Monday, September 18, 2006

devirginized

last week, i finally granted one of the short fiction i wrote a constrained finish. constrained, probably because i had my sights locked on Dean Alfar's call for submission on a spec fic anthology he's been tasked to compile, and there was an inexplicable urgency to put the pen into it.

the short fic, i wrote, while more or less speculative in nature doesn't entirely fall in his definition of spec fic---which, according to him, should categorically include anything supernatural, fantasy and stuff. anyway, i've been writing that story for three years until i decided that i should (it was more of a personal desire, above anything else) submit it and see what happens next.

i'm quite aware of the consequences, though. grammatical quirks and whatnots might [and i'm positively certain] derail my chance of having someone recognize what i've written. and to think of the fact that i haven't really allowed anyone to read any of those that i wrote [except for a selected few, that even today, has exercised the vow of secrecy i had them sign under duress, hehe], consider this to be a popping of my literary cherry.

hm, i'll get to used to it. somehow.

latest musing of Etchie at 18:06 0 comments

Sunday, September 10, 2006

tekkie

i love technology.

it's one motor of my existence. while my upbringing was marred by the usual inconsistencies of tech development (80s to early 90s weren't as profuse in terms of any technological advancement as what transpired a few years later), i ended up dependent on it.

my very first personal computer was a 386DX, hundred-megabyte wired box that my pop bought when my parents realized i've been spending too much loose change on spring-bound notebooks for my writing endeavors. actually, it was a gift---my ownership of the computer wasn't i could say, self-bequeathed---and i had to share with my younger siblings as well. my uncle had it stacked with games on MS-DOS mode, though my father disapproved of anything as unproductive as blasting TIE Fighters on arcade setting, that in the long run i had to be contented with Solitaire in monochrome.

the mid-90s saw our very first upgraded PC. a Windows 95, Pentium MMX system---that during those days was the hippest of the lot. although the software was usually buggy at times, having the latest copy of the operating system was an envy to a multitude who continued to use the perennial DOS as their primary OS. however, it was also the time that technology pushed to high gear and it careened straight towards the future highway. the PC market boomed. our computer suddenly found itself bordering on obsolesence, but pop didn't budge. as long as the system continue to burn excel spreadsheets and ink word documents, the issue on upgrading persisted.

not when the 21st century crept up like a madman. slowly, our PC showed signs of a viral infection that, ultimately, contributed to its anticipated demise a few months after [my uncle said it was a HD crash, and he replaced it with a new one one, only this time the processor gave up and the entire system just went kaput---on it was a 100-page unfinished manuscript i'd written for two years---but i didn't cry on the loss, somehow in my opinion technological mishaps are forgivable].

i've been a computer person since i've been indoctrinated by those who believe that personal computers make our lives easier. and in several cases, i could concur to what they said. i remember the time when i started fiction on a 100-page spring-bound ruled notebook and an ink-blotted Apache-brand black ballpen [Pilot pens were way expensive for me during that time---and it was later in highschool that i managed to afford one], the difficulty of longhand wasn't as excruciating as one would complain on a Trojan Horse malware attack. things were simpler, but at a price.

there were no complications, but there was this feeling of need. the malcontentment. as the world develops, as well as one's longing to sprint with the progress. when i bought my first notebook PC, the ever-reliable, though flimsy-built Acer Travelmate 202T four years ago, i thought that i would be contented with it. somehow, it cost me a little over four grand a month to pay for it [i pleaded to my folks to get it for me using their card]; but every expedition to SM's cyberzone brought demands [and probably, the personal wanting] of upgrade.

nonetheless, the Travelmate survived four years. bumps and grinds and a broken hinge epoxyed. it was my companion to work and back. suffered a bad concussion when the messenger bag that contained it snapped from my shoulder and cascaded to the cement. physically, the laptop turned out to be a mess, but it continued to breathe. chipped plastic and all; and proudly Philippine-made. hehe. deserved a ticket to Manila as a hand-me-down. nearly-crashed on a malware infection, but i succeeded in resuscitating it.

my upgrade [or what i would call as a worthy replacement] is an Apple PowerBook. my only experience with a Macintosh computer was when Sas mistakenly switched-on an unknowing system at a Kinko's shop to print a document. aside from that, my knowledge of Macs is comparable to how i fared in highschool algebra. gradually, i inculcated what most folks at philmug informally taught me. the Mac became the primary OS that i currently grew accustomed to. yeah. i'm still adept at using Windows if required.

my life as a tekkie didn't end with my ownership of a Mac [i don't know the reason, apparently they associate techgeeks with anything Apple---that at times, i think could be derogatory to some]. there is a continuous imploration to satiate the need, but financial limitations often preclude. for one thing, my purchase of an external drive was brought about by the realization that it is more convenient and practical to update Sas' iPod home rather than bringing it to my office merely to add songs. the justification alone established the fact that acceding to technology has a corresponding monetary renunciation as well.

i'll be forever a techie flyboy. and i won't probably regret being one.

latest musing of Etchie at 02:13 0 comments

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

trip

suddenly, i'm on a sound trip.

recently, i got me-self an external hard drive with a whopping 250 gigabyte-capacity primarily to transfer the songs from my office PC for use in my notebook. since my PowerBook has a measly 80GB HD capacity, and with the installed applications took up almost a quarter of the space, i decided that if i have to move the files from one computer to another i'll need a hard drive with at least 160 GBs.

bestbuy was heaven. paid a hundred and twenty bucks for the external drive [that's roughly a half-dollar per gigabyte, not bad even with the enclosure included]. started the file transfer a week ago. problem left is organization. i've been using the office PC for updating the iPod Mini i bought last year. brotherly love earned that iPod a ticket home and into Dada's musical inclinations. so, for three months now, i'm without a capable music player except for the laptop speakers and the car stereo. i might get a new iPod anytime, but it can wait.

anyway, my daily bathroom incursions brought me random thoughts on most of the songs i've listened to. some has memories attached to it; some morphed into fiction; and some are just songs. but here goes:

Keep This Love Alive (David Pack & Tom Scott) - college major night. Zu, Shangri-La Makati [i wonder if the place still exists]. 1998. some local jazz band blared out a near-to-perfect rendition of the song. seven Super-Drys and a Carlsberg. inebriated enough to hit the dance floor. an asthma attack a day after. tried to stay awake the whole drive home. pop would kill me if i didn't. hehe. blogger revelations.

The Real Thing (Kenny Loggins) - fond memories. (1) i sang it in front of the whole class. could've halted midway, but for no apparent reason, i didn't. kenny loggins pushed me to the finish line, i think. no applause. and the humiliation was worth the trouble. a futile attempt to boost up self-confidence in life-support. (2) wrote a literal interpretation of the song. marriage was in turmoil. fiction or not, but it struck me (and i'll say, us) right where it should. thank God, heard my prayers.

Wherever You Will Go (The Calling) - a ninety-nine on videoke. yey. the only song i think i could sing. imitation of Alex Band's vocal affectation somehow concealed my inability to sing. haha.

Only When You Leave (Spandau Ballet) - allusions to Alfred Hitchcock a friend told me regarding the music video. been on the lookout for the fucking mtv for two years now. found one recently [and heaven's praises for YouTube]. profoundly, Hitch's nowhere to be seen. now, i don't know if it was an April Fool's joke or not. the song's great, anyhow. Spandau Ballet's one of my fave nouveau vague bands that came out of the 80s [the other one would be The Style Council, if you might ask].

Better Days (Dianne Reeves) - Sas and i sang the song on the drive home from Nagcarlan, Laguna four years back. Tutay loved it. even the affectations contributed [beeeetter-daaaayysss! hehe]. i know i can't sing, but a three hour trek through the South Superhighway---our singing definitely beefed up to my daughter's amusement. hehe.

Giant Steps (John Coltrane) - my interest to jazz could be traced back to college. and Jeff Giron was the culprit. it's like this:

Jeff: John (Coltrane), this is Etchie.

Me: Nice to meet you, John. (eyeing the tenor sax)

John: I reckon that you've been wanting to play the sax, eh?

Me: Yeah. Mind if i take you home with me?

and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. my next acquaintances would be Bird Parker, Dinah Washington and Miles Davis. one note though: i returned Jeff his CD a few days later. got my copy only two years ago.

got a few more in my head, but i'm too lazy to write.

music's one of my cultural vicodins. and i'm still high on the trip.

latest musing of Etchie at 01:44 0 comments