be careful what you wish for

Yes. As the saying goes, be careful what you wish for, lest you get it. And boy, did I get it.

I was standing near the LRT station at Katipunan yesterday evening, waiting for a ride home. As luck would have it, all the jeepneys passing by were going to other places while those that were on my route home were packed full with passengers.

It was already late, and I wanted to get home before midnight. I was already anticipating a hot meal of sinigang na baboy even though I had just come from dinner with my orgmates at Mang Jimmy's.

While vehicles of every size and shape zoomed past me, I kept myself busy by going over various ideas in my head. I was deep in thought, contemplating something which I cannot quite remember right now, when it happened.

I was watching the cars go by when everything suddenly turned bluish-white. A loud buzzing sound filled the air as I turned my head towards the source of the light. My face went hot as I instinctively dove for the ground once I realized what was happening.

The power lines just a few meters above me had exploded. Sparks started to fall around me as I ran away from the explosion. Across the road, another power line also blew, and the entire area was suddenly awash in blue light. It only lasted a split second though; half of Katipunan Avenue soon went dark.

The good thing was that I did not panic. I did not go running around screaming my head off. A few seconds after the blast I was just standing there as if nothing had happened, trying to analyze the situation, trying to find a cause for the sudden explosion.

One of the things that came to my mind was that I finally got something that I wanted. Call me crazy, but I have always wanted to see an actual explosion. Fireworks at New Year don't count; I wanted an explosion - a big blast complete with a fireball and debris flying around. Well, I finally got what I wished for. Of course I did not mean for it to happen just a few meters from my head, but there you are.

Oh, and sorry again folks. I'm still alive and kicking. Hahahaha.

one of those days

I lost my last stylus for my XDA2 yesterday afternoon while running around at the Sunken Garden.

It's no big deal, really, just damned inconvenient and annoying. I now have to use my fingernails to send text messages. I now have to resort to toothpicks in case the device needs a reset. Argh. I need a new stylus.

Of course, that in itself is nothing. But when misfortune strikes in succession, that's something.

The heat finally got to me. Yesterday afternoon was one of the hottest, and I was lucky enough to be outside as the sun beat down through the cloudless sky. I felt bad once I got to UP, and now I believe I have a fever. Crap.

I broke the zipper on my coin purse. It was one of those stupid accidents. I was trying to fix the zipper. However, I ended up breaking it. For good.

At Kenny Rogers yesterday evening I ordered the cheapest meal available. I wanted some mashed potatoes with my meal. They were out of stock. Fine. I explicitly asked for a chicken breast. Why that part, you ask?

Economics. Hahahaha. It gives the highest return on investment.

The chicken breast is the softest, most tender part of the chicken. It has the most meat, and is also the easiest to eat; one only has to scoop out the white meat instead of having to go between bones. At home, I don't have to fight for the part of the chicken that I want; my family willingly leaves the white meat for me. While they have to share the thighs, the wings, and the legs between them, I have the chicken breasts all to myself.

Back to the story. I also ordered a large Coke. However, the waiter gave me a large glass of iced tea which was not even cold. When they finally got around to serving our meals everyone EXCEPT ME got a chicken breast. EVERYONE BUT ME. I got stuck with a drumstick. A little, itsy-bitsy drumstick. It was really frustrating.

I just checked the CRS, and my Journalism 101 grade has not yet been posted. I have been waiting for a week already. All my other grades are there already, and the deadline for the submission of grades has already passed.

I want to know if I got another "1". Hahahaha. Grade conscious? Yes. I AM.

Somebody please give me a hot Venti White Chocolate Mocha. I haven't had one of those in a very, very long time.

stress relief

I feel refreshed. It's ironic, given that trouble is brewing up once again.

My secrets? One is a quick game. Call of Duty does wonders when you feel like blowing up. Instead of screaming and throwing things around the house why not just take out your frustration on ones and zeroes?

It's safer and eminently satisfying; you blow stuff up AND THEN reload the level to blow stuff up AGAIN. The perfect headshot, the perfect missile lock, the cannon round right on target... all serve to sate a burning desire to let loose with all the fury locked inside.

Of course, if a first-person perspective seems too limiting, a wide plethora of strategy games -from Command and Conquer to World in Conflict- lets me cause destruction on a more massive scale. Artillery barrages, napalm strikes, cluster bombs, fuel-air explosives, nuclear weapons, ion cannons... The genocide of imaginary beings does wonders for a boiling temper.

When I was a child computers were still in their infancy; no Core 2 Duo powerhouses yet. I had to content myself with toys. I especially enjoyed playing with Lego blocks. I would build cities -whole cities with airports, roads, and skyscrapers- from UNO Stacko blocks and whatnot. The Lego blocks I form into bombs which I would promptly lob from across the room into the collection of towers.

But all those toys burned down with our house at Santa Ana years ago. What a shame. I could really use that kind of relief right now.

And that's one other secret: I recall memories of happier times. Why dwell on the stress of the present when you can relive a happier memory? Stress only serves to compound the problem, and dealing with it goes a long way towards solving the problem.

So I go back into the past. Like this afternoon. I was already well on the way into a bad mood. It was hot and I was on my way to UP to take care of an errand that I should have taken care of weeks ago. I was thinking that I should have just stayed at home, that I was just wasting money, that there would be no one at NISMED, all sorts of useless yet stressful stuff.

That all changed when I boarded the Katipunan jeepney for right there across the aisle smiling at me was the very last person I expected to see, much less meet, on the Katipunan route. The long trip to UP NISMED turned into a blur as we talked about school and whatnot; I even forgot about everything that I was worried about.

Here's the third secret: I write. I write about my day, my problems, my thoughts, my joys. You should try it; it's very relaxing to just let it all out on (electronic) pen and paper. There. I feel better now. Hahahaha.