Para Sa'yo ang Laban na 'To

Natutuwa talaga ako na nanalo si Pacquiao sa rematch nila ni Morales. Ewan ko kung bakit sobra sobra na lang ang saya ko. I have never been this involved kasi sa matches niya before. Ang saya talaga. Go Pacman! Haha. As if naman may matatanggap akong balato. Oh well.

Bukod sa excitement, may ilang bagay rin akong narealize habang pinapanood at matapos ko mapanood ang match ni Pacman:

1. May commercial pala after all ang Pegasus, ang "Ultimate Men's Club". At sa super iksing commercial na yun on national television, nailahad na ang tagline nito na something like, "where you find the difference between the beautiful and most beautiful." In fairness, sana naiintindihan ng mga parokyano ng Pegasus yun. At sana, hindi biglang magtanong ang mga toddlers na nakapanood ng ad na yun sa mga ina nila (a) kung may carousel ba sa Pegasus; (b) kung pwede ba ang babae sa Pegasus.
2. Sadyang marami pala talaga ang mga products na ineendorse ni dear Pacman. Ang wide pa kaya ng range ng mga products na yun. Mula Alaxan (na mukhang ginagawa na niya yatang vitamins), Circulan at Cafe Puro, hanggang Darlington at No Fear Undies. Nagkatuwaan pa nga kame ni IT na ilista ang mga endorsements niya habang may klase kami. Haha. Talo niya pa yata si Heart Evengelista. Wag na kayong mabigla kung sooner or later magiging model na rin si Pacman ng papaya soap, facial wash o kaya naman ay school and office supplies. Iba na talaga ang mga boxer na may album.
3. Kung kaya ni Pangulong Gloria mag-"Hello Garci", kaya niya rin mag-"Hello Manny" Kaya niya rin kayang mag-"Hello Pouchie"? Malamang hindi. Never niya naman kasi ako kakausapin dahil una sa lahat, wala akong kakayahang i-manipulate ang election returns. Pangalawa sa lahat, di kami close. Duh. Kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan?
4. Kung may pera ka at ayaw mong mawala ang momentum mo sa panonood ng isang phenomenal na laban tulad nito dahil sa dami ng commercials in-between the rounds, sa Powerplant ka manood. Kung medyo kapos ka sa pera pero gusto mo pa rin wag mawala ang momentum mo, sorry ka na lang. Magtiis ka sa bahay. Ganun ang ginawa ko.
5. May mga taong binabalitaan na nga ng pagkapanalo ni Pacman, ang sama pa ng loob. Ano kaya yun? Haller?
6. Hindi ko ever i-aaspire na maging boxer dahil ayaw ko madeform ang face ko (yak. ang konyo). On second thought, maski na i-aspire ko pa, hindi naman yata kakayanin ng frail body ko. Magsasayaw nalang ako. Haha.
7. Wala palang tao sa streets (i.e. mga gala) kapag may ganitong mga laban. Isipin niyo na lang ang dahilan. Matalino naman kayo, diba?
8. Ang bouncy talaga ng ring ng boxing ring. I love it.
10. Ang galing talaga ni Pacman.

Naniniwala akong ang dami ko pang stuff na napagtanto nung mga panahong yun. Hindi ko na nga lang masulat at this point in time dahil nakalimutan ko na. Medyo mahaba na rin kasi ang time na nag-elapse between the day ng laban niya at ng araw na pinost ko to. Aww.

Simula pa lang nang nagka-ulirat ako, proud na talaga ako maging Pilipino. At during times like these, lalo pa akong nagiging proud.

Castor Oil

Lately, we acquired a brand new bottle of castor oil. We placed it on the small table in our bedroom, and my 9-year-old cousin, Jestine, saw it.

Jestine: (Holding the bottle up and scrutinizing the label) Ay, kapangalan ng kaklase ko!
Pouch: Huh? Castor?
Jestine: (Still holding and looking at the bottle) Hindi!
Pouch: Erm, Oil?
Jestine: Hindi!
Pouch: Huh?! Eh ano?
Jestine: Charrie Castor.
Pouch: Ah.

Stupid me.

Ngarag Nitong Miyerkules

Mahilig ako sa mga bato. Mahilig talaga ako sa mga bato. Sobrang mahilig talaga ako sa mga bato.

Kung iniisip niyo na isa akong adik at isang nilalang na hayok sa droga, nagkakamali naman kayo. Ibang bato naman kasi yung tinutukoy ko.Yung mga batong tinutukoy ko ay mga gemstones. Gemstones. Tama, gemstones. Yung tipong mga amethyst, citrine, quartz, etc. Sana naiintindihin niyo na ang nais kong iparating. Kung hindi, magresearch na lang kayo ukol sa nasabing topic sa Google, Yahoo, Altavista. Try niyo na rin siguro sa Friendster search nang malaman ng sangkatutak mong Friendsters kung ano ba ang pinagrereresearch mo lately. O kung balak niyong magpakasipag, sa library kayo pumunta. At kung gusto niyo pa lalong ipamalas ang kagitingan niyo, yung Dewey Decimal System gamitin niyo. Bahala kayo kung ano ang napipisil niyong desisyon. Kung wala, sige lang. Ayos lang. Go.

Yung amethyst ay kadalasang purple at birthstone ng mga pinanganak sa February. Binigyan ko nga yung daddy ko nun kasi February 13 siya pinanganak. Pero hindi naman talaga yung amethyst yung gusto ko ikwento. Hindi talaga yun. Hinding hindi.

Yung citrine naman, may pagka-dilaw. Mayroon akong maliit na ganun dito sa bahay, sa may lalagyan ng mga hikaw ko. Maganda raw yun para sa negosyo. 'Eto yung batong involved sa aking kwento. Eto talaga yun, eh. Oo talaga.

Nilabas kasi ni Ken yung malaking sphere niya ng citrine bago mag-Histo. Siguro kasing laki nun yung kamao mo ngayon. Tignan mo yung kamao mo. Ayan.

Tapos 'eto namang si James, hiniram yung sphere mula kay Ken tapos -

James: Uy, pag nag-concentrate ba ako dito nang matagal, makakalipad ako?
Ken: Hay nako (sabay tingin sa ibang dako). Pouch, ikaw na sumagot.
Pouch: Syempre, hindi. Duh.

At ikinalungkot ko yung sagot ko maski naman totoo yun. Wala na kasi yata talagang paraan para makalipad ang tao nang siya lang mag-isa. Yung tipong hindi na niya kailangan pa ng harness o kahit ano pa man.

Mula pa lang nung bata ako, sobrang gusto ko na talagang makalipad. At hanggang ngayong medyo matanda na ako, isa pa rin yun sa mga pangarap ko. Naalala ko tuloy yung kanta ng mga bulag na tumutugtog ng gitara sa mga lansangan:

"Pangarap ko'y di naabot...
Dahil sa bawal na gamot..."

Poor soul. Maski na di ako nag-dodroga ay 'di ko pa rin maabot ang pangarap na 'yun.

Kung naniniwala lang sana ako sa mga chain letter, yung power ng paglipad yung hihilingin ko. E kaso hindi ako naniniwala sa mga ganun (tignan ang aking previous post). Wala rin.

Alam ko namang maski na kumpletuhin ko pa ang Simbang Gabi sa susunod na taon ay hindi ko matatamo ang kakayahang makalipad. Ganun naman yata talaga ang paglipad, eh. Parang world peace. Parang totoo, pero hindi naman pala.

Binibining Pouch

Pagkatapos ko maligo at pagkalabas na pagkalabas ko ng banyo, ang pambungad sa'kin ng mahal kong ina ay, "Sali kang Binibining Pilipinas. Pwede na naman pala yung 17 years old, eh!"

Haha. Sobrang nakakatawa kaya. Sa sobra kong tuwa, parang ginusto kong maligo na lang ulit. Haha.

Ano ba naman kasi yang suggestion na 'yan? Masyadong matayog. Masaya na ako sa pagiging Binibining Pouch. Ikaw, masaya ka na ba sa pagiging Binibining/Ginoong __(fill in the blank)__?

Weary

Chained to Chaining Chains?

(With my previous post, I was inspired to write more about letters.)

I used to look forward to green-letter days.

If the English language has the term 'red-letter day' to stand for a noteworthy day, I, during my childhood, have designated 'green-letter day' as a day when someone would receive a chain letter. The reason why I chose that expression was that years ago, chain letters were usually printed on green paper and arrived in green envelopes. Yeah right, the meaning of my very own invented term is quite literal. But it is so convenient and no other term could probably be more appropriate.

One time, when I saw my Mama Menchu (my deceased favorite lola) look inside our mailbox to discover that there was a green envelope lying inside and patiently waiting for it to be picked up, I was overjoyed. A chain letter, hooray! My neurons fired excitedly, sending out two messages to my other neurons. One: If I could just persuade Mama to send out one copy of the letter to me, I would be a few inches away towards my wishes. Two: If I could not persuade Mama to do so, I would just request her to add-on my wishes to hers. Oh well. Scheming, eh? However, the strategies I have managed to make during that moment were, unfortunately, to no avail. Mama Menchu never picked up that green envelope, and did not want me to do the same thing. Days passed and I kept opening the mailbox eyeing the letter curiously. It was hard for me to resist the temptation of ripping it open and following what it told me to do. Finally, the day came when I had nothing to eye inside the mailbox. The green envelope was gone. Maybe it was picked up by someone from our household (my Tito Gil, most probably) who just trashed it away. Maybe my wishes were just meant to be wishes - not to be brought to a higher level. Maybe.

My fondness and fervent desire back then to receive chain letters was rooted in my hope and desperation to have something that would make my wishes come true. This desire went hand in hand with my dreaming of spotting a shooting star across the velvet sky of the night and finding a good-hearted genie trapped in an antique lamp.That was why I cannot really grasp why my Mama Menchu did not like receiving chains at all. I mean, who would not want to take a shortcut towards one's wants? Who would not want to get what he needs simply by sending out copies of the chain letter to other people? Duh. Everyone supposedly likes the easiest way out (or in, whatever the case may be). Why, then, a repulsion from chain letters?

This question boggled me as I grew up -- grew up in a society wherein snail mail neared extinction while SMS, MMS, and electronic mail steadily flourished. Soon enough, I started receiving chain letters. Actually, they would be more appropriately called as chain texts and chain e-mails. I sticked with the letters' rules. I wished more wishes.

When I was in early high school, I received a chain letter via e-mail which said that the ghost shown in the attachment (the attachment was a 'recorded video which caught the ghost') would haunt me if I would not forward the e-mail to others. I think it also promised good stuff to those who would send the e-mail to others. Being the devoted chain letter-sender that I was, I went on to forward it to my contacts. When I was about to click the 'SEND' button, my internet connection disconnected. My prepaid net card was already empty! Poor. I was afraid that the ghost would really come and get me. I waited for midnight (thinking that I better be awake and see the ghost materialize than be asleep and give the ghost the chance to wake me up with all glory), but no ghost appeared.

With that, I gave a thought about all the stuff I was doing. Chains are just hoaxes. I have come to the conclusion that my forwarding chains was lame, foolish and wasteful. With my more mature mind, I realized that it is impossible for me to get to my wishes JUST by sending out chain letters. Things are not going to happen with that alone. Life is good, but it is not THAT good for it to be THAT easy.

When that understanding dawned on me, I have come to look at chain letters way differently. I despised them. I then did not want receiving chain letters, much more sending out the same thing to others for the 'fulfillment of my wishes'. I have managed to come up with some points (I was not able to think about when I was young) to support my stand:

*How could chains, especially those written under RELIGIOUS PRETEXTS, threaten you with bad luck after wishing you good luck? I mean, would God (whose name appears in many chains) want you to be threatened like that? No, He would not. I firmly believe that He is a just God who would not base your faith on Him simply your being faithful to chains. Being faithful to Him is much more than that, isn't it?

*"Unlimited ka naman diba," that is how chains would usually start in texts. 'Unlimited' referring to the unlimited SMS networks offer nowadays. It even precedes the promise of good luck (e.g. These angels are sent to blah, blah; These bees are money bees, chorva, chorva; God is good, blah blah...). Chains just appear to give you a superficial reason (because you are enjoying unlimited text) for you to pass on the message. One could pass it not necessarily because he believes the 'value' preached by the message but just because "naka-unlimited naman siya."

*Most people would say, "I would not lose anything naman if I pass on this chain!" Yeah right. But seriously, would you lose anything if you DO NOT pass it? No, you would not.

I have shunned many chains which I am quite sure you have received as well (I'm not just sure if you shunned them the way I did) without getting ill, without ending up dead, etcetera, after. God is good and God is fair.

I do not mean to offend people who are so into chain letter sending. Just do not expect me to support these chains stuff again.

If you do so, I would be the weakest link.

The Postman's Post, Posted!

A day before New Year's eve, my brother and I were waiting for our mom's arrival by the gate upon her orders. We were ought to help her out in bringing the bundles of plastic bags full of stuff for the Media Noche preparation. Being the restless girl that I was, I tried to while away my time peering into and probing our mailbox, scooping (aside from dust and dirt) two of its only contents, and seeing to whom they were for. One was a a card from Unicef for our boarder (a conclusion I came at with the letter's outside appearance and info about Unicef written outside the envelope). My mom got something like this years ago. I wonder why Unicef did not give her a card this year. Oh well. It's not something I was compelled to devote my time pondering about.

What intigued me and elicited in me a childlike excitement was the other letter I found (recall that I saw two in the mailbox).The letter I was referring to was inside a small 5" by 3" brown envelope (much like the one wherein a worker's wage was contained a few decades back, back to our parents' teener days). I am now going to relay the words outside the envelope and inside the main 'letter' VERBATIM. The envelope had a stamped (in blue) "MERRY CHRISTMAS AND [a] HAPPY NEW YEAR" in the center, and also a stamped "FROM: POSTMAN ALLAN B. ADALLA" in its lower right corner. There was even a scribbled "ORTEGA & FAMILY" above the Christmas greeting. It had no stamp (obviously) and no seal on its flap. Upon opening the envelope, I saw a small white bond paper (1/8 of a whole sheet) cut rather creatively on its left and right edges (the edges had a zigzag design) with the following computerized words:

"To my addressee,

As Christendom and humanity celebrate the year's most important season, my family and I send you this very special greeting.
And of course to your family and love[d] ones, may the New Year bring you more happiness, success, good health and prosperity.
Merry Christmas and [a] Happy New Year.

Your regular Postman,
Allan B. Adalla"

I'm reminding you again for the nth time that the letter was copied verbatim. Believe me, I was staring at it in disbelief. Ang taray! Was it just 'our' postman who gave out notes like this to celebrate the holiday season? For heaven's sake! I didn't even know that we had a regular postman! I used to think that different mailmen brought different letters at our doorstep. I cannot even remember opening the gate for someone as Mr. Adalla. I'm a poor soul. As far as I know, it was only this year that we received something like it. It is just Amazing, spelled with a capital 'A'. I was baffled why my brother did not share the enthusiasm I had with this unexpected letter. Was it just me who never expected it? I don't know. Maybe, I am just an excitable little girl, excited by the least excitatory of the excitatory stuff there are. But it pays to be like that at certain times, doesn't it?

Even if I know that Mr. Adalla gave out notes like this not just to us but to all the families he serves, I still felt special in a way. I mean, he actually cared and bothered to do all these! Okay, maybe his wife also had her hand in doing these letters - let us be fair. That's why I felt a pang of guilt strike me alongside the exuberance I was feeling. Here I am, saying that I love to share, I love to give, blah blah, when in reality, I was not giving enough attention to the people who get my (not much) and my family's (really!) life moving. There are many other people, possibly, in your life and in mine too, we have neglected. Not knowing that without them, we are crippled. Not knowing that without them, we are nothing as well.

The letter was an eye opener literally, and of course, figuratively.

Our postman is sweet. I wish yours is too.

Share: "I'll wait for the postman to bring me a letter," a line from Lohan's latest song I do not really like, the title of which I cannot remember well (Duh, the title was too long! Why can't she choose a title like, er, "Balisong"?!) Wala lang, it just came to my mind with the topic of my entry. Hehe. =p Happy new year! It's the year of the Fire Dog pala. Swerte kaya yung may mga aso? What a stupid question.