Well, I'm off to my next adventure.


"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players.
They have their exits and their entrances,
And one man in his time plays many parts,
His acts being seven ages."
-- William Shakespeare from As You Like It (II, vii, 139-143)

This trip would conclude my summer escapades. After this, I guess it will be time to revisit my social life.

Oh, still going to decide that is ^_^ tee hee

Have reached the late part of the second quarter of 2006 and might I say, it has been exhilirating. The month of May is just around the corner, and well, it reminds me of a few things.

Namely, it's the time the summer cicadas begin humming in our home barrio in Cavite. The cacawate trees will be bearing fruit [or rather, beans], not that they're edible. But it's because I had an ongoing challenge of trying to grow a bonsai out of that tree for the nth effing time.

It's not a good candidate though, as technical as bonsai-making goes, because it grows too fast. And it has weak wood structure.

And the other things is, hmmm. Ah, well, forward!

Okay I just took a certification exam for J2EE with Brainbench.

And I effing passed.

No reviewing, no cheating (well maybe just one item), no NOTHING. Using only the power of deductive reasoning, intelligent guessing, and digging through my disorganized memory for tidbits of information.

I now fear myself o_O

The damn paper where that certificate will be printed on is in $$$ though. Hah, bite me.

When you're weak, you can't type much can ya?

Ack.

*collapses*

Okay just a warning, only geeks wouldn't be bored with the following stuff.

I think a year ago, I came by Li Po's guide to the planes. Click >>here<<


Poke goes the dragon -_-

Okay, first off, a plane is another place of existence, and I'm sure many of you have come across this bit of concept one way or the other. We can say that Heaven and Hell are separate planes of existence. Sort of a place for good and a place for evil that is separate from our universe [or something] where us mortals reside.

Planewalkers are those who cross these planes of existence. Although some are quite dangerous to the unprepared -_=

Now, some guys have the creativity to put alignments in it: Law and Chaos. That's in addition to Good and Evil. So Heaven and Hell ain't that simple anymore. Although if you do look, the lores of Christian moral duality still exist here, intertwined with Viking-like, and Greek-like fiction.

The reason I came to the said site was because I was looking for more info when I was still playing much of Neverwinter Nights (great game for it's 'recent' time I tell you).

In the game, I was a cleric and is supposed to battle with Mephistopheles on the sixth layer of Hell, Cania. What I go was that 'Cania' was based on the name of a biblical character, Cain, who as most people know, is the brother of Abel and did some pretty nasty stuff.

It's a Dungeons and Dragons game [and to some ignoramus would label it as some satanic game, the idiots] so it uses D20 rules, or to the more common people of the world, the game uses a 20 sided die to play.

Think of it as a glorified Snakes & Ladders but much, much more complex. In fact, sometimes you need a handbook o_O

Incidentally, it was with Neverwinter Nights have I learned the rules for D&D itself -- I never really played the pen and paper version.

So back to my senseless drivel.

Yeah, as I was looking for lores and fiction [to fire up my imagination], I came across an interesting creative twist about Hell. It has layers, that is evidently based on Dante's work, Paradise Lost. But not only that, demons are different from devils.

See? Demons are chaotic, while devils are lawful. In comes the alignments from TSR [right?]. Demons live in a different plane from Devils. And if they see each other, they'll obliterate each other. Cool huh?

Now if there is chaotic evil [demons] and lawful evil [devils], think about lawful good and chaotic good. And think about the number of planes that can come in between these.

It doesn't stop there. Now add the elemental planes of Fire, Water, Earth, Air, Negative, Positive and mix them up, and what do you get?

Took me hours enjoying myself about what other people wrote for adventures >:) Like I said, I'm a fan of medieval fantasies, so the usual mix of elves, dwarves, dragons, halflings, dark elves are in there, along with many interesting and uncommon creations like aasimars, tieflings, mind flayers (a feared creature), and so much more.

As for me, I have a liking for the plane of Arborea. A place of chaotic good, where people are free to do what they want, express themselves and just be plain rowdy and party XD while still being a good guy ofcourse. Lots of trees too for some nature tripping fun.

Just about a few moments after having my 3230, I knew I can use it for something else. Namely, turn it into a mini-scanner!

So here's a quick sketch from my rusty hand:


A bit androgynous, but this IS a female drawn in mind. I used to use them a lot as subjects because in a way, their faces are simpler to draw with my hands

Had to photoshop it a bit to adjust contrast. Some camera phones have better shots, but I'm doubting it's just megapixels. Motorola might just have better cams. Or could it be my lens are foggy.

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears, and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again: and then, in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open and show riches
Ready to drop upon me; that, when I waked,
I cried to dream again.
- Act 3, Scene 2 from William Shakespeare's The Tempest

Right now I'm listening to Breakaway along with the Palawan pictures. It's what's supposed to be what I tried to do on a post down below. I love associating songs with a sequence of pictures.

Sort of inducing a mental MTV and call it a magnificent work of personal art. Me the only audience.

Yeah, I have facilities like that in my mind, and much more.

Because ... there's so much out there you know? That special angle of view that says, "Damn, I could live with this all my life" or "This ... I was born just to see this".

It is some form of a euphoric, uplifting feeling. Did ja get?

It's like it has become important that I could still remember the number of clouds in the sky. Or the color of the sunset when it touches my skin. There's this utter silence I must absorb and come in terms with the myriad mysteries that only really needed to be said or spoken but never answered.

If it gets answered, then it's not pretty anymore. It's known, mediocre, like a forgettable jut on a building piece ornament. It makes the picture better, but you'll only notice it if it's not there.

So what am saying here?

Absolute nonsense. These are zen thoughts. It's supposed to be like shouts to nothingness. Sort of like something as insipid as the line "The individual is everything. Everything is the individual". Yet if find yourself drinking those lines, then it means you've come to the next level of existence.

Which I believe where I'm at right now. Probably because I have an idle mind. *Tee hee*

Okay, now back to work. I just got reprimanded, LOL

MirrororriM writes "According MSNBC article, a judge has ruled in favor of a worker that was repeatedly warned for surfing the internet on company time. Only a "reprimand" is a fitting punishment - not termination. From the article: 'It should be observed that the Internet has become the modern equivalent of a telephone or a daily newspaper, providing a combination of communication and information that most employees use as frequently in their personal lives as for their work.'"

LOL, but the funny part were the replies. Click >>here<<

Muhahahaha!


I'm scary. Yes indeed. I got my ass whooped by kids though.


Be scary for nothing but fear. Be an eater for nothing but children.

Yeap, fun times XD

Saw this in a pet shop


To fur or not to fur

And I really, really want to do the same. True you don't achieve anything when you're lazy. Then again, was life about achieving anything at all? Heck, life is anything you want it to be and not what other people think XD

So I say to you all, procastinate! Put off that work and just do nothing! Yes!

Be the epitome of unproductivity that you are! Worry not, even if you go hungry and die, that all good things come by waiting ... and sleeping ... and rolling over on a soft, soft bed ...

zzZZzzz

I just posted to rant that up until now since the night before yesterday, I could still see and feel the mosquito bites that peppered my arms and legs.

A mosquito bite never last for more than half a day on me. Ever.

So I'm wondering if those things just mutated in our area and have developed toxins that lets the itch stay far longer than usual.

On a more geeky biological note, since I was a kid I have observed at least three species of these pesky vermin.

The larval stage of these critters we call wrigglers, because they swim by wriggling and eats just about anything -_- they can only breed in stagnant water [hence, health officials usually treat areas like this]

Two of the three species I've observed are easy to detect because they swim near the surface of the water. The pupal stage make them all the easier to see because it does nothing but kick-swimming to help get out of danger. Plus, they have a big, prominent head.

I would say that at least one of those two can cause those damn mosquito bites that lasts like the one that did this to me recently. And they fly very fast, sometimes nimble enough to escape even a kung fu master's grip.

The third, however, I call the 'Goliath'. Simply because it's the largest and its larval stage look more like a worm rather than a wriggler. It stays at the bottom of a body of stagnant water. This is the hardiest larva, because no matter what I do [put household chemicals in the water, short of muriatic acid] it manages to live o_O

Its mature stage also is the largest, fortunately, it makes it easier to detect in the air when it is flying :} All the more satisfying to obliterate it.

yeeargh.

People often take things for granted.


I often pass by Megamall. But this time, I decided to view it in vivid colors ...

Especially when they mess up what is, and what is not really important.

Sunday evening and I was bored out of my skull. Not that I need company, but I just needed to take a walk. And oh, Megamall is just a good 20 minutes away from my place.

I need time to remember how the world is doing okay. And that I am in it, thankful, grateful, and altogether peachy. I am thankful I have eyes yet to see the faces of people come and go, with their own cares and worries. I am thankful I could take in the scents of perfumes just by the department store and the tingling sensation that they have chico fruits at the supermarket [not many with good quality though].


I paused for a moment as I passed by this establishment just beside the supermarket. Why? This is where I met my first date ^_^ sweet girl

I'm taking it slowly these days. There's no need to hurry to go anywhere, or anyhow. I'm thinking how long I'd be on my diet, since I now weigh 150 lbs, which means I lost 10+ lbs in three weeks. And like I said, it's funny how I can now cross-leg my thighs o_O and it's an unfortunate thing that I now have to wear belts even on my tightest pants.


The view from my bed to the window. If today went bad, tomorrow will always be good for something.

Let not things be taken for granted anymore.

He will paint the light and shade, colors and the trees ...

I had no compunction to act like a lunatic/weirdo when I have a chance to.

Hey, circumstances dictate that I be that way [blame it on the drugs pumped to my veins for a year and see if you can think normal].

~~~

Nikki: Oi, TJ [they call me TJ -_-] andito na tayo sa zoo! Anong hayop ka? [an attempt at a joke at my expense -_-*]
Me: ... di ko nga alam kung anong kahayupan meron ako e.

It doesn't sound anything spectacular. But imagine me saying that with an old lady just beside me in a kanto boy tone. Gran laughed hard at that, much to everyone's surprise including me.

And I've been hearing the word "kahayupan" the rest of the time we went there -_-*

~~~

It was night time. And it was time for Gran and the gang to have some soulful discussions and stories and stuff over a bottle of Bailey's [she was vehemently forbidding us to drink during Good Friday].

Then all of a sudden, I remembered the zebra we saw in Calauit that day. The reason it went into my mind was because ...

It's weiner was sticking out.

Then I faced Liz beside me and asked, "Have you ever wondered why zebra's weiners don't have stripes like their skin?"

She instantly snorted a laugh for bringing that up while everybody else was in a serious mood. Gran took notice of me and immediately asked what we were chuckling about.

And well, I added almost innocently, "Like you know? Why doesn't it look like Stick-O's?"

They laughed at that, but incidentally, it didn't do anything good for my dignity.

~~~

One should take note that in a place like coron, animals and insects are always on the prawl.

But the most prominent of them all is the tuko. I'm not sure what's the equivalent English translation of it, it just resembles a very large gecko lizard.

Now that's fine and dandy and while the tuko are doing their night time calls [the infamous "tchuk-kooo"] there's one with a pretty unique take on everybody else.

This tuko was doing his concert inside a drum.

Hence, his calls were amplified in sound along with accompanying mini-echos, if you can imagine it.

We thereby dubbed it, cyber-tuko. Coz, you know, he sounds like Robocop who got his metallic testicles kicked.


No, this is a chameleon, and not the tuko =_=

~~~

more to come when I remember it! :)

Okay, I got my new phone. It's a Nokia 3230!


This is me in my dank, dreary den. Yes, I love darkness muhahahaha

I chose it for the following reasons:
- integrated camera (1.3 megapixel)
- mp3 player
- FM radio
- big screen
- relatively slim
- aaaand bluetooth

Bought it at almost the same price as my 3300 a couple of years ago. Geez, how technology flies. Next time I'll check it might come with a built-in laser sword o_O

I'm not that techie to delve into the more sordid details and fuss about some technobabble with some cool feature and stuff. As long as it plays music and can record scandals then it's good to go.

Oh, here's my number btw: (+63) 921 282 4341

So you lovers, haters, regulars, and most especially my personal lurkers, hit me up and take that number down! Who knows, I might actually reply using nothing but free messaging credits -_- but ofcourse, it's another story to get me out of my hermit-ty habits XD

A Moment of Zen IV: In the way of things, where does mine reside? Where does it go?

I've been making good decisions for myself lately.

I have been living my own carpe diem sort of way. Doing things I want, whatever my heart desires most. Ofcourse, that makes me prone to spoiling myself too much. But that's not too much of a concern right now. My priority is to make myself as happy as possible.

Which is what's happening anyway :) Unfortunately, I'm back in my hermit ways which means I go to my haunts alone and in the cover of night XD [as for what that is, it's easy to guess for those who know me]

Whenever I go home, I sometimes prepare in my mind what to say if ever I meet a friend just round the block or something. I most often stay away from Starbucks joints because the probability of friends being there is high XD

Let's go to another interesting thought that just visited me.

I remembered Gran talking about an interesting perspective with hate.

She said, it is okay to hate. Hate means that you also have the capacity of the reverse, which is love. And hate can be converted to love. What she told us to be weary of is indifference. To be 'numb' and 'unfeeling' would be like the worst thing you can do to yourself.

When you hate, you will eventually find a release, and that's it. If you're indifferent, it doesn't change. And as we all now, what does not change, rots.

That made me think about to whom I have a branded hate for.

Yeah it's true. I've hated someone I have loved. When our time was over, I had no idea what's the best way to let go. Considering the fact that I had no idea where we're going in the first place. Oh, and such a venomenous hate it was. Yet when I dug deeper, in my most solemn of moments I've been thinking, I knew that I cared. I still cared and it was manifesting in ways the went ahead of my hate.

So right now, I am more at peace with myself. What I felt was okay. I'm good.

All the more to be happy eh?

Grew up in a small town
And when the rain would fall down
I'd just stare out my window
Dreaming of what could be
And if I'd end up happy
I would pray


Trying hard to reach out
But when I tried to speak out
Felt like no one could hear me
Wanted to belong here
But something felt so wrong here
So I'd pray
I could break away


I'll spread my wings and I'll learn how to fly.
I'll do what it takes till I touch the sky.
Make a wish, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away.
Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget all the ones that I love.
I'll take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away


Wanna feel the warm breeze
Sleep under a palm tree
Feel the rush of the ocean
Get onboard a fast train
Travel on a jetplane
Far away
And break away


Buildings with a hundred floors
Swinging with revolving doors
Maybe I don't know where they'll take me
Gotta keep movin on movin on
Fly away
Break away


Out of the darkness and into the sun.
But I won't forget the place I come from
I gotta take a risk, take a chance,
Make a change, and break away
Break away
Break away

- "Breakaway" sung by Kelly Clarkson ...

Okay, I got what the song was that was hounding me for weeks. It's called Energy by Natalie featuring Baby Bash.

Get it at my multiply account. I need a hifi version of it though. This one sounds bland. Ah well.

When I have let it all into my head, I knew I must do something about it -- I must write it down.


Simply breathtaking o_O

We stayed in Coron not in a resort, but in the home of my friend's grandmother. Oh, you people might say, "So it's some old lady? Big deal". Then you have to read what I am going to write.

Nothing could prepare me for the fact that, then and there, I met one of the most interesting people I've ever came upon. She's old-fashioned yes, a devout Catholic, with a soul that's still as piercing as her bright eyes.

I had an initial impression of her being a kontrabida first time we met her, stereotyping her and all. She can also deliver the most caustic of tongue lashing I believe, but that's not the story here.

To be fair, her initial impression of me was this insignificant little creature scuffling in some corner having a world of my own and not caring about anybody else. Which's true by the way.

But let's leave that for a while while we work through the second impressions XD

Here, let's whet things with a trivia: she was once the wife of George Canseco, look him up in Google if you don't know who he is.

He composed a song for her entitled, Kapantay ay Langit, and sung by Pilita Corales.

On the first nights, she was there entertaining us with her stories. About her exploits in her younger days [I sometimes imagine her as somebody like seraphim]. And when we retire for the night, it becomes a heart-to-heart session with some of us who wants to be heard.

And oh, that I realized ... one of the best people to listen to and give you advices can be none other than people who have come that way and back. And in Gran's case [that's what she prefer people call her], she's been there, done that, million times over.

We've actually talked to her about a lot of things. About love and relationships, life in general, the beauty of Palawan, our own spirituality, and well, how to be happy in this frame of life.

"Anything less than mad love is a waste of time", I heard that say to myself, and then she replied, "Kid, nothing can be truer".

I mean think about it. She's been there. She has been a cancer patient and has survived, she claimed she had an unsuccessful marriage, unsuccessful career and what not, but her eyes shine when she said that she was successful as a person, and how much she has come into terms with God.

I could find myself sitting beside her and let her tell me a lot of stories. I chuckled when she retorted one time to stop being a lola's boy XD as I was always ready to be by her side when she's up for an interesting conversation with the gang.

So what happened to my initial impression of her being the kontrabida? Well, it faded away. And add that to the fact that she laughs at my jokes and shenannigans and I have myself an instant grandmom.

Ain't that great?

I won't ever forget her. She kiddingly asked me that when I get hitched, I should consider doing the honeymoon there in Coron, and she'll be the one to set it all up ^_^ sweet! Now to get myself a woman XD


After living a full life, wouldn't you want to see things like this just outside your home?

Me and my inseparable guitar while grossing the mangroves in Palawan

I haven't told anyone about the story between me and my guitar. I bought it from a chinese woman I was so into but I couldn't date because ... well, you know traditionalists. I told myself, if she can't be with me, then I'll have something from her that I'll keep always.

I had one sleepless night thinking about her before that. When she handed over the guitar, she got a bit embarassed because it's busted. And she jokingly said that it felt like if she put so much as a cigarette lighter near it, it will be quickly engulfed in flames.

She had it since she was highschool.

The first thing I did when I got it was buy some wood glue. So there. Now that the guitar not only has a new master, its new master was the one who repaired it and made it whole again.

So I gave it a name: Grace. The name of the person who used to own it. And in honor of my uncanny history of romantically entangling myself with women with the word 'Grace' in their names. Geez, they must be at least five or seven.

Oh but I had two other guitars before it. My first, a turtleback, got busted after falling horribly from a standing position in my old dorm. And the second, I gave it away as a gift to a single mom I've dated.

I brought it with me to many places ... Tagaytay, La Union, Boracay, and now Palawan.

And in Palawan, I played it til my fingers hurt.

We had good singers in the group, and those who simply loved to sing.

And I loved playing my guitar for them. It's sort of of a fulfilling purpose to have made other people enjoy the music. It was a funny incident when we tried to tune the guitar for two hours XD

We sang til the wee hours of the night. We sang til we burst out laughing. We sang because we're all in this paradise. We sang for Gran. We sang a lot. Even to some pretty obscure songs XD

~~~

To be continued with the story of Gran ...

It's almost unbelievable.

Imagine the sea just above my knees. And breath-taking island formations all around you.

Imagine clear water for miles and miles and miles. Imagine white, soft sand under my feet.

Now imagine this.

I am not on the beach, but in the middle of the sea. I am on a patch of shallow sea bed with sea plants and fish sorrounding me.

And then imagine this.

There are no waves.

Only calm, soothing water in every which direction. The wind as gentle as it comes.

It's almost like a dream. No, wait. I did dream of this place before I even came here.

I then walked around ... so I can take it all in ...

If Boracay opened my eyes to expected imaginations, Palawan was much, much more spiritual. No strangers, no annoying commercialism, no artificial noise.

It.just.is.


The imagery that caused all of what I've written above. And yes, that's me with my pale ass skin. Imagine a sea-sized swimming pool, and that's what it's like over there o_O


The sunset touching our happy faces


Coral Bay resort ... we're there for free XD This also shows how scrawny I've become


Cayangan lake. It's a place with a magic of its own



The animal that best describes me -- the bearcat XD This is in Calauit Safari Island


A Moment of Zen III: The Incredible Oneness of All

To be continued ... with more pictures and more thoughts :)

Guess what? I'm going to Palawan today!

Oh, you will, will you?

Nothing but the sun, the sand, and the sea ...

But you hate water. And you hate the sun. And you itch when sand gets into your fur

...

So it's a disaster then.

...

Here. Have some of my fleas.

I think the reason why UPD appeals to me so much is because the flavor of their music is druggy -- almost like an atmosphere in itself. Also, it reminds me so much, so much of an anime, Serial Experiments: Lain.

It's like this psychedelic trip that refuses to go away. Not that it's unwelcome, but it sticks, you know? If you've watched Lain, you'll know what I mean. It gets mental from track one.

Like I said, it's the incredible nothingness of everything ...



~~~

Anyway, loved listening to Urbandub's, The First of Summer. It's a pretty romantic piece in a way I like it -- heavy and strong, yet poignant and rockin. Kinda short though

So for you summer luvers out there, this one's for you XD

Parked car
[our song plays on ...]
Night sky
[our song plays on ...]
Make this city shine like diamonds

Argh, I must get that song X(

It's ringing continually in my head ... that sexy tune ... that provocative voice ... that ... that XD

It's R&B me thinks, and I'm sure all of you have heard it, and I want an mp3 of that. The problem is, I dunno what's the title, who's the singer, and why I don't have it XD and the only way I can distinguish it, is my humming the tune. Which I'm bad at.

*bratty sigh*

My Nokia 3300 is on to me.

Last time it locked itself up when it died, even though I've never changed the PIN. And I'm quite sure I am pressing the correct numbers even though the key pad is faded.

Last night, I think I lost it. I'm not sure where now, but I have two places I can think of in which if I lost it in one, I'll never get it back.

I haven't been using it much lately [strictly speaking, I don't use it much at all]. So it decided to make its importance felt by doing these things.

Hah! It won't have any effect on me! I went with my life without a cellphone for four months and the ones who were complaining weren't me XD [yes, people do miss me sometimes, despite my evil nature]

What to do now? I dunno. Even though it was averagely pricey in its time, I didn't feel like it was a big loss. And I don't have any strong compunction to think of replacing it.

(>^_^)> la!

- Q.Montejo

I'm walking on this sidewalk
Patches of soil, overgrowing grass
There's nothing on my mind
But the ten things I had to say
To myself, yeah, just to myself

That I'm here, this is now
And you are there, that was then
The old walls of Intramuros
Felt like a burdened history
And I'm adding to it, my misery

Let's pass by this sidewalk
Maybe someday we can, right?
When you and I have become ghosts
That don't have to say anything
Or feel anything, and be ... just be ...

Let's look at all the people
And gaze at the dying day until ...
Until the night lights become alive
Consume our mortal love and become
An eternal, everlasting pendulum routine ...

That's perhaps one of my fondest memories of childhood -- Waka-taka.

It's a mixture I made from my little brother's baby syrups and put it in a little plastic glue bottle. Whenever I shake it I would utter "Waka-taka, waka-taka" repeatedly until bubbles form.

When that happens, I would casually go to mom and say, "Look mama, I made a waka-taka ... it creates suds o_O". She remembers my silly concoction up to this day as well XD

I made a lot of other silly things. How can I help it? I was a weird kid with a fiery imagination. If I have saved up what my hands made, they'd fill a closet XD and that includes genetically spliced spiders ...

~~~

Palawan next week. Wheeeeee!!

<who> i can't watch brokeback mountain for the same reason i can't watch horror movies
<who> i would scream "HE'S RIGHT BEHIND YOU!!!" in the middle of the theater

~~~

Yeap, it's one of those hair phases when it's neither short, nor long -_- and since I'm tired of the Ace Ventura style-up, I decided to brush it all to the back of my head and give it a spikey texture.

Unfortunately, it's only good if you put hair gel. And since I don't have one, I now have a brushy mat of fur on top of my head showcasing my ever so wide forehead and flappy ears.

I am undecided if I should get a haircut. And it's a funny thing that whenever I think about that, I have already bought a brand new bottle of shampoo. It's so funny, it's almost paradoxical.

And I'm still a slacker.

It was glorious.

But it was painful to the eyes. Plus, the lagfest.

Donning the mantle of E.O.C., I attended my first ever Chip War with only but a level before I could contribute into the destruction of the Bellato and Cora chips [in our case, more for the Bellato's].

The siege gunners and strikers were awesome to look at, like they were terminators out to bring about obliterating destruction. And most especially because they were lined up in a siege formation.

*sigh* [tears in eyes]

I was trying to attack a very high level bMAU, but ofcourse, my measly damage is shrugged off compared to the more advanced Accretian warriors that literally split the ground with their weapons. And here I was holding a throwing knife that's only fit to slay a bunny.

Those massive bMAUs are terrible to get near to. Even the normal MAUs can be pretty destructive because they require at least level 30 to operate. Damn Bellatos.

Those siege kits are really, really sexy [compare: falling in love with a car].

Now to mention something about the Cora, whenever I see Isis [a summoned entity, compare: Final Fantasy summons, like Bahamut and Ifrit], the only instinct I have is to run away. I've been distastefully fragged by it.

Right now, I'm still undecided what warrior I want to be. Should I hunt and kill raiders, or should I be a tank?

Consider that I have more hate for the raiders, but I'll contribute better to a team if I'm a defensive tanker.

The carcasses of the hunt are strewn everywhere.

But I felt no compunction to scavenge for useful materials. For a moment my hunger for destruction is quenched, I rest my sword in its sheath, and I walked almost dazed.

Dazed? It should be an impossible sensation to have one for the likes of me. I have no nerves at the ends of my fingers. No bone marrow to generate the red blood cells. More so hormones that would trigger mind-confusing chemical imbalances in my brain.

I am a machine. My senses are perfect.

Yet my experience and battle prowess still is wanting. I must get stronger.

I returned to headquarters, stocked up on supplies, and headed to the Crag mining field. My mission is to hunt small Ledeudrians. I should be weary though, as the memo has warned: the Cora are on the move in that area, raiding the miners in their toil.

I've turned around and gazed at the giant teleportation platform. I may have been a cyborg, but my human brain has not diminished its sense of marvel. The tele-platform is a huge rotating device, continually generating space-time controlled distortions for Accretians to travel back and forth in hotly contested areas in Novus.

It has come a long way since the ancestors gave us the blue prints for this technology. And now it will take me to my new hunting ground.

So I walked to the platform, and let the visions from my optical sensors change abruptly.

As I stepped out, I knew something was wrong. Some of the miners are dead on the ground. All the other miners have turned their sensory systems off to conserve energy so they have not noticed this portent. These were protected by sentinel towers that's why they can do their mining operations without the element of danger. But not at the ones on the outer fringes of the portal.

I scouted the sorroundings, but I couldn't find the perpetrator.

I was about to lead off to the area inhabited by the Ledeudrians, until something whizzed pass me ...

to be continued

A lot of things are coming up for me this year.

For one, I'll be travelling a lot, at least more than I have ever did in my life. East, west, north, south ... I will be in places interesting and beautiful. Faces I will see, drawing, thinking. I may or may not bring my guitar, but I'll take with me my sketch pad. I figure it'll be better to capture the sights as told by my hand.

I've greeted seraphim on her birthday ^_^ it makes me happy that I could still do things like this. I would reckon she's still that fiery spirit, the same one that consumed my heart. Ahh, but to my dear readers, you would've asked why it didn't last? Oh, I'll say it straight right here, right now. She wasn't the one, at least not on our time then. And I would dare say, when cherubim told me that it's something you see in their eyes, I knew she was right -- she was damn right. Because I would have made the same choice out of the same circumstances. There was still the matter of putting off the fire though. Or, in my case, let it burn out by letting it outlive its fuel.

Gee. This is the first personal thought I have written in a long time. Well, maybe just weeks, but nonetheless, pretty long by my standards.

Oh yeah, saturday wasn't totally doing nothing.

My hips had a really, er, rigorous workout. It was a non-stop two hour sweating session but it was all worth it. I would have fallen asleep but no, the night was simply too beautiful to waste with my eyes closed. My racing pulse was another reminder of what it felt like to be truly alive.

Yeah.