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This is the blog of Ian Rosales Casocot. Filipino writer. Sometime academic. Former backpacker. Twink bait. Hamster lover.
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Bibliography
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The Great Little Hunter
Pinspired Philippines, 2022
![](https://i.imgur.com/TmdtdEk.jpg)
The Boy The Girl
The Rat The Rabbit
and the Last Magic Days
Chapbook, 2018
![](https://i.imgur.com/Xdx0LXL.jpg)
Republic of Carnage:
Three Horror Stories
For the Way We Live Now
Chapbook, 2018
![](https://i.imgur.com/17s0LFf.jpg)
Bamboo Girls:
Stories and Poems
From a Forgotten Life
Ateneo de Naga University Press, 2018
![](https://i.imgur.com/TINK2a8.png)
Don't Tell Anyone:
Literary Smut
With Shakira Andrea Sison
Pride Press / Anvil Publishing, 2017
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Cupful of Anger,
Bottle Full of Smoke:
The Stories of
Jose V. Montebon Jr.
Silliman Writers Series, 2017
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First Sight of Snow
and Other Stories
Encounters Chapbook Series
Et Al Books, 2014
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Celebration: An Anthology to Commemorate the 50th Anniversary of the Silliman University National Writers Workshop
Sands and Coral, 2011-2013
Silliman University, 2013
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Handulantaw: Celebrating 50 Years of Culture and the Arts in Silliman
Tao Foundation and Silliman University Cultural Affairs Committee, 2013
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Inday Goes About Her Day
Locsin Books, 2012
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Beautiful Accidents: Stories
University of the Philippines Press, 2011
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Heartbreak & Magic: Stories of Fantasy and Horror
Anvil, 2011
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Old Movies and Other Stories
National Commission for Culture
and the Arts, 2006
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FutureShock Prose: An Anthology of Young Writers and New Literatures
Sands and Coral, 2003
Nominated for Best Anthology
2004 National Book Awards
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© 2002-2021
IAN ROSALES CASOCOT
Sunday, March 05, 2017
11:59 PM |
Clean-up Therapy
As a confirmed bachelor who lives on his own, I don't entrust the cleaning of my apartment to other people, especially hired help. The last time I hired a cleaning person to do it, my entire stamp collection -- which included many, many rare pieces -- went to the trash, for some reason. That broke my heart: it was a boyhood hobby, and it was gone, just like that. (But from this incident, I learned quickly not to get too attached to things, even those you think you couldn't part with.) And so I always take it upon myself to clean my apartment despite my tight schedule. I've come to cherish it, too: it has become a time for me to be introspective. I get good ideas and I remember things I must do when I clean -- so that's all good. But it does take me approximately two days to do everything. (I have shelves and shelves of books.) Today, however, I told myself I must try to finish everything in two hours. That meant getting rid of distractions, because I've noticed that when I clean, I'd stop for stretches of time to read this and that, but mostly to Facebook or to watch movies, ostensibly to while away the cleaning hours. Deep inside, I knew I was bullshitting myself. So tonight, I told myself, "Turn off the laptop, Ian." And I did. And it was hard, at first. But I persevered.
It still took me seven hours to do everything instead of the two I planned, but I'm done, and I have surprised myself with my capacity for will power and thorough single-mindedness. The apartment is finally clean, my soul is at ease, and everything is in place, more or less. I can breathe properly again. And suddenly the days ahead are filled with possibilities and hope.
[0] This is Where You Bite the Sandwich
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