Late Night Blog

It's yet another late night at work. I'll be signing off in a bit, hoping to work faster and sharper early tomorrow morning.

Before I sign off, I'd like to touch on several things:

• reading and writing;
• asking questions and seeking answers;
• getting on with it.

In a country like the Philippines, it's difficult to guesstimate how important reading and writing are. My experiences indicated that while the "common" Filipino has difficulty understanding complex or specialized English, they can get by (thank you, pirated cable TV and imported TV shows). This is wonderful, considering that a cursory review of the daily broadsheets evidence a number of articles that would drive English grammarians to despair.

At least we try to read and keep abreast of things...

A lot of Filipinos are also conspiracy theorists at heart, possibly due to constant exposure to life in the Philippines. After being beset with perpetual illogical behavior and events, we tend to craft the strangest (and sometimes eerily accurate) explanations for them.

As a people, we should temper this tendency with a bit of journalistic discipline by trying to identify and verify sources of information. Independent witnesses and hard evidence should have greater weight that the latest texted rumor. It might help turn the country around were we to become less subject to publicity and psychological manipulation, and more critical of the news we are fed.

In the end, it's a matter of hurry. We're too busy trying to make a living, trying to support our loved ones and set aside a nest egg for the future to dedicate a large portion of our lives to muckraking and activism.

Until the next time that our collective outrage overflows and we take to the streets.

Bah! It's time to go!

Makati Tickets and Ninoy

I lost my driver's license to a Makati traffic aide this past weekend and had to go early this morning to pick it up (after paying my fine).

They had an interesting mechanism there - you're supposed to drop your ticket in the basket, and wait for them to find the matching ticket with your driver's license. Then you wait for your name to be called out, and go to the window number assigned to you.

I arrived early - around 7am. The common wisdom from the taxi drivers and delivery truck drivers was that things would get started around 8:30am. I went off to have a healthy Burger Machine breakfast... then returned to my position in the mass of people waiting.

I heard some unusual humor from the drivers who were trying to get change for the various fines that had to be paid. Oddly enough, because of the number of P500 fines, the picture of Ninoy was much in discussion. There were jokes about the fact that the bills weren't real because "walang butas ang ulo ni Ninoy", and comments thrown in concerning the hardness of Ninoy's and the disapproval of Kris and Cory to all the joking around.

I suppose he's much in the news again after the recent ruling...

Writing Committments

Let's see... long-lingering things that I've got to finish include:

1. the revised Sandugo issue #1 script
2. the outline & script to Sandugo issue #2
3. the outline & script to Sandugo issue #3
4. the outline & script to Sandugo issue #4
5. the Hinirang RPG ruleset
6. the Hinirang RPG sourcebook

... and not necessarily in that order. I've also been wanting to write short stories for each of the subgenres listed in Hero Games' Star Hero.

Sharpen those pencils, my boy.

Finding Purchase

Every day is a constant battle to get things done. Scads of work piling up and trying to cut through them... trying to organize my personal life so that I can make sure nothing slips through the cracks... trying to keep in touch with old friend... trying to do all things for the upcoming wedding.

It's freaky how I know there's probably enough time... but where does it all go? Back to the salt mines!

Catch-phrase Cut-ups

Every so often, we play a game after lunch at work called Catchphrase. A randomly selected word (or phrase) must be guessed by one's team mates... you can give verbal clues or gestures, but you cannot say the word or a part of it.

The game lends itself to some funny moments... here are a few:

Team A Lead: What's the opposite of dry?
Team A Members: Wet!
Team A Lead: Hindi pa.
Team A Members: Not yet wet.
(The answer was moist)

Team A Lead: Sa Superbowl, you eat this kind of... *buzzer sounds and opposite team has a chance to steal*
Team B Members: Hotdogs?
(The answer was Chinese Food. The team leader was referring to the name of a chinese restaurant: Super Bowl)

Team A Lead: Who was an enemy of James Bond in the 60s?
Team A Members: Dr. No!
Team A Lead: Ay! Talaga? Um, Dr. is right but the second word is... World Health Organization.
Team A Members: Dr. WHO!
(That's right!)

I guess you had to be there...

Balanced Imbalance

I always hear about the importance of a balanced lifestyle. I hear about it enough times that it tends to go in one ear and out the other.

What is a balanced lifestyle? It suggests that one's time is to be spread evenly between the various "must do's" and "might do's" that vie for one's attention. However, this is seldom simple or easy.

Determining how much time should be allocated to one's various interests is often a complex exercise. For example, deciding how to split time between work, family, friends and personal growth cannot be solved by allocating a fourth of all the hours in a day to each aspect. Depending on your priorities, some will inevitably command more time, and rightly so.

Even after having decided on this allocation of time, it is often difficult to stick to. Work has a tendency to overwhelm you if ignored. Family often makes irresistible demands on time that cannot be shackled to quotas. Friends are much the same way, and tend to slip away if not given the proper attention. Finally, if all your time is dedicated outwards, you may find that you've lost a sense of self... torn this way and that by various competing priorities.

Despite the complexities and difficulties of planning and implementing the allocation of your time, it is a task that must be undertaken with gusto and relish. Otherwise, your life's story may resemble a random stumbling about rather than a series of stages towards ever more profound and meaningful physical, mental, relational and spiritual transformations.

And now, back to your regularly scheduled blog.

It's time for a revamp!

We've been working on the current version of www.hanapbahay.com.ph for a while now, and it's time to modify certain things as we begin to prepare and plan for a sales and marketing drive. If you've never gone to the site of our entrepreneurial venture... drop by!

Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Who Will Watch the Watchmen?

Well, if it ever gets made, I probably will! However, it's gotten a step closer to reality... check out the website for the movie here.

Weekend review: Isle, Pamanhikan, a baptism, a birthday celebration, and The Phantom (of the Opera)

Oh yes, a brutal "episode" of the ongoing Isle campaign. My character faced a nasty dragon (huge, nasty, with several breath weapons it delighted in using all at once), ran away like a scared child (along with the other members of the party), and was skewered by a sword called Weary (one of the 7 seven nasty, Craft-hating swords).

The Pamanhikan was a little nerve-wracking at the beginning, but at Prince Albert the conversation finally relaxed, and amusing little anecdotes shared between the in-laws (and the couple-to-be) allowed both sides to get some insight into the others' lives. Great food too!

The baptism (of Vincent Binhi Malaya) was fun, the child was unnaturally well-behaved (according to his mother), and charmed everyone by reaching out to grasp the priest's hand while a benediction was prayed over the child. After the baptism, however, the Jakjak Incredible look-alike soon threw tantrums, only to to be placated by the more... ahem... rotund members of the ninongs, ninangs, and well-wishers in attendance.

The birthday was surprisingly entertaining, due to the presence of the CQuest Usual Suspects. Kate & I enjoyed kibbitzing with Marco (who bought the same gift we did, darn it), Jason, Camille, Vinnie and the parents of Princess "I don't have any powers" Sage when the could get away from their parental duties.

The Phantom was enjoyable, though the voice of the Phantom was a distinct let-down. It was only near the end that I could understand their vocal choice for the Phantom, but even then I felt that a stronger voice should have been used especially during the "Music of the Night" segment. Some exposition scenes were painful to watch, particularly when similar exposition occurs later in the movie to reiterate what the audience may have forgotten.

All-in-all, an enjoyable weekend spent with my mahaw...