So every week a new tropical depression visits the Philippines. It’s really depressing when we think about all the losses – not to mention the loss of lives and the impact on thousands of others. I remember when I was very young, although I fear the howling winds that seem to be ripping out our house’s roof, I relish storms because that means no classes, cold weather, hot soup, and all members of the family are staying at home for the whole day. Back then it doesn’t flood that easily and you can sleep through it in your heated blanket without worrying that you’ll wake up soaked in water with all your possessions floating around your home.
I guess it’s a good thing, then, that I work from home. Although the possibilities of power interruption and loss of Internet connection are my worst enemy in such days.
It’s been almost a year since I left my job to lead the solitary life of a freelancer. For someone who had never been very sociable nor outgoing in the first place, that decision seemed like a step in the wrong direction. I actually thought about my mental health when I was making that decision. I mean, I’ll never be one fit for Networking & Telecomm Jobs, much more a PR job – those are just not my thing. But I was enjoying my time with a company of friends and colleagues. For 10 years, I managed not to screw up my relationships in the workplace, except maybe for one or two lessons in error of judgment, but even the worst of those experiences came full circle in a way that actually led me to where I am now – perpetually sitting in the small living room of my rented apartment – or sometimes inside the bedroom – in front of my computer day to night, hoping for an opening in my schedule that will allow me to wander around outside with no other reason but to go out.
That sounds rather pathetic, but the truth is it’s not that bad. One year after, and I am sure I made the right move. Well, I guess it helped that my sister is living with me so I’m not completely solitary – hence, my fear of ending up staring in space or talking to myself consistently didn’t really happen. Or the fact that I realized nothing can ever leave me bored as long as I am connected to the Internet and I have my books, movies, and TV shows. I guess I just want to celebrate my choice right this time. There’s always tomorrow to think about the cons.
I’ve been watching a lot of U.S. TV shows since I discovered the wonderful world of Internet streaming and that-thing-I-really-shouldn’t-name but, OK, torrent! But somehow I didn’t realize I’m not that knowledgeable (or that much aware) about their TV shows after all, because I was only following primetime shows. Not that it’s a bad thing, apparently everywhere else daytime TV is not quite as special as primetime. But not to categorize or place judgments; I was so surprised to read that they actually have long-running soaps, and by long running I mean shows that started from 40 to 50? years back! I think I may have heard of it before, but it’s only now that it dawned on me how freaking crazy (and incredible!) that is. I mean any more than decent primetime show is lucky to get to the fourth season (4th year) these days. Imagine having characters be born, grow up, get married, die, get resurrected (it’s soap opera!), and live almost their entire lives before the eyes of the public. Imagine the work of actors and actresses who never left those shows. But I also read that soaps are dying now because they’re not profitable anymore. I’ve always found soaps ridiculous, our local soaps can prove that. Only now when I open my TV to a local channel and see that a teleserye now only has a life span of 6 months, and they actually write tighter stories now that are more or less enjoyable, if not actually free from ridiculousness (it’s TV!), I now appreciate that this is some kind of progress. This is a way of having reel life catch up to real life, although sometimes people can have a hard time separating them. At the same time I also realized how incredibly sad that must be for long-time fans. I get attached to once-a-week series and get depressed when they get cancelled after a few seasons; how much more can soap fans be feeling losing something they look forward to 5 times a week that has been part of their daily existence for so long?
Well, with that thought, I’ll leave you with this clip of Sara Michelle Gellar, as she makes one final cameo to the soap that launched her career -- All My Children -- which is on it’s final week in network television. It’s a short scene in a hospital with people in Cherokee scrubs, but as a big Buffy fan I love the meta-references.
“So I see vampires … that doesn’t make me crazy; I saw them before they were trendy”
Has it been a year since I started getting addicted on Groupon and all those deals websites that suddenly popped out of nowhere? I used to have a pretty decent amount of savings in my PayPal account – I was trying very hard to keep myself from using it since I want to see it grow. I sort of look at it as my “virtual monies,” especially since I used to think that those came from some trivial Internet “jobs” that I am allowed to reserve them for stuff that I wouldn’t normally buy out of my truly hard-earned cash. But then I thought it might be better to save it and then buy something big out of it. Well, I’ll be damned, I guess thinking that way made me feel sort of entitled but at the same time impatient that I spent everything – and with every new incoming amount I’m still spending – on such deals! Too bad I only have $8 left right now. I really want the home theater system that I saw with those sweet surround speakers. That one is going to have to wait.
Speaking of favorite points in time, my second favorite time of the month is right about now – time for creating and and sending invoices to clients. You can imagine what’s my favorite time, then, right? It’s when I receive those payments, of course! I’ve been following a lot of blogs on freelancing, and I’m glad they’ve led me to some great discoveries like those sites that helps you create (and send and track!) professional-looking invoices. They introduced me to real paperless office software. It’s kind of cool.
Anyway, it’s a cycle I will not get tired of. On to September…
Generally, that now is the official start of the -ber months holds no special meaning for me. Except maybe it means it’s not going to be all hot weather anymore, or at least that’s what I hope. But I see people in my various social networks are excited about it, so I’m going along. Like Greenday will say, “Wake me up when….” yuck, why am I quoting that?
Anyway, happy -ber months to you all! Whether you’re starting your Christmas lists or looking for halloween accessories first, have a blast! They’re meant to be the most exciting part of the year anyway, so let’s have some more fun before we get all introspective about a coming new year all over again.
This Sunday was not supposed to be a “lazy” day. I am so behind one of my projects that I scrapped all other things I was planning for the weekend just to be productive on this front. Alas, I was unsuccessful. If I write the things that went on in my head today into thought bubbles, they will look like this:
- Eff, my deadline is so close and I am soooo late on my projected schedule. Eff.
- But I’m so sleepy. All the time. I just want to lie down the whole day.
- [Waiting for my bestfriend in Singapore to reply to my urgent messages] How is it possible that someone living in a very progressive country can be so hard to reach with all my technological aids working in full force?
- Eff, my deadline! I can see blinking projector bulbs giving warning
- More coffee please.
- I am so not making progress this month. I hope the next one is going to be better.
- I give up; I’ll try again to be productive tomorrow
I was watching The September Issue – well, not really watching but more like I was letting the film play in the background while I was doing some (light) manuscript editing. Briefly, it’s about the empire of Anna Wintour and a glimpse at all those glamorous people working on the production of the September issue of Vogue magazine. That’s all you need to know.
Only two things that stood out for me – One, Anna’s opening statement about how fashion can scare the hell out of people that they either mock it or resort to stereotyping fashionistas into the pretty-but-not-so-bright group. Two, Anna’s daughter saying that she’d rather be a lawyer because she finds the fashion industry to be a weird industry – especially when people in there take it too seriously when there are so many other things out there.
Who am I kidding, I’d always be someone who would rather spend my hard-earned money on a MacBook Air plus altec lansing speakers than on a thousand-dollar handbag. I do understand the pull of the industry – I mean, everything there’s so pretty; I appreciate the art in it. But to make imitating fashion icons your main goal in life? I dunno. I side with Anna’s spawn, if she hasn’t changed her mind by now.
Digital video recorders is not something I see in appliance stores here in the Philippines. In fact, I don’t even remember seeing one before. And I don’t wonder why. We hardly have any show that you would be too awesome to miss. Ok, maybe that’s just my own opinion and my own reason. Maybe it’s also because the majority of the population is home for primetime, when the supposedly best shows in town are being aired. Maybe it’s also because others like me stream and download foreign TV shows instead of waiting for their late broadcasts in cable channels. You don’t need to be living in metal buildings to know how to do that. I know many OFWs get their soap opera fix from online streaming sites. Oh, how far we’ve gone because of the Internet. It’s not the best thing that’s happened to me, but it’s definitely one of the better ones for more than a couple of reasons.
When we think of geniuses and people who have changed the world fundamentally, we cannot be thinking too far away from mathematicians, or people with superior mathematical knowledge. I’m honestly not sure if logic can ever be non-quantifiable, but for someone who thinks of herself as having a lamentable aptitude in mathematics, surely I can hope that my own definitions and understanding of logic is … well, logical.
Which brings me to this book I’m currently reading – a comic book – Logicomix: An Epic Search for Truth.
Although what made me actually buy this book is curiosity — a complex subject in comic form with Bertrand Russel as the protagonist? Yeah — more than anything else, I’m hoping to get some sort of intellectual experience out of it. I mean, it should be thought-provoking in the very least, with that premise and that book title.
I intended to share this without having read it yet and having to write a book review, because really comic books and mathematics are not really something I can babble about with the least confidence. But there’s beauty in discovering things by trying to sink your teeth into something you don’t quite understand. So let me get my ray ban and my beach chair – this shouldn’t take too long.
