Ripped off my blog in Iluko.com
“MuZings and WhatEvs”
I’ve had some fun in iluko.com, mainly because I have a very willing prey there: VF (Virtual Friend). I’m transplanting some of my postings there just to see if I can also bully him here. [Kidding aside, I think it's about time that I index some of my good (meaning, "wicked") postings.]
"If Mother Nature thought that giving me VF to prey upon is an act of correcting her mistakes, then it only reinforces what I’ve known about her all along: that her sense of humor appeals to no one but herself.
Still, she may try [to humor herself further], but such action I will classify as unpardonable; and its consequences, I dare say, shall be terrible.
For it is not up to Mother Nature to decide whom I should bully; for my reasons (there are many, and they vary from one prey to another) for doing so are beyond her realm. VF is mine to bully; and it is by choice (mine!), not as a consequence of Mother Nature’s inefficiency."
Sherma E. Benosa 6/18/2006 10:55:42 PM
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Answer to VF’s posting which read: “It's Nature who led you to make that decision."
"That’s where you are gravely wrong VF, accusing Mother Nature of an act she didn’t commit and, worse, failing to acknowledge that I am no executor of Mother Nature’s designs.
I am the architect of my actions. The blueprints, I myself drew; the edifices, I alone built. That, my friend, is how I earned the right to live in them."
Sherma E. Benosa 6/19/2006 6:40:44 AM
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Among the weaklings, Mother Nature is supreme. But with me, she is helpless. And because of me, she is in stark sadness. Her wrath? Ow, never mind!
Even Mother Nature has a waterloo. And that is what I am to her. Upon me, she cannot apply the laws with which she enthralls mankind. Sorry VF. But where I am concerned, that thing Mother Nature contrived — E=mc² — is meaningless.
Find help elsewhere.
Sherma E. Benosa 6/19/2006 7:48:35 AM
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Your posts are like steroids injected into my veins. The moment they enter my system, adrenaline starts kicking in and wicked thoughts start floating in my mind, sending my hands to whack the computer keys and my lips to curl up in a wicked smile.
Then as I click the submit button I laugh out loud, imagining you reading them; your face contorted, and your lips smirking (your smirk being a combination of suppressed laughter and shock). Then I would see you busy your hands with your keyboard as you squeeze your mind for a witty comeback….
… but type words that spell defeat — YOUR defeat — instead. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.
Sherma E. Benosa 6/21/2006 3:31:16 AM
Monday, August 14, 2006
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
That inconspicuous place...
... I call home
For those who do
not have a province to go home to, as well as those who have but: 1) can't go home yet or 2) no longer have any reason to go home (either because of bad memories or because there are no more loved ones there to go home to), let me give you a peek of that little known but very lovely place I call home: Nueva Vizcaya.
Both photos show parts of Abinganan, Bambang, Nueva Vizca
ya (my father's home barrio). It is here where my grandparents lived; and where my brothers, cousins and I spent our summers together — swimming in fish ponds and rivers, chasing butterflies and spiders, climbing trees, and doing other things only true-blue barrio-raised kids can relate to.
For those who do
not have a province to go home to, as well as those who have but: 1) can't go home yet or 2) no longer have any reason to go home (either because of bad memories or because there are no more loved ones there to go home to), let me give you a peek of that little known but very lovely place I call home: Nueva Vizcaya.
Both photos show parts of Abinganan, Bambang, Nueva Vizca
ya (my father's home barrio). It is here where my grandparents lived; and where my brothers, cousins and I spent our summers together — swimming in fish ponds and rivers, chasing butterflies and spiders, climbing trees, and doing other things only true-blue barrio-raised kids can relate to.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Thoughts on parenting (by a nonparent)
With the birth of his son whom he named after himself (kaloka!), my youngest brother is now a father. Here are three things I want to tell him about kids and parenting:
1. Kids don’t come with a manual. A handbook or anything that would tell the parents the features of a kid model, including how it is better than, similar to, or different from the other models would certainly be a great help. But kids are not — and will never be — like the craze gadgets we splurge our budgets on. With them, we grope around trial-and-error; and where they are concerned, we falter even in the company of the tried and tested.
2. When it comes to parenting, the saying “the heat that hardens the egg melts the butter” becomes so true. Yup! Not only do kids refuse to carry with them that thing parents need the most — handbook on the proper way to “operate” them — but they also make their parents’ work extra-difficult by bringing with them their built-in idiosyncrasies which are the parents’ task to discover and to learn to deal with. Thus, parenting will never be a fit-all commodity; what worked for one kid may not work for another.
3. Good luck! You can do it. Hehehe
//P.S. Born on the fourth of July this year, Lucky Ryan Benosa, Jr. (or II), is the newest addition to our growing family. This guy is quite powerful; he has made every member of the family travel to Mallig, Isabela and back home many times just to have a peek on him. Hay! (We now have lots of pics of him, but they are for private viewing only. The kid is not yet one year old; he can't yet tell me if he'd allow me to post his pic here. Maybe next year. Hehe)
I don't know what you'd call it, but he also made my brother and Sheryll, as well as Tatang (sige na nga, pati ako) very inggit! Hahaha!
1. Kids don’t come with a manual. A handbook or anything that would tell the parents the features of a kid model, including how it is better than, similar to, or different from the other models would certainly be a great help. But kids are not — and will never be — like the craze gadgets we splurge our budgets on. With them, we grope around trial-and-error; and where they are concerned, we falter even in the company of the tried and tested.
2. When it comes to parenting, the saying “the heat that hardens the egg melts the butter” becomes so true. Yup! Not only do kids refuse to carry with them that thing parents need the most — handbook on the proper way to “operate” them — but they also make their parents’ work extra-difficult by bringing with them their built-in idiosyncrasies which are the parents’ task to discover and to learn to deal with. Thus, parenting will never be a fit-all commodity; what worked for one kid may not work for another.
3. Good luck! You can do it. Hehehe
//P.S. Born on the fourth of July this year, Lucky Ryan Benosa, Jr. (or II), is the newest addition to our growing family. This guy is quite powerful; he has made every member of the family travel to Mallig, Isabela and back home many times just to have a peek on him. Hay! (We now have lots of pics of him, but they are for private viewing only. The kid is not yet one year old; he can't yet tell me if he'd allow me to post his pic here. Maybe next year. Hehe)
I don't know what you'd call it, but he also made my brother and Sheryll, as well as Tatang (sige na nga, pati ako) very inggit! Hahaha!
Thursday, August 03, 2006
The blog writer
Blog writer. That’s the title I’ve ascribed to myself since I realized late last year that it takes me far less time to write something for my blog than to write my articles for H&L or my written requirements for school. (Writing a short story or a poem likewise doesn’t take long; but I have to be in a special, indescribable kind of mood to be able to write either, so neither counts in this discussion.)
I’ve always wondered why that is so, and the reason I’ve thought of so far is that writing a blog is like talking to oneself or to a friend; whereas, writing a journalistic piece or an academic paper is like talking to a stranger; or worse, addressing an unfriendly congregation.
When you talk to a friend, there is no inhibition and your mood is quite relaxed. You say whatever you like in any manner that suits you, as long as it doesn’t offend your friend (friends don’t easily take offense, so no problem here). You are yourself; you have no problem letting down your guard, for with friends, there’s no need for pretense.
That’s how I feel whenever I write an entry for my blog. As you may have noticed, the writing style I’ve adapted here — the choice of words and turn of sentences — is quite informal (except, of course, those pieces I posted which were originally written for other purposes/media). Unlike in a journalistic/academic piece, there is no pressure for me to write elegant sentences nor to use standard grammar (international English usage, or standard Philippine English) in my blog. That means I need not think of the English equivalent of some non-English forms because I can use whichever form that readily comes to mind (Iluko or Filipino). What’s more, in my blog, I can invent words and even deliberately misuse (bastardize) a word to suit my purpose (or rather, whims). And the tone! Haha! I can be serious one moment, absurd the next, then turn funny, then be serious again. Ain’t that great?
Another thing I like about writing a blog is that I need not pretend I know a lot of things. I can say I don’t know this or that without worrying that my readers might think I am stupid (I don’t really care because I know I’m not, he he). Whereas, when I write for the magazine, I need to always be sure that I got my facts straight, that my sources are credible, and that I had not misquoted anyone, in addition to being cautious with my writing style — I cannot be too “lifestylish” when I’m writing a health/medical article, nor too structured when I am writing a lifestyle piece.
Writing an academic paper also has its own pressure. For instance, I need to sound like I know my subject and/or that I’ve evaluated the opposing views on the subject at hand and then be able to convince my readers that the stand I’ve taken is the logical one, in addition to being very careful with the words I use, as well as with my syntax.
Given all the pressures that come with the other types of writing that I do, how could I not enjoy writing my blog entries?
But if you have thought that the things I’ve written so far are the reasons that I enjoy writing entries for my blog more than I enjoy other forms of writing, then let me tell you this: you are wrong. I have not been completely honest. To tell you the truth, it’s not the pressures that come with academic and journalistic writing as opposed to the ease of blog writing that makes me prefer the latter to the former. It is really the freedom I enjoy — the freedom to paint the caricature selves of the people I care about through words — that is fueling my zeal to write entry after entry.
So you see, it all boils down to my top pastime — bullying. Why not? I’m suppose to be wicked here, remember? I’m just being my bully self. That’s what I do around friends, di ba?
I’ve always wondered why that is so, and the reason I’ve thought of so far is that writing a blog is like talking to oneself or to a friend; whereas, writing a journalistic piece or an academic paper is like talking to a stranger; or worse, addressing an unfriendly congregation.
When you talk to a friend, there is no inhibition and your mood is quite relaxed. You say whatever you like in any manner that suits you, as long as it doesn’t offend your friend (friends don’t easily take offense, so no problem here). You are yourself; you have no problem letting down your guard, for with friends, there’s no need for pretense.
That’s how I feel whenever I write an entry for my blog. As you may have noticed, the writing style I’ve adapted here — the choice of words and turn of sentences — is quite informal (except, of course, those pieces I posted which were originally written for other purposes/media). Unlike in a journalistic/academic piece, there is no pressure for me to write elegant sentences nor to use standard grammar (international English usage, or standard Philippine English) in my blog. That means I need not think of the English equivalent of some non-English forms because I can use whichever form that readily comes to mind (Iluko or Filipino). What’s more, in my blog, I can invent words and even deliberately misuse (bastardize) a word to suit my purpose (or rather, whims). And the tone! Haha! I can be serious one moment, absurd the next, then turn funny, then be serious again. Ain’t that great?
Another thing I like about writing a blog is that I need not pretend I know a lot of things. I can say I don’t know this or that without worrying that my readers might think I am stupid (I don’t really care because I know I’m not, he he). Whereas, when I write for the magazine, I need to always be sure that I got my facts straight, that my sources are credible, and that I had not misquoted anyone, in addition to being cautious with my writing style — I cannot be too “lifestylish” when I’m writing a health/medical article, nor too structured when I am writing a lifestyle piece.
Writing an academic paper also has its own pressure. For instance, I need to sound like I know my subject and/or that I’ve evaluated the opposing views on the subject at hand and then be able to convince my readers that the stand I’ve taken is the logical one, in addition to being very careful with the words I use, as well as with my syntax.
Given all the pressures that come with the other types of writing that I do, how could I not enjoy writing my blog entries?
But if you have thought that the things I’ve written so far are the reasons that I enjoy writing entries for my blog more than I enjoy other forms of writing, then let me tell you this: you are wrong. I have not been completely honest. To tell you the truth, it’s not the pressures that come with academic and journalistic writing as opposed to the ease of blog writing that makes me prefer the latter to the former. It is really the freedom I enjoy — the freedom to paint the caricature selves of the people I care about through words — that is fueling my zeal to write entry after entry.
So you see, it all boils down to my top pastime — bullying. Why not? I’m suppose to be wicked here, remember? I’m just being my bully self. That’s what I do around friends, di ba?
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