of faces and photographs

I have a confession to make. I can already feel the brickbats heading my way, but what the hell.

Let's keep that for later though. Hehehehe...

The lunar eclipse last night was just beautiful. It was a total eclipse, in the sense that we did not see anything, not even a sliver of the red-tinted moon, since the thick clouds blocked our view. To think that I ran all the way from my class in CAL just to be able to see this "not very common" (as opposed to "rare") event -the next one would be in 2011- and probably get a few shots in with my PDA/cellphone/digicam.

I did get a few pictures though, however these were of the more terrestrial variety. The media was out in full force at the PAGASA Observatory last night, and I had to dodge a few reporters and cameras and the ever-present paparazzi *ahem* as I went up the road to our tambayan.

What greeted me there was no different; as I climbed up to the moon deck the flashes of assorted cameras lit up the night. It's amazing how the press did not even notice the photo-op happening at the next building from where all their cameras were set up. Hehehe...

So Anna, Carlo, Dj, She: asaan na ang pictures ko?

After the "event" we went to Jollibee Philcoa again. A week after the Astro Dinner and we were back. I think the staff already recognized us by sight, although the sheer number of noisy and hungry people who poured into the building may have played a minor part in their decision to open the normally reserved area for us.

So there. I've delayed long enough. My former and current classmates and groupmates are going to hate me for this.

I have trouble remembering names. There are times wherein I've just met someone and then I immediately forget their name. There are a lot of times where I meet somebody who smiles and waves at me, blissfully unaware of the chaos going on behind my gracious smile: Who the hell is this?

I smile back even though I can't remember the name because I recognize the face. That is the one thing that has kept me from making a fool out of myself, or at worst appearing as a snob. If I have trouble remembering names I have no problem at all remembering faces.

Or so I thought until yesterday.

There I was, walking out of CASAA after having a drink, when someone met my eyes and waved at me. My brain went into overdrive as I tried to put a name to the face, but it really went haywire when I didn't recognize the face.

Maybe it was a mutual misunderstanding, maybe it was a mistake by either of us. Maybe she just happened to look at my direction while swatting a fly from her face. Or maybe I'm really starting to lose it.

To whoever that was, if you knew me and if you're reading this right now, I'm really sorry about that.

To everyone else, please keep the "you're getting old" and other related comments to a minimum. It's hard enough as it is!

Anyway, I have to get back to studying for my Film 100 exam tomorrow.

they got him!

FINALLY.

let's end this war

Casualties are mounting in the ongoing military offensive in Basilan. The latest skirmish cost the lives of 15 soldiers, including 5 junior officers. This brings the total count of losses to 57.

57 soldiers have already died fighting the Abu Sayaff. Why continue fighting? Why send more to their deaths? Let's just halt the offensive; stop this war and bring our soldiers home.

Let's heed the call of the bishops, civil society, congressmen and the media. Stop wasting lives and recall the Marines. Call off the airstrikes and silence the artillery.

Withdraw all troops from Basilan and Sulu. Send in humanitarians instead; doctors, teachers, engineers. Send in food and supplies for those displaced by the fighting.

Yes, let's back down from the fight, for peace is the only way.

But wait, aren't we forgetting something?

Something like the 300 or so terrorists calling themselves the Abu Sayaff?

What about them? Should we leave them in peace? Should we leave their group intact, their cause alive? Why did we send 9,000 troops to the South in the first place?

Why the hell did 57 soldiers die?

They died doing their job. They died fighting the enemy. They died protecting our freedom. They died for us.

And yet there are some among us who couldn't care less about the soldiers' sacrifice; those who balk at the mere thought of bloodshed, those who wish to surrender to the terrorists, those who want to coddle and abet terrorism.

These people seem to forget that we are in a war, and in war, people die. This war is no exception. If we want to rid ourselves of the terrorists, we have to crack down on them. Hard. That is the job of the Army, of the Air Force, of the Navy, and of the Marines. A war without casualties to our side would be most welcome, but we must remain open to the idea that some of our soldiers may never come home.

The root cause of terrorism is terrorism, for the radical ideas spawned by terrorist leaders are not born out of poverty and social inequality. Rather, they feed upon and exploit these ills of society, and they actively work to sustain their largest source of manpower and resources regardless of the loss of life and property.

If we don't want this weed to spread and wreck all that we have built and created we have to uproot it from the ground with full force. And once it's out of the ground we have to burn it, incinerate it and scatter the ashes to the wind.

No amount of economic development and humanitarian aid can deter these terrorists from sowing chaos and confusion; we would end up sending unarmed civilians to unsecured areas. The Abu Sayaff won't stop their violent ways unless their goals are attained, and you can be sure that those goals don't include a peaceful and prosperous Mindanao.

If we want a true and lasting peace in the South, we must act now and completely destroy all traces of the Abu Sayaff and Jemaah Islamiyah. Then, and only then, when the islands are secure and combat has ceased, can development and aid flow in to secure an even stronger peace.

So, let's end this war. Withdraw the troops, and give the Abu Sayaff some breathing space. Let's surrender to the terrorists, and watch and wait for more terrorists to arrive at the pushover which was once the Republic of the Philippines. Let's bicker among ourselves instead of wholeheartedly supporting the troops in the South; let them see what they're fighting for, and watch as demoralization sets in.

Or we can continue the offensive. Push hard and never let up on the terrorists. Keep them on the run and maintain the pressure. Hound them to their graves, and pursue the mission to its true end.

Let's end this war, but only when the enemy is completely and utterly destroyed.

The quickest way to end a war is to lose it. --George Orwell

raindrops are falling on my head

This is starting to become a habit.

With Monday having been declared as a 'special holiday', I'm looking at an extremely long weekend. I've been cooped up here at home since Wednesday, thanks to the torrential rains brought by the typhoon.

Of course this 'vacation' will cost us all time and money, not to mention opportunities. Yes, opportunities to learn and do things, to meet other people, to go places. But for me, it's mostly about missing my allowance.

Having to go to school at 10AM everyday has been a blessing. I haven't yet experienced the frustration of learning that classes have been suspended again while being stuck in a flooded street. However, that has not made me any less annoyed at the dolts in the DepEd or CHED or NDCC or the local government or whoever the hell is supposed to suspend classes. You would think that these guys would have learned by now that suspending classes at the last minute is not a very good idea.

The irony just amazes me. The DepEd and CHED should have learned something by now about typhoons and their effect on our overcrowded metropolis.

There's something else I wanted to write about here, but I just can't remember what it was. My short-term memory seems to be going haywire; sometimes I look up from what I was doing and forget what I was doing. This problem manifests itself mostly when I'm doing something on the computer. I open up a new tab and then I forget what page I wanted to open in that new tab. I open up a webpage and once it's up I forget why I opened it up. I plan to do something yet a moment later I forget what it was and end up doing nothing. It's really frustrating.

Maybe it's the stress of having to do so much in such a small amount of time. This little vacation sure as hell won't help matters! Once the rains end the work is going to pour down in a torrent, and time is against me. One and a half months to go ladies and gentlemen. One and a half months to go before my fate is finally sealed.

Nah, September is still a long way off. I'll probably be able to manage, especially with all the success I've experienced in the past weeks. Unless something else really screws everything up.

Haaay... I really love the weather, especially now that my shoes have finally been fixed. What were once battered pieces of leather worn and weathered by two years of unforgiving use are once again 100% capable of charging through mud and flood, keeping my feet safe and warm. Now all I need is a new jacket and a new bag. Attrition is eating everything up, and the meager resources I have on hand are just not enough to keep my things in shape.

So, what else can I write about? The final battle scene from Return of the Jedi is taking quite some time to download, and I have to do SOMETHING to combat the boredom inherent with waiting.

Ah... Waiting. My most annoying pet peeve. I don't like waiting. I can't emphasize this enough. I abhor, despise, loathe waiting. I HATE waiting. I-- well would you look at that, download complete!

I need some coffee.

midnight coffee break

Mid-semester already, and things have taken a turn for the better. The two typhoons which hit the country last week did more than fill up reservoirs and water dry fields; they also gave me a lot of breathing space.

My Film 100 report has been pushed back a full two weeks, giving me a lot of time to fix up my Powerpoint presentation. My Natural Science 2 exam, originally scheduled for last Thursday, was a cake walk when I took it this afternoon.

I also got the results of my English 1 exam today. I really enjoy being singled out for recognition and, yes, this morning was no exception. Ahhh... I can already hear the Hallelujah chorus...

How I wish that everyday would be like today, with everything falling into place right where I want them. THAT is my perfect world - everything goes MY way.

Maybe that's why I have such an aversion to democracy.

Right, my inner dictator is once again asserting itself- down Adolf, down! Okay. The caffeine is really coming in strong.

I'm back to two cups of coffee everyday; the regular supply of milk and sugar has been reestablished. The random instances of perkiness and unexplained delight have also returned.

Remember my posts about anti-insect weapons, what Albert so fittingly called SLLs (sandatang laban sa lamok)? Well, I guess my dream of a complete and effective defense against those useless and annoying bloodsuckers is one step closer to reality.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, one step closer, thanks to the USB Rocket Launcher! I'm not kidding folks! For only a little less than 5000 pesos I can have one of these babies up and running (firing, actually) in minutes.

Of course it's not accurate or fast enough to take out my little bloodsucking friends, but it's good enough to defend my space from my little sister's dog. Hehehe...

Who knows? Maybe in a few years my dream would finally become a reality... Bwahahaha! Now if THAT dream could become a reality, why not the OTHER dream too?

Guess what that one is...

who the hell are these people?!?

time out

The Internet cafe is now my friend. Globelines really messed up this time.

I have been out of the online loop for four days now, and the withdrawal symptoms are starting to show. Yes, thank God for outsourcing. At least I'm not completely cut-off from the world!

But there are times when being cut-off from the world (well, the online world at least) can be a real blessing. I was swamped by a virtual deluge of messages the moment I opened up my email accounts: over 200 from Gmail and Yahoo combined. I've just spent the last hour reading through requests for jackets and various org-related stuff, and now I've got one hell of a headache trying to make heads and tails of all the conflicting requests for this and that color and all the work that's piling up on me.

Maybe my 'friends' at Globe were doing me a favor by keeping me away from my email. At least I had a 'relaxing' weekend (yeah, when I was not worrying about all the messages I was missing).

Oh, there was the Wii. Yes, I finally got my hands on a Nintendo Wii. Weeee! Beating my cousins on virtual tennis was very satisfying, though getting beat up in boxing was extremely frustrating.

Well, my time here is up. Duty calls. I really need a vacation. Yep, and this is only about my frustrations with the Internet. Wait until you hear about the other stuff. Hehehehe...