Category Archives: published

Sing, sing, sing-

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I haven’t gotten to reading much. The past few weeks of exams had me drained (and looming black clouds all over). I suppose I would advise friends to send their children to med school if they want their sense of self worth to get lower and lower each day. As my preceptor told me: “You guys are extraordinary people. And out of your bunch, there will be more extraordinary folks.” Well, ok, I draw the line at extraordinary. I choose to be extra-extraordinary elsewhere.

A rejection too. Not one I expected. But then, ah. Little ego, you must learn, and learn some more. Slowly, slowly, said the sloth. Moving on (that’s not going to stop me, although it has me in a sort of bleak Why am I not good enough? plumbum rut).

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Here is an excerpt from the most recent thing I read which I actually liked:

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

- David Levithan, The Lover’s Dictionary

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Also: some news- my poem Song is going to be in the latest from Paper Monster Press. I should have been happier when I received the news (from Tilde) but I was mostly Gloom & Doom & Tired as Fuck (thanks to exams). Anyway, good news is still good news. A couple of other awesome folks also made it in the Sandigmaan issue.

Details on the launch: April 7, 2012. United South, near University of Perpetual Help in Las Piñas City (I have no idea where that is, or how I’m going to drive all the way there. Eep.)

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Three movements, typhoons, and being thankful

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I guess this month is sort of surprisingly productive for me.

My poem “Three Movements on Anatomy” is up in Stone Telling Magazine.

Many thanks to editors Rose Lemberg and Shweta Narayan for this opportunity and their feedback. Thanks as well to friends and mentors alike who took their time to help me with this piece. Do check the poem out and let me know what you think.

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Other news (if you still didn’t know): recently Typhoon Sendong hit Mindanao and as of this afternoon, death tolls have hit more than 1,000. You can help and donate goods and othersuch supplies to those in need.

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It’s so surreal that all of this is happening. I mean, halfway across the archipelago people have lost their homes and loved ones and just this afternoon I had a nice time hanging out with my friends. I don’t even know why I find this weird because this sort of thing happens all the time: people suffer while others are happy; sometimes we can tie it to an apparent cause, sometimes it just happens. But it’s not how things should be, you know? I feel idealistic for thinking this way.

I’ve spent a hefty amount of the past few months feeling sad and cranky about my life (depressive episodes, et al) but the past few days catching up with people and just laying back have eased a lot of myself back in. And I guess I just wish for more of that in the world, you know? Like, just more times with people we love and those we can sit down with for hours talking about Stuff, et al, not worrying about Everything Else That Makes Us Sad, Stressed, and/or Uptight.

Christmas is about to roll in and I am broke (I spent my mother’s Christmas money present buying people gifts and I didn’t even get to buy things for all the people I wanted to give presents to) and this is the season I got the least amount of presents (because almost all my friends are broke too haha) but somehow it feels like one of the best holidays so far. Just hanging out, meeting up with people I haven’t seen in 100 years. Pretty much that simple to be happy, surprisingly. Right now I’m thankful for a lot of the things and people I have, the things I’ve achieved up to this point. Life. I’m thankful life is being good, despite all the setbacks, and I wish it kept getting better.

Season’s Greetings to you all.

Fragments-

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Delayed post is delayed! Holiday Matters have been taking me away lately. Anyhoo, a collaboration between myself and the awesome possum Tilde is in the second volume of The Quarterly Bathroom Companion Comics Compendium (QBCCC).

The piece is “Fragments: In Which We Are”, which Tilde did a good job of turning all topsy-turvy and nifty and it looks so much better in print, so if you’re in the Cubao area, Sputnik Fantastik over at Cubao X is selling them copies for Php 200. 164 pages of comics and articles; 28 creators!

Under the cut is the text version of Fragments (but really, dear children, please go get the comics)

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Examination

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I got the news earlier this afternoon in the coffeeshop but only had my iPad at hand.

Anyhoo, the nice folks over at Free Press featured my poem “Examination“.

Yay! It’s also amusingly timely as I am having exams this week.

Do click the link if you have the time. I had fun making that piece. Let me know what you think.

Also- dedicated to my dearest medschool friends.

(…who are fighting the fight- we have 8 more exams to go. Pediatrics went down with a bang this morning. In a few hours it’s Pathology hooheehoo I have so much to read plumbum kulchitsky cell, wish me luck!)

I hope everyone pulls through exams. All righty, that’s all for now. Byebye!

More on Under The Storm: An Anthology of Contemporary Philippine Poetry

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I mentioned this earlier on, but updates have been floating around as of late.

The booklaunch will be on September 2, 2011; 6PM at the Ayala Museum in Makati City. I’ll see you all there, yes?

Under the cut is the complete list of contributors with their pieces, and then a few more on the .MOV Pre-festival events, etc.

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Poems flying out

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Uhm yes, hi. This is an update about some of my stuff that recently made it to publication.

Today, my poem “Three Bodies” is up at The Philippines Free Press [July 9 issue]. Show your love by buying a copy at your local bookstore. :)

A few weeks ago I also found out I’d be a part of Under The Storm: An Anthology of Contemporary Philippine Poetry. The anthology is scheduled to be released around the same time as the opening of MOV International Film, Music, & Literature Festival (September 2, I think). Below is a complete list of the contributors (Thanks to Tilde and Tin for posting).