Two books

Alison Hawthorne Deming. Zoologies. Minnesota: Milkweed Editions, 2014.

I received two books for my birthday (yay!): Zoologies by Alison Hawthorne Deming (above) and For the tempus-fugivites by Christopher Norris (below). The former was given to me by a vegan friend, so I couldn't help but ask him, "Are you trying to convert me?" The latter was given to me by my professor, and I was kind of flattered when he said it was something he could only give to a few people, since theory is hardly accessible, more so when argued in verse.

Dove right away into Norris's world of verse-essays. He offered a lucid introduction to his project and also reminded me that poetry is not just lyric poetry.

Christopher Norris. For the tempus-fugitives. Manila: De La Salle University Publishing House, 2017.

Some underlined bits from the preface:

As hardly needs saying there has to be a constant interplay or tension between meter and natural speech-rhythms such that the two never perfectly coincide but set up an asynchronous counterpoint that again helps to stimulate ear and mind. (p viii)

*
[Norris paraphrasing Giorgio Agamben] Poetry just is, or is most essentially, language of the kind where syntax and meter fail to coincide. (p ix)

*

[This time referencing to William Empson] The language of poetry is continuous with — and not in some prescriptive way cut off from — the language of our various non-poetic speech-acts and thought-processes. (p xvi)

At the mental gymnasium.

Woman Worldwide indeed

Happy birthday still to me! Collected my 'Woman' sand t-shirt today.

I was so ready to order this shirt the moment I found it on Club 75 last year and to my great dismay, the online store wouldn't ship to the Philippines (wrote them a heartfelt letter questioning this unfortunateness).

See, I'm charmed by the understated design, the neutral color and the heavy word printed across the chest. It doesn't scream fangirl; instead it can be construed as a feminist performative — kidding, we're not going there. Thank heavens Justice has decided to sell their merch in their own website, but the better news is that they realize that they have fans even this side of the world.

Am really happy with the purchase and with Sandbag UK, the merchandise company handling the band's e-commerce campaign. They deliver fast and respond to queries with a personal touch. Five stars, two thumbs up.

A post shared by JUSTICE (@etjusticepourtous) on Feb 14, 2018 at 9:14am PST

Although, also — I was a little sad and a little relieved that the exclusive Justice x Levi's limited edition trucker jacket had sold out 24 hours since its release. Sad because I wanted it so bad, relieved because the universe helped me save money. But of course, when they re-stock, and they said they will, I have a feeling that I'd hit 'check out' in no time.

Heart's desire

My 35th birthday falls on a Saturday falls on a school day. I didn't want to simply attend my classes then go home — as much as I wanted to sleep after cramming an essay — so I invited Mich and Alts to dinner right after.

By some strange chance, or simply my skills in finding connections where there should be none, we briefly talked about Lacan's "Desire is the the desire of the Other" in Theory class. Now that I think about it, the discussion was born out of a question I raised. A proper signpost for what was about to happen:

On the car ride going to the restaurant, Althea asked me what my birthday wish was. The answer was delayed until we had dessert, where the ladies brought me a chocolate cake with a candle that doesn't blow out.

I know what I want, but when you're an adult, a wish is a promise. A declaration of desire is a pledge. I wish for cash; I must put in some work. I wish for love; I must forgive. I must forego pride. I must wake up early and finish what I started.

The answer is still delayed.