Ich wollt mal wieder Servus sagen!

"Ich wollt mal wieder Servus sagen" is Austrian German for "I just want to say hello again" 

One of my good friends, Harald, sent this card last August 15, 2011, during Mariä Himmelfahrt (Feast of the Assumption), which also happens to be Der große Frauentag (Women's Day) in Austria.  

His Facebook status that day reads, "...Be sure to remember the important women in your life today: especially those who keep you pure and act as your steadfast light during the challenges of life on earth. :)"

Sunflower!

Perhaps the sweetest and most thoughtful postcard I've ever received :)

April Update

Haven't really had much time and enthusiasm to update this blog because I finally got a job for the government.  Awesome contractual job that'll do for now.  As expected, I failed the preliminary exam of the FSE.  Game face on for next year! Gotta read more on Management.

I cleaned my room tonight and threw out old papers and outdated flyers.  Reorganized my desk and took out some dusty high school books to relearn algebra, physics, and chemistry.  Will also start reading on Management and Organizations. All this while reading fictional novel and a pop economics book on the side.

Stopped sending postcards actually.  Will resume on Monday.  And will write on this blog again.

Lez do this.  Let's see how long this feeling motivates me.

FSE Part I

The exam's tomorrow and I am restless.  I know I should get some sleep, but I want to finish the last 2 episodes of Dexter Season 6 tonight and I need to find me more Mongol Number 2 pencils and an eraser as well.

What if I don't pass?

Why didn't I study? But how do you even study logic and math? Ughhh better play Brain Champ on my phone before sleeping.  Might help.

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BRB panicking

Karymsky Volcano, Russia

Named after a Russian ethnic group, the Karymsky is a stratovolcano which last erupted in 2011 and will continue to do so in the years to come.  It is the most active volcano in the Kamkatcha Peninsula, located in the Russian far east and is in between the Sea of Orhotosk and the Pacific Ocean.

I received this postcard in June 2011 from Olga of Novosibirsk, the third most populous city in Russia, just after Moscow and St. Petersburg.

It came with these stamps:

Hare and Elk stamps issued in 2008 and a joint issue with Serbia stamp of Mary and the child Jesus 

Rosenrot by Rammstein

Artist: Rammstein

Album: Rosenrot

Genre: Industrial Metal, Metal

Release: 2009

Tracks: 

1. Benzin 
2. Mann gegen Mann 
3. Rosenrot 
4. Spring 
5. Wo bist du 
6. Stirb nicht vor mir (feat. Sharleen Spiteri) 
7. Zerstören 
8. Hilf mir 
9. Te quiero Puta! 
10. Feuer und Wasser 
11. Ein Lied 

In the dead of night, I used to lie awake and cut myself to the beat of Rammstein songs in full volume.  Mr. Santos, our next-door-neighbor, furiously rang our doorbell at 1 AM one day to complain about that racket coming from my stereo.  The knob of my door could only turn so much as I valued my privacy.  It took them a good few minutes to find the spare key to my room and when they finally got in, they found me lying in a pool of my own blood.

That's how intense Rammstein is with all the screams and heavy guitar strummings topped with clashing hi-hats and cymbals.  Rammstein is not for the faint of heart.  But I would recommend this album to those interested in learning German.  Till Lindemann's lyrics are, aside from pretty angry, pretty straightforward as well.  He annunciates each word in a slow and clear manner, perfect for the untrained ears of aspiring Germanophones.

I would recommend tracks 4 and 5, Wo bist du and Stirb nicht vor mir respectively.  These are my favorite tracks and are not too metal.  They have the easiest, yet most intense lyrics to boot:

Ich suche dich unter jedem Stein.
Wo bist du?
Ich schlafe mit einem Messer ein.
Wo bist du?

Alle Häuser sind verschneit,
Und in den Fenstern Kerzenlicht.
Dort liegen sie zu zweit.
Und ich,
Ich warte nur auf dich

See? German metal songs can even teach you about the dativ Kasus and trennbare Verben.  So start learning Deutsch with Rammstein today!

Disclaimer: Of course, the part about me cutting myself and lying in a pool of my own blood was all made up.

Masskara Festival, Bacolod City

Another postcard sent by my celebrated boyband friend, Jescia, when I was in Japan last year.

Masskara: Spanish for mask and many faces

If Germany has the Oktoberfest, then the people of Bacolod City have a 20-day Masskara Festival to trump those groß mugs of white beer and lederhosen.  Originally meant to commemorate the hardships of the people of the region, the Festival has now become a tool for escapism.

All right, the Masskara Festival is an awesome event where people dance in the streets, drink beer, be merry,  wear masks, climb poles, and stuff.

This website describes the Masskara Festival better than I can so just check it out and get out of here: http://www.philippinecountry.com/philippine_festivals/masskara_festival.html

12 Days

12 days from now, I'll be waking up the same time I used to wake up back in high school--5 AM--or probably even earlier if I don't want to be late for the first stage of the Foreign Service Exam at 7 AM sharp.  I'm a late sleeper.  I'm not an insomniac.  I just like sleeping late and waking up for brunch or to answer that godforsaken phone where on the other line lies a telemarketer, looking to sell shower heads to my deceased grandmother.  God bless her soul.

Not-so-fresh out of college, I spend most days pretending to prepare for the FSE.  I'm not being cocky; I'm just being focused on my goal: I will pass the exam and become a Foreign Service Officer.  I just can't see myself in any other job, which is probably why I've either rejected or been rejected from possible job offers.

Today is the day I stop bookmarking ostensibly interesting articles.  Today is the day I stop running away from educational and informative websites with scroll bars so small, it's like the page is on infinite scroll (a la Tumblr style).  Today is the day I actually start reading again.

After college, I feel that my brain has stopped working.  Did I really need all that fear of failure and embarrassment to motivate me to learn? Can't I just learn for the sake of learning? I should already be big enough (pun intended because I'm a few pounds overweight and the two ends of my pants are star-crossed lovers, fated never to meet again, lest I engage in some sort of physical exercises which involve walking further than the distance from my room to the fridge) to know the rewards of being a wide reader.

Yesterday I survived a full day without my laptop.  I did spend a few minutes checking my mail and several online accounts on our family's 8-year-old desktop computer, but that was it.  At night I found myself with too much time on my hands, which I half-used on reading Jeffrey Eugenides' Middlesex, quarter-used on playing games on my mobile phones, and quarter-used channel surfing, which I haven't done in a long time.  I haven't been watching TV because the Internet (by which I actually mean Tumblr) has sucked all the life and time out of me.  For those on Tumblr, follow me.  For those not yet on Tumblr, do not get started.  It is pure EVOL.

Anyway I want to chronicle my journey towards the Philippine foreign service through this postcard blog turned missed connection blog turned whatever blog.  Whatever blog.  Maybe I shouldn't have stopped blogging in 2008 after that one incident of cyberbullying.  Hopefully if I pass the FSE, this blog would chronicle the awesome and exciting adventures of future foreign service officer me.

If I don't pass this year, I have 16 more years to try again.  I'm 20 and ready for the world.  Or probably not. We'll see.