Deadlines Galore

Since I've been sleeping 2 am at most for the past few days due to a certain deadline, I decided to take my breaks at 10:30 pm (so I could watch the Fairly Odd Parents) and 12:am (to watch Jigoku Shoujo).

I think we all know what happens when watching the Fairly Odd Parents (enter laugh spree here).

At the beginning, I was a bit disappointed with Jigoku Shoujo. I had the impression it was an anime belonging to the Horror Genre, in which I'm a huge fan of, but the storyline turned out to be more of a psychological thriller. I avoided the show months ago and decided to give it a try this month.

I ended up liking it after all.

The girl you see above is the star of the anime, a Rei Ayanami type of character named Ai. Like many tragic figures, she's the epitome of mystery and misery whose sob story will be revealed later on in the series. Being chased by an obsessed writer-zealot, she doesn't seem to be concerned about being exposed. She's there to help some lost sheep get their revenge; she does this after the said person visits her website and requests for vengeance.

The whole anime seems to be playing with the idea of revenge and cowardice, human weaknesses we're supposed to be ashamed of and would cause us to disintegrate in guilt. But we seek to hit fire with fire, give an eye for an eye; it's hard to distinguish who's the real victim, especially in episodes when there appears to be a bitch fight. Watching such episodes could be frustrating, and you'll end up wondering why Ai didn't just give her client a shotgun instead ---- that person will end up in hell anyway. I concluded Ai desired this method to teach the person who requested her bizarre services the valuable lesson of karma.

My friends got intrigued by the concept of the anime, and some even mentioned it would be "nice" to have such a website. They turned to me and asked if I had a grudge on someone. "Who doesn't?"

They got excited. "What would you type in that website if ever?"

"None. I don't like holding on to grudges."

"Come on! That's impossible! You can't have a grudge and not hold on to it," one of them pointed out.

"Absolutely not true." I proceeded to explain that I prefer dealing with the bozo rather than keep the grudge to myself. Just because I don't like holding on to grudges doesn't mean it doesn't occur to me every now and then. I either don't let it bother me or I act on it until I'm satisfied and the grudge goes away.

"What do you do when somebody's making your life miserable and you feel the urge to take revenge?" my friend challenged.

"Either I tell that person how much of a dipshit she/he is or tug some strings here and there. Depends on the situation." I answered without batting an eye. Crossing my arms, I leaned back against my seat. "I'm perfectly capable of delivering my own vengeance. I've got my ways. I don't need a website like that." I chuckled. "Besides, this world's hell enough for me, so the idea of going straight to hell isn't that scary. What's the difference?"

"Well, you have a point." Another friend said thoughtfully. "Maybe it works for you. But I'm not exactly the confrontational type, you know?"

...and this is exactly why Jigoku Shoujo is appealing to some viewers. There was one episode I liked, the one about the veterinarian mistreating a young girl's dog because he prioritized keeping his connection to a politician. I cried my eyes out for the poor dog, and I could relate well with the girl's feelings. I didn't see the tears and drama coming. At first glance, the girl's situation seemed impossible because she's dealing with powerful people and so turning to Ai was her last resort. What she didn't know is she still had another option: when all hope seems lost in animal cruelty cases, she could always turn to PETA. (Although I'm not a PETA supporter, I have to admire their guts.)

Let's see if the doctor won't have a difficult time. The doctor would wish he was sent straight to hell. Haha!

Yesterday I saw the episode wherein this girl named Minami was lulled by her two-faced friend, Shiori, into pulling the red string meant for her in the first place. Shiori got rejected by her new set of friends; the same thing she did with Minami. I understand Minami, because I shared the same naivete when I was in high school. A girl from another class befriended me because she wanted to borrow money from me; like an idiot, I loaned her a huge amount of money. She was using me all that time. She never paid me back. I let her get away with her loans and abandoned her.

Let's call her, Tin.

We met again after a few years, ironically, during a Christian Bible Study. (I'm Catholic but I like interacting with born-agains.) That day, I brought along a friend (let's call her JL). It was the time when I had an MU-like relationship with this Korean guy, Shin, who happened to be in the same organization.

I was shocked when I saw Tin, but I controlled my reflexes and decided to be civil with her. Tin kept on butting in my conversation with JL (who threw her dirty looks).

Tin kept on asking me personal questions. it would have been better if her questions were substantial, but she was like, "Why don't you have a boyfriend until now?" "Why don't you talk to your Dad?" (see previous posts for the long story)

My friend was already gritting her teeth, knowing all too well Tin was purposely being rude. I sent her a reassuring grin, conveying to her I could handle the bitch.

Dinner time came, and upon learning from other member sof the organization I had this special relationship with Shin, she began flirting with him. I think she did it to spite me; but unknown to her, I was enjoying the disgusted look on Shin's face. I never knew his eyes could get any smaller than it already was. His expression said it all.

When Tin realized I wasn't buying her scheme, she started a conversation with JL. I let them be.

Minutes later, I saw Tin coming inside with JL. JL grabbed my hand and dragged me outside.

"Okay. What's your relationship with her?" JL demanded, tapping her foot impatiently on the darkened grass.

"Why? What's the problem," I asked, knowing what's coming.

"Your friend. She's the problem!" she ranted, "I don't like her. I only talked to her because I thought she was your friend!"

"Friend? You've got to be kidding. She's no friend of mine. That girl owes me a lot of money back in high school." I explained. "She also used me so she could extort money from me."

"What?! Why didn't you tell me sooner?!"

"Well, I thought she must've changed through the years." I chuckled and smiled apologetically. "But I guess she didn't."

"Hell she didn't," JL muttered. "Do you know what she did? She was trying to win my trust, showering me with pretentious compliments just because I act & model part-time in ABS-CBN. I could see right through her. She even told me about your violence in high school. As if that's new to me! What does she expect?"

I tried not to laugh. "Poor girl."

"Yeah. She's also a fibber. She didn't know I was moving the conversation around so I could catch her lies." And JL continued her story.

I listened.

"Don't worry, JL. If she tried anything, I'm no longer the gullible person she knew." I told my friend. "You know me."

She sighed. "Yeah. Go show her! You're not called an amazon by our guys for no reason!"

"Hey!"

Assholes Can't Get Any Worse

9:00 am.

I was half-dazed, slowly coming out of dreamland, when my peaceful wakefulness was disturbed by the sound of the telephone going ballistic on the other side of my bedroom door. No normal person would have known the phone was meant for them; but since the genetic composition of my brain isn't exactly normal, the strings of foresight tugged on my snoozing psyche.

The phone was for me.

Being too lazy to get out of bed, I flung my blanket aside and rolled until my whole body faced the ceiling; all this with my eyes still closed. I wanted to sleep some more. Just give me 5 more minutes....

The ringing stopped.

"ATEEEEEEEEE! PHOOOOOOOOOOONE!"

My brother hollered and mashed on my door. "SI SEEEEEEEEEEID!!!"

The mention of his name jump-started my system, although my vision and motor skills seemed to be taking their time to function. I staggered and reached for the doorknob, turning it clumsily the way a drunk person would. I jerked it open and walked slowly towards the phone in zigzags.

"Hello?" I yawned.

"Hi Baby..." I could hear his voice from the other line. Smiling to myself, I couldn't help but think how much I loved hearing it every morning. He asked if I was still sleepy, because he'd let me sleep first.

It was then I noticed the emptiness in his tone.

All these years we've been together, I've become more talented in sensing my hunny's feelings just by the way he spoke. This morning it was sullen, as if the the usual fire had gone out.

Something was definitely wrong.

"No, I'm fine," I said firmly, vigorously battling the sleep off my eyes. My girlfriend sensors were going off. "Okay. Tell me, hun. What's wrong?"

And so he vented out.

As I listened to his story, I felt the hatred rise up my throat. I've known he was temporarily promoted as floor lead where he worked; and last night, he decided to do something about the lazy dipshits in the office. So he, along with some team managers, held a meeting about the performance of these office delinquents.

My hunny brought up the issue about a certain dickhead dumbass lazy employee who refused to make himself useful inside the office while the rest of the team worked their asses off to earn a living.

I have nothing against people of age in the office; in fact, I respect them as I see fit depending on the corporate hierarchy. But at the age of 39, I would have expected him to act accordingly and be more mature than to threaten my hunny with, "Kung hindi mo ayusin itong problema ko dahil nilaglag mo ko, bubugbugin kita. Hihintayin kita sa baba." (If you don't fix my problem because you tattletaled on me, I'll wait for you downstairs. I'll beat the crap out of you.)

Since this guy looked what would have been the offspring of an accumulated dung pile and fat bastard from Austin Powers, my hunny won't stand a chance if that shithead maladaptive individual ever does resort to physical violence.

I would have guessed by now Mr. Dick Fat Bastard's old enough to solve his own problems, but I guess he wouldn't be at the bottom of the corporate ladder if he knew how.

Real mature, you poor son of a bitch.

Sure I have no idea what kind of person this motherfucker man really is or how fucked up his life is. Sure his reacting that way may have been motivated by his desire to hide his insecurities and lack of self-esteem. Sure him threatening my hunny is a common situation permanently unresolved because majority of the population are malignant cowards. But work is work; if he refuses to get his ass moving on the job, he deserves to be an object of pity.

I could see it now.

"80-YEAR OLD DIPSHIT FOUND DEAD SLEEPING IN OFFICE"

He'll be the talk of the company, the center of attention, the belle of the ball; a few weeks later, people would forget he ever existed. The HR Department would have to live with the guilt of ever accepting him. His batch would have resigned by then and moved on to further their career, and the new employees would utter in confusion, "80-year old dipshit who?" Sad. Very sad.

Hearing my hunny release his emotions and frustration over the phone was heart-breaking, seeing as I could only console him all the way from the other side of the city. I wanted to give him a comforting embrace, an empathic smile and tell him no matter what happens, I'll be there for him.

Minutes later, when he had vented out everything, his chuckle alleviated the heaviness boggling inside me.

I was relieved and worried at the same time. I've always been protective of my loved ones, and this very characteristic strengthened my immunity to physical and emotional pain. What would happen? Would Mr. Dick Fat Bastard actually beat the pants off my hunny? ("I want to start body-building. I want to be strong" my hun said.)

The sinister thoughts began, and in a few minutes of assessing the situation, I've plotted two types of contrivance: one to deal with the consequences and the other to make him suffer a little. Say for example, researching on his love-life history, recording his perverted statements on media standards women, gather evidence on him flirting with an officemate or surfing for porn during office hours, and then sending a certain anonymous package to his wife. (No hard feelings, buddy. Think of it as an early exchange gift; let it be Christmas everyday as they say.)

Nobody has the right to make my hunny burst like that except me and a flock of onions.

The latter plan resorting to vengeance is being put on hold though, because as of the moment I trust my hunny's abilities to resolve the situation on his own. (Besides, who knows? I'd rather not act by impulse.) My hun just needed someone to listen, someone to tell him he's not alone, and of course, someone who would suggest what he could do.

In a crude effort to scare my hunny, the fucktard wise guy even warned my hunny:

"Hindi mo alam ano kaya ko." (You don't know what I'm capable of.)

Surprise surprise! Guess what, dumbass. I think you and I know what you're capable of, and that's being a first class asshole. I don't think it can get any worse than that. :P

I said bitterly to my hun that the guy must have been a fucking idiot.

"No. He's very intelligent according to my boss. He just doesn't try to achieve what he's really capable of," my hunny replied, trying to be objective. I was in no mood to be objective, the same way Scrooge Mcduck would feel giving money away to charities --- so I did the opposite.

"If that mummy's so smart, what's he doing there in an unstable job at his age? At least you guys could use the experience, but him? I don't think so. But if you're talking about his intelligence of being a first-rate asshole, then I agree with you."

I'd understand if a self-proclaimed failure or lazy bum fails; but when an intelligent braggart fails, lacking the ambition God gave a parasite, that's just sad. I like to joke that God was so busy molding him a perfect brain, he forgot to give him the basic ability to use it. This guy actually being capable of something is no more ridiculous than money growing on trees.

Anyway...

Bullies will always be there, and will continue to exist, all the way to your grave. It's your choice whether to fight (in whatever ways you please, including stooping to his/her level) or take flight. I encouraged my hunny to fight by dealing with the problem as effectively as he could, remaining grounded on his beliefs, and doing what he believes would be best for the company.

Duck, Duck, Llama! (Badger!)

Got struck by boredom. Don't ask.

Click the link below for the Llama Song. XD

THE LLAMA SONG
By Burton Earny

I was laughing all the way to the bathroom wwith the song below.

The Badger Song
By: Brusi

Why Man and Animals Aren't Equal

What punishment is great enough for the abhorrence humanity has done to our environment? Perhaps the most proper judgment for our felonies could best be described from the words of the judge in Kiran Desai's novel "The Inheritance of Loss" when his dog, Mutt, got lost:

"We should be dying," the judge almost wept.


When the world fails an animal, any animal, it not only fails beauty and grace but also the creatures responsible for its untimely death. Suffering leads to any form of death and is the worst punishment people could receive for their ignorant behavior towards nature. For every wrong done comes a nasty consequence, and that consequence involves our extinction when nature strikes back in the aftermath of consecutive natural disasters.

It's unfair for these animals to be compared to us. Humanity is probably the only living being on earth full of codswallop, corruption, and intolerable stench (at least the skunk purposely stinks to defend itself). In the aspect of creatures rarely doing harm to anyone, humans and animals aren't equal.

While I was surfing the channels on our cable television, I came across an icebreaker program on Animal Planet about how important it was to care for animals. The problem this "caring for animals" campaign imposes to the typical cynic is....how could we take care of them all?

I think the strategy is to focus on one animal at a given time, wherein organizations either focus on rescuing a particular specie as part of its mission or create short-term projects based on priority.

The latter suits the vision of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, an organization I support here in the Philippines. Many believe this organization is too radical, loquacious and unethical for comfort, but hey, so are the greedy institutions destroying the environment to earn money. If nobody dares oppose such brutal forces willing to sacrifice nature in exchange for economic reform, who would? Greenpeace volunteers and advocates would. That's why I support them.

One could tell the difference between people who care and people who truly care not through the intent but the means of their actions corresponding to the cause; even spreading the word about a certain campaign is already a behavior of someone who truly cared.

I believe HARIBON Foundation and the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), two other organizations I passionately support, fall under the former strategy.

There are hundreds of non-profit organizations here in the Philippines, each going through different adversities ---- some for the good, some for the better, and some to protect their personal interests.

We're probably the only species on earth capable to destroy our home planet and destroy the balance of nature without even trying. How could we compare to other beautiful creatures living in harmony with their habitat, and survival being their most natural threat?

We've been filthy, insensitive, and hypocritical beasts at least once in our lives, and generally, we're also stupid enough to destroy our own home perhaps not on purpose, but through ignorance.

Maybe ignorance is bliss, but even bliss does not last, and the time will come when the situation has become so complicated that we couldn't possibly ignore it.

When that time comes, we demand for pity and sympathy; we feel victimized, maimed, and humiliated; innocent lives suffer at the expense of those at fault, both human and animals; and then the usual opening line would be, "I do care but..." and then we see that politics become prioritized over the environment.

Do you call this caring? Do you call this justice? To have other living beings suffer because of our own doing?

The time we use pointing fingers at one another could best be spent resolving our personal issues, reaching out together to those in need, and working together in the name of sustainable development. The only dangerous war we have is not with others but with ourselves.

"A dog! Justice, just listen to yourself. People are being killed. What can I do? Of course I have such high regard....I have time despite worry of being accused of favoritism....but we are in an emergency situation. In Calcutta, in Delhi, there is great concern about this severe deterioration of law and order, and in the end that's what we must think of, isn't it so? Our country. We must suffer inconvenience and I don't need to tell someone of your experience this..." (Inheritance of Loss, p. 319)