dual*ities

Hmm, it’s been way too quiet in here lately. I guess I was so caught up with projects here, there, and everywhere in the past few months that I failed to catch up with all the happenings in blogworld. But I wasn’t gonna let the holiday season pass without dropping in and giving proof of life.ü And what better way to do it than by doing a countdown to 2006? And this isn’t just your usual New Year’s countdown, but one that involves the fulfillment of some unfinished business—that is, three “tags” from ages ago that I haven’t responded to. Hehehe.

Let the countdown begin!

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Ten…

Nine…

Eight…

SEVEN Songs…

Tag courtesy of: Little Timoune

Original instructions: List seven of your favorite songs of the moment in your journal and force seven other people to repeat this process or a puppy somewhere in the world will be sad.

Modifications: Since the year is almost over (and also because the puppy in question is probably already all content and happy now knowing that a lot of blogheads all over the world did this survey in its honor), I decided to change it up a bit by doing my seven (7) favorite songs for 2005. Here goes [in no particular order]:

• Hand in My Pocket (Alanis Morissette) - Re-emerging this year as part of Jagged Little Pill’s 10^th year Anniversary release, this song could very well be the story of my life for the past 3 to 4 months—that is, juggling two (or three, or four) acts at the same time*. [*More about this on my subsequent post/s.*]

• For Now (Cast of “Avenue Q”) – This song is from that hit musical which I fondly refer to as “Rent meets The Muppets.” It speaks of the “temporary-ness” of things, which was very much my theme during most of 2005.

• All These Things I’ve Done (The Killers) – This one’s an upbeat song with a grave, almost desperate undertone. Before Mr. Brightside ever became a hit, there was this song. And it actually reminds me of the story of The Prodigal Son (yes, the one on the Bible). If ever they make a movie or play (rock/modern-day version) of that parable, this should be its theme song.

• Ang Ating Araw (Dicta License) – I like songs that have nationalistic undertones, and which speaks of hope. This is one of those. The band’s style isn’t so bad either—ala-After Image meets Francis M.

• Posible (Rivermaya) – Here’s another song that speaks of what Pinoys can do, if only we put our minds and hearts into achieving our goals. It was very much a fitting theme song for the 23^rd SEA games, where our athletes, for the first time in the history of the games, collectively bagged home the gold and made us momentarily (but only momentarily) forget about Garci, Ate Glo, et al.

Too bad, the Pinoy Big Brother Theme (ak.a. Pinoy Ako) by Orange and Lemons got more airtime, even at the games. The song’s not bad. In fact, I like the lyrics. But gosh, can anyone spell o-v-e-r-k-i-l-l?! (Plus, it’s involved in a rip-off controversy, which does not really speak well of Filipino artists.)

• Clocks (Coldplay) – The song is so three years ago, but it has always reminded me of time-pressured sports in general, and basketball in particular. Hence, I think it perfectly captures how seriously I took the collegiate basketball games to heart this season. 40 minutes (but 2 hours, really) of heart-stopping hardcourt action (gosh, I sound like a Studio 23 ad for UAAP) —that’s my idea of good, (not-so-)clean weekend fun. Harhar. As the song goes, nothing else compares.:)

• Kind and Generous (Natalie Merchant) – I dug this up when I was doing my Acknowledgments for my thesis, and it stuck with me since then. The words of the song would be something that I’d tell all those who, in one way or another, helped me out with my research and made the whole experience bearable and rewarding.:)

Six…

FIVE Career Paths…

Tag courtesy of: Kaladkarin and May8

The Question: “What five things did you want to be when you were a kid?”

My Answers:

• Artist - This has been my dream for the longest time. My mom and dad are both artists in their own right, so picking up on what they did best came naturally for me when I was a child. In my elementary years, I’d often be the class representative or the school’s entry to art contests. I became identified with art-related endeavors, that my classmates even tinkered with my surname and called me “Artist-Luis”. Haha. Eventually, I grew tired of the "label". I didn't like being pigeonholed, even then. Hence, in high school, I tried to keep a low profile in the art scene. No more major art contests for me at this point, although I’d still be always in charge of art projects (e.g., bulletin board, set and costume designs) in class and in the clubs I joined. My dreams of becoming an artist then took on different shapes—that of being a cartoonist (since I did make comic strips for the school paper then), a Disney animator, a children’s book illustrator, and so on and so forth. But never did I train formally to become any of those. In College, I illustrated for Heights, but the issues of the said publication were too few and far between to truly help me hone my skills. And those are probably the reasons why, even at this age, my drawing and painting abilities never progressed beyond grade school level. Tsk, tsk.
  

• Writer/Poet – During my latter years in grade school, my teachers started sending me to literary contests and workshops. This surprised me in the beginning, since I was used to joining art—not writing—contests. I enjoyed writing short stories and poems both for class and as a hobby, but I never thought I could do it competitively. Then I became part of the now-defunct children’s group called Talented and Gifted Philippines where, in one of the sessions with a young poet, I got convinced that one could actually make a career out of being a literary artist. But in high school, as I belonged to a class full of talented budding writers, I realized that I was kindergarten level compared to those who really took writing seriously. Reality took over, and this dream had to take a backseat as well.

• Performer/Singer/Actress – Oh yes, you better believe it! I had this “ambition” when I was, perhaps, about 4-6 years old. And I “blame” my relatives for it. Hehehe. They made me model clothes for C.O.D. [at age 3], got me to be the muse of the ADMU basketball team [at age 2-3], join Santa Cruzan parades, sing Lea Salonga's songs during Christmas parties, and dance to disco tunes during family get-togethers. Good thing that I woke up early on to the truth that I was better off doing my stuff at the background…errr, designing sets and costumes for people who did not have stage fright.:)

• Advertising Executive – When I was about 2 or 3 years old, my mom—who was then an Art Director at Basic Advertising—would actually bring me to her office. There I was, one chubby little kid amidst all those creative busybodies who were working on selling ideas to the public. Of course, it was only later on that I understood what they were doing, and their dynamism amazed me no end. I soon realized that I, too, wanted to be in the business so I could also come up with those brilliant tv and print ads. (And no, it wasn’t even about the money.) In College, I even minored in Marketing and took up mostly Advertising-related subjects as my electives, in the hopes that these units would help me pursue a career in the said field.

• *Whatchamacalit* - I did not know what to call it then. But I knew I wanted to do something for the benefit of “our less fortunate brothers and sisters”(as our teachers would call them). As early as our grade school years, my schoolmates and I have been exposed to urban poor communities in Tondo and Malate. Later on, when I joined the High School Outreach Club, I got a chance to interact with the street kids of Pasay and with the IPs (“katutubos”) of Pampanga and Zambales as well. Since then, the sense of wanting to make a difference in the lives of these people never left me. But the big question was: “How?” I never dreamed of becoming a teacher. And I did not want to become a nun (although later on, I realized that I wanted to become a Jesuit ü). So how, indeed?

It was only later on, after College—in fact, during my JVP years—that I realized that what I wanted to be become was a development worker. I didn’t have a name for it when I was younger, but I guess my “nose” for it helped me follow this track, even though it was not a very popular career option among my peers. Well, at least it sounds better than having a job called "whatchamacalit."ü

Four…

Three…

Two…

ONE Sentence…

Tag courtesy of: Anj and May8

Here are the rules to the tag:
1. Delve into your blog archive.
2. Find your 23rd post (or closest to).
3. Find the fifth sentence (or closest to).
4. Post the text of the sentence in your blog along with these instructions. Ponder it for meaning, subtext or hidden agendas.
5. Tag five people to do the same.

My 23^rd post was entitled Ch-changes, which was all about the 100^th episode of the original Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) series. The 5^th sentence of the entry reads:

“This time, the victim was a Las Vegas showgirl
who goes by the name Wendy Clancy.”

No subtexts and hidden meanings there. I was just plainly narrating the story. But if one moves on to the succeeding sentences, one would learn that the “Wendy” mentioned in this text is really a “Walter”. And that’s where the subtexts and nuances emerge.

So what does this topic say about me?

• I believe that the truth lies beneath the surface.
• I am sympathetic to the LGBT community. I admire and respect these individuals for having the courage to be themselves. Diversity rules!

Truth. Courage. Respect for each other. Come to think of it, these are things that I hope and pray for as well for the country and its people for 2005.ü

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And with that, let the fireworks begin!ü