how i read a poem

There’s no definite way of reading a poem. There are a lot of critical approaches but the way to read the poem is always subjective. In my AH4, our instructor JC managed to simplify things in her own way. On my CL121 with Sir John and CL122 with Sir Nino, things got a little complicated.

Let’s not complicate ourselves. Here’s what I’ve learned in reading poetry. Here are some rough tips in reading poetry. If you see it defective, I would be more than glad to hear from you.

In reading poetry I…

…better be in a good mood. It’s hard reading poems when you’re distracted.

…read it first. I don’t try to understand it all at once. I just read it and let the words flow. Then, I read it again. And again. And again. I guarantee on your second reading, you’ll see a different poem.

…concentrate on the text first. It is important to look at the poem in a literary basis. Do not jump to conclusions or derive meaning just yet. If the poem said “the rose was torn and ravished”, don’t think of an abused woman just yet. Instead try focusing on the image of the flower torn into pieces.

…take note of the how the poem was written. Look at the line breaking, they actually mean something. Is there a rhyming scheme? Is there a meter followed? How many stanzas or how many lines? Is it a sonnet or an epic?

…depict a setting or a scene. The poem should have one. Feed on images. Where are they? What are they doing. What are the things around them that’s telling you that they’re in a cemetery, hospital, school, cabaret, house or hell? Try to figure out who is the speaker. On verbal address poems, try to figure out the addressee.

…check the symbols. What do they stand for? What could a flower, necklace, wolf, clock, elevator, angel, monster or drop of water mean? Try not restricting yourself to one line of thinking.

…capture the emotions. You’ll get it through the poem’s tone and the way the speaker is talking. Most importantly, try to relate that emotion with yourself. Did you also lose your mother? Did you also skin your cat alive? Did you manage to cut yourself into pieces? Did you ever talked with an alien? Something like that.

…learn more about the theme of the poem. Is it about drugs, sex and rock & roll? Is it about death or time? Is it about rejection or loss? What do you think the author is trying to tell you?

…understand the author and the time. Who is the author? Where did he live? What century did he live on? Why do you think he wrote the poem? Was he inspired by his one night stand with a complete stranger? Did he lose his wife? Or did he really make a poem for his books to sell?

…know if there are other poems like it? Then I compare and contrast them.

Those are some of my tips for now. I really have this feeling that I missed some important points. But generally that’s it! I’ll post another post like this if I remember some points.

I hope this helps!

purple pad craze!

I just realize something. For the past few months, I’ve been discussing a lot about Creative Writing and other related and/or unrelated stuff. But I still haven’t even given you a chance to see some of my works. Well, to make it up to you, I’ve got great news!

Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to PurplePad!

PurplePad is our Creative Writing Blogsite featuring our works for the past semesters. Yes, it’s a requirement but I would have done one like it anyway. It’s all Professor Jhoanna’s idea to publish our works online.

On that site we’ve got collections of poems (narrative poems, mytho-poems and tankas), flash fictions and memoirs! It’s a one-stop amateur literary site.

Authors or my classmates and I have our own page with direct links to their works. You’ll definitely see their faces there! Learn more about them and get aquainted to the budding writers of the century (hehe..)!

Our teachers and mentors are also listed there. We couldn’t have done it without them.

We’d really want comments and criticisms from anyone who can spare some. Writers actually love them. They hurt sometimes but we like it! It helps us in our writing if people read and critique our works.

Check it out! PurplePad!

when dating

Whenever I date, I need to turn a simple day into a memorable one. My definition for a date is a little different. For me, dating is everywhere. When I spend some time alone with someone special, even if we’re just out doing simple errands, I consider it a date. Sitting together in a waiting area alone with your crush is a date for me. Of course, eating together on a fancy restaurant or watching movies together with her is hardcore dating. Here are some of the things I consider when in a date:

1. Always have a topic. Avoid awkward silences especially if you’re still in the getting-to-know stage. She’ll think you’re moving too fast. Don’t crowd her. Let her be herself.

2. Consider the place. Of course if you two are in a funeral, don’t go talking about her hair. Try avoiding those kinds of places. Don’t go on a date on a hospital. Same with churches. On first dates, I suggest you don’t go to the theater, it’s like your getting serious.

3. Always have your wallet ready. You’ll never know when she’ll be on a mood for a Coke. Try not to spend a lot for her though, it’s not helpful. Don’t let her spend for you unless she insist. Always be sensitive on money matters.

4. Walk. It’s better if you walk together. I find walking helpful on dates. Walk on parks, crowded streets or public markets. Walk where there’s a lot to be seen. Ordinary places become memorable when you’re walking with her.

5. Make her smile. Don’t be corny unless she likes it. Do not touch her. Let her wait for your touch. Tease her gently. Stop if she doesn’t like it. Make her feel comfortable with you.

6. Be sweet. Be nice. Be cool. Be a little aggressive sometimes. Leave an impression. Make her miss the moment she spent with you. Make her want to spend some time with you again.

thoreau and mortgage

I would really want to own my own house now. No, I don’t want to rent. I want to own.

Well for a poor fellow like me, it’s far from possible for me at the moment. I do have my own boarding house which is actually a room with holes in the ceiling and with the bathroom outside. It’s cheap though and near the school.

I guess it’s the sense of independence I’m after. I suggest you try reading Henry David Thoreau’s Walden particularly the chapter Where I Lived and What I Lived For. It talks about his experience living in a secluded cottage for two years, two months and two days trying to study society by detaching himself from it. He didn’t live as a hermit though, he paid visits and received them, too. I kind of think I’m somehow living like Thoreau in my boarding house all by my lonesome.

But I want a house. I’ve been telling my Architecture Student friends of my designs for my house in the future and they simply nodded and shook their heads. Owning a house is expensive. It’s expensive to buy and to maintain.

They suggested I check on this website about mortgage loan where they actually deal with the process. I good that there’s something like this to help those who are interested (like me) but new to the world of housing.

quick decisions

I was trained by my parents to be careful in making quick decisions. There’s actually wisdom when they say that our lives are governed by the choices we make. When you play soccer, you’ll understand what I mean.

At this moment, I’m beating the deadlines of my final papers. I’ve got to make a critical paper of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights. I also have to make a critical analysis of one work of our upperclassmen’s thesis using the profound approaches we’re supposed to learn in CL122. I also have to study for my Philippine History and for my American Literature Exams. On top of that I also have to finish the requirements needed for me to join the Dumaguete National Writers Workshop. And all of them are due this week!

Fortunately I’ve scheduled my time in such a way that I can do the things I’m suppose to do. The problem lies on the strict compliance to the schedule. That’s important.

Another problem is money. Along with scheduling, budgeting is also important. I’ve learned to budget 500 pesos for a one-week stay in my boarding house. You have to be very careful with money. It’s good nowadays we already got payday loans to answer for immediate needs. What’s better is its faxless! Check the site for more details.

of assets

Here in the Philippines, the common term for loan sharks is “5-6″. I don’t exactly know the etymology of the term but I guess it’s because if you borrow a 5, you end up paying a 6. It’s when you lending becomes a business. Interests.

I remember my old principal say in her speech that those who lend money with interest would be cursed with serious disease, I don’t know where she got that info but I’m not sure if I’m going to believe her.

Then again, the loaning system isn’t all that bad. I suggest you check pay day loan and understand more of their personal cash advance system. Or why not go to your local bank and learn the protocol.

On the contrary, I think the loaning system is actually very helpful. But on my opinion, it’s only helpful if you help yourself. Poor people are trapped in the mindset of spending what they get on expenses that doesn’t necessarily give back anything. On other words, they spend a lot of money on liabilities.

It’s a basic rule that a lot of people tend to overlook. We should buy assets not liabilites. Learn to distinguish both of them. The normal trend is to work then earn then spend. Maybe we should try to work then earn then buy assets. When the assets starts working for us, then we can stop working and let the money in. Then we can spend.

how to cook rice

Being in an Asian country, I’ve been trained how to cook rice when I was still young. Rice is like the major crop in the Philippines and the rest of the Asian countries. I really don’t know what to feel whenever I encounter a grown man scratching his head in front of a cauldron or a rice cooker explaining his dilemma of not knowing how to cook rice. You need a cauldron or a rice cooker.

Step 1.
Put the rice in the cooker. It doesn’t really matter how you put it. People usually use cups. Go ahead and use cups. I don’t use cups. I pour the whole kilo down.

Step 2.
Wash the rice with water. If you already think it’s clean, I don’t care. Clean it again. You’ll never know how many impurities it may have. Let the impurities flow as you drain the water.

Step 3.
Pour water. The amount of water is debatable. Some people use the same amount of cups as the rice. Some say add an extra cup. As for me, I use my fingers. I use it as a measuring stick. I stop pouring until the water reaches half of my middle finger which stands from the surface of the rice.

Step 4.
Set the cooker. Do not forget the lid!

Step 5 (for cauldrons).
Set it on strong fire. When it boils, open the lid a little to let air out. Then wait for it to cook.

Caution:
Do not leave your rice cooking unattended. For rice cookers, the cookers accumulate a lot of watts. For those who cook in fire, rice burns easily.

incredible insurance

Everything’s unsure in this life. I’ve never come across an expected accident. No matter how sure and preventive you can be, it’ll never be enough. Why worry? Worrying is like solving a big problem with banging your head against the wall.

Whenever we hear the term life insurance, people automatically associate it with its trivialities in procedure and the unfairness of its protocols and conditions. I personally don’t get it, the fuss.

I guess we sometimes forget the principle behind life insurance. The system of insurance is quite impressive if you come to think of it. It’s a lifetime investment they say. I’m not really that sure. I think it’s more like a failsafe system.

I actually enjoy hearing every other people’s complains about their own cases concerning their insurance. For example, when someone needs medical assistance on Monday, they only give it on Thursdays. Loophole after loophole in the manual. I don’t get it.

I remember Mr. Incredible’s alter ego Bob Parr in Pixar’s The Incredibles. He was this boring insurance person trying to lie low. I enjoyed the part when he tried to help this little old lady in the shortcuts she could take to get her insurance money. His boss was mad at him for that. I wonder if that scene actually happens in insurance companies.

Try checking out life insurance quotes over the net to check things out.

master ee cummings

There is nobody like ee cummings! I mean it. Among the many poets I truly admire, he is really stands out. His poetry is like none other. Everything in his love poems are new that they are almost music. What first attracted me was his deviation to the proper structure of grammar. He breaks language like he breaks glass and the shattered pieces are beautiful!

You don’t even have to ponder to is with so much effort. The poems reeks with charisma and style that would definitely blow your mind. It blew mine. Try to google him and his poems in the net. If you want to be in love, learn cummings. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed.

Here’s one of my favorite poems made by him (soooo beautiful):

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in

i carry your heart with me(i carry it in
my heart)i am never without it(anywhere
i go you go,my dear;and whatever is done
by only me is your doing,my darling)
i fear
no fate(for you are my fate,my sweet)i want
no world(for beautiful you are my world,my true)
and it’s you are whatever a moon has always meant
and whatever a sun will always sing is you

here is the deepest secret nobody knows
(here is the root of the root and the bud of the bud
and the sky of the sky of a tree called life;which grows
higher than soul can hope or mind can hide)
and this is the wonder that’s keeping the stars apart

i carry your heart(i carry it in my heart)

money 911

Let’s face it. A lot of us aren’t really good at money.

I should have read Robert Kiyosaki’s other book Rich Kid, Smart Kid. It’s more or less just like the Rich Dad, Poor Dad book but my friend Dario who’ve read the book told me that it focuses more on the right attitude towards money and business. Unfortunately I’ve already returned the books to the owner and I didn’t have the chance to finish Rich Kid, Smart Kid.

I learned in Rich Dad, Poor Dad that we should avoid two common attitude that people normally have. One is fear. Fear in this context is the fear of risk or the fear of losing the things which you already have. Business, contrary to what people say, is not a gamble after all. The ones who fail are those who give up or those who do not start.

The other attitude to be avoided is greed or desire. The desire to spend your income to expenses that do not generally contribute to your assets. We must know how to control these two emotions in order to succeed in business.

Of course, we are human beings and it could not be helped to feel those emotions. The book isn’t telling us not to be humans but to learn how to moderate and sacrifice ourselves.

Money is like water, you can’t hold if for long. Capital is needed to build a business. I’ve learned that we can actually lend online. There are sites that lend money for emergency purposes inclined to payday loan. This site I happen to stumble at focuses to meet monetary emergencies of consumers. They have this policy of no fax cash advance that really helps those who would avail.

I’m not exactly sure if I can avail for my business purposes but the site is indeed useful if ever I end up in a tangle of some sort in my business plans. If you have any insights regarding business or if you can enlighten me regarding Kiyosaki’s other ideas, feel free to comment.

big slots

Just now me and my friends here in UP were playing a friendly game of Bluff with the usual playing cards. That, I guess, is the only card game I really am good at. That’s because it requires the player’s talent in bluffing which is a talent I’m actually good at.

Poker? I’m a little so-so. I’m good at bluffing but when it comes to the luck in cards, I couldn’t control it. The twist of fate plays along within the game. Then again that’s what makes the game so exciting, don’t you think?

Let’s set aside the cards. I’m interested to the slots online this time. But since it is accessible from my place and I really have no intention in getting inside a casino, I decided to browse the net for slots online sites to feed my curiosity towards the game.

Don’t take me wrong, I’m not exactly that inclined to gambling. The last time I ever gambled was when I was in the fourth grade. I was betting on a spider battle.

So I stumbled on a site about slots online and I found out that there were actually a lot of sites devoted for the online slot games. The site has easy-to-read and user-friendly reviews to the top slot and other related sites. They have rated the sites and has allowed the users to rate them, too. The site about slots online seems to be the ideal place to check on before trying on the game online.

Though I may not be in it for the gambling, I’m definitely in it for the love of the game.

an old man’s secret

That’s me playing backgammon in a jeepney. My craze for backgammon goes on as I continue to surf the internet for interesting backgammon Sites. Online Backgammon is becoming more and more interesting nowadays. There really are a lot of sites there but only few meets gamers’ satisfaction.

BackgammonMasters.com has moved up a notch as it levels up into becoming an fully online gaming site ready to meet the wants of many players worldwide! The site offers a wide variety of single and multi-player games. Along with the legendary backgammon, other games are also offered in the site (single or multi-player).

Today, everything simply went online! Online poker, online roulette, online blackjack and online slots! Modern technology sure makes leisure easier to access. Now you don’t necessarily have to drive all the way to Las Vegas just to experience a quality game of blackjack.

I guess it’s all for the spirit of gaming. I mean, life would definitely be a little boring without fun and games right. Treat yourself sometimes. All work and no play would be very dull, right?

A piece of advice though, try to moderate the fun. A grouchy old man who never lost a bet once told me that the only way to get leave a casino a millionaire is to enter it a billionaire.

The secret why he never lost: he never played (tsk tsk! what a poor sad man he turned out to be).

broke but not broken

Writing became a door for new questions. When I took up the Creative Writing Course here in UP Mindanao, the one thing that was in my mind was my passion in writing. I love writing.

Then reality struck.

People who learned the nature of my course almost have the same question: “Do you expect to get rich on that?” Some would ask me what’s the job I’m most likely to get. To both inquiries, I was speechless. Hands down, at that time I had no good answer to give them.

Here comes the “Parents’ Sacrifice” Card. You should have taken BS Nursing. Nursing has become a very intriguing course here in the Philippines. The majority of students who graduate from the secondary education are most likely to proceed in that course. One main reason: Because it is in demand in other countries.

Yes, being in a Third World Country has been a very challenging life for us Filipinos. This instilled the desire for some of us to grab the easiest way to earn dollars and to get out of the country in the process.

Though I share the same fate of my countrymen, I have broken away from the trend and pursued my passion in writing. So now I face this dilemma, how will I use this craft in earning a substantial amount of money?

Until now, I am still finding new ways to incorporate my writing in earning money, trying to change that door of questions to a door of opportunity. I’ve been searching in the net and I have stumbled in the system of blogging. I also am submitting some of my works to local publications. Both ways, I’m still in the process of exploring.

I am also thinking of publishing little children’s stories and small time booklets. Children’s Literature is a very subtle and complex art that actually takes a whole course in UP, so I guess I shouldn’t have my hopes high yet.

I don’t mind ghost writing or filling up texts in websites. I’m also interested in writing for comic books or graphic works (that’s been like my childhood dream). I could draw, but not that well. I can write though.

Lastly, I could also be of some use in editing work. I’m familiar to the pressure in journalism as I was once a part of a student publication back in my secondary years. I’m fairly good in English. Oh, I have lapses here and then. Who doesn’t, right?

If you have any insights or ideas, don’t hesitate to help a friend here.

in ad equacy

I was taught to win. Some people call it superiority complex, some a simple case of being a pig-head. Either way, I hate it when you do your best but still end up not good.

The last week was the most confusing and self-deflating week I ever had yet. I was greeted with a slap in the face in a way of bloody remarks in my paper. No matter how profound the euphemisms the teacher may use, the message will still be the same. You are inadequate. I am still better than you. In defense to those whose jobs oblige them to give off disturbingly stated comments to me, I guess it’s just my interpretation of their writings. Mary Poppins would find it pleasant. It’s all relative and arbitrary, I suppose.

Write, write, write and read, read, read. That has been the Eternal Advice I keep on saying to myself. Yes, I may be guilty of not following it religiously but I keep it in my head and heart.

It is simply hard for me to realize that I am still inadequate. It is true that the more you know, the more you know that you do not know. Damn that. I have been picturing myself to be a level (or two) higher than my fellows. But as long as I keep pushing myself forward, the more the situations and events around me push me back.

Just now, I know that I have just made one of the best stories I ever did. For me, it has everything it needed to be a quite satisfactory narrative. I was convinced. But as an entry to the contest I just joined, it wasn’t enough. Either I really sucked, didn’t follow the instructions or the judges were really strict. Either way, what’s done is done.

Until now I still wouldn’t revise my Chained Girl. I’m still healing myself from the blows from the INWW. I really take my writing seriously. No, I’m not really that good in receiving criticisms. I do take them though. I take them with honor and respect. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad. I would never believe that there is one writer that would say that it doesn’t feel bad whenever someone better than you criticizes the best work you have painfully written with easy careless tones.

You know why?

It’s because every sane (if there is such thing) writer treats his works as his children. Every creation his own baby. A part of the writer is there in the work. Slash that! The writer is his work! At least that’s my answer to that question.

Silly me. Guess what? I learned how to make stories in less than ten minutes this day with the Talecraft Cards. Who does that in our class? It took me the whole Christmas Break to make a 100-word flash fiction! The cards are good for writing exercises, though.

ni aga gni wgee sott nawi! I really do. I hope I do.

chimneyless children

Sending our assignment through post! Wow, that’s original. Things are getting pretty interesting in our CW course. Just imagine, we’re suppose to write in miniscule letters our short story on a postcard and send it to our teacher who really assumes her divinity.

What a freaking Christmas. I am practically racking my brains out to come up with a short story for my Christmas assignment. Material! I need material! And guess what? Material is everywhere! But I still cannot form it into pristine ideas.

So far I’ve been watching Prison Break, which is actually not a waste of my time seeing that it suggests a lot for my writing. People should watch it. I also finished the first two seasons of the Japanese manga Ah! My Goddess which is also not a waste of my time seeing how entertained I was with the pretty cartoons and the very simple but comical plot.

I’m glad to announce that I have my official mascot! His name is Pagoy. And yes, he’s a turtle; a Japanese Turtle to be precise. He’s like two and a half inches long. He’s a hundred percent cute. I now have a little mascot for me! I’m just sharing. He could be the one who might inspire me to write a lot. Besides, he’s going to be a lead character to some of my future children stories. The little devils are suckers to cute slimy reptiles.

Happy Christmas. Why would people insist with “merry”? You don’t say “Merry Birthday or Merry New Year”. This is such a sick world.

It’s quite true that when you’re getting older, you start to care about the things you’re about to give than those you want to recieve. My three-year-old brother ransacked the newly wrapped gifts ten days away from Christmas. However my seventy-something-year-old lola manages to give a gift to each of the fifteen plus grandchildren and great-grandchildren she has.

Oh, well. A Jovial Christmas to you all! Filipinos are unfortunate, SAnta wouldn’t visit us because we don’t have chimneys!

Mirikrismastuyuol!