Grant Wood's The Farmer and His Daughter

This painting of a farmer and his wife (or sometimes, daughter) is called American Gothic. Grant Wood painted this in 1930. The original painting is in the Art Institute of Chicago.

http://www.slate.com/id/2120494/

distressed me

© SuperStock, Inc.

Welcome to emotions galore!

Hell, murphy's law should have acted by now.

What's taking it so long?

Whatever happened to...?

The love of flying is the love of beauty. It was more beautiful up there than anything I had known. - Amelia Earhart
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2003/12/1215_031215_ameliaearhart.html

Ninety miles outside Chicago
Can't stop driving, I don't know why
So many questions, I need an answer
Two years later you're still on my mind

Whatever happened to Amelia Earhart?
Who holds the stars up in the sky?
Is true love just once in a lifetime?
Did the captain of the Titanic cry?

Beautiful, isn't she?

For Freedom!

Haay... Finally... I'm so relieved. I've been wanting forever to send this draft. Now, it's found in my Sent Folder, and yes, more time for greater things :)

30 June 2006

Dear everyone,

I hereby tender my resignation from the ALJ. But before I totally leave, here are a few concerns:

1) Mass offerors will be JON, VERA, JAJA, VENA, unless you guys choose otherwise from among yourselves. We basically need only 3 - one to carry the water, another for the wine, and the third for the hosts. The others can put their monetary offers inside a white envelope and join the queue. You can also bring flowers or fruits. Garyn Sua of the CMO will be there to assist us in the mass.

2) Bong, I'll be around to see 51-1 through publication so if you still need me to edit anything, let me know.

3) Vena, I've two articles for your issue already. I'll have the works sent to you by email na lang. One is from Mark Dy, who is currently in Germany on a Human Rights Conference. He'll be working on a paper for the Friedrich Naumann Stiftung (the sponsor) when he comes back. I'm also writing a note on Copyright and Freedom of Expression in Europe. I'd make this into my thesis but I'm much ready for my other one on trademarks. Anyway, I wish you and the other lead editors luck.

4) Re: my documents in the black PC, I'll get them and delete them tomorrow. Then, I'll leave my key.

Thank you, guys! I'll just be next door. God bless.

Crim Law Review parteh!

http://doranne.multiply.com/photos/album/29

What I miss most about Ateneo

What's not to miss about ateneo? Checklist for Ateneans. Stolen from another blog.
(X) eat at Manang's
(X) learn the alma mater
(XX) get on the dean's list until I started having my core subjects, and orgs became so much more worth the while
( ) sleep on a bench
(xx) be a TNT! yeah, I miss all the TnT's! Our freshies are now TnT's themselves! I'm so proud!
(x) jog around the campus in the evening
(X) visit the art gallery (live in the art gallery is more like it. I wonder why that hell of a Richie Lerma removed the Arts Club?!?!)
( ) know at least one xerox lady, manong, or technician by name
(X) get a Jesuit for a teacher (I still want to steal Ferriols.)
( ) itch from higad bites
(X) have gotten an F in something (Hi18:Western History, a 730 am class taught by Glenn Garfield Ang, the guy with the pink glasses. What's up with that?! Then I took Hi16 and fell in love with Asia. My professor was a fresh MA grad from UP. I absolutely admired him and his love for history that I gave him my one and only copy of Ondaatje's The English Patient as a token of my crush. I don't remember his name now, though.)
( ) have taken a crap in school (You know I probably did, but I can't remember so I'm not sure)
(X) watch a La Salle vs. Ateneo UAAP game (To hell with scalpers!)
(X) give a powerpoint presentation (Yes, many times! It's like a way of life for John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) students. F*ck. LM is still half-baked!)
( ) study in the caf upstairs (I eat in the caf upstairs. That or do performance art for TA or Heights)
(X) watch a T.A play (Yeah, baby! M from TA myself. Yeah, I earned the bragging rights.)
(X) sit on the SEC ledge and watch the stars (and eventually get drunk)
(X) eat in Full House, Martha's Kitchen, and Ken Afford
(X) sleep in the lib (The lib is made for sleeping. It's funny how I can study anywhere and everywhere but the lib. And how I can't sleep anywhere and everywhere but the lib and my room. Do they put drugs in the a/c?)
(X) visit Mr. San Andres (Coz he wanted to hire me even before I graduated. Hmmm.. what if? What if I accepted the offer? What if?)
(X) go to the chapel (and the corresponding prayer room behind the altar. The entrance is via a separate door.)
( ) have gotten a pebble stuck in your shoe/slippers in the middle of the quad (Say what?!)
(X) cut class with your block to watch a movie (We all do that. It's sheer magis.)
(X) sign up for those institutional (i.e. difficult but brilliant) teachers: Ferriols, Dacanay, David, among others
(X) go to CERSA night (CERSA nights rock!)
(X) have tried siomai rice (and rice with rice lang when I've no money-Doranne; same here!)
(X) learn how to smoke (heights! heights! heights!)
(X) fall in love
(X) actually read the book you keep borrowing from the lib (it was a psychology book. it was the only one I read. The rest I photocopied. The photocopied ones, I read.)
( ) play cards during your free time
(X) dress in business attire (for defense lang. Unlike the poor ones nowadays who had to wear business attire everyday.)
(X) learn to stay awake for more than 24 hours straight
( ) have gotten side comments from ASSOC (Didn't give a damn. I still don't)
( ) take (and enjoy) Saturday classes (Nevah! But we always had one starting sophomore year)
( ) go to your immersion (Didn't. Sayang.)
(X) eat Food for Thought sandwiches
(X) get a boyfriend/girlfriend
(X) take time to read the vandalism in the CR doors
( ) watch "Minsan Lang Sila Bata" and "Macho Dancer" for class (I watched "Minsan Lang..." in the High School with Lualhati Bautista herself, but that was not for class. That was just for myself)
(XXXXXXX) do a last minute paper (That is the general rule. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I get asked this question!)
(X) have spent a lot for 1x1 ID pictures (for index cards and teachers' seat plans)
(X) get exempted from final exams
(X) attend a college mass
( ) promise to quit smoking
( ) play hide-and-seek in the mini-forest (What the....?!?! Who does that?! -Doranne. Oo nga?!?!)
(X) know where the best restrooms are on campus (SEC, CTC and JGSOM, but those were the days.. Hey, and I enjoyed peeing in Faura, too!)
(X) join an org (heights, arts club, TA. I headed the first two. For the latter, I was just happy being on stage. That was more than the former two combined.)
(X) allow yourself to make mistakes
(X) take summer classes (required e!)
( ) admire the sacred heart statue in the evening (nope)
(X) make a video for a project
(X) have a crush on a teacher (and went out with a teacher whom I don't kras)
(X) attend a Jesuit retreat (a must for everyone. I had a hard time though coz it was a "silent" retreat)
( ) have gotten a parking ticket
(X) come to school in your crappiest yet most comfy clothes
(X) learn how to use the Bayantel pay phones
(X) participate in school activities (I got an award and a scholarship for these)
( ) catch the Blue Babble Battalion tryouts
(XX) date an Atenean
(X) ride a tricycle on campus (always from comm to Bel! Ditto!)
(X) find a tambayan outside the caf (and that is the pubroom)
( ) admire the marikina valley at night (I only got to do this on Valentine's night this year. Thanks, Mark! I love you :)
(X) go drinking along Katipunan
( ) learn how to beg for a higher grade
(X) use your cuts wisely
( ) volunteer to be class beadle
( ) had the worst lottery schedule for reg
(X) admire the trees on campus
( ) have forgotten about your freecut and gone to that class
(X) eat in the ISO canteen
(X) be active in your org
( ) have signed up on an ACP class just because the girl or guy u like signed up for it
( ) get as many app forms as you can during the job fair
(X) learn how to cram (and still get A's)
(X) sell tickets (or watch) an org-sponsored movie premiere (legally blonde)
( ) save money to Xerox all of your seatmate's notes
( ) have accidentally seen a make-out session
(X) check out the Meron Lagoon and Lambingan Bridge (ES)
( ) have dozed off in class in Bel right after a class in CTC/SOM/Comm. Bldg or vice-versa (I've dozed off in an exam. I passed. That's a miracle)
(X) learn how to work with groupmates from hell (and not include their names in the submitted project. "Oh, I'm sorry, did you contribute?!")
( ) perfect the art of parking on campus
( ) had a bad encounter with one of the guards on campus
(X) develop a love for sisig
(X) learn how to pronounce "AEGIS" properly
(X) have used typing rooms at the library (for meetings)
(X) have reserved a classroom, AVR, etc. for a class or org function
( ) have asked the library for an endorsement to research in other libraries
(X) have lost a perfectly functioning umbrella
(X) have used consultation hours properly
(X) Looked forward to lab breakage refund, in case you didn't break any equipment
(X) visit the Guidance Office
(X) and Infirmary (to feign sickness and get some sleep. It's the nearest available bed. Thanks 48-hour days!)

Superman Returns

Warning: plot spoilers ahead


"Superman is in Manila!"

"The son becomes the father and the father becomes the son."
- Jor-El

This film is very theological, very salvation-history. I'm watching out for the next generation Superman.

Coffee with my best friend, Sarah

Last night I hung out at Seattle's Best Coffee from 9 - 11 waiting for Sarah to finish her Taoism session. She sent me a text message at 9 saying, "Ken I meat you at tarbuko 1015 por stadi? Low butt." She arrived at 11, instead of 10, wearing a green shirt and a 5-strand, blue-beaded necklace, which combined to make her look like a hippie. She had a large red body bag with Greenpeace pins on them (Clean energy. Now.) Not that she isn't yet a hippie. I've never met someone so alternative than her, and I love her for that.

"Sara/h!" we exclaimed at each other when she arrived. I told her that she was positively glowing with pride and satisfaction. "I'm happy," she said, and I expected no less. My best friend recently left a prominent art museum to pursue a career with an NGO that deals with environmental awareness and education. She's also taking up an M.A. in UP. "I've been so busy I haven't read anything!" she said. We weren't able to study last night. We almost can't breathe trying to tell each other stories. *Sigh* It's been a long time. Here are a few excerpts from the most enlightening and fun time that was only last night:

After three guys pass by our table, Sarah asked me, "Do you know that guy?" in a tone that suggested that if I dare say yes, I'm gonna get killed. "No," I replied. "That guy is from a stupid show! It's like one hour.. Of nothing!"

***

The mark of small people is their big pride.

***

People are now more interested in discovering other realities because we've milked out fiction.

***

And, due to World Cup fever...
S1: What if they announce it in the drug store like they do it in the coffee shops? Say, "One ice pack for the groin-sprained?"
S2: Nasty :)

Ghosts and Lovers

"They each walked 2000 kilometers to say goodbye."
-Sarah on the performance art, Ghosts and Lovers on the Great Wall of China, by Marina Abramovic and Ulay

Thank you, Sarah, for sharing this with me.

http://www.lucienvanvalen.nl/paginas/Ghosts%20and%20Lovers.html

----

June 26

Father B: Hello, child. You look so happy.

Really? Why am I so?

by my twin (mulatala.blogspot.com)

Saturday, May 13, 2006

the day i get to be a "how-to" girl

I've always loved the film "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days" (lalala) so yes, it tickled me when Marie Clare magazine asked me to write a 130-word "how-to", which will bepart of their 15 Things Every Woman Should Know article ( I wonder, what the other 14 are :O )

How to Appreciate Art: here's how i wanted to write it

Art is not "beauty versus ugly", but an expression of life. To appreciate art, one must appreciate one's dreams, imagination, and the environment, while mutually valuing diversity, the negative, and sometimes, the anomalous. Art is not intimidating. Art is beyond visiting museums or learning how to draw. One must consider that our surroundings are also museums and that we can creatively record the imagined and the real in different ways. To have the "eye" for art is to see things as they are and otherwise, while affecting other senses. To "know" art is to understand its form, the discourse it encourages, and its impact to human history. To have the "heart" for art is to recognize its universal and unbounded nature and how it can help oneself and others.

here's the submitted version:
Art is simply (and intricately) an expression of life. Art shouldn't be intimidating. To appreciate art, one must first simply appreciate one's dreams, imagination, and environment, while mutually valuing diversity, the negative, and sometimes, the anomalous. A free mind is an ingredient into discovering art like visiting a cemetery after visiting a museum. Consider that your surroundings are sources of art. Place yourself in the life of a scenery, an object, a portrait, or a flower and understand the story of its creation. Boil your imagination with innocence as if you are sensing everything for the first time. Use all your senses and connect to the truth conveyed by an artwork. Always recognize the universal and unbounded nature of art and think how it can inspire oneself and others.

Hmm, how should magazine writing sound? I don't know. Im crossing my fingers :O

Frosh Parteh

Christmas 2003

Here's what I was thinking then: With good friends like these, who needs boys? :)

Photo courtesy of Doranne Lim

An Illustration of Analogy

Ferilizers actually used on a piece of land are immovable by destination.
Hence, fertilizers kept in a barn are not immovable.

-taken from De Leon's Property textbook

An example of immovables

"Docks, though floating, are considered immovables."
- from De Leon's Property textbook

Christmas Party for Evidence Class (2005)

That's me with one of the most interesting friends I have, Titit!

President's Night (photos courtesy of Doranne Lim)

From top to bottom: 1) Jeland and I; 2) Thea, Jeland, and I, with two other law students whom I don't know; 3) Jeland, a couple, and I (Jeland, bakit lagi yata tayong magkasama sa pics?!); 4) My honeh, Mark and I; 5) Jeland, Ralph, Isoy, Danya, Jojit, and Thea, where are you looking at?

Signature City

Your signature city is New York

What's Your Signature City?
Brought to you by Tickle

Whether you like to have lots of options at your fingertips or you like to be in a metropolitan environment that's buzzing with energy, the Big Apple is the perfect place for you. Maybe you like to mix and mingle at some of the edgiest restaurants, shops, and clubs in the world. Or maybe you like to be in the middle of it all — in the bright lights and big city.

One night could be dinner and a show on Broadway, a stroll through Central Park the next, or a trip to the Met the next. From Grand Central Station to Greenwich Village, New York's got some of the biggest and edgiest things to see and do anywhere in the world. No wonder a trendsetter like you would be right at home in the Big Apple.

Hmmm... Kelan kaya 'tong NY adventure na 'to?

Heard in a Coffee Shop

Barista: One tall hot mocha for Freedom?

Group of boys stands up and raises closed fists in the air,

FOR FREEDOM!

FRIENDS trivia

Did you know that Jennifer Aniston's real name is "Jennifer Linn Anastassakis"?
Thus, Anastassakis - Papasifakis wedding. Excellent!

Math for Lawyers

how visual aids should be

http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/athome.htm

Mark's leaving for Germany!

I thought he'd been looking queasy since yesterday. I couldn't blame him. He's leaving for Germany at 7.15 Manila time tonight for a 15-day seminar on human rights. All expense paid. Who wouldn't get excited about a grant like that? I thought of him as the height of cool.

On the way to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), we held hands while his kuya babied him: "Do you have your passport?" "Did you wear the money bag I gave you? Always make sure that you have them with you." "No jokes about Hitler or else, beefy Germans will beat you up." "No jaywalking. They'll get you deported." "Did you check-in online? No? It would have saved you a couple of hours. You should have checked the site I gave you." "Does your ticket need to be confirmed? (Unsa man?) Does-your-ticket-need-to-be-confirmed? (Dunno yet.) Check once you land. Remember what Dad said, once you get there, make sure you know how to go home..." We dropped his kuya off near Greenbelt and proceeded to the airport.

After I left for Rockwell, he texted me that he got in a little too early. The Lufthansa counter was still closed. There were a couple of Germans there who looked like the bad men in one of 'em action films.

But as of now, (well, it's 7:13), they're already boarding. "This is it. Boarding.. Wish me luck... (sweet nothings deleted) This is real.. I'm really going to Europe.. Let's go!"

-------
God speed, baby! I'm so proud of you!

Meanwhile, back to thesis writing...

When all else fails, follow instructions.

Better late than pregnant.

Pag may tyaga.. goodluck.

Behind the clouds are the other clouds.

Aanhin pa ang damo.. kung bato na ang uso!

Its better to cheat than to repeat!

Do unto others... then run!!!

Kapag puno na ang salop, kumuha na ng ibang salop.

When all else fails, follow instructions.

To err is human, to errs is humans.

Dont judge the book by its cover... if u are not a judge or else you will cover the book!

No guts, no glory... no ID, no entry.

Birds of the same feather make a good feather duster.

Kapag maikli ang kumot, tumangkad ka na!

No man is an island because time is gold.

Ang buhay ay parang gulong, minsan nasa ibabaw minsan nasa... vulcanizing shop.

Ako ang nagsaing... iba ang kumain. Diet ako eh.

An apple a day, makes seven apples a week.

Quotable Quotes & Recit Boo-Boos

1) Doranne on doing thesis: "I've been fermenting in the Palladium forever!"

2) Jack on Oposa v. Factoran: "The defense of the DENR was that they didn't have enough forest rangers."

3) Buddy in Crim Law Review: "This is an exercise of the State's favorite power - the police power."

4) Student: Sir, they confiscated the carabaos and according to the statute, they were to give it to the charitable institutions.
Jack: What will they do to the carabaos?
Student: Sir, they will use them.
Jack: No. What will they do to the carabaos?
Student: Sir, they will cook them. {The possibilities are endless, you know?!}

5)Jon: Ano ba? Ang init naman! Naka-on ba yung aircon? (Walks to the temp controller)
Jeland: Wag na! Maginaw dito!
Emil: Oo, nga! Maginaw! Nakikita ko na'ng utong ni Jeland.
Jon: Talaga? Ano'ng kulay?
Emil: Brown. {And then a little later...}

Doranne: Ang init ng aircon!
Lem: Wag na! Malamig na nga eh!
Emil: Lem, patingin nga?

My St. Thomas More Day

Today's a law school holiday - St. Thomas More's. While most of my fellow law students spent their days doing their thesis or otherwise just working on their cases, I was at the posh Teehankee Center getting interviewed for the Frontline, a quarterly glossy circulated among Ateneo alumni and faculty. The photo shoot took the whole afternoon - from the ocular inspection to the preparations to the retakes. I have a feeling that only 2 will actually end up getting published. I had fun, though. I learned about reflectors and flash and that when you wear white, everything around you comes out a tad darker in the photo. We shot in 3 locations - in the Center, beside the statue of St. Ignatius, and on the steps leading up to the school. When we were in our second location, the janitors and security guards from the ground and second floor balcony were waiving at me. "Ma'am Suguitan!" Now, that was fun!

The interview was for the Ateneo Jesuit Leadership Program of the law school. It came after the shoot and lasted only an hour. The interviewer was a woman in her 40's. She came in with her son, who's probably four years younger than me. He said he read about me in Heights, the Loyola Schools literary folio. Now, that was way back! I felt a little odd and old. It was a little unnerving to be going down memory lane for this interview. I realized I've been around for quite some time now. Nope. We're old! We have memories!

After everyone left, I stayed behind to tidy up the Center. I spent some time looking out into Rockwell from the huge windows. I was seated on an oak chair in front of an oak desk. "I'm gonna be in this business all my life," I thought. The sun slowly set over the Joya towers, which made Rockwell blush pink and gold. Traffic got a little heavier along Hidalgo Drive. The palm trees lining up the roads waved their branches with the evening wind. These are the moments that make you go down on one knee in endless praise.

I sighed quietly and looked over at my ringing cellphone and the pile of readings beside my bag. Work calls. Indeed, as St. Thomas More said, "I'm the King's servant, but God's first."

more bora pics

Views from the "pambot"

Views from the pumpboat (pronounced as "pambot" by the locals) sailing for Boracay from Caticlan

plane ride to Boracay

Nothing much to do in the plane except to take pictures of the sky. Boracay here we come!

Boracay Horizons

This is a picture of Kalibo farms taken from the plane. We're flying from Manila.

(c) MRD 2006

Mark and I at the Caticlan pier. We just landed at Kalibo. After an hour in a van, we arrived in Caticlan where we're taking a pump boat to Boracay.