KASALUKUYANG BINABASA

1. Y: The Last Man, Book 2

In the summer of 2002, a plague of unknown origin destroys every last sperm, fetus, and fully developed mammal with a Y chromosome – with the exception of amateur escape artist Yorick Brown and his surly male helper monkey Ampersand.

2. Batman, The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller

probably, the best Batman story of all time. this was done by Frank Miller in 1986 and the story is still fresh and exciting as it was when it was first published. kwento ni Batman nung matanda na siya, ravaged by age at hindi na kasing bilis nang dati. he comes back 10 years after retiring. this is a diffferent Batman story…darker, violent, twisted.

kakatapos ko lang ng Batman, Year 1, also done by Frank Miller. this is also a great comic… the storyline tells of the alternative origin of the Batman, Catwoman and Commisioner Gordon.

di ko pa nasisimulan yung Batman:Manbat. i’ve looked at the artwork done by John Bolton though and it looks like a great read. incidentally, it was also john bolton who did the artwork for neil gaiman’s “harlequin valentine”, “books of magic” at yung “sandman presents: the furies”. bolton, in my book, is probably the best artist working in comics right now.

3. “Prey, Michael Crichton”. binabasa ko ito sa bus at train. magandang pampalipas oras… fast paced at easy read. basa lang ng basa, di mo alam bababa ka na pala.

lumayo kayo! kumakain pa rin ako ng durian hanggang ngayon. hehehe.

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

kumakain ako ng durian ngayon. bumili ako kanina sa grocery dahil inutusan akong bumili ni jet ng kamatis. kumuha ako ng walong pirasong kamatis, pinatimbang at pinapresyo. kita ko yung total eh 90 cents lang. tiningnan ko yung pila sa counter. mahaba. inisip ko parang nakakapanghinayang kung pipila ako ng matagal tapos kamatis lang ang laman ng basket ko. napakuha tuloy ako ng durian. total bill ko sa durian at kamatis? $ 10.90 – ang gago ko talaga.

di bale masarap naman yung durian. hehehe. smells lilke shit but tastes like heaven.

pinapanood kong parati ang mga bisita naming amerikano pag kumakain kami ng durian sa office. tinitingnan ko kung sino yung mga matatapang na tumitikim nito. konti lang ang naglalakas loob. ang pagkain ng durian for the first time ay tutuong test of character. it means you are willing to look beyond appearances and preconceived notions. it means that you are willing to walk on the wild side and take risks. it means that you enjoy things that are way beyond your comfort zone.

cheer up kung na-devirginize ka na sa pagkain ng durian. the future is only for the brave.

STUPIDITY AND THE MISSING EAR

kundibanamantanga…“A Brazilian man who went to a clinic to have an aching ear checked ended up having a vasectomy after mistakenly believing that the doctor had called his name”

bakit daw hindi nagreklamo ang pasyente nung tinatali nang betlog niya? ‘…He later explained that he thought it was an ear inflammation that got down to his testicles.’

oh man. GAGO!

(pregnant pause…)

siguro, inevitable na rin na mangyayari ito. kung titingnan mo, it’s evolution and natural selection at work… ngayong nagpavasectomy na itong si eng-eng, ‘di na siya magkaka-anak. ERGO: mababawasan ang tanga sa mundo!

INTERNATIONAL CHICHIRYA

maraming chichirya ngayon sa office namin. panay kasi ang alis ng mga taga rito ngayon at panay rin ang dating ng mga bisita galing sa kung saan-saan. kahapon may mga indonesian kaming bisita at dala nila ay chicharong langka. ngayon lang ako nakatikim nito… masarap pala.

si michelle galing sa hainan, china itong week para mag scout ng venue sa aming next conference. nag-uwi siya ng iba’t ibang produktong gawa sa buko… may buko candy, buko crackers at pinakapaborito ko sa lahat: “Coconut PANGAKE”. muntik ko na ngang di kainin kasi medyo duda ako sa quality eh. pag ang manufacturer ay hindi mai-spell ang “cake” na tama eh siyempre, kwidaw ka roon.

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A LETTER TO MY SISTER

Hi Ester.

How are things over your part of the world? I hope you were not affected by the blackouts that plagued almost the entire North American East Coast.

I just got back last Sunday from Manila. I spent a few days there for business and left Jet here. She was there for a month in June so we didn’t see the point of spending extra money for another trip. Besides, December is coming up in a few months and we normally go home for three weeks for the Christmas and New Year break.

What’s new back home? There have been many changes over the past two years that I’ve been out. Everything’s changed and yet everything’s still the same. There’s still the old problems with poverty and corruption and sometimes it depresses the hell out of me. Not enough to mount a coup though, which is just as well. If there’s any consolation, the family seems to be okay. At the very least, everybody is in good enough health and that is good enough reason for me to be happy.

My work just got extended here for another three years. I don’t really know how long we’re going to stay here but we’re giving ourselves 5 to 10 years here in Singapore. I’ll be 47 after 10 years. I can probably retire permanently by then. But that’s too long in the future. Right now, we work our butts off. We may not admit it outright but living here in Singapore really has its advantages. I have a good job and am earning enough so that we could live a good life. We have everything we need and have enough to save for a rainy day and dream dreams that were not possible a few years ago.

Just this lunch, my friend and I have been talking about growing old. He says he’s already starting to feel the effects of the excesses of his younger days. To think that he is much younger than me. I don’t know. I’m ok, I think. I’m in a stage where I’m more laid back and just take things as they come. I do not have this overpowering ambition anymore to get rich or anything to that effect. I am content and happy and that is more than what most people can say about themselves.

I’m glad that you loved the pictures of mom and the family. The pool that you saw in the pictures is not ours. This is the pool that we have for the entire subdivision so don’t have any funny ideas that I’m doing THAT good. Hehehe…

Ingat,
Jay