Thanks to Mama! She let me have my left-handedness. Now, im in the same league of the great lefties—Einstein, Isaac Newton, Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Jack the Ripper, Leonardo Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Pablo Picasso, Beethoven, Jimi Hendrix, and Manny Pacquiao.

Just because Jesus sat at the "right" hand of God, lefties, like me, are branded "freaks, evil, weirdos, deviants, non-conformists". Rebels are in fact called ang kaliwa or the Left. Even cheating your girlfriend/boyfriend is called pangangaliwa.

Ouch for us left-handed! But time has changed and you see more of us now. More parents are accepting us normal now, but some still force their children to write right.

So, mangaliwa muna tayo! Right is not always right, the left could also be right—just look at the great men.   

"Puti na ako!"

everyone seem to be saying that. while Americans go gaga on skin-tanning, we, Filipinos, go loka on whitening (Dove campaign must have not effected much).

more Filipinos spend more on cosmetics nowadays. in fact, family expenditure on "personal care and effect" soared from 3.6 last 2000 to 3.9 on 2003. from 1988-97, it just averaged at 3.3. MET Tathione even ran out of stocks. TAKE THAT!

there are even more cosmetic stores like Watson in the city. well, i don't know the sales of umbrellas and sunscreen, but certainly there are more metrosexuals now.

only 3 basics plunged among top 10 expenses, of which... personal care and effect ranked #6. one is housing and rent. dwelling units just became cheaper. thanks to weaker dollar currency and U.S. housing bubble.

two and three are...TADAHHH!......food (43.6 to 43.1) and education (4.2 to 4.0). 

trimming food and education is somehow understandable because they are more expensive, but trading them for more least-needed stuff is incomprehensible! well, I could, in some way, maybe...if only you are Tessa Prieto-Valdes.

hahay....conspicuous vanity!


I'm glad i have never MET!

yes! i am a worrier and i know ALL PEOPLE, including myself, hate worriers.

worriers are pessimists. they think of nothing positive. bad vibes kaayo! the obsessive compulsives, the hypochondriacs, critics and political oppositions are the popular. aarrgghh we just hate them so much--i hate myself so much (as they say, people hate their own kind).

well... i am not their own kind. i am not a worrier, i am a planner...a development planner. planners are the "big-picture" guys. they think ALL possible consequences , starting from the "bad ones". they are the "generalists". they embrace everything to be wholistic and comprehensive. nothing gets left out, as possible. even the tiniest detail is "overly" studied. planners are mini-Gods, not demi-gods who know everything! they just see things in a bird's eye view.

planners are not worrier, just "problem solvers". they are not pessimists. in fact, they first think of the good ones. they are not "overcritical", just learners who dont want to commit the same old mistakes again.

yes! i am a "worrier". a good worrier! and i hate my own kind, the "lost command" of our kind. i am no evil, just a devil's advocate.

so, if you hate me, bad vibes ka! bwahahaha

It is really agonizing to be single.

Ok! You are absolutely disagreeing now.

Well, congratulations! You just survived the pain, but you probably never figured out why.

“I do not look good” was/could be your quick answer. Ye! We all are self-loathers, but undeniably you still wonder(ed) being single even if you look f**king good. You are clueless then started blaming the rise of more gay men—Hoorah! It is!

But, partially.

Even if there are 10% gay and 5% lesbian, there is still fair sex ratio because our region (Southern Mindanao, if you forgot) allots 1.02 guy every female within the “active flirt range” (age 15-39).

The cold truth is…the fair sex ratio is not at all fair.

Yes! ONLY ONE GUY FOR YOU TO CHOOSE. One is not even a choice.

Though you can potentially take one (assigned) guy from any fellow female, you would unlikely do it because it is theft. You can, at most, agree for a switch, but that would be another story.

The colder truth is…death rate is higher among men because most men are involved in reckless driving, violent conflicts and risky works. In fact, accidents of all forms are top 2 causes of morbidity in the region. This “testosterone incident” clearly implies itself in Cotabato City, one of the country’s most unsafe cities, where females dominate the city (N.S.O.). This cold truth then leaves you, girls, lesser men to choose (steal or switch for).

The coldest truth is…there are lesser literate men, which, of course, is one of your grand qualifications. This further explains why there are “mismatched or milk-and-coffee couples”.

The subtraction would go on, as more women became more educated and set the qualifications higher.

Time has truly inverted the tide. There are lesser eligible male for you, girls.

O well, if you have indeed moved on from the pain of being single (and the economics of it), attribute your friendster status to the 2 straight leap years, where it is funnily believed women will have to court men.

And yes, men are no longer from Mars. We are on Venus, now hehe

I believe I can see the future coz I repeat the same routine. I think I used to have a purpose, then again, that might been a dream. I think I used to have a voice, now I never make a sound. I just do what I've been told. I really don't want end to come around.

Everyday is exactly the same.


Maybe I am Trent Reznor, then again, it might (also) been a dream. This song really struck me again after watching Wanted that I played it and it played in me repeatedly. It struck me again of what life could really be. Could Trent be true in his piece in Right Where It Belong: What if all the world you think/used to know is an elaborate dream? He could be! But as for Greta, stop rationalizing life; change and do things if it will be good for you. Simple philosophy, right? Indeed! So, call me Trent then on :)

I am for high oil price!

it encourages walking and biking;
it forces people to live downtown or the urban center;
it leaves our farms and rural lands from housing subdivisions and sprawls--spreading of  
    settlements to the fringes/sitio/bukid from the center;
it renews and revives downtowns;
it encourages more efficient use of urban land;
it trims spending (i mean the wasteful conspicuous spendings!);
it discourages BIG car buyers;

it is all good! so, why fret?

and ye! how could airlines made to keep their tickets cheaper today when they definitely fly on oil? why cant most sellers also do such?

o well, i am for high price....also of rice :)

The Romans and the Greeks were all dead while the Church, military, monarchs, Chinese business, indigenous communities are still alive. The former were democracy pioneers. The latter are hierarchal.

The lifespan tells us outright: democracy my ass!

Yet, why are we still on democracy―on participatory process?

Maybe because of the Americans. But they too are un-democratic because their voting system―democracy's core foundation―has long been dirty (since late 1800s, to be exact). O well, they just happen to be good at marketing and public relations that they sold democracy at a good stake.

Democracy is democrazy unless good leaders and good followers thrive in.

Happy independence day! Real celebration of it, anyway, is the enduring patriotism.

and I hope Sulu abductors will free Ces Drilon.

Hobbes believed man is naturally good, while Locke said otherwise. I say, Hobbes is right. Everything we choose to say and do are damn good. Either we perceive someone's word or action as bad, it still remains to be good--good for who made the word and action.

hey! we choose things because we think they are good and they make us feel good. choice makes us and being man is inarguably good.

good or bad? hell or heaven? well, im not pulling a trigger here. im for peace and restored relationship :)

customer: day, kape (coffee please)
tindera: tag PhP10 na ra ba. (it already costs PhP10)
customer: di ba, tag PhP8 ra na? (wasnt it PhP8 then?)
tindera: nimahal naman gud ang gasolina (oil price already increased)
customer: ah, ayaw na lang butanggi gasolina! (ah, dont mix my coffee, then, with oil)

comedy does follow harsh times, especially for Filipinos.

and i think, it is becoming a classic comedy of the time. what is funnier is the paternal twin of expensive needs and cheaper wants. at the rise of oil, rice and power, there is an exodus of midnight sales, budget flights, cheap offers and stable luxury lines.

the funniest part, though, is people are busy joggling their money for the cheap tricks, and not the basic kicks.

"there really is no relief in sight," an oil company executive claimed on rising oil prices.
well, that goes too for other goods, given our government [sigh].

so, who else's shoulder should we cry on during harsh times? Pacquiao, Carrie Bradshaw, Big Brother, Eric(sson) and Moto(rola), Gucci Gang, Google, ...........?

definitely YES! because hard times require entertainment to lighten up the day, but Pacquiao's lethal combination of shuffled footwork against Diaz will not solve hunger.

harsh times require creative twists. for one, walking, just like Baguio City who plans for a 6 carless days. as for another joke goes:

babae: nong! sakay ko!
drivr: cge! asa man ka?
bbae: diha lang sa kanto! naay bayad ang bata?
drivr: ay libre lang kay duol man.
bbae: ah, ang mosabak naay bayad?
drivr: wala gihapon!
bbae: cge nak! sabaka ko...

Another bunso in the family. What is worst, magkasunod ang birthday nila ni Mae An. Product: another makulit, malambing, bubbly daughter. Despite of the relative similarity with Mae An, Fran is wonderfully different.

E-X-C-E-S-S-I-V-E H-A-P-P-I-N-E-S-S really defined him (este! si Air pala yun) her. A good jolly spirit is printed all over her even when she frowns [check photo] :)

She is not only a happy person, but happy-contagious. If you are one of those life pessimists, befriend her and youd have a quick fix and surprisingly be one of those early happy converts. swear!

Fran also is a good writer. (Inquirer) youngblooder gud. So, you are certainly ensured of a good conversation.

Nak, keep your happiness up lalo na Chismis Instructor ka na. ay! Clinical Instructor pala.

Happy Birthday, Fran

our economics teacher (if you remember 1) taught us, low supply and high demand push price up. same true outside the classroom.

though only few (maybe, 1%) rally in the street, most of us certainly share similar cursing—be it restrained or harsh—when prices go up. the other one percenters just snob the rise and feed the luxury industry.

hayyy...naku. curse yourself, stupids! WE, the buyers, push price up.

we outnumber our regular scapegoats: the sellers, producers and "index speculators" (almost synonymous to hoarders, dear). we cause supply (of oil, rice, energy, blah blah) to be low and demand high.

so, please stop ranting. cut your spending. we already have enough of expensive Senate debates. tax cuts are just too impossible and ineffective to lower prices. snob the excess buying and smile...just like the other one percenters.  

Sporty Spice. Roxy or Luan's sis. Bakal Girl (check her ankle, not her dents). Cesar's GFF...talaga!. Well, we, the La Familia, fondly call her  bunso.

She is!

a bunso that most of us often love no matter  how misbehaving—malambing, makulit,  bubbly.

but it is her humility and frankness that drew me to her. wala talagang hassle kausap, as in.

La Familia is so proud of you becoming the  kahera, palengkera, kargadora at iba pa. We always are here. Kapamilya gud (check our singkit eyes. di ba pareho?)!

A family that stays together, taste-tests together hehehe

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MAE!  ipaglaban ang kabadingan

Dr. 1: "Michael, you have negative typhoid."
Me: "akala ko, doc, meron akong typhoid?" [Dr. 1 looks to her assistant]
Dr. 2: "....chart (pala).. of other patient....basa ko."

WHAT THE PUTA!!!!!???

i almost wanted to jump off my bed and drag the doctor down to the floor. For God sake! are we really left with 4th-rate medical professionals here? Dr. 2 even cannot engage into eye contact and unhastily attend his patient. being an Indonesian-yes! he is!-somehow consoled his "impersonal service" but couldn't he or the hospital itself inform us that Dr. 2 could barely talk and understand bisaya? my effortful lengthy bisaya medical testimonials were bluntly trashed with the Dr. 2 who pretended to understand me. are we really on a critical brain drain that we allow incompetent doctors like Dr. 2?


apart from the careless doctor, bedside care was aggravating my sickness. nurses carelessly rush in my room during bedtime and never follow-up lab tests results. i can understand the regular check but not the noisy barrages of heavy feet and arms. worst, one nurse even dropped my medicine and still made me to take it. imagine that!?

grrrrrrr

there were many to count of floor-flat health care service in San Pedro Hospital and im not even sharing a dint of my gratitude for my recovery. my sister Achi and cousin Tanya, not them, definitely relieved me from the 5-day sickness. thanks to tuob and cold compress.

San Pedro Hospital should close and enough of careless service!

Every time a Jollibee or McDo store is built in a city/town, most people quickly conclude, "the city/town is developing." When BIG MALLS, like SM, stand (along with [s]malls),  the city/town then becomes developed.

These stores subsequently became prime indicators of development-a cerebral abnormality closely associated to edifice complex or love for buildings, specifically taller ones.


D'oh!

Davao City is already branded the BEST CITY IN THE COUNTRY even before SM was built, according to Asian Institute of Management (AIM).

What then could Davao City be when Ayala Mall Davao in Bajada will be completed? Yes! you read it right and I'm not writing it again. above is the unofficial rendering of the Ayala Mall Davao. beautiful!                                                  aarrrrrrrrrrggghhh....my edifice complex!


well, I'm happy. it is definitely a bonus, but I could basically live without the Ayalas. as for Senator Jamby Madrigal, "The Ayalas?? They're just PEASANTS!"

my city is just the perfect place to live without the giants and towers. Thanks to our Mayor!

O ye, forget rice shortage and Lozada!

there is rice supply to feed us.  true, more mouths are popping out but more stomachs are on diet to be fit (a hyped vanity in a generation of BIG ME!). nag-uunlimited rice pa nga kami dito sa Davao City at only PhP12.00. As for a rice trader and a farmer I know claimed, "there is no rice shortage!"  

and ye, it is only in Bicol that rice queus are long (hahay...media sensation). probably most rice hoarders lived there. o well, hoarding (to justify rice increase) is the real issue here, dear, not low rice production; not even small rice farmlands. a hectare farmland can be as productive as a 10-has. with sprawling farming technology.

o please, dont look at the statistics. look at your daily meal, stupids! are you queuing for rice or missed a meal without rice today? sige daw beh...

and ye, we can't oust the President. it is only Manila who is shouting loud.  Imperial Manilenos doesn't constitute the majority, not even a quarter of the whole. Ever forget democracy? IT IS A SYSTEM THAT IS RULED BY NUMBER GAME AND POPULAR VOTE.

am i being indifferent/passive/reticent here? NO! in fact, i am certainly the opposite but still for the TRUTH! i am just more rational in making changes. CHANGES that require less of government. CHANGES that dont start with the government. most of us just CANNOT CHANGE our government when OURSELVES are the rotten tomatoes.

we, ourselves, can be the change....in small ways. to stop corruption, stop using office resources for personal uses. to prevent rice shortage, keep your carbohydrate diet and be a health buff. to be environment friendly, avoid food take-outs (in styrofoams) and plastics and play frisbee (no fuels and expensive gadgets are required here, just disc).

so, look at yourself first. look at your origin. look at your table before you shout: RICE SHORTAGE, OUST GMA!

ye. Hugh Jackman is now in Australia for the X-men Origin: Wolverine shoot.  

Architects and (organic) farmers would soon be celebrities. They would be the frontline contributors in the green movement, next to social entrepreneurs, scientists and alternative technologists.

"Teka...si Mishi, nasa Pinoy Big Brother?" I thought, she's flying Qatar.

Mish, flight stewardess ka ba talaga o nasa Dumaguete? Pareho talaga kayo in most aspect ba-mukha, tawa at expressions

Ay ewan! kambal mo siguro 'to

in either way, bigla ka namin na-miss ni Greta

"be very ready for death; you'd definitely hate God for not"

I dont make sacrifices; I make choices.