Hmm, my thoughts have become disjointed and incoherent and are going EVERYWHERE. I guess it's because I think based on emotions? This makes it so much harder to write them down.
So let's see... where did I leave off?
Oh yes. Now changing an entire mindset, which is perhaps the domino which will start the whole betterment and positive development movement, is the hardest to do. Mental conditioning is difficult to effect especially in the adult years, and it doesn't take a scientist to see that.
The Filipino is notorious for having amnesia of both long-term and short-term memory. We take the proverbs "Forgive and forget" and "Start fresh, start clean" a little too seriously. This is one of the saddest things about being Filipino - we, as a nation, forget too soon the grievous sins committed against our people and our country, whether by foreign parties or (and this is where it gets worse) fellow Filipinos ourselves. For starters, we suffered exactly 333 years of tyranny under Spain; today, Instituto Cervantes and the Catholic Church are still around (as much as I believe wholeheartedly in Christ Jesus, it is very sad that many figures in the Church have done things contrary to His teachings through the ages), IBM's Philippine unit hires and trains Filipino call center agents for accounts based in Spain and Latin America, many land, labour and governance problems rooted in politicking Spanish exiles and their way of "running the country" continue to plague us today, and I haven't even mentioned the controversial "Filipinas" biscuits which were said to have tasted good, save for their Oreo-like premise of dark cookies with white filling. Have the Spanish insulares and naturalised Filipinos originally from Spain helped the Philippines? Not really - the capitalist Zobel de Ayala family, for instance, have contributed to the rapid, technologically-driven Western-style development of Makati City, but they have also popularised mall culture and San Miguel Beer to new heights. No-one had heard a peep from them the moment the Ondoy/Ketsana hit, and one friend who found herself stranded in one of the low-end Ayala malls in Taguig City told me that the Ayala personnel were extremely lacking in compassion at the height of the storm.
Oh, alright, I take back my hatred of San Miguel Beer, but then again, I was never a beer drinker as I find it too bitter.
This kind of mental condition could only be sheer stupidity at best. But that is how my brain is conditioned. There is no avoiding it; after all, while my late grandparents fought in their own ways during the Japanese occupation during World War II, I can only be described as a rabid J-Pop fan who is a virtual slave to gyaru fashion. Except I refuse to forget, or at least I grasp at straws and devise ways to keep everything in my memory.
Trust me, it's not fun to focus on the negative like this. But the Filipino likes focusing more on the happy and pretty things than the sad and ugly ones. I know I prefer sleeping in the car than staring the greasy-skinned child wearing tattered clothes begging me to please buy a sampaguita garland, and I know I will much rather read my magazines, newspapers and books in English than the longwinded vernacular.
Sunday, October 04, 2009
Conflicted/Word Vomit 1/? [To be transliterated in Tagalog]
Wow, it's been a while since I was last here, hasn't it?
After the catastrophe that was Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana), I've been thinking again. A lot.
And as we all know, the products of my thoughts will most likely be tiring to read as they are to write. Please bear with me; otherwise, you've been warned.
First, I regret sincerely that I was not more committed to the environmental effort. This was Mother Nature's epic bitching and ownage of the Filipino people, who I must admit have an attitude of being nice only when it works to our advantage. It used to be in our nature to live in total synchronicity with the environment's habits, but endless colonialisation and hurried industrialisation (the latter having been introduced to us by the Americans) have made myself and my countrymen inconsiderate of our surroundings and the other creatures that live in it.
Please note I am in no way generalizing the United States of America and its people, as well as the Philippines and her people. I am well aware that both countries have their own strengths, and that indolence and irresponsibility know no race, no religion and even no gender. It's just that... somehow, I wish we Filipinos were able to figure out what the Americans were so good at doing, and then do one better by surpassing them instead of just following their lead, or worse, bickering among ourselves. Those are two Filipino traits that peeve me - bickering and blaming, especially because we Filipinos are happy to always rely on other people to take on the tasks that we ourselves should be doing and are natural debaters when we find an opposing perspective. More on this later.
Anyway, it used to be that we in the Philippines had natural treasures, "likas na yaman", that we were very proud of as a people - tall, swaying coconut trees that reached to the sky, crystal-clear bodies of water, wide-eyed tarsiers on Chocolate Hills. After all, we have always been the Pearl of the Orient Seas. But the concern that many of us have these days is to be rich through any means possible - even if that entails making colleagues look bad in front of our bosses, cutting more trees to build more living (as opposed to livable) spaces, and throwing our trash just about anywhere because we're in a hurry to get to work. In fact, immediately after the onslaught of Ondoy in our metropolis, my friends retold in Facebook how the drivers who made public transportation possible were mindlessly throwing their trash outside their windows. It's a shame, considering I actually did join an environmentally-driven organisation. Of course, since I wasn't passionate about the cause (I've always been more civic-minded), I hardly got anything done. I did practise proper disposal and segregation of waste, but I've always been queasy around animals. Even now I'm not exactly a pet-friendly person. To be fair, my fast-paced working gal lifestyle doesn't allow for pets at all; I hardly even have time for myself these days. But I admit that privately, I always held much disapproval and disappointment for people who spend so much to groom and even dress their animals in human-like clothing when so many people outside were dying of hunger and lack of shelter and medicines. What's worse are those people who like keeping animals and yet do not take care of them responsibly - and make no mistake, we have a lot of them here.
I honestly think that many of my own people, myself included, really do not have a sense of responsibility. I do not bother to reduce the clutter of my own room because I am lazy, because I know that I can always rely on my mother, who prefers to see everything tidy, to clean everything up for me. (I'm very sorry Mum, I will get to that long-awaited clean-up once I'm done with this entry.) I do not lobby for more tree-lined parks and pedestrian lanes in Makati because I leave the planning for these to our city government, which has many staffers who admittedly do not have the foresight to see the benefits of these things. I do not complain about the massive logging in my mother's mountainous hometown of Rizal, Laguna, because again that's the provincial government's work; besides, we're based in Manila now, and there are some greedy relatives there who we'd rather not see.
It won't be easy, but I will have to change my mindset and make myself accountable for causing the floods brought by Ondoy to a certain extent.
PS this show of mercy and accountability to the environment will not be extended to mosquitos, flies and cockroaches though. They're disgusting and carry diseases on them no matter what they do. Ugh. XP
After the catastrophe that was Typhoon Ondoy (international name Ketsana), I've been thinking again. A lot.
And as we all know, the products of my thoughts will most likely be tiring to read as they are to write. Please bear with me; otherwise, you've been warned.
First, I regret sincerely that I was not more committed to the environmental effort. This was Mother Nature's epic bitching and ownage of the Filipino people, who I must admit have an attitude of being nice only when it works to our advantage. It used to be in our nature to live in total synchronicity with the environment's habits, but endless colonialisation and hurried industrialisation (the latter having been introduced to us by the Americans) have made myself and my countrymen inconsiderate of our surroundings and the other creatures that live in it.
Please note I am in no way generalizing the United States of America and its people, as well as the Philippines and her people. I am well aware that both countries have their own strengths, and that indolence and irresponsibility know no race, no religion and even no gender. It's just that... somehow, I wish we Filipinos were able to figure out what the Americans were so good at doing, and then do one better by surpassing them instead of just following their lead, or worse, bickering among ourselves. Those are two Filipino traits that peeve me - bickering and blaming, especially because we Filipinos are happy to always rely on other people to take on the tasks that we ourselves should be doing and are natural debaters when we find an opposing perspective. More on this later.
Anyway, it used to be that we in the Philippines had natural treasures, "likas na yaman", that we were very proud of as a people - tall, swaying coconut trees that reached to the sky, crystal-clear bodies of water, wide-eyed tarsiers on Chocolate Hills. After all, we have always been the Pearl of the Orient Seas. But the concern that many of us have these days is to be rich through any means possible - even if that entails making colleagues look bad in front of our bosses, cutting more trees to build more living (as opposed to livable) spaces, and throwing our trash just about anywhere because we're in a hurry to get to work. In fact, immediately after the onslaught of Ondoy in our metropolis, my friends retold in Facebook how the drivers who made public transportation possible were mindlessly throwing their trash outside their windows. It's a shame, considering I actually did join an environmentally-driven organisation. Of course, since I wasn't passionate about the cause (I've always been more civic-minded), I hardly got anything done. I did practise proper disposal and segregation of waste, but I've always been queasy around animals. Even now I'm not exactly a pet-friendly person. To be fair, my fast-paced working gal lifestyle doesn't allow for pets at all; I hardly even have time for myself these days. But I admit that privately, I always held much disapproval and disappointment for people who spend so much to groom and even dress their animals in human-like clothing when so many people outside were dying of hunger and lack of shelter and medicines. What's worse are those people who like keeping animals and yet do not take care of them responsibly - and make no mistake, we have a lot of them here.
I honestly think that many of my own people, myself included, really do not have a sense of responsibility. I do not bother to reduce the clutter of my own room because I am lazy, because I know that I can always rely on my mother, who prefers to see everything tidy, to clean everything up for me. (I'm very sorry Mum, I will get to that long-awaited clean-up once I'm done with this entry.) I do not lobby for more tree-lined parks and pedestrian lanes in Makati because I leave the planning for these to our city government, which has many staffers who admittedly do not have the foresight to see the benefits of these things. I do not complain about the massive logging in my mother's mountainous hometown of Rizal, Laguna, because again that's the provincial government's work; besides, we're based in Manila now, and there are some greedy relatives there who we'd rather not see.
It won't be easy, but I will have to change my mindset and make myself accountable for causing the floods brought by Ondoy to a certain extent.
PS this show of mercy and accountability to the environment will not be extended to mosquitos, flies and cockroaches though. They're disgusting and carry diseases on them no matter what they do. Ugh. XP
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The 25s: Things I Want To Do Before I Die
This list has been carefully thought of and not yet deliberately filled out. Well, so far these seem the most feasible things to do.
...Pero geez. Masyado talaga akong atat magplano. Matagal pa naman ito ano!! ;P
(Learn how to) fall in love freely for once, and maybe even admit to the object(s) of my affection of my feelings for him/her(/them).Stand by my decision that Mahal is truly worth all the pain I'm going through to be with him, worth being the only one for me. Preferably marry him for keeps at Church.- Put all my favourite charity work in order. Re-instate Reach Out Otaku so that a firm system is in place, and it keeps going through at least two standard activities for years on end. Return some of my time, talent and treasure to ICTUS as well.
- Do something insanely daring and not at all associated with me. Learn how to swim. Learn how to ride a bicycle and a motorcycle. Learn how to dance. Learn how to sew clothes and a costume
or 10. - Learn how to DIY around the house. Really.
- Travel. A LOT. Preferably return to South Korea, China, Italy and/or any Schengen country ASAP, and finally go to Japan and Israel. Possibly visit Argentina while I'm at it.
- Watch a full Motograndprix race day live at either: Sepang, Malaysia; Laguna Seca, California; or Motegi or Suzuka, Japan.
- Meet my penpal Sarah and catch up on so much lost time.
- Catch up with the Seven Habits Pioneers gang.
- Compose music and create videos, and possibly make music videos! I used to be able to do so back in broadcasting classes, but I've lost the skills. DX
- Get in touch with my geek self and go marathon the following: Battlestar Galactica (which my sister K likes), The X-Files (which my sisters love), Xena: Warrior Princess, Star Trek (though I am partial to The Next Generation, I should try the others like the original 1960s series and Deep Space Nine), Heroes (K and I are still sad it got cancelled ToT), The Journeyman (underestimated series IMHO), and... am I missing anything?
- Go to a gyaru meet-up, learn para-para well enough to be able to dance properly without tripping all over myself, and generally have fun and be true to my gyaru-at-heart self.
- Finish all my cosplay plans and ease my way into permanent cosplay retirement. (And learn how to make my own costume in the process.)
Para na rin may maisuot ako kung sakaling... a basta. X3 Akin na lang muna ito. - Have a super-glamourous photoshoot taken by involving up-and-coming photographers, hair and make-up artists, and possibly stylists with a strong gyaru sensibility. Para naman maramdaman kong maganda ako. XD;
- Train in martial arts and self-defence.
- Run a marathon that's either locally staged or for all of Asia.
- Become as cool and as calm as ice on winter. For the sake of sanity and efficiency.
- Fix my meager properties and business (costumes, animanga, games, bank accounts,
insurance, budget!!!, etc.), and invest in stocks andretail treasury bondsif necessary. Obviously this means I have to earn and save a lot. v^_^0 - In fact, my goal is to EARN PhP500,000.00 A MONTH within the next 5 years.
- Get Midwest Ocean and Practical Love up and running ASAP, again to help Mahal and myself with the PhP500,000.00-a-month goal. Now if only I weren't so tired all the time... =_=000
- Confront THAT PERSON peacefully and calmly. Ayoko nang magalit. Ayoko na ring matakot. Ayoko nang mag-atubili. Wala na akong panahon. Pagod na pagod na ako sa paghihintay. Closure MUST come no matter what.
- Get people to watch over me and also take care of whatever may lie pending during - and possibly after - the confrontation. I DEMAND these people to be friends who will stand by me regardless of the outcome.
- Set the record straight with some family members, and ensure that no matter what happens, our family remains strong.
- Make amends and be at peace with everyone and anyone I can remember off the top of my head.
- Party hard with all the people I love while I can. Preferably all at the same time, all together.
- Live freely with very few regrets, if not none at all.
...Pero geez. Masyado talaga akong atat magplano. Matagal pa naman ito ano!! ;P
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Tayo na, tayo na!
Partida tayo may nakaalala pa nito. d^_~b
Honestly, while the late Rene Villanueva was a most disagreeable man and a disappointment for youngsters who loved his TV show, everyone from my generation agrees that Batibot was one of the best things ever shown on Philippine television. ♥
Honestly, while the late Rene Villanueva was a most disagreeable man and a disappointment for youngsters who loved his TV show, everyone from my generation agrees that Batibot was one of the best things ever shown on Philippine television. ♥
Friday, August 21, 2009
We need a revolution...
Yes, I was in the rallies leading to the 1986 EDSA Revolution. I'm the tiny kid in yellow. My mum, in pink, is holding me, along with our nanny at the time. The other young girl is my older sister. Unfortunately, I'm not sure where this is, but according to the writing at the back of the photo (my mum's) this was somewhere near EDSA.
It also sucks that we lost all the other photos taken no this date. Lesson to future parents: Never, EVER, let your kids take your original photos! It's a good thing we now have digital photography and digital storage - like Flickr! - at this day and age.
Uploaded to commemorate the 26th death anniversary of Senator Benigno Severino "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on 21 August 2009. This event became the catalyst for the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
It also sucks that we lost all the other photos taken no this date. Lesson to future parents: Never, EVER, let your kids take your original photos! It's a good thing we now have digital photography and digital storage - like Flickr! - at this day and age.
Uploaded to commemorate the 26th death anniversary of Senator Benigno Severino "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. on 21 August 2009. This event became the catalyst for the 1986 EDSA Revolution.
Monday, August 10, 2009
'Wag kang kukurap! (Blink and you'll miss it!)
While looking for videos on the late, great former President Cory Aquino on YouTube, I stumbled across this:
ASAP 2009 tribute to Cory Aquino, originally aired on August 2, 2009 live on ABS-CBN 2 and simulcast (or delayed telecast?) on The Filipino Channel (also owned by ABS-CBN Networks). Uploaded by VisayanPinoySBG without intent of infringing copyright laws.
Do NOT miss 3:55 of the footage - the wedding photo, where Ms. Aquino's eyes blink! Whether or not this was a broadcast flicker, or the image happened to be super imposed over a simulcast on-cam footage of a viewer, or it was actually Ms. Aquino being slightly impish but still untiringly watching over her baby, the Filipino people, who knows?
Also, major props for people who noticed:
Read this, PRES. CORY AQUINO died August 1, 2009 at 3:18 in the morning. That's 08/01/2009 3:18 right? now, remove the zero's(0) and put the numbers together... Results to 8129318 Rearrange the numbers... Results to 8/21/1983 That's August 21, 1983. The day Ninoy died. Coincidence? That's the true Love.
- taken from the official Cory Aquino Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Ribbon-for-President-Cory-Aquino/100738003363)
Nakakakilig nga naman kung iisipin. ♥
Plus, of course, a bit of school pride, courtesy of Mr. Erik De Castro and (Thomson) Reuters:
Students make the sign of the cross as they pay their respects to late former President Corazon Aquino at De La Salle University in Manila August 3, 2009. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Postscript: This idiot keeps spamming the official Ninoy Aquino thread on Facebook by writing hate messages! Writing it once was enough, but seriously, your devotion to piss people off... are you a die-hard Marcos loyalist (in which case, didn't you get the memo that Bongbong and Imee Marcos were at Tita Cory's wake on Tuesday, August 4th?) or are you a typical uzi (usisero/kibitzer) with too much free time on your hands? :P
ASAP 2009 tribute to Cory Aquino, originally aired on August 2, 2009 live on ABS-CBN 2 and simulcast (or delayed telecast?) on The Filipino Channel (also owned by ABS-CBN Networks). Uploaded by VisayanPinoySBG without intent of infringing copyright laws.
Do NOT miss 3:55 of the footage - the wedding photo, where Ms. Aquino's eyes blink! Whether or not this was a broadcast flicker, or the image happened to be super imposed over a simulcast on-cam footage of a viewer, or it was actually Ms. Aquino being slightly impish but still untiringly watching over her baby, the Filipino people, who knows?
Also, major props for people who noticed:
Read this, PRES. CORY AQUINO died August 1, 2009 at 3:18 in the morning. That's 08/01/2009 3:18 right? now, remove the zero's(0) and put the numbers together... Results to 8129318 Rearrange the numbers... Results to 8/21/1983 That's August 21, 1983. The day Ninoy died. Coincidence? That's the true Love.
- taken from the official Cory Aquino Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/pages/Yellow-Ribbon-for-President-Cory-Aquino/100738003363)
Nakakakilig nga naman kung iisipin. ♥
Plus, of course, a bit of school pride, courtesy of Mr. Erik De Castro and (Thomson) Reuters:
Students make the sign of the cross as they pay their respects to late former President Corazon Aquino at De La Salle University in Manila August 3, 2009. REUTERS/Erik De Castro
Postscript: This idiot keeps spamming the official Ninoy Aquino thread on Facebook by writing hate messages! Writing it once was enough, but seriously, your devotion to piss people off... are you a die-hard Marcos loyalist (in which case, didn't you get the memo that Bongbong and Imee Marcos were at Tita Cory's wake on Tuesday, August 4th?) or are you a typical uzi (usisero/kibitzer) with too much free time on your hands? :P
Sunday, August 02, 2009
Paalam, minamahal na Pangulo.
As someone who has lost relatives to cancer, I am glad that you have been relieved of your pain. As someone who has been tasked to safeguard the principles you fought for, I am determined to ensure your legacy is not in vain.
Maraming salamat po, Tita Cory.
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
The Social Persona Test!
Lol is this for real? Seriously. A friend of mine took this test and got the exact same result too. >_>0
Your result for The Social Persona Test (Version 2.5)...
The Rarity (QTAF)
Quirky Traditional Alpha Female
You have an unusual and unbelievably precious combination of traits, especially in a woman. Not only are alpha females extremely rare, but traditional ones with nerdy/geeky interests are even more scarce. Unlike the other types, I can't give you a description because I'm not sure if you actually exist.
PS: I know this is not a compatibility test, but there is a very good chance you are the girl of my dreams. Not to sound desperate or anything, but please, oh please message me! (Assuming, that is, that you are between 20 and 30 and live in New England).
--Bookwyrm85
You are more QUIRKY than NORMAL.
You are more TRADITIONAL than LIBERAL.
You are more DOMINANT than PASSIVE.
When picking a date, consider: Lord of the Misfits (QLAM), The Late Bloomer (QTAM), The Snowball's Chance in Hell (QTBM), or The Manga Geek (QLBM).
(Image from http://folk.uio.no/thomas/lists/amazon-connection.html)
Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Cosplay Judging Criteria and System
While I'm never going to be as active as I used to be in Cosplay.ph, I am reposting this so the world that cares about costuming and cosplay may know how it's done here in Manila.
And for the record, while it's me a while to grasp the logic and I did not at first find myself in agreement with it, I understand now that this new system has its merits, perhaps more than I gave it credit for.
So here it is, the post of Kero/Pablo of Cosplay.ph on the issue at hand:
Ever since Cosplay.ph has managed cosplay events, we've been tweaking the judging system to try to find the right mix of aspects to ensure a system that is the most efficient, leads to the least errors, and allows the judges to focus on aspects that really matter.
With this in mind, we have been implementing a system where each judge is assigned a criteria instead of all the criteria for various reasons:
1) It allows the judge to focus on their expertise. They can ignore other aspects and really focus on their criteria. It allows them to consider their score at length given the only 1-2 minutes he or she has to observe the cosplayer.
2) It addresses the concern that a person might be judging something that is not necessarily their field. For instance, a judge might be more into making costumes for other people and simply allows someone else to perform in his costumes or another judge who is good at performances might simply be commissioning his or her costumes.
3) It reduces the chance of "score copying" that occurs when a judge starts to get behind and simply copies the scores of the judge beside him or her to catch up (the judge can't really stop the cosplay just to catch up.)
4) Each criteria really makes an impact. For instance, if there were four criteria and one was 10%, most judges would just score a 5 in almost all contestants thinking that it's insignificant. This undermines that criteria and renders it useless. By making it their sole concern, they can award a 0 or 5 or 10 or anything in between if they feel they really deserve it.
5) It reduces errors simply because you are reducing the numbers that are being tracked and the considerations being made by 1/3 (for 3 criteria) or 1/4 (for 4 criteria). So, in a cosplay with 100 contestants, instead of 300 or 400 numbers, you just need to keep track of 100 numbers. In addition, this gives judges time to double-check their scores and keep track of their results and even reconsider some of their scores.
Yes, indeed cosplay is "the whole package", but their weight should not be treated equally. In the case of E-Games, it was mostly Craftsmanship/Accuracy > Performance > Audience Impact. Does this mean that Audience Impact is useless? Perhaps in the old system where most judges would've just scored all the contestants a 5 it would be, but in a system where the judge gets to study the impact of the cosplayer and his or her projection carefully, it becomes pivotal.
Just to prove how pivotal it was, the top 3 winners were decided on point differences of 1-2 points with the Best Female winner being decided by a single point! The Audience Impact score could have, in fact, DECIDED the outcome of the winners. You're talking about 10 points: something that could have put the 6th placer in 1st place.
About the fact that newbies aren't being represented and that scoring was manipulated, let's take a look at the results:
Best Male: 1st Time Cosplayer
Best Female: 1st Time Cosplayer
1st Placer: Cosplayer Since November 2008 (Kid Robocop)
2nd Placer: Brand New Costume. Last time he cosplayed was last year (Spongebob Squarepants)
3rd Placer: Cosplaying Since this year (Kid Terminator)
Where is the manipulation and prejudice against newbie cosplayers? In fact, Hitman and Katsune (both multi-award winning, veteran cosplayers) participated and did not even get 3rd place simply because we let the scores stand for themselves. We adhered to the rules that were set and did not "tweak" or "manipulate" them in any way.
To be honest, I had concerns because the 1st and 3rd placers were both siblings, but despite this we allowed the scores to stand BECAUSE we respected the judges and the rules and made their decisions final. Integrity in the cosplay contest and the adherence to the rules was our main concern. We may not have entirely agreed with the decision of the judges, but we trusted their judgment and felt that the winners were indeed deserving.
With the choice of judges and their expertise, how would you have ranked the following in the different criteria (Craftsmanship/Accuracy, Performance, Audience Impact):
JM Chua
Robert Wong
Alodia
With the criteria having to be equal, let's be honest. Who would want Audience Impact to have the same percentage as Craftsmanship/Accuracy and Performance? Does this represent cosplay properly that a cosplayer having a great costume and poor projection is scored the same as a cosplayer with great projection and a poor costume?
In fact, if there was a problem with the judging system, it could have been brought up when Alodia herself was a judge during Tagcom 3. In the end, you can't argue with results. Using this system, score tabulation has been FASTER and MORE ACCURATE. Errors have been minimized (if not completely eradicated) and all the criteria emphasized. In the end, the result is a smoother cosplay contest that has resulted in deserving winners.
Or would it be better to wait 3 hours to come up with the winners and to ask cosplayers to come back on stage because a judge didn't catch their performance or wasn't able to look at their costume properly?
Original source: http://cosplay.ph/forums/showpost.php?p=56967&postcount=21 (sorry, members only)
This is in response to Alodia's allegations as stipulated in her deviantArt account: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/journal/24104141/.
As I am no longer in activity as a CosPh junior administrator (due to personal and work-related circumstances), this will be my first and last public post in the matter. For those interested to take this up with me, do so at your risk.
And for the record, while it's me a while to grasp the logic and I did not at first find myself in agreement with it, I understand now that this new system has its merits, perhaps more than I gave it credit for.
So here it is, the post of Kero/Pablo of Cosplay.ph on the issue at hand:
Ever since Cosplay.ph has managed cosplay events, we've been tweaking the judging system to try to find the right mix of aspects to ensure a system that is the most efficient, leads to the least errors, and allows the judges to focus on aspects that really matter.
With this in mind, we have been implementing a system where each judge is assigned a criteria instead of all the criteria for various reasons:
1) It allows the judge to focus on their expertise. They can ignore other aspects and really focus on their criteria. It allows them to consider their score at length given the only 1-2 minutes he or she has to observe the cosplayer.
2) It addresses the concern that a person might be judging something that is not necessarily their field. For instance, a judge might be more into making costumes for other people and simply allows someone else to perform in his costumes or another judge who is good at performances might simply be commissioning his or her costumes.
3) It reduces the chance of "score copying" that occurs when a judge starts to get behind and simply copies the scores of the judge beside him or her to catch up (the judge can't really stop the cosplay just to catch up.)
4) Each criteria really makes an impact. For instance, if there were four criteria and one was 10%, most judges would just score a 5 in almost all contestants thinking that it's insignificant. This undermines that criteria and renders it useless. By making it their sole concern, they can award a 0 or 5 or 10 or anything in between if they feel they really deserve it.
5) It reduces errors simply because you are reducing the numbers that are being tracked and the considerations being made by 1/3 (for 3 criteria) or 1/4 (for 4 criteria). So, in a cosplay with 100 contestants, instead of 300 or 400 numbers, you just need to keep track of 100 numbers. In addition, this gives judges time to double-check their scores and keep track of their results and even reconsider some of their scores.
Yes, indeed cosplay is "the whole package", but their weight should not be treated equally. In the case of E-Games, it was mostly Craftsmanship/Accuracy > Performance > Audience Impact. Does this mean that Audience Impact is useless? Perhaps in the old system where most judges would've just scored all the contestants a 5 it would be, but in a system where the judge gets to study the impact of the cosplayer and his or her projection carefully, it becomes pivotal.
Just to prove how pivotal it was, the top 3 winners were decided on point differences of 1-2 points with the Best Female winner being decided by a single point! The Audience Impact score could have, in fact, DECIDED the outcome of the winners. You're talking about 10 points: something that could have put the 6th placer in 1st place.
About the fact that newbies aren't being represented and that scoring was manipulated, let's take a look at the results:
Best Male: 1st Time Cosplayer
Best Female: 1st Time Cosplayer
1st Placer: Cosplayer Since November 2008 (Kid Robocop)
2nd Placer: Brand New Costume. Last time he cosplayed was last year (Spongebob Squarepants)
3rd Placer: Cosplaying Since this year (Kid Terminator)
Where is the manipulation and prejudice against newbie cosplayers? In fact, Hitman and Katsune (both multi-award winning, veteran cosplayers) participated and did not even get 3rd place simply because we let the scores stand for themselves. We adhered to the rules that were set and did not "tweak" or "manipulate" them in any way.
To be honest, I had concerns because the 1st and 3rd placers were both siblings, but despite this we allowed the scores to stand BECAUSE we respected the judges and the rules and made their decisions final. Integrity in the cosplay contest and the adherence to the rules was our main concern. We may not have entirely agreed with the decision of the judges, but we trusted their judgment and felt that the winners were indeed deserving.
With the choice of judges and their expertise, how would you have ranked the following in the different criteria (Craftsmanship/Accuracy, Performance, Audience Impact):
JM Chua
Robert Wong
Alodia
With the criteria having to be equal, let's be honest. Who would want Audience Impact to have the same percentage as Craftsmanship/Accuracy and Performance? Does this represent cosplay properly that a cosplayer having a great costume and poor projection is scored the same as a cosplayer with great projection and a poor costume?
In fact, if there was a problem with the judging system, it could have been brought up when Alodia herself was a judge during Tagcom 3. In the end, you can't argue with results. Using this system, score tabulation has been FASTER and MORE ACCURATE. Errors have been minimized (if not completely eradicated) and all the criteria emphasized. In the end, the result is a smoother cosplay contest that has resulted in deserving winners.
Or would it be better to wait 3 hours to come up with the winners and to ask cosplayers to come back on stage because a judge didn't catch their performance or wasn't able to look at their costume properly?
Original source: http://cosplay.ph/forums/showpost.php?p=56967&postcount=21 (sorry, members only)
This is in response to Alodia's allegations as stipulated in her deviantArt account: http://blackmage9.deviantart.com/journal/24104141/.
As I am no longer in activity as a CosPh junior administrator (due to personal and work-related circumstances), this will be my first and last public post in the matter. For those interested to take this up with me, do so at your risk.
Monday, April 06, 2009
Random costume-related post (Tangkilikin ang sariling atin)
A member from one of the Philippine arts-and-culture mailing lists I'm in emailed this:
Subject: (ThePhilippineCinema) LVN costumes...
From: Joseph Borneo Olfindo
Any body interested to archive Costume designs from LVN movies?
pls call me... 09209207512. ..
The costumes are already brittle with age...soon to go...photos may be the only way, but for a select few...I know you can do something better in preserving the costume designs...
joborn2x
I'm suspecting it's from the 1950s-era Filipiniana collection, in which case I waaaaaaaaant. T0T
Ah, to be young and broke.
Subject: (ThePhilippineCinema) LVN costumes...
From: Joseph Borneo Olfindo
Any body interested to archive Costume designs from LVN movies?
pls call me... 09209207512. ..
The costumes are already brittle with age...soon to go...photos may be the only way, but for a select few...I know you can do something better in preserving the costume designs...
joborn2x
I'm suspecting it's from the 1950s-era Filipiniana collection, in which case I waaaaaaaaant. T0T
Ah, to be young and broke.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Aftermath to the Modern-Day Princess Ball
*Please click the image to enlarge! ;D
First, as always, Many Happy Returns to uchihayukiko, who shares this day with me. ^_^
So I decided to unwind and at the same time celebrate my birthday this past weekend.
I was apprehensive to do it at first, since I was just going through so much at work. Then, of course, there was my godmother's all-too-recent and unexpected demise. Her death prompted me to seriously consider cancelling the party; it just wasn't right considering that the customary 40 days of grieving hadn't even passed yet.
But then I realised, it's EXACTLY the point ... my dad told me everyone in the family thought I wouldn't live past my 1st birthday. But fast-forward to today, exactly 24 years after that measles attack. Who knew, right?
Besides, I wanted to feel a bit special. While I do enjoy my work, I wanted to have some time to commemorate all other things that were awesome about me. It sounds shallow, true, but if you really REALLY know me (or follow this journal with regularity), I tend to dwell on all my negative points and all the negative events in my life. It's rare I decide to focus on the positive, which is exactly what I did last Saturday, March 14th. It's bad enough that even some relatives forget when my birthday is. I like to think I matter, even to me at least.
So after a lot of panicking, I decided to push through with the Modern-Day Princess Ball. I made a list of what I needed and what I could ask my close friends to help out with. After some false starts, I finally managed to shop for many of the items needed for my birthday. However, true to form, I had had no time for the bulk of preparations. I made sure to invite 30 people (all my Povedan friends, the YRT gang, some of my friends from college and cosplay who I felt would be available that time, and my current co-workers ... whoops, sorry I forgot my former co-workers X_x) in the hopes that there would be 25 of them present, in tune with my birthday (hahaha ang drama).
Saturday morning arrived. I began my day at the wet market buying fresh ingredients for the summer vegetarian spaghetti I planned to cook. pan_de_kuneho arrived to assist me with the decorations. mithlin_megil was supposed to help out as well, but she had gotten quite ill the night before, and was therefore in no condition to do so.
Dad stopped by to help out, but it was only after some arguing that we managed to agree on how to hang the decorations. xfridays_childx called him for some urgent matter, then he turned over the phone to me so she could send me some valuable big-sister advice. ♥
As the day wore on more and more people cancelled. I began to panic since almost half my invitees couldn't make it. pan_de_kuneho was such a sweetheart for putting up with me all that time. It was good that chocolatedazed arrived when she did - I began to panic less, and pan_de_kuneho had someone to hang out with while I finally took my long-deserved bath and began freshening up (!).
While pan_de_kuneho helped me out with the curling iron, crimson_azalea of the Kaka Fun Club (KFC) called and tried to prank me saying that she, ube and _freud_ wouldn't be coming over. However, they arrived right in the middle of the call with presents, chicken and alcohol in tow. XDDDDD Add to that the fact that lovediesel/A of SentiGRAM got lost along the way to the house, as did G of SentiGRAM. Good one KFC, I was just about ready to snap your heads off! X3
The two SentiGRAM girls arrived separately with help from both chocolatedazed and pan_de_kuneho (man was she overworked!). lovediesel was armed with balloons and her Victorian Maiden dress, which was a pain to fit into, but somehow we managed it. G looked smashing in her dress! ♥ Then Ana of Reach Out Otaku arrived as well, and quickly changed into a flaming red dress of win. Xtin (our Venus from our Pretty Guardian Sailormoon cosplay with pan_de_kuneho) arrived as well. My room became a flurry of chaos, with people lending each other dresses, accessories and shoes. Then my superior at work (who's also a senior of mine in UP ICTUS, as it eventually turned out) arrived with two of my officemates. She couldn't resist peeking into my room, and ended up doing make-up for some of my beauty-challenged friends (!!!). It was too bad she had to dash off to another dinner before we had our own, but at least my officemates Orthia and Angeline stayed on.
Last to arrive was Ivy of Reach Out Otaku, who brought boxes of brownies and food for the gods from Becky's Kitchen. She also had her Handycam handy, perfect later on that night when the karaoke session was under way. (BTW she just got engaged ... congratulations and best wishes to you and your fiance! \^0^/)
Finally some of the attendees forced me to have dinner. After some false starts everyone who was present sang me Happy Birthday, and then people began digging into the spaghetti and fried chicken. It wasn't long before everyone huddled around the chocolate fondue fountain armed with platefuls of fruit, which made me LOL. We nearly had a crisis on our hands when I had the chocolate fondue thinned with water, which caused the fondue fountain to clog up a bit. Good thing cooking oil helped loosen up that situation! Meanwhile some of the Povedans were going crazy with one of the programmes on my laptop. XDDDDDDDDDD;;;
When everyone had finished dinner and most of dessert, I had a little game of "How well do you know me?" To my surprise it wasn't lovediesel - who has known me longest - who knew the most, but it was ube! Then I awarded some prizes, in the form of cute tiaras: Early Bird went to pan_de_kuneho, lovediesel won Best Dressed thanks to her VM outfit (which she quickly changed out of once she won the award since it was getting stuffy XD;;;), ube received the prize for the game.
Soon it was karaoke time. The KFC gang was being uncharacteristically shy but pan_de_kuneho, Xtin and chocolatedazed in particular showed no such inhibitions. dXDDDDDDDDDDDDDb So in the end, ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea mixed the lemon-lime gin with lovediesel assisting them with the taste. In between it all we all tried to get the YM up and running in my laptop, which was tough because my internet decided to conk out. We ended up stealing a neighbour's connection, hehe. XDDDDDDDD Thus were finally able to get jactinglim and ericvids on board, where they witnessed among other things pan_de_kuneho and Xtin dancing to chocolatedazed's rendition of "Sha-la-la" (yes, THAT "Sha-la-la"). XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD It was too bad janipanda couldn't seem to connect to our webcam chat no matter how hard we tried. ;~; I'm holding out for Ivy to put up all the videos on Youtube. X3
We finally called it a night around 11:30, after some screencapping insanity from our Singapore-based friends. The remaining guests helped clean up, though lovediesel did most of the work. It was then I realised that I forgot to give most of the guests who left early their giveaways. Whoops~! XP Sorry about that guys, let me know when you're free to meet up and claim them alright?
Now here's the part where I thank everyone who helped make the Modern-Day Princess Ball possible:
Firstly, many, many thanks to lovediesel and xfridays_childx for the ideas. Thanks for the balloons too, lovediesel!
Thank you very, very much pan_de_kuneho for being the earliest to arrive, helping out with the decorations and overall set-up, curling my hair, giving my other guests directions via the telephone, and putting up with my panic attack when people began cancelling en masse that morning. You are made of so much win! I owe you big-time. ♥
Thank you very much lovediesel and chocolatedazed for sleeping over and helping me fix the venue once the party ended. ♥ Thanks for bringing food and the eating implements as well, chocolatedazed !
Thank you very much ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea for bringing food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), for mixing the alcohol, and for getting me presents even when I hadn't really expected any from you. Thanks also to ube and _freud_ for being kaladkaring katulong the Saturday prior to my birthday and helping out with the preliminary shopping.
Thank you very much to my UP ICTUS sempai (senior) and current superior in VPRI, who dropped by for a spell to bring in my other officemates and who also very gamely did make-up for some of my girls. ♥ You are made of too much awesome. ;~;
Thank you very much pan_de_kuneho & pan_de_kunehofor being sports while waiting for us to fix the internet connection and YM, and for celebrating with us DURING the party all the way from Singapore complete with cake and alky. ♥
Thank you very much to everyone who attended - SentiGRAM (though we were missing R ;~;), Kaka Fun Club (though we were missing Cesca and transient_freak), the YRT gang, the PGSM gang, the ladies of Reach Out Otaku, and my current officemates. I hope I didn't miss anyone! ;~;
To everyone who couldn't be in the party physically for any reason, thank you very, very much for your greetings and well-wishes. ♥ I appreciate those a lot.
Thanks to everyone who remembered for making my 25th birthday memorable! ♥
I wonder what will happen in the next 25 years... v^~^v
PS Pictures are up! More links to be added as they come. ♥
1) chocolatedazed = http://aoyukihikari.multiply.com/photos/album/94/Joy_Hime-gyaru_Party
2) jactinglim = http://jactinglim2.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Mai_Hime-tachi
3) lovediesel = http://kismet0225.multiply.com/photos/album/211/Joys_Hime-gyaru_Party
4) Xtin = http://sailorsenshi8.multiply.com/photos/album/24/3-14-2009
First, as always, Many Happy Returns to uchihayukiko, who shares this day with me. ^_^
So I decided to unwind and at the same time celebrate my birthday this past weekend.
I was apprehensive to do it at first, since I was just going through so much at work. Then, of course, there was my godmother's all-too-recent and unexpected demise. Her death prompted me to seriously consider cancelling the party; it just wasn't right considering that the customary 40 days of grieving hadn't even passed yet.
But then I realised, it's EXACTLY the point ... my dad told me everyone in the family thought I wouldn't live past my 1st birthday. But fast-forward to today, exactly 24 years after that measles attack. Who knew, right?
Besides, I wanted to feel a bit special. While I do enjoy my work, I wanted to have some time to commemorate all other things that were awesome about me. It sounds shallow, true, but if you really REALLY know me (or follow this journal with regularity), I tend to dwell on all my negative points and all the negative events in my life. It's rare I decide to focus on the positive, which is exactly what I did last Saturday, March 14th. It's bad enough that even some relatives forget when my birthday is. I like to think I matter, even to me at least.
So after a lot of panicking, I decided to push through with the Modern-Day Princess Ball. I made a list of what I needed and what I could ask my close friends to help out with. After some false starts, I finally managed to shop for many of the items needed for my birthday. However, true to form, I had had no time for the bulk of preparations. I made sure to invite 30 people (all my Povedan friends, the YRT gang, some of my friends from college and cosplay who I felt would be available that time, and my current co-workers ... whoops, sorry I forgot my former co-workers X_x) in the hopes that there would be 25 of them present, in tune with my birthday (hahaha ang drama).
Saturday morning arrived. I began my day at the wet market buying fresh ingredients for the summer vegetarian spaghetti I planned to cook. pan_de_kuneho arrived to assist me with the decorations. mithlin_megil was supposed to help out as well, but she had gotten quite ill the night before, and was therefore in no condition to do so.
Dad stopped by to help out, but it was only after some arguing that we managed to agree on how to hang the decorations. xfridays_childx called him for some urgent matter, then he turned over the phone to me so she could send me some valuable big-sister advice. ♥
As the day wore on more and more people cancelled. I began to panic since almost half my invitees couldn't make it. pan_de_kuneho was such a sweetheart for putting up with me all that time. It was good that chocolatedazed arrived when she did - I began to panic less, and pan_de_kuneho had someone to hang out with while I finally took my long-deserved bath and began freshening up (!).
While pan_de_kuneho helped me out with the curling iron, crimson_azalea of the Kaka Fun Club (KFC) called and tried to prank me saying that she, ube and _freud_ wouldn't be coming over. However, they arrived right in the middle of the call with presents, chicken and alcohol in tow. XDDDDD Add to that the fact that lovediesel/A of SentiGRAM got lost along the way to the house, as did G of SentiGRAM. Good one KFC, I was just about ready to snap your heads off! X3
The two SentiGRAM girls arrived separately with help from both chocolatedazed and pan_de_kuneho (man was she overworked!). lovediesel was armed with balloons and her Victorian Maiden dress, which was a pain to fit into, but somehow we managed it. G looked smashing in her dress! ♥ Then Ana of Reach Out Otaku arrived as well, and quickly changed into a flaming red dress of win. Xtin (our Venus from our Pretty Guardian Sailormoon cosplay with pan_de_kuneho) arrived as well. My room became a flurry of chaos, with people lending each other dresses, accessories and shoes. Then my superior at work (who's also a senior of mine in UP ICTUS, as it eventually turned out) arrived with two of my officemates. She couldn't resist peeking into my room, and ended up doing make-up for some of my beauty-challenged friends (!!!). It was too bad she had to dash off to another dinner before we had our own, but at least my officemates Orthia and Angeline stayed on.
Last to arrive was Ivy of Reach Out Otaku, who brought boxes of brownies and food for the gods from Becky's Kitchen. She also had her Handycam handy, perfect later on that night when the karaoke session was under way. (BTW she just got engaged ... congratulations and best wishes to you and your fiance! \^0^/)
Finally some of the attendees forced me to have dinner. After some false starts everyone who was present sang me Happy Birthday, and then people began digging into the spaghetti and fried chicken. It wasn't long before everyone huddled around the chocolate fondue fountain armed with platefuls of fruit, which made me LOL. We nearly had a crisis on our hands when I had the chocolate fondue thinned with water, which caused the fondue fountain to clog up a bit. Good thing cooking oil helped loosen up that situation! Meanwhile some of the Povedans were going crazy with one of the programmes on my laptop. XDDDDDDDDDD;;;
When everyone had finished dinner and most of dessert, I had a little game of "How well do you know me?" To my surprise it wasn't lovediesel - who has known me longest - who knew the most, but it was ube! Then I awarded some prizes, in the form of cute tiaras: Early Bird went to pan_de_kuneho, lovediesel won Best Dressed thanks to her VM outfit (which she quickly changed out of once she won the award since it was getting stuffy XD;;;), ube received the prize for the game.
Soon it was karaoke time. The KFC gang was being uncharacteristically shy but pan_de_kuneho, Xtin and chocolatedazed in particular showed no such inhibitions. dXDDDDDDDDDDDDDb So in the end, ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea mixed the lemon-lime gin with lovediesel assisting them with the taste. In between it all we all tried to get the YM up and running in my laptop, which was tough because my internet decided to conk out. We ended up stealing a neighbour's connection, hehe. XDDDDDDDD Thus were finally able to get jactinglim and ericvids on board, where they witnessed among other things pan_de_kuneho and Xtin dancing to chocolatedazed's rendition of "Sha-la-la" (yes, THAT "Sha-la-la"). XDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD It was too bad janipanda couldn't seem to connect to our webcam chat no matter how hard we tried. ;~; I'm holding out for Ivy to put up all the videos on Youtube. X3
We finally called it a night around 11:30, after some screencapping insanity from our Singapore-based friends. The remaining guests helped clean up, though lovediesel did most of the work. It was then I realised that I forgot to give most of the guests who left early their giveaways. Whoops~! XP Sorry about that guys, let me know when you're free to meet up and claim them alright?
Now here's the part where I thank everyone who helped make the Modern-Day Princess Ball possible:
Firstly, many, many thanks to lovediesel and xfridays_childx for the ideas. Thanks for the balloons too, lovediesel!
Thank you very, very much pan_de_kuneho for being the earliest to arrive, helping out with the decorations and overall set-up, curling my hair, giving my other guests directions via the telephone, and putting up with my panic attack when people began cancelling en masse that morning. You are made of so much win! I owe you big-time. ♥
Thank you very much lovediesel and chocolatedazed for sleeping over and helping me fix the venue once the party ended. ♥ Thanks for bringing food and the eating implements as well, chocolatedazed !
Thank you very much ube, _freud_ and crimson_azalea for bringing food and drinks (both alcoholic and non-alcoholic), for mixing the alcohol, and for getting me presents even when I hadn't really expected any from you. Thanks also to ube and _freud_ for being kaladkaring katulong the Saturday prior to my birthday and helping out with the preliminary shopping.
Thank you very much to my UP ICTUS sempai (senior) and current superior in VPRI, who dropped by for a spell to bring in my other officemates and who also very gamely did make-up for some of my girls. ♥ You are made of too much awesome. ;~;
Thank you very much pan_de_kuneho & pan_de_kunehofor being sports while waiting for us to fix the internet connection and YM, and for celebrating with us DURING the party all the way from Singapore complete with cake and alky. ♥
Thank you very much to everyone who attended - SentiGRAM (though we were missing R ;~;), Kaka Fun Club (though we were missing Cesca and transient_freak), the YRT gang, the PGSM gang, the ladies of Reach Out Otaku, and my current officemates. I hope I didn't miss anyone! ;~;
To everyone who couldn't be in the party physically for any reason, thank you very, very much for your greetings and well-wishes. ♥ I appreciate those a lot.
Thanks to everyone who remembered for making my 25th birthday memorable! ♥
I wonder what will happen in the next 25 years... v^~^v
PS Pictures are up! More links to be added as they come. ♥
1) chocolatedazed = http://aoyukihikari.multiply.com/photos/album/94/Joy_Hime-gyaru_Party
2) jactinglim = http://jactinglim2.multiply.com/photos/album/38/Mai_Hime-tachi
3) lovediesel = http://kismet0225.multiply.com/photos/album/211/Joys_Hime-gyaru_Party
4) Xtin = http://sailorsenshi8.multiply.com/photos/album/24/3-14-2009
Sunday, March 08, 2009
These past 2 weeks have been crazy.
1) Hongkong began as a disaster but at least the weekend evened out. We arrived early at Chek Lap Kok Airport but we couldn't take a ride into the city in time for our meeting. Some of us went ahead to present while the rest, myself included, just caught up with them just in time for lunch (courtesy of our contacts at HK) after arranging for check-in at our hotel. Then the weather was too cool and too rainy for comfort (stupid CNN said it would be clear skies through the weekend! XP), but Disneyland was all sorts of fun (considering how small it is) and clubbing at Lan Kwai Fong was ... well, unforgettable. XD; (Sa mga nakakaalam walang manlalaglag. X3) Did not get to shop as much as I'd wanted though, and I kept getting the group lost and late and stuff, bleh. XP
2) My godmother (Dad's sister; also the proud new grandmother whose picture I posted here 2 years ago) died of cancer two days before I was supposed to fly out. I was numb for the next few days, even with the clubbing and Disneyland craziness. I wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come out.
3) Made a couple of stupid decisions especially on Wednesday. Backlogged to the max pa. Did not even get to buy tickets to the final set concert of the Eraserheads. Need to rectify everything ASAP. Shet. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDX
4) Shopped for stuff for my birthday yesterday (Saturday). I honestly wasn't sure I should celebrate it the way I wanted to considering the death in my family lately, but I decided I was turning 25 only once and I wasn't going to celebrate any more birthdays after that so I may as well celebrate life. Besides, it's one of the few times I'm going to see my all my closest friends (hoping to make 25 for 25, lol) from all walks of life. I was in such a bad mood earlier since I was supposed to do some leftover work before I left and then again when I got home but Anthy died so I asked markpoa's younger brother to fix it. He's cool. (Thanks for fixing my PC!) Very glad I had Neko and Sherry, who even went the extra mile by patiently waiting for me while I de-stressed by watching the Charice Pempengco concert, with me or I would've gone nuts. thank you girls! ♥
Also: Francis Magalona died due to complications brought about by leukemia on Friday, 6th March. An acquaintance/semi-friend of mine (who's also a co-worker's sister) is a nurse at Medical City, where he breathed his last. While I am still somewhat embarrassed to remember dancing to his song at age 7 (which has gone on to show that I can't dance but I still do it anyway), I admit I enjoyed his songs as a guilty pleasure. Francis M was 44 and is survived by his wife and eight (8!) children.
2) My godmother (Dad's sister; also the proud new grandmother whose picture I posted here 2 years ago) died of cancer two days before I was supposed to fly out. I was numb for the next few days, even with the clubbing and Disneyland craziness. I wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come out.
3) Made a couple of stupid decisions especially on Wednesday. Backlogged to the max pa. Did not even get to buy tickets to the final set concert of the Eraserheads. Need to rectify everything ASAP. Shet. DDDDDDDDDDDDDDX
4) Shopped for stuff for my birthday yesterday (Saturday). I honestly wasn't sure I should celebrate it the way I wanted to considering the death in my family lately, but I decided I was turning 25 only once and I wasn't going to celebrate any more birthdays after that so I may as well celebrate life. Besides, it's one of the few times I'm going to see my all my closest friends (hoping to make 25 for 25, lol) from all walks of life. I was in such a bad mood earlier since I was supposed to do some leftover work before I left and then again when I got home but Anthy died so I asked markpoa's younger brother to fix it. He's cool. (Thanks for fixing my PC!) Very glad I had Neko and Sherry, who even went the extra mile by patiently waiting for me while I de-stressed by watching the Charice Pempengco concert, with me or I would've gone nuts. thank you girls! ♥
Also: Francis Magalona died due to complications brought about by leukemia on Friday, 6th March. An acquaintance/semi-friend of mine (who's also a co-worker's sister) is a nurse at Medical City, where he breathed his last. While I am still somewhat embarrassed to remember dancing to his song at age 7 (which has gone on to show that I can't dance but I still do it anyway), I admit I enjoyed his songs as a guilty pleasure. Francis M was 44 and is survived by his wife and eight (8!) children.
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Ang mga Belonio
Meeting Professor Alexis Belonio is such a blessing. He's humble and self-effacing, he willingly shares his inventions for free on the internet (www.bioenergylists.org), he acknowledges God (Supreme Being for those who are more spiritually-inclined) as his Source of ideas, he finds it important to foster the spirits of invention and enterprise on his seven children, he would much rather keep working on and refining his inventions than let the justifiable glow of the RAE get to his head and his heart, and he realizes the need of finding alternate energy sources from existing waste material.
Plus his wife, Salvacion, is awesome and so supportive, and just as brilliant as he is. They make a team which cannot be classified into empty words. It is a shame she keeps getting relegated to the sidelines, but it is a testament to her character that she is very patient, considerate and untiring in her support of her husband.
I suddenly feel so small and insignificant. But on the other hand, I am still proud because I now carry a small part of him in my mind and heart.
Plus his wife, Salvacion, is awesome and so supportive, and just as brilliant as he is. They make a team which cannot be classified into empty words. It is a shame she keeps getting relegated to the sidelines, but it is a testament to her character that she is very patient, considerate and untiring in her support of her husband.
I suddenly feel so small and insignificant. But on the other hand, I am still proud because I now carry a small part of him in my mind and heart.
Monday, January 12, 2009
Abre las puertas dela memoria
One of my acquaintances posted all our old, grade school pictures on Facebook. I'm sure some of you here know exactly who and what that's about. ;P
I remember looking and feeling ugly and hideously fat, lacking total coordination during PE and most especially gymnastics class, being the one of the tallest girls in class at the time (this was before everyone else caught up with me during puberty, LOL), being angry at so many of my classmates, doing crazy things and stupid things (not like that's ever changed...), killing off sewing machines, having magic hands with craptastic computers, cramming loads of Individual Work, having one of the biggest barkadas the grade school department had ever seen, wearing stuff which seemed OMGAWESOME! at the time, occupying the entire driveway playing patintero, lunch on the covered court floors, retreats at Tagaytay, making friends with girls from bitterly opposing political dynasties (it still makes me happy that they seem to get along up until now), massive sticker picture love, booster participation during cheerleading contests, making friends, and of course, being in that yellow-and-white gingham uniform which made us so distinct to the world at large - and so laughable to other girls' schools. (Friends who come from said other girls' schools, aminin. XD)
Oh! The girl who unloaded our old photos was classmates with a girl who I consider my first love. And now, I am finally able to took at their class picture without feeling anything at all for that first love, except for a twinge of what might have been. (Naks, drama! But yeah. ;P)
But to be honest, even with all the shit that school threw at me, I will always regard my life in Poveda Learning Centre with fondness in my heart. ♥
I remember looking and feeling ugly and hideously fat, lacking total coordination during PE and most especially gymnastics class, being the one of the tallest girls in class at the time (this was before everyone else caught up with me during puberty, LOL), being angry at so many of my classmates, doing crazy things and stupid things (not like that's ever changed...), killing off sewing machines, having magic hands with craptastic computers, cramming loads of Individual Work, having one of the biggest barkadas the grade school department had ever seen, wearing stuff which seemed OMGAWESOME! at the time, occupying the entire driveway playing patintero, lunch on the covered court floors, retreats at Tagaytay, making friends with girls from bitterly opposing political dynasties (it still makes me happy that they seem to get along up until now), massive sticker picture love, booster participation during cheerleading contests, making friends, and of course, being in that yellow-and-white gingham uniform which made us so distinct to the world at large - and so laughable to other girls' schools. (Friends who come from said other girls' schools, aminin. XD)
Oh! The girl who unloaded our old photos was classmates with a girl who I consider my first love. And now, I am finally able to took at their class picture without feeling anything at all for that first love, except for a twinge of what might have been. (Naks, drama! But yeah. ;P)
But to be honest, even with all the shit that school threw at me, I will always regard my life in Poveda Learning Centre with fondness in my heart. ♥
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Manigong Bagong Taon!
Just saying Happy New Year to one and all. :D
... Damn, where did 2008 go??? D:
... Damn, where did 2008 go??? D:
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Local trapos (traditionally corrupt politicians), we're watching you!
READ THIS (http://vicissitude-decidido.blogspot.com/2008/12/world-is-fucked-up.html) AND PASS.
Related reading:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/141418/DAR-chiefs-son-5-bodyguards-face-charges-for-alleged-mauling-of-2-golfers
http://digg.com/people/Politician_mauls_56_year_old_and_14_year_old_on_golf_course
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20081227-180232/DAR-chiefs-son-tagged-in-golf-attack
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/12/27/08/dars-pangandaman-complained-mauling-antipolo-city-golfers
http://www.abante-tonite.com/issue/dec2708/news_story1.htm
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=427438&publicationSubCategoryId=68
Those politicians are going down.
Related reading:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/141418/DAR-chiefs-son-5-bodyguards-face-charges-for-alleged-mauling-of-2-golfers
http://digg.com/people/Politician_mauls_56_year_old_and_14_year_old_on_golf_course
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view/20081227-180232/DAR-chiefs-son-tagged-in-golf-attack
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/metro-manila/12/27/08/dars-pangandaman-complained-mauling-antipolo-city-golfers
http://www.abante-tonite.com/issue/dec2708/news_story1.htm
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=427438&publicationSubCategoryId=68
Those politicians are going down.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
I can has Poupee! :D
So thanks to Seme GF-chama, I finally joined PoupeeGirl!
For those on Poupee, please add me! ;D
Merry Christmas again! :P
For those on Poupee, please add me! ;D
Merry Christmas again! :P
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Season's Greetings!
Maligayang Pasko sa inyong lahat!
... Normally I'd have some form of artwork, but I'm feeling mighty lazy and I need to go out anyways. X3
EDIT: Haha sa wakas hindi na rin tinamad.
"Pasko" by Alvaro Jimenez, circa 2002, artwork borrowed from the Ayala Museum. "Maligayang" added by myself thanks to Photoshop CS3. XD
... Normally I'd have some form of artwork, but I'm feeling mighty lazy and I need to go out anyways. X3
EDIT: Haha sa wakas hindi na rin tinamad.
"Pasko" by Alvaro Jimenez, circa 2002, artwork borrowed from the Ayala Museum. "Maligayang" added by myself thanks to Photoshop CS3. XD
Friday, December 12, 2008
Home, Sweet House
Posting this because I'm off to a party where I KNOW this won't last longer than 5 minutes. Too bad, I really wanted to bring it home. ;~;
This lovely house is made out of graham crackers, chocolate cookies, marshmallows, caramel popcorn, chocolate wafers and much love. all put together with melted chocolate syrup (isn't that technically fondue?). Our accountant here at work, Ma'am G, has made this delectable piece of art. ♥ Look at the candy-choccy perfection and despair.
This lovely house is made out of graham crackers, chocolate cookies, marshmallows, caramel popcorn, chocolate wafers and much love. all put together with melted chocolate syrup (isn't that technically fondue?). Our accountant here at work, Ma'am G, has made this delectable piece of art. ♥ Look at the candy-choccy perfection and despair.
Friday, November 28, 2008
In the Waiting Line.
This song by Zero7 totally sums up what I've been feeling for months. I just don't feel like investing myself in anything besides work and the relationships that matter to me.
Wait in line 'til your time
Ticking clock, everyone stop
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Do you believe in what you see?
There doesn't seem to be
Anybody else who agrees with me
Do you believe in what you see?
Motionless wheel, nothing is real
Wasting my time in the waiting line
Do you believe in what you see?
Nine to five, living lies
Everyday, stealing time
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Do you believe in what you feel?
There doesn't seem to be
Anybody else who agrees with me
Do you believe in what you see?
Motionless wheel, nothing is real
Wasting my time in the waiting line
Do you believe in what you see?
Ah, and I’ll shout and I’ll scream
But I’d rather not have seen
And i'll hide away for another day
Do you believe in what you see?
Motionless wheel, nothing is real
Wasting my time in the waiting line
Do you believe in what you see?
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me...
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Wait in line 'til your time
Ticking clock, everyone stop
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me
Do you believe in what you see?
There doesn't seem to be
Anybody else who agrees with me
Do you believe in what you see?
Motionless wheel, nothing is real
Wasting my time in the waiting line
Do you believe in what you see?
Nine to five, living lies
Everyday, stealing time
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
Do you believe in what you feel?
There doesn't seem to be
Anybody else who agrees with me
Do you believe in what you see?
Motionless wheel, nothing is real
Wasting my time in the waiting line
Do you believe in what you see?
Ah, and I’ll shout and I’ll scream
But I’d rather not have seen
And i'll hide away for another day
Do you believe in what you see?
Motionless wheel, nothing is real
Wasting my time in the waiting line
Do you believe in what you see?
Everyone's saying different things to me
Different things to me...
Everyone's taking everything they can
Everything they can
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