Mom is my Yellow

The class was asked to think of our favorite color that would resonate our past or the present, and then write a poem about it. I thought of my yellow sarong, the one from Mom, and how bright it was.

The level of my creativity is lower than my grades so I'd rather not publish it here.

Essentially, it's about how my Mom is my yellow and how her whole person has been and always will be my sun. When the world was rude to me she was kind. She is flawed, yes, but for me I couldn't ask for more than what she gives.

My Sun and I.

I've been hearing rude comments about her. Those people who dare talk bad about her in front of me. It hurt me to the point that while I was telling this to Ash, I started to tear up.

I don't want to be like them. I tell my Mom what I think and she listens and all those badmouthed prejudiced people know nothing of her reasons because they don't tell her and she doesn't share.

And I remind myself to never be like them. I hope I'll never be like them.

What I hope for is to be bright to my family and the important people around me. It need not be the world. A few is enough. Even the sun can't light up the whole universe.

How to get over someone who was never yours

          Feeling blue because the person you thought who loved you actually found someone new? Are you devastated because for nine years (length of time may vary) you felt the inconsistencies of loving someone who suddenly turned his/her back on you?

         Your situation may be different, but the point is, you love a person who is in love with someone else! You must be crying, sad, and inconsolable. But be inconsolable no more: here is the solution you've been waiting for- the how-to article that could actually channel your time and energy from mourning and feeling heartbroken into moving on (even though s/he wasn't yours in the first place)!

1. TELL EVERY DETAIL TO YOUR FRIENDS. Tell your friends how you found out the truth (e.g. by stalking). Every word, every letter, every tiny detail that broke your heart- tell them every damn thing.

You know what to do. (Photo taken from the Internet)

NOTE: Make sure that they are your real friends with ears that will listen. You don't want to have to repeat the story because they were busy doing some Calculus. This step is very crucial to the moving-on-from-someone-who-was-never-yours process so follow it religiously.

2. MOURN AND CRY LIKE A BABY. If you think you've moved on because you never cried over him/her, then you're wrong. That person made you believe in fairy tales, in Disney's happy-endings and ever afters- how could you not cry when s/he's found new love? Cry! Cry because your heart is broken and the dream you've been dreaming about for a long time could never be yours!

CRY! I said cry! (Photo taken from you-know-where)

NOTE: It is advised that you cry on your own so that you get to reflect about what happened without distraction and fake embrace about how it will all get better when all you feel is the world crumbling down under your feet. But if you think it will make you feel any better, you can cry on someone's shoulder.

3. STALK THE LOVERS. You know you shouldn't but you want to do it anyway. If the play-by-play report of their first date from Gateway to SM North (locales may vary) will crush your broken heart some more, then go: it's a free country even for stupid people like you.

You want to see them happy? Suffer! (Photo taken from someone else)

NOTE: The lovers may actually read your How-To article so be extra careful when providing context clues.

4. STOP STALKING THE LOVERS. This step needs no explanation at all.

She looks like a friend I know. (Photo downloaded from a site somewhere)

NOTE: This will be hard, but you have to do it after some time. Block his account if that is what it takes: no need to be a hypocrite about it. Delete every message, call history, or image that will trigger your brain to remind you of the past. Forgetting is hard if you remind yourself time after time.

5. MAKE A POEM, WRITE A SONG, A SYMBOLIC STORY, OR SOMETHING. Be literary, be artistic. Let the pain and the sorrow flow through you and then be a sport about it: damn, be creative about it! Who knows, you may be the next Taylor Swift!

Lyrics from Taylor Swift's 'I Almost Do'

NOTE: I need a copy-reader for this story I am writing...


          Getting over someone is never easy, even if that someone was never really yours to begin with. But you know what they say: life goes on. As cliche as it sounds, losing a person is not the end of your world. You may never be the same person you were, but who is?

OPLAN JJ: Helping my brother survive the demands of high school

As an elementary pupil, I always envied my classmates who had elder siblings to help them with their projects. My projects were all clumsy and stupid-looking while theirs were nicely done. I couldn't possibly ask my parents: they knew nothing about designs and stuff. It was just me and the right side of my brain.

Keeping those memories in my head, I decided to help my brother with his projects. JJ isn't an artsy fartsy and his low grades were mainly because he didn't submit his projects. At least now, he did as far as to ask me to do his projects.

First Project: The Scrapbook

His TLE subject is Computer IV and I don't really understand the need for scrapbooks (shouldn't they learn to use PhotoShop or something?) aside from that his teacher who sold the materials at such high cost would profit from it (This is a public high school anyway, so, pft.).

That's my Mom's bag right there. I have a messy workplace on the floor

This is my favorite page in his scrapbook.

With all fairness, I had fun doing it. I kind of missed the artsy fartsy stuff.

Second Project: Bible

I am excited to help my brother design his bible. It's meant to narrate his genesis and prophecy: from the time our parents met to his ideals for the future.

     

The front page of my brother's Bible. It is still under construction.

My (so-called) Masterpiece

The 'bible' is just a scheme of a teacher. Even though I could smell money and nothing but money from it, this was actually worth keeping (and I guess that is why other teachers made it a requirement even though they didn't sell materials).
 
This project helped me trace my history back from how my parents met, the wedding, my childhood, and the origin of my name. It's been four years and mine is still in one piece. It went as far as Los Baños so that I wouldn't feel so homesick when I couldn't go home.

I entitled my bible 'Crescendo' because life gets louder as we grow old.

My favorite page of Crescendo shows me graduating from prep, kinder, and grade school.

Good thing I haven't started on my own academic problems yet which I think is coming soon.

A Hundred-Word Story: Faint Beats and Foosteps

Every breath I take is painful: every heartbeat's a struggle, and the longer I lay drowning in my blood, the more I wish for my demise. The darkness is not helping, and neither is the cold brick wall any comfort. My heart was stabbed by a traitor: even the beautiful moon was sufferable.

Across, the busy street buzzes with life-- the exact thing I'm slowly losing. If only I could shout for help, if only I could run...

Dub-dub. Suddenly, I hear footsteps. Dub-dub. Someone's coming.

'Help,' I forcefully whimper, clutching my chest as if it can save me.

Silver screen: A look at the past

Just when I thought I wouldn't have any time for vacation, my internship ended on May 22, leaving me 17 days of summer before school starts. As you may have guessed, I had a lot of free time. I thought of watching old movies that I kept hearing about from the new ones, so let me play the role of a movie critic for a while.

Here are the list of the oldies I got to see before and during the summer break—some of which were personally recommended while the others were mentioned from movies and TV series.

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961) - I'm not sure where I got the recommendation to watch this. I loved Audrey Hepburn here (Cross my heart, kiss my elbows!). She was really skinny and stylish. The story is about a phony socialite in New York who had a brother to take care of after his supposed comeback from the military. She met a neighbor, a writer, who also ended up as her friend. What I liked about this film was that it did not have many self-inflicted dramas some just can't relate with. I had to search the Internet for the plot in order to better understand it. Way back, people talked too fast.

 Star Wars (1977-1983, 1999-2005) - The intention to see this saga rooted from How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM). Not recently, my brother and I bought a DVD and were hooked with the prequel trilogy, Episodes I to III. I just learned that the prequel was filmed later (1999-2005), and that Episodes IV-VI were filmed earlier (1977-1983). No wonder the plot went all crappy and corny! I didn't finish the later episodes: I got saturated and bored. Anyway, I'm thinking of re-visiting the other episodes in order to see the Ewoks Barney kept talking about.

The Breakfast Club (1985) - When I saw Pitch Perfect and after everybody else did, there was a fuss to watch this film. Judd Nelson was really cute here, something about his nose? I’m not even sure. Easy A also mentioned the fist-in-the-air scene. The movie was about five different teenagers getting along and understanding their differences.



     






Sleepless in Seattle (1994) - Robin, from HIMYM, saw Ted re-enact the last scene from this. I didn't like it. It was an old chick-flick about magic and destiny and hearts and flowers. I wasn't in the mood for such.

Pulp Fiction (1994) - I asked the Internet for the best films of the 1990's, and this movie kept appearing on almost every list. I was surprised that 9gag used scenes from this as memes (I double dare you, motherfucker!). It got me really entertained; it was funny in so many ways. I still had to ask Wikipedia for some facts though, because I honestly did not understand how Jules' and Vincent's conversation centered about a foot massage and someone getting thrown from the window. I was confused at first.

     





Nell (1994) - This made me cry! Despite some critics, I found Jodie Foster appealing here! This was recommended by Lyn, a friend, who belonged to a class where this film was shown. Well, interpersonal communication was the topic, and Nell communicated rather differently, so it was logical. It's a masterpiece.

Anna and the King (1999) - Again, another film from Lyn which stars Jodie Foster. Blooper alert, it was a sad ending. I really liked this film. Plus, I got to know what Chow Yun Fat looks like! Some scenes were rather corny and unbelievable, but all in all it was great.

         All the movies here were from Hollywood. I’m thinking of re-visiting the Filipino cinema, too. I mean, I've seen enough FPJ and Bong Revilla action movies, but I don’t think I've seen enough drama yet. Is it about time I check what the Vilma Santos and Nora Aunor craze is about?

   

Guess who got Enchanted?

Last May 26, Sunday, Rav and I went to Enchanted Kingdom (EK). Originally, the plan was to go there months ago, but then she failed to file her leave on time so it was cancelled. Honestly, I thought it was never going to happen, but here I am, blogging about the fun we had.

The last time I went there, I was four years old. It’s been 15 years, EK! And we meet again!

The most fun rides are Anchor’s Away, Disc-O’-Magic, Log Jam, and Space Shuttle. Anchor’s Away took me by surprise, I thought it was a light ride that we sat by the end of it to have a better ‘feel.’ Man, those few minutes almost took my breath away! When it started throwing us higher and higher, I started to scream like AAAAH! WOOOH! MAMA! WHERE ARE YOU WHEN I NEED YOU?

We asked an EK staff to take a picture of us before we go Anchor's Away.

Disc-O’-Magic made me dizzy a lot. My eyes were open the whole time to savor the moment, and I felt really dizzy what with all the circular motion. But it was A-OK! You’d feel really secure with it, so it isn't as scary as should be, but it’s mighty good!

The dizzying Disc-O'-Magic with Eldar in the middle.

Log Jam was a short and wet ride. The first time we went down from an uphill slope, it made me scream big time. We had no seat-belts on or whatever and we had to literally hang on for dear life! The second time we went down, I screamed with anticipation since it was higher, but I shouldn't have: I was not afraid afterwards. Like, what? That’s it? Needless to say, it got us wet and scared for a while, so the ride is also in my list of fun rides.

Is my imitation of Eldar good enough?

Somebody is scared of heights. The Ferris Wheel was not as high as I thought it would be
 nor was it fast and scary nor fun. I was a little bit disappointed.

Last but not the least, the Space Shuttle. Rav won’t ride it with me, so I waited the long line alone. It was not supposed to be my turn yet, but the train had two vacant seats by the end. The people in front of me were in group of threes and fives, and when I was asked, ‘How many are you with  Ma’am?’ I motioned with my index finger, ‘I'm alone.’ And so I had to ride almost at the back (again) alone, and had the ride of my life! My eyes were wide open as we were sent to higher altitude, but when the train started moving fast I closed my eyes. I opened my eyes twice, saw the sky, regretted it, opened it again, and saw the flashing lights of cameras. It felt nice being thrown and everything, but I regretted having closed my eyes afterwards. I was a brave girl, I told myself, and now I brag about it here. Huh.

The trail for the Space Shuttle

We also rode the Carousel to get even dizzier after Disc-O'-Magic.

The sad part of the trip was the rain. If it hadn't rained, we could have been able to ride the Anchor's Away and Space Shuttle twice! And we could have got the time to ride EKstreme, too. Nonetheless, it was a day to remember, way better than my EK memory from when I was four.

The wet look we had after the Rio Grande Rapids. Man, Ania  was really unlucky with
that one. I hated how it wet my shoes.

Rav and I had a really good time catching up what was going on with each other’s life. Thanks to her I got to go to EK, have a great bonding moment with an old friend, and forget about all the drama I’d been afflicting myself with. Thanks, Rav!

Honey and some clover, please?

            I've been wanting to post about Honey and Clover (H&C) for two months now, but I got pre-occupied with other things like internship and procrastination. H&C is one of the best animes I ever watched, one that was heartfelt since I was especially heartbroken the time I saw it. It's an anime that revolves around the lives and love affairs of five (5) characters.

        The Main Characters of Honey and Clover. From left to right: Yamada, Morita, Hagu, and Takemoto.

Behind Morita is Mayama. Photo taken from the Internet.

Mainly, the characters are Hagu, Yamada, Morita, Takemoto, and Mayama. My favorite character is Yamada, she was the girl who helplessly fell in love with a guy (Mayama) who was madly in love with another woman. She often cried and whenever she was hurt, so was I.

Yamada, crying in front of a Ferris Wheel. Photo taken from the Internet.

           Meanwhile, Hagu was the perfect character. If you’re an avid anime fan, you should know about how there’s always a perfect character. She was very pretty, blonde, and talented. That’s the reason why two guys fell in love with her at first glance. The two guys are, of course, Morita and Takemoto.

Hagu's face when Morita and Takemoto first saw her. Photo taken from the Internet.

 Of the two guys, I liked Morita more. He was very perky, as talented as Hagu, and he was filthy rich, too. Takemoto played the good guy Greg, and I didn’t like him much. It wasn’t because he was a good guy, it was because he reminded me of people saying they love somebody, but then, being too scared to do anything about it.

Shinobu Morita and his older brother, Kaoru. The plot of his family is nice, too. 

Photo taken from the Internet.

In the end, Hagu chose her Uncle Shuuji who is also in love with her (incest alert). She chose him to take care of her, give his life to her, as she was being treated to be able to paint again. Did I mention she got into a life-changing accident?

            H&C is, relatively, a short anime compared to Inu Yasha and Naruto, but since it wasn’t fantasy, it was enough. The ending would leave you hanging, but needless to say, all of the characters reached their dreams. In my opinion, that is.