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NOTICE: The following blog is in Filipino. 

Minsan nasa eksaktong panahon at oras ka na tila ang lahat ng bagay sa mundo ay tumitigil. Sa moment na yun, lumukso ang damdamin mo, nag-iba ang pintig ng puso mo, at kinilig ang lahat ng atay at balun-balunan mo. Pakiramdam mo ay lumiwanag ang langit gawa ng mga fireworks na pang-Pyrolympics sa MOA. Wala namang mali doon dahil lahat naman tayo ay may karapatang makaranas ng imaginary fireworks kasabay ng pagkire ng laman loob. Ang mahirap ay kapag nanatili ka sa moment na yun. Sapagkat habang ikaw ay nasa moment na yun at haharang-harang ka sa daan, ang sanlibutan ay patuloy na uusad; magaganap ang magaganap nang hindi ka hinihintay – may mga tatakbo, maglalakad, mananalo, matatalo,  manganganak, matatapilok, madadapa, kakain, mabubulunan, magugutom, mamamalimos, sasahod, hindi sasahod, mamomroblema, madedepress, magpapakamatay, mamamatay, magluluksa, tatawa, magtatagumpay, uunlad sa buhay, masasawi sa pag-ibig, at lahat ng action word na maisip mo – lahat 'yan patuloy na mangyayari, at hindi ka aantayin. Huwag na huwag mo 'yang kakalimutan. At sa oras na nananatili kang tulala at palutang-lutang sa panaginip mo, nawa ay hindi ka tumatawid sa kalsada dahil kapag nag-green ang stop light na 'yan at hindi ka nagising sa iyong wastong ulirat, hindi ka sasantohin at aantayin ng mga kaskaserong ordinary buses na 'yan.

The Commitment

I haven't been "in a relationship" for the longest time. It has been more than seven years to be a bit more specific. I was in my sophomore year in college when I last had it. It ended when the both of us realized we weren't that committed to each other. I got stuck into student politics which I never imagined to be so demanding, and she... well I really never knew what went on with her. See? That's how uncommitted we were... or at least I was. It was in that season that the words commitment made sense to me. Committing to something/one means choosing it/her over anything/one else. See that in choosing, it means that there is a choice. Always.

I had this idea to go to Google and see what the top picture will be when I type the word "commitment", hence the image on the left -- a group of people's hands laid on each other in a radial manner as in doing a hands-in before a huddle break. Unfortunately, it totally ruined my direction for writing this blog and messed up with what my point exactly was -- a two way commitment, not a group or company commitment. However, in keeping with the theme of this post, I have committed to go with the  inclusion of this photograph no matter how irrelevant it is. I do have a choice to go with an image that made more sense, but I choose to be prideful and stick to the irrelevant hands picture no matter how foolish it seems.

Getting back on track, I simply wrote this because right now, I have decided to give myself fully to a commitment. Redundant, isn't it -- to fully give yourself to a commitment? But that's how dedicated, decided, and locked in I am to this. I solemnly swear to make room in my life for her this time. I will make it a point to meet with her more days than I don't in a week. I look forward to every hour we will spend together. It will never be a chore but instead, a delight. This commitment has been the best I've been in so far, next to giving my life to Jesus. I just went into a relationship with my local gym. Time to lose those kilos!

What were you thinking?

The Actual New Year

I the spirit of the annual shift, I'd like to share about the second most wonderful time of the year -- the new year. A few years ago, I realized that there are actually more than one new years in 365.25 days. One is the first day of the calendar year, and the other is each person's own new year, the birthday. The planet Earth's new year and mine actually happen in only a 24-day difference. Such a short period.

And so, in a lame effort to "discreetly" make known my wishlist, I blog thee:

The Ideas for an ldeal Birthday Gift for Conan

WAIT!! Before you close the window due to your non-interest in gifting me any of these, at least read through it just so you could know me better. More than a list of I wants, it's actually my way of putting out myself in the universe and saying, "Hey, I'm interested in these things. How about you?" So please do read on... and even feel free to comment at the bottom. : )

This (planet Earth) year has started quite fruitful for me. Plans have gone a-churning and my life has gone a-moving. It hasn't been like the past year's beginning. So I think I'll end this rhyming, 'coz I'm totally blowing it. Haha. Recent events have inspired this list, and so here it goes:

Available in Amazon.com

1.A... Driving lessons: I've been praying for God for a car to go about with my business. It's been impossible to make bulk deliveries when riding a commute. But although I don't own one yet and I'm believing I'd own one on or before the 2nd quarter of the planet Earth year, I reckon I'd have to take the first step to owning a car: LEARN HOW TO DRIVE properly... and then get a license. I accept personal lessons from anyone or a gift certificate consumable as driving lessons from any reputable driving school in Metro Manila.

1.B... A good car care and repair book. When I get my car this year, I'm sure it's gonna suffer a lot from the nube that's been sweating balls and trying his best not to hit every lamp post along the street. So aside from the fact that I'd like to see my car live at least another 10 or 15 years, I think it's cool for a guy to know how to maintain and/or fix his car when it breaks down in the middle of a road trip, don't you think?

2... Strengths Finder 2.0. I just wanna take the test. They say it's gonna help others a lot. I know your eyebrows just looked at each other now or at least one of them stood higher than the other after the two sentences that didn't seem to connect. You see, at the beginning of this year, I've prayed for God to help me be a better person towards others. Somehow,  I've gotten feedback that people "fear me" or that I'm a snob. I'd say I disagree but hey, it wasn't just one person who said it, and I commend them to have the intestines to tell that to me even if they "fear me" (it must be the sarcasm). I didn't feel comfortable hearing that but I knew I had to do something about it. Strengths Finder 2.0 (allegedly) has a way of finding out your strengths not just so you could crown yourself with a pat on the back but also to help others via your strengths. Now that, I think, would make me a better person towards others.

3... Any food book that is above (or almost) PHP 1,000. Don't get me wrong. I'm not after the price. The price is simply a gauge for the quality of the book. If you noticed, I didn't say cookbook lest you misunderstand that I seek for recipes. When I  mentioned food books, I meant books that answer the why's of the kitchen rather than the what's. A good example is the Modernist Cuisine by Nathan Myhrvold, Chris Young, and Maxime Bilet. They explain why your burger has to be cooked this way, what adding this does to that, and all that. It's USD 600 by the way. So no, don't buy me that. But if you find it in your heart to do so, I pray that God will bless you more. Hehehe. With that, I'd just recommend Ideas in Food by Aki Kamozawa and H. Alexander Talbot; Working the Plate by Christopher Styler and David Lazarus; Alinea by Grant Acahtz; and On the Line by Eric Ripert... read up!! And for all these books, an e-book reader would be nice too.

4... Kitchen tools and equipment. For any time of the year, occasion or no occasion, these would make an excellent gift for me. If I may, I'd also like to formally announce that we are officially in the planning stages of a concept food shop. As early as now, we are trying to build our shop, one measuring spoon at a time. So we'd really appreciate any peeler, wire whisk, ladle, silicone spatula, Pyrex measuring cup, knife, chopping board, mortar and pestle, cookie sheet, stew pot, baking pan, frying pan, sauce pan, cast iron pan, pressure cooker, slow cooker, rice cooker, hand-held blender, stand blender, electric mixer, food processor,  bread toaster, oven toaster, microwave oven, gas/electric oven, gas burners, chiller, freezer, sous vide machine, an entire kitchen if you would like to, or as simple as an apron, dish towel, and good quality mittens. Those... would... be... great.

5... Meatballs. I'm such a sucker for them. If I were a mighty African tiger, meatballs would shrink me into a kitten and a ball of... well... meat. Haha!

I hope you learned a little more about me today. This is one side of the dodecahedron that I am. This new year is has become very personal to me. Not in a selfish angle but in a way where I think I'm thinking less about myself and thinking more of the people surrounding me. I'm starting to choose a direction for my life (yes, I've been fooling around all these years). While around friends and family, I'd like to think that it's time for me to build something for my future. And although I'm not in a relationship right now, I'd like to be ready when my heart finally tells me that it's time. Meatballs and gooeyness. Told ya I was a dodecahedron.