"We're going to Mount Olympics!"

I quote that from Mark Caguioa, dakilang manlalaro ng larangang basketbol. Never mind if he got his verbal imagery mixed up. =))

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Thank you to the people who took some time to look at my previous post. I'm glad you liked it. :) I'll make you one if you like. I'm happy doing those things for people who appreciate them.

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I got a stamp on my hand that says "Keep up the good work!" with a smiling sun in the middle. I haven't had my hand stamped since I was in Kindergarten! Hehe. Thrilled me to bits when I got it for English-- it reminds me of my backpack-toting days (back when my backpack was still bigger than I was).

Haha. The stamp made my day. I was having a bad one because of Trig (and we had that first thing in the morning!): ginawa ko nga yung assignment, puro mali naman. The frustrating thing about it is how easy it is to understand, yet I can't get anything right when it comes down to it. Carelessness, darn! A stub here and a nick there-- by the end of the day, bugbog-sarado yung grades ko. Nge. At the rate I'm going, I don't know how I'll make up for it in this quarter. -__-

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And here are my hero artists! (because I wasn't able to stick this in the last post.) My stuff looks... BLAND compared to theirs. But that's the way it goes.

Spork's work: It's hard picking one to represent the kind of art she does. Er, just click over her site to see her other works. I learned anatomy proportions from her, as well as a bit of other oddments (I attribute my pouty-lips and lidded-eyes illustrations to her). I haven't quite grasped her coloring/digital painting techniques though: I tried her tutorial, and the practice sheet seemed to look fine until I took off the lines, and it came out as a blotchy mess. Haha! That's what I mean by being messy with PS.

This image is FRIKKIN HUGE(!!!!) though. Sorry about that.

Elbert Or-- I first saw one of his comic strips in Meg. I liked it so much I tracked him down online. Turns out he has a blog: http://mars4.blogspot.com HUZZAH! I really like his drawing style and versatility. He writes pretty darn well too. I think he's teaching English in Ateneo now.

Bleedman (also known as Vinzon Ngo)-- He has his own Wikipedia page, and an online following to boot. Beat that! He's Filipino by the way. If you're one of the tech-savvy artists out there, I'm sure you've heard of his comics. http://bleedman.deviantart.com I didn't bother saving the bigger version of this image.

An oodle of doodle

I think it's cute. Haha! Well it should be! I spent about three hours mopping it up for neatness points even though the out-of-line coloring wasn't really visible. And considering I photoshop like I have my arse on instead of my head, I think this one came out pretty well. Half the credit goes to PS, whose nice colors, pretty effects and excellent brushes make anything worth looking at. And half of the credit, I suppose, goes to my left hand (for doodling this in the first place) and to my right hand (for putting up with the manual coloring, even though my poor pointer finger was already locking at the joints). The plaid skirt was a PAIN to draw-- I'm counting it in as one more reason why I don't like our skirt-- and coloring on the wrong layers can make you cry. But I don't mind the extra minutes of rectifying everything. This is for someone, and I like giving stuff to people. :D

If I'm not mistaken, this is Cuteness Variation number... 4. I can't remember. It's something I acquired about two years ago, from either Spork, Bleedman or Elbert Or. (I'll try linking to them so you can see their works). That's it.

SPOILAGE! But not really.

So many-- DEAD!!! I got a little weepy on those parts. Everything, EVERYTHING about it was BRILLIANT. BRILLIANT. I was clutching my face for the most part because I was seriously and honestly on the point of jumping up and yelling, "RUUUUUN!" At the book. Harhar.

I clocked it in at 9 hours and 30 minutes. Hm. That's 11 AM-5PM-- then we watched HP5 (maygad, what a Potter-saturated day it was yesterday)-- and then I resumed reading at 9PM-12:30AM. Partly because of suspense and partly because I did not want anyone on Monday spoiling it for me, I finished it.

Basahin niyo na, bago pa nila ikwento sa inyo. Ayun.

The Deathly Hallows

No I haven't read it yet. I haven't even bought the book (HAHA!). But as with all things huge and popular and highly anticipated, there will be fans excited enough to finish the book in one day. And then they lend the book to me. Within the same day. Huzzah! In this case, it's Ate Kit, who just finished HP7 two hours ago. Not really surprised. I've known her to read into the wee hours in the morning and finish book 6 without stopping, as well as juggle three fantasy books with work (keeps her sane, she says).

Ah, The Deathly Hallows. I hope Harry dies, MWAHAHAHAHAHA! I like sadistic plot endings. Or maybe Voldemort could die and everything would be well blah blah blah, but Harry would be too scarred to be happy, so he sails off into the undying lands (sounds familiar? :P). Or if Harry doesn't die and Voldemort doesn't either, Rowling would make book 8 and make everybody happy. Yay! Win-win situation!

I think I'll borrow the seventh tomorrow. After I watch HP 5. (And see angsty Harry raaaaaawring at everybody else.)

Greekiness

I took some screenshots of this game I was playing all summer long. Geeky, I know, but it actually helped me retain the Greek gods and goddesses and whatnot. There ya go! So it does have its uses afterall. Just thought I'd share it with you guys. :)

It's a bit image heavy though.


[L-R: Arkantos (fictional Atlantean hero... I think), Ajax, Chiron the centaur. I'm referring to the picture above btw.] I'm in the Underworld trying to get out.


Enemy Minotaurs


Enemy Cyclopes-- the shades are mine; they scout for me hehe.


Tartarus. They're not supposed to be ramming it down...


Pegasus, two Medusas (and hey! They actually look like the Medusa in the movie!) and another Minotaur. My camp this time.


A Kraken sent by Poseidon. Personally, I think it looks better than the godzilla-lookalike the film conjured up. Even though this one looks like a squid. It's also throwing one of my archers around.

Some gods and goddesses






That's just for the Greek episode of the whole game. It still has an Egyptian and Norse part, but those are boring, especially the Norse.

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I was looking around Book Sale last Saturday, and this made me do a double-take:



It needs tweaking, but it's close enough, di ba? You know what I mean. Pero kung hinde, just skip this part. :P

Vasovagal syncope is another word for SWOON

I'm doing my research now for Emergencies. Frankly, I don't know what to look for; I'm a bit lost on what's going to happen tomorrow. I'm not sure I'm excited about meeting with PNPA cadets...

Okay. O_O I think I may be doing something to my contact lenses that I'm not supposed to do. My right eye has been acting unhappily for two weeks now-- its moods are acting up every other day, and I've had people ask me if got punched or something. I didn't think this was serious! Right, maybe more cleaning would be required than usual, but since my left eye is doing fine, I don't know why it's still going this way. My mom's getting mad at me for not getting glasses-- she's been saying all sorts of cheery things like eye infections and eye damage. Well I DID tell her that my pair got broken. -_- She didn't seem to mind then. BAH. I want to goooo to a doctor! And to think they scare me.

Lessons learned: (as said by the world wide web)

Never wear your lenses for more than 12 hours.

ALWAYS put in a new solution when storing lenses.

Do NOT touch the opening of your lens solution, ever. (Oh shit!)

GUILTY! Oh I am guilty! I would bawl at this, if not for the fact that my eyes are weepy enough as it is. (I've taken them off though. As soon as I read an entire web page on the subject.)

Sorry. This really is another boring blog entry on eye care. So to compensate, these are the (slightly) interesting things that happened today:

i tried practicing the kulintang part (DX... or DP ba?) for the National Anthem. It's a little tricky going about the rhythmic pattern, but I think I'm going to like hitting on round metal objects with a boss on them!

I saw Anna Theresa Licaros a while ago. She was being eaten alive by the gradeschoolers, who were cornering her for her autograph. It was a little... scary.

I managed to scrape by Envi Ed without research. Dapat hindi niyo pinapahalata na wala kayong alam tungkol sa pinag-uusapan nila. I'm a little used to it already, but still I was relieved when the period was over.

I watched the Bloomfields at RP with Ate. Saw Martha (hey Martha!) and Kookie.

I took a look around at the shops. So it is true then: we are now entering the BAGGY JEANS phase. Msn already broadcasted that during the summer, so I'm not really surprised. I'm not sure as to what kind of bagginess they really are though.

There.

7/11!

Two years ago, exactly on this day, Neil Gaiman ended his three-day stay here in the Philippines. That was a Monday. A sad Monday. Iwasntabletogodangit!

Someday, I will meet you. And take pictures! And get my books signed! So keep yourself healthy Mr Gaiman, so you'll still be alive 8 years from now.

-(This blog entry is 1 day late.)-

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My Tito actually bought me the Pride and Prejudice sheet music, as per my request!!! YES! I was jumping around when I got it. I will finally be able to play it! I don't think anything I've ever asked for has made me so happy-- maybe except for times when I'm able to get decent sleep. I've been frequenting the piano this week more often than I've done so in a month, and that's saying a lot.

I've realized though, in spite of revived enthusiasm fueling my practices, that I need to go back to my exercise books to brush up on technique. I suddenly find myself lacking enough fingers to press everything at the same time. Bad fingering, I know. I can't believe I lost that! Ah well, I might get around to it over the weekend. Just maybe. Senior year is such a... struggle. I feel like I'm holding a huge pile of stuff in my arms held together by parcel strings; the load isn't bad, it's keeping everything together that sucks. I'm losing a quiz here and a requirement there-- and the teachers are NOT helping by being unavailable all the time. Pfft.

I think being a good student means delicately balancing delinquency and excellency. (Well it's the academic mantra that got me this far!) Scrimp when you can (so you can get some sleep for goodness sake!), but take all opportunities that come by. And by that, I mean even raising your hand to answer the most inane questions your teacher throws at you.

But that's just me. I'll still have to see if that applies to college as well.

The Camera

Some of our cabinets are equal to your lola's classic baul: they contain things so old, they could've been prehistoric. And most of the time, I'd rather not open them. Just a while ago though, I had to look for this particular book on Philippine presidents for Economics. I came across it about two years ago, cluttering up the table with the rest of its space-eating brethren. I found it mildly interesting. But it was boring, so it didn't really occur to me to put it somewhere better.

So yes, I can't find it now.

But I did get something better! I opened one of the cabinets over our study table (which, by the way, is a first in 17 years!) and took a peek at the contents: papers, folders, paperbacks. These were my parents' pre-offspring days, when they still read stuff about children and families and getting spiritual (which comprised a good 75% of the book titles)-- there was actually nothing special about those, and I was going to go look somewhere else when something caught my eye.

(Cue background music here.)

Black and hardbound, the cover was simply a bird's eye view of a camera. On the spine, in plain white letters was the title: The Camera. (And crescendo!)

A photography book!!! And a really good photography book at that. My parents never told me much about their previous life (that is, what they were like as individuals before they got married), so I feel ecstatic when I come across their books that happen to be in my field of interest! Ah, cabinet, you do have your perks!

I plucked it from the shelf (after warily shaking it a little) and set it in front of me. The first page housed an insect that looked like it could've come from the primordial soup. I scared it off with the dumbell (easily reachable on the right). Dunno if I killed it though. It disappeared after a few pokes.

I spent the next hour unsticking the pages, which was like opening envelopes with a letter opener. (I tore one page, oops, but who cares. The book is mine anyway.) It has a section on the camera, camera history (I didn't know Lewis Carroll was a hobbyist photographer!), photography as an art, and personal styles. And it really is turning out to be something quite fascinating.

My sister happened to ask, "San nanggaling yan?"

"From the 1980s."

Haha, old, I know, but I like it all the more. I believe in traditional photography. And finding a book that was written with no Adobe Photoshop in mind is so comforting. I don't have anything against PS-- it's just that I don't believe one should solely rely on it to enhance a photo. I believe skill trumps all, regardless of the newness/oldness of technology or medium used. If you have that, then you don't need fancy effects.

I love photography. But I don't think photography likes me back. Oh well. For those who can't do, we read and take note. So that though we can't shoot the photo, at least we have enough sense to admire a photograph for its worth.

What a fun, tingly experience! On the downside, I still need more research on the Garcia administration. T_T Boo.

Eh!

Martha!!! I was going to tell you if you asked. IF you asked. (I know it's illogical, but!) :)) You could've aaaaaaasked me-- your group kinda HOLLERED it at me ten meters down the corridor. :)) Technically, that doesn't end with a question mark. :)) But now you know; I'm just surprised you didn't notice it sooner. :)) I was actually in your (distant) network even before the Kapatiran.

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Got sick yesterday. My head felt like a bucket of slops. So yeah, if the pasta wiggles, don't eat it. It could've come from my head. Still a little busy collecting bits and pieces of my brain, you know.

Back to my sprightly self now. And my tongue is back to 50% normalcy! This means I now can taste a grand total of two flavors(?) at present: salty and saltier. Fuuuun.

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May theory si Bianca kung bakit mahaba yung bangs ni Miggy Chavez: mataas daw kasi yung hairline niya. =))