Happy New Year!

I hope everyone has a glorious new year, brimming with happy discoveries, profound epiphanies, and new vistas to explore. I hope your new years will always be filled with love, hope, and dreams.

May we all find our places in the world. May the world find its place in us. And may we rise to meet every occasion - tragic, festive, and otherwise - with all the best we have.

Cheers! Ad astra!

i'm on it

yeah, the upstairs blog is crazy right now. i'm on it. also, i didn't break the microwave after all. if you're still seeing this message, that means this blog is still under repair. check back later.

***

NOBODY LIKES A TERRORIST.

Did you know that PETA has funneled over $100,000 to criminals convicted of destroying medical research and firebombing scientific laboratories in the name of "animal liberation"?

Yeah, I've been anti-PETA for awhile now, but this really takes the cake:


Don't get me wrong. I don't hate animals. I don't want to see any of them go extinct, or suffer needlessly if it can be helped. I think more people should eat more vegetables. I think more people should stop and think about what it really means to kill a chinchilla for its fur. BUT. I also think that at some point, you gotta realize who's on top of the food chain. And baby, that's us.

Call me biased and old-fashioned, but I still believe that rats are not our equals. I like my leather, I LOVE my medium rare steak, and I will EAT an ostrich egg or a bear steak or a crocodile nugget just because I can. I'd rather be a "barbaric carnivore" than a misguided child-killer.

The salvation of a colony of rats vs finding the cure for AIDS? Lab mice vs defeating cancer? A monkey vs a child? Well, just think about that for a second and tell me how barbaric I really am.

Say NO to PETA. The life you save could be your own. Literally.

a brand new car

We bought a brand new car! Yahoo! It's a "brilliant silver" 5-door Nissan Versa, and it's puuuurty!

We've been through a bunch of "bait and switch" dealers here - we've even filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau - so when John went in, he was really prepared. They tried to pull a fast one on him, but they were in for a surprise. Haha. They told him that they had already sold the car he wanted last night, even though he had an email saying it was still available sent to him just this morning. So obviously my John got pretty mad. In the end though, he got them good. When they offered him a similar car on a very good discount to "make it up to him" (he was already taking down names to give the BBB), he played the game and made them offer him an even better deal. He also flat out refused to pay for all the things that looked fishy, and forced them to absorb other things that he just didn't think were necessary.

Take that, you pushy, dishonest, money-centered salesmen!

So in the end, we got the car for $200 below invoice! Must be that Chinese business acumen coming out!

The nice little thing is now sitting outside, all nice and paid for, so it's really all ours! Woohoo!


Pictures to come.

Crap

Now I just went and broke our expensive Frigidaire microwave oven.

Crap.

did you click on the pull tab yet?

It's on the upper right side. Yep, that's the one. Nifty, ain't it?

So anyway.

I was originally all ready to move to wordpress, but then realized that wordpress can't handle javascripting. Also, it isn't readily customizable. Kathwump.

So I went back to blogger, saw the "we're out of beta" newsflash, experienced a wave of joy at thinking that blogger will finally be able to support the functionality that it sorely lacks, but then felt my heart sink to my toes when the blogger fairies told me, blithely, that unfortunately, it cannot handle this new template.

Another kathwump.

So, for the moment, all that functionality and convenience is out of my reach. If I want drop-downs, I'll have to make them myself. Widgets? Hand-code them in template. Adding graphics, text boxes, links, etc? Yep, I'm on my own.

So.

This is probably temporary. (But yeah, if I DO keep it, the hidden part will *probably* eventually have four columns. There will also *probably* be more stuff up there. And perhaps google ads, pictures, and a partridge in a pear tree... but that's a bunch of probablies for another day.)

In the meantime, enjoy.

Changes are a-coming

Also, there is a new searchbox.

If you've ever wanted to give me a book, but wasn't sure if I had it already, here's your answer. Just type in the book/author's name/ISBN in the search field under Wanda's Books and, voila! You'll have the results from my database faster than you can blink. It holds a complete catalog of all the books I have in this country to date. (Well, almost. Unfortunately, this catalog doesn't include the *very* few books I have that haven't yet been imprinted with an ISBN.) It's a pretty nifty feature.

Below it is the Amazon search field. Well, that one's pretty self-explanatory, don't you think?

I hope you had a Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Reflection

Sometimes, I amaze myself. (Or Time to Pat Myself on The Back)

When I was a sophomore in high school, my then best friend and I thought we would like to watch a PBA game. I don't remember why. I think it had to do with her having a crush on Vince Hizon or something like that. If I'm not mistaken, the game was between Ginebra and Purefoods, at the time, two premier teams. Tickets were sold out. They had been impossible to get for weeks. We were naive, innocent, and sheltered. We didn't believe in the impossible.

The day of the game, we were front and center. Only the press table separated us from the court. And after 20 minutes, we were sitting at the press table itself, wedged in between radio announcers and journalists. When the game was over, a player from Purefoods walked us out via the locker rooms and through the special staff exit, where we rubbed elbows with coaches, managers, stars from both teams, and later on, came face to face with a mob of screaming fans.

As a high school senior, I was determined to get in either Ateneo or UP. My grades weren't exactly high (I failed Alay Kapwa!) but I knew I was smart and I had convinced myself that they would be lucky to have me. When admission letter time came, I received three - one from each institution to which I applied. I then found out what my options were: La Salle wanted me to get a double major, UP Diliman offered me a place at one of its highly competitive quota courses, and Ateneo gave me the the Merit Scholar distinction. It was a tough choice, but I finally ended up in Ateneo. I have to say, that decision drastically altered my path in life.

Up until that point, I thought I had my life plan down pat. I would get myself a degree in business, work for a big multinational, and strike out on my own. And yet there I was, a liberal arts student enrolled in all sorts of seemingly unrelated courses. I took up Accounting, Marketing, and Statistics, yes. But I also took up Music Appreciation, Film Theory, and Creative Writing. I think it was the best education I could have ever received, because I was able to sample knowledge from across the board, and I realized that there is more to life than making a living. There is living itself. I had always thought I was special, but it was in the Ateneo that I finally realized that my life was my own, that I didn't have to follow any sort of predetermined path. It was in the Ateneo that I decided I wanted to see the world, that I wanted something different for myself. It was in the Ateneo that I decided that I wanted to study abroad.

The thing about me is that I can be quite obsessive. Yes, I can be incredibly flaky to other people, but when it's about me, when it's something I have truly chosen for myself, then I'm like a giant boulder rolling down a path. I don't stop until I get what I want. I exhaust all possibilities. I will scheme, I will plead, I will bide my time, I will work myself to the bone, I will do everything it takes. Failure is always only momentary. Eventually, I get everything I want. And that's a promise.

So, somehow, I got myself accepted into graduate school. I got the American embassy to give me a student visa. I got relatives to take me in. I got my parents to (initially) give me an allowance. I got myself an apartment. I got myself a bunch of jobs. I even got New York City to give me a scholarship. And when time on my visa was in danger of running out, I found a way to fix that too.

I'm only 25 and I already have a graduate degree to my name. I have a job I like and I work from home. I live in an apartment complex with 2 pools and a gym. Pretty soon, I'll probably be driving my own car. I'm in love with someone who loves me the way I've always wanted to be loved. I travel regularly, to places I've always dreamed of when I was a child. (Actually, I've been to most places on the to-go-to list I made when I was 12!)

In other words, life is great. And the thing that amazes me is that I did this. I made this my life. No one forced me to do anything I didn't want to do. The life I'm living is the result of a string of MY own decisions. Granted I still have to iron out a few kinks here and there, but on the whole, it's been absolutely great. I'm still working towards a dream, so there's no danger of peaking in my 20's (I hope), but at the same time, I've also accomplished a good amount of things at my, ahem, young age. I'm at that stage where I know I've done pretty well, but not so well that there's no longer anything to look forward to (or be afraid of). I'm more aware of my limitations, but I still see my endless potential. I have fears, doubts, and all that stuff, but I've also learned to see them as necessary evils. I've grown so much in this country, and it truly amazes me.

I realize that my life will always be divided into the days before I left, and the days after I arrived. I feel myself splintered, but that's okay. I know that once in awhile, it's going to be unavoidable for me to think about the "other" life I could have had if I stayed. I will wonder about all the ways that it might have been different, all the ways that it could have been so much more comfortable. Then again, seeing the world, growing up, getting the chance to dream bigger dreams, discovering all the strength I have hidden inside... I think those things are worth the price of a little discomfort, a little homesickness.

Somehow, I've pushed myself to this choice, and I made it the best way I knew how, and I have no regrets. I'm a romantic. I will always believe that the pursuit of a dream is worth as much unhappiness as you can take. And I'm not even unhappy, just a little nostalgic, so I think it's more than a fair trade! Heh.

Life's been great. Life has been fabulous. So bring on the next year, baby. I'm ready.

***

After reading this article from the NY Times, I have decided to accept myself for who I am. I will NOT be organizing, sorting, or categorizing anything this year. I have a limber, creative, quick mind. Too many fleeting thoughts would be lost if I try to organize my pen and/or notes collection before I write something down. And I can't shut my papers in a plastic bin, because, YES, I need them - all of them - on hand for when creativity strikes.

I am messy (messy is different from dirty, okay... I have and will always be CLEAN), and darn proud of it. Up yours, all ye ascetic neat freaks. There is inspiration in chaos, creativity in disorder, imagination in clutter. I am not a prissy prig and never will be. The world is churning with all sorts of things, and they're not all lined up in a neat little pile. The universe was built and made on messes coming in contact with another. Besides, I have better things to do with my time than to organize my sock collection by length and color.

Mess CAN BE good. Studies show that people with cluttered (read: messy) work desks have higher salaries than people with overly neat desks. People with messy closets tend to become the sort of parents kids like to have. People with messy calendars tend to be more spontaneous and have more fun out of life. People with unorganized offices usually have more stuff going on in their brains. Think of the discovery of pennincilin! Think of all the accidental scientific eurekas! Yes, sometimes, messy people DO have nicer, happier, more productive lives.

And thus, I leave you with a quote from Einsten: “If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk?”

Baboosh!

Merry Christmas!

I will be on blog leave during the holiday season.

Dear Santa Claus,

I haven't written you in a long time. I'm sorry. Some people have been spreading very nasty things things about you and for awhile I actually believed them. I'm so sorry Santa, but it was so hard not to!

What did they say about you? Well, for starters, they kept on telling me that you weren't real. They said you were just a gimmick by Coca Cola, and that the real Santa Claus has long been dead. They also kept showing me pictures of the "real" you - and I couldn't help but cringe! In those shots, you were thin and kinda mean-looking. You did not at all look like the type of person who could be bothered with letters from silly little kids.

(Plus there was also the fact that I haven't been a very good girl for a long time, so I didn't really see the point in writing to you just so you could leave me a lump of coal...)

But I believe in you now, Santa. Yes, I do. Also, I've been quite a good girl. I'm sure you know that. I'm sure you're well aware of all the temptations I've conquered, all the hard choices I've made, and all the sacrifices I've done (*wink*) so no need for me to list them all, right? After all, you're always watching, aren't you? You're kind of like the magical Big Brother. You know I've been good this year. Bloody good.

Santa, I know in the world's eyes I'm no longer a kid and only kids get to ask you for stuff. But think about this: I haven't written you a letter in 19 years. I haven't asked anything from you for 17 years. And we both know that my parents have had to pick up the slack those Christmases when the reindeer got sick or you just couldn't find my house for lack of a chimney. Yes, I know about those times, Santa. I may have been a kid, but I wasn't stupid. My dolls said "Made in the USA" on the label. And the North Pole isn't in the USA.

So, Santa, even if I'm no longer a kid, I think you owe me. You skipped on me on my prime good years. I will never be that good and innocent ever again and you just let those years pass you by. But I'm a forgiving person, Santa. So here's the deal. If you give me anything (yes, just any old thing) from my list THIS YEAR, I'll be glad to forget those years of your neglect, Santa. We'll call ourselves even, and I'll promise that this will be the last time you'll hear me asking anything from you.

So what do you say, Santa? Will you try to make those wrong years right?

Sincerely,
Wanda

P.S.

We're out of milk, but there's beer in the fridge. Also, help yourself to the chocolates and Oreo cookies on the counter.


WISHLIST
1. Peace on Earth and an end to starvation.
2. Good basic education for everybody.
3. More books (see amazon wishlist)
4. Financial stability
5. A nice leather bomber jacket.
6. More international travel.
7. Publication (hopefully of a full-length novel- hah!)
8. Lose 10 lbs.
9. Curly hair.
10. A big party in Manila just for me.


My Amazon wishlist is here.

The Year-ender

What did you do in 2006 that you'd never done before?
A bunch of stuff, actually. Go to Hawaii, go to Taiwan, drive cross-country, move to Vegas. I also drove from Southern California to our nice apartment here in Nevada.

Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
Ermmm, only #'s 5 and 6.

Did anyone close to you give birth?
No.

Did anyone close to you die?
No.

What countries did you visit?
Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan.

What would you like to have in 2007 that you lacked in 2006?
Savings. A bunch of furniture I've been eyeing for a while now. And a brown, vintage, leather bomber. I've been looking for an affordable, slim-cut, leather bomber FOREVER.

What date from 2006 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
No particular date comes to mind, actually... the closest would be all the days we were out of the country, travelling.

What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Err... sounds pathetic but nothing comes to mind. This year was very "slow and steady" in terms of achievement - lots of little personal successes, but no big bang.

What was your biggest failure?
Finances. Let's face it. I come from a relatively privileged background, so I'm not used to being so mindful of money. Now here I am, basically running a business that also happens to be my main source of income. Add to that the fact that, as John says, money has never been a priority with me, and well, you get the picture. But I'm learning... although I have to admit, I have a lot of catching up to do.

Did you suffer illness or injury?
Nothing major. Just a few headaches, a couple of migraines.

What was the best thing you bought?
Not counting vacations, probably the bed, the painting, and the curtains.

Whose behavior merited celebration?
Mine?

Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
Err... mine?

Where did most of your money go?
House, debt, travel.

What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Our various trips.

What song(s) will always remind you of 2006?
Hmmm... nothing really comes to mind.

Compared to this time last year, are you:
i. happier or sadder? -- probably happier, but also a little more restless.
ii. thinner or fatter? -- fatter, man! I gained 8 lbs.
iii. richer or poorer? -- poorer, but I'm working on that...

What do you wish you'd done more?
See more of New York while I was still living there.

What do you wish you'd done less of?
Well, I definitely wish I lazed around the house a lot less, espcially in the first quarter of the year.

How many one-night stands?
None.

What was your favorite TV program?
Dr. Who, House, Heroes, and Torchwood.

Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time last year?
No, I'm not really into hate. I just live and let live.

What was the best book you read?
Hmmm... difficult to decide. I really liked both Vonnegut's "Welcome to the Monkey House" and Auster's "City of Glass". But then I'm discinlined to think of them as THE best books I've read this year. Hmm... I don't know.

What was your greatest musical discovery?
This is going to sound incredibly pathetic, but I don't think I "discovered" anything by way of music this year.

What did you want and get?
A new apartment. Lots of travel. A budding sense of purpose - sort of.

What was your favorite film of this year?
Films that come to mind are "Labirinto del Fauno" and "The Motel". But I know I liked a bunch of others... just can't remember their titles.

What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?
Oh, I was 25 and we celebrated with an Asian food fest. And John's mom gave me a cake.

What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Fiction Publication. I'm not a journalist!

How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2006?
I'm a bahala na kind of dresser: boots, jeans, skirts and lots of layers when it's cold; tanks and sandals when it's hot. Whatever works for the moment. Downtown NY meets the island.

What kept you sane?
Writing, reading, travels, moments of insanity.

Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?
Ianto Jones. Hah, but I don't know his real name.

What political issue stirred you the most?
Hmmm... none really. I've become very apolitical.

Who did you miss?
Everybody.

Who was the best new person you met?
DAVE! Surfer Dave rocks!

Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2006:
Happiness is a tricky thing, and it seldom ever comes pure. You gotta learn to take it wherever and whenever you can.

Also, there are many, many things things that are more important than happiness. Happiness is not the be-all and end-all of life. In most cases, it's not even really that important. The goal shouldn't be to lead a happy life. The goal should be to live the kind of life only you can live - happy, sad, or otherwise.

What was the nicest thing someone told you about yourself:
"Hey, you're alright" from a bunch of big, burly hip-hoppin' African-Americans... with matching bemused grin. Haha.

The most touching experience you've had this year?
This year, I went eye to eye with John's unflagging generosity and understanding. It's absolutely wonderful to know that you're incredibly, immensely, irrevocably loved.

What did you like most about yourself this year?
My craziness.

What did you hate most about yourself this year?
My inability to care about... errr... (lack of) wealth management.

Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
"i know you said
can’t you just get over it
it turned my whole world around
and i kind of like it"

Was 2006 a good year for you?
It was a good year, in every sense that matters. Sure, I might end the year in the red, I'm at odds with my home, and I've gained a few pounds. Yes, I felt like a fish out of water at times, I had anxieties and worries, and there were times I really questioned my choices. But I also saw bits of the world, caught another fleeting glimpse of the greatness hiding within me, and I've come to understand a few big truths. It was an exciting year, a hard year, a character-forming, soul-molding year. I loved it.

What was your favorite moment of the year?
Being with my family and driving around Hawaii and finding the turtles.

What was your least favorite moment of the year?
The day it sunk in what Vegas living was going to be about - the apartment-sharing, the displacement, the homelessness.

Where were you when 2006 began?
At home in Forest Hills.

Who were you with?
John

Where will you be when 2006 ends?
Here in Vegas, probably.

Who will you be with when 2006 ends?
John, and hopefully my aunt and cousin.

Do you have a new years resolution for 2007?
Work your ass off and get a story published.

How many concerts did you see in 2006?
Err, none.

Did you drink a lot of alchohol in 2006?
Not really. Nothing compared to, you know, back in the day.

Do a lot of drugs in 2006?
Nope

You do anything you are ashamed of this year?
Yeah, a bunch.

How much money did you spend in 2006?
A lot. A WHOLE lot.

What was your proudest moment of 2006?
Getting up after three tries!

What was your most embarrassing moment of 2006?
I don't get embarassed that often. Makapal mukha ko.

If you could go back in time to any moment of 2006 and change something, what would it be?
More clothes shopping in Manila, more book shopping in New York.

What are your plans for 2007?
Work to pay off debts, get something published, get more projects.

How are you different now that the year has ended?
I'm more aware of the real world. John has always said that I like to live in my own world, I like to live in my head. I'm a bit more aware of reality now.

What are your wishes for the new year?
Publication, financial stability (naks!), maybe move to a new city!

Wow

All I can say is wow:

http://www.newsday.com/news/yahoo/ny-licash1217,0,2600559.story

To all the Assumptionistas...

... because you're probably the only ones who'll care:

My sister just told me that according to a text brigade that supposedly originated from Sr. Marjo herself,
MME is now a certified saint.

If you pray, might be kinda cool to pray to the foundress of your school, right?

Well, anyway, woohoo.

Oh yeah

Quark Henares' new movie, super noypi, is coming out on December 25. You guys might want to check it out. Here's the full-length trailer:

\

New York Weekend

Let's get this out of the way, shall we...

It was great being back in New York for the weekend. The weather was brutal, the people were a little less friendly, and traffic was hell.... I absolutely LOVED it. It still feels like my second home... which is a lot more than I can say about Vegas. Hah. I remember when I moved to NY, I felt at home after the first week. I felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. And here? Well, it's been two months and I'm still at odds with this city. I don't like the environment, I don't really like the people, I don't like sharing the apartment, I don't like feeling so displaced, and I don't like feeling as if I've been robbed of a home... I don't belong here. I don't think I will ever come to really like this place. I don't see redemption in anything here. Let me just say categorially and definitively: I HATE LAS VEGAS. I feel like there's been a mistake somehow and somewhere out there someone is living the life I was meant to live...

Anyway. The wedding weekend was a blast. We stayed with Ravi, one of John's oldest friends., and we enjoyed ourselves. His family was very nice.

Highlights:

Friday night was the Hindu ceremony, and since we were friends of the groom, we had to stand outside in FREEZING temperatures, wait for him to ride his decked out horse, and dance and make noise while we walked the two blocks to the church while the bridal party and the bride's guests all waited for us in the cosy warmth of the temple! But it was fun. It was colorful and rife with tradition. Plus the food was good too.

Satuday was the Catholic ceremony and the reception. Ravi made the BEST best man's speech I have ever heard in my life, bar none! He made people laugh, he made people cry... strangers were congratulating him on his speech the whole night. There was a LOT OF GOOD food, there was an open bar, there was dancing... a night to remember. I'm sure the bride and groom were very happy.

Sunday we woke up very late - around 12:30! We showered and breakfasted, then dashed off to John's mom's place where we had lunch with his family. Then it was off to the airport to go back to my pathetic life in the desert. So goes the world.


***

FOR THE RECORD

Yes, god oh god, I don't belong here. You, of all people, should know that! I refuse to believe that I am meant to live my life in the land of crass excess bordered by stripmalls and strippers. I'm sure my IQ has gone down by at leasy 20 points since I came here. I can feel my creativity being sucked out of me.

People wonder why I hide in my cave all day? Well, two reasons. First, there's really nothing to see outside the cave, and second, it's because I'm afraid of getting infected with Vegas-ness. I don't want to start dressing like a stripper/cocktail waitress. I don't want to gain 40lbs and start seeing slot machines as a valid form of entertainment. I don't want to start thinking of Siegfried and Roy as legends. I don't want to begin equating Donald Trump with the pinnacle of greatness. I DON'T WANT TO FIND MYSELF SETTLING FOR THIS. I DON'T WANT TO ADJUST AND TRANSFORM INTO ONE OF THEM. I DON'T WANT TO LIKE IT HERE BECAUSE THAT WOULD MEAN THAT THE BEST PART OF ME WOULD HAVE DIED A VERY SAD DEATH.

Like you, none, and I mean NONE of my real friends can fathom the whys and wherefores of this move, and I honestly can't blame them. The most popular comment? But it's SO NOT YOU. And they are absolutely right. Vegas is SO SO SO NOT ME. I would never want it to be me. Not in a million lifetimes. I am NOT A VEGAS GIRL. By far.

BUT. And here's the BUT. Life has spoken. Fate has spoken. The world has spoken. For whatever reason, the universe has conspired to place me here at this point in my life. I don't like it here, but I'm staying here, because somebody needs and wants me here. And that is all there is to it.

As we get older, we realize that happiness can come colored with a variety of things, and is often flavored with many other emotions. At the end of the day, we realize that we must learn to take our happiness where we can find it, to make sacrifices, to look beyond our nows. And so, even though I'm railing against my current place in the world (literally and metaphorically speaking), I am not unhappy. I'm merely learning to do what I must. I'm taking my ampalayas with my chocolates, I'm fighting to keep myself whole, and I'm taking solace in a string of pretty tomorrows that I know will soon come.

This is temporary, after all. It's just another thing I have to get myself through. Yun lang.

New York Tomorrow

We shall be leaving for NY tomorrow to attend a 2-day wedding. Yey. New York, my New York. I just wish I could squeeze in a visit to The Strand!

***

Ten-Two-One

Folks will probably say I'm too old for this crap but I don't care. A part of me will NEVER EVER grow up. The only rule: TRY TO BE SPECIFIC.

Name ten things you like to eat:
tapa, a good steak, buttery lobster, sushi, salpicao, lechon, sisig, most kinds of roast fowl (chicken, duck, goose, turkey, etc), chewy chocolate chip cookies, mangoes.

Name nine things you like to drink:
San Mig Light, Rolling Rock, hot chocolate, good water, coffee (hot or cold), most milkshakes, sangrias, Jack&Cokes, and my drink of the moment: mojitos.

Name eight places that are dear to your heart:
My house in Manila, obviously; former apartment in New York; former apartment in Loyola Heights; the whole Katipunan area; the old Sanctum; Boracay; Assumption and San Lo park; my cousin's old house in Alabang.

Name seven things you can't live without:
pen, notebook, computer, internet, access to books, water, soap

Name six things you'd like to do before you die:
Travel to Africa, publish a novel internationally, dive Tubbataha, travel to eastern Europe, learn another language and speak it fluently, own a house by a beach

Name five people (not family) who have changed your life:
John, Trix, Carms, JR, and whoever approved my acceptance to graduate school.

Name four people (not your significant other) you find attractive and WHY:
Angelina Jolie because she's sexy and strong and a little dangerous; Bamboo Manalac because the first time I saw him perform it seemed like he was ever so gently making love to the mike (he was singing "If")... sensuality gets me everytime; Ira Cruz because I totally go for slightly scruffy tisoys plus he's just damn hot; and Stephen Hawking because, man, scientists are sexy.

Name three events that changed your life and WHY:
Taking Danton Remoto's fiction class because it made me really think about becoming a writer; getting accepted into grad school because it made me leave my comfort zone; meeting John because, well, ain't it obvious?

Name two regrets:
Not saying YES in the summer of '98, and being too lazy.

Name the one thing that keeps you going:
Errmmm, not to be too self-centered, but that would have to be me.

Oh yeah, and I'm tagging everyone who cares.

Barako

Apparently, barako's on its way to becoming extinct. Yes, you read right. EXTINCT. Kaput. Gone forever. They need to plant something like 100,000 trees in the next five years just to keep the species alive. Who would've thunk???

But let me backtrack a bit. What the hell is barako and what am I talking about? For those of you who have never had a cup of joe in Batangas or Cavite, barako is a kind of coffee. Philippine Liberica, to be specific. If you know your beans, you probably know that Arabica and Robusta are the two most popular kinds of coffee drunk today. But there are two other less known species: Esliaca and Liberica. Barako is the Philippine version of the latter. (Well, duh.)

I've only ever had pure barako once in my life. I think I was about thirteen. My family and I were driving to/from Manila to/from Tagaytay. (I don't know if were coming or going.) The other cups of "barako" I've had were at Figaro's and those were all blends - barako tempered and whipped into smooth, marketable shape.

When drunk pure, barako is a square kick in the head. It's very strong, very pungent, and very rich. There is nothing delicate about it at all. It's exactly what its name suggests: wild, dark, and kind of primal. This is not something you drink in a little floral cup with your pinky up in the air. Is that a good thing? I don't know. Some people like that, some might not.

What's certain is that barako does not stand for aloofness. For better or worse, barako will command remembrance. Hate it or love it, it will demand your attention - and it will usually get it. The smell alone is enough to turn your head. This liquid caffeine punch is definitely not for everyone.

Still, I do remember liking my little mug of kapeng barako. I liked the heady smell, the almost overpowering aroma. I liked the dark, earthy taste, even the somewhat grainy mouthfeel. It's a bit like good dark chocolate, I think: strong, bittersweet, and unforgettable.

Then again, I might be overly romanticizing this. I was only thirteen, after all, and that was over a decade ago. Minds play tricks on their owners all the time, and my memories have never proven to be trustworthy.

So why not try it yourself? Brew yourself a cup of macho barako and help save a species in need... available commercially at Figaro's or gotbarako.com.