KAUNTING UPDATE

Natutuwa ako sa mainit na pagsalubong ninyo sa pagbabalik ko. Akala ko nung nagpaalam ako eh mawawala yung iilang mambabasa ko, pero marami sa inyo ang nag-iwan pa rin ng mga mensahe ng pagkalugod sa desisyon kong bumalik (kahit dalawang linggo lang naman talaga ako nawala). Pasensya na kung di na ako masyado makapagbloghop dahil medyo busy sa trabaho. Pero sinusubukan ko namang basahin yung mga sinusulat niyo kahit hindi ako nakakapag-iwan ng wala kong kuwentang mga kumento.

Hindi talaga ako nahuhuli sa mga bali-balita at goings on sa mundo ng blogosperyo. Natatawa nga ako at meron akong nababasang mga kaguluhan. Hindi na ako makikisawsaw bilang respeto na rin sa mga taong involved. Tsaka hindi ko rin naman kasi kilala yung mga taong may mga hindi pagkakasundo.

Tapos napapansin ko rin na maraming nagsisimulang umibig ngayon sa blogosperyo. Merong mga sawi (hindi naman ata mawawala yun), pero mayroon ding mga sinuswerte. Nagsisimula na nga akong mainggit eh... biro lang.

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Marahil alam ninyo ang dahilan ng desisyon kong gumawa ng iba pang tahanan. Meron akong mga personal na mga kaganapan na gustuhin ko mang ishare, eh marami nang nakakakilala sa akin dito na kilala ko sa tunay na buhay. Mga pamilya at kaibigan. Medyo sensitibo yung ilang bagay na iyon kaya di ko kaya isulat dito. Kaya gumawa akon ng panibagong mundo.

Pero syempre dahil marami na rin dito akong kilala, at nasubaybayan yung buhay ko, so magseshare na lang ako ng ilang mga bagay bagay na nangyayari sakin ngayon. La lang, baka interesado lang kayo malaman.

• Bukas, officially Taong Grasa na ako. Nakilala ko na yung mga bago kong makakatrabaho, yung kras ko dun sa ibang department dati, kasama ko na ngayon. Ang bango bango kasi niya!!!
  
• Sa kasamaang palad, teammate ko yung isang kablog ko. Joke lang LJ!!!
• Wala na kaming maingay at malanding renter!!! Natutuwa ako't tatahimik na ang mundo namin.
• Mukhang alam ko na ang bibilhin ko sa pagdating ng 13th month pay ko... PS3 Slim!!! yay!!! Nerd!!!
• Iniisip ko kung idedelete ko na yung Friendster ko o kung magbabawas ako ng mga friends dun...
  
• Medyo pinapaalala ng katawan ko na may UTI ako. Kinakatakot ko nga baka lumala yung sakit kong yun, kasi nahihirapan nanaman akong umihi.
• Medyo nananaba nanaman ako. Paano ba naman, pagkatapos kong sabihan ang mga magulang ko na magpapapayat nako saka naman sila sinipag na magluto ng mga masasarap na putahe.
• Napanuod ko last week yung District 9. Ang ganda!!!!
• Ewan ko ba, pero naaadik ako sa mga kanta ni Taylor Swift ngayon. Sinisisi ko ang Myx at tuwing napapadaan ako sa channel na yun, iyon ang pinapatugtog... yung may cheerleader...
• Nagpapakaloser pa rin ako dahil paminsan ang ginagawa ko lang eh maglaro ng XBox. Kahit wala akong bagong game.

Wala pala ako masyadong ikukwento. Sa susunod, medyo matinong post naman isusulat ko.

STALKER

Back in the haydays of Engel's active blogging on his other home, he's met dozens of people online. A few he met personally and became good friends with. There are those who gets his number and often texts him quotes. Others he chat with on YM if he's not busy or if he's not being ignored. And rarely, someone will stalk him, add him in all his social networking sites and leave creepy messages on it.

Engel's got one creepy stalker. That blogger seemed cool at first glance as he was writes some pretty cool stuff on his homepage. One time he left a comment in one of Engel's post, so as a sign good faith, he also left one on one of this blogger's post. That was one of his biggest mistakes.

A few minutes after the comment was posted, Engel received an add contact invite in his ym. It was unfamiliar, so when Engel asked who it was the blogger introduced himself. During that time, Engel didn't know alot of people in the medium so he was kind of excited to meet a new one. He entertained the blogger when asked about himself (his work, likes, things they may have in common).

And then an invite to add that person in facebook came. When Engel saw the face behind the blogger, he kind of got turned off. The blogger was definitely not his type. He dismissed the idea as he can't even give it any consideration because he was straight in his former blog. But he still entertained the blogger, new friends are always welcome.

The next day the blogger chatted with Engel again. He's mostly at home and has the luxury of time. Engel was at work back then. The common hi's and hello's were exchanged. But then this guy started sending messages about him being in heat, horny and wanting to wank himself. Engel doesn't like those kinds of messages, specially from strangers and most importantly when he's at work. So he let the blogger down.

After that, he started to ignore the guy everytime a chat invite was initiated. The blogger realizing that Engel's starting to ignore him just stopped. But since they were contacts in Facebook, anytime that Engel posts an update that's kind of dirty, the guy puts unnecessary and off comments.

The last straw was earlier this week. Engel was very busy at work when the blogger initiated another chat. He was advised of the writer's being hard at work, but the blogger was insistent, he said he was really in heat. The message was ignored, the messenger was closed and Engel removed the guy from his contacts.

He knows that he's not the only person that the blogger is harassing. When he updated his status on FB, a fellow blogger noticed that they only had 6 friends in common unlike the 7 before. He knew who Engel deleted, and said that he too was harassed by that blogger. Another friend also warned Engel about that guy, when during their ym chats, Engel enquired about the stalker because he often leaves comment on said friend.

Engel's not going to name names as he thinks some of the people who visit this blog know him. He sees the link in their blogs.

Engel does not intend to badmouth the blogger since he may not be like that with other people. It's just he's creepy.

MY TOP FILMS: SUMMER 2009

I bet you did not expect to read an update so soon after I wrote my goodbye post. Me too. It's just that I missed writing here (and nobody reads my other blog). So I'm back. I probably won't be posting as often as before, maybe once a week. I'm still enjoying writing there, it's just that I have to have venue for these kind of posts and for my fiction.

The 2009 Summer Movie season is about to end in a few weeks, and the year's biggest films have already been released. So now, my dear kablogs, I give you my Top Films for the Summer Season 2009. And before I forget, no I did not see Terminator Salvation.

10.ICE AGE 3: DAWN OF THE DINOSAURS

Ice Age has always been hit and miss. The first one was a miss, while the second one improved a lot. I had high hopes with this movie when i first saw it's trailer. I've always liked dinosaur films (except for Land of the Lost), and expected for this film to be at least good. But just like above, this too was boring. You'd know immediately that it's not quite good when the cinema is packed with children but still it was too quiet. It's either those kids have been brought up extremely properly by their parents or the movie just sucks.

9.GI JOE: RISE OF COBRA

I'd be honest I geeked out the first time I saw the picture of Snake Eyes last year. And when it was announced that the Director of The Mummy was attached to the film, I was ecstatic. And then I saw the trailer. I forgot, the director of The Mummy, also made Van Helsing (a film that I really didn't like). I knew the film will be funny with a Wayans in the cast but I did not have high expectations with this one. The trailer was boring. Reading the reviews, I hoped that the action will be good, but then the whole 2 and something hours that I was in the cinema, I felt nothing. This was not the GI Joe I remember when I was a kid. It was all flash and fancy, but with no depth.

8.X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE

I saw the leaked version and thought it was okay. Of course it was unedited so I didn't expect to be blown away. But when I did see the real film, I realized that Wolverine lacked the style and panache that made X2 an awesome movie. Save for Deadpool and Gambit, this wasn't really a very good movie. It did rank higher though because obviously I'm a nerd, and my fanboy self was screaming everytime I can identify a mutant that made a cameo in the film.

7.DRAG ME TO HELL

This is where the good films (at least for my taste) begins. I loved Drag Me To Hell. It wasn't as scary I thought it would be. It was actually funny at times. And knowing that this is a Sam Raimi film, I loved the shoutouts to his previous movies. The effects were old school but it was cool. It works actually. It's not a film that bragged about state of the arts effects but of old-school horror-making. The movie is absolutely disgusting but it was fun. And I liked it.

6.TRANSFORMERS 2: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN

Yeah, alot of people say that the latter half of the movie was dragging. There were too many robots that you'd have a hard time identifying them and that the film isn't as good on your second viewing as your first. That maybe true. But I don't care about other people's opinions. I liked the film. I thought it was funny. I thought that it's dumb. And I thought that it's one cool sequel.

5.HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

My nephew and niece thought it was boring. Alot of people thought that this was the worst of the series. Some slept through the entire film. I say they don't appreciate beauty. Among all the Harry Potter films, I thought that this one was the most beautiful film technically. I didn't like the book, so I didn't think this film will change my mind. But I liked the film. I thought it was somewhat faithful to the source material, and by doing that there's not much the director can do. But the film is pretty.

4.THE HANGOVER

Sometimes you go to a cinema without expecting a film to be good and then go out pleasantly surprised. This was one of three films that surprised me. Watching the trailer, I thought The Hangover would be bad. But then I realized it's stupid on purpose. I thought it was really stupid what the friends went through, but it wouldn't be funny if they didn't go through that. Like I said, this was stupid on purpose. Oh and yeah, Heather Graham is there too. She's hot. I loved the breastfeeding scene if just for her boobs..

3.THE ORPHAN

You'll know you like the film if at the end of it you feel for the characters. I hated Esther the whole movie. She was insane. Literally. Watching the movie, I remember Macaulay Culkin's The Good Son, only thing is, this one's got a different twist. It's one that you would not expect. The movie, while not having big named stars attached to it, is one of the better surprises for me this year. Two thumbs up.

2.UP

I'm not sure what good words haven't been said about this movie. I loved it. It's funny, poignant, touching, all the ingredients of an awesome Pixar movie. I loved Doug, Kevin was hilarious, Carl is grumpy and brought all the drama, and Russell, he just looks like Kuya Kuri's son. I think this is one of the best movie that came out of Pixar, and I think that I've said all that there is to be said when I last posted about this movie. Easily one of my favorites this year.

1.STAR TREK

I don't know how much hype this film had prior to it's showing. All I know was JJ Abrams (creator of Lost) does good stuff. Honestly, I did not have any expectations on this movie as I'm not really and never was a trekkie. I found all previous (or the last 5 films of the series) to be very uninteresting. But this movie blew all my expectations away. It's exciting, action-packed, it is faithful to the history of the franchise and just made Star Trek cool and not geeky. This is supposedly the first part of a trilogy, so now I'm eagerly awaiting for the next ones to come.

THE TROUBLE WITH KARMA

Engel's first attempt to have a relationship with a guy was a total and utter disaster. He admits, that was his own doing. It was also the first time he realized that he's not meant to doing bad things because when he does, karma always makes sure that it bites Engel in the ass.

He was a junior in college when that happened. He hasn't been in a relationship for at least a year already by that time. Not that he was heart-broken, but there just wasn't an opportunity. By that time, he was already laid back at school. He's trusted his classmates to finish the papers for him and the only problem he had was the dumb math class that he never thought would be useful to his life outside of school. Suffice to say, during that cold February, he was already bored.

Enter Drew, his only high school friend who knew of his secret then went to him to tell about his broken heart. There was this guy he met online who hurt him bad. Engel does not remember the details, but the bottomline was Drew's date was a total ass. But then Engel knew, that the date wasn't the only ass, Drew is a much bigger ass than the date. Knowing that, Engel realized that Drew had a plan to get even with his date, and it involved Engel.

He hesitated with the plan, knowing that nothing good ever comes out of these things, but being a good friend he accepted. The plan is for Engel to introduce himself to the date, make him fall in love and then dump him harshly just like what was done to Drew. Charming the date was easy for Engel, because during that time he knew that he can attract anyone over the phone with his voice and his sensible personality (that was back then).

It all started through sms, Engel was able to charm his way to Jun, earning his trust and his home phone number. The evening he got Jun's number Engel immediately gave him a ring. They hit it off in an instant. They both found out that they had alot in common. It was a 16-hour conversation that Engel still remembers until now. They liked each other. The moment Engel put the phone down, he questioned what Drew told him about Jun. He was the exact opposite of what Engel pictured.

Their daily conversations became common. They talk to each other during the start of the day, and end the night with the phone still on their ears. This happened for weeks that Engel forgot his real mission why he introduced himself to Drew's ex-date. They've even met more than once. Even bringing him home twice.

Long story short, Engel fell for Jun big time. And he knew that the feeling is mutual.

But being young and stupid, Engel made a mistake. He told the whole truth to Jun. He didn't know what he'll get out of doing so, but he did. And that was a dumb move. Jun got furious and cut all means of communication with Engel. He told him that the reason why he didn't entertain Drew that much was because Drew was an idiot. He was shallow, unsophisticated, and outright gay. The fact that Engel played along with Drew showed him that he's not different from his friend.

Maybe he wasn't. That was his karma. But from that point on, he never did anything remotely as dumb as what he did back then. Playing games with people's hearts is a risky business. Somebody always end up losing. He had to learn that lesson the hard way.

OMEGA

I think I lied the last time when I said that the post was not about me not being with someone. Well, that's partially true. I'm not in a hurry. I'm not desperate. I'm not lonely nor in heat (well for now). I guess I just haven't met anyone lately that makes me go jittery. There's Monday of course, but I don't think I'll ever muster up enough courage to introduce myself. That's a lost cause.

So with what recently happened with me and the singer, I thought I needed to be good. I need to be a man who people will think would be the guy who could be their better half. A better man.

But then I realized that I am a good guy. To the point that I'm actually treated like a doormat. People borrow money from me, then forget about me when they don't want to pay. Friends approach me when they have a problem, and sets me aside once everything is alright.

I should actually learn how to be bad.

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Honestly, I am thinking of writing another blog. I've actually already opened a new one. One where I could say everything that I wanted to say. This blog has been open to my family. To my friends. And I wanted to have a place where I can write everything. Everything.

I have written alot of stories here, yet there are alot that's still unsaid. And there are more to be told. But due to this being open to the public, I have to be reserved. I have to be composed. Not to tell you everything, afraid that it might make you change the way you see me.

So I thought four years of writing as Gillboard has been long enough. I should write as Gilbert now.

Believe me, when I started writing this post I had no intention of ending this blog. But I think this is the right thing to do for me.

Don't worry, I'm not really closing this blog. I've met a lot of great people through this medium and I'm not going to just leave this way. I will still be visiting. Maybe as Gillboard, maybe as Gilbert. Who knows, but I'll still be around.

That's for sure.

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I guess what's left to say here is my thanks. To all the people who stumbled upon this little blog, followed my little misadventures and eventually became my friend.

Salamat sa lahat ng nag-iwan ng kanilang mga kumento at opinyon sa mga naisulat ko. As much as you got to know me, mas nakilala ko rin kayong lahat sa sinusulat ninyo. Thank you.

Salamat sa mga naglink sa blog ko, kahit hindi ko naibalik yung favor. Salamat dahil kahit papaano, naaliw, nakarelate at binigyan ninyo ng oras itong tahanan ko, kahit na pwede kayong bumisita sa mga blog o site na mas may katuturan. Thank you.

Thank you sa lahat ng nagfollow sa blog ko. For showing your interest sa lahat ng sinulat ko. Pasensya kung minsan hindi ako nakakabisita sa tahanan ninyo. Di pa naman ako tuluyang mawawala. Lilipat lang ako ng tahanan.

I'm sorry kung di ko muna sasabihin dito kung saan ako lilipat. But I'll still keep in touch. Tinetreasure ko lahat ng nakilala ko dito para lang talikuran ko.

DI AKO MABAIT

Napapaisip ako nitong mga nakaraang mga araw kung mabait nga ba talaga ako?

Kung naaalala niyo yung huli kong post (basahin niyo na lang sa ibaba). Ginawan ko kahapon ng paraan na makamot yung kati sa katawan ko. Sinubukan kong lambingin kahapon buong araw si Singer para kami'y magkita ulit.

Mahaba-habang bolahan at text textan bago ko siya napa-oo na makipagkita sa akin ngayon.

Ngayong hapong ito dapat talaga kami magkikita. Manunuod ng The Proposal sana tapos diretso kung saan. Pero sa huling minuto, nagtext ako. Ayoko nang ituloy ang pagkikita. Sinabi ko na lang dahilan ay ang bagyo kahit na dalawang jeep lang ang pagitan ng mga tahanan namin.

Wala lang, nananarantado nanaman ako. Yung init na nararamdaman ko kahapon at noong isang araw nawala lahat, at kasabay nun ang interes ko sa kanya.

"Ayos ka rin no, after mo akong bolahin kahapon, you'll bail out naman ngayon." text sakin ni Singer.
"I'm sorry. Ayoko talagang lumalabas ng bahay kapag naulan."
"Gil, alam natin pareho na bullshit yung excuse mo. I think it's better if you remove my number sa phone mo." huli niyang text sakin.

Napapaisip nanaman tuloy ako kung mabait ba talaga ako. Alam kong na gawain ng isang certified tarantado talaga yung ginawa ko ngayon. Pero alam ko rin na mali kung tinuloy ko yung pakikipagkita ko sa kanya.

Kung alam ito ng mga kaibigan kong barako, malamang nabatukan na ako. Andyan na yung palay, tutukain ko na lang, lumayo pa ako. Tapos, iyon pa ang hinahanap hanap ko. Kung tutuusin, wala talaga akong karapatan na magreklamo, kasi lahat naman ng ginagawa ko, desisyon ko lahat ito. Ang talikuran ang pagkakataon na makipagtalik. Ang hindi magpakilala sa natitipuhan kong kasabay sa sasakyan. Ang pagiging single hanggang ngayon.

Hindi talaga ako mabait. Tarantado ako. Suplado. Mas uunahin ko ang mga wisyo ng katawan ko, kesa kapakanan ng ibang tao. Wala akong ibang iniisip kundi ang sarili ko. At hangga't hindi ako nagbabago, malamang mananatiling ganito ang buhay ko.

Mag-isa at walang nakakasama.

Narealize ko, ito maaari ang dahilan kung bakit hanggang ngayon eh single pa rin ako.

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This is not a rant post about me being single. Like I've been saying, I'm not desperate. This is not a post about me wanting to be with someone. I'm writing this, in the hopes that I'll get to know myself better. And in doing so, I hope that this'll help me to become a better person.

Again, I'm not sad. I'm not lonely. Maybe I'm a little bit confused. But still I am happy. I am blessed with having a job that I like. Having friends who love me. And things that occupy my lonesome time.

INIT SA TAG-ULAN

Minsan...

Kahit gaano ka pa kakuntento sa buhay mo...

Kahit gaano mo napapaniwala na talagang masaya ka...

Kahit pa napapaligiran ka ng mga taong gusto mong nakakasama...

Kahit ramdam mo na lahat ng tao nasa iyong likuran...

Kahit nandyan silang lahat...

Wala ka pa ring malalapitan...

Para labasan ng init ng katawan.

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Mukhang wrong timing yung pagdecide ni Singer na ako'y tuluyang kalimutan... Paano na ang lima't kalahating araw na bakasyon ko?

I'm in frickin' heat!!!

DAHIL GALING AKONG ALL-BOY'S SCHOOL...

... natuto akong makisama sa lahat na klase ng tao.
... matakaw ako.
... nalaman kong pwede kang lumaban kapag alam mong ikaw ang nasa tama, at sadyang tanga lang yung titser mo.
... naging magaling akong mambola sa mga love letters.
... maaga akong natuto sa mga makamundong bagay.
... hindi ako marunong masyado na makihalubilo sa mga babae, na hindi nagmumukhang manyak o bastos.
... naging medyo maluho ako sa mga gadgets.
... natuto ako kung paano hindi mahahalata na hindi ako nagbayad sa jeep.
... naging magaling magtago sa mga taong hindi ko gusto.
... natuto akong uminom.
... narealize kong suspension ang kapalit kapag pinahiram mo yung ID mo sa ibang tao.
... nalaman ko ang mga pinaka-effective way ng paninipsip (pero syempre di ko ginagawa yun).
... medyo in-the-know ako sa mga gay lingo noong panahon na nag-aaral ko.
... napatunayan kong wala talaga akong pag-asang maging sports superstar.
... marunong akong gumawa ng pinakacreative na excuse para lumiban sa paaralan / trabaho.
... nakapag road trip ako.
... natuto akong kapalan ang mukha pagdating sa mga bagay na gusto/kailangan ko.

Buong buhay ko, all boys school ang pinag-aralan ko. Sa totoo lang, dapat alam ko kung paano manligaw, o kahit magpakilala man lang sa aking mga natitipuhan.

Pero bakit pagdating kay Monday, tumutupi kaagad ako?

A SAD DAY FOR FILIPINOS

Let's all pray for the repose of the soul of our Former President Corazon Aquino who died at 3:18 this morning.

A PRAYER FOR A HAPPY DEATH
Corazon Aquino

Almighty God, most merciful Father
You alone know the time
You alone know the hour
You alone know the moment
When I shall breathe my last.

So, remind me each day,
most loving Father
To be the best that I can be.
To be humble, to be kind,
To be patient, to be true.
To embrace what is good,
To reject what is evil,
To adore only You.

When the final moment does come
Let not my loved ones grieve for long.
Let them comfort each other
And let them know
how much happiness
They brought into my life.
Let them pray for me,
As I will continue to pray for them,
Hoping that they will always pray
for each other.

Let them know that they made possible
Whatever good I offered to our world.
And let them realize that our separation
Is just for a short while
As we prepare for our reunion in eternity.

Our Father in heaven,
You alone are my hope.
You alone are my salvation.
Thank you for your unconditional love, Amen.

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I was fortunate enough to have grown up during the time of Corazon Aquino's regime. I don't recall it being a very quiet time for the country, but I do remember it being more peaceful than the regime before it.

I don't personally know Tita Cory, the only time I had an inkling of her presence was back in first grade when during our Field Trip in Malacañang, our teachers told us to keep quiet because the President was sleeping in her room.

But I've always admired her. She was a very strong woman. Even in the face of death, she was unafraid. She faced the harshest of enemies, from a tyrannical dictator to unending coup attempts, even a couple of national calamities during her term and finally cancer. She braved them all with a straight face. Her only weapon, her faith.

I was browsing through the article written about her when she became Time's Woman of the Year, and I can't help but be astonished by what Cory, and her faith has achieved. A plain housewife who became a nation's commander-in-chief. As noted, I agree "Ninoy's destiny is to be assassinated, and hers is the presidency."

She is a great loss to the country. And today is a sad day for Filipinos indeed.

A TOYS STORY

I really don't have anything in mind to write right now so I thought, why not revisit my childhood just like other bloggers have been doing the past few weeks/days. I'm an only child so sometimes, if I make lambing to my parents, I usually get what I ask for.

So I listed some of my favorite toy series, which until after I graduated from college I still played with. Usually having them wrestle each other.

DINO RIDERS
I loved the cartoons back then, but I loved the toy series even more. I didn't get the big dinosaurs like the T-Rex or Diplodocus or Brontosaurus no matter how big the tantrums I made back then. Good thing though, I have rich neighbors who had some of the dinos. So usually, we play with each other to have more Dinos and to create a story. This actually got me fascinated with dinosaurs for a time. These were the types of toys where you're cool in school if you own one.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

What little boy who grew up back in the 90's didn't have at least one toy from this show. They're probably the coolest thing to come out of that era. I had four. I remember loving this because I liked seeing the toys that I had on tv. I often brag to my friends that my toys are often seen on tv (Wingnut and Leatherhead). I know I still have some of these toys, I just don't know where I placed it.

GI JOE
The other toy that no kid did not have during my time was GI Joe. I didn't have much of these because they easily get stolen. I don't know why I enjoyed playing these toys as most of them can't even hold the guns that come with the toy. When I had my 7th birthday, alot of the gifts I received were GI Joes. Unfortunately I only got to keep 2 of those. Like I said, most of it got stolen. I remember having Bazooka, Duke and Destro.
VISIONARIES
This was one of my favorite cartoons back when I was in 4th grade. So when I saw these action figures being sold on one of the stalls in our school's plaza, I sort of freaked out. It was one of the things I wanted to have right away. You see, during those times holograms were cool. Pictures are different when you point it at the sun, sort of like 3D as well. It was one of those toys that aren't really that expensive, but you'll have to work really hard so your parents will be forced to give it to you as a reward.
PLAY DOH
I was not really creative as a child. But these were the toys back then that were in. Your classmates usually bring one can of these things every Friday to play with after or during classes. It's clay, so you can form literally anything that you could imagine. I had the burger shop set, so I was able to form cabbage leaves, tomatoes, pickles and whatever it is that you put on a sandwich bun. The funny thing about it is that it's the best way for everyone to know who among our classmates are circumcised and who's not.
LEGO
These things made me realize how much I needed to learn about following instructions. The first time I got a box of Lego when I was a kid, it took me one whole month to form the robot that it was supposed to have been modeled from. I didn't know which block to put on top of the other. Although, I was good at creating a human head, complete with a mouth that opens. My parents hated these toys mostly because I don't clean up after my mess and they usually step on those blocks.
GHOSTBUSTERS
I only had Egon Spengler for a toy back in grade school. But I think, that this was one of the most creative action figures that I've ever seen even til now. Monsters would transform from ordinary people. A ghostbuster action figure can change from a normal guy to what he'd look like when he sees a ghost. It's just a fun toy. Oh yeah, and the cartoon was great too. I remember crying when ABS-CBN showed the last episode of the original series. They even showed other kids saying goodbye to the beloved tv show.
HE-MAN
I liked He-Man. I think when I was a kid, I had most of what the franchise was selling. The coloring books, the story books, the action figures, his sword. I think Grayskull was one of my ultimate wishlist to Santa Clause. I envied my neighbor who had He-Man's tiger, while I only have Man-o-War (or is it Man-of-arms?). My rich kid neighbor had He-Man and I so wanted to steal it and keep it somewhere only I could play with it (which I almost did). Only thing that kept me from doing so was the fact that if I get caught, I won't be able to play with his family computer forever. But I really wanted to keep it for myself.

Yeah, being a kid back in those days is really cool.

KWENTONG KUNG ANU-ANO LANG

Sa tingin ko, nagbalik nanaman sa available ang status ko mula sa dating. Simula nang huli kaming nagkita ni Singer, hindi pa kami nagkakatext o nagkakausap. Sigurado akong wala akong nasabing mali noong huli kaming nagkita, kasi hindi naman kami talaga masyado nag-usap nun.

Marahil nga walang spark.

Minsan tuloy naiisip ko, katawan ko lang ang hanap ng mga ito.

Yak!!!

**********
Noong weekend, naranasan kong maglaba sa unang pagkakataon sa buong buhay ko. Mahirap. Masakit sa likod. Hindi maganda sa pakiramdam ng sabong panlaba, nakakangilo. Inabot ako ng dalawang oras sa paglalaba ng limang pirasong underwear (alam ko too much info).

Mayroon pa akong ilang piraso ng t-shirt, shorts at polo na nakababad. Hindi ko pa alam kung ano mga dapat kusutin sa mga iyon. Kailangan ba yung buong damit? O pwede ba na kahit yung mga gilid lang, kwelyo at manggas?

Malapit ko nang sukuan yang paglalaba na yan. Leche.

**********
Noong Biyernes ngapala, nagpadentista ako. After almost two years, nahawakan ulit ng dentista ang mga ngipin ko. Natrauma kasi ako noong halos dalawang taon na ang nakakaraan nang imarder ng dati kong dentista yung wisdom tooth ko.

Abnormal kasi yung tubo noong dalawang wisdom teeth ko, pagilid imbis na pataas. Yung isa, dahil nakakasakit na ng bibig, eh kailangan kong ipabunot. At dahil medyo aanga-anga yung dentista ko, at dahil na rin ayaw iwan ni wisdom tooth yung gilagid ko, nasira yung katabing ngipin nito. Kaya yung dapat na isang ngipin lang ang tatanggalin, naging dalawa.

Pero di naman ako nagalit, naiintindihan ko, dahil kita naman sa ebidensya (ngipin ko) na ayaw niya talagang iwan yung mga gilagid ko. Yung korte ng ngipin eh parang hook. Tsaka nung tinanggal yun, kita ko pawis na pawis siya. Kaya matagal-tagal din akong nawalan ng lakas ng loob na bumalik sa mga dentista.

**********
Ang kwento ko talaga ay tungkol kay Monday. Kanina kasi, nakasabay ko siya sa FX papuntang Baclaran nung papasok ako. Nakatabi ko siya sa harapan. Noong una, hindi ko siya namukhaan, kasi hindi naman talaga ako tumitingin sa mga nakakatabi ko sa fx. Matagal na rin kasi nung huli kong makasabay sa sasakyan si Lunes. Kung di ko nga siya nakasabay ngayon, malamang nakalimutan ko na siya.

Napansin ko lang na si Monday nga yun, kasi nakita ko yung cellphone na gamit niya. Naaalala ko na yun din yung gamit niya noong huli ko siyang nakasabay, nung nagbabay lang ako sa kanya.

At dahil maysa pagkachismoso ako, sinisilip ko kung sino yung katext niya sa ganitong oras. Mukhang hindi naman boypren dahil walang bahid ng kaswitan sa mga text. Kasi nga, katabi ko siya, mahirap siyang masilip, dahil obvious kung titingnan ko siya, so sa sidemirror na lang ng fx ko siya sinisilip. Alam ko tinitingnan din niya ako. Kahit nakaharap yung ulo niya, nakikita ko ang mga mata niya na gumigilid sa may side ko.

Ewan ko ba, kinikilig ako.

ANGAS

Gabi. Alas dose. Pagod akong sumakay sa fx galing sa gimik na hindi ako masyadong nag-enjoy. Napagastos nanaman ako. Ayokong gumagastos ng malaki sa mga bagay na hindi ko naman talaga gustong gawin. Mainit ang ulo ko. Gusto kong matulog.

Tididudut Tidududuuut... Tididudut Tididududuuut...

May nagtext sa katabi ko. Ang ingay ng cellphone niya.

Nilingon ko ang katabi ko. Parang sekyu lang sa tabi tabi. May angas ang mukha. Mukhang mayabang tong ugok na to ah.

Nilabas ko ang cellphone ko. Pumunta sa applications, at nag-internet gamit ang phone ko. Gago ka, ang angas mo... may ganyan ba ang 3210 mo? sa isip-isip ko.

Itinago ng katabi ko ang telepono niya. Yan... matuto ka.

Tama na pagyayabang, nanalo na ako. Itinago ko na ang telepono ko. Sa wakas pwede nako bumalik sa pag-idlip.

Ilang saglit lang, nagising muli ako, di dahil sa ingay ng telepono pero dahil sa sakit na naramdaman ko sa aking tagiliran.

"Putang-ina mo ka, pag nagsalita at gumawa ka ng hindi ko gusto, ibabaon ko sa'yo tong icepick ko." bulong ng katabi ko. "Gawin mo lahat ng sasabihin ko puta ka at makakababa ka dito sa fx na 'to ng walang butas sa katawan. Naiintindihan mo?!"

"O-o-opo." nanginginig kong sinabi.

"Akin na ang wallet mo, cellphone tsaka yang bracelet mo. BILIS!!!"

"Kunin niyo na po yung pera, iwan niyo na lang sakin yung mga id ko. Kailangan ko po yun." Tiningnan ko ang paligid ko. Walang nakakaalam sa nangyayari samin dito sa likod. Malakas ang radyo ng drayber na nakikinig ng mga kwentong kabastusan ng mga tagapakinig nito. Mahimbing naman ang tulog ng nag-iisang pasahero sa gitna ng sasakyan.

"Tarantado ka, sinabi ko bang pwede kang magsalita?!" Idiniin ng mama ang nakatusok sa tagiliran ko.

Gustuhin ko mang sumigaw, hindi ko magawa dahil sa takot na tuluyan ako nito. Ginawa ko ang gusto niya. Kinapkapan ako ng mama, tila naghahanap pa ng mga makukuha sakin. Pati bayag ko kinapkapan.

"'Ina mo, nakita mo mukha ko... pag nagsumbong ka sa pulis, alam ko kung saan ka nakatira. Hahantingin kita putang ina ka!!!" binulong niya sa akin. Tuluyan niyang idiniin yung ice pick sa gilid ko. Naramdaman ko ang dugo na tumutulo na palabas ng katawan ko. Pero hindi ako pwede masaktan. Gusto ko pang mabuhay.

Hinugot ng lalaki ang patalim at sinaksak akong muli sa tagiliran. Mas malakas ang pagtusok sa ikalawang pagkakataon at ramdam kong mas malalim ang baon. Hindi ko gustong mamatay ng ganito. Diyos ko tulungan niyo ako, tanging dasal ko.

BANG.

Naramdaman kong huminto ang sasakyan. Naririnig ko ang mga sigawan. Maraming tao ang nakita kong nagkukumpulan sa sasakyan. Pero nagdidilim na ang paligid. Wala na akong nararamdaman.

Gumising ako sa kwartong hindi ko kilala. Biglang nagsisigaw ang isang pamilyar na boses. Ang nanay ko, natatarantang tinatawag ang tatay ko.

Wala na ako masyadong naalala noong gabing iyon. Pero sabi nila, pulis daw yung isang pasahero ng fx. Nung nakita na daw niyang sinaksak ka na, binunot na niya yung baril at pinaputukan ito sa mukha.

Hindi na ako mag-aangas ulit.

***********
Wala ako makwento... maglalaba pa ako... magsasaing at bibili ng kakainin namin ng mga aso ko. Next week pa ako liliban sa opisina ng isang linggo. Sigh.

LONELY BOY CHRONICLES

Nang unang malaman ko na iiwan ako ng mga magulang ko sa bahay namin na mag-isa, ang unang pumasok sa utak ko eh: mabubuhay ang sex life ko!!! May dinedate ako ngayon... may 5-day weekend ako... wala sa Pilipinas ang mga pakialamerong kapitbahay namin... lahat ng puntos para magkaroon ako ng maligayang weekend eh nasa sakin kaya nagbunyi ako.

Kung tutuusin hindi naman ito ang unang pagkakataon na iniwan ako dito mag-isa. Noong isang taon nagbakasyon sa Amerika yung dalawa sa loob ng anim na buwan na dahilan kung bakit iniwan ko ang dati kong trabaho. Sanay na ako.

Yun nga... dapat masaya ako ngayon... pero hindi masyado.

Pagod ako. Di gaya ng dati, na andito ang mga pinsan ko, wala talaga akong kasama na tutulong sakin. Ako ang naghuhugas ng mga plato. Ako ang nagpapakain sa mga aso. Walang magluluto para sa akin. Nauubos ang pera ko kakabili ng ipapakain sa sarili ko at sa mga aso naming maarte sa pagkain. Ako ang magpapalaba sa lahat ng damit ko. Pagkatapos ng linggong ito, wala na akong malinis na underwear!!!

Hindi rin alam ng mga magulang ko kung kailan sila babalik. Malamang sa August daw. Balak nilang pumunta ng Cebu at Samar. Parang andami nilang pera!!! Sigurado rin akong pagbalik nila kung kailan man yun, eh wala akong makukuhang pasalubong. Baka isang balot ng otap.

Anyway, lonely boy chronicles ako ngayon. Hindi ko rin alam kung bakit, pero mas gusto ko ngayong mapag-isa. Noong linggo, andaming gustong iinvade ang bahay namin para magparty, pero di ko pinatulan. Kagabi, gusto ng date ko na magkita kami, pero mas ginusto kong matulog. Masaya ako ngayong nagtatanim ng mga prutas at gulay sa Barn Buddy. Siguro wag na kayong magtaka kung bakit hanggang ngayon single pa rin ako.

Naghahanap ng sosyotain, pero kapag may dumarating, mas ginugusto kong mag-isa.

May kulang yata ang turnilyo ko. Ano ba problema ko?

***********

Si Date... tatawagin kong si Singer. Yan na lang muna... Nasa stage kami ng getting to know each other pa lang naman. Text text... Tawag tawag... Hanging out lang...

Nagkiss na kami. Kaya lang... Wala pang spark... Kunsabagay smack sa lips lang naman yun.

Ang problema... mas gusto kong mapag-isa ngayon... Oo na... asal loser na ako.

ANG HANAP NG MGA BABAE

Dahil nasa gitna ako nga aking bakasyon, naisip kong magrepost ulit. Vacation mode din ang utak ko ngayon.

Hindi ako eksperto pagdating sa mga kababaihan. Siguro, kung ganun nga ako, eh malamang hindi ako single ngayon. Pero dahil, medyo naaliw ako sa pag-aanalisa ng mga gusto ng mga lalake sa mga babae, eh ngayon gusto ko namang isulat kung ano sa tingin ko ang hinahanap ng mga babae sa ating mga lalake.

Ang inyo pong mababasa eh pawang mga opinyon ko lamang, mga sagot ng ilang babaeng katabi ko at mga isinumbat sa akin ng ex ko noong hiniwalayan niya ako. Nasabi ko na ba sa inyo na minsan na akong nasabihan na hindi marunong magmahal? Wala lang, gusto ko lang sabihin. May kwento yun, pero saka na lang.

Gaya ng nakaraan kong post, alisin na natin ang mga obvious na hinahanap ng mga babae, mga pisikal at materyal na bagay. So out na ang guwapo, maganda ang katawan at mayaman.

Gusto ko sana ilagay ito sa 'battle of the sexes' na label, kaya lang wala naman atang papatol. So anyway, ayun... simulan na natin to...

PERSONALIDAD: Mas naniniwala ako kapag babae ang nagsasabi na hindi importante ang looks para sa kanila, kesa sa lalake na nagsasabi nun. Pansin ko ang mga babae eh mahilig sa mga lalakeng malakas ang personalidad. Mapakomedyante, bad boy, o kahit nerdox basta kaya nilang dalhin ang sarili nila, eh ok sa mga babae yun. Maglakad lakad ka sa mall, makikita mo, andaming mahuhusay na mga kababaihan nakikipag holding hands sa mga lalaking mataba, pandak, nakakalbo o panget. Siguro, yung ibang lalake eh ubod ng yaman, pero kadalasan, kapag nakikita mo sila, ang mga babae eh masayang masaya, kahit di kaguwapuhan ang kasama nila. Ang mahalaga kasi, eh napapatawa sila. In short, hindi boring.

SPONTANEOUS: Minsan may mga magsing-irog na matagal na ang relasyon, yung tipong higit sa limang taon nang nagsasama, kulang na lang yung papel para sabihing talagang mag-asawa na sila, pero nagkakahiwalay pa rin. Ang madalas na sinasabing dahilan ng babae eh nagsasawa na sila sa isa't isa. Wala kasing bago. Masyado nang nasanay sa isa't-isa na nakakalimutang minsan kelangan lagyan ng anghang ang kanilang pagsasama. Yung tipo bang, minsan sa isang taon eh lumabas ng Maynila, o kaya nama'y gumawa ng activities kapag may date. Dagdag pogi points sa lalake ang marunong manurpresa ng kanilang girlfriend. Na kahit sampung taon na kayong nagsasama, eh may mga bagay pa rin na noon niyo pa lang magagawa.

MAY EFFORT: Siguro kahanay na ito ng pagiging spontaneous, hanap ng mga babae ang mga lalakeng marunong mag-effort. Ang kaibigan ko, kapag nag-aaway sila ng boyfriend niya, kadalasan ang dahilan ng away na iyon eh wala siyang nakikitang effort sa kanya na iparamdam na mahal niya yung babae. Yung simpleng bigyan siya ng pasalubong kapag may lakad ito sa labas ng Manila o kaya'y paminsan gastusan naman ang mga date nila (yung tipong di na sa Chowking at SM Cinema ang lakad nila). Yung kapag may tampuhan sila, yung lalake yung manunuyo kahit minsan yung babae ang may kasalanan. Siguro, pwede nating isulat dito eh yung lalakeng responsable.

MAGALING SA KAMA: Ang mga babae, tahimik man ang mga yan, sa totoo eh malilibog din yan. Nasa loob ang kulo. Naku, kung naririnig niyo lang ang mga girl talk ng mga yan, kapag hindi sila nasatisfy... kawawang lalake. Dahil nga inherent sa mga babae ang pagiging chismosa, eh kelangan mo talagang magperform sa kama. May kakilala ako na nakipaghiwalay sa asawa at sumama sa tibo dahil yung asawa niya ay hindi siya nasatisfy sa kama (of course, hindi lang yun yung dahilan). Pero mahalaga talaga na kaya mong paligayahin ang isang babae sa kwarto. Guys, minsan hindi masama makinig sa mga girl talk, kasi minsan, tuturuan ka pa ng mga niyan ng technique na ginagawa sa kanila ng partner nila.

MAHABA ANG PASENSYA: Siguro jackpot ang mga babae kung ang nahanap nilang boyfriend eh kaya silang samahan na mag-ikot ikot sa mall ng walang naririnig na reklamo. Bibihira kang makakakita ng lalakeng papayag na magspend ng tatlo hanggang limang oras para samahan ang gelpren na mamili ng damit at sapatos. Tapos wala namang bibilhin. Feeling ko nga ang mga lalakeng kayang gawin yun eh nawiwili ring magsukat ng damit ng babae sa sarili nila. Biro lang po. Ang punto ko, ang lalakeng mga ganito eh mahahaba ang pasensya. Hindi lang naman sa pamimili, makikita ito. Alam naman nating lahat na minsan sa isang buwan, ang mga babae ay
nagiging aswang. So sa mga panahon na sila'y may sungay, dapat kami'y makakapagkumbaba. O kaya naman kapag hormonal. Actually, kahit sa paghingi ng mga desisyon (pabagobago kasi ng isip ang mga babae) kailangan din mahaba ang pisi namin, para walang away.

Alam ko madami pa. Si Bridget Jones nga, ang haba ng listahan. Dagdagan niyo na lang, kapag may naisip kayong bago.

FILM REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF BLOOD PRINCE

The long weekend is finally upon me. After today's shift, I have a 5-day break to cover for my not being able to file another leave during the next couple of months that I'll be training for our new business unit, which I'll be joining next month. This is not in any way related to the movie, and I'm too tired to erase all of the words I've already typed so just bear with me with this paragraph. I just wanted to say that I have a 5-day weekend. Alone at home. Without my parents. And without annoying neighbors to monitor everything I'm doing (cue horns and devilish grin).

Alright, enough about that. I'm writing this post assuming that since all of you are reading my blog, that you've already read the book... so spoilers abound. So if you haven't and don't want to know what happens in the movie. Just scroll down and read my previous posts. Don't click on the X button.

EDIT: I just reread the review and realized that I didn't spoil anything major that happened in the film. So it's kinda safe to read it... but if you don't want to risk anything just scroll to my other previous posts.



You're still reading this so I guess that means you want to be spoiled. Let's get it on.

I'll start with this: Among all of the Harry Potter books, The Half-Blood Prince is one of my least favorite books in the series. And it doesn't help that it references events that happened from my least favorite book of the series: The Chamber of Secrets. But having said that, I still find the movie really good.

It's been over a year since I last read the book, so I'm not really sure how faithful this adaptation is. But in any case I do remember having read most if not all of the things that happened in the movie. Clocking at two and a half hours, this movie is really long, and despite the length you'd find that it isn't action heavy unlike the last two films. I've heard some of the people who saw the film yesterday say that it's kinda boring. But one thing that's very noticeable about this flick is that it's visually stunning.

So, the kids are now grown up. Problems arise because of their lovelife and not because of kid stuff like ogres in the girl's bathrooms, werewolves for teachers or triwizard tournaments. Harry, Ron and Hermione are back at Hogwarts on history's darkest days. Voldemort's confirmed to be alive and the Death Eaters are bringing chaos all over the muggle and magic communities. Dumbledore's tasked Harry to find out the secret to defeating Voldemort by watching people's memories of the young Tom Riddle. While love is in the air for alot of the main characters of the series.

Just like the book, the film's not really action-oriented. Fight scenes are few and far between. That's basically the reason people tend to say that it's boring. I think there's a total of three fight scenes in this movie and not one of them lasted longer than five minutes. But if you're into cinematography and artsy fartsy stuff, you'd appreciate this movie. I love the shots in the cornfield fight scenes, the island fight scenes. And this is the movie where I realized that Hogwarts really IS a beautiful place. The movie is really visually stunning. To be fair, not once did I look at my watch during the entirety of the film (unlike the Transformers running scene which lasted about 45 minutes... I think... I still love T2:ROTF)

Prior to watching the movie, I saw all five of the previous films so it's nice to see how everyone grew up and improved over the course of the six films. Eight years and six films Rowling's series still makes me believe in MAGIC.

In any case, now I'm really looking forward to seeing the last two films based on Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.


RATING: 8.5 out of 10 stars

REPOST: ANG HANAP NG MGA LALAKE

Medyo naghahibernate ata ang utak ko nitong mga nakaraang araw. Puros Harry Potter na lang ang laman ng utak ko ngayon tsaka yung pinost kong status update sa Facebook (wag kayo mag-alala ikukwento ko yun one of these days). Medyo may kinalaman rin naman kasi ito dun sa mga nangyayari sa buhay ko nitong linggong nagdaan.

Anyway, naisip kong irepost ito, dahil napansin ko na isa ito sa madalas na hinahanap sa google ng mga babaeng clueless yata sa mga hinahanap ng mga lalake.

Habang nag-iisip ako kanina ng magandang topic, nabanggit ng aking katabi na si Denise na magsulat ng mga bagay na nagugustuhan ng mga lalake sa mga babae. Ano bang dapat meron sila para masabi namin na sila ay attractive?

NGUNIT!!! Obvious na ang magandang mukha, malaking boobs, at mahusay na katawan ay kasama na sa mga listahan, pagbigyan naman natin ang mga hindi pinalad. Ang mga ililista ko eh yung mga katangian ng pagkatao na gusto namin sa opposite sex. Yung mga dahilan kung bakit nasasabi nilang LOVE IS BLIND.

O siya sige, ang haba na ng opening ko, simulan na natin ito...

MAY PAGKAMISTERYOSA: Meron kasing mga taong, unang kilala mo pa lang, eh ikukuwento na sayo ang buong life story niya, ang history ng pangalan, ang buong kwento ng mga kanunu-nunuan, at kahit ang kwento ng alaga ng kapitbahay ng pinsan ng aleng nagtitinda ng yosi sa harap ng building ng dati niyang pinagtatrabahuan (whew)... in short chismosa at madaldal. Ayos lang naman ang makwento, pero gusto rin namin na minsan ay gumamit ng detective skills upang makilala ng mabuti ang isang babae. Yung tipong pwede mong gamitan ng Socratic Method para malaman ang mga sikreto nila. Pero siyempre, pagnalaman naming may pagka-serial killer type pala sila... ibang usapan na yan.

BABAENG GAME: Not necessarily sa kama. Ang ibig kong sabihin, eh yung madaling mayaya. Game siya mag-go kart, manuod ng sine, kumain sa labas, magbasketball, kumain sa karinderya, magfishball. Sa madaling-salita eh hindi maarte. Koboy ika nga. Yung pwedeng one of the boys. Ang isa sa hinahanap ng mga lalake sa kanilang magiging girlfriend, eh yung tipong makakasundo ng kanilang mga kabarkada. Kung jologs ang barkada ko, eh jologs din siya. Kung sosyal, eh sosyal din. Hindi yung tipong, kapag kasama ng mga kaibigan namin, eh uupo sa isang tabi. Tapos pag pauwi na kami, saka ako aawayin.

SYEMPRE MABAIT: Nauunawaan namin na once a month, nagbabago pagkatao ninyo, pero kung araw-araw ang ugali mo eh parang lagi kang may tagos, eh isa kang malaking turn-off!!! Masarap maging single, masarap din yung may kapartner ka. Pero, kung ang girlfriend namin, eh hahayaan kaming mamuhay na para bagang single kami, eh nakajackpot kami... Eto ay mga babaeng di dapat pakawalan. Pag sinabi kong, mamuhay parang single, hindi yung tipong mambababae. Ang ibig kong sabihin, yung tipong hahayaan akong sumama sa mga boys night out. Hindi maldita. Papatawarin ka, kung minsang makalimutan mo ang birthday niya o monthsary ninyo. Hindi naman martir o linta. Pero yung tipong bukas ang isipan baga.

APPRECIATIVE: Ang gusto ng lalake eh minsan, napapansin at inaappreciate yung mga magagandang ginagawa namin. Hindi yung puros talak na lang ng mga kabalbalan namin ang naririnig namin. Ang isa pang ayaw namin eh yung kapag nag-aaway, eh iuungkat pa lahat ng kasalanan na nagawa namin noong previous life namin. Yung tipong hindi ko na nga naaalala na nangyari, inuungkat pa rin.

HINDI INSECURE: Siguro, lahat ng away ng magkasintahan, eh nagmumula sa pagiging insecure ng mga kababaihan. Nagseselos kapag tumitingin kami sa mukha (o dede) ng ibang babae. Yung tipong palaging nagtatanong kung tumataba ba sila (hindi cute yun, kung hindi kayo maniniwala sa sagot namin!!!). Iba ang pacute, iba rin ang insecure. At nakakairita ang mga babaeng walang tiwala sa sarili, lalo na kung namimihasa na. Ang sinasabi ko lang, eh kung ikaw ay babaeng confident, mataas ang plus points mo sa amin. Yung tipong, kaya mo kaming pahabulin at kaya mo kaming paglaruan. Madalas, nagiging bobo kami sa mga babaeng ganito, pero okay lang. Gaya nga ng sabi ko, us guys welcome the challenge. Kaya uso ang mga cougar ay dahil sa mga babaeng ganito.

MATALINO: Eto, personal choice ko. Ang gusto ko, eh babaeng kaya makipagsabayan sa mga usapan namin. Yung tipong may laman ang mga sinasabi, at hindi puros hangin lang. Hindi halata, pero tahimik akong tao, pero kapag ang babae, ay napagkwento ako tungkol sa mga bagay-bagay, kung hindi man kami magkatuluyan, eh kinikeep ko siya bilang isang kaibigan. Ayaw ko talaga sa mga bobo, dahil maikli ang pasensya ko. Ayokong kausap yung mga tipong, ang habahaba ng kwento ko, tapos ok lang yung sagot nila tapos change topic agad. Nakakasira ng mood.

Alam kong hindi makikita ang lahat ng ito sa iisang babae lang, pero ang mahalaga eh meron sila kahit at least dalawa o tatlo man lang sa mga katangiang ito, okay na ako. Hindi ko na pakakawalan ang mga ganito.

BUCKET LIST: THE FIRST 25

I'm not about to die. I think I still have until the age of 50 before I hit eternal slumber. Plenty of time to do some things that I would like to experience before the inevitable happens. I don't remember with whom I got this idea from, but it's from a fellow blogger. But in any case, whoever you are, thank you for giving me this idea.

1. I'd like to get married at least once in my life.
2. I would like to be able to go on a date outside of the city and be back by the end of the day.
3. I'd like to get rid of my seafood allergy. People say I'm missing alot not eating those food.
4. I want to go bungee jumping.
5. Some mind blowing $3x with a foreigner would be nice.
6. Ride a horse.
7. Learn scuba diving.
8. Master a different language (either Spanish, Italian or French or all three).
9. Be inside the delivery room when someone delivers a baby (not necessarily my wife, but that would be ideal and appropriate).
10. Visit a country in Europe or South America.
11. Skinny dipping.
12. Own a kick ass entertainment system (huge flat screen tv, awesome speakers, all next-gen consoles, and a lazy boy).
13. Date a model (I think I've done it once, I'd like to do it again).
14. Live in a condominium (I prefer a loft over anything).
15. Be good in at least one sport.
16. Watch a live show of WWE (I will only watch that show in Manila if Randy Orton is included in the list of wrestlers featured in a match).
17. Organize something for my blogger friends.
18. Have an adult surprise party on one of my birthdays.
19. Donate blood.
20. I know I'm too old to wear braces, but I need to have my teeth fixed.
21. Shoplift (I really need to announce this!!!).
22. Learn a really cool magic trick.
23. Have a picture taken with a celebrity (local or international).
24. Do something naughty in a public place (cinema's already done).
25. Blog about all the things I'll be checking on my bucket list.

This has been a year when I've had alot of firsts. More than when I was 17, so in terms of achievements, 2009 is a good year so far. I'm at the prime of my life right now, and there's a lot of things that I would really like to do. I just need to have the motivation to do all of these things.

So this is a start.

THE INITIATIVE

Nakasabay ko nanaman kahapon si Monday. Unang-una hindi ko inaasahan na mangyayari yun kasi late na rin ng hapon nang umuwi ako. Magkatapat kami ng upuan dun sa likuran ng fx nakasakay. Kaming dalawa lang.

Iba yung naramdaman ko kahapon. Iba yung kabog ng dibdib ko. Hindi ko alam kung dahil kasabay ko siyang umuwi o dahil high blood nanaman ako. Pero sobrang sumikip yung dibdib ko.

Hindi kami nagkakatinginan masyado dahil busy siya sa kakatext kung kanino man. Iniisip ko lahat ng sinasabi ng mga nagbabasa dito. Na hindi siya engaged. Na kelangan ko na siyang makilala dahil malapit na rin naman magbago ang oras ko.

Ewan ko, kung nakita niyo siguro yung mukha ko kahapon.. mukha akong tanga. Contorted kasi mukha ko pag nag-iisip ako ng malalim. Di ko alam kung saan ako huhugot ng lakas para ipakilala ang sarili ko sa kanya. Parang yung lakas ng loob kong mamik-up ng mga tipo ng mga kaklase ko noong nasa kolehiyo pa ako eh biglang nawala. Pinikit ko yung mata ko...

"Hi." nasabi ko.

Napatingin sa akin si Monday. Di siya sigurado kung siya nga ba yung kausap ko.

"Sorry, I don't do this, pero madalas kasi kitang nakakasabay pauwi. I just wanted to say hi. So hi!" sabay bigay ng awkward na ngiti.

"Okay? Uhmmm... Hello?" sumagot si Monday. Nakangiti.

"Mondays." kabado kong sinabi. "Actually, tuwing Monday, madalas tayo magkasabay."

"Yeah? Familiar ka nga." sabi niya.

"Not that I'm keeping tabs. Di ako stalker. Nagkakataon lang siguro na every Monday, nakakasabay kita. Weird nga kasi Friday ngayon."

Parang nagbago yung tingin niya. Natakot yata. Creepy ata yung pagkakasabi ko.

"I just notice. I'm good with faces kasi. Medyo hindi mabilis nakakalimot."

"Aaah. Okay."

"By the way, I'm Gil ngapala."

Napatigil siya. Nag-iisip kung ibibigay ba niya pangalan niya. "RC." sabi niya.

"Like yung cola?"

Tumawa siya. "Just like yung cola. Hahaha"

Ang ganda niya tumawa. Ang lalim ng dimple niya. In love na yata ako!!!

"Nice to meet you RC." sa isip ko finally may pangalan na rin yung mukhang nakakasabay ko halos linggo linggo.

Nagdadalawang isip ako kung kukunin ko ba yung numero niya. Kasi parang hindi naman siya ganun ka interesado. At mukhang mabilis naman kung kukunin ko ngayon agad. Kakakuha ko pa lang ng pangalan niya. Baka isipin nun creepy stalker talaga ako.

"Uhmm.. RC.. okay lang ba.."

"Gatchalian lang po..." sabi ng isang pasahero.

If You See Kaye, will you tell her that I love her.
And if you see Kaye, let her know I want her back.
-sabi ng mp3 player ko.

Bumalik ako sa realidad. Nakatitig pala ako sa cellphone ni Monday.

Nakatingin siya sa akin. Alam niya na dito ako bababa, mukhang nagtataka bakit di pa rin ako gumagalaw.

Nagmamadali akong gumalaw sa kinauupuan ko para bumaba. Bago ko isara yung pinto, sinabi ko sa kanya "Bye."

Di ako gumalaw at tiningnan ko siya habang umalis yung fx palayo sakin. Tinaas niya mga daliri niya na parang nagpapaalam sakin. Naglakad ako kahapon mula labasan hanggang sa bahay na nakangiti. Kilala niya na nga ako.

************
Napansin ko lang... sa dinami daming beses naming nagkakasabay, ni minsan hindi ko pa naririnig ang boses ni Monday. Ni minsan nga, di ko pa siya nakikitang nagbabayad ng pamasahe. Siguro ginagawa niya yun bago siya bumaba o pagkasakay niya... o wina 1-2-3 niya yung mga fx. Hmmm...

PAGBABAGO

Simula Setyembre medyo may malaking pagbabagong magaganap sa buhay ko. Di naman siya ganun kalaking pagbabago. Pero matagal ko nang hindi nagagawa yung ganun, at hindi ako sanay. Dahil di na rin naman kayo iba sakin, at karamihan naman sa inyo wala namang pakialam, ikukwento ko na rin.

Ipinaalam na kasi sa programa namin na isa ako sa mga malilipat ng Operating Unit. At kasabay ng paglipat eh magbabago na rin ang schedule ko. Magiging ganap na bampira na ako. Tulog sa umaga at gising sa gabi. Shet, call center na call center.

Sigurado akong patay na patay na ang social life ko. Sigh. Weigh in natin ang pros at cons ng paglipat ko....

PROS:

• Bagong programa ito. Ibig sabihin, ang opportunity na mapromote eh malaki, gayong alam ng lahat na talagang lalaki yung programa.
• Marami akong mga bagong makikilala. Meron naman siguro ako ditong mauuto na magbasa ng blog ko.
• Syempre dagdag pera din ito. Buo ang night differential!!!
• Baka mabawasan ang petiks moments. Yay, less boredom at work for me!!!
• Sa pagkakaalam ko hindi uso ang 6th day OT sa lilipatan ko. Hehehe.
• Malamang papayat na ako ng tuluyan nito dahil ang hirap matulog sa umaga. Yay!!
• Madadagdagan ang friends ko sa Facebook!!!
• Maaaring kasabay ng paglipat ko ang paglevel up ko sa aking posisyon.
• Makakapagblog nako sa oras na maraming online. Yay!!!

CONS:

• Ang pinakamalaking con ay hindi ko na makikita at makakasabay si Monday sa FX.
• Wala na nga akong social life dahil madaling araw na matatapos ang trabaho ko.
• Mamimiss ko siyempre ang mga kaibigan ko dito sa programa ko ngayon, na nakasama ko rin ng isang taon.
• Hindi ako ipapadala sa US, kagaya nang nung nagsimula ako dito. Namiss ko tuloy ang New Zealand.
• Mahirap iadjust ang body clock. Tiyak sakit ang aabutin ko nito. What a great way to lose weight. O baka pro to? hmmmm...
• May pasok kapag New Year!!! Shet!!! Magfifile nako ng leave!!!
• Mahirap magcommute papasok kapag dapithapon na.
• Hindi ko na makikita at makakasabay si Monday.

Maghahanap na lang siguro ako ng Tuesday kung sakali.

LIFE IN TECHNICOLOR

Si Epol op di Eye bibinyagan ko na ng Monday. Pansin ko kasi, lagi na lang Monday tuwing nakakasabay ko siya. Katulad kanina. Pero hindi ko pa rin alam ang pangalan niya. Hindi ako nahihiya. Kaya lang, wala talagang lumalabas sa bibig ko kahit gusto ko nang magtanong.

So ayun nga, kasabay ko nanaman si Monday kanina. Magkatapat ulit kami sa likod ng fx. At gaya ng dati, dahil madalas na kaming magkasabay noon, nagngingitian lang kami. Nag-uusap sa mata. Walang salita, flirting by way of the eyes sabi nila. Ang nakakatuwa, habang magkasabay kami, ang tumutugtog sa mp3 ko eh mga awiting ang sarap pakinggan habang may hinahalikan ka (Life In Technicolor ng Coldplay, Miracles at Love ni Matt White at Linger ng Cranberries).

Marami akong napansin sa kanya ngayon dahil medyo mahaba-haba ang biyahe, dahil sa traffic gawa ng malakas na buhos ng ulan. Medyo balbon pala siya. May kalusugan din ng kaunti pero tama lang. May pagkabumbay din yung hitsura niya. Malalim ang mata. May dimple sa kaliwang pisngi kapag ngumingiti at maganda ang mga ngipin.

Kaya lang napansin ko, meron siyang singsing sa kanyang middle finger. May ibig sabihin ba yun? Sabi nila engaged daw. Totoo ba yun?

Kung sakali, baka kailangan ko nang tigilan si Monday.

***********
At dahil wala akong masyadong maikwento ngayon, halo-halong ewan lang muna isusulat ko.

Noong weekend, dahil sa kakausi ko sa mga status updates ng mga kaibigan ko sa facebook, nakita ko ang isang katrabaho na nagkwento na dismayado siya sa kanyang trabaho. Dahil sa naawa naman ako, naisip kong pag-applyin siya sa gasolinahang tinatrabahuan ko.

Sinabi ko sa kanya na agad magpadala sa akin ng resume. Kinabukasan naman ay nagawa niya ito. Ngalang, pagbukas ko nagulat ako.

Bago ko isulat kung ano ang nakita ko, ipakikilala ko muna siya. Itago natin siya sa pangalang JLo. Di dahil kamukha niya si Jennifer Lopez, ngunit dahil dun nagsisimula pangalan niya. Anyway, wala na sa kalendaryo ang edad niya, at mas matagal pa sa akin yung nagtatrabaho.

Knowing that, sobrang nadismaya ako dahil nang buksan ko ang file ng resume nitong si JLo. Isang page lang ang nakita ko.

Usapan mula sa Facebook Inbox:

GILLBOARD: JLo, ayusin mo naman yung resume mo... hindi ka fresh grad... habaan mo naman... kahit kaunti lang...
JLO: Ganun? One page na lang ang uso ngayon... pero sige I'll fix it.
GILLBOARD: JLo, makikiuso ka nga, HINDI KA NAMAN TANGGAP!!! Maryosep!!!
JLO: hahaha! padalhan mo nga ako ng sample resume mo.. padala mo sa email ko. mwha

Naman kasi, sa panahon ngayon, san ka pa makakakita ng resume na dalawa lang ang skills. Tapos wala man lang background sa walong trabahong ginawa niya noon. Sumakit talaga ulo ko dun. Actually hanggang ngayon minamigraine pa rin ako.