HAPPY NEW YEAR!
New song added,
and new photos too.
Just gotten busy this past Holiday season,
I never got the chance to post this one.
So, here it is,
O Come all Ye Faithful.
Guitars by – Ty Martell
Mobile Player here:
Plus,
More photos added.
(and still adding more)
All the best to everyone
this 2006.
Manigong Bagong Taon,
sa inyong lahat.
Yup,
There is a Santa Clause.
Because I got this new toy for Christmas.
I didn’t really ask for it.
But I got it.
Plus, I got to see my brother and his family,
as well as my aunt and my cousin.
I guess, you could say that my Christmas was good.
Even though, we are never going to recover financially.
Ever.
Again.
I guess it was worth it.
(I still hate dealing with the commercialism of Christmas though)
So,
I’ll take back what I said on Christmas.
(Don’t mind me, I just had a bad day.
Even though I know I have a point)
As I end this post,
I therefore conclude,
that Santa is alive and real.
And I am sleeping with her.
One of the things,
My wife and I have a difference of opinion on,
is Christmas.
We sometimes have debates and arguments about this holiday season.
And if I might say, we both have strong feelings about Christmas.
But sadly, we are on opposite sides.
You see,
I have never met anyone,
who really, genuinely
loves Christmas.
Tracy does.
She still possesses that “spark” whenever Christmas comes.
Me, on the other hand,
lost my faith and interest in Christmas.
Oh, say, since I turned 21.
Don’t get me wrong,
I celebrate the Christm“¦.”¦ no wait.
I “observe” the Christmas Holiday.
Since it is a Christian Tradition.
Celebrating it is really not what I do this time of year.
I just do not understand it anymore.
I believe, the spirit of Christmas is long gone.
Why would people subject themselves,
year after year,
through the stress, the agony,
the trauma and the hassle.
The pain of dealing with bazillions of people,
in shopping malls, out on the roads, in public transportations,
where you know everyone else is not in their cheerful mode.
The misery you put yourself into, just trying to find a parking spot,
trying to follow shoppers who you see are on their way to their cars,
beating other drivers to it.
And anyone who tells me that they do not hate
dealing with other obnoxious and rude people,
is freakin’ lying worse than a Welcome Mat
I just don’t understand it.
Shouldn’t the holidays be as it “IS”
A holiday?
Stress free?
Worry free?
A break?
Then why would you consent to the fact that
you will be miserable for the whole week.
until the new year comes,
when this is all over.
Now how about gift givings?
You know, you will always have that constant worry,
of not giving the right gift.
And if the people you give gifts to are in any way,
similar to the people I give gifts to,
they will always,
and I mean always
find something wrong with it.
I once sent this “person”
Pictures of my 3 year old son,
And they still found something wrong with it.
Saying they do not like the way he posed.
What the Fuck?
He’s a kid.
Any pose he does is cute!
Oh, and in these hard times,
Who can freakin’ afford anything these days?
You have to admit, you worry about buying Christmas gifts
way back in June,
anxiously hoping you’ll rack in enough hours at work,
just to be able to buy gifts, for people who doesn’t care shit about you.
Then you’ll spend half of next year,
broke like the idiot sucker you are, for buying gifts,
and decorating your house.
And speaking of which,
What does decorating your house for Christmas really prove?
I put up icicle lights around our house.
I guess to give the illusion that it is snowing around the roof of our house.
In freakin Florida.
Then you worry about if the neighbors might think
that your decorations are horrible.
It’s like another freakin, neighborhood competition.
My neighbors have an inflatable Santa in his Sleigh,
And another house has the nativity scene.
And full bright, blinding lights surrounding it.
If you don’t get blinded by it,
You’ll surely go blind,
looking at your next months electric bill.
What else?
Oh and you know, you’re gonna spend this holiday with your family.
With the ones you love.
Cmon!
Give me a break.
You know you hate spending time with them.
Not only do you have to deal with your crazy, annoying relatives,
You have to pretend that you like them.
Yeah, you know what I am talking about.
Not to mention all these politically correct asswipes,
Who wants to take control of the world, by playing with words.
These people disgust me.
As you can obviously see,
I hate Christmas.
Well, I shouldn’t say that.
I actually hate,
what Christmas has become.
Which brings me back to the Christmas debate with my wife,
And the purpose of this post.
As I told her my gripes about the holiday season,
and expressed my thoughts about it,
she told me this six hard-hitting words,
that made me ease up my detest for Christmas.
“You think Christmas is about you?”
(Okay, maybe not verbatim)
——–
Well, that put me in my place, didn’t it?
That pretty much gave me an attitude adjustment,
and with a confused, troubled face,
like a drunk monkey trying to do long division.
As I look upon my son,
I realized, it is now my purpose,
to make every Christmas,
memorable for him.
As I end this,
I remember a saying I heard a long time ago.
There are only three stages in Life.
First,
When you believe in Santa Clause.
Second,
When you don’t believe in Santa Clause.
And third,
When “you are” Santa Clause.
I realized,
I am way past stage one and two.
Merry Christmas to everyone.
And all the best this coming New Year.
A big Congratulations to busko ’91,
my high school group,
for hosting a Christmas Party,
for the less fortunate youth in the Philippines.
Great job, my brothers.
Great job.
I truly am proud to be a part of this group.
Pro Deo et Patria.
*********
Also,
Congratulations to the DBTC Website admins,
for winning this years “People’s Choice Award” in the Webbys.
And you know why
I am fascinated by this?
Because I am a geek.
And I am a sad strange individual.
As I was re-posting the ad-libs from the old site.
I just realized,
I lost some of the reader comments.
That’s what I get for being cheap, and relying on a free comment service.
Also, for not reading the fine print.
And for not backing-up my data.
What a bummer.
Now I have no proof that more than 3 people look and read this site.
Oh well.
What can I do.
So, write me a comment note.
Anyone.
Make me feel better.
Yes, I am talking to my 1st and 2nd degree friends.
Coz, if I ask the 3rd degree ones,
it’s gonna be a little awkward.
One of the current news buzz around the country,
is the war on Christmas.
Apparently,
it has been considered by the politically correct police,
that Christmas is a very offensive word,
and they want all reference to the word “Christmas” be replaced by “Holiday.”
You know what?
They win.
I give in.
I have no problems,
saying Merry “Holiday” to everyone.
Buying “Holiday” gifts,
putting them under our “Holiday” tree
sending “Holiday” cards,
singing “Have yourself a very merry Holiday,”
or wonder if my true love gave me
a partridge in a pear tree on the 1st day of “Holiday.”
I wouldn’t dare offend anyone if I ever say the word “Christmas.”
Nope.
I have no problem with that whatsoever.
Only under one condition……….
That everyone agrees,
that we also change:
Hanukkah,
Kwanzaa,
Thanksgiving,
Chanukah,
Martin Luther King Day,
Valentines,
Mardi Gras,
Purim,
Easter,
Passover,
Mother’s Day,
Father’s Day,
Shavuot,
Independence Day,
Labor Day,
Columbus Day,
Veterans Day,
Rosh Hashanah,
Yom Kippur,
Sukkot,
Simchat Torah,
Ramadan,
Halloween,
Cinco De Mayo,
Visakah Puja,
Los Dias de los Muertos,
and,
Oh what the hell.
Let’s throw in our Birthdays too.
It has been almost a month now.
And I guess I can safely say,
that I am very proud to announce.
Tyler is potty trained.
Okay, maybe we sometimes miss “number 2”.
But we got “number 1” down pat.
It is such a beautiful thing.
I still can’t believe that I would love the sound of
pee and poop plummeting down the toilet.
Except maybe that time when I was at work,
and I left the house that morning
with a severe case of diarrhea.
Shivering every time the air conditioner blows at me,
worrying of any possible leakage.
But that’s not important right now.
What is important is that I have learned something new with kids.
You see, kids, by nature, need their parent’s attention.
And once in a while, that attention can not be given immediately.
Let’s say, your kid wants to show you something,
and you’re right in the middle of your favorite TV show.
Or,
Your child wants to play,
but you’re busy cooking or picking up the house.
But, when you’re in potty training mode,
Once your kid says they need to go potty,
You drop everything and accompany them to the toilet.
I don’t care if you are performing bypass surgery on that chicken breast for dinner,
you will drop your scalpel and make sure your kids do their business.
My son, in particular,
immediately caught on
onto this effective, but nasty little trick.
If he wants attention right away,
he tells us he wants to go “potty.”
If he still refuses to go to bed,
he immediately says he needs to go “potty.”
Brings his toys in there, and plays.
And I struggle with the doubt in my mind that,
“Maybe, he really does need to go.”
So,
In conclusion,
I have found out that,
When kids get toilet trained,
apparently, they also learn manipulation.
No matter.
The real upside to this story is,
No more “pull-ups” or “diaper” purchases.
Woohoo!!!!
Well, as you can see.
Some guy is trying to re-design this site.
Again.
I know, I know,
I have succumbed to the new blogging generation,
and left my roots as an HTML web designer,
who still uses Notepad to modify his site.
No matter.
At least this new layout is simpler and easier to read.
(Easier for me to update as well.)
Well, when I say easier to read,
that doesn’t mean that I am gonna start writing anything interesting.
Why start now, eh?
In all honesty,
I am kinda excited with this new layout.
The only thing that really bothers me,
is that,
I have to re-write all my archived posts,
and re-link all the paths again.
(That’s a good 5 years worth!)
Which means my mouse clicker will be in overdrive copy and paste.
Clickity-click!
Which I think is giving me the “carpool-tunnel-syndrominity.”
And when I have to invent words like “syndrominity,”
you know that I am not kidding.
Time after Time
Music by Cyndi Lauper
Voice and Guitars by – Ty Martell
Mobile Player here:
Actually, it’s a version by Tuck and Patti.
Okay, since I am on a roll with betraying my vow
not to sing on the songs I play.
Let me just give a word of advice,
to those new musicians who would like to record their stuff.
When you sing the songs you play,
make sure you clean your nose first.
Get rid of them boogers before you attempt to record anything.
Or else,
you will hear the wheezing, high-pitched noise,
your booger-filled nose makes,
and the microphone will pick them up.
Just like on this song I just did.
But then again,
my voice already sounds like a booger-filled nose,
desperately trying to gasp for dear life.
If there’s one thing I learned from my 2 years in ROTC,
and 1 year of CAT prior to that,
is that, Proper Hygiene is a way of life.
Oh and don’t get too drunk the night before training.
(I am looking in your direction, ESL Posse!)
