maximine and minerva’s owl

tag ng nanay ni charlie d’ pugly

3 Things that scare me:

big rats, brain disease, muscular men

3 People who can make me laugh:
kids, (people in) Japanese TV commercials, I laugh at myself (I’m very silly)

3 Things I love:
my mt. olympus rock

 my eletronic pocket dictionary

 my putrid, dried saliva-laden pillow 

3 Things I hate:
people talking loudly on their cellfones, cluttered rooms, being late

3 Things I don’t understand

why isn’t there a cure for cancer yet

why do people often take too much food from buffet tables but not finish eating them and just leave them to waste (can’t control their takaw-mata behavior)

why i’m crazy

3 Things on my desk:

a canister full of pretzels - a gift from a good friend in paris - bonjour M! merci, merci!

dictionary of patent terminology for my translation work

my favorite kaleidoscope 

3 Things I’m doing right now:

listening to pavarotti

doing this tag

thinking of when i can have sex next munching on pretzels

3 Things I want to do before I die:

meet the dalai lama

batukan si dubya

send 100 needy kids to college

3 Things I can do:

 dance, do accents, annoy people

3 Ways to describe my personality:

 quirky, introspective, insane

*3 Things people might not know about me:

I was a CIA agent

I can swallow carayom,aspile,turnilyo,blades, pako, etc.

I get paid in 5-digit kopek for the articles I write [usually composed of 4 lousy and boring ungrammatical sentences] for a weekly internet magazine. 

 *joke lang po

3 Things I can’t do:

physically hurt a person and/or a living thing

play with myself 

stick a finger in a rotating electric fan (can you?)

3 Things I think you should listen to:

the news report, the sound of the ocean, one hand clapping

3 Things I don’t think you should listen to ever:

filipino politicos’ lame excuses and napapakong promises

sintunadong singer sa karaoke

my babbling 

3 Of my absolute favorite foods:

 pickled plum in rice ball, any kind of cheese, pritong galunggong

3 Things I’d like to learn:

play the guitar, auto mechanics, how to put on make-up 

3 Beverages I drink regularly:

 tubig, red wine, agua

3 Shows I watched when I was a child:

the electric company, nightstalker, mga kwento ni lola basyang

pakitagnalangsarilinyokunggustonyo

sino ‘tong tutubi na ‘to?

Matagal ko ng pinagtatangkaan na isalin sa Tagalog ang may 480 pahina (kasama na ang index) na aklat ni Jared Diamond na ‘Guns, Germs and Steel’ pero nakaka dalawang pahina pa lang ako. Siguro matatapos ko ito pag ochenta anyos na ako; at sa panahong iyon ay baka hindi na uso ang libro at may pindutin ka lang na buton e may lalabas na hologram ng kailangan mong basahin at makikita mo pa ang mga karakter at obdyekto sa binabasa mo. Hayyyy nako, dapat humanap na lang ako ng ibang mapagti-tripan at mapagbubuntunan ng sama ng loob mapagpapalipasan ng oras, tulad ng pag-gawa at pananahi siguro ng mga tusukan ng aspile at karayom.

Lalo pa ngayon na summer vacation na at wala akong pasok sa iskwela pag Lunes at Huwebes. Hindi naman ako maka alis ng bahay at di ko pwedeng iwanan itong waswit ko at di pa siya masyadong makakilos mag-isa paano siya kakain at mabubuhay kung wala ako? (oo virhinya, napaka importante ko at kailangan ako sa mga panahong ito) Kating kati na ang paa ko na pumunta kahit saan para makakita ng ibang makikita - na at least ay isang kilometro ang layo sa aming bahay. Anak ng hweteng talaga! siguro ay isa na rin itong pagsubok kung hanggang saan ang aking ‘fortitude’ at pagiging matiisin. Lahat ng ito’y lilipas, lilipas at hindi magtatagal. Kailangan lang talaga ng pacencia, pananampalataya sa maykapal at paniniwala na babalik din sa dati ang takbo ng mga bagay-bagay.

Sinubukan ko rin isalin sa tagalog ang kanta ni Joni Mitchell na ‘Both Sides Now’ pero nakakatawa ng matapos. Imadyinin mo na lang ang linyang: “Hanay at suson ng buhok ng anghel at mga palasyong sorbetes sa himpapawid; at mga lambak na pakpak sa paligid, gayon ang tingin ko sa mga ulap…..hehehe” Isinalin ko rin ito sa wikang Hapon at mas maganda ng kaunti ang naging resulta; mas naging mukang tula ang ritmo at tunog nito.

Both Sides Now

Rows and floes of angel hair and ice cream castles in the air; and feather canyons everywhere, I look at clouds that way ….

 ”They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk but not faint.” - Isaiah 40:30

…………………………………………………………………

Sorry at pasensha ka na sapagkat hindi talaga ako sanay mang-bullshit makipagbolahan at magpakintab ng mansanas eh.

I luv shluv this song:

You’re So Vain
Carly Simon

You walked into the party
Like you were walking onto a yacht
Your hat strategically dipped below one eye
Your scarf it was apricot
You had one eye in the mirror
As you watched yourself gavotte
And all the girls dreamed that they’d be your partner
They’d be your partner

And, you’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you
Don’t you

You had me several years ago
When I was still quite naive
Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair
And that you would never leave
But you gave away the things you loved
And one of them was me
I had some dreams they were clouds in my coffee
Clouds in my coffee, and

You’re so vain
You probably think this song is about you
You’re so vain
I’ll bet you think this song is about you
Don’t you
Don’t you

*sabi ng isang griyegong pilosopo lahat daw tayo ay may banidad pero the mother of all vanities daw ay ang itatwa mo ang katotohanan na ikaw ay may banidad.

 

Since I ditched my research work and case studies many years ago the closest I can get to Psychology now is by listening to Dr. Laura Schlessinger’s radio program broadcasted and aired on the military radio station Eagle 810 on Sunday afternoons here in Tokyo. I like listening to her because she doesn’t mince her words and always straight to the point (very funny, too!); and doesn’t bullshit, unlike the others. She talks to people over the phone dispensing her opinions and thoughts on how to improve their troubled lives. And she has confrontational gung-ho approach to counseling and no-nonsense way of giving advice on how to deal with emotional problems - the whole gamut:  from sexual abuse and incest to all types of relational dilemmas i.e. maintaining marital bliss and managing domestic piss to coping with post traumatic stress disorder brought by dubya’s Iraq war to how to not get involved in cybersex.

 The last time I was listening to her program, there was this woman caller who said her husband had contracted gonorrea after a week of sexual tryst with a young woman he had met on the internet. At first they were just ’skype-pal’ who enjoyed chatting regularly with each other during office lunch breaks (sometimes even when the man was at home) until they had run out of mundane things to talk about and decided to try cybersex. The cybersex eventually became monotonous and the next thing they wanted to try was real sex. So they met and did it and thence the man’s life became a living hell.

A living hell because less than a month later the man was pissing blood and pus because he had contracted gonorrhea. What added salt to the wound was when his teenage son had accidentally read some of the undeleted transcripts of his lascivious conversations with the gonorrhea woman. The son said he had lost his respect for his father; and he hates him now for being such a pervert and unfaithful to his mother.

WATCH OUT ! There is a clear correlation among these 3: cybersex, gonorrhea and erosion of a nuclear family.

…………………………………………………………….

Student H: Miss, chickens belong to the class Aves, don’t they?

Me: Oui, that’s correct.

Student H: They’re not in the Mammalia class and that means they don’t produce milk  because they don’t have breast, right?

Me: Correct.

Student H: Then why do we say, for example, “can I have 1 crispy chicken breast, please?”      

Me: …..

 *How do you explain semantics to a sixteen year old without you sounding neurotic?

Speaking of which, I found these miniature plastic dolls (they’re Japanese animation characters) at a flea market the other day. Aren’t they repulsive cute?

 

The Japanese are notorious for exaggerating certain body parts of their ‘anime’ characters. I don’t know but perhaps it emanates from their inferiority complexes and insecurities about certain physical attributes i.e., ample breasts, big eyes and long legs. But the thing is, 99% of the creators of these animations and character dolls are men so it is safe to say that it is the men who has a problem and not, although not entirely, the women. I personally think that Japanese women are very pleasant to look at the way they are. dainty and cute and beautiful.

  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .

{ just thinking out loud}

 Am not overly impressed by these fellows though. So maybe not. 

Sometimes though it is enjoyable to
read B gripe and wince at his attempts at bringing his sarcasm to
the level of wit.  Q seems more stable. He has the air of old family
(who among themselves are amused at taking note of the fact that their
families’ fortunes are like most fortunes tainted with “bad” deeds they
just having come in first) folks.  Smug and secure at their place and
strongly anti-communist after having had first-hand dealings with the
rabble and demagogues of proletarianism (Filipino-style).

I think most of these guys would have nice words for middle-class
American lifestyles.  I think.  Yet, they forget that only the upper upper class
in the Philippines can afford such lifestyles.  These are the families
that produced the yuppie, retire by 40, go-get-them types of the 80s. 
B is of this group.  Guess there is the continuity. I don’t know much
about Q.  I understand he has a cousin who is more hard-hitting
and writes/wrote for The M.  There is much sociology and contemporary
history here.  Francis Fukuyama is perhaps a good reference on the way
these guys think. [Lifted from Tamso]

kanina lumabas ako para bumili ng salompas.

pero nakita ko ‘to

ito ang nabili ko at nakalimutan ko yung salompas.

Bumalik ulit ako; tapos nakita ko naman ‘to

binili ko rin. pero di ko na kinalimutan yung salompas.

** at nakalaba na ‘ko ng mga curtina ** very thrilling day 

*****      *      *****       *      *****       *     *****  

Almost close to 3 months now since she found the money; all there and intact in the crumply paper bags - two of them-  that contained it. She hadn’t even dared look at it  after she had placed it under her kitchen sink the very same night she took it home and, in fact, now is just the second time that she is laying her eyes on it again. The first time was when she had attempted to count it which, she couldn’t finish because it felt really weird. Inexplicably weird. 

She surmises that the 2 sturdy paperbags, given their size and weight, must contain over one hundred million yen. Bundle upon bundle of ten thousand yen bills tied with thick, fettucine-like rubberbands; some are loose though as if deliberately undone. It is merely an approximate calculation and highly likely that the amount is even bigger, it’s hard to tell really how much but it’s a lot. She is keeping it in a place where her husband has a remote chance of looking in: under the sink where pots and pans are put.

That amount is adequate to matriculate more than 100 needy kids to college complete with board and lodgings; or build 3 elementary schools in a remote and marginalized area in the Philippines with regular lunch provision for its goers for a number of years; or pay for chemotherapy for many, many cancer patients who can’t afford it. Heck, surely enough to buy a house with a sprawling lawn in the swankiest residential village in Makati. The possibilities on how to spend it are infinite, she thinks. Maybe, even buying a tiny chateau in South of France or Costa del Sol.

But it’s not hers. And it is very wrong to keep it in her possession like that.  

It feels very wrong.

Pabalik na sila galing sa bayan ng xxx, dumayo sila doon upang makakita ng  iba’t ibang uri ng bulaklak at masilayan ang isang tanyag na puno ng Sakura na sinasabing may 300 taon ng nabubuhay, kakaiba ito at parang weeping willow ang hugis at hindi ordinaryo ang pagiging kulay rosas. Maghapon silang namamasyal at nag iikot sa magagandang lugar na mapapasyalan doon. Mga alas siyete na ng gabi ng pumasok sila sa interstate highway; anim na oras ang biyahe, pero mahigit kung pahinto hinto sa service area para magpahinga at bumili ng kung anu-anong sitsirya (na lagi nilang ginagawa pag naglo- long drive sila).  

One particular service area is in a place famous for its dairy products; they stopped there because she wanted to buy big plastic bottles of fresh youghurt drink that the town is known for, and different varieties of smoked cheeses too.  At dahil gusto niya ring bigyan ang ilang kaibigan niya ay bumili siya ng marami. Siya lang ang bumaba because the driver wanted to doze off, it was almost 11PM at walang masyadong nakahintong sasakyan doon save for a few huge trucks that haul goods and produce across the country. Bumili siya ng ilang bote ng yoghurt drink at ilang kahon ng queso, mabigat. Gusto niyang uminom ng yoghurt kaya bumili siya ng isang maliit which she wanted to drink outside the shop; maganda kasi ang gabi, maaliwalas at kita ang mga bituin, kahit may kalamigan pa ng konti dahil kauumpisa pa lang ang tag-sibol. Walang tao sa paligid at tahimik na tahimik, medyo madilim dahil sinadyang lagyan lamang ng mapuputlang ilaw ang paligid ng service area para hindi makasilaw sa mga gustong matulog sa kanikanilang sasakyan.  Umupo siya sa isang bench na situated against a wall na malapit sa may recycle/rubbish bins at doon niya ininom ang iniinom niya. Papunta pa lang siya doon ay nakita niya na may dalawang paper bags sa may gilid ng bench, hindi niya ito pinansin at inakalang basura lang o lata at bote na hindi pinaabot ng nagtapon na itapon sa kay lapit lapit namang tapunan. Siguro out of habit na mahilig mag ligpit, gusto niyang isama ang paper bags sa itatapon niyang bote ng yoghurt. Pero dahil nag-ingat pa rin siya at nag-isip na baka kung anong harmful stuff ang laman ng paper bags, she nudged one bag with her right foot until it tilted to one side. The bag opened and from it slid out what appeared to her was a bundle of ten thousand yen bills tied with a thick rubber band.     {caveat lector}

What if it is like one of those Twilight Zone episodes where you get to get, say, 1 million ++ dollars, but in exchange, a loved one of yours dies?

*  *  *  *             *             *  *  *  *        *           *****

sabi ni Marcia Burnham sa libro niyang ‘In the Presence of My Enemies’: 

“So this is what boot camp is for, I thought, to find out if we can handle adversity and take what life sends our way.I learned that sometimes we need to go through a lot of unpleasantness in order to get the job done. That life isn’t always wonderful. That happiness is not dependent on our circumstances but on our attitudes. Little did I know how important those lessons would become sixteen years later in the Philippine rain forest.”

Natapos ko rin ang libro niya sa kakaupo sa hintayan sa mga hospital at chiropractor’s clinic. Si Marcia Burnham at yung asawa niyang si Martin ang dalawa sa mga kinidnap ng mga abu sayyaf nung 2001 sa Dos Palmas Resort sa Palawan.