Seoul Street Art

Photo taken in the Hongdae district in January 2014.

My "Aha" Moment

While I was perusing the latest issue of O magazine, I suddenly had what I consider a great idea for a new writing project. I'm going to write a book about .... not that fast, you might steal my ingenious idea and beat me to getting it published. Hahaha, I know I do sound deluded, but can you imagine how deluded I actually was when I came up with this and actually thought it was going to be realized. Well, who knows,it might be a New York Time's bestseller??? (Read with the last syllable one octave higher than the rest) It's about something I and only I know about, my life. But not an autobiography because who would be interested in reading about my humdrum life? Last I checked I didn't invent Post It or the IPod. But there are different aspects of human life that could prove interesting, not just the successes and failures. There are different phases we had to go through to be the people we are. Ooops, I'm giving too much away. I feel very positive about it. I have to get rid of the Critical me that always seems to have an excuse to not do the things I should be doing. I do believe that in our brain dwell the sentimental and the logical and a healthy balance is essential to have a well oiled running machine. But when we overthink things, we freeze and become withdrawn. We take the easy way out which is to not do anything and not set ourselves up for failure. Failure is good. Failure is better than not experiencing anything. If this book never gets published, then I will post it here and all of you are going to have to read it. I will still get it out there because that's how much I believe in this project. I know there are many people out there experiencing the same things as I and it might be good to know that they're not alone in their struggle. So guys and gals, keep your fingers crossed for me!

Cutting the Mother Tongue

Did I just dream the new millenium? I still have vivid visions of people bumping and grinding to the tune of Jennifer Lopez' "Waiting for Tonight" or techies fearful of the proverbial millenium bug, aptly aliased as Y2K. Didn't I go to Spain and spend 3 months there wandering the streets of Madrid, Salamanca, Barcelona, etc.? Didn't I get hitched and unhitched? Didn't I go back to school and graduate? Didn't I learn and relearn languages I have yet to use? Did I just dream that people were free to live where they pleased, to worship who they wished and to speak the language they were most comfortable with? Then, if I didn't dream that countless heroes have died to set us free, how come Ross, a well-known discount shop here in the US is reprimanding their Filipino employees for using their native language, Filipino, when speaking with fellow Filipinos? When I heard this from one of the Filipinos employed there, my right eyebrow could not help but arch up to the high heavens. I thought we were over this,people? Are we faced with yet another breed of racists, are we up against a new kind of prejudice, and are Filipino Americans the new target of racial bullies that have found a "weaker" (and I am using this term loosely) people to play the push and shove game with? How come the Mexican Americans are not told to stop using their mother tongue when talking to one another. I have been to that same shop so many times and have personally heard them speaking Spanish to co-workers and customers alike. I thought that this was the land where people were considered equal and that each one of us shared the same rights and privileges, or maybe I'm too naive and believe every bull I'm told. It's true what they say, that not everything is black or white, This time we're talking about the gray scale that lies oh so sadly in the middle. Misplaced and displaced voluntarily or by force, struggling with heads bowed down, stripped of every sense of pride one feels for their mother land. Hold your head up high, speak up and stand your ground. For these people I cry just a little. For these people my heart breaks just a little.

In Your Stead

The idea of having a proxy to take the place of no-show principal sponsors at weddings amuses, if not baffles me. Not that there's anything strange about it, but just because the idea could not be applied to the different facettes of our complex lives. If only one person could take the place of another who nurses a broken heart, or someone whose cross is unbelievably unbearable. I wish even just once we could all experience someone else's pains - how they are constantly tortured by vacuous concerns that leave them in a darkened, festering state of being. I would give up happy thoughts to have a glimpse of the world through eyes blurred by tears. Maybe then I would understand, maybe then questions would have answers. To walk the thorny path in your stead for just one day would be my highest wish.

Shake, Shake, Shake

"I feel the earth move under my feet" would've been the perfect background music as I was attempting to wash our minivan yesterday morning. The ground literally shook, as the cars that lined our street swayed from side to side. A 5.8 earthquake which was later downgraded to 5.4 had just hit us, with the epicenter a mere thirty minute drive away. Our old house suffered no structural damage, thank God, but we were a little bit shaken, no pun intended nonetheless. We were bombarded with news stories about the quake immediately after. As of 12:30 PM we had around 24 aftershocks. There is a slim chance that we'll have a bigger quake within days but we're all praying it doesn't happen.

Today I was so psyched to go to Ikea to buy some things for my room. I'd been dying to make it a little more me. When my mom and I got there, the Scandinavian furniture haven was closed, possibly because of the earthquake. My dream of having Swedish meatballs for lunch was instantly crushed! We went to Costco instead where I bought nothing. Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

Nightmarish Reality

Where did the missing Php1 billion go, ask Filipinos all over, referring to the P1.8 billion VAT collected, only P800 million of which is accounted for. As an aftermath of the latest State of the Nation Address, Filipinos here in the US took to the streets and made their opinions known to the rest of the world, making sure Filipinos in the Philippines know that they are one with them in their struggle and disgust. Where is the money that should've been used to help the destitute, those who are living on rice and salt? Well, someone decided to help themselves, instead of the truly needy, that's for sure. It saddens me that when I think of home, aside from the fond memories I am also reminded of the lack of progress, the corruption at all levels, and unrelenting poverty that we can't seem to shake off. When politicians speak of the Philippine economic progress, it's as if they're living in an alternate universe, that they see a world invisible to the rest of us. We are up to our ears with sugarcoated reality, it's nauseating. We are so corrupt, we are rotten to the core, and we have become unwilling participants in the moral disintegration of our country. When do we wake up from this nightmarish reality?

Word Power

Words spoken can never be taken back. They are like text messages sent to the wrong recipient, one could only hope that technological difficulties would somehow make the message disappear into thin air. Committing a Freudian slip is probably the worst thing that could happen to anyone doing a live newscast. A mispronounced word or a name is not entirely unpardonable. It only shows a lack of preparation on the part of the anchor person. I could willingly let it go. But what is so appalling is when some TV personalities make remarks that are hurtful, arrogant, judgmental and simply idiotic. It is a sad reality that Filipino TV personalities still need to educate themselves when it comes to political correctness. Asking an audience member if she still "works in Ermita" as a joke is totally unacceptable. I was watching Wowowee, a Filipino variety show shown on The Filipino Channel, when I heard Willie Revillame ask one woman from the audience just that. It shows stupidity on his part, which didn't really surprise me, but the fact that nobody seemed to get it, that dumbfounded me. Everyone was laughing as if he told the joke of the millenium. Are Filipino TV personalities so devoid of intelligence that they don't know what is accepted, civilized and decent? I believe that there are smart people out there who are not saying nor are they doing anything. The people who line up for hours just to be a part of the 3 hour show may be poor but they should never be made a punchline. They should never be the butt of anyone's jokes. I'm certain many people share the same sentiment. Please be a little more sensitive.