The Most Meaningful Phonecall in Receiver's Life

by SYMBO

RECEIVER: Hello?

CALLER: Hello. I love you too.

RECEIVER: *short pause* Okay...

CALLER: Wala kasi akong load. Hindi ako makareply sa text mong "I love you". Kaya tumawag ako.

RECEIVER: Oh.. Ok. Thank you.

CALLER: Sige, bye.

RECEIVER: Bye.

Call duration:
Less than 10 seconds

... deep inside, Receiver was very happy ...

Devient K

by SYMBO

I always hear about these famous song artists. Their songs are always played in the radio. Their music videos are always shown in TV. I am forced to listen to and watch all these because they are played and shown everywhere. I try to escape from them by avoiding listening to the radio or changing the channel when I see that they are being shown in TV. But wherever I go, I hear people singing those songs. And I wonder... Don't people know any other songs?

There's this hairstyle, which I think can be described as an attempt for a portrayal of Good and Evil, or Right or Wrong, or Positive and Negative, that looks really weird to me. The front part is combed sidewards and downward (diagonally), while the rest of the hair at the back part of the head is standing up, reaching for the sky. I'm not suggesting that this hairdo is intrinsically wrong. It's just that when I walk in malls, or in school, or in the streets, I spot a lot of guys wearing it. And I wonder.. Why don't guys try having other hairstyles?

I see this shirt worn by a lot of people, both male and female. It's a simple shirt that has a collar, a figure of a man playing golf at the left chest part, and a big number 3 on the right sleeve. It's available in varying colors but with the same design. It's so common that I almost consider any day that I don't see anyone wearing this shirt a special day. I don't know if people wear this shirt because it feels comfortable, or it's expensive, or it's very cheap, or merely because if they wear this shirt, they feel like they're "IN" with the majority. And I wonder... Isn't there any other shirt that they can wear?

There's this character in a certain video (fighting) game that everyone seems to be using. She (yes, SHE) is a character who has very useful and strong moves, but is VERY easy to control... When you check the character usage ranking in the video game machines in arcades... She's always number 1. She's kind of unfair for those players who specialize on characters that are not very strong and have complicated controls (not to mention, have a significant role in the storyline of the game). For her players, there's no competition.. no challenge. And I wonder... Why don't these players try using other characters and experience the real essence of competitive gaming?

It seems that people always go with the flow. It seems that we don't like to try things outside the common practices of the majority. We always want to be "IN". We seldom, if not never, try to deviate from the mediocre norms of society. I'm getting tired of the same common standards repeated over and over again (redundancy detected). And I wonder... Why are we so afraid to be different?

The title of this post, "Devient K" is an obvious reference to Relient K. Oh did I say obvious? I almost forgot that Relient K is not that popular... Due to the fact that that band is one of those bands that deviate from the norms in many aspects, from the creativity of the lyrics to the sounds and instruments used to produce music.

Now, I wonder... If anyone was to read this, would s/he be able to see the relationship between the title of the post and Relient K? (aside from the fact that it rhymes...)
Would s/he be able to read between the lines?
Would s/he be able to deviate from the norms?

Sakit ng Tao

I. Pride
Sasakit ang mga batok ninyo sa kakatingin sa taas. Mahihilo rin kayo kasi masyado nang nasa alapaap ang mga ulo ninyo. Mananakit na rin ang mga mata ninyo dahil sa katitingin sa ibaba. Mag-ingat lang kasi medyo maraming maaasar sa inyo, dahil hindi na daw kayo tumitingin kapag kinakausap kayo.

II. Lust
Mag-ingat sa mukha, madalas itong mamumula. Mag-ingat rin sa inyong mga utak, maaaring malaglag ito at marumihan. Payo ko ay huwag na lang mag-isip-isip masyado, upang huwag sumakit ang ulo sa kaiisip.

III. Anger
Magkakaroon kayo ng pulang balat, kasi ang dugo ninyo ay gigidgirin ang inyong balat. Ingat rin sa mga nose bleed, kasi madalas itong mangayayari. Ang mga kilay rin ay maaapektuhan, magiging matigas ito ay mahirap nang ibalik. Ang puso rin ay ingatan, sige, bahala kayo, puso ninyo iyan.

IV. Gluttony
Ang inyong mga bituka ay lalaki ng lalaki hanggang sa pumutok ang mga ito. Mag-ingat sa inyong tiyan baka isuka. Ang pag-dudumi rin ay bantasan, baka lumabas na ang inyong lamang loob. Sa mga ipin naman ay baka ninyo malunok.

V. Envy
Baka maputol ang mga mata ninyo sa katitingin. Baka rin masira ang mga bibig ninyo sa kasisimangot. Mag-ingat sa mga bagay-bagay sa paligid at baka kayo ay patayin ng mga ito.

VI. Covetousness
Huwag alamin ng kanang kamay ang kginagawa ng kaliwa, lalo na sa pandurukot. Baka mag-away ang mga kamay ninyo hanggang sa maputol ang isa. Ingat rin sa paggamit ng salitang "gusto", ito ay nakakapahamak.

VII. Sloth
Ingatan ang buong katawan, baka paggising ninyo ay wala na ito. Lalo na sa mga musclesdahil ito ay ang mga pinakamadaling maagnas. Ang payo ko lamang ay tumayo, at paminsan-minsan ay maglakad-lakad.

Astig. Small World.

by SYMBO

Naalala ko lang. Dati, napadaan kami ng kuya ko sa Timezone sa Robinson's Metro East. Syempre, ang gusto namin makita ay yung tekken 6 machine. Nakita nga namin, and as usual, may naglalaro. Pero, unusually, walang kumakalaban sa kanya. CPU lang kalaban niya. Siguro sobrang galing niya kaya walang gusto kumalaban sa kanya. LEI WULONG ang character na ginagamit niya. Naastigan ako. Favorite ko si Lei eh. Tuwang tuwa pa ako kasi may nakita akong ginagawa niyang combo na matagal ko nang gustong gawin pero hindi ko ginagawa kasi akala ko imposible.

Pag-uwi ko nung gabing yun, binista ko ang website na tekkenzaibatsu.com para tingnan ang Lei forums. Aba, nakita kong nag post pala doon yung lalaking nakita kong naglalaro sa Robinsons. Eh world-wide yung forums na yun. What are the chances na yung taong nakita mong naglalaro just a few minutes ago ay nag post sa exact same forum na pinagpostan mo? Sa dami ba naman ng tao sa BUONG mundo... Astig. Small world.

Nakita nung kuya ko yung apelyido nung lalaking yun, at sinabi niyang may kakilala siya na ang apelyido ay kapareho nung sa lalaking iyon. Tinanong niya yung kakilala niya kung kaanu anu niya yung lalaki. Aba, akalain mo bang kapatid pala. Etong lalaking ito ay kapatid pala ng kaibigan ng kuya ko. At ngayon ang taong ito ay ka-school ng kuya ko. Wow. Small world.

Ngunit hindi pa tapos ang kuwento. Sa aking school... May banyo (wow, para namang kakaunti ang school na may banyo.. joke). Tapos sa loob ng banyo merong tabo. Nakita kong nakasulat sa tabong iyon ang pangalan nung taong nakita kong naglalaro sa Robinsons O_O (pero hindi vandalism, part talaga nung design nung tabo yung pangalan niya). Later on, napag alam-alam ko na nag aral din pala siya sa school ko, at may legacy siyang iniwan doon in the form of a tabo. Hanep. Small world talaga.

Kapatid siya ng kaibigan ng kuya ko.
Ka school siya ng kuya ko.
Nag aral siya sa school ko.
Pareho kaming naglalaro ng tekken.
Pareho kaming Lei ang ginagamit sa tekken.
(At bibihira ang mga nakikita kong gumagamit ng Lei)
Nagpopost din siya sa forums kung saan nagpopost ako
(which is world-wide. Hindi lang puro Pilipino.)

Sino bang mag-aakalang ang isang taong nakita mo lang na naglalaro sa isang t6 machine sa Robinsons ay related pala sa'yo in more ways than one?

Astig. Small world.

Average

uhm, yeah

There was this boy, so ordinary in fact, that he scored "AVERAGE" on all of his CEM test. He was so average, his grades were always exactly 85, all of them. His conduct was also average, S. He was so average that... that... that... i couldn't hink of anything else to say, he's just too average.

So the boy went on to become a man. He inherited a fortune so immense that it would make the richest man on earth feel like an ant. So he went on and managed fortune, he invested it all in a company. Nothing could be said, his company did not do too good or too bad, average.

Perhaps that this was all there is to this man, average. Getting stuck with the mediocrity of himself. Still, he was average with his contentment in his life... that is until he met this woman.

The irony is, that they are both average, (but how can that be, mamaya na yung explanation). She never excelled all her life, nor did she fail anything. She just maintianed the average.

The guy, now, wanted to get to know her better... So he got up the courage, and asked her out on a fairly average date... A few months and they went on and got a very average marriage, and hey had an average number of average children. After a few average years, he died and was given a modest burial.

PS. WOW what an average life.

Ten minus Eight equals... Three?

by SYMBO

So I went home by commuting. It was the usual kind of commuting process. Nothing special. Until I reached the Valley Golf gate.

Upon reaching it, I got off from the FX since it wasn't going inside Valley Golf, instead it will go straight to Tikling. After that, I rode a jeepney which would pass through the village and specific street where I would be able to find my house. Naturally, a lot of other people were in it.

As the jeepney got filled, people started handing their payments to the driver. The normal price is 8 pesos each person. Since I didn't have an exact 8 pesos, I paid a 10-peso coin.

Of course I was expecting two get 2 pesos in return. But to my surprise, I received 3 pesos. I thought to myself.. "10 minus 8... is 2... Why do I have 3?" As I was looking puzzled at the 3 pesos in my hand, the driver was also looking at me. I noticed that he was smiling at me. And then it dawned to me why I had 3 pesos. The student fare was 7 pesos. 10 minus 7 is 3. ^_^

The cool thing about this is... I didn't say that I was a student. I wasn't even wearing my school ID, or school uniform at that time. I was wearing my plain white undershirt, brown slacks, and a blue jacket. Maybe it was my gigantic bag that made it obvious that I was a student, but nevertheless... I didn't have to say that I was a student for the driver to give me 3 pesos, instead of 2, in return for the 10 pesos I paid.

I can't explain how thankful I am to that driver. Why? Because other drivers, even if they know that you're a student, will give you only 2 pesos in return. You have to say "estudyante po" for them to give you 3.

This particular driver that gave me back 3 pesos without me saying that I was a student showed a great sense of honesty, responsibility, and selflessness. Let him be an example for all of us.

P.S.
Wow. I didn't visualize this post to be this long. Wow.

F(R)IENDSHIP

Iv'e realized that no matter how different people are, there are always things that connect them, from a favorite game, or perspectives in life. Thus, there is always that chance of this thing we like to call, "FRIENDSHIP".

Some interpret it as a mutual agreement, you give he gives; but it's more than that. From discussing moves on certain games, or uplifting each others spirits, or just emoting your heart out, they are there. Sabi nga, "Narito ako, narito ako. ... Di kita iiwan sa paglakabay, dito sa mundong walang katiyakan".

Yeah, Friendship is great, those who have soo many countless friends, try and sift though them, for those who have so few, try to make new ones; For there is no better feeling than just being with your friends.