Remembering a great place

Before today, we only communicated in Messenger twice.

The first one was in 2013, and the second in 2021. It took a whole year before she responded to the latter.

Major Jeyn is one of the few Sanctius members whom I still have some means of online connection, thanks to FB and IG.

I rarely communicate with any of them since I stopped playing Perfect World PH in 2011. I just see their FB or IG updates, and react to them every now and then.

But today, while there's a bit of sad news, my brief kumustahan with Major Jeyn took me back to that great place called Sanctius.

Great times with awesome people.

(Random eksenas in the land of Pangu. I was a forever noob who got lucky to be surrounded by awesome players. I will always have great memories of my time with Sanctius.)

Farewell, pRO

Everything I know about MMORPG, I learned from Philippine Ragnarok Online (pRO).

And even with so many new games out there, as far as my gaming experience is concerned, none could ever match RO's pace, excitement, immersive culture, and uhm addiction factor.

Muntik nang masira ang buhay ko dahil sa pRO na ito hehe.

I can't remember the last time I played it, but I remember first playing it sometime July 2002, in an internet cafe near KFC Katipunan.

My very first set of RO characters were named Longshots, Quickstryke, and Ironhands. ^^

I've written fanfics based on this game, as well as doodled some fanpics of my characters.

All great memories for such a simple game.

Today, March 31, 2015, the pRO management said their last goodbye, and finally closed down the servers.

Paalam, pRO.

PW revisited

Perfect World PH is the only MMORPG left in my laptop after another round of hard disk cleanup -- something I do every now and then to try streamlining my life.

I still can't bring myself to completely say goodbye to it, even if it has been almost six months since I logged-in.

So I took a peek today at my Hun Ling (HL), just to check what's new in the game.

In the few minutes I was logged on, I saw people riding lobsters, floating fishes, and Harley Davidson motorbikes -- just among the new mounts introduced in the game. I also saw wings that I'm totally unfamiliar with.

The item mall is brimming with new fashions and items. Thanks to the game's fitting room feature, you don't need to spend real cash to see how the new costumes would look on your character.

And if the China server is any indication, the PH server is still opening up to many wonderful things.

As expected, my level 69 HL is now without a clan. Can't blame them -- gaming has elevated to near-celebrity status, so to achieve gaming fame the clans have to be in tiptop shape all the time. There are no rooms for slackers.

Well, nothing much to do but go through a couple of quests, and take some snapshots. Here are all four of the HL's avatar.

Avatar of the War Lord. Great for physical damage and stun.

Avatar of the Storm Mother. Deals magic damage.

Avatar of the Life Giver. Excellent shield caster and damage absorber.

Avatar of Chaos Bringer. Requires 2 chi flares to use, and lasts only for 20 seconds. But can dish out amazing fire damage.

Re-visiting a nice place

I once asked Joan where would she prefer to have resided, and one of the places she mentioned was Davao City.

To that I wholeheartedly agree -- Davao City is one of the few places I wouldn't mind living in. It has all the amenities of Metro Manila, but none of the heart-attack pace.

My first visit to this city was over ten years ago, during a project that required me to recruit, train, and supervise the pool of field staff for that region.

It wasn't pure work at all. In between trainings, traveling, and interviewing, I was treated to great foods, sights, unlimited rice, and that strange feeling that the world is moving fifty percent slower than you are.

And it hasn't changed at all when I went there last March 12 for a two-week fieldwork.

The roads may have gotten better, the commercial establishments more pronounced, and the traffic more dense, but the people never lost that relaxed demeanor.

In those two weeks, I never saw anyone get remotely annoyed with slow-moving cashiers, jeepney drivers who stop in mid-traffic to ask for loose change from fellow drivers, and the never-ending pitstops during a trip.

No one there is in a hurry, and it seems nobody there is at risk of suffering hypertension or stress.

Except, of course, some visitors like me.

Anyway, two weeks was more than enough to learn, adjust, and love that kind of hyper-relaxed lifestyle. ^^

***

My first taste of real durian was at the Seaside, Mati, Davao Oriental on the 16th of March.

I had the arancillo variety, and the first scoop that touched my lips was a shock to the senses -- it was ten times more potent than any durian products I've tasted before.

When we transferred to Davao City on the second week, we were treated to another feast of durian. This time we tried out two other varieties -- the kobe and the native, my favorite.

With all the bountiful supply, I thought the locals would already be tired of durian.

But I was so wrong.

Eating durian is still very special in Davao. There are durian stands almost everywhere, people sit and eat there just like how others would have beer in their suking tindahan. Couples date there, and at the end of the day people order durians for take-home.

And when we gave our take-home durians to the hotel frontdesk staffs, their delight was unmistakeable -- they really do love them.

And yes, I fell in love with it, too.

***

When my officemate, Mear, told me about this place called Ponce Suites in Davao City, I never thought she was referring to Kublai Cafe.

So when we walked into the hotel, I was delighted to see the familiar works of one of Davao's most popular residents, and a former dorm-mate, Kublai.

It's already a wonder seeing just a few of his works back in undergrad days. Seeing a entire hotel with every inch of it covered with his masterpieces is certainly a treat to the senses.

Heck, even the rats at the rooftop seem to blend as part of his artistic installations.

Simply amazing. This man is an artistic genius.

***

We spent our last night in Davao at a KTV bar, and there, in my last song, I said:

Thank you very much, Davao!

It was nice to be there again. I will surely come back one of these days.

***

Speaking of nice places, since Perfect World's latest patch last month, I've been again wandering the cities of Pangu.

This time as a Hun Ling (Earthen Druid).

A very interesting class this is: it has the supportive healing abilities like that of a Yu Ling (Wingkin Cleric) and the pet-like companion like that of a Yao Jing (Beastkin Fairy), called Avatars.

This class is fitting me well so far, since I hate asking anyone to heal me. And with the Avatar as a sidekick, I've been able to solo major boss monsters -- something I haven't done with my other characters.

Of the four Avatars available to the Hun Ling, the Storm Mother is my favorite (shown in photo). Not only is she pleasing to the eyes, she provides major magical artillery support.


Hmmm I wonder if this new character of mine will catch the attention of my favorite clan, Sanctius?

We'll see. ^^

Sayonara, PW PH

Updated 10-31-2011: Added screenshots of fashion and mounts.

To my children in PW Philippines, I bid you farewell after over four years of wonderful gaming.

Rhapsody, the lightning fists. You were the first to show me the world of Pangu. You get killed a lot in quests and tasted countless defeats in duels. But in the end, your humility through it all earned you the respect and friendship I never thought possible in this game.


AgentXero, wielder of bows and slingshots. Solo hunting has never been so easy with you at my command.


Lordeaon, the anti-Soulless. You did nothing but dazzle me with your raw destructive power.


AgentLei, the fast one. You were the hardest to control, but such wonderful never-ending stuns you have at your disposal.


JadeLee and Blaize... you two never learned how to fly, but a lovely hammer-wielding female Wu Xia and a self-sufficient Fa Shih never fell short of showing me how fun this game is.


And finally, DarthLee.

Much has been written about you in this blog. While you were originally created as a healer for Rhapsody's friends, you exceeded all my expectations and ultimately became my final alter-ego in the land of Pangu.

You're the silent ambulance, AFK (away from keyboard) specialist, lonesome grinder, stubborn soloist, and Du Ruo-LMB addict.

While you may not have reached the highest of levels, nor explored the deepest of dungeons, you've already done so much for the average gamer in me. You gave this game a true breath of life, and some of the cool people of the clan, Sanctius, would remember me because of you. ^^

I'm sorry you never became even half as great as the awesome Yu Lings you've met along the way, like Razhklash, Gem, Jeyn, and Maharet.

Maybe someday.



Hasta la vista, PW!

FF VIII

A Sanctius member posted this at the group's wall, and brought back memories of the best role-playing game I've ever played.



I finished it twice - the second time with a walkthrough - for this ending:



Sigh... always leaves that happy-sad-happy feeling. ^^

Sleep

It's 2:30 in the morning. Just finished Arnold Arre's graphic novel, "Martial Law Babies". My Ragnarok Online PH client is patching in the background while I review the data from mother station's latest survey.

I just formulated the news headline that will come out on Monday. I can't wait to discuss the latest update about people's satisfaction with how democracy works in this country.

It's been almost six years since I last saw my hunter and assassin in Ragnarok Online. These are the very first characters I created in the world of MMORPG.

I'm not playing them again, though. They have in them a lot of memories -- mostly wonderful -- that I dare not disturb their rest. They will stay immortalized, safely tucked in the pay-to-play server.

Instead, I'll just create new characters in the free-to-play server. I've been wanting to see the features of the newer server Valkyrie.

The Ragnarok client is done patching, and I hear that same, unforgettably haunting opening music at the log-in screen.

Memories, memories...

But my new archer will have to wait some other time.

And I'll write about the rest of the data later.

It's 3:45 a.m. I must get some sleep.

(My goodness... fezbook's news feed is still buzzing with activity, mostly by local friends. Amazing. Is this the new meaning of Saturday dawn?)

Goodnight. ^^

PW's Tideborne

After a year of waiting, Level Up! Games unveiled last July the new race in Perfect World -- the Tideborne. On July 24, I created my Wu Shih (Sorcerer).

The Wu Shih (WS) is everything I hoped for -- with the right build, this class is designed to be the ultimate weapon against the Soulless. Playing one has given me a refreshing break from my Yu Ling (Priest) -- I'm loving the firepower!

For a brief period after the Tideborne patch, the game client had a minor glitch that allowed players to log-on multiple accounts at once (it still can be done, but let's not go there haha). So for a while, my Yu Ling (YL) watched over my WS like a big brother.

But as always, real life takes precedence, and I had to revert back to my so-not-hardcore gaming habits when my WS reached 50+. My primary motivation is still to bring my YL to level 89, and get that first fairy (Sublime or Diabolic, I still can't decide).

Naruto weekend

It's a Naruto marathon weekend for me and Joan.

I'm not a die-hard fan, but there will come a time when I must watch the series again in their undubbed, subtitled version. It's a different experience hearing the emotions in the original voices.

And my wife agree that that time is now.

***

And because of Naruto, I totally forgot about the scheduled Territorial War in Perfect World.

Congratulations, Sanctius, new ruler of Great Wall, Dragon server!

Urban legend

Kage bunshin no jutsu!

I found myself reciting these words more and more often over the past weeks. With just hours before the elections, I’m almost wishing that when I say those words again (complete with the requisite hand signs haha!), many Leos would appear in a puff of smoke.

Imagine having my clones help me with work, household chores, and visit loved ones in other places. Cool!

But, truth is, I am terrified with the idea of facing another Leo.

I’ve played this hypothetical scene in my head before: “How will I raise a child who is exactly like me?”

I imagine that for the most part of his/her developing years, raising a child with my exact same frame of mind would be a breeze.

The tricky part would be when the child begins to be aware of his/her emotional weaponry, especially those that I’m not so proud of. My father and his father have them, and apparently I have them, too. Few have seen the kind of monster I can turn into, and to those few, I offer my never-ending apologies.

Of course there’s always the good side. I have blogged before of people I’ve met who represent better versions of myself – highly evolved in everything we have in common. I’m eternally grateful having met these people.

Facing myself would probably be great, but I say the world is better off with just one Leo.

***

I had my share of mistaken identity way back in high school. It was a simple question, “What were you doing in Iloilo?” from someone so convinced it was me he saw that day. The problem was that I’ve never been to Iloilo yet at that time.

For years I’ve treated that incident as a simple case of “mistaken identify”. It was only just recently when an incident made me realize that, maybe, there was more to it than just someone out there looking like you.

I saw Gem one Monday evening while I was on my way home. I would have called out to her, but the jeep moved along before I got close enough.

The following day I wrote her a note in FB checking if she was in that area at that time. She then went online in YM to confirm that indeed she was. The only thing that didn’t fit was that she was not riding the jeepney at all.

I’ve met Gem in person only once, but I was 99% sure it was her I saw that night.

***

I have always thought that it is not a good sign when people allegedly see “you” in highly unlikely time and place. The literature I’ve been exposed to speak mostly of bad things when people encounter their replica.

Doppelgänger. The closest encounter I had with anything of this sort was some time ago in Batangas, when one late afternoon on our way home, a farmer told me and my cousin “Dumaan na kayo dito kanina lang ah” (You already passed here just a while ago).

Kinda creepy, but nevertheless a harmless incident. None of the accounts I’ve heard about such sightings placed anyone in mortal peril.

But as Gem and I were discussing the night I saw someone I thought was her, she presented a more extreme possibility: you cannot come face to face with your other self because one of you will die.

Urban legend.

Well, at least that pretty much solves my worries about meeting that other Leo.

Still, real or not, I hope we stay clear of our other selves.

***

My first encounter with Gem was online, in the world of Pangu. She was then the Marshall of Sanctius, and eventually became the final puzzle piece to a lingering personal question I have about online gaming: can a camaraderie borne within the confines of a game be real?

There are many groups out there that could have easily answered my question, had I put serious thought about it. I thank those who have offered me membership (Ria, your offer to introduce me to HOL looong time ago was most appreciated ^ ^), and I give special thanks to Sanctius because somehow they found me in the most unexpected time -- the right time haha!

And like the first time I met Gem as the kind and generous Yu Ling (Priestess) in Perfect World, meeting her and some of the Sanctius folks in person on this day was just as magical and memorable.

Wow. Amazing how long it has been.

Good times

It’s almost closing time for year 2009. I’d love to review my year that was, but I don’t think I have the mental and emotional fortitude for that.

Offhand, let me say that is it’s been an extremely tough year for most of us.

Life, however, has ways of balancing things to tolerable levels, especially during the past two months.

***

I’ve always associated November with birthdays. There seem to be a lot of cool people celebrating their birthdays this month – including my wife haha.

Joan and I celebrated her birthday at Enchanted Kingdom. It was her first time to visit EK, and it was something we’ve been trying to do since our friends Cez and Euge gave us EK tickets as wedding gifts.

That visit was far from ideal, though. At the entrance, we were advised by staffs that there were already an estimated three thousand guests inside the park.

Weeew! (Note to self: when planning an EK outing, check ahead if there are scheduled, massive group tours like the one by the DepEd that day.)

Anyway, good thing Joan’s more of a Grand Carousel, Rialto, Log Jam, Science Fair, and Magic Show type – she’s more than happy to forego the mind-blowing rides like Anchors Away and Flying Fiesta (the Space Shuttle was still out of commission at that time).

Such a fun place. It deserves another visit.

***

It's been almost a decade since we last saw couple Cez and Euge. These are old friends that go waaaay back.

Their visit was unplanned, and their time to meet up with friends so limited. Thanks to the impeccable planning and gimmick ideas from our former sempai James, we went boating and shot at each other in a paintball showdown at La Mesa Ecopark, played badminton somewhere in Kalayaan Ave., danced to Jill’s 80’s music at The Fort, got together with more old friends over scrumptious seafood feast at Dampa Metrowalk, and bumped cars at Fun Ranch, Libis.

It’s amazing how the fun never changed with old friends, even after all these years.

Scratch that. It did change.

I believe it got better.

I wish I can say the same to my driving and navigation skills. Har har!

***

Avatar wasn’t in my list of to-watch movies. It had minimal fanfare with promotions and shared only the barest of details in its trailers.

This is going to be just like Surrogates, I thought.

It was, but the idea was taken to a level that captured one of my deepest fascinations – role-playing in a different world.

I was not expecting it, but I enjoyed the entire 166 minutes of it.

***

Speaking of avatars, it was over a year ago when I first mentioned in this blog the clan in Perfect World where my most active and longest-surviving avatar belongs to -- Sanctius.

Since then, like any other, Sanctius went through changes typical of a group: new officers get drafted, relationships change, and members come and go.

Life goes on.

There were times, however, when the changes were a tad too big – big enough to make a perennial in-game lurker like myself wonder, “What the heck is happening?”

Lots of goodbyes and letters of resignation were posted in the forum. Members that I’ve come to know as the clan’s brain, heart, muscle, and teeth (oh the last one I love and fear at the same time. *shudder* You know who you are haha!) became more scarce from the clan chat, if not entirely gone from the list of members.

But change is good. It’s what gives us butterflies, sabi nga nila.

And what splendid butterflies the next-gen Sanctius officers turned out to be. While it crushed my heart to see Master Raz, Mama Gem, Maharet, Alamar, and others before them relinquish their posts, the clan is, without a doubt, in good hands.

By October 2009, demands of work prompted me to formally inform the clan of my intention to take my in-game lurker status to the next level – hibernation.

Sometime end of November, however, something wonderful happened.

More than the Territorial Wars and the new Elemental Faeries, something in PW slowly pulled me out of hibernation.

It started when an all-star cast of Sanctius officers and high-level members dragged my sorry ass through the Mahayana and Treasure Grotto quests, and eventually pushing me to level 80 (finally).

That moment reminded me of my old aspiration for playing the game in the first place: I want to be just like them *starry-eyed*. So strong, so cool, and so helpful.

Then suddenly the clan chat had that familiar "sound" again. People who've either left the clan or were inactive for so long are coming back! And along this slew of homecomings, our Marshall and his beloved decided to stay.

Things are looking good -- the familiar voices are back, with new ones that are making the Sanctius clan chat livelier than ever.

Like what Maharet said, "It's just like the old times."

Yup. Good times.


Happy New Year to all!

For the soul

Feel-good moments are extremely hard to come by these days, and oftentimes it takes too much effort to snatch measly bits and pieces of it.

So much effort that, at times, you end up wondering if it’s worth it at all.

Anyway, the last I remember – the one that didn’t require effort at all – would be the time I turned 34.

Yes, I love it when I get another year older. It means another year overdue of the age I believe my original lifespan would have been. (That would be 30, thanks to a recurring dream I used to have.)

This year wasn’t so different from the last one, and maybe from the three others before that: I was again in the office at the first hour of my birthday.

However, the people surrounding me in those first few hours had always been the ones that define the moment – always different, always wonderful.

The Techies and all who brought the videoke to its breaking point (tsk tsk haha!) never failed to cheer things up. And thanks Anne and Sergey for bringing me to the KMS party –

I had fun, guys. Thank you.

And for the past three years, the best part of the day would always be coming home to Joan. ^^

***

We’re used to calamities. During the early parts of my childhood spent in Metro Manila, I had my share of riding rubber tubes and wading through deep floods in Pandacan. When my family moved to Aklan, I had my taste of mind-blowing super-typhoons and freaky flashfloods.

But I only have good memories in all those experiences – playing with classmates in the floods after classes were suspended, gathering fruits from fallen trees around the town, standing in the beach wearing a crash helmet while waiting for the gust of wind to lift me off the ground (it never happened, though, maybe my body was too streamlined to achieve liftoff), breathing lungfulls of cool, crisp, leaf-scented air after the storm, and spending another day or two at a friend’s house while waiting for the roads to be clear of floods.

Back then, there were no fears of leptospirosis, no mudslides, no murderous floods or mudfloods, and barely are there scenes of people crying on their rooftops, or running or swimming for their lives, or people begging for help and mercy on national TV.

Either I was brain-dead back then, or something is really wrong today.

***

Every morning since typhoons Ondong and Pepeng, I listen to the radio on my way to work, and get snatches of feel-good moments from news of people helping others, sometimes in the most unique way – boxes of condoms and contraceptive pills donated to evacuation centers were the least I expected to hear.

But hey, just keep the help coming.

And everywhere in Facebook, blogs, and online news, there are people reaching out a helping hand.

Cheers to you all!

Of course, one has to endure all the bad in majority of the news to get these bits of feel-good ones. It’s all about being selective.

***

Natural selection.

Here’s a term stuck in my head recently. Life is all about making choices, and from those choices or decisions arise the fate of not just your own but those of others.

If a team of multi-tasking individuals was given one project too many, each one of these individuals will autonomously exercise a selection process determining which among their many tasks they will prioritize.

And which to sacrifice.

Ultimately, the collective choices of these individuals will determine the fate of a project.

I know now how it feels like to lose every spare tire, every lifeboat, and all reserve fuel needed to finish a project within the deadline.

Sigh. First time for everything. But hopefully never again.

***

This is it.

What can I say?

When it comes to what he does, Michael is perfection.

***

I’m finding it so hard to resist these cute and satisfyingly lethal little characters.

Luna Online by Run Up Interactive Corp. is slowly becoming my worst nightmare – an addiction. It’s been feeding my love for “hybrid” characters.

Gaah! Please let this not be the Ragnarok-type of addiction, or it will ruin my life. Haha!

My first duel -- what a rush (especially if you've won haha)!

Amazed

Boredom.

I have secretly dreaded this word since I took on a bit of mentoring role at work. I must have seen one too many colleague complaining of boredom just before they filed their resignation.

But it occurred to me that I owe a lot to boredom: it was what spurred me to look for other things to do within the organization, eventually creating a new group (even if it’s a one-man group haha) and another slash in my job title.

And thanks to boredom, I realized that if I say it repeatedly with that certain tone, my favorite name for a girl sounds like that of a porn star’s if coupled with my surname.

Darn. Haha!

Who’s afraid of boredom? After all, it’s what makes us human and not plain automatons.

***

Not so long ago, matters about virtual online gaming life crossing over the real one were usually limited to light topics like this one:

You know you’ve been playing too much MMORPG when…
- You think you can teleport or warp to get home after work.
- You start referring to your clothes and belongings as equipment.
- You challenge someone "PVP na lang" instead of "suntukan na lang".
- You yell “pa heal!” when you get hurt and "pa buff!" when you're tired.
- Your answering machine message says "AFK".
- You give your family a guild or clan name.
- You hit a cat with your car and you go back to see if there were any item drops.
- You sit down on the ground when you’re tired.

The online community has gone a long way since then. Right now I’m watching a channel on TV which features events and activities of one of the country’s leading game publishers. Amazing how the country's top gamers have been elevated to celebrity status, and online gaming has taken on a real, breathing, and dynamic lifestyle.

So real that it’s found its way to the local courts.

Thanks to my wife and her friends in the legal circle, I recently heard an account of a gamer complaining to a city prosecutor about his online character getting hacked and stripped of all its valuable equipment.

By sheer coincidence, on that same day I received a text message from our PerfectWorld clan marshall informing us that one of our officers was victimized by a hacker.

The clan officers recorded the in-game conversation between the hacker and our clan members through a series of screenshots as the hacker took control of our officer’s character.

It was eerie reading how our officer struggled to regain control of his character – two different persons with totally different ways of speaking (or typing, to be more accurate) alternately emerging from just one character.

It was like watching an exorcism in progress, and it was enough to send a certain chill down my spine.

The hacker got away with valuables and rare in-game items that took a lot of hard work, long hours, and, of course, real money to acquire.

There are people out there who can really pull off this sort of heist, and I doubt there are enough legal and institutional measures in place to catch them.

***

I’ve been asking too many whys lately – from the latest development in the “Nicole”–Daniel Smith saga, to how I feel, think, and react to certain aspects of life.

Resolving the latter on my own is easy, but my lifelong (adult life, that is) habit of approaching any research question by triangulation compels me to seek answers from others.

I may, at times, get tired of reality, but I doubt if I will ever lose this wonder. Believe it or not, it takes so little to amaze me – so little that I sometimes ask myself, “Where in the freakin’ world have I been?”

I’m just grateful I’m blessed to have met more evolved versions of myself, people who’ve been there and done that, and good folks who have the patience to listen to my questions and bear my naïveté.

Thank you.



Omg... so emo. Again. Haha!

Closer to reality

"Killer".

Many may have learned this game in grade school -- during recess, lunch break, in the schoolbus, or in any crowd that has run out of anything else to do.

The game's rules are quite simple: the roles of a killer (the one who gets all the fun), a police (the one who stops the fun by catching the killer), a doctor (the one who keeps the fun going by reviving the murdered players, unless he himself gets killed), a judge (the one who, if still alive after the killer has been caught, gets to have fun punishing the killer), and as many civilians (just meat for the killer, and for the doctor's reviving pleasure) as needed will be raffled to players. The act of killing or reviving would be by a pre-agreed gesture, usually by winking or kindat.

There are many variations of this rule, but from grade school up to just a few days ago, I have always played the version where the killer could never kill the police.

Last Friday, my officemates and I played this game at Pork Barrel, and I was introduced to a rather different set of rules: a) the police can be killed; and b) the police can make the "arrest" only if s/he catches the killer in the act of killing others.

The new rules made a world of difference. No longer can the police boldly stare at anyone, wait for that fateful killer wink, then make the arrest -- s/he is as easy a target as anyone else.

Also, the killer can now wipe out everyone -- a perfect kill, as I would call it.

I admit that cops are not invulnerable the way the game has treated them for as long as I can remember. At least, that night, I played an old game that suddenly took a wide step towards reality.

A part of me, though, would also see that night as a case of misplaced empowerment.

Anyway, our little Friday group is still in a quest to fine-tune this game.

***

The late night news flashed a report about a man getting mugged by a group of minors. The TV crew even caught on camera the group of youngster casually jogging away from the man they've just robbed and beaten to a bloody pulp.

The disturbing part was how the barangay official officials admitted that such incidents have been the modus operandi of youngsters in their area, and that these kids, being minors, usually go scott-free.

A certain law has empowered kids like them. Unfortunately, the same law may make it hard for the poor, beaten man to find justice.

***

We don't allow misplaced power. We either bestow it, or willingly place ourselves in its embrace. Those who rightfully have it also have a responsibility, like what good ol' Uncle Ben always say.

***

I had too much Coke tonight.

Next time I will really carry antihistamines with me, so I could enjoy as much crabs and shrimps as I used to.

Cheers!

Old and new

The kids at our street looked like they were about to play tumbang-preso – they were holding thick, adult-size rubber slippers. But when they started throwing them wildly at their target – a plastic water bottle – and hitting the parked cars instead, I was convinced that their game was nothing like tumbang preso.

Another group was gathered at the other side of the street, holding what looked like trumpo. But just like the other group, there was no rule, much more precision, with the way these kids were playing. In their hands, the traditional trumpo soon became dangerous projectiles that wreaked havoc to properties and even posed threats of injury to passers-by.

So, this is how our native games have evolved.

How sad. And scary.

At least now I know where the small scratches and dents at our gate are coming from.

***

Speaking of evolution, I have recently earned two new titles at the office by virtue of the changes I went through.

I owe the first title to my age, which is naturally beyond any debate, while the second nickname I earned by the change in my office lifestyle.

Oh well. Good or bad, change is how you make of it.

***

Here I go again.

Three things I think I'm starting to get addicted to:

ZX Online. Though not as compelling as Perfect World when it comes to storyline and overall gameplay (plus the characters are not as customizable), ZX Online totally spoils the player with its auto-pathing feature. It’s Man-Nature Combo is also a blessing for AFK (away from keyboard) players like myself.

Facebook. Need I explain? Okay... Dungeons and Dragons Tiny Adventures! Haha! ^^

Crispy bacon liempo, and all the good feelings that go with it at Tomato Kick along Maginhawa Street, Teacher’s Village, Diliman.

Cheers!

First night

Tonight is the first night after so many that I would be ending my day in a, more or less, normal way.

By normal I mean any or all of the following: fetch my wife after work and go home together, have dinner together, watch the evening news, workout a bit, catch up on reading, go online and greet some people, blog a little, log-on to my favorite online game and say hi to in-game friends, and/or sleep on a real bed.

I've done most of the abovementioned, so far.

After this blog, I'll log-on to Perfect World and greet my clanmates, who are probably the happiest people in this side of the virtual world right now after winning our very first Territorial War.

Congratulations, Sanctius!

To the forty-three brave souls who were online last Sunday evening to make this dream come true, I salute you all!

The stories they shared about their victory made me envious that I wasn't with them at the battlefront. That Sunday evening was their first night in a place we can really call our own.

So where was I last Sunday evening?

Like in many nights before tonight, I was working late. In some nights, I was sleeping next to the laptop, dreaming about the numbers that need to be put into words. There were nights when I end and start the day wearing the same clothes, either in front of the computer or on a portable mattress laid on the office floor.

Anyone who've worked for a self-sustained NGO with a certain advocacy would know that a big paycheck is the last thing you'll get from all this hard work. You do this for something else entirely.

Fatigue does wonders to the mind. I had a dream during an overtime work at the office. It tells of a rabbit running careless and free in the jungle, with the cold night wind caressing its feet. Morning breaks and the jungle returns to the way it is -- a jungle.

Dreams can be such great reminders of reality.

Caffeine is still running thick through my veins. It's unlikely that sleep will come soon.

But no worries.

A real bed is just waiting beside me.

YM call, clan EB, hot springs, and trees

Two Saturdays ago, thanks to an unusually fast internet connection and a good headset, I was able to call two friends abroad via YM.

It’s been years since we last talked so I couldn’t help but be fascinated with the sound of their voices during the first few minutes of our conversation.

For a while, they sounded different -- perhaps as different as we have changed through the years. I'm sure I must have sounded differently to them, too, at first.

But as the hours passed by and the laughter came wave after wave (my tummy still ache from the cramp), everything sounded the way it was years ago -- back when we were still having this sort of conversation on a daily basis.

It was great talking you again, C and E! Sure beats chatting. ^^

Two Sundays ago, I met with my Perfect World clanmates at the LU! Live at World Trade Center.

It was my first time to personally meet the people I get to know in-game, and it was... strangely fun! I wished I didn't have to leave the meeting so soon, but family duties come first.

Last Thursday, the office held its teambuilding session at the Sentosa Elenita Resort in Laguna. This nice private resort has everything tired pollsters like us need: hot fountains, hot pools, videoke machine, nice rooms, and great food.

After the little teambuilding and RnR, we took a quick tour at UP Los Baños, and I finally get to hug the famous Fertility Tree. Weee!

More about this soon at the unofficial Techie blog.

The Fertility Tree!

Cheers to Pinoy gamers!

Joan and I were supposed to do groceries at the Mall of Asia (MOA) last Saturday, but ended up watching two gaming events by the country's most popular online game publishers.

Level Up! held its Road to LU Live at MOA's Music Hall, and we were just in time to watch the Philippine Ragnarok Championship finals.

It was an exhilarating race-to-three match between the country's best pRO teams: the Bozanian Beast Fighter and the Renegade. The Bozas won straight three to none.

All of the rounds were intense -- with all the new MMORPGs (massively multiplayer role-playing games) that came out in the past five or six years, I believe Ragnarok still has the fastest pace and the most complex teamplay tactics.

The loudest yells and cheers came from what was apparently the favorite (and maybe the most lethal) move during battles -- the monk's Extremity Fist, also my personal favorite.

The Bozas will represent the Philippines in the coming Ragnarok World Championships at the Level Up! Live in October 18-19, to be held at the World Trade Center, Pasay City.

At the other side of MOA, at the SMX Convention Center, E-Games was holding its RAN Global Tournament 2008. We caught the last two matches between Malaysia vs. Hong Kong, and Malaysia vs. Philippines.

The Philippine team, Terminator, emerged as champions. Malaysia and Hong Kong came first and second runner-ups, respectively.

Congratulations to teams Bozanian Beast Fighters and Terminator. Go Philippines!

It was a great day for the Philippine gaming community.

***

E-Games had a sort of mini-quest for the guests: have your card signed by ten of their selected Game Masters, and you get a chance to win some cool items.

This reminded me of my undergrad days when I was applying for a student org. I was a bit skeptical about the whole thing, seeing that there were clearly more than ten GMs milling around the convention center, some even within the restricted area.

So I had two questions for the organizers at the booth:

Me: (in Tagalog) Are you sure these signatory GMs are wearing the prescribed GM uniform?

Staff: Yes.

Me: And none of them are stationed or hanging around the restricted area?

Staff: Yes.

Me: Sigurado kayo, ha?

Staff: Opo, sigurado po yun.

Okay, so make that three questions.

It was easy enough to find and meet the nine GMs. These fine-looking young men and women are very nice and friendly.

I had trouble looking for the last one, GM Drone. None of his fellow GMs and organizers seem to know where he was exactly. I was getting a lot of "Nandoon lang po yata siya," and "Nandyan lang po siya," and I was getting a bit impatient.

Before the final match between Philippines and Malaysia began, another GM informed me that this GM Drone was wearing a blue jacket, not the prescribed black and gold jacket with big GM letters at the back.

Just great! In a major, international event like this, this GM has the audacity to break the rules. If he was planning to not wear that GM uniform (it was a really cool jacket, by the way) and if he intended to make himself scarce at the latter part of the event, he should not have agreed to have his name in the sig card.

I was not the only person looking for this GM Drone. There was a group of late-comers who entered the hall just for the final match. Our hopes of getting some of the goodies from the loot booth were in the hands of this hard-to-find GM.

After the awarding ceremonies, I made a final attempt by breaking through the security line towards a large crowd of people wearing the GM jacket.

"GM Drone? (Looks around) Naka-blue jacket po siya. Teka... (asks the GM next to him) Si Drone, pare? Sorry Sir, nandyan lang po siya."

The crowd of GM were making their way to the VIP area, where the winners were gathered to lounge. I literally pulled one of the organizers from the crowd to ask her where GM Drone was.

"Sorry Sir. Wala na po siya."

And so five other guys and myself left the hall empty-handed. We joked half-heartedly that we'd include GM Drone in our hitlist in-game Ran online, but there's no doubt it was a really frustrating experience.

Good thing the Philippines won, otherwise, GM Drone would have pretty much ruined my day.

Snatches of happiness

The pace at work momentarily slowed down last Friday with the client's handshake at the end of my two-hour presentation, wrapping up the last of the projects I'm involved with for this quarter.

I've been looking forward to that feeling -- a light, cool sensation (and light-headedness due to lack of sleep) that filled me up little by little as I walked out of the heavily-guarded building in Makati and made my way back to the office in Quezon City via jeepney and mass transit.

Contact with the hustling and bustling masses during Friday weekend rush shook away the toxic residue of work, and by the time I reached my desk, the feeling was complete.

There's time again for the simple joys in life. At least, until Monday.

So I took the small bag under my desk, changed to my running outfit and went out to do something I haven't done in years: jog around UP Campus.

I charted a course that covered my most memorable areas: Krus na Ligas, Hardin ng Bougainvilla and Hardin ng Rosas, Math Building, NIGS, College of Science, the “Sunrise Cottage”, Marine Institute, the playground at Executive House, the UP Printing Press, Quezon Hall (Oblation), the Lagoon, Faculty Center, Palma Hall, Main Libe, the Sunken Garden, Grandstand and Vinzon’s Hall, UP Arcade, UP Chapel, the Shopping Center, Area 2, the Kalayaan, Sanggumay, Yakal, and Molave Residence Halls, UP Film Center, UP Theater, the Track Oval, the DMST/Vanguard Building, Ylanan Road, and finally UP-CMC.

It was the ultimate treat. Amid the flood of memories and pain of protesting muscles, I was reminded of my recent thoughts this past month.

I turned 33 last August 29, and for the third consecutive year, I spent my birthday at work. By spending I mean every hour and minute of it. In 2006 and 2007, I was out on fieldwork, and in both years I celebrated my birthday in the provinces with colleagues.

This year was no different – I woke up, worked, celebrated, and ended my birthday in the vicinity of the workplace.

Perhaps it’s a good thing that I have been used to celebrating my birthdays alone and away from family. The last time there was a family member present was on my 21st birthday, when my mother happened to be in Manila for a conference (back then she gave me the most unusual present for my age – a toy robot).

Anyway, there were a lot more reasons for me to be happy.

This year my birthday fell on the same day the office held its annual general assembly. It turned out to be a blast -- free food and booze for all, courtesy of the office, with videoke on the side. It was nice to see the new staffs share a little bit more of themselves when it was their turn to sing.

Thanks to my wife, another group was celebrating and giving thanks for my birthday with a simple salo-salo somewhere in Manila.

Birthday greetings came, on the day and days after, from people who mattered to me more than they would probably realize.

I had my first taste of Perfect World territorial wars (TW) yesterday. It lasted only for 15 minutes, and we lost to the defending clan. But now that the clan had its first taste of the TW adrenaline rush, I'm sure it won't be long before we'll be invading another territory.

I had a good chat with friends just recently, and was reminded of the simple joys that seem to have gone hibernating in my life.

And finally, yet another pleasant surprise when I get to chat with my sister in Liverpool for the first time. Hurray to YM and webcam!

Hurray to life's simple joys.

***

When I first saw Transformers Animated (TFA), I readily thought it would be tough to come up with a toy line for this series.

How will this series look, and transform, as toys?

I was never convinced until the first batch of TFA toys hit the shelves of Toy Kingdom in Ayala.

I was so impressed I took home Blackarachnia, and soon I'll add Prowl to my collection.

Past a certain threshold

While it's true that electronic gaming is close to my heart -- the grade I had for my undergraduate thesis on that topic would be some proof to that -- I was not, am not, nor will ever be, good at it.

I would classify myself somewhere in the "casual gamer" or "play-when-it's-free-during- absolutely-free-time" category, opposite the "hardcore gamers" and "hobbyists" at the other end of the scale.

In my recent visits to the online world, I think I crossed another threshold that may be worth noting (more for my own benefit).

My first mention of Perfect World (PW) in this blog was six months ago. Back then I was already feeling the first signs of boredom due to the somewhat repetitive scenarios and increasingly slow development at higher stages typical of MMORPGs.

Until my online character passed a certain level when something in the game’s system kicks in.

PW has a certain scheme that assures players, after reaching a certain level, a daily supply of that precious experience and soul points, thus allowing us to level-up with minimal effort.

Gain points without breaking a sweat? And with every level comes new scenarios, new stories, better things to do?

It was a sweet deal for casual players like myself who sorely lack internet connection speed and the time to go online.

And so... the game stayed in my hard disk.

This scheme proved to be beneficial. After several months, during occasional insomnia attacks, my online character managed to reach level 60.

Reaching 60 in PW opened up a lot of things. Most significant of which, in my opinion, would be getting invitations from relatively more established and more organized Clans.

It was a refreshing change. Such Clans have recruiting officers who usually know how to politely reply to my typical response, "Thanks, but sorry I'm not very active," when my character gets invited. And they usually do so in correct English or Filipino, and (thank goodness) with correct spelling.

Over three months ago, I had an invitation from a clan officer who was more earnest and persuasive than anyone before.

And so I joined, and became the Clan's resident "lurker/AFK (away from keyboard)" member (I'm such a useless member, I know). Being a healer class, when time allows it, I try to do support and "ambulance" duties.

But certain pressures stirred within (I was afraid of this): I want to keep up with everyone. I wish I could be as good as the rest, if not better. Most of all, I wish I could do more for the clan (I can't help it -- they're such a helpful and jolly crowd. Though tuning in to their chats sometimes drive me nuts).

Someday, maybe...

After passing another threshold.

I don't think I'd be moving anywhere in the gamers' scale soon.

***

The Beijing Olympics on TV...

I was left in awe by the deluge of ads celebrating the Olympic spirit -- images of human power, pain, joy, fun, and victory.

Simply inspiring.