Civil Service Commission - Subprofessional Exam Passers Ceremony Over.

September 26, 2008

Well, in my region anyways.

I wore pink, just in case my stalker wants to know. 

The program started from 10-10:30 and ended right before lunch. Me, my mom and my grandpa headed straight for Gaisano Capital, specifically Greenwhich, to grab lunch. One giant pizza solved everything. Before that, I woke up two hours earlier than expected but began thinking I was late when the clock struck 9:45 and I was still drowsy. Luckily, when we arrived at the Capitol, where the ceremony was to take place, there were still vacant chairs around. So I waited like a patient puppy and went over my crappy speech. 

Mr. Ferdinand Macogue, who was an officer at the Civil Service Commission Aklan Office and a smoking hot radio host (no sexual references please.), had told me days before, when I confirmed my existence, that I was required to give a short message. So for about a week, I got off the net, got on the caffeine overload bus, and started writing my speech. I actually had a long speech, a very long one, which tackled the economy, the government, American politics and even cosplaying but I rewrote it during the ceremony (I didn’t really pay any attention to the speakers) and it was condensed into three paragraphs. 4 or so days of hard work condensed into three paragraphs… Not bad.

The night before, I went to Gaisano Capital to buy me some new clothes. My relatives give me money each time I do something “excellent” so I didn’t get to spend my earnings. Passing the CSC Exam was excellent, according to them. I was on the neutral territory since I always get lucky with exams like these. I passed the UPCAT when I took it half drunk and the USTCAT when I was… uhh… let’s just I got reacquainted with a girl classmate the night before. My old high school professor says it wasn’t luck, I was just a genius. I snorted milk out of my nose upon hearing that.

A few hours before I posted this blog, me and my “familia” (including my cousins and their respective families… my wallet got burned.) ate at Mary’s Refreshment, a great restaurant if I say so myself, and had the grandest time. My nephew, Mico, who’s like 3 or 4 years old was also there. It was a fun dinner. I got my boys (my 3 cousins whose ages range from 6 years old to 3 years old) and we got crazy and had barrels of laughs.

Aside from the emotional gains, I also gained enough money to cruise for the next month. Smartbro payments? Solved! 

Oh and Mr. Ferdinand Macogue, who also goes by his radio alias “Ferdz”, interviewed me right after the ceremonies. The said interview will air this Sunday morning. You won’t be able to hear it if you’re not in Aklan though. 

A Frog and a Thai Princess

September 22, 2008

 

 

Surfing the web is always a good past time for me. Why? Because the internet is a great source of information on a lot of substantial and timely topics. To add to that, my job revolves around the internet, online gaming specifically, and I just love telling strangers off.

I’m not entirely sure of the magnitude but our local radio stations reported that a typhoon has once again chosen the Philippines as a vacation hotspot. The last I was face to face with a typhoon, everything around our house got pissed on save for our house. Talk about being lucky. That typhoon, Frank, sidelined me for a few months with my job, barring my internet access and other necessities like water and electricity. I’m just glad no one in my family got hurt. There were a lot of casualties and since then, people around here have feared any signs of a typhoon. I blame faulty sewage lines but that’s another story.

The day started really lazy, with me dragging my half conscious carcass around the house to wake up and get myself ready for school. It didn’t help that it was cold and raining outside. Talk about sleep inducing.

Luckily, since my grandfather still had his giant umbrella with him, I was able to go to school. My first two classes were boring, as usual, but my third didn’t even start because my professor went missing. I have three classes in the afternoon, as written in my schedule, but not one of my professors were around to have our classes commence. My first one had used up all meetings this week for last Saturday’s lab project, my second subject for the afternoon wasn’t going to be around and my third one’s still in my Manila thanks to a postponed trip back home.

So I headed straight home, against the merciless downpour, logged my laptop online, ate lunch and resumed my web-surfing duties.

Having My Yahoo as my homepage made things easier since I added an rss feed for every website that I go on. Meaning, if there were new things worth reading in any one of those pages, My Yahoo would definitely inform me about it. It’s like a personal assistant, only more automatic and less attractive than my cousin’s.

The levelupgames’ Content Manager, the one who takes care of us outsourced writers, was online so I thought about starting my output(s) for this week. Reading a fellow writer’s article helped with the inspiration bit too.

So I insta-messaged her and asked if I could do a feature piece on the GameHeroes concept and she quickly said yes. I browsed through the site, clicked on every face that I could find and read through every piece that there was. My main goal was to find something interesting to focus on. The concept was already there, I just needed to find an angle to spice things up. For more on the GameHeroes of levelupgames, go here: GameHeroes Website

One gamer girl, under the Ragnarok World Championship banner, caught my eye. She was from Thailand and although her choice of words in her profile were a bit “mild”, there was no denying that she looked really awesome.

Thanyawan Saetae, in game name’s ~@l’Satan’l@~, of the o w0rld ° Cl@ss o guild, was definitely a looker. I’ve seen her name being used synonymously with “girl gamers” on some Philippine Gaming Sites I’m a part of but I never really understood why until now. Information on her gaming skills are still scarce but even more so are her pictures. There’s nothing about her on the net, nothing on the mainstream Google wave anyway. If I get any leads, I’ll keep you guys posted but as of now, keep checking back on the GameHeroes Official Website. Maybe you’ll even beat me to it.

To see her profile, just click on the RWC 2008 logo on the screen’s left side and then click her face on the bottom list of GameHeroes. She has a really cute smile and I’m saying that in a non-sexist way. I just hope my hunch is wrong and that she’s a genuine she.

 

 

Also, on Flyff news, The Cute Frog Pet and Frog Set are now available in the item shop for only 10,000 coupons. It’s not going to stay forever so grab your own now. It’s expected to hop away on September 30. For more information, go here: Flyff Website.

Keep on Flyffing, Flyffers!

PS,
About Grand Chase, I may become a Closed Beta Tester if things go smoothly. Either way, I’ll also be writing about it once it goes Live! More information on Grand Chase here: Grand Chase at LevelUpGames!

 

In Between

September 21, 2008

 

So far, so good. I’m currently working on a novel that borders between the movie, “Kiss Kiss Bang Bang”, and the television show, “Heroes”. I’m going to correct you right there. No, my novel writing isn’t that superb, yet, but the fact is I’m aiming for the movie’s atmosphere and the tv show’s style. It’s not a “good conquers evil” type of story, at least that’s what I’m hoping for. It’s more on philosophy where evil is just a mindset and good is usually tainted by our own vices. That kind of thing.

It’s been weeks, according to the Document’s properties, since I’ve started it and I did edit it a week or so, adding more information as I went on, but I’m now finding it hard to finish it. I still am on the Prologue.

I’ve already written the chapters guidelines for it, like a blueprint, but that thing isn’t even finished yet. I’m aiming for 25 chapters, including both the Prologue and the Epilogue, but I’ve only inputted the first five chapters and the last four ones. I’m still on the Prologue but I’m already stuck.

Caffeine hasn’t helped as much as I expected it to and school’s only making it worse. Is my inability to finish something, my laziness’ fault or is it more because of my “extracurricular activities” like school and the RP? Maybe it’s because I’m still a kid and no matter how good people say I am, I’m still a novice in the world of writing. Either way, I’m not going to quit. Like a friend says, “If you quit writing, then I’m going to kill you.”

One last question before I poof: How do you kill a guy, who doesn’t want to die, dramatically and without people getting the idea that you did it?

 

 

Chiu and Evans

 

 

I was talking to a friend of mine, a girl who loved showbiz as much as I loved breathing air. She was telling me about the whole ABS-CBN love teams experiment or whatnot and expressed her fury on John Lloyd Cruz - Bea Alonzo - Sara Geronimo fiasco. No, it’s not really a big deal for the media mavens. Not even a big deal for most of the couch potatoes out there.

Basically, my friend thinks that Sara Geronimo was lambasted. She was given John Lloyd as a screen partner for a big movie, he was even a major part of her “A Very Special Love” music video, only to get him taken from her right after. It didn’t look like it was a show of respect and was blatantly instilling the thought that the people behind the whole thing viewed emotions, love especially, as something that could easily be influenced. That’s her opinion. I couldn’t really care less since I’m not a fan. Don’t get me wrong, John Lloyd’s a superb actor. That’s a fact. I’m just not that kind of a fan though.

Right after that little chat, I retreated to the living room to watch something that could perhaps inspire me to continue writing my proposed novel. Not really liking the Winx cartoon, I ended up watching Kimerald’s debut film, one which title escapes me. For those who don’t know, Kimerald is the love team nick of Kim Chiu and Gerald Anderson. People usually get mixed emotions over Kim Chiu. Some thinks she’s charming, others perceive her as the poster child for malnutrition. In my opinion, she’s a talented cutie. I’m just a bit against her baggage (read as Gerald Anderson). But maybe that’s because I’m not a girl.

Chiu and Anderson look good together and they have that distinct charisma that would make me a fan. However, I can’t really shrug the feeling that they could offer more given the right incentives. That or I just find Gerald’s character in their debut movie a bit creepy. “Ang bango.”

Remembering the surprise team up of Chiu and Matt Evans on a recent Maalaala Mo Kaya episode, I couldn’t help thinking that the love team holds great promise. Kim Chiu and Matt Evans also look good together but unlike Gerald Anderson who’s a varsity guy with a foreign surname, Matt Evans is a more identifiable actor with a foreign surname. Truth be told, Gerald has been making great developments with each project that he’s had. The fact is, in my opinion, Matt’s smile is a great compliment to Kim’s. Besides, they’re both the same body type so it’s a win-win situation. I really miss that afro though.

 

Acting Out: The Cosplaying Coin

The Japanese abbreviation for costume play, cosplay is when fanboys and fangirls dress up like their favorite characters, show up at parties or conventions, and show off the awesomeness of how much they resemble their fantasy counterparts. Our friends at Wikipedia have even defined it as “a Japanese subculture centered on dressing as characters from manga, anime, and… video games.” Subject to the stereotypes of uninitiated audiences, however, cosplay may seem like geeky show-and-tell or an extended trick or treating episode. Meanwhile, cosplay enthusiasts — called cosplayers — see it as a form of self-expression, an outlet for creativity, and an end unto itself.

~Gino De La Paz, Philippine Star Supreme

A week ago, a friend of mine harassed me in a popular instant messenger service. He threatened me, saying that he’ll rape me if I don’t go online right then. Fearing for my life, and dignity, I got on and shared a few seconds of mindless disputes with him only to be left bored when he signed out. Just like old times.

My plan was to go have a much needed hiatus from the online scene, even for just that night.  I’ve been distracted by the pretty colors lately and that wasn’t good for someone who’s going to be around lots of black.

So after a few hours, I decided to log out and get off Multiply. Unfortunately, the worst was still to come. Another friend of mine, one who’s going bald, insta-messaged me. When I told him I was logging off to go sleep, he implied that I was a [insert slang word for female genitalia here] for going to bed at 10pm. Once again, it was just like old times.

Artinsite Magazine, the Philippines’ first art appreciation magazine by artists for artists, is going to have its inaugural issue this January. At the same time, it’s going to launch its website. More information can be found here: AIS Guidelines

As a literary writer who wishes/seeks/wants to be published as a novelist, I jumped in the band wagon and made my own cover for it. About my cover: Cover Update

My inclusion in the magazine became our topic for that night, my friend being a skeptic when it comes to my successes. Come to think of it, everyone around me is like that. Maybe it’s the laidback look? Or the anti-social aura that’s an anti thesis to my personality? Whatever the reason is, I have such great friends.

My bald friend is sharing an apartment with another friend of mine, the fat one who plays the antagonist in this post’s main argument. Forget about the other two guys, they don’t play big roles in this situation. Let’s just focus on the fat guy.

From the magazine’s circulation and credibility to what exactly art is, we pretty much danced around the hell fire. This guy is my antagonist. Aside from having different views on an assortment of topics, we also face our lives differently. While I bask in aesthetics and pragmatism, this guy is a close minded realist who loved criticizing everything. Aside from that, we’re pretty good friends.

“whoa…cosplayers… i have to concede, there is probably an art in dressing up as obscure japanese characters. it’s like painting, only instead of asking “how dark should this shadow be?” one asks “do i look stupid enough?” bato bato sa langit ang tamaan ay huwag magalit. now. tell me again what is “aesthetic” with a teenager who dresses up like…um…detective conan? and what exactly is being expressed there? oh yeah…imagination and fantasy as a substitute for a tangible self-identity…i’ve heard of that before, and i don’t intend on rehashing a debate i’ve had with several cosplaying classmates of mine.”

That was his take on cosplaying as an art.

First of all, I’m not a cosplayer and I will never be a cosplayer. The fact that I’m not patient enough to stand still for a few minutes doesn’t even help. Regardless, I have cosplaying friends who are all I need to get a bird’s eye view on the extreme form of art. Dating someone who was passionate for it was a plus.

I’ve been to a few conventions too and I’ve had mixed emotions about everything. I see cosplayers as fanatics who take it upon themselves to express their love for Anime and Manga. They work hard for their outfits, costumes, and display their brevity and pride. As one of my cosplaying friends said, “It’s not just about the costume. You have to feel the character and become it.”

On another note, the fact that people actually spend their well earned money on such temporary things bothers me. I mean, it’s quite like spending a lot for a chew toy. Your dog plays with it for a bit and then its history. It might’ve swallowed it or pooped on it but that’s beside the point. They also spend much time for it, time that would’ve been more well spent on studying or finding one’s purpose in life.

PROS
-Really fun.
-Lots of cute girls.
-The closest one can get to spending time with an idolized character
-Immersive subculture
-Art appreciation is developed

CONS
-Geeky in some eyes
-Expensive outfits
-Unhealthy Obsession
-Precursor to identity crisis issues
-Psychological Side Effects

Again, the issue is cosplaying as an art, not cosplaying as a hobby. Let’s face it, cosplaying as a hobby is more understandable than its artistic purpose. Examples of hobbies: stamp collecting, hair dolls, porcelain dolls, pets, writing, photography and the list goes on. Examples of art: writing, photography, sculpting, painting, drawing and etcetera. See the difference? Not everything can be classified as art.

Art is expression. That’s a known fact. Cosplaying is an extreme art, it’s not just plain dress up. Like any artist, a cosplayer has passion. That’s saying a lot.
 
But then again, isn’t art defined by the audience?

In the end, to each our own really. We’re old enough to make our own decisions. We shouldn’t be fazed with any opposition. If you can’t stick with it, then you fail. That or it wasn’t meant for you.

—

The original conversation had already been published in a Multiply blog which you can find right here: LINK
What was said had already been said by all the other antagonists to cosplaying.
This was nothing new, really, but I wanted to share my opinions on the general topic.
You can also brush through the sentiments of some real life cosplayers and the fanatics with that link.

If you want, you can also comment right here.
No censorship.
Everyone’s entitled to his or her own opinion.