ACTIVISM IN THE PHILIPPINES

Okay, so we did succeed with a peaceful revolution-- or people power. Twice. And we are not content with it we still want to try and overthrow each and every administration with every single move they do? I think that's going over our heads. Filipinos have become so addicted on taking to streets whatever issue they can hurl at the government, disregarding the fact that everytime they do so will have adverse effect not only the image but the economy of the country as well. Thus, further making our lives in this country miserable.

ON WHY I HATE ROCK MUSIC

On my bus ride to work today I was seated opposite to this two friends who obviously are rockers, judging from their clothes, and sure enough they are talking about their music preference. You can blame me for being prejudiced, but from the way they talk and the words they use, even a kid can tell they both have nothing to speak of intellectually. They could well be typified like your neighborhood "taho" vendor. Well, I have seen the worst- like rugby boys in Cubao or Divisoria nodding to rock music, and "kargadors" as well.

It used to be that these kinds of people only listen to the likes of boybands or Filipino HipHop (looking the way of Salbakuta), even those old songs rolled into a medley with just one or two persons singing all throughout. And rock is reserved to those with enough intellect to understand what the bands are singing, at least literally. I admit I have been into rock music for the longest time. You can mention rock bands from way back AC/DC and Iron Maiden era to those of the recent years such as Incubus and Staind, and most likely I have got an album by them either on tape or CD. I grew up listening to rock music.

Somewhere along the way, around the time of Incubus and Limp Bizkit- the early 2000s, I just realized that I am sharing the same preference with most everyone else. I heard the errand boys at the grocery store near our home in Bicol listening to Linkin Park and System of a Down. I'm not being egocentric or something, but I do prefer things that are different from what everybody else has. Somebody suggested that this has been fueled by the proliferation of piracy, which opened the whole she-bang of options for music to those who previously are limited to, well, Salbakuta. So, damn the pirates. I do love downloading through the internet, though.

Along with rock, my other biggest music passion is electronic music. At around that very same time my love for rock is waning, I also am beginning to explore remixing and music production through computers. Well, to tell you the truth, I do dig most kinds of music from classical to pop standards to jazz-- the most extreme probably of which is my fascination for violins and bagpipes traditional music of the Irish and Scotts. Around the same time also, the opportunity to be a resident DJ for a local disco (club for us, westernized) opened up for me to explore further into electronic music by way of house music, and also into urban music. And me and my wife lived happily ever after.

Note: Thanks to http://www.shutterstock.com/ for the image

HUNGER

Last night we were watching a special on TV about the rising cost of the Philippine's staple food-- rice, and its effects to the poor in both the countryside and the major cities. The documentary was very effective in conveying the message to the world about how it has been a blow to most of our populace. We could not possibly remain apathetic anymore, there is no way we still can deny the fact that the country is in crisis. I have my own story to tell about this that have convinced me this is very serious matter.

A few days ago, I chose to ride non-airconditioned bus on my way home, which I thought I have never done so for sometime already; and I happened to be seated with a middle-aged man who apparently was coming home from work like me. I did not mind him at first, and I even was annoyed by how he smelled of sun-dried sweat. Shortly after paying for my fare, I fell asleep and slumped on the seat for sometime. I had my headset on and I was listening to my house music playlist on my phone.

The next time I opened my eyes I was a little less than an hour into the usual one and a half hour trip. The old man beside me was resting his forehead on the backrest of the seat in front of us. I stopped the music player on my phone and took off the headset. From the noise of the bus and those of the passengers, I can barely hear sobs in between heavy breaths. Looking out to see who it was, I found that it was the man beside me who was crying. I figured it will be nosy of me to ask him what is wrong, so I just put back on my headsets again and continued listening to music. This time though I just lowered the volume.

I felt quite uncomfortable having somebody beside me crying for reasons I don't know about. I am beginning to be more annoyed of the man as he could have kept whatever he is troubled of to himself until at least he gets home. But, no, here he is spilling his eyes out to the bewilderment of us around him. A lady who is seated with us in the row, pulled her guts to ask the old man what the problem was. The old man wiped his tears and said it is okay and not to worry. He then apologized saying he just couldn't help himself. He was holding a picture of a family-- with him as the father, his wife and three children.

I volunteered to the man that I may be able to extend to him whatever I can to help appease his emotions. He simply refused and said it is about his family and that he should deal with the problem himself. With a little more prodding, we finally got him to open up to us. Let us call him Larry; and he works in a construction site on a building within my office's block. He said that both he and his wife are working almost round the clock just to make ends meet. With the rapidly rising costs of living, he was fearful in time they will not be earning enough to have their children live comfortably. Larry also disclosed that without his wife's knowledge, he stopped having lunch at work for more than a month already just to save the money for their children.

It rained praises and sympathy on him, with some passengers offering a lunch treat for him. I myself was deeply moved by what I just learned. At home, we often have to throw out food that have long been in the fridge and at work I often just run to the nearest fastfood outlet on my lunch breaks, oblivious of people like Larry's family who are on the brink of having nothing to feed themselves with. Add to the fact that this man and his wife both have a job, how much more troubling can it be for those who are just living off the street? It seemed to me it will just be a matter of time, if this crisis escalates further, that we ourselves who are earning enough to some extent and for the time being will be affected.

I parted ways with Larry on my stop, and despite numerous refusal of taking a few bills I'm handing him out, I managed to slip some into his hands. Those, I said to him, are for his children. The next few hours, even as we are preparing for sleep, I couldn't help but be bothered. We were fortunate enough to still have food anytime we need some, and even throw out those we were not able to consume. And then there are those who barely even have a meal a day.

In the morning, as I prepare to go to work, my mind is firm on what I need to do. It may not put food in the mouths of those who need it most-- but at least this may help alleviate the crisis a bit. I will be advising everyone in the house and at work to just buy the food they can consume. That way, those that are later on just thrown out can instead be hopefully appropriated to those who need it most. On my part also, I will be skipping lunch from now on each working day in hope that this little way will help lessen the pressure on rice demand. Besides, even though I am still several pounds away from going over my recommended weight, I think I need to shed off some pounds.