sweat

yesterday, i went to the mall to try and do some christmas shopping. it's ten days or so before x-mas and the place was packed. i had trouble finding a space to park but after less than an hour, i found one near the entrance to the department store.

i had no idea what to buy, so i ended up buying things for myself, some car stuff, a lemonheads cd, an allred comic book, and a ghoulish mr.t t-shirt.

before going back to the carpark, i passed by the toy section of the department store, and saw some nice miniature dinosaurs. i bought some and hoped it'd do as a gift, and bought a few for myself. i also got a couple of toys for two of my nieces. then i grabbed some diapers and checked-out.

i went to the townhouse to secure some items and some unassigned gifts from last year. i got all sweaty loading the stuff into the car, and had to change shirts. i noticed this before, but i guess i expand a lot more these days whenever i sweat. my large sized t-shirt, which fits perfectly in a normal physical condition, seemingly shrinks when my body temperature rises and i perspire. driving back to the temporary residence that very hospitably houses me, my wife and son, i had this feeling of being contained because i was snugly hugged by this fitted shirt.

sweat is triggered when the temperature is hot, but not all the time (sometimes fear and anxiety can be a factor). in this case, the relatively strenuous activity i embarked on where i labored to lift paperbags and somewhat exerted force to carry them from the living room to the parked automobile, was the main culprit for my wet condition.

the fluids i release trickle down all over my skin, then they pick a spot along the garments i wear, and wait to be absorbed. they are salty because sweat is not composed purely of water, they contain chlorides and minerals like sodium and potassium, and many others. sometimes when i sweat from my eyebrows, my eyes get irritated from from the tiny droplets washing my eyeballs.

while it is unfair that men sweat more than women, it is also quite nice to know that the male population can provide other liquids of use, specially when the world runs out due to excessive heat from the sun. however, after thinking about what i just wrote, i'd reconclude that as the water supply of the world evaporates in this apocalyptic setting i'm suggesting, so will we dry up like prunes and raisins. so, there is no point after all to this post except to admit that i got fatter, and some of my shirts don't fit anymore.

the necessary vacation

almost a year ago, i received a text message that changed a part of my life that till then, seemed permanent and easy-going to the point it was easily taken for granted. it's an sms sent to the three auxiliary members of the "sando" band: to me, to mike lagman, and to jp cruz.

it's a message from the "sando" band frontman sal reyes. a stern and seemingly irrevocable message that says he was quitting: leaving the band for personal reasons. he needed to focus his energy on his work, family and wedding preparations, which we all agreed was very important.

i tried to reason with him, and convinced him not to "quit" the band because of everything that led to what we have done, and because that would technically reduce the band to a headless chicken if we ever go ahead without him. he agreed, and we both called the situation a temporary hiatus -- to keep our hopes up, in case he'll be available at some point in the future.

towards the end of 2009, we already were starting to feel limited; we had to pass on some shows and opportunities because of schedule conflicts. at that time (before he sent the message), we were enjoying a cozy reception from several small groups of people and even new audiences, and we very much appreciated such warm support. we hesitated to let go of that small stake in the underground scene so after the "cool off" we tried to continue as a three-piece "sando" cover band, we called ourselves "multiplex". we had played as a trio before whenever sal wasn't available, but never as an official outfit sans sal.

we played once, at dayo bar, (kermit productions' last show (probably, for now)). but after a performance that didn't strike a chord within our hearts, we didn't try any other "multiplex" performances.

needless to say, i probably had the most difficult time accepting the hiatus. for a project we (somewhat) worked hard on, to end at a snap of a finger, was kinda hard to swallow (eventhough it was "temporary"); moreso since i co-founded this group, and i never missed a gig (i think).

together with my bandmates, i've endured early struggles, labored through adversities, and ironed out the kinks and wrinkles. but of course, there were good times, and there were more than a handful. that's why it was sad to see this house of cards crumbling down, it was sad because we haven't even scratched the ceiling yet. the time off may have been "temporary" but we all knew this was probably it.

a month passed after the "cool-off" and everyone was (not surprisingly) being more productive with our own stuff. everyone had a breather. aside from the itch to grab our guitars and drumsticks, to play to our heart's content, nothing really bothered us away from our stuff.

another month passed and we (or i maybe speaking for myself) started to admit that this was a necessary vacation. jp's business slowly but surely got going, then he met the love of his life, and it was smooth sailing from then on. mike set up his own business with his wife, and also got a new guitar later this year. as for myself, i started taking things more seriously at work, spent more time with family, but more importantly got my wife pregnant who gave birth recently to matthew rohan on december 2 -- the same date sal tied the knot with his then-girlfriend and now-wife (kudos buddy).

everything worked out the way it should, we even played several times this year at a new bar, headstock, near sal's family's place along quezon avenue.

things definitely changed but our bond remains strong, it was probably an end of an era, but i have to admit it was for the better. this vacation was necessary, and if i can go back in time, i definitely won't change a thing.

wasting time and missing the clock

i'm wasting my time waiting for pages and things to load.

the solution i cooked up for my daily tensions is starting to cause even more stress. tsk.

the connection lag and the turtle paced speed of my laptop plus the nuisance i call work (i'm kidding boss), they all suck.

i have a good connection except when it rains. the wireless broadband i recently subscribed to so i'd be online while at work is pretty solid. but sometimes i get to sites and online applications that are too congested, so i have to wait. and the loading time can be a little irritating.

(unable to load: please click here to try again. :P)




meanwhile, i recently remembered how i missed then pinball number count clock. i even stumbled on someone's blog giving instructions on how to do a tangible replica of the animated version.

the song just keeps running in my head. onetwothree, four, five, sixseveneight, nine, ten, e-leven, twe-eh-eh-elve.

the more time i have,

...the less time i have.

similar to how eating a lot, pigging out, tends to stretch your stomach and intestines, so much so that the next time you'd be dining you can already expect another increase in your appetite.

sometimes when you think you have a little free time, you'd go a little overboard and check so many things in advance on your to-do list.

the temptation to fill something empty is just irresistible sometimes.

seven eight nine

i checked the calendar this morning and realized it's the eight of july, year 2009.

except for my father-in-law's birthday today, can anything else about this date - 07/08/09, be special?

i guess not.

unless you have a lot of time in your hands to tinker with useless thoughts to shift from boredom to kookiness, thinking about this is no doubt a big waste of your time.

the only interesting aspect is probably the obvious chronological order associated with the month/day/year format. last year we had 06/07/08. the year before that, 05/06/07. going back when it started six years ago, it was 01/02/03. next year we'll be having 08/09/10, followed by 9/10/11, then 10/11/12, 11/12/13, until the last possible chronological sequence five years from now, 12/13/14. note how even the months/days move plus 1 month and a day as a year pass by. truly amazing! ok, number-lover wonderboys, please avoid peeing in your trousers, at least until i'm done with this nonesense.

we have several chances left to celebrate chronology and sortedness. we celebrate religious holidays, anniversaries and birthdays, even weird commercial holidays, so why not have a day for chronology?

i believe orderliness is tough to maintain, and it serves a great purpose, but we rarely spend time to show our gratitude to this mathematical code; a numerical rule we follow that best facilitates the continued growth and civility of our society while generally helping us avoid chaos and rampant destruction (unless these codes are utilized for evil purposes of course).

i propose we do this little remembrance today, and next year august 9, and then on the 10th of september 2011, and so on. we probably just spend a few seconds thinking about math, be thankful for its existence and all the advantages/benefits it brings to the table, and that'd be fine, that'd be enough.



i posted 7.8.9. on plurk and got a reply from daywalker. he said earlier today, it was 12:34:56. really amazing. :) today is the only day we'd ever have that seemingly forced coincidence of hour:minutes:seconds month/day/year in sequence from 1 to 9.

amazing stuff. but sadly, we can live well, and even happier, without talking about this.

ron's mysteries

i'm not particularly bored this morning, probably just a little sleepy. i got to work late, again, and i turned my laptop on for some unnecessary -but much sought for- distraction.

after a slow start by my aging setup, i finally had the green light for browsing. i double-clicked on the firefox icon and 12 tabs from my last session started loading. my connection is pretty solid but i think my system can't catch up. sun broadband hasn't disappointed me; well, not yet... and hopefully it never will.

i went to my last.fm profile and checked some details on our band's posted page. after reading what i needed to read, i scrolled to the bottom of the page and i got to see the top album section (for each artist). i saw chem-bot fabrikator (of course it's the only album that i posted here) and then i saw something i've stumbled on several months back but forgot all about, ron's "mysteries of the heart" album.



i guess hundreds of thousands of people know you. and i bet you've got so many listeners and fans who all sway their hips to your probably jazzy ballads. this just really makes me embarrassed to say that i don't know you or your music. i am, however, Very interested in the mysteries that lie behind your sweet curls, your lovely facial hair, and your look-at-me-i'm-having-my-picture-taken-but-i'm-really-concerned-about-this-growing-lump-on-my-neck pose.

these mice

"oh the dashboard melted, but we still have the radio." from dashboard.

"as life gets longer, awful feels softer, well it feels pretty soft to me." from the view.

"while we're on the subject, could we change the subject now, i was knocking on your ears door but you were always out." from missed the boat.

"you wasted life, why wouldn't you waste death." from ocean breathes salty.

"i wasn't always cargo, i was once sort of my own." from florida.

"it honestly was beautifully bold, like trying to save an ice cube from the cold." from fire it up.




modest mouse. they've been growing on me for several years now, they're probably up there with pavement, flaming lips, pixies, and beck, on my list-of-bands-i-wish-i-started (or at the very least, see live.)

definitely not blind, these mice see a lot; they see the world and all the crumbs scattered around it. they write about the present state of its degradation, our deteriorating social/environmental/political climate, and the bleak future we're all headed to.

they are overly critical and justifiably pessimistic. the wit they possess allows them to creatively present these social ramblings without being boring and pretentious, tentative nor presumptuous

the hot day today made me think about modest mouse, mainly because i recall many of their songs that stab on global warming. some about the desalination of the oceans, some about how the polar caps will melt and we'll all just drown (or probably float around), and some simply tackled about how hot it is nowadays.

they really give us (humanity) little hope for redeeming ourselves, they often say that it's too late. although i think they sincerely want their messages to be heard, and the irony is that even if they feel there is little chance for us and our planet to be saved, they still give it a tiny bit of possibility deep inside.

these guys deliver well, not only with the messages they wish to convey but more effectively with their addictive audio concoction. each song, through the attention-grabbing vocals, gritty and twangy guitars, the talkative bass lines, and the wide assortment of beats, hooks, and banging, simply commands the audience to listen.

isaac brock is a genius singer, lyricist and guitarist. the sonic noise and delicious awfulness that the trio of brock, bassist eric judy, and drummer jeremiah green used to wield had a major lift when johnny marr (of the smiths) arrived in 2006 to replace dan galucci. although previous works with galucci were pretty good, marr added a better bittersweet taste to these mice.

together with tom peloso and joe plummer, the band completed its recipe for a beautiful vomit that you'd actually crave for even if you're not hungry. modest mouse is a multi-layered beast, brainy and stereo-worthy even after the world sorta ends.