The Opening Scene

I strike the letters on the keyboard softly, so I don't wake you. I begin describing the scene but stop and hit backspace before finishing the second sentence. I look down to you and think, "I could be like that. On the floor, resting my head on somebody's sandals, impervious to complexity."


But there are more stories to tell and timepieces to collect. There will be time for making love with the floor later. The opening scene is more urgent.


My audience awaits.

A Salute to Krisel

A speech made by an honor student (of Sto. Niño Parochial School) has been making rounds on social media these past couple of days. People have been divided on the issue. Some think she should have just kept quiet. Others believe she did the right thing. At first, I thought she should've just moved on and spared her classmates the negativity on their graduation. They did not deserve that. I was quick to judge her for being rash and young, that she would look back on this day with shame and that she did not know better. See backstory here.

I should have been more prudent.

I think that depending on what perspective you are going to look at it from, this is either a beautiful or a sad story.

This is a great story of courage. The girl, young as she is, is brave to fight injustice through whatever means she can. She is not one to be silenced even if the system has already shown her how futile her other attempts have been. Believing that it was going to be her last chance, she delivered a different speech from what she submitted to the school administrators. It was going to be a speech not just about how she was robbed of the recognition due her but also more importantly about a corrupt system.

Running with the Setting Sun

What is interesting about going for a run around sunset is seeing beautiful sights that are otherwise ordinary at different times of the day. I found these beauties while doing my regular Sunday jog.

A tree illuminated by the setting sun

A store overlooking the city

Deworming, Flea Control, and a Parasitic Mayor

Today, just after watching the news on the Ombudsman filing corruption charges against a city
mayor, I learned about deworming and flea control. To deworm a pup, get up early, decide on what shirt to put on, wait for a ride, then walk to the animal clinic. Believe me, this has everything to do with deworming. Once there, ask for a dewormer for a three-month old puppy and ask how to administer it. Of course, it should go without saying that the person you are asking knows how to do it.

She told me the following:

1. If you check, the instruction is on the box, so just read on.

2. That's Php 140.

Ok...

Then, I asked for a flea medicine and left. 

Afternoons

Every afternoon, these kids wait for their treats- chips, balut and peanuts. Back in my hometown, it would be banana or hot pan de sal.

In Your Living Room

In your living room,
in one of those afternoons when
only the breeze,
the occasional barks of dogs
and mothers screaming names
of their children for their afternoon naps
one hears, you sit down.

You wonder
how you got there.
You retrace the turns
of events- you had breakfast, cooked
your favorite fried eggs
and got up from bed. You remembered
how you'd planned
nothing special for the day,
but you dared get up still.
You call this love
for life, sometimes bravery.
I call it mechanistic.

Right around sunset, the quiet
around you comes to halt. The neighborhood
comes to life- children running around,
mothers having their afternoon snack and
some coffee, even the tricycles
are more frequent now. You are
still stuck in your indecisiveness of
whether to get a car or be
a spectator of all the wonders you believe
the world has. I tell you practicality is
the key, sometimes
moderation.