Timeline of a relationship (excuse the cheese)
11 years ago we became college blockmates and started doing our own graphic novel.
6 years ago he hugged me tightly before graduation, devasted by the fact that his then girlfriend broke up with him. The thought that we never finished the graphic novel crossed my mind for a split-second.
6 1/2 years ago he told me he liked me. A few months later he got himself another girlfriend.
5 years ago his relationship started to go sour, and I became his sounding board.
4 years ago I swore off him like an addict quitting drugs.
3 years ago we both had to face personal tragedies that we would never wish on any one else.
3 years ago, we got together.
2 months ago we were toying with the idea of getting a dog.
Yesterday, we were toying with the idea of getting married.
Today, I think about my plans for tomorrow.
Today, I think about my plans for tomorrow -- with him.
Hanging out at The Anteroom Sessions
Last Saturday, Moonleaf Tea Shop along Maginhawa Street had almost the same vibe as the places I used to go to back in college: packed and smoky. The people were a bit similar too – only that my friends had more piercings and tattoos – but all in all it was a pretty good crowd for the Anteroom Sessions presented by the lifestyle brand Punchdrunk Panda.
The evening was a mix of good tea, steady music and funky apparel. Jason introduced me to the goodness of Moonleaf’s Lychee Yakult and made me regret getting the Tiramisu-flavored milk tea (which, by the way, tasted better the morning after). As for the bands, Outerhope (thanks, Jon!) was nice and honest. I wish they had more airtime.
Jonver later on showed me where the mini-kiosks were. I was *this close* to getting the Punchdrunk Panda shoes with little elephants on them, if only I wasn’t on a tight budget. Jason wanted the pair with the dinosaurs, and maybe I’ll buy them for him, if he’s a good boy. :P
One kiosk that tagged on my OCness and my love for organizers was FILED!. Seriously. I kept on peeking and peeking at their stuff, but alas, I could not at all risk impulse buying those giant organizers reminiscent of Trapper Keepers back in the day. I WANT THOSE.
Other brands that had pop-up stores were Junk Studio, Holic Accessories, Splatt.MNL and Analog Soul. There was also a photobooth by Topshot – too bad I didn’t try it out, harhar.
A big pat on the back to the organizers who mounted the event! One comment though; it would be great if the next Session would be held in a bigger place, but still retain its cozy atmosphere. One with ample parking would be much appreciated. ;)
Thanks to Jonver for the invitation and the photos!
Pseudo-existentialist tipsy-blogging (you should try it sometime)
After sitting on the bathroom floor and removing my manicure with acetone that smelled like cat piss, I am now in front of my laptop with a bottle of beer, hoping that after writing I'll be tipsy enough to fall asleep.
During nights like this I can't help but think about things that are "important". (I put quotation marks as half the time "important" is a load of bull crap.) It's mostly the same things that people my age get all anxious about -- work and quality of life. Aside from really bad experiences in the past that keep on resurfacing like Sadako crawling out of a well, I am bombared with pseudo-existentialist questions like "Where am I?", "Where am I going?", and "Where's the restroom?". It's not really fun, and if there's any way I can get an express ticket out of this frame of mind, I'll gladly pay up.
I'm sadly at that point when I'm starting to question if I'm making the right decisions for myself at all. Sometimes I envy those people whose lives look like a prettily-painted picture hanging in a wallpapered room; everything is almost perfect and quite nice to look at. As for my life, it feels like a DC comic book made into a pretty bad movie.
But I guess amidst all this bull crap, there's value in finding the one thing that I'd really like to do for the rest of my life. I'd like to write. What I'm scared of is if I can actually pull off making a living out of it.
Then again, what's to be scared of? What have I got to lose right now? I bit of my salary I guess, but then again if I don't do this now I bet Life's going to rear its ugly head and bite my ass while asking me how dense can I possible get. Why don't you just write, Life would probably say. You're doing it now, why don't you just keep at it?
Maybe I will this time around. We'll see what happens.
Beer's gone. I better get some sleep. Hey, who would have thought that tipsy-blogging would actually help me realize the obvious?
Revamp!
The Post-Twestival Post (or "You can never say Thank You enough.")
Blogger Tweeps Glenn and Jon have already written great articles about what happened during the first Twestival Manila, the largest tweet-up for a cause in the Philippines to date. For my very delayed post about it, I'm going to list down the little things I've observed during the event:
- Mang Binalot is a cute.
- Printing press owner Paul Garcia actually gave the small Twestival Banners for free. (Thank you!)
- The Mad Dog Mortocycle Club was there, leaving a sticker on Le Bistro's window and leaving me starstruck.
- The Mad Dog Mortocycle Club wore our cute Twestival name tags together with their leather vests. (Thank you!)
- Free booze makes Tweeps happy.
- Free booze AND helping out make Tweeps happy.
- I never knew that TJ Manotoc was that mestizo in person. (Thank you, sir, for helping out.)
A point that deserves mentioning is the awesome-ness of how all the volunteers came together to mount such an event in less than two weeks; answering email threads, nagging sponsors-turned-advocates, cutting out more than a hundred name tags, and just making Twestival Manila the successful endeavor that it was. I am so honored to have worked with you: Ros Juan, Marga Deona, Jonver David, Glenn Ong, Nina Zialcita, Tonyo Cruz, Shaina Tantuico, Audrey Trinidad, Arriane Serafico, Rob Angeles, Joy Sallegue, Jackielou Tabuada, Kaye Tuliao, Peanut Dela Cruz, Stephanie Abiera, Erika Pineda and all those who have helped in one way or the other.
Another big thank you to Twestival Manila's advocates:
Bellarocca, Globe, Divoom Speakers, MiLi, Binalot, Galileo Enrichment, IMMAP, eLearning Blade, LeBistroVert Sustainable Foods,
Pepsi, San Miguel Corporation, Asian Traveller Magazine, Partycetamol Mobile Bar, Nestle KitKat, Freshman Masculine Wash, Netbooster, Renegade Folk, Yahoo! PH
Lastly, thank you to all who attended. You've just started bringing education to Filipino children in remote areas of the country by supporting JeepneEd.
Let's do it again. ;)
Living A Little (or "Charlene's cheesy-but-true realizations")
The past few months have been a hectic mix of highs and lows, good times and bad, and now I finally have the time to slow down and take stock of things that are really important to me. I realized how much I've forgotten to appreciate simple stuff -- I guess that is the syndrome of people who always want to live too fast. (I say "want" because in the end, maybe there is no real "need" to live too fast.)
Someone I met during the Twestival told me a story about how people magnify small problems ten-fold, stressing themselves out when actually the answers are right under their noses. I admire her because her goal in life is to live from her backpack, carrying with her pots and pans, and travelling from one place to the next just to teach townfolk how to cook and survive with what they have in their backyards. It's basically living within one's means and appreciating those little things that often go unnoticed.
I admit that a very basic lifestyle is something that is near impossible for me to do, being the city girl I am who has her life in her (five-year-old) laptop. But maybe if I tried a little harder, I can find the child-like wonder I seemed to have lost along the way. Maybe I can lose a bit of the cynicism brought about by way too much competitiveness. Out with the old, and in with the new -- this time around, I will do what is right and what really makes me happy.
I'm in my late twenties, but you know what? I think it's never too late to find simple happiness at a time when everything seems bleak.
Holy Kaw! How iPhone, Android, and Blackberry users see each other
Pretty funny stuff from holykaw.alltop.com
Of Childhood and the Sony Cassette Walkman
But decades have passed and technology has evolved into smaller, faster and more efficient machines. Now Sony Japan has ceased production of the iconic Cassette Walkman, and though Chinese manufactures will still be producing units for the US and UK markets, I sense the beginning of an era's end. The news has made me slightly nostalgic. I love how music has become more portable and accessible, but the idea of the Cassette Walkman's slow demise is a reminder that this truly is the Digital Age, where people want everything right here and right now. Life is unimaginably fast-paced -- sometimes frighteningly so -- and it makes me sad that my children will never experience how to rewind a tape with a ball point pen. It's the same kind of sadness knowing that kids today would prefer games on their PSPs instead of going out and playing endless rounds of patintero.
The world of my childhood is something that children today can never experience. I wanted and expected so much less back then; I was happy with recording songs from the radio and playing my mix tapes on my Walkman. I hated how sometimes it ate the ribbon of my tapes, but there's nothing like unraveling the mess with ballpen-spinning. It's a long goodbye to a bygone era, and though the lot of us now carry around MP3 players, it's nice to look back and remember what the Cassette Walkman symbolized -- a revolution in music, and a generation of simple creativity.
Cats up for Adoption
HELP! These cats need your help. We have 12 of them up for adoption. The neighbors of the old lady who has rescued them are threatening to throw them in a passing garbage truck. How could these creatures be even lumped together with garbage? :(
They all have been neutered and spayed. It's just that they are already too many for the old lady to properly protect and care for. If you or anybody you know is interested, please leave a message here. Do share this post, and please help these cats find their forever home.
