Elementary Reunion

Whew! wala nako gi expect nga ing-ato ta ka daghan.. and honestly,
what i expected was the usual run-of-the-mill meeting where hi and
hellos would suffice the much needed conversations. And what I got
was that nostalgic drive back home. Kng tama ang pgka remember ko..
eto ang mga listahan ng mga dumating and what entered my mind after..

Sharon : same old girl.. wala kaau mi nag sturya so wala koy
evaluation sa iyang personality. . although naay part sa inom portion
nga naga talk mi, and she was all listen listen listen, kasabot na
siguro cya that the alcohol was starting to kick in.

K.Anne : wala lang.. same face.. same spunk... if i'm not mistaken,
cya ang nangutana nga... "Saba japun si airo noh?" or was she trying
to be sarcastic at that time I would never know...

Jocelyn : Aside from dinnah, cya siguro ung nag "grow" talaga.. The
moment I saw her... damn! she's a woman now! and during the inuman
session.. my assumptions where nothing but rectified and boy was she
great!(thanks sa libre!!) P.S. Tama jud ka.. dli na yagit si alex..
so are the rest of us.. haha

Pia : Hmm.. dear pia.. cute ka parn.. I remember having some sort of
admiration for her.. and yeah.. still cute and all... di nga lang
kami nka pag usap at that time.. but seeing her there relived the
kiddie "crush2x" in me...

Alvic : woohooo !!! bamboo!!! sporting the bamboo hairstyle... na
shock ko ke alvic.. although I had second thoughts of approaching him
though.. mangulata pa lang ug kalit...

Armon : well ... in the words of Mike Jugar.. distinct man gud cya ug
face.. and well.. he couldnt have been any closer to correct with
that statement.. here is a face where you would recognize wherever
you go.. lingaw japun si armon.. samok.. lami tripan kay dli pikon..
haha go UP!

Alex : well alex.. do you find ____ sexy? Alex brought three
different shocking details when I saw him back there at port cafe...
the first one is the do you find [place name of person] sexy
questions (look at what nursing does to people)... second is the no-
bag look... and the overall look.. hmm... clean.. non yagit... and
most importantly, non yagit jud! wala nay face nga covered with pre-
emo semi F4 hair...

Mike : swerte jud ni si mike.. nka libre na gani ug inom.. gi sundo
pa nako... ako pa jud nihatod.. tsk tsk... labaw pa sa chix.. haha
hilumon japun... ug logical... in a good way.. hahaha

Jeremy : hhhuuuiiiieee jed! ibalik jud ang past.. hahaha cya jud ang
nagpa remind sa akoa about all those "science quiz" moments... the
strip-quiz.. . nga nag walk out daw si dinnah.. d na ko ka remember..
pero lingaw jud to.. haha

Flabert : Dakong tawo... dako ug tingog... or somewhat imposing..
ahaha naa daw uyab nga chix... chix daw kaau.. haha wala pud mi nka
sturya ug au.. pero naa pa btaw next time..

Kristine : Unmistakable voice.. layo pa lang maka ila na ka.. haha
wala kaau nag change.. nag transform lang cya.. hahaha nahimu cyang
mas chix pa kesa dati.. haha

Jane : First things first... salamat sa pagiging P.I.O. on such short
notice.. hahaha pirme man ta magkita jane oie... unsa bah... un...
uhm... thanks sa pag handle sa responsibility of gathering all of
us.. haha

Dinnah : Pagsaka pa lang nako sa escalator and walking towards sa
port cafe naay girl nga ni kaway sa amua... in my mind was.. "shit!
chix bai.. nag kaway pero wala ko kaila.." then settled on my seat at
port... pag abot niya sa mga chairs.. I had those rare movie-effect
kind of "shit! cya na?" na shock lang ko sa nature's way of
metamorphosis. . ahaha well, if i were asked "do you find dinnah sexy?
hell yeah!"

ug sa mga wala pa nako na mention.. ingna lang kinsa.. i have a sick
short term memory bank.. hahah ^_^

A Shoe For Thought

Believe me or not, a shoe has a hundred and one uses. Aside from your usual footwear, it could be a life saving snack when you have nothing else to eat.But one threw in one for the record, literally.Reading Conrado De Quiro's article entitled “Shoe Story”, its about this journalist that goes by the name of Muntadhar al-Zeidi, a 28-year old Iraqi journalist with an ire for President Bush, who was then saying goodbye to the Iraqi people. This said persona is obviously a Bush hater, not that rare in that part of the world though. It was also said that as he was about to throw his shoes he said the following lines in Arabic “Here’s your goodbye kiss, you dog!”. Now thats a nice way to greet a president.

There are really a lot of ways to express anger toward a president. There's assasinations, terrorism and the oh so effective public scandal/humiliation. But the incident shocked the world, not that it was a very genuine idea. But because nobody had the guts to do so. Because compared to all the other methods I have mentioned, you dont necessarily get tackled by the security. And you stay hidden under a mask of anymomity and mystery.

Considering what Muntadhar al-Zeidi did. He either gained sympathy or hate among people. Because upon throwing the shoe, he was no longer a journalist, rather, an individual ready to express his opinion. He was no longer a journalist hiding behind the “i-was-just-practicing-my-freedom-of-speech” crap. He was your normal everyday man ensuing a vendetta on what he calls his enemies. He had the guts to do it and I think he would gladly do it again if given the chance. What I'm trying to say is. He was, at that moment, indelibly human.

Now that's a long way from the usual cheap shots journalists use themselves in attacking people in authority. I call it cheap shots because no matter how assertive and brave they sound, deep inside they cower in fear and hide under the blanket of “freedom of speech”. Take our local journalists, although some may be so bold and daring as to call our president “murderer”, no one ever had the balls to “throw in the shoes”. Not even Mr. De Quiros himself. Journalists in our country die like dayflies on mating season. They die for what they fight for. For freedom from oppression, for the impeachment of the president. But frankly, the words and articles are nothing but words and articles. There is no such thing as the “Jose Rizal Syndrome” these days. People don't get moved by opinions, because they already have some themselves. People nowadays need action. Something like what that Iraqi journalist did. And not only to the president but to all the others who need to have a shoe in their faces, just for kicks.

If I am not mistaken, Mr De Quiros also mentioned a few people who at one point did an al-Zeidi. One was a certain Maria Theresa Pangilinan who wasted 10 mins of valuable valedictory speech time in heckling somebody who wouldnt even listen to a whining 20-something. Good thing was she was allowed to graduate. And yeah, there was a part where Mr. De Quiros confused me, the line “berated by people who presumed to be her superiors but were in fact her inferiors”. Was he trying to be smart? Or just plain annoyed with the current social and academic hierarchy.

The other one would be plain childish. And that award would go to Mr. Mar Roxas. With his heartwarming speech that would send your tongue-lashing uncle a run for his money. Using age old cursing words to express fury and disgust he was instantly on headlines all over. That's fine by the way. But then again, there always hangs that thought that he was just playing his cards right. (2010 presidential elections anyone?) Cursing words? I've heard a lot of people use that in public, and I've seen better ones too.And honestly, both of them fall short of the expected “al-Zeidi” effect. They are but sick excuses for people who think they are the avatars of the majority. Words are just words, and once again, words do fail even the most wise.

Just like everybody else, like Ms. Pangilinan and Mr. Roxas. A journalist such as Mr. De Quiros and Mr. Al-Zeidi has all the right in the world to be themselves, to do whatever they want necessary, just to get things of their chest. In Mr. Al-Zeidi's case, he threw the boot. In some of our journalists here, the best they can do is throw some malicious words and presto! They think they already threw the boot. They already think they did something great. Yes, being a journalist is double hard especially when the issue gets into your nerves. Its either watch what you're saying or the gulags for you. If Mr. De Quiros was right with something it was when he said that journalists, no matter what kind they are. Are just human. They are to be accounted for for their emotions. They are to express whatever they might feel. Even throw some shoes when needed. They are by the way, a very vital part of society. They are our eyes in society. “Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom” a very familiar line from a local publication. Well, that's true. And our journalists are the best implementors of this. They are but the eyes of the public.

All in all, there really was nothing “too” bad about what Al-Zeidi did. And according to the De Quiros article, it is a monumental achievement for any journalist to let go and let shoes fly. What I really hope for is that Mr. De Quiros himself would someday find the guts to do the same thing. Not necessarily the throwing of shoes part. A dirty underwear would do I guess, its the aerodynamics thats bothering me. What else would a projectile be when it can't hit its target?