I don't have a task right now and I've been spending my precious working hours trying to figure out what else can I do aside from researching-just-for-research-sake-because-i-have-nothing-else-to-do-kind-of-task. I am bored. Hence, time is running painfully slow. But who am I to complain? I get paid for this anyway.

I plugged my earphones in hopes that it can slowly kill boredom. Turned on Spotify's radio, chose a random station and to my surprise, it played Jamelia's Superstar. I was discreetly dancing in place. Head bobbing, feet moving, hands in motion but not too obvious for the boss to notice. I was trying to remember the steps when we danced this way back 2004.

I miss dancing. I haven't danced since time immemorial. The last time I danced on stage was during my college days. And yes, I do miss the limelight, the audience, the screams, and the glory.

That's me (blue) during one of the Panther's intermission numbers

It was a year or two ago when I actually bought an xbox 360 with kinect and Dance Central 3 to make up for the absence of dancing in my life. It did a pretty good job acting as a filler for something that I really love to do. But it's still different from the kind of dancing that I am used to, the one where I give out all my heart not minding the number of people sitting on the bleachers as they lock their eyes on you.

Panthers Pep Squad. Goofin around during our waterbreak. Circa 2006.

I miss dancing so much. I miss those late night practices, the body pains, the rigorous warm-ups and bone-breaking stretches, the crazy people I danced with, and of course, that triumphant feeling of gracefully pulling off a complicated step then you hear the deafening roar of awe and applause from the audience.

I love dancing. And I wish that one day I'd be able to move my body to the rhythm of the music again. Because I want to dance for myself, for the people, and last but not the least, for the best audience of my lifetime, the Big Guy up there.

PNSA 2004

For a beach bum like me, what's not to love living in Davao when after a stressful week at work and you feel like chilling by the beach on weekend, you just cross the sea and in a few minutes, bam! You're there.

The recent Kadayawan festival was a blast. Not for all Davaoeños though, especially after Ramon Bautista made a remark "madaming hipon sa Davao". Which provoked the ire of some public officials and stirred netizens to rage.

Okay, I understand where all that hate is coming from. I get it, that was offensive. But if we were to look at it the other way, it shouldn't affect us, right? I mean, why do we allow people to demean or belittle us? Because just by reacting to that, we are just validating his claims. If it isn't true and we know for ourselves that it isn't true, then we can just brush it off our shoulders and move on. We know better. If we haven't made a big fuss out of it, the issue would have died down before Bautista could step down the stage.

Bautista said something that earned him one way ticket to public stoning. But he already expressed apology publicly. Isn't that enough? I think calling for persona non grata is just too much. And people are just overreacting way too much. Yes, I intended that redundancy.

Apparently, most people who have reacted haven't seen shows that blurt out slurs worse than that, not to mention, even intended for international viewing. Take Family Guy for example, they can simply take on to any races. If you don't take it seriously, you'll find it really hilarious. Too bad, most of us take jokes by heart and cry foul like how Neymar (yellow) stumbles unnecessarily over a little tackle.
This isn't the first time we reacted negatively to a joke. Or the second. Or the third. So this is to say that generally, Pinoys, not just Davaoeños, are the worst audience to any kind of comedy style. Madaling mapikon, madaling ma-offend. Sad but it's true. If we could only learn not to give a damn about petty things, I guess the world will be a better place.

I arrived home sleepy and my mind drifting. Went straight to a familiar door, turned the knob, put my bag down, removed my clothes and threw it carelessly on the bed, then I changed to my usual pambahay. I was about to throw myself to bed when I realized that I am not in my room.

Here's a glimpse of my room now. And I'm not sorry for the mess that I have just made.

Whenever I tell people that I have never been to Starbucks, I always get that expression of disbelief. Now, that makes me feel like I am such a loser and I think the world thinks it's a crime or something. Hmmm.
Never been there nor tasted anything they have to offer. Okay, I'm not a coffee person to begin with, that's one. Two, I don't feel like I belong there. So why bother? And three, I can already buy at least three pre-loved books at BookSale for a price of one coffee.

I don't remember how long it has been since the first Starbucks in Davao opened. But I do remember the incredulous number of people on queue waiting for their turn to order on the first week of opening. Why?
Okay, I'm in no position to say anything since I haven't actually tasted one before. But judging from the number of people that go about the said coffee shop, I guess it's safe to say that it's something to die for and it's worth every penny. Well, is it really the coffee or just the hype?

I see a lot of there. And pardon me, but I have this habit of people-watching whenever I pass by Starbucks, guessing who's rich and who's trying to look rich. Haha.

But seeing people check-in to social media to let the whole world know that they are at Starbucks or take photos with the ever famous coffee and upload it coupled with a caption that says "chilling here at starbucks", without a doubt, you'll know what Starbucks coffee really is. It is a status symbol. Am I right? Or am I right? It is even always deemed by the society: Sosyal ka kapag nag-Starbucks ka. Hmmm.

Well, I don't think anyone's going to disagree if I say anybody can have Starbucks: the rich, the average, the jobless, students, your cat, or whoever can afford that overcharged coffee. It's their money they spent anyway. So from now on, let's keep our noses out of the people who wants to buy that 350mL coffee and spend at least three hours chilling there, or those people who go in groups and order just one frappe, or those people who order, sit down, then flaunt their iPhones and MacBook Pros while surfing Facebook, or those people in that obligatory pose-with-my-starbucks picture. But still, I think I would drown myself in self-mockery for the rest of my life if I see myself taking a selfie at Starbucks. Haha.

Pero tulad nga ng sabi nga nila, walang basagan ng trip. Pera nila yan, opinyon ko ito. Wala lang, gusto ko lang magsulat dahil napadaan ulit ako sa Starbucks. Patingin-tingin, di naman makabili. O siya, ilibre nyo na lang ako ng Starbucks dahil sa totoo lang... wala akong pera.

One tall mocha frappe please!

O ha. Practice lang. Haha.

This day didn't go very well. Seems like everybody and everything that surround me is testing my patience. I lost my cool; one more tic and I'd reach my boiling point. This day simply sucks. I want it to end so soon that I'm already looking forward to working on Monday.

But one message changed everything. Just one simple message from the boyfriend and it brightened my rather gloomy day. It wasn't even cheesy. It's just a simple and casual message. And just by that, I know he's thinking of me.

They said it's always nice to have someone in your life who can make you smile even when they're not around. I wouldn't disagree on that because it is absolutely true.

Now that I think about it, I think about how lucky I am to have that someone. Someone who can make my day no matter how rough it has been. Someone who can make me smile even when he's doing nothing. His thoughtfulness and love trumps all the challenges and whatever sh*t comes my way. Now that I think about it, I know and I am so thankful to be blessed beyond compare.

And oh, look at these yummies! There, there. That's double strafe. Nothing can ever ruin my day. Hahaha :)