I woke up with a chill in my bones and sweat on my brow. My joints ached and the bruises on my back throbbed. I knew instantly that today was going to be a lousy day.

Even with my fever I was able to..

.. sing at the jam in Makati (though I prolly sounded as bad as I felt)
.. eat a tasteless McChicken Burger (Supersize Me!)
.. smoke... twice! (Cigarette Smoking is Dangerous to Your Health)
.. take two exams (aced the first. botched the second)
.. go to Martin's house (and see the beginning of Time Machine)
.. wash my white shoes (damn you typhoons!)
.. play a little Diablo II (for my inner slacker)
.. read Agoncillo's History of the Philippines (without falling asleep!)

It may not seem like much to you, but for me, each activity was tantamount to torture. Thank God I'm off to bed now.

But before I go, a question for all.

- - - - - - - - - -

Life is never easy..

But why must it be so hard?

Honestly. I don't know.

Shet na sakit eto. Para akong hinataw sa tadyang sabay tinuhod sa sikmura.

Ah well. At least It reminds me that I'd better take better care of my body. Hard lesson learned.

As for the November plans (sorry kung di kayo makarelate) they're scratched. Seems the support I was going to need has been withdrawn. Now I'll have to do things the hard way.

Oh wait. That WAS the hard way.

Now it's the HARDER WAY. -sigh- Hopefully when I reach the end of that road there'll still be something (or someone? ) waiting for me at the end.

Target grade. 1.5 average. So close. Just need to hike up my Eco and Histo grades.

Target weight. +8 pounds in three months. In muscle. Is that too much to ask?

Target clothes. Two jeans. Four shirts. A pair or two of shoes. A new belt and a bunch of socks and underwear.

Target skills. Sewing (with the sewing machine of course) Save money. Alter old shirts.

Oh yeah. Starting tomorrow I quit smoking. Woot. Well not really. I quit smoking daily. But socially, no. (Gotta keep an outlet, neh?)

But what do you care about this stuff? You're not me.

I have measles. German measles. Scheiße!!

And I've been all around Manila. Spreading the virus. Soon there shall be a city wide epidemic of SPOTS! Mwahahaha!

... Well not really. I won't be contaigous until i start itching, and right now, aside from pain in the joints and little polka dots on my skin, I feel great.

At least I get a few days off from class. Woot!

Demonology 101 has ended.

Kid Radd is ending on monday.

My measles end tomorrow... I hope.

Things end. Things begin.
Death and rebirth.
Oroborous.
Moebius.
Infinity.
Sometimes that's what life feels like. A long winding path with neither the start nor the end in sight.

Life has a beginning. At least, that's what they say.
You see it in pictures. Your pregnant mother smiling and cradling you as you languish in her swollen stomach. Then your birth, where you're pulled kicking and screaming into the world. Birthdays. "Firsts". Cuddled by relatives and friends.

But you don't remember. Not really. It's all just fragmented memories and second-hand stories. Fading farther away with each passing day.

And then there is the end. The end of life. Your life.
Where is it? Years from now? Decades? Or maybe just a day away? It's a question that lingers in our minds, springing forth in our unguarded moments. It taunts us, because we can never, ever know.

How will you go? Silently, in a warm bed surrounded by family? Suddenly, with a flash of headlights in the blinding rain? Or will you leave as you came, kicking and screaming?

A beginning, unremembered. An ending, unforseen.
What, then, is the measure of a man?

Everything in between.

A lot of people need hugs. But Chi needs them the most. Go give Chi a hug.

Kid Radd is over!

Argh. now what am i going to surf?

But hey. If you haven't tried it go visit http://www.kidradd.com/

It's an online comic about sprites taken from their respective games and released into the "real" world. While it may sound like a Matrix rip-off or just another gaming comic, I assure you, it's not.

Kid Radd is imaginative and entertaining, yet still it is evocative of human emotion. Even though the setting is a virtual world and the players are fictional characters, it still manages to touch issues about life. Reading it has been both an honor and a priveledge.

Well except for the fact that you have to use IE to read it, but hey. Nothing's perfect. It spans 601 comics. All animated. You can read it during your free moments, or take it all in one sitting. It's worth it.

So what are you waiting for? Go read!

Google for nun. Click the "Images" link at the top of the Google page. Tell me what you see.

That's all for now. Busy busy. And there's a storm to boot.

I love it when it rains.

The cool, moist air that greets my skin as I step out of our building's lobby brings back memories of times gone by, when I lived in a house with a white picket fence, a gravel driveway and grass all around. I can almost smell the morning dew.

Days like these I don't want to stay in the house. I want to be out in the open, sitting on a reclined lawn chair with the two top buttons of my shirt undone, letting the breeze caress my chest.

But of course this is the Metro. Grass is rare type of flora seen only on the islands in the middle of the road and on the occasional posh house. No grass means no lawn means no lawn chair.

Oh, and leaving your shirt buttons undone gets you as much, if not more, odd looks as you would if you had your fly open. Something I find strange since so many pot-bellied Pinoys have the habit of walking the streets with their shirts rolled up and their shorts riding so low you can see the crack.

Don't even ask about city breeze. There is no such thing. It's either dead air, or a ripping wind, funneled by the intricate maze of tall buildings.

Thusly denied of all my desires, I settle for the next best thing.

I trade in my green lawn grass for green Starbucks walls. Or I would have if I'd stayed IN the store. But the place is too damned cold. And so my green turns to the gray of concrete, splashed with the multitude of colorful parked cars and the bright yellow and red of the adjacent McDonalds.

I give up the hammock feel of the reclining lawn chair for the industrial feel of the generic metal chair. It's cold and stiff, but if I slouch just right, it almost feels comfy.

But it wasn't all bad. At least I had coffee. I had to pay for it though.

Oh, and I left my two top shirt buttons open. Screw the stares. Besides, I like the attention.

There was a breeze, too. The biting wind that is the standard of the Area can't do a thing about the new Greenhills Theatre Mall Parking Lot. After crossing half a kilometer of wide empty space, it had lost its force and just barely managed to tickle my cheek.

Two out of four. See? Not all bad.

-sigh- Maybe I should just stay home. The couch is cozy enough. And there's always Nescafe Instant. I could read a book. Snuggle next to someone warm...

... Mmm not bad. Anyone want to be my snuggle buddy?

As most of my close friends know, I am easily swayed from my responsibilities by the promise of food, drink and good company. How then, could I resist any of the many opportunities this past week.

No. Wait.

Make that two.

Confident in the validity of the parchment that excuses me from two weeks of monotonous classes, I slipped out every afternoon and have enjoyed myself to the utmost.

The places, goregeous. The people, even more so. There was an abundance of coffee, spiked with a few bottles of beer. The cigarettes were few and far apart, but I couldn't resist the puff and drag. Cheddar Smokies, Shrimp Pop-corn, Paella con Carne, Kielbasa, an assortment of Pizza, bowls of Pasta and brownies baked by KC. (According to her, though I know that if you fit an F in between the K and the C, then it'd be the truth)

The highlights were many. There was McDonalds with Legacy, Starbucks with Celebrity, Cafe L'Pinas with a Memory, Birthday with KC and G, Tia Maria's Cantina with a hottie and her mommy, Coffeeheads with Chess, Checkers and Monopoly.

And of course no vacations is complete without a souvenier. My wallet is considerably lighter (almost weightless) after A Coffeeheads Red Card, two Oxygen Tees and a new pair of shoes. As an added bonus I got an "Evil Eye" keychain and an Olympics Tee from Greece, courtesy of my aunt.

Spent the night watching "My Best Friend's Wedding", whiling the time away until the offpeak internet hour. And thus my two weeks of heaven is completed, the cherry on top being Rupert Everett's ending monologue. Chaming, witty, sexy and smooth. Exactly like me, but with an added dose of gay. (And, no. I am not.)

And now back to reality... -sigh-

..all the pieces fall into place.

This

is

BLISS