Writing Classes, Jeepneys, and some useless blather

June 18, 2009

We were supposed to ride a jeepney in our Writing Workshop class. It was supposed to be an exercise in observation– a very important tool in a writer’s arsenal. The jeepney would be a wonderful place to practice since, as my prof said, “It’s a microcosm of Philippine Society.” The Jeepney, unlike the Bus or the FX vans, has its passengers facing each other. One can see everything and everyone in the jeep, and one is always in earshot of whatever word is said. In this kind of situation, we would have to keep our eyes and ears open, peering into the lives of our co-passengers, discreetly listening in on conversations, and mentally jotting down notes to be used in whatever creative exploit we might try.

The riding a jeepney part? Easy, I ride a jeep almost everyday.  The observing part? … We’re going to have a problem with that.

As I’ve said, I ride a jeepney almost everyday. It’s not my favorite mode of transport, but it’s the only public utility vehicle that has a route that passes by my neighborhood. When using a jeep, I’d have to brave thick clouds of vehicle exhaust, stifling temperatures, hellish traffic jams, and great amounts of boredom. My sanity survives the commute through my trusty mp3 player and my book-of-the-moment (though I wouldn’t really put much trust in the book. You know, reading in moving vehicles and everything.). Basically I survive commutes by blocking my Audio-Visual senses. I’d go mad if I don’t get my anti-social fix. But for the sake of observation, I am asked to abandon it.

So did I?

Nope.

But I still tried observing and everything, and what I saw didn’t really give me material to write the next Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel. What I observed in my commutes were people, just like me, who were in the jeep, bored out of their minds, looking out the window to at least entertain their eyes with scenes they’ve scene a bajillion time before. They were people, just like me, who wanted to be where they were going, wishing that there was a cheaper and better way of travel, one that didn’t involve smog, traffic jams, and uncomfortably hot temperatures.

I don’t know, but maybe I should have done a little more observing. But I’ll just use the “Baby Steps” excuse. Let me take this bit by little bit, I’ll eventually get the hang of it. What’s important right now is how I’m going to bullshit this in class.

Taking a step forward

September 20, 2008

I stepped on a street kid today.

 

I was at the UN Avenue LRT station, heading to UP Manila, really preoccupied with my exam in comparative politics that day. I was reading something to detoxify my brain while I was walking to CAS. (I have this habit of reading while walking, especially when I like the book.) I was walking down the stairs of UN station, book in hand, head in book, balance in check, when I step on something weird. I nearly tripped and fell down the stairs. I regained my balance and looked at what I stepped on. To my horror, I find that it was a little boy. He was lying face down on the stairs, his palms open for loose change. I didn’t know what to do. I saw a man glaring at me, I looked at the boy, and I got out of there as fast as I could. I felt like the worst person in the world.

 

Being subjected to all the iskolar ng bayan propaganda (and taking some of it to my idealistic heart), and having a part of myself who wants to save the world isn’t really helping right now.

Birthday rambling

August 19, 2008

Right now, a part of me doesn’t care that I’m twenty and another part of me thinks that it’s the most important thing in  the world.

 

20? Whutev: Jean Claude is twenty years old today. Nothing special about that. August 19 is just another day. People in Quezon City have a holiday but then Jean doesn’t really study in QC and he doesn’t have classes on tuesdays anyway. Nope, nothing special here.His birthday was pretty uneventful but then the little party he had with some of his friends made it all nice and stuff, for which he is grateful.

 

OMGWTFBBQ He’s TWENTY!: Jean is twenty years old. He hasn’t saved the world, hasn’t come close to destroying the world, hasn’t even come close to understanding the world. Stupid fantasy books and anime/manga stories have people as young as five saving the world from eternal darkness and here he is, twenty years old, not even doing something special. He’s a twenty-year old bum who will still be a bum a gajillion years from now.

 

What is it with me and this age thing? Age is nothing special, it’s just a number. That’s what the self-help/spirituality books say. But then I’m still too attached to the idea of age that I’m still uncomfortable with me not being a teenager anymore. It’s probably because being older means being more responsible. I hate responsibility. I hate the idea that I’ll grow up, get a job, marry, have kids, and watch myself turn into my dad. *shudder* I also hate the idea that I’ve wasted time, probably a decade starting from my first act of underachievement way back in grade school.

 

Anyway, I’ve found out and reaffirmed a lot of stuff in the past year. I found out I keep way too many defenses up, virtually not letting anyone really know me; that I have a different persona for each of my social groups (home, school, high school friends, etc.). I still run away from any sign of pressure. I still think way too much and I still rarely do anything (aiyah… teoryang baog). There must be others but then I’m too tired and lazy to think of anymore. Come on 0:00.

 

Aside from the self-hate stuff, I guess there’s something worth patting myself on the back for. I still read and am now reading more than sci-fi, fantasy, and self-help. I’m reading more on writing and getting a bit more theoretical practice on it (which hopefully translates to this blog).  I’m kinda getting more exercise now with Taekwondo and Hapkido (though my attendance is a bit problematic lately). I guess what you have is what you think you have. The Secret works in this case for me I guess.

 

Presently: I am Jean Claude, twenty years old. I am a fourth-year Political Science student who’s not marching with my batchmates at the end of this schoolyear. I like writing, or at least the thought of writing. I want to purge TV land of stupid ideas. I’m an armchair everything, never doing the practical side of anything. I’d like to attain enlightenment but I’m too lazy to deny my self. I’m usually in a state of blissful ignorance. Everything’s okay for now, but then there’s probably something that’s going to throw everything into chaos.

 

Twenty years, I must have done something right in all that time. 

Some gay thoughts early in the morning

March 31, 2008

I’m friends with some people for a long time and everything’s all right, we have fun and stuff, but then they tense up when the gay topic comes up. Eyes bulge out and eyebrows rise as they make it known that the topic is taboo. What is it with homosexuals that make people go like that? I have no idea actually and think that it’s perfectly fine. Heck, I’m a fan of yaoi/shonen-ai themes in anime and manga, how could I not be fine with it?

 

Right now, I’m going to concentrate mainly on male homosexuality. It’s more of an issue for me since I’m friends with heterosexists who fear for my sexuality. And also, the male population doesn’t really condemn lesbianism, as long as it’s the kind where both girls are hot and are willing to let a guy join in the fun.

 

So what is it about two men kissing and playing with each other’s swords that some people find really, really wrong? I’m not going to delve into judeo-christian scripture since it could be interpreted in a bajillion ways and most of us don’t follow everything in the scriptures to the letter (Would you own a slave? Would you circumcize a baby 8 days after it’s born?). I’m just going to stick with what I know and what I see, which wouldn’t be much since I’m still but a wee lad still finding his way out in the world.

 
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