After finishing my first post in my Blogging For Beginners series, I had to wrestle with the urge to move my other blog to a domain name I bought that has been dancing in limbo for months now. I wish somebody had guided me early on to the benefits of having your own dotcom when I started that blog. It seems such a waste to let go of all the backlinks I’ve created over these months and start anew.

I’ve seen it done though, but thinking about the move is excruciating. Perhaps I will find enough will in the next couple of days to just do it. But then again perhaps I won’t.

Sometimes you get too much out of life that it’s hard to focus on one single subject. This blog, for example, could use a lot of watering. I’m sorry for those who come here every so often and find nothing new. I have to apologize for that.

Coming up with a blog carries with it a responsibility, one that ties the blogger to his blog, and that is to provide at least a semblance of an update every now and then. This is something that I have to do something about.

Alright, enough with the long-winded, pompous apologetics.

I’ve been doing a whole lot of things. Over the weekend, I finished two books by Stephenie Meyer, Twilight, & New Moon. Her books have been burning the New York Times Best Seller List for more than 30 weeks now. A movie is even coming out this December for Twilight. The book has quite a following, boasting of more than 100 fan sites in the Internet. It’s very easy to read which means that you don’t have to go into deep philosophical intrspections to get what the characters are talking about. It’s actually a young adults book, which makes it right up my alley. I’m also starting the first of Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials - The Golden Compass.

I don’t know what came over this sudden fascination with pop literature. I was actually with the SO last Saturday and while she was eyeing some merchandise that she could profit from, I sneaked into Powerbooks thinking about moleskine, those little notebooks popularized by Hemingway among others. Unfortunately it was very expensive (around 900 for the smallest) so I thought of buying books instead. I came out of that place a little bit poorer but 5 books heavier.

I’ve also been heavily involved in propagating a few blogs for some experiment I have. If this is successful, it could be a blueprint to save some of our countrymen’s lousy careers. Lofty ambition I know, but it is very feasible but only for those with enough determination and imagination. Hopefully everything will become clear by August unless I get crazy lazy again.

After so many false starts I’m settling back into my usual badminton routine. This time I do it during the daytime. Its refreshing not to jostle against other cars in the parking lot. I don’t have to worry about reservations either. Folks are usually in their offices when I play so not much competition for the courts either.

Oh yeah, before I forget. Have you guys tried twitter? Let me know so I can be one of your followers.Hey Maria, where you at?

Here are some of the pictures I promised.

Anawangin Cove, Zambales

Mango Camp

White Water Rafting - CDO

The summer heat is taking its toll. And while I have tried to preserve my sanity by sleeping right under my AC’s vent, I still only manage a couple of hours sleep before I am made aware of the days sweltering temperatures. I have transformed my bedroom to a veritable cinema, the kind that horny college kids frequent to do some acrobatics in the dark– to no avail. I am still reminded by nature that I am not a bat and I should not be sleeping at a time when she demonstrates how hot the sun can be minus the ozone layer.

Given the enthusiasm that the morning and afternoon heat applies themselves to the task of keeping me awake, I countered by employing the very essences that nature itself produced; wine and vodka. These two babies I bought from the weekend market at Salcedo, and while they are relatively cheap, they fulfill their purpose.

The vodka is a killer. I took a swig straight up and the alcohol made its presence felt for a full 30 seconds– leaving a trail of fire from my esophagus down to my belly. The Chilean wine is almost done. It’s fruity but with an elegant kick. I would like to say that it’s of a very good year, but I haven’t reached that kind of sophistication nor wealth as yet. Suffice it to say that the process of getting drunk with this wine was very pleasant and left me happily drowsy everytime.

Now drinking myself to a stupor everyday has become my stop gap measure for these unsleepable mornings and despite my preference for all things natural, sometimes we have to compromise and allow these potent spirits to guide us to la-la-land.

One of the many joys of working in the nightshift is that you get to leisurely enjoy your breakfast– something that I can’t say when I used to be a dayshifter.

If you are young enough to remember, there used to be a TV commercial which shows a husband who, when accosted by his wife on whether he’d like to have breakfast before he goes to work, replied guiltily- ‘Coffee na lang, Dear’.

While it may have been a marketing success, truth is, that commercial is a true picture of thousands, if not millions, of Filipino employees(we now number around 88Million++ so this is entirely plausible) all over the land. Working stiffs, those who must bear the crime, grime, & traffic jam of a daytime Metro Manila, can easily relate to that husband’s predicament.

In one hand, the husband wants to share some meaningful morning moments with the wife, while on the other, the unpleasant prospect of reporting to work late. In the end he had to settle with a compromise, ergo, ‘Coffee na lang, Dear.’ This is a classic solution that gives the impression of giving in to all parties concerned, albeit totally unsatisfactory. As my shrewd Significant Other time and again says to me - ‘Dearie, love is love, but business is business.’

ooOoo

I am having breakfast at KopiRoti (hence the title) as I’m writing this– churning out sentences in between sips of a robust Tehtarik and nibbles of Kaya toast. The poached eggs that go with the set is also just right. I have tried this meal before when a friend introduced it to me in a KopiRoti place KL. It’s a very light meal that is surprisingly very satisfying. That’s why when I saw this cafe open near my office, I couldn’t be more happier.

As I continued to nibble on my toast, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of schadenfreude in watching the scurrying workers trying to beat their designated time-ins. I could imagine that some of them would already be pretty stressed by the time they reach their cubicles even at this early hour, which is a crying shame.

Oh well, c’est la vie.  Char.