I WAS OUT for a while. You see, I have decided to stay for some days in Brunei after attending Asia’s wedding of the century, its Crowned Prince to a commoner. I just could not say no to the Crowned Prince. He is a drinking buddy, by the way. There were lots of personalities there. Our cute president was present with her contingent, hoping to establish a warm diplomatic relationship with the royalty from Brunei. Of course, there must be a reasonable trade-off with the expenses she incurre...

I HAVE NO DOUBT that my friend Jasper is proud of his hometown, Bislig City. Who would not be? After all, his province is now dubbed as the “CyberSex Capital of the World”. They have just turned techie, with high-tech industry of prostitution using webcams to show what former MTRCB chair Manoling Morato would consider offensive. Equipped with other digital gadgets, they lure foreigners to see them nude online-real time and the cash starts to come in. My friend rebutted that even with ...

TELEVISION these days has bombarded viewers with Reality-based shows. It all started with American Idol where aspirants have to go through the nasty comments of the opinionated Simon. Then, GMA 7 launched the Star Struck only to find out that ABS-CBN’s Star Circle Quest has been transformed into the same concept as theirs. Then, we have shows like Extra Challenge, with the concept same as Fear Factor although the challenges are quite different. That prompted ABS-CBN to change Victim, an o...

I JUST COMPOSED another poetry. Sooner or later, I will probably give this to someone. The lines should have been a masterpiece for the donne or spark came over me suddenly. So, I have to write it down badly. But anyway, I got a different subject matter this time. It’s all about butterflies. Damn right. It’s all about butterflies. It never occurred to me that I would be using butterfly as metaphor until my friend Ryan had his own version of Greek mythologizing someone that caught his ...

IT SEEMS that I am pretty much into World History again. I have borrowed an economic history book in the library and caught myself thinking of what a switch from feudal system to mercantile capitalist system actually means. Or should I say dreaming of becoming a Renaissance pope? For the Renaissance record, the richest man was the pope. But it is just not right. The controversies were even more interesting. That the Mona Lisa was da Vinci’s female version, only to rebuke later that there...

MY THREE-YEAR-OLD niece, Cyarah knows what she wants in life when she grows up. She plans to be a prolific doctor. And for sure, she will be. Imagine then some three year old hitting you with your brother’s pencil box on your face while you were sleeping. Her reason was justifiable or at least acceptable. She was treating you, thinking that you were sick. Suddenly, your face becomes red and she hits you again. This time it’s on your knees. When you complain, nobody seems to listen. I ...

WHAT HAPPENED to me on March 25? My memory has betrayed me. All I could remember was I was not able to attend the review sessions for the Comprehensive Exams since my face was bleeding. Blood was all over me, and I was pretty scared. But what really happened? I was scared. Just that. I was scared that I was getting hooked. The idea of being attached to something, and I was losing control was on my head at that time. Then those logical thoughts started to come in. I have to be ration...

TUESDAY is undoubtedly card-reading day. Since I have been able to catch up with the PHISIX yesterday, I went to a reputable fortuneteller. So my thoughts moved as she flipped two clubs and three hearts. Then I asked her if what does my card reads. “You would be lucky if you won’t have any misfortune,” she managed a grin. Then, I started to formulate some questions about the stock market. She again flipped her decks and began reading those cards. “So, what does it say?” I asked. ...

I AM ON EXTREMES. I did not sleep Saturday night. After watching the Stone Cold Truth again, I stayed online until 6 in the morning. Then, I left the house 7 am and returned around 8 in the evening. For the record, I overslept Friday night. It is unhealthy to do so. And I received a reprimand not only from my mother but from my sisters as well. But what the heck, it is USC intramurals and foundation days. No class. Does it mean more sleep? *** I have read that Henry Sy’s Banco de...

I OVERSLEPT. My friend would have killed me if he sees me tomorrow, thinking that I somehow have managed to stand him up twice now. When he called me, he was raging mad and I came up with one of those lame excuses – it’s Ninoy’s day. Freaking hilarious. In the afternoon, I was watching the Viva Entertainment copy of The Stone Cold Truth. It basically featured the ups and downs of the Texan Rattlesnake’s career, from his early stint in American football to his last match against the te...

I RECEIVED an email from a yahoo group I have joined years ago, asking me some questions on the stock market. She inquired if Ameritrade is a good stock to invest with a limited fund. Personally, I haven’t keep up with American stocks for the last few months. This week, the NASDAQ and Dow have been bullish on the average and investing in American stocks could very be well advised. She also inquired the possibility of not having a broker and financial adviser. My answer was a big yeah, co...