Letters from the past

I rummaged my cabinet last night in search of my old college engineering books. It was surprising that I don't understand a thing now in Thermodynamics.  That was one of my favorite subjects.  Well, i tried to do a quick review and dang, I am jacked!  Looks like the 4 years I spent in college had gone to waste. Pffft. But that's not what I want to write about today.

But this.... 

Box full of letters from my high school classmate in 4th yr.



These are letters I received from my high school classmates during our retreat (I studied in a Catholic High School) and graduation day. After 10 yrs, it was interesting to read them again. So, I went reading them all to find out that, hey, I was such an incredibly cute and extremely nice friend to my classmates! Ok ok, they didn't really say all that in the letters, but you see, I have extra time to type the rest, and again this is my blog. And I really think I am cute. Bite me. Tee hee hee! :-)

Here's one real funny letter from my high school friend Kathy. She printed it on a short bond paper and rolled it like a diploma. Note, I didn't change a single word she wrote, so this is the "actual" letter I have in paper.

(My name)

Well, for sure ma mimiss mo ako

Bakit?

Kasi I'm gorgeous

I'm cool, kind and cute

I understand you being an engkanto na nagkatawan tao

I'm always there when you need me kahit nga di mo ako kailangan

I know your moods and bear each one of them

I tell you my secrets

I brighten up your days with my smiles and laughters

In short I'm "PERFECT"

I'm different and most of all I'm "humble"

But seriously speaking,

You're fun to be with

Di mo ba napapansin ang dami na ng friends mo

And it's all because of me

Kasi marunong kang makisama

Sabi nila good son ka daw pero di ako naniniwala doon

Alam mo na bihirang balita'y magtapat, magkatotoo may

Marami na'ng dagdag

Salamat sa time mo na binigay mo sa amin para

Kausapin kami

Sana pagdating ng panahon na you already reached

Your dream in life, you're still the same Raffy na

Nakilala ko.

Thank you once again

Good day and Good luck!

Have fun and enjoy your life!

Keep on smilin' make it a habit 3x a day!

Kathy



This is the actual letter from Kathy. :-)



Close kami nung high school Kathy.  But we lost contact in college.  Great thing somebody created facebook. XD

Here's another letter I want to share with you guys. This one is also funny because - well, errr, just read it:




I won't tell who wrote me this letter. XD



If you can't read it from the image above, the letter says "God Bless!!! Thanks for everything kahit minsan asar ako sa 'yo. At this very moment change your bad attitude."  Hahahaha.....I really laughed hard when I read this! :-) I was a good student and friend as far as I remember. Apparently someone didn't like me that much, tee hee hee!  Kaya ko siya madalas asarin dati kasi crush ko sya nung high school.  Crush lang naman.  Iba yung love ko. I'm not telling who wrote me this letter. I didn't see her again after high school, I heard she's a teacher now (not sure).

Natatawa parin ako sa letter.  Chage your bad attitude daw, hehehehe!  Gagraduate na nga lang kami galit pa rin, hehehe!  XD

That's all for now. XD

Saging na Saba in Can (Cardava Banana in Can)

Video from Youtube

Found this video in youtube. Hahaha... sick Panda!  I remember when I was in first year highschool, we were asked to create a commercial skit in our Home Economics Class. I think we were studying Marketing - or how effective tv commercials are in promoting products. The class was divided into groups, and each group was given different products to promote. We also made a design for our product labels. Mind, the products that we created were bizarre ones - like Saging na Saba in Can, Injectible Eye-Mo (this was the best, lolz), and eerrr, I forgot the other products. Our group had the Saging na Saba in Can.  The whole group conceptualized the idea for the commcercial, and we only needed two actors. Nieto acted as the sari-sari store owner, and I played the customer buying Saging na Saba in Can.  In effect, here's our commercial skit:

Customer (Me): Pabili nga pooooo......
Store Owner (Nieto): Ano?
Buyer: Mama, pabili nga po ng Saging na Saba in Can.
Store Owner: Wala.
Customer: Wala? Wala po kayong Saging na Saba in Can?
Store Owner: Wala nga!
Customer: Hindi nga?! (frustrated tone)
Store Owner: Sinabi ng wala..wala..wala!!!
Customer: (Now really angry and ready to hit the store owner)  Hindi pwede!!!  Gusto ko ng Saging na Saba in Can!!! Akin na ang Saging na Saba in Can!!!


And the frusrated customer attacked the store owner. The end of skit.

We wanted to show our product as something to die for (well in this case, something to kill for, hehehe). We wanted to make it funny but nobody laughed - for real.  I think it was funny, but most in the class didn't get it.  The dimwits.

The Saging na Saba in Can comes in different flavors, btw.

Teehee! XD

Bukas, Luluhod ang mga Tala (Tomorrow, the Stars will kneel)

The Starry Night  by Vincent Van Gogh
(Painted while inside an asylum in France)

Yes, I am back from the temporary gap in my web presence. Hmmmkei. What am I supposed to write now? Taena. Finally, I decided to take the half-empty (or half-full) bottle of The Bar Vodka decaying inside the fridge. It's apple-flavored but it doesn't taste a bit like green apple now. Err, what do I expect, It has been sitting inside the fridge for more than 2 months for chrisake! It's probably expired now, you know, being opened more than 2 months ago, but heck, I am jobless, thus cannot afford to buy myself even just a bottle of san miguel beer, so I am not complaining. Ah-huh... It's all I've got now.  

Ok ok ok, I confess, it doesn't taste bad.  The green apple flavor is still there, as good as it was when I opened it months ago.  Vodka doesn't go bad.

Hmmm... So, what else do I have here. Vodka on the rocks, a nice cd of bosa nova muzak playing, cool weather, and a semi-fast internet connection. You see, I have everything i need to write about something, anything, in a jiffy, but my hands just keep on typing sentences that don't really hold any sense. Feel free to hop somesite else so as not to waste your time. Pfft.  I shouldn't even bother telling you that. If you don't like what you're reading now, go, fuck off, I don't care.  This is my dot com.  Bite me. Pfft.

Okay.

I am sad. I didn't want to admit it, but I do now. Oh em gee, I am sooooo fucking useless!!! Oooopss. Let me retype that. I AM SOOOO FUCKING USELESS. There, well typed. Really, I feel so fucking useless! Wait, why do I keep on stressing and repeating the obvious?! That is sooo being redundant. I've got no job, no money, no life but the useless one, and, err what else? No love life too! Fuck that. But hey, I am not really looking for love life.  I thought I was.  But not now.  My life at present is too small and too scruffy for me to let anyone be part of it and suffer. I am not that selfish. I am not that selfish. I'm not.

An inspiration will do.  For now.

I failed a job interview in Alabang last week. Hooray, I failed the final interview, and I feel I got cheated!!! I feel I got cheated because I know I am more than qualified for the post. I've been in the same industry since 2006, I'm well equipped with all the necessary skills needed in the job and I did very good in the interview (I believe). Yet, I failed. Sucks. I don't know exactly what their reason was, but I have 2 theories - either the final interviewer didn't like the fact that I had been with 3 different companies last year (2 of which I resigned before the 6th month) or the final interviewer thought I was trying to outsmart him by giving clever answers and providing too much information than what was being asked. I forgot that I was just a mere mortal in front of a pseudoGod in that company, and trying to impress the gods too much by performing beyond the normal clusterfuck human being's capability may put me into trouble.  Greek gods get jealous too, you know. They had me waiting for 2 weeks to be scheduled for the final interview, only to be rejected in the end. Screw them!  I am going to Global city next week.

Or maybe, just maybe, the final interviewer didn't like me because I was wearing denim jeans and soiled sneakers during the final interview. @_@

I'm over quarter-of-a-century old now, and I admit being in my late twenties kinda scares me. Everything will be a tougher climb when I'm over 30, and I don't want to reach the point when I am too old to climb over a fence and reach a greener pasture. My life is out of sync with my friends', I know, and I am not happy about it.  But I want to turn it into something positive.  I have a friend who is now a Lawyer; I have friends who are now nurses and doctors and dentists, some working overseas and earning dollars; I have friends who are now teaching in schools and universities; I have friends who are now engineers; and I have friends who are now team leaders and managers in call centers. And just earlier I learned that a friend, who started college 8 yrs ago, is finally graduating;  Creative Writing, Cum Laude, in UP Diliman.  Me? Errr...here. Undergrad.  Jobless.  Loveless.  Penniless.

But I have goals now.

I know what my mistakes in life were, and I've learned from each of them. I have goals now! Listen. I am NOT asking anyone to support me, neither expecting you to believe that I am serious with my goals this time. I only have one request - try not to discourage me and try not to act like what you're hearing and reading is just a deja vu of another upcoming failure. I used to joke before that when you're at the bottom, there's no other way to go but sideways. I refuse to believe that now.

I may not reach my exact goals, but one thing is sure - I am going up.

You can kneel before me when that time comes. I'm gonna leave it up to you if you want to deal with it figuratively or literally.

 

Adios!

 

 

2 BIG MISTAKES PLUS 1

So many things happened in the past two weeks but I was so lazy to write about anything.  The news were frustrating.  More bad news actually happened than good news (ugh, are there any?). Most of the local bad news though, if you guys noticed, have a common denominator; buses and cops - and they sure do give me some anxiety now. Buses now, if they don't fall into cliffs or ravines, they run over some cars and kill beauty queens, or they get hijacked and end up with dead tourists.  And the police now, they're either torturing the suspects inside their stations, or they're outside responding to a hostage-drama only to show off their shits.  The most saddest of the sad news (yes, very redundant - to express it in its super-superlative degree), happened just last Monday in Manila.  Did you notice, one date, August 23, 2010, strangely connected two Filipinos in two different parts of the world with two "big mistakes", and placed the Filipino nation, again, in the headline of the international media. If you're a Filipino, or a HK citizen, or if you watched this year's Miss Universe pageant - you sure know one, or maybe both, of the people I am talking about.  The one at the Quirino Grandstand admitted his mistake (in a way, I think) by writing the words “BIG MISTAKE TO CORRECT A BIG WRONG DECISION" on a piece of paper he posted on the bus door he hijacked. He knew he was doing a very big mistake.  Maybe, if the chance gave him more time to think rationally, or if he didn't become too emotional, he could have considered other options to clear his spoiled reputation. The other, on the other hand, is still in denial. She probably really answered the final question honestly (that she never did any major-major mistake in her 22 yrs of existence), but the way she delivered her answer was very unrefined, thus, sounded very unsatisfactory to most. She could have won the crown. But it's ok - she made it to the top 5 of the Miss Universe. Let's give her a pat on the back, she deserves it.

Miss Philippines during the "Final Question" in the Miss Universe 2010 - she won 4th runner up.  Not bad.

BLAH.

Well, no negative comments will be put up here about the incident at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila (errr...I think I just did above). Many already put the topic in their blogs and I don't want to add up to the gazillions of negative comments about it. Many bloggers who share the same sentiments and opinions with mine have been heard. Besides, I think I already gave enough of my opinion of the Philippine National Police in Facebook. Much has been said and that's more than enough. The PNP already admitted their mistake and what's important is that they recognized it (dang they really should), and hopefully - they learned from it.

SWAT Assault Team during the you-know-what

ENOUGH.

That's the word I have in my mind when I clicked on the "Deactivate" link in facebook. Yes, I wanted to put my facebook account down for good.  Facebook has been consuming much of my time when I'm in front of the computer, and it's not really healthy!  Also, there are many things (and some people) in facebook that I no longer wish to see. Has any of you thought of cancelling your account? Just to give you an idea, this is what you will see when you click the "deactivate" link in FB:

"Your-Friends-Will-Miss-You page of FB.  This is what you will see when you try to deactivate your FB account."

It showed me some random photos of some people I have in my friends list. Chris, Bghie, Belle, and Len were my colleagues in CVG. Luther, aka Kuya Boy, was my father-slash-friend in HSBC. And facebook said these people will miss me if I deactivate my account... hahaha! XD Well, I must admit facebook was successful in stopping me from cancelling my account. I realized I still want to be connected with some people. And also, facebook is where I get my social updates. I don't often text my friends, and not everyone in my friends list are in the Philippines, so I guess it is best to keep my account active and just access it once in a while. One thing is sure; I will try to decrease my web presence.

SAD.

I got a news this morning in facebook that I didn't want to hear. I didn't expect it. I got a text message that confirmed the news too.  Sniffle.  Let's put it this way: I was so busy trying to squeeze myself in inside a jeepney that was already full. I thought the next jeep in line will save a seat for me. I was wrong.  The jeep at the back took off right after I get off the jeepney in front.  The news came this morning, and now I'm late.

I thought she was willing to wait.

Mon Objet D'Art Part 2

I'm hot. Yes, I still feel feverish and I am not really in the best mood, but heck - I've got new paintings to show and I'm just too darn excited to flaunt them here.

Here's part 2 of mon' objet d'art:

"Efetsem" oil on 30x20 canvas

Above is my first attempt to create a nude painting. I call this "Efetsem". It's oil on 30x20 pre-streched canvas. Let me tell you: the title is derived from FHM. Got it?

"Doon sa Hacienda Estrella" oil on 15x20 canvas

I call the above painting "Doon sa Hacienda Estrella". It's oil on 15x20 inch pre-stretched white canvas. Estrella is my mother's name. I may not be able give my mother a house and lot, well, at least in a painting there's a Hacienda on her name.

"Frustrated Circles" oil on 10x15 canvas

The third painting is a failed attempt to create an abstract using the excess of the paints I used in Hacienda. Arrggh. I didn't get the look I was initially trying to create - and it got me really frustrated. So instead of throwing the canvas, I just played around with the remaining paint and created this circles of frustration (and in frustration). Okay, I know it doesn't really hold a sense of art. I'm aware of it too so you don't have to shove it at my face.

"Under the Bloody Sky" oil on 18x24 canvas

The painting above is titled "Under the Bloody Sky", oil on 18x24 inch pre-stretched white canvas. This is the last work I finished and, so far, my favorite. I'm not really a painter, mind.  I'm just a regular dummy who got nothing better to do at home. I think I already mentioned in my previous posts how I came to like oil painting. I'm enjoying it. It may sound a cliche, but painting has become a passion for me - an outlet for my creative juice and for my pent-up emotions and frustrations. I have so many of those.

I'm still not working, but hopefully I get to get a job before the month ends. All the bumming and doing nothing at home were, in a way, covered by my new hobby. My first 3 paintings were made during the day, and the rest were made at night - when all the people at home were sleeping. For one, I hate being distracted, and two, I like isolation (when I want it). Don't mistake that for being anti-social because I'm not. I also go to parties and I never say no to any inuman. But most of the time, I prefer to be alone. Being moody is part of my entirety and I get distracted and irritated easily. I remember how distracted I was when I was doing my draped woman painting outside, in the garage. The house next door was being renovated and the construction workers' attentions were at me, or should I say at my draped woman, while I was painting. I wanted to scream do-your-job-and-stop-watching-me-you-dimwits!!! But I didn't. I hate being watched.

Saw the movie Grown Ups last week.  The movie was fun, and it sort of brought me some good memories of my childhood. I watched the movie alone as it wasn't planned. I got irritated at home (i'm not going to tell here why) so I decided to just go out and chillax before I lose my temper and explode like a loaded cannonball (this is how a friend describes me when asked about my temper). With today's technology, most kids now play indoors, thus, missing the fun of getting dirt on their faces and feet and building "libag" on their necks and underarms, haha. Gross. I played almost all the known larong-kalye. I played holen, tumbang preso, tsato, taguan, habulan, basketbol, patintero, text (comic skits from local movies) and cards (nba, trump, magic), trumpo, pogs (yung sa coke), tatsing, goma, kalog, gagamba (spider derby), bike, and the list goes on and on. Favorite ko yung pagpunta namin sa Aplaya (part of Laguna da Bay in Alabang) kapag baha, haha. To a child, playing at the lake during a flood is as fun as swimming in a pool. It was fun, pero isang beses napalo ako ng tatay ko kasi nahuli na naliligo kami sa Aplaya. Haaaay... I remember the days. Ay, hahaha, nga pala, pinaka favorite ko pala yung pag doorbell namin sa mga bahay-bahay sabay takbo. Wooo hooo!  It isn't a game but it was fun!  The adrenaline rush it brought us! There's still a lot of games I din't mention. I wonder how my childhood friends are doing now. This is a long shot, but to Ace, Noel, Robin, Bryan, Joel (na nakasuntukan ko ng 2 beses kasi siya ang nagsumbong sa tatay ko na nagpunta kami sa aplaya hahaha...childhood rage, you know), and to the rest of the boys and girls of L&B2 in the 90's...sana ok lang kayong lahat.

I am over a quarter of a century old, and this qualifies me on the late-twenties-bracket.  Geez. I want to stay young and be forever 20. I'm afraid to grow old. It scares me.

It's almost midnight. I'm done.  This isn't really a good way to end a post, but hey this is my blog.  Bite me.

ManilArt 2010

Had a great day at the ManilArt 2010 Contemporary Art Fair at the Mall of Asia, SMX Convention Centre. It was very inspiring to see the works of the country's finest contemporary artists.  Thanks to my friends at Boston Gallery who gave me a free pass.

Tinatamad ako magtype, here are some pics I managed to take.

SMX Convention Center H4 -ManilArt 2010

The Ticket! :-)

Yeabah!  It's free! :-)  You see...it's always good to have some connection in the business. :-)

This work has an "added-value" light and audio effect. One of my fave at the fair.

  

The guy beside me is Demet Dela Cruz...creator of "Push the Red Button to Activate" - that's the mixed-media painting behind us.

(Oil on canvas)

  

(Mixed media on canvas)

(Mixed media on canvas)

(Oil on canvas)

Metal Sculpture (the intricately designed wings move - run by electricity, of course.)

(Oil on canvas)

Mixed Media on wood. Can you find the hidden Mickey? hehehe..

(Oil on canvas)

(Oil on canvas)

Dedicated to the call center peeps. (Oil on canvas)

(Metal sculpture)

(Oil on canvas)

Futuristic Bull (again, not the title)

(Oil on canvas)

(Oil on canvas)

(Oil on canvas)

(Oil on canvas)

(Acrylic on canvas)

 

point-shoot

point-shoot

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point-shoot

A group of young artists (I assume they're younger than my age), preparing the stage-wall.

The ManilArt'10 will run until the 1'st of August, at the SMX Convention Center (Mall of Asia).  Tickets are sold at 200Php.  Souvenirs like shirts, posters, umbrella, and ManilArt'10 catalogue are also being sold at the venue.  Believe me - the exhibit is more than your money's worth.  XD

PRESENTING: Mon objet d'art!

FYI: The title is a French phrase for "my work of art".  Ok...I will try to make this post as short as possible. Gawd. Tamad. I just really want to show you guys what I have done so far with my new hobby. I started learning oil painting sometime last week. Yeehee! XD I didn't take any formal lesson, mind. I just made a few research on my own about oil and acrylic painting, studied it, bought the basic tools, and started hitting the canvas a day after.

I've already tried doing some sketches using charcoal and graphite before. I believe I posted some of them here. Anyways, since I have nothing better to do at home aside from growing hair and belly and digesting a few of Neil Gaiman's (geeez...It has been almost a month since I started reading the American Gods and I've only finished half of the book to date), I decided to start a new hobby, which is painting. How did it start? Hmmm.... A friend invited me to see her friend's exhibit last June in Yuchengco Museum in Ayala, and then early this month I also got invited to see another exhibit of Manuel Garibay in Boston Gallery in Cubao. Well, to make the long-boring-story short, I got inspired seeing all those paintings. Though not really good, I knew that I can draw using pencil, but I never actually tried handling a brush and using oil and acrylic paints. Well, I did some water coloring in elementary but that doesn't count. And so, after buying the basic tools (which are quite expensive, especially the brushes and paints), I started to, errr, you know, play around with it. I didn't want to waste the paints as they are really expensive, so I decided to do a simple design that any elementary kid can do using crayons. Below is the first (ever) painting I did. Notice the contrast in texture of each color (naks, may paganito-ganito pang shitness, akala mo professional, haha).

(no title yet..)

(dyaran...naks, hehe)

Paintings are supposed to be titled, but I don't know what to call this one yet. I'll give it a name someday, don't worry. This is a simple design painted on a 10 x 14 inch pre-stretched white canvas, which is already primed. Skilled painters normally prepare their own, but for beginners like me, you can get a primed and ready to use canvas at any National Book Store. I started this using acrylic paints on the first layer (this is some tip I found on the internet) so it dries easily. On the second layer, I used oil paints with a bit a linseed oil and liquin original to make the oil flow smoother (I was experimenting so i tried using both). The rule here is "fatter-over-leaner". That means the oil paint on each layer should have more volume than the paint below it. I had to let it dry for about 5 days before I started on the third layer...and dyaran...that's it! XD Simple, but it's something I can definitely hang on my wall.

Next is my second painting, and ahem...I never thought it would turn out this good. (Drum rolls please....)

(no title yet.  not bad for a beginner, eh?)

Okay, I know it's not the GOOD good, but hey, I never painted before and this is just my second work! And yes, I am proud of it!  Like the first painting, I also do not have a name for this yet. This is oil on 15 x 20 inch pre-stretched white canvas. The first painting, which is very plain and simple, took me more than a week to finish. But this painting, which I did just this afternoon, only took me about 3 hours (let me hear you say, "What?!"). Unlike the first painting, which was done by layers (I do not know what technique it's called), I used the "wet-on-wet" technique on this one.  I watched some learn-how-to-paint videos in youtube and that is where I learned about this wet-on-wet technique. I love the clouds and the mountain on this painting. I wanted to make the mountain bigger but I was afraid I might fuck up (thus wasting the canvas and the oil - which means wasting money), so I decided to make it small to be on the safe side.  I was just experimenting.  Believe me, even I was really amazed that my first landscape painting didn't look bad (pretty good for a beginner like me, huh? teee heee!). XD  I would have to let both paintings dry thoroughly, maybe wait for 5 or 6 months, before I can put on varnish to protect it.

A friend in facebook once said I have so many talents - hmmm. I told him I'm an apprentice of many things but master of nothing. Which is true. But heck, I have talents! Weee! XD