I’m all right. I know it is so because:
I sleep longer hours
I can sleep on your side of the bed
And I can sleep on your pillow
And I sometimes wear your slippers
And I’ve realized most of my txts and calls were from you
And yes John Waite was being sarcastic.
05/13/2010
2009 started off with a lot of love. Friends and acquaintances gave us hope by giving us the financial support needed for Luth’s medication. And it was such a massive outpouring of love and support that it gave me hope things were going to swing our way.
True, I had been notified that my contract, along with all my other officemates, was being pre-terminated a lot earlier because of the US recession – but I didn’t think it would be difficult to find new work. Boy was I wrong.
Everything started to get desperate by May. I had only asked friends for help for 3 months (which I felt was more than enough to ask of them) and I was no longer earning anything.
I got my break in June, when a huge global IT software company took me in. The pay was a lot less than what I had been getting – but this time it was for a regular appointment – so the job came with full benefits. But challenges remained – the biggest of which is of course, Luth’s battle with cancer. By then it was obvious that the cancer was still there and I just did not have the funds to continue her previous medication which had seemed to give us hope.
We got another break in August, when we learned that a generic version of Luth’s wonder drug was selling for a tenth of the price we had been paying. But it was more difficult to source, as we had to find our own channel to India to acquire the medicine. Luth’s cancer turned for the worse in September and she had to be confined again. Friends once again came to the rescue as they helped us with funding for medical expenses. We soon got our medicine from India, and Luth was discharged after a month of confinement. But this time Luth would be unable to walk out of the hospital.
To date Luth is still bed bound, and not yet able sit up nor much less walk about. But she continues with her medication and physical therapy and she grows stronger everyday.
My biggest challenge right now remains to be funding. I can see it easing up by middle of 2010 when part of our monthly payables will have been completed. But between now and then I really don’t know how I’ll make it 
The year ends again with friends – in a very surreal setting: a friend’s new bar is being set up in a building which was built in the 19th century… it has some ways to go but it looks promising. And the friends who come to share a drink are ones whom I haven’t seen in a very long time. And their mere presence comforts.
And now as the year draws to a close, I am still adding new found friends in Facebook, and the friends who have been there for a while make their presence felt and continue to give hopeful wishes for 2010. So as I look back to 2009, I see how difficult the year was and I realize that I made it through because of the love of friends. Thank you all!
Cho
If you’re more or less of my age, you still probably remember the Zonta Aquariums in Intramuros. It was one of the more memorable stops on school field trips. But unfortunately it disappeared sometime in the 80s.
In 2006 or 2007, I remember being pleasantly surprised by newspaper reports announcing that an Oceanarium was going up somewhere by Manila Bay. Not just aquariums – but a huge complex that focused on marine life – complete with a walk-tube under a simulated ocean environment not unlike those seen in Sentosa or at Sea World.
I had wanted to go as soon as it opened in 2007, but at the time Luth couldn’t really go for long walks and I didn’t want to just go there with the kids and just tell her all about it. But sometime last month, I suddenly remembered wanting to go and with Luth back to being ‘lakwatsa-ble’, we pried the kids off computer screens for half a day and took off to see what Manila Ocean Park was all about.
(click on thumbnails to enlarge pictures)
Flash photography isn’t allowed inside the ‘aquaria’ proper and since it’s quite impossible to ask the fish to stay still, I was unable to take nice pics inside. Looking at the fish, I think it’s still not being maintained as it ought to be – but nonetheless it’s amazing to see stingrays ‘flying’ about. And no, there aren’t any dolphins or killer whales jumping hoops.
The whole complex is still under construction – I believe they’re still working on the hotel – but there are already a lot of restos and some stores.
Overall I think it’s a little pricey at 400 pesos per head – that’s 2000 pesos for all five of us! It’s kinda hard to impress kids nowadays – what with virtually everything available to see on the ‘net…. but I still saw there were ‘aww…’ moments for all of them. But then again you still kinda leave with a “that’s it?” feeling when you go.
(click on thumbnails to enlarge pictures)
I posted my SOS on the net roughly four weeks ago. And yes, people have responded tremendously to my little call for help.
There’s a scene in Field Of Dreams where Kevin Costner’s character steps out and is dumbfounded to see the long line of cars coming to see what he had built.
And it is pretty much the same for me. People have come. There were people from my present, people from my past, and even people whom I’ve never met before. And some of these encounters have allowed me to look at life through a brighter lens.
This is one of them.
I was attending Sunday mass in UP campus that morning. I had been thanking God for the blessings he had brought our way, and I prayed for Him to continue to watch over us. My phone begins to vibrate, and I see from the screen that it’s my neighbor P calling. Now it’s a strange call for me because he doesn’t usually call me. So instead of rejecting the call, I discretely go and take the call outside.
P tells me that fellow photographer E is having a show and that I’m going to be a beneficiary of his show. (!). The next thing I know, I’m talking with E and he actually asks me if I will agree to be a beneficiary. I naturally accept, thank them both and then promise to call them when I get home.
I had actually never heard of E so once I get home, I google for E and click on his site. For the next few moments I am stunned as I browse the work of E. He’s a multi-awarded artist recognized by no less than the National Geographic Channel. And I suddenly feel small. Small and anonymous, yet chosen.
I meet E the next day and he says that he felt I was brought to him. P showed him some stuff I had posted on the ‘net and right there E decided to dedicate one of his panels for my benefit. “Dinala ka sa akin. Dinala ako sa iyo.” As simple as that. As stark as the beauty of his photos.
And suddenly I know things are going to be ok. 
I’d like to thank the people who made the CIS Reunion Lunch For A Cause happen last Saturday, Dec. 13.
And of course the event would not have been succesful if not for the people who attended and those who could not make it but who supported the event nonetheless.
Despite the Christmas rush to go to malls and parties, friends from happier days came and made it a special Saturday. Well actually I have realized that friends from happier days are also the friends in the not-so-happy days. And because they ARE, then the not-so-happy days turn into happy days.
Here’s a pic courtesy of Pat Te Seng:
If you want the rest of the pictures, you can view them at: http://www.facebook.com/p.php?i=770888982&k=36B52VU4T63MYFFCX1W2Q
It’s been a while since I dropped by a local video store. To my surprise, they already had a copy of the new version of Led Zeppelin’s The Song Remains The Same. A moment’s hesitation – the DVD version of this 70′s movie was among the first batch of DVDs I’ve ever bought. Do I double-dip??? Heck – the new version has 5.1 Surround – and DTS! Heheh… must buy. No contest.
Flashback to the 70s – I must have been 14 or 15 and my friends and I had been getting our education in Rock 101. Of course, the movie was a must for us because it starred, after all, the band behind Stairway to Heaven – that song whose opening riff you must know if you had to make a claim that you knew something about guitars. The movie was also a first of sorts for us – we’ve seen concerts on TV – but never in a movie house. Wow. Led Zep was it. I can still remember all the jeproks ‘wowing’ in unison like characters in a Cheech and Chong sketch as the fantasy-version Jimmy wields his sword and fills the screen with color. After that movie, all I wanted in life was to be Jimmy Page. But Dennis was the better guitar player than I was – so I had to settle for being the backup Jimmy Page. And while Gil didn’t have Robert Plant’s range, he did have the curly hair. I think for the next few weeks after watching the movie, we commandeered a room in Gil’s house and pretended we were Led Zep. Sigh. I wish recording video then was as easy as it is now.
Thirty years have passed, but after watching the new remastered DVD, I know I still want to be Jimmy Page. Hahaha. Damn he’s good. And with DTS, the illusion that it’s real and happening becomes complete. Well, I guess if I see it on a 42-inch screen, it will be nearly complete. The only real ‘bummer’ for me is knowing that John Bonhan is gone. But I think his son, Jason, has stepped into his dad’s shoes very well. I’m not sure – but I have a hunch that he’s that kid twirling the drumsticks in John’s sequence. Aside from the astoundingly clean video and audio, the DVD add-ons are also ‘essentials’ for anyone who has been (or is) a fan of the band.
I understand a US is in the works – I wonder if there’s any chance they’ll come here if they do a world tour?
Yes Juds, I can’t deny it. Even at 44, I’m still a Led Zep fanboy.
Time to look for the remastered CD….
We welcome the New Year with parties and celebrations galore. Fireworks and firecrackers drive away the bad luck and exalt the gods of fate to send better days for us. We look forward to new chances, new opportunities – basically a fresh start. Yet you really can’t make a fresh go of it because all the stuff you left behind before you went off on that holiday binge is still there. That’s why the first working day of January hits like a bad hangover. Or if you’ve never had a hangover or aren’t old enough – it’s like a rude awakening from a particularly nice dream.
So – I hope you made it alright, with your fingers and your wallet intact. And your reputation, too for that matter!
***
Among the earliest things I posted on the ‘net is a piece about legendary Pinoy band Juan dela Cruz’s Langit. It’s here. And I’ve had complete strangers ask about it. No I still don’t have a copy of the song nor the album. But I’ve seen it on ebay. And I’m actually more confused as ever. On ebay it’s listed as part of their album ‘Up in Arms’. I’ve emailed the seller if he will take Western Union but I haven’t gotten any response.
***
Speaking of ebay, ebay is now my friend – well at least the Philippine version. I was able to win/buy stuff which I gave as gifts. I really think I’ve gotten good value. Plus – no need to go shop with the crowd! I will probably need to start listing stuff to sell (to pay for other stuff I wanna get!).
“And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence.
Fools said I, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls”
And whispered in the sounds of silence.”
Paul Simon wrote the lyrics to “The Sounds of Silence” over 40 years ago. It isn’t quite a stretch to relate his words to where we are today – blogging life, chatting across the globe, sending each other SMS – 24 x 7. Yet despite being wired to one another it sometimes feels colder. Maybe if we weren’t so wired to each other then we’d find time to be with people we truly care about.
The Sounds of Silence
Hello darkness, my old friend
I’ve come to talk with you again
Because a vision softly creeping
Left its seeds while I was sleeping
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sound of silence
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone
‘Neath the halo of a street lamp
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sound of silence
And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more
People talking without speaking
People hearing without listening
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dared
Disturb the sound of silence
“Fools”, said I, “You do not know
Silence like a cancer grows
Hear my words that I might teach you
Take my arms that I might reach you”
But my words, like silent raindrops fell
And echoed
In the wells of silence
And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon god they made
And the sign flashed out its warning
In the words that it was forming
And the sign said, “The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls”
And whispered in the sounds of silence.
But it’s the last day of October and I want to put a note in before I mess this up with the 2.3.1 upgrade!
* * *
We never had Halloween when we were kids. In fact there wasn’t anything to do on the eve of all Saint’s day ‘cept to go to the cemetery, clean-up and make ready for visitors the next day. But chickens would get stolen from their coops at dawn of the 2nd of November – which in this part of the world is called All Soul’s day. This is part of what’s called ‘nangangaluluwa’.
***
I don’t know what to make of GMA’s decision to pardon Erap. But she’s been doing a lot of strange stuff lately. And at a time when her government is starting to stink really bad. I guess we’ll know soon enough if she’s done enough either way – to get her booted out, or to stay awhile longer. Corruption in government isn’t really something new. What is appalling though is just how much the take is these days. Garapalan talaga. I remember the joke whose punchline went something like: We’ve already established what kind of woman you are – we are merely negotiating the price.
***
I’ve reconciled with an old love: Scale modelling. I’ve recently discovered just how things have improved in that arena. And boy, are resources now available on the web. I’ve had to archive a lot of files just to make room for ‘em on my hard disk. A long time ago I’d stare and drool at the reference books / manuals I couldn’t afford. Now they’re sitting in my laptop. Sigh. More stuff to keep me from updating this site.
***
Books…. books…. Luth and I have been on a Greg Iles binge: To date: Blood Memory, Dead Sleep, The Quiet Game. I’m currently on Mortal Fear. Next on my Greg Iles’ list is Spandau Phoenix, which is actually his first novel. I ‘stumbled’ on Greg Iles because of a Dan Brown blurb on his book Footprints of God. I enjoyed the book but I thought the premise was a little too far-fetched. I finally saw a copy of Blood Memory on a ‘Sale’ bin and I think it’s much, much better. That led my wife and I on a hunt for his earlier books.
I’ve also grabbed a special paperback version of Neil Gaiman’s Fragile Things.
And I have Esquire’s Charlize Theron issue. Yes!
I’d been hunting for Esquire’s July issue with Angelina Jolie on the cover. No I wasn’t after AJ. The issue had an exclusive Stephen King novella. I saw it at the barber shop about a month ago and I wanted to get a copy for Luth. I’d been to the magazine store beside Toy Kingdom in mega mall and they didn’t have it anymore. I decided to peek again last Monday to see if they already had Charlize… they didn’t… but on the Esquire shelf they had 3 sealed copies of the AJ issue! I’d been ready to ask the barber shop if they’d sell their copy to me… hair cuttings and all.
***
Ok. I’m ready to start this update now…. See you in version 2.3.1!