impassionata

I honestly don't think I'll be able to transfer all the media I've uploaded over the past two months, so why don't you go check out Strange Joys and I'll see you there. ;p I will move my stuff here eventually, just... not... now. Too many books to read!

Posted in the media library under the tags "beach," "puerto galera," "media," and "photos." Haven't had time to edit the ones I like yet.

We went there Nov. 2 - 4. The resort had a private beach, so we had the whole beach to ourselves most of the time. It was nice -- very relaxing. (Though a little tiring too. And I did get stung by a jellyfish.) Travelogue @ Strange Joys: day 1.

Puerto 010

Having (belatedly) realized that I really cannot maintain this as a blog of any sort (i.e. one that is regularly updated with meaningful -- hah! -- and interesting -- haha! -- content), I think I will just turn this into a space to store photos and stuff. I'm supposed to upload the Davao pics here soon.

(Honestly this would be more interesting if more of my real-life friends were part of Vox, but come on, the major part of the Filipino web population is only now starting to move to Multiply from Friendster, so it'll take a while. Maybe in a year or so things will be different.)

So, yes, pictures of the beach and what-not to come. I leave the day after tomorrow. Yay.

In the meantime, have a listen to one of the few songs that sounds good even after endlessly looping in your head.

Josh Groban - Mi Morena (Sessions@AOL 2004)

I have been incredibly stressed lately and it hasn't gotten any better, not even after hell week ended last Friday evening. After dealing with academic craziness, I had to cope with real-life trauma and work-related problems that have grown so tangled they resemble Gordian knots. (The drawback to that being that I'm not Alexander and I have no sword.) This afternoon, after receiving a whole slew of angry e-mails at work, I begged the 2 to take me out. "Please please please," I SMSed, "I'm going crazy here."

We ended up heading to Eastwood for food (cheesecake!) and drinks (chai tea latte!) and a movie. We watched The Devil Wears Prada, and below is a three-sentence review.

I liked Miranda Priestley. I enjoyed the movie. Unfortunately, I doubt many people will get the point of the first two sentences.

I could write more -- from impressions on the casting to opinions on the fashion and speculations on the characters' worldviews and histories -- but in essence that sums everything up.

Besides, it's more in keeping with the spirit of the movie -- or at least, that of its title role -- not to explain oneself.

...As tagged by daimira.

Five strange/weird things about me

1. I am a geek. That is true. I love math. That is also true. However, I still have trouble adding even single-digit numbers. Especially -1 and 1; I keep writing -1 + 1 as 2 when I simplify equations.

2. I am like a cat in more ways than one. Not only am I feline in terms of affection and whimsy and general unpredictability, but I also do not know how to cross streets. Even the small streets in UP. I freeze when I see a car coming towards me, and therefore have almost gotten run over more times than I can count.

3. My usual bedtime is 3am or 4am. I've gotten so used to this schedule it's normal for me, but people always think it's strange, so... Also, I can stay up for days on end as long as I am fed salty junk food.

4. I'm not exactly a stalker, but my people-finding skills in the online world are rather scary, in that I find people even though I'm not looking for them. I know some rather interesting secrets involving a wide range of people, from my ex's ex to my old highschool batchmates.

5. I think more like a boy than a girl when it comes to many things, and thus have been known to rant about feminine stupidity on occasion. And then I remember that I'm a girl and feel really stupid.

(It was hard thinking of just five...)

I tag, uh, anyone who wants to do this; I'm too physics-y to think of specific people right now.

A.k.a. hello, I'm Mia, nice to meet you, cue hopefully fun conversation here--

Laura did her introduction via books, but I'm not sure my answer to that would make sense. However, it's very hard for me to do paragraph-based introductions because I tend to ramble and I'm not sure what, exactly, people want to know about. So! In the great tradition (?!) of the coolness that is FAQQLY, I shall do mine question/interview-style. The following are questions I've been asked in real life; some, I get asked all the time.

So, uh, you're Mia. Yeah.

What do you do? Sleep!

No, really. I... study? Right, I study physics. I also do some work that involves the web and writing. I write. I read a lot -- I can devour several books in a day -- though lately I haven't had time to read much non-technical stuff. I play games! I sing in the classical style, I do webdesign and graphic design, I cook, I draw, and... I sleep. Very often, though not according to normal hours.

Basically what you're saying is you're a geek. Hm, yeah. I like being one though.

But you don't look like one! I know! I think of it as a way to shatter people's misconceptions about geeks. Also I find their reactions funny when they find out I do complex calculus for fun.

What kind of geek are you, then? I don't exactly know. I haven't thought about it a lot, but-- I think I'm a science geek crossed with a gaming geek crossed with a general net geek. The other things I do aren't so "geeky" the way other people see them.

Why? Well, a lot of people associate being a geek with someone who hunches over the computer all day writing obscure code or talking about even more obscure subjects or just being anti-social in general. That's so not it.

So what's being a geek all about? I think it's about passion. A passion for learning, for exceeding the bounds of a certain field, for discovering and doing more. By that definition you don't have to be good with numbers or a computer whiz to be a geek. You just have to want to learn more -- more than your job or others' expectations require -- simply for the sake of learning itself. It's all about the pursuit of knowledge, baby.

If so a geek would actually be the epitome of the eternal goal of the human race. Yes -- ironic, isn't it? But that's my line.

Maybe. Did you expect your intro would turn out like this? Not at all! I blame Trickster-related login problems.

Internet = information = knowledge = questions! Or something!

Alternatively, if you don't feel like trying to make sense of the above paragraph, you can visit FAQQLY and sign up for an account. (It's ia's fault I signed up.) Because everyone knows questions are always nice.

I made a sawi/torpe sampler! With commentary! And uh -- hang on, I wonder if I should upload the files?

*tinker*

This may not make sense to non-Filipino speakers, as most of these are Filipino songs (they were posted for the auit LJ community).

--

Fact: people in love secretly relish thrashing around in the throes of despair. And Filipinos — being hopeless romantics — adore all that anguish, especially if it’s inspired by unrequited love. Thus the many many songs about the torpe, aka The Guy In Love With The Girl He Cannot Have (due to her being taken, or his own stupidity/ineptitude/unworthiness, or maybe both!) And Therefore Unable To Express His Feelings.

And hey, you can’t have a torpe who is not sawi; that is, terribly unlucky in love, or in the very depths of love-despair. Just doesn’t happen. They go together like… bibingka and grated coconut. GRATED WITH MUCH PAIN.

Contemporary music, mostly, compiled with no specific genre in mind except that of Songs College Students Sing When They Are Drunk And Angst About Their Stupid Love Lives. There are a lot of songs I wanted to include here that I couldn’t find, so there will probably a part 2 for this.

Disclaimer: I make fun of them because I love them. Also because I used to be one of them, and can’t help laughing at my past self.

Brownman Revival - 'Di Mo Lang Alam : : The eternal dilemma of the torpe: how to confess his love, when the girl in question has no idea he would die a very very messy death just for her sake.

Up Dharma Down - Pag-agos : : Kasawian, the state of being sawi, has a lot to do with suffering alone. The singer’s problem is not one of confession, but that she left her love. (Another common theme. Why do these people purposely cause themselves pain? you ask. I have no idea.)

Moonstar88 - Torete : : A female torpe, gasp. Aside from her gender she is the epitome of katorpehan. Refrain, roughly translated, goes: Don’t worry, I won’t force [my feelings] on you. Even though I feel like I could fly — I’m not in my right mind because of you.

Parokya ni Edgar - Halaga : : A favorite of those guys desperately in love with a female friend who happens to be a battered girlfriend. The singer bemoans the irony of the boyfriend’s not realizing the girl’s true worth: medyo malabo yata ang mundo — binabasura ng iba ang siyang pinapangarap ko. (The world’s kinda messed up — another guy treats like trash what I can only dream about. Thus the title; halaga is worth/value.)

Kamikazee - Director's Cut : : A guy (not a torpe, but maybe just as unlucky) inexplicably abandoned by the girl he loved. Much angst ensues. Nanginginig, nalulungkot, nahihibang at tulala (shaking, saddened, going crazy [!], staring into space).

Rocksteddy - Imposible : : The most endearing quality about the torpe is how he manages to combine hope and hopelessness; he’d be an optimist, except he’s in denial. I like how matter-of-fact this song is, and yet it manages to be wistful.

Mayonnaise - Bakit Part 2 : : Favorite question of the torpe and the sawi. This line says it all: Ngunit bakit pinilit kung ayaw ko’ng masaktan? (Why did I force it/keep on if I didn’t want to get hurt?) Nobody knows.

Hungry Young Poets - Torpe : : As silly, illogical, or unreasonable as the torpe may seem to those of us with less dramatic love lives, we all love him. And though he may occasionally drive the girl he loves crazy, in the end, “ayoko ng torpe — pero gusto kita.” (I don’t want a torpe — but I want you.)

Bonus! Itchyworms - Beer : : Because it makes everything better. (Also because it’s only during those late-night drinking sessions that you get to see the closet torpe/sawi angsting in all his glory.)

Bonus2! (vox-only) Parokya ni Edgar - Sayang : : Damn! Why didn't I court you?

I didn't think I'd be so amused by tinkering with my Vox account, but I am. It doesn't make sense. It's not as hackable as I like my blogging/writing/media-ing stuff to be, and I haven't found a layout I really like, but it amuses me. It's like a very perky mix of LJ, Friendster, Myspace/online uploading sites, and MovableType, with taggability and Web 2.0 goodness. I don't find the interface that intuitive, though, so I keep running around and bumping my nose into things.

Ah well! We learn by... doing! Or doing badly. Sayeth the girl who never reads manuals but will attempt to figure out software/hardware on her own, seldom with disastrous results (surprising, yes?).

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do with this. I'm thinking a media repository of all the graphicky noodling and stuff I do. Plus maybe commentaries on things. And even sound files! Or pictures! I don't know! It will probably be the most theme-specific out of all the bloggish/journally sites I keep -- the question is, what theme?