Posted by Podi on Jul 9, '08 12:46 PM for everyone
In other, lighter news, it's that time once again, gentlemen, and very few ladies! The Bunniez are giving away rescued kittens! Originally there were three, but Edi already has a loving home, so two more are awaiting their turn:
(From Hono'o-chan's bloggie.) We have three (Pii: well, two now) half-Tonkinese kittens. Their mother is a purebred Tonkinese queen, and they are the result of an unplanned breeding. The owner had wanted their mom to be bred with a Tonk tom. In order for the mother to come into heat quicker, it was decreed that the kittens be disposed of.
Luckily, her nephew was able to convince her to keep the kittens until they were two months old and almost ready to leave the mother. Since then, we have raised them the rest of the way, and are happy to say that they are now fully weaned, litter-trained, kibble-eating kittens ready to be taken into homes where they can share their love and affection.
Here they are!
First, we have Smarmy (sorry, they came to us named). She’s a full gray tabby with gray eyes. She’s very adventurous and very affectionate. Of all the kittens, she’s the most adjusted one, never bolting at loud noises and always the first to investigate something new.
She’s adept at entertaining herself, so even if she’s left alone for long periods of time, she doesn’t get upset or destructive. We found this out the hard way when she snuck into the guest room and got trapped there for almost six hours while we drove ourselves nuts looking for her. She would do equally well in a house with children, other cats and kittens, and maybe even a cat-friendly dog, or in a home where there’s only her and her human.
Next we have Zen. (Pii: He's the one in the middle. Smarmy's on the right, and the other one is Edi.) Zen’s white with spots of gray, most of which in on his tail and face. The most vocal of the litter, he’s not as cuddly as the other kittens, but he’s willing to be picked up and cooed over. He’s always the first at the door with the big cats to greet people, and he’s the most likely to come find you when he needs a warm lap to nap on. He’s never far away from his people, and would probably do best in a house where he’ll get lots of petting. Smarmy likes sitting on the art table, where he has access to the human using the computer and a good view of the outside world thru the living room window. The human can’t reach him unless he lets her (and besides, the spot right beside the computer belongs to one of the big cats), and that’s exactly how he wants it. How he learned that he can actually climb up the legs of the art table is beyond us, though. He’s the only one that does it.
All kittens are healthy, have beautiful markings and appear to have large feet, exhibiting the potential of growing into the size common for their mother’s breed. Neither has ever shown of aggression towards other cats, children, or furniture.
We hope to give them away soon, while they are at their most adaptable. Please feel free to spread the message far and wide that [two] adorable, wonderful kittens are looking for homes.
Thank you, and may the universe bless you and yours!!!
Posted by Podi on Jul 9, '08 12:07 PM for everyone
Gacked this from steady_lang. One of the more interesting memes around. I'm tagging anyone and everyone who reads this!
Go here. The first random Wikipedia article you get is the name of your band.
Go here. The last four words of the very last quote of the page is the title of your first album.
If you want to do this again, you'll hit refresh to generate new quotes, because clicking the quotes link again will just give you the same quotes over and over again.
Go here. Third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover.
Go here. The first ten links you end up in (minus the .coms) are your 10 song titles.
This week's theme seems to be "Things Getting Progressively Weirder." Both Hono'o-chan and my boss, Ms. Grace, noticed it. The week kicked off in a relatively normal fashion last Monday. Ms. Grace and I attended this Recruitment event thing at Shangri-La Makati in the afternoon, which was more of an excuse to leave the office early.
Tuesday and maybe three-quarters of Wednesday happened to pass by smoothly, but come Thursday morning, Ms. Grace told us that someone tried to break into their home in Cubao in the middle of the night. They heard a crash and dogs barking, and fortunately, somebody got up in time so no one was hurt. They didn't see who the culprit was, however, so they weren't able to do much.
Clearly I was mistaken, thinking that was the end of that. Friday early morning, around 4:00am at the Boni house, Hono'o-chan woke me up in a panic. Someone threw a rock into their room, shattering the glass windows. Good thing Hono'o-chan was napping downstairs when it happened. It could have been done for whatever reason -- I couldn't care less, to be honest -- but it was just plain moronic. Considering the kind of people residing behind the compound, how can anyone be surprised, really? You know... the kind of neighborhood where people are almost always drunk (or at least, people who sound like they are), where jologs hip-hop music is constantly blaring from speakers at most hours of the day -- and most hours of the night -- people who your mother make you stay away from.
Honestly, there are a lot of things I want to say, but I'm afraid I might sound more judgmental than I already am, and towards people whom I don't really know. Pero pucha naman kasi. Ibang level na 'to eh. Kung sabihin kong mag-isip naman sana sila, I hope no one takes it against me.
Sigh, anyway, about the only thing we can do that morning was take pictures, so take pictures we did:
The view of the room. That's the rock at the foot of the bed, the glass shard, and bits of glasses on the floor.
One evil-looking shard of glass.
A disturbing image. That's the side where Hono'o-chan usually sleeps! Also, what if it were a child!
Posted by Podi on Jun 26, '08 10:48 AM for everyone
If you see a tall, jumpy guy in Greenhills at about, say, 3pm or 4pm tomorrow, handing out flyers and talking to Muslim store-owners if they can speak Arabic and if they would like to pursue an exciting career in the call center industry, it's probably either me or my officemate, J.
Feel free to say hi or offer a hug, and maybe an assurance that there is a bright future ahead of me. I won't believe you, but a friendly face and a warm hug will always make me feel better. Throw in a donut if you're feeling especially sympathetic.
Posted by Podi on Jun 23, '08 12:14 PM for everyone
And because things have been moving towards another transition, with changes in our daily routine occurring irregularly, I ended up having lunch with you. Normally it would have been fine. I would not have minded. I would not even have thought of it at all. Today, however, was different.
You were talking as you'd always done, and I was listening, although I hadn't noticed this time I was doing so more intently than I should have. I suppose you can say it was the first time I'd ever heard you actually speak. How lonely you sounded beneath the hollow shell of fantasies you'd built around your soft core. What's even sadder, was that I think you couldn't even hear your inner self talking anymore. I was looking at you, words floating out from your mouth and evaporating into the atmosphere mere centimeters from your skin. Everything -- every lie -- was thin and shapeless and empty.
On one hand I wanted to shout at you, try to break through that phantasm blanketing your person. I wanted to claw at you right then and there, hurt you, stab you with the fork in my left hand. "Can you hear yourself talking?!" But I think even if I shouted at the top of my lungs, you wouldn't -- couldn't -- hear me anyway. The walls you'd built were too thick; your life, too numbingly pristine. I stabbed at the lone slice of pork on my plate instead.
On the other hand, I thought of trying a different approach. I would look at you straight in the eye, and tell you in a voice not unlike the low rustle of trees at midnight how, the contrast apparent from your secure and sheltered lifestyle, I live everyday in constant fear of losing my job. How each minute, I force-feed into my mind the thought that I have to, have to, have to survive without having to rely on anyone for anything. How terribly unjust and uncompromising circumstances can be at the most inconvenient of times, and how I only put up with it just because. I wanted you to hear me, hoping it would be a catalyst for your long-overdue introspection.
I did neither. Instead, I let out a long, heavy exhale. I pushed my plate aside, nodded at some long-drawn opinion you had about something or other, bit my lip, and swallowed hard. I felt a solid, metallic clunk at the pit of my stomach. I'm not having lunch here tomorrow.
Posted by Podi on Jun 17, '08 8:29 AM for everyone
Despite the fact that I had to wake up at 6 in the morning to get to the office early to pick up the check for my cash loan, the day turned out pretty well. Thank the gods for Vacation Leaves. It's a good thing I expected the worst regarding renewing my NBI Clearance. There was a long queue when I got to Park Square Makati at around 11, but it wasn't so bad. Gave me time to finish reading a couple of stories from Haruki Murakami's Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman -- a book that's taken longer than usual for me to finish reading. After the people over at the renewal booth confirmed my squeaky clean record once again, I sauntered over to the bank where I was supposed to have my check encashed -- a couple of blocks from Greenbelt -- and waited about 40 minutes (or another Blind Willow story) to get everything done.
By 1, I was practically free. I was thinking whether I should still report for work, even if it would only count as half a day, or if I should go to the Makati house for a visit instead. I walked around the park along Gamboa, and maybe it was the way the afternoon sun streamed through the trees and the nostalgia it washed me with, but it didn't take long for me to make a decision. I called up my boss and asked her if I could take the rest of the day off.
I stayed at the Makati house for the rest of the afternoon, helping Josh with his homework and teaching him how to write his g's and e's properly. Napped for about an hour until 5, which was when my mother got home. We talked for a bit, then had an early dinner. Left at around 6 with promises of going back on Saturday, then decided to walk around Greenbelt again and browse around Powerbooks first before heading to the Boni house.
Right now I'm resting and doing my dailies online. I have never felt this good in such a long time. I hope the Universe realizes I'm not asking for much. Just more days like this, please, and I will be very grateful.
Outside your window the circus crackles and lurches with rings of smoke. You laugh halfheartedly at the punchline not realizing they've made you the joke. Inside my heart a war is raging in regions still untamed. The worst fear I can imagine is for the mystery to be named.
A Long Slow Slide, Jewel
Sunday afternoon, cats are all sleeping, and the Bunniez are out. I'm in the middle of a long weekend, and no plans have been shaping up as of yet. First two weeks of semi-independence have taken off smoothly, work still keeps people viciously high-strung, but the routinary activity can be somewhat comforting.
In a couple of weeks, I will be in my early late twenties. Probably the most useful philosophy I have learned thus far is to just let everything slide into place, and not resist so much. I think I have said "that's fine with me" often enough these past few years that where I am now has become a sum of benign apathy and pacifism.
I am not particularly sad, nor am I happy; I've found that both emotions have become quite tedious -- sometimes even terribly cumbersome -- that it's better just to settle for a snug, quiet place in the emotional middle.
Anyway, I might be sleeping in a bit. Maybe finish this book I've been reading for a couple of weeks now. Tonight, I might go out for dinner. It's a long, slow slide down, but that's fine with me.
Posted by Podi on May 28, '08 1:38 PM for everyone
So it's my 3rd night with the Bunniez, and, except for the occasional cat hair on my dark-coloured clothes, things have been going really well. My books remain unpacked, as I still do not know where to store them. I'm still sleeping on a small mat and I only have one small pillow, but I've been waking up feeling well-rested, so I don't really mind the minimalist set-up. This weekend, I plan on getting a nice, wide bed, a couple more pillows, a blankie, and a shelf for my books. Hopefully, the room will have a semblance of personality by Sunday.
Also, I might be bringing my computer with me. I originally planned on leaving it at the Makati house since my brother might need it for his thesis this semester, but after five days of being apart, I couldn't bear not having it with me. To be honest, I feel more grounded when I know my computer is nearby.
Right now I'm just posting a quick update while I'm waiting for the kittens to leave my room. They're adorable, and I can't help gushing when I see them -- Smarmy most of all -- but not when they're laying claim on my mat, and at a time when I'm really, really sleepy. I'm trying one tactic now. Leave Kittens Alone. Looks like it's working since I don't hear them in my room anymore. Go me!
In other news, I was in Baguio again last weekend! I have pikachures to narrate the whole misadventure, but I'll reserve that when me and my PC are reunited.
Posted by Podi on May 13, '08 2:20 PM for everyone
"If I've learned anything in life, it is that sometimes things get in your path, and you have a choice: you can either smash right into them; or you can adjust, and move around -- but you have to do one or the other in order to move forward." (Lily van der Woodsen)
While I would like to think that I've done nothing but adjust and move around the labyrinthian events my life has gotten itself mercilessly molded into, I fear I have done more wall-smashing than I am comfortable to admit. To be honest, after the first few times, one finds it surprisingly easier and easier to do. Of course, it does leave a trail of bloody carnage along the way, but there are times we are blinded -- through no fault of our own, some of them -- and we forget, and there is nothing else but the thought of the end justifying every means possible to get out and escape, leading to more guilt and more anger than we started with much further after.
I'm crossing my fingers the Universe lends me enough strength, and end the cycle of smashing here.
Posted by Podi on Apr 30, '08 2:07 PM for everyone
My boss was smiling ear to ear as he approached my workstation. It was unsettling the way it made his usually stern and serious face into something... else.
Two weeks ago, I was talking with a newly-hired person about his pre-employment requirements when my boss opened the door to the meeting room and, with a voice both clear and imposing, he said, "We're getting [Distance Learning applicant whom Program Manager rejected]."
I was stunned. "But [Manager] rejected --"
"We're overriding that decision," and then he shut the door.
Wow, I mouthed. Such power. Such... reiatsu. It made the hair at the back of my neck stand and prickle. I think the new-hire spent a whole minute trying to call me back to the waking world.
So, knowing how much power the person standing on the other side of the cubicle wall has, one has to wonder what could lie behind that person's eerie smile. My mind raced. Because of my stellar performance and working above and beyond the call of duty, I will be given a well-deserved 6-digit raise? Instead of having just weekends off, I can report to work anytime I like?
"Pii... ?"
They suddenly realized I live in Makati and they're giving me a car, AND they're throwing in a cute driver to motivate me to go to work everyday?
"... can you..."
They have seen the light, accepting the error in their ways, and they are scrapping the recruitment effort for Distance Learning? I shifted in my seat uncomfortably and bit my lip to suppress an impending chuckle.
"... report for work tomorrow?"
The chuckle stopped halfway up my throat. "Wh -- cough -- at?" And then, "I mean, what, sir? I mean, sure, OK, sir."
"We need HR coverage during holidays. You know how it is." There's that smile again. Nevermore will I be deceived. "Thanks, Pii."
Posted by Podi on Apr 28, '08 2:45 PM for everyone
Nursing a headache exploding in megatons pretty much incapacitated me last weekend. Except for a Sunday dinner date with a friend at TriNoma and an after-dinner shag with a stranger, I was just stuck here in my room, marathoning Pushing Daisies and gorging on lacatan.
Nothing else of note has happened with my life the past few weeks anyway, so I really didn't mind staying in. Work-related drama doesn't count, unfortunately. Besides, I whine about it enough during the ten-odd hours I spend in the office, I'd really rather not bring the colorful cast of characters of my work-life at home. No, not even the deceitful and artificial countenance of the High Priestess, nor the annoyingly large girth of Shrek could be worth ruminating on the moment I step out of our building. I don't think even the tragicomic exploits of the Metrosexual contain enough material for entertainment value anymore.
That is why I'm glad I stumbled on this interesting Movie Quote Meme from a blog I've recently started stalking. (Segué kung segué. Hehehehe.)
It's a lie. It's a bunch of sad strangers photographed beautifully, and all the glittering assholes who appreciate art say it's beautiful 'cause that's what they wanna see. But the people in the photos are sad, and alone. But the pictures make the world seem beautiful, so the exhibition is reassuring which makes it a lie, and everyone loves a big fat lie.
Come at me. Every inch of me will resist you.
I think my biggest problem is being young and beautiful. It's my biggest problem because I've never been young and beautiful. Oh, I've been beautiful, and God knows I've been young, but never the twain have met.
I live in torture, thinking of these moments. With every look he gives you, I get sicker and sicker. There is a burning in me, I feel on fire, and there's guilt I can't comidify. Does it make you happy to know that?
You are so far behind, you think you're first.
I hang on because I love you, and I wait patiently for you to calm down and wake up and realize that you love me too. You hang on because it's easy.
I read once about a woman whose secret fantasy was to have an affair with an artist. She thought he would really see her. He would see every curve, every line, every indentation and love them because they were part of the beauty that made her unique.
You'll figure that out. The more you know who you are, and what you want, the less you let things upset you.
That you can lose yourself. Everything. All boundaries. All time. That two bodies can become so mixed up, that you don't know who's who or what's what. And just when the sweet confusion is so intense you think you're gonna die... you kind of do. Leaving you alone in your separate body, but the one you love is still there. That's a miracle. You can go to heaven and come back alive. You can go back anytime you want with the one you love.
It's okay for guys like you and Court to fuck everyone. But when I do it, I get dumped for innocent little twits like Cecile. God forbid, I exude confidence and enjoy sex. Do you think I relish the fact that I have to act like Mary Sunshine 24/7 so I can be considered a lady? I'm the Marcia fucking Brady of the Upper East Side, and sometimes I want to kill myself. So there's your psychoanalysis, Dr. Freud.
It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I knew there was this entire life behind things, and... this incredibly benevolent force that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever. Video's a poor excuse, I know. But it helps me remember... and I need to remember... Sometimes there's so much beauty in the world I feel like I can't take it, like my heart's going to cave in.
Our apartment was so small, that mother made me play in the oven. Late at night I would listen to the voices of the American masters: Tony Tennille, Debby Boone, Anne Murray -- who was actually a Canadian working in the American idiom. And then there were the crypto-homo rockers: Lou Reed, Iggy Pop, David Bowie -- who was actually an idiom working in America and Canada. These artists, they left as deep an impression on me as that oven rack did on my face.
And in that moment, the dwelling place of eternity, hearts, and souls became clear to me. It was as if I understood everything that had happened in my life these past thirteen years, and the time which was to come. I became unbearably... sad. Akari's warmth, her spirit -- how should I treat them, where can I bring them? That was something I didn't know. That we would not be together forever after this was a fact I clearly grasped. The vast lives we had ahead of us, the boundless amount of time which laid unavoidably stretched out in front of us... But... the anxieties which I had caught sight of soon melted away. And after that, only Akari's tender lips remained.
Dear Leonard. To look life in the face, always, to look life in the face and to know it for what it is. At last to know it, to love it for what it is, and then, to put it away. Leonard, always the years between us, always the years. Always the love. Always the hours.
Sometimes, when we lose ourselves in fear and despair, in routine and constancy, in hopelessness and tragedy, we can thank God for Bavarian sugar cookies. And, fortunately, when there aren't any cookies, we can still find reassurance in a familiar hand on our skin, or a kind and loving gesture, or subtle encouragement, or a loving embrace, or an offer of comfort, not to mention hospital gurneys and nose plugs, an uneaten Danish, soft-spoken secrets, and Fender Stratocasters, and maybe the occasional piece of fiction. And we must remember that all these things, the nuances, the anomalies, the subtleties, which we assume only accessorize our days, are effective for a much larger and nobler cause. They are here to save our lives. I know the idea seems strange, but I also know that it just so happens to be true.
Posted by Podi on Apr 22, '08 9:09 PM for everyone
I refuse to panic. It's too early for anything dramatic. Besides, I don't think I have the energy for it. Angry, yes, maybe; frustrated, yes, a lot; but that's how I've always been anyway, so I'm treading on familiar ground. And right now, panicking is a little off-character for me.
In other news, I might be moving in with the Bunniez in a month or so. I do realize there are going to be a lot of major changes -- giving up my Internet, for instance -- but I am positive that the things I'd have to trade for even a slice of independence are of little value compared to what I will gain. Besides, at 25, I think it's about time I dig my fingers at it.
I told my mother about the idea a week ago. With her usual world-weary look, she said, "Anak, mahirap yan." The most neutral response would have been, "Yes, I know," but in my mind, what I heard her say was, "You can't do it." I felt the simmering of anger in my stomach, but knowing my mother, I think she was more scared than I was.
And yes, truth be told, I am scared, and there are going to be rough patches I'd have to try ironing out as I muddle through, but hey -- it's about damned time for me to live a little.
So there are Courtroom Dramas, right? And Hospital Dramas. Even Teen Dramas. I have an idea which could revolutionize the world's TV viewing experience. Are you ready for this? OK. HR Dramas. Genius, wouldn't you say? Pure poetry. Everybody's going to eat it up.
Dramatis Personæ
You have your Org-Dev guy, who also doubles as your Comp-Ben guy, and who does Employee Relations on the side (at least until a replacement for the last one is found -- even if it's been almost two months now). Everyone loves him, although everyone thinks he is... metrosexual.
There's the young and pretty HR Specialist cum Executive Assistant, who is most probably the most normal person in the Department, except for odd shifts in her personality that belie her... habits.
There's your neurotic Recruitment guy who is obsessed with keeping things organized, but ends up being swallowed whole by little details instead, making his fragile, stack-of-cards kind of life topple over at the most inopportune times.
There's the Recruitment Supervisor, whom everyone looks up to for her zen-like wisdom -- until someone pisses her off, that is.
And finally, there's the big, gay Recruitment Associate who... well... is big. And gay.
Elmer introduced me to this guy's YouTube Profile, and I have fallen in love with his work ever since. Apart from having a great voice, he has a way of singing songs that rends ones heart, quietly, completely. This song is my favorite, thus far.
From the About This Video section: "This song was written by two friends of mine here in New York. They asked me to perform it at a concert recently and, later, asked if I would put it here on YouTube. I wish we'd had the original footage, since I really liked the space -- but we didn't, so this was a new performance."
It gets lonely // so, so lonely // Surrounded by all these people // With important things to do
It gets lonely // so, so lonely // Surrounded by all these people // When none of them are you.
The meetings they are running late for // And the calls they need to take // Syncing calendars and appointments // on their cigarette break. // Blinking schedules and reminders // and the emails BCC'd // Wanting things they're never getting. // Getting things they'll never need.
It gets lonely // so, so lonely // Surrounded by all these people // With important things to do
It gets lonely // so, so lonely // Surrounded by all these people // When none of them are you.
Feels like I'm moving in slow motion // Or am I standing still? // In an ocean filled with taxi cabs // and people dressed to kill. // As their watches tick the hours // diamond dangling from their ears. // Like a symphony of silence. // Making music no one hears.
It wouldn't be this hard for me // if I knew you were still mine. // I tell myself I'm doing better // I tell myself I'm doing fine.
It gets lonely // so, so lonely // Surrounded by all these people // With important things to do
It gets lonely // so, so lonely // Surrounded by all these people // But none of them are you. // None of them are you.
I have never experienced this kind of pressure from work before, nor have I felt the need to take some of the things I have to do home, but that's what's been happening of late. I don't mean to whine about it -- I do like what I'm doing, and I'm feeling better about my job than when I started over a month ago, but I feel like I still have a lot to learn when it comes to balancing things. I'm not exactly an absolute Godsend to the HR Department, but I believe I still deliver.
Sigh. Anyway, next week, two very important people in HR will be on leave, which leaves three people, including me, to make sure things will still be in order when they get back. I will be needing all the positive vibes I can gather.
Weekends have never been as important to me before as they are now. Hanging out in my room despite the heat, most of the times with Elmer, marathoning movie after movie after movie, has been a precious escape from the rigors of work. True, weekends bring their own unique brand of complications in my life, but honestly, these complications are a breath of fresh air compared to the climate-controlled, politics-ridden concerns in the office.
Maybe my only regret, between juggling stuff at work and walking across the tight-rope act that is my personal life, is that I have very little time to write anymore. Hono'o-chan said it best: "There are wants that go deeper, that make your soul ache when they aren't met, that eat away at you until you're nothing but a deep throbbing ache, empty and hungry and desperate."
I might have visited that empty room before, and I my fingers might have touched its cold, cold walls, but I did not want to stay then, so I left, and went back to living a life. I hope I won't have to face the time when I would go back -- and decide it would be better to stay.
Alright Internet, listen up. I didn't think it would come to this, but... well... desperate times and all that jazz.
Our company is currently looking for Distance Learning Teachers, and we need about thirty before the end of April. The only tough requirement is that one should have excellent English communication skills. And when I say excellent, I mean a near-native command of the language.
OK, so if anyone is interested, send a message over to our Y!M ID, careers.ipcco, or your resume at careers [at] ip-cco.com. Please make sure to include DISTANCE LEARNING in the Subject field, and to mention that you got the information from my bloggie.
Also, I would really appreciate it if you guys can spread the word! I promise to be like, a slave for half a day or whatever. Haha. Basta, I'll come up with something to repay you guys with, once we complete the thirty that we need by the end of April. So anyway, thanks in advance!
Posted by Podi on Mar 25, '08 1:31 PM for everyone
Got this from Hono'o-chan, who got it from Rocky. This behemoth of a survey has a hunnert and twenty nine questions, so you can be damned well sure I'll be posting this here. Twenty minutes worth of nappy time well-spent, I should say.
ABILITY SCORES
Strength ----- 12
Dexterity ---- 12
Constitution - 13
Intelligence - 14
Wisdom ------- 12
Charisma ----- 12
ALIGNMENT
A true neutral character does what seems to be a good idea. He doesn't feel strongly one way or the other when it comes to good vs. evil or law vs. chaos. Most true neutral characters exhibit a lack of conviction or bias rather than a commitment to neutrality. Such a character thinks of good as better than evil after all, he would rather have good neighbors and rulers than evil ones. Still, he's not personally committed to upholding good in any abstract or universal way. Some true neutral characters, on the other hand, commit themselves philosophically to neutrality. They see good, evil, law, and chaos as prejudices and dangerous extremes. They advocate the middle way of neutrality as the best, most balanced road in the long run. True neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you act naturally, without prejudice or compulsion. However, true neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it represents apathy, indifference, and a lack of conviction.
RACE
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.
CLASS
Bards often serve as negotiators, messengers, scouts, and spies. They love to accompany heroes (and villains) to witness heroic (or villainous) deeds firsthand, since a bard who can tell a story from personal experience earns renown among his fellows. A bard casts arcane spells without any advance preparation, much like a sorcerer. Bards also share some specialized skills with rogues, and their knowledge of item lore is nearly unmatched. A high Charisma score allows a bard to cast high-level spells.
