TheLoveStory: The Prodigal Puppy

[TheLoveStory is WINmakati's new church series which will run on December 2, 9 and 16, 2012. Here's my puppified version of what a love story means to me.]

Once there was an owner who kept a house full of wonderful pets. The owner was very kind. Every pet was loved and cared for. But the puppy was dissatisfied. He was envious of those Hollywood dogs, jealous of those pampered pooches on dog shows, and simply thought, "I'm an animal — I deserve a better dog's life!"

And so one day, he run away.

The Lame Blame Game

Just a year ago, Christopher Lao had been a target of netizens' criticism and ridicule over an amusing side comment captured on a news video reel. Just a few months ago, Carabuena sparked the outrage of countless Filipinos over a footage of him physically abusing an MMDA personnel.     

(As for Sotto's claims of being cyberbullied, HAH!)

And now, #AMALAYER.

The Many Horrors of a Semi-Adult Life

After a fun, brief (horrific) interlude at the Timezone videoke, a group of friends watched with me the movie "Sinister" at Glorietta. While I may not be the sturdiest when it comes to horror films, I'm not the kind to scare easily (though I am weak at gore). And yes, I admit that this film had me disturbed as much as "Insidious" did — except for the ending. Thank God.

Especially when you suddenly find yourself awake at 3:32AM after a few days, and the first thing your mind rivets to is that particular scene in the movie where the protagonist woke up...

Only to be succeeded overwhelmed by an equally terrifying thought:

"What if my friends uploaded that video clip of my horrible singing while I was offline?"

I started to pray.

* * *

Freedom Is Ours: An Adaptation

[The following piece is my parodized version of the famous declamation piece, "Vengeance Is Not Ours, It's God's" by Geronimo Sicam. Just my own twisted imagination of what can happen if our lawmakers don't amend the CyberCrime Law now.]

Likes, likes, likes. Share me a thought, a smile. Share me some photos to browse. I use the internet, so free, and so simple.

Why are you monitoring me? With my eyes I cannot see but I know that you are watching me. Why are you whispering to one another? Why? Do you know my father - offline? Did you know me five years ago, when I didn't have my Facebook account? Yes, five years of memories have passed. I can still remember the vast happiness I shared with everyone online. We were very happy indeed.

In Recognition of Desire

Ever since I heard about the Anti-Epal Bill in Twitter, I fell in love with the idea. "Epal" is an old Filipino slang from "ma-papel"(whose rough translations vary with context, such as "attention hog", "show/spotlight stealer," "credit/compliment beggar," etc. I hope you get the general idea. Filipino idioms are a bit tricky). Although the bill had roots way back in 2004, it gained popularity because of its rather unabashed renamed title. This was in response to the proliferation of credit-taking tarpaulins of supposed projects, accomplishments and other opportunities to turn an entire area into a politician's image - figuratively, and in many cases, even literally.

But being "epal" is not limited to politicians. And it's not even limited to Filipinos. It is a prevailing subconscious attitude, a silent culture of insecurity. It permeates every aspect of our society: from the sibling rivalries vying for a parent's attention, to the selfish pursuit of academic excellence (not that it is wrong, but really – for what reason or goal are the best-performing students aiming for ever since?), and that philosophical quest for self-actualization. Even the church is not exempt from it.

There's an epal inside every one of us. A soft, demanding voice that whispers a thirst for appreciation, for recognition and for remembrance.

Farewell to Another Great Bicolano: Jesse Robredo

Death comes ever so suddenly, that sometimes the pain of our loss goes beyond our mere senses - like wounds to the soul, leaving behind not just a scar but a seeming emptiness that somehow seems to suck every ray of smile...

Yet there are people who, even in their death, manage fight back against that void - and with a preciously small fragment of a memory, turn around the gloom by reminding us not of what we had lost, but what every person leaves behind - a legacy, a memory of some distant yet perceivable hope, a reason to smile.

Happy Freedom Day!

Usually, we celebrate Independence Day with history lessons. Not that it's wrong, but sometimes we do lose sight of what history is supposed to teach us in the present. Like what did we become 'independent' about? What was "freedom" really mean?

As much as I'd love to go into etymologies, that is not the case of my blog. Rather, I wanted to reflect: what does freedom mean for me?