O hai thur

I was thinking about quitting blogging for a moment there when I saw that I gained a subscriber to my feed. How about that? Even with barely no updates and the intent to sell you VAIO laptops, one solitary person, who I wish is not my father or a relative whatsover, still had the wits in him (or her) to click "Subscribe to Feed."

So welcome, random subscriber. Whoever you are.

I will not give my word but I will at least attempt to write something in this waste-of-internet-space of a blog. But for now, I sleep (ya know, the evil twin of Death) because I have bills to pay.

Thank you and good night.

Things I got in the mail this week

A note, a pair of pearl earrings, and a button pin, which I "won" from Riz's 30 Awesome Things in 30 Days contest. Thanks Riz!

AND


a few notebooks from The Fundamentals (illustrations by Regina Silva)

I have been looking for unlined notebooks that are not Expenskines (see what I did there?) but to no such luck. It just so happened that I read Yam's entry (I think it's F-locked) on The Fundamentals and I couldn't resist! These guys (and by guys I mean notebooks) for 80 bucks a pop are just too cute to pass on. I am happy to report that I hoarded five notebooks that I may, or may not, probably ever use in my life. Add my total expenses to the shipping cost and I might as well have bought a Moleskine. But just the tiny one. I mean, come on. Five notebooks.

The notebooks were really handmade, as in they probably printed the covers on a colored laser printer and bound the pages themselves, but I'm not complaining. The pages could be thicker though, which I think could be arranged for a price (not sure). The icing on the cake was the Cubcakes (as what my friend Z dubbed them) stickers they included in my order. Love it. Wish I had the red velvet Cubcake though.

Hi, I am Mara and I am a Crazy Notebook Lady.

Speaking of notebooks, and this blog entry that has no point whatsover, I am convinced that, as you kids these days say it, I need this in my life:

Moleskine 2010 "Color A Month" Daily Planner - Volant Box Set
It costs 3-expletiveshere-thousand pesos. Bow.

Last Man on the Moon

It was toss up between a Transformers review and a Michael Jackson tribute post, and guess which one I picked? At that time, writing my experiences and memories of the King of Pop seems so trite. Besides, as far as memories or experiences are concerned, I have none. Sure, my fourth grade class memorized Heal the World for a United Nations' Day presentation back then, but that's probably my one and only connection with Michael Jackson. I haven't even seen Free Willy.

So when a diehard Michael Jackson fan friend invited me to watch This Is It, it felt like I was invading a special moment only co-fans should share. Much like how I am when watching Harry Potter; I get batshit insane come Potter week, and want nothing but to dork out with people who know what Riddikulus means. I thought, what the hell. Might as well enjoy the movie and the free popcorn and soda that came with it.


This Is It would have been, excuse the non-pun pun, off the wall. From the pyrotechnics,¹ the 3D video backdrop, the costumes, the dancers, to the greatest performer of them all, Michael himself. I could not feel anything but regret for the world to be missing such a fantastic, well-produced, well-crafted show. I did not feel anything significant when he passed away, but after seeing this movie, it hit me like a shower of cold water -- there will never be another performer like Michael Jackson. Nobody can do what he did, write songs the way he used to write it, dance the way he danced,² and know one's songs the way Michael knew his.³

A few minutes into the movie and I find myself singing and even dancing to most of the songs. MJ will never be called the King of Pop if his songs were nothing but popular and no kanto boy nor socialite cannot recognize the first few notes to Wanna Be Starting Something. I may not have been a fan, in the truest sense of the word, but when I heard Michael's songs, it seems as if I grew up listening to him even if I consciously did not. When Black or White came up, I remember summers in my grandmother's house and watching MTV for the first time. Also, Macaulay Culkin. I remember dancing to Thriller after seeing 13 Going on 30 with friends, and breaking into said dance in streets at the middle of the night. I remember being in high school and being totally giddy when Jodie from the movie Center Stage danced to The Way You Make Me Feel (also, Jessie McCartney and Jordin Sparks's cover). I remember having my iPod set up to play I Want You Back the moment a friend stepped into my car and how we sang to it over and over again as I drove from Taguig to Makati. It is as if Michael Jackson's songs have transcended time and woven its melodies into the daily going ons of our lives. Just like me, I am sure even the indiest of indie-hipsters or emoest of emotards has a Michael Jackson memory.

My favorite performance from the movie. Yup, it's The Way You Make Me Feel :D

At the end of it all, we adored him, shunned him, and like a demi god, put him on a pedestal when he passed away, wanting a piece of him and his fame and claiming him as ours. No matter what your opinion of Michael Jackson is, in this movie, he is King. And all of us are Jackson fans even for mere hours in our lives.

---

¹ They were going to burn Michael Jackson's jacket after Beat It and keep it burning there at the stage till the lights fade out. SO.EFFIN.COOL.

² Is it me or does anyone who tries to do the falsetto IN ANY SONG always ends up sounding like he's doing a Michael Jackson impersonation?

³ One of his crew commented on how Michael knew every tempo and every note of his EVERY song. The part where they were re-arranging The Way You Make Me Feel and Michael was nitpicking over how the opening notes should sound like "you're too lazy to get up from your bed" is just really amusing and "we are not worthy!" bow-inducing at the same time.

Come on, Let's Join Us!

Thanks. Thanks a lot for not picking me.

Lolz.

Z once told me that she used to read all my blog entries. ALL. She referenced jokes I made on blog posts and even called me out whenever I say something contradictory to what I posted 5 years ago (!!!). But oh to be young and ignorant that the interwebz is not that huge enough for you to write one angry and hateful post without people close to you not know about it. After that particular LJ entry, Z never read anything I've written since 2005. She said she's been traumatized enough.

Come 2008, a called off engagement, and several heartaches later, Z and I decided to renew our friendship (nux!). I've claimed her as my best friend, and I hers.

It's a bit (okay, a whole lot. Buckets even) sad that of the three people whom I've initially made list of reasons why I loved them, only one remained friends with me. So I'm a bit wary of making one for my best friend Z because I don't want her to "FO, yeah!" me after this. I've never really told her how much (as a person #insidejoke) she means to me. I may have even slandered her to some of the people who barely know her, but are what are friends are for? My Ten Reasons Why I love Insert Name Here List is a doomed list, but I'll risk it just to get Z to read my entries again.

Top 10 Reasons Why I ♥ Z

1. She's a dog person. I am not saying that other-animal persons do not deserve my ♥s (I mean, come on, I'm even Pro-Cat over at Tumblr's Cats vs Shark), but I firmly believe that You Are Your Pet. She doesn't like it when I wave at dogs in pet stores, especially the ones behind glass cages, because she says it's cruel. It's like I'm giving the dogs false hope, she says. Z's also nice to cats. She once got out of her car while the traffic light was on red, went down on her knees, and tried to look for an (invisible) cat that she thought she heard meowing from underneath her car. Yup, Z is an all-around animal person.


2. She smells like chocolate and vanilla. :D For a glutton like me, that's always a plus! Not that I stealthily take a whiff of her or something :-| I returned the favor after she told me I smell like the bread served at Pasto.


3. We made a pact to name our kids Bono and The Edge. Guess who gets which kid's name.


4. She's a great secret keeper. If the Death Eaters come knocking on her door and AD her at that moment, I'd like to believe she'd take the hit as long as she keeps my secret safe. I can tell her everything. EVERYTHING. She even knows the password/s to all my online accounts. I'm not exactly sure how that happened, but I guess it was part of our Revalidation of Friendship in '08.


5. Also, she's a closet Harry Potter geek. She knows more about the series than I do, finished Book 7 before I did, know all about these obscure facts about the characters, and is generally a know-it-all when it comes to Potterverse. But guess who went around Powerplant COSplayed as a Quidditch player. Right.


6. She has great, albeit expensive, taste in clothes and shoes. Z and I are not really the type to shop together, but she is my go-to person whenever I need a stylist. She has dressed (naks, dressed!) me for two weddings, and I am happy to report that I haven't looked like tranny in either of the two.


7. She knows all these great places to eat at and is never afraid to experiment with restaurants and food. Z is very picky when it comes to food (doesn't eat vegetables, innards unless it's isaw, and fish) but she's always very willing to say yes when I start my sentence with "I read about this great place that serves...". She also introduced my probinsyana self to Som's, Aysee, Cibo, Pasto, Cafe Bola, Dulcinea (for the Gypsy Steak!), and some of those hole-in-the-wall places that I would've read from the internet but have never gone to. I also once remember how she and I trekked Urban Manila to look for 30-inch pizzas.




You know it!



8. She's an ACE driver. Half of my driving know-how, I got it from her. When I first started driving and my parents were still jittery about my driving skills, it was never a surprise that they'd say "Yes!" in an instant whenever I say "Z's my designated driver." My parents and can readily give me up and my sub-par driving knowledge because they have complete faith that I won't ram my car to a wall as long as Z's with me.
   
   Also, her car didn't use to have side mirrors. She used to drive around the metro at full speed with that one. My Lola self gets nervous if I drive past 60 KPH, but for Z, 90 KPH is just the minimum.


9. Oh wow, let me tell about Z's legendary drinking skills. She used to go to class and take Statistics exams hung over, AND still be able to pass the exam, bitches. She's one of those annoying people who never took school seriously and never really had to study because they're naturally born smart asses (her father had genius level IQ and was a well-renowned Civil Engineer!), but I managed. I learned to embrace that Z will never figure out Yahoo Pipes as I did, so we're cool. We both know who's got the looks in this friendship anyway 8D
   
   Anyway, her drinking skills: even her male cousins, who had been treated for kidney failure at one point of their lives, give her mad props for drinking like a, er, guy.



10. My best friend is an overall nice person. I would like to believe that I am not alone when I say that she is a voice of reason. She keeps me in check, even if I like so bad to bitchslap the person who cut me in line. She's always telling me to do the right thing, to be the better person, and all that cliche. People might say she's a pushover for doing so, but there are not a lot of nice people out there anymore. I'm just glad I'm best friends with one :)

Z,

I hope you get to read this and forgive me about the awful things I did and said to you. You're a good woman, Zhorida Lipayon. And now, you're also Google-able ;)

Silly Girl Waves Lite

Here

Silly Girl Waves LJ syndicates: here and here.

-Isms used to be Awesome

I guess it's high time that I pour my guts out to you, 5 dear readers, seeing that we finally hit the 1,000 mark!

Exclamations!

I may not have cellphones, and Dove soaps, and overpriced steaks to give out, but I would just like to say thank you. From the pit of my autoclave heart, I thank you. I haven't really done anything worthwhile with this blog aside from sell you laptops (which I don't think none of you have ever bought) and jumped the bandwagon without really following through, but what the hey.

** ** **
I used to think I'd never stop blogging writing blogging and that it's something I'd like to do for the rest of my life. Good thing I thought twice before buying that $150 LJ permanent account because come 2007, I finally found myself at a loss of words. All of a sudden, a verbal soliloquy of my day's events didn't seem as appealing to write about anymore. Used-to friends' entries bored me and I started wondering how they could churn paragraphs and paragraphs about their lives, because based from what I've read from them, all they ever do is get up, go to work, and go back to sleep. Do I sound as self-centered as they are, and do my self-centered entries bore other people as well? "Who gives a **** about what I write?" became the ever-present question of my on going writer's block.

I started trying to avoid starting sentence with the letter "I", but failed. A LOT. Inspiration became something I would bleed for to achieve.

But then there came people like Riz who makes it a joy to share about their day. She makes seemingly mundane things like Twitter, notebooks, typewriters, cupcakes, and things found on top of your desks the best things in the world. Her 30 Awesome Things in 30 Days became something I look forward to reading everyday. Honest to blog. Her entries, even if it's all about her, does not always scream "Hey, look at me! Look at me!" She always try to give back something for her readers. In this age of niche blogs, it's refreshing to see someone blog without selling you something and without being too self-centered.

And in celebration of Riz about to finish her 30 Awesome Things Blog series, I give you my own version of table top photography. It may not be as fancy as Riz's, but at least I tried.

I don't know how Riz of chasingdreams.net does it, but tabletop photography entails serious talent.
My Dwight Scrute ball point pen, my purple lady bug stapler, and my pink piggy clip would like to say hi.