tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12784265193481725972024-03-12T23:44:48.384-07:00Upload and PersonalTell me your story and I'll tell you mine.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.comBlogger123125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-81790287459362067082016-10-16T03:35:00.003-07:002016-10-16T05:43:22.726-07:00Dear 15-Year Old Me<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYfHC_SvPvDpl-X5Ta1690cc7nb63EUt5CIIdQzjfbl94c8q98ntbHcSYCta3OmHHD9Y02pUh8zd_H7hJc_knrsWndRjTgC8CMe9737qjxNqHzQXqDZAvI4gYAH071OJlScSMw53O1dpA/s1600/IMG_0160.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQYfHC_SvPvDpl-X5Ta1690cc7nb63EUt5CIIdQzjfbl94c8q98ntbHcSYCta3OmHHD9Y02pUh8zd_H7hJc_knrsWndRjTgC8CMe9737qjxNqHzQXqDZAvI4gYAH071OJlScSMw53O1dpA/s400/IMG_0160.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: -apple-system-font; font-size: 12px;">I’m gonna tell you something.</span><br />
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In 20 years, you’re going to want to celebrate your birthday with a big party.</div>
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That’s not gonna happen.</div>
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But that’s okay.</div>
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There are so many things that will not work out for one reason or another.</div>
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That’s just life.</div>
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And I know you hate it. That’s not gonna change.</div>
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But you’ll live with it. You’ll be happier that way.</div>
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And that’s exactly why I want to reach out to you from 20 years in the future.</div>
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By the time this photo was taken, you just got the speech from Papa.</div>
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He says you act like you carry the whole world on your shoulders.</div>
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And I know you’re not gonna wanna hear this: He’s right.</div>
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It’s actually pretty annoying to remember now.</div>
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But that’s okay.</div>
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You’re young. You lack perspective.</div>
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Go through this depressive rebellious phase.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6Dt44lI9mJEQMqcImZGWrxx8AGx6yK4SLTD7whP4zCLuu-6Zq85vcRQZVOAFvyyHfZknHwBKSAQbO_3tcS6wvt-dooKMJ56wdUDF8LhGhMlR3IpjR8MGnGpx2VZPfxYhZaD9xZL43zWG/s1600/IMG_0199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgN6Dt44lI9mJEQMqcImZGWrxx8AGx6yK4SLTD7whP4zCLuu-6Zq85vcRQZVOAFvyyHfZknHwBKSAQbO_3tcS6wvt-dooKMJ56wdUDF8LhGhMlR3IpjR8MGnGpx2VZPfxYhZaD9xZL43zWG/s400/IMG_0199.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here’s the thing and it’s probably hard for you to believe right now: You’re going to come out of this funk the big winner.</div>
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Let me tell you why.</div>
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*SPOILERS AHEAD*</div>
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You know that novel you just started working on now based on your insecurities? Well, you’re going to end up writing three of them before you even turn 20. You’re not going to get them published (because you’re shy) but you will get a good exercise out of it.</div>
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In a couple more years after that, during a time you feel like you’re at your lowest, you’re going to hit upon an idea that will define your life’s work.</div>
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Yep, you’re still working on it 20 years down the road.</div>
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It’s taking a while but it’s going to be your biggest passion project that will give your life a little focus.</div>
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You will grow. You will learn. And this project will change as you do.</div>
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And it’s going to be an amazing journey.</div>
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In about four years, you’re going to enter college and it’s going to kick off a series of events that will unravel so many other things that you didn’t know you had in you.</div>
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Remember feeling depressed that you never won any medals?</div>
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Well, you’re going to earn one when you graduate from high school but you’ll reap plenty during your time in college - for debating.</div>
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I’m not kidding. You will learn and you’ll be good at it. Not the best but you’ll surprise yourself.</div>
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But that’s barely anything. You’ll do so many awesome things and people will look up to you.</div>
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Unbelievable, right?</div>
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Here’s something else to blow your mind: You’re going to have a career in advertising after graduation.</div>
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I know it’s hard to imagine right now because you always thought you’d end up in movies and TV or even theater.</div>
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But don’t worry: You would get plenty of chances to play around with cameras and even perform on stage every now and then.</div>
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And people are going to want to pay you for the one thing you do as effortlessly as breathing: Writing.</div>
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That’s the beauty of the life you will get to live: You will discover talents and skills that you didn’t know you had but you will never compromise your passions. You will find ways. It’s going to take a while but you will get there. Trust me. I would know.</div>
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Lastly: I want you to know that in ten years, you’re going to meet the best friends you will ever have for life.</div>
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I know it’s gonna take a while but, believe me, they’re worth the wait.</div>
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Remember how you never have anyone to talk to about Star Wars, Marvel Comics, Disney, musical theater, and everything else that you’re into?</div>
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Well, believe me, you will never want to talk about anything else once you meet them. They’re going to be the smartest and happiest people you will ever meet.</div>
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They’re going to introduce you to new worlds you didn’t even know existed, you’ll go on trips together, you’ll organize and host their weddings, and you’ll have endless game nights, quiz nights, and other fun experiences together.</div>
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They’re always going to want to celebrate your birthday in one way or another. Just last night, two of them went out of their way just to see you and treat you to some drinks (even if they don’t drink themselves). That’s how special you are to them.</div>
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*END SPOILERS*</div>
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So why am I telling you this?</div>
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I’d rather not change anything in our history because we might undo all our gains but I need you to know that everything is going to be okay.</div>
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I hope that this inspires you to spend the next couple of years being more productive. I know everything feels like they suck right now but, I was hoping that by sharing these with you, you’ll focus your energies on honing your craft instead.</div>
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Who knows? Maybe if you had just pursued theater as vigorously as you should have, maybe you’d be doing that now along with everything else.</div>
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So, yeah, Papa was right. If you had just let it all go, who knows what else you could have achieved.</div>
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He just passed away earlier this year, by the way. I wish I can tell you that you had a great relationship with him when he passed but that’s not case. But like I said: Things don’t always work out the way we imagined they would. And that’s okay. We learn. We live.</div>
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Bottom line: You’ll be okay!</div>
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Since I’ve already reached backwards in time to reach you, let me take this opportunity to send a message forward as well.</div>
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Dear future me: Don’t screw this up.</div>
PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-71369947023207005192016-06-18T21:06:00.000-07:002016-06-18T21:06:00.346-07:00My Father Who Is In HeavenLast night, I got to see the <a href="http://www.musicartesinc.com.ph/" target="_blank">Manila production</a> of <a href="http://www.godspell.com/" target="_blank">Godspell</a>. It's a musical that I only got acquainted with a few months ago, so it wasn't like I've been longing to see it for a while but my interest in it, I suppose, underlines what I myself and many others already know: I am forever a musical theater boy.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img height="266" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/entertainment/6/18/godspell-1.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"All Good Gifts" - one of my favorite songs from the show.</td></tr>
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Which brings me to the true subject of this blog.<br />
But first an orientation for anybody who only had the pleasure in recent months of inhabiting the same space I revolve in: I write to purge myself of thoughts and feelings that otherwise would fester in my head. I find it cathartic.<br />
<br />
I share what I write (and, by extension, my innermost thoughts) for no absolute reason than to draw attention to myself. I wouldn't be sharing them if I didn't think the story wouldn't be worth someone else's time. And stories are, after all, what I live for. Just check out my <a href="https://twitter.com/pinoyavenger" target="_blank">new Twitter profile</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img class="SzDcob" height="258" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/b03hSAT6Cc6q1BQDW4lrYvJVph75ftw7T1YA_-9K8ezkPUHtxj5LEIgOGqW3UYhyI1Q7pbpNiOExUXakyYwW0xQ3tu4Q-TXsEebvb0U0F4nmZ5EbmPVNxb6WjqVuJmtuKLbnoHbFJdIhqMZK_97j39k6z-WH3uNEL_rjPeZFfyIZwARMxCz18Yynd6Ke1WGX4mxpUodZu4LbLnm1DM302vGaGdO9NmM_oHqIb1yVY9n9v-LIBaWDu3n-U4LyaeX4jd7B8Z2EbdHbi3sPZJ8QoXC3S2NCbVkeS8wMuK3TBTGvcZTdrK_mvx8rOyjmdW9HKn8XWfXzqgP905mGjtaI0z3D7xgx93SjTC7rzVh1Spn5SWrR6or2URLX4PJr2UnNQEHR6FzDk-us-eKEpukDnt-7robDKjbblxn3978iBi57NHkYl-0fFi9dsfhZDdBpl6CPzFsvbmH0iHVvc2UQiY9FpmgzHFQNhtpvKRhbUeZYy152L9KlXsr3Ik6QCYGAH_9KoHO1oPG3uoxPjRHbikk-7p2HaU0pCi-n7Gl_Q9mD6QT_jmdeWxOuValhBqkOzwnQm0Eiz18FtsVnqr3otkW_g8Bx0ys=w990-h641-no" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Papa took me to my first trip to Canada in 1997.</td></tr>
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So, on to this story.<br />
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<a href="https://web.facebook.com/pinoyavenger/posts/10154676341702586" target="_blank">My dad passed away last March.</a><br />Yes, it's been months.<br />
<br />
In all that time, I've been trying to write this very blog.<br />
<br />
In all that time, I've been trying to figure out how I really felt about him being gone.<br />
<br />
I suppose I should feel regret.<br />
<br />
Dad lived and, subsequently, died in Los Angeles surrounded by his first family, so he was well taken care of. To contextualize my place in the structure of his families (not a typo), that makes me a contender for tomorrow's <a href="http://www.techinsider.io/game-of-thrones-snowbowl-battle-bastards-2016-5" target="_blank">Bastardbowl</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img aria-label="Photo - Landscape - Jun 19, 2016, 11:46:16 AM" class="SzDcob" height="197" jsname="uLHQEd" src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Omgxua6BmG7cktL0JpP6md5_2yfL_8ZgzH3qf5SbBdKj85gOnhMCpYXA3bYiXOsg_Pm5gw_62mcVYl48YTZYvwqXr3mR72T6X0O589uVK1jJU3MX2652sQnVTcHtxgQnUrE6zMpw61kXjwNGjhKSSJFPTMbI_L7Xi-b1IZ2diBWe96Vh2CfbD6lxBe5WuZrDANEQ-3-7YUTTBE2mK2TGAss9SXxf4J2YvZtF52_HlHaAuKzP_i4qIzxAfIzAmUdtmGTcGIDUo-6RLHtQQKSlOn4AnAIQp8yonxcg04dPoqxRg3iJPOEqDeYFt6L2tQ0BLwZJ78bnPtwPF7WUVllA6uf9W8w-4GHns04z7gvcJQfwRaHr1IVntD4uDpMnRHzy7na4gJuX1tKDCZVYIO0DZcF6XQ_aNvMnajWU_gCyDiCzUQEwOeasyaL9S1iQaOzr4kfmSRHWjCowh22g28XAM7QYhfMKhTz5ZaPtk0zhsFZnvFj4vrp4xV0hSyUA8DraGRDmrrjWEIJRw8STT4W7aqyVgAF_BAt3Gaop7DVwz-N_c1CDz2uK_fqolOQWtmKgGKMSc4gbX8C68GaNBFXB2Wb_1BUemixX=w373-h197-no" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px) rotate(0deg);" width="373" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His very last message. So much for that, I guess.</td></tr>
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A month before he passed, he was in town. He wanted to see me in one of those weekends he was here.<br />
<br />
I couldn't indulge him.<br />
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I had work.<br />
<br />
I suppose I should feel regret that I put my job first over seeing my father one last time. I didn't even give myself time to grieve. There were just too many things to do.<br />
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Yet while your first thought may have been "what a tragedy", mine was "wow, what a cliché".<br />
<br />
And I hate that. It doesn't make for a good story.<br />
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No, that's not what I regret.<br />
<br />
Having sorted through how I really feel these past few months, my only regret was that I don't think he ever really knew how angry I am.<br />
<br />
Not because he didn't love me. For all his faults, the man always did believe he loved his children, even the bastards. That much I know.<br />
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Not because he didn't believe in me. For all that he verbalized his disappointment in almost everything I do, the man always did think I could do great things - even if I didn't think so. That much I know.<br />
<br />No, I'm angry because the last time I did get to see him, he made me feel like shit. He screamed at me and scolded me for the randomest things - in public and, most of the time, in front of his first wife and their children.<br />
<br />
And here's the piece de resistance: The man - a serial womanizer who had fathered more than ten children - found it "abnormal" when I told him I associate more as asexual. Gee, dad. What's normal then? Spreading your seed around and leaving a trail of heartbreaks and bastards on your path?<br />
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Growing up, in the very rare instances that I got to see him, I remember that this was always his thing. It got so bad that I never wanted to see him anymore.<br />
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I thought he had mellowed down these past few years and being able to talk to him had been a smoother process. I thought he was finally seeing me as an adult - even if I felt otherwise.<br />
<br />
Yet, there it was. The longest and most awkward five days in LA. The only thing I associate the city with.<br />
<br />
Anger.<br />
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I suppose that I regret having lost the chance to rectify the situation. That whenever I think of him now, that's the first feeling that jump out of my chest.<br />
<br />
Anger.<br />
<br />
Maybe I regret missing the chance to tell him to his face how angry he made me. Maybe he would've offered an apology. Maybe my last memory of him wouldn't have been that.<br />
<br />
Anger.<br />
<br />
So many could-have-beens. Such a cliché. I hate that. It doesn't make for a good story.<br />
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The good news is that my dad's part in my story is far from over, at least I'd like to think so. It's an open-ended conclusion, as it were.<br />
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Even as I write this, I find myself getting less and less angry. I've also come to the conclusion that I probably won't miss his presence in my life. I won't miss seeing his face next time I come to LA. I won't miss his voice most of all.<br />
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I will remember him, though, whenever I think about my passions. He got me my first comic book and took me to my very first musical theater show. I can't give the man too much credit for everything I turned out to be but I'll give him those. It may sound shallow to hear but I met my best friends in life because I had an interest in them. Papa made a good call on that one and I'll be forever grateful.<br />
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And so I bookmark my father's chapter in my story but I move on.<br />
No more anger.<br />No more regret.<br />And no more clichés.<br />Not even a dopey father's day greeting to signify the occasion.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-81763412272327473652015-04-23T04:51:00.001-07:002015-05-03T02:59:27.147-07:00Avengers: Age of Ultron Is For Me!<div>
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Yesterday, I was checking out the <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/04/20/15/look-iron-man-hulk-avengers-themed-exhibit" target="_blank">Avengers Experience</a> at <a href="http://www.sm-northedsa.com/" target="_blank">SM North EDSA</a> when an evil thought occured to me: These plebians taking selfies with the life-size displays shouldn't be here. I literally heard someone exclaim "Pa-picture tayo dito. Sino ba yan?" (Translation: "Let's take a photo with this guy even if we don't know who it is") Then rushed over to the gigantic statue of Ultron!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">In that instant, I got mad.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">You pedestrians don't deserve this.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Behind the Ultron statue was the banner featuring the characters. I didn't expect it but I got emotional the moment I saw it. I've seen the images online more than once but seeing them printed and displayed is something else. Here in front of me were the characters I've been a fanboy of for 15 years. It's ridiculous really but in that instant I was happy again.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26h97Vop5wWCPoMSjU35_o9PPqbqq6zBWVEBFKhJqrE30YEg5BzMnmJC0E5k4AXUHQW_qXqNl76GqUKohHvbVTKileD5YABwdy0QUpOH_nJH61tkGnf0He-ejNlMZIroMY2KnUKHJbC1u/s1600/PHOTO_20150422_145848.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26h97Vop5wWCPoMSjU35_o9PPqbqq6zBWVEBFKhJqrE30YEg5BzMnmJC0E5k4AXUHQW_qXqNl76GqUKohHvbVTKileD5YABwdy0QUpOH_nJH61tkGnf0He-ejNlMZIroMY2KnUKHJbC1u/s1600/PHOTO_20150422_145848.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">If you don't know this guy, you are not worthy!</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Then the muggles started taking selfies in front of the banner. Not only did these inconsiderate pricks see me trying to snap a photo of the banner but proceeded to do their thing anyway, these people also didn't know these characters like I do.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">I guess that's my problem. There is a part of me that was happy that the Avengers is getting the kind of attention it never would've received ten years ago but at the same time, I feel like none of it was for big fans like me who stuck with the team back in the days when X-men and Spider-man were all the rage.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdJA93usvYW2yn-QIgCD983TiuyFRaGSdenvPNNxJuUt0k2_SEtPzDtSBTftnflxj2HY-wnzwQjVHGsNV_apPi8_uzGnph0ANMuSXPnnxvQSTIU2zZN-gFD8cydL9e1eisJj2G7lyy3IE/s1600/PHOTO_20150422_151055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; orphans: auto; text-align: center; widows: 1;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdJA93usvYW2yn-QIgCD983TiuyFRaGSdenvPNNxJuUt0k2_SEtPzDtSBTftnflxj2HY-wnzwQjVHGsNV_apPi8_uzGnph0ANMuSXPnnxvQSTIU2zZN-gFD8cydL9e1eisJj2G7lyy3IE/s1600/PHOTO_20150422_151055.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Man tears for this.</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">And I'm not just talking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. I've <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2012/10/on-bendis-avx-and-marvel-now.html" target="_blank">blogged about how I feel like the current comics isn't for me anymore</a>. Even Avengers Assemble the TV show doesn't feel like it was made for me.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">It sucks. I felt like my fandom has betrayed me and neglected to reward me for all my years supporting the franchise.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">And then <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2395427/" target="_blank">Age of Ultron</a> happened.</span></div>
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<a href="http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_media/public/who-do-you-think-will-die-in-avengers-age-of-ultron_0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.blastr.com/sites/blastr/files/styles/blog_post_media/public/who-do-you-think-will-die-in-avengers-age-of-ultron_0.jpeg" height="200" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">For the first time in a long while, I finally feel like something with an "Avengers" branding was trying to appeal to me. And it succeeded in every possible it can. Here were nine Avengers and their most lethal arch-nemesis yet. Here were the Avengers doing exactly what I want to see them do: Be super heroes. None of that real world allegorical drama bullshit that so often permeates modern super hero movies to give them added "depth".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Of course, there were several creative liberties that had to be taken for the transfer from panel to celluloid but that's to be expected and they were necessary. Everything worked so all is forgiven on that front.</span><br />
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<a href="http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/04/a-d-ew-1359-1360-aprl172015-130576.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.comicbook.com/uploads1/2015/04/a-d-ew-1359-1360-aprl172015-130576.jpg" height="121" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">I should also point out that since seeing the movie last night, I've read several reviews already, most of them negative. They derided the movie for </span><a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/4/22/8464479/avengers-age-of-ultron-review" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">not making sense in the bigger narrative of the MCU</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">. They also </span><a href="http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/474574/lifestyle/reviews/movie-review-avengers-age-of-ultron-how-the-mighty-have-fallen" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">questioned the necessity of the new characters</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">. Screw that! As far as I'm concerned, I saw MY AVENGERS kicking ass on screen and that's all that matters. Besides, only two movies really matter to me anyway: This one and </span><a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2012/04/and-there-came-movie-unlike-any-other.html" style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" target="_blank">the first</a><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">, nothing before or in between. Taken in that context, then the movie makes narrative sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Honestly, there is no way I can convince anyone else that Age of Ultron is the best thing ever. And I don't intend to. You had to see the movie with my tear-filled eye. Watching the movie evoked in me the same feeling of happiness I associate with watching <a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/.../The_Avengers:_Earth's_Mightiest_Heroes%20Wiki" target="_blank">Earth's Mightiest Heroes</a>. It felt to me like the first time I saw <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0491703/" target="_blank">Ultimate Avengers</a>. It felt like the first time I read <a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation:_Galactic_Storm" target="_blank">Operation: Galactic Storm</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kang_Dynasty" target="_blank">Kang Dynasty</a>, which are my favorite Avengers epics of all time. Heck, watching the movie felt again like reading <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Avengers_Vol_3_34" target="_blank">the very issue</a> that got me hooked into earth's mightiest to begin with.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFltJkAhJixh4LbmpgJSMJcXV1JskALAm5rmxdzPngVDCtoa6nycuI-e9YQixDWsWmJ3IjeRHY47Q8l7gU1o2hjnfPeymv1KVzCf9I_jDe31ygCv46CqE4r2WgIqDCM_W3J-VmZ3A1OwY8/s1600/a+3+34.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFltJkAhJixh4LbmpgJSMJcXV1JskALAm5rmxdzPngVDCtoa6nycuI-e9YQixDWsWmJ3IjeRHY47Q8l7gU1o2hjnfPeymv1KVzCf9I_jDe31ygCv46CqE4r2WgIqDCM_W3J-VmZ3A1OwY8/s1600/a+3+34.JPG" height="233" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">In short: Age of Ultron may not have been a great MCU movie but it's a great Avengers movie! What's more is that it's an Avengers movie that felt like it was made FOR ME! There's no way I can be objective about it and I don't want to be. The Avengers is mine again!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Tahoma; orphans: 2; text-align: -webkit-auto; widows: 2;">Thank you, Joss Whedon, for this gift!</span></div>
PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-64622101877361614502014-12-28T02:03:00.002-08:002014-12-28T02:03:49.762-08:00Weekly Ketchup 52 - The EndThis has been a week of endings for me.<br />
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One of my favorite hosts on <a href="http://youtube.com/" target="_blank">YouTube</a> announced he's leaving <a href="http://sourcefed.com/" target="_blank">SourceFed</a>. I got to watch the final seasons of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1695360/" target="_blank">Legend of Korra</a> and <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1870479/" target="_blank">the Newsroom</a>, both of which I just started watching this year. Meanwhile, my mom lost a friend and my cousins lost their belongings to thieves. This is also the last entry on the weekly ketchup.<br />
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<tr><td><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10885423_10152597487127333_506301039251197729_n.jpg?oh=8111884456c4f34d46fc6596841ee06b&oe=552B0E7C&__gda__=1430270532_1023ceb248d0de81887b06e7a3792022" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10885423_10152597487127333_506301039251197729_n.jpg?oh=8111884456c4f34d46fc6596841ee06b&oe=552B0E7C&__gda__=1430270532_1023ceb248d0de81887b06e7a3792022" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Party last Sunday with great friends.<br />Pic c/o Jovan</td></tr>
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Now for the breakdown:<br />
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The week started with <a href="https://twitter.com/joebereta" target="_blank">Joe Bereta</a> announcing that the next couple weeks will be <a href="http://sourcefed.com/joe-bereta-is-officially-leaving-sourcefed/" target="_blank">his last on SourceFed</a>. I've been following the channel since around 2012. It has been my constant source of entertainment news and of some of the crazy ass news I share on my Facebook. It's gonna be sad to see him go but I wish him well.<br />
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As I've mentioned before, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-37.html" target="_blank">I prefer my fantasy in vanilla flavor</a>, so I never really liked the science and technology aspect of Legend of Korra. Unfortunately, it's even more pronounced in the last season, what with all the mechs and all, which kinda makes sense since the enemy here is not just earth-benders but an army of metal-benders. I would've preferred them use metal-bending to power and control their mechs, similar to what the water-benders have done with submarines in <a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender" target="_blank">The Legend of Aang</a>. I also feel like the stakes weren't as high as they were in the first couple of seasons. I feel like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra_(Book_2)" target="_blank">the battle with Vaatu</a> would've been a better series-ender. And that final scene! Where did that come from?! Don't get me wrong: I don't hate it - I just didn't see the build-up to it.<br />
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As for the Newsroom, I feel like there's very little in the final season about covering a story (or stories), which kinda bums me out. It's like the personal struggles of the characters were put forward instead, which made the story less compelling for me to watch. I also wasn't a big fan of the sudden marriage proposal from last season and I certainly wasn't a big fan of how they thought to add to that story in their final season. I didn't like that <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2353862/" target="_blank">Dev Patel</a> was absent for most of it but I did like that one of the main characters died. It was the ideal context for an ending, I thought. Then again, no matter what I thought of everything else about the show, it's still the dialog that hooks me in. I still wish there were more seasons of the show though!<br />
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<br />
Meanwhile, one of my mom's oldest and closest friends, someone who I've also had the pleasure of meeting, <a href="http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/181121/josie-darang-pdi-columnist-devotee-of-mary-other-saints-68" target="_blank">passed away yesterday</a> after a bout with cancer. My mom helped with her medical finances, so I can just imagine how much her friend's passing must've pained her. I thought: Is this what she's got to look forward to now? Friends dropping by the wayside? Of course, I remembered that "the culling" has already begun in my generation and, as much as it pains us, we have to just accept that it is a part of life - and the best that we can do is simply to live out what time we have with each other the best we can, which should really go without saying, but it does bear reminding.<br />
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<br />
On Christmas Day, the cousins and their kids and me and my siblings went out of town to this privaate resort in Laguna. It was supposedly a despedida for me, back when everyone thought I was leaving for good, so I didn't have any idea about what they planned to do. I didn't know it was gonna be out of town nor that we were gonna be staying overnight. I kinda felt awkward about the whole thing since I was coming back (this time anyway) and I was having one of those episodes I talked about last week, so I didn't get to enjoy the pool as much as I wanted to. The kids were having the time of their lives, though, which was good enough for me. So all was well - until we were robbed. Two masked men came in through one of the locked doors in the room the women were staying in and took their bags, which had all their phones and money (including the ones I gave as Christmas gifts). My niece, who was awake at the time, managed to scream and alert everyone else, so the robbers had to flee right away, sparing the other rooms, including mine.<br />
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I'm really grateful for my niece because if not for her, the robbers would've crept into me and my brother's room and took our stuff, which would've included <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">my spiffy new camera</a> that I'm also bringing on my trip.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10341857_10153431359092586_484871985356184913_n.jpg?oh=57dc699b45fc2c32b8af2cef593c2a23&oe=554233D0" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://scontent-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10341857_10153431359092586_484871985356184913_n.jpg?oh=57dc699b45fc2c32b8af2cef593c2a23&oe=554233D0" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The family. The morning after the robbery.</td></tr>
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And now about the trip. And this blog.<br />
<br />
Originally, I had intended for this entry to be the last entry, as the "goodbye" blog as I embark on a new adventure. It would've been a nice ending to this year and this little project of mine, as well as my life here in the country.<br />
<br />
Well, pieces don't always fall where they should and here I am leaving on a trip for which I'm still coming back for. To be fair, I am proud of what I've accomplished this year. I did it. I stuck through with <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-01.html" target="_blank">blogging bits and pieces of my life every week</a>. More importantly, I stuck through with <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-02-book-sale-saving.html" target="_blank">my crusade to save money</a> and so here I am. Hooray me!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10432114_10153422630912586_1406698272355087719_n.jpg?oh=3a751e5fdfe2b4ee6b7b28071d9878f1&oe=55432AFD" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xfa1/v/t1.0-9/p180x540/10432114_10153422630912586_1406698272355087719_n.jpg?oh=3a751e5fdfe2b4ee6b7b28071d9878f1&oe=55432AFD" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Christmas Eve with the orphans</td></tr>
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There is a part of me that's a little anxious and excited about the prospects of what I might accomplish in the next month, which should be expected, I guess. For the next 30 or so days, I'm just gonna be a wanderer, not so much a tourist. I intend to write and still be productive with my projects while I'm gone and not making money (I'll actually be losing money, come to think of it).<br />
<br />
However, I don't think I'll regret not pushing through with the bigger plan, or at least I'll have to keep convincing myself that: a) I've done it once, I can do it again; and b) My friend only gets married once. Actually, scratch that. I meant I'll probably only be a groomsman once in my life and so I have to be there. It sucks that I bought a ticket that couldn't have been rebooked instead but I'll take what I can get. Life is, after all, too short to spend on regrets.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/12822_987595834588432_4951447413694759915_n.jpg?oh=3f79f4838e02859a043202bd71d9d6eb&oe=55458064" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/s720x720/12822_987595834588432_4951447413694759915_n.jpg?oh=3f79f4838e02859a043202bd71d9d6eb&oe=55458064" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last night with high school friends<br />Pic c/o Anya</td></tr>
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So I'm gonna go on this flight, which leaves in a few hours, and enjoy myself, broke-ass traveler I would likely be. Thank you all who followed my drama, comedy, and adventures on this blog this past year. I'm sorry I wasted your time every week, but this is the last episode. Goodbye, all! See you when I do!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCqlACW9Zgw1RvZqamcjHnFPiZJzL1vyeoo3OGNaR4O14E6a3F89pi57U0vnKwyxHlQ96_jJfCSRrVY73A-50IRbhJShmC44VK34DJL-1dQbkgRjlAIPDEJpdey09n-kkWCvVugF7PZKM/s1600/screenshot.117.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCqlACW9Zgw1RvZqamcjHnFPiZJzL1vyeoo3OGNaR4O14E6a3F89pi57U0vnKwyxHlQ96_jJfCSRrVY73A-50IRbhJShmC44VK34DJL-1dQbkgRjlAIPDEJpdey09n-kkWCvVugF7PZKM/s1600/screenshot.117.jpg" height="237" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behind-the-scenes at the pre-nup shoot I helped marshal earlier today.<br />I thought it would be a thematic to end the blog with the reason my story here isn't done yet.</td></tr>
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PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-47301836519828834402014-12-21T00:10:00.003-08:002014-12-21T00:10:36.960-08:00Weekly Ketchup 51 - The Holiday SpecialOn more than one occasion on this very blog, I mentioned feeling bloated or not feeling well, both very vague references to seemingly fleeting physical conditions. In reality, however, and this is something I haven't talked or written extensively about, I haven't been feeling okay in years!<br />
<br />
Yes, years.<br />
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There have been days when I would wake up exhausted even after a long night's rest. Or whole days when I would feel so tired even if I haven't done anything remotely physically challenging. My bowel movement have also been frantic to say the least. Without getting into the disgusting <a href="http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=TMI" target="_blank">TMI</a> details, I'll just say that it's been affecting my ability to get to work and meet other appointments on time, which is the biggest reason I found it troubling. Sometimes I would also feel some pain or, at the very least, a sensation in my gut that were alien to me. It's not debilitating but it's enough to get me paranoid.<br />
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<a href="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/775441/117527914/stock-photo-paranoia-mental-health-symbol-design-psychological-disorder-icon-isolated-on-white-117527914.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/775441/117527914/stock-photo-paranoia-mental-health-symbol-design-psychological-disorder-icon-isolated-on-white-117527914.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes, most of the time, even if I don't show it, I'm not feeling all that well. That heavy bloated feeling has become a normal thing for me, though I surprise myself that I can still maintain the energy to be hyperactive, which is also normal. So my consolation is that I'm not unwell enough that I'm unable to enjoy my usual activities. I've also lived with it for years and while I haven't normalized or gotten better, I also haven't gotten worse.<br />
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Yes, I've had myself checked. Multiple times, in fact.<br />
The first instance of fire in my gut, way back in 2007, the doctors didn't find anything significantly wrong with me. A routine check-up in 2008 showed everything about me was normal. When I had my <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2011/12/so-i-woke-up-in-middle-of-surgery.html" target="_blank">appendectomy in 2011</a>, doctors didn't find anything else wrong down there. A few months later, in 2012, during another routine check-up, the only thing my doctor found was an enlarged goiter, symptomatic of thyroid problems, which I was given medication for.<br />
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<a href="http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2012/June/Thumbnail/gut-flora.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://media.mercola.com/ImageServer/Public/2012/June/Thumbnail/gut-flora.jpg" /></a></div>
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Earlier this year, when I set about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-02-book-sale-saving.html" target="_blank">saving money</a>, one of the other goals I had, in addition to <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">flying away</a>, was to set aside some amount to getting checked again. It became even more important given the recent spate of <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/weekly-ketchup-07.html" target="_blank">friends dying</a>.<br />
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I never talked about it but, in my head, I was worried that they'd find some enlarged organ and I would need to be operated on. Worse yet: That I only have a short time left. Yes, my head can get <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-19.html" target="_blank">that busy sometimes</a>, especially on days when I was the feeling the worst. I even thought that this very entry, the second to the last of my weekly catch-up, would be where I would announce that I'm about to face the biggest challenge of my life: Fighting for it.<br />
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Well, if you've been following my blog long enough, you'd know that one of the recurring themes is that my stories don't necessarily reach its logical conclusion because life is just like that. And for once, I'm glad that it didn't.<br />
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This past week, after saving up enough money, I finally went and got the check-up I desperately need. After analysis of my blood and "other samples" plus chest X-ray and abdominal ultrasound, it was found that most of my indicators fall within normal parameters! All organs seem to be intact - no growth, enlargement, or foreign objects whatsoever<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfYt8ORuFiLquKfDYtwiJdgqgthJxsClob0Z_nIu4GOAWpzyWtzUPZJOFutftJ28azqAHWghyphenhyphen4iaW9ZufJyaxFA3PGfdICu4d5EmiyFSDa5r9wxYrZxyY7xwHxMj48Z_mA-EbRKW5nrAK/s1600/IMG_20141217_123006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRfYt8ORuFiLquKfDYtwiJdgqgthJxsClob0Z_nIu4GOAWpzyWtzUPZJOFutftJ28azqAHWghyphenhyphen4iaW9ZufJyaxFA3PGfdICu4d5EmiyFSDa5r9wxYrZxyY7xwHxMj48Z_mA-EbRKW5nrAK/s1600/IMG_20141217_123006.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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My doctor, however, advised me to lay off coffee, which I've been drinking a lot of, using it as a laxative, because we're trying to eliminate ulcer as the source of all my gut problems. I've been given medication and was advised to go on a heavy fiber diet. We've also ruled out any mass growing in my lower extremities, so that's a relief. I'm not gonna get into the "how" but just know that there's nothing there to worry about.<br />
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There's still the matter of my thyroid problems, which I still have as it turned out. Curiously, my previous doctor said my thyroid functions were "<a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hyperthyroidism/basics/definition/con-20020986" target="_blank">hyper</a>" but this doctor said I'm "<a href="http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hypothyroidism/basics/definition/con-20021179" target="_blank">hypo</a>". Odd but I'll just have to trust the diagnosis. I've been given another set of medication for it but not as intensely as the one I had before.<br />
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The thing is, though, I spent the equivalent of approximately $200 on the tests, consultation, and prescribed medicines, which obviously is going to cut into the budget I was saving for my trip, which wasn't much to begin with. Because of this, I won't be able to buy some new stuff I would like to bring with me, like a new camera or a new phone, but it did afford me something priceless: Peace of mind.<br />
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That I can tell my friends that I'm okay for the most part and perfectly capable of facing whatever it is that pains me. That nobody has to count me out just yet because I'm still gonna rock it for years to come (if the fates allow, that is). That, I think, is a gift in itself. Happy holidays, everyone!PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-89776053420391728312014-12-14T06:10:00.002-08:002014-12-14T06:10:36.539-08:00Weekly Ketchup 50 - Busy WeekI thought <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/12/weekly-ketchup-49.html" target="_blank">last week</a> was busy but I was wrong!<br />
I've been out every day this past week for one reason or another.<br />
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Monday night was spent at home, worrying and prepping for the upcoming onslaught of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Hagupit_%282014%29" target="_blank">typhoon Hagupit</a>, which didn't happen thankfully.<br />
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Tuesday night was spent at the wake of the mom of geek friends Carl and Isab at <a href="http://www.manilamemorial.com/index.php/branches/sucat-paranaque" target="_blank">Manila Memorial Park</a>. Rej, Chiqui, Shey, Oneal, Mark P., and I went, though for obvious reasons, no photo of the group was taken. Me being me, I did think about it the entire time we were there. I just wasn't sure if it was appropriate. (Though now that I'm writing this, I remember that the college friends had a photo taken during <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/weekly-ketchup-07.html" target="_blank">the wake of one of our own</a> just earlier this year.)<br />
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Anyway, it was good to see Carl again. I haven't seen the guy for at least a couple of years, though we still maintain contact over Facebook. He and his sister were in surprisingly good spirits, attending to us and regaling us with stories of their more emotional relatives and how their mom was such a big fan of showbiz that she would prefer getting buried in a plot near where some celebrities were.<br />
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After the visit, the rest of us went out for cold treats at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/icebergsph" target="_blank">Iceberg's</a>, at which point it would've been perfectly fine to take a photo of the group but I didn't so here's a photo of what I had instead.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/foodspotting-ec2/reviews/1564719/thumb_600.jpg?1333952131" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/foodspotting-ec2/reviews/1564719/thumb_600.jpg?1333952131" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.foodspotting.com/places/394536-icebergs-/items/168269-caramel-flan-con-hielo" target="_blank">Photo credit</a></td></tr>
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Wednesday was Hobbit Day! The <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2310332/" target="_blank">Battle of the Five Armies</a> had its premiere and I got to don my Ori costume again, which I hadn't even laundered because of the whole typhoon thing. Me and my friends have been dressing up as the dwarven company for the past three years now and helping Warner Bros. Philippines pretty much spruce up their media premiere for the trilogy, posing for photos and interacting with their guests.<br />
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I almost didn't make it to the screening, though, because Manila is such a magical place that at certain times, the population of the city seems to triple and what should normally take an hour's ride would expand to three hours! It's ridiculous! I was flashing back to events <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-48.html" target="_blank">two weeks</a> ago and was even contemplating on just going home.<br />
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Well, thankfully, I decided to trudge on. I made it to the movie just in time to put my costume on. I didn't get to take photo ops until afterwards though.<br />
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As for the movie itself, I felt like it could've been cut down to half. It was action-packed, to be sure, and the battle scenes were majestic at that but it was dragging at parts, especially Tauriel's scenes (let's not even get started on her lines). I felt like the ending was a little rushed and one character I expected to have longer screen time was demoted to a glorified cameo. However, I thought the scenes connecting to the Lord of the Rings were incredible! It reminded me of the excitement I felt upon seeing the Imperial Star Destroyers in Revenge of the Sith!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo c/o Jovan.</td></tr>
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The following night, despite not feeling well the entire day, I made sure to attend <a href="https://www.facebook.com/SexMech" target="_blank">Deus Sex Machina</a> 2 at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BohoSarapsody" target="_blank">Boho Sarapsody Bistro</a>. I missed the first one and was curious as to what the event was all about. It was basically amateur erotica reading but most of it was humorous. My college friend Denice, for example, read her composition about pop stars, girl groups, and boy bands of the 90s. A bunch of the regulars at Geek Fight were there as well as the regulars at Boho. It was a fun evening but I only got to drink once and had to leave as soon as the program was over (way before midnight) because of the whole not-feeling-thing.<br />
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Something I said to Denice got me thinking though. I mentioned to her how the readings got me "hot and bothered", which, in hindsight, might not have been the right choice of words. I didn't think I was aroused in anyway but I was stimulated, which, I think, was the purpose of the night anyway. She was flabergasted at the idea because she thought me asexual, and I don't blame her. Just a couple of weeks ago, I told college friend M that I probably am. <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-41.html" target="_blank">I even blogged about it a couple of months ago</a>. Sorta.<br />
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However, I don't know that not being capable of getting attracted to someone else means not getting stimulation at all, even at the most whimsical scenarios. Maybe I just have a vivid imagination. Or maybe I'm just aroused by the idea... or the story. I've often said how I seem perfectly capable of feeding of other people's emotions, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-22.html" target="_blank">particularly happiness or excitement</a>. Maybe other people getting attracted to each other is what gets me off.<br />
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The following night, Friday, was the company Christmas party. I'm not really a big fan of the people I work with. Not that I hate them. I'm just not big on the idea of spending time with them on a casual basis. So I busied myself with karaoke, vodka, and <a href="http://instagram.com/pinoyavenger/" target="_blank">Instagramming the funky glasses</a> at the bar. Highlight of the night was reaching my whistle register while singing Minnie Ripperton's "Loving You" with a female officemate.<br />
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Yesterday, I was at another trooping with the <a href="http://pinoy501st.com/" target="_blank">Philippine Garrison of the 501st Legion</a>, this time helping spread holiday cheer to the kids confined at the Philippine Children's Medical Center. We gave away toys and interacted with the patients, taking a few photos. As always, my duty was to help the troopers get dressed and snap photos and videos of the event, though I used someone else's equipment.<br />
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I don't think I'll ever get used to the sight of kids fighting for their lives. Some of these kids are fighting cancer. Some are in worse conditions. Some are just babies.<br />
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It's a good thing I had to be zooming in and out of rooms, chasing troopers, making sure I got good shots of everybody, because I don't think I can just stand there and be idle. I've helped in similar charities before with the same people and I still can't imagine how any of my friends can stay in character and even offer words of encouragement. I can't imagine it gets easier for them considering they do these sorts of activities more than I do.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by me, from Sharm Macalua's album</td></tr>
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In happier children news, earlier today was the first birthday of my college friend Germie's daughter. I was actually surprised to get invited since we're not particularly close (I didn't even know she was pregnant until she gave birth) but I made sure to go. After all, I did preach about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/Weekly-Ketchup-03.html" target="_blank">making time for friends</a> and I really treat it like such an honor to be invited to these things, especially since I wasn't particularly popular with my classmates during the college years. I guess I've come a long way, huh?<br />
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Aside from the classmates, there were a few batchmates I knew as well. It was always good to catch up about where they are now and what they'e doing. At some point, Albert mentioned that we've now approached that age where instead of endless parties, we're now attending weddings and children's birthday parties. I say: Bring it on. Any excuse to get together is a good thing. Just don't let it be funerals please!<br />
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So that's been my week. It's been very eventful. I'm seriously looking forward to a quiter week ahead, despite the mad holiday rush. I'm also beginning to plan out my itinerary for my upcoming big trip. And wow! I can't believe I only have two weeks left in this blog exercise!PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-47089223443361736802014-12-07T08:35:00.002-08:002014-12-07T08:35:48.953-08:00Weekly Ketchup 49 - This Week In My Social LifeWow, I've been busy.<br /><br />A couple of days ago, I attended another wedding of another college friend. Nicolai, actually, is someone I had known much earlier, having gone to the same high school our senior year. We were enrolled in the same home study program and would often see each other in campus from time to time, so it was a bit surprising that we'd end up going to the same school, taking the same course, and being assigned the same class in college. Other than that, we have pretty much nothing else in common and there's very little that we can talk about. The one strongest memory I had of her during college was that time I made her cry after I non-chalantly hurled an expletive at her direction during a class recitation.<br />
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I did get to know her a bit more after college, though. I found out that this girl has got spunk and an appetite that can best me. She's also got a strong talent for business and sales that I actually wish I had. And underneath that pretty face is a tough, take-charge personality, someone with street smart and who knows how to navigate her way through life.<br />
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I didn't really get to know her now-husband Tristan as well as I maybe should have, so it still came as a surprise to me that I was even invited at all. I'd like to thank them both for including me on their special day and for bringing the college friends together. It's an amazing experience to end the year with these guys for such a lovely occasion considering we pretty much started it <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/weekly-ketchup-07.html" target="_blank">bidding farewell to one of our own</a>.<br />
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Fortunately, I made it just in time for the ceremony - <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-48.html" target="_blank">unlike last week</a>. I got to shoot some videos, including the bride's walk, which I just finished compiling a few hours ago and is currently uploading.<br />
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As for the reception, there are three things that will stand out for me:<span id="goog_339782579"></span><br />
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First, I got to sing "Don't Stop Believing" with another college friend, <a href="http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Lora-Nicolas/#" target="_blank">Lora</a>, who's actually a professional theater actress in the States. That was an amazing experience!<br />
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Second, I got to dance and drink practically non-stop. I woke up the next day without body pains or a hangover. Yeah, I felt like 17 again! It was awesome!<br />
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Third, another college friend (name withheld deliberately, though it should be obvious among our common friends), in an inebriated state of mind, told me something that got me thinking. Apparently, I am one of three members of our college group who's got a calming presence and that this friend somehow finds zen and serenity (my words) whenever any of us are around.<br />
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I had no idea I can possibly have this effect on anyone. I certainly have never internalized it but I'm glad I can be this to someone else. I mean, I have always striven to give off this air of positivity about me - that much I'm self-aware of - but to be able to affect someone else in such a strong manner? That's news to me and it's a wonderful feeling!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen Ang's costume-bowling birthday party last Wednesday.<br />Guess who I am.<br />Also: I can still bowl (a bit) apparently.</td></tr>
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In other news:<br />
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A few days ago, I tried to get <a href="http://gladysfamilaran.hubpages.com/hub/SSS-Online-Loan-Application-in-3-Easy-Steps" target="_blank">a salary loan from SSS through their online portal</a> only to find out the HR of our company, despite being registered, hasn't logged into our employer's account for a while and had forgotten our account details. Hence, all salary loans from the company are coursed the old-fashioned way: Through forms and endless lines at the nearby SSS office. And so my application is stalled.<br />
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What bothered me most about the whole exchange was the HR and my fellow employees' attitude about the whole thing and other things that relate to online transactions or technology. I'm living in 2014 and these people are stuck in the 90s. I decided then that it's seriously time for a change. I mean, I was gonna quit anyway when I decided to leave the country but now that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-45.html" target="_blank">I'm coming back</a>, I realized I can't go back to the same company. I can't be dragged down by dead weights who refuse to roll with the rest of the tide. I seriously wanna be around people who are at least more cosmopolitan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Game night with the Boni peeps last night.<br />I couldn't stay long, though, cause I had chores to do.</td></tr>
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In totally random news:<br />
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I've also been feeling a little tired and bloated the entire day. It's been one whole week of eating, thanks to a birthday party, a wedding, and, just last night, a little get-together with some geek friends. And this is just the beginning. I hope this doesn't cause me any problems.<br />
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And just a little update <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-26.html" target="_blank">about this story</a>, our house help has once again left, which means more work for me to do here in the house, which is why this blog is kinda late. I had to get some chores done in addition to not feeling all that well and editing last my video from last Friday.<br />
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Anyway, I'll just leave at that. I'm really sleepy.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-27348343586316512332014-11-30T07:39:00.000-08:002014-11-30T07:39:10.318-08:00Weekly Ketchup 48 - The Day I Cried At A WeddingNo, it's not what you think.<br />
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First of all, there are three things you need to understand.<br />
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a) Marriage, for me, is a legal contract and a human construct. I'm highly suspect of the religious aspect of the whole exercise and I'm sure people are quite capable of staying committed to each other forever without getting society's expectations involved.<br />
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Yes, the lovely sentiments behind weddings is lost on me. But I do enjoy the pomp and pageantry of it all. And there's a certain pathos about seeing my friends happy. I may not be much of a believer (maybe being born a bastard out of wedlock had most to do with); however, seeing my friends light up and happy on the biggest day of their life just does it for me.<br />
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Call it empathy. But it's there. It's also the same as being happy for other fandoms, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-22.html" target="_blank">which happens to me a lot.</a><br />
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Me being me, I also enjoy the fact that some people regard me highly enough to invite me to their special day.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My collection of invitations by geek friend Jovan.</td></tr>
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b) The second thing I need to share is that, while I don't do it professionally (and I certainly don't deserve to), I shoot videos and photos of my friends' weddings. I've been doing it since I got my first camcorder a few years ago and I'm proud of the work I've done, rank amateur that I am.<br />
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Yes, I'm aware that couples hire official videographers and photographers to document their special event, which is why I stay way from their range of vision - so I don't mess up their shots. Yeah, I'm respectful like that.<br />
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As late as last year, all of my "wedding coverages" have been shot in standard definition, so I was really looking forward to shooting my college friend Jihan's wedding last Friday in High-Def with <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">my swanky new camera</a>.<br />
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c) Speaking of Jihan, she just happens to be one of my oldest friends - one of the first I made friends with back in freshman year, in fact. Over the course of our collegiate life, we both figured into pretty much the same activites, including debating and student politics. Actually, I had intended to leave the student government after being disenchanted with the system on my first year but then she was recruited into my party, without my knowledge, and was made to run for office and eventually won. I figured I can't leave her there and so I stayed to help. Halfway through our sophomore year, when I reasoned that she was gonna be okay, I finally left the student council to focus on debating, which was her thing.<br />
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I made it as far as I could with debating <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2011/08/4-medals-and-trophy.html" target="_blank">(won a few medals</a>) but she made varsity. I went back to student politics and by the time we were seniors, we're the head of our respective organizations. Funny how that worked out.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Graduation with junior members of our political party</td></tr>
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Yet, we couldn't be more different people. She goes to gigs. I go to conventions. We read totally different books and listen to totally different music. She found her tribe with the debaters and I've always envied their closeness. I won't lie: I really wanted to belong with that group, but even I have to admit how much of an acquired taste I can be. Yet Jihan remained my friend throughout all of it.<br />
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It would be years after graduation before I found my tribe with the geeks. And a few more years after that when our circles would intertwine - when Jihan met War who I had previously met among the geeks years before. Funny how that worked out again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/164352_10150156222607586_73843_n.jpg?oh=d1740bb3c7d0f83e2220ddaa6b7af614&oe=550562B0" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/164352_10150156222607586_73843_n.jpg?oh=d1740bb3c7d0f83e2220ddaa6b7af614&oe=550562B0" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Yale Party with Dante</td></tr>
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It's an amazing friendship really, even if we don't see each other as often as we do our respective "tribes". The day War brought her to the annual Yale party and introduced her to everybody, I pretty much told her how I felt about the geeks and how it compares to her and the debaters. That was the night I infamously referred to her as "two of my closest friends from college" after she jokingly got offended when I introduced as just "one of my closest friends".<br />
<br />
With War, I thought she had struck a good match. Somebody who was just as educated and eloquent (not too mention as good-looking) as she was. And that he runs with the crowd I really hold dearest to me, it's a no-brainer. I'm all for it!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/300181_10150494512957586_28320838_n.jpg?oh=886b2e1ead0cb98081c1044255d9da91&oe=550EA0D2" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://scontent-a-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/300181_10150494512957586_28320838_n.jpg?oh=886b2e1ead0cb98081c1044255d9da91&oe=550EA0D2" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With War on <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2011/10/birthday-weekend.html" target="_blank">my 30th birthday</a>!<br />Last year, he told Jihan I looked great for 32!<br />Yep, I approve this guy!</td></tr>
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So you can imagine how important this girl is to me and how I was never gonna miss her wedding for the world. I had to ask her earlier this year before they even announced or finalized their wedding date to make sure that I would still be here for her big day and worked <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/04/weekly-ketchup-14.html" target="_blank">my plans</a> around it (for those keeping count, yeah, this is the first time <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-43.html" target="_blank">a good friend's wedding has derailed me</a>). She even asked me for advice months ago about the ballooning number of guests and I had to remind her that it's her and War's day, not anyone else's, so they invite who they want and who they can - unless the parties that insist on adding more names to the guest list are also sponsoring a few extra plates.<br />
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You can imagine how much I was looking forward to her wedding. I was gonna dress my best (that doesn't happen very often, mind you). I was gonna bring my new camera and do <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-40.html" target="_blank">what I love to do.</a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10478530_10153355191867586_6747869617177246846_n.jpg?oh=a99d93206174638e9ababe8e7a9687fd&oe=550C9B29&__gda__=1428186258_f6cc4edf708bfb464471403006c31b68" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xap1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/10478530_10153355191867586_6747869617177246846_n.jpg?oh=a99d93206174638e9ababe8e7a9687fd&oe=550C9B29&__gda__=1428186258_f6cc4edf708bfb464471403006c31b68" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My camera's amazing. Love this shot!</td></tr>
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Except that I didn't make it to the ceremony on time. I arrived at the last 15 minutes. I was able to catch the kiss but I was so tired that my hands were unsteady, so my footage was a little shaky.<br />
<br />
What the fuck happened?<br />
<br />
First, I spent way more time playing <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.kairosoft.android.bouken_en&hl=en" target="_blank">Dungeon Village</a>, which is admittedly my fault, but damn! If there's another thing you need to know about me, is that I love <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-44.html" target="_blank">strategy, simulation, and fantasy RPGs,</a> and that this game is all three and it works on my phone? Well, you can imagine why disaster would strike.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/R9kD_rX8PheKYjHjdgZ69poQPUb5iABnqRpWaGbjmwWk96wdya4zkF1VnpZh9kKTLQ=h900-rw" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/R9kD_rX8PheKYjHjdgZ69poQPUb5iABnqRpWaGbjmwWk96wdya4zkF1VnpZh9kKTLQ=h900-rw" height="192" width="320" /></a></div>
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But even then, I had an hour to get to a church that was just 20 to 30 minutes away by cab and that's a conservative estimate! I still had plenty of time to socialize and shoot footage.<br />
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Well, if you've been following me on social media,<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinoyavenger/posts/10153355344992586" target="_blank"> you know what happened</a>. It was just lucky me that apparently last Friday was also <a href="http://www.interaksyon.com/article/99999/mmda-advisory--expect-monstrous-traffic-on-nov--28-nov--30-dec--19-dec--23" target="_blank">one of the dates the MMDA had advised would be hellish on traffic.</a><br />
<br />
So, yeah, there was a moment during the reception at Jihan's wedding when I had to just step outside and let it out. I was so disappointed at myself that I couldn't have done more for "two of my closest friends".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10802068_10153355231787586_4628852136391706484_n.jpg?oh=d2965c75fb4f351189eb32f29b7302f9&oe=551E5E42&__gda__=1427482358_ba3ba68c5b8e818f475d9d5a960271b5" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xaf1/v/t1.0-9/10802068_10153355231787586_4628852136391706484_n.jpg?oh=d2965c75fb4f351189eb32f29b7302f9&oe=551E5E42&__gda__=1427482358_ba3ba68c5b8e818f475d9d5a960271b5" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bride told me I looked great. I'm good!</td></tr>
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I still enjoyed everything, to be sure. The food was great, the program was totally chill, and of course, the company of college friends, debaters, and some geek friends (basically, our common circles) made sure I had a great time despite the crappy time I had getting there earlier. I still shot some great footage of the reception though. I just finished editing them and it's currently uploading.<br />
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I just really wish I had been there to see her and shoot her walking down the aisle.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-90273321741471112972014-11-23T07:38:00.000-08:002014-11-23T07:55:12.380-08:00Weekly Ketchup 47 - Social Media, Social IssuesTo say that this past week has been unremarkable can really mean it's about any number of things as far as I'm concerned. How I'm grateful for my latest finished writing gig. How I've been playing the same level on <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamevil.zenonia&hl=en" target="_blank">Heroes Chronicles</a> because I keep losing. How I'm frustrated with <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamevil.zenonia&hl=en" target="_blank">Zenonia</a> because of repetitive gameplay. How I just caught up with three weeks' worth of shows. How I never have anything on-hand to wear to weddings and so I had to shop for new stuff for a couple of weddings I have to attend in the coming weeks and how incredibly hard it is to find stuff that fits my shape and budget. How my skin, hair, and body are totally whacked. How my dog now barks at me. Or how I'm totally digging this YouTube channel.<br />
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Here's the thing: Not only are all of these mundane things old news in this blog (except for the wedding get-up thing but anyone who's ever known me knows I'm not big on formal wear) but they're all incredibly self-serving. This blog has been a bible of "me" things since I started and that's by design. Sure, I've discussed my opinions about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-13.html" target="_blank">certain issues</a> <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-38.html" target="_blank">every now</a> <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-39.html" target="_blank">and then</a> but, for the most part, I've always just talked about my own experiences, which is <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-01.html" target="_blank">what I set out to do to begin</a> with so I won't fault this space for that.<br />
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I do, however, feel that, as a person, I couldn't be more rotten. I recognize that I'm self-serving and self-involved but then again I'm also self-motivated, so I guess there's a balance to it... maybe... kinda...?<br />
The thing is: I've also long considered myself charitable even if I really can't afford to be generous, so I always try to give whatever I have extra of - whether it be time, money, or clothes - to relief efforts (Ondoy and Yolanda come to mind). In my admittedly skewed view of the world, I'm already privileged and excessive (that I can afford to get into <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-18.html" target="_blank">geek stuff</a> and <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-27.html" target="_blank">pursue jobs</a> in <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-11.html" target="_blank">non-essential industries</a> is already proof enough of that) so I try as much as I can to really give forward. I'm also the kind of person who feels guilty about seeing a homeless child or elderly on the way home after having just bought a P200 shirt on a whim.<br />
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<a href="http://how-to-box.com/boxing/files/images/guilt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://how-to-box.com/boxing/files/images/guilt.jpg" height="256" width="320" /></a></div>
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The reason I bring this up isn't to brag about my sensitivity to social injustice (though I wouldn't be humble about it either, if the situation called for it) but I do need to paint a picture of the stuff that goes on in my head to illustrate a point: That it isn't enough.<br />
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While I've never endeavored or internalized being an activist or advocate (<a href="https://www.dosomething.org/training/activismandadvocacy/actvism-vs-advocacy" target="_blank">yes, there's a difference</a>) for any cause, I've always thought that I would be doing something important. I never set out to be the savior of the world. I've just always thought I would be part of something that will. That's probably why I was never drawn to Superman or his all-star team but was heavily invested in the Avengers. The idea of a team of second-tier small-fries playing in the big league appealed more to my sensibilities.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://th00.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/172/c/d/superman_vs_the_avengers_by_helmsberg-d54adt3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://th00.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/i/2012/172/c/d/superman_vs_the_avengers_by_helmsberg-d54adt3.jpg" height="228" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://helmsberg.deviantart.com/art/Superman-VS-The-Avengers-309533799" target="_blank">Source</a></td></tr>
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Yet here I am: Obsessed with my own growth. My own legacy. My projects. My goals. My stories. Where is the team I'm supposed to be avenging with?<br />
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Now, here's why I brought this up: For some inexplicable reason, I was beginning to get bored with social media this past week. Like I'm somehow just going through the motion and routine of checking my updates but not really invested in the experience as much as I used to be.<br />
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Then the following things happened:<br />
Barack Obama just announced <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2843174/We-not-going-deport-Obama-announces-amnesty-millions-anchor-baby-parents-illegal-immigrant-children-long-ve-five-years.html" target="_blank">amnesty for undocumented immigrants</a>, which gives hope for Jose Antonio Vargas (I already shared my thoughts on him and his advocacy in <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/Weekly-Ketchup-31.html" target="_blank">a previous blog</a>) - something I care a little too much for when I'm not even remotely affected;<br />
It's also the <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-11-21/philippines-marks-fifth-anniversary-of-ampatuan-massacre/5909630" target="_blank">fifth anniversary of the Ampatuan Massacre</a>, which I realize is a horrible event by itself - the delayed justice even more so - but I honestly don't care as much as I should about it (please don't hate me, I'm sorry);<br />
But what got me really thinking about how removed I am from being conscious about social issues is a surprising new follower on Instagram and Twitter: Fil-Am activist <a href="http://asianjournal.com/news/fil-am-activist-to-return-to-ferguson-with-amnesty-international-usa/" target="_blank">Kalayaan Mendoza</a>. It's ridiculous and twisted that it took this one small thing to realize that what I've been posting as funny or thoughtful on my social media feed is utter garbage compared to what many others are using the platform for.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqG0QnW7OdVp8GdHm73i3nhavTjqp7jqWKW8qwM7xECcVTAm8_co4Ai2Hern_jBoGaDYskiT2vTGcAO74qWhBU2gZ3C3FxVo-8he7W05eJxnhbFRt7o5h1Dna79OoY56gX3mQJFqe73NV/s1600/screenshot.112.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIqG0QnW7OdVp8GdHm73i3nhavTjqp7jqWKW8qwM7xECcVTAm8_co4Ai2Hern_jBoGaDYskiT2vTGcAO74qWhBU2gZ3C3FxVo-8he7W05eJxnhbFRt7o5h1Dna79OoY56gX3mQJFqe73NV/s1600/screenshot.112.jpg" height="150" width="400" /></a></div>
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The logical denouement for such a realization is to use social media to benefit social issues. However, I am also aware that "<a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/slacktivism/" target="_blank">slacktivism</a>" is a thing and I want no part of that either. So where does that leave me?<br />
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Not for the first time, I thought about leaving everything behind and joining some underground movement and take the fight out of the virtual world. Anything just to step out of myself. Maybe join an NGO or Green Peace. But I just don't have it in me. I'm too self-involved but also insecure about my own abilities that I'd likely end up a liability instead.<br />
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It's at this point that I remembered something my father once told me: "Before you help other people, you must help yourself". As an arrogantly passionate teenager with delusions of grandeur about making an impact in the world. I thought the idea perplexing, absurd, and even insensitive. I'm beginning to think that maybe he's right and maybe that's where I am in this part of my life. Maybe only once I'm perfectly fine with myself can I heed the call to assemble.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-27417984415935842742014-11-16T05:37:00.000-08:002014-11-16T16:05:57.612-08:00Weekly Ketchup 46 - Science and SensitivitiesI got to see <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2245084/" target="_blank">Big Hero 6</a> earlier this week for no other reason than it's a Disney-animated movie featuring Marvel characters, obscure as though they are. I guess I was interested mainly because of brand loyalty more than anything else. I'm not sure that I would've been as keen to see it had it been a Dreamworks production featuring a set of original characters, which it might as well have been given how much the movie veered away from the original material.<br />
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The movie touched on all the right bases, meeting all the expectations I had of it but not surpassing them, which is okay. I thought the plot did get predictable but I still enjoyed it. And while I'm not as crazy about this film as much as I was with <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-43.html" target="_blank">Book of Life</a> or <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-24.html" target="_blank">How To Train Your Dragon</a>, the reason I'm devoting much of this week's blog talking about it is because I love how the film made science cool for kids. Even I wanted to get into science after watching the movie. I don't know if that was the filmmakers' intention but it certainly came off that way to me.<br />
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Speaking of science, this past week was a big one for space exploration. <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/science/2014/nov/12/rosetta-mission-philae-historic-landing-comet" target="_blank">Comet-landing</a>! Yay!<br />
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Except that, all this time, I thought that landing probes on anything floating in space was such a common occurrence already, which was why I didn't really give the matter much attention when I first learned about it. It wasn't until the YouTube channels I'm subscribed to started talking about it that I fully realized what a big deal this really was.<br />
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<object class="BLOGGER-youtube-video" classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,40,0" data-thumbnail-src="https://ytimg.googleusercontent.com/vi/_o59l3augBk/0.jpg" height="266" width="320"><param name="movie" value="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_o59l3augBk&source=uds" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><embed width="320" height="266" src="https://youtube.googleapis.com/v/_o59l3augBk&source=uds" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object></div>
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Yet what really drew my attention to this milestone as I read more about it was that it's not even NASA that accomplished this feat but the <a href="http://www.esa.int/" target="_blank">European Space Agency</a>! There's this strange part of me that's delighted that another part of the world was able to expand humanity's reach. No, it's really not borne out of some anti-American sentiment. Far from it, really. I just feel like the more agencies out there in the world are as capable as NASA, the more efficiently we can advance our understanding of the universe. I get excited thinking about the competitive and cooperative element of having multiple agencies and nations working towards practically the same goals without the political shadow of the Cold War looming over them. It's an interesting and optimistically hopeful scenario that just makes me happy.<br />
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Still on the subject of science, a conversation I had with a friend over Google+ got the wheels in my head turning again this past week.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBpzMwq2lz5gZ0zbFNItpXPyxgffd7ntFR77UNEuJFUbRwZ6N3nZGcF3Hke-L6H5LjczD0PPMRnYI2Dblen9bZniapHehkW4r7vNmBXpyxMw-tDJYEo_0RBZj1lHfuOSTrSrIP7EYpPdM/s1600/Screenshot_2014-11-16-19-57-45.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnBpzMwq2lz5gZ0zbFNItpXPyxgffd7ntFR77UNEuJFUbRwZ6N3nZGcF3Hke-L6H5LjczD0PPMRnYI2Dblen9bZniapHehkW4r7vNmBXpyxMw-tDJYEo_0RBZj1lHfuOSTrSrIP7EYpPdM/s1600/Screenshot_2014-11-16-19-57-45.png" height="320" width="187" /></a></div>
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It's certainly a good idea but how do make this series watchable? How do we attract an audience? Am I capable of producing it? I toyed around with the idea a little bit and thought it might be something worthwhile to pursue. Then I realized I'm comfortable with the idea of <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-44.html" target="_blank">producing something like this</a>. I have the right contacts both in science and communications. I know where to secure space and equipment. I have some money saved, though I was saving it for another thing. I can make this happen right now if I wanted to.<br />
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Granted, my immediate future is up in the air right now and <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-40.html" target="_blank">I already have another project in the works</a> but I am enjoying this sense of confidence and assertiveness about being capable of producing a new project off of a simple online exchange. It more than made up for the helplessness and inadequacy I also felt this past week as I realized that I'm extremely under-qualified for a lot of the <a href="http://www.buzzfeed.com/about/jobs" target="_blank">open positions on Buzzfeed</a>, which I just learned about a few days ago.<br />
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Yes, I was looking for new opportunities. No, this is quite different from the writer position I talked about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-45.html" target="_blank">last week</a>, which I haven't even gotten around to attending to because after the Piolo Pascual article, I was immediately given my next assignment: an Anne Curtis article. If I keep this up, I'll be writing about local stars and celebrities for a long while. They maybe vapid pieces (much like this blog) but hey! They're easy money and they're also work that I can be proud of, so let me at 'em!<br />
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Speaking of last week, I feel like I more than made up for the lack of documentation of the shenanigans I talked about by bombarding my <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinoyavenger" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://instagram.com/pinoyavenger" target="_blank">Instagram</a> feed this past week with real time updates of my adventures - from getting my face marked on last Thursday night after a game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/159506/kaiju" target="_blank">Kaiju tower</a> to the bizarre way I got my gift from geek friend Alec yesterday.<br />
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A photo posted by Niki Yarte (@pinoyavenger) on <time datetime="2014-11-13T17:15:15+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 11, 2014 at 9:15am PST</time></div>
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A photo posted by Niki Yarte (@pinoyavenger) on <time datetime="2014-11-15T16:25:41+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Nov 11, 2014 at 8:25am PST</time></div>
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Yeah, I've had a fun week. I do regret not having had enough time to visit UST yesterday though because one of the programs I launched as president of the <a href="https://twitter.com/casaust" target="_blank">Communication Arts Students Association </a>is <a href="https://twitter.com/pinoyavenger/status/533259077473009664" target="_blank">apparently still ongoing and on its tenth year</a>. That validation about having left a legacy behind just makes me feel like I did well during my time. Ah, memories.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-20827582082160566882014-11-09T05:14:00.001-08:002014-11-09T05:14:37.547-08:00Weekly Ketchup 45 - Changes and ChallengesI'm currently taking a break from writing about Piolo Pascual to do this blog. Yes, I'm writing a showbiz article. Yes, it's for a client. Yes, the only reason I'm doing it is for the money. Yes, I'm well aware that makes me a whore. <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-42.html" target="_blank">I've long established that</a>.<br />
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Funny enough, this isn't the only time this past week that I found myself having to write something way beyond my comfort zone. I found out that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/BuzzFeedPhilippines" target="_blank">Buzzfeed Philippines</a> was looking for a writer and so I threw my name on the hat, sent my resume and some published samples and all that jazz. The editor got back to me with instructions instead. Apparently getting the gig involves some sort of "audition". I was to contribute a "community" post on the website and they like it, I'm in. I've never really had to brainstorm on a topic before, at least not from scratch, let alone one that's intended to generate online buzz, so this one's a bit of a challenge.<br />
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The thing is: I've never really been one to <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-13.html" target="_blank">push the populist agenda</a>. One quick tour of this blog and one will immediately surmise that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-28-pretentious.html" target="_blank">I exist in my own bubble</a>, so I'm not really in tune with where the masses are at. In short: I'm a middle-class elitist snob... who just happens to be an advertising copywriter. Yeah, I can put words together in often incoherent structure to market a product - but to write about experiences that people, specifically Filipinos, can relate with? That's a bit of a stretch for me. I mean, how do I even begin writing a piece like "You know you're a Vilmanian when..."?<br />
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There's a part of me that's thinking maybe this gig just isn't for me. But then, there's also the part that tells me it can't hurt to try. Guess which one is winning out? Hint: I just have to finish this Papa P. article and I'll get on it.<br />
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Speaking of comfort zones, I just realized that in about seven weeks, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">I'll have to break out of another one</a>, which was what I've been building towards since <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-01.html" target="_blank">day one of this blog</a>. There's a feeling of dread and anticipation in the pit of my soul as so many things are up in the air right now but I did make the decision late last week that I was gonna push through with it, however I think I'll have to cut the trip from a potential lifetime to a month-long trip.<br />
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I already knew that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-43.html" target="_blank">I have to be here for Beejay's wedding</a>. Being able to include "groomsman" among my life experiences certainly was a deciding factor in that, otherwise I wouldn't have allowed a friend's life event alter the course of my own. Besides, I can always come back but I'll probably never be a groomsman again so there's that.<br />
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I do have to work out the logistics of my itinerary though, which was what I've been busy with this past week. I have a pretty ambitious trip in my head but, as always, it all boils down to money. Our company sales is down so I'm a bit nervous about the state of our 13th month pay, vacation and sick leaves, and even our salary for the next two months - all of which are integral to making any of my fantasies for this trip materialize.<br />
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This planning is a challenge in in itself as I'm working with nothing else but the resources that are available to me. I'd rather not count on asking my mom, my dad in LA, or even my grandmother in Canada for help because I'm a big boy and I'd rather think I can handle this. Whatever happens, it'll be glorious!<br />
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Anyway, in a week of changes and challenges, the Hat Madders (including myself) won the monthly Quiz Night last Thursday (again), which was held at a slightly altered <a href="http://amici.ph/" target="_blank">Amici</a> because of the ongoing renovations.<br />
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Yesterday, geek friends Alec, Hec, Paul, Jovan, Echo, and I converged in Divisoria upon Mark P.'s invitation. MR was in town and it was his birthday, so we went. We didn't really do much, except munch on dumplings and oyster cake, and looked at toys. It's a change because I hardly get to have any of my friends on my home turf of Manila and navigating the busy streets of Divisoria is a challenge, so there.<br />
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Last night, I was supposed to start writing this Piolo Pascual article but I ended up joining the rest at Purdue for game night (that's a change of plans and some challenges right there). We played two games of <a href="http://www.iellogames.com/KingOfTokyo.html" target="_blank">King of Tokyo</a> (I got to be the kraken and the big ape), <a href="http://www.daysofwonder.com/tickettoride/" target="_blank">Ticket to Ride</a> (I attempted but failed to connect Vancouver and Montreal because Canada), and <a href="http://www.alderac.com/tempest/love-letter/" target="_blank">Love Letter</a> (<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinoyavenger/posts/10153305531562586" target="_blank">funny story about that</a>) where I finally won!<br />
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Unfortunately, I didn't take any photos from any of these three events. Bad, me! Bad!<br />
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Anyway, I also started playing a new game, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=net.kairosoft.android.mujin_en&hl=en" target="_blank">Beastie Bay</a>, and totally neglected all the <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/11/weekly-ketchup-44.html" target="_blank">other games I haven't finished from last week</a> so challenge changed! I thought it was a fun city simulation/pocket monster hybrid.<br />
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Right, so that was my week. Gotta get back to Piolo Pascual now.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-59661004572162245962014-11-03T06:54:00.002-08:002014-11-03T06:54:39.374-08:00Weekly Ketchup 44 - I'm A Player!<i>Sorry for the click bait but I just mean I play videos and games! LOL</i><br /><br />This past week has been pretty lax at work. No clients and new projects coming in, which means I'm getting paid to pretty much just report for the day and standby in case something does come up. While for many people, that may sound like the dream, as a professional in the creatives industry, being "benched" denies me the training and practice I need to further the craft. I feel like this unproductivity would make me rusty before I'm even great at anything.<br />
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To be fair, though, the light workload does give me time to daydream and think about other projects, which was what I've been doing with my all-too-generous spare time. It also gives me time enough to check out more stuff that have been floating around in the ether, mainly in the form of YouTube videos. I'm such a big fan of the platform that I'm constantly trying to discover more and more channels to subscribe to. I probably watch more YouTube productions now than TV shows. No, they're not all cat videos. Some of them are very informative while some are just plain humorous, mostly in a slice-of-life kinda way. Take <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BuzzFeedVideo" target="_blank">Buzzfeed's video channels</a>, for example.<br />
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While this obsession of mine is hardly unique to this last week, I did share more videos on my social networks this week (mainly because of the aforementioned lack of better things to do at work) than any other time in the past . This was also the week that I got to peruse more <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqFzWxSCi39LnW1JKFR3efg" target="_blank">Saturday Night Live</a> videos, which made me realize something.<br />
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Aside from making me wonder how I would've fared in sketch, improv, or even stand-up comedy, I realized that the ever-changing nature of the cast in the show's 40-year history is exactly what I've been looking for. I already mentioned in a previous blog how I tend to organize my experiences and memories in "seasons". For that matter, I think what I want in this life is to be part of something and be remembered for my time in whatever that something is. I want to just come in, do my thing, make an impact, then leave and hope that I'm memorable enough. Right now, the closest I have to that is the last (*almost*) five years in my current job, which ran alongside all the personal growth I've experienced as well.<br />
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Of course, Saturday Night Live is equally famous for featuring musical guests weekly and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgJBKU9ALa0" target="_blank">one of the prolific ones they had on the show earlier this year</a> was Sam Smith who - up until last week - was just a name I keep reading on social media. I finally got to check out his music videos (and consequently, his songs) and I gotta say it's refreshing to hear his brand of music, especially in this era dominated by songs like Bang Bang and Anaconda.<br />
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Seriously: Whatever happened to slow ballads? Am I just being old and hipster to still want new music to sound soft and buttery in my ears with beautiful and poetic words?<br />
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Ironically enough, I got into watching YouTube videos at the office just so I can have something playing in the background while working on client's projects. Now I spend more time there than I do on Photoshop and Illustrator. To be fair, the thought of contributing content to the platform has fueled my motivations as well so all is not lost.<br />
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On that note, I also thought I'd spend last week at home working on a client's video but, seeing as the project had an open deadline (as in the client hasn't elected to give me any), I pursued other interests instead. I thought I'd get started on a new book since I finished Neil Gaiman's "Anansi Boys" (and loved it) but that didn't happen because a couple of games kept me busy all through last week as well.<br />
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<a href="http://www.gog.com/game/heroes_chronicles_all_chapters" target="_blank">Heroes Chronicles</a> is a spin-off of <a href="http://www.gog.com/game/heroes_of_might_and_magic_3_complete_edition" target="_blank">Heroes of Might and Magic III</a> with pretty much the same gameplay. I never got to play it until I bought my copy from GOG.com, so it's like a familiar thing that I'm also experiencing for the first time. Yeah, it's funky like that and I still love the game after all these years! I got to finish the third chapter in the game by the end of last week. Hopefully, I get to finish the remaining five by the end of the year!<br />
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While Heroes Chronicles has taken the time I wanted to spend editing a video, <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gamevil.zenonia&hl=en" target="_blank">Zenonia</a> has taken the time I intended to start on a new book. The thing is, though: Playing a fantasy RPG is pretty much like reading a fantasy book as far as I'm concerned (<a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-37.html" target="_blank">and I love me some fantasy</a>). The same thrill and excitement is there and the story element more than makes up for it. Of course, repetitive gameplay does take me out of the experience but that's okay. There is a certain joy that comes with leveling up in experience and earning money to buy more powerful equipment, both staples in any RPG game.<br />
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What surprised me about this game though is that I don't have control of a party. I just have one character and I'm kinda getting bored. Keep in mind: I didn't just start playing the game last week. I did spend more waking mornings and sleepy nights playing it though. It does kinda get addictive and that I have an <a href="http://www.lazada.com.ph/icore-portable-android-player-2-red-107977.html" target="_blank">Android-based gaming device</a> with physical buttons make the button-mashing all the more rewarding. I ended the week finishing off a tough boss so yay me!<br />
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So I put off editing my client's video until the weekend. That didn't happen because I decided to continue with <a href="http://www.gog.com/game/age_of_wonders_2_the_wizards_throne" target="_blank">Age of Wonders 2</a>, which takes me roughly half a day to finish a level. I thought I was on the last level the last time I played the game about a month and I can finally move on with my life but, as it turns out, I skipped a few "bonus" levels, which I think is just fine. I just wish I can finish it before the year ends though.<br /><br />
The thing with Age of Wonders 2, though, is that there's no random map generator so you're forced to either play the preset scenarios or the campaign. I can't just play a casual game to test out the different factions, as I am wont to do when it comes to strategy games.<br />
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I remember writing about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/Weekly-Ketchup-34.html" target="_blank">the dangers of becoming less of a creator and more of a consumer</a> some time ago and the reason while this blog was delayed was because, in the original draft I wrote yesterday, I was berating myself for simply enjoying these things that I do instead of being productive. I realized halfway through it that I really didn't like how it was going. I just want to enjoy what's in front of me and share it without any drama and so here I am.<br />
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Lastly, Friday was Halloween and, as much as I wanted to go join my friends even if just to take photos (<a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-40.html" target="_blank">or videos</a>) because I didn't have a costume but I also just wanted to stay home and play games. Guess what ultimately won out, though I do feel a tad envious that I didn't get to see this.<br />
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<br />PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-29992189889044494872014-10-26T07:05:00.001-07:002014-10-26T07:05:13.082-07:00Weekly Ketchup 43 - The More They Stay The SameI've had friends tell me that I'm "masipag" when it comes to maintaining this blog. I tell them it's really not that hard since: a) I stick with a regular schedule as much as posssible; and b) there really isn't all that much to do or think about since this is mainly just a recap of the week's events. Most of the time I just react to or recall seemingly random events and find some connections and commonalities for the sake of cohesion.<br />
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There are times, though, when do I let the need to <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-18.html" target="_blank">deliver content</a> <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-20.html" target="_blank">drive my actions</a> <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-34.html" target="_blank">for the week</a>, which mostly results in me sharing <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-37.html" target="_blank">the latest book, game, or movie</a> that I'm checking out. I haven't done any of that these recent weeks either because there are <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-38.html" target="_blank">more pertinent matters</a> that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-34.html" target="_blank">I felt were better</a> <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-34.html" target="_blank">to discuss</a> or because I don't really have anything new on those fronts to share. For example: I'm still playing Zenonia, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-24.html" target="_blank">Age of Wonders 2, and Heroes of Might and Magic Chronicles</a>. I did get started on Neil Gaiman's "<a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-us/books/anansi-boys-1" target="_blank">Anansi Boys</a>" a few weeks back but I haven't finished it, though I am liking it far better than "<a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/american-gods-the-tenth-anniversary-edition-a-novel" target="_blank">American Gods</a>". I haven't seen any new movies in a while and my taste in shows have just merely carried over from the previous shows. I haven't been checking out any of the new shows for fear of them getting cancelled just as I was getting invested. I'll see if the shows I'm interested in make it past December before I dive right in.<br />
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All this pretty much highlights what I've known all along: That sometimes I just got to let things plateau and just chill. I started this blog announcing all sorts of <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-02-book-sale-saving.html" target="_blank">changes</a> and <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">challenges</a>, all in the hopes of <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-28-pretentious.html" target="_blank">finding something new and exciting</a>, of <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/04/weekly-ketchup-14.html" target="_blank">pushing myself forward</a>, and <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-40.html" target="_blank">all that jazz</a>. Sometimes, I just got to let things stay the same.<br />
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I do have to point a couple of things out though:<br />
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I saw <a href="http://www.bookoflifemovie.com/" target="_blank">"Book of Life"</a> last Tuesday and surprise! I actually liked this movie far better than "Frozen". However, I do feel like the story could use some restructuring so that we spend more time in the Land of the Remembered. We seriously didn't need 15 or so minutes establishing their childhood. I also didn't understand why there had to be a framing story with some kids in the museum. But other than that, I thought the film was perfect and really wins in animation and voice direction.<br />
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And yeah, this trailer, which <a href="http://pinoyavengerassembles.tumblr.com/post/100720568472/thoughts-avengers-age-of-ultron-trailer-it" target="_blank">I already wrote at length about already</a>, so I'm not gonna bother anymore.<br />
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Of things that stay the same, I found myself back in my habit of compulsive spending, which is only notable because of <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-42.html" target="_blank">last week's blog</a>. If I've been <a href="http://instagram.com/pinoyavenger/" target="_blank">Instagramming</a> a lot more than usual lately it's because I got myself another cheap-ass droid last week mainly for the mobile Internet and the camera. I also got new more expensive eyeglasses last weekend because the plastic one I've been wearing breaks easily (at least once a year). Here's hoping the investment pays off and it stays with me for at least ten years. Lastly: A quick errand at SM yielded a shirt and new jeans (something that's been known to happen to me A LOT in the past). To be fair, they were on sale and I do need new jeans. Also: A sideline job paid a couple of weeks ago but not enough for a party (yeah, I'm being defensive).<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New shirt, jeans, and glasses and taken with a new phone.<br />I look great, okay!</td></tr>
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I'm also back in the habit of unconventional dieting where I would eat a lot in the morning, a little during the day, and nothing but water in the evening. Of course, that also lead to my habit of breaking that diet when geek friend Tobie treated me to his special pasta recipe and milk shake from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Ludogamescafe" target="_blank">Ludo</a> last Friday evening. This was his late birthday treat for me, which is just really sweet of him. Of course, Tobie being Tobie, we played some games! I surprisingly won our game of <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/45748/carcassonne-wheel-fortune" target="_blank">Carcassonne Wheel of Fortune</a> at his place and Ludo co-owner Jay won the two "engine-building" games we played there.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/image/1916682/splendor" target="_blank">Splendor</a><br />Image credit: BoardGameGeek.com</td></tr>
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Diet be damned again come Saturday evening because <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2013/12/2013-in-photos_31.html" target="_blank">a friend I thought I've lost</a> is back in my life. Beejay and his fiancee Din invited me and Din's friend Karen to dinner. I haven't seen or spoken to Beejay since a spat we had over Facebook messenger early last year so I was surprised to get the call sometime ago (<a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-39.html" target="_blank">briefly hinted at here</a>) inviting me to be a groomsman at the wedding. I'm also to be a host at the reception, along with Karen, which was what the evening was really about. What I thought would be an awkward dinner turned out to be quite enjoyable - like no time at all has passed (I am disgusted at my own cliche but it is what it is). Even if I feel like I've changed a lot since the last time we saw each other, and he most certainly has, there's still that sense of familiarity and it's wonderful.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Din's Instagram</td></tr>
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I suppose going back to the <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/04/Weekly-Ketchup-17.html" target="_blank">comfortable and familiar in a sea of change</a> is a good thing every now and then. Yet before I even get to big change I've been planning for myself, I now have a problem: The wedding is in February. I wasn't planning on hanging around these parts by then. What do I do?<br />
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Whatever happens, I wanna be able to vote in the 2016 US elections in person. I mailed my absentee ballot for this year's local elections last Thursday and I felt like cheating. Why am I voting when I don't even contribute taxes there (something I feel strongly about the voting populace here)? And, no, this isn't a new experience since <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-voted.html" target="_blank">I've already voted in absentia back in 2012</a>.<br />
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<br />PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-57407059886519681492014-10-19T07:49:00.002-07:002014-10-19T08:03:25.655-07:00Weekly Ketchup 42 - Money/TalksIt was my birthday this past week. I wanted to have this Broadway-themed Halloween costume party where me and my friends would dress up as characters from Broadway shows and sing songs from the musicals. I had a venue in mind already but, obviously, that didn't happen because, well, money and that I didn't have enough of it. I was hoping to score another gig a month ago, which I obviously didn't get as well, otherwise this would be a totally different blog altogether. The thing is: I have been saving money since the year started, which has been great, but I'm also not making enough from my day job and I'm not scoring enough moonlighting work to splurge on a birthday party. A big consideration is that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/04/weekly-ketchup-14.html" target="_blank">I am also leaving soon</a>.<br />
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When I was younger, say 15 years ago, I thought that I'd be financially okay by this age. That I'd have all the money in the world to splurge on my hobbies and interests and that I wouldn't ever go hungry. To be fair, those expectations were met, except that I also imagined I'd be living in an apartment and paying rent but that didn't happen either because the reality is that I can't have my cake and eat it too.<br />
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I honestly don't know how to be wise or smart with money or even <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-19.html" target="_blank">how to make them</a> other than to work, be productive, and create something I can be proud of in the future. For me, that's always been in stories - whether in photos, in videos, or <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-37.html" target="_blank">in words</a>. Yes, even in ads and design & layout. I've been offered to change careers into something more lucrative (*ahem*BPOs*ahem*) or engage in different schemes of multi-level marketing, which, more than anything, offers "financial stability" but I just didn't see the value in any of it other than the money. I've also been offered long-term investments with the already little money I make but that would mean giving up on theater, movies, books, and everything else that I enjoy.<br />
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Money today just makes me happy but money in the future would just make me less miserable, which are two totally different things. This mentality of mine scares the living shit out of me because, as much as it makes perfect sense, it's also not practical or sustainable. I realize that the solution to all of this is to move to a bigger, higher paying company, which I'm not willing to do as <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/Weekly-Ketchup-06.html" target="_blank">I've already discussed here</a>, or get promoted, which my current company isn't willing to do. And now I'm back to square one: <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-02-book-sale-saving.html" target="_blank">Spend less</a> and make more money elsewhere. Seriously, if I had been born incredibly good-looking, I'd whore myself out to the highest bidder. Yeah, I'm that kind of person.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yesterday's new haircut plus today's new frame.<br />I thought I looked hella good until people said I look more like Olaf.<br />I just can't win!</td></tr>
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Yet, despite unmet expectations, I can't really complain. I always say I'm still better off than a great number of people, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-26.html" target="_blank">I've always managed to stave off emergencies despite my limited means</a>, and what I currently make is really more than enough - if only I wasn't me. But I am who I am and, as was evidenced to me this birthday week despite the absence of a big party, people like me well enough, which is something I wouldn't have been able to say 15 years ago so I still win in life!<br />
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Which brings me to my next thought.<br />
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I'm not really sure what I enjoy the most about engaging in conversations or interactions in general: That they let me get to know another person or that I get to know more about myself. This entire ramble about money was borne out of a conversation I had with geek friend Paul over pad thai and pho yesterday after checking out Uniqlo (another thing that was borne out of a particularly <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pinoyavenger/posts/10153245452667586" target="_blank">interesting conversation over Facebook</a>). I already knew that he fared a little better than me in the salary department (though he does pay bills and rent that I don't), but he is also incredibly prepared. The word "mutual fund" figured into the conversation. There's just something so adult about it that's just not me and I find it fascinating.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me at Uniqlo before Paul arrived. Didn't much care for it.</td></tr>
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Another conversation that got me thinking about my status in the universe is one I had hours after that with geek friends Denice and TJ at Uno Morato about, well, porn. I'd like to think that I'm well-versed in the perverse but apparently porn and porn stars are something that people talk openly about now - as if they're regular summer blockbusters. Denice and TJ bandied names and words with the crowd at Uno Morato and I was like, "WTF?" I have never felt more like a prude my entire life. To be fair, I have seen my share of porn and I find it disgusting. I don't understand how disproportionate body parts and bad production can be titilating. <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0367027/" target="_blank">Short Bus</a>, though.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checked out the Saturday morning cartoons thon.<br />
I arrived really late though.</td></tr>
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I suppose this shouldn't really be any surprising given <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/10/weekly-ketchup-41.html" target="_blank">last week's revelation</a> (do they go hand-in-hand?), which my teammates (Nabs, Marge, Kai, and - for the first time - Nina) at last Tuesday's Relik Trivia Night (where I ended up celebrating my birthday) pulled me aside to talk further about. Questions like "Do I fancy anybody at the bar?", "What's my type?", and other questions but I was fumbling for answers! It was so awkward! I felt like I was improvising a role that people were forcing me to play and I was talking out of my body (to be fair, I was also a bit sloshed)!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From Jovan's Facebook. WE WON!!!</td></tr>
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My reaction to these scenarios obviously speaks volumes about me more than the other party. Like I've already established, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-28-pretentious.html" target="_blank">I relish my oddities</a> because I'd be boring without them. It's the adaptive nature of evolution at work, I guess. With no looks or money smarts to bank on, I'd need talent and an ebullient personality to survive. One, I can work on (<a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-27.html" target="_blank">and have been working on</a>); the other, I either have or don't - and nature has at least given me that.<br />
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Now if only I can make money off of my neuroses. Hmmm.<br />
Maybe a sitcom or webshow about me and my equally eccentric dog?PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-74785643921638245362014-10-12T08:48:00.002-07:002014-10-12T08:48:13.161-07:00Weekly Ketchup 41 - My One Regret About Growing OlderNo, I'm not about to go on a ramble of insecurities, mistakes, and regrets about turning another year older in a few days, though I very well should. This past week alone, social media has brought to my attention that a couple of org-mates from college who pretty much received the same education as I did were now either teaching or being deployed to other countries. I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm just a tad envious but they got it going on and good for them! Meanwhile, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-19.html" target="_blank">I'm still crawling through</a>, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-11.html" target="_blank">learning on the job</a> and <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-27.html" target="_blank">celebrating every little gig</a> I get. Just today, I got to cover another baptism/birthday combo with my trusty new camera. Just a few days ago, I sent in a new article for Planet Philippines. While either doesn't really make me much money (none of what I do or try to do really does), that I get to do both, among other things, is a dream enough come true. Maybe someday whatever I do will take me places. Maybe someday I'll be so good that I'll be invited to teach. Or maybe not. But right now I'm happy that I can tell my 23-year old self that "you're doing exactly what you would imagined you would be doing ten years after college graduation - writing articles, making videos, taking photos, etc".<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/10699236_10152686098800813_1271008155_n.jpg?oh=c6e39ce0035fd72232b040ea130eae6b&oe=543C9E3D&__gda__=1413263020_6fde346fea2f06eae93ad875aa20cbce" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="180" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t34.0-12/10699236_10152686098800813_1271008155_n.jpg?oh=c6e39ce0035fd72232b040ea130eae6b&oe=543C9E3D&__gda__=1413263020_6fde346fea2f06eae93ad875aa20cbce" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boho Quiz Night. Our team, the Candlenicks, won! </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
No, I'm also not about to begrudge time and nature for aging me. Yes, there is gray in my hair and my hairline has receded a bit (my bangs have all but disappeared). My face has gotten a bit gaunt, my lips thinner, and I wrinkle. I say bring it on - it means that I made it! I'm still here and I'm healthy. As unfortunate as it is, I've already outlived <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/Weekly-Ketchup-23.html" target="_blank">some friends from college</a>. So yeah, let time do its worst! I'm prepared, though if it could do it in little increments over a long period of time, that'll be great. I don't wanna make wearing sunscreen a daily habit - something that I started doing this week. Also: If my body would just let me enjoy life without <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-26.html" target="_blank">breaking down</a> easily, that'd be great too. I'd like to enjoy more of last Wednesday's Boho Quiz Night, which was followed by an impromptu YouTube karaoke. I'd also like to get more from my day. Yesterday's <a href="http://www.starwars.com/news/star-wars-reads-day-strikes-back-october-11-2014" target="_blank">Star Wars Reads</a> at Glorietta 5, while fun, left me exhausted that I didn't have energy to go out and party some more.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10553631_10153229285627586_5623840234787090601_n.jpg?oh=5d41c5b91a6615955b5fa3e0c4c6e743&oe=54AD5A1A&__gda__=1420824421_7919ef1f16c13778b4fdfa6bad58b8ee" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-c-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpf1/v/t1.0-9/10553631_10153229285627586_5623840234787090601_n.jpg?oh=5d41c5b91a6615955b5fa3e0c4c6e743&oe=54AD5A1A&__gda__=1420824421_7919ef1f16c13778b4fdfa6bad58b8ee" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chaos at Star Wars Reads Manila</td></tr>
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And no, this is not a spree of tired cliches and pretentious adage about what "growing up" means (because really why?) but I do want to point out some things. I am now roughly the same age when my mom had me (my dad was way older) so some things do bear thinking. Having been surrounded by families and children this entire weekend, maybe it's also a thematic question to ask: Marriage, family, and children? I guess same with success, aging, and maturity, I could care less about having any of them (Yeah, I say it now).<br />
<br />
Here's the thing: I don't know if these things will ever be in the cards for me. I'm certainly not closed to the idea. Maybe I'll grow into the role of a family man someday but it isn't something I'm actively working towards.<br />
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Obviously because it also takes more than just my efforts.<br />
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<a href="http://successify.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/regrets1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://successify.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/regrets1.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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While I think I've made peace with the various aspects of my personality so much that I feel like a complete person who can take on anything, this is the one area where I fail completely. Heck, I'm 33 and I've never even once gone on a date, flirted, hooked up, much less been in a relationship. I just never really saw myself as good enough for anyone. To be fair, people have gone up to me to make me believe otherwise but I just got creeped out most of the time. And yes I've known infatuation as well but I just dismissed at that: Infatuation. True enough, whatever it was I thought I was feeling went away as quickly as it came.<br />
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I'm obviously an incredibly strange person, which is one of two reasons I've always had in my head about why I've refused to let anyone else get intimately closer; the other being that I didn't like the idea of my life, my time especially, being intertwined with another person's (people in relationships call it "compromise"). Now I'm thinking "strange" means "interesting" and maybe "intertwining" isn't so bad after all. So if there's one thing I do regret about growing older is that I wouldn't know what it's like to be young and "in love" enough to write about it. I've let youth and beauty lapse without having lived the complete experience.<br /><br />Like I mentioned in an <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">earlier blog</a>, it's the things I didn't get to do that I regret the most. Now having put this nugget of information out here, what next? I guess I'll let you know once I've figured it out.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-32891139094497704692014-10-05T05:50:00.002-07:002014-10-05T05:50:39.010-07:00Weekly Ketchup 40 - When It Pours<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After relatively quiet weekends with virtually no social obligations to meet, I decided that I was gonna go to EVERY EVENT I was invited to this past week. This after many months of skipping conventions and other events, which, to be fair, has done wonders for my wallet and my time (being definitively "anti-social" allowed me to advance in the many games and ebooks I acquired the past year).<br />
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While tiring myself out in pursuit of geek activities (remember <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-18.html" target="_blank">Geek Week</a>?) isn't really new to me (lord knows how I feel about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/04/Weekly-Ketchup-17.html" target="_blank">repetitive activities</a>, especially <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-22.html" target="_blank">conventions</a>), something just clicked into place earlier this week: A sudden burst of motivation, inspiration, and productivity.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4Wpghu9f_Y1k5jMLXdChmwR0rh1hqjTA9yBMFUOMj7HDerZT0XELJJyIz9h7uT51aPNCUj8KocbddwAZsnx2D7SLxaPpsJS5BobJAQatZtdM_5TbS8Cx9fzlZbpXe9DDatztNpakt8N-/s1600/screenshot.105.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhq4Wpghu9f_Y1k5jMLXdChmwR0rh1hqjTA9yBMFUOMj7HDerZT0XELJJyIz9h7uT51aPNCUj8KocbddwAZsnx2D7SLxaPpsJS5BobJAQatZtdM_5TbS8Cx9fzlZbpXe9DDatztNpakt8N-/s1600/screenshot.105.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The team at Relik's Trivia Tuesday. We lost by 2 points. Bummer!</td></tr>
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See, for a long time now I've been thinking about launching a vlog series about geek life in Manila. I actually shot some footage a couple of years ago (in standard definition) but never got around to compiling them into a watchable (and hopefully shareable) video. So yeah, it's been a long time coming and the footage have just been gathering virtual dust on my hard drive.<br />
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Now that I have a better <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">high definition camera</a> and with so many geek events happening back-to-back, I thought it would be a great idea to restart and actually pursue the project. This would all have been pretty dandy but, as with any good story, there must always be conflict. Unfortunately, inspiration isn't the only thing that came pouring in heavily this past week. I'm talking about the effin' weather! On more than one occasion, the rains have (literally) dampened my plans. Our house was also flooded in TWICE this week! It's ridiculous!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTcrfno_dv6OQXinWY9VKFht0t614y9KacVdWf0-u9SxywuEIbd6nuQWKEClltnicEc-ISSUkeK_h7SSDnpYnex_VJlTx7GDw0Y8YAKuRJF6SkA4mbPhw8DIeM-f7T5BpDs5OJkzx6cqI/s1600/screenshot.106.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinTcrfno_dv6OQXinWY9VKFht0t614y9KacVdWf0-u9SxywuEIbd6nuQWKEClltnicEc-ISSUkeK_h7SSDnpYnex_VJlTx7GDw0Y8YAKuRJF6SkA4mbPhw8DIeM-f7T5BpDs5OJkzx6cqI/s1600/screenshot.106.jpg" height="239" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Winners' selfie after Amici Quiz Night last Thursday</td></tr>
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Also: Being out every night wreaks havoc on my budget and diet (yeah I said it). I've been trying to cut back on my gluttonous behavior because <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-12.html" target="_blank">my pants haven't been fitting well</a> these past few months but I just can't help it when I'm out with friends. And when you eat, you spend! I didn't get to attend Geek Fight Wednesday because of the rain and because I spent too much the night before at Trivia Tuesday. But that's just on food!<br />
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Since most of the events I attended ran well into the night, another consideration and reservation I had was security. The entire week I was worried about going home with my expensive camera that I won't be able to replace anytime soon if it gets stolen. I don't drive and I can't afford to take a cab every night (I had to take a cab Tuesday evening because I wasn't feeling well) so I was risking a lot to pursue this project.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtThdTRGlg-wbrehXX6kTdW0phQ4iuFXGyDDHTQYMSMiDC1Y_ACYNJizZ1NLkqoGW-KgdyHkrnnAwAAC6Rnhn91Q91tPdgAye9hLzvVqqfHkLqET19LA3xxVsvBpl5PZ0Z0Xi3kMe70vdW/s1600/screenshot.107.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtThdTRGlg-wbrehXX6kTdW0phQ4iuFXGyDDHTQYMSMiDC1Y_ACYNJizZ1NLkqoGW-KgdyHkrnnAwAAC6Rnhn91Q91tPdgAye9hLzvVqqfHkLqET19LA3xxVsvBpl5PZ0Z0Xi3kMe70vdW/s1600/screenshot.107.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pirates at Ludo! Got to play <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/73538/pirate-fluxx" target="_blank">Pirate Fluxx</a>, <a href="http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1112667/walk-plank-fun-light-family-game" target="_blank">Walk The Plank</a>, and <a href="http://www.worldofmunchkin.com/game/" target="_blank">Munchkins</a>!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Rain and limited money were the reasons why I had to walk a long way to get to Ludo for Play Like A Pirate Day on Friday evening. Come <a href="http://cosplaymania.com/" target="_blank">CosplayMania</a> the next day, I had to deal with EVERYTHING - keeping my camera secure from the rain and theft, not feeling well, and working with a limited budget!<br />
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Was it all worth it?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJzHY6ibxfxGZIEpo2V0isc81orA-ceEAa8xyy0kXPLoLKNbLkX9P-WLTijg1yJk0mgVyz5wyJFHvNv_rCcUdaxEqWzkX9JtZP9e4QbQvxA-hkeSiJAcBDBzTGAIqwGrIjkhRD1kBoawS/s1600/screenshot.108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGJzHY6ibxfxGZIEpo2V0isc81orA-ceEAa8xyy0kXPLoLKNbLkX9P-WLTijg1yJk0mgVyz5wyJFHvNv_rCcUdaxEqWzkX9JtZP9e4QbQvxA-hkeSiJAcBDBzTGAIqwGrIjkhRD1kBoawS/s1600/screenshot.108.jpg" height="320" width="319" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My only picture from CosplayMania. From geek friend Adrian's Instagram.<br />That's other geek friend Alec as Starlord.</td></tr>
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Well, all throughout the week, I had to remind myself why I was doing this. Aside from hanging out with friends and the satisfaction of completing a personal project, I was thinking I could use the experience to beef up my portfolio in case an opportunity to earn money from doing similar projects comes along. I'm subscribed to many YouTube channels right now (the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/BuzzFeedVideo" target="_blank">Buzzfeed channels</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/user/LastWeekTonight" target="_blank">John Oliver</a> are my latest favorites) and I would love to participate in that industry as well.<br />
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Hopefully, I'll have fewer things to stress about in the next few events I plan to cover. Star Wars Day, Komikon, and the Christmas ToyCon are all in the pipeline but I'll start working on editing the footage I already took this week! As always, the chief motivation is just to be able to say "I've done it".<br />
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This week's newest discovery is John Oliver.<br />I plowed through his entire playlist.<br />So informative and entertaining!</div>
PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-22378794009491698182014-09-28T03:30:00.002-07:002014-09-28T03:33:13.450-07:00Weekly Ketchup 39 - Three ThingsFirst thing: Late last week, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical_Storm_Fung-wong_(2014)" target="_blank">there was a typhoon</a>. <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-29.html" target="_blank">Been there, done that</a>.<br />
Along with the rising flood waters came the sudden swelling of my lower lip. I suspect it was either the pin prick of a sore I noticed a couple of nights before (either I bit on it or an insect did) or the unsanitary way I shaved that part of my face just the day before (yeah, it's a thing). Either way, it was itchy, heavy, and painful and, once again, another medical emergency that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-26.html" target="_blank">I couldn't afford to have at the moment</a>.<br />
Both unfortunate circumstances threw a wrench at last weekend plans, which should've included <a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/910059855708670/?ref=22" target="_blank">Play Like A Pirate Day</a>, the <a href="http://www.manilabookfair.com/" target="_blank">Manila International Book Fair</a>, and game night with a bunch of geek friends. I did see a doctor when the sky cleared up and was prescribed an antibiotic. Thankfully, no surgery or needles were required.<br />
While I spent the entire weekend feeling feverish (maybe my body's reaction to the rather strong medication), the rest of the work week was just me going through my normal daily routine, except with a comically large lower lip (and a bit of puss). Thankfully, the damn thing has healed now and life is back to normal.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/15410_10153164085372586_7460524200287705135_n.jpg?oh=d9c0608f8fb8fe76fdef1bb21de734d9&oe=54888663&__gda__=1422591668_f81a9905dec9592373850292647f9998" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-d-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/p417x417/15410_10153164085372586_7460524200287705135_n.jpg?oh=d9c0608f8fb8fe76fdef1bb21de734d9&oe=54888663&__gda__=1422591668_f81a9905dec9592373850292647f9998" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was glad that I didn't have to see people; then I snapped this selfie.</td></tr>
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Second thing: I received an unexpected but very welcome call last Monday from someone I haven't heard from in a couple of years. The nature of our conversation has immediate ramifications for <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">my plans to leave</a>. It may derail them, in fact. On one hand, I don't want months of planning to unravel. On the other, the opportunity offered to me happens only once in a lifetime. Sorry if I'm being vague but I've been sworn to secrecy but I'm sharing a bit of it here because I kinda wanna track the progression of this story as well, Hopefully, I get to dedicate an entry to this situation in the coming weeks.<br />
Right now, I'm trying to focus on the solution aka to have my cake and eat it too. It's a dilemma, to be sure, but I find that focusing on the problem is just gonna weigh me down (<a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekly-ketchup-33.html" target="_blank">like that time</a>). But this new development is gonna involve plenty of sacrifices on my part but, hopefully, it forces me to grow and evolve. So challenge accepted (I guess?)<br />
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<a href="http://www.terripaddock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Decisions_ToughAhead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.terripaddock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Decisions_ToughAhead.jpg" height="173" width="320" /></a></div>
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Lastly, this past week is memorable for the number of pitchforks slung. I agree that <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2767808/It-s-Not-Rape-It-s-A-Cuddle-With-A-Struggle-Outrage-T-Shirt-slogan-promotes-sexual-violence.html" target="_blank">rape is not funny</a> and <a href="http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/09/23/14/gabriela-slams-bench-woman-leash-act" target="_blank">leashing a performer</a> is distasteful (notice I did not say "female"). However, the number of opinions and discussions surrounding both incidents are already staggering plus I already spent last week on <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/09/weekly-ketchup-38.html" target="_blank">an overarching ramble about another societal issue</a> so I'm not gonna get into them here. I will just point out three things:<br />
a) The irony of timing as both issues went viral at the same time that <a href="http://www.terripaddock.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Decisions_ToughAhead.jpg" target="_blank">Emma Watson's speech at the United Nations</a> did.<br />
b) Watson, of course, emphasized the responsibility of males to take up the feminist cause as well. The thing is: As someone whose earliest memories happened during the time of a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corazon_Aquino" target="_blank">female president</a>; whose parental figures were my grandmother, my mom, and my aunt; whose earliest comic heroes were <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-21.html" target="_blank">the X-men</a> and their powerful female characters; and who has worked with more female bosses, the idea that women are inferior in any way have always been alien to me. While that may not mean much coming from a guy with <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/06/weekly-ketchup-22.html" target="_blank">a queer identity</a>, I look at my closest male friends who've had a traditional hetero-normative upbringing and I think we see women the same way. Must be a geek thing.<br />
c) I do wonder: If rape did not exist or if it wasn't a prevalent crime, would joking about it be simply <a href="http://www.wilderhom.com/original/catharsis07.jpg" target="_blank">cathartic</a>? After all, Greek dramas were all sprung from exploring aspects of the human experience that were not realized at the time. Similarly, if male patriarchy or slavery were figments of our imagination, would the image of a man holding a woman on a leash just mean to satisfy our curiosity? And to tie this matter off with last week's conundrums: If it had been a black woman holding a Filipino man (two cultures with no common histories) on a leash, can it just be art?<br />
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Obviously, I didn't really see a female being ensnared by the patriarchy. I just saw another human being and it is disturbing (but was it also cathartic?), especially since the concept did not call for it. Writing this just now made me realize I wasn't as offended by the imagery as my friends were.<br />
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Just like racial and cultural issues, matters about sex, gender, and representation are important to me not just as a person but also as a would-be creator. Unfortunately, our lot in life is that we're born either one or the other, so the "write what you know" principle is harder to follow when you're talking about the opposite sex or people of other cultures so it helps to collaborate as well as to keep the dialog open.<br />
In the age of social media, however, there is the added challenge of sifting through wanton activism and knee-jerk reactions to get to little nuggets of enlightened opinions. Thankfully, there is an abundance of smart people in my life to mine them from.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-87007515546391261162014-09-21T07:45:00.000-07:002014-09-21T07:45:06.511-07:00Weekly Ketchup 38 - Racial RamblingsAs soon as I finished last week's catch-up, I immediately had an idea what this week's blog was gonna be about since the thought weighed heavily on my head days after posting it.<br />
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When I made the jump from talking about 300: Rise of an Empire to the Islamic State, I did not mean to imply that modern-day Persians (aka the Turks and the Iranians) are in anyway related to the terrorist group. I actually had to research about the difference between Persian and Arabian people because for the longest time, and I'm sure I'm not the only one guilty of this, I thought they were one and the same mainly because of geography and religion. I guess it's the same how some people can't differentiate between Koreans and Chinese (or even Japanese) and assume that the cultures are interchangeable. This doesn't necessarily mean that lumping unrelated peoples together is racist but I do understand how the ignorance can be offensive, regardless of the intent.<br />
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Though I wonder why everyone else but white people seem quick to cry "racist stereotyping". Since I talked about my love of the fantasy genre last week, allow me to make examples of elves (a Norse creature) and satyrs (a Greek creature) or, more similarly, fairies and nymphs being lumped together in games and books. Why is noone crying foul over the homogenization of European culture?<br />
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I also wonder: People were up in arms when Ziyi Zhang, a Chinese woman, was cast as the lead in Memoirs of a Geisha but I don't remember a single protest raised against the "Indianization" of the Fire Nation, which had a more Japanese inspiration in the cartoons, in "The Last Airbender". The latter, of course, had bigger problems when it was accused of white-washing peoples that had distinctively Inuit and Chinese origins.<br />
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Of course, the difference between "Geisha" and "Last Airbender" was that the former was explicitly set in Japan - a real location - whereas the former was set in a fictional world, so I can maybe give the producers a little leeway when it comes to reinterpreting the source material for the big screen to appeal to a wider domestic audience (same thing that happened with the Dragonball movie).<br />
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I admit I'm also given to a bit of bias. I really don't mind if a traditionally white character gets made over into a totally different race in a reinterpreted adaptation. Michael Clark Duncan as the Kingpin? Sold! Fan Bing Bing as Blink? Loved it! Michael B. Jordan as the Human Torch? Well, let's see how this goes but I'm open. There really isn't much room to wiggle here since these are characters that have been canonically illustrated as white people with a back history set in an idealized "real" world that specifically establishes such but I'm still all for it! But hell will be raised if War Machine or the Falcon were depicted as white.<br />
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That being said, I do wonder if a reinterpretation of "The Lord of the Rings" or "A Song of Ice and Fire" set in a more Asian-inspired fictional world, going directly against the authors' visions, would work? I wonder if I would be open to the idea. Right now, I'm a little curious about it as that sounds like an awesome production, travesty to the source material aside.<br />
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Admittedly, the modes of pop culture I consume - fantasy novels, comics, cartoons, even the CGI-laden summer blockbusters, and games (possibly) are all constructs of white people's imaginations, so it makes sense that some of the early works, even some of the current ones, in those genre were about them. I guess noone's crying foul about the homogenization of European cultures because the perpetrators are themselves white. We, as non-white consumers, cannot feign ignorance either because our education system has been Euro-centric from the get-go, which is why it's easier for us to accept the Greeks as heroes and the Persians as villains. Heck, I knew more about Greek mythology from high school than I ever did about Filipino lores. And no, it can't be that empire-building just leaves a bad taste in our mouth because the Romans and Alexander had empires and are venerated for it.<br />
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Why all this matters to me has to do with what I intend to leave in this world as my life's work: A fantasy epic that has gods, monsters, magic, heroes, and all sorts of creatures. One of the original ideas for the story was a desert-dwelling, moon-worshipping tribe of villainous ogres, which was immediately dropped after 9/11. I also wanted to present a human race that was far more diverse than what JRR Tolkien had in his legendarium, so I had main characters that resembled and were based on American Indians, Chinese, and Persian peoples. Meanwhile, the human halves of my humanoid creatures (aka harpies and minotaurs) are black. And yet my main character was a white boy. Even the gods I imagined then were Greek-inspired so they were naturally white.<br />
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As time wore on and my knowledge of the real world increased and deepened, the fictional world I have in my head also evolved, albeit somewhat conflictingly. The gods are no longer white humans but magical creatures instead. I have now added more humans into the world, including those based on the East Indians and the Africans. All of them inhabiting the same world as elves, fairies, djinns, dragons, and vampires! I feel like in the effort to not be racially biased, I have created this rather colorful but convoluted world and lost track of the story!<br />
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Another question that have plagued me in recent years was whether to write my Filipino ancestry into the story. After all, Tolkien drew much inspiration from his Irish ancestry for his Hobbits. I tried to rewrite the story in this vein when I joined NaNoWriMo a few years ago but I ended up with a totally different story than I originally intended! This got me thinking: Regardless of whether I find a large enough audience, should I bear the responsibility of bringing my world into this genre that I love and aspire to participate in?<br />
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On a related story: This past week, some of my friends from UP have been accusing the NU Pep Squad (and other squads) of "cultural misappropriation" in their choice of themes following last week's cheerdancing competition for which the UP Pep Squad, despite their strong advocacy theme, placed second. While I don't doubt my friends' objectivity about the matter, it can't be helped to taste bitterness in their objections. The same can be said about me expressing this observation coming from the school that placed third.<br />
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Now all was on my mind a few days ago when I thought: Maybe the only way my work would not come of as Euro-centric, racist, ignorant, culturally misappropriated and not worry about representing my ethnicity was to instead create a whole new race of humans that are far removed what exists now - like people gray skins with blue hair. I can take what little tidbits about real cultures however it would serve the story. How cool would that be to have samurai-like warriors headquartered in a pyramid, for example?<br /><br />Of course, I'm rambling about a piece of work that doesn't exist yet but as my life's work, I need to really think hard about these things and educate myself.<br />
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Anyway, I'm currently feverish, fighting off a lip infection, so I apologize if this week's edition isn't studded with links and images. I'll update when I feel better, hopefully this coming week.PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-11454221715877897942014-09-15T08:25:00.001-07:002014-09-15T08:25:22.925-07:00Weekly Ketchup 37 - Flight of FantasyGeekdom is a vast realm of varied interests and I have long cast my lot with fantasy and mythology. Last week alone, I found myself gorging on as much magic and fantasy as I can handle - and somehow found some connections between my hobbies, current events, and existentialist questions.<br /><br />
First things first: I finished the entire <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra_(Book_2)" target="_blank">second book of Avatar: The Legend of Korra</a> and, while not awful, it just didn't quite capture my imagination as much as <a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avatar:_The_Last_Airbender" target="_blank">Legend of Aang</a> did. Its world of automobiles, "movers", mechas, etc. were just alien to me. In fact, the only episodes I fully enjoyed were the saga of <a href="http://avatar.wikia.com/wiki/Wan" target="_blank">Wan</a> (spin-off please?). I would've appreciated the world better if bending somehow explained the new technologies. That being said, I'm sure still gonna follow <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra_(Book_3)" target="_blank">book three</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/307/b/6/wan_vaatu_by_hyamei-d6svjt8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://fc04.deviantart.net/fs70/f/2013/307/b/6/wan_vaatu_by_hyamei-d6svjt8.jpg" height="199" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wan/Raava vs. Vaatu<br />(<a href="http://hyamei.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">Source</a>)</td></tr>
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On the gaming front, I'm still on <a href="http://www.gog.com/game/warlords_battlecry_2" target="_blank">Warlords Battlecry 2</a> and <a href="https://secure.gog.com/game/age_of_wonders_2_the_wizards_throne" target="_blank">Age of Wonders 2</a> (yeah, it takes a while). I've been playing WB2 on a daily basis since <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekly-ketchup-32.html" target="_blank">Geekstractions</a> and I've now conquered three quarters of the world (with a sad win-loss record of 1:2). Meanwhile, I've been spending my free Saturdays on AoW2, playing a couple of really long levels at a time, and is now one level away from finishing the game! Yay me!<br />
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Book-wise, I started <a href="http://www.danielarenson.com/" target="_blank">Daniel Arenson's</a> <a href="http://www.danielarenson.com/IPadKindleFantasyNovel.aspx" target="_blank">Firefly Island</a>. I didn't remember the premise of the book and why I bought it so I went into blindly, not certain if I liked it a couple of chapters in. But the more I unraveled Arenson's world, I became so much more invested that I plowed through about eight chapters last Saturday! The narrative is easy enough to follow, the characters are likable, and the world-building was wonderful! It reminds me a lot of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Eddings" target="_blank">David Eddings'</a> and <a href="http://brandonsanderson.com/" target="_blank">Brandon Sanderson's</a> works!<br />
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I also caught up with some movies that I deliberately missed because of bad reviews: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrath_of_the_Titans" target="_blank">Wrath of the Titans</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immortals_(2011_film)" target="_blank">The Immortals</a>, and <a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/300:_Rise_of_an_Empire" target="_blank">300: Rise of the Empire</a>. Titans was just plain awful in every conceivable angle while Immortals and Empire were serviceable enough - they were at least pretty. My main problem with the mythology in Titans and Immortals, though, was that the "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ragnar%C3%B6k" target="_blank">twilight of the gods</a>" was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norse_mythology" target="_blank">Norse</a> concept and not Greek. Can somebody just make a film about Ragnarok and be done with it?<br />
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Coincidentally, I saw Rise of an Empire last Thursday - exactly the anniversary of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks" target="_blank">9/11</a>. Just the day before, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/10/obama-isis-speech-text_n_5801200.html" target="_blank">Barrack Obama addressed the ISIS situation</a>. It was then that I acknowledged (internally) that I am afraid, especially at the prospect of another world war (thinking about Russia and North Korea as well). While violent conflicts are par for the course of any fantasy epic in any medium, I don't think I'm prepared to handle such a situation if it hits close to home.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFbLdEIYjTCFdtm-WkElDtC38FOBsrV6SV9lEFE5SQz6LSa20dqZb8hE5PBhtn5YRwE7kjblSHDkUwMI9fnJBrOMtVDKZZnfBLKU5QzqNBLefb_U9URV6q-6zsSDubJJKTqpobxjd_YI/s1600/Artemisia-vs-Gorgo-300-Rise-Of-An-Empire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKFbLdEIYjTCFdtm-WkElDtC38FOBsrV6SV9lEFE5SQz6LSa20dqZb8hE5PBhtn5YRwE7kjblSHDkUwMI9fnJBrOMtVDKZZnfBLKU5QzqNBLefb_U9URV6q-6zsSDubJJKTqpobxjd_YI/s1600/Artemisia-vs-Gorgo-300-Rise-Of-An-Empire.jpg" height="164" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gorgo and Artemisia were the best part of the movie!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
While we're on the subject of fantasy and religion, I've always wondered what it said about me that I am now averse towards the magical and fantastic doctrines of organized religion but sold on anything with dragons, fairies, avatars, titans, and the like. Then again, fantasy doesn't force me to believe that wizards are real the same way that religions venerate their saints and prophets. Then again, I'm no atheist. <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/weekly-ketchup-07.html" target="_blank">I'd still like to believe in a powerful unknowable force that permeates the universe.</a> Maybe that's why I haven't lost my sense of wonder? Or maybe they're not connected?<br />
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Anyway, I also had the pleasure of teaming up with Paolo and Denice, both members of the Geek Fight committee, at last Wednesday's Boho Quiz Night hosted by Jon (one of my usual quiz night teammates). We didn't win but it was a fun evening nonetheless. I got to participate in Paolo's impromptu mini trivia game at our table since he was showing us some of the questions he used before. As usual, if it's not related to fantasy and mythology (or comics), I'm useless.<br />
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<a href="http://dawnrossauthor.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/saruman-gandalf-radagast-blue-wizard-lord-of-the-rings-hobbit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://dawnrossauthor.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/saruman-gandalf-radagast-blue-wizard-lord-of-the-rings-hobbit.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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In other news:<br />
I went to my college friend Hanna's kid's baptism way up in Bulacan yesterday. It's always good to see the old gang, especially Tintin who's been based in Singapore for more than 5 years. Of course, I found <a href="https://twitter.com/pinoyavenger/status/511146335467474944" target="_blank">something deplorable about the priest's sermon</a>. It's the thing I hate most about religious doctrines: The divisiveness.<br />
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We tried to catch the livestream of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UAAP_Cheerdance_Competition" target="_blank">UAAP Cheerdance Competition</a> on the road but eventually our feed was cut off just as it was getting interesting. And while the general Thomasian community is glad that the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UST_Salinggawi_Dance_Troupe" target="_blank">UST Salinggawi Dance Troupe</a> finally made it back to the top 3, I'm glad they delivered a performance that I can get behind because the past few years have just been mediocre at best.<br />
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PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-39290475074817533962014-09-07T07:07:00.001-07:002014-09-07T07:07:11.663-07:00Weekly Ketchup 36 - Overcoming Depression?Last Tuesday morning, while on the train to my office from the printer's (ie, not my usual daily routine), I was suddenly and unexpectedly overcome with an overwhelming sense of grief - for no apparent reason.<br />
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Every time I get this way, I just keep thinking to myself that it's a chemical imbalance and proceed to busy myself and do something - anything - to get out of that state because it's an awful place to be! Even daydream!<br />
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Of course, being stuck on that train meant I had nowhere else to go. Thankfully, I had my sunglasses on to hide any external manifestation of that inexplicable despair. But for some reason, I didn't have music blasting in my ears like I usually do (then again, that morning was not my routine).<br />
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And so I scrambled to find songs to play and hopefully drown out my unseen foe. It was then that I remembered a couple of things I wrote a while back: one, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-29.html" target="_blank">when I wondered why I'm suddenly allergic to being idle</a>; and two, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-19.html" target="_blank">the wandering and wondering voices in my head</a> (figuratively, of course; I'm not insane - yet).<br />
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As I calmed myself down, I began to wonder whether my interests in a variety of things, most recently <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekly-ketchup-35.html" target="_blank">my search for new comics to follow</a>, and my entertaining these "voices" are my means of subduing or coping with this unseen enemy. My hypothesis is that in those moments of complete stillness, when I don't think or feel anything, that's when it strikes. Of course, I can't really confirm that since I didn't keep records of previous episodes and there's no way to test it conclusively moving forward since I am now aware of it.<br />
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If there is indeed a correlation between keeping my head busy and fighting off what I can only describe as an anxiety attack, then this blog is a liability. There is a certain catharsis about putting thoughts into words. It frees my head of clutter, which could either leave space for more vapid ramblings or, as I have now theorized, leave me open to irrational bouts of depression.<br />
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(As I write this, it occurs to me that something else might also be at work here. If it's just a random chemical imbalance as I rationalized, why is it so easy for me to stave off with various distractions?)<br />
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Outside of this brief episode, I did have a good week.<br />Or maybe I'm just overcome with distractions?<br />
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First of all, I finished <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/mistborn" target="_blank">Mistborn: The Final Empire</a>. <a href="https://twitter.com/pinoyavenger/status/507205911388372992" target="_blank">I liked it well enough</a>.<br />
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Read a few more FREE comics from Kobo: <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/midnight-nation-1/_UL067i6QU2jKR58Nbt5QA" target="_blank">Midnight Nation</a> (didn't like; set up mysteries I couldn't care about) and <a href="http://store.kobobooks.com/en-US/ebook/hunter-killer-0" target="_blank">Hunter Killer</a> (didn't think I'd enjoy it but I did).<br />
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Started watching <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Legend_of_Korra_(Book_2)" target="_blank">Legend of Korra season two</a>. I have yet to make my mind whether I love it (the steam punk may have a lot to do with it but that's a carry over from season one) but I do think the conflict Korra had with her mentors in the first couple of episodes felt a little forced.<br />
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The alternate ending to How I Met Your Mother had been <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/how-i-met-your-mother-alternate-ending-leaks-online-ahead-of-official-dvd-release-9716773.html" target="_blank">leaked ahead of the DVD release</a>. I already shared <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/04/weekly-ketchup-14.html" target="_blank">my views on the matter</a> but it's an interesting timing for me since I just saw this video a few days ago and I thought it was pretty spot on. It's from a channel I subscribed to not too long ago but not in time to catch this as it went live.<br />
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Lastly: I went to Geek Fight after a long while along with my usual teammates and placed second. We're pretty split actually as a bunch of us were also in Amici for the monthly quiz night there (they won). We could've won but there were so many instances when someone had the answer but was unsure and someone else would suggest another answer and it would turn out the previous answer was already correct.<br />
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So that's my week. Hoping for a good week ahead!PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-28782978035405632752014-08-31T05:27:00.001-07:002014-08-31T05:27:16.281-07:00Weekly Ketchup 35 - Comics and 4DX!I had a completely different idea about how this past week was gonna unfold and what this blog was gonna be about. When I said <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/Weekly-Ketchup-34.html" target="_blank">last week</a> that I was gonna have something more coherent for this week, it was because I expected that, by this time, I've already seen <a href="http://www.9workstheatrical.com/" target="_blank">9 Works Theatrical</a>'s staging of "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Five_Years" target="_blank">The Last Five Years</a>" and gotten sized up for a costume I was gonna wear as a member of <a href="https://twitter.com/EnchantmentPH" target="_blank">Enchantment Ph</a>'s Disney cosplay group in time for <a href="http://cosplaymania.com/" target="_blank">CosplayMania</a>.<br />
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Well, life happened. Tickets to this weekend's show were sold out and it's the last one. And, as it turned out, Enchantment Ph wasn't gonna be at CosplayMania. So why bother?<br />
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While neither is a complete loss (I mean, I can live without either), I was really looking forward to them. For pretty much the entire year, I've been shaving off some of my regular activities and declining events for the purposes of saving money, so it was kind of a big deal for me that I got excited about the show and cosplaying enough that I considered dipping into my savings. It's musical theater and Disney after all!<br />
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Thankfully, I have other interests and this week I had some time to delve into my comics-adled self.<br />
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For starters, I spent a great deal of the week going through <a href="http://comixology.com/" target="_blank">Comixology</a>, the <a href="http://play.google.com/" target="_blank">Google Play Store</a>, and <a href="http://kobobooks.com/" target="_blank">Kobo</a> looking for new worlds to discover and explore. I've been actually doing it for months and so far the only viable <a href="http://computer.howstuffworks.com/drm1.htm" target="_blank">DRM-free</a> digital platform (similar to Kobo, <a href="http://cdbaby.com/" target="_blank">CD Baby</a>, and <a href="http://gog.com/">GOG.com</a>) is <a href="http://imagecomics.com/">ImageComics.com</a>, which obviously narrows down my choices to those offered by that publisher. Comixology's recently unveiled <a href="https://www.comixology.com/drm-free-backup" target="_blank">DRM-Free backups</a>, however, has opened my choices up to other publishers like <a href="http://zenescope.com/" target="_blank">Zenescope</a> and <a href="http://topcow.com/" target="_blank">Top Cow</a>. Both companies offer free but DRM-locked #0 or #1 issues of their respective titles on Google Play (for Zenescope) and Kobo (for Top Cow) but, as much as they dabble in the fantasy genre, what little I've glimpsed of their universes in the past few months have so far failed to excite me.<br />
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I tried to broaden my horizon this past week by sampling some of <a href="http://arcana.com/" target="_blank">Arcana Studios</a> and <a href="http://aspencomics.com/" target="_blank">Aspen's</a> free offerings on Comixology. Both companies also dabble in the realm of fantasy but I just can't get past the DRM restrictions despite liking what I've seen. Some of Aspen's titles are also available DRM-Free from <a href="http://drivethrucomics.com/" target="_blank">DriveThruComics</a>. If the site can just sign more publishers up and offer more file formats, I feel like the company will be my go-to site for digital comics but at the moment I'm only test-driving their services by availing some <a href="http://comics.drivethrustuff.com/browse.php?pto=0&pfrom=0" target="_blank">free issues</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe3FgklkrLohQu9PifdLaCUgK1LqJYXgzmEGr-m98EF9U4HZtHFc8zXNLJSqzM6zV4nfNZjT0bidWGLJvfdxtg5qPeUK2idIci9limZdDW9N5MHyYmHtJ0V25BA1uWGl8COYTtShk7v2t/s1600/screenshot.109.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTe3FgklkrLohQu9PifdLaCUgK1LqJYXgzmEGr-m98EF9U4HZtHFc8zXNLJSqzM6zV4nfNZjT0bidWGLJvfdxtg5qPeUK2idIci9limZdDW9N5MHyYmHtJ0V25BA1uWGl8COYTtShk7v2t/s1600/screenshot.109.jpg" height="161" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pretty impressive list of publishers already</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That being said, allow me to deviate from the topic of digital distribution to the actual content that these publishers offer, especially as it relates to the <a href="http://themarysue.com/spider-woman-butt-cover-reeanacted" target="_blank">recent controversy</a> surrounding <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milo_Manara" target="_blank">Milo Manara's</a> variant cover to Spider-Woman no. 1. I feel like some of the anger towards Manara is unfounded considering that drawing women in provocative poses is what he's known to do. I think the problem really is that Marvel commissioned him to do this variant cover in the first place, which makes me wonder why this particular cover is gaining so much heat when this is just the latest in a long line of Manara-commissioned Marvel variants. My take is that, as much as it pains me to admit this in 2014, there is still a segment of the market that gets off on sexified women in comics and, I guess, this is a variant cover to attract that market. Nobody has to buy it - the regular cover is just fine and I'm sure the rest of the actual story in the issue puts Jessica Drew (<a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2012/04/league-of-their-own.html" target="_blank">one of my all-time favorite Avengers</a>, by the way) in very good light.<br />
<br />
Which brings me back to the publishers I mentioned above. With the exception of Image Comics (<a href="http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/11/women-in-90s-comics/" target="_blank">whose 90s incarnation had so much to atone for</a>), it's hard for me to take their titles seriously because just look at these. I'm probably being unfair as I'm sure their comics is brilliantly written if I really give them a chance but the prevalent imagery in their books sure looks like they're intended for a particular market.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViaz2MLwWEGEaCAC1s-oEK8IA83inh_KEA3m-t_pntVvYrC_Jc5HWELuHold-36v6idJ1SSnBNRV9L0kn9xii3EaohP2vfWjuZtikT798dq0M15W3s85KcKs6RVTTeKkSAv4KRX3tLuXN/s1600/screenshot.108.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjViaz2MLwWEGEaCAC1s-oEK8IA83inh_KEA3m-t_pntVvYrC_Jc5HWELuHold-36v6idJ1SSnBNRV9L0kn9xii3EaohP2vfWjuZtikT798dq0M15W3s85KcKs6RVTTeKkSAv4KRX3tLuXN/s1600/screenshot.108.jpg" height="153" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
There is, however, a shining beacon in the form of <a href="http://dynamite.com/" target="_blank">Dynamite</a>, which is one of the publishers that are part of Comixology's DRM-Free back-up program. They also recently launched their own DRM-Free digital comics store, though their selection is not that extensive yet. With luck, they become as viable as Image Comics come <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber_Monday" target="_blank">Cyber Monday</a> later this year and offer up their entire back catalog at a discount because I've perused their titles and I'm already interested in quite a few. when Comixology's DRM-free back up program was launched a few weeks ago, I sampled <a href="http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?CAT=DF-Project_Superpowers" target="_blank">Project Super Powers</a> with a couple of free zero issues and I'm in! I want to read the entire thing! I've also been thinking about <a href="http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?CAT=DF-Masks" target="_blank">Masks</a> and <a href="http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?CAT=DF-Kings_Watch" target="_blank">King's Watch</a> for a while now (they're like the Justice League and the Avengers but with pulp characters), so I'm looking forward to those. I just tried <a href="http://www.dynamite.com/htmlfiles/viewProduct.html?CAT=DF-Kirby_Genesis" target="_blank">Kirby Genesis</a> today via the free zero issue and I'm also game but, for some reason, the DRM-Free back-up isn't available. The series is <a href="https://www.comixology.com/Kirby-Genesis-Sale/page/3288/?tid=B140829002_Dynamite_Kirby_Captian_Victory_Sale&utm_source=brick&utm_medium=sale&utm_content=B140829002_Dynamite_Kirby_Captian_Victory_Sale&utm_content=Dynamite" target="_blank">currently on sale on Comixology</a> but until I'm certain of the DRM-free back up, it's a no-go for me.<br />
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<a href="http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g50/Tommy_Wallace/Pics%20for%20Dynamite%20Forum/SuperpowersRossPaintingtemplogos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g50/Tommy_Wallace/Pics%20for%20Dynamite%20Forum/SuperpowersRossPaintingtemplogos.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a></div>
The best thing about these titles is that they're finite miniseries, so the stories draw to a close instead of goes on (much like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watchmen" target="_blank">Watchmen</a>) so there's no need for me to follow them for years on end. Which brings me to another title I'm attraced to: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_P%C3%A9rez" target="_blank">George Perez's</a> upcoming 6-issue miniseries <a href="http://www.boom-studios.com/george-perez-s-sirens-full-series-subscription.html" target="_blank">Sirens</a>. Remember last week when I said I've been daydreaming about Avengers stories? Well, one of those was an all-female Avengers squad and this lineup looks a lot like the one I have in my head. I see the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Jocasta, She-Hulk. Obviously, that's not them but I wouldn't be surprised if these characters are Perez's analogues to Earth's Mightiest Heroines. <a href="http://www.boom-studios.com/" target="_blank">Boom! Studios</a>, this comics' publisher, currently doesn't offer any DRM-free digital comics, nor is it part of Comixology's backup program so I might just pick up the physical copy or wait for the trade paperback.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cdn.bleedingcool.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/unnamed-19-600x922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.bleedingcool.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/unnamed-19-600x922.jpg" height="400" width="260" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See how different the women in this cover is.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Lastly, there is another comic I'm currently interested in, mainly because of last night's new experience. <a href="https://www.comixology.com/Pacific-Rim-Tales-From-Year-Zero/digital-comic/42007" target="_blank">Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero</a> is on Comixology but is neither DRM-Free nor on sale. Unfortunately, it's also not available on Google Play or Kobo. I might have to scour the world for a physical copy, hopefully on sale. And, yes, I'm only interested in it because I just saw <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1663662/" target="_blank">Pacific Rim</a> last night with a bunch of friends. I didn't see it when it came out last year because the premise just didn't tickle my fancy. It was just another CGI-laden summer blockbuster as far as I was concerned. But, having finally seen it, in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4DX" target="_blank">4DX</a> no less - I find that the movie actually did something not even the Marvel movies could do: elicit a physical reaction from me in the theater that doesn't involve laughing (or crying for that matter). I was literally at the edge of my seat grabbing hold of my armrest and clenching my jaw as the <a href="http://pacificrim.wikia.com/wiki/Jaeger" target="_blank">jaegers</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaiju" target="_blank">kaijus</a> duked it out. It was definitely an intense experience.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/wp-content/uploads/Pacific-Rim-movie-super-banner-kaiju-jaeger-part-4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.pacificrimmovie.net/wp-content/uploads/Pacific-Rim-movie-super-banner-kaiju-jaeger-part-4.jpg" height="147" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
As much as I enjoyed 4DX, though, I don't think any amount of special atmospheric effect is going to save a bad movie (*cough*<a href="http://transformers.wikia.com/wiki/Bayformer" target="_blank">Bayformers</a>*cough*). I'd like to see another 4DX movie again as long as I know the movie's good to begin with, though I can't imagine what other movie would be perfect for this format? Gravity, perhaps?<br />
<br />
Oh, and just to connect the movie to something I said a few paragraphs ago, gratuitousness goes both ways in 2014 and I think the filmmakers knew what they were doing when they hired <a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0402271/" target="_blank">Charlie Hunnam</a> for the movie.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://gallery.superherofan.net/C/Charlie-Hunnam/pacific-rim14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://gallery.superherofan.net/C/Charlie-Hunnam/pacific-rim14.jpg" height="178" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
It looks like I ended the week on a pretty high note, despite the disappointments, so I'd like to think it's still a good week!PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-66263698571798471012014-08-25T06:01:00.001-07:002014-08-25T06:04:23.199-07:00Weekly Ketchup 34 - General Updates and AddendaLest my <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekly-ketchup-33.html" target="_blank">current work problems</a> turn into a three-episode arc, I'm just gonna append the experience of the past few weeks with a simple "things had a way of working themselves out". So, yeah, I'm slowly creeping back to my hopeful self.<br />
<br />
Thankfully, the rest of the week passed without much fanfare, which brings me to the subject of this week's blog: What to write about? I thought I'd take this opportunity to share some thoughts that have been buzzing around in my head for a while now. These are mostly ramblings that were in drafts of earlier entries but had to be cut off because the blogs were getting too long. Either that or there just hadn't been an impetus to share them in a given week. Until now.<br />
<br />
<b>Changing Social Behavior</b><br />
<br />
A couple of weeks ago, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekly-ketchup-32.html" target="_blank">I ran this list of geeky distractions</a>. What didn't make the cut of that rather long blog was the behind-the-scenes dilemma I had throughout that entire week about whether I should share the movie, music, book, or game I've been checking out. In real time. On all my social networks.<br />
<br />
The thing was that I didn't want this blog to be a curation of what I've been sharing on social media the past week. I didn't want it to be like an extended edition of what I've already shared. That's just too much time sharing, opining, and talking about the same set of subjects.<br />
<br />
And so I resolved to keep quiet about my new interests until I can blog about them. It's not in real time and I don't even get a lot of views but I do get to archive my thoughts, which is why I still prefer blogging in long form as opposed to sharing random bursts of opinion or activity.<br />
<br />
<b>Waging A Silent War</b><br />
<br />
One of the earliest entries on this series was about <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/Weekly-Ketchup-03.html" target="_blank">random thoughts I had while walking home from work</a>. In <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-28-pretentious.html" target="_blank">another blog not too long ago</a>, I briefly mentioned how jeepneys have never been part of my reality. I'm aware that they're there and I do take them on occasion, especially late at night when buses and trains are no longer available but, until <a href="http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/tag/manila-bus-ban" target="_blank">the Manila bus ban</a>, I've never had to take them on a daily basis.<br />
<br />
These past few months I've devised ways to cope with my current predicament. One way, as one might guess, was that I've been walking home. Thankfully, the distance between my house and office isn't all that great and I could use the bit of exercise given my sedentary lifestyle.<br />
<br />
Another way I've been dealing, especially in the morning on my way to work, is holding on to my payment until I'm near the office and satisfied with the journey. Because the worst part about taking these piles of scrap metal are smoking drivers, everytime a driver lights a stick, I get off - without paying - and transfer to another jeep. I will also transfer if the driver plays really loud awful music. I realize that this sounds cruel but as a consumer, I need to get this satisfaction from a service I'm paying for.<br />
<br />
<b>Consumer vs Creator</b><br />
<br />
Another earlier post was how <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/weekly-ketchup-08.html" target="_blank">everything seems to be accessible online now</a>, which has been rather good for me since I got to open myself up to new and even old books, games, and comics.<br />
<br />
Not too long ago I also wrote about some <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/07/weekly-ketchup-29.html" target="_blank">first world problems</a> I had during a recent storm that took out our power and Internet. What I cut from that entry was my hypothesis that I was much more creative and imaginative back when I didn't have much access to anything. I remember one stormy and blacked out day when I came up with an entire X-books crossover. At the time, there was nothing else to do and I also didn't read many X-men comics because I couldn't afford them.<br />
<br />
In all my years as an Avengers fan, most of which time I've been able to afford everything, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-21.html" target="_blank">I've never once imagined a single storyline</a>, let alone an entire crossover epic. However, recently, now that <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2012/10/on-bendis-avx-and-marvel-now.html" target="_blank">I'm not following the comics</a> (not because I can't afford them, rather because they weren't coming up with the type of stories I want to read), I've been daydreaming about fantasy story arcs I want to see! I even like launching a fan fiction series - but I would still like for it to be graphic, even if I'm not an artist. I just gotta iron out the story!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/q82/p417x417/10314520_10152786650947586_5740528786534572189_n.jpg?oh=45a76db4bdca1594465d04a1aadf6685&oe=546D0FB2&__gda__=1416535348_c854efd8f4da0970b8d86e166834f63e" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/q82/p417x417/10314520_10152786650947586_5740528786534572189_n.jpg?oh=45a76db4bdca1594465d04a1aadf6685&oe=546D0FB2&__gda__=1416535348_c854efd8f4da0970b8d86e166834f63e" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I shared this on <a href="http://www.instagram.com/pinoyavenger/" target="_blank">my Instagram</a> a few months ago.<br />
I actually imagined a war game back when I could only fantasize about playing one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
That's just three of the most badly written ramblings ever but I do enjoy putting my thoughts into words, however haphazardly, otherwise they would just fester in my head. That being said, I'm looking forward to a more coherent blog next week!<br />
<br />
Oh, and this blog was delayed because of two very important people:<br />
<br />
Yesterday, I was recovering from a party we had the night before to celebrate geek friend Hank's birthday!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/p480x480/10616441_10152782336057573_1418807637744709056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://scontent-b-pao.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xap1/t1.0-9/p480x480/10616441_10152782336057573_1418807637744709056_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo from Lynn's Facebook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Earlier today, I was at lunch to celebrate the birthday of another geek friend, Carlo!<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10514650_10204583400645535_3424428525766946326_n.jpg?oh=857f4712e073e0b267cf29349737bc72&oe=545AC847&__gda__=1416206417_9565d00f41f44dcda6760775abe43589" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-xpa1/v/t1.0-9/10514650_10204583400645535_3424428525766946326_n.jpg?oh=857f4712e073e0b267cf29349737bc72&oe=545AC847&__gda__=1416206417_9565d00f41f44dcda6760775abe43589" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm sure there's a better photo somewhere but this will do for now.<br />
From Tania's Facebook</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-6985213751609974962014-08-17T03:56:00.001-07:002014-08-17T03:56:24.730-07:00Weekly Ketchup 33 - I Just Need A WinRemember last week's <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/08/weekly-ketchup-32.html" target="_blank">pop culture distractions from a rather stressful work situation</a>? Well, here's the follow-up: As much as I know I'm doing the right thing, educating the client and going against orders, I realized a few days ago that I also screwed up. And we're already going into print! While the client didn't notice the mistake yet, I need to find a way to rectify the situation before they do! I already have an idea about what to do but it's gonna be expensive. FUCK!<br />
<br />
The truth is that this isn't the first time that this has happened. Back in my previous agency, we've also made a couple of really expensive mistakes. Yeah, small details that tend to be overlooked can be extremely costly for the agency or the creative director whose job it was to make sure details down to the minute level are well accounted for. I've even gotten fired from a couple of non-advertising jobs for missing mistakes that should have been spotted during proofing.<br />
<br />
All this time I thought I've gotten better a this sort of thing but obviously not. Apologies if I'm keeping the details a little vague because it's really boring to have to explain. Bottom line is that I screwed up and I've been bummed about it this past week. I'm afraid of how much it's going to cost me considering I've been <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/01/weekly-ketchup-02-book-sale-saving.html" target="_blank">saving up</a> and <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">also leaving</a><span id="goog_694785941"></span><span id="goog_694785942"></span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/"></a>. I'm afraid of having to convince the printer to stop production so I can fix my mistake, which we thankfully have time for (at least). More importantly, I'm afraid of what this experience might mean to my future job prospects.<br />
<br />
I've been reminding myself that this ordeal is just a job and it's not the end of the world. It won't even matter in a year's time. Take it as a lesson learned. <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/02/Weekly-Ketchup-06.html" target="_blank">This was all supposed to be just "plan b"</a>, remember?<br />
<br />
And yet, up until yesterday, this matter has weighed heavily on my mind that I couldn't bring myself to do anything else. I wanted to take this weekend to get started on a few other projects but that didn't happen. Instead, I laid in bed punishing myself mentally for my incompetence.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120922215052/creepypasta/images/a/ab/Jesus_facepalm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120922215052/creepypasta/images/a/ab/Jesus_facepalm.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Adding to my already paralyzing frustration this past week was <a href="http://www.gog.com/game/warlords_battlecry_2" target="_blank">Warlords Battlecry 2</a>, which I've been playing to distract my thoughts from the situation. The problem was that I kept losing and it's really bruising my already wounded ego!<br />
<br />
I really just needed one win this past week.<br />
It doesn't help that Robin Williams also died this past week.<br />
I mean, celebrities die all the time but this one really hit. He is, after all, one of the prominent figures I knew growing up. I also followed "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Crazy_Ones" target="_blank">The Crazy Ones</a>" (wouldn't you know it, a show about my industry) this past year and was saddened that it was cancelled. I just couldn't help myself - I was tearing up this entire week just looking at tribute art like this one:<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://33.media.tumblr.com/6160c664340f543cda8a7460824cbaa9/tumblr_na7c7jwh9h1szoraeo1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://33.media.tumblr.com/6160c664340f543cda8a7460824cbaa9/tumblr_na7c7jwh9h1szoraeo1_500.png" height="320" width="256" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cinnamintcherry.tumblr.com/post/94542768554" target="_blank">Credit to the artist</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Late afternoon yesterday, after realizing I won't get anything done unless I get a win, I finally got up from bed and fired up Warlords Battlecry 2. I played that thing over and over again until, finally, around 11pm, I got my win! I finally conquered that region that has been denied me this entire week!<br />
<br />
Man, I just needed that sense of satisfaction. Went to sleep a little peacefully last night and woke up feeling less lousy earlier today. I even got to do some work that I've been neglecting these past few weeks.<br />
<br />
Hopefully, the rest of the week won't be so bad.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgfimJD6sZrVKGRCpqTUA8Jxfd_SEMlFgJv6o5yw7_wQywxFQr-DqYqQQHqMJTE_Y82pZ31njhuAn5k-pomSlJzm2SwYafW161tQP9KQw-Ga2M37fnhuC2hPiGOgmNdYFUeiB0BH803n8/s1600/screenshot.101.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfgfimJD6sZrVKGRCpqTUA8Jxfd_SEMlFgJv6o5yw7_wQywxFQr-DqYqQQHqMJTE_Y82pZ31njhuAn5k-pomSlJzm2SwYafW161tQP9KQw-Ga2M37fnhuC2hPiGOgmNdYFUeiB0BH803n8/s1600/screenshot.101.jpg" height="283" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the green banners and castles? Those are mine.<br />The castle at the lower left, at the bottom of my empire is my hardest won territory yet.</td></tr>
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PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-44864346519402554712014-08-11T05:50:00.002-07:002014-08-11T05:50:59.769-07:00Weekly Ketchup 32 - GeekstractionsThis past week, I've been trying to distract myself from thinking about a possible confrontation with a client. Remember the campaign I mentioned <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/WeeklyKetchup09.html" target="_blank">here</a> and the photo shoot I discussed <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-11.html" target="_blank">here</a>? Yeah, it's that client.<br />
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The short version, though, is that this client doesn't seem to get that the moment a digital proof of the layout we sent their printer is provided, then that means they're ready to go to print. This client also seems to have it in their heads that we speak for their printer along with some other expectations that we, as an agency, never offered. This situation bothers me so much that I'm constantly imagining the confrontation with the client. I suppose it's because I really can't be angry or annoyed towards the client however much I'd like to use expletives, hence I let the confrontation linger in my fantasies. But it's taken up so much of my free time that I just want release! The argument did happen last Friday though and I'm a bit proud of myself for holding my ground. I tried to be less argumentative or aggressive about it and tried to educate the client about the standard process that agencies and printers follow.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://printinmexico.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/print-proof-586x266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://printinmexico.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/print-proof-586x266.jpg" height="181" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This all that either the printer or the agency should see on the digital proof</td></tr>
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Anyway, as of this writing, the saga continues and my head is still swimming with negative scenarios, which brings me back to distractions. This past week, I've been trying out new comics, movies, and books - anything just to pass the time without imagining the screaming match I really want to have with the client.<br />
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I started the week finally reading my digital copy of "<a href="https://imagecomics.com/comics/series/rat-queens" target="_blank">Rat Queens</a>" that I got from the Image sale a few weeks back. It's a fantasy so it's obviously a prime pick for me and I enjoyed it immensely. I really wish there was more to read with each issue though. Like I said during <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-20.html" target="_blank">my quick review of "Invincible"</a>, I really miss the days when comics would take at least 15 minutes to read.<br />
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<a href="http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads//2014/03/Ratqueensheader.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://dorkshelf.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads//2014/03/Ratqueensheader.jpg" height="160" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also got into "<a href="https://imagecomics.com/comics/releases/real-heroes-1" target="_blank">Real Heroes</a>" mainly because it was free. It's basically "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0177789/" target="_blank">Galaxy Quest</a>" but with superheroes. It's an interesting book, especially given the popularity of the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvel_Cinematic_Universe" target="_blank">Marvel Cinematic Universe</a>, which was primarily based on the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimate_Marvel" target="_blank">Ultimate universe</a>. The connection, of course, was that "Real Heroes" creators <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Millar" target="_blank">Mark Millar</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Hitch" target="_blank">Bryan Hitch</a> were the same team behind "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ultimates" target="_blank">The Ultimates</a>".<br />
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<a href="http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/imglib/400/0/1/RealHeroes3cover-96dc5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.comicbookresources.com/imgsrv/imglib/400/0/1/RealHeroes3cover-96dc5.jpg" height="247" width="320" /></a></div>
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On the movie front, I downloaded the Justice League animated movies "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_Doom" target="_blank">Doom</a>", "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_The_Flashpoint_Paradox" target="_blank">Flashpoint Paradox</a>", "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justice_League:_War" target="_blank">War</a>", and "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JLA_Adventures:_Trapped_in_Time" target="_blank">Trapped in Time</a>" and watched them one after another. I could just be asking for too much here (I know there's a current animated show and the live action films are kicking butts) but why can't Marvel come up with animated movies that are just as decent? I'd still really like a nice animated Avengers movie!<br />
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<a href="http://www.thenerdpocalypse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/justice-league-the-flashpoint-paradox-screen-invasion-620x339.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.thenerdpocalypse.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/justice-league-the-flashpoint-paradox-screen-invasion-620x339.jpg" height="174" width="320" /></a></div>
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The past week, I also got a copy of the "If/Then" soundtrack, which means I'm now drowning in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idina_Menzel" target="_blank">Idina Menzel</a> after "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rent_(musical)" target="_blank">Rent</a>", "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wicked_(musical)" target="_blank">Wicked</a>", and "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frozen_(2013_film)" target="_blank">Frozen</a>". It's hard to appreciate the songs without context but I still enjoy them. It's nice to hear <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Rapp" target="_blank">Anthony Rapp</a>'s voice again, though <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaChanze" target="_blank">LaChanze</a>'s has matured since I first heard her on "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Once_on_This_Island" target="_blank">Once on this Island</a>". Anyway, I'd really like to see a staging of the show. It'd be interesting to see how they switch from one reality to another.<br />
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<a href="http://www.campbroadway.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IfThen-Show-Artwork-Upcoming-Broadway-Season.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.campbroadway.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/IfThen-Show-Artwork-Upcoming-Broadway-Season.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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I also got a copy of Matchbox 20's "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_(Matchbox_Twenty_album)" target="_blank">North</a>" and the Green Day trilogy "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Uno!" target="_blank">Uno</a>", "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Dos!" target="_blank">Dos</a>", "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C2%A1Tr%C3%A9!" target="_blank">Tre</a>" albums. Both bands were holdovers from my music taste in the 1990s and I still enjoy their new material. Though admittedlying, I haven't listened to them as much as the "If/Then" soundtrack.<br />
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Finally, I got started on <a href="http://brandonsanderson.com/" target="_blank">Brandon Sanderson</a>'s "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mistborn_series" target="_blank">Mistborn</a>". I'm only a few chapters in and, in true Sanderson fashion, the pace is really quick and there's a lot of dialog to establish the world, which is always preferable as far as I'm concerned. I haven't read much about the series so I don't really know where the story is headed but my body is ready.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c2p47n13h_s/T2Jv8rxPDJI/AAAAAAAAIck/VySD_oDgP4c/Sanderson-1-FinalEmpire_thumb2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-c2p47n13h_s/T2Jv8rxPDJI/AAAAAAAAIck/VySD_oDgP4c/Sanderson-1-FinalEmpire_thumb2.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></div>
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Other than that, I've been playing my games from <a href="http://gog.com/">GOG.com</a> and Android. And just last Sunday, I went through all three <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toy_Story_(franchise)" target="_blank">Toy Story</a> DVDs back to back. I thought I'd be immune by now, knowing how the trilogy ends, but no, I still had that moment when I was wiping tears and snot from my face.<br />
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<a href="http://schmoesknow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/toy-story-incinerator.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://schmoesknow.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/toy-story-incinerator.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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Social interactions also help. Last Thursday was Amici Quiz Night and we lost despite there being a battalion of us. There was a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy" target="_blank">Guardians of the Galaxy</a> category though, which I mostly answered correctly. I was able to supply the names of <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Steve_Gan" target="_blank">Steve Gan</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Mantlo" target="_blank">Bill Mantlo</a> only because their names were on my news feed since <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/" target="_blank">the movie</a> became popular.<br />
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And we celebrated high school friend Anya's birthday last night, which is why this blog is delayed by a day. I love getting together with the people who've known me the longest even if we're in different points in our lives. After all the catching up and reminiscing, we ended up talking about "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Game_of_Thrones" target="_blank">Game of Thrones</a>". Anya also said she read "<a href="https://www.blogger.com/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolverine:_Origins" target="_blank">Wolverine Origins</a>" except the last issue, which is frustrating her because she wants to know what happened.<br /><br />Hopefully, I hope this situation with the client gets sorted out this week. Or maybe just writing about it will give me the release I need. If not, well, at least I have all these things to geek out over!PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1278426519348172597.post-55429754135338350062014-08-03T05:10:00.000-07:002014-08-03T06:04:59.564-07:00Weekly Ketchup 31 - AliensThe past couple of days, my social media activities have largely been about "Documented" and "Guardians of the Galaxy". One would think these two things couldn't be farther apart from each other but, well, I always find a connection.<br />
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<a href="http://blog.gamingdragons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Aliens-meme-guy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://blog.gamingdragons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/Aliens-meme-guy.jpg" height="222" width="400" /></a></div>
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Earlier this week, I found out that "<a href="http://documentedthefilm.com/" target="_blank">Documented</a>" was gonna be screening at the <a href="http://culturalcenter.gov.ph/" target="_blank">CCP</a> as part of the opening festivities of the <a href="http://www.cinemalaya.org/" target="_blank">Cinemalaya Film Festival</a>. I made the effort to catch it last Friday, though I had to take some time off work to do so, because <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jose_Antonio_Vargas" target="_blank">Jose Antonio Vargas</a>' story appeals to me on so many level. For one thing, I was an undocumented American citizen for about 16 years here in the Philippines and a couple of years in Canada, which is a story I've already discussed in a <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2011/04/blame-canadia.html" target="_blank">previous blog</a> a couple of years ago. Like Vargas, my mom also sent me to board a plane with a stranger to go live with my grandparents.<br />
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However, the parallelism in our stories end there. For one thing, <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/03/weekly-ketchup-13.html" target="_blank">I'm not ever going to fight to gain citizenship to this country</a>. But the irony is that I already do have a sort of citizenship thanks to my <a href="http://immigration.gov.ph/index.php/services/citizenship-retention-and-aquisition/recognition-as-filipino-citizen" target="_blank">certificate of recognition</a>, which actually makes me a citizen of the country in all but passport. This means that I can pay my taxes to this country (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_Development_Assistance_Fund_scam" target="_blank">big whoop that turned out to be</a>) and claim any benefits entitled to any taxpayer. I have been paying my dues since I started working and made my claim <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2011/12/so-i-woke-up-in-middle-of-surgery.html" target="_blank">once</a>, so that turned out pretty well. Vargas, though, has been paying his taxes in the US as well, even if he's not supposed to be there, but he won't be eligible to the benefits, which seems rather unfair.<br />
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<a href="http://www.defineamerican.com/uploads/images/poster%202.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://www.defineamerican.com/uploads/images/poster%202.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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The biggest difference between our stories is that I didn't end up separated from my mom or my dad or my siblings (yes, those are three separate entities as far as my sordid family history is concerned). And, unlike Vargas, I've actually experienced being deported - to the States.<br />
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I'm not sure if I knew anything at all of immigration laws back when I was a kid but I already knew the term "illegal alien" because my grandmother told me, more than once growing up, that I was one. And now that I think about it, it's strange that <a href="https://www.facebook.com/notes/niki-yarte/this-is-where-i-end-10-years-of-lying/10150214822834113" target="_blank">everyone in our little town seemed to know</a> that they were basically harboring a fugitive like it was some sort of open secret. Was the country lax in implementing laws even then? Or was I sent to the province specifically to avoid the enforcers in Manila? I could ask but why bother. That time is done.<br />
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<a href="http://philanthropiece.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/documented-photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://philanthropiece.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/documented-photo.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></div>
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What I want answered now is whether it's fair that Vargas, whose contribution to the United States far outweighs mine, will never get <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2012/11/i-voted.html" target="_blank">the same opportunities</a> available to me simply because I was born there. Just this past week, I was reminded to update my voter registration because there's a primary election happening in November. It feels like cheating, especially since I also share the opinion that, at least as far this country's electoral system is concerned, only the taxpayers should get to vote. That reminds me: I always tell people that I can't vote in Philippine elections because of my citizenship but I never conclusively figured out whether my recognition status covered that aspect of civic responsibility. I suppose I can still ask around.<br />
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Now, on to this week's other alien matter: "<a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2015381/" target="_blank">Guardians of the Galaxy</a>"! There's not much else I can add to my <a href="https://twitter.com/pinoyavenger" target="_blank">barrage of posts</a> yesterday, except maybe the big shocker that I wasn't really hyped up about the movie going into it. I did mention in my <a href="http://pinoyavenger.blogspot.com/2014/05/weekly-ketchup-21.html" target="_blank">X-men blog</a> that I feel like the Marvel Studios film universe is an obligation rather than a genuine interest. These Guardians aren't even characters I care so much about because like any fanboy of the old guard, these are still my <a href="http://marvel.wikia.com/Guardians_of_the_Galaxy_(Earth-691)" target="_blank">Guardians of the Galaxy</a>:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02UZNhRwiFX_As11zeBl7pg5qsH4jHsAPFy1dsNvw6OvdOd-uJEGMbBtT4apaIgJfUVEDq-vj-ookZuYlG9LCwXqdvmOfygZcZWe1kfy1mAI9VtSyx73lMJrKEB-0rOsHnMN80VjN2VdW/s1600/Earth-691_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg02UZNhRwiFX_As11zeBl7pg5qsH4jHsAPFy1dsNvw6OvdOd-uJEGMbBtT4apaIgJfUVEDq-vj-ookZuYlG9LCwXqdvmOfygZcZWe1kfy1mAI9VtSyx73lMJrKEB-0rOsHnMN80VjN2VdW/s1600/Earth-691_0001.jpg" height="320" width="299" /></a></div>
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Still, the film is a triumph of genre storytelling. It's a comic book movie, to be sure, but it's clearly not a superhero story. It's also the perfect example of how a simple plot wins in the execution. That being said, I'm not sure I agree with critics and fans who say that GotG is better than <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1843866/" target="_blank">The Winter Soldier</a>, which remains my favorite MCU film to date. And even then, <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877832/" target="_blank">Days of Future Past</a> is still my favorite comic book movie of the year.<br />
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<a href="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Meet-The-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-570x294.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://cdn.screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Meet-The-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-570x294.jpg" height="165" width="320" /></a></div>
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Of course, not everything about this past week was about aliens. Last Wednesday, I participated in <a href="http://www.facebook.com/BohoSarapsody" target="_blank">Boho</a>'s quiz night / fundraiser hosted by geek friend Jon. I formed a team with UST batchmate/Geek Fight Committee member Denice and Mark Escay. We didn't win but hey! We had mojitos all around plus a screening of <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0107977/" target="_blank">Robin Hood: Men In Tights</a>! We even played a game of <a href="http://cardsagainsthumanity.com/" target="_blank">Cards Against Humanity</a> with some of the Boho regulars, some of whom turned out to be Thomasians! I also caught up with Shin, an acquaintance I met through Dek, who I haven't seen or heard from in a long time. He invited to return last Friday but, well, "Documented" happened. I had a good time that night. I woke up late for work the next day and was so tired that I didn't catch GotG on opening day but I had a good time!<br />
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Funny thing about the Thomasians, though, was that Denice and I were just talking about how our old ID photos were stored on a server because we were able to retrieve it a few years before. The very next day, it was all over social media again. Not sure why but, well, I participated anyway.<br />
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Oh, and one last thing: It's my mom's birthday today so yay! Ice cream!PLDT HOMEhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10442313344780183541noreply@blogger.com1