The setup worked perfectly until I moved for college. Of course I could get away with speaking English for almost all subjects, but would I do for Filipino class and exchanges on the street?

Today, I am proud to say that I can now speak conversational Filipino. Let me qualify that. When I mean conversational Filipino, I do not mean straight, unadulterated Filipino. Rather, I speak of Filipino interspersed with English whenever appropriate.

I mean nobody says “Paumanhin” when they need to apologize. “Sorry” is more appropriate.

My written Filipino is still rather poor. Proper grammar seems to be lost even to native Manila speakers (see kakabalik vs. kababalik). Which doesn’t mean it’s not there, it’s just been relegated to nationalist, faux populist texts.

Okay so I can’t prove that.

Filipino classes were tough. Online Filipino dictionaries were my best friend during reflection papers and other written analyses. (Gabbydictionary.com, may you live long and prosper.) Frustration arose when I had an insight in my head that I couldn’t translate to Filipino. Inevitably, the translation becomes clunky and loses its elegance as it makes the transition.

I took up a Filipino philosophy class in my senior year. Crazy. It was a good thing this wasn’t a hardcore Filipino class. It was especially fun when I prepared for the oral exam in Filipino language. It was a big achievement for me.

So much has changed.

Yesterday I just gave a presentation in mostly Filipino, and although most of the text was taken from a text, I’d like to think I delivered it well enough.

Huh, who would have thought.  I still want to learn two more languages.  Wish me luck!

I met up with college blockmates for our Christmas party. A fallen post on the road caused some of my blockmates to arrive two to three hours late. Force majeure.

Some of us ended up watching Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.  The plot is rather shallow, but the addition of Simon Pegg as main character made for a lighter and funnier movie. Good all-around action, and a nice world tour. I think it made a good homage to the original Mission Impossible TV series (I have to double check this).

Tom Cruise looks old.

On Sunday, had a reunion with some of my cousins from dad’s side (and his relatives’ and their children). I met with second-degree uncles/aunts that I’ve never met before. The family is so much bigger than I expected. Pretty cool.

Star of the night was my four-year old niece (third-degree?) who likes eating strawberry yogurt and sings Edelweiss, Moon River, and some other oldie songs. What young child likes to eat yogurt? And how does a four-year old know those really, really old songs? Oh, and she tries to tap dance too.

First time I met her a month ago, she asked me: “Do you remember me?” I should have been the one asking that question! Apparently, she likes it when people still remember her when she was a baby.

Enjoyed the weekend a lot, but I’m still sleep-deprived. Today’s deliverable (formerly known as “homework”) was to give a presentation. I prepared it last night and ended up with much less sleep than I would have wanted.

Saw our work schedule for the next three months. Intense. I have to read up a lot more.

I took the LRT-1 from the brand new Roosevelt Station. Fancy, with a wide waiting area and a new thingy that receives the tickets (I’m sure there’s a name for it, I just can’t remember). When it got the old area though, it looked sad and depressing again.

Even though I took a really long and circuitous route, I guess it was worth it for the experience.

Oh, and I also got to sleep on the train. Well I woke up every now and then, but the trip felt too short for me to have been awake.

I’m not in any position to review it,  though I’d like to share really interesting snippets of text.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS.

The books by Murakami that always stuck to me were the ones where characters invoke and use literature heavily. To me it just adds another layer to the story (or maybe it just validates all those stories/pieces I’ve read that allows me to ‘get’ what Murakami’s character is talking about).

Although there was nothing profound about the Colonel Sanders pimp from Kafka On the Shore. It was hilarious though.

I digress.  An example was the mention of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics. At least all those weeks reading and trying to understand his philosophy did not go to waste with that one mention in Murakami’s book.

“Well, take these words, for example,” Komatsu said. “‘Every art and every inquiry, and similarly every action and pursuit, is thought to aim at some good; and for this reason the good has rightly been declared to be that at which all things aim.’”

“What is that?”

“Aristotle. Nicomachean Ethics. Have you ever read Aristotle?”

– 1Q84 Book One, Chapter 14 — TENGO: Things That Most Readers Have Never Seen Before (Copyright by Haruki Murakami)

The good is that which all things aim for. Probably the only line that I remember from ethics class.

Anton Chekov also plays prominently in this book. In Book One, Chekov’s book on Sakhalin was mentioned. This is followed up at the start of Book Two with what Chekov is best known for:

“According to Chekhov,” Tamaru said, rising from his chair, “once a gun appears in a story, it has to be fired.

“Meaning what?”

…“Meaning, don’t bring unnecessary props into a story. If a pistol appears, it has to be fired at some point. Chekhov liked to write stories that did away with all useless ornamentation.”

… “And that worries you – if a pistol comes on the scene, it’s sure to be fired at some point.”

“In Chekhov’s view, yes.”

“So you’re thinking you’d rather not hand me a pistol.”

“They’re dangerous. And illegal. And Chekhov is a writer you can trust.”

“But this is not a story. We’re talking about the real world.”

Tamaru narrowed his eyes and looked hard at Aomame. Then, slowly opening his mouth, he said, “Who knows?

– taken from 1Q84 Book Two, Chapter 1 — AOMAME: It was the Most Boring Town in the World (Copyright by Haruki Murakami)

I love how quickly the transition is made from Chekov’s gun (apparently that’s a literary technique,  Wikipedia tells me) to the question of what is or isn’t real.

Moving forward. I hope I can finish 1Q84 before the end of the year. I doubt it though.

(I’d like to think this small snippet above is covered under Fair Use on copyrighted work, but if you think otherwise, please do tell me and I will take it down.)

Topping the list of my favorites are Arrested Development and Better Off Ted. They were both smart, witty, and sadly cancelled due to poor ratings. (Portia de Rossi starred in both of them, she played nice crazy characters)

In this current line-up, you can’t beat Parks and Recreation. The show started off a little uneven with the first two seasons. But the addition of Adam Scott and Rob Lowe further strengthened an already exemplary cast. The cast really have very good chemistry. I was at first a little skeptical with pairing up Aubrey Plaza with Chris Pratt (since they both play  ’unstable’ characters), but their energies really compliment each other.

I’m just a little sad the very pretty Rashida Jones has been relegated to Poelher’s sidekick. I’m hoping she gets more solo time.

Community is also my perennial favorite, but it can be a little uneven. Their concept episodes are a love or hate thing for me, while their “standard” episodes can be a little formulaic. Still, I’m sad that it has been put on hiatus. I’m hoping it doesn’t get cancelled!

I still watch Big Bang Theory– but don’t fawn over it as much as I used to. I’m liking the good rapport between the female cast members.  There’s less science now, but at least Sheldon’s story is moving forward.

My old favorite How I Met Your Mother still enjoys good ratings, but I don’t enjoy the comedy as much anymore. However, I am quite emotionally attached to the characters now, having watched the show since the first season, and I do want to see this to the end.

My favorite quote of the week comes from Raising Hope.

In this episode, the cast tried to think of new inventions. Maw Maw (Cloris Leachman’s character), who has Alzheimer’s disease (and thus is not firmly grounded in the world), suggests:

“What about a TV channel just for news?…Wait, they’ll have to fill up too many hours, and resort to sensationalizing non-issues and stirring up partisan bickering. Scratch that idea, it sucks.”

Touche. Have a great weekend guys.

(Note: All images belong to their respective copyright owners.)

The background is taken from Google’s Android – Ice Cream Sandwich. I’m not sure if there are any copyright restrictions on the image. I hope not. (Sidetrack: Matias Duarte, you are doing an excellent job at improving Android)

I’m a little culturally snobby now. I’ve discovered the whole fuss with typography. I’m no expert, but I want to use a nice sans serif font (maybe like Gill Sans or the ubiquitous Helvetica) to improve the site look and readability. Apparently that’s a paid upgrade here at WordPress. Or I just don’t know better?

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I’m no longer unemployed! Last time I wrote, I was feeling a little down from possible employers not taking a notice in me. But that’s changed.

I went through hoops getting all the paperwork needed.  Thankfully, it wasn’t that bad since I didn’t have to get the dreaded NBI clearance.

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I read through most of the posts in the site since 2006. I’m amazed at how much things have changed (and maybe how I still feel the same).

Home and a sense of belonging were very strong concepts for me, I was always hoping for an opportunity to go home and spend some time away from this “foreign land.” But now,  home feels alien to me. Every time I go home, something in the city has changed. It’s never the same as when I left it, leaving me without that sense of familiarity. When I went home earlier this year, one of my high school friends remarked that I didn’t sound like a native when I spoke the local dialect. My Filipino-speaking skills have become too good. I can’t say if I should have felt complimented.

I’m not quite as excited going home now.  I’m still a little weary with Manila, with its lack of centralized planning, pollution, overpopulation, and lack of sustainable infrastructure. But I have a network of friends here.

I’ve noticed that almost every week in 2006, I had a post to write. I miss that, just being able to write regularly. I’ll try to write some more, maybe talk a little bit about work, the evils of traffic, and the best times to arrive at the train. The blog has been a good outlet for my thoughts and feelings, and I appreciate the ability to publish them. It allows me to look back years from now (just as I have done now) and think about things I used to think about.

I’ll try a weekly schedule.

But now that reality has settled back in, I’m faced with the sad fact that I’m no longer a bum — I’m simply unemployed. I’ve been applying here and there, still being a little choosy with the type of work. The fact of the matter is there really are some jobs (in my industry) that I know I would be unhappy in.

But the waiting is killing me. No one’s contacted me, telling me, “hey, do you wanna come in for an interview?” I’m still waiting, and waiting, and waiting.

I’m getting a little guilty to my parents who still continue to support me. I should be working,earning money and paying for my own rent, food, and getting “disposable” income.

Meanwhile, I’ve tried to keep busy by doing other things: keeping up with my hobbies, pursuing some of my other interests, and generally whatever to kill the time.

Tough being a fresh grad in a non-IT non-management industry. Still, I’m at it.

“Shots! Shots! Shots!”

According to the World Health Organization, the world drinks an equivalent of 6.1 liters of pure alcohol per person (as of 2005).  We enjoy them in copious quantities; sometimes too much, that the same report says that alcohol is responsible for 2.5M deaths a year.

That’s just half a liter. So imagine twelve times that. 

 As you may or may not know, there is more than one kind of alcohol (but you know that already). But ethanol is what we consume (and not other common alcohols like antifreeze, isopropyl alcohol, or methanol). Why is that? Thank or blame the enzyme alcohol dehydrogenase. It is responsible for helping you enjoy the buzz alcohol provides.

(Nice to know: Enzymes are proteins that speed up the rates of chemical reactions.)

Alcohol dehydrogenase is responsible for the conversion of ethanol (CH3CH2OH) to acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) in your liver. This reaction is shown below:

CH3CH2OH + NAD+ -> CH3CHO + NADH + H+.

(Nice to know: NAD+ is a coenzyme, they help in making the magic happen.)

This reaction produces acetaldehyde. Sounds harmless, problem solved? No, not really. Acetaldehyde is in fact more dangerous than ethanol. Why would the human body do that? Maybe because (you probably guessed it) there’s another another enzyme to convert acetaldehyde to something less harmful. Aldehyde dehydrogenase converts acetaldehyde (CH3CHO) to acetic acid (CH3COOH). If you have no idea what acetic acid is, try drinking a cup of vinegar.

Do it. Seriously.

Did you do it?  Congratulations, now you know what acetic acid is.  (On a related note, why would you drink a cup of vinegar just to prove this point?) Harmless, and in fact goes well with a lot of different kinds of food.

So in summary:

For all you science nerds. 

(Image from chemcases.com)

So now that alcohol has been converted to something harmless, you can now spend the rest of the day nursing your hangover.

Alcohol does wonders for the animal kingdom.

An interesting and fatal consequence of this process is what happens when you drink other types of alcohols. Methanol (CH3OH) is very similar to ethanol (CH3CH2OH) except that it has one less carbon.  You would think that would be unimportant, but the human body is a stickler for details. When ingested,  alcohol dehydrogenase being a dutiful enzyme that it is, converts methanol to formaldehyde.  Aldehyde dehydrogenase then converts formaldehyde to formic acid. You become blind, and maybe you die.

God forbid if this happens to you, get to a hospital quickly. On the way, drink lots of vodka. Ethanol competes with methanol for access to the alcohol dehydrogenase, preventing the formation of formaldehyde and formic acid.

Moral of the story: stick to the right kind of alcohol. Now go and enjoy a drink responsibly.

PS. Don’t drink and drive and more importantly, don’t walk home drunk (“…on a per-mile basis, a drunk walker is eight times more likely to get killed than a drunk driver.” Levitt and Dubner, SuperFreakonomics)

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References:

http://www.who.int/substance_abuse/publications/global_alcohol_report/en/index.html

http://www.users.csbsju.edu/~hjakubow/classes/rasmolchime/99ch331proj/alcoholdehydro/index.htm

http://www.pdb.org/pdb/101/motm.do?momID=13
http://www.alcohol-facts.net/history.jpg
http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa72/aa72.htm
http://chemcases.com/alcohol/index.htm