the struggle within

Have you ever had an internal conflict within yourself like when a part of you wants to do something so bad, but at the same time another part of you decides better against it? Wow, that sounds like a tough question. Ok, let me re-phrase it and make it easier for all of us. Ever been in a tight situation where you wanted to buy something so impulsively but there's this voice inside your head that tells you, "Nah, you don't really need this now, do you?"

Well, that happened to me today at the SM North Edsa mall after meeting up with Papa, and going around and landing myself inside an Adidas shop. Their items were on SALE between 10-30% off, and if there's one thing I really find difficult to withstand is not having to get a pair of Adidas shoes especially if one caught my eye. Clothes, I can easily wave off. Techie stuff, yeah, I could still think about getting them another time. Books, oh I'd surely find another copy of it somewhere. But when I chance a upon a pair of Adidas rubber shoes that I really like, not to mention one on sale, it's like it was meant for me! And there I was about to pass up the chance... come on!

I don't know why I pledged loyalty to the Adidas brand when it came to rubber shoes but all the pairs I have on my shoe racks have never been otherwise. I remember wearing Papa's hand-me-down black Adidas Campus back when I was still in elementary Grade 1. Apparently, he had small feet and I had big ones even at a young age. Back in college, I had the black Samba and Super Samba, both of which I outlived. The trend only had a hiatus during high school when I wore red high cut Chuck Taylors, following the Eraserheads fashion sense. I guess Adidas designs really have a way of appealing to me compared to other famous brands. Plus, they're comfortable and durable.

Anyway, this was the design I saw displayed on sale. It was a navy blue/black Mali design with the brand stripes in silver.
So what happened to me? After going around the mall three times and coming back to look at it every time after each round, I decided to leave the mall without it. Sigh. I was telling Rom about my serious bout of choosing not to get that Mali eventually. It turned out that he liked the same design too but with a different color.

How am I now? Moving on. As my consolation prize for mustering up that tremendous will power, I'm devouring a huge Hershey's chocolate bar instead. Special Dark and all 3x6 inches of it.

what a let down

Gabe and I were chatting a few hours ago regarding the logistics on his flight to Manila on the 21st of June for his fellowship program with the Ayala Foundation. The original plan was that I was going to pick him up from the airport by 9:50pm (Manila time) and he would be staying overnight at my place. The following day, I'd be leaving early for fieldwork in the Polillos and would be returning after a week at most while Gabe would be doing an immersion and be taken cared of by the program.

Both of us have been mad excited about his trip and have been looking forward to it since March. Earlier, I was looking the flight itinerary he sent me when I suddenly realized he was arriving not on the 21st but on the 22nd. Huh? Both of us immediately tried to figure out the confusion, which meant that I wouldn't be able to pick him up and changing both our schedules was not an option. In effect, not only were we not meeting when he arrived, but we wouldn't be seeing eachother until the 28th at the earliest.

We were so disappointed (read: pissed) about the turn of events. A barrage of so many "colorful" words ensued in our exchange. I diagnosed where we could've made that oversight, and I think I finally remembered where our misunderstanding came from. Our chat several weeks earlier went:

Don: Kailan dating mo, pare? (When are you arriving, pare?)
Gabe: I'm leaving on the 21st.

Little did we understood then that I was referring to his arrival in Manila while he was talking about his departure from Boston. From there, I assumed we were meeting on the 21st, and everything was set.

Darn.

like the back of my hand

Pari left me another tag to which I'll be happy to oblige again. Come to think of it, it is a good way to keep in touch with your blog friends or circles like Onigiriman said, other than interacting with them through comments or blogging about anything under the sun. Anyway, this tag states that:

"Once you've been tagged, you have to write a blog with 8 facts/things/habits about yourself, saying who tagged you. In the end you need to choose the 6 people to be tagged and list their names. No tag backs."

Sorry if this sounds like a Don 101 course.

1. At certain points in my life, I've worn a loin cloth (bahag of the Igorots of Northern Philippines) during a local play in high school, a mini skirt dressed as a Catholic school girl during a company Christmas party, and a Superman costume (with my brother, Rom, dressed as Batman). Okay, enough of this.

2. I'm not inclined to keep any household pets--cats, dogs, fishes, either domesticated or from the wild. Maybe because my parents did not like having pets at home themselves, fearing they'd be leaving hair all around, spreading lice, or pooping just about anywhere in the house. So probably I grew up having the same sentiments too.

3. Gelatin or gulaman tickles my palate. So I avoid eating jellies or anything similar that can induce the same sensation.

4. I am a creature of habit. I am pretty set in my ways. Anybody there who thinks there's a cure for this?

5. If I can't help it, I cry at movies. The most unexpected instance was when I saw My Dog Skip and I just found myself weeping intensely almost as if I didn't know it was coming. I think I fell apart when Willie (played by Frankie Muniz) thought Skip was going to die because of an accident. Yeah, I know what you're thinking. The scene was moving, ok, and it's hard not to get emotional. After that harrowing episode, I thought of Jack Nicholson exclaiming, "...over a dog," while crying over missing a dog and playing the piano in the movie As Good As It Gets.

6. When I was a kid, I aspired to become an astronaut when I grew up--enamoured by dreams of space exploration and traveling to distant galaxies. I was always fascinated by becoming weightless or floating in space. Well, I'm nowhere near that. I kept my feet on the ground instead and turned up to be a geomatics engineer doing research, fieldwork, and working with communities. I don't get to go to Mars anymore, but I found exploring the great outdoors of this Earth more worthwhile.

Hmmm, two more facts. Let's see...

7. I don't smoke and I find little liking to inhaling second-hand smoke, although I find the smell of kreteks addictive and weirdly soothing. My first smoking experience was when was eight, and I stealthily took a cigarette butt left by my dad's friend on an ashtray when they weren't looking. I smoked the leftover cigarette as a reward for that impressive sleight of hand. To my surprise, I was belching and coughing madly instead of smoking elegantly and poised. That sealed the fate of smoking as not one of my future habits.

8. I haven't ridden a rollercoaster EVER in my entire life. Well, not the really super grand ones. I do plan on riding one when the opportunity comes. Enchanted Kingdom's Space Shuttle was fun but it still wasn't as puke-inducing and elaborate as the ones in other countries (in the US probably). Any suggestions on where I should target visiting first?

Whew! I'm done. Here's my list of 6 people to tag. Let's hope the following will play along with my tag. Hmmm, tell me something I don't know yet. Surprise me.

Vera Jollie Gabe Rina Mika Josie Rose

optic blasts!

You scored as Cyclops. Cyclops is the team leader of the X-Men, and a skilled one at that. He loves Jean Grey very much. He's a strict and sometimes uptight leader, but he believes in his cause and he knows what he's fighting for... Peace between Mutants and Humans. Powers: Optic blasts

Cyclops 80% Jean Grey 60% Wolverine 55% Colossus 55% Iceman 55% Gambit 50% Storm 40% Beast 40% Emma Frost 35% Nightcrawler 30% Rogue 20% Most Comprehensive X-Men Personality Quiz 2.0 created with QuizFarm.com

"He loves Jean Grey very much." How very true and fortuitous indeed.

It's just sad that X-Men 3 sacked my favorite character right at the beginning of the film. Probably the makers of the film thought there was nothing more to the man than optic blasts. Shame.

weekend at 94-h

Finally, our apartment at 94-H Maginoo Street experienced a major clean-up which it so rightfully deserved in a long time. It was nothing less than a huge event for my housemates and I considering we even pegged the house cleaning at least two weeks prior to the day(s) itself.

The house saw some drastic rearrangements, particularly our shoe racks which were relocated up the staircase, the TV, and the sofa set. We can't wait to see the delight in our parents' eyes for getting rid of the shoe racks out of the living room, which they always complained about as an unwelcoming sight and unhygienic. Our desktop computers, which gave any visitor an impression they were in an internet gaming cafe, were lined up again along one wall while the opposite wall was committed for the tables of mobile units. The new order of things meant change in our daily routine that immediately took its toll for creatures of habit such as myself. At one point we were even jeering about the idea of turning our place into a one-stop video rental, computer shop, and library because of our voluminous collection of books and DVDs, and several computer terminals. Karl jokingly went on to say we needed another floor to have more room for all our stuff.

[The momentous house cleaning. UR: Nez with a feather duster in hand and Liezl holding a detergent for cleaning the floor. Note the color of the linoleum. LR: Karl sneezing. Note the color of the linoleum again. Also, the couches are almost found in their new location. LL: Gladys beaming despite the on-going chaos, Rom wiping dust off one of the shoe racks. UL: What you see here is the original arrangement of the living room. When the cleaning started, the shoe racks took the opening salvo. That's me striking a pose.]

In case you're wondering when our last major house cleaning was, let me just give you an idea: look at the linoleum on the floor (particularly the photos on the upper and lower right corners). Can you can see the stark contrast before and after cleaning? Ugh. Let me just say that the color of the material was originally creamy white. Thanks to Liezl, Gladys, and Nez for working their heart out on the linoleum detail.

The cleaning's probably 75% complete. Only the kitchen (which is Rom's and my task), the bathroom, and some portions of the girls' room remain. As eager as we all were to get everything spic-and-span and sparkling clean, our combined powers were no match for the arduous task as the end of the first cleaning day ended with backaches, sore hands and feet, and fatigue. For now, we live to clean another day... soon I hope.

P.S. More on last weekend's massive clean-up in Liezl's page.

[All photos courtesy of Nez Fuertes]