Christmas Deco Day

Count on my mom to leave things to the very last minute.

Every year, my mom tries to go all out in her Christmas decorations. Aside from string literally thousands of lights on the tree, she also tries to have a different color scheme each year.

Each year, as early as September, my mom's already scouting around the decorations for sale at bazaars as well as those in National Bookstore. As early as that.

Unfortunately, actualization occurs 3 months later. For the 2nd year in a row, it's already the second week of December and it's only now that my mom's pulling all stops to have great looking Christmas tree. Even the outside of the house is still bare.

And thus, the cramming begins. Immediatetly after my Principles of Marketing class, I rush to Makati to meet up with my dad and sister. The day is meant for going all out on decorations (plus decorations are already going for less 10%).

But first, let me explain that for some reason, I am very involved in the decorating of the house. Between me and my sister, I'm the more artsy one and it really irks me when the decorations are corny/bland/ugly. My sister on the other hand couldn't care less. When it comes to the theme and the stuff to buy and put up, I always have a say.

This is why my presence was somewhat "imperative" at this afternoon's shopping spree. First, there was the capiz lantern that my parents fancied. They wanted to get my opinion before buying it, so off we go to that area along South Super Highway that sells scores and scores of parols. After agreeing on a lantern, we're off.

Really, when it is me and my dad who do the shopping, it is a really quick and painless process.

Back in Glorietta, it is me and my mom this time who will brave the crowds. Apparently, I had to come along because I was the "decorator" and my mom was more of the "financier". I don't mind really- at least I could oversee and give my comments on the decorations.

It was here where things got exciting. I only realized this year how competitive last-minute Christmas decoration shopping was.

People are actually racing each other for say, the stock of gold matte balls. Since the "theme" this year is gold, I found myself joining the fray of women searching for gold stems.

Ho boy. There I was, along with 6 other women, digging through a big basket of christmas stems. There were a lot of red stems but apparently, all of us wanted gold. So there we were, shoving aside red stem after red stem (I have to add that those things are painful!) trying to come across a decent looking gold stem. Whenever I would find one, I would gloat to myself, saying "Beat that baby!"

So there we were, bits and pieces as well as gold glitter flying all over the place. All for a lousy 6 stems.

After braving the crowds at Landmark, we proceeded to Shoemart to get more decors, as well as some stuff we needed. So there I was, walking all over Makati, blissfully ignorant that my face was literally covered in glitter. It was my sister who pointed this out to me when me met up with them after around 30 minutes.

On the way back to the car, we caught the weekly fireworks display of Ayala Center. The fireworks were a blast (no pun intended)!

The beauty of fireworks always amaze me. Personally, I believe that fireworks are one of the most beautiful things ever created. More than just delighting people with their splendor, they can also bring people together.

It was really nice how the commercial center practically stopped moving altogether when the firewroks started and got back to business when they stopped.

It was like someone had stopped time for just awhile, to allow people the luxury of appreciating something so beautiful.

More than the beauty of the fireworks, it was nice to be standing among the people. I don't know... it was a very "united" feeling. It was as if everyone shared the same awe at the fireworks.

Literally, time stopped within those 15 minutes, as people took in the fireworks. Cars parked along the side of the road and took in the spectacle. People forgot all their problems and just allowed themselves to be mesmerized by the show. It was fun hearing all the collective "oohs" and "ahhs"around.

The feeling was just... nice. It was the 2nd year I witnessed the fireworks, but every year, I can't help but feel the same way.

Christmas is coming at a rather quick pace and little by little, my traditions are slowly materializing.

There might still be hope for this non-existent Christmas feel after all.

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My archives are missing. I'm annoyed.

Our Own Feast

If the Muslims are celebrating the end of Ramadan today, then my friends and I also had our own little celebration of sorts.

I have a very united college block section that even if we've all been split up since last year, we still try to get together as much as possible. One of our annual Chirstmas traditions is (surprise, surprise!) a Kris Kringle.

However, it was decided this year that in lieu of a Kris Kringle, we would use the money to throw a party for street children at Unang Hakbang, this small organization that holds office under the St. Francis church in Lourdes.

The lethargic side of me was having a hard time mustering up a momentum to actually leave the house. I mean, with it being a holiday and all, I would rather spend the whole day flat out on my bed with a good book or on a bean bag, camped out in front of the television.

Fortunately, the more sensible side of me prevailed. It's not everyday that you actually get to do others a good deed as well as bond with your friends. Besides, the Christmas party was going to substitute the Kris Kringle and I did have a desperate need to feel the season.

So there I was, forgoing my holiday, in an airless room under St. Francis with around 50 hyperactive children, and trying to oversee their Christmas party.

I wasn't really much help this afternoon. I stayed in the sidelines, with my most important duty being to help distribute the packed meals. But it was in that party that I was able to realize a few things:

1. I am not a kid person. I guess I can attribute it to the fact that I'm the youngest in the family. Most of my friends who were the eldest children had the most fun, and for some reason, the children immediately took to them, while hardly any gave a rat's ass about me. I really am no good with kids and even my younger cousins or my niece hardly pay attention to me. When dealing with children who are not related to me, I unwittingly make them cry for reasons unbeknownst to me.

I mean, the first girl I tried to make friends with during the party was mad at me within a minute of our little "conversation". In another instance, I was just playing with the niece of my org mate when the kid burst into tears for no reason at all. I know I don't know how to carry babies but does my inability with children carry up to those above 5 years old. This is frustrating since I'm supposed to be a sociable person, but apparently my people skills are good for those 15 and above only.

It's a good thing I never aspired to be a pediatrician.

2. Children's party games are not for children. Swear, party games are bound to give kids issues and hang-ups that they might carry 'till they're older. Take for instance "The Boat is Sinking". When you tell these children "The boat is sinking, group yourselves into 5!". Say there is a group of 6 children. In order to win, they're bound to push one person out. That unwitting person is gonne feel unwanted. And it's embarassing to be that person booted out (I think the shame is even tripled when you are a kid).

The same goes for "Musical Chairs". Children shove and fight each other just for... a chair? Awhile ago, I estimate around 10++ kids ended up crying throughout Musical Chairs. A lot of these children also fight (rip, claw and tear) each other for a prize. A "prize" that may not even be worth all the trouble to get it. And how about those kids who aren't as aggressive as the others? They go home with a gift but their loot won't be as much those who really immersed themselves in the game.

And then there are those who have lots of prizes because they "cheated". You know, bending the rules a bit so that they just might be able to get a prize. But of course, as kids, there is no malice here. They just have the single-minded purpose of obtaining a prize- like the way we were during a kiddy party eons ago.

These parties give kids issues. Or should I say, welcome to the real world kid. It's not gonna get better you know.

Great. An analogy of the "real world" in a kiddie party.

3. I'm selfish. This realization came across as a pang of guilt at the height of the festivities. All these kids at Unang Hakbang are street children and their families really don't have much. Habanapz was telling me about this girl, Fatima (I eventually met the child) who refused to finish the packed food we gave. The styrofoam container included a triangle of a cheese pimiento sandwich, a piece of chicken and spaghetti. She wouldn't eat the food because she wanted to bring it home to her parents.

Habanapz felt sorry (I think she will share this in her blog too. By the way, let me just mention that Carla is a real "kid person", she was still game even if a dozen kids tromped on her feet!) and promised the kid she'd save her another pack of food. Well apparently, most of the kids were doing the same thing. Others were able to get hold of mineral water bottles which they made me fill up. They planned to bring the pomelo juice home to their families. Made me feel bad- it's as if I take so much of what I have for granted. Take the pomelo juice- it's nothing special to me unless it's laced with gin. I would never think of taking a drink from a party home to my parents.

It's just that here I am, with so many wants, and here are these children who have so little. And throwing this party was more of a Christmas goodwill thing- putting it bluntly, some sort of charity case. I (as with all of my friends) have very extravagant wants, while these children were very, very happy with the meager gifts that we gave them. It also gets me wondering- under the circumstances of those children, what does the future hold for them?

I'm just happy we were able to do some good for them.

After wrapping up the whole program (and cleaning the mess we made), most of us decided to get dinner at the Shangri-La foodcourt. It was pretty interesting since in accordance to the Christmas party, we all wore red. So all 11(?) of us (very sweaty) presented quite sight as we walked through Shangri-La in our red shirts. We attracted quite a number of stares- and I wouldn't blame them. We were quite a curiousity.

We looked even weirder when we started doing all these little tricks we learned as kids. Here you have mostly college juniors in the middle of the food court, dressed in red, playing with straws (among others) and making a concoction out of leftover gravy, coke, iced tea, ketchup... you get the picture. But it was fun.

Indeed it was a great way to spend the holiday. It was beautiful to see the looks of innocent, unadulterated happiness on those childrens faces after they received their gifts. It was nice to be able to add to the joy of the season in these children's lives.

It was also fun to be laughing and bonding with friends I haven't been able to spend much time with because we're now in different courses and our schedules never match. We've also been pretty much buckling down to study so gone are the days of spending our common free time together in the caf, just plain goofing around. Tonight was nice.

I've been pretty angsty these past few days for some reason. But with today's events, and as a gust of cold Christmas air hit me as I got off my friend's car, I felt a hint of that distinct Christmas feeling I've been looking so hard for. My trip home seemed quite surreal.

Maybe it was Christmas, maybe it was the children's party, maybe it was being surrounded by good friends. Who knows?

But I felt happy.

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Just Days

As Vanessa Carlton would put it, "Just a day, just an ordinary day".

Yeah. The past 2 days have been nothing but ordinary. Not that I'm hoping for anything crazy- no more running down Pearl Drive, no more fights with ugly, psycho midgets or anything.

There are times when the most unexpected things happen on days when you least expect them. But that's what adds the color to life- I love to live serendipitously.

I'm doing just fine right here.

Just when I was preparing to go home early yesterday to catch up on some much needed sleep (and with every intention of skipping the Comm recruitment talk that I had committed to usher), Edmund sees me in Prom A and invites me to watch James Bond's Die Another Day.

And here I go, living up to serendipitous living, agreeing to go along. My rationale was that I might as well take in a movie while waiting for that Comm thing to start. In the end, we took a later movie and I missed the Comm thing completely.

But I did enjoy Die Another Day.

A few weeks ago, Newsweek came up with a review of James Bond. The article qualified that Die Another Day had all the elements of a Bond movie, however the movie ceased to impress. Apparently, according to the article, in the day and age of globalization, James Bond is no longer impressive.

I would beg to disagree. True enough, Bond was your typical male flick. You had hot cars, hot action scenes and of course, hot chicks. You may ask about the story and I will ask you, "What story?".

The plot was very shallow and some scenes were stretching the limits of imagination and logic (and some looked obviously computerized), but otherwise, the movie still had the capacity to keep me enraptured in my seat for 2 hours. Count on James Bond for a riveting movie with amazing action scenes and impressive little gadgets.

Aside from a few reservations, I think the film was well worth it. Of course, you don't step in there looking for anything intellectual. The film is good in all its entertainment value.

Of course, I had the pleasure of ogling the actress who played Miranda Frost as well as Halle Berry throughout the film.

While making the rounds at Megamall, I was happy to finally find the VCD of "Trip", one of my all-time favorite Pinoy movies. Sure, the story is slightly shallow. But the movie just makes me miss the company of my barakda.

I was also able to come across the December issue of FHM, with Diana Zubiri on the cover. This is the one with the controversial flyover pic. I look over to her spread I get to realizing that there's only one picture of her on the flyover. Imagine? All that trouble with Benhur Abalos over one measly picture??

For both sides, the whole issue wasn't worth it. At all.

What was surprising though was Katya Santos posing in all of her naked glory.

Nothing against Katya but I will always remember her as that cute little kid in Ang TV. Seeing her all mature and... naked seemed to shatter one of my cherished childhood images. It kinda makes me realize that I am getting old and that Katya was a child actress approximately 10 years ago. It's tragic, though.

Today was also more of an ordinary day. I guess, for once, the only thing interesting I picked up today was part of our lesson in a course called "The Family".

The lesson was leaning more toward philosophy and I was struck by what our teacher said. I even jotted it down because it got me thinking.

it goes something like, "Your destiny is already mapped out for you and you have the free-will to choose to go there or not"

And another line was "If you recognize what you want to be, then you will see your bigger destiny"

it just got me thinking- at this point in my life, I have a faint idea of what I see myself doing. But how am I to find out what is really in store for me? I mean, I'm just living out my existence here- studying, enjoying the company of friends, and like I said, just living life serendipitously. I live life as it comes.

With this, how am I to enact my free will to choose to follow what is destined for me when I have no idea what the grand design of my life is. What is my intended end? Am I, at 20, anywhere near my destiny? And am I fullfilling my destiny by camping in front of the television for hours on end?

According to our teacher, everyone has his destiny mapped out. So if someone commits suicide, then I assume that was his destiny. It was mapped out for him from the start. So would that be a sin?

Questions and questions. Being pilosopo is much harder than I thought.

*sigh!* Just days...

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The Travails of a People Person

A lot of times, I just have to ask myself "How exactly do I get myself into messes like these?

Just yesterday, I was running after a rather emotional friend who ran out on her boyfriend after they had a fight. Did I mention that she ran twice? So of course, this also means that I ran twice.

And I'm not talking of cute little girly hops or pansy little sprints. I'm not even talking about jogging. I did marathon- 500 meter dash baby. No easy feat for me on account of an ACL tear I sustained earlier in the year (which I am too afraid to get operated on).

Now, the so-called "mess" I'm talking about here isn't really the running. The mess is getting myself in the middle of a fight between a girlfriend and a boyfriend and not exactly knowing where to position yourself. That, I have to say, is one of the most awkard situations in the world. I mean, it's like witnessing your parents fighting and not knowing exactly what to say or what to do.

Picture this scenario: girl has had fight with boyfriend. She asks me to with her back to him so she can get her things. When she sees him, they fight. As in FIGHT. (Note: all this time, I'm standing within the vicinity so I see and hear all). My friend looks at me, she says something but I can't really understand what she's saying. Then she sits down and starts crying. ... then she is up and running. Fast.

And there I am, left standing facing the boyfriend (who is a mere acquaintance, which makes it worse) and not knowing exactly what to do.

So I take off after my friend. She's on an emotional roller coaster so she's not exactly running slowly. Since she's running through a very populated area and with me running after her, it looks like I'm the jerk-off of a boyfriend who's running after his girl to make amends.

I catch up with her after quite a distance, and I'm already beginning to limp. First thing my friend tells me is, "Huwag mo akong sundan kung ayaw mo akong magalit sa'yo!". Right.

What is a hapless guy like me to do?

This is why later on, I ask Carla how I get into these messes. She says, "Because you're a "people person"

I know I'm extroverted and I'm happy-friendly-talkative and all that. Or in relation to girls, I am what many would call "A Best Friend kind of guy".

This is why it's nothing uncommon for boyfriends to get jealous of me or to find myself in the middle (literally) of a couple's fights and yeah, I'm used to being in those awkward situations. Oh, did I mention I was also in the middle of a couple's OPDA (Overly Public Display of Affection) once? Not that I was participating or anything. Just wanted to make that clear...

So there you have it. I haven't spoken to my friend since yesterday but I hope she's doing fine. After I let her run on her own, I followed her until I made sure she knew where she was going, before I limped back to school.

Not that I mind really. I mean, I really love being with people and if one of them is in need, I'll always be there to the rescue. As a "people person", I think I'll be getting into even stranger situations (like that fight with the psycho midget, right Habanapz?).

Just please- a little less of the quarelling couple scenario. Being the third wheel who doesn't know where to stand is no fun at all.

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A Little More on Love

I was sifting through my journal last night and I found this poem that I copied from somewhere during one of those post-breakup days last year.

It's So Hard

by Becca Woolf

It's so hard to say "I love you" and not draw back in tears

It's so hard to know that you're not out there to help me face my fears.

It's so hard to know the phone's at reach, but I cannot hear your voice,

It's so hard to know that this time, breaking up was not my choice.

It's so hard to see you laughing when I'm crying deep inside,

It's so hard to just find feeling and now have to make them hide.

It's so hard to live without you when I need you more than words,

To want to scream how much I love you but hold back and not be heard.

It's so hard to sleep at night when I cannot dream of you

It's so hard to think that you might fall in love with someone new

It's so hard to not start to cry when I hear your favorite song

It's so hard, I wonder where did I go wrong?

It's so hard to live without you, if only you could have known,

I will never love another, I'd rather be alone.

Although I'm singing a different tune these days, this poem was very cathartic for me. The poem encompassed all the pain I was feeling then. In other words, bullseye!

I just wanted to share it because I re-read it only yesterday and I realized that the poem really dealt with the raw emotion of a very unexpected breakup.

Share lang.

Philosophy Drives Me Crazy!

If I dare say so myself, philo is going to be the death of me!

Now, I'm really illiterate with numbers and when it comes to Math, I'm a really hopeless case. But Philospophy is starting to come in a close second.

To think this sem, I'm taking 9 units all delving into Philosophy. Not that Philo is all bad- it can be very interesting in fact. It's just that I hate how it takes everything you know and turns it upside down. Thus, you are presented life as you know it in a very different manner.

These courses give you something to think about. Things are presented to you in a new light. I should be appreciating it, really, but with worrying about Marketing Presentations and Math Logic, somehow 9 units of Philo do not add up to a very tasty recipe.

I mean, cut me some slack here! Aristotle never did have to worry about making it into 5th year and passing APS-Japan, did he?

I'm gone from the Yahoo!

Notice that my graphics are now appearing??? I had had enough from the substandard service of Yahoo Photos and have decided to transfer my images elsewhere!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas...

Indeed it is!

Things have been messy here at home the whole day. This is because, like every first week of Advent since I can remember, it's Christmas decorations time! It's some sort of unspoken family tradition, I think?

True enough, my mom was busy fussing the whole day, sticking Christmas paraphernalia all over the house. As I type this, I am eyeing the "Sleeping Santa" that sits on the edge of the computer table. She also got the tree up, which is no small feat if you know our Christmas tree.

This Christmas tree is 7 ft. tall and has ambitions of being the Leaning Tower of Pisa someday. Swear, every year, it slants a little more to the right. This year, for some reason, the slant is more defined and it's actually funny, if not a bit frustrating. Somedays, you wonder if it's worth the effort since my mom strings around 1,000 ++ lights on the tree and a whole lot of deco and in the end, it'll still be slanted.

It is indeed beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The air is much, much colder. Amazing how the climate can change in such a short span of time! 2 weeks ago, my electric fan was running on full everytime I was around. Starting last week, I couldn't even bear to have it on and I now need a blanket before I go to sleep.

If you ask me what are the things I think of when I think about Christmas, among others, I will tell you: Castaòas. I don't even eat it but this is the time of the year where we buy a lot of it. In fact, my family bought the first bag of the season last Saturday at Malate Church.

Christmas also means scores and scores of bazaars! I haven't been able to check out Greenhills yet but from what I've heard, it's a riot! According to my friend, stalls are already spilling out into the parking lot and people are already coming in in droves. TO others, this sounds like a mess. To me, it's exciting!

I've always loved the Greenhills "festivities", since my High School was only a few blocks away. When I was in Grade 7 and all throughout High School, I'd always do my Christmas shopping here- sweating, braving the crowds and haggling. During the later years of High School, my friends and I would even set a date for plunging into the crowds all together. Those were the days...

Speaking of bazaars, I ventured into the Eastwood night market last Friday night (all the way to early Saturday morning!). I loved the place! It was like taking Red Lane (in Glorietta) and Shoppesville (especially Diamond Lane) out to Eastwood, plus more goodies! I love the ambience of the place. There were so much things to see and buy and I don't think one evening was enough for me.

I also braved Glorietta last Saturday. Not much to look at except a lot of people, because of the payday sale. WOuld have been nice to look around but the crowds were impossible. I mean, parking alone was impossible and within the vicinity of Makati alone, I got into 2 road wars with cab drivers. Hate them.

Traffic. COld Air. Bazaars. Castaòas! Christmas is indeed around the corner!

Like my new "Christmas graphic"?

Shall We Dance?

As part of the Asia Pacific Studies requirement for this sem, I had to watch the Japanese film "Shall We Dance? in school last Friday night.

The film is about this overworked accountant who is attracted to this beautiful lady who he sees standing by thw window of a dance hall who he sees from the train on his way home.

The plot is very simple but the movie was so well made. In fact, the plot was so simple that I can imagine it as a Filipino film. The difference is that this film has quality. There were some comedy scenes in the movie, yet everything was done with taste.

Beautiful, if I must say.

It's not within the same genre as Amelie or Crouching Tiger, but it's one of those feel-good films you wouldn't mind watching again and again.

And the lead actress was hot! Makes me want to take up dancing! hehe!

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