Improvements
With the New Year comes new perspectives, new hopes and new plans. Here are some of the improvements and non-improvements of your truly:
Improvements:
1. I get to go out more despite of my very hectic schedule, trying out new places and food. Now I hope to go out of Luzon.
2. I get to reach out to more people through the various work, academic and extra-curricular activities I do
3. I get to watch more movies, again despite my schedule with the help of my newly acquired, free dvd player (courtesy of Robert, hehehe….)
4. I am improving on my forehand and backhand, as well as getting the feel of the ball’s trajectory and placement.
5. I am trying my hand on songwriting, as well as familiarizing myself with the guitar again.
6. I have improved much on drinking sessions, after witnessing for myself what I would look like when drunk (by seeing other people in their sorry state) Social drinking is the best way to enjoy the session.
7. I am not afraid nowadays to spend. Fear of losing money and saving too much is a sign of obsessive-compulsiveness.
8. I am learning a second language.
9. I have nobody to look after.
10. I am currently assessing my career trajectory, academic performance and work capability, as well as personal missions. I am (I mean, we are…) well on the way to reaching the big three-oh in a few years’ time.
Non-improvements
1. Non-religious-ness for the past 10 years.
2. Very, very bad diet and figure.
3. Procrastination, brought about by mental and physical fatigue. Refer to number 2.
4. Being too madaldal.
5. Wasting office time with YM and friendster, which a colleague pointed out.
6. Inability to reach out to the other table and asking for a light from the chick seated there.
7. I am now starting to chain-smoke. Refer to number 2 and 3.
8. Frequent drinking sessions. Well at least I drink to join in or make “damay” to other people (so coño).
Due to the various calamities and disasters, both caused by nature and neglect, I am thankful for still being able to wake up in the morning and enjoying what I have. With the impending doom as stated in the recently opened secret of Sister Lucia (remember the siblings who are given secret letters by the Blessed Mother during the 1930s?), the increasing number of people leaving the country for greener pastures and the breakups happening, I sat around one time and thought about what I would do, what I would think and what path to take. Now it seems that 2005 would turn out to be a very interesting year for me. It’s hopefully time to do something about the eight non-improvements above.
Buhay
Ang awit na ito ay para sa lahat ng tao. Lahat nga naman tayo nagkakaproblema. Para sa lahat ng problema natin sa pera, pag-ibig, pag-aaral, trabaho, oras, lugar, buhay.
_________________________
Easy ka lang
Ely Buendia
Lahat ng tao'y nabubugnot
Lahat ng tao'y namumrublema
Lahat ng tao'y nagmumura
Lalaki man o babae, matanda man o bata
Wag na tayong magturuan
Wala nang dapat na pagsisihan
O puede bang tigilan mo na
Ang kasesermon mo sa akin
Sawang-sawa na ko nyan sa bahay namin
Kung ang nais mo'y mabuhay ng
Tahimik at walang gulo
Ang aking payo
Payong kaibigan lang naman ito
Easy ka lang
At baka ka mahibang
Magmumukha kang timang!
Wag mong idaan sa init ng iyong bumbunan...
Tayong lahat ay may problema
Sino nga bang wala?
Kaya't kunga ako'y iyong pakikinggan
Pakikinggan din kita
Kung ang nais mo'y mabuhay ng
Tahimik at walang gulo
Ang aking payo
Payong kaibigan lang naman ito
Easy ka lang
At baka ka mahibang
Magmumukha kang timang!
________________________________
Isa ito sa pinakamagandang kanta na pinakikinggan ko kapag ako ay may suliranin. Mabuhay ang Eraserheads sa pagbalik sa mundo ang kulay ng rock and roll!
wazzup?
"Hi there! Musta na? Kelan ang reunion natin?"
A question we highschool graduates of batch 1995 would be hearing more often. Yes, it has been almost 10 years since we graduated from high school. Get togethers, reunions, friendster and ym has been crowded with such questions. The prospect of again seeing people after all these years.
I got the chance to chat with one of my highschool batchmates through yahoo messenger. He is very hesitant to go to reunions, because he feels he has not achieved much as much as our other batchmates have.
Some people have this mentality that financial success is all that there is after graduation. For me success is not measured in how much we all earn, or how far we have travelled, or how much we have learned. It's measured in how we live our life from day to day, how we communicate with people, how we do each little task, whether we do all of this in time or later on.
For me it's not how good I do in school or how perfect my backhand is. It's not the destination, it's the journey. Karma comes swiftly for me. The first will be the last, and the last will be the first.
relief
I dropped my wallet last saturday somewhere at the shopping center. Upon reaching home, I was shocked to discover that it was not where it was supposed to be. It was the first time that I experienced losing something valuable. Now I know what it feels like. First there was shock, then hesitation, then confusion. When the mayhem has partially subsided, anger stepped in, later followed by acceptance. I tried to desperately accept the situation. I'll just apply for new id's, new atms. But for the next few weeks or so I won't be me. If I become part of an accident somewhere I won't be identified. I can't access everything immediately: priviledges brought by my id's, the library, entry to buildings, money.
Fortunately somebody got my wallet and turned it over to the newspaper stand near the SC. The vendor promptly called me and returned the wallet. And for that, I gave her the very same calling card she used to contact me. I promised her free consultation for her house maintenance concerns. Lets just hope she doesn't plan to have a building built.
And so now shock, anger and acceptance has been replaced with relief. All in the span of less than an hour.
The moral lesson? Always leave a calling card inside your wallet. There is still hope for the world after all.
Morbidity
We recently concluded a get together with one of our long-lost friends last week. I was satisfied with the attendance rate, with most of my contacted friends and acquaintances being able to attend. But of course, as pointed out by one attendee, the success of the event was not due one hundred percent to the efforts of the organizer, but due to the closeness and popularity of the guest of honor. True enough.
This brings me to a point. Will this organizing-closeness-popularity setup apply to me? Not sounding like a “center of the universe” type of person, I’d just like to explore this possibility: when I die will there be a large turn up rate of persons who will visit my funeral? I have always dreamed about the setup of things and events that will happen when I go down the cosmic gutter. Morbid fantasies, I’d like to call them.
My apologies for those who might get shocked with this article. I’m just currently at the crossroads again.
Okay let’s begin.
These are the things I have imagined should be present or should happen when I kick the bucket:
1. Of course people should be present at the funeral. The question is who will remember to organize the event? I guess I should leave my cel pin number, friendster account, e-mail account and every other password locked account which leads to my contacts, friends and acquaintances so that they will know that I need their presence at the funeral. Or else I’ll go to them directly. Bwahahaha!!! Maybe I’ll leave and update regularly the info at a time capsule or hidden web page.
2. The setup at the funeral should reflect what I enjoy when I’m still alive. Maybe at one point the lights will imitate the various haunts I go to.
3. I would like pictures of John Lennon and George Harrison to be placed near the rest of the pictures you can find. I would like it to look like the way people remembered when George Harrison had his funeral.
4. Please put wind chimes at all parts of the house or funeral home. So that you know where I will be throughout the whole event. (Parang gimik ano, me event pa.)
5. The venue should have many large dark varnished wood areas. Back at home, whenever I sit at the side of the piano, I always see a hazy reflection of myself. This by the way started the whole morbid story. So that when people sit or stand near these varnished areas, I’ll just pop up.
6. I want the Shifting Gears to play all our songs, but do not get a new bassist to play along with them. I want them to play songs minus the bass player, so that people can really see the absence in the songs of the bass sound. Just put the bass guitar on top of the casket.
7. As for food, the coffee should be Nescafe 3-in-1, biscuits should be Cream-O. Favorites at breakfast.
8. I want all the girls I have loved before to be present. Find them, all of them!
9. I want the eulogies to make people laugh. And I want all my blog articles read at the service.
10. During the march to the cemetery, I want the Beatle song “All You Need is Love” to be played.
11. Do not bring umbrellas or canopies to the event. I want everybody to get drenched in the rain and get sick for a whole week. So that you can still remember me long after I am sealed in a 1”x2” septic tank.
Whew, I enjoyed that! I recently updated this list in my head while I was taking a ride home. And the funny part is, before reaching home, my mother called me to sell me my very own memorial plans. For those who want to avail also, call me asap. It’s 50 percent off this week, by next week the whole plan will cost around php80,000.00 payable in 5 years.
And finally, when I tuned in to the tellie, the topic at GMA’s Imbestigador is about dubious funeral practices. Hmmm…
Happy New Year!!!
Walang Nagbago
eto pa ang isang paborito kong Eheads song:
Nung ikaw, ay bata pa
Ang lahat ay masaya
Umiikot ang mundo
At hindi humihinto
Ang lahat ng makita mo
Ay bago...
At ngayon, me edad ka na
At puno, ng problema
Nangangarap, na ibalik ang kahapon
Di malaman kung bakit kailangan
Magbago ang lahat,
Magbago ang lahat sa buhay mo.
Umaaraw, umuulan
Noon pa may sadyang ganyan
At kung gayon lahat ng panaginip mo'y
Biglang maglaho
Pare-pareho lamang tayo,
Isipin mo na walang nagbago!
Kung ano tayo noon
Ay ganon parin ngayon
Umiikot ang mundo
At hindi humihinto
Ngunit ang kalagayan mo ay
Hindi nagbabago, hindi nagbabago,
Hindi nagbabago!
Walang nagbago!
Waiting for the Bus
I've been standing here
Waiting for the bus on a Saturday
Laundry on my back
Ultravioletrays
Like I'm posing for a shot in a magazine
What the hell does it mean
I'm a travelling man
Straight from the can
I'm a thousand miles away from my
number one fan
The folks are getting tight
Won't let me out of night
You can avoid the complications
But there is no reason at all
________
I have been a traveller for ten years now. The long road from home to school, and now work to home has improved dramatically, but not efficiently. During the first few years I was witness to the rise of the Skyway, the MRT lines, the various flyovers along Makati, the rise to power of the MMDA, and the growth of 3 new malls along EDSA.
The song "Waiting for the Bus" by the Eraserheads expresses the thrill and trials of literally waiting for the bus and finally going inside the tin can for the long travel home. Waiting for the bus on a hot saturday afternoon after school, with laundry and the pose like in a magazine. This was the beginning of my travels.
________
When the lightning strikes we fry
I'll drink my beer I'll wipe my tears
Southbound in the sky
Another time, another reason gets you everyday
The only time that we can talk you ain't got
nothing to say
Well I'm caught up in a stupid game
that I can't play
It's just a waste of time but I'm in it anyway...
________
The stupid game, literally traffic, gets to your head, but no matter how much I avoid it, something will come up and force me to take that southbound or northbound trip. But now the game wherein we can't play and is a waste of time now encompasses a larger arena: life.
________
I've been sitting here, watching the signs
Too many cars at night, belching in the moonlight
We're doing ninety as the sky turns to gray
The people look like bees, buzzing by the highway
_________
The rat race...people buzzing around.
_________
The wheels are rolling like a rolling stone
Alone. I take the road less travelled on.
Now I'm lying here, waiting for the day on the second deck
Dreaming of a girl from a fairy tale
Chain around my neck a ride is all it takes
But pain gets in the way
_________
By now frustrations set in. I'm caught up in a stupid game that I can't play. It's just a waste of time. But I'm in it anyway. Now the bus ride is an escape from the race. I wanna go home.
