1. I want to be friends with writing again

Writing is supposed to be cathartic, even a joy. But for me, it is utter pain. I circle around a phrase like a commercial airplane forced to circle around the city, waiting for the air controller's permission to land.

Why wait for the air controller? Why even bother flying a plane when you can ride on an air balloon. It seems cumbersome, not to mention that it's slow. But it'll get you to where you want to go. (Think Carl and Russell in Up.)

2. Menthol cigarettes, I missed you

Thea, my former colleague in LB, is my procurer of menthol cigarettes of brands I have never tried in my entire life. I ran into her last Friday at Faculty Center and promptly invited her to have coffee. She suggested something better - join her at the FC parking lot while she takes a cigarette break (maybe from the books she borrowed from her professor).

It was the best time to offer me a stick. That puff of Dunhill smoke was so delicious I was stupid enough to let it linger in my mouth. I loved it so much I was unashamed to bum two more sticks from her, while we chatted about teaching, the classes we attend and the uppity fashion sense of that beloved topic we refer to as 'the kids today'.

Fast forward to this afternoon - I saw her again safely ensconced in one of the nooks in front of the Main Library. Again having smokes, but this time Vogue cigarettes. (My vocabulary is limited to DJ Mixx and Capri. I remember gifting myself on my 21st birthday with pack of Capri. I smoked three or four sticks in my dorm room before I suffered a massive headache.) Of course, trust Thea to offer me a stick. Had another one before we headed our separate ways.

3. Literary asides
- I espied Sarge Lacuesta's new book "Flames and Other Stories" at National Bookstore Katipunan yesterday. My heart fell for the utterly sexy cover. And yes, I am a fan. His and Bing Sitoy's fiction. (When I was classmates with Bing in Elmer Ordonez's Novel class back in MA era, I remember our class regaling her with congratulations over her first Palanca win, to which she timidly smiled back.)

- While waiting for the Graduate Studies Office to open at 1 pm in order to give my exam answers for CL 301 (Areas and Methods of Comparative Literature), I killed time by looking at the theses and dissertations crammed at every possible shelf space at the Gonzalo Gonzales Reading Room (where I took my exam). This time, I tried to check out the Creative Writing manuscripts - there were a lot defended over the summer. I checked out the manuscript of Pooching's roommate Anna and read the title story "Inventory." It's about a young woman whose baby died. On the aside, she is an ardent fan of "Ghost Fighter" and found a kindred spirit in her geeky neighbor who offers to buy her entire collection of the anime series' memorabila. I know I'm making this summary too abbreviated, but what I wanted to say was I really liked the story. Yes, the short story had a tone that I've been seeing in quite a lot of the present fiction among the twenty-something Filipino/a writers in English who probably share Anna's profile - workshop veterans, CW majors, literary awardees. But there was something earnest about her writing. I figure there's enough fiction to digest at the reading room. At its 'bureaucratic' form (with all the approval sheets from the various members of a thesis panel).

- I must say, Vlad's picture in this month's Preview "It" list is his most unexpected.

- Fiction read of the moment: none
Academic book read of the moment not related to qualifying exams: none
Magazine subscription read of the moment: none
Blog read of the moment: Chuvaness pa rin