Today, I actually crossed things off my to-do list, a few of which are pretty major things, so that was good. I actually haven’t been doing so well in the productivity aspect, so this was a pretty good thing. I should really stop taking so many naps, but I just get so sleepy all the time.

My weapon of choice, aside from caffeine is loads of sugar:

It seems to be working, as it is already half past three in the morning and I am still up and a-typing.

So, thesis progress is progressing, although pretty slowly. I am beginning to fathom just how tedious the work really is, and how it’s not really suited for multi-tasking ADD-ridden chumps like me. (The work involves paying attention — visually — and remembering what to watch out for. I’ve been re-watching My So-Called Life and I’ve been looking out for how many times Angela Chase wears plaid and how many times she snaps at people, and at whom. I think I might go crazy.)

Speaking of My So-Called Life, I have unearthed my old flame that is Jordan Catalano, and in the light of my own experience with jerky guys, I have come to the conclusion that Jordan Catalano is a major douche. I have no idea why I never realized this when I first watched the series, because Angela’s absolutely crushed face is practically perpetually on screen. Really, he has mastered the art of douchebaggery. And the dude can’t even “read good.” At least Jesse, from Gilmore Girls is brooding and literate. Tim Riggins, from Friday Night Lights (who has been, incidentally, dubbed the new Jordan Catalano) only hides behind his good looks, football padding and permanent drunken stupor, but “can read, you know.” Jordan’s like, a total loser. I mean, he wrote a song about his frakking car, instead of Angela Chase, who is so obviously beautiful, and so obviously in love with him, never mind that she’s been dubbed “that weird girl,” by Jordan’s similarly dumb-ass friends.

And yet. I mean. I would have to agree with Angela — he leans great.

Please also take into account his face:

It is doubtless that, without a doubt, Jordan Catalano is the only reason I am forgiving Jared Leto for his real-life ways. Let’s face it — the only reason why the world lets Jared Leto get away with half of the things that he’s done in his life (admit it — he’s pretty insane) is because he played Jordan Catalano, for eighteen episodes, for one brief season, for one of the best coming-of-age television shows in existence.

And the world does not forget people like Jordan Catalano. So, you’re welcome, Jared Leto. Please tone down the crazy. For all our sakes.

Heads up, guise. My dad’s new exhibit is up! It’s located in the lobby of Alliance Française de Manille (complete address at the end of this entry) and it’s comprised of 21 collaged pieces inspired by a stream. Something like that. I really like a lot of the pieces, so if you’re in the Makati area, try to take a look. It’s free, you see. :)

HIGHLIGHTS

• Ran into Nash after forever. We had a good long, talk. Her mom was nice. :)
• The food was great. I had quiche for the first time (not a fan) and the lumpia was really good. The manongs were also nice.
• The general Frenchiness of the situation. I mean, the Ambassador of France to the Philippines, and the director of Alliance (both the present and the predecessor) and a bunch of other French people were there. I am a closet francophile, you see. I took French 1, was supposed to minor, but my dreams screeched to a halt. I am now considering taking lessons at Alliance.

O.K. That’s all, pictures nao! I’m posting a few here, but the entire set’s over at my Flickr account.

my (lame) older brother, my sister & me.

nash! :)

Alliance Française de Manille
209 Nicanor Garcia Street,
Bel-Air II, Makati City,
Philippines

This morning, I went to Bantayog ng mga Bayani with Eira, because we are lame and were not able to go to the CCP Complex Tour or the Binondo Wok with the rest of our classmates, for History credit. I honestly thought that today, we were going to be touring the grounds (to which, I thought when we got there, “What grounds?!”) but it turned out that there was a sort of celebration/commemoration for the people who fought against Martial Law that have died.

Since I am a poor time manager (?) here are a few of the photos that I took while we were there. More tomorrow. I am scrambling for time because I mismanaged and took a long nap this afternoon when I should be reading Gabriel Marcel (translated from French to English to Filipino!) and I have a 7:30 a.m. class tomorrow. SIGH, LIFE.

Anyway, here they are:

Propaganda (?) Material

ZOMG MAR ROXAS.

Jail Cell.

SO MANY PEOPLE. (!)

Chillin’ like a villain.

We were SUPER amused by this room and sign.
Like, I’m not even kidding you. WE WERE SUPER AMUSED.

Eira is the cutest! My face is weird.

We went to visit the wall outside.
Photos of the actual wall (and not or FACES) tomorrow.

These days, I have been subsisting on instant noodles, caffeine, Snickers bars and corned beef hash (!) which makes me miss the good old days when I actually ate actual food¹ or when I had time to make (and fantasize about making) lovely dishes aside from the usual salads:

Not to be all woe-is-me (but really, woe-is-me!) but my diet these days is pretty bad and food intake has been erratic. I would go for hours without food but gorge myself as soon as I got home. It is worst(/best?) right after a trip to the supermarket, which usually results into another trip to the supermarket… but enough about food. Here is my current thesis strategy, since I usually end up being distracted by online “frivolity”²:

That’s right! Good, old-fashioned note-cards map-pinned to a sheet of corrugated board (because cork is really, really expensive, and I have no walls). So far, it’s been working. But only as long as I keep my eyes on the board and my hands off my laptop.

I’ve also been trying to spend my time doing things related to my thesis, even if only tangentially. Which is why I have been watching episodes of My So-Called Life. If you’re unfamiliar, it’s about a girl called Angela Chase (played by Claire Danes) and her high school woes. I bet you can see why I love it. But seriously, I completely forgot how much I love this show. This is a funny screencap from the third episode:

Hardee-har-har. ALSO, I’ve taken to drawing, as a practice for my ambitious thesis that will probably erupt in flames, for no reason other than I suck. Um. Yeah. So, while perusing my Google Reader³ I saw a few exercises that I think I would enjoy doing:

FIRST: What I Wore Today.

UM. I stayed home. There is no body because I have yet to master the
human-body-drawing-skill, but if you are looking to look (heh!) at clothes
that people who actually know how to draw wear, their Flickr group!

SECOND: With / Without / Covet
I think this is pretty much explanatory.
Also, reflective of the LACK OF CAKE in my life.
Here is their Flickr group

So, as we can see, even though I am wasting a lot of time, I am technically still being productive. Even if just a smidgen. I’m just saying.

FOOTNOTES
¹ Thank you to my mother, who feeds me real food every dinner time. And lunch on weekends. <3
² This mostly consists of Tumblr, which I am enjoying very much, even after a year:
 
³ This is in bold because Google Reader is amazing.

The reason why I haven’t really been talking about my thesis is not because it’s top secret or because I’ve been so busy working at it that I didn’t have time or space to talk about it. The main reason why I never really talk about my thesis (save for a vague “basta, it’s about pop culture.”) is because I haven’t really gotten around to fleshing it out and actually working on it. It’s curious that I have checked out several books to help back up my very flimsy thesis statement, surrendered a couple hundred bucks in overdue fees and have had very little to say about it.

So, today, I am telling anyone who cares, and those who asked and I’ve blown off, about it. I’ve whittled the ginormous and vague ‘pop culture’ to three main focuses, all of which happen to be the main characters of television shows: Veronica Mars (Veronica Mars), Buffy Summers (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) and Angela Chase (My So-Called Life). What started out as, supposedly, a collection of general commentary on films, music and television has been “reduced” to a book on three of my favorite T.V. characters. I’m going to write about how they are similar, something like that, and it’s generally going to be all in good fun. The design aspect’s going to be the general layout of the book, which will feature articles, “artistic renditions” (if I figure out how to draw in time) and informational graphics, much like these by Feltron.

I’ve recently realized how behind I really am, and I’m just writing this post as a reminder of how much I’ve been slacking off, in hopes that when I log onto the greatest/worst invention of all time (aka, the Internet), I will be reminded of how crappy my thesis is going to be if I don’t get on it and git ‘er done. I’ve only finished several article outlines — the one I’ve fleshed out the most is called “The Cons of Being a Vampire Slayer” — and yeah, wow. I’m really going to have to hustle.

So, there. Now, you know.

Pretty much loved the third episode of GLEE, which looks to be FOX’s new hit. My friend described it as “half-good, half-annoying,” which I do not get at all, because I think it is “whole-good,” to use his manner of division of traits. Second episode aside (I really think that one was kind of a miss), I do think that Glee is a show with a really promising premise and the third episode opens up a lot of the issues and possible storyline that will probably come up in the later episodes.

While I don’t agree with how some of the said issues are handled, I do think that Glee has a mostly honest and humorous take on real-life issues, especially those that often come with being one of the ‘different’ ones in school. I’m definitely looking forward to the rest of the season, and am mostly relieved that it is going to only be a six-day wait after each one, unlike the months-long stretch between the pilot and the second episode. To satiate our Glee deprivation during those waits in between, here are a few links:

• Dianna Agron, who plays Quinn Fabray, has a personal Tumblr, which posts personal photos of their current promotional tour, such as this one:
  
• Glee Songs hosts a few streams of songs featured on the show
• I haven’t tried listening to these yet, but two Glee-centered podcasts: Glee Podcast and Gleek Squad
• F Yeah Glee aggregates certain posts and photos on the Glee episodes and cast members. Might contain some “spoilers” (stills from unreleased episodes)
• Cory Monteith (Finn) on Twitter, just because he’s awesome. He is seriously my new favorite person.

THAT’S MOSTLY IT. I really do love this show, and I’m excited every time that Glee theme (there seems to be a constant head-boppy theme, when something’s a-brewing, or perhaps this is just my imagination?) plays. I just really want this show to be successful, and I just really hope FOX doesn’t kill it before it has any real chance of being brilliant (coughFireflycough), but if the fanbase is any indication, it looks like Glee is here to stay.