Computers counting the ballots?

So much has been said about the computerization of the coming elections in 2010, if there is going to be one, of course. Honesty does not seem to be one of our president's virtues. She has lied to us many times before.

Granting that there shall be one, so much has happened, most of which were speculations, since we began thinking about computerizing this very controversial democratic exercise.

Perhaps the main reason why we are adamant in adopting this kind of technology, in spite of its tremendous cost to the taxpayer, into our system is, we are running out of ideas on how to conduct an honest and fair election. From the time Marcos got re-elected sometime in the 1960’s, at least to my mind as that was my first election related experience (I was in grade school at the time), the phrase “whoever has the guns, goons and gold" (not necessarily in that order) wins the election. Since then, losers have cried "foul" and "rampant cheating" like an "amen" to close a prayer. Sadly, we have learned to accept this as part of the elections.

Is computerization the answer to our woes come election time? While I hate to be a doomsayer, I doubt it for the following reasons:

1. The players have not changed! We will have to travel a long, arduous road to change these politicians ways. Losers will still cry they have been cheated. Never mind the evidences. They will do so just the same. They will find enough reasons just to justify having lost in their bid to power and fame. And maybe rightfully so. What with all the money they have spent on their campaign. There should be at least an ROI, if not in office, at least a justification for losing face. So, the journey is until kingdom come.

2. Corollary to number 1, we are only minimizing cheating in the counting, not the entire elections per se. Remember that this activity starts with the campaign period until a candidate has been declared a winner. Just right now, while the campaign period has not even started, we see the moneyed politicians unabashedly using the media to glorify themselves. We see the names of government officials glaring in our face with projects they have undertaken. Never mind that they were obligated to serve. Never mind that it was our money that was used for the same.

3. Vote buying can still happen. In a country where there is hunger and despair, where there are people who are living in dire straits, selling their votes is easy money and will solve their problem at least for the day.

4. How will the system correct flying voters, or fictitious voters whose names were taken from tombstones? We have seen it before. People long dead voting. Have we shouted hallellujah, it's a miracle? Never. We simply shrugged our shoulders and maybe winced in pain.

5. How certain are we that these machines cannot be manipulated? These are man-made and even the highest type of program can be hacked. I remember the snap elections when the computer operators marched out of the PICC because they were being forced to cheat. If that happened before, it can happen again. At any rate, it just proves that computerization is no guarantee that it will eradicate cheating.

A democracy like ours is based on the freedom of its citizenry to choose its leaders. It is unfortunate that this exercise has been abused much to the detriment of the people. But still, let us keep our fingers crossed that our money is being spent on something that is useful for us. After all, we have already suffered for too long. Surely, there is no other direction left but forward. But how long can we wait? We deserve a break!

Someone is not going home tonight

As our HMO provider's contract has expired, we are now in the process of selecting our next health card. Last Thursday would have been an ordinary presentation of the various contenders for our school, or so we thought. Amid the hohums and hrmphs we gave out as we listened to each presentors, we did not expect to be shocked for the unexpected ending.

The last presentor could have been ordinary except for a minor slur in his speech and the fact that he was sort of hurrying up his presentation did not help any. It could have been an Ilocano accent, I thought. However, just as he finished and handed the mike over to the emcee, he collapsed! I did not notice it. I just got to realize something was happening when I saw a colleague rushing out of the auditorium and the guy was being carried out. We looked on puzzled but stayed inside the auditorium for the closing prayer.

When I got out of the auditorium, I happened to pass by the clinic and curiosity got the better of me, went inside to check how the guy was doing. He was still unconscious. I just got a glimpse of the school doctor unwrapping that thing she uses to take my blood pressure. I heard her suggest that the guy be taken to the hospital immediately. Since I was there already, I helped carry the guy to the vehicle. That being way past the dismissal time, the ambulance that stays inside the campus has already gone.

He was very heavy. I thought it was a wrong move on my part to take the head part. I may not be able to sustain enough strength all the way to the van. Thank God, I did. As we loaded him to the vehicle, I noticed that he has already wetted his pants. That was not a good sign. I remember the time when I took an unconscious neighbor, to the hospital one morning in 2007. He had a heart attack and he did wet his pants. I remember the doctor saying that was not a good sign. My neighbor was pronounced dead after several attempts to revive him. So you can just imagine the horror I felt when I felt the guy had wetted his pants.

As my car is still out of commission, (now they tell me it's the piston rings that do not function well) I had to stay with my friend to whom I hitch a ride all the way to my place. It was raining hard and we decided a couple of beers could be handy. It was there when my principal called me up to tell me the guy has expired. God bless his soul.

I wish the circumstances were different but experiences like this one makes my creative juices flow and it triggered my poetic instincts anew. Here is one poem I dedicate to the man who shall forever be unnamed to me. May he rest in peace.

Someone is not going home tonight

I can imagine how your morning went.
You probably calculated how much toothpaste
you shall put on your toothbrush.
Parted your straight hair with your favorite comb,
favored your black shirt over the red one
and meticulously checked if your white pants
have been ironed out well before putting it on.

I bet you never knew
you were not going home tonight.

You must have sat down quietly on the table,
said grace before your meal. Spread butter over
your toast albeit mindlessly.
Your thoughts were on your work
and a thousand other things.
You probably gave out reminders
to your kids like not to stay
late for after all

you never knew
you were not going home tonight.

You shined your shoes and put them on.
You kissed your wife goodbye
and headed for the door.
With your hand holding on to your youngest,
laptop clutched on your other shoulder,
you stepped out of the gate, walked a few steps
and turned around to look back at your house.
You missed your wife’s wave of goodbye
for she was engaged with household chores.

If she only knew
you were not going home tonight.

I noticed the slur on your speech
how your tongue rolled out the syllables.
Maybe it was just an accent you had
or so I thought. Then, all of a sudden
you melted like a candle.
Never got up until you expired.
To me, you may be a stranger
who shall remain unnamed except
for the thought that

you were someone
who was not going home tonight.

rolly

trade-offs

Alas, the traffic I have to go through everyday is taking its toll on my old car. You see, the SLEX is undergoing its second phase of the skyway and causing a huge traffic gridlock (if that's what its called) on both sides. What used to be a three-lane street has been reduced to two and to make matters worse, the same clowns running the traffic flow refuse to give up the idea of having a counterflow of northbound commuters with us, who they probably consider as southbound second-class citizen road users. In effect, southbound street has been reduced further to just a lane and is naturally causing a very slim bottle neck.

I cannot manage to suffer traffic to and from work. That would be awful. So, what I do is leave the house early, say, 5:30 am and by the time I reach the SLEX, either the counterflow has not started yet or is just about to start. Sometimes, I see the motorcop heading the vehicles running opposite my lane with siren blasting and weaving his motorcycle from left to right as if he was sweeping the floor. \

Last Tuesday, however, in spite of the thirty minute ride to school, I noticed my car was registering a high temperature. That's bad considering that I was not locked up in traffic. I brushed it off thinking maybe I just need to clean the reservoir and add more water. Fine. I did those. Come time to go home, I prayed and headed for battle. As expected, the traffic had already piled up. My car was doing okay until I reached the Sucat area. The temperature was already very high and was continuously increasing. What was I supposed to do but stop and add more water. A kind worker helped to veer away traffic from me. After that, I was on my way again.

Then lo and behold, a traffic jam again at Market Market in C5. God, I'm so close to home darn it! I stopped again to do the same ritual when someone from a tow truck who happens to be right beside me approached me and asked if the car would not start. I told him it's just overheated. You're not getting any cent from me, silly :-)

And so, that was when I decided to either take a leave of absence the following day and take the car to the radiator shop or better yet, hitch a ride with my friend Jay to and from work. I texted him and told him of my predicament. Surprised (not), he replied back with a bargain. Done! Just tell me where to pick you up in the morning and that you will have to drink with us Thursday and Friday Hmmmm, free ride and pleasure vs staying with the mechanic for half a day ... tough choices. Guess what I chose.

Last night, not even a Thursday yet for the regular Thursday club soiree, "we" decided to have a beer or two. Well, as you know how this thirst quenching brew affects the senses, two led to three and then more until it was already way past 9.

Great! I have two more nights of pleasure. However, around 10:30 pm, a family friend called me up to confirm if a text message she received about no classes due to A(H1N1) flu in our school was true. I told her that was just a rumor but I will check it with my superiors just the same. What do I know? It was true. So there, what would have been a win-win trade off with my thirsty friend has been put on a halt just like that.

BUMMER!!!!!

goodbye, bro!

Today, being father's day, we should be celebrating as we face the never ending challenges of fatherhood. As my father has brought me up in this world as a responsible being, I pass this torch to my children hoping that I shall be more successful than my dad. As they say, the offspring should be a better creature than who has sired him/her. I have a few more years before I can truly say my children are all independently on their own. When that time comes, I pray that they shall have learned to live life to its fullest, be happy with what they have but continue to dream the dream of a better tomorrow.

In the meantime, we, as a family, shall mourn the loss of a father in Bro. Ceci who passed away yesterday. We shall truly miss his anecdotes, his quotable phrases and his witty remarks. We shall miss posing for him as he snaps pictures of everyone and post it is in his multiply account. God bless you on your trip back home, Bro. Ceci.

Coming full circle

When I opened this blog in May, 2004, I was just assigned to a new position in our school - that of Level Coordinator for the lower years, much like the prefect of discipline and more. The opening of the blog was very timely as new challenges laid ahead. However, much to my disappointment, I could not blog about my work, most specially the specifics as I have started to gain readers outside of my circle of friends. Hence, I blogged about education and teaching in general, which later on evolved into a gamut of different topics, a mixture of how I view life, adventures, fatherhood, family, etc.

Two years later, the school decided to do some re-organizing and I was back in the classroom again. After all, I did sign up to be a teacher. I was enjoying myself without the hassles of administrative work only mindful of grades, lesson plans and modules, etc. However, just as I was collecting more visual materials and researching for newer projects to give, a new boss appears and yet another re-organization. He invited me to his office one day last school year telling me that he was eyeing me to be the high school prefect of discipline. I respectfully declined as I do not think I still have the stamina for the position. I am but nine years away from retirement and I told him the pressures of the job might cause me my life (in full drama, hahaha). However, as a sort of compromise, I told him that if he really wanted me to be a part of his team, I was open to the idea of heading the department again, a position I handled for about nine years until I resigned in 1997. Since there was noone applying for the job from among my co-teachers, I got it. So at this time, I am now the Art Coordinator, once again taking the helm of the department. I guess this is just right as I may be too old to be teaching and about time I learned new tricks from fresher blood who speaks the language of the young and is abreast of the new trends in teaching.

So there, this blog has come full circle and awaiting new posts as new challenges await. So help me God.

I tried to sing in Singapore for the first time but Malaysia took my heart

I'm back from a four day tour of Singapore (if that can be called one) and Malaysia. I was with my sister-in-law, her husband and the husband's sister who just flew in from Saipan for a visit. Planning was done as early as last month, looking for hotels, bus terminals and all those things. Guess what, we missed our bus going to Clark. We even saw it leave Megamall around 2:15 am. The lady I made reservations with made sure it was leaving the place at 2:39. We tried to catch it but to no avail. We landed up in another bus station going to Alaminos. We had to disembark at Dau and take a van going to Clark.


The view from our hotel window


Taken while taking a rest inside our hotel room


I can hardly say I've toured Singapore. We arrived there around 1:30 and got out of the airport maybe 30 mins. after. We went directly to Furama hotel where we were booked, went out for lunch in a mall, buy some goodies and before we knew it, it was already way past six. We went back to the hotel to take a rest. We said we only needed 5 minutes of nap time but since we hardly slept the night before, we woke at 10. We've been told that the stores by Orchard Road would have been closed and asked where we could go to shop. We ended up in what is known as Little India called Mohamed Mustafa, a retail giant in the country.



There, anything and everything that can be sold is being sold. The place is replete with stalls you can barely walk and is teeming with people at anytime. We ended up in the wee hours of the morning and yet the place was still jam packed. The following day, we woke up late and headed for the airport. The taxi driver was a jolly fellow who had a lot of entertaining stories about his country. He said that Singapore is a fine city, meaning everything you do is being fined. He had his own versions of the acronyms. Too bad, I did not write them down. Anyway, the cab drivers there speak english and are very honest. When I asked the driver if it was safe to go anywhere, he said, "Let's put it this way. Low crime does not mean no crime."

Anyway, my best impression of the country is that it is so clean and their system is very efficient. Nevertheless, there was a little snag at the airport. When I put my bag into the x-ray, the men stationed there asked me to open it. This was a surprise because I never expected that they would do that. The man by the x-ray machine told the other guy that there's another small bag which he then took out. Lo and behold, it contained a cutter. I have forgotten all about it. They confiscated it, borrowed my passport and copied the number. Hmmm, does this mean I can no longer visit Singapore?

Malaysia is 45 minutes away by plane. I have been there before and am a little familiar with the place as I and my wife had been competently and generously toured by my friend, Bayi. Arriving at the airport, we took lunch and hailed a bus for KL Sentral.


They don't look strange, do they?


My first taste of tobacco after Singapore and it tasted heavenly!


Bus ride from LCCT to KL Sentral

At KL Sentral, we took Bayi's advice to go to the taxi station where we are given a cab for Genting Highlands. It costs RM 80 to get there. Funny but our cab driver looked like Telly Savalas of the Kojak fame. Anyway, Genting Highlands is an entertainmen cum theme park/casino and a nice get away from the hustles and bustles of the city. We checked in, after several hours of queueing, at the First World Hotel, that boasts to have the most number of rooms in the world. If that doesn't impress you yet, here are some facts. We arrived there, got a number before we can even check in.


We were #1446

346 to go!

Suffice it to say that we were all ready for dinner when we got to our room. The outdoor activity area was already closed leaving us to the indoor activity to venture. We watched a show named DREAMZ, a song and dance acrobat and magic show featuring both Asians and mostly European artists. They had white lions and tigers in the show and it was indeed entertaining.

After the show, what else was there to do but shop and yes, try our chances at the casino. As to be expected, I lost about RM150. That would be about Php 2000. Not bad considering I stopped at around 3 am. I should have stopped while I was ahead!

That morning, at breakfast, I took revenge and ate to my heart's content at the buffet breakfast included in our package. I ate like there was no tomorrow! AFter that, we toured the place, took the train that goes around the place and checked out. ON our way back to KL, we opted to ride the cable car. The cable car is a 15 minute ride of about 3.4 kilometers above the canopy of Malaysian rainforest. The first salvo of the trip is a whopping hundreds of feet drop that goes all the way to about a mile. It was a harrowing experience for me considering that I have fear of heights and I was in front seat.

When we got to KL, we stayed at the Grand Season Hotel and from there was picked up by Bayi and his wife, who graciously treated us to a sumptuous dinner that is really a gastronomic's delight. He offered us a bevy of vegetables, seafood and a local crispy pata with a new twist. Instead of serving it plain and dipped with a mixture of soy sauce, vinegar and garlic, it was bathed in a sort of satay sauce. Bayi always the good entertainer, has done it again. I was so sated I can hardly breathe.

The following day, we headed for the Petronas Tower. We got tickets and as the tickets we got were for the 5:30pm viewing, we decided to take a train and head for the market in Penang Sari.


Underground bus station at KLCC

The bus station at KLCC is underground, probably so as not to ruin the view of the Petronas Tower but it goes above ground just as our LRT thereafter. The ride costs RM1. Which we think is very cheap.


This is where we got off

Again, my companions went on a shopping spree while I just window shopped, watched the artists work at the far end just like what Ermita was during the early 70's and managed to buy bracelets for my wife and kids and a set of soft charcoal pencils
for myself. What can I do, I barely carry money and having lost at the casino, I only have some left for food hahaha.

Thereafter, we took the train again and headed for the Petronas. While waiting for our scheduled tour, I happen to chance upon a gallery showcasing one of the local artists on exhibit while my companions shopped till they dropped. Too bad, I couldn't take pictures but the show was a good one.

Anyway, Malaysia is not a very different place for a Filipino. While their food
has a distinct taste, the people are just like us. What is amazing is how they managed to live together, in spite of their different religious, ethnic and cultural traditions. I have often wondered why there were too many words that sound familiar like lelaki for males, masuk for entry and this:



I'm sure the list can go on and on and then it dawned on me. We share the same heritage knowing that our ancestors are Malays coming here using boats called balangays. That is if Otley Beyer is correct.

It's not that grand but it's ours!

We've moved back to the house although there are still things to be completed like interior doors, painting jobs, etc, etc. What's more depressing are the boxes that are still cluttered in our living room. Nevermind what's stored inside the children's rooms. As it is, they cannot occupy these yet and have to sleep in the family room where the tv and this computer is. It looks like it would take another three months before everything's finally settled. Just the same, we are all glad we're back!

Unfortunately, my 85 year-old mother-in-law takes a long time to get re-acquainted with the house. She seems to be disoriented. What happened was we asked my wife's brother to take her to his house and stay there for a while as the house we were renting was too hot and very uncomfortable. The problem was she wasn't there when we moved back. Now, she keeps on saying she wants to go back home. We can't find the right words to tell her that this is the same house, only renovated. Oh well, I guess confusion is almost synonymous to old age.

Nevertheless, in a few hours from now, I shall be on my way to Clark where a plane shall take me and my in-laws to Singapore for an overnight stay. From there, we head to Genting, Malaysia for another overnight stay and travel back to Kuala Lumpur where hopefully, I get to meet an old friend of mine, Bayi, who used to go visiting Filipino blogs before making his name a familiar one in Philippine blogosphere.

Tata for now!

Almost done.

What was supposed to be a simple renovation on the house turned out to be a complete redesigning. Since the kids are already all grown up, what with the youngest being almost 6' and all, we decided to have more rooms. The perceuved two-month reno is now on its three and a half months. We are depleting, no make that "have depleted" our resources slowly, thanks to our collective inputs on what to put to make it more beautiful. Exciting but scary.

I am more hands on right now. While I let the kids to choose the color scheme for their house, the rest have been my call. We have just finished putting up the cornices and baseboards on the living room yesterday. Squaring the door frames have been very challenging from my point of view. I had to ask the carpenter to correct something several times. The octagonal centerpieces for the lights on the ceiling was also proved to be very tedious. The other carpenter had to align, saw and nail interchangeably until everything's fixed to the right place.

Hopefully, we can move back again next week. Just thinking how we are going to put back all those things in our boxes make my back ache.

Art Projects

As I have done in the past, I am posting several works of my students done during the third and final term of the schoolyear. These artworks have been done in my class by freshmen and sophomore students.

The first photo is a sample of my sophomore students. The first one being a lesson on what I call dramatic lettering where the student should create a kind of lettering that will show the meaning of the word.



The next one delves with art history. During the spanish era, a painter named Honorato Lozano who became popular for his paintings of everyday life done with the client's name. This genre was known as Letras y Figuras. I asked my students to experiment on the form and these are some of the results.





But before the Letras Y Figuras, I asked them to choose a movie or tv show and re create the lettering used in its presentation. Here is one of the more interesting ones.


For the Freshmen who takes up painting, I introduced color harmony and here are some samples:

Analogous



Complementary


And lastly, our biggest project for the year, our toast to the masters. Here, they get to reproduce a work of a master. Not only do they learn about a particular master's style, they get to learn the effects of texture as well as I asked them to substitute different found objects in lieu of paint.

Education, joy or pain?

At last, my youngest has graduated from high school. He is the last one of my children to leave my clutches. Fortunately for me, unfortunately for him for where I left off, my wife shall take over! Hah! If he thinks coming to school with me was a pain, wait till he experiences his mom's training. For one thing, there will be no more car to take him to and from school. It will be an arduous task of having to commute everyday, just as what his siblings has experienced. This also means that I will be riding to and from school alone. I don't have to sit and wait in the car until a child comes before I go home. I had to do just that for almost twenty years of my teaching life.

But this is not a post about my youngest. This is more about what students and parents alike experience during this time of the year. Did the student pass with flying colors or was there a glitch in his studies for the whole year? What's worse is, will he repeat the year? If you are a student reading this and you passed all the requirements for the course, I salute you. If you belong to the other one, then, how do you deal with it?

The pain of failure is not the student's alone. It is shared, to a much greater extent, I suppose, with the parents. Having to see your child fail is a stab in a parent's heart. A lot of questions and soul searching happens when you see those red marks in your child's report card. Questions like, "where did I go wrong?" or "Did I not teach him/her enough?" "I always told him/her to study the lessons, didn't I?" or much worse, "is it in the genes?" If it's the last one, fingers are pointed to the better half, I guess. hahaha That is not to mention the financial worries. The cost of education keeps on escalating that parents practically have to work a lot harder just to send their kids to school.

Maybe to the student's surprise, the pain is shared by the teacher, too. The same questions arise. "What part of the lesson(s) did he/she not understand?" "If only he had more time for studying..." Failing a student is likewise a failure of the teacher. "BAkit hindi siya natuto?" (Why didn't he/she learn?)

Whatever it is, a failure can develop different outcomes. It can be construed as a weakness, a surrender of one's capabilities as a student and consequently, as an individual. If this happens, the individual becomes a total loser. This is the worst one can view a failure in one, two or more subject areas. Turning a failure into a positive thing is a more acceptable stance. It can be taken as a wake up call. Surely, the student has not done enough. Maybe too much partying or playing with friends. Staying on the phone for too long doing nonsense talk with a friend and lately, chatting for long hours on a computer. How much time did you spend studying the lessons? Have you reading and done all the assigned works? Did you listen to the teacher while lessons were being discussed?

In the end, it will always have to be the student who has to face the consequences of his failure. How does one deal with it? I guess, the best way to deal with the situation is take this as a wake up call. Admit that ones failure is his/her own doing. To blame it on somebody else is pointless. Take it as a challenge to do better next time.

Happy vacation, everyone!

A new world order?

If we are to believe a Russian dean of diplomatic academy, Igor Panarin, a new world order might be in the offing. According to him, the United States that we know may not be what it is come autumn. The union will disintegrate into six different territories as a result of the financial crisis that plagued the US last year.

Through an interpreter, the soviet diplomat, who had forecasted the collapse since 1998, said that the six territories would compose of

California Republic (California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Utah and Idaho)which would be absorbed or fall under the influence of China, and the “Texas Republic” (Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) that would become part of or fall under Mexico’s influence...

Canada would get or influence the “Central North American Republic” (the Midwest plus Montana, Wyoming and Colorado), “Atlantic America” (the northeastern American seaboard plus Kentucky, Tennessee, and North and South Carolina) would end up with the European Union or the United Kingdom.

Alaska would revert back to Russia, and Japan and China would take over Hawaii.

The forecast is based mainly on the US's plunging economy which continue to plummet to this time. Should this happen, there will be a new world leader and I wonder where we, a nation whose econo-political stability has always been in question, will put us. For sure we can kiss our Kalayaan claim in the Spratley Islands goodbye for according to Panarin, China would take over the California Republic :-)

Personally, I still think that the breakup is a very far scenario. Panarin's prediction is based on the collapse of the USSR and has likened Obama to Russia's last leader Mikhail Gorbachev. There is a big difference, in my opinion. While the USSR shared with the US in terms of power, its ideologies are different, hence the mindset of their people. The USSR may have enjoyed the privilieges of being a world power but this may have only been with their political leaders. The US has shared it with their countrymen living the American dream of someday making it rich at the very least. I think that there's no way that any American would allow a foreign country take over its affairs knowing the potential of losing their own privileges. As Randy David said “While I could imagine California declaring independence, why would they allow themselves to be absorbed by China? Why would Californians think that their crisis would be solved by China?

But of course, we cannot deny the possibility of a US collapse. After all it is faced with a terrible blow and has not yet solved its problems to date and many things, including the impossible can still happen.

Baguio- the summer (brawling) capital

It has been last week and last night that I saw a ramble happening at the city of pines on tv. In both instances, the protagonists were young men, probably in their twenties, involved in a free for all fisticuffs. The one I saw last night was sparked by one group challenging the other to rough it up right after a drinking binge (probably as they were all drunk as reported). You know - male machismo and all that kajologan. So juvenile and oh so primitive!

Now that I have two teen-aged boys, my greatest worry is that sooner or later, they would learn how to drink with their friends and probably go to a bar. What are the chances that they might encounter a group like these who has nothing better to do but test their machismo? Makes me shudder. To think I can't even rest in peace as I watch my youngest play basketball with his friends. What am I to do? I grew up during a time when basketball always turn out to be a brawl. First, during the MICAA which later on became the PBA. I could remember how the likes of Jaworski, Guidaben, Arnaiz, etc. would all turn the game into a boxing ball. You can just imagine how the basketball games in every municipalities were like during those days. Bottles were being thrown on the court as the players rough it up. I'm glad that this phase of the game is no more. We have matured somewhat in that regard as basketball games now are relatively peaceful. No more hotheads playing the game, I think.

I just hope my children are far from harm everytime they are out of my sight. I am not worried that they'd do anything wrong. I know they know better. It is the surroundings that I am always worried about.

What a lot of crap!

February 25, 1986 was a milestone for Filipinos for on that day, the Marcos era ended. The day has never been brighter for every Filipino for that day signified that we, as a people, are truly free. That we won't take trash from anybody and that we are free to express our sentiments and can and will depose even a strongman like Marcos.

Another EDSA revolt and several coup attempts later and we are still in square one. The bright sun we have seen is once again covered by rain clouds, now darker than ever. It seems like we are not any better than we were twenty three years ago. We are still being treated like dirt by our leaders, most of them bagging what is supposedly the people's purse, into their own pockets. We are taken for fools by men and women who are power hungry and enveloped by greed.

PGMA is quoted in the papers last Sunday to have said, “The world embraced EDSA I in 1986. The world tolerated EDSA II in 2001. The world will not forgive an EDSA III, but it will instead condemn the Philippines as a country whose political system is hopelessly unstable.” I cannot completely agree. Condemn, the world may, but not because of a political system that is hopelessly unstable. It is because we cannot produce a leader worthy of the title. A leader who has the capacity to march us on to victory. A leader who can beat a culture of corruption that has plagued this land. A leader who will rally the people into submission for the constituents believe he/she has the solutions to our problems. If the Filipino people can be faulted for its unsavory plight, it would be because of his folly for not choosing wisely during elections. Or better yet, for not vigilant enough to preserve the sanctity of the ballot.

Will the world condemn us for asserting our rights? I don't think so. The world has looked up on us in 1986, we can gain its respect once more if we prove to the world that we will keep on trying until we've found the right guy for the job.

Valentine's Day

I don't know what's so special about valentine's day. I don't get it. If it's a day for lovers, then, we ae missing the point. We do not need a special day when we are in love. We are in love everyday! And what's with this announcer in a morning show saying he expects traffic to be heavy especially around motels? Are there women really that dumb to fall for a stunt pulled out by a guy to celebrate valentine's day for three hours inside a roomful of mirrors?

There is only one particular valentine's day that I remember - February 14, 1983. It was the morning that my painting "Transition" that commemorated the transition from a college to a university where I worked was unveiled. But that was not it. It was in the evening of that day when my father had his first heart attack and passed away. Nobody had seen that coming. It was a real shocker. He was okay when I came home then suddenly, he had the attack while attending to our store, rushed to the hospital and died there. How ironic that he would die of a heart attack when we are celebrating a day for hearts, a symbol of love.

Anyway, I don't want to be a party pooper (like as if I have not ruined your celebrations already). Here's a little presentation of the "berks", members of the blogkada team, and their sweethearts. It's a very nice presentation prepared by our friend, the forever in love, dedicated mother, mec

Bad for your health

Just a short observation and conclusion. It seems like the Senate hall and the senators are bad for one's health. Imagine, all those summoned to appear before it land in the hospital. I remember how Jocjoc Bolante was up and about, smiling at the international airport and suddenly, upon landing to the country, could hardly breathe. That goes true with the rest! And they all go to St. Luke's! Wow!

Rite of Passage

The house is not even halfway finished. I am excited as to how it would appear. In the meantime, we have to content ourselves with an even smaller apartment while the renovation is ongoing.

Last weekend, the school's annual Father and Son camping took place at Light Bridge Hotel and Resort at Taal, Batangas. As usual, it was fun. The camps of each patrol are well-kept and well-maintained. I had to, together with two more teachers, judge the best patrol camp and they were pretty impressive. We had to look at three items, viz., tentage, gadgets and orderliness. The food was sufficient and tasty. The games were funny and very creative. For example, they played a volleyball game with a twist. We covered the net and neither team could see the other.

The "sessions" with the dads were wonderful. I also had to be a judge during the campfire, which to me was the highlight of the activity. The patrols had to compose their own song, yell and cheer. The fathers are really getting into it. They even brought instruments, computer and a mixed-media projector. The campfire is getting better and better.

The Father and Son has been the brainchild of my "ninong" (godfather), Moie Lozada, who stood as principal sponsor when the wife and I got married. There is no other man who can lead this activity like he does. The problem is he has retired. It's a good thing that he can still join us and take charge of the activities.

I used to bring my sons on these camping trips but now that they are all grown-up, they don't seem to be interested anymore. Nevertheless, we sure had a lot of fun. I had fun. Even wrote a poem about it in 2004, I think, when we camped at Mt. Makiling:


Rites of Passage

I have camped on
these grounds when
I was young,
braved the thick forest
to test if I
could be a man.

Leaves relentlessly fall
raining down on my tent
weave a golden mat on the dirt
just like it did before.

Insects stubbornly
invade the silence
unfazed by the dark night
or the snores from
other fathers
tending their sons.

Inside my tent
two growing boys
saturated with play
innocently asleep
carelessly sprawled
on the sleeping bag.

How I envy the trees
defying the wind outside
with each offspring
a success,
they stand
sturdy and proud.

I come back
to camp on these grounds
once more
to test if I
can be a father
to these youthful boys.

rolly

Grease

The school embarked on its nth school play. This year, they decided to do the stage play Grease. I watched the gala performance last night with my friends and it turned out that it was also alumni night where most of the main characters were previous stars of the plays we have done in the past. Seeing them perform last night brought back a lot of memories! I used to do the stage before.

My first assignment was way back in 1985 when we did the King and I. I designed the stage and the school contracted someone else to execute it. It was directed by Mr. Tony Espejo and it was the first time that I have worked with a professional director. If I remember correctly, the following year, we sought the help of the Repertory Philippines and staged South Pacific. This time it was the other way around. Someone designed the stage and I executed it! We also did Carousel, Annie and the Sound of music.

The stage is not really new to me as I used to be in school plays when I was in the elementary grades at La Consolacion School in Caloocan City several eons ago. I used to perform. However, it stopped when I got to high school. My priorities changed.

The stage is a wonderful place to work in. The fun part is in the rehearsals. We would stay at the theatre until the wee hours of the morning rehearsing. We would tremble and sink our heads everytime the director was not pleased and cursed! I remember how the kids would turn yellow when Tony Espejo, the late Bibot Amador or Baby Barredo shouted unmentionables. But that was part of the discipline. This was the time when I was no longer onstage and just watching, waiting for them to finish so that I could continue my work, adding on or taking out from the design as needed. It always had to be perfect as on stage, each performance will practically be the last! No more repetitions. Once you've committed a mistake, that's it! You cannot say sorry to the audience and ask them to forget about it as you go back to where you have left off. Discipline and perfection! That's what you aim for.

Last night's performance may not have been that perfect as the singers sometimes would turn flat on a few bars but the dancing and the overall mood was almost perfect! I am particularly proud of my co-teachers who joined the production. They did well. Kudos to the performers and looking forward to next year's production!

Moving On

Every year, the wife and I embark on a new project. When we got married, the first project, other than making babies, of course, was to purchase our own house. Well, we're almost there. A few more years and we would have paid off the mortgage of our first project. Then, every year, we built it up slowly, adding and subtracting to our own tastes. A few more years after, the car, etc...

We are embarking on a big one this year. We are getting the house renovated. That means we have to move to another house in the meantime so that neither we nor the workers get in each others way. That also means we have to haul most of our things to the new place we are renting and you can just imagine what twenty years or so of accumulated things, mostly trash, can be. We keep discovering things we've saved meant to be used in the future but forgotten about them. Time grows on us and it does not wait. It just goes on and on like a clock that does not run out of batteries. Hopefully, we will only have to withstand two months of discomfort and we will be moving again to a newer house we've always called home.

Fair is fair!

There are three sides of the truth: your truth, my truth and the truth. I have blogged about the golf incident but that was based on one side of the story. The Valley Golf club had already come out with its investigation and has given penalties to what it thinks were at fault. The verdict can be read here. Since the parties are both unknown to me and that I have nothing to gain from taking sides, as I am not wont to take sides on any story anyway, I am reproducing the other side of the story for your perusal. You can read it here

11 0 4

My former student, Miki, in her response to this post, wondered how my son's band, 11 0 4, sounded during their first stint at the Podium. In my response, I promised her I'd post somethng as soon as I can get hold of something. My daughters took some videos and although the quality may not be that great, maybe these can do for now. View it here, here and hereHope you like it.