Beware!

Just a friendly reminder.

Doldrums

dol-drums. n. a state of inactivity or stagnation.

Right now, I am reading The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster which I borrowed from my book club friend Judie. Such a funny book... I can't believe I've never come across it before. Ah, the indignation hehe.

Here's an interesting conversation in it that I want to talk about:

"Well, if you can't laugh or think, what can you do?" asked Milo.

"Anything as long as it's nothing, and everything as long as it isn't anything," explained another [doldrum]. "There's lots to do; we have a very busy schedule--"

"At 8 o'clock we get up and we spend

"From 8 to 9 daydreaming.

"From 9 to 9:30 we take our early midmorning nap.

"From 9:30 to 10:30 we dawdle and delay.

"From 10:30 to 11:30 we take our late early morning nap.

"From 11:30 to 12:00 we bide our time and then eat lunch.

"From 1:00 to 2:00 we linger and loiter.

"From 2:00 to 2:30 we take our early afternoon nap.

"From 2:30 to 3:30 we put off for tomorrow what we could have done today.

"From 3:30 to 4:00 we take our early late afternoon nap.

"From 4:00 to 5:00 we loaf and lounge until dinner.

"From 6:00 to 7:00 we dillydally.

"From 7:00 to 8:00 we take our early evening nap, and then for an hour before we go to bed at 9:00 we waste time.

"As you can see, that leaves almost no time for brooding, lagging, plodding, or procrastinating, and if we stop to think or laugh, we'd never get nothing done."

Those are the Doldrums talking to Milo, the book's protagonist. It got me thinking about how it's so easy to waste time and still think you're so busy. (Of course, the doldrums here really aimed to get nothing done, but that's beside the point.) It happens when a person tries to go about the day without any particular plan in mind; instead of accomplishing things, one ends up with a list of half-done tasks (half-baked ideas?).

Distractions are a fact of life, and in the workplace, you can have more than a fair share. But the trick to accomplishing much is not to get rid of the distractions (because that's impossible), but to learn to prioritize. It's probably common sense, but here it goes: understand first which tasks are urgent, which are important, and which are both, and schedule your day accordingly. Master a good work ethic, and you'll bump into the doldrums less and less--or not at all!

Have a fruitful week, everyone!

Getting revved up for 'the daily grind'

It's Monday! First day of the week--shouldn't we all be up and about first thing in the morning? With energy! gumption! pizzaz! POWER!

Not all Mondays are so powered up. Actually, most Mondays are sluggish--people call the condition "Monday blues," which I presume gives rise to concepts like "weekend hangover" and cartoon characters like the Sourpuss in Patrick McDonnell's Mutts Comics.

But just because Mondays get bad rap from other people doesn't mean you should treat your Mondays the same way! Start the week right; get up on time and put on a smile--and this small thing determines the success of the week ahead. Here are things I find helpful in getting good work done during those first hours of the work week:

1. Make a routine and stick to it. You know how some cars won't start and run well without a warm up? It's the same with people. So make a routine that acts as a warm up for you. Here's what I do: a) Do something to look fresh and awake--put on makeup! b) Clean the office desk by clearing away the things you don't need and wiping dust off computer. c) Make a to-do list and promise to accomplish everything in it that very day.
2. No to "Just 5 minutes"! Sometimes, we feel we need a break. Maybe just a few games of Angry Birds, or 5 minutes on Facebook. Just posting one little thing on Twitter. But those five minutes can easily turn to 20 or 30! Next time you get the urge for a 5-minute break, do something that ends naturally like getting a drink of water, eating a banana, or picking out some easy thing to do from your to-do list (like calling somebody to set a meeting?) and accomplishing it first just to break the monotony. If you do this, you can be sure the "just 5 minutes" will really be just 5 minutes--and you can finish more things.
3. Watch the clock. Counting the minutes may be a bad habit, especially if you're just waiting till the go-home bell rings and you're off the hook trying to look busy. But if you really make yourself busy, if you really set yourself to finish the tasks for the day, you'll need to watch the clock differently! Try to accomplish your list before 5pm or 5:30pm (or whatever time you're supposed to be finished) so that the few minutes you have left before the bell rings can be used to plan ahead.
4. Don't forget to pray! Without this, your work will just be that: work. But if you pray and offer all the work you do for the people you love, then the work becomes something special. Plus, if you keep this in mind, you then won't be able to bear leaving that work poorly accomplished--after all, you don't give gifts that are second-rate! :-)

Happy Monday!

Hello, Tintin

I will watch this movie.

It being Tintin trumps it looking like The Polar Express. I hope it's good.

I promise to make a meatier post next time. Meantime, here's Rupert Grint showing what 'love your enemy' means.

Banish the sedentary lifestyle!

You know how some jokes are framed this way: "You're so fat..." or "You're so skinny..." and finished off with something so impossible that it becomes funny? These are known as "insult jokes" because they are, well, insults that are meant to be jokes. Here are a few:

You're so skinny, you can hoolahoop with a cheerio.
You're so skinny, when you turn sideways you disappear.

(I will only post the skinny ones because I'm skinny, and no one will take it as an insult.)

I'm not encouraging you to insult someone in the New Year. Something just occurred to me as I was going to bed the other night: while being skinny or fat can be the object of insults, it's unfair to criticize someone for being so, after all, a lot of us can't help being our size--that's just in the genes. But to be sedentary, to sit all day writing, working, calling people on the phone, watching TV--that's something that can be helped. If you're stuck in a sedentary lifestyle, that's because of your own doing (i.e. YOUR FAULT).

Now why am I saying this? It's New Year's Day tomorrow! A lot of people will promise to go on a diet or lose so and so pounds. My resolution is to get moving. I'm a writer and part-time assistant; I'm paid to sit in front of the computer all day, as are so many other people. I think I can get moving by taking more MRT, bus and jeepney rides instead of the taxi (plus it will be good to my wallet and immunity), doing some stretching for 15 mins a day, lessening the sitting-in-coffee-shops when I'm out with my friends, and keeping to my sleep and wake up time (believe me, starting the day without having to bargain for "ten more minutes of sleep" can really get one going).

I'm not feeling very well today--I caught another virus maybe from my sister, who had a sore throat, or from the viral/bacterial ecology from the vicinity of the new commuting route I've been taking this week. But I'm still gonna do my best to start the year with a lot of energy. Here, a few sedentary insult jokes that I made, not to insult, but to help us get going! (And perhaps laughing, too!)

You're so sedentary, you pull a muscle when you yawn.
You're so sedentary, the couch has a dent in the shape of your whole body.
You're so sedentary, your office chair has done more rolling than you walking.
You're so sedentary, your cat thinks you've topped him in the nap department.

Happy New Year!

Milk tea

Image from Completely Smitten.

Because it's been so hot, I've been dreaming of drinks with ICE. So yesterday, upon the suggestion of my friend Sheree, I made some milk tea.

Nikko's Milk Tea
1 mug hot water
1 tea bag
milk
sugar
Ice ice ice!

1. Steep tea in hot water and leave till it cools down to room temp. (This makes strong tea but it will be diluted with milk and ice.)
2. Add milk, sugar and ice. Enjoy!

Variations:

• If you don't like milk tea, replace milk with calamansi or lemon juice to make iced tea.
  
• Sago is a good idea, but only if you have sago straw. :-P~
• Iced coffee is good too. Just make sure to dissolve coffee creamer (if you use it) in hot water first.
• Vanilla milk tea? Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence.
  
• Avatar tea? Add 1-2 drops blue food color. (But whyyy? LOL)

Suggestions:

• Drink while reading Moby Dick. (It's written in a roundabout style that'll make you feel the afternoon is longer than it actually is. Plus... white whale is most awesome.)
  
• Drink while watching Singing in the Rain. Try tap dancing after, and then make more tea to cool off. Pray for more men on TV and movies to keep cool by singing and tap dancing in rain instead of taking shirt off.
  

Have a chilly June day!

Fearless modesty

It sounds like an oxymoron, but these days the words "fearless modesty" seem quite apt as a call to action: we're so used to seeing people dressed improperly that modest fashion comes off as going against the grain.

Just look at the swimsuit racks and you'll see what I mean. Have you ever tried asking the saleslady if the store had more one-piece suits? I have, and salesladies, with apologetic smiles, always say no. I concede to the fact that people like to have options and that there are those who prefer triangle tops and bikini bottoms to more functional one-piece suits, but whatever happened to options for people who appreciate real and fashionable suits for swimming? (I'm talking about the regular fashion boutiques that offer summer fashion; sports stores will always have modest options because they know what swimming entails.)

And another thing: when did the word "modest" get equated to "unfashionable"? When you strive to be modest in attire, you're thinking about what will make you look good and presentable--what's so unfashionable about that?

Frankly, there's so much more fashion creativity fostered when you choose your clothing pieces with care. Covering up appropriately takes more brain power! Recently, I bought a very nice crayola-blue short-sleeved cardigan to wear over some tops and dresses I bought way back in 2007, when I didn't think much about appropriate clothing. I'm happy to say I can wear these unwearable pieces more often now that I have a cardigan to put over them. See--creativity and modest fashion just go together.

To anyone who, like me, is getting tired of people insisting short shorts are cool (I concede again that they literally are), and plunging necklines more "womanly," here are some humorous comebacks to use at one's own risk:

"Why don't you want to show your cleavage?"
"Hindi KSP ang cleavage ko."
(Got this from Sunnyday. LOL. I can't think of an English translation with similar punch.)

"Why do you keep wearing a cardigan? I'm feeling so hot here just looking at you!"
"Go wear a swimsuit and stand beside the fan."

"Why are you wearing leggings under that mini dress?"
"I want to keep my sitting rights."

"If you've got it, flaunt it!"
"I think there are enough free shows out there."

If you're a woman and want to be respected, you have to stand up for modesty. Because in the end, it's your dignity--and the way people see you and (in turn) deal with you--at stake! There's a thin line that separates clothing that make you a subject and clothing that make you an object. To help you discern that line, here's a beauty contest question to ponder on: "Would you rather be sexy or beautiful?" which is just another way of saying: "Would you rather people see you as a set of body parts or as a whole person?"

Methinks the answer to that is the same for all women.

Happiness!

Need a laugh? In putting this issue together, I learned that describing what happens to the body when we laugh is very hard to put to words! Is it because laughing is so natural that no one bothers to think about the how-to-go-about-it?

Topics featured--such as laughter (and how it heals stress), endorphins and health, babies and giggle-inducing tickling, money's non-relation to happiness, positive thinking in pregnancy (plus perks!), and what really makes kids happy--show exactly how Baby Magazine covers happiness from ear to ear! It's important to start the year with a smile, don't you think? And, with optimism hinged in the right place, this smile should last all year long.

The cover taken by Karen Ilagan captures the laughter of Mommy Reena and Baby Caleb, winners of J&J Look Alike, Skin Alike contest. Baby magazine is published by Marathon Publishing Co. and is sold at all National Bookstores, SM baby department stores, Babyland (Robinsons Galleria, Shaw Blvd. near Cherry Foodarama), Baby & Co. (The Podium and Power Plant Mall), Bufini, Procreation Shangri-la mall, Big & Small Co. Shangri-la Mall.

How to be noticed in church

So, you want to be noticed. In church. No matter the motives, the methods are the same. Here is a list of Pinoy churchgoing practices that are bound to help heads turn your way. I gather these from three years' experience of attending mass in a chapel beside a mall (i.e., where the experts attend mass). I assure you that those heads would not be smiling, but as long as they don't breathe a word to you, you can go on turning heads this way. Ready?

1. Getting noticed starts with the clothes. Pick out your rattiest pair of pants. Or do like the party girls do, wear short shorts, spaghetti straps and bling. Keep your cool hat on. Or wear slippers. If you're a guy, wear a sando or beach shorts. Tropical!

2. Even if there is somebody at home to watch him, bring your wailing baby. Or bring a restless tot and tell him that "Bro" is on the cross, but He'll come down and snatch him if he misbehaves. Make your voice loud as you say this so other people will be impressed by your wit.

3. If you don't have a baby or a toddler, bring your living breathing barking animal. Tie its fur in pink ribbons and give it a shirt to wear to make it look more like a person. Nobody will be able to tell the difference.

4. If you have neither kid nor dog, you can bring a big bag and treat it like a person. Save it a seat and leave that old person standing on the side without a seat. Who could bear seeing a genuine LV on the floor? Sacrilege!

5. Act bored. Rest both arms on the back of the seat, cross your legs, step on the cushion for kneeling, preferably after you stepped on wet grass. Slouch and make faces at your brother. And when your mother tells you to quit it, pout until the end of the mass.

6. Talk to your companion when the priest is talking. Shut your mouth when people are responding. Repeat 70 x 7 times.

Good luck being noticed! I hope the people at your church become more vocal about correcting bad conduct.

Hakuna Matata

The last storm blasted through Manila in a matter of hours. It rattled on the windows and everything vulnerable; my mom wasn't able to sleep a wink. She said storms made her so jittery, she could work in Pag-asa all night without needing a cup of coffee.

I, on the other hand, slept through it all.

Considering the winds didn't fell our building, this must be one of those rare days when sleeping too much like a rock for one's own good is actually, er, good. There was no energy wasted on worrying about something that didn't come to pass... etc etc.

If you know where the title of this post comes from, you know where this post is going. I'm constantly being reminded about that difference between caring and worrying... because times like these, one needs the skill to tell them apart. Why? We only have so little time to do everything we need to do that being able to tell apart the useless worrying from what we can actually do to make things better gives a person leverage.

Worrying is getting scared about something you think will happen, but not necessarily. A fear of the unknown, it makes you pace back and forth and expend energy without actually accomplishing anything. Caring, on the other hand, is knowing you're up against something and then preparing to face it, making a solution, doing all in your power to solve it--and then at the end of the rope, praying. One should care, or else it's just apathy in that noggin, which is as good as saying it's an empty noggin. (Methinks even worrying is more productive than being apathetic. At least worrying makes wrinkles.)

I don't know how to end this so here's a funny picture a friend found on the Net. It's something to look at if you want to lessen wrinkles at the brow and increase the ones by the mouth and eyes. But I guess it only works if you're a Lion King baby.

How to be a kind MRT passenger

Photo from My Manila.

Riding the MRT is an exercise in patience, especially during rush hour, when you don't even need legs to get in the train...you'll get pushed in by the sheer power of--as my friend puts it--football-playing women (and it's a wonder why football never quite took off in this country). I speak from the point of view of somebody who only takes the women's car, a unique place in this world where the words "woman" and "lady" aren't synonymous at all.

Besides patience--a character trait that keeps you from bopping anybody in the head--it's kindness you have to practice (to avoid getting bopped in the head). Here are some tips on how to be a kind MRT passenger.

1. Do not push anyone in. Ok. So you're late. That doesn't entitle you to be a bully. You should have considered the time and the crowd when you left the office or house. It's not the fault of the person in front of you that you're running late; so it's kind to just let her use her own legs to get in the train. You'll have your turn. Relax.

2. Do hold your bag close to your body. Don't take up too much space because many people want to get in the train too. Besides, the more compact you are, the less chances of having to unearth your bag from the sea of human bodies if you're getting off at Shaw or some other "middle" station.

3. As much as possible, do not use your cellphone in the train. Not only is overhearing half a conversation quite annoying to other people, but also, in a crowded train, dipping your hand in your bag to get that gadget out and putting it in your ear (or texting with it) requires a lot of elbow space. You can constrict somebody's breathing with an elbow in the wrong place.

4. If you have a wet umbrella, please please please wrap it in plastic or put it in your bag. No one wants to get their feet dripped on or their pants soaked from somebody else's umbrella. Fellow passengers won't ever tell you that because it sounds whiny, so I'm saying it now.

5. If you are lucky enough to find a seat, do be ready to give it up for pregnant women, women with babies, or disabled people. Have a heart. (If people can't tell when you're feigning sleep, do remember that Someone up there can.)

6. Going out of the train requires excessive use of excuse-me's. When no one is moving out of your way, say it louder but don't push. Chances are, no one is moving yet because the doors are still shut. Don't start worming your way out when the train hasn't fully stopped yet. Maybe you don't, but many people understand the Law of Inertia. Wait a while and you'll see a way out when the crowd gets moving.

7. Like that obvious rule regarding elevators, don't rush in when people are coming out. Is it true that in a top 100 list of character traits of harried train passengers, common sense tallies in at 99? Prove it wrong.

8. If you're a dad accompanying your wife and kid(s) in the women's car, do not take a seat. Your wife can sit, and your kids can sit; but you should be a gentleman and let a woman or an elderly person sit. That's why it's called the female car. Oh, and be thankful no one is giving you the evil-eye.

9. Be a lady. And treat everyone else like a lady too. Even those addressed in number 8.

Unusually, it works

A friend shared this book with me some weeks back and I almost found it in the Manila International Book Fair (almost, because I found its sister called Poetry Speaks to Children in A Different Bookstore). I think rhythm and rhyme (or not rhyme) makes any reading material for kids much more interesting. Not surprisingly, little reader me devoured a lot of poetry too: Shel Silverstein, Jack Prelutsky, Laura Richards.... Obviously I liked the funny ones!

Perhaps the hiphop in this book isn't the humorous type, but it intrigues me a lot to see something so mainstream make it in literary circles and the classroom. What an interesting combination! Here's an excerpt from a review by Tarie of Into the Wardrobe:

"For most of my life I had a blind spot when it came to poetry, because nobody, not even a teacher or a librarian, introduced me to good poetry. If I had been introduced to poetry through Hip Hop Speaks to Children as a child, I know I would have been made a poetry lover much earlier in life."

Speaking of getting kids to love poetry, it's not really that hard to do. Poetry sounds really good aloud, and kids feel great having succeeded reading the lines right. One of the most important factors of successfully integrating a love for reading in the child is a high rate of success. Sounds very technical; but I remember that I would have never picked up a book that had too many words in it.

As an ender let me share a poem I read over and over again without ever getting tired. It's not hiphop, though, but it did use a lot of weird words. Now that I read it again, why do I feel like it's shorter than I remember?

Eletelephony
~Laura Richards

Once there was an elephant,
Who tried to use the telephant-
No! No! I mean an elephone
Who tried to use the telephone-
(Dear me! I am not certain quite
That even now I've got it right.)

Howe'er it was, he got his trunk
Entangled in the telephunk;
The more he tried to get it free,
The louder buzzed the telephee-
(I fear I'd better drop the song
Of elephop and telephong!)

Kids on the train

I had the pleasure of sharing the train carriage today with two rambunctious little boys (to be fair, my back was turned and I couldn't tell if they were boys or girls, but they kept talking about "labanan" that I figured it was safe to assume their being boys). They were an amusing pair because they looked at everything they could look at, and gave a completely honest commentary on what they saw.

Along EDSA, as anybody who drives along that busy highway every day can attest, flash a motley collection of billboards. So it wasn't surprising to hear an announcement like, "Marie France, nye!" (making me rack my brain to remember what billboard that was on the other side of EDSA). I do hope advertisers would think twice before deciding to put such body-focused ads where kids could see them plainly. Clearly, the most insightful of us don't buy it--why should the rest of us?

The funniest was a comment they made when the train was about to stop in Ortigas station. We were slowing down to align with the platform when one of the boys said, "Huwag ka dyan, pagpasok nila, patay ka!" (Don't stay there, when the passengers come in, you'll die!) Should this pass unnoticed? Haha! I think someone finally pointed out how rough women could be. This, after all, was the female carriage. To think it took two boys (kids are allowed in the female carriage) just a few stations to sum it up in so matter-of-fact a statement... AREN'T YOU ASHAMED, LADIES?

Television says, kids say the darnedest things. I say, kids say it like it is.

Lost my contact lenses...

I used to have a duck...well, a duckling that grew big but not big enough to shed the down and grow feathers like a real duck (is a baby duck a fake duck?). So grade school was the time to collect all sorts of duck-decorated white elephants (er, you get the picture).

So much for back story. Today I saw this picture in CuteOverload and I just couldn't resist sharing. hehe!

Grrrreat greedy guts!

...er, for comic books, actually.

Here's a series of comic books that I discovered in my school library back in those "lib rat" days. I was particularly fond of Herge's Tintin books because I liked putting the covers together, arranging them side by side and feeling like a museum curator. Of course it took a few more years before I began to appreciate what was in the books--but that's beside the point.

Tintin is a young (very young, actually, about 16 years old) journalist who gets into these very cool adventures (but never seems to be doing any writing!). Sometimes he's simply going on a voyage with his friends, other times, he tries to solve some mysteries and crimes. But all the time, he gets into all sorts of tangles that he manages to ease out of--this character has so many things to put in his resume and/or travelogue, and he hasn't even passed his teens yet!

The other characters are all lovable also: Snowy, the smart aleck (but loyal) white dog, Captain Haddock, the alcoholic and sarcastic sailor who curses a lot (without actually using a real swear word, come to think of it), Thomson and Thompson, police officers who get everything mixed up, even themselves.

I like the books for the fun adventures, the characters and the humor (which is mostly slapstick, though sometimes it is more of satire than slapstick, like on the scene where Tintin first meets one of his friends-for-keeps, General Alcazar).

I don't have all of the comics (though to get my hands on them would be nice!), but I still do recommend them because they're fun and educational (Herge researched a lot--after getting inspired with The Cigars of the Pharaoh--or so Wiki says).

Go pick up an Adventures of Tintin for a fast-paced, humorous, and exciting read! While you're at it, here's a trivia question you might want answer: Which Tintin adventure did the phrase on my title come from? No prize...except an affirmation that you're a book geek! teehee!

Happy Weekend all!

Nothing's wrong with Miss Piggy

I recently caught this 2006 fairytale film Penelope starring Christina Ricci and James McAvoy, and despite the bad reviews I found online, I like it. Sure, it's a mishmash of "picture book" and contemporary London, and the accents are confused, but those things don't matter because this is a movie that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Penelope's impediment doesn't really make her look bad. Perhaps it's her being sheltered too long that causes the shocked reactions. But her mom, played by Catherine O'Hara, makes that difficult for her--possibly out of the shame of bearing a baby with a snout. (Whatever happened to "the face that only a mother will love"?)

Penelope's escape paved a way for her to be seen by the public...and of course they accepted her (but let's not discount the "because she's a freak" reason). The irony in the tale is that what breaks the curse is not marriage to somebody from an equally snobby family, but Penelope's acceptance of herself. It didn't come easy because of the influence of a mother who only cared about the superficial.

This mindset is the problem that the movie makes a caricature of. Because the true funny face of the movie is not Penelope's, but the addiction to looks that overlooks what matters most: the human being.

When you don't know what it is...it's Jazz!

Found this 1936 Merrie Melodies cartoon, which I am positive I saw in one of those cartoon channels I used to watch when I was kid glued to the TV (not that I was a kid in 1936!). It's about a baby owl, who didn't turn out to be the great classical musician his parents had hoped he'd be.

This little owl, called Owl Jolson, sings "I love to singa" in between voice lessons with his mom on the piano...until finally he gets caught by his dad. It's funny because the owls are so cute and of course, the theme of parents forcing the child to do what they do is universal.... Giving this all too true dilemma to a family of owls makes it easier to laugh at.

Watch the video (link above) to see how the family solves the problem (and don't overlook the cell animation--it's a long lost art...and still pretty impressive once you understand how much work was put into each scene).

...And to all those who hate jazz, peace!

Art imitates...art?

Here's an interesting idea for photography: re-enactment. In Korea, photo artist Yeon Doo Jung re-creates kids' drawings in photography--and the results are very surreal. (Click the link for more images.)

Then there's also the re-enactment of famous old photos in Lego version, though I can't be entirely sure who the photographer is. Maybe there are many of them.

Kulturang Siksikan

Here's a funny thing I notice about commuting in Metro Manila: everyone finds a way to squeeze in. Just like in the picture above, which shows a man still getting from point A to B (and paying full price for it too) by being a "sabit sa jeepney." (Literally, hanging on for dear life.)

The extra passenger is so common here that buses get away with causing traffic by overloading. First you hear the ever inviting, "Maluwag maluwag maluwag pa!" (There's still a lot of space) and it morphs to "Makakaupo, makakaupo!" (You'll be able to sit) and when it's absolutely full, "Maraming bababa, maraming bababa!" (Many will get off at the next stop).

Only when the bus is literally popping with passengers (or, on light hours, when the bus has lingered too long) does it proceed to the next stop to drop off those who need to get down. One needs agility and whole-body-awareness when getting off a populated bus--you have to squeeze out without a. stepping on anyone, b. hitting anyone on the head with your bag, c. getting stuck.

And it's not only in jeeps and buses that this happens. In the MRT, you never step in the train on your own--others push you inside. The MRT at rush hour is a tidal wave of opposing forces. People going in don't wait for people going out to get out before making their move. It's become so normal that you actually get surprised when you see a near-empty carriage. Oh, what an unusual treat to find a seat! (Waitaminute--there are seats?)

The trend has gotten so popular that even private vehicles get stuffed--did I mention that in university events, there's a "sport" called car-stuffing? Sadly, the name's no euphemism for anything more--shall I say--athletic. It is exactly what you thought its name meant: a team competition involving as little movement, as little breathing, and as little exercise as possible--the more people you fit in a four-door sedan, the greater your chances of winning.

Typical of Filipinos to make something fun come out of inconvenience. But that's what we're good at. And I'm thankful for the optimism. After all, that most uncomfortable ride is still the ride that brings you (and all those crowding around you) safely home.

Invisible Bike!

LOLcats are getting bigger! And I mean that literally:

photo from Troy McClure SF

This mural was recently painted in San Francisco by artist Josh Zubkoff, along with other LOLcat enthusiasts and friends. This particular LOL is a January 26, 2007 post from the popular LOLcat blog Icanhascheezburger:


Though some people groan over the language, I find myself laughing when I see these cat macros pictures. There are times when you just have to let loose and not play grammar police. Especially when part of your job is proofreading.

Hapi bloggr iz hapi.
LOLcats...ur doin' it big!