meetjopeblack

One of the greatest compliments I received albeit tangentially is when we (my fiancee, my fiancee's sister, my fiancée's mother's sister and myself that is) went shopping in Shangri-la.  My fiancée's mother's sister whom we affetionately address as Tita Fe (see also FEU.  see also CFO) was trying on a classy number from Vivenne Tam.  She thought it was too dressy (and I thought this is too long an introduction to what this entry is about).  "Wala namang okasyon," she exclaimed.  (Here comes the compliment which is utterly tangential)  My fiancée's sister jokingly reacted, "Eh di gumawa kayo ng okasyon gaya ni Ate."  I didn't get it at first until my fiancee Cathy repeated it to me in slow mo.

You see, Cathy and myself are fond of creating our own event to warrant our shopping for expensive clothes.  Let me rephrase that--the date plan, the romantic public interlude is projected first and is matched by clothes which let me just say, are not your typical workaday outfits.  Twice we did formal out of the blue; mostly are semi-formal chic clothes when watching plays or attending premiere nights.  Yes, we do plan for it and surprise each other with our jope-ness and cathy-ness in fashion.  That's the event--actually the start of it because throughout the date, we continue acting our most prim and proper selves while remaining consistently romantic as if it were our first time.  I love this about us or better, I simply love us.  Ours is exceptional and I take great pride in it.

Today's our 22nd month and we celebrated our monthsary (for the first time) with a bang! (Actually, very quietly as we fell asleep on my bed while watching National Geographic's The Secret Bible Week feature.)  In fact, isn't this so much louder than outrageous dress-up dates or sinfully expensive dinners?  We slept like we are a real couple (see also married couple.)--she listened to me snore and I got me a huge audible fart!  Boom! Perfect!

Pre-22nd monthsary events include (but are not limited to) a very long drive to Laiya, Batangas while dumping on any gas station we can pass by to relieve ourselves (was it the corned beef or the bread or the dinner we ate prior?), a dip in the greek-style pool in Cocogrove, a flying trapeze kind of harnessed-gliding, touring home stores for business cards for Metro Home, a candle fixture from Regalong Pambahay, a movie premiere, a Php7 polvoron treat and two servings of Quickly taro shake, dinner at M Cafe, our very own Viktors (mine's my own design and hers is a regular V8 for everyday use), a bronzer from Body Shop, two new cell phones, an FHM copy of the Eula Valdez cover (we are fans!), a dramatic fight complete with walk-outs and throwing of movie power lines included, haircuts at Piandré and Raul's, Tofu Mango Shake and Pannacota at this place below Pinnacle Eastwood ["It's Brown Bag Cafe hun," reminds Cathy (cf. comments)] and a picture with Eula Valdez after laughing our hearts out at Zsa Zsa Zaturnnah: Ze Muzikal.

All in only two weeks, imagine what 22 months is.  Being with Cathy is always an event (see also bliss).  She sent me this before we slept the day off in our own beds:

Jope, before the day is over
I want to greet
you a happy 22nd month
of being together.
I love you.

To which I replied:

Happy, happy.  I am so happy,
still very happy and satisfied
with what we are, how we've been,
and what we dream of becoming.
But more so, I'm very happy with
our answer to the why's of
our 22 months (+counting) of
sweet loving.
Thank you, Cathy.  I love you.
Still.  Always.  Forever.

Currently watching: Making the Video of Fall Out Boy's Dance, Dance

The gay Santacruzan in Sta. Elena, Marikina is a must-see during the May flower season.  Not only do the gays get to parade their made-up faces and feminine bodies, the procession becomes an opportunity for aspiring designers to showcase their couture in one of the biggest ramps there is--that is, the whole of the town of Marikina!

The town fiesta falls on the 3rd of May which is highlighted by a procession of young girls in gowns acting as the dames of Queen Helen who was said to have found the cross of Christ during the time of Constantine. Santacruzan or procession of the Holy Cross, then, is really a religious event celebrating the universalization of Catholicism because through that cross did Constantine choose Christianity as his empire's official religion.  This search and eventual finding of the cross has been incorporated in the Church's tradition which is repeated annually through the Santacruzan.

In contrast, the May 4 parade which stars gays in gowns seems like a mockery of the said tradition.   It does not have anything to do with the original story of St. Helen and Constantine.  These are just gays who want to flaunt their sexuality around.  And precisely because they are gays and have nothing better to do but make us laugh and/or trim our hairs, their tradition should be frowned upon as a display of their psychological illness.

Not so in Marikina.  These gays are very much accepted in my town.  They are not sick individuals who know nothing about the sacred and the holy.  Sure, they express their beliefs in God sometimes appallingly contrary to the common form but they know truth, justice, beauty and the holy (and have displayed them well) as seen in their own procession last night.  There they are parading with the heaviest of petit-coats, crowns, and capes, bearing the torture of having to walk the concrete roads in pointed stilletos still with the inerasable smile.  There they are showing everyone what they are, accepting their  scorned existence, making a statement that their existence is as beautiful as the common-gendered tao.  The May 4 procession may not be a religious festival yet it does not cease to be holy.

Thanks to Arnel for my regular hot oil treatment at Raul's. S/he was lovely that night although not smiling.  S/he just broke up with he/r lover whose details s/he refuses to disclose to me yet.

I wanted to write about the debate on the showing of the Da Vinci Code but I haven't read the book and haven't seen the movie yet.  I have to admit no authority on that.  I wanted to write about the Gospel of Judas.  Actually I have scribbled my thoughts on the documentary in National Geographic but then, I'm too tired to write any of my attempts to profundity just yet.  I'm currently editing my pre-M.A. paper on Rorty and boy, overhauling a crappy paper is more difficult than writing a new one.  I wanted to write about my Chowking halo-halo experience but it was too action-filled (and noisy with shouting and voice modulation drama shit) and I also don't want to give them space in my blog.  My blog is sort of my life and if a thing occupies a space here even if it were a few bytes, they're part of me.  I don't want Chowking to be part of my history.  (Uh-oh, what did I just do?!)  I wanted to write about the Mt. Everest expedition and the corals in Balicasag and teaching philosophy and sex addiction and family life and basketball and... (do i really want to write about these things?)

I want to write about our wedding plans as I'm surprised by the speed it took us to flesh out our dream wedding but  it's not yet complete so I'd rather hold the announcement until after the wedding. hahaha!  I'd rather do a presscon to directly answer questions and comments.  It's more personable that way.  Personable? (shift f7 says amiable, pleasant, friendly, affable)  Affable! Don't you just love the sound of that word?  It sounds--uhm, cool?  Like "be that as it may" or "succinct" or "off hand"!

I've been writing serious papers for weeks now from a manifesto on work to my boss to an evaluation of my former boss to an essay on the death of God and society to this paper on multiculturalism to a plug for my philosophy course this schoolyear.  There are two more papers lined-up in my head.  One is the revised version of my paper on Scheler's foundations for multiculturalism and two, the one on the impotence of God.  Oh there's another one, a paper on...pffft...my mind went blank.

It's hard to always be thinking.  It's hard to always be brewing new insights in one's head and searching for words to capture the tone and essence of what you want to say.  Writing is not as effortless as one thinks.  It is a discipline one needs to subject himself to--to find the exact words, to correctly combine these words, to creatively spin the sentences into one coherent paragraph, to build suspense and climax and a brilliant denouement to the whole essay.  And these starts by sitting down, recalling past experiences, and creating a narrative in one's head.

(In the middle of this writing, I changed my shirt and wore my favorite Amigo.  I literally, can't breathe from the blue shirt I was wearing earlier.  It was too tight I'm getting rashes on my underarms.)

I don't think this entry makes sense.  Well I'm not trying to.  I wanted to write about so many things but really all I wanted to say is that creativity also follows certain rules.  One spins his own thread but it is still regulated by a set of do's and don'ts to maintain intelligibility and art.

I want to sound like Chuck Palahniuk or Dave Eggers or Jonathan Safron Foer or Nick Hornby.  But before I go into the free stream of consciousness writing, I should first master scholarly academic writing and that means, I have to get back to work.  Ciao!

Resumé

Main Entry: ré·su·mé
Variant(s): or re·su·me or re·su·mé/'re-z&-"mA, "re-z&-' also 'rA- or "rA-/
Function: noun
Etymology: French résumé, from past participle of résumer to resume, summarize, from Middle French resumer
1 : SUMMARY
2 : CURRICULUM VITAE

A resumé is an enumeration of one's qualifications and achievements usually given to a prospect employer.  Some begin theirs with their career objectives while others sell themselves through a studioed (see also photoshopped) pic of themselves followed by pages and pages of educational attainment, work experiences, and seminars and trainings attended.  But nothing beats a good ol' one page list of beefy vignettes of one's accomplishments especially if one is able to rake in huge profits for the company he/she previously worked for.  That definitely saves a resumé from being filed to oblivion!

Yet there are countless things one does which are not in one's resumé.  Like playing with your nephews and nieces, building a sand volcano for them complete with fire and smoke.  Or buying your folks buko tart from Tagaytay or getting a good bargain of pineapples, four a hundred plus two small ones free.  Or offering an old lady a seat in a fully-packed LRT train to Santolan.  Or cheering up a tired varicose-veined saleslady who has been stationed since the mall opened.  Or complimenting the cook's appetizing caramelized banana wraps (aka turon).  Or simply listening to a friend lament on the what must have been's of the what has been's.

These things are not meant to be listed nor to be publicized but they speak a lot about the character of the person.  They may not be work-related but they are tell-tale signs of one's capacity to work effectively and one's ability to forge healthy tie-ups with others.  These things can never make it to the editing room of MS Word when one types his/her resumé.  The resumé is the self fossilized in the rocks of the marketable and the profitable.  Itdoes not provide for an accurate description of the person.  It is only a summary of one's accomplishments and general background with regard to work.

Work is just one aspect of the human person.  At the end of the day, it's not only about one's accomplishments at work that matter (although this spells appointment, a raise or a promotion to the working class).  It is also about the sense of fulfillment the person has--his confidence in himself and his ability to see his place in the greater scheme of things.  Those written in a resumé are just icings on the cake.  Or is it the sense of fulfillment that which makes the cake sweet? 

Whether it be the icing or the cake itself, the question is, do you work for the resumé or is the resumé cast because of an excellent all-out job at work?  Does your resumé summarize your performance?

Yours to answer.

Today's weather is restless Currently watching: the TV's color bars

meetjopeblack

Why haven't I written about my views on the Da Vinci Code or the Gospel of Judas yet?  I've been holding back on an entry about them: one, because everyone's seem to have gone mad about these two books and two, because I don't want to heap fuel into the fire.  Wrong word.  I don't know if I'm just in denial about the fiery debate these two books ignited, but really I don't see any reason why we catholics should be on the defense.  There is no fire, it's only the media making a cockfight between Dan Brown and the Catholics or the gnostics and the Christians.  One thing I'm sure of is this, the Gospel of Judas, the Da Vinci Code, the Da Vinci Code Exposed, the Gospel of Judas Shredded, whether they be on the side of Dan Brown or on the defense of the Catholics, these are just money making gambits riding on the momentum the played up "controversy" has started.  They're no informational, educational, self-help, or for-soul-searching materials.  This is all about the money at the expense of the baby-faithed!

Take for example Exposingthedavincicode.com from the ICS (or EWTN) channel.  Fifteen mintues into the show, the "Ph. d" host hasn't substantiated his claims about the so-called lies the movie has concocted.  He said that the movie is an attack to the Catholic faith and that he is there to belie all the accusations and counter point by point all the chapters of Dan Brown's book.  The viewers just have to log on to his site and wait for the announcement from his director about the dvd he produced in response to the Da Vinci Code.  If these counterattacks were really to ferret out the truth, there'd be no need for a $20 love donation to get the dvd!  He, together with a host of others, are riding on the popularity of the Da Vinci book to earn big bucks just as Mr. Brown did since he first came out with his obra.  They're even worse than Dan Brown himself who at least admits his story as fictional in nature.  They, by claiming to be in hold of the truth, are actually adding to the confusion.  Go to your nearest bookstore, Fully Booked, Powerbooks, National, Barnes and Noble, see what's on the special selection table at the center aisle for more examples of the craze!

What's clear to me is that there is a hunger for the truth behind Jesus' mysterious dvinity and humanity!  What's clear is that people are in search for a deeper appreciation and understanding of who their God is.  They have heard so many a time about God's love and their must-do acts of charity "to please God" (cf. The Purpose Driven Life) and repentance and forgiveness and love and love and love and love over and over again.  They want more.  They want to know Jesus better so that they can relate with him more.

On the other side of the spectrum are the people who because of their diminishing faith are seeking quotes and clips from either the fictional Da Vinci Code or the gnostic gospels to warrant their incredulity.  Incredulity is not the right word but it's the first thing that comes to mind.  I don't think it's really a lack of faith that besets them, rather it is religion-fatigue compounded by the desire to break free from structural restraints hence, any word or sound or tatter of religious-rebellion from anyone, they scamper to the nearest exit like moths flying to their deaths as they near their "light".

At the men's room on the second night of the Da Vinci Code screening, I heard a young man tell his peers, "Dude, x should see [the Da Vinci Code] so that he may know that his prayers are pointless!"  I can't help but show my disgust hearing that--where the hell did he get that from the movie?!  I haven't read the book, it's only the movie I saw but based from the noise this movie has generated prior to the premier, I was expecting something radical and faith-shattering in the movie.  All it gave me was a yawn and a scratch; the movie is too on the safe side!  All it did was to remind me how little I know of the great floodway of knowledge (which is not entirely different from the experience of watching Jeopardy!).  [Hotel Rwanda is much more disturbing than this movie. Or X-men: The Last Stand--feel the wrath of Phoenix!]

That goes the same for the Gospel of Judas.  There's nothing in the gospel which will counter the existing teachings of Christianity.  Whether Judas was really instructed by Jesus to betray him or Judas just misinterpreted Jesus' words about becoming the brightest of stars, whether Judas did commit suicide or not,  (or in the Da Vinci Code) whether Jesus and Mary of Magdala were wed and sired children, whether Jesus loved Mary more than any other apostle, the point is that we find god in ourselves as in the example of Jesus.  This is the real gospel.  The gospel is not to put Jesus on a pedestal, or Mary, or Judas, or the apostles.  The good news is that we have the godness of God in us and that is enough to restore the dignity of our lost humanity!  To consign to Jesus alone the essence of our royal dignity as persons is to miss the whole point of the coming to being of Jesus and his dying on the cross and his rising from the dead.  The myth of Jesus is the story of the salvation of our dignity as human beings!

Now, for the thrill-seekers with regard to their faiths, all you need to do is get your Bibles (yes! that dusty thick black or gold book on your shelves).  There are tons of hidden symbols and literary forms with covert meanings and messages about God and the messiah waiting to be explored.  Fr. Vic Salanga, S.J., my friend and spiritual director, can help unlock these things for you every Wednesdays, 8pm at the Loyola School of Theology.  Those collected in what we now dub as the Bible are more radical and myth-busting than the Da Vinci Code and the gnostic gospels combined.

All I'm saying is: study your faith first before you leave it.  Know who your God is so that you may also know who you are and what you're looking for.

Currently reading: Milan Kundera's The Unbearable Lightness of Being