mon was here

Eternal Return

2008-07-28T23:04:00.000-07:00

I remember reading this back in my freshman undergrad for philosophy. I really liked the way it was said, I only remembered the gist but stumbled upon the actual quote just today. I thought it would be a nice way to swipe the dust off this blog of mine...

What, if some day or night a demon were to steal after you into your loneliest loneliness and say to you: ‘this life as you now live it and have lived it, you will have to live once more and innumerable times more’… would you not throw yourself down and gnash your teeth and curse the demon who spoke thus? or have you once experienced a tremendous moment when you would have answered him: ‘you are a god and never have i heard anything more divine.’

- Friedrich Nietzsche

I need to learn to sleep with my eyes open.

2008-03-31T04:00:00.001-07:00

6:59am.

Now before anyone says that turning my laptop on is the first thing I do in the morning...
you just said one more wrong thing in your lifetime. I feel sorry for you. :P

I haven't had any sleep yet,
this needs to stop...
the days are melding together,
and i see the sun rise and fall almost daily.

Gone are the weeks called February and March....
Christmas was only yesterday, and Easter just a few hours ago...

Things are moving so fast, I am trying my hardest just to keep up
and still try to maintain what I do in my life...

Maybe I need to learn to sleep with my eyes open.

Support Original Filipino Animation!

2008-03-19T20:25:00.000-07:00

Copy and Paste the code below
to your blog/website!

<a href="http://www.tuldokanimation.com/"><br /></a>

RRR: "Jumper"

2008-03-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Jumper- Another great idea ruined

I just came from watching "Jumper" starring Hayden Christensen the other day and aside from the compliments I can give the film regarding its special effects and locations, everything else was simply painful to watch...

Basically it's about a guy who learns how to teleport and eventually there is a secret society called the Paladins who are out there to eradicate him and others like him (Jumpers).

Now that would make a great story if only they explained all of those things much more than simply showing them on screen trying to beat the heck out of each other. As a human being I think I would like to know WHY things happen.

Jumper continues the trend with a great idea
badly executed. :(

Dear filmmaker, PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY these things are happening??

Why can he teleport?
Why do these guys want to kill the teleporters?
Why is it taking such a freaking long time for Hayden Christensen's character to explain what a jumper can do?
Why does Samuel L Jackson look like Sisqo?

Explaining, or at least rationalizing these things help add to a suspension of disbelief that entertaining films are supposed to give, showing really good compositing and special effects does not make it real anymore.

Add that to a pretty messy storyline and editing, it does seem like the film was also jumping all over the place.

PS: I really like the idea of teleporting to wherever you want to though. ;)

vicious 5 year olds!

2008-03-15T23:17:00.000-07:00

when push comes to shove and when 5 year old kids turn vile, nasty and cannibalistic,
morals just simply go out the window. :)

bring em on!

30

it must be the food

2008-03-14T22:41:00.000-07:00

Alright, given my current hectic schedule just to fulfill all my weekly requirements, I sleep at dawn and wake up at noon almost already on a daily basis. It's tough. And because of this i have actually gotten used to eating two meals a day: brunchienda (breakfast and lunch, taken on merienda time, aka 3-4pm) and middinner (late dinner taken close to but not yet, midnight!)

Despite this, I am now the heaviest I have ever been in my life! hahaha... I gained around 12 pounds already since I arrived in the US, even if I am not sticking to the 3 meals a day minimum!

I usually averaged at 150lbs, the heaviest I got was 155 when I went all gym crazy and got some protein shakes and did the 5 meals thing back home complete with a Rocky inspired milkshake (with raw egg!). But i peaked at 155. Peaked. That was the limit then!

but this is crazy:
two meals a day only and I have gained even more than when i was gym crazy.

Which leads me to think....

The food here must be very nutritious. Whatever is in it, more vitamins, minerals, nutrients, etc... organic or non organic. (Which i think is close to BS, because the only non organic food would be fast food, but let's leave that to another post...)

anyway, back to food nutrition and health... would this be the reason why we lag behind during the olympics? I can't help but remember what my swim coach told us when he blew his top one morning coz we couldn't finish a lap within a certain time... he said that if we were in the US, things would probably be different, we would be stronger and faster...

is it the food? coz training wise, I know our athletes train just as hard as their counterparts, if not even more so (heck, I know I did) for these things...
and our top athletes go to the US before a big game too...
we lack the equipment and the facilities to even come close to being compared to an olympian team training (unless youre talking about Philippine basketball, which again, is another post altogether)

I am speaking of this if there had to be a percentage of whether its training, equipment, mindset, and nutrition, I think I can now see why our athletes are being beat... it must be the food.

Im not putting down our own food (i am actually craving for all of them now, and what I wouldn't do to just have some adobo, pansit, kaldereta or bistek right now....), we have GREAT tasting food and the most amazing cooks in the world, but in terms of nutrition content... I dont think it's equal...

it must be the food.

talk about an ego boost!

2008-03-08T20:03:00.001-08:00

Congratulations, you're worth MORE in bed than the average ($210.40496872418) person taking this quiz!

this was fun. start saving, ladies!

PS: ripped from anna's blog

when will this happen again?

2008-02-14T21:21:00.000-08:00

a few months ago I uploaded some shorts to atomfilms.com,
I must say I like the results! :)

when will this happen again? i don't really know, but I'm open to history repeating itself.
har har har.

January 7th, 2008

2008-01-07T18:41:00.000-08:00

Bring it on, 2008!

2008-01-06T18:33:00.000-08:00

I am ready for this semester! (food wise, at least!)

RRR: Earthwise reusable grocery bags!

2008-01-06T17:59:00.000-08:00

In the few months I was here and doing some grocery shopping I must admit the amount of plastic bags I got for every item I purchased was more than the usual (at least from where I'm from!) double, triple bags. bags everywhere! Of course the Inconvenient Truth still lingered in my mind and the idea of a sinking world didn't really sit well with me.

well anyway....

I saw this bag in the grocery store, it looked interesting, and it seemed that I could use it over and over again. so i looked at my groceries and then the bag, then the groceries then the bag, then I saw that hey, two of these bags can fit my grocery for the day! so i thought i'd give it a try.

The fabric was good, a nice 100% woven polypropylene, (my favorite!)
and had a nice green color too. i like green. It's base is supported by a thin black plastic sheet for your cans and milk and your occasional M18A1 Claymore Antipersonnel Mine, or Hippo liver Pâté.

Carrying it was quite comfortable too, without the usual plastic handles weaving into a fine rope ready to slice through your flesh.

so, for the very first Ramon's Random Review (RRR),
I present the Earthwise reusable grocery bag!

Material: 100% woven polypropylene
Color: Green
Size: (LxHxW) 12" x 13" x 8"

Verdict:

The lack of Wifi support and USB 2.0 ports kept this bag from being perfect, but it's a good start.

visit www.earthwisebags.com if you want to.

"If there is something to desire"

2008-01-04T17:50:00.000-08:00

I saw a pretty interesting poem on the subway the other day.
In New York they call subway the train. :P
(now you know!)

"If there is something to desire"
by Vera Pavlova

If there is something to desire,
there will be something to regret.

If there is something to regret,
there will be something to recall.

If there is something to recall,
there was nothing to regret.

If there was nothing to regret,
there was nothing to desire.

------------------------------------------------
Just one of those things that will surely drive you mad thinking about it.

It does make sense though, I can somehow sense some sort of peaceful sarcasm in it, but that's just me.

Look for it!

bodies...

2008-01-01T19:07:00.001-08:00

We just entered the lower level. I could not believe my eyes...

Bodies...

Bodies were just everywhere, lying on the cold floor,
many were lying face flat on the ground,
those that were still conscious huddled together, just trying to keep each other warm.

what a sight...

I stumbled across the field, finding a place to rest,
gasping as my heart started to palpitate and my vision blurring
from toxins I took in earlier.

then we heard the announcement. it was time to leave.
We desperately carried our poisoned selves finding
the closest passageway we could get to home.

Dawn started to break.

.
.
.
.

and That was the New York Penn station, early morning of new year's 2008!
after a great New Year's eve out with my cousin and his good friend,
we made it back home. and yes, the place was full of drunk people on the floor!

my only regret is I don't have a pic!!! darn!

Happy New Year 2008!
Things are only going to get better! :)

-Ramon

Happy (Homesick) Holidays!

2007-12-27T11:01:00.000-08:00

This was my very first Christmas away from family ever.
Feels weird, and different. Although I did get to spend it with my relatives in New Jersey, its still different when you're with your family. It was fun anyway and a different experience,
and the food was great! My aunt is a great cook and I'm stuffed as usual! I will eat like a pig while I'm here in NJ before going back to starving student mode back in the city! (just kidding ma, dont worry, I'm not starving!)

yep, that's where I would have stood!

During normal days homesickness doesn't hit you as much. It's when the holidays come in, like Christmas or Thanksgiving where you see everyone talk about visiting their families that you realize you aren't able to do the same thing, although you wish you could at times... this is the first year I was in Grinch/Scrooge mode: avoiding xmas carols, songs, commercials! billboards! arrrgggh!

Now before I break down into a homesick monologue any further, I thought I'd do a little something to help cheer me up... or at least distract me from homesickness. :P

Ahhh... nothing like one of Santa's elves to help cheer me up. ;)

Happy Holidays everyone!
-Ramon

more eating!!!

2007-12-21T11:46:00.000-08:00

had a nice little get together with friends from SVA, more FOOD!!!
oh yeah the waiter looked like Stephen Spielberg too.

SVA Xmas Party!

2007-12-18T11:36:00.000-08:00

I think its normal that people would be hungry after a whole week of stress...

nyaaarrrggghhhh!!! not meeeeee!!!!

sfx: soft breeze...

good stuff. see you all next semester!

Finals at SVA!!!

2007-12-12T09:17:00.000-08:00

cue final exams montage music...

oh well, glad its over, goodluck to everyone!

The fruit of Dr. Moreau: The Grapple

2007-12-11T08:51:00.000-08:00

Here's a fruit that would make Dr. Moreau as giddy as a schoolgirl, and would be set alongside dolly the sheep and the mutant kfc chickens as one of man's attempts at screwing with nature.

alright so its not really a genetic mutant crossbreed freakfruit, but was probably a crate of apples that fell in grape juice, and some marketing genius thought he'd make a million bucks out of this.

First day of snow!!!

2007-12-02T12:20:00.000-08:00

First day of snow in New York! weeeeee!!!

of course I couldn't go skating or make a snow angel or whatever... I was too cold to move. :P

It does look cool though (for someone who comes from a place with a 80-90'F average! mwahahaha)

enjoy it...

enjoy...

..coz when the snow melts, it mixes with the dirt and becomes dirty grimy mud resembling chocolate cookie crumble slush that flies to your face when some inconsiderate jackass speeds through the road in his stupid car. :)

-Ramon

A strong lock doesn't always protect your bike...

2007-11-23T08:47:00.000-08:00

well at least we know the lock works!

nice day!

2007-10-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Contentment

2007-10-16T14:18:00.000-07:00

Here, the Nintendo DS beats the new Intel Mac Pro and a SUN workstation! take that!

my first new york bomb scare

2007-09-17T16:54:00.000-07:00

.
.
.

the bag was found to contain nothing, and the the gallant bomb disposal man walked back to an applauding audience.
The end! (for now)

Give in to the fruit!

2007-09-10T18:20:00.000-07:00

I thought i'd never get one, thinking it was all just a fad and just the same as every other mp3 player there is... but all these hours spent commuting and staring out the window drove me to let go...

You win apple! I shall remember this day...

woohoo, my very first ipod. a black ipod classic 80gb. :)
I must say it lives up to its hype. I'm glad I got one, but i'm glad I waited too. hahaha... poor guys spent the same amount a few years ago for a 10gb ipod... and I've got 80! wahahaha....
alright i'll keep quiet now.

-Ramon

Welcome to the SVA MFACA program!!!

2007-08-30T14:00:00.000-07:00

Now before you turn your tongue into a tourniquet, SVA is short for my graduate school, the School of Visual Arts. and MFACA stands for Masters in Fine Arts, Computer Arts!

Time to meet and greet your fellow SVA grad students!

It was really great. They had this meet and greet on top of a gallery in Chelsea, and the weather was perfect!

School of Visual Arts!

2007-08-27T13:43:00.000-07:00

This is it... I've travelled halfway around the world for this school. Its different seeing it in a website or through forum comments and all... now I am standing right in front of it!!!

freebies galore!!! Filipinos love freebies. :)

oh yeah... I went to the wrong school. apparently the graduate building is 3 to 4 avenues away. silly me.

I am in NEW YORK!

2007-08-27T10:26:00.000-07:00

It's a good thing the NJ Transit is quite organized so you know where youre going. after harrassing a few passengers with a few "where am i" tourist questions, I was reassured that I was on my way to New York.

90 minutes later, I arrive in port authority, excited with what lay beyond these walls. I step out to be "greeted" by people selling the daily times and handing out the AM newspaper, and some hotdogs too. To my surprise, Times Square was just a few blocks away!

I made it!!!

from Tanjay, Negros Oriental...

such a beautiful day too! well time to be tourist-y for a while. The naked cowboy scared me.

PS: Happy birthday Glob!

-Ramon

Fulbright Gateway Orientation: Portland, Oregon

2007-08-24T16:28:00.000-07:00

From there I met all the other Fulbrighters who are starting their program for 2007.
An amazing group of people, and you can see that these guys will somehow shape the world later on. They were all so intelligent.

The most smartest peoples! :P

Anyway, yeah this was probably the largest group of intelligent people gathered in one area at one time. All of a sudden I started wondering what was I doing here...? :-S

One of the aspects of the Fulbright program was the orientation of the foreigner to US culture, to minimize culture shock, and culture crashes (i miss that comic!- its a local comic. google it).
It was pretty interesting, but I must say coming from the Philippines which is pretty westernized already, I had an easier time adjusting than others. In fact, the Philippines is so westernized, it's like we're the unknown state of the US.

But we're not.

me and some of my Fulbright buddies. one of the more interesting things you find out when meeting people from other countries especially if you share a common history, (our four countries- Philippines, Mexico, Argentina, Panama all have Spanish ancestry) you just cant help but be amazed at all the similarities you share. similar language, same expressions, same celebrations, same cuss words (well similar ones), similar mannerisms! it's like finding a long lost cousin. :)

Portland, Oregon

2007-08-23T12:23:00.000-07:00

nice of them to explore the town inbetween orientations! :)

Arrival at Ondine Hall

2007-08-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

We were all given a residence called the Ondine Hall, a dorm in Portland State University.
A beautiful dorm I must say.

nice beds, great desk!
yeah i like the window. :) shotgun!

nope, this is not a hotel, its the dorm's bathroom. never saw one so clean and pristine! i guess you can tell a lot about the town by their bathrooms.

Ondine Hall is a student dormitory for Portland State University. A really nice place to stay btw...
I've seen the town passing through, its really beautiful! but more on that later...

17 hours later...

2007-08-21T22:52:00.000-07:00

17 hours later I landed in San Francisco international airport. And wow, was it a mad house. Everyone was rushing to get through but everyone had to funnel through these xray gates, metal detectors, and airport security examining or at least trying to examine every piece of hand carry we had.

My backpack was one heavy brick to carry around too (i had my laptop and other important documents and chargers inside!). So lugging that around was no picnic, believe me.
it was pure chaos. good thing it didn't take so long as I had a 40 minute window to run across the whole airport to get catch my connecting flight!

Pictures would have been great here, but given that this is a point of entry of the USA, I decided not to tempt fate by snapping pics for my own amusement and having that being mistaken as something else.

Phew! 5 hours later, I make it to Portland, Oregon!

10pm, local time, I am in the luggage pick up area. Its cold, I'm tired and I dont know anybody at all. Then in a little corner I found something quite reassuring...

woohoo! I was in the right place! I was tired but at least I was not lost! and my bags were with me too! Yeah!

-Ramon

Leaving for Portland!

2007-08-20T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is it... August 20. I'm leaving my home for a very long time.

I was pretty down thinking, or hoping that I would still have the day of Monday to spend with my family, (hoping that it was an evening flight!) but noooo.... I get a 6am flight! which means I have to be at the airport by 4am! Ohhhh fate how you like to play...

It was pretty tough letting go... tears and all. But then again, I will only be gone for two years, and I will be back in no time!
well at least that thought makes leaving not so bad...

Manila Ninoy Aquino International Airport
-to -
Hong Kong International Airport
Flight time: 1 hour, 30 minutes.
Not bad.

Goodbye Philippines!

2007-08-17T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sheesh I never thought this day would arrive. I'm actually going to leave my country and live somewhere else for the very first time! I am at a loss of words right now... except that this roller coaster ride called 2007 isn't getting any slower.

my friends and family of course wanted to throw a farewell party. back home they call it a Despedida. Now either they're happy for me that I'm leaving or they're happy coz I wont be in their hair for the next few years. wahahaha!!!
my swim team mates. the fastest people you'd meet in the water!

the family friends!

the famous friends!

the two girls to the left are from a girl group called the Kitty Girls
they're also in the cover of FHM Philippines' December 2007 issue.

Ha! have you got friends like that? huh? huh???

The coolest people on earth! Errrryyyt bro!

and of course...

even my girl friend's happy i'm leaving too! (just kidding, baby!) :P

I'll be seeing you guys in a few years!

I'll miss ya all! (including the many others who arent in these pics!)

-Ramon

First Post!

2001-01-01T13:01:00.000-08:00

Alright, this is the first post ever on my very first personal blog.
Woohoo! I wonder how long I will be able to keep this up?

Take note, although the date is 01/01/01 at 01:01 (binary goodness!)
the actual date for the "birth" of this blog is today, December 27, 2007 at 13:59.
I just need this to be chronologically placed as the first blog since I will have to backtrack a lot since I left home back in August.

Well, enjoy your visit, and Happy Holidays!

-Ramon

yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!! a blog! i'm like, soooo cool now.
hey look at me!
I'm blogging!
now i should just get an apple laptop and type up a blog entry in a Starbucks.