I am deciding whether it's the Christmas lights or my monthly dose of feminine hormones that's got me stuck in melancholica.  Whatever it is, it could be fodder for things I (forced myself that I) need to write, which include, but are not limited to:

~three short stories with a kickass theme for NCCA
~two kickass poems for a contest by Meritage
~continuation of our collaborative effort (luckychan and crimson_parsley): "ze novel"

The first two need to be done by December 31.  And did I mention that they have to kick ass?

* * *

Suportahan ang mga bagong manunulat ~ehem ako ehem~!  Bumili na ng mga sumusunod na aklat (pwedeng ipangregalo, ohohoho):

First Love (Cozy Reads Publishing) - short story antho edited by Faye Ilogon, about first love, of course.  Maganda na ang laman, maganda pa ang papel, hehe.  The book contains ten short stories by various authors (including luckychan and myself).

Very Short Stories for Harried Readers (Milflores Publishing) - flash fiction antho edited by Vince Groyon.  It contains a mix of stories from both renowned and, ehem, "youthful" writers. :)  The book contains 41 short shorts that range from 500 to 1000 words, I think.  Do buy if you're a fan of any of the following people:
 
Anna Felicia C. Sanchez, Sandra Nicole Roldan, Rodrigo V. Dela Peña Jr., Prospero E. Pulma Jr., Francezca C. Kwe, Lawrence L. Ypil, Sharmaine Galve, Raymund P. Reyes, Flori Maximo, Catherine Candano, Pam Punzalan, Ayn Frances dela Cruz, Christian Tablazon, Ana Maria S. Villanueva, Libay Linsangan Cantor, Andrea Pasion, Cecille La Verne de la Cruz, Daryll Delgado, Anne Lagamayo, Jamina Jugo, Karen Manalastas, O. Bryan Alvarez, Danton Remoto, Jhoanna Lynn B. Cruz, Bj A. Patiño, Joshua L. Lim So, John Bengan, Carljoe Javier, Jose Claudio B. Guerrero, Mark Ponce, Timothy Montes, Faye Ilogon, Apol Lejano-Massebieau, Jerome Chua, Vicente Garcia Groyon, Jean Claire A. Dy, Celeste Flores-Coscolluela, Anna Chua, Irwin Allen B. Rivera, Paul S. de Guzman, and Eliza A. Victoria.

~end shameless plug

    I was riding a jeepney the other day when I saw this old sticker that made me snicker (sticker, snicker, sticker snicker).  It said "God knows HUDAS not pay!" (hwekwekwekwekwek...) XD

    I know, I know, that line's pretty old.  An oldie but goodie though.  Which made me think of other jeepney literary classics.  For instance, have you noticed  that new type of jeepney poetry?  Like haikus, they're short and sweet, each line painted on a small wood plank.  Whole verses would hang from hooks on the ceiling behind the driver's and passenger's seats.  They swayed each time the jeep sped up or stopped.  Here's an example:

"Kunin mo ang  puso ko" -> that's on the first plank
"pati na ang katawan ko" -> this one on the second plank, which hangs from the first.
"huwag lang"
"ang kita ko"

    Again, hwekwekwekwek.  But isn't it amazing that a new poetry form could emerge from our humble jeepney?  Of course the topics are limited to sex, income, and nonpayers-being-thrown-into-the-flames-of-hell-until-the-end-of-time.  But what  could be more important? XD

    It's a cultural phenomenon, not limited to the jeepney.  We Filipinos are, as a rule, fond of witticisms.  We like collecting quotes, song lyrics, acronyms.  We hoard these in our minds, where they gather in the corners like dustballs.  Like, do you remember the country acronyms we used to use in letters and slumbooks back in grade school? Like ITALY (I trust and love you!), JAPAN (Just always pray at night!).  Heh.  Actually, those are the only ones I remember.  I didn't actually get into that whole bandwagon, just like i didn't get into the stationery and sticker collecting phase that everyone else seemed to go through.  But that's a whole other entry.

    Just recently crimson_parsley told me what PHILIPPINES meant.

    P -umping
    H -ot
    I
    L-ike
    I-t
    P -lease
    P -lease
    I
    N-eed
    E-rotic
    S-timulation!

    Heh.  No wonder I didn't know this in grade school.  Not GP at all.  =p

    And everyone seems to have their favorite quote.  Like that overused chestnut "It's better to have loved and lost...yada yada...".  Or "There's nothing to fear but fear itself."  Or, for the Noranians, "My brother is not a pig!"   (i prefer the porcine one myself)

    It's also pretty standard to ask for a person's favorite motto in noontime show beauty pageants and  (again) slumbooks.  "Time is gold," "a rolling stone gathers no moss," "a stitch in time saves nine," "ang batang mabait, napupunta sa langit," ad infinitum (and ad nauseum).  My own favorite answers to the "What is your favorite motto?" question came from an old beauty pageant in Eat Bulaga (i think it was called TeeVee babes).

     Vic Sotto: (asks contestant): What is your favorite motto?
    Contestant: Ajinomoto
(insert eternal embarrassment here)

and another one:
    Vic Sotto: (asks contestant): What is your favorite motto?
    Contestant:  Melanie Marquez.
(huwaaaat????)

    But of all the quotable quotes that I've ever encountered, the one that takes the cake is a line from luckychan's brother JT's secret admirer.  They never found out who wrote the unsigned note.  Whoever you are, though, know that you have been immortalized in quote history.
Here it is:

    "You are like the air to my balloon,
    without you, I cannot fly..."

A classic, I tell you.  A classic.

* * *

In other news:

~Karen has attempted to be GTK (Great Teacher Karen), in a teaching demo which she performed yesterday
~Tala, Mayumi, Eric and Caloy, are received by Maria Makiling.  I have no idea exactly what they're talking about.  They're conversing in low tones, and they won't allow me (or Kulas the kapre, who has been tailing them) to hear what they're saying. (intrigued? read our upcoming novel! <--shameless and premature plug)
~those school shootings are insane...

over and out.

For romance novel readers out there--even the ones in denial:

"Heartbreak", a book of short stories written by Filipinos on the subject of, you guessed it, heartbreak, is now available on National book store (at least luckychan and I saw it on National Katipunan.  She bought a copy.  As for me, I've had lots of practice saying "no" to myself.)  Looking at the book from a purely physical standpoint--the cover design, the paper, and the font, which were all I was able to assess, really--I'd say it's a good buy.  The paper was thick and of good quality, the font did not look "jologs", and the cover was designed well and laminated with matte plastic (Yeah, yeah, I really like books with matte covers.  You just want to rub your cheek against them. Ahh, book love...)

As for the all important content, Les says the stories are written well.  I'd have to borrow the book from her to confirm that...ehem.

I hope the book sells well, though.  That would give writers more opportunities to get their work out there...double ehem.

A, tama na nga 'to.

* * *

I myself, am a secondhand book junkie.  I seem to have pretty good luck with Booksale branches too.  Recently, I bought Madeleine L'engle's "A Wrinkle in Time" for 20 pesos, and Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" for a whopping 30 pesos.  Both books were in pretty good condition too, and both are the first ones in their respective series.

* * *


I feel strangely blank.

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

Fill in the blank...

ha! that sounded strangely cheesy.  Like something you'd say to your lover.  "Fill in my blank." XD it sounds just a bit wrong too.

"You complete me."

gag.

Enough, enough of this. XD

Panoorin nyo po ang Siquijor, suporta na rin sa pelikulang Pilipino.  Still not THE great Filipino movie of our generation, pero ok naman. Comments: there were a few loose ends left at the end of the movie, and sometimes mahina ang sound.  But it's a fairly good mystery/suspense story, and the irony at the end was simply delicious.  Playful ang camera angles, very characteristic of indie filipino.

Rhea, Jerc and I watched it last saturday.  We had lunch in TemptAsian.  Then we burned everything off at an arcade game called "Final Furlong".  Guys, ito yung horse racing na game sa Timezone. Grabeh, nakakapagod, very physical.  They should put the damn machine in gyms; they'd make a killing.


* * *

Films.  We're writing a film script for the CinemaOne contest.  I'm burned out from trying to be creative for hours on end.  Now I can only think in stark Hemingway-esque prose. Declarative sentences:  I am tired. My neck hurts.  I want to rest, but I still need to prepare kefir.  Kefir is a health drink I ferment everyday for my parents.  It's made from milk, and tastes like creamy vinegar.

This is what you do for love.

It's a bit of an adjustment, working on a creative thing with new people.  By new, I mean not the gorgeous and talented writers in dormant muses.  Tougher.  And full of compromise, iba iba kasi ang creative vision nyo.

Worn out. Tired.  Squeezed dry. (But not dry enough to run out of rants.  Which brings me to my newly formulated theory that hope isn't the last thing to survive in the face of adversity; rants are).

Bye for now.

I've undergone another personality change. Thia time, I'm the genki (cheerful), money-grubbing Asianovela character. Haha. I'm serious! ("Haha, i'm serious" is such a wonderful contradiction, don't you think?) These days, in the bid to raise money for the Save the Karen foundation, I have assumed the role of freelance everything: writer, baker, secondhand bookshop. I'm even planning to move into the realm of piano arrangement.

SHAMELESS PLUG
If you want good, secondhand books...
or caramel-encrusted mini fruit tarts...
or orginal music cds at half the price...


wala lang. let me know, i might have something for you.

Getting rid of some personal possessions is especially painful, almost like an amputation. My personal purging experience involved some difficult decision making. What was worth keeping? Which could be let go?

***

The problem with being a freelancer is you do a lot of work, but people still think you're not busy. ^_^; and so, you get more work.

May bagong publishing company na itinatag ang isang iniidolo kong manunulat na Pilipino. Ngayon, tumatanggap sila ng mga kwentong kumuha ng inspirasyon sa "Noli me Tangere" o "El Filibusterismo". Maaaring Inggles o Filipino ang pagkakasulat sa akda. Kung mapipili, maililimbag ang gawa mo, kasama ng iba pang kwento, sa isang anthology ng mga kwentong base sa Noli at Fili.

Mabuhay ang panitikang Pilipino!

(the same thing, in English)

A Filipino writer that I admire has put up her own publishing house. They are currently accepting stories based on, or derived from, "noli me Tangere" and/or "El filibusterismo". Submitted stories may be written in English or Filipino. If chosen, your story will be published in an anthology of works inspired by the Noli and Fili.

Long live Philippine literature!

For additional details (para sa karagdagang kaalaman):
http://www.quatre-gats.com/

***

A fragment of the story that i will be submitting for this (see above):
( Read more... )

***

Choking, don't forget to download Yakitate!

***

Good cop, bad cop

Maganda ang libro ng tito ni Leslie (na--dahil sa kanyang angking talino--ay tinatawag ko nang Gamalinda-sama sa isip ko). Hindi naman ako na-depress sa kwento. "No good books are depressing. All bad books are."

Maganda ang pilates video na binili ko kasama ni Kristina (Paner). Ngunit walang panananalig si itay dito: ika nya, di sya naniniwalang ang ehersisyo habang nakahiga ay nakakapagod. Di bale, hindi naman para sa kanya ang video. Kaya biniro ko na lang siya at sinabing may ehersisyo naman ako bukod sa pilates: aerobic eating (nguya nguya lunok, pagbubuhat ng plato at mga kubiyertos) and drinking (buhat baso, tungga tungga).

Pangit ang pakiramdam ng walang trabaho (walang silbi, walang pera). Baka katayin na ako ng mga magulang ko, para lang ipangtustos sa pang-araw araw na pagkain sa bahay. Pero hindi mangyayari yun. Bakit? Dahil vegetarian sila.

Pangit na ang buhok ko (oo, baka matagal na itong totoo, pero ang kaso, kahit ako nakakapansin nang pangit ito). Gusto ko nang magpagupit.

Masarap mabuhay, ngunit mahirap mag-isip, lalo na kung para sa sarili.

Hanggang sa susunod, kaibigan.

***

I repeat: Choking, i-download mo na ang Yakitate! Chop chop!

I really want to go to Prague. ~cries~ I just don't know whether I'd have the financial capability by then.

Rewind: immunology conference in Prague on November 2006... we got asked by our adviser to try our chances at getting accepted for oral presentation... Karen is excited, but dreads the prospect of finding funding

I bet it'd be cold by then, which rules out the "sleeping on a parkbench" option. I hope the food is cheap in Prague. I hope lodging is cheap too. And while I'm at it, I hope I'll win the lottery tomorrow, win a Pulitzer and a Nobel (doesn't matter which category, but the peace prize is pretty cool), and be U.N. ambassador by the time I'm 25. Also, world peace. Amen.

ah, Europa, and your old stones.

***

This means I'll have to find a job soon. Sell drugs. Or something.

***

Our dear friend luckychan got published for the first time in this month's "Philippine Ghost Stories". Congratulations! Woohoo! ~jumps around and screeches for her~

I was feeling a bit depressed these past weeks. Salamat, friend, sa pagpapaalala kung ano ang mahalaga. Alam mo na kung sino ka.

***

Kung ano man ang mangyayari sa hinaharap, kaya natin! Ye ye ye!

***

Malapit na ang deadline ng submissions for the 2006 Palanca awards (April 30). Magsubmit na! Categories are (as far as i can remember): short story, poetry, essay, one-act play, full length play, futuristic fiction, children's story, at screenplay. I-google lang ang "palanca 2006" para makakuha ng application forms at mechanics. Pwede sumali dito kahit Filipinos living abroad ~ehemIDIehem~