I’m selling my babies because I have no money

I am drained. Having a clearance sale is tiring work, even if I’m doing it online. I just sat in one place the whole day, taking pictures, calculating, typing, encoding, cataloguing but I’m beat. The reason why I kept at it was the promise of money, money, money.

This summer was a total bore. I kept telling myself that it’s better that I spend most of the time at home so I could recharge my batteries when school starts again, but I realized I’ve made the wrong choice. I took a break from everything: academics, the paper (not so much the paper), going out, and partying. I figured, if I was going to take a break, I might as well go overdrive and cut back on all things. I still went out but I was mainly at home.

Looking back, I realized it wasn’t about choices because I didn’t have any. It was really because I had no money. My mom still gave me, but it didn’t compare to having a steady allowance when there were classes. I have no money in the bank because I spent a whopping P11,000 (don’t ask) on my birthday last February, and my wallet? What wallet?

So now I’m reduced to this. Having a “clearance sale”, which is just a fancy way of saying I’m selling my stuff so I could support my lifestyle. It’s pathetic because I’m like a credit card holder being repossessed. I’m selling my CDs, DVDs, clothes, and yes, even my books. I’m having a hard time parting with them because as a booklover, parting with my books is like parting with my heart. I agree with what my friend Victor said, they’re like my babies. But I have no choice. Here are other reasons why I’m selling my babies:

1. I have too much of them. There are literally books everywhere. On the shelves, on the side table, under the computer, on top of the DVD player, and on the floor. My room is a pyromaniac’s fantasy. It has Danger Zone written all over it.
2. I have a lot I haven’t read. I have this annoying habit of buying books by the bulk so my reading list drastically rises everytime I make a purchase. I once bought 17 books. Also, I tend to be impulsive. If my attention is caught even for the briefest of seconds by a title, a synopsis or a cover, I find myself heading to the cashier with a grin on my face. There have been many cases where on my way home, I find myself wondering: What was the title of the book I bought? I also buy online so I get carried away. All you do is click and ta-dah! You get a book. Aaah, technology.
3. Because of my vast reading list (last time I checked I had 100+ and this was a year ago), I don’t have time to read the books I really want to read. I’m obligated to read the ones I bought on impulse. So it might take a few more years before I actually read Twilight. When I was in Mall of Asia the other day, there were books I really wanted to buy but couldn’t because of my unread books. I mean, besides the fact that I couldn’t afford it.

From a different perspective, being broke has been good for me. It taught me the value of money. You can’t live without it. I learned an important lesson in splurging, and I learned it the hard way. At least the whole experience has taught me to be more aware financially. Just a few days ago, I joined this group that pays to write articles. I think it’s important that I utilize what I have and market myself. I’m very passionate about writing so I decided, why not make money out of it? It’s not a lot, but at least I’d make dough. After all, it would be a terrible shame if I grow old and not use my potentials. And my possessions.

Cashing In On Sex Videos

I was at Mall of Asia today with the folks and some family friends. Unfortunately, I was there to ice skate with the kids instead of ogling at next season’s clothes in Fashion Week and it sucked. All day I kept running into models, attendees and production staff and I guiltily entertained thoughts of ditching the kids and running in to watch the shows.

I rose above my petty desires and skated the whole day. I wasn’t supposed to, I was planning on spending the day browsing books but there weren’t that many people in the rink so I decided to join in the fun. As usual, the ratio of people watching and people actually skating was drastic so I wasn’t surprised when I saw dozens of people looking at the skaters. It was like being in Fashion Week – the audience watching the models sashay around a zero degree runway.

A lot of the people were taking photos of their friends or relatives while the rest were just enjoying the scene. After all, it was a nice way of spending time, sitting comfortably, watching people skate through a clear glass. A certain sense of voyeurism is fulfilled as people watched skaters make fools of themselves as they slipped and slid across the ice. I must admit, I was one of those fools. Kidding.

Voyeurism is inarguably one of the simplest pleasures in life (I am an avid subscriber). It gives us different emotions ranging from awe, when we look up to people and live vicariously through them, to glee, when we realize we are better. And from a social perspective, voyeurism is one of the hottest issues in politics and media. Don’t know what I’m talking about? I’m talking about the Hayden Kho-Katrina Halili scandal you’re watching in the next tab. Again, I kid.

The whole thing has become a circus as different sides are being aired and more people are involving themselves. What was supposed to be a matter discussed by Kho and Halili now include a motley crew of characters such as Lolit Solis, Irene Kho, Jamby Madrigal, and Sen. Bong Revilla. I get the idea that it reached court because Halili did not consent to the taping but come on, sex scandals have been around for ages and the only reason this got so much coverage was because the parties involved were famous. It’s not necessarily a bad thing because it would mean the results would affect women everywhere. However, I still think it’s a circus.

I used to think Halili should stop playing the victim. I mean, why the hell should she be sleeping with committed men? I thought that she brought it on herself – prostituting herself to men with girlfriends. I even agreed that it was hypocritical of women’s rights groups and nuns to support Halili when she was practicing pre-marital sex. Things changed when I watched the hearing when the two met for the first time since making hot monkey love to the tune of George Michael (correct me if I’m wrong).

Maybe Irene Kho was right when she said Solis told Halili to script her statement. According to Mrs. Kho, Solis told Halili when to cry, to pause, and to make things dramatic. After all, Solis had a history of scripting (i.e. the FAMAS fiasco when she intentionally announced the wrong winner). But when I watched Halili’s statement at the hearing, I felt bad for her. Call me a sap, but I bought it when she said that she was in love with Kho. It’s common speculation that it was the temptress who seduced the good boy but it’s also possible that he seduced her. I do believe that he is truly and madly in love with Belo (we all heard about the suicide attempts and his rehabilitation when he broke up with the surgeon), but sex is sex. I felt sad because if it were indeed true that Halili was in love, then she really was taken advantage of. What I don’t believe is that Kho taped the session for posterity. Taking pictures of your kid ice skating in Mall of Asia is a reason to keep it in the album. Having your illicit tryst on video is not something to show the kids, much less anyone. It just goes to show how monstrous (and somewhat kinky) Kho is.

I mean, if you don’t want anyone seeing you make a fool of yourself, don’t take photos. Don’t take a video. I’ve had some crazy shots where I was doing stuff I wouldn’t show my mom but I made sure to erase it. In fact, I got down on my knees and thanked the high heavens when I found out I could untag myself in Facebook. Sometimes I have those shots taken to see how I would look and I must admit the idea is kind of cool but for reality’s sake, I instantly delete it. Pictures have a scary way of haunting you when you least expect it. I mean, I don’t want pictures of me doing body shots with strangers appearing when I have a respectable job flogging people in newspapers.

On the other hand, if Kho were to get me into bed and have it taped, I would cash in on it and make a show called The Simple Life or My New BFF. And this time, I’m not kidding.