The Sandbox

Goyong And Lucit

2012-02-14T18:23:00.000+03:00

In his younger days, my grandfather was popular among his peers. I didn’t know that until one of my barkada’s grandmother asked me; “Kaano-ano mo si Goyong?” When I answered I’m his “apo”, she began to tell me stories about my grandfather’s “escapades” during his student days. It was “colorful” and at the same time strangely creepy. She’s almost as if talking about me. Older relatives would comment - I’m his “carbon copy”. It makes me wonder if the reason why the bond between my lolo and I was strong was because he sees himself in me, both in attitude and appearance. Perhaps it’s true, but we differ in “taste” when it comes to choosing a partner in life.

My grandmother was the opposite of my grandfather. Goyong was the eldest, Lucit was the youngest. He was “fair”, she’s “dark”, got kinky hair and a “hauty-tauty” attitude (“trademarks” in her side of the family). I wouldn’t give a second glance if I meet a girl like her. Out of curiosity, I asked my grandfather what he sees that he chose to marry her; he’d smile and said “she’s meticulous and organized”. Maybe that’s the “quality” he was looking for. Between the two of them, their sheer hard work and determination produced two professionals without any help from anybody. My father and my aunt were the first engineer and doctor hailed from their place. An achievement that earned my grandparents the respect of their town.

Perhaps love was also a factor because in spite of Lucit’s “kasupladahan”, Goyong took it in stride. A grand aunt once told us a story about my grandparents when Lola was pregnant with my father. It's not exactly a scene from Romeo and Juliet but if things didn’t go her way, she’ll climb on the veranda and threatened my lolo; “Goyong, tatalon ako, tatalon ako!” And Lolo on the ground, arms stretch out (as if that’s enough to support the force and weight if she decided to jump) pleads for her to come down. Later in life, when I teased him about it, he’d just smirked and said “Eh, di tumalon sya ngayon!”

When Lolo passed away at a ripe age of 90, I asked my aunt a silly question; “Aunty, what if some strangers comes to attend Lolo’s wake and tell us they are Lolo’s children?” My aunt laughed and said she’ll welcome them with open arms. It happened that Lucit overheard us and she indignantly blurted “My Goyong would never do that to me!” So I ribbed Lola; “When Lolo was still able, he goes at dawn to tend his farm and arrives home before dusk while you just stay home. That’s almost 12 hours a day, six days a week that you don’t know what he was doing out there”. And that did it. Her blood pressure shoots up and my aunt had to inject her with something to calm her down. When my father arrived, he inquired why “Nanay” is in bed. Somebody told him. Batok at mura lang naman ang inabot ko sa tatay ko.

Now and then, I still get misty eyed every time I remember my grandparents, especially my lolo. I missed him a lot.

BTW, Happy Valentines to all of you!

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 51)

2012-01-30T08:33:00.000+03:00

What’s So Special About Seven?

2012-01-14T14:37:00.000+03:00

Probably the greatest harm done by vast wealth is the harm that we of moderate means do ourselves when we let envy enter deep into our own natures. – Thedore Roosevelt

I’ve never attended an 18th birthday bash, but my brother did. Even so, I saw them practice dancing the “cotillion”. I just can’t stand this kind of occasion or ceremony. It’s too “classy” for my taste.

But birthday “debut” has its purpose. In the old days, it’s a way for one “rich” family to announce to other “rich” families that they have an “available” daughter of marrying age. It also served as an excuse to flaunt the family’s wealth.

Here in the kingdom, some “nouveau rich” expats push it to the next level. They celebrate their child’s birthday like an 18 years old debutante. Complete with “rose-giving”, cotillion and the whole nine yards. It’s every mother’s dream when their daughter reaches the age of – SEVEN.

Why seven? What’s so special about the number seven? Until now, no one can explain to me of its significance except that’s the age most children are accepted in grade 1. I can only think of one reason and I already mentioned it above.

When it comes to “ostentatious display”, no one can beat a particular mother from my daughter’s school. On her child’s seventh birthday, she handed out cards similar to a wedding invitation. It got names of participants for the cotillion, “7-roses dance”, ushers and usherettes and so on. The venue was a huge “estereha” (a rented compound for picnic, parties and other occasion) and catered by a well-known restaurant. Complete with McDo and other form of entertainment. Besides the child’s classmates and parents, the entire school personnel were also invited. But what makes this occasion unique was - her child is a BOY!

You might say I’m just envious. No, I’m not. I’m telling these stories because it scares me. Next month, my daughter Bea will turn seven and already I can feel her mother “scheming”. Huwag naman po sana…

Holiday Greetings

2011-12-21T19:59:00.000+03:00

To all my friends, readers and lurkers...

From BlogusVox Family

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 50)

2011-12-12T18:47:00.000+03:00

On Marriage

2011-11-26T14:21:00.001+03:00

Foreword: Just in case my wife reads this; all anecdotes I told were work of fiction. Any similarity to people’s lives, both living and dead, was unintentional and purely coincidental. – BlogusVox

The Shrew

I love my wife and that’s my first mistake. But it’s not too late for you would-be-husbands out there. If you’re in love with your woman from head to toe – DON’T tell her you’ll love her till the end of infinity. The moment she knows, she’ll take advantage of you and exploit that weakness!

When we were younger, my wife’s “national pastime” was to irritate me to the max that I sometimes contemplate the idea of sending her back to her family. The only thing holding me back was the image of my departed father-in-law which keeps flashing in my mind. When my parents and I went to their residence to ask for my wife’s hand, her father wore this enigmatic half-grateful, half-relieved face. Later do I understood that his telling me in a subtly way – you asked for it, you got it. NO RETURN, NO EXCHANGE!

Wonder Woman

I believed my wife got “superpowers”. When I did something not to her liking, she simply looks at me and an invisible beam comes out of her eyes. It engulfed me, leaving me frozen - stone cold. The weird thing is it affects me but my daughter is immune to it. This leads me to suspect, maybe Bea got superpowers too. It’s not easy living among “X-men”.

I Don’t Have ESP

My wife got this nasty habit of leaving her sentences hanging on air. She’ll say something like: “Kunin mo nga yan…” (not looking but pointing her finger in space) or “Dalhin mo nga ang ano sa kwan…” But what really gets my goat is when she opens a conversation and in mid-sentence expects me to continue, like:

Wife: Totoo ba yung nangyari?

Me : Nang ano?

Wife : Dun sa kumpare mo nung nakaraang linggo.

Me : Anong nangyari kay Pare?

Wife: Ano ka ba! Kumpare mo yan, ikaw dapat ang nakaka-alam!

I’m a trained engineer. I deal with details and specifics. I’m not clairvoyant! I DON’T READ MINDS! Tell me what you want in a sentence that contains a subject and a predicate and I’ll comply!

When the conversation comes to this point, she’ll just look at me innocently and smiles knowingly, as if expecting this kind of reaction from someone “crazy”. And it’s true. That kind of “look” really drives me nuts!

Read Between the Lines

When you received a text message or email from your wife that goes something like:

“Hon, if you’re not busy and you got time, please pass by the supermarket and buy the following…”

Remember, how ever polite and solicitous this maybe, it is NOT A REQUEST. It’s an ORDER! Discard whatever you previously planned and set this as your TOP PRIORITY. Prepare a valid reason if you miss one item from her list if you don’t want to be ZAP by her “laser-eye”.

When shopping for something and she said: “Hon, anong gusto mo? Ito?”

She’s not asking your opinion. She already decided what to buy and all she wants is you concur. But be careful; don’t give your “nod” all the time. Find a way to distance yourself if things get “critical”. Let her decide alone because the moment something goes wrong with the merchandise - its YOUR FAULT, because YOU CHOOSE IT!

Marriage is teamwork. In order for it to work, both of you should have a “say” on any decision you both make. That means, when she “suggests” you “agree”.

Now that you know the difference between the sexes and you got your “pointers”, go out there and make her happy!

Bato-bato Sa Langit... (Sn. 5)

2011-11-20T07:56:00.001+03:00

Conversation with Bea (Part 2)

2011-11-12T13:58:00.001+03:00

Themost interesting information comes from children, for they tell all they knowand then stop. – Mark Twain

Observant and sometimes a critique, she’ll ask me thingsthat may seems odd to her. Last Ramadan, during Eid, we were sitting on a bench inside a mall while waiting for her mother who was busy looking for “sales”. A South Asianfamily passed by dressed in all their “fineries” and Bea whispered to me,pointing with her lips at a girl about her age.

Bea: Daddy, why is she dressed like that?

Me : Maybe she’s a princess and she’s going to a dance.

Bea: No. She’s a fairy without wings. Hinde pa Halloween, diba, Daddy?

Without trying, she can embarrass you in public. An Arablady passed by and Bea exclaimed:

Bea: Look Daddy oh, she draw “pencils” on her hand.

Me : That’s a henna hand decoration, anak.

Bea: She better wash hand. It’s DIRTY!

You should read between the lines when talking to Bea. A couple of weeks ago I caught her picking her nose while we’re watchingTV.

Me : What are you doing?

Bea: Nothing.

Me : Are you eating “kulangot”?

Bea: (Indignantly) NO… I’m making a ball!

Once we’re looking for our friend’s flat and all I got was asketched map for direction. We’re going in circle and we were again on afork road we passed by earlier when Bea happened to read a street sign:

Bea: Daddy look! Maather Street! Turn left!

Me : Ay, oo nga. Sorry, anak, I didn’t see the sign kasi.

Bea: Buti na lang I’m here, kung hindi, we’re lost again.

I can’t figure out if it’s a jest or sympathybecause with her lopped-sided smile she added: “Don’t worry Daddy. When I’mbig, I’ll buy you glasses.”

Her mother always makes it a point Bea prays before she goesto sleep. Mommy taught her how to pray but she doesn’t like it. It’s lengthybecause it includes “Our Father” and “Hail Mary” which she hates to memorize.So she makes her own “version” which varies from time to time. It goessomething like this:

In the name of the Father and the Mother and the Son and theHoly Spirit, Amen.

Papa God,

Please help my Daddy to be strong all the time.

Please help my Daddy in his driving so he won’t always say“gago”.

Please help me in my studies and in my test in the morningand in the afternoon so Mommy is always happy.

Please help Mommy clean the kitchen and wash our clothes andalso help Mommy in her cooking.

Thank you.

Goodnight Papa God, goodnight Mama Mary and to my DearGuardian Angel.

Amen.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 49)

2011-10-31T03:00:00.000+03:00

Shato, Shatong, Pitiw or Gutalaguti

2011-10-25T03:00:00.000+03:00

As everybody knowsby now the Crown Prince of this kingdom passed away. To honor the prince and pay their respect,MBC group didn’t show any of its usual programs on air except documentaries of HisExcellency’s biography along with the history and culture of the Middle East.

But what caught my interest was a segment featuring traditional games played by Middle Eastern children. I started “googling” and Ifound this article from a fellow blogger. A snippet of it explained:

“Gutalaguti [gut-ta-la-gut-ti]

This involves two teams of children, two sticks made from dried palm leaves anda small stone. One stick needs to be about 1 ½ to 2 feet and the other needs tobe about 6 inches long.

The smaller stick is put on the ground, with one end resting on the stone – oneend touches the floor and the other end is in the air. The idea is to hit thesmall stick with the big stick and curl it into the air. As the stick flies upyou then hit it again to see how far you can hit it.

The person who has hit the stick has to run around an area marked out like abaseball or cricket pitch. Whilst this is happening the other team has to catchthe stick.

Whilst the person is running they must repeat the name of the game,“gut-ta-la-gut-ti, gut-ta-la-gut-ti, gut-ta-la-gut-ti”. It is impossible toscore a run if you don’t repeat the name of the game whilst running.”

Does it sound familiar? It is similar to our traditional children’sgame which we call “Shato” in Luzon, “Shatong” in Cebuor “Pitiw” in my hometown. It’s amazing to think that children, continentapart, played an old yet very similar game!

image was taken from immortal undead.

The question that comes to mind was – who did the importing?Tongue in cheek; it’s a possibility an OFW might have introduced it to their "sponsor’s"children (I know of some Saudi families who loves to eat “adobo” and “sinigang”).But a likely explanation might be that it came along, together with the Arabicwords like “hukom” and “salamat”, when Arabs were once sea-faring traders and spreadingthe words of Islam on our shores.

Neither the less, who ever adapted, is not important. This wasone of my favorite games when I was young. Not only was it a good exercise toboth limbs and lungs, it also hones your counting skill.

But sadly, like any tradition, it died as time andtechnology changes. It’s no longer played by children, both here and in the Philippines.

In Memoriam: Dennis Ritchie (1941 – 2011)

2011-10-22T09:09:00.001+03:00

Unlike Steve Jobs, his was not a household name except among Computer scientists, C programmers and maybe UNIX users. But his influence is at par or perhaps surpasses that of Steve Jobs.

Dennis Ritchie touches each one of us one way or another. Every time you turn on your desktop, laptop or tablet, you benefited in his genius. Every time you use an application in your IPhone or Android, he helps make your life a little bit easier.

Thank you and farewell, Sir. Rest In Peace.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 48)

2011-10-14T16:47:00.000+03:00

Culturally Challenge Pinoys

2011-10-03T13:54:00.000+03:00

Apeople without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is likea tree without roots. – MarcusGarvey

Why is it, to some foreign observers, we are a people withan identity crises? I think they are not far from the truth. We deemed inferior anylocally made goods even when it is at par or superior than the same productabroad. We’re awed when some Filipinos speaks English with an American twang butamused when someone interchange “F” and “P” or “V” and “B”. We readily“accept” strangers who are fair-skinned and mestizo-looking in contrast to how we treat the same person if his dark-skinned. We dress and act like liberal westerners yet we dothe sign of the cross or utter “Susmaryosep” on anything we see or feel is inconflict with our catholic upbringing (as if these symbolic gesture andincantation shields us from what we perceived as sin). If you think thelast statement is false or exaggerated, try to imagine a woman in“spaghetti tops” and mini-skirt kneeling in deep supplication. Now, go to yourlocal church and see if she’s there.

I’m no social psychologist or historian but, I believed, colonization isone factor. It also depends on the colonizer. The “business oriented”Dutch who once ruled Indonesiaor the “pedigree obsessed” British in India are only interested in their colony’s resources. They leave the “natives” alone to practice what they want.They don’t mingle with them, thus the local inhabitant’s culture is intact. We,on the other hand, are unfortunate of being colonized by countries that notonly want our resources but wants to mess-up our psyche as well.

Our first “master”, who happens to produce the likes ofTorquemada, destroyed our heritage by burning artifacts that linked us to ourpast and brainwashed us into accepting their belief. The second was even worst.It implemented “scourge earth” warfare against what they call “fiercesavages”, wiping entire towns and killing anything that move. And after thedust settled, they made us believed they're our “Big Brother”, going out of thereway to help their “little brown brother”. Giving us the semblance they are betterthan the Spaniards but making sure we are subservient to their wants. Theysaturate us with their “ways” and material things with the intention of developingthe perception - there is no difference between them and us. They made “coconuts”out of us (brown outside, white inside).

Have you heard the phrase “White man’s burden”? It’s thetitle of a movie about America's white man’s treatment of blacks. It drives homethe message by putting the former's shoe on the latter’s foot. But its origin is Kipling’spoem criticizing America’spolicy towards the Philippines.This poem, together with Samuel Clemens warning regarding consequences, did notdeter America’simperialistic ambition, even if it means destroying the identity of a people. Perhaps,they think, it is a small price to pay for the greater good of US of A.

I don’t know if losing one’s identity is good or bad. If theSpaniards weren’t so zealous, my parents may have named me “Ahmed” or “Sulaiman”.Being immersed in a muddled cultural soup made us xenocentric but enabled us to also assimilate easily inforeign environment with minimal culture-shock or none at all. It also created “conyos”the likes of Malou Fernandez and James Soriano.

I hate to say it but it’s true. Culture-wise... we'remongrels.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 47)

2011-09-28T11:46:00.000+03:00

Ang Wikang Filipino: Tugon Sa Sinulat ni J. Soriano

2011-09-17T09:31:00.000+03:00

“Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita mahigit sa hayop atmalansang isda” – Tinatalakay ang totoong may-akda.

Mahigit dalawang linggo na ang nakakaraan ng sinulat niJames Soriano ang sanaysay na bumulabog, pinagmulan ng batikos at kuro-kuro sablogosperyo. Bagamat kulang sa taktika at may kahambugan, ang kanyangobserbasyon ay may katotohanan. Ngunit batid na ng nakakarami ito bago pa man binu-oang sanaysay. Ang hindi katanggap-tanggap, para sa akin, ay ang pahapyaw na konklusyonna ang Filipino at hindi wika ng madudunong.

Ang wikang tinutukoy ni Soriano ay hindi Filipino. Ito aymga idyomang galing sa salitang-kalye, lenguaheng-bakla, binastardong Inglis atiba pang salitang lingid sa akin ang katuturan. Sinanib sa wikang Tagalog naginagamit sa Kamaynilaan at karatig-lugar nito. Maaaring maituturing nadyalekto ng wikang Tagalog. Mababaw at hindi lubos kung gagawing batayan sa paghusgang ang Filipino ay wika ng walang pinag-aralan.

Totoong karamihan sa wikang Filipino ay galing sa salitangTagalog. Ngunit kung susuriing mabuti, taglay din nito ang mga katagang hangosa wikang Ilokano, Bicol, Hiligaynon, Cebuano at iba pang pangunahing wika ng Pilipinas.Nakakapag-angkop ang isa sa mga katangian nito. Kapag ang kataga oterminolohiyang banyaga ay walang katumbas sa ating salita, kinukupkop atginagawang Filipino sa pamamagitan ng pag-iba ng pag baybay katulad ng “police”(pulis), “taxi” (taksi) o “ballpen” (bolpen). Hindi lamang tayo ang may wikang“nang-aangkin” ng banyagang salita. Ang pinapangalandakan ni Soriano na wikangInglis ay tigib nito. Halimbawa ay “etcetera” na pinulot sa Latin, “sofa” nagaling sa Pranses na hinugot naman sa “suffa” ng wikang Arabik at“thermodynamics” na hinango sa wikang Grego. Sapagkat mabilis ang komunikasyonat pag bago ng teknolohiya sa kasalukuyang panahon, walang pangunahing wika namaituturing na dalisay.

Dahil sa madaling makibagay ang wikang Filipino, kungtaimtimin, kayang ihayag nito ang ano mang dokumento, pangtala man o pang-ulat,sa mundo ng kalakal, edukasyon at alin mang sektor na nagbibigay-buhay sa atinglipunan. Ang nakakalungkot, wikang Inglis pa rin ang nangingibabaw at maspinapahalagahan. Sa pag puna, merong dalawang kadahilanan akong nakikita; angInglis ay madaling isulat at maunawaan.

Halimbawa, ang pangungusap na:

“Ang sinaysay na ito ay nakaka-tamad at nakaka-antokbasahin.”

Pag isinalin sa wikang Inglis ay:

“This essay is a boring read.”

Dito makikita kung alin sa dalawang wika ang madalingisulat.

Hindi sa may kakulangan ang wikang Filipino kaya ito’y hindibantog. Bagkos, ang pagkukulang ay nasa Pilipinong manunulat at mambabasa,propesyonal man o mag-aaral. Dahil karamihan sa atin, lalo na sa hilagang Luzon, Kabisayaan at Timog-Pilipinas, ang inang-wika ayhindi Filipino.

“Aklanon” at “Hiligaynon” ang kinagisnan kong mga wika. Kayasa pag-aaral ng Filipino, ang karamihan sa mga kataga’y bago sa pandinig.Mahirap isa-ulo lalo pa’t nakakalito ang mga termino ng balarila na karamihanay nagsisimula sa pantig na “pang” (pangngalan, panghalip, pangdiwa atbp). Angkulang sa interes at hindi pag pansin sa wikang ito ay nadama ng ako’ytumuntong ng kolehiyo at nag-aral sa Maynila. Biro at kutya ang kadalasangnapapala dahil sa maling bigkas, hindi wastong balarila at kakaibang punto.Ngunit ito’y hindi naging balakid, bagkos ginawang pamukaw-sigla. Nagingmasigasig, pinag-aralan ang puno’t dulo at pinamukha sa umaangking “ito angkanilang salita” ng mag kaalaman kung sino ang mas bihasa.

Hindi man tayo sanay sumulat o bumasa sa ating naturingangPambansang Wika, hindi nangangahulugang tayo’y hindi Pilipino o makabayan. Angmga walang-hiya ay yaong nanglalait at yumuyurak sa mga bagay napinapahalagahan ng bayang kumopkop sa kanila.

Ang Filipino ay hindi salita ng walang pinag-aralan. Ang katotohananay ang kabaliktaran. Ang laitin ng pahapyaw ang isang wika na walang kongkretong basihan ay tanda ngkakulangan sa kaalaman nito. Si Soriano ay mangmang sa wikang Filipino.

Our “Distorted” History

2011-08-30T16:24:00.002+03:00

The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice – Mark Twain

Last week my daughter took her 2nd Grading exam prior to their ten days Ramadan vacation. She did very well. But as usual the ever “unsatisfied” mother lamented she made one mistake in her Social Studies subject on the question -

Who is our National Hero?
a: Jose Rizal
b: Andres Bonifacio
c: Emilio Aguinaldo

Bea wrote down “b”. Perhaps na malik-mata lang, because when I asked her the same question she answered “Jose Rizal”. But then again, is it really Rizal? Ask any soldier in the Philippine Armed Forces and they’ll tell you Andres Bonifacio is their National Hero. In fact, we are the only country in Southeast Asia who championed a pacifist/conformist as our number 1 “idol”.

Rizal didn’t want a revolution. He does not want an independent Philippines. On the contrary, he prefers the role of a loyal vassal. What he want was a “voice” in the halls of power; an “Indio” representative in the Spanish court. In other words, his okay that we remain a subject of Spain as long as we have an envoy wailing our grievances in front of the king.

We didn’t choose Rizal as our National Hero. He was picked by our American colonial masters because he served their purpose. They favor a “docile” personality for Filipinos to look up to rather than a bolo-wielding “war-freak” the like of Bonifacio. To make him looked more appealing to the populace, so called “Filipino historians” buttered his character to create an aura of an “extra-ordinary” person.

Elementary history books told us his father was a farmer, a profession which connotes a humble beginning. But even then, one can’t afford to send his son to any exclusive schools in Manila and Europe if one was just an ordinary farmer. One can’t afford to support his son’s “bohemian” lifestyle in the Old World if one was just a mere land tiller. Even the prefix “Dr” is false. Oh yes, his more than capable to operate on his mother’s receding eyesight. But he didn’t finish his medical study nor took a medical licensure examination. Thus, technically, his not allowed to use the title "Doctor". Words like “poor”, “intellectual”, “patriot”, for me, aptly described more a man named Apolinario Mabini; a man who through sheer hard work, over-came poverty, educated and became a noted “illustrado” of his time.

Just recently, questions pop-upped on the authorship of the poem “Sa Aking Mga Kababata”. History detectives like Ambet Ocampo asked, “Where’s the original document of the said poem”? The oldest “copy” in archive was dated during the American colonial era. I simply ask, how on earth a man who felt more at home talking “Si, Senor” and wrote his master pieces in Spanish also wrote “Ang hindi magmahal sa kanyang salita mahigit sa hayop at malansang isda”.

I’m not instigating “Rizal-bashing” here neither do I judge the man by his “lingua franca”. I admire him for his personal achievements and I believed his love for his motherland was unquestionable. What I’m trying to emphasize is history should be transparent and not twisted or supplanted for the benefit of some power-that-be or because the truth is too ugly to accept. We should tell it as it is and let future generations be the judge of the action of their forefathers.

By the way, who do you think killed Magellan? There is no known document supporting the claim Lapu-lapu did it. What they have was written eye-witness account of two Spaniards. If we are to believe Pigafetta, then Ferdie was a victim of “mob-lynching”. Kuyog ang ikinamatay nya!

Brgy. Musmos (Sn. 4)

2011-08-23T13:54:00.000+03:00

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 46)

2011-08-09T14:57:00.002+03:00

Human Rights Logos

2011-07-10T10:32:00.007+03:00

I was at Isla de Nebz's place when I noticed this post. I kind of thinking; why not join. Nothing will be lost except some wasted effort on my part and perhaps a depleted ego if my work isn’t nominated. So I did some research and came up with these three logos.

The first one represents the genders and the diverse races. The “scale” stands for equality and/or justice and the blue circle symbolizes our world.

I modified the second logo to include children and the four colors (red, yellow, black and white) indicates the four major races. Both logos were titled: “Equality in a Diverse World”.

The third logo is quite simple. I combined the first letter of “Human” and “Rights” and put in the middle an abstract representation of “man” and “scale”.

As I browsed some of the other entries, I was surprised to find out I wasn’t the only one who had an idea of combining “man” and “scale” in their logos. Isn’t that amazing. Given a set of rules, humans will think matching ideas and create almost identical symbols.

If you have time, please visit this site. I know its quite tough browsing all the logos considering there are more than 8,000 entries as of now. But if you happen to like my logos, please don’t forget to push the “heart” icon at the upper right hand corner of the drawing. But before you do that, you have to “log-in” or “sign-up” first (FB or Tweeter accounts are accepted) or your “vote” won’t be registered.

Thank you.

Buhay Abroad (Sn. 1)

2011-07-02T07:41:00.000+03:00

On the Spotlight…

2011-06-29T09:26:00.002+03:00

Meet Ms. Sardonyx of Hulascoop atbp; a wife and mother who looks at life in a positive way in spite being an NPA (No-Permanent-Address). That’s because she’s been transferring from one country to another, depending where her hubby is assigned. But she’s no ordinary “army wife”. She's a Mapua engineering graduate who sacrificed her profession to take care of her husband and be a doting mother to her two lovely children.

I have no other specimen of Ms. Sardz except from what I found in a PEBA site. It’s quite difficult to draw a frontal face when your model’s picture is taken from an above-the-head angle. I hope I did justice to this one.

Ms. Sardz, if you have time, please email me your address so I can send you the original copy of your caricature.

And The Winner Is…

2011-06-22T14:26:00.006+03:00

Thank you to all who participated even though some of you broke the code but didn’t finish the problem. I know you’d like to remain anonymous and I respect that.

To those who are wondering, here’s the deciphered code:

And the answer is “Emilio Aguinaldo”. Congratulation to Ms. Sardonyx of Hulascoop atbp for her correct entry.

For a snippet of history and clue, you may find this interesting. Of course a more “colorful” narrative of what happened that faithful day could be found in Ambet Ocampo’s book - “Luna’s Mustache”. Acampo’s research was also the reason why I don’t consider Aguinaldo a “hero”. To me his just another political opportunist with a “gangstah” mentality. His thinking and methods are comparable to those warlords from Maguindanao.

I’ll post Ms. Sardz caricature in a couple of days. Again, thank you all.

Anniversary Treat

2011-06-15T01:30:00.000+03:00

How time fly fast and another year was added to my blog. As I’ve promised before, I’ll do another “pa-contest” and who ever wins will get a picture of them selves in cartoon form. All you have to do is solve this puzzle:

Just like before, I’ll pick two winners. The first commenter to solve it will take the first slot. I’ll gather the rest of correct answers and raffle it using my random program. Who ever wins will take the second slot.

You have one week to find out the answer. Goodluck!

P.S.

By the way, previous winners may submit their answers but will not be included in the contest. Pag bigyan naman natin yung hindi pa nanalo, hane. Thanks!

Gaya-gaya Puto Maya: The K-12 Dilemma

2011-06-11T12:38:00.002+03:00

Example has more followers than reason. We unconsciously imitate what pleases us, and approximate to the characters we most admire. – Christian Nestell Bovee

My daughter is now in grade 1 and her school curriculum is based on the Philippines’ standard of education. But unlike public schools in Metro Manila, she absorbs 7 hours of quality education and her subjects are more advanced compared to most schools in the Philippines.

Obviously, DECs noticed the state of our education that they want to implement what they called K-12 program - our government plan of extending students primary and secondary schooling from 10 to 12 years. Like most of their “noble” vision, it’s out of touch with reality, too much talk but lacks planning and logistic.

Their main argument was that most countries are applying 12 years minimum education. Thus we should also do same to be competitive and on equal footing with the rest of the world. I’m a product of public school. But back then, our education was at par with the more expensive private schools. I don’t want to sound “elitist” but here in the Middle East, besides demonstrating “superior” know-how, our professionals can handle their own against other expats who have K-12 education. It is not how long you stayed in school but how much knowledge one absorbed and learned while schooling.

I admit the current public education in our country sucks. Most of their products are ill-prepared and possess half-baked knowledge. But extending the years of learning is not the answer. You may implement K-12, K-13 or K to the nth year but you’ll still get the same result as long as students spend 4 hours or less in the classroom per day and taught by uninspired or ill-equipped teachers. It’s not only taxing for the students, it’s an additional burden for the parents as well.

It’s not bad to emulate systems of progressive countries. But one also has to consider if what one is trying to imitate is applicable to ones need. Hinde yung gaya lang ng gaya kahit hinde kaya. It reminds me tuloy way back in the late ‘70s when we have a national power shortage. Macoy’s think-tank implemented a “Daylight-Saving-Time” to save energy by advancing the time by one hour. Kaya madilim pa, marami ng tao sa kalsada. This idea is applicable in the western hemisphere because on certain season, the sun is still up even when it’s already 8 o’clock in the evening. They could save electricity by availing on the lights powered by the sun. But the Philippines is situated on the tropics. The sun rises at 6 o’clock in the morning and sets at 6’oclock in the evening. Constant yan all year round kaya wala kang na-save kung hinde konting muta because you have to wake-up very early to go to school or work.

Ganyan ka "smart" ang mga so called think-tank sa gobyerno!

-----oOo------

By the way guys, I’m going to set another “pa-contest” on my next post. Para yan sa blog-anniversary of The Sandbox, even if its already past its due date.

One Is Better Than None

2011-03-29T08:42:00.004+03:00

Been busy I didn’t realize I’ve neglected to blog for sometime. Besides my work, which mostly geeks appreciate, here’s a summary of my other “activities”:

Car Accident

I met an accident three weeks ago while bringing my daughter to school. I was driving slowly along a narrow street when an American car struck me at the driver side. I have to get out from the passenger door since mine was crushed and jammed. The thing is, the other car was also going slow but suddenly accelerated when it was just a few feet from me. I think the driver panicked and stepped on the accelerator instead of the brakes. The poor guy was new in the kingdom. He can’t speak English or Arabic, doesn’t have a driver’s license and the car was not insured. Saudi police are unforgiving, especially to foreigners, when they catch you driving around without proper papers. You’ll go to prison and for how long, depends on how responsible your “sponsor” is. It might only be for a day but some spend months in detention because their “kafil” refuses to pay traffic fines.

Lucky for me, our company lent me a car while mine was being repaired in the insurance’s workshop. For that I thank my kumpadres J and F for facilitating the vehicle. When I got my car back, it looks as if nothing happened. They restore the crushed door and fixed other dents which were not part of the accident. They even repaired the automatic door lock which wasn’t working for sometime. How ever, I hear a sound, like a vibrating spring, every time I close the door. But over-all…I’m satisfied.

Bea’s "Graduation"

Last week was also hectic for us. A lot of preparation; running here and there and buying things for the school’s annual commencement exercise. It was also a lot of “first” for me. It was my first to wear a coat and tie because the invitation card specified “formal and decent attire”. I know what “formal attire” is but I have no idea what they meant by “formal and decent attire”. Perhaps a man is considered decent if in formal attire. A paradox if applied to some of our politicians. It was also my first encounter of the word “valediction”. The emcee keeps on repeating it as if to emphasize it’s the standard or proper word to use for this occasion. During my time, our “top nerd” gives his valedictory address. Their honorees however gave their “valediction”. A lot of THANK YOUs but I didn’t hear a single word of “goodbye”, “adieu”, “so long” or “farewell”.

The venue was well decorated, organized and very formal. Parents have reserved seats and the chairs have fancy covering with parent’s name written at the back. Ours are situated right smack in the middle of the row. We have to say a lot of “excuse me” and “sorry” before we could reach our designated seats. It wasn’t comfortable. Because it’s a combined ceremony of preps, elementary and high school graduates, a lot of parents were expected to attend. They cramp all the chairs together, without extra space for elbow and leg room, to accommodate everybody. It’s like sitting in PAL’s economy class during a peak season flight.

If you’re in this kind of situation where you can’t move without saying “excuse me” or “sorry”, you are a “captive audience” of any speaker at the podium. You are in their mercy and you can’t do anything but endure their speeches. Their guest speaker, a big shot from DECS, gave her speech lasting 30 minutes (yes! I clocked it) and that didn’t include the introduction which was 10 minutes more. Not only that, I have to suffer three other “valedictions”. These people haven't heard of the phrase "short and terse"; a basic when taking Public Speaking 101.

But all complains faded when it was my daughter’s turn to walk on stage. Parents are required to accompany prep graduates. So to meet our daughter halfway, my wife and I again have to say “excuse me” and “sorry”, not only once but thrice. First; when she received her diploma, another, when she got her medal for “academic distinction” and a third time when she accepted her two “certificate of recognition”. It was all worth it and the other parents doesn’t seem to mind our constant “excuses” and “apologies”.

That wraps up everything this month. At least I manage a single post and didn’t get a grade of zero.

Where Have You Been My Brown-Eyed Son?

2011-02-27T14:08:00.001+03:00

FB, I think, is a software application most of us appreciate it was invented. It enables us to communicate with our love ones and rekindle connection to our long forgotten friends and acquaintances in wherever corner of the world they maybe. It also gave me a glimpsed and first hand idea of their present state of affair.

Because of our coming high school event, our batch is gearing up its preparation for next year’s reunion. We used FB to find former classmates and as an organizational tool to update and inform each and everyone involved of our proposed agenda and plans. Those who have funds to spare voluntarily gave to finance our projects. Of course it is not imposed but still “expected” from those working or residing abroad to gave a much larger donation.

As I inspect our financial status, I noticed more “supports” are given by our Middle East based and sea-faring alumni than from our counterparts living in the western hemisphere. It strikes me as ironic that people back home look upon OFWs and sea-men to be a less desirable endeavor compared to a “blue passport” or a “green card” holder, and yet, this tally speaks otherwise.

A high school teacher once told me – “O, kumusta? Si (a classmate) na sa Amerika na!” With emphasis on “na”, as if going to “Tate” is the ultimate paradigm of success. Perhaps this holds true some 30 or so years back, but with the current trend and financial slump in which US has yet to recover, I think other wise. This assumption was further strengthened when one of my US based classmates mentioned – “we’re lucky, we still have jobs”. It is sad to think that they have to prepare and save a year ahead just to be able to attend our homecoming event. They felt envious when they found out going back home for vacation is routine, done on a yearly basis and free airline fare for us and our families.

These crisis US is now facing changed even the most amiable guy I know, a buddy since our formative years and haven’t seen for a long time. I found out he has an FB account, sent a message and jokingly said the climate in the US haven’t done much to his “color”. The reply I received isn’t what I expected. He was upset and began an outburst of insults including “ignorant” and “out of touch with reality”. You must be in a lot of pressure and stress to be so sensitive and react like that on something as trivial as a joke between friends.

Perhaps he is right. I haven’t changed much. But still I’d rather be “ignorant” than to “learn” that to get ahead, you either use people or step on someone’s toes. I’d rather be “carefree” than to look at the glass half-empty. I’d rather be foolish but happy than to come home from work morose and humorless.

I don’t look at “life” that way.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 45)

2011-02-10T01:45:00.000+03:00

On Being Different and Practical

2011-01-29T11:15:00.002+03:00

I don't pretend to be captain weird. I just do what I do. – Johnny Depp

Do you think I’m weird or perhaps eccentric? Some do. From people I don’t know, like the PEBA judge who quoted “I like his quirky way of writing” to my German boss who insisted that I address him on a first name basis. I decline, telling him “Sir” is shorter and easier to pronounce. I don’t see weird in that.

I got away with things I said and do because at first glance it seems, to some, it’s out of the norm but then realized there’s a grain of logic or practicality in it. The head of the IT department once told some staff to give me leeway. He said it’s understandable if I act like that because I’m a programmer. I don’t know how programmers act. All I’m doing is being me. I speak out if I disagree. I point out if something is wrong. I say “No” when everyone says “Yes” or silent when things are not right.

If you care for your job, you’ll go the extra mile to see to it that everything is straightened out. Your boss’ assessment is based on what ever feed back he gets from his staff. You should “protect” him that he wont commit any bad decision because his also answerable to someone higher up. It has nothing to do with “loyalty”. Any SNAFU he makes will reflect on the whole department and that includes YOU. There’s nothing wrong or “different” in that.

Even my wife said “Iba ka sa mga asawa nang mga kakilala ko”. She once hinted “Alam mo, ang mister ni ganito, binilhan sya ng Fendi bag nung birthday nya” to which I replied “Eh di sabihin mo kay ganito na papabili ka rin ng Fendi bag sa mister nya”. What is she complaining about? I bought her a brand new 10 kilo capacity washing machine on her birthday. It’s just a coincidence that our old one was on its final breath.

It’s not that I’m a cheapskate. Why should I buy a LED flat screen when my 24” TV still works fine? Why should I buy a 4 wheel drive instead of a sedan when all I do is just drive inside the city? Pare-pareho lang namang “installment” ang pag bili ng sasakyang yan. I find it pretentious for someone to flaunt their Louis Vuitton handbag or show-off their latest 4G cell phone and then makikita mong nakiki ukay-ukay sa sales sa mall or else nakiki-susyo on dividing the price of a “buy one take one” offer sa Debenhams. Practical? Yes! But do we really have to “display” those expensive materials to elicit awe or envy and to subtly point out that we are way above the social strata? Kung talagang mayaman ako, hindi na ako mag tatrabaho dito sa Middle East.

But I’m all out when it comes to my stomach. Except for those restaurants who serve more eating utensils than food on the table, I think, we ate in almost all the fancy ones here in the city. It’s a weakness my daughter and I share and I don’t scrimp when it comes to that.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 44)

2011-01-17T20:52:00.000+03:00

On Religion and Faith

2011-01-03T14:41:00.007+03:00

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. - Desiderata

Last night I saw BBC’s Intelligence Squared debate between former Prime Minister Tony Blair and famous author Christopher Hitchens discussing the topic – “Is religion a force for good in the world?”

Blair was defending religion standing on his personal belief in God while Hitchen, an atheist, tried to debunk that conviction with logic sprinkled with dry humor. At the onset, “cons” was favored, ahead by 30% against the “pros”, in which 20% of the listeners are “undecided”. After deliberation, “cons” lead increased. Technically “cons” won but, in my opinion, “pros” didn’t lose either because its points didn’t diminish. Its standing also improved garnering almost half the “undecided” opinion*.

I personally sided with Hitchen but not totally because I still believed in a Supreme Entity. May He be the ultimate judge, jury and executioner, a specie far more superior than our own or a force that governs the physical universe is another topic to be discussed.

The thing is I refuse to abide with “organized” religion. I don’t need somebody, who wears a white robe or an immaculately dressed man with manicured nails, to tell me how to go about my business in this world. Blame my dear mother. She exposed me to the bible at an early age hoping, someday, her second son will don the frock and serve the Lord. Instead the opposite happened. I found inconsistencies and began to question the “goodness” of God especially in the Old Testament. She calls me “erehes” (Spanish for heretic) every time she runs out of answer.

For me, faith is a personal belief. I have my own concept of who is God and what to expect from Him. It is an amalgamation of different “ism” I found logical, practical or construed to contain “goodness” in it. I don’t blame Him for any misfortune I meet, for any catastrophic upheaval caused by nature or man-made destruction. But I can’t help but thanks Him for all the good things that come my way. I tried to emulate Jesus’ teaching about goodness to fellow men and Confucian philosophy on how to separate man from beast. But I don’t believed in the Trinity nor totally agree with the “thick face - black heart” principle. I believe in the benefit of Yoga and the effect of Karma but I won’t buy polytheism. I believe in “yin-yang”, “causes and effect”, the balance of nature, compassion, moderation and humility but I wont pray for guidance to my long dead grandparents nor expect to be born again.

If it is my “God-given” birthright to think, then it is up to me to decide the difference between right and wrong or good and bad. What is important is I am at peace with my God. He doesn’t threaten me with eternal damnation in case I disagree with Him. He doesn’t destroy and create my world every thousand or so years. He doesn’t have “favoritism” among his creation and He is neither vain nor insecure to require me to pledge my allegiance several times a day.

Don’t confuse opinion with belief. It takes proof to build an opinion but believing is all it takes in your belief. You may compare it with a scene from the movie, Finding Nemo: The whale told Dory to “let go” because “it is time”. Marlin, afraid, reluctantly asked “How do you know he won’t eat us?” To which Dory replied “I don’t” – that my friends is what I call FAITH.

---- o 0 o -----

*If you’re interested on watching the episode of Intelligence Squared, you may refer to these dates. Or you can watch the highlights on YouTube. Tag in “Intelligence Square”, “Tony Blair” and “Christopher Hitchen” on your search.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 43)

2010-12-31T00:01:00.000+03:00

Season Greetings

2010-12-24T11:27:00.007+03:00

I’m busy but that doesn’t mean I forgot. I would like to thank you all for your untiring visit even when my posts are declining lately.

To my long time and new blog friends;

Abou, ardyey, atticus, , A-Z-E-L, bertN, bing, bw, chris, Dong Ho, ever, Francesca, gandarynako, HalfCrazy, isladenebz, Ka Rolly, katcarneo, kcatwoman, keith, Lawstude, Lee,Life Moto, Lord CM, mightydacz, Ms. Jo, Ms. Loida, Mimi, NoBenta, Nortehanon, pamy215, Panaderos, prinsesamusang, RJ, R-yo, Sardonyx, sheng, theonoski, The Nomadic Pinoy, The Pope, Thoughtskoto, Trosp, YaNaH, yellow bells, 7thstranger.

And to those who commented;

aira, annalyn, AJ, Diamond R, Diana, eRLyN, Fickle Cattle, iresh, Jules, kulas,mommy ek, Mayet, MK, Pinky, Reymos, siyetehan, SLY, world news

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO EACH AND EVERY ONE AND MAY WE HAVE A PROSPEROUS NEW YEAR AHEAD OF US!!

Busy December

2010-12-21T12:13:00.003+03:00

I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done. - Buddha

You may have noticed that my posts have been dwindling lately. It’s been a while since I sat down and compose something and I have so much in my mind but my work takes priority. The good news is I finally finished converting those blasted DOS programs to Windows. With “testing” a much lesser work load on my part, perhaps I’ll get some extra time to blog again and catch up on some lost time. But my work isn’t the only thing that took most of my time. We transferred to another flat.

In a way we feel lucky. We wanted this flat for so long. Its former tenants are Bea’s godparents. Since their family is getting larger (3 kids), they opt to get a much bigger place and offered this to us. Of course my wife didn’t think twice and readily accepted it. The flat is smaller compared to our previous house. It’s a one bedroom, one living room and one bathroom flat. But it got a 2m x 4m kitchen, far bigger than our old one which can accommodate only one person at a time. Besides, the rent is much cheaper, the place is near my daughter’s school and I don’t have to wake up early to avoid those blasted traffic jam.

Moving from one flat to another is the most exhausting thing one can experience. Cleaning, fixing and re-painting are not only time consuming but budget depleting as well. The body pain began on the day the “movers” arrive. They’ll haul all your belongings and just dump it to any vacant space on your new flat. Since I’m the only “man of the house”, it’s up to me to carry everything, re-arrange, push and shove those heavy appliances and furniture to its proper place. My only “pakonswelo de bo-bo” is at the end of the day, my wife always have that trusted Omega pain killer in hand to rub on my back and legs. But still a lot to be done before we can say the place is “home”.

And now comes Christmas knocking on our doorstep and we haven’t bought gifts yet. MARAMI KAMING INA-ANAK!

Buhay Buhangin (Sn. 42)

2010-11-25T11:16:00.000+03:00

On Class Reunion

2010-11-18T01:07:00.001+03:00

Never go to your high school reunion pregnant or they will think that is all you have done since you graduated. – Erma Bombeck

I like to observe. I’m content on standing in an inconspicuous corner, watching things around and trying to analyze every action and reaction. Of all things observable, what fascinate me most are human behavior. Take for example a class reunion. It is interesting to note that a lot could be learned by attending one.

What is the purpose of a class reunion? Why do we invent an occasion to celebrate something that happened some twenty or so years ago? I eliminate “to-rekindle-long-lost-friendship” because one will find ways to keep in touch with real friends, reunion or no reunion. For starter, one factor is “curiosity”; one wants to know how others faired on their personal battle for economic survival. Another is “contact”. It is always to your advantage if you knew people from different professions or classmates working in different government agencies. And the vainest of all the traits, to satisfy ones ego; to let the world know that you finally arrived, that you finally made it.

None of the factors I mentioned above categorize my motive. I go home every year so I’m up to date on every thing that interests me. When ambiguity is removed, curiosity fades away. My job is so specialize that I doubt if knowing what their field of expertise or where they are working helps me in anyway. And lastly, a simple man who enjoys life’s simple things does not possess a huge ego nor need to satiate it.

But why will I attend if I have the chance? I’d like to see someone who barely spoke to me or knew if I ever existed suddenly talk to me like I’m a long lost friend. I’d like to see the class bully became the most amiable guy in the room. I’d like to see the quietest guy in class commanders the microphone and won’t let go until he sang all the songs in the karaoke. I’d like to see my classmate who looks like Rio Locsin then if she looks like Rio Locsin now. I’d like to see the fellow who walks and wears rubber sandals to school arrives in an SUV. I’d like to see what I perceived before is the exact opposite of what I see now.

Unfortunately my vacation won’t coincide with our class reunion. Other wise you’ll see me in an inconspicuous corner, watching things and trying to analyze every action and reaction.

Horror Stories and Other Creepy Shows

2010-11-03T11:17:00.001+03:00

I was fascinated with horror stories. When I was a child, after dinner, we’ll gather around the radio (we don’t have TV then) to catch our favorite program “Gabi Ng Lagim”. I’m hooked to it that I’d even set aside a portion of my allowance just to spend on renting “Lagim” and “Lamor” komiks. As my taste became “sophisticated”, I’m no longer easily frightened that I switched on to watching shows that tweak my mind like “The Twilight Zone”, “X-Files” and later on “Fringe”.

But what makes a successful scary movie? I use to cower at Christopher Lee’s Dracula series. I was scared stiff with “The Exorcist” and “Alien” made me jumped from my seat. I think these films got its desired effect (to me at least) because they pioneered the “technique” on how to scare viewers. Back then, werewolves and vampires are the “scary stuff”. Today they are the main characters of a love story. Linda Blair’s character spewing green stuff and turning her head 360 degrees was awesomely frightening then but would look funny now. The “Alien” monster might not be new but the psychological effect of being alone in outer space with a drooling metallic monster as a bunk mate really scattered my wits.

Newer horror films became popular but failed to impress me. I was amused with “The Grudge” and “The Ring” and sneered while watching “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Final Destination”. The first one looks like a “kabuki” actor whose face was dip in a bowl of flour. The other looks like an escape contortionist from an asylum. The third was a family of psychotic retards while the last one was an exercise in physics on how to kill a guy in a sophisticated but cumbersome way (the writer was probable a McGyver fan).

Viewer’s taste today leans more on “realism”. “The Blair Witch Project” was a success because it was done like a “documentary”. Its predecessors like “The Paranormal Activity” did it differently but with the same technique. Subtlety suggesting that what they are viewing is real.

It all depends on the viewer really. I enjoyed watching “Poltergeist” and Freddy’s antics but was terrified of Jason. But here is my list of what makes a horror film funny:

1. The killer is waiting for you in the next corner even though his walking with a limp and you are running away from him.
2. Something nasty is going to happen every time a cello solo starts to play.
3. The victim trips on nothing while being pursued by the killer.
4. The room or house has all the indication of unpleasantness yet the victim insists on entering it.
5. All the characters are dumb in a horror movie. Only luck saves them, if any survives.
6. The window, stay away from the window, dummy!
7. The door key or car key won’t fit if the guy is in a hurry to escape.
8. The car won’t start (this never fail).
9. The girl in a flimsy negligee goes out of the patio to look up the moon in a cold windy night (a sure way to attract rapists, serial killers and vampires).

I hope you enjoyed you Halloween!

Brgy. Musmos (Sn. 3)

2010-10-29T18:09:00.001+03:00

The Masons, Andres and the RH Bill

2010-10-24T10:19:00.011+03:00

True religion is real living; living with all one’s soul, with all one’s goodness and righteousness -Albert Einstein

My father is a Mason. He is one of the original founding members of the first Masonic Lodge in my hometown. And like their brethrens of old, they too are frowned upon by the church. In fact, they were once threatened with excommunication because they are Catholics - free-thinking Catholics.

Many among you wonder why the church discourages its flocks to join one of the oldest, if not the oldest, fraternity ever founded. Secret rituals and usage of symbolism begot rumors that it practices witchcraft, pagan worship and anti-Christian in nature. These gossips were spread by no other than the church itself.

Their animosity goes a long way back in the 12th century when the Pope, with the connivance of the king of France, ordered the massacre of the Knights Templar. Its leader tortured and burned at the stake, allegedly because they were heretics and indulged in wizardry. All these accusations were false. It was just a pretext. Some historians suggested the real reason was that the “Holy See” wants something the Templar possesses. An artifact which when exposed to the entire Christendom will destroy the very foundation of the Catholic Church (shade of Da Vinci Code, isn’t it). The king, on the other hand, just wants to possess their wealth but both didn’t succeed to get what they want. I think some sectors within the church still believe those secrets were passed on to the Masons. To commemorate them, “junior” Masons are called DeMolays in honor of Jacques de Molay; the last Grandmaster of the Knights Templar.

Masons also played a part during the Philippine revolution. Bonifacio, a mason, copied some of its rituals to recruit revolutionaries. Even the Masonic handshake was introduced to know if one is a fellow “Katipunero”. History told us that the church also played a role in exposing Bonifacio’s secret society. They have succeeded in brainwashing its congregation of anything not sanctioned by the church was a sin that a wife, afraid to burn in hell for eternity, confessed her husband’s revolutionary activity to a friar.

However subtle it may seem, it all comes down to one thing, power; the capability to control masses and subject it to its will. Have you noticed why our “simbahan” and “munisipyo” sits side by side in most towns around the Philippines? It’s because the government and religious order, during the Spanish rule, shares power. Co-equal in disposing their will upon its citizenry. The church was powerful enough that it assassinated even the Gobernador-Heneral when the latter tried to curtail its authority.

In my opinion, the reason why the church resists the passing of the RH bill is because they want to preserve the present “status quo” of the majority of Filipino families. Claiming pharmaceutical companies are behind the bill is flimsy and hypocritical. They themselves are major stockholders of banks and corporations around the world. In the long run, the RH bill will open up opportunity for the betterment of Filipino families. It allows them to “plan” their offspring and raise their children properly including a better education.

An educated society has citizens who have minds of their own. They don’t need “spiritual guidance” to choose what is good or bad for them. In a way, it delegates the church into a mere ceremonial entity and perhaps someday into obscurity.

“Ignorance is bless” so they say. The truth is - it is a religious weapon.

Brgy. Musmos (Sn. 2)

2010-10-07T15:42:00.001+03:00

Brgy. Musmos (Sn. 1)

2010-09-24T21:05:00.003+03:00

I'm A Filipino, A People, Just Like You

2010-09-05T13:40:00.002+03:00

This post was forwarded to me by a friend. I know how each one of us felt the shame and frustration of the recent event in our homeland. Perhaps this letter may somehow find our lost dignity or at least help us to move on. All I’m saying is may they open their hearts and give us a chance, as a nation, to amend the failures created by a few misguided individuals. We are not what some think we are as a people. - BlogusVox

After the August 23 hostage drama, there is just too much negativity about and against the Filipino.

“It is difficult to be a Filipino these days”, says a friend who works in Hongkong. “Nakakahiya tayo”, “Only in the Philippines” were some of the comments lawyer Trixie Cruz-Angeles received in her Facebook. There is this email supposedly written by a Dutch married to a Filipina, with 2 kids, making a litany of the supposed stupidity or idiocy of Filipinos in general. There was also this statement by Fermi Wong, founder of Unison
HongKong, where she said – “Filipino maids have a very low status in our city”. Then there is this article from a certain Daniel Wagner of Huffington Post, wherein he said he sees nothing good in our country’s future.

Clearly, the hostage crisis has spawned another crisis – a crisis of faith in the Filipino, one that exists in the minds of a significant number of Filipinos and some quarters in the world.

It is important for us Filipinos to take stock of ourselves as a people, of who we truly are as a people. It is important that we remind ourselves who the Filipino really is, before our young children believe all this negativity that they hear and read about the Filipino.

We have to protect and defend the Filipino in each one of us.

The August 23 hostage fiasco is now part of us as Filipinos, it being part now of our country’s and world’s history. But that is not all that there is to the Filipino. Yes, we accept it as a failure on our part, a disappointment to Hong Kong, China and to the whole world.

But there is so much more about the Filipino.

In 1945, at the end of World War II, Hitler and his Nazi had killed more than 6 million Jews in Europe. But in 1939, when the Jews and their families were fleeing Europe at a time when several countries refused to open their doors to them, our Philippines did the highly risky and the unlikely –thru President Manuel L. Quezon, we opened our country’s doors and our nation’s heart to the fleeing and persecuted Jews. Eventually, some 1,200 Jews and their families made it to Manila. Last 21 June 2010, or 70 years later, the first ever monument honoring Quezon and the Filipino nation for this “open door policy” was inaugurated on Israeli soil, at the 65-hectare Holocaust Memorial Park in Rishon LeZion, Israel.

The Filipino heart is one of history’s biggest, one of the world’s rare jewels, and one of humanity’s greatest treasures.

In 2007, Baldomero M. Olivera, a Filipino, was chosen and awarded as the Scientist for the Year 2007 by Harvard University Foundation, for his work in neurotoxins which is produced by venomous cone snails commonly found in the tropical waters of Philippines. Olivera is a distinguished professor of biology at University of Utah, USA. The Scientist for the Year 2007 award was given to him in recognition to his outstanding contribution to science, particularly to molecular biology and groundbreaking work with conotoxins. The research conducted by Olivera’s group became the basis for the production of commercial drug called Prialt (generic name – Ziconotide), which is considered more effective than morphine and does not result in addiction.

The Filipino mind is one of the world’s best, one of humanity’s great assets.

The Filipino is capable of greatness, of making great sacrifices for the greater good of the least of our people. Josette Biyo is an example of this. Biyo has masteral and doctoral degress from one of the top universities in the Philippines, the De La Salle University (Taft, Manila), where she used to teach rich college students and was paid well for it. But Dr Biyo left all that and all the glamour of Manila, and chose to teach in a far-away public school in a rural area in the province, receiving the salary of less than US$ 300 a month. When asked why she did that, she replied “but who will teach our children?” In recognition of the rarity of her kind, the world-famous Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States honoured Dr Biyo a very rare honor by naming a small and new-discovered planet in our galaxy as “Biyo”.

The Filipino is one of humanity’s best examples on the greatness of human spirit!

Efren Penaflorida was born to a father who worked as a tricycle driver and a mother who worked as laundrywoman. Through sheer determination and the help of other people, Penaflorida finished college. In 1997, Penaflorida and his friends formed a group that made pushcarts (kariton) and loaded them with books, pens, crayons, blackboard, clothes, jugs of water, and a Philippine flag. Then he and his group would go to the public cemetery, market and garbage dump sites in Cavite City – to teach street children with reading, math, basic literacy skills and values, to save them from illegal drugs and prevent them from joining gangs. Penaflorida and his group have been doing this for more than a decade. Last year, Penaflorida was chosen and awarded as CNN Hero for 2009.

Efren Penaflorida is one of the great human beings alive today. And he is a Filipino!

Nestor Suplico is yet another example of the Filipino’s nobility of spirit. Suplico was a taxi driver In New York. On 17 July 2004, Suplico drove 43 miles from New York City to Connecticut, USA to return the US$80,000 worth of jewelry (rare black pearls) to his passenger who forgot it at the back seat of his taxi. When his passenger offered to give him a reward, Suplico even refused the reward. He just asked to be reimbursed for his taxi fuel for his travel to Connecticut. At the time, Suplico was just earning $80 a day as a taxi driver. What do you call that? That’s honesty in its purest sense. That is decency most sublime. And it occurred in New York, the Big Apple City, where all kinds of snakes and sinners abound, and a place where, according to American novelist Sydney Sheldon – angels no longer descend. No wonder all New York newspapers called him “New York’s Most Honest Taxi Driver”. The New York City Government also held a ceremony to officially acknowledge his noble deed. The Philippine Senate passed a Resolution for giving honors to the Filipino people and our country.

In Singapore, Filipina Marites Perez-Galam, 33, a mother of four, found a wallet in a public toilet near the restaurant where she works as the head waitress containing 16,000 Singaporean dollars (US $11,000). Maritess immediately handed the wallet to the restaurant manager of Imperial Herbal restaurant where she worked located in Vivo City Mall. The manager in turn reported the lost money to the mall’s management. It took the Indonesian woman less than two hours to claim her lost wallet intended for her son’s ear surgery that she and her husband saved for the medical treatment. Maritess refused the reward offered by the grateful owner and said it was the right thing to do.

The Filipina, in features and physical beauty, is one of the world’s most beautiful creatures! Look at this list; Gemma Cruz became the first Filipina to win Miss International in 1964; Gloria Diaz won as Miss Universe in 1969; Aurora Pijuan won Miss International in 1970; Margie Moran won Miss Universe in 1973; Evangeline Pascual was 1st runner up in Miss World 1974; Melanie Marquez was Miss International in 1979; Ruffa Gutierrez was 2nd runner up in Miss World 1993; Charlene Gonzalez was Miss Universe finalist in 1994; Mirriam Quiambao was Miss Universe 1st runner up in 1999; and last week, Venus Raj was 4th runner up in Miss Universe pageant.

I can cite more great Filipinos like Ramon Magsaysay, Ninoy Aquino, Leah Salonga, Manny Pacquaio, Paeng Nepomuceno, Tony Meloto, Joey Velasco, Juan Luna and Jose Rizal. For truly, there are many more great Filipinos who define who we are as a people and as a nation, each one of them is part of each one of us, for they are Filipinos like us, for they are part of our history as a people.

What we see and hear of the Filipino today is not all that there is about the Filipino. I believe that the Filipino is higher and greater than all these that we see and hear about the Filipino. God has a beautiful story for us as a people. And the story that we see today is but a fleeting portion of that beautiful story that is yet to fully unfold before the eyes of our world.

So let’s rise as one people. Let’s pick up the pieces. Let’s ask for understanding and forgiveness for our failure. Let us also ask for space and time to correct our mistakes, so we can improve our system.

To all of you my fellow Filipinos, let’s keep on building the Filipino great and respectable in the eyes of our world – one story, two stories, three stories at a time – by your story, by my story, by your child’s story, by your story of excellence at work, by another Filipino’s honesty in dealing with others, by another Pinoy’s example of extreme sacrifice, by the faith in God we Filipinos are known for.

Every Filipino, wherever he or she maybe in the world today, is part of the solution. Each one of us is part of the answer. Every one of us is part of the hope we seek for our country. The Filipino will not become a world-class citizen unless we are able to build a world-class homeland in our Philippines.

We are a beautiful people. Let no one in the world take that beauty away from you. Let no one in the world take away that beauty away from any of your children! We just have to learn – very soon – to build a beautiful country for ourselves, with an honest and competent government in our midst.

Mga kababayan, after reading this, I ask you to do two things.

First, defend and protect the Filipino whenever you can, especially among your children. Fight all this negativity about the Filipino that is circulating in many parts of the world. Let us not allow this single incident define who the Filipino is, and who we are as a people. And second, demand for good leadership and good government from our leaders. Question both their actions and inaction; expose the follies of their policies and decisions. The only way we can perfect our system is by engaging it. The only way we can solve our problem, is by facing it, head on.

We are all builders of the beauty and greatness of the Filipino. We are the architects of our nation’s success.

To all the people of HK and China, especially the relatives of the victims, my family and I deeply mourn with the loss of your loved ones. Every life is precious. My family and I humbly ask for your understanding and forgiveness.

Maita G. Magalong
Margarita St., Zone 1,
Barrio Obrero, Iloilo 5000
Philippines
Telephone No. (0063-33)335-0220

Knowing What You Say

2010-08-07T08:42:00.005+03:00

Usually when we buy something we prefer to talk to Filipino salesmen. Not only do we assume an element of trust co-existing between “kabayan”, it also saves us in spending some of that precious and sometimes limited English vocabulary.

Ah ah ah, don’t start accusing me now of trashing our ability to speak “English”. I’m basing my observation specifically on some of our professionals here in the Middle East. I heard Pinoy nurses talked in our adapted tongue but can’t differentiate a particle from a preposition and when to use “to”, “for” and “from” in a sentence. I squirmed when reading reports coming from Pinoy field engineers. Yes, in all capacity, we are good in our job. But communication, logging daily task and submitting progress reports are also part of it. We should also be effective in this area. The reason why I’m sometimes dismayed and reluctant to claim English as our second language. If you think my remarks are incorrect, how come a recent report in TFC encourages our “professionals” to join the Toast Master’s Club in the Kingdom? But we’re going astray here. This is not about our grammatically incorrect English but about some incidents regarding some salesmen who don’t know what they are saying.

Interacting with customers in supermarket is easier. Usually, customers either asked only for an item’s price or where it is located. But if you’re working in an electronic or car accessories department, you should know your product as well or you’ll get in trouble if the customer is a “tech-savvy” himself.

Recently, a colleague went to SACO to buy a carburetor cleaner for his “vintage” car and his conversation with the salesman goes like this:

Colleague: Kabayan, meron ba kayong carburetor cleaner?
Salesman : Anong klase po ang kotse nyo, 4-engine ba?
Colleague: Oo (assuming he meant “4-stroke-cycle-engine”).
Salesman: Ito po ang maire-recommend ko sa inyo. Magaling po na panlinis yan.
Colleague: Pag ito ba ang ginamit ko, lilipad ang kotse ko?

(Airplanes and sea vessels may have multiple engines but I never seen a car to have more than one.)

Two days ago, I went to Jareer Bookstore to scout for a modem stick. Unlike other modem stick that comes with a “built-in” SIM card, I’m looking for one which is interchangeable. This way I have an option of replacing it and can still use the modem even in the Philippines. I approach one Filipino salesman and without blinking an eye, he began his litany of BS about what the product can do. Since I got nowhere else to go, I pretend to be an ignoramus on the subject and indulge him:

Me : Kabayan, ano ba ang specification sa pag gamit nito?
Salesman : Meron na hong laman yan na 1 gig. Pag na ubos na, bumili lang kayo ng pre-paid card. 100 riyals po ang halaga.
Me : So, allowed akong mag download up to 1 gigabyte na data?
Salesman : Hinde 1 gigabyte, 1 gigahertz po. Hinde rin po kayo mag da-download. Meron na pong laman yan at nauubos yan habang gumagamit kayo ng “web”.
Me : 1 gigahertz ang “speed” ng modem na ‘to?
Salesman : Hindi po, yan ang laman ng SIM card. (Looking at me like I’m a hopeless case, he gave me a documentation of the product). Para mas maintindihan nyo, basahin nyo po ito.

It stated that I’m allowed 1GB of data download or 1 month of use, which ever comes first, before re-charging using a pre-paid card that I can buy in any Mobily outlet.

He was right. A pre-paid card cost 100 riyals.

PEBA 2010

2010-07-24T10:43:00.001+03:00

PEBA is now open for submission of your entries for the year 2010. So if you missed last year’s contest or didn’t make it to the Top 10, now is the time to try your luck again.

This year’s theme is “Strengthening the OFW Families: Stronger Homes for a Stronger Nation” but to my understanding, unlike last year, an essay is not required when submitting your entry.

So let’s support the only Pinoy Blog Contest dedicated to OFWs and expatriates around the world. More power to its organizers and may it be a success. Good luck!

Bato-bato Sa Langit... (Sn 4)

2010-07-19T08:26:00.000+03:00

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 41)

2010-07-10T08:33:00.000+03:00

Promises and Apprehensions

2010-07-03T08:20:00.001+03:00

I witnessed the inauguration of our new president. I saw the hope and aspiration in the faces of our people, believing that this president have the determination and the firmness to change our nation for the better. But Noynoy himself admits that he can’t do this without the cooperation from the citizenry. In other words, we should do our part, our responsibility how ever small or insignificant it may be, if we are to fulfill our collective vision.

Our government, any government, will never succeed without the collaboration of the governed. The expectation and dreams are there and perhaps the willpower to succeed too. But do we have “unity” or even “cooperation” to realize this? Regionalist or clannish cultures are “ugly” traits we can’t seem to shake off; the reason why I’m being pessimistic. And this trait manifested itself in our recently concluded election.

Our “kabalen” in the 2nd district voted overwhelmingly in favor of the former president because she pampered them with government projects, disregarding what she did in her 9 years in power. Not to mention the scandals created by her or her immediate family, they also over looked alleged anomalous transactions of her administration and human right violations under her watch. Our “kabalen” put her in congress without thinking if she was just using them as a stepping stone in her ambition to return back to power. And all of these became clear when her first act as a representative was to, unashamedly, call for a constitutional convention; the key to open up her bid in becoming the prime minister. Maybe our “kabalen” didn’t saw this coming or perhaps they don’t care. She maybe the devil, but she is “their” devil.

A good example of regionalism is the “solid north”. Geographical location and limited resources are factors that bond them. It is their strength and I admire them for that. Therefore, it is no surprise when a certain political family enjoys their constituent’s support and monopolizes the gubernatorial and congressional post of the province. They took care of them when they were on the helm of power. What dismayed me is the seemingly short memory of the rest of us that enables a scion of this family to take a national post; a seat in the Senate.

Perhaps the majority of the electorates weren’t born or too young to remember the “dark years”. But being a Martial Law “baby”, I witnessed the excesses of these conjugal dictators and their cronies. And no one has the ability to project such ostentatious display of grandeur than the matriarch of this family, taking no notice or concern that the rest of the nation wallows in poverty.

Remember, these families have tasted power before. For them, it’s like an adrenaline rush. They will not stop until power is in their hands. Be wary of their patriotic rhetoric and nationalistic concerns. They are now “testing the waters”, so to speak, sizing up when is it time for them to return.

Be vigilant.

Conversation with Bea

2010-06-19T08:23:00.006+03:00

Children are wonderful chatting companions. Sometimes they talk like adults. Their words surprise you and often make you ponder. Sometime they made no sense at all but still it amuses and entertains us. Here are some dialogues with my daughter.

Every time I fetch Bea from school I always ask her what she did that day.

Me: What did your teacher said today?

Bea: Bea, sit down!

Me: Besides that, what else did she say?

Bea: Bea, keep quite!

I make it a point to instill her to practice our Pilipino traits.

Me: Bea, nag-lunch ka na?

Bea: Finish na.

Me: Finish na “po”. Always put “po”. Again; Bea kumain ka na?

Bea: Yes Daddy po!

She once asked me if we could own a pet.

Bea: Daddy, buy tayo puppy?

Me: Meron na tayong dog, di ba si Petchay (my Dad’s watchdog back home).

Bea: No. Big si Petchay. Puppy lang para small.

Me: Why do you want a puppy?

Bea: Para rich.

That’s the result if you allow your kids to watch ET and they saw Paris Hilton and company whose fashion statement includes a Chihuahua. Not only that, I find Boy Abunda and his TV programs tacky but I heard my daughter blurt out phrases like “Ay, ano ba yan?” or “Ikaw talaga, oo” while watching TFC. Bakyang-bakya ang dating ng anak ko!

But Bea is popular among her teachers and peers at school (she won the “Most Friendly” award, twice in a row). In fact, she’s on a first name basis with the principal and the security guard manning the gate. She got this ability to remember names and once acted as host to her two teachers.

Bea: Teacher Ruby (her former teacher in Kinder I), come here, please.

Teacher Ruby: What is it Bea?

Bea: Teacher Ruby, this is my teacher, Teacher Anna (her teacher in Kinder II)

The two teachers gamely shook hands while laughing. And this is not an isolated incident. If I fetch her and she happens to be with a classmate, she’ll readily introduce us to each other. I find this uncanny since we never taught her to be this “diplomatic” nor did I saw this kind of attitude from other children her age or on much older kids. She will go to such extent as to make new pupils comfortable, like that new classmate; a transferee from the Philippines.

Bea: Hellooow, I’m Bea. What’s your name?

New classmate (looking towards her mother): Ma, di man ko kasabot sa iya.

Even teachers are surprise by her manner that they asked my wife if we came from a “political” family. But not everyone likes Bea’s sunny disposition. She once came crying to her teacher telling one of her classmates pinched her. It’s because the classmate doesn’t like to be called by her first name, a name adapted by her parents from a princess character of an animated movie. Bea keeps calling her by that name and the other child misconstrued it as taunting.

In fairness, I don’t blame the kid. I too would get grouchy and mad if my parents named me “Shrek”.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 40)

2010-06-12T07:45:00.001+03:00

Blogger-toons

2010-06-03T09:31:00.003+03:00

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the winners!

Atticus, of Tales of a Backpacker, is a confessed bum. Quit her job, packed her things and her camera to pursue her dream: backpacking across Europe and Asia.

Sheng, of Anything Goes, is the lady blogger from Gen-San. Proof-reader by profession and studying to be a lawyer, she juggles her time between work, education and taking care of her hubby and two lovely kids.

Gals, I sent copies of your caricature to your email address. Again, thank you all!

And The Answer Is… And The Winners Are…

2010-05-29T00:47:00.031+03:00

To all well wishers, commenters and just plain lurkers, I thank you for your untiring visits. To those who didn’t get the answer or too lazy to even try solving the puzzle, here’s the solution:

From my comment page, you’ll think that ever of Pamatay Homesick was the first commenter to get the answer right. That’s what I thought too until I opened my email’s inbox and read this:

The email came from atticus of Tales of a Backpacker. And if you looked at the email’s date and time stamp, she was clearly the first to solve the puzzle.

For the second slot, I gathered all the correct answers (sorted in order of comment) and they are:

1. ever of Pamatay Homesick

2. sheng of Anything goes…

3. Ms.Jo of Wits and Nuts

4. Pope of Palipasan

Using a small program I made, I called Random Generator, the result of the raffle and the winner is… (drum roll) number 2!!

Congratulations to atticus and sheng.

I thank those who participated and to those who didn’t make it, better luck next time.

2nd Anniversary Special

2010-05-24T07:51:00.007+03:00

I should have done this last April when my blog turned another year old. But because I was on vacation and busy doing other things beside blogging, it was delayed for a month.

Anyway, would you like to see yourself in cartoon form, like my picture in the sidebar? All you have to do is solve this puzzle.

Hint: The truth lies underneath ("pick" the image to enlarge).

As simple as that. Cut-off time will be 4 days from today. I’ll gather all the correct answers and pick the winner by using a simple random program. The lucky winner may send his/her picture to my email address (blogusvox@yahoo.com). And please include a sentence or two, telling me something about yourself (like your profession or hobby). Just to make the cartoon look interesting.

Good luck!

P.S.
Just to be fair, I'll pick two winners. The first commenter to solved it will take one slot. And the rest who also guessed correctly will be raffled in my random program and will get the last slot.

Our Hectic Summer Vacation (Part II)

2010-05-20T09:51:00.001+03:00

Not all our vacation was spent on shopping, complaining about airline policy and the sweltering summer heat. To get them off my back, I agreed to my wife’s suggestion to enroll our daughter on a ballet class. I’m not expecting she’ll dance like Lisa Macuja. But it’s a good way to spend her extra energy. Besides, I don’t like my wife and daughter bothering me while I attend on some matters regarding my parents’ estate.

As usual, my wife took photos. She wants to document every stage of my daughter’s formative years.

The class includes callisthenic and stretching exercises. But being over-weight, her teachers have to assist her in some of their work-outs.

Ballet supposes to teach children balance and poise. But losing extra two pounds in three weeks of class did her good.

To escape the summer heat, I made it a point to go somewhere during weekends to cool-off. Our usual destinations are the beach and swimming pools.

At Hawili beach with some cousins.

At Sampaguita compound (Precious Moments) with friends.

At a local hotel swimming pool.

Before we returned back, we went to Tagaytay with some friends from Riyadh.

We spent the whole day visiting all its scenic places. Actually the scenic views are the same. It’s all overlooking Taal Lake.

My daughter’s first horse back riding. She wasn’t afraid at all unlike other kids her age. In fact she enjoyed the ride, squealing in excitement all the way.

Well, so much for my vacation. Back to reality and will resume regular programming on my next post.

Our Hectic Summer Vacation (PAL-MALL Blues)

2010-05-13T10:53:00.005+03:00

It was a long hot summer but a short vacation, in my assessment at least. It seems like yesterday I was packing and checking our baggage and travel documents. And in a snap, I’m sitting in front of my computer trying to summarize what I did in my 35 days of absence.

For sure, my wife and daughter have a swell time. Bea enjoyed it very much that she wants to stay in the Philippines nalang while wifey, I think, went to almost all the malls shopping until her feet hurts. She even made a last minute (hour?) side trip to MOA on the day of our departure back here.

Malls are basically alike in terms of products and entertainment offered. What makes them unique from one another is their architectural “set-up” and ambiance. Of the 2 or 3 malls I went to or tag along, Trinoma is the least “shopping-friendly” for first-timers like me. Unlike other malls which have maps that show which stores at what level and a big arrow that says “YOU ARE HERE”, Trinoma didn’t bother to put one. Atticus was right. You’ll get lost in that mall easily if you don’t have a GPS unit. I had to ask several security guards before I could meet my family in our rendezvous point. Don’t ask why but I hate to ask for direction.

We could buy all the things we need in one huge mall like MOA or Ayala Center in Makati where several malls are clustered together. But it took my wife four days and half a dozen malls to complete the items we need. Perhaps some items are cheaper in other stores but I find the difference negligible if compared to time wasted traveling from one mall to another. Not to mention the physical stress of carrying those blasted plastic bags. And if that isn’t enough, I find cashiers annoying when they keep asking if I have an “advantage” every time I pay for a merchandize. A negative response will surely elicit an “Ay sayang, hinde nyo ma-avail”. Advantage in what? Ma-avail ang ano? But I didn’t bother to ask those questions.

All these goods we bought surely put us in trouble with PAL. We choose PAL when we went home for the sole purpose of availing on their domestic connecting flight benefit. You see, international flight baggage is carried over on your domestic flight if you fly PAL in both flights regardless if the maximum weight allowed in domestic flights is only 20 kilos/person. But since our international flight’s ETA is one hour after the last domestic flight schedule to our hometown, our domestic flight was booked one day after we arrive. The problem starts when ground crew at the check-in counter won’t honor our connecting flight because it was booked the following day. They have this notion that domestic connecting flights should be in the same day as our international flight. I had to lodge my complain to their manager before they relented. The question is; what if that happened to another OFW who doesn’t have the tenacity, poorly informed or too meek to complain?

Another thing; we’re allowed 35 kilos/person in our flight from Riyadh to Manila. Logic dictates that the same benefit should also be applied in our return trip. But no, they only give 20 kilos/person (25 kilos max) on our return trip. Alangan namang iwan namin yung bagahe naming espesyal na daing at saba na saging. Fortunately, one passenger doesn’t have a baggage except for a hand-carried backpack and the check-in personnel was kind enough. He transferred our excess baggage to that person’s ticket. To that kindly personnel and fellow traveler, I give my deepest thank you.

Enough of my rants. Next time I’ll post good things naman about our vacation with matching pictures of course.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 39)

2010-04-07T08:18:00.002+03:00

Guys and gals, this is my last post for this month. I need some rest and will be gone for 30 days. See you in May. Tata!

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 38)

2010-04-01T09:03:00.001+03:00

Earth Hour! Jo-join Kami!

2010-03-25T09:05:00.005+03:00

Our species needs, and deserves, a citizenry with minds wide awake and a basic understanding of how the world works. – Carl Sagan

A couple of days ago a commenter invited me to join and spread the word regarding our inter-galactic ship named “IGS Earth”. It’s a “green” project; educating us, not only of our limited energy resources, but pushing as well the understanding of the delicate balance of nature, conservation and recycling. To “celebrate” it or mark its “awareness”, Earth Hour was conceived.

Therefore, on Saturday, March 27 at 8:30 pm (Saudi Arabian Time), let’s commemorate it by turning off unnecessary lights and appliances for one hour. That means we’ll have a candle light dinner (isn’t that romantic) and you’re going to miss an episode of your favorite pinoy soap.

But that “sacrifice” is miniscule compared to what’s in store if we all join in. Imagine what will happen if less light is reflected on the sky. We’ll see the night sky in its natural state just like this:

The universe in its entire splendor; calm, beautiful and mysterious. Miles away ahead compared to this:

Astronomers call it “light pollution”; combined luminance of an entire city covering the night sky that you can hardly see heavenly bodies except for the moon and the “evening star”(not a star at all but a planet). And like earth's satellite companion, it gets its “twinkle” from the light reflection of our sun.

So on Saturday night, let’s watch and dance with the stars as they waltzes across the sky while the crickets played in the background a Strauss concerto.

Images were taken from the net. I forgot who owned it but would like to thanks him/her anyway.

Monsod's Musings

2010-03-20T10:13:00.009+03:00

I got this from my inbox. Although some sectors claimed Monsod did not wrote this article, I still posted it because even if our presidential preference differs, our sentiments towards Villar are alike. Please read the entirety of this post. It contains facts and personal opinions (who ever the writer may be) that, in someway, will help us in our decision in choosing our next leaders. - BlogusVox

Villar still refuses to attend the Senate to face questions, and it only reminds me of how GMA used the privilege of her office to avoid questioning. What will happen if Villar wins and more corruption scandals surface? With Villar catching up to Noynoy in the polls, I am honestly quite terrified of the prospect of him winning. There is a clear case of graft in this instance, and instead of delving into the issues, his allies in the legislative are simply brushing off the allegations as "politically motivated". As a citizen, we should not accept this. If there is smoke, we must see if there is a fire that needs to be put out. Yes, the timing of the allegations seem a bit off. ( Joker Arroyo was pushing these issues as early as 1998). A known crook and political opportunist, Juan Ponce Enrile, is the person leading the censure. However, when the facts are presented, it is clear as day that something is amiss. It just further builds on my strong suspicions that Villar is a businessman simply looking to control the political arena to make a boat load of money.

I have never trusted Villar since day one. I never trust businessmen who enter politics, because in the end, their core value is and always will be profit maximization. It is well documented that Villar's real estate empire ran into some serious financial problems when his overexposure to the real estate market and the Asian Financial Crisis made him unable to pay debts he took out to expand his real estate business in the early 1990s. After the Asian Crisis hit, Capitol Bank, owned by Villar and heavily exposed to his real estate investments was essentially ran to the ground and needed to be bailed out. In 2005, Villar tried to solve his debt problems by hiring a group of investment banks to advise him on how he can consolidate all his assets into one company ( Vista Land ). With the local and foreign investment bankers, Villar came up with a growth story for investors: "Invest in my company because we need it to fund all these wonderful project!" However, what was downplayed during the IPO roadshow was that instead of financing growth, resources from the offering would be used to finance his debt. To appease creditors, Villar even had his investment bankers pitch some form of a debt-to-equity conversion that raised skeptical eyebrows of many. In 2007, the IPO of Vista Land did not do as well as planned, in part because many investors and brokers were the same people who were burned by Villar's inability to pay back his loans.

Now, as part of a corporate growth (or should I say corporate restructuring) plan, Villar is lusting for the highest position in the land. This scares me because Villar already has a track record of using his political position to gain the upper hand for his businesses. To save his empire and increase shareholder value of his business, Villar used his influence as Senate Finance Chair to shrewdly derail a Cavite road project that was supposed to be BUILD, OPERATE, and TRANSFER. Villar built a longer and more expensive road, the C-5 extension, adjacent to it; subsequently forcing the private investor in the initial project to pull out. The fishy thing is that this new road, longer and more expensive than the previously planned project, passed through all of Villar's land in Cavite . It is a clear case of graft, pointing to Villar use of influence and government funds to substantially improve the values of his real estate properties. To add insult to injury the right of way the government would have to pay in order to complete the project was substantially higher for the land that Villar owned. These funds could have easily been used to build needed schools.

This scandal should be a red flag for all voters. However, the scary part is that Villar is spending billions to keep this out of the picture as he continues his attempt to brainwash our masses that he is their saviour. He convinces the masses that he is one of them. A poor boy from the slums of Tondo. In actuality, he is more like the 5-6 and syndicates, slum dwellers themselves who make a profit out of their poor brethren. Villar's ad agencies are doing an excellent job of maintaining this image as well as doing damage control. TV and radio continues to churn out Parokya Ni Edgaresque jingles that compete with "Nobody, Nobody." Dolphy is Villar's new spokesperson and Wowowee is one giant ad for him. In this process of brainwashing, the masses are not cognizant of how Villar conducts business as a politician. What they do not see is a man hell bent on turning our archipelago into his own personal piece of real estate.

It is sad that the efforts of Juan Ponce Enrile, who is leading the censure for Villar, is actually giving Villar more sympathy votes. People do no trust Enrile, and when Enrile pounces on someone, it is usually met with a high degree of skepticism. I do not blame people for feeling this way. I also think Enrile is a crook who should be jailed for conspiring to implement Martial Law, for coup attempts, and for the human rights abuses during the Marcos regime. If someone with a more respectable reputation were to level these charges on Villar, I am sure the surveys would tell a different story.

I also fear from some credible reports that Malacanang has actually made a deal with Villar (under the table). Essentially, GMA's goons said, "We will help you, in return, leave us alone when you win". Villar's behaviour in recent forums further adds credence to these reports as Villar has been very tame and quiet when it comes to how he will treat GMA after the elections. Appealing to common sense, it makes ALL THE SENSE for GMA to support someone who has a chance of winning, not a person rating at 4% in the surveys. GMA tried to reach out to Noynoy after Tita Cory died. All she got was rejection.

Who can stop Villar in his quest for the presidency?

I am known to be a Noynoy supporter, but to those skeptics and to those who are still undecided, I do concede that he is not perfect. His record as a politician is average and unspectacular at best. He does not have the charisma of his father. Before the death of his mother, he did not get much mileage. But I am going all out in support for Noynoy in 2010 because he stands for clean governance and appear willing to accomplish this. In addition, he has the best chance of preventing a opportunistic businessman, the assured next President of our country before Cory died, from using the Office of the President as a personal growth asset to his business empire.

Noynoy's clean record is a big plus for me. It is a trait that I think should be the most important quality that we should look for in our next president. His appeal is that his track record is not tarnished by corruption scandals and his political debts are minimal. I know that many critics are trying to make an issue over his involvement in Hacienda Luisita, but Noynoy is not even heavily involved in the company. As a shareholder, Noynoy only owns .04% of Hacienda Luisita, a drop in the ocean and hardly in any position to do something about it. The case of the Hacienda does not have the substance that the C-5 extension controversy has a lot of.

In addition, Nonoy also has an incredible legacy to live up to. All the pressure is on him to be clean and stay clean. He can't afford to tarnish the Aquino name and the immense legacy that his parents left behind. Cory and Ninoy practically sacrificed their family for their dream of a better Philippines . For Noynoy, to know that your father and mother went through so much hardship to improve our country is a heavy burden to think about if you do decide to become a crook and destroy everything that they fought for.

We all have to make a choice. In my opinion, it has to go to the presidentiable who has an independent mind, stands up for what he believes in, is clean, and has the legacy his parents to live up to and maintain. For me, Nonoy, with all his flaws, is that candidate. For what this country needs is a clean president who can set an example top-down for the entire state; it needs a president with the will to change things and stamp out corruption; it needs a President who can set an example and is willing to perfect our dysfunctional democracy.

I want someone who stands for being clean. He does not need a degree from Harvard. He does not need to have a multi-million peso business to show me he can make us all rich. He does not have to speak well. He just has to be clean. Nothing else should matter. He has to prioritize a platform of clean and effective governance and make sure that it delivers on that promise. Policies on the economy, education, energy, environment and health can all follow after the fundamentals are taken cared of. So far, the only candidate who promotes my vision with a clean record to back it up is Noynoy.

Our urban landscape is replete with political slogans that attempt to convince people of certain candidate's ability to lead our nation.

Galing at Talino? Sorry Gibo, those were the supposed qualities of GMA, rubber stamped with a Phd in Economics. And what happened? She only worsened our economy. To GMA's credit she did balance our budget at one point, but it has again ballooned to the level where the next president will have to deal with the same economic issues she faced in 2005. During GMA's watch investment in infrastructure was insufficient, poverty incidence worsened, public education deteriorated, our nautical highway is still incomplete, goons like the Ampatuan's flourished in the south, and a culture of corruption flourished in our institutions. Instead of creating jobs, GMA focused on a policy of exporting labor without measuring the social costs of such a policy- thousands of broken OFW families and children of OFW's who do not have the proper parental supervision to teach them the differences between right and wrong. In effect, our next generation is left on their own to figure out how to become empowered patriots who love their country and will fight to defend it. In effect, whatever statistics in GDP growth GMA and her allies love to advertise, non of it trickled down and benefitted the poor..and none of it accounts for the social costs to her policies.

Good speaker? Sorry Gibo, Marcos had that quality and he did nothing good for our contry. In fact, Marcos squandered the opportunity to be our Lee Kuan Yew and Dr. Mahatir. If I want a good, charismatic, and eloquent speaker, let's just run down the list of effective public speakers and vote them in.

Para sa mahirap? Sorry Erap, you had your chance and failed miserably. Your only accomplishment is in convincing our masses that movie roles do not carry over into the political area.

My only concern with Noynoy is how deep he might be in the Liberal Party and whether he has accumulate political debts to Liberal trapos. The Liberal PArty, like any party, has its own share of crooks (including those bandwagon trapos who jumped off GMA"s boat to ride on Aquino's popularity). How much will Nonoy have to give back to the Liberal trapos (and bandwagon Liberals who jumped GMA's ship) if elected? We will never know. However, I am willing to live with that unanswered question if it means preventing someone like Villar from turning the Philippines into Vista Land 's next subdivision development. I am also reassured by the fact that he has that "Aquino" name and the ghosts of his parents to answer to if does decide to go down the immoral path.

Nonoy will not solve all our problems. One person can't. But we need a start somewhere and it should be with someone who pushes honesty, reform, and good governance. It will be a tough battle, but I want to give Noynoy the chance to build on what his mother tried to accomplish. And I hope that if Noynoy wins, he will have the courage to make tough decisions and go after crooks, even if it means hurting a lot of friends and colleagues in government.

To give you a better sense on how Villar conducts business, here is also a link to Joker Arroyo's 1998 privilege speech: Read it here and here.

I guess "if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck.." Well, as the saying goes......

Vote wisely Philippines . And continue to work towards uplifting the masses and freeing them from their state of hopelessness. Defend them from opportunists. DEVELOP THEM (FIRST) SPIRITUALLY AND BEHAVIORALLY; THEN ECONOMICALLY! When we lift up the poor and ween them off the mentality of hopelessness, our country will become first world. Only then will we have the powerful middle class that our young democracy is screaming for.

(signed) Winnie Monsod (?)

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 37)

2010-03-13T08:02:00.001+03:00

My Big Fat Pinoy Wedding (Part II)

2010-03-06T08:00:00.014+03:00

Church officials requires the following if you want your wedding held in a church: a civil marriage license, a couple’s seminar, marriage counseling and confession prior to receiving the holy Eucharist (communion for the religious but un-informed). Except for the marriage contract, all are managed by the church and you have to pay a fee for the seminar and counseling.

No problem in obtaining a civil license. We signed the papers a year before in a simple ceremony at Manila City Hall before I flied back to Riyadh. So my fiancée already got the leverage document, I mean, insurance paper, este, the civil license needed by the church. As for the seminar and counseling, which I thought was a waste of time, I got no choice but to attend. We were scheduled one weekend; seminar in the morning, counseling in the afternoon and confession after that.

There are three other couples in that room besides us. One couple of marrying age was sitting on the far side. Another in the middle, whom I think, just wants to formalize their union since two children are sitting beside them. And a very young couple at the back who just can’t seem to let go of one another. Frankly, I have no recollection of what was being discussed in that seminar. My mind was somewhere else, occupied with calculating my expenses and subtracting it from my rapidly depleting bank account.

On the other hand, marriage counseling was a one-on-one sit-in with a young, if I’m not mistaken, newly ordained priest. But before he could begin, I asked him a barrage of questions: How old are you? What is your experience as a marriage councilor? Do you think, when it comes to life’s experience, you're more knowledgeable, even if you’re 10 years my junior? To which I received a series of nod and shake of his head. I think that’s the shortest marriage counseling there ever was.

The parish priest is no stranger to me. Not only is their house a stone throw away from our family compound, my brother-in-law was his former classmate back in their seminary days. So we for go the formality of the confessionary and just sat on a bench outside the cathedral. When he found out my last confession was 15 years ago, he asked me if I haven’t sinned for the last decade and a half. That’s when I told him about my little theory. The psychological effect of telling one’s problem to another, which somehow free or lessen a person’s anxiety when they "opened up". And as Catholics being one of the most guilt stricken religious group, it is, but logical, to "introduce" confession. Since I equate “sin” to “guilt” and I have freed myself of that “guilt” a long time ago, I think there is no need for confession anymore. He just looked at me, took a deep breath and our confessional session ended.

The price of “renting” a church for your wedding varies in its looks and size. Chapels’ and churches maybe cheaper but we paid a 5 figure to use the cathedral. Before that, I suggested on having a “garden wedding”. The place where we held our reception has a beautiful garden, a gazebo where we could put the altar and menos gastos pa since it’s included in the rental. But I was cut short by the “olds”. It’s not “traditional” said one. Its sacrilegious, said another. And everyone, who still wear a veil when attending mass, agreed it should be a church wedding.

But having a church wedding has its downside. In my town, if you want it fancy, they have their own “officials” to do it. You can’t bring in your own flower arrangers because they have their own “official” flower arranger. You can’t have somebody sing in your wedding because they have their own “official” choir to do the singing. And to all of these you have to pay extra and it’s not cheap either.

Since we can’t do anything but use their “officials”, I asked, if they could sing our favorite song during the actual wedding ritual. But their conductor told me they have an “official” list of songs and if my song is not there, they can’t sing it. Can you believe that? That’s typical Catholic clergy mentality! They’ll decide what’s good for you, boss you around and then expect to be paid for dumping their crap on you.

Not only that, these “officials” where also at the reception and enjoying their heart out. When I whispered to my wife “Who invited them?” she replied “Nobody”. I continued to smile while receiving guests and some more “officials”, but a lot of expletives were running around in the back of my mind.

Forget what they say about “In the eyes of God and men blah blah blah…”. How ever they phrase it, when it comes to legality, a marriage license issued by the church does not hold water in any judicial proceedings. It’s not recognized by the court and the only legal paper admissible are the ones issued by a judge in a civil wedding ceremony, like your marriage contract. And like any other contract, be sure you read it, especially the fine prints, and understand what’s stipulated in its provisions. Some contract contains “pre-nuptial” agreement that in some cases maybe disadvantageous to some party, especially to you, ladies.

You can have your heart’s desire at your own wedding. But I suggest you put your venue somewhere else but the church. Not only do you save financially but from the hassle and aggravation as well of facing these hypocritically self-righteous church “officials”. Cheers!

P.S.
Since I couldn't get them to sung our favorite song, I might as well put it here:

My Big Fat Pinoy Wedding

2010-03-03T08:46:00.005+03:00

Foreword: I’m not sharing this anecdote to “show case” my wedding but to illustrate how impractical a church wedding now a days – BlogusVox

I tied the knot on the year the 20th century formally ended. But since I’m stationed abroad, my contribution with respect to its preparation wasn’t much, apart from supplying the finances needed for the occasion. My fiancée, her cousins, my sister and my Mom did all the groundwork. Her “traje de boda” and my barong were done by Leonardo’s, in which I paid a 5 figure amount at mura na daw yun. The couturier, who happens to be my cousin, told us it’s discounted, since I only paid for the material and labor. And that does not include what I paid for the “costumes” of our entourage. Other paraphernalia like flowers were airfreight from Baguio, and those tiny glass figure they gave away were bought in Manila including the printing of invitations with an RSVP embossed on it.

It may sound “classy”, but I particularly find the “RSVP” part silly. Literally, its French for “Respond if you please” or “tell-me-if-your-coming-because-the-caterer-charges-per-head” in plain English. You see, although we rented an “uppity” place for our dinner and social function, my family brought in the food and drinks. The main course was commissioned from a hotel chef while the rest was done by our local, but superb, cooks. So there’s no need on “counting heads”. We just have to make sure there’s plenty of tables and chairs. Officially, we have 300 guests, supposed to be a hundred and fifty persons from each side of the family plus a couple of dozen “extras”. Where I came from, if you invite “Mr. & Mrs. so and so”, expect the whole family (except the pets) to attend.

The photo studio who formally documented our wedding is another thing. The owner, a class-A smoocher, fawned on my fiancée like she’s royalty. Giving us a package deal worth another 5 figure that includes a wedding album and a full-length video that starts the moment she steps out of the shower and ends until I carry her to the bedroom and close the door. They even throw-in the photo album as a gift, and because of that, I’m so much “grateful”. But my fiancée was a little bit sore when she found out of my refusal to partake on their “dressing up” scene. They made do by taking pictures of my wardrobe, from my barong down to my shoes. It was well documented, except for my underwear which I’m already wearing at that time.

I’m not going into details on what happened before and, especially, what take place after the wedding. What I’m going to tell you are the events surrounding the church activities that really got my goat. But since this post is a little bit long, I’ll continue my story on my next post. Bitin ba?.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 36)

2010-02-13T08:32:00.005+03:00

Mooo Is the OFW

2010-02-09T11:00:00.007+03:00

Just recently, Home Development Mutual Fund or better known as PAG-IBIG Fund announced its mandatory membership of all OFWs. It was welcomed enthusiastically, so they say, by our kababayans based in Hong Kong, if you’re to believe Noli DeCastro.

This is good if you want to avail of its benefits in order to acquire your dream house or send your children to college. But there is a catch to it. You should be at least a member for 24 months* before you may apply for a loan. That means you should pay your monthly contribution for 2 years without default prior to filling out those mortgage forms. My question is; how long is an ordinary employee’s contract last here in the Middle East? One year? Two years? After that, how will he/she be able to pay the loan’s monthly amortization if he can’t renew his contract? It is good if his employed with a renewable contract, but that’s not the case for the majority of our OFWs.

One of their “selling point”, as one PAG-IBIG official explained in TFC, is; for a mere monthly contribution of P100, your investment will be returned to you after 20 years (including interest) amounting to P40,000. At first glance that seems good. If you save the money yourself, your P100 will be P1200 in one year or P24,000 in 20 years. A smaller figure compared to the dividend PAG-IBIG will give you. But if we apply the Law of Diminishing Returns, factor in the Philippine’s economic health for the next 20 years (which is bleak in my point of view), your P40,000 then will probably amounts to P20,000 or less of its present monetary value. Lugi ka pa! You’ll fair better if you put your money in a “sari-sari” store and see it double up in one year.

But I believe PAG-IBIG’s think-tank sees it differently. Your monthly dole out of P100, if pooled together, is no chicken feed. With the 3 million work force based in the Middle East alone, the total collectibles of PAG-IBIG in one month will sum up to P300 million plus or P3.6 billion in one year. A lot of money to be invested in some other money-making projects. If, for example, they put it in a low-risk, 5% interest venture, they’ll have a rate of return enough to build 300 units of low-cost housing per year. But not enough to pay the bonuses and incentives of PAG-IBIG executives and employees which, according to COA’s 2008 report, amounts to P258 million** plus.

I’m not saying that being a member is not a good idea. As I said before, it helps those OFWs who really need its benefits. What I’m trying to point out is PAG-IBIG membership SHOULD NOT BE MANDATORY because there are OFWs who doesn’t rely in government assistance when it comes to “housing” or educational plan. Walang pinag-iba yan sa life insurance na binabayaran natin taon-taon sa OWWA even though we are already insured by our employers and by the host country we work in. It doesn’t benefit some of us at all. Napupunta lang sa kaban ng gobyerno or worst, it might end up in someone’s pocket.

Reference:
* http://www.pagibigfund.gov.ph/benefits&programs.htm
** http://www.coa.gov.ph/Audit/AAR.htm

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 35)

2010-02-06T08:16:00.002+03:00

Bea’s 5th

2010-02-02T10:02:00.008+03:00

I’m one of those OFWs with a “family status” privilege appended on their contract. It may not mean much to some and taken for granted by others who have similar benefits, but much sought by those who have to leave their family behind back in the Philippines. If you're a family man, without it, it is as if a part of you was stolen. You can only enjoy your “family life” for a month once a year and for some, only after two years.

I guess, in spite of being an OFW, I’m lucky to gain this understanding of what “family” is all about. To be called, not only as a “provider”, but as a parent as well. To experience the ups and down of a family life and witness my child grow; From a 3 month old baby, who likes to hold her Daddy’s finger, to what she is now, a little girl who can’t sleep at night without her Daddy’s arm around her.

She’s her Daddy’s joy and sometimes her mother’s aggravation, full of life, eccentricity and naughtiness. And tomorrow will be a special day. It is the day, five years ago to date, when she came into our lives. And everything changes.

Happy Birthday, anak!

------------ oOo-------------

Trivia
February, 2010 is unique. It has:

4 Mondays
4 Tuesdays
4 Wednesdays
4 Thursdays
4 Fridays
4 Saturdays and
4 Sundays

A phenomenon that happens only once every 11 years.

Pangaral Ng Isang Cool Na Magulang

2010-01-30T08:48:00.003+03:00

This was sent to me by one of my buddies. I find it funny at the same time true. That's why I’d like to share it with you - BlogusVox

Anak, sa maniwala ka o sa hindi, ikaw ang pinakamagandang nangyari sa buhay ko.. Kahit hindi kami naging mag-asawa ng nanay mo, sana huwag kang magtatampo kung ikasal kami sa iba at magkaroon ka ng mga bagong kapatid. Magmahalan kayo bilang magkakapatid, at huwag ninyong gawing telenobela ang buhay ninyo dahil sa walang kakwenta-kwentang bagay.

Mahalin mo ang nanay mo. Wala siyang ibang inisip kundi kapakanan Mo. Kung paluin ka man niya o sigawan, ito ay dahil may nagawa kang hindi sang-ayon sa mga prinsipyo niya. Itanong mo kung bakit ka niya pinapagalitan. Kung mali naman talaga, huwag mo nang ulitin. Piliin mong mabuti ang mga kaibigan mo. Huwag sumali sa barkada na may iisang stereotype. Huwag sumali sa barkada na puro jologs, puro conio, puro bakla, puro nerd, puro manginginom, puro manyak, puro leadtech, puro equipment tech, puro Process engr, puro equipment engr, puro visor, puro manager, puro HR, puro IE o puro nasa taas lang ang kaya mong batiin! Siguraduhin mong nakikita mo ang lahat ng klase ng tao sa barkada mo. Mas marami kang matututunan sa kanila kesa sa TV o sa bahay mo. Marami silang maituturo sa yo na hindi namin kaya, o hindi appropriate na kami ang magturo.

Maging fluent ka sa written and spoken English. Pag-aralan mong mabuti ang subject-verb agreement. Huwag kang matakot mag-consult sa dictionary o thesaurus kapag may hindi ka naiintindihan. Kasi anak,darating ang araw, makakaapak ka sa ibang bansa, at sigurado akong marami kang makakausap na hindi makakaintindi ng Tagalog. Kahit saang sulok sa mundo, makakahanap ka ng nagsasalita ng English. Kung wala ka namang makuhang trabaho eh pwede kang pumasok sa call center at dun mo gamitin ang english mo! Gawin mo ang lahat para matuto kang mag-gitara. Pag-aralan mo ding kumanta ng nasa tono. Kahit saan mo kasi dalhin ang gitara, maaaliw ka e. Isipin mo yung mga bulag. Hindi sila nakakapag-PSP. Hindi sila nakakapag-Internet. Hindi sila nanonood ng TV, at hindi sila nakakapag-enjoy sa mall. Pero bigyan mo sila ng gitara at pakantahin mo, matutuwa sila. May kuryente man o wala, mapapasaya ka ng gitara. Makinig ka sa mga kanta ng Beatles. Kapag naging aware ka na sa pag-develop ng musical style ng Beatles, kahit anong genre kaya mong i-appreciate. Sa kanila ka matututong magsulat ng poetry, at sa kanila mo rin matututunan kung paano lagyan ng music ang poetry na ito. Saan ka nakakita ng banda na lampas 30 years nang naghiwalay, patay na ang ilan sa mga miyembro, pero sikat at ginagaya pa rin? Beatles lang ang makakagawa nun, anak. Kung di mo naman trip ang Beatles eh pwede kang makinig ng EMO, grunge rock, heavy metal, indie, punk o alternative! Basta wag ka makikinig sa Cueshe at kay April Boy!

Pagdating mo ng college, huwag mong kakalimutang subukan lahat ng kalokohan sa mundo. Bakit college? Kasi kung high school ka magiging sira ulo, mawawalan ka ng options sa college. Baka sa walang kwentang money-centric computer institute ka bumagsak. Mag-aral ka ng mabuti sa elementary at high school. Dapat makapasok ka sa UP, Ateneo, La Salle , o UST, AdU, Mapua or PUP. Dapat maganda yung course mo. Mas maganda kung engineering ang course mo! Pero kung gusto mong yumaman, Nursing na lang kunin mo! Matatagalan kasi pagyaman mo kung engineer ka! Sa college, balansehin mo yung academics mo tsaka kalokohan.

Gumimik ka pero pasukan mo lahat ng klase mo kinbukasan. Huwag magpakalasing kung wala kang siguradong uuwian at kung walang aalalay sa yo pag sumusuka ka na. Wag maadik sa droga. Sumubok kang mag-marijuana pero subok lang. Kung dadating yung panahong hindi mo na mapigilang makipag-sex, siguraduhin mo lang na gaganda ang lahi natin kung sakaling mabuntis mo yung makaka-sex mo. Siguraduhin mo rin na babae ang partner mo! Marami kasi sa Bora at Puerto eh mga bakla! Practice safe sex. Wag mong kakalimutang mag-survey ng lugar kung may camera o wala. Kawawa naman ang nanay mo kung malalaman niyang may scandal ka. Kung gagawa ka naman ng scandal, make sure na nasa separate na Memory Card sya, iwasan mo na ma-corrupt para mai-blutooth mo sakin!

Huwag mong gawing trial and error ang pagkakaroon ng girlfriend. Alamin mo muna kung ano ang kaya mong ibigay sa isang relationship, at kapag nalaman mo na, doon ka maghanap ng isang babaeng magiging masaya sa mga maibibigay mo. Pakinggan mong mabuti ang mga kuwento ng girlfriend mo. Alamin mo kung ano ang mga gusto niya at mga ayaw niya. Huwag mong sisigawan. Dahil ang babae, kapag pinakinggan mo siya at alam niyang nirerespeto mo siya, mamahalin ka nun habambuhay.

Pagka-graduate mo, iwanan mo na ang mga araw na umaasa ka pa sa Ibang tao para mabuhay. Pumasok ka sa Sunpower para malaman mo ang value ng pera! Mahirap ata kitain ang 9300 sa isang buwan! Dose oras na Load Unload yun! Matuto kang mag-ipon. Alamin mo kung tama yung kinakaltas sa sweldo mo. Pinaghirapan mo yang pera na yan. Huwag mong hayaang kunin na lang ng kung sinu-sino. Bago ka gumastos, lagi mong itanong sa sarili mo kung ang bibilhin mo ay isang NEED , isa lamang WANT, isa lamang YABANG, o isa lamang SUNOD SA USO! Sana maging accountable sa lahat ng ginagawa mo. Oo, hindi maganda ang sitwasyon nung dumating ka sa mundo. Pero sana sa paglaki mo, huwag mong sisisihin ang mga pangyayaring ito kaya ka nagrerebelde o nalulugar sa masamang landas. Ang buhay mo ngayon ay dahil sa desisyon namin na mabuhay ka. Pero tandaan mo to: lahat ng mangyayari sa buhay mo e dahil sa mga desisyon mo.

Anak, marami pa akong gustong sabihin sa iyo. Buti na lang naitanong ko sa isang kaibigan ko kung ano ang kaisa-isang advice na maibibigay niya sa anak nya, at eto yung nasabi niya sa kin. Sa lahat ng maibibigay kong advice, eto ang pinakamahalaga:

LEARN.Huwag kang matakot matuto. Matuto ka sa Discovery at National Geographic channels. Matuto ka sa library. Matuto ka sa Internet. Matuto ka sa news. Matuto ka sa Bible, Koran, at teachings ni Buddha. Matuto ka sa mga pagkakamali namin ng nanay mo. Matuto ka sa mga kaibigan mo. Higit sa lahat Matuto ka sa mga pagkakamali mo.

Being In a Wrong Place at a Wrong Time

2010-01-25T10:09:00.005+03:00

Fortune, it seems, remains a stranger to some people whose only deed was to seek a better life and a place under the sun. Take the case of Jason Aguilar who is unfortunate to have a namesake with an allege killer and an entry date in Qatar on the same day the crime happened in the Philippines. That is just too much a coincidence and bad luck to a poor guy.

Another case is that of Jakatia Pawa, a domestic helper in Kuwait, who is accused of stabbing her employer’s daughter to death. But this time, not only her employment but also her life is at stake.

A lot of speculation surrounds this case. But if we take into consideration the evidence reported here and what an embassy official said (aired on TFC) about the daughter having an affair with a neighbor, I can also speculate that this maybe a case of “honor killing”, and framed an innocent helper for the misdeed. The sad thing is we have to beg for their mercy and ask for their forgiveness on something we didn’t do. It is unfair, but if you’re an expatriate in these parts of the world, your rights are limited, your freedom is restricted and your safety depends on how you obey the laws of the land.

I have no sympathy for our incarcerated kababayans caught gambling, womanizing and drinking alcohol. They know it’s against the law, still they did it. I have no pity to those couriers of illegal substance, and then admit their stupidity and ignorance when caught. The same feeling I have to those caned for throwing chewing gums on the streets of Singapore. But my compassion goes to those who are innocent yet languishing in some foreign jails and in some cases forgotten by our government.

For those of us who are “lucky” enough, be wary of your surroundings and people around you. Remember “trust” and “confidence” are expensive commodities. Don’t give it totally.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 34)

2010-01-17T08:08:00.002+03:00

Educating Bea (Part III)

2010-01-11T09:24:00.007+03:00

As a kindergarten, I’m impressed to see Bea (now 4 years old) and her classmates already know how to read three-letter words up to one syllable five-letter words in English. Bea can also add numbers as long as the sum does not exceed ten. If it’s more than that, she needs her toes as additional reference.

But it’s not only Bea learning. We, as parents, were also given extra task of tutoring her at home. Her school made it a point to include parents in the process by assigning “homework” to kids which, in some cases, the parents did it themselves. My wife does the cutting and pasting of objects on her notebook. I do a little bit of drawing but don’t interfere unless it concerns “reading” or “counting”.

At first I thought “yakang-yaka yan”. But my mistake was to assume too much in my capability and not looking at things from the point of view of a child. I realize that with all the education I got, books I’ve read, I’m still ignorant when it comes to the art of teaching. Cases in point:

Right of Left
When she was in nursery, they were taught “directions” (far, near, up, down, right, left etc). But in an exercise in one of their books, an illustration of a boy pointing to the right with a question “where is the boy pointing?”, Bea encircled the word “left” and the teacher marked it “X”. When I asked Bea where her right is, she raised her right arm. But when I showed her the “X” mark, she insisted - “Look Daddy oh”, and began mimicking the boy in the drawing. And she was right, I mean, correct. The boy was pointing to the left! Bea just demonstrated one of Einstein’s famous theories (the one about a bouncing ball inside a moving train). It all depends on the observer! To the reader, the boy is pointing right. But with respect to the boy, he is pointing left. How can I argue with that?

Small, Medium, Large
Bea is good with numbers too. She can count up to a hundred and knows the sequential order of each numeral. She knows there are four “fingers” in 4 and five “fingers” in 5. That is how she learns to add them together to become 9 “fingers”. What she can’t still grasp is the abstract quantity associated behind each symbol. Do I make sense? Let me illustrate. If you ask her what is between 6 and 8, she’ll tell you its 7. If you ask her what is before 3 and after 4, she’ll answer 2 and 5. But if you ask her which is bigger, 8 or 9? You get a blank stare. Her question – “Why is 9 bigger than 8 when they all have the same size”? How can I explain this to a 4 year old? Tell me, because I don’t know how.

Watch Did You Say?
Her diction is also good. Better compared to mine or to my wife whose speech sometimes has a British accent with a Visayan twang. Pixar and Walt Disney taught her that including the alphabet before she entered school. It was further enhanced when they were taught first to “vocalize” the alphabet. Reading is much faster to learn when they know the sound of each letter like “rrr” + “oo” + “www” for “row”. But since the sounds were patterned to the English vocalization, there is a drawback when she read Pilipino words. She sounds like those Fil-Ams in TFC learning how to speak Pilipino when she reads, for example, “papaya” (pe-pey-yah). She gets confused when we tried to correct it, so we leave it at that, hoping she’ll grow out of it.

Watch Did You Say, Agin?
Dictation is also an exercise they have in school. It helps hone pupils’ skill in writing and spelling. For her to get a better result, we practice it at home where we read to her simple sentences from her books like “He puts on his hat”, “She gets her bag”, “They look at the map”. But sometimes our Visayan tongue gets on the way and what she hears, she wrote down. To our embarrassment, the results are “He puts on his hut”, “She gets her bug”, “They look at the mop”.

Teaching my child is a whole new experience for parents like me. Its one way of bonding with her. It’s also challenging, funny and drives me crazy. You’ll get a mix feeling of amusement and frustration at the same time.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 33)

2010-01-07T08:57:00.003+03:00

Samot-Sari ‘09

2009-12-31T09:56:00.008+03:00

A couple of nights ago I woke up to find my wife watching “Shootout ’09” on TFC. It’s a talk show whose topic was to highlight and discuss the Philippines' best and worst events in 2009. What caught my attention was the way it was presented. The setting was informal; using a typical office environment as backdrop and the participants are clustered around a cubicle. It depicts something like a casual conversation among co-workers. Para bang iyung karaniwang tanawin sa opisina nang gobyerno o di kaya sa pribadong tanggapan pag wala ang amo. The subjects were interesting and the exchanges of ideas were stimulating. This prompts me to share my personal opinion on some of their topics.

MMFF and “Inde” Films
I seldom watch pinoy movies. I can count in my fingers the number of Pinoy films I’ve watch since the days a double-feature cost 50 centavos. It has nothing to do with anti-nationalist, un-pilipino and other boo-boo. It simply bores me to watch a movie where you know, most of the time, what will happen before it happens. Besides, seeing Bong Revilla commenting something like “It’s not about the award. Ang mahalaga ay makapag bigay saya sa ating kababayan” and then adding “hindi pa ako nanalo ng best actor” only makes him looked phony even more. Why enter in a competition in the first place, if his “noble” reason is just to entertain and not win an award? Who ever believes the significance of this “award” doesn’t know any better. Urian? Yes! MMFF? They can have it! Take it, take it!

On the other hand, our “inde” films made some marks in the international arena. And it empresses me to know one even won The Best Director award in Cannes. But when Karen Davila lamented on its unpopularity among local movie goers, my answer is, because the casts are unknown. Movie owners know this, that’s why they seldom support it. Put Sharon or Juday in it, tingnan lang natin kung hindi tatabo yan sa takilya. Papatok yan at bibilhin pa rin ng tao kahit ang kabuohang estorya ay paulit-ulit lang. If you doubt me, watch some old Sharon, Dolphy or FPJ films. Si Sharon palaging api. Si Dolphy, bading. At si Fernando, pabugbog muna bago uubusing mag-isa ang ‘sang katirbang goons.

Just like in politics where we vote the person and not his political platform, we also patronize pinoy movies on how popular (controversial?) its leading casts. Disregarding the merit on how good an actor portrays a role. A good story line is just an add-on.

Pacman
Manny Pacquiao, I would say, is a unique athlete, a man whose feat happens only once in every two or three decades. Not only did boxing make him filthy rich, his achievements make us proud being Pinoys and puts the Philippines on the map once again.

But one should also know ones limitation. I don’t know if all his “blessings” went up his head. But to believe in oneself, I’m a good singer and actor or enter politics leaves a bad taste in my mouth. One can’t help but think if his either surrounded my yes-men or by people whose intention is to partake in his billions.

Charice
No doubt, the kid got talent. She was my bet when she’s just starting in that talent show some years back. Pero nakaka-umay din when every time you see her, all she does was ape Whitney Houston or Mariah Carrey. She’s like a jukebox where all the records play “…and aaaaayyyy-eyay-eyaay will always love youuuu oh wooo… ”.

Joey Reyes put it bluntly when he said “She’s a novelty”. Categorically, he puts her in the same level as Yoyoy Villame, along with Lito Camus and Willie Revellame. The sad thing is if she can’t find her own identity, she’ll definitely end up as a novelty act. A filler, pang patay ng oras habang ang “main act” ay bumibihis at mini-“make-up”pan pa.

Tita Cory and Ondoy
Corazon Aquino’s administration maybe rated as “pasang-awa”. But even if she took the responsibility with reservation, she did her role, performing her job to the best of her ability.

Many of you weren’t born when Martial Law was declared. Many of you are too young to understand what it is like living under a dictatorship. During those times when we need a rallying point, she reluctantly stepped forward. I was one of those thousands who responded when the call to protect the two military camps was announced. Because of that shared event, I felt a special affinity towards her. The feeling I felt that day will never leave my mind.

I’ve experienced that feeling again when I saw those multitude of people lined up on the side of the road when her remains passed by. I’ve witnessed again as people of different walks of life becomes one in feeling and purpose. I realized that it takes a special event to awaken the nationalistic spirit that lays dormant inside us for so long.

That spirit manifested once again when Ondoy visited us. We saw how gallant our kababayan are in facing a disaster of that magnitude. We saw how some of them risked their lives in order to save other lives. We saw how those who weren’t affected, chipped in, sacrificing a day’s wage in order to send relief goods and financial aid to those who were affected. We saw how complete strangers helped one another, holding hand-in-hand, united in believing that we shall overcome this calamity.

This is the spirit that left us for so long. It takes a gracious, charismatic lady to pass away and a devastating typhoon for her to return. Grab her. Put her in our heart and mind, for she will guide us to a better future as a nation.

These ends my rant for this year! See you in 2010!

HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!

Congratulation!

2009-12-28T08:25:00.009+03:00

Kudos to those who made it to the Top 10 and received special mention awards in the recently concluded PEBA!

It’s like I’ve won myself. I voted for seven (you know who you are) of those who received an award and six (I’m not sure if you know who you are) of those I picked as a judge made it to the top 10.

Again, to all who have won…

KONG-GRAT-TYO-LAYS-YOOOON!!!

Season Greetings

2009-12-22T13:02:00.006+03:00

Wishing you all a very

Merry Christmas

and may we all have a brighter future, a blessed and

Happy New Year!!

BlogusVox & Family

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 32)

2009-12-17T08:59:00.003+03:00

On Tribalism and a Pinch of Etiquette

2009-12-12T09:38:00.005+03:00

In the ‘80s, the government here built condo like housings for their citizens who wants to settle in cities and urban areas. But these buildings were uninhabited for decades because no national wants to live in it. The “condo” concept doesn’t sits well on their psyche where the only thing that separates each unit is a wall. Perhaps they don’t feel secure to have strangers as neighbors. And perhaps this suspicion is a natural reaction whose roots maybe traced back in the old days when tribal raids were common, looting provisions and kidnapping women from one another.

This distrust manifests also in government agencies. If a department head is from a particular region, people under him are likely also from that area. A recruit won’t be accepted to the king’s special guard unless he could prove his lineage down to the generation of the first monarch; probable to know if their ancestors were along side the king during their country’s formative years. And certain businesses that are present in one region are not allowed or don’t exist in another region of the kingdom and vise-versa, a practice born out of centuries of mistrust. A minus factor if aiming for a strong and cohesive country.

But this mindset also exists in the Philippines in the form of regionalism and social group. It may not be as obvious as India’s caste system, but to think the Philippines has a “classless” society, one should look again. It exists in some Spanish “mestizos” and Chinese-Filipinos. It’s visible in someone who claims to have “maharlikan” pedigree, as if they are above “timawas” and former “alipins”. And this “discrimination” is brought to the next level by our two Muslim brothers from the south. I don’t know what started the animosity but I witnessed how Maranaws and Taosugs hate each others guts.

One also sees intolerance in the diverse languages spoken in different regions. I speak our vernacular when I talk to someone from my hometown but I speak Pilipino when I’m with other “kabayans”. And I speak English when a “foreigner” happens to be with us. In a subtle way, I want to emphasize that it’s not polite if someone can’t understand our conversation. But some people just couldn’t take a hint.

A pinoy officemate speaks in his native tongue when he sees a town's mate, even if the two are with a group of other “kababayans”. They talk as if they’re alone; oblivious that some seems annoyed while the rest look amused. This peculiarity is evident everywhere. Some even insist that their language should be the “lingua franca” on the basis of number of speakers. Others reason out that they take pride on their local language (who doesn’t) that they slip into it any chance they get. But sometimes protocol and common courtesy also dictates otherwise.

It’s sad to think that this mundane issue is a factor that holds us back. How could we move forward progressively when we don’t think as one, always divided by linguistic pride and regional self-importance?

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 31)

2009-12-02T08:23:00.002+03:00

Party Colors

2009-11-21T08:09:00.005+03:00

The more you observe politics, the more you've got to admit that each party is worse than the other. - Will Rogers

Like football teams, most nations’ political parties identify their affiliation by colors. Communists or socialist are red, royalists and conservatives are blue, environmentalists are green and so forth. The same is true with party names.

Governments, especially those who prefer the parliamentary form, have a clear line drawn in their different political parties. Basically there are three, namely right, center and left. Rights are conservatives, center for moderates and left represent the socialist. That includes the off-shoot of both poles, the ultra-right with their fascist-like ideals and the extreme-left with their Marxist’s ideology. During election, electorates know a candidate’s political agenda thru their party affiliation. That’s because party members personify the principles in which their party was founded.

But in the Philippines, colors do not represent a political group. It represents more an individual rather than an ideology. Aquino inherited yellow from his mother. I don’t know what orange means but Villar chooses it as his battle flag. Roxas’ blue, I think, show his family’s “royal” status in Western Visayas.

Party names are the same. It’s a misnomer, invented to deceive the ignorant. For instance; Pwersa Ng Masang Pilipino is not a socialist group nor it represent them. It only uses the masses for its own end. “Country first” is not the slogan or aim of the Nationalist People’s Coalition and Kilusang Bagong Lipunan have their chance yet I still have to see the social reforms it espouses.

In Congress, I observed only two political entities; the Leftist and the Opportunist. You know who the former are. They’re at the periphery of the congressional circle. They were not elected and their seats are courtesy of the party-list system. The latter is like a chameleon. It changes color to what ever surrounding it’s “in” and their loyalty is a commodity. It’s for sale and has an expiry date. It last only until the next election or maybe bartered in exchange for a slot in the line-up of any leading party. No wonder Reagan find no difference between a politician and a prostitute. They are similar in many ways.

In the US’s two party system, you’re either a republican or a democrat. Republicans are identified with the rich and democrats “represents” the middle class, ethnic groups and the low-income sector. But which ever party wins the presidency or garnered the majority in both houses, their first and foremost duty is to protect the domestic and foreign interests of corporate America. At least their leaders serve a group while ours serve their constituents only if they find it favorable to themselves.

Our government is run by people who think, not the welfare of those who voted them to power, but how to suck up to who ever guarantee their political survival. They think, not of our nation’s future, but how to safeguard their individual turf, as if it’s a legacy, theirs to own and handed down from parents to offspring.

Before we write down our candidates, let us learn first to differentiate what they say and what they meant. Read between the lines, recognize their true agenda and see through their façade to know their true color.

Judging Others

2009-11-14T07:54:00.008+03:00

Accomplishment is socially judged by ill defined criteria so that one has to rely on others to find out how one is doing. - Albert Bandura

Some of you may be aware that PEBA honored me by choosing yours truly as one of the judges in this year’s search for the Top 10 Outstanding Expatriates/OFW Blogs. At first I thought it was going to be easy but then I realize it’s not only difficult mentally but emotionally as well.

There are 37 candidates to choose from. I knew most of them and some I considered as friends. In fairness and for transparency’s sake, I devised a method of calculating the result to avoid being accused of partisanship or later might hear discriminatory allegation (like what happened last year). Hopefully these will do justice to my selection.

There are 5 categories in which blogs are to be judge, PEBA entry post, blog contents, blog entries, popularity and blog traffic. Judges are to handle the first 3 categories and pick what they considered their top ten choices. As for me, I rate each category between 1 thru 10, where 1 is the lowest grade given for an entry and 10 the highest. But since I don’t believe in anything perfect outside the physical world, the highest I could give is 9. Believe me; even if you got an excellent blog, how ever good a writer you are, there will always be a better blog or a superior writer out there.

PEBA entry post is somewhat easier to evaluate compared to the other two categories. I judge an entry by its relevance to the contest’s theme and the way the essay’s message makes an impact on me. 15% of the rating will be taken from this category.

Blog content is somewhat within my territory of familiarity. I sub-categorize it into three;
Refresh rate, presentation and blog information.

Refresh rate is the time it takes for a blog to “download”. I consider this necessary because it is somehow discomforting for a reader to “pick” a blog that somewhat takes forever to appear on screen. A refresh rate between 5 and 10 seconds is good enough for me (at low traffic, my own blog has a refresh rate of 3 seconds).

Presentation, in my opinion, is important to a reader. It’s composed of a blog’s appearance; in its uniqueness, symmetry, readability and color coordination. Bloggers who takes pain in making their site pleasing to the eye gets extra points than those who just use available templates or those who over-do their “make-up”.

Blog information is useful to readers or visitors. It includes post categories and history, personal information and links to other useful sites.

I grade each sub-category from 1 to 9 using the formula - summation of grades of all sub-categories divided by 3. Fifteen percent will be taken from its result to be added to the over-all ranking.

Blog entries is the most tasking of the three. Since some blogs are more than a year old and contains more than 50 posts, I made a point to set January to October of this year the cut-off time of entries I’m going to read. I did this in order to meet the date of submission of my results on December 15. Grading each entry depends on how it impresses me. Is it inspirational, informative or thought-provoking? Is it entertaining or just plain boring? Take note that since the contest organizers specifically stated that each blog nominee contains at least one entry post per month; it would be disadvantageous for a nominee if they have no entry for any month inside my cut-off. You are excuse from this provision if your blog is younger than January as long as it has an entry starting from the month of its conception. 30% of the overall result will be taken using the same formula I used above - summation of grades of all read posts divided by the total number of posts read, adding a point penalty to the divisor for each month without an entry.

Using this method, a meaningful entry posted once or twice a month, gains more points compared to posting insignificant entries trice a week. At least a nominee have an idea what’s their ranking if they wrote something like “what I ate for breakfast this morning”.

I’m explaining the mechanics of my computation in order for candidates to know where they stand in my evaluation. But it doesn’t mean that what I’ve explained is “the basis” in choosing the finalist or my final evaluation makes “the difference”. Remember, there are nine other judges to consider. Each has their own method in selecting the most commendable blogs. Beside that, popular vote and blog traffic are still two categories where a nominee may edge other contenders.

So, to each of the nominees, I say GOODLUCK!

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 30)

2009-10-31T07:49:00.006+03:00

Snap It!

2009-10-24T09:08:00.011+03:00

Technical writers, researcher and bloggers usually surfs the web when searching for resources needed as additional materials for their document. When a particular page of interest is found, they “copy” it by pressing the “PrntScrn” button, open a graphic software such as Paint, paste the copied material, give it a filename and then save it.

The problem with this technique is its quite tedious and time consuming especially if you got a lot of materials to “copy”. You see, the “Print Screen method” captures the whole screen into your clipboard. If you’re interested only in a particular area of the picture, you have to do extra work of editing the file to remove the unwanted parts.

There’s another method, simpler and easier way of doing it. It’s called SnapIt from Digeus Inc. Once you have installed and set it up, the rest is straightforward as A-B-C.

For example, if you only want to “capture” the header title of this blog...

Just press the “PrntScrn” button and the cursor style will change into a cross-hair. Draw a rectangle around the area you want to grab by holding down the left mouse button while dragging it.

Release the mouse button and that’s it, the software will do the rest.

It automatically assigned a filename, save it to what ever file extension you prefer (JPG, BMP, GIF, TIFF or PNG) then store it to a file folder you assigned in the SnapIt’s property box. It captures anything in your screen except a “freeze frame”.

A “freeze frame” is a “still picture” of a particular scene when you “Pause” a media player while playing a VCD, DVD, MP4 or AVI file. Other capturing software can’t do it too, but it would be great if only SnapIt has this added feature.

Bottom line is; if all you need is to capture a screen, SnapIt can do the job easily, without any hassle. But don’t take my word for it. Try it yourself. You can download a “trial version” here free to use for 14 days.

One more thing, before you install SnapIt; be sure your computer has Framework 2.0 installed. SnapIt won’t work without it. You may download an update from here, free of charge. If Framework 2.0 does not install properly you might need to upgrade your Windows Installer as well. You can download it too from here, also free of charge.

Good luck and happy capturing!

On Commercial Ads

2009-10-20T14:59:00.002+03:00

The art of advertisement, has introduced into all our life such a lavish use of superlatives, that no standard of value whatever is intact. - Wyndham Lewis

I really think people who believed what commercial ads are saying don’t know better. Ads companies have staffs that do research to find what makes people “tick” or what social group prefers what commodity. They then designed their ads, for what ever product they endorse, to that kind of mindset or consumer demography. In a way we are being conned. They even have a term for us – target customers. It feels like we are in the firing range.

Take for example instant noodles. They claim it’s nutritious, pack with vitamins and minerals. For crying out loud, where’s the nutrition in that? Its noodles, made from flour mixed with artificial flavoring to make it edible. Not to mention what other chemicals are in it, if it’s carcinogenic or not. You’ll get more mileage and nutrients eating a stick of banana cue.

Cosmetic is another thing. Since most pinoys are obsessed with fair skin, light-skinned models are hired to push their products, therefore projecting an image that you’ll be “white” after several applications. I’ll believe this crap only if Wilma Dozen turns as white as Kris Aquino after using it. Worst comes to worst, you’ll look like a kabuki actor or that girl from The Grudge.

Car ads are also pretentious. They talk about how strong its engine going from 0 to 60 in 3 seconds or boasting a 12 speaker stereo system and other amenities not particularly related to driving or car performance. I don’t care about those specs except how far it will go to a liter of petrol. For an ordinary man like me, all I want is a ride to go from point A to point B without sweat dripping down my armpit from flagging taxis. And then see them roar away because I won’t agree to a “fixed fare”. In my opinion, in all practical purposes, a person who wants an expensive sport car or SUV has only two reasons for buying it. Either to show-off or get laid.

Political ads disguised as “humanitarian effort” are the same. Lately, Manny Villar’s ad, showing him helping distressed OFWs is on TV every commercial break. It’s redundant to a point of being pathetic. We see it now and then that my 4year old daughter have memorized and can sing its jingle. If he really wants to help, instead of spending money to pay in airing that phony ad, he could have used it to help the victims of Ondoy. I don’t care if he puts his name on every plastic bag containing relief goods. Nakakapantawid gutom yun, ang commercial, hindi!

I wish we become a little bit cynical and refrain from believing everything we see and hear. But from what I observed, we got a long way to go before we could distinguish fantasy from reality and truth from falsehood.

On Catching a Liar: Anatomy of a Spammer

2009-10-10T13:23:00.008+03:00

Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren't so exciting. - Bill Gates

Why the Animosity?
I hate spam. I immediately erase it if I get one. It’s analogous to a thick-faced salesman knocking at your door then places his foot at the door gap to get your attention. They wear different masks and specialize on different communication medium. Some are telemarketers, others in the form of “e-mailers” and blog post commenter. They are insensitive, out of topic and devoid of proper decorum.

Blog spammers,, in my opinion, are one of the worst. They disrespect owners by ramming their way into other people’s blogs. And since a lot of visitors not only read posts but comments as well, they also used it as a platform to sell their wares.

First Encounter
Take for example this comment I erased in my KaBlog Station Page:

“I just made $1003 this week working from home for google. I cant believe how easy this is. Im recommending this to everyone, check out this guys google blog makemoneywith-google.com”

It seems harmless and “friendly”, but in effect, designed to increase traffic of the linked site by dangling possible monetary gain on naïve readers. To counter it, I went directly to the spammer’s page and leave this message:

“If you want to put ads, do it in your own blog. Don't go around spamming other sites with your ads. Do that again in my site and I'll recommend that you be remove from this network.”

This incident happened a month ago and then thought nothing of it. But last week, I was blog-hopping on some of my friends KaBlog Station page and noticed ALL of them have spam comment similar to what I deleted. They only differ in monetary value, but verbatim, they are all the same. It made me assume these are all software-generated, randomly inserting monetary numbers for each comment. I went back to the spammer’s page and things got interesting. Somebody responded to my comment.

Can’t Hold His Tongue
A certain Joey Parman, a KaBlog member, left this message on the spammer’s page:

“Wala akong malay sa sinasabi mo blogus! Before you make any threats you might want to consider other posibilities kung bakit may pumasok na ads sa site mo na allegedly saken galing. For all you know it could be a malaware na nagamit ang pangalan ko. Please refrain from making harsh accusations. Kahit magsumbong ka pa! Hindi ko gawain ang sinasabi mo.”

Nagging Question
What has this spammer, whose profile is female from New York, USA, got to do with Joey Parman from Taguig City, Philippines, that he thinks my comment was addressed to him? I don’t know him or mentioned his name nor did the spam comments ever use his name for that matter. Unless the spammer’s page and "DakilangAlalayMo" are owned by one and the same person, I can’t think of any other reason for him to “sing”. Claiming to be another “Jackie Bermejo” does not hold water either, since the spammer’s page title and URL address are in concordance with what it actually do – to advertised “MakeMoneyWithGoogle.Com”. If that too was hacked and changed, why didn’t he report it to the proper authorities of KaBlog Station?

Possible Answer
KaBlog Station is a social networking site. If you want to comment on a page, you should be a member and log-in first. To do that, you must register. Since the intention is to spam, an existing member created a fictitious account to divert attention away from him. Nice deception and smart, but not smart enough. He forgot one thing, the "code of omerta” – keep your mouth shut!

The ball is in your court Joey. Try to make sense and have a plausible alibi this time.

Enough Is Enough

2009-10-07T08:40:00.008+03:00

Foreword: From a very brave Filipina. She even placed her name and telephone number. This is what happens when somebody reaches boiling point and says “enough is enough”. - BlogusVox

To all Filipinos Everywhere:

I used to think that corruption and criminality in the Philippines were caused by poverty. But recent events tell me this isn't true. It is one thing to see people turn into drug addicts, prostitutes, thieves and murderers because of hunger and poverty, but what excuse do these rich, educated people have that could possibly explain their bizarre behavior? And to think I was always so relieved when petty snatchers got caught and locked away in jail because I never fully realized that the big time thieves were out there, making the laws and running our country. Can it get any worse than this?

Every night, I come home and am compelled to turn on my tv to watch the latest turn of events. I am mesmerized by these characters. They are not men. They are caricatures of men - too unreal to be believable and too bad to be real. To see these "honorable" crooks lambast each other, call each one names, look each other in the eye and accuse the other of committing the very same crimes that they themselves are guilty of, is so comical and appalling that I don't know whether to laugh or cry. It is entertainment at its worst!

I have never seen so many criminals roaming around unfettered and looking smug until now. These criminals wear suits and barongs, strut around with the confidence of the rich and famous, inspire fear and awe from the very citizens who voted them to power, bear titles like "Honorable", "Senator", "Justice", "General" and worse, "President". Ironically, these lawless individuals practice law, make our laws, enforce the law. And we wonder why our policemen act the way they do! These are their leaders, and the leaders of this nation – Robin Hoodlum and his band of moneymen. Their motto? "Rob the poor, moderate the greed of the rich."

It makes me wonder where on earth these people came from, and what kind of upbringing they had to make them act the way they do for all the world to see. It makes me wonder what kind of schools they went to, what kind of teachers they had, what kind of environment would produce such creatures who can lie, cheat and steal from an already indebted country and from the impoverished people they had vowed to serve. It makes me wonder what their children and grandchildren think of them, and if they are breeding a whole new generation of improved Filipino crooks and liars with maybe a tad more style but equally negligible conscience. Heaven forbid!

I am an ordinary citizen and taxpayer. I am blessed to have a job that pays for my needs and those of my family's, even though 30% of my earnings go to the nation's coffers. Just like others in my lot, I have complained time and again because our government could not provide enough of the basic services that I expect and deserve. Rutty roads, poor educational system, poor social services, poor health services, poor everything. But I have always thought that was what all third world countries were all about, and my complaints never amounted to anything more.

And then this. Scandalous government deals. Plundering presidents pointing fingers. Senators associated with crooks. Congressmen who accept bribes. Big time lawyers on the side of injustice. De Venecia ratting on his boss only after his interminable term has ended, Enrile inquiring about someone's morality! The already filthy rich Abalos and Arroyo wanting more money than they or their great grandchildren could ever spend in a life time. Joker making a joke of his own "pag bad ka, lagot ka!" slogan. Defensor rendered defenseless. Gen. Razon involved in kidnapping. Security men providing anything but a sense of security. And it's all about money, money, money that the average Juan de la Cruz could not even imagine in his dreams. Is it any wonder why our few remaining decent and hardworking citizens are leaving to go work in other countries?

And worst of all, we are once again saddled with a power-hungry president whose addiction has her clinging on to it like barnacle on a rusty ship. "Love (of power) is blind" takes a whole new meaning when PGMA time and again turns a blind eye on her husband's financial deals. And still blinded with all that is happening, she opts to traipse around the world with her cohorts in tow while her country is in shambles.

They say the few stupid ones like me who remain in the Philippines are no longer capable of showing disgust. I don't agree. Many like me feel anger at the brazenness of men we call our leaders, embarrassment to share the same nationality with them, frustration for our nation and helplessness at my own ineffectuality. It is not that I won't make a stand. It is just that I am afraid my actions would only be futile. After all, these monsters are capable of anything. They can hurt me and my family. They already have, though I may not yet feel it.

But I am writing this because I need to do something concrete. I need to let others know that ordinary citizens like me do not remain lukewarm to issues that would later affect me and my children. I want to make it known that there are also Filipinos who dream of something better for the Philippines. I want them to know that my country is not filled with scalawags and crooks in every corner, and that there are citizens left who believe in decency, fairness, a right to speak, a right to voice out ideas, a right to tell the people we have trusted to lead us that they have abused their power and that it is time for them to step down. I refuse to let this country go to hell because it is the only country I call mine and it is my responsibility to make sure I have done what I could for it.

Those of us who do not have the wealth, power or position it needs to battle the evil crime lords in the government can summon the power of good. We can pray. We can do this with our families every night. We can offer petitions every time we celebrate mass. We can ask others to pray too, including relatives and friends here and overseas. And we can offer sacrifices along with our petitions, just so we get the message to Him of our desperation in ridding our nation of these vermin. After all, they cannot be more powerful than God!

I implore mothers out there to raise your children the best way you can. Do not smother, pamper, or lavish them with too much of the material comforts of life even if you can well afford them. Teach them that there are more important things in this world. I beg all fathers to spend time with their children, to teach them the virtues of hard work, honesty, fair play, sharing, dignity and compassion – right from the sandbox till they are old enough to go on their own. Not just in your homes, but at work, in school, everywhere you go. Be good role models. Be shining examples for your children so they will learn to be responsible adults who will carry and pass on your family name with pride and honor.

I call on educators and teachers – we always underestimate the power of your influence on the minds of our youth. Encourage them to be aware of what is happening in their surroundings. Instill in them a love of their country, inculcate in them the value of perseverance in order to gain real, worthwhile knowledge, help us mold our children into honorable men and women. Encourage our graduates, our best and brightest, to do what they can to lift this country from the mire our traditional politicians have sunk us into. The youth is our future – and it would be largely because of you, our educators, that we will be able to repopulate the seats of power with good leaders, presidents, senators, congressmen, justices, lawmakers, law enforcers and lawful citizens.

I ask all students, young people and young professionals everywhere to look around and get involved in what is happening. Do not let your youth be an excuse for failure to concern yourselves with the harsh realities you see. But neither let this make you cynical, because we need your idealism and fresh perspective just as you need the wisdom of your elders. YOUR COUNTRY NEEDS YOU! Let your voices be heard. Do what you can for this land that gave you your ancestors and your heritage. Use technology and all available resources at hand to spread good. Text meaningful messages to awaken social conscience. Try your best to fight moral decay because I promise you will not regret it when you become parents yourselves. You will look back at your past misdeeds and pray that your children will do better than you did.

Remember that there are a few handful who are capable of running this country. You can join their ranks and make their numbers greater. We are tired of the old trapos. We need brave idealistic leaders who will think of the greater good before anything else. Do your utmost to excel in your chosen field.. Be good lawyers, civil servants, accountants, computer techs, engineers, doctors, military men so that when you are called to serve in government, you will have credibility and a record that can speak for itself.

For love of this country, for the future of our children, for the many who have sacrificed and died to uphold our rights and ideals, I urge you to do what you can. As ordinary citizens, we can do much more for the Philippines than sit around and let crooks lead us to perdition. We owe ourselves this. And we owe our country even more.

~~Remedios C. Paningbatan~~
~~Administrative Officer~~
~~Office of the General Counsel~~
~~Asian Development Bank~~
~~Tel (632) 632-4248~~

Erratum:
Remedios C. Paningbatan is NOT the author of this essay as stated and explained in comment #24. Please refer to that comment to find out the real author.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 29)

2009-10-04T10:01:00.005+03:00

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 28)

2009-09-19T00:23:00.001+03:00

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 27)

2009-09-14T09:31:00.003+03:00

On Political Immaturity

2009-09-09T15:18:00.005+03:00

It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first. - Ronald Reagan

You know election is just around the corner when political pundits began sharing their “expert” opinions on who is likely to win and who has no chance at all in the coming presidential race. Almost every body who is of voting age has a favorite aspirant. And the majority is hoping it will be an election towards a fresh beginning; a new era of just and transparent governance.

But how many among us sees this event on a different perspective? How many among us turn our heads away from the political arena and observes the spectators at the sideline? How many tried to understand the collective psyche of the very people who will decide on who will win among the slugging contenders?

Politically, as a whole, we are still young. Few cared to scrutinize a candidate’s personal background and political platform. Most have perceptions that are bounded only by things that directly affect their lives. And a lot of us have short memories and attention span. We go to political rallies, not to listen to candidates’ speeches but to be entertained by their silly antics and ogle at their celebrity endorsers. We vote not as an individual but what our “elders” dictate. We wrote down on ballots names that are attached to faces on giant billboards and we look up to politicians like royalties; public figures to be served and not as public servants.

Politicians knew these and base their strategy around that assertion. From old nicknames like “the poor boy from Lubao” to a more modern “Mr. Palengke”, it’s designed not to woe the educated, the intellectuals or the professionals but the “masa”. Their numbers exceeds compared against the other tiers of the social strata combined. You see them everyday. They shriek when they see celebrities. They think Willie Revellame is Godsend. They knew every facet of Sharon Cuneta’s life but can’t say who the current Speaker of the House is. They knew by heart the lyrics of Otso-otso but can’t partially sing “Lupang Hinirang”. They live uncomplicated lives yet their presence are important. Without them, our daily economic life stands still. But for a politician, they are a good source of votes, easy to persuade and manipulate at a minimal expense. All he has to do is find an image these people can “relate” to. In other words, be the man of the people – be “maka-masa”.

One aspirant abuses this particular image that even his son calls him “taong bayan” as in; “Kung ano ang desisyon ng taong-bayan (namely his father), yun ang susundin ko”. Another dresses ala FPJ (rolled up sleeves and denim pants) even in the Senate and talks in high Tagalog words. But what rolls out from his oily tongue are mostly without substance. Only the likes of Alma Moreno (who by the way thinks “ambiance” is a commodity) are enamored in his glibness. Still another ride on the popularity of his parents but has a scatter-brained sibling who is more of a liability rather than a political asset. But what ever these politicians do; may they sing off-tuned hits, dance out of tempo, endorsed by a “mass-based” celebrity like Juday, give rice and can goods in depressed areas or throw candies along campaign trails. They only have one thing in mind, to tickle your hearts and minds, so you’ll remember them come Election Day.

We always cry for change yet we put into office, again and again, the same people who does nothing but retard those aspiration. As long as we don’t properly educate our people, as long as we don’t know how to choose our leaders. As long as we remain politically immature, we can shout all we want until our voice hoarsens. Our aspiration will remain as it is… a dream.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 26)

2009-09-05T09:03:00.005+03:00

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 25)

2009-08-29T08:39:00.006+03:00

Busy...

2009-08-22T09:47:00.003+03:00

Some of you might have noticed that my posts are dwindling lately. That’s because my job occupies most of my time. Our company, who handled this particular branch of the government for the past 18 years, will end its contract on January next year. We have no idea if we’ll win another extension.

What I mean is they have an unconventional way of awarding contracts. A candidate company’s resume, even if it contains long years of experience, expertise, capable staff or even the lowest bidding price, does not guarantee ink on paper. The final nod is reserved by the head honcho at the Ministry. If the man doesn’t like your CEO’s face, even if you’re qualified, fulfilled all requirements and won the preliminary bidding, there is no assurance you’ll get the contract.

I remember a few years back. After the Gulf War, there was a multi billion dollar communication upgrade contract up for grabs. A consortium composed of big European communication companies (including mine), headed by Siemens, placed a bid and won. A few weeks later, US’s Secretary of State visited the kingdom. After several more weeks, guess what? The contract was awarded to AT&T. I’m not “sour-graping” here, but rumors have it that Bush’s emissary reminded the government on US’s role in liberating its neighbor from Saddam. If there’s any grain of truth in that gossip, then the Americans have a phrase for it – “its payback time”!

I’m going astray here. Let’s get back to my main issue. One of our systems resides in old computers and runs on DOS environment. Since manufacturers no longer make hardware that support 16 bit platform and we’re running out of spare parts, our “policy makers” decided to buy the latest computers and upgrade the system to run in Windows. That is what I’m doing right now; modifying old DOS programs to run in Windows. And I got till December to finish the job. A Quixotic task if you ask me, since I’m a one-man-team assigned to this. That’s because it seems “C” programmers are a rare breed. Am I a dying specie or what? I knew a lot of guys in cyber space who are experts in C and C++. Yet our human resources have a difficult time finding programmers who can read “C” source code and convert it to Visual C++.

A sample of what I’m deciphering is a program similar to this:
and converting it to run in Windows, like this one:
It’s a sub-program that automatically connects receivers to measuring instruments and antennas with just a click of a button. It looks simple. But behind this minimalist facade are relatively complex programming calisthenics, to make life easy for an operator.

I don’t know yet what destiny has in store for me next year. I might be joining the number of jobless workers and be part of the growing unemployment statistic. But I don’t see things that way, at least not yet. I’m preparing myself for any eventualities that might occur.

So if your company needs a System Analyst/Programmer, I’m available next year. Just think of me as an elephant (“I work for peanuts”), a matriarch African elephant. : )

State Of the Nation

2009-08-11T13:30:00.005+03:00

Because of the recent State of the Nation Address by our president and her "lamyerda" in New York, I can’t help but show this to you, the real state of the nation.

Thanks to J.N. for sharing this to me.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn.24)

2009-08-01T08:14:00.003+03:00

10 Principles for Peace of Mind

2009-07-29T08:28:00.004+03:00

Foreword: I got this from a good friend, R.B. I found guidance and lessons to be learned from it, that I decided to share it with you. I slightly modified its content to make it more "universal" – BlogusVox

1. Do Not Interfere In Others' Business Unless Asked:
Most of us create our own problems by interfering too often in others' affairs. We do so because somehow we have convinced ourselves that our way is the best way, our logic is the perfect logic and those who do not conform to our thinking must be criticized and steered to the right direction, our direction. This thinking denies the existence of individuality. No two human beings can think or act in exactly the same way. Mind your own business and you will keep your peace.

2. Forgive And Forget:
This is the most powerful aid to peace of mind. We often develop ill feelings inside our heart for the person who insults us or harms us. We nurture grievances. This in turn results in loss of sleep, development of stomach ulcers, and high blood pressure. This insult or injury was done once, but nourishing of grievance goes on forever by constantly remembering it. Get over this bad habit. Life is too short to waste in such trifles. Forgive, forget and march on. Love flourishes in giving and forgiving.

3. Do Not Crave For Recognition:
This world is full of selfish people. They seldom praise anybody without selfish motives. They may praise you today because you are in power, but no sooner than you are powerless, they will forget your achievement and will start finding faults in you. Why do you wish to kill yourself in striving for their recognition? Their recognition is not worth the aggravation. Do your duties ethically and sincerely.

4. Do Not Be Jealous:
We all have experienced how jealousy can disturb our peace of mind. You know that you work harder than your colleagues in the office, but sometimes they get promotions; you do not. You started a business several years ago, but you are not as successful as your neighbor whose business is only one year old. There are several examples like these in everyday life. Should you be jealous? No. Remember everybody's life is shaped by his/her destiny, which has now become his/her reality. If you are destined to be rich, nothing in the world can stop you. If you are not so destined, no one can help you either. Nothing will be gained by blaming others for your misfortune. Jealousy will not get you anywhere; it will only take away your peace of mind.

5. Change Yourself According To The Environment:
If you try to change the environment single-handedly, the chances are you will fail. Instead, change yourself to suit your environment. As you do this, even the environment, which has been unfriendly to you, will mysteriously change and seem congenial and harmonious.

6. Endure What Cannot Be Cured:
This is the best way to turn a disadvantage into an advantage. Every day we face numerous inconveniences, ailments, irritations, and accidents that are beyond our control. If we cannot control them or change them, we must learn to put up with these things. We must learn to endure them cheerfully. Believe in yourself and you will gain in terms of patience, inner strength and will power.

7. Do Not Bite Off More Than You Can Chew:
This maxim needs to be remembered constantly. We often tend to take more responsibilities than we are capable of carrying out. This is done to satisfy our ego. Know your limitations. . Why take on additional loads that may create more worries? You cannot gain peace of mind by expanding your external activities. Reduce your material engagements and spend time in prayer, introspection and meditation. This will reduce those thoughts in your mind that make you restless. Uncluttered mind will produce greater peace of mind.

8. Meditate Regularly:
Meditation calms the mind and gets rid of disturbing thoughts. This is the highest state of peace of mind. Try and experience it yourself. If you meditate earnestly for half an hour everyday, your mind will tend to become peaceful during the remaining twenty-three and half-hours. Your mind will not be easily disturbed as it was before. You would benefit by gradually increasing the period of daily meditation. You may think that this will interfere with your daily work. On the contrary, this will increase your efficiency and you will be able to produce better results in less time.

9. Never Leave The Mind Vacant:
“An empty mind is the devil's workshop”. All evil actions start in the vacant mind. Keep your mind occupied in something positive, something worthwhile. Actively follow a hobby. Do something that holds your interest. You must decide what you value more: money or peace of mind. Your hobby, like social work, may not always earn you more money, but you will have a sense of fulfillment and achievement. Even when you are resting physically, occupy yourself in healthy reading.

10. Do Not Procrastinate And Never Regret:
Do not waste time in protracted wondering " Should I or shouldn't I?" Days, weeks, months, and years may be wasted in that futile mental debating. You can never plan enough because you can never anticipate all future happenings. Value your time and do the things that need to be done. It does not matter if you fail the first time. You can learn from your mistakes and succeed the next time. Sitting back and worrying will lead to nothing. Learn from your mistakes, but do not brood over the past. DO NOT REGRET.

Two Decades After

2009-07-25T10:48:00.009+03:00

Twenty years ago this week, a young man, in his mid-twenties embark on a journey that will change him and his outlook in life. Armed with knowledge in engineering and computers, he went to a country whose environment, people and culture are completely different from his own. Only one thing prompted him to go; to save enough money to buy a computer. I know, a very shallow reason compared to what motivates other OFW’s to leave their country and love ones behind. But it’s enough for this fool of a young man. Besides it’s a job, man, it’s a job.

When the aircraft touched down, the hot 41 degree wind of a typical July evening snaps him off his day dreaming and reality sets in. It’s like being shoved out a huge oven. He restrained the urge to run back inside, in the comfort of the air-conditioned plane. His no quitter. He rationalizes; it’s just a job, man, only a job.

The Satellite Earth Station site was a self-sustaining structure in the middle of nowhere. His assignment was to maintain 3 power generators that supplies electricity to a small Domestic Satellite station, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Besides that, his job includes keeping the generator shed clean and tidy. It means mopping the floor of oil sleek and washing “standby” generators to look like it was just bought yesterday. A messy job, if you ask him, but he consoles himself, thinking, his batch mate and a very good friend is up there on the base of a 35 meter diameter disk antenna doing the same thing he does but in a different manner. Five years of studies in UST to become an ECE and he scrapes pigeon shit off station roofs. But it’s part of the job, man, just part of the job.

Six months passed before he saved enough money to buy a computer. It’s the latest top of the line model. A 286x, 22MHz speed processor, a 16 color video card, a VGA monitor, 256kb of RAM and a whooping 40Mb of hard disk. After work, he spent his time tinkling his computer. He fine tunes it, searching every available upper-memory to cramped-in his drivers to save precious base memory to run programs bigger than 64kb. Enough memory to play his favorite game “Wolfenstein”, hone his typing skill to his personal best of 60 wpm and learn a new language called “C”. That computer helps him a lot. It shielded him from loneliness... homesickness, man, homesickness.

His luck changes after a year. The project’s computer programmer went home and never came back. They said he migrated to UK along with his family, leaving the Project Manager with a headache. Its end of the year and not even a single page of inventory report were printed, an important document that has to be submitted to the Ministry. At first, the German PM won’t believe what the Station Engineer told him about this Filipino guy who knows computer. Nobody blames him. Who would believe that a guy holding a mop and dressed in a dirty over-all, have knowledge of computer? Not to mention, the capability to manipulate a database in generating an inventory report of the entire project? But desperate people do desperate things. He let the “mop guy” handle the system. After one week, he got his precious report and the “mop guy” got a hefty bonus. It was fun, man, it was fun.

When the project contract ended, his boss wrote a very generous recommendation letter and delivered it personally to the head of a newly formed project. He was immediately hired as a programmer and became a pioneer of that project. For him, it’s like a game, man, just a game and his still playing.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 23)

2009-07-18T08:26:00.002+03:00

Bayang Magiliw, Pertila Na Didiw… (Ano Raw?)

2009-07-09T10:04:00.004+03:00

Every Saturday (the beginning of each week here), school administrators “encourage” their students to come in early than their first subject which is at 8:00 am. The reason is so they could participate on the flag raising ceremony which is only done once a week.

Everybody takes part, including pupils from pre-school. I noticed though that they don’t teach the National Anthem to pre-schoolers. What they do is put them along side the higher grades and the children mimicked what ever they hear or thought they heard from the older kids.

Here’s my daughter’s (currently in kindergarten) version of the “Lupang Hinirang”:

How patriotic can you get than this!

To Ads or Not To Ads

2009-07-04T08:37:00.005+03:00

I was managing my MyBlogLog site and doing some “house cleaning” when I noticed a post from an appended “community”. What caught my attention was the posted response to another blog’s complain. If you’re confused what these two are squabbling about, hopefully, this may clear things up.

What the first blogger did was legal as a “dropper” with respect to the mechanics as stated by the advertising network provider. He availed of the facilities offered in order to increase “visit traffic” in his blog. But on moral ground, I believed this method is self-serving, unethical and devoid of civility. I find it somewhat “felonious” even, when someone tries to gain points and traffic at the expense of other blogs. This is one of two scenarios I’m trying to avoid and the basis of my reluctance in joining the ranks of bloggers who have gone “commercial”. The other situation is the sponsors.

I received quite a few emails requesting that I blog about this or that. Or put links on my post, thereby, redirecting readers to some sites I’m not even sure they’ll find agreeable. To some, I decline, stating I don’t write things I’m not familiar with, unrelated to me and my philosophy or does not concern OFWs in general. To others, I just politely tell that I don’t accept another form of service as payment in return for my write-ups.

Don’t get me wrong here. Let me make it clear that there is nothing wrong if you receive financial gain in blogging. It would be hypocritical of me if I won’t admit, I too would like to earn money from something I love doing. Who doesn’t? But I would like to do it my way and not how they want it done. The moment I hand over the reign and they dictate how I’m suppose to blog, that’s the time I’m no longer “blogging” for the joy of it. On the contrary, it will be like taking an extra job on the side. It will snuff the very essence and reason why I blog in the first place.

How I wish I’ll find advertisers who are willing to put ads on blogs because they believe its contents are meaningful, informative or interesting. And frequency of blog traffic is just a secondary factor, a statistical information which could be manipulated as shown above. But that would be wishful thinking… or maybe not.

Perhaps I’ll start by advertising myself first without stepping on someone else’s toes.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 22)

2009-06-28T00:29:00.001+03:00

I Got My Vice But This One Appalled Me

2009-06-25T08:31:00.003+03:00

Behind every great fortune lies a great crime- Honoré de Balzac

I smoke. Before, I used up two packs of cigarette a day, but since I got married, I gradually decreased my intake. At present, I consume six or seven sticks or a pack in 3 days. With a little more determination, maybe someday I’ll quit.

What ever unpleasant habit I got, may it be detrimental to my health, no one is to blame but myself. It’s a matter of personal choice really. But what got my attention and upset me is this. It doesn’t matter if these officials backed down. The point was they tried to implement a sociopathic policy.

Fact: China has 350 million smokers. Each year about one million die from smoking-related diseases.

I wonder what kind of moral values these government officials adhere to by forcing government employees to a habit in order to save an economy. Do they think its “patriotic” or perhaps “nationalistic” to get smoke-related diseases in exchange for floating a sinking industry? Are Chinese lives so cheap that they are willing to sacrifice it recklessly in favor of some Tai-pan to recover his investment? If they can do these dastardly acts to their own people, how much more when it comes to non-Chinese consumers?

Recently, we heard of Chinese products that are harmful to humans. From lead on toys to melamine in milk, not to mention those that got over-looked because of sheer volumes dumped cheap to other countries. I don’t mind if markets are flooded with imitation products from that country. I don’t mind if it wantonly disregards copy-right laws. I don’t mind if it’s lacking in quality, as long as it was made, keeping in mind, humans are its end user. It may be cheap, a much sought after deal in this trying times. But in the long run, at what price are we going to pay for patronizing it? I think adding a few riyals to buy a more decent good is much cheaper than a hospital bill or worst a 4x6 lot in a memorial park.

I once admired China for its meteoric rise as an economic giant. But behind its great riches lies, God only knows, insurmountable violation of human rights, unfair labor practices, manipulative one-sided loan bargaining and in the case of Darfur, lives and property lost, all in the name of “percentage return of investment”.

From now on, I won’t buy consumable goods from that country. I may not make a difference or cause any dent on its economic infrastructure… but it’s a start.

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P.S. – I’d like to thanks Pen for pointing out this article to me.

To All Fathers (Including Me)

2009-06-21T10:20:00.007+03:00

“Any fool can have a child. That doesn't make you a father. It's the courage to raise a child that makes you a father." – Barack Obama

A man who has begotten a child. That is the definition of "father" according to Merriam-Webster. But does it stop there? Is that the only function of the male specie? To sow his seed, for some in reckless abandonment, and his purpose in the cycle of life is done? Maybe, that holds true with respect to faunas at a lower tier of the food chain. But I disagree when it comes to us, humans.

In the old days we are content with the notion that man’s responsibility is to put food on the table. As long as stomachs are full, man has done his task and is free to indulge on other forms of diversion. But in a modern world we live in, where men and women are on equal footing, where both parents (in most unit) equally share in the family expenses, it is but just right that men should also take half of the domestic chores, especially when it comes to raising offspring.

I did my part and proud of it. It never occurred to me that a portion of my manliness was taken away. I have my share in wiping off my daughter’s ahh-ahh, cleaning her butt of pooh-pooh and mopping her wee-wee. Not to mention the lack of sleep, waking up in the middle of the night to feed her when she was a baby. I don't look at it as my responsibility, but rather, I want to experience what its like to be a father.

I want to raise her in a way I deem right. Fill her with love without spoiling. Educate her in the best way I could afford. Guide her but letting her choose her own destiny. Helping her realize her own dream. In my capacity, that’s the only legacy I could give and left behind.

When I’m gone, I want to be remembered, not as the man who begotten her, but as a parent whose sacrifices were willingly made in order for her to be where she wants to be. Intact recollection of struggles and happy times we spent together, so she'll have something to reminiscence, to use as guidelines and to share to her own children. I want to be remembered as a father.

Happy Father’s Day everyone.

Buhay Buhangin (Sn 21)

2009-06-18T07:24:00.004+03:00