Inverse schadenfreude.

Okay, before putting this blog entry off-topic, I’m going to talk about what happened this evening.

There was this CATCH2T10 (that’s Computer Batch 2010) Night going on a couple of hours ago in the university. As my initial mindset, I would’ve chosen not to attend the event since I’m the kind of guy who leaves the premises early. But alas, I was there. I registered to get my COMPARC (Computer Architecture, a course) incentive, which is yet to be known, and I sat at the back of the little theater with my blockmates.

This event has a talent competition (it’s still called PasiCATCHan, right? Paulo said that event is yet to be held) as the first agenda for the evening, and so I silently watched as they perform, sometimes shouting Justin’s (another blockmate) name as he performs with his fellow group members, but I quickly got interested on this group playing for the acoustic category. I actually knew that they were going to perform there, but to all honesty, I haven’t seen or heard them doing it. And for a guy like Paulo, the infamous passive-aggressive joker of their block, it’ll be the first to see or hear him sing (he’s the lead singer of their “band”).

Okay, so he started to sing Everything You Want by Vertical Horizon. The band’s guitar timings were off at times, but all went well. And then he started with One And Only You by Parokya ni Edgar. The first thing he did was to stand up and get a couple of feet worth of microphone cable, so I thought he’ll be going somewhere, probably off the stage.

Few minutes later, he did. He got the flowers, leapt off the stage, and gave it to someone at the front row.

Now, I didn’t know who he gave it to, but then I thought that (a) the person is a girl, and; (b) Paulo apparently likes this person. And then I realized — they named their band The Sneaky Band for a reason. And this was it; very sneaky indeed.

I salute you, Paulo, for this mesmerizing performance, and the rest of the band for going along with your flow. Good luck on putting your efforts further.

Now, what’s the off-topic? First, I think I’ve just felt inverse schadenfreude. If schadenfreude is “being delightful for yourself over someone’s misfortune,” then its inverse would mean “being saddened and frustrasted for yourself over someone’s accomplishment.” Get the point there?

Second, I’ve finally posted some pictures on the Portfolio page. Have a look at them by clicking the thumbnails. So far, I have three of those thumbnails containing images, and I will continue this productivity streak until I am tired of it.

Third, I think I’ve nearly fixed my keyboard (read: piano, except electronic). Of course, with Dad’s help.

10.18

Rare experience from a rare entity.

Birthdays, Events, Food, Movies, Normal • 4 comments

So I went to Gwen’s birthday bash today. Before I actually went there, Kelly, Eda, and Steph got a plan set up for our dramatic entrance, so some of us met at Glorietta’s activity center. This was the plan: Eighteen of us will each enter the restaurant, and we bring with us one orange balloon, with one letter in them. So when we’re done, the balloon lettering should say, “Happy Birthday Gwen!” Yes, even the exclamation point is included.

And so we entered in that restaurant. It was fun basically. Oh, and being the tech-savvy guy that I am, I got my phone out to take some pics. A lot of my blockmates were there, then people from other blocks too, then high school friends. And then… I think she got almost everyone to attend. Nice. Yeah, everyone was happy, talking, laughing, holding hands (sorry, couldn’t stop observing) and stuff. The food was great — I’m a sucker for Chinese food, so I got a second helping, and a full dessert. I didn’t drink champagne, though; it’s not my doing to be an alcoholic at an occasion such as this. There was even a magician! No, not the David Blaine-ish type of magicians, just the simple casual one. It was pretty nice, though. The magician’s got a great audience. Hahaha.

Gwen’s got lots of presents on her birthday. The penguin-shaped cake is the definite attention-grabber, in my opinion. And she’s got a Canon EOS camera! That’ll be my object of materialistic envy for a while, until I see another gadget as cool as that one.

We also got to watch Max Payne after that. It’s been almost a year since I’ve watched a movie in an actual cinema. Quick review: It’s great as an action movie, but it’s not great as a port from a video game. I’ve played the two games, and it’s pretty obvious that they’ve changed some parts, but there’s just something wrong with it. But I love the bullet-speed scenes — I love how the scene becomes silent, and suddenly everything’s in super-slow motion.

So that’s that with my first-time-since-last-year birthday party experience. While I’m fully aware that I skipped three or four crucial debuts and birthday parties this year, but this one was the easiest to attend to because the venue was at the right place at the right time. I mean, with a place I can literally walk to and a time when I can get my ass off the chair, it’s the perfect combination. So thanks, Gwen, for letting myself get off my busy self and watch Max Payne.

A blockmate was spot on when he said that I was a rare entity in such occasions. To be honest, I don’t usually attend to occasions simply because I’m too busy (or lazy, depends on the kind of day). If you want me in a party, it better be near our home, and exactly when every member of the family is outside. So, ’til next year again, I guess.

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Inverse schadenfreude.

Rare experience from a rare entity.