This blog has interviewed the year 2014 two times, first before he took over from 2013, and again right after he gave way to 2015. Since then he has retired to a penthouse suite in Kuala Lumpur, and has observed how the past couple of years have conducted their business. During my recent vacation there last November, I caught up with 2014.
You're looking good, 2014. Looks like retirement has treated you well.
You don't have to worry as much anymore, so you get time to focus on yourself, to pamper yourself.
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12/31/2016
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12/30/2016
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Today is the final weekday of this year, so the morning shows were filled with features on who would be luckier than others in the year that's to come.
It's all pretty vague, as you'd expect. One sign is luckier than others when it comes to money, or romance, or career. Nobody really talks about family relationships. Perhaps it's all tapping in our unspoken need to break away and be our own man, or person, if you're going to nitpick that. But I digress. Nobody really offers specifics - another unspoken acknowledgement of how different we all are, perhaps, of how our fates cannot be determined by when we're born, otherwise you and all of your peers would have very bad years and very good ones. Although that might explain everything of late.
When I was younger we had Jojo Acuin all over the tail ends of the news broadcasts. His predictions are vague but a little more specific - an actress will get pregnant, a presidential candidate will die, that sort of thing. You spent Sunday evenings huddled around the television set, Mel & Jay devoting ninety minutes (not accounting for advertising) to his predictions. You'll get shocked, momentarily, and then you start wondering who it might be. When it does happen, you don't immediately remember the prediction was ever made. I wonder if Jojo ever predicted his own death?
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It's all pretty vague, as you'd expect. One sign is luckier than others when it comes to money, or romance, or career. Nobody really talks about family relationships. Perhaps it's all tapping in our unspoken need to break away and be our own man, or person, if you're going to nitpick that. But I digress. Nobody really offers specifics - another unspoken acknowledgement of how different we all are, perhaps, of how our fates cannot be determined by when we're born, otherwise you and all of your peers would have very bad years and very good ones. Although that might explain everything of late.
When I was younger we had Jojo Acuin all over the tail ends of the news broadcasts. His predictions are vague but a little more specific - an actress will get pregnant, a presidential candidate will die, that sort of thing. You spent Sunday evenings huddled around the television set, Mel & Jay devoting ninety minutes (not accounting for advertising) to his predictions. You'll get shocked, momentarily, and then you start wondering who it might be. When it does happen, you don't immediately remember the prediction was ever made. I wonder if Jojo ever predicted his own death?
Read more »
12/25/2016
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It already took enough energy to adjust to the fact that June is no longer the month for weddings, but December. Not that it's important, but growing up I saw all those features on television about weddings happen in June, and I saw them move, slowly, to six months later.
Now, though, I have to adjust again. Again, it's not important, but it seems that every time I go on Facebook these past few weeks I see a friend (or acquaintance, let's be realistic here) of mine get engaged. A flash of a finger - not the middle one - with a diamond ring would say everything that needs to be said. I don't feel cynical about this, no. I instead wonder: what's in the water at this point in time and everybody has the urge to get engaged?
Perhaps it's 2016 being just, you know, terrible. It's a universally agreed sentiment, right? Looks like the world's had enough of all the incessant positivity, so here we are, pummeled day after day with bad news, or at least bad news to us. (You. Them.) So, here's one last grapple, one last attempt to make something happy out of this sucky year. And boom! "This was the year I got engaged to the one I love."
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Now, though, I have to adjust again. Again, it's not important, but it seems that every time I go on Facebook these past few weeks I see a friend (or acquaintance, let's be realistic here) of mine get engaged. A flash of a finger - not the middle one - with a diamond ring would say everything that needs to be said. I don't feel cynical about this, no. I instead wonder: what's in the water at this point in time and everybody has the urge to get engaged?
Perhaps it's 2016 being just, you know, terrible. It's a universally agreed sentiment, right? Looks like the world's had enough of all the incessant positivity, so here we are, pummeled day after day with bad news, or at least bad news to us. (You. Them.) So, here's one last grapple, one last attempt to make something happy out of this sucky year. And boom! "This was the year I got engaged to the one I love."
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12/24/2016
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I'm a guy who likes my traditions. Or, perhaps, you could put it another way. I'm a guy who likes my routines, the idea of doing the same thing at a particular point in time.
Well, I'm really writing this because I have to let one of those routines go.
Usually, on Christmas eve, I send out a group text message to a particular set of people, and write their replies to me. I've done that for a good ten years now. Last year, I said, if the year ahead does not prove to be a good one, I might stop.
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Well, I'm really writing this because I have to let one of those routines go.
Usually, on Christmas eve, I send out a group text message to a particular set of people, and write their replies to me. I've done that for a good ten years now. Last year, I said, if the year ahead does not prove to be a good one, I might stop.
Read more »
12/23/2016
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I'm done with the Christmas parties.
Well, I'm done with having to deal with a lot of them. Last year I had to deal with at least six, although I only attended three of them. This year, I had to go to one, and it was the party I helped to organize (and volunteered to host, despite me just coming from Kuala Lumpur two days prior). Well, there's this other Christmas party, but I went there halfway through - apparently there was an invitation and I was not aware of it at all.
It's a good thing. You don't have to stay up very late and worry about going to work the following day. (The second Christmas party was a daytime affair, even.) You, however, can't escape the gifts. Now, that is not a bad thing, of course - gifts are always good unless they're clearly regifts. But you have to go home, and if you don't have a vehicle, going home carrying bags of things is a struggle.
Read more »
Well, I'm done with having to deal with a lot of them. Last year I had to deal with at least six, although I only attended three of them. This year, I had to go to one, and it was the party I helped to organize (and volunteered to host, despite me just coming from Kuala Lumpur two days prior). Well, there's this other Christmas party, but I went there halfway through - apparently there was an invitation and I was not aware of it at all.
It's a good thing. You don't have to stay up very late and worry about going to work the following day. (The second Christmas party was a daytime affair, even.) You, however, can't escape the gifts. Now, that is not a bad thing, of course - gifts are always good unless they're clearly regifts. But you have to go home, and if you don't have a vehicle, going home carrying bags of things is a struggle.
Read more »
12/17/2016
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In the past few weeks, the world has been noticing the rising death toll in Rodrigo Duterte's campaign against illegal drugs.
A few months ago, his victory was treated with a token mention - a few details of who he is, of what he's done, of what he vowed to do, mostly of the fact that his nickname is "the Punisher". There were, perhaps, some mentions of how similar he is to Donald Trump, at least in their rhetoric - perhaps a subtle caution to the Americans watching. "Do you really want this to happen here?"
Well, the wave of populism has been unstoppable, to the dread of those living in countries with the belief that respect for the law will always prevail. Of course, there are the Americans, dreading the possibility of Donald Trump undoing progress made in the social front in the past few years. In Europe, anti-immigrant sentiment has led to the rise of far-right groups such as the Front National in France, and has arguably contributed to the United Kingdom voting, by a slim margin, to leave the European Union; on the flip side, left-wing populist groups like Syriza in Greece have emerged in response to a feeling of being left behind by those outside of the upper classes.
Read more »
A few months ago, his victory was treated with a token mention - a few details of who he is, of what he's done, of what he vowed to do, mostly of the fact that his nickname is "the Punisher". There were, perhaps, some mentions of how similar he is to Donald Trump, at least in their rhetoric - perhaps a subtle caution to the Americans watching. "Do you really want this to happen here?"
Well, the wave of populism has been unstoppable, to the dread of those living in countries with the belief that respect for the law will always prevail. Of course, there are the Americans, dreading the possibility of Donald Trump undoing progress made in the social front in the past few years. In Europe, anti-immigrant sentiment has led to the rise of far-right groups such as the Front National in France, and has arguably contributed to the United Kingdom voting, by a slim margin, to leave the European Union; on the flip side, left-wing populist groups like Syriza in Greece have emerged in response to a feeling of being left behind by those outside of the upper classes.
Read more »
12/15/2016
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Well, great. I'm going to talk about my domain again.
First, to answer Jackie's question: me of all people, right? Taking a while, yes? So long, yes? I don't really know why either, but it never really felt essential to me all these years. I'll admit, however, to feeling some pressure when you, of all people, got a domain. I knew this conversation would come up. But anyway. This just seemed like a good opportunity, so I grabbed it. That, and I'm on a misplaced spending spree.
That said, since that last essay announcing the domain purchase, I haven't written anything. And it's been ten days, and I haven't really been very busy (except for writing, perhaps) so, here I am, justifying my purchase by writing something that's not really substantial, at least at this point.
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First, to answer Jackie's question: me of all people, right? Taking a while, yes? So long, yes? I don't really know why either, but it never really felt essential to me all these years. I'll admit, however, to feeling some pressure when you, of all people, got a domain. I knew this conversation would come up. But anyway. This just seemed like a good opportunity, so I grabbed it. That, and I'm on a misplaced spending spree.
That said, since that last essay announcing the domain purchase, I haven't written anything. And it's been ten days, and I haven't really been very busy (except for writing, perhaps) so, here I am, justifying my purchase by writing something that's not really substantial, at least at this point.
Read more »
12/05/2016
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Let's address the elephant in the room: yes, I finally have my own domain.
After almost twelve years of blogging - writing, writing - I finally have my own domain.
Yes, I know, I have railed many times before about what bloggers here have ended up doing. They get a domain, they filter up their photos, they talk about their day, and presto! As a guy who has a blog solely because he has to write (and, well, okay, get validation for writing things), I never thought I needed it.
Read more »
After almost twelve years of blogging - writing, writing - I finally have my own domain.
Yes, I know, I have railed many times before about what bloggers here have ended up doing. They get a domain, they filter up their photos, they talk about their day, and presto! As a guy who has a blog solely because he has to write (and, well, okay, get validation for writing things), I never thought I needed it.
Read more »
Niko Batallones writes The Upper Blog.
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