To Julia, Goodbye; To those who kidnapped her...
Last Sunday morning, I woke up with the news that two men in a tricycle kidnapped my dog, Julia. My heart broke seeing mom cry from losing Julia. This is the second time that she has lost her best friend. Julia is very special since she knows how to react to non-verbal communication. She reacts to a smile, a wrinkled forehead, and funny faces. We actually think she's human. My best memory of her is when she wants to play fetch, she appears in my room with her favorite stuffed bear in her mouth. (oh god, i just cried...)
Anyway, I know she's in doggie heaven. And besides, she left us with her son, Chucky.
To those who kidnapped my dog,
I HOPE JULIA KILLS YOU BACK......(and I'm not being funny)
"I have a fear of...." - (A Blog About Phobias)
There has been a lax use of the term “phobia”. Clinically, a phobia is characterized by an irrational fear of something, associated with shortness of breath, dizziness, palpitation, sweating, and trembling of the muscles. Therefore, when you are just plain afraid of the dark it does not mean you already have a phobia. Okay, I am stalling with the medical mumbo-jumbo. I am going to admit to the entire blog nation that as embarrassing as it may seem due to the fact that I am a grown man, I am terrified of COCKROACHES…(lets out a bloodcurdling scream)
Oh, my loves. Last Holy Thursday, I had a friggin’ panic attack. Details are as follows and are best visualized by 
imagining me doing a voice-over like how it’s done in old detective movies (while camera slowly zooms in from a bird’s eye view crane shot). DISSOLVE TO:
I was comfortably plopped on my favorite couch watching SA NGALAN NG ANAK on channel 7, Oishi Wasabi Flavor and Coke conveniently within my reach. I was in the middle of sobbing my guts out from the post-suicide sequence of Connie Reyes’ character when suddenly a familiar voice boomed from the deep recesses of our house. Distracted, I looked up and exclaimed, “God, is that you?” (its holy week, its possible.). “Anong God, God??? Magsaing ka na!”, Mother shouted. Disappointed, I unwillingly stomped like a 5-year old on my way to the kitchen. Mumbling while giving the rice a wash, when from my peripheral vision, I saw something moving. I looked down and I saw a swarm…yes, SWARM of cockroaches came out of the drainage and crawled on my left foot. I ran out of the kitchen as fast as I could. I found myself gasping for air, my heart was racing, my hands and knees were trembling, and I was profusely building a sweat. I picked up the phone and called Jher. It was a scene straight out of “An Eye for An Eye”, I wasn’t able to talk, I was just breathing. Jher on the other hand kept on asking what happened. I finally exclaimed…”I got attacked by (empathic pause) COCKROACHES!” (cue eerie musical score)
Uuuh! (shudders) Reminiscing that awful, icky moment just made me nauseous (picking the right cockroach pic for this entry was a dreadful experience). Other cockroach events are as follows:
Cockroach Experience 1
I woke up one night, parched. So I went to the kitchen and poured myself a glass of water. Half-awake and half-through drinking water when from out of nowhere, this cockroach fluttered towards me. As a reflex action, I threw the glass. The cockroach lived…the glass died, I mean, shattered into pieces.
Cockroach Experience 2
It was one of those dream-filled sleeps. In my dream, a hand was caressing my cheek. Then, it felt like it was pinching me. It got more and more painful. So I woke up. There was a cockroach on my f*%#&@ cheek! After flicking it off my cheek, I spent 3 hours hunting for the damn critter until I finally annihilated it beyond recognition which made me say: “IT’S DEAD. I CAN NOW GO BACK TO SLEEP.”
Feel free to share your cockroach horror stories or irrational fears that you have. Yuck.
The Great Reveal (Results of the Perception Exercise)
Hello, my loves! A galactic explosion of gratitude to everyone who took time to participate in this perception exercise. (kneels on one knee and bows head) …I shall forever be grateful, kind Sires and Mesdames.
Okay, now that the drama is over, here’s the much-awaited reveal (cue horn section of the twenty-piece orchestra):
This picture was taken while unwinding in Seattle’s Best (pronounced as Shatels Bes, mind you) after he and his team participated in a wedding exhibit chorva in Megatrade Hall in SM Megamall. Most of your comments were hotels, so it kinda had an effect on your perception of his job.
This is my very dear friend, DYLAN (visit his blog). He is only 30 years old and works as an English Editor in a multinational company involved in the BPO industry. He is single (special mention to Quotidian who even said that his cue is “no ring”) and has no children yet. What he has is a partner. Yup. 5 out of 9 comments actually said that he’s gay or bisexual and a couple of “either way’s” and ajay even said that she can just “smell” it. What is it that gives it away? I would love to hear your feedbacks on this. Most of you and the people who have seen this picture also said that he is either not happy, frustrated, or disappointed. Why? I’ve mentioned this to Dylan. My dearest Donnie, maybe you would want to join in after they commented?
FYI, he loves watching movies and writing. He has 1,000+ titles in his dvd collection and he generously lent me 22! Walang sinabi ang Video City, mga ineng. Grabe! He also loves to cook and he has a newly-adopted cute Pomeranian puppy named Turnip!
This picture was taken at the Hongkong wharf after a day’s shopping…or more appropriately, buying.
This is my very dear and loving sister, GILDA. Yup she’s my sister so to all those who perceived her in a negative way I’m gonna hunt you down and beat the crap out of you. Joke lang. Hehehe! Okay, she’s only 25 years old but to tell you the truth, people who see this picture thought she was older. She’s the Group Merchandising Head for one of the more popular department stores in the country. She frequents China so drops by at Hongkong on her flight back to Manila (that’s why she’s there). Anyway, OFW and software/IT chuva are the most common reactions to this picture. She’s single, has no children, and just broke up with her boyfriend of 10 years. Maybe that’s why most people also think that she’s sad? I also tell her that her eyes somehow tell it all. Although, now she exhibits a more vibrant aura since she already met her “replacement” when she played ninang to her ex-boyfriend’s sister’s first baby’s christening. And we had a ball talking about The Encounter! Oh, I just love her.
This picture was taken outside the conference venue in Thailand. Taking a breather. And to my float and quotidian, nobody took his lunch…it was just plain hot and sunny. He didn’t have any feelings whatsoever here. But 100% of the people who have seen and commented on this as part of the exercise say the same thing…that he’s often in a crappy mood, snobbish, and unpleasant. Well…
Ladies and gentlemen, this is the love of my life, JEROME! (applause) Babe, results so far as far as people’s perception about your orientation? 80% say that you are straight and married! Shet, may madedenggoy ka pa! Hahahaha! Anyway, he is 32, single but definitely attached to the most beautiful person in the world…both inside and out. He has no children (unless for some miracle he has grown a uterus and gave birth or something). He works as a Program Officer/IEC and Advocacy Specialist with a non-government organization based in Makati who’s mandate is health. (Ain’t that grand? Both of us are Jeromes who work in social development. Freaky.) Anyway, people always say that he is unpleasant, always in a crappy mood, and irritated. Well, it is true, my friends. But that’s first impression, if I haven’t given him a second look, I will not be this happy (cue audience: Aaaaaaaw!). He actually loves “manly” things more than I do. He’s into cars, technology, gadgets, and he is a very good electrician and carpenter. (Mmm-mmm-mmm. You wouldn’t believe how I enjoy watching him install a light fixture or the lock on my bedroom door. Hahahahaha!)
This is a picture lifted from Oprah.com (thank you to http://www.oprah.com/). So, to all of you who said that she’s in a TV show and being interviewed, you are right. Maybe because of the background and her eye line?
Anyway, this is Christine. She is 50 years old and she has a daughter named Noelle. She is formerly a man named, Dick, and finally decided after years of misery to undergo gender re-assignment surgery. Now Christine, she was interviewed in Oprah for an episode entitled “Husbands Who Became Women”. (Click http://www.oprah.com/tows/pastshows/200305/tows_past_20030507.jhtml) . Librarian, Teacher/Professor, and Principal are the most common descriptions to this picture. Why? And to quotidian, why CEO?
MESSAGE
Hey friends, did you know that this exercise is more about YOU than how you describe the pictures? Yup! It is a version of the projective technique called, the Thematic Apperception Test". If you go back to your comments, you will see that at some subconscious level, you have just described your past and present experiences or your current feelings. You have just given yourself a third-person perspective of a part of you.
I had fun, my loves! Thank you for your participation. Remember, “All it takes is a second look for us to see the real beauty of things.” – Jerome C. Daclison
Anyway, I know she's in doggie heaven. And besides, she left us with her son, Chucky.
