.:Izzat So?:.

Got this from the e-mail…

Men Are So Hard To Please

The problems with GUYS:

If you TREAT him nicely, he says u are IN LOVE with him;
If you don't, he says you are PROUD.

If you DRESS Nicely, he says you are trying to LURE him;
If you Don't, he says you are from KAMPUNG.

If you ARGUE with him, he says you are STUBBORN;
If you keep QUIET, he says you have no BRAINS.

If you are SMARTER than him, he'll lose FACE;
If he's Smarter than you, he is GREAT.

If you don't Love him, he tries to POSSESS you;
If you Love him, he will try to LEAVE you.(very true, huh?)

If you don't make love with him., he says you don't Love him;
If you do, he says you are CHEAP.

If you tell him your PROBLEMS, he says you are TROUBLESOME;
If you don't, he says that you don't TRUST him.

If you SCOLD him, you are like a NANNY to him;
If he SCOLDS you, it is because he CARES for you.

If you BREAK your PROMISE, you Cannot be TRUSTED;
If he BREAKS his, he is FORCED to do so.

If you SMOKE, you are a BAD girl;
If he SMOKES, he is a GENTLEMAN.

If you do WELL in your exams, he says it's LUCK;
If he does WELL, it's BRAINS.

If you HURT him, you are CRUEL;
If he HURTS you, you are too SENSITIVE!!

If you tell guys about this, they’ll swear it’s not true…
If you don’t tell guys about this, they’ll never know about it, and think they’re still great…

That’s rich, really. I’m sure that there’s a version of that for women, though. We all have our double standards, really. It’s not like guys can kiss other guys in public, neh? ::chuckles::

.:Onizuka Quote Of The Day/Week:.

“Occasionally, I watch schoolgirl porn. But knowing that you force innocent girls to do this, as a teacher, I can’t enjoy it anymore in the future.”

Oh, man. What a simply hilarious line, no question about it. Of course, watching GTO got me to thinking about what’d happen to my weblog eventually. I know that my students would find it if I end up teaching, so I couldn’t just be as happily talking about CP’s and all that. Of course, blessed are the LJ people on my friends list, as they’d still see the old me in there… I guess I’ll be a bit more restricted with what I have to say on my weblog, if that be the case… assuming I do end up teaching.

I actually liked this episode of GTO a lot. The girl with glasses who got kidnapped, and Eikichi taking the test was quite a fine dramatic episode. My only qualm with it is that the better the episodes get, the less sense it makes for Eikichi to have just left Seirin school in the middle of the schoolyear at the end of the series. It just doesn’t follow…

Get Backers, on the other hand, is pretty interesting. Unfortunately, I don’t follow it as faithfully, so I am quite curious right now as to why Ginji and the Knife guy are on the same side now when they were at each other’s throats the last time… I kind of like this series, although it has yet to really grow on me…

.:Finally, A Conversation:.

Had a short exchange with Abby about my chances in Adonis after graduation. She wasn’t too keen on the idea of me doing nightly prosperity dances. At the same time, I don’t think my third… err… my third… basta. My third so-and-so would ever really raise my stock.

I was pretty much filled with classic lines for that one, as when Bro left Abby’s house while I was talking to her on the phone… ah, never mind. (“That was a short make-out session.”)

In any case, that wasn’t really the conversation I was talking about. I’m actually pertaining to my really nice talk with Daph the other day, as while I recognize that we haven’t really been so close per se, we at least do get along immensely well. At the same time, she’s a person whom I can definitely call a good sport. I was half-expecting her to take offense if she found out she was actually C.P. 1 for the past year or so, but instead, she was actually flattered by it. I guess that’s because aside from the fact that I don’t intend to act on it, I’m also aware that her family is the type that wouldn’t allow their daughter to have a boyfriend who’s not Chinese.

She knows by now that I happen to have a soft spot for all things Chinese (Must… learn… to… be… less… blatant… once… I… start… teaching!), so I suppose it wasn’t really much of a surprise to her, anyway. Still, I’m pretty happy that I got to talk to her about it lightheartedly, and she knows me well enough to realize that I’m not one to jeopardize what I have with Grace by doing something idiotic.

Daph, here’s to you, and here’s to hoping that you fulfill all your dreams and aspirations. You’re a very spirited person, and I certainly believe you can achieve anything that you put your heart into. I’m one of the many fans of your life, jabroni. Thank you for being such a great friend. :)

.:A Weird Sit-In:.

I was less and less concerned about getting to Sacha’s class on time as I was about actually seeing what’s happening with the class itself so far. It’s quite interesting, truth be told. Neill’s been making immense progress with the Game of the Generals simulator, and then he asked me to invite him to Orkut, which has been pretty entertaining, to say the least. Apparently, Orkut now allows you to rank your friends in terms of closeness. Pretty cool new feature, although only you would know about it. In any case, it was pretty cool, as I was on a small date with Grace before I went to the class. Grace and I saw Ring: Spiral, which was so bad I don’t think I’d want to bother reviewing it. It completely threw me off the Ringu series, offered more and more bizarre explanations for Sadako’s curse (Smallpox?), and didn’t even seem to have much continuity with the previous parts of the film. I guess it’s C- material, if only for the fact that it honestly can get annoying…

Anyways, when I got back after watching Ring: Spiral, what was the first thing that Peppy did? He handed me a videotape. Good Gawd, if Ring: Spiral were actually a scary film, even just half as scary as the first part of the series, then I may have actually freaked out from being handed a videotape after watching a film like that. Instead, I was just chuckling about it. The tape contains last week’s Smackdown on Solar USA, just in case you’re curious.

Anyways, I have to concur with Sach on this one: Orkut really rules. It’s got so many features, and it’s a lot more compact a community than Friendster is, which is both its strongest asset and biggest drawback. To me, it’s a very fine asset, truth be told. I don’t have much room for distress if I run into people like Adi (You know… bad memories…) on Orkut, because I know for a fact they can’t just walk into Orkut that easily… heh.

With that being said, I must say, this CS 21 class of Sacha’s is a really fun class. I’d hope to see them take my class in case I do end up teaching Philosophy… that’d be really great.

.:The Birthday Boy:.

Yes, I was surprised when I caught “No Way Out” on Solar U.S.A. last night. That was an unexpected bonus, and while I didn’t get to see the finish of the Championship match between Brock and Eddie because of sheer sleepiness, it was still one remarkable pay-per-view, mostly for the last three matches on the card. Of course, the writer for Smackdown at the time is now the writer for RAW, so that explains why the product has been heading downhill since as far as current Smackdown’s go, at least by virtue of opinion in the Internet Wrestling Community.

Still, I woke up early so I can drop by the station today just to greet Brad Turvey on his birthday. It’s pretty interesting, really, as the topic for the Hot 10 was: The Hot 10 Questions You Want To Ask Brad Turvey. He had quite a few weird questions asked of him here and there…

If you’re not gay now, when will you be?

If you had the chance, what chance?

He was a pretty good sport, actually, answering the questions posted to him without any qualms, even questions about Martin Nievera’s presence in SOP last Sunday, since they both essentially hosted the show. He was also asked some cryptic questions, which he promptly answered in a cryptic manner, as well. Anyways, it was fun, and he was amused when he saw the WWE belt I had with me. In any case, it was a good time, and it was particularly fun when a whole class from Lagro High School showed up, and they really made the booth more packed than it usually is. Pretty fun times, really, although I don’t think there’s anything much else there. It was a hectic day for all concerned, so I couldn’t hobnob much with them.

.:Application:.

I’m trying to complete my application for teaching by Friday. It’s pretty fun, really, because I’m still not over the high I got when I discovered for myself that I got a perfect semester (Whooooo!!!). In any case, I ran into Rachel today, and she was really nice. I hope I can talk to her soon, though, and I sort of had a pretty funny statement when I talked to her, though…

Marcelle: Hope I can meet you again soon. I know you’re busy… and yeah, hope I can have a picture of you before I graduate. Today would’ve been fine, but… ::gently pats her unruly hair::

Rach: Ay, salamat, ha? So you’re telling me I have bad hair today?

Err… my bad, Rach. I just assumed you wouldn’t want to have your picture taken yet… heh. :)

So I finally got my application form for the teaching assistant bit. Of course, I might be wasting my time if Dr. Ibana doesn’t consider my application to begin with, but I at least have two out of the three recommendations I need. One’s from Dr. Barbazza, the other’s from Ms. Magtibay. Hopefully, I’d be able to make it on time, and even ask Dr. Ibana up front whether or not I’m just wasting my time running around for this application… ::faints from stress and exhaustion::

It takes a lot to impress Dr. Barbazza, so I was pleased as punch when he was with my effort towards Cum Laude…

Dr. Barbazza: So you got a perfect sem? Wow. Eh di ang sama ko sa iyo, kasi hindi kita nabigyan ng “A” last sem. (So I was mean to you because I didn’t give you an “A” last semester.)

In any case, he found the combination of being a DJ and teaching Philosophy to be a very interesting career path. Don’t I wish that’d happen…

.:Believing His Own Hype:.

I’m more open-minded about Lacson as president than most people I know of in the Ateneo, but I really think he’s not making too many smart moves at this juncture. One of his most glaring attempts at playing up his popularity as though it were really that great is when he decided to use some informal survey results to claim his superiority over FPJ and Roco.

What schools did he use to prove his point? ICA and Xavier.

Now, I love ICA to bits (And I’m sure people know why. ::winks::), but I know for a fact that the Fil-Chinese community is heavily behind Ping Lacson. To expect that he will make a very good showing in these schools is a truism, and there is no point in taking the survey there. It doesn’t prove anything, as the survey was taken from a sample that wasn’t representative of the people who will be voting come elections.

This is especially because I don’t think too many ICA or Xavier students, who are mostly High School, are even legal voters.

With that being said, I think Lacson should go back to the drawing board before he tries to hype himself up with very lopsided surveys such as these. I really think that he’s not doing himself much good, especially since his press releases put down the other candidates quite condescendingly. I really think he’s burning bridges with too many people at this point.

.:Review: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance:.

Finally finished reviewing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance...

As a fighting games fanatic, you really can’t expect me to play too many games outside of that genre, especially any from the Final Fantasy franchise. However, one game in that franchise stood out to me, and to this day, it is still arguably my favorite turn-based strategy game of all time: Final Fantasy Tactics (FFT). Released for the Playstation, this was the only Final Fantasy game I really played from beginning to end.

It was obviously no surprise, then, that when I heard the game was going to make its way onto the Gameboy Advance, I was eagerly anticipating the opportunity to play it on the go. The hype machine of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (FFT-A) was heralding this game to outdo its Playstation predecessor with an even deeper, more engaging gameplay system than before.

Ultimately, I was disappointed.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance does not begin to compare to the original Final Fantasy Tactics for the Playstation. Its so-called innovations are nothing more than ways to make the game more complicated, even more frustrating, than it needs to actually be. Let’s break down the entirety of this game so that I can illustrate this point more clearly…

Story: C-

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance has just a shred more of a story than most bishoujo games out there. The premise is that you, Marche, the hero, happen to be just a new kid in the town of St. Ivalice, who ends up making friends with the unpopular kids in town. Somehow, your new group of friends run into a book entitled “Final Fantasy”, and the next thing you know, you’re now in that imaginary word you just dreamt about. It can’t get any more simplistic than this.

Now, your quest is to get back to your world. Your friends don’t want to go back to the real world because they’re happier here, but while a part of you agrees with them, the rest of you takes it upon yourself to bring the world back to how it was. You meet friends and foes, and the story pretty much progresses predictably in your quest to get back to the real world. Even the so-called twists in the plot aren’t really huge twists, nor do the characters really seem to develop much, as the most “development” you can get from the characters is a change of heart for them to see your side of wanting to get the real world back.

This story is not only so overdone, it’s even poorly done this time out. I can only give it credit for its attempt to give some meaning to the entirety of the quest, but overall, the story, which was something I loved to bits in the original FFT, is glaringly mediocre at best.

Gameplay: B-

I wouldn’t go outright and say that the gameplay of FFT-A was horrible. In fact, it’s quite engaging for the first few hours of play. However, I cannot possibly say that the gameplay was spectacular, either. I was more underwhelmed than anything. Being a combat-heavy game, I’d focus mostly on the combat aspects of the gameplay to give you a general feel of FFT-A.

You learn new abilities by using weapons that contain the ability you want to learn until you master the ability itself through the Ability Point (AP) system, which gives you ability points for each battle you complete. These Ability Points enable you to eventually master the ability instead of requiring you to equip the weapon containing the ability before you can use that ability. For instance, if you wanted to learn “Steal Weapon” as a Thief, then you can equip the Dagger named “Sword Breaker”, battle until you earn 300 AP, then you can use “Steal Weapon” as an ability even if you didn’t equip the Sword Breaker. This system is very tedious compared to the Job Point system of FFT, as it requires you to use sub-optimal weapons just so you can get the abilities embedded in them.

There are five races of characters: Humans, Nu Mous, Banggas, Vieras, and Moogles. While this seems to open up a whole lot of possibilities for characters, there really isn’t much to write home about. There are many classes available, some available only to certain races. At the same time, both characters and races are heavily unbalanced: Humans and Moogles are the top two races, while some classes such as the Illusionist for the Humans and Nu Mous are hardly a threat to anyone.

At the same time, their so-called innovation, the Law System, is a joke. The Law System prevents participants in the combat from doing certain things for the duration of the battle, and rewards those who follow what the Law in place recommends. A judge that is ever-present in the battle will be the one to determine that, though he’s really more of a figurehead and a moving obstacle occupying one square than anything else, since his only other interaction with you in the game is to move all the unconscious units at random. For instance, if “Fire” is illegal, and “Ice” is recommended, any black mage who casts a Fire-based spell will be penalized with a yellow card which has a corresponding fine and/or drawback on your character, or, in case of repeated violations within a single battle, or violating a law with a high level, or rendering a unit unconscious by breaking a law, a red card which sends you to jail.

In this system, Marche cannot be sent to jail, or else it’s game over. Still, being slapped with a yellow card penalty that will not go away unless you work for a pardon (And Marche can’t do that because he can’t go to jail.) does hamper gameplay instead of make it interesting.

On the other hand, any black mage who casts an Ice-based spell will be rewarded a Judge Point (JP), which they can use for combos or Totemas, which are powerful attacks you acquire throughout the game, handed out by race. You can get JP’s through following what the law recommends, or rendering another unit unconscious without breaking any laws.

I’m sure some people have fun playing around with the Law System to send the opponent to jail instead of outright knocking them out, but even they would have to admit how boring it can get most of the time. It doesn’t add any depth to the strategy for the most part.

Another thing I noticed about the gameplay: good luck levelling up. Unlike in FFT, the levels of the enemies you encounter are fixed. They do not approximate your level, so expect to have a really boring time trying to level up.

All in all, the gameplay for FFT-A is clearly a step back. There were so many things that could’ve been done to make gameplay better, and yet their attempt to make some new “innovations” simply made for a more frustrating playing experience instead.

Graphics: A

FFT-A really maximizes the capabilities of the GBA in terms of graphics. Sure, they’re not 3D masterpieces or anything of the sort, but I have to hand it to SquareEnix for this one: they really did a good job with the graphics. Spell effects are beautifully rendered, and the characters, while not richly detailed, are still very nice to look at. There’re some characters who look too alike, though, such as Snipers and Assassins, but these small misses don’t really take much away from FFT-A’s eye candy.

Music And Sound: B

The music for this game is good, but extremely limited. You don’t need more than an hour of continuous playing to have heard nearly all of the game’s tracks, and then it begins to get annoying. The sound effects for the game are FF standby’s, though, which means they’re good for the most part. Despite that, I have to say that FFT-A’s music and sounds are far from its strongest suits.

Replayability: D-

While there are some nice characters you can acquire only upon finishing the game, the replayability value for this game is very low. It’s such a chore to finish the game on your first run because of the tediousness it takes to level up and master abilities. A second run is plain torture. I don’t really think new characters at the end of the game counts for replayability, either, as it just means that when you get the ending, you still have something to do, but not start the game over.

Overall: C

Sadly, this game reeks of mediocrity. I won’t say people shouldn’t play it, but I have to say that any fan of the original FFT shouldn’t really get their hopes up. The entirety of FFT-A was a step back from what made the original great, and its only spade over the original is that it’s portable. Other than that, you’re mostly better off playing a better turn-based fantasy-strategy game for the GBA, such as Tactics Ogre: Knight Of Lodis, which had a better storyline, less complex and more fun gameplay, and even a respectable amount of replayability.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance could’ve been so much better. In the end, its own overhype really led to a lot of disappointment from people who expected more than just some haphazardly put-together name with the name “Final Fantasy” tacked onto it just so it can make some money.

.:Ironically, My Best On-Air With Chico And Delle!:.

Before I begin, I’ll be on air again on Friday, 6-9 in the morning, with Chico and Delamar, only on RX 93.1.

I initially thought that this was going to be a bad day because I am now restricted to speaking on air only twice per hour, so that the listeners can be accustomed to expecting me on the show every Tuesdays and Fridays. Instead, the fact that my on-air forays are planned for by Chico and Delle ensured that anytime I had something to say, it was going to be pretty memorable, to say the least. In any case, it was a really interesting day for me, as I went on air with the dynamic duo from 6 all the way to 10. That’s a total of four hours with Chico and Delle, it sure as Hades was a great run for me.

The Hot 10 topic was pretty amusing: The Hot 10 Signs That A Macho Man Is Gay. Answers were pretty funny, as a good chunk of the signs could actually translate to things most straight men do, anyway. Delle always had that warning that “Calling one’s self metrosexual is just an excuse”, and I’m sure a lot of guys were protesting some of the signs, such as listening to Mariah Carey, or watching S-Files instead of the NBA, and so forth. In any case, that was sheer hilarity, to say the least. The most glaring answer was the “I Will Survive” song, however. It’s apparently a gay icon song, which is weird, because if I sing the Cake version, I don’t think that’s so gay, but if I sing the original, ah… that’s a different story altogether.

One thing we noticed, other than the fact that all three of us were wearing black: we all tend to sing along to the Wendy’s Shrimp Sandwich commercial when it plays. It’s pretty funny, as you’d think we were all part of the Passion Choir, the way we go. At the same time, someone was even asking if Delamar was the one who did the Hallmark “Remember” commercial.

A few talkies that were pretty hilarious. This first one is off the air.

Delamar: Oh, no! The winner’s list for Incubus is missing!

Chico: You sure?

Delamar: Yes… oh, wait. I found it.

Chico: Delle. ang mata ang pinanghahanap. Hindi ang bibig. (Delle, the eyes are used for searching. Not the mouth.)

And then this one during the last batch of the Hot 10, I believe…

Delamar: So who do you think has the ideal biceps?

Chico: Popeye!

Delamar: Sure… in Nerdville!

In any case, it was fun. I even did the turnover for the Generation RX Poll Question, so I managed to show that I can actually handle doing some ad libbing, after all. I hope that my training continues this consistently well. I haven’t had this much fun on the show in quite a while, I swear.

Some people from the ABC 5 show “Singles” dropped in, but I guess that wasn’t much of a deal for me, really.

.:A Rarity And A Usual Occurrence: Fan Mail And Hate Mail:.

Here’s a snippet of one of the bits where I got to talk on the air…

Chico: Here’s something I want to ask Marcelle of Radio 1… do you watch Showbiz shows?

Delamar: Don’t lie, Marcelle.

Marcelle: Sure. If the headline is good!

Delamar: Aha!

Marcelle: No, really! If the headline is enticing, why not? I mean, I know they’d talk about the Halina Perez issue. I’d want to see that.

Chico: Notice how he calls it- “the Halina Perez Issue”!

Marcelle: What’s so wrong about that? I mean, I also watch basketball if the teams going against one another are okay to watch… like, say, the Lakers versus the Cavaliers.

Chico: So you like seeing men in shorts, huh?

Marcelle: Hey, I also like wrestling. You know, burly, sweaty, half-naked men getting it on in the ring…

Delamar: Okay…

Methinks I gave them really skewed notions about my masculinity with that bit… heh.

With that being said, that on-air bit got two instances of feedback. Let’s go to the “hate” mail first…

From Ryan Bonifacio:

Hi. Guys, just a friendly piece of advice. Laughing about the Halina Perez issue is WAY not cool.

While I know he has a point, I think it’s mostly because Chico and Delle didn’t know that the issue about Halina was that she died. Yes, it’s taboo, and I guess it was mainly my fault for not keeping it politically correct when the two started laughing about my answer. I guess it couldn’t be helped as far as that goes. Sorry about that lapse.

Now, from 09174264962:

Hmmm… Marcel. Interesting. Ano number and stats mo, bro?

Okay. That didn’t sound like fan mail, really. More like an indecent proposal… heh.

.:I Think It’s Best…:.

… that I’d have to talk to a certain friend of mine a bit more seriously than usual when I get the chance. I just want to make sure that she knows where I stand with her, and at least, I wouldn’t have to be so ambiguous about things anymore. I know that’s no mean feat, considering how I’ve been mostly precisely that for the past semester with her. I guess you might say that as far as trying to make some headway into my friendship with her went, she was really way up there in my priority list, and while I did make some measure of progress in getting to know her and appreciate her better, I’m still pretty much left with a feeling of inadequacy. I know for a fact that she doesn’t really see me as much more than just a nice friend of hers, nowhere near as close as I would’ve hoped we could be.

Some might even say that as far as my wish to be close to her on friendly terms goes, I really got it bad, and she may or may not have an idea that this is the case, but I have no choice but to keep it inside until I manage to find the best occasion to tell it to her outright. I know I simply pale in comparison to her other friends, and I really can’t do much about that, but perhaps I can actually make myself count for something with her. Truth be told, she’s something else. I just hope she learns to open up herself to people more and more, especially those who seem to be willing to make the ladder jump with her that I refuse to make.

Then again, she’s been pretty pleased as punch about such an attempt at a jump lately, so maybe I really shouldn’t worry about that bit. Maybe I should just try and make sure that unlike some of my other friendships that I thought would really count, this is one of the few that could stand the test of time…

.:An Unexpected Testimonial:.

Only goes to show how much I’ve changed and stayed the same, really. I’m pretty happy about reading this testimonial from an old high school friend of mine, Iks Dumlao. He’s one of the people who’s arguably as talented as Franco happens to be when it comes to drawing anime. In any case, any stuff in parentheses in blue font are my comments. :)

From Iks:

Mr. Fabie-lus... i usually referred to him as that whenever he is the subject (Now that, I didn’t know.). he's a popular guy in high school especially with the teachers (Still popular with the teachers, but to correct you, I was pretty infamous with the students. And I still am. ::chuckles::)... an otaku (he probably reads japanese by now...) (Actually, I still am stuck learning Japanese, and if it wasn’t for GTO and Chobits on Animax, as well as Otakuboard, I wouldn’t be much of an otaku either.)a guy with a very intelligent attitude and an almost unpredictable approach at things (True on both counts.).. some people's personalities can be seen in the small things they do, like say... magic... that card game. he's relentless and he can usually build a deck that can block most tactics and he sed to build those 'funky' theme decks. he picked artifacts and blue magic (While I no longer have cards, I still love Blue and Artifacts. I think I’m still a good deckbuilder, though. Although now, I’m translating that to WWE RAW Deal.) .. geez... i forgot how to decipher personality with deck-building... but anyways... he's cool but i haven't seen him in like what? half a year? i think i should go to more conventions regarding anime because that's how we got to know each other in the first place (I don’t think I’d be around anime conventions much, sadly.). hope to meet up with you pal... just to see how things are going (That’s easy. I’m usually free, anyway.). ja matta ne (Thanx a lot to you, in any case. This was a welcome and unexpected testimonial.)!

.:You Have No Idea: The Unsent Series Part VII:.

Dear Torch,

You again? It seems to be the case that Marcelle’s never at a loss of things to talk about when you’re the topic. Sadly, that doesn’t always mean the topic is good, per se. In fact, right now, Marcelle can’t help but feel that perhaps he is precisely that Intellectual Whore he thought he wasn’t when it came to you, because after everything that was worth your while, you’d rather leave him in the dust.

It’s never been as glaring as it has been now. That yes, you would let water run far thicker than blood. Who should get it over who wants it more. Oh, call it shallow and childish if you will, Marcelle would concede that to you. But being hurt is being hurt, and he can be sure that if a certain someone were in the same situation as he were, you wouldn’t hesitate to turn a blind eye to any qualifications of anyone else, wouldn’t you? Of course. Because unlike Marcelle, that jabroni actually counts for something to you.

It hurts, more than you’ll ever know, Torch. For someone who appears to know Marcelle better than anyone else, you simply have no idea how painful it could be, to be completely overlooked by you, despite your profit. And is Marcelle truly the fool who will still care about you, give a damn about you, and smile at you the next time you see him as though you never took a proverbial stab into his psyche?

Unfortunately for him, he’s precisely that.

Marcelle is a fool for you. He’s a hopeless fool of a friend, who believes that you are someone worth all this trouble in spite of your lack of appreciation, or even your confidence in him, for that matter. Marcelle has always been a fool from you from the highest of the highs of that folly, to the lowest of the lows of that folly. And he will still be a fool for you, and you wouldn’t even know it. You wouldn’t even feel it, because you’re you; and ironically, that’s precisely the reason why Marcelle still gives a damn.

And so the next time you meet, Marcelle will smile. He wouldn’t let you know that he’s wounded inside. Never mind the ill will and all other things that are vile. Never mind if Marcelle ever cried.

Would you even care, Torch? No. You have no idea.

No idea at all.

If I'm too slow, I prolly won't be able to finish my post for today. I'll post it for tomorrow, if that be the case...

I have so many things on my mind right now...

Still no Top Five. I’m lazy…

.:Just Something To Make Us Laugh…:.

…Before the poll results make us cry…

In any case, it looks like the best we can do is to take this upcoming elections as how we can best scrape the bottom of the barrel… so here’s my “if you have to vote this guy, here’s why” take on the whole thing.

Raul Roco: In spite of being a former Marcos boy, he has arguably the second cleanest track record among all the presidentiables in whatever field he may be, including politics. Brilliant and motivated, although with a wife of Imeldific proportions, this candidate, if only for qualifications, is the least “let’s just vote for this guy and get it over with” candidate of the lot. Still, one has to wonder how deep his Marcos ties were for him to want to make everyone forget about it…

Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo: It’s hard not to hate the guts of someone who’s so political that everything she does for the country is a hypothetical imperative. She’d do it only if it assures her of votes. She’d do it only if it helps her standing with the people. In spite of that, she is likewise brilliant, qualified, and she’s been doing this job for the past four or so years already, so if you think your state at present is good enough, then why not give it continuity? Continuity helps, mind you.

Ping Lacson: If you don’t mind curbing civil liberties and being ruled with an iron fist, Lacson is your man. For all his faults, many people reason that he won’t touch people who aren’t criminals, notwithstanding accusations of narco-politics on his part. If he is true to his promise, he will definitely make this country akin to Singapore… or it could be Marcos part II, as most people who lived through it with ease seem to forget that everyone else was going through Hades at the time. Maybe the Philippines needs an iron-fisted president, after all. Maybe.

Eddie Villanueva: If you want to vote for someone who ran for the sole objective of leading, then it’s Eddie Villanueva for you. This is one man who is as apolitical as can be, and yet is genuinely a contender as a presidentiable. Don’t even think he’s just small fry: he has a clear platform, and though he may alienate non-JIL people, that doesn’t mean his intentions for this country, as well as his competence as a leader, are non-existent. To put it simply, Eddie Villanueva can take on this job, and he has a track record that’s even cleaner than Roco’s. His only drawback is his lack of appeal to the non-JIL people.

Fernando Poe Jr.: If you want a figurehead and want Angara and/or Sotto to run this country for you, then you can vote for FPJ. In fairness, despite being tied with Erap too closely for comfort, Angara actually has a good track record in public service. Sotto leaves a lot to be desired, though.

Eddie Gil: No saving grace whatsoever. Vote for this guy only if you hit your head five times on a wall on the way to the polling precinct, and then he handed you that 1 million pesos he promised everyone if he were to win…

.:It’s Over:.

It’s Over
by Vertical Horizon

I'm here, wide awake again
This fear is something I call a friend
Hello again
It's been a while since I saw you here
I don't remember you saying goodbye

No,
It doesn't matter it's over
Here I've been waiting
All my life
All this time
It doesn't matter it's over
Here I've been waiting
All my life
All this time

Here we go, jump to the stars above
So low, why do I fall to love?
Hello my love
This voice never called your name
This boy would never be the same

No,
It don't matter it's over
Here I've been waiting
All my life
All this time
It don't matter it's over
Here I've been waiting
All my life
All this time

Don't let it end up this way
Don't spend another night afraid
Don't let it end up this way
Hey-yeah

Don't matter it's over
Here I've been waiting
All my life
All this time
Don't matter it's over
Here I've been waiting
All my life
All this time
All this time

I'm here, wide awake again

Mild arrogance ahead…

Damned right it’s over. I finally got my grades for this long semester, and whaddya know?

Com 115.8- Asian Cinema: A
Com 107- Media Law And Ethics: A
Ph 104- Foundations Of Moral Value: A
Pos 100- Politics And Governance: A
Th 151- The Catholic Commitment Of Today’s Filipino: A

Total QPI: 4.0/4.0

That essentially means you are now reading the weblog of a Cum Laude graduate.

Okay, enough with putting myself over. Still, I was so happy about it that I just had to go to sir Sev Sarmenta to tell him about it. Throughout the semester, he was telling me to set realistic goals, and not to kill myself over my Cum Laude… I dropped by his office to have this dialogue…

Sir Sev: What do you want?

Marcelle: Sir, mangungumusta lang. You said throughout this semester that it couldn’t be done… ::proceeds to show grades::

Sir Sev: And you did it. I guess I could’ve been wrong. Apparently, you set realistic goals for yourself.

Of course, he was a bit surprised to know that I wanted to teach, unlike Mr. Callassanz, who was practically laughing at me for taking this long to come around. When I ran into Mr. Callassanz today, he was genuinely glad to see that I was holding an application form already… I sure hope I get accepted. It’s quite an honor to be working with the Philosophy Department…

Of course, I mostly told my teachers about it. Ma’am Sining, Sacha (Okay. So maybe she’s not really my teacher…), and such know about it by now, and my mom was ribbing me about it, as well…

.:Brad Turvey’s Birthday:.

… will be on Wednesday. Don’t forget to greet the jabroni! :)

.:A Worthy Opponent:.

I’m generally persistent when I go against someone I realize I can beat in an arcade game, and last Saturday was no exception. I know how difficult it is to go against Leona when you’re not prepared to face off with her poking skills, but I went for it, anyway. KOF 2003 is quickly turning into a really fun game for me, and I think that in spite of the step back by taking out some of those nice CD blowaway moves from the game, I still can’t complain much because most of the rest of the game is really good, anyway. While there’re some broken tricks here and there, I guess that can be overlooked, considering how relatively balanced the gameplay is… except for its heavy bias for grapplers, who have a huge advantage for this game.

With that being said, I really ran into a worthy opponent last Saturday, and he’s a pretty good sport, too. It’s kind of sad when an opponent refuses a handshake after a game in the arcade, not just as a lack of courtesy, but more so a lack of respect for a fellow gamer who just handed yout @$$ to you, to begin with. No big deal there, I suppose. I just found it all a bit interesting… heh.

.:Only One Or The Other:.

I had two EB’s going on at the same day last Saturday. For one, there was the Rusher’s Mailing List Eyeball, which I’m sure would’ve been fun, but it not only cost money, it also conflicted with more familiar ground. That, to be precise, is the Otakuboard Eyeball for madame sky’s birthday. I think she turned 23, but I could be wrong. In any case, I had to prioritize only one or the other as I didn’t leave for either early enough, so going to one meant sacrificing the other.

I’m sure the Rusher’s Eyeball was fun and all, and I’m sure there were some cute people there (Chinese Muffin, so I heard…), but I still picked the OB EB. After all, aside from free food, we’re talking about company of people I’m sure I know how to get along with, although I sure knew how to hit some sensitive spots in the conversations that night, particularly about Nick Ortega’s warning for posting under my account, which I don’t mind at all, so long as they find out it’s not me, anyway.

In any case, the food was great. I loved the pasta, I loved the lengua (Ox Tongue.), among other things. I also managed to show my graduation pictures to most of them, and Tsumenki was laughing her head off at the Sacha video clip… Grace arrived at the party pretty late, but it wasn’t a big deal, really. The attendance that night was pretty high… Markpoa (Smokey Manoloto?), Shunichi Sakurai (Has been out of OB for ages, but doesn’t miss a beat.), Nickolai Nobilia (Who is the only person there whiter than madame fire.), Snakecharmer (Who I swear, looks like the guy in Fudoh.), Groundzero (Sarap Bumbay. More on that later.), Vash (Tangit siya! More on that later.) , Voltage (As frigid as ever.), Charliedoggie, Nibel, Tsumenki, John, Kaoko, Ichi (Duh.), a host of senshis, Darth Paul, and maybe a few others whom I missed. It was pretty fun, and all the yaoi innuendoes were in high gear, since every time someone hit a nice line on SC, he’d challenge for a mini-battle royale and ask, say, Ichi, to go to a corner and get it on, I mean, duke it out.

It was comedy gold as usual that night. Topics ranged from video games to L5R to madame love asking if I’m the one “na may gusto kay Kurt Angle” (“who has a yen for Kurt Angle”), which I think was a question she had better rephrase… that sounded so gay. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. In any case, we were mostly laughing around, and when madame sky talked about her writing about the La Salle Scandal in her LJ, and I agreed about it, she promptly slapped me in the back pretty hard because I ended up letting her on that I still do check out her LJ… heh. SC also punched me on the shoulder that night. I was a punching bag of sorts… oww. Madame love was trying to make me jealous by flirting with Grace, which of course, excited every other guy, anyway, especially when madame fire made a joking gesture towards my girlfriend’s… future. Grace was pretty shocked by it because that hand came pretty damned close…

The funny bannings were also talked about. Dexter No Miko, HTS, kane_warhead, gothchick, and a few others were all discussed, and I swear, the last one mentioned by name was just hilariously idiotic. In any case, they ended up discovering the Chiyo connection after they baited me by making everyone else think I had a thing for HTS, who, first of all, wasn’t Chinese, and second of all, probably belongs to some other planet, and not some other race, anyway. If she were seen by some of those UFO’s going around, they’re likely to conclude that there’s no intelligent life on this ruddy planet.

Still, however the case may be, it’s quite apparent that it was a great time. Larghaz seemed to not have too many fans there, though. The night was too loaded with a lot of different ideas for me to actually be able to put some of them in dialogue format. I could try, but it wouldn’t be that great, I guess. Suffice it to say that it was a great night, and I’m not at all bothered by the fact that I had to give up the Rusher’s Eyeball for this one. After all, I had a really good time…

.:The Impossible Kid:.

There’s this kid in last Saturday’s party who was plain impossible. Here’re a few things he was up to:

- Was trying to get his face in a certain area of madame love’s anatomy where his face shouldn’t be. Talk about starting off on the shellfish way too early. Madame love’s reflex action was priceless: she pushed Timoy, the kid, pretty far away. That led me to wonder if the reflex reaction was conditioned by ex-boyfriends…

- Calls everyone “Tangit” (Pangit, or ugly in English.). He has a very interesting vocabulary…

- Is fond of hitting low blows on the guys, myself, Vash, and Nibel included. Low blows = physical strikes, not what you’re thinking.

- Can easily be taught to repeat things he hears. Hence, Vash promptly taught him to call Groundzero “Bumbay”, and then told him to say, “Masarap ang Bumbay” (“Hindus are delicious”).

You can imagine the hilarity that little kid brought to the table. Of course, he was equally annoying, but then, what can you do, neh? He’s a kid, after all… go easy on the poor jabroni.

.:A Bad Start For This Year:.

It’s only March, and already, three people I know are no longer with us… one’s our old neighbor in Loyola Heights. Another is my girlfriend’s best friend’s father. And the third one is Halina Perez. This is not a good way to start this year, the way last year, so many wrestlers all passed away, from Mr. Perfect to Crash Holly. I hope this isn’t the start of a trend but just bad timing. Wouldn’t want to end up running into more and more deaths than I could care to think about for the rest of the year…

.:Campus Central At Night:.

I went on air for Campus Central last night, from around six in the evening all the way to nine. I was working on a new diction style that seemed to really click with my speaking voice. However, the problem now is that I need to make sure I can actually do that voice consistently enough. Boom was encouraging towards me when I was doing my bit, and I actually found the near-perfect pitch for me, but then, just today, I can’t seem to do it again… ah, so much for consistency. Thank goodness I made sure I’d record it. At least I can keep on listening and attempting to duplicate it and maintain it. That was arguably my best on-air attempt thus far.

Unlike my previous Campus Central runs, though, I wasn’t doing tips except for the first hour. After that, I plugged Elbert’s Siglo, as well as the Blue Roast, which was my time to shamelessly plug my nominations for Batch Genius and Crush ANG Bayan. Oh, gee. I just plugged myself again. And yeah, I’ll be on air as well tomorrow, for Chico and Delamar’s show… but I digress. Seriously, I enjoyed my run this time. Rico Robles even gave me the rub and told me I was gaining confidence when I’m on air already. That’s a good start.

In any case, I’ve been working on my speech patterns a lot, and I’ve been making some measure of improvement in the last few days. I hope to keep it up, as I already e-mailed my intent to RX to work as a DJ soon enough… that’d be great. From 2-6, going on air. From 7-4, teaching. From 5-1, asleep. Yeah, talk about a dream job…

.:Trying To Be A Pair Of Simons:.

Chico and Delamar's Hot 10 today was rather amusing... they were asking callers to sing for them, and then they would evaluate the performance ala American Idol. Of course, their "witty" comments were mostly ripped from the show, such as telling the guy who sang a True Faith song that Mendel, the lead singer, could very well "lose his faith" after hearing that song...

I was tempted to do an encore of my infamous solo duet of "Endless Love", but chose to do something else that's also a bit funny... I decided to not try to use my real name or even my common code name, Ertai, so instead, I called myself by my KC standby, Mister Vader....

Those dreams of yours
Are shining on distant shores
And if they're calling you away
I have no right to make you stay...

But... just once, can we find a way to finally make it right!

Delamar: I think that's enough.

Marcelle: Did you like the segue?

Chico: Wow. Okay... that was... really bad.

Delamar: You started off with Barry Manilow, then ended up with James Ingram.

Chico: You just shot down two fine singers in one felling swoop.

Delamar: Okay, congratulations!

.:Haven’t Seen You In Ages:.

Joy Guererro graduated a full semester early to start off as a teaching assistant. What makes this interesting is that it meant I couldn’t see her as easily as I wouldn’t have wanted to so that I can speak to her about it. Nonetheless, I had a run-in with her, as well as PJ, who was with her. Joy gave me her graduation pic to give to my dear Grace, and then I spoke to her about my plans to teach Philosophy. Apparently, I’d have to take an entrance test for M.A., which would be a fairly easy task, according to her. PJ was actually amiable to me. I’d like to think that she knows by now that I’m not guilty by association regarding a certain small problem she once had, which to me, is still a small but costly problem.

Ah, well. It was pretty enjoyable, really. Sach and Eric were telling me that they skipped the teaching demo bit of their induction as teachers, but they may very well be the few exceptions to the norm. Unlike them, I haven’t really proven my mettle to anyone in the Philosophy Department save for Mr. Bulaong. I haven’t even aced Dr. Barbazza, so I feel particularly uncertain about saying I’ve excelled in his subject, all the same. Nonetheless, I know I have a lot more to prove, pretty much the way it goes with my RX, anyway, as Mark, one of the other Rushers, was nice enough to remind me, all the same. So maybe I’m not Chico and Delle quality yet, but the point is, neither were they when they were just starting off, unless I’m sadly mistaken. If I am, let’s just say that not all jocks are born to be jocks anyway. Some of them really work on it, the way I intend to work on it.

My mid-term goal is to hold two jobs securely: teaching Philosophy in the Ateneo, and working the graveyard shift on RX. I know. Horrible sleeping habits, but I’m sure I’d feel rather fulfilled that way. However, if I really need to take my M.A. stat, that plan may change around a bit, but one thing’s for sure: be it M.A. or Ph. D., I would definitely want to take a particular expertise that would enable me to continue teaching Philosophy when I feel I have done my part in the corporate world already. Sach was joking about getting together with someone rich to bypass that part of my plan when transposed to hers. While I did retort that she could lose our bet that way, she reminded me that being with Mr. Rich Boy doesn’t mean she’d have to be married. So okay… she will effectively have a Research Daddy…

.:More Short Notice:.

If there’s one thing I really tend to notice about Sacha when she asks certain of her friends, such as myself and Peppy, whether or not we’d want to go with her on this or that little activity, be it going to an arcade, or having a round of videoke, or anything of the sort, it will more likely than not happen on such short notice. Really. That videoke night we had last Saturday night? I got the invite around two or three hours before I got there, and I was less than an hour late. Essentially, I was invited around two hours before the small gathering started. Since I was the one Sach asked to invite Peppy, consider him informed even later than I was.

This, of course, does not take away from the fact that hanging around with geeks can really be fun. While I don’t fit in their category of geekiness, it’s not like they consciously try to alienate me from the conversation or the like, anyway, so no big deal there. It’s pretty funny, considering how I’ve been hanging around people like them a whole lot more than I’ve been hanging around people from my block. And no, it’s not just because of Sacha. It’s more likely because for some reason or another, I feel less of a need to conform with them than I have to with the more outgoing, less blatantly cerebral-centered people of Comm. It’s not really a knock on my coursemates/blockmates. It’s more like an affirmation that I just really don’t belong in that type of crowd, though I’d be the first to admit that I don’t fit to a “T” this other faction, either. Despite that, it’s still nice to be on the same wavelength with people who, in spite of their differences with you, still manage to connect with you on so many different levels.

In any case, I already got my graduation pictures, which explains why I was all hyped up to show it to Sacha. Well, actually, I was also intending to show it to some other teachers in the Philosophy and Theology Departments (I was never really the ultimate Teacher’s Pet, but I sure found them nicer to talk to than my classmates even back in high school.), but then, she gave me the short-notice invite to go to an arcade and hopefully play Dance Maniax. Eric Vidal was pretty much all set to go as well. And they wonder why they’re usually mistaken as a couple (Assuming they’re not…). Of course, I suggested Peppy again, and the light bulbs in Sacha’s head go off, remembering that Peppy has a car. So we tried to invite him, but he just gave us a lift all the way to the MRT station instead, though we helped him (In my case, I tried to help him.) get things ready for the ADMU (Or is it only DISCS?) open house by tomorrow, I believe. Sach was still insinuating that I called Peppy a “soulmate”, which is the last term you can use to describe two people without any. We were testing some Java games, and there were a few interesting ones as well as quite a number of clunkers all the same. In any case, I’ll share more about that later…

So after I finished trying to help out with them for the preparations, that’s when we headed to Megamall, and apparently, Mr. Vidal was quite homophobic. I was talking about the Blue Rose, and I said that I wouldn’t give it to Sacha, nor would I give it to him, which led him to hesitate. I likewise mentioned that little bit about the mood ring I wore, and it just so happened to be purple when he asked me about it…

Sacha: Oh. I had a mood ring like that in high school.

Marcelle: I like it. It never looks like I’m wearing the same ring at any time, because it keeps changing colors. Oh, look. It’s purple now.

Eric: So what does purple mean?

Marcelle: ::looks Eric straight in the eye:: Well, actually, it means romance.

Eric promptly backs off.

Marcelle: Okay, fine. I’ll stop. Wouldn’t want you to go home tonight with skewed notions about my masculinity.

Sacha: Well, I’m not too concerned about your masculinity, anyway, Marcelle.

Eric: Marcelle, will you stop holding your chest like that? It looks pretty disturbing…

Oh, gee. Pwn3d by the former, viewed at quite lustfully by the latter. Why do I always attract this kind? He wasn’t too keen on letting me enter the MRT behind him, either. Sach was pretty lucky because in spite of the MRT’s being jampacked, we still found a safe place for her to stand, away from the annoying people who take advantage of these… err… tight spaces.

Where did all the gay innuendo start off? Well, I told them that I guess it was fine to miss wrestling just to go there to the arcade. Then…

Sacha: Well, I know wrestling is one of your… things. Are you sure you can miss that?

Marcelle: Sure. I don’t see any reason why I’d have to prioritize hot, sweaty, half-naked men getting it on in the ring over you guys.

Eric: So you’re into hot, sweaty, half-naked men?

Marcelle: I meant that in a manly way. I was just saying that they’re hot in a popular kind of sense.

Eric: Oh. So you like them manly?

Marcelle: No. I meant I am manly…

More snippets of dialogue… I know this is a dialogue-heavy post, but I swear, we had a bunch of quotable quotes tonight…

Marcelle: Maybe my Hawaiian shirt motif when I teach would work.

Sacha: Sure.

Marcelle: It might seem a bit weird though…

Sacha: Of course not. I teach in a sarong.

Marcelle: Which makes you very liable to win the Most Fashionable Teacher award some time soon.

Sacha: Pshaw. Of course not.

Marcelle: Really! Think about it. How many other teachers do you know also teach in a sarong, aside from Eric?

Oh, thank goodness neither of them were ever my real teachers. This day alone would’ve been academic suicide for me. We even had more quips there, such as my not taking Ms. Amarra because “she wasn’t my type”, among other things, and how “oral exams” would never be the same again when I start teaching. ICA sounds nice. Fat chance of me ever ending up there, though.

In any case, they were enjoying themselves playing Percussion Freaks and Guitar Freaks. I, on the other hand, was trying my luck at KOF 2K3, and actually doing quite well. I was having some losses here and there, but I quickly rebounded for the most part, especially when I started using the ever-annoying Malin. That character has got to be one of the most annoying characters in the game, I kid you not. I was hungry, so I unfortunately did not get to play Dance Maniax, lest I do myself in via exhaustion… so after eating dinner at Chowking, they had to leave already, which essentially meant I was unable to play a single game of Dance Maniax.

With that being said, that was too bad. Still, I’m pretty sure I would have an opportunity some other time to work on my Dance Maniax again. I haven’t gone for it for the longest time, I swear. Ah, well. And yeah, Sach and Eric figured the “This is up and this is down” puzzle… pretty clever of them.

.:The Java Game Of Hilarious Proportions:.

The following is the final report of some of Sacha's CS21 students last semester. They were trying to make a shooting Java game, and you ought to see the premise of the whole thing... any bolded texts are of my emphasis... heh.

Game Project – Final Report
Title: End of CS21a
Group: Putok Inc.
Members: Paolo Cabrera, Raymond Daquil

Game and Rules:

A. Story of the game:

After all the lessons, the quizzes, the midterm, the projects, and the final exam, the cs21a students of Ms. Sacha Chua were all stressed out. This physical and mental situation of the students made them vulnerable to different programming viruses. This opportunity was used by a CS student from the future in the name of 'the Stark'!!! He programmed the minds of cs21a students to be to be rebellious and aim to destroy F228 classroom in Faura Hall. Your aim now is to terminate all these students and save their ever gorgeous teacher, Ms. Sacha Chua:-)

B. Rules of the Game
- Save ms Sacha Chua
- Eliminate 16 cs21a students and “the stark”(last) before 20 seconds
- Reload weapon by clicking the reload button
- If you happen to hit, Ms. Sscha Chua, your ammo will decrease to zero

Program Design:

Vectors was used in this project to make the random appearance of targets.

The main layout of our game is Border Layout. We used all the screens except for the West Border. The North Border shows the ammo left and the result of the game(time completed). The Center Border is the main screen for the game for this is the part where the player interacts with the graphics. The South Border is the “Click to reload button”. The East Border diasplays the game’s story and instruction and also the start button.

For this game, we have 5 classes and 18 methods. The 5 classes are RandomFire, Randomize, Ammo, Background, and Oras. RandomFire is the class name of our main program. It has 8 methods namely: init (for initializing), actionPerformed (for the interaction with the JButtons), mousePressed, mouseClicked, mouseReleased, maouseDragged, maouseEntered, mouseExit (all of these for the interaction with the mouse). All methods also are in a “public void”. Randomize is the class we made to make the pictures appeare in different positions within the center screen. It has 2 methods namely: public int getX(for the x coordinate) and public int getY(for the y coordinate). Ammo is for the amount of ammo left for the user. It has 4 methods namely: public void dagdag(to make the ammo increase back to 8), public void setZero(to make the ammo value decrease to zero), public void bawas(1 ammo is subtracted from the current ammo), and public void getBala( returns the current number of ammo). Background is for setting the background of the main geme screen. It has only one method which is public void paintCompinent which sets and draws the image being defined. Lastly, Oras is the method we used for the timer/time countdown that we need. It has 3 methods which are setStart (to make the timer start counting), setEnd (to make the timer stop counting), and setElapsed (to make the counter get the ellpased time by subtracting the strating time from the end time).

Wait a minute... "The ever-gorgeuous Ms. Sacha Chua"... I'm sorry, but that line was just priceless. Moreover, when I was playing the game, while you're trying to shoot the students, if it happens that you hit Sacha's picture in the game, you'll see the following words appear on the screen:

Loko ka, tinamaan mo si ma'am. (You idiot, you hit ma'am.)

These students are crazy... I swear, I've never run into the kind of student-teacher relation Sacha happens to have with her students, and I've been observing so many teachers already. The closest was our fourth year adviser, since most of my classmates were flirting with Ma'am Ting Flores, but I swear, not at this level... heh. Besides, Ma'am Ting was even pregnant at the time, and she's long married already...

.:Last-Minute Plugging:.

I’d really appreciate votes from the seniors for the Blue Roast Awards. I’m nominated for “Batch Genius” and “Crush ANG Bayan”, and I’m hoping that my friends here would actually care to toss my name around to other people who may not know that the website they were using for their Theology Orals happened to be mine...

I'll be on air for Campus Central in RX this Sunday, 6-9 in the evening. Top Five delayed for Monday, as well...

.:First Time I Actually Appreciated Hate Mail:.

From Den:

Hi! Can you please tell Marcelle to not butt in during the Hot 10? It’s rilli annoying. Hope you understand. Tnx!

Better you than Louie D, assuming Chico was telling me the truth, Den. I’d rather have you reminding me that I can’t participate in the Hot 10 than have Louie D doing it for me, because it’s bound to not be phrased as “break-it-to-him-gently” as you did. In any case, I have a long way to go with my training, so I suppose my being annoying at this point is something I really couldn’t do that much about, neh? Thanx, anyways. Since you’re not going to be the one to sign my paycheck if I land this job, you may as well remind me of a fact that someone who will sign my paycheck certainly wouldn’t be too pleased about...

Do let me know when I’m getting better, though. I think my diction’s been a bit better. It’s just my voice that registers too low on the mic I have to really work on more...

.:A Horror Story?:.

So I walk into the booth early as usual, and I never noticed it, but there was this humming sound inside the booth. There I was, doing the boardwork with Chico and Delamar, trying my darned best to work on my diction and all (Did relatively well for the Generation RX, was unable to say anything good for the Hot 10.). Delamar even dedicated to me that annoying Hallmark jingle about remembering you remembering me, and the both of us knowing how good remembering can be. That, plus the funny/annoying commercial for Wendy’s Shrimp Sandwich, with them singing about it as though it were a Passion Play...

And then, we began to notice the humming sound. It was growing louder and louder with each minute, and we had no idea where it was coming from. The sound got to a point where it was so loud, our microphones were picking it up, and the listeners were thinking we had some kind of feedback going on. Chico and I were trying to isolate the source of the humming sound, and it didn’t take long before we found the culprit: a back-up power source that was currently in use, powering the main computer. That meant that taking the power source out would effectively prevent us from using the computer at all to cue songs, so in a desperate effort, Delamar got three songs, opened the now-archaic but still reliable CD players, and played her next three songs while the technician, Rogie, tried to reconnect the computer elsewhere.

This was the third time in a week that something weird has happened during Chico and Delamar’s time slot. The first two times were brownouts. This time, we were going low tech for quite some time, and as soon as Rogie took out the power supply, cockroaches promptly crawled out of its crevices. It was pretty disgusting to imagine roaches living in the power supply, but there they were, though they were all still pretty small. In any case, Rogie managed to boot the computer again, and the show was saved.

So we went back to doing the show, as this Mumra guy was texting in entry after entry after entry, mostly with feeble attempts at insulting Delamar, though he did get the number one answer in the third hour.

But the story didn’t finish there. Apparently, the apparatus’ circuit board was burnt already, most likely due to roaches eating at it. There was a high chance that the power supply, had the board shorted all the way to the battery or something of that nature, would very well have exploded if we didn’t fix it any sooner. Guess where the power supply happened to be located?

Right beside Chico’s feet.

He was even joking that “We should’ve waited for someone who deserved it to have the thing blow up on his feet.” Still, after the tragedy with someone like Halina Perez, I felt a bit scared for Chico over what just happened... ah, well. I’m queasy, so sue me.

.:Beeyatchy?:.

To concur with Peppy, I never thought I’d see the day that Sach could actually get a bit beeyatchy, especially not when the person talking to her happens to be her student....

So there she was, getting fairly hooked on ”The Mystery Of Time And Space”, and then one of her students walked up to her, maybe Jaime, or another one...

Student: How’d you solve that so quickly?

Sacha: Because I’m smart!

That was said in the most matter-of-factly, as-if-it-wasn’t-obvious-you-silly-twit kind of way, and both Peppy and I found it quite out of character for her to say that, but Hades, I loved it. I loved it, I loved it.

At the same time, it appears Jim Imbong told Sach that I showed him her video while she was singing “Tragedy” last Saturday. To further her sudden upsurge of beeyatchiness, she then mails Jim back a simple message...

I am sooo going to kill that Marcelle...

I swear, she’s beginning to sound particularly menacing to me, and with that sweet, high-pitched voice, you find the stuff that makes up really campy slasher flicks...

At the same time, my mind has been working off the color charts that day, so Peppy’s lines, coupled with Sacha’s weren’t helping me one bit...

Peppy: There are other things you can screw, Sach...

Marcelle: No, Sach, You can’t screw the computer. Oh, dang. There’s no more screwdriver in that room...

Sacha: Oh, shush. I’m playing with it a bit, okay?

And yes, she already finished the whole MOTAS thing. Talk about oozing with sapiosexuality..

Pardon me while my nose bleeds...

.:Undermined:.

I ran into Jamie a few days ago, and the following dialogue ensued...

Marcelle: Vote for me in the Blue Roast Awards...

Jamie: What are you nominated for?

Marcelle: Gifted Child and Crush ANG Bayan.

Jamie: *laughs* *laughs* *laughs*... okay. I’ll vote you for Crush ANG Bayan.

Gee, thanx for the ego boost, jabroni. Maybe I’m not in the Valedictorian list, but I’m not exactly an idiot, either. I didn’t know if I was going to chuckle along with her, or just plain take offense, because I really believe I’m at least qualified to be nominated. I’m sure I don’t have to explain why, as a good deal of my classmates know the reason. But then, as if that wasn’t enough, she just HAD to carry on a few days later, when I ran into her again...

Jamie: Oi, Batch Genius!

Marcelle: What’s up?

Jamie: Nominated din si Bro, ah! (Bro’s also nominated, ah!)

Marcelle: I know. I voted for him.

Jamie: Right...

Just because Bro happens to be Abby’s boyfriend does not mean I should be harboring any bad will towards the man. I mean let’s face it... I don’t work that way, and I really don’t appreciate people assuming the worst about me, when anyone you ask will know that I have nothing but good things to say about him and his girlfriend. I was never the wildly jealous type, much less with someone I’m not romantically involved with...

Ah, yes. Marcelle has been undermined once again.

.:Another Song In My Head:.

I Won’t Say (I’m In Love)
From the Hercules Soundtrack

[Meg:]
If there's a prize for rotten judgement
I guess I've already won that
No man is worth the aggravation
That's ancient history, been there, done that!

[Muses:] Who'd'ya think you're kiddin'
He's the Earth and heaven to you
Try to keep it hidden
Honey, we can see right through you
Girl, ya can't conceal it
We know how ya feel and
Who you're thinking of

[Meg:]
No chance, no way
I won't say it, no, no

[Muses:]
You swoon, you sigh
why deny it, uh-oh

[Meg:]
It's too cliche
I won't say I'm in love

I thought my heart had learned its lesson
It feels so good when you start out
My head is screaming get a grip, girl
Unless you're dying to cry your heart out
Oh

[Muses:]
You keep on denying
Who you are and how you're feeling
Baby, we're not buying
Hon, we saw ya hit the ceiling
Face it like a grown-up
When ya gonna own up
That ya got, got, got it bad

[Meg:]
No chance, now way
I won't say it, no, no

[Muses:]
Give up, give in
Check the grin you're in love

[Meg:]
This scene won't play,
I won't say I'm in love

[Muses:]
You're doin flips read our lips
You're in love

[Meg:]
You're way off base
I won't say it
Get off my case
I won't say it

[Muses:]
Girl, don't be proud
It's okay, you're in love

[Meg:]
Oh
At least out loud,
I won't say I'm in love

And so it begins, and you won’t say you’re in love. No eyes aglow. You won’t say you’re in love. You’re not shallow. You won’t say you’re in love.

And yet I look at you, and I find... anguish. A longing to love. Thankfully not towards the wrong person, I believe, which makes your emotions all the more worthwhile. Spite yourself by denying it. It’s you’re call and I don’t fault you for it. But then you’re emotionally flagellating yourself, and a wonderful person like you, jabroni, don’t deserve that. Maybe it’s time. If it’s not, people who care will be around to help you through it. Rather than forever ask yourself “What if” questions, maybe it’s time you started answering some of them.

Oh, believe me. I know how it is to be haunted by the past. You know those scars that always seem to last? It’s vicious, believe me. But then, what can I do? Life goes on, and it’s not a spectator sport. Maybe the pain will keep on coming back with a vengeance, but I’ll be damned if I let it hold me back from my destiny. I’ll be damned if the past would do the same to you, my dear friend. You’re still alive... your little holocaust in the past was far from the end.

You know who you are. Whatever you decide to do from this point on, I leave it up to you. I’ll just be around to support you in that choice you may make.

.:So The Red Room Was Easy?:.

So you got out of the Crimson Room. I’m sure you found that easy. Well, how about getting out of THIS PLACE? Let’s see how far you can get…

.:A Word To The Wounded, The Unsent Series, Part VI:.

Jaded
by Aerosmith

Hey j-j-jaded, you got your mama's style
But you're yesterday's child to me
So jaded
You think that's where it's at
But is that where it's supposed to be
You're gettin' it all over me and serrated

My my baby blue
Yeah I been thinkin' about you
My my baby blue
Yeah you're so jaded
And I'm the one that jaded you

Hey j-j-jaded
In all its misery
It will always be what I love and hated
And maybe take a ride to the other side
We're thinkin' of
We'll slip into the velvet glove
And be jaded

My my baby blue
Yeah I'm thinkin about you
My my baby blue
Yeah I'm so jaded
And baby I'm afraid of you

Your thinking's so complicated
I've had it all up to here
But it's so overrated
Love and hated
Wouldn't trade it
Love me jaded

Hey j-j-jaded
There ain't no baby please
When I'm shootin the breeze with her
When everything you see is a blur
And ectasy's what you prefer

My my baby blue
Yeah I'm talkin' about you
My my baby blue
Yeah I've been thinkin' about you
My my baby blue
Yeah you're so jaded
Baby
Jaded
Baby
You're so jaded
'Cause I'm the one that jaded you

Dear Scarred,

And as the melody goes, your head is telling you to go and find the door. Perhaps there is no explicit explanation for what you are going through right now. It’s not like you made it utterly clear for all to see. Yet somewhere within you, Marcelle senses some aches and wounds that you refuse to open up to just anyone. He respects that, scarred. Perhaps you don’t trust him enough just yet. Your words of it being a case of youth and folly working together seem to give him that clear-cut impression. Nonetheless, he knows you need someone. Maybe it won’t be him to be able to hear you out, but he prays you manage to find a way somehow.

Always remember, Scarred: it matters not if you sometimes make the world turn around him in quite a change of pace from time to time. It simply cannot override the will of the Divine. But in whatever travails you may be going through, rest assured that Marcelle will be your gargoyle… standing behind you, willing to hear you out. Perhaps your prison cell will keep you safe within yourself, but is it not time you told yourself that you are more than just that?

Your scars are the source of your beauty, dear Scarred. Beyond your enigma and your mask of smiles, lies a heart of gold, yearning to fall.

Sometimes, you just have to let yourself fall.

.:Ho-Hum:.

I know by now for a fact that I’m the type who cannot sit still in one place when nothing is happening, whatsoever. Considering that all I have left to do now is wait for graduation, I really feel a huge blah as nothing quite interesting seems to be happening to me, all things considered. I ran into Abby and Bro who had to get their clearance as well, although they wanted to watch “Cold Mountain”, which I wasn’t quite keen on watching because it simply failed to err… tickle my fancy, so to speak. Abby told me all I needed to know about it… nothing interesting from Renee Zelwegger, so no need for me to be so intent on watching it. The Spiral actually sounds pretty good right now. It’s the third part of the Ringu saga, as Ring 0 shouldn’t really count (But that Yukie Nakama… the hotness of it all…).

In any case, I spent most of the day at La Salle, playing KOF 2K3. They have two machines for it, and what’s interesting about that is the fact that the other machine has the bosses as playable. It was quite funny, as Mukai, the final boss, is actually broken in a player’s hands. He has a grapple move that turns an opponent into stone, and it can be comboed off of a punch, so he punches you, turns you into stone. He uses his Leader Super that hits you five times and turns you into stone. Then he punches you,m turns you into stone, then punches you… you get the drill. Still, my Goro Daimon needs work. I tend to lose to a good Duolon player, and his skill at Duolon is something I wish I could acquire… it’s pretty hard going against him when he confuses you, which is something I’m not good at doing. I’m just out and out hitting an opponent until submission with Goro, then anticipating a tag-in to counter it.

Nick Ortega was talking to me there. I don’t think he knows that I happen to know how he used my account to my detriment some time ago, but I really don’t care much, because it’s no big deal, and it doesn’t really make such an amazing person out of him, so no big deal for me, all things considered.

Other than that, nothing important has been happening. I did send in my application for the Philosophy department, though. Let’s hope that turns out well. At the same time, my patience has been running thin lately. I guess it’s akin to a lot of burnout and all. My apologies to any persons who may have ended up being on the receiving end of that nasty temper, particularly my beloved. With everything that’s been going on, I guess I can’t help but feel a bit high-strung as of late.

.:New Link:.

Check out Jim Paredes; weblog. I honestly didn’t expect to hear from him, but I was quite pleasantly surprised when I got this in the mail:

Dear Marcelle,

It's not that your blog did not merit being linked to mine, it's just
that I have a hard time putting stuff on my blog and so don't do it as
often. Am new at this and am hardly a techie. I have people who
generously take care of my photo sites and other stuff excepy my blog
which I do on my own. In fact, you're linked there na!

Looks like ang dami mong bisita. Am glad the creativity class has a
special meaning to you!

Cheers!

Jim

My prompt reply:

Dear Sir,

Funny you should mention my post yesterday. I was just tossing around ideas and being my usual self-dismissive self. I guess it's because I was never fond of the hype people give to me, knowing how bad it gets if I don't live up to it.

In any case, that was merely a rhetorical comment. Didn't expect you to link me because of it, but I'm still grateful that you did.
Godpseed to you, sir. :)

Interesting. Very interesting how this would turn out… ah, well. I guess there are just some things that happen in life that end up shaping your personality somewhat, and my run-ins with Mr. Paredes has been one of those things…
.::Writing Backlog:.

Achieving any two of the following by next week would really make me happy:

1. Writing a review for Chobits.
2. Writing a review for GTO.
3. Start chapter 1 of my looong-delayed novel.
4. The “Onetological Argument” Matrix essay.
5. A GTO Fanfic. If I’m actually capable…

I swear, while I’ve been blogging heavily last month, I still haven’t achieved any of the above five things. It’s not easy, I guess, but telling myself that I’m not inspired is really of no use. I don’t think I was particularly inspired when I was writing down those thesis statement answers in the way that most people perceive me to be, and so forth. Ah, well. In any case, I’m pretty fine with how things are, regardless. I just hope I manage to do these things decently, because I swear, it’s been a non-happening week for me for the most part, and I hope I don’t have to do anything radical for me to actually change my opinion about this week.

.:A Triple Shot In The Arm:.

Fine, I know I really am putting myself over by posting these, but I really appreciate these kind words… especially since one of the thank-you notes I got came from a really special friend of mine, whom I’ve known since fourth year high school…

From Emily:

hi marcel! Sobrang thank you for posting your answers in the oral exams. Remember dati yung nagaral pa tayo for philo and you posted your answers as well? It really helped a lot. I was reading your blogs kanina and ang masasabi ko lang magaling ka talagang tao. Yun lang. Baka sabihin mo binobola kita e hehe. I think you’ll be a great teacher (Onizuka? Hehe…), you have a knack for explaining things clearly, na naiintindihan ng mga tao. If that’s what you want then go for it. =) gud luck ha, sana cum laude =) tc always and thanks so much again!

emily

p.s. if you can't remember me i'm the girl na kinausap
mo sa de la costa, yung hiningan mo ng no.

(Hi, Marcel! Thank you so much for posting your answers in the oral exams. Remember before when we were still studying for Philo, then you posted your answers as well? It really helped a lot. I was reading your blog a while ago, and all I can say is that you are a fine person. That’s all. You might say I’m flattering you too much, hehe. I think you’ll be a great teacher, you have a knack for explaning things clearly, that people can understand. If that’s what you want, then go for it. =) gud luck, ha, hopefully, cum laude =) tc always and thanks so much again! – p.s. if you can’t remember me I’m the girl you were talking to at de la costa, the one you asked the number from.)

I’m grateful for the vote of confidence in this teaching career I hope to end up in (Or at least, a teaching career until I get an M.A.). I guess I just really feel happy to post my answers to the thesis statements. Maybe I get a bit down at times over the lack of feedback, but regardless, being able to do that in itself is already quite a boon to me. I could only hope this can translate to my teaching well when I do get the opportunity to do so. Don’t worry, Emily. I’m not one to forget. It’s my pleasure. No question about it.

From Jason Dayrit:

didn't get to check your blog recently...i only saw the answers for the first 2 lang ata. thanks! your answers cleared up some stuff that I need to say!

anyway, how was your orals? i have mine at 10:20 on saturday...stupid
orals...

No problem. I’m sure you realize that I hold a very soft spot for all my classmates in Jimmy P’s creativity class… I swear… that class really got me going, and weblogging with the “Morning Pages” concept in my head does help, although I’m left with no other recourse but to engage in a bit of censorship…

As for my orals, I think I did decently. I didn’t really put as much effort or pizzazz into it the way I did for my Philosophy, but I got the “A” I needed. The honorable mention would’ve been icing on the cake, but it’s no big deal if I didn’t get it. I already made the “Theo performance of a lifetime” in this weblog, for all to see, anyway. I hope Mr. Dy-Liaco gets to read and comment about it next time, though. :) And here’s hoping you did well, yourself.

Lastly, from Diane:

dearie, thank you so much for the theology thesis statements; they were great... ang galeng ah!

and i presume you will be glad to know that i recommended your site to some other classmates, around four. more fans for you, huh?

i still dont know my theo grade, though, but i guess i did quite will because, at the end of
the five minutes (yes, our exam only took five minutes!), all ma'am said was "excellent,
excellent!".

again, here's a *kiss* and *hug* for you.

oh, and by the way, when's blue roast votation? when can i have the chance to vote you as the batch genius? :)

Obviously just a friendly peck on the cheek and a hug… but thanx, nonetheless. I have to admit that though we’ve known each other since fourth year high school, we’ve really made headway into our friendship only this year. In any case, I’m sure you’re going to be doing fine in whatever you want to do after graduation. Always take care, and always remember that this jabroni right here will always be around for you when you need him (There goes that third person bit again… well, I’m quite happy, that’s why.). You’re really something else. You know that?

.:Postscript Ideas:.

Sacha’s father was joking that I might need a ladder to reach some high notes during our Videoke night last Saturday. When I was singing “Darna”, Sach likewise quipped that thank Gawd I wasn’t Darna. Amusing videoke night, though I didn’t get to take any really nice pictures. I suppose the video clips of Peppy and Sach were priceless, nonetheless. I’m pretty amused over it, truth be told. I really, really sounded bad during my first two songs that night. I started to sound decent when I was singing “Endless Love” on my own, with both male and female parts, for good measure. That was fun. Peppy had a pretty diverse range of song choices all the same, whereas Ranulf was more into Queen, Jerome was more into ballads, and Eric was just as mixed with the playlist as me and Peppy were.

Sach then insinuates that I said Peppy and I were “soulmates”. I don’t think “partners in crime” and “soulmates” are the same thing, Sach. I’m sorry.

On a completely unrelated note, thanx to April for the nice testimonial. I really appreciated it. :)

.:Run-Ins:.

Ran into Jimmy P today in the Communications Department. It’s been a while since I saw him, and I suppose I haven’t merited being included in his links list just yet, although I do check out his weblog from time to time. Wonder if I was an influence for him to start that weblog, or someone else…

I had a fairly interesting time in the Comm Department, if only for the interesting things we were talking about. Ah, well. I guess that clearance thing wasn’t half as bad as I initially thought it was. It was actually relatively smooth-sailing, as I really had little need to do anything else beyond gather the needed signatures.

In any case, while I do make sure I don’t insult the sensibilities of most people when I write in my weblog, I still write what I feel like writing… it’s pretty good, really.

On an unrelated note, I think I stand a good chance at this point of getting what I’ve mostly been hoping for, and although I’m quite certain that I still have quite a lot to do, aside from completing graduation pictures of special people and so forth, I guess this has been a schoolyear I’ve been extremely proud of. I’ve pushed myself beyond what I thought I could achieve, and whether or not I get a Cum Laude, I know that I have done my utmost best this semester. I’ve gone beyond my academic yardstick, I’ve gone beyond myself, and really now, that’s what matters at this point.

.:Game Of The Generals:.

Neill has been doing pretty well making GG. While he doesn’t have the game down to pat, he at least made quite an acceptable amount of improvisation, and he had a pretty good version, without a doubt. I sincerely hope that he makes it accessible when it’s complete, because I would absolutely love to have GG on a PC, even if it’s not the complete version of it…

I beat him by manipulating my flag to his rank, though. That got me the win, as I was outpsyching him on most counts, second-guessing what he’s up to, and ensuring that his spies weren’t around to ruin my day. My privates were placed pretty well, and by the time my flag was advancing towards his base, he was too occupied staving off a potential attack from me at the same time. This resulted in giving him quite a headache, as he tried to beat me to reaching the flag to my base, but I managed to place a last line of defense there on my side of the board to actually prevent that. He had a few more kinks to work out with the game (Especially since the game isn’t turn-based yet…), but overall, I’m sure even Sacha’s impressed with what he’s gotten so far with his partner.

This kid has potential in CS. I think I can see the future now… maybe he’s not as blatantly geeky as Sach happens to be, but he sure as Hades is quite the whiz. I rarely put people over like this, but anyone who can make GG available to me via the PC is someone who has earned my utmost respect.

.:More Training:.

Delamar has been quite nice to me lately. Actually, things have been going fine for me with the Morning Rush as of late, although I knew better than to expect to answer the Hot 10 topic for the day. While I have to continue working on my voice, I’m at least doing pretty fine with the delivery by modifying the speed level of my speech instead of the pitch or volume of my voice. According to Chico, doing it that way “Replicates a high energy level”. I guess it works a bit.

I actually boarded with the dynamic duo for a full four hours, as it appears Sir Louie is out for the day. I got there pretty early, and Troy was around, doing the show on his own. Pretty fun hearing from him, really. He was surprised to see me up and about that early, though. What’s to be so shocked about? I’ve been listening to Bruce Romano during his time, so I was up as early as 2 in the morning back then. No problem waking up about two or three hours after that, neh? Well, relatively speaking, I guess….

In any case, we had a lot of fun talking about stuff like Dolphy’s not running but supporting FPJ anyway, as well as the extremely predictable Oscars, and the fact that Chico and Delle have been arguing like kids quite a lot, and there I was, trying to fan the flames by picking Chico’s side…

Delamar: So you think you know everything?

Chico: Most things. Unlike you…

Marcelle: Padawan.

Delamar: Keep out of this!

Marcelle: It’s a battle of the sexes, Delle.

Delamar: So are you getting some?

Later on in the dialogue..

Chico: Okay. For the fourth time in a straight…

Delamar: A straight row?

Marcelle: So we have gay rows now?

And then, I set myself up…

Monster Radio RX 93.1 is DWRX-FM in Metro Manila, a proud, proud member of the KBP.

Chico: When we say “proud”, of course we don’t mean Biblical, arrogant proud. We simply mean a good kind of proud.

Delamar: Yeah!

Marcelle: Yeah. We just mean we’re very proud and honored to be a part of this great organization we call the KBP. That kind of proud.

Chico: Okay, geek.

Even then, we had a lot of nice moments even off the air. We were talking a bit about the fact that apparently, my prediction that Richard was going to be gone the first chance they had to take him out was going to happen. It really was cemented by the fact that one of the members of his tribe left beforehand, so there was already one person out of the tribe right off the bat. As soon as the tribal council happened, was there any doubt left that they were going to take him out of it already? Ah, well. Too bad for him, really. He had it coming…

In the middle of the show, we got hit by a sudden blackout, and I swear, Delamar’s face was priceless. Never knew she was such a scaredy cat. Oh, wait. I do. I’ve been giving her lots of scary ideas, especially the elevator bit. Imagine how scary it would get if the elevator just went out because of a blackout. Then, when the lights come back on, an additional person in the elevator is in there with us. Ahh… the horrificness of it all.

The Hot 10 sort of struck a nerve, but I know it doesn’t mean it’s beyond salvaging. I guess it’s just a sign that there’s a lot of room for improvement. I did notice that I have a whistling sound on air, though. Must be the braces.

Ayessa apparently graduated already. She actually knows Boom Gonzales. Oh, gee. Wonderful. Just wonderful.

Hitched a ride with Delle to Megamall afterwards. Nothing important there…

.:My Favorite Mistake:.

I ran into Adi today on my way to Ateneo. She was also boarding the LRT. I greeted her, and wonder of wonders, she talked back to me, actually telling me that I got myself some popularity again courtesy of the Blue Roast Awards. I’m not the presumptuous type, though, so I decided to not assume we’re already on okay terms. After all, she didn’t exactly accept my gesture when I paid for her tricycle fare, thus making the tricycle driver richer by five extra bucks (No big deal moneywise, but you have to admit, that was quite a slap in the face.). I just felt a bit put off by that, because I didn’t make that gesture so I can be in good with her. I just thought it’s a nice thing to do for a nice person like her, albeit we really don’t get along so smoothly right now. With that in mind, I guess I still am hoping for some resolution, which explains the following message I sent to her on Friendster…

I want to make the closure easier on the both of us. I understand you're busy and all, so I hope this will be more convenient for you.

I don't want to presume that we're friends now just because you talked to me. I'm not that kind of a person. Still, I'd like to think that we can somehow work out our differences and at least be friends again.

With that in mind, I'm adding you to my friends list. If you think I'm now deserving of being called your friend, by all means, please do add me. If you feel that you're not yet willing to accept me as one, just sit on the invite. If you feel that there's no chance in Hades that you'd want to be friends with me again, then just reject the invite.

God bless you, Adi. We may not have seen eye to eye the past two years, but I recognize that you are a wonderful person and a great friend. I guess you can tell I sincerely regret that I wronged you in the past.

I could be prideful and lash out at her for this or that. I could be prideful and tell myself that my apology should’ve been enough, so I don’t need to continue making amends with her. But I know I was wrong at one point, and that’s why I can’t just go and do that. I mean, other instances, I was quite certain that I didn’t feel any compelling notions to actually go and make amends with others, especially if they started the mess to begin with. Adi isn’t that way. Maybe it’d be worked out, and maybe it wouldn’t. Bottomline is, after passing the ball around, I do believe that the ball will be in her court for one final time. It’s all up to her, now.

... I'll post tomorrow. I've got too much to say, and I don't have the time to write it all, because of all the stuff I've been up to...

.:Votations Have Begun:.

I can only hope people would remember to vote for me for the Blue Roast Awards. I’ve plugged myself already more times than I could care to count, so I sincerely hope that I just get a few votes in my categories… darn.

As a refresher, I’m nominated in Crush ANG Bayan and Batch Gifted Child. I hope my efforts over the past two oral exams can help with the latter…

.:Short Notice Day:.

On such short notice, I was asked to board for Radio 1 last Saturday. I went there, played a couple of songs for the first few minutes, then just did a very short bit of banter. I was okay doing the show alone, but I felt really relieved when Matrix and Trinity (Those are their on-air names, so sue me.) showed up and did the show with me. Nothing much, really. We hardly talked, as we didn’t have the textline ready-at-hand for us, so we instead just went and chit-chatted here and there, though nothing much really happened, truth be told. It was a pretty subdued time for us, though we did pretty well. The rapport was there, and the interaction was pretty fine. I got away with playing “Mariposa” one more time… heh.

We had a meeting for Radio 1 in the evening, though I didn’t stick around the station to wait for that and just played some KOF instead. I’m getting better at it, and I even managed to pull off my nice combos with Griffon. Vicious character… plain vicious.

Once I got back to the station, I met up with some of the other Radio 1 people. No big deal, really. It was funny, though, because on that meeting alone, the Radio 1 people have essentially dubbed me “Manyakumlaude”, which I find really weird. Just because I said I saw the Heart Evangelista lookalike doesn’t mean that I saw the evil video of it… but I digress. That was funny, really.

The meeting was fine. We were planning for the Radio 1 graduation party, and among the special awards, I was up for the aforementioned “Manyakumlaude”, or “Most Reliable Pinch-hitter”. Ah, well. Looks like that’s where my fame comes from…

In any case, they were looking for suggestions as to what title we should give the Radio 1 Grad Party. Since we had ideas like “Grad Hop”, “School’s Out”, “It’s Over”, and other finish-related titles, I suggested a title in the vernacular: “Labasan” (Dismissal, in the case of usage. Moreover, the stress is on the second syllable. Not the third.). If it’s the “Final Dismissal”, then we can call it “Huling Labasan”. Pretty creative title ideas, neh? I’m sorry. I feel so lazy about blogging all the minutes of the meeting right now. Leave it sufficient for me to say that it was a fun time.

I did say this was a short-notice day…

.:Videokay!!!:.

In line with this being a short-notice day, Sacha texted me around seven in the evening that she had a party at her house. A videoke party, to be exact. I had no idea whatsoever how to get to her house through commuting, but once Peppy confirmed that he was going, I decided to go for it as well. Courtesy of Sacha’s wiki, here are the scores of all the people in the videoke night:

Ranulf: U can’t touch this (70)
Peppy: How am I supposed to live without you? (93)
Jerome: Michelle (100)
Sacha: Close to you (83)
Peppy: Heaven (94)
Jerome: Be my lady (98)
Marcelle: Di na natuto (96)
Jerome: I have a dream (99)
Marcelle: Foolish heart (95)
Peppy: Kokomo (100)
Jerome: You've got a friend (95)
Marcelle: Endless love (duet with himself - 98)
Peppy: On bended knee (with spoken word - 100)
Eric: The impossible dream (00)
Ranulf: If you really love a woman (92)
All: Bohemian rhapsody (87)
Eric: Staying Alive (with dance steps - 97)
All: We are the champions (89)
Marcelle: Sana maulit muli (100)
Jerome: High school (92)
Eric: Englishman in New York (with accent - 100)
Peppy: Living la vida loca (with dance steps - 76)
Ranulf: Love of my life (94)
Jerome: Moon river (98)
Ranulf: Crazy little thing called love (95)
Marcelle: Darna (yes, that Jenine Desiderio translation of "Superwoman" - 97)
Eric and Jerome: Voltes V (85)
Eric: Foolish heart (94)
Peppy: It must have been love (94)
Eric: La bamba (100)
Jerome: Never been to me (80)
Peppy: Right here waiting (85)
Eric: Kahit kailan (100)
Marcelle: Awit ng barkada (100)
Jerome: Fernando (99)
Sacha: Top of the world (81)
Ranulf: Break it down (95)
Eric: Eternal flame (99)
Sacha: Tragedy (with falsetto!!! unbelievable! - 91)

Notice that while Eric Vidal got a zero (Must’ve been a glitch…), he also had the most 100’s, a total of 3. Peppy’s dancing was a sight to behold, and I got some of it on video. Actually, when any of us did some dancing, that was a sight meant to be immortalized, though the only other video I got to take was of Sacha singing “Tragedy” in a falsetto voice. You have to hear it to believe it, I swear. Overall, it was a fun night, though I sure think that it’s quite unnerving that the only person who had a whiff of alcohol was Sacha’s sister, yet she didn’t sing even one song. That only goes to show how crazy everyone else was, even without any influence from the alcohol…

Anyways, it was a really fun time. Sunday was boring, so I guess this made up for it…