Tuesday, August 15, 2006 [ 12:22 PM ]

MAGIC OF THE BOY WHO LIVED

I thought of not writing about this stuff the other day since I don’t think it was worth writing about. However considering the fact that it’s one of my life’s ironic surprises, I decided to do otherwise.

I have heard about this Harry Potter thing years ago but it didn’t draw my slightest attention. I knew that its movie renditions came from bestseller children’s book authored by J.K. Rowling but nothing more than that. I don’t even know what JK means or if he’s a she or a he. It always amazes me when I see my classmates and friends read those thick books, knowing that placing myself in their shoes, I may not stand reading even a single chapter of it given the fact that it’s all fiction.

But some sort of twist came to me last month. In one rainy morning, which happened to be my day-off, I sat on a chair, stared at the horizon and did nothing else. I’m bored and I cannot go anywhere since the flood outside was nearing waist level. I decided to look for my vcd’s and dvd’s but found all my James Bond and FPJ movie collections not that interesting since I have already watched them more than trice each. So I asked my cousin to lend me something to watch and eventually what he gave me was a 4in1 Harry Potter collection. I watched the first movie and I considered it nice. (I have already watched that before but in a pirated copy that’s why I didn’t appreciate it then) I watched the second until the last movie that day and to my surprise, I was amused by them.

The next day after I’ve had my HP marathon, I was in the office but my boredom didn’t depart. Since there’s nothing much to do then and I felt I wanted to continue the adventures of Harry, I called a friend whom I knew was a big HP fan and borrowed her copy of Order of the Phoenix. I knew she’s a fan of Harry coz she always bring a sorting hat replica bag in school. I read the book at breaks and idle hours at the office and finished it in a week. As expected the book dazed me than the movie.(Note for 1-2’s: I only read the book in the office and it didn’t take any of my priorities. I cannot read the scrolls there since majority of my officemates are INM.)

Knowing that there will always be idle hours at work and with my desire to continue with the adventure I decided to purchase a paperback copy of Half-Blood Prince and I found that book remarkable as far as having the element of suspense and leaving loose ends hanging in mid-air. Finished it in a week and it only leaves me looking forward for the final installment of the series.

Friends told me they can’t imagine me reading Harry Potter…so am I.
1 COMMENTS

Monday, August 14, 2006 [ 11:54 AM ]

CEDULA

"Cedula’y punitin tanda yan ng pagkaalipin!" That is one of the lines I can still remember from our school play when I was at grade 5. The setting there as far as I can remember was during the Spanish colonial era where Filipinos without cedula will surely go home with bruises all over the body or worst he may never get home at all.

Just only these past couple of days in seems that the fear of not having cedula aroused again in some parts of the country particularly in Nueva Ecija and Bulacan, parts of Central Luzon that is covered by the powers of Gen. Jovito Palparan. Recent news and interviews says that citizens in the place that cannot produce their cedulas will either be hurt or put to jail.

Some accounts tell that there is an incident where a man showed an expired cedula and the soldiers forced him to swallow the piece of paper. Another says that an old beggar asked a soldier how can he get his cedula when he cannot even buy his food. The beggar was slapped in the face. These accounts were, of course, denied by Gen. Palparan, among with other stories of military abuses.

I personally believe that although some of these stories were exaggerated, there are pieces of truth in it. The smoke wouldn’t be there if there is no fire. Based on character background and testimonies of many, the story of the abuse of power can never be a full fiction. I am not against the military checkpoints asking for cedula, it’s ok. But why not just ask for any valid ID? Private corporations are looking for it for their legal transactions and not cedula. Even if the military says that ID can easily be faked, do they know that cedula, a paper in size of a receipt, is easier to fake? Do they know that the younger generation doesn’t even know what a cedula is? Or even what does it look like? Professionals all have ID’s but I don’t think all of them have a cedula. I think these illogical actions of Gen.Palparan are boosted because of the President’s encouragement during her SONA. “Palakpakan natin si General Jovito Palparan”
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Tuesday, August 08, 2006 [ 11:12 AM ]

AGAIN

It’s been months since my last entry and now finally another worthless entry just for the sake of updating.

I used to update entries regularly before when I was still at school for the simple reason that Internet use then was free. Well technically Internet use was part of the tuition but still, the fee doesn’t come from my pocket unlike now that almost in everything I am supposed to be self sufficient.

Update: I won P2000 in a raffle of our recent company party, but unfortunately it was forfeited because I didn’t attend the event. I really forced myself to go there and I succeeded, but again unfortunately I wasn’t able to find the venue (Crown plaza, Ortigas) my horrible sense of direction was responsible for it again. I got lost again. I tried to call for help but unfortunately, no one answered their phones XD (I’m just not sure if they knew why I called, maybe they thought that was just a joke)

As expected after being absent in 2 company parties, almost everyone thought I just don’t want to go to gatherings because I’m not a sociable person. Maybe yes, maybe no but I don’t care, I’m just sorry for that P2000 I imagined having wings and flying out of my hand.
3 COMMENTS