Ten and I were back at the La Mesa Eco-Park today. For the past three weekends, we have been spending a day at the park. Jologs? Nah! We don't see it that way. We see it as a relaxing but very cheap get away from the usual hustle and bustle.
And so we were back, but with something else in our minds other than holding hands while walking at may pa-sway-sway pa. ;) The night before we decided to spend some of our leisure time at the park by playing 20 questions. But unlike the spontaneity in the play that won a Palanca Award, we agreed to strain our minds a bit and prepare beforehand. We agreed that our "game" will be bounded by the following conditions: (1) questions should encourage intellectul discussion; (2) questions must not concern issues regarding our relationship; and (3) questions should not be too politically or religiously inclined.
I had a hard time coming up with my set of questions. Thinking brains work best under pressure, I prepared my list just hours before I was to leave home. I realized it was harder because I also need to prepare what I'll wear and what we'll eat for lunch and snacks at the park. So when Ten came to pick me up, I was still one question short. Fortunately though, numbers were not really an issue.
Through the course of our game, we had varying discussions from when should the academic year begin to the banning or regularization of billboards, from which is the lesser evil between sex and violence to at what age a child can cope best when a parent leaves for work abroad, and from the significance or lack thereof of beauty pageants to the best way to reduce traffic woes in Metro Manila.
I learned a lot from our mentally engaging activity. From all the insights and information brought about by the activity, I was - again - affirmed that Ten and I can talk about anything, bring the conversation to a depth and end it with out being pikon. But best among all I've learned today, I'm very happy knowing that Ten and I more or less uphold the same values in life. =)
Word Play
It's all black and quiet in our area. We are engulfed by the blackness of the night save for lit candles and battery powered lights. I don't have any news except the bits Ten is giving me. They have powered their TV with their car's battery, and thus are abreast with what's happening in other parts of the metro.
The wrath of the super typhoon is finally over, but it has left Manila in a state of calamity. A lot of people died. A lot of electric posts and billboards fell. A lot of properties were lost. It was said it will take days to turn things back to normal.
The power sector, MMDA, local government units, and other people are now hell bent on turning things back to normal. It's quite relieving knowing I'm just one of those who are waiting for things to normalize. But it does puzzle me. I wonder how literal and limiting "turning things back to normal" could imply.
How can the normal before be the same normal now when what has come to past will remain in the past and a thing of the past? when what has come to past will always leave a mark? How can the normal before be the same normal now when through and underneath all, what will be normal will be seen differently and treated differently...
words are not just words at all.
The wrath of the super typhoon is finally over, but it has left Manila in a state of calamity. A lot of people died. A lot of electric posts and billboards fell. A lot of properties were lost. It was said it will take days to turn things back to normal.
The power sector, MMDA, local government units, and other people are now hell bent on turning things back to normal. It's quite relieving knowing I'm just one of those who are waiting for things to normalize. But it does puzzle me. I wonder how literal and limiting "turning things back to normal" could imply.
How can the normal before be the same normal now when what has come to past will remain in the past and a thing of the past? when what has come to past will always leave a mark? How can the normal before be the same normal now when through and underneath all, what will be normal will be seen differently and treated differently...
words are not just words at all.
The Storms Then & Now
The howls of the wind and the hard pounding of the rain on my windows woke me up. It was four in the morning. I found it hard going back to sleep.
It's now past noon. The sky is still bleak and gray. Heavy rain continued to pour, but it is the wailing wind that worries me. The trees has been swaying wildly from side to side. I fear tree branches will come hurtling through my bedroom window. I fear the santol and mango trees in the backyard will fall and damage our house. I watch my would be horror on my dry bed.
...I am dry and comfortable, less the troubled feeling. Dry...
Years ago, back in the apartment we used to live in, my drama with torrential rains and shrieking winds were real.
Our tattered roof gave us all the feeling it would finally give way. Water would be dripping from almost everywhere. Our cramped apartment would then be littered with catch basins here and there. The bathroom door would always be kept shut because the "shower" was at full blast and can not be turned off. And, the water closet was gurgling with something from everybody knows where.
When rain continued to pour hard, we are treated to free big pools. We would be waddling through ankle deep water in our bungalow apartment, and through almost knee-deep water in the garage. We would then be bustling ourselves moving things to higher places. At syempre, and pinakamasaya, maglimas ng baha. (No sarcasm intended.)
But it wasn't fun forever. It became tiresome as i grew up. No matter how we moved our things, something important gets drenched. Waddling though flood wasn't as exciting as the years gnaw on me. The catch basins became an irritating sight. And the bathroom... Nobody uses the bathroom during those times.
That was how we were years ago. Now I lie here on my dry bed, in our own house with good roofing and good sewage line, in a subdivision with good drainage system. I have almost nothing to worry about. Nothing except petty things my mind can only imagine. Nothing except wishing everyone else is dry and comfortable as I am.
*************
It's now past noon. The sky is still bleak and gray. Heavy rain continued to pour, but it is the wailing wind that worries me. The trees has been swaying wildly from side to side. I fear tree branches will come hurtling through my bedroom window. I fear the santol and mango trees in the backyard will fall and damage our house. I watch my would be horror on my dry bed.
...I am dry and comfortable, less the troubled feeling. Dry...
Years ago, back in the apartment we used to live in, my drama with torrential rains and shrieking winds were real.
Our tattered roof gave us all the feeling it would finally give way. Water would be dripping from almost everywhere. Our cramped apartment would then be littered with catch basins here and there. The bathroom door would always be kept shut because the "shower" was at full blast and can not be turned off. And, the water closet was gurgling with something from everybody knows where.
When rain continued to pour hard, we are treated to free big pools. We would be waddling through ankle deep water in our bungalow apartment, and through almost knee-deep water in the garage. We would then be bustling ourselves moving things to higher places. At syempre, and pinakamasaya, maglimas ng baha. (No sarcasm intended.)
But it wasn't fun forever. It became tiresome as i grew up. No matter how we moved our things, something important gets drenched. Waddling though flood wasn't as exciting as the years gnaw on me. The catch basins became an irritating sight. And the bathroom... Nobody uses the bathroom during those times.
*************
That was how we were years ago. Now I lie here on my dry bed, in our own house with good roofing and good sewage line, in a subdivision with good drainage system. I have almost nothing to worry about. Nothing except petty things my mind can only imagine. Nothing except wishing everyone else is dry and comfortable as I am.
back from hiatus
I was not blogging because of lack of something to write. In fact, there are a lot of stuff to write about. The mind has never run out of thoughts that I’d like to believe I can write ten sensible blog entries in a day. ...but that is an exaggeration and time for writing blogs is a rare luxury. There will always be things to do, things to plan, things to prepare for, and things to re-evaluate. I’d rather spend my idle times for sleep, sudoku, and watching telly and my flowerhorns. Blogging is… is… uhm… done during office hours. *wink* *wink*
But hey! If you’re my boss and you’re reading this now, easy ka lang pre. Easy! Thank our clients for keeping my hands full in the office. And thank the super typhoon milenyo, work is suspended and he got me in the writing mood.
I imagine hearing a sigh of relief.
Thankful eh? I also have a lot to thank for. I’d like to thank my boss for finally hooking up to DSL. Thanks boss! Indeed, faster is better. Multi-tasking is at its best. *wink* *wink*
But hey! If you’re my boss and you’re reading this now, easy ka lang pre. Easy! Thank our clients for keeping my hands full in the office. And thank the super typhoon milenyo, work is suspended and he got me in the writing mood.
I imagine hearing a sigh of relief.
Thankful eh? I also have a lot to thank for. I’d like to thank my boss for finally hooking up to DSL. Thanks boss! Indeed, faster is better. Multi-tasking is at its best. *wink* *wink*
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