a SPAM worth reading

SPAM or unsolicited commercial emails saturate networks all over the globe everyday. anyone who utilizes the information superhighway can be a victim of spam if they're not already. i regularly check my email and every now and then, a spam email defies blocking programs of my email provider and sneaks in my inbox. spam usually entices you to open them by having an appealing subject header. "get rich fast," "you've just won $$$," or even "enlarge your penis by 50% fast," to name a few. i must admit i have fallen victim to these traps (but not the last one). i've learned my lesson and just routinely delete any email that is suspicious.

a few days ago i got a couple of spam emails, one with a "get rich fast" kind of subject while the other was "ten most dangerous mistakes men make with women." i know these are just spams but i was intrigued by the second one. i opened it, scrolled down, and just as i thought, it was a commercial ad for a newsletter or ebook or something. scrolling back up, i started reading some very interesting points. now, after every number, the author shares his thoughts but this time i'll do it on my own. here goes:

1. Being too much of a nice guy
the old Filipino saying "lahat ng sobra ay masama" applies here. being too much of a nice guy can oftentimes shove you to the "friends" zone. a girl can get comfortable with you but will see you only as a friend or worse, a brother. and besides, how many gorgeous women have you seen with a jerk? makes you think doesnt it? im not saying be a jerk, im saying be nice, but not too much.

2. Trying to convince her to like you
i've learned that only a few women are capable of a change of heart. if they don't like you, they DON'T like you. one common mistake is trying to convince her to like you. we all do it, but it wont work. it's like quicksand, the more you try to convince her, the more you'll sink.

3. Looking for her approval or permission
now this applies to wussy guys (like me). i think women are annoyed by this act. bad idea, step up and be a man!

4. Trying to buy her affection with food and gifts
you want women to like you for who you are, right? of course, a few gifts and dinners won't hurt but try to limit it. let her get to know you better as you get to know her better. do sweet things and knock her off her feet, the little things usually do.

5. Sharing how you feel too early in the relationship with her
it might be a good idea to keep your feelings on the down low for a while until you feel (or you think she thinks) the time is right. she might be misled by this and misinterpret your intentions with her. share how you feel not too early but also not too late. give her time and give yourself time. try to start-off slow and finish with a bang!

i'll stop here for now. im tied to my priorities (have to study for an exam tomorrow) and will have to finish this another time. part II of will be posted tomorrow or maybe the next day. stay tuned...

my rediscovery of jeff buckley

jeff buckley, virtually unknown to me until i heard a 'hallelujah' song on The OC. his voice caught my ear, i immediately searched for The OC's soundtrack and found "Jeff Buckley - Hallelujah." the song is really calming, not to mention being perfect for "senti" modes.

a week later, i decided to clean my room and found an old song-hits (yeah, i collected those back in the days). i flipped through the pages and saw an article about jeff buckley. apparently, the song 'hallelujah' was an old song, highschool old. reading further i found out that the guy was already dead, died of a freak drowning accident. i figured, i guess its ok. i thought he was a one-hit-wonder and his death was nothing like kurt cobain's. the music industry was not at a loss, and so i thought...

thursday afternoon, i was browsing the internet and turned the tv on, glued on mtv for my background. the show 'hand-picked' was on and a local band known as menaya was supposed to pick the videos. typing away on my computer, i heard a band member mention something about jeff buckley and how emotional his song is. i stopped doing computer-stuff and tuned-in to watch the video "last goodbye." the video was nothing special but the song, the lyrics was great.

This is our last goodbye. I hate to feel the love between us die. But it's over. Just hear this and then I'll go, you gave me more to live for, more than you'll ever know... This is our last embrace, must I dream and always see your face? Why can't we overcome this wall? Baby, maybe it is just because I didn't know you at all... Kiss me, please kiss me. But kiss me out of desire, babe, and not consolation. You know, it makes me so angry 'cause I know that in time I'll only make you cry, this is our last goodbye...

what a loss for music. his words come from the heart and the way he voiced it was splendid. my kudos to jeff buckley! good thing there's still a lot of aspiring musicians that have the same passion and wit. i'm tired of acoustic artists (rip-offs) and local bands (gay) filling up the airwaves with their trying-hard songs. maybe next time i'll post an open letter for radio stations to filter what they decide to play when i listen to them, my ears are bleeding...

T.G.I.W. (but not for fat women in their 40s)

Thank God it's wednesday! two whole weeks since my last blog, and I never looked forward to a wednesday as if it was the 25th of december. two thursdays of exams and 10 days of internship, i am beat. today would be my day of rest, my day to refill my energy and life-enthusiasm tanks.

my internship experience isn't that bad. people are nice and some only 1-2 years my senior. the atmosphere there is more like a coffee shop rather than a hospital pharmacy. well, not all the time. only when fat women in their forties are not around...

after a month at the hospital, the ladies in blue (the resident pharmacists) are always in joke-mode when we're around. everything changes when a huge lady acting as the chief pharmacist comes to visit and inspect. i asked around, turns out there was no chief pharmacist, she was just being an asshole. you're doing a good job lady! another woman, fat and in her forties, talks like a candy, sugar-coating her words. but the message, more like milk gone sour. do this, don't do that. congratulations, you've just won yourself the award for asshole number 2. keep up the good work!

water under the bridge

my wednesday's 7-10 class, my only class for the day, started late. the guest lecturer arrived 8:30 and the lecture started at about quarter to 9. after the class, i figured it was too early to go home so i stayed for a while. i went to the library to do a homework. ok, not really, i went there to mingle with people. as i sit there doing my thing, ms. don't-flatter-yourself entered.

a split-second eye contact was all there was. it got me thinking... are we still an issue? she was there only for a couple of minutes while i continued to chat away with people. 11 o'clock i decided to call it quits and went out to go home. i never thought she was still there at the lobby. i looked at her for a couple of seconds, trying to make our eyes meet but i guess she was avoiding the spots where we had to speak. nothing else to do but go home.

but it was another reflection-type train ride home. and after 20 minutes of pondering, i decided to make ends meet. i got home and i sent her a text message. in that sms i told her that by now, the thing that happened between us should be water under the bridge. i also told her not to have the wrong idea, that i was not looking for a second chance, i just don't want us to be bitter enemies when we can be friends.

surprisingly, her reply was pleasant. i feel happy for her, maybe she's changing, even maturing. i just hope she's as happy as she's pretending. as for me, im happy. i got over her quickly with a new inspiration to boot. which reminds me, i didn't see a butterfly today. but i guess it's ok, i'm exchanging text messages with her right now anyways..

railway trackback

riding the LRT on my way home i started to think. i dunno if it's the loneliness of the trip, amplified by the small number of people on the train, or it's just me. empty seats are around me, i could sit anywhere i want. it wasn't anything like rush hours where standing-up wasn't complete without a stranger rubbing elbows and other body parts with you. the mood in the coach was relaxed and looking around the gaps and spaces led me to think and explore my past, riding the LRT for almost 7 years...

pedro gil: where UP College of Pharmacy is located, where i spent and still spending time for most of my college life.

u.n. avenue: for the first few years of college, this was the stop because it was the closest to the arts and science building of UP manila. a very busy station, NBI, Rizal park, schools and universities. where i fell in love with my LRTmate, the first strike.

central terminal: where students from intramuros and university-belt schools converge. i think they were ecstatic when SM manila was built, finally somewhere they can hang-out.

carriedo: where everything is fake and less than half the price. i do most of my shopping here, shoes, shirts, dvd's, everything are sold by the pirates of the carriedo.

doroteo jose: i remember my ex-gf. i think it was the day she said "yes." it rained, the train was not operational due to a labor strike, mass transportation was stagnant. with a cellphone running out of battery, she asked the security guard of a bus terminal if maybe she could charge her phone for a few minutes. good thing the guard was kind. she called her dad to pick us up, they dropped me at monumento, and i got home 12 midnight.

bambang: the place where pharmacy students go to buy replacement glasswares for broken or oftentimes missing laboratory supplies.

tayuman: the first time i bought flowers for a girl. Dangwa boasts numerous flower shops, perfect for the untrained suitor. only a jeepney ride from the station, i remember carrying a bouquet of flowers. very embarrassing. the looks of people on the train... it was uncomfortable.

blumentritt: a marketplace, look down and see the people stack up like busy ants.

abad santos: not interesting

r. papa: kaye used to live here. i always think of kaye when the train stops at this station.

5th avenue: last station before monumento, only one station away, i can't wait to get home. well, except maybe if i'm with someone i like, then i would wish the train ride not to end.

monumento: might as well go home...

the butterfly's identity

a lot of people are asking me about the butterfly's identity. but most importantly, im surprised that a lot of people know about my butterfly. i know i have at least 2 or 3 avid readers but i guess there's more. maybe it's the constant 'Ron has updated his friendster blog' e-mails. and instead of reporting it as spam, its nice that people checked it out first before deleting it...

but the question still remains. who is the butterfly? for now i can only give clues on her identity. so why give her a name of 'butterfly?' try asking her, it was her blog in the first place. if you really want to know, and if you have a lot of time to waste, why not try to browse my 257 friends in friendster. it's simple really not all 257 are girls, not all of them have blogs to share, and only one of them have an entry about a butterfly. see for yourself!

automatic shutdown

my ordinary day usually starts with waking up late and ends with staying up late, going to bed right after watching conan o'brien or hey arnold at around 1am. but after more than a week of internship at manila doctors hospital, i think the batteries of my biological clock just ran out of power...

this internship is eating up my time and i had to sacrifice a lot of things just to complete it. i sign-out at 8pm, walk a few meters to reach the light rail transit, ride a train for 20 mins, get-off, ride a jeep or fx for another 30 mins and walk a few meters more to get home. all in all an hour of nonsense traveling, not to mention tiring. i reach my room and turn-on the tv and a couple of minutes pass and i find myself snoozing-off. but it's only 9pm! what's gonna happen to my 4 hours! no tv, no internet, no chats, only auto-shutdowns.

and it's a case of wrong timing too. where was this time-eating bully when i need some time off of reality. this thing would have been great if it had started a couple of months back when wasting time was of the essence. this thing would have been perfect keeping me busy trying to forget downfalls, wounds, and heartbreaks. but now that i'm past those hurdles, i really don't think this helps except maybe academically.

with only 58 hours logged-in and 422 hours to go, my life as a nightcrawler may just have to wait a couple of months more...