it took me some time to figure it out (yes, yes, i’m a techno dufus), but i’m back to using the friendster blog thingy to blog my thingies and whatnots. of course i’m still maintaining (BARELY) my other blogs.

anyhow, i’m back. and with lotuses this time. haha.

i have decided to stop blogging on friendster. part of the decision is based on the fact that i am maintaining two other blogs. but bulk of the decision to stop blogging here is the awful, awful new design that friendster blog has.

anyhow, here are the links my other blogs. if you care to see what i’ve been up to, do visit them. boboochichang is me blogging my navel. i am jose claudio is the writerly me.

i hope to meet you in my other blogs soon!

butch g

what’s the next best thing to watching the up pep squad compete at the 2008 uaap cheerdancing competition in araneta coliseum? it’s giving your tickets to a good friend who loves the pep squad even more than you do.

and that’s what i did last night. i gave my tickets (lower box a; a bit too close to the performance area, but getting any kind of ticket was next to impossible) to g. (he is such a fan of the up pep squad, that he is, right at this moment, actually considering shaving his head into a mohawk like the ones the up pep squad boys are sporting).

so this afternoon, as my celebration lunch was winding down, i got a text message from g. that the competition has started. i made a quick exit to take a peek at a television and got to see the dlsu pep squad, ust salinggawi dance troupe, and up pep squad do their routines. the dlsu squad’s routine was, i’m afraid, rather unremarkable. what struck me was their zaido-inspired jumpsuits in dull horrible green. up next was the one team that the up pep squad can call competition. but i was surprised by the quality of performance of the ust squad. they didn’t strike me as as confident as they used to be, and their routine was safe and, as expected, derivative. the up pep squad’s routine was really difficult and, as is expected, original. but maybe it was a little too difficult to perform. the execution, though some sections left me breathless, was, all in all, rather sloppy. last year’s performance was so much better. still, they kicked ass. i wanted to stay in front of the television, but as the lunch was in my honor, i had to go back right away. so enter g. into the picture. i had him text me the results as they unfolded.

here’s our slightly annotated text exchange:

g: watch kau. wil start in a few

me: ox

[butch makes a quick exit and finds a television]

me: pang-ilan and up?

g: d sinabi. lasal 1st

g: ust na

g: ang layo ng degree of difculty. am hapi. bsta di magkamali. . tayo na nxt!

[after butch watches the first three routines, he returns to the luncheon. after what he considers enough interval for the rest of the teams to perform, he texts g.]

me: who won?

g: ito na aftr d cmmrcl. la pa

me: tense!

me: ano na?

g: wala pa. replay pa ng routines. eto na. .

me: balitaan mo ako agad, ha?

g: yup. di ako makapag concentr8 may cute

me: ano na, bading? mamaya ka na umalembong. magupdate ka na muna.

g: 2 feu

g: natatae na ko

g: 1 ust we won!

me: winner!

g: wa poise ako

g: w e w0n! uste 1 feu 2

me: happy yan, super. yehey, yehey, yehey!

g: thanx 4 d tix butch grabe

me: ikaw una kong naisip na isama nang malaman kong nakahanap sila tita lita ng tickets for me. alam kong love mo ang pep squad.

– the end of a happy afternoon –

congratulations, up pep squad. you guys rock!

here she is. got her two nights ago.

yebah!

Poet PAOLO MANALO, essayist BUTCH GUERRERO, and fictionist BAMBI HARPER are this month’s readers at READ LIT DISTRICT: your monthly dose of literature read out loud. They will be accompanied on the piano by ALBERT ROLDAN of the U.P. College of Music.

This month’s READ LIT DISTRICT is on August 28, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. at the Jorge Vargas Museum, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. The performance is open to the public.

READ LIT DISTRICT is a project of the Creative Writing Committee of the U.P. Department of English and Comparative Literature. All readers are faculty members and students of the Department’s Creative Writing Program.

last night omeng and i met up at sarah’s to  plan our outfits for the
palanca awarding ceremony. omeng won third prize in the maikling kwento
category, and i won first prize in the  essay category. i intend to
come in a suit, but omeng wants something more laid back. he’s thinking
of wearing a long sleeved shirt. i want to wear a suit because i want
to live it up; i’m not sure i’d ever win again. haha. omeng, on the
other hand, only wants to go to the ceremony for the raffle.

as
for our dates, i’m going with my aunt (my late mother’s only surviving
sibling who closed the deal when she said that if i take her to the
awarding i can have whatever i want. haha). omeng has yet to decide who
to bring. right now it’s a toss up between his best friend roland t and
his sister carol b. because of this, omeng gets to have more fun at the
awarding. he gets to drink all the wine he wants since he doesn’t have
to behave. me, since my aunt will be beside me the whole night, i will
have to be a proper boy. oh well.

i’m really glad omeng and i
won. we both didn’t take joining the  contest very seriously. i almost
didn’t push through with my application on the day of the deadline
because it was such a hassle looking for a notary public. if anna s and
jessel d didn’t bully me into doing it, i would’ve just headed off to
sarah’s to drink instead of going to taguig to hand in my entry. omeng
didn’t want to bother with looking for the new palanca office in
taguig, so he mailed his entry and forgot to send his cv with it. it
was sometime july that he received a call from the palanca people
asking him to send them his cv asap.

what makes me glad we won,
aside from the obvious reasons, is that omeng and i go a long way back.
we’ve known each other since we were undergraduates in up diliman. we
worked together in the college of arts and letters student council. in
1997 i was chair and omeng was the filipino department representative.
we didn’t get along quite well then because i think he found me too
apolitical and frivolous. haha. who would have thought that through the
years we’d develop a friendship and, ten years after graduation, end up
at sarah’s on a rainy saturday night to drink and plan outfits for the
palancas.

congrats, omeng!

one of my bosses at the institute of creative writing, jing hidalgo,
asked me to write an article on this year’s palanca winners who were
also fellows at this year’s up national writers workshop in camp john
hay, baguio city. so i’ve rifled through facebook photo albums of some
of the participants and stolen some of the pictures. i was hoping
they’d help jog my memory and allow me to write a nice article. well,
my tactic doesn’t seem to be working. i’ve been tapping away at my
keyboard for over an hour now, but i still can’t come up with anything
decent. so i’ve decided to post a blog. this way, i’d have something to
show for my efforts.

this year is particularly good for up
national writers workshop fellows, i think, because four of them made
it to this year’s palanca roster. they are ian casocot (1st prize,
short story), allan derain (3rd prize, maikling kuwentong pambata),
mookie katigbak (2nd prize, poetry), and tara sering (2nd prize, short
story). maybe what adds to the palanca-esque feel of this year’s batch
is that two palanca hall of famers, jun lana and nick pichay, were also
workshop fellows.

and perhaps due to osmosis, i, who had gone
up to baguio with the workshoppers as a sidekick (i wanted to spend a
week in baguio, so i begged marby villaceran to let me join them in
exchange for my yaya services), also managed to secure a palanca for
myself. haha. maybe this is also the reason why jing asked me to write
the artcile in the first place. hmn….

anyhow, here are their photographs courtesy of rica bolipata santos, nick pichay, and jun lana. thank you, guys!

The
following are the University of the Philippines Press activities in
celebration of the centenary of the University of the Philippines. All
events are open to the public.

June 8 to 30. The UPP Centennial Flags.
In celebration of the UP Centennial, we are sprucing up our front lawn
with an installation of flags in UP colors forming the number 100.

June 9 to 30. Centennial Book Sale.
Shoppers can expect discounts of up to 80% on UPP titles. Non-UPP
titles are included in the sale. As we expect hordes of UP alumni to
come visit the university this month, we have a special offer. Anybody
who buys at least P1000.00 worth of books and other products may
purchase the titles included in our special UPiana selection at a 30%
discount.

The
UPiana selection includes books that are specifically about UP and are
perfect for anyone waxing nostalgic or simply eager to learn more about
our alma mater. They are also ideal gifts for long lost classmates and
family members who are also from UP.

We
have spruced up the UP Press Bookstore in Diliman in preparation for
the display of the University of the Philippines Press Centennial
Publications, which will begin to be released by the second half of
June.

UP
Press Book Store – Diliman is at the ground floor of Balay Kalinaw.
Store hours are from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. from Monday to Friday. A
break from 12:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. is observed. Similar sales will be
held at the other branches of UP Press Book Store in Baguio, Cebu, and
Davao.

June 21. UP Press at the Grand Alumni Homecoming.
We have a booth showcasing UP Press titles and the UP Press Centennial
Publications at the Araneta Coliseum during the Grand Alumni
Homecoming.

July 10. First Launching of the UP Press Centennial Publications. We are hosting a cocktail party at Balay Kalinaw at 6:00 p.m. to mark the launch of the first installment of The University of the Philippines Press Centennial Publications, a landmark collection selected from our highly-acclaimed roster of titles.

This
collection comprises excellent works carefully selected by the
University of the Philippines Press Editorial Board from our classic,
latest, and forthcoming titles. Written by some of the best minds the
University has produced, The University of the Philippines Press Centennial Publications
includes books which have added to the intellectual ferment, impacted
upon aspects of life and culture, served as pioneering studies, and
provided summative views on important topics.

Among the
authors are National Scientists, National Artists, and respected
scholars. To put it simply, these titles are among the most excellent
of the excellent. What better way to honor a university that has, for
the past one hundred years, led the Philippines in all academic and
artistic pursuits?

The University of the Philippines Press Centennial Publications will be identified by a special logo affixed to their covers.

September 13. Grand Launching of the UP Press Centennial Publications. A special gathering of all the writers and editors whose books were selected as part of The University of the Philippines Press Centennial Publications at the SMX Convention Center of Mall of Asia during the Manila International Book Fair. The fete begins at 6:30 p.m.

Visit the UP Press Pavilion at the Manila International Book Fair to sample and purchase The University of the Philippines Press Centennial Publications and our regular titles and avail of special discounts on selected items.

December 12. Centennial Thanksgiving.
We are hosting a cocktail party at Balay Kalinaw in UP Diliman as
thanksgiving for the Centennial and as way to mark the completion of The University of the Philippines Press Centennial Publications. The party begins at 6:00 p.m.

December 15 to 21. UPP Joins UP Para sa Bayan.
Check out our tent at the Academic Oval in UP Diliman. Selling hours
are from 1:00 to 8:00 p.m. on weekdays and from 8:00 to 5:00 on
weekends.

i never thought that one day jun cruz reyes will write a poem for me. well, last night he did. here it is.

Tula para kay Butch

Ang saya

tulad ng buhay

ay kusang sumusulpot,

tulad rin ng hangin

naririyan, di napapansin

ang dapyos na nagpapaalala,

ng buhay at ng saya,

minsan sa Sarah’s.

– Jun Cruz Reyes, 4/16/08, 7:56 p.m.

yesterday, after doing a gazillion chores, i went with my sister to buy groceries. we dropped by a booksale branch, and i got me three books for only one hundred pesos. my three finds are monkfish moon and other stories by romesh gunesekera (to replace the copy stolen from me several years ago), the news from paraguay by lily tuck  (national book award winner), and the road to wellville by t. c. boyle. i’m happy because i’m a huge fan of boyle and gunesekera and i’ve heard much about tuck’s work but i’ve never read her.