You’d think one week’s vacation would be enough.

I asked my friend who lives near the Tullahan area whether she still needed help cleaning and she said, “Is that an offer? Please! Konti na lang naman eh.“

So I got dressed up took a tricycle to her house… to what was left of it anyway.  All they did during the vacation was wash their clothes that had been submerged in mud-water.  They had to throw most of their light-colored clothes because the couldn’t get the stains out, her nursing uniform included.  (Luckily, Our Lady of Fatima let her come to class in civilian clothes)

Since it was only her and her mom, cleaning up had been slow. Their neighbors had been nice enough to help them with moving the heavy stuff but they had their own problems.  They gave up on their couch because it kept getting re-drenched while left outside.

The PC and several other appliances had to go as well.  The fridge miraculously worked after drying out, at least.  Unfortunately, her TV did not survive.

L.A.'s TV still covered in mud. Rest in Peace, Terebi.

Some of her dad’s Balikbayan boxes also did not survive:

Box cracked after drying.. black mold forming.. eww

Para daw flood-proof na, cover in garbage bag.

Anyway, back to cleaning.  Since they did all the laundry first and just got rid of the major grime in the house, their tiled floors are now flood-stained.  Mold is growing in nooks and crannies.

Health hazard? I-Zonrox mo!

Mukha daw masama loob ko.. di noh!

Five liters of Zonrox couldn’t get the darned stains off the tiles.  By the time we decided to give up, we could smell the Zonrox in our burp (Amoy Zonrox na dighay namin!).  The toxic chemicals burned my eyes and my lungs. (That’s why I look like that in the pic, I was holding my breath… REALLY!)

All that time I kept wishing, “Sana naka-Messy Bessy kami, para safe na, mabango pa.” (Akala mo blog, yun pala advertisement!)

Well, at the end of the day, my back hurt like hell and I didn’t get paid, but it was fun.  It was nice to see my friend didn’t lose her spirit despite the damage Ondoy did to their house.  I knew she was bitter because she lost a lot of stuff she loved, but she managed to joke about it.  Needless to say, I was in no position to complain…

Though I complained anyway, “Sabi mo konti na lang ha!”

To which she replied, “Konti lang naman talaga nilinis natin diba? Wala na kaming gamit e! Hahaha“

Nuu! My blog died again. /pif

How do people maintain their blogs anyway?

Whatever.

I’ve been trying to cook lately.  But I can’t seem to get anything right.

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Pork Adobo

1 kilo pork picnic or side bacon belly (cut into
bite-sized cubes)
1 cup white vinegar
1 head garlic (finely chopped) portioned into two
3 pcs. laurel (bay leaves)
1/2 cup soysauce
1 cup water
1 teaspoon peppercorn
3 tablespoons oil
In a deep skillet, brown pork in oil.

Add vinegar, soysauce, first portion of garlic, laurel, peppercorn and water.

Bring to a boil, lower the fire and cook uncovered for 10 minutes.

When it gets too dry just add 1/2 cup of water.

Cover and let simmer until pork becomes tender.

In another pan, cook remaining garlic until golden-brown.

Add pork and pour the rest of the adobo sauce.

Just saw this again on my old blog… reposting.. =P

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Walking…walking..walking..

Life is like a prisoner’s long walk to prison..

For a brief moment, I stop and look outside the fence, longing to be free from the fate that awaits me.. I want to leave.. I want to escape..to run.. But everyone else is moving on.. The chains binding us together pull me back to my reality.. a harsh reminder.. stay in line.. keep walking.. don’t waste time on meaningless things..

Stop fooling around.. Keep to your duties.. When you grow up, you’ll be able to do whatever you want.. for now.. you have to study.. after that.. you have to work.. have a family.. take care of that family.. after that.. after all that.. I’ll be too old to have fun..

Don’t say stupid things.. not everyone is blessed.. count your blessings.. not everyone has what you have.. be happy with what you have… even if you can’t have what you really want.. you have something.. others have nothing.. you have things you must do.. because you are blessed.. you have to pay for those blessings.. nothing is free..

I want to sleep.. just sleep.. I want to rest.. counting my blessings is tiring.. but I can’t sleep.. I have to hold on to my blessings.. to do that.. I have to keep walking.. like everyone else.. keep walking.. until I reach the end.. in the end.. in the end there will be nothing to do, nothing to keep..

in the end..

when I have nothing..

I can rest..

I haven’t posted in a while.. so I’m posting my latest Photoshop creation…

I accidentally came up with this:

While trying to make this:

*click to enlarge*

That’s it for now.. ^^

EDIT:

Ended up making another sig.. my biggest one so far.. ^^

Just a song for today. I liked it so I searched for the translation of the lyrics and was surprised by how much I can relate to it… o_O

It’s from *inhales* Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto Natsu no Sora *exhales*

whew.. can’t really say the whole thing in one go.. ~_~

Anyways, here it is:

Fly Away

by THYME

(English Translation)

Good night Days, good old Days
Since the day I swore I’d never come back, I’ve put my memories to rest
Ah knock on the Days, good old Days
Though I’ve come to miss you, I regret that I had pretended to be strong
Continuing up and down, I’ll quietly drop by to see you, see you again

When we go up that hill, I can see the scenery of the summer drive I loved so much
The scent of the wind, the background music, all of it is in my memory, even now

I ran up that hill, past the rusted “closed” sign and flew away

Good night Days, good old Days
Since the day I swore I’d never come back, I’ve put my memories to rest
Ah knock on the Days, good old Days
Though I’ve come to miss you, I regret that I had pretended to be strong
If I’m standing here, I can see the dream I painted on a blue canvas, see you again

The place where my desires are is actually called a battlefield, full of nothing But evil faces
Objects like skyscrapers surround the trees, “It can’t be helped” I laughed

Is that town that flew away still a warm memory?

Good night Days, good old Days
Since the day I swore I’d never come back, I’ve put my memories to rest
Ah knock on the Days, good old Days
Though I’ve come to miss you, I regret that I had pretended to be strong
Continuing up and down, I’ll quietly drop by to see you

I’m stuffing only my one desire into my bag
I know that just that is enough
That day is becoming heavy, it’s collapsing
But it hasn’t separated

Good night Days, good old days
Since the day I wanted to fly away, I promised to become stronger

Good night Days, good old Days
Since the day I swore I’d never come back, I’ve put my memories to rest

Ah knock on the Days, good old Days
Though I’ve come to miss you, I regret that I had pretended to be strong, but
I’m climbing the hill again, so I’ll paint my dream on a blue canvas, see you again

We talked about deception during Ethics class earlier today.  Initially it was about the use of deception in Journalism but inevitably, the discussion was diverted to children who deceive their parents.

Of course, my professor being a parent, she was against it.  But then, the rest of the class were children, would there even be a discussion?

Deception is bad.

The problem is when parents refuse to listen to their children just because they are too young to know any better.  Children start lying to their parents when they realize that being honest will only get them yelled at or ignored.

If a parent dismisses his child without listening to what the other has to say, then it’s only natural for the child to think that parent is unreasonable.  Children need to know that their feelings and opinions matter, that they’re not being denied just because they are children.

Parents need to know how to make their children understand because they won’t always be around to control their children’s actions.  When they fail to reason with their children, they only end up causing more harm than good.

My professor mentioned in class that love is a result of chemical reactions inside our body.

I’ve encountered something similar before.  Someone said love s not real, it’s just hormones and chemicals making us feel a certain way.

Isn’t that just ridiculous?  It was real when we had no idea where it came from and when we found a way to break it down into chemicals, when we found its source, we suddenly think it’s not real?

How is it not real if it is caused by chemicals?  Isn’t “love” the word they used to label the feelings of affection, attachment, passion and all those other things? Just because we now know exactly what causes those feelings doesn’t mean they’re fake.

People seem to have confused the conclusion.  Emotions used to be dismissed in the field of science because they are..err..unscientific, unobjective.  So, if someone has discovered that feelings actually have a scientific cause, doesn’t that disprove the initial assumption? If elove has a scientific explanation, doesn’t that mean it is not subjective?  It’s there, it has an explanation, and there’s a reason why the feeling exists.  It’s no longer just a whim of nature.

Love is real!!

I can’t really think of anything useful to write today. I’m stressed out.

I only had one class today. We did layouting in J121 using Adobe Pagemaker 7.0. It was the most fun thing I had to do in class.  Unfortunately, layouting isn’t really a journalist’s job.

It has been a few years since I decided to take up Journalism.  I can’t say it has been my life-long dream but I did have some expectations.  There really isn’t anything specific that I don’t like about the course.  It’s just that, I feel like there’s something missing.  What we’ve been taught so far isn’t the journalism I had in mind.

Undoubtedly, journalism is a proud profession.  Definitely, there is some justice involved…but.. even after so long, I’m still waiting for something.  I feel like journalism, as it has been taught to me, has no heart.  Maybe heart is equated with lack of objectivity.

Maybe I’m thinking too much again.

Still…

I can’t really explain it well, right now.  I’m just looking for something more.  A reason for being a journalist.  Something more than pride.  Something more than justice.

Dragonball Evolution:

I am at a loss for words right now…

I move for a signature drive or something of the sort to ban the said film in the Philippines and, if possible, in Asia!!!

It is 2025. The world has just recovered from a Revolution and is under the control of a group called GGP. Believing that real world events has nothing to do with her, Rin Ogata blissfully follows the footsteps of her ballerina mother.  Her talent is recognized early on and she becomes a ballet star in her own right.

Madhouse’s latest series opens with Rin’s first performance as a prima ballerina.  She basks in the admiration of the audience when reality suddenly comes crashing down on her.  She falls to the floor, paralyzed as her career’s curtains close on her.

A few years later, Rin attends her new school’s opening ceremony.  She has retired from ballet and has decided to live the life of an ordinary girl.  Only a few know of her retirement and she soon finds herself in an awkward situation where one of her fans approach her to reminisce about the career she had left behind.  Her friend saves her by reminding her to leave for an appointment.

Later on, she ends up inside the garage of a club to take shelter from the rain.  She is mistaken for a club applicant by Haruki Hishida, one of its members.  She discovers that the garage belongs to none other than the Rideback club.

A Rideback is a modified motorcycle that transforms into a humanoid form.  In this form, the driver looks like he is literally riding on someone’s back, hence the name.  It is operated by a computer and can take simple vocal instructions from its driver. A malfunction sends Rin into an unexpected roadtrip in the Rideback and finds herself enjoying despite her potentially dangerous situation.

Rin’s interest in Ridebacks soon brings her into an inevitable clash against the GGP.  She is mistaken for a terrorist after she tries to save her friend from a hostage situation, using her Rideback, Fuego, to get past military barricades.  Once again, Rin finds herself unable to escape the reality of war and politics that has taken over her country.

The Rideback’s humanoid motorcycle form takes a bit of getting used to as it tends to look awkward with its “human” arms sticking out.  There are times when it looks cluttered and gawky but the slick CG animation more than makes up for it in the end.

While the art-style of the characters is a bit lacking and the incorporation of CG into the 2D environment problematic, Rideback promises to be a high-octane sci-fi series with a dash of politics and drama.  Mecha fans would definitely find the series worth looking into.

Madhouse’s other productions include Beyblade, Trigun, and the award-winning animated film, The Girl Who Leapt Through Time.