2008's Blog Posts of the Month!

January 2008: The list of resolutions. 

Did any of these actually get done? Somewhat, I suppose, but "no" would be the honest answer. If I were to draw up a list of resolutions for the next year, they'd be variants of the items on this year's list, so I suppose that means I haven't yet fulfilled them, right? 

February 2008: Crazy bird.

A close encounter with untamed Nature.

March 2008: A day in March: food we ate, a game I played.

Okay, so this was my only blog post in the month of March. Good to see I knew how to focus on the important things, eh?

EDIT: Dratted spotty memory, I knew I was forgetting something. Our experimental physics (Physics 192) class went to Tagaytay for a "Science Camp", which was an overnight trip where we visited Caleruega, Palace in the Sky, ate bulalo at the market, had an amazing race activity, sang and drank and bonded as a batch. To me, it's something like a precursor to the Baguio trip later in the year, which I thought was better because we were a smaller group. Hehe.

April 2008: Walking tour of Intramuros!

That was a very fun day with org friends. We should do that again soon, guys! After graduation, okay, we're going on an outing or trip of some sort? Okay? Okay.

May 2008: A dispatch from the SIEMENS call center. 

Oddly enough, some of the entries from work (April-May) weren't cross-posted over to my Blogger. I forget/wonder why.

The month of horror, when I signed away my soul for pisos. Still, I suppose it was instructive, and those pisos probably paid for a lot of the stuff I still use to this day.

June 2008: Another day in the life.

Following our brief salaried existences we decided to seek out this Japanese restaurant in the Makati area that supposedly offered an authentic dining experience, Serynna. And it did. And we were properly humbled. Visited the Goethe Institute before lunch, caught a French film (with Maggie Cheung!) at Shang after.

July 2008: Tutoring high school kids.

I found teaching kids surprisingly enjoyable and satisfying, and discovered a love for using good chalk and chalkboards.

August 2008: The Black Man with a White Soul ( Part I | Part II )

First time to attend a silent film screening with live choral accompaniment, and first time to write a blog entry in response to a stranger, who was asking for details.

September 2008: Sarah's!

"Guys, guys! Sa Baguio na ulit! Doon pwede na maglasing nang seryoso! Bwahaha." Oh, if I knew how right I would turn out to be.

October 2008: Baguio!

Tough call, what with Kady Day and a trip to Puerto Galera in the same month, but I suppose, all in all, the five days and four drunken nights in Baguio would have to take this month's post of the month award.

November 2008: Start of the sem ruminations.

A month into the semester, and I was as dissatisfied, aimless, and clueless as ever.

December 2008: I guess you could call these resolutions...

And we come to this month. I only resumed blogging a few days ago, with this post detailing yet again my personal struggles with... myself. Tragedy.

***

Remarks:

Before having written this post, I was under the impression that 2008 wasn't a very eventful year. I guess my memory just isn't geared towards remembering events and happenings. I'm really glad I managed, over the year, to blog a few times each month.

This only serves to strengthen my decision to try and get blogging more regularly. There's a whole new year to be lived, and it sure does promise to be an eventful one (honestly, all of 2009 after graduation is still a big blank to me). Adventures await!

Happy new year, guys! :D

Domesticities: microwave oven, coffee maker.

My brother just got a fancy new stainless steel convection/grill/combination microwave oven to replace our old one that broke down some weeks ago. Good thing, too: it's really been a hassle, suddenly not having a microwave oven when everyone's already gotten used to the convenience of heating leftovers and various food items. Especially handy in a largish household where, more often than not, more food than can be eaten in one sitting is prepared.

It's a little intimidating after our slightly stained white plastic microwave oven, with its shiny steely professional look. It can bake your cakes! It can roast your meats! It can probably do quite a number on your poodle(s), too! Okay, what the heck am I doing blogging about our new microwave oven? Seriously, though, I hope the household cooks (i.e., mom and eldest brother) take advantage of the various capabilities of this thing. Roasted birds and various mammal meats sure do sound tasty.

In the same vein, I recently got an Aeropress, having found out about it when I was looking through ebay for espresso pots. It's been single-handedly responsible for increasing my coffee consumption because (a) it makes pretty good concentrated coffee (which some people call espresso; meanwhile coffee purists cringe) that dilutes nicely into a regular cup and also mixes well with milk for a great homemade "latte", and (b) it's so fun and easy to clean. 

The Aeropress is basically constructed like a big syringe, except where the needle would normally go, there's a detachable cap with holes in it that also holds a paper filter. To make coffee, you remove the plunger, put the cap on the main chamber, and set that on top of your mug. Put the grounds in the chamber, pour hot water in, stir for a few seconds, then put the plunger back in and push the water through the coffee, through the filter, into your mug. This whole process takes maybe thirty seconds to a minute. While this part is already fun, the real fun part is removing the cap and filter and ejecting the compacted puck of used grounds into the trash! It's quite satisfying. (So satisfying, in fact, that I had to explain the whole process just so I could talk about clean up.)

This brewing method is not without its drawbacks, of course. First off, it uses up more coffee than other methods - the included scoop is larger than average. Secondly, the resulting brew may be too "clean" so as to be perceived "bland" by some people who prefer otherwise. Personally, I like it better than the results from my French press which usually include a fair amount of sediment that makes it through the metal mesh. Third, the thing itself looks exactly like a big fat syringe. No style at all. And fourth, well, it doesn't really make espresso, as you'd need higher pressures for that, although I'm not personally acquainted with the exact definition, psi requirements, etc. 

Overall, though, I'm plenty satisfied with it. It's convenient, cleanup is fun, made of durable plastic, makes good concentrated filtered coffee. As I speak I'm feeling the effects of the second double-cup of the day, which I finished drinking maybe an hour ago. Maybe not such a good idea.

All this domestic (well, sort of) talk makes me want to have a house (kitchen) of my own to putter around in. I may be graduating soon, but I don't think I'll be able to move out in the foreseeable future. Sigh.

Another bloody mess.

So, a few days ago, Bambee dela Paz blogged about a terrible incident on the golf course:

"At around 1:30 PM today, at Valley Golf and Country Club, Antipolo City, Mayor Nasser Pangandaman, Jr., Mayor of Masiu City, Lanao del Sur, his father, Secretary Nasser Pangandaman of the Department of Agrarian Reform, and company, beat my defenseless 56-year-old dad and my 14-year-old brother to a pulp because of some stupid misunderstanding on the golf course."

According to her story, this mayor and three to four of his goons, I mean, companions, were the ones to initiate the violence, and proceeded to relentlessly beat up her dad and brother, not stopping even when they were already begging them to stop. Apparently because she and her family were brazen enough to complain about the mayor's behaviour, didn't they know who he was, did they not know the meaning of respect?

According to the venerable cabinet member in an interview with the Philippine STAR, however, they were attacked first by that barbaric, libelous family (teenagers these days!) with absolutely no regard for propriety, or body guards. After all, don't people realize how easily the facts can be skewed and misrepresented? Just ask the local police, and the staff of the clubhouse, now those are some fine, honest folk, they'll all respectfully corroborate the Pangandamans' story. 

Or not. I would certainly hope not.

On a more general note, you have to wonder just how often things like this occur. Politics in the rural areas does have a reputation for being bloody and violent, so perhaps something like this is more or less a common occurrence. Perhaps we should just be thankful that nobody was killed, which may be more than others who have dared to cross these warlords and their ilk before can say.

That's just depressing, though.

P.S. Some context on the man himself, the Warlord of Masiu.

It's that time again.

Having witnessed far too many times the power of negative habit formation, and realizing that the first half of this thesis semester is coming alarmingly close to passing by without significant trace, it would only be logical to attempt to reverse trajectory by harnessing the power of positive habit formation. In fact an attempt was made, early this semester, to facilitate the formation of good work habits through the creation of a detailed schedule balancing the required academic work with other pursuits. However, truth be told, absolutely nothing came of it. 

Although figuring out the details of the schedule was fun in its own way, it seemed that once it was actually finished and all set I lost all interest in following it. This could of course be put down simply to a disappointing lack of effort on my part, but I like to think that it could also be because of some personal incompatibility with rigid schedules. Of course, though helpful, a set schedule is not strictly necessary for habit formation. At least I've tried it, though I've got nothing to show for it now.

As the holiday season begins to wind down somewhat and the resumption of school approaches, I can't help but feel the need to give it another try. I have to finish my thesis in a few months, and with my work habits as nonexistent as they are now, I doubt I'll be able to do it. I do realize that to some extent my productivity will be boosted by the pressure that's sure to increase as the deadline creeps even closer, but I'd rather not rely on that effect alone.

I find that I almost always feel a small rush of hope (or more precisely, a kind of giddiness at the limitlessness of personal possibility quickly overcome by the crushing mediocrity of my actual reality) whenever I contemplate putting some new self-improvement plan into action. More often than not it's not due to the actual plan, but just due to the intention, the realization that, hey, some things may actually be under my control, after all. I'm not exactly sure whether my own experience has borne these realizations out.

I'm going to start small, now, and proceed in measured steps. I want to see where that leads me. First, over the next week I will get into the habit of waking up at 6 am or earlier, getting out of bed and doing some sort of exercise. Jumping rope with miscellaneous dumbbell exercises will do for now, until I feel ready to use the weights machine again. I won't force myself to exercise for any particular duration or at any particular intensity, I'm hoping there'll be time enough for that when the habit is already formed.

Also, I will dust off the old thesis/physics/research notebooks and also organize the various research-related files and documents languishing in their near-forgotten folders. I will make a point of spending at least a few thirty-minute or one-hour sessions every day just sitting down and going over my thesis materials. Progress on my thesis is obviously more urgent than progress with my physical fitness, but I still feel I should prioritize habit formation over quick results, and overly pressuring myself is bound to do more harm than good in this regard.

Lastly, I will resume blogging more regularly, daily if possible. This will serve as a form of writing practice, as well as "thinking practice". Again, I won't expect too much of myself for the first few weeks, just getting into the habit will be good enough for me.

And that should be it, for now. I suppose it could be considered a little too unambitious to be called a self-improvement plan, and even I would agree that it is, but then again it's supposed to be only the beginning. Okay, so for tonight I'll let myself off the hook and goof around, say one last goodbye to the lethargic holiday spirit. *tear*