Panas

I hate swarms of bugs.

I was still in elementary then, and my favorite shoes were a black pair with a shiny picture of Batman donning its sides. Only a few weeks earlier, my family went to Subic with our friends, and I was enthralled with the bats that were flying above us. I felt an immediate connection - they went out in front of me because Batman hugged my feet.

The service that takes me to school came early one day. Naturally, I finished up my rituals in a hurry, and found myself at the last stop before going out of the gate. I was about to wear my shoes. I put the right shoe on first, and tightened its laces slowly. Then, a single ant came out of the shoe, and crawled up my leg. Suddenly, without notice, a swarm of ants attacked my right leg, crawling up from the shoe. I immediately took the shoe off, and cried to my mother. I never remembered an instance when I wore those shoes again.

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Since the erratic rainy season started last 2008, black ants were almost everywhere in our house. From the gate to the dining room, they were there, minding their own business, taking shelter in our home. Prior to this, other small ants were also in our house - finding a living eating scraps in the microwave (surprisingly these critters survive the harsh treatment we use to warm out food). They don't really bother me, nor alter my daily routine that much. However, recently, things got worse.

They started appearing on my leg - one at a time - out of nowhere. Sometimes I would just be startled out of my idleness by an unsuspecting bite. When I sweep the floor, their small, curled up, dead compatriots would be the bulk of the dirt I see. They don't target our food, they target our house.

My parents really do not mind, and true to that I have learned to live with it this summer. Our house may crumble due to them, but its fine with me. As long as I don't wake up covered in a blanket of ants.

Screenshot

Ubuntu 9.04 Jaunty Jackalope. Credits to the original artist for the wallpaper. Using Dust theme, Conky for the clock, and Rainlendar 2.5.

Through the Years

My first major purchase as a college student was an mp3 player. During that time, 2005, USB sticks were more of a status symbol rather than a necessity (well, for me). I spent all the money I got for Christmas to buy a AAA-battery powered Creative USB mp3 player, with a 256 MB capacity. In that era, a 128 MB was the generic capacity for USBs, and owning one with 512 MB capacity is an indication of royal blood. Back to my player, I was stupefied that it still works until today.


Three years later, in 2008, I won an 8GB iPod touch in a contest with two of my friends. This was amazing, since I never would have been able to buy one. However, I destroyed it after a couple of months - the screen was not responding to my Midas touch. Good thing it still had valid warranty, or else, I would have thrown it out already. So much for product quality.

It is surprising how manufacturers of old seem to hold more importance for the quality of the product, while still not comproming aesthetics. My parents used to tell me that shoes lasted years before breaking down. In my experience, my shoes looked like sandals at best after a year. But then again, maybe I'm just too heavy. This apparent strategy used by companies really makes them worry about their wallet getting too fat.

At the end of the day, I really just want to sit back and listen to music - either from my trusty USB or from my iPod. Oh and by the way, I have to agree with the song playing on my Creative right now - "Alpha Beta Omega" by Bamboo - "the rich get richer, the poor just multiplies".