The House President

#010

As I type this one there are now less than an hour left for Mother’s Day and more or less 7 hours until the official voting time for the Philippine local and National Election. I’m not sure if it is right to make a Mother’s Day and Election Day post co-exist together in one page. But upon realization, I think there’s no harm into it.

Mother’s Day is dedicated to every mother of any kind. May they be our biological mother or not. As long as they had served as our motherly figure in our lifetime they really deserved to be given thanks and feel special on this day. So that explains all the “Happy Mother’s Day” related post on our social media feed today.

The Philippine National and Local Election day is the day every Filipino has been waiting for. Since the day that some politicians and individuals expressed their desire to run for the highest post in the country, to the day they file their Certificate of Candidacy, to the day when it is shortlisted, to the day the official campaign period starts where their campaign jingle serves as your alarm clock every morning, when it seems like a fiesta is taking place to each of their campaign rally. A period where promises are made, candidates’ mudsling each other, your neighbourhood full of their campaign posters with their faces on it, or when your social media feed looks like a battlefield of everyone’s political posts.

Media / Social Media really played a vital role in this election period. May all the information published be true or not, people in the social media are most of the time gullible about it. I actually lost count on how many times I shook my head whenever I saw people arguing over facebook just because of a political post. How they defended their own candidate over a misquoted article posted on an unreliable website. How they made an effort to put on the wrong pieces of statements together just to make a headline that people will talk about. Now it makes me wonder how many relationships (of any kind) has been put into risk with all this miscommunication, personal opinions, and such. Ah, to live in a country where people always have a say to whatever you do.

Mothers also played a very important role in our lives. The very reason of our existence is because of them. They had witnessed and taught us our early firsts. They had guided and shaped us the way we are right now. For the countless sacrifices they made just to make sure we’re fine. For every lesson that comes in a nagging way and for the love that shows in every way. Ah, to live a life where your mom always has a say.

To finish this of, may the next leader of this country possess the characteristics / instinct a real mother has. May he/she do his/her best to protect his/her children. Do the best he/she can to teach and uplift the morals and lives of each and every one depending on him/her. To sacrifice what he/she has to in order make sure that his/her children is growing up the way he/she wants them to. Guide and lead everyone to a place we all could call home. So that when the day comes to an end he/she can say with much pride and fulfillment that he/she had raised a good nation.

©area2016

05/09/2016

Vita et Mors

#009

"You have to start over. That's what they say. But life is not a board game, and losing a loved one is never really starting over, more like continuing without."

- Mitch Albom, The First Phone Call from Heaven

Everyday there’s the cycle of life and death. A new baby is born daily, an addition to the booming number of world population, yet there are those who’s about to take their last breath and glimpse of life. Everyday there’s a mother being rushed to the hospital, about to give birth and while the medical team is too busy in the delivery room there is one person at the other end of the hospital trying to battle out the last minute of his life that usually ends into a flat line. Deads. Patay. Goodbye. I can still remember how I said "una-una lang yan" during a class report for our Psychology class. Truth be told, death is an inevitable part of life and age is never a question. As they say kung oras mo na, oras mo na. It may sound that I'm taking death lightly but I sure am not.

Why most people are afraid to die? Is it because you know you’re not that good of a human that St. Peter might not find your name on his master list to the gates of heaven? Is it because of the ghosts or other creepy stories you heard during the Halloween season? How about life after death? There could be so many reasons why death scares us but I think the only fear we have about death is being left behind or leaving someone behind. Starting anew after losing someone is never easy so is leaving when you are not ready.

 It is somehow of a practice during a eulogy to speak about how the departed has been a good person despite their flaws, share every remarkable memory, tell each word we failed to say or the love we weren’t able to express. That’s how it is. But why do these if that person can’t actually hear any of it anymore? Is it just to show last respect or just so people could remember them in a good way? I think, aside from respect and remembrance, eulogies could be a way of acceptance about someone’s departure.  Remember when The Fault in our Stars’ Augustus Waters asked his special friend Hazel Grace and best friend Isaac to do a eulogy for him? Or that moment when a Rabbi asked Mitch to do his eulogy in the book “Have a Little Faith”? Both characters are still alive when they asked for their eulogy, maybe, just so they can hear what people have to say when they are gone or to somewhat prepare their loved ones to accept that sooner or later they have to continue life without them.

A world full of uncertainties, that’s where we live in. You surely know when your life started but not when it will end. I've been to wakes and funerals before, from a relative, to a neighbor, family friend, distant relative, up to the people I never met but is related to someone I know. Sadness is really evident in the atmosphere and during those times I just can’t help but think what if someone close to me reached their endpoint or how about if I die? *knocks on wood* Just the thought of it saddens me already. Life will never be the same and you just have to deal with the loneliness every time you remember them.

Make the best out of your time, so when the last minute of your clock ticks there’ll be no regrets of what you should’ve done. Life continues for both the departed and the ones left behind. Be here or in another life, at least you may say that you lived a good life.

©area2016

01-12-2016

Year-end Thought

#008

 I just got back to work today after a two-week holiday break. And yes, just like most of you I’m still trying to convince myself that vacation’s over and I need to get back to the reality of life which is work.

It has been a while since the last time I posted and a New Year might be a good time to share. Honestly, I just don’t know where I am going with this. I just have this urge to write something. I am giving you a heads up, this will not be about my New Year’s resolution or how my Christmas vacation went. Thank heaven that I’m done with school so I don’t have to compose any essays that forces me to create list of things and promises (which usually ends up being broken) I want to change / improve about myself and how I try to make my Christmas vacation sounds cool and fun when in fact, I was just at home glued to my bed.

For those days that we feel bored we usually think how time runs too slow for us. But then, there’s so little time when you have tons of work to do. Time is confusing as it seems, we sometimes wish for it to stop so we could also pause for a while or go on without wasting anything from it. But suddenly, time doesn’t stop and before we know it another year has ended.

If you’re going to ask me how my 2015 went, well, I may say that it was a “steady” year. I go to work, do some errands, go out occasionally, and do things that have been on my daily routine. Describing my 2015 as a steady year, actually felt like I haven’t made any progress at all. Not that I am degrading what I am doing right now, but let us say that I have managed to maintain what is on hand (with my work, finances and the people around me.) Nothing big happened last year, if any, I would say that this has been a favorable year for my “fangirling” schemes. I was able to watch a couple of shows of my favorite local bands and musicians. Bought their albums, have it signed and posed for some photo op. And that was awesome you know.

I graduated from College last 2014 and was able to land on a job few months after, it was more than year ago but I totally realized the shift of responsibilities from a regular college student who just waits for her weekly allowance, go to school, study and graduate to an office working girl who needs to divide her salary for the house bills, self-allowance, some self-reward / treats, savings and for other expenses that a girl at her age would want to possess. I’m not complaining or something, I actually kind of like it, because at some point even though I am not earning that much, I was still able to contribute something for our family’s need and I somehow feel the independence little by little. In a span of 1 year I think that the college girl who used to be so dependent on the parental help is now slowly turning into someone who atleast knows how to value the worth of the things she’s working hard for.

Its 2016, New Year, new life, new beginnings as they say. But I don’t think I’ll have a “New Me” I may get used on a little change but won’t force anything to myself or to anyone. Might as well enjoy the moment, learn and strive to see what’s ahead of us.

Happy New Year, folks!

© area2016

01/04/2016