Christmas Lunch with B and Bunik

Hay... Ang lungkot pag ikaw iyong nahuhuli talaga like when everyone's already gone home to their provinces and you... left alone at the dorm... still waiting for the 20th because you booked your flight so late. Geez! Such a wuss. Anyway, instead of whiling away our time in our dormitory and getting bored to death waiting for our flights home, B decided that we should go grab lunch in a semi-fancy resto and dress-up. It was THE perfect way to end our 2009 together. Lunch at the Chocolate Kiss... all dressed up. Mwahahaha!

Kamagong Residence Hall Xmas Party 2009

Too lazy to put captions. Let the pictures do the talking! Mwah!

KAMAGONG CHRISTMAS PARTAY with the best DORMERS in town!

Happy Together!

Had a crazy, crazy dinner with the gang at Sefali's last night. Hay... Ang sarap ng may mga kaibigang tunay! Mamayang gabi ulet!

Friedrich von Schiller's Maria Stuart

“So, are you a Mary Stuart or an Elizabeth?”

Without a thought, I said, “Mary Stuart. Definitely.”

-------
“Lust for power or martyrdom for faith?“
-------

It was an impulsive decision to watch the play yesterday. I’ve been wanting to see it but I didn’t think I was gonna go yesterday especially that I wasn’t able to persuade anyone to tag along with me. But... for lack of anything better to do I finally decided on going.

The stories of the queens and kings of England didn’t really have any appeal to me. I’ve seen Elizabeth I and II, Alexander, Henry VII, and The Other Boleyn Girl. They seemed... long and boring... I have to admit though that I haven’t read any of the novels (fiction or non-fiction) written of and about them. I wasn’t interested.

But I love plays... and I love DUP’s performances... well except for that one time when they staged Lulu.

Anyway, when I got inside the theater I had a feeling that it’s gonna be a great play. For one, Dir. Tony Mabesa directed the play. Moreover, Shamaine Buencamino was playing the character of Queen Elizabeth I. She astounds me. There was also something about the empty stage, which was decorated with the walls of a citadel illuminated with dark blue dimmed light. It was perfect! I was seated right at the center where I have a perfect view of the entire stage, not too small nor too large to fit the scope of my vision. And of course, everything was audible from where I was... I was proud of myself to have gotten there on time. But more importantly, I was proud that I was able to drag myself to the play even if I had to watch it by myself. In retrospect, it was the most ideal resolve. :-)

Act I, Act II, Act III... I was agog with anticipation of the scenes to follow. There were a lot of witticisms. I loved the graceful and elegant bantering of the actors... The word-fights stung. The plot, the staging, the actors -- all evocative. It was flawless.

In the first act, I was particularly moved by the confession of devotion and allegiance of Mortimer to the Queen of Scots Mary Stuart. The devotion of subjects and servants during their time was overwhelming. It was as if they were serving a god... willing to stake their lives for the majestics... It was beautiful. Still in Act I, the repartee between the Queen of Scots and the Lord High Treasurer of England Lord Burleigh was agitating. It’s something to look forward to when you decide to watch it. In Act II, Queen Elizabeth entered the scene with all grandeur, with her “supporters” and “loyal” barristers tailing Her Majesty. The scene that stuck is where the three counsels tried to persuade the Queen of England of each of their own stand on the clamor: sentence Mary Stuart to death or not. The dialogues were all persuasive. You could actually feel the hidden desires and selfish intentions of the “demagogues”. In Act III (the most thrilling part before the intermission, I suppose), Queen Elizabeth and Mary Stewart finally came face-to-face with each other - a special request by Mary Stewart herself. The best part? The insults. Wow. It was poisonous. They were both resentful. The two dignified and resplendent queens finally let down their guards and jumped into a heated and acrimonious argument. In short, they turned bitchy. Of course, we know who won. Well, not really. :-)

During the seven minute intermission, I just stayed in my seat... tried to digest everything I saw. Powerful.

Act IV: the warrant to behead the Queen of Scots was signed. Sigh...

Act V: the last moments of the Queen of Scots. This last act was so moving. It brought me to tears. The Queen of Scots’ last moments on earth were spent with her faithful and loyal servants. It was so moving. They gathered around her, pledging their troth for their queen. She was, at that moment, very down-to-earth, thoughtful, and very respectful. More importantly, she was repentant. She also made sure that all her faithfuls would be left in good fate once she’s faced her execution. It was heartbreaking; and yet one couldn’t help but feel happy for the queen. She was loved... dearly loved. Her martyrdom to her Catholic faith was also very special. Queen Elizabeth? I wouldn’t wanna narrate here the sad fate of Queen Elizabeth...


------

“So, are you a Mary Stuart or an Elizabeth?” My answer? “Definitely a Mary Stuart.”

I recommend that you watch the play. It’ll be staged until the 6th of December. :-) It made me want to buy all those books that narrate the lives of these two iconic women.

mourn...

I mourn for our Inang Bayan...

Leonid Meteor Shower on Dateline

It was my first ever T.V. appearance :-) Well, technically, second. The first one was during the oblation run when the PBB housemates were here in UPD -- the camera caught me with other star struck UP students shouting and chanting names of celebrities. It was awful. Hehe Pero, nakaka-star struck nga naman talaga ang mga artista. Wala ng pakeme-keme that time, wala ng pa-demure effect. My mom and siblings actually saw me on T.V. Twas so funny. Dude, I was such a wuss.

Anyway, this afternoon was totally different though. I sat with Stanley and Lia (ANC news anchors) and talked about the recent Leonid meteor shower. It was LIVE! And I didn't know we were gonna go live until we got to the ABS-CBN building. I was really nervous. They seemed so smart and I kept on thinking, "Man, I couldn't keep up with these guys! What am I gonna say? Can I still back-out??" I was literally looking for the nearest exit. Dubdub-dub-dubdub...







When we were finally asked to go on stage with the two prestigious broadcasters, my edginess just started to diffuse and dissolve. It was probably the very warm smile of Stanley and Lia. It also helped that Stanley started a small-talk with me and DJ while we were inside the make-up room. Lia was kind enough to tell us before we went on-air that we don't have to worry about the cameras. She told us that we just look at them and it's just be like talking over a cup of coffee... minus, of course, all the lights, the camera, and the cameramen.



Meron kayang part two, este part three, itong TV appearance ko? Finally, my course paid off. Mwahahahaha!

Pa-kwek-kwek naman po

Working student :) Para ma-maintain ang lifestyle, kelangang maghanap-buhay. At dahil hindi sapat ang suweldo sa UP, nagpapart-time job ako keh Manang Owl. Okay lang naman kahit below minimum wage pasweldo ni Manang Owl, pwede naman daw akong kumuha ng dalawang cheese sticks or isang pirasong kwek-kwek (note hindi isang stick, ha) pag lunch time na. Mwahahaha!



-- kelangan ko pa bang sabihin dito na joke lang?? :-)

Leonids Meteor Shower

It's so on tonight at 10pm 'til the break of dawn! Yikee! So, so excited. I wonder what I'd wish for... hmmm...

Starlight, starbright...
I wish I may, I wish I might...
Grant this wish, I wish tonight...

Manggugulat

Ang buhay nga naman... mahilig manggulat. haha

Camiguin Loving

We've been living in RX since 2001 but it has taken me quite a while to visit Camiguin Island. Minsan hindi napapaniwala iyong mga tao. Like they're also surprised whenever I say that I haven't been to Cebu. It's just a boat ride away from CDO. It's coz most of my adventures are here in Luzon. Anyway, Camiguin... I'd been hearing lots of great appreciation of the marvelous island. Some even claim that it's much better than Boracay. Probably depends on what you're really after. :)

Sa wakas! Family vacation in Camiguin. Wah! Super, super, super ganda ng islands! I've been to Boracay but, this I can say: if you really wanna experience the beach and nature in their grandeur, go to Camiguin! A natural paradise :)



Photos below taken by: Fourth



Some of the stuff I love about my dear neighbor Camiguin:

(1) Virgin pa siya!! :) Bwahaha! No, seriously, the island is so pure. It's not commercialized unlike Boracay. There are not much people loitering around the place. It's so serene!

(2) It's so cheap!!! Haha not cheap, cheap. But cheap, as in cheap na affordable cheap. Donation lang! :) Seriously! One of the best things about being maintained by the local government, I guess. Tipong the entire white beach, bente lang iyong bayad! C'mon! :D

(3) Lots of interesting places to visit! There's the Sto. NiÑo Cold spring! There's the Esperanza Ardent HOT spring! It'd never be an "island born on fire" without the hot spring. I loved it. It's so soothing and refreshing. The hot spring's around 40deg C. There's also the Katibawasan Falls and the Tuasan Falls. And of course, the main attraction... (drum roll please): the seemingly untouched white sand beaches!! White Island and the Mantigue Island. Ah! :)

(4) Other attractions on the Island like this really old church, which name I forgot to note plus this mini-museum at the PHILVOCS office.

(5) The food!!! The food there is great! :)

(6) Lanzones!!! Mananamis namis na maasim din. Need I say more?? :)

Ah!!! Camiguin... One of the must-see places in the country. Exquisite! Marvelous! <3

No Place Like Home

There's no place like home. You're darn right, Dorothy!

I was set to fly to CDO from Manila on Nov. 01, 2009 at 4:20am. I was so excited that I couldn't sleep the night before. Weeh!



Home! Home! Home! There's no place like home. Although being in Manila is so liberating and all, iba pa rin pag nasa probinsiya ka kasama ang mga minamahal.








Had pic-nic and played tennis with Mom and Dad and siblings. Ah! Home! :D

Dearest Santi

Dear Santi,

Oks naman tayo, diba? I mean, I really love the storm, the thunder and the lightning, and of course the rain. Alam mo naman iyon, right? Isang request lang muna, Mare, pwede bang dehins muna tomorrow? I have a flight to catch. I really need the vacation. Wag ka namang diyahe sana. Shoo muna. Galit-galit muna tayo tomorrow at baka friendship over na tayo kung hinde. Oks lang, Mare? Oh, ayan, hug muna tayo. :-D

P.S. FO na talaga tayo as in forever if you sabotage my flight.


xoxo,
E

Brownout

Anlabo naman kasi ng MERALCO. Brownout kagabe. Sobrang tagal! Ang init tapos meh sakit pa ako. I've been hangin out here in my room since Sunday because of my sinusitis. R was sweet enough to bring me some fruits to help me get better fast. Ang tigas nga lang nong green apple, Ry! Parang bayabas! Ang asim pati. Haha!



Anyway, so ayun, biglang brownout naman at nagpapansin si MERALCO. And it hit me. We are so pathetic without electricity. It's as if we couldn't do anything without it. Paralyzed, especially at night. So for a moment, I just stared at the only light source in my room, my laptop screen. Internet was down. I was thinking. What to do, E? What to do? D, my roommie, was nangangapitbahay. I decided to join them upstairs. After a little chit-chat, we finally got bored. And I wasn't really feeling well.



So I got back to our room and lit five candles. The room lighting was perfect especially for photography, I thought. Super init nga lang!!! Sumunod na rin sila sa akin pababa. D and I decided to get a little creative to kill the freagin deadliness. Geez! So I took my Talecraft cards. :-) And so we (E,D,B,J, and R) started playing, telling mga kwentong barbero to each other using the cards we had in our hands. It was fun! A great way to beat boredom na gawa ni Mamang Meralco. Pansin ko lang sa story-telling, ah, ba't parang laging meh hari at kingdom at mga prinsesa at prinsipe. LOL. Tapos parating anti-climactic iyong mga kwento. Hahaha! But opkors, fun pa rin. Sobra! (to know more about Talecraft, check through their website here.)

Some Kamagong Lavin'

Laking dormer ako. I've been a dormer ever since I entered U.P. in 2001. It has taught me a lot of things, especially when handling myself and when dealing with people from all walks of life. Mahirap maging dormer especially when it's your first time to live away from home and to live with people whom you do not know. Sa probinsiya, I had my room all to myself and I had a part-time "yaya". It's a totally different scenario when I got to UP and stayed in one of the University dormitories.

First, there's the roommate that you have to deal with every now and then; and second, you need to get to learn how to get along with her/him fast. There are lots of personal adjustments that need to be done to nurture a healthy relationship with your roommate(s) with whom you'd be sharing your room with for at least one semester.

Anyway, this post is not about my entire dorm life. Aabutin ako ng ilang pages kung ganon! hehe Nah, this time Imma talk about my Life in Kamagong. I've been staying here in Kamagong since last year and it's only now that I've really gotten to know the people around me -- my roommates and our "neighbors".

ROOMMIES



ROOMMIES and PSEUDO-ROOMMIES



One of the major differences between a graduate dorm and an undergraduate dorm is the level of maturity of the people staying in the dorms. In a graduate dorm, one doesn't really need to have to worry about small talks because every one seem to be very busy getting on with their lives. We don't talk much in graduate dorms than in the undergraduate ones. Pero, medyo umiba ang ihip ng hanging lately. Who would have thought? May life din pala sa graduate dorms. :)

Reader, meet my dorm friends. I love hangin out with these dudes. We could talk about almost anything under the Sun. No, actually, we could talk about anything under the sun! We could talk about life, philosophy, physics, love, nonlinear dynamics, computer architecture, science, albert einstein, sex, movies, music! Anything!! We never run out of topics to share and discuss. This is probably one of the best things about having friends who are both intellectual and witty and secure of themselves.

Jogging around the academic oval

After almost three months, I got up and just suddenly thought of jogging 'round the academic oval (~2.24km or 1.39mi). I miss running 'round the oval. No, it's not that I don't get enough exercise anymore. It's just that I've been doing my cardio (dancing and martial arts) in an air-conditioned gym with free flowing coffee. Oh, the perks!

I almost forgot how refreshing it is to jog around the academic oval, with the canopy and the greenery. Ahhh! The fresh air. The other joggers and bikers. Those strangers who look so warm and friendly, always smiling whenever I go past them. Nature -- helps me clear my mind of chaos. Everywhere I looked was green. What can be more refreshing than that? Sheesh! Why did I enroll in a gym again?



But I really, really need to have to hit the gym soon. It's been two weeks since I last worked out. Man, I'm allowing this big shot capitalist elephant to steal from me!

Me Time

Today's almost a perfect me day except that I didn't get to attend mass. Anyway, I woke up around 11am to a friend's call demanding that I get my butt out of bed and hit the gym with him. Without any second thought, I said `yes!' (eh kase kung nag-isip pa ako... alam na...)

At 12nn, my lunch was a melange of karate, kick-boxing, muai tai, tai chi, and tae kwan do. Yum! Felt good. Felt great! I get to jab, kick and shout all my week's worth of frustrations away. Ya! Hee! Hoo! Para medyo mabawasan ang pagka war freak, I went to yoga class. Ahhwwm... -- this definitely took care of my ever-perturbed consciousness and challenged both my mind and body. Although a bit challenging, it was such a refreshing and relaxing moment. Cooling down, I decided to do some groceries and watch the time traveler's wife all by myself. Alone... Ahh-llloonnee... Yes, you heard that right! It's been more than five years since I last went to see a movie mag-isa. Eh, 'ba naman, I had some expectations of the production. But... Boohoo.

Anyway...

On my way home, I passed by a vid store and bought some old films. I got home and took a nap for three hours! The best part? And as if the day couldn't be any more perfect, I had a really, really good, nice, sweet, and romantic dream. teeehheee!

Okay! Back to evolutionary game theory now. :D

MidSem

Tomorrow is the last day I'm going to give foundational lectures on physics and astronomy before we start with the special topics and have some guest lecturers in class. It's one hellavu first half. Since it's my first time to teach the subject, my time has been consumed in preparing lecture slides and reading and learning lots and lots of interesting stuff and trivia on physics and astronomy -- to make the lectures more engaging.

Tomorrow we'll say hello to the exoplanets and bid a nice farewell to Pluto.

Spectacles

Yesterday, I went to see an ophthalmologist.

Lately, I have been noticing that high-contrast visuals do not appear focused to me any more. Brighter objects tend to bleed and appear a bit blurry on the edges to a dark background. Stars in the night sky look slightly out of focus. I wouldn't have noticed the not-so-apparent visual aberration had I not thought of calibrating my vision using my old pair of spectacles (50-75) from five years ago. I'm not so sure why I decided to stop using the glasses.

So, yeah, yesterday I went to see an ophthalmologist. In the first visual test, they determined my grade to be 25-25 -- which is normal and near healthy. I insisted on a more thorough examination because I'm not comfortable with the way I see things lately, especially at night when looking at distant and bright objects. During the second test, it appeared that I have a 75-75 vision. That's not okay.

Speaking of spectacles, I myself was a spectacle to other patients in the medical center. My doctor asked me to walk outside of the clinic room wearing an adjustable pair of glasses with perfectly round shaped windows for five minutes to test my depth perception. At first I thought he was kidding. Urgh. I looked like a total dork. My longest five minutes...

"That's 190. Keep the change."

So it's three thirteen in the morning. For the first time I slept before 9pm. Last night, after I got back from dinner at around 8, I slept right away. I only planned to take a nap... which extended to well, five hours. I woke up at exactly 1am. I was disoriented and was scared (for a very brief moment) the minute I woke up since I wasn't so sure where I was and what time it was. My roommates hadn't come back yet from wherever. I immediately grabbed my phone and then checked the time. It was 1am.

From 1am to around 2.30am, I was just browsing the internet. Then I got bored. So I decided to count how much I have saved already in my piggy bank. What a way to waste time!

I had 10, 5, 1, 0.25, 0.10, and 0.05 coins. There were ssoooo many of them. I couldn't carry the piggy bank with one hand, literally! Anyway, I was able to count around 1,620++!! very much enjoyed the distraction, by the way.

And then I thought of getting rid of the one peso and lesser valued coins (.25, .10, and 0.05). I ordered meals from mcdonald's. Used my 1, 0.25, 0.10, and 0.05 coins on a 185 peso order. hehe

The best part? The delivery guy!

He looked bemused to see me hand him a relatively huge and heavy plastic bag of 1, 0.25, 0.10, and 0.05 coins.

And I said, "that's 190. Keep the change."


P.S. Of course, I had to replace (with bills: 100 and 20s) the total amount of coins I took from my savings. That's how it works. I really think it's stealing when you don't replace it.

Exquisite and Romantic: Floy Quintos' Atang

"Atang is a play of memory, simple and accessible. And the staging is evocative of the feeling." I copied that straight from the Director's Notes in the souvenir program.

What is Atang? Who is Atang?

I bet that 60-70% of my online contacts here in Multiply do not know her. I have to admit though that I didn't know Atang (1902-1991) until, well, tonight. Atang de la Rama is a national artist described as "reyna ng kundiman, ang paraluman ng mga makata, ang panguna at nag-iisang tala ng Dulaang Tagalog sa Pilipinas..." She is the queen of Philippine kundiman and zarzuela.

As early as 12 years old, she had already been considered a veteran Filipino artist. You can just imagine how prestigious that is given the time period when mass media wasn't even around in the country.

Anyway, you'll never really appreciate the information I just typed there unless you've seen the play by Floy Quintos.

...

I got in Wilfrido Ma. Guerrero Theater without any expectation of sort; I didn't even know that the play was in Filipino. But since I've always loved plays, theater, and Broadway musicals, I knew that I was still going to enjoy the experience.

And I was right.

Filipino talents never cease to amaze me. When Ayen hit the first note in "Nabasag ang Banga," I was in awe. It is semi-operatic and in Filipino; and the song is a kundiman. Goosebumps. I have seen Cinderella and West Side Story and they both startled me; but, Atang definitely made a much different impact. It brought me to a rather different sphere. Seeing Atang kindled the proud Filipino spirit in me in a rather new and unexpected way, through Balagtasan, Dula, and Kundimans.

The music was exquisite. The poems were remarkably romantic. Most of the time though I got lost in words like "lugasin", "huwaring", "samyuin", etc.; and although there were moments when I just couldn't understand an entire phrase or two, surprisingly enough, I was still moved by them. Because somehow I knew the puissant of passion behind every word and every phrase recited. I didn't realize how beautiful and romantic Filipino words can be. I've never been so proud of our own: language, culture, theater.

The play definitely appeals to the Filipina spirit and womanhood: dedicated, sacrificing, romantic, daring, and mysterious.

--------------------------------------------------------------
If you plan to see the show (which runs until Feb 08, 2009), watch out for:
(1) Kitang Dalawa
(2) Ang Bayan Ko
(3) Nasaan ka Irog
(4) Pakiusap
I especially loved these parts of the production.


Bituin was part of the cast, too. She's superb in Mamang Gusting.

For pictures, check out Franco Laurel's gallery @:
http://fjlaurel.multiply.com/photos/album/67/Atang_-_Isang_Dulang_May_Musika#
http://fjlaurel.multiply.com/photos/album/65/Atang_-_The_Pictorial