This Ghost and Day Challenges #1

A repost from my other blog, Ghost Over the Roof at Tumblr.

Since I’ve signed up in Tumblr in July, I’ve caught on some of these Day Challenges eg. 30 Days, 30 Letters, 30 Days of Photographic Memories, 10 Day Challenge, 30 Days of Constipation…oh-kaay… I made that last one up. :D

I gathered they were there, circulating all over the tumblng world, so bloggers have a fail-safe way of still posting worthwhile stuff in their respective sites during those days when Mental Block guy slaps them upside the head.

I’ve been thinking that these challenges might be the reason I signed up here in the first place. Sorta. I deactivated at least six different Tumblr accounts in the last four months and kind of given up with the challenge thing.

But damn, the allure of it remains. I saved three different challenges (I’ve been using the word ‘challenge’ a lot) in my draft box and everyday I’m gonna pick one interesting topic at random. *excited*

Here’s to hoping I finish them all.

                                 

#1. A Recent Picture of You and 15 Interesting Facts About Yourself

About this photo: This is recent enough; I just took it this morning, Aug. 23, at 8:30am. I share a bedroom with my sisters; that wood thing over my head’s my bed, the top bunk. I woke up and just for the hell of it took a picture of myself (because that’s the first thing I thought of every morning). I don’t even know how I opened the laptop; I was still half-asleep then. :D

Fact me. XD

1. I suck at Math. I’m still wondering how I pulled that 2.9 average for algebra and statistics back in college. I’m pretty sure I was the most pathetic guy in that class. My heart skips a beat in raw terror whenever Madam Manzanillo announced a short quiz. I mean, seriously, I’ve been thinking a bunch of geniuses back in ancient times went on a convention somewhere and invented math just to make things difficult for kids who can’t do numbers unless it’s in the bathroom.

2. I walk around and around the living room couch and dining table fifty times or more while listening to music. It’s an odd habit of mine I got from high school. Doing it helps me think and figure things out creatively.

3. I love cinnamon. If I have my way, I’ll cook up a whole buffet with cinnamon in it. Fried cinnamon rice, chicken dipped in cinnamon sauce, chocolate-cinnamon ice cream for dessert, etc. I just LOVE it. Years ago, back when they still made it, I almost spent all my allowance on Gardenia’s Apple-Cinnamon bread.

4. I like girly pop and RnB music (except from a handful of singers I can’t stand like Miley and Charice). Yeah, I listen to them all the time. 99.5 of songs in my borrowed iPod are female singers. Somehow, listening to them is more pleasant; sensual and inspires positivity; stuff I don’t get when I listen to guys rocking it out.

5. Torpe ako. Enough said.

6. OC ako sa book collection ko. Especially for the ones I got from National Bookstore, my personal book heaven; where I get orgasms whenever I see the SALE signs. I take good care of my books (lalo na sa mga pinag-ipunan kong bilhin kasi mahal eg. Harry Potter Books 1-7) and I’ll be very firm in telling you can’t borrow them. Sorry. :D

7. If No. 6 is any indication, I’m also selfish. Bunso ako eh, that must be it. Most of the time, I’m willing to share some of my things, like those that don’t really matter much. But if I see you enjoying my things too much, and I happen to LOVE that thing too…tsk tsk… nuh-uh, hon, gimme that back.

8. I live to love Pokemon. They’re the best creatures ever. I mean, a cute yellow furball that electrocutes you on occasion? That’s AWESOME! And the games! I’m like a kid trapped in a porn store whenever I play them. I get a kick out of being the best trainer in the region; kicking the Elite Four’s asses, catching ‘em all to fill up my Pokedex. Hell, and I don’t even own a Nintendo DS; I play it on the PC. :D

9. I used to want to become a doctor. Doctors are sexy; they save lives and act so cool and fly in their white coat and stethoscope bling. And then one day I woke up thinking med school was expensive. And I found out that cutting up people and reaching over to all that blood and flesh and internal organs to make the patient better won’t really be my thing. I don’t want to see the things that the worst of health can do to people. Plus, I discovered that I looked more like a patient than a doctor with my skinny frame and bony shoulders. I don’t think ill people trusts a doctor who looks like he should be wearing a black hooded robe and a scythe. Baka isipin nila, ako ‘yung susundo sa kanila sa kabilang buhay.

10. I like watching porn. Always. I know, it’s not that interesting; I mean, almost all guys do it.

11. I have diverse tastes in some personal stuff. ;D

12. I am extremely lazy. But when I’m very passionate about something, I’m like a shark with a mouthful of human. ‘Pag gusto kung gawin yung isang bagay, driven talaga ako. I try to do it until it’s awesomely, truly perfect.

13. OC ako sa mga gripo at appliances sa bahay. I check them all, over and over again. Some nights, I wake up just to see if I left anything on. It nags me if I don’t go check.

14. I get withdrawal symptoms if I’m not online everyday. Something always pushes me to double-click Google Chrome, kahit walang load ang SmartBro. Freak. :D

15. I am me. And I’ll never change unless I really, really have to.

Til’ next time!

— This Ghost

This Ghost and Condoms

I tried taking a nap earlier, even though it was hotter than six shades of hell in here. I cranked the fan to level 3 and pointed the rush of air directly to my back. An hour later, when I realized the most I could do was closing my eyes while enduring the sauna-like heat, I got up in frustration.

“Never-fucking-mind,” I muttered. That was Spanish for, “I’ve had it.” :D

So I opened the laptop, went online and watched some porn. 

The guys doing the huffy with the girl, I noticed, weren’t wearing condoms. I grimaced; that has got to be unsanitary, right? Who knew what wild creatures lurked under those depths. I mean, that has got to be chlamydia country right there.

Strangely, that triggered a memory of something I witnessed at a supermarket as a kid. No, I didn’t see some couple doing the pleasure horseback-dance at the supermarket. As far as I’m concerned, that’s still frowned upon in most societies. XD

Anyway, my mother took me to the supermarket one day when I was about seven. It was always a treat going to the supermarket. I love it; even now when I’m twenty. All those junk food and chocolate in the brightest of packages;  blue, red, green, yellow, purple, pink, orange; all waiting to be bought and enjoyed. Bottles of oil, pickles, peanut butter, jam, ketchup; cans of corn kernels, beans, corned beef; noodles and biscuits, potato chips and french fries, softdrinks and marshmallows, coffee and mixes and lots and lots and lots; it was all a whirlwind of scents and colors.

I didn’t even mind my Ma dragging me to the cosmetics aisle because it smelled good in there. Or to the part with all those knives (sharp enough that you could perhaps hack a Jonalyn fish’s head off in one try) and plastic containers.

So, for being such a good boy, my Ma bought me my favorite treat. We waited at the line to the counter, where the cashier was at. There was a young couple in their twenties in front of us, waiting for the line to move too. 

I was staring at the shelf of mints by the counter when I heard the young couple laugh. My ears prickled; there was something strange about the laugh. I looked up at them.

The couple was holding each other passionately and their eyes had a glint of a little something that I hadn’t understood until I was in my teens. They were in conversation with the cashier girl.

The cashier girl was smiling too, though a bit awkwardly. She was adding up the couple’s purchases. Suddenly, the guy reached over to the shelf with the mints and picked up this small square pack in silver from a box. The box had TRUST printed on it.

I assumed it was some exotic, imported candy. 

The guy naughtily showed the package to the cashier and they all laughed. The female half of the couple blushed and pinched the guy, but she was smiling too. Before I could ask my Ma what was so funny about that pink square thingy, she noticed me looking up in interest at the couple and she covered my eyes with her hands. 

When the couple left, my Ma exchanged some words with the cashier. The cashier had stopped smiling and she and my Ma shook their heads disapprovingly.

I knew better not to point at the TRUST box and ask Ma to buy me one. We left soon after and I forgot about it.

Until now.

And that was how I was introduced to condoms. Years later, I touched one, even sniffed at one when my friends in school decided to do a sexy show-and-tell that would’ve gotten us into trouble if our adviser knew.

In college, we made balloons out of the material and played with it. 

But it would still be a long time before I used one. I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not. XD

And since we’re talking about condoms. Here’re some interesting facts about it. 

                      

• Around 99% of condoms are made of latex while the rest are made from lamb intestines.

• The Egyptians reportedly used condoms in the 1350BC, which were mostly prepared from animal bladders or intestines (you probably don’t want to live as an Egyptian woman back then)

• Condoms in the 16th century were made of linen.

• Condoms in the 18th century were made from sheep, lamb and goat intestines, and sometimes even from fish skin (cool, Jonalyn’s skin has some other fun use XD)

• The Danish word for condom is ’svangerskabsforebyggendemiddel’ (which is an awesome word to use while buying one at a drugstore when you get the case of the ‘shy’)

Info source here. 

‘Til next time!

—This Ghost

This Ghost at the Movies

(I don’t know why I even bothered posting this. But that night was interesting, and it was absolutely begging to be written about.)

For more than a month now, I’ve been enduring the “In Your Eyes” movie trailer.

I’d be sitting on a dining room chair, remoting the TV on and I’d be assaulted by Rachel Ann Go crooning the movie’s theme song. And I swear, if I ever hear Anne Curtis saying, “Spontaneous, free-spirited, out of the box,” again I’ll throw up.

In case you haven’t heard about it—which is very fortunate of you—it’s about two sisters (played by Claudine Barretto and Anne Curtis) aiming for the good life in the U.S. and falling in love with the same guy (Richard Gutierrez). Basically, it is one guy (manwhore in fact, with all the love scenes he’s been doing) falling in love with the other sister, keeps it a secret from the sister who’s his actual girlfriend and they all go apeshit when the affair is revealed. Put in some issues about racial discrimination and the real stuff Filipinos have to do to make it easier to stay in America and you get “In Your Eyes”.

I’d wait for the trailer to be over and think, “That’s one movie I won’t be caught dead watching”. I mean, really, that scene with Richard Gutierrez bellowing, “Shut up! Shut up, both of you!” doesn’t do it for me.

You could say I swallowed my pride along with a slice of my manhood because I was at the movie’s premiere the other night. I stared at all the people crowding near the red carpet and I was thinking, “WTF!”

You got it, hon, This Ghost went sappy-mainstream.

No awesome movies with hardcore special effects or action-packed scenes; no exploding stuff or high-speed car chases. No anything that I’d consider worth watching for in a movie. I had to settle for emotional sitches and true love.

Say it with me, “Euww”.

I could’ve refused but I knew I’d get an ass-whooping from my sisters if I didn’t go. So we got outta the house by 5pm and took the bus to SM in Ortigas. My aunt, who spent the night in Taguig wasn’t there yet to meet up with us. We headed over to Cinema 9 to check things out. There were a lot of excited people milling around the red carpet that led to the set-up stage near the theatre entrance.

We ducked inside Max’s for dinner; the event for sure would start about 9pm. Besides, I was already hungry. So we lingered over dinner, ordered dessert and I noticed something going on with the resto’s staff. A guy in black had come in and went over to the staff manager. The two huddled together in a corner. After much discussion, the manager snapped his fingers and some of the waiters put in order that small room with the glass doors where I guessed they hold special events, or reserved for VIP.

There was a stir going on outside and inside the resto; some whispering and head-craning going on and I realized why. Minutes later, Bubbles Paraiso and Ehra Madrigal walked in.

Here’s my thing with celebrities. I’d rather that they stay on TV; and more A-okay if I don’t see the lot of them in person. Ever.

Some of them are okay, I guess, but I won’t be stalking them either. Mostly, I’m irked when I observe people reacting at a glimpse of one; they’re literally falling over themselves. I mean, puh-lease.

But they did look good. As I watched Ehra and Bubbles (I wouldn’t even know their names if my sister hadn’t told me) make their way to the reserved section, I had to admit that the pair was beautiful. Nice, even skin, beautiful hair; looking well-fed and well-dressed. Some customers took the chance and snapped a picture with the two.

Moments later, another celeb I didn’t recognize came in. Arci Munoz, whoever she is. Another round of picture-taking. Click, click, flash. I noticed my sister gearing up with her own digicam and I looked at her in horror.

“You wouldn’t!” I said. I hate it when people take pictures of celebrities. That’s like dropping your pride to insect level.

“What?” she asked. She looked at me and said, “All right, but if Ruffa comes in, I will take THAT picture.”

The parade of celebrities continued. There was Annabelle Rama (intimidating to the core) and the dapper Eddie Gutierrez. Raymond Gutierrez (looking gay and if his gestures are to be observed, a flaming one) followed suit and was nice enough to stop to have his photo taken. I looked around and wondered about the hellish stiff necks these people would soon suffer, the way they’re craning their heads and all.

Ate Jane rose from her chair, ready to pounce with her cam but she lost a bit of spirit and sat down again. But when TJ Trinidad (he looks like a vampire dressed in regular clothes) appeared outside the window, my sisters both gushed and giggled, “It’s TJ!” Ate Jane looked practically vicious and determined; she stood with her cam on the ready.

Apparently, people were more into male actors because the whispering all over the resto moved up a couple of decibels. My sister flew to the action and managed to snap this picture of TJ. 

Note: Don’t stare too much at the creepy woman (that's not my sis, btw) in the striped shirt. It ruins the moment.

Anyway, JC de Vera came in a few minutes later. We should’ve been outta there about half an hour ago but with all the famous people coming through the doors, the staff was too harried to hand us our bill. My Ate Dith joked that nobody would even notice if we ditched paying and just make a quick exit.

The movie director, Mac Alejandre was there too. I was more interested in him because he was the moviemaker. He makes the magic happen. I mean, without his vision, what was there to see?

Finally, the bill arrived. We paid and left, but not without my sisters looking over to the reserved section. We met with my aunt and her bestfriend outside the resto (after a few moments of admiring Bianca King as she drifted by) and we ambled to Cinema 9.

Just before reaching it, we stopped. My girls were pricking their ears; a coupla determined-looking men from security walked by us and my girls knew something big’s coming. Turned out it was Anne Curtis. In the interest of making this post shorter, here’s what happened:

Anne Curtis with her dad on her arm; surrounded by her entourage and security people. They all passed by me; Anne was close enough that if I was a lesser person, I could reach out and take a lock of her hair as a souvenir. Of course, I’d get beaten if I do.

Anne: (smiling and saying something unintelligible to someone behind her)

Me: (yawns)

Ate: We saw Anne Curtis! (gushing and coming up beside me)

Me: She’s pretty but her mouth’s gi-normous. Really.

My aunt called her contact from Viva and we made it into the theater but not without a lot of jostling from the crowd. We took our seats and settled down to watch.

Here’s what I realized, to my surprise: the movie was actually pretty good. Seriously.

The storyline’s good. Simple, but it works. The angles and shots are neat and effortless. The acting is great too. I admire the way Claudine summons the tears on cue. Anne’s character is fun and…all right, I’ll say it, ‘spontaneous and free-spirited’. The music however is blergh, except for the theme song which is tolerable. Plus, Richard’s emotional outbursts are awkward. The movie can do without it.

Throughout the movie, there were shouts of “We love you, Claudine!” or “We love you, Anne!” and other flare-ups from fans. It was funny. I figured they were paid to do it so the movie experience wouldn’t be so serious and hushed. I guessed it’s not a good movie if people do not react strongly and positively to it.

All in all, it was an unexpectedly good viewing. I won’t be watching it again but “In Your Eyes” was great. Normally, I’d shy away from Filipino movies. I thought it was corny and too ‘pang-masa’. Plus, I found the storyline, directing and the actors half-assed. But I guess I was just ignorant on how Filipino-made movies have actually evolved. 

Tails and Tales: Cinderella

My good friend Yuth inspired me to make this story. The theme was to give an old fairy tale a new twist; and this was it. A killer seeking revenge; a detective with a murky past and two children in danger. What happens when they all come together?

Find out here.

Tails and Tales

Dinnertime

I wrote this short fic last February. I don't know what possessed me to write about something this sensitive but it was just one of those moments when I just have to write. Like it came from something supernatural and I was the medium.

I've read somewhere that a story should make its reader react strongly to it. I've tried that with this one. :D

Dinnertime

This Ghost and F13th

Okaay…so here’s the thing. It was Friday the 13th two days ago and I absolutely had no idea it was on until I got out of the house at 10am to see a shirtless guy walking around with a big-ass snake curled around his shoulders.

All right. I get it now, I thought as I flicked my eyes at the mottled-green creature.

That’s one reason why I never go out of the house unless I really, really have to. You never know what to expect in this neighborhood in Quezon City.

I never really believed in the Friday the 13th stuff; you know, like it’s unlucky to go out wearing something red because a bull might drop from the sky and skewer you in the ass; or it’s dangerous to pick your nose because it might rain, that kinda stuff.

This Friday, when I saw the snake hissing and seemed to be staring at ME with its cold, crazy snake eyes, I thought maybe there was really a little something-something about the accursed day.

So, I gave the smiling guy (I assumed the reptile made him look macho, but then I figured he was just compensating for his…er…shortcomings elsewhere in his anatomy) a wide berth and drifted over to the convenience store for some food.

I was throwing caution to the winds; I was headed to Cubao to book-browse that afternoon. It was the first time I went out for real since my phone got stolen at the Ayala MRT. 

I did the usual everyday stuff, blogged for a bit, then showered and threw on some clothes. I got outta the house by 4:30pm.

While I waited for the Jayross bus to Cubao near Sandiganbayan (I only ride the Jayross bus), I heard these click-clack sounds. Recognizing it, I raised my eyebrows in time to see a rock bouncing off a jeepney’s metal roof.

Ohh, some people somewhere were hurling small rocks at the jeep, which was two feet in front of me. Just for fun or a personal grudge to the driver, I don’t care, as long as those don’t bounce off MY head.

I glanced all round to see where it came from and I moved a coupla feet to the side in the off-chance that the rock-throwers were actually aiming for me.

Xetbols.

The bus came, finally and I was on my way.

I wandered without incident in Cubao. I bought two Stephanie Plum Books from the main NBS, ate dinner and treated myself to a DQ Blizzard (chocolate-covered strawberry).

But boy oh boy, the bad luck struck just then.

The flip flops I was wearing fell apart when I rode the tricycle for home. And I had to walk the rest of the way (about a mile and a half) effing barefoot. The pavement wasn’t in good condition; it was cracked and wet in places. Plus, I was cringing at the thought of those creepy-crawly germs sticking to my foot.

Plus plus, I had to endure the neighbors’ stares while I limped my embarrassed ass home. 

Coincidence or bad luck wrought by the accursed F13th, I would never know. As I washed and attacked my feet with soap viciously, again and again, I was thinking I just want the day to be over already.

Stalked!

I submitted this short fic for the Brown Writer's Guild on their theme: Love, Hate, Fear.

Stalked

6 at Midnight

One of those story ideas that sticks to you and won't leave. But then you get lazy and forget about it. I might take this up again someday, though. :D

6 at Midnight

Witch Leaf

I wrote this from a fleeting idea of mine back in 2009.

Witch Leaf

This Ghost as an Intern

I don't know why I was uncharacteristically diligent in putting together my in-company training documentation back in June 2009. But I was clearly it.

I went all-out. Day and night and in-between, I wrote my narrative report, assembled all photos and organized the necessary documents typical of an ICT docu, resulting in a 100+ page hardbound you can browse at CAL's Journalism department.  

Here's my narrative report on the entire internship. :D

I Still Have the Summer After All

An Amanda Show Classic

I miss the Amanda Show. I used to watch it when I was younger, and it's helluva better than the shows Nickoledeon air these days. 

Anywhere, here's one of my favorite sketches, The Girl's Room. :D

View photo source here

Twilight Goes Kinky

Is he suggesting what I think he's suggesting? Hahaha.

Another reblog from a favorite  Tumblog, fuckyeahfunnythings. I love that site. XD

View photo source here

Ditch the Photo-taking, Man

I find this extremely funny. But if that guy was me, I'd get the heck outta there screaming. Hahaha. XD

View photo source here

Right to Reply...Not!

This was written for our Electronic Newsroom class with Ms. Cayla Dengate in 2009. It's about a pressing issue about press freedom (pun!). As journalism students, we were required to learn all about it. So I made this column. 

Surprisingly, I submitted this same column to America Online and was published at their website. It was a cool thing for me. :D I tried looking for that article again, just now, but I couldn't see it. Maybe they took it off. :(

Right to Reply..  

Nights in El Soleis

It was 2008, two years since I last wrote something non-journalistic, and I hooked up with my old high school friend, Pau in Friendster (the Facebook back then for us). She asked me why I don't write short fiction anymore.

Good question; so I gave her this answer. This was first posted in Friendster Blogs. :D

Nights in El Soleis  

This Ghost Learns to Write

Okay, I’ve always loved books. I devour them, I absorb them. And if people would stop commenting on my state of mind and insisting I wear a straightjacket, I would’ve married a nice young book years ago to give me little book children.

Books shaped my life. Through reading, I learned how to write. And by learning to write, I took up Journalism in college and graduated with that degree.

I was thirteen when I borrowed this fun book from my classmate. It was R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps. I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with that one. Don’t Go To Sleep! was so exciting I decided to write a story too, in the style of Mr. Stine.  

Of course, my writing clock back then ticked just between ‘amateur hour’ and ‘derpy mediocre’, but I was so excited and proud of my first creation that I forced my friends into reading it. I wasn’t imaginative enough to create my own characters so the story featured me and my friends. I wrote it in my intermediate pad and started something like this:

“Give me back my pen, you stupid dork,” I shouted at Mark as I chased him around the classroom. When he didn’t stop, I picked up a textbook and threw it at him, hitting him in the face.

That scene was inspired by something that actually happened around that time in class. I was so annoyed with my classmate, Mark that  I did throw something at him. It was a lampaso (dried coconut husk used for scrubbing waxed floors into awesome shininess).

Anyway, the story ended with:

The last thing I remembered was the bloody foot walking to Adrian.

Since then, I’ve written a lot of shorts. Almost always, I didn’t get to finish them. I remember one involving a camping trip (inspired by our class’ actual educational tour to Legazpi City) where the kids have to lock themselves in the school bus to fend off a horrible monster.

This Ghost At School

Actually, I wrote this last year as a requirement for our Foreign Languages professor, Kim Jin Gyoon. I don't why he made us write something like this (when we were supposed to be learning Korean letters and chiming, "Aneong hasimnika!", two days a week) but I guess he had his reasons.

Maybe it's a Korean teacher thing; or he just wanted to know his Filipino students better. But wherever you are, Sir Kim, I hope you're doing okay. :D

This Ghost at School