Ondoy vs. Zonrox

You’d think one week’s vacation would be enough.

I asked my friend who lives near the Tullahan area whether she still needed help cleaning and she said, “Is that an offer? Please! Konti na lang naman eh.“

So I got dressed up took a tricycle to her house… to what was left of it anyway.  All they did during the vacation was wash their clothes that had been submerged in mud-water.  They had to throw most of their light-colored clothes because the couldn’t get the stains out, her nursing uniform included.  (Luckily, Our Lady of Fatima let her come to class in civilian clothes)

Since it was only her and her mom, cleaning up had been slow. Their neighbors had been nice enough to help them with moving the heavy stuff but they had their own problems.  They gave up on their couch because it kept getting re-drenched while left outside.

The PC and several other appliances had to go as well.  The fridge miraculously worked after drying out, at least.  Unfortunately, her TV did not survive.

L.A.'s TV still covered in mud. Rest in Peace, Terebi.

Some of her dad’s Balikbayan boxes also did not survive:

Box cracked after drying.. black mold forming.. eww

Para daw flood-proof na, cover in garbage bag.

Anyway, back to cleaning.  Since they did all the laundry first and just got rid of the major grime in the house, their tiled floors are now flood-stained.  Mold is growing in nooks and crannies.

Health hazard? I-Zonrox mo!

Mukha daw masama loob ko.. di noh!

Five liters of Zonrox couldn’t get the darned stains off the tiles.  By the time we decided to give up, we could smell the Zonrox in our burp (Amoy Zonrox na dighay namin!).  The toxic chemicals burned my eyes and my lungs. (That’s why I look like that in the pic, I was holding my breath… REALLY!)

All that time I kept wishing, “Sana naka-Messy Bessy kami, para safe na, mabango pa.” (Akala mo blog, yun pala advertisement!)

Well, at the end of the day, my back hurt like hell and I didn’t get paid, but it was fun.  It was nice to see my friend didn’t lose her spirit despite the damage Ondoy did to their house.  I knew she was bitter because she lost a lot of stuff she loved, but she managed to joke about it.  Needless to say, I was in no position to complain…

Though I complained anyway, “Sabi mo konti na lang ha!”

To which she replied, “Konti lang naman talaga nilinis natin diba? Wala na kaming gamit e! Hahaha“

Life is like…

Just saw this again on my old blog… reposting.. =P

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Walking…walking..walking..

Life is like a prisoner’s long walk to prison..

For a brief moment, I stop and look outside the fence, longing to be free from the fate that awaits me.. I want to leave.. I want to escape..to run.. But everyone else is moving on.. The chains binding us together pull me back to my reality.. a harsh reminder.. stay in line.. keep walking.. don’t waste time on meaningless things..

Stop fooling around.. Keep to your duties.. When you grow up, you’ll be able to do whatever you want.. for now.. you have to study.. after that.. you have to work.. have a family.. take care of that family.. after that.. after all that.. I’ll be too old to have fun..

Don’t say stupid things.. not everyone is blessed.. count your blessings.. not everyone has what you have.. be happy with what you have… even if you can’t have what you really want.. you have something.. others have nothing.. you have things you must do.. because you are blessed.. you have to pay for those blessings.. nothing is free..

I want to sleep.. just sleep.. I want to rest.. counting my blessings is tiring.. but I can’t sleep.. I have to hold on to my blessings.. to do that.. I have to keep walking.. like everyone else.. keep walking.. until I reach the end.. in the end.. in the end there will be nothing to do, nothing to keep..

in the end..

when I have nothing..

I can rest..

Photoshop update!

I haven’t posted in a while.. so I’m posting my latest Photoshop creation…

I accidentally came up with this:

While trying to make this:

*click to enlarge*

That’s it for now.. ^^

EDIT:

Ended up making another sig.. my biggest one so far.. ^^

Deception

We talked about deception during Ethics class earlier today.  Initially it was about the use of deception in Journalism but inevitably, the discussion was diverted to children who deceive their parents.

Of course, my professor being a parent, she was against it.  But then, the rest of the class were children, would there even be a discussion?

Deception is bad.

The problem is when parents refuse to listen to their children just because they are too young to know any better.  Children start lying to their parents when they realize that being honest will only get them yelled at or ignored.

If a parent dismisses his child without listening to what the other has to say, then it’s only natural for the child to think that parent is unreasonable.  Children need to know that their feelings and opinions matter, that they’re not being denied just because they are children.

Parents need to know how to make their children understand because they won’t always be around to control their children’s actions.  When they fail to reason with their children, they only end up causing more harm than good.

Love and chemicals

My professor mentioned in class that love is a result of chemical reactions inside our body.

I’ve encountered something similar before.  Someone said love s not real, it’s just hormones and chemicals making us feel a certain way.

Isn’t that just ridiculous?  It was real when we had no idea where it came from and when we found a way to break it down into chemicals, when we found its source, we suddenly think it’s not real?

How is it not real if it is caused by chemicals?  Isn’t “love” the word they used to label the feelings of affection, attachment, passion and all those other things? Just because we now know exactly what causes those feelings doesn’t mean they’re fake.

People seem to have confused the conclusion.  Emotions used to be dismissed in the field of science because they are..err..unscientific, unobjective.  So, if someone has discovered that feelings actually have a scientific cause, doesn’t that disprove the initial assumption? If elove has a scientific explanation, doesn’t that mean it is not subjective?  It’s there, it has an explanation, and there’s a reason why the feeling exists.  It’s no longer just a whim of nature.

Love is real!!

Raison d’être

I can’t really think of anything useful to write today. I’m stressed out.

I only had one class today. We did layouting in J121 using Adobe Pagemaker 7.0. It was the most fun thing I had to do in class.  Unfortunately, layouting isn’t really a journalist’s job.

It has been a few years since I decided to take up Journalism.  I can’t say it has been my life-long dream but I did have some expectations.  There really isn’t anything specific that I don’t like about the course.  It’s just that, I feel like there’s something missing.  What we’ve been taught so far isn’t the journalism I had in mind.

Undoubtedly, journalism is a proud profession.  Definitely, there is some justice involved…but.. even after so long, I’m still waiting for something.  I feel like journalism, as it has been taught to me, has no heart.  Maybe heart is equated with lack of objectivity.

Maybe I’m thinking too much again.

Still…

I can’t really explain it well, right now.  I’m just looking for something more.  A reason for being a journalist.  Something more than pride.  Something more than justice.

Preserving culture

Can culture be preserved?

Is culture really lost or does it just constantly evolve?

My professor asked the class these questions before we went to see the Sarsuela exhibit in UP Diliman’s Vargas Museum.

While walking around, my eyes kept drifting towards the food table. Partly because I was hungry and partly because I was thinking about Filipino culture. Seriously.

There was a woman preparing puto-bumbong at the table and it got me thinking about how the tradition of the Filipino kakanin has persisted throughout the years. There aren’t as many kakanin stalls in markets these days but a lot of commercialized versions, especially of the bibingka, have appeared. I often try out these commercial kakanin out of curiosity but most of the time I am disappointed.

Some of my favorite merienda as a child were sapin-sapin, bibingka, puto, puto-bumbong, pichi-pichi and biko. I long for the taste of my childhood. Have I set my standards too high? Has it been so long that I have forgotten what my favorite snacks really tasted like? Or do modern kakanin really pale in comparison to the ones from a decade ago?

The kakanin did not disappear, it evolved. Now I’m confused. If culture isn’t lost through evolution, why do I feel like there’s something missing in my new kakanin? But if the culture from before is different from the culture of today, what would be left of my kakanin ten years from now?

Scientifically speaking, they say evolution gets rid of the unnecessary. Parts of an organism that are useless or hindrances are gradually eliminated. Is it the same for cultures? If so, who decides which part of the culture is unnecessary? How is it decided?

If moving forward means leaving something behind, how do we decide what to hold on to and what to let go?

How to lose a guy…

Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and, surprisingly, a lot of couples are breaking up. Despite the multitude of quotes poking fun at the singles during this season, couples actually feel more pressure. Believe it or not, most of the time, it’s the girl’s fault. Girls tend to expect too much and forget what really matters. Seriously, Kate Hudson has nothing on real life girls when it comes to making guys jump through hoops.

Here’s a list of things girlfriends do that drive guys away:

1. Not talk

Yes, everyone hates naggers. Yes, no one wants to be told what they’ve done wrong. But if you’ve decided to hold it against your boyfriend anyway, then tell him about it so he can do something to fix it. Shutting up and nursing your bitterness while listening to “I Hate This Part” or “If I Were A Boy” will not help. It would just frustrate him and you’d only get hurt even more when he gets fed up.

2. Say he doesn’t love you anymore

He didn’t call. He forgot your weeksary, monthsary, anniversary or some other -sary you’ve invented to celebrate your being together. He canceled three dates in a row. Whatever it is he has done, it does not mean he doesn’t love you anymore. You can tell him you feel neglected but jumping to “you don’t love me” hurts him more than you think. Whenever you feel like he has changed or that he doesn’t care about you as much as he used to, stop. Try to remember all the things he has done so far. Don’t disregard everything just because he forgot something. It’s like lecturing your son for getting a 79 in a subject even though he got a 97 in all other subjects. Step back and look at the bigger picture. Will you really throw him out for missing one or two days when he has spent a hundred days with you? While you’re at it, think about what you have done for him lately and reflect if you’ve really done enough.

3. Not trust him

Is he hanging out with his female co-worker too much? Is he texting someone you don’t know? It’s your decision. Do you trust him or not? If you decide that you do, stop thinking about things you don’t want to happen. If you decide that you don’t, then break up with him already. None of that “I love him too much” crap. Either you trust him or you don’t, love’s got nothing to do with it. Period.

4. Make him suffer for your previous heartaches

You just got out of a very bad relationship. He caught you while you were falling and he knows you have excess baggage. He says he understands. He won’t be understanding forever if you keep saying you still have feelings for the last guy. If you’ve decided to move on, then move on. Once you’ve decided to commit to someone else, commit 1000%. Stop dragging your past around and expect everyone to accommodate poor little you. Getting really really hurt in the past doesn’t give you the license to torture the next guy (or yourself, for that matter). Even if he says he’s willing to wait, don’t make him wait long. After all, you expect him to commit to you while you’re licking your wounds, right? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and be happy.

5. Blame him for something you did

Your friends doesn’t like him. You choose him over your friends and later on, you find yourself lonely. It’s not his fault. You have a head, you can use it. If it was your decision, bear the consequences. Don’t make lame excuses just because you did something you regret.

6. Make ridiculous demands

Your birthday is coming up and you want to go out and celebrate but he has work. He tells you he’ll make it up to you the next day and you tell him to forget about it, it’s pointless because it’s not your birthday anymore. So he skips work to celebrate with you but you act all sad anyway since he didn’t agree right off the bat. You don’t even consider that he pays for all your dates together and he gets that money from the job that he had to skip just so you wouldn’t hate him.

If you have a boyfriend, keep in mind that when you agreed to be with him, you entered the relationship together. The biggest mistake a girl makes is when she acts like her boyfriend needs to keep proving to her that he loves her. It doesn’t work that way. Keeping a relationship needs constant work from both sides. It needs trust, understanding and a bit of tolerance for pain. Without these, all the chocolates, roses and red letters in the world mean nothing.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Colonial Colonial

Just got back from my field trip. I just remembered I said I’d be posting again and since we were with a group of Americans, I’ll be writing about colonial mentality.

Filipinos have to be the most self-criticizing people in the world. Not that I have a lot of experience when it comes to how people think of themselves in other parts of the world.

Moving on…

It has always pissed me off how Filipinos accept faults so easily. One of these faults is the so-called colonial mentality. What does that really mean, anyway?

If you speak English, you’re betraying your native tongue? If you like Chanel or Prada you’re a wannabe?

If there’s anything colonial about Filipinos it’s their idea of colonial mentality. How come when we like something foreign we’re colonial but when foreigners like our products we say nothing? What, they’re the only ones capable of truly appreciating anything not native to them? It’s like saying Filipinos are so stupid they can’t even figure out what they really like and any ideas they might have that’s not related to farming has just been implanted in their minds.

More than that, I hate those people who think they’re being good Filipinos when they accept every single negative thing that’s said about the country.

“We Filipinos are corrupt.”

“We Filipinos are colonial.”

“We’re a bunch of crabs.”

I’m sick of it.

I remember an interview with that girl who squealed about that nursing exam leakage.

“Culture na kasi natin ang cheating eh.”

Culture-in mo mukha mo!

How dare she say that just because she knows a bunch of Filipino cheaters?

She didn’t even consider the thousands of others who took the nursing exam who didn’t cheat. Just because she knew there were cheaters and they were Filipinos, cheating is suddenly part of Filipino culture.

It’s the same with that stupid Philippines is most corrupt survey. A lot of people just nodded and said “mga Pinoy talaga”. Aren’t THEY Filipinos as well?

Those damned airheads should’ve been insulted. It’s a freakin’ survey!

All people ever do is complain about the Philippines. So what if it’s corrupt? So what if it’s dirty? So what if people cheat during exams? You think you’re better Filipinos because you agree that THAT is our culture? You think you’re above all those crocs just because you’ll readily admit your own people’s faults?

If the Philippines is so bad and you know all about it, why don’t you do something about it? If you can’t or won’t do anything about it then just shut the fuck up or get out and find another country!

WE-DONT-NEED-YOU-HERE!

Law Aptitude Exam

Congratulations to my sister for passing UP’s Law Aptitude Exam!

Now, if only we could afford it..

I was going to post something long and profound about something else today but then I suddenly forgot what it was..

I went ahead and told my mother how my sister passed the LAE and got a..disappointing reaction.. I guess her worries about money are valid since she’s raising us by herself but.. well… oh well..

good night blog..