While Mike Abundo challenges flamers to a fight, I find myself mulling over the real-time possibility that is bound to happen tomorrow:
I’m going to meet Benj. *deep breaths*
Benj is an old online nemesis (hahaha!). One thing that has made this guy so irresistible to me as a blogger is his ability to push my buttons, usually not in the way I’d like my buttons pushed, if you know what I mean. Benj tells it like it is, and sometimes a lot of times, I don’t like being told like it is. This latest post is one such example.
Benj writes this about bloggers in general: “(Bloggers are) a group of people with neither a social life nor social skills to have a significant voice in society. to compromise for how immaterial their thoughts are, they decided to whore their ideas and amplify them via the internet to propagate them for eternity.” (He strikes the statement out, which is the Internet equivalent of “I said it, but, oops, well, I kinda take it back.”)
He then says the Blog Parteeh is “overrated,” thinking everyone is more interested in the raffle and/or Krispy Kreme donuts.
One thing people should understand about Benj is that, at the end of the day, is that he’s so comfortable with himself that he can say these things about himself and not really care. Or say these things about others and not really care. With wild abandon, he writes with his heart on his sleeve and his tongue planted firmly in cheek. Sarcastic? Maybe. Sardonic? Oh yeah, definitely. Rude? Your call.
But, like he says, he’s whoring his ideas and pimping them on the Net. His own online history has shown that he is an attention whore, from the sensible but potentially flammatory posts on PinoyExchange to the participation in a virtual Pinoy Big Brother competition, to his failed audition to make into 5Takes (which is a shame, because he would have made fantastic TV). Whether you like it or not, that’s Benj, and he’s comfortable in his skin. A lot of us aren’t so lucky.
Whether or not you agree with Benj’s scathing generalization of what it means to be a blogger, Benj does have our number, or at least mine, on one’s rationale for going to this party. Yes, I’d like to win that I-Pod Video. Yes, I’d like to win those speakers. But that isn’t – or wasn’t – the real reason why I wanted to go. I wanted to meet Noemi. And Jomar. And a host of other bloggers. I wanted to catch up with Migs again for the first time in ages. My reasons for going may be a little more idealistic than my world-weary philosopher friend online acquaintance.
Fact is, I’ve been blogging for seven years. I do have a social life, and I’d like to believe I have social skills. Benj and I have known each other for quite some time, but it’s all online. I’ve the greatest respect for him for his frank, candid demeanor and his ability to explain himself perfectly.
I can’t help but think about what it would be like to meet Benj. Will we get along? Will he rip out a blade and start slashing at my face? Will we have this kind of conversation:
He: Finally, Mister Dean, we meet.
I: Yes, we do, (PEx nick not posted, in case Benj doesn’t want the world to know). It had to happen sometime.
He: You threatened to ban me on PinoyExchange.
I: You were flaming others.
He: It’s a free country.
I: PEx is a private board!
He: You common hypocritical legalist Christian scumbag!
I: Now, who are you calling common, you self-indulgent, self-absorbed non-professional?!
At this point, he then whips out his razor blades and samurai, and I my Sword of the Spirit and my Bible. I imagine Joni of taintedsong watching in amusement, while Migs gets ready to videotape the whole thing for YouTube.
Meanwhile, I’m thinking about the chance to feast on some delicious Bubba Gump shrimps without paying for them. Most people want the I-Pod or the speakers, but hey, I’ll take the food, thankyouverymuch. If I do win the I-Pod, hahaha, I’ll make it a point to thank God first. Benj oughtta get a kick out of that. Hahahaha!
I’m also trying to decide what song I get to play at the party. It’s always a bit of a quandary finding a Christian song to play at a secular party. Nothing too blatantly worshipful, too slow, or too trying-hard in its volume… I’ll probably go with either Love Won’t Leave You by Avalon, Happy or Big Enough by Ayiesha Woods, Next Thing You Know (Thirteen) by Matthew West, or Unleashed by Warren Barfield, leaning more towards Happy and Thirteen right now.
The grace of God is sufficient…
18 comments
Comments feed for this article
January 26, 2007 at 5:28 pm
Joni
Hahahaha! This I gotta see! 😛
I do. I do want that iPod. Tao lang po.. hehe.. 😀
January 26, 2007 at 5:40 pm
ganns
Haha, me too. Every blogger wants it, but only one can get it. Jester-in-Exile put it really well sa Music post ng BlogParteeh07.
Here’s the good news: I’m terrible at raffles. So count me out for this one, I’m aiming to win a Bubba Gump gift cert. But kung I-Pod, yay.
January 26, 2007 at 6:36 pm
mr nice ash
see you at the parteeh!
January 26, 2007 at 7:43 pm
ianuarius
oh so you’re mister dean nice to meet you or comment sir
me kahit ano basta may mai-uwi lang hahahaha
“aanhin ang laptop bag kung wala namang laptop”
January 27, 2007 at 12:05 am
benj
you’re calling me a non-professional?! Ouch. Wait, are you refering to my driver’s license? haha. It’s all good. 🙂
Self-absorbed?
Hell yeah! Self-indulgent? Of course!
Non-professional?! Ugh. Now that hurts. I’ll definitely make you my first patient – even if you have no medical concerns at that time. lolololol
You actually blogged about me. I have no idea what to make of this. You’re freaking me out. haha. It’s all a joke dude. I know that you’re an above-average person in terms of intelligence, wit and over all ability to detect sarcasm and if you’re thinking that I might be serious in my two last posts, I might start to get worried. hahaha
Nah, I dont care about the raffle. Meeting you would make the experience worth it. *keeps a straight face*
January 27, 2007 at 12:30 am
Deens’ Delusions « As above me, so below me…
[…] 26, 2007 Posted by benj in Humor, blogparteeh07. trackback I’m flabbergasted at how absorbed Ganns Deen is on the premise of meeting me for tomorrow’s party. To those familiar with Pinoyexchange, […]
January 27, 2007 at 12:41 am
benj
by the way, I would have never spelled xtian that way – let alone keep it capitalized. haha
January 27, 2007 at 8:09 am
ganns
Oh, Benj! LOL I can throw sarcasm around, too.
“Now, who are you calling common, you self-indulgent, self-absorbed non-professional?!” is a quote from “It’s All Over,” a song on the “Dreamgirls” soundtrack. It’s sang by Beyonce Knowles when she kicks out Effie White from their group. 😉 Just indulging my inner music buff. Can’t expect you to know that – you’d be caught dead before listening to any Broadway OST. 😀
I am neither important nor self-deluded. Like you, I am an attention whore at heart, and, well, tadah.
Hey, I take pride in my askal education. I went to La Salle, Ateneo and UP. UST na lang, complete na. Hehehe.
I’m sorry if you took anything I posted here seriously. [There’s that apology you wanted.] I am looking forward to meeting you MOST OF ALL. Shall we slap each other on the back? Shall we give each other looks from a B-movie-type karate flick? Just don’t fling any razors at me; the last sharp object that touched my skin gave me my atheist-type ankh tattoo.
January 27, 2007 at 11:21 am
AJ
hey ganns,
nice blog.
nice find courtesy of the blogparteeh!
January 27, 2007 at 11:05 pm
ApplesH
Ganns!!! – LOL. Youre hilarious! Nice bumping into you at the parteeh! Libre mo naman ako sa Bubba Gump! 🙂
January 27, 2007 at 11:16 pm
Shari
Haha, well, ganun ba naging usapan niyo ni Benj for the first time? As far as I can remember, there was no whipping out of razor blades and swords. :p
Thanks for the great company kanina. =)
January 28, 2007 at 12:55 am
benj
I kicked Ganns’ ass after the party. You didn’t get to see that? hehe
Seriously, Ganns was every inch the person I expected him to be. 🙂
January 28, 2007 at 12:58 am
benj
By the way, Im still bitter that Jeff won that frickin’ prize. DAMMIT.
January 28, 2007 at 12:59 am
in retrospect… » the blog parteeh sucked!!
[…] course, who can forget that obnoxious loud person latecomer boisterous Ganns and his very close [really close] pal, self-mutilating wannabe […]
January 28, 2007 at 8:00 am
ganns
AJ: The way you won your prize was awesome, dude. Congrats!
ApplesH: I loved you too! Lunch tayo with Joni sa Glorietta one of these days. Send me an email at ganns at gannsdeen dot com and I’ll send you my mobile number.
Shari: Thanks too. I’m not offended at all that you think I’m noisy noisy.
Benj: Dude, you got Marks & Spencer wine. That’s heckuva lot more enjoyable than some hosting prize. (Maybe it’s just me.)
Chris: Loud, yes. Late, yes. Boisterous, yes. Obnoxious?! I’m a wee bit offended. 😉
January 28, 2007 at 6:04 pm
jaywalker
@Ganns: Are you kartoonista from the RoT?
January 28, 2007 at 6:58 pm
benj
Ganns: to make it simple, I dont drink. Jep doesnt blog [as much as I do]. hehe
Jaywalker: he’s not.
January 29, 2007 at 7:57 am
ganns
Kartoonista lives here.