Friends – The Diary of The Deranged Writer

20-Minute Warning I

Start time: 6:35pm.

So, what can I share in under 20 minutes?

Heavy rain has almost reigned in the metro for the past several days, and that makes me nervous because it reminds me of Typhoon Ondoy and the monstrous flood it brought to our country. The flood control situation improved somewhat when a new, better administration took over the city, but our place is a bit lower than the main street, so the heavy rain still brings foot-level floods at worst. It also doesn’t help that people keep throwing garbage everywhere, especially in the drainage. Come on.

Because of the intense weather, I had to cancel a hangout with a friend I haven’t seen since our high school graduation. While the cancellation hurts a bit, I don’t want my friend and me to get stranded outside our homes. We can just reschedule on any other day this month.

Speaking of schedules, I’m pretty excited about my December plan because the most crucial part of it is about to start, and it’s only August! I just need to clear out one important detail before my cohort on that plan can get the ball rolling.

I’m pretty ominous about December, huh? That’s the point.

And my 20 minutes are almost up. See you in the next post.

End time: 6:54pm.

Header image: Animesh Srivastava.

Dream Log I: A Double-Feature of Absurd Dreams

I’ve been going through another mental and emotional crisis since Monday, May 25. Then, three days after, after getting stuck in the exhausting loop, my brain decided to take a break and release two absurd dreams.

30-Minute Warning XLIV

I’ve been recovering from the emotionally heaviest week of 2026 by far, so I’ll refrain from pressuring myself to publish a lengthy post tonight. What I can do tonight is share today’s happenings in under 30 minutes.

Like I said, I had an emotionally heavy week, but last night, it ended with a warm, honest conversation and a gigantic mason jar filled with large ice cubes and a refreshing Coke Zero. That made me sleep heavenly (even if I drank something cold and caffeinated), and I feel refreshed when I woke up today.

As for work, today’s stress was tolerable. I wrote proposals like a machine, I politely responded to troubleshooting reports, and I dispatched technicians for the aforementioned troubleshooting. After that, and running an errand, the workday ended early, so I went to Oversight early to observe my Monday ritual.

Speaking of Monday rituals, last week was so awful that even two visits to Oversight didn’t do the trick. Sometimes, habits that protect and ground me don’t work at all if the darkness is overwhelming. But I’m glad my family and a friend helped me through that period, and now I’m back to my safe space feeling lighter.

And now, another light from last week. Last Friday, April 24, my favorite band in the whole world, Foo Fighters, released their twelfth studio album, Your Favorite Toy. If I could write a lengthy album review, I would. But tonight, I’d like to relax more with my favorite affogato. Yet, here’s my short review: I’m elated that the Foo Fighters are back to being loud with the residue of post-Wasting Light albums’ experimental styles. I will make an in-depth album review when I feel 141 2/3% better.

But honestly, if I were to reach Steiner Math levels of wellness again soon, the album review would not be the first long post I would work on. I will talk more about the album’s antepenultimate track, “Child Actor”. Honestly, I didn’t expect the song to be a reminder of many recently depressing things at once, and since I listened to it during an already-dark week, it reduced me to tears. It became the soundtrack of last weekend for me, and I still can’t get enough of hearing it on loop (even as I type this).

Won’t you
Turn the cameras off
Turn the cameras off
Turn the cameras off
Turn the cameras off
Turn the cameras off
Turn the cameras off
Foo Fighters’ “Child Actor”

And my 30 minutes are up. Thank you for reading. See you in the next post, and have a nice week!

Header image: Raul Ling of Pexels. Edited in Adobe Photoshop 2025.