Ascension Plan - Cleargelnotes

[X] - Hardcore Turtle Tamer - (Permed: Tao of the Terapin)
[X] - Hardcore Turtle Tamer - (Permed: Amphibian Sympathy)
[X] - Hardcore Turtle Tamer - (Permed: Empathy of the Newt)
[X] - Hardcore Turtle Tamer - (Permed: Hero of the Half-Shell)
[X] - Hardcore Pastamancer - (Permed: Leash of the Linguini)
[X] - Hardcore Pastamancer - (Permed: Transcendental Noodlecraft)
[X] - Hardcore Pastamancer - (Permed: Pastamastery)
[X] - Hardcore Sauceror - (Permed: Expert Panhandling)
[ ] - Hardcore Sauceror - (To be permed: The Way of the Sauce)
[X] - Hardcore Sauceror - (Permed: Elemental Saucesphere)
[X] - Hardcore Sauceror - (Permed: Advanced Saucecrafting)
[!] - Bad Moon Disco Bandit - (To be permed: Mad Looting Skillz)
[ ] - Hardcore Disco Bandit - (To be permed: Nimble Fingers)
[ ] - Hardcore Disco Bandit - (To be permed: Advanced Cocktailcrafting)
[ ] - Hardcore Disco Bandit - (To be permed: Superhuman Cocktailcrafting)
[ ] - Hardcore Disco Bandit - (To be permed: Overdeveloped Sense of Self-Preservation)
[X] - Hardcore Disco Bandit - (Permed: Ambidextrous Funkslinging)
[ ] - Hardcore Accordion Thief - (To be permed: The Moxious Madrigal)
[ ] - Hardcore Seal Clubber - (To be permed: Double-Fisted Skull Smashing)
[ ] - Hardcore Seal Clubber - (To be permed: Pulverize)

The Promise

wisdom, the man embraced
as mars and jupiter raced
across the ocean of lights

wrinkles, on his face traced
sitting on a bench, feeding
white doves, he watches them peck
on little crumbs he placed on the floor

a dove sits on his lap
looking for more, i guess
he smiles, brushing the doves head

he remembers four words
said to him, never keeping them
out of his thoughts

looking forward, the man squints
to make out the shape
walking towards him

slowly he stands
slowly his smile widens
slowly his eyes open

Quotable quote

"Second place is 1st place loser." - Sir Quiwa

1 week ago

One week ago, we all had our share
of laughs, excites, panics, and scares.
For in Cebu, we all did compete
to be the best programming athlete.
We hailed from the place called UP Diliman
(bordered by the Commonwealth and Katipunan).
We were twenty people as a whole;
six teams, two coaches, and a lot of soul
whose goal was to fight and to be the best
in the ACM ICPC Philippines contest.

We had our grueling practice session
right before they served our luncheon.
The only thing I can say about the practice
is that the judge seemed full of mysteries.
We asked about the issues we found
but got answers as clear as muddy ground.
After the lunch (which was great, by the way),
we waited for a long time in the hallway
before they told us to go to the rooms
because the contest is starting soon.

For the longest time, we had to endure
an endless log-in-log-out overture.
Seems like some teams were not followers
of the directions from the organizers.
Anyway, after 30 minutes or so,
I felt my bladder was gonna explode.
So I went to the urinals, released my pee,
returned to the room hurriedly
because, to my surprise, the contest began
while I was outside (oh man, oh man).

As I got to my seat, I picked up the paper,
looked for the easy ones (hard ones for later)
Marte was already coding, I think problem B
while Kevinsky was saying C is also easy.
I read problem D (shucks, full of text)
so I immediately shifted to E (the next)
which was a math problem, thank goodness.
I found the formula, then proceeded to the rest.
Meanwhile Marte has submitted B, and was waiting
only to receive an RE (What the hell's happening??)

'Imposibleng runtime error!', Marte exclaimed
while showing us the code, he explained.
Anyway, we continued on and coded
eventually the problem B was accepted
and so did C and also problem E
so we decided to look at the final three.
Marte coded F, I reread problem D.
I and Sky realized D was also very easy
so after Marte coded F, and proceeded to A
I coded D, with Sky helping along the way.

Eventually, all our solutions were accepted
and with a final "Yes!", we finally rested.
We three went outside and drank a cup of coffee
(or in my case, a single bottle of iced tea).
We were the first team to finish this battle of wits.
Our second team followed after a few minutes.

I

AM
TIRED
>_<

what is a smile?

A smile is a field of sunflowers
dancing beneath the morning skies.
A smile is a tainted wall of sin
that borders truths from spiteful lies.
A smile is a warm, thoughtful embrace
when the world's frozen all over
A smile is a traitor's bladed knife
that stabs you while under cover.

melancholic rainy days

The heavens sob as I
peer outside from my window.
The sound of teardrops falling
sounds like a beat from a beaten up drum.
For whom does the heavens cry? I wonder,
as I gaze upon the rivers
of our neighbors' rooftop.
I wish I could be there
to comfort the sky, and bring back
the smiling morning star.