wun manong: Alejandro

(Note: here's my very first blog written on my friendster account. Just reposting)

Alejandro is dead!
I have always though that death is a fascinating event. It happens every time, every moment and for me it is the ultimate gauge for short-term change. How death change lives in a second and how it easily turn smiles into grief is an enthralling and intriguing moment. How death brings out the best of true emotions in an individual make me believe that it is significant yet cruel. And so, death is such a fascinating event.
The news about Alejandro being dead provided me a moment to give myself a heavy sigh, that kind of sigh that we do not normally do. I have not heaved a sigh for a long time and thanks to Alejandro for giving me one.
Alejandro was never a friend. Though he belongs to my personal circle, he is one of those people I consider close but a distant one. I could not remember anything significant that we have done together to make me consider him as a friend. He was very distant. I could hardly ask him anything whenever I had questions.
But death is only a word with the blank meaning of a life lost/gone. It is nothing but an indication of a simple loss. Yet it is very mysterious. One moment a man is breathing with life and in split second it is cut and death is around.  Soon enough the music of life fades and the sound of death lurks. Death is such a fascinating and mysterious thing.
He saw me grow up together with my siblings. We used to spend summer days in his place and we would enjoy frolicking in mid afternoon sun. We would play in his garden of mango trees and pineapple patches located in a nearby school. We would climb and harvest fruits of his mangoes and he would be there assisting and instructing us to be careful.
Alejandro is an educator. He knows how to teach people the principles that he knows. He loves reading…especially pocket books. And I know he loves it because he could stand reading a whole paperback on romance and suspense thrillers and could finish one in three days. He is a lover of books and him being an educator, he’s got to be.
Death reminds us of life. It evokes us to value what is beautiful and precious, of what is a dream and reality. Death by any means is all but the destination of mortals and beyond death…..we will never know unless we experience it.
Alejandro too is a war veteran. And that I admire him for.
Alejandro surely knows what is beyond death. He is there. And I know he will always be an educator as I have known him. And perhaps when I too get there, we will be able to revive a friendship that never prospered on earth.

See you when I see you Daddy! And how I wished you finished your essay about your World War II experience. I have with me your unfinished essay…and I will try to bring it with me when I get there.
Alejandro is my grand father. And to all his grandchildren, we ironically call him “Daddy”.
Alejandro is dead. And for him this BLOG was created.

wun manong: whatever happened to friendster

Tired of Facebook? Why not open your Friendster account? And you'll be surprise..really.

Last night, I opened my Friendster account and damn...I have friends that are still hooked up in it. That's really surprising.

More than seeing old friends during that-thing-called Friendster era, opening my Friendster account was a  trip down memory lane..the testis (testimonials) and the old pictures from way back then are still there.

Bit of History. It was founded by Jonathan Abrams in 2002. According to Wikipedia, it was founded to "create a safer, more effective environment for meeting new people by browsing user profiles and connecting to friends, friends of friends and so on, allowing members to expand their network of friends more rapidly than in real life, face-to-face scenarios". Few months after its release, Friendster was a hit. But in 2009, it saw a decline in traffic from ranked 40 to 800 in November of 2010 based on Alexa webtraffic reports.

Before Facebook, most of us had MySpace, Friendster and Multiply. I totally gave up my Friendster in as much as I gave up my Yahoo email address.

Before, Friendster was hit as much as Facebook is today. Add friends, write testimonials, grab pictures and design your own site by putting background music and skins. That was before.

Now, Friendster got a facelift and its green. There are also a lot of new features like shoutouts reformatted, games, treasure chest and more. But really, you'll note, its really not something new..Facebook has it.

One thing I hate about Friendster, there's just too many nude pictures out there that I think it has turned into a soft-core porn-social networking site.

Friendster is still popular in most Asian countries and it is interesting to note  that the Philippines is one of the top users.

I last logged-in to my friendster roughly two years ago. Why I gave it up? Maybe it was due to Friendster fatigue. I just gave it up. I just don't like it anymore. It was a case of i'll-open-it-once-i'm-into-it-agan. But Facebook came, better, more user friendly and it has more features like interactive and level-up games. So I left my friendster behind.

Friendster is where I have posted my first-ever blog..and I'm reposting it.

Check out my friendster account at

wun manong: 'Real men do not buy girls'

On Christmas eve, after the tedious preparation of my vegetable pica-pica for noche buena, I was busy with the TV remote control and accidentally chanced upon a show on CNN awarding this year's CNN Hero of the Year. 

Last year’s edition was a highly publicized event on Philippine media as last year's hero was a Filipino, Efren Peñaflorida, a ‘pushcart education’ innovator who brought education closer to the underprivileged children in the Philippines. With his Dynamic Teen Company, the organization reaches out to the out-of-school youth through pushcart classrooms complete with books and other educational materials. His innovation has prompted the Philippine government to replicate the model classroom to different regions of the country.

This year,CNN honored ordinary individuals with various causes that has changed a landscape in the world - from feeding the hungry, building bridges, medical assistance, empowering women, building houses, education and even weight loss. These heroes are everyday people working to change the world and this year's Top Ten Heroes are:

Guadalupe Arizpe De La Vega (Mexico) -providing quality health-care to the dangerous city of Juarez, Mexico with a hospital she established;

"Our hospital has not been touched. Our doctors have not been kidnapped. This is a miracle of God, believe me"

Susan Burton (USA) -giving ex-convicts a new chance to live;

"Every time I was released, I swore I wasn't going back. But I know now that without the resources and support, it's next to impossible. ... If you don't have a new door to walk through, the only thing is the old door."

Linda Fondren (USA) - helping shape up a city in the fattest state of the Unites States of America;

"People want to do good, but they need help" 

Anuradha Koirala (Nepal) -rescuing girls slavery and human trafficking;

"Families are tricked all the time. The trafficking of the girls is done by people who are basically known to the girls, who can lure them from the village by telling them they are getting a nice job. It's a lucrative business."

Narayanan Krishnan (India) - serves good food to India's most destitute;

"I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food. It really hurt me so much. I was literally shocked for a second. After that, I started feeding that man and decided this is what I should do the rest of my lifetime."

Magnus Macfarlane-Barrow (Scotland) - launched Mary's Meals that provides meals for school children in Bosnia;

"We began saying 'Wouldn't it be wonderful if we could just do one small thing to help?'

Harmon Parker (Kenya) - building bridges for a safer Kenya;

"I've worked all over Kenya. And every community [has] a story of ... loved ones lost."

Aki Ra (Cambodia) - detonating landmines to save lives
"I maybe planted 4,000 to 5,000 land mines in a [single] month. We planted them all over the place."

Evans Wadongo (Kenya) - inventing an improvised lamps to light up lives and lift families out of poverty

"I couldn't compete effectively with other kids who had access to lighting. In every home in the village it was the same. Many children drop out of school for these reasons ... so they remain poor for the rest of their life. All along I was asking myself if there is anything that can be done to improve this situation."

Dan Wallrath (USA) - give free housing to war veterans with his project "Operation Finally Home" 
"It was like someone hit me upside the head with a 2x4. ... I just felt like this is what God wants me to do."

This year's honor was given to Nepali Anuradha Koirala. When her name was called, I felt magic when the presentor put her golden trophy in a box and it turned black. Amazing. And that's how a Hero was proclaimed.

In her speech, she encouraged everyone to help fight human trafficking. And most notably, Demi Morre who presented her during the show said...'real men do not buy girls'. And it felt like that was the call of the night.All stories were too inspiring that after the show, I asked myself "what can I do for the world". And I remember vividly, I may have said it to my wife...'someday, I'll make a difference with my blog'.

foodtrip buddy: Vegetable Pica-pica

Part of my 2010 new year's resolution was to cook a new dish. And I am proud of this to have discovered a new dish that we serve in our coffeeshop. Customers liked the dish and i'm going to keep it as a secret recipe. I called it Tomato-Basil Penne.

I like experimenting on food. There's a different high when you try out something new and that your never sure of how its going to turn out. My mantra on cooking "combine the edibles and your food is going to be edible". I don't care how it tastes for as long as its eatable.

Some dishes I've tried experimenting before was a simple pinakbet with pandesal, scrambled egg with oregano and basil, stir-fried rice with just about any leftover food on the fridge and at one time, and tuna-rambet.

For the holiday, I wanted something healthy and different, so it made vegetable pica-pica with a choice of cream-milk dip, chocolate dip and out-of-the grocery store dip.

Here's how to do it.
Cut cucumber, carrots and apple into julienne strips
Wrap it in lettuce and seal with a toothpick

For the dip
a. cream-milk, this was the left over stock when my sister-in-law made her fruit salad with chocolate bits  (just mix your cream and condensed milk)
b. chocolate dip - buy chocolate syrup ion the grocery store
c. buy any dressing you want, from Ceasar's to Thousand Island

So there!!! Dip and eat....

Fruit salad with chocolate bits by Lorraine Sy

Vegetable pica-pica

The dips: chocolate dip, ceasar's dressing (orange-colored) and the cream-milk (right-side and partially cut)

And there!!! Me and our buffet table for Christmas 2010.

My Sy family

photography: scavenger

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure!!! Scavenger is a term referring to people who rummage on trashes and garbage before it is collected by the garbage collection truck. These are nocturnal people who pick anything from tin cans to P.E.T bottles, used clothes and sometimes leftover food. Scavenging is a job for the whole family, from children to elderly, male or female and anywhere urbanized, you'll get to see scavengers every night. And they never miss a shift.

Note: Picture was taken a few nights before Christmas along Lopez Ave., Los Banos, Laguna with the use of a cellphone camera.

wun manong: christmas carolling

Two days to go... and we'll have the biggest day of the year, Christmas day!!!!

I was out of the house on my way to our coffeeshop for our Christmas party celebration together with our business partner and our staff. Of course there are gifts and yes we will have that 'bunutan' tradition later.

On my way out of the house, there was a group of old ladies, around six or seven of them, singing christmas songs, hopping house to house and yes, asking for something in return. You've probably guessed what they're doing already...Yes, CAROLLING.
The last time I participated in a carolling session was around 9 years ago. I was with my co-applicants for an academic organization in the University of the Philippines-Los Baños. We did it for a fund-raising campaign. And true enough, carolling is one decent way of raising funds to cover for christmas activities during the Christmas season.

wun manong: christmas and that thing called 'bunutan'

Its three days before Christmas!!! And yes, everyone is probably done with Christmas shopping or at least halfway done buying the gifts for friends, families and everyone else.

And just when you thought that the shopping is over, there will come another instance to buy gifts.

On my way home today, I decided let my feet follow the heart and mind.  My feet says, it wanted to go straight home while my heart and mind said, let's drop by the mall and window shop. So I did! 

I wanted to challenge myself.

Last night my sister prepared the list of names for our family kris kringle or bunutan. All of us knows that this is a Philippine tradition of gift giving wherein names are put in a box and everyone gets to pick the name of the person who they must give a gift which we call 'monito' or 'monita'. Then you set-up the minimum amount for the value of the gift.

This way, everyone gets a gift, whether you like the one you've picked or not. Oftentimes, it serves a venue to repair disparities among friends and colleagues.

We've decided on the value..Php75.00 or roughly $1.50 in value. Its cheap yes, everyone can afford the price even our house help.  But the challenge comes into finding a good gift for a cheap price.

I'd say 'good' gift because for us Filipinos, we do not just give our gift just because we like it. The gift we give oftentimes determine how well we know the person. You will be more inclined to giving what he/she likes other what you want to give.

So, I had to challenge myself. Seventy-five pesos, and I have to pick a gift for my mom (I picked her name). That's tough. For someone special and dear, finding a suitable gift for $1.50 is definitely tough.

Just so you know, a t-shirt or a blouse cost Php99.00 minimum or if you have chance to go to Divisoria or tsangges, you'll find some at cheaper price.

Now I know why my heart led me to SM Southmall. I have to find a gift. Initially, I decided on something I can buy from National Bookstore, and the most that I had was a rosary for less than a hundred. Delete option.

Then I had to check out the department store. I checked the kitchenware section..drinking glasses, those damn drinking glasses in boxes of four or six. No, its not an option.

Then to the section where you get to see pillows in different colors, designs and shape. There was one I liked that said "Hug a MAROON for Intimacy". I know you'd guess the color of the pillow.

But I know there's a better gift out there for my mother. I passed by a Watsons shop and I saw a 'buy 1 take 1' offer for a body scrub. That is reserved for someone else. Then there's a body vanity kit sold at Php175.00 for 2 pieces (body lotion and shower creme). I was tempted to buy it. The body lotion goes out to my mother, and the shower creme, I'll offer it to my wife so she has something to give for her monito. Now I had an option.

I was in the mood to shop further, so I walked..and walked...and walked until I reached the activity area and there was a ventriloquist with his puppet performing. I hate puppets, they're like evil creatures to me. So I had to go and continue my shopping.

Then I saw the bags. There were bags made of flour sack with nice prints for Php129.00. Expensive eh! But then there's the second option.

In Los Baños, Laguna, where I take residence, there is a municipal ordinance  banning the use of plastics. Maybe, this is a good gift. Its like paying it forward and that other may follow. Its an option.

Two prospects and countless shops visited, I decided to head home. Not quite happy that I did not get to buy something, because its just going to be hassle if we do last minute shopping, I was contented that at least I gave my heart and mind the chance to lead over the feet. Now, finally, its the feet's turn to be followed.

wun manong: Joulupukki is Santa Claus

I wanted to write something about Santa Claus, counting four days before Christmas. I am not an avid fan of Santa Clauses, nor is he the ultimate symbol of my Christmases. I’d rather look at beautiful Christmas trees, big or small, and wonder on its enchanting glitters and how an ordinary tree is dressed up to be my ultimate sign of Christmas.

But this ain’t about Christmas trees; again, this is about Santa Clauses, yes that burly white-haired old man in red overall suit that carries a knapsack of gift for the nice children.

As a young boy, together with my siblings, we use to hang socks on our walls and we would wake up and our socks full of goodies. I remember it vaguely, It was a magical feeling I guess…until I found out that what we have in our socks were the same goodies sold at my lola’s (grandmother) sari-sari store.

So there, all that childhood yearning for a Santa Claus went pfftt, and I think I was seven years-old then.

Many of us are particularly aware of the Roman Catholic and Christian traditions of Santa Claus, from Saint Nicholas (which originated in Dutch as  Sint Nikolaas or Sinterklaas) to the Hagios Nikolaos of the Greek, who, as the Bishop of Myra (present day Turkey) gave donations in gold coins anonymously and was believed to have started the Christmas tradition of gift giving.

Santa Claus (United States and Canada) comes in many different names: Shengdan Laoren (China), Father Christmas (England), Pere Noel (France), Christindl (Germany), Papai Noel (Brazil and Peru), Babbo Natale (Italy), Black Peter (Morocco), Jultomten (Sweden), Pa Norsk (Norwegian) and many others most notably Joulupukki in Finland.

Joulupukki is a pagan tradition in Finland wherein people dress up in goat skin and horns to ward off evil spirits. It is the santa demanding gifts from people, an ugly creature that dances and scares off children.

Again. There! It’s Santa Claus but there are many names and version off it.  And its very intruiging that most of what we have in the present takes root from pagan traditions that aren’t as pleasant as they are today. And that Santa Claus was also part of the changing times.


Credits from:
http://www.lone-star.net/mall/main-areas/santafaq.htm
and many more countless links in the web.. hwew!!!

WordPlay: Schadenfreude

A blogger should have an excellent understanding of words or at least should have a wide array of vocabulary outside the usual antonym and synonym list of a thesaurus. 

I, being a self-confessed blogger, think that blogging gives me the leeway to extract creative juices out of my limited word bank. Simply put, it’s that “putting-words-together-and-having-your-own-made-up-idiom” thing.

I’m starting this thing called WordPlay for this blog. It’s going to be an annotation of totally new words and we’ll discover what it meant and how it came to be.

To kick-off wordplay, we’re starting with “schadenfreude”. I was browsing through some blog advertising sites and was instructed to use the sentence “Why have bread when you can have a schadenfreude”.

So what’s schadenfreude anyway? Wikipedia defines it as “pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others”. It’s a German word Schaden (adversity, harm) and Freude (joy). This is synonymous to the English expression “roman holiday” derived from the ancient gladiator era where Romans finds pleasure watching the gladiators splurge in blood and pain.

Why have bread when you can have schadenfreude? This to me sounds like a sadistic impression. Why do it the good way when its better off done worst? It’s like saying that one can find happiness in pain.

Or may be, it’s a funny off-the-street lingo. Why stick with your wife, when you can cheat on her and not be caught? 

We’ll schadenfeude is a state of mind. It’s that feel good moment not brought by a happy state of mind but by some devilish and gory thoughts.

So why have bread when you can have schadenfreude? C’mon, would you choose it? Your call!!

Blog advertising store

I’ve been blogging for more than a year now and I can honestly and humbly say that I am still a neophyte into this spot of the cyber world. Yup, I know a number of people who have made a fortune out of blogging. 

I’m inspired mostly by a neighbor-friend who never got to finish formal education but earn sizeable amounts by industry standards. I work in a call center company but I know he earns more.

Also a college friend who now works as an instructor sidelines through blogging and earns modestly aside from her minimum wages.

Then there is a friend-teammate from the call center I work for. Her sister is based in US and earns quite well with her blog site www.ruthrush.blogspot.com. She’s been very kind to giving tips on how to better improve my blogging experience, from doing back links to broadening the scope of the blog.

At one time she mentioned about checking out a site for blog advertisers. And so I did just today and discovered this blog advertising store website. I signed up. And I’ll check how far this will take me.

On topp of that, there are also useful links you can use to jumpstart a  blogging career.

It’s quite easy to navigate, not like most online job sites, the wording are easy to comprehend and the instructions are easy to understand. In less than 20 minutes, I was able to create my account.

You can check it out too and let’s see where blog advertising store will take us.

photography: hold tight

You're life has just began. Hold on tight, coz its going to be one hellava roller coaster ride. Be ready to brace your adventure of a lifetime. (Photo by: Karen Joyce Prejillano)

photography: Conscience

This picture was taken a few months back during the garden wedding of a friend - Leandro. It was a private wedding attended by almost a hundred people, mostly their relatives and friends.

This was my first time to ever witness a garden wedding or maybe a "resort" wedding because it was mainly set-up in a resort, with the pool only a couple of meters away from the ceremony area.

I found the set-up very cool. By cool, I mean serene, romantic and quite simple.

While its a tradition for grooms to wear Barong with white undershirts on their wedding day, as much as brides wear wedding gowns, I found it amusing to read the word "conscience" printed to the grooms undershirt.

I could'nt stop myself from thinking. She's pregnant at the time of the wedding. Could it be? Or maybe it was just nothing for the guy. But in any case, the wedding is not about the shirt not the gown nor the garden. I still believe, the wedding was about the sacrament.

wun manong: The Poorest Nation in the World 2010

I was browsing the internet when I chanced upon a link for the 20 Poorest Nation in the World. I could not resist the temptation to click on the link because I wanted to see if the Philippines is ranked among then.

And so as ranked:

#20 - Republic of Haiti

#19 – Burkina Faso

#18 – Federal Republic of Nepal

#17 – Republic of Uganda

#16 – Republic of Mali

#15 – Republic of Rwanda

#14 – Republic of Guinea

#13 – Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

#12 – Republic of Mozambique

#11 – Republic of Madagascar

#10 – Republic of Malawi

#9 – Togolese Republic (Togo)

#8 – Republic of Sierra Leone

#7 – Central African Republic

#6 – Republic of Niger

#5 – State of Eritrea

#4 – Republic of Liberia

#3 – Republic of Burundi

#2 – Republic of Zimbabwe

#1 – Democratic Republic of Congo

I know you’ll ask!! heho

This was based on the annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the country. Wikipidea would define GDP as “the amount of goods and services produced in a year, in a country. It is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a country in a year”.

In a layman’s term, I would say GDP is the annual average income of a country based on its total production and the value of its products. To give a clearer picture as to how GDP is used as basis for economic growth, it is better to look into the micro level - on a per individual basis.

This means GDP is the $XXX income of an individual per year. Thus, GDP is affected by population and natural resources, and I may add, how a country uses its resources to provide income to its people.

Republic of Congo has a GDP of $332 while the Philippines has $3,300. It may seem like we're far from being the poorest and sure we're also behind from at least being the richest, let alone in Asia, where the Philippines is ranked 16th richest and 124th among all countries.

In contrary, here’s the link for the most productive nations of the world by Wall Street.

photography: dead meat!!!

Learn to sacrifice. Giving your life for others is the most worthy thing you'll ever do in your lifetime. (Photo by: Radikus)


Photo was originally publishe d at http://www.radikus.wordpress.com/. Click here to see original post.

In search of "the" pet dog

My wife and I have been strongly considering getting and owning a pet this past few months. It was my idea to get one for ourselves since our other dog, Sushi, a mixed breed Labrador, is all grown up. He's turning three-years old this December 12.

I got the idea of having a toy dog because I envy those pet owners and enthusiasts who take their dogs for a walk and carry them to grocery stores. Aside from those petty reasons, I wanted a toy dog because I wanted to get a baby for the house. We've been married for three years now and having a baby proved too elusive just yet.

I wanted a baby and I want to invest on something that she's going to care and value for, something that could give a life to a home - just like any baby does.

I wanted a Siamese cat. There was a local pet owner selling her kittens for Php 1,500.00 (roughly $33 value).

She didn't like the idea.

So we settled for a dog. I initially wanted a pug. 

But my research showed that pug is a bearer of my worst nightmare for a dog-shedding too much hair. I also got to discover that the longer a dog hair grows, the lesser shedding you will get.

She fell in love with the Maltese.

But we couldn't find a local breeder/seller. I checked online shops and the price is not fit for our limited budget. So we zeroed-in with our next choice - Shih Tzu.

Shih Tzus are toy dogs and has long coats and wooly under coats. Also, this type of dog is considered hypoallergenic and is one of the dog breeds that sheds the least hair.

Owning a pet is a big responsibility, parenting one is another issue. We're still considering our options and we're still checking if we are psychologically prepared for this. We are just sure on one thing, we've developed our interest on dogs and we'll never be psychologically prepared until we have our own Shih Tzu.

If its a male, we'll call him Sacchio, if female ...i'll let her decide on it.

photography: Dirty fingers

May 10, 2010. Like most Filipinos who exercised their right of suffrage, we waited until our vote was cast and went home with dirty fingers. But its alright. Really nothing much to say. Its four dirty fingers out of the millions tinted last May 10, 2010.

(note: this phota wa originally posted in www.radikus.wordpress.com )

photography: Safe in her arms

This is one of the many pictures I have taken which I am proud of. Yes, I’m proud of it and yes its self-indulgent. This is a picture of my wife carrying her baby nephew when she was around six months old. She’s almost two years old now.
I like the honesty of the picture and the soothing beauty of the moment. Its the innocence of the child and the hearty caring for a child that makes this picture one that I’m proudest of.

wun manong: The father that never was...

I'm writing this because I feel that I want to and partly because I need to. After all, I'm part of the family as well.

I first saw him April 2003 at Lorenz's graduation party. We were briefly introduced then I had to join the group of fellow students to celebrate. We had beer, music, stories and laughter.We had fun.

I had mistaken him for being a chemist by profession because he seem to know so much about the chemical industry. I was not impressed though. He was just some ordinary guy, someone you'll probably bump into and forget after.

And that was all that I have of him.

Back then, 7 years ago, Lorenz was a friend. She was in a relationship to a guy named Christopher. I remember meeting her sisters (Lea, Lalaine, Lorraine), mother (Salome) and lola Soledad (who they endearingly call as nanay). That time, I was clueless of what their family was like. I just knew that he is Lorenz's father, and his name is William.

After that night, I never got to meet him again. Or maybe, if my memory serves me right, we were again introduced, a few months after. He had to meet his children at a local mall. Maybe I said "musta po?" or maybe I didn't. Perhaps I just smiled and probably we didn't shake hands.

That was how I had him, faceless and just someone you meet and forget after, unless he's someone close to people that are dear to you.

Still I was clueless why he had to meet his children out and not in their house.

Days, nights, weeks and years passed, the sun shone and storms came. I never heard of him again.

Lea grew up to be a fine young lady. Lalaine and Lorraine are now a successful career women, working as supervisors in their chosen fields and they are happy being that way. Lorraine is married and Lalaine is a single mom. 

As for Salome, she's probably the proudest mother in the world. For seven years, she labored hard to support her family on her own. She had to send them to school and disciplined them to be strong willed people. She reared her children not by word but by example. She is a superwoman.

Within the span of seven years, I came to know that theirs is a family broken by infidelity. William lived with his other woman and their relationship produced another sibling, Lyka.

Years passed and storms came. Lorenz has since broken-up with Christopher. She worked for private companies and now has her own business. She is married coincidentally to Kristoffer, me!

Quite a number of months back, William paid a visit in Los Baños. He brought with him Lyka. He saw Lea. But the meeting was not as ideal as people would consider. He aged so much that Lea didn't recognize him. It was not a happy moment though. It was a surprise and unwelcomed visit. 

He left Los Baños, and that was the last he'll set his foot there.

I remember asking my wife Lorenz, "Pano pag-nabalitaan niyong patay na siya, anu gagawin niyo". Her answer was uncertain. But she said "tatay pa rin naman namin siya".

And then the real news came. Monday, October 11, 2010. He died of cardio-respiratory complications.

Upon getting the news, the family decided to visit his remains. There they had known that the other woman left him for another man and that Lyka was left to his care. (Maybe it was karma, may be not). They also learned that he never let anyone know of his visit in Los Baños, and that he cried when Lea didn't recognize him.

I tried guaging his degree of "fatherness" to his children by asking, "meron ba kayong naalala na one "special" happy moment with your father na pwede niyong masabi na naging tatay niyo siya?"

The answer was a commanding wala (none).

The answer did not come as a surprise. From Salome's story he was never supportive on the formative years of their children. The fact of knowing that he left them for a different woman had impacted the consciousness of their children. And probably the greatest factor that led to their apathetic response was the fact that he was never there. That he was the father that never was.

Lalaine, probably, holds the heaviest grudge of the sisters and she's very vocal about it. She wanted him to live long and live the hard life. She wanted him to suffer the consequence of his actions.But Lalaine knows that all the pain must go before he is laid to rest. And she has that time, until tonight.

Being that William's family is poor, his relatives couldn't pay the hospital bills to take him out off the morgue. They needed assistance, and it was the first family who aided help. I remember them saying "kami na nga ang iniwan, hanggang sa kamatayan, kami pa rin ba ang gagastos? Ok lang gumastos basta para sa taong mahal mo. Pero sa kanya, mahirap." I couldn't blame them for saying it. I understand, for had it been me, it could have been worst.

Society may not understand or may be hard at understanding the way they think about their father. I guess it takes one to know one, or maybe, immersion is key. I lived with them, and I only knew much about their lives. And if immersion is a key, then it gives me credit.

As the saying goes " live life to its fullest, life is too short to be wasted. Live a life in error while you're still young, for you have your whole life to correct it." But what if time was short and did not live you're life to its limit? What if you lived your life in error and never lived the day to correct it?

William had the latter part.  He may have lived the life he wanted, but surely did live life to its fullest. It was a life in error and he didn't live to correct it. I just want to wish him well. This is his past life, and I hope he gets to correct things if given a chance for a new life.

from the back seat: Ploning-two years after

When it comes to movies, I admit, I'm outdated. Outdated in a sense that I would rather watch movies years after its release in theaters, I don't watch on its premiere night or during its week-long, or sometimes extended runs in cinemas. Last movie I watched in a sinehan is Astroboy, and those who knew me well would understand. Reason: I prefer watching classics than just flicks.

I'm outdated because I find pleasure in scavenging for old, worn-out and used VCDs in video stores like Video City. There's this fulfilled feeling when you get to buy a CD of a movie you wanted to watch in cinemas but just didn't because of reason I've stated above. So far, I've got a few: Kubrador, American Splendor (voted as one of the top 10 greatest movies of the decade by a movie critic), The West Side Story (1961 Oscar Awards Best Picture), Wall-E, Penguin Penguin Paano Ka Ginawa, and some other local indie films and one foreign indie Kitchen Party. For the purpose of this blog, I'll cover one movie from my "collection", Ploning.

I got the copy about 6 months ago. Quite a number of instances, I attempted to watch it. But I had to cut it because I was not in the mood. So I thought maybe, how you enjoy movies is dependent on your state of mind. If you're too tired, you may not enjoy movies that need mental activity and would prefer rather the light, heartwarming and visually exciting types like romantic comedies and love stories. Also, movie appreciation depends on who you watch it with. If you are with a group, depending on the time of day, you may enjoy horror flicks, especially Asian horrors like Grudge, The Maid (starring Alessandra de Rossi) and my all time favorite Shutter. 

Again there are many other ways to enjoy a movie. And two days ago, I found the time to finally finish Ploning which casts Judy Ann Santos and was the Philippine entry to the Oscars in 2008. Much have been publicized about this movie and there are a bounty of film reviews in the internet. And this is how Radikus saw it:

In a nutshell: its the story of a man/young boy named Digo who found innocent love to Ploning. Ploning, on the other hand, is a woman who lost her love and chose to keep the pain hidden inside her heart. She's mysterious in a way that people in her community knows her as Ploning and nothing else. 

There are a number of twists in the movie: the revelation why she showed no affection to her father and why she chose to wear a white dress in his father's funeral, why she likes killing time in a cemetery, why she dearly adores the little boy Digo, and how is it that she is a friend to everyone but never a friend by anyone. Huh!!!??!

In the end, there was just one answer to all the questions - LOVE. She loved her father dearly that she had to wear the white dress he requested her to wear on his funeral, even if its was seen as taboo to her community. She finds solace in the quietness of a cemetery to connect to her dead lover, Thomas (whose death was kept secret to the islanders) and how she endearingly loves Digo who was born the day Thomas died.

Shot entirely in the island of Cuyo, Palawan, the movie succeeds in transporting its audience into a reverie where life is rural, laid-back, very provincial and very Filipino. The movie making style, alternating the past (Ploning and Digo as a boy) and the present (Digo, all grown-up and searching for Ploning) may confuse viewers but its all there for a purpose-to show how it is to amke a great movie and a well thought plan. The settings, cinematography and even the sounds and music combined too well and blended so great that you'll feel like you're in Cuyo. There's the eerie feeling of nostalgic sadness that I ended up teary-eyed long after all those unsung names have gone up my TV screen.

I've noticed that everytime I finish watching a movie, I say one of these three expressions:

Tapos na? Yun na yun?

Walang kwenta....

Tang ina, ang ganda....

For Ploning, I remember uttering to myself, "tang ina, ang ganda....its a classic". And I'm happy that I lived a day to see one golden moment in Philippine movies.

Also, this is Judy Ann Santos' most notable performance yet, no "gripos" of tears, no fancy acting, just pure emotions and character. Now, she's an actress and I'd compare this performance to Maricel Soriano's Inang Yaya


picture attribute taken here