A loving farewell to a long-time companion

And as the 7th and final book almost comes to a close, and the long-time story of Harry Potter comes to an definite end…we all await the reviews that will emerge from a childhood friend that we’ve stuck by with till the end.

Through all the stories of the adventures of an 11-year old boy who first learned that he was a wizard with a great history and destiny..we now come to Harry Potter, 7 years later and more mature and wise. So as I finish the last 9 chapters of a wonderful story, thank you to J.K. Rowling who introduced to us a friend, an idol and a hero. Thank you very much to the wonderful adventures you’ve shared with us, to the wonderful and magical world of Hogwarts, Diagon Alley, Godric’s Hollow, Gringotts, and such. Thank you for all the characters you’ve woven into our lives and made as a part of ours.

Thank you Harry Potter for everything you’ve shared with us. Even though I’ve not been a very big fan of Gryffindor, being a Slytherin (OMG Tom Felton) and all…thank you for all the values you’ve taught us. The lives you’ve touched. The stories you’ve shared. And everything else in between.

This is not entirely a farewell, but more of ’see you later’. For even if Rowling has ended the 7th book, the imagination of the readers and fans will continue to grow and create alternate stories that more people will surely love. This is not entirely a good-bye to your story. So thank you, and until we meet again..maybe in my stories, or maybe in my dreams. Who knows? :)

review of the 7th book to follow

What is a MEANTIME GIRL?

Taken from the journal entry of a friend.

Original Author here

She’s the one you call when you’re bored because she makes you laugh. She’s the one you talk to when you’re feeling down because she’s willing to lend an ear to be a friend. She’s not the one you call when you need a date to your company’s Christmas Party, or to go dancing with on a Saturday night. She’s the one you spend time with between girlfriend’s before you find “The One”. You know, the one you keep around in the meantime.

She’s not one of the guys, not a tomboy, but you don’t look at her as a “real woman” either. She’s not bitchy enough, moody enough, or sexy enough to be seen in that light. She’s too laid-back, too easily amused by the same things your male buddies are amused by. She’s too understanding, too comfortable - she doesn’t make you feel nervous or excited the way a “real woman” does. But she’s cool, and nice, and funny, and attractive enough that when you’re lonely or horny and need an intimate female relationship, she’ll do just fine. You don’t have to wine and dine her because she knows the real you already, and you don’t have any facades to keep up, no pretenses to preserve. You’re not trying to get anything of substance out of her. She’s not easy, but you know that she cares about you and is attracted to you, and that she’ll give you the intimacy you need. And you know you don’t have to explain yourself or the situation, that it won’t bother her that you’ll get up in the morning, put on your pants, say goodbye and go on a date with the woman you’ve been mooning over for weeks and who finally agreed to go out with you. She’ll be able to cope with the fact that this isn’t the beginning of a relationship or that there is any possibility that you have any real romantic feelings for her. She’ll settle for a goodbye hug and a promise to call her and tell her how the date went. She’s just so cool, why can’t all women be like that?

But deep down, if you really think about it (which you probably don’t because to you, the situation between the two of you isn’t important enough to merit any real thought), you know that it’s really not fair. You know that although she would never say it, it hurts her to know that despite all her good points and all the fun you two have, you don’t think she’s good enough to spend any real time with. Sure, it’s mostly her fault because she doesn’t have to give in to your needs - she could play the hard-to-get bitch like the rest of them do if she really wanted to. But you and she both know that she probably couldn’t pull it off. Maybe she’s too short, or a little overweight, or has a birthmark on her forehead, or works at Taco Bell. Whatever the reason, somehow life has given her a lot of really great qualities but has left out the ones that men want (or think they want) in a woman. So she remains forever the funny friend, the steadfast companion, the secret lover, and you go on searching for your goddess who will somehow be everything you wanted in a woman.

You’ll joke to her that she should be the best man at your wedding, and she’ll laugh and make a joke about a smelly rental tux.

She doesn’t captivate you with her beauty, or open doors with her smile. Mainly, she blends in with the crowd. She’s safe. She doesn’t want to be the center of attention and turn the heads of everyone in the room. But she wants to turn someone’s head. She wants to be special to someone too. We all do.

She has feelings. She has a heart. In fact, she probably has a bigger and better heart than any woman you’ve ever known because she has a front-row seat to “The Mess that is your Life”, and she likes you anyway. She obviously sees something worthwhile and redeeming in you because although you’ve given her nothing, absolutely no reason to still be around…she is.

Dress code in Church, addressed?

One of the recent pressing issues that has struck the Philippines, or so it was a week or two ago, was the issue on the dress code that is to be worn in Churches. As an active attendee of mass, as well as a teenager and Filipino, I’m not partial to just one of the sides that has been pointed out.

As most newspapers would say, it was actually parishioners that complained to the Church archdiocese that there should be a dress code in Church, due to the commonality to which people attend Church. Others treat it as some sort of gimmick event, dressing in skimpy outfits and baggy jersey shorts, whilst wearing simple slippers on their feet. In some ways, it seems to be an amusing fact for most that people actually attend mass in such attire, but for some - it has become the norm.

In some way, who am I to say that I complain about the attire that some women and men come in. Admitting is the only way, and I shall do so. I come to mass in slippers (worn outside the house), mini-skirts and at times, sleeveless outfits, but that’s far as I go. From my point of view, I find that there are some outfits that can still be considered allowable for Church. Most probably, many of those who complained about the way people dressed in school, were traditionalists and thus laid out all that they deemed inappropriate for Church. But as an open-minded student and Catholic, there are some things I’d like to point out in their complaint.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Art of Cosplay, part I

Cosplaying in the Philippines is somewhat of a new art. I guess, it’s because most of us were raised with the traits of being conservative and humble that it hasn’t blossomed as much as it has in other countries.

Cosplaying, a shortcut term for Costume Roleplay/Play, is not composed of only characters from Anime (Japanese Animation) and Manga (Japanese comics) as most people assume. It branches out to all kinds of costumes, to those of famous actresses/actors, comic book characters, fictional characters, singers, and even objects - like transformers.

I have recently been exposed to the real world of cosplaying. Before, cosplaying was something I could only dream of, since I didn’t think I’d have the guts to parade myself in front of other people in a costume that’s more than the ordinary Filipino style of dressing up. Many times, I’d meet people who went to conventions in the States, and took various pictures, not only in the States but also in Hong Kong, Korea and Japan. Not only in conventions, if we try to look at it at a broader perspective, but even street fashion in various places around the world is either an influence to, or has been influenced by cosplaying in some manner.

Recently, various ‘photoshoot’ sessions have begun to take place around the Philippines, which includes dressing up and posing in front of a camera, whether or not either the model or photographer is a professional or not. Many appear to be costume inspirations from recent hit anime’s while others are just spur of the moment themes. Even in my school, the Ateneo, I and a few other friends have taken dressing up for school up a notch. Though I wouldn’t consider myself a very artistic fashionista, I have a few friends who truly are the centers of such a new age in fashion.

Listed are some cosplayers and cosplay-related people that I’m familiar with:

Alodia “Edjie” Gosiengfiao, whom I’m proud to say is a Blue Eagle, is one of the more popular cosplayers in the Philippines. Having won various contests for her very creative and worthwhile costumes, she has been invited to conventions and such as a guest, or as a host. Truly an inspiration to cosplayers, photographers and wanna-be cosplayers here and around the world, Alodia is one who is willing to take the patience and effort to make her costume as original and unique as possible. Edjie recently acted as a host for the Toycon2007 which was held in SM Megamall from June 16-17, as a guest host for the Mangaholix Convention (held at SM Mall of Asia last May 19), and a DeathNote Photoshoot where she played as Misa.

Edjie as Shall from Dream of Doll

Edjie as Misa Amane from DeathNote

Top: Edjie as Shall from Dream of Doll. Photograph by Tricia.

Bottom: Edjie as Misa Amane from DeathNote. Photograph by Tricia.

Read the rest of this entry »

Realizing one’s faults, is not such a bad thing after all.

One of the things I’ve recently realized is how a point of view or a perspective of a person matters so much to them, and usually gets shunned or overlooked by other people. This takes me back to the summer of this year, when I took up Psy101 as a requirement for my course in school. My professor taught us as part of our lesson, that as teenagers, we tend to be overly egocentric and think that we are the complete center of attention. Teenagers, it seems, tend to be overly-emotional about a lot of truthfully shallow matters. But it seems to me, that this does not only apply to teenagers but to adults as well.

We think that the thing we are experiencing at the moment, may it be sad or happy, has a tendency to be the best/worse experience we’ve ever encountered in our lives.

The perfect example? Work ( def. An amount of such activity either done or required). No matter how old or young one may be, people always have a tendency to think that what they’re currently doing is the most important or the gravest of them all. In school, one always concludes that the work given is too much to handle; yet at the same time, upperclassmen comment and say that it’s not a bad workload in comparison to the proceeding years. But no, in a persons’ mind, it’s always that, “Those people don’t understand what I’m going through since they’re not me.” type of thinking. And I admit that I was like that, and continue to be like that at times.

As a freshman in college, I took for granted the many free times that I didn’t have any work required of me, and when I did - I complained. It is only now that my sister, a freshman at the Ateneo as well, who tells me about her day and complains about her workload, has made me realize that I was quite the selfish imp in thinking that what I was experiencing then was so difficult, as if it would ruin the rest of my entire life!

In the end, we always complain about everything we have at the moment. And it is only in the end, that we look back and realize that what we went through really wasn’t much to complain about after all.

Well, life’s a lot like that. Discernment, regret and doubt. And for me, teenagers have the worst part of it….with the whole “trying to find a place in society” point of view.

Theology in Modern Times…

In my Theology121 class, our professor has been making us read a lot of articles and readings concerning faith. To say the least, I’ve learnt a bit more from all the words and teachings I’ve come across.

Religion in the Philippines has been an established religion (What is Doing Catholic Theology About, Edilberto Jimenez). As the article suggests, it states that the religion that we have right now is something that has always been present in our lives. We don’t have a religion because we believe that it changes something in our lives, but we believe because ever since we were young, we were surrounded by a society that sees it as such. So we grow up believing that what we do is right. It has not become a personal choice, rather we are Christians/Catholics because of our parents, culture and environment.

And in some way, it has made me wonder about my own religion or the foundation of what my faith is today. I grew up in an environment where I was constantly exposed to various religious activities. A lot of my childhood memories were spent in my Charismatic community, Ang Ligaya ng Panginoon, as well as serving in various Church activities (such as a candle holder for the Mary the Queen parish). I was always proud to call myself a devout Catholic, going to mass every Sunday and during holy days of obligation. But after reading the article, there were a lot of aspects of my life I’ve come to discern.

Am I really a Catholic because I’ve discerned over the years that I really believe in God, or am I just the way I am because of how I grew up?

In this society, the definition of Catholicism really has changed. People say they are Catholic but there is a difference between an active one and unactive Catholic. It becomes weird then how the world views us, considering that we are the only Catholic country in Asia.

Tsk. And the recent discussion on the dress code in Churches has been something to mull over as well.

A Stranger’s Reflection ©toki88

The reflection on the glass
reveals an unknown person.
She, who has been living in me
is someone I do not know.
Inhabiting my body
and living my life,
she has changed me entirely.
She looks like me,
even has the same name,
lives in the same house,
and has the same family;
yet she is not me,
and I am not her.
Her face is covered with marks,
plastered with paint and color,
like a tribesman off to war.
Her body is marred with black,
images and signs
that cannot be removed.
She dresses without clothes,
covering both everything and nothing.
Has she sold herself to the devil,
to replace her body with someone elses?
She carries it around as if it was her own,
yet the truth cannot be hidden,
not from me.
This stranger that lives each day
as if it were hers,
who carries what is not hers,
acts without care for consequence,
and lives a lie…
is the person that is reflected
on the glass wall.
This stranger, who is me.

This is what I was, and who I may sometimes continue to be…a stranger to my own self.

poem written by me © Christa Uymatiao 2006, http://toki88.deviantart.com