A Belated Merry Garfield Christmas! So cute...

Merry Christmas!!!

The title says it. It's Christmas!

It's been a looong time again. I should've rambled about the Recollection and the very late Christmas break, but these events were too tiring to reflect on. So I rested for a while so I may have the enthusiasm to attempt to type about them. Here goes...

Although I am making steps to apostatise Catholicism, or Christianity in general, I admit that I have this hesitation that seems to pull me back. I even felt weird that during this plan of excommunicating myself from the Church, recollection came in. It was about trust in God as a friend and His trust in people as stewards of creation. But what caught my attention personally was our obligation as humans to respect other humans no matter how sickening they are. "Man is created in the image and likeness of God" as what the Bible says. Although I incline more to Darwin's evolution theory, I still have doubts.

I doubt everything now. Back then, it was only the existence of a "Divine Providence." But after an introduction to Philosophy, especially in Metaphysics, I learned to doubt Science. Now what do I absolutely trust? Nothing, I guess. Just myself. As Descartes phrased, "Cogito ergo sum," I think, therefore I am. No one can doubt the doubter.

I do really ramble. See where it led me? Now back to the recollection thing about respect for others. I find it hard to be a Catholic human. In the standards of this religion, authentic humanity is achieved if one recognizes that: he is created in the image and likeness of God; he is a steward of God's gifts and therefore should NOT OWN earthly things; and he is a fellow human being, which means that others like him exist and therefore he should learn to coexist.

Only three requisites. But very difficult requisites. A friend, who was sitting beside me during the sessions, said, "It's a challenge to be human." That is, if you are Catholic.

Another coincidence is our RS group report on the Sacrament of Baptism. Among many other stuff, I discovered that when a person is baptized with water in the names of the Holy Trinity, an indelible character is made on the soul of the baptized. Indelible. Permanent. Perhaps this "indelible character" is causing this hesitation. Then I had this uncanny feeling of being called to be a priest. Then I laughed hysterically. Only in my mind however. I was obviously exaggerating... and confusing myself.

Ateneo Fiesta ends...

It was a draaaag. At least for me. I guess others always find a way to enjoy this week-long holiday but for me? Lazy days again. Aside from occasionally going to school to write an article about an insignificant event and win second place in quiz bowl, I stayed home and slept and ate and watched TV and slept and ate and watched TV and played some game and ate and slept and watched TV... It's the usual cycle of activities of my sedentary, desolate life.

Well, actually this aren't the only things that compose and define my daily living. I have other "stuff" but I never mention them to anyone else. So I definitely won't type about them here. Who doesn't have secrets? I'm a good lier. But I don't lie to hurt someone else or myself especially. I don't lie to impress or appease others, like some people I know. I lie usually to excuse myself. I lie to mask a refusal to an invitation or, in this case, to keep secrets, both mine and of my friends. I felt bad about this lying. But again, who doesn't lie? Especially when it come with his secrets?

Ateneo Fiesta begins!

Even though I was sick, with my throat plagued with phlegm that made me barely breath, I was still forced to go with the parade because my CS312 teacher bribed us with 10 additional points to quizzes if we do so. *cough cough* So I am still sick. It was raining before the parade. So the cold moisture of the air just worsened this cough. I don't want to write or even think about this. It makes me feel sicker.

During the parade, we passed this spooky street with birds flying above and sitting on electrical wires. It feels weird because it's like they were watching us. But it didn't worry me the most. I was pulling my jacket up to cover my head because these birds were dropping shit bombs on the unsuspecting people below. A girl beside me was hit on her bare arm. It was a good thing I was wearing my Dad's long-sleeved jacket. My friends behind me told that I was hit on my back. Later, they overheard someone that being hit by this undeniably stinky bird-waste is swerte [lucky]. Hmmm... If I am not mistaken, I went home that night hardly breathing and reached home with a bad mood that I had to drop down on the bed and moan in pain as I exhale, wishing that the sticky goo in my throat would be coughed out altogether. Superstitions!

*cough cough* I just drank my coffee and it made me spit another ball of phlegm. Hot drinks are better expextorants than the Tuseran capsules that I was just taking yesterday. I think I'm feeling better...

Another blah blah

My throat feels funny again. I guess I should minimize cold drinks. I can barely speak comfortably. The cold air of my usual, no-choice hang-out places, which are the library and computer labs, worsens this throat as it passes through my nose to the lungs. I keep on having this awkward coughs which make me look like someone who wants attention from anyone near me. Enough of this...

Just yesterday, my father's Nokia 6170 was snatched. On that fateful day when my father went back home just after about an hour he left for work, he had this facial expression that seems to say, "I can't believe my precious, sleek MMS-capable cellphone was snatched out of my belt!" I warned him that those kinds of cellphones are like sparkling jewelry to the eyes of street thieves. Now he is back to his humble Nokia 3315 (just like mine), which he took back from my little brother, who owned it for a very short period of time when my Dad still had that shiny cellphone. That devilish but really lucky snatcher might have sold it to an unregistered refurbished cellphone shop. Poor Dad and Jerome.

Moral of today's post: Do not drink cold water frequently. If you feel an impending tonsilitis, do not breath in the air of an air-contidioned room. Should you stay in such place, cover your nose to keep incoming air warm. Your health should be prioritized over some lost cellphone that isn't even yours! *cough cough*

The usual blah blah...

I just watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire last Thursday. It was great! Although I didn't really like the dark plot of the novel it was based on, the movie was an excellent interpretation of the book. I think the special effects have actually gotten better compared to the previous three. I was disappointed however that it was tremendously compressed. It didn't show the whole Quidditch World Cup game, the veelas, Fleur Delacour being a half-veela, etc. Every Harry Potter movie was actually compressed. It has to be for filming reasons. So personally, it's better to read the books.

What else? Oh I've created another blog for my poems. I just had the debut publication of a recent work. However, it's not one of the earliest poems I've made, which I would be posting soon.

The classes have formally started. And just at the first week, the teachers have attacked us with homeworks and quizzes! Just last Thursday, I and other two were assigned to report on Rizal's childhood days next meeting in History 104.

I guess that the faculty were asked to speed up the lectures because the second semester of this school seems to be always short. There are the Christmas break, Ateneo Fiesta, and... actually these are the only two significant holidays this sem.

Speaking of Ateneo Fiesta, I am obliged to join the Quiz Bowl. I was forced to join the elimination a few months ago. And look at the unexpecting me now? Nervous for the coming week, which is Ateneo Fiesta. I was also being forced to join the debate. Just last Wednesday, I and another one who shared the same bane approached the CSIT debate moderator to actually explain that we can't join. But there she was pleading that we are their only hope. That had us convinced. Then after a couple of days, we just realized that matterloading preparations conflict with our seemingly harmless academic requirements. Both of us decided to really quit.

Oh God, I feel lethargic this weekend. I have a lot of school work to finish but I haven't started any. *yawn* I wanna read Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince!

Garfield strikes again!

School again... :-(

The classes have started yesterday... but not exactly. I had three subjects on the first day of school and none of the teachers showed up! Shame on me. I have been studying in the same university for four semesters now but I'm still naive with the first days of classes. I should have learned that such days are like the waking hours of people who are magnetized to their beds every morning. Today's the second day and it's late afternoon. I haven't gone to school and I won't. The last period started just about an hour ago. Besides, the teachers are still sleeping and they will return to their beds if they would be forced to rouse.

My Apostasy of the Catholic Faith

Just two weeks ago, I had my oral defense for Literature. I was late for my chosen schedule because I arrived around three minutes late. Ma'am Temple only allowed four minutes. According to her watch, I am late. But I made an arrangement so I was able to defend at a later time.

As replecement for the final written exam, she asked as weeks before to read the book 'The Prophet' by Khalil Gibran and make a final paper on it. We were asked to choose the most appealing chapter and discuss five lines of thought from it. I chose the chapter on religion. After proofreading it, I just realized that I am starting to abandon the Roman Catholic Church.

Below is an excerpt of the final paper that attests to this.

Among the chapters of The Prophet, the one ‘On Religion’ is my favorite because it relates to my personal struggles with my religion – or rather, the religion I was involuntarily baptized into. Although I cannot decipher all the figurative lines as in all the other chapters, I have understood most of the ideas in this chapter. The following are my choice lines of thought:

Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his beliefs from his occupations?

Who can spread his hours before him, saying, “This for God and this for myself; This for my soul, and this other for my body?”

I think this clearly means that true faith should be whole and undivided. Faith cannot be practiced only for a particular period of time. One may divide his time between observing religious values and being free to do anything, including breaking the principles of his religion. But that doesn’t make his religion his real faith. Let me provide a real-life example that can concretize this thought.

I had a nun for an RS teacher in my freshman college year. She was stern and terrifying. She is especially strict with punctuality. One day, she narrated to us her experience with a student girl who passed a reflection paper after the deadline. The girl handed the late paper to the enraged nun in front of the school chapel just after she attended a mass. Her response was something like, “Ya saka ya lang yo el papel! Paquimodo man? No puede yo reganya kun ele kay estaba yo na misa! [I just took the paper! What can I do? I can’t scold her because I just came from the mass!]”

So it seems to me that the nun thinks that you can be merciless except during and a few hours after a mass. But shouldn’t mercy and forgiveness be practiced by a real Catholic all the time, mass or no mass? Personally, reprimanding late students is not wrong. The point is that she allotted time for Christian kindness. That doesn’t make her a faithful follower of the religion she preaches.

He who wears his morality but as his best garment were better naked.

The wind and the sun will tear no holes in his skin.

This is one of my favorite ideas elegantly expressed through metaphors in The Prophet. I figured it says that one’s moral standards should be worn like one’s ‘skin’ in which the “wind and the sun will tear no holes.” It means that your moral beliefs should be followed by heart. With that, you are not easily swayed to break them. Wearing them instead like your “best garment” I think means that you are forced to obey them. Perhaps it’s because you think it is the righteous thing to do, because your religion demands it and/or because of your blind fear to your God. If so, then one’s morals can be abandoned as easily as taking off one’s garments.

This thought is actually related to the previous one. Therefore I can use the grumpy nun again as an example. She was wearing her ‘Christian garment’ during the holy hours of the mass. Later, when she takes it off (figuratively!), she reveals her true ‘skin’ - her true convictions, including her aggressive opinion on punctuality. It’s fine with me. She can nag against tardiness for all I care. I just don’t like that she has to put on this ‘garment’ and pretend that she faithfully conforms to the Christian virtues. If she can’t turn her garment into her own skin, then I suggest that she throw away that garment, quit the convent, and be her real self.

Your daily life is your temple and your religion.

Whenever you enter into it take with you your all.

I believe this means that your true religion is the things to which you are devoted. After all, religion is about devotion. You may be devoted to material things, to your personal beliefs and perspective of the world, to your lover, to a religious affiliation – all of these are part of your daily life, which is, as Gibran wrote, your religion. For me to be a proper Catholic, my daily life should be Catholic. Therefore all my deeds and, most importantly, my thoughts should be Catholic. Honestly, I can’t do it and I don’t want to, for numerous reasons. Basically, it conflicts with my instinctive as well as reasoned opinions.

So what then is my religion? Based on Gibran’s philosophy, my faith is unaffiliated. I have my standards of morality, my own way of life, my own God and my method of worshipping Him. These comprise my daily life, which thus makes it my religion. I do agree and accept that. Actually, I think there are only a few committed followers of the existing structured religious systems. I guess most of us are not devoted, which means that most of us have their own religions. But I think few, including myself, are aware and serious about that.

And if you would know God be not therefore a solver of riddles.

Rather look about you and you shall see Him playing with your children.

Here, Gibran may have meant that since God is part of our daily lives, He mingles with us. He’s not just up there sending down judgment and punishment with all His wisdom and might. He is here with us – as the Joy playing with the children, as the Wisdom that aids in decisions, as the Pain that makes us stronger, and as the Love that keeps the people together.

I have been raised in a Catholic household that sees God as a person. That’s why I’m having a hard time depicting Gibran’s idea of God as the force itself that stirs things up in the lives of the people. But I think it’s a good alternative depiction instead of the usual God as a being that controls these forces as separate entities. The conventional idea shows that God is one being that has a grasp on all creation. Yet my high school religion teacher said the He is everywhere, which was hard for me to imagine. With Gibran’s God, who is the events that people experience, it’s easier to think that He is around us

This line of thought also relates to the next.

And look into space; you shall see Him walking in the cloud, outstretching His arms in the lightning and descending in the rain.

You shall see Him smiling in flowers, then rising and waving His hands in trees.

This is one piece of evidence that Gibran has pagan beliefs. In a detailed biography of the author, I’ve read that after reading one book given by Fred Holland Day, Gibran declared his religious belief for the first time. He uttered, “I am no longer Catholic; I am a pagan.”

In most religions, God is personified. But in those religions, God is believed to create everything. So it implies that nature and the universe are creation of God. But in the lines above, Gibran sees that nature itself is God. It’s a very pagan and primitive, yet it shows a benevolent and powerful God. Nature provides most of human needs: trees for lumber, plants and animals for food and clothing, rivers for water, the earth to walk on, the air to breath, etc. It is like a mother that nurtures us. However, if she is abused and hurt, she retaliates with storms and drought that can cause floods and famine.

It’s as if nature has a mind of its own. Such is enough reason to consider it God, along with the intangible phenomena like love, death, and emotions. The idea of God not only as the creator of the universe but as the universe itself suggests that He contains us and everything else. Therefore we are part of Him and He is our daily life. It’s up to us on how we perceive Him so that we can comprehend Him better.

A full text on 'The Prophet' is available on: http://www.columbia.edu/~gm84/gibtable.html

My High School Self

Since it was sem break and there was nothing to do at home, *yawn*, I attempted to re-organize my high school junk in my cabinet. Aside from the shoe boxes with knick knacks from those years, the four envelopes, each containing 'memorabilia' from each year level, were torn. Now I don't understand why I kept those and why I thought that they were sentimental. I wanted to throw away some, especially the binder fillers with lecture notes, but then I had to organize what I should throw and what I shouldn't. They were all over the floor, which easily made me impatient.

After some gruelling minutes, I finally dusted off the cabinet and neatly piled in the same envelopes and boxes. Then there was this fifth envelope that gave me a what-the-hell-is-this expression on my face. There were rat bites on the edges. I wondered why the pest didn't eat the whole thing - or everything made of paper in the cabinet. I discovered it contained the despedida letters from my high school classmates.

You see, before the high school graduation, our moderator asked us to write each of our classmates a letter where we can write what we want or have to say. After reading them all over again, I realized in this envelope are the definitions of my character in high school. And I must say they are not consistent. Some said I was rude, short-tempered and unforgiving. These people asked me to be mabait, to cool down, and to be nicer. Some said I was actually mabait, silent, creative, etc. and wished that I would not change! It just proves I treat people differently. Some said sorry because they annoyed me. Some said sorry because they just think they annoyed me. Some just said sorry without saying why they are. Some were stranger messages. Some were hollow messages fashioned after age-old templates, like "God bless" and "I wish you a better future life!" Some were obviously exagerrated letters which I found hilarious. But the ones I appreciate the most, but not necesarrily the best, are the honest messages. Some were very short and straight to the point. But at least they were true in their words.

The best messages for me were those that reminds us how we had fun high school days. Only very few, who were mostly my close friends, wrote jokes about other friends, about my oxymoronic attitude (coz some said I was really bad and some said I was nice), and ETACOL EHT ELPPIN and SOH CAH TOA: Pray for us. Those were very popular for among us back in high school. I can't believe I forgot about them until that moment.

I guess much has happened within the two and a half college years. Most of my friends are still in the same school. That made me feel very close to them. Yet I sense there was something missing. I just realized that I only felt the physical closeness. When we meet along the school halls, we just exchange hi's or hello's. It makes me wonder why weren't we stopping and talking for a little while. Perhaps it's because we are too bothered by school duties and/or our own new worlds with new friends and new interests. But that is not an excuse for an old friendship to wane.

Or perhaps it's on my part to keep these old friendships warm. It was also mentioned in the letters that I was cold. Maybe I and my friends are still the same. Maybe it's just my cold, assuming heart that conjures this illusion of fading friendships... Yes I think it's just me. Stupid me.

I'm a Pancit!

I just took this insignificant quiz online (http://quizilla.com/cgi-bin/result/result.pl) that tests which Filipino food the quiztaker is. And guess what I am?


It says that my sidekick is lumpia and I am popular - everyone knows me and loves my simplicity... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Very funny... : But the latter might be true, which says that I can be moody.

A Paper-filled Semester

This is the most unusual semester. All subjects demanded paper from us!

Econ101 had us photocopying several chapters of the Mankiw textbook for our discussions. Recently, Father required us to write a ten-page argumentative research paper on the implementation or repeal of EVAT.

Philo102 also had us photocopying articles in the Philisophy of Man book and writing reaction papers on philosophical writings. I didn't really like his class. He's sort of a religious man. So on the lesson on the dualistic notion of man, he always talked about God. I don't like it. So I think I am going to write about the article 'Death of God' for my second-quarter reaction paper. }:-)

Lit103 again required a photocopy of each story, which she excellently read to us by the way. So far she's the best Literature teacher I've had because she didn't have us write literary pieces. Too bad she can't see how good I am in 'hatred poetry.' She honestly said she hates writing. That may not make her the perfect Literature teacher. But she's really good at interpreting and analyzing the stories we read. So she made us understand and appreciate seemingly incomprehensible literary works, like 'Dead Stars.' Now we are about to write a paper on a 23-page hand-out, which is actually a book. More paper will be taken from us. But at least we don't have a final exam.

Math232 again had us photocopied two chapters on probability. But they were useless! Our math teacher has been neglecting us, expecting that we can and would rather study on our own because we were CS and Engineering students. How discriminatory! I think we only had one serious meeting with him. I don't think it was even really serious, because on that period alone , he attempted to discuss the whole chapter two! "This is the fastest lesson ever..." I remember him commenting in the middle of the "discussion" that night. I barely learned from him. Actually, I learned more from my classmate who had innate math powers. When the teacher showed me my shocking midterm grade, I was puzzled yet delighted. A few days later, he made an offer. If we choose not to take the second quarter, that's fine with him as long as we agree that our midterm grade will be our final grade! It's unbelievable! I accepted it even though I felt uncomfortable. I mean, when people will see my final grade for 'Math 232: Probability and Statistics', they might say, "Wow that's impressive. You must be excellent in advanced probability and statistics that requires a strong background in integral calculus!!" when in fact I only learned basic probability that I will surely forget about next month. I am so guilty. But that's life. Unfair. And this time, I'm on the lucky side. ^_^

CS 215 photocopies were about explanation of the structure of programming languages and how they work. We were also assigned a research from the beginning of the sem with a 20-30 page written report. More paper!

The worst is CS311! Aside from the photocopies on how to make DFDs, our group has just passed half-a-rim sheets of bond paper and they were only DFDs with redundant Data Descriptions! Now we are about to pass the whole documentation, which we expect to be thicker! OK, now I know why it would be hardbound.

Only Hist100 showed mercy on our paper (and pockets too). Our history teacher instead gave us free copies of our discussions. Still, it counts as paper. So all subjects this sem are responsible for piling up paper in our bags! Glad it's about to end next week...

Stuff to do! Stuff to do!

I have so much to work on today. No time for procrastination! Yet I am still here wasting my time on blogging. At least I'm getting a break. I need one right now. We have to finish a 10-page research paper on Economics, make stupid DFDs and make a presentation report of them, finish up a 20-30-page documentation on a pragramming language with mobile computing capabilities and also make a presentation of it. All are due within the next two weeks. We have to deal with all of them altogether. These days are hell days for me.

On other news, I have downloaded a PDF file of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. I have read the first few parts. And it sucks! No, not the story. It's the way I read. I hate reading monitors. Not good for the eyes. And I have to turn on the PC just to read. I was thinking of borrowing a book, but that means dealing with a long line of fellow borrowers. And patience is not my virtue.

So why did I resort to this desperate measure? I don't want the story to be gradually narrated to me by spoilers! First, a website reviews that the book has a really gloomy plot. So that means there are deaths of those close to Harry. That's a spoiler. Hey, why did I even read the book review? Stupid me. Then there was one who surprised me with the news that Dumbledore died! I was shocked - and furious. Then another one repeated the news and added that Snape really is a villain and a traitor! *screaming* I have to finish the book soon.

I really have to stop this. I have lots of function description tables to fill up.

Dammit!

Of Love and Hatred

Hello blog! It's been a long time... again. I run out of stuff to post. I had to take a break to pile up reflections and reactions on my observations in my wretched existence. Still got nothing noteworthy though.

So what I did was to look at others' blogs. I realized then how different we really are. There was a couple of suicidal blogs, some journal-like as mine, some are posts of already-published thoughts, but most are about love, which, honestly, I am not fond of. Love, love, love. Why is everybody talking about it? It's indescribably oversentimental. I have even seen blog authors compose and post their very own poems about looove. That reminds me of the poems I made. In high school, I made two poems for literature class. Almost everybody else wrote poems about looove. I think I was the only poet who expressed affectionate hatred for somebody in his sonnets. I don't want to brag about it, but my poems scored good grades, which I think is not because they were exceptional but because they were different. They stood out. How can fiery hatred not stand out in a pool of icky, gooey looove?

I don't mean to offend the love poets. I don't think there is something wrong with them. In fact, I think there's something wrong with me. Love is human nature. Why am I not fond of it? I do love, like the way I love food and stabbing people I hate at the back. But no romantic love. And I'm not serious about it. I'm so pathetic...

...or perhaps I'm not human.

A Tragic Week

Last week was horrible! I had tonsilitis with fever. Swallowing really hurt. I can't enjoy eating. My face frowned at every gulp. The warm salt solution meagrely relieved the soreness. I can't drink cold liquid, which I miss right now. I had a fever (that I exaggeratedly thought was dengue), which surprisingly lasted for two days. I even had a singaw where my wisdom tooth is struggling to grow.

I decided to consult the doctor in the school clinic last Saturday. He wasn't there. How could I think that that grumpy old doctor would be patient enough to serve the students on a Saturday? I instead headed to a pharmacy to buy 10 capsules of Amoxicillin, as my father told me. He strongly advised to consult a doctor. He wasn't sure if I really had tonsilitis because he couldn't see deeper into my throat and look for swellings. What if a fish bone was just stuck in my throat? I assured him it was really tonsilitis. If it was the latter, a fish bone would give a sharper pain. So today, the soreness is subsiding. But I still can't drink (or even eat, I think) something cold. Shit!

We were also required to attend this CSIT Awarding Ceremony last Saturday from four to eight. I went in the gym 'round 4:30. The first contest was the vocal solo singing. The representative for our subdepartment sang the ever-popular 'Especially for You'. And guess what? The only lyrics she was sure of were: "Especially for you", "I wanna let you know", "Together, together, I wanna show you my heart is SO SO true. And all the love I have is especially for you." I don't want to offend her here. I believed she was forced to sing. She had a nice voice but she should've refused, especially when she hasn't memorized the lyrics well.

Now that surprises me. I mean, right now everyone is singing this mushy song. Even the corrupt witchy fat lady in the advanced com lab keeps on playing it in the computer unit, which she thinks is hers. Imagine the Windows Media Player with only 'Especially for You' in the playlist and the play setting on 'Repeat'! We've got a room that haunts the computer users with the same song that will keep on playing in their minds even when they are out of the com lab. It's like a curse! I shall accuse her of witchery and burn her at stake like a pig!

My God, I hope she won't see this...

Text Jokes! (continued)

OK. Fully charged na ang cel ko...

From Bernie:
***************
I was planning to kill the most LOVELY and the most CHARMING person on earth
then I realized...

that would be SUICIDE!

bad yun...
***************
As I watched the ants crawl upon the wall, I noticed that no matter how busy they are, they still stop and communicate. I hope we could be like the ants...

nga makalakawlakaw sa walls!
***************
Last night I dreamed of U.
This morning my first thought was U.
I'm thinking of U right now
And till I go to bed tonight.

Bukas I'll think of letter V naman...
tapos W, X, Y, Z.
***************
Ang tunay na kacutetan ng isang tao
Ay di makikita sa panlabas na anyo
O pisikal na atraksyon.
Dahil ang tunay na kacutetan ay nasa...
AKIN lamang.
Sige may konti sa 'yo.
Konti lang ha?
***************

From Jame:
***************
English-Tagalog dictionary:
PERSUADING = unang kasal
DEVASTATION = stasyon ng bus
PROTESTANT = tindahan ng prutas
STATUE = ikaw ba yan?
PREDICATE = pakawalan ang pusa
***************
ENGLISH CLASS
Bawal ang mag-Tagalog...

Pedro: Maam, may I go out?
Teacher: Why?
Pedro: Because FATHER MOTHER ME
Teacher: What?
Pedro: TATA INA AKO!
***************
How many animals can you fit in a pair of pants?
Answer: one cock, two bulls and a thousand of hares

In a panty?
Answer: Just one smiling pussy...
***************
Paano if one day
Sabi ni Doc
You need new legs
Or else you'll die?
Nagpaopera ka
Nang matapos, ask you
Sino donor?
May inabot na note, sabi:
Ingatan mo alaala ko.

Love,
DAGUL
***************
Want to hear a fairy tale?
Once upon a time, Cinderella was so horny.
So she put Pinocchio's nose between her legs and shouted:
"Lie to me bastard, lie!"
The End
***************
Nakakatakot ang buhay.
Di natin alam kung kelan tayo mamatay.
Di rin natin alam kung lahat ba ng kaibigan natin ay maaasahan.
Pero ang higit kong kinatatakutan ay
'Pag nagbackless si Imang.
***************

From Ice:
***************
FRENCH LESSON:
cough = o vou
ashes = a vou
naked = hu vou
car = re vou
balloon = lo vou
drugs = sha vou
goodbye = va vou
CUTE = a cou! Lagi na lang a cou!
***************
Sabi nila:
SUNGIT ka, nagalit ako.
Wala ka daw KUWENTA, sinapak ko.
Wala kang TASTE, sinuntok ko nga.

Nang sinabing CUTE ka, binaril ko na.
Nanloloko na eh!
***************

From ?
***************
Wife puts Viagra on husband's coffee to add sex drive. After drinking, husband grabbed and fucked her on the table. Wife shout and cried, "'Tang ina naman, 'wag naman dito sa Jollibee!"
***************
SEXY: Maawa ka! Meron ako, meron ako!
RAPIST: AHH! Walang meron-meron sa akin! TITIKMAN KITAA!
SEXY: WAG! AYY!
RAPIST: Yaakkk!!! Meron ka nga! MERON KANG ITLOG, BAKLA!
***************
Anong bagay ang mahaba..
'Pag nagagalit, tumataba!
'Pag hinihimas humahaba!
Nakapagpapasaya sa mga babae...
Ano pa e di...
titi!
'Kala mo joke noh!
Di na uso yun!
***************

*Ayan yan lang ang matype ko. Nakakapagod pala. Yung si ? di ko kilala, kaya nga ? ang name ng number nya sa cel ko. Nagtext ako sa kanya para itanong kung sino siya. Pero nagreply siya na nagtatanong rin kung sino ako. Hindi ko muna sinabi sa kanya kasi ako una nagtanong. Pero makulit siya! Nabuwisit ako kaya nagreply ako ng "Bahala ka!" Pinapahirapan lang namin ang mga sarili namin...

Text Jokes

Hindi muna ako magsusulat tungkol sa Nature Appreciation. Yung previous post ko introduction pa lang pero detalyado na. Kaya dapat detalyado rin ang Nature Appreciation Part 2. Hirap pala! Hindi naman ako magaling magsulat ng kuwento. But I'll take it as a challenge.

Dahil magpopost ako ng tungkol sa isang contemporary Filipino culture, Filipino muna gamitin ko. Pero informal lang. Mahirap magsulat sa purong Filipino.

Kagabi kasi maraming bumabagabag sa akin. Medyo hindi ako makatulog. Ayokong sabihin ang mga dahilan dito kasi ayokong maalala sila kung babasahin ko man ulit ang posts ko sa hinaharap. Bad mood ako kagabi so kinuha ko cel ko at nagbasa ng messages sa inbox ko. Alam ko kasi na karamihan sa hindi ko ibinura ay mga jokes, tapos karamihan pa sa kanila napakagreen. Kaya masaya!

Punyeta! Namatay cellphone ko! Empty batt na! Ikopya ko sana dito yung mga text jokes, pero wala nang pag-asa. At least for now. Ituloy ko na lang 'to bukas. Nasa school pa kasi ako at wala akong charger.

Lintik na pagkakataon 'to!

Nature Appreciation Part 1

This year’s Nature Appreciation venue is Tolosa, Guisao. Sounds very far-flung to me. So I wasn’t surprised to see splashing water and a lot of green all around. But before getting there, there were… unfortunate events. Unfortunate, but worthwhile.

Instead of heading to school, I decided to wait for them at a store right beside the highway. There is no other way to get to Guisao but to pass through a line of barangays along the Maria Clara Lobregat Highway, which I believe is the only highway that looks like a highway in this God-forsaken city. One of those barangays is Divisoria, so they would pass here. I sent a message to Ate Mich to pick me at Nonong Store. I sent another message just to specify where exactly it is – a few steps after a distinctive blue house at the right side of the highway.

After eating a hurried breakfast, I fixed myself one more time and rushed to Nonong Store. It was around 7:40 A.M. I expected them to stop there soon. The scheduled departure time at school is 7 A.M. It’s a 30-minute ride from the civilized city proper to Divisoria. But since the ACILians are hopelessly Filipino, I expected them to leave a little late. And I was wrong.

Growing impatient as well as anxious, I headed back home. I forced a missed call on Ate Mich’s cell phone. After a few minutes, I received a message from her that said something like, “Hintay lang J. Magdispose pa sa amin si Bro. Ogie. Miss call lang kita.” “WHAT?!” I thought. It was past eight and they’re still in school! Very Filipino! I should’ve expected much more. But that was better instead of departing early, leaving me behind.

So I replied, “OK thanks. Miss call n’yo na lang ako kung malapit na kayo Divisoria.” After a few minutes, no missed call but another message. At last they are here, in front of the new chapel... which is meters away from Nonong Store! How could they miss that store? It's a good thing that the chapel was at a walking distance from where they were supposed to stop. I had to speed up my pace to get on the jeep as soon as possible.

And off we went to Tolosa.

*to be continued

So-so post...

Yesterday was the Feast of the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad - a holiday! But it's not the same holiday mood if I have posted yesterday. Actually right now I don't know what to say. I had a lot in my mind yesterday (that is the fourth 'yesterday' word I said... and that's the fifth!) but I don't remember them today. Sometimes I hate holidays. Got nothing to do. The 'day before today' (that's better...) I just ate, slept and did some chores. Plus it was the day before Friday, which is today. Friday is supposed to be relaxing. But for me it's a day when weekly junks - I mean requirements demanded by the perpetually unforgiving teachers pile up in my reminder notes. IT article, progress report, reading assignments, more homeworks... I had to do start working on them yesterday. Hmmph. Some holiday.

Phenomenology of Death

Before the midterms, we were asked to submit a reaction paper or book review in our Philosophy of Man class. An article that caught my attention was "Martin Heidegger's Phenomenology of Death." At least the title made me grab the book because I thought it would satisfy my search for the true meaning of death and everything after it. But it was disappointing. I expressed it in my paper. However, the article was still worth reading. I didn't believe in destiny or fate. But now I realize that every one of us is destined... to die. I knew that all of us will eventually die. I just didn't see it as destiny...

If you don’t like the word death, then don’t read this. I have mentioned death several times throughout the article. I started writing this just a few days before the deadline. I procrastinate sometimes.

MARTIN HEIDEGGER’S PHENOMENOLOGY OF DEATH

Jan Carlo Tuclaud
BSCS – 3
Philosophy 102
August 22, 2005

Martin Heidegger’s Phenomenology of Death is written by Manuel B. Dy, Jr. The article is published in the same author’s book Philosophy of Man in page 253.

Dy explains in the article about death as how Martin Heidegger defines it through the phenomenological method. It does not talk about the concept of afterlife but rather about how man usually perceives – and how man should perceive – death.

So what is death according to Heidegger? Before explaining his phenomenology of death, Dy starts defining confusing terms like Dasein, Care, ahead-of-itself, and other simple words that were put together with hyphens to represent some other complex concept. I have however understood one essential term – being-towards-death, which refers to man and his attitude towards death. I will further talk about this later.

Heidegger argues that death should not be defined on the basis of the life after it, if there is. As Dy says in the article, “No one has ever come out alive from death to tell us about death.” I was disappointed at this. I have a lot of questions about the afterlife so I was expecting this article answers them. Nevertheless, I do agree with the author. How will we describe the phase from the point of death to everything after it? There are religious beliefs, each painting a picture of life after death. Who preached these ideas? The prophets. They are dead now. However, they never experienced death when they were still preaching. How can they be sure of the afterlife they believe? For all we know, the prophets could have fooled us. Besides, phenomenology is a process of attempting to disclose the reality of a subject, which in this case is death.

Heidegger tried to describe death from the point of view of a living man. He sought real and existing experiences to aid him in phenomenology. So again, what is death for Heidegger?

Death is man’s transition between his existence and non-existence. Such transition, according to Heidegger, cannot be experienced. Personally, this might not be entirely true. If there really is an afterlife, then man, or at least his consciousness, continues to experience. However, the afterlife experience cannot be relayed to the living world. Afterlife events stay in the afterlife world because the dead cannot return to life. There is this concept of ‘ghost,’ which stands on the foundation of the dualistic notion of man. But this body-and-soul notion is just a theory, an unproven idea. Therefore everything related to this concept, including the existence of ghosts, is unproven. I have heard accounts of people dying and then waking up after a few days. Unbelievable! The ‘resurrected’ might have just been on comatose or something. Even if he was proven to be dead, no heartbeat and all, I’m still skeptic. I don’t give in to superficial miracles. Somehow, there must be a reasonable explanation. Whether there is an afterlife or none, what truly happens on death and after it is beyond the scope of the living man’s knowledge.

Heidegger claims that death is not something that happens but something impending. It is part of one’s existence. It is part of man’s nature. I believe that. Immortality is impossible. Death will never fail to perform its job in every living thing. In every man, death awaits. As Heidegger says, death makes the man complete. In dying, man is proven to be man – a mortal who existed. Death is not the enemy of man. It is his destiny; his fulfillment; his wholeness. Once the man exists at birth, he immediately starts his journey to death. Heidegger’s phenomenology of death is about man as a being-towards-death.

Heidegger asserts that man should be aware of all his potentialities an existing being, as a being-in-the-world. One of these potentialities is the loss of his own existence, which is death. So it is important for man not to be too absorbed as a being-in-the-world.

A being-towards-death attitude though is not always proper. Heidegger observed that there is ‘inauthentic’ being-towards-death. This kind of man sees death as something general instead of taking it personally. He will say something like, “People die… one of these days one will die too, in the end; but right now, it has nothing to do with us.” Such attitude does not accept that death can come anytime, like the next minute. In personal experience, I go about doing things as if my tomorrow will always come. I say, “Bukas ko na lang ‘to gawin.” But what if I die before bukas comes? Then I have just made a plan which I have not and cannot be fulfilled.

Dy mentions that the inauthentic being-towards-death is aware of the possibility of death. However he looks at the death of a ‘one,’ which is actually nobody. He evades the possibility of his own death being near. He thinks that thinking about death is weakness. But for me, the denial of the spontaneity of death is true weakness and cowardice. The inauthentic being-towards-death instead busies himself with everyday matters.

Now the authentic being-towards-death is the man who anticipates death. Man should embrace the indefiniteness of this possibility. In accepting this possibility, “man frees himself,” as the article says. It means that he is freed from the false perception of the inauthentic being-towards-death – that his own death would not come soon. The authentic being-towards-death understands his wholeness with the possibility of death. In personal reflection, this attitude makes man act as if it is his last day. It doesn’t mean that he would prepare for his burial or write his last will. The man aware of the unpredictability of dying would most likely be less covetous with the material world. So what if I lost my job, was embarrassed, or got robbed? These events are futile after death. The authentic being-towards-death does not mean irresponsibility or carelessness. It just makes man take things more lightly as he lives. This way, he wouldn’t be too focused and disturbed with his temporal existence.

Death grants man the insight of the significance of his every action. If he can die anytime, then that means any of his actions can be his last action. This is an important thought for people of religion. It is usually the last action of the living man that determines his judgment in the afterlife. Grasping the possibility of death motivates man to always make the right move as much as possible.

More Garfield!

Isn't he adorable?
Click on the thumbnail to view a larger picture.

Not Another Tardiness Mishap

I am late for the teaching! No. I am on time. Actually I'm earlier. I really remembered in the text message that we would be leaving at quarter to nine. I arrived around 8:40 - and they're gone! How could they! Mga no hay palabra de honor! It's a good thing that I have something else to do. Else, I will call one of them and ask - no, demand the driver to return here and fetch me and an aspirant who shared that same fate with me. I expected them to be in the office studying today's lesson plan when I would get here. But "Nothing! You, you scum of the earth, you'd enrage a heart of stone!"

Ha ha ha! Now that reminds me of the contest yesterday. We were third place. Plus three points to... somewhere. I forgot. All I know they are gonna be for one of the exams. In the finals I think. I am disappointed. No cash prize! It's a certificate along with the additional points. What will we do with the certificate? In the elimination last Saturday, we were actually the best among the five groups that made it through. I hope we weren't informed. It raised our expectations, especially with our Tiresias. Our Tiresias was unanimously scored to be the best Tiresias during the elimination. But not in the finals. Oh well. Perhaps the judges had different tastes. Or we might've have sounded better without microphones. At least we're third. But if there were cash prizes, I would demand first place!

Shit! I am still furious with what just happened. 8:45! They should have left at that time! *breathing deeply and slowly* Relax. At least I got to pass our late progress report, buy something, and have a haircut. And at least I get to have a break from the terrifying kids. Kidding. I love kids. *LOL*

Bubble Gang's Pinkatadia was hilarious last night. I guess it's always funny to see men wearing fairy clothes. They look like big, fat Amazons. It even looks funnier when they hold swords. And their warcries are not "AAAAARRRGH!" but "AY! AY!" They sound like they're being tickled in battle.

Hey. That calmed me down. It's good that I fought sleepiness just to watch that.

It's nearly 11. They should be coming back right now. I have to go and wait for them. When they arrive, I'll give them a piece of my mind!