Anak-ng-PUTIK !

Nung isang araw eh nagpapa-lipat-lipat ako ng channel naghahanap ng mapapanood. Nang bigla akong natigilan sa nakita ko sa Cinema One. Totoo ba ang mga imaheng tumatambad sa aking mga mata ? Dininig na pala ang isa sa panalangin ko ! Anak-ng-PUTIK ! Bakit wala man lang nagsabi sa akin na nagsama na sila sa isang pelikula !

Si Ina Raymundo at si Shirley Fuentes. Anong tema ng palabas kamo ?? BIKINI WATCH.

Hesusmaryosep !!

Ganito kasi yun. Ako'y me hinahanap na katangian sa mukha ng isang babae. Ako ay lubos na nabibighani sa mga mukhang 1. Ubod ng maamo O yung mga 2. Mejo Mataray-taray ang dating. Gusto ko lang linawin na mataray ang dating at hindi mala Bella Flores o Odette Khan!

Si Ginang Ina Raymundo ay me maamong mukha na me katiting na anghang. Hindi ko naman sya napapansin ng gaano nuong mga panahong patok pa ang "Sabado Nights". Pero nagiba ang timpla at klima ng aking katawan nang napanuod ko ang palabas nyang "Burlesk Queen". Nagiba na ang pananaw ko simula nuon.

Si Shirley Fuentes naman. Tisay at mataray taray ang dating... kakaibang timpla.. nakakagigil. Parati kong inaabangan ang mga biernes na mapapanuod ko sya sa Bubble gang. TGIF indeed.

Bukod sa dalawang ginang na nabanggit ko eh dinagdagan pa nila ng ilang mga babaeng dayuhan. Aba kumpletos rekados na ! They even threw in something to please the colonial yearnings of the pinoys. How thoughtful indeed !

Datapwat ako'y lubos na nalilibang sa palatuntunan ng mga panahong iyon eh merong mga napanood akong mga eksena na lubos na bumabagabag sa aking pagkatao. Tiniis ko ang mga kabulastugan at kakenkoyan ni Andrew E., Raffy Rodriguez (Kapatid ni Ruby), Ismokey Manoloto.

Ang hindi ko matiis eh nung tinanggal ni Andrew E. ang bathrobe nya at suot suot nya ang 2 piece bathing suit. Nakupo !! nuong pagtalikod nya eh Thong bikini pala !

Hesusmaryosep !!

Hindi pa rin ako mapakale.

Ang tanong na lumulutang lutang sa aking isipan ngayon eh kung nagtambal din ba sa Pinilakang tabing sina Francine Prieto at Michelle Bayle ??

Pinsan

I have an older male cousin that lived with our family for 8 to 10 years. He was in "some" ways like a kuya. He was considered to be "the" blacksheep of the clan. Constantly in trouble both in and outside of school. Trouble and harm always seems to find their way to my cousin's path.

My Mom on the other hand was the family's ultimate disciplinarian, if there was one person who can straighten out pinsan it was "Ma". She did just that, she raised him like he was her own. Provided him with education and all of the basic necessities.

Pinsan grew up in an evironment which I considered to be chaotic and cruel. How cruel ? What his dad did to him, you won't do to a stray animal. I'm not gonna talk about my uncle though, he passed away 5-8 yrs ago from liver cancer. I'm quite certain my uncle in "warm-warm" place right now.

After my cousin moved out of our home we haven't been in touch. He's now in his late thirties employed as a supervisor in a machine shop, married with 3 kids.

Last december, I decided to celebrate my birthday by treating my family out for dinner. Ma invited Pinsan.

Syempre konting kwentuhan at konting kamustahan.

I've always been a sentient person. While me and my pinsan was doing some catching up I sensed something different about him. He looked tired, worned down and resigned. He used to be overflowing with zest and gusto. Gone is the street-smart assertive punk that he used to be.

"There is nothing like the sight of an amputated spirit. There is no prosthesis for that"
Al Pacino
Scent of a Woman

Still a long journey ahead of him, his eldest is still in 2nd grade. I can only imagine what he would look like 12-15 years from now. There is still High school and College multiplied by 3 kids. Personally, I don't think he's concerned about him and his wifes retirement welfare. I think he's just waiting for the day the kids finish school, find work. So he could say to them

"Mga anak, bahala na kayo sa akin."

Life is tough. Life has a unique way of wearing a person down. Life is much tougher here in the Pinas.

What about me ?

I've been doing some simple math. Assuming that I earn the same amount for the next 20 years. Take home pay less the expenses, education, emergency money. With whats left I don't think i can afford both a home and a car. That is why for us, One kid is enough ! We do want to enjoy OUR life too !

I consider my productive years as an employee as a time bounded resource. I'm turning 30 this december I probably have 20++ years max before the industry spits me out. Miscalculations can be costly at this stage.

Pinoy syndrome X

One thing that occured to me the other day was when we saw Robin Padilla's "la visa loca" was we as Filipino's regard some things as praiseworthy attributes. I will refer to this character flaw as Pinoy Syndrome X. Let me make it clearer by citing some popular quotes from movies and songs.

"Kahit na ako'y mahirap lang, marami naman akong kaibigan "
- Pinoy by Freddie Aguilar

"Kahit mahirap lang kami.. masaya naman kami ! "
- TV interviews in rural areas

"Kahit ako'y mahirap lang
At ikaw ay mayaman
Kung may pagmamahalan
May paraan

Kahit ako'y isang dukha
At ikaw ay marangya
Magsakripisyo't magtiyaga
Ako ay handa

Magtyatyaga ako sa aircon
At titira sa iyong mansyon
Nakahiga sa buong maghapon
Kahit ayoko ng ganun"

-KAHIT AKO'Y MAHIRAP 1998 Words & Music GARY GRANADA

OK, the last one wasn't really in lieu with the other two. But there is a *hint* of Pinoy syndrome X-ness.

(Spoiler)
Allow me to disect Robin Padilla's movie. To me it has an unrealistic ending.

What did he do wrong:

* He spent for his dad's accomodation for the Home for the aged only to fetch him back. <- Unnecessarily spending money.
* Went back with his old GF ( Ruffa Mae Quinto ) and his diabetic kid. <- Incurring of further expenses.
* And the icing on the cake. After getting his US Visa after 3(?) tries he decided not to go. This, after being crucified and all.

Pinoy Syndrome X !! Pagka-Martyr ! Let's put some afterthought on Robin's decision. I wonder how he would cope. Supporting his dad and his dad's ailments was enough burden on his take home pay. Paano na pag me esmi at anak pa sya ? Kesa umangat ang buhay nya at makatulong sa tatay at misis nya... eh parang lalu pa nyang ibinaon ang sarile nya.

I HATE THE FACT THAT THE MOVIE ENDED LIKE THAT. Ano yun ? happily ever after ?? Ano na lang ang iisipin ng taong madla ? Will it naturally resolve to

" OK lang na maghirap masaya naman kami."

WILL SOMEBODY EXPLAIN IT TO ME ? I DON'T GET IT !!! It is encouraging people to think with their elbows. Very disturbing indeed.

Why do we need to settle for things ?? Don't we have enough initiative to change things ? or is it more convinient to leave everything else to fate.

" Ipagpapa-sa diyos ko na lang ang lahat."
" Bahala na ang diyos sa akin."

Hanggang consuelo-de-bobo na lang ba parati ? Hindi ba nasasaad sa bibliya na tulungan mo ang iyong sarile at tutulungan ka ng diyos ( I'm not sure something like that. Forgive me I'm buddhist ).

O sige wag na biblya ! sa Jerry Maguire na lang eh...

"Help me help you."

Let me end my blog entry with the following questions.

"Bakit yung mga mayayaman ba walang kaibigan ?"
"Pag Mayaman ka ba hindi na masaya ?? "

The best thing about Baguio city...

Baguio City (a.k.a. city of pines , summer capital of the Philippines, 6hr drive from manila), the mere mention of its name seems to have a calming effect on me.

Some people prefer leaving manila during night time and sleeps off the 6 hour travel and wake up in the town proper of Baguio. I understand the practicality of this approach. You wake up, settle in and enjoy half of the day ahead. This is best when your doing a short 3 days 2 night trip.

I however, enjoy leaving manila early in the morning (5-6am). It does several things for me being 1. prolongs anticipation 2. builds excitement 3. I get to enjoy my afternoon nap ( I'm not driving obviously ) 4. Holding the hand of my Queen ( universally the most powerful and influencial piece in a man's chessboard ) before dozing off and awaking holding her hand still.

The journey officially begins when you hit the North highway, now known as North luzon express way (NLEX). Before, you can sneak in a couple of 5-10 minutes nap and still find yourself in the North expressway. Now you can just zoom your way thru the lopez-maintained NLEX. Depending on how much you enjoy the 'Fast and the Furious' movie the NLEX phase can possibly be over in under an hour. If you, like me, who somehow hesitates exceeding 120 mph you can finish it in a little over an hour's time.

After the NLEX phase comes the city-to-city town-to-town hopping part. I like the 'I'm-not-in-manila-anymore' feeling that I get when I see the endless stretch of trees along the highway. The 'probinsiya' type houses havin a white dog with a brown patch on his left eye chasing chickens around. Cows and Horses taking their time munching on the greens while they watch all sorts of vehichles zoom by (I think I should try that).

I unconsciously check on the provinces 'general progress' as compared to Manila. I've a simple way of doing so... I count the number and variety of Fastfood chains available ( "LOOK ANOTHER JOLLIBEE !" ). After 4-5 hours of province-progress and fastfood-counting phase we finally arrive at Baguio.

I like the cooler climate and laid back lifestyle vibe that I get when I step off the vehichle. I enjoy early morning walks with my non-pregnant-queen as we build up our breakfast appetite trekking the uneven residential streets. I've been to Baguio city several times. Popular places likes Mines View, Camp John Hay seemed to have lost its charm on me.

But the one true thing that I like about baguio is its not-available-in-manila benguet coffee beans. Ninety percent of the hotels in baguio offers benguet coffee. The 50% Barako beans+ 50% Benguet beans mix equals 100 % pure ecstasy ! It's simply unbeatable its a heavenly combination talaga. Taste bud NIRVANA ! ANG SARAP... Putris ! It really goes well with baguio's cool climate too.

I love the strong cofffee aroma that it gives off. It makes breakfast infinitely better ! Some people might find the 50/50 blend too strong for their taste. I say this to these people "Arte nyo bwiset !".

I haven't really experimented with ratio's like 1/4 barako and 3/4 benguet or 100 % benguet. But so far the 50/50 mix does it for me. I've had coffee's from UCC, Starbucks and Seattle's best even if you perfected the coffee-to-hazelnut (or nutmeg) ratio its still is mediocre coffee to me. Batangas coffee doesn't do if for me... parang me kulang eh (benguet?).

It costed around P120/kilo before. I used to buy 6 kilos of 'baguio coffee (50/50 mix) for pasalubong and 1 kilo bag usually last us a month (7 people/day consumption). One trick my father in law taught me was not to have the beans crushed when you buy them. This should more or less preserve the aroma of the coffee. Just have them grinded in manila. Since barako is abundantly available in manila you can buy pure benguet beans and have it mixed in the market with barako. ( What a great idea !!) Another thing is napping on the way home won't be a problem because of the absence of the strong coffee aroma.

So the next time any of you ( yes the 3 of you who read my blogs !) visits baguio remember to buy Ube Jam. Yum !