What Hast Ditch Wrought?

wala lang...been on the web for a few hours...katalaka gle wala himuon no? a part of me yearns for classes to start, another dreads the workload that looms like a dark cloud on the horizon. huhuhuhu

ano ang ginahimo/ginhimo ni ditch subong?

1. gapamati BJORK the greatest hits...always good ang music niya for gloomy, "boring" nights

2. gahulat nga matapos download ang latest episode of Avatar: the Last Airbender. wohooooo!

3. once in a while i pore over Salamanca's book The Filipino Reaction to American Rule: 1901-1913. been reading it since monday...hahahaha nerd-nerd ba!

4. gaplano maglantaw DVD nga Inuyasha. Arf! Arf!

5. gapost sa iya blog hehe

6. ginlantaw ang blog ni pebi...nag-post message

7. kagina sang aga nagpa-advise kay prof llanes para macontinue iya enrolment. kagamo!

amo lang na anay sa subong nga akon nga ginbuhat na sinulatan. (baw! dalum nga hiligaynon bah...tsakto ini ayhan? hehehe)


Nagatindog nga Mag-isahanon Kapitulo Uno - Dies y Nueve (Stand Alone 1.19)

Makikigulo na rin...compilation album number one

was strolling around Megamall and I happened to wander into odyssey music store. One odd (and quite irritating) fad nowadays is the release of so-called compilation albums under the name of an actress which coincidentally is no singer (not counted and mga obligatory off-key renditions in noontime variety shows) like "Songs of Healing...(?)" and another album which I forgot the title "by" Kris Aquino and this new one I saw which featured Judy Ann Santos naman for heaven's sake. It seems wala nang matinong maisip ang mga record companies but to make these "so-called" compilations of mostly foreign songs then package them as something that had been "handpicked" by some celebrity whose life seemed to echo the themes of the songs featured in the album. Much worse is that they hire these "divas" and "singers" to make their own "rendition" of the song -- the end result is a horrible pastiche of shrieks and unmelodic vocal gymnastics that is an insult to the original song and artist. it's like recording all the bad production numbers of ASAP where "singers" engage in a vocal equivalent of a World War -- the end result is pretty much the same: utter desolation and suffering among all those assembled in the studio as well as the millions tuned in.

So I am hereby turning this fad one notch higher into the level of absurdity. Yes, ladies and gentlemen...sonofaditch officially throws his hat into this "compilation wars" by launching my own, albeit unofficial, unrecognized and unfinanced, "album-in-the-works" ay sori..."compilation-in-the-works-that-ostensibly-poses-as-my-solo-album-kuno" hehehehe

First we need a title...I think Kris was like "Songs of Love and Healing", in reference to the James Yap-Hope fiasco. I remember watching ASAP (kay wala na gid malantawan nga iban haha) where Kris was promoting her second "album", this time the theme was about her life. (with Kris Aquino, nothing is unpromotable and unsellable...I think that b*tch will sell her soul to Chunky Corned Beef or Goldilocks if they offered her the right price, hehehe) and her hubby was standing backstage looking like an "udong" as my mother described him. hahahaha pasintabi po sa mga fans ni Kris...i'm not done insulting her yet...

OK so what will be my title? I'm tempted to ape the classic rock albums like "The Wall", or "Joshua Tree" or "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness", or "Are you Experienced?"...so para wala away the title will be...

"Have you Experienced the Joshua Tree walled in by the Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness?" hahahahahahahaha

and now the album cover...the first thing that comes to mind is the promotional poster of the movie "tenacious D and the pick of destiny" where Jack Black poses a la Adam in the Sistine Chapel painting whilst reaching for a shining guitar pick...

For my album cover, instead of reclining on clouds, ill be stretched out on a Joshua Tree branch while the background's all blazing with psychedelic colors -- parang northern lights pero kita lahat ng colors of the spectrum. And instead of a guitar pick, i shall be reaching for the Holy Grail. Two imposing figures shall emerge from the clouds, on my left shall be the personification of evil most vile -- Kris Aquino with tentacles sprouting from her vagina and with acid frothing from her mouth (her real mouth mind you...) while on the right are the forces of good and light in the person of the original Smashing Pumpkins all garbed in shiny white polyester jumpsuits and wielding their respective instruments all made out of...automobile parts.

Then the title shall be superimposed on the uppermost part of the album cover. Font style is similar to that seen in the Incredibles movie. The title shall be in deep red...bwahahahahaha

now that the title and album cover's done...what songs will be featured inside "my" album (hehehehe)

let's see...my musical taste is a bit diverse so let's just make this compilation a halo-halo of sorts, doesn't have to make any sense since I apparently don't make any sense either hehe

the album shall feature twelve --no, fourteen ---NO...let's make it FIFTEEN tracks. a most eclectic collection of songs spanning various genres from several decades of the best in music ever created..

track one: "tell it like it is" by tracy Chapman
track two: "true faith" by new order
track three: "let's dance" by david bowie
track four: "young manhood" by the wild swans
track five: "satisfaction" duet performed by bjork and p.j. harvey
track six: "no woman, no cry" by bob marley
track seven: "troy" by sinead o'connor
track eight: "teardrop" by massive attack
track nine: "hyperballad" by bjork
track ten: "1979" by the smashing pumpkins
track eleven: "rape me" by nirvana
track twelve: "walking after you" by the foo fighters
track thirteen" "seal my fate" by belly
track fourteen: "the great gig in the sky" by pink floyd
track fifteen: "it's the end of the world as we know it (and i feel fine)" by REM

BONUS TRACK (baw may bonus track pa nga nabal-an): "orinoco flow" by enya

SPECIAL LIMITED EDITION: all these songs will be sung by ME (yes, including the orgasmic cries in 'the great gig in the sky' kakayanin natin yan! haha!)

the idea, title and cover may stink but the songs listed here are top-notch. Kaya ba nina Kris at Judy Ann to?

so, watchutink huh? I need your support people of the philippines...let's show these people that there's more to life than theme songs and sappy renditions...express your support by posting a favorable comment on my comments box...pleease!

That Old Familiar Feeling Part 3...

long delay in blog updates + fuzzy memory = a less-than-ideal blog post (shorter and less descriptive than usual), my apologies....

That Old Familiar Feeling (3)

and so began the "catching-up phase" with my old colleagues, my friends. as usual busy man gihapon ang mga teachers sa UNO-R, though some are busier (and thus more stressed) than others. Sir Harrry was juggling roles between being the academic chair, the CLE teacher for the 3rd and 4th year, and his role in the preparations for the upcoming Living Rosary. Alon had been busy over the I-debate these past few weeks, she has about a TON of folders from her research class that are still to be marked, and her Starlight hasn't been released yet. Grace has been stressed since day one of being the Discipline Officer, aside from her responsibility as chem teacher for the third year. and since the deadline for the 40% grades were looming over everybody's heads that time, everyody in the faculty room were busier than usual. (the usual situation in the faculty room: busy - all other situations are variations of the usual situation)

but still, my presence there required Alon and Grace to drop everything and treat me to dinner. ako na subong ang gapalibre hehehe. the irony was not lost on them both, especially Alon -- who would often point out my state of er...destitution. so after taking care of their various responsibilities, preparations were made for a "group date" with me, Grace, Alon, and Cindy. The venue was Bigby's at SM. getting their required us four to stand for a few minutes in the rain -- finally squeezing ourselves into a small taxi which transported us to SM Bacolod.

Over bottomless iced tea (my staple drink at Bigby's) and the walang kamatayang Food Trip Platter, we reminisced, gossiped, commisserated, and mulled over the past, present and future. it was a welcome break not only for me, but for my hardworking friends who were just too happy to take a break from their routine and accomodate me in their schedules. hehehe

As the night wore on, we were rudely pulled out of our reverie and into the reality that some of those assembled still had classes early in the morning, and piles of requirements to fulfill, and a slew of deadlines to meet. while I, who had chosen to pull myself out of their world for the meantime, had to thank them for their generosity, wish them luck with their work, and wave goodbye to them as they went off to their homes.

Thanks guys, missed you all...

Stand Alone 1.18

That Old Familiar Feeling...Part 2

where was I? Oh yes...

"SIIIIIIIIIIIIIIR!!!!!"

and so for the next few minutes I felt like a moviestar, a politician, and a member of the royalty -- waving to adoring fans left and right. hahahaha to tell you frankly i found the situation very awkward. while the freshmen had no inkling who i was, the other upperclass students were waving and greeting me with "Sir!". Some of them were caught a bit off guard by my sudden presence and didn't know how to react (though I was going to find out later on).

and so i made my way inside the office and was greeted by a surprised staff who were glad to welcome me back. It seems that I hadn't left UNO-R when I was greeted by my old colleagues and mentors.

One reaction stood out among the others. While others were going "Welcome back!" or "Kamusta ka na?" or "Grabe, naglain na gid hitsura mo" or "Nga-a naglaba buhok mo?"; Raylyn took one look at me and went "Ngeeeeeeeeh!"

hahahahahahahaha...the reaction was so her...

The first few hours were spent chatting with the faculty, which was once in a while interrupted by another hugs-and-kisses greeting from another faculty member who had just come in. It felt nice to see familiar faces and be in a familiar location. Everybody was busy because exams were coming next week -- the busy atmosphere was something I could relate to, a familiar feeling that I didn't realize I miss...

It wasn't long before I got to see Alon and Gracie again. and both their reactions were WEIRD...Alon didn't recognize me for a second and I was standing right next to her...Grace gave a curt "Hi, Mike" like I hadn't left the High School for six months. hahahaha the difference a few inches of hair could do....

But after the initial weirdness, we got down to business. all the "Kamusta" and the old friendly banter ensued, then the ladies had to excuse themselves for they had classes or other business to attend to. Sige lang 'ga, kadto na to sa klase mo..." or in Grace's case "Lakat na 'to kay manakop ka pa late!"

As for me, I had some unfinished business to settle with Sir Harry. And the rest of the morning was spent poring over the pages of the yearbook graduate profile drafts...here I am at the High School office, being my usual busy self.

Parang walang nagbago...

TO BE CONTINUED

Stand Alone 1.17

That Old, Familiar Feeling...(part 1)

i beg the indulgence of the wayward soul that finds its way into my thoughts posted in this my blog...may pagka-senti ni dyutay ang mga posts ko for this week until the end of the month...feeling balikbayan daan si ditch. hehehehe

whenever one finds himself back in the place that he has considered home for such a long time -- and considering that this person had just come back from several months of "self-imposed exile" (baw!), there are just a few places that immediately beckon to this long-lost traveler. Places that have been considered havens of most cherished memories and one just had to make the pilgrimage and indulge in the ambience of past memoories if for a fleeting moment...

in less metaphysical terms, there are just some places that I had to visit once I got home. Sort of like a self-imposed itinerary. And these places are chosen for various reasons, most of them sentimental (others monetary hehehehe)

Now that I've made "bisa" at home and to my loving family circle, I just had to visit my next most memorable place...none other than my Alma Mater the University of Negros Occidental Recoletos.

cue Alma Mater Hymn...ready one, two, three...

It was the strangest feeling as I was coming through the gates of UNO-R. I half-expected that I would be accosted by the guard and then made to leave an ID and register on the logbook like any ordinary visitor to the school but I wasn't having that...I swaggered in like I owned the place (or rather, like I was still employed by the University and occupied a/an (quasi)administrative position in one of the departments hahaha)

Maybe it was because of the "aura" I projected that the guard didn't dare to hinder my entrance with an "Excuse me sir? Visitor ka? Bilin di anay ID sir..." and so I entered the portals of my Alma Mater unmolested. The guards still knew me gale...

whew

Coming back to UNO-R after just six months I immediately noticed a lot of new things...like the new information booth advertising the wifi zones on campus, the retiling of the Caritas et Scientia Park (daw wala pa man five years nga gin renovate na, renovate naman liwat?), the covered walkways, the multitude of tarpaulin banners hanging around campus, the directories and the "you are here" maps...basta, kadamo ko bag-o makit-an...

But all of those were to me only fleeting landmarks as my goal was to reach the High School Department. I wanted to see my former colleagues, my old friends, and my former students again.

My pace quickens...maybe it was excitement, or maybe it was just because I was hurrying so that I would not be seen by my formers students which will result to a mob of fans gathering around me. (daw feeling artista ba...hahaha)

But despite my best efforts, my timing was still off. I was walking along the corridors at the exact moment that the bell signaling the next period had rung, and the students who were exiting the computer lab and pouring into the hallway were the first to glimpse the long-haired me.

I could hear whispers behind my back...

"Daw si Sir Ditchella man na?...Oo, si Sir Ditchella gid!"

Then came the inevitable...

"Siiiiiiiir!"

ITUTULOY....


Stand Alone 1.16