Stretching Your Way to Fitness

Stretching has always been believed to be beneficial for the body. As far back as 2 BC in China, philosophical treatises were written exalting the virtues of stretching: it loosens the joints and facilitates the flow of blood and qi (according to Chinese Philosophy, qi is the circulating life energy present in everybody); strengthens ligaments and tendons and indirectly the bones; and promotes mental and physical relaxation. Modern studies on stretching verify these claims and more. Stretching improves physical well-being, enhances ones range of motion, reduces muscle soreness and tension after athletic activities, reduces menstrual pain in females, and makes the muscles more flexible.

Stretching must be a component of your warm-up and cool-down exercises. Stretching lengthens the muscles and improves flexibility and range of motion, facilitating the easy execution of different movements required in athletic activities.

There are different kinds of stretching (active stretching, isometric stretching, ballistic stretching, dynamic stretching, passive stretching, PNF stretching, and static stretching). Static stretching is the most ideal type of stretching to achieve the intended results of warm-up and cool-down exercises. This type of stretching promotes short-term and long-term flexibility. Short-term flexibility is what the muscles need for the workout that they are going to get from the anticipated athletic activity. Long-term flexibility refers to the general ability of the muscles to execute a wider range of motion.

Here are some static stretching exercises you can teach your students. These exercises should be done in the order that they appear here:

Upper Back Stretch
1. Stand tall, feet apart, slightly wider than shoulder-width, knees slightly bent.
2. Interlock the fingers and push the hands as far away from the chest as possible, allowing the upper back to relax.
3. The stretch should be felt between the shoulder blades.

Abdominal and Lower Back Muscles
1. Lie face down on the ground.
2. Lift the body off the ground so that it is supported only by the forearms and toes. The elbows should be on the ground almost directly below the shoulders. The forearms and hands should rest on the ground, pointed straight ahead, toes and feet should be shoulder-width apart and the head in line with the spine.
3. Gently contract the muscles on the buttocks. Hold for 10 seconds.
4. Lift the right arm off the ground, straighten and point it straight ahead, holding it in the air for 10 seconds.
5. Return to the starting position.
6. Repeat with the left arm.
7. Return to starting position.
8. Lift the right leg off the ground and hold it for 10 seconds (keep back straight).
9. Return to starting position.
10. Repeat with left leg.
11. Return to starting position.
12. Lift the right arm and left leg simultaneously and hold them in position for 10 seconds.
13. Return to starting position.
14. Lift the left arm and right leg simultaneously and hold them in position for 10 seconds.
15. Return to the starting position.

Side Bends
1. Stand tall, feet apart, slightly wider than shoulder-width, knees slightly bent, hands resting on the hips.
2. Bend slowly to one side, come back to the vertical position and then bend to the other side. Do not lean forward or backward.

Neck Stretch
1. Sit or stand with arms hanging loosely at the sides.
2. For the sides of the neck, turn or tilt the head to one side, then the other.
3. Hold each side for five seconds.
4. Repeat up to three times.
5. For the back of the neck, gently tilt head forward.
6. Hold for five seconds.
7. Repeat up to three times.

Chest Stretch
1. Stand tall, feet slightly wider than shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.
2. Hold the arms out to the side parallel with the ground and the palms of the hand facing forward.
3. Stretch the arms back as far as possible. The stretch should be felt across the chest.

Groin Stretch
1. Sit with tall posture.
2. Ease both feet up towards the body and place the soles of the feet together, allowing the knees to come up and out to the side.
3. Rest the hands on the lower legs or ankles and ease both knees towards the ground. The stretch should be felt in the inside of the thighs and groin.

Hip and Thigh Stretch
1. Stand tall with the feet approximately two shoulder widths apart.
2. Turn the feet and face to the right.
3. Bend the right leg so that the right thigh is parallel with the ground and the right lower leg is vertical.
4. Gradually lower the body.
5. Keep the back straight and use the arms to balance.
6. The stretch should be felt along the front of the left thigh and along the hamstrings of the right leg.
7. Repeat by turning and facing to the left.

Quadriceps Stretch
1. Lie face down on the floor, resting the forehead on the right hand.
2. Press the hips firmly into the floor and bring the left foot up towards the buttocks.
3. Take hold of the left foot with the left hand and ease the foot closer to the buttocks.
4. Repeat with the right leg.
The stretch should be felt along the front of the thigh

Calf Stretch
1. Stand tall with one leg in front of the other, hands flat and at shoulder height against a wall.
2. Ease the back leg further away from the wall, keeping it straight and press the heel firmly onto the floor.
3. Keep the hips facing the wall and the rear leg and spine in a straight line.
4. The stretch should be felt in the calf of the rear leg.
5. Repeat with the other leg.

Hamstring Stretch
1. Sit on the ground with both legs straight out in front of the body.
2. Bend the left leg and place the sole of the left foot alongside the knee of the right leg.
3. Allow the left leg to lie relaxed on the ground.
4. Bend forward keeping the back straight.
5. The stretch should be felt in the hamstring of the right leg.
6. Repeat with the other leg.

But before teaching these exercises to your students or doing them yourself, here are some things to remember when doing stretching exercises.

1. Time to stretch. Do stretching exercises only after a warm-up or a cool-down. This will ensure that you will not injure yourself. The best time to do stretching is when the muscles are all warmed-up. This minimizes the possibility of injury. It is during this time when the muscles are more elastic and warmer. It is also important to remember that stretching alone cannot be considered a warm-up exercise.

2. Type of stretches. Doing the inappropriate type of stretching may be counterproductive. What you want to achieve with stretching during warm-up is “an increased awareness, improved coordination, improved elasticity and contractibility of muscles, and a greater efficiency of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.” The other kinds of stretches will not contribute to these goals. Instead they may tire the muscles even before the actual athletic activity.

3. Risky stretches. There are certain stretches such as the yoga plough (this is where you lie down and try to touch your ears with your knees), the traditional hurdler’s stretch (more popularly known as a split), or any kind of stretching where you hang upside down that are considered to be risky. You may end up injuring yourself or your students doing these stretches.

4. Hold the stretch. Crucial to stretching is the length of time you hold the stretch. For younger people, 7 to 10 seconds is recommended. For adults, 20 seconds is enough. Static stretches should be done in 2 to 5 repetitions.

5. Breathe while stretching. Observe proper breathing to maximize the benefits of stretching. Take slow, relaxed breaths and exhale when the muscles are stretched. Inhale slowly through the nose, expand the abdomen, hold the breath for a second, and then exhale slowly through the mouth.

6. Stretch in order. Stretch the different muscle groups in proper order. Stretching exercises stretch particular target muscles and the supporting muscles as well. The supporting muscles which are not the target for a particular exercise are warmed up, preparing them for the exercise for which they are the target. A warmed-up muscle is always ensured of a good stretch.

7. Pain and stretching. Do not continue stretching exercises, or any kind of athletic activity for that matter, if you experience any pain or discomfort. The pain may be brought about by a serious injury which should be diagnosed and treated first before engaging in any athletic activity again.

8. Sore muscles after stretching. The muscles of any person who is inactive or not used to exercise or even an athlete who worked-out in a level of difficulty higher than usual will become sore after stretching. Normally, stretching should not leave the muscles sore if done properly. If it does, you might have overstretched yourself. Muscles get sore if they are exposed to an extraordinary level of activity or if they are stretched without warm-up. To avoid overstretching, start with low intensity stretches first and work your way up when your muscles get used to the activity and make sure you do it after warm-up.

Sources:
www.qi.org/articles/exercise_and_stretching.htm (14 July 2005)
http://www.bath.ac.uk/~masrjb/Stretch/SEC56 (14 July 2005)
http://www.brianmac.demon.co.uk/stretch.htm (14 July 2005)

Costumes to Doll Up Your Social Studies and Literature Lessons

Keeping students interested in social studies and literature can be a real challenge to teachers. How do you then spice up your lessons to hold the attention of your MTV generation students?

According to research, students retain most of what they perceive with their senses. In other words, they learn more of what they see, hear, feel, taste, and touch. The use of the senses for teaching is easy to do when you’re teaching any of the sciences. But how do you do the same with social studies and literature? Using drama, skit, or role-playing can do the trick. Aside from having high entertainment value, these are effective ways of involving most, if not all, the senses of the students, thereby increasing learning and actively involving them in the learning process.

Dramas, skits, or role-playing will be more interesting if the students use costumes that they have made themselves. Costumes are important elements in creating the ambience, the feel, and the look of the play. If used appropriately, they can be effective visual aids for lessons about historical events or people, geography, citizenship, sociology, anthropology, and literature. Costume-making can also enrich your students’ creativity, encourage resourcefulness, and foster cooperation in group works. Here are general tips you can give your students in making their own costumes.

• Improvise. Use existing materials to substitute for materials that need to be bought. For example, to make a king’s cape, use a red or royal blue blanket or one that has an ornate design.
• Share materials. The class can pool in their resources to buy materials that everyone may use. You may ask students to either contribute money or assign each student to bring a particular material. Materials such as glue, scissors, adhesives, staplers, punchers, colored pens, thread, tape measure, and markers may be shared.
• Create patterns. You may ask the class to make patterns to facilitate the reproduction of costumes. Patterns allow several people to make the exact same costume at the same time.
• Recycle old costumes. If the workmanship is good, the costumes may be used several times for other projects. For instance, Filipiniana costumes may also be exhibited during the celebration of Linggo ng Wika.
Here is a sample costume you may teach your students to make. You may modify the process according to the kind of costume you want your students to do.

Female Igorot Costume
Materials:
red, long-sleeved, tight-fitting shirt
red skirt (not pleated, preferably pencil-cut)
needle and thread
bottle caps (tansan) or big buttons of different colors
poster paint
crepe paper (red, blue, black, yellow, green)
paste
scissors

Instructions:
For the shirt sash
1. Cut one 2-inch-wide strip of each color of crepe paper in varying length (red, 12 inches long; blue, 10 inches long; black, 9 inches long; yellow and green, 8 inches long).
2. Connect each strip from end to end to form several pieces of sash.
3. Loosely stitch the sash around the shoulder area of the shirt.
For the skirt
1. Cut inch-wide segments of red, blue, black, yellow, and green crepe paper.
2. Spread out the cut-out segments and weave all the colors.
3. Attach the woven mat around the skirt.
For the accessories
1. If you do not have buttons, use bottle caps instead. Color them with poster paint.
2. Thread bottle caps or buttons together to create the Ifugao necklace.
3. Use the same procedure to create bracelets, hair bun accessories, anklets, and waistbands.
Waist sash
1. Cut a 5-inch-wide and 48-inch-long (or shorter depending on the length of the skirt) strip of crepe paper.
2. Fold it crosswise.
3. Paste colored bottle caps or buttons on one side of the folded sash.
4. Insert the undecorated end into the waistband.
You may vary the pattern of the sash and how it is worn to form costumes of other ethnic tribes. Your students may wear these costumes in stage performances of Biag ni Lam-Ang, Hudhud ni Aliguyon, or other ethnic stories. The costumes may also be part of an exhibit of ethnic costumes for Araling Panlipunan.

Male Greek Costume (Chiton)
Materials:
a huge blanket (length will depend on the height of the person who will wear it)
needle
thread
safety pins or brooches
a long piece of ribbon (length will depend on waistline)


Instructions:
1. Fold the blanket in half. The width should cover the wearer from fingertip to fingertip .
2. Sew along the side seam. Join the top edge at intervals with safetypins or brooches, or by sewing. Don’t forget to leave holes for the head and arms to go through. Slip it on over the head.
3. Tie a belt round the waist and pull up the extra material so that it hangs over the belt.

This costume may be used in discussing Greek or Roman mythology through dramatization.
Sources:
Filipina Ethnic Barbie. http://www.manika.com/ethnic.htm (accessed 05 May 2005)
Greek Dress. http://www.dl.ket.org/latin1/things/romanlife/greekdress.htm (accessed 06 May 2005)

Note: This article was co-written with Rita Mirano.

TIMSS 2003 Update: When Juan dela Cruz Went into Battle with a Tattered Textbook

Once again, poor Juan dela Cruz was anything but combat-ready when he went to battle for the Third International Math and Science Study (TIMSS). The result—another disaster. Hopes of uplifting the quality of the country’s science and math education once again flickered upon the release of the TIMSS 2003 results last December 2004.

For the grade 4 or 9-year-old level in mathematics, the Philippines ranked 23rd among the 25 participating countries, garnering an average of 358 against the international average of 495. In the grade 8 or 13-year-old level, the country ranked 41st among the 45 participants, with an average of 378 compared to the international average of 466. In science for the 9-year-old level, the country’s 332 points average gave it the 23rd place among 25 participants. In the 13-year-old level, the 377 points average placed the Philippines 42nd among 45 participants.

TIMSS is the first worldwide research on math and science competencies. It is conducted every four years by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). The results of the studies give participating countries a reliable assessment of the state of their math and science education. Data gathered from the TIMSS are useful in helping governments formulate policies regarding the science and math education in their countries, determining accountability among key stakeholders in education, and pinpointing areas of excellence and aspects for improvement and monitoring.

In the 1995 TIMSS, then called the Third International Mathematics and Science Study, the Philippines ranked 39th in math and 41st in science out of the 42 participating countries. In the TIMSS R in 1999, the Philippines ranked third to the last for both math and science out of 42 countries.

The Philippine sample in the latest TIMSS (2003) was composed of 9 and 13 year-olds (grade 4 and second year high school) from 150 schools nationwide. Like in the past TIMSS evaluation, the exam was composed of both intellective and non-intellective tests, the former measuring the students’ math and science skills and the latter identifying the factors that affect academic performance (i.e. school resources, instructional materials/equipment, computer use, class size, teacher qualification, and language of test). The teachers and administrators of participating schools also took a set of non-intellective tests to determine their effect on student achievement.

The results did not come as a surprise to officials of the Department of Education (DepED). According to DepED’s National Educational Testing and Research Center Director Dr. Nelia Benito, the results validated the findings of the recent national achievement tests they have administered to elementary and high school students. Their own tests revealed that elementary and high school students found it difficult to understand basic scientific concepts, do inferences, classify biological and physical matter, and solve scientific problems. Dr. Benito also said that even if the students were capable of understanding basic mathematical principles, it was difficult for them to apply these in proving, analyzing, and comprehending data on algebra, geometry, and statistics.

The Department of Science and Technology (DOST), however, choose to be optimistic about the results. In an article posted on their Web site, they analyzed the latest TIMSS results by comparing it with the TIMSS results of 1999. The analysis revealed interesting information which may have otherwise been overlooked. They report that “the overall performance of Philippine schools in science and mathematics in TIMSS 2003 improved significantly compared to that of the 1999 study.” They attribute the said improvement in the adjustment done in 1995 in the entry level of Filipino students in grade 1—from 7 years old to 6 years old. In effect, the 13 year-old students who participated in the latest TIMSS evaluation were in second year high school compared to the 13 year-olds in 1999 who were only in their first year. Here are other interesting findings of DOST’s TIMSS results analysis:

• In the 9-year-old level, participants scored better in mathematics than in science. In the 13-year-old level, participants faired equally in both subjects.
• Among the regions who participated in the TIMSS, participants from Region IVA scored the highest in both math and science in the 9-year-old level while participants from the CAR in the 13-year-old level scored the highest in both subject areas. Regions which showed improvement in their performance in both subjects as compared to their 1999 achievement levels were CAR, Regions I, III, V, VII and XII.
• The performance of CAR, Regions I, II, V, VII, and XII showed an improvement compared to the results of the 1999 TIMSS.
• Participants from private schools scored higher in both math and science in both levels, except in the case of participants from science and technology high schools who scored higher in math.
• Participants who came from schools who have sufficient instructional materials and resources (textbooks, the Internet, the computer, and other learning tools) scored better in both math and science. Computer use may have improved the participants’ performance in the subject areas.
• Class size has an effect on the participants’ performance. In the 9-year-old level, participants who belonged to classes with not more than 32 students performed better in mathematics than those from a class with 33 or more students. In the 13-year-old level, participants with class size of up to 40 students did better in both subject areas than those with a larger class size.
• Participants in the 9-year-old level whose teachers have graduate degrees performed better. The opposite is true for the 13-year-old level. In addition, students of teachers who have a degree in mathematics in both levels had higher scores in science and math.
• Participants who speak English at home performed significantly better in both subjects.


Perhaps not all hope is lost. Taking the country’s consistent failing performance as a challenge, the government had taken the necessary steps to prepare for the next TIMSS. Recognizing the importance of teachers’ skills in molding excellent students, the Department of Science and Technology-Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) plans to release this year an Internet-based program that aims to improve the curriculum development skills of public school teachers. This is a sequel to the institute’s Rescue Initiatives in Science Education (RISE) program. RISE, a cooperation between DOST-SEI and Marcos State University Regional Science Teaching Center (MMSU-RSTC), is the curriculum source and financial provider for the 28-day training program for elementary science teachers in performance enhancement. Several Regional Science Teaching Centers all over the country are operating under this program which has trained 701 teachers to date. This and other continuing efforts to improve the curriculum, provide good and sufficient instructional materials, and get the schools wired to the Internet are just some of the ways the government is responding to the alarming results of TIMSS. We will know if these seeds will bear fruit in four years during the next round of testing.

Sources:
Science high schools lead Philippine schools in Mathematics Test of TIMSS 2003.http://www.dost.gov.ph/media/categories.php?op=newindex&catid=16

DOST, DepEd to lead Philippine Participation in TIMSS 2003. http://www.sei.dost.gov.ph/jan2903.html

Asian Countries Dominate Again, Nearly 50 countries participate in new TIMSS assessment. http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/soe/features/timss2003/default.html

Abad alarmed over Filipino students ranking in math and science assessments. http://www.mb.com.ph/MTNN2005020327853.html

DOST to launch online curriculum development project. Http://www.ro7.dost.gov.ph/updates/online_curriculum_devt.htm

Filipino students rank third to last in international math and science quiz.
http://itmatters.com.ph/news/news_12082000a.html

NOTE: This article was co-written with Rita Mirano.

Shrines, Monuments, and Historical Landmarks: Front-Seat Tickets to the Past

When I visited the Quezon City Memorial Shrine back in high school, in my young mind, it was just another museum. What with the imposing white structure housing memorabilia, relics, and artifacts, anyone would not think otherwise. I didn’t realize that what set shrines, monuments, and landmarks apart from museums is that they have souls that have been bequeathed to them by the ideals, visions, and spirits of the great men for which they have been built.

Historical shrines, monuments, and landmarks give us front-seat tickets to lessons of the past. Although museums are better-known repositories of historical and cultural artifacts, shrines, monuments, and landmarks offer a more intimate encounter with our heritage. The physical structures are historical artifacts themselves.

According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, there are distinctions among shrines, monuments, and landmarks. Shrines are sites that are held in high deference because of their association with an important event or person in history. Monuments are man-made or natural objects that have been set aside as public property or have been purposely built in honor of a person. Landmarks are places or structures that have figured prominently in a historical event or person’s life, or had a pivotal role in the country’s history.

Shrines, monuments, and landmarks could be a great alternative to museums if you want to expose your students to a no-tears (or perhaps no-yawn) history lesson. Here are shrines, monuments, and landmarks you may want to consider visiting with your class. These are under the administration of the National Historical Institute.


Mabini Shrine Pandacan
This is the actual place where Apolinario Mabini spent the last day of his life. It is located at the Malacanang Park in Pandacan, Manila. Aside from the replica of the nipa hut where the Brains of the Philippine Revolution was born, the period fixtures of the house are the shrine’s main attraction.


Jacinto Zamora Monument
Also located in Pandacan, Manila, this monument marks the spot where Father Jacinto Zamora, one of the three priests collectively known as GOMBURZA (the other two being Father Jose Burgos and Father Mariano Gomez), was born. The GOMBURZA was executed after being falsely accused of subversion.


Rizal Shrine Fort Santiago
This shrine in Intramuros amid the ruins of Fort Santiago is where Jose Rizal spent his remaining days before his execution. This is also where he wrote the poem “Mi Ultimo Adios,” his farewell to his beloved country.


Quezon Memorial Shrine
Right at the heart of Quezon City, the Quezon Memorial Shrine is a towering monument to the legacy of Manuel L. Quezon. It is a museum of memorabilia of the Commonwealth president and also a mausoleum where his remains lay.


Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine
This shrine stands in commemoration of the first battle of the Philippine Revolution, the Battle of San Juan Del Monte. It has a photo exhibit of the battle, and paraphernalia and busts of Katipuneros who fought in the revolution. It is located in San Juan, Metro Manila.


Barasoain Church Historical Landmark
Located in the city of Malolos in Bulacan, this landmark is a tribute to the historic Malolos Congress and the first Philippine Republic. . Bulacan prides itself to being the hometown of such great names as Francisco Balagtas, Marcelo H. Del Pilar, and Gregorio Del Pilar.


Casa Real Shrine
Not too far from the Barasoain Church is the Casa Real Shrine. The place used to be the building that housed the National Treasury. During the time of General Emilio Aguinaldo, it was where the National Printing Office, which published the government’s official organ, was housed. The revolutionary publications Kalayaan and La Independencia were also printed within the walls of this shrine. Originally made of bamboo and cogon, the shrine was renovated using hardwood and nipa, and eventually reconstructed using mortar, bricks, and hardwood.


Marcelo H. Del Pilar Historical Landmark
This landmark in Bulacan, Bulacan, is a monument to Marcelo H. Del Pilar, whose remains lay here. The structure also houses a library which has a collection of materials about the various towns of Bulacan.


Vicente Manansala Historical Landmark
This historical landmark is where National Artist Vicente Manansala spent his last days. Located in Binangonan, Rizal, it also showcases his works, memorabilia, and personal artifacts. Manansala is what others would call a modernist, expressing reality using abstraction.


President Ramon Magsaysay House
This is where Ramon Magsaysay, the seventh president of the Philippines, spent most of his fruitful years. This landmark exhibits several period fixtures, Magsaysay’s presidential car, and a collection entitled “President of the People.” It is located in Castillejos, Zambales.


Baldomero Aguinaldo Shrine
This shrine in Binakayan, Kawit, Cavite is the house of Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo’s first cousin, General Baldomero Aguinaldo, a member of the cabinet of the Revolutionary Government. It contains period fixtures and Baldomero’s memorabilia.


Emilio Aguinaldo Shrine
This is the historic house of General Emilio Aguinaldo in Kawit, Cavite, where the Philippine National Anthem was first played and the Philippine flag was first unfurled, signaling the declaration of the country’s independence.


Bonifacio Trial House
This house in Maragondon, Cavite, is where Andres Bonifacio and his brother Procopio were tried, found guilty of hostility towards the newly instituted government headed by General Emilio Aguinaldo, and were sentenced to death. They were executed in the mountains of Maragondon.


Marcela Agoncillo Historical Landmark
This is the house where Marcela Agoncillo, the woman who made the first Philippine flag, was born. This landmark, located in Taal, Batangas, showcases an exhibit of the evolution of the Philippine flag. .


Leon Apacible Historical Landmark
This is the house of one of the members of the Malolos Congress, Leon Apacible. He was a representative of the Mountain Province, then known as Lepanto. The house is located in the same street as the Marcela Agoncillo Historical Landmark in Taal, Batangas. It is furnished with turn-of-the-century fixtures.


Mabini Shrine Tanauan
This is the birthplace of the “Sublime Paralytic” and the “Brains of the Revolution,” Apolinario Mabini. Mabini was an accomplished writer, a lawyer, and a patriot. The shrine is in Tanauan City, Batangas.


Miguel Malvar Historical Landmark
Located in Sto. Tomas Batangas, this historical landmark commemorates the last Filipino general to surrender to the Americans. The place has a collection of photographs on the Filipino-American War and paintings submitted as entries to the celebration of Malvar’s centennial birth anniversary.


Rizal Shrine Calamba
This shrine in Calamba, Laguna, is a reconstruction of the original house where Jose Rizal was born. It has a collection of both replicated and original memorabilia and fixtures.


Nagcarlan Underground Cemetery Historical Landmark
This cemetery was built by the Franciscan order in 1845 in Nagcarlan, Laguna. It boasts of a unique underground crypt, an arched entrance, and a Baroque-style cemetery chapel. It served as a secret meeting place for Katipuneros during the revolution.


Casa de Comunidad Historical Landmark
Commissioned by Gobernadorcillo Francisco Lopes to be built in 1776 in Tayabas, Quezon, Casa de Comunidad was used as a public hall and lodge for travelers. It was originally built from improvised material but was refurbished in 1837.


Gregorio Aglipay National Shrine
This shrine in Batac, Ilocos Norte is the place where Bishop Gregorio Aglipay was born. Bishop Aglipay is the founder of the Protestant sect Philippine Independent Church.


Juan Luna Shrine
The shrine is a repository of the Luna family memorabilia, including the reproduction of the works of painter and patriot Juan Luna. It also exhibits the well-renowned artist’s bed and other artifacts of the history of Badoc, Ilocos Norte where it is located.


Teodoro Brillantes Ancestral House
A repository of personal memorabilia and artifacts of the history and culture of Abra, the house belonged to a descendant of Gabriela Silang, the prominent educator and public servant Teodoro Brillantes. The house is located in Tayum, Abra.


Battle Site of Pulang Lupa Memorial
This memorial in Torrijos, Marinduque, marks the site where the Filipinos led by Lieutenant-Colonel Maximo Abad won the battle against the American forces.


Rosendo Mejica Historical Landmark
This house in Molo, Iloilo City, is the birthplace of Ilonggo journalist, educator, publisher, labor leader, and philanthropist Rosendo Mejica. It showcases books that were published and printed by Mejica, memorabilia, and antique printing machines.


Wenceslao Q. Vinzons Historical Landmark
This historical landmark in Vinsons, Camarines Norte, is the house of World War II hero Wenceslao Vinzons. It displays his photographs and other World War II paraphernalia.


Jorge Barlin Monument
This monument in Baao, Camarines Sur, is a tribute to the first Filipino Catholic bishop, Bishop Jorge Barlin. He was tasked to give the invocation during the opening of the first Philippine Assembly in 1907.


Rizal Shrine Dapitan (Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte)
This is the place where Jose Rizal was exiled. The improvements Rizal effected on the place during his stay from 1892 to 1896 can be observed in the ten-hectare area.

To find out how to arrange your field trips to these shrines, monuments, and landmarks, you may get in touch with the Monuments and Sites Section of the National Historical Institute, NHI Building, T.M. Kalaw St., Ermita, Manila. Here are their numbers: (632) 524-8302, (632) 523-0905, (632) 525-8661, (632) 524-9952, (632) 523-1037, (632) 523-1039, and (632) 525-0055. You may also e-mail them at info@nhi.gov.ph.

Eat Your Breakfast or Die!

Death is such a hefty price tag for not eating your breakfast. I was sent this email about a study that says that breakfast is indeed the most important meal of the day because it could be a matter of life and death. I don’t know how true the claims this article makes but I guess they’re some of the things that won’t hurt if we heed them. Read on.


Breakfast can help prevent strokes, heart attack, and sudden death. This is an advice not to skip breakfast!

For those who always skip breakfast, you should start kicking that habit now! You’ve heard many times that “Breakfast is the most important meal of the day.” Now, recent research confirms that one of the worst practices you can develop may be avoiding breakfast. Why? Because the frequency of heart attacks, sudden deaths, and strokes peaks between 6:00 a.m. and noon, with the highest incidence happening between 8: 00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. What mechanism within the body could account for this significant jump in sudden death in the early morning hours? We may have an answer. Platelet, tiny elements in the blood that keep us from bleeding to death if we get a cut, can clump together inside our arteries due to cholesterol buildup in the artery lining. It is in the morning hours that platelets become most activated and tend to form these internal blood clots at the greatest frequency.

However, eating even a very light breakfast prevents the morning platelet activation that is associated with heart attacks and strokes.

Studies performed at Memorial University in St. Johns, Newfoundland found that eating a light, very low-fat breakfast was critical in modifying the morning platelet activation. Subjects in the study consumed either low-fat or fat-free yogurt, orange juice, fruit, and a source of protein coming from yogurt or fat-free milk.

So if you skip breakfast, it’s important that you change this practice immediately in light of this research. Develop a simple plan to eat cereal, such as oatmeal or Bran Flakes, along with six ounces of grape juice or orange juice. This will keep your platelets from sticking together, keep blood clots from forming, and perhaps head off a potential heart attack or stroke.

So never ever skip breakfast.

Love to Loop

My friend asked me to try out the create-your-own-love-story website http://www.love.2loop.com. It asks you to give out particular information which it will use to make a story. Here’s mine.

One fabulous summer day at Mandaluyong you see the most fantastic creature you have ever seen. His name is Frankie, and every move he makes just turns you on more and more. You nudge your best friend Ricky and say, “Wow! That has to be the most robust body I have ever seen.” Suddenly, he looks in your direction and starts walking right towards you!!! He says, “I noticed you staring at me from over there. I just had to tell you, that I think you are so hard, and was wondering if you’d like to go to Makati with me and fuck?” With a stupid smile on your face you say, “Oh mother fucker!” and go with them. When you finally get to Makati, he moves closer to you, and gives you the biggest kiss ever. The two of you are passionately kissing, when you feel a cock hit you on the back of the head. You open your eyes to find out it’s all a dream, but there is a note left next to your bed.

It reads: “Frankie is the love you’ve been waiting your whole life for. He will ask you out in 69 days or less, but only if you send this e-mail to at least 10 people within the next few minutes. The more people you send it to, the sooner they will ask you out, and you both fall in love. Do not take this lightly, because if you simply ignore this, you will have bad luck in love for the next 69 years!”

Hoy, Boss! Yung Kape Ko?

I rarely get interested in forwarded emails but this one got me. Check this out:



Just for fun: Sana pwede kong sabihin kay boss na........


--------------
"ano? yan lang di mo pa kayang gawin at iuutos mo pa sa akin? "

--------------
"hello! gawin mo na iyan noh para naman huwag mong makalimutan
kung paano mag-isip. Nakakatakot baka kinakalawang na pala utak
mo dahil hindi nagagamit."

--------------
"boss, makinig ka kaya sa akin!"

--------------

"puwede ba, busy ako? "
--------------

"make your own f--ing letters and presentations."
--------------

"if challenges are more important than financial rewards,
then why won't you just trade in your salary for my challenges? "
--------------

"Of the 10 assignments you gave me the past three days,
can you please decide which one is really "the most important
and crucial and is to be submitted ASAP?"

--------------
"absent ako today. wala lang, ayokong makita ka eh..."

--------------
"...pwede bang mag-all expense paid na vacation? sige na naman,
pagod na pagod na ako. ?

--------------
"Boss, ibili mo nga akong yosi. ...cge na! sa yo na lang yung sukli!"

--------------
"uwi na ako ha. bahala ka na dito sa opis.. "

--------------

"boss, puede bang taasan mo sueldo ko? ang hirap ksi ng trabaho ko eh,
pakisamahan ang isang kagaya mo! "

--------------
"...mag-reduce ka naman! "

--------------
"...your assumption of your position was entirely hinged on the
absence of a viable choice. "


--------------
"haayy.. nagwowork out ka ba lately? "

--------------
"sagutin mo naman yung telepono. a little exercise won't hurt. "

--------------
"shut up when i'm talking to you!!! "

--------------
"ano?!! di mo alam mag-print? sayang ang laptop mo ma'am. "

--------------
"...please refrain from flirting with every white blonde male you meet.
ang cheap ng dating. "

--------------
"ang ganda ng resulta ng pagkakaplastic surgery mo. banat na banat!
lalo ka tuloy pinagtatawanan ng employees mo.. "

--------------
if you really think it's THAT important, di ikaw gumawa

--------------
" sir! palit tayong sweldo!!!! "

--------------
" uh, di ka ba nahihilo sa kaka-solitaire mo?
gusto mo magtrabaho naman for a change? "

--------------
" do my work over the weekend?!?! bahket? may overtime pay ba'to? "

--------------
"deadline!!??...gusto mo ngayon na?...eh di ikaw gumawa! "

--------------
" hey, can't you see i'm goddamn busy? "

--------------
(at 6pm) "if you need me...BUKAS NA LANG!!! BABU! "

--------------
"sus!! mag-eedit lang hindi mo pa kaya!!!
kaw na lang ang mag-edit para hindi sayang sa oras "

--------------
"Sir, tinatamad akong pumasok ngayon e.. sa bahay na lang ako
magiinternet at mag gagames.."

--------------
"Huli kayo! nanonood din pala kayo ng VCD ha! "

--------------
"Sir, lahat ng kelangan niyo nandyan na.. kelangan niyo lang
tingnan mabuti!"

--------------
"tsk tsk tsk.. sinabi ko na yan e.. hindi ka lang nakinig "

--------------
"pede bang saken na lang position mo "

--------------
"nagtataka talaga ako kung bakit napunta ka sa puwestong yan. "

--------------
"Basahin mo muna ang LAHAT ng e-mail messages mo bago mo sabihin
na hindi ko pa nagagawa yung pinagawa mo."

--------------
"tara bakasyon tayo (pareho na kaming pagod eh) "

--------------
"...di po ako bingi at di po INDAY ang pangalan ko!"

--------------
"Hindi po bottomless pit ang MS Outlook Inbox mo.
talagang titirik ang PC mo kung hindi ka nagde-delete ng e-mail mo!
And yes, 700 messages is already a lot! Bobo! Marketing Manager
ka pa naman sa isang IT company!"

--------------
"kabit mo ba yung prinomote mo?"

--------------
"ummmm...boss, crush mo ba ko? seryoso? "
sabay sagot ng boss: "oo, kaya ka nga may trabaho ngayon eh.
ano tayo na? "

--------------
"do you feel threatened by my genius? "

--------------
(Greenhills Virramall style)
"Boss, VCD o, bold!"
"Boss, toro! "

-------------
"er yung paycheck ko? mommy naman eh "

--------------
"pssstt...hoy! Bukas ko na lang gagawin yung pinagagawa mo ha?
Occupied na kasi sa PC game na lalaruin ko ngayon ang oras ko for today e?
tsaka...depende yon kung matatapos ko agad yung lalaruin ko ngayon,
ah basta...tanungin mo na lang ako tomorrow kung feel ko pang gawin
yon or just to keep you updated about sa games na nilalaro ko ok?"

--------------
"I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to
pronounce."

--------------
"I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant. "

--------------
"No, my powers can only be used for good. "

--------------
" I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter. "

--------------
" It sounds like English, but I can't understand a word you're saying. "

--------------
"I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you. "

--------------
"Thank you, sir. We're all always refreshed and challenged by your
unique point of view. "

--------------
sa pinoy na boss: pwede ba tigilan mo ko?
sa kano na boss : cut me some slack!

--------------
"di yan kasama sa job description ko, 'no "

--------------
"if i do what you tell me to, will this change the world? "

--------------
"is it your good looks, your family connection or your charming
disposition kaya ka andyan sa puwesto mo? it definitely has nothing
to do with your intellect "

--------------
"okay lang umabsent ka. it does not really make a dent here
in the office. mas maaga pa kaming makaka lunch "

--------------
" Ang OA mo. Kinocomplicate mo ang mga simpleng problems para lang
feeling mo matalino ka!"

--------------
"You're insecure. Palibhasa, deep down you know you dont deserve
to be the boss of someone whose brilliance you can only dream of!"

--------------
"don't expect people to be like you!"

--------------
"karapatan ko na umuwi na pagpatak ng 5pm. 8 hours lang ibinabayad sa akin!
karapatan ko ring mag-absent!
karapatan kong masulit ang 1 hour lunch break ko!"

--------------
ikaw: puwede ba ako mag leave bukas
boss: bakit?
ikaw: wala lang

--------------

"Boss, leave ako ngayon ha, wala ka nang magagawa kasi nasa
province na ako, pasalamat ka at pinaalam ko pa sa yo,
atleast concern pa rin ako at baka magmukha kang tanga sa
pag iintay na darating ako ngayon sa office. O...may time ka
pa para maibigay mo sa iba trabaho ko dahil deadline ng
pinagagawa mo sa akin ngayon di bwaaaaahhhhhhh????"

Tell Me What Your Friends Eat

"Tell me who your friends are and I'll tell you who you are." Do you get how that crap works? To some extent, yeah I guess the friends that you keep reflect your personality. Of course you'd wanna hang out with people who are more or less like you. But sometimes don't you find yourself being cozy with somebody you'd never imagined you'd ever like? I've been there several times! So really, you can't judge somebody that easily based on the friends that person keeps. How about sizing them up based on what and how they eat? I've taken some shots of my friends and their lunch a few days ago. Lemme see how my friends' lunch reveal their personalities.



These are the subjects of this study. At the far end of the table is Peter, the only girl is April, and nearest the camera is Gil.



This is Peter's lunch can. He brings baon everyday without fail. His lunch can's usually half-filled with rice and an assortment of ulam, mostly fried fish and chicken or pork adobo. He also buys an additional ulam in a jollijeep downstairs and mainit na sabaw.

Analysis: You can tell that Peter's family (at least the katulong who is technically part of the family) cares for him a lot judging from the time they spend every morning preparing his lunch. However, considering that Peter has hypertension, you'd wonder if the katulong has good intensions feeding him fried fish and adobo everyday! Lunch is always a hearty meal for Peter, which is pretty appropriate for a hearty person like him.




This is April's lunch. She buys lunch at Juday's or at Manang Sungit's or at Mother and Daughter's everyday. She especially loves Mother and Daughter's huge fried chicken, which is puzzling since she's not a huge eater at all. She revels looking at the big chicken but almost always never finishes it. It's a marvel that in this picture you see no leftover in her plate. If you look at the picture really close, the leftover's inside that white plastic bag.

Analysis: April is what you'd call "takaw tikim." She has a big appetite that gets easily sated just by looking at and/or smelling food. On the one hand, it says that April's easy to please. One doesn't have to exert extra effort to get on her good side. On the other hand, if you are not aware of this, be prepared to not regret putting your extra efforts to waste.




This is Gil's lunch. Like Peter, he always has baon prepared by his mom. The difference is that Gil's baon is placed in clear plastic bags like he bought it from a carinderia on his way to work.

Analysis: In Gil’s case, I’d like to focus on the way he eats rather than what he eats. Notice how he holds his spoon and fork. Pay closer attention to how he holds his fork in his left hand. There is a certain grace in the way his pinky finger is flicked. It is not hard to tell that Gil is gay. Enough said.

Of course these analyses are not objective at all. But seriously, isn’t it fun to discover that no matter how different friends are from each other, their mutual respect and love make them want to stick together for a long time, if not forever, to share more of themselves with each other?

Now going back to Gil’s lunch, here are some pictures of his food. We caught these fried fish kissing.

strAnge

It's strange how much clearer we see beauty
When it's pitch black all around us
Or after the mighty sun has set
And the darkness has set in

Why do you feel so naked
When you're all covered up?
And you feel so warm and secure
When you've stripped down to your skin?

And when you stop breathing
Why do you feel so free?
And when you gag
Why do you not gasp for air?

It's strange why it is so hard to live
When all you've done all your life is to survive
But it's stranger why you keep on surviving
When it's much easier to die.

May Utang Ba Ako Sa 'Yo?

Natatandaan mo ba nung grade 1 tayo? Nung tinulungan mo akong magpunas ng basa sa ilalim ng upuan ko? Ang sabi ko natapon ang baon kong tubig. Ang totoo naihi ako nun sa salawal. Natakot ako magpaalam kay Mrs. Pascua para magpunta sa banyo. Pinagagalitan niya kasi tayo nung hapon na yun. Utang ko sa yo yun!

Eh nung grade 5 tayo di ba lagi mo ako binibigyan ng 1/4, 1/2 lenghtwise, at 1/2 crosswise sheet ng papel? Di pa kasi uso ang magdala ng sariling papel nun. Isa ako sa mga nabuhay sa hingi. Maski nagagalit ka sa karukhaan ko sa papel, nagbibigay ka pa rin kaya nakakapag-exam ako. Utang ko rin yun!

Tapos nung first year high school tayo sa PE class ni Mr. Cimafranca, tanda mo ba nung pinatakbo niya tayo paikot sa patio ng simbahan. Syempre dahil sa taba ko nun, wala pa ako sa kalahati ng dapat takbuhin eh suko na ako. Sinabihan mo ako na wag huminto ng biglaan dahil masama yun. Ang sabi ko nun eh bakit masama kung halos mamatay na ako sa hingal. Mabuti na lang sumunod ako dahil masama nga pala sa presyon ng dugo at sa puso ang biglang paghinto sa isang nakakapagod na aerobic exercise. Utang ko yun sa yo!

Eto siguro tanda mo pa. Di ba’t nung third year tayo eh hirap na sinabi mo sa akin na masama ang amoy ko? Naku ilang araw din kitang di kinausap dahil sa galit ko sa ‘yo! Pero buti na lang sa ‘yo nanggaling. Kung sa ibang paraan ko nalaman yun, namatay na siguro ako sa hiya. Salamat ah.

Nailista ko lahat ang utang ko sa ‘yo dahil inaasahan ko na mababayaran ko lahat ‘yon pag sapat na ang pagmamahal na naimpok ko sa puso ko. Pero di pa siguro ngayon. Huhulog-hulugan ko na lamang nang paunti-unti sa ‘yo. Alam kong malaki pa ang balanse ko pero sa awa ng diyos ay matatapos ko ring bayaran lahat ng pagmamahal na pinautang mo sa akin bago ka man lang magbihis ng maganda para sa libing ko. Mahal kita kaibigan. Ito na ang unang hulog ko.

Wanna Volunteer? I Bet You Do!

Just when I thought this is going to be an uninteresting day for my blog life, my officemate handed me this “ad” purportedly from the University of Toronto. Would you be interested?

Just in case the ad appears too pixelized to be read, here’s what it says:

Participants Needed For Research

The Department of Otolaryngology is undertaking a joint study with the Department of Urology examining the effects of human semen on speech. Our objective is to establish whether acts of “rigorous” fellatio may contribute to pathology of the larynx. We are currently recruiting males willing to receive fellatio. The specific aim of this study is to ascertain whether proteases found in human semen are deleterious to the tissues that comprise the oropharyngeal cavity. Would you be willing to assist? A conditional honorarium of $145 will be provided.

So not for You

I think of you so often and so intense,
I can almost touch you with the skin of my mind.
My body feels like swimming in the depths of the sea of your soul.
My being gets burnt by the rays of your love.
But why can't I touch you when you're just right across me?
Why can't my heart leap out of my chest and embrace yours when they are just two beats and a half apart?
Why can't my hands caress your skin when the space between us is as thin as a spider's web?
And my lips, why can't they kiss yours when they talk to each other so close like they are one?
Why are we not so meant to be when all that I want and all that I live for is you?

May Bababa Ba?

Sumasakay ka ba ng jeep? Katulad ng karamihan ng ordinaryong Pilipino, ang jeep ang pangunahing paraan mo upang marating ang iyong paroroonan. Sa araw-araw ba naman na pagsakay mo sa jeep, aasahan mo pa bang mapansin ang mga bagay na ganito?

1. Karamihan ng mga pasahero ay mas gustong umupo sa dulo ng jeep malapit sa pintuan malayo sa driver. Kaya’t ang mga bagong sakay ay nauupo lagi sa dulong malapit sa driver dahil ang lahat ng mga nauna sa jeep ay umaatras patungo sa pinto ng jeep.
2. Mas madalas sa hindi, ang dalawang huling pasaherong sasakay sa terminal kung saan magpupuno muna ang jeep bago lumakad ay laging nauupo na katapat ang isa’t isa. At dahil sa masikip na at halos kalahati na lamang ng puwet nila ang nakaupo, nagkakabungguan na ang mga tuhod nila.
3. Walang pasaherong sasagot kung magtanong ang driver kung may bababa sa susunod na babaan. Pero kapag nasa tapat na ng babaan ang jeep, tsaka naman may pasaherong biglang papara. Syemre, dahil sa di naman kaagad makahihinto ang jeep, lalagpas ng konti ang jeep sa bababaan ng pasahero. At itong magaling na pasahero, galit na bababa, pabulong-bulong, at kung mas matapang pa, may kasama pang masamang titig sa driver at mahinang mura habang bumababa.
4. Imbes na magsabing “Para po sa tabi,” gawain ng maraming pasahero na pumitik sa kisame na para bang pumipindot ng buton na magpapahinto sa humaharurot na jeep.
5. Mas madalang sa meron na pasaherong nagpapasalamat kung iabot ng kapwa pasahero nya ang bayad at sukli nya.

Sa pagsakay mo sa jeep mamaya pag-uwi mo, tingnan mo nga kung totoo ang mga na-obserbahan ko. Isa ka ba sa kanila?

All Soil and No Rain

I used to believe that writer’s block is a very convenient excuse for writers who can’t get their lazy asses up to their filthy computer keyboards and type all the crazy ideas spilling the brim of their brains. I’m ashamed to admit that I actually am experiencing exactly writer’s block now. And it’s killing me! I feel like a plant during El Nino. All soil and no rain. Just the heat of the sun kissing my outstretched greens. So before they all turn brown, I better do something about it. But what?
--
My mom’s home for a month’s vacation from work. She’s been enslaved by the Arabian Ministry of Health for almost two decades now. She’s the hero in my life. She sent all four of us kids to school, fed us till my two brothers got fatter than I was when I was in high school. And now that my youngest brother’s graduating from college, she can finally breathe a little easier now. I’m kinda expecting she’d be staying good after that but sadly she says she has to be back there. I hope she decides it’s gonna be her last year there. I miss having a full-time mother around.
--
I decided I’m going to grow my hair again. I’ve been shaving my head for close to five years straight because I wanted to hide the worsening drift between my hair and my eyebrows. (You'll see a picture of the longest length I've grown it in five years in a picture somewhere in this entry.) But then I thought what the heck. I’ve been examining how I look now that I have some hair growing and I don’t think it’s that bad. So I’m gonna try once again, with my fingers and my toes crossed, to grow my once lush waves of jet black hair. This might be the last time I do this before my hair line rages a nuclear war with my brows.
--
Are you catholic? When was the last time you heard Mass? Mine was last Tuesday and it brought an unexplainable emotional tsunami that ravaged the shore of my heart (soul?). I decided to pass by the Greenbelt church because I wanted to pray. I read somewhere that praying has some physiological benefits. I wasn’t feeling too good then so I gave it a try. I was surprised because I still knew how to go about the motions. But what astounded me was how deeply I was moved by the experience. It came to a point when I felt I wanted to cry. I had so many things running in my head that time which caused all of the physical pain that I was feeling. I was very anxious. During communion, I decided I wanted to take it. When I fell in line, I was holding back the tears that wanted to fly off my eyes. And I was so close to crying when I went back to my seat and knelt to give a prayer of thanks. I was speechless in front of the Lord. But my heart was doing the talking. The experience was very liberating. I knew it was a turning point in my relationship with God. A turning point to where? That I still have to decide.

The Smell of Spoiled Testosterone

Damn they firewalled friendster in the office! That's why I've been truant around these parts. (Naks truant. I just got acquainted with that word as of late.) I've been meaning to hole in a cyber cafe the past weekends but I got sidetracked by other concerns. Here I am finally doing my blog in one of them cyber whore houses in Kalentong. I wanted to go to my suking cafe but for some weird reason it's closed. I had to look for somewhere else so here I am in this darkly lit gaming cafe. I have no choice but to sit beside sweaty post-teen boys playing RPG. God the place smells weird! It reeks of spoiled testosterone! I've never been in a room where I'm the single soul thinking. (I don't mean to disparage online gamers. I know the games require some gray matter as well. I just don't get why these people have to talk aloud while playing! Ganun ba talaga? Parang naglalaro ng sakla sa sugalan.)

*********

There's been an exodus of some sort in the office. Except for a few brave souls (including me), most of the key people in the department have packed their bags leaving Management (and HR) all fucked-up. I'm not about to tell here the real reason why they did it. But here's the hilarious part. Some people from the office believe they have been pirated by a company enganged in BPO. Talk about being clueless!

*********

So what happens to me in Diwa? I get "transferred" to the newly instituted Acquisitions "Department" (I don't know if you can call a group made up of three people a department. Enlighten me.) I consider that the next best thing to @#4^6&. (Sorry I have to bleep that.)

********

Have you ever been sick in the head? I have. I've been sick of thinking that I'm sick. It's scary how powerful the brain is, making you feel things, real symptoms of real illnesses, which you really don't have. It's called anxiety attack. Man the last month was the most nervewracking! I still get aftershocks sometimes.

********

I did an experiment to verify the existence of what others call psychosomatic illness. I conditioned myself that my stomach was aching. I wanted my stomach to go bad. I internalized the pain, as if I really felt it. And it did. It gave me an excuse not to attend a get-together I wasn't so excited to go to anyway. Wanna try it?

********

Note: Originally posted at http://radioactivemanjuice.blogs.friendster.com/radioactivity/.

********

This is incidentally my 69th post here at blogspot. My favorite number.

Kafkaesque

This word started off my curiosity with literary giant Franz Kafka. I’ve heard his name in the past but my curiosity never got aroused. He was one of those high-browed names I chose not to read because I thought I would never understand their work anyway. I don’t want to make myself feel stupid.

I went to Powerbooks last Sunday hunting for new reads. I just finished the juvenile but very entertaining Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. Before that I read The Chronicles of Narnia just in time for the movie’s showing. Anyway, I’m digressing. I had a book in mind already. I’ve always wanted to buy The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova ever since I first saw it on the shelves months ago. They only had hard-bound copies then which cost a fortune. I also had other books in mind back then so I put The Historian in queue. I finally bought a soft-bound pocket-sized copy last Sunday. While looking around, I saw Franz Kafka’s The Great Wall of China in the classics section. The word “Kafkaesque” came to my mind. I didn’t know exactly what that word meant except that an acquaintance of mine kept brandishing it to my face some time ago. I checked out an open copy of the very thin collection of shorts. It opened to the page of with a very short piece called "A Little Fable" which tells about a mouse whose world seemed to be growing smaller, closing in on him, as if its walls were crashing him. The mouse was unknowingly walking himself toward a corner of a room where a cat was waiting for him. The cat tells him in the end that the mouse could’ve saved himself if he just walked the other direction, away from the corners, away from the walls, away from the cat, and into the open space. That very wise suggestion the cat gave before eating the mouse.

What got my attention was Kafka’s dark and cruel perception of the world. You get no fairy tale endings from him, just plain tragedy. But it is not the sad kind of tragedy. The gloom that looms from his first few statements make you expect a not-so-hopeful ending. In fact, the mood he sets is downright hopeless. This expectation cushions, if not eliminates, the trauma of a tragic ending. Of course I am not generalizing Kafka’s body of work as if I read its full breadth. Aside from the collection I mentioned, the other Kafka work I read is The Metamorphosis which is supposedly his most famous.

Kafka’s major appeal to me is that in some strange and probably unexplained manner, Kafkaesque so to speak, I can relate to his characters. I don’t know if that means I am a sad tragedy waiting to happen. But I do find some comfort in the normalcy of how he presents loneliness and cruelty. I am not hallucinating after all. He confirmed that the world is sad. I just hope he is wrong though to believe that the only way to fight it is by dying.

Breaking My Blog Silence

I have been dreadfully blog-quiet during the last, what two weeks I guess, because I’ve been busy. I’m gonna be filling you in now.

1. I went on a 10-day vacation leave. Initially I was thinking of going off somewhere where I could get a nice tan. Having my left eyebrow pierced was also in my plans. Unfortunately, a more pressing concern hit me so I never went outside Metro Manila. I never had the time as well to have my virgin brow pricked.

2. The more pressing concern was regarding the 20 gb iPod photo which I put out for bidding in several Websites almost a month and a half ago. I was starting to get frustrated by how slow the process was and I really wanted to sell the gadget as soon as possible so I thought of using most of my time to hawk it online. One funny and annoying thing I discovered during the course of doing my online transaction was what I call the Divisoria Syndrome. Normally, bidding starts at the price which the seller dictates. For example, I put up my iPod for sale at 13000 Php. I then expect that the price the bidders will offer will be higher than my sale price. The logic there is that the bidders are competing for the product that you are selling. Naturally, you’d sell to the highest bidder. That’s how the whole idea of bidding. But I was shocked when 90 percent of the bids that I got are way below my asking price. I was thinking, are these people crazy? I thought about it and realized that most of us are afflicted with the Divisoria Sydrome or the tawad-lugi mentality. I’d like to think it is not a reflection of plain ignorance of bidding procedures but of how dire the financial situation in our country is. I say it’s funny because it is so Filipino to haggle almost everything to death. Tatawaran lahat ng pwedeng tawaran. But it could get really annoying if you’re doing legit business and dealing with serious sellers. It’s a good thing I waited. I got the bid that I wanted so I sold my iPod immediately.

3. I bought myself a 5 Gen 30 gb black iPod video. Now it’s keeping me more busy figuring out how to convert my VCDs and DVDs to iPod viewable files. The task is pounding my brain to pieces but I’m loving every minute of it. I didn’t know I could reach this level of geekiness with gadgets but here I am, a certified iPod geek.

4. I haven’t had my head shaved for almost a month now. And that means a considerable amount of hair on my head which freaks out most of my friends. It’s been years since I had a full head of hair. And though for genetic reasons that would be a miraculous feat to accomplish again now, I am determined to let my hair grow until I can’t bear looking at myself in the mirror anymore.


There. I hope to do this more often from here on. That is if I get my hands off my new iPod.

Flora and Fauna

This is what a sleepy guy does when he's in a "bored" meeting. I call this artwork Flora and Fauna. I don't know if you noticed but that curved line right at the center, that one written across the head of the tree and the butterflies and the floating flower? See that? That was an addition by my rafiki. He says it's his version of a mountain. It puts the flora and fauna in context. Nice.

This'll Pass

I’ve always maintained, as I tell all my friends and the guys who show interest in me, that I am not inclined to get into a relationship as of the moment. I said I’ve been in and out of it several times with little time in between for myself. I guess now I’m taking that sweet time, concentrating on myself and the things that I want to do by myself—things which I think I cannot do, at least to a certain level, when I am attached (Gallivanting with guys is not one of them believe me. I can do that EVEN if I am in a relationship if I choose to.) Now here’s the thing. I heard Mass yesterday after a long time. It was pretty special to me because I meant it to be some sort of a thanksgiving to Him for helping me go through the very emotionally tiring two weeks that just passed. I was sorry for myself because my attention was distracted by two guys who I dare assume are a couple. They were pretty tall guys: one was ok and the other one looked really cute. They didn’t have to hold hands or kiss in front of me for me to guess what they are. The way the cute guy leaned toward the other guy, and how they smiled at each other, or the way they whisper something on the other’s ear—I had no doubt they were an item. And I felt envious, especially since I was there alone. I couldn’t concentrate on the Mass anymore so instead of committing the bigger mistake of ogling at them during a supposedly solemn Catholic ceremony, I just upped and went away.

I don’t know what hit me then. I am never the envious type, especially when it comes to relationships. Not now when I’ve had seven, and that’s not even counting the flings which were all just sex anyway. (And besides, I think I’ve hurt a lot of guys and been hurt by them as well in the past because of our being reckless with love.) I guess the affection and the care from a boyfriend is what I, envy is not the word now, it’s miss. I miss being loved, being cared for by somebody I love and care about too. I miss going out with a boyfriend, spending time just walking in the mall, or watching a movie, or having petty quarrels. I miss having someone I can throw sweet smiles at, or exchange sugar-coated glances with, or whisper ant-attracting words to, or text “I love you baby” to. Nah I’m not going to just get my hands on the next guy who comes along just because I feel mushy about relationships now. Those seven I’ve had, taking my time is one of the very important lessons they’ve taught me. But it’s nice feeling desperate about love once in a while. This’ll pass.

Confessions on a Dance Floor

I pre-purchased yesterday Madonna's latest CD. I don't consider myself a hardcore Madonna fan but I always look forward to whatever new she comes up with. I've heard rave reviews about the CD and I've seen the video of Hung Up and I'd say this one's definitely going to be in the ranks of the Ray of Light album. These are scans of the card I got when I pre-purchased the album. I get a Madonna premium item when I claim the CD and a free entrance to the album's launch party at Government on 11 November 2005. Not bad for the price of a regular CD.