New Year Nostalgia

revisiting my cassette tapes while waiting for the new year. man, do i miss going to musicvision just to see what new releases they have for the week. the player's having a hard time rewinding, though, so it's back to the old pencil-in-the-hole technique.

man, oh man. the hours i've logged listening to these things. i don't know, but cassette tapes seem more personal to me than cds or mp3s. i used to pore over the sleeves to learn about the lyrics, the credits, the artwork/ photography, etc. suddenly, the good old days seem a little bit better.

back in high school, i would refrain from spending my lunch money so i could save enough by the end of the week to buy a new tape. my allowance a day was 20 pesos, and a single cassette tape costs around 90 pesos in those days. my target every week was to spend none of my allowance on anything but tapes. but i still had to eat, so what i did was beg my classmates for their leftover foods, be it sandwiches, sodas, or anything in between. some of my classmates got so concerned with my ways and what others were saying about me that they talked among themselves and agreed to never give me food again for my own sake. i learned a hard lesson that day. i also learned how much my classmates cared about me. kudos to them!

right now i'm listening to saigon kick's 'water'. this song holds special meaning for me because it pretty much sums up what i felt back then when i left for manila in 2005 to become a musician. riding a boat, no less.

Saigon Kick "Water"

You and me
You know we're never going to die
Right or wrong
It still won't mend a broken heart
And I don't mind
The colors in your hair
You don't see
The water dancing with the dead

Pick it up again
and realize
I'm never coming home
To lose it all again
Could capsize
My vessel on it's own

Off to be
The one think that I know I am
Stand Alone
Beyond the reach of helping hands

Pick me up again
and realize
I know not what I do
To lose it all again
Could capsize
My vessel on it's own

Stop me from drinking the water
In which I drown
Hold me in darkness
Beneath the water now

Out in the ocean
far from any land
Sail to emptiness
The water's on my hands

Pick me up again
And realize
I know not what I do
To lose it all again
Could capsize
My vessel on it's own
Only the ones in the water
Could be found
Hold me in the darkness
Beneath the water now

Take me up
To higher lands
To higher lands
I go

Conserve Water

Mga Kagay-anons, one month pa daw before maayo ang linya sa tubig sa cdo . Angay lang nga magandam ta.

Tips to conserve water:

1. Pag manutbras ka, tiguma imong laway paghuman tutbras unya maoy ipang-mugmog. pwede gihapon magtigum ka ug laway para drinking water.
   
   
2. Ayaw nag kalibang ug pangihi sa kasilyas. Buhata na lang diretso sa inyong garden para fertilizer sa tanom. Kung wa moy garden, dadto na lang sa gawas sa kontra kaayo nimo nga silingan. Siguraduha lang nga walay CCTV.
   
   
3. Praber ka muligo, pasingot usa. Pag singot na kaayo ka, panabon na dayon. Ang tubig, gamita lang pangbanlaw.
   
   
4. Ang imong gipangbanlaw maoy gamiton nimo panglaba.
   
   
5. Save water. Drink beer.

Mao ni akong gabuhaton kada adlaw. Maka-save ko ug 3 gallons of water a day. Try it na dayon.

Squish, squish!

Squish, squish! Goes the mud between my feet fingers

Slide, Slide! Goes the old lady who’s gone off her rocker

Swim, Swim! In the flood she saw her family members

Drown, Drown! They all went down together

Nightswimming/Home

i thought i could do it. as an act of desperation, i braved these muddy waters in the dead of night. i could swear that the moon, full as she is this evening, and in all her radiant beauty, was seducing me to dive in. and so without so much a thought, i took off my shirt and started swimming. my destination was my home, and my guide was the moon.

every inch of my being said i could do it. but halfway through my journey, i begin to doubt myself. i pause to see where i am. my feet can’t feel any ground below me. my arms ache and my breath escapes me. the water seems anxious to engulf me and i feel an undercurrent starting to suck me in. i start to wade and wallow again, much faster this time. i think about screaming for help, but then i realize that here in the middle of nowhere only the moon will hear my plea, and her pursed lips betray her indifference. so i swam and i swam. the weight of my efforts begin to take its toll, until i find i can no longer move any of my limbs. i start to take in water. in one excruciating thrust , i heave to inhale my final lungful of air.

i really thought i could go home tonight. maybe i’ll get it right next time.

Nightswimming, remembering that night/ September’s coming soon/I’m pining for the moon/ And what if there were two/ Side by side in orbit/ Around the fairest sun?/ That bright, tight forever drum/ Could not describe nightswimming - Nightswimming by REM

The heat and the sickliest sweet smelling sheets/ That cling to the backs of my knees and my feet/ Well I’m drowning in time to a desperate beat/ And I thank you for bringing me here/ For showing me home/ For singing these tears/ Finally I’ve found that I belong/ Feels like home/ I should have known/ From my first breath - Home by Depeche Mode

Maybe It's The Same Person