On Being 24

67 years ago, German forces attack Poland across all frontiers and its planes bomb Polish cities, including the capital, Warsaw - Britain and France prepare to declare war.

46 years ago, Britain's first betting shops will be allowed to open for business from May 1961.

37 years ago, King Idris of Libya is deposed after a group of officers take power and declare the country a republic.

24 years ago, September 01, 1982, my parents heard my first cry….

It's a long and winding road but the journey is yet to start.

And what have I learned so far?

Though disappointments and failures come, life does go on. They are not the reason for me to give up, but a challenge to move forward.

That the most important people in my life will always be my family. Their unconditional love and acceptance serves as my beacon and wherever this life may lead me, I will always have a light to guide me back home.

That friends, at time, will disappoint you but that does not mean that they don’t care.

That a single person can change your life in an instant.

That success is relative by the values that define your character.

That when you travel so fast in life, many treasured moments will be missed.

That in finding your strength, you have to face your weaknesses.

That contentment lies on your attitude to find fulfillment in the most ordinary situations.

That to love is more important than to be loved.

That to live is not to exist but to exist is to live.

That every life ends but there’s no reason not to enjoy it.

Blessed and forever thankful that God gave me another shot at life

…and all I can say is “BRING IT ON!”

Look Up!

I've watched Discovery channel last night and an interesting program was playing: Earth's Final Days. The show presented scientific facts that laid out our final days ahead: when the sun will burn out its fuel and explode, asteroids the size of a country impacting the earth and black holes that may suck our solar system.

If you will look into it, our extinction may not come from within, we forget that the bigger inevitable problems just lie up above.

This holistic view of our fragile existence will help us discover that wars between countries and the ongoing terrorism are nothing but a drop in a bucket: futile and useless.

Weekend Pondering

In life there is really no guarantee…

You may have all the acronyms after your name like PhD, CPA or MD

You may have graduated from an Ivy League university

You may have the flashiest cars like BMW, Ferrari or Mercedes

You may have earned the respect of other people

You may be friends with the who’s who

You may be working for a Forbes 500 company

You may have the most spectacular house you can ever build

You may have the biggest bank account

You may have the latest fashion and designers clothes

You may have the current techies available

You may have everything in the world…

And yet when you are stripped from all of these, you’re just YOU

Simple and plain YOU.

Time will come that your existence will also cease

…would all these still matter?

***drawn summer of 2003

Random Musing

• I just cannot help but to feel extremely frustrated when I look at the street children begging for food. Why can’t their parents be responsible enough to look after their own kids? People, just because you were given the liberty to have sex all you want, just make sure you can face any repercussion from your favorite past time activity. If you can’t handle it then better look for any alternative choice to occupy your time. Working hard is one.

• I have this new acquaintance that I met couple of days ago. We shook hand after that meeting but he left me something special that I will never forget—a booger between my fingers, trust me I did not produce that one. I felt like vomiting when I saw it and I thought a very loooong time how to get rid of it. YEK!

• I admire those people who say they don’t believe in God. Well, I admire their sheer audacity that’s all. It takes a lot of courage and solid boldness to be self-reliant. I hope they have a strong wall to lean on when trouble comes.

• Let’s face it, good looking individual are far luckier. Though some of them have brains the size of their thumb, they still get promoted, get there first, and enjoy many benefits that a plain individual like me could just dream of. We are by nature attracted to shining or stand out things/people etc. If not, then showbiz should have not thrived, beauty salons could have just been a concept and fashion is just synonymous to manner.

• I have observed that news is 10% factual and 90% BS, and I don’t mean Bachelor in Science, eh! To gather viewership, reporters rely more on empathy or emotional value rather than presenting the Who, What, Why and Where of it. Well, who could blame them, people are by nature fascinated with the touching, arousing or disturbing events. Just add a pinch of realty and wala, it’s CNN!

• Labeling individuals belonging to a certain group is nothing but pure bigotry especially when that person committed a crime. News always state this way: A gay, black man who is a Jew murdered a Chinese prostitute. Like the details of him being gay and a black Jew has something to do with his crime. Labeling is just a worthless description, so stop it.

• Mc Donald’s and other fast food restos should not accept orders of big mac and its combo from the already obese individuals. Sounds smug…but if you think your product will just add a level of fat again to these already ballooning customers, then as a service to them and the community, a special discounted price of salads and healthy veggies should be offered to them instead.

There it goes, my random musing from my insipid world. Any reaction, violent or constructive, is highly accepted hehehe!

Back To Innocence

Sometimes I feel jealous observing little toddlers with their friends. Their affection to show how much they love their buddies is not tainted with malice. We can see little boys with their arms wrapped around their friends’ shoulder or girls holding each other hands while walking.

Stations in life seemed a far fetch idea to these kids as well. Whether you are rich or below the economic ladder, so long as you can whistle a tune or catch a dragonfly—you’re in. You don’t need to prove anything to be accepted.

Yes! There is the occasional crying and tantrums but a big bullfrog or a wiggly worm can blow the tension away. It’s like there’s this unwritten code between kids that crying or fighting isn’t’ fun—and yeah! It isn’t!

A childhood memory with our friends is like an old road that you can navigate by heart.

I do remember that time when foods were shared willingly (even a single cookie will be divided into many parts) and stories spawn from imagination were accepted as fact. Time is of no essence so long as Mom will not holler that it’s time for dinner.

How good it is to discover that minutes were as big as melons or hours were counted by how many flat stones were skimmed in the glassy lake.

A happy hour is not at all associated with beer, however, a great time consist of watching the clouds drift slowly across the blue sky, or examining spiders knit its web, or counting how many chicks the mother hen hatched.

Deep friendships were made by a mere babbling of cross-my-heart-hope-to-die mantra, believing innocently that friends are indeed forever.

But as we grow older, priorities changed and what we consider as significant in our lives now revolves on being successful, having the flashiest blings or climbing the corporate ladder first.

People change and the friends we have made in our formative years are just but a foggy memory that once occupied a special part in our hearts.

When I see kids now being contented with what they have, who they have and where they are…I can’t help but to smile.

We’ve all been there too.

And it was a fun memory after all…

My Oh-so- BLOATED Ego!

The reason I wasn’t able to blog for a couple of days was I filed a vacation leave and went home to the province.

Man, what a breather to get out from the city and be fully acquainted again with the simple life—to tread old familiar roads and rediscover the beauty of a star filled night sky.

True to its claim, there are things that money can’t buy, for everything else... (nope! I don’t wanna go to the MasterCard thing…hahah!)

As I had time in my hands, I made this quasi slash pseudo…errr... FAKE magazine cover.

By the way, thank you all for the comments on my previous post. I appreciate it a lot!

What if

It was an ordinary day.

I woke up just in time, beating my alarm clock by fifteen minutes. I called on my maid, a newly hired domestic helper from abroad, to fix my breakfast and press my clothes.

I then gathered the newspapers from the patio and read my usual favorites. The business column named the Philippines as the most stable economy and once again gained the highest shares on the Stock Market. Wow! 15 Years in a row. The Peso is in its most stable period—1 Peso to 55 Dollars.

I can still remember the dark ages of this country though, where corruption and poverty were deeply intertwined with our psyche and acutely embedded in our culture, but somehow, we survived that.

And indeed, what a comeback!

We are the first country to produce the most efficient renewable energy and the first one to untapped the potential capability of water to be the fuel for our environment friendly automobiles—all manufactured locally. Investments came pouring in and a new optimism was seen on the horizon.

As the country rose, many Overseas Filipino Workers who previously worked as maids, nurses, engineers and factory workers came back to stay for good. Families were once again reunited.

There are surpluses of jobs and the country cannot fill in the vacancies that were needed and had instead lured other nationalities to come work for us. Currently, we are home to different nationalities and have become the melting pot of culture and diversity in Asia.

Our Educational System also was being emulated by our neighboring nations. Through radical process, we have cut the illiteracy rate by nearly 85%. At present, we are the hub of Information Technology in Asia and the main provider of electronics, chips and softwares to the rest of the world.

Though we are the most technologically advanced country in the world, environment was not jeopardized. Pockets of eco-parks are within the city area and natural resources are heavily protected.

Poverty is in its lowest rate, affecting only a minute portion of the urban area.

Our Social Welfare bested other nations as well because it alleviated social injustice and have promoted self sufficiency through economic mobilization.

Taxes were cut in half and benefits doubled. For once, the government acted for the people and by the people.

As I am a witness to the political and economic evolution of this country, I can’t help but to be proud that I am a part of that change.

I have seen the overwhelming transition from our deep instability to solid stability.

We have conquered impossibilities and realized possibilities.

Our Filipino Pride shaped our Filipino Dream.

…then I woke up again.

Darn! It was all but a dream!

NB: Be out for a couple of days guys. I hope you all the best. God bless!

Lost in Translation

Thanks to the World Wide Web, we can actually translate a foreign language document into something that we can really understand.

Japanese to English or Russian to Spanish…you name it, a language translator program can do it for a fraction of a time than finding that language ‘geek’ you need to harass to translate it for you.

Well, until you are that good speaking with different languages, I reckon that you must think twice using this translator thingee.

Case in point: The sentence that was used here was from the “About Me” in my profile column. Just swerve your sight at the upper right corner of your computer screen just below my profile pic…THERE found it!

Anyhoo, what I did was to translate it to Spanish, from Spanish to French and back to our good ‘ol English.

And I laughed at the result…

Original: In English

Sometimes, words hardly spoken are from those safely tucked within. These are the fragments of my life...my wishes...my dreams flowed freely from that throbbing presence inside my body.

In Spanish

A veces, las palabras habladas apenas son de ésas remetidas con seguridad dentro. Éstos son los fragmentos de mi vida... mis deseos... que fluyeron mis sueños libremente de esa presencia que palpitaba dentro de mi cuerpo.

In French

Parfois, les mots parlés dès qu'ils sont de de celles-là remetidas avec sécurité à l'intérieur. Ceux-ci sont les fragments de ma vie... mes désirs... qui ont librement coulé mes rêves de cette présence qui palpitait dans mon corps.

…and back to English

Sometimes, spoken words as soon as they are of these remetidas with safety inside. Those are the fragments of my life... my desires... which freely ran my dreams of this presence which palpitated in my body.

HUH! What palpitated in my body, wha…?!

No wonder the long road to world peace is as elusive as the Golden Fleece.

You say TOMATOE and I say TOMATO that kind of thing.

Darn you King Nimrod!

Crazy Thoughts

• Fart is alright, we all do this one time or another and it is just but a natural body function. Darn those gassy foods! What if your date cannot control his/her sphincter and let out a moist, atomic size, decibel crashing fart? What would you do?

Oohh! Baby, let me try that also…***prooooft*** It smells like curry, aint it? Oops, I thought it was just a fart—uh oh!

• Oral hygiene must at all time be given much attention and a woman, even how extremely good looking she is needs to be at least 300 meters away from me as I will be getting a restraining order from a judge. I can’t concentrate talking to her because I will be counting my oxygen intake and not to mention trying to avoid my murderous thoughts of flooding her with mouth wash. What I detest more is that sometimes, people with halitosis tends to laugh so hard as to spew many bacteria-infested spit on my face…eeeewww!

• I don’t know but used sanitary napkins make me go ballistic, irking my body with so much ickiness that I can literally taste my own barf. Excuse me ladies, I know this is a normal process and I completely understand it…but you know what, not many of you are that hygienic and most of the time, some just throw this away to let a scavenging dog (or cat) claim this treasured prize back home. What I hate most is when this thingee will be thrown in a trash bin on a public toilet. My initial thought--Is this alive? It looks like it's moving. Yek!

• Have you ever had that roommate in college (or now) that gagged profusely every time he gargles or take a brush? That person that empties his esophagus by inducing a tuberculosis-like cough and later on produces a big wad of green phlegm. He strategically do this when you are eating noodles or sunny side up eggs! Forgive my thoughts, but all I can think of during this time is to whack him in the head and throw the soup at him hehe!

• The reason “All Spice”, “Axe” or “Rexona” are thriving so well is because…well, a portion of the population just have a problem letting go of their Cro-Magnon scent. The last time I checked, body sprays are used after showers—not a substitute for taking a daily shower. But No! Many people, men specifically, just dab cologne and off they go. Brushing their way to a crowded place like a train station, bus terminals and yeah, small, cramped office cubicles.

Remember this equation: Sweat + cologne = foul stench.

• Eye crust can sometimes be so distracting. It’s really hard to have an eye contact when the person you are talking to have a large plank on one of his eyes. That yellowy thing that’s getting bigger and bigger as time passes by. The hardest part is to let him know about it:

Ummm! You know…Aahhh, there is something…eermmm---

You get what I mean!

Okay ‘Nuff said…just thinking aloud!

Dear Sandy,

Surprise!

I know it’s been so long and writing you once again only brings back many memories.

So how are you Sandy? I have heard you are doing pretty well. I know you deserve every blessing.

Time dictates, however, that I should write now…to tell you how I really feel. It seems a little bit late but being honest to you is not something that I have done before. I have since regretted the chance I blew knowing that I am killing myself bit by bit by withholding the things I need to say.

I just want you to know that even though we are miles apart, nothing will ever change the way I feel for you.

The distance only magnifies my deep longing.

The separation only intensifies my desire to see you again.

The horizon may stop me from reaching you but that doesn’t deter my heartfelt joy in knowing that you are being loved.

I know...I know you are already taken and boy! was he a lucky guy. I only hope that he will see in you Character more than Beauty, Strength more than Splendor and Substance more over than Form.

I’m not asking you to love me…nor am I asking for you to consider. Let me just love you from a distance…that’s all I’m asking.

This is just but a vain attempt to let you know that across the space and time, someone out there sincerely cares for you. I do!

I will now empty my longings into the vastness of my dreams and let my tears shine with the company of our memories.

As sure as the night turns into day, I will cast my wish that someday, you will look me in a different light...discover your way, back into my arms.

…and until then

I will wait.

A pinch of kiddie memory

I was only five years old. I remember the time when my elder brother was sleeping. It was his great afternoon nap.

My brother [up until now I guess] usually has his mouth open while sleeping. I was pretty curious because I don’t sleep like that. Well, my evilness came into being. I decided to get a pinch of salt. So to keep the story short, I did what I supposed to do, pour the salt into his mouth.

He gagged! And I froze from where I was standing. Gathering my wits, I scram outside the house as fast as I could and saw a mango tree just a few meters away. I climbed until I saw him running but because I was no where in sight, he went back to our house.

Part of me was so afraid and part of me was so ecstatic. It was a stupid mistake but loving every minute of it. I chuckled just remembering that instance when he opened his eyes, disoriented with a funny look in his face.

I was in the tree for hours till I saw my Dad coming home. It was then that I run towards him because I knew my brother could not knock me off when I was in the arms of the old man.

I saw my brother’s stares searing like a hot iron.

I just smiled back.

The Ant Bully

I had the chance to watch “The Ant Bully” yesterday and it was a time (and money) well spent. Should you have time, I urge you to watch it.

The synopsis is very simple: A young boy threatens an ant colony and then destroys the colony's anthill with a water pistol. When he's shrunk to ant size and sentenced to work in the colony, however, he starts to change his mind about how he treats the little bugs.

A certain part of the movie struck me with deep sense of wistful thinking. It was Zoc the sorcerer and Lucas conversing on top of a mushroom. The towering city was beyond them and Zoc asked what does human do in those “nests.” Lucas nonchalantly replied that every human is a man for himself, that because of differences, humans tend to withdraw from each other living like a single colony of their own. Zoc was appalled. He then compared his colony, their values and what makes them stick together. He said that differences did not divide them apart but helped them realized their own function in the colony which make each ant a vital part of the whole.

Come to think of it, Zoc was right! We must celebrate diversity instead. What a waste of time of trying to make the whole population be molded into one single description. It’s our deep misguided thought of conforming to the popular, majority and safe that needs to be expelled from our psyche.

The ant’s colony proved true—there is really UNITY in DIVERSITY.

Find the ant in you!

Crazy Thoughts

I am an advertising fanatic. I savor good advertisements and I can only count within my fingers those ads that made a mark into my memory…and yet there are those ads which I just love to hate. Well, this post is just but a common observation and the what if’s of the wonderful world of consumerism.

• I have yet to see a Napkin advertisement which uses red as the color to simulate the ‘heavy flow.’ Well, they usually use Blue…maybe to lessen the grossness hahaha!

• Tall billboards towered many of the streets with pictures of good looking ladies or gents, greatly posing with their gym carved bodies…and yet what struck me most was that they were just endorsing a shoe or a watch.

• Would it be great if Funeral Parlors would have a SALE? Seriously, I believe many morbid citizens will grab each opportunity when they offer a FREE TRIAL or 50% OFF or Buy ONE TAKE ONE Sale. Wouldn’t you agree?

• In the Marlboro Advertisement, it gallantly welcomes us to ‘Marlboro Country’, I just wonder if that particular place is where the people with emphysema, bronchitis and lung problems convene?

• I’m playing the innocent card here so Ymir and Jin shut up hehe! Why do they add flavors to condoms? It’s not like someone will chew or eat it? Chocolate flavor my ass…why not concoct a DURIAN flavored condom now that they are at it!

• If double standard should not be made, then men with big round bellies should also model briefs or boxers. Why limit the population with the ripped ab gym rats? Yeah! A little bit gross when you look into a billboard having a 300 pound man on his briefs--but that's reality! Ask many moms.
  

• Lastly, why do all commercial models in print ads endorsing foods or beverages need to open their mouths so wide? Burger or drinks, you name it! Without a doubt, these models have mouths that can fill in two close fists.

Okay, the craziness stops here...



sidenote: Those who are requesting that I should also post sample of my paintings...I already did. Click pastels.