Si Omar Borkan at ang Pangarap kong Madeport

Bakit ba hindi ako nadi-deport? Eh kahawig ko naman si Omar Borkan, di ba? Haha! Kapal ng fez!

Click here to read more about Omar Borkan al Gala

Beer at Self-Actualization

Beer ang sagot sa lahat ng pangangailangan ng tao batay sa Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs:


1. Physiological Needs - pantanggal-uhaw
2. Security - magkakaroon ka ng feeling of stability
3. Belongingness - kaya nga mapapainom kapag nasasawi
4. Self-esteem - lumalakas ang kumpyansa pag lasheng
5. At lahat nang ito ay magli-lead sa Self-Actualization.

Tagay pa! Hahaha! Umagang-umaga ng Sabado eh.

16 Year Old Commits Suicide Because She Could not Afford Tuition

          Education is supposed to be the “great equalizer”. Meaning: if you’re poor, get an education so you can land a good job after. But now, if you’re marginalized before schooling, you tend to be even more marginalized inside school. So if you’re poor, you probably won’t afford it. If you’re a woman, you get discriminated. If you’re a minority, you enter a culturally-biased system. Thus, you tend to stop studying early and it becomes a cruel cycle. ALS students know this all too well. Just putting in my two pennies worth.

Click here to read the news on a 16-year old girl who committed suicide because she could not afford her tuition

Settling Down in a Backpack

Paeng Ferrer

     My basil plant shrivels. I gaze outside the window of the apartment I’m renting. No vegetation grows. It is barren.

Emerging Adulthood

     Arthur is the first in our barkada to get married. He now has a mistress. He can use her as an excuse every time we hold a get-together. “The Mrs. awaits!” he would say. He does not wander anymore. He has settled down.

     It made me reflect when it would be my turn to settle down. It is said that one of my generation’s trait is to delay marriage. There is nothing wrong with this, according to Jeffrey Arnett. He is the author of the book “Emerging Adulthood: The Winding Road from Late Teens through the Twenties”. He is a psychologist. He calls my era the age of Emerging Adulthood. We are the type who hesitates taking on responsibility. Examples of these are in the aspects of looking for permanent work, extending studies, and, as mentioned above, marriage.

Settling Down

     They said that one way to measure one’s readiness to marry and to build a family is to watch over a plant. I try my hand at planting an herb. If it propagates, I am equipped for marriage.

     I purchased a sack of gardening soil and five flower pots. I transported it home via the public commute. I took a jeep. I must have looked funny because of the bulk of the items I carried. The other passengers tried their best to hide their laughter. Two of the jars broke. “This is not a good sign,” I told myself. However, I still proceeded with the plan. I sowed two cuttings: a basil and a chilli plant. I read books on how to care and grow the said seedlings. I printed webpages from my internet research. Basil and chillies only grow in sunny areas. You only water it thrice a week. In case it catches an illness, like aphids, you can use a drug or organic cures. Yes, I also named my plants.

     I was delighted when the shrubs flourished. The cuttings were exceptionally green. The leaves’ aroma was magnificent. The basil grew flowers. Meanwhile, the chilli bore fruit. However, little brown spots appeared on the branches of the vegetation. I didn’t pay attention to it. I continued watering and taking care of the plants. Sometimes, I talk to it. I cut the flowers. I also picked the chillies. This is so the plants would concentrate on growing more leaves.

     “When soaked too much, plants burn up. Yes, it does,” said my neighbor who is a gardener. One of his eyes has a cataract. His voice was high pitched but coarse. You would think he had a vicious past experience when he talks. He was carrying a machete. I smiled. He ignored it. He stared at the distance. He walked away and never looked back. I continued watering the plants.

     What he didn’t know was that I didn’t water the plants excessively. In fact, I sometimes failed to sprinkle it. I couldn’t remember if I watered it last Tuesday. Do I soak it now that it’s Wednesday? What if it drowns? Who will water it when I’m not at home? Could I ask my neighbor to do it? It became very confusing. Perhaps, like the average couple, my plants and I had disagreements, confusion, and complex problems.

     Thus, the time came when the brown spots from the branches spread. The leaves slumped. The pleasant odor vanished. The budding shoots stopped emerging. The whole plant wilted. I had to accept the wretched news that the basil and the chilli withered. The only things left were the empty pots, garden soil, and the pesticides.

     You ask why? Perhaps my gardener neighbor was right that I drenched it too much. Maybe I shouldn’t have used a pesticide. Maybe I shouldn’t have picked the flowers and the chillies. Or maybe I shouldn’t have started the gardening project to begin with. However, I deem that the primary reason is that because I abandoned the shrubs during the weekends. Then I realized why getting married and building a family is called settling down. One needs to learn to stay put.

A basil plant slowly withers

Genuine Adulthood

     I move back and forth between two houses. I work in Laguna. So I stay in an apartment for rent from Mondays to Fridays. However, I visit my mom every weekend. She lives in Quezon City. This is one of the primary traits of Arnett’s theory. He argues that emerging adults are characterized by instability. Literally, we frequently relocate to different areas. Figuratively, we keep revising our life plans many times. In return, however, we gain a stronger foundation for adulthood. We achieve a better understanding of ourselves.

     When my plants died is also the time when I decided to get a bulky backpack. It’s almost like a mountain climbing backpack. Why a clunky bag? Mainly because I do not have a car. I don’t own a vehicle. In other words, a car is a mere briefcase for me. It is just a container – a container for my netbook, wallet, underwear, cellphone, toothbrush, scratch papers, socks, ID’s, pencil case, alcogel, umbrella, extra shirts, hair gel, etc. I am a turtle that drags its whole house.

     “How’s the married life?” I ask Arthur. “Nothing’s changed,” he shrugs. Perhaps, it is true that things remain the same in his marriage. Or perhaps, he was annoyed by my intrusive query. Nevertheless, it still made me ask myself, “Is there really a genuine adulthood?”

     Therefore, in the event that I acquire the right amount to purchase a vehicle, it doesn’t cost a centavo to fantasize, I would acquire a car with an enormous backpack. Pardon, you ask me? I meant a van or a pickup truck. If in case I cannot teach myself to stay put, I will take with me my plants. I will take with me my pet dog, like the e-heads song. ***

My Beloved Backpack. Haha!

Click here to know more about Jeffrey Arnett and Emerging Adulthood.

Learn to Play "Stella" by Ida Maria

I've been absorbed in Ida Maria's music lately. She's a musician from Norway who won multiple international and local awards. Her genre is a mixture of pop and punk. She has also performed with Iggy Pop, vocalist of one of the most influential punk band in the 60's and 70's.

Among Ida's songs, one of my favorites is "Stella" because of the melodic arrangement and the witty lyrics.

Of course, I just had to learn to play it on my acoustic guitar. So if you want to strum your guitar strings to this type of music, here is the chord pattern.

(Listen to Stella by Ida Maria to get the tempo)

Click here to find out more about Ida Maria

Chords for Maroon 5's "Won't go Home Without You"

This is my first attempt at putting up in the internet after figuring out chords to a song. Learn to play Maroon 5's "Won't go Home Without You"

Watch Maroon 5 perform "Won't go Home Without You" live

Salamat sa mga Bumati Ngayong Kaarawan ko

Salamat sa mga bumati ngayong birthday ko! Pasensya, hindi ko na kayo maiisa-isa. Tumatanda na ako at wala nang energy na magpuyat. Kaya ila-like ko na lang. Hindi na ako magko-comment.

Bawat taon, may iba’t-ibang dating ang kaarawan natin. Pinakamalungkot ko noong 2004. Dahil kakaunti lang ang nakaalala. Pinakamasaya noong 2009. Dahil may pera. Pero ordinaryo lang ang dating ng kaarawan ko ngayon. Nasa bahay lang ako sa Fairview. Siguro dahil iniisip ko pa rin ang thesis ko. At mas matindi rito, wala akong pera.

Bagong gupit para sa bagong edad.

Anyway, maraming nangyari noong edad 28 ako. Nagsimula ulit akong mag-blog; nakapasa ako sa Comprehensive Exam sa Ateneo; unang beses kong nakarating sa Mindanao; unang beses ko ring nakalabas ng bansa; pumunta ako sa Thailand, Singapore, at Malaysia; at kung anu-ano pa.

Ano kaya’ng mga mangyayari ngayong 29 na ako? Huling taon ko na ito sa line of two. Next year, 30 na ako. Inaamin ko, nakakatakot. Tama pala ang sinasabi nila na, “tatanda rin ang lahat ng tao.” Kahit makailang pushups at pullups ako sa workout, ‘di na ako babalik sa pagkabata.

Sabi nila, ‘wag ko raw ibase sa iba ang kasiyahan ko. Kumbaga, kung may bumati man o wala, dapat kaya ko pa ring pasayahin ang sarili ko. Masyado namang counselling psychology ‘yun. Hindi naman ako naglalahad ng emosyon sa isang support group. Pero may punto naman, ‘di ba?

Pero, ang totoo, maligaya ako’t maraming nakaalala.Kaya hindi ako masyadong naniniwala sa mga teorya ng self-esteem. Na sa akin dapat magmumula ang contentment.

Isa pa, Linggo ngayon. Kaya alas-10 na ako gumising kanina. Mataas na ang sikat ng araw. Masarap ang walang ginagawa kapag birthday. Nagmumuni-muni lang. Sinorpresa pa ako ng nanay at ng mga kapatid ko. Naghanda sila ng munting salu-salo! Bundat na naman ang tyan ko.

Oo nga pala, nagkataon na ngayong kaarawan ko rin na-approve din ang entry ko sa "Dear Photograph" blog.

Ayon sa tradisyunal na pagpaplano ng buhay, matapos mag-aral, magtrabaho; sunod, mag-asawa. Ibig sabihin, ang next step ko dapat ay marriage. Kaya matagal-tagal na ring sumasagi sa isip ko ito. Nararamdaman ko na rin ang “pressure”. Mula sa mga magulang, dating kaeskwela, church mate, at sa sarili. Pero sa susunod ko na ilalahad sa inyo kung ano’ng ibig kong sabihin. Abangan ang blog post ko. (Nag-plug pa.)

Basta ang punto ko, masaya ako dahil sa mga kapamilya, kaibigan, at sa mga bumati. Maraming-maraming salamat! Tatanda rin kayo! ;p

Mag-click dito para makita ang "Dear Photograph" entry ko.