i'd like to be a part of the Beatles. Then, I'll finally understand why they're so great because I don't listen to their music. But I want to learn their style because I want to incorporate that into my own fledgling band.

Dear Charo,

This serves as my first post for the new year, but I'll be spending it writing about what happened yesterday, on my sister's birthday. My sister must really have felt happy knowing that she was to be feted for two days in a row, on the day before her birthday and on her birthday itself! As the youngest of the siblings, that honor is usually reserved for me, as my birthday celebrations used to have a strange way of extending until the weekend.

Anyway, instead of celebrating Manang's birthday somewhere incredibly fancy, we all went to Ortigas Home Depot to eat at Dampa, a paluto style restaurant that Manang and Lai recommended we try. But when we got to the Depot we couldn't find Dampa. It probably folded ad made way for a new paluto restaurant. Nonetheless we had to make do with the remaining restaurants and we had to rely on Lai's and Manang's memory of which place was good to eat.

But as soon as we got off the car, we were surrounded by waiters from the various restaurants, suggesting that we eat at their place. In the end, we hose to eat at a place called Cha Cha, ad the other waiters wet back to their places after greeting us a Happy New Year, but I could tell that they were very disappointed at not being able to reel us in.

Ma and Pa wet to the nearby wet market to get some seafood and meat for the chefs to cook for our lunch. Manang, Lai and I waited at a table until they returned with a kilo of shrimp, one tilapia and a kilo of liempo. Ma and Pa told the waiter to cook the shrimp in garlic butter and to grill the tilapia and the liempo. We also ordered a 1.5 liter bottle of Coca-Cola and a platter of garlic rice.

The shrimp arrived first, and since there was no other viand I was forced to eat it, otherwise I would get scolded for not trying any new food and such. As I peeled the shell and legs of each shrimp that I ate using only my spoon and fork, Manang remarked that I was doing it like a pro. However, unlike the gambas last night or the garlic butter shrimps with balsamic vinegar that Manang makes once in a while, this dish was passable, and it could be improved. Besides, I could taste that they used Star Margarine instead of butter, and they used a lot of margarine on the garlic rice as well (Star RICE! the rice of my childhood!). The tilapia was very tender and whenever i poked it with my fork I thought that it would have melted right there and then. It even felt like it would melt as soon as it touched my tongue. If ever M&M's would have a fish flavor I guess that's how it would feel and taste. Oh, ad about the liempo? Don't bother asking because I don't like it anyway.

Until the next episode,
Kevin

Dear Charo,

To celebrate my sister's birthday in advance the entire family went to have dinner in Tapella in Greenbelt. Lai went ahead and ordered some paella for us, and a few tapas (appetizers). Of course, as we were waiting for the paella to cook, we forced ourselves to order tapas i order to avoid fainting. Whoever in thought of creating the concept of tapas Spain sure had a way of forcing diners to eat something expensive before indulging tin the more expensive main dish, the paella. Still, I didn't complain when I partook of the anchovies in bieurre blanc sauce (which I later found to be worth more than Php500 per serving) and the gambas sauteed in garlic and served with bread. Heck, everyone in the family was surprised when they saw me eating the gambas because I normally don't eat shrimp. I countered that I only eat shrimp or other shellfish it was served in garlic, olive oil or butter and nothing else.

What took most of our attention was the paella, which was actually very small in quantity --- about the size of a regular plate --- meant for all five of us. Still, it offered a unique flavor because it had broccoli, gambas, chicken, peas, and Machego cheese in it; and I ever heard of putting cheese in paella before, dear Charo. That was something entirely new to me, indeed. Not only that, we also ordered some Certified Angus Beef (I stress the word "certified" because that is set in big letters in the restaurant's menu) that was served raw, but we had the option of cooking it on a salt-laced earthenware plate atop a hotplate (it's kinda like the Spanish version of a yakiniku grill). Lai didn't want the meat to be well done because apparently the flavor would be lost. In fact, he preferred the beef to still have a little blood. I told him that if we died of e. coli infection, we knew who to blame. We ordered some aioli potatoes and chorizo and potatoes Rajio style to compensate for the lack of starch to accompany the viand. And yes, we all felt dead full by the end of the meal.

Until the ext episode,
Kevin

Dear Charo,

 

It’s been a very long time since I last wrote to you, and even though I have already been free of any academic duty since last Friday, December 17, I was still preoccupied with my final caroling session last Saturday and last Sunday. Not only that, I’ve been very busy over the past few weeks with my exams and such that I’ve barely had any time to squeeze to write to you. It disappoints me to think that I have been neglecting this important duty of mine, to tell you what has been happening with my life.

 

I have been taking notes of any important events, although I’m afraid that even in this short Christmas break I am burdened with so much homework and other familial duties. It is my regret that I have to summarize what has been happening in my life from December 11, 2009 until yesterday, December 23, 2009. Don’t worry about what happened on December 7 and 8, because I already wrote about them in my diary. Anyway, here comes another summary entry, this time in super-summarized form.

 

• December 11, 2009, Friday: My orgmate K.M.’s debut at Manor Superclub in Eastwood.
• December 13, 2009, Sunday: My first JEEP session in Shopwise Cubao. The Counter 24 Incident: I (probably) gave a can of Nido to the wrong customer and she came back a few minutes later asking for it. The manager was able to defer her away from me, thankfully.
• December 15, 2009, Tuesday: JEEP Processing Session with the Philo midterm oral exams happening ten minutes later. Thinking that I did well in it, I even had a celebratory meal by myself at Flaming Wings.
• December 16, 2009, Wednesday: Unlike yesterday, I knew that I did horribly in my Ecoomics long test today. But my melancholy was dissolved when I found out that I had a free cut in Sir C.’s Lit112.2 class, giving me time to join the ACMGers in caroling at my friend D.S.’s place near school.
• December 17, 2009, Thursday: I had my second liturgical guitar lesson, and bar and minor chords proved quite difficult. I also typed my Frankenstein paper for British Literature class, but the computer labs and the libraries were closed due to the employees celebrating their Christmas party. I was given a chance to redeem myself by sending it online, and I did so after I dined with friends and my former blockmate K.D. at Kenny Roger’s Roasters. Also, Ma arrived from Iloilo that day.
• December 18, 2009, Friday: The last day of school and the last of my money spent. Also, the ACMG Christmas party and caroling at J.Sta.M.’s place afterwards.
• December 19, 2009, Saturday: The Great ACMG Caroling Trip to the South. Caroling at M.M.’s, K.M.’s cousin’s and K.Y.’s homes, and nearly getting lost en route to the final house. I also ate a helluva lot of food at each house.
• December 20, 2009, Sunday; The second and final JEEP session at Shopwise Cubao. The Counter 10 Incident: a carton of a dozen eggs popped open and a couple of them broke. I ended up having to pay for them. Best part of the day; singing Michael V.’s “Hindi Ako Bakla” at the employee’s cafeteria and an employee saying “Ang angas mo pare,” after I was finished.
• December 21, 2009, Monday: I mistook A.G.’s birthday celebration to happen at 4:30 p.m., but it was actually at 12:30 p.m., so I had to rush to Tokyo Café at SM North EDSA The Block, sweating profusely through my long-sleeved dress shirt. My friends took the opportunity to laugh at my disheveled state, and most of them left not long after. I stayed A.G. and M.de L. and we went shopping at Fully Booked. A.G. bought some presents for her family and I bought the first two issues of the Pinoy graphic novel series, “Trese,” by Budjette Tan and Kajo Baldisimo.
• December 23, 2009, Wednesday: went to Batangas with the family for the Grand Mercado Family Reunion. Unfortunately, I was suffering from post-nasal drip and I had a splitting headache all throughout the elebration. I even puked on the way home. Best part of the day: singing “Smooth” by Santana feat. Rob Thomas, impressing some of the older family members.

Until the next episode,

Kevin

Dear Charo,

It’s been an incredibly long time since I last wrote to you, because I’ve been so busy lately. Even if I DO get enough time to write in my journal or blog, I often spend my time playing video games or reading manga. So now, even if it’s so late in the evening, and I’m supposed to be asleep, I’ll bear with the fatigue to tell you in brief about what happened to me since last Thursday until today.

• Last Thursday was what I called a “fail day” because I had to cut Philosophy class because I overslept. This time, however, I couldn’t hear the alarm from my cellphone because I fell asleep right on top of it. When I woke up, it was already 6:30 a.m., and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to make it to school if I commuted by train. I also knew that traffic would be incredibly heavy, so taking a taxi to school was out of the question. I decided to take it easy before heading to school for my liturgical guitar lessons at noon.

But when I arrived in the Ateneo’s Campus Ministry Office by noon, I met up with Kuya C. and I learned from him that my liturgical guitar lessons were actually at 10:30 a.m.! I forgot about the exact time because I accidentally deleted the original text message from him a few days previously. He was annoyed, and I hope that somehow he’ll forgive my mistake and we can make up for the missing lesson next Thursday.

• The only noteworthy event that occurred last Friday was the last First Friday Mass of the year. The ACMG Lit and Choir did well in performing their duties, and the after-Mass dinner at KFC was very filling. It’s too bad that not a lot of ACMGers joined us.

• I finally got to see what life was like on the other side of the supermarket business last Friday, when and my JEEP classmates and I headed to Shopwise Cubao for our orientation session. We spent two hours listening to the chief of security, the store manager, and a few other important members of the supermarket concerning the dos and don’ts, and how to go about doing our bagging duties this coming weekend.

It seems so strict in Shopwise, that it made me reflect for a moment that it might have been better to be a corn vendor instead. There’s not a lot of protocol to follow, and the only threat they have to face are crazy motorists and the occasional nutjob wandering Katipunan. Still, I chose to be a bagger, so I guess I have to deal with it no matter what happens.

Also, I went to SM City Cubao with my friend N.M., and for the first time ever I bought clothes by myself! Normally, my siblings would have to drag me to the shopping malls and force me to pick clothes, but this spree was one of necessity. I didn’t have any red collared shirts at home for my caroling tomorrow, so I had to buy one at the department store. Thankfully, I found one from Men’s Club worth only Php179.75. With the money I had on hand, I was able to get three other shirts in the caroling colors (blue, green and yellow) for a total of Php719.00. This might be the start of a very difficult habit to break. I hope I won’t need retail therapy.

• Today the ACMG Choir dressed up in red shirts for their first caroling session in Daniw Learning Center in Varsity Hills, a few minutes away from the Ateneo. Before the caroling could begin, however, we were invited to sing in a Mass, and we obliged them. The singing was okay in general, but we had a problem whenever a Marian song came. We didn’t really focus on Marian songs during our training, so the only ones among us who sang were the ones who had prior knowledge of the songs. N.H. would have loved singing those songs, had he been present.

We sang four songs in total, including Carol of the Bells, Noong Paskong Una and Joy to the World (I forgot the fourth song, between Carol and Noong). Some of the audience members were smiling throughout each song, and others were clapping hands. But the highlight of the day was the unlikely showmanship of Bass member A.S., who was the solo in Noong Paskong Una. Whenever a high note came, he would close his eyes and bend back a little, kinda like Elvis Presley or some other old-school rocker. I’m sure that if he pulled that trick off in school, his legions of fangirls would faint in his presence.

Until the next episode,

Kevin

Dear Charo,

Let me tell you about what happened during training last night. While I do want to tell you about many other events that occurred this week, dear Charo, but because I was so busy I don’t think that I remember them that well anymore. Oh well, let me proceed with narrating my training session then.

We had a free cut in British Literature class yesterday, so I headed to the covered courts where I changed into my old Loyola Schools PE shirt and a pair of baggy cotton jogging pants. I proceeded to the Martial Arts Center, where I saw Sifu E. talking to a Tai Chi student. After I began my warm-up, I told Sifu E. that I wanted to retrain in the basics because I felt so frustrated at the new concepts that he and my friend M. introduced last week.

M. is a very quick learner, so I naturally felt jealous of his prowess in Xingyi. I kept imitating him, but I fell short each time. I wanted to take a different path yesterday and I hoped that I would get back into the groove once I reviewed the basics well enough.

I began with the 24-step Yang Tai Chi form, and I had to request the help of the Tai Chi student to announce the names of the moves because I had long forgotten the Tai Chi routine once I decided to study Xingyi. And yet, even though I haven’t practiced the routine in such a long time, I was still able to complete it, and end up in the same spot where I began (which is one of the goals the Tai Chi practitioner must aim for when doing the routine.

After I finished the 24-step form, I asked Sifu E. if he could fix the crick in my neck and shoulders before I would proceed with my practice. My father and I were I involved in a vehicular accident when Pa drove me to school earlier yesterday. Sifu E. obliged, and he told me that he read about it from my status updates on Facebook. He felt my neck and indeed, there was a problem with it. He manipulated it for a few minutes and I felt great afterwards. Of course, I was screaming in pain the whole time he was at it.

Next, I proceeded reviewing the basic Five Element punches by using a poster on the wall as a target. I had to aim at a letter at the poster and use my clenched index finger (part of the Phoenix Eye fist) as a guide for my knuckles to connect with the letter. Sifu E. emphasized the need for me to shift my weight using my waist and hips in order to generate power. I followed his advice and I felt a sort of popping sensation from my shoulder whenever I threw a punch. Sifu E. would later say that the sensation was the characteristic “jerking” that all Xingyi practitioners should feel whenever they throw a punch properly. Wow, I was actually making some progress!

Not only that, it felt a lot easier for me to finish learning my Five Elements Form and practicing my Chicken Step, the first of the Twelve Animals that I have yet to learn. I had to apply my newfound knowledge of the “jerking” whenever I threw a punch in the Five Elements Form or whenever I thrust a Passing Hand in my Chicken Step. Even M. (who passed by at 6 p.m.) acknowledged that my Chicken Step was good, for someone who only learned it an hour before. Sifu E. joked that I was getting even better than M. now, because I also learn quickly. I guess that means that M. and I will have to work harder from now on to stay neck and neck.

Until the next episode,

Kevin

If I'm to be proud of anything, it's passing Fr. D's Theology course last semester. I really didn't think that I would make it because my quiz scores were horrible and I failed in one oral exam. But I'm grateful for my incredible group mates because our papers were always on the B+ level. It was enough to guarantee me a C+ in the class. (And getting a C+ in Fr. D.'s class is already a major accomplishment, or so I've heard from veterans of his classes.).

Dear Charo,

It has been so long since I last written to you. It's only been two weeks since the start of school and I'm already feeling the effects of the strain on my body, my mind and my wallet. That is the turmoil which every lit major worth his colors has to face. Imagine having to buy and read three novels in one week, dear Charo? I was warned that I would be drowning in readings three years ago during the Freshmen Orientation Seminar (OrSem), but I didn't expect things to just pile up so suddenly.

Also, I am now studying under the apparently twice-retired legend of the English Department, Sir M. P., Jr. Even I couldn't believe that a retiree is still teaching Philippine Literature in English just for fun! Perhaps, after teaching for so long in this school, no other hobby is as fulfilling. Who knows, dear Charo, I might end up like him one day.

I admit that I am glad my brother returned home safely from his business trip in Kuala Lumpur last Wednesday. I was worried that he might have run into trouble with the local authorities, but I knew that would be quite a stretch. He even brought home some chocolate pralines, some packets of dried cuttlefish, and a Ferrero collection containing the classic Ferrero chocolates with two other unique flavors: coconut covered and dark chocolate. It looks like my sweet tooth will be occupied for quite a while, dear Charo.

Not only that, I realized last night after Xingyiquan training that I’m really getting rusty at my chosen martial art. Perhaps it’s time for me to REALLY get serious with it, because I’m lagging behind by miles. I know that I’m not supposed to compete with my fellow practitioners, dear Charo, but I can’t help thinking that if I don’t shape up soon, I’m going to be a burden for my fledgling group. I need to be stronger if the Ateneo Internal Martial Arts Group will live on and — hopefully — flourish. I think it would be best if I return to the basics first. Sifu E. mentioned that I have quite a weak back, so he taught me how to perform some kind of belly dance while holding the horse stance so that I could strengthen my lower spine. I’ll get to that on the double, so I could push the wall without much difficulty.

Here are some other things going on in my life that I prefer to mention in passing:

• The new Rizal Library (or what I call the Meron Lib, after the Meron Pond which was destroyed to build the new library) opened last Monday. It’s five floors of pure awesomeness, and every red-blooded lit major would live in there.
• Speaking of libraries, the old Rizal Library will now be referred to as the Rizal Library Special Collection, where the Filipinana Collection, the American Historical Collection, the Pardo de Tavera Room, and other collections will still be housed. I would like the school administration to convert all the unused space into classrooms for us students in the School of Humanites. We are the only ones without a home building with classrooms. Horacio De La Costa Hall might be our home building, but it only houses offices for the various Humanities-based departments!
• I’ve got a total of four reading-heavy literature subjects this semester: Literary Criticism 2, British Literature, Asian/Japanese Literature in English, and the aforementioned Philippine Literature in English. My eyes better handle the strain of all those books I’ll have to read.
• I’m going to be a bagger boy in Shopwise Cubao for my JEEP this semester. IT sure beats having to be a janitor or something. I’d like to try being a corn vendor if the Ateneo’s Office of Social Concern and Involvement offered an alternative course.
• My Basic Liturgical Guitar lessons will begin on December 1 and will culminate in me performing during the INAF Day event on December 8. I hope I learn quickly because I heard that the lessons, and the instructor (Kuya C.), are intense. That’s pretty surprising, considering that I’ve always seen Kuya C. as very kind and accommodating. Well, I can be very nice but I’m a monster when I get very angry, and it’s very rare that I can reach that level of anger.
• Finally, my unsigned band Trisikad is planning to record our second “album” over the summer and hopefully the other original members will accept the inclusion of potential band mates, C. G and E. T. into the fold!

Until the next episode,
Kevin

I'd like to have the ability of "aptitude." Wouldn't it be great to learn how to master any endeavor without having to invest a lot of time and effort learning it. I'll end up being a master of all trades if that happens. Hopefully, I'll even learn how to use the super powers of my allies and enemies as well.

Dear Charo,

I waited for two hours at school today to get a free Ateneo Blue Eagle-themed Smart Broadband USB. The line at the Zen Garden (also known as the College Quad) was unbelievably long, and I was lucky to have arrived at 7:00 a.m. today, because I might have ended up waiting for my turn next to the College Chapel. I thought that they would be giving the Smart Bro equipment at 8:00 a.m., but apparently it was announced over text that the crew at the Doghouse were only allowed to distribute the stuff at 9:00 a.m. So, I waited as the sun shone brightly; luckily there was a big tree behind me and I had some friends to chat with. People were getting tired at around 8:30, and they complained that it would be better for the crew to start distributing the Smart Bro kits already because to them, thirty minutes didn't make a difference.

But then line finally moved at 9:00 a.m., and when my turn came I had to show the crew the photocopy of my validated ID card and the confirmation text from the Ateneo de Manila University Infoboard (which allows subscribers to get the latest school announcements). After they processed my information, they stapled my photocopy to an information card and I was told to fill up the card and line up at the claiming area to get my kit. By 9:15 a.m. I finally got my kit, and I could hear angels singing the "Hallelujah Chorus" again. Finally, after a year I have a chance to connect to the internet at the condo! My brother has his own Smart Bro USB, but I can't use his USB all the time. He often reserves it for his work.

Now came the problem of how I could spend my free time from 9:15 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., when choir practice for this evening's First Friday Mass would begin. I visited my martial arts master, Sifu E.A.; impulsively bought a copy of "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger (I was looking for inspiration, and since this book purportedly inspired a man to assassinate John Lennon, maybe it can inspire me to do something, but more productive.); I served at the 12:00 p.m. Mass at the College Chapel because I happened to pass by; I ate lunch at Kenny Roger's Roasters; I took a power nap; I hung out with an theater actress friend of mine in the cafeteria; and I hung out in the Campus Ministry Office with two of my friends from the Ateneo College Ministry Group.

Finally, the Mass started at 6:00 p.m., and I realized that after three weeks of not practicing, I became rusty when it came to singing certain songs. I was able to hold my own later on, but today's Mass served as a reminder that I should practice harder this coming semester because I can now make it to both practice sessions at 4:30 to 6:00 p.m on Mondays and Wednesdays. I really have to pick up the pace, dear Charo, because I'm already lagging way behind as it is.

Until the next episode,
Kevin

Dear Charo, 

It’s Day Nine already, and each passing day seems to pass by faster than the previous one. Today, I returned to J.’s house by 11 a.m. and I even brought my laptop along because I wanted to renew my subscription to my Norton AntiVirus Auto-Protect. It’s very inconvenient to have to find a suitable internet connection in this city. If only the subscription expired when I was back in Manila; I could have gone to the Ateneo because I can get free wireless connection there.

I ran into R. playing video games on J.’s laptop again, and like last time he went home after a few minutes. And also like last time, G. arrived at the house when J. was preoccupied playing “God Hand.” I was busy at my laptop, trying to make sense of my quandary: how to create an alternate account for my laptop. I have to do it because I share this laptop with my sister, and there are some files that I want to keep secret, and I’m sure Manang feels the same way about her files as well. J. had to pause once in a while to help me out, but I managed to create a separate account for Manang. The administrative account that the both of us used until today has become my account, and I even set a password so only I could access it.

K.C. came in the afternoon, and J. finally managed to beat the Devil Hand, Azel, in “God Hand.” It took him about three or four tries for J. to do so, and I could see that Josef was having a great amount of difficulty trying to make out the Devil Hand’s movements in the flurry of battle. I was busy coaching J. on what to do because it was only months before that I was in J.’s shoes, trying to beat the hell out of the Devil Hand. It wasn’t easy, considering the Devil Hand could take hundreds of blows and still walk it off. J. still has not known the true horror that he will face later in the game when he would have to fight the Devil Hand a second time around. It took me an hour and five tries to defeat him a second time around, and I wanted to weep for joy at finally being able to beat him after so long.

At G.’s insistence we all watched a movie once I had finished downloading the GameHouse Games Collection from Josef’s laptop. The file was about eight hundred megabytes in size, and it contained a hundred and fifty games. We ended up watching “The Ugly Truth,” and I was stung whenever Gerard Butler’s character asserted that men only wanted one thing from a woman: sexual pleasure. To him, women keep looking for the ideal man, making a checklist of all the desirable traits that they look for a man. But men are simple, and their capacity to improve themselves ended “at toilet training.” Does this mean that men, by nature, are truly nothing but savage animals in fancy clothing, looking for nothing but a good fuck? No matter how many times some of my friends say that even women can be as perverted as men (albeit they can be more subtle about their sexual wants and needs), I cannot help but feel that women truly are the superior beings when it comes to sex. Men have no subtlety when it comes to the subject of sex, and they become mindless beasts when faced with a beautiful woman placed in a compromising situation.

Until the next episode,
Kevin

Dear Charo, 

Today, Day Seven, was a big day, because I could finally introduce my childhood friend E. to the gang in Josef’s house. I was already let down because my other best friend, E.J.T., was preoccupied with school affairs so he couldn’t meet with us at Josef’s place. I was already getting ready to go when E. told me that he couldn’t go as well because he had to deal with having his clearance signed. I thank God that no such thing exists in the Ateneo, dear Charo. For many years in elementary and secondary school I have undergone the torture of having to wander throughout the school and hunt down my teachers for their signatures. That’s why I love the concept of hold orders better, dear Charo. Only those that have committed violations are required to fulfill them.

So, I arrived alone in J.’s house, carrying a take-out bag containing food from McDonald’s. I needed change for the Php1000.00 bill that I was forced to withdraw from the ATM in Atrium, so I felt an after lunch snack was in order, although this snack consisted of a cheeseburger, a large order of fries and a Coke Float. Something tells me that if I keep this eating attitude up, I’m never going to get those rock-hard abs that I have been dreaming of getting for years now.

 When I stepped through the front door, I saw my old high school classmate and J.’s Spindle Fibers band mate, R., playing video games on J.’s laptop. His curly hair had grown a lot longer, and he kept it tidy in a ponytail. He still had his scruffy beard, and if he cut his hair he would look as if he had never left high school! He and I shook hands and we began chatting about what’s been going on in our respective schools. R. was doing well with his studies, and I was amazed that he was particularly animated when discussing Marxism and Communism. I didn’t know that he loved his Literature and Philosophy classes as well. It looks like he’s really having fun in school, and I’m happy for him. It’s too bad that R. had to leave a few minutes later, because I would have enjoyed it if he stayed a little longer.

But when R. left, J. had a new guest, our friend G. She brought her laptop with her and J. let her jack into the router so she could go online. At my suggestion, J. began playing “God Hand” and kept laughing whenever he kicked or pummeled someone into oblivion. G. and he particularly loved it whenever Josef would make the character Gene throw a mallet or a 2x4 onto an unsuspecting thug.

By 3:30 p.m., I got a text from E. that he would be able to make it after all. He was waiting by the West Visayas College of Science and Technology (WVCST) and I went over there to fetch him. I got to him three minutes later, but he delayed a bit because he wanted to smoke a cigarette. He flicked it onto the grass when he was halfway done with it and we went inside. I could tell that it was a bit awkward when I introduced E. to G. and J., and I had to initiate some conversation between the them. J. was quick to strike a few words with E., although I do wish E. and G. would have talked a little more.

I suggested that E. play a little “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” to break the ice, and he found the new control scheme of the game very confusing, and the cutscenes too long. To relieve his stress, I fast forwarded the game towards the final battle, which I believed to be a lot easier for E. to control. My expectations had gone right, but I didn’t think that it would be so difficult to beat Liquid Ocelot. E. tried and failed more than five times before I decided to take over. Even I lost! But E. was able to pull it off ultimately, and J. and G. were rooting for him along the way.

After the game was finished, I suggested that E. play a few songs on J.’s electric keyboard. He did, but the songs he kept playing were pure ad lib. I was impressed at his ability to create tunes out of thin air, and I wished that I could create music like that. I really need to learn how to play an instrument soon, because I can’t stand having to constantly rely on J. and the others to supply the tunes for my music. Even I should be able to do the same things that they do with dedicated practice. I just hope I can create good music like them in the foreseeable future.

Until the next episode,
Kevin

Dear Charo, 

Day Six, with only eleven days left to go. I only planned on going to Beauty Cradle for the second of three facial cleansing sessions today, but I didn’t think that E. would text me, asking if we could hang out together. I was eating batchoy at Ted’s when E.’s fateful text came, and he was asking me where I was. I assumed that he wanted to meet me because he wrote in his text that he was bored and he had nothing to do. I told him that I was in Ted’s, and that I was due in Beauty Cradle. I was about to tell him in a separate message that it would take about forty-five minutes to an hour for my appointment to finish, but my phone couldn’t send the text; I was out of load!

Worried that E. would be arriving too early or too late, I gobbled down my batchoy and puto (but I still had the decency to wipe my mouth once in a while) and I went to the second floor of the building to look for a store that sold cell phone load for Globe. I remember seeing a couple of those stores near Beauty Cradle during my last visit there. The one nearest the stairs looked promising, but the shopkeeper told me that they only sold load for Smart subscribers. I secretly cursed not having two cell phones, with one subscribed to Globe and the other to Smart. That would have solved a LOT of similar problems that I have faced in the past.

Luckily for me, I found another store and there was a sign outside the door saying that the establishment sold load for both Globe and Smart subscribers. As I pushed open the door, I could hear the first eight notes of Beethoven’s “Fifth Symphony” playing in my head. I managed to buy a hundred pesos worth of load, and when I got to send my message to E., the terrifying Fifth Symphony gave way to a choir of angels singing the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Whenever I hear those angels in my head, I cannot help but think that whatever transpired could only be the work of God.

There wasn’t much work for the attendant to do on me today, actually. It did hurt a little when she started rubbing my nose with the hook part of her cleaning implement. And things got really scary when she began picking at the skin below my right eye with her tweezers. She was only a few millimeters away from my eye, and I could tell that her tweezers particularly sharp that day. I was afraid that if I opened my eye and her hand slipped, I’d be saying goodbye to my vision and hello to an eye patch. Well, I always wanted to wear an eye patch if ever I went blind on one eye, but I’d rather lose my vision in a more romantic way than having my eye pierced by a pair of tweezers during a facial cleansing session. That’s a story I wouldn’t want to tell my grandchildren.

When I was finished, I ran into E. standing near the Mang Inasal downstairs. His curly hair had grown longer and he kept it tidy with an Alice band. I would have preferred that he kept some bangs on his forehead because it would have looked better to me. After a few minutes of discussion we opted to go to UP Visayas so we could meet up with my old friend J., who is currently E.’s schoolmate. We arrived there by 2 p.m. and E. gave me a short walking tour of the place. We sat at a waiting shed and we took in the scenery. We talked as E. played Tenacious D songs on his cell phone. We even got to hear from his girlfriend, L., when she called him. Apparently, she still had duties to perform in Pototan. When we were about to leave, we ran into my old teacher, Sir J. P., who used to teach me College Statistics and College Algebra back in my days at the Special Science Class. He was apparently teaching in UP now. E. and he had run into each other a number of times, even though they didn’t know each other personally.

I treated E. to fries and a Coke at the Jollibee across the street, and I took the Jolly Spaghetti and Burger Yum meal. When we finished, we went to Penguin Internet Café, which was near Iloilo Doctor’s Hospital (where yours truly was born nineteen years ago). E. played some online games and I was busy checking my email and posting the blog entries that covered my first five days here on my LiveJournal account. I even introduced E. to my online buddy and pen pal L.S., and he said that she was very pretty in her userpic.

 

Until the next episode,

Kevin

Dear Charo,

Day Five. The fifth day of my odyssey in my beloved hometown of Iloilo City. I believe the adventure only truly begins when I can visit my friends, and that’s just what I did today when I went to J.P.’s house. I arrived at 1 p.m., just after I finished eating a feast at the JD Bakeshop branch across St. Paul’s Hospital. Even at 12:30 p.m. — an hour and a half into JD’s rush hour — the place was packed with people: students from Assumption, or St. Paul’s, or Iloilo National High School, and most of the crowd were probably visitors from the hospital across the street. I had an order of barbecue, with some cordon bleu and rice and a glass of Lift to wash it down. I bought six chocolate cookies from the counter to give as a present to my host.

When I approached the gate, I saw J.’s father busy painting the gate a darker shade of blue. He told me that J. was inside, and was preoccupied with an assignment. I let myself in the house, and I saw Josef and his girlfriend L. working at his laptop. Apparently, they were doing their group thesis, and it was due tomorrow. I saw Josef’s old high school thesis on one of the chairs. I better ask my former Psych classmate V.B. to return my copy to me, because it’s already been a semester since I had last seen it. It had better not gotten wet during the Great Deluge of September 2009, or else I’ll go nuts!

I gave Josef the PlayStation CDs that I had not yet played or were not interested in playing, which included “XIII” and “Hitman: Contracts.” I also brought my copy of “Godhand” and “WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2009,” but I would only be lending those to J. until my return to Manila on the 3rd of November. L. and he were too busy to entertain me that well, so I played a few levels of “Godhand,” just to show J. the gameplay and the characteristic humor that made the game so popular in the first place. There has got to be something funny about kicking a guy in the groin and hearing a bell chime during impact. When I defeated the final boss of the game’s first chapter, I turned it off and began playing “WWE SmackDown! Vs. Raw 2009,” also to show J. the gameplay mechanics. I felt a little dizzy afterwards, and I was lucky that my friend J. de J. showed up so he could replace me in the gaming chair.

J. de J. replayed “Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots” on J.P.’s Sony PlayStation 3, and when he got tired he used another save file that fast forwarded him to the game’s final battle: a hand-to-hand fight between Solid Snake and Liquid Ocelot. After J. de J. won the fight, he decided to do it again because he was still feeling bored. This time, J.P., K.C. (who had just arrived at the time), and I wanted to make his match more interesting to remove his boredom. We dared J. de J. to play that fight with his controller held facing away from him. After some initial difficulty, he succeeded. To continue his misery, we dared him to repeat the fight three more times, each with the controller held in a different way than previously: with the controller held ninety degrees to the left, held upside-down, and then held normally. Each time, J. de J. struggled was he tried to re-orient his hands, and we were taunting him as we went. When he returned to playing with the controller held in its originally position, he was feeling so confused trying to forget all of the positions his fingers had to undergo in the previous trials. Josef and K. declared that this experiment was a perfect example of a sort of Pavlovian conditioning. J.P. told us that this experiment would have been a better research topic than what he and his groupmates were currently working on for their thesis. He even dubbed it “The Nooberizer,” because it has the ability “to turn even gaming experts into noobs!”

After a couple more hours of gaming, I left Josef’s house and I ate at the newly-opened Crave Burger at Casa Plaza near Atrium. Apparently, this burger joint opened two years ago, yet I only heard about it earlier this afternoon, on my way to J.P.’s house! Does this mean that I am REALLY behind the times when it comes to my hometown, dear Charo? That’s going to lead to embarrassing situations later on if I have to show my friends from Manila around town. I didn’t even notice that the Ted’s Old Timer Lapaz Batchoy that used to stand there was replaced by this Crave Burger! I was wondering why Ted’s decided to choose black paint for the decor when I first passed by earlier today, because Ted’s is associated with green, white and red. I only realized that this new joint was not the Ted’s that I knew when I noticed that it looked classy, and Ted’s is known for keeping it simple, unlike its rival, Deco’s. Oh, and the burgers there are quite good, but it still pales in comparison to Wham! Burger and Brothers Burger back in Manila.

Until the next episode,

Kevin

Dear Charo,

Today, on my fourth day of my stay in Iloilo, school for the first semester officially ends for the Ateneo. No more obligations left for them to fulfill. They’re fully free now, and I’m happy that it’s finally over for them, for all of us.

Not much has happened today. I napped twice today, but I hope that my sleep tonight won’t be as restless as it was last night. I did eat some wonderful guinataang monggo for lunch, with some leftover kalbitchim and sugba baboy for the viand. Oh, if only we had some calamansi so that I could drink a pitcher full of the sour juice.

I am looking forward to tomorrow when I can finally visit my friend J.P.’s house. I hope he’ll be okay because he’s going to have some impacted wisdom teeth removed. I relate to his pain, but I hope that I won’t be feeling any pain from m accursed wisdom teeth anytime soon. I’ll say it again, dear Charo, obtaining wisdom is a pain in the mouth.

Until the next episode,

Kevin
 

Dear Charo,

It’s Day Three of my stay here in the “wonderful metropolis” (as Fr. D. would put it) of Iloilo. I apologize if I was unable to post yesterday because I was preoccupied with figuring out the wiring of our modem. I don’t understand it, dear Charo. I bought my dial-up internet connection card from the usual place in SM City yesterday; I followed the instructions on said card to a “T,” yet Error 633 appeared on my monitor whenever I tried establishing a connection! I was switching wires for half an hour before I gave up.

Later in the evening, Ma enlisted the help of our neighbor, Tita J., to help us out because she is purportedly good with electronics. Even she was puzzled at my predicament, and she pondered why the internet connection worked for my personal computer three years ago, and it failed to do so now. She concluded that rats might have chewed on the wiring, and it caused a malfunction in the connection. It’s plausible, considering that a similar incident occurred many years ago when rats apparently chewed on a wire, causing our old Nintendo Entertainment System (or Family Computer) to malfunction PERMANENTLY. It was a sad day when my favorite childhood plaything was taken away from me, and having my favorite late adolescent plaything was taken away from me as well. Curse those rats! Why does our house have to be their home as well?

Now let me fast forward to today. I had my facial cleansing at Beauty Cradle today, but Ma and Tita G. dropped me off at the building one hour before opening time! I suggested that I could go to Atrium to buy a refill for the old Parker pen that I found in Ma’s closet yesterday. I was searching for the probably twenty-year-old harmonica that she kept there. I needed to learn how to play an instrument for the band, and I figured that a harmonica would be a nice alternative to learn how to play something as run-of-the-mill as a guitar. But we didn’t find that harmonica, and I had to content myself with an old Parker pen. I guess I’ll stick to studying liturgical guitar with Kuya Cholo over the coming semester. Oh well, I have wanted to learn how to play the guitar for a long time anyway, dear Charo.

Moving on, I bought a refill for the Parker as soon as I arrived in Atrium, and I managed to go online at IPX, and I stayed even though the connection in the café was erratic. Besides, I heard that the Netopia branch upstairs was already gone. I answered some online surveys for the org, and I chatted with my friend L. for a while. She told me that her letter is en route to my home, and I’m excited to read what she has to say!

I bought some bread and a slice of pizza from the bakery before taking a jeepney to Barrio Inasal, where Ma and Tita Grace were waiting for me. I arrived in time for the food to be served, and I stuffed myself with inasal, garlic rice, atchara and Mountain Dew. I think I could cross eating there off the “places-I-need-to-eat-in-while-I’m-in-Iloilo” list because I got to eat their black sambo for dessert after years of not doing so.

In order to lighten my schedule tomorrow I decided to return to Beauty Cradle by myself. It felt kind of awkward heading there by myself, because Ma always accompanied me and underwent the same treatment I did. I think that being forced to do things myself might be the pervading theme of this vacation. Oh, and I am still not used to lying on that bed for an hour having the attendant pick at my face with tweezers. Sure, it’s not painful, but the pricking sensation gets a bit annoying afterwards. It makes me hate the fact that I have a lot of whiteheads.

Until the next episode,

Kevin

Dear Charo,

It’s Day One of my return to my hometown of Iloilo City, and I believe that my greatest accomplishment so far in this entire trip is flying on a plane by myself for the very first time! You heard me right, dear Charo. In all of my nineteen years on this planet, I always had company whenever I rode on a plane.

I set my alarm clock to go off at 1:00 a.m., but I guess I was too fatigued to hear it because Pa had to rouse me awake at 2:00 a.m! I wolfed down my big bowl of Kellogg’s honey flavored Cornflakes and I rushed my bath. I still felt tired, so I even brought one of my pillows to the car so I could catch a quick nap while Pa was driving me to the airport. Unfortunately, Pa raced to NAIA Terminal 3 so I couldn’t catch my forty winks.

When I stepped out of the car, I was overcome with the need to vomit. I held it in, fortunately, and I calmed myself by singing a couple of my band’s songs. I got a cart and I placed my luggage on it, heaving a sigh to calm my nerves. Pa gave me an extra Php200.00 for the terminal fee and he blessed me for luck before driving away. I saluted him before I entered the airport.

You wouldn’t believe how long it took for some passengers to decide where they wanted to sit as I was lining up to get my boarding pass. It took a foreign-looking couple two spots in front of me about twenty minutes to figure out where they wanted to go, so when my turn came I gave my ID card and my check-in luggage and two minutes later I was walking to the pre-departure area with boarding pass in hand. In and out without a hitch. But I confess, dear Charo, that I forgot that I could negotiate my seat number with the clerk, so I guess my act of consideration may have lost some of its value due to my ignorance.

I bought myself a Cheezy Beef Jamaican Patty before heading to Gate 119, because that was the last item on my “food-items-from-Manila-that-I-wanted-to-eat-before-returning-to-Iloilo” list and I was unable to go to Park Square in Ayala to buy them for the trip. A single patty cost me Php70.00 — the same price I would have to pay if I were to buy it from Park Square. I wanted to buy a couple more for Ma, but I had only Php130.00 left to spend for the shuttle service and the taxi heading home. I wouldn’t want to be marooned somewhere in Pavia or Santa Barbara, thirty minutes away from the city!

The flight was uneventful in the beginning, and we left on schedule. But when the plane was heading towards Iloilo airspace it was buffeted by turbulence. The flight attendants had to grab hold of the backs of seats or onto the overhead baggage compartments to steady themselves as they negotiated their way to the back of the plane. I would see some of the sleeping passengers nearby swaying to the movement of the plane like unconscious metronomes. I gripped the armrests with all of my strength to stabilize myself and to help channel my attention away from my churning insides. When the tremors were gone I pulled a motion discomfort bag from the seat and ripped off the top. I didn’t vomit, but I kept it poised and ready on my lap should the need arise. I kept it that way until the plane touched down on the tarmac of Iloilo International Airport. The jolt woke many of the sleeping passengers, and if it didn’t, the roar of the engines attempting to slow the plane down would do it. I covered my ears because I despised it when the engines roared like that. It hurts even more if I happened to sit next to the wings where the engines were.

As soon as I deplaned, got my luggage and stepped out of the door, I wanted to dance a jig at my triumph. For the first time ever, I managed to travel on a plane by myself without any outside help! This experience felt like the first time I ever rode a jeepney by myself in high school — albeit the jeepney has wings and the road is 30,000 feet from land! I believe that even though I was unable to go with A., it turned out to be a blessing in disguise. For if she wasn’t absent, I would have continued on her or other people to accompany me whenever I would have to fly from one place to another. All that’s left for me to do now is to learn how to ride on a ship by myself!

Until the next episode,

Kevin

I knew my friend, E.T., when we were only in Grade 1. We happened to be sitting next to each other during lunch and we decided to share our food. From that point on, we made it a point to always meet during lunch time so that we could swap food and tell each other stories. While I went to Manila for my college studies and he stayed in Iloilo, we still maintain our friendship through online chatting and email. While I wish that we would be able to talk face to face more often, I find myself content with the way things are at present. The distance between us leaves room for our selves to grow without each other, and it'll help us mature more in the eyes of the other.

Dear Charo,

First off, I like to say that I stole this idea from my friend Dana. She called her version "19 Fishballs", but I don't like fishballs anyway. Kikiam, to me, is the ultimate street food. That aside, I would like to share with you a list of 19 people of whom I would like to thank. Groups may be counted as one if I think that they all deserve to be accounted for. This list is arranged in no particular order

1. arshes_nei_2005 (Username)

She's my first friend on LiveJournal, and I'm glad to have known her because whenever we chat I gain new knowledge concerning my spirituality.

2. Ma'am Victoria Cao-Sunga

If Ma'am never gave me the assignment of writing a journal for Filipino 11 class last December 20, 2007, I would have never recorded my Ateneo life in my various notebooks and blogs. I owe her big time for that, dear Charo.

3. Josef T. Panes

He was my first friend in high school. And even though I met him under embarrassing circumstances (the bathroom incident), he became one of my closest friends. I am also gratedul for the countless times that he let me come over to his house so that I could play games or whatever. As a member of my band, Trisikad, I'm eternally grateful for his musical talent inspiring me to create newer and crazier (and not necessarily better, hehe) songs for our next album.

4. Eric John Tionko

He and I used to call each other "Porky" and "Piggy" back in high school. He is also one of my closest friends from high school, and as a fellow Trisikad band member, I am proud that he allowed me to let him join. He sure had a lot of patience last summer when I kept nagging him to go to Josef's house for song recorsing. Expect more of that soon, heha!

5. Eddyl Rafael Tolentino

He is probably the ONLY friend fro high school that I still keep in contact with. I'm eternally grateful for all of the laughs and the tears that we shared through chatting, the phone, and face-to-face. He also allowed me to go to his house countless times, so I'm pretty much a friend of the family there (at least I believe myself to be one) He's my homeboy, dear Charo, and my life wouldn't be the same if I did not know him.

6. Sabumnim Joshua Morales

Okay, my legs may have been permanently damaged to some degree by the relentless kicks and beatdowns that I learned in Tae Kwon Do class, but I must admit, using TKD techniques often pop up as a first resort whenever I envision as a self-defense technique.

7 Sensei Alexander Sulit

I thoroughly enjoyes learning Judo under his tutelage, and I try to crystallize whatever he taught me to this day. I love grappling, and I'm glad to have gotten the chance to have learned it from him. Heck, if not for the inconvenient training times, I could have been training with the Judo varsity by this time!

8. Sifu Alma Sy

She was the one who introduced me to the beauty of Chinese martial arts, and I believe that there's nothing better than being able to wield a staff with deadly accuracy. I wanted to join the Wushu Club once because of her

9. Sifu Edwin Ang

Where Sifu Alma laid the foundations for my training in the Chinese martial arts, Sifu Edwin finished it with his Taijiquan and Xingyiquan skills. I was hooked as soon as he attempted to break my arm on the first day of class. And I'm glad that he really formed the Ateneo Internal Martial Arts Group (AIMAG) under me and my friends' suggestion. I just wish that I could have been more dedicated to my training. There's still the next semester anyway.

10. Martin Benedicto

Without his constant reminders for me to train, I might have quit the AIMAG a long time ago. He's also a good training partner, and his insights concerning the internal martial arts are astounding. I just wish he ties his hair more often when he trained. We don't want another accident to occur, now do we, dear Charo?

11. The Gang (Louise Eve Sorolla, Gee Robino, Steven Basal, Ryan Demarana, Karl Chua, Jan Chris Dabuco, Justine de Jesus)

I'm sorry to have lumped them all together, but entry constraints force me to do so. But I'm glad that they formed my clique back in high school, and we shared many good and bad times together. I hope that they'll be my friends for a long time.

12. Arla Escultero

She's my friend and "professional partner". I'm so glad that she always accommodates me whenever I want to go to school with her. She has saved me a lot of money and sweat, and no amount of thanks or treats can replace that. She also good as a chikka partner because she's always in the know. I can't replace the tidbits that I get from her.

13. Block B (or what remains of it)
Again, I must apologize for lumping all of them together. But I'm thankful that even though the block has been disbanded due to certain issues or circumstances, there are people who are willing to keep the threads of friendship together. I salute all of them, dear Charo, because these brave friends of mine have formed an essential part of my college life. Nerds unite!

14. Dana Torio

I gotta thank her for letting me practice my Qigong on her all the time. But it doesn't beat the good old-fashioned hugs that she used to let me give her.

15. Camille Martinez

Another Qigong test subject! But seriously, she and Dana form a great tandem. Even I couldn't believe that we would all end up as good friends back when we first met in Gonzaga for Lit126.1 a year ago.

16. Triple A (Alex Parungo, April Roque and Aileah Grey)

These three will always remain in my heart for having provided me with some of the best advice that I ever heard. I hope that they would play a greater part in my future. And I hope that they will let me play a greater part of theirs as well.

17. ACMG

Even though Aileah dragged me to the booth a year ago, I'm glad that she did in hindsight. I'm glad to have joined this org, dear Charo, and even though I'm not its most diligent member, I'm glad that they still to the chance for this RE-APP to redeem himself! Godspeed, ACMGers!

18. TATAGAL (Harvey King, Camille Zapata, Roxy Saldaña)

Without these guys, I'd have failed my papers for Fr. Dacanay's class, and I'd have gotten EVEN LOWER grades for Theology.

19. The Legends and Legends-to-be (Fr. Dacanay, Fr. Arcilla, Sir JC Uy, Ma'am Rica Bolipata-Santos, Ray Aguas, Sir Neil Tan Gana, Sir Vincenz Serrano, Ma'am Lailani Gotao, Sir Karl Mina, Sir Krip Yuson)

Without these guys, my Ateneo education would have been less entertaiing. Sure, it may have been hell many times over studying under some of these people, but I'm glas that I got my baptism into the ways of magis under them.

Until the next episode,
Kevin