The Dragon in the Sky

She watches her reflection on the window. Next station Pureza. She sees the dark outlines of buildings and homes. The Dragon passing them by, not minding their existence. 

Through the light of their windows, she gets a glimpse of their life. With the evening growing old, you see the people in their homes eating their dinner, watching tv, sharing the day's activities, and some have decided to end the day. They sleep, not minding the Dragon flying in the sky above. 

She looks and sees the streetlights sparkle, along with the cars' headlights. all rushing, wanting to go home. In the darkness, she is flying, riding in the belly of the flying Dragon in the sky. From this height, she flies away from her troubles, away from this world, and away from everyone. She almost feels free from the loneliness inside. Thrust into the world of silence and calm. The only comfort are the lights which continue to shine, showing the way, the way back home. 

She gazes once again at the face in the window. She sees a face, haunted by exhaustion under messy black hair. The eyes behind the thick glasses, full of wonder and sadness. A sadness so deep she cannot begin to cope. 

She wonders who she is, how the people there saw her. She looked at herself, and saw a writer. A writer flying in a Dragon through the darkness. Taking her home.

She saw the lights. The lights in the darkness was comfort to her. She saw them as friends who would not leave her. 

The Dragon announces the arrival at Anonas, as it slows to a stop. The writer gets off and watches the Dragon disappear into the night. Not to be seen until the break of light. 

She stayed for a moment before she walked away. And as she walked back to reality, she couldn't wait for the freedom which was, inside the Dragon's belly

(Written September 4, 2013 on a train ride home from Recto)

When to Shut Your Mouth

Communicating. Everyone does it, even animals. We communicate because we believe that no man is an island. A man cannot possibly live a healthy life without talking or communicating with another human being.

We talk about all sorts of things with our fellow humans. We talk about the weather, sports, our spouses, and even serious matters like politics and religions.

Yes. we all talk about these sort of things to our companions. But communicating, like everything else in the world, has its limits.

For instance, we don't talk about taboo subjects like sex in public. it's just not appropriate. And we also have to respect the confidentiality of others when they confide in us.

Let us not breathe a word of what they said to others. it's just not right.

And on the internet, when you know you're right, speak up! defend what's correct. Let them learn. And if you're wrong, or have no idea what the hell is going on, shut up. No one wants to hear your half-ass opinion.

I have to learn to keep my mouth shut too. It's not cool to keep talking after everyone else has stopped listening. You'll look like a big jackass. 

But hey, that's just my opinion.

Back Reading

Habang nag aabang ng ibang gagawin para sa thesis namin, at dahil nakikigamit ako ng wifi ng kaibigan, naisipan ko balikan ang mga sinulat kong artikulo this time last year.

Nakita ko ang blogpost na patungkol sa unang dalawang araw ko sa ikatlong taon ng kolehiyo.

binasa ko ito. Nakita ko na napaka dali ng buhay kolehiyo kung wala ka pa sa huling taon. petiks. Salita yan na di alam ng mga kapwa ko Senior students ng Journalism.

OJT at Thesis sem to. lahat ng tao stressed sa paghahanap ng ojt pati na rin sa pagtapos ng thesis na may scheduled defense sa unang linggo ng Agosto.

Ako? hindi ako naiiba sa mga kaklase ko. nakahanap na ako ng OJT, pati, inaasikaso na din namin ang thesis namin. Konti na lang, matatapos na ito.

Mababasa mo sa iba kong blogpost kung kamusta ako sa OJT ko. masaya naman buhay intern eh. Hindi lang talaga halata.

Saan ba ang punto ko ukol sa post na ito? hindi ko din alam. hanggang dito na muna. medyo pagod ako...

Expectations vs. Reality

We have all experienced this at least once in our lives. And for those of you who are reading the first few lines of this blog post for further understanding of what the title is about, let me enlighten you:

Expectation-Reality is when you crate a picture of an event or of a person in your head before you meet them. Thereby, creating an "expectation" for yourself. Reality, of course, is how the person or event or thing actually appears.

For example. You expect the trip to the dentist will be painless and the dentist is a very nice lady who won't use the scary dental drill. When in reality, the dentist is a heartless creature created by God to torture you and your teeth with the scary dental drill.

Sometimes, expectations and reality can be very far apart. and sometimes, it's just right. In example, you expect that school would be boring. when in reality, it is boring. (I'm not pertaining to a certain professor's class, mind you.) Sometimes, you are just correct in  your expectations.

Now, what is the point of my writing this post about expectations-reality? My point is that, I seem to have encountered it today, on my first day as an intern for a local newspaper called: "The Daily Tribune".

I expected to be busy in the office, finding facts, typing articles for school etc. Instead, I am given a few hours to be very lazy. They are even nice enough to let me use their internet. and for what purpose? Why, personal of course! They let me go online. In fact, I'm writing this post from their computer now.

But they did tell me that I will be sent to events and such to be covered for the paper. I then write news about them. and I have to be really good if I ever want to meet the 20 article quota (which, by the way, is ludicrous according to my supervisor.) But I'm not even thinking of the articles anymore. Just the 200hours I have to finish.

So what is my current expectation? I expect to finish the 200 hours by Mid-September. The Reality is still pending, but I hope it will be fine.

I think I'll log out at 5pm. Go home. Eat my dinner. start on the thesis, and then turn in for the night. But then again, these are all just expectations. The reality? well... I'm just hoping they're going to be the same.

Last two weeks

Three months. That's how long this summer was. Now, I can go on and count how many days it's been. But I'm too lazy.

I could also give you a summary of what I have done with my life in that past three months. After all, it must be interesting because I haven't posted much.

Well, on that note, you are very much mistaken. If I were to make a summary of the past three months, it would probably lead you to unfollow this blog. Because all I did was sleep till 10am, stay up late looking at funny cat pictures online, and occasionally, stay up till 3AM, trying to meet the client's deadline.

Yeah. being a writer is awesome as fuck. But let's not talk about that. let's talk about the remaining two weeks of "freedom".

When I realized I only had two weeks left before going back to University, I kinda felt nervous. the same nervousness I felt on my first day as a High school Senior waaay back in 2009.

How is this any different than my senior year in high school? well, for one, after this year, I'll be diving into the confusing sea which they call "The Real World". It's kinda like a video game, only real. It kinda scares me to be honest.

of course, regarding my last year in college, I have expectations. Here are a few of those expectations:

• Less Sleeping Time. I plan on working double time for the Thesis. No, I'm not the leader, but just because I'm not the leader doesn't mean I should get 10hrs of sleep while he does all the work.
• More Stress. On the Job training. this is what all seniors dread. I'm not an exception. I'll be looking for a company crazy enough to take me. I hope I find one.
• homework. I expect we'll be having more homework this year. *sighs*

I'm not ready for any of this! Two weeks... I have two weeks to be mentally ready for this. i just hope, you know... everything turns out fine and that Senior College will be a good year to remember.

I have a Job

Inspired by the Beatles' song: "Paperback Writer", I went on and started work as a freelancer. I have to say, I've been doing pretty well and with each article I write, I get a little bit of cash in my pocket. 

This is my first time using the internet to gain money by doing something I like, namely writing. 199jobs.com has given me the oppurunity I didn't think was possible to get. 

What is 199jobs you ask? It's this beta site where you can offer your services for the small amount of 199php. You can also put add-ons as options for your buyers for you to earn more than just 199 with each order. 



I've been using it since March, and I have to say, things are run pretty smoothly. The site developer, Mr. Glenn Santos, is very accommodating. He even put up this exclusive seller group in Facebook where he and others can post different job opportunities for sellers like me, he also updates everyone through the group about site changes, meet ups (He arranges meet ups every Monday) and he asks for suggestions from sellers on what we think should be added to the site for us to be able to use it more efficiently. 

And I have to say, the site has seen so much improvement since I started using it last March. I can really see myself using it for a longer period of time. 

But how does the site work? 
You can learn more from reading the site FAQS. 

if you have talent, and are willing to do work from home, I suggest you try this out. Who knows? this could be the ticket you're looking for to get that money you need. 

Japan Suicide Forest

I've been doing a lot of online reading lately. I've read all sorts of things. What would happen is that I would read something from facebook trivia pages like What the F*ck facts and I'll be like: "There is no way that's true." Then I would google it and be proved wrong.

It's already happened more than once. I have turned my online time to reading time. I get all sorts of useless information. but these information can come in handy in conversations or when you're out on a date and you run out of topics. You could be like: "hey, did you hear about that guy who died and was devoured by his pet spiders?" 

Well, your date might be grossed out, but at least you have something to talk about. Anyway, I wanted to share something I found strange yet fascinating online. I read somewhere that there was this forest in the foot of Mt. Fuji in Japan where people go to take their lives. 

Naturally, I was skeptical so I googled it. I found that it was called Aokigahara Forest. A very popular place for people to come and take their lives. According to the internet, it was the second most popular place to commit suicide, right after the San Franciso Golden Gate Bridge. 

A noose used for suicide found inside Aokigahara Forest

Regular searches are conducted by the Japanese government to look for suicide victims in the forest. They even went on and posted signs on the entrance telling these people to get help and to think about what they are doing. 

A sign urging suicidal vistors to seek help.

As many as 100 people take their lives in this forest every year. Some bodies don't get discovered until they are nothing more than skeletal remains. Traces of people in the forest can be seen on the forest floor.
 as seen in these pictures taken by search parties, volunteers and journalists. 

I found the items to be depressing, but not as depressing as seeing the bodies. 








While I was looking at these pictures, I couldn't help but feel sad. Sad for these people who were feeling so down that they believed that death was the only exit. I read somewhere that when you commit suicide, you are not eliminating the pain, rather you are eliminating chances of getting better. 

What kind of lesson did I get by reading all about Aokigahara Forest? I learned that you should never let someone go through the darkness alone. And that you should be the friend who holds the light for them. Because in the darkness, they believe they are alone. Show them that they are not. Show them that someone cares. 

You could save a life just by listening. Just by being there. Be aware of your friend or family member's actions. Make sure that whatever hardships they go through, they don't have to go through it alone.




(Images from: Google)