Chill

This sure is my space and if I chose to I could have probably continued to post it but I opted to delete it. Probably, it's because I still have some little respect for whatever it was that we had.

And there is no way that I am going to allow myself to lose my cool and do something harsh just because I received messages which angered me.

Just as long as I will no longer be dragged into something that no longer concerns me and that I won't be accused of doing something I will never do, then I can probably forget it ever happened.

I am counting that nothing of this sort will ever happen again.

Chill. Just chill.

End of story?

These past few days, I've been trying to finish a short story. And I just couldn't. Or maybe, it could be that I just don't know how to end it.

And I think it is because these past few days, my attempts have been lacking the color, if not the perpetual angst of someone who has been thrown into a great opportunity of witnessing how the most ordinary of our people are battered in endless sh*t. Forgive the language.

When I started this story, I was thinking of having it published in Liwayway that has particular liking to old-school you-and-me against the world love stories, letter-writing and showbiz tsismis. Forgive the morbid attempt but the cash prize isn't something you can easily dismiss when you're in need.

And now, there's a stronger urge of deleting this 10-page short story attempt than let it rot in some hundred kilobyte-space on my flash drive.

It isn't like I'm the kind of writer who dress up her whole short story with eardrum-breaking profanities to give it the spunk of oppression or anything similar to that. It is just that I feel like putting out the brakes on my words and just play it like those physically-aggressive basketball players do when they’re in court – most especially when there are cameras around for them to show off their power, or anything that imitates that. Not that I’m out to hurt anyone, physically or verbally.

When you’re in a time where there’s so much to write, you can only lose your temper. And that’s probably why I can't muster the guts to finish this story; somehow, I feel that it doesn't have the temper of reality; it doesn't have any of those “right in the action, right in the moment” plot.

Ah, I should probably just delete it.

Power Shortage? Give me a Break.

The rotating brownouts has finally caught us up.

It's like every other day, every establishment in Laoag City is roaring with power generators.

What I don't get is the fact there's some power shortage that should largely affect the provinces of Ilocos. After all, there's the Bauang Private Power Corporation located in Bauang, La Union which only run its machines when it sees fitting, este, it only operates once a week for only a few hours. And that's true even to this date.

So, this power shortage largely puzzles me. Is there really power shortage or is it because it's the year 2010 and most of those Build-Operate-Transfer contracts of power plants are expected to expire this year? Could it be that the this is one way for the power plants to pressure the government to extend/renew contracts so they can continue earning millions by the hour?

It's a question which has been at the back of my mind. What could it be, really? Will the guilty ones please stand up?

(S)Trike Encounter

Manong Drayber sure know Anakpawis Partylist. When I handed out a brochure with a picture of the late Cong. Crispin Beltran, he said: "Daytoy diay natay idi niya nga Congressman?".

"Wen manong, isu. Saan yon to lipatan nga ibotos, a? Iraman yonto met lattan a botosan ni Satur Ocampo ken Liza Masa."

"Wen, ibotos ko ida, nalalaing da dagitoy. Aktibista da."

"Wen Manong. Ikampanya yonto metten kadagiti dadduma pay a kaddua yo nga drayber."

"Wen ading, san ka madanagan."

So, I rode another tricycle again with a smile plastered on my face. It isn't the first time that I usually encounter people who have a lot of great things to say about Anakpawis Partylist, Satur Ocampo and Liza Maza. Ka Bel's deep love for his country and his honest and sincere public service are only few of the things that he is best remembered for. It warms my heart that the people I have decided to support and campaign for have really earned the respect and recognition of the people, especially the ordinary. It is hard in this game of dirty politics but when you have the support of the ordinary people, then it becomes easier.

Very few of those running for the May 2010 elections are like Liza, Satur and Anakpawis. We sure need to use our heads before we do any "ballot-shading" come election time.

Think. Think. Think.

Pampu II

Yesterday, we bought Pampu his very first leash at Robinson's so we can tie him up whenever we leave the house. He has this tendency of slipping out of the gate when no one's around. There's a small space on the lower part of the gate where he usually squeezes himself out.

There are of course other factors why we decided it would be better to tie him up.
Pampu has this unusual habit of shitting anywhere on the garage, especially on parts where we're most likely to step on them, so we decided we might be able to contain his shitting on a particular garage corner, the safest for all of us. And since he can't help chewing on things, like slippers, papers, electric cords, including certain body parts (i.e. toes, hands, ankles, soles) we thought we can help him become more disciplined and train him to act a little more - civilized.

With all these things in mind, we thought that we should tie him up the whole night so we can start training him. At first, he cried so we let him loose several times until we got tired of his whining, we let him sleep without tying him up.

This morning,we tied him up to keep him from the streets. At first, there were his usual whining which we tried to ignore. Then, suddenly, he got quiet. That made us smile. We thought, he's gotten used to it after trying it out several times last night.

But, when I took the stairs to get my coffee, there he was right at the foot of the stair! He was looking at me on the eye, seemingly with a smirk on his face to show off his chewed leash! He was able to chew that in more or less 30 minutes!

I was quite surprised that he was able to chew that in such a short time. I should be checking those teeth sometime, they must work like razors. Though I was a little annoyed about what he did with his newly-brought leash, I must admit that I'm quite happy he's a clever dog. And maybe, tying him up wasn't such a good idea, after all.

Yup, tying him up with a cheap leash won't do. Chains, maybe. Hehe.

Nanay Ngiti

I first bought candies and a few sticks of Marlboro when I first met her about a month ago. Her small stall placed in the western-front corner of the provincial capitol park looks pitiful. Not only her box of candies and packs of junk food are in display, so are her loads of clothes (if they are used or laundried, that I can't tell)and blankets.

I thought, she's too old to be on the streets. When you're old you must have some place to go home to and loved ones to take care of you. She doesn't have any of that though she claims to have a lot of friends. Probably, that's the reason why she still manages to smile.

That's why I call her Nanay Ngiti. We have been having light conversations whenever I buy candies from her stall, ranging from politics to her personal life. The thing is, she speaks good English and Tagalog. And maybe, later, I'll found out more.

Somehow, in this world where everything seems so lacking and so frustrating, sometimes, I can't help but become truly sad about people like her who are on the streets.

I've tried to offer her some place where she can stay but she's hesitant because she also needs to earn a living and right at that park, she can do that.

What I've been doing just now is try to buy stuff from her stall instead of buying from someone else. That's probably a small thing but if there's anyone who should be helping her out more, that ought to be that place who owns the park where she sells. It's the job of people out there to help her and her likes.

Pampu

First, he tried to eat my fifty-peso bill. Then he took my keys, ran into a corner and kept on chewing them and would have probably eaten all of it if I wasn't able to find him on time and snatch the keys away.

And just a few hours ago? He vomitted right in my supplies box! Of all places where he could have done it, he found it sweeter to vomit on my stuff! Just imagine how my stuff stinks and how much patience I have mustered so I would not throw him away.

He doesn't look cute, no. Though one housemate claims he is. He is far from it. He chews on everything and since three days ago, he has been aiming to destroy my things. He probably hates me.

I did try to love him. And tried to like him. I decided that I can love his brown eyes and brown hair. I decided that if he would act nicely, I can probably look after him and make sure he doesn't fall on the stairs again (thanks to a housemate who chase him to the stairs).

But, just now, I'm having second thoughts. He still has to prove himself before he can earn my love, or at least my favor.

And, oh, for now, he's not welcome anywhere near my stuff. Not within a kilometer, at least. Hmp.

Dogs.

Dream On

It's all complicated. This city life. Why? Traffic drives me crazy. Not that it's heavy in this semi-city, semi-rural place I'm living in right now but when I'm rushing and I need something to buy, it makes me irritable.

Sure, there's already this technology called online shopping that has revolutionize the way for buying stuff from the most basic to the most luxurious with just a few clicks. No sweat. No fares needed.

But, of course, it's a dream. No one out here in this town offers that. Not even that big mall offers it.

Of course, I can only dream about buying stuff online. I have this particular tendency to want to do things the easiest and fastest way like buying the things I need. Hehe.

How about buying my favorite food or drinks with just a few clicks then, there'd be a knock on the door within just a few minutes.

That should be heaven. There'll be a time that I'll be able to do that and I'll be ShopWiki's most consistent customer. Oh, well, dream on ranix. Hehe