Alex @ June 17, 2008 | | News | Comments (3)
I went to the ToyCon last Saturday and had an epiphany - it was not my scene anymore. That meant a lot given that I was co-conspirator of the UP Anime Manga Enthusiasts anime fair and yes, I was president of that org too. I mean, I still maintain an interest for some areas in the local geek culture. Enough to fuel my drive to be still part of Sugoi Stuff. But to totally immerse myself and enjoy it like I did years ago? Not anymore.
Perhaps it’s the people. As many veterans in the scene would note, it’s all about piss and vinegar and nothing more. Kids just have a lot of money and a lot of easy access to these things. Gone is the rigor. Gone is the effort. In any case, I really don’t care about these kids anyway. They don’t know me and I don’t know them. I hate rich people in general and that’s that.
So if not that, perhaps it’s the question of quarter-life crisis. I feel that I do not want to be 30 and still be spending all of my earnings on some collectible, forcibly intellectualizing anime, games, and toys, and engaging kids half my age in “debates” regarding trivia. In a few years time, I’ll be starting a family. I would just want to avoid the scenario where I have to pawn my mint-condition limited edition collectible to buy baby formula for my kid since I lost my job socking my boss in the mouth just because he said that anime is for losers.
Well, this is just my take on the matter and perhaps I’m just really more into exploring a wider world now.
Alex @ June 15, 2008 | | News | Comments (1)
I just can believe how expensive everything is nowadays. I was cleaning my desk a couple of days ago and stumbled upon an old Shell receipt with the price per liter of their then flagship fuel Velocity was Php 16 per liter. Php 16!!! Those were the times when me and my college barkada (with me as the perpetual pilot) would be able to go to SM Megamall and back to UP in within our 3-hour break to grab a movie. And it was indeed cheaper to bring a car than pay for fare for 5 people.
I queued up for gas and the price for Shell’s flagship V-Power is at Php 58+. My Php 1000, which was supposed to last me for the rest of the month, filled my tank with only 17 liters. Which, given the mileage I get from my car would allow me to travel 145 kms. 8-10 home to UP and back. Even minimizing the number of trips I have to make in a week failed to cut down on my transportation expenses. I still have to go to UP since I’m already in the process of writing my thesis proposal. And just the fact that making the trip costs a lot sucks balls.
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Tags: Cars, Gas Prices, Movies, Personal, Rant
Alex @ June 9, 2008 | | News | Comments (0)
I’m tired. I’m sunburnt. I’m broke.
But I’m happy.
Alex @ May 25, 2008 | | News | Comments (3)
I have to admit that I haven’t watched the new Indiana Jones movie yet since I rarely watch a movie without my fiancee (no rings yet, semantically, at least) but Iron Man, I watched twice. At least, I’ve seen the first three Indiana Jones movies unlike probably many of the kids who have watched/will be watching the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.
My sister and Risha would probably attest to this - it’s awfully hard for me to appreciate a movie on the surface level. As a student of discourse and critical theory (mostly post-colonial thanks to Sir Neil Garcia), I am known to ramble on and on about how Hollywood propagates the notion that without the United States, we’d be ravaged by megalomaniacs from Asia or Eastern Europe. (Hey, has there been a megalomaniac villain who came from Southeast Asia or South America featured in a Hollywood blockbuster?).
Take the two recent blockbuster movies for example. Both of which, would surely annoy anyone who is (too) sensitive about these ideas.
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Alex @ May 23, 2008 | | News | Comments (6)
My phone buzzed early this morning. Yes, I always keep it on silent mode so it’s just the vibrating alert that buzzed against the glass top of our coffee table. A missed call from Grace’s number.
It was a bit weird since Grace would be one of the people I’d be amazed to give me a call. Being English majors, we have taken classes together but we never really were in the same group even back in our undergrad days. In fact, it was only during our recent graduate classes that we’ve bonded together as classmates. But since it has been six months after our last class together, the call was out of the blue.
Then I received a text message, again from her number.
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