Tuesday, December 28, 2004

the season's excess

excess is a favorite sin during the holidays. unfortunately, after excessive eating, gift-giving/receiving/recycling, shopping and schmoozing, the common cold finally settled in.

my christmas weekend spent stuffy and sniffly with headaches, hot tea and more medicines than usual, trying to be as narcoleptic as i can get.

i'm rushing my recovery because after this two-day office stint, a holiday with karl is in order. and so here i am, bundled in black and a scarf around my neck, trying to beat the oppressive air conditioning.

oh, and i'm torturing myself by reading lolita.

Thursday, December 23, 2004

musings on experimentation

Because i think i know what i’m doing. Because i want to know if i DO know what i’m doing.

Because it’s a mirror and i want to see myself. i think i'd enjoy a reflection with a mind of its own.

Because i appreciate beauty in any form. ESPECIALLY in my form.

Who? A stranger, perhaps. No real plans.

what's that word for?

what's that word for when you remember and old affair and you can't distinguish between fantasy and reality?

karl gave me this book for christmas called "the powerbook" by jeanette winterson. it's a breezy read so i finished it already, and he lent me another winterson book called "written on the body."

anyway, i was trying to figure out this thing - why i liked the book and yet felt slightly uncomfortable about it. of course i enjoyed the book because it was sexy, first and foremost. that's the most obvious. it's also very spaciously written. it looks spacious, it feels spacious when you read it. short sentences, paragraphs, chapters. bare pages. thoughtful but doesn't ramble. has theories but not too cerebral and thought-out.

then there's not being able to understand what really happened. it was designed to blur the lines between the real and imagined, and at first i didn't really like that. it's ingenious and all, but i wanna know what happened. it didn't sit with me right that i came away from a book with no clear sense of its plot, even if it did quite effectively explain a thing or two about love.

so i decide to read "written on the body" while her style is fresh in my memory. a little over a page into the book and i suddenly remember this conversation anne and i had.

you know how you daydream about an affair as it's happening? you know how you fantasize about a happy moments? being the enviable couple? or a tragic ending where everyone will think that you never did anything wrong and he was always the selfish one, the one who was abusive or neglectful? and then that scene where he'd grovel because he'd realize he was wrong? or he'd see you as your most fabulous self happily single or happily hitched and he'd regret you ever parted ways? and you play it over and over again because it helps you sleep at night. *yeah, whatever makes you happy. whatever makes it beautiful. whatever makes you insecure. whatever leaves you satisfied. whatever ceases to break you down.. some of the time.*

the thing is, years after, you'll look back and you can't even figure out what really happened and what was all in your head. fantasy and reality are too difficult to tell apart. (it makes talking to or about an old lover difficult because you might slip in something that never really happened). it turns out that that was exactly was winterson was doing in her novels. and it didn't sit with me right because anne and i always wanted to try to remember things right so we wouldn't run into trouble talking about it.

but i guess once those two worlds meld, there's no undoing it. so winterson, as karl said, "explores that mental territory where the real and the could'ves and should'ves are all blurred into one narrative/narrator." or something like that.

what's the word for that?

there IS no word for that. hm.

Monday, December 20, 2004

approvals!

i went to meet karl's surrogate Ate last friday. her name's bingbing and she used to be a nun. hard to imagine. she's so alive, i don't think she can keep herself contained in her habit, much less in a convent. of course, i wouldn't know how they actually live. for all we know they get out more often than we think. and i guess they do. and i think they experience things a lot like us too. just the way i'd take living in a house full of girls - same for them - one big sorority with all the politics and crap. that's what she said, anyway. and that really is how it seems when she talks of her former nunnery-mates. she's a fun, fun gal! she made cool alibata tarot cards and writes songs, wants to study and study and study. she dates someone like mr.Big it seems. and she's totally cool about it. or maybe she's just naive. after all, she didn't start dating till she was probably in her late 20's. i guess that's where karl is obviously the kuya. anyway, i'm glad that the only family he has told him she likes me.

karl, in turn, came with me to leo's party the next night. skipp's the last one to meet him, and he almost didn't want to go because he ran into horrendous traffic when he went the wrong way. well, everyone got lost to some extent. i even kinda upset karl about it. i'm guilty, too. my mum said it's really dangerous in that place. but it all ended well enough. we ate and drank to our heart's content, played with the kids and danced away (except karl of course, and i obliged a dance or two with skipp, ais and mark). skipp brought us home, and sent me his greetings over the rest of the weekend.

yesterday was my first christening as a godmother, to my nephew karl vergel. regular uneventful UP chapel christening. but he's one fair, fat baby.

anyway, after 2 nights at chocolate kiss and 2 days of catering, my body's reacting horridly, trying to empty itself out. dammit. i'm keeping everything clenched.

Friday, December 17, 2004

workin' the weekend

i start early. wednesday to be exact.

poochers called for a kfc dinner and a san fran session the other night. gory, juicy details abound. of new couples, friends with benefits, exes and a courtship that refuses to end. even if it has to.

i decided to go *poof* yesterday. whereabouts unknown to home and office. there you go. nalula sa books, among other things. karl gave me one for christmas too. i think i'll start it tomorrow. had a really sweet message scribbled inside. that's why i love getting books for gifts. though i don't do that when i give them away because i don't really know what's a nice message to read after a long time. anyway, i tired myself out too much that though i dropped dead at 10 PM last night, i could barely keep myself awake today. i even had to buy coffee from mcdonald's so as not to shame myself by drooling on my desk. now my tummy's all sour. a nice lady from our sister company bought all of us lunch. i had to give my lunch away. yipee, good deed!

as always, i'm blogstalking my friends, and i heard zarah's back in town. wheee!!! zarah, we should party!!! i miss her punch and may's coma splice! ooohh, the wonders of royal true orange, vodka, juice, apples, and what-have-you. i don't even know how to make it. it's probably spiked twice, because you spike the punch first and then you use it to make coma splice with more liquor. hehehe.. wonder why i never got tipsy then? hehehe! let's party, camown! holy girls! (i don't even know when to give you guys my present!) well, we're supposed to have a party tomorrow at ala's but i'd rather do leo's party. we're doing the hiphop thang. i'm going to be kind of eve-ish. aissa's alicia keys. or maybe mary j. blige. baby... well, i'm not sure. maybe eve as well. or kelis. mark's going to be usher. leo's going to be... uhh.. the birthday boy. kaso wala sa aming egoy. hehehehe.. oh, and sleepover? maybe. my nephew's getting baptized the following day and i'll be a godmother. his name is karl too. or carl. whatever. i'll figure it out on sunday.

what else did i hear? ia's been singing at parties, and i swear she should sing more!!! she does it sooo well and i'd love to hear "do you sleep" more often. chely and deng are at the salon today and chel's getting purple highlights. i want!!!! or well, maybe a perm. i don't know. i'm kind of chicken and i keep on listening to other people. people who are kind of safe with hair. i haven't done anything outrageous in my lifetime with my hair. anyway, let's see. (yet again.)

i'm listening to this new orleans sampler and i resolve to get one. at first i wasn't really digging it, but it's getting to jazzier, swingier stuff. and you should know that i love swing jazz! i told karl i always wanted to learn how to swing (30's swing ha! not the typical modern ballroom crap or the perverse kind!) but i don't think he's up for that for the "5 unusual dates" article he's writing for fudge. ooohhhh fun! i swear. well, the metro trip is going to be one of them, plus of course, separate food trips (ghazal, taco bell, chateau verde are some). i wonder what else we'll end up doing!

tonight i'm meeting karl's friend bingbing. finally! curious, curious. free-spirited ex-nun. and me, quite the shs nuns' well-behaved nightmare. i think we shall hit it off.

i'm looking forward to suicidal starbucks night on the 23rd! 24 and 27 have been declared as holidays so after work, i'm free on 23! pampalubag-loob nalang ng president siguro after all these deaths - the typhoon floods, the (da) king's stroke, the fire at de venecia's home. sad, sad christmas for some. good deeds must abound. we're now officially too lazy to hold a garage sale of our bad investments (read: bad, expensive but still wearable clothes) so we just gave them all away to charity. ahh yes. feels good.

i must distribute gifts soon. must. must.

Monday, December 13, 2004

temptation waits

i got a haircut last saturday. i really liked it when i exited the salon (a usual reaction), but now i don't like it anymore. actually, that very evening, i started to despise it already. it was causing my shoulders to itch with its razored ends. and then i tied it and realized the perfect shape of my ponytail was ruined. it was absolutely perfect - that full curve at the top, the ends that flip it into a long S, just like a cheerleader. damn. now it's all feathery. oh, and by the next day, all the layers flipped their merry way. one side in, one side out. hey, i don't mind if they flipped out, as long as they're symmetrical. now i'm flipping out! damn it, i don't like my hair, but i don't know what else to do with it! why am i too chicken to color or curl it?!?! ack. taureans are creatures of habit.

after going to a very boring and empty broadguild christmas party, karl and i missed the last train and caught a bus to makati where we watched paramita. "fronted" by a girl who also plays drums in the back. great voice, considering the physical effort to play the drums. she can't work the crowd effectively, plus she's too obviously lesbian to be a come-on to the audience. there are three boring men to the side, one of whom is an obnoxiously skilled lead guitarist. but their songs are good. well, the lyrics could improve, as well as the live performance. but i enjoyed myself at makati with karl. the city is sexier when it's dead and dark and with a lover around. when yuppies are too irritatingly drunk to people-watch.

we hung out at UP yesterday - had lunch and ice cream, bought a copy of his story and read it. i missed all the masses. tsk tsk. guilty. i couldn't resist his invitation to watch 2046 in a cold, deserted sm north theatre in warm arms. especially with all his extra-handsomeness that day. tsk tsk. marshmallow test takers.

i want a perfectly tailored cheongsam, beautiful pumps and jewelry. and lots of marshmallows.

Friday, December 10, 2004

bohemian like you

the stepford yuppies. i see couples like those around the mall, plastered across my friendster list. perfect hair (blandly straight or impeccably styled), clear, clean skin, toned bodies, trendy clothes. shoes too precious to commute in, no signs of penny-pinching. up-the-corporate/professional-ladder-ambitious or where'd-you-get-all-that-capital-entrepreneurs. steeped in the good life. with that touch of artsy-fartsiness/socio-economic-political awareness/eco-adventure trippiness/sexual openness/spiritual peacefulness. smiling pictures at house parties with matching, mutual testimonials on friendster.

i'm proud to be a stepford daughter with a twitch. (yes, a twitch, not a twist.) signs: the frazzled look when exhausted. the skin break-outs from all the commuting. the big, uncombed hair. the deep, dark circles around my eyes. the scars. the flabs. the stretch marks. the muscles in my legs. the lines on my hands. the lolita lips. sun worship. the preference for meat. a disdain for extremely contrived diets and exercise. being a scrooge. the sloppy, lazy days. flashes of inflicting violence. the aversion of stepford sons. the hostility sensed in stepford territories.

and the last two signs don't matter anymore, because karl showed me this world that crazily felt like home ever since. in fact, none of them matter, because he likes me with the twitch. because he said i could be virgin, vixen and virago without choosing. so instead of being half of an enviable couple walking around the mall with friendster photos and matching, mutual testimonials, i'm half of the couple that lurks in loud gigs, quiet walks, cultural adventures, bookstores, record bars, and our alma mater.

everyone (including me) used to wonder if i am destined to attract the *weird ones*. for someone with a twitch, i guess i wouldn't have it any other way.

*look who's giddily in love*

Thursday, December 09, 2004

on a roll

but i suppose it pauses here. i've been going out at night since monday, and it's time for a quick rest because tomorrow might be the start of another series. =)

had dinner with anne, binky, rica and joyce last monday... FINALLY! i miss those guys! and of course it was a riot. apparently i'm already turning jologs working in the starmaker machinery. so is anne. her new 20/20 vision isn't really working either! she kept on overlooking everything! binky's studying for the nmat and she's sick of it. we laughed about dominic ochoa, celine lopez, tim yap and mayonaise on fried food. and swooned over robin padilla.

tuesday was our company's christmas party. we went there late, ate late, started late. but i left early. so much for camaraderie and bonding. hehehe! to think i was the host/game master and newbie. tsk tsk tsk. but i wouldn't miss UP-CWC's writers' night for the world. i wouldn't be invited after all if i didn't have a writer-date. it was hell getting from makati to UP - bitchy cabs and horrible traffic! too bad i wasn't able to meet all of karl's friends, and i didn't even stay for an hour. i saw merv and ma'am sandra (whom i didn't greet, unfortunately), met karen, paul, raila, lourd and two others i don't really remember... paul invited me to their group's new year party at their house. whee! merv thought we looked like giddy highschool kids, vim nadera thought we looked like a married couple. whatever. i'm happy. both of us blessed with each other, with jobs - plus karl's book to be published next year! what a great feat for an author, and i really am impressed with his work. not to mention the fact that he strives as a journalist everyday to be able to do what he really loves. that's quite a turn-on.

karl and i had dinner again last night and hung out at UP. it's my first time to hang out at the sunken garden with a lover. i used to snicker at the thought of what it's known for, and it still seems so funny with other couples there, but i can't help but fantasize about it! what is it? the dark? the stars? the moon? the grass? karl himself? hmmm... well, i guess so! hahaha... bad girl. or *good girl* ;) santa santita as sir reev says.

i don't really know what's in store for me, but i'm excited! i think i want to meet up with sir reev this weekend. and there's the broadguild party, a gig that karl's writing about, and a trip to the buddhist temple on sunday with karl and his friend bing-bing. can't wait!

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

in our own little worlds

everyone had his or her own plans last weekend, it seems, so we all retreated into our own worlds. for that, i had to blogstalk everyone for updates: may and her doctor's appointment, ia's and aissa's urban adventures, deng and chely's provincial ones, mark's quest for old original dave matthews band CD's, and leo's ferrari fantasy.

karl and i have just started building our own world, and holing up in a makeshift home exploring possibilities was the most fun i've had in um... five months? a year? ever? EVER!

Thursday, December 02, 2004

these are your goddess years

so my ate moppet says. and sir reev too. and many others who miss being carefree and selfish. because at twenty-one, i can afford to be selfish. i'm so thankful for the freedom, the opportunity, the money, the energy, and the time to be whatever i want - and that would be the best possible version of me: independent, loved, fit, beautiful. exploring, stumbling, learning. because i can afford to make mistakes.

i went out with the poochers last night, solo flight with leo, jun, isbel and a hilariously drunk ais. they taught me well. i'm still kaladkarin to the max, regardless of a flourishing love life (another goddess-years benefit).

so here's to all my fellow-goddesses: ate moppet (your last year), ate lala (to hell with the US), anne (motherhood and married life are far off), rica, may, binky, jennie jo & ais (if you build it they will come), baby (tondo is no place to go looking for a scorned lover), isbel, ia, deng and chely. THIS IS OUR TIME! wahoo!