Self-Exam 2008

I have been reading Boyd's Restless in between playing DotA 1.56/CS 1.6 and work. Chanced on the book from a pile of on-sale hard-bounds inside National Bookstore in TriNoma. Like striking gold, the book was a precious find for a mere 99 pesos (me: "Now this is what I call a nice buy!").

So now I have been reading again and I can always tell the difference between reading from an LCD screen and absorbing things and exercising my imagination by reading from materials made of organic matter (i.e., a good old book with leaves made of paper from trees cut from a reforested land being managed by an environmentally responsible company; or a book made of recycled paper by a company that only recycles paper and properly manages the by-products called "sludge" by burning it "to create energy at the paper mill or used as a fertilizer by local farmers.") (Compared to writing in a piece of organic paper, I find it also harder writing/typing/inputting things directly into a computer, similar with what I'm doing now, what with the Web open and the impulse of verifying everything you've just written by googling it first.)

Anyway, I have been reading a book and Boyd again. I've also been frequenting Butch Dalisay's blog lately. (So, our very own Krip Yuson and Miguel Syjuco have been shortlisted for the The Man Asia Literary Prize for 2008 for the novels 'The Music Child' and 'Ilustrado', respectively.) Oftentimes, my brain hungers for some information from Conrado de Quiros (the only reason why I read the Inquirer online is his columns; of course, everybody notices the uniqueness).

So, I have been reading Boyd in these times of DotA addiction and on top of the demands of my job, and managed to post something in this blog again after a while and this has made me think:

I have to rationalize my priorities. Playing excessive DotA? At 34? Perhaps I should start making millions. Buy my own house (with an airconditioned gaming room of at least 10 PCs -- for CS LAN purposes; and a big sturdy tree at the backyard -- I've always wanted to write inside a tree house). Sire a child? Write and publish something major before my 40's, a novel or The Filipino short story of the 21st century perhaps? Hmmmm.

Anyway, I have been reading Boyd and look where that has all led me.