Shifting National Focus

I don't have a say regarding the dreadful outcomes of politics: killings, oppresions, fights for power and influence. I intend not to say anything. It is a vicious cycle, seems inevitable, and no matter how much we contend to fight for fairness, nothing happens.

Media did its part already. But people's ignorance of the meaning of "power" in the society is the root cause. I don't want to say that Filipinos are ignorant. If I do so, it is just like facing the mirror and throwing my own image a glass.

Some Filipinos are not educated of the power of politics, what politics is, what should politics serve the people. The power of it should serve us, to defend us - and not to use it for their personal use, for their security reasons.

Maguindanao, specifically, views politics as a race to be the best. There seems to be a drive that maneuvers them, that infuses them with a different, negative energy to contest with the rest of politicans. They, instead, kill to win.

We then, for me, need to shift our national focus from POLITICS to BUSINESS. May times, I have read in books and internet about the difference of the progressive countries and the less-developed countries in the world and there is one thing that differs them - the what I call, national focus.

In our less-developed country, if we speak about "POWER" and "INFLUENCE", our minds jump into an auto-set image of a politican - could be a presedent, a congressman, or a mayor. But that shouldn't be the mentality.

If only we live in a country where we value business and thinks of businessmen as powerful, or even more powerful than politicians, the image of reality might somehow change.

The time we shift the national focus, we drag the importance of politcians a little lower. We still value them, but there will be another set of people to look up to, people whom we value and consider "INFLUENCIAL" and "POWERFUL" - these are people who does not eat the national budget, rather contributes to the economy's stability.

We should shift a little from norms. By changing our mentality, we might somehow make it.

Today, the World is in my head.

I am writing this blog in the wee hours of the morning, exactly 1:10 am (as I start typing). Boarding house at Villa Mariano - exact place. A 1.5 liter coke, and plastics from eaten burger around my table, some small plastic cups we have shared with my sister who is at this exact moment, snoozing her butt.

Television switched to channel 2, and just turned all blue after the closing anthem about 1 minute ago. All I can hear is the sound of two small ceiling fans connected from ceiling, making a sound. Rolling, spinning. One above my bed, the other, on my sister's.

The rain just stopped pouring down, and I have exhausted all sites. Eyes' a bit tired.

At the moment, while thinking of words to fill here, the television suddenly turned off. It was probably switched to sleep mode. I heard the smooth but annoying sound of a cat near the jealousy. My sister is still completely dozed off and buried to her bed.

I'm a bit hungry but I feel drowsier than hungry.


I am thinking now. How and what is the other side of the world doing? It's 1:23 PM in Eastern Standard Time. The streets are probably busy and people are hurriedly walking. The huge buildings there might be full and busy. Many people at the moment might be enjoying Disneyland. Some might be feeling starved. They might be walking to look for good food.

They are probably thinking about someone. Something. Some problems. Some events. Some people. Some memories.

Some of them must be heartbroken. They are probably thinking of dying. Some are wasted, they have consumed more than enough to feel numbed. They must be calling their friends. Some might be relaxing, and thinking exactly what I think. They must be thinking about me, but does not know exactly who I am.


There must be some people running somewhere in this world. They must be running for their lives. Someone in this large world must be, right now, writing a blog similar to this one. Some people, at this very time the clock ticks, are dying... or must have died. Some people must be in grief because of loss. How sad. How many of them are grieving? How many of them are at fear?

But there must be newly-born babies - they just came out!

Some of them must do something very important right now, and must have forgotten something.
There must be someone thinking about me. How many are they? It must be Zero.

Some of them must be building relationships. They must be making love.

But how many people exactly are making love at the moment?

But how many people pray?

How many people are dying to look for food?

How does the world look exactly from outer space?

There must be an Earth somewhere. There must be another person like me there. He must be writing a blog in his world too! He must also be inspired. But he might not be sleepy. We have a different planetary system.

How small am I compared with the world?

But what is God doing right now?

He must be busy looking after the people. But how can he manage that? No. He's just powerful.

How many hairs do I exactly have now?

And.. when will... I die?

I can't help but think. Today, the world is in my head.

A Macroblog of the "Haven't Written"

I realized (just now) how situations balloon in just a month or two. They happen as they happen and sometimes, you miss writing them to at least save a memory. You sometimes think - I should have blogged this out! Why haven't I?

Thus, a Macroblog. =)

There are too many things that left their remembrance along the road, in the tip of your coffee table and you have somehow let them pass. I myself have let them vanish as the new page flip the next day. I sometimes wish everyday has its automatic record-tracker: it happens, it writes itself down. So here in the Avenue, I'd write down three blogs in a nutshell: The birthday in Sickbed, The Tragedy of the Year, and The Call Center Life.

FIRST CUP: My 21st Birthday (The Birthday in Sick Bed) - Ooops! I seemed to have missed a big portion in this Avenue. I should have said even just a small phrase that contain my hopes and dreams for my 21st year ahead. But wait, should I have second thoughts?

Many people often think their birthday is not worth telling. They simply believe spilling out your birthday, worst, birthyear, is like jumping in a pond of mud - you let yourself become a laughing object of the day!

But as for me, there's nothing as nice as someone telling you their hopes for your birthday - even when you've grown really old. Nothing to hide. I'm 21. All I have been wanting though, was to reach this age, and become a fully grown professional - and that is peeling itself to reality!

On my 21st year, I have told myself: You-are-so-freakin'-good! Be bad sometimes. =)

SECOND CUP: The Tragedy of the Year - Though this phrase may sound like an award for emmy's, this is nothing entertaining or feel-good to the ears. It was the worst day I have, I was emotionally disturbed, and almost fell my bed when I was seeing the tragedy fall from my very eyes on television.

There have been too many writings on the net (and too many videos, in fact) about the hostage crisis in manila, but there are only two strong points I can say: First, these things happen. And this one that has just happened makes the Philippines a no-exemption. Just like other countries in the world, we unfortunately have an evil everywhere, manipulating people in the most tragic way they can.

Next, these are things we should only learn from. But that case will not spring up as learning if there is nobody owning the responsibility of the aftermath. Someone should raise a hand and acknowledge a sin, and not constantly pinpoint people to avoid criticism.

Amid all these, I fervently pray that the Lord guide us through in preventing all these from happening.

THIRD CUP: So This is What They Call "Call Center Life" - I have long been planning of a major major macroblog for this, but time just won't allow me to draft. For the sake of this, I can finally say that I have fully embraced call center life - the life I have never dreamed of in college days.

I had too many negative impressions of a call center when I was 19 years old. I came to the point of thinking that applying for a call center means narrowing my life span to only 10 years. The world has created mental meatballs of the words "call center" as a job of stress, emotional pain, technicalities, sleepless nights, insomnia, worst, AIDS!


But call center is not as bad as I thought. I may have only experienced a month of taking calls, I could conclude that the agent - himself - will create his own description of a call center.

But nothing is as fun as this job - and that tells everybody that I am enjoying every step of the way. I may not stay in a call center as trainer/supervisor for 5 to 10 years, but this one is the job I would constantly owe my life with. I have truly learned!

The Major (major) Mistake

Venus Raj's question created Ms. Philippines' major mistake in life after failing to answer a question in front of a million entertained audience, hopeful Filipinos. But any excuse could be considered - US President Bush had not even answered that question... But now that the pageant's fever took a lower level, Raj's question is not addressed to her alone. We now think over our previous experiences and we answer them as if we were on her shoes.

What was our great mistake?

My mistakes in life were countless. Most of which were minor and irrelevant. One was when I posted a picture on a website and realized there was no way to delete it. I hosted a pageant and I was too late, I was jittery, and was not able to handle the crowd well. I learned from it and did my best to correct them after the next possible opportunity.

As I write this one, I also remembered I failed to graduate at the time expected because of a mistake. I failed to give much attention to matters that could affect my life greatly, rather sought for happiness from other people.

But if asked about what my gravest mistake was, there is only one thing I could recall. That was when I invested my time to the wrong people and to the wrong time.

There are too many mistakes to mention. The truth is: though we commit mistakes, nobody in this earth would ever collect a timepiece of mistakes! It is not that we do not want to answer such a question for reasons that we never admit mistakes.

Truth is, humans have the nature to never think of previous mistakes.

We live in everyday to correct previous mistakes and burn them in our thoughts one at a time. We strive not to commit mistakes but to look forward. We all are given the chance, in everyday, to correct previous mistakes since time immemorial.

We might just be doomed to this.

You should brace yourself now. Your mind should have been conditioned with possibilities now: You'll wake up one day and see yourself handing this 500-bill to the nearest kahera.. Question is.. are you ready to face that day?

You might presume I am against any Aquino after having supported a non-winnable candidate the previous election. Friends think I will eventually become an antagonist to a government all these years... and most especially that I am not for the yellow candidate since Month 1, week 1, day 1.

But tell you, I am not. Honestly, I have figured out the positive side of Noynoy... but wait, it did not come out naturally. I JUST TRIED.

There is no choice after all, and there is definitely no chance and hope with still trying to push reality to imagery and fight for a non-winnable candidate until now. To make it simple, we should - despite negative feelings - succumb to one strong and hopeful government.

I, afterall, see the vivifying sincerity and passion from the present president. This line, after all the rage and madness in the elections is all I can say: This blog is too late (I saw this saved on drafts) and I just our country could wake up from the reality that we have been left way too far now. And there needs action.

I am antagonist college guy no more. Not until this present government shakes my patience like it always did before.
We are all doomed to this. We are doomed to succumb to the present government, we are doomed to follow what the majority thinks is right. In the end of roads, we hope.