The Coffeeholic

Redirect!

2010-12-29T23:51:00.000+08:00

Hayun! Hindi ko natupad ang pangarap ko for this year na maging huling blog ko na itong The Coffeeholic. Dahil diyan, gusto ko kayong anyayahan na magbasa ng mga horror stories ko dito sa pinakabago (at sana, pinakahuling)blog ko:

IMAGINAGERIE

Salamat sa pag-tangkilik!

Jeepney Kids

2010-07-27T01:45:00.002+08:00

While on a jeepney ride going home, I sat beside two families. The family farthest from me had a little girl who was out of control. She would switch from one side of the vehicle to the other, deaf to the scolding of her mother and father. On the other hand, the family sitting just next to me had a behaved little boy. He was just curiously looking at the little girl who was already throwing a tantrum.

With an exasperated voice, the mother of the little girl said, “Look at the baby boy. He’s so behaved.”

Just then, a smile spread through the faces of the little boy’s parents, clearly, because of pride.

I didn’t know what to think. It was one of two things: feel happy for the parents who had the behaved little boy or feel sorry for the parents who had a gremlin for a baby girl.

I can’t wait to have kids.

Maling Akala

2010-07-25T21:57:00.000+08:00

Natatandaan ko pa na nag-post ako ng mga "coming soon" dito sa blog ko. Sabi ko, makakapag-post na ako ng marami pag-dating ng summer term ng mga American students ko pero hindi pala. Since na-promote ako, marami pang ibang nangyari sa pag-unlad ng career ko.

Una, nag-rerecruit na rin ako for the writing consultant post. Dahil 50 ang kailangan kong makuha, araw-araw, busy ako sa pagtetest, pag-iinterview, at pag-papasa ng mga applicant.

Pangalawa, malapit na akong mag-birthday kaya ayan, medyo depressed mode na naman ako. Lagi naman eh. Just before I have my birthday, I feel depressed.

Pangatlo, nagamot ata ng pagiging workaholic ko ang pagiging insomniac ko. Ayan, wala tuloy akong time para mag-blog. Kahit nga Sunday, hindi ako nakapag-online -- ngayon lang.

I hope to make it up to myself and my readers in the coming days. Ewan ko lang kung kailan yon.

Jeepney Fare Blooper

2010-06-14T23:56:00.004+08:00

After watching numerous films, I’ve always associated bloopers to the ending credits. While the ending credits roll, there are short snippets of film where the actor would forget a line or the actress would suddenly laugh out loud without any warning. I’ve always thought that these bloopers wouldn’t happen to me. However, much to my terror and surprise, I had a blooper while going home earlier.

Like the past few weeks, I hitch a ride with my friend, Philip. Usually, he would drop me off along the Alabang-Zapote Road, but tonight, he had to go to Manila, so he dropped me off at the parking lot of the Festival Mall where vans stay in makeshift terminals, ready to ferry passangers from Alabang to Cavite.

I boarded one van, and I immediately prepared my fare for the van. I got my wallet out, and I took P40 out of my wallet. I figured that with the P5 change that I was supposed to receive back from the dispatcher, I would have P7 left, just enough for a jeepney ride to my house. However, much to my terror, surprise, and dread, I sat in the van, wide-eyed and horrified, shaking my head in disbelief — I only had P1 left in wallet!

That will make a measly P6, P1 short of the minimum fare to get to my house!!!

I tried to curb the rising panic in my head, thinking fast and furiuosly for solutions, and I came up with two:

a. text my sister, ask anybody from the house to fetch me at the van terminal in Cavite
b. text Donna, who lived near the terminal, and ask for P1
c. beg for P1 from a random stranger
d. walk home

Since the last option was not an option becuase I felt too tired to walk, I opted to do both a and b. I texted my sister and Donna. Donna didn’t reply soon enough, and my sister told me that my mom and dad said to just take a tricycle and they’d pay for it when I got home. Good thing that I took their suggestion becuase after a few minutes, Donna replied that she wasn’t home yet.

While I was in the van, I felt really downtrodden because I felt so poor. I was desperate to get home, enough to have considered option d, but I stuck with my pride, and just got the tricycle. When I got home, my mom was sitting in front of the house, ready with the fare, laughing at what happened to me. My uncle told me to always bring spare change in my bag and let them just jingle in it for crises like this while laughing mockingly. Then, I posted this experience in my Facebook page, and my sister mocked me too, saying “Bwahahaha!”

Gosh! I really didn’t think that a blooper like this would happen to me, but nevertheless, this experience made me realize that I need to really prepare for events like this.

Isang Kwentong Bayan ng Alabang

2010-05-30T04:24:00.000+08:00

Nung Biyernes, habang nag-lulunch kami sa opisina, gumawa ako ng kwento tungkol kay Jennie (na ipapublish ko din dito, malapit na). Dahil sa kwento ko, naalala daw niya ang isang kwentong narinig niya nung siya ay bata pa tungkol sa isang mayor sa Alabang.

Heto ang kwento:

Noong unang panahon, may isang mayor sa Alabang na kilalang masama ang ugali. Dahil siya ay mayaman at makapangyarihan, palagi siyang pumupunta sa pampang ng Laguna de Bay para mangolekta ng tong. Wala namang pera ang mga mangingisda kaya ang huli na lang nila ang kanilang ipinambabayad sa sakim na alkalde. Ganito ang kalakaran ng buhay ng masamang mayor.

Isang araw, nang ang mayor ay nasa kanyang ruta ng pangongolekta ng tong, may lumapit sa kanyang batang babae.

"Mama, mama, pwede po ba akong manghingi ng isda?" ang tanong ng batang gusgusin.

Tiningnan ng mayor ang bata at sinabing, "Ah isda ba kamo? O heto!"

Imbis na ibigay ng maayos, isinaksak ng mayor ang isang bangus sa bibig ng bata at lumakad na papalayo. Subalit nang siya'y lumingon para tingnan kung sinusundan pa siya ng bata, wala na ang bata sa pampang.

Makalipas ang isang linggo, nagka-cancer ang mayor - cancer sa lalamunan. Gamit ang kanyang yaman at impluwensiya, nagpagamot ang mayor sa mga ispesyalista. Nang hindi kinaya ng mga doktor dito sa Pilipinas, nangibang-bansa ang mayor para magpagamot. Pumunta siya sa America pero hindi na rin nila magamot ang kanyang cancer dahil malubha na ito. Di nagtagal, namatay ang mayor.

Marami sa mga sumubaybay sa mayor ang nakaisip na maaaring may kinalaman ang batang babaeng sinaksak niya ng bangus sa bibig. Ipinagtanong nila kung sino ang bata sa lahat ng tao ngunit walang nakakakilala sa batang ito. Ang lumabas pa nga sa mga imbestigasyon ay wala talagang batang katulad ng kanilang nilalarawan.

Pagkatapos ko marinig ang kwento, kinilabutan ako. Hindi ko alam kung bakit, pero siguro nga, mahiwaga ang bata. In fact, ito ang theory ko:

Mula sa pagkaluklok ni Maria Makiling sa tuktok ng kanyang bundok, natanaw niya ang alkalde. Gusto siguro niyang parusahan ang mayor pero, siguro, binigyan pa niya ng pagkakataon. Siya ay bumaba ng bundok para bigyan ng pagkakataong magbago ang mayor gamit ang pagsubok sa kabaitan ng mayor. Kaya lang, hindi naging mabait ang mayor kaya ayun ang inabot niya.

Ang Credit Card Joke (featuring Bianca)

2010-05-29T03:33:00.003+08:00

Kanina, sa office, natawa ako sa sinabi sa akin ng isa kong kaibigan, si Bianca. Natawa ako dahil sobrang ironic ng sinabi niya sa akin.

Nitong nakalipas na linggo, hindi nga lang ako sigurado kung anong araw, nag-break sila ng 3-year long boyfriend niya. Dahil depressed ang bata, naisipan niyang mag-mope around at mag-internet ng sagot sa kanyang problema. Sa di inaasahang pagkakataon, napadpad siya sa isang forum tungkol sa mga rules pagkatapos ng break-up. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, tungkol iyon sa "no contact rule" pagkatapos ng break up. May isang nagpost at nabanggit doon ang isang title ng libro, "It's Called a Break-up Because It's Broken."

Dahil sa daming nag-react na maganda tungkol sa book, ginusto ni Bianca na bumili rin non. Kanina, habang nag-fifill up siya ng online order form para sa book, sinabi niya:

"Gamitin ko kaya ang credit card ni ____ para bilhin tong book?"

Aba! Pagkatapos kong marinig yung sinabi ng loka, natawa na lang ako. Ironic, ika nga. Paano kung itinuloy niya nga ang pagbili dun sa book gamit ang credit card ng ex niya? Naiimagine ko na ang mangyayari. Lalabas sa credit card bill yung title ng book at mapapakamot na lang si ____ dahil nagawa pa ni Bianca na gamitin credit card niya sa pag-bili ng librong tutulong sa kanya mag-move on.

Pakiramdam ko lang, baka ito na ang pinakamalaking joke na maaalala ko tungkol kay Bianca. Baka nga hanggang uugud-ugod na kami, ito pa rin ang joke na pagtatawanan namin ng malupit. Sana lang, makapag-move on na ang Biankikay namin para hindi na siya sad. Higit sa lahat, sana hindi rin niya gawin yun kasi baka hulihin siya ng pulis sa paggamit ng credit card ng iba.

Ngayon ko lang din na-realize: mahirap palang makipag-break. Nakaka-depress. Nakaka-sira ng ulo. Higit sa lahat at kung may credit card ka, mahirap pala na alam ng girlfriend ang credit card number mo. Ikaw na ang nawalan ng girlfriend, ikaw pa ang magbabayad para mag-move on siya. Hehehe!

A Question On Break Ups

2010-05-28T00:38:00.003+08:00

It takes a terrible amount of mighty bond to fix a broken vase, but isn't it much simpler to buy a new one?

The Process of Grieving

2010-05-27T01:14:00.000+08:00

Wallowing is part of grief. Eventually, the puddle of tears will dry up to reveal crystals that are worth smiling about.

Mga Mangyayari sa Hinaharap

2010-05-19T00:50:00.000+08:00

Una sa lahat, salamat, Ate Ayie dahil kinukulit mo kong mag-post. Kung hindi dahil sa iyo, hindi ko na sana maaalala. Hehehe!

Dahil sumusunod ang trabaho ko sa academic school year ng America, magiging mas maluwag na ang schedule ko. Magkakaroon na ako ng time mag-post ng mga bagong kuwento, at eto ang mga nakabinbing mga kwentong dapat kong isulat:

1. Ang Tagak
2. Ang Maalamat na Lighter
3. Bakit May Sungay ang Narwhal?

Kelan nga ba ako mag-kakatime? Sa tingin ko, hindi na ako busy pag-dating ng June. Ilang linggo na lang ba yon? Less than two weeks na lang, so hang in there, fans. Malapit na malapit na!

Chad cannot sleep because he is thinking about _______.

2010-05-18T04:59:00.001+08:00

I am an insomniac. That explains why I can't sleep.

I am infatuated, but I cannot publish the name of the person on my Facebook profile.

Damn if you do, damn if you don't. This is how I see my situation. If I post a name on my status message, I will stir up controversy. If I don't put a name and leave it blank, I will still reap the same results. However, keeping the name to myself will save me from ruining the friendship that I have with her, so I will keep it at that.

Chad thought about living up to the meaning of the word "smoulder," but realized that it is such a wasteful concept, and thus, changed his mind, deciding on living like a "laser beam" instead.

2010-05-18T02:24:00.001+08:00

I am passionate like fire. That's why I was thinking of the word "smoulder."

I chose "smoulder" instead of "smolder" because I like the emphasis brought about by the letter u.

I told my program manager that I try to live by the meaning of words that I can relate to. Then, I realized that I need to also direct my passion into something creative. That's when I decided to change it to "laser beam." It seems that "laser" carries the same kind of heat, but it is focused, making it more appealing to me.

I easily get distracted, so I have to live by that phrase until I can confidently say that I am a living, breathing laser beam.

Si Korina Sanchez at ang Aking High School Classmates

2010-05-11T03:01:00.000+08:00

Grabe! Napaka-weird ng panaginip ko kahapon.

Sa panaginip ko, nasa classroom ko daw ako noong high school ako. Galing ako sa all boys school kaya medyo weird na may kaclassmate akong babae, at ang teacher daw namin ay si Korina Sanchez. Eto pa ang mas weird -- ang exam daw namin ay ang pagkanta ng Telephone ni Lady Gaga. Sa sobrang disoriented ko sa panaginip, natakot ako na baka ako na ang tawagin ni Korina, kaya nagtanong ako sa classmate ko.

Ang sabi ko, "Mich, anong nangyayari? Kelan inannounce na may test?"

"Ewan ko. Hindi ko nga rin alam kung bakit ako nandito," ang sabi ni Mich na hindi naman si Mich. Yung mukha ng tinawag kong "Mich," mukha ng isa ko pang kaibigan, si Marge.

Patapos na yung isa pa naming classmate sa pag-kanta kaya naghanda-handa na ako. Sabi ko sa sarili ko, "Hello, hello, baby..." nang biglang may biglang may lumapit kay Korina at binulungan siya.

Lumapit din ang babae sa akin na may dalang headset. Ang sabi niya, "May nag-hihintay sa iyo sa labas."

"Sino daw? Mga applicant?" ang tanong ko. Busy kasi ako ngayon sa pag-rerecruit ng mga bagong writing consultant kaya siguro naitanongko yon. Pagkatapos, ibinigay niya sa akin yung headset na may tao pala sa kabilang linya. Parang wireless na headset yon, at ako ang gusto kausapin.

"Hello. Thanks for patiently waiting. This is Chad. How may I help you?" ang tanong ko. Static lang naman yung narinig ko kaya lumabas ako ng classroom papunta sa lobby. Parang hotel naman bigla yung lobby. Paglabas ko dun, nakita ko ang isang pulutong ng mga classmates ko sa high school at iba pang mga lower batch sa akin. Nakita ko dun si Ericson Nantin at kung sinu-sino pa.

Napakaweird talaga.

Isang Birthday Wish

2010-05-03T00:00:00.001+08:00

Simula pa noong bata ako, mahilig na akong mag-drawing. Kung anu-ano lang naman ang dinodrowing ko. Minsan, tao. Minsan, hayop. Minsan, kabayo na para bang hindi ito hayop. Ewan ko nga ba kung bakit ko pa hiniwalay yun. Siguro, dahil sa picture na nakita ko sa hard drive ko.

Ayun, kabayo nga siya. Kung hindi ako nagkakamali, gel pen ang gamit ko niyan at sa isang pirasong papel lang na medyo scratch ko pa nga ata yan dinrowing. Tapos, ini-scan ko siya para i-post sa blog kong luma.

Ano naman ang kinalaman nito sa title? Nasira ang scanner ko. Gusto ko ng scanner na stand-alone lang for my birthday. Ayun. *hint* *hint*

Job Opening

2010-05-02T02:09:00.001+08:00

Naghahanap ang company namin ng mga bagong empleyado. Dahil TL na ako, naatasan na akong mag-recruit ng mga bagong Writing Consultant. Heto ang mga details:

Position: Writing Consultant

Requirements:

We are looking for college graduates
We are looking for people with good English writing skills.
We are looking for people with the ability to teach English writing and grammar.
We are looking for people who are proficient in Microsoft Word.
We are looking for people who are able to work in Alabang, Muntinlupa.

Job Description:

The position entails the writing consultant to be able to read and provide constructive comments to essays, research papers, and on occasion, resumes and formal letters.

Ayokong mag-commit ng salary expectations pero I can say that I earn a lot from this job. Sabihin na lang natin na nagagamit ko ang sweldo ko to pay for my expenses:

Meralco bills
Internet bills
Grocery
Housing Loans
Credit card bills
Cell phone bills
Gimik
Allowance

Lahat yun, bayad ko kasi ako ang may pinakamalaking sweldo dito sa bahay. Hehehe! Serious tong job posting na to. Kung serious din kayong nag-hahanap ng trabaho, email niyo na lang ako: chadthecoffeeholic@gmail.com.

Waiting

2010-04-19T02:34:00.011+08:00

Matagal ko nang naisulat ang kwentong ito. Base sa research ko, noong December 30, 2009 ko pa ito ipinost sa luma kong blog at sa Facebook. May nagpasulat sa akin ng kwento tungkol sa commitment at eto ang kinalabasan:

Waiting

Yesterday, it was all about the aphids. Kristoff saw them sucking the life out of a rosebush near the train station. There were clumps of them – white, fluffy clumps of sap-sucking aphids preying on the life juices of the rose bush. Then, Kristoff saw that here were also ladybugs on the rose bush. The red and black beetles were feasting on the sorry, little botanical vampires. It made him smile; somehow, he knew that the rosebush will be right as rain, and he got off the bench that he was sitting on to head back home.

Last Friday, Kristoff thought that the bench near the train station was rather uncomfortable, and he thought that he couldn’t bear sitting on it anymore. Every time he sat on it, the hole where a nail should have been seemed to suck in his skin and make the bottom of his pelvic bone chafe onto the wood. It felt abrasive and raw. He would not have continued sitting there if not for the doves that flocked in front of the train station, swarming at bread crumbs and the French toast that he has thrown on the black and gray pavement to keep most of the birds cooing near where he waited. The cooing made him feel impervious to the irritation that waiting caused him, bringing him back to a time where all he needed to hear was the sound of Taylor’s giggles.

“Ummm, that’s so sweet of you, Kristoff,” he recalled what Taylor had said as he was handing her a bouquet of roses – a going-away present to wish her luck in her studies in Milan.

“Well, what can I say? I want you to remember what you’ll be missing for four years. Are you sure that you can’t just study here? We have good universities here, too, you know?”

“Oh come on, Kristoff. It’s only four years,” the memory of Taylor in Kristoff’s head went on. “I thought that we are through this? I promise that I’ll come back to you as soon as possible. I’ll come back to you even if I were already in a coffin lined with satin and gilded with roses.”

He thought that she was always morbid.

“Don’t say things like that. It’s creeping me out.”

“What!?! If I die, I want to be buried in a coffin with silver roses as decoration. That’s why you love me. You love my attention for detail! Hahaha!” she joked. “But promise me that you’ll wait for me, ok?”

“Do I even have to? You know that I will. I will wait for you here every day if I have to.”

With mischief in her eyes, she said, “I’ll hold you to it.”

Then, instead of the deep, rumbling of iron train wheels, the sound of flapping wings shook him back to reality. Kristoff let out a deep sigh as the memory faded away. He got up, and headed for home when the last of the sunshine followed the lead of the evanescing thought.

Last month, Kristoff noticed that the street lamps went on at exactly 5:57 PM. He wouldn’t have noticed if not for his cellular phone sounding an alarm. He had set an alarm for that exact time because he had an appointment to keep with Mr. Lathenbaum, the store keeper of the bookstore right beside the station. He had a book from Africa for Kristoff.

“What a chilly evening to you, young fella,” Mr. Lathenbaum said as he was hauling some boxes full of books inside his store when they first spoke to each other back in November.

“Good evening to you, too, sir,” answered Kristoff. “That’s a mighty big box of books you’re hauling there. Do you need any help?” offered Kristoff in all earnest.

Hesitating but feeling his aching back due to arthritis, the old man answered, “I don’t want to bother you. It seems that you’re waiting for someone, but these books are really doing a good job of following the law of gravity.”

“No, I insist, sir.”

“All right. If you insist. The name’s Lathenbaum, Lysander Lathenbaum, bibliophile extraordinaire!”

Without any second thoughts, Kristoff took the box from the old bibliophile and asked, “It’s nice meeting you, Mr. Lathenbaum. Kristoff Jones at your service. Where do you want these to go?”

“Would you kindly put that on the counter? And for your trouble, we’ll guzzle down some vodka.”

Bashfully, Kristoff obliged. Mr. Lathenbaum realized that he always saw Kristoff on the same crummy bench, which he also absolutely disdained for those nails that stuck out.

As he was pouring the vodka, he asked, “What are you doing there in the cold, young man? Oh, youth! Good thing you can still enjoy a crisp evening, so savor it while you can. You see, when you get as old as I am, your bones will not be comfortable with each other. It seems that in my case, my backbones have argued, and now, they’re fighting each other. Oh, flabberfruits! I’m prattling. Where was I? Ah, yes, what are you doing there, sitting in the cold?”

“I’m waiting for a special friend.”

“A lady friend?”

“You’re still sharp. You’re not as old as you think,” Kristoff chided.

That evening, Mr. Lathenbaum learnt of Kristoff, Taylor, and the tryst that should have happened a year ago. Since they weren’t strangers anymore, Kristoff always made it a point to say good afternoon to his elderly acquaintance before he sat patiently on his waiting bench. And as such, the two acquaintances became friends. Just like that, Mr. Lathenbaum came to know that Kristoff was looking for a book about Anansi and other African legends.

That month, Kristoff was accompanied by the tales of Anansi, the wise, mischievous spider from Africa. He was so amused of Anansi and the adventures that he totally forgot the alarm that he set. On the next day, it sounded again, and magically, the street lamps went aglow.

“Coincidence?” Kristoff wondered, so he didn’t put out the alarm on his cellular; for a week, he monitored, and for a week, the street lamps never failed him. They all went on at exactly 5:57 in the afternoon with or without darkness.

A few months back, maybe four or five, Kristoff noticed that the bench paint was wearing out. It was wearing out on the left side, the side where Kristoff took out a nasty nail with its exposed head irritating Kristoff’s behind. With pliers that he took out of his tool shed because of sheer irritation, he awkwardly tried to pry out that dastardly nail out of the wood, trying his best not to attract the crowds that poured in and out of the train station. With all his effort, he was able to succeed in taking out the nail, but to his surprise, the hole left by the nail on the wood didn’t make it comfortable in any way.

After pulling the nail out, Kristoff’s waiting bench offered him a dilemma – to sit on the right side where there was another nail sticking its head out to irritate those who unwittingly sit on it or to sit on the left side where there’s a vindictive hole on the wood that is Kristoff’s punishment for tampering with the bench. In the end, Kristoff decided to own up to his actions, be a man, and accept his punishment. He always sat on the left side of that bench ever since. With the help of the doves, he was able to tune out the irritation and wait patiently. He just noticed the fading paint because he had to avoid some bird droppings that landed on his usual seat.
However, today, Kristoff didn’t leave the bench anymore. He didn’t say hello to Mr. Lathenbaum. He didn’t feed the doves that kept him company. He didn’t draw close enough to notice if the ladybugs have eaten all of the aphids off of the rose bush. He wasn’t even able to stand up from the train station bench that was especially painful on his buttocks.

He just sat there staring with the help of the flickering 5:57 street lights, staring at a telegram he was holding. It read:

Dear Kristoff,

Guess who’s finally coming home at 5:30 PM, March 18? Train station. Don’t be late.

All my love,
Taylor

“I am not late, but where are you?” he asked as though Taylor was standing right in front of him.
Earlier this morning, this telegram made him run to his kitchen and cook an especially hearty breakfast. He cooked a cheese omelet, toasted some bread, and indulged on cottage cheese. Then, he prepared for work, and he took some changing clothes excitedly out from his closet. He folded them nicely to avoid roughing them up for this much-awaited reunion. When he was ready, he dashed down the staircase, side-tripped to the kitchen, and snatched the two telegrams that he fished out of the mailbox.

With giant but gleeful strides, he sped out the door. He made quick work of his lawn, reaching the sidewalk in only three seconds when it usually took him a minute to get there. With briefcase in hand, heavy with paperwork and clothes, he fumbled for his keys to lock his gridiron gate.

The day went so fast that he forgot to read the other telegram until he got to the bench. He got there at 5:28 PM. He sat patiently until 5:30, but when 5:31 came, he was fidgeting. He took out Taylor’s telegram to pass away the time. He looked at it until he couldn’t see the letters anymore. He was thankful when 5:57 came; with the aid of the street lights, he’ll be able to read the telegram again.

As he was holding the piece of paper, he realized that he hasn’t read the other telegram, so he took it out. After reading, the street lamp beside him seemed to have read the telegram, and its light flickered. He couldn’t tell if the lights dimmed, or if he blacked out. He wasn’t able to read the entirety of the message, but he got the message clear. He should be at the train station at 6:00 PM to meet a white mahogany box lined with satin and gilded with silver roses.

Dahil Bored Ako

2010-04-16T01:03:00.001+08:00

Dahil bored ako, sinamahan ako ng mga friends ko gumawa ng mga kalokohan.

Nung Saturday, sa office, sinamahan ako ng frilled lizard ko magyosi.

Nung Monday naman, habang walang magawa sa office, nagpunta kami sa gubat. Kasama ko naman ang snake ko at ang wallaby ko.

At higit sa lahat, nagkape kami ng snake ko sa office habang nagtatanggal ng stress.

Ayan, cute diba? Super busy ako ngayon, so eto muna. Til next time.

Isang Malaking Kabalintunaan

2010-03-25T23:14:00.000+08:00

Noong Lunes, pumunta ako sa Festival Mall sa Alabang para kunin ang results ng annual physical exam ko. Kasama ko ang kaibigan kong si Donna nung kinuha ko yung mga results. Maayos naman ang lahat puwera sa katotohanang overweight na ako at kailangan ko nang magpapayat. Masaya kaming naglakad sa mall nang may natanaw akong kakaiba at napakalaking kabalintunaan.

Nang makuha ko na ang aking results ng medical ko, naihi si Donna kaya hinintay ko siya sa labas ng CR. Nakatayo ako sa tapat ng Clipper, isang magandang gift shop, habang naghihintay nang masagi ako ng isang mama. Nung lumingon ako, bulag pala ang mama at patungo siya sa CR. Sinundan ko ng tingin ang mama nang mangyari ang isang aksidente!

Papasok ng maliit na hallway ang mama at palabas naman ang isang tibo mula sa CR. (Sa CR kaya siya ng girls galing?) Mabilis ang lakad ng tibo, at biglang, BLAGSNGKST!!! Nabangga ng tibo ang walking stick ng mamang bulag. Hindi naman natumba o nasaktan ng mamang bulag. Nagsori din ang tibo. Kaya lang, napaka-ironic ng nangyari.

Para sa akin, malaking kalokohan ang nangyari -- dramatic irony, kung baga.Kung sino pa ang nakakakita, siya pa ang nakabangga ng bulag. Hindi ko makalimutan ang nakita ko. Sa kakaisip, na-realize ko na may moral lesson sa pangyayaring iyon. Siguro nga, dapat lang nating i-appreciate kung ano ang meron tayo. Kaya ako, ang gagawin ko, gagamitin ko ang natitira ko pang paningin (na unti-unti na ring lumalabo) para maiwasan ko ang ganong pangyayari. Nakakahiya. Nakakapraning. Higit sa lahat, napakalaking kalokohan.

The Solution, the Wall, and the Collapse of the Circular City

2010-03-20T23:52:00.001+08:00

From the Ivory Tower, a crow named Gurulturu headed back to the Round City of Yuvarlak. The crow, the catastrophic beauty, and the circular city would have a solution that will make everybody happy. On the other hand, the Little Boy would have an emissary to the World to spread his knowledge and wisdom once again.
Like the Little Boy suggested, the crow flew to the richest suitor of Afet, the catastrophic beauty. Gurulturu picked Devrim, the richest suitor of Afet. In actuality, he is also the pick of Afet to marry since he gives the most expensive gifts of all her suitors. He also was true to his name, which meant “revolutionary.” Every three days, he comes by Afet’s house because he devised an ingenious plan of meeting his servants halfway across the city walls. Instead of taking 6 days to get back to Afet, he managed to cut the travelling time in half. More than that though, the Little Boy suggested him because he lived just on the other side of the wall, right across the house of Afet.
Gurulturu found Devrim on his horse. He was on his way to meet his servants, who were bringing a golden elephant to their meeting point. As crows can move faster than a galloping horse, he managed to land on Devrim’s shoulder.
“Good morning, Devrim!” bellowed the crow. With fright and surprise, Devrim stopped the horse and tried to shoo the crow away. “Wait! Pardon me! I didn’t mean any harm,” said Gurulturu. “I have come to greet and meet the chosen one to be the husband of Afet.”
“What devilry is this? How can you speak?” asked Devrim. As the crow was a gabber, he wasn’t able to stop himself from telling his life’s story. He also went on with the ingenious plan on how to convince Afet’s mother that he was rich enough to bring gifts and crafty enough to do it everyday of the week. Luckily, Devrim believed him and agreed with the plan.
The plan was quite simple, really. With the knowledge of the Little Boy of geometry, he told Gurulturu that the shortest path between two points is a straight line. Instead of going around the city, a suitor living on the West Crescent can just climb over the wall and visit the East Crescent everyday. Since Devrim lived on the other side of the wall, he does not need to travel far; he does not need to also reveal the simplest solution.
With this knowledge dispensed by the Little Boy, preparations went underway. Devrim had his builders craft a very long ladder that reached up the wall and another one to help him down on the other end. As the plan was simple and effective, he managed to visit Afet 6 consecutive days in a row, bringing the most lavish gifts that he can carry over the wall. Afet was happy; finally, she her mother conceded let her marry. Devrim was also happy; at last, his efforts would bear fruit. Most of all, Gurulturu was happy since he’ll have Afet to gossip with, Devrim to discuss manly matters with, and the Ivory Tower’s friendship and advice.
With so much joy, Devrim and Gurulturu decided to celebrate. In his gold leafed mansion, Devrim ordered his servants to prepare food and wine. Because he was rich, the food flowed ever so freely from the kitchen to the table. Devrim and Gurulturu wallowed in wine, words, and loud laughter. “What happiness can cause such a commotion,” thought the other suitors, so they all sneaked up to the windows of the happiest house in Yuvarlak. From their perch, they saw Devrim talking to a crow. They heard Gurulturu speak, which amazed them so much. More than that, they heard through drunk lips and beaks how they can laugh heartily, too!
As the secret spread like sand blown by a storm, the wealthy suitors began to also device ladders and contraptions that allowed them to visit daily. With this new trend in the suitors, Afet’s mother took back her word and made a new rule. Whoever can bring the most abundant amount of gifts would have Afet’s hand in marriage. Now, it was a question of quantity, not frequency, so she made it known to all the suitors that the judging day was to be on Afet’s birthday.
As Afet’s birthday was a week away, everybody, including Devrim, stopped visiting Afet to muster all their wealth.Others had engineers and designers build contraptions that would allow them to bring the most wealth all in one go. They built stronger, heavier ladders to support the weight of gold, diamonds, and other precious stones. Everyone was desperate to win. Finally, Afet’s birthday came. Everybody on the Western Crescent woke up for each suitor employed each man, woman, and child that can carry something and climb a ladder to maximize the amount of wealth that they can transport to the other side. With big bags, mechanical carts, pulleys, scaffoldings, and carrying cases, they all climbed the dividing wall simultaneously.
With all the excitement, Gurulturu wanted to gossip with Afet because he knew that when all these people reached the other side, she won’t have time for him until after the wedding. He flew over the way and reported in detail how the spectacle looked like. Afet and Gurulturu were so engrossed with their conversation. Devrim and the rest of the suitors were also busy in transporting their wealth. The citizens reflected the same enthusiasm that their master had. Nobody paid attention to anything, not even the wall that complained and grumbled because of the weight it bore. With a loud crack, a whooshing sound, and a fell downward stroke, the city of Yuvarlak met its destruction. Everybody on the Eastern Crescent was crushed by the wall. Everybody climbing the wall from the Western Crescent fell, broke their necks, and died.
The Little Boy, the Master of the Ivory Tower, didn’t miss this spectacle. On one hand, he was sad for his emissary, Gurulturu, was crushed by the wall. He lost his only way to make his knowledge known to the world again. On the other hand, the naughtier hand, he was quite amused. “Who would’ve guessed that the wall would collapse? Good thing I didn’t build that wall. Ahahahahahaha!” With that final remark, the Little Boy started laughing uncontrollably. Even if he was on the top of the Ivory Tower on the tallest mountain on the top of the World, his laughter managed to ride the Winds and made all the people in the World to hear the sound of a little boy laughing.

The Crow, the Catastrophic Beauty, and the Circular City

2010-03-14T01:22:00.001+08:00

In the faint breeze, people all over the world heard the sound of a little boy laughing. From the top of the Ivory Tower, standing tall on the highest mountain on the top of the World, the Winds carried the laughter of the Little Boy, the tower’s master, because of a hilarious tragedy that occurred in a round city, much like the Round City of al-Mansur. As revealed in the Foreshadowing of the Ivory Shards, the Little Boy sent a piece of the Ivory Tower flying towards Heaven in anger. Since this was an act of anger, desecration, and hostility, the Sun protected Heaven by attempting to obliterate the ivory missile. This is the story of how a little piece of ivory brought a rather large and formidable city down into a rumbling, roaring heap of rubble that caused the Little Boy to laugh.
It all began when a piece of the ivory missile fell on a crow living near the city of Yuvarlak. As the ivory shard had mystical properties, it enlightened the crow’s little brain and gave it the gift of human speech. Instead of its usual “caw, caw” call, it started to say “Good morning,” “good evening,” and learned to gossip. Since the other crows were just normal and were only equipped with a one-word dictionary that contained “caw,” the crow got bored with his friends so he flew all around the city to look for a person that he can gossip with.
After circling the city nine times, the crow saw a girl sitting by herself on a bench in one house on the East Crescent side of the story. Her name was Afet. The name was strikingly apt for this story because it meant “catastrophically beautiful.” She was the most beautiful daughter of a popular merchant in the Round City of Yuvarlak. She had the most peaceful looking eyes -- big, round, and as brilliant as the clear desert sky. Her hair flowed like black water as she sat fanning herself. With famed beauty, she had to keep herself from perspiring since she expected a long line of suitors to come in the afternoon.
“Good morning!” the crow greeted her.
Startled and amazed, Afet looked for the voice and found the crow perched on the other side of her bench. “Good morning to you, too, little crow,” she replied with amusement. “How can you talk, little crow? This is the first time that I’ve heard a crow talk!” she exclaimed.
“Well, I don’t know really. One day, I was flying in the sky and I felt dizzy. I went home to sleep, and when I woke up, I can talk like you. It’s handy really. Now, I know why that fat lady living at the outskirts of town calls me ‘gurultulu.’ All the while, I thought it was my name; as it turns out, I’m just noisy. It’s a fitting name, actually. I am Gurultulu. My mother didn’t bother to name me so I took it upon myself to pick one. I’m actually thankful to that fat lady since she inspired me to pick that name,” chattered the crow.
“Oh my! You really are noisy,” chided Afet. “My name is Afet. You know, I’d like to talk to you now, but it seems that any moment now, my suitors will be here and I need to attend to them. My mother makes me receive them because they bring such precious gifts! If you’d like, I can give you a shiny trinket if you’d return to me and talk.”
“Alright Afet, my new found friend. I’ll come by tomorrow at an earlier time so we won’t be bothered by your pesky, gift-giving suitors,” said Gurultulu. With a knock on the door, Afet smiled at Gurultulu. He understood what she meant, and he flew away.
The days went on and off. Gurultulu and Afet became even better friends, so one day, Afet confided a secret to Gurultulu. “I’m actually tired of talking to my suitors about pointless things. I’d like to pick one – anyone – so that I can finally settle down and just be a wife. They’re all rich and handsome anyway. However, my mother told me that I can only marry a man that has an infinite amount of wealth. She says that if they take a few days before returning with new gifts, th ey’re not rich enough. The days they are not here means that they are working for the gifts that they’ll bring me. Since the city is round and there’s a big wall dividing the East Crescent and the West Crescent, my suitors can’t come by every day even though they do have the riches. It’s just that they really are that numerous, so everyday, I get visitors. If only one man can come by here everyday, my mother would let me marry him,” lamented Afet. Then, a knock interrupted her next word. “Oh dear, they are already here.” With a sigh, Gurultulu flew away again, thinking that he must have more time to talk to Afet.
With his tiny crow brain, Gurultulu tried to solve Afet’s problems. He flew up into the sky and looked at Yuvarlak. As previously mentioned, Yuvarlak is a round city. More than being round, it was divided into the West and East Crescent by a tall wall that made traveling from one side of the city to the other. Too bad for Afet; the men on her side of the city were poor or not rich enough to come by with gifts on a daily basis. Too bad for the rich men on the other side of town; they need to travel 3 days to reach her and 3 more days to go back home and fetch more gifts. If only one man can solve this problem, he’ll have a married friend with enough time in her hands to just sit and talk all day.
As Gurultulu was flying in a circle around Yuvarlak, he continue to fly higher and higher into the air. After his 9th upward spiral, he broke through the first layer of clouds and saw the Ivory Tower. Since the Ivory Tower and its master were always aware or made it a point to be aware of everything that happens in the World, it didn’t fail to notice Gurulturu, his flight, and the plight of Afet. The Little Boy called out to him, “Hey, crow! Come here! I have the solution to your problem.”
With the sound of the word “solution,” Gurulturu flew fast and landed on the Ivory Tower’s window sill. “Hello, Master,” greeted the crow. “Do you really have the answer to my problem?”
The Little Boy said, “Yes, my good crow. I do. I am the Little Boy, the Master of the Ivory Tower, and I have all the answers in the World!”
“Please, Master. Tell me how to solve my problem. Help me help Afet get a husband. If what you say is true, I’ll let it be known to the whole world that you are wise.”
With that, the Little Boy whispered the answer to Gurulturu’s problem.

to be continued...

An Ivory Shard, Germaine, and a Tennis Racket

2010-03-01T00:29:00.002+08:00

Up on the Ivory Tower that stood solidly on top of the tallest mountain on the top of the World, the Little Boy was still fuming against Heaven for that painful lesson about gravity in the Foreshadowing of the Ivory Shards when he heard a girl cry in anger. He was clutching the ivory shard that struck him in the head when suddenly, a tennis racket went into view and fell down again, which piqued the interest of the Little Boy. Curious to see who threw it high enough to come into his horizon, the Little Boy investigated and followed the racket’s descent.
The racket fell back into Germaine’s skilled hands. She was the person who was able to throw a tennis racket so high in the air. She was a high school student of Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu High School. She was part of the school’s tennis varsity team. She was part of the Honors Class. Most of all, she was the almost most popular girl in school with her blonde hair, big, wide eyes, and high grades.
She threw the racket in the air out of frustration with Judy, the most popular girl in school. Judy was also part of the tennis varsity. In fact, she was the captain for the women’s team. She had short sassy hair, a smile that shimmered with stars, and even higher grades than Germaine. Everyone loved her, especially Tezuka, the team captain of the tennis team, the most popular boy in school, and the love of Germaine’s life.
It seemed to Germaine that no matter what she did, she always successfully stood second best. In home economics class, she baked a strawberry sponge cake for Tezuka, but he ate Judy’s plain chocolate cake instead. After the finals week of their second year in junior high, she saw her name labeled number 2 in small, black letters while Judy’s name was highlighted in big, red, bold letters. Most of all, she was the best friend of Tezuka; Tezuka’s girlfriend was Judy.
After about 30 minutes of waiting for the tennis racket to land back on her hands, Germaine thought that she should go home, but Judy went into the tennis court. As she was heading towards the court gates, she saw it swing open to reveal Judy, smiling and walking with that swaying, sassy hair of hers. “Yo! Germaine-chan! Would you like to play a game before you go home?” Judy asked. “Uh, but…” Germaine stuttered as Judy dragged her to one side of the court.
With the same tennis racket in her hands, Germaine was forced to play. As luck would have it, Tezuka wandered in the court and offered to referee the match. With the love of her life in sight, Germaine felt fired up. Yes! She would play. Yes! She would show Judy that she can win, even just one unofficial game. Most of all, yes, she will impress Tezuka with her awe-inspiring backhand and forehand smashes, which she thought would be enough for him to dump Judy and ask her to be his girlfriend.
As the whistle wailed across the court, Germaine motioned to serve. Spuck! Spuck! That was the only sound that Germaine could hear. She was so intent to beat Judy, smiling, giggling, and shimmering with stars as she returned each smash that Germaine sent to her. After 20 minutes, Germaine had a point-break opportunity. She only needed to score one more point, and she will beat Judy for the first time in Tokyo Gakkan Urayasu High School’s history.
As the Little Boy, looking down intently from the Ivory Tower, gazed at Germaine’s determination and desperation, he heard Germaine’s thoughts: “If I could just win this match, I’d be happier. God, please, anyone! If you can hear my me, I wish to win this match at any cost.” Because of the desperation, the intensity, and the sincerity of this one wish, the Little Boy felt some compassion for Germaine. He wanted to help the girl who had the ability to grab his interest. As he was still holding the ivory shard, he thought that maybe, he can sabotage Judy and cause her to lose the match. With this thought in mind, he went over to the edge of the balcony of the Ivory Tower. Using his knowledge of vertical motion, gravity, and trajectory, he threw the ivory shard down so that it would land on Judy’s side of the court. He was hoping that Judy would step on it, slip, and fail to return one of Germaine’s smashes.
Down the ivory shard flew. It fell fast and furiously towards the next spot where Judy was supposed to put her foot down. The Little Boy’s aim was true this time; unlike what happened with Amaris and the Paper Airplane Prophecy, his ivory shard struck where it was supposed to strike. However, he failed to figure in the bounce of the turf used in lawn tennis courts. The fake green grass had a bounce to it that made the ivory shard bounce towards Germaine’s next stepping ground. With an inaudible thud, it slipped under Germaine’s tennis shoes, rolled a few centimeters, and overturned her. What a sight it made! As Germaine was turning in midair, one of her shoes came off, flew up in the air, met with the eyes of the Little Boy, and fell back to earth. When the little shoe fell down, almost 30 minutes has already gone by. Germaine was already at the hospital with a broken neck, a fractured dream, and a smashed spirit. The doctors told her that she can never play tennis ever again.
With this new blunder, the Little Boy started to regret helping Germaine. Now, he can never see a tennis racket fly so high up in the air that it could reach the windows of his Ivory Tower. As he lost interest, he turned his gaze away and retired into his tower that was on top of the tallest mountain on the top of the World.

This story is for Judy, my friend. This is my birthday gift to her since I only have stories to tell and no money for buying gifts. Belated happy birthday!

Ang Busy Supervisor at ang mga Kakaibang Superpowers

2010-02-25T03:57:00.001+08:00

Buhay pa ako. Busy lang ako lately kaya hindi ako makapag-post at makapagsulat ng matinong kwento. Hindi na rin ako makapag-drawing pero babalikan ko lahat iyan sa susunod na mga linggo. Mahirap pala talagang maging supervisor.

Speaking of super, dahil sa isang sineng napanood ng makulit kong kaibigang si Johmar, nakaisip ako ng mga super powers na walang kakwenta-kwenta. Base sa kwento niya, may isang character daw sa movie na tinutukoy niya na invisible lang kapag walang nakatingin pero nagamit pa rin nung character na yun ang kakaibang power. Nainspire naman ako kaya heto ang mga naisip kong patok na mga sablay na powers:

Kapangyarihang makapag-kamehame wave. Kapag tinamaan ka, patay ka agad. Kaya lang, pwede lang gamitin ang power na ito kung 10 ft. away ka sa kalaban. Ang catch, 8 ft. lang ang abot ng kamehame wave.
Kapangyarihang malaman kung kailan may balyenang kinagat ng lamok kahit saan sa earth.
Kapangyarihang managinip ng mga mangyayari sa hinaharap. Kaya lang, pag-nagising ka na, makakalimutan mo na ang prophecy.
Kapangyarihang manalo sa kahit anong klaseng bakbakan kung ang kalaban mo ay taong mas maliit sa iyo. Kaya lang, ipapanganak kang unano.
Kapangyarihang makapag-basa ng iniisip ng ibang tao pero literal. Masusulat ang iniisip nila sa katawan mo. Kaya lang, sa batok.

Libre kong ipinamimigay yang mga powers na yan. Alin gusto niyo? Marami niyan sa stock. Nung naging supervisor ako, nakuha ko yan lahat eh. Freebie, ika nga. O siya, tama na ang kahibangang ito. Next week na lang ulit. Abang-abang lang. Marami pang powers na tulad ng mga ito.

Foreshadowing from the Ivory Shards

2010-02-22T00:58:00.001+08:00

After the Little Boy, the Master of the Ivory Tower ranted and raved in frustration in not knowing what the answers to some of the mysteries of life that has unfolded in the story of the Father and the First First-born, he decided to be brutal and demand from Heaven that he know more information about the dealings that happen in the World. On top of the Ivory Tower atop the tallest mountain on top of the World, he cursed and he shouted at Heaven. When he did not hear any replies, even the smallest hint of reproachful remark, he decided to be more physical about his protest. With the art of Taekwondo, he kicked a post in the balcony and was able to chip a small shard of ivory. "Ammunition," he thought to himself. Then, with a full run, a half-turn, and a spinning side kick, he launched the shard straight up to Heaven.

Sadly for the Little Boy, he did this regrettable act in broad daylight -- the time when the eye of the Sun was upon him. Seeing this horrendous and, yet again, blasphemous act, the Sun concentrated its rays on a beam -- a tiny beam that amounted to laser light. Though successful in channeling the concentrated energy of light onto a pinpoint on the hurled piece of ivory, the sun didn't hit it entirely. It only managed to bore a hole on the piece of ivory.

As the master of the Winds, he caused them to try and blow the still-flying piece of ivory towards heaven. Again, he was successful in making the Winds blow the ivory projectile, but it only caused it to shift a bit of course and straight into the direction of Heaven's window.

Seeing this minor blunder, the Sun caused the Winds to whirl and rub against themselves. This act, by far, seemed to be the most cunning act of the Sun in preventing harm from coming towards heaven. As the winds rubbed against each other, they managed to create a force so strong. Through friction and static energy, the winds crackled and hummed with electricity. The sun doesn't want to fail so he waited cautiously. With only one eye, he wanted his electric bolt to hit its mark and save Heaven's window from cracking. At the very last minute, he released the the static energy into a lightning bolt.

This time, the Sun was able to hit the piece of ivory flung by the Little Boy but not enough to totally destroy it. It got shattered into tiny specs of ivory and got blown in the wind. However, a sizable bit -- the size of a prune -- still remained airborne and still on course. With a clink on the glass of Heaven's window, it bounced off and down again, straight back in the direction of the Little Boy.

Although he was not entirely successful in stopping the ivory shard, he was victorious in protecting Heaven. As for the boy, although not entirely successful in breaking anything in Heaven's dominion, he was successful in getting heaven to notice him. From the window that was tapped by the ivory piece, a face, an angel spoke. The angel said, "Little Boy, Master of the Ivory Tower, oh most notorious neighbor, please desist in daring Heaven. Heaven, with all it's wisdom, might, and potential, has plans for you. Be patient and you will be purged of your punishment. Be hasty and spiteful and you shall see that Heaven can put down a more repugnant lesson reckon with. For now, Heaven will just teach you about gravity." Then, the angel closed the window, and Heaven grew serene once more.

Hearing those words, the Sun beamed in bliss. Hearing those words, the Little Boy grew more angry. "Bah! Teach me gravity? Who do they think they are? I know all about gravity," said the Little Boy. "In a nutshell, what..." and before he could finish his simple-minded definition, the small, prune-sized ivory shard thumped on his head, left a bit of a bump on his temple, and fell down towards the Earth. "... goes up must come down," he grumbled just to hold up a bit of defiance. With the final words spoken, he went in the tower.

Now, what of the ivory shards? What ever did happen to those that got blown in the wind? What happened to that prune-sized shard that was able to tap on Heaven's door? As the angel said, there is a lesson here to learn about gravity. Those shards fell. They fell down and all over the World. Being a piece of the Ivory Tower, they possessed some magic in them, which will eventually be seen by the Little Boy and everyone who had the eye for magical happenings. With what the Little Boy called "ammunition," there will come great and grand adventures for the little lives that will encounter those shards that came from the Ivory Tower standing on top of the tallest mountain on top of the World.

Minor note: Since there was no figure that represented the Sun and lightning bolts together, I used Goddess of Lightning by Feodome (top left). In the Light of Things (middle) was made by Timett. Ivory shards were not on Deviant Art so The Wish by MerenSherita was chosen (bottom left).

The Father and the First First-Born Son

2010-02-14T19:42:00.000+08:00

For about four days, there has been no movement within the Ivory Tower. On top of the tallest mountain on top of the world, the Master of the Ivory Tower, the Little Boy, was intent on looking into the past, fast forwarding, and following the life of a man that had two sons.

It seems that it is an ironic story of atonement, which captivated the Little Boy's interest although there was no magic involved in it. It just seemed so sad for a boy who was locked up on a tower with nothing to do but to look at the World beneath him, so he tuned in to this one man.

The man in this story is known as Jose. He had two sons, Joseph and Jason, which were generations apart. The first son, Joseph, was born of Jose's first wife. Shortly after giving birth, his wife died and he was left a widower; Joseph was left an orphan. In the lush land of the Philippines, this wouldn't have been such a sad story except that Jose was poor. Because of that poverty and his love for his son, he decided to go abroad, into the land of sands, Arabia, to tend to the black gold that they were abundantly extracting from the earth.

With Jose gone, the baby, his little Joseph was left alone, orphaned, not by Death but by Fortune, and lived a life of sadness and old fashioned love. He was raised by his grandfather. The old man, being old and old fashioned, didn't know how to care for children anymore save for one adage: discipline is love. While Jose was away, when the grandfather would play cards, and with no one to look after little Joseph, he was often left tied up by one ankle to the window grills of the house. There, he would look sourly and jealously at the neighbor's kids, playing and laughing their hearts out in the dirt. Sometimes, unable to help but want to be happy, he would cry out loudly to his grandfather to release him. Sadly, the grandfather had a temper and a slight case of deafness. As a consequence, the old man just ignores the little kid's cries, and if he does notice, he made it known to little Joseph through a very blunt messenger, a quick yet painful tap of a walking stick on the kid's head.

As years go by, little Joseph was old enough to take care of himself and so, the old grandfather decided to die. To little Joseph, this was cause for celebration, not because he got rid of the mean grandfather that tied him up or beat him on the head; the death caused Jose to return home and reunite with his son, who's already 17 years of age.

Meanwhile, within that 17 years of absence, Jose found himself a bride-to-be. As it happened, he was writing with a stately woman back in the Philippines by the name of Elle. Elle, as the youngest of her family, was already considered an old maid since she was now taking care of his aging father. All that kept her going were letters that Jose sent her from Arabia. Yet again, the death of Jose's father brought on another form of happiness. Elle and Jose planned to marry after a year from this death.

The fateful, happy day came. Jose and Elle were married, and it was a joyous occasion for the two of them. After a year, Elle bore a child, Jason, Jose's second first born, Joseph's half-brother. As a baby with a doting and, by this time, wealthy father, Jason received all the luxuries of life. As the first son of a youngest daughter, he was showered with gifts, toys, clothes, love and affection.

At this point, Joseph moved in with his father and step-mother. Surprisingly, this story doesn't have an evil step-mother. Ironically, the father and the first first-born son didn't agree so well, perhaps, because of the miles and years that they were apart. Strikingly, Joseph seemed to have an understanding with Elle. He never really called her "mother" or anything of that sort, but he did show his respect by calling her "Tita," which is what people in the Philippines usually calls their aunt. Joseph never despised his half-brother. In fact, he also treasured him like a real, whole brother. One day, after coming home from an excursion in the mall, he even bought his little brother a toy that sang whenever anyone presses its tummy.

To some people, this looked like a real family. However, as Elle, Joseph, and Jason grew close, Joseph and Jose grew farther from each other. Even if they were now living in the same roof, they were like two peanuts within their separate pods in separate fields in separate corners of the World. It seems that Jose didn't approve of the prolonged absences of his first first-born son. It seems that Joseph was not accustomed to answering to anyone, even to a person whom he should have been calling "father." As years went by, Jose, Elle, and Jason saw less and less of Joseph.

One night, he came home with news to tell. He came home with a woman, the mother of his child. Even though Jose didn't approve and Joseph was not accustomed to authority, they seemed to have come to an understanding. Since everything was all done, there was nothing else to do but to accept this simple section of a slice in the natural course of Life. In fact, this seemed to have reconciled Jose and Joseph. The father talked kindly to his son; the first first-born son learned to say "father."

Nevertheless, it seems that Life or perhaps, Fate was the antagonist of this story. Fate seemed to have caused Joseph to be a responsible young man and provide for his expecting wife. Fate seemed to have caused Jose to be more than a father -- he became a grandfather. With this grandiosity attached to his role and wanting to make up for his neglected son, he sent Joseph some groceries, food for the young family. On the way home to his new house, Joseph was killed.

Based on what the nosy neighbors said, Joseph died on a jeepney. A drug addict was riding with him and shot him dead. As expected, Jose mourned the death of his first first-born son. As usual, a funeral was done in the rain. As usual, life for Jose moved on because in mortal terms, Time heals all wounds.

At this point, the story got boring for the Little Boy. After 4 days of capturing his attention, glimpsing back in Time and focusing on the events that happened on 4 people while fast forwarding took too much of his energy. As he was moving away from his 4-day perch, a question struck him. "What was the meaning of all that? Why was it a story of a father atoning for his sins against his neglected son and a story of a reconciliation cut short?" With no answers to those questions, the Little Boy, Master of the Ivory Tower, started a fit. "Why, why why don't I know the answer?" It inflamed him that he doesn't know the answer; he who has been granted knowledge of everything by the Sun, the Moon, and Heaven does not hold an answer. With this, we will now leave the Little Boy to his rantings on top of the Ivory Tower on the top of the tallest mountain on the top of the world.

Credits to Deviant Art: Top left, Bound by Lidialikesgummybears; middle right, The Young by Life-takers-crayons; bottom left, Water Lady by sarasnaps.

It's Official

2010-02-08T03:20:00.001+08:00

O ayan, it's official. Pormal ko nang tatanggapin ang mga congratulations at pagbati niyo sa akin. Team leader na ako as of last Wednesday, February 3, 2010! Bwahahahaha! Salamat talaga sa mga nag-greet. Salamat din sa horoscope ko sa Facebook. Sinabi dun na matutuloy talaga tong promotion na to. Nyahahaha! Gusto niyo makitang totoo ang horoscope ko? Eto o:

Hay, hindi ko na-save. Sayang! Kasi naman, yan lang ang tumamang horoscope ko. Weh! Anyway, it still goes to show na hindi dapat balewalain ang horoscopes. Ahahaha!

It's also official. Nabawasan na rin ang time ko para sa blog na ito dahil marami na naman akong pinagkakaabalahan. Andiyan ang gumawa ng reports tuwing gabi. Katabi non ang paghahagilap ng mga reports na dapat kong matanggap mula sa team ko. Parang Easter na nga eh - hanapan ng reports na para bang Easter Egg Hunt. Naku, kung alam niyo lang. Nag-checheck pa ng attendance na para bang teacher. Kulang na lang, pag-sabihan ko ang team ko na magsabi ng "present!"

Andami ding nawala dahil nabawasan ang time ko talaga. Hindi na nga ako nakakapanood ng American Idol at Glee. Hindi na rin ako makapag-DoTA. Yung Torchlight, natapos ko na yung main quest pero no time na rin para doon. Hindi na rin ako nakakapunta sa blog ni Jason, Ate Ayie, at iba pa. Gusto ko rin sana magre-layout ng blog ko at gumawa ng sarili kong design, pero wala na ring time. Hindi ko na rin maisulat yung mga Tagalog kong mga kwento. Buti na lang, may spare pa kong mga nakatype na kwento. Kung wala... lagot. Patay na naman ang blog na to.

Sana, transition period lang ito. Siguro, once I got the hang of it, magagawa ko nang ibalanse ang work and personal life ko ulit.

Amaris and the Paper Airplane Prophecy

2010-02-07T00:12:00.001+08:00

One cloudy, melancholic morning, the gates of Heaven opened up to let an angel, Uriel, fly down to the World and bring good news to a high-spirited maiden named Amaris. As the angel was flying down, blazing through the sky like a flaming bird, the Little Boy, Master of the Ivory Tower, laid eyes and ears on her. On top of the tallest mountain on the top of the word, the Ivory Tower's Master heard the angel muttering and sputtering, "Ave, Amaris! The One True God promises you success in that matter that you dread doing. Stand up, accomplish your deed, and give glory to the One True God!"

As the Legend of the Ivory Tower would have it, the Little Boy was incarcerated in the tower because he professed great knowledge that displeased the Sun and the Moon. The crime was blasphemy and pride and the punishment was futile knowledge of everything that concerned the Four Corners of the World. Even so, the Little Boy had not learned his lesson; he was still proud of getting attention to himself, so when he heard this angel, this absent-minded Uriel, fly across his horizon with news to bring to Amaris, he wanted to the deliver this news and pose as God's messenger.

Though the Sun and the Moon built the tower out of ivory and made sure that their prisoner can only perceive the epiphanies and the revelations of the four Dominions, they were not able to control an unfortunate piece of paper that was blown over and into the Ivory Tower by Hamsin, the southerly wind of Israel. With this wind-blown piece of paper, the Little Boy saw an opportunity for mischief. He wrote Uriel's message down, folded the piece of paper into an airplane, and sent it flying towards Amaris. The little paper airplane of a prophecy flew fast, for the Little Boy possessed the knowledge of origami and aeronautical engineering. He was so brilliant that the paper airplane flew faster than Uriel. However, his aim was not good; the little airplane was supposed to land on Amaris' lap in Israel, but it landed in Lebanon on the lap of a girl with the same name.

If Amaris of Israel was high-spirited, Amaris of Lebanon was a weak, introverted, and hesitant in personality. Amaris of Lebanon never did anything. She didn't think that she was strong enough, good enough, nor useful enough for anything. However, this didn't mean that she didn't have innermost desires. She wanted to go out to dinners with her friends, but she feared the dark. She wanted to become a nurse, but she thought she might not be capable of caring for sick people. She wanted to go to the zoo, but thought that she might get lost. More deeply, Amaris of Lebanon, of all things, wanted to cure herself of the fear of vampires.

As she is capable only of little things like turning book pages, she loved to read. In her room, she read books that were written to dispense courage and knowledge. Through her reading, she read that having sanguivoriphobia, the fear of vampires, should not concern her for the learned men think that vampires are not real, and she will never come across one in any of her lifetimes. Nevertheless, she was still afraid of vampires and of almost anything that she thought she cannot do.

As it happened, the little paper airplane landed on the wrong hands, the wrong Amaris. With her curiosity piqued, she unfolded and read the message on the piece of paper. As the message was divinely inspired, although it was handed down to the wrong person, the message was enough to inflame Amaris' courage and do all the things that she planned on doing. She went to a dinner party of one of her neighbors, which brought them amazement. She studied to become a nurse, which her ailing parents supported for the most practical reasons that their aching arthritic joints snapped at them. She was successful. After 4 years, she graduated and lived a life of courage and success. Even so, she wasn't happy because she has one more fear to face.

With this sanguivoriphobia left uncrossed on her list of things to overcome, she sought her parents' blessing to face this fear. "Amaris, vampires are not real," said her disapproving mother. "Even if you waste your life looking for vampires and use the next lifetimes that you will live, you'll never come across one, so leave it be. Let yourself be afraid of one thing," counseled her coughing father. "No, father!" Amaris cried out. "You named me Amaris, 'Promised by God.' That is all true and I've received this letter, this promise from God. I shall see a vampire and conquer my fear of it!" With those words, she left her house to seek a vampire.

As luck or the promise of God would have it, it didn't take long for her to find a vampire. As she was walking in the Jeita Grotto on Mount Lebanon, she stumbled upon a sleeping shape submerged in the soil of the inner sanctum of the grotto. As many phobic people know, there is an automatic, almost precognitive sensation when coming across the object of fear. It was like a trickle of cold sand down her back for Amaris. She knew that she found a vampire. It was already dusk when this happened so she decided for herself that the vampire must wake before she renounced her fear. She didn't have to wait long because the vampire chose to sleep deep in the subterranean cavern where the light of the Sun does not reach. As the Sun tuck its last rays in the West, the vampire woke and saw that Amaris was standing over him.

"My name is Amaris, and I am not afraid of you -- not anymore," she proclaimed.

The vampire raised an eyebrow. "Ow, is that the truth? Why are you not afraid of me who drinks the waters off of the Red Rivers of Life?"

"I am Amaris, ‘Promised by God.’ He, the Most High, told me that I will succeed in anything that I dread doing. I dreaded your kind even though you were thought of as non-existent. I am here, brave and standing -- proof that I have already succeeded in my deed," answered Amaris as she held the paper prophecy that the Master of the Ivory Tower sent flying with trembling hands.

"Did your god promise you that you'll live to say that you succeeded? Did your precious revelation tell you that you'd continue to breathe after your deed? I do not claim that I know your fate nor your god, but I do know myself enough to say that you will fail in the bloodiest manner," triumphantly taunted the vampire.

With a quick step and a deep kiss on the nape, Amaris fell dead, drained, and defeated in the deed that she thought she could succeed in. The vampire was victorious and, once again, wallowed in the red waters of the River of Life. After feeding, he took the paper containing the message that the girl blindly believed. He noticed that there were creases that caused him to fold it back into a paper airplane. As a joke to God and His glory, the vampire went out into the Lebanese night, climbed up Mount Lebanon, and let the paper airplane fly back to Heaven.

Like a redundant redundancy, the airplane, the paper that Hamsin blew up to the Ivory Tower some 4 years ago flew back into the tower and crossed the horizon of the Little Boy, the Master of the Ivory Tower. As he was granted faultless perception, he saw the sad fate that he had caused Amaris. He saw the paper airplane that he sent out and caught it in the wind, but contrary to his initial design, his intent to beat Uriel in delivering a divine revelation, he was only successful in leading a girl into a foolish feat and a deadly doom. There and then, the Little Boy, on top of the Ivory Tower, on top of the highest mountain on top of the World went into a fit while sputtering and muttering that he needed practice in aiming paper airplanes to reach the right destination.

Thanks once again to Deviant Art for giving me rose-emily-power (Sad Eyes, middle left), windfalcon (Lady of Dreams, top right), verificus (Paper Plane, bottom left), and Google Search that lead me to Russian Paintings and Matrehin Alexander (Canyon, middle right).

The Perfumer and the Beloved of Provence

2010-01-31T20:42:00.000+08:00

Below Heaven, on top of the World, on top of the Ivory Tower, the Little Boy gazed at the wideness of the Earth and the capacity of it's inhabitants to do strange things. After all the time that he was incarcerated, a millennium or two, the Little Boy saw that humans, little ants in his field of vision, have the ability to cloud their judgment with an emotion called love. He has seen so many stories about love and how it blinds men and women of everything save what they want to see. He can recount to us all that it's a pattern, an affliction, a genetic flaw that our species has endured for over 20, 000 years.

Usually, he would only look at a love story and then, turn the other way, for he has memorized the many themes that it could take, especially that of blind love. However, one day, he found an interesting, almost unbelievable tale of blind love that did not involve vision. He found a story about love and how it can also cloud an automatic sense -- smell.

As he was gazing at the lavender fields of France, the Little Boy spied on a perfumer. As the wind named Arsine blew from Hautes Alpes, to Provence, and to the Ivory Tower, the Boy smelled the sweet, thin fragrance of lavender being distilled by this man, this perfumer that we'll learn to call Jean. Jean, named after the great yet deranged Jean Baptiste Grenouille, didn't dream of making the World's best perfume; instead, he was set on smelling the scent of love that only the woman of his dreams can emit. We would call him obsessed because he had the best nose to rival any perfumer of his time, but he insists on making only the scent that his love wore on her neck, wrist, and bosom.

This woman, whose sensuous, silky skin smelled of lavender, is named Aimee. She was the beloved in the land of Provence. As a testament of this description, every bird of the woods sang songs that spoke her name. Each blade of grass bowed as she strode through the fields. The maid's cauldron only bubbled and boiled with bravado when the meal is for Aimee. The fishes leaped into nets as fishermen shouted, "What shall we serve for our beloved, Aimee?" All of Provence toasted because they had Aimee in their midst.

Jean, the Perfumer, knew he stood little chance of getting Aimee's hand in marriage. He was poor for his refusal to concoct colognes and perfumes that smelled of other things other than lavender. However, he felt hope because Aimee, at the mature age of 24, was still unmarried. She refused to marry for some unknown, untold reason that puzzled her many suitors. As Luck would have it, she was held by an obsession for the smell of lavender because she felt an affinity to the most beautiful and bounteous flower on Provence. She vowed that she'll only marry the man that can bring her the best perfume with a lavender overtone. This secret was only known to the lavender fields, her usual haunting place whenever her suitors stressed and strained her to succumb.

Thus, Jean continued plucking lavender flowers to satisfy his obsession for Aimee. Aimee continued to lament to the lavenders for the lack of a man that brought the sign that will tell her who to marry. In the middle, the lavender field continued to grow purpler and purpler with anger to the endless massacre and melancholic moping that they endured. Finally, one lavender stalk was struck with stunning idea. "Why don't we tell Jean that Aimee needs only a vial of the best lavender perfume? That will get both of them off our fields!" A hush, and a wave of excitement swept over the field. "Yes! Yes, we will do that! At first light, at first light, when the Perfumer plucks his pick of flowers, we will tell him this secret of secrets!"

With the decision decided, Jean learnt the secret. Aimee received Jean as her husband, and they lived happily, or so it seems. After a year, the vial of Jean's perfect perfume was empty, and he needed to make more for his Beloved. To make the situation more stressful, the lavenders also sensed that they are, yet again, at the face of a massacre as they smelt Aimee walking down the path not smelling anything at all near the scent of their purple flowers.

With this new nuisance, they had to produce a plan to stop Jean from plucking them. The same lavender stalk, now more devious than before, devised a plan involving devilry and death. "We have to kill Aimee so that Jean would stop scything and plucking from our field. If we are fortunate, we could also kill him with grief." The other lavender stalks swayed to and fro with indecision, but the temptation of survival won over saintly sense. "Yes, we shall kill her! Roll her to a ditch and let her be taken away by the stray beasts that blunder in the bushes." The plan went on flawlessly. As lavenders, they knew how to exude a better aroma than Jean's distillations. They gave off a scent so irresistible that Aimee, in the middle of the night, slipped silently into the fields, mesmerized by the smell of lavender. Into a ditch she fell without a murmur. She fell, died, and was dragged off by bumbling bear into a winter hole used for hibernation, hidden by shadows and stones.

Morning came, and Jean woke up to an empty bedroom save himself and the furniture. Thinking that Aimee was cooking omelets, he went into the kitchen. Hypothesizing that she went to the hens for eggs, he went into the chicken coop. Thinking that she went into the market for some milk, he marched to the market place, but alas, Provence' Beloved is missing! Days went on, but there was no sign of Aimee until one day. Jean, exhausted with searching for his wife, sat down, wept, and breathed deeply. As he was inhaling, he was able to smell Aimee from the distance. He smelled the lavender perfume he has concocted even when the source is miles away from him. Now, filled with hope and the thrill of the Hunt, he closed his eyes and raised his nose to the air. He sniffed and snuffed while running and stumbling through fields, forests, and fens. He never opened his eyes for fear that he might loose the scent, the only link that he had to finding his wife.

Ultimately, his superb sense of smell led him to Aimee. He knew because there was no other place that smelled so strongly of his lavender perfume. He smiled, opened his arms, expecting an embrace from his wife. After a minute that felt like a millennium, he wondered why she has not wrapped her arms around him, so he opened his eyes. When Jean saw Aimee, his heart thumped its last beat, broke, and fell silent. He was killed by the sight of his decomposing wife, wreathed with writhing worms, maggots, and murmuring flies. With his blind love for her, he failed to smell the death and decay that surrounded him. He only saw or, in this case, smelled the lavender on her dead body. With all his talent in the art of aroma, he clouded his perception, ignored the suffocating stench, and succeeded in finding his death and his dead wife. As such, Jean fell to the ground as well, and the wind, Arsine, changed the scent it carried.

The Little Boy saw and smelled each scene in this sad story of blind love. As Arsine continued to blow into the windows of the Tower, the Little Boy shook his head, walked away from the topmost window of the Ivory Tower atop the tallest mountain on the top of the World just beneath Heaven.

What would I do without Deviant Art? Thank you to kirilart (Sea of Lavender, top left), RohanElf (Farewell Draco Veritas, middle right), wicked-rick (Lavender, middle left), and iloz (Lavender Mist, bottom right.)

Nakabibiglang Pangyayari

2010-01-27T00:13:00.001+08:00

Kanina, sa isang malayong lupalop na tinatawag kong office, may nakagugulantang na pangyayari.

Inosente akong nagta-type sa aking PC nang lapitan ako ng aming HR officer, si Roger.

"Chad, may ginagawa ka? Usap tayo?" ang sabi ni Roger.

"Tatapusin ko lang ito. Isang section na lang naman eh," ang sagot ko habang kinakabahang tumitipa ng tiklado ng keyboard. Parang alam ko na kasi ang magiging paksa ng pag-uusapan namin.

Nang matapos ako sa ginagawa ko, tumayo ako sa aking upuan at binalot ako ng kakaibang kaba na nag-papanggap na ginaw kaya nag-jacket ako. Lumakad ako papunta sa cubicle ni Roger at hinanap ko siya. Wala siya sa cubicle, pero paglingon ko sa makipot na daanan, nakita ko siyang papalapit sa akin.

This is it is it, pansit!

Tama nga ang hinala ko. May nag-submit nga ng pangalan ko para maging sub-team leader. In other words, may nagkamaling gustuhin akong maging "boss" kahit mini-boss lang.

Nang pormal nang sabihin ni Roger na, "You have been nominated for the sub-team leader position. Would you be willing to take it if you get chosen?" ang sabi ko bigla, "At sino naman ang nag-submit ng pangalan ko? Hmmm!?! Sino? Makakastigo ko ang mga iyon maya-maya." Pabiro kong sinabi at nagtawanan naman kami ni Roger pero ang tanong, gusto ko nga bang magkaroon ng dagdag na responsibilidad? Kung blog nga, hindi ko pa masyadong maasikaso, tao pa kaya? Hay, buhay!

Matagal kong inisip-isip ang isasagot ko. Tinanong ko si Pareng Bruce Lee na nagmamartial arts sa utak ko at ang sinabi niya sa akin ay ang pagkalabu-labong quote na ito:

Be like water making its way through cracks. Do not be assertive, but adjust to the object, and you shall find a way round or through it. If nothing within you stays rigid, outward things will disclose themselves.

Dahil malabo ang sagot ng mokong, naisip ko, tanungin na lang si Roger tungkol sa job description at mga pagbabagong kaakibat ng posisyon. Pagkatapos kong baliktarin ang lamesa at interviewhin ang aking interviewer, sinabi ko, "Sige, sige, sige na nga!" na parang ako pa ang galit. Natatakot lang ako sa mga karimarimarim na bagay na maaaring mangyari. Nandiyan ang pressure ng pagmamando sa mga magiging mga anak-anakan ko. Paano yun? Pasaway ako at natatakot akong magpasaway din sila. Baka may makagalit pa ko kapag maghalo ang pasawayness namin. Baka maghalo ang balat sa tinalupan. Baka magkatotoo ang sinabi ng nanay ko:

Pag ikaw nagka-anak, mararanasan mo din ang mga pahirap na nararamdaman ko!

Hoh mayh Gahd! Nandiyan na rin ang pag-aalala na baka mawalan ako ng oras para sa sarili ko. Paano na ang mga kwento tuwing Linggo? Paano na ang DoTA? Paano na ang Restaurant City? Kung hindi ko lang inisip na may dagdag na sweldo, baka umayaw ako. Kaya lang, yun na nga. Mukhang pera din ako kaya ayun. In the end, official na akong kino-consider para sa posisyon na iyon.

Hindi ko alam kung natatatakot ako o natutuwa. Abangan na lang ang susunod na kabanata.

The Legend of the Ivory Tower

2010-01-24T23:55:00.004+08:00

Naku, hectic ang weekend schedule ko. Hindi ko natapos ang kwentong pambata ko ngayong week. Lagot! Ngayon, nag-iiisip ako ng paraan para may story pa rin ngayong Linggo at bigla akong kinilabutan. I think, minumulto ako ng kamamatay ko pa lang na blog.

Noon kasing June, 2009, nagsimula ako ng story blog in English. Kaya lang, namatay nga siya. Siguro, mahal ako nung blog na iyon kaya minulto niya ako at inoofer niyang i-canibalize na lang ng The Coffeeholic ang contents ng The Ivory Tower, ang nagmumultong blog. Repost ito at ito ang una kong story dun sa blog na iyon.

I think, iba ito sa nakasanayan niyo nang mga kwento ko. Hopefully, sa isang linggo, Tagalog na ulit ang kwento. Sana, mag-enjoy pa rin kayo dito sa kwentong ito.

The Legend of the Ivory Tower

On top of the tallest mountain, on the top of the World, almost reaching the roof of the Earth and the floor of Heaven stands the Ivory Tower. There, it welcomes the four Winds that brings news about the smallest event that happens on Earth, Sea, and Sky. There, it receives epiphanies revealed by the Sun and the Moon, and on occasion, even revelations from Heaven.

Within that tower, there lives a boy who gazes at the topmost window of the tower in all four Directions. The boy lives alone, for he is disconnected from the World and the rest of its inhabitants. This boy is different; this boy is burdened with a huge punishment.

When he was just a child, his mother and father loved him. They loved him so much that they bought him whatever he needed. He said that he needed to learn. They adored him so that they sent him to the best school that their wealth could afford. They treasured him so much that they taught him anything that he ever wanted to learn. If they did not possess the knowledge on a given lesson, they always gave him the best tutor that they could find.

With the boy's thirst for knowledge, he learned all there is to know about everything. He learned from Pappas that bees know of the hexagon and it's superiority over the triangle and the square; the bees share this knowledge with him as evidenced by the hexagon honeycombs they make. He also learned, by virtue of Biology, that horseshoe crabs are of noble birth; they had bluer blood than any member of any royal family can ever bleed. He learned that the Sun is a mere ball of hot gas suspended in space, ever burning and ever so common as there are a billion other stars just like it. He learned that the Moon only borrowed her light from the Sun by harnessing the magical art of reflection.

He started professing his knowledge to the world, and he debased each noble or learned man that came before him. He brought the Pharaoh of Egypt to his knees, so obsessed with his Pyramids, by realizing that he wasted his wealth on a great monument, a symbol of magnanimity and immortality, by engineering it in the wrong shape. He debased the Queen of England for claiming that her royal family had blue blood when they can all bleed to death with nothing but a red stain on their halls. Most of all, he shamed the Sun and the Moon by telling everybody that one was only a ball of hot gas and the other was a shameless borrower who reveled in her vaingloriousness.

The boy was proud of himself, and he was proud of being proud. Unfortunately, he became famous in the four corners of the Earth. Orators spoke highly of him to social climbing women, who gossiped with shady ladies of the streets. The shady ladies, on their love beds, charmed their sailor men-friends with tales of pretentious wisdom about the boy. The sailors, while drunk, blasphemed and swore that this boy was indeed knowledgeable! With this talk buzzing on Earth and Sea, the Winds caught careless chatter and loud testimonies about the boy to their master, the Sun.

Angered at this smear on his reputation, dignity, and pride, the Sun conspired with the Moon to punish the boy. With the Winds at his bidding, the Sun commanded that they blow hard and strong to cause the continents to move and form the tallest mountain. With the tides at her bidding, the Moon drove waves up to create a snow-laden cap on the mountain. In Africa, the Sun blazed so hot that half of the elephant population died. He withered the carcasses into bare bones. The twin Winds of Africa, Samiel and Simoom, carried only the tusks to make the foundations of an Ivory Tower. As the Sun saw that the task is not complete and elephants began to shy from his great eye, he asked the Moon to furnish more ivory. The Moon, Lady of the Tides, gleamed with mischief. She made the tides churn in Greenland to kill off the walruses to finish the construction of the Ivory Tower.

Meanwhile, the peoples of the Earth felt this great upheaval. They sought the shades and the shadows of their dwellings because they knew that the forces of Heaven are not happy. The fishermen said, "T'is the Lady's doin', this highest of tides, 'cause she's in a fittin' rage over the boy." The merchants of China, Africa, and Greece all chant, "The Lord of the Skies, with his great eye, is scorching and scorning the Earth because of this blaspheming boy." Even so, with this new gossip, the boy didn't take notice. For all his knowledge, he did not heed the buzzing of the masses, the cautious warning of seers, and the advice of priests. He trampled and trod on the street without heeding anything from those he secretly called ignorant.

Because of this hubris, this self-made pedestal, and criticism of Daedalus for gluing feather with wax instead of rubber, he was picked off from the street by a raging cyclone and was flown over the Sea, above the mountains, through sky and cloud. Huffing and coughing, he found himself inside a tower, an Ivory Tower.

He was amused, bemused, and bewildered all at the same time. He looked around and saw no one. He called out loud but nobody would answer. Desperately, he went towards a window to gather any bit of information that can save him from this solitary situation. At the window, he saw the Moon, powdering herself with crushed meteorite. He asked for help, but she only put half of her eye on him and even then, her interest waned and waned until one night that she only had a crescent of care for the boy.

"Little, blasphemous, proud, obnoxious boy, suffer your punishment -- the punishment for shaming me and my husband, King and Queen of the Sky," she said. "You shall be locked inside that Ivory Tower, your prison, the product of your trespass against our Royal Family."

"This shall be your prison. With this Ivory Tower, you shall learn everything there is to learn about Heaven, Sky, Earth, and Sea. You shall possess all knowledge but have none to share in glorious revelation of the secrets that we shall reveal to you," beamed the Moon. "You shall burst with crackling and potent knowledge, but the world will not know about you nor your greatness. You shall suffer solitude for trading ignorance and bliss for knowledge and pride." With that said, the Moon closed her silver eyes.

Because of this reprobate, the boy remains learned yet alone and secluded. Because of this, he became master of all the knowledge of the four Dominions. Because of this, he feels great comfort in welcoming the four Winds with waving hair, a small gesture of gratitude for the slightest hint of company that they reluctantly afforded him. He receives epiphanies and revelations from the Sun, the Moon, and Heaven only to suffer in solitude, contemplate, and repent for his blasphemy and pride. While the tower's master, he suffers in solitude for all eternity within the Ivory tower that stands beneath Heaven's floor, near the roof of the Earth, on top of the world, on top of the highest mountain.

Original posting date: July 15, 2009 2:51 AM

I would like to expressly credit the wonderful artists on Deviant Art, especially Toradh (The Sun,middle right, and The Moon, bottom left) and AIREEShadow (Ivory Tower, top) for the ability to capture color on canvas.

Ang Work, ang American Idol, Glee, at ang Comatose

2010-01-22T03:30:00.001+08:00

"Mamamatay blog ka!" ang narinig kong sigaw mula sa direksiyon ng aking PC.

Hay, oo nga naman. May tatlong araw na naman akong di nag-post dito sa blog ko kaya heto, dala ng tawag ng pangangailangan, nag-popost ako. Kaya lang, ano bang magandang i-post. Hay, siyempre, magta-top 3 na lang ako. Ok, eto ang TOP 3 Reasons Why I Forgot to Post.

Number 3:

Work

Isang napaka-evil na salita.

Full swing na naman ang trabaho this week. Isa akong writing consultant para sa mga studyante. Nag-babasa ako ng mga essay, research paper, at kung anu-ano pang mga kalokohang kayang isulat ng mga studyante sa tulong na rin ng mga magagaling nilang mga propesor. Nung mga unang linggo ng buwan na to, parang wala pang klase ang mga makukulit naming mga colleges kaya post lang ako ng post. Ngayong week, medyo marami-rami nang nakapilang mga dapat basahin, komentuhan, at iayos na mga papel kaya hayan, hindi ako makapagpost. Humanda na lang ang blog ko next week dahil siguradong babaha na ang trabaho. Hay! Sana may time pa kong magsulat ng istorya para sa Linggo. Hindi ko pa na-dadraft yung storya at kung wala yun, naku, e di wala ding illustrations. Hay hanap-buhay!

Number 2:

American Idol Season 9 at Glee

Dalawang palabas na parang shabu.

Wala na si Paula Abdul pero nakaka-aliw namang may mga proxy para sa kanya. Nung Miyerkules, si Shania Twain ang nangulit kasama si Kara. Kahapon, si Kristin Chenewith, na isang magandang segway para sa Glee. Nag-guest kasi siya dun sa Glee sa role na April Rhodes. Kung hindi niyo rin siya kilala, siya din si Olive Snook dun sa Pushing Daisies. Ayan, kahit napanood ko na yung Glee, inuulit ko na naman sa Star World. Minsan na nga lang ako manood ng TV, re-run pa yung pinapanood ko. Whatta life. Sana, Whatta Tempura na lang (at oo, gutom na ko).

Number 1:

Comatose

Isang bonggang-bonggang kaganapan para sa mga taong insomniac.

Ayan, dalawang araw ba naman akong hindi matulog, Lunes at Martes, kaya ayan, nacomatose ako nung Miyerkules. Gumising ako ng 10:25 AM nung Lunes at hindi ako nakatulog nung Martes. Miyerkules na ng alas-quatro ako nakatulog. Aba! E parang mga alas-quatro na rin ako gumising, hapon nga lang. Akala ng iba, maigsi yung isang dosenang oras na pag-tulog, pero para sa akin, hay, swerte na ngang makatulog ng lagpas 3 hours. Hay, erase-erase... Take two. Akala ng iba, maigsi yung isang dosenang oras na pag-tulog, pero para sa akin, hay, swerte na ngang antukin ako. Ayun. Kaya lang, ang problema, hindi lang pag-boblog ang naaantala ng problema ko sa pag-tulog. Pati trabaho, naapekutahan din. Nung Miyerkules tuloy, absent ako.

Hay, alas 3:10 na. Kailangan na namang mag-try matulog. Hahaha! Pagdasal niyo na lang na magising pa ko. Mommy, kung nababasa mo to, mag-pasamyo ka lang ng kape sa ilong ko maya-maya, gigising ako ng mabilis.

Bago matulog, magpapasalamat muna ako sa mga websites na pinagkunan ko ng mga pics:

Thanks to The T-Chest para sa picture tungkol sa work. Salamat sa Ringtonia para sa logo ng American Idol at sa Regular Rumination para sa logo ng glee. Para sa picture ni Rip Van Winkle, salamat sa ScrapeTV.

Isa Pang Recipe for Happiness

2010-01-18T00:04:00.002+08:00

Hindi lumiligaya ang taong humahadlang sa ligaya ng iba.

Ang mga Tuko

2010-01-17T12:00:00.003+08:00

Napakaraming taong mainggitin. Nagkataon, naiinis ako sa kanila at pinagdarasal ko nga na magbago na ang mga mokong na iyon. Dahil sa inis at galit, naalala ko ang kwentong kahayupan na ito. Sa di malayong kawayanan, may nakatirang magkapatid na tuko na nagngangalang Alejandro at Rodante.

Si Alejandro ang nakatatandang tuko. Sa mata ng mga tao, marahil, magkamukha lamang lahat ng mga tuko pero si Alejandro ay kakaiba. Mas malaking di hamak ang kanyang mga mata, tenga, at bibig kumpara sa ibang mga tuko.

Si Rodante naman ang nakababatang tuko. Ordinaryo lamang ang itsura niya, at kung itatabi sa ibang mga tuko, wala siyang magiging pagkakaiba sa kanilang lahat.

Dahil magkatabi ang mga bahay nina Alejandro at Rodante sa kawayanang malapit sa isang bangin, masayang namumuhay ang magkapatid na tuko pero kasinungalingan ang huling pangungusap na ito.

Sa katotohanan, hindi maganda ang sitwasyon ng magkapatid dahil mainggitin si Alejandro. Isang araw, nakita ng malalaking mata ni Alejandro na nagpapagawa ng second floor si Rodante para sa kanyang bahay na kawayan. Dahil sa inggit, namula ang mata ni Alejandro at bigla siyang tumawag sa mga construction workers para magpagawa din second floor. Nagpadagdag pa siya ng terraces para daw mas bongga ang bahay niya kumpara kay Rodante.

Pagkatapos magawa ang second floor ng bahay ni Alejandro, naglakad siya sa buong kawayanan at ipinagyabang na mas maganda ang bahay niya. Sa kanyang paglalakad, narinig ng malalaking tenga niya na may pinagtsitsismisan ang isang tagak at isang palaka.

"Huy, kumareng Palaka, habang nakapatong ako sa aking kalabaw, nakita ko na may mga bagong appliances si Rodante Tuko," ang sabi ng tagak.

"Wowowee! Sosy naman yang si Rodante. May second floor na, may mga bago pang appliances," ang manghang-manghang naibulalas ng daldalerang palaka.

"Hindi pwede ito. Malalamangan na naman ako ni Rodante," ang sabi ni Alejandro sa sarili niya kaya't naisipan niyang dumiretso sa pinakamalapit na BDO branch upang mag-withdraw ng perang ipambibili niya ng mga appliances.

Dahil nalamangan na ni Alejandro ang kanyang nakababatang kapatid, naging masaya siya.Isang gabi, pagkatapos manood ng TV, napagpasyahan ni Alejandrong matutulog na siya. Sobra ang ligayang naramdaman niya dahil panalo na naman siya, at siya ay tumuko sa labas ng bintana upang ipagyabang ang kanyang pagkapanalo sa kapatid at kapitbahay niyang si Rodante. Papasok na sana siya sa kuwarto nang may narinig siyang hindi niya nagustuhan.

"Tuko! Tuko! Tuko!" ang sabi ng boses.

Aba!" ang sabi ni Alejandro, "si Rodante iyon ah. Parang hinahamon niya ko sa palakasan ng pagtuko." Dahil sa inggit at kagustuhang lumamang, tumuko din ng malakas si Alejandro gamit ang kanyang malaking bibig. "TUKO! TUKO! TUKO!"

Nakinig nang mabuti si Alejandro kung tutumbasan o hihigitan ni Rodante ang pagtuko niya. "Tuko! Tuko! Tuko!" Lalong lumakas ang pagtuko ni Rodante.

"Naku, talaga namang hinahamon ako nitong si Rodante ah! Mas lalakasan ko pa ang pagtuko ko," at siya ay lumanghap ng maraming hangin upang mas malakas ang susunod niyang pagtuko at ibinuka niya ang kanyang malalaking bibig na kasing laki na ng isang plato. "TUKO! TUKO! TUKO!"

Nakinig muli si Alejandro gamit ang kanyang mala-elepanteng tenga. "Tuko! Tuko! Tuko!" ang muling narinig niya mula sa direksiyon ng bahay ni Rodante.

Talagang ayaw magpalamang ni Alejandro kaya ginamit na niya ang kanyang airpump para mas maraming hanging mailagay sa kanyang baga at bigla siyang sumigaw gamit ang kanyang bungangang ngayo'y sinlaki na ng mga gulong ng pison. "TUKO! TUKO! TUKO!"

Hindi tumigil si Alejandro sa pagsigaw.

"TUKO! TUKO! TUKO!"

Nang biglang may malakas na narinig ang lahat ng hayop sa gubat at kaparangan.

Tuk-KABLOOOMMM!

Biglang pumutok ang baga ni Alejandro sa pag-pupumilit na maging mas malakas ang pagtuko kaysa kay Rodante. Ni hindi man lang siya makahingi ng tulong dahil hindi na niya magamit ang boses niya. Malapit nang magdilim ang paningin ni Alejandro nang biglang may maramdaman siyang tumatakbong papalapit sa kanya.

"Call 911!!! Call 911!!!" ang sigaw ni Rodante sa asawa ni Alejandro. "Kuya, anong nangyari? Natutulog ako nang may bigla akong narinig na malakas na putok," ang alalang-alalang sabi ni Rodante. Nagtaka si Alejandro. Sa isip isip niya, sino kaya ang nakikipag-kumpitensiya sa kanya sa pagtuko kung tulog naman ang kapatid niya?

Nang inilalabas na siya ng mga taong galing sa ospital para isakay sa ambulansiya, biglang naalala ni Alejandro na ang kawayanan pala nila ay malapit sa bangin. Dahil sa kanyang pagtuko pagkatapos niyang patayin ng LED TV niya, umalingawngaw at narinig pala niya ang kanyang sarili. Dahil sa alingawngaw at sarili niyang boses ang nilalabanan niya, hindi nga siya mananalo sa sarili niya. Sising-sisi si Alejandro dahil sa kanyang kayabangan, pero huli na ang lahat. Gumaling siya mula sa kanyang injury pero hindi na siya kailanman nakatukong muli. Simula noon, natutunan na niya ang kanyang lesson at hindi na siya muling nainggit pa sa kanyang kapatid o sa ibang tao kahit kailan.

The End.

Coffee Stories

2010-01-16T00:01:00.000+08:00

It's another restless night. Because I am frightened that I might kill this blog, too, I looked through the net, trying to find something worthwhile to post, and lo and behold, my cup of coffee pointed out the way to something that, to me, is truly amazing!

Initially, I thought of posting a story about coffee, so I googled "coffee stories." The first two matches that came up didn't quite fit my idea of coffee stories. I guess three's a charm because when I clicked on the third link, I saw this:

my dear friend, mr. coffee-head.

he is the one, that never says
no to another cup of coffee.

even, if it was 10th cup.

but results may be hideous.

as you see.

Immediately, I fell in love with this picture. What would you expect from the Coffeeholic? It's art made out of coffee and ink. I also liked the subtitle on this piece because Mr. Coffee-head could be a good coffee buddy. He never says no to a cup of coffee, and can sip up 10 cups! I would like to meet this fine, fictitious fellow.

Upon further research, I learned that the coffee art is the creation of Bastian Salmela. It is a part of a collection of artworks that can be found in Coffee Stories.

The whole concept is brilliant, really, even if there's really no story within the website. It says, "true stories on false locations, with several fake personalities." When I looked and rummaged through the site, there weren't any stories at all; the website was entirely made up of paintings and caricatures done in coffee. However, I don't think that the artist literally mean that he writes stories. Despite the lack of prose in the site, I think that the artist is drawing up on a widely-held belief: a picture paints a thousand words. The cliche doesn't say what those words are for, but to me, those words can form a story or even several ones. What's the point in having a thousand words if it's all gibberish, right? To me, it makes total sense that each picture is a story in and of itself.

Because I found Mr. Salmela and Mr. Coffee-head, I think that this blog will be alright. I realized that there's so much to post. I just have to sit down, relax, and let coffee lead the way.

Yosi o Cellphone?

2010-01-14T23:16:00.003+08:00

Naku, akala ko, nakita ko na ang highlight for the week ko. Aba naman, hindi pala. Kaninang umaga, bumisita sa office namin si Esce at si Jang. Habang nag-yoyosi kami ni Jang, bigla niyang nilabas ang bagay na ito:

Alright. Hulaan niyo kung ano yung nasa picture. Bibigyan ko kayo ng five seconds.

Five.

Four.

Three.

Two.

One.

Ops! Time's up! Sirit na? Sirit na? Ano yung bagay na yon? Marlboro Reds ba yan? Kung akala niyo, yosi yan, nagkakamali kayo. Irotate natin:

Oo, cell phone yan! Gusto niyo, buksan pa natin yung likod eh. Eto o:

Ayan o! Dual SIM pa nga eh. Ops! Punas muna ng laway. Baka tumulo sa keyboard. Ako rin nga, halos lumuwa ang mata ko nung narealize kong totoong cell phone nga yun. By the way, yun ang siko ni Jang. Hehehe! Ang sabi niya, sa Greenhills daw niya yun nabili. Six thou daw. Kung saan eksakto, hindi ko alam. May Bluetooth, expandable memory, camera, at radio daw yan. Astig no? Kaya ayun. Akala ko, Avatar na ang highlight of the week ko. Hindi pa pala. Ito ang tunay na highlight of the week ko!

Ang Bluetooth Dongle, Ang Phantom Sisig, at ang Avatar

2010-01-13T23:59:00.006+08:00

OK, sige na. Nakatira na ako sa ilalim ng bato dahil andami kong hindi na alam tungkol sa Pilipinas kahit na hindi naman ako nag-overseas trip. Kahapon kasi, napakarami kong nadiskubreng kakaiba at nakaaaliw na mga bagay pero eto ang top 3 choices ko:

Number 3:

Ang Bluetooth Dongle at ang Maling Akala

Bago ako umalis ng bahay namin, inutusan ako ng tito ko bumili ng bluetooth dongle dahil sa kakulitan niya. Gusto niya kasing mag-lipat ng music files sa cell niya at wala akong USB cable para sa N6300 kaya niya ako pinapabili ng bluetooth dongle. Magkano daw kaya yon? Nagmagaling naman ako at sinabi kong baka wala pang P150 yon sa CD-R K!ng (minali ko talaga ang spelling dahil hindi bayad kung i-eendorse ko sila, hehehe). Nagbigay naman siya agad dahil nga gusto niya na maglipat agad ng music files. Aba, e kung Europa ba naman ni Carlos Santana ang music na gusto niyong ilipat, sino ba naman ang hindi magmamadali, di ba?

Aba naman! Pagdating ko doon, P180 ang pinakamura. Nung tinanong pa ako ng sales person kung ano daw ang OS ng PC ko, lalong nagmahal! Dahil naka Vista ako, aba naman, yung P220 na brand ang binigay niya sa akin. P220-P150 = P70. Tama ba math ko? OK, na-calculator ko na. Tama nga. E di nagpaluwal pa ko kaya ayun, butang-buta ang bulsa ko. Hay, pati ata lint ng bulsa ko, naubos. Dahil sa pagtira ko sa ilalim ng bato, hindi ko na tuloy alam kung magkano at kinulang tuloy ang budget ko.

Number 2:

Ang Mahiwagang Sisig a.k.a Phantom Sisig

Nagpasama sa akin ang kaibigan ko, si Donna, sa SM Bacoor dahil maggo-grocery daw siya doon. May pagkakaladkarin (madaling makaladkad sa kung saan-saan) ako kaya, siyempre, sumama naman ako sa kanya, at papakainin naman niya ako. Bago mag-grocery, kumain muna kami at dito ko na nadiskubre ang isang kamangha-manghang bagay.

Pinapili ako ni Donna kung saan ako kakain. Nung una, ang sabi ko sa Pao Ts!n na lang para mura lang at masarap pero nagbago ang isip ko. Ang sabi ko dun na lang sa sisig stall (na hindi ko matandaan ang pangalan). Payag naman siya. Nag-order na ko at nung na-serve na yung sisig, namangha ako dahil lasang sisig at mukhang sisig nga siya pero parang walang sisig! Sa isip-isip ko, "OMG! Ang galing nito ah! Ambilis ma-prepare at masarap ang sisig na 'to pero walang sisig." Grabe! Ang galing, 'di ba? Sa kakatawa namin at pagkukulitan, nabansagan namin ang sisig na ito na Phantom Sisig, pero kahit na nakamamanghang parang walang sisig dun, sobrang sarap naman kaya binigyan ko ng 3.5 stars ang food stall na iyon out of 5. Try nyo din para mamangha kayo.

Tantararan!!!

Number 1:

Avatar

Ang Pinakamakulay na Sine sa Buong Mundo

Bago ako magpunta ng SM Bacoor, niyaya naman akong manood ng sine ng isa ko pang kaibigan, si Kate. Nung Lunes kasi, nabanggit ko na hindi ko pa napapanood yung Avatar (oo na, nakatira nga ako sa ilalim ng bato dahil nung December pa ito unang lumabas). Dahil gusto daw niya ulitin, nag-sched kami na panoorin siya kahapon sa Alabang Town Center. Take note. Avatar 3D ang pinanood namin at halagang ginto ang presyo. Kuripot na kung kuripot pero namamahalan ako sa P300.

Kahit na P300 yung sine, I think, sulit naman yung bayad dahil ito na ata ang pinakamakulay na sineng napanood ko! Halos lahat, parang glow in the dark ang kulay at talaga namang nakakaaliw. Puro "ooohhh" at "wooowwww" nga lang ang lumabas sa bibig ko eh. Eto ang maigsing listahan ng mga napansin ko sa sineng iyon:

Ang kawayan pala ay intergalactic na halaman dahil meron nito sa planetang Pandora.
Ang pinya ay isang intergalactic ding halaman. Kaya lang, sobrang higanteng pinya naman ang nasa Pandora. Parang ambastos pa nga ng pagkakasambit ko ng mga salitang, "Huwahw! Ang laki ng pinya!"
Kamukha ni Puck the Faerie Dragon (yung isang hero sa DoTA) ang mga ikran (yung mga maliliit na flying creatures na kulay blue or green na sinasakyan ng mga taga-Pandora).
Parang pinaghalo-halong mga sine ang Avatar. Yung setting, parang Neverland dahil sa mga lumulutang na bato. Yung mga robot, parang galing sa Matrix. Yung mga hovercraft, parang galing sa Starship Troopers. Yung mga hugis ng katawan ng mga taga-Pandora, parang hugis ni Tarzan (yung Disney version).
Ito yung medyo bigatin. Naalala ko ang quote na to dahil sa Avatar: "Once upon a time, I, Chuang Chou, dreamt I was a butterfly, fluttering hither and thither, to all intents and purposes a butterfly. I was conscious only of my happiness as a butterfly, unaware that I was Chou. Soon I awaked, and there I was, veritably myself again. Now I do not know whether I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or whether I am now a butterfly, dreaming I am a man." Quote yan galing kay Chuang Chou (alias Zhuangzi), ang original na taong nag-conceptualize ng Avatar. Pinalitan lang ni James Cameron yung "butterfly" ng "Na'vi," yung race ng mga taga-Pandora.

Sobrang naaliw talaga ako kaya ito na ata ang highlight ng week ko. Gusto ko sanang ulitin sa IMAX kaya lang P400 ata doon. Wala namang manlilibre. Sino kaya ang mabait na manlilibre sa akin manood noon ulit? Hmmm... Apply na! Please? Para naman lumabas na ko mula sa ilalim ng bato kasi andito nanaman ako. Kung wala, ok lang. Ihatid niyo na lang ako sa Pandora.

Sa Linggo, may bagong kwento nanaman ako kaya stay tuned mga kablogs!

Ang picture ng bluetooth dongle ay galing sa website ng pinagbilhan ko. Ang picture ng sisig ay galing sa The Backpacker. Ang picture naman ng Avatar poster ay galing sa Film Maker Magazine. Salamat!

Si Aurora at ang Mahiwagang Kaheta

2010-01-10T06:30:00.011+08:00

Sa totoong buhay, mahilig talaga ako gumawa ng mga istorya - hindi yung mga storyang kasinungalingan ha. Mga fairy tales o kaya naman ay mga kwentong may hiwaga ang lagi kong ginagawa para ikuwento sa pinsan kong bata, si Jason. Isang araw, sa aking bloghopping, nakita ko ang blog ni Jasonhamster, ang bagong Rizal, at naaliw ako sa story na isinulat niya. Tungkol ito kay Kalabasa at Talong, isang kalabasang mainggitin at isang talong na binu-bully ni Kalabasa, at naaliw ako ng sobra. Bukod pa doon, nag-illustrate din si Jasonhamster para sa storya niya kaya naisipan ko ding i-blog na ang mga kwento ko kay Jason.

Without further adieu, eto na ang aking kahindik-hindik na storya tungkol kay Aurora at ang Mahiwagang Kaheta.

Si Aurora at ang Mahiwagang Kaheta

Sa bayan ng Imus, sa lalawigan ng Cavite, may isang biyudang nagngangalang Aurora. Nang mamatay ang asawa niya, wala itong naiwan sa kanya ni isang singkong duling. Sa katunayan, nag-iwan pa ito ng maraming utang.

Dahil matanda na si Aurora at siya ay may rayuma, hindi siya makapagtrabaho sa call center para magkaroon ng maraming pera. Nanggagaling na lamang ang pera niya sa pagbibingo tuwing hapon.

Isang araw, kinailangang mamalengke ni Aurora sa talipapa. Kaya lang, P50 lang ang pera niya kaya nakabili lamang siya ng isang piling na saging, 1/4 kilo ng dilis, at tatlong tokwa. Tatlong piso na lang ang natira sa pera niya.

Nang siya ay papauwi na, napadaan siya sa isang tulay na may puno.

"Psst! Akin na lang yang saging mo!"

Nagulat si Aurora. "Sino ba iyon?" ang tanong niya.

"Dito sa taas ng puno. Ako si Takeshi, ang unggoy ng punong ito, at ako ay nagugutom."

"O sige na nga. Iyo na ang saging ko. Catch!" Iniitsa ni Aurora kay Takeshi ang saging at siya ay nagpatuloy na sa paglalakad.

Nang siya ay napadpad sa kanto, may nakita siyang pusa.

"Miyaw! Miyaw! Oh where, oh where can I find some dilis? It is so dilis-cious pero pusa lamang ako, at wala akong perang pambili."

Narinig ni Aurora ang pusa. Dahil likas na mabait ang biyuda, naawa siya sa pusa. "Gusto mo, iyo na lang ang ang mga dilis ko?"

"Oh wow, oh wow! Miyaw! Miyaw! You're so mabait naman, lola!" ang sabi ng pusa habang iniaabot ni Aurora sa pusa ang 1/4 kilong dilis.

Nagpatuloy sa paglalakad si Aurora. Pagtapat niya sa tindahan ni Elenita, may nakita siyang isang Haponesang lampayatot. Mukhang gutom na gutom na ang Haponesa, at mukhang lalalapit ito kay Aurora upang manghingi ng pagkain.

"Ano, moshi moshi! Sumimasen. Konichiwa. Pwede ko bang mahingi ang mga tokwa mo, lola? Gutom na gutom na ako at napakalayo pa ng Japan. Baka mamatay ako sa gutom bago ako makauwi sa bahay namin."

Napabuntong-hininga na lamang si Aurora. Gutom na rin siya pero parang mamamatay na nga ang Haponesa kaya ibinigay na din niya ang natitira niyang pinamili. "Heto, hija. Kunin mo na itong tatlong tokwa. Mukhang mas kailangan mo ito kaysa sa akin."

Nang iabot ni Aurora ang tokwa sa Haponesa, biglang kumulog at kumidlat! Nabalot ang paligid ng napakaliwanag na ilaw. Walang makita si Aurora pero may narinig siyang boses na tila umaawit.

"Dahil sa mabuti mong kalooban,
ikaw ay aking gagantimpalaan.

Di tulad ng lalaki sa commercial ng Fita,
binigay mong lahat ng iyong makakaya
sa pagtulong sa kapwa kahit di mo sila kakilala.

Ikaw ay aking bibigyan hindi ng isang kahilingan
kundi isang mahiwagang sisidlan.

Gamitin mo ang mahiwagang kaheta at lagyan mo ng barya.
Kahit kailan ay hindi ka na mawawalan ng pera."

Nang muling magkamalay si Aurora, wala na siyang bitbit na plastic bag ngunit nasa kamay niya ang isang pulang kaheta. "Aba, ano itong bagay na ito? Isang kahetang lalagyan ng barya? Pero walang laman," kaya nilagay ni Aurora ang tatlong pisong sukli niya sa loob ng kaheta.

Naupo muna si Aurora sa tapat ng tindahan ni Elenita para mag-isip ng gagawin. "Hmmm, ano kayang mabibili ko sa tatlong piso? Ah, alam ko na! Bibili na lang ako ng tatlong iCool. At least, may ngunguyain ako kahit hindi nakakabusog."

Kinuha ni Aurora ang tatlong piso at ipinambili ng iCool. Pagkatapos maisara ang kaheta, nalaglag ito sa semento, at narinig ni Aurora ang pagkalansing ng mga barya. "Aba! Nakapagtataka. Ubos na ang laman ng kaheta kanina, ah."

Nang binuksan ni Aurora ang kaheta, may tatlong piso ulit itong laman. Kinuha niya ang pera at isinara ulit pero kumalansing muli ang kaheta. Nang buksan niya ulit ito, may tatlong piso na namang laman ang kaheta! Pinaulit-ulit ni Aurora ang pagbukas-sara ng kaheta at manghang-mangha siya. Hindi nauubusan ng laman ang kaheta. Lagi itong may tatlong pisong barya. Dahil dito, nakabili siya ng Pop at isang balot ng Pan de Coco sa tindahan at siya ay hindi na nagutom kahit kailan.

The end.

Disclaimer (lalo na sa mga kamag-anak ko). Ang mga pangalang nabanggit ay hango sa mga tunay na tao at hayop na alaga namin dito sa bahay pero ang mga pangyayari at kaganapan sa storyang ito ay pawang kathang-isip lamang. Bwahahaha!

The Words I Said

2010-01-08T19:34:00.000+08:00

Kate sent me a text message yesterday that made me smile.

You told me this once: It ins not that you are left behind or that you leave them behind because you always have yourself.

I forgot that I said those words, but I'm glad that she remembered it.

Starbucks' Song

2010-01-06T13:13:00.005+08:00

Last night, I was with some friends at Starbucks, Festival Mall. We were happily telling stories, and doing some commiseration with another friend that has a problem while sipping on frappes.

Sitting there, I remembered my blog, and I was thinking of a new post about coffee when I remembered an old poem that I wrote with the word "Starbucks" in it.

Today, I rummaged through my old notebooks and blogs so that I can repost the poem here. From what I've found out, I wrote it back in October of 2005.

Even then, all I can think of is coffee. However, I think that this poem is really a love poem. Here it is:

Starbucks' Song

Tea steams in a paper cup.

The siren's song is defied by ears,

leaves, and lips that refrain from coffee.

Cigarette smoke swirls.

Sipping from my cup, showing no fear of heat,

should encourage you to hold my hands.

Breath is blown out.

My eyes encouraged your fingers.

Tea leaves on cup-bottom already foretells good fortune.

Tea steams in a paper cup. Cigarette smoke swirls.

Breath held back, waiting for silence to break,

and Starbucks resumes her song.

From what I can recall, though embarrassing, I think that I was at Starbucks' on a date, and I slid my hand close to the hands of the that person, but she didn't hold my hands. What did you expect happened? Ahahaha! The Coffeeholic became even more bitter about love. Ahahaha! I'm sorry, but it's true. This poem brings out the heartaches. Nevertheless, I'm not putting up my white flag yet. I haven't given up on love even if I've put my heart on cryofreeze. Who might that lucky person be that could thaw out my heart? Ahahaha!

A Pressing Question about Mammals

2010-01-05T06:58:00.009+08:00

This is my insomnia typing. I've always wondered about this question:

If all mammals have hair, and a whale is a mammal,
do manatees get bitten by mosquitoes?

This is really bothering me. It kept me awake all night. Now, I'm curious to see what you think about it, so I might not be able to sleep until I get an answer. By the way, to those reading this on Facebook, please visit this blog, The Coffeeholic, to answer. Ahahaha! Cheers!

Goal-setting

2010-01-03T04:00:00.004+08:00

It's official! I've logged back into my old blog accounts, and I am on my 18th blog already. Some might call me fickle, but to me, blogging is symbolic. Each of my blogs stands for my personality.

However, things change, and I change with the times, too. Whenever I grow or change personalities, each of my previous blogs just seem to die off along with the personalities that created them. This reminds me of "Identity," a film starring John Cusack, but I won't spoil the thrill for you folks, so you won't get the slightest hint of a synopsis here. Anyway, I think that I need to stop the trail of dead blogs, and keep this current one alive, so resist as I may, I will write just one New Year's resolution:

I will blog about a happy, sad, notable, or learning experience at least once a week, preferably posted on either a Friday, Saturday, or a Sunday on or before midnight.

I think that this is a smart strategy to keep this blog alive, and by that, I mean it literally. Why? It is because SMART is also a mnemonic device that I've learned in my Motivations class, which was started by George Doran, Arthur Miller, and James Cunningham back in 1981. Basically, SMART goal-setting means that each goal must satisfy these 5 key words:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-bound

What could be more specific about writing once a week just before midnight? What could be more attainable than doing something once a week? Even doing nothing all the time is quite impossible, so I think that writing once a week is fairly attainable. Definitely, I will have a gauge to look at to make it measurable; I just need to look at my archives and ensure that there are at least four posts per month. How relevant is this goal? Well, let's just say that the life of this blog depends on it, so it is fairly relevant. Although I am not a fan of deadlines, I will also stick to my weekend, 12 midnight deadline, so that I can also learn discipline. In fact, I'll keep an alarm on my cellular phone to ensure that I get to write one blog post, and hopefully, it sticks.

My Recipe for Happiness for 2010

2010-01-02T02:10:00.008+08:00

Last year was tough on me. My job does not give me financial stability, but it entails writing, which is one major reason why I stayed in it. I do not have an existing love life, but I am enjoying singlehood, too. I haven't written any new poems, but I have learned to be better at writing essays. That is the summary of 2009 for me.

So, with a cup of hot coffee in hand, I pondered to myself, "What can I do to make 2010 better?" I know that writing resolutions is over-rated. I also know that I can't stick to them, so why would I even bother? I was trying to cook up a fool-proof recipe for happiness for 2010.

Then, I remembered an advice that I gave to a friend. A few years back, a friend came to me and asked, "What can I do to be happy?" I've always believed in starting with the little things, so I said to her:

Look for the little things that makes you happy. For example, a Benson's Eclair or Butterball candy. It's easier to be happy that way. Compared to a big, happy event, smaller pieces of happiness, most of the time, come effortlessly. In time, you'll accumulate those small pieces. If you make a habit of being happy, you'll never run out of things to smile about.

Since I need to walk the talk, I thought that I'll try my own advice this year. Instead of doing resolutions, I've drawn up a list of things that made me happy last year that I will carry over to 2010. Because I already know that they make me happy, how can I not be, right? I think that it'll work, so here's the list of things that got me through 2009:

my family and friends
coffee and cigarettes
DoTA and Warcraft
blogging on Blogger in Draft
my special fried chicken coated in honey sauce
my dad's videoke machine
my MP3 player
Vienna Teng songs
Lady Gaga songs
Restaurant City on Facebook
my Motorola Razr2
Glee the TV series

I know that the list is not that long, but it's a good start. Those things really made me smile, so if I carry them over to 2010, I think I'll have enough of a head start to be happy all year long. If I'm lucky and keep my eyes, ears, and other senses open to other good things, maybe this year, my list of happy things will become longer.