Dragons, Officemates and Teasers

To start, allow me to extend my thanks to Ms. N (name withheld til further notice) and her very cute gift for my pet dragon, Gorbash. To my understanding, she recently had a trip to Davao and was sweet enough to buy this "necklace" for my green water-dispenser-watching reptile.

This would count as my first physical present since the "rejuvination" of my blog and I can only wonder what else is to follow in the days to come.

Read the complete post, as well as a teaser to the next chapter of Surviving Manila: Risen Threat!
at http://garapata.blogspot.com/2009/11/to-start-allow-me-to-extend-my-thanks.html

Status update: Apartment Hunting

When one has an Egg, one learns to prepare for nesting.  The best way to do this is to search for an apartment.

Currently, a fantastic option has come to our awareness.  This place is situated at Cubao, and will make doing Fandom Live every Sunday even more fun and easy to do.  Here's hoping it works out!

Wish us luck!

I lend stuff out too often

Missing the following things:

1) Kabuki Circle of Blood TPB
2) Katamari Damacy PS2 disks
3) My blue 256MB memory stick
4) My 2GB memory stick

Desperately need them back soon.
If you have any of these items, please return them to me asap.

Thank you.

We stopped.

My egg shared me this wonderful story by Haruki Murakami.

I've never been that active a reader, I will admit.  The few books I have read range from Clive Barker to Poppy Z. Brite, Banana Yoshimoto to Amy Tan, with the odd occasional Neil Gaiman, Stephen King, Isaac Asimov, Dan Brown, Anne Rice selections.   I've read a few other novels that I enjoyed, from hobby books like the War of th Lance, to staples like Lord of the Rings, and the less popular White wolf novels, (for this era) Hardy Boys and the like. 

But my egg wanted me to read this single short story.  My egg fell in love with this story and wanted me to experience the joy of reading it as well.

I did.

Allow me to share this to you all.

This is "On seeing the 100% perfect girl one beautiful April morning" by Haruki Murakami.
http://www.mat.upm.es/~jcm/murakami-perfect.html

Just saying...

Ladies and Gentleman, Garfield & Friends.  Friends Are There
To Help You Get Started, To Give You A Push On Your Way.  Friends Are There
To Turn You Around, Get Your Feet On The Ground For A Brand New Day
They'll Pick You Up When You're Down
Help You Swallow Your Pride When Something Inside's Got To Break On Through To The Other Side
Friends Are Someone You Can Open Up To
When You Feel Like You're Ready To Flip
When You Got The World On Your Shoulders
Friends Are There To Give You A Tip
Friends Are There When You Need Them
Their Even There When You Don't
For A Walk In The Park, For A Shot In The Dark
Friends Are There.  Garfield: "I Don't Care"
But Friends Will Care For You-u-u-u-u-u-u!

------------

It is incredible how friends are always going to be there for you.   I have been blessed to have so many good people who are willing to help me out when the times get tough, and trust me to do the same when the roles get reversed.

Friendship is truly an incredible blessing.




More so is love.
:-)

...

I believe in tomorrow.
And I am not going to disappear.

I promise.







I always blog what is in my head. What is in my heart.
Today is no different.  Pardon to those who read this and ponder on the context.
I just needed to let this out.  Let it be recorded.  Let it be said.

I love you.

2008 - 2009 New Year Celebration at O Bar

Dragged Tom and Stan with me again for one final hurrah. Starting this January, I'm going to try to devote myself to a cleaner and healthier lifestyle, so in some ways this was a final party to kick of a newer me.

Though I still plan to hit O bar on Sundays, I think it would be for the best to start devoting more time to some gym time, swimming, comic creation and other things I've neglected in the past year.

Still, it was a fun time with friends! And boy, ang dami dumating. Although wala ang ibang close friends like sina Don, Sonny, Jenny and Lorie, lots of new friends were there. The O Divas were spectacular as always. And of course, the night was definitely fun. (Even if pinagkalaman ako ULIT na waiter ng isang guest.)

Happy New Year to you all!

Catch you soon again!

MY SUNDAY NIGHT

So, how about you?  How was your Sunday?

Stories... and Telling Them

My brother and I are 3 years apart in age.  That means it was very common for me and him to be interested in the same things as we grew up.  From G.I. Joe to He-man, Starwars to Centurions (sorry, we were never Trekkies/Trekkers), there were precious few things we did not both enjoy.  One of our favorites among all the toys we ever had were our Lego Blocks.  Using Lego blocks, we would construct our own fully transformable Transformers and M.A.S.K. vehicles, we would create massive cities which we would then take turns destroying by throwing tennis balls at, we would even eventually invent our own first "reality television show" and build monster trucks, then videotape as we literally SMASH them at each other (first driver of a car that flies off the car loses).

Creativity was definitely in our blood.

And while my brother eventually began to take the path of music in his creative impetus, I much clearly saw mine during my Preperatory years.

There was an Elocution/Storytelling Contest. 

My mother penned up a piece for me to narrate.  Inspired by the Biblical tale of Jesus calming the stormy seas, my mom crafted a tale of me having a terrible terrible nightmare.  And in the nightmare, the story of Jesus and his calming of the rough seas became a story I was to relate in the contest.

So there I was, the sixth contestant in the event.  While others quoted "Oh Captain my Captain" and other literary gems written by established writers, I narrated "Nightmare: The Storm" written by my mother (and keen readers would note the title resonates well to my favorite RPG gaming titles now). 

I didn't expect it.
I didn't expect it at all.
My competitors were known to be really smart.  Among the top ten students of the WHOLE BATCH.  They were intellectuals who could carry conversations about politics at that age.  They were kids who knew each and every region of the Philippines at heart.  They were the kind of kids who made you feel stupid without trying because you realize you couldn't keep up with the conversation.

They were friends however, and they never let me feel like I was stupid.
But again, I didn't expect it at all.

I felt like it was one of the first major wins for me.  A shinning moment that gave me a huge "nudge" of what I was good at.  And what I should never forget to embrace.  Some people learn they have a knack for certain sports.  Others have an ear for music.   A tongue for food tasting.  A witty arsenal of words for writing.


I had an ability to tell a story.

Maybe one better face to face than written down (my blog is probably boring to read) but a small niche in the world which I realized I could proudly admit being good at.   Long story made shorter, is it really a surprise my biggest hobby to date is storytelling/roleplaying games?  And deep down, my fondest wish is to eventually someday create, write, shoot and release a full length film/television series for the world to enjoy?

Why am I suddenly sharing all these reminiscing thoughts all of the sudden?  Frankly, I do not know.   Maybe its a way for me to deal with some stress I am going through.  Or maybe there's someone out there who needs to read these things to help them get through something they are going through.  Maybe I just needed to let it out.  Or maybe, I just wanted to share a bit more stories about who I am.

Ultimately, I hope its a good story.
It ain't fiction, after all.

Pictures from the Past... Thoughts on the Present...

As a kid, i used to be the weird kid.   Hmm, I know in many ways I still do fall under the category of "the weird guy" but as a kid it was much more pronounced.  I used to have problems with being around too many people (there was too much stimuli to receive at the same time.  In the picture above, look for the uneasy kid in the crowd.) and I used to have far too much energy for a kid of my age.  Although I wasn't the kid of kid who got into trouble a lot, I was usually the one who started some new cause of trouble in school (like passing around notes to the point that fellow classmates would pass around notes folded like paper planes whenever the teacher would look away) or sneaking in snacks and selling them to my classmates.

Even as the years went by, I always seemed to find myself in a strange ironic state of being.  I was always in the shadow of my brother, the taller and handsomer and more talented one among us, but at the same time was always desperately seeking to do something he can't do.  We'd have matching clothes, same toys and similar hobbies, but I would always struggle to find a way to bring it to some other level.  Or do it in some other way.  He'd make action comics and super heroes, I'd suddenly go brutal splatter fest and horror.  He'd grab a video camera and make mock "on the spot interviews" and news reports, I'd turn the camere into a monster's POV and make a snuff film.

We were always similar enough but different enough and it was mostly me wanting to be like him... and some how be better than him.

When my sister finally joined us, things were suddenly very interesting at home.  The panganay would get what he wanted (look! Its a basketball court in the background, not a swimming pool) while the bunso would get the expected attention (only girl kasi).  The result?   I ended up upping my A-game.  I became the jester.  The source of laughs.  The wild card in the family who would do what everyone else would not.

Now, there are few people who get to know me and not quickly gain the impression of me as a fun person to be with.  Or a source of endless jokes.  Or a wellspring of laughter.   Which I guess is true.  After all, it has taken me my lifetime to master.

Keep laughing, people.
Your problems ain't that bad.
Everything passes with time.