sarisaring kwento

I went to Sta. Lucia Department Store last Sunday to buy a thousand and one picture frames (ok 60 lang naman, hahaha) to hold a certificate that we are giving out to donors of our alumni association (cheap! but dont tell the donors). That was quite a lot for me to bring to my car, so the clerk together with two others carried my stuff for me to the parking lot. I handed my tips to them. The first two who were new in their jobs readily accepted, while the last one who was also the one who attended to me while i was choosing and who has been with the store for quite some time refused to get my tip. He said it was enough that i bought from his section and that he was getting commission for them. I tried to insist but he wasn't persuaded. I asked for his name because people like him should not be forgotten.

Roldan was solicitous while I was choosing and I could really tell he knows his job. He asked me what I was using the frames for, and advised me not to buy a certain type because I couldn't change the photo on display. He was also cheerful even though he had to wrap each frame in paper to provide protection to the glass surface.

I felt so good meeting someone like him. Not everyone is after money, after all. He serves well not to get tipped but because he believes that to serve well is just part of the job. He also said "madodoble na yung reward sa akin". Wow!how many people can actualy say that? That what he's got is enough?

Kudos to people like Roldan - there is hope for us.

One afternoon last week I went to Payatas to follow up on some requests regarding my research. We went up the heap to see some new development with the methane gas collection pipes. I chatted a bit with an old man scavenging for cardboards. He said a kilo could fetch 50 pesos, and a kilo is all he could get in a day. He won't be able to sell it that day since he had to dry it first. He looked old to me, perhaps in his late 50s, but might just be a lot younger. He looked so gaunt, his eyes sad and empty. What a disturbing reality.

On my way back to UP, I was listening to the radio as it aired the Senate hearing of the ZTE scandal. Our politicians trying to get 139 million USD in kickbacks for a project that is really not necessary (that is another scandal which is not being discussed), and I thought of the Old Man working the whole day to get 50 pesos. Their greed makes me seeth. 

The other day I met with a donor for student scholarships and he shared with us the stories of their scholars. Their foundation visits the family of the students to see their living conditions and also helps in the formation of the personality of the students. Although it is not my first time to hear of abject poverty, what he told us still touched me. He told us of a girl who lives in the cemetery, of a boy who was battered by his own father because he wouldn't give his allowance (given by the scholarship) to his father who wanted to use it to drink, of a mother who refused to send her daughter to school because she needs help selling fishballs, of students who had to go to a barangay hall to study or to a nearby street lamp because there is no light inside their house.

Thank God for people like this donor, for believing that education does change lives. There should be more people like him who are willing to invest in our poor youth. Education is the way out of the cycle of poverty. Although I do hold the position that it is not a surefire way, at least they are given a chance.

Is it really that big an expense to help send someone to school? I asked about expenses from a mother who wants to send her daughter to school but can't and I figure she needs around 32K for two sems worth of tuition plus transpo and some incidental costs. 32K is less than 90 pesos a day. And what is 90 pesos to us? A cup of coffee at a fancy (I must say overpriced) coffee shops, less than the cost of a movie ticket, less than a meal at most restaurants, much less than what we spend on a night out, and so on and so forth.

There is one story I read that I will never forget. The story tells of a laundry woman in America, definitely not wealthy like the usual donors of scholarships are, but who sent several students to college. Her generosity is awe inspiring. She had so little, and yet she shared. With my analogy of the 90 pesos a day, we really don't have to be millionaires to be able to send one poor child to school. Ninety pesos to us who have more means nothing, but to a poor one, it makes a world of difference.

So I say...we can change the world one student at a time, at ninety pesos a day.

Of UP, that is.

In a small gathering at Quezon Hall to officially announce the endowment of Professorial Chairs, President Roman shared something about the faculty. She said that the highest paid faculty member (with around 30 years experience, and a PhD degree) receives 31K. Yes, that's right, 31K pesos a month. So, why do they stay, people would ask her. They must be mad for staying when they can command much much higher outside UP. And yes, she agrees, we have to be a little mad to be here in the university. Although we may not be materially wealthy, there are so many other non-material things that we gain from being here. True.

I was seated across the window facing the University Avenue. It was a little past 5PM and I can see the red blazing sun setting in the horizon. It was a beautiful sight. I felt at peace. What a privilege to be working for the university.

I read about the death of the playwright and UP professor Rene Villanueva in the Inquirer today, and looked up his blogsite that was mentioned in the article.

i have read a few of the posts, and there is one (http://renevillanueva.blogspot.com/2007/11/tasa-tasang-ligaya.html) that particularly moved me. To quote my favorite part: (have to copy them here lest the blog will be removed):

Kaya dapat kong ipagdiwang ang araw na ito: Ang unang linggo ng muli kong pagtuturo. Ang unang linggo ng muli kong pagbabalik sa tanging mundong nais kong kabilangan. Maari ko na lamang ipagdiwang nang munti at unti-unti ang galak na nadarama ko sa maliliit na tagumpay. Saka na tantusan ang malalaki at malalawak na pagwawagi. Ang unang buwan, Ang unang semestre. At ang unang taon. Kung palarin akong abutin pa iyon.

Samantala'y dapat lamang na maging kasiya-siya para sa akin ang unang linggo. Unang apat na araw ng pagkakaroon ng pagkakataong maging bahagi ng karanasan at kamalayan ng halos limampung kabataan.

Ano'ng hahapin pa? Ang iba'y bahala na. Dumating kung dumating. Kung hindi, huwag mabigo o mangamba. Ang unang linggo ay sapat nang kagalakan.. Bakit maghahanap pa ng iba?

(End of quote).

Very inspiring words for us to live our lives joyfully and deliberately.

Why do people go to casinos to play slot machines? Slot machines are the most mindless games I have ever seen. No mental input required, no physical skill necessary --- we can just go on pushing buttons, winning, losing, without even looking at the screen. Isn’t that pathetic?

I played a bit though. I was brought there by relatives I had dinner with. What is there to do? I bet 500, lost. Moved to a non-smoking room (relief!), concentrated hard, and really wished I would win. There was an inner voice telling me I would win, so I placed another 500. I made a mental note that a thousand is my limit, but also wished that I would win. When my 500 was almost done, cling cling cling....I knew I won, but actually didn’t understand how much it is I won. I asked a girl beside me, she said I won 500. But when I collected all the tokens and had them changed, I was given 2000! (But I don’t understand, the display said I had winnings of 300 credits, and one credit is 5 pesos....Is it possible for the attendant to rig that? I had to call one since the machine run out of tokens when I was claiming my winnings). Anyway, now I have a net winning of a thousand, I used up another 500 to try my luck again. When I was done with the 500, I stopped.

Enough, I thought. I used up the time to walk around and pondered about why people would actually spend time in this place. It is filled with smoke, there is almost no social interaction, what is there to gain?

Do people go to win? Are they just trying their luck? Definitely, people who go have money so do they just need more money, and want to earn it quickly? Or, are they just trying to kill time? Or are they simply bored and have nothing else to do, and so spend their time there?  Or, are they out for some excitement? With each push of a button, there is that 50% chance that you might just win, so for the whole time you are pushing and pushing that button, your life is in suspense. With 500 pesos, at 5 pesos per bet, you are excited at least 100 times. Oh well, that at least is good. Say one run lasts for 5 seconds, at 500 pesos, your life gets exciting for a little more than 8 minutes. Hmmm ... quite a steep price to pay for some excitement.

In my angst-filled years, there were a few things I did not want to use and do but now find them essential.

1. Cellphone. When cellphones started getting popular in the 90s, I swore I wouldn't ever own one. I thought it was just one of those gadgets people want to have to keep up with the Joneses - something to flaunt, something to make themselves look cool. I also didn't like the idea of being accessible all the time. I held on to this until I went to Japan in 2000.  I didn't have a land line in my room, Papa was sick, and there was no way of getting to me instantly other than the cellphone so finally I got one. When I went home for vacations, everyone had cellphones, and so I borrowed Papa's (yes, he had one, but he used it like an analog phone - he would input numbers, and only to make and receive calls) to get in touch with friends I wanted to meet. By this time, I found it exciting that it was so easy to find people (this from someone who didn't want to be accessible!). So when I got back for good, one of the first things that I did was to get a cellphone but chose the cheapest one. One that can make and receive calls, and send messages - those are the only functions I need in a cellphone. No camera, no radio, no internet facility, no blue tooth. I still don't find it exciting to have all those in my gadget. But I do lug my cellphone around, often checking it for messages, in case there are urgent ones that need to be replied to. I try my best not to be stressed by it, and try real hard not to be controlled by this teeny-weeny gadget. No checking messages while talking with someone in person, definitely. No desire for the latest model. Well, at least, not for now...

2. Digital camera. I resisted buying myself one for a long time. I have been living in Tokyo for more than four years when I finally decided on getting myself one. Every other student I knew had one. Call me snobbish, but I just didn't consider digital photography art. Those using it would just shoot and shoot without giving serious thought about the composition, the lighting, etc...nothing is going to be wasted anyway. I felt the involvement of the photographer is lost with this instant thing. Why did I finally get myself one? I was almost done with my studies and getting ready to go back to the Philippines when I realized it would be good to have these digital snaps for lectures, for presentations. The analog was also getting more expensive with printing, and all. I still have my analog SLR though but I rarely ever use it. Still, I don't want to part with it. Not yet.

3. Using text lingo. I try to minimize these, but can't help it sometimes...lyk rlly...

4. Lugging laptops and working in airports. I thought being in airports and traveling, even when work related, are good breaks from the daily grind. We can just sit out the waiting in the check-in area, to have some peace and quiet, read a book, observe people, have coffee..Why do I have to bring my laptop? It's heavy, requires care...but I have brought it on some trips to use the waiting time to work! Am conscious about it though..as much as possible, I don't bring it, unless it is really, really necessary..like, when I have to present a paper for a conference and have yet to make a presentation.

5. Watching Die Hard! Hahahaha, there was a time, when almost everyone I knew was raving about this movie, and out of the blue, I just decided, I won't watch any Die Hard film.I don't know why, I wasn't a big fan of action flicks anyway. I got to watch it (I don't remember the circumstances) but actually enjoyed it. Didn't watch the succeeding ones, though. One is enough...

So there...while writing these, I realized two things. I am kind of judgmental and two, we should never say never!

I renewed my driver's license this morning at the new LTO satellite office at Robinson's Metro East. I thought that was pretty convenient, waiting inside the comfort of an office within a mall. It was all smooth-sailing, until Julius Babao got in, didn't have to wait, and had his papers processed in a jiffy. I felt piqued at this point but didn't know how to go about it. I was trying to justify that perhaps, that kind of decision (not to let that media guy wait) was the prerogative of the office, so I tried to keep cool, although I muttered a protest which was heard only by people sitting close by. I patiently waited for my turn. It wasn't really that long, but at 12 noon, they announced that we had to come back at 1PM because they were going on a lunch break (Julius has left at this point). So I went up to the window where the processing people were, and I said, I wasn't leaving until they released my driver's license. I told them that had they not prioritized Julius, I would have had my license done before 12. I also complained why they had to give special treatment to that guy anyway. Who is he anyway?!!! The lady, a Ms. Roces, tried to justify that Babao was in a hurry. I told her, everyone in the room is also in a hurry. I forgot to tell her which I should have, that honeslty, I think her task is even more important than Julius's blabbering on television - that most probably, majority of us there in the room had more important tasks than this media guy. Ms. Roces was not good in handling the situation and it was obvious she hated my guts but couldn't tell me so. So they processed my license, and again announced that they were now going on a break. A guy  (whom I suspect even came earlier than I did) tried to protest but the lady wouldn't hear any of it, so I felt so agitated and tried to reason again, that he should be served because he came ahead of that Babao guy. I asked her to finish everyone who came before Julius because not to do so would be so unfair. She was really piqued at this point, and announced grudgingly that they were not going on a lunch break to process all papers there. I left at this point.

There are three main points I want to make here.

First is the issue of the preferential treatment. Why should anyone be given preferential treatment? I think the only people who deserve to be given preferential treatment are the old and the disabled (but most probably, they won't be driving anymore). In case someone is really in a hurry, the office should announce to the rest of the applicants and ask for an apology for prioritizing a certain person. It really infuriates me when people are given certain privileges especially in public areas. I once was queueing to enter Palawan airport during the peak season. It was hot, the line was long, and it was crowded. We were in a long line when there came a family who didnt fall in line but instead was just let in. I approached the police manning the line and asked him why that guy was let in without falling in line, and he reasoned that the guy had a gun and so had to be let in so his gun can be registered. Ridiculous, I told him --- we are actually giving people incentives to carry guns? My companion tried to calm me by justifying that maybe he is doing a a special operation (i saw from his ID that he was from the NBI) but if that were so, would he do that when he has a woman (presumably his wife) and a boy (presumably his son) with him? Grrrr...I was so mad I gave this gun-toting guy dagger looks.

My second point is about Julius Babao himself. He is a journalist, a respected one supposedly who I thought before this incident was an upright person who would treat everyone fairly because media people, especially his kind, are always exposing one kabalastugan after another. They are all over television and radio, championing the causes of justice, freedom, fairness...In fact, my first impression was he was there to make an expose of the process of the renewal of the license (like the required drug test looks so phony - why are the results so quick? - this is another story). I held them up high there - until today. Now, I know they are just mouthing all those causes that they want us to believe they uphold. I am not sure if am overreacting - perhaps for him, this is not really being unfair, but in my book, it is. If we can do it in little things, we can progress to bigger things.

The third point I want to make is about the apparent passivity of the Pinoy. Why do we just let things like this pass, as if it is something we should accept and live with? I think that if we were more assertive with our rights, and speak out against injustices even of the littlest kind, somehow, we can make our country a little better. Or am I dreaming?

Wow..it is my first entry on my blog, and what do i write about? There are so many things I can talk about, but are they for everyone to read? I admire people who are so open and have no qualms in sharing their thoughts on everything, but I am not that sort of person. But will there be people who will read my blogs anyway? hahaha.

I think I'll use this as my journal...anywhere I am I can access this. Unlike my previous journals where I wrote them on notebooks..at least now, I can be consistent.

i also want to use this to store my photos, then it's easier to share them with friends. happy blogging to me!

by the way, i'm off from work today. had the flu since sunday...and my health hasn't really been good since the new year.