What better way to spend the last afternoon of 2004 than to type a blog? Well, Goldschlager and a pack of Reds comes into mind. But I don't have them right now. This'll do for now. My expectations to get me happy for the moment are in the lowest, considering that I'm broke and jobless.
I was watching CNN a while back, and it turns out that they asked a few passers-by in various cities if they were happier now than last year. A recent mother said yes, but now she was more worried. Some other old fogey who looked like Playboy satisfies him gave a definite yes.
Now I ask myself the same question. Am I happier now than I was last year? Based on what happened during this MONTH, I can say no. But December isn't the whole year, now is it? Why don't we take a little stroll down memory lane...
JANUARY: Lemme see... we were still working on our thesis then, and I was still an active member of that Student Court thingy.. a disgruntled Pharmacy student-turned-friend was trying to get the Student Council President to step down. University days just sucked, by the way.. 'cept for the fact that we could smoke inside the campus again during that time. And oh yeah, we were required to be in formal attire and participate in the parade the school held, after which all of those groups taking up Thesis 2 were required to have their projects assessed. In waffy's words, We got fucked. That January afternoon was one of the darkest ones this year. Fortunately the scars I got from punching the blackboard that time are almost gone now. Consequently, this was the month that we were in Raya almost every night.
FEBRUARY: The night before Valentines was memorable, and eye-opening. Suddenly I became so aware of my sexual functions. And for the record, that movie Mona Lisa Smile is really good. really. somebody just tell me what the story was. Valentines night sucked. I was with Mark and Mamuy and we occupied the de facto Singles' Table while everyone else danced like they never danced before (dirtier) inside Raya. We were still rushing on our Thesis, but at this time we got the slight hint of abject hopelessness. By the way, I think I was still bald during this time.
MARCH: Mom and Dad left for a all-expense-paid GNLD convention over at Hawaii, and they weren't here for the majority of this month. And since the Beloved Advisor (again, Beloved like the Kim Jong Il is Beloved) basically told us to fuck off and chill till next sem, that left us with a lot of time to par-tey like hell, seeing as i had no more subjects to finish. These were the days when we would start at around 7, get drunk at around midnight, go to Nanay's at around 2, lose our buzz at around 3, and have a hard time finishing 2 follow-up beers while the sun comes up again. I was free, our conversations with Andreia were still so beautiful, I had money, I had my friends(If i remember this was the peak of my meeting long-lost friends through Friendster), I was going to the gym, I was living it up like anything. I remember going down to Manila with Kip, just really hung-over. And the time I spent there was the bombdiggitysheezneet. Jovic, tell Jonas that I need to borrow his Time Machine. How much are his rates?
APRIL: The Birthday month. I turned 20 this year, and i think it took around 2k to get 20 people drunk. That night I learned who I could trust to stand by my side, who trust me for free beer, and that Raya does not have group discounts. Stingy, stingy. The rest of this time, Sid taught me more on how to program in a more professional level. God bless you, Sid.
MAY: Eyng? I think I spent most of my time in Ionic during this month.
JUNE: Hoo-rah. back to Thesis for us. back to school for everyone else. "back to zero", our advisor told us, despite all the work we did during the summer. Oh well. New design, new concepts, new schtick. And I think around this time we agreed not to go out and drink and par-tey. Hah. Oh and we were declared US Citizens this month. Woohoo!
JULY, AUGUST, SEPTEMBER, OCTOBER, NOVEMBER: Many things happened. I'm just too fucking lazy. Oh sometime during these months, I was supposed to give Andreia the surprise of her life by showing up in front of her that time, but it never happened. I guess I can't be Jason Bourne. And let's not forget that I made the most painful sacrifice last November for the most bland benefit this December.
To tell you frankly, a lot of shit happened this 2004, and it's either good shit, bad shit, or the shiznit. When I'll 50 years old, and if you're still alive, talk to me about 2004. After such a long period of time, I'm bound to mention the following significant thoughts:
- Bradshaw became JBL in WWE Smackdown this year.
- The Passion of the Christ was good.
- America was still pro-Moral then, even if they started on Iraq then.
- Saddam can be mistaken for a member of the Black Eyed Peas(not related)
- Kids nowadays. When I was their age, I was looking for sex. They were looking for 'phat-ass bling-blings and FuBu jerseys'
- That Casey chick in Friendster. She's so hot, with or without clothes. Daaaaay-um.
- Nevada rose to be the 'Eastwood of Baguio City.'
- Legarda dropped down to be 'Stab Alley'
- Beer takes the taste of Vodka out of your mouth, as a chaser.
- Weh-Er! Orc Orc! The many novelty lines from Finding Nemo! And the scat part in Bruce Almighty!
- It's amazing how you can have a really beatiful thing going on for you and a really beautiful friend over the phone.
- It's amazing how really beautiful things going on for you and a really beautiful friend can end so quickly. (DEFINITELY RELATED)
- It's amazing how emotional pain can just drive you nuts. (still related)
- It's amazing that there's a God who actually keeps you in control of yourself during times of great anguish and suffering. (applies to all)
- Read the Purpose-Driven Life with your family. And then read the Bible.
- Read the Purpose-Driven Life again, with your friends. Have them over in your house and serve chicken and spaghetti.
- Iron Chef is funny at first, then it's interesting.
- Wrestling is funny at first, then it's interesting.
- You can never be 'Out of the Game' with a member of the opposite sex unless he's/she's dead/married/declaring it for the 5th time.
- Even the quietest people have the most fucked-up problems.
- Ionic is still a place to go to just because everyone else is saying that.
- SM is overrated.
- Queer Eye is overrated.
- Johnny Depp is underrated.
- Paris Hilton - once a b_____, always a b_____. Fill in the blanks yourself.
- No offense po, pero why do most activists come from UP? and why does it seem like their reasoning sounds more like 'me, me, me' instead of 'the ordinary Filipino?'
- Visual Basic. Just when you think that you can stand alone with this programming language, a thesis advisor comes to you every once in a while in a very good mood and makes you go 'WHAAAT!? YOU CAN DO DAAAT!?'
- Some people let their biceps get into their head. Some people also let their programming knowledge get into their head. (not related)
- I've had enough of Survivor.
- No matter how bitter you feel about authority, it still pays to submit. No, not kissing ass.
- Diana DeGarbo did not deserve to be American Idol anyway.
- People who people say look like you are really nice to you.
- Support my pre-life crisis. I want an iPod and a Camera Phone.
- I never expected Christianity to be so cool. It's the only way to go more now than before.
- The Texas Chainsaw Massacre was only good because Jessica Biel was in it.
- The Matrix Revolutions SUCKED!
- The Bourne Identity RULED!
- The Return of the King.... Hmm hmm hmm. (wave hand like see saw)
- The Return of the King war scenes RULED!
- No matter how easy it seems for me to draw out my emotions for expression, I cannot feel love the way less eloquent people do!
- Jim Caviezel is cool.
- On quitting any addictions: DO NOT allow the slightest thought of even considering to use what you are addicted to. I'm still suffering.
- Blogs: Damn good, too.
- Watching the Godfather trilogy increased my respect for my family and my father.
- It may be lame, but watch the Angel Channel and keep an eye open for Charles Stanley and his sermons. Who would think that i'd learn more from him than in church?
- ETC is overrated. OVERRATED.
- Pacing your beer saves lives.
and
- People are either predictable, grouped, stupid, or cool.
Fuck it. I'm blabbering again. And i expect myself to be really happy (without the aid of any mediums taken in orally, nasally, or rectally) by age 70 anyway, so take all the happier things mentioned here and test me after 50 years.
So am I happier now than last year? I can't speak for myself, because hope is still there, and whoever told me to keep being Patient and Faithful gave me sage advice. It's hard to let go of the past, but hey, it's equally exciting to face your fears, and to grab the future by the balls.
I'm going to my tito's place in a few hours, and I'm gonna eat, drink, and do a lot of crap. 2004 owes me at least that much comfort time before dying on me.
Until the time that all I can look back at are good memories, Walk with Christ, and God bless you! And a blessed and happy 2005 to you all!
The last Calvin and Hobbes strip, published December 31, :
