Dispatches by Adrian Conoza

At last, I'm back on this blog. Welcome to Dispatches! R ight away here's my first entry under a new name. I have observed that almost every Saturday has been a bore. That realization hit very deep just this first Saturday of the year 2018. There were only few Saturdays that were fine and satisfying: the Saturdays before Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, the Saturday after a very relieving retreat of our block, and perhaps the Saturdays spent outside the house. Other than those, Saturdays are almost a bore. If it weren't for the remaining school stuff I had to do, Saturdays would likely bore me out.  Sure, it's a good day when there's no job to head to or a class to attend to. But without anything to keep you moving as long as it's not tiresome, Saturdays are almost a bore. Just like last Saturday. Away from computer, the Net If I woke up earlier, Saturday would have been better—I guess. I could have gathered some courage to buy a newspaper ...

I came down from a bus one Wednesday afternoon, arriving in Walter Mart here in Santa Rosa, Laguna right from Manila. As usual, I welcomed the coldness of the small mall, walked on the clean, white-tiled floor, and went right away to my favorite place there—Booksale. I did my usual peeking into the shelves. I started amusing myself with the books at the front (which are mostly Christian literature). I continued with looking into the pocketbooks at the box beside the shelves. Then, I entered inside the stall, towards the books inside a skimpy spot there, where I bent my knees to see the spines of those books piled together at one side. These have been the usual things I do whenever I arrive at Walter—to look into Booksale, to saunter and take a break inside that secondhand bookstore. Even a cashier there has known me for a long time. We usually converse, and at those times—of course—he begins the talking. But at that particular time, he informed me of something that I almost thought of ...

I've been into constant reading since second year, thanks to my so-called sanctuary—a secondhand bookstore with branches at a mall near my house and a mall near my high school campus. My interest for books and literature greatly increased throughout high school. I've discovered prominent authors and brilliant works. I unearthed old books that I consider as treasures. This great inclination made me hunt for more books. I became attracted by the stories and ideas inside the thick and thin stacks of print, bounded by either a thick material or a thin carton. I've been amused whenever I saw a good book that I thought interesting or essential to read. So from time to time, I have purchased many books. These books formed a small library in my room. I've even counted them before, and they amounted to around hundreds. The books I've bought stacked up, and, overtime, are left unread. I've realized lately that I've collected a lot of books, and for years, I haven'...

Author's Note: The post was written before classes started. Due to lack of time, it was posted lately. Cyberspace The Buggles, featuring  Trevor Horn(right) and  Geoff Downes(left). Famous for  "Video  Killed The Radio Star" A part of this summer leave were simple days in the four corners of the house, in the pages of books, and in front of the TV and computer, No, not playing online games of fantasy or war that many adolescents get absorbed to. But I spent those times discovering new music, reading opinion articles, stumbling upon different things, and of course, blogging. I went back to my bookmarked tracks from The Buggles, and I searched for their other songs. Yellow Magic Orchestra, a pioneer  electronic band in Japan. "Firecracker" is their first single. I also uncovered the electronic band from Japan, Yellow Magic Orchestra, and I liked them and their compositions very much. I also listened to OPM bands like Daydream Cycle and Techy Romantics, both a...