August 23, 2005
Ode to Laziness
Yesterday I felt that my ode wouldn’tget up off the ground.
It was time, it should
at least
show a green leaf.
I scratched the earth: “Get up,
sister ode”
- I said to her -
“I promised to produce you,
don’t be scared of me,
I’m not going to step on you,
ode with four leaves,
ode for four hands,
you’ll have tea with me.
Get up,
I will crown you among the odes,
we’ll go out to the seashore
on our bicycles.”
Nothing doing.
Then,
high up in the pines,
laziness
appeared naked,
she led me off dazzled
and sleepy,
she showed me on the sand
little broken pieces
of material from the ocean,
wood, seaweed, stones,
feathers of seabirds.
I looked for yellow agates
but didn’t find any.
The sea
filled all spaces,
crumbling towers,
invading
the coasts of my country,
pushing forward
successive catastrophes of foam.
Alone on the sand
a ray opened
a ring of fire.
I saw the silvered petrels
cruise and like black crosses
the cormorants
nailed to the rocks.
I set free
a bee writhing in a spiderweb,
I put a little stone
in my pocket,
it was smooth, very smooth
like bird’s breast,
meanwhile on the coast,
all afternoon,
sun and fog wrestled.
Sometimes
the fog was pregnant
with light
like a topaz
at other times a moist
ray of sun fell,
and yellow drops fell after it.
At night,
thinking about the duties of my
fugitive ode,
I took off my shoes
by the fire,
sand spilled from them
and right away I was falling
asleep.
-Pablo Neruda
(Translated by Stephen Mitchell)
eyed at 10:12 AM
August 18, 2005
belated happy birthday, gudang!
eyed at 6:33 PM
August 17, 2005
Low-waist
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A few days ago, I accompanied R to buy jeans. She badly needs a new pair and because of her body type or built, it must be high-waist. It took us two days to find high-waist jeans.
I never knew that the wearing of low-waist jeans is now happening on a grand scale until I got involved in that adventure to search for the elusive high-waist jeans. We went to and R tried the jeans at Giordano, Herbench, Bayo, F&H, Rustan’s, Penshoppe, Factory Outlet, Oxygen, Human, Lee, Wrangler, Jag (the new one endorsed JLo). They were all low-waist and R won't compromise or she would look terrible. Every time I asked the store staff for a pair of high-waist jeans, they mumbled something that sounded like a polite NO and looked at me like I came from a school run by nuns.
Giordano et al have low-waist jeans (those which show the belly button) and the rest are drop-waist (those which are just a hairline above the pubic area) - Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears come to mind. So literally, the standard has already been lowered.
Until then, I did not know that high-waist jeans are already marginalized and treated as ancient, belly buttons more ubiquitous, and more women involved in an 'eternal struggle' of pulling their low-waist pants and shirts together when they stand up.
Finally, one of the girls at Jag informed us that there are high-waist jeans sighted at the next level. Without wasting much time, up we went. And there, we saw the black high –waist jeans in all its gloriousness at 70% off. R tried and bought it immediately. Relaxed now, we passed by at Levi's and saw some jeans on sale, including a high-waist brown corduroy this time! R tried and bought it immediately. We also passed by at Guess and I asked if there's a high-waist around. They do, but it's somewhere there in the attic.
So there, we can still choose but, most probably, only among those 'below the belt'.
I never knew that the wearing of low-waist jeans is now happening on a grand scale until I got involved in that adventure to search for the elusive high-waist jeans. We went to and R tried the jeans at Giordano, Herbench, Bayo, F&H, Rustan’s, Penshoppe, Factory Outlet, Oxygen, Human, Lee, Wrangler, Jag (the new one endorsed JLo). They were all low-waist and R won't compromise or she would look terrible. Every time I asked the store staff for a pair of high-waist jeans, they mumbled something that sounded like a polite NO and looked at me like I came from a school run by nuns.
Giordano et al have low-waist jeans (those which show the belly button) and the rest are drop-waist (those which are just a hairline above the pubic area) - Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears come to mind. So literally, the standard has already been lowered.
Until then, I did not know that high-waist jeans are already marginalized and treated as ancient, belly buttons more ubiquitous, and more women involved in an 'eternal struggle' of pulling their low-waist pants and shirts together when they stand up.
Finally, one of the girls at Jag informed us that there are high-waist jeans sighted at the next level. Without wasting much time, up we went. And there, we saw the black high –waist jeans in all its gloriousness at 70% off. R tried and bought it immediately. Relaxed now, we passed by at Levi's and saw some jeans on sale, including a high-waist brown corduroy this time! R tried and bought it immediately. We also passed by at Guess and I asked if there's a high-waist around. They do, but it's somewhere there in the attic.
So there, we can still choose but, most probably, only among those 'below the belt'.
eyed at 3:00 PM
August 05, 2005
Rhyming with Richie
Rime Riche [rim rish ] n. Rhyme using words or parts of words that are pronounced identically but have different meanings, for example,write-right or port-deport. Literally means rich rhyme but also is called identical rhyme.The first time we met was forgettable. It was her first day at the office, in the same unit where I belong. I remember her wearing an extra large blue windbreaker, which made her look smaller, pale-white, and much younger than her 22 years. I don't have much memory of her during those early days except that she and her constant buddy were always talking to each other, chewing bubblegum, and arranging bubblegum wrappers on their shared module.
During our first official trip which was in Butuan City, I realized that there was something about her: she makes her companion talk incessantly. From the taxi to the Centennial airport to the Butuan airport, my usually quiet self was telling her about (a) my family, (b) my past lovelife, (c) my curriculum vitae, and (d) the people in the office. And after eating salty pink popcorn, chicken barbecue, marang, ensaymada-monggo, documenting and digesting project insights, wandering around the museums, ukayan and bakery blocs, and more conversations about her family and resume, we returned to Manila as friends.
Then we lived in the same house with another friend. We were roommates and oftentimes, indulged in insomniac talks and yawned at work. I started to like her in more ways than one. I asked her to read my password-protected personal letter for her. Then she had a horrific haircut. After five days, we were officially on.
And over four years after…
- we had several out-of-town trips (and some aborted ones)
- we watched lots of movies together (and laughed, cried, and... slept while watching them)
- we acquired a king-size pillow, industrial fan, and Umberto Eco's Kant and the Platypus as conjugal properties
- we were de-cellphoned by five men at the foot of ayala bridge (from then on, i came to know that she runs slow but dances fast)
- we transferred from one house to another and to another
- we updated our holy mothers about our likes and dislikes, turn-ons and turn-offs
- we gained new friends
- we got heavier
- we broke up
- we talked from dinner 'til dawn
Knowing her and being with her have always been a wonderful experience of expressing identities, feelings, and thoughts. We may have different views and have our own idiosyncrasies that test each other’s patience but it is always friendship that gives us some harmony when there should have been none. Osh Kosh, Bigosh…Kosh Kosh, Ayosh!
Happy 27th Birthday, Rich. Remember, the best will keep on coming.
eyed at 8:38 PM