what to write next

i don't know if everybody else at i.Ph feels the same way, but every time i toggle the "publish" button for my latest post, i feel like i'm being granted a temporary reprieve… you know, like reaching the finish line in the nick of time, and knowing that it gives you enough time to catch your breath and proceed to the next stage of the race.

"there, i've made my quota for this week. this post should at least last me 4 or 5 days while i think about my next entry," i uttered as i surreptitiously posted my latest entry about 4 days ago.

"huhh? what's that you say?" my officemate's mystified tones finally broke through my preoccupation (i was keeping tabs on our supervisor who was roving near our area at the moment).

"uhhh, nothing… it's this file i'm working on. it's terrible," i explained hurriedly while mentally transmitting profuse apologies to the authors of the article i was working on.

contrary to what many people think, maintaining and updating a blog account on a regular basis is more of a balancing act than anything else that comes to mind. of course, you want to fill your blog with all sorts of interesting things (who doesn't?) — interesting information, images, videos, juicy tidbits, links, great posts, etc. — and you wish you could do it without breaking a sweat. but the truth is it's usually difficult to indulge one's desire to write within the timeframe that's available to you. if you get lucky you get both at the same time: free time and inspiration.

if one of them is missing (which is often the case), you're left to compromise by either forcing yourself to write or making a mental list of the things you want to write about and hope that they'd still be there by the time you can find an available PC. no, it's not impossible. actually most of my posts have been forged that way (with lots of re-writing and editing along the way). but the thing is, i know there's a difference because i've felt it. i know what it feels like when the moment strikes you and you feel compelled to write it down that very instant because you want to capture that sense of urgency, to describe the moment while you're 'living'  it… and not giving in would mean losing that particular intense rush of adrenaline.

dream house (if i had the money)

alright guys, it's fantasy time!

time to unleash your imagination and let your creative juices overflow. allow the endless stream of possibilities take you to places you've never been. let your stratospheric dreams buoy you up and leave your earthbound finances to languish in the shadows for a while. (nothing like optimism to bring out the hot-air rhetoric eh?)

the best thing about this exercise is – it won't cost you a cent. just think of it as a sort of preparation, or a blueprint, so that by the time the money comes pouring in *crosses fingers* at least the plans are ready…

let's say the gods of fortune had a collective fit and decided to fill up my coffers with enough gold to last me a couple of lifetimes — boy, the thought fairly boggles my mind — and cost would no longer be a factor, i think i'd like to live in a log cabin by a lake. nothing big or fancy, just a sprawling stone-glass-and-timber structure with a huge fireplace and a spacious porch overlooking the water, where i could write, paint or sketch the day away. add a huge, lolloping dog sprawled at my feet. and maybe a well-ventilated study.

throw in some comfortable, plushy furniture and well-stocked bookcases, and i'm a happy camper. and oh, maybe a jacuzzi to warm up my toes when it gets cold. *purrrrr*

a mountainside chalet doesn't sound too bad either, as long as it has a panoramic view of the world outside. again, the fireplace, the bookcases, and the dog — the basics! *double sigh*

shhh! don't wake me up yet… or better yet, describe what your dream house looks like

full metal panic

much has been written about Full Metal Panic, yet it has always been a puzzle to me why i've always found it difficult to write anything about this series (although it ranks high in my list of favorites). part of my reluctance stems from this irrational dread that i would somehow botch it — that anything i say about it would only sound trite and a rehash of all the things that's been said about this great anime series. 

well, enough of this useless hand-wringing. this time, i'm just going to concentrate on the things that i love about this highly entertaining series.

cast of characters

one of FMP's main selling point is the fantastic chemistry between the main protagonists: sgt. sosuke sagara, a highly trained 17-year-old combat expert sent by MITHRIL to protect kaname chidori, a beautiful and brilliant but temperamental high school student. In theory, they're like oil and water. And given their respective backgrounds, you know that there are bound to be some explosive confrontations. but when sparks begin to fly, the interplay between these two can range from funny, violent, touching, to ludicrous, and occasionally sweet.

what makes this pair special? hmm, let's see… how about sosuke's utter inability to blend in with his new surroundings and his hilarious misinterpretation of ordinary events? top that with kaname's often violent and exasperated response (quite understandable, mind you), as she tries her best to minimize the havoc that sosuke's actions invariably create. put simply, they are a joy to watch. no other anime couple has completely won me over as much as these two have.

other notable characters include the cute but klutzy capt. tessa testarossa, skirt-chasing kurz weber, the highly capable and sexy military babe melissa mao, kaname's best friend kyoko tokiwa, etc. most of the major characters act and sound like real people; they are vividly brought to life, thanks mostly to the spot-on performance of their seiyuus.

the story

this anime combines hardcore action (battle scenes involving robots [arm slaves!], tanks, planes, surface ships, submarines and plenty of infantry hardware), comedy, romance and science fiction, which accounts for its continuing popularity among its legion of male and female fans. It is loosely based on our own timeline (parallel reality) with many notable differences.

basically it deals with MITHRIL (this name should ring a bell among tolkien fans; another familiar term: Tuatha de Danaan), a stealthy and powerful paramilitary organization whose agenda includes fighting against various terrorist groups and ensuring that the "whispered" (individuals with special knowledge and abilities) do not fall into wrong hands. sosuke, melissa, tessa and kurz are members of this organization. both tessa and kaname are "whispered".

animation

great artwork! FMP looks and sounds far better than most of its contemporaries. animation is crisp and clear, and you can see that considerable attention has been to devoted to make the action scenes look dynamic and free-flowing.

**other points

1. the dubbed version (english) of this anime is topnotch; it's one of a few titles that i would willingly watch both in english and japanese.

this train i’m on

whew! this Alexa train is on a roll… i got tagged by daisy again. and frankly when i saw how long it was i almost swallowed my tongue. it took me awhile to fix things up, but now let's just get this show on the road…

Start copying on the ~Start Copying Here~ and copy all the things listed without removing the links. (Of course, the train would be no use without those links. 

Move all the sites labeled "Newcomers" to the list labeled "Oldies".

Add 5 sites that you want to include in the train and make their link like this:

http://redirect.alexa.com/redirect?www.example.com then invite them to join the train.

Of course when you do this, it's inevitable that you'll get to visit all the sites included in this train. So it's also a way of discovering new interesting blogs and perhaps make new friends too.

the 5 latest add-ons:

zarine

Pseudoshrink

t2rad

reishin

misty

and the list starts here *takes a deep breath*

jen

rainydazeee

cmoud

ann

jona v

daisy

deden

kiss fendi

juliet b

nora

jean

julai

MWP

Yatot

kookie

era

francesca

yen

marie

dangkin

cess

ann

liz

bambi jho

glenn kev

Carey

louis
eli
dimaks
fingertalks
female gamer
garry conn
pinoy seminars
sasha
cafe romanza
blog about money online
manila mom
scottpot
how to earn money online
quasi fictional
make money blogging
jozzua nate whitehill
grow your writing business
ultureshock
gary lee
smart wealthy rich
techZi
erik karey
tjantunen.com
hate the grind
earn money blogging
ate ghee
mousey ju
cai
karen/malaya
devilicious

~end copying here~

[oh man, i need a drink]

some good news… and a coffee break

we’ve had a series of good news lately, so i’m writing this post in a better frame mind. one is work-related (you should see the ear-splitting grins on my officemate’s faces), the san antonio spurs won the play-offs (yayy, go spurs!), and the last one is more personal in nature but certainly welcome.

so yesterday, after an enforced 2-day inactivity, due to a lingering, half-baked cold that refuses to go away, i decided to go out for a brief spell (i was literally climbing the walls in sheer boredom). after an hour of aimless meandering, i dropped by at Cibo (Glorietta). Looking over the menu and realizing that i couldn’t stand a strong dose of caffeine at this stage, i finally asked the waiter if they had latte and then he assured me it was available. and darn, if he didn’t bring me a steaming cup of — milk! — 10 minutes later.

nonplussed i stared at it for a full minute. because we were discussing hot drinks (coffee) while he was scribbling down my order, i naturally assumed that the waiter would know i was referring to cafe latte.

frankly i didn’t know whether to laugh or feel insulted. [fortunately, the place was half-empty and the other patrons were too absorbed in their own affairs to notice what was going on.]

finally, i shrugged, and stirred in some brown sugar and gulped it down as quickly as i could. i shudder to imagine what that waiter thinks of me, but i suppose i can always take refuge in the fact that i was obviously not at my best — surely he couldn’t fail to notice my stuffy nose and occasional fits of muffled coughing? (gosh i hope so). the terms “wishy-washy“, “namby-pamby” and “insipid” were floating before my eyes like red flags, but i ignored them with a virtuous air of indifference.

in any case, i suppose that cup of milk wasn’t exactly a total loss because i felt better afterwards. i had a good laugh when i finally got up to leave (i left some tip for the waiter, too). it looks like i will be avoiding Cibo for awhile…