Quarter of a Century!

Life begins at 25? Naw, i don't think so. Hehehe..

I just reached the "silver lining" of aging. Although i'm not that old yet to say that i've grown into a full-pledged adult, many things have thought me over the course of two decades and 5 years of my life here on earth. I admit i'm still a kid at heart: i still love watching cartoons, playing video games and other sorts, but it's something that i will always carry (i just don't know for how long hahaha!). Maturity came a bit late, but it's worth the wait.

As i re-assume my life with another year added, things get tougher than the usual. The more you aged, the more the responsibilities weighs. It's something that you can't just turn a blind eye, hence, you need to be more ready, more focused and more willing to take those challenges in life. So, whatever! (a strong statement!) to those obstacles. BRING 'EM!

I just want to thank God first for letting me continue this life that i'm having. Next, to my family, who has supported me never-ending (they actually just started especially my mom and dad, hahahaha! just kiddin' ma and pa, love ya!), and to all my friends; best friends, close friends, whatever kind of friends we have here on earth, i thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Finally, i reached a quarter-of-a-century years old (with all credits to my buddy, Philip. hehe..)

Thanks again and God bless all of you.

The House of Ideas

Time is of the essence.

Lately, me and my high school buddy were back at where we are good at: drawing and writing stories. We actually came up with different stories ranging from fantasy to science fiction and the likes of it. We've been planning to make our comic books since our heydays in high school and we both thought that now is the time to fulfill these prophecies we had for a long time, (prophecies, really?)

But, of course, everything doesn't look easy as it seems, 'cause it demands a lot of dedication, sacrifice, perseverance and faith, as well. Recently, my buddy decided to burn his bridges to achieve his dreams and goals. What i mean is, he decided to resign from his day job to go full-time on his ongoing t-shirt business and, of course, to shift his focus on our plans to have our own comic book company one day. We're still down to a very small percentage on where we want to get to, but we're on our way to get there. Me? I'm still struggling to cope up with my everyday life but i don't mind at all. I'm still here, standing strong and i'm doing my part to contribute to him.

We've housed a lot of ideas to build up on to. Unlike before, we tend to compile a lot of bright ideas, only to let it sink in our memories afterwards. So, we both learned our lesson and we try our best to document every brainstorming sessions we had. We've came up with (i think) four different stories now, but none of them are done completely. We're still trying to make time, as it was our biggest obstacle. Finding time is what we're both craving for, so we can go ahead with our planned projects. It's not an easy task, but it's not impossible to achieve.

We're still short on, almost everything, except piling up ideas, as what i have said earlier. Financially, we're not stable yet, so we have to find ways to finance this mega-project to have it stabilized, so to speak. So, all we can do now is sit back and do the best that we can do to come up with the resources we needed, even if we're miles apart (as i am here in Milan, Italy and he's there in Manila, Philippines). I'm praying and hoping for all the best to come. Maybe, you can pray for us, too..

Good day to all.

Gamers Heart Japan

The recent events that crippled Japan has sent devastating shockwaves and had everyone shocked and worried --- even gamers like me. Japan is one of the biggest gaming industries in the whole world, so it's no surprise that the gaming community were alarmed. The current crisis Japan is undergoing right has dealt them a major blow in their economy. Shortages from basic commodities and other kinds of stuff are at an all-time high. I'm not even sure how long will it take The Land of the Rising Sun to get into full recovery status. Let's just pray for the best during these trying times.

As a gamer and a fan of gaming community, it got me affected and concerned. So, it's a good sign that the gaming community all around the world are doing their part to spread the word and help Japan at any cost. My blog was way delayed from the day of disaster, but i know that even if this was a bit late to inform everyone, i know this could be helpful in any other way. I hope whoever anonymously reads this or bumps into this blog entry in the cyberspace, gamer or non-gamer, would get their hearts touched and do something to contribute.

There's a video post in Youtube (here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROHJmP_TNR0) where different people from around the gaming world show their support and compassion towards Japan. I wasn't able to upload it here, 'cause the video is an hour long, but if you have time, try to check it out.

Good day to all.

What the heck happened to Friendster?

What the heck happened to you?

Friendster.

Once the hottest brand of social networking and considered as the pioneer of this platform, ahead of Myspace, Facebook and others. It was actually this website that launched me into the frenzied social life in cyberspace (well, i had Yahoo accounts even before i had a Friendster account, but that another matter..). I've been a member since early 2003 (that's how i recall it), and up to now, that account is still on active status.

But..

I rarely see it nowadays. Before, it was something that i always look forward to visit in the internet, almost 24/7. Now? I barely even access their website. A lot of things have changed. And over the course of almost a decade, a lot of social networking sites rose to prominence, most notably, the one that took the whole world by storm, Facebook.

Facebook now sits atop among other social networking platforms, dethroning the once-mighty Friendster. But i didn't start this blog to write about Facebook. It's about Friendster, 'cause it was my "gateway" to the world of cyber-damn-space..

I was still a teenager (i'm not that old, though, hehe..) when my elder sister introduced me to Friendster. Back then, i'm such a newbie into everything about the internet, so my response to her is, "What the heck is Friendster?!!". She said, it's just like having friends from the real world, but this time, you do it virtually. You get to meet different people or get in touch with people you haven't seen for quite some time and so on.. So, me, being a nutcase that time, just sat in front of the computer and created my very first Friendster account ('cause in the next few years, i think i accumulated four more inactive accounts there..)

... And the rest was history.

For almost a decade, Friendster became a very important tool for me. It has been a witness to all my hardships, thriumps, struggles, sorrow, joy, etc.. It is the one that exposed my cerebral, rebellious years (i don't know if it really was cerebral, but i know it was very poisonous for my parents; me, being rebellious, hahaha!). It's also the birthplace of my passion for what i'm doing right now: blogging. I scanned through my past entries and they look so primitive (i mean, the way i write before) I suck badly and horribly at english back then (and i'm still not sure if i improved already..). During those years, Friendster is the only cyber network platform that's known to me. It has become my companion.

But, one day, Facebook came along.

And Friendster became a thing of the past.

What the heck happened to Friendster?

If i can recall it right, Friendster is the leading social networking site in Asia (UPDATE: they already lost that spot to Facebook because of the rapid growth and popularity throughout, not only Asia, but the whole damn world). But, that was when FS is the only known social media site. Now, i don't hear a single person who mentions FS (in fact, i haven't heard anyone mentioned FS for a long time now. It's juts me who brought up this topic). So, what the heck really happened to Friendster? Some people are labelling Friendster users "cheap", 'cause most of the people who said that are no longer FS users or never been affiliated to FS. Although i agree that Facebook is the hottest commodity right now, i beg to differ that Friendster users are "cheap". I know it's in our blood to be cheap, but i don't see anything cheap being a FS user. At least, from time to time, i still try my best to check out what's happening on the other side of cyber-socializing. It just hit me and started writing this blog 'cause no ones fussing about FS anymore. The sad reality is that, there's not so much interest looming around FS, so the main attraction now is FB. I actually came into a decision to deactivate my FS account, permanently. But then, i held myself back and just said that there's still good things FS can offer (although i'm not exploring those good things they can offer..).

One thing i noticed about FS is that they're flooded with posers. Well, i'm not saying that FB doesn't have it's own posers, but it's hard to interact with people who poses as an Hollywood celebrity or any popular individual in the world. For me, wasting my time with that kind of people is just a load of crap. So, the remedy FB came up is having a "Fan Page" for those people who were idolized by others. But, still posers are at large in the social networking community, and that's something i still yet to see get "cleaned up" by FS.

Even though FS is not the most hyped up thing unlike before, we have to give credit to FS for becoming the pioneers. If not for them, those other social media sites won't be possible or wouldn't be existing today. Friendster paved way for the modernization of socializing. Others followed through and, some of them (or to be more precise, one of them surpassed FS. We all know what that is), reached FS' goals. Not being disrespectful with the other social media sites, 'cause they had their ways to promote their platforms, but you can't help get them associated with FS, 'cause it's the one who started it all.

As i'm about to log-off now and take a rest, i was able to catch a glimpse of my FS account. It actually never changed. But, whenever i visit this site, i become very nostalgic. It reminds me of how much things have changed, but still good to look back from where you started. FS brings a lot of good and bad memories. Some of them are quite memorable, and some of them are the things that defines me. So, i give Friendster a credit for opening my eyes on how colorful, yet, brutal (brutal, eh? really?) the world of social networking is. Even though i'm more of a Facebook guy now, i don't disregard Friendster completely, 'cause it's the one who introduced ---

--- The new way to meet people.

(Friendster's first tag line)

Writer's Block (Syndrome)

This image says it all: I've been like this most of my writing career (career, eh?)

I haven't been here for more than a month (i guess), 'cause i've been in a rough patch in the month of March. I wasn't able to put a single blog entry last month because of different circumstances (no need to elaborate). So, it's nice to be back again in a place where i can fuse out and express all the feelings and emotions that's going through me right now.

I actually don't have any specific topic to write on to this time. I just thought that it would be fun to write something when you're having, a so-called Writer's Block. I'm not a professional writer, so, most of the time, i experience this "syndrome" (for me, it's a syndrome). I'm actually going through this phase right now. I have a lot of colorful and good ideas that's running through my mind, it's just that, my weakness is, to make a finish product out of it. Sometimes, i just scratch my head and say, " When will i ever learn?". As an aspiring writer, i cannot afford to be on this spot, all the time... Well, maybe all the time is too exaggerated. Ahhh, at least 90% at a time, i'm having that block phase. It's funny that at the first paragraph of this blog, i said it's that time again to write something and express the feelings i'm experiencing right now. Well, there's not so much feelings and emotions on this entry. Mainly, logic (i'm not sure again if i'm being logical about this one, hehehe..)

Having to go through this struggle to come up with a new piece to publish could lead into abandoning this new found hobby (although i've been doing this for years, i'm still a newbie when it comes into article or blog writing). But i know within me that i cannot just leave writing behind because of Writer's Block. It has been a part of me since day one of writing. It's just like my skills in drawing. Sometimes, i do experience having an artist's block and it drew a lot of comparisons on my Writer's Block. A lot of ideas, but always coming up short when trying to put it into a product. But i did not abandon my love for drawing, so the feeling is just the same towards writing, although to call myself a writer is a bit of an overstatement. I have to find ways to get over this hump that's been haunting me for quite some time now. I'm trying to explore new and creative ways to enhance my writing skills, doing my best to expand the limited capacity of this shallow mind of mine.

Well, i just noticed now that i was able to express one emotion while writing this blog: Frustration. I'm so frustrated in writing that it caughts me off-guard at times. At least that's all i'm experiencing when i'm going through this. Writer's Block, on a more serious kind, can cause depression, end of relationship, a sense of failure, physical illness, financial pressures and many more to mention (i guess). That's the scary part but i don't i'll be having one of those and i can't afford to have those right now. Frustration is enough.

I've read through all my past blog entries here to look for somethings that needs polishing of grammars and structures, but i decided not to (for now) 'cause i might ruin everything and have to start all over again. That's no fun at all. But, at least, i still find writing amusing and a good past time. I hope one day that i'll be more productive than what i am right now so i can write more meaningful blog posts.. But...

...even as i'm finishing writing this post, my Writer's Block actually blocks me right now from moving forward. Funny.