Greed. Greed. Greed.

Pure and simple Greed.

 

One of the capital sins which propels us. 

 

Local importers. Free Market. Greed. No Wii for Me. 

 

 

The world is effin' great. A joy to behold. And I'm just here. Swirling around once more. I haven't been hanging out with my friends much. Dunno why. Too busy I am. Just plain as that. However a melody haunts me once more. It's that anthem of self-doubt and uncertainty. How can you even wake up tomorrow to this?

So marriage has popped up twice this weekend. Well, the thought of it at least.

Last Saturday, I attended my cousin's wedding. Out of the fifty or so first cousins I have on the Legaspi side of the family, this guy, Patrick, is literally the first one who bears the name Legaspi to get married (all my other married cousins are the offsprings of my father's sisters).

The funny thing is that I had to stand in as a ninong because my dad isn't here. As a proxy, I had to walk down the aisle, sign the papers and sit at the presidential table, which brings me to my next point. At that table, I was the only one who was not married. I was the only one under 40.

The endless barrage of questions from my relatives about when I'm getting married and so on.

Find me a girlfriend first, then maybe we can talk about marriage.


I shudder at the thought.

Such is the life when you have nothing to talk about except these things.

I also find out yesterday, one of my high school classmates is getting married in January. Turns out he knocked up his girl How come I'm not surprised? The news reached me with a skeptical voice, so my ideas of it aren't that distilled.

I hope he's fine with this development in his life and good luck to him.

That makes him classmate number three to get married.

Three down, thirty-eight left to go.

Let the countdown begin.

Last night I attended Simbang Gabi at Ateneo. TJ and the 3C boys were there.

I was late since I overslept and I stayed on the left side of the church. Funny to think that I heard mass Friday, Saturday and Monday, but not Sunday.

Anyway, the homily was very good. I forgot who the priest was but he made some very important points which reinforced some beliefs that I have long held.

God is Wild and Untamable.

We always think of the "wild" as uncivilized or anything not like us. The tendency is that it is inferior or chaotic outside the walls our homes or the boundaries of our cities. However nature does work on its own laws. Animals follow their own norms. It is our own shortcoming if we do not understand them.

Similarly, God is not like us. We do not expect him to come when we please. He is not a dog or horse for us to command. We follow Him on His own terms and it should be good.

The reading on Job points to an absence of God. An absence which in my opinion is not really a reflection of abandonment, but one of limited understanding.

It is precisely because of absence do we value what is present.

That said, it was the first time this year I felt that it was Christmas.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the voice of Pikachu!

If I rub her cheeks will she hit me with a bolt of lightning or thunder or whatever?

Must. Give. Her. Hug.

 

 

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for the Gamecube 

 

I had spend the last few weeks obsessing over the Wii, or my lack of it. I had exhausted all my possible options and have just conceded that I won't get it this year.

 

Like any good managment/leadership/self-help book will tell you, re-evaluate your purpose/goals.

 

Is the goal in itself really that realistic? Maybe there's a different approach to it.

 

Of course I knew it, but I just had to face it. What I'm really after is to play the new Zelda game. The Wii was just a means to play it.

Unfortunately, all stores in the US are apparently sold out of the Gamecube version of Zelda. 

 

Great job, Nintendo! You don't supply enough Wiis to serve demand, so most people can't play Zelda on it. On the other hand, millions of Gamecube owners who can't get a Wii, can't get their paws on Zelda for the Cube as well.

 

Is this actual scarcity? Or just manipulative marketing?

 

If the demand for the actual product is genuine (and not just a result of  the spirit of the holiday shopping), then they'll still sell well even after the New Year. If not, you just lost potential buyers Nintendo. Wunderbar. 

 

So imagine my surprise when I casually updated this topic I don't usually look at in the Pinoy-N forums.

 

vincent_valentine Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:09 pm  

Saw the GC version at TK, buit Blitz has a reservation list going so just maybe there's a lot of copies coming

 

...WHAT?!?

 

 

EdgeMaster Posted: Wed Dec 20, 2006 7:27 pm 

Which TK did you spot it?

 

 

 

  This blogger is now officially a licensed professional teacher...more or less.

   You see , I have accomplished my registration process at the PRC. And once again it has proved to be quite an ordeal.

   First of all, they required two passport size pictures with a nameplate and a 1x1 picture with a nameplate as well. The photo shop at Circle C was trying to tell me that I have to pay P300 because they don't normally print in those combinations (P150 for passport and P150 for 1x1). However after some haggling and upon their realization that I'm a returning customer (they found my pics on their computer), they gladly did everything for just P150.

   PRC was another thing altogether. First of all, I had to pay for the cedula again. Not really a bad thing, but I still don't understand why it's really needed.

   Bureaucracy at the PRC is at its best. How to apply as a new professional? There's no real process to it because everyone gave me conflicting accounts as to what the first step is. Website was a bit helpful, but not much. Upon reaching the to the teacher's department or whatever on the third floor, I was promptly asked to pay P300 for a souvenir programme for the oathtaking, which I didn't attend. Good thing I paid for it because it turns out my certificate's tucked in its pages somewhere.

    Next I had to pay for the metered stamps, whose person in charge didn't have change for P100. I had to ask our driver for some change. So I ran back up to the third floor, get back my stamped form and went down again to go the next building, second floor to the legal deparment to have my form notarized by this lawyer woman who looked like she just got out of bed. Or an all-night Tupperware party. Another unspecified payment.

  As soon as I got back, they asked me to sign here and there and told me to go to the cashier. I asked how much and he said P1050. So I ran back down because the P1200 I had initally brought clearly wasn't enough.

  Once I got to the cashier, she suddenly asked me for P1300. Because apparently I had to pay for my membership dues for the whatever organization, which I "had to sign up for" but had no intention.

 At this point, I was already peeved and demanded why I wasn't told of this at the previous step. She said part ho talaga yon. I insisted that I should only pay for my registration at the PRC and not for the organization. I think I saw her roll her eyes and gave me that unconcerned look.

However I was adamant that I was unwilling because at this point I only had P1060 at hand and not having eaten breakfast yet, I was in no mood to be cordial and to run back up and down for the fifth time. She begrudgingly agreed, but said that she wouldn't be able to give me my P10 change. WTF?!? What's the point of being a cashier if you don't have ample change?

Unfazed,I dryly said that I'd wait.

And I did. Got back my P10 and finished the process.
 

The cherry on top of this sundae of delight is that they were singing karaoke in their offices! There were more people joining their Christmas party than attending to us.

Idiotic.

I ended up paying more than P1600 for a piece of paper that doesn't even have my name on it; I have to write my name on it myself.

 

 

 

 

I suppose if I had them write it, the cost would shoot up to over P2000.

 

The only consolation is that there weren't that many people there yesterday. Everyone else was probably doing something more sensible.

This is my Christmas message to all of you.

Every family has a Christmas tradition.

Noche Buena's our de facto celebration, but over the years it has dwindled away into a mere requirement.

I had a couple of students complain to me that Christmas day felt just like any other day. I suppose they were hoping for me to provide some solution  for that particular quandary. Unfortunately all I could say was:

<em>Welcome to the real world.</em>

I'm in the same boat you see. It's been progressively downhill since I was in high school. In college possibly even more so. However looking back, even those days weren't quite that bad. At least in college I had MUSMOS to work on. Kids to make happy. Christmas songs to sing. Spaghetti and Ketchup songs to dance to.

Now, well MRX? Nah.

I think I should be thankful I'm teaching. It's closer to the children's spirits than if I were in a corporate setting.

This year is also the first year we spend without my dad, who's in the US now. I sent him a gift via Amazon and that really surprised him. That made me happy. Gifts don't really make me happy. If I want something, I just go out and try to procure it for myself.

However, the fact we didn't see him yesterday is what really got me down. Add to this the fact that barely anyone visited the house. We didn't go see my cousins. I think this is a start of another new and difficult phase in my life. One wherein Christmas is even bleaker than before.

Maybe it'll be better when I have kids.

Stage FX with the kids of PKK, December 9, 2006. Rekindling the old flame in my heart. Not quite like Krismusmos though.

So I'm left with one Christmas tradition to truly care about.


They say high school is the time when you build your strongest friendships. For me that isn't 100% true.

I think I'm much more in constant contact with my friends from college than my high school classmates. Case in point, I barely saw my three closest friends from section B. Ralph was the one I saw recently, I literally hadn't seen him since college. That was more than two years ago!  Nay, almost three years! BJ, I think I saw sometime this year, but then again, I could be wrong. Af, I didn't see all year since he was in Utah for most of 2006.

So while these guys are great, I see my college friends more frequently. However there's one group that I see only once a year, but it always feels like nothing has changed.

 
That's my barkada. 

 

It's a bit hard when to trace this whole group came together, but since this is my blog, I'll tell it from my perspective.

The first friend I met here is JC Uy (second from the right). We were classmates from Prep to Grade 2. We sort of lost communication in Grade 3. That's when I met Joaquin (fourth from right). We became good friends and we were classmates from Grade 3 to Grade 6. In Grade 4, Dot (Daniel Obordo Tioleco, third from right) joined us but left when we were in Grade 5 because he got moved to another section. In Grade 5, Tony (second from left) joined our group and so did Russell (missing in action). Tony, Russ and I went to England in the summer after Grade 5 and that more or less solidified our friendship. In Grade 6, Dot rejoined the group for good since he became our classmate again. Tony went to another section and became good friends with JC and Aiko (first from right). Russ, sadly, had to migrate to Canada and he hasn't been back home since. Aiko didn't really become my close friend, because of some Black Forest cake incident the cafeteria, which left a negative impression of him on Dot, Joaquin and me. However, Aiko and I became really good friends when we became classmates in Grade 7. Joaquin and I were finally separated and he came friends with Alexei (fourth from left) who was our classmate in advanced math since grade 4. JC and Tony got sent off to different sections as well and Dot's section was right next door. He became classmates with Vega (third from left), who was never really my classmate but my clubmate in Grade 4 & 5, but didn't really become close friends until he, Alexei and I formed our "triumvirate" of sorts in high school. He's sort of the unofficial 8th member of our group and only really joined us this Christmas.

 Whew.  I just realized I traced about at least a decade of friendship, and as far as 18 years when it comes to some of them.

 And what made it certain that we stuck together after all these years?

 Simple.

We trust each other. The group sort of started with the idea that the group only consisted of the people who were classmates. However we realized early on that if we really wanted to remain friends, we'd have to

 
1. accept that we won't always be together

2. make other friends

3. have other barkadas

 
We're not an exclusive group. We've had friends come and go. In fact, I can think of a time when the group ballooned up to 12 or 15 members. That didn't last very long.

 We have similar interests, but not exclusively. Alexei, Vega and I are the ones whom I share the most common interests with. So it's not surprising they're the ones I see most often - every month or every other month.

The others, I'm sure they have other friends. Especially Aiko. He's the most sociable of the group.

 Barkadas fall apart when the lay claim over their members. "You're closer to them than you are to us," some would exclaim. Silly, little rabbits.

Jealousy over friends is just plain stupid.

Thankfully, we learned that lesson early on.

 
And so, our tradition is that we meet each other at least once a year. And that's always during Christmas. Any other reason to meet up is arbitrary, usually someone's birthday.

And ever since then, I was the one who usually fixes it. I usually end up cooking. But I like it anyway.

We've come a long way and from the way I see it, we've still got a long way to go. 

 
My mom, who's pictured with us below, is a witness to all this. She's watched us grow up from grade school to high school to college and now as adults. Wow, I can't believe we're all adults now (and it has been six years). Little kids she used to drive around for, now she drinks with.

 

As one can see from our smiles, we love being together.

This is another Christmas tradition I'll treasure forever.

 

And this is one family I'm not letting go of. 

It's finally here.

The one thing that has caused me much delight and anguish ever since I caught a glimpse of it in May 2004. The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.

The future Zelda game? Not quite. More like a blast to the past and then some.

So what do I think about it?

While I can't give my comprehensive review yet, at 20+ hours I'm only a third through the game, I'd like to scribble down my initial impressions.

First of all, the graphics are really, really pretty. The art direction here is undoubtedly one of the best ever seen in a videogame. Although I don't think that it's the prettiest Gamecube game ever made. That distinct honor goes to the game which can be seen here. Yes, it's true. There are ugly textures here and there. It's can be a bit distracting and the game unfortunately did not leave me rubbing my eyes in disbelief. That distinction belongs to The Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker that controversial entry to the series because of its heavily stylized take on Hyrule. That game I couldn't believe was actually playing on my TV. It looked like a cartoon and still the best implementation of celshading, bar none.

While my eyes could fathom the beauty that is Twilight Princess, my mouth was literally gaping at the scenes and vistas that unfolded before me. It's not exaggeration. This game is breathtaking in every sense of the word.

Watching Link on Epona gallop across Hyrule field with the lights dimmed is an experience on par with watching Star Wars in the theater.

Pure bliss.


However some cons and pros:

Cons
Low-res textures
Low-poly characters
NPCs disappear when the the time changes from day to night (Castle Town)
NPCs don't really have their own schedule (ala Majora's Mask)
So far a bit too similar to Ocarina of Time
Haven't really heard the Overworld theme yet
Occasionally poor collision detection
Bosses are far too easy


Pros
Beautiful art-style
Enganging controls (even on the Cube)
So far compelling story
Midna! (I LOVE HER)
Returning characters
Similar to Ocarina of Time
Dungeons
Huge overworlds
Wolf Link
Sumo wrestling (w/ OMG&WTF shirtless Link)
Zelda's hot



Here I am. Messy hair and Zelda in the brain.

Hopefully (and I'm pretty sure they will) that future Zelda games will continue this distinguished tradition of fine gameplay.

Much good things have been said about The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess and I am quite possibly at the forefront of all the praise.


All the reviews I've read have been unanimously positive (no, I don't read Gamespot. I never read that site because I never liked the feel of their design nor their writing. Which is good anyway since I generally don't agree with their opinions anyway). And you can be assured that I love this game with all my heart and soul.

However, my friends know that I am extremely critical of everything - even of the things that I love. So here is my rant on the latest game in the series that I most desperately love.

 

First of all, I would like to emphasize that all these comments are written in the context of the Gamecube version of Twilight Princess. While both versions are virtually identical, I say this to emphasize that I'm looking at this as a last gen title as opposed to a Wii game.

First of all, the graphics. Like I said in my previous post, beautiful, but lacking in some areas. Given the scope of the land of Hyrule some compromises must be expected. I really don't understand what prevented them from making this a two disc game. I think they could have used higher-res textures and just spread it out onto two discs. Or is it that the Cube can't load all those textures onto its RAM efficiently? The Cube is supposedly a memory-efficient machine.  Then again, there are already more load times that I would have liked. Gamers bred on the Playstation are bound to not notice the load times, they're very short actually and pretty good. However, this is Nintendo we're talking about. I expected non-existent loading times. Or at least the screen didn't have to fade out when I move Link indoors.

Next on the agenda are the NPCs or Non-Playable Characters for you n00bs. Now they all have great character design and very, very well animated (Look out for Telma and the Fortune Teller, both in Castle Town, awesome!), but they're uh shall we say, a lot less complicated and a lot less compelling than the characters in The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask.

Granted that fetch quests are less of a focus here than it is in Majora's Mask, but when a Nintendo 64 game features a day-night cycle with characters that actually moved about differently as each day progressed, it's quite disappointing not to see it here.

No, I'm not expecting that they'd do something different each day like in the three-day cycle of Majora's Mask, just a night and day schedule they could follow a bit more precisely. Maybe they do, but I just haven't noticed it yet.

I noticed this because they day-night cycle caught up with me in the Eastern part of Castle Town (night turned into day) and the character I was talking to just disappeared.

I suppose this is just a glitch, but I did see quite a number. Now,I try to understand that a game as massive as this will bound to have glitches here and there. I for one don't usually encounter glitches in games because I don't look for them, so imagine my bemusement when I threw a bomb onto an elevator in the mines and promptly stepped on the switch. Link and the elevator proceeded with their animation as they descended with the bomb left floating where it was dropped.

 This lack of physics in a 2006 is a tad disappointing. Even more so when you contrast it with the polish of the rest of the game. For example, the water effects here are really, really pretty. However there is a gross lack of water physics. Jumping into the water will not really disturb the surface, just an added layer of animated ripples. I can actually live with that, but missing sound effects when you sometimes throw objects or enemeies into the water or over cliffs, is again disappointing.

 
Finally, my last big gripe with Zelda are the bosses. I love the fact that there are now mid-dungeon bosses in addition to the huge boss at the end of each dungeon. However they're all pretty easy so far. It isn't very satisfying to beat a lot of them even when compared to Wind Waker, which was criticized for being an easy game.

Even with all these complaints, I cannot over emphasize how much I love this game. I will post all the things I love about it once I finish the darn thing.

 

With that I log off and play some more.