I'm not leaving!

Dear (20) followers,

As you all have been told from the beginning, this blog's original purpose was to serve as a project for my second semester's Journalism class. But after writing quite a number of blogs (and a few people talking me into it) I have decided to continue the blogging in the hopes of sharing a bit of my knowledge with you all while improving my writing skills. I do hope that you all continue to follow and share what you learn from my posts.

I found it quite hard to make it formal, so to make it easier for me, I'm going to make it sound however the hell I want it to. So, pardon my French from time to time and share your insights as well. :)

Conflicted

Everything we do is a result of our decisions. These decisions are made upon our unfortunate encounter  to conflict. You'd think now that I'm referring to conflict between us and the forces of the world (see previous blog post on the Unavoidable Laws of Nature) - but rather, it a conflict between us and ourselves.

This conflict is the heart of what is to be human. As much as we'd like to say 'Oh, I've got total control of myself' the truth is.. we don't.

You want to eat that juicy steak that's screaming your name but you also want to be healthy and stay fit. 
You want to be an advocate for environmental cleanliness but you also want to get rid of your wet ice cream wrapper like.. right now. 
You want to finish your term paper but you also want to finish the 4 chapters left of that awesome book. 
You want to help others but you also want to have a little more for yourself.

Your brain is this organic structure that works through chemistry. It's got competing interests, and all these want to act out. It's not fair to say the brain follows one path of thinking.

It's an unceasing dispute between what we want.. and what we want. We end up choosing something because we were conflicted in the first place. That's the whole logic behind choosing in the first place. It's a battle between which one advertises better, sort of like marketing, like the media. You make a better decision when one side is able to entice you better than the other.

That blueberry cake-batter cheesecake looks better than the steamed fish soo..


thank you, sethgodin

Madge Café: Native Coffee for the Troubled Soul

(Click on the pictures for a larger view)
Finally, I get to share my sanctuary, my favourite thinking spot, and the best coffee I have tasted so far in my 17 years of existence (no joke).

In the midst of a busy Lapaz Market, lies an unknown coffee shop that offers fast service, friendly greetings and what might be the cheapest breakfast you can obtain outside. 

Tito Pete (the friendliest man ever), together with his effervescent team that serves freshly brewed coffee to the customers, never fails to make the customers feel like they're welcome to their own variation of home. Despite its lack of proper ventilation (no air conditioning, only fans; sorry dears) and its close proximity to well.. what you may encounter in the mundane public market.. I find that the place makes me feel very much comfortable. A plus factor is that it's student-friendly in terms of expenses.

In spite of the heat, I've always rather enjoyed my coffee hot. For just P22, you can get a good cup of perfectly brewed  native coffee. Feeling hot? Add P8.00 and get a bigger cup of iced coffee.

If you're in a rush, get your coffee to go for free which they put in a tin can. Many times, this is frowned upon by people who wondered why I get my coffee in a tin can, but honestly, I couldn't ask for a better container. Their resourcefulness (tin cans come from the evaporated milk) also adds a native touch to it. Yay for non-conformation to society!

As I mentioned earlier, they have rather cheap food available. Here are a few of my favourites:

You can't go wrong with the classic pancit canton noodles and a good egg (P30) which is why when I come to this café rather hungry, I order this immediately. 

The corned beef that they offer is marvellous specially if paired with the butter-toasted bread. To be honest, just the buttered-toast is enough to satisfy my tummy. 

All these orders up here won't go above P50, so you can just imagine how much you'd save if you eat here everyday.

On the days when I'm really (I mean REALLY) running out of money, a good order that would do my wallet justice is the Native Puto.

 I have never tasted a better variation of puto (A kind of rice cake in the Philippines) compared to what they offer. And these, both the coffee and rice cake, are less than P35.

When my coffee-buddy and I go to Madge and are exceptionally hungry, we could get a complete meal and be extra full for (wait for it).. not more than P70.

Another thing fascinating about this place, is at the wall facing the main counter (first picture), is an entire collage of either their daily customers or famous people who have visited the café. Also included are news articles and blog posts about them.

Like me, you can come here in between classes (I have two 3-hour breaks a week) with a book and read all afternoon. If you're not much a reader (start!), then you can go there with your iPod and listen to some good French music and feel like you're in a different country.

It's my sanctuary because I can go there by myself, drink good coffee, read my books and not have to worry about bumping into someone I know who will converse with me about mediocre issues, so I get the peace that I desire. If not by myself, I go with my closest guy friend, Sieggy, and we constantly debate and talk about issues or quotes/beliefs that allow us more insights. I highly suggest this place for anyone who finds that they have similarities with me. Do enjoy! If you'd like to go, contact me and I'd be willing to bring you there. 

Young hearts, uncertain aspirations

I, like every other college kid and graduating high school Senior, am a dreamer. In terms of comparison.. I'd like to suppose I'm greater a dreamer compared to quite a number of my peers. Is there a means, however, to measure the degree of ambitions sought after? Perhaps, one day, Steven Levitt and Stephen Dubne (two astonishing authors and economists) may someday devote an entire chapter to this subject, but at present, there is no means of assessing such. So if you were to be rather kind and if you were to trust me, believe me when I say I am indeed a bigger dreamer, and frankly, it freaks the crap out of myself.

I resolved to write this post and do a lot of soulful thinking so that by the end of this, I may be able to arise with an adequate and rational resolution. For.. the young hearts that exist today that have an entire list of ambitions to select from. For those who can't quite make up their minds. For those who.. are idealists but have boundaries to sucker punch them in the face (believe me, it wounds more than it's ironically funny). So I fancied the best way to approach this is by figuring out my own issues. Let's begin with the basics and what I want.

• I'm currently taking AB Communication Arts in Iloilo but I wish to shift to Manila.
• I desire to study Film in France (Lol. But no, for real)
• I want to be a travel journalist.
• I'm considering remaining in Iloilo and finishing my course here so that my parents can save up enough money to send me to:
• a) USC (my dream school) for Masters in Communication Arts
• b) Law School
• I want to be an Independent Film director/producer
• I want to take up a Science Undergrad because I know it would be an adept pre-law degree.
• I can finish my course in Manila and just get Masters years after when I save my own money.
• I want to take a year off so that my parents can save and I can travel around, get in touch with my artistic side.. (parents wouldn't quite agree though)

See how many troubles I face? And they completely contradict one another, it's kind of freaking me out. Which one do I pursue? Which one will actually answer to majority of my bucket-list? If you form a list right now and compare, I'm certain there would be a couple of things that contradict. I, for instance, want to be a travel journalist, but I likewise want to be a lawyer. I'm not quite sure how that'll work, so I'd have to pick one, right? No? There's no definite response to that.

I wish I could avoid saying this succeeding statement, but there's a reason clichés are cliché, because they're impossibly dead on target: Set your priorities straight. It's subservient to pick a path that would be flexible enough to add or rid other interests/concerns. So I may just wind up in Manila. While I'm there I could pursue my passion for art. I could also apply in the exchange student program. And then upon graduating, I get out, pursue a vocation in journalism, go to Law School in USC and would you look at that.. I got to cross out a great deal already. But.. as we all know it, the unavoidable laws of nature will discover a way to fit into my plan and somehow alter my course of action. In a world right now where people struggle for practicality and impracticality; pursuing the course you really want, or opting one that provides an assurance of stability.. It's difficult to know if the stakes are high for us. It doesn't matter if you have the most thought out plan for yourself, the forces of nature will attempt to modify it, because let's face it, the world sucks sometimes and there must be some sort of divinity (not pertaining to any faith, no premature discernments) that basks in poking our arses with what might be his/her variation of a knife-like toothpick.

So perhaps the solution is that there isn't one. Not to break your hearts, but it's simply the only conclusion I can surface with. There's no way to to be certain concerning what we want to achieve. We can only at the very least plan out what we want in our life and hope they turn out the way we wish it to. It's a gamble, going to this place, choosing a course, attempting to try something new. The gamble is risky but it's also very exciting. If you end up going to Manila and realizing on graduation that you can't go to USC for Masters, then you can't turn back and wish you resolved to continue in Iloilo. You can't fight the injustice of fate; you can only suffer with it and hope that one day.. it might be different.

You can not.. you simply just can not fight the injustice of fate. You can only suffer with it and hope that one day.. it just might be rather different.