see you later's

We've recently moved again, this time back somewhere in the east. What I love most about this new place is that we're near the East Coast Park. We've been jogging there for 3 weekends in a row now. Then we'd eat at the nearby fastfood afterwards (Subway or McDo). I love eating breakfast at McDo. And the branch at ECP seems like the busiest McDo there is during that time of the day, it's almost always packed with people who just finished their morning jog.

Anyway, I thought we'll be staying here til end of July, which is when I'll be leaving Singapore for good (if things go well), but no. We have to move again by the end of June (long story, en bloc-developer issues) so I guess that will be in the west. But that's fine. As long as the rest of my weekends here will be spent lounging and running along the east coast... :)

The past week I had to bid another friend goodbye. But you know me, I always insist on 'see you later'. Mainly cos that makes it more consoling and bearable. I don't even want to begin to think about July. I can just anticipate that during major farewells, as always, I'd have some flashbacks of when I first met some people I'll be bidding goodbye to. I have very distinct memories of certain people of when I first met them, and then of the more recent event that is their leaving. :(

One of those certain people is my PB colleague and friend, James de Guzman. He's probably in Kentucky, USA by now. I remember distinctly the time I first met him, when he was introduced to me by another James, and how we talked in Filipino in front of everyone. Then his last visit at PB when I handed him his hard drive and our final picture taking via camera phone. He's one popular character in PB, showing off his talents in every talent showcase there is. He'll be sorely missed. But again, no goodbyes, only 'see you later'. It's never impossible.

Now bracing myself for more of these. Sigh. But we move along, so goes the song by The All American Rejects.

Anyway, as a sort of 'see you later' tribute, here's a picture of me and James from PB's D&D back in 2009. I also won't forget his compliments that night. A very sweet and thoughtful friend indeed! :) Wish you all the best James, I'm sure everyday will be lovely now that you and your wife are finally together. Kitakits! ;)

my 2 cents on the 2010 elections

this morning when i went for my medical, the doctor asked if i'm a filipino and if i had voted. i've been asked the latter question a few times and with every "no" answer, i've never really had a tinge of regret, until yesterday that is, the actual election day in the philippines. the doctor told me that i should have voted, that the future depends on each one of us, that it's our responsibility - somewhere along that line. the guy said it with so much passion that i wasn't sure if he's that concerned about it or if he's merely distracting me as he pricked my arm for my blood test. anyway, i told him that i did regret not having registered. well at that point i did. i wish i took the extra time to fill up that paper when the woman at the embassy asked me if i'd like to register for absentee voting, even when my only business there was my exit pass.

i was watching tv before i left the house, and was dismayed to see erap at the 2nd spot. but i was even less happy about binay topping the vice-presidential race but i'm not gonna rant about that. during lunch break i was also checking out election results update on the web. then i saw an article about pokwang, on how there's "a tweet war", where people are hating on noynoy and pokwang defending her candidate.

i felt frustrated. when i left the philippines to work abroad, i somehow finally figured a 'general' negative trait of my fellow countrymen - looking from the outside and seeing them while we're in a different country. and from what i've observed, it's not surprising why the philippines is what it is - a developing country (not third world anymore from when i last checked). i won't try to analyze, i'm just gonna say what general feel i have about it. hate and greed. 2 of the seven capital sins. and they're the kind that consumes a person.

it's just sad that there's a lot of hate going around, to the point of insulting a person's intelligence for not voting the "smart" choice. i would understand where that's coming from if the person is evil, but in noynoy's case, i don't think he is. why people would even say they'd laugh at you if your candidate doesn't do well during his term is sick. does that mean they're rooting for the president to fail? would they rather get their laugh than have good governance? how would they feel if the person actually did well - disappointed? crabs.

it was kind of similar to what a friend told me after an exam. he said the reason we didn't do well in the test was because even before we took it, we already had a defeated spirit (from knowing that that subject was one of the most difficult to pass). so i hope for these people who don't believe in noynoy, to spare the rest the negativity. nobody wants to be judged for something they haven't even started doing.

if i had registered, i would have voted for someone else too, someone who doesn't have a very good chance of winning. on hindsight, i probably would go back to voting noynoy, especially after seeing erap raking in a lot of votes (probably more than the combined votes of the rest). i realized that my dad was right when he was discouraging me from voting my then-choice for president (as if i was voting). he said the president doesn't need to be super intelligent, but he has to be someone who can inspire the people to change, because at the end of the day, it's not going to be the president doing the whole job of changing the country by himself, everyone has to chip in.

another thought that comes to mind is an advice our prof told us, before the previous election. he said not to vote for the lesser evil, but to vote for someone we really believe in. i didn't take his advice. i voted for the one who would become president (so sue me!), only because i was scared to have a former actor lead the country. now that we have some brilliant people running for president, i still feel that in a way, we can't afford to vote for them, especially if you have the likes of erap still lurking around to take the title. imagine how many people voted for the guy after being impeached - what does that say about us filipinos? while some of us can claim that we're smart, most will probably agree that unfortunately, we're outnumbered - by people who can't distinguish an actor from the hero roles he had played, unwitting to the numerous oh-so-obvious crimes he had committed.

anyway, i'm now thankful for the people who voted for noynoy. if erap's a close second, i would probably be nervous and overwhelmingly grateful if noynoy beats him. *sigh*

well that's all. i apologize if this sounds more of a rant (i hope it doesn't though!), i was just typing my thoughts away. voting's over, and it's not always nice to hear that we get the kind of government we deserve, as if it's a consolation or a punishment... all that's left is to pray. God bless the philippines.