resilience

Mons Tantoco’s Philstar column this Sunday is just so overwhelming. She interviewed foreigners who have been living or have lived in the country and asked what they like most about us Filipinos.

She spoke to ambassadors from Britain, Israel, Pakistan, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden, and the General Manager of Shangri-La Mactan. They almost come up with a consensus in saying that Filipinos are generally jolly people, hospitable, always come with a ready smile, optimistic and resilient.

Resilient. I like that.

It only goes to show that Filipinos easily adapt to the environment or situation they are in. Most of the time, the Philippines undergoes tough times, economically and politically speaking. It’s a way of life for us. I mean, we never fail to appear in the Top 3 most corrupt government every time they conduct surveys against our neighboring countries. This scares the hell out of foreign investors, thus pulling down our economic ratings. Not only that, kidnappings and other forms of destabilization proliferate in our motherland. Wherever you look, you can see families living below the poverty line. What’s sad is that they continue producing offspring without having means to fend for them, let alone send them to school.

Inspite of it all, we face each and every day with our heads held up high, thanking and praising the good Lord above, and telling ourselves “kaya ko to.” Hey, we don’t have perfect lives, nobody has, but we are still indeed blessed. Favorite pa rin tayo ni God. He blessed us with so much strength for us to continually fight our daily battles.

I just hope we Filipinos don’t just give up on ourselves just yet.

There’s still hope.

Have faith.

And act… FAST

scary

Last night started the campaign for saving mother earth from the uber harmful global warming. It is indeed a big threat to planet earth as we might be wiped out of the map if the glaciers in those cold places (like Antarctica) melt that will eventually lead to the rise in sea level. Needless to say, since we will be experiencing “high tides” on a regular occurrence, the possibility is high that our lands will be submerged in water. This will mean zero habitat, zero life.

So let’s do our share in saving mother earth. Let’s conserve energy, as it is one of the factors that lead to global warming. So less energy consumption, less Meralco bills (kaching!). Also, let’s not use plastic bags and invest instead in eco-friendly shopping bags (thanks to Anya Hindmarch for introducing eco-friendly bags). Screw designer bags, go for canvass statement bags. This means, we do not have to “recycle” (as if we do) these plastics. Even if we do, the plastic materials aren’t really meant for recycling because they aren’t biodegradable. I also think that each one of us should turn green thumb and start planting more trees. Trees absorb the harmful carbon dioxide that depletes our ozone layer (gee, thanks to elementary science).

I hope it’s not too late yet. If everyone could just cooperate and do everything we can to save the world. If we don’t do it NOW, we might not wake up to a beautiful world we now live in.

the present is a gift

we just buried my late uncle yesterday. it's our first "dead" after my lolo died in 1992. it was hard for the santos clan to deal with it. everyone was in denial,everyone was in pain,but everyone saw it coming. that he will eventually lose the battle. he succumbed to septic shock a.k.a multiple organ failure.

i'm one of those who can't bear seeing cadavers,let alone viewing them in a coffin. this one was different. since the dead person is my tito,i was not afraid. i even watched him while his lifeless body was being covered with white cloth. i was even the one who chose the casket he'll lay in. i made sure he lied in a nice viewing box . after all,it was the last time people saw his face. i kept telling him that i hoped he liked his bed. i also couldn't help but look at him everytime i had the chance because it was the first time i saw him that handsome and peaceful.

we battled fatigue and sleepless nights during the wake. but what's worse was the emotion that overpowered us. we kept exchanging tito mon stories -- how everyone treated him, how he remembered everyone's birthday and how he asked everyone for his final request. funny how he asked my cousin to buy him a black belt, my tita for a basketball jersey,another cousin for a watch and my other uncle for a bottle of orange soda. ha! we never realized that was his last.

oh well, everyone has his time. some may pass tragically, some peaceful. so i guess it's true when they say "carpe diem." seize the day. you will never know when it will be your last. that's why it's called the present, because it is indeed a gift.

rest in peace, tito mon. find your way back home. i prayed to god that he welcomes you in his kingdom with open arms.

this is it!

i already applied for a us visa online a few minutes ago.. it's make or break, sink or swim. bahala na! whaaaaaa!!!!

spirit of giving & forgiving

Everybody and everything just pushes me away from where I am right now as if saying I really don’t belong here. From my friends who have made plans of leaving the country (if they leave, ako na lang ang matitira ditto), to my parents who have encouraged me to try my luck some place else (they taught me not to be complacent with where I am because this will stun my growth) and a friend who doesn’t want me in the four corners of the office anymore.

I mean I owe her a lot, and I don’t wanna entertain this paranoia, but I slowly feel this is her home base, this is here terrain. Well, im just so glad im starting to be open to things I haven’t thought of before and that I’m lucky someone’s willing to shoulder the damages. I’m just so blessed to have my Tito in my life.

Perhaps I’m just starting to feel the Christmas spirit, where everybody feels blue and is encapsulated in the spirit of giving.

I believe that people are good in nature. Sometimes they are just blinded by personal motives. Im happy I have other friends who empathize. And I thank God for that.

on leaving and being left behind

this is it! we finally heard from janice that her flight bound to dubai will be on october 19th. she sent us a short and sad message. i suddenly felt a jolt of thunder on my chest. this is it,this is goodbye...for now.

the message said that she'll miss us and that she's thankful for everything we've done for her. in retrospect, every "leaving" that i've encountered in my life consists of a series of "thank yous" and the assurance that something or someone will be sorely missed. leaving -- be it physically, "spiritually," temporarily or permanently entails a certain kind of pain that's being inflicted in a person, be it the one leaving or the one being left behind.

a person leaving something or someone hurts just as half as the one being left behind. the dumpee will always hurt more than the dumper. it will be a great lie to say otherwise. the one who left has probably thought of all the possible logical reasons that will persuade the one he's leaving that it's the right thing to do, that he will be happier if he goes this way,and that he's doing this for his own well-being. no matter how hard or how devastating things can be,the one left behind will always have to make do with these reasons. most of the time, if not always, he will have to give in to the persuasion though he may not understand. the least thing one could do is have faith in the person that his happiness can be found elsewhere,as well as success,growth and that peculiar feeling that will make him say "i'm home."

well,i think we all should not be afraid of change. everyone,at some point in our lives,will have to move to another "place." we have to always be resilient to change, kailangan natin mabuhay kahit saan man tayo itapon. i believe it's human nature -- we grow, we move on to experience better things in life. we just have to be "accepting." after all,bilog ang mundo. lahat tayo at some point aalis,and for sure lahat tayo iniwanan. but i'm sure we will arrive at something good. yeah,i can't wait! ;-)

on angels and broken wings

i played a very important role today -- an angel.

i met with an old friend who just came back from the states. it was
nice seeing him again. i was just saddened coz he's currently caught in a
dilemma: to marry or not to marry. you see,he is about to get married
in a few months. they're busy preparing for the wedding,making
reservations and appointments and all. one big problem: he's having doubts. he
and his fiancée aren't speaking for a few days now because of some
misunderstanding. the girl still has unresolved issues involving her
family, herself and the relationship. man,i was so careful with what to say
as the issue is highly sensitive. i tried so hard not to give a piece of
advice,especially if uncalled for. trying hard to bring out the
psychologist in me,i presented him with options and scenario that will
somehow broaden his view. after all,the last thing he ever needed was a piece
of advice. after all,i trust that he's a smart kid. all he needed was
an ear to listen.. and listen close. i was just so moved when he said i
was always there when he needed a friend desperately. he wouldn't
wanna tell it to his other friends coz he believes no one will take him
seriously. at first,i was adamant to accept his dinner invitation, but im
just glad i did.

later that night,i received a text from another guy friend. he asked
how i was. he's not the type who'd check on me,so i sensed something was
wrong. he was having dinner with an ex-girlfriend. he was hurt when he
knew she is still sleeping with a guy she knows from work. i know how
hard and painful for my friend to hear that,as we all know how the mail
ego works. he was so furious when he learned that the girl hasn't
informed her family that they've long been over. and that she and the fuck
buddy aren't in a committed relationship (duh!). he's having a hard time
accepting it although it's been months since he knew about this.

you know,i may not have given my two friends a sound advice,but being
there to listen was reason enough for them to feel better and be hopeful
enough that things will fall into place. i know i have somehow eased
their burdens. i really appreciate the trust that these two boys gave
me.

c'mon guys,admit it. i'm your angel 0:-)