January 29, 2006
Regular Worker
I'll be working from seven in the morning to four in the afternoon this February. And they told me we work during the night. Talk about honesty.
I will be in the book launching of Sa Kabila ng Ritmo this February 4 in Makati to meet my fellow contributors and sign each other's book, I presume. Unfortunately, I haven't written anything since the start of the year. Heck, I haven't written anything since NaNoWriMo. Some writer I turned out to be. Why? Because instead of sitting down to write, I watch tv. That, and busy myself in renovating my room so it would look like a writer's room, if there was such a thing. I'm just making excuses. I should be writing.
There is this orchid outside the house that I've been meaning to draw since January. I see it everytime I go out, and I haven't lifted a finger to draw it. There is something wrong with me. I am getting lazy. Either that, or I'm turning into everyone else. Or does everyone else dream about drawing orchids?
January 23, 2006
Much to Do on a Rest Day
I didn't anticipate that I would be leading new people in worship through song yesterday morning during Sunday Service. Almost all of the long-time members have some sort of job in the background like taking care of the children and greeting the latecomers and running errands and similar activities. Of course there is that second of doubt that maybe not everyone would understand the way I lead worship, but what's there to do when you're already in the spot and everyone's waiting?
Worship through song turned out fine. Maybe a little too fine: we've been asked to sing all throughout the service when it was the custom to sing before and after the preaching and announcements. It might be months before I get on the stage again to lead worship. I can't wait.
Today's my set deadline to submit that script for the contest. Everything's still in my head, so I don't have any time to waste as I've got another pending project this week. I still feel bad for losing the first draft of the script in the bus together with my personal information, although I know I should be over it by now. It's hard to let go, I guess, of things that mean a lot to you.
I plan to redecorate my room so the half of it could function as an office. I've already bought a few containers that I found very useful last week. Next week I plan to install a corkboard on the wall when I get my salary, and buy a few office supplies.
January 19, 2006
I Lost My Identity!
I realized I left my NBI clearance and Birth Certificate on the bus when I was in a mall searching for my binder. The first thought was I lost my script for the contest. That didn't piss me off as much as realizing I had documents in that binder as well. So my identity is lost somewhere. I am being held hostage by the unknown yet again.
Work sucks. Just when I thought I was improving this week, I overslept in the sleeping quarters and logged in late. Then I had a few thirty-minute calls, and that's bad. One thirty-minute call is unacceptable for an AHT of 220 seconds. Oh boy, I need to start looking for a new job.
And my personal info is somewhere out there! Argh!
January 17, 2006
Romans 8:28
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe had a lot of flaws especially with characterization, I noticed, as if the writers were forced to tell, not show, the character’s traits, or had to squeeze the characterization in the so and so minutes the move was given. Is this the trend for storytelling nowadays, or am I just becoming a badder critic? Hmm…
Watching the movie wasn’t all bad. As I edit the comic book script for the second time, I focused on characterization and character action logic. Why would the protagonist (anti-hero) kill one of his comrades? What is his motivation to go to the fairy kingdom? Why does he shoot first and not ask questions later? There is always something good, I guess, to those who seek it.
I opened my second bank account today, and because of a lack of identification I was given a passbook account. I feel so primitive. People actually use passbooks in this day and age? I feel poorer than before. Maybe I should wait for the 90 day period and close the account real quick.
Ok, let’s be optimistic. I’m not planning on withdrawing money from this account; this is purely to accumulate funds until it grows large enough for a time deposit. A passbook would surely hinder withdrawal better than an ATM. Ok, I’m trying hard to be optimistic, please bear with me.
I need more sleep. I need a week’s day off.
January 10, 2006
Minutes Preluding Sleep
I think our cat died.
He was a kitten nine years ago, and very shy compared to his more outgoing brother. He'd get out of the way when we walk to his direction, and would be reluctant to touch his meals. I'm not sure what made him trust us eventually; it's more of a spontaneous thing, I guess. He was a good hunter, of rats and lizards, and sometimes birds. He had been suffering from a bad case of colds lately, and then he was gone.
The contest had been extended (did I say that before?) so I have more time to work on the story. The bad news is, so does the competitors. Let's not think about them now. I am going back to the basics to re-learn the craft of writing. I hope I don't have to start from square one all the time whenever I make a masterpiece, but sometimes you'll have to go to the heart of things to be sure of what you're doing.
Yesterday I visited the Melchman's Stuff office and accessed a few online articles from regarding the status of comic books in the Philippines. Those articles ranged from why the sale of comics are doing bad to the reason why comics are so popular in other countries. It questions why comics are being created. Is it an artist's release of creative angst? A medium for communication? A business that could sustain a family? The reason you do what you do is the eye that aims where the artistic stone is thrown. I thought I had a reason why I drew comics before, or even write. I keep forgetting it.
Someday, I'll forget our cat. We call him, "Pusa" (Filipino for cat). I'll probably remember him when another of our pets die, as we all do when we remember the dearly departed. Hopefully, when I dig up the past, I would not see a poor arrangement of bones, but a lazy cat licking his paw, full of life and reason to live. Hopefully behind him, I'll see a younger version of me trying to copy him as he poses, knowing that the more he practices the better he'll get. Maybe I'll ask him why he draws, and he'll give me an answer that would move heaven and hell, and change the face of comic books forever.
January 08, 2006
What Am I Doing?
It’s always good to see the work of other authors, not just because you learn a lot from them, but that it also makes you wonder why you haven’t written anything significant that propelled you to fame and fortune since you have that confidence that you can do better than most authors that you read. I just couldn’t wait to grab a piece of paper and write whatever comes to mind after spending a few minutes in the bookstore. There’s inspiration for ya.
I used up my free drink from Starbucks today as I spent time with my cousins who happened to visit our church today. One of them worked in a call center near our place (which I plan work in after my contract with my current office expires) and another is considering full time church work. We talked about irate customers and mobile phones and which digital camera had the best value for the money. In other work, talk about nothing in particular. There’s a poem I read somewhere about how people love to talk about nothing and how people who have nothing don’t talk at all; I forgot what the poem was all about. The point was, it reminded me that I was lagging behind my peers in writing and that’s not a good thing. Plus, I’ve got a script to be submitted this Wednesday that I haven’t worked on yet, and all these things become my motivation to write.
Enough with the window shopping. Back to work.
January 06, 2006
No Topic Whatsoever
I've found out that I get sleepy when I lie on my back rather than on my side. It's a weird observation, but when you need to squeeze every available moment to sleep, this is very vital information. So, does that mean I slept well today? No. You can't lie on your back forever.
I'll be singing in church this coming January 22 if my work schedule doesn't change. Ah, at last. I'm feeling a bit devilish lately, especially with not being able to work on the dragon fic, among other things.
January 05, 2006
Moving Along
I arrived home around 4 PM, the earliest this week so far. I've been working on some real world concerns such as fixing up what's left of my finances and preparing for the next year (which involves buying a calendar) and making contacting a few friends just to be sure that they're still friends. I really need to sleep more. Hopefully today I get more than six hours.
I haven't made any progress with the script yet, but that's all right (I guess) since there's plenty of time before January 11, the self-set deadline to finish the script. Of course, I also said that of my dragon fiction entry. Anyway, I should be finalizing the plot this week and start working on the script on Sunday; it's a nice plan; now if only I could pull it off.
Aside from sleep, I need to catch up on my reading as well. And my writing exercises. I feel so dumb today not having read or written anything in the past week. And no, the blog doesnt' count.
January 03, 2006
Failure! Argh!
Things to do:
X FAILED! Finish Dragon Fiction story
Finish comic book script for contest
Finish short story for contest
It's really my fault why I couldn't bring myself to finish the dragon fic story. When did I begin? Yesterday. When is the deadline? Tonight at 12. I've been captured by the essence of NaNoWriMo that I forgot this was the real thing. A lot of grammatical errors and plot inconsistencies won't work for the story. So, I've decided to go on with the comic book script and save my dragon fic story for the contest.
I'm starting to hate work again. Good thing I was able to visit the Melchman's Stuff office and talk about activites for 2006. I guess we'll be serious this year, and hopefully get a lot of money in the process. I need to get myself a planner.
January 02, 2006
Thoughts for the New Year - Work
Things to do:
Finish Dragon Fiction story
Finish comic book script for contest
Finish short story for contest
Coloring comic books isn’t as exciting as it sounds. You will be captivated by the task while doing the first few pages, but you’ll soon realize that you just need a little over .001% of your brain power to color the pages most of the time. Pretty soon your hands will be doing all the thinking for you, leaving your brain unoccupied and bored. It’s like watching static. Now I thought I was the only person with this problem; it turns out even my old friend Melch hadn’t escaped that predicament as well when he started rendering his assigned pages.
I’m glad that’s over. Today I’ll start working on the dragon fiction and should end by January 4, the deadline for submissions. Just when I thought I could lie down for the whole day doing nothing, I am forced out of my bed by the writing muse to work. Oh, sleep, that elusive luxury, more precious than gold, more desired than silver. It kinda reminds me of the poem I had published (see emanilapoetry.com).
I guess I’m tired after searching for gifts to buy yesterday afternoon. The malls didn’t open until 12 noon so I had to keep myself awake for two hours (I left the office around 9:30) by working on the dragon fiction submission, which was hard to work on when you’re deprived of sleep. It took me four hours to choose gifts to give my folks, and they don't look that good, now that I got a better look at what I bought after a few hours of sleep. Oh well, it's the thought that counts.
At last I was able to watch Spirited Away on DVD. The more I analyze the story, the more the logic eludes me. Either it's because of the tranlsation or it's just me. It might be me. I enjoyed Mononoke Hime better. Creativity wise though, I wish I had thought of the concept. If I did, I might have put some sense to it that would, for better or worse, change the story.
This of course, my own opinion, nothing more.
