last post for oh-eight

As I look back, I just can’t believe that the year 2008 is really that tedious. It is tedious but exciting. It even challenged my sanity. Good and bad things have happened, and honestly most of them are, you know, the latter of the two. But I guess this is a good thing. The way things fall has made me delineate what’s supposed to carry and what’s not to carry as we move on. Sheesh, enough of this melodrama year-ender crap. Let’s just continue hopping ‘til the end of days. Merry bullfrogish new year everyone!

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warning: dangerous content

I know this is going to be tough for you guys so grab your bags fast. An involuntary retching might take place. One, two, three, and… Fine. I've just grabbed these from someone's blogsite and the Rayver Cruz-Shaina Magdayao tandem, in my honest opinion, looks cute but this one? This is plain ridiculous! All this hype is making me nauseate.

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gifted

Because my gifts were somehow “still adequate” when put side by side to my nephews’ and nieces’, I enjoyed the night until twelve o’clock strike. While doing so, I sat under the Christmas tree and got myself surrounded with presents from everybody else’s just to internalize the feeling that I am, you know, gifted. Ishamyl!

P.S. The 25th is also my mother's birthday.
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not so wise to be wise

Fred Jordan Mikhail T. Carnice

The Weekly Sillimanian

December 17, 2008

I remember my mother telling me one night not to turn on the Christmas lights I had put up in our garden. I obeyed. When asked why, she just explained that it keeps the carolers away. “So as not to attract them… we are in crisis,” she added in our bisaya language.

Whether it was a stupid joke or not, her words had a relatively beneficial underlying point. We can actually save up energy by doing so. I am not an environmentalist, really. Though I pick up what’s lying on the floor, I do not go the extra mile of cleaning the university grounds of rubbish whenever I pass by them. It’s not being silly—it’s just the right thing that I can do within my mentality’s thinking range. Ironically, I was attending a skill-share program in Boracay while writing this, trying to increase my knowledge on all things green by listening to Greenpeace advocates and fellow SolarGeneration groups from across the country.

The aforementioned training, aside from its focus on saving the planet, suddenly got me into thinking about my mother’s stipulation. It was dumb but clever. I know that energy efficiency was not her main intention but, theoretically considering other possibilities, it might be. She had just campaigned without even knowing. Campaigning for the environment is for a good cause but the question on how it should work and be applied to the general public is the next concern. As for me following my mother’s request of not turning the lights on is one example that her inner persuading ability is in good shape. Influence is the key.

Chris Rose, a British writer who is effectively campaigning strategies on environmental preservation said that “The simplest thing you can do to help [channel] your message is to be direct and straightforward. Forget being clever.” One good example is the movement towards combating climate change. It’s fast influencing a lot of people and I’m sure a portion of them is not involved in direct actions such as rallying in the streets, putting up banners at building walls, and shouting at public areas. Sometimes, these just bring more confusion or, to the last degree, chaos instead of order. At times, there’s definitely no need to be completely radical. And being subtle and silent doesn’t help either.

For instance, there’s Silliman. This coming Christmas break, the university has made a good decision of shutting down its power but what about the students leaving the halls, going back to their homes? Have they heard about this? I’m pretty sure many have disregarded the news and its tremendous benefit on electric power savings. Without the Green Issue of the Weekly Sillimanian last week, many wouldn’t even know that the administration is initiating this plan. I know Christmas is a time of merrymaking and not a lecture session with sweet-talking speakers but I just do pray that in upcoming undertakings, the “higher beings” would at least give us the hint they’re making a move. There’s no need to be totally intellectual or formal to be understood, and depend every time on people with a nose for publicity. All that’s needed is an operation strongly supported and known by a tiny part of the population. Word of mouth, as always, is a potent means of sustaining and, at the most, achieving a goal.

It’s obvious that campaigning in my mother’s yuletide gospel is way out of context. It just so happened that by doing so she sparked a realization that there is a need to, you know, change. Sounds familiar? Well, it has always been used and its degree of believability these days is doubtful but in my case there are so many happenings around us to believe in it. And that didn’t cost me the time of my life to recognize the call at all. It was that simple.

Fine. Now burn this writer at the stake for his sudden departure of the literary and the issues of homosexuality but it’s never too late to clear up one’s consciousness concerning our dear Earth. Dark and glum future Christmases, I guess, are not part of anyone’s December wish list. I may not be an environmentalist but I am concerned. This way, I could probably light up our Christmas lights earlier than usual next time.

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brilliance in boracay

After a day of listening to each other’s evaluation, enumerating possible superpowers to save the world, and knowing the background of Greenpeace and SolarGeneration, we listened to more discussions by Francis dela Cruz, Beng Reyes Ong, and Amalie Conchele Jamoy-Obusan. From shocking facts concerning the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant, policy work to celebrity star power, the skillshare event got more interesting than expected. Especially for an occasion held in Boracay, it was difficult for one’s attention not to float away.

Later on, plan of actions from the different regional SolarGeneration sectors were presented. Joan Meris guided the group planning before the presentations. The suggested activities for 2009 looked more like a feat, a tasking job no one could ever possibly do. But upon closer look, with cooperation from interested people, anything is actually “do-able.” What’s SolarGen if not for the talk about solar panels? No, it’s not like we knew nothing about them but Jeffrey Lazaro and Albert Lozada enlightened us more about the technicalities and their efficient usage. The latter also expounded on green campuses and its implementation all over the country. And an interesting insert: Ever wondered where the satellites that were released by NASA got their energy to keep on working even in space? Well, the sun of course!

The hours continued to move on like the waves of the beach but just like the waves too, we got more persistent into this movement for renewable and efficient energy. In the afternoon, there was no mistaking the tightness and solidarity towards each other. Though jokingly touted as “Destroy the Team Building Exercise,” the activity showed what it meant to work hand in hand to achieve a goal. By night time, after enjoying a sumptuous dinner, we got ready for the planned exhibit at Café Del Mar Resort the following day.

Morning came and we set off to the resort, shared what we learned during the skillshare sessions to people who stick their nose into the exhibit proper. We were not letting them go away with just a fruit shake produced by a solar-powered blender in their hands. We made sure that they knew something beneficial before leaving the beach.

When everything and everyone seemed prepared for next day’s itinerary, we agreed that we needed to distress for a while. We hit the beach and enjoyed countless picture-taking sessions even at night. After all, a bit of moonlight won’t hurt anyone who takes advantage of the sun.

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sunny

Call me a silly caveman now but I am in Boracay, happy and spreading grains of sand in an internet café. I am not here for a vacation but for a good cause, especially that I left Dumaguete in time of prelim examinations and supposedly nonstop thesis workout. But I'm still glad. For the next few days, I'll be staying in a retreat center with the Greenpeace people and Solargen delegates from different regions to discuss on climate change and the need for renewable energy. More news to come, I have to leave kay mahal ang internet!

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small voices no more

About three years ago, I attended my cousin’s wedding. My mother was one of the principal sponsors and I the regular, ever-persistent companion. Held inside a school chapel, voices filled the place that reminded me of old classical movies and an aging church for the aging devout. Typical wedding accessories, I mumbled. Come picture taking time and everything I imagined about the voices proved me wrong. Up above us, I realized that the people singing were children, not adults. I was deeply in awe. After rounds of tugging my mother’s gown, I discovered they were the Loboc Children’s Choir.

Beginnings
Ignored in the past in favor of its neighbors with their urban but highly embellished setting, Bohol lies at the center of the Philippines with its local colors of the past still present in every nook, cranny, and sensibility. One can see it evident in colorful parades or even its firm religious grounding that tricycles got to have a Bible verse painted on each of them. So basically, its interest for history is not depreciating.

Though the potato-shaped province is now rightfully considered one of the top tourist destinations around, there’s more to Bohol than white sand beaches with breathtaking diving sites, wide-eyed tarsiers, colonial churches, Chocolate Hills and calamay. Because twenty-four kilometers from Bohol’s capital city of Tagbilaran, is the town of Loboc that humbly awaits those who seek brilliance. What’s in it? Aside from the fact that it is a home to a generation of singers and composers, it has the Loboc Children’s Choir (LCC).

A simple school choir for town affairs and school activities, the LCC is now among the exceptional singing groups in the country. Now 28 years old since it was founded in 1980 at the Loboc Central Elementary School, the choir, composed of children aged nine to thirteen, has already established for itself a reputation that usually takes a much longer time to achieve. Well, for a town that sustains its vibrancy with rondallas, music bands, a brass symphonic ensemble, and many more choirs, it’s hard not to embrace the youth in its creative culture. Currently, the choir’s music consultant is Mrs. Enriquita Butalid while the conductor is Alma Fernando-Taldo (or better known as “Ma’am Taldo”), teaching and handling English and Character Education for fifth-grade pupils at the Loboc Central Elementary School—the school where it all began.

Glory and Fame
It’s definitely not only the childhood charm and title of being from Loboc that brought the LCC into the national and international limelight. It is, of course, the talent. Their utmost dedication to music, singing local folks songs to upbeat Filipino classics, is the driving force that has made them a three-time National Champion of the National Music Competitions for Young Artists (NAMCYA) in the Children’s Category. Being in a prestigious competition in the Philippines, the LCC has proven that they are no mere small voices after championing the years of 2001, 1995 and 1993.

Singing with and for well-known people is a common occurrence for them. In 2000, the group represented the country in the International Children's Culture and Arts Festival in Tianjin, China, and held concerts in Beijing and Hong Kong. By 2003 LCC bagged the gold medal in the 6th International Folksongs Festival in Barcelona, Spain for the Youth Category, surpassing the scores of twelve other international choirs. In the local scene, they sung in various major business establishments in Makati and Ayala Alabang with the help of Metropolitan Museum of Manila. Subsequently, this got the attention of Her Majesty Queen Sofia of Spain that they sang for her with the University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors during a cultural exchange visit. And just recently, the choir won this year’s ALIW Best Group Concert in the Philippines.

But what is poignant is that their gift is not only shared to the affluent, the award-cognizant elites, the ones who could afford a costly ticket. Because aside from guilded concert halls and auditoriums, they sing for many people who need more love and joy through music and they are found in homes for the aged, hospitals, orphanages, and even prisons. That’s talent for a good cause.

Lasting Birthright
Even if the children right now are not the original batch that has graced the audiences back in 1980, since a child has to “graduate” when he or she reaches the age of fourteen, all of the members leave a legacy that no one could replicate except for the children who got themselves into the choir. If there’s one thing the choir would be proud of, it’s not the bright lights they are in but their passion to uphold musical artistry.

Loboc, where an almost 300-year old Church of St. Peter the Apostle looms over a serene river winding through its heart, is indeed a town as equally remarkable as the feats of the young boys and girls.

Back to my cousin’s wedding, there was no doubt I was entirely in awe. If ever I’d witness them singing again, I am sure they’d still astound me not the way they did three years ago when I discovered that they were children but because, as young as they are, they’ve brought the rich cultural heritage and talents from one of the nation’s rare treasures onto center stage. When a child’s heart sings, anyone would be humbled, especially a fellow Boholano like me.

Writer’s note: The Loboc Children’s Choir is having a concert at the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium, Silliman University on December 6, 2008 (Saturday). The matinee show starts at 3 o’clock in the afternoon while the gala starts at 8 o’clock in the evening.

is adam for eve?

Fred Jordan Mikhail T. Carnice

The Weekly Sillimanian

November 26, 2008

Values and ethics are highly esteemed in the Filipino family setting. When a child is born the tradition of goodness and integrity is immediately instilled, nurtured with the ways of what is proper. If the child shows signs of difference, a light spanking on the bottom is enough. But let us get this straight to the point: gays, lesbians, and everyone in between have gotten more than just a spanking for their supposedly “abnormal” nature.

I totally find it dumb that in the eyes of many people nowadays homosexuality is immediately attached to AIDS, a notion that must have taken from European urban legends. Or rather, it’s subjugated to the idea of immorality, related to sin as if all the evils of the world are rolled up into one and resulted either to an Ellen Degeneres or an Arnel Ignacio. Gender roles are now tightly twisted that same sex marriage is seen as a condemnation to mankind. Since it’s copiously deemed as something new to Filipinos, the Bible and one’s conviction are immediately placed at the forefront. “Wala na sa bala-ud” or “Adam is only for Eve and not for Steve!” These are what some of the people with Styrofoam for a brain would say. But wait, aren’t there heavier matters that need more problem solving than cancelling out two people’s plan of marital bond because of their sexual orientation? Well, how about this, aren’t there more straight couples whose lives ended in the drain compared to queer relationships?

The world is going crazy. Even global warming, take note, has already been linked to the roles of women. In Rina Jimenez-David’s column in the Philippine Daily Inquirer written a month ago, it is stated that a forum for climate change mentioned that “the negotiation process tends to be driven by a masculine view of the problem and its solutions. Participation of women in the whole process… is very low…” I am not really sure if this is a good thing, but there are obviously too many demarcations created for a woman to do this and for a man to do that. Specifics are good but when pushed to the limit they can be absurd. It’s just like going to the nearest bookstore and asking a saleslady, “Can I buy a manly magazine here, the glossy one that has large pictures of scantily-clad women, has one free pack of condom usually found at the center page, and costs about a hundred pesos?” Maybe in the coming days, it would no longer be surprising to hear news that reveals being queer will lead to the end of the world. To repeat Jimenez-David’s words, “What does gender have to do with it?”

That’s that. What has homosexuality got to do with the world’s destruction? Is it a deadly disease for the terminally ill? Or is it toxic that a person must be burned at the stakes when they’re found guilty of lack of machismo or daintiness? The church says a lot of contradictory things. If the Bible be followed word for word, doesn’t it say that God loves everyone who accepts his Son? And in Proverbs 8:17, it mentioned “I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me.” So, are gays and lesbians incapable of such emotion and does their belonging to this particular stratum make him or her already a pagan? Heck, no. Pardon the lineup of interrogations but this is only one small step towards a more elaborate debate.

Religion, or one’s faulty grasp of it, has become a tool for sexism, a weapon to arouse phobia. To further underline this word, this is an irrational belief, a disorder that excessively desires to avoid a feared subject. The upshot here is that it’s purely unreasonable. In these dismal circumstances wherein errors have been intentionally blown up for selfish but idiotic reasons, wherein it subsequently brainwashed many people, it’s hard not to keep anyone from closing their eyes, stay blind and deaf from what is true because there’s plenty of badmouthing about the “issue” and only a little is done on clarification. And the media have their fair share of spreading the bad news, too. Most of the time, they sensationalize even the smallest things. Compare two kissing male celebrities for an upcoming art film to the recent natural disaster that has devastated a nearby province and it’s easy to point which has generated the more party poppers and attention.

As the world ages, its inhabitants are ironically getting more stubborn, keeping digression as a replacement for progression like it’s a paradox for sustaining life. I am not saying that by marrying the same sex we effectively catapult our country’s third world standing to the top. Sincerely, it’s just that a lot of people have already been hurt and shunned. And to be listened to and to be understood are the least things we could ask for. To end this, I’d like to add that Adam is not only for Eve. He’s for everyone.

crisis

Yesterday I decorated our garden with three sets of Christmas lights and when night time came I didn’t bother turning them on for me to see the beauty of my handiwork. But just minutes ago I remembered and, with my mother, initiated the presentation of the grand design. I was delighted with what I saw and thought of having them on for the rest of the night but my mother blurted: “Inig December 20 ra ta mag-lights para walay manaygon nato karon.” She went back inside the house and shrugged off with a smile.

In English, this is what she said: “Let’s just light them up on December 20 so no carolers would approach us today.” Well, a peso has its worth you know considering the water bill that I saw just this morning.
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me envy

Because I was in Dumaguete and they were in Manila.

These are my fellow katsubongs of the Dumaguete Workshop where they had a short photo-op after watching the play by mental Joshua Lim So (or Tokwa to me) entitled “Portraits.” To quote him on what it is all about: “...tungkol sa dalawang dating magkaibigan na nagkita muli sa isang gallery, pitong taon nang nakalipas.” His Palanca-winning script was staged at Greenbelt Onstage last October 17. Yeah, yeah, the play’s done long ago but I just saw this picture right now.

Bullfrogs! Greenbelt na si Tokwa ha! Imagine that feelerette katsubong muncher! Hahaha… Carmellang Buhay ang Buhok, Liza con Cherie Pie, Margie with the Stiff Neck, Dustin the Drunkard, and Lawrence the Banana Man! Yay, I miss you guys!

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fly little boy!

Oooh… More and more Hollywood aristocrats are really scouring for famous pop icons in Asian territories and there’s no stopping them. Now, Astro Boy will be hitting the big screen sometime next year. The CGs feel like the flop TMNT movie though but all the same I am still excited. You know, I have to give my respect to this animé of all animé since I copied the boy’s hairdo two months ago.

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strange and opposite

“You’re not you. Is there some kind of conspiracy

going on around here today?”

-Prof. Dale Law

The task is not to remain pretty. No, one does not have to resort looking like a snotty beggar at the sidewalks. Let’s just say that wearing grandma’s moth-infested night gown is enough. This post is long overdue, but the Opposite Day we have last November 19, somehow, has created a bit of stir in the campus. So I guess it’s worth talking about it here right now. (It doesn’t mean opposite that when you’re wearing jeans yesterday you have to wear a skirt the next morning).

The rule is this: Don on something that’s completely opposite of what’s usually worn. If you’re a tight, traditionalist woman of the 70s flair, you must go avant-garde. If you’re a sporty guy, then you must be preppy in plaids, eyeglass and all. That’s basically what the Opposite Day is all about.

The idea came up when I and my crony for absurdity, June Rivera, had an ukay-ukay adventure in one of the many secret spots in Dumaguete. When she was busy comparing two dresses, I asked her “What if we’ll wear, for one day, something that we don’t usually wear? You know, kanang weird jud kayo para nato bah. Gets?” Now completely forgetting her dress dilemma, she lit up and smiled a silly smile (believe me, it looked silly). The rest was history.

For someone who believe that good looks is a daily necessity but should require ample grounding on the brains department to back it up with, I never go out of the house with a little crease on my clothes. And because of this, I am assigned to transform into a tambay. Many have said it’s not that much, especially that some of my colleagues have taken the extra mile to become America Ferrera’s Betty, a pirate, and a crossbreed between McDonald and his dedicated waiter. I couldn’t blame them.

But with all honesty, it was tough receiving the stares when you know you don’t deserve it. Yet it felt liberating to break away from the common, the regular that remain stuck in many people’s minds, really.

Friends, more pictures here.

We’re not a normal bunch, this year’s Weekly Sillimanian staff, and it feels good to belong to it. Though not all of us participated in our madness, we had fun. And as a response to my literature professor, yes, there’s a conspiracy going on, but it’s seriously not about an urgent call for a uniform policy. Bullfrogs, no.

dbss poster no.3

Submit your literary works in .doc format to

darkbluesouthernseas@gmail.com

Include a short bionote stating your full name, course, year level and anything worth bragging off. This is open to all Sillimanian students, alumni, panelists and fellows of the Dumaguete National Writers Workshop. The foreword of the Dark Blue Southern Seas (DBSS) 2009 will be written by Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas. Deadline is on January 9, 2009.

dbss poster no.2

Submit your literary works in .doc format to

darkbluesouthernseas@gmail.com

Include a short bionote stating your full name, course, year level and anything worth bragging off. This is open to all Sillimanian students, alumni, panelists and fellows of the Dumaguete National Writers Workshop. The foreword of the Dark Blue Southern Seas (DBSS) 2009 will be written by Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas. Deadline is on January 9, 2009.

dbss poster no.1

Submit your literary works in .doc format to

darkbluesouthernseas@gmail.com

Include a short bionote stating your full name, course, year level and anything worth bragging off. This is open to all Sillimanian students, alumni, panelists and fellows of the Dumaguete National Writers Workshop. Foreword of the Dark Blue Southern Seas (DBSS) 2009 will be written by Rowena Tiempo-Torrevillas. Deadline is on January 9, 2009.

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dark blue seas and some corals

It was not planned at all. Someone just got carried away after looking at old pictures on her new iPod Touch. Before going into a state of melancholia, she tipped everyone (well, almost everyone) to hit some sands and coral. So, after church, I grabbed some essentials, met everyone on one spot, and off we went to Santander Pebble Beach, Liloan, Cebu. I, Marianne, Donna, and June, were ready. As for Jake and Easter, they followed us after two hours of waiting for them.

That’s what you call spontaneous.

The beach was some sort of escape route for some of us who had been working at the Weekly Sillimanian for three years in a row. I’ve been there for three times raman pud. If we need the break, we set off to this place and unwind, swim against the current, lie on the pebbles (yes, there’s not much sand) like summer is coming the day after next. It’s just a matter of contentment, actually. And yesterday, we had that.

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he's a top!

I am not updated with the US elections in the past few days even though I face the television, the Internet, and the newspaper almost everyday. But upon entering KH 2 this morning I find my teacher watching CNN. Suddenly, I am immersed in this political entertainment. Maybe it's the drawing power of Dr. Dale Law's presence that whatever he focuses on that exact hour, I follow. And yes, entertainment. With all the hype and sugary speeches, I've never thought it's fun watching the happenings after all.

Hours ago, the news spread. Barack Obama wins the race. Like any unexplainable hindsight, I know he will win. And I'm just happy with the results for some unknown reasons. As what I've said earlier, it's unexplainable. Well, let's give him a pat on the back while he faces the economic depression of his country.

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unfinished hits

Vacation is nearing its end and the plans in my to-do list didn’t ensue. They just remain, ermm, like plans! To think of it, I am provided with an almost 3-week holiday, a relatively longer sembreak compared to last school year’s (maybe to compensate the one-week break the university “offered” before), and I just remain here in my hometown, almost becoming a part of the PC for being to glued to it all the time. Well, aside from this, here’s some half-baked goodness that I’ve done for the past few days.

Hit 1: Tidying Up
My old wardrobe is just filled with clothes and various things I do not use anymore. I grab one piece after the other, trying to get more purging than hoarding. From empty perfume bottles, ancient documents, oversized shirts reminiscent of yesteryear’s trend to faded jeans, I pile them up in one tower and set it aside. I am overly relieved but when I see this closet beside my shelf full of books and digests, in different sizes and is not arranged in alphabetical manner, all happiness go down the drain. I’m working on you, bookshelf, next time! (Cue roaring thunder)

Hit 2: Sketches
Because I’ve planned to stage an art exhibition in the university this second semester, I’ve started doing some sketches every late afternoon. The heat is too much I can’t concentrate but when I start turning on the air-conditioner in my mum’s room and work in there, the coolness bothers me too. I don’t know, maybe it’s just not the right time for me to work on something artsy.

Hit 3: Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
An acquaintance has suggested this book to me ages ago and when she has noticed that my attempts of buying the book is futile, she pulls from the bookshelf her personal copy and slaps it in front of my face (almost literally). I did enjoy reading the first few pages of it, some tales kind of leaning on the Marquez fantastical sensibilities, but then some things just get into your way. And the book is forgotten. Where is it, anyway?

Hit 4: The Epic of Staring
It’s actually a work in progress. I have started writing this poem many months ago. I am trying to submit it somewhere for possible publication. Yes, this is one my goals these days—to see even one bit of literary work in print. It is a bit longer than my usual works. Well, the title says its “epic” so it should be grander in scale. The gist? Umm, it’s hard telling what it is all about here. Let’s meet!

Hit 5: Revisions and Writing
There’s a script, a short story, and a bundle of poems. I’ve written these works last semester for my classes. And now, here comes the time that I have to face their inner demons. Yes, the flaws and all! I have even planned of writing another short story for LitCritters Dumaguete, you know, just to be ahead from the others (wink!). But my brain remains like a mechanical thing, non-responsive to my literary demands! This must be the reason why I just kept on staring at my poem mentioned before this last hit.

And in just a few hours, I'll be back in Dumaguete to finish some business.

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goodness gracious!

Waaah! I’ve just sent my very first job application. I know it’s so much later than anyone else but who cares! I just did it, not of the impending need, but because boredom has finally drilled into my thinking cap. Yep, I do experience boredom once in a while. Well, so much for that. I’ve just sent my very first job application! Waaah!

Can’t help but scream, really (online lang po). Right now, I am mindlessly drifting between the imaginariums of glorious corporate skyscrapers and stinking unemployment bean bags. You know, it’s just hard to recover from this realization that I have to decide, to settle in one point or direction when all crossroads seem to suddenly materialize before you one day. It sure is hard… Well, pardon me but this needs one more scream: Waaah!

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how clever

In all honesty, I am still updating my Friendster account. Yeah, I know, the site is obsolete in this time and age but doing it's my only way of getting in touch with my high school mates. I don’t really know why they are stuck with it but I forgive them. Anyway, back to Friendster. This morning, I asked this person if he/she has this or that account but then he/she only has Friendster (rolling of the eyeballs) so fine, I asked for his/her profile name (the stupid me should have asked for the email ad therefore more rolling of the eyeballs). Okay, he/she gave a name, told me to find him/her in another friend’s account and tried to find for it hours ago. After every running minute, anxiety hit me. “Where is this person?!”

Then, because of the person’s signature pose and that unmistakable smirk, I found it. And my goodness, how would you ever find the right person if his/her profile name has these weird, unreadable, almost-outlandish characters originating from the depths of the earth? Tell me, how would you read these names?

Okay, fine, these people think it’s cool but I guess they have to go back to kindergarten and learn how to write the alphabets the proper way. As for that person, thanks to his/her exceptional primary photo that I was able to find him/her. Well, this is just one of the many reasons I’m having a cold heart towards Friendster. He ain’t that friendly anymore.

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