.: 70 things i learned in a trip to Africa [South Africa] :.

1) going there has been one of the worst hassles of my life
-> connecting flights here and there, waiting in airports for 6 hours. argh.
2) trash your usual african stereo-types of jungles and safaris and a totality of black people
3) discrimination is a closed closet issue that still looms [tsk tsk]
4) you are more likely to be mugged in africa than in manila
5) ostrich meat feels and tastes like beef
6) never squeeze an ostrich's neck, it'll go crazy and start running
7) in capetown, you can go up a mountain, do emo shots on cliffs, go to four different [amazing, better-than-bora] beaches and do emo shots on each of them, and go shopping in a big mall-like compund all in one day
8) i am uber-vain when it comes to taking pictures
9) it is cold and windy in south africa
10) there are many pretty [and hot] girls in south africa
11) penguins like sand just as they do snow
12) lobster tasted amazing [only the 2nd time i've ever eaten some]
13) buffet breakfasts and dinners for 8 days can kill you
14) do emo shots whenever you have the chance
15) i'm a friendster pic addict
16) how boracay would look like if it hadn't been overdeveloped
17) you can stand on ostrich eggs and they wouldn't break
18) there exists a dog that is absolutely larger than i am [a LARGER great dane]
19) picking strawberries is NOT fun [eating them is]
20) half my family are racists [tsk tsk]
21) there are actually some wines that taste amazing [i learned to be a wine connoisseur {screw the spelling}]
22) do emo VIEW shots whenever you have the chance
23) sun city is the greatest place ever
-> it will be part of my 4 part future honeymoon [sun city, egypt, paris, and spain]
24) how it is to stay at REAL 5-star hotels abroad
25) how much we got out of our packaged tour [imagine, for a cheap price, we stayed at some of the best hotels in the country and even the world {ahem, sun city!}]
26) while looking over cliffs, you will realize that there's a familiar tune in your head... "i'm not a girl... not yet a woman..."
27) i wish to be an extremist some day
28) open ZIP sliding from 280m up, at 120-160kph, for 2km is one of the most extreme things i've ever done [and i wanna do it again]
29) i'm a crazy [but pretty good] jetski driver
30) crocodiles are scary, some grow to up to 16 feet long
31) how an actual wild safari in africa feels like [somewhat like a RIALTO ride]
32) wild animals will charge at your vehicle if they have the chance [particularly huge and angry elephants]
33) wild lions are boring
34) antelope are stupid animals that curiously walk toward their doom [the lions]
35) what if a zebra would join races at the sta.ana track? hmm
36) giraffes are boring
37) my sister's a flirt [hihihi]
-> our safari ranger looked A LOT like matt damon
38) being entertained with an actual zulu tribal dance/ritual is amazing
39) there is almost nothing like an african sunset
40) there is almost nothing like an african sunrise
41) wild life game reserves are great plaes to stay in
42) diamonds are priced for cut/color/carat/cleanliness
43) a johannesburg holiday afternoon is like the 28 days later version of london [no people around a big city AT ALL!]
44) nelson mandela's a cool guy
45) when you get cooked up with just ONE group of people [namely, your family] for days and days and days on end, it gets very annoying
46) people from abroad are generally more friendly as strangers than filipinos
47) how to be more friendly to strangers
48) you don't go to africa to shop for clothes and stuff
49) ostrich egg art is cool
50) there are more than 5 ostrich farms right here in the philippines
51) when traveling in a package tour, you meet lots of new family friends and stuff
52) i would be dead right now if our south african visas arrived a day later
-> cuz if we couldn't get our visas for RSA, we'd go to Phuket, Thailand [tsk tsk]
53) RSA has an unemployment rate of 42% and yet their roads are some of the best i've ever been on
54) christmas abroad will almost never feel like christmas
55) what it feels like to wear a bath robe [never wore one until this trip]
56) it's easy to get homesick
57) there is absolutely NO SIGN of anything related to the NBA there
58) any stuff there is expensive
59) a discman was one of the best things i packed
60) the tastes of people there, pop culture, etc are very westernized
61) communication there [in south africa at least] is very easy, english is prominent
62) city tours are boring
63) antelope meat tastes okay
64) how to finish novels in one sitting [had lots of extra time in the hotel at night eh]
65) south african airways was actually one of the best carriers i've expreienced [on demand movies that haven't been screened yet on a touch-screen tv in front of you. haha. the 13hour trip passed by in a jiffy]
66) sometimes, i feel it would be better to travel alone or with just a few companions

67) i wouldn't mind living abroad for a while [maybe a year lang or so]

68) long car trips make me senti and emo

69) the chinese are everywhere

70) no questions asked, you WILL get fat during Christmas season

**

yes, i went to south africa. more stories will be up soon. pictures will be up soon, just as soon as i get the bloody USB cable for the camera. hehe.

so, generally, how was YOUR christmas? mine wasn't that good. dinner at a fancy place doesn't seem like christmas. oh well. there's always next year. hmmm, seeing that this is the last day of the year, i've decided to make a couple of other lists...

.: 2004 :.

rating: 8.50[a pretty okay year {for me}]

most memorable moments: europe trip/prom/rep t3

least memorable moment: huge fight with dad

family life: was okay, but i had a HUGE fight with my dad

friendships: pretty tight this year, any major bouts were resolved

lovelife: like every year =p

personal gains: physically; first time i've ever been bald, the fattest i've ever been as well. other than that, i was a lot happier this year and had a lot more fun

for the world: i guess it's been a bad year for the world. good little things that happen get overshadowed by war, natural alamities, corruption issues, and of course, poverty

*highlights [in random order]*

1) trip to Europe

--> greatest experience probably in my whole life. from seeing the eiffel tower in paris, to seeing the prostitutes in windows in amsterdam, it was amazing.

2) trip to South Africa

--> nothing like anything else

3) trip to Boracay

--> loved it

4) repertory summer workshop

5) 4A class retreat

6) promnight

7) alicia keys concert

8) the BIG issue with mico and anna

9) the biggest feud with my parents

10) visit from valyn atienza

11) regaining friendship from some of the kroo people

12) addition of kroo people

13) 04-05 intramurals disappointments

14) ms. yky boncodin [one of the best teachers ever]

15) SACB events and me as secretary for 04-05

--> it's taught me a lot. seriously.

16) poveda parties with andre [hahaha]

17) sleepovers and garage sessions at my place

18) the renovation of our home

19) commuting to baguio by myself

20) highlands with my dudes

21) highlands with rep people

22) the fort with kroo people [CERTAIN kroo people. hehe]

23) big fights with the kroo people

24) UP entrance exam sabog-ness

25) ADMU entrance exam nervousness

26) DLSU entrance exam 'binaliwala'-ness

27) UA&P interview death

28) UAAP games live [4 wins and 0 losses including one for the championship]

29) "Habol" the movie, directed by Jose Ricardo Abastillas

30) gago group 03-04

31) my favorite NBA team wins the championship [detroit pistons]

32) 1st [crap] gig with chino, greg, apol

33) philippine elections issues

34) "if i aint got you" changes my life

35) guitar lessons where i didn't learn a thing

36) composition of "Gitarista"

37) fleeting crushes and infatuations

38) my very first surprise birthday party [best birthday ever!]

**

well, that's all i can think of right now. hehe.

that's it for now. i still gotta help cook for our new year's eve dinner. hehehe. tc all. more stories and stuff to come.

.: Naughty by Nature :.

and so, the supposed 'main event' of our student council finally pushed through, after last minute changes, so much hassle, it's finally over. hmmm, imagine, on the day itself, saturday, had to be in la salle at about 7am to start setting up and stuff na, and we ended at about 12am and in that span of time, with all the running, the asikaso, the errands, etc etc, i only had two meals. and i survived. you know me, i HAVE to eat every 2 hours. hehehe. sabi ko nga eh, di ako tatagal dun sa Survivor, i'd vote myself out. unless maraming rats and stuff to eat! hehehehe.

so how'd it go? it went great! more people came than i had expected which is really cool. that radiomercial really worked ah! wahahahaha. anyway, the show itself went along smoothly, wala namang [halatang] mga palpak. hehehe. i'm so proud nga eh! experience din to with events management and stuff. hehehe. [plus, the models were really WOW! hahaha.]

pics...

let me tell you about our tuesday adventure. see, our teacher's sister passed away [rip] and we asked permission from our assistant principal if our class could go and visit the wake all the way in the far reaches of novaliches. being the astig class that we are, pinayagan kami and off we went. but we couldn't leave yet cuz the people who had promised transpo suddenly came up short and couldn't provide anymore! hassle! so we were still in the classroom in 1st period, desperately trying to get transpo!! finally, after some persuasion, we mustered up five vehicles tas siksikan na lang. hahaha. hmmm, it took us about 2 hours just to get to the place cuz of the immense traffic, and in the car, many [very funny] things kept on happening for example..

--> j is bored. no good music to be found.

--> he looks behind him, apol is teasing kiko in a very 'foul-ish' manner.

--> he looks in the glove compartment. lo and behold, a cassette tape.

--> he pops it in the radio as his friends behind him wonder what music is about to be played.

--> suddenly, a distinct melody fills the car. it causes nostalgia to almost everyone in the car.

--> with feelings and the typical boyband facial expressions, a sing-along starts in the car..

--> "i don't care who you are, where you're from, what you did as long as you love me."

hehehe. so we stayed at the wake for about an hour or so. our adviser was cool about the whole thing. hehe, ewan, for me, ms.yky's been our best adviser in the past four years of high school. lalang. cobi then, insisted that we have our lunch at his place, which was five minutes away. we all agreed. on the way there, crazy people in the other car were trying to get themselves killed.

getting back was a bit of a pickle. see, we were supposed to get back by 1pm, eh mga 2pm, were still in KFC having another meal, kaya we all scrambled to come up with an excuse, and what did we come up with? well, the ever-plausible, never-failing traffic in Manila! haha. buti na lang, we didn't have to use the excuse cuz we weren't asked about it! hahahaha.

.: amazing things keep happening in my neighborhood :.

for the past few days, my friends have been here at my place. wednesday, it was the house-warming. thursday-friday, it was a tambay-sleepover thing, friday night, it was the usual post-gimik tambay [my house is everyone's house]. hehe. well, on each day, something worth noting always seems to happen.

1) wednesday. housewarming party. my friends and i were eating in the basketball court area. casually, we were just talking, eating, listening to bree and mike rave about lovers in paris [all the rage in class for some reason] shooting some hoops, when suddenly, we hear screams outside our house. we peer outside. a crazy man wearing a lifevest [yes, a lifevest] with an axe is screaming, swearing and hacking away at one our guests' cars saying that he shouldn't be parking in front of his gate [in a, uhm, different manner of course]. he just kept shouting and threatening people who'd pass by until i had my sister get the guest who owned the car who parked in front of his gate. crazy palakol man went back in his house and the scene was dormant for a while.. until baranggay tanods came into the scene and tried to get the guy come out and explain stuff. crazy palakol man went back out still shouting and threatening and stuff [intense!] but then, another neighbor, who was apparently his friend, prodded him to go back inside the house. the tanods then, called the cops, a little later, a tricycle with a cop on it arrived. a little later still, a police car arrived and two cops came out, one had a fully loaded M-16! wahoo! naka free show kaming lahat. this whole ordeal lasted about an hour and we were just there, watching. kulang na lang, popcorn. hehehe. the cops, with guns in hand, tried to get the guy to come out. after a while, a similar man came out, also wearing a lifevest but was also wearing an "army of phils" issued helmet on his head. this guy didn't seem crazy. he just talked to the cops and stuff. and so.... after a LOT of talking na, the cops left and everyone forgot the whole thing. amazing. hehehehe. sayang, walang action! hahaha.

2) thursday night. after having played basketball in the rain [saya sobra!], we went in the house and we saw these weird, uniformed people, singing and dancing in my living room! WTF IS HAPPENING?! hahaha. it was a musical group. apparently, the priest who had blessed our house the night before is a singer and had a group of four [a tenor, a baritone, an alto and a soprano] who sung in perfect melody and sounded as if they were 20 people! galing. they serenaded us [my friends and family] with xmas songs with matching facial expressions and actions pa! wahahaha, it was entertaining. the spirit xmas bar in my just climbed up a notch. hehehe.

3) friday. was gonna do my xmas shopping. had no transpo so i hitched with my friend ralph going to gale. his sister was driving. about 50m away from my place, in the intersection of the 1st main road, we got into an accident. yup. see, we were on the mainroad. there's this rule that in an intersection, the mainroad has the right of way. it was uber traffic that time and we were already in the middle of the intersection when this starex turns left from our left to join the mainroad [not: we were already in the middle of the intersection and we stopped when we saw the car make singit] and BOOM! we hit. smack in the middle of the intersection. we were stuck there for about an hour. traffic around us was horrbile. dozens of specatators were around. and about 5 MMDA people were on top of the whole thing. ralph's sister was a bit emotional about the whole thing and was crying so ralph was the one who talked [and kinda got mad {he has every right}] at the guy [at one point, i thought ralph was gonna kick the bobo guy's ass na. btw, ralph is a black belter in taekwondo and has been the team captain of the lasalle team for 2 years now.] we ended up in city hall na where they ahd to file reports and stuff. fil and i [yung mga freeloaders na nakisabay lang] decided to go our own way na since nakakahiya na diba? hehehe. ayun.

**

well, that's 3 amazing things.

hehehehe.

.: christmas time :.

it's almost xmas and i'm glad to say that im feeling it na rin. hehehe. i dunno what triggered it. i guess it was listening to that musical group perform in front of us. hehehe. and so, my family will be going away. i'll be on hiatus for about 8 days. the destination... a secret. i'll tell you when i get back. hehehe. it'll be our "last" family trip since next year, my sister's getting married and my other sister's going to the states to pursue a 2nd master's degree [shempre, bente nanaman kapatid ko!]. so this trip'll be special. but the thing is, i'm leaving in like 10 hours and i'm not even excited or anything. i don't feel like going. know what, i'd so much rather stay here at home. haaay.

tragedy has been the theme this xmas season. sadly. i've been to 2 wakes and known a few more people who have passed away since early november. hassle grabe. i think i've only been to 5 other wakes in my whole life and 2 of them have been this year. well, they've all gone to a better, more xmas-y place.

.: ghostly encounter :.

took this picture in one of the bball courts in alabang. i was inside the court, all alone, in front of the electric fan. it was about 1030pm. i was just fooling around, playing with the amazing lighting of the place, but i guess i caught more than i wanted to. please check the right side of the picture. once again, i was ALONE inside the bball court... wtf is that figure walking?!

**

and so, finally, i'm gonna end this blog entry na. hope i haven't bored all you. hehehe. i've already tried to shorten everything. hahahaha. anyway, i'll blog asap. i'll try to do so while im there. anyway, tc all. and in case i won't be able to greet you all...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

.: internet blues :.

ngayon ko lang nalaman gaano ka-importante internet sa akin. imagine, i had to go all the way to an internet cafe, a good 10 minute walk just to blog. hehe. addict eh. internet at home's been in a fritz. hazzlez. just when i wanna use it the most. anyway, since i'm ehre na rin, might as well make the most out of it. hehehehe.

.: the MAIN event :.

well, one of the main projects we have as an SACB officer is coming up this saturday. [plug] Naughty By Nature: A Night Of Natural High, a fashion dance party featuring the hippest teen models from different schools and performances by Spongecola, Mojofly, and many more. tickets are at 100 pesos each. [/plug] ayun. you've probably heard the radiomercial on magic 89.9. hahaha, it's been uber hassling my life the past few days. everyday, i get home late, all tired out and stuff. i have a feeling nga that things won't fare too well. ever since my early highschool days, i've always had the same thoughts as other students, "what the hell is the student council doing? what are they doing for us students?" now i really do understand that the SACB really does accomplish a lot, only to be overshadowed by the evil authority, the mdoerator. she squeezes and presses her officers only to gain her own, personal benefits. anyway, the show's pretty much on its final preparations and stuff, and lately, we've been focusing on the fashion show, fitting the models and stuff. i hafta say, the models are like... "WOW!!" hahahaha. lalang. great to be the photographer. anyway, hope things worok out this saturday, para naman di in vain lahat ng work namin.

.: not much more to say :.

not much more to say. wala lang. can't really think here in the internet cafe. haaay. i'll try to blog when i get the chance tomorrow or something. if not, i might blog next week na. urgh. oh well, that's all.

.: jay's wishlist :.

brace yourselves, there's a lot..

1) an i-Pod mini with at least 16 gigs of memory.

2) a laptop.

3) a Pablo Neruda book.

4) the melancholy death of oyster boy and other stories by Tim Burton.

5) lullaby/invisible monsters by Chuck Palahniuk.

6) clothes from nike.

7) clothes from adidas.

8) clothes from celio.

9) clothes from U, rustan's.

10) clothes from theater mall. [as you've noticed, i posted brands that are expensive and nice. simply because i possess no articles of clothing with these brands.]

11) a fat, gray cat with blue eyes.

12) a new basketball. [yung pwedeng pang araw-araw]

13) a 128MB memory card for my 6600.

14) a Stonefree cd.

15) a Jamie Cullum cd.

16) LOTS of dvd's.

17) a ring/bracelet that says 'aventurero' or '711'.

18) casual shoes from greenhills.

19) a nice, sincere Christmas letter.

1) motivation/inspiration to write.

2) twelve hours of sleep a day for at least a week.

3) one whole day on a hammock beside the beach.

4) to meet Alicia Keys.

5) to meet Cindy Curleto.

6) to magically lose 20lbs.

7) to magically be able to shoot three-pointers like reggie miller.

8) the opportunity play against DLSU players.

9) to magically be able to sing better.

10) to magically master playing the piano/guitar.

11) the opportunity to be "beyond borders"-like for a day.

12) superpowers. [specifically super strength, speed, and the power to slow down time]

13) the wit to get higher grades without studying.

14) elimination of cold, depressing, lonely nights.

15) for each person to realize his/her own potential and maximize it.

16) for our leaders to not be full of bullshit.

17) a new kind of rush everyday.

**

yun na muna. i'm such a selfish prick. hehehehe. oh well. wait a second.. pondering thoughts: ever notice that pizza does NOT go well with water? it doesn't.. EVER!!!! lalang.

.: intramurals :.

another intramurals has come and gone. for us seniors, our last great chance to leave our mark as winners in events other than academics. people don't know how much the intrams mean to us. it's something talked about since july and prepared for since the the start of the ber months. to us, it's the most antici[ated event of the year. and each year, again and again, our section falls short of winning.. anything. why? maybe we are just a bunch of nerds who should just stick to academics. haha. screw that theory, we could've [we should've] rocked everybody.

three main sports matter. basketball, soccer, and volleyball, respectively. i participated in volleyball and basketball. since the early days of this year, we basketball-ers have been preparing, playing in pick-up games, analyzing our games and styles of playing, etc. [yup, career development talaga] and we had the notion that we would win at least once. we hadn't won a game since 1st year. this year would prove to be more of the same..

basketball. we lost both our games and failed to advance. here's the thing, we always start the game well, we lead the game, dictate the pace, play well all-around, but it's the last 10 minutes, goodness, is it that hard to finish a game?! haaay. we lost our first game to our close friends, the semi-honors class, 4B. hehe. our next game, we went against 4D. the team to beat, the projected champions, the baddest boys in the batch. if we beat them, we'd have pride to say that we sent the 'champions' home. haha. and we were holding up actually, leading half the time. but then, we crumbled in the last 10minutes. oh well. pics are posted in my other blog. refer to the previous entry please.

volleyball. haha, this might sound weird, but i can play volleyball! haha. not well, but hey, i can play. haha, but with gello and mico [haha, gay] in our team, we had good chances of winning. and what do you know, we won our 1st two games.... then lost our next two, eliminating us. haha. there it is again, the good start, bad finish syndrome. hahaha.

soccer. if i could've, if the cocky [hihi, kidding] soccer players would allow it, some of us basketball-ers could've joined in soccer. yup, take chino for example, back in gradeschool, he had one paved path to soccer glory. if he had taken that path, he'd be one of the best in school right now, unfortunately, he didn't take it. nevertheless, he's still got game. so do some of us basketball-ers. hehe, may biruan nga eh, soccer team of 4A vs. basketball team of 4A in soccer! wahahaha. lalang. anyway, the soccer team, on its own, was shaped in championship caliber. too bad minalas sila in the alst two games ulit, finishing the season 1-2. argh.

anyway...

of course, we still have the individual sports. speed climbing, track and field, swimming, badminton, table tennis, etc. and from what i heard, we're in the finals in badminton c/o kiel. haha. so we still have hope of bringing home a little bacon. hehehe.

.: realizations :.

i have come to realize..

1) .. i'm having trouble making money.

---> yes. for once, i'm finding it hard to get by my everyday expenses. i dunno, ever since, i've always found a way to make money, whether it be dealing drugs, selling myself at quezon ave. to a financially capable papa, mugging an old lady, etc. kidding aside, i'm really having trouble. see, i'm always used to the hoard-and-waste method. save up a lot of money, then spend it all, kaboom, one time big-time. see, i only get allowance once very other week, and i don't get bonuses and stuff for gimmicks kaya it's hard talaga. all the money i've saved up before is almost used up and saving up would take a whole year or so ulit. plus, i don't ask for anything for any achievements i get. lalang, parang diyahe eh. i just quietly hope that it'll come back to me some time in the future. haay, christmas pa naman, wala akong pambili ng gifts. haha, the otehr day, i was at the mall, window-shopping, i saw a lot of stuff i really, really wanted. okay, i'll admit, at some level, i like getting stuff. but then again, i can live without stuff, but this is ridiculous. the other night, i couldn't afford to buy myself taho. how pathetic. hehe. sana matuloy yung printing biz.

2) .. most of us use holidays as an excuse to go on vacation. hence, we lose value of the holiday and we forget the basics, what it's all about.

---> i don't wanna leave the country this christmas. sure, this will be our last family trip and all [my sister's gonna take her second master's degree at NYU next year and my other sister's getting married] but i just have this feeling that we lose sight as to what christmas is all about. where we're going, it'll be all about the sight-seeing, the traveling, the tight schedules, the family togetherness. at some point, there isn't anything wrong with that. but where's the christmas tree, the noche buena, the simbang gabi, the christmas day mass, the novenas, the picture of the nativity, the birth of Christ? you know? i just feel that we shouldn't lose sight of what the holiday really means, you know?

3) .. we, the privileged/capable ones, should do what we can to help others. even more so during this time of crisis.

---> grabe. it's all over the news. death, destruction, hunger, suffering, people losing homes. i keep imagining myself in their shoes, you know? here we all are, raving over the suspensions of classes when almost 500 people have already passed away because of flash floods and landslides. lalang. i just wanna be able to do something about it. tomorrow, i'm gonna go volunteer at school. donate goods and stuff and help pack them. and i think they have a volunteer program at hands-on manila too. at relief centers and stuff. haaay. i really wanna do something, you know? i dunno. and if all you people have hearts, do something as well. be it a sincere prayer man lang. it's Christmas season and these people aren't gonna have a Christmas at all. think about that.

4) .. the Christmas spirit isn't evident... yet.

--> with so much other things going on, i can barely feel the tingle of Christmas. and i really want to. the fuzziness it brings makes you feel lighter no matter what ordeal. crime is at its lowest on Christmas day [as opposed to its uber high rating right before Christmas. pambili daw ng regalo. haha.] i've been trying my best to feel it though. i've been listening to a lot of Christmas songs [see my 'currently' list], planning on Christmas gifts, etc. pero wala eh. if everyone around you doesn't feel it, you won't feel it. hehe. oh well, may 20+ days pa naman eh.

.: intrams :.