My Top Four Tele-Fantastics

Looking forward to bonding with your couch over the weekend? Hook up with any of these knock-offs. I'm sure you'd find something that'll keep you glued to your seat. Better have the bags of chips ready!

1. How I Met Your Mother

In a Nutshell: HIMYM is a comedy series about Ted, a hopeless romantic, and the story of how he met his children's mother. As he unfolds that story though, he manages to narrate the hilarious adventures that he and his four best friends (Marshall, Lily, Robin and Barney) experiences as he searches for THE ONE. 

What Got Me Hooked: Barney, one of Ted's best friends, is legend... wait for it! -dary! He's hilarious! He is my favorite character in the series. He has this thing called the Bro Code which has all the laws that a true Bro should follow. There was this one time when he made Ted swear to an oath and he called it the Broath, in which Ted should wear a robe, which was called the Brobe. They also had a Slapsgiving occasion wherein Marshall can slap Barney (because the latter lost in a Slap bet) during Thanksgiving. I just love the catch-phrases and the puns! I applaud the writers. They're geniuses! Another thing I love is that all the stories are very relatable. Each episode is packed with issues that one encounters in real life: from as silly as how noticing one's flaw magnifies it, to as complicated as falling in love with your best friend.

2. Switched at Birth

In a Nutshell: SAB is a drama series revolving around the switch that happened between Bay and Daphne when they were born and how their families cope up when they found out about it. 

What Got Me Hooked: What's very interesting about this series is that Daphne, one of the main characters, is actually deaf. Yes, she is deaf in the story and in real life. This series is just an eye-opener for me. One, Daphne can talk. I was under the impression that deaf people are also mute. How can you talk when you can't even hear the sound that you're making? Two, the deaf characters (Yes, there are a ton more deaf characters aside from Daphne) can understand hearing people even if they don't sign because they learn how to read lips. Three, Emmett, also deaf, plays drums. How cool is that? There's just a lot of information that you can get about deaf people because of this series. Very awesome. I am actually learning how to sign in the process. It's just great how this series is able to give opportunity to "handicapped" people and position it in a way that is not condescending or pitiful at all. They are presented in a very positive manner. 

Another great thing is the splash of art in the series. Each of the titles of the series is a painting's title. Bay is a street artist. The series boosts up street art's reputation, that they are not just graffiti on the wall but are actually a valid art form  On the other hand, Toby, the brother, is a musician so there are also a lot of music references. 

SAB for me is a real series for the whole family. Parents'll be hooked with the parenting tips, children'll relate to the issues that teens are encountering. 

3. United States of Tara

In a Nutshell: UST is a comedy-drama about Tara, a housewife who has dissociative identity disorder, and her struggles in raising up two teens and managing the different identities that she has.

What Got Me Hooked: The story line in itself is an attention-grabber. How do you deal with multiple personality? Much less be a mom. Tara is Alice, a 50's prim and proper housewife; T, a rebel teen; and Buck, a male, drunkard army veteran. As the story progresses, different personalities are revealed as well. How does it feel to have a mother or a wife with multiple personalities? It's a chaos! Not to mention that the other characters are as crazy too! 

4. The Voice

In a Nutshell:  What sets this singing competition apart from others is that what they're looking for is THE VOICE. They don't care about how you look, or how old you are, for as long as you have the talent, you get a shot.

What Got Me Hooked: If Adam Levine is not enough reason for you to watch this show, I don't know how else I could convince you. Other topnotch judges include Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton, and Ceelo Green. Great singers are everywhere. It's already a given scenario when you have a competition like this. The show is great because at the preliminaries, the power is actually given to the singers. The chosen ones get to choose who they want to mentor them while the latter fight over them. And it can get very nasty. These superstars can go as desperate as bragging about their achievements and smacking their co-mentors in the face. It's hilarious! Then the singers get to battle each other. The concept is really different. It's a well thought-of competition, not just a rip off of other singing shows. 

A Series of Unfortunate Events (Late Post)

I couldn't think of a more fitting title.

Last March 18, 2012, Sunday, my father was rushed to the hospital because of heart attack. When I reached the hospital, he was already unconscious and was just assisted with a breathing apparatus.  I wasn't able to talk to him anymore. He was in coma for two days. His breathing and heartbeat were just possible because of the respirator and medicine. The doctors urged us to just "pull the plug" since he was not showing any signs of recovery and even if he managed to breathe on his own, the damage in his brain was irreversible and thus he would forever be a worthless vegetable.

On March 20, Tuesday, with hearts sunk, we did what we thought would be best for all of us. We let the hospital took off all his medical apparatus and signed a waiver that Papa would not be revived when his heart failed. We said our goodbyes to him but we believed, even up to now, that he's in a better place now. The disappointments and stresses of his earthly life were now gone.

Just when we thought that everything was at it's worst, something much worse happened.

My brother, just 22 years old, had a sudden change of behavior about 2-3 days before my father's interment. He started believing that he was the Messiah. He never stopped talking. He didn't sleep for two straight days. He ate very little. He was very insistent on being a Mason and studying in Harvard. He believed that he has an IQ comparable to Einstein. He felt that he would rule the world. The timid, isolated boy was now in euphoria, talking non-stop and nonsense to every person he saw. He had suicidal and murderous thoughts. Because of these, the family decided to bring him to a psychiatrist right after my father's burial. The doctor's diagnosis was that he needed to be institutionalized because he was showing signs of psychosis. After a week of observation and symptoms treatment, he was diagnosed with BIPOLAR DISORDER.

Confirming my brother's mental disorder was shocking and disheartening for all of us. I, for one, didn't have any first-hand experience with mentally handicapped people or the sorts. We did not know anyone in the family who has one. This was the kind of illness I never thought my family would ever experience.

He was just 22 years old. He had his whole life ahead of him. We used to dream a lot about how we would have a good life when we start earning our own money. Then, in just a blink of an eye, all of those came running downhill, disappearing into a black hole of hopelessness.

I miss my dad. Now, I am missing my brother. The partner I thought I could depend on in this time of crisis abandoned me. I felt a betrayal. I am mad. I want to get mad at my brother for being weak. I didn't know why all of these had to happen one after the other. I tried looking for the bad things that me and my family did and tried to comprehend if we really deserved this. A lot of things went on and on in my head but I couldn't let other people see it. I couldn't be weak because there's just my Mom and I left. I needed to be strong for her.

Jelly-Panda-Cat Attachment

We don’t call ourselves bestfriends because it’s too mainstream for us. But yeah,  in Keysi’s words, we are co-dependent. We can’t live without each other.

I’ve met Jami seven years ago (woah we’ve known each other that long??? And I’ve been studying that long? Shit.) when I was a freshman. We were seatmates in PanPil 12. Being a fresh blood, I was naturally very friendly and excited to meet new people so I approached her and talked to her, blah blah blah. Hmm bakit nga ba? A! I was obsessed with guitars that time. I just learnt how to play the guitar and it was my world. So when she introduced herself (first day class intros) as someone who plays the guitar, I automatically fixed my sight at her and targeted her. Next thing I know, I’ve invited her to be my housemate and so thus began whirlwind of experiences lathered with clandestine stories and fun-filled tales. As they say, you’ll never truly know a person until you live in the same roof. Lucky for me, she was able to tolerate the mess and laze that I am and we managed to maintain the “co-dependence” even after several years.

Kesi, is Aiza Seguerra transformed into human form. Twas my first thought  when Jami introduced us to one another. Kesi and Jam are classmates, coursemates, and batchmates but have not been close to each other until later their stay in Chem Engg. Just like Jami, we hit it off right away too. Her constant sleepovers in our boarding house finally progressed into paying a bed monthly. So we, three, became live-in partners. (I suppose it unnecessary to say that Keysi was able to pass my mess and laze toleration test, too.) Thus began our threesome.

Cheesy as it may sound, and so I would never ever ever dare say it out loud to them (unless drunk), they are the only reason I can look back in my college years and tell myself I had fun. They’ve made my horrible college existence bearable.

To more years of surprising discoveries, thrilling first times, fulfilling breakthroughs, bursting laughters, and never-ending threesome awesomeness! I love you both and forgive me for sprinkling too much drama in this post.

Dumb Thoughts

Four years. FOUR FRIGGIN YEARS! Such a long time... But really, what was all that about?

Some people date for a year and instantly feel that they already want to marry each other, spend the rest of their life together, build a family, whatever teleserye-ish things.

Then, there's us. Four years and still it doesn't feel "right."

So, why stay/ed you ask? I dunno. Maybe because I was hoping. Am always hoping. That things will turn out right. That we WILL turn out to be the heroes of the teleserye and not just the extras whose stories you won't really get to follow through (cause it's boring and not romantic enough).

Maybe because I'm lonely and pathetic. Maybe I'm just desperate and so afraid to be alone. Maybe he, "us", has already become a habit. You see, there are just some things in life that you don't need/want/like anymore but you just can't let go. You're just used to seeing it there, lying lifeless in the corner. There's a certain comfort in knowing that it's there.

Maybe because I don't have a sane reason to end whatever we have. None of that third party stories, you and me against the world dramas, family feuds. Nothing. It's more of internal, you know. The kind of turmoil that goes unnoticed by everyone except you.

"You're just not my prince." The fuck. Whoever says that? WHO AM I TO SAY THAT? But really, don't I deserve to feel like a princess when with him? Have my right to be wooed by him been terminated ever since we had an agreement?

I'm a girl. I'm a cheesy-pussy. I believe the koreanovelas. I believe in romantic love. Not being the man who can give those to me, is that a reason to part ways with him? Or is that just a silly move an immature woman will do?


UPDATE: Or... well, maybe this IS love. Recognizing that there are A LOT of imperfect things going around in our relationship but still sticking with each other no matter what. In spite of all the craziness and sometimes boringness of it all, I still want to be with him.