Menthol-Guy

Okay, I was so engrossed with Adam Haslett’s book (featured in this post, in case you haven’t heard) that I haven’t thought that the black wispy clouds in front of my dormitory room’s window happened to be a tornado (see videos here and here). Yes, I was there. It was around 4 pm when it happened. The winds were unusually strong and everything’s dark that I decided not to attend to my LTS1 class since I lost my umbrella and winds are strong and maybe because - like I’ve said - I’m quite concentrated with the book.

I only learned that it was a tornado when I dined with my friends four hours later. They were talking about the tornado and I felt stupid when I told them that I’ve seen roofs, fishing nets - and even a t-shirt for chrissake - flying in front of my window without even thinking that it was something worse. Well I thought it was just usual to see roofs flying - I mean, I haven’t thought of it as a roof since they were shattered into pieces anyway. There were just lots of debris flying but I haven’t seen the conical shape or the outline of the tornado. I should’ve at least planned to take a video of that tornado. Heh.

It’s probably one of my wildest fantasies, seeing a live tornado. I dunno - it’s something to brag during conversations. But who cares? Seeing a tornado isn’t that good a thing. Oh, wait. Maybe I’m thrilled to see one since I haven’t for my entire life. I’ve seen rainbows and naked people but never a live tornado. A flesh-to-flesh encounter with a tornado.

_{Now I challenge you to say a tongue twister I discovered: Lloyd Load. Say it ten times. Will you?}

See, I’m really bored. I should’ve seen the tornado and maybe I could’ve come up with a better post about my experience with the tornado. Next time I’ll do my best to go near it. And of course I’ll manage to stay alive and take a picture of it and put it in this blog. Wow. Just wow.

By the way, belated/advanced happy birthday to Shari and Angel. We guys should get some booze, you know. And congratulations to Ms. Janette Toral and to the winners of this year’s Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blogs. You guys know who you are. :)

Talk about nonsense. I’m tired.

Casting my vote

Influential. Emerging. Such “hefty” words are associated with the Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blogs held annually (since 2007), a project by Ms. Janette Toral. We all have our connotations with those hefty words mentioned above, and my connotation - I’m afraid - might be the sole basis of my candidates this year.

Last year’s winners were dominated by personal blogs, and it’s quite refreshing that group blogs are - so far - populating this year’s nominees. Last year’s winners, though, haven’t stood that long against the tests of time. A number of them (like the nonexistent one-hit wonder blog named Utakgago, whoever that is, and Jhed) became either inactive, nonexistent, and lost a lot of factors that somehow summed up their “influence” in the blogosphere. And I’m really hoping that this year - whoever makes it to the Top Ten - will surface and stand for a couple of more years.

So much for the sentiments and the expectations. The (three) blogs I nominate are as follows:

1. Visit Sagada - This blog promotes the hidden beauty of the Cordilleras (which I suspect, is a world-class beauty since it’s regarded as the Philippine version of Shangri-La - see, I know a loooot), which is still unknown even to us Filipinos since a friend even thought of it as a cave (well, it’s NOT just a cave). And maybe because I have my ulterior motives so I nominated this blog (like an all-expense paid trip to Sagada, LOL).

2. Billycoy - Ever since this site started at Blogspot, I’ve been a fan of Billycoy’s brain-blasting way of humorous writing!

3. Wawsabaw - I’m actually paid to vote this blog (35 pesos = a kilo of rice!). This blog - please read this as sarcastic as you can - is ONE OF MY FAVORITES. EVAR. I always bookmark it at any computer station I use around the globe, really. He’s a promising (sarcasm again) writer and a drop-dead fan of mine. Heh.

So as you can see, I really need a lot of “catching up” to read other blogs and follow-up my list. :D

UPDATE! UPDATE!

4. Fritzified - Dickery + flawlessly-written posts = total Paparazziness. Despite his numerous attempts to become a rockstar of his own world - well it doesn’t matter. He might be putting a bit (or lots) of dickery in the middle of his formally tuned-up posts, but hey dude - I never thought it could sound so awesome (and his PICS! HIS PICS ARE JUST GUHHREAT)! It’s just one of the blogs I read daily, even if he rarely updates it and I only see those mind-numbing headers he made for the color-blind. LOL. I shut up nao. Anyway, to help Fritz reach his rockstar Nirvana (not the Plurk-related nirvana), I now vote him. :D

5. Manila Foodistas - I’ve been eyeing on their blog for more than a MONTH now, imagine.

6. Pass the Sauce - I actually saw this blog somewhere around Fritz’s blog and the way she captures that Ferrero Rondnoir, there. My stomach growled again. I should avoid food blogs right now, I’m craving for chocolates. Heh. They ruin my austerity program, but I’ll still check their blogs!

7. Samjuan - Need I say more? This blog totally speaks out every inch of an OFW’s life - the longing, the desperation to come home, the hardships just to earn all the dollars and the even growing desperation “to find his blue-eyed wifey”. The blog appeals to a broad audience, and it did appeals me so much. :)

8. Filipino Voices - I think it was THIS blog has this raffle of giving books (as what Gibbs had told me, but again I failed to join! Hrmph. I’m so lazy. Any writing seminars out there? LOL) and a contest about giving your opinion about a certain Philippine news or anything else. Bleh. Anyway, I’m probably not an avid reader but I DEFINITELY read this blog - it’s this kind of blog where it encourages you to actually voice out every unheard opinion about our country (politics and anything under the sun). Definitely on my list.

Sorry, I’m running out of blogs to vote. :(

Casting my vote

Influential. Emerging. Such “hefty” words are associated with the Top 10 Emerging and Influential Blogs held annually (since 2007), a project by Ms. Janette Toral. We all have our connotations with those hefty words mentioned above, and my connotation - I’m afraid - might be the sole basis of my candidates this year.

Last year’s winners were dominated by personal blogs, and it’s quite refreshing that group blogs are - so far - populating this year’s nominees. Last year’s winners, though, haven’t stood that long against the tests of time. A number of them (like the nonexistent one-hit wonder blog named Utakgago, whoever that is, and Jhed) became either inactive, nonexistent, and lost a lot of factors that somehow summed up their “influence” in the blogosphere. And I’m really hoping that this year - whoever makes it to the Top Ten - will surface and stand for a couple of more years.

So much for the sentiments and the expectations. The (three) blogs I nominate are as follows:

1. Visit Sagada - This blog promotes the hidden beauty of the Cordilleras (which I suspect, is a world-class beauty since it’s regarded as the Philippine version of Shangri-La - see, I know a loooot), which is still unknown even to us Filipinos since a friend even thought of it as a cave (well, it’s NOT just a cave). And maybe because I have my ulterior motives so I nominated this blog (like an all-expense paid trip to Sagada, LOL).

2. Billycoy - Ever since this site started at Blogspot, I’ve been a fan of Billycoy’s brain-blasting way of humorous writing!

3. Wawsabaw - I’m actually paid to vote this blog (35 pesos = a kilo of rice!). This blog - please read this as sarcastic as you can - is ONE OF MY FAVORITES. EVAR. I always bookmark it at any computer station I use around the globe, really. He’s a promising (sarcasm again) writer and a drop-dead fan of mine. Heh.

So as you can see, I really need a lot of “catching up” to read other blogs and follow-up my list. :D

Time frames

Newly-launched blogs are like newly-bought shirts. You’re so excited to wear them at first, asking yourself if it’s good to pair with blue maong pants or khakis, or when will you wear it, and the questions of exaggerated excitement and eagerness to flaunt your shirt.

Time just really fades the color of everything. It tends to make colors dull by a shade or two. It spoils everything; rots everything; decomposes everything.

When I launched this blog last week, I was swept by excitement that every plan on making the blog kickass simultaneously popped out of my mind. I want this blog to showcase my talents in photography, and make the comments section much livelier than usual, and plans of tons of reviews about books, movies and albums.

Everything newly-bought has this tendency to make its user ambitious: a fresh haircut, a sleek new sports car. But time just ruins everything; you hit the lowest notch of zero, and nothing’s new anymore. Nothing spices up your creative ideas anymore; nothing’s suspense anymore.

How could you make things look as if it was newly-bought? How could you convince yourself that everything’s new? That everything’s meant to be maintained - old or new, hardbound or paperback, signature or ukay-ukay, personalized or default? That everything is something even without the chains of time? That every single thing depreciates its value as time goes by (with the exception of the antique furnitures and everything for the museum)? That we are the culprits who puts the time limit in everything we have, with the fear that the longer it lives - the less we appreciate it, the less it satisfies us?

Maybe it’s time for me to remove all the dates in my head.