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!

Honeymoon

We've seen something like this before -- a president with enough social capital that even a string of major and minor blunders could not spoil the honeymoon moment.

That, or we are simply too patient and forgiving, if not forgetful.

We'll see.

I just hope he puts all that precious social capital to good use.



Note for the news clip below: "satisfied" is "nasisiyahan", not "kuntento". Also, my family name is Laroza. Rando is my second name. ^^

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/10/06/10/pnoy-give-report-his-1st-100-days#ooid=Q2ZTRyMTq2rUiIRuhRtcxa93UqyDS1S4

***

Hello, dear blog! It's good to be here again.

Salads and mushrooms

A good weather on a long weekend with no pressing errands would usually mean a little road and food trip, so off to Tagaytay we went last Sunday.

Our objective was to have a healthy and relaxing day, and Sonya's Garden was just the place for it. A hearty lunch of healthy salad, pasta, and salmon, -- followed by an hour-long body massage -- took care of the stress I accumulated for the month of August.

Of course, the trip home wouldn't be complete without Sonya's freshly-baked delights, and a pitstop at Mushroom Burger. Yum!

Trenta y cinco

The birthday greetings started arriving two days ahead, and ended four days after. I don't remember ever celebrating my birthday that long.

And it's been a while since I last celebrated it outside of office-related festivity -- my birthday usually falls within the same date of mother station's annual general assembly.

Turning 35 is another personal milestone, and calls for nothing less than an all-out inuman and singing session haha!

The original Pork Barrel gang of 2009 were there: Anne, Mear, Micko, Mike, Liz, and Ramon. A few more guests completed the party: Anne's fiance Sergey, Ramon's wife Anna, and mother station's latest discoveries Eunice, Anna M., and Cherish.

Cheers!

That's it

I'm done here. ^^

After six years, two months, nine days, 220 posts, 16 drafts, and 10,625 visitors, Chemical Rhapsody is wrapping up.

First of all, I have to thank Lynn, Cez's sister, because the name Chemical Rhapsody was inspired by her site. Hers was one of the few personal websites I follow back then, and it was there where the words "violin rhapsody" and "chemical-free zerg" caught my attention.

So however late this may be, my apologies to Lynn for ripping bits of words off her site to arrive at Chemical Rhapsody.

Nevertheless, I could not think of a better name for the online incarnate of Jughead (the name I use for all my journals).

And I could never be prouder than I am now with this blog's small achievements: aside from saving my sanity countless times, chances are this blog will be among the top five pages if you search it now in Google.

So here's to you, my dear ChemRhap *raise mug of coffee* for housing my hopes, dreams, adventures, beliefs, alter-egos, vices, illusions, anger, frustrations, joys, triumphs, failures, pain, and everything else that is Leo, Leigh, Lei, Lee, or Bon over the past six years.

Cheers!

And thanks to you all. The comments left within the pages of this blog will be reminders of how wonderful this little ride has been.

Catch you all somewhere, most likely (final fezbook moment here), in FB hee hee. ^^

Ingat po ang lahat!

Silenced

The words will come out eventually.

For now, they're all in my head and heart.

So high

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Destroy and build

There are four things I want utterly destroyed this very moment: 1) the new Monday uniform of a certain government institution; 2) its new Tuesday uniform; 3) its new Wednesday uniform, and; 4) its new Thursday uniform.

I'm not blaming the designer. Not anymore. They will always stay consistent to their unique styles, even if at times such styles may be inappropriate. I'm putting all the blame and responsibility to the committee -- if at all there was one -- that approved those designs.

The designs are unique and the construction is sound, but in my humble opinion, the uniforms scream of something else -- something distant from what the institution represent.

Anyway, it all depends now on the people who will be wearing them. If majority of them like the new set of uniforms, then indeed the world is changing.

***

My friend Cez inspired me to go back to keeping a journal.

I'm going to enjoy making this one -- the fifth since I began in 2001 and stopped in 2007. The office has been accumulating quite a pile of recyclable bond paper after the elections. ^^

***

It's been so long since I've done anything that involves creativity (the aesthetic kind, that is). Judging by how I worked in the past, it's a kind of task that requires a different kind of inspiration.

As the office's 25th anniversary celebration draws near, I'm in desperate need of this particular kind of inspiration.

Mercifully, a piece of that familiar mix of feelings came back yesterday -- driven, informed, updated, motivating, challenging, and inspiring.

How I missed that feeling!

It's been a while. Thank you thank you!

Lost

I was almost an hour late for work yesterday when my usual route got blocked by road constructions along Espana Avenue in Manila.

It's normal for government infrastructure projects to sprout like weeds as another fiscal year comes to an end. However, with just a month to go before the Arroyo administration ends, I'm not sure if these massive road constructions are preparations for the rainy season, or just last-minute hustle for more corruption money. Oh well, it could be both.

The re-routing was unplanned as no proper scheme was in place. So thanks to my pathetic navigation skills, it was easy for me to get lost after missing the tiny and obscure sidestreet that could have put me back on course.

That brief moment of being lost, however, was strangely pleasant. The unfamiliar streets gave me refreshing new sights as I groped my way through the innards of Manila, Balintawak, and Sta. Mesa.

But I guess that moment was pleasurable only because I had plenty of fuel in the tank, and I'm no longer required to check-in with the office bundy clock.

***

I've been wishing for the rain, and it finally arrived yesterday.

It brought flooding, too.

At least, I got what I wished for. Like many things in life, it's a package deal. Not much room for complaints, I'm just glad it's there.

***

I'm still finding my way back after missing a very crucial detour in the past.

I want to be in that familiar route again, even if so much has changed.

I miss that path.

Happy Mother's Day

I may not have her genetic and psychological makeup, but I'm sure darn proud that we have almost identical signatures.

Just one of the thousand things I'm thankful she's my mom.

Cheers, Mamidir! Labs guid!

Happy Mother's Day to all!

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.