I Voted!

Photo from Christian.

So I guess I'm back to regular programming.
This is still my personal blog and I still have life outside of the Avengers to talk about so let's move on.

One would think since I had already made a big deal about having registered, faxing my ballot, and my candidate wining on all my social networks that I would shut up about it. Besides, I should be concentrating on NaNoWriMo! But nah - I wanna blog about it for posterity's sake. Though I realize I could've blogged about it days ago when the memory of it was still fresh and  relevant, I haven't found time to actually put my thoughts and feelings down in words.

Anyway, I participated in my very first election for the first time since I hit voting age. For those new to my world and wondering why I'm blogging about an election that took place in the US, read this.

So how did I go about it?

Well, Internet had a lot to do with it.
As most of my friends may or may not know, I am subscribed to tons of channels on YouTube mainly featuring Asian-Americans, among them the Jubilee Project and ISATV. It was their video that got me thinking "Why don't I register this year?"

Flashback to 2008. My mother pointed out that there was such a thing as absentee voting. Of course, she mentioned this way after the fact. We were already tuned in to Obama's inauguration.

Back to last September. I began googling for sites that can give me more information on absentee voting, but it was a little ad on Facebook that finally got the process of my voter registration going. The ad led me to VotefromAbroad.org, which really made the registration process much easier for me.

The only requirements I needed to qualify as a voter was a social security number, which I already have, and my parents' last known US address. Thankfully, my dad is presently based in La Habra, making me a qualified voter in Orange County!

Yet I was still afraid that I would be ineligible for one reason or another or that I would miss the registration deadline given that I had opted to send my documents via air mail. Thankfully, I did receive my ballot and instructions via email on Oct. 26 - a Friday and a local holiday, which meant the post office was closed for three days after.

The following Monday, I had filled out my ballot but was apprehensive about sending it via air mail as I wasn't confident it would get to the proper office in time. After calling the US embassy and asking if they have any program that can possibly help me and not getting any definite response, I finally decided to try more expensive parcel services like DHL the following Wednesday.

Another roadblock: The following day, Thursday, was a holiday again. The earliest departure of my documents would be on Saturday and the most optimistic ETA is projected at Wednesday, California time.

Thankfully, there was one last option, though it would void the anonymity of my ballot: By fax. The following Monday (again), the first thing I did when I got to the office was fax my ballot, long distance calling charges be damned. I immediately emailed the appropriate office to confirm reception and validity of my ballot and received confirmation mere hours later.

My vote was officially cast.

And, yes, I voted for Obama and the Democrats.

Why?

While I did my research and got caught up in the debates, I will admit that some of the major issues in this election like taxes and foreign policy were lost on me. I will do better next time, I promise.

In all honesty, my vote went to the candidate and the group I felt was more in tune with my very own principles. As I mentioned on Twitter, I voted for Obama because I believed in the Dream Act, the repulsion of the Don't Ask, Don't Tell policy, and universal healthcare, among other things. All of which were either enacted or were among the priorities of his first term and amusingly summarized in Kal Penn's speech at the Democratic National Convention.

While it may sound unfair or illogical to even have strong opinions about these issues considering I won't be affected by them anytime soon, what I realized during this whole process was that my vote really wasn't for myself but for my friends and the people in the States who stand to benefit from such programs.

I voted on behalf of some really good friends like Chan, Lora, and Dek who have expressed that they would have voted for Obama if they could.

I voted on behalf of undocumented writer Jose Antonio Vargas to whom I sent a private message on election day saying that I too found it unfair that I had a right to a passport, social security, and a vote when he did not.

Maybe I voted for my benefit as well because: a) I feel like I should not deny myself the experience; and b) I will go back to the States and maybe these matters will affect me.

Last Wednesday (Manila time), I followed the results online from my office and it was nerve-wracking to see state after state turn red on Huffington Post's page (great coverage, by the way) in the early hours.
Funny thing was that red and blue were tied by the time I went down to lunch and by the time I came back less than half an hour later, Obama had already won!

I didn't really understand why but this wave of emotion swept over me and I found myself bawling my eyes out.
Maybe because all the stress of getting my vote in paid off.
Or maybe because I just believed in "Forward" more than I thought I did.

Me on election day after the results.
I had unknowingly put on a blue shirt that morning.

That done, maybe I should check what my rights are as a "recognized Filipino citizen".

If it's not too late, I'd like to register and choose my representatives in 2013.

In the meantime, I found this really great video on how the electoral college works:

My Issues with the Avengers

A few days ago I thought I'd blog about the Avengers vs. Justice League debate, but I had completely forgotten the meat of it, so I thought I'd share something else.
I thought about blogging why I have a particular distaste for the Skrulls and why I keep hammering that they're NOT GONNA BE IN THE MOVIE, but I think one Skrull-related rant for this week is enough.

So I thought I'd share something else a bit more positive. (And you thought I was gonna rant, didn't you?)
I was thinking a while back how certain issues of the comic certainly fell on very important dates in my life.

One in particular was released before I was a fan, before I even discovered the Avengers, before I even took any interest in comics and superheroes, in fact: Before I was even born!

Avengers Annual 10 (1981)

Yep, it's the annual of my birth year, released just a few months before I was born. I don't have a physical copy of this issue, but I have read it and it's a great issue to be sure! Guest stars abound, the storytelling is topnotch (Chris Claremont baby!), and Al Milgrom's art has a tinge of George Perez (my fave Avengers artist)!

More importantly: a) this was the very first appearance of Rogue who was my favorite X-men; b) this had a story centered around Ms. Marvel - one of my favorite Avengers; c) this featured a guest appearance by another favorite: Spider-woman!

I've said it once before, but if I only get to own one issue to keep forever, it would be this!


Another important issue, of course, is the one that made me a big fan.

Avengers Vol. 3 No. 34

I was turning 19, I had just finished taking a quarterly high school exam, and I had money. What's a geek boy to do? Go to the mall and check out comics (and - ugh - watch Battlefield Earth). I was getting pretty bored with the X-men at the time and wanted to check out something new and I remembered the Avengers/Thunderbolts were having a crossover at the time, so I thought I'd check that out.

It took the very first panel to convince me that I dare not leave Filbar's without this issue.

"It all started--" said the text box. How very true for me!

Sadly it was Perez's last issue and I debated with myself for a while if I wanted to follow the series considering it's the art that got me hooked in the first place. We all know how well that turned up, don't we?


One of my stipulations at the time was that writer Kurt Busiek was still with the series so it's bound to be good - AND IT WAS - but even he had to say goodbye.

Avengers Vol. 3 No. 56

But not without leaving something for me.

(Click to enlarge. Look for the letter by "Nicky Aniceto".)

Yes, I had used a different name. I don't remember what I was angry at my mom's side of the family about, but I was convinced I was going to use my dad's last name forever.


And, of course, the best thing the folks at Marvel ever did for me as a fan was printing another letter I sent on an issue that came out exactly on my birth month, exactly 10 years since I first picked up an issue!

Avengers Academy No. 5

As fate would have it, Academy is the only one of all the current titles with a letters page! This issue is cover dated Dec. 2010, but it came out two months earlier - just in time to celebrate my birthday!

Click to enlarge. Yes, I used my real name this time.)

Except for the last issue, everything else are just brilliant coincidences, but they do make me feel happy - nay, GIDDY - as a fan!

You know what else is a cool coincidence? They released the official trailer to the movie just a few days before my birthday last year!

So, if any of you guys reading this are fans, tell me: Which issues of your favorite book are really important to you?

Birthday Weekend

First of: May I just say I love how I can post to Blogspot straight from Picasa? Google FTW!!!

Anyway, so I had a very hectic weekend, which began last Friday and continued on until Sunday. I turned 30 and yes, it's a bit of a big deal. I guess what most people dread about turning 30 is the expectations - career-wise, family-wise, etc. I don't know if that was ever my problem as: a) my family has never really pressured me to be anything really; and b) I spit at the expectations that society place upon me!

I suppose I'm just afraid of getting old, of being weighed down by physical and societal limitations. I just barely started over and I'm still a work in progress. And I like it like that. I like that I'm still growing and discovering new stuff about myself and the world around me.
But the pessimist in me feels that I'm not going to make a career out of all the new things I'm re-learning (like music, singing, art, and dance for example).
And the realist believes that the opportunities that would have been available to me at 25 and under are nil at 30 onwards - even if the 30 year old me is smarter and more talented.
Yet the optimist knows that I'm going to keep trying and learning anyway - because guess what? I still can! Damn all the odds!
I suppose I just want to stay young and foolish, wide-eyed and hopeful. I don't ever want to hear myself say "I can't anymore!"
So when they say that growing old is mandatory and growing up is optional, I would rather have it the other way around because growing up comes naturally to me. I keep making mistakes and owning up to them. I keep wanting to discover and explore. I'm perpetually a kid. I'm just genetically engineered to stay young forever.
I mean, just look at me. I'm hot stuff! (Something I never would have said 2 - 3 years ago!)
Best decision I ever made was to take better care of myself: quit smoking, get a job that was fulfulling but not stressful, cut back on oil and carbs, and get enough sleep. I still have a 29-30 inch waistline and I intend to keep it that way!
So turning 30 can suck my dick cause I don't look and feel like it!

I'd say this though: I wouldn't trade what I have now for the chance to go back to my younger self.
Just look at what I have:

Finally having friends who indulge my delusions and make me feel like a star.

Finally opening my home and share my personal space with friends I've known the longest.

Finally ridding myself of the guilt with friends I felt that I've lied to for 10 years!

Finally having a healthier relationship with my family!

4 Medals and a Trophy

Thank goodness for long weekends for the time to get stuff done and be able to blog about it. I haven't blogged in a while and this entry is one of those I've been wanting to share for the longest time.

You see, one of my issues in high school was that I never got to be awarded anything. I tried joining drawing and writing contests but never once placed. Blame it on the amount of great talent we had in Community of Learners. We're a small school, mind you, so it's easy to get noticed if you're brilliant in one way or another.

It's also easy to feel mediocre and unimportant.

It didn't help that I played no sports nor was I academically gifted. I loved doing productions and plays but I'm always relegated among the red shirts. I never really shone at anything!

This frustration was among the reasons I chose to delay college after junior year and fly to Canada to finish my high school (and ideally my life) there.

It was a good call on my part.

About 2 years later, I came back to Manila and enrolled in DECS' home study program. Upon graduation, I clenched my very first medal: 3rd honor (among hundreds of graduates). Not bad considering I didn't have any tutors at all. I would've been first honor and the other two above me would have been Valedictorian and Salutatorian. Sadly, schools are only allowed one of each and since our school had "regular" students as well, those titles belonged to them. A little trivia: Our first honor was actress Dimples Romana.

After that little victory, I knew I was ready for college. So off to UST I went. I had so many plans and things I wanted to pursue, but there was one I did not realize I was even decent at: Debating! Which gave me my 3 other medals.

I had encountered debaters my freshman year mostly because of my political activities. By my sophomore year, I decided to give it a shot and voila! There I was representing Communication Arts (CA) for 2002's AB Debate Series! I was winning my rounds and inching my way to the finals and snagging the 3rd best speaker slot.

However, my promising debating career had to give way to my career in student politics, which was bubbling by then. I won my first election and was holding other positions, so I didn't have much time to debate anymore. I did represent CA again in my junior year though - as a cheerdancer! We placed 1st runner-up!

By the end of my junior year, everyone expected me to run for the student council - an opportunity I've been waiting for since freshman year but ultimately turned down to run for CASA instead. I guess my campaign was bolstered by my winning my first and only trophy: Best Male Presenter of the very first Junior AdQuest, which happened the weekend before the start of campaign season.

Best Male Presenter, 1st Junior AdQuest (2004)

I had never felt like a break out star before or since - getting recognition, earning medals, winning elections. I was on fire!

My last two medals were from senior year. I had to represent CA again for the 2004 AB Debate Series because we had a shortage of members needed to complete the roster. I was awarded 7th best speaker, which is way below the 3rd I won the last time I competed, but it was just deserving. I wasn't training after all, and there were others who did really great during that tournament.

My last medal was for representing my college, the Faculty of Arts and Letters, in the 2005 Crossfire Debate Competition, which was a debate show televised around the campus. Our team managed to make it to the finals but lost to UST High Shool. Again, it wasn't a big loss because we weren't training for it as hard as the other team did, but we gave a good debate. I couldn't have asked for a better round to cap off my career and my college life.

(L-R: 3rd Honor, HS Grad 2001, DECS RESPCI; 3rd Best Speaker, AB Debate Series 2002; 7th Best Speaker, AB Debate Series 2004; Finalist, Crossfire Debate Tournament 2005)

This is definitely a case of "it will come to you when you're ready". It took some time but I got there. I have 4 medals, which I've been meaning to frame for the longest time that I only got around to doing now, and a trophy to display in my room.

Yes, they may not be the ultimate awards, but I did get the ultimate reward: Confidence not to feel mediocre and unimportant anymore. Don't know if and when I'll be able to snag medals and a trophy again, but I'd like to celebrate what I have.

Starting Over at 29

525,600 minutes.
How do you measure a year in the life?

Mine would be in ups, downs and reflections, I guess. Last year, I celebrated my birthday by leaving/losing my job mostly because I hated it. The reason why I left my previous advertising job for the one I had also just left was because I was entering my late 20s and I needed to explore what else was out there. I did not want to be trapped with no more options left for me. Plus: I thought I needed a job that would help me mature as a professional and offered me benefits and security. I thought a BPO was gonna give that to me.

The thing is: I was already trapped. I really had nothing else to show of my professional life but my advertising career. Mostly because I spent much of my mid-20s thinking about doing stuff but never got around to doing them. Then I remembered why. Sometime after turning 24 when nothing was working out, I stopped planning my life and just went with the flow.
The thing is when I stopped planning, I also stopped having goals. In college, I was a superstar because I knew who I wanted to be when I graduated. In the real world, I was a smoking, scattered brain mess!

When I realized this, I promised myself that the moment I get a steady income going, I was gonna start doing everything that I've always wanted to do:
1. Quit smoking so I can sing and dance again.
2. Learn to play the piano.
3. Draw again.
4. Write stories again.
5. Practice ice skating.
6. Swim more.
7. Learn to ride a bike.
8. Play billiards more.
9. Take up photography again.
10. Learn videography.

Then it hit me that I also wanted to do some of these things when I was much younger and that I lost a lot of my teenage years because I was angry, depressed and in limbo when I could've been more productive. I imagine if I had just focused back then, I would be in theater right now - one of the passions I left behind as I entered my 20s.

Fortunately, I was given a third chance this year. It may be too late to make a career out of them, but that doesn't matter now. With me back in advertising, I realized that maybe being a better professional does not mean working for a big corporation where the standard and therefore the challenge and subsequent reward are all really high. Maybe it's about being the best at what you do wherever you are. There is so much more in advertising that I have yet to explore and I do believe I'm on the right track at being the best if I just applied myself. I imagine that as soon as I can play keyboard better, I can compose my own jingle and sing it! As soon as I can draw better, I can provide artwork. Maybe shoot the photos and videos or maybe even choreograph! I just get excited thinking about the possibilities!

I don't know if I should regret that these realizations came to me at the tail-end of my 20s, but I guess it just means that there would be something more for me to look forward to. I mean, if I had everything, what else would be out there?
So I'm picking up the pieces and starting over. I have a lot of time to make up for and part of that is also catching up on games, movies, books and comics that I missed growing up, as well as taking better care of myself. Not only have I accomplished those in the last few months but I have also gotten started on a lot of items on the list (including quitting smoking). Now I can look forward to getting frustrated and angry, as well as appreciating the little victories along the way.

I'm in a much better place this year than where I was last year and even the years before not just because of my new job but because of my new "lease on life". Now I have something to live for and work on. Goals.

Right now, I'm working on figuring out if confidence and certainty leads to cynicism. I find that the more I know myself and assert my place in the world, the more I become impatient and judgmental with other people. I guess I've become more protective of my interests now.
No, I have an entire year to figure that matter out. For now, I just want to appreciate what I have.