When September Ends

SCU
A friend recently described me as a Self-Contained Unit(SCU). The term was not familiar, but it more or less explains itself. I don't know what is worse, that it was somehow accurate or that it is used to describe houses. Is being at that level of independence really a good thing? I love the feeling of being needed, but why can't I extend that same courtesy/opportunity to other people? Probably shows that I am a Taurus born in the year of the sheep: stubborn and bullheaded. Baaaaaaaaaaa.

Sheep simply want a bit of peace. They enjoy carrying on with life in their own quiet, individual way, content to be in the middle of it all rather than to be leading it. Sheep are quiet and calm people. They enjoy cultural things and focus much of their energy on artistic hobbies. Sheep are easygoing and relaxed, happy to be going with the flow.

THE EARTH SHEEP 19l9 AND 1979

The Earth element gives the Sheep a grounded effect. Although he struggles with a lack of self-confidence, this Sheep is a very stable person. They are independent and practical, leaning more towards conservancy than liberality. An Earth Sheep’s family is his most important asset and he spends his life working hard to provide for his loved ones. Earth Sheep are born with a joy for life that generally becomes infectious as you get to know him.

TAUREAN SHEEP

These Sheep are a bit materialistic and desire much wealth. Although they aren’t money hungry, they do out themselves and their own comfort before everyone else.

from this site

Homecoming
Its been ten years since my batchmates and I stepped out of high school. Feels both like an eternity and a blink of an eye. High School was the first and only time I slept in a dorm, backed out from performing in public, played a guitar, gone into a dodgy theater, kissed by a girl (on the cheek, lame I know), dressed in a suit, used a computer, used an SLR camera, frequented R.Hidalgo, joined a contest, and met my first girlfriend.
Some see HS just as a stage of growth, for me it marked a lot of firsts and even half my life after, brings back fond memories. [pics here]
For the homecoming, I made an AudioVisual Presentation(avp) here. Its around 9mb so leave it to load and just go back to it later(right-click, rewind, play).



Medical Mission
This a was a project initially cooked up by joey and mic, based on simple assumptions: lots of batchmates in the medical field and moderate contacts to pharmaceutical firms. With that and generous contributions from various sources, the mission was underway. RockEd also volunteered to teach kids and parents alike. [pics][joey's pics][mic's pics][leonardo coll's pics]

Knocking out the Philippines
Last time all it took was a ton of jellyfish. This time around, its a direct hit from a storm. That's 30+ hours of black-out, no internet, phone(bayantel) nor mobile(globe). Boo.

Panget's Back
Due to the need to chaperone a client, Blessma is back in Manila. She had to drop by the house earlier than scheduled because my dad in UAE got worried. No texts, internet, movies, games, work. Its been a lousy couple of days.

Deafening Silence, Blinding Darkness
Its been ages since I last experienced this. I'm used to sleeping with scores of LEDs blinking, a couple of fans spinning and 3 7200rpm HDs whirring. Those are the lullabyes that put me to sleep. The blackout robbed me of all of this and left me with such eerie silence and darkness, it almost drove me insane.

I once watched an anime series (PLANETES) where the lead character got lost in space and exhibited a disorder due to trauma (Deep Space Disorder). It manifested itself when the lead was placed in a room deprived of light and sound. He went nutters in a matter of seconds.

I had a ringing noise in my ear, monochrome blurred images playing regardless of my eyes opened or not. I'd be glad to have all the real noise and blinkers back...

Beals-a-bug
We went out to SM MoA to watch "Ant Bully" on IMAX 3D. For an animated film that seemed to be for kids, it had tons of hidden jokes and easter eggs: "Beals-a-bug", the name of the exterminators company is probably a pun for beelzebub. Notable voice actors for me are: Allison Mack as Tiffany(also Chloe from Smallville) and Zach Tyler as Lucas Nickle(also Avatar from Avatar:The Last Airbender)