RXZ III - Innovations, Intimacy, and Imbeciles

An all new "A Frustrated Writer + A Blog = Mayhem" starts now.

Who Am I, Anyway?

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About me: I'm Rowan Xavier Zurich. Oh come on, that's just a pseudonym, don't worry. I won't place my real name on cyberspace. I am a smart, philosophy-interested boy. I use my blog as a deposit for my thoughts and ideas when I can't fit them in my head. Sometimes, I use it for telling my stories (I'm a writer). Feel free to dawdle mindlessly into my own thoughts! Haha!
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Some Tidbits 'bout me...see if we're alike..

Hates : stupidity, math (even though i'm good at it), bad dreams, wrong grammar and pronunciation, and a lot more...
Loves : Harry Potter, books (a lot), Spiderman, TV, SpongeBob Squarepants
My music : anything WORTH listening... really...
My books : Harry Potter, Eragon and Eldest, The Alchemist, Who Am I Anyway?, and other fantasy stories...

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Friday, January 30, 2009

Sorting, Categorizing, and Library-izing of my blog [BS Ep. 5]

As proven in this series, I've had too much topics in my mind. And unlike any other techie writers, I can't flip out a PDA and jot down my thoughts away immediately. I only blog from Fridays to Mondays. Not really much time to place all the blog posts in my mind that accumulates throughout the rest of the week.

And so, I've adapted Kuya Gian's technique: posting in categories. I'll have titles for each category, and I can write in them a particular type of posts. And so, here are the categories:

Writers Have Four Eyes (WHFE) - about my writing, some stories, book reviews, etc.

Tag Force (TF) - tags, fun lists, surveys, and such stuff that I get from other bloggers.

As A DevCom Dude (AADD) - my thoughts concerning human welfare and development.

Exhilarating or Erroneous Events (EEE) - events, happenings, and the likes.

Revealing Your Awesome Name (RYAN) - my reflections while in my walk with God, and on fulfilling the Great Commission.

The Anonymous Optimist (TAO) - posts concerning my personal life, and the lives of others (featuring other people).

There we are. I sorted out my posts into six fields. Every week, I'll try to post in every one of them. Yes, every one of them.

I think I'll start now.

Labels: BS series

posted by Rowan X. Zurich at 7:05 AM

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Friday, January 23, 2009

Saying Goodbye Is Never Easy [BS Series Ep. 4]

NOTE: This is the second-to-the-last episode for the Brain Siphoning Series. For me, this is by far the saddest post I ever made.

Don't cry, people. No one died, although I feel as if that's true nowadays.

It's an emo thought, I know, but sometimes I don't want to befriend people anymore. I don't want to spend moments with them anymore and create bonds with them. Why? It's because, when they go away, they take a part of me with them. Somehow, I feel empty when they go. That's just makes me more emo than I already am.

I remember my high school graduation. Before that, I always wondered why most people cry in such events. Why shed tears? We should be happy, since we're moving up in the world. Well, now that I've had my share of tears in my own graduation, I answered myself. Separation from familiarity is hard to accept. Nothing is forever, and yet we humans want forever things. I thought that those people I was with would stay with me until the end of time. Such thinking is the result of strong bonds.

Now, why am I talking about goodbyes? Why am I spending time typing when I could just cry out my sadness?

I can't. I have a sore throat. That's why I resort to typing. =p

The reason is that some of my friends in UPLB are not going to be in UPLB anymore next semester. Some are going out of family duty, some are looking for education's "greener pastures", and some just find it difficult.

They are my friends. Friends have special bonds. This is what makes me feel all the farewell attitudes I got from post-graduation again. I find it difficult to let go of people, especially ones who, directly or indirectly, made an impact on me (yeah, I'm talking 'bout you, Jai).

How about me? Why am I packing up my stuff from my dorm and moving out of LB myself? Well, here's a story:

It was my first day of classes in UPLB. I woke up at 5:00 AM just to get ready. My bed was a double-deck bed, and I sleep at the bottom. When I woke up, I bumped my head on the low upper-deck bed. I lay back on my pillows, wincing as my headache slowly subsided. At that point, I remembered the time when I was little, when I had no sense of balance and, when I'm about to fall, I use my forehead instead of my arms to cushion my fall. I stood out from my cousins, since I was the only one with a large bump on my forehead.

I was already readying myself for class when I realized that my schedule and list of classrooms was missing. I searched for it everywhere, and then I found it in my portfolio. Doing so, though, made me late for my first class. Luckily, the professor wasn't there, so there was no class. still, i thought that I can't do such things if I want to last here.

The day before, I already familiarized myself with the surroundings and the buildings where my classes are. Nevertheless, I still got lost in the campus. I ended up in the wrong classrooms, and was mostly late because of it.

Negativity came to me that day. I almost lost hope. But then some of my new friends in UP told me that I was too much of a pessimist. They said that I make others uncomfortable because of my pessimism. So I vowed to myself that, if I last without complaining until the end of the week, I'll never shift courses or leave the campus.

The next days, I found more friends. I took walks in the presence of beautiful sceneries, something I never see in the urbz. My heart longed for trees, and they were sated in UPLB.

I did last.

And so I learned that I must finish what I started. I don't want to be ningas-kugon. Such behavior is not me. And so I will reach my finish line in UPLB.

I digressed a little there.

Still, the prudent writer keeps the reasons of others in mind. I am sad that some of my friends will go away from UPLB, but I will support them still. Distance is but a physical boundary, and such boundaries do little to undermine such bonds as friendship. No matter where my friends are, they are still my friends. Communication these days became easier anyway.

So, to all my friends, no matter how far you are from me, I'll always be here when you need me. I'm just a text, email, or blog comment away. Never hesitate to come to me when you are troubled. RXZ loves his friends, and would do wondrous things for them.

Luckily, R.E.M.S. isn't going to be separated anytime soon. SANDY!!! SELENA!! MIKKI!! Tuloy tayo sa Tuesday ah. Bahala na kayo kung Ristretto or Boston Cafe.

Labels: BS series

posted by Rowan X. Zurich at 6:24 AM

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Saturday, January 17, 2009

A Wish is a Dream. A Dream of Rebirth [BS Series Ep. 3]

It's January 17.

"So what?" you may ask.

I ask the same thing to myself.

It's funny. There are times when my subconscious asks questions that I can't understand. Such questions like "Why are you born?" or "Where did you exist before birth?" flap out from the little Jimini Cricket inside my brain.

Existence. It's a subject all of us are familiar with. Questioning it is also common, but questioning your own existence is as rare as a rainbow moon. One of my roommates, Jerome (woo, special mention!), doubt his existence sometimes. Sometimes, he thinks, and I concur, that we might not be who we are right now in the long run. For example, I could be Rowan Zurich right now, but I might be Jerome the next day.

Freaky mind games.

Existence. Sure, we all know of it. We even commemorate it. I call it celebrating "Existence Commemoration"!

Fine, to put it short, to make sense of all those mumbo jumbo I said, I'll cut it straight.

My birthday is less than 50 days away.

Yep, February 28 is about 42 days away. And, as I've been doing for the past 5 years, I constructed a wishlist. (Again with the wishes.)

So, hereth be my wishes for ye new birthday:

10. Yugi-Oh! Chaos Duel Disk

I already have the original Duel Disk, but I want this limited edition version. At least when I duel someone, we can both have Duel Disks.

9. guitar lessons

It's hard to be a self-proclaimed rockstar without knowing how to rock. Simple logic, duh. Ergo, need to learn to play the guitar.

8. Yugi-Oh! Spellcaster's Judgement Structure Deck

I want this deck!! It's been long since I wished for this!

7. Yugi-Oh! Tag Force 2 for PSP

I want to play with Destiny Heroes!!!

6. High School reunion

It's been about more than 5 months since I saw all of my classmates. A reunion would ease up my nostalgia.

5. Guitar Hero for PS3

It would be nice to have an arcade game in my house. Rocking would be easier!!

4. MP3 player

To stop the silence in LB. I get bored there, and listening to music might get the edge off.

3. more REMS time

Eira! Mikki! Sandy! I miss you guys (well, as a group. Individually, not so much.) Mini-Stop looks all the more homey when you guys are with me.

2. Fall Out Boy concert tickets

Even though it's on a Friday the 13th, I still wanna go. FOB is one of my inspirations in rocking out. NOTE: if you are gonna get me this gift, get it before Feb. 13. Advanced Birthday present. =)

1. a laptop

It would be nice to blog everywhere, even in UP. And I want to vlog!!!

So there. Feel free to get me these. =)

Labels: BS series

posted by Rowan X. Zurich at 11:11 PM

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Saturday, January 10, 2009

Periods suck! (and commas rule!) [BS Series Ep.2]

For my second episode of the Brain Siphoning Series, watch this video from Smosh. They're my favorite Youtubers. The video, though, is mostly screamo music, but there are subtitles, so no problem identifying what they're saying.

DON'T READ FURTHER UNTIL YOU'VE SEEN THE VIDEO. Or else you wouldn't relate to some of the things I'm telling you.

I found this video while talking to Brandon in YM. He's been worried about the news he found out. He found out that percentage of teen pregnancy in the Philippines is rising. He asked me to confirm, and regrettably, I can't rebuke the info. About 16.5 million people in the Philippines belong to the 15-24 age group, and 30% (!!!) of all births belong to this age (see here for more info). Brandon asked me if virginity is still common in here, and that I can proudly say yes at. However, what we talked about was a really serious problem.

The video, however funny ("Eew, gross! What are you, some kind of sick, werewolf freak?!"), poses a great message. Teens today are too exposed to sex and such stuff, but they are lacking the conscience or mindset that should stop them from taking the path straight to it. That's why Sex Ed, I believe, is very important.

Teens are, as the adults say, fickle-minded, impatient, and rash. Only a select number of people have complete self-control. The unfortunate others without the said control tend to be allured by the concept of doing the act. They are ignorant of the fact that after the act may come the 9 months of agonizing pregnancy (yes, even the guys suffer through it through working and caring for their girlfriend) and then the pain of delivery. If they withstand it, another thing which will meet them is the most challenging phase in a person's life: parenthood.

All of these will really be a part of everyone's life, but having them early is not good. There's a readying stage before you do these things. There's also the matter of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). AIDS is an STD, and you could die from it.

There's no need to hurry, guys. The act is only done because of love and readiness, which are also what your motives should be. As my friends Amiel and Sandy say, "true love waits, no matter how long it takes".

So, here's me saying "WAKE UP, FELLOW TEENS!! Get off your boyfriend's/girlfriend's bed and live a life before making one!"

Labels: BS series

posted by Rowan X. Zurich at 9:43 PM

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Tag First! {BS Series Ep. 1]

I have a lot to say in this post. My creativity is trying to knock down the door of my mind with a battering ram just to get outside. So expect a long post.

Or, at least, a longer-than-my-usual-posts post.

But, my hands are weary, so I'll cut this post into bite-sized pieces. I divided them into "episodes" of a series called Brain Siphoning (BS).

So, I'll start with a TAG.

Joyce tagged me so I'm supposed to do this. Can't say I don't like doing this, though

1. Each blogger starts with 10 random facts/habits about themselves.

2. Bloggers who are tagged need to blog about their own 10 random facts/ habits.
3. At the end of your blog, tag 10 people and list their name.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment and tell them that they've been tagged and to read your blog.

Here are the ten facts (they're kinda silly):

1. I normally throw up after eating oatmeal.

2. My fastest record in solving a Rubik's cube is 1 minute, 43 seconds (yes, I'm slow).

3. Whenever I can, I wear two watches. One is set in Manila time, one is set in California time.

4. I don't make New Year's resolutions. I develop New Year's habits, though, such as devoting to one LSS per week (this past week, it was "Raindrops Keep Fallin' On My Head" because it was rainy).

5. My favorite singer for now is Jason Mraz.

6. Dragonflies fascinate me.

7. It would be a weird sight when you see me walking my dog Murdock. He's a Jack Russell terrier, which means he doesn't grow much. He's only about 2 feet long. And I'm already 5'10. Talk about not matching.

8. It takes me about 25 minutes to think about what to write in my blog. That's just the thinking part. The writing part lasts for about 1 hour.

9. Silence scares and panics me. That's why I surround myself with sounds of songs and harmonies a lot.

10. I don't have tear ducts anymore. Danna removed them.

There. I won't tag anyone since they don't do it anyway.

Labels: BS series

posted by Rowan X. Zurich at 3:50 AM

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Friday, January 2, 2009

New Beginning (redundancy intended)

Start. Go. Initiate. Activate. Engender. Commence. Incite. Launch.

There are really a lot of synonyms for the word "begin". To start off, we have to begin the initiation of engendering the activation of the inciting of the commencement of the launch. See? I can create a nonsensical sentence with those words. They're rather useful, though, since we'll be starting a whole new line of things now, and it's stupid and tiring to use the same word over and over again.

As the dawn of 2009 settles, I would like to share to you not what has happened, as other people and television programs do, but what will happen. I'm not being clairvoyant or anything, but I would like to point out some of the beginnings that is happening in my point of view around the world. I feel it is a better kick-off for 2009.

1. The new administration in USA

-Okay, so maybe it has already started. But then we haven't seen much of President Barrack Obama's work yet. He hasn't laid a foundation yet. So his administration is still in the starting point. Let's hope that we see Pres. Obama's leadership in a better light this year. USA remains as the superpower country today, so anything that may happen to it may affect all of us.

2. Economic crisis coping

-We are facing a crisis here, people. And it's not gonna alleviate itself. This had already started, too, but let's pray that 2009 wouldn't be a hard time for our country and for the whole world. We are humans; we can evolve. And evolution starts now.

3. Environmental problems

-We went to Baguio for New Year (that's why I wasn't able to post for the first two days of 2009). I've been going there since I was a kid, but the cold I experienced there was nothing like I've felt before! The temperature dropped to 10 degrees Celsius, people! My fingers almost became popsicles!! I experienced a solid example of climate change. I don't think of the problem as mythical or hypothetical anymore!!! Please, SAVE THE EARTH AND ALL WHO ARE LIVING IN IT!!!

For now, I'll leave you to ponder on those beginnings. I'll begin my own journey into writing, and I will delve "further into literature than anyone else". My friends, as we begin, let's keep in mind what it took to start, and to be wary of the coming obstacles. Happy New Year, my friends!

posted by Rowan X. Zurich at 11:55 PM

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