Mr. Legaspi went on an impulse buying spree again today. Heck, I needed it.

Actually I bought Mario Kart for the DS today (the review of which can be found here). I reserved my copy at Data Blitz and went there this evening. The problem is then when I got there, I saw all those other games I wanted. -drool-

I ended up getting Shadow of the Colossus for the PS2 as well. I heard it was awesome, no wait, incredible! The review of which can be found here. Man, the art is fantastic!

I don't care if the graphics themselves aren't "technically" advanced, what's important is that they're artistically impressive. That is why old games (like MGS, FFVII, Zelda) still look good. It's not the amount of polygons that matters; it's what you do with those frickin' triangles that counts.

Oh and to wait for Animal Crossing DS as well. It's a good time to be a gamer. It looks like I'm still not buying a PSP, no stand-out games for it...yet. But when it comes, I'll be ready.

In the meantime, I'll be playing with thumbs off.

Oh yeah, don't forget to study, exams are coming up!

MANILA - Xavier School, a Jesuit run preparatory school in San Juan, teaches students to rob teachers. They do so in the guise of a subject under the Social Studies program called Entrep and peddles it off as a charity bazaar.

Mr. Legaspi, a member of the High School English Department, was one of the victims of the said scheme. "They use guerrilla tactics", says the weary faculty member. The tactics that students utilize turn out to include emotional blackmail, grovelling and animal abuse.

"I ended up buying teddy bears I don't want, shirts I won't wear and junk I don't need!" wails Mr. Legaspi.

More news as this story develops.

All the excitement about IFS's upcoming Oxford 2006 program has got me reminiscing about my summer (or spring rather) in Lowestoft.

I'm sure that many great things have already been said about IFS's UK Summer Program. I was trying to stay away from phrases like “a life-changing experience” or “a journey of a lifetime”. However, I must confess that those clichés do apply and that my only contribution to the program’s anthology of praises is to reaffirm that the IFS experience really is a life-changing journey.

The early 1990’s weren’t a particularly good time for me as a child. While I was an excellent student, I kept to myself and to a small circle of friends. I learned about the IFS program from a letter circulated in the Ateneo and the promise of a summer in the UK proved intriguing. Luckily, my family thought the trip would be an excellent opportunity for me to spread my proverbial wings and they agreed to enroll me in the program. Upon arriving in the UK in the spring of 1994, the shy introverted boy melted away and emerged gregarious and eager for an adventure. And this is the beauty of the IFS program, it forces of out of your comfort zone. Participants do not stay in the relative familiarity of a hotel or a dorm, but with a local British foster family. It is precisely this entrusting oneself entirely to the experience of the unfamiliar that you can actually go on an adventure.

In the month I was in England, I was forced to adjust to a radically different style of living. Rice suddenly disappeared in favor of cereals, bread and potatoes. English was to be spoken at all times and that really tested my communication skills. Money was an issue because I had to learn to budget my pocket money to last me the entire month. Culture was definitely a shocker for me as I discovered that Britain is not all about tea and scones. I remained steadfast and in the end I brought home a treasury of pictures and memories to last me a lifetime.

For many participants, it was a sink or swim experience and I believe that most us realized that we had it in ourselves to overcome that shadow of self-doubt and become a little bit more sociable, a little bit more responsible and a little bit more independent. This is not to say that we arrived home all changed in an instant. Some of us probably did not immediately overcome that reluctance to socialize at gatherings or others didn’t suddenly study more vigorously for school. This is because the effect of the IFS experience does not end with the trip itself, but rather it lingers over time and continues to affect the participant long after the boarding pass has faded. Until now, more than ten years after my trip, I am continuing to reap the benefits of my IFS experience as it continues to enrich me personally and professionally.

In fact, I wouldn't be teaching in Xavier or handling Stage FX if I didn't go through that program. Who knew back then that four weeks could influence a lifetime?

Okay, I must confess I'm getting used to this habit of posting lyrics, but in the lack of time and energy to express what I feel, I'll let someone else's words speak for me.

This one is a break-up love song, but then again it's not an accurate description of my life right now because for one to break-up with someone, one was to be with someone. But hey, more than a break-up song, it's about wanting to simply...

SEE HER SMILE

IT'S NOT YOU, SHE SAYS
IT'S JUST THAT LIFE'S SO HARD
WE ALL GET BLUE, I SAY
HANG ON TIGHT - I'LL BE YOUR BODYGUARD

SOMETHING'S BREAKING MY BABY'S HEART
OH - I JUST WANT TO SEE HER SMILE

IT'S SUCH A DRAG, SHE SAYS
WHEN THE WORLD'S SO MEAN
IT'S JUST A RED FLAG - I SAY
GOTTA LOOK FOR THE GREEN

SOMETHING'S BREAKING MY BABY'S HEART
I JUST WANT TO SEE HER SMILE

CYNICAL TOWN
CAN BE TOUGH ON AN ANGEL
CLIP HER WINGS, BABY,
ONE TWO THREE
I'M HER CLOWN CAUSE
A LAUGHING ANGEL'S
RICHER THAN KINGS

OH BABY - DON'T YOU SEE?
BABY – DON'T YOU AGREE?

WISH I KNEW WHY, SHE SAYS
BUT ON A SUNNY DAY I FIND THE RAIN
LET’S GIVE IT A TRY, I SAY
WE CAN DANCE RIGHT THROUGH THE PAIN

SOMETHING'S BREAKING MY BABY'S HEART

I JUST WANT TO SEE HER SMILE

JUST WANT TO SEE HER SMILE
JUST WANT TO SEE HER
JUST WANT TO SEE HER…SMILE.

----------------------
Music & Lyrics by Jonathan Larson

Why can't some people just butt out of the business of others?

There's no mutual respect sometimes for whatever people do. Kahit tama, mali pa rin. It's very, very frustrating.

I suppose the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but then again is the road to heaven similarly constructed?

Sigh, the world is full to hypocrites and it's getting harder and harder to keep my own personal, ideals alive.

I am a dreamer.

People laugh at me when I sleep. That is when I am most vulnerable, when people take who you are and treat it like a joke.


an excerpt For Now
from Avenue Q

Everyone's a little bit unsatisfied.
Everyone goes 'round a little empty inside.
Take a breath,
Look around,

Swallow your pride,
For now...

For now...
Nothing lasts,
Life goes on,
Full of surprises.
You'll be faced with problems of all shapes and sizes.
You're going to have to make a few compromises...
For now...
But only for now! (For now)
Only for now!

For now we're healthy.
For now we're employed.
For now we're happy...
If not overjoyed.
And we'll accept the things we cannot avoid, for now...

Boy ain't that the truth!

This world is full of damn SOBs that you can't move without bumping into one, and do I mean you can't. When I was a kid, it didn't used to be like this. Sure thinks weren't as nifty and all that, but I think we had what it took to you know, do stuff.

When you look at these kids now, you'd barely know they were fifteen, sixteen or whatever they're supposed to be. Must be that damn milk their mothers gave them. I feel rotten for thinking about these things, not that I'm ungrateful and all, but these guys got it good and they don't know when to stop.

I was afraid that I wouldn't actually get these thoughts down on paper and all. Not that I wanted it to end, this whole thing, but you can't help but feel scared a little. It gets a little bit crazy in my head sometimes, especially when I think I just hit my head on the pavement.

Old Whathisname would limp on his bad leg and look down on me, sprawled on the floor.

"Got a match?"

I was able to gargle out an answer of sorts. He took my light anyway.

Man, I hate myself. Not that I'm a rotten apple or something. Sometimes, you just gotta let yourself simmer in your own soup.