Destination Unknown

~Fill
this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it
was, the more fun the answers will be.

1. Who was your best
friend(s)?
From the same batch: Glenn and Jon Erwin (we were a
trio). From different batch: Vincent. They’re still good friends of
mine, but I haven’t hollered any of them for a while.

2.
What sports did you play?
None

3. What kind of car did you
drive?
I didn’t have any car license back then.

4.
It’s Friday night, where were you?
Usually we (my friends from
different parts of town) come together at a place we call the
“Temple”, which is actually where I live. Some of my friends
(particularly Vincent) would stay there overnight and we would just
be talking about nonsense stuff like girls, life, movies, people,
videogames, school incidents, etc. Oh how fun life used to be.

5.
Were you a partier?
Not quite, especially because there isn’t a
lot of place for those kinda stuff. I am often present on social
gatherings though, and were a lot more outgoing then that I was
during college.

6.
Were you considered a flirt?
Haha what?!

7.
Ever skip school?
Yes. I skipped school on the pretext that I was
going to spend the whole day reviewing for NSAT; but actually NSAT is
just a piece of cake (everyone knows that) and the real reason I
didn’t attend school is because there’s a PS game I wanted to
beat.

8.
Were you a nerd?
I proclaimed that, but people didn’t think I
was so much a nerd as I am weird. I didn’t know they were
different. :laughters:

9.
Did you get suspended/expelled?
Nah

10.
Can you sing the fight song?
Nah

11.
Who was your favorite teacher?
The late Mr. Giron – my English,
History and homeroom teacher, even though I personally had to
apologize to him many times due to my misbehaviors. I actually
blackmailed him and Mrs. Badajos – the homeroom teacher from the
other class, to dance on Christmas party! I didn’t know  then that
it would be the last time I’d see them smiling radiantly like a
newborn baby especially since Giron passed away a year after I had
graduated.

12.
Favorite class?

Pretty
much every class except CAT

13.
What was your school’s full name?
Bacolod Tay Tung High School

14.
School mascot?
Dragon, engendered only on my senior years. Don’t
ask why.

15.
Did you go to Prom?
Yup

16.
If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Yeah, why not,
though there’d certainly be parts of my high school I’d change.

Time
really does give us perspective. I thought I knew everything in my
senior years. I didn’t even realize how much I actually suck at
poetry.

17.
What do you remember most about graduation?
Pretty much none. I
suck at remembering sentimental stuffs. Oh, right. I topped on
Chinese.

18.
Favorite memories of your Senior Year?
Just hanging about without
any care in the world, or like how everyone treats each other like
they’re gonna part ways for good. I thought the cheerleading
incident was pretty retarded though, for those who remember (and
absurdly, some haven’t even let go of that until now: seven years
after!)

19.
Where were you on senior skip day?
What’s a senior skip day?

20.
Did you have a job your senior year?
The newspaper, though I’d
rather not read any of my pieces

21.
Where did you go most often for lunch?
I bring my lunchbox.

22.
Have you gained weight since then?
Oh shoot! I wish I could be
at 75 kg again.

23. What did you do after
graduation?
Celebrated by going to the pizza parlor and eating a
whole family pizza on my own (I didn’t make a big deal out of
graduating). My post-graduation celebration after college was a lot
more terrific.

24. When did you graduate?
March 2001

25.
Who was your Senior prom date?
Chyna, though I danced with plenty
of others (Chyna wasn’t a very close friend then, though we
communicate a lot more now)

26.
Are you going to your 10 year reunion?
I’ll try my best. Most
likely

27.
Who was your home room teacher?
The late Mr. Giron.

28. Who
will repost this after you?
Chester Alomesen. I know he loves this
kind of stuff. Louise too, and Piolo, Mike, Jepes, Tashy, though they
haven’t answered any survey for a while already. Then probably some
of my friendster and/or real life acquaintances that I really don’t
know that much, such as Mawi or Berlie (to y’all: feel free to drop
a message anytime)

Repost
this with your school name and grad year

In case you’re wondering, the header isn’t an allusion. It means exactly
what it is, which is to say it can mean many different things. In this case, I
am talking about the shampoo.

I know! I’m totally not a shampoo model. You won’t see me shadowboxing
with itchy hair a la Richard Gutierrez, nor will you see me throwing my “secret
weapon” hair band like Angel Locsin. If there’s anything I detest about shampoo
ads, it’s the punch line they use. And being that Head and Shoulders is the
brand guiltiest of this, I am often turned off from buying
this product.

But I actually am not that selective with shampoo brands; I don’t care,
just as long as they wash my hair and don’t stink, everything is fine. Since I choose my
shampoo almost completely randomly - depending on what my mom buys - it wasn’t until recently that I couldn’t had told any difference between this and that.

I used to have some dandruff. And on hotter days, my dandruff grew to such
enormous amount they could’ve become a good props for Christmas movies. I didn’t
care that much, although it was slightly irritating. I was okay
with having dandruff and I didn’t believe a single thing those shampoo ads were
telling me. They can’t be that good, can they?

So when I tried Head and Shoulders, I was skeptic about bearing results. The
first few washes with it didn’t amount to any significant progress - maybe because I
really do have a lot of dandruffs - contrary to what that darned commercial said, but the itch was considerably gone.
Since my mom usually buys a huge bottle of a given shampoo, I kept using it.

And what do you know? All my dandruff, gone! Yes, while my Christmas wasn’t
particularly good, I’ve since not dropped any flakes (or
notice any of them on my shirt). Not only that, but my hair has
become smoother!

To hell with the commercials. This shampoo’s the real thing. I’m loving
this brand, because now I’m “free from dandruff and free to shine”, though I’d argue that I have been
shining since the dawn of mankind.

This is such a stupid post! I so need to write something else!

Hey friendster blog team! What’s the big idea?! What the heck happened to my last entry? There was around 6 reviews before; how in the world did it reduce to just one?!

Bummer. Now I have to write all of those over again. Thanks a lot guys! :anger:

While I’m not
particularly a voracious reader of business articles, I am fond of reading Business
World’s Weekender columns. Talks about stock markets, the latest Lucio Tan
establishments, and Ayala’s business strategies tend to bore me to hibernation;
on the other hand, the weekend specials aptly called The Weekender have a
diversity of mostly business-unrelated topics – such as arts, movies,
lifestyle, music, books - that are highly sophisticated and interesting, and
always well-written and informative.

Last Monday’s edition
of Business World contains a column about the best selling jazz albums of 2006.
Being that I have heard much of them, I figured this is a good opportunity to
give my thoughts on some of 2006’s chart-toppers.

Michael Buble –
It’s Time

Self-professed Frank
Sinatra fan, Buble demonstrates that Frankie’s style isn’t as outdated as most
Gen X’s or Y’s youth may think. By crooning like Frankie but choosing
arrangements and songs that are more suited for this generation, Buble sets out
to capture the heart of young and older audiences alike. And in that it
succeeds, especially since it tops the chart, being No. 1 among the bestselling
jazz albums of yesteryear. However, I’m not that impressed. Mind you, the first
few songs - like A Foggy Day (in London Town), especially the part where
Buble’s vocal rise like he’s agitated and constipated - were pretty lively and
well done. But further into the album, and the songs start becoming stale, less
memorable, less significant and more tedious. Some songs from other genres –
like the Beatles original Can’t Buy Me Love and Stevie Wonder’s You
and I - do not bear quite the same emotional impact when converted to a big
band, Broadway style of music. A few originals, instead of just covers, can’t
be too bad either. Still, I’m aware that people will buy this album anyway
regardless of my opinion, and at least I can rest easy about this album not
being as bad as other popular mediums. Rating: 3 out of 5.

Diana Krall –
Christmas Songs

Keep in mind that this
kind of album works only for certain occasions, and I’m not going to go back to
it for this capsule review, because it certainly won’t evoke the same emotions.
I recall that it worked quite as well for feeling the warmth of Christmas.
However, I don’t remember much of the songs, besides a cover of Vince Guaraldi’s
Christmastime is Here. Quite a solid Christmas album, but not one that
will be remembered quite as fondly as Bing Crosby’s White Christmas or
Vince Guaraldi’s A Charlie Brown Christmas. Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

Chriss Botti –
To Love Again: The Duets

I just don’t get it.
Jazz used to be so much fun! Artists were willing to always rewrite definitions
and break the rules. These days though, I get the impression that most jazz
artists are content to rest on their laurels by merely copying songs of the
past, and then serve it with even less aggression. After all, it is to their
advantage that the materials they cover have become relatively forgotten. Chris
Botti Duets album belongs to the most cowardly of jazz genres, also known as
smooth jazz. Not out there to take risks, smooth jazz has only one goal in
mind: to make a pleasant, inoffensive ambience this side of the hotel
lounge/coffee house relaxation, and not to fuel anyone to actually listen
intently to the performance. As a performer of this genre, Botti’s relatively
good, and at least is more skilled than Kenny G; however, I get the sneaky
suspicion that he could do so much more with the trumpet than cover songs in
nearly the exact same way as they were done in the past. And the way this album
shows in my iPod annoys me to no end (it’s a duets album after all, so go
figure why). Still, Botti earn some points for trying and for not ruining the
materials chosen for the album, even if they weren’t done hard and creative
enough. Ratings: 3 out of 5.

Diana Krall –
From This Moment On

Diana Krall’s From
This Moment On is a lot more interesting than Buble’s It’s Time, in
that I thought it worked a lot better for the chillout mood. Diana Krall doesn’t
only sing, but also plays the piano, so it’s ostensible that she’s got more
talent than the average jazz artist. When she’s singing and playing the piano
at the same time, it works quite well. I especially admire her rendition of It
Could Happen to You, Exactly Like You and Isn’t It A Lovely Day,
although I feel that her From This Moment On is a little forced, and her
How Insensitive is bad (side note: How I wish people would stop covering
How Insensitive. It’s tired, period.). Also, another reason why I can’t
give this album a higher score is due to her latter songs also suffering from
being insignificant B-siders. Still, it comes recommended to anyone. Rating: 4
out of 5.

Thelonious Monk
and John Coltrane – At Carnegie Hall

Thelonious Monk and
John Coltrane are names both remembered for being masters of their craft.
Thelonious Monk for being the genius pianist of bebop music, and John Coltrane
for being one of the best saxophonists there ever is. Both of them made music
that broke grounds: Monk for having a style that can never be imitated;
Coltrane for exploring wide ranges of possibilities for jazz music (he did
bebop, cool, and free jazz). So, I have nothing but praises for whoever came up
with the idea of releasing their Carnegie Hall concert record. Take note: I’m a
big fan of them both, but this album, despite being recently released, is one
that I would consider to be the best of their work (besides Coltrane’s A
Love Supreme). While being more of Monk’s than Coltrane’s album, in that
the materials are mostly Monk’s standards – such as Monk’s Mood, Evidence,
Epistrophe, Nutty and Bye-Ya - what makes it effective is
Coltrane’s and Monk’s compatibility. Whilst being extraordinary, their combined
efforts are sparsely recorded, and that’s why I couldn’t be happier that some
record companies are releasing previously unreleased materials of great music.
A masterpiece! Rating: 5 out of 5

Kenny G: The Greatest Holiday Classics

For the interest of
readers who personally know me and my hatred for Kenny G, let me get this
straight: I don’t have this album, and I don’t ever see myself buying it. I’ve
only heard of it on my multiple rounds of strolling Podium, whose
administrators need to be scolded for their insistent desire to play this music
on the background! Kenny G is, quite frankly, an uncreative cash cow who plays “jazz”
with little to no improvisation, forgettable arrangements and, more
importantly, zero aggression and zero risk. And no other albums make it more
apparent than this one. Trust me, I’ve heard plenty of Kenny G albums, yet I’ve
never heard of another that’s as badly done as this “greatest” holiday works,
save his Classics in the Key of G. The materials he chose are so tired,
so familiar, that I cannot imagine what went through to his head. What’s worse
is that he’s done absolutely nothing to either enhance or make his take at
least a little different from the traditions. I can play We Wish You A Merry
Christmas on piano, yet I’m not selling any records. And then people suck
up to Kenny G’s music thinking there’s something “deep” in this? Geez. One last
word: his My Favorite Things is absolutely banal, and it further proves
just how stuck up Kenny is for thinking he can outdo Coltrane (whose My
Favorite Things is way better). In truth, it’s like comparing Dan Brown to
Agatha Christie. Save your money and let this album remain in the elevator or
in some music-dilettante’s coffee shop. Rating: 0 out of 5.

You know what sucks?

It’s when a former employee of the company you work in comes
to "visit". 

And by "visit", I mean coming all the way to the office to brag to his former colleagues about how he’s having a better life elsewhere.

I can understand
people feeling happy about leaving a certain place that gives them
dissatisfaction, but that doesn’t make it okay for one to be "parading into office to make
hyperbolic statements about my current state". If anything, it makes one look
like an egotistical couch-jumping ass. 

Just a while ago, someone who used to work in this company
bustled here to toot obnoxious horns about how great it is to be in Singapore,
thereby urging us who are "tied by obligations" to find a better life too.
Yeah, we definitely would love that but we don’t need the patronizing "I’m now
a big guy" tone. And while we’re on that, can you speak softer? 

To further prove that he’s having a wonderful life, he brought
a new cellular phone and had the gall to put it on loudspeaker while he
receives a call from a naïve-sounding lady, then proceeding to utter sweet nothings to her. "Oh wow, she sounds so cute! Is she
your girlfriend?" ask every bootlicking ex-coworkers flocking to him. If this
isn’t a blatant "look at me, I’m such a pimpin’ ladykiller" ploy, then I don’t
know what is. I don’t even know what else is more pathetic than that.

And people wonder why life sucks. I tell you why: because
of people I just described. One day, I’m going to set up a publishing company where
I gather writers who would be writing about obnoxious actions from obnoxious
people. That would’ve given me a better life and, yes, when I become a multimillionaire, I’ll be sure to go to Singapore
to tell this guy how great it is when he gave me a creative vision.

Hey, Happy New Year to everyone!

In case you’ve wondered about the title, I don’t mean to imply that I’m bidding
farewell to my own blog. That would’ve been a blatant fishing for compliments,
and that’s simply not my style, though it’s a method used by quite a handful of
my friends (like Larry E., for example). Whether you like it or not, I’m
staying, and you just have to deal with my ruthlessness *nasty grins*. While I
don’t believe that my blog doesn’t need improvement – and I wholeheartedly
appreciate comments regarding that - I know for sure that, modesty aside, it’s
not a bad blog. Want to know why?

Because it’s unlike the kind of crap that you’d see all over the Internet.

Oh yes, I’m not kidding! While TIME Magazine may be heaping praises to
Internet-using populace for expressing tremendous amount of creativity on
myspace and youtube, they missed the roughed-up, scratched-up side of the coin
that brings out the Two-Face in Harvey Dent. Like all genre of music, movie,
and fiction, for every single masterpiece made, millions of junks follow suit.
And with blogs – written or videotaped - it’s no different. Like reality, the
world of blogging isn’t all roses and petals. Internet bandwidths are also
wasted for blogs that are pure work of emptyheadedness and sheer idiocy.

And I don’t have any power to change that, despite the declarative nature of
this entry’s title. I don’t have the authority to extirpate bad blogs from the
ones that are worth a read. All I can do is make my voice heard, by enumerating
the kinds of blog that I refuse not giving my thumbs down to. I’m just being
candid and seeing if others feel the same way. By doing so, I hope that in an
indirect and tactful way, I can get these bloggers to realize that something
needs to be changed; and to get their (gasp!) readers to realize that they
should stop with their acquiescent bootlickings and instead disapprove in the
face of mediocrity. And since I’m not naming any names, I’ll fabricate a mock
example for reference; so you’ll see me do bad writing at the same time.

And now, without further ado, let’s us begin as to what constitutes a
terrible blog.

1. Pretentious philosophical-rhetorical psychobabble

I believe that there’s a way to write a good philosophical piece, and that
is by balancing reachability with pragmatic intelligence. Confucius is a prime
example. He doesn’t have to resort to high-flown diction to prove the
significance of his philosophies. However, many bloggers do not realize this,
and thought waxing meandering rhetorics while using sesquipedalians is
inherently charming. Guess what, It isn’t. It’s boring. Reading it is like
getting your tongue stuck on a frozen pole: you don’t get anything out of it
but bad taste.

Example:

In a lonely plane of existence called the physical world there is a
duality in the nature of individuals that inhabits these spherical mass of
land. Sometimes the compulsion is on the aggression and other times it’s on the
idleness, but can one ultimately define the underlying trauma that causes each
to emboss a unique frustration when one of them dominates of the soul? Who is
there to say whether each nature can inherently concur that a certain action is
to lead to a path paved with Divine illumination? To the idle, overworking is
the anathema while to the aggressive, underworking is the parasite that leeches
our very nature of existence. Yet we do not realize the capriciousness that
dominate each man, which may cause him to set different standards to what is
moral to amoral. So which of the two is better and where does it take us?

2. Emo overkill

I’m not the most voracious reader of poems, but I do think that there’s an
artful way of expressing emotions and that subtlety is the key to classiness.
On the other hand, I will never understand what makes overstated teenage angst
and emo rock so popular these days. And I will never understand why people
believe that blogs that oozes of poems rife with “frustrations” crypticisms are,
in itself, a compelling read. They’re not. They’re embarrassing, whether
dictated or sung – usually by a male with a lowish kind of voice. Composers of
such poems may not immediately agree, but go ahead, give it at least week of
unread, then try to revisit it with a straight face. Believe me, I’ve been
there before to say with all conviction that it’s awful.

Example:

Upon the stars is an ocean of unwritten words,

That speak of ways of connecting constellations,

If only it’s the same way with us.

The gap between you and me is as wide as a medieval sword,

And it doesn’t cut the walls, but pierces my heart with lacerations,

With soliloquy for this so near yet so solitary stratus.

3. Retard’s diaries

While the previous twos deal with trying too hard to impress, here we have a
situation where a blog is written without any forethought. I wonder if it ever
occurred to the author that blog is supposed to be public: that is, to be READ
by someone other than the self. If a blogger wants to garner readers, s/he best
be putting thoughts into each word instead of spilling whatever without any
connection and grammatical correction. Unless you’re as popular as Paris Hilton
– a phenomenon so infinitely vexing – nobody cares for textual display of lack
of intelligence, unless of course you’re intentionally being funny. And
nobody’s forcing you to blog if you lack the writing prowess. The library
helped me too.

Example:

2day was rad day cuz I was, like, givn a Teddy bear by my rich bf. Dey r
both so cuuuute and adorable dats y I juz wanna hug dem til 2mrw. My bf
confessed his luv 2 me n d park whyl ppl stroll by. I evn hrd an old woman
criticize bt *heller* wt ds she knw abt us 2 b? nywayz im so hapi dat i found
sme1 like my honey n plz ppl stop being judgmental u dun understand us. Bye bye
and I *heart* u mwahugz!

4. Songs’ Lyrics

Oh sure. It’s not like we can easily search for a
songs’ lyrics in the internet. It’s not like Google has made virtually
everything within the reach of a click. It’s not like people actually create a
dedicated site that keeps all those lyrics. No, not at all. That’s why
they need to be blogged.

In all honesty, it’s a well-established (and
often proven) notion that songs’ lyrics don’t often make a good poetry. They
may sound great when sung, but when recited, seldom do they actually qualify as
good literature. So why they should be blogged I have no idea. I’ve never seen
any blog with songs’ lyrics that was able to grip any audience. Why does common
sense elude many bloggers?

Example (do I really need to? Oh, fine…):

Y-M-C-A!!!

5. Attention-seeking Drama

I don’t see this so often, but I have nothing but
distaste towards blogs of drama-kings or queens. Post an ugly comment on
his/her blog and s/he’d start another entry about haters. Wow. Talk about
fishing for love.

Example:

I know that everybody’s entitled to their own
opinion, but if you do not respect my views then please stop wasting your time
reading my blog! You know I read your comments and you know who you are, but
there’s nothing I hate more than haters. So to all those haters, please get a
life and go annoy someone else because I’m good looking and you’re not! And
you’re just jealous that your blog isn’t featured.

6. Preachy platitudes

If there’s anything that infuriates me, it’s
waxing rhetorics that are full of cliches aimed at giving life’s advices. It’s
cheesy to the corniest degree, and it loses me at hello. Again, there’s an art
of giving great lecture about life, but squeezing it with overused metaphors
make it lose a lot of impact. And what’s the point of any lecture if it loses
audience right from the outset?

Example:

What is love? Love is blind but it is destiny
and it conquers all. It is the greatest thing in life and we need to experience
it to know the true meaning of happiness. Because life is so short and time is
gold, let’s make the most of it by spreading love. But do not judge the book by
its covers for love may come at the unlikeliest places.