caterpillar talk

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.”
–E.F. Schumacher

it’s meant to be cracked.

hint: it’s in english!

top layer: 15 3 26 26 12 8 25 26 25 8 25 12 21 15 26 21 13 25 10 13 10 4 7 7 20 7 21 25 7 10 15 4 15 15 22 13 10 2 7 10 2 10 23 21 1 12 9 2 11 12 13 10 26 18 18 13 12 1 26 25 2 13 16

bottom layer: 25 13 8 3 7 15 23 25 7 15 10 22 7 25 21 12 15 11 12 7 14 8 23 7 3 21 7 3 15 10 23 21 3 12 12 15 3 5 15 25 12 15 4 7 14 15 22 14 2 12 15 9 8 2 18 26 26 8 15 22 14 26 7

here’s the surefire way to decipher this…
divide and conquer. mark all the up’s-and-down’s. be number-free. always choose right. be willing to go through all the up’s-and-down’s. simplicity is key. feel good. share.

the solution guide sounds like unsolicited advice on how to go through life, huh?

pen and paper would be useful, too.

“Look at this trove, treasures untold
How many wonders can one cavern hold?”
– The Little Mermaid

i collect…

books. i love books. i adore good reads. i collect them. i like owning them. i check out book shops even in unlikely nooks and corners just to find the books i want to add to my collection. it’s my dream to have my own library. i already have a mini one. i have 200+ books to date and i’m still keen on acquiring more.

piled up to the ceiling: how come there’s no more space?

lest you think i only stack ‘em up for mere display, let me say for the record that i do read them. see, i like reading. no, not like, love. i love reading. i can forego eating, drinking water, sleeping, and going to the cr when i’m soooo into finishing a good read. i can be so obsessive when it comes to reading and books. i sometimes think that it’s not me who owns my books. it’s probably the other way around — my books own me.

i intend to add more comic books to my collection. i dig those works by filipino graphic book artists. i also want to own those pcij books, too… and more of calvin and hobbes!!!

movies.

they all come with stickers. they’re not pirated.

postage stamps. during my elementary years, i was into philately — collecting stamps. aside from reading, collecting stamps was my way of discovering and appreciating other countries.

i only managed to put a few of them in an album. most of them stamps i kept in envelopes and i still have to mount them. now, there’s something for my to do list. i have to keep that in mind.

i re-discovered my old stamp collection two weeks ago while i was looking for my ’still-missing-in-action’ unicorn cross-stitch pattern.

stationery. i’ve been collecting stationery since grade school. scented ones, colorful ones, simple ones, small ones, big ones, medium-sized ones, those with people and those without, nicely illustrated ones… i have them in various colors, shapes and sizes. i also have a collection of hotel stationery. i keep a lot of them in a stationery holder i designed myself. some of them i already transferred to a clear book for easy viewing.

some of the sheets in this collection are more than 15 years old

even back then, i knew i won’t be writing on them. i only wanted to collect them… and the ones i have in duplicate, i’d be willing to trade with what other stationery collectors have in duplicate — just like what we girls used to do in grade school.

key holders. i dig key holders but since i don’t have many keys to call my own, i don’t usually use most of them. i simply collect them. sometimes, i use them to adorn my bags… but most times, they’re just hidden somewhere. i treasure them because a lot of them are gifts/pasalubong from my friends.

key holders minus the keys

when i left home for my graduate studies, my younger sisters didn’t know what to do with the pile of key holders i left behind so they pushed pins on the wooden panel in the girls’ room and displayed them there.

the ones that are still inside the packs are reserved for future cars, future houses, and future whatever. hehe.

stickers. a lot of the stickers in my collection date back to my elementary years and were given to me by my classmates and friends.

what will i do with them? just keep them.

trinkets. dangling earrings and hoop earrings. chokers. necklaces with weird-looking pendants. bracelets and bands. hair accessories. i have those.

the dangling and hoop earrings? i won’t survive wearing them. i simply collect them. no, i’d like to think that i buy them para pang-asar, as one of my friends put it. i prefer wearing simple studs.

candy wrappers. back in college, one of my classmates kept lots of coins in his backpack’s pocket. his bag was always heavy but it was never because of books. it was always because of his coins. as for me, i kept lots of candy wrappers in my backpack’s pocket. they weren’t heavy to carry around but they were really many. kanya-kanyang ka-weirdo-han.

…and you know what? it’s been four years since i left college but the said candy wrappers have not found their way to any of the trash bins yet.

yes, the candy wrappers are still with me. no, not really. they’re inside one of the bags i no longer use. i put them there because, while i no longer want to carry them around, i don’t want to really part with them yet. memories, you know. i figure i’ll make a throw pillow and stuff them candy wrappers in it.

aha, another addition to my to do list.

i also collect unused disposable table napkins from food shops and restos (i usually make my friends sign them — the disposable table napkins, not the shops/restos), letters and greeting cards (even those from people i don’t like), travel brochures (for scrapbooking purposes and future travels), quotes (why do you think i keep posting quotes?), travel tickets (for scrapbooking purposes, too), gift wrappers, art materials (i pile ‘em up first before i put my heart into using them), souvenir shirts (wherever i go, i have to have a shirt from that place), movie/concert tickets (that is if they find their way back into my hands), coins, event IDs/name tags, and colorful socks.

i collect nothing and everything. teddy bears, too.

“We must remain as close to the flowers, the grass, and the butterflies as the child is who is not yet so much taller than they are… Whoever would partake of all good things must understand how to be small at times.”
–Friedrich Nietzsche

remember high school? it was fun!

sometime in march 1999, we went to ditucalan for choir practice. what choir practice? we went to a place where the roads were good for biking and the playground had swings, see-saws, slides, and nice green grass. the day was meant for having fun and the place was right. yoni climbed up a slide and took this picture of us — rho99 during a pre-graduation class bonding… in ditucalan.

despite its distance from the city proper, ids99’s sci-curr people loved having practice sessions (for basketball, for filipino drama, etc.) in ditucalan. not only did we find the place nice and conducive for spur-of-the-moment adventures, our classmates from there’re also very hospitable. heehee.

note: the picture above reminds me of the importance of tripods and self-timers. without them, someone has to sacrifice not being in the group pic. most of the time, that someone is the owner of the camera.

“He should’ve said goodbye before he left”
– from the K-series, Full House

you tenacious little fighter, you have to stop being difficult. otherwise, this just might be where we part ways.

do not ask me for him anymore. i’ve done more than enough to help your cause. i already let you have your way. do not ask me to do more.

you are one great heart but he doesn’t feel you.

the sooner you believe that and the sooner you accept that you will never ever be his priority, the better for my sanity you will be.

hu-whaaat?

argh. kakasabi ko lang na tumigil ka na. gud lak na lang sa ‘yo.

FOR SALE: one foolish heart. too tenacious for my own good.

“Any emotion, if it is sincere, is involuntary.”
–Mark Twain

of the seven wonders of the ancient world, only the pyramids of giza, egypt remain standing to this day. all the rest had been lost to fire or earthquake.

this year, on july 7, 2007, a new list of seven wonders of the world will be revealed in lisbon, portugal. currently, 21 man-made treasures have the potential to be included in the big 7 list.

the selection of the new 7 wonders of the world is in its final phase and the “biggest global vote ever to have taken place” is on!

out of the 21 structures officially listed, here are what i believe should be part of the big list…

the pyramids of giza (2600-2500 B.C.).
“testimony to perfection in art and design, never subsequently achieved. the pyramids are the purest of constructions, built for eternity. they reflect the greatest human dream of all - immortality & eternity!”

as the “oldest and only ancient wonder still standing”, the pyramids of giza, egypt deserve their own place in the new list. thoughts of all the efforts put into their construction alone awe me. if i put side to side the design, environmental conditions, and level of technological advancement during the time they were built and how they actually turned out (they still stand to this day!!!), the first word that comes to my mind is this: mindblowing.

i hope i get to see them with my own two eyes someday soon.

angkor wat (12th century)
“the most important monument of the south-east asian khmer empire and the world’s largest sacred temple. it is noted for its intricate ornamentation and striking beauty”

i’ve never been there (or maybe i should say: actually, i’ve never been anywhere outside of my own country) but i’ve long admired the angkor wat of cambodia in the pictures. i find its over-all appearance very unique and visually arresting. it’s the one structure in south-east asia which i’m very interested to see.

i would happily have my picture taken with it as a background.

easter island statues (10th-16th century)
“collection of enormous stone sculptures which have long fascinated the world and endowed the island with a mythical atmosphere”

if i had not read about these statues last year and relied only on the information provided by the new7wonders site, i wouldn’t be compelled to include the easter island statues in my list. BUT these huge stone sculptures known as moai got my attention last year when my lab buddy introduced me to them and why they’re interesting.

25-meter high moai are found standing around the perimeter of chile’s easter island. there are so many of them and they are all monolithic, that is, every stone structure was carved out of a single piece of huge stone. why they were made is a puzzle to archeologists and historians. their positions on the island are quite intriguing. even more intriguing is how the moai were transported from the quarry where they were formed to their respective positions. according to write-ups, depending on the size of the finished moai, about 50-100 people (whoa!!!) are needed to transport a single moai.

the easter island statues are quite an accomplishment of the early inhabitants of the island. the answers to why they took the pains of making enormous stone sculptures and even transported them to long distances, the world might never really know. their monumental structures stand to this day and speak of their dedication.

if ever i’d find myself in easter island, i’d stand next to a moai. for sure, i would be too small.

the great wall of china (220 B.C and 1368 - 1644 A.D.)
“the largest man-made monument ever to have been built”

i can only think of the back-breaking work and the very long time it took to build this structure…

…and the fact that it still stands.

machu picchu (15th century)
“extraordinary settlement halfway up the andes plateau, deep in the amazon jungle, and above urubamba river. this incan city remained ‘lost’ for over three centuries until it was rediscovered in 1911″

in the old civilization, there were incas, mayans, and aztecs. the machu picchu of peru is the lost city of the incas and it showcases the classic inca architectural style. walls were made from blocks of stone cut so perfectly and made to fit tightly without mortar (talk about precision and genius!!!). it is an entire city situated high up in the mountains and a picture of admirable architectural feat.

i want to see this UNESCO world heritage site.

stonehenge (3000 B.C. - 1600 B.C.)
“a truly amazing feat of engineering. it is not clear who built it and for what purpose”

for me, the stonehenge in amesbury, united kingdom is as interesting as the moai of easter island, chile. in order to make this monument, builders dealt with stones weighing approximately 50 tons each. exactly how and why? i don’t know, too. i was born just yesterday.

whether it’s a temple, an astronomical observatory or a sacred burial site or all three, the configuration of the structure is interesting. it’s not a product of child’s play.

the acropolis of athens (450 - 330 B.C.)
“built atop the “sacred rock” of athens, the temples of the acropolis have become some of the most famous architectural landmarks of ancient and modern history”

the acropolis of athens, greece is an existing testimony to the glory that was greece.

taj mahal (1630 A.D.)
“regarded as the most perfect jewel of muslim art in india”

it’s so grand. it looks very beautiful and very polished. it’s so hard to believe that it’s actually a mausoleum. the dead wife for whom this was built’s so lucky.

i hope more than half of my bets will make it to the new 7 list on 07.07.07. if you really counted, you’d notice that i chose 8.

how about you, care to share your own chosen 7 out of the given 21?

note: the philippines’ banaue rice terraces didn’t make it to the list of top 77. it’s one of the UNESCO world heritage sites though — to be more specific, it is an endangered world heritage site.