Game Week

Playing card games has been one of the main bonding activities Gabriel and I enjoy since we met in 2013. In fact, the first gift he ever game me was the core set of A Game of Thrones, a living card game based, of course, on George R.R. Martin's epic series A Song of Ice and Fire. He is a card and board game enthusiast, being a player of Magic The Gathering for some years now, and ASOIAF was a common factor for us (I was very much into the series that time–until now, needless to say), so it was a good starting point as we got to know each other more. It was an engaging activity we learned together through time and enjoyed whenever we could find the time and place to play.

I think if we weren't introduced to each other by a common friend, we would still have met if the said common friend took me to one of their "game days," a gathering of their group (which Gabriel is a part of) to play MTG and other games, as we have agreed months before. This common friend had introduced me to MTG and I was quite interested to learn more, so it was just as well that I was inducted into their group. And so as Gabriel tried and continues to try his best to teach me MTG, creating a deck that I could use to play against him and the others in the group, playing card games have been a staple in our meet-ups, lugging around deck boxes or the huge box containing AGoT cards and tokens.

He says I'm learning fast and that I'm doing good–Magic is still way over my head even if I snag wins against his lesser decks often, but Thrones, I am definitely confident playing, especially when using my favorite Houses Stark and Baratheon. We used to play with wagers, to make things livelier. But I win so much in the game, it was no use anymore. Hahaha! So on January 10, we had another match at one of our favorite coffee shops. After a year of losing to me in AGoT, Gabriel finally won a duel against me. Haha. Maybe that was the main point of this post, to celebrate his overdue win against me. :p I am demanding a rematch, of course. :))

On the first day of the five-day holiday due to the Papal Visit, we tried a new game with a couple of other friends. We finally got to play his Mansions of Madness that he got last Christmas. It's an adventure cooperative board game that we had too much fun playing to notice that a round takes a little more than two hours to complete. Playing this occult-themed mystery game is a new for me, and it is really fun to be carried away by the story unfolding through the actions we as player-characters were taking. We lost the two games we played, but it was enjoyable nonetheless. That day, Gabriel also turned over to Miguel, care of me, his Star Wars toys that are a part of a battle figure game. It shames me to admit that my little brother knows more about Star Wars than I do. Haha.

That Sunday, the 18th, their playgroup held their (delayed) year-end game day where Mansions was among the games played. Of course I joined the group that played this, while the others played MTG in duels and multi-player matches. Again, the players lost, this time to the gamekeeper. After a round of Mansions, we decided to try Resistance, a quick party detect-the-bluff game that tests social deduction and hones a person's deception and acting skills. Haha. It was hugely entertaining, if only a little stressful especially if you happen to be drawn into the "enemy" side and you had to pretend you're one of the good guys. But I appreciated playing it, not the least because it helped me interact with his friends considerably more than I would normally have. #SocialAwkwardnessAlert!

All in all, I had great time playing these games. Gabriel is intent on growing his card and board game collection, so I guess I will be playing more of these, with just the two of us or with our groups of friends. :D

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'But I suppose it’s often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that’s not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that stay in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually – their paths were laid that way, as you put it. But I expect they had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn’t. And if they had, we shouldn’t know, because they’d have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on – and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same – like old Mr. Bilbo. But those aren’t always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we’ve fallen into?'

— J.R.R. Tolkien, The Two Towers (The Lord of the Rings Volume II)

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The first month of the year is almost over and I still am not yet done with my first book for the 2015 Reading Challenge. Haha. I am thoroughly enjoying reading this high fantasy classic and finally understanding why it has become such an important book. I know, I know. I should be fed to Shelob for reading/finishing it only now. The magnitude and, well, objectivity are so sweeping I can't help but root for the characters–despite knowing already what will transpire, thanks to the movies–and wonder what sort of bigger epic the Elder Days of the Middle-earth used to be. 

Oh, I feel overjoyed.

what a year and what a night/ what terrifying final sight/ put out your beating heart

I must have been a really good kid in 2014 to have been able to start the New Year with no less than the concert of Bastille here in Manila.

The four-month anticipation, the long travel to the venue, the six-hour wait at the line, the hunger, the jitters, the body-aches from the pushing and shoving, not to mention the day of the concert being a Monday--they were all worth it the moment the lights dimmed at the World Trade Center and I heard the first note of Bad Blood as Woody, Kyle, Will, and Dan entered the stage.

There is much left to be desired in the unpredictability of the local organizer's system for the audience, as well as the aggressiveness of the people to get as close to the stage as they can that even Dan noticed the people in the front row getting squeezed, and the proliferation of extended arms bearing phones, cameras and, to horrors of all horrors, huge tablets, to record the concert. I guess I can't blame them, the night was all we had was one for the books for us fans of a band that hails from the other side of the globe.

Besides, the boys were all so amazing and, hearing them live, I could only deepen my admiration for the kind of music and artistry they possess. It doesn't help that every single one of the quartet is downright adorable. Haha. Dan began the night by shouting "Mabuhay!" to the great delight of everyone in the crowd. One highlight of the night was the four of them taking bunny ears from the audience and wearing them for a whole song or two. Dan also kept saying thanks in his heavily lilted "Salamat!" that seemed to be missing the final consonant sound. Haha. And it was also so cute of him to encourage the crowd to "seek" the "more non-legal" material they have produced. He was also so bashful about his dancing, and it's just so sadkfjadsflka.

The screams were deafening as the band played song after song after song that the crowd unflaggingly sang along with. From familiar chart-toppers such as Flaws, Laura Palmer, Things We Lost in the Fire and Overjoyed, to lesser-known Bad Blood pieces but definite crowd favorites such as Oblivion, The Silence, These Streets and Of the Night, to the hits from their newest mixtape VS (Other People's Heartache III) such as The Driver, to their immensely popular cover of TLC's No Scrubs/No Angels, to the new song Blame, a sample from their upcoming second album.

 

I probably would have teared up, if I wasn't busy singing my heart out, when Laughter Lines was performed. That song is just to poignant and so arrestingly beautiful. As Poet was being performed, I heard someone at my back said, "Okay na ako, okay na ako." Of course, I wanted the night to last the longest that it can, but I must have felt the same sentiment because Poet is probably the most uplifting, pampa-good vibes, and "relatable" song for me. So I was content for a few seconds, at least until the next songs were played. Haha. When Icarus came on, though, I probably lost my wits for a good three minutes. It was the first song I heard of them, and over time have come to mean a lot to me, too. Not to mention that it is one hell of a good song! Ahhhh. Such awesomeness to hear it live. <3

Of course, the night ended with the single that catapulted them to popularity. Pompeii was met with such thunderous reception that it was the perfect way to end the special night. As the white confetti rained down and everyone was jumping up and down, singing "But if you close your eyes/ Does it almost feel like nothing changed at all?" I can't help but be awed by the well-deserved success the band has achieved over the past couple of years.

True, it wasn't as intimate as my Stars concert experience, but it was a very special night indeed. I am so thankful that I was able to experience it, and with my closest friends. Bastille's songs are extraordinary for me, with the words hitting straight home, and inspiring me to pursue stories that are worth writing in such beautiful verses.

Salamat, Bastille! Please do come back soon! :)

Setlist: Bastille's Bad Blood Asia Tour - Manila

December Affairs

The recent holiday season was more relaxed compared to 2013's, when almost every other day I was out for the night to meet up with friends. I couldn't complain, though. I always loved hanging out with people who make effort to find time to reconnect with me despite their hectic yuppie schedules.

This year, however, despite the long stretches of off-days at work, there were only but a few get-togethers, but it didn't make them any less fun or meaningful. Quality over quantity, as they always say.

The day after Christmas, my high school friends and I rented a room somewhere in Fairview and had an overnight so-called Christmas Party. The "party" involved getting to taste Joyce's very own spicy tuna spaghetti and Marifel's fruit salad. Haha. It was such a sabaw, random and funny night that is characteristic of our more than a decade-old friendship despite the others not being able to join us. I guess the main point of the gathering was that we could continue with our weird kris kringle tradition, this time amounting to Php 323.77. Talk about challenge! Haha.

On the other hand, the highlight of the night was us finally getting to call our friends who are now staying in Japan and Canada, Gellie and Philipp, respectively. Philipp had some shopping to do so he had to leave shortly after we managed to establish a video-call. We were able to wheedle out the more important details from him though. So that's just fine. Haha! Gellie, meanwhile, stayed with us until probably five in the morning. (Six in Japan!) We talked about anything, until minutes would pass when we're all just lying in bed talking about work and life and love and everything in between, us there in that room in Fairview and she in her room in Tokyo. Nakipagpuyatan din siya! Haha. It's as if she was there with us, corny as that may sound.

And, true to the trademark kasabawan of the group and as per Claire's suggestion, we raffled off the remaining food we had. If raffles don't make a Christmas Party, I don't know what does. :))

The next day, after two hours of sleep, I headed to Maginhawa to meet Kristel and Toto for lunch. So rarely do I get to see my Inay that I dare not miss this despite the lack of sleep. While we can't bring back the #RJDays of yore, we still get together when we could even for just lunch dates, or a night out with the other RJ people. This time, we chose to explore Maginhawa a little more, and tried two new restaurants we haven't been all to before, and another one we knew from our Quezon Ave days. We were lucky that the new places we tried offered really good food, and cool and cozy spaces. (We had a little too much fun with the wall decor at Café Quesadilla, obviously.) We had a good time catching up (me listening to the ridiculous stories of our common friends that I haven't seen in a long whole, too) and planning trips for the coming year.

I guess I have been through a lot with these people that those crazy nights from years back would continue to hold us together for more years to come. Meet-ups like this make me realize that sometimes you have no choice but to burn bridges. But you also have the choice to keep and work on the friendships that you'd like to have for the rest of your life, no matter the context of your acquaintanceship.

On December 30, I had this boy take me to the South, where he seems to thrive amid the urban madness. Haha. It was a holiday, so there were relatively fewer people when we got there. We just didn't know that this lack of rushing crowd is indicative of our plan not taking shape, i.e. going to Ayala Museum. It's a holiday, and it's closed. </3 But we did get to eat at a nice restaurant where we had pasta and a really filling dose of bacon slab. A slab. It was delightful. Haha. The drinks, I have to mention, were also tops. I had the restaurant's freshly brewed iced tea and he had carbonated citrus delight. Gabriel made the observation that the drinks were kinda like us, that they looked like us. :))

And then he took me to his office where I got to see his workspace, and then around the area's malls. It was a good idea to wear flats as we really did a lot of walking, which I didn't mind. Going back north, we had coffee and dinner at Technohub, a more familiar turf for me. Haha. Over all, it was a great day to spend as our official first day out as a couple. :> Despite things going wrong we still had a really good time, which is probably indicative of the kind of adventures we'll be having together from now on.

If that's the case (well, minus the things going wrong if I can help it), I can't wait for more. :)

2014: Work

If I could summarize my experience and learnings in 2014 in one word, it would be "work." Both the noun and the imperative to take action. 

As trite as it may sound, I have seen for myself how sweet the fruit of conscientious work is, how freeing it is to break free from the mold, how rewarding the realization that while you can't be where you want to be just yet, the seemingly insignificant progresses--development of mutual respect among colleagues, amicable interpersonal relationships, positive feedbacks every now and then--can, and will, motivate you to continue working and improving on what you do and could do more.

I know I may tend to be a person of extremes, intensely caring about something one moment and then being completely apathetic the next. Because of this, I sometimes have trouble convincing myself to start on something. Instead, I would want to wait for the "perfect moment." And though I know that this is a truly detrimental mindset, I always used to give myself excuses to not do.

In 2014, however, perhaps a little unknowingly, I lessened this bad habit and found myself thinking "Why not? Why wait?" more and more. I guess I could say that in the past year, I asserted myself little by little. I had a slow start, always had, to be sure. The beginning of the year was a little rough. But once I got warmed up, so to speak, I know I can charge head-on.

Because there is not much to be gained in staying idle. And through exerting the best you can in doing what is reasonably asked of you, whether in personal or professional setting, there is bound to be a feeling of fulfilment at the end of the day. I know, I know. Have I really only learned this at 24? Definitely not, but I guess I only saw myself in distinct situations that call for this kind of mindset this year.

Last year, I told myself to be brave to test the waters. There still are times when I would want to stay on the shore, but I am proud to say that a bigger part of me started to set sail.

And in so little time, I have gained so much just because I dared, because I persevered, because I stepped up: my family's unceasing love, support and pride; a hard-earned promotion at work; deeper appreciation from, and shared victories with, the people I work with; stronger friendships that withstood and continue to withstand time and distance apart; a budding relationship that is unhindered and destined for growth, with a person who dared and persevered just as much.

As 2014 closes, I feel fortunate because I am starting 2015 with so much positivity and inspiration. However, I have no choice but to challenge myself a little harder.

I know I deserve more because I can do more. Let's go, 2015.