RANDOM THOUGHTS + MY PIGEONHOLED TRAVEL BLOG

For some strange reason, blogging ideas nowadays usually bull their way out of my head as I hear the sound of water gushing down the tap while I take a shower. That is, when I go about this “daily” (at least for us inhabitants of this tropical country) personal obligation, it is never without this “light bulb” moment: why not write about what you think or feel about blah blah and begin it this way blah blah. I take it quite seriously, mind you, though some of these ideas I put off or, worse, just forget about altogether.

But today is different. Immediately after getting dressed up, I grabbed a pen and started putting in black and white all these random thoughts I earlier had.

*A little over three months ago, I received well-meaning farewell and wish-you-luck messages – written and verbal – from officemates-slash-friends, and was oddly happy about it. I say “oddly” because it felt as if I was looking forward to that moment and there wasn’t a hint of loneliness in me. But now I tend to look back to that day and cannot help but feel sad. I admit I miss my former job and my work friends. And sometimes I do ask myself the inevitable “what if?”but beat back the thought immediately. I know, I know. I only have to put my trust in “the process” He has started for me and I should be moving along.

*I've been thinking of going back to Twitter. But I wonder if its virtual wings are still wide open for a wannabe tweep like me or, more correctly speaking, if I will find it fun this time. Rats, of course I have to make it fun this time! As they say, Twitter’s much better the second time around!

*It’s still a few months away from my birthday but I already have my 25th Bucket List entry: learn to speak a foreign language (not just English, ya know). And given that I can sing two Korean songs by now (*cough* *cough*), I’m thinking of enrolling in TESDA’s Korean Language Training program. Learn Korean free of charge?! Awesome!

*Speaking of My Bucket List, I’m glad that three were already crossed off it. Er, I still have so much time to accomplish the others, right? Ha ha. Kidding aside, there are times that I think of facing death, and it is oftentimes during these moments that I truly feel my existence, my worth, my strength, my God... I don't know, but I think it's some kind of a healthy spiritual and psychological exercise. Better try it to know what I mean.

*Lately, I've come to realize that reconnecting with old classmates and friends is great, for it helps you "reconnect" with your old self to better "unleash the new you."

*"And I wouldn't have it any other way." But that is not to say that I don't want to improve the look of my blog, have a nicer-looking and more suitable background or template for example. So last week, I looked for a website that offers free Blogger templates. In fact I found at least three that I liked but eventually opted to just stick to the original. I got so frustrated because no matter how much I tried, I kept on doing something wrong with the codes that my blog did not turn out the way it should. Good thing I had saved my original template's codes before pasting new ones and saving the changes. In times like this, I become more eager to learn more about HTMLs and not just rely on basic knowledge that says they begin and end with angle brackets.

THE WANDERING WONDERER, my travel blog I haven't got around to until now (*sigh*). My bad, I know. Actually it was supposed to be "the wanna-be traveler's blog" but I thought "The Wandering Wonderer" would sound way cooler. But what's the sense of having a cool-sounding blog title if the blog itself doesn't exist?! Okay, I better act NOW. Disiplinahin ang sarili.

A MONTH BEFORE CHRISTMAS DAY

Whenever I hear this OPM (Original Pilipino Music) song, I'm always reminded of my father, who has been working as an OFW (overseas Filipino worker) for as long as I can remember. We've been celebrating 19 Christmas Days in a row without him, and this year's will likely be the 20th. Well, that's life. Moving on, here are the lyrics of Jimmy Borja's Sana Ngayong Pasko, the first two stanzas of which sum up my "heartache" during this "joyful" season.

SANA NGAYONG PASKO
Pasko na naman
Nguni't wala ka pa
Hanggang kailan kaya
Ako maghihintay sa iyo

Bakit ba naman
Kailangang lumisan pa
Ang tanging hangad ko lang
Ay makapiling ka

[Chorus]
Sana ngayong Pasko
Ay maalala mo pa rin ako
Hinahanap-hanap pag-ibig mo
At kahit wala ka na
Nangangarap at umaasa pa rin ako
Muling makita ka
At makasama ka
Sa araw ng Pasko

Pasko na naman
Nguni't wala ka pa
Hanggang kailan kaya
Ako maghihintay sa iyo

Bakit ba naman
Kailangang lumisan pa
Ang tanging hangad ko lang
Ay makapiling ka

[Repeat Chorus 2x]

Sana ngayong Pasko…

I MISS ATASHIN CHI!

First off, just so you know, Atashin Chi is an anime that tells about the day-to-day experiences of the Tachibana family, comprised of Mrs. Tachibana, Mr. Tachibana, Mikan, and Yuzuhiko. It had been shown on a local free-to-air TV channel sometime in 2008, if I remember it right, but after a handful of episodes, was pulled out from the early morning show lineup for some reason. I liked it simply because it was funny, I mean really funny. Back then, my mom would always find me vegging out in front of the TV during weekdays, having hearty laughs, and I upon seeing her would go, "Ma, kayo 'yun oh, si Mrs. Tachibana!" And she would say, "Sabi ko na nga ba. Kaya ka maagang gumising, panonoorin mo na naman yang si Atashin Chi Atashin Chi."


For me, Mrs. Tachibana was like "the star of the show." She merrily sings "ang bango bango ng mga rosas" while multitasking household chores, but always finds herself doing them clumsily. I can't pinpoint why, but she really reminds me of my mom, but that's aside from the fact that they are both on the plump side, ha ha. Nah, it just makes Mrs. Tachibana all the more likable and endearing in my eyes.

I absolutely miss watching this animated sitcom. YouTube, though, doesn't help for nary an episode can be viewed there. I have also tried visiting one or two anime websites, but how the heck could I understand it without the English subtitles?! I'm just putting my hopes up that a local TV network would have "tagalized" Atashin Chi episodes (new episodes would be great!) shown here again.

RULE NO. 2

SO LONG, YAHOO! MAIL UPDATES!

In a week's time, Yahoo! Mail Updates users -- including yours truly -- will be saying goodbye to the feature. Yahoo! Mail, however, did not provide an explanation as to why they wanted the Updates tab out. I surmise it's probably because posting status messages on Yahoo! Mail is not as popular as it is on "well-loved" Facebook, and the "share-it-on-Facebook-and-Twitter" option is likewise not well-received. It is also likely that Yahoo! Mail does not want to "compete" with Facebook in that aspect, given that a "tie-up" -- in the form of the 'Quick Reply' service, by which Facebook messages and notifications can be easily replied to -- between them exists. Or maybe, having a status message on Yahoo! Mail is deemed just the same as having one on Yahoo! Messenger and they don't like to be "redundant." Eh?! Well, these are just my two cents' worth. What I'm certain of is that it's going to be pretty odd not to see the Updates button on my Mail page anymore.

BOYS, GIRLS, AND THE APPLE TREE

(Image from here)

BLOGGING AND ME

I've been taken to reading numerous blogs lately, ranging from those about passion for art, love to travel, life in a foreign land, one's quest for his personal holy grail, no-nonsense political and social affairs in the country, living life to the fullest and whatnot. And while they, most of the time, provide for some sense of inspiration, they also do not fail in leading me to benchmark my own blog against them.

Don't get me wrong. Yes it may seem negative, but I believe otherwise. It allows me to come up with more sensible things to write about, let alone to blog more often, thinking that if I do so, my blog would be able to fare well on the cyberspace as these blogs I'm bowled over with do. But, is it really important that my blog should be at par with the ones bandied about on blogrolls, earning many comments on their entries? Interestingly enough, my brain answers me: So what if it's not?

For more than a year that I've been pouring my heart out on this blog, I can proudly say that this has to be a feather in my cap. Though bent on keeping my grammar in shipshape, groping for (hifalutin) words I deliberately take note of and trying to the best of my abilities to sound like a pro blogger, in the end it all boils down to these important things: that in the process I'm doing something imperative to my learning, that I'm doing something productive, that I'm doing something to somehow compensate for my lack of professional practice as a writer and not make my writing skills atrophy. Add to these the fulfillment of my goal to create "an outlet, though digital, of my blabs and raves, of what I feel and think about things, of those I never had the chance to express."

Realizing these makes me appreciate all the more what I can do because I DO THEM. I don't really need to think of who writes better than whom, who has richer vocabulary than whom and who attracts more traffic than whom. This is my output. This is my blog. This is my wide white wall. And I wouldn't have it any other way.