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CHECK OUT THE PANDA's NEW LOCKS

Isha came over to join me and some officemates for dinner tonight. Decided to head for Dayrits just beside ABS-CBN and enjoyed a hearty dinner while chatting away with Joey, Joven and Jac on work, television and UP professors. Near the end of dinner, Isha noticed that the cute black puppy who was in a cage just nearby was actually dehydrated. The poor thing's nose was practically dry. So we informed the owner of Dayrits who thanked us profusely for warning him.

So check it out... Isha's new look. Ok diba!

DILIMAN.BLOGGED now online

And much easier to access!
After the trouble I had with the paid webspace I got two years ago, this time I'm going for easier accessibility. Each time an issue is done, it will be posted in http://www.geocities.com/dilimancomic until a newer one is released. Also in this site shall all fan-email be read, posted and replied to.

For older issues, PDF versions of previous issues as well as other freebies such as Wallpapers and eventually pure-english PDF versions shall now be available to all those who opt to subscribe to the dilimancomic yahoo group (dilimancomic-subscribe@yahoogroups.com) Special notices and announcements on future issues and any other comics I make can now also be received through it.

Lastly, for those who don't like downloading pdfs, you can still catch the comic page-by-page at http://dilimancomic.blogspot.com Those who opt to read via page-by-page can also access "commentary" for each page if they start from the very beginning of the archive.

So, share the comic and spread the word. Issue fourteen is amost out! Two exclusive sneak peek pages are available for those who join the mailing list. Check it out now!

Gaming Weekends, Clone Wars and Wraith Websites

Had a very event-packed weekend last week. Friday night started with a delicious dinner with Isha and ended with some videoke singing. After a long sleep over saturday morning, I then met up with Isha again to attend the AEGIS Open Meet. Contrary to what others might assume, AEGIS in this case refers to the Alliance of Eclectic Gamers and Interactive Storytellers which is nearing its tenth year anniversary. We played this fun game board based on Lord of the Rings which Nabs brought to the event. I had the role of Frodo. Isha was Merry. Three others portrayed Sam, Pippin and Fatty (who was the fifth Hobbit other than Bilbo mentioned in the books. Fatty was the one who was to act as a decoy for Frodo.) From hilarious "we're doomed!" moments at the start, the Fellowship began to work well together as we progressed through Bree, Rivendell and eventually successfully navigated our way around Helm's Deep and arrived at Shelob's lair. Unfortunately, it was there our overconfident won over us and we ended up finding ourselves standing before the evil Sauron and failing the quest.



Later that evening, I ran a nWOD game for Isha and a bunch of other guys who wanted a taste of the darkner moodier type of gaming. Inspired by television shows like Lost and the old Twilight Zone episodes, I had each of them create characters who then go through frighteningly strange encounters that change their lives forever. One encountered a freaky neighbor who seemingly had a twisted demonic slant. The other learned his brother was entering politics and coming out as a gay governor. Another discovered the gay governor he was to support was brutally murdered before his very eyes. And while one learned his wife and daughter had been impossibly abducted by his own reflection, another realises that a scorned woman, even after death, is even worse.

Later that evening, Me and the gang (Special thanks to Aldwin for bringing a car!) drove up to a Starbucks where Isha's parents came over to fetch her. From there, we then headed back to Paranaque with my posse for our Orpheus game. Laughs were generously shared as we dissected Sam's Chabak Dota Charaight fascinations. Both Teddy and Benny Lee struggled between jokes to laugh. We met up with James at my place and gave the inhabitants of the underworld something to remember Orpheus by.

The next morning, I woke up to learn plans had to be shifted around. Originally I had hoped to travel all the way to San Pablo to attend the Komikero's Anniversary event. After spending most of the day moving around Alabang for errands, I opted to head for Greenhills and tried a second time to find CSCentral (2nd level, Beauty Shop Center, near Dunkin Donuts) in hopes of getting the Aeon Fluxx collection I was eyeing for quite some time. I decided to give myself something to be happy about:

Got the following DVDs:

• Orgazmo
• Il Mare (which should be a good follow-up to the movie A Moment to Remember)
• The StarWars: Clone Wars animated collection
• Copy of an old martial arts movie called Seven Swords.
  

So far, I've only seen the StarWars: Clone Wars collection, which remains the BEST thing to have come out of the second StarWars trilogy.

Finally, am about to run some FTP tests uploading sample pages for a website I am to be tasked to maintain. The site is known as the Wraith Project and it showcases articles, fan write-ups and the like for both the old World of Darkness Wraith setting, Orpheus and the New World of Darkness ghosts. I asked Seth to help me install a FTP software to use for it, but so far, he's had some trouble making it work. Here's hoping I make get to make things work before the week is up.

BADMINTON DAY 3 - CATCH UP POST
Badminton Day 3 was my worst performance yet. Although we arrived earlier than usual,the game started with a nearly 0-15 game between Jen and Marianne with me and Ramil. Hideous I know. As fate would have it, my luck could only go further and further lower. Got some good tips though, from Jeanette on how to hold the racket and not risk breathing my thumb. As well as interesting tips on how to strike close shots, how to side-step better, and how its all in the wrist.

Still, none of the advice could prepare me for being very out-of-the-zone that night. Struck the ceiling rafters more often than anything. And even when we finally got to the happy point of having a non-score practice session after the games, my final stroke sent the shuttlecock hurling towards a rafter and disappearing somewhere up there. Gah! Bad day... Next week, hopefully, goes better.

If not, I am gonna punish myself.


ANTI-STRESS = SINGING
Met up with the eternally pandacious Isha. We had dinner at a nice small restaurant which served vegetarian food (me and my brain.. I forgot the name AGAIN of the place) and shared some delectable desserts. Slightly pricey, but well worth the expense. Walked in the rain and bumped into a few of her possible dormmates and eventually made our way to singing some stress away.

Soon enough, after embarassing salvos singing songs like "Broken Vow," "Crazy for you" (Both Madonna and Michael Cruz's versions) as well as "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" we opted for some jologs/OPM moments and tried "Buloy" by Parokya ni Edgar, "So It's You" of Christian Bautista and "Please be careful with my Heart" of Jose Mari Chan. When Maurice (I really hope I got his name right) finally came to join us, we tried a few louder songs like "Plush" (which we didn't finish), "Come What May" (which nearly swallowed our lungs) and even "Satisfaction" (which Maui sung and will definitely give an encore to someday) A few Boyband songs were tossed around before Isha threw the bomb at us with her rendition of "Oops, I did it again" by Britney Spears.

All in all a great de-stressing end to a wonderfully toxic week.
Here's to having another one someday soon!

DILIMAN issue 14



Almost done.

Cold, cold water surrounds me now
And all I've got is your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Or am I lost?

Love one's daughter
Allow me that
And I can't let go of your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Or am I lost?

Cold, cold water surrounds me now
And all I've got is your hand
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Lord, can you hear me now?
Or am I lost?
----

I probably am.
Sigh... anyway, the pretty, smart, nice and kind Isha is coming over to join me and my officemates for lunch today. Then, its struggling to survive til around 8:00p.m. comes around for some Badminton to help relieve some stress again. This feels like such a wretched day for me today. Ah... someone stab me with a happy pill.

BEEN AWAKE SINCE FIVE THIRTY And have been finding myself thinking a lot about what my life has been going through as of the late. Spent an hour going through my Yahoo! mails, re-reading, then deleting all the e-mail I have received over the last few years from a certain someone whom sadly has decided to move on in life. The friendship is there, but well, one has to admit sometimes friendship isn't what you were hoping for. And to think this is what I've to go through after physically being drained for the shoot two days ago at work. Ah, the agony!

It can be surprising how even at this point when you feel you're doing what you must to take care of yourself, you can hear a little voice in your head warning you about being too selfish. How you'd hear your brain whispering to you "Oi! What are you doing? Why tell the whole fucking world you're going through an emotional time? What are you doing?!!? Do you want them to pity you? Do you want them to worry over you? Do you want them to think you can't handle this?"

But then, part of me realises writing about it this way is a good way to get some of the toxin feelings out. It can be hard for others to imagine, but people like me tend to be emotional cushions for others. We hear out other people's problems and take them in to help them recover. We absorb other people's worries and work actively to resolve them. But when it comes to our own problems, we tend to remain mum about them and handle them ourselves. At least until we feel it tide over us and make us explode or snap angrily at the next unsuspecting person nearby.

Blogging about it, in many ways, helps me feel better about surviving it.

A friend of mine however brought to mind something that may frightening be true. Have I actually been sabotaging my own relationships all this time? Though the reasons my friend raised might not be the actual reasons behind them, I still did find myself worriedly looking back and thinking about how many times what could have been a simple and good relationship became complicatedly messed-up due to my personal expectations and preferrences on how relationships work. And though I do believe all my concerns were valid (from simple stuff like "please share with me your plans for the damn week" to more complicated ones "why do you hesitate when you say "I love you" to me?") could I have been inavertedly maneuvering relationships to an earlier demise due to the fact I am leaving for another country in due time? Or is there a larger more intrinsic reason I have yet to admit to myself?

This feels like an emotional mid-life crisis.
And sadly, though I know I have the support and well-wishes of many friends out there, I feel this is one I may have to go through alone.

SHOOT WITH JANELLE
Had a shoot with the Wowowee! Girl Janelle yesterday. Details, as usual, are mum as per usual confidentiality rules with work but I definitely had fun during the shoot regardless of the additional stress brought about by missing creative team members (or their proxies) and the lack of a production design crew.

Thankfully, however, the director, the director of photography, the talent and the crew were pretty much in good spirits. Add to that a good bunch of officemates who remain thankfully willing and ready to volunteer their assistance. Kept the whole thing from transforming into a ball of stress.

Here's hoping the final product is just as cool!

Vignette: Undying

He took away his heart. The old thing was long rotten and dry, after all. He slid the gray muscle down into the hollow of the clay urn and smiled as the thing fell with a wet plomp into the bottom. Sliding the cover back, he then lifted the nearest lit candle and slowly... meticulously... sealed the urn with the still cooling wax.

And the turning of the wheel is the passage of time. And time waits for no man, for its path is eternal and long. Rise, step forth and begin your journey. There is no way but with the first step.

He remembered his father's words, even after the many decades that have passed since he last visited his tomb. They had not found it yet, thankfully, and part of him was happy that his father was the rebellious man he was in his youth. Unlike most, his father opted to not have his remains buried within a tomb of stone and traps. He decided to have himself buried in a hiddle tomb built beneath the unforgiving and just as eternal Nile.

The sands would never stop shifting. The water was a constant wind that shifted any markings or trails that would suggest the tomb was there. But outside the river, however, he knew where to look. He knew the tomb lay where the shadow of the far away mountain would rest at the stroke of the third hour past noon. He knew that the entrance could only be breached if the door was turned opposite the direction of the rising sun. And lastly, he knew that the traps within were all purely psychological and not truly intended to kill.

We begin with the first step. And the unending march of time begins to dance between the whorls of opportunity and the tip-toed instances of want. And we live on, undying, as the God Kings we were intended to be.

He sighed as he slid the now sealed wax urn and lifted the stone plate that covered the place where his father's remains had been all these years. He looked at them, marvelling at their intricacy. Few still cared to place their mummified organs in such carefully crafted canopic urns. Fewer even knew that they served a purpose that had nothing to do with the underworld. It was hard to identify whose heart was whose after a few years away from your own body, you see. A heart doesn't have a name tag on it after all.

He slid his sealed urn into the chamber, carefully moving it to sit beside the clutch of urns his father had left many, many decades ago. Then stared at them for a while. The cat-shaped canopic urn of his father looked regal and priceless beside his simply clay one. Admittedly, it was apt. Though he was supposed to be Pharoah, he had never worn neither title nor crown in his long life.

And in the end, we shall look back upon our pyramids and our kingdoms and see the stories we have written. And we shall then live on a dual life: One of legend and mystery where those who come after us shall forever ponder on and dream of.

And one of the heart. Seeking its place. In a world that resembles us only skin-deep.

And he slid the chamber closed. He made sure the stones interlocked in place and carefully made his way back to the double-door chamber that acted like an ancient airlock for him to exit the tomb without allowing the Nile to flood inside. He felt the cold dirty waters bathe him and he swam forward, leaving behind his father's tomb knowing well that in the end, after all these many years even if he was all-grown up and mature enough to live his own life, he still did seek to leave his heart beside his father's own.



Nikki Alfar
Tobie Abad
Gabby Lee
Andre Mischa Cleofe
Cathy delos Santos

AND SO IT IS...
Isha and I were chatting away in YM! when she flipped on the Doddle IMvironment for us to have fun with. What started with mindless doodles then became an attempt to make each other's portrait.

Isha got me on the first go:


Of course, this required me to take to the task and see if I can manage something other than my usual morbid, bloody, freaky artwork.

Taking the mouse into my hand (which frankly I had trouble with, having been used to using a stylus for quite some time at work), I ended up doing this:



Determined to come up with something better, I took my "trying to do something cool" out of my head and just let the hands create what I felt I wanted to really draw. I ditched the worries over anatomy and realism and just allowed my creative inner child to create what I truly felt was a good representation of the Lost Panda Bear Isha.

And this is what I ended up with:


Which I personally feel really captured what I wanted to say.
And I think she did too.
:-)

SOMETHING TO LIFT YOUR SPIRITS UP

You Raise me Up
by Josh Groban

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;
When troubles come and my heart burdened be;
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,
Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;
Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;
But when you come and I am filled with wonder,
Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;
You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;
I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;
You raise me up: To more than I can be.

Thanks to freakish alien for the code

BUSY WEEKEND AHEAD

Its only Monday and I am already looking forward to having a very busy weekend ahead of me. Saturday will be the day of the Open Meet for the Alliance of Eclectic Gamers and Interactive Storytellers (A.E.G.I.S.) as well as the next installment of Orpheus: The Comedy is Over. On the next day, the KOMIKEROs celebrate their anniversary at San Pablo, Laguna, along the Sampaloc Lakeside.
Here's to a fruitful week I hope.
Gawd... I need to go visit the spa sometime.

WEEKEND UPDATES:
Giovanni Chronicles moves forward as the Children of the Conspiracy of Isaac survive the tenuous years of the Anarch Revolt and the Inquisition. Time moves its slow yet perpetual pace as the vampires suvive the threats that arise between 1444 and 1472. But when the coming years brings the Children of the Conspiracy of Isaac face-to-face with the lone man who may change the very face of Cainite society, Vlad Tepes, will their suspicions on how the worst events tend to occur when they are gathered prove to be true?



Sam, Seth, Aldwin and Awie portrayed their characters yesterday with much more pathos than I expected. Anastasia di Pragha (Sam) embraced her Faith and struggled to find a means to show Vlad Tepes spiritual guidance. Niccolo di Medici (Seth) carefully played his hand as he verbally assaulted the Voivode of Voivodes Rustovich himself before the Ventrue Elder Dominus. Santiago de Saber (Aldwin) bravely presented his skills with both word and steel in his approaches towards the Furores and those present in the Convention of Hermandstat. While Harrad bini Alazeez ibn al-Faqadi (Awie) showed a powerful capacity for versatility in his scenes with the Toreador and the Tzimisce. All in all, the game went very well. Even if Seth and Aldwin (both of whom I suspect woke up early and failed to get enough rest) were sleepy even before the act ended, the cliffhanger I was forced to give gave the game a timely to be continued moment.
Read more about the Giovanni Chronicles here.

"THE FAMILY CAR!" "THE FAMILY CAR?"
Hung out with Tenzil at last, after what... two or three years of chance meetings in malls and online. Spent some time in Greenhills going around looking for shops and hoping to find stuff that weren't too expensive.



There were so much good geek stuff (from this point on pegged the "Dork Gimmick!") that I found myself again lamenting how I wish I was paid a bit more generously by the company I have so far devoted five years of my life towards. After some time chatting in Dulcinea (covering topics ranging from love to parents to dogs and to unconventiality) we decided to make our way to my apartment for a mind-boggling experience playing Katamari Damacy!

After spending some minutes rolling the Katamari around and catching crabs, Tenzil opted to have me play the game and watch as I started rolling up islands and the like. Here's looking forward to more times hanging out together and remembering the joys of being into dorky stuff!

LONG DELAYED POSTS
Been terribly busy as of the late, so do pardon these long delayed posts. With the hectic work schedules to juggle, personal commitments and social activities preferred, one has to find ways to remain grounded and happy.

BADMINTON NIGHT #2
This night went bad with me losing 2 of the 3 games I played in. And note: I only was part of one game that won thanks to Jeanette who played exceptionally well that night. Her control of the racket and shuttlecock was simply something to look forward to learning.


I really look hideous, exposing my arms like that. Had I had more manly and well-built arms, perhaps, I could have worn that muscle tee with pride. But it being a gift from friends, it would have been more insulting not to wear it. Maybe if I keep busy with such activies, someday my arms would be worth showing off even while wearing a tux.

GAME WITH WYNHAN AND OTHERS
error notice: Its WYHAN not Wynhan. Eek. Pardon the error in the image!
Met up after work with Wyhan to journey all the way to Malate and host a d20 game for them. After warning them of my preferrence for rules-lite games, I ran them a story which began with interesting start-up stories on how their characters began and lead it to an encounter with some female elves that were desperate to continue their dying out line.

After escaping their "jewel" grabbing clutches, the party arrives at a halfling town and there forms the party with the daughter of the elven queen and a halfling priest whom she rescued. Their hi-jinx lead to their accidentally slaying a kobold Paladin who had been used as a distraction by an evil shapechanging elven sorceror, the father of the elven warrior, and finally, a trapped encounter with the elves returning to see thier sorceror-king dead.

Confusing? A tad. But it would make more sense if you ask the players.

TREE CLIMBING WITH A PANDA
Feeling a tad depressed and down, Isha suggested I join her for some time climbing. Though originally we planned to go wall-climbing, we opted instead to have fun among the Balete's in U.P. Diliman's Lagoon and climbed the trees.

After a few laughs, trading stories about psychic history and dogs, we opted to go around the campus a bit, struggling against muddy soil, witnessing acts of sexual abandon, navigated around a rally against PGMA and visited the Fine Arts building to check out what plates were on display.

Getting hungry, we opted for some food along Katipunan and there witnessed a few shocking moments (yep, that's the best way to say it) before opting to make our way home when the rain finally stopped. Having been feeling under the weather since the night before (after the game with Wynhan and BennyLee's group) I found myself at last laughing and smiling again thanks to Isha. So THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!! And I swear, start truly calling me Manong Tobie and I shall have that website made for you. You know which one I mean.

Hehehehe...

Another Tour of U.P. DILIMAN
Got another chance to have lunch with Isha and check out U.P. DILIMAN, the university which might have been the school I should have gone to. No offense to De La Salle University (my Alma Mater, who taught me so much and gave me even more lessons in life than most ever will gain) but some how I always felt my artistic and rebellious streaks would have been better utilized in U.P.


We had lunch at the famed Beachhouse where the bar-b-que was truly delicious and the hefty rice servings settled nicely in my tummy. A brown hyena-like doggie walked up to us and began doing the "Shark" thing on me, circling around our table in a deliberate carefully coordinated selection of places to sit and stare at me. Eventually, the doggie (much to Isha's amusement both at the doggie's ability to freak me out as well as my own pale-cold sweat reaction) decided to give me a taste of an "Open Water" moment and suddenly walked past my leg, grazing me with its hair.

Had a lot of fun talking about spirit questor history, ghost stories, weaknesses and lots of talking about how Old I am. Too bad I had to hurry back to work though. But one does have to earn one's keep to pay the bills.

Also, went to Badminton last night with my officemates. This time lost 2 of the three games I played in. Sigh. Will post pictures when I get a chance to.

THE PANDA STRIKES BACK

Yep, I think I counted a total of five times that Isha actually got me to freak a bit and turn around to check by muttering "Oh... Doggie!" while looking past my shoulder. Gah, vengeance shall be mine I swear! Made my way to U.P. to join her for lunch today. After giving obvious signs of my being a newbie at U.P. Diliman (looking around often, with a camera in my hands) she decided to take some pictures of me instead. Siyempre, art directed diba (tongue and all!) Had another round of great conversation, laughing about mother hen moments, talking about siblings, about family-relations or non-relations that crop out of nowhere, and rest room-motel anecdotes, I nearly forgot to head back for a two o'clock meeting. Salamat na lang hindi ako na sermon for arriving slightly late for the meeting.

Thanks again Isha! Catch you on our next free time.

MET THE PANDA BEAR
Finally got a chance to meet with Isha. She willingly traversed the distance between UP and ABS-CBN and joined me for some Bibingka and Starbucks drinks (which we actually ordered only to have the table to use.) We shared a great conversation, talking about so many things, funny anecdotes and little tidbits of information about college life, real life, parents, teachers, thesis perils and the like and were having such a great time...

... then my cellular chimed and I had a message reminding me of the work I had to do.

But yeah, I'd like to think its the prelude to even more interesting conversations and brain-picking, with or without bico-hair or strange stalking dogs. Tomorrow (or should I more appropriately say "later"), I'm planning to commute to UP to return the favor of her coming over to my office. Here's hoping work doesn't try to bury me too much that I can take a lunch break a bit further than usual.

*Isha mentioned she was surprised to know I was taller than she expected. Do I look short in my blog?

Memento Memoriam
He died and no one ever knew him.
Fifty thousand people attended the funeral. Their head tilted down as they approached his open casket, the sea of black veils and groomed hair moved in quiet formation, all choosing to speak in hushed tones and whispers. The heavy scent of flowers clung over the gathering like a violet veil.

"He liked Shebets," a voice remarked and Margaret turned her head to see an old man nearly six feet in height. His face were marred by small red dots, like freckles, though Margaret assumed they were more likely to be pimples. Still, even pimples seemed strange considering the man's age. "He liked them Shebets from Pampanga. None of the milky slop they sell in convenience stores. The real sherbet."

"You knew him," Margaret asked, though her voice rarely rose above a whisper. Perhaps in truth she never intended him to hear.

"All these people respected him for who he was, Margaret. I was one of the few who knew him personally," he replied. Margaret found herself staring at his dry skin as he spoke. It looked so feeble she actually thought it might tear if he spoke too much. The man seemed too old to be a friend of her father's. A business associate possibly. An uncle?

"No, we aren't related," he replied, as if reading her thoughts, "Nor was I someone your father grew up with. Or looked up to. In truth, I doubt your father would have even remembered me. But yes, I knew him."

She felt a world of questions swirl around her. So thick her queries were that she she could simply reach out her arm and randomly grab the air and find four or five of them in her grasp. But she held back. She tossed her gaze back at the throngs of visitors who had come to pay their respects to the man who paid their salaries. To the man who gave them careers.

And she suddenly smiled. She looked back at the man with the red freckles and offered him her hand. "Margaret. Margaret De Salazar. I am Julio's daughter."

The man smiled an odd and knowing smile. And somehow, Margaret didn't suddenly feel too happy to find someone who actually kner her father. She herself rarely saw him each day, with him being far too obssessed with work, never stepping out during the day. Never joining her for dinner. Never speaking of her dead mother who supposedly died in her sleep many years ago.

"I know," he replied, "I know."


Nikki Alfar
Tobie Abad
Gabby Lee
Andre Mischa Cleofe
Cathy delos Santos

EVER WONDERED HOW MANY BAT MOBILES ARE OUT THERE?
Now you can know.

SO YOU ARE THE ONES THEY HAIL THE WAYFARERS, BRINGERS OF DOOM



Had our second session last Friday with two guys travelling all the way from Pampanga to join the fun! And what fun it was! The adventurers found themselves in the strange city of Gotham were crime seemingly was non-existent and a certain degree of happiness was constantly in the streets. Only their chance meeting with a rogue specialist from the town who has also discovered the grusome truths behind the idyllic place as well as the arrival of a Weaver serving Paladin give the Wayfarers the necessary edge to save the day.

I can only wonder when the next session will be. Definitely not this weekend though, with it being not only Quezon City Day (no work!) but also the day I am joining my officemates to Tagaytay for an overnight gimmick.

TAGGED AGAIN: THREE-SOME QUIZ

Yep. This time by Kervs.

3 Names I Go BY:
1. Tobie
2. Antonio Gabriel Abad IV
3. Tobes

3 Screen Names I have:
1. tobito_abad
2. garapata
3. godfan

3 Physical Things I Like About Myself
1. Eyes
2. Hirsuteness
3. Buttocks

3 Physical Things I Don't Like About Myself
1. My tummy (which has grown a tad too much)
2. My overbite (which has caused my smiles to be more gilagid than teeth)
3. My lack of a definite chin/profile

3 Parts of My Heritage
(I excluded Filipino)
1. Spanish
2. Chinese
3. British Indian

3 Things That Scare Me
1. Dogs
2. Dying Alone
3. Success

3 Of My Everyday Essentials
1. Computer (must check e-mail, updates, blog, forum games)
2. Rosary
3. My WCK (Wallet, Cellular and Keys)

3 Of My Favorite Musicians
1. Tori Amos
2. Josh Groban
3. Akira Yamaoka

3 Of My Favorite Songs
1. Silent All These Years by Tori Amos
2. Broken Vow by Josh Groban
3. I Want Love by Akira Yamaoka for Silent Hill 3

3 Things You Want In A Relationship
1. Honesty, for it leads to Trust
2. Sensitivity, for it leads to Passion
3. Understanding, for it gives birth to Love

3 Lies In No Particular Order
1. I am stuck in the past
2. I am okay right now, emotionally and physically
3. I can leave for the States whenever I want

3 Truths In No Particular Order
1. I greatly value friendship
2. I wish people could be more sensitive and honest
3. I am tempted to just run away and reboot my life

3 Physical Things That Appeal to Me
1. Being a tad on the heavy side to be more huggable.
2. Non-make-up intensive faces
3. I think I have a thing for shorter people

3 Of My Hobbies Right Now:
1. Role-Playing games (forever!)
2. Collecting music and movie scores
3. Working on my Indie comics

3 Things I Want To Do Really Badly Now
1. Have someone to hold, cuddle, spoon, and just get physically intimate (not sexual) with.
2. Tell certain people off for how they've treated me. I'm too nice. I always keep things to myself like some sponge.
3. Get a breather from work. Something like take a break for 3 - 4 months.

3 Carreers I've Considered Doing
1. Actor, be it theater, film or television.
2. Teacher, perhaps for college kids.
3. Priest.

3 Places I Want To Go On Vacation At
1. Europe, specifically in Italy
2. Toronto, Canada
3. Tokyo, Japan

3 Kid's Names I Like
1. Sasha
2. Alessandro
3. Gabriel

3 Things I Want To Do Before I Die
(well, three other just to differentiate from the early quiz)
1. Eat Fugu (Puffer Fish with just a little bit of poison to numb the lips)
2. Experience Zero-Gravity
3. Hear certain people tell me, "You are still the Tobie we love and know."

3 Ways That I Am A Stereotypical Guy
1. I love to toss around green-jokes. A lot.
2. I love getting down and dirty when it comes to certain physical activities. Like beach activities. Or hiking trips. What, what did you think i was referring to?
3. Uh yeah, that thing you thought I was referring to too.

3 Ways That I Am A Stereotypical Girl
1. I can be difficult to argue or talk to considering when facing things, I actually think four to five steps ahead of the issue (example: A Friend goes out with other friends to a movie but doesn't invite me. I'm thinking "This is because we haven't been hanging out, I've neglected the friendship, or maybe he's grown tired of hanging out. No, I got it. He's decided I'm not worth his time...")
2. I like physical intimacy such as hugs and cuddling.
3. I can be frighteningly cerebral when dealing with break-ups that my then partner initiates, which then lead me to being relatively okay until I have those crying myself to sleep late at night while in bed.

3 People I Would Like To See Take This Quiz
1. Isha
2. Shiro
3. Seth

THE LINK BETWEEN VIOLENCE AND COMPUTER GAMES
It was all an illusion.
The media and the government should be ashamed.
See charts and graphs here.

review: BOSSA DISNEY NOVA


Just purchased myself a copy of BOSSA DISNEY NOVA last weekend. Having always been a fan of interesting music twists, the idea that Disney tunes and Bossa Nova were combined into one appealed to me. A pity, however, that the attempt does not soar.

Though the combinations worked very well for some songs like A Voar, A Voar, A Voar (Peter Pan's "You Can Fly! You Can Fly! You Can Fly!"), Hi-Ho (Heigh-Ho from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), Supercalifragilisticexpialidoso (Mary Poppin's famous song about the longest word) and the Mickey Mouse Club song which was turned into a Samba, you had some which didn't seem to translate as well. Ivan Lins' rendition of Um Mundo Ideal (A Whole New World) seemed to grate against the ear-drum. Claudette Soares' Parte De Seu Mundo (Part of your World) went well, but seemed to lack some heart. Edu Lobo's Ciclo Sem Fim (Circle of Life) was just wrong. Then the rest of the songs were selections from Lady and the Tramp, Bambi, Jungle Book and Pete's Dragon which, though good, aren't that familiar enough to appreciate the translation.

Is it worth buying? I would still say yes. The Bossa Nova renditions of most songs were melodiously made enough to appreciate (and in some cases, even better if you stop trying to remember what Disney tune they originally sounded like). I just feel that a better selection of more popular melodies (what... No "Kiss the Girl?" No "Beauty and the Beast?" No "Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo?" Not even "Someday My Prince Will Come?" or Mulans' "Reflection?")

My name is Kestral, the last of the Wood Elves

Image taken from here.

Tonight is another session of Dungeons and Dragons 3.0 "The Wayfarers" with BennyLee and her troupe. I wonder if any of them would feel up to writing about the exploits of Kestral, Tsirk Su Sej, Torgar Waraxe, Taltos and Shel Malador for others to read. We had our first game session a week ago, on a Friday night (or rather a Saturday early morning) just like today. This time, we're to be joined by two other friends of BennyLee, this time travelling all the way from Pampanga to play with us.

Even more amusingly is the fact we're renting a hotel/motel room to use for the game since my games do tend to run for hours and we'll need a place not too conscious about screaming and music playing. Everyone knows motels and hotels have their own share of S... S... Screaming!!!! in their rooms. So I guess that's one less problem to worry about.

The game doesn't start til around after nine though, so i have two hours to eat up. Weighing the possibility to passing by the apartment to pick up the digital camera charger which I left behind. I dunno. Will see I guess.

Here's hoping it happens to be a great game.

OH WHAT A BEAUTIFUL MORNING...
Damn it and I had to leave the charger for my Digital Camera at home! Argh to think there's this pictorial I have to handle at eleven today. I guess in the urgent need to get out of the house, I totally forgot that the charger was actually in a different bag. That's what I get for switching bags last minute last night. I hate it when that happens.

On the lighter side of things, allow me to share two (small) pictures of my officemates displaying their usual comical selves. Above, see Joey do her reenactment of the disturbing "lady combing her hair" image from Ringu. And yes, in case you're wondering, that was taken in one of the many places here in ABS-CBN. Spooky eh? Further above is Joey, Joven, Rixx and Marianne doing their version of the Cell Block Tango from Chicago! You gotta love them for being so willing to have fun!

DRUNKEN PANDAS CHAT A LOT
Was actually up late last night chatting a storm with Isha, whose life it turns out is so much more interesting than the already intersting posts and anecdotes she showers her blog with. Makes me wish I could go back to college and relive such interesting times (yes, the double meaning is intentional). Sometimes I wonder how my life would be different had I gone to U.P. instead. Lots of my friends actually get shocked when they discover I'm a DLSU graduate. "Di nga? Masyado kang.. anti-cono" (No way, you're way too.. anti-posh) was a common reaction (although not in verbatim) to those who learned of my Alma Mater (or heard my ring tone, which yes is the DLSU Alma Mater song out of respect for the college I wasted more years than necessary at.

But going back, Isha reminds me of why college was so fun and why I shoudn't really allow myself to bog myself down with my problems, heartaches and lack of recent artistic release. Sometimes, all you really need is a friend or two to wake up your happy bones.

aBADminton!

Decided to go try something different yesterday and joined my officemates for their after-office-hours badminton games. I didn't have any gear or whatnots so it was kind of a pleasant twist when Gabby, Jen's husband, offered me his jogging pants. Digging through my stash at work, I found an unused TFC Tenth Anniversary black shirt and decided, what the heck, I might as well.

You have to understand, the last time I ever played Badminton was way back during the days bicycles were all called BMX and the most popular drink was Sunnydee and KoolAid. So imagine my surprise when I found myself actually getting back into the motions and getting the hang of the game real fast.


Unbelievably, after four games, my team won thrice. I guess all that time before playing and chasing after the shuttlecock that flew to the neighbor's roof paid off. That and the Tennis lessons I took a long time ago.

The next game is next week. I think I've found something to submerge myself in for a while.

Got tagged by Jonas Diego

Jonas actually tagged me to answer this thing where you give seven answers to each question. Well, why not?

SE7EN things that Scare Me:

1. Dogs
2. Dying alone (I don't mind if it's with a group)
3. Flying (yes, dont' tell anyone!)
4. Success
5. Indifference
6. Unacceptance
7. Disease

SE7EN Thing I Like The Most

1. Piggies. Stuffed toys of course. Real ones just remind me they're slaughtered for food. Which makes me sad.


2. Having all the time I have to enjoy great entertainment ranging from Animated films. Especially ones that really touch emotions. Examples include My Neighbor Totoro, Akira, Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa and Mulan. To horror games, like Silent Hill, Kuon, Siren, Fatal Frame. To Brain Films, especially if they make you really stop and think for a moment. Examples include American Beauty, Pi. And Musicals. I love how theater and music can so seamlessly intertwine. And this holds true for musicals in film. Examples include Moulin Rouge, Avenue Q, Rent.


3. Strong Women. Am a sucker for women who know who they are, what they want and how they want it. I love hearing how their minds work and how their words think. I love knowing they're in charge of thier lives and thier happy with themselves. Examples include: Jen Villacorte, Nikki Alfar, Bambi Gamban, Jac Ting Lim
4. Having a chance to share my own views and stories through comics books or mini-movies that I make. I'm a storyteller at heart.
5. And that storyteller fact comes even more apparent when I give really engaging role-playing games with my friends. And no, I don't mean the sexual kind of role-playing cause that's something else.
   
6. Spending time with my friends just talking and relaxing. I used to hate relaxing. Saw it as a synonym for the word boredom. Now, I appreciate spending some time with a friend. It helps keep one grounded.
7. Having some time with my family. I love the fact I am independently living in my apartment and all that jazz, but I still love knowing I am part of a family and I can talk with them every now and then.

SE7EN Important Things In My Room

1. My computer. Without it, so much of my stuff would fall apart.
2. My role-playing game books.
3. My comics books.
4. My cd collection that fills more than 3 polyboxes.
5. My personal box with contains everything from my passport to my sss papers and the like.
6. My photo albums of my life, my friends, my loves and my family.
7. Me.

SE7EN Random Facts About Me

1. I used to smoke a lot. Actually once hit a pack a day. Almost two. Now, I barely do. Not totally stopped, but not a habitual smoker anymore either.
2. I cannot help but act like the host of a party when in a party I am hosting or when I am asked to help entertain others. I like helping others have fun.
3. I have a huge amount of respect for Great White Sharks.
4. A lot of people find me a threat to their own personal self-image quite often. Some to the point of hating me in a defensive response. Only to realise years later how wrong they were to do so.
5. Am a sucker for Dark Chocolate, Tocino, Greek Salad, Bread with Balsamic Vinegar or Ice Cream.
6. I love others too much. And in many cases more than others deserve.
7. I know I will someday bring home an Oscar.
   

SE7EN Things I Plan To Do Before I Die

1. Win an Oscar for my parents.
2. Create a film about the Philippines that actually gets a message across.
3. Break into Comic books and gain a readership following.
4. Sky dive.
5. Go diving with a Great White Shark.
6. Have at least one kid.
7. Teach.

SE7EN Things I Can Do

1. Fold my legs above my knees like some Indian Monk and walk using my knees.
2. See ghosts and talk to them.
3. Make love.
4. Sing Josh Groban and Micheal Buble songs.
5. Remain faithful to my Faith regardless of my beliefs.
6. Pranic Healing and Kulam.
7. Learn anything real fast.

SE7EN Things That Attract You To The Opposite Sex

1. The self-confidence she carries herself with.
2. The nape.
3. The sense of humor.
4. The brain and ability to carry a decent and interesting conversation.
5. The interest in similar things.
6. The interest in other things.
7. The willingness to do something crazy once in a while.

SE7EN Things You Say The Most

1. Talaga, ha..
2. Surely..
3. Wassap?
4. Ows...
5. Ruff! (a bark sound meaning "hot looking person nearby")
6. Dare.
7. Hey, when you get home, call or text me please. So I'm sure you got safely home.

SE7EN Celeb Crushes (Local or Foreign)

1. Angelina Jolie
2. Annette Benning
3. Emma Watson
4. Evangeline Lilly
5. Sharon Stone
6. Anne Curtis
7. Jennifer Connelly

SE7EN People You Want to See Take This Quiz

1. Carlo Vergara
2. Alvin Dalulaya
3. Shokoy Girl
4. Ma-an Ascuncion
5. Northspy
6. Jay Anyong
7. Aldwin Catral

00 Doug on Vacation
05 Poor Man's Maragarita
08 Road Trip 4
14 Jennings and the Dead Pool
16 Ass Chappers: Cubs, Rockford, Electricity, Snoring
26 Ill Advised Trombone Duet of the Week: Song for the Dumped
28 Eharmony Updateg
26 Ill Advised Trombone Duet of the Week: Song for the Dumped
28 Eharmony Update

MERIENDA TIME!
Part of what I love about being here in my current workplace is how the people are real people and not two-faced drones who only care about using you to get their own work done. Granted there are people who stand as exception to the rule, people from ABS-CBN Global Limited are great characters who keep the job fun and exciting and the breaks in-between even more so. And that, I believe, is the major secret to our department's success.

GOD please don't let this guy be a gamer
Man claims to have "Thousand years of power" and goes medieval on cops.
Tasers prove to be stronger.
Read it here.

If this guy does turn out to be a gamer, score one new point against clearing the names of RPGs to mass media.
Sigh.

HELP!
Somehow, my archive of posts for last month is gone!
I tried searching for a post and they're still there, but the link to the archive as a whole doesn't show anything... Must have happened during the recent Blogger.com hiccup.

Can anyone help me retrieve them?

FAN MOMENT #2
A few days ago, Edu Manzano showed up in our office to check on a few things and say hello. Like before, my camera became something everyone was happy I had with me. So before you know it, we (me included, which was strange actually) suddenly became rabid fans who posed beside the handome and multi-awarded actor.

I used to think I was totally over the star-struck tendancies most of my officemates are afflicted with, having been growing up among the company of celebrities on odd occasions in my childhood. If you ask me, if ever there really were people I'd fawn over, they'd be people like Carlo Vergara and David Hontiveros who inspired me in so many ways to become a comic artist/writer, or Dean Alfar who continues to make me wish I could write, marry and have a smashing good looks just like him.

Or people like Jay Anyong and Adrian Martinez whom I look up to as RPG gurus, or people like Jonas Diego and Elbert Or whose creative influx remains something I wish I could harness within me. Even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named who really reminds me of why I shouldn't give up and keep going for my dreams even if it takes some time for others to be supportive. And my Parents... who are the best parents in the world and raised their kids in the best way they can and have nothing to worry about us kids not being ready for the world.

But if there was one person other than those everyone else I have mentioned whom I really look up to and admire, it would be Yaya Bebie. She started working for my parents back when I was one year old (Yeah, it was she who was carrying me in the baby pic down there. And yes, its her thumb which many mistake to be a moderately large pee-pee being flashed by the baby me) and has been loyally there to take care of the family and help maintain our house.

Yaya Bebie... thank you so much for always being there for me and the whole family. We love you!

With a Thousand Sweet Kisses... I'll Cover You

It has been many many years since I first listened to the musical Rent. I recall my first encounters with it were back during my Power Poets days, while hitching a ride with a fellow Power Poet on our way to Music 21 for a videoke gimmick after the poetry reading. The track played in the car was "Seasons of Love" and I fell in love with the song immediately. I hungered to find more and eventually scrounged up enough money to buy my own copy of the album.

Not thinking I'd ever get a chance to watch the play, God knows how esctatic I got when I found out a local outfit was doing it. Missed the chance to watch the first run, but thanks to my Mom, I was able to watch the second run with my Sister and her friend, Sydney.

Of the many songs I really loved from the musical, surprisingly the one I really relate with the most is the one few really like. Maybe its cause most go for the friend-friend songs like "Seasons of Love" or "La Vie Boheme" while others love the hilarity of "Tango: Maureen" or "Over the Moon." Then you got those who like the personal quest for one's direction brought about my "One Song Glory" or the romantic undertones of "Would you Light my Candle." Me, I just realised the song "I'll Cover You" captured so much of my feelings about life and love. Deep down, I have long realised that a very large part of what constitutes for me as love is the willingness to wholly be part of someone else's life, smelly feet, snoring and all if need be. A willingness to be together and yet having the individuality each one personally owns. A completeness each one gives to one another.

But I guess it can really be hard to find something like that. A relationship built upon being sensitive to the other's own needs and personal habits without having to be too aggressively overwhelming. It sounds common and practical, but sadly, its rarer than most realise.

Now, the late Jonathan Larson's rock-musical is about to be given a film treatment with both Hollywood actors like Rosario Dawson (Kids, Sin City: Plays Mimi) and Taye Diggs (Ally McBeal, How Stella Got Her Groove Back: Plays Benny) as well as original performers of the Broadway hit Jesse Martin (Law & Order: Plays Tom Collins), Idina Menzel (Ask the Dust:Plays Maureen), Adam Pascal (Roger), Anthony Rapp (Mark), Wilson Heredia (Angel). With the film directed by Chris Columbus (Home Alone, Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone) and produced for Revolution studios the clips so far look promising!

Here's hoping it captures the play's soul and helps share the immense beauty that is Rent.
RENT Movie Website
RENT musical



Nikki Alfar
Tobie Abad
Gabby Lee
Andre Mischa Cleofe
Cathy delos Santos

BACK AT WORK TODAY
Haven't quite fully recovered from yesterday's ills. Body still aching in the wrong places. Eyes droopy and tired. Feeling a tad emotionally charged though. The recent events have been a whirlwind of unexpected twists and tangles. Some good stuff, lots of bad stuff... at least they somehow balance out in the end.

Time for another emotional enema?
Either that, or start stocking up on beers again.

RPG article: Routines and Scenes
by tobie abad (http://surf.to/tobie)

Here's a typical vampire game:
Storyteller: "The darkness wraps around the city like the robes of death herself. Cold winds blow against the skyscrapers, flinging newspapers and various bits of trash into the air. You feel a heaviness in your heart as you awaken and realise that this cursed state has not ended... and the dream is not a dream. You are a vampire, and the night is your home. What do you
do?

Player: I guess I hunt.



Storyteller: "Having survived the brief interlude with the Primogen and his coterie, you embrace the silence the sewer offers. The next evening begins with a startling fear. You jerk upright upon realising that the Primogen you supposedly insulted had the strange ability to paralyze you with a gaze. A Discipline which your Mentor described to you years back as Serpentis: a power of the dreaded clan known as the Setites. But your wounds from the
Wolven claws ache still and you need to feed soon. What do you do?"

Player: Hmm... I hunt.



Storyteller: "The Prince has commended you for the revelation of who had been leaking information out to the dreaded Sabbat. With a gesture of appreciation... and prestation... he had given you a new haven and had cleared your name of all crimes. You are no longer Caitiff... and it is a new experience for you. Awakening, you find yourself feeling a strange sensation of satisfaction.. being a Toreador feels good. What do you do?"

Player: New night huh?

Storyteller: Yes, I downtimed a bit.

Player: Well, better replenish my bloodpool. I hunt.
---------

Sounds familiar?

If no, then congratulations! You're players have learned the big difference of Routine and Scenes. But trust me, there are very few gaming groups that have escaped from this little constant in gaming. And its not surprise, after all, players use Routine when they focus on their characters so much, they forget they are in a game.

Why Routine can be good?
It keeps your character in tip top form. And I don't mean this as a twink merit. Nor to I mean this sarcastically. If you're playing a Toreador who always waters his roses each night, then you're playing in character right? Routine allows you do play in character.

But please, must you really declare THAT as your action when your turn comes around?

Why Routine can be bad?
In my gaming circle, there tends to be four players. Strangely, a player turn tends to last for a range from twenty minutes to nearly half an hour. This is a time allotment which everyone in the group enjoys because it allows for the nice unrushed dialogue, the building of mood through music and pacing and the allowance to feel the emotional benefits of the scene.

Now, realise then that it is possibly an HOUR before one's turn begins again. Would you really waste some precious moments of REAL TIME declaring actions
which the Storyteller knows you will do anyway out of habit?

Movies as an example:
Watch and movie and see how the moment a character is given a turn (meaning, he or she is the focus of a shot), the character is doing something that contributes to the story as a whole. Sure, we know that everyone gets dressed and fixes themself up before going to an important dinner. But if this scene shall not have any importance to it other than to let the Storyteller know you got dressed, then it does NOT have to be in the turn. It could be an understood action that the Storyteller does not have to play through.

After all, how many games have you had where you play each and every passing minute you wait for the Prince to finish his meeting with others? Or play in real time the trip from one building to another? We tend to downtime such moments simply because they can be taken as "having happened" without necessarily being mentioned as an action.

Example:
Storyteller: The Prince is busy. You will have to wait. Having waited for nearly half an hour, Samantha begins to sing to herself a song. She fails to realise that the song she is singing was the song that was playing during her Domination by the Sabbat.

Player: Can i make a roll to notice or feel that something is up?

In the example, the time to wait is immediately waived as an action to be declared. The Storyteller pushes forward and describes what happens. The player should realise that the Storyteller has removed the option because of the need for a scene that is beneficial to the game as a whole.

Does this mean the players should rarely talk?
No, it simply means the players should not waste time going through expected motions.

Take for instance a Dark Age game I was storytelling. The player had a Salubri who had befriended the townsfolk and had begun to be seen as a Saint. On the first night, the player mentioned to me, "I plan to visit the townsfolk each night possible. And when there is free time on my hands, I'd be speaking with the children and teaching them to read." As a storyteller,
I understood this was to be his routine and applied it as simply events that have happened and do not need to be mentioned... unless they have a reason to be. Such as when one of the children the Salubri was teaching turned out to be possessed. I begun the game session telling the player, "You are with Paolo, one of the children you teach to read." Instantly, the player
realised that the scene had something of importance and approached it with interest. No time was wasted.

Again, simply think of the game in the sense as a movie.

Once the camera points at you and your part of the story is being told... do you waste that time on camera simply doing the usual everyday thing? Or do you bring up something of interest.

Make the game run smoother, by seeing the difference of Routines and Scenes.

KEEPING IN TOUCH ACROSS THE OCEAN

A friend of mine named Alvin is really one of a kind. Although he's now based in the United States, he makes it a point to keep in touch. Probably at least once every two weeks or so, Alvin sends me a voice mail message through his cellular phone to my Yahoo! e-mail to listen to. Most of the time it would be a few greetings for me and for our mutual friends. Occasionally, it would include an anecdote or a short tidbit on how his life's been going. Ultimately, its a nice gesture which I try to return by chatting with him on YM! whenever I possibly can catch him online. When I was in Los Angeles a few months back, Alvin actually flew to Los Angeles from San Francisco to catch up on old times and hang out. How's that for a friend who really shows you you're important to him.

Alvin, thank you for being a really nice and sweet friend.
And yes, I will definitely contact you when I get another chance to hang out with you again in the United States.

I only hope I am just as much a good friend to you as you are to me.

New word for the Month:
Dooced
Learn it and be aware.

BLOG DEPRESSION?
Read about it. You might be suffering it and not know it.

PHOTOSHOOT

Well, we officially had a serious Photoshoot today for the unmentioned project. And I had to change twice for it (first outfit was a turtle neck that got drenched in the rain, so I had to go back home to switch to my light green polo.) The shoot went well, even if we were a rowdy bunch during the preparation period.

The thing was, I brought my own digital camera. So the next thing you knew is, there we were at the meditation corner of the advertising area, having fun! Hehehe..

Off to a Photoshoot
Yep. Only this time, the camera is trained at us. Wil see if I can share some pics of the shots later with you people.

Keep yourself busy...
It has been one of the best ways to deal with stress and depression, right? Idleness is the Devil's workshop, they say. But personally, I think its idleness has nothing to do with the Devil. Instead, its how the person chooses to entertain himself while idle.

Anyway, I'll be at the office til 11:00p.m. tonight. Yeah, going to be working late cause its easier to keep working late compared to waiting alone at the apartment and finding thing to keep me busy. Friday night plans went down the drain and add to that the sudden death of our television set at home, I've suddenly lost access to my DVDs and my Playstation 2 games. Guess I better go buy another television soon.

Somehow.

SARONG PARTY GIRL
warning: If you are below 18, or at work, I do NOT recommend you click the links in this post.
Yep. If you haven't heard about her, Sarong Party Girl is a blog writer who apparently "flashed" her breasts on her blog. And now, there's all this uproar going on about it. Personally, I'm like.. come on people.. the net has long been a safehouse for internet, self-expression, religious declarations, politics and shopping. Why suddenly pretend the innocent unblemished web has been tarnished by one woman's artistic contributions? And frankly, her contributions are quite beautiful and tastefully done. And from what she writes about herself, she seems like a pretty well balanced person too.

If ever, what she should at least do is add some rating system or warning that her blog isn't quite child-friendly (to have some disclaimer would be good). A compromise I guess.

So to them naysayers, off your high horse and realise you're being pathetically hypocritical about all this. I mean, so she showed her breasts. Why aren't you after them porn sites, pirates and pedophiles out there? Its not as if she's the first blog to tackle sex or adult topics either. There's Belle de Jour, The Diary of a London Call Girl, there's Erosblog, which is very fun to read when you're not really feeling particularly evil, and more. so come on.. stop pretending Sarong Party Girl crossed some never-touched-before line. Stop feeling like your eyes were fucking virgins.

Me, I say "Go Sarong Party Girl!"
I'd do the same if I had nice breasts.

Rant: Maybe I am just deluding myself...
...into thinking they're my friends.
I mean, friends do tell you when they're going to be near your area right?
Especially when you haven't been able to hang lately.
Friends do respond to messages and text from you right?
Especially if its been a while since you've been in touch.

Maybe all this time I thought I found more people whom appreciate my presence and welcome me to their niche only to discover I've outlived my "usefulness" and am only learning the hard way?

Or maybe, they just don't realise I would appreciate being given a nod that I am part of their world too.

UPDATE:
PROJECT TRACKSHEET:
1) Diliman issue #14 = Just finished re-writing and re-drawing a bunch of pages. Just hit page 11. Here's hoping it goes well and you all like it!
2) Bangungot = Drawn the next four pages at last. But I am still trying to write it the way it should sound.
3) James Project = Having trouble coming up with the key terms. Anyone know how to speak/write in proper Latin.
4) Alex-Budjette Project = Nagging Alex to show me some pages! Here's hoping I can share a page or two soon.
5) Ghibli Project = Almost ready to begin initial drafts of the designs. Here's hoping you appreciate it as much as I loved working on it. I wonder if Alamat comics would be interested in having this featured or printed heheh.
6) Eloy Project = Website designing can be tough without images to use. The netbook is excellent though! Can't wait for you all to see it when its done.
7) 24-Hr RPG Project = Done with the project. Now just collecting feedback and then its layout and releasing it as a pdf!
8) Gaiman Project = Working out legalese. And opened offer to all. So far, very low number of interested parties, surprisingly.
9) Open Meet Modules = Oh gawd.. havent' done this at all!

Nawi-wili kami sa Trabaho

Willie Revillame actually drops by our office to check on a few projects we're working on. Oh diba, ganyan talaga buhay dito sa ABS-CBN Global Limited. Alagang Kapamilya!

DE-STRESSED FOR A FEW
Invited Carl and Sam to join me for a short time well spent de-stressing and singing out lungs out. Two other friends (one of which is the anonymous Northspy!) were supposed to join us but certain events conspired to get in the way. Ever since I first learned the joys of going out for videoke from Carl waaaaay back when I was still someone who actually hung out in Makati and visited the malls a lot, I have embraced the act of singing one's favorite tunes out loud with a microphone in hand as a guilty pleasure and release from the bondages of stress and worry. At least once a month (or two) I try to make sure I have enough money set aside for a night of crooning, singing, belting and lampooning songs with friends (or if worst case scenarios occur, alone.)


Typically, I'd stick to songs I've been used to: Barry Manilow's Bluer than Blue, Michael Buble's renditions of Fever, Sway, Come Fly with Me, The Way you are, Crazy Little Thing Called Love and Kissing a Fool, True Faith's Huwag na Lang Kaya and even Martin Nievera songs, but tonight I decided to take a stab at Josh Grobin's Broken Vow. I promised Northspy I'd practice it so I can sing it for her one time (she loves Josh Grobin songs, you see. And is notorious for forcing me to learn to sing The Prayer with her!) Well, I was able to sing it and I must admit, I wasn't sure if I could! Heheh, guess medyo inspired! I was even surprised to find Fantasia's I Believe already available! And decided to take a stab at trying Christian Bautista's So Its You.

It helped big time though. I've been stressing over the fact the other commercial project I am working on which is due to be produced early morning this Thursday (which is now actually) doesn't have all its material in yet. I decided I deserved a break for the night.

If you've not yet ever tried going to a videoke place, I do highly recommend you try it out with some friends if not alone. There's a lot of stress released out when you just drop all worries away and sing a few songs you love listening to. And even better, if you find yourself belting them out with friends whom don't give a darn if you're off-key or what.

Seemingly gone from the usual song sequence, however, was the two duets me and Carl always sang together. Summer Nights from Grease was seemingly forgotten, as was our "show" song Loving You. But no regrets! Always more and more songs to try singing!

Tobie's usual song-list:
1) Bluer Than Blue
2) Huwag Na Lang Kaya
3) How Sweet it is (to be loved by you)
4) You Were Meant For Me
5) Sway
6) Fever
7) Come Fly With Me
8) Deeply Dippy
9) The Way you Are
10) Crazy Little Thing Called Love
11) Summer Nights
12) Loving You
13) So It's You
14) Harana
15) Come What May
16) Your Song

Me and My Officemates

Working on an upcoming AVP, me and a few officemates ended up sitting in for some test shots for the look to be used in the actual project. Details kept confidential, what I can say is that I can finally share some images of me and some officemates here in my blog!

Grabe, kitang kita ang laki ng tiyan ko dito! Heheheh, I really have to work on that gut someday.

THESE ARE NOT WORK SAFE
Have you heard of Kontraband.com? If not, then be warned, there's a lot to enjoy in it! But please, be warned... it might be best not to visit it while at work, unless you work in an advertising agency where porn can freely be viewed under the cover of research.




Discover the amazing musical expressions a pair of feet can muster! Learn why sex on the internet might not be safe! See the ever wonderfully disturbing Rubber Johnny and the Numa Numa song!

Just don't blame me if you have too much mindless fun viewing the site!

Must... Stop... Eating.... agh...

Yes, I admit it. I've gotten chubbier than I ever have within the last few months (although I can proudly admit, compared to last June, I lost 2 inches in my waistline!) From what has been a constant 130lbs at 5'11" for nearly five straight years while in college and the first year after, I've suddenly surged into 180lbs with most of it adding to my gut.

It all began a few years ago when I became actively physical and was visiting the gym every other day at night after working hours. From what has long been a "starvation-look" I began to work on my chest, arms and legs in hopes of having a frame worth investing better clothes on. I did cardio frequently, running nearly 30 minutes to an hour each time. On odd occasions, I would even go for spot work outs, focussing on one body part per session.

I felt great! I felt sexy! I even liked the fact I could wear a sleeveless shirt and feel "Yeah, check those arms out..."

Then, I stopped.

Work overwhelmed me. Time became harder to manage. My commitments to my apartment and my housemate required me to be home after working hours. And then the fact that maintaining one's eating habits - one's working out came to me like a pregnancy test announced on morning radio: Tobie, you're fat.

So lately, I've been watching my weight. I've been taking steps to manage the fat. I have yet to really get physical again, but I have been checking if I can financially afford the gym again. All I need to do now though... is find the strength to resist stuff like these:






Oh gawd... Chocolate and nuts Trail mix... popcorn.... yum.

Oh Grow Up!
There was a time when I wanted to be an adult real fast. A time when I'd be playing with my lego bricks and with them, I would build a small house and a small street corner office, imaginging myself actually having an office, a job, and an apartment to go to. There was a time I anxious to be a man instead of some scrawy kid and I would grab handfuls of cotton and pose in front of the mirror pretending they were armpit hair and chest hair. Or a beard.

Now, time has passed and yes, I do have my own apartment. Yes, I do have a job and work in an office. Yes, the hair has grown in those places too (which actually is strangest since in the family I'm the only one who is hirsute with a fuzzy lovetrail leading down towards my... uhm.. back on topic. I have grown much from that time and I still find myself holding on to many things which I others might find childish.

I still read comic books, including funny comics like Calvin and Hobbes or Archie. I still have a laugh watching cartoons and anime. I still get sappy when watching Disney movies. And I still am a sucker for ice cream and chocolates.

I guess one eventually begins to understand growing up and growing older are two different things. And one can actually choose to moderate one and simply survive the other. I recall reading in a book called 'The Artist's Way by 'Julia Cameron that we all should always nurture our personal inner child. And I realise how true that is. Too many friends of mine have given up "useless" hobbies and ignored their own gifts of writing poetry or stories because "wala namang pera diyan (there's no money to be earned there)." Some even proudly claim their choice to ignore such things show they've grown up.

But is growing up really all that it is hyped to be? Or is it really just growing older that we want: the chance to be of a legal age to make our own decisions, and to be of legal age to be seen as an adult whose opinion does matter and whose capacity for things is more believeable than that of a child's.

Personally, I think I am happy with how much I've grown up. Heck, I think I've grown up enough already. And since I'm not ever going to be able to stop growing older... I guess I'm just going to spend the rest of my time having a heck of a time with my inner child... until someone comes along to play with us, so to speak.



Nikki Alfar
Tobie Abad
Gabby Lee
Andre Mischa Cleofe
Cathy delos Santos

24-Hour RPG: FATES
A roleplaying game of Storytelling Proportions

Brief:
Players portray the roles of the Fates as they narrate the events that affect the Storyteller's journey. A simple dice-less system is used to determine which of the Fates maneuvers the journey of the Storyteller in his attempts to reach his goal.

This was my entry to the 24-Hour RPG project which is currently hosted at this site. I have yet to get permission to feature the project as officially submitted to them, hence I am not posting it officially yet on my blog. You can find the post-date stamped-entries at the AEGIS forum where I originally wrote the game concept and system for it. Here's hoping it get's cleared and is accepted so I can cross it out as one of my projects for the year finally done!

The Plan:
To collect fan fiction, poetry, short stories, artwork and essays written by people who have been touched, influenced or inspired by Neil Gaiman and his works and transform them into a netbook that all consent shall be freely distrubed and shared with the rest of the world that chooses to be interested in it. Share the joy, the inspiration and the writings and expressions you have found born in you with those who may have not yet heard or encountered Neil Gaiman or his works.

Basic rules:
All measurements are given in "pages"
Each page is approximated to be a sheet of bond paper (8x10) I am still studying what dimensions would be best for a pdf book.

I am still finalising the legalese of this project, so I won't be accepting the submissions just yet. I am still trying to make sure its clear to all that I plan to lay-out or design the basic look of the pages, and that would mean adjusting the submissions to fit the look. So try to keep all written submissions in basic fonts (like Arial or Times new Roman) for now please.

For poetry -
Up to 5 poems or 5 pages per person
(So you can submit say 3 poems that fill a total of 5 pages, or say 1 long epic poem that spans up to 5 pages, or 5 short poems which will be given 1 page each.)

For prose/fanfic/etc-
Up to 5 stories or 5 pages per person again. So you can have at most, 5 short stories of one page each!

For artwork-
Up to 5 full page art pieces, or up to 10 small art pieces (depending if there are that many pages available.) Small art pieces are even recommended to be done based on existing submissions.

All contributions are to be sent to an e-mail address I shall post soon.
For now, get your work started! And post here if you're still interested!
Do try to spread the word around! I am hoping this becomes a major project with lots of contributions!

Archive:
- First post on this with comments
- Neil Gaiman's website
- Neil Gaiman's messageboard