When the songbird sings

Idlip
Imago

Neither away nor asleep
Dwell somewhere in between
Neither someone or something
Be it life alone
I walk it like a park
Half real, half fancy

A million tonight
A million to fight
A million to light
A million is right

Yonder wails on my sleeve
In the arms of make-believe
Sleep will set you free
In the arms of make-believe
Are the arms that let me be

Abide by a dreamer’s flight
Cheater, misfit on high
Alone in the landscapes
Perriwinkle skies
A worried pretender passes me by

A million tonight
A million to fight
A million to light
A million is right

Yonder wails on my sleeve
In the arms of make-believe
Sleep will set you free
In the arms of make-believe
Are the arms that let me be

Appetizer
Create a new candle scent.

I’m not that creative when it comes to scents, but I love the smell of vanilla and coffee. So, is vanilla-coffee ok?

Soup
Name one way you show affection to others.

I ask how they are, text them, spend time with them, share meals with them and commiserate when they are heartbroken or just pi**ed with the rest of the world.

Salad
What is your favorite writing instrument?

Mongol #1 pencil and keyboard, baby! The keyboard is mightier than the sword.

Main Course
If you were given $25 to spend anywhere online, from which site would you buy?

I’d surely buy a good book from Amazon. $25 isn’t much.

Dessert
Are you dressing up for Halloween? If so, what are you going to be?

Yes, I’m dressing up for Halloween in jeans and shirts, I guess. OK, the last time I dressed for Halloween was at a party at my former office. I donned the devil’s mask with a funny-looking spear to boot.

While nearly everybody is whining about Youtube’s sale of US$1.6B worth of stocks to Google, some people got a bit creative and came up with a “confidential” video. I really don’t get the mud-slinging, particularly the anti-Asian racist slur, over the acquisition, but anybody in the video site’s owners’ shoes should only be too happy to have their service bought by the internet’s biggest brand. Still, this one is very funny.

Appetizer
What is your favorite beverage?

I love coffee. Nothing tastes better than freshly brewed barako coffee in the morning and I take about 2 cups to jumpstart my day.

Soup
Name 3 things that are on your computer desk at home or work.

A trinket from Singapore of which name I already forgot, a gold jewelry box which I’m using as paper clip case, and matryoshka doll from Russia.

Salad
On a scale of 1-10 (with 10 being highest), how honest do you think you are?

9. I’m fairly honest about my thoughts and feelings, although sometimes I hold my words back when I’m not sure that I should be saying certain things to certain people or on certain occasions.

Main Course
If you could change the name of one city in the world, what would you rename it and why?

Cabanatuan, my home town, definitely needs a new name, imho. But honestly, the city’s name makes for a good tongue-twister. I’m not sure about the epystemology of the name either, so if it hadn’t been around for more than a century already, I’d have named it to something that’s quite easy to pronounce. Unfortunately, I’ve no idea what to replace the name with. Makati is a funny name too, which means “itchy” in Tagalog.

Dessert
What stresses you out? What calms you down?

Politics and all manners of power struggle are definitely stressful. Rush hour traffic is also high on my list of stressors.

————
Questions taken from Friday’s Feast blog.

Luis couldn’t have said it any better:

We’re here because the work that we do has become such an intrinsic part of our beings that doing anything else would be a disservice…Our work is, quite literally, our lives.

They do me wrong who say I come no more
When once I knock and fail to find you in;
For every day I stand outside your door,
And bid you wake, and rise to fight and win.

Wail not for precious chances passed away,
Weep not for golden ages on the wane!
Each night I burn the records of the day,–
At sunrise every soul is born again!

Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped,
To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb;
My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,
But never bind a moment yet to come.

Though deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep;
I lend my arm to all who say “I can!”
No shame-faced outcast ever sank so deep,
But yet might rise and be again a man!

Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast?
Dost reel from righteous Retribution’s blow?
Then turn from blotted archives of the past,
And find the future’s pages white as snow.

Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell;
Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven;
Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell,
Each night a star to guide thy feet to heaven.

— Walter Malone

It went the round of emails lately, but for the uninitiated, here’s the call.

I feel sorry for her, actually. But still, what she did was wrong. It’s a truism that call center agents do press the MUTE button from time to time and and bitch back at irate callers unheard, but she should’ve been more careful. The caller also has a problem, and I don’t mean the absence of his DSL connection — man, why vent the frustration on the agent, stupid as she may have been? He could have provided the information that the agent was asking, whether she would elevate the issue to her higher ups or not. Wasn’t it obvious that she couldn’t do anything else about the problem?

And one more thing, when an angry man asks for your name, for pete’s sakes, don’t give him your real name. Invent another or tell him you’re Osama Bin Laden for all you care, but don’t give him the satisfaction of helping you destroy your career.

Proof that anything goes in the Banana Republic:

Congresswoman Marcos’ son to seek Manila mayoralty post

THE 23-year-old model-son of Ilocos Norte Representative Imee Marcos and not former First Lady Imelda Marcos, is running for mayor in Manila in 2007, the lawmaker revealed on Monday.

Congresswoman Marcos said her mother was able to convince her son, Borgy Manotoc, to run for the post since he has a lot to offer to the people of Manila particularly the youth.

The former First Lady will become Borgy’s campaign manager instead, Congresswoman Marcos said.

The lawmaker expressed confidence that Borgy could easily win Manila’s primary voting bloc, which are mostly composed of young voters.

Besides the former First Lady being the former governor of Metro Manila still has strong influence and charisma among the people in depressed areas in Manila, she said.

“With Borgy, it’s like having Imelda Marcos run as mayor of Manila,” the lawmaker said.

“Having my mom as Borgy’s campaign manager, he will definitely get a solid vote in Manila particularly in Sampaloc, Pandacan, Tondo, Quiapo, Binondo, Sta. Cruz, San Miguel and other barangay [villages] in the city,” she said.

She said Borgy’s “lineage and roots” were all from Manila starting from his father, sportsman Tommy Manotoc, and his grandparents who were all from Tondo.

At 23, Borgy will be the youngest mayoralty candidate in Manila as compared to experienced turks like Senators Panfilo Lacson and Alfredo Lim, Congressman Rodolfo Bacani, Vice Mayor Danny Lacuna, and former congressman Mark Jimenez, said Congresswoman Marcos.

Born Martin Marcos Manotoc on April 9, 1983, Borgy — his father gave him the moniker Borgy after tennis icon Bjorn Borg — would be the youngest mayoralty candidate in Manila’s history at 23 years-old.

Known for his good looks, Borgy has modeled for Bench, Adidas, and Swatch and also appeared on a TV sitcom. He recently finished his studies at the City College of New York, majoring in advertising and public relations, while working part-time at an independent record label.

More from the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

What most people don’t know is that the kid is actually smart. But at only 23 and other than having a fashionista lawmaker for a mother, a shoe-crazy grandmom and a dictator for grandfather, he has no solid political/leadership background to speak of. And for Chrissakes, a city as huge, populous and over-all complicated as Manila is not a good training ground for a long-time political career. And it’s not that the others who’ve expressed interest in the post are any better–God knows how awfully they are only after the perks of the office–but, Borgy? The country’s political system needs fresh blood, I agree, but someone who is as politically inexperienced and as rooted in the Marcos family doesn’t seem to be the answer the city is looking for. Why not try for the mayoralty of some far-off municipality in Ilocos if his wish is, indeed, to serve the people? But then again, which politician has ever placed the welfare of the people they are supposed to serve above their desire for power and fortune? It’s not even a nice cliche.

OH well, at least he looks way better than those fat old farts he’s running against. I’d rather look at his half-nekkid glory instead of Lito Atienza’s florla shirt and shameless grin anytime. No one can accuse him as yet of personally dipping his fingers in the public coffers. Not sure about the family, though.

Appetizer
Approximately how many hours per week do you spend reading other blogs?
I guess I spend about 5-7 hours per week reading other blogs. Some blogs I read are those of friends’ while some are the more popular ones, such as those on my “recommended” list.

Soup
Your community wants everyone to give one thing to put into a time capsule. What item would you choose to include?
My cell phone, maybe, since it will be obsolete soon and there will come a time when people would just laugh at such “technology”.

Salad
What is the most interesting tourist attraction you’ve ever visited?
Vigan, Ilocos Sur.

Main Course
If you could give an award to anyone for anything, who would it be and what would the award be titled?
Mabdec (Mike) for Mr. Friendship award. Actually, all the Mikes I know are worthy of Mr. Congeniality citations.

Dessert
What do you think your favorite color reveals about your personality?
I like red. I guess ‘fiery’ is one of the objectives that should come to mind.

From Friday’s Feast.