Roughly around two weeks ago, on October 9, I went to see the Spanish galleon that docked on the port area in Manila. The first attempt was thwarted because my parents and I were discouraged by the long line that had already formed outside the registration area at around 9 A.M. This made me more resolute in getting there earlier the next day, which I did with Rico, who was gracious enough to drive me. We were meeting up with Anne there, and it sounded like a good plan, but the universe saw our plan and decided to hit us with a line that was almost twice as long as the line from the previous day. We got there three hours earlier, which is pretty ridiculous in itself, but I digress.

We’re on a boat!

Spanish galleon, actually.

If I knew we were going to be waiting close to four hours in line just to see the boat, I probably wouldn’t've gone to see. I don’t think it’s the fault of the organizers—a lot of people were just interested, and they didn’t expect such a great response to it. It was a nice experience, though. Dealing with so many people in such a different environment than what I am used to was quite an experience. Also, I got to spend the day with awesome people (i.e. Abi, who was part of the team that brought everything together) and was introduced to the best thing in the world since an actual burrito:

Army Navy’s breakfast burrito!

I think that what astonished me the most is the idea that they actually sail this ship around to get to where they need to be. It’s got actual ropes and sails and an anchor, a wheel. A kitchen, some cabins… they even have a flat screen T.V. set! It made me want to take up sailing and see the world for myself.

After eating the excellent breakfast burrito, Rico and I kind of drove around, trying to find a different route at home. The scenic route turned way too scenic, and we ended up being on the road for a pretty long time. I honestly didn’t really mind, though, because it’s always nice getting to know people, and perhaps because I had not been the one driving.

I think it placed me in such a great state for thinking. During this time, I’d been having difficulties dealing with some things… and the time away from distractions other than quiet conversation really gave me the space to confront what had been bothering me, albeit only internally.

Rico dropped me off at home, after a long and tiring drive, and I began to realize that in the middle of getting lost, I learned how to think of other things. And that realization really made me feel instantly better, despite the long periods of waiting and the numerous uncertainties that were scattered across the day.

(I took some photos with a film camera, but I haven’t gotten around to getting the roll developed.)

Continue reading Dia del Galeon: A Spanish Galleon and A Few Lessons on Patience….

In the introduction to his novel, “Mother Night,” Kurt Vonnegut wrote We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be. I was first introduced to this by Megan McCafferty’s “Second Helpings,” and while I always thought of this as a cautionary tale, a call for us to take care to ‘pretend better,’ I realize now that I may have missed Vonnegut’s point entirely.

I went through a number of phases growing up, all of them different versions of ‘fitting in.’ When I was a freshman in high school, I assumed a completely different personality, one that immediately calls attention to myself as someone who was “different.”

I wasn’t like many of my schoolmates who cared too much about looks, and too little about learning. I didn’t mind lying on the grass, or looking silly, or being alone in public. I was different, sure, but I still wasn’t me. I was caught under the illusion that I was being who I was, not caring about what others thought of me, but the truth was that I did care. In fact, I cared so much, I created this whole other person—a supposedly better version of myself—that I could be.

That was a completely stupid way to live. Always considering the opinions of other people, not to mention failing, is taxing. Of course, I still do it all the time. Will this person like me better if I do this, if I say this, if I act in this way, if I say yes? So many unnecessary questions that coalesce in my brain, coming together to form something that, ultimately, matters very little.

Kurt Cobain said, “Wanting to be someone else is a waste of the person you are.” I think he was onto something. Embrace who you are, because you’re going to be stuck with that person until the day that you die. Don’t make yourself into somebody you will hate, because at the end of everything, the person who will care the most about how you lived and what kind of person you turned out to be is yourself.

These days, it seems like the only way to judge a person anymore is by looking at what they listen to, and the books that they like. It’s so easy to construct a ‘personality’ when you choose all the right books and all the right films and all the right artists, but these things tell you nothing about a person, at their core. The things people consume tell you the level of their comprehension, the kind of things they like to hear, what kind of stories they like knowing about. They don’t really say anything about a person’s character: how they will act in the face of danger, how selfless they are, what kind of people they have grown up to be.

“At three, I wanted to be a cook. At five, I wanted to be Napoleon. My ambition has been growing ever since, and now my ambition is to become Salvador Dali, nothing else. It is, nevertheless, very difficult, because the closer I come to Salvador Dali, the farther away from me he goes.” — Salvador Dali

Why are we so apologetic about who we are? Why are we so scared of being judged? Yes, criticism is painful sometimes, especially if it hits us in places that we are most sensitive about, especially if it’s being said by someone who means the world to us. But why hide who you are? I don’t think altering our character just to avoid hurtful words from other people is worth wearing all these masks.

I think that that’s why people never really say what they mean anymore. There’s a certain degree of paranoia that has whitewashed over everything, because we are suspicious of ulterior motives, and we are always on the look-out for insincerity. The only people who aren’t afraid of other people’s cruel intentions are people who are still sincere, and I think that those people are very hard to come by these days.

This isn’t to say that we should stop trying to be better people. My point is that living our lives, for other people, for the sake of being “different,” for some sort of acceptance, at the expense of our happiness, is stupid. What I’m saying is that it’s OK to be who we really are. It’s inevitable to run into people who will heckle and judge and talk behind our backs, but who cares?

I was bullied in the fifth grade, trying to please people who made me miserable everyday, and while I thought about what they must have thought of me at the time, I couldn’t really care less right now. I don’t even speak to those people anymore, and I think about the time I have wasted, being pushed into doing things I didn’t want to, and having so much unnecessary drama that I frankly could have lived without. Dr. Seuss wrote, “Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind,” and I’m taking his word for it.

J.K. Rowling’s Harvard Commencement is called “The Fringe Benefits of Failure” and she talks about stripping away of the inessential, of doing away with things that don’t matter to make space for the things that do. I hold on to a lot of things, and I still cultivate ideas that people have of me that aren’t true anymore, but I still try to live up to. And I realized that to move forward, I had to get rid of a lot of things.

“I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. You will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships, until both have been tested by adversity.” — J.K. Rowling

I had to strip away the inessential and stop pretending to be someone I was not. I think that that is what Kurt Vonnegut was ultimately trying to warn us about. We are, to other people, whatever we pretend to be. But what I’m hoping is that, little by little, I learn how to stop pretending and start actually being who I am.

excerpt from Mikael Co’s “As Courage, To Camus.” Click the photo to get to the entire poem.

It doesn’t take much to make me happy. I think the past entries have been proof of that. My idea of a picker-upper is a Harry Potter marathon and flavor-blasted Goldfish crackers. I mean, the problems obviously don’t go away, but at least these simple things make me feel a little bit better about my misfortunes.

I don’t have a lot of unfortunate events happen to me recently (thank you, Lord), but still, little things have wormed their way into my heart and cheered me up! One of my favorite things in life is getting packages in the mail. Doesn’t really matter much what they are, I just like getting them. In this case, though, I had been waiting for this package for eons, and my heart nearly jumped out of my chest when I saw the notice for two parcels stuck at the post office.

Definitely was what I thought it would be.

I finally got the first two installments of my Field Notes Subscription! <3 Armando first introduced me to Field Notes by sending me a 3-pack and I fell in instant love. Because I’m a sucker for stuff like this. And, well, I do go through notebooks fairly quickly, so even though the price is probably a little steep for other people, I knew I would be putting these babies to good use.

My loot! Opening the package honestly felt a lot like Christmas.
They added a lot of awesome things like pens, a sticker, and rubber bands.
Yes, only a dork like me would be excited by rubber bands, but. Well, leave me alone, they were pretty!

County Fair Editions! I got New York (because it’s my favorite state)
and Alaska, because of “Looking for Alaska” because I am a dork.

Square pinback button!

Pinback button!

Packet of Sunshine! It came with Marigold seeds. :)

And the grid inside was yellow. So pretty!

No, Field Notes, thank you for making quality paper products
that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing! I’m definitely a happy customer.

I can’t wait to use them!

The Start of September means a lot of things to me. It means that it is Kirk Long’s birthday, which in turn means that I am a creeper for knowing that sort of information (but it’s kind of along the lines of cannot unsee, you know?). It also means that it’s the start of term for Hogwarts students, which in turn means that I am a huge dork unable to move on from this fantastic series. Not that I would particularly like to, because I do enjoy being part of this fandom.

I was toying with the idea of posting a Harry Potter-related post for everyday of September, just to prove to you all that my obsession knows very little bounds. But I am restraining myself. Also, it’s very hard to think of things to post for thirty consecutive days. And also, I fear for my bandwidth, because it’s just really not going to hold.

Anyway, I’ve decided, instead, to curate a list of some of my favorite things about the Harry Potter community. While it houses the strangest, most repressed people in the world, the HP community is also home to some of the most brilliant people still roaming about on this earth. And, you know, I’m really out to prove that. And so, a list! Of my favorite HP-related, unofficial projects. Get ready for some totally awesome finds.

1. 
   Wizard Rock
   First up is Wizard Rock, or in shorthand, Wrock! The pioneers for this strange genre of music is a little group called Harry and the Potters (who’ve actually had their own Daytrotter session!). It also paved the way for similarly-named groups (e.g., Draco and the Malfoys, Ginny and the Weasleys. Another name trend follows The Remus Lupins, e.g., The Whomping Willows, The Moaning Myrtles, etc). The genre is curious because it doesn’t lump the groups by sound, rather, by subject matter. Most Wrock groups are just bands that are inspired by Harry Potter, most of whom have songs that center on the series. Here is a website to cater to most of your Wrock needs, because a bullet point is way too short to delve into the whole business. Here’s a list of most known Wrock bands, though. It is quite a sizable list.

   To the untrained eye (and ear), this is probably the dorkiest thing in the world. However, if you must know, Wrock has a very big following—sometimes, these bands even go on tour! My favorite is probably The Remus Lupins, whose battlecry is: “Fight evil, read books!”

2. 
   The Harry Potter Alliance
   HP Alliance exists for the furtherance of good. It was set up to combat our world’s version of “dark and difficult times.” Targeting issues like global warming, genocide and poverty, the HP Alliance uses its connection to the millions of HP fans to campaign against these issues, partnering with organizations like Genocide Intervention Network, Amnesty International and Oxfam. Just recently, they won $250,000 from the Chase Challenge, meant to benefit causes such as literacy and GLBT rights. They’ve also helped protect the civilians of Darfur and Burma, and had a hand in Helping Haiti Heal. An excellent use of their powers, if you ask me.
3. 
   A Very Potter Musical
   Where do I even begin? This is one of the best things on YouTube right now, probably. A Very Potter Musical is a hilarious fan-made parody of the World of Harry Potter. Highlights include excellent cast performances, most notably of Ron Weasley and Draco Malfoy, and of course, the appearance of Rumbleroar, the Headmaster of Pigfarts, Hogwarts’ counterpart… in Mars. You can watch the hilarity ensue over here. Uh-huh, yeah, I made it easy for you.
4. 
   The Shoebox Project
   A Marauder-era fic, complete with photos and drawings and letters between Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot and Prongs. It is, at the same time, tender, endearing, charming and funny. A hypothetical glimpse at the life of James Potter and his friends. One of the best things ever to grace LiveJournal, if I may. It was used to be housed over here, I don’t know what happened. However, a kind soul has uploaded the .pdfs, so you can still read up and catch up with the rest of the internet. It hasn’t been updated in a while, however. We’re all still waiting for that fateful day.
5. 
   Mugglecast
   Mugglecast might be my favorite Harry Potter podcast, ever. I remember listening to all sorts of wonderful discussions and theories on my way to and from school. It was particularly exciting, pre-Deathly Hallows, and the hosts were all speculating as to what the remaining horcruxes were, and who exactly R.A.B. was, and what would Harry’s demise be. There was even one episode where they tried to piece together the ending of the book based on the released artwork of the hardcover edition. As far as I know, it’s still up and running, especially since the last film adaptation is still about to be released, but I haven’t listened in lately. Maybe I should take this as a sign that I should start again.

Well, that’s it for now! Honorable Mentions include The Draco/Hermione Fic Exchange, which is only my favorite fanfic exchange in the world (Yes, I’m a D/Hr shipper, what of it?), The Draco Trilogy, which was written way before Harry Potter came to an end (so there’s a lot of inconsistencies now). The author, Cassandra Clare, has recently launched a professional career, with a fantasy trilogy of her own. Lastly! My Immortal, which is the best Harry Potter fanfic on the Internet right now.

By best, I meant worst. But I suppose it is good for the lulz.

OK, for the rest of September, I will be posting a lot of Harry-centric bits and pieces. Consider this a warning, to stay away or for excitement, your pick! Additionally, you can read my Harry Potter story here, on Book Report.

… LOL not really. But this post is about a fantastic book, so the title half-counts! So, I’m sure that y’all have books that you love so frakking much, but come by so infrequently, that whenever you see them, you buy it and think of a wayward soul to give it to. A friend of mine buys Franny Billingsley’s “The Folk Keeper,” and he gave me a copy a few years ago. (It’s a gorgeous children’s book, really.)

While I do have a lot of books that I feel this way towards, I’ve only done it twice, and both times, I bought the same book. It’s not “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” because, while that is My Favorite Book In The Entire World, it’s not that hard to come by. Also, for some reason, it is expensive. But anyway. The book I am talking about is John Green’s “Looking For Alaska.”

“Looking For Alaska” kind of shot up to Internet popularity, when this particular quote invaded Tumblrverse. I was floored, and I wanted to read it immediately, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I found Green’s “An Abundance of Katherines” and “Paper Towns,” no problem, but I spent an inordinate amount of time looking for “Looking for Alaska.”¹ Finally, however, out of the kindness of his heart, Armando who is a Tumblr friend from the UK, sent me a copy of “Alaska” and okay, finally, I understood what the fuss is all about. It’s overposted, and has somewhat reached a “Perks”-esque² notoriety, but I get it.

Anyway. I gave the book away on this site, when I first found a copy here in Manila. (Still haven’t figured out what to get the runner-ups, oops.) And I found another copy of the book two weeks and sent it to Raymond. He got it earlier this week and has been reading it and is reportedly liking it so far.

Because it had a dinky, girly cover, I made a sort of book sleeve that I held back from posting until the book got to him. I’m posting pictures because I worked hard on it, damn it. Behold, my masterpiece!:

Looking like a serious craft project with a cutting board. It wasn’t. I just needed to cut stuff.

Close-up of the lettering! Kinda badly rendered, but at least it is not pink.

The back!

The quote on the back goes: “I’m not going to be one of those people who sits around talking about what they’re gonna do. I’m just going to do it.” And, you know, it’s a promise I intend to keep.

Anyway, I just wanted to ask if you had any books (or anything, really—albums, films, what-have-you) that you love so much, you’re willing to shell out a few bucks or spend some time to let someone know about them? Would love to hear about them, if you please.

———
¹ See what I did there? (back)
² Where haven’t you heard, “And I swear, in that moment, we were infinite”? Stephen Chbosky’s book, “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” is really, honestly beautiful, so it’s kind of sad how this quote has turned into a little joke. I still love it, though. (back)

Went to the American Cemetery with my dad on a Saturday morning. Mostly because I had to go there for work, but also because I’d been wanting to go there for a while now. I’d talk about it, but I’d just let these pictures speak for themselves. It really was a beautiful place, though. Kinda surprised that something so pretty and clean exists in the Philippines.

It’s really, really hot when we went there, but it feels so nice to walk around, that I definitely want to go back there to spend an afternoon reading or something.

Me & my poppa!

Fake light leaks! I miss messing around photoshop, to be honest.

I don’t know what they are doing, exactly.

Hi, hair.

Heart lit up whenever I saw a rosette beside a soldier’s name.

The mosaic murals of battle scenes were really pretty.

This tree looks like its bark is made out of feathers.

Made me want to watch The Pacific. (I’ve started watching the pilot — be proud of me!). I like it, so far, but I’m not super hooked yet.

More photos! Of tourists, more mosaics, and pretty things. Continue reading American Cemetery with my dad!…