threaded

Have you ever experienced a day when you intently wait for something to happen—which is supposed to happen—only to realize the happening go nowhere out of sight, gone into oblivion? I just did.

This may be one of the most mundane thing to “wait for something” in this era of extensive logical thinking but what I had just waited a while ago was for my stitch (in my recently operated wisdom tooth, as if it matters, euch) to be removed, only to discover that the thread was not already there. Gone. I am sure it’s there in the bowels of my being.

Argh. I’ve waited for about an hour in the clinic just for my dentist to recommend this in a two-minute talk: “Oh, the thread is gone. And gargle it up with Bactidol at home, okay?”

And so that was it. Now I have doubts on what Lyde had quoted from my very own short story I let him read last week through text messaging:

“Waiting is never a stressful task nor is unproductive, as long as you are
willing to accept the end as it is, good or bad. Waiting is rewarding.”

-Waiting Days and Story Nights

Argh. That silly thread!

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chromosomes

Aging is never a disease that cripples one down to his knees.

Last April 3, 2007 four kittens were born, and I had written a post about it, but then on the following day the four became two.

And now, seeing the remaining two springing kittens in our kitchen remind me that no single human being is capable of an instant getaway of getting old, unless you decide of cutting your life short.

As days continue to pass by, I like to call these mammals, now 7 weeks old, simply as “X” and “Y”. The two were having siesta on their favorite soft broom in this picture, literally looking like they were swept away.

I don’t know why I am calling them as such but it seems, as if the fates made me gravitate towards the calling, the letters “X” and “Y” create a deep impression inside me that is truly indelible.

The time we have spent with “X” and “Y” is one special time any machine couldn’t bring back. The two are leaving our dwelling due next month, someone is getting them. But we always know, distance is the twin of progress, change of perspectives is the lifelong companion of aging.

For sure, I will miss "X" and "Y".

I should let them go as I continue to age.

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impact of the world

I just had blood for lunch; my very own blood to be exact.

One will always have a special childhood memory of going to the dentist’s clinic and sit upon the Chair—waiting and gleaming in its sterile wonder. You obviously know how this frightened us out of our senses when we we’re little rascals.

But just this morning, my childish nightmares of meeting the dentist were rushing, vivid and grotesque images, back into my mind. Because what I had just gotten through was no simple root canal extraction but, rather, an Impacted Wisdom Tooth Removal.

Sounds groundbreaking? It is.

Posted in the website of My New Smile, my case is this: “[when] there is not enough room for them [teeth] to erupt into the arch normally, they attempt to come in sideways or have other similar difficulties. They then become impacted, that is, impeded from normal eruption.”

If left untreated, “risk factor for problems such as tooth abscess, cyst formation, damage to adjacent teeth, or any life-threatening infections that can swell that could close off your breathing or can spread to your brain” may happen.

To have a clearer picture of how it looks like, I think this picture could help:

As of the moment my whole face felt like they have been banged on a concrete wall for several times, and much more the throbbing pain increases as the anesthesia’s powers are ebbing away.

My dentist mentioned that my third molar (or commonly known as Wisdom Tooth) was undeniably bigger than the usual size, which explained her vast effort in extracting the tooth. Imagine, she even needed help to hold steady my jaw while she pulled, pulled, pulled, and then pulled some more to greater extent.

I thought the pulling never stopped, with the words “Lord, Lord, Lord…” repeatedly chanting in my head and numerous anesthesia shots numbly stinging my mouth. With a rare move, the dentist decided on breaking the tooth for an easier removal—if which she was successful.

The session started from 10:35AM and ended at 12:15PM, which made the other waiting patients silently anxious (but they projected their cheesy smile when I got up from the Chair). Basically, the process almost took us 3 long hours.

And the pain won’t stop in disturbing my preferred lifestyle! Spitting on an ebony white sink, swirls of red streams endlessly appears; you can just envision a cherry and cream candy.

Tonight, stale blood for dinner is the least thing I am looting for. Oh God, heal thy wound in haste.

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do not be offended

Your Vocabulary Score: B

You have a zealous love for the English language, and many find your vocabulary edifying. Don't fret that you didn't get every word right, your vocabulary can be easily ameliorated!

How's Your Vocabulary?

You Have Good Manners 42% of the Time

Your manners are generally pretty good. You know how to behave, but you don't always follow the rules. A little extra effort on your part, and you could be the next Emily Post!

How Are Your Manners?

You Are 64% Abnormal

You are at medium risk for being a psychopath. It is somewhat likely that you have no soul. You are at medium risk for having a borderline personality. It is somewhat likely that you are a chaotic mess. You are at medium risk for having a narcissistic personality. It is somewhat likely that you are in love with your own reflection. You are at high risk for having a social phobia. It is very likely that you feel most comfortable in your mom's basement. You are at high risk for obsessive compulsive disorder. It is very likely that you are addicted to hand sanitizer.

How Abnormal Are You?

Well, all of these are computer-generated so credibility and stand-on-facts will always be considered vague—if not at all slightly true. But if you want to test for yourself those blog questionnaires, go ahead.

And hey, don’t ever try changing your results by taking up the same test but filling up a different response. It’s much more fun knowing something off guard.

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fast approaching

Just as I have thought: Time runs so fast when you are supposedly enjoying what is with you at the moment.

And what else is fast approaching but the 5th installment of the now ultra-commercialized Harry Potter movies (opening worldwide on July 13, 2007), and its dreaded final book six known by now as Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

And browsing through a couple of webpages this day, I had stumbled upon a site with the poster of my most-preferred character in the novels, Sirius Black, who will eventually lost his presence in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. To avoid any biases, I’m posting the major poster as well.

For more images, click here.

Another pseudo children’s novel-turned-movie is Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass coming out very later this year--the first of the set trilogy. At the least it is a fresh attempt of changing fantasy movies’ male protagonists for in this book it showcases a little spiteful and deceiving heroine, Lyra Belacqua.

I’m calling it “pseudo” for I have just read the book last month and it just shakes me to find out that it is a confusion (okay, a mixture) of a children’s book and an adulterated read. But given to its numerous praise and critical achievements, maybe that was the charm of it all. Shrugs.

I like it.

For more images, click here.
For its official movie website, click here
and for the novels' website, click here.

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the metal mouth of may

The mouth being one of the most important parts of our body, from verbal communication to food consumption, will never be that effective without its consisting set of teeth. These stubbed little bones, 28 all in an average adult person, will always share value with the mouth the same way the table is with its legs.

Teeth, as far as we’ve known since childhood, are bone structures found in our jaws that bite, chew, scrape, tear, or any possible usage that you may think.

For some a little bit of information, a single tooth in the most basic sense is made up of two parts: the crown and the root.

The crown is the part of the tooth starting from the gumline to its tip. It’s what you always see in a person while smiling, while eating, opening the mouth, and many more.

And the root is the opposite. If the crown is what you visibly see inside your mouth, the roots are the ones beneath those.

In some cases these set of teeth, from the incisors (the four front teeth), the canines (the fangs extremely elongated in horror flicks), to the molars (last three biggies), will misalign upon growing up—just like mine. Let’s not talk about its degree of disorder but let’s just say my dentist, Dr. Susan Yvette Morgia-Navarro, D.M.D., had little reasons to smile upon seeing my pearly whites last May 8, 2007, Tuesday.

On that same day, I finally had my braces. Wow, what joy I felt upon picturing myself flashing, smiling my straight set of teeth to anyone (no, not the horizontal kind of straight but the curving kind if you get what I mean). But my, oh my, the great happiness that came into my mind that time was just suppressed by the great stinging pain I am experiencing today. And still I am going to deal with my two impacted wisdom teeth next week, but that’s yet to be mentioned in a much later post.

According to the HealthyTeeth organization in their website, “Orthodontic treatment (or braces and retainers as they are sometimes called works by exerting a gentle pressure over time to straighten teeth that are growing, or have already grown, out of place.”

Braces have three basic parts:

1) Brackets - brackets that are attached to each tooth

2) Bonding or band - the material that attaches the bracket to the tooth

3) Arch Wire - a thin metal wire that runs from bracket to bracket

“Braces have come a long way from the "train track" look of years ago. Today, many orthodontic patients can get braces that attach to the backs of the teeth, or use transparent brackets.”

And because of this excruciating contraption wired in my teeth, I can neither bite nor chew. Oats and cereals in the grocery stores are trendy for me these days.

Mentioned in the same website, “having straight teeth is important. Teeth that are crooked or out of place (misaligned) affect the way a person chews and talks and how their smile looks. Because they have unnatural spaces, crooked teeth are harder to clean and are more likely to have cavities.”

This is very true.

Two years. Two years! That is the duration I have to patiently endure before witnessing the glory that impends before me.

And there’s just one thing that keeps on horrifying me aside from the fact if this metal-mission would fail: What will become of me this school year as a junior in a college?

Why, I don’t have plans strutting around the acacia-lined campus in a skeleton look!

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bookfest

As if my potency in every so-called skill that is in me has surge away from my knowing, all that I am left with is the strength in, what else but, lazing around.

What I had been trying to do since time immemorial (circa summer 2007) was read, read, and read some more. I’ve read 5 novels by now and still counting. I am not saying that this is not productive, since you get to comprehend and enrich your vocabulary, yet what I am looting for this summer is to move around and around my hometown and this province as whole like never before.

The grave thing is I have no one to spend my time with (aww). Everyone seems to be busy even in this season of re-lax-a-tion and f-u-n. Summer class, extra jobs, and even campaigning—what the...!

So here I am, slumbering with a book for the rest of the day until the blue gives way to indigo-black in covering the skies.

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winner of the 2007 romeo forbes children's storywriting competition

In just a few weeks after its deadline, the results are in.

CANVAS or Center for Arts, New Ventures And Sustainable development, has finally revealed the grand winner of this year’s Romeo Forbes Children’s Storywriting Competition, both in their official blog and website.

This year’s written works that exceeded expectations from the judges are surprisingly few, and actually there are only two chosen authors out of the hundred who submitted (including me!) compared to last year’s eight short stories.

Rex Abraham Rowald Almazar won the competition and beat Raissa Rivera Falgui in a very slight difference. All stories are inspired by a single untitled oil on canvas artwork painted by John Santos III.

To read the stories, click the title of the work:

Si Lupito at ang Baryo Sirkero by Rowald Almazar

How Juan Tamad Learned to Work by Raissa Falgui

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call for submissions: philippine speculative fiction vol. 3

Dean Francis Alfar is now accepting submissions of short fiction pieces for consideration for the anthology "Philippine Speculative Fiction volume 3".

Speculative fiction, as defined by the editor himself on volume two’s introduction, is an umbrella term that covers types of stories which spans the genres of fantasy, science fiction, horror and magic realism, and those difficult to categorize such as slipstream and interstitial texts.

1. Only works of speculative fiction will be considered for publication. As works of the imagination, the theme is open and free.

2. Stories must cater to an adult sensibility. However, if you have a Young Adult story that is particularly well-written, send it in.

3. Stories must be written in English.

4. Stories must be authored by Filipinos or those of Philippine ancestry.

5. Preference will be given to original unpublished stories, but previously published stories will also be considered. In the case of previously published material, kindly include the title of the publishing entity and the publication date. Kindly state also in your cover letter that you have the permission, if necessary, from the original publishing entity to republish your work.

6. First time authors are welcome to submit. In the first two volumes, there was a good mix of established and new authors. Good stories trump literary credentials anytime.

7. No multiple submissions. Each author may submit only one story for consideration.

8. Each story’s word count must be no fewer than 2,500 words and no more than 5,000 words.

9. All submissions must be in Rich Text Format (.rtf – save the document as .rft on your word processor) and attached to an email to this address: dean@kestrelimc.com. Submissions received in any other format will be deleted, unread.

10. The subject of your email must read: PSF3 Submission: (title) (word count); where (title) is replaced by the title of your short story, without the parentheses, and (word count) is the word count of your story, without the parentheses. For example - PSF 3 Submission: How My Uncle Brought Home A Diwata 4500.

11. All submissions must be accompanied by a cover letter that includes your name, brief bio, contact information, previous publications (if any).

12. Deadline for submissions is September 15, 2007. After that date, final choices will be made and letters of acceptance or regret sent out via email.

13. Target publishing date is December 2007/January 2008.

14. Compensation for selected stories will be 2 contributor’s copies of the published anthology as well as a share in aggregrate royalties.

Help spread the word as what I have done here. Feel free to cut and paste this on your blogs or e-groups.

Thank you!

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end of the plight

The concept struck me hard, and then what followed was a series of dumb inspirations which later on leaked on various outputs that filled my distressing summer stay here in humid Tagbilaran.

If you still can’t get what I supposed to mean here, I think this acrylic on canvas painting I made last April 30 (a product of one of those dumb inspirations) will get my insane thought into your nutshells a bit.

I entitled this infantile work of art as The Young and for the Love of Fishing.

So basically, this is still about the “fisherman” mini-series drama that I had accidentally created and revolted with some guy. Mini-series because it didn’t last that long; for if it could have stretched to months I would say it is a full-length movie feature.

I hope this will be the end of fishing stories for me.

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