peaceful dystopia

Batang Yagit: Why vote for him?

2008-09-17T09:10:00.004+08:00

First of all, here are the mechanics/rules for this: CLICK ME!!!

Why vote in the Philippine Blog Awards? Not only will your opinion be heard, your blog will also get advertised. *EVIL GRIN*. And apparently, a raffle ticket. weeee. Why vote for Batang Yagit? Because if you don't, I'll wring your neck so hard that the life in you will scream as it dies a slow and painful death... I meeeaaan... Because he's a great guy. Yeah... that's what I meant.

No really, He IS a great guy. There's, like, no reason not to like him. He is kind, smart, helpful, patient, and from what I heard around the school, he's good looking enough to bat a few eyelashes. Look at my URL, (up there, in the address bar... look... up there...), isn't it nice of him to host my blog on his uhm... domain, is it? I really don't know. I'm as smart as a door nail when it comes to these things (net things). Which brings me to another reason why you should vote for Batang Yagit. He will help you in these stuff (stuffs?). When the question you ask is within the confines of his knowledge, he will help you. Of course, this depends on his time (he's busy right now with his review for the board exam and currently does not have a permanent internet connection), but he will help you if he can. He won't say, "Nah, I don't know you and your a LOSER and your ugly and your... and your... uhmm... ugly!". No he won't say that. He will really help you. Also, like I said, he's studying for his board exam. Voting for him, and hopefully he wins, will boost his self confidence even more and that will help in the exams. If you don't vote for him, he might become depress and fail the exam (NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!). Would you like that on your conscience? He failed 'cause you didn't vote for him... Aaaaaaaaaaaaaanyway, I also know for a fact that he's been doing this blog thing for 2 years now and the net thing for... hmmm... forever? He's a good candidate for this award and he's a great choice for a vote and the best to win of them all. Vote for him now or else... kidding! No really... vote for him now or else... *cracks knuckles*

Testing Contribute

2008-08-23T14:54:00.001+08:00

Hello! Testing contribute...

Chronicles of Lingua: Chapter 01

2008-02-04T22:24:00.001+08:00

I had a very great start of the month, and I'm going to take it as a good omen. It was because I was fortunate enough to be a part of a great gathering last February 1: the 7th meeting of the Davao food trip. This would be my first time joining this kind of event and it was a...uhh... "great awakening" to the people in the blogging world and it's perks. ***GRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIN*** Anyway, for the 7th entry for the Davao food trip we went to *drum roll* ASEYA!

The place was cozy and inviting. It was simple and pleasant inside. The low wattage lighting, the smell of cooking food wafting in the room, and the non-distractive decor of the room makes your whole day's tension go away. Though their food attendants were plainly clothed, their demeanor and friendly countenance more than made up for it. All in all, the ambiance is well up above par.

We come to THE great part: the food. We were served with a lot of food and, from what I can understand with the conversation between Kuya Blogie and Sir Ponchit (no, I was not eavesdropping... I was...uhm... overhearing), the food served are The Food to get when eating there.

We were served with the "Aseya Salad" first. It's a simple vegetable salad but the great thing about it is the sauce, a mix of peanut sauce, hoisin sauce and sesame seeds. It is to die for. Well, maybe not to die for but a probably more like a really long coma. But really, it's great. You're tongue would be missing a big chunk of it's life if it doesn't taste the sauce.

What I tasted next was the soup called "Tom Yum Kung". It's a seafood-vegetable Thai soup with a taste I can't quite get. Don't get me wrong, it's not gross or anything. It's just that I'm not used to exotic (by exotic I mean not common and quite different from everyday pinoy food) food and I am at a loss of words to describe it. It's virgin territory for me here. Anyway, it was good. Hmmm, the taste is somewhere between sour and spicy. You have to try it to get what I mean.

Next one I tried is "Kamameshi". The closest I can compare it to is rice toppings, only waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay better. I think I had the seafood one, with the crab meat. It was gooooooooooooooooooood. I mean really gooooooooood. If you order this, then you're in for a great treat. I highly recommend trying this.

The viands I ate were "Muphad Kaprao" and "Tofu with Chicken and Mushrooms". The muphad kuprao was good, though meant for a real spicy kick, it's gentle spice was great for me. I don't really like extremely spicy food; I eat it, but I don't enjoy it as much as not spicy food. So, the spice on the muphad kaprao was good for me. You can ask to have your's really spicy when you order this though. I really liked the tofu with chicken and mushrooms a lot. I don't like tofu that much since I am a real meat kind of guy, but the sauce on this viand flavored the tofu with such a great taste that I kept "fishing" (it's the term used by my father when I only pick out the meat on a meat and vegetable viand when I was a kid) for the tofu. The chicken meat was even better. Since the pieces of meat are cut small, the flavor of the sauce seeps into the the middle, making every bite a wonderful tongue experience.

Now, I get to the really good part. My best choice of all the served food: SUKIYAKI!!! It's the bomb, mah man. Ahem. I mean, not getting the sukiyaki is like committing suicide. This time, it's not only your tongue that misses the experience but every part of every single fiber of your being will have missed a big part of it's life. YOU HAVE TO GET THIS. YOU HAVE TO EAT ASEYA'S SUKIYAKI. This is not a suggestion, it's a command.

The best thing you can do after reading this is to go to Aseya (which, by the way, is located at the groundfloor of Humberto's Inn, J. Palma Gil Street corner Padre Gomez Street) and eat there, provided it's not, like, 3 in the morning (another BTW, the hours of Aseya are 6 AM to 11 PM on Tuesdays to Sundays and 6AM to 2PM on Mondays). As I fervently believe in the saying, "Experience is the best teacher", I suggest you experience Aseya to know, feel and taste the good side of life. Aseya is a good example of the greatness that Davao has to offer. Believe me.

**** Photos courtesty of Andrew's Davao Foodie

another nice experience...

2008-01-14T20:28:00.000+08:00

I won't really get to details with this one. Anyway, it's just about my day in the Hall of Justice here in Davao. They helped me all they way, especially when I made a mistake with the form. All in all, I spent about 15 minutes to get my court clearance. I would like to specifically thank the Woman security guard stationed by the entrance and the guy behind the counter (the curly long haired one) for being very helpful. Kudos to the HoJ people!

A nice experience.

2008-01-12T18:46:00.000+08:00

I am making this article for the people working for NBI Davao. I would like to thank them for their great service. They were very nice and accommodating.

It started when I got to the NBI office, the one outside Victoria Plaza (No parking space stealer this time). The person there gave me the form to fill up for the clearance and told me what to fill up. I was done partially for there was a question I was not sure what to answer, so I went back to the person who gave me the form and asked. He helped me and was the one who wrote the answer for me. Then he told me to get my fingerprints taken and go to the office inside VP, to pay and have my picture taken. When I got there, the cashier was on stand by. I was apprehensive to approach at first, but I did, nonetheless. The lady told me to wait for a while, so I sat at the bench near the window. I waited for about 3 or 5 minutes, then the lady opened for me and personally pointed at me to get to the counter first, well maybe because I was the only one there. After I paid, she then told another NBI guy to tell the other payers to come forward. This time though, I had to wait about 15 to 20 minutes to get my picture taken because it was their break time. Quite understandable. So after my wait, I got my picture taken, and was told that I should come back around 5 to get the clearance. So I left, tried my luck at SSS but that was not to be. I came back, browsed around VP for a while then around 4:50, went back to NBI. I had to wait for a really long time this time. I got my clearance around 5:30, so that was still quite a wait. But the thing that was OK with it was that in spite of the fact that it was after government office hours (and we know what our government's time is like), they still went on.

Anyway, that was my nice experience. To think that I started my application around 2:30 and still got my clearance on the same day. People told me before that if I wanted my NBI clearance, I would have to be there very early in the morning. Yet, with this experience, I can say that with a little luck and the nice people from NBI Davao, you can have an almost hassle free clearance claiming experience. I will like to commend the people from NBI for their service.

Uneducated...

2008-01-06T16:12:00.000+08:00

There seems to be a virus going around. What's most notable about it is that it attacks only the "rich and privileged". It would have been great if it causes them have rashes and to have mucus seep out of every orifice in their body, but unfortunately it just attacks their...uhm..."intelligence" and manners.

I was going to post about two very recent events but I think that making an official-more-than-a-paragraph article about that thing-that-regrettably-looks-like-a-female-human would only immortalize her. So, I will only write about one, which happened only yesterday.

My mother and I went to Victoria Plaza yesterday around 11:45 AM to buy something from the grocery store. We were in the parking area (the area near the exit, the exit near the grocery store) in the first lane (the lane nearest the exit). We were moving slowly to see if we have luck enough to get a space here and that we were. While we stopped at a certain area, a white sedan type car was backing up to leave. We were just behind it waiting for it to fully back up, with our signal already on when we saw its rear reverse lights come on. Just then a gold/brown Toyota Hi-Lux pickup turned around the corner coming from the Bajada entrance side and swerved into the vacant space. No signal, no horns, no nothing. IT just parked there like we were not waiting for the space. My mom moved forward a bit just to look at the thing that drives that pickup, but IT did not come out while we waited. If IT parked so fast without regard to other drivers, we guessed it must be in a great hurry or that there was an emergency of some sort. We guessed wrong. We still had enough luck that we found a parking space just a few cars after the space that thing coveted. When we got out of the car, IT was already gone. After our shopping, the pickup was still there so I took pictures of it.

That is the plate number, LFP 337. If anyone who knows the thing that drove it, please tell IT to sit on a cactus. Tell IT to learn to drive and get some manners.

Oi! ... again

2007-12-31T11:30:00.000+08:00

I am still alive... Just wanted to post at the end of the year... Might bring good luck or something...

Ambigram: Marlo

2007-10-23T23:02:00.000+08:00

I'm Bored...

2007-10-23T21:32:00.000+08:00

Well... No, not really. It's more like not having anything to do that I resorted to do the most mundane of things which resulted in my doing things that I now regret. It's not really regret-regret. It more like regret-you-just-had-to-do-that-out-of-all-the-other-equally-boring-yet-are-the-only-
things-you-can-do kind of regret. Well, you see what I did was that I started to read blogs of other people.

You might be saying, "Uhm... What's so bad about reading other people's blog?" Well, I had the misfortune to read the blogs of successful people. Well, successful in blogging anyway. I stumbled (rather intentionally yet unknowingly) into the blogs of people that are famous and have a lot of traffic. They're good. Real good. They talk about anything and they seem to know a lot about it or they can talk about it in a way that you think they know something of whatever they are talking about (You may have noticed that I am using these rather long sentences that should have a lot of commas a lot and should be broken into several smaller sentences but which aren't. Well, that's how I normally talk and I type the way I talk. If you don't like it, well... try to live with it). They also have a very wide range of topics they can talk about. Topics like cars, eyebrows (whut?), guitars, pets , etc... Don't get me wrong, I'm happy for them. I'm thrilled. Really. Right.

The problem is more on how unhappy I am now of my own blog. You see, my blog can be summed up in two words: Pathetically Stupid. It contains nothing (which by the way, is the entire point of my blog). But c'mon. Other people have nothing in their blogs too. How come they have a better blog than mine? How can their nothing be better than my nothing? T_T Anyway, that's why I regret reading other people's blogs. I feel ashamed for mine. It's pathetic. It's stupid.

Well, in my defense (Yes, I do realize that I am the one persecuting myself. Just let me be.), I am not a born blogger. If you've read my second article (which I know you didn't but I don't care (read it)... Really, I don't care (please read it).) you'd know what I mean. I am one of the "converts" (Well, forced is more like it). To tell you the truth, I was one of the biggest skeptics of blogging. When it first came out (about the same time my friends started to bug me to make one), I thought, "Why the hell would I want to post my days event for everyone to read?" I mean, what for? I barely remember what I did (primarily because I didn't care), so I can't exactly tell others about it. Also, if I didn't care about my day, why would anyone else? So, for the longest time I would dismiss any discussions about blogging and my friends quickly learned not to talk about it in front of me. But time passed and as we all know, time...uhm...time...uh...does something... I think. Anyway, discussions about blogging were everywhere: newspapers, net (duh!), library, net cafes (duh! again). So I could not avoid but be forced to overhear some of the new things about blogging. I liked what I heard though. People earning from their blogs. People becoming celebrities for their blogs. Wow (Money, evidently, piques my interests in the stuff that involves it). As far as I have researched in ways for global domination (I read a couple of comic books), money and fame are the two things that always come with power and guess what? I am easily seduced by power. Anyway, long story short (You: You mean you had a short version and I could have skipped all that bullshit...ahem...bovine manure up there? Me: Yes.) I was convinced to start a blog by forces (money, power, greed, fame, insatiable appetite for better things) far stronger than my powers (nil, nada, nothing, zero) can take. So here I am.

Only later did I realize, though, that I have absolutely no talent or skill or even the smallest drop of creative juice for blogging. I was stuck with something between an awkward journal of a sickly preteen boy and a potential source of blackmail information (that is, blackmail against me). I tried spicing it up with poems and my tragic skill for ambigrams but to no avail. Really, I am a somewhat proud owner of a sad and derisory blog, as proud as a human father is to have cockroaches for children can be.

So you see, my page has no visitors, only poor souls who had the misfortune to stumble (click accidentally) into my page. It is not the least bit interesting or informative. I am a sad, sad little man. I am to the point of deleting this account, but since I have nothing else better to do (and I don't know how), I think I'll keep this up and running (more like crawling...no...squirming). *Sigh*

Ambigram: Diana

2007-10-17T18:50:00.000+08:00

hBal, alBh, laBh, lhaB, alhB, aBlh, Blah!

2007-10-16T15:56:00.000+08:00

It's not really fair when I don't post anything with more than just one word in an article and still call this page my blog. That is why I am now going to use my powers to bore you to death. I will relay to you, the person whose present activity is perusing, using one of the most common ways of correspondence to an individual other than one's self, some subjects that relates to the occurrence of events between the period of when the main source of light and center of our solar system ascends high to the moment when it disappears beneath the horizon. Pretty exciting, right? Right...

Well, it was one heck of a day. I did nothing of the things that has me doing something that has nothing to do with me and even if it did have something that had any thing to do with me, which I did not have, I did not do it or would have done it even if it would have been my undoing which leads to me to say that I did what I did not do, which is everything which does and/or does not have any thing to do with me. That pretty much sums up everything I did... or did not do...

So, I hope that my activities today is clearly stated and that you are now, to some extent, aware of the complexities of my day.

Ambigram: Michelle

2007-10-15T23:52:00.000+08:00

Ambigram: Jasper

2007-10-14T13:16:00.000+08:00

Ambigram: Winston

2007-10-13T10:49:00.000+08:00

Ambigrams of Names

2007-10-12T17:03:00.000+08:00

Hey! I made that. I have lots of those too. Different names. I started making ambigrams after I read Dan Brown's "Angels And Demons". The ambigrams in that book are amazing. So well anyway, I started to make some of my own. I tried my name at first but it was really hard. I just can't seem to manipulate the letter K. I tried the names of my classmates then that was the start of it.

I'm going to post different ones each day (until I run out, that is). I've made only names of people I know. They are not really good because, as far as I can remember, I am no artist. These were made during the dull moments in class. By the number of names I have turned to ambigrams, I can say I had too many dull moments in class. They're no work of art but most of my friends seem to like it so maybe you would too. They're not really good. Some of them are "forced", meaning I tried to make them but couldn't so I just forced it to look like the name. So for those who are less imaginative, the ambigram won't work.

Anyway, if you like it and if, by sheer luck, one of the names I made just happen to be your name, then use it if you want. Ask the raw format from me, (that is PSD or DWG or AI format), if you want to edit it or use it to your liking. Share the talent (or in my case, doodles), that's what I say. I would just like to ask you to credit me. If anyone ask where you got that crappy ambigram from, mention me0 Even if you manipulated it a bit, just credit me for the original idea. "Donating" is not a bad idea either. If you would like me to turn your name into one, ask me. One condition though, I only do full first names. I don't do nicknames, user names, avatar names, or what other names. I think the reason why I made a lot of these is because I limit my...ahem..."talent" to just making full first names. If you are Jose Antonio, I could try making Jose or Antonio or Jose Antonio. It depends mostly on my mood, skill, and amount of creative juices I have during that time. Just request. You've got nothing to lose. I won't promise you anything though. I can't even do my own name, so it's not a sure thing that I can do yours. I can give it to you in DWG format, PSD format, or AI format, or any common image format (e.g .jpeg, .gif, .bmp, etc...).

If you have any suggestions to make the name better, tell me. I love constructive criticism (and to those who don't know what that means, and I mean flamers, just effing shut up). So, that's about it. If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Ambigram: Anthony

2007-10-12T16:58:00.001+08:00

Am back...

2007-10-10T10:59:00.000+08:00

Hmmm...
Now that was what I call a really long break. I've not posted for more than a month. I've been very busy, you see. After my last post, a lot has happened. I've done a lot with great results and I've been through a lot, also with great results.

Anyway, I've been reviewing for The Exam and it took a lot, if not all, of my time. Fortunately, I can say that it was all worth it. I passed The Exam. It was not as tiring as i thought it would be. I kinda enjoyed it a bit, especially if I truly understood what it was I was studying. Thanks to my roomie, I've done a great deal of "learning" during the last two weeks before The Exam. Note the quotes on learning. I really can't call it learning as much as it's cramming. Nonetheless, I seem to retain what it was I crammed, so I guess I did learn something. The Exam was uneventful. i didn't have a nervous breakdown. In fact, I wasn't even nervous at all. For the last 4 days before The Exam until the day I got the results, I wasn't in anyway anxious. It kinda bothered me, the fact I was not nervous I mean. I was able to justify it though, which I will explain in a later post. Anyway, now that The Exam is over, I am FREE!!! FREE I tell you!!! FREE!!! or until I get a job...

To what I've been through... Well, I was sick like two weeks before the exam. I thought it was just a passing fever. When it did not abate, I thought I had dengue again. Had my blood check and it showed some bothering things. I can't really elaborate since I'm no med student and I don't have the least bit of idea what it was I had checked. Hehehe. Had it checked again, anyway it wasn't dengue. Good, 'cause I hated my experience with it, having to drink "tawa-tawa" and the itch. It was just a weirdly intense yet short fever. It was all okay by Thursday (it started Sunday evening). I missed a couple of review classes though. When I thought I was through that, the Monday of next week, the Monday of the Exam week, the fever came back. Damn. Anyway, I kinda preempted it and was able to thwart it's full impact. It was okay when I took the exam, though a bit of the illness was still there. I got through it all right.

Another thing that played a big part throughout all this was the deficit of my capability to trade goods with establishments that provide necessary supplements to continue my existence. Simply put, I had very little money. It was the easiest to solve of my problems, though the most embarrassing. I got through it all right too.

So anyway, that was what took a lot of my time and energy so I was not able to post. Now that I'm FREE, maybe I'd pick up where I left off. Peace!

I Am

2007-10-10T10:53:00.000+08:00

Under Your Radiance...

2007-08-23T11:21:00.000+08:00

Karat gold bracelets
and sterling silver rings...
ubiquitous, yet inadequate.

Raven opals and ivory pearls,
utramarine sapphires and scarlet rubies...
I do not see their value.
No, not even the richest of silks.
Undeniable are their worth but
nothing when compared to you.
Such as the flowers are to the sunlight,
under your radiance, I bloom.

My life is complete
as long as I see your
unpretentious smile...

Voldie Wins!!!

2007-08-13T15:29:00.001+08:00

Whaaat?!

2007-08-13T14:53:00.000+08:00

$4355.00
I am only worth that? Really? T_T

Potterdammerung...

2007-08-13T14:05:00.000+08:00

This is a must read for those who have already read "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows"

http://diogenes-sinope.blogspot.com/search?q=potterdammerung

Of lovers and quarrels...

2007-08-11T18:17:00.000+08:00

Perhaps that was it…

Over. Everything was over…

On and on then nothing. But…

Kisses and tears are parts of love...

I understand now…

Evening comes. We are one again…

Ask a stupid question...

2007-08-11T16:59:00.000+08:00

I tried really hard not to notice it. I really did. I tried to face away. I tried to run. It was useless though, my efforts I mean. FUTILE! I kept pretending. I must not appear weak. NEVER! I should never show any signs that emotions have a great control over me. If I could, I'd turn my heart to stone. OH! But the pain... If it were up to me, I'd be all gray and my voice would be monotonous. I must never be exposed. NEVER! If there should be any signs shown, it would be my downfall, my destruction. But still. It was still too much for me. My voice wavered. My mind was slowing shutting down. My heart was in control now. NO MORE! If It willed it, I would have spilled all my emotions in a gush of words. Then I would be destroyed. My weakness was exposed. Every word receive was like an insult. Painful. Every pause in sentences seemed like a thousand years. I felt eyes all around me. Watching me. Criticizing me. Every movement a mistake. Every breath a taboo. There were people in my head. A million, I think. And more was coming. NO! Enough. But still, they came. Everyone talking, everyone yelling. SHUT UP! They talk louder. I wanted to cry. I can't. My mind, realizing the danger, tried to re-establish control. Too late. They were in control. Every thought was scrutinized. No more thought passes from my mind. It gave up. They would not have allowed it anyway. It must only be emotions. Feelings. Too much. NO MORE! My muscles started to contract involuntarily. I shivered. It felt like the sun refused to shine. It did. Well, for me anyway. It left me in the cold and in the dark. STOP! Why was this happening to me? I'd been damned. Shallow breaths. I felt my pulse race. Fast. I'd be the envy of every racer, at the speed my heart was pounding. It had complete control of me now. My heart that is. Surely I've felt this before. I think I have. But... But not quite. It sure felt the same, but... PLEASE STOP! No, it was not the same feeling as before. What was it then? What emotion was I feeling? Or rather, what emotions. Yeah, I think there were more than one. Two, three? I dunno. SHUT UP! Will you please be quiet? No. The voices kept at it. At least say something useful... I know! I must have been dying. Yeah. That was it. Death. What? No. It wasn't death. Silence. At last, there was peace and quiet. I relaxed. Still cold. No one was looking at me. Not like they can. It was still dark. My mind was back on. Everything was back to normal, except for the cold and the dark...and... Where is everybody? HELLO! No one. There was just me. Alone... No. not quite. There was someone. I couldn't see, I felt. I tried to call out. HEY! No one answered. But someone is out there. I knew it. I felt it. HEY! I know you're out there. Come out. I stopped. I realized I was not making any sounds. I opened my mouth. I tried to speak. Nothing. Then out of nowhere, someone was in front of me. I can't quite see, but surely, someone was there. Looking at me. Waiting. A moment passes yet it seemed like I lived all my life already and then some. Finally, I speak... Hi. I saw the sun peeking out in the horizon.

Well, if you asked me what it was like to fall in love, that's how I'd answer it. HEHEHE! Yeah, just think of how horrified the girls back in grade school were when they got their autographs book back. I'd have answers like that or anything to that effect when asked, "Love is ...." or "Life is ..." or anything like that. Thanks for reading my first short article. Keep up the patience.

Pet Peeve No. 001

2007-08-09T13:04:00.000+08:00

I must be possessed or I may have too much free time now. This is the second article this week. Hmmm... Anyway, I just thought of a brilliant idea. I figured out a way so I'd have a lot of topics to post. This will greatly increase the number of my articles and I mean greatly increase. Think, "Exponential growth". The idea that occurred to me is to talk about something that I have a lot of (this crosses out money). Also, I think I can get a lot responses from these topics, both from supporters and opposers.

I would like to warn people though. The things I'm about to say are my personal opinions. The opinions are based on what I've observed and on my experiences. We don't have the same experiences. Don't force it. We don't. Maybe the same flow of actions or words or events or feelings (and not all them at the same time thus the OR rather than the AND) but never the same consequences, circumstances and/or the impressions left afterwards. So if you agree with me, that's fine. Actually, that'll be great 'cause then that means I'm not as loony as I think. If you disagree with me, then go to hell. Noooo, wait. That's not what I was going to say. Something wrong with my script here...Hmmm...Wait... Ah! Right. If you disagree with me, then that's fine too. But remember, these are my experiences, not yours. My feelings, not yours. My thoughts, not yours. My interpretation, not yours. If you feel differently then okay, write a comment but don't flame my experiences or ideas or opinions. You weren't there when it happened, okay? So leave it be. Besides even if you did, you'd just be wasting your time. I wouldn't give a rat's ass what you think (that is if you're a flamer but any and every other person's comments will be welcome even if they are negative). So there, I've warned you. On to the topic!

As you can see from the title and perhaps perceived from the warning up there, the topics I've thought of are my pet peeves. I have a lot of these, and I mean a LOT. These are just rants. If in case you are one of the people I've got my pet peeves with, don't take it personally. You might be an exemption of the generalizations that I make. Besides, I'm one person living within a very limited range of land. The people, stuff, processes, or whatever that I talk of are those that I've been exposed to. You may live in a different area, city, country...planet and have different systems or procedures or manners and stuff. So don't take offense if I say something bad of the people that might include you. Like when I speak of, say, drivers. I only mean those drivers that I have fortunately or unfortunately met. If I say bad things about them, then it's their fault, not yours. I'm sure you're completely different from those... uhmmm... "people".

This is a bit hard to explain, I mean how the things I'm about to say is not to offend anyone. But it will, I'm sure of it. It's just that...uhm... Nope, can't find words to explain it. Maybe I'd just show you what I mean. Read the following article and maybe you'll get what I want mean.

Pet Peeve No. 1: Preemptive Sales people.

Yeah, I hate these people. I hate how they meet you at the entrance of the store and ask you what you want or what you're looking for. I hate how they keep repeating, "What are you looking for, sir?" or "What do you need, sir?". I get it! I know that they just want to help, that they want to make it easier for you to do your shopping but sometimes we enter a store to browse not to buy. Maybe we don't know what they're selling or don't even care. We just simply want to go in and see what they have, thus the "browsing". Isn't that the purpose why they bought these expensive glass shelves anyway? To display their wares so that people can choose and look at it freely? Also, do you really expect them to have memorize all the stocks and particulars of their merchandise? It happened to me quite a lot that when I go to a store and ask if they have this, they say no. But a little later, I come back ask a different person and then they say they do have that. Really, which is it? Do I have to this every time just to make sure that you either do or do not have this item?

Browse: Verb.
- to look through or over something casually: to look through or over something, especially merchandise in a store, in a leisurely manner with the hope of finding something of interest (Microsoft® Encarta®. Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.)

SEE!? That's what browse means. "IN A LEISURELY MANNER" meaning we just want to, calmly and in a very relaxed state, look through their merchandise. "WITH THE HOPE OF FINDING" meaning we possibly don't even know what we want in the first place or we may have no plans in buying in the first place. But then they swarm over to you cutting off your leisure time(and occasionally, your oxygen supply), and forcing you to think of stuff you could possibly want from their store. It's not like you did an inventory of their store before you went there. Really, what they're doing is NOT helping.

This is even worse when going through open stall boutiques. The ones where they have thin walls between them and have no doors but rather just three walls. They usually sell the same stuff too, maybe except for a few service offer or stock difference. Ayayayay! I feel my blood boiling now just remembering my experiences. Anyway, I particularly hate these kind of sales fiends. When you pass by, they all shout, "Come here sir!" at the same time. Sometimes you just happen to pass by 'cause it's the only path to get to the lavatory but the same thing happens. Sometimes I just want to shout back, "Uhhh...yeah, Can I piss in your store?" just to shut them up. I mean, they really really really piss me off.

And when you do enter one of the stalls, after the initial apprehension has passed, they will follow you around. That's okay, maybe they are killing two birds with one stone. They are "serving" their customers and protecting their merchandise from possible shoplifters. But the thing is it pisses the customer(and shoplifter). It annoys the customer 'cause they stick to you like gum on hair or Siamese twins. They leave very little elbow room to move around for you to see what they sell. They literally breathe down your neck as you pick objects up to see them clearly. Then they immediately state the price. "Uhh, like I care? I'm browsing, see? Right now, I don't care about the price, I just want to see if you've got good stuff here. Besides, I can see the price tag. I'm not blind." If you do ask them something, they most often refer the question to someone else and in spite your hearing the answer(since the person they asked is right behind you), they repeat it like you were deaf or dumb or something. You may ask more questions, but then they refer it to the person behind you. You might be better off asking the person behind you. But that person refuses to answer you 'cause they are doing something else currently and would refer you to the person that dogged you. EH? Isn't he/she just asking you what I... And you answe... so can't I jus... OH forget it.

Occasionally, you shake them off (after 30 minutes or so). So you can browse leisurely now. Though not much left to look at. You've seen most of the wares anyway but not leisurely and you may have lost interest in them. Disheartened, you leave but repeat the same process at the next store with the hope that this time, it would go better. You do this a couple more times then leave empty handed. That's okay if you didn't plan to buy anything anyway but kinda depresses you if did want to buy something.

Another scenario is that you do find something you like which usually happens after the SF left you because you took too long. Then you try to get their attention.
...
...
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Nothing! What the fu..? Hey I want to buy this! Hello?! Yeah, this is what happens. When you want them, they suddenly become busy answering the phones or text messaging or they just don't take notice of you. Of course, eventually they notice you. They come to your "rescue". Then you ask for the price 'cause the tag is missing or if they have another color or do they have more of this. Some answers you correctly, though sometimes impolitely. Not even a smile to a possible customer. HMP! Anyway, that's the best and I think ideal scenario. But the more common one goes like this, "Uh, yeah... the price... uhmm... wait a moment, okay?" Then they go check from the person behind the desk. Then they come back. "It cost so and so." Then you ask if it has other colors. They then go back to the person behind the desk and asks again. They come back. "Uh yeah" they say. You wait. Awkward moment passes. "Well, can I see them?". There's a short pause here. It seems to me that they are contemplating of taking back the answer and saying no so that they don't have to go to the back and get the other colors. But they acquiesce and proceeds to the stock room. They come back and you choose, go to the desk person, pay, then leave. Really, how much help did I get from that SF? *Sigh*

Don't get me wrong. I've been to many store that has the best accommodations and services one could ever want and they leave the best impressions which makes you go back and do more business there. The things is, the bad service leaves a bigger impression. Their the ones that mar the industry of retailing. Also note that these things don't happen every time, only that it happens more often than you can tolerate(I think one is more than enough). They don't occur in a single day too. Sometimes you get the preemptive SF's but are well informed ones. Sometimes you don't meet any preemptive SF's but meet with clueless or lazy ones. My last message is, "More power to the good establishments and business. Keep up the good work. And for those who leave much to be desired, please, for the love of all that's Holy, improve."

So that's that. That's my first pet peeve though not necessarily my most annoying one, but simply because it's the first one that came to mind. There will be more to come (OMG!!! No more, please! No more!) and take note that they are not sequenced in any pattern. I hope you enjoyed this and thanks for reading. Keep up the patience.

The Promised Second Article.

2007-08-06T12:32:00.000+08:00

It's been a while, hasn't it? A week and a couple of days past since I last posted. It took almost all my being to sit down and write this second article. It's not like I don't want to write it, it's just that I know that if I start writing it, I would have to finish it. I'm that kind of person; takes a long time to start something, but once started that something is guaranteed to be finished. So I kinda feared that if I sat down and start to write (type...whatever), I will most definitely be forced (by myself) to finish it even if I can't for the want of words or time. That's okay you say. You don't need to finish it right away, you say. Right. Let me tell you something about me. If I stop, it will be a long time 'til I restart and even if I restart I loathe having to continue something unfinished 'cause by then my train of thoughts and ideas would have been long gone from the station leaving me behind with no way to catch up. I have a very poor memory. My memory retention skills are as good as gold retains water. Also, my motivations are very weak and only very seldom comes. Well, it would also be okay if the motivation to write the article came during times of leisure or where time and resources are plentiful. Unfortunately, I have had a very busy week and couple of days. Motivation and inspiration came during the times where I had to do the things I had to do, so I can't obviously write/type the article. Sometimes it came during time of leisure. Yeah, time of leisure... about five minutes after I feel sleepy. So I couldn't do it then either. So you see, making this article was a very hard thing for me to do. But all is well. I somehow started it so it is sure to finish.

Now to the real content of the article: Who I think normal bloggers are. That is, to say, what a normal blogger is. Mind you, this article is not to discriminate or derogate bloggers. It is simply my own opinion. Consider that as my disclaimer. Anyhoo, normal bloggers are people who either have trouble conveying what they feel or have too much feelings and, as I said in the previous article, people who are impulsive or those who are coerced. That's about the bare essential of my opinion of what normal bloggers are. Let me explain:

People who have trouble conveying what they feel tend to make blogs. They have trouble maybe because they're shy or that they just can't think of words when placed on the spot. Why blog? Well, where else can they express how they feel? Point One: It doesn't have to be a "right now" thing (as I have NOT done with this article). They can take all the time they want in making an article so that's less pressure already. Point Two: They can put anything, and I mean anything in their blogs. So if they have a hard time looking for words to express how they feel, they draw or sing or dance or whatever. Point Three: They can hide their identities. One thing about the net is that you can be anyone (this is both a good and a bad thing, but that's an article for another day). Some people are waaaaaay too shy. Writing/drawing/singing/dancing online can be made anonymously (provided that singing doesn't need to show one's face and the face can be covered during dancing for those who are extremely shy). So people can convey their feelings in anyway they want without having to reveal their identity. Point Four: These people can find others who sympathize with what they feel. People who read your blog will, no doubt, be someone like you or at the very least someone who understands you. Why would anyone read anything if he/she is not interested in it? Here enters a problem though. These articles can also bring flamers and haters (I will write an article about flamers/haters someday, remind me). An advantage to blogging is that you can ignore these flamers/haters like they never exist maybe even block them from ever commenting on your blog. Also, as a personal opinion, I think that being flamed online is less painful than being flamed in person. Flamers are strangers who don't know you so if they judge you, who cares? You don't know them so why take notice in what they say? They don't know you so their comments are baseless. They read one article and suddenly they act like they know every fiber of your being. Bovine manure! As for being flamed in person, that's harder to ignore. Also if it's in person, most probably you know the person or live near him/her or go to the same school or workplace. Since that person flamed you personally(I mean in person), then you know that that particular person doesn't like you or something about or you might develop a dislike towards that person. What if you become lab partners? Awkward. Very awkward. So blogging is a thing for the meek (when I say meek I mean shy not submissive) as they can be as overbearing as they want. Hehehe.

How is that different from a diary or a journal (same thing really, it's just that guys are so peevish when their journals are called diaries. But guys, really, they're diaries [Note: From here and now journals is also referred to when I speak of diaries])? Well, its because of Point Four. Yeah, you can take all the time you want to write in your diary (except if you're me). You can do anything in it except for singing or dancing but that can be easily remedied by using recordable media like tapes (video and audio) or discs as your diary. Unless you let people openly read from your diary, you can also hide your identity in a normal paper and pen diary. But finding sympathizers, friends, supporters or what have you is harder to do with just an ordinary diary. It's harder to share personally than with a touch of anonymity that gives you a bit of security and courage that you get from the net. I'm not saying that an ordinary diary is useless or not enough but hey, as long as you're doing it, why not do it online. Unless, of course. you have no intention of letting others see your feelings 'cause they're private and personal which would then make me think of the reason why you're reading mine, since you think that diaries should be personal. Go, shoo! Kidding, I'm kidding. Kind of unfair and a bit hypocritical of you to be reading this though. Since you're reading other people's blogs, why not share your own? Anyway, that's it about the meek and blogging.

People who have a lot of feelings (too much, if I should say so myself) also tend to make blogs. This only applies to those people who have the qualities of too much feelings and has the urge or, rather, the need to rant about it. Point One: Since they have too much feelings, they need outlets for these. They can be cheerleaders or spokespersons or evangelists or show hosts or news writers or that nut around the corner on a crate shouting that the world is coming to an end (of course it will. It can't last forever. Duh! [Don't...mind that]) or anyone that has the privilege of having other people listen to them and yet all that yelling and talk time is not enough to convey all that they feel. You'd think that they'd run out of things to say, but noooo. They seem to have an opinion on everything. They can feel sad and happy and angry and anxious and calm and hopeful and ...(you get my point) all at the same time. It's okay. No one's saying that's a bad thing but then they have the need to talk about it, to express it. Unlike the people above who are shy, these people are not at a loss of words or media. That's why blogging is a common thing to these people. It's another place where they can continue their ramblings. Also, I think these people say what they feel not only because they have to say it but maybe they need someone to either reciprocate, accept or argue about what they are feeling or expressing. They maybe be looking for someone to tell them that what they feel is right or that they share the same sentiments. They may also be waiting for someone to argue about it just for the sake of arguing or maybe for a reality check. Blogging helps them with these things. Point Two: A... no wait. I don't think I have a point two. Heh! Guess it's just point one then. By the way, those who are extraordinarily impulsive fall into the this category.

Now, for those that are sadly coerced. These people make blogs because they are forced to. Well not to the point that there's a gun and blackmailing involved but by another form of forceful convincing that involves a more sinister method: Peer Pressure. Yeah, I think that's more dangerous not to mention more evil if you ask me. That's the main reason why these people make blogs. Their friends tell them, "Hey make one so I'd have more subscribers." or, "It'll be fun, trust me." or, "Please! Please! Please! Please!" or, "Jessica (Wha? Who that?) won't invite you to her party if you don't make one." or, "Make one or die!" (okay, not that one but hey, it could happen) or whatever else they can say to make another do their bidding. So yeah, these people make blogs.

Anyway, that's my view on who normal bloggers are or at the very least who the pioneers of blogging were. Now comes the question on why I wasn't very keen on being called a normal blogger. Well you see, as a child (though I did not intend it or have any recollection of wanting it) I was very...uhm...weird. I kinda deviated (there's that word again) from everyone else. I was a bit "lonerish". Not to the point of becoming a hermit, but to some extent that I didn't look for company, and occasionally hated it. This led me to have queer habits, principles and philosophies. I didn't know that they were weird then. When I was growing up, I saw, observed and/or noticed from my friends, classmates and cousins that my habits were peculiar. I didn't conform though. I saw no need for it. Eventually, my peculiarities has given me things (no, I didn't have imaginary friends) like a greater number of miscellaneous information stored in my brain in spite of my poor memory, or that I can "judge" a person by looks (not really, it's just that most of my first impressions (which were loosely based on looks, voice, manner of speech, all superficial aspects you first notice in a person) of people were correct and I mean most like 9 out of 10. That was then.) or I was a lot more tolerable of unusual things and events like black outs or heavy rains because I can entertain myself (not that way, perv) without having to watch T.V. or go out. I was proud and still am (a bit) of my weirdness. That was why I tried so hard to start my blog differently from all others. I didn't want to have all that made me "special" go down the drain. *sigh*

Anyway, I realized though that by starting a blog, I was subconsciously acknowledging my "normalness". My writing that first article and how I wrote only proved that I have consciously acknowledge it. All that's left is my accepting it. Soon, maybe. I see now that being normal doesn't mean bad. Besides, this blog would only mean I am normal in one way. It doesn't mean I lost all my weirdness. Hehe..hehe...he... Yeah... Maybe I'll take comfort in this in some way someday.

Oi!

2007-07-25T21:16:00.000+08:00

You would normally expect the line, "This is my first blog...blah blah blah..." to be present (usually the actual first 5 words) in someones first blog atricle. This act, of course, is expected from a normal person. If that's the case, then I guess those of you who know me might not expect this. This would mean that I am not normal or, to be more precise, a "deviator", which I can say that I am. But if they expected not to see that line and in fact didn't see the line, then that would mean that I did not "deviate" from my norms, which would then mean I am not a "deviator". What I'm trying to say is, if I want to "deviate", must I write lines which are not expected of me even if it would mean that I would do what a normal person would do? To be abnormal, must an abnormal person (i.e. ME) act normal?

I wouldn't really mind what I wrote up there if were you. Ramblings of a raving lunatic is what I'd call it. The reason is plain and simple; I don't have the slightest idea how to start a blog, particularly MY blog (Note: This line is also frequently used by first time bloggers. Damn! I'm turning normal. Or am I?). I started this blog on a whim, that is to say on an impulse, barely having any idea what to write. As far as I'm concerned, this could be the only article in this blog, though I don't think that a blog with only one article can be called a blog inspite of it's having a *.blogspot.com url ending. (Still rambling here... I'd skip a few paragraphs, [OMG!, There are more of these stupid paragraphs?!] if I were you.) I think I'll just leave the fate of this blog to time and luck... and inspiration... and to divine intervention.

Anyway (expect to see more [and I mean more] of this word in future articles), I have a few questions. First, notice that I said that a normal person would say those 5 words and that an abnormal person would not say those 5 words in his/her (Gender Sensitive!!!) first blog article? (Of course you did. Who wouldn't?) Let me ask you; Would you consider me to be a "deviator" as I did not start my article that way? Or am I still normal since, regardless of my actual first words, the 5 words are still in my first article? But since I was aware of the circumsatances that would make me normal, and have decided to "deviate", even though I still used the 5 words, am I not eligible for the title "deviator"? Nonetheless, if you take into account that I didn't have any idea how and what to write in my first blog article or have even a crude plan on how to maintain it, would I not fall into the category of extraordinarily impulsive or sadly coerced noobs (this people, by the way, is what I mean when I say normal [see next article for explanation])?

Hmmm... It makes ME think. But I am a raving lunatic after all, who cares what I think or don't think... or what makes me think...? Anyhoo (<-- my personal variation of "anyway" and like it's predecesor and root meaning, this word would be appearing a lot in my articles.), my last question is, after all that crap, can you now say that you know me? Or at least have insights to who I am and what my blog would be about? Isn't that what the first article is all about? Introduction? Well, at least that was what I intended my first article to be about. Did it work? Yes? No? It did? Really? Are you sure? Wow! Great then! At least one of us gets me.

Ok, I lied. Even if you skipped the last couple paragraphs, you'd still end up in this one, which is as crappy and as inane as the first ones. At least you didn't have to suffer and maybe even saved a couple thousands of braincells from dying by skipping a few paragraphs. Good news though, this would be the last one for this article. Anyway( I already warned you about that word, didn't I?), thanks for reading and hopefully I'll do better with my next one. which I hope you'd still read inspite of the brain damage this article caused you.