I'm forgetting to get that long overdue haircut again. It's still early, the barbershop's still open. I bet my barber is just sitting there, watching television with his feet up, regarding the current movie showing on HBO. It might be a comedy, or an action flick for all I know. That could only mean that he's not thinking about me as much as I am thinking about him at this very moment. And all this time, I thought we had a real relationship. Isn't that tragic?
Regardless of my non-significance to that drone of a barber that I have, I've never really been fond of getting my hair cut. To me, it's such a chore that I would only too gladly pass up for the chance to watch a re-run of "The Wonder Years" on television. Is it because I'm just not vain about the appearance of my head of hair? Or perhaps a past trauma involving scissors and razors? To the best of my knowledge, it's just plain laziness on my part.
*****
I guess I should be thankful that at my age, I've still a full head of hair to be able to cut and style in the first place. Not caring about proper grooming might be construed by the hair-gods as a sign that I'm taking it for granted and thus, I don't deserve it. They might just as easily replace it with a thinning, graying mess of rice-noodles, would this make me care more about the top of my head? Most probably yes.
To make up for my laziness to visit the barber, I buy my own fair share of hair products. Shampoos, conditioners, hair wax and a soft comb. In rare instances, I even treat it with a dose of Vaseline hair tonic or baby oil. It keeps it healthy, but it sure as hell doesn't make it shorter and neater.
*****
I remember a time when haircuts were required. In grade school, teachers went ballistic whenever hair either went beyond the shirt collar, ears or eyebrows. CAT and ROTC were a joy as well, requiring a specific uniform cut of hair to demonstrate unity within the troops. Then there's mommy, who would resort to all measures to get me to go to the barber, even cutting off a significant portion of hair to compel me to have the barber go fix it to more presentable proportions. The neat, newly-cut look didn't bother me at all, just having to get it.
Thankfully, none of this grooming crap is an issue at the office. I could come in wearing a baseball cap or a mohawk and the big boss wouldn't even take a second look. He himself has been subject of chuckles at the water dispenser, with a slowly growing bald spot being hidden by combing up his sideburns. But as of late, everyone's been noticing his new mullet, wondering if this is a fashion statement or if he's growing it long enough to comb up and hide more of his balding pate. Doesn't bother me at all, each man has the right to how he wants his hair (or lack thereof) to look, even if he does look really ridiculous with it.
*****
One thing fascinating about hair, is that it's always growing, irritatingly continuously growing. You act to change it, by cutting it to lengths we've grown accustomed to or comfortable with. If left on its own, hibernating just as Rip Van Winkle did, you'd wake up to an unrecognizable sight. Even dead people are known to keep their hair growing, I think. I'm sure I've read this somewhere.
So by making excuses not to get a haircut as often as I should, am I letting things go through their natural course? Is this some subconscious way of expressing my willingness to let things develop as they would without intervention?
Nah... I'm just that lazy.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Home Improvement Day
Rearranged stuff in the house the whole day. Just felt like I needed a change, something new to come home to. The monotony of my current state of existence has been stressing me out of late, and this is the cheapest and easiest way I could think of to remedy the situation.
It's a really energizing and liberating experience, mind you. Sorting out stuff according to their personal value, and putting them in their proper places. Of course, those that don't really matter or have outlived their use gets thrown away, so you're left with only those that you still feel a connection to or use for. After the whole exercise, you look back and rekindle cherished memories and make room for new ones.
*****
I was going for a minimalist arrangement, but according to the resident minimalism expert, the little sister, the end result wasn't minimalist at all. And I thought "bare" was minimal.
I am content with the result, however. The living room has been reduced to a pretty huge and almost empty space. I hadn't imagined that a 3x3 was actually this big. I was also able to divide my room into two sections, the sleeping area and the walk-in-closet-slash-reading-nook. It kinda got a little claustrophobic, but for such a small space I was able to make room for a lot of my stuff. I've also been able to finally install the cable inside the little sister's room, earning a decent kickback in the process, enough to buy a small shelf for the restroom where I can put magazines and the ashtray.
Now that I've got all this space, my mind automatically shifts to procurement mode, instinctively trying to fill in every nook and cranny with aspirational items that should fill in the void left by the clutter. This is a bad thing, I suppose. I hide away my extra cash just in case I run into the Home Depot or Anson's anytime in the near future.
*****
The desktop has been a nightmare. The clunky, space-consuming CRT monitor is an eyesore that distracts one's attention to it. I suggested buying an LCD monitor to little sister, she's all for it but not too keen on the idea on shelling out for it. The really absurd thing is, we don't even use the desktop except to download stuff off the internet. We both have laptops, and the wireless connection is pretty cool, only the fear of contracting trojan horses and other malware has kept us from using the laptops for downloads, hence the reactivation of the old obsolete desktop.
Was really tempted to take it down and consign it to the folk's house for "safekeeping", but thought against it, untill we get another computer, that is.
*****
Well, I've 4 shots of scotch in me already, and the words on the screen are blurring out. Guess I better get ready to use the "sleeping quarter" for the first time, I'll let you know how it goes in future posts, I suppose.
It's a really energizing and liberating experience, mind you. Sorting out stuff according to their personal value, and putting them in their proper places. Of course, those that don't really matter or have outlived their use gets thrown away, so you're left with only those that you still feel a connection to or use for. After the whole exercise, you look back and rekindle cherished memories and make room for new ones.
*****
I was going for a minimalist arrangement, but according to the resident minimalism expert, the little sister, the end result wasn't minimalist at all. And I thought "bare" was minimal.
I am content with the result, however. The living room has been reduced to a pretty huge and almost empty space. I hadn't imagined that a 3x3 was actually this big. I was also able to divide my room into two sections, the sleeping area and the walk-in-closet-slash-reading-nook. It kinda got a little claustrophobic, but for such a small space I was able to make room for a lot of my stuff. I've also been able to finally install the cable inside the little sister's room, earning a decent kickback in the process, enough to buy a small shelf for the restroom where I can put magazines and the ashtray.
Now that I've got all this space, my mind automatically shifts to procurement mode, instinctively trying to fill in every nook and cranny with aspirational items that should fill in the void left by the clutter. This is a bad thing, I suppose. I hide away my extra cash just in case I run into the Home Depot or Anson's anytime in the near future.
*****
The desktop has been a nightmare. The clunky, space-consuming CRT monitor is an eyesore that distracts one's attention to it. I suggested buying an LCD monitor to little sister, she's all for it but not too keen on the idea on shelling out for it. The really absurd thing is, we don't even use the desktop except to download stuff off the internet. We both have laptops, and the wireless connection is pretty cool, only the fear of contracting trojan horses and other malware has kept us from using the laptops for downloads, hence the reactivation of the old obsolete desktop.
Was really tempted to take it down and consign it to the folk's house for "safekeeping", but thought against it, untill we get another computer, that is.
*****
Well, I've 4 shots of scotch in me already, and the words on the screen are blurring out. Guess I better get ready to use the "sleeping quarter" for the first time, I'll let you know how it goes in future posts, I suppose.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Check, Call and Raise
I miss poker. Go figure, they're playing poker games on television almost every other night. I try not to watch, but oddly enough, there's always nothing even remotely interesting going on at the same time. So I do, and each time I find myself itching to head to the nearest poker room to hear the sound of ceramic chips falling all over themselves on the felt. I manage to somehow keep myself in check, (no pun intended) and make a sandwich instead. Dunno how long I can keep this up, though.
Fortunately, the fellas have scheduled a poker get-together over the weekend. Mercifully, I can look forward to that night to get my poker fix. Otherwise, I don't think I have the fortitude to last another week.
I've sworn off poker for the year, in case you didn't know. I figure that I can't afford to since I've been trying to get myself in the black. You can't gamble with money you don't have, so I don't gamble anymore. But every now and then, there comes the urge and I find myself wondering how my luck is doing. Last year my luck was pretty good, figure I've won a pot-load in cash games amongst both strangers and friends. But that was still a gamble, and I might just as easily lose as much or even more than I've won.
*****
I have to wonder, my dad used to have a weekly poker game with friends and officemates, but I have no idea if he won more times that he lost. This was way back in the day, when Texas Hold'em was just another game they played with all the other poker game variations. We used to play this kind of poker back in college, but I was never really any good in it, too many things to think about and rules being changed with every hand. I won some of the time, but not a lot to say I was good at it.
Anyway, I do remember something he said about poker, that it was a great way to know the true nature of the people you play with. There were sore losers, bad winners, impatient betters, calm collected thinkers and there were just those people who pushed their luck as much as anyone would let them. But this is only half of the story, it's really about what you do about this knowledge, and that's not only in the game, but in the real world.
So far, I don't think I've put that knowledge into any good use. I can't say I'm illiterate when it comes to being a judge of people, what I'm saying is that I haven't done anything with the knowledge than I've gained. Should I at least try? I just can't help thinking that it's a bit sinister, manipulative and just downright evil.
*****
I'm trying to recall where it was that I've read that life is all just a big gamble. It starts with your own inception, how did that one sperm manage to outswim and outmaneuver all the billion others into penetrating the defenses of that egg? Then there's all the other chances that you had to take, from surviving pregnancy, the first few months, the environment you lived in, the schools you went through up until the job you got. Could it really be destiny or just plain luck that got you where you are today?
At any rate, the mere fact that I'm here writing this, and you're there reading this, is a sure sign we both got lucky so far. To celebrate, I'm getting my snifter and saying cheers to this wonderful game called life. I'll bet it just gets better from here.
Fortunately, the fellas have scheduled a poker get-together over the weekend. Mercifully, I can look forward to that night to get my poker fix. Otherwise, I don't think I have the fortitude to last another week.
I've sworn off poker for the year, in case you didn't know. I figure that I can't afford to since I've been trying to get myself in the black. You can't gamble with money you don't have, so I don't gamble anymore. But every now and then, there comes the urge and I find myself wondering how my luck is doing. Last year my luck was pretty good, figure I've won a pot-load in cash games amongst both strangers and friends. But that was still a gamble, and I might just as easily lose as much or even more than I've won.
*****
I have to wonder, my dad used to have a weekly poker game with friends and officemates, but I have no idea if he won more times that he lost. This was way back in the day, when Texas Hold'em was just another game they played with all the other poker game variations. We used to play this kind of poker back in college, but I was never really any good in it, too many things to think about and rules being changed with every hand. I won some of the time, but not a lot to say I was good at it.
Anyway, I do remember something he said about poker, that it was a great way to know the true nature of the people you play with. There were sore losers, bad winners, impatient betters, calm collected thinkers and there were just those people who pushed their luck as much as anyone would let them. But this is only half of the story, it's really about what you do about this knowledge, and that's not only in the game, but in the real world.
So far, I don't think I've put that knowledge into any good use. I can't say I'm illiterate when it comes to being a judge of people, what I'm saying is that I haven't done anything with the knowledge than I've gained. Should I at least try? I just can't help thinking that it's a bit sinister, manipulative and just downright evil.
*****
I'm trying to recall where it was that I've read that life is all just a big gamble. It starts with your own inception, how did that one sperm manage to outswim and outmaneuver all the billion others into penetrating the defenses of that egg? Then there's all the other chances that you had to take, from surviving pregnancy, the first few months, the environment you lived in, the schools you went through up until the job you got. Could it really be destiny or just plain luck that got you where you are today?
At any rate, the mere fact that I'm here writing this, and you're there reading this, is a sure sign we both got lucky so far. To celebrate, I'm getting my snifter and saying cheers to this wonderful game called life. I'll bet it just gets better from here.
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