Time to hit the road

Category: By DuNi

I have finished restoring up my old bike.  From a piece of junk that only required an arm’s throw into the garbage dump, I decided to spend some time into it.  I have been criticized by some people in the neighborhood because at the start, it was really a piece of junk if you have seen it.  Most of those people have been encouraging me to junk the crap I called bike, buy a motorcycle, sounding just like every motorcycle salesperson.  They think that what I am doing is just a waste of time.  A motorcycle can be easily maintained, as they continuously persuade me with all their flattering remarks on the wonders of motorcycling.  They thought I don’t really know to ride a motorcycle.  It’s just that I don’t really like to ride one.  I am adhering to most people’s belief that “riding a bike is like having sex, once you learn, you’ll never forget”.  Although in biking you don’t use your tongue, it is still okay with me.

After a year (yes, it took me a year because of budget constraints), I finally restored the bike to my preferred setup, and what’s lacking onwards is what to do with it.  I really did not intend it as an errand bike (‘pambili ng suka’ in common terms), I wanted it to help me to be fit and at the same time to use it to explore the places around me.

The first step was last Sunday, when I initially decided to stroll around Clark.  Unfortunately, the day before, I forgot to buy two of the most important accessories I needed.  I have my helmet already but I was not able to get some tools used for emergencies.  I decided at the last minute to scrap the Clark plan and do something I thought was easier destination, Luisita Mall.  Clark was just minutes away, but without having a spare tube, it will be likely isolated when an emergency happens.  I decided to hit McArthur Highway in case something happens I can easily ask for help or I could ride a jeep back easily.

I was late and left at seven in the morning, after the sun has been up and shining.  I was planning to start at 5AM but I woke up late.  It was a perfect day, so I thought, since the previous days were spoiled by an array of typhoons threatening to flood almost the entire country.  Even the day before the ride, there were still some occasional rains which could have ruined my weekend plan. 

I stopped at the Death March Memorial in Capas for a short rest and also to enjoy the scenery.  It was going to be a great day, and not even having a spare tube won’t spoil my trip.  Besides, I chose this path because I know there are a lot of vulcanizing shops along the way.  The only drawback though is the struggle between me and my bike against the trucks, buses, and other vehicles in the highway.  It’s a dangerous world out in the highway for me so I did everything to have a safe ride, even if it takes me the whole morning to get to my destination.






I reached my destination in approximately a couple of hours and more (I wasn’t timing it).  After a quick meal and a short rest, I decided to return back since there was nothing to do in Luisita anymore after eating.  I was on solo ride so there was nobody to talk about anything under the sun, literally speaking.  The ride back was a little slower as fatigue and heat are slowly creeping within me.  I had cramps and rested in a waiting shed at Bamban junction and another one at Mabalacat-Bamban bridge overlooking the grotto.  I was passed by other riders while resting near the bridge, but I was easily passed by every riders I met on the road ever since the start of my road trip because most of them have geared bikes while my bike was on single speed sprocket and no other gears to rely on road climbs, this setup is every masochists’ dream.  I was back at home by 1PM with my legs trembling because of exhaustion, excitement and the thrill.  I am already looking forward for my next trip even now.





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P-Noy's first SONA

Category: By DuNi

The Filipinos had mixed reactions last Monday when they heard President Noynoy Aquino’s first public address after his Inauguration.  What was reported to be a surprise turned out to be, a real surprise, from the customary public speech that was the barometer for all heads of state, or republic, in this matter.

 P-Noy’s first State Of the Nation Address, personally, is tolerable.  After all, that is why it is called STATE of the NATION, not some chimera of hope and promise of fulfillment as a response to a concerning issue coming from a letter full of grievances from the underprivileged Filipinos.

 P-Noy positively identified the problems that the entire Filipino faced coming from a 9-year administration presided over false conditions of economic development, governance, and political stability.  This time the problems that beset the entire Filipino was not written on a piece of paper and sent as a miraculous “paper boat”.  The problem is the government itself, and this time, there is actually no paper to hold as evidence from all those problems created by P-Noy’s predecessor.

 Sometimes, in solving a problem, one must properly identify the problem first.  P-Noy’s SONA is the first that I know of that made an admission that there were traces of mis-governance, although in a very low-security risk of manner by keeping the names of the involved confidential.  P-Noy may have omitted names, but he certainly did enumerate some of the reasons why there was a low perception of public trust in the previous government.  He certainly did not have a definite plan to correct those problems, but he at least did not make empty promises.  There was no concrete development plan for the country in his SONA since he probably believes that finding a solution to all the problems he inherited would have his hands full.

 So what if his SONA lacks substance?  It is outright better than the entire fictional novel blurted over the past nine years, which when compiled, could perhaps rival the Harry Potter or Twilight series in terms of fantastical embellishments.

 I too, was disappointed with the over-all content of his first SONA but I admire his ingenuity for eliminating the Filipino people’s extremely high dependence for the government to do all the work.  Less promises, less expectations.  Therefore, there would be minimal disappointments on the point in time when the entire country will judge P-Noy on his failures and achievements.   

 It’s about time that the people should not rely too much on the government to work for them.  That’s what the previous administration did.  Now, who’s got the majority of the pie’s share – the taxpayers’ money?  One province received 105 million calamity budget allocations for 3 million worth of damage from a typhoon that did not directly hit it, while the other province which was hardest hit was allocated 5 million for 6 million worth of estimated damages.  

 Perhaps P-Noy knows that putting concrete proposals at this moment might not be a good idea.  After all, those problems he enumerated might just be the tip of the iceberg.  He never mentioned any 6-year economic agenda or something like a Millennium Development Plan or a 2015 goal.  At least he was honest enough not to reach for the moon, the stars, and the sky. Perhaps he wants us to think that before we can fly, we need to fix our wings.

4 Comments

Milli Vanilli says Blame it on the rain

Category: By DuNi

As of the moment, typhoon Basyang (international name Conson) had already left the country after “storming” into Luzon.  And as expected, it brought devastation from some of the areas that it has passed over.  The second typhoon to hit the country and certainly an addition to the list of disasters experienced this year, the typhoon was again another reminder for us about the cruelty of nature if we disregard the signs our only planet has been giving us, after years of exploiting and abusing its resources.

The aftermath of typhoon Basyang left us blaming – again for the hundredth time – our weather bureau for what we have perceived as their mistake in predicting the weather accurately.  The funny thing is, we all know how hard it is to predict weather correctly, and yet we cannot forget the mistakes made by the Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) – our one and only weather bureau.  Worst of all, we don’t listen to weather precautions or reminders given to us whenever each of these typhoons approaches.  Look at Ondoy last year, we treated it as a regular occurrence and yet it left us frail and suffering from its wrath up to this day.  Basyang tells us to take her seriously, but we just don’t care.

And after the rain (and the strong winds for this matter), we put our blame and pointed our finger quickly at our old, reliable but hateful weather bureau.  It came even to the point that the newly-proclaimed president became upset at the inability of PAGASA to give accurate predictions.  The outburst would have been justified if only the weather bureau has overflowing budget at their disposal and state of the art equipments.  I am not even sure if they have upgraded the operating system that they use to relay and store data into a user-friendly interface.

As I see it, we don’t really need to blame the weather bureau that has been using equipments older than the date of birth indicated in our birth certificate.  We had a president who spent nine years building roads and infrastructures but neglected to maintain and upgrade equipments who’s just a little bit younger than most PAGASA employees.  And this is what they call the road(s) to progress - the vision blurred by the heavy downpour of corrupt practices prevalent in most of their government transactions.  They’d rather build roads and bridges to nowhere than upgrading one necessary and fully functioning agency that informs and alerts the citizens from any possible catastrophe, whether natural or man-made.

It is always easy to blame PAGASA.  We blame them for the heavy rains when we expect the sun to shine brightly on us.  We blame them for the floods but we throw our garbage in the streets.  We blame them for the landslide but we are the ones cutting down trees from the mountains.  We blame them whenever we get surprised at the sudden change of direction that our typhoons had made while ravaging our country.  We blame them when we suspend classes for students on a sunny day.  We blame PAGASA for ignoring their warning to us to prepare for the worst even with their limited resources.

Basyang and other upcoming storms are not just reminding us to brace ourselves for Mother Nature’s wrath.  The devastation also wants to remind us to be on alert, for ourselves at most.  We don’t have to rely so much on a weather bureau that is undermanned and left to age - from its equipment down to its personnel.  All we have to do is to rely on ourselves to survive such disasters, and with the hope that the wind will blow the bad weather away… from us.
4 Comments

Notice of Power Interruption

Category: By DuNi

Dear Citizens of this beloved city,
Due to the ongoing rotating brownouts implemented in the country, we regret to inform you that we are scheduling city-wide power interruption tomorrow from 8:00 a.m. to 6 p.m.

In order for everyone to cope up with the inconvenience of feeling the scorching heat during the scheduled brownout, may we suggest that you put on your best clothes and stay at the nearest mall for the duration of the power outage? 

Instead of feeling uncomfortable and lapsing into hysteria while enduring the heat within your cramped dwelling, any mall within the vicinity of our beloved city will be sufficient enough to cool your heads down.  You can enjoy yourselves within the air-conditioned enclosure that the mall can offer aside from the usual boutiques, food establishments, arcade games and watching that over-hyped teen vampire movie shown in the cinemas.

All jejemons must be in full jejemon gear including their jejecap.

All emos should be in full black gear including their creative eyebrow make-up.

All shopaholics must have at least two paper bags/plastic bags (equivalent to two separate purchases) of the things they desire most, for this particular day only.

All gorgeous ladies can wear their sexiest outfits so that the men can drool and look back afterwards.

All students are excused to skip their classes and waste their precious study time at the mall.

We strongly advise that you make the most of your time inside your favorite hangout place so as to forget that we have been screwing you with the horrible services we offer while deliberately trying the raise the amount that we are charging you.

Yours truly,

Your only Electric Company
8 Comments

The Struggles

Category: By DuNi

It has been more than a century when our so-called heroes proclaimed our independence.  A hundred years and we still cannot fathom the idea of full independence.  Yes, we are an independent nation based on the conditions of self-governance and sovereignty but most of our policies - particularly the ones pertaining to our economy – are, at most, dictated. 

Who dictates oil prices in the market?

Who dictates the costs of basic services (Water, Electricity, etc.)?

Who dictates the prices of basic commodities?

I agree there are factors but I think the government MUST protect the interests of the people and not of those businesses.

So which entity really dictates our policies?  Our so-called democratic government with our leaders?  Or those influential oligarchs?  But most of our leaders belong to the core of those oligarchs that has always “whispered their preferences”, whoever sits on the throne in Malacañang. 

Bonifacio must have been smirking in his grave to Rizal while our National Hero must have been fuming mad at how their sacrifices where treated with mockery by the not-so-young generation who has inherited the nation’s struggles both have started.  Imagine Bonifacio blaming Rizal even at eternal life and telling him “I Told You So!” when Rizal rejected joining the Katipunan and the arms struggle for Philippine Independence.

A hundred years later, the country still struggles for genuine independence – from the heirs of the oligarchs of the Kastilaloys from Europe who colonized us for more than three centuries, to our modern compatriots who has inherited the same old medieval motto:

If you have the gold… you have power, you have the influence.

If you don’t have those, your struggle may be futile, unless a miraculous act from the heavens above brings the entire nation into sublime change our dead heroes longed for.
1 Comment

Reformat

Category: By DuNi

Bagong reformat ang PC ko.  Ugali ko na ang magre-format ng computer ko kapag nagkaka-problema.  Sa loob ng isang taon halos dalawang beses ako nagre-reformat.  Minsan nga lang hassle lalo na kapag yung mga importante mong files eh hindi mo mai-save.  Para saan nga naman kung yung mga naka-save mong dokumento, pictures, o kahit music files eh hindi mo maise-save diba?

Matinding virus, simpleng worm, o kahit ano pang defect(hardware o software), hindi ko na hinahayaan pang lumala at umabot sa puntong mag-crash.  Hindi naman siya mahirap gawin.

Fresh start, kumbaga.

Mabuti pa ang PC.  Isang format lang ang katapat.  Kasalungat ito sa buhay ng tao.  Kahit anong problemang dumarating sayo, hindi ka pwedeng mag fresh start.
 
“The past will always come back to haunt you.”
 
Hindi mo pwedeng sabihing kalimutan na ang lahat.  Kasi ang ibang tao pa rin naman ang magpapaalala sayo.  At minsan yang ibang tao na yan ang manggagatong at magsusulsol para masira ang anumang kumpiyansa mong suungin ang anumang pagsubok na kinakaharap mo.

Mabuti pa ang PC.  Nakukuha sa mga anti-virus, Registry Mechanic, at kung anu-anong spyware detector at remover.  At ang worst case scenario eh ire-format ang bumabagal mong system.

Clean slate.

Malinis lahat.  Tanggal ang anumang sanhi ng pagkakagulo ng functionality nito.   Tanggal ang anumang hindi kaaya-ayang data na nakadikit sa memory.  Mas mabilis pa at mas maayos kesa sa dati.

Mabuti pa ang PC, madaling maka-recover sa oras na magka-problema.

Sana ang buhay parang PC, madaling ire-format.

3 Comments

The quick ALA EH... YEAH! getaway...

Category: By DuNi

I was in the middle of an election-related event when I received a message from a friend asking for a favor.  It was not an easy one but very tempting, indeed.  And so, midway through the afternoon I found myself packing some stuffs and hopping on the first bus I saw on the terminal to go South, specifically to San Juan, Batangas.

I arrived at a few minutes past five in the afternoon in Lipa to meet my friend, who, just like me, is very much excited on our first trip to Laiya.  Both of us are first timers and have no clear idea about going there.  Relying only on bloggers’ experiences we have read from the internet, we embarked on our adventure to see that far and very famous getaway at the edge of Batangas province.  We rode for more than an hour’s jeepney ride from Lipa to San Juan town proper with the mood between excitement and anticipation, and as the yellow sky turns to dark, our eagerness turned into slight fear since we’ll be entering into an unexplored territory - in personal terms.  It was a good thing that the jeepney driver was gracious enough to help ease our anxiety, assuring us that we won’t get lost since San Juan is also the end of the route for him.

We reached San Juan town proper at around seven in the evening and we were almost dispirited that there was no more jeepney bound for Laiya at that time of the night.  After waiting for almost an eternity, we decided to haggle for a reasonable tricycle fare and we cruised on that long stretch of mostly empty highway.  After about an hour, we reached our initial and preferred destination, which was Aquatico Resort.  I said ‘WAS’ since we didn’t get what we wanted.  The resort was fully booked even on a weekday, including the other nearby resorts.  We also tried Virgin Islands but I think they were skeptical about our ability to pay for their luxurious accommodations when they saw us alight from our country’s distinctive three-wheeled transport.




We settled for the cozy Kabayan Resort in Aplaya, and after settling in our room, we had a quick, late dinner and immediately went to what we were really after, the beach.  We immersed ourselves under the clear night sky with the moon and some stars to gaze while floating from the waters at the beach, staying comfortably for more than an hour.We slept well and woke up at dawn, ate breakfast and exploited the beach early.  We rented a kayak and planned to try rowing up to Aquatico Resort.  A big task indeed, since we weren’t able to reach our destination.  The searing heat, adding the limitless muscle power needed to row - which I do not really have (both muscle and power) - contributed to our failure in reaching our target destination.  We consoled ourselves midway through the wide bay by meeting local fishermen diving for their daily food supply although we weren’t able to determine whether it is intended for lunch or for dinner.  They were very good divers and very friendly that we were engaged in conversation with them while they were staying afloat and resting in between dives.  We sunbathed and rested on the kayak for a short while and went back at the beach.










We went out of the vicinity of the resort to look for food and we found a nice little native eatery.  The food at Kabayan was satisfactory but we were looking for something local, and cheap.  The eatery near Laiya main road served the purpose.  We wandered around the neighborhood and even played billiards at the adjacent resort while munching on buko salad packed on ice candy plastic bags sold by locals.  We were planning to go island hopping and snorkeling, we were able to convince two sexy strangers to share the expenses but they were discouraged by their other companions, so we decided to forego at the last minute since the fee was expensive for two persons.  We went back to dip in the shallow waters of the beach front of Kabayan Resort that we were enjoying every moment of our wet, unplanned adventure.  We rested at high noon by tasting their Halo Halo specialty.  Then after an hour, we went back to our room and start preparing to leave Laiya.






We waited at the roadside since we were assured that there are jeepneys going to town.  We were accompanied by two taho vendors and another lady stranger who was also waiting for the ride to San Juan.  It was still two hours past noon so it is still too early to panic about being stranded.  A few minutes and the jeepney arrived with only a passenger inside so we felt all right although a little uncomfortable, since one of the taho vendor was probably too tired from his daily job that he fell asleep and was not aware of his head hitting my shoulders on occasions during the ride.  We reached the town proper and rode a public van up to Lipa terminal were me and my friend separated ways and I, once again, got on the bus going to Manila still daydreaming about our unplanned, unforgettable, and exciting Laiya getaway.
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