"The Pacman Affair"

"The Pacman Affair"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I did not realize how competitive my wife and daughter were until I started playing a video game with them. We went to the Timezone in Vertis North last Sunday and player a couple rounds of Pacman. The Pacman version where you have 4 players where aside from eating ghosts and pellets and fruits you could also eat each other. Wait that didn't sound right. Well you could bite each other and the player bitten dies on the big screen. Wilting away into a pile of former pacman remains.

It was the first time I realized that the most predatory and the quickest to eat other players was my own wife. I knew she was always hungry but I didn't realize that it WAS that level of hungry. hahahaha 

So she bit Aven and Me and I was even surprised at Aven who was laughing and howling to my left as she either ran from her Mom or was on the hunt for her mom when she was the first to get to a power pellet. Shrieks of "Waaaaaah Mommy" to "Gusto mo talaga yan Mommy ha hahahahah" filled the noisy arcade. I was not sure if people were staring but I did not care. I was laughing at these two people in my life blow off some steam.

Aven is a very hard working student who wakes up early and fusses about the smallest tasks in her school. Her Mom is awake most of the time on the week days dealing with 2 International companies. So I was happy to let them just bite each other. And keep on laughing at the process. Except when they were both trying to bite me or when I accidentally got in between them and they killed me at the same time!

I was just happy that we could all be on equal footing in this game and just laugh about the whole experiences which makes me finally want to buy a game console so we could play with each other on the weekends more often hahahaha.

"The Circle of Loyalty: Knights , Knights everywhere!"

"The Circle of Loyalty: Knights , Knights everywhere!"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD 

It is no secret that the impure of heart will perish as they pass through the Circle of Loyalty. Only those with the heart to be a Knight can pass through unscathed and be acknowledged.

The Circle of Loyalty is a 6 mana costing legendary artifact that cost 1 colorless mana for each Knight you control. Considering that there is a whole lot of Knights in Mardu colors to choose from this would be easy to cast at 2 White Mana.There are a lot of One mana costing Knights such as Venerable Knight , Dauntless Bodyguard ,  Knight of the Ebon Legion, Fervent Champion and Foulmire Knight. These  are all in Mardu colors.Then there Worthy Knight that creates more Knights when you cast a Knight spell. 3 Knights in one sentence damn. And Knight of the White Orchid who fetches a Plains for you which could be a Godless Shrine or Sacred Foundry in case you really are committed in playing Mardu Colors(and you should).

So what does the The Circle of Loyalty give you? 

One is that it gives you an anthem. A +1/+1 to all creatures you control.

It also gives you more Knights in two ways:

When you cast a Legendary Spell it spews out a A 2/2 White Knight with Vigilance for free.

Or.

You could pay 4 mana , tap it and create A 2/2 White Knight with Vigilance yourself.

And pretty soon you would be fielding enough Knights to protect your realm or destroy your opponents to show your dominance.

"The Cauldron of Eternity: A Necromancer's treat"

"The Cauldron of Eternity: A Necromancer's treat"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

For Magic players who play a graveyard centric EDH deck such the Golgari or Rakdos or Dimir , The Cauldron of Eternity could provide a redundancy to the Whip of Erebos among artifacts that can Reanimate creatures.

It is a 12 mana costing Artifact that cost 2 colorless mana less for each creature card in your graveyard. Most Golgari players looked at this and easily subtracted that 10 and can easily be cast at just 2 black mana. Dredge Dredge Dredge to get that body count in the graveyard.

And when you have all those treasures buried and it is time to raise them by using the The Cauldron of Eternity , pay 3 mana , tap and pay 2 life. You can now return a creature of your choice into the battlefield. While it is limited to Sorcery speed this is quite fine since you can add Haste by adding Anger in the graveyard if you are playing Rakdos colors of Black and Red.

The Cauldron of Eternity has another static ability and that when a creature you control dies put it on the the bottom of it's owners library instead. This means that you can search for this creature using cards like Once upon a time , Worldly Tutor , Sylvan Tutor , Green Sun's Zenith , Tooth and Nail or Finale of Devastation for the finish. Talk about utilizing every creature. And hopefully you are playing Golgari colors of Black and Green to use these cards.

I can see the Golgari Grave Troll smiling now. Imagine reanimating it with all those creatures in your graveyard and you have one big troll for your opponents to contend with.

Time to mix the pot. The Cauldron of Eternity waits for us.

"The Great Henge: There Might Giants"

"The Great Henge: There Might Giants"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

The Great Henge is a 9 mana costing Legendary artifact that can be found in Castle Garenbrig , where there are actual giants.

I looked at it in the previews a couple of weeks before and this was something that I wanted. So far I have already opened it twice in my packs and I certainly have homes for these 2 copies.The Great Henge wants to play creatures and it wants you to play bigger and bigger ones. And one of the thing that helps you get those big creatures is Castle Garenbrig itself , I mean the land that has pay 4 mana , tap and it gives you 6 mana to use on creatures or activated abilities of creatures. Pretty sure there are a lot of big creatures for 6 mana.

Carnage Tyrant can be cast for 6 mana and then give you the 7 mana discount on The Great Henge! And it would just cost you 2 Green mana to cast most likely on the next turn. The Henge can then give you 2 green mana and 2 life when you tap it. 

It also makes any non token creature you control that enters the battlefield with a +1/+1 counter on it as well as allowing you to draw a card. Talk about card draw in green. 

So The Great Henge is great for a mid game strategy where it can also help you churn out more massive creatures with the help of a Castle Garenbrig out in play. 

So there really are giants. And hopefully they would be on your side of the board.

"The Magic Mirror: Mirror Mirror Padraw naman."

"The Magic Mirror: Mirror Mirror Padraw naman."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

The Magic Mirror is a 9 mana costing artifact , 6 colorless and 3 Blue that gets a discount of 1 colorless mana for each Instant and Sorcery in your graveyard.

You have no maximum hand size. Making it a veritable spell book.

And at the beginning of your upkeep you put a Knowledge counter on it , then draw a card for each Knowledge counter on the Magic Mirror.

I picture one of my Team Virulence team mates salivating over this artifact as it provides an asymmetrical card draw advantage for those mid to late games where control players always want a full set of cards in their hands to bluff or counter threats to their plans.

In an EDH setting the 6 colorless mana cost is negligible as Blue players actually just cast cantrip spells that allow them to fill up their graveyards with instants and sorcery's while not diminishing their own hands. Full grip is always the desired hand. 

And The Magic Mirror makes sure that with it's ever increasing Knowledge counters a Blue Player will have all the cards that they could ever need.

The Magic Mirror See's a lot and with it the knowledge to proceed.To control. To overcome. To recover. To win.

"A Short State Of Perfection"

"A Short State Of Perfection"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I sat down with Aven the other day. I was a bit dismayed at how their theater club has been handled. I told my daughter that those were some of the most fun times that I had when I was still in High School and College that I even wanted to take it up as a course. 

We went to one of the exercises that were done to us and that was the one where everyone needs to catch a tennis ball ten consecutive times otherwise the count would go back to zero and the team would lose. It seemed easy enough but the ball can be thrown in any which way and sometimes those who seemed to be unaware of it or not focusing enough misses it , and you could hear the collective groaning of the group as they need to build up once more.

When I was running this particular exercise you have particular people trying to cover for the weak or inattentive but by the end of this exercise there were people who realized that they had to step up and be as good as those who were protecting them and usually that is how the game ends when all are in a heightened state of awareness , you are part of the group , this troupe is one unit. You need to trust the others to take over when you are lacking and you need to be strong when others are weak. I have found that people communicate more. Celebrating and Commiserating. 

The group is usually in a sweaty mess but they are satisfied having caught the elusive tennis ball ten consecutive times. A state of perfection is achieved but it is not permanent. You can only achieve this state for seconds at a time and you should make it count. 

It has been decades but I still remember this particular lesson and it is something that I would gladly pass on to my daughter.

"Did you?"

"Did you?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

So Did you love me?

Asked the feelings I hid

Because normally you can't ask why

and so I only ask if you did.

II

Maybe I was trying to make it easy

because I still did not understand

How you can say those sweet words

and still strangle me with your hands.

III

Maybe I was not meant to know

how these things just flow

I feel like a fool

Not knowing where to go.

IV

So I just keep asking that question

Not expecting a response

Did you love me?

Maybe you did not.

Optum Bldg N. UP-Ayala Technohub , Quezon City. September 3 2019. 3:03am

"Dreamt Bullets"

"Dreamt Bullets"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

It was just another bullet

Same as the ones that hit before

And the wounds are getting bigger

which make them harder to ignore

II

Could I ask you to stop this pain?

Could you maybe stop existing?

And I laugh at this futile plea

Since the one suffering is just me

III

You live in that beautiful world

And I wallow in what is mine

Separate as oil from water

The dreams of he who dreams

Optum. Bldg N. Quezon City. October 15, 2019 11:16pm

"Doc In , Doc Out - Allergic to what?"

"Doc In , Doc Out - Allergic to what?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Me: "Meron po ba kayong Allergy sa pagkain o gamot?"

Patient: Meron po.Sa gamot po. Yung Anti-histamine.

Me: Huh? Teka lang po. Yun yung binibigay po kapag may Allergy. Ano po yung generic nung gamot kung naalala niyo?

Patient: Ibuprofen po.

Me:(Inner face palm) Sir Pain Medication po yun. 

Patient: Ahhhhh. Sorry po.

"Midweek Magic 2019 #30 - The Knights Ball"

"Midweek Magic 2019 #30 - The Knights Ball"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I always wanted to attend one of those Melees. And when Ram Pascual decided to visit with his modified Mardu Knights Brawl Deck I was in a world of hurt.

My Mythic Streak has stretched on for 9 weeks. My losing streak with Scarab God Good stuff has also been extended for 9 losses straight from the hands of Mark Abude , Jus Puntay and now Ram Pascual.

My Scarab God deck appeared really sluggish in comparison to the well stoned and land fetching Mardu deck that I faced. I was not sure if this deck had a Knight of the White Orchid for Land fetching but it had one of my favorite equipments in Sword of the Animist that was slashing at me as Ram fetched for more lands and with it the ability to cast more Knights.

Again I was hurt by cards that I already had but not got around to building. Cards like the Khorvath Brightflame that utterly hurt me with all Knights landing on the battlefield with Flying and Haste and as if that was not enough Sylvia Brightspear can be fetched and cast to give the Dragon Double Strike. This was a very consistent interaction that I believed I lost 3 games to it. 

I guess the only spectacular play I would be making this night was when I cast Dark Petition with enough Instants and Sorceries in my graveyard that I would be able to fetch a Bontu's reckoning and extend my life for another turn. I died the next turn. Mostly by being trampled on by Knights.

Oh well.Time to fix Scarab God again. It seems that is time to take out some good stuffs and put in more rocks and tighter cards that fit my scheme.

Sometimes you need to get pummeled to knock some sense into you. Time to wake up then.

"The Mythic Streak - The Robber in the Woods."

"The Mythic Streak - The Robber in the Woods."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I was having weird feelings as I went to buy the packs this Wednesday night. I had almost been hit by a UV express and an asshole in the elevator whom I asked to hold open the door was actually pressing the close button and not by mistake. The guy was in a hurry and I saw that he pressed the 9th floor so I pressed all of the other floors below it and made sure to look at him to see if he would give a fuss. I guess he knew he was being an ass and instead of saying something thought the better of it but you could hear him talking under his breath as the door opened on the 2nd - 8th floor and he was pressing the close button. He got off his floor and I was looking at him if he would look back. He didn't.

So it was with this negative vibe that I went to buy my packs to see if my streak would continue on it's 10th week. I was so sure that with this negative thing over me I was sure to break the streak. Bad Juju on the beat. So I got the packs from NG and settled down to eat at the Echo Store next door. 

And I opened one pack which was had foil Midnight Clock but not a Mythic. Good so far. The 2nd pack however....Well Mr. Robin Hood Decided to show his upside down self. The Robber of the Rich!!! I probably should feel it but I was relieved to see this new mythic.

And on to the 10th week! Yeah!

"The Lamentation of the Hoobae's"

"The Lamentation of the Hoobae's"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

YuuA's phone vibrated on the table as she was getting her face touched up for the next scene.It was a number that she knew well but did not want to show up any time soon. It was Eve. If she was calling it might be important enough but after her attempt with V she was tempted to just let it go to voice mail. For some reason she decided to pick up the call instead and on the other line was an already sobbing mess of a person. The concern rising in YuuA was still superseeded by her annoyance of Eve.

"I am shooting a CF at the moment.What do you want?" Eve had done this countless of times when she was undergoing multiple break ups through the years.

"Our Sunbae is dead."

If it was Yves calling then it could only be one person. It was Soolin.

"You have to be mistaken I just saw her on Instalive a couple of days ago.She was showing make up techniques she used when she was promoting!"

"I am sorry Unnie. Read the news online. They found her about an hour or so ago."

YuuA broke down. It can't really be happening.

"We were supposed to go out for dinner this Monday? She told me she had so many things say. She was excited because they were giving her a new drama."

"She wanted to see me as well. She wanted me at that dinner."

"Our Unnie wanted as at one table together didn't she?"

"She told me she was sad that we weren't talking anymore."

"She wasn't buying our excuses of busy schedules anymore?"

"She was smart YuuA and we both knew that. She always saw through us even when we first met her."

"And now she is gone."

The silence extended and YuuA broke it by asking,

"Where are you Eve?"

"I am still at practice but truth be told I just want hide under the rock and cry myself till I can't cry anymore."

"I would have V get you out of that practice"

"Thanks Unnie. Can we go see her together?"

"We can.See you in an hour."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

V had managed to get both girls out of their respective activities. It was no longer a shock when both CEO's gave the green light to have the 2 in a car outside of their buildings.

For this situation V had let Red do the driving for him. As he laid back and listened to the girls stories.

It was a bit colder and YuuA wore the pink oversized sweater he had brought her. Yves wore all black in a tight fitting overall. Both girls tied their hairs in a pony tail and at first glance made them look like sisters with their similarly pretty faces.

"Remember that dress I wore in Inkigayo? I had to refuse her countless times because I was embarrassed to take it from her. Though her stylist-nim said that it was ok. She had to go to the company , bring the dress herself and forced me to wear it."

"Yup. Sounds like the Soolin I know."

"When I was a rookie and I was compared to her all the time. I was thinking how hard it was to live up to her. If I made mistakes would she notice and be hard on me. She would she make fun of me on SMS but she would congratulate me every time even if I knew I messed up. She would show up in my events and hug me and praised me."

There were various articles about the three of these idols how Eve inherited Soolins looks and Singing , While YuuA was the Visual and Dancer who would carry on their cute tradition. They shared a special stage with her which even made the comparisons stronger and they have been going on dates with her  , even going overseas on occasion.

They checked up on her when there were issues disparaging her looks or when she would go out in a new drama.They knew that the official disbandment of her Girl group would affect her even if she has not been a part of the group for almost 3 years.

"How come we didn't see this? How did she not tell us she was feeling this way."

"She was telling us but we also became busy. Remember that live she did 2 weeks ago and there was a person who kept on interrupting her."

"I saw that. It was a bit creepy."

"Well , she told me about it.She had her manager file a report on the guy."

"Me too. She was telling me that there have been people following her around more nowadays even when she was not on set. or having an appearance."

"Does her family know?" 

"Her Manager-Nim told me that her older brother was already in the hospital and making arrangements."

"How can we have let her go like this Eve?"

"I don't think she would have wanted us to shoulder all her burdens for her."

"But we are carrying the burden of losing her now. Why can't we just have whisked her away to Boracay like you suggested the last time."

"YuuA unnie the only thing keeping me sane right now is picturing her in that red two piece you gave her and her running around in those white sands."

"Such a pretty picture. She would have been so pretty."

Both women started crying and V listened without saying a word.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hope in a place of the Dying"

"Hope in a place of the Dying"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Today is my last day in the Premier Hemodialysis unit and I find that I am leaving with a heavy heart but with a better feeling than if I have stayed. I must admit that despite the relatively benign nature of my duties here I find that I have been restless.  And I realized why.

I am surrounded by the dying. And if it is bad enough that I am still processing the deaths of my own parents the very thought of the people around me undergoing dialysis and their limited capacity to have a longer stay in this world is at the very least giving me a bleak outlook.

I do not want to focus on that bleak outlook as I go though. Instead I want to focus on love and devotion. Yes. Even in a place of death you see love and devotion in full display. The lives of some of my patients are hard , struggling to earn a living and taking care of their sick loved ones as well. In some case a sick person is also taking care of another sick person. Yet I see that there is hope in their eyes. As a doctor I know that all things inevitably lead to death. A non functioning kidney should be a good enough sign of that.

And yet they continue to love their spouses and go through this difficult journey with them. They scrounge up medicines . tirelessly going from one government institution or politician to curry favor. They line up and they travel and they take care of their sick spouse. 

I am thankful to have seen such hope. Such love.I am thankful that for a brief moment I was also able to help them in the little way that I could. So I have to say goodbye for now. Something that has never been easy for me.  

"Funny"

"Funny"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

Funny how people call you names

and how they now tell you tale

Funny how they snapped at all the chances

to disparage and give you shame

II

Funny how they never truly knew you

and how they seem to know you now

Funny how you seem always busy

but you were always bustling with doubt

III

Funny how you were surrounded by people

and yet with no one you can count

Funny how when you cried out and asked

no one really turned out.

IV

Funny , I keep saying that

though there is nothing funny about it

Rest well.

I am glad you left this hell.

"To Sulli."

Optum. Bldg N. Quezon City. October 15, 2019 11:14pm

"The Mythic Streak - What do you see?"

"The Mythic Streak - What do you see?"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

It was the possible 9th week of my Mythic streak and I was feeling a bit apprehensive that this really might be the end of if. I have been having my fill of watching box openings from Alpha Investments and Tolarian Community College and box after box shows only 4-5 Mythic cards and it blows my mind that I have been able to catch these cards by dumb luck. I have no special process. Just go through the cards and pick 3 random ones. 

And tonight I stuck with the process. Only this time I decided to pick from the pile to the left of the box. 3 boosters pack. 3 chances to keep this streak going. 

And so I sat in Pho Hoa for dinner and after placing my order I got down to business. I even posted to my friends about it and some even wished me luck to keep the streak going.

So I opened my first pack and at the very end was a Blue Mythic Artifact. It was the Magic Mirror! The Streak continues on it's 9th week. And what do I see in the Mirror? Another week in which to try to extend this.

"Midweek Magic 2019 #29 - Gulo Gulo with Golos"

"Midweek Magic 2019 #29 - Gulo Gulo with Golos"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

One of the hottest decks in Standard right now is the Golos- Field of the Dead. On this particular night I would be facing off with the EDH version of the deck and find how abusively good this combination can be.

Jus Puntay and I finally got to meet each other after a while and we decided to play in Neutral Grounds itself as KFC had frequent power outages. It is kind of hard to play in the Dark.

I would field out Scarab God Good Stuff's deck and try and win via Mill out against Golos. It did prove to be such a terrible match up as the deck just churned out land after land until it hit the 5 mana mark and casted Golos to fetch for a Land of the Dead. And then all hell would break loose as each land that came into play would make a 2/2 Zombie. 

I have to admit I might have been a little distracted with opening my PR kit and the 3 packs that were right there beside me to know if my Mythic streak was still on for the week.

Needless to say I had fun battling the deck but I wished that we had more matches to really see if I can go toe to toe with it. Hopefully we will be able to see this week. 

"Doc In , Doc Out - Gusto ko pang sumuka"

"Doc In , Doc Out - Gusto ko pang sumuka"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Patient:(coughing uncontrollably) 

Patient was ordered to eat because she has not eaten for 24 hours.Advised not to drink coffee because of GERD.

Comes back to Clinic with Kopiko Latte in one hand.

Me:Utang na loob Maam. Wag mong inumin yan ha.

"The Harmonious Archon: Increasing and Diminishing"

"The Harmonious Archon: Increasing and Diminishing"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

When my daughter Aven opened a pack and this was my Mythic rare I just knew that I had to make a deck for it or at least make it work. 

I have been experiencing somewhat of a win drought in the EDH department lately and a change of deck might be what I need. That or improve the Scarab God Good stuff deck that seems to in a rut lately.

The Harmonious Archon is a 4/5 Archon that makes all  Non-Archon creatures into 3/3 creatures. It also gives you 2 1/1 human creature tokens once it enters the battlefield. Giving you 2 3/3 creatures immediately.  

The way I look at it this can be abused in two ways. 

The most straight forward is to make it a stat pumper. 3/3 creatures in enough numbers is lethal. Early game you could just create 1/1 tokens like Soldiers or Saprolings. 0/1 tokens like Pests.  Of course before casting the Archon you need to have cleared the board of creatures that may become a problem for you.(especially if your opponents have more than what you currently have).

Since I also have a thing for Infect , Harmonious Archon can make all of those 1/1 Non-Archon creatures into 3/3 Infect Creatures. I can see a Glistener Elf , Plague Myr and Ichorclaw Myr or even an Activated Inkmoth Nexus all becoming 3/3 and attacking for Lethal in a couple of turns. The Inkmoth Nexus is particularly deadly as it can just fly past normal ground based defenders.A Mono White or Selesnya EDH deck. Delicious.

And the second way that one can abuse this is by cutting down all those big creatures on your opponents side of the board. Making them instant 3/3 and then casting something like Deafening Clarion , Sweltering Sun , Slagstorm or Anger of the Gods(if you are playing a Boros deck) . Since the Harmonious Archon is a 4/5 is can survive that 3 damage to all other creatures. And you could even just go to town with it and attack.

Politically speaking you could use this as leverage to make an opponents Saproling Army bigger and exchange for them attacking another opponent. Just be ready with a Rout once they renege on that deal.

Oh well it doesn't so Harmonious after all.

Hallyu Made Me Do It! - "Things you might have missed from Oh My Girls - Twilight Queendom performance."

"Things you might have missed from Oh My Girls - Twilight Queendom performance."

by:

The Vole

After such a dominating performance that people simply can't get enough of OMG has ranked #1 for the 2nd time in the show and is head butting with established sirens Mamamoo and Monster Rookies in G-Idle for all the marbles in the recent songs that they have released.

But that is for another post and for now I would like to put out those little things that might have gone unnoticed since most people are locked into the powerful performance. Jiho said to look for little details in the stage so there I was looking and I was in for a treat.

1) So the much talked about connection between The last Stage of Destiny and Twilight is true as the last steps of Destiny are the continued in one smooth motion into the opening hand gestures of Twilight.

2) Oh my Vampires tells the story of 5 girls who get lost in the woods and are one by one turned into vampires. The story starts with 2 Vampires(Jiho and Mimi) who entice the girls into the woods or probably confuses them into taking the paths into the woods to get them lost(As signified by the dancers blocking any other path but one). And this all takes a turn for the worst as they reach the Dark Castle in the woods with the animated tree.

Want to know the first victim? Arin who sings the first line of the song turns to the others at the start of the song and has been clearly changed from the lost girl into a vampire. Binnie , YooA , Seunghee and Hyojung is the last to be changed. The sequence of the vocal distribution yes.

And that whole rap line that involves Mimi emerging from the tree? This was not the part where they turned into Vampires. This is the part where they are trained to worship the most powerful vampire of the original vampire pair. Notice how it was Jiho and the leader Hyojung who first attached to the tree , followed in sequence by the others. This is a scene of tribute of blood and so to awaken the powerful one. Mimi emerges to give her powerful rap. And the others revel in it.

And that scene where they have their backs to the audience and in between them are the pale faces? That move where these thralls are now lifting up and down and following unseen commands? This scene is meant to show that the other 6 have grown in strength and can now command/compel other vampires of their own.

3) Blond YooA

If Blond Jiho was jarring to the senses then Blond YooA just straight up killed some Miracles and made them rise up again to watch this performance. YooA unleashed as a blond is simply way too much and you really did enjoy her dancing , as if she was lifting off the ground with her grace. Twilight is a powerful dance full of sharp motion but also well defined graceful movements that contrast with each other. The powerful dance break that has been modified to be spread out among all the others(Normally is focuses only on the Main dancers in YooA and Mimi) is simply fun to watch. Blond YooA got into trouble when her hair with became unruly near the end of the song. In the normal version of Twilight her pigtails or flailing long hair would already be deadly but the wig threatened to blind her as she danced. It is a good thing that she knows how to handle it. Hahahah

4) Arin Near Blunder.

Much like in the practice of Twilight where they all feared that YooA would reinjure her left leg after colliding with Arin , there was that fear in the same sequence but you can clearly see that Arin froze just a little to prevent them from colliding against each other. Such control but you have to question the spacing that they gave Arin to work around as they had time to adjust this problematic sequence.

5) Freemind Dancers

They were the trees and vampire thralls and they helped tell the story and elevate it while working with Oh My girl. Notice how the tree moves slowly in contrast to the sharp movements of OMG. And how they timed that slow creep going to the middle as they prepare for Mimi's rap scene. Awesome timing for these guys , hard to pull off but they did. 

6) Sliding Bass lines in Jiho's part right after Mimi's epic rap

Seunghee talked about giving Twilight sort of a rock spice and they did not disappoint in rearranging the sliding bass line hook while Jiho sang in this part of Twilight. It did not have the screaming vocals Seunghee said they would add but I would take Jiho's voice over that as she made a full moon motion with her hands dressed in that Vampire dress.

As I write this people are probably enjoying Guerrilla but though I have listened to that wonderful song I still can't get over the fact that Twilight and Oh My Girl is so well loved now.

"The Pretentiousness of Words"

"The Pretentiousness of Words"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

Hearts wonder where

Words dreamt to dare

Insanely blazing a path

Though it leads nowhere

II

Dying feelings in it's wake

The Phoenix flies

Hoping for better things

Another dream dies

III

Words don't suffice

As hearts freeze

Oblivion is calling now

Hope is the disease.

Optum Building N, Quezon City. October 8 , 2019. 3:50am

"The Mythic Streak - The Witness"

"The Mythic Streak - The Witness"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I have put certain restrictions on myself regarding this Mythic streak of mine.

1) Boosters Packs Need to be Purchased in NG Eton Centris

2) They need to be purchased during my duties there on Wednesday and Thursday.

3) 3 packs or 1 pack of randomly selected Booster packs of any set.

Strictly speaking if I count the Harmonious Archon that I opened earlier this week my streak technically continues. 

But because of my rules. I was looking to see if I would be able to open another Mythic. And this would also be the first time that I would have an eye witness with me. It was Jus Puntay one of my playgroup mates in Eton Centris who happened to be able to drop by.

"Ako ba ang jinx?" He asked.

"Di naman. Ikaw lang ang witness." I answered.

And so with the three packs....

The first two gave me a Return of the Wildspeaker and a Happily Ever After. Both cards seemed to depict happy scenes of Redemption and Celebration but as I opened my 3rd pack I had a sinking feeling in my stomach. The Streak might be at it's end.

Until we reached the very end of the pack and I saw a the M at the bottom of the card and a 3/3 body.

"Ayan Doc Ah.Hindi ako." Jus said indicating that he did not jinx my opening.

And as I revealed Rankle , Master of Pranks I sleeved him and made him one the Good Stuffs in my Scarab God Deck. Unfortunately he did not make an appearance that night and Jus and his Golos deck steam rolled over me in all of our games.

But still! The streak continues on it's 8th week! Woooh

Midweek Magic 2019 #28 - The Infected Lightning Bolt"

Midweek Magic 2019 #28 - The Infected Lightning Bolt"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

"Na-infect ka na ba ni Keranos?"

Ako Oo.

To most of you reading Keranos and infect might be two things that do not go together or normally decks that run Keranos or Infect have different strategies in mind.

Fortunately enough I am surrounded by a lot of mad people who want to experiment on things and try to make them work.

So it was a Thursday and on one game with Yo Castillo who showed a different strategy with his Jhoira deck.(I have a feeling that we all put in different experiments within the shells of other decks to see if they work out and build around them later.)

In this particular Instance he put down a Grafted exoskeleton(By far my most favorite Phyrexian equipment) and equipped it into a now Creature Keranos who attacked for 8 Infect damage. With no blockers I took the poison counters. And was caught unaware of what would happen next turn.

I put down blockers and ignored the bounce spell in my hand thinking that Keranos won't get through and I needed another turn to look for better options. My next turn never came.

On the next upkeep Yo drew a land. And Keranos dealt that last 3 Lethal poison damage himself. An Infected Lightning Bolt! Who would have thought?

Now I am seriously thinking of making that Izzet Infect deck I had in the back burner.Hmmmmm Infected Lightning Bolt. Delicious.

"Doc In , Doc out - Nalabhan"

"Doc In , Doc out - Nalabhan"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Patient: Doc magpapafit to work po ako

Me: Ok. Asan po ang Med Certificate ninyo from your Doctor?

Patient: Ah yun nga po Doc. Nalabhan kasi ng nanay ko. Nagaway nga kami eh.

Me: Parang yung Assignment lang na kinain ng aso ah.

Patient: (Laughs uncomfortably) Oo nga Doc.

Me: O Siya. Unfit. Kuha ka ng bago.

Patient:Ok po

"The Pit"

"The Pit"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

Recently there was another Jumper in the SM Annex Area. One who jumped from the 5th floor and landed on the escalator on the bottom floor almost tearing him in half. The Teddy bear he was still clutching that must have been meant for someone else falling directly in front of where he died.

A high school student who was considered smart and handsome by all who saw him and even won a debate contest before all. What drove him to jump to his death I may never know or understand. But ending your life in that manner. Jumping knowing that the the only end is death. 

As I sat in Mang Tsaa , a mere few feet from where all other deaths have been landing I cannot help but call this area the pit. A pit where I hope those poor souls no longer linger in. People who pass by the escalator still look at the dent the fallen body has made. And then look at the surrounding booths that have been witness to all those other jumpers. 

It is almost Christmas time and I cannot help but imagine how hard the parents of that recent jumper must be feeling at the moment. I cannot understand that as well but I feel pain for them. And the helplessness that there is really nothing you can do to lessen that pain.

I also thought how frightening this place would be at night. People manning the booths said that it was not as scary at the Pit as it was on the 5th floor where roving guards have been known to see shadowy figures and even voices that constantly whisper to them.

The guards mainly ignore them. Still I don't really want to be in SM Annex when the lights go out. 5th floor to the Pit.

"Embercleave: Screaming Goblins."

"Embercleave: Screaming Goblins."

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr. MD

Screaming Goblins. Yup. The moment I saw Embercleave all I could think of was Screaming Goblins as they attacked as one and a certain sword suddenly flashed in the hands of one of them and they utterly destroyed the opposing army.

Embercleave is the red aligned courts secret weapon and it is quite a strong one that can allow you to do a  one hit kill combo with enough creature mass on your side of the board.

This Artifact costs 4 colorless and 2 red mana to cast but you can easily just ignore that 4 colorless part as this can be reduced by the number of attacking creatures you control and another thing about this sword is that it has Flash. Meaning you can cast it any time you can cast an instant and the best time to do just that is when you have declared attackers.

The moment it enters the battlefield it can attach to any creature you control. And who might be a good fit to catch the said sword? The Ones of course but the best candidate would be the Goblin Reckless One who gets his power from all the other Goblins that exist around him.(Yes Even the One's on the other side of the board)

Let us say you attacked with 10 goblins , your Reckless one is a 10/10 and with the Embercleave (which gives a +1/+1), it can deal 22 damage if unblocked. Even if it is blocked Embercleave gives the equipped creature double strike and trample. Depending on how huge the blockers toughness ,there will usually  be a certain amount of damage that would be able to reach your opponent. And possibly lower the life total to zero.

And if you are not able to do it this turn with the Embercleave already out in the open you could just wait next turn  , untap your creatures and go for the kill. 

Yup. Screaming Goblins. 

"Lies and Echoes"

"Lies and Echoes"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I

There is something wrong

Even I cannot feel it

That small tear in the fabric

the one that holds you and me

II

I can sense it

the faint smell of blood

And all those lies

that we make in the name of love

III

We look at each other

And it passes right through

No longer seeing the person

but someone we once knew

IV

And we hear the echoes

softly traveling in the air

We see but cannot see

what used to be there.

V

We cannot remember

when the last ember died

Only now discerning

Why we could have lied.

Optum. Bldg N. Quezon City. October 2 , 2019 6:04 am

"The Mythic Streak : Someone Familiar"

"The Mythic Streak : Someone Familiar"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

I initially sought out an Eldraine PR kit at NG last Wednesday in hopes that I have at least 6 boosters to have bigger chance that my Mythic streak continues. Unfortunately I would have to wait for Friday to be able to buy those as well. Oh well.

And so I turned to the packs that were available. I looked at the Iconic Masters box that was almost full but then the New Ate in NG mentioned that somoene opened a pack yesterday and got a Blue card that was worth around 3k. So I am guessing that was the Mythic Mana Drain who in TCG player.com is priced at a whopping 84 bucks!

Should I get a pack from this box knowing that my chances of getting a pack with a mythic is now slightly lower? I looked at what else could be of some value to me in the Iconic masters Mythic set. I saw Consecrated Sphinx and the Phyrexian Praetors , these guys were always great. So I decided that if my streak ends I would have at least tried. So I bought one pack(Reserving mostly for Throne of Eldraine next week).

There was a pack on the right that faced downwards. I might have gotten that one and made a story of that pack that was different but instead with my gut telling me(and I have a big gut) I should just pick from that pile instead. So I did. Paid and left.

While waiting for my order in Tokyo , Tokyo I opened my pack. I almost blurred through the commons and uncommons and slowly lifted the last uncommon to see what I was getting? Would it be the end of the streak? Would this be it? And it showed a 5/4 body.A 5/4 could only mean one thing. It was not one of the dragons , it was one of the Praetors!

It was Jin-Gitaxias. A Mythic! From a lone pack of Iconic Masters! Woooh. The streak continues on it's 6th week. Next week. Will I be able to get a Mythic from Throne of Eldraine to continue on to a 7th week? We will have to see.

"3 things I have seen this week - Luck Struck"

"3 things I have seen this week - Luck Struck"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

When it rains , it pours. It is horrible with badluck. It is great with goodluck and I am so glad that this week I have been experiencing more of the latter and none of the former.

1) Hwahee

I have been playing Summoners War for more than 4 years now and I have been opening countless Legendary and Mystical scrolls but have not had the pleasure of getting this lady. 

I have been complaining as much to Jeff who was Duty Nurse who also plays the game with me. 

And so it was to my delight that I was silently opening a lone mystical scroll and it burst into lightning to then solidify in the Fire Sky Dancer who will later be awakened to be Hwahee!

2) The Skechers Slippers

I have been wearing the same slippers for awhile now and I have been enjoying it for it's comfortable fit. So when I went to the store to get more of the same and even to some high end stores it was much to my dismay that I was not able to find the same one or even an upgrade to it. I did not want to settle for anything less and so I decided to hold off.

Last Monday my wife and I were in SM Valenzuela to pay off some bills when we passed by a sporting goods store there and just decided to take a chance if I could find a slipper there for me.

And initially I was offered much of the same kinds of slippers from the other stores until my wife found the Skechers rack and showed me a pure black one that fit my foot to a tee! I had to walk around in it and it had the same feel as my old slipper. I knew this one the one. I am glad I did not settle.

3) A new opportunity.

The HR from my current Industrial work PM'ed me for an online consult. After giving her the best advised I could she mentioned , "Oh by the way Doc. Our Subcontractors are looking for their own Doctor. I gave them your name.Their coordinator will be calling for you."

And I had to look at the screen for a couple of minutes totally caught unaware of the offer. I wanted more and I got more. I just cannot believe it. All I could be is thankful

"Left Over Snacks"

"Too Sweet" , They said.

"Left Over Snacks"

by:

Virgilio F. De leon Jr.MD

October just started and here I am at the keyboards again. To carry on with the 3 days writing streak that I had accrued I will now be writing about Left Over Snacks.

Yes. Left Over snacks is a thing for our family of 3 who have what is commonly known as "Takaw Mata". If a thing looks good or assumed to taste good that goes into the shopping cart. A lot of those have been falling in lately and I don't know why , everyone is supposed to be on a diet in the house. Hmmmm

So having a daughter and wife who then proceeds to taste the said snack and then find that it was not as yummy as they pictured it to be. Guess who now has the task of finishing these things because he doesn't want it to go all to waste? Why the guy with the sexiest body in the house. Hint. I am the only guy in the house.So technically I am the sexiest male body in the house.

So what do these snacks look like? Some of them are half eaten things , some are just a few bites away from being finished and others are just things that you bite on and realize that you don't want to finish the rest of it at all. I end up with a car full of these things. 

Do I stop my family from putting weird things that they want to try? Not really. I feel like we grow with each new thing that we try and there is this satisfaction that I feel when they ask me , "Daddy can we try this?" Even if I know that that weird new thing might end up with me eating it in the end.