Sayang na buhay.
'Yan ang pumasok sa isipan ko habang pinanood ko ang kwento ni Howie Severino sa i-witness.
Tulad sa maraming tao na hindi sumali sa fraternity noong kabataan, naitanong ko kung bakit naisip nila, sa mura nilang edad, na pumasok sa fraternity.
May fraternity sa bayan ko noong bata pa ako. Saksi ako sa kanilang pagpapaluan sa tabing dagat sa dilim ng gabi tuwing meron silang initiation. Marami silang mga pagsubok na dapat lampasan upang mapasali sa samahan. Marami sa kanila ang mga maykaya sa buhay. Marami sa kanila ang may bisyo dahil may pambili sila ng pambisyo, tulad ng alak at marijuana.
Niyaya nila ako noon na sumali. Umayaw ako.
Naisip ko noon, sapat na ang sapok ng tatay ko sa akin tuwing 'di ko mapakain ang alaga naming baboy, o maipastol ang alagang kambing at baka. Sapat na ang palo sa puwet kapag di ako magising ng madaling araw upang mag-igib ng tubig, maghanap ng panggatong at kumuha ng kangkong sa parang.
Bakit ko pa papahirapan ang sarili sa 'di pagtulog ng maaga upang makipagpaluan lamang o makipag-inuman o makipag-hithitan sa dalampasigan. E lagi naman akong nasa tabing-dagat tuwing gabi upang "manahid" para may pang-ulam na "kuyom" at isda sa umaga.
Kaya 'di ako naging miembro ng frat.
Hindi naman pwedeng sabihing duwag kaming mga hindi frat member sa bayan namin dahil mga frat members ang pumupunta sa lugar namin upang humingi ng pabor o magpaalam na dumaan sa nag-iisang lansangan papasok at papalabas sa aming bayan. Baka kasi mapag-tripan namin sila at ulanin ng bala ng tirador o putik kapag di magpaalam na dumaan. Nalaman ko kinalaunan na mas naging notorious pa pala ang lugar namin na pugad ng mga "sira ulo" noong wala na ako.
Ang pamilya ko - mga kapatid (ang kapatid kong babae ang pinakasiga sa amin), mga pinsan at mga kapitbahay sa baryo - ang naging frat ko. Napatunayan namin ang samahan na walang iwanan mula bata pa kami hanggang ngayon na may edad na. Napatutunayan namin ito kapag may namamatay sa amin, kapag may kinakaharap kaming problema, kapag may selebrasyon, kapag kailangan naming magkaisa, kapag kailangan naming maglasing, magsaya o di kaya lumuha. Wala kaming atrasan, sa pagtakas man sa mga kalokohan o pagharap sa mga dapat paninindigan.
Nang mapunta ako sa Maynila, naging subsob ako sa pag-aaral at sa pagtingala at pagtunganga, kaya di ko na naisip na sumali pa sa frat. Ang mga kaklase ko at mga kasamahang kong mga probinsyano rin ang naging mga ka-brod.
Siempre may nangumbinse sa amin na sumali sa frat para magkatulungan daw sa pag-aaral o magkaroon ng kontak sa trabaho kung papalarin man. Subalit, ewan ko ba. Wala kaming pakialam noon. Ayaw naman namin ng mataas na grado. Ayaw din naming sumikat. Gusto lang namin noon may rali lagi para walang pasok o kaya tatakas kami papuntang Quiapo para manood ng mga babaeng hubo sa Gala at Center theaters.
Mahigit 30 kaming magbabarkada at magkakasama araw at gabi. Pinaka-hazing namin ang mga nakakaasar naming mga teacher na maraming iniutos na gawin. Sa awa ng Diyos, matapos ang apat na taon, wala pang sampu kaming nakatapos at umakyat sa bundok at namuhay sa gitna ng hirap sa bukid sa loob ng isang taon.
Yon ang pinaka-bonding namin. Magkasama kaming namumutol ng puno para sa aming kubo, nagtatanim sa palayan, nag-aaral, nagdadasal, nagtuturo sa mga bata, matatanda, magsasaka, mangngisda at pinagtatawanan pa namin ang kasamang magsasabi na galing siya sa Kilometer 20 at kailangan niyang magpahinga ng maaga dahil may lakad pa siya kinabukasan sa Kilometro 30. As in, lakad yan ha, hindi uso ang sasakyan sa gubat.
Pito ang nag-survive matapos ang isang taon at nagpatuloy sa pag-aaral ng apat pang taon upang maging misyonero. Sa kalauna'y may isang natira. Tuwang-tuwang kaming lahat at panay "congratulations" ang aming ipinaabot sa tanging "nagwagi" sa amin at naging "successful," ika nga. Lalo kaming natuwa nang malaman namin na nasa isang liblib na baryo na siya ng Colombia, tumutulong sa mga "hampas-lupang" 'di naman namin kilala.
Swerteng buhay. Mabuti na lang 'di kami nagpaluan noong aming kabataan.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Thursday, September 20, 2007
'La lang
Ang daming nakakalito sa bayan ko.
Na-convict ng plunder ang dating pangulong si Estrada. Kumbaga, napatunayan na nagnakaw siya. Pero sa lahat na magnanakaw, siya lang ang hindi sinungaling. Not guilty kasi siya sa kasong perjury.
Magulo, no?
May explanation ang mga abogado, pero ang hirap ipaintindi sa mga tao.
Ngayon naman, may imbestigasyon sa Senado tungkol sa sinasabing maanomalyang National Broadband deal. Sabit daw ang ilang matataas na opisyal ng gobyerno sa kontrata (wala daw kontrata o) sa kompanyang ZTE.
Ay, ang daming kailangang intindihin. Ano ba yang broadband? Ano ba ang kanilang mga kanta? Hehehe. Ano naman, aber, ang ibig sabihin ng ZTE.
Hirap ng walang magawa dahil hilo sa kakainom ng kape at kakayosi. Parang dinuduyan ang utak mo ng love songs ni Jose Mari Chan habang pinagtatawanan ng isang kaibigan.
'Di mo malaman kung baduy ka talaga o napag-tripan lang ng kaibigan. Nakakalito. Buhay nga naman.
Sa kabilang banda, salamat sa kape at yosi, kusang nahihilo ka na lang at di na makapag-isip kung ano ang dapat iisipin. Kaya heto, para may magawa, magsusulat ng blog entry habang umaalingawngaw ang boses ni Senadora Madrigal na pilit igisa ang DOTC secretary na si Leandro Mendoza.
Wow, OK sa tripping.
Na-convict ng plunder ang dating pangulong si Estrada. Kumbaga, napatunayan na nagnakaw siya. Pero sa lahat na magnanakaw, siya lang ang hindi sinungaling. Not guilty kasi siya sa kasong perjury.
Magulo, no?
May explanation ang mga abogado, pero ang hirap ipaintindi sa mga tao.
Ngayon naman, may imbestigasyon sa Senado tungkol sa sinasabing maanomalyang National Broadband deal. Sabit daw ang ilang matataas na opisyal ng gobyerno sa kontrata (wala daw kontrata o) sa kompanyang ZTE.
Ay, ang daming kailangang intindihin. Ano ba yang broadband? Ano ba ang kanilang mga kanta? Hehehe. Ano naman, aber, ang ibig sabihin ng ZTE.
Hirap ng walang magawa dahil hilo sa kakainom ng kape at kakayosi. Parang dinuduyan ang utak mo ng love songs ni Jose Mari Chan habang pinagtatawanan ng isang kaibigan.
'Di mo malaman kung baduy ka talaga o napag-tripan lang ng kaibigan. Nakakalito. Buhay nga naman.
Sa kabilang banda, salamat sa kape at yosi, kusang nahihilo ka na lang at di na makapag-isip kung ano ang dapat iisipin. Kaya heto, para may magawa, magsusulat ng blog entry habang umaalingawngaw ang boses ni Senadora Madrigal na pilit igisa ang DOTC secretary na si Leandro Mendoza.
Wow, OK sa tripping.
Tuesday, September 04, 2007
Ang aming kabataan
Got this in my e-mail. I'm posting it here with comments dahil hindi applicable sa bayan namin ang ilan sa mga entries.
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950's, 60's and 70's !
First, some of us survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. (sioktong ang inumin)
Hindi umiinom nanay ko (paminsan-minsan lang kung may matamis na tuba sa umaga pagkababa ng manananggot sa sanggutan sa likod ng kubo namin). Hindi rin siya nagyoyosi.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, fish from a can (brand :ligo ) , and didn't get tested for diabetes.
'Di ako nakakita ng blue cheese sa bayan namin, o kahit anumang cheese noong bata pa ako. Ang aspirin ay ipinapainum sa amin kapag may lagnat kami. Di pa uso yata noon ang dengue. Tama, may Ligo sardines na noon pero nakakain lang kami kapag may special occassion, pangsahog sa Udong na noodles.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints, pati na yung laruang kabayu-kabayuhan.
Wala kaming crib at kabayu-kabayuan e.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, sometimes wala ngang preno yung bisikleta.
Wala nga kaming medicine e. Meron kaming altar, nandon lahat kasama na ang orchid na ang tawag ay pangadlaw na nakababad sa tubig - gamot sa lahat na sakit.
Yup, may bike kami, walang brake.
As children, we would ride in car with no seat belts or air bags – hanggang ngayon naman, di ba ? (jeep )
Walang kotse sa bayan namin noong bata pa ako.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. (maykaya kayo pare !)
Nakikisakay kami sa truck (wala ring pick-up sa bayan ko).
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle (minsan straight from the faucet)
Wala kaming garden hose, pero umiinom kami ng tubig mula sa balon o kaya sa water pump, walang faucet sa bayan ko noon.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.
Tama, lagi akong nakikiinom kasi wala akong pambili ng softdrink.
We ate rice with tinunaw na purico (dahil ubos na ang star margarine) , nutribuns na galing kay macoy and drank sopdrinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight kasi nga .....
Yong kanin sinasabawan namin ng kape na gawa sa singangag na mais at binubudburan namin ng asin o kaya asukal. Ang purico pang-prito lang. May nutribun na noon at napakabango nito, inspirasyon namin noon na pumasok.
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan taguan….
Hindi talaga kami umuuwi hanggang di masigawan ng nanay. Uuwi lang kami kung sobrang dilim na dahil nakakatakot tumawid sa niyugan at sa pilapilan.
No one was able to reach us all day (di uso ang celfon , walang beepers). And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our trolleys or slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
Wala kaming trolley. Tumatalon-talon lang kami sa umpok ng mga dayami at doon na rin kami nagi-slide. Marami-rami pa rin akong remembrance sa mga sugat na nakuha ko sa kasasakay ng bike na walang brake.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....... ...WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents . The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words…..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,,,,ang sasabihin sa iyo…..beh buti nga !
We play in the dirt , wash our hands a little and ate with our barehands…we were not afraid of getting worms in our stomachs.
We have to live with homemade guns – gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakit…..pero walang nagrereklamo.
May baril-barilan din kami na gawa sa "palwa" sa saging.
made up games with sticks (syatong) and cans (tumbang preso) and although we were told it would happen, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay….paminsan minsan may nabubukulan.
We r ode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Sigaw o sipol lang kami. Minsan pag trip talaga, binabato namin ang bahay, hahaha.
Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Walang sumasama ang loob.
Basebal ang uso sa amin noong panahon ko.
Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang bata….hindi para makialam.
This generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and managers ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
TO ALL THE KIDS WHO WERE BORN IN THE 1950's, 60's and 70's !
First, some of us survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they carried us. (sioktong ang inumin)
Hindi umiinom nanay ko (paminsan-minsan lang kung may matamis na tuba sa umaga pagkababa ng manananggot sa sanggutan sa likod ng kubo namin). Hindi rin siya nagyoyosi.
They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, fish from a can (brand :ligo ) , and didn't get tested for diabetes.
'Di ako nakakita ng blue cheese sa bayan namin, o kahit anumang cheese noong bata pa ako. Ang aspirin ay ipinapainum sa amin kapag may lagnat kami. Di pa uso yata noon ang dengue. Tama, may Ligo sardines na noon pero nakakain lang kami kapag may special occassion, pangsahog sa Udong na noodles.
Then after that trauma, our baby cribs were covered with bright colored lead-based paints, pati na yung laruang kabayu-kabayuhan.
Wala kaming crib at kabayu-kabayuan e.
We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we rode our bikes, we had no helmets, no kneepads, sometimes wala ngang preno yung bisikleta.
Wala nga kaming medicine e. Meron kaming altar, nandon lahat kasama na ang orchid na ang tawag ay pangadlaw na nakababad sa tubig - gamot sa lahat na sakit.
Yup, may bike kami, walang brake.
As children, we would ride in car with no seat belts or air bags – hanggang ngayon naman, di ba ? (jeep )
Walang kotse sa bayan namin noong bata pa ako.
Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat. (maykaya kayo pare !)
Nakikisakay kami sa truck (wala ring pick-up sa bayan ko).
We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle (minsan straight from the faucet)
Wala kaming garden hose, pero umiinom kami ng tubig mula sa balon o kaya sa water pump, walang faucet sa bayan ko noon.
We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and NO ONE actually died from this. Or contacted hepatitis.
Tama, lagi akong nakikiinom kasi wala akong pambili ng softdrink.
We ate rice with tinunaw na purico (dahil ubos na ang star margarine) , nutribuns na galing kay macoy and drank sopdrinks with sugar in it, but we weren't overweight kasi nga .....
Yong kanin sinasabawan namin ng kape na gawa sa singangag na mais at binubudburan namin ng asin o kaya asukal. Ang purico pang-prito lang. May nutribun na noon at napakabango nito, inspirasyon namin noon na pumasok.
WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING!!
We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on. Sarap mag patintero, tumbang preso , habulan taguan….
Hindi talaga kami umuuwi hanggang di masigawan ng nanay. Uuwi lang kami kung sobrang dilim na dahil nakakatakot tumawid sa niyugan at sa pilapilan.
No one was able to reach us all day (di uso ang celfon , walang beepers). And we were O.K.
We would spend hours building our trolleys or slides out of scraps and then ride down the street, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.
Wala kaming trolley. Tumatalon-talon lang kami sa umpok ng mga dayami at doon na rin kami nagi-slide. Marami-rami pa rin akong remembrance sa mga sugat na nakuha ko sa kasasakay ng bike na walang brake.
We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 99 channels on cable, no video tape movies, no surround sound, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or Internet chat rooms....... ...WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!
We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no lawsuits from these accidents . The only rubbing we get is from our friends with the words…..masakit ba ? pero pag galit yung kalaro mo,,,,ang sasabihin sa iyo…..beh buti nga !
We play in the dirt , wash our hands a little and ate with our barehands…we were not afraid of getting worms in our stomachs.
We have to live with homemade guns – gawa sa kahoy, tinali ng rubberband , sumpit , tirador at kung ano ano pa na puedeng makasakit…..pero walang nagrereklamo.
May baril-barilan din kami na gawa sa "palwa" sa saging.
made up games with sticks (syatong) and cans (tumbang preso) and although we were told it would happen, wala naman tayong binulag o napatay….paminsan minsan may nabubukulan.
We r ode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang the bell, or just yelled for them!
Sigaw o sipol lang kami. Minsan pag trip talaga, binabato namin ang bahay, hahaha.
Mini basketball teams had tryouts and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Walang sumasama ang loob.
Basebal ang uso sa amin noong panahon ko.
Ang magulang ay nandoon lang para tignan kung ayos lang ang bata….hindi para makialam.
This generation of ours has produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and managers ever!
The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.
We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned HOW TO DEAL WITH IT ALL!
Monday, September 03, 2007
call for blood donation
Just got this text message:
Nino Coronel's daughter batu in icu. fresh type A+ blood needed asap for the platelets. Pls. contact Heart Center rm 336 and donate. the situation is critical. Nino is Miriam and Sheila coronel's brother.
Books and music
I only got three books from this year's National Book Fair last Saturday.
I bought the latest edition of Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" from PowerBooks although I haven't finished reading the book's "Release 2.0."
Now I'm in Chapter 2 of "Release 3.0."
I also got a discounted copy of John Grisham's "The Innocent Man," which I haven't read although I know a friend of mine has a hardbound copy since last year.
Thanks to Father Toots of the Carmelites, I got my "review copy" of "Fired from Within," a book that tackles the "spirituality of the social movement." (I'm excited to immediately plunge myself into reading it.)
I missed a lot of things (and people) in this year's fair. As expected, the big book shops and publishing houses dominated the five-day event. There were few giveaways. Time and NewsWeek were not even distributing free copies this year. (At least when I was there on Saturday.)
A lecture on the writings of Virgilio Almario was still "standing room only." I had to stay outside the door of the lecture room to listen to snippets of wisdom from the speakers. Rio Alma of course was there later in the afternoon to speak before the students who were brought (by the busloads) by their teachers.
There were no more familiar faces unlike before. I saw a party-list representative, a political opposition spokesman, one or two young writers, and hundreds of children and students, some wearing their school uniform, ushered by their teachers.
I missed the freebies, the small publishing houses offering cheap, sometimes second-hand books, friends and colleagues who used to congregate at the fair during its weekend run.
On Sunday, I dropped by my favorite mall on the corner of EDSA and North Avenue in Quezon City. I chanced upon Jose Marie Chan who was on a rare mall tour for his latest album (the first in six years) "Love Letters and Other Souvenirs."
I had to buy the CD for a seat to listen to the songwriter/singer of "Christmas in Our Hearts," a song that became my favorite since I first heard it the first time several years ago. The CD of the song is one of the best Christmas gifts of all time I got. (Baduy na kung baduy, a dear friend gave it to me last Christmas.)
I bought the latest edition of Thomas Friedman's "The World is Flat" from PowerBooks although I haven't finished reading the book's "Release 2.0."
Now I'm in Chapter 2 of "Release 3.0."
I also got a discounted copy of John Grisham's "The Innocent Man," which I haven't read although I know a friend of mine has a hardbound copy since last year.
Thanks to Father Toots of the Carmelites, I got my "review copy" of "Fired from Within," a book that tackles the "spirituality of the social movement." (I'm excited to immediately plunge myself into reading it.)
I missed a lot of things (and people) in this year's fair. As expected, the big book shops and publishing houses dominated the five-day event. There were few giveaways. Time and NewsWeek were not even distributing free copies this year. (At least when I was there on Saturday.)
A lecture on the writings of Virgilio Almario was still "standing room only." I had to stay outside the door of the lecture room to listen to snippets of wisdom from the speakers. Rio Alma of course was there later in the afternoon to speak before the students who were brought (by the busloads) by their teachers.
There were no more familiar faces unlike before. I saw a party-list representative, a political opposition spokesman, one or two young writers, and hundreds of children and students, some wearing their school uniform, ushered by their teachers.
I missed the freebies, the small publishing houses offering cheap, sometimes second-hand books, friends and colleagues who used to congregate at the fair during its weekend run.
On Sunday, I dropped by my favorite mall on the corner of EDSA and North Avenue in Quezon City. I chanced upon Jose Marie Chan who was on a rare mall tour for his latest album (the first in six years) "Love Letters and Other Souvenirs."
I had to buy the CD for a seat to listen to the songwriter/singer of "Christmas in Our Hearts," a song that became my favorite since I first heard it the first time several years ago. The CD of the song is one of the best Christmas gifts of all time I got. (Baduy na kung baduy, a dear friend gave it to me last Christmas.)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)