rant

Dean Aligada ain't that bad. He's really nice actually. Just loud... and unholy.

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Class President of aGraduating Law Class... looks good on paper. I think this is the first time I became class president since... gradeschool?! But it's so hard to deal with too many people. Especially if they're all loud mouths.

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The Remedial Law Golden notes is too much of a burden to bear. Stoic na lang. Especially if your adviser judge is emotionally charged most of the time.

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It's such an honor to have the Solicitor General as your professor, and this particular Solgen is awe-inspiring, and such a principled man. One day I'd be like him. And it feels great when the good Alfredo Benipayo remembers your first name without the necessity of looking at the classcard.

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So much so, peace out... for now.

motion for slow motion

pressure building up... the lackluster.... it's like dying socially.
oh well... farewell to my recently revived social life.
especially to karen, dencio, larry, perry, geejay, sunny (though somehow you went out of the way prior to my annual absence) et al....

well, at least for the first two months....
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trying to become active in my law organization-cum-pioneered confraternity ... the LIBERTAS ET IUSTICIA.
that's what attracted me... pioneered.

I'm technically a Founding Father....

omnibus motion...

if the Solicitor General, the number one lawyer in the Republic, asked you a question....

and you gave an answer that got him confused and considered another theoretical possibility regarding Motions to Dismiss and Answers in relation to the Omnibus Motion Rule ...

And he admits that it is possible and debatable...

aren't you proud to be ME? lolz

fragment

My heart bends not to reason alone
But also to fate.
And falters in the presence of a woman
I love to hate
And hate to love

Broken bits and pieces
Irreparable lest she mends her own heart
With every fragment she puts
In the wrong place

And the wrong place is my broken heart.

seniority complex

It’s been a week, and all hell ain’t still broken loose. Being a fourth year has its ups and downs. The ups of it… you get to walk around the faculty with chin held so high that you’d break your neck and die secondary to spinal injury. Every other law student looks up to you, a regular fourth year student… it feels magnificient. In our hierarchy… we’re just a notch lower than the barristers. If they are the demigods, we are the saints.

Now, I have always done this for the last year or so. And I’m going to do it again. The line-up… so far.

Dean Alfredo Benipayo – Current Dean of La Facultad de Derecho Civil. Just so recently the Solicitor General. (For those who ever heard of the term before, or out of necessity, would encounter such term… he WAS the SOLICITOR GENERAL) prior to the appointed of Nachura, and subsequent to the Proclamation 1017 thingy which was argued in the Supreme Court. He was also a former Court Of Appeals Justice, and Court Administrator of the Supreme Court. (with the rank of Justice, of course) Remedial Law Review. Talk about BIG TIME! He’s cool. A True Blue-blooded Thomasian. One of the ‘rare’ Spanish Speaking Specimens of our times.

Dean Amado Dimayuga – who says old lawyers are grumpy? Not this one. You just need a microphone with a megaphone annexed in order to hear his decrepit voice. Mercantile Law Review 1. Way cool. ‘Cause he just shows that Character is more powerful than ego. 50 years in the Thomasian Pantheon. Last Year’s Outstanding Thomasian. Dean for 12 years of La Facultad.

Dean Augusto Aligada – okay, he’s your typical ‘holier than thou’ lawyer of the ancient times. And when I say, ancient, he really is ancient. Civil Law Review 1. Most feared weapon: A magnet directed at his heart. The pacemaker will eventually reprogram itself and transform him into a docile teletubby. Beware. He could bite your head off. The former dean of La Facultad Prior to Benipayo.

Judge Philip A. Aguinaldo – what can I say… I’m an Aguinaldo baby. Kambal sa paglaki! Legal Ethics. Otherwise known as Pototoy class. Getz?!

Atty. Samson Alcantara – a.k.a. Gary Lising. Labor Law Review. Joke time. Again.

Last but not the least… though we aren’t really sure if he is indeed our professor, but circumstantial evidence shows… that it is indeed, and will be Arnold Cacho, no comment… too professional and too young to be heckled, vexed, tantalized and besmirched. Practice Court 2.

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Still getting used to not having her by my side all the time. It’s really hard for me. Seeing her glancing at me from the distance, and likewise, vice-versa. Can’t blame me, I ain’t no saint who’d offer my emotions point blank in exchange for nothing. I have my needs too. And she ain’t able to decide what she really wants. Though, personally, I think she’s having a hard time… A new fone, new glasses, new ipod. Masahol pa pala siya sa spending spree keysa sa ken. Don’t tell me that I don’t know you… I know every bit and parcel of you. I’ve pierced your soul… and you’ve pierced mine. We’re equal… and both at lost. We just have to live by what I decided. And I had enough already. Though it’s painful to see you everyday, after two years of us… whatever and however you define ‘us’. Go marry your books. They’re the only thing which pleasures you anyway. In a sordid manner.

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My social circle has changed, rather has increased. A year ago. I consider JV as my mortalest of mortalest rivals. The prince from the Kingdom of Abra na graduate ng UP. Philosophy major pala. And I, heir to the branch of a dynasty composite of several families dating six generations, almost forgotten. As I have said many times before, the reason why I deflect and loathed him that much… was that I saw a lot of me in him. Funny right? But now, our political and legal alliance is stronger than ever. He was the popular guy, everybody wanted to be in his company. He was the one who wanted my company. He was the first to approach and befriended me. I won the bet between me and Joey. Now, who’s the man?! Hehehe.

But honestly, once you get to know him, he’s a friend for keeps.

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Also, I’ve made good trust with Ador, Rem and Ernest during our PAO days. Now, we have a strong bond despite the lack of material time to talk about the worldly things. In law school, character doesn’t change, it’s just the lifestyle. You study, I study, then survive the semester. Everybody’s on his own.

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I don’t know if Diana is playing me. But if that’s what she wants… Then we play. I ain’t up to a relationship right now… but I’m glad she’s there. Despite everything, the drama, the confusion and the people at the sides… both on our sides. I’m content that she’s there. And with her, everything’s fine. She accepts me for who I am, and I accept her for who she is. We’re beyond the emotional thingy. We’re soul deep. I can’t compel you to understand, but hey, this is me. And I’m happy…

Il legal.

The title’s a pun. It can be capable of two meanings, to wit: It’s Italian for ‘The Legal’ and secondly, remove the spatial disjuncture and you get the English equivalent of its antonym. Sound funny in my brain, but apparently, it aint. :p

Anyhow…

Been doin’ this stuff for school. I’ve been assigned as Remedial Law Committee Chairperson (looks good on paper, doesn’t it?) for the UST Golden Notes. I’ve been editing the reviewer for days on end, but just a few hours for each day. I assigned myself to Civil Procedure, since it is my forte, from Rule 1 to 40 (and it ain’t pretty. Those forty rules have over 300 subsections inclusive.) I’m already in Rule 37 or 37, so I’d just need a few more hours to finish my work, then come deadline, I’d be copy reading and making lay outs of the collective works of my members.


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This morning my granddad got a letter from the City Land Tax Division, asking for payment up to 36 thousand bucks coming from all the way back from the year 1985. So, the diligent lawyer that I am, I went over my books and looked for procedure in protest and defenses. Theoretically, the taxes due on 1985 up to a certain point are prescribed, meaning, they can’t be collected any more. In short… extinct. So, there I went with cash in hand, ‘cause as a rule, you can’t protest until you paid the amount. (it’s called payment under protest) I did some short and nice shitty talk and made some queries… I learned that it wasn’t the land that was delinquent but the improvement (meaning building and other structures.) I thought to myself… what the fuck?! I’ve never known any structure on there. Turns out that there was… a very long time ago, and it was destroyed by a typhoon. And since the improvement doesn’t exist anymore, so does the assessment and collection.

Went home and told abuelo… and to show his appreciation, affection and generosity to his loyal and loving grandson (aaaww bullshit ohme!) he gave me a ‘hefty’ sum… (Though I was just thinking of asking for an ‘attorney’s fee’ of a thousand bucks.) He told me to use it for my books. (of course, I intend to splurge part of it on shopping for the WANTS rather that the NEEDS).

Need a clue?

Somewhat a month’s salary.

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Of course, I went to the bank and deposited the bigger portion of it to my accounts. Then left myself somewhat a large amount for personal spending. First thing on the expense list: Go back to the dentist.

I have 9 other teeth to be done. So I had three of them done this afternoon.

Afterwards, Ate Marge, my dentist and I had a chitchat, and I asked her how was kuya bert. Then she told me he had a project near rufina. In the course of the discussion, there I found out it was the Cayco cabana. (just go over my previous posts if you want to see a picture of it).

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I’ve been learning a lot of card games l… the first thing I learned many months back was pusoy dos, then poker (which is addicting really) then ‘bullshit’. That card game that matthew macaunaghey (I don’t even care if this is the correct spelling) was playing in the movie ‘HOW TO LOSE A GUY IN 10 DAYS’
I find the last card game more entertaining.

And FYI: do you know that after a bout of gambling, you’re supposed to return your winnings to the other people? Yeah, it’s true. It’s in the Civil Code. But what the fuck, nobody really cares about that. Hahahaha!

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I’ve been craving for days now that F&H cologne ILLEGAL. Something that I could use everyday in school… I think. This is what my ‘luho’ is. I collect colognes and perfumes. My only indulgence and luxury. I don’t buy other expensive stuff. Just that. To date, I’ve probably used over 20 brands, and maybe 12 of them are of the expensive kind. Currently I have maybe 5 or 7 bottles. One for each day. (NAH!!!). Mind you, I’m not brand conscious, but it just so happened that the scents that I really like are the branded ones. (especially Armani, of which I had three kinds... black, white and night. The first two are already empty, the third one I gave to my granddad.)

Now, I guess that would be number two in my expense list… and a pair of pants and a new belt perhaps comes in at number 3 and 4….

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Been watching the French Open every day, Rafael Nadal is still on fire! He’s proving himself to be the King of Clay, and everybody’s expecting the final face-off to be between him and Roger Federer again. For the non-tennis aficionados, Nadal has personalized shoes which say: VAMOS RAFA. (Let's Go! Rafa) Which I think Djocovic imitated using a black marker… somesorta joke or what. Anyhow, Nadal is proving himself to be the next top seed after Federer, and he is aptly called by the commentators as a ‘Tennis Warrior’.

Mario Ancic is probably on the rise too, but he can’t really out do Nadal, in fact, he lost to Roger Federer during the fourth round.

And speaking of the rising tennis stars… there’s a new hot girl in town… Nicole Vaidisova from the Czech Republic… damn! She’s hot at only 17 years. Another addition to the Tennis Pantheon of Maria Sharapova, Daniela Hantuchova and Maria Kirilenko.

thresholds

You suddenly have that sudden feeling of reminiscing out of the blue… of a life you knew in a not so distant past. A time when everything was nearly as perfect as the Sampaloc sunset, of a smog filled Manila, when dusk turns to darkness, you feel safe within the confining eyes of urban drunkards and flower vendors.

Like it was the time you technically live with your friends, whom you’ve shared your greatest dreams and most frightful nightmares. A time when money wasn’t an issue. When Makati was a place of fun, and not of work. A place where scandal and dirty little secrets ensue as if they where part and parcel of daily life. Where weekends are spend on binge drinking sessions above the lake. It was home.

But time changes everything. Only three years have past, we grew old, and somehow apart, physically and socially. We move on, but at times, it’s wonderful to see, hear and feel the sights and sounds of yesteryears as if nothing had change. It is as if I lay myself to rest I’d wake up in the same bed in that small room, together with all of my friends, and enjoy that particular phase of life. No worries. No problems. Just pure satisfaction.

This is what we do best. Being sentimental.

Those evening walks to the chapel and around the football field. Flood. 7-11 at 3am in the morning. Starbucks. The uniforms. The calachuchi tree. The car park. The smoke-scented air within the boundaries of the pavilion. Magic tricks. Obscenities and foul mouths. Porkchops. Sisig. Yosi. Every little detail of it is an ambrosian delight. You know that in that piece of your memory lay a separate universe, distinct from the rest. Sui generis, something which can never be replicated nor paralleled.

Then you grow apart somehow, because it is the will of dharma.

Es tan corto la vida. Es tan largo el olvido.

Life is so short. Forgetting is so long.

We have this saying that, in law school, you don’t have friends, only temporary allegiances. Somehow, I find truism in that premise, cause never have I had any comrades which measure up to the standards of the days long gone.

What I write may not make sense at times, it may be illogical, nay, reprehensible. But the true literati understand well that words convey more meaning than what they usually mean…

I don’t exactly know what’s getting’ into me, but this I am certain, I am in the threshold of a stage in my life, my little death, my rebirth, fourth year in law school isn’t just fourth year… it is like the two-faced Janus beckoning me to enter, yet the other face says otherwise. Then you remember a promise you made not just to yourself, but to your friends years ago.

I survived. I lived. I am a plenitude of all that was and will be that destiny declares me to be.

Beneath the superficial entity, I was always esoteric. Death is always rebirth. And I am nearing this death again. I fear, and tremble, not knowing what lies ahead. But confluent with such phlegmatic theme is a sanguine and jovial frame of mind.

The greatest fear of all is the fear of the unknown, but letting things remain unknown is the most frightful regret of all.

Let’s see what lies ahead…

June Blues

El mes de Junio han venido.

The heralding gloom ushers in the monsoon season, of melancholia and sheer boredom with life. The heat of summer slowly fades into the infinite timeline of elemental history and human memory, changing from humid heat, to really wet humidity, to cold icy bliss. Jackets will once again don the Thomasian populace, who by the way, wears them almost all year long. Traffic will soon loom over the metropolis, jeepneys will become amphibians, and the roads and streets will become once more a very poor imitation of the Venetian scenery. Books smelling like wet dogs. And as the eye of the storm churns, so will my unstable emotions, and convert me once again into the sentimental fool that I really am.

I’m in my fourth year in Law school, and my eighth in UST. If all things fall iinto their proper places according to plan, next year, I’d be a barista, the last step toward the ultimate professional goal.

Then I’d hide in the hinterlands, never to return to urban civilization for at least a year or so.

Or so I wish.