Milenyal banter

I promised myself that I wouldn't post anything about the recent storm that ravaged the city. Everybody would have anyway so thus, the promise. But then my fingers has this itch for online activity. So here I am posting about this almost armageddon named Milenyo or Xangsane as known internationally. Don't worry, these are mostly pointless banter.

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Most phenomenona of natural disaster in nature brings out a lot in people or in society. It could bring out the best or even the most vile. Whatever it may be, whether we like it or not, we can never deny its power to affect people in any gargantuan or miniscule way. This storm that made its transit right smack through our capital, a place with boorish pride, undeniably knocked down the city to its knees.

It may have spawned fear. Agony and sadness. Itmay also have also spawned jubilant faces of another day off from school and work. Mostly, it was a time to go back to basics and value simple things that was taken for granted untill the storm hit. People, without anything better to do, came out the streets and started chatting with neighbors and creating a lot of ruckus. Funny, coz it hasn't happened for years now. Family and friends was able get some time of from the daily routine and finally do what they wanted to do when they were busy. Files and clutters were arranged and organized. Relationships were restored and reignited. Books were read, sleep were slept and dreams were dreamed.

A break from the routine and boring. An opening for desries to be fulfilled. To reconnect. To rest. To rearrange and reasses. To step down from a cloud or a tree. No matter what it is. It was a storm that everybody greatly needed (exception to those who lost their lives and homes).

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Yes the storm was a bitch. I woke up that day with the wind slapping the window. Silence inside the room. Chaos outside. The fan wasn't working so I figured the power is out. I never realized that it would be out for more than a day. I checked my phone for anything and LOW BATT was flashing on the lcd screen. SHIT! I checked my palm and the battery is halfway spent already. I felt stupid not charging up the night before knowing that the battery of my phone would be dead anytime the next day. And it died early in the afternoon.

Lunch was like an avante-garde movie. Imagine me eating lunch. Imagine me seated with bay windows behind me. Then imagine the wind wreaking havoc just outside that window. Then Imagine the stillness while I was eating inside. It felt quite absurd.

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Since the power was out during the evening, all I had as entertainment were candles and mosquitos. I tried reading books against the candlelight, but I only got a headache. I just tried enjoying the stillness. Brought outside a candle on the front porch. And just breathing in the darkness and quietness of the surroundings. I thought I saw something moving up in the trees with bright eyes but tried ignoring it for a while. I don't need anything like that at that time.

I wish I had power and was able to catch pictures of candlelight. Shit!

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Since the power was out and as well as running water supply, you can imagine how a person can get very sticky and icky. I just coulnd't help but to go outside when it started to rain hard last night. I bathed in the rain and squeezed it out for all its worth. Brings back memories actually. When I was younger, I loved bathing in the rain. One of my favorite things. That may be the reason for my soft spot for rain. threw everything away, inhibitions and self control and just enjoyed the droplets make my body damp and wash away the filth. I felt the stars peeking out of the clouds and the gnomes and other creatures of the dark. I just went on and did a wonderful performance that you see once in a lifetime. Nothing obscene.

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When the power went back on it is as if a farytale has ended. That for a day and a half, the world stopped turning and stopped time and space. As if a rip in space has been created and weird things happened. It is something that a busy buzzing city never expected but secretly asked for in their bedtime prayers. Secret desires were met while this rip was in place. An early halloween treat for ghost and ghouls and the seemingly ghostly existence. And since the world starts to turn again, the fabric in time is mended, leaving in its wake the aftermath of people catching up from things lost and things regained. Until the next time-space warp.

Fine is good

Damn! Something so simple for me became a lot more complicated. In the second session of our workshop, we were fortunate enough to have the honor of a Srilankan international photographer who is somewhat based here in Manila, Tilak Hettige, to do a morning lecture and do some coaching for us since he is around this week. This is an honor apparently since he isn't around the philippines that frequently nowadays. So yay, right? Besides his difficult to understand accent he was very inspiring. So I guess it's a yay.

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Most of the lecture involved a lot of AVP's about his works that showcases his styles and techniques with a lot of tips. And I must say, his photographs are total drool-worthy materials. And I couldn't even believe that he primarily uses film cameras. Which leaves image retouching through photoshop or other softwares out of the question. The challenge is that we just have to have this critical eye that sees beauty in everything, no matter how ugly everyone thinks a thing is. So, that makes things difficult since we are used taking photos of things that we see as beautiful. It is a difficult thing to make something ugly into a beautiful masterpiece. (mental voice: Eh paano kung pangit lang talaga siya!?!?!?)

Later in the morning we were thrown into the almost midday heat to take photos. We were no more than 10 seconds outside the lecture room and we were sweating like pigs. We were divided into big groups and were assigned a single subject per group. Our subject was this Aloe Vera plant with bushes clustered around it. Geezuz! It's a big clump of green all over. What's interesting about that??? Then Mr. Hettige explained that we have to find what is interesting about it. Perhaps, the thorns that protrudes on the sides of the leaves? Yeah, but the light is not flattering anything about it, so what now? Then he explained that the light then flatters the slight tint of yellow on the sides. Then he asked if we could see it. We were all staring blankly with "uhhhm.. okay..." coming out of our mouths. He then left us alone to do the assignment and instruced us that we could wander around to get photos of other subjects after getting enough photos of the plant.

The situation of our groupings is quite frustrating. We were at least 10 in the group and were supposed to just use one camera from somebody. The problem is, most of my groupmates have digitals and started shooting with their own anyway. Leaving us film users just standing there doing nothing since we weren't given any film to use. Everybody just clustered around the plant and started shooting, while the other non-digital people were directing and instructing people who are shooting what he/she can do. Ideas and watchamacallit's started to saturate around them and condensed into a cloud, blanketing everyone. (susmaryuseyp! ang daming Bibo!) I decided to just stay in the background and chat up other classmates who are in the same bind as I am. I just followed around, lagging behind.

Until I saw this scene and quickly grabbed my phone and took a quick snapshot:


The one by the arc is Mel my seatmate while the man whose back is turned to us is Lesh, the guy from Malaysia. Because of the midday lighthing some parts of the picture are washed out. But, since I only used a camera from a phone, I couldn't complain.

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The day wasn't that really frustrating. Remember my dread about last weeks practice shoot? Well, some photos turned out fine. With a sigh of relief, I thanked the high heavens things weren't worse for me, unlike my other classmates. In the afternoon, we had a lecture about composition. We had our best photos from last week posted on the whiteboard for everyone to critique. My photo was not the bestseller (the others' were enthralling, which makes me question the authenticity of these photos. Something is not right about these picture but i got no proof) but when the lecturer did an individual critique of the photos my shot was one of the images that stood out for the lecturer. It was praised for a good technique and exposure and it said that it has very good composition. Which made her ask if it was my first time to attend a class about photography. When I replied with a yes, she gave me a doubtful look and expressed that she doesn't think so. Uuuuuyyy..... propeyshonal daw! harhar!

So we had another round of practice shooting late in the afternoon and found some interesting places to shoot in. I still might feel some dread about the outcome of my photos yet, I'm still confident that everything will be fine. Not sure if it would be great, but at least it's fine. Fine is good.

rambling on

Due to lack of a travelling companion and for the lack of knowledge of getting to the area and the area itself, I accompanied my sister to Cubao. I am her everlasting slave.

and the ramblings...

I got to ride the MRT again after so many months and it still hasn't lost its charm with me. It is still one of my favorite public transportation. Then we went in Gateway Mall. And Lo and Behold! we are suddenly bombarded with people, with ages ranging from 12 - 21, wearing red. We got annoyed actually, we did not know what was going on. It is as if there was a presidential decree that all shall wear red on that day and everyone conspired against us. What adds to the irateness is that a flow of people in red seems never ending. You see them up and down the escalator. you seem the strolling in droves. (Parang may nag-sabi na last day na ang mag-red nung araw na yun at bawal na siya next day!)

Anyway, Yesterday was my first time checking out the new LRT2. And boy, was it a surprise for me. It was amazing! It is as if you could forget that you were in the grime infested city of Metro Manila and for a second you might mistake it for a train station in Singapore. I might be exaggerating but that was what I felt. Inside the train you could actually feel the difference of temperature. You know that the airconditioning works regardless of how many people are on board or no matter how sunny it is that day. The station itself was cool. I was compelled to take pictures but, thought otherwise. And you buy tickets from a vending machine! The only problem with that would be the machine being bugged and eat your money. Another convenience in public transportation achieved. Though I wonder, does the route the LRT2 service need it? I don't think the area badly needs it. They should contemplate on having something like that to extend up to the south then it would be perfect. And I wonder how long could they make it stay clean and orderly like the way it is now?

My sister expressed her desire to shop for shoes in Marikina Shoe Expo or Cubao X. But, realizing that we are pressed for time that day, we had to tuck it back in our to do list and save it for another day of exploits.

Fragmented thoughts about last sunday

Yesterday was the first day of my photography workshop. I had to wake up very early in the morning (ungodly hours in my world) since session starts at 9am. And since I am usually a night owl, I was not able to get any sleep. When I was about to doze off into Lala Land the alarm went off. Great. Knowing that it is the first day and a very important part of my life, I just went on without sleep. Imagine me going through the whole day workshop without any sleep, groggy. Imagine a day long lecture. Imagine me in it. Yep, I almost fell off the chair. Luckily the class was very interesting to keep me barely awake.

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On my way to the workshop the bus passed by the new School of Design and Arts Building of Benilde due to a surprise detour c/o the Bar Examinees. The segment of Taft avenue in front of La Salle is closed to give way for the law students to lose their wits in. And so I saw this still underconstructed campus. Geez! The building was extremely massive! I couldn't wait to see it finished. It is said that the building would be the most advanced arts building in Asia. (will house a number of theaters, galleries, studios, workrooms and of course, classrooms) Well, yeah I guess there are some exagerrations in the claim, but still it is not impossible, seeing the size of the infrastructure. Even if you combine the main CSB building and Angelo King Center it wouldn't still be enough. And yes, there will be parking! Seeing the still to be finished building made me want to enroll and study there again to just experience the building. Waaaah!!! life is so unfair.

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I had to walk through half of intramuros just to get to the workshop venue. I didn't know that the place is a residential area as well. I felt like walking through the streets of tondo. Everybody was alive and noisy like buzzing bees so early in the morning.

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In the workshop, we are a very homogenous group. Each person comes from a very different background and industry. Our ages span from high school to gramps. There is an Indian and 2 Malaysians participating. People from provinces and kikays. oh, There are a handful cuties too. harhar.

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It was very very hot, sunny humid when the workshop started. Then when we were sent out to do some practice shooting the sun bid thee us well and hid behind thick, damp clouds. With occasional lightnings slicing through these symbols of gloom and cleansing. We had to do our assignment shots in a hurry just to beat the rain. We had to compel the mamang kutsero to ride through the corner to take a shot of him moving. We were compelled to pay him Php10 per shot as well. Then we saw a co-classmate shooting another Mr. kutsero for free. Aargh!

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Dread: it is something you feel when you sense that something nefarious is going to happen. Dread is what we, film users, feel about our roll of film and the thought of seeing how it will turn out next session. The workshop does the processing for us so we have to wait till the next session (after a week) to see the results. Damn digital users and their perks!

Fruits of My Online Addiction

Presenting the fruits of my online addiction.

If you have been reading my entries, I have mentioned that I have been immersing myself in online gaming. Well, here it is, one of my characters in World of Warcraft.

This is SheeRa, a Paladin.

She hates undead minions and makes sure she smites them with her might and holy judgment whenever she sees one crossing her path. She makes a good tank. It takes more than just an army to take her down. hehe, well, just a little bit.


Good thing we gound out about one of those free servers. But, I am still much enjoying the real world, mind you. this just makes a perfect pastime.

they always say that stupidity doesn't have a place in this world. But, so far it's a big hit.