urgh, it's cancer!

i can't let it go. forever. the music. the guys. the license. to speak. read on this entry to see what has become of poch from dicta license.

i got it from http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2008/apr/13/yehey/weekend/20080413week2.html

Sunday, April 13, 2008

THE FILIPINO CHAMPION

The lyricist is now a lawyer

Musician Pochoy Labog talks about his new journey as an attorney

By Angelique P. Manalad WE first saw him as the front man and main composer of the band Dicta License churning out songs laced with nationalistic lyrics. Now that the group disbanded, 26-year-old musician Pochoy Labog gears up to embark into a new career as a lawyer after passing the grueling Bar examination. With this new conquest, Labog is off to prove that “he can rock” not only as a singer but as a lawyer as well. Labog, who had his eyes set on going to law school in high school, took up Philosophy at the Ateneo de Manila University to prepare himself for the goal. “I was really argumentative even when I was younger and I look up to my grandfather, Eligio Labog, who is probably one of the best lawyers Isabela had ever produced,” he narrates with nostalgia. The whole family fully approves of his plans of studying law. While attending law school, Labog has proven his mettle as a musician when his band Dicta License managed to release its first album Paghilom in 2006. It was also during this time that he enthusiastically participated in the activities of Gawad Kalinga and RockEd, two organizations known for their effort in uplifting the condition and consciousness of the Filipino youth. It’s a tough act then balancing his busy studies with his band’s gigs, he admits. The set up was further complicated by the fact that two of his band mates, Boogie Romero and Kelly Mangahas were also having problems dividing their time performing in Dicta License and Kjwan, another band. When the situation became unbearable, the group finally disbanded, leaving Labog all focused on his studies. For Labog, passing the Bar exam means he will be able to work as a lawyer in the field he’s been eyeing for so long—the patenting of intellectual properties that encompasses music, art and inventions. Though exited for his new line of work, Labog refuses to say that music has taken the backseat in his life. “Music is my main passion, it will always be there,” he stresses. Labog explains that besides music, he enjoys practicing law and is happy being paid doing what he loves. “It’s where I want to be,” he intones. Labog relates that he once thought of entering politics but decided against it after pondering that the idea of “selling yourself” is simply out of his character. “Maybe if I suddenly get appointed, why not?” He cajoles. Despite the discouraging situation in the country, Labog believes that there is hope. “There should always be hope for if there’s none then everything’s just dead. There’s no need to point finger to anyone. Like what I’ve written in one of my songs, ‘Mas matalas and dila pag may bisig.’ We just have to be responsible as citizens and try to get across the barriers of social class. It must be a conscious effort for each Filipino, every little act counts,” he admonishes, adding, “What’s wrong with people, not just Filipinos is that we tend to force things to happen even if we sense that divine will is against it. We forget that it’s always God who’s in control.” With such a comment, Labog makes a clarification, “I am not a religious man though I am spiritual. I have a good relationship with God and that’s what matters.” Labog expresses his desire to come back to the music industry but emphasizes that the timing has to be right. He strongly believes that music is a very powerful tool to espouse hope and peace in our nation. Labog is also proud of the fact that the Filipino artist is at par with his foreign counterparts. For now, the musician turned lawyer is confident that he would be able to straddle himself between the two careers in due time. As a parting shot, he encourages everyone to just pursue his or her passion, “I’ve read these lines somewhere and I believe in them: ‘Don’t ask yourself what the world needs, instead ask yourself what makes you come alive and do that. Because what the world needs are people who come alive.’ [- A quote from the late theologian and civil rights leader Howard Thurman, who was also a contemporary of the late US President Kennedy who famously said, ‘Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country.’-Editor]” Before, Labog tries to instill positive change with his songs but now; the arena where he moves is a little different. “I’m not perfect but will do my best to do my part. It has to start with your own self. One thing is for sure though, I wouldn’t be a traditional lawyer,” he concludes.

so there. i so miss them.

aright, this summer wreaks. bigtime. bitch.

here's the everyday senario. no maid. summer classes. freaking inconsiderate siblings. homework. and many more. 6:30 i wake up and get ready for school and both my sisters are still snoring their asses in dreamland. i take a bath, brush my teeth yada yada. yeah, no breakfast. i think it's good for people who wanna lose some weight. (yeah, i'm trying this time i guess but ssshh, don't tell no one.) so i leave at around 7:30 for school. an hour and a half torture commuting time to ateneo. f.ck. and this heat! mother-eff!

when i get to school, i'm already sweating buckets and i have to go straight to the wash room to freshen up before my first class--- 9:00am fil 14. urgh. my fil's fine-- i enjoy sometimes, most of the time i'm just doodling and trying to look awake. and then i get a relatively long lunch break from 10:30-12:00 which i don't normally use for lunch but "nerd party" well not really but i do read lessons and do school stuff when i'm bored and not sleepy. meanwhile, my sisters go get someone to deliver their food--- mcdo, kfc, jollibee, greenwich take your pick. i don't do lunch because i uh, am, "tinatamad".

after luch hour, i get to math12 class which i am attentive to most of the time but still gives me all the nerve-rack i could have come quizzes and long tests. anyway, i think i like that class though. it's not as boring and as hard as any yet. at home, my sisters are sleeping again. (i'm so sure, shut up!) in an air conditioned room, with chips and drinks, tv and music. dammit. i go next to sa 21 class and it is bohoreheng. i can't tell yet whether i should be terrified of my teacher, she hasn't given any exams yet. but so far, she talks and talks and talks the whole period. yuhuh, i'm having fun, not!

classes finally end at 3pm and my job now is to worry about what i am left to do for tomorrow (same subjects. same teachers. same schedule. same everything.) so if i have sorted the stuff to do, i sit in a corner at matteo ricci and start some homework and instead of really finishing the things i have to get done, my sisters interupt--- "let's jog" wee, after a day of torture heat coupled with homework, the best thing to relieve pain is to run in circles to gather more bucketd of sweat! amazing. oh for the love of god, kill me already. i can't say no to my sisters because i can barely see them during the day. and night. so there. i go home (with the same fuckin' commuting thing) change to jogging clothes and go jog my aching feet and back out. surprise! we finish late around 7:30 most of the time. the moment i get back home, i can barely reach my notebooks for my homework. but if i really got to, i rest a while and then start reading and writing again.

that's really not all, here's more. when i get home, i see the same cup and utensils they've used for breakfast for me to wash. mother freakin' god! thanks a lot for your kindness and consideration. it may be a good thing that they had lunch delivered or else i would be washing their plates as well. i hate it! they stay home to sleep, eat, watch dvds, realx have a bitchin' time and i still get to the chores. no one swept the grimmy floor, they've managed to use up all the glasses and spoons and they are all in the sink, and stain the placemats with gravy, soy sauce and whatnot. maderpaker! no one took out the trash, i have to do it!

one time, i took out the trash and the neighbor's cat thrashed everything and they blame me for it, told me to fix it and leave it there again. p.tang.ina. here's my sister's argument, "bat mo kasi nilabas? pwede namang itali mo nalang yung supot at iwan dito sa loob ah." it's my fault that i took out the trash because it's gonna stink the house up? she told me to fix it while i was watching something because i really barely watch anything and i responded, "teka lang" and after a few minutes she was angry again because i didn't do it immediately. ay sorry na! di niyo kasi ako tinutulungan e. i wish i could have said that to her. and this, nanay kasi ako no? nanay mo ako no? katulong pa? ano? f.ck.

another incident that ticked me off was the 2 days ago around 8pm and she fell asleep on the couch. i took the internet cable and she woke up and told me not to take it up to my room (because she wants me to take out my laptop so she gets access to the net when i'm done so she does not have to use her computer. ass.) so i took out my laptop out of my room instead of taking the internet cable in my room( she fell asleep again) when i was done, i took out the net connection, went in my room with my computer and then i realized that i forgot to charge my ipod so i went out and took the ipod connector. after around 15 minutes, she woke up and looked for it. i said it was with me because i was charging, and then she goes, "i have to transfer my songs to my ipod, why didn't you charge a while ago?" oh my god! you loser! can't i forget stuff? you know because i have more that a dozen responsibilities in this household? i had to give it to her without one more word because i didn't want another senseless riot.

one last computer incident is when i was using the net because i had to be online for my groupmates in fil and she knows it. all of a sudden she goes, "ang tagal naman! ako muna. mag-sign out ka na. hayaan mo sila." what the fuck? mother crapper! i was there first, i can use it as long as i want and she knows it's for productive reasons that i'm taking so long. i hate it!

and the money! this is the last fuckin' expression of my anger for this blog i think. i hope. everytime 3pm comes, i get messages of "buy this, buy that" shit. i fuckin' hate it. i. am. in. school. i. have. photocopies. to. pay. for. i need. to. drink. in. school. who doesn't understand that? anyone? oh yeah my siblings! my mom gives me money for me and gives them money for them. why grapple with my resources? i pay deliveries when i'm at home and i gave 500 for something one time, and i was surprised that nothing came back to me, considering they weren't able to spend it supposedly because there wasn't change for it the first time. when i came to the maid to ask, "ate, di ba hindi naman nagamit yun kasi walang barya, asan na?" and she goes, "yun yung sinabi ni ate mong ipamalengke daw." holy cow! i ran out of curse words to express myself! what the hell?

where's the consideration? where's the give me a damn thing? this is just awesome. imma be like this the whole damn summer. i know. these things i leave in this blog for memories sake, maybe i'll laugh about them someday. please. i wont be so verbal about it nor will i think of it often. if they are so, then so be it. them. whatever.

p.s. they've finished all the dvds at home! i haven't even gone through any of them! and they keep telling me what's gonna happern! spoilers! losers! party poopers! lameasses. jackasses. asses. assholes. argh!

yo!

here's a quick blog to let you know i'm still alive. i am barely in the house, i can barely think with this heat and my work load never gets light.

oh and yeah, i have classes hours from now and i have a long test in my first class. god, help. anyway, i'm nervous really, but i'm not reviewing too hard because i really can't put my finger as to how the test is gonna be like. so i'm nervous really as hell and i just wish i don't piss my pants during the exam. please god.

it's all about bugtong, salawikain, tanaga, alamat, kwentong bayan, epiko. shiyat. to calm myself down, i'll post a random picture. haha.that's jhoon. i kinda like his old photos better. or not. i really can't tell. but this one's one o' the best--- on drums, in an ateneo shirt, cool cap and jhoon. :)

now i'm happy.

summer classes. part 2: math and sa

math is good. well it's fine. let's just leave it at that 'kay? i got sir bugs because i think i understand the way he teaches and i already know him from a sem ago. and with the pace that we're in and the lessons he's gone through so far, i think i'm getting the hang of it. my last sem math grade with miss stupidass teacher was a C+. nah, i expected lower so i guess that's fine. also. but you know i think i could have done better. on to the math class this summer, it's my last math class. whew. for now i think i might have escaped math for some time after this last one. i am so praying that i get a better grade for this one, please god. i want it badly because i might want to get to another school. mom insists. but that's another story. :)

the last subject is sa. that's sociology and anthropology. every atenean needs it, so they say. darn. it's the second most boring subject. fil is the first. harhar. we have a temporary teacher. she's funny and crappy at the same time. i think she speaks of what she doesn't know half of the time but i don't wanna conclude to that. maybe i'd even like her better that the original teacher because i might actually like her already. until the next teacher arrives, i'll leave that thought hanging. the class room is just freakin' hot and crowded. yeah, it's in berchman folks. dang.

anyway, i think that's about it for this entry. i gots classes. yep, i'm at matteo ricci surfing. i think now it's a good place; they have great internet connection.

p.s. i'll post about my short extended summer vacation next time. urgh. xiao.
p.p.s. i miss jhoon and marc and jor and kel and boogie. and mong. :(

summer classes. part 1: fil14

no seriously. i gots required subjects. i know, bummer but i also have no choice. feck. 3 subjects for one freakin' month or so. i've gone through my first one today and it was just the bowringgest ever. filipino 14 is just a crazy subject for a 9am slot. i'm sleepy and it just pushes it to my face. this summer classes have got to go! it's effing eating all my time and effort. aint ordinary school days enough to burn torture on school kids' faces yet?

sure i had a cool time today in fil class. okay not cool, boring but sufferable. i can't judge the teacher yet because it's too soon i think. but generally i'm good with it. i may have met a few people i need to work with althroughout the course and i guess they're okay.

i really feel bad because i have a lot o' things i want to write about here but i just don't have the time anymore. and now i've forgotten most of them. damn. i can't keep up a frekken' blog site because of the stupid classes. shit. i guess it's my first time to have such so i'm really bummed as hell. i can't believe they deprive students from the fun of summer. screw you schools. screw you teachers. screw you classes. screw you subjects. aarrgghh. this is nothing more than a headache entry. i'm starting and i'm already crappy. fart!


so there. it's an okay first part-- fil 14 but i still hate summer in school! screw you all! fuck.