No Read No Write

Living in the province sans decent book shops—or those that sell books and not school materials—was  a challenge to any growing bookworm, but it did not make me falter. A two-hour trip to Manila meant book hunting for me.  I remember collecting Sabrina the Teenage Witch series when I was still younger, when I was six years old, when I was still in grade school. To read more novels, my friends and I would trade books and that started my now growing collection of reading materials: fiction, non-fiction, magazine, comics, coffee table book.

from my Goodreads account

Perhaps, my first “legitimate” reading material was Nicholas Sparks’ “A Walk to Remember”, back when I was still in Grade 5. By legitimate I meant more texts and lesser or no photos. I’ve seemingly outgrown Barbie, Sabrina, Alice, and Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen. Spark’s novels were my favorite subjects for our book review projects.

However, my high school days were not as prolific as it should have been. I’ve never read the indispensable classics like Victor Hugo’s Les Miserable, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter, or Louisa Alcott’s Little Women. Our class, unfortunately, was more focused with Science and Math. So it’s only now that I’m starting to read them slowly, carefully. 

Aside from turning the pages and watching myself transported to different worlds, different eras, and different time, I am carefully scrutinizing how each word was weaved to make smooth and beautiful sentences and how these coherent thoughts made up a story.

Reading and writing come hand in hand. I like reading but I must admit that my writing still needs improvement good thing I got a lifetime dedicated to reading.  

Hi 2014

As we bid goodbye to 2013, it’s perhaps also time to finally let go of some things that make the year colorful and unique on its own. Here are some of the things I wish we won’t be seeing in the Year of the Horse:

Printed leggings: Those cheap printed fitted pants that come in kitschy designs, cuts, texture, and colors sold cheap in the market thus, making fashion victims fall for these prey. Not only do they hug every bulge of your body but they emphasis how big your thighs are. While they may look good for the lucky ones who can get away with anything, but then again not everyone has the physique of a model (read: thigh gap).

Besides the printed pants, can we please also ditch the:

studded stuff (pants, blouse, bag)

jeje caps

wedge sneakers

 thin, fine line eyebrows

“’Pag may time” (If there’s time):  Selfie-selfie pag may time, kain pag may time, tulog pag may time... Puhlease let’s not use this overused line again!

Selfie + quote combination: I cannot understand why some post selfies of themselves with a bathroom as their backdrop, but what I cannot fathom the more is they put inspiring quotes to go with their photo.

If you’re a constant Instagram user, you’ve probably seen IG users comment or like on someone’s post and mention that they are the first likers and commenters. What’s that all about?!

I doubt if we can totally let go of some of these fashion faux pas and practices but can we please use them sparingly.

take it from someone with a double K and C

Just recently, Hollywood couple Kim Kardashian and Kanye West named their child, North, which makes him North West. This got numerous reactions from netizens, which, I think was what the actors are trying to achieve. 

Quirky names, huh? But this is quite normal in the Philippines.

Back in 1991, a Filipina mother gave birth to her daughter and decided to complicate things by naming her newborn, Nickky.

Filipinos also have a knack for "name recall" in its purest, most literal sense: Bhong-Bhong, Jhing-Jhing, Noy-Noy, Jhen-Jhen, Tin-Tin, Pek...

World Boxing Champion Manny Pacquiao named his daughter, Queen Elizabeth. 

While others combine names to come up with Rodjun (Rodela and Jhun-Jhun) or Luviminda (Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao). 

Also recently published in the local newspapers was a family with penchants for long names. One family member has 40 first names and goes by Ratziel Timshel Ismail Zerubbabel Zabud Zimry Pike Blavatsky Philo Judaeus Polidorus Isurenus Morya Nylghara Rakoczy Kuthumi Krishnamurti Ashram Jerram Akasaha Aum Ultimus Rufinorum Jancsi Janko Diamond Hu Ziv Zane Zeke Wakeman Wyu Muo Teletai Chokhmah Neserthrah Mercavah Nigel Seven Morningstar, San Juan. Whew! 

While there are persons named after an event, a saint, food, or hobby.

"What's in a name?,"  Juliette asks, "that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet". 

But every person's name at least has a history, or an inspiration. 

"You don't like your name? It's so unique," my mom would always rationalized every time I ask her why my name is spelled so. She said it was her favorite name and she had her college notebooks to back up her claim. There, scribbled at the back of her notes was "Nickky". My second name came from a saint. You know that nun from the 3 o'clock habit, sister Faustine?

But can we choose our names?

Apparently, we can, if we have compelling reasons and willpower to succumb to the National Statistics Office's red tape. 

But seriously, please name your babies with "decency", because on the other side of the globe, there is someone suffering, and she goes by the name, "Juniper". 

Filipino actor, Ding-Dong Dantes 

***
Worst celeb baby names

women as objects and why I don't wear shorts (that much)

Women flaunt and brandish what their mama gave them whenever they see someone attractive. According to personal experiences and online researches, women will walk across the room so the men they find cute can see what they got.

Women have always been the object, the painting, while the men are the player, the observer. Males are very visual, they adore gazing at women-- their breast, legs, hair, eyes, figure, feet--at a very obvious manner because apparently, they don't have an "encompassing visual capacity" (i coined this, lol). What I mean is they have to check out a girl, look at her from head to toe, and eventually get caught by the "object", unlike women who have "wider eye view", who can easily check out someone sans being obvious.

This is why I shy away from wearing short shorts whenever I can even if we're allowed to wear such in our male-dominated office. I also barely wear skirts, except when I run out of my jeans. I hate catching men looking at me. I loathe it when a guy looks at me from head to toe like I'm some kind of an alien. BUT, I can't help but wear cutout and sleeveless tops. Haha!  

Just this Sunday, we watched our male friends play basketball. I wasn't even surprised that most of the women who were watching the league were wearing short shorts and some, skirts. I kind of expected it. I think I was the only one in jeans.

thanks google for the photo

Every girl owns a pair of "perfect shorts", it is one of the easiest fashion items that go with anything. When I was in college, I had two bad experiences that opted me to veer away from wearing leg-baring bottoms. One, my family and I were in a grocery when suddenly my father kicked and punched a random guy who was apparently, checking me out. It made a fleeting commotion and I had to run away from the scene. The other experience was again, I was with my family doing grocery, a man was apparently smelling me from behind. I didn't notice it because I was busy choosing between dark or milk chocolate. This time, my father didn't punched the man, but scolded him. (Eh ang ganda ko daw eh anong magagawa ko? Charing!)

food porn

In between jotting down notes and covering lifestyle events is capturing Instagrammable foodstuffs.  So here's my take on food blogging. Here are just some of my food snapshots, apparently I almost always forgot to take pictures of food menus before digging them. Teehee.

F1 Hotel's creamy pasta. F1 is in BGC

Half-eaten laksa and fishballs of sorts

UCC's generous serving of Chicken Teriyaki Salad 

UCC, Trinoma's pizza bread 

Bacolod's Calea and its myriad of desserts! 

(That's my hand! LOL) Photo by Noel Pabalate: Orange River Cellars Wine and Birsto

spiral

Funny, how the bosom of emotions is toying up on me.

One moment—happy

And then a downward spiral,

Spinning spinning turning around

Yes, like that of a roller coaster

Left, right, down under, over and beyond

Funny, despite all these, here I am,

Buying a ticket for one more ride.

put it on #instagram

I know you’re hungry, wait, this will only take five minutes. There, with perfect timing, lighting, and framing our cheap halo-halo meal looks like a five-star hotel best seller.

Tag it with a witty caption and hashtags, #foodtrip #halohalo, save and tweet. Finally we can go eat.

After munching, let’s go sightseeing.

Click click click goes your #android #iphone or #galaxySIII

Again, put a funny tagline and sprinkle it with #nothingtodo #thisislife #lunchatEastwood. Tadah! You have a post worthy of likes and RTs.

 Wait for a minute or so, Instagram followers will eventually like your photos. Like, like, like!

Oh, you can also share it on your #Facebook #Twitter and #whathaveyou accounts.

You’ve become preoccupied with sharing (or subtle showing off?) that you forgot to savor the moment. 

waddup?

The past days have gone too fast (and furious) that the only way I can update my blog is to load it with pictures of what have been:

Lonely Boy is GG:

I have been an avid fan of Gossip Girl but I was still surprised that GG was Dan Humphrey! I thought it was Doroda.

Paskuhan 2012

Who says that the world would cease to exist last 21^st? Hell no! I had an unadulterated fun with my girls: catching up, cam whoring, and eating, and did I just say catching up? Apparently, we haven’t seen one another for the last eight months (at least for some) and we missed one another. Aww. Too bad, we’re incomplete though! 

Work blast:

I am very happy with how my career is going right now because I get to be paid to do what I love. The last two weeks was bent with workload, legwork, voice transcription and what have you, but I’m loving it to pieces. (I was already published twice, to think that I’ve just started. Hihi).

Merry Christmas!

I am wishing people from all over the globe a merry Christmas, although I know some are in pain, suffering, and trials (think of the people in Cagayan Valley and Sandy Hook), we will keep up! To 2013 and beyond! 

(from google)

Libro ni Juan (in the making)

Gusto kong gumawa ng sarili kong libro, entitled, “Ang mga Katarantaduhan ng Pinoy.” Parody style, para cool.

Marami-rami na rin kasi akong nasaksihan, nabalitaan, at na-experience na ka-gaguhan ni Juan. Sa tingin ko nga magiging best seller ito dahil marami talagang makaka-relate. (wishful thinking!) balak ko ring lagyan pa ng mga pictures ng mga caught-in-the-act, para naman masabi niyong, “wow artista na ako, sikat na ako!”

  In one way or another, lahat naman tayo’y naging tarantado minsan sa buhay natin.

Mga tarantado sa lansangan

Habang sakay ng dyip biyaheng Divisoria, nakita ko ang isang babae, naka-short skirt, palinga-linga, wari’y may hinahanap. ‘Yun pala, tuma-timing si Ate para tumalon sa ginawang barikada ng MMDA.  

Una, nakahihiya ang ginawa niyang yun , kababae niyang tao, and to think that she was in a very short skirt! Pag katawid ni Ate, parang wala lang, para bang ang ginawa niya ay normal at pang araw-araw na gawain ng isang kagalang-galang na nilalang.

Pangalawa, ang tamang tawiran, ay halos katabi lamang ng barikadang tinalon niya, nag-eehersisyo siguro ang babae, or nagpa-practice mag parkour. O baka naman nagpapapansin sa MMDA, “tignan niyo ko, naka maikling palda ako, tatalon ako dito, kering-keri ko ‘to!”

Hindi ko na itatanong pa kung bakit mas pinili ng babaeng iyun na sumirko sa gitna ng daan sa halip na tumawid sa Ped Xing. Tamad kasi tayo. Isa pa, nakasanayan na ito at panghuli, wala rin naman kasing nanghuhuling enforcer. Kung meron man, aba malikhain ang Pinoy sa paggawa ng alibi.

"May emergency po eh, nagmamadali po ako."

 "Ay! Hindi ko ho alam na bawal pala tumawid dito."                                                                                                         

‘Yung iba naman nagbibingi-bingihan, nagtatanga-tangahan, o ‘di kaya’y i-Englishin ang MMDA enforcer para kunwari witty at nasa tamang lugar ang palusot.

Minsan ko na ring naisulat, at na-i-rant ang pagdura ng mga Pilipino. Bakit ba dura nang dura ang mga lalaki (may mga babae din kung minsan)? Nasusuka ba sila sa malansang lansangan? Kung ganoon ang dahilan, totoo namang nakaririmarim ang kadugyutan ng Metro Manila. Pero dude, wala namang duraan oh! Buti na nga lang at magaling akong umiwas sa mga nagtatalsikang laway.

I was aimlessly walking inside a mall, sightseeing, window-shopping, when a man, suddenly covered one of his nostrils and then blew very hard until a booger said “hello.” WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?

%^*$%&%^mo!                                                                                                                  $^@#&@ ka!

Sinadya kong isulat sa Ingles ang karanasan kong ito sapagkat malaswa namang basahin at nakakaturn-off kung:

Habang nasa mall ako’t nagsha-shopping, isang mama ang dagliang nagtakip ng isang butas ng ilong sabay singa nang malakas, ayun, sumabog ang malagkit niyang uhog sa makinis at magong linis na sahig ng mall.

Hindi ko lubos maintindihan kahit anong gawin ko kung bakit nagawa ng lalaki iyun, sa loob ng isang establisyamento? Tarantado siya. Walang hiya siya.

Kultura ng ewan

Ewan ko ba kung bakit binababoy natin ang lugar natin, in the end, binababoy na rin natin ang ating mga sarili. Kung iisipin mo, conscious ang mga Pinoy eh, dahil kung nasa ibang mas matinong bansa sila, tiyak naman ang pagsunod: pipila sila sa bus stop, itatapon nila ang pinagkainan sa McDo, tatawid sila sa tamang tawiran at hindi sila dudura kung saan-saan.

Kamakailan nga ay gumawa ng ingay ang Hollywood film na The Bourne Legacy dahil dito sa Manila napili i-shoot ang ilang bahagi ng movie. Nang tinanong ang director nito na si Tony Gilroy kung bakit sa lansangan ng Maynila ang location ng pelikula, isang straightforward answer ang ibinigay niya:

“It’s just so colorful and ugly and gritty, raw and stinky and crowded.”

Sensitibo ang mga Pilipino. Emosyonal tayo. Balat sibuyas ang mga Pinoy. Kaya’t naintindihan kong galit at inis ang una nating naramdaman sa pahayag na ito. Ngunit, may basehan at pawang katotohanan ang sinabi ni Gilroy.

Madumi’t mabaho ang Maynila. Pangit ang Manila.

Hindi ba’t kung ayaw nating mapintasan, dapat gumawa tayo ng aksyon upang kahit papaano’y hindi tayo makutya?

Alam natin ang truism na ito pero wala tayong aksyong ginagawa. Bakit nga ba? Dahil sa katamaran. Ibalik natin sa panahon ni Jose Rizal, minsan na ring naisulat ng ating pambansang bayani ang katamaran ng mga Pilipino sa libro niyang “The Indolence of the Filipinos.”

In summary, sinasabi ni Rizal na hindi inherent ang pagkatamad ni Juan, bagkus kulang lamang siya sa edukasyon at walang national unity ang Pilipinas na magpapa engganyo sa kanya na magsipag.

Hindi tanga ang Pinoy. Sadya nga lang tarantado at gago ang Pilipino dahil ito ang nakasanayan…

(My good friend, Claire, and I are planning to publish a book with the same topic and sentiments. I just hope our project will push through) *crossed fingers* 

love is pablo neruda

Okay, it might be OA to equate the poet, Pablo Neruda, with the four letter word. He has written well-acclaimed poems about the faces and phases of love, enough for him to be dubbed as the King of Hearts (at least, that's what I think).

Anyway, I would like to share some of my favorite Neruda poems starting off with, 'If You Forget Me.'

If You Forget Me

I want you to know
one thing.

You know how this is:
if I look
at the crystal moon, at the red branch
of the slow autumn at my window,
if I touch
near the fire
the impalpable ash
or the wrinkled body of the log,
everything carries me to you,
as if everything that exists,
aromas, light, metals,
were little boats
that sail
toward those isles of yours that wait for me.

Well, now,
if little by little you stop loving me
I shall stop loving you little by little.

If suddenly
you forget me
do not look for me,
for I shall already have forgotten you.

If you think it long and mad,
the wind of banners
that passes through my life,
and you decide
to leave me at the shore
of the heart where I have roots,
remember
that on that day,
at that hour,
I shall lift my arms
and my roots will set off
to seek another land.

But
if each day,
each hour,
you feel that you are destined for me
with implacable sweetness,
if each day a flower
climbs up to your lips to seek me,
ah my love, ah my own,
in me all that fire is repeated,
in me nothing is extinguished or forgotten,
my love feeds on your love, beloved,
and as long as you live it will be in your arms
without leaving mine.
***

Don't Go Far Off

Don't go far off, not even for a day, because --
because -- I don't know how to say it: a day is long
and I will be waiting for you, as in an empty station
when the trains are parked off somewhere else, asleep.

Don't leave me, even for an hour, because
then the little drops of anguish will all run together,
the smoke that roams looking for a home will drift
into me, choking my lost heart.

Oh, may your silhouette never dissolve on the beach;
may your eyelids never flutter into the empty distance.
Don't leave me for a second, my dearest,

because in that moment you'll have gone so far
I'll wander mazily over all the earth, asking,
Will you come back? Will you leave me here, dying?
***

I Do Not Love You Except Because I Love You

I do not love you except because I love you;
I go from loving to not loving you,
From waiting to not waiting for you
My heart moves from cold to fire.

I love you only because it's you the one I love;
I hate you deeply, and hating you
Bend to you, and the measure of my changing love for you
Is that I do not see you but love you blindly.

Maybe January light will consume
My heart with its cruel
Ray, stealing my key to true calm.

In this part of the story I am the one who
Dies, the only one, and I will die of love because I love you,
Because I love you, Love, in fire and blood.

age gap

I rarely say ‘I love you,’ but when I do, I mean it.

These three words, they could change our lives forever, seems overrated and clichéd nowadays.  How can someone love somebody in a span of days?

If you happened to watch ABS-CBN’s Pinoy Big Brother (PBB) Teen Edition 4, one of its housemates, Claire was bursting and expressing her feelings towards Yves, another housemate.

“Hindi ko siya (Yves) crush, mahal ko na siya,” words to these effect were said by Claire. Love?  Oh come on.  

Iba na talaga ang mga kabataan ngayon. Ang bilis ng panahon, at tila kay bilis din magbago ng pananaw ng mga bata ngayon. Now I feel older!

I used to watch PBB religiously and would often get excited in the teen edition but I felt off in watching the fourth instalment as the theme of the show seemed to focus on the superficiality—‘kalandian’ ng mga teenagers ngayon. Sorry to use the term but that’s just how I see the housemates, shallow.

The housemates were blindfolded during the first week, the purpose of the task was to avoid prejudices as people tend to look and assess a person based on his or her physical appearance. However, the intention of being temporarily blind was defeated once the housemates removed their goggles.

Hindi mo naman nga maiiwasan ang tumingin sa panlabas na kaanyuan ng isang tao, dahil ito naman talaga ang una mong makikita. Ngunit, tila nag-iba ang pakikitungo ng bawat housemate noong nanumbalik ang paningin nila.

Every time they would talk, the theme of the conversation focused on the statuses of their romantic relationship, (one of the housemates said she was engaged, hija, do you know the responsibilities of being engaged?) their crushes and their failed love lives.

Kung hindi man lovelife ang topic, nag-aaway naman sila, nagbaback stabban. Ito na ba ang kabataan ngayon? I’m not generalizing the youth today, but please prove us wrong.

would-be

Day after day passed, I am still sitting in front of my portal, waiting, waiting, waiting in vain

Waiting in vain for my would-be lover to make a call right now, right now, right now

Right now, I am exhausting my efforts and energy for the wrong reasons

Wrong reasons—life has never really been fair

I may sound rancid, melodramatic, acrid... but I –

No, I would not dare say my gibber,

I might regret it later

Hope.