Blog Posts on informal essay

Another tattoo by Going against the current on May 5, 2012I would never imagine getting a tattoo before. Much less having somebody’s name tattooed into my skin. Nonetheless, for some ideas, thoughts, and emotions human language is incapable of succinctly articulating, we still got our body to express...

On old posts by Going against the current on Apr 30, 2012I do not disown them, but as you reread old posts written three years ago, let me give you a disclaimer: they were my thoughts years ago. Then. Some are kept as they are aspects of my core that years gone by simply cannot erase; most, however, were a...

Choosing to be happy* by Going against the current on Apr 25, 2012It has been four years or so since I graduated from college, and the past four years left me a bit disgruntled, dissatisfied, and aimless, even angry. At some point I began to question my motives for staying in Manila, teaching Literature (a subject...

Barok by Going against the current on Apr 22, 2012I am yet to figure out whether the word baroque which refers to “a period of artistic style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, architectu...

Visita iglesia by Going against the current on Apr 21, 2012I asked a Mexican student here how the letter ‘s’ in words like ‘iglesia’ is enunciated. Is it like how my History teacher in college would as in /iglethia/ which I still find funny? Or the more phonetic /iglesya/? I breathed...

Nearness by Going against the current on Feb 29, 2012I rushed from Ateneo to Makati, thirsty, hungry, and physically and emotionally exhausted after a long day of seemingly endless readings and talking. I waited outside your building drenched in perspiration after brisk walking from the MRT station in...

Manila by afternoon by Going against the current on Feb 28, 2012From Bambang, the LRT station closest to San Lazaro Hospital, it took my train an hour to reach Buendia because of several delays–caused by the sheer number of passengers and the numerous halts due to technical problems. The passengers were res...

On the MRT going home by Going against the current on Feb 25, 2012When do we stop? Nowadays nothing is too ordinary as to be barred from being a subject of a blog post or a short essay in one’s page. Everyone seeks to have his share of fame, attention, a chance to be read. It doesn’t matter if it’...

Rabid by Going against the current on Feb 4, 2012I would have gone on blaming poverty for what happened: If that area of Mandaluyong had been more affluent, if the houses had been gated, if the dogs in these houses had been vaccinated against rabies, or at least fed well to keep them from being rab...

A night on the roof deck by Going against the current on Jan 25, 2012It was like the last time, we both ended up spending time on the roof deck, only this time we did not swim because the air was too cold, the water even colder. Instead we sat on a quiet corner and talked about how small we were compared to the tall b...