I lost

I never considered myself good in academics and I didn’t mind getting B+’s and B-’s for all my hour exams in Calculus or Advanced Trigonometry. But I did think of myself as a rather swell Word Factory (more popularly known as Boggle) player. In three rounds, I would already score 60 points, or sometimes even higher, depending on the arrangement of lettered cubes. However, this illusion of mine has just been dispelled.

Aside from popping the bubble wraps here at home, I’ve got nothing else to do this summer. So I decided to pay my cousins in Quezon City a visit. I haven’t seen them in years, so I thought it would be really really nice to be reunited with them, and perhaps, pop some more plastic bubble wraps.

When my cousins and I were little kids, we used to play Claydoh. We’d mold these clays and form different figures, then we’re already chipper. But that was before. I’m sure my cousins don’t want to mold clay anymore. So Sarah, one of my cousins, took out their Word Factory set. Which delighted me. As I’ve said, I’m good in this word game. So we pulled out sheets of paper, then we began.

First two rounds had been an upset for me. Maybe luck just wasn’t on my side. Then again, I totally forgot the fact that my cousins are consummate geeks. Now I’ve met my waterloo. Yes, I lost. Thank God I came here with a well-developed sense of inferiority. Blah.

Caption this

A picture is worth a thousand words. But let’s keep it under fifteen. Express yourself. Caption the photo below!

“Am I now excused from taking the Geometry Quiz?”

I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled.

Funny. This time last year, I was really frantic about the idea of being 20 and all the good things that co-occur with it. You know, increase in allowance, parents being more lenient on you, personal independence, removal of curfew restrictions, and probably the best thing, late night movie marathons. Needless to say, I did enjoy my 20th year of existence here on earth. I had actually been into a lot of adventures and discoveries this year. Pretty cool, as a matter of fact. But sometimes, our perspectives in life change radically as we go along our way. Now that I’ll be turning 21 this coming May, I wish I can just be young again. Perhaps, go back to being an 8-year old when…

…all you care about and think of was how you can finish your bar of Toblerone without staining your shirt.

…receiving a Happy Meal from McDonald’s will already make you ecstatic.

…you don’t worry about paying your phone bills.

…McDonald’s, for you, is already a five-star restaurant.

…you’re not yet conscious of your physical appearance. Unless of course you’re already obsessed with the latest trends.

…you prefer receiving a bar of Chocnut to receiving a penny.

…you don’t care about what you don’t know. Unless of course you’re already showing signs of nerdiness.

…winning Sungka or Jolens is already a big achievement for you.

So I am officially tendering my resignation as a young adult. But hey, adulthood is possibly not that bad either. But it would then be a different story.

Surly cabbies

Aside from its remedying ambiance, there is one more thing I love about Baguio: cheap cab rates. In most cases, cab rates would not cost you more than 60 bucks from Point A to Point B in Baguio. That is relatively cheap compared to the usual rates I pay here in Metro Manila. Also, let me add that Baguio cabbies are way more modest than cab drivers here in Makati particularly. Baguio cabbies don’t take advantage of you. They do not tell you how much you should pay. They stick to what the taximeter states. They do not overcharge the rate. Of course, the situation is very different here in Makati. First, your destination must concur with the driver’s desired route. (In other words, you don’t tell the driver where your destination is. Instead, the driver tells you where he is heading.) Otherwise, you’ll automatically get tossed. Moreover, cab drivers in Makati will give you an estimate on how much it will cost you to reach your destination. Sa Tagalog, kontrata. And in some cases, cabbies will give you bullshit reasons on why he should charge you another twenty bucks or something.

American Idol – Top 7 (Mariah Carey Night)

With Michael Johns being booted from the show, I think David Cook will now have an easy time appealing for approval from the judges and America since he’s the only rocker left in the show. It sucks to see Michael Johns leave. Anyway, this week, the contestants will be singing Mariah Carey songs. I think it would be really difficult for everyone to pull off a brilliant performance. Mariah is Mariah, there is no one like her. So it boils down to how the contestants will tweak the song and deliver it to the crowd.

1. David Archuleta – “When You Believe”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) Dude you can sing anything. That was the bomb. (P) You made Mariah proud. (S) I thought it was very very good. You have set the benchmark.

My thoughts: I think it was just okay. When You Believe is a collaboration of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, so it’s definitely hard to at least be at par with the original. But yeah, it was okay.

2. Carly Smithson – “Without You”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) I liked that you challenged yourself. You have to believe and trust in yourself. It was pretty good. (P) I actually like that you shared some vocal restraint. (S) I really wanted you to sing this song. I don’t think you pulled it off.

My thoughts: I love Carly. I expected that she would deliver a very outstanding performance tonight since she has the pipes to sing a Mariah Carey song. And this week, she needs to redeem herself. But again, she came short. Vocally, it was great. But something is sorely lacking. She was over-thinking on what else she could do with the song. I thought she could have just sung her heart out. For some reason, I actually liked the “Ken Lee” version more. Lol.

3. Syesha Mercado – “Vanishing”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) You are bold but I gotta tell you that you did a good job on it all things considered. (P) This week you have been smart. You picked a song not many people now and you’re not compared to. Overall was unbelievably magical for you. (S) Technically it was very good. I am not sure I would have chosen a song though that not many people know.

My thoughts: Again, vocally, it was great. But I agree with Simon. I don’t know the song, so I don’t know how to relate to her performance.

4. Brooke White – “Hero”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) I was really digging it till the bridge. I appreciate the singer songwriter look. (P) Every ounce of you is authentic. I think this unplugged version was a very brave thing to do and you sounded really good. (S) I don’t think you had much choice doing other than what you did. It was like ordering a hamburger and only getting the bun. The vital ingredient was missing.

My thoughts: I can’t agree more with what Simon said. Also, she could have done it lento.

5. Kristy Lee Cook – “Forever”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) I didn’t think it was amazing but I gotta tell you that stepped up at the end. (P) It wasn’t just the end. You have this all worked out. Kristy Lee Cook, I am blown away. You could have a hit with that in country western. (S) You didn’t give me chills. You managed with what you could. It wasn’t ever going to be an advantage to you. It wasn’t great.

My thoughts: I want her out of the competition. Please!

6. David Cook – “Always Be My Baby”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) You are ready to make an album. I thought that was the most brilliant performance yet. (P) Thats pretty awesome. That could be in a movie soundtrack right now. (S) It was like coming out of Karaoke hell into a breath of fresh air. It was original, it was daring and stood out by a mile.

My thoughts: Brilliant. Just brilliant.

7. Jason Castro – “I Don’t Wanna Cry”

Judges’ thoughts: (R) For me I didn’t love that. Weird beach luau. (P) I would love to be at that luau. You are in that zone. (S) I am going to have to agree with Paula. Not the best vocal but it was identified with you.

My thoughts: I thought it was a bit cheesy. But he sort of pulled it off, but not quite.

My Top 2 Perfomances: David Cook, Syesha Mercado
Who I think should go home: Kristy Lee Cook

Two more wins and title is theirs!

Manchester United 2 – 1 Arsenal

Let me quote Sir Alex Ferguson. “You won’t see any better game anywhere this season.” On the dot! This match was just spectacular. This is the reason why I prefer FA Premier League to Bundesliga. Yes, it’s already an indisputable fact that Germans are more aggressive than the English, not to mention their fast-paced game plays. But if we consider the non-technical aspects of the game such as the level of excitement, the drama and surprise factors, English football is definitely the one to watch. And this is exemplified by the match between Manchester United and Arsenal. Football at its finest.

Obsessed

I want a Volkswagen Beetle. No, not the new one. I want the classic Beetle.

Spontaneous

My friend – hereafter will be addressed as BuffGuy – and I went to Power Books at Greenbelt a while ago to look for guerilla marketing books. Since Power Books is also a quasi library, we freely rummaged through the shelves and read some books. I found myself adhered to Jay Conrad Levinson’s book on guerilla marketing. Read a few parts of the book, then checked the price. I entertained the thought of buying it but when I found out that it was worth one grand, I immediately returned the book to the shelf. But I hid it somewhere behind the other books, lest someone might discover the significance of it and then buy the book afterwards. Of course, I’m not gonna let someone have it. The book’s for me only. After realizing that my cash on hand is not capable of purchasing any guerilla marketing books, I wound up buying Reader’s Digest which only costed me one hundred and sixty bucks. BuffGuy, on the other hand, bought this David Sedaris book called Barrel Fever which I was pining for. I just looked on the bright side: the Sudoku puzzles at the back of Reader’s Digest.

After Power Books, we dropped by the music bar on the other side. I, being a lover of classical music, went straight to the listening station of Andrea Bocelli. Before I even got there, BuffGuy yakked at me about my obscure taste in music. See, I am not the type of person who will immediately jump on the bandwagon. I’m being critical with things that I choose, with things that I do. It does not mean that if everybody does it, you should also try it. As for me, I prefer listening to Andrea Bocelli to say, Chris Brown. But don’t get me wrong though. In fact, I listen to pop music. But that’s beside the point. What I’m trying to say here is, ‘What has happened to Generation Y these days?’ We’ve lost passion for classical music, arts and stage plays among others. I remembered the day when I watched The Dogeaters at RCBC Auditorium. I was the only young adult in the orchestra section, the rest are probably in their thirties. We should embrace arts. Harbor it.

Sorry for digressing. Where was I? Uh, yeah. The yakking part. So yeah, he yakked, but then I still proceeded. You know what, I’m actually wondering why we get along so well, despite the disputes in our line of interests. But we both like reading, so it’s still alright. Oh, and may I leave you guys a message? This is a line I got from Francis Kong: There is not much difference between an illiterate and one who does not use his capability to read.

Scavenging cobwebs

This is not an official entry. Or maybe it is. I just think I needed to write something in this blog, since it is already turning into a moribund quad. I still can’t get myself together, so I’ll probably end this if I can’t anymore summon thoughts.

1. The first quarter of the year is a real bummer for me.

2. One more week and then school will finally be over.

3. I still have three accounting subjects left. SUCCCKKSS!

4. This summer, I’m planning to bust up my life, then fix it after and do some modifications.

5. I’ll try to be a coffee bean. Please read the entry before this.

6. I’m thinking of turning this blog into a video blog.

The carrot, the egg and the coffee

Have you been struggling lately? Do you feel like the burden you’re bearing is so heavy you just want to give up? Think again. Below is a very inspiring and motivative tale of a young lady who shared her life struggles to her mother. It’s a bit long but it’s worth your precious time.

A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life, and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it, and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved a new one arose.

Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water. In the first pot, she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs and the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.

Turning to her daughter, she asked, “Tell me what do you see?” “Carrots, eggs, and coffee,” she replied. She brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did and noted that they got soft. She then asked her to take the egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, she asked her to smell and sip the coffee. The daughter smiled, as she smelled and tasted its rich aroma. The daughter then asked, “What’s the point, mother?”

Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity – boiling water – but each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak. The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior. But, after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water they had changed the water.

“Which are you?” she asked her daughter. “When trials and adversity knock on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg, or a coffee bean?”

Think of this: Which am I?

Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity, do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?

Am I the egg that starts with a passive heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside, am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and a hardened heart?

Or, am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you become better and change the situation around you.

When the hours are the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate to another level?

Source: http://www.wow4u.com/carrot/index.html

Haven’t actually given a thought about this. Will then be mulling over tonight. Sorry, fragments are all I can construct right now.