The First Time I Lied -- Big Time 11/20/2009
 We remember big events in our lives, even those that remind us how we first committed something wrong. I remember the first time I lied in a very big way. By big I mean a lot of people were involved and I got away without telling the truth. I was about 4 years old. It was the afternoon and an older cousin earned my ire. Around that time, my mom has been secretly preparing me to go to attend preparatory school by teaching me how to write. She would secure a time and place in the compound where we used to live, away from the prying eyes of my aunties, uncles and cousins who also lived there. The cousin with whom I had a grudge was the only kid attending school in the compound at that time while the rest, like me, were all just about to attend school the next year. Other kids would stomp on another kid's feet when provoked to a fight. I, however, resorted to a more sophisticated (but still evil) way to get even. When no one else was looking, I wrote my cousin's name all over a white pristine wall in the compound. Next thing I knew, my great grandmother had summoned all kids in the compound to line up before her. She started accosting all of us for the misdemeanor. We learned that the wall was newly-painted. When no one owned up to the mischief, my wise grandmother decided to have every kid write the name of my older cousin on a pad paper before her. Of course, no kid there knew how to write because no one had attended school yet. When it was my turn, I lied by pretending not to know how to write. I doodled like there was no tomorrow. To settle the matter, she just spanked everyone on the butt. M.O.R.E. #42: KEEPING AN EXPERTISE A SECRET IS SUBJECT TO MISUSING IT.  The Mall Christmas Tree Is For Everyone 11/15/2009
 THE SHANGRI-LA MALL TREE Growing up in a middle class family made me experience the highs and lows of special occasions. Looking back, I can attest to enjoying the small perks of being able to accompany my mom in window shopping. We would end up eating at Smokey's or Jollibee instead of buying something that was not edible. I have cousins who were not as fortunate as kids. The best that their mom could buy them were items from the sari-sari store. I also have cousins who grew up in rich families. They were blessed to ride in expensive cars, visit malls to buy new toys, and eat in hotel restaurants. I enjoyed my Christmases as a kid who got to tag along with cousins from both ends of the spectrum. This made me realize that celebrating the season can be done in so many ways. One can do so extravagantly or in the most meek of ways. Maybe this is why taking kids to the mall can be a neutral way of letting them enjoy the holiday season. Both poor and rich families are welcome to enter the establishment. Strolling inside to marvel at mall decorations is free of charge. Inside the mall, in front of the special Christmas Tree, no kid is poor, middle class or rich. One is simply a kid. M.O.R.E. #41: THE HOLIDAY IS FREE OF CHARGE. SPENDING FOR IT IS ANOTHER STORY.  Terror At The Taxi 11/13/2009
 ONE NIGHT OF A WILD RIDE Reporting for work one night, I hailed a cab as I usually do. Nothing was out of the ordinary until 5 minutes later the driver started humming the tune being played on the car radio. I thought to myself, "Here’s one of those drivers who is not ashamed of humming a melody or two." Then suddenly it happened. He started singing at the top of his lungs. I thought it was just a spike in his sugar level until he started deviating from the lyrics. It went on that way for about two minutes. Two friggin’ minutes of invented lyrics! It was not gibberish because I could understand the words. And he was not out of tune. It was like he was in a parallel taxi route with another passenger. Then it got weirder. He started stomping his feet. Worse, the song was a ballad. It was then when I scanned the dashboard for fumes coming out of the air con vent. Maybe he inhaled some funk. Or maybe it was an elaborate ploy to introduce his plan to mercilessly murder me. That it was his style to scare his victims first before announcing his intention to hack them. I wanted to take a look at his face but I was afraid that if his eyes met mine, I would get hypnotized or something so for those few minutes my eyes were fixed on the view outside. I wanted to just get off the car but the worst happened. The car swerved and almost hit the incoming tricycle. It swerved again. By this time, he stopped singing but the stomping ensued until we reached an intersection. I prayed. Two more blocks and I was office-bound. I’d stick this one out I thought to myself. The stomping stopped as the car stopped because of the red traffic light. I figured that at least he was still a law abiding citizen. However, we didn’t move an inch when the traffic light turned to green. I finally veered to the weird driver only to see him sleeping. For fear that he was unconscious, I shook his body by his shoulder. It took about five seconds of that for him to wake up and rev up his engine. I realized that he was just sleepy. Before I got off the car, I advised him to park himself somewhere nearby and have a power nap. M.O.R.E. #40: SOMETIMES WE PRODUCE OUR OWN WORK HAZARDS.   Michael Bubble's latest single "Haven't Met You Yet" made me think about the girl that's really meant for me. The music video showed him meeting his girl of his dreams in the most random place -- a supermarket. The reality is most of us are constantly in the supermarket, awaiting our ideal match. And while we're passing through the love aisles, we're sometimes so clueless as to what our dates need to become more than just dates. What I propose is the opposite. Here are clues that your current, serious date can't level up to the relationship status:  + He/she mixes you and your dog's names. This is crucial especially when your name's Alfred or Jenny and your pet's name is Spottie.  + He/she watches "Tanging Pamilya" with you in the cinema while he/she schedules "2012" with the best friend  + He/she mistakes your birthday with that of a recent ex-flame and forgets to give you a gift (ouch!) + The gift that he/she eventually gives you to compensate for forgetting it is a gift from his/her ex-flame. + He/she has Facebook, Friendster, Tweeter, Plurk, Tumblr, MySpace and Blogger accounts but all you know is his/her email account. + He/she asks money from you to buy yosi when you don't see him/her smoke  + He/she is emotionally manipulating you to vote for his/her chosen presidential candidate for 2010. M.O.R.E. #39: STANDARDS ARE HERE FOR A REASON.  Signs Unlimited 11/11/2009
2012. The countdown to the year has gotten people seeing signs. Before we all look forward to the end times, let me begin to offer here odd signs to more realistic situations:  You know that climate change is here to stay when all the townspeople are watching the parade from the street side where the shade is.  You know that you are already rich when in buying something you always say, "Bigyan mo nga ako ng 20 kilos n'yan."  You know that you are still young when you think that Sarah Geronimo's new single "Right Here Waiting" is her original song.  You know that you are getting old when your sex symbol is Phoebe Cates...  ... OR Julio Diaz  You know that you are a nuisance presidential candidate when your life is not being threatened during the campaign season. M.O.R.E. #38: SIGNS TELL STORIES.  The Beheaded and The Bewildered 11/10/2009
 School principal Gabriel Canizares was seized by suspected Abu Sayyaf militants from among the passengers of a minibus in Patikul town on October 20 while on his way to work. He was later on beheaded when his family failed to come up with a ransom money. Serapio said witnesses told police that two Abu Sayyaf bandits riding on a motorcycle dumped a plastic bag containing the severed head of Canizares. The body of the victim, however, is yet to be recovered. I am not supposed to blog about this, but the beheading of the Filipino school principal Gabriel Canizares is not something I am proud of to have happened in the Philippines and so now I'm compelled to write about this. I don't personally know the educator nor was he a celebrity to be blogged about. Before he got kidnapped and eventually beheaded, Gabriel was like any of us going about our daily grind. The only difference was he worked his living in a far off place that's infamous for violence. Although it may be true that violence can happen anywhere (such as having a bomb explode in front of the San Miguel office compound in Ortigas Center a few blocks away from where I work), one that is always intended like the beheading of a school principal can't be argued to be just any kind of death. A journalist friend of mine told me that members of the Abu Sayaf are into the trade of illegal drugs to keep their operation afloat. And in beheading their victims, they are under the influence of illegal drugs as well. I just don't know if their victims are offered the same stuff to ingest before the violent ritual. I do not wish to glorify the violent acts of those who took Gabriel's life. The problem is, it's already in the news. Everyone who reads and watches the news knows about it. What's painful is that it has become just another death in our midst. Gabriel was not an overseas contract worker who toiled the landscape of another country. He did not suffer under the cruel hands of another race or citizen. Gabriel was a Filipino beheaded by another Filipino on Philippine soil. Before we feel hatred for those who subjected Gabriel to a senseless death, let us stop to think that it is the very feeling that his killers would have wanted us to feel -- hatred. And in feeling it, we take part in the vicious cycle of violence, may it be physical or otherwise. What's left for us to make of the situation then? First is to pray for peace in our nation. Second is to have due process happen to control the situation until long-term solutions are reached. A Filipino does not have to hurt another Filipino. A man does not have to take another man's life. M.O.R.E. #37: VIOLENCE ONLY BEGETS VIOLENCE.  Manny Pacquiao On The Cover of Time 11/08/2009
 Finally, there's another Filipino on the cover of Time Magazine. This proves that the Philippines doesn't have to be about politics to become famous or infamous enough to be represented on the cover of a worldwide circulated medium such as Time. The magazine is still relevant in this age of multimedia. We can still count on having someone represent the goodness of the Filipino spirit showcased on a global platform... even if it means that being chosen to be there spells good business of selling print orders. If that were the case, then it means that a lot of people think of Manny Pacquiao as playing a significant role in the consciousness of many people worldwide.   On a side note, with Miss Saigon being scheduled to be shot as a movie next year, I think that Lea Salonga should have been on the cover of Time Magazine as well after landing her roles for the musical, plus playing Eponine in Les Miserables and doing the musical voices of Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan in the same titled animation. She should have been the second Filipino to grace the coveted mileage. That's just my opinion. M.O.R.E. #36: TALENT OR SKILL PLUS HUMILITY EQUALS GREATNESS.  Outrageous Lines From Jennifer's Body 11/07/2009
 'THE MONSTER ATE MY TOP' No pun intended in regard to the title of this post. Megan Fox's new movie is entitled Jennifer's Body and there are funny lines in the movie that are worth sharing. You don't even have to watch the movie to be able to relate. The lines are commercially outrageous that they are realistic. "It's freaktarded!" The female lead killer's best friend describing the death of another teenage boy "Awww. Body piercing. That's so emo." The lead killer maligning her new victim's emo look before devouring him "There's so many of us out there./ Don't you want to be that guy from Maroon5?" The lead vocalist of an indie band talking about how several indie bands are outdoing each other in the music industry "Mmm. Salty." The lead killer kissing her new male victim. "I go both ways." The lead killer's quip after her female best friend remarks, "I thought you only kill boys!" "Yeah. Like lasagna with teeth." The best friend's boyfriend replying to what the townspeople is saying about how the new male victim's body looks like after the killing M.O.R.E. #35: MEMORABLE MOVIE LINES MEAN A WHOLE LOT MORE WHEN EXAMINED.   M.O.R.E. Blog Post Awards October 09 Edition 11/06/2009
 This is it! Not the Michael Jackson documentary, but my personal blog post awards for October, 2009. Honoring the most delicious blog posts that I've read. Read the criteria here. Walang kai-kaibigan. Kesehodang wala ka sa blog roll page ko. Basta bibo or may sense ka, you're a winner!  A N D T H E W I N N E R S A R E . . . + + + Most-Thought Provoking Post + + + "Para Sa Lahat Ng Mga Prof" by Fjordan Allego of Hiraya (10/24/09) What's it about: The balance that school teachers and college professors must have to be effective as mentors of the next generation *nosebleed* RUNNER-UP: "Office Space" by The Scud ------------------- + + + Funniest Post + + + "Madonna At Ako" by Pokw4ng of Pokw4ng's Uncensored Mind (10/29/09) What's it about: How religion, art, and sex can converge in one post and still read interesting; not advised for 12 years old and below RUNNERS-UP: "Kwentong Undas" by Abe Mulong Caracas of Naks Naman and "Hate" by Andrei Jon of Itembang Blog ------------------- + + + Most Action-Provoking Post + + + "Huwag Mo Kaming Alalahanin Dito" by Dencios Katindig of Hot-Blooded Pinoy Expat (10/31/09) What's it about: A random but poignant depiction of a refrigerator's significance in the lives of a typical Filipino family separated by the need to earn a living RUNNER-UP: "Silhouettes" by Redlan of Redlan's Web of Arts ------------------- + + + Most Creative Post + + + "Picture Greeting Unleashed" by Jepoy of Pluma Ni Jepoy (10/21/09) What's it about: How a blogger can go out of his way to promote his birthday online without the konswelo de bobong pakain man lang... RUNNERS-UP: "Magbigay Ng Tatlong Bagay..." by Drake of Drake's Room and "My Farmville/Farmtown" by Fr. Felmar of Felmar's Missionary Journey For last September's winners, click here. It's always a joy to read other people's blog posts. She Said. He Almost Said. 11/05/2009
 I was out with this girl recently. We used to go out often. Lately I've been buried with work load and she was having a few personal problems. We met up last weekend for a late dinner. I noticed that she's become more bossy than before. More feisty but not charming. Demanding and not endearing enough. The rendezvous made me contemplate if I've just become less tolerant of her personality or if she got worse. I had the chance to contemplate further when she invited me to accompany her for an errand the next day. I obliged. The result was almost horrific. She wouldn't let me finish my sentences. She would opine so much about my stories. I felt inadequate. Less of a man. Or is it just my ego prancing with boxing gloves outside the ring of my convenience? I've always been respectful of people in general, but there has never been a time more than that time with her when I wanted to head for the hills. M.O.R.E. #34: COMMUNICATION IS NEVER ONE-SIDED EVEN BETWEEN A LISTENER AND A TALKER.  |  RANDOM
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