A lot of people from different backgrounds converge in Jollibee. Talk about the universality of food, this one takes the cake I guess. Where the masses dine with the well-off. Big men and small Asian guys, old women and their beautiful apos. Tatay with his seven children. And the childless couple sharing an ice craze order.

Started with burger today. TLC. Tomato lettuce and cheese yum burger. Always had that home-cooked torta taste to it, no wonder pinoys go gaga over Jollibee burgers. The salad was another thing. Not normally found in the pinoy table but health-conscious people have been adding it to their diets. Pair it with Asian dressing and it’s a blast.

This is home.

Bought a pad of drawing paper. Hopefully I’ll get to sketching again. Miss doodling but now I gotta have reason for it. Haven’t done real traditional art pieces. I’d love to explore installation art. It’s kinetic, physical and involves time and space. Dynamic art. Every minute counts in a 3d piece. Sometimes the artwork changes in a heartbeat.

I’m having the birthday blues right now. Suddenly I’m feeling really old. That’s when you grow lonely and alone. Even crowds can’t dispel the feeling; you stand isolated amidst the throng of busy shoppers and Jollibee patrons. Called cousin a while back. It has become more important to me to connect to family now than ever. Somehow I feel it will justify me. Define me. Prove my existence is not a fluke. I think therefore I’m supposed to be. No longer.

The old man seated across me has left. He had Chickenjoy and a burger at the same time. The old lady before him had spaghetti and rice. Carbo plus carbo. No wonder she could kick. She got loads of excess Jollibee energy.

The high school basketball team on the other table is feasting on both regular Jollibee fare and gonuts donuts. Shouldn’t they be charged of corkage?

Perhaps I should run now. I can hang out in PowerBooks while waiting for the screening of masahista to start. It gets idle. And I’m restless again. The night falls.

Frustrating going round fully-booked and not having money to buy anything. Or time to read any of the books in the first place. I like the sight of books. All these writers and published material and no one to read them unless you’re literary rock stars like Neil Gaiman, Gabriel Garcia Marquez or even (shudder*) popcorn writer John Grisham. Even the fan boys of comic geek Dom have idols. Adam West. Scott Lobdell. Chris Claremont. Gerry Alanguilan.

To be a master of words. Poetry in visuals. Images in letters. The imagination can be richer than what the eyes can see or words can express. What am I saying?

and it’s gonna be another year for me. Pan! im not ready to take another birthyear. im so much more comfortable with just being 25. in a week’s time, im gonna be turning 25 again. how many times have i done that?

the rain has started to seep through the kitchen floor. the last time it flooded inside the house my old leather shoes got soaked and tita tems had to dry it out behind the ice box. i put out the mop and left it by the door to catch the water. so far the floodwater is about 3 inches high from above the ground.

ive been trying to take it slow the past few days. it helps keep my sanity. last night some friends invited me to join them at saguijo’s. although i had work the next day i decided to join in the fun. the “i-love-you” store in the 2nd floor is still decked with curious items and fascinating finds. the dressing room still bears my mark. last valentines day i penned “Love is another four-letter word.” the other word starts with an f.

i miss sitting with friends in a bar and nursing a draft. or a horse for that matter. ive let go of drinking much and a bottle is fine with me. i prefer conversation of visions and grand ambition, it gets the blood boiling. mundane matters is fine as long as it is not laced with regrets. i have my issues to deal with, thank you.

Pan! j.m. barrie wrote about a boy who never grew up. one day the boy did. and he became a lawyer. his past caught up with him and he had to learn to fly again. what about the rest of us who is still trying to shake off the pixie dust yet are still enjoying the trips to neverland?

im gonna be 25 years again next week. wanna take a trip? to that first star to the right and straight up til morning.

getting restless yet again

ill take a bath then will head out so i dont get jitters here at home wanting to be creative. ill try to paint something or write something and then ill let you know. ill draw something and design something, make something.

artists are restless when they get inspired to do something. it’s been awhile since i got inspired to do anything out of whimsy. cheers to life, and other mysteries.

here is the 5-question interview from poninski she posted for me. if you wanna join the game hit me.

1. if your life story was going to be filmed, who would you want to play you?yul brynner. no young actor is interesting enough or would look good bald 🙂 also, all of them look like they came off the same mill plant. maybe jericho rosales could audition for that but he would be too old to play me by the time the film gets produced. we’ll get a CG yul brynner to act and speak bisaya and sing RENT for me hehehe

2. what’s your most embarassing childhood experience?my whole childhood was embarassing! kidding aside i dont remember any, probably i already had them mind swiped

3. what’s your ultimate dream bathroom? 🙂
ive always been fascinated by bathrooms. it’s the most taken-for-granted room in the house. and you’d be surprised a lot of people dont give much notice to how their bathrooms are planned. i prefer a well-lit bathroom, good enough for reading. segregated areas for wet and dry activities (what do you mean by that? hehehe) a couch to make chitchat with your family while you trim your nose hairs on the cantilevered silver sink. house plants to make the bathroom more in tune with nature (jungle effect, back to the prehistoric age of toilet training). big windows (better ventilation) without compromising privacy (or if you arent that squeamish anyway).

my ultimate dream bathroom includes a book library, a skylight, a siphon vortex toilet bowl paired with a water saver closet, and hot and cold water piping 🙂 plus a massage shower system.

4. what do you think you’re going to look like ten years from now? (i’ll check this ten years from now if you’re right..hehe)
it’s not unlikely id end up looking like my dad. big tummy. bald head. id just have less arm and leg hairs that’s all. id still be sporting a shaved head, maybe less of a goatee, silver bangles and a few rings, maybe a nose ring. still thin but with bigger tummy, sandals forever, me strutting around fine arts as (hopefully) one of the professors there. sling bags and muslim shawl, the works

5. what’s one characteristic that instantly attracts you to a person?
a particular ease and self-confidence (the sure-of-self kind, the not arrogant type) and a sincerity of character. no pretensions, no hangups, no issues. to go further, one who is open-minded, highly respectful of the existence of others, optimistic and observant, intuitive and introspective. moreover (if i am allowed to go on), knows when to talk up a storm and when to shut up, when to exercise GMRC skills and when to be bastos. follows etiquette rules and knows when to break them.

ok, the key word to the questions is what “instantly” attracts you to a person. i’d say a particular ease and self-confidence (the sure-of-self kind, the not arrogant type) and a sincerity of character.

hehehe

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Now, for the Official Interview Game Rules:

1. If you want to participate, leave a comment below saying “interview me.”
2. I will respond by asking you five questions – each person’s will be different.
3. You will update your journal/blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview others in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.

If you don’t have a blog, I can still ask you 5 unique questions in my Comments page, and you can post your answers there.

since the tvc is airing i can post this pic.

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another pic inside 24-hour store outlet storage freezers. this one is in 7-11 katipunan.