chillin out @ the FORT

no, not in taguig where serendra or bonifacio high street is.. i'm talkin' about the original fort.. the place where Sulayman and his people stood their ground against the spaniard conquerors.. the place that stood as the philippine islands' military, political and religious center for more than 300 years.. the place that was razed to the ground and was painstakingly revived, no longer as a center of power but as a shrine of life, death and memory..

i'm talkin' about fort santiago inside intramuros, manila..

In the beginning, there was the old fort of a muslim settlement headed by Sulayman guarded by wooden palisades, taken over later by the spaniards who built the stone walls of the fort from materials found in what was later to be known as guadalupe in makati.. inside the fort's walls was the history of the philippines was practically planned.. the policies on how people were gonna live their lives, the structures that were to be built, the lives that were to be taken away.. all of these were decided inside fort santiago.. how one cannot feel overwhelmed by this is truly beyond me..

in the end, however, the japanese occupation and the american way of liberation reduced the fort, along with the rest of the walled city, into nothing but piles of rubble, burying with it the power that it had come to know and embrace.. its death would only be temporary, though, as it has been revived to be the grand shrine that it is today..

here are some pictures of plaza militar, which used to be parade grounds for military exercises but has now been converted to a promenade filled with trees, fountains and the nostalgic aura of a glorious past..









the lack of attention such beauty is getting is just unjust, to say the least.. so the next time you're on your way to MOA, why not make a detour towards fort santiago instead?

yeah, so?

yeah, yeah.. so we lost to lasalle.. so they won the championship.. big deal..

to everything that happened, i just shrugged it all off and said.. "TANGINA NAMAN!!" and added "ANO BA NAMANG KABANUAN NG UE YAN!! LECHE LASALLE!!!!!!!"..

well, so much for grace in defeat.. congrats nga pala to lasalle..

now back to regular programming..

revenge is sweet! ateneo wins over ust, 69-64

ateneo wins over ust! 69-64! revenge really couldn't be any sweeter..

i still was actually grieving over that heartbreak of losing the championship to the tigers last year. ateneo was clearly the best team in the league. how we lost to a bunch of rookies last year is still a mystery to me. nonetheless, those final two losses just really stuck and dug deep under my skin and into my the bones, and my hatred for ust became unparalleled.. i really couldn't get that image of allan k/pido jarencio laughing and rejoicing after that final failed attempt of jc intal in the wanning seconds of season 69 out of my head.. arrrrrrrrghhh.. tangina talaga..

so seeing jarencio cry like a baby a while ago was, in the words of a friend, a priceless moment.. that's what you get for messin with us, you son of a bitch.. hahaha.. but kudos to ust for playing a great game.. haha.. plastic amp..

other things of note in the game were baclao's great game, jervy cruz's elbow and arao's consistency.. in being a moron..

my hat goes off to baclao for swatting all those tiger attempts and making timely baskets as if he was no rookie, making them with the composure of a veteran.. he's definitely gonna be one of the future stars of the blue eagles, along with escueta and salamat.. the future doesn't seem so bleak, after all..

now on to cruz.. can his elbow get anymore active? if arao was half as active as that elbow, he would be mvp.. of the pba.. seriously.. there was this play where he made this screen and his elbow brought escueta down.. on the ensuing rebound play just a few seconds later, that same elbow clobbered tiu down from the back.. that stupid son of a bitch.. last year pa yung gagong yun, eh.. buti nga tangal na.. hahahahaha..

which brings us, lastly, to arao.. seriously.. seriously.. how is he still on the team?? can the coaching staff not see how stupid this guy is on the court? i mean, c'mon! he makes ej feihl look like la tenorio.. and i thought, traffic movement in slex was slow.. seems like arao is saying "you ain't seen slow yet".. and now, we have.. for the remainder of the games ateneo has, arao needs to be off the court more for us to have a legitimate chance.. otherwise, we can all count on him on fumbling the ball - and the championship- out of our hands and into another heartbreak.. i just hope norman black realizes this sooner and not later, when either la salle or ue's hoisting the trophy and we are, once again, doing a jarencio on the sidelines..

but that's a worry for another day.. on thursday, actually.. right now, the stigma of last season's defeat has been somewhat alleviated.. GO ATENEO! ONE BIG FIGHT! BO USTE! BO USTE!.. you know the rest.. *laughs out loud*

funny signs in china!

my trips to shanghai, china last april and may were really awesome.. although it was evident that china is a third world country pretending to be first world, at least they are trying.. can't say the same for the philippines.. seems like we have given up.. but i digress..

the place was cold (it was getting a little warmer on my second trip in may as summer was approaching there) and smelled organic, the kind of smell that can only be found in asia.. yet as you look around, it was reminiscent of california, with skyscrapers and constructions abundant.. it was like a mix of the old orient and the new western world.. shanghai really is fast becoming westernized.. but before they can truly call themselves "first world", there are some things that they still need to improve on, starting with their english..

in an effort to show the world that they are indeed an international city, an english translation can be found wherever there is a chinese sign present.. however, some translations are just horrible.. the following are examples of what i'm talking about.. the shanghai science and technology museum alone was a goldmine..


..on my way to the museum:



worker 1: you think this is right? worker 2: how should i know? just put the damn letter there.. worker 1: there.. ah, so that's how "group" is written in english..



..inside the museum:



come again?




is there such a thing as "permanent construction"??




dude, i was only trying to give some construction criticism..




ano daw?




another head-scratcher..




does that mean "former hibitions"?




yes, thank you for the suggestion..




does this mean "hindi basura" and "basura pa"?



..inside CARREFOUR, the shopwise of shanghai:



this one was to say "grocery", i think..




is it "blcycle" or "bicycie"?




maybe the "t" fell.. then again..



..and other signs taken at random places:




"shanghai spesial produst".. meron kaya silang spesial hofia?




"passengers stop"? that's a whole sentence already!




anybody up for a game of billiareds?




"may your satisfaction sincerely aroused by me".. bastos!




this is what you use to take out the firehyd..




reminds me of the "bawal tumawid nakamamatay" signs by the mmduhs..





"dangerous! as adult ought to protect their children when the children are playing along the lake".. ha?



benta talaga.. china! i'll be backing soon enough over!

a place on top

finally, a place to just be the special me (special? as in autistic? hinde, gago.).

social networking blogs are too cluttered.. hopefully, by setting this blog site up, i can separate myself from the rest of the ranting pack and just let loose my feelings and ideas in the hopes of being heard..

i have always thought highly of my thoughts.. but seeing them posted on the "updates list" of multiply and friendster makes it seem lifeless, dull, and un-special..

hence, the creation of sixyearquest.blogspot.com.. if anybody's reading this, do come back soon.. i'll take you to places you've never been to before.

btw, for those who are faint-hearted, politically correct and just downright square, beware. this can - and will - get ugly.

-sixyearquest