Liv in a Life Well-Lived

Yesterday, my dad asked me to buy medicine from a nearby drustore. Sobrang daming tao! It struck me that so many people are getting sick and have come to depend on chemicals to survive. Not feeling so well myself, I just had to analyze how much the human biological make-up has evolved within the short span of a couple of centuries. Our ancestors definitely did not have the moxyfloxacin I was supposed to buy. All these science-y (but althogether silly) sounding drugs were still in their virgin chemical state back then and yet somehow people lived. In the Bible, it states that people used to live for hundreds of years. But then again, as the Black Death and numerous terrible diseases spread, lives became shorter. For centuries, people used folk healing and a tremuluous faith-based curing system. Today though, modern medicine have saved lives. But why is it that now that we can live healthier, we also get sick more often? I have reached this critical point in my mental processing when I...

I refuse to believe it. After whining over the banality of the recently shown hollwood films, I was taken in -- hook, line and sinker --- by a dime a dozen Pinoy romantic movie. Maybe it's because I don't watch a lot of Pinoy films--- kaya siguro I found it-- hay, sige na nga: engaging. Pero the movie You Are The One wasn't really bad. The last pinoy romance movie I watched was that Rico Yan - Claudine Barretto team up so many years ago. And that wasn't bad either. Maybe I should discount that not all romance movies are corny ---- some are actually light and fluffy and charming. Maybe it's because you start not expecting too much from the movie so that you end up being surprised that you didn't cringe and roll your eyes throughout the whole thing. Maybe Sam Milby who, measured by any device, cannot truly act but can still charm my boots off should be shot because he's definitely ruining my reputation. And Toni was such an all-around typical Pinoy girl that y...

So I got promoted. I'm in transition right now from being a project officer into a communications officer. From the operations unit, I am going to be part of the foundation affairs unit. I get to write press releases here. I get to maintain contacts with the media. Maybe It'll also help me expand my wings in other ways. There are some setbacks though. Some people do not believe it was a good move, if only because the unit I'm transferring to has a lousy reputation. For example, one of our directors commented to me last night: "Bakit ka lilipat sa walang kakuwenta-kuwentang unit?" I could only reply, "Eh sir, ngayon magkaka-kuwenta na sila." Jeez, I hope I don't eat my words. Ture, I am leaving the elite team: operations, shempre. But I get to be a step closer to a dream I am still too scared to want. Hope this works out. If not, well, I was on my way out anyway. Wish me luck.

Click I wish I also had a remote control much like what Adam Sandler was carrying the whole length of the movie. Just so I could fast forward to the good parts and leave the boring stuff out. Before you throw a rotten tomato at me (Sandler fans, persevere!), hear me out. The movie was a low-brow, sappy, melodramatic attempt at another low-comic jinks movie. It did not suck completely; I appreciate the effort of blending sci-fi with urbane reality, but that was all it was. One monumental effort that has utterly failed. Then again, maybe this is why Sandler is god to all losers in this universe (and sometimes that includes me too). He s so sappy, so idiotic sometimes, so mediocre, that he believably portrays mere mortals like us. Nobody really expected Click to be an intelligent film though. SO I guess everyone's happy after all. The Devil Wears Prada I thought the movie was superficial, incongruous and pathetic. In short, it’s one damn good movie. The movie is about the fashion worl...

I know it seems unoriginal; a hundred people have posted songs as blog entries. But unoriginal as it seems, it is utterly heartfelt. :'( I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories Remember the good times that we had? I let them slip away from us when things got bad How clearly I first saw you smilin’ in the sun Wanna feel your warmth upon me, I wanna be the one I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories I’m so tired but I can’t sleep Standin’ on the edge of something much too deep It’s funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word We are screaming inside, but we can’t be heard But I will remember you Will you remember me? Don’t let your life pass you by Weep not for the memories I’m so afraid to love you, but more afraid to loose Clinging to a past that doesn’t let me choose Once there was a darkness, deep and endless night You gave me everything you had, oh you ga...

Es un amor imposible. Pero tengo que mantener creer. Incluso si signifique que acabo de soñar despierto. La Soñadora

Oh we are in so much trouble. This morning, a girl friend texted me this: "I may not know a lot of things but I am sure of this: I can never be with a man who does not know what the word "profundity" means. Basta." I don't know what triggered this realization for her, and maybe I don't really want to find out. Thing is, I get her point completely. I may not be as exacting as to disqualify guys who cannot define difficult words point blank like she demands though. I say, one must even beware of guys who use " profundity " in their daily conversations (instead of a winner, you might have found yourself a poser). But the one thing I could not stand is a man who cannot speak in fluent and properly enunciated English. And I don't mean those who exaggerate their pronunciations. Yes, it's elitist. It's 100% snobbish. There's no helping it though, I get turned off with guys who try too hard to sound good when using English. Oh, man. There...

No worries. If Manila folks were not able to go to the beach last May, the beach has come to visit Manila this September. Imagine the convenience of just stepping out of your house and immediately soaking your feet in the sewer-enriched waters of a Manila flash flood. Imagine coming home from work and having to wade leisurely to thigh-high water, and all you have to worry about is taking each step carefully so that you won't fall into an open manhole (which Manila is also famous for). Traffic is at a standstill giving you time to appreciate the natural mystery of Nature and Man's incapacity to actually construct a fitting street drainage system. It's time for us to ponder about the illusory truths about how people throw their garbage, and that floating used baby diaper on the hood of your car is conclusive proof of the lack of any discipline. How about that very Pinoy habit of hacking at their throats and spitting out pleghm and saliva on the street? That must make the brew...

Hilarious Fancy meeting a guy named Hilarious. You'd expect to meet a boy with a funny smile or at least a quirky set of eyebrows. But what if this guy was exactly the opposite of what you expected --- his eyes distant, his smile nowhere near warm and his demeanor always one of constant vigilance? I don't need to imagine. I've met him. Poor boy's probably stigmatized by his name. His eyes went glacial the moment we asked about it. In a calculatingly defensive tone, he relayed to us that he was named after his grandfather, Hilario. He stood ramrod straight in his white nurse's uniform, his gleaming white shoes a silent testament to his immovability. He did not share in our amused laughter. He pursed his lips in silent distaste and his eyes were questioning. It's either he does not know the usual English definition of hilarious or he's wondering why people always have to make a big deal about it. Either way, he insisted on being called Harry. With military pre...

Ironic. Days like these, I don't feel young at all. Childhood might as well have been a million years ago. We're bringing Daddy to the hospital, yet again. He hass contracted a fever and is now hiccuping uncontrollably. The last time this happened, his heart had water in it. Mummy's not feeling well enough to take care of him since she herself had been having difficulty walking and going around with her bad heart. I didn't know life could be this .... challenging. Thing is, I suspect this is my fault. During one of those potent nights when I was an adolescent, when no one knows what god might be listening, I remember wishing for a life made un-boring . I was struck with ennui -- the stable, predictable days I've been living wasn't providing me much fodder for real writing. And just like magic, Daddy quit his job, both parents got sick (which has never quite ended since then), and everything in my life went topsy turvy. Hmmm... I hear very adult minds out there p...

We rented a local tourist van for the recent trip we took in the Bicol region and his name was Manong Boie (yes, it is spelled like that). 6 towns in 2 days equates to a whole lot of driving . And I know that the longer the travel, the more personal the conversation becomes. I enjoy those dialogues because I learn different perspectives on life. Just take for example the latest gleanings I got from our retired engineer turned tourist guide/ van driver. H's 62 years old with three children. His youngest is in high school, his oldest is 25 years old and holds a PhD. degree. He's originally from Bulacan, but upon finding the woman he loved, he married her and moved to her hometown in Legaspi City. They raised their family there and through toil and sweat they managed to provide for the eduation of their kids. He often expressed his amazement about how " on-the-go " we were. He compared us to robots running on compressed and almost bottomless energy. I think he meant th...

Terrifying. A little exciting. But definitely scary. The worst monsters of our imagination have always been those unfamiliar to us. But just like a non-swimmer dipping in her toes in what she knows is a deep ocean, the need to move on is compulsory. I'm about to leave something I've grown accustomed to for some years now; I'm launching myself in an ocean of uncertainty. As always though, one swims on in that desperate hope to reach the shore of the land she dreams of reaching --- someday. Wish me bon voyage?

Just got back from a strenuous Bicol trip where we visited 6 towns in 2 days. One good thing that happened though is that I got to watch Mayon Volcano erupt from a very safe vantage point (Daraga Church). I also got to visit the Cagsawa Ruins and the Philippine Centennial Tree (arguably the oldest tree in the country). But what I'm really all pink about is the fact that I got the Pics from Sagada / Banawe already! Wheeee! Here's a teaser: The fields are green.... the river's swift.... but most of all.... the pics are sweet!! For the rest of the pics, please visit my Sagada site: www.geeksguidesagada.blogspot.com or click on the link at the right side of this blog. Cheerios!