. Now, NMS was something else. Turns out some exhibits don't require a ticket so I got in for free. Yey. I learned a lot about Singapore culture. There were galleries about food, entertainment, fashion. The whole theme of their current exhibit was about Singapore and how it has evolved. The first room I entered talked about all sorts of food. There were glass bottles filled with exotic spices (to Americans and Europeans anyway) as well as various food paraphernalia. Finally, there were short films about trademark Singaporean dishes like the Prata, Nasi Lemak, Tok Tok Mee. It was quite fun. The next room I entered was a colletion of photos and their stories. There were poignant stories about prostitution, tales of women's strength in cross-cultural marriages, as well as vignettes of amahs. Pretty interesting stuff. The exhibits came mostly from a reknowned photo studio at the time. It was quite evident that that studio was THE studio to have your pictures taken. So there were marriages, thrones, etc brought out for the visitors. The next room I entered was the entertainment area. There were three screens showing movies from way back. I learned a lot about the history of Singapore film. There were also several headphones where you could listen to old musical scores. The next room in that gallery had beautiful Chinese Opera costumes. Yep, Jade, Ruby, Turquoise, the whole shebang. And the costumes were awesome! There was also a bit about puppet shows, the exhibit there had Se You Ji. The next room I entered was the Fashion room where I saw the lifestyles of Singaporean women evolve. There were also some tracks and interviews to listen to and some clothes on display. I crossed over to the bridge and walked around and then went down to see another set of photographs. This time, these were present day Singaporeans whose lives were revealed in pictures. While I was walking around that floor, I noticed a bunch of chandeliers swinging overhead and I went back up to get a closer look. Turns out they were 8 blood red chandeliers choreographed to "dance." It was a pretty interesting thing to see. If only they had turned off some of t he museum lights, then people could appreciate that exhibit more.
After that I went home, had dinner and decided to go to Orchard Tower to drown my sorrows. I had thought that the place was the name of some trendy club but after finding it, after some trouble since I had to take the MRT to Orchard and walk about for a while, it was just a normal tower with spaces for rent. Those spaces were the clubs. Oops , I'm sorry, I mean places where you can sit down and drink and not dance or anything. Darn... Wasted trip. I went back to the station and saw how Orchard Road really is quite conducive to shopping. There were malls in all directions and one particular name stood out. BORDERS. Oh yeah, BORDERS! I'm such a geek. So I went in and browsed a bit and bought some interesting books as well as a Borders bag.
And that concluded my Sunday night.
Day 5
Monday
4 am. Yo wakes me up and we get ready to leave for the airport. We parted ways soonafter as his flight was in Terminal 1 and mine was in Terminal 2. It was nice of him to pay for the cab ride hehehe.
A few hours later and I was back in Philippine soil. A few more minutes later I was back in campus for Diyco's class.
Amazing. Race.
All in all, I'd say it was a fun trip. I learned a lot that's for sure. But I'm a bit disheartened by the results of the GP and my dismal performance. And the money that I spent. I'll have to make it back up somehow.
Anyone wanna buy my Drains?
Singapore Trip Recap
Pictures to be uploaded to my Multiply soon. But first, I have to find my Flash Disk, Memory Card Reader and Driver's License.
Anyways...
Day 1
Wednesday
Got up rather early and had breakfast. Thanks Dad! It's like a tradition to have breakfast with him. Then off we went to Clark.
As I was walking around the line I saw Serg, Jiro, and friends! Nice to see familiar faces. Everything went smoothly from then. Serg sat with me on the plane while Ryan, Jiro and his bro playtested at the back row. After a couple of jokes and banter the disembarkment card was passed around and this sparked our lively conversation with the Aussie beside me. He didn't have a pen, I lent him one then we started talking. We exhausted all possible topics: life in Philippines, life in Australia, politics, religion, erm sports is a no-no for me, business, life, philosophy. It was fun and I was able to gain a lot of new insights and some direction, I hope. Either way, let's just say an alternative opened up.
We arrived at the budget terminal. It was raining... HARD. As in typhoon quality. The staff of Tiger Air lent us some umbrellas to traverse the distance from the plane to the terminal and it was ok. Now when I hear the word "budget," I expect low quality, paint peeling etc. (no offense to Team Budget lol) but damn! That is one beautiful terminal!
I had gone ahead since my Pinoy buddies had to get their stuff as a group. I found a bunch of brochures at the side about Singapore. They were FREE! Free maps, events guides, district maps! I'm liking this country already!
As we stepped out of the terminal, we decided to part ways since we were staying in different places anyway. So I took the shuttle to Terminal 1, then rode the MRT to erm, forgot the place then took that to City Hall then took that to Dhoby Gaut where I got down. As I stepped out of the station I was shouting YATA! in my head! (think Hiro from Heroes.) I made my way to YMCA, checked in and went into my room.
When I got to the hostel room, there was a Korean there, sleeping. Oops, woke him up. He turned out to be pretty cool anyway so he didn't mind. I started to settle in and found the charger for my dead celphone and.. #@$&! These are different sockets. And different voltages. I was told to purchase a transformer at a nearby mall, Plaza Singapura. It was raining hard so I stopped by the YMCa internet cafe to do my histo paper. DAMN s$1 per 10 minutes. What a freakin rip-off! s$1=P32 so there... Then a Chinese man came into the cafe and we talked for a while. turns out he was in need of a charger as well and was hungry too. We decided to wait the rain out in the internet cafe. It didn't stop so we had to have our dinner in the Y Cafe. Yeah prices on foodstuffs were double their outside value but we had no choice. The food's great though. Excellent service quality in YMCA. Anyway turns out that Chinese guy is a traditional doctor from Zhi Jiang. I still know where that is, thanks to Di Li. LOL. It was rather funny when we conversed as I was noticably trying to practice my chinese and he wanted to practice his english with me. Good times. Things are pretty good I guess, I mean at least I wasn't having my dinner alone. Whne we finished dinner he decided to go to bed, I was desperate to chrage my phone so as to be able to contact Franz and co. I opted to walk out of the building in the pouring rain. After five seconds I realized I needed an umbrella. Good thing there was a nearby 7-11 (note for some reason 7-11s don't really stay open 24 hours.) and bought an umbrella... GR WASTING MONEY! So I went over to Plaza Singapura looking for a hardware store. I found one then found the transformers then my jaw dropped. Each one was worth upwards to s$235, I can't afford that, I mean I have other expenses so I kinda panicked. I didn't know what happened but the idea of buying a celphone charger would be better. So I did, for s$25. Yeah small price to pay for communication lines. Then I looked around the mall and lo and behold I chanced upon a Comic Alley-like establishment. When I entered, it was Anime heaven ad I immediately asked for the Samurai X manga. I bought 7 volumes, I only need a few to complete hte hwole Enishi story arc now :D YEY! I have 19 onwards to 28. Then I decided, on a whim, to buy a Death Note. Teh uber pimp!!! Hahaha not that I'll ever write on it or anything. Needless to sayI was grinning from ear to ear as I made my way back to my room. And that was how I spent my Wednesday.
NOTE: I opened the Death Note and I thought it was cool to see the names of the characters written there until I kept turning and read a few spoilers... DARN... Yeah It was in Chinese so I understood most of it...
Anyways...
Day 1
Wednesday
Got up rather early and had breakfast. Thanks Dad! It's like a tradition to have breakfast with him. Then off we went to Clark.
As I was walking around the line I saw Serg, Jiro, and friends! Nice to see familiar faces. Everything went smoothly from then. Serg sat with me on the plane while Ryan, Jiro and his bro playtested at the back row. After a couple of jokes and banter the disembarkment card was passed around and this sparked our lively conversation with the Aussie beside me. He didn't have a pen, I lent him one then we started talking. We exhausted all possible topics: life in Philippines, life in Australia, politics, religion, erm sports is a no-no for me, business, life, philosophy. It was fun and I was able to gain a lot of new insights and some direction, I hope. Either way, let's just say an alternative opened up.
We arrived at the budget terminal. It was raining... HARD. As in typhoon quality. The staff of Tiger Air lent us some umbrellas to traverse the distance from the plane to the terminal and it was ok. Now when I hear the word "budget," I expect low quality, paint peeling etc. (no offense to Team Budget lol) but damn! That is one beautiful terminal!
I had gone ahead since my Pinoy buddies had to get their stuff as a group. I found a bunch of brochures at the side about Singapore. They were FREE! Free maps, events guides, district maps! I'm liking this country already!
As we stepped out of the terminal, we decided to part ways since we were staying in different places anyway. So I took the shuttle to Terminal 1, then rode the MRT to erm, forgot the place then took that to City Hall then took that to Dhoby Gaut where I got down. As I stepped out of the station I was shouting YATA! in my head! (think Hiro from Heroes.) I made my way to YMCA, checked in and went into my room.
When I got to the hostel room, there was a Korean there, sleeping. Oops, woke him up. He turned out to be pretty cool anyway so he didn't mind. I started to settle in and found the charger for my dead celphone and.. #@$&! These are different sockets. And different voltages. I was told to purchase a transformer at a nearby mall, Plaza Singapura. It was raining hard so I stopped by the YMCa internet cafe to do my histo paper. DAMN s$1 per 10 minutes. What a freakin rip-off! s$1=P32 so there... Then a Chinese man came into the cafe and we talked for a while. turns out he was in need of a charger as well and was hungry too. We decided to wait the rain out in the internet cafe. It didn't stop so we had to have our dinner in the Y Cafe. Yeah prices on foodstuffs were double their outside value but we had no choice. The food's great though. Excellent service quality in YMCA. Anyway turns out that Chinese guy is a traditional doctor from Zhi Jiang. I still know where that is, thanks to Di Li. LOL. It was rather funny when we conversed as I was noticably trying to practice my chinese and he wanted to practice his english with me. Good times. Things are pretty good I guess, I mean at least I wasn't having my dinner alone. Whne we finished dinner he decided to go to bed, I was desperate to chrage my phone so as to be able to contact Franz and co. I opted to walk out of the building in the pouring rain. After five seconds I realized I needed an umbrella. Good thing there was a nearby 7-11 (note for some reason 7-11s don't really stay open 24 hours.) and bought an umbrella... GR WASTING MONEY! So I went over to Plaza Singapura looking for a hardware store. I found one then found the transformers then my jaw dropped. Each one was worth upwards to s$235, I can't afford that, I mean I have other expenses so I kinda panicked. I didn't know what happened but the idea of buying a celphone charger would be better. So I did, for s$25. Yeah small price to pay for communication lines. Then I looked around the mall and lo and behold I chanced upon a Comic Alley-like establishment. When I entered, it was Anime heaven ad I immediately asked for the Samurai X manga. I bought 7 volumes, I only need a few to complete hte hwole Enishi story arc now :D YEY! I have 19 onwards to 28. Then I decided, on a whim, to buy a Death Note. Teh uber pimp!!! Hahaha not that I'll ever write on it or anything. Needless to sayI was grinning from ear to ear as I made my way back to my room. And that was how I spent my Wednesday.
NOTE: I opened the Death Note and I thought it was cool to see the names of the characters written there until I kept turning and read a few spoilers... DARN... Yeah It was in Chinese so I understood most of it...
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