Seven Days of Happenings: Part Two

Finally! Some peace and quiet! My cousins, the terrible duo, left for Bacolod just this now, giving me a moments respite. Now to continue...where was I? Oh yes....

Sunday: Arriving at the Airport gave me a prelude of unseen horrors as I met my bro at the parking lot. Opening the door of his car, I was greeted with chorus of yells and whoops as my cousins, both at the terrifying age of 4 to 6, jumped on my back and proceeded to yell "Horsey Horsey!". At home, I find my room hijacked, my things impounded and generally left me with my tounge hanging out. I came here for a vacation, dammit, not a immediate transfer to the warzone! So it was I find myself sleeping in the living room with my stuff in the Bodega. Arrrggh...

The horror of things to come.

Monday: For the first time of my life, I woke up at the crack of dawn. It's not because of the sweet smell of grass, nor the bright light streaming through the windows. It is not also because of yummy smell of fried rice or ham at breakfast; besides I don't generally eat at breakfast time. I woke up early because my dear cousins, who are so full of love and joy, ran from my bedroom, climbed up the living room table and jumped straight down my back. Talk about early morning beatings. Hay....

Tuesday: Tuesday was Mum and Dad's 25th Wedding Anniversary. Talk about self sacrifice and martyrdom at my mother's part, hehe. Nah, am just playing. Anyways, Mum didn't know the whole shebang so she was moderately surprised to see lots of surprise guests at her Renewal of Vows. What's cooler was I think I saw her acting like a 18 year old, which a first time for me. Ah well, love really does strange things to people. In this case, it allowed Mum to have the strength to endure 25 years of Pop's idiocranysies...

Wednesday: Christmas Eve or Day before Christmas. Yep, lots of people at the stores buying stuff at cut-rate prices. Our Christmas Eve is so prosaic I won't bore you with all the details...suffice to say, it was your typical gift-giving, picture-taking, Christmas-sharing party. 'Nuff said.

Thursday: Christmas Day. Also nothing much happened except we had this weird Christmas party of my bro's barkada. Wierdness personified. That's it.

Friday: Today, there's supposed to be a party here, with Dad and Mum's friends coming over to have dinner I think. We'll just see what happens I guess...

Overall, the week was nice at the first parts and came crashing down at the last stages. I miss my PC. I can't even keep my regular hours of weblogging stuff here. Usually, I log at around 4am everyday. Now, it's totally different and I can't keep things regular here. And this Saturday me and my bro are going to Roxas for the Annual Family Reunion. Ah well, I guess I can do this thing regularly at around the 2nd week of January...sheesh.

I miss my friends...my life...my home....

State of Mind: Mindless Yearnings
Song of the Day: None yet...
Now playing: Def Jam Vendetta, PS2
Level of Boredom: 90%!!!

Seven Days of Happenings: Part One

Merry Christmas! Wow, it's been a week since I logged on. Feels like ages! Lot of stuff has happened, ever since that AV Team Debacle. Anyways, I'll try to summarize what happened.

Thurday: Wow, we went to one of team members house somewhere in Ortigas. One of the rich kids I guess, since her dad used to work as Pepsi's president and CEO. So I wasn't really surprised that when we got there we had to park our car next to a Ford F150 and a Jaguar. Ah well, we ddin't noticed anything else much since we were pressed for time with the deadline looming on our heads. One thing I did noticed though is she has THREE, I repeat, THREE I-Macs! Now I'm totally impressed. Aside from that though, it's totally work work work...

Friday: It's packing day! I tell ya, carrying down 8 boxes through 3 flights of stairs is not my idea of a good day. By the time I was finished, I was drenched in sweat and grime and I think I partially lost every sensation on the left side of my body. Urgh...not good at all. Anyways, Friday is also my Despidida Day. As usual the gang arrived late ( Listen up! It's 6pm right? Not 8pm! Arrrgh! )

The Despidida was cool, though honestly I was expecting more but hey I got to take things as they come and the guys did give me a good send off. Two of the most memorable sharings came from Ina and, surprisingly, Camille. Ah well, I'll cherished them forever ( makes me sound sappy eh? But hey, I like being this way...for now )

Saturday: Actually, Jr asked me...wait, BEGGED me to go to Metrocon now, as in 1:30 AM and travelling at night. It was after the Despidida Party and, after packing up my stuff, went out into the night looking for passage to Morong, Rizal. By the grace of God ( and perhaps a run of unusually good luck ) we got two tinderas to help us out. We arrived there around 4AM, just in time to sleep for one hour and wake up again to finish the stage setup. We computer nerds have out very own tent, so after we set up our stuff, it looked like for all the world a internet station. We had 5 laptops and 1 desktop to be our primary server, and we didn't actaully acknowledge the fun and games as we we're still behind schedule and have to run things quickly.

I'll just touched off the highlights since this is my bro's PC.

Dressing up as Santa was cool, everyont greeting the 'Ol Fat Elf, even people I din't know. Oh, especially the babes, hehe...

The main event for the Metrocon had as running in circles as we tried to do finishing touches on the opening vids, session vids etc...

All in all, it was a fun night, especially Kuya Mari's and Kuya Noli's Talk. I owe a lot to Kuya Noli, hopefully I'll get to thank him properly.

Sunday: Sunday was a blast, since we didn't have anything else to do but listen and generally have fun. Had a fun time bonding with the guys one last time till I leave for my flight at exactly 3:20pm. I'm really gonna miss everyone...

Leaving took some time though, as I had to make sure everything is in place, goodbyes were said and other "leaving for good" ritual stuff...

The flight was uneventful, so I'll not dwell into that.

Damn, I'll stop here, I'll continue later since my bro is hanging at my shoulder, hehe.

Hamster's Day of Indulgence

Tommorow is the start of the what we call the "Video Editing Process" or preferably its nickname "Insomnia Blues." Last Tuesday we finished taking shots of the top schools like La Salle, Ateneo, FEU, UP, Adamson, UST etc. Then we wrapped things up by shooting the malls yesterday, crowd favorite ones like Greenbelt, Glorietta, Robinson's Galleria, Megamall, SM Manila, Podium, Rockwell etc. Today is kinda like an off day of sorts, much to our surprise and relief.

The gallows are now set and the noose readied as tommorow I'll be fitting up for the Santa Claus costume. And no, I still prefer to be dragged in the tailor's shop kicking, screaming and biting. Even if it's undignified, at least I "protested" vigorously before I was laughingly pointed out I'm the one for the job, fat as I am and perfect with the booming voice. Arrrgh...

Anyways, as I said today was a day of indulgence, and indulge I did. I went to the Mall, bought gifts for my family and cousins. For my lil' bro and cousins, Playstation 2 cds which I'm sure they'll like. A Beatles CD for Pop, a bunch of Dance Dance Rev for Mums, a Lounge CD for mid bro. I bought CDs of my own: Pinikpikan, A Perfect Circle and Dave "The Drunken God!" Matthews.

Mini Reviews? Well, Pinikpikan is a great tribal funk cd, incorporating a lot of Philippine instruments. Cool if you wanna impress that eco-concious girlfriend of yours, hehe. A Perfect Circle is now totally revamped, with the exchange of instumentalists to one band or another. In this cd, they get James Iha of the now defunct Smashing Pumpkins fame and Jeordie White of the also defunct Marilyn Manson band, exchanging Paz "The Babe" Lechantins to Zwan ( which was formerly Smashing Pumpkins ). I like Paz, but that could just be the subconcious talking since I like girls who play the bass. Or perhaps it's because I'm bass player myself...

Dave Matthews is a GOD! No words can express when I'm listening to one his tracks. With his new Album "Some Devil" I never fail to be amazed by this man's songwriting prowess. Great! REALLY FREAKIN' GREAT!!!

After the shopping, went to the Hobby store to check out the scene. No Warhammer players since it's Wednesday, but there's a lot of LoTR CCG games going on. The store usually has a schedule for the games. Monday is Shadowrun Duels Minis and Legend of the 5 Rings CCG. Tuesdays, NBA Showdown 2002 CCGs. Wednesdays are for the LoTR folks and Mechwarrior fanatics. Thurdays are 'Clicks' ( Heroclix, Dc Clix etc. ) and Game of Thrones CCG. Fridays are for us Warhammer geeks and everyone else. Magic: The Gathering and Starwars CCG is usually everyday.

If you're a regular, you can learn the basic rules of any game just by watching and not necessarily reading the rulebook. I learned Starwars CCG just by watching two weeks of intense gaming and now sometimes being mistooked for playing the game itself, which is kinda weird and awkward.

Going home and passing by Greenbelt today has earned me another handshake from the Pokemon President herself, Madam Gloria Macapagal Arroyo( I got to meet her at a Gawad Kalinga project and the other time at last year's Metrocon, when we formed a human barricade to let her pass through ). While it is both a honor and a privilige, it was also both wierd and somewhat disconcerting to see the President of the nation in Greenbelt, probably going to watch a movie premiere. But then again, I saw Imelda Marcos also in Greenbelt last six months ago, with a handful of bodyguards carrying of what appears to be shoeboxes...apparently she still has that "Shoe Syndrome".

Oh, I finally got a haircut. After of months of the "bushweed caveman look", I decided that's it time to get back looking clean and crisp. And down the hair fell, snip after snip, three months down the drain. Now I look like a younger version of Jimmy Santos, after he's been mugged and beaten to death...Nah, too graphic, let's just say I feel the fresh air in my ears...

Simbang Gabi is on in 2 hours, so I better get some sleep. I'm still babbling by the way, I can't get my thoughts to fall in line; hence I write what's on my mind. Tommorow there might be no entries as there are too many things to do and so little time to do it.

Ah well, you can only do so much.

State of Mind: Incoherent Babbling
Song of the Day: Dodo by Dave Matthews Band
Height of Madam President in relation to me: Somewhere above the elbows
Haircut style after the Bushweed Caveman: Da' Helmet

And We Are Back Babbling Online!!!w00t!!!

Wadahoo! Ok ok, I'm still not ok. Huh? Nevermind, hehe. Having the voice of a raspy sea dog ( Avast, me sea scurveys! Shiver me timbers!! ) tends to put one in a smiley uppity mood. Why? I don't know why, it just is. Sometimes, you just have to go with the flow, even it the flow leads you to a sewage tank.

Yeah gods, I'm rambling again.Hoki hoki, updates this past hectic days. My flight is officially on Sunday, Dec 21st 320pm. Getting screamed and yelled is not an experience I care to relive again, let's just say I'm surrending down my arms and raising my white flag of clean boxer shorts to stop the noise barrage. Hence, I won't be able to watch LoTR ( Damn you world! Damn you!!! ) and won't be able to have that lasting Despidida Party.

Speaking of which, Despidida is moved to Friday, Dec 19th, from 5pm to 9pm. Just before the Metrocon. Sucks to be me.

Metrocon. The day of deliverance. The video ops is still going on, but at least it's not that tiring as last Sunday. We're still behind schedule, but then again who isn't? Oh and to make things even worse ( there's more?! really?!! )the upper echelons decided that I get to be a special person during the Conference, going around and literally greeting everyone "Ho ho ho, Merry Christmas!"

Yup, you guessed it, I'm gonna be Santa Claus.

It is as if the world decided to add insult to injury by dressing me up "The Fat Elf" who brings joy and happiness.

I'm not gonna talk about it, suffice to say that everyone is going to take pictures with "dear old Santa". I tell ya, I'm not a photogenic person, the mere flash of a camera tends to destroy the film inside. Well, it's their film I guess...

Oh, I've started my Simbang Gabi sessions yesterday. I've tried and finished the 9 days last year and, barring difficulties, can do it again this year. Although the last three days would be such a hassle, since I'll be at the province and the priest, well, let's just say I can't undertand a fricken' word he says. I have to go to Jaro just to get the gist of the Mass.

STOP! I'm rambling still, too much chocolate covered cookies. Anyhow, It's good to be back and writing...although the writing part has gone into extremes... which is to say I can't stop writing, whatever pops out of my head I write it and...ARRRGGGHH!!!

That's it, no more midnight munchies for me.

State of Mind: Hyperactive as the Energizer Bunny
Song of the Day: La Maison by Gabin
Sugar High Level: Reaching Critical Mass
Number of Cookies Consumed: Uh, 40? Let's say two boxes and let it go at that, eh?

Can't Think Or Speak Straight...

I have no voice. Literally. I just got back from the video shoot and it's a tiring effort moving from one place to another. First up we went to Morong, Rizal. The area we were supposed to shoot is the school yard overgrown with weeds. Nostalgia hits me as if I'm back in HS in the football field. Ah, the smell of grass...

After that, we went to Katipunan, the place an Overpass in EDSA. Took us around 30 minutes then we went to UP Diliman to shoot the last parts of the video and to wrap things up.

I'm tired so I'm summarizing. Having only one hour of sleep is a bitch, and all I can do is hang on the keyboard for dear life.

Typing this has presented me with a lot of oppressions, particularly with my family. Damn, something is always trying to stop me. It looks like I'm spending my last week getting yelled and screamed at, which is why I'm spending my last days away from home. Can't think straight. I would be moderately surprised to see this journal entry tommorow in coherent form. I usually check things but now I haven't have the time. Ang it looks like I'm saying things right off my mind. Damn, I feel exhausted... physically, emotionally and spiritually. I feel low too, probably from the cold and lack of sleep. I might not do an entry tommorow, as we have to start the editing process at Iye's house.

Bahala na...

State of Mind: Low low low very low thoughts
Song of the Day: Nada...can't think of any...

Your Mission, Should You Choose To Accept It...

Somewhere in San Juan...

The Weather: Blistering Rain
The Scene: McDonald's Wilson Street
The Agent: Johnny Hamster
The Mission: Make three 15 minute videos for the MetroCon ... in one week!

*cue in Mission Impossible theme ...

Arrrgh, as luck would have it, I got the hardest job ever! Being in the AV team takes guts of iron will, perseverance of rabid dog and the nocturnal tendencies of a vampire bat. Three, count 'em, three! Three videos to be done by the end of the week! And that's not all! My team comprimises only 6 members! Yebah! At least I have the fortune to work with classy babes. Yep, one half of our team are females, those with beauty and brains. The other half are the males ( duh! )which is me, Mike and Iye, those with brute force and overwhelming charm ... yeah yeah yeah , I hear yah, so don't dwell on it.

Our meeting place was Mcdo Wilson, and me and Mike don't know where the hell it is and we spent a lot of time looking for the damn place. Walking on the rain to find Wilson Street didn't improve our tempers much, as we finally dragged ourselves up to the second floor of McDonalds shivering and dripping water. Imagine you're both wet and cold, and that cold becomes freezing as you sit there talking in room with AIRCONDITIONING!!! Yikes! One of the most stupidest things I ever did, but time was the essence, so we shook our common sense and let the chill wind bite our bones as we listened to the plans.

We'll be leaving tommorow 6 am to finish, let me repeat that, to finish taking all the outside video shots in Morong, Rizal. After that, we guys get to work on the pictures and edit the video on Monday to Tuesday, while the ladies take the room and tower scenes. On Wednesday, the men again would take a tour on all the Malls in the area to take video screen shots and pictures. Thursday we meet up again in one of the girl's house to finalize the videos and present them to the upper echelons. If there are changes, Friday is reserved for that.

This schedule only happens when things go according to plan...

And that's the half of it! I have to learn two new programs in three days! Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Premier, both the primary software to used in editing, both also I know next to nothing.

I feel like one of them Assyrian slaves in the time of the Egyptian Era. No rest, no sleep and a little food now and then. What would really hurt is when we reach Thursday and we have to stay there overnight to finish the job. Much as I like staying in any girl's place overnight, it's just gonna be pure business. I can see it now...baggy eyes, drooping eyelids, bad breath, coffee stained teeth etc etc etc.

I'm trying to update my journal everyday, and I think I can do it still this week. I'll try to update Thursday to Friday but I won't be here Saturday as that's the MetroCon Event.

This is gonna be one hell of a week...

State of Mind: Que Horror!!! Que Horror!!!
Song of the Day: Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton
Minutes spent finding Wilson Street in the rain: 45 wet minutes...
Kilometers walked to go to Wilson Street Mcdo: 3.5 weary kilometers

DJ Hamster and Going Home Tactics

I'm tired. Just got back from a meeting concerning the upcoming Metrocon to be held at Morong, Rizal and as luck would have it, I'm designated as a peon of the Audio-Visual Team. Which means no acting bonanza for me, unfortunately. Or should I say fortunately, since I would have played the Fool?

Hmm.... Being in the AV Team is very hard work, especially when the event commences. I'm wishing I'm not headed straight into Stage Ops, the guys with headsets running to and fro behind the scenes, sweating and worrying every little detail. I'm more inclined to be with the sound crew or with the graphic designers. Whatever happens I guess, since there's another meeting tommorow at Greenhills McDo. *Sigh*, the things I do for my community...

I'm now at level 3 in the TMNT game, and it's damn hard. Yeah, I played more then 10 hours, but that's getting all the 4 turtles to the 2nd level. Each level has 8 sublevels or so, with a dojo sub-mission in between each level. Dang, I got up to the end with a boss who is a gigantic scrap robot with an unwholesome delight in squashing turtles into soup. Suffice to say, I got beaten to a pulp plenty of times. Damn those car sized feet!

Warhammer Night introduces a grudge battle against the insidious Dark Elves and steadfast Dwarves. Ronald, resident Druchii Noble and the Dark Prince incarnate, hounded the Dwarves played by the Dwarf Thane Mark. It was frustating battle for the Dwarves, since all the Dark Elves did was prance around in their fast steeds and tried to shoot the dwarves to pieces. The dwarves, to their credit, shrugged off the arrows with their Gnomril Armor and, having small feet, tried to engage the Druchii in combat but to no avail. In the end, the Druchii Noble won, no surprise to anyone. Fun game though, due to the trash talk and side comments. Writing this makes me miss the guys already, as I have one more week left till I leave.

Speaking of which, Mother is trying to get me into the 21st flight but I'm holding on like a stuck pig on a spit. I tried everything from delaying manuevers to carefully planned excuses and outright lies. But I'm losing the battle, cuz SHE has a insider in the airlines, so even if I say that the date is fully booked, her friend would cheerfully "arranged" everything so little fat me would take the early flight. The only thing she needs though, are the locator number to change the date, and I'm thinking fast on how to counter that. Hmmm...

In the end though, I might go with the truth if all else fails. Yeah yeah, I might get yelled and screamed at, but it's nothing new since I always get shouted when we're talking about my family. That price I'm willing to pay just for the extra two days. There's so much to do, yet so little time...

Me and my tactics...

State of Mind: Frenzied Thoughts
Song of the Day: Earth by Me'Shell NdegeOcello ( Lazy Dog Remix )
AV Team Dream Position: Resident DJ and Sound Manager! w00t!
Tactics currently trying: Delay! Delay! Delaaaay!!!!

Reliving Your Cartoon Childhood

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Teenage Mutant NInja Turtles!
Heroes in the half shell, turtle power!
They're the world's most fearsome fighting team!
Leonardo leads, while Donatello does machine!
Raphael is cool but cruel, Michaelangelo is the party dude mach...PARTY!!!

Wow, I can still remember the lyrics after all these years!!! Huzzah!!!!

I'm playing the new TMNT in the Namco's tribute to the old series and I can say I'm impressed the way they trancribed the original to a new look and yet still invoke memories of nostalgia. Even Shredder himself looks dangerous, not like the old one where he looks like a walking cheesegrater. Everything looks cool, graphics are superb and the fighting moves great. The gameplay is that you gain new skills every time you win a new level, kinda like the now defunct Fur Fighters during the SNES years, which was a cool innovation at that time. The only thing to rant is the repetitive dialogue, which after a few hours can be become unwholesomely irritating to the ears. All in all though, it's all good, provided you take periods of rest once in a while.

The gameplay is 3D while the cutscenes 2d and reminds me of the New Ghostbusters cartoons. Hmmm, a joint project maybe? I've noticed that they've taken a lot of old cartoons out of retirement to polish them up and give them new spiffy quests/items/characters etc. Case in points would be the said Ghostbusters; Justice League ( as opposed to Justice Friends ); Batman; Superman; He-man, Masters of the Universe and others. While I haven't had the occasion to watch He-man because of its time slot, I heard it's really good so I'll reserve my opinions later.

Hmmm, what I wanna see is the G.I. Joe series, particularly after the reign of Serpentor and the Cobra La. While I'm at it, I also wanna see the new series of Zone Riders ( the guys on bikes where they fight zombie-like people. Most notable would be the leader on the single cycle bike ), Silverhawks ( yeah yeah, those space dudes with the guy who uses a guitar to fight evil ), Tigersharks ( underwater dudes who change into half man, half fish...nuff said), Thundercats ( now this I wanna see, after I think the fall of Mumm-ra, the ever-evil, ever-despicable tissue wrapped dude ) and Bravestarr ( Strength of the Bear! Speed of the Puma! Eyes of the Hawk! Ears of the Wolf! and All That Crap! Seriously though, I wanna know what happened after the movie ).

I really miss the old toddler days where evil is evil and good always prevails and there's always a difference between balck and white. But then again there wouldn't be any purpose to the cartoon wouldn't it? But I'm not holding my breath for the return of the Smurfs, hypocrite fags that they are. Ever wonder why there's only one female yet there's a lot of smurfs running around? Fags I say! FAGS! At least Winnie the Pooh has the decency to come out of the closet and proclaim his gayness, shocking as it may be...

Well, my flight has been moved NOT on the 23rd but on the 21st! Damn! Again, I'm gearing up my brain to make dear Mumsy and Pop to give that extra couple of days. I need those days, since I might be starring in a play. If things worked out, I'll be playing the Fat Fool who had too many candies. Hey, wait a minute! That's exactly like me! What the hell... Anyways, it's either that or go back to being a grunt of the Video Expo Team, where nightmares still haunt my days during the harrowing experience we had last week ago.

The Fates, it seems, are always against me. Perhaps a sacrifice might be in order? What would they think of a sacrificial virgin? ( me in this case, I heard there's a theory that a man's virginity can be spontaneously regenerated after 2 years without sex ). Or maybe the burning of all my beloved anime cds for being products of heretics? ( yeah yeah, just like the Dark Ages, for giving unwholesome ideas to the people ).

That's it! I'm stopping now. Had too many candies and it's not a pretty sight if I continue to flagellate myself by writing...gotta stop before it gets worse.

State of Mind: Vivid Memories
Song of the day: TMNT Theme by the cartoon itself
Fave Ninja Turtle Character: Raphael the Hot Headed
Fave Villain in the Series: Hmmm, I have to say either Rocksteady or Bebop

The Naming Game

Well, the game has been bloody to both sides. Both the High Elves and the Orcs suffered terrible losses. During the game, we drew curious onlookers and interested people to watch, much to the delight of the Hobby Store. As a good bait, we loudly kept coining the phrase "The War of the Ring" as we moved out units to and fro the board. Soon, probably after the 3rd turn, we had a goodly number of audience to cheer and ask questions about the hobby. Not that we and Alex were in any position to answer; the other guys did it while we were concentrating on the game.

As I've said, the game was bloody. Alex, ( I think he's part Druchii ), was getting the upper hand every turn, drowning me in magic ( 15 power dice?!! WTF?!!! ) and shooting me into pincushions ( 4 Repeater Bolt Throwers?!! Is he insane?!!!). All hell broke loose though, when a massive Gork's Warpath erupted on the turn five and basically turned the Elven Host into bloody piles of pulp ( that spell is always a game winner! ). In the end, I escaped with a draw, as the Elven Host only garnered 176 points advantage, 124 points shy of a Minor Victory. Again the Orcs remain undefeated! w00t!

Hmmm, logging on to Friendster, I find one of my invites has sent me a message. asking who the hell I was. Dumbfounded, I wondered if she has forgotten me until I found out that I'm using my family name, not my school name.

Names. Weird as it may be, but we garner names as we go through the twisted and winding path that is called life. Almost year we get baptised a new name from our friends, classmates, family etc. to reflect something we had done or something that is in our personal makeup. Take me for example. I was born Arsenio Rafael IV. After a few days, I got my baby name, Am. By Kindergarten and Grade School, I got my school nicknames whether it's Ars or Sen, take your pick. Then at High School, I got my famous nickname of all, Mooshi ( the history on how I got it was a trifle embarrasing, suffice to say even my cadets call me Capt. Mooshi ). Then there are other special types of names like Papa Bear ( you guessed it, from the ladies ) and Raf ( from the guys over at the Hobby Store ).

Names are like clothes, we wear one for every occasion. Or for a lack of better example, is like being a different person altogether. If you call me Raf, I tend to get loud and boisterous, flaunting the geek inside me. Mooshi sometimes is quiet, yet he speaks loudly and is particularly windy. Papa Bear is more reserved and generous, more on the father side ( duh! ). Of all of these though, AM some close to the real me, somewhat akin to a second skin. Names really depend on your personality, as to paraphrase my friend "I get all snobbish when someone calls me that, but usually I'm pretty ok".

So I'm guessing that names can be a powerful source of information, garnering the person's personality and behaviour. Ah well, doesn't matter the slightest to me, extrovert person that I am. Like me or don't like me, I don't give a crap. I won't change myself just to suit your perception, already warped as it is if you think you can.

State of Mind: Thoughtful Reminiscence
Song of the Day: Judith by A Perfect Circle
Now Reading: A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin
Fave Knight in the Book: Ser Gregor Clegane, The Mountain that Rides

Hamster's Thinking a Lot of Things

Here I am, standing in the midst of a dark room with only the monitor for a light. Kinda like a good scene for Resident Evil or even Silent Hill. Now those games are really freaky, especially the latter, as you get to travel through a misty town armed with only a crowbar.

Kinda like the scenes in my life. I don't know where the hell I'm going but I'm pretty sure it's better then staying in one place. Oh, minus the crowbar. In its place, I get to carry a book, like the hell it's going to do anything. Hmmm, in retrospect, it's probably better then nothing and if I'm in the middle of a boring episode, I guess I could read for a while.

There's a new craze that's being going around for a while, and that infestation is called Friendster. What is Friendster? Well, it's this site that allows you to meet new friends, old friends and even probably some long lost friends. It has no value whatsoever, except probably the emotional high you get when you add more friends to your network. Kinda like a online phonebook spanning miles and countries. Some of my friends are Friendster junkies, their own network boasting 250+ people who I'm sure some are mere acquintances. Ah well, whatever makes people happy I guess.

Mike dropped by this morning, awaking me from my slumber to face the glare of sunlight at 11 am. I am not definitely a morning person, as I trudged down looking like a caveman who had too many steins of grog. The dude was just around the area and so he thought to visit me, weird as it may be. Now I don't get lots of visitors, in fact I usually don't get visitors, especially this early in the morning. One of my weirdest visits would be a friend buzzing the doorbell at around 2 in the morning looking for me. And I will not dwell why she came at that unusual time, suffice to say it's one of those Kuya things. Anyways, Mike was there and we talked about certain stuff, more importantly who is the one who's going to replace me in the community. Well, I got two guys in my mind, and I'll probably tell the unlucky one sometime this week. Things are coming into head here it seems...

The Fates are really conspiring against me, as my father was brought to the hospital just this night, probably just feeling his age. I learned to take Dad's illnesses in a stride, since 3 out of 4 times it's usually a false alarm with his nervousness acting up. I swear, he goes to the hospital, get checked in for two days, just because his urine " doesn't look right". So now, he's back in the hospital for a couple of days, which means I can't talk to him about me granting a week of respite. He'll probably use the reason that he's sick and he needs me, so I need to come home quick.

Arrrrgh, curse you Fates! *grumble grumble*

Well, if I look at this in a Zen kinda light, things that are hard to get are usually valued and treasured more. Which means the last week that I'll be staying will be the best week of my life ever...that is if all things come to pass. And if the stars are right and in a certain pattern.

I guess I'll find out tommorow.

Speaking of tommorow, Alex is again itching to get back what happened last time and proposed a 2.5k battle. Hmmm, which means, High Elf player that he is, I'm expecting a magic heavy army with a White Dragon to boot. Well, two can play that game. I think I'll have my Orcs upgraded into Savage Orcs which makes them Immune to Psychology, especially Dragonfear. And probably add another Night Goblin regiment just to get that 12 Fanatics on the table. I'm expecting heavy artillery also, but that can't be helped. Ever see LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring opening scene where all these elven archers fired a hailstorm of arrows on the orcs? Well, that will happen in the first few parts in the game, but we will have the numbers to reach the puny pansies. As what happened also in LOTR, hehe. In place of Sauron, I'll get a Giant or two, since when these big brutes swing it's like what happened to all those humans when the Dark Lord swung his mace. Flying elves anyone? Hmmm, so what will be my warcry?

"Strength in numbers."

And probably "Eat wooden club!"

Hehehe...

State of Mind: Mindless Babble and Anticipation
Song of the Day: Just The Way You Are by Milky
Number of friends in Friendster.com: 64! Huzzuh!
Number of Testimonials: 7! w00t!!!

Hamster's Thinking a Lot of Things

Here I am, standing in the midst of a dark room with only the monitor for a light. Kinda like a good scene for Resident Evil or even Silent Hill. Now those games are really freaky, especially the latter, as you get to travel through a misty town armed with only a crowbar.

Kinda like the scenes in my life. I don't know where the hell I'm going but I'm pretty sure it's better then staying in one place. Oh, minus the crowbar. In its place, I get to carry a book, like the hell it's going to do anything. Hmmm, in retrospect, it's probably better then nothing and if I'm in the middle of a boring episode, I guess I could read for a while.

There's a new craze that's being going around for a while, and that infestation is called Friendster. What is Friendster? Well, it's this site that allows you to meet new friends, old friends and even probably some long lost friends. It has no value whatsoever, except probably the emotional high you get when you add more friends to your network. Kinda like a online phonebook spanning miles and countries. Some of my friends are Friendster junkies, their own network boasting 250+ people who I'm sure some are mere acquintances. Ah well, whatever makes people happy I guess.

Mike dropped by this morning, awaking me from my slumber to face the glare of sunlight at 11 am. I am not definitely a morning person, as I trudged down looking like a caveman who had too many steins of grog. The dude was just around the area and so he thought to visit me, weird as it may be. Now I don't get lots of visitors, in fact I usually don't get visitors, especially this early in the morning. One of my weirdest visits would be a friend buzzing the doorbell at around 2 in the morning looking for me. And I will not dwell why she came at that unusual time, suffice to say it's one of those Kuya things. Anyways, Mike was there and we talked about certain stuff, more importantly who is the one who's going to replace me in the community. Well, I got two guys in my mind, and I'll probably tell the unlucky one sometime this week. Things are coming into head here it seems...

The Fates are really conspiring against me, as my father was brought to the hospital just this night, probably just feeling his age. I learned to take Dad's illnesses in a stride, since 3 out of 4 times it's usually a false alarm with his nervousness acting up. I swear, he goes to the hospital, get checked in for two days, just because his urine " doesn't look right". So now, he's back in the hospital for a couple of days, which means I can't talk to him about me granting a week of respite. He'll probably use the reason that he's sick and he needs me, so I need to come home quick.

Arrrrgh, curse you Fates! *grumble grumble*

Well, if I look at this in a Zen kinda light, things that are hard to get are usually valued and treasured more. Which means the last week that I'll be staying will be the best week of my life ever...that is if all things come to pass. And if the stars are right and in a certain pattern.

I guess I'll find out tommorow.

Speaking of tommorow, Alex is again itching to get back what happened last time and proposed a 2.5k battle. Hmmm, which means, High Elf player that he is, I'm expecting a magic heavy army with a White Dragon to boot. Well, two can play that game. I think I'll have my Orcs upgraded into Savage Orcs which makes them Immune to Psychology, especially Dragonfear. And probably add another Night Goblin regiment just to get that 12 Fanatics on the table. I'm expecting heavy artillery also, but that can't be helped. Ever see LOTR: Fellowship of the Ring opening scene where all these elven archers fired a hailstorm of arrows on the orcs? Well, that will happen in the first few parts in the game, but we will have the numbers to reach the puny pansies. As what happened also in LOTR, hehe. In place of Sauron, I'll get a Giant or two, since when these big brutes swing it's like what happened to all those humans when the Dark Lord swung his mace. Flying elves anyone? Hmmm, so what will be my warcry?

"Strength in numbers."

And probably "Eat wooden club!"

Hehehe...

State of Mind: Mindless Babble and Anticipation
Song of the Day: Just The Way You Are by Milky
Number of friends in Friendster.com: 64! Huzzuh!
Number of Testimonials: 7! w00t!!!

Teddybears, Dimwitted OS and Siege: Two Towers Remake

I am now coming into terms with my place in this weirdness called life. Much as I hate to admit it, my uncertain role as the big Teddybear became clearer as I got into talking with a friend of mine. I lamented that everybody opens up to me, nevermind the fact that I'm a dude and can't really relate to stuff in question ( ..."you know kuya, I bought a red dress today, and I was so happy because of all the ruffles and...." etc etc etc. How the crap am I supposed to respond?!! ). Well, anyway, after a few minutes of listening to my tirade, my friend looked me straight into my eyes and said "You know, you should be happy cuz you know stuff about us and that's one great advantage. Plus, we females dig men who are good listeners".

Hmmm....really?

Well, who am I to stand against myself? Being true to what you are really matters, nevermind how sometimes you loathe that part of yourself.

Anyways, my computer is also in the brink of reformatted...for the 8th time. The real big problem is it's OS, Windows ME. I prefer WIN98, since, while old, is still very superb and has a few to nada bugs. Sadly, the old system cannot be upgraded to take on new hardwares, softwares etc. Case in point is my beloved P800, who, for weeks now, have tried to download images to the PC. Arrrgh, better do it right next time...

Hobby Store closed today and reopened to a new but smaller venue. Damn, it's so small that even the Starwars players have to wait till all the Magic players finished their game. So how does that affect the Warhammer people? Well, we can only put out one table intead of three, so crowded as it is. But one good thing is that we're right out where everybody can see us. Makes a good publicity stunt, plus the fact we can garner more people to join in. Oh, add the fact that our area has become the hotbed for major hotties, hehe.

Hmmm, this might be a good time to get that Siege game going. 4000 thousand orcs against 2000 elves, dwarves and humans ( Hmmm, The Two Towers remake, Warhammer style ).

Lots of wishes, so little time left.

Speaking of wishes, the Fates are agianst me as my Mom bought me a ticket for the December 17th, without me knowing as usual. ARRRGHHH!!! I really hate it when they do that, make plans without my consent. That sucks big time. Now I have to make do and plan things accodingly if I wanna get out of this trap.

State of Mind: Fiendish Thoughts
Song of the Day: Don't Even Start by Dan Mackenzie
Now reading: Calvin and Hobbes Autoritive Edition ( A break from the Song of Truth Novels )
Days left before I travel home glumly: 9 freakin' days...

Hamster's Flash Report: Goblins Have Taken Over The Countryside!!!

Huzzah! The Despidida Tourney ended with a blast and an unexpected surprise. I actually won the damn thing! Now that's a weird sign. It was one hell of an uphill climb though. First match was against Joel's Druchii, good thing he didn't have any magical support, else I'd be running off the table every turn because of the mere fact that goblins fear elves. Not a fun way to lose, I tell ya. One mistake he made was not closing in the first couple of turns, which allowed me to bring on the big magic spells and blasted him to smithereens. Second game was against Sir Larry's Undead, again the fear factor is causing me enough problems. One bad thing about using a pure goblin army is the very low leadership your troops have. But the good thing is, we come in great numbers hehe. So in a 1k game I usually outnumber every army 2 to 1 ( sometimes 3 to 1, hehe ). Sir Larry made just one mistake which allowed me to capitalize on the game and boffed off his Necromancer, thus rending his ghouls and zombies into piles of dust. That's two big wins, with one more game to go.

Last game was a clincher. Patrick Uy, rules lawyer and practically one of the top five players in the Philippines is the guy to beat. Now I haven't beaten Patrick with his Empire ever, even in Warhammer 40k where I play the Imperial Guard and he plays Orcz ( hmmm, that's weird, reversal of armies ). Honestly, I think everyone is kinda afraid when facing Patrick, even the masters. What did I feel at that moment? Cold running down the spine and wetting down your pants kind of fear. Yeah yeah, it's over the top but gotta get the message through right?

Now Patrick has already defeated my Goblins once, and he knows what were my weaknesses. But I got one advantage over him that game. I lead the group by a Massacre Vic and a Major Vic; Patrick has only two Major Vics. So I only need a draw to win the the tourney.

The game was brutal, I won't bore you with needless details. There were lots of highlights, and lots of both bad and good rolls on both sides. In the end, the only units left on the table was one goblin regiment, two spear chukkas and my general on foot. His was only a Helblaster Volley Gun, a mage and a group of Huntsman.

Tallying up in the end, I lead a 39 point draw against Patrick! w00t! That's enough to ensure total victory! Huzzah!

And the guys lamented and shook their heads that it was meant to be, tsk tsk.

Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, the masters weren't there ( except for Patrick of course ) hence there was no quaffing of ale and naked dancing chicks after the game. Oh well, the important thing is that I won, hard as it is.

Hobby girl drop by the store today, but we didn't get to see each other because I was concentrating on the tourney while she brought some dice and stuff and had to leave in a rush because of a family affair. Least she could do was see me play, but what the hell. Doesn't dampen my spirits whatsoever, hehe.

After the game, heard about a premier on the LoTR, which is gonna be on the 21st instead of January next year ( Damn you Manila Filmfest!!!! ). Now that would be my fondest wish, to see LotR here instead in the province, cuz hey, they don't have cushy seats and sense surround systems. I want to be pampered when I watch the last movie dammit!!! Preparations are being made and excuses drafted so I can stay here to watch the ending. Question is, will my parents swallow my tale? I remember somewhere that a good lie must be mix exactly right, concordantly, one part truth to two parts lie, mix vigorously and fast. So I might go with telling them the truth ( wanna watch LotR, it's my last chance ) and two lies ( A debut of a bestest best friend (?) and had no chance of fixing up my stuff on time. Now if they'll swallow all of this, I get to have one more week of extra fun, hehe.

I am now lifting up prayers just for this chance of a lifetime. Ah well, hopefully God will hear my plea, although it is so "mabawbaw" as it is.

State of Mind: Elated Euphoria
Song of the Day: Spirit of Revival by Darrel Evens
Play of the day: Spear Chukka skewering an Elf General ( I need to roll a six, lucky me! )
MVP of the Tourney: Goblin General ( a Str 6 mofo with three attacks, only 39 points. Plus the leadership effect really turned the tide and won the game for me )

Hamster's Flash Report: Goblins Have Taken Over The Countryside!!!

Huzzah! The Despidida Tourney ended with a blast and an unexpected surprise. I actually won the damn thing! Now that's a weird sign. It was one hell of an uphill climb though. First match was against Joel's Druchii, good thing he didn't have any magical support, else I'd be running off the table every turn because of the mere fact that goblins fear elves. Not a fun way to lose, I tell ya. One mistake he made was not closing in the first couple of turns, which allowed me to bring on the big magic spells and blasted him to smithereens. Second game was against Sir Larry's Undead, again the fear factor is causing me enough problems. One bad thing about using a pure goblin army is the very low leadership your troops have. But the good thing is, we come in great numbers hehe. So in a 1k game I usually outnumber every army 2 to 1 ( sometimes 3 to 1, hehe ). Sir Larry made just one mistake which allowed me to capitalize on the game and boffed off his Necromancer, thus rending his ghouls and zombies into piles of dust. That's two big wins, with one more game to go.

Last game was a clincher. Patrick Uy, rules lawyer and practically one of the top five players in the Philippines is the guy to beat. Now I haven't beaten Patrick with his Empire ever, even in Warhammer 40k where I play the Imperial Guard and he plays Orcz ( hmmm, that's weird, reversal of armies ). Honestly, I think everyone is kinda afraid when facing Patrick, even the masters. What did I feel at that moment? Cold running down the spine and wetting down your pants kind of fear. Yeah yeah, it's over the top but gotta get the message through right?

Now Patrick has already defeated my Goblins once, and he knows what were my weaknesses. But I got one advantage over him that game. I lead the group by a Massacre Vic and a Major Vic; Patrick has only two Major Vics. So I only need a draw to win the the tourney.

The game was brutal, I won't bore you with needless details. There were lots of highlights, and lots of both bad and good rolls on both sides. In the end, the only units left on the table was one goblin regiment, two spear chukkas and my general on foot. His was only a Helblaster Volley Gun, a mage and a group of Huntsman.

Tallying up in the end, I lead a 39 point draw against Patrick! w00t! That's enough to ensure total victory! Huzzah!

And the guys lamented and shook their heads that it was meant to be, tsk tsk.

Sadly, or perhaps fortunately, the masters weren't there ( except for Patrick of course ) hence there was no quaffing of ale and naked dancing chicks after the game. Oh well, the important thing is that I won, hard as it is.

Hobby girl drop by the store today, but we didn't get to see each other because I was concentrating on the tourney while she brought some dice and stuff and had to leave in a rush because of a family affair. Least she could do was see me play, but what the hell. Doesn't dampen my spirits whatsoever, hehe.

After the game, heard about a premier on the LoTR, which is gonna be on the 21st instead of January next year ( Damn you Manila Filmfest!!!! ). Now that would be my fondest wish, to see LotR here instead in the province, cuz hey, they don't have cushy seats and sense surround systems. I want to be pampered when I watch the last movie dammit!!! Preparations are being made and excuses drafted so I can stay here to watch the ending. Question is, will my parents swallow my tale? I remember somewhere that a good lie must be mix exactly right, concordantly, one part truth to two parts lie, mix vigorously and fast. So I might go with telling them the truth ( wanna watch LotR, it's my last chance ) and two lies ( A debut of a bestest best friend (?) and had no chance of fixing up my stuff on time. Now if they'll swallow all of this, I get to have one more week of extra fun, hehe.

I am now lifting up prayers just for this chance of a lifetime. Ah well, hopefully God will hear my plea, although it is so "mabawbaw" as it is.

State of Mind: Elated Euphoria
Song of the Day: Spirit of Revival by Darrel Evens
Play of the day: Spear Chukka skewering an Elf General ( I need to roll a six, lucky me! )
MVP of the Tourney: Goblin General ( a Str 6 mofo with three attacks, only 39 points. Plus the leadership effect really turned the tide and won the game for me )

Debut, Geekishness and LOTR CCG Madness

Something is still wrong with my PC. I'm writing again in my unc's computer since the friggin modem won't work.

Just got back from Cuddlybear's debut. It was fun, and as expected and typical of gender differences, the women wailed and cried while the men laughed and made fun of everything. I got to be the 16th rose, and during the dance had a little chat with her, the kuya chat, hehe. Oh, gave her a gift ( obviously ), a book entitled I Kissed Dating Goodbye by Joshua Harris. Yeah yeah, I know it's a chick book but browsing through the pages ( gasp! ) seems to have very nice points and cool topics ( double gasp!! ). But it might just help her with choosing the right time and guy, I guess hehe. Whatever works for her.

Hmmm, I'm left with only 9 days before I get dragged back kicking and screaming. One big reminder that I got only a week left is that tomorrow is the Despidida Tournament with the guys over at the Hobby Store. I wonder what's in store for us...probably after the tourney, barrels of beer would flow and pulutan will rise up under the tables. Which is a little more then I desired but hey, whatever makes them happy I guess.

One thing about us geeks at the Hobby Store is that we are totally faithful to our wives or girlfriends. Our women can be assured that whenever we come home late at night is that we were playing our games. If they see a large amount cash withdrawal in the bill means we bought a lot of stuff for our hobby, not to buy expensive stuff for our mistresses. Besides, one girl is enough for our lives, not to mention the fact that we spend our days gaming 24/7. That's why you womenfolk can either choose a handsome alpha male or an ever-loyal happy-go-lucky geek. Marrying into geekdom isn't that bad, just let us have a good clean fun at least once a week and we're happy as a child in a candy store. Besides we are usually intellectual and easy going, not high strung and airheads like some guys I could name.

The fact that I woke up refreshed this morning didn't seem to make any difference as I went to the mall this afternoon to buy Cuddlybear's gift. Walking around the mall has seriously depleted the energy gained from the sleeping, perhaps because of all the dang people rushing to and fro the place. Christmas shopping never ceases to amazes me. The people are willing to kick and maim the person who's holding the last toy/book/vase/etc ( take your pick ). It's like a war zone without guns, where tongue agility and speech speed reigns supreme. Verbal karate so to speak. Good thing the Hobby Store is still there, and with a Wizkids Convention going on, it is also filled to the rafters. Yes, I know I hate when there are lots of people, but these are my people, and I feel comfortable when I'm in my crowd. Drifted aimlessly for while, and sat down to watch a friend having a game of LOTR CCG.

I am now in the grip of LOTR CCG madness. Yes I know, I've seen the game before, I've watched the other guys played and as a big fan of Papa Tolkien, it was a wonder I didn't get into that CCG. Perhaps I reasoned that it would only last for a short while, since the three part movie ends this year. But man oh man, when I sat down today and saw the action, I'm having second thoughts and perhaps a great regret in not buying when the first starter came out. The graphics are superb, the game play easy and fast paced. Hmmm, perhaps I'll buy a bunch of starters and boosters just for collection purposes, and that Eowyn is such a babe., not to mention Arwen as well. Geekishness? Perhaps, but one should always be true to one's own nature.

State of Mind: Hype And Ready ( Tourney Day!!! )
Song of the Day: True by Arnee Hidalgo
Army for the Tourney: Night Goblins! Night Goblins! Wahoo!!!
Fave LOTR card: Gimli the Dwarf ( experienced version )

Auto-Write Mode On, Sleep Mode In 20 Minutes.

Wow...I just woke up and found out I spent the time of what's left of afternoon and evening in bed!!! Arrrrghhh....

Well, we finished our video expo early morning, and by dint of herculean effort, managed to pass it before the friggin' deadline.

I'm still tired, lack of sleep does that to people sometimes. And can't really write long, since there are people behind my shoulder. I'm using my Unc's PC right now, as my own beloved PC is still at my friend's house, wasting away without my presence. Hehehe, sentimentality crap coming from a tired human being.

Oh, check out friendster next week if you have one. I'll be posting some of people I torture myself too. Oh, and tommorow is Cuddlybear's birthday, I finally have the right event to relax myself....and speaking of which, it's also my brother's bday. Hmm, maybe I'll buy him a miniture jaguar XS series for a gift.

State of Mind: Now Shutting Down....
Song of the Day: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme, weird as it may be....
Hours slept before waking just now: 9 hours
Sleep hours needed for complete rejuvenation: 5 hours more... ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz........

Caffeine High Slaves On The Run

Four guys, three pcs and only 12 hours to go before the deadline. As I'm writing this, we are doing a video expo on the GK sites, to be passed on to the upper echelons. We are tired, sleep-deprived and slowly going insane on the process. The four caballeros are me, the PC Hardware and Audio Guy; Mike the resident guru on software design; Jr on directing and paperwork; and lastly Iye on the production line. The adrenalin rush is running hot, coffee was consumed in great quantities and personal agendas were summarily dismissed as the team pushed on, passing the limits.

Can't really write long, we only have a 30 minute nap time before the torture continues and I spent all my time writing in this goddamn journal since I can't friggin' take a nap for just 30 minutes. One small brief update though, as I played against the Druchii and won by no contest, hehe. Full massacre, w00t! Shows 'em who the real bosses are...

Damn, time to go back to work. I think I'll take a long vacation after this one, arrrgh...

State of Mind: Blurred Frenzy
Song of the Day: On A High by Duncan Sheik
Total hours sleep on two days: 5 aggravating hours
Total gallons of coffee consumed: 2 and a half.

It's All In The Mind

I'm tired.

Not the regular tiredness you get from days of stress but bone numbing tiredness that seeps to every pore of your body, making your muscles worthless as if they athropied in a single night.

I'm tired like an old man on his lastfew breaths of life, but nevertheless refuses to give up, mouthing profanities at Death.

I'm tired like a man after staying the night on a Sultan's harem, getting it on with every girl on sight. Man, now that's one metaphor for explaining how exhausted you are. I'm pretty sure you get the picture.

The started innocently enough, typical December weather, blue skies and cool winds. Had to pick up Mossimo Girl at her house, then we went to Adamson College to her modeling gig. Now, Adamson would only be a 15 minute ride if I was on the province but since this Manila, it took us over a fricken hour just to get to Taft Avenue. That's one thing I will not miss, the bumper to bumper traffic. Which is why I prefer walking to a 30 minute destination then sitting my butt off a cab or jeep for over 2 hours. Sheesh...

Arriving at the college confirmed my worst premonitions. Everyone seemed to have their eyes glued to her. Arrrrgh, I should bought a baseball bat. But nevertheless, it was a trifle disconcerting to be at the center of attraction, even if I was just off center. In the end though, it was all cool, since nobody had the guts to approach her when we got to the stage site.

Man oh man, I really hate models. The airheaded ones only of course, which I think comprimises 90% of modeldom. I never met a model who isn't shallow, naive, in love with himself/herself or just plain stupid. Sure, some of my model friends weren't like that... though I'll concede just a little. Besides, they wouldn't be my friends if they fit in the above's description.

Perhaps I wouldn't be so tired if I ate a little something on the way over. Fate decided that not eating breakfast, lunch and small snacks is a good thing, since I didn't get the time to even bite a nibble. So it was I spent the night on an empty stomach, finally filling up my poor tummy after the practice, at around 10pm. Thank God I wouldn't be doing this again tommorow.

Or maybe the fact that I'm tired is tommorow is the day we're gonna do a video exposition, and I have to bring my PC at a friend's house to work on it. It could be that my body, reacting to future possibilites, knows how tiring that prospect is and making me feel the pain now. Even thinking about it just makes me cold all over again.

Ah well, at least I get to have my time off in the afternoon, where I finally get my wish of a massive battle against the Dark Elves. Hmmm, I wonder how would it go, since this is the first time I playing at the 4000 point level. The weird thing is, even if that also is a tiring venture which involves 3-4 hours of gaming and constant headache of tactics and strategy, it actually reveals itself to be invigorating and pleasing to me.

Hmmm, on reflection, it's perhaps all on the mind. While doing something you don't like or don't really care makes you tired just by thinking about it, doing something you look forward too makes you forget the exhaustive qualities that come with it. Just thinking about the video expo makes me crawl on my knees, while on the other hand playing the game raises my euphoria to heights unknown, perhaps shielding me from tiredness. I know I'm friggin' tired ( yet strangely elated ) after a good game.

So I'm guessing is that we should be optmistic and love everything we do, so that in time we can have the boundless energy of the Energizer Bunny and make all things possible. It's all really on the mind. Think about it, if we love our country, none of the graft, corruption and other crap would happen and in the end actually make the country work for us, not the other way around. If we put our backs into it, we could actually become Asia's top country. I know it's hard but thinking that everything is not impossible helps, and if have the "gana" to do everything right then the stars would be our limits, perhaps even farther. Again it's all in the mind, and the mind has infinite possibilities. If I put my own mind into it, anything is possible.

Hmmmm....

Amanda Griffin, you will be mine.

Hehehe....

State of Mind: Age Old Tiredness
Song of the Day: Barey Breathing by Duncan Sheik
Cartoon of the Day: He-Man and Masters of the Universe
Sleep required to recuperate after all of this: 14 hours

Personified Ideas

Well, the Fates were cruel and made me the official chaperon of Mossimo Girl tommorow when she struts her stuff at Adamson College. Meaning little chubby me will be there, alone, using my knees-on-hips-hands-on-face-with-eyes-half-asleep attitude while the guys over at the Hobby Store are having a blast gaming themselves to insensibility. I so wanna find out the new releases of the CCG world. That's one of the perks of being a regular and trusted gamer at the store, we get to playtest stuff for free and find out the kinks in it. Last week we playtested Initial D, an anime racing card game ( My thoughts? Nice and fast gameplay, a little problem on variety though, but not much). Tommorow we were supposed to try out the NBA 2002 League, a basketball card game. My initial thoughts on that one? Wierd game, you get to see Michael Jordan do a jumpshot it he rolls a 2 up on a dice. It's like the Starwars CCG. Lots of dice used plus they have this placemat where you put your center, forward and so forth. Hmm, I'll ask the guys this Thursday if it's actually worth buying.

Having read Neil Gaiman's and Jill Thompson's collaboration on the comic book entitled "Death" made me wonder at my own perception of ideas/metaphors if they were a person. There is a big difference for every author I guess. Neil Gaiman's Death looks like a 18 year old Goth with a perky and unassumming attitude, the type you wouldn't believe till she slices you up to pieces. Hmm, if ideas would be personas this would be my version...

Death: Hmm, I would choose Terry Prachett's version of Death since the guy is totally commited to his job, plus he gives great service and really cool parting advice ( sorry for the pun ) But hey, if you're gonna die, might as well let your death be handled with care and comfort, eh? Methinks he has the personality type of an English Butler, always ready to serve and anticipate your next move.

Fate: Arrrgh, my most insane personas. Twin old men, one white bearded and with a laughing twinkle in his eye, the other grim and outlined wih wrinkles. They always carry a loaded set dice, and they all cheat outrageously everytime. They are non repentant gamblers, and when you play against him, you don't know what the rules are and how high the stakes go. It might even be your life.

Mother Nature: Ah, my favorite persona. If you've noticed, I've always start my logs with a small rant or tribute to dearest Mumsy. I think she is undoubtably the essence of a female persona, since she can be sweet and caressing one time, a raging torrent of destruction the next. I always view all females as somewhat the living reincarnations of Mommy Nature, since their minds are so intertwined that males don't know what's going to happen next. Oh, especially during their periods! Man oh man, if you know that a girl has that "special day", keep away from her! Always agree whatever she says, no matter what. A safe distance should be recommended, perhaps at least a mile.

Love: Huh? That weirdo? I think he's blind and carries a pea shooter instead of a longbow and a quiver of arrows. 'Nuff said.

War: Hmmm, a Japanese high school girl with a very, very sharp dotanuki blade. Beautiful to behold yet a horror to witness in action. Speaks quietly yet always has a point ( arrrgh, another pun ).

And a lot more....

I realized if I'm gonna continue, this would take a long while, reaching to the Four Horseman, the Seven Deadly Sins and so forth. Better to stop while I'm still coherent and not babbling.

State of Mind: Inggit sa barkada over at the Hobby Store
Song of the Day: Expand Your Mind by Ananda Project
Now Reading: Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
Number of ideas/metaphors personified: 30+

Hamster's CD Reviews and More Thoughts

It's the first day of December! Which means a dozen of things, like the air getting colder, although it's more like freezing actually, and my room becoming just plain warm instead of downright unbearable. I can also expect the reemergance of Christmas Caroleers ( Carolers? Carollers?? Ah hell, whatever... ) and the Christmas songs in the malls. It also signifies that I only have 14 days left before I get plucked out of my beloved Manila, but lets not dwell into that. Christmas is a time of joy and happiness, not for melencholial sadness (uy, nagkatunog! ). It is also the time for the shopping spree to hit fever pitch, as I see lots of people buying gifts for the yuletide season as if the end of the world is at hand.

Speaking of shopping, 1st of December also signifies that my monthly "wages" are now available to me and, after withdrawing, I headed down to my fave music shop to browse some cool new tunes. So I'm gonna do a little review on the 3 CDs that I bought.

First up is Lampano Alley, a filipino style blues music album. Two words says it all: it rocks! Having been slightly attuned to blues music ( years of listening to dad's collection ), I was surprised to hear a clear no nonsense sounds from this semi all filipino group. The frontman, Binky Lampano delivers a strong voice reminescent of blues era, with the likeness of Nat King Cole, while the only white dude, "Tomcat" Colvin, does the counterpoint with his harmonica. Great for those lazy sunday afternoons and perhaps a totally new background music for the senses.

Next is the Anton Ramos' newest album, The Chillout Project: House Sessions. What can I say, the man is totally friggin' genius, already blowing me away with his other album, The Chillout Project: A Soundtrack to Modern Life. Now, having heard his new compilations made me think this filipino dude is probably God in disguise, what with his awesome tracks to bounce the senses. Definitely a must have for all lounge junkies.

Lastly, feeling a little nostalgic, I bought the new Red Hot Chili Peppers album, aptly titled Red Hot Chili Peppers: Greatest Hits. This band was my choice since the dawning years of high school and the early years of college. Having listened the songs of "Give It Away" and "Suck My Kiss" reminded me that Red Hot was, and is still is, my rock band of choice, with A Perfect Circle and the now defunct Rage Against the Machine coming close second. Besides, Flea totally rocks in all their videos, and being a bassist myself, it's really good to have icon to set your standards to.

So there you have it, my CD reviews by the Hamster. What's next in line? Perhaps the Pikpikan album by a filipino group, the new A Perfect Circle album and probably another lounge cd, perhaps the mucho pricey Hed Kandi album. Ah well, if I can scrounge up enough moolahs to buy the albums that is.

Today was also the birthday party of one of my friends, whose sister I know who has huge crush on me. How do I know? Well, I actually overheard the "interesting conversation", what with me at the right place at the right time. And also utilising my unwholesomely sharp ears, of course, hehe. It was a fun get together, although didn't stay long since I had to make "hatid" my partner, whose dad is a living volcano of temper. One of the cons of a Kuya I guess. Ah well, it true that they say that all good things in life must come to an end, sad as it may be.

The guys over the Hobby Store had it out and decided the Despidida Tourney to be held on this Sunday. Cool way to see us off, a tournament where I'll probably end up as chopped liver. Ah well, one last bash for the mighty orc horde, as with one last charge for Sir Bob's Bretonians.

This Wednesday is gonna be a problem though, as I have a 4k game with Alex which I'll probably withdraw because I have to chaperon Mossimo Girl to one of her modeling practices. Usually I don't even go with her, but the practice venue this time is Adamson College and, well, the amount of male persons ogling her is enough to scare her dad and mum into asking for bodyguard of sorts, in which case would be me, the sacrificial pig. Again, the curse of the Kuya is acting up, and yes it's good to be trusted and all but it's totally overrated. It sucks big time.

Which means the challenge for Alex would be moved to Friday and I have my Thursday challenge against the Druchii or the Dark Elves. Everybody is itching to get me for one last time, probably just to get back to all the times I caused grief and horror everytime I released one of my Fanatics. Yup, you'll not probably understand what the hell I'm talking about. Boo hoo to you, I guess, hehe.

It's been at least three months since I started writing this weblog, and I can say I feel a weight lifted off me as write stuff that I care about and joke about things that probably I alone know the punchlines. Love to write, it's been in my blood and, just now, knowing that Hobby Girl has already published a book sets my blood into a frenzy.

One day, I will get published.

One day, I will get my own business started and come back here in Manila.

One day, I will get me a cool girlfriend, one I know that God has provided for me.

One day, I will have the One Ring, and I will rule the world.

This is me, Raf the Hamster, just thinking out loud.

State of Mind: Frezied Thoughts
Song of the Day: Fade ( Earth Mix ) by Solu Music feat. Kimblee
Lampano Alley: 4 / 5 stars
Chillout Project: House Sessions: 5 / 5 stars
Red Hot Chili Peppers: Greatest Hits: 4.5 / 5 stars







One day, pigs might fly also.