Barefoot in Manila

Fishing for compliments. Complimenting for fish. It's a life.

Monday, July 29, 2002

Perfect view. I sit behind a rather rotund guy in one of my classes. Whenever he stands up to recite, I get front row seats to a breathtaking view of his butt. What sets his butt apart from other butts is the arrangement. I don't know if they're built to look that way or there is something he does to make them look so. They look different. I've seen huge behinds before but they've never looked like his.
His butt is so big that whenever he stands up, my view of half of the room is obliterated. To see is to appreciate, however. I'd really love to take a picture of my twice-a-week vision so you'll get an idea of just what I'm talking about. Taking pictures of other people's butts and posting them in the net is, however, rude. So I won't. My words should be enough to disparage him.

.: posted by cecille 1:59 PM

Simon says. Negotiations and love songs are often mistaken for one and the same. An acute observation from Paul Simon. Check out the song Trains in the Distance. These are from there.

.: posted by cecille 1:56 PM

Have a nice day. I think I will too. The sun is shining over Manila today. Not even the faintest threat of rain in the sky. Everything is just perfect.

.: posted by cecille 9:15 AM

Saturday, July 27, 2002

Love is in the air. National Geographic talks about the science of love and I can't stop thinking about pheromones. Romance is dead. It's all about the pheromones my dear.

.: posted by cecille 11:58 PM

Spread 'em. Colin Powell will visit the Philippines in August. I can just picture the President in the throes of ecstacy over this trip. I just bet she'll say that America loves us. Yep, America loves us all right. As in, "How do they love us? Let us count the ways, all 55 million of them (in dollars, the latest grant by the US Congress for military aid to the Philippines). And America will probably be saying: "Everybody, on my count, spread your legs."
It makes me sick.

.: posted by cecille 11:56 PM

Priceless. That's how I would describe the important lesson that I learned in school today (Yesterday. It's 12 midnight on my clock). What makes it even more ironic is that I learned it precisely because I missed the class.
When you have to choose between going hungry for another two hours or going to class late for 15 minutes to satisfy the cravings of your stomach, your answer should always be GO TO CLASS. Choose your class. Everytime.
I had a 3:00 pm class today. By 2:50, however, my stomach was in knots, demanding that I eat at least something. I hadn't eaten lunch because I had to cram, so you can imagine how hungry I was then. I figured that I could go to the canteen, grab a few quick bites, and just go to class a little later. If I didn't eat then, I'd have to wait for two hours until the class is done.
3:15 pm. I'm lost in the third floor. I went to room 316, where we were supposed to have the class but all that greeted me was gnawing silence and the creepy framed photos of the members of the fraternity that paid for the renovation of the room. I had absolutely no idea where they could have transferred.
Two hours later I found my classmates. Leaving the only classroom I didn't bother to check.

.: posted by cecille 11:55 PM

Wednesday, July 24, 2002

This really cracked me up. I got this through e-mail today. You should read this.
The CIA had an opening for an Assassin. After rigorous training and testing, three applicants were left. Two men and a woman. For the final test, the CIA agents took one of the men to a large metal door and handed him a gun. "We must know that you will follow your instructions, no matter what the circumstances. Inside this room, you will find your wife sitting in a chair. Kill Her!!!" The man said, "You can't be serious. I could never shoot my wife." The agent said, "Then you're not the right man for this job."
The second man was given the same instructions. He took the gun and went into the room. All was quiet for about five minutes. Then the man came out with tears in his eyes. "I tried, but I can't kill my wife." The agent said, "You don't have what it takes. Take your wife and go home."
Finally, it was the woman's turn. She was given the same instruction, to kill her husband. She took the gun and went into the room. Shots were heard, one shot after another. They heard screaming, crashing, banging on the walls. After a few minutes, all was quiet. The door opened slowly and there stood the woman. She wiped the sweat from her brow, and said, "This gun is loaded with blanks. I had to beat him to death with the chair."
Moral: Women are evil. Don't mess with them.

.: posted by cecille 10:35 AM

Sunday, July 21, 2002

12:00 am. It's 12:00 midnight. I should be sleeping now as I've had a long day. I woke up early to cram for my 3:00 pm class; went to an org meeting at 12:00 nn; accidentally got included in a dance number to be performed on Saturday and thus had to practice; attended my legal theory class; did some reserach in the library; and went to the mall in search of a 125 volt, 4 ampere glass fuse.
If you think that was nothing, then factor this in: I was, in an effort to mislead people, wearing sandals with 4-inch heels. Talk about sensible shoes and that's the last pair you'd think of wearing.
I'm not planning to sleep for another two hours. I'm waiting for HBO to finish screening Waterworld because Interview with a Vampire comes on at 1:30 am. I've read the book and I think it's time to see the movie.
Midnight is the perfect time for rumination. Let me update you about what's been happening to me lately.

School. I think I'm doing okay in school right now, though I'm not doing as well as I think I can do. I should try harder, really. Why is it that I seem to have lost the capacity to raise my hand and volunteer an answer? I've lost count of the times when I knew just what the teacher was looking for and yet I didn't even make the effort to try to venture an answer. Instead, I sit squirming in my seat, praying so damn hard that the teacher asks me a question I do know. Unfortunately, the opposite almost always happens. I'm having fun with my Constitution class. I'm not studying that much for Property. Except for the fact that I now know Art. 415 by heart, I've got nothing to show for it.

Work. I'm not doing too well at work. I really think that it's time for me to get another job. I've been working there for three years and, so far, growth has been real slow. I think that my current job is a dead end. First, the esteemed university I work for doesn't really give much of a damn about our office. Case in point: we've lost two people in the last year and they haven't seen it fit to hire people to replace them. Now they're thinking of transferring one of us to another office again. That leaves just me and another person. And I'm supposed to get all the writing done. I've got myself spread so thin you'd need a microscope to find me. To make things worse, I am bored. So bored. I've been writing about school activities for the past three years. The job got old so fast it now feels positively ancient.

Social life? Seeing nobody, freinds and more-than-friends alike.

That's my life so far. I see Saul Bellow's Henderson The Rain King beckoning to me. I want to read it so bad but I've got a ton of cases to read and digest. Uggh. I just wish all this sacrifice prove to be worth it.

.: posted by cecille 12:27 AM

Thursday, July 18, 2002

The man behind the mouse. He doesn't work for Walt Disney, and I don't think he ever will. This guy, however, changed the way we look at mice forever.

.: posted by cecille 5:00 PM

Sunday, July 14, 2002

If I can't be a philosopher groupie, I'll be the philosopher. This looks like an interesting book. I hope they have it here in Manila. Hello, Powerbooks???

.: posted by cecille 9:22 PM

Saturday, July 13, 2002

Book stories. This time, I talk about my books. Specifically, I'm going to tell you how I got my hands on some of the books I have right now.

Joyce Carol Oates' Bellefleur. I bought this book about a year ago and I've never gone past chapter one. Don't get me wrong. I like what I've read so far. I think the book shows a lot of promise.I think what turns me off from reading it to the end is the very dark and heavy mood that permeates the plot, the characters, everything. I'm sure I'll get to read it eventually.
I bought it from the Book Sale branch in Araneta Center, Cubao. I was on my way home with a classmate, my co-neophyte. We had just come home then from a meeting with our sorority mistress. I was feeling a bit down because I didn't do well during this test. So I got the best cure I knew--I bought a book.

Herman Melville's Moby Dick. I fancied myself to be on the verge of a classics phase so I went and bought this book to "launch" this new episode in my book reading. Unfortunately, the phase never got launched as I never went passed the first three chapters. What went wrong with this one? I think I just got tired of reading it. I was so serious about appreciating what a great book it was that I was reading it with a marker on hand, ready to highlight the quotes I deemed important. Here's one: "No man prefers to sleep two to a bed. In fact, you would a good deal rather not sleep with your own brother. I don't know how it is, but people like to be private when they're sleeping." And here's something else that I really like: "I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote." This probably explains the half-assed stalking, but I digress.

Lisa Jewel's Ralph's Party. I bought this book from Jasper, the book guy I met through a website. Lisa Jewel is supposed to be big in the UK because hip new Brit lit ala Bridget Jones is supposed to be big in the UK. I first came across her name in the "also recommended" section in Amazon. I staked out Powerbooks for a few months but I guess they didn't see fit to sell the book. Imagine my relief when I heard that Jasper had it.The copy I have has this "underground, not-for-sale" feel to it. In fact, it says out fron that it's an "advanced uncorrected proof". This explains the typos I've seen in several pages.

D.H. Lawrence's Women in Love. I bought this book because people were always saying how good DH Lawrence was and that this was his best work. I thought if I'm going to read him for the first time, I might as well get his best. The verdict? I didn't like DH Lawrence at all. I think his characters are so full of self-conscious bullshit, like this Dawson Leary character on tv. I thought the book smacked of too much pompousity. Of course, this could also mean that I didn't understand the book at all.

That's about it for now. I fear my ISP will get cranky anytime now. More about books later.

.: posted by cecille 11:31 PM

Talk to me. Sitemeter tells me that there have been a number of people to my site these past few months. However, if we're going to go by the Comments box, I've had only one or two visitors. I hope that if you're reading this, you'd care enough to comment. I'd really love to hear from a real, live person. Thanks.

.: posted by cecille 10:19 PM

Friday, July 12, 2002

It's getting deeper. The hole that President Arroyo is digging herself into, that is. She's been committing political mistakes left and right since she started governing as president. She herself admitted this about a week ago.
I get the fact that she's not really a nice person and that she's not the least bit inclined to appear as one. What I just don't get is why she (purposely?) continues to alienate the people. I'm not really concerned about Guingona getting kicked out of the Foreign Affairs post. He's ancient, for goodness sake! Neither am I concerned about the politicians that she's cutting down to size. What I'm alarmed about is that she seems intent to piss off even the general population. How can she get popular support for the government's projects? More importantly (for her), who vote for her when she runs again in 2004?
It's great to have a kick-ass, ball-busting woman president--Cory Aquino was such a wimp. However, there is a limit to how many asses you can kick, without having your own ass licked.

.: posted by cecille 10:15 AM

Thursday, July 11, 2002

Here's a thought. Maybe I could rip off Robert Fulghum and write a book titled "Everything I know I learned in law school." It might even be a hit. Just think of all the lawyers who got to be presidents and/or kingmakers.

.: posted by cecille 11:39 AM

Mid-year resolutions. I got called on for recitation last night and I bungled it. What makes this all the more irritating is that I did well the past two times I was on deck. This is a wake-up call for me, and I've no choice but to heed it. So here's the top five resolutions I've listed in my mind on my way home last night:
1. Whatever happens, don't be absent. I was absent in last Saturday's class so I had no idea what they had or hadn't taken up. A classmate informed me the assigned readings but she forgot (on purpose?) to mention that some of the readings haven't been discussed yet. Of course, I got called on to recite the one thing I didn't read.
2. Never trust your classmates. Or at least don't take everything they tell you at face value. Fuckwits are everywhere, even (especially?) in the College of Law.
3. Never watch tv the night before your Consti class. Yes, even if it's the episode where Dr. Mark Green says goodbye to the ER forever. Your dignity is more important than a tv show.
4. If you haven't finished reading everything, don't sleep. A corrollary resolution would be, "don't study in bed." You haven't got enough will power to fight sleep.
5. Find a better seatmate. Preferably one who has her notes all over the table. And don't ever seat beside the one who always doesn't get to answer. (It's something akin to not standing beside the fire. I think there's a saying that goes that way. I just can't remember what it is.)

.: posted by cecille 11:28 AM

Tuesday, July 09, 2002

Finally! After several days of being missing in action, the sun has deigned to show its face. It's been raining incessantly since Friday. Many places in the city are flooded, some parts with waters reaching up to the chest. Classes and work were suspended yesterday. But today, it's back to this table and back to slaving away.
I haven't been able to do the laundry. I'm wearing jeans today at work. I was asked by a co-worker earlier why I was in jeans and I told her that if she wanted me to dress up, maybe she should come to my laundry. He he he... I know, I'm such a nasty person.
I'm not feeling up for work though. I miss my bed. The cold air makes real good bed weather. Reminds me of the 10,000 Maniacs song, Like The Weather. I get a shiver in my bones just thinking about the weather.

.: posted by cecille 9:39 AM

Wednesday, July 03, 2002

My
personality matches the Brazillian national team

I'm as cool and relaxed as people say I am, yet this doesn't stop me from showing some true flare from time to time!

Take
the quiz,
by tunde

.: posted by cecille 10:32 AM

Monday, July 01, 2002

Peace is a state of mind. And that is what i have right now. I refuse to be affected by people or situations. I am complete and perfect in myself. I shall not ask for more than I can do.
Jai guru deva om is what Lennon and McCartney wrote a few years ago. That's the first line of the refrain of the song Across The Universe. It's a line I don't understand, by the way. I've been obssessing about the song for more than a week now. It makes me feel so at peace and satisfied. Nothing's gonna change my world. He he he
I learned to play the song on the guitar last night. I should have been reviewing but... My friend lent me a copy of the I Am Sam soundtrack, where Rufus Wainwright covers the song. It's a good version but I think that Fiona Apple's version is better. It sounds like there's a healthy helping of stoicism mixed in with the "om"ing.
I haven't heard of the Beatle version of the song though. According to a page I visited, and from where I got the chords to the song, there are two versions done by the Beatles. One, a bit slower, could be found on the Let It Be album. Another one, where John sings the song a bit faster, is featured in a compilation album.