Tagalog

Gamitin ko man sa pangaraw-araw na pakikipag-usap, hindi pa rin ako sanay sa pagtipa ng mga titik sa Tagalog. Mas sanay pa rin ako sa mga salitang sinulat sa wikang ingles. Marahil ay dahil ito sa pagkakasanay sa pagbabasa ng mga aklat sa wikang hiram. Nasanay na rin akong magisip at kausapin ang sarili sa ingles kaya't nagiging mabagal ang pagpapahayag ng sinaloobin sa sariling wika.

Damang dama sa mga lumalabas na titik ang bigat ng pagiisip gamit ang wikang ito. Hindi ko makayang paliparin ng matayog at malaya ang aking diwa at napipilitan akong tumigil panandali upang hanapin ang halaw sa tagalog ng ilang salitang natural kong ginagamit sa ingles.

Masasabi ko pa ring isa sa mga pinakamakulay na wika ang ating gamit. Gamit ang ilang kataga ay kaya nitong magpahayag ng iba't ibang kahulugan at damdamin. Isa pa, saan ka makakikita ng iba pang wika na may kakayanang bumuo ng matinong paguusap gamit lamang ang iisang kataga?

Sa isang elevator, pagbukas ng pintuan:
Man1, pasakay: bababa ba?
Man2, nakasakay: bababa.

Tiyak, walang ibang wikang may kakayanang gumawa nito.

Gayun pa man, hindi pa rin ako sanay gamitin ang wikang ito sa pagtipa ng aking saloobin. Araw-araw ko man itong gamit sa pananalita ay mas kumportable pa rin talagang gamitin ang ingles sa malayang pagpapahayag. Siyang dahilan ng aking pagbabalik sa wikang nakasanayan matapos ang dalawang linggong eksperimento sa wikang kinagisnan.

Maligayang buwan ng ating wika. Nawa'y maging makabuluhan ang paggamit natin nito.

24 Hours

Dahil lamang sa biruang opisina ay naatasan akong pumunta sa Cebu para sa buwanang pagbibilang. Hindi ko ito hinahangad, ngunit dahil narito na rin ay tinanggap ko na. Madalas ko na ring sinasabi sa aking sarili na tatanggapin ko ano man ang ibigay sa akin dito sa opisinang ito; kung ayaw ko naman ay madali lamang tumanggi. Alam ko rin na mas mahirap papayagin ang karamihan sa mga kasamahan ko na pumunta roon.

Hindi pa ako nakararating ng Cebu. Ang biyaheng ito ang magiging unang beses na mapapadpad ako sa yaong lugar. Kung isasama ang pagpunta ko noon sa Boracay kasama ang ilang kaibigan, ang paglipad na ito ang pangalawa pa lamang na pagkakataon na mapapadpad ako ng Visayas. Masayang isipin ang pagkakaroon ng bagong karanasang katulad nito.

Trabaho pa rin ang ipinunta ko roon. Aalis ako ng Manila sa katapusan ng 12 ng tanghali, at aalis ng Cebu ng 12 ng tanghali ng susunod na araw. Kasama ang paglipad at pagtulog, nasa Cebu lamang ako ng hindi hihigit sa 24 oras. Ito ang paunang mga oras na ibinigay sa aking ng aming manager at kahit maaari ko itong baguhin ay hindi ko na rin ginawa. Kahit marami na ang nagsabi na dapat ay pinabago ko ang mga oras para magkaroon ako ng oras sa paglilibot, para sa akin ay akma na rin na wala akong masyadong maraming oras na gugugulin doon. Nangangamba ako na kahit damihan ko ang oras ko roon ay wala rin akong malibot, bagkus ay magtrabaho lamang ng mas mahabang panahon.

Sa susunod na lamang ako maglilibot sa Cebu, kapag hindi na trabaho ang sadya ko roon.

Home

Makalipas ang tatlong taong pagsasarili, muling nagbalik sa aming tahanan ang aking nakatatandang kapatid. Marapat nang hindi ungkatin ang siyang dahilan ng kaniyang paglisan sapagkat ito'y akmang ibaon na lamang sa limot.

Pinaghandaan ng aming ina ang napipintong pagbabalik na ito: ipinagawa niya ang ilang silid sa aming bahay, kasama ang aking lumang silid. Sa pagbabalik ng aking kapatid, kaakibat nito ang aking pagbalik sa lumang silid na ito.

Hindi ko ipagkakaila, marami akong gamit. Mapalad ako at may kakayanan akong bumili ng ilang luho, ngunit ang mga luhong ito ang siyang nagpapahirap sa akin sa aking paglisan sa silid na akin na ring nakasanayan. Salamat na lamang at nakakuha ang aming ina ng ilang tauhan upang tumulong sa aming paglilipat, kasama na rin ang paglilinis at pagbubuhat ng ilang kagamitan.

Nakapapagod ang paglilipat, lalong lalo na ang pag-imis ng mga gamit. Maselan ako sa aking gamit at sa ayos nito. Hindi ko ipagkakatiwala sa ibang tao ang pag-aayos nito, siyang dahilan ng aking matagal na pagkawala sa sapot ng blogosperyo (hindi lamang ito ang sanhi ng aking pagkawala, ngunit sa ibang talata na lamang ang pagkukuwento tungkol dito). Hanggang ngayon ay hindi pa rin tapos ang aking pag-aayos sa aking silid. Marami pa rin akong mga gamit na hindi nahahanapan ng akmang lugar sa aking bagong silid.

Masukal man ang aking lugar sa ngayon, ang mahalaga ay tapos na rin ang paglilipat, at mas lalong mahalaga ay nagbalik na ang aking kuya. Hindi na alintana na hiniram niya ang aking laptop kaya't hindi ako makapag-libot sa sapot ng ilang araw.

Madalas man kaming hindi magkasundo, at noon ay parating nag-aaway, ako ay masaya pa rin sa kaniyang pagbabalik.

New Information on President Arroyo's Assets

MANILA, Philippines - President Arroyo is facing raps from the public sector clamoring for a probe on her Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) amid speculations that there are irregularities in its preparation.

A report from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) said that based on her SALNs, Mrs. Arroyo’s declared net worth more than doubled from P66.8 million in 2001 to P143.54 million in 2008, or bigger than the combined growth in declared wealth of her three immediate predecessors, including former President Joseph Estrada, who was convicted for plunder.

New information, however, tells a different story. "She's bankrupt," reveals a source close to the President, who agreed to be interviewed on conditions of anonymity. "In order not to lose face in the global arena, the President has been funding various government projects using her personal assets. It was all going well until a few months ago, when the peso fell depite [President] Gloria's efforts" the source said.

The President has depleted her personal assets so much, she wasn't even able to properly celebrate her 41st wedding anniversary with First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. The First Couple had to make do with a simple dinner with close friends at restaurant in New York.

Aside from funding various government projects, the President has also commissioned profit-seeking ventures to boost the economy, "at her personal expense," reiterated the source. When asked further about these profit-seeking ventures, the source revealed that the President has ventured into treasure-hunting. "It came to the President as a blow" the source reveals further, "after she failed to find treasure in the Sierra Madre property. She was so disappointed, she immediately sold the land. Finding the Yamashita treasure would have greatly boosted our economy, she [President Arroyo] told me."

As of press time, President Arroyo was out of town for comment, apparently on another treasure hunting expedition on Ilocos Norte.

Playing Hookie

I was everywhere last weekend. Everywhere but the office, that is.

When wanderlust kicks in, you really have no choice but to comply.

Saturday:

Mandarin Oriental, Gateway

Belini's, Marikina Shoe Exchange

Future Bar; Marikina Shoe Exchange

The wanderlust didn't end that night, though. It continued on til Sunday:

John & Yoko's, Greenbelt 5

Gelatone, Greenbelt 3

All in all, it was a filling and fulfilling weekend. No doubt, I went over-budget, but a $20,000 dinner, it ain't.

One of Those Days

I should be working right now. Yesterday, I have already made my plans to render overtime. I have even gone to the point of filing my overtime form, to be signed and authorized at a later date. I even arranged my desk in preparation for continuing work today, or rather, I didn't arrange it last night, so I can go on working today like I merely had a break.

But there comes a time when not even the fear of an impending deadline would rattle me into action.

This is one of those days. I would much rather lie down with a good book or two, while surfing the net and watching anime. (Yes, I multi-task my leisures.)

Right now, I feel like watching a movie, and pigging out, maybe.

But work is far from my agenda.

Love Songs

Contrary to popular notion, the best love songs are not made by crooners. They may have the melody, the voice, and the words to make your heart swoon and make you bawl buckets, but somehow, it feels contrived. The words are easily relatable, but still, there's something missing. And if you put in the fact that they make love songs for a living, it somehow diminishes their song's authenticity. Overall, it creates an impact of cheesiness, rather than the intended romantic effect.

"Cause I don't know where you are

and I don't know what to do

are you somewhere feeling lonely

or is there someone loving you..."

It just doesn't bode well on me. Even with the augmented impact of the melody, it still would not convince me of the longing and helplessness the singer wishes to evoke. Though some people would swear unflailing heart-felt audulation over pieces like these, all I can say is "Hello?!"

"Hey girl, I don't want you to cry no more inside

All the money in the world could ever add up to

all the love I have inside

I love you..."

It is a common flaw in love songs to affect the gut area: that, and nothing else. It appeals to emotion, and oftentimes with nary a thought or regard to other vital functions. What puts me off with this is it tends to demote the emotion concerned into nothing but primal instinct: nothing more or less than fear or hunger. If poets and artists regard love as the greatest and most dangerous emotion known to man, how dare the crooners allude to it with dumb disregard?

More than the words themselves, and their pull on the heartstrings, is it asking too much to expect intelligent lyrics on my love songs? Love is known to make fools of men, but it doesn't mean that songs about love should cater to mere troll-like intelligence. Any song that purports to be a love song with indescriminate spatterings of the word "love" is immediately suspect in my books. It suggests a lack of originality and hints at low vacubulary. The English language boasts of a hundred and one ways to describe food, surely, there are as much words that evoke something as wondrous and multi-faceted as one's affection towards another.

"To see you when I wake up

Is a gift I didn't think could be real

To know that you feel the same as I do

Is a three-fold utopian dream..."

The best love songs, for me, are not done by crooners nor boy bands. Surprisingly, the best songs that evoke love come from sources that make you want to headbang while listening. They may not have the vocal range to describe the physical manifestations of love: its high notes of ecstacy; its lingereing low notes of longing; the rolling hums of contentment; and its siren-wails and whistles of despair; but what they lack at vocal acrobatics, they more than make up for with sincerity. Love, as relayed to by these precious few, is unapologetic, complex, and most importantly, intelligent.

"...Who would have thought it would end up like this?

Where everything we talked about is gone

And the only chance we have of moving on

Is try to take it back before it all went wrong"

For Love, and by relation, love songs, to affect the heart is common: it is expected. The majesty of it all is when love affects not only the heart, but also the mind; when one is able to feel love in spite of one's self. Therein lies the magic; it is there where one will experience the true power of love.

I Miss You by Incubus

Before the Worst by The Script

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For EyviCat and Gentle, who celebrates their fourth anniversary this month, for making me believe that intelligent love songs can exist.