f r e a k o l o g y

FAREWELL VOX~

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 22:26:44 +0800

I am moving my blogging activities over to:

http://mindcon.blogspot.com

... and NO, I am not betraying this place. I was on Blogspot before I came on to Vox and now they have lotsa improvements...

... and YES, I had my moments back here on freakology... many.

... and MAYBE I'll be back here again someday...

... and I will check back here from time to time...

gonna miss y'all...

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7 random things about me

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 23:44:18 +0800

Darling tagged me with this. Can't say no to her tag can I? Here goes. 7 random things about me.

1. I sleepwalk. Sometimes. Happens when I get too tired. Had many funny experiences with it.

2. I'm fussy with food. I only eat certain vegetables that are cooked. I love and prefer fresh vegetables compared to cooked ones.

3. I collect stuff. Exotic stuffs... Dead and living.

4. I love storms. On heavy nights, would sit with the family in the living room facing the window instead of the TV. All the lights switched off. Watching the thunder and downpour outside.

5. I prefer CSI Vegas among the three. Followed by New York and Miami. Miami's chicks rock. But I hate the hero. Horatio sucks.

6. I love UFC and MMA.

7. I like learning things I don't have to know. I hate learning things I have to know.

word.

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Term results

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 13:28:38 +0800

Term results just came out a few minutes ago. One supplementary exam. It sucks to know that I'll have to spend the rest of the holidays studying for a stupid subject. Being in a pissy mood then dad has to add fuel to the fuckin fire by nagging about shit. I gotta suppress what I feel right now and it aint easy. I feel so fucked up. So shitty and pissy. I could kill someone right now and when one just comes talking crap in front of me I could fucking beat the hell out of him right now. But not when his sperm contributed to my existence. In which case, I'd have to sit back and counter attack with my vast vocab. I sound murderously close to a psychopath serial killer. Sorry to disappoint you. I prefer to workout by jogging and weight training to let go of the gas. I usually feel so much better after that and I feel like I can make clearer decisions.

To do list before results:

clear the room
store room roof repair
paint the treehouse
practice for performance
workout twice a day

To do list after results:

study for supplementary exam

Supplementary exams will be on the 20th July. Wish me luck guys...

ps: dear, i'll do your tag later~ *hugs!

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8 reasons to be a teetotaller...

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 16:46:59 +0800

Alcohol

*Excerpt from Men's Health

BRAIN

The blood-brain barrier is a layer of epithelial cells that line the capillaries. Alcohol floats right through this gatekeeper 30 seconds after entering the bloodstream, disrupting nerve-cell communication. This interference boosts your confidence, shortens your attention span, and makes you say stupid things. Four drinks in 1 hour and you have a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.08, the legal limit in most states.

STOMACH

It's the first stop for alcohol, with 20 percent of any drink entering the bloodstream here within 5 minutes by slipping between the stomach's mucus-producing epithelial cells. The fuller your stomach, the slower the squeeze. Alcohol also jumpstarts the production of hydrochloric acid, which can eat through the stomach's protective mucus. That's why chronic boozers suffer from heartburn, inflammation, ulcers, and bleeding.

SMALL INTESTINE

After 20 minutes, the remaining 80 percent of alcohol arrives here and diffuses almost instantly into the blood, thanks to millions of microscopic fingers that carpet the intestinal lining. Alcohol blocks the absorption of water and sodium here, which is why a binge dehydrates you. Chronic imbibing interferes with enzymes that break down carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, thus reducing uptake of vitamins, minerals, and essential amino acids. That's why heavy drinkers are often undernourished.

PENIS

Drink too much in one sitting and you won't be able to think straight below the waist, either. That's because alcohol deadens nerve cells all over the body--the "atten-hut" command gets lost in transit. Also, eight of 10 problem drinkers suffer from chronic erectile dysfunction: A three-drinks-a-day habit causes high blood pressure, restricting bloodflow to the penis, and chronic boozing reduces testosterone production.

HEART

It's true that, in certain cases, moderate doses of alcohol may help keep the heart and its arteries clear--one or two drinks a day raises plaque-scavenging HDL cholesterol, softens artery walls, and makes blood cells less likely to clot. Heavier drinking, however, narrows the blood vessels and raises blood pressure, forcing the heart to pump harder. It also can short-circuit the electrical signals, causing an arrhythmia. Ultimately, alcohol abuse damages heart muscle, causing it to pump less efficiently. This can lead to heart failure.

LIVER

It eventually breaks down 90 percent of blood alcohol, starting to scrub within 10 minutes of your first sip. Blood absorbs alcohol much faster than the liver can eliminate it, which is why it takes an hour for the effects of each drink to wear off. Heavy drinking creates excess free radicals and collagen, a building block of scar tissue. Both crowd out or kill off healthy liver cells.

LUNGS

About 5 percent of blood alcohol quickly diffuses into the air sacs (alveoli) of the lungs. The alveoli warm the liquid alcohol, turning it into a vapor that's exhaled--which is how Breath- alyzers measure blood-alcohol levels. Long-term alcohol abuse depletes an important antioxidant in the lungs, leaving them vulnerable to permanent, life-threatening damage from pneumonia, sepsis, and other infections.

KIDNEYS

Five percent of blood alcohol is eliminated by the kidneys through urine. No, it's not your imagination: More liquid comes out than you put in. Why? Alcohol blocks the release of the hormone vasopressin, which normally stimulates the kidneys to conserve fluid and concentrate urine. Without it, urine becomes diluted with water. Average time from first sip to gotta-go: 20 minutes. If you chronically upset your fluid balance, waste isn't removed from your body as quickly. The result: Your body's healthy cells get a helping of junk along with every important nutrient. This leads to high blood pressure, liver damage, and kidney failure.

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FFF!

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 16:08:52 +0800

000-va_-_asian_chill-3cd-2006-(cover)-psycznp

Another compilation of chillouts that sets me in a trance-like state. I bet with the help of a lil pot, they'll be the best tunes in the world. Very oriental and very natural. I loved them and they've always been what I turned to when I'm just out of things to listen to on Winamp.

By the way, I prefer Winamp to Windows Media Player or Itunes simply because they have features that I like. The enqueue feature rocks, and theres this lyrics plugin thingy I installed last year. Coolness...

These past couple of days has been refreshing in so many ways. Both physically and emotionally. First of July was Dear's birthday. I decided to come up with a multi stage act of love called Projekt Manikure. Not gonna go into the details of Projekt Manikure but the project was perfect except for a couple unavoidable setbacks. Anyway, it really was the thought that mattered and I really wanted to make her happy in any way I can... I happen to be madly in love with her you see...

DSC00234

Went to Lambir National Park on Friday. The plan was to go on a roadtrip to the Tattoo Convention in Sibu but time constraint kept us from goin there so we decided to check out the second waterfall in Lambir. It's a 1.2 kilometer hike up and down hills. Nature trails are just too sweet to let go. Here's a butterfly shadow... it was superbly coloured and this shot really does not reflect the beauty. But it is quite a nice shot. Taken from the opposite side of the sun...

Some random shots of the view. Graffiti even in the forest? Some people just cant take their fuckin hands off mother nature. Stumbled across many other graffitis. Sluggy squishy hairy caterpillar...

DSC00245

Some pictures are just too good to minimize and mix with the rest. The organization of these ants are just freakily cool! There are soldier ants all along the line and they form the wall of the path for the worker ants. It was really cool to see that they worked so damn hard. Encountered like around five of these highways crossing our paths. I'm sure there are more... Might have squished some of them... *gulp*

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Darling taking pics with her birthday present from her parents! A brand new digicam! Something tells me she's gonna spend a lot of quality time with her newfound baby!

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The reason.

==========================================

Been busy with so many things lately. Had to take over Aylwin's duties as President for Student Council and a lot of things have to be done. Never knew that he'd have to do so many things. Might as well take a break from studies to do the job. Anyway, training has been f*cked too. Mental fatigue has taken its toll really badly and I wake up overslept everyday. Started going back to karate training as well. That's practically the only training I'm doing. Gotta burst the bubble and push it again. Tomorrow.

Meanwhile, darling has been inspiring me to create many recipes. I was partially inspired by a chocolate fudge back when I was a kid. It was the most... orgasmic feeling I had then! In the search for that particular fudge, I modified a bit of darling's brownie recipe and came up with a dark chocolate brownie. A little healthier than the original recipe as I cut down the sugar in the recipe and flaxseed was in it too. Will try to create a fudgy brownie again soon. I love cooking food I love. In fact I already have the recipe in mind I'm gonna call it Fuckin Fudge Fuck!

Here it goes:

Fuckin Fudge Fuck

Ingredients:

- 2 cups milk

- 1 block Cooking Chocolate

- 4 tbsp Condensed Milk

- 2 tbsp Honey

- 1 tbsp Vanilla extract

- 100 gm Almond flakes

- 150 gm cookies (preferably Famous Amos Choc Chips or Butterscotch)

- 2 tbsp flaxseed

- 600 ml Cream (1 packet)

Method:

1. Crush cookies and mix with almond flakes and flaxseed.

2. Heat the milk over very low fire. Add in the cooking chocolate, condensed milk, honey, and vanilla extract.

3. Mix the chocolate mixture with the cream.

4. Mix them all with the cookies till perfectly mixed. Place in a baking pan.

5. Put in freezer for 2 hours. Move to fridge to keep chilled. Mixture should not be hardened.

6. Dig in with a spoon!

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Freak Tumor

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Tue, 26 Jun 2007 13:43:48 +0800

00_va_-_chillout_ibiza_the_balearic_edition-2007-mod

Got my hands on Chillout Ibiza. Am into chillout tunes. Story goes like this. We had access to a London radio station (Capital FM) but like a couple years back the subscription was cancelled by plenty of reasons that I never really gave a damn about. They played chillout tunes every morning and it caught me. Since then I've been hunting the tunes down and 'meditating' to them while doin my stuff.

I just find tranquility in the songs. Being an audiophile, I tend to place genres into my mood slots. Chillouts seem to be able to fit into most of them with ease. A lil review on Chillout Ibiza. The songs are not as natural as I would've expected them to be. Unlike the Buddha Bars or Asian ones, this one's a lil 'Ibizaetic' and has electronic synth in it. Still, it ain't so bad and I'd give it a 4 out of 5 under my own genre of "Electronic Chillout".

Anyway, to the story of my life. Life has been great so far. Been pulling through with many things to keep my mind occupied and been thinking so much lately. The myriad of thoughts is taking its toll and training seems to be the only way to keep them off my mind. Questions that need answers and answers that need questions. It all may seem stupid but my life's been a tangled mess no one would believe in either. Ever had that crazy thought that we might be alone in the world? And death. No one would be there to watch over our backs and if we die, it'd just be a big giant fullstop. The promise of heaven and hell is just there to give us a hopeful and happy death when we're alive. The hope that there's something in store for you when you shut down eternally. The thought of meeting god in all his greatness when we have played our parts on earth. I personally think that god is an image created in the likeness of man. To quote Karl Marx "religion is the opiate for the masses". ("Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, and the soul of soulless conditionst. It is the opium of the people".) My beliefs clash with that of the social norm. I see religion as a public expression of morally correct ethics. Praying is a schedule that need not be followed and when you need that extra boost of hope from the chaotic pulldowns, you turn to the hopeless act of praying.

Looking forward to the things in life can be depressing. I've been there many times. Yet I never stopped looking forward. Maybe I love the pain and depression that comes when the hope collapses. Maybe that's what churns my life. The life built upon the foundation of broken dreams and depression. Being emotionless has it tolls. You keep everything to yourself and never let anyone break that trance-like depression state you're in. Breaking it would mean breaking you. How ironic can it be? It's like a freak tumor. To stay alive, I gotta hold on to that tumor and to remove it would mean the death of me but keeping it would bring the same consequence.

I've told people around me that I plan to live life from day to day without worries. Honestly, that's a big lump of bullshit. Would you ever drive on a road to nowhere without anticipating what the end of the road has in store for you? No matter where it ends, you'd still have to worry about fuel and condition of the car. You are the car. Your fuel is your hope. Going nowhere drains your hope. With all hope drained, you'll be broken.

I love movies. They show you the great things in life that don't happen very often. Especially the part where the dying hero telling his loved one that he loves her right before he breathes his last. Sure. All this motivates us to have a loved one. But letting them know that they are loved is the other problem. Walk out the front door and get hit by a truck to a near death point with every bone in your body broken. With no one around you but the fugly truck driver, be my guest and tell him to "tell Laura I love her". The point is that life ain't a fuckin fairytale. The things that flash before our eyes before we reach the giant full stop ain't the things we've done in our lives but the things we didn't do in our lives. What we could've done...

While my whole post might seem to revolve around death, I never planned to talk about it. It was more about the regrets in life. If one ever regrets making a decision in their life, it's never too late to take it back...

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QotD: Do Not Want (To Eat)

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 15:00:51 +0800

What do you absolutely refuse to eat?

Pnc

nuff said...

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Protein PB Balls

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 14:36:58 +0800

* taken from MH March edition but modified to fit local products.

Peanutbutter

Ingredients:

1 bottle Skippy Chunky Peanut Butter (500g)

2 scoops ON 100% Whey Protein

2 tbsp whole flaxseed

2 ripened bananas (thin sliced)

Mix them all up in a bowl and make sure they're evenly spreaded in the mixture. Using a teaspoon, roll them into equal size balls. Place them on a flat pan and freeze them for 4-6 hours before putting them into a container. Keep it frozen. Quick grab high protein snacks. This recipe can make up to 60 peanut butter balls. Delish!

Nutritional info (per ball): 55 calories, 2.5g protein, 4.6g fat.

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Train!

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 23:38:29 +0800

Babulang festival is celebrated by the Bisaya community every year. Harvest festival to be exact. So what happens at this fest? Buffalo race, food, gatherings, more food, traditional carvings, and more food. What happened in this recent one is quite vague as I wasn't present. My parents just happened to keep the pictures in the camera and I accidentally came across them. Compilation of family oriented pictures aint what I'd call description of the ambience but I managed to pick some out for the Vox album.

Gym Set 01

Just got myself a gym set and plans to train have been kickstarted in a very positive way. I dont need much and I am an iron faithful. All I needed was a simple bench and a couple of irons and I am happy. So many can be achieved going back to basics instead of getting the big bulky machines. Those things limit the range of movement and iron can easily substitute the need for the cabled machines. However, there are some capabilities to what irons can achieve compared to cabled machines especially in training the deltoids, pectorals and the smaller muscle groups. Practicing what I know for my upcoming project. Training has been intense and taxing on the body.

I love it.

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Hittin the books...

nobody@vox.com(Joe Xavier) — Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:37:15 +0800

DSC03406

Exams are back and I'm ever so excited to get it over with. I will be back to VoXing on the 16th. Many plans for after the exams and this time, I will make it a point accomplish my plans!

Wish me luck people~!

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