This way to the stars

Back with a vengeance

Well well well. After an uncharacteristically long hiatus in blogging, I am glad to say that I'm back! Finally.

We've just moved to another condo unit, thus we didn't have phone, cable, and internet connections for about two weeks. It was just like being thrown back in time to the Paleolithic age (well, not really!). It's funny how relatively recent developments in technology such as the Internet and Cable TV are already so assimilated into our lives that they're almost necessities. At least for me they are.

I'm so glad to have my internet connection up and running. I hate using our school's internet connection because it's too slow for me. Also, now I get to use my great Opera browser, which I believe is faster than both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox (not to mention it has mouse gestures which I subconsciously use when using other browsers!).

I've been reading my past blog entries and it amazed me how depressing they are. I guess I'm now back in reality, with my two feet planted firmly on the ground. Whatever delusions that were feeding on my brain back then are gone now, what with the restoration of comforting normality and day-to-day routine. Looking back, the dreams and fantasies that have haunted me then are pure poppycock (with British accent!).

I am my old, apathetic, cynical self now. Hurrah!

I am back to earth. Back to reality. Back to alternating between stress and boredom. Back to commuting to school every damn Friday via MRT and LRT.

Back to my insufferable I Wonder Why's...

1. Zoology. It has definitely replaced my last semester's first love, which was Botany. I feel as if we're studying ever more minute details of the Processes and Metabolisms of Life by the day. For example, as if Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, and Telophase of Meiosis I weren't enough (yes, there is a Meiosis II! great!), Leptonema, Zygonema, Pachynema, Diplonema and Diakinesis just had to be studied under Prophase, which are apparently all about the pairing up of homologous chromosomes, the replication of sister chromatids and the crossing-over of non-sister chromatids (God, it makes me feel like such a genius to write all these highfalutin terms and actually know what they're all about!). I suppose whoever invented the terms in science must: a) have an unrealistic measure of common people's intellect and capacity to memorize; b) be intellectual sadists who'd like to see the brains of students bleed from memorizing such tongue-twisting terms; and/or c) have a superbly inflated ego who'd like their names permanently and obviously associated with scientific concepts for posterity (Okazaki fragments and Avogadro's number, anyone?).



2. Filipino. Fil 12 isn't as bad as I thought it would be (or maybe it was just Prof. Coroza of last sem's Fil 11 scaring us). Though still a definite eye-opener, the subject has actually become enjoyable, more so because the teacher is personable and humorous. Also, if it weren't for the subject I wouldn't have watched the great Filipino indie film "Ang Pagdadalaga ni Maximo Oliveros", a deceptively simple movie with a great plot that made the most of its low budget.



3. Paramita. Thanks to the efforts of Mia who introduced me to non-mainstream Filipino music, I've grown to like the sad, soulful, reflective, sometimes angsty and always lovelorn songs of this indie band. I've heard that their lead singer's been nominated for Drummer of the Year at the NU Music Awards last week because she plays the drums and sings the vocals simultaneously. Whoa, man. Whoa.



4. "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West". Everyone familiar with the Wizard of Oz story knows that the scary, crazy villain is the Wicked Witch of the West, famous especially for her death via being thrown with a bucket of water. In this book by Gregory Maguire, the Wicked Witch is given a name, an unhappy home life, unappreciative parents, a desire for equality between social classes, a vendetta against the tyrannical and despotic Wizard, and a tragic love life - all motivations that led her to her destiny as a Witch. The book poses questions about good and evil, since what we are usually led to see and fear as a one-sidedly evil and demonic character may be originally good but led astray by negative circumstances (think Freud's theories). After reading this novel, I'll never think the same way about fairy-tale villains again.

I could write lots more, but I can't. I'm too tired from my long commute from school a while ago. But before I end this entry, I'd like to leave a final (teaser) question...

Why is it that the lines for the MRT ticket counters that say "Exact Fare Only", which are presumably the equivalent of Express Lanes (10 items or less) in groceries, actually have LONGER lines than ordinary ticket counters?

Human nature.

posted by steph @ 9:48 PM