My Social Media Battles: Spoilers

Oh, man, I hate them. Spoilers. When you are excited about a TV show or a contest, you anticipate watching it, and then you go to Facebook and read about things that you want to know FROM that show or contest and not from people who have watched it way ahead of you. 

Timezone sucks. I understand that some of my friends are from another country (hence, timezone) and I am sure they are excited to post something that they just watched. The problem is, it would be a few more days before I, from Asia, gets to watch it.

Take for example, one of my favorite shows, The Walking Dead. It was a while before it took off and people started watching and talking about it. I believe in my heart that I was one of the early audiences who threw her doubts about a show on zombies, and got hooked way before others found out about the show. And suddenly, the spoilers started pouring in.

I get to watch the show every Saturdays on Fox. That's the official TV airing in my part of the world. But TWD can be streamed on the net, as early as the Monday before my Saturday. 

Ah the worst part. When people started posting spoilers on Facebook, I became unexcited to watch. Like, since I know something about the coming episode, I've become disinterested. Like I have convinced myself that I don't really care much about the show, just so I won't be angry about the spoilers. Because of this, there were times that it was OKAY for me to miss episodes. That was sad. Because its become a part of my Saturday, which was now ruined.

I can objectively look at a spoiler and realize that the person who posted it was just excited or affected about the episode. What really gets me so mad are posts that are just meant to SPOIL. Like just so they can declare to the world that "I JUST WATCHED IT".

Spoiler Example 1: "I'm so sad. What will happen to Daryl now?!"
Spoiler Example 2: "Carol is alive. Michonne is in the prison."

Example 1, is a spoiler for me but I can understand what brought it on. Apparently, something will happen or has happened to Daryl (that in itself, is a spoiler) and this person is sad about it. Fine.

Example 2, I mean, WTF?! I don't understand anything else, I only know that the only purpose I can think of for this person to post this, is to SPOIL. That's it. To ruin the anticipation of others. To basically, show off. You are not a newscaster. Stop broadcasting stuff that no one asked you to.

Example 2 spoilers, those are the ones that really get me mad. I know, I know, it's YOUR wall and you can write anything on it. 

But is it wrong to expect people to be considerate? I guess it is. As someone said to me, you cannot expect people to be like you. To think like you. 

So in the battle against spoilers on Facebook, I concede. You win. I will deal with my disappointment on my own. Someday, it's possible. The spoiler thing.... it could bite you in the ass.

Then and Now

In February 2013, as a Valentine message to my friends, I posted this on Facebook:

"All I'm saying, to single women in their late 20s and 30s, love in this age is far more real than most "love" in high school or college so keep the faith. You are more wiser, more sexier, more battle-trained and more eligible to take risks. Don't let the bad ones ruin the party of your life. Don't let stupid people or misleading media tell you where your place in the market should be. 

Go out. Meet new people. Take chances with a clear head on your shoulder and a strength in your heart to endure no matter what."

I would like to expound more on the subject. I am not dissing teenagers who fall in love during their time in school. I respect that. I've been there. I mean, really went through all that drama, the stress, the depression, everything. So no, I'm not dismissing feelings or what we called love during that age.  It's just that most times, you'll be mature enough to look back and say, oh man, did I really do that? Did I really fawn over such a guy? Did I really tell him I will love him forever and ever until my last breath? In high school???!! Crap. That's just embarassing. Maybe you'll look back, and laugh, blush a little or decide to hide under a rock and never attend any reunion. At all. Because most probably, everyone knew about you and that boy.

Anyways, I'm going off track. What I said about falling in love or experiencing love in your late 20s and 30s being better and far more real, I think it makes sense. Why? Because you're older. You can decide to go out with someone or not. You can fall in love and break your heart and make it your own responsibility to endure. Do you remember how frustrating it was to get hurt in high school but you can't really do much about it? After school's out, you only have a few hours to kill to hang out with your friends, get advices or not talk about it and just have fun before it's time to go home. Some people even have just an hour before their parents start looking for them. Do you remember having to immediately stop crying because your Dad just passed by your room? Do you remember crying on your friends' shoulders but would need to wipe it all off suddenly because it's already 5pm and kailangan mo na umuwi dahil ikaw ang naka-toka mag-saing? (it's already 5pm and you need to go home because it's your task to cook rice for dinner) Do you remember having to say everything is okay at the dinner table even if, at that moment, you feel your world is crumbling to pieces? You can't go out anytime to settle things or make amends with your "boyfriend" because your parents will not let you go out. How worrisome it was that while your parents won't let you out, you kept thinking, Oh God, Oh God, if I don't talk to him now, he might hate me forever! If he leaves me, I'll die!!!! Ang hirap di ba? (It's hard, right?) Or if you are having a happy time with someone special, you can't really blurt out about it at home. You can't let him walk you home all the way. He has to stop somewhere some point where he can't be seen, meanwhile you would need to walk the rest of the way. 

Now that you're older, it's more freeing in a way. If you want to fall in love, it's just up to you now. No, no, no, no. Even if you say your friends would have a say in it, no matter what they say, you will still do what you want. Right? Right? Hahaha. You have had experiences, you've seen at least a couple of types of people, may it be bad or good, you know if it's a line or he's sincerely interested, you know if this person is for real or just playing a round. You can take risks and be man (or woman) enough about it if it fails. If you break your heart, you can stay out all night with your friends, drinking and dancing. You can yell, cry, sob, howl, break stuff till morning since you probably already have your own place or renting out. And if you don't have such a place, you don't need permission from anyone to go anywhere to do just that. 

When you're older, you know that no matter how this hurts now, you will move past it. You will survive, maybe not immediately, maybe it would take months or years,  but you know you will. You now know that the line "if he leaves me, I'll die" from high school is just a shitty exaggeration. No one's dying over that. Especially not you. It's just really up to you if you want to move forward or wallow some more. Don't let these heartaches ruin your party. Accept and learn. Have faith that God loves you enough not to give you anything you can't handle. Value the people who are with you through happy times and sad ones. Have a good support system. Don't do drugs. Brush your teeth before going to bed. Live on.

A friend once told me during a sad time in my life. "You are in a well. I'm up here. I'm holding a rope. You see it in front of you. It's up to you if you want to climb up or wallow in the waters some more. Just make the rope move, if you want me to pull you back up again."

Memories of a Childhood Part 2

My earliest memory? I think it would be summers with my cousins. Once a upon a time, as kids, me, my sister and some of our cousins would spend the summer at my Uncle's house in Rizal. The house they lived in was very Filipino, in a sense that a lot of families live in it. My Uncle's wife, whose family owns that house, have 2 or 3 siblings. Her sisters live there with their own families. Plus I have two cousins who live there whose Mom was in the US and their Dad lives somewhere else with another family. Technically, majority are my third cousins but because we were close then, I treat them like firsts. So imagine the number of kids who ran around that house during summers.

I remember, waiting at the porch for some of my cousins and yell "Summer! Summer!" to tease them about them failing their subjects and having to take summer classes while we lounge about at their house, free from all that.

We would wait around for my Aunt to cook lunch or dinner and attack the food once its there like we were too hungry and deprived (we were actually, not). Like the way, my Aunt would cut up her Tortang Giniling like pizza and hand each one of us a slice to partner with the steamed rice. Aahhh bliss. I suddenly miss Tortang Giniling with UFC Banana catsup.

Those were fun memories. Had I known that by the time I'm at my 20s, I won't be seeing them as much, I would've made more memories. Maybe.... Maybe not. Some of them, I don't quite like anymore. Haha. Well, I guess, I said, would've, right?

Memories of a Childhood Part 1 - reposting an old blog from 2012

1. Wonder Boy - raise your hand if you remember this chicheria (snack). I remember buying this from my grade school's meal tray and breaking it to little pieces before eating them. This snack has different logos; all showing Wonder Boy riding different types of spaceship.

2. KISS - remember collecting these tiny fragrant balls and stuffing them in cotton so that they could produce more tiny kisses?

3. Carebears Sticker album - I had one back when I was in grade school. You'd buy the album and then you'd buy the stickers separately. You're lucky if all of the stickers you got in one pack are used because sometimes you'd get duplicates of ones you already have. Then the fridge would get them. Hehe.

4. My Salt N Pepa cassette tape - I loved this album! It had every song I liked. Shoop, None of Your Business, What A Man, etc. Before your Nicki Minaj, we had our Salt N Pepa.

5. I forgot the name of the snack but there used to be a chicheria (snack) that had cheese curls in it and free stuff like small toy soldiers, toy rings and best of all, sometimes they have money! One tme I was able to get five pesos (small green five peso bill)  from it. Haaay, those were good times.

6. Eng-Nga in Sta. Ana Manila - this was a classic place in Plaza Hugo, Sta Ana that serves miki-bihon and gising-gising. My dad and his brothers and their friends used to hang out here. Sometimes old people just come and chat with other old people, sando and pamaypay and all. Eng Nga has been closed for a while now.

7. Makati Sanitary's pancit - I'm not a big pancit fan but I remember this place because of my Dad. My dad used to bring home pancit from Makati Sanitary every payday when I was still a kid up until in grade school, I think. They had huge servings of pancit per order. He would buy two orders, one miki-bihon because he likes it and one order of pancit bihon because my sister likes it. Me, I usually just get some from both.

I'm a 90's baby. I grew up listening to rappers in colorful outfits, grew up in Sta. Ana Manila, supported the Wednesday group of That's Entertainment. I like those years, they were free from worry and everyone was creative.

Manong Drivers - Reposting an old blog from 2012

Some jeepney drivers suck at being considerate. For example, as an employee we need public utility vehicles to take us to work. Aside from the bus, jeeps are used most. As I observed, some jeepney drivers, seem oblivious to the fact that their passengers are mostly employees who need to get to work on time or that they have passengers at all.

Manong driver #1 – The Chikador

They are those drivers who are very friendly to their fellow jeepney drivers. So friendly, that they would slow down the jeep a bit , or even stop for a few seconds, if they see one of their driver friends coming from the other direction and make small talk. At the expense of their passengers’ time. What if 7 out of their 9 passengers are hurrying to get to work? What if 4 out of that 7 are to receive memos from their HR team for being late to work again? What 1 out of that 4 would receive a final written warning should they show for work late again?

Manong driver #2 – The Checkout Driver

These are what I would call in Tagalog as “bakaw” drivers. These are drivers who go on a slow pace basically to check out every street being passed by for potential passengers. For example, manong checks the left, and the right, yells the destination, speeds up a bit, then slows down again, checks left, checks right, sees a person walking towards the main road, waits for that person to reach the main road, yells the destination and lo and behold….this person is actually not going to ride the jeep but would be crossing the street. Wasted almost 3 minutes of travel time. Never caring if the passengers that are actually on the jeep are in a hurry or needs to be somewhere at a certain time.

Manong driver #3 – The Lazy-ass Driver

Okay, everybody knows that when you get on a jeepney you are obliged to pass the fare from the people who sit far from the driver. I am down with that. It’s not a problem at all. But what frustrates me is when the driver himself, the one who actually earns from us, doesn’t feel like they need to exert some effort in getting the fares. They would reach back, sure, but not enough for you to comfortably give the fare. Their kind of reach is more like palm up but doesn’t go past above the shoulder so you’d have to scoot forward (of course that is while you struggle from the back and forth rocking of the jeep itself) and reach that hand.

Manong driver #4 – The Unapologetic Driver

These are probably the worst, mostly because it includes possible injuries. These are drivers whose minds are just on the money. They love packing up the jeep with passengers. They’d stop to pick up the passenger but once that person is on the jeep, the driver would immediately floor, not minding if the passenger was able to take a seat or if the passenger got thrown out of the jeep and has been run-over by the next car.

I’m sure that you’re familiar with at least one of these “manongs” or worse, all of them. There is no escaping them for me because it will be a long time before I get a car. But until then, I guess, I have to live with these crazy jeeps.

Me at the Bronze Section - Reposting an old blog from 2012

I've always had this idea that I will not go to any music concert, not unless I'm near enough to see the performer's eye. In my head, I thought, I want to SEE them perform, not HEAR them. I want to see the performer's eye, his smile, his/her reaction to the Manila fans. I want to see if he/she practiced well and performed to my money's worth or if he/she would just do a "Britney-VMA" on me to get it over with.

Because of this up-nosed attitude, I, your high and mighty little friend on her imaginary white horse, never got to go to a music concert. The seat I want is just too expensive and impractical for my real life. Boo-freakin'-hoo.

My icons: New Kids on the Block (yes, I was one of THOSE!) came and went, N*SYNC (yup, I never fail to surprise) danced in and left Manila, Black Eyed Peas, Pussycat Dolls, even Lady Gaga came! Some even went back twice like they're saying "Okay so you probably have money now, right??" and then left. Boo-wait for it-hoo.

Well, I never thought that at 33-years old, I would succumb to peer pressure. What could I do, their enthusiasm was contagious and they're good people. As you know, you always have to be on a lookout for good people, you'd never know when you need allies when the world is on its end and there'd be a battle between good and evil....Or if you just want to hang out.

Yes, ladies and gents, I finally gave in to watch a concert on a projected measly budget. I got off my sleek imaginary white horse and prepared to join the people at the Bronze section, the cheapest seat (or should I say spot? It was a standing-only ticket) in the house, to watch dear Miss Katy Perry.

It was a starry night with accompanying cool breeze. I'm like okay...okay...I could work with this...  The reason I'm saying this to myself is not because I'm being a snot-nosed brat, dreading the impending elbow-rubbing with sweaty fans. It's because I've already set expectation that I won't be able to see much. The venue was at the SM MOA Concert Grounds. I am only 5" tall. I already know that I might have to watch Miss Perry on a wide-screen monitor but I also know that once a tall kid or heaven forbid, a lady in a headdress, stands in front of me, then I'm done for the night. So a starry night and a cool breeze can help me enjoy listening to Katy Perry songs, even sing a long with them, as if I'm outside the concert grounds peddling mineral water or neon light rings. Or even outside of an awesome bar, hating when I couldn't even get in (as Chris Brown would say). Okay, rambling. On with the story.

Inside, I could see the stage though its far. There's a wide screen monitor which is good. For tall people. The ticket says show starts at 8PM. So we waited a few minutes, even sitting on the ground, resting our feet. Then around 8 or so, the DJ began playing Rihanna's "We found love", I got disoriented for a bit but realized the DJ was getting the crowd going. Ok, cool. The widescreen monitor began showing tweets from people about the concert, with hashtag ManilaDreams (#ManilaDreams). Ok, cool. Then after 20 minutes or so, the DJ bid goodbye and said that Katy Perry will be with us in a few minutes. That got the crowd going! Woot, yehey!

Sadly, waiting for 2 hours kinda killed the Bronze section. Being in a standing-only section, one by one,  we fell. There was a moment when I looked around and people were sitting back on the ground. To my right, it became a gaming area. People brought out their iPads and mobile phones and started playing Angry Birds and Temple Ruins. There was also the internet area, where people began checking out their mails, Facebook and Twitter. There's even a group behind me who were sitting in a circle, playing Charades (movie? two syllables? sounds like?). The tweets on the wide-screen monitor looped several times, oh I thought they were live tweets? One of my friends already left because he has somewhere to go, his Bronze section fee, dwindled into thin air. To think he's the one who got and paid the tickets in advance for us. I was left with my other friend and finally gave in to sitting down. My feet were killing me. I looked around once more and saw people, standing up, sitting down, taking a nap, texting, playing games, chatting, staring into space. Like we were all in a pier and we're waiting for the next boat to Marinduque. Boo-let me outta this place-hoo.

Finally, at past 10PM, the show began. Everyone started standing up, straining their phones to capture videos and straining to look at the widescreen monitor. As expected, I got to watch Katy Perry from her eyes to forehead most of the time because of people taller than me (where did u all come from? this is not Ireland!) Oh its pink, oh now she's changed it into blue. I'm talking about her hair here. Out of all the things I admired of Miss Perry, alas, I never got to completely see her awesome physique. Just her forehead, sometimes her arm, when she waves or put her hands up. At 11:55PM, the show ended.

I did get to sing a long to her songs along with the patient, forgiving people at the Bronze. I did had my hands up when its an upbeat song. I did yell a couple of times when she asked us to. She sounded good though, she sounded happy to be there (she did mention watching a movie at IMAX, is that why she was late? I don't know, I can't judge, movies are great!) and I bet the people at the Gold, Titanium and Diamond section enjoyed the show very much. I'm happy for them. And yes, I am happy for you too, Ivan, you dawg!

I went home, legs cramping, feet hurting, stomach aching from hunger, very thirsty and irritatingly sweaty. My head hurts and all I want is to lie down and let the night end. I went home walking from the concert venue to the jeepney station, shaking my head, murmuring, "I'm too old for this sh*t." I like you Miss Perry; R & C, you guys know I like to hang out with you, you're cool, but it was quite an experience that I might not try again. Let's just eat, or watch a movie or even do an Insomnia sometime instead.

If someone asked me if I watched the Katy Perry concert, honestly, I can't really say I did. Maybe I'd call it a peek here and there. My idea of watching a concert only when I could afford a seat proved to be a good idea. Lesson learned.