social media highs (and lows?)

Some people tweet or uses Facebook and Instagram a lot. But I like words in paragraphs. Photographs may speak a thousand words. But they're easily reproduced even by our chosen clique.

In my school days, there was no Internet. I had to join the school paper to quench the thirst to write. There was also the opportunity to pick the minds of authentic thinkers. To discuss pages contents of our paper with the editorial staff during meetings was pretty cool. It was fascinating to converse with the student writers. Although I haven't seen most of them maintain a blog now. Or I'm just unaware of their many ventures.

Maybe Facebook is great. It's convenient for emails. Instagram, I like lurking on celebrity pages. Although it eternally leaves me gasping for more profound thoughts and half of the slebs followers are bashers. On Twitter, people tend to over tweet. If tweeting can replenish their souls every five seconds, that's fine. I can follow sports in real time on Twitter or the Miss Universe pageant. For my entire opinion about Twitter though, you can easily text/ email me if we're friends.

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter in essence, provide opportunities for friends to comment. There would be more folks who maintain account in either of the three social media platforms than Blogging. And we like it when there's a response to our postings. As if we're essential to their lives. We're Sally Field winning our second Oscar. Our mission in this world is to be liked.

hoover then laundry

Peppa Pig likes the word boring. "A vase is a boring present for grandma and grandpa Pig, " she says. While I often use the word to describe myself. Although it takes a lot of time and patience, it seems there's no room in my life to socialise. Hoovering awaits, the laundry is piling up, the photo books needs to be laid out with trims and baby hues.

But...

I get sidetracked. By activities I should do after I've done all the chores, such as tinkering on my mobile, looking at the crap that's on twitter, all the rubbish. It's mightily hard to iron while a toddler is all awake and has no fear to touch any thing she fancies, like a hot iron. So I wait till she goes to sleep. By then I'm super tired.

the long grass

reading rubbish up to this point, that's the existence. i won't really call them rubbish, they're quite useful, it's mostly about the Filipino soap, hklm, it's finishing tomorrow, so no more dashing with the chores when i'm about to go to work. twitter has been really helpful this time. there were a few trolls in the comments section of you tube and Facebook, bashing the lead stars. can't please every single individual on this earth.

like the blog, i don't update much on twitter, i don't have many followers. the ones with millions of twitter followers are celebrities. i'm no sleb. i don't even have a thousand friends who matter. the tiny circle is just fine.

facebook meanwhile is such an assistance for all types of friends and family. I'm not posting any thing on the FB wall either, not for a long while, it'll change soon though, bit by bit.

the very young, the ones born decades or much, much later than me are quite adept in incorporating social media into their lives. while i could just untangle my link to the web without tears. that's the beauty of not being able to afford a typewriter during those years of term papers and writing assignments. it was harder to go through life with the messy hard copies and broken finger nails but we survived.

these days, it's all too quick, i'm on my phone, blogging and about to check twitter.

love piaya!

thanks to ofie and her mr. ramos.
the delicacy.

uv days

I'm sleepy and tired, most of the time and since it's summer ( not any other July but heat wave July) a few select souls add aggravations like screaming within the realm of life and the courtyard, merely because it's the essence of their personalities. If they're kids or squalling brats, it's fine (grin and bear it?), if they're adults, I'll just remember it's winter soon and these flesh-bearing mammals would rather stay indoors.

and the parties. all the planning. cooking and tidying. should we do quiet for next year's celebration? venture on a voyage? how do people turn 40?

trolls?

when i last posted a comment on JZ's blog ( ages ago), it wasn't published. it was about the link between show business and the old Etonians and Oxbridge hybrids. it wasn't derogatory, the author just thought it was a contrasting opinion and it might smudge the essence of her piece. but trolls not moderated properly for this celebrity's blog? poor girl. her theme is very light, mostly travels and food. it's refreshing to read articles from mainstream media personalities. most slebs probably litter their writing with dangling syntax. we'll never know because we seldom read their columns or blogs not slashed mightily by well-intentioned editors. they're mostly performers but a little bit of good blogging would add gravitas. this young lady sings, acts, compose songs. she has style. she is on a daily noontime show (which I have never seen). she has more than a million twitter followers (fewer than most of her contemporaries) but compared to the rival which most of the acerbic curmudgeons identify (would love to say the B word), she is not masa and in the social media age, that not even megastars are spared from haters (come to think of it, just an online article provokes anger), she gets hit by arrows and extremely sharp knives. yet, she doesn't make patol (speaking like ate Shawie) or stoop to such low levels.

an hour and a half

I've been hibernating for more than an hour in a quiet, serene corner. Little girl is asleep in the cot next to me. I'm tired but slowly recharging my energy to tackle a few more kitchen work. I should be finishing the baby's photo book. I still need a few more pictures to upload from hub's phone for its completion.

This week I've been percolating about the culture divide, why it's so difficult for some people to practice courtesy, politeness, a little bit of manners. I throw a strop more often than I would like but I'm prudent enough to adhere to my mom's words in perpetuity. Smile. Be friendly.

It's hard for some, behaving with complete and utter snobbery towards those not in their peer group, as if they're Royalty and we have to bow and curtsey. Is it pride? Vengeance for sins of centuries past or the simmering tension of integration? They were raised in a loud, chaotic abode? Their school system was all about the noise? I don't know, a simple smile would do.

In social media, we have to be vague or we could hurt ardent allies, real or imaginary. But we observe, we take down notes and proceed with caution. In the daily briefings, we know whom to like, that's a more basic instinct.

chums, be not

it's supposed to be my downtime, the break from a day of cooing and baby talk but sweet little girl decided to wake up to keep me company and such.

I'm waiting for answers to my emails, hoover the particles, clean the high chair, read more about the Kris saga (quitting showbiz?), the state of world economy or technical, scientific matters. I heard from one PhD candidate in last week's lecture ( I was yawning so loud, the lecturer told me off ), "as N's we don't read much." yeah, but we're a tad curious, that's all the time curious about the ephemeral activities of our dearest acquaintances.

forget reading, per se. most people I know don't really care about the written word be it balarila, spelling, newspapers, etc. the spoken word is more thrilling, the comparisons of lives asunder. you're dropped from circles due to inability to watch TFC. but there are also others who will seek your counsel. when I was with ate Lu two weeks ago, her phone won't stop ringing with friends asking her to go shopping or roam around the city. mine doesn't ring as much. should it pierce my hypothalamus sharply? should I burst into tears?

a rare piece of gem

march has been very busy. maybe i move annoyingly like a snail or as dear old nambiar used to say in the old days, "you move so slow." was she referring to all my countrymen colleagues or just me? who knows, but we're the newest tiger in the world and you can criticise and criticise at your peril but we have the grand work ethic plus pleasing-to-the-eyes penmanship.

but as i was digressing, the main topic would be baby girl's milestones, she got christened on the tenth and turned eight months on the 13th. it took a while for the former, finding a church and venue. i still see church as a social platform, whether in catholic, baptist, evangelical terms, whatever form of Christianity. but the hubby has his views. i will discuss those very opinions further next time (or not, depends on the available moments) but the gist is, people should be kind and helpful (and stop hurtful, idle gossips as shown on Brocka's Tinimbang ka Ngunit Kulang).

speaking of social platforms, almost nobody i invited really came to my rescue on the 10th, not that i invited a village, just the minimum that would fit in the abode. but only my oldest, dearest friend Honey offered to help out (despite her cousin's second son first birthday on the very day, so she had to rush) with her hubby and my godson, giving me and the family a lift and helping change baby girl. whilst i just pulled ate Luisa (very kind lady) from the tube station. she accompanied me to get the cake amid the brutal chilly and windy climate. the hubby is asking if i deliberately set out to befriend mean people. he had four reliable Spurs cohorts to his side in addition to his mom and colleague while i had nobody after three pm. my answer is beyond me, maybe i'm not that important and those who can provide copious amounts of karaoke magical time are the more relevant entities in their circles.

i was working the two nights before the event, my spirit was deflated and although the vermicelli was gorgeous, the mother in law wants "food." what do the English eat in their parties? let's scrutinise; sandwiches, then a few more sandwiches, or crisps and more crisps or other mild next to nothings like mashed potatoes with vegetable and meat on the side? i should look at the mildly flavoured menu at work.

gatherings are all about the common denominator. we gravitate towards like-minded persons. with my baby shower for instance, i invited people from work as they know each other, i saw Honey the day after at Waterloo. i've also been in a confined-spaced party, knowing no one but the hosts, and felt such a saling-pusa. i observed and blogged about it. being with people is all about the learning experience. the Pinoys love their food, the English enjoy their drinks. if a highly-conservative churchgoer, purveyor of chika, sees someone with alcohol in hand, she prays for eternal damnation.

noche buena

celebrated noche buena for the first time in a decade just by myself. did a bit of cooking or the hubby did more but it certainly was a team effort. i cleaned the fish anyway for the escabeche.

i have no romantic notion about Christmas. being Scrooge doesn't hurt despite the literary masterpiece of Dickens. those who toil on Christmas Day every year are to be commended including some close friends, doing night shifts, working on the day itself. dinner parties are the last things on their minds or feeling forlorn, having to deal with the battles of life.

that's the way

it's annoying to wallow, to procrastinate. i could blame baby girl. but it's all me. i'm the one that's slow and all too sublunary.

it was illuminating to catch up with joy during her stopover at Heathrow, on a break from her Singapore-Baltimore flight at the beginning of the month. the last time i saw her was nine years ago. nothing's changed basically, we can still talk. i got lost in between terminals and with so little time. i should have read the fine print of her itinerary. the wi-fi sucks a bit but twitter works. hurray to twitter! probably if i cajoled her to write and write, she would resurrect her blog, she's such a good writer, she should be heard.

was able to organise a get-together with the high school friends last week. it was only for the very few, the very minimum. i've learned a lot about the deeper tenets of investments, knowing about holiday resorts in what was a hidden enclave of the home province. the only downside was that Westfield was closed for an hour to give way to the Kardashians. honestly. the old lady we asked, said Kim Basinger was coming. then an hour later we saw the posters of the sisters promoting their new line of clothes for Dorothy Perkins. the highest gravitas are given to lifestyle reality people. yes.

it's about words with food

Or food with words. As the case may be, it's all about expressing ourselves in writing and sharing it with the world. Twitter is uplifting but I seem to be shortchanged by the 140-character limit. It's fast food reading. It shouldn't be the absolute truth and should provide a room for debate(s). Or arguments. Constructive arguments.

As with movie and television reviews or any other critiques for music, videos, musicals, gaming (the whole of pop culture, the entire universe), we could craft a thousand-word glowing comments or use the platform for criticisms. We're all qualified to opine.

But with great power comes great responsibility. Hey there, Spider-Man.

Memoirist is a good noun, too. I prefer diarist. Shoes, woes.

the lulls and the likes

if only chores don't exist. i should be efficient but not so much. what gives? it's mostly lurking for good reads, not necessarily gossips. not being able to blog, that hurts.

 i hope to keep the promise of being organised, of not procrastinating, of writing.

that means less Come Dine with Me reruns and more documentaries, or just tidying up for the zen-like moments. i've learned a lot about cultural nuances just these past few months. how the west perceives the east, how imperialism crumbles, it's not new thoughts but teach us more about humility in a myriad of ways.

tiny shoes

i'm in pain and exhausted.

there are stuff we share and there are a few delicate matters we only tell the most important of people.

there was this comment on Facebook, "now, you're one of us." i know nems ( the mother of three who wrote the comment) well, although i haven't seen her since '95. those were pretty blunt words. motherhood is like cult in my age group. the mothers seem to have an air of superiority. there's struggle in child care but who cares, they're mothers. i spawn therefore, i am. childlessness = spinsterhood.

but for me, the coolest ones are my single friends. they have more free time. they have a lot less drama in their day to day. they're more loaded. they can travel.

to give thanks, to curse

the hubby is making me ensaymada (such a laborious process).  he doesn't eat Filipino delicacies.  however, he understands my cravings for the taste of home.  during christmas, i had some maja blanca and halo-halo (we don't have a blender, hint, hint for a handy gift for our birthdays in june).  but with food though, i can barely eat without throwing up my gastric contents. it's a hard life.  i have to be in bed as usual.  i can barely lift a finger, without feeling dizzy.

at least the yuletide season is over.  there are no more presents to distribute, parties to attend (not that i attended any parties), alcohol to smell. we had no click and smile ritual beside the christmas tree on the  25th. i love the presents. the london fireworks are magnificent on television.  my brother had his wedding, his bride has good manners. some girls from within their high-falluting perch, are bitchier than usual. not texting back? the greeting cards distributed are products of hard work, i could barely make it in the cold. i don't need the lukewarm reciprocity.  if one gets a message out of nowhere, isn't that wonderful?  my friend joy (another joy) from North Carolina, sent me a thoughtful family card,  just like last year.  i didn't send her anything.  not even a greeting in facebook.  i'm not even considered her BFF.  but there's depth in friendship somewhow.

fine,  if we can only relax in the beach at this junction.

meanwhile, as i overthink

and lie in bed to quell the apparent queasiness, i struggle with bedsores, almost chest infection and the likes, then a feeling of inadequacy surfaces. this sense of underachievement never leaves us, it's always lurking behind the curtains. this essence of self being crushed by pity invites and fair weather friends should never affect our confidence. some people are just jerks, period.

with that notion, not in view of my Facebook news reels, is actually a good thing. not to take anything away from mark zuckerberg's invention, familiarity really breeds a lot of contempt. it's all about the pictures. blogs, with more than 240 characters, is nothing but a farfetched idea.

what's the point of reading?

be stress free

have to stay away from annoyances the next few months or perhaps forever. how to accomplish that, is draped in nothing but mystery. this is winter time for F sake. i can't stand the crowds in the lifts, the slow movements, the propensity for gossip, the cruel jibes from a few acquaintances, the childish scrawls, the hollow pursuit of competing with others, etc.

yes, not a lot of people have read desiderata.

this world is full of complications. what annoys me doesn't affect those who cherish certain things like i don't know, embracing the old clique.

for Ryan

 won't call it a leaving do. ryan moving to Norfolk may be news to some people, ry being the poster boy of all things fun. however as bo said, he's following his heart. ohh, sweet. it's just to catch a glimpse before he becomes an ex-Londoner.


yes, the bloggers Tuesday evening outnumbered the non-bloggers, which is the greatest thing in the entire world. we should all just write, period. my blogger friends are cool. the perversity of them being so few is beyond reason.

back to the sushi dinner, jeanette e. suggested hi sushi. just waited for the hubby (twitterer not blogger. twittow?) to say yes to the food. he doesn't like fish, fruits and desserts (goodness). tried to invite a few forces behind the clique, i didn't get a reply. aaah, bitchy issues. sssh for that.

but to ry, cheers! see you later. but read you always.

return to the fold

after a year of hiatus, my highly-articulate friend is back to her blogging digs. she's still the same, joy, relatable, a keen observer of people and pop culture. hope she continues to write and write.

in the company of others

we all have different definitions of fabulous people to spend our glorious time.  i'm mostly misery loves company.  there shouldn't be this, there shouldn't be that, or i will be just having a tortured time in hell.  but i don't throw that many tantrums despite the discomfort. be cool and calm, i whisper to my super boring ego. the sun will rise tomorrow as the annoying panache to a drivel, says.

bad company?  i'd rather read a book.

so what is bad company? persons who may or may not mean it, simply lacks kindness. as a word,  kind is broad and vastly-under-rated and contrary to most people's opinions, it's not too common.  hijacking  somebody's break with a know-it-all lecture is not being kind (but learned something highly-substantial). i'd rather be in the company of the understandable bitch.

another bad company is one i've written just in august. big hurray to the power of linking!

next is the lack of humility.  it could be interpreted in every angle known to the human race.


you just know when you're friends. duh? if only we all read the same books and indulge in the same humdrum undertakings, i'e. staying home and staring at the empty boxes of adidas trainers. that would be immense.