Torn Birds

Dear Sage and Sabine, First and last time I went to visit our Lola Rosa in SF was 21 years ago (1985) While Dy and I were in her apartment she noticed that I was rifling through one of her favorite books- Colleen McCullough’s “The Thorn Birds.” Right there and then she gave the pocket book to me as a gift. About a week ago, right after I got back, I started flipping through it again. It’s already old and weathered. Each page is the color of dark parchment stained by twenty years or so of exposure to the elements. The book is really endearing because of all the Non-Medical books I’ve read, it is the only one I underlined words that were not yet part of my vocabulary. I’m dazzled by my discovery of the book that introduced me to an encyclopedia of words; from something as simple as “ilk” to a “maelstrom” of polysyllabic ones. It is the only Non-Medical book where I made notes along the margins and in some empty spaces between chapters. While reading them I remember that the reason why I have strong ANTI-MALE CHAUVINIST views now is because the author was so good she actually made me sympathize not just with Meggie’s character but with all women. She is one author YOU THREE GIRLS (and your mom Ayheen) have to thank for your Dad’s right attitude.

Tonight, when I came home, I noticed that you guys may have been playing with it the whole day. One of you ripped the last two pages off the book. I’m sure it’s just an accident. But I almost went ballistic. Almost.

So when you guys grow up please remember that even though I sometimes act like a tyrant, I am, at heart, a benevolent dictator who knows how to forgive his kids even when they do the darndest things. Sometimes.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Dear Sage, Today, 6 years ago, you came into our lives.

You have only very simple requests for your birthday: a pet and a movie. Last Sunday we already gave you a pair of rabbits. We are lucky you understand that we have yet to put in our budget your first wish (very expensive puppies like what your cousin Kay owns. Pomereinian and shih-tzu.)

I guess we partially made it up to you by taking you to a movie about a dog (Tim Allen's "The Shaggy Dog") It was the first time Sabine watched a movie with us. Both of you enjoyed it. We all did. Including your Lola Letty. Only Sadie was not with us in the movie house. Then afterwards we ate pizza. NY style.

Go Veggie!

Dear Sabine, I remember crying my eye sockets out when I was a kid because your Lola Helen wanted me to eat bean sprouts (TOGUE.) I'm not much of a vegetarian but I did learn to love TOGUE, but then again that happened only after I became a teenager. Atleast I can say I'm much better than George Bush, Sr. who never learned to eat brocolli. He even tried to ban it once in the white house during his SINGLE TERM.

Anyway, I'm so proud when I saw you choose veggies over meat. You eat vegetables and pick them off your plate like hor's d'ouevre. I know your Lola Helen is very proud of you.

Why Gambling Sucks

Dear Sage, Once in a while you'd probably see LOTTO tickets in my personal effects when you grow up. I do bet on LOTTO sometimes but no matter how Large the potential winnings are (which could be as high as $5 Million) I make sure that I bet only 20 cents. I figured that I can afford to lose 20 cents a month on lottery. Years ago, my high school teacher computed the odds for me. Whether I bet 200 dollars or 20 cents on lottery does not really matter. The Chances of LOSING your 20 cents is as high as losing your 200 dollars. That's why, in the lingo of 21st century, "hindi ko kina career" ang LOTTO. The risk of losing money is TOO HIGH. Since I can afford to lose 20 cents, I have as much fun in checking if it wins anything but IF I bet too much (more than 20 cents) I don't think it will still be fun if I lose.

There are some risks in life that you should take. And there are some risks that are not worth taking. Examples of the former are legitimate Biz enterprizes, Bungee Jumping (Just make sure it's in Six Flags), and falling in love. Examples of the latter are ALL LEGAL AND ILLEGAL FORMS OF GAMBLING.

The more money you pour into these quagmires, the more money you will lose in the long run. There is a reason why big, money hungry corporations are not betting huge amounts of their revenues into Jueteng, Lotto, and Cock fighting even though the promise of ROI is theoretically 100 million times the original amount- It's because they are sure to lose HUGE AMOUNTS OF MONEY if they gamble it away.

A lot of gamblers have been seduced by the Catholic school dogma saying that "you should not gamble because it is... IMMORAL" which is like equating gambling to sex, drums and rock n roll. HOGWASH!

LOSING MONEY IS IMMORAL! That's why gambling really, really sucks.

I read a quote once that says "to equalize the money rich and poor people have, the poor should not be permitted to gamble away their monies while the rich should be permitted to do nothing except gamble in the casinos"

The current political leaders are copping out of their duty to protect the people from gambling by legalizing its most virulent form in the Philippines: Jueteng. By doing this they let people believe what the jueteng lords want the people to believe: that it is a "VICTIMLESS" crime.

IT ISN'T.

The victims of Jueteng are not the stockholders of SMART and GLOBE who can afford to lose spare change. The victims are those who subsist on less than 2 dollars a day. The victims are those who can't afford to lose money.

That's why the Poor should HATE THE JUETENG LORDS more than they HATE trapos. The Jueteng Lords take away MOST of their money but to bait them on these criminals give them back SOME of their money as "jueteng winnings" If you bet and lose 1,000 pesos of your hard earned money every month and you win ONLY an average of 500 pesos, you still lose. Unfortunately our people forget that when they add up the loose change (25 centavo coins) they and their community give to the JUETENG LORDS, they forget that it is much BIGGER than the JUETENG WINNINGS that the greedy jueteng lords permit them to win once in a while.

I'm sure that jueteng will still be a problem in your generation. But I hope that this blog entry will make you and your sisters realize why you should be as smart as PLDT, ABS CBN, and San Miguel Corp. when it comes to investing your money.

St. Patrick's

Dear Sage, Sabine and Sadie, may your hearts be warmed by this collection of Irish Blessings:

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light,

may good luck pursue you each morning and night.

May the roof above us never fall in, and may we friends gathered below never fall out.

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in
the wrong direction.

May you live as long as you want, and never want as long as you live.
May the Lord keep you in His hand and never close His fist too tight.

May your neighbors respect you, trouble neglect you, the angels protect you, and heaven accept you.

May you have warm words on a cold evening, a full moon on a dark night,and the road downhill all the way to your door.

May your pockets be heavy and your heart be light, and may good luck pursue you each morning and night.
May your blessings outnumber the Shamrocks that grow, and may trouble avoid you wherever you go.

May you live a long life, full of gladness and health. With a pocket full of gold, as the least of your wealth.

May the dreams you hold dearest, be those which come true. The kindness you spread, keep returning to you.

May the friendships you make, be those which endure; and all of your grey clouds, be small ones for sure.

And trusting in Him, to Whom we all pray; May a song fill your heart, every step of the way.

HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S (March 17, Friday)

Belated BDays.

Dear Sage, a couple of days ago I chatted with a friendly Pinoy expat who is visiting the Philippines after so many years. I guess she was glad to find a sympathetic ear because she was very frustrated for missing her Birthday (it was on March 14, when she left LA airport on March 13, she crossed the International Dateline from east to west hence when she arrived in Manila it was already March 15). Years ago, those who cross the imaginary line get a certificate like the one above.

Well, if it's any consolation, atleast she shares the same birthdate with Albert Einstein. And he knows a lot about the concept of TIME.

I think I was a small kid of 11 when in 1979 I read an article marking the centennial birth of Herr Einstein. The words were profound. It went on to say that Albert was one of the very few men who "with sheer force of intellect, rolled back the darkness of the surrounding universe."

His most famous Theories described Time, Space and Gravity the way classical physicists could barely understand. How could you possibly make Newton himself believe that Gravity is just a function of geometry, a curvature of space distorted by a great mass. Something I have given up trying to understand after 38 years of existence. It was at first thought to be heretical in the intellectual circles of the post victorian era. There was a poem that illustrates how his theories brought more chaos than understanding of the universe. It goes something like this...

"Nature and natures laws lay hid in night
God said, 'Let NEWTON Be!'
and all was Light

It did not last.

The Devil howling
'HO! Let EINSTEIN Be!'
restored the status quo."

Some ideas are so revolutionary that we should check in our prejudices at the entrance before entering the door of science. Einstein also was compromised by his prejudice. He was the last classical (deterministic) physicist of his generation. It was a bad thing. He opposed the idea of quantum mechanics. Today it is an established theory and a bedrock of modern science. I often wonder how far we would have advanced in the 1930's had Einstein embraced Quantum theory instead of being its Number One critic.

He is not as smart as I once thought. But that too is not a bad thought. It makes him as human as you and me when we think that he is prone to foibles you and I make.

The advice below, though it came from a flawed and very human poet, should be heeded by all including Herr Albert.

"Free your mind, and your ass will follow" -Bono


PS. belated happy bday to Jen of NY also celebrating on March 14, Moi of Manille also March 14, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Maida of Manhattan (March 16) Reymond of CICG and my GrandFather, Pitong, who would've been 102 summers young today had he not passed away

DJ

Dear Kids, There's always a first time for everything. This afternoon I just helped DJ ryan here set up his own Blog

www.ryanorlanda.blogspot.com

So remember when the blog becomes famous, and Ryan becomes filthy rich, your old man helped introduce him to the world of blogging.

Sadie's First Month

Dear Sadie, You just turned one month today.

And what a day it's been. The current government got a very, very close call. Events of twenty years ago almost repeated itself before our very eyes. I guess there is no guarantee that what happened today will not happen again, twenty years into the future. The political Heroes of today could be the villains of tomorrow. And Vice versa. So in the future, when Trillanes is already a senator, when Ronald Lumbao finally becomes partylist representative of the Masa, and Allan Paguia assumes the seat of supreme court chief justice, remember this...

when forced to choose sides between two EVILS who are lunging at each other's throat with machetes, the only moral choice is: NONE OF THE ABOVE.

Juan Luna's Blood Compact

Dear Kids, Tonight while gazing at this original painting, something really fantastic happened. I saw somebody walk up the stairs towards where the Juan Luna was hanging. It took me a few seconds to realize it but it hit me- Tonight I get to meet one of my "idols". Ok, he's not exactly american idol material but heck, who cares. I finally met Larry Henares.

In my own pantheon of "greats" he ranks second only to the late Ka Louie Beltran. I may not always agree with him with his stand against Liberal trade, his tirades against Bernie Villegas, The Opus Dei, and how he drools about TinTin DeLosReyes-Cojuangco (he said he slept with her...because when they were infants, their parents used to lay them side by side on the same bed) but he surely made my day so many many times.

Hey Larry, just in case you are reading this, I've always wanted to ask you one thing. Back in the 60's when you ran for the senate, when the liberals where meeting with party leaders in the barrios, you related once that when you felt the urge to smoke you asked a lanky party leader to buy you a cigarette. Ninoy was stunned by this. He said you just turned Bernabe Buscayno into your own personal assistant. Is this story true or is it one of your magnificent bovine eschatologies?

The Good EDSA

Dear Sage, The Americans refer to the second world war as the Last GOOD WAR. They believe that US and its allies (including the Philippines) fought on the side of absolute GOOD. The battle lines were very clear. Good and Evil are distinguishable. It is something that can't be said about the Korean, Vietnam, Afghan, and Both Gulf Wars.

For us Filipinos, The first EDSA that happened almost 20 years ago, was the GOOD EDSA. Before historians make the mistake of rewriting the events of two decades ago to please the (military) party in power I would like to tell you guys now what really happened in very simple terms:

The Filipino People rose as one to shield its own soldiers from annihilation. With our own warm bodies we PROTECTED the armed soldiers who lauched a failed coup attempt against its own commander in chief. By law they should all have been court martialled and summarily executed. BUT MY GENERATION DID NOT LET THAT HAPPEN.

The Filipino People were the Knights in shining armor who protected the not-so-virtuous Damsel called the ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES.

It was NEVER the other way around.

First Picture

Dear Sadie, This is your first picture with your Grand Dy. HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

Oliver Wendell Holmes

"The most stringent protection of free speech would not protect a man falsely shouting fire in a theater and causing a panic. "
Schenck v. United States (249 U.S. 47)March 3, 1919

Dear Sage, Yesterday, February 4, 2006, a stampede cost the lives of almost a hundred Filipinos. A crowd of 25,000 was encouraged by the producers of a TV game show to line up in the streets outside a stadium, with a capacity of only 15,000 seats, for almost a week. Some say the panic was started by somebody who shouted “may bomba! May Bomba!” (There’s a bomb! There’s a bomb!) It was a believable, plausible and PREDICTABLE threat considering that the Philippines has had more than its share of Terrorist Attacks.

Freedom of Speech does not include the right to shout “FIRE” in a crowded theater. That’s the reason why I decided not to post a controversial cartoon depicting the Prophet Mohammed as a Terrorist. It was very disappointing to see those members of the Moslem Faith reacting the way they did to the Danish Newspaper’s decision to exercise its journalistic freedom. So far radical arabs, who claim to be followers of Islam, have attacked or burned down Danish embassies in some parts of the middle east.

Our Islamic brothers must learn from the mistakes of those of us who practice the Judaeo-Christian Faith. The period called “dark ages” was marked by the absolute power of religious leaders, demonization of rationalism, and absence of separation between science and religion. It was an age where ignorance triumphed over reason- Ignorance waving the Bible and Papal encyclicals.

Fortunately, members of Islam have yet to equal the brutality/barbarity of our “Missionaries” who were responsible for the “Christianization” of the world. Christianity has a Dark history. It also has a Dark underbelly. There are Christians who believe with conviction that it is better to be good “Amway” Sales Representatives rather than good neighbors. What’s worse, there are still “Christians” who are more brutal and murderous than Usama Bin Laden. If Our Muslim brothers do not start to recognize the need to liberate themselves from the petty TYRANTS in their midst, they might end up like the ones they hate most: Slaves of religion forever in bondage to ignorance like that “Christian,” Brother Eli Soriano.

I wish Someday, when you are old enough to read and understand the entries in this blog, our Moslem brothers will see God not just in the Islamic mosques, but also in the eyes of non-Moslems who respect their rights to their beliefs as well as civil liberties.

And someday, sana naman wala ng kinakailangang magtiyagang pumila sa mga game shows tulad ng eat bulaga at wowowee. AT sana naman hind maging senator si willie revillame (reputedly a misogynist pig)

Ate Sabine

Dear Sabine, We were kinda worried you might get jealous with the attention that the new baby was getting from Mom and Me. But you know what? Whenever you hear the baby cry, you give me a worried look and say, "Dad, Dad!...Bibi..." while pointing at your sister. Then you hold my hand and push it to the direction of the crib and say "Get, get!"

One time when you saw that Sadie was about to cry, you placed a towelette on my shoulder- the same one you see me use whenever I burp her. Even though she has taken your place beside Mom, everytime you wake up at night you say, "Bibi" then pat her gently on the head, and fall asleep.

Ate ka na nga talaga anaki.

Nung araw...

Dear kids, years from now, when I start pontificating about "the good old days," or how good I was, you're gonna love reading what your Ninang Jaycee sent me via email:

When I was a kid, adults used to bore me to tears with their tedious diatribes about how hard things were when they were growing up; what with walking twenty-five miles to school every morning .. uphill BOTH ways . through year 'round blizzards. Carrying their younger siblings on their backs ... to their one-room schoolhouse, where they maintained a Straight-A average, despite their full- time, after-school job at the local textile mill .... where they worked for 35 cents an hour just to help keep their family from starving to death!

And I remember promising myself that when I grew up, there was no way in hell I was going to lay a bunch of crap like that on kids about how hard I had it and how easy they've got it!

But now that... I'm over the ripe old age of thirty, I can't help but look around and notice the youth of today. You've got it so easy! I mean, compared to my childhood, you live in a damn Utopia! And I hate to say it but
you kids today you don't know how good you've got it! I mean, when I was a kid we didn't have The Internet. If we wanted to know something, we had to go to the damn library and look it up ourselves,
in the card catalog!!

There was no email! We had to actually write somebody a letter ... with a Pen! Then you had to walk all the way across the street and put it in the mailbox and it would take like a week to get there!

There were no MP3's or Napsters! You wanted to steal music, you had to hitchhike to the damn record store and shoplift it yourself! Or you had to wait around all day to tape it off the radio and the DJ'd usually talk over the beginning and @#*% it all up!

And talk of about hardship? You couldn't just download porn! You had to steal it from your brother or bribe some homeless dude to buy you a copy of "Hustler" at the 7-11! Those were your options!

We didn't have fancy crap like Call Waiting! If you were on the phone and somebody else called they got a busy signal, that's it! And we didn't have fancy Caller ID Boxes either! When the phone rang, you had no idea who it was! It could be your school, your mom, your boss, your bookie, your drug dealer, a collections agent, you just didn't know!!! You had to pick it up and take your chances, mister!

We didn't have any fancy Sony Playstation video games with high-resolution 3-D graphics! We had the Atari 2600! With games like "Space Invaders" and "Asteroids" and the graphics sucked ass! Your guy was a little square! You actually had to use your imagination! And there were no multiple levels or screens, it was just one screen forever! And you could never win. The game just kept getting harder and harder and fast er and faster until you died! ... Just like LIFE!

When you went to the movie theater there no such thing as stadium seating! All the seats were the same height! If a tall guy or someold broad with a hat sat in front of you and you couldn't see, you were just screwed!

Sure, we had cable television, but back then that was only like 15 channels and there was no onscreen menu and no remote control! You had to use a little book called a TV Guide to find out what was on! You were screwed when it came to channel surfing! You had to get off your ass and walk over to the TV to change the channel and there was no Cartoon Network either! You could only get cartoons on Saturday Morning. Do you hear what I'm saying!?! We had to wait ALL WEEK for cartoons, you spoiled little bastards!

And we didn't have microwaves, if we wanted to heat something up ... we had to use the stove or go build a frigging fire ... imagine that!
If we wanted popcorn, we had to use that stupid JiffyPop thing and shake it over the stove forever like an idiot. That's exactly what I'm talking about!

You kids today have got it too easy. You're spoiled.
You guys wouldn't have lasted five minutes back in 1980!

I guess what I want you guys to remember is that no matter how hard my childhood was, our Lolo's and Lola's generation, and generations before us, deserve much, much more respect. And if I forget that, you can show this blog entry to me. I promise, no spanking (Scout's honor.)

BTW, Jaycee, ask your Boo kung pwede syang Ninong ni Sadie.

Dear Sadie

Happy 1st Week! Ate Sage chose this smiley for you.

Welcoming A Star

Dear Sage, When you look at the night sky you can already identify Orion's belt. The first two stars, you've named them "SAGE" and "SABINE." Yesterday, January 26, 2006, the third star finally got its name: "SADIE"

Sadie Ann D. Galvez arrived in our lives at 7:59 AM- just two hours after your Mom experienced the pangs of labor. She's quite heavy at 3.2kg.

Today we welcomed her here at home. Pictures will be coming soon.

PS. Welcome back, Pacman.

A Class Act

Dear Sage, Yesterday (Jan. 22, 2006) the earth's axis tilted a little because every Filipino around the world jumped up and down when Manny Pacquiao beat Erik Morales (Pictured in the right) in the 10th round of their Non-title bout. I decided not to put Manny's face in your blog. I would like to honor what Mr. Morales did when he was beaten by Pacquiao: He (Morales) embraced him (Manny)and gallantly smiled despite of a broken nose, and a shattered personal legend. That is what sportsmanship is all about. Morales, even in defeat, stood taller than the politicos riding on the coattails of Manny. Kudos to his Mexican supporters too who burst into spontaneous, respectful applause for Manny after his victory was formally announced.

"You are my adversary,
but you are not my enemy.
For your resistance gives me strength.
Your will gives me courage.
Your spirit ennobles me.
And though I aim to defeat you, should I succeed,
I will not humiliate you.
Instead, I will honour you.
For without you, I am a lesser man."

— “Opponent”, from Celebrate

PS. a year ago I honored Manny when he himself was defeated. His proud but battered countenance graced the other website I made. Beneath it were the words from the poem "INVICTUS." It was a time when Manny's head was "Bloody but Unbowed."

Speaking of Weddings

Dear Sage, I just read The wedding story of my cousin Florante and his wife, Cheryl. I've been visiting their site for quite a number of years now but it's the first time I've clicked on the ABOUT US button.

Anyway, when it was Florante's kid sister's turn to get married, she (Maida) chose him as her maid of honor. And he gamely accepted the role. That's how close they are. I hope you and Sabine and the New Baby will be as fond of each other as these two siblings are.

once upon a time...

Dear Sabine, Once upon a time, your Ninong Robie (the groom below) had the grin of a cat that swallowed the canary. now he has the smile of a seasoned wolf finally caught in the tender trap of love.



Once upon a time I did not like weddings...That was a long, long time ago.





and Once upon a time, exactly 7 years ago, I married your Mom.

Happy Anniversary Ayheen!

Eye of Horus

Dear Sage, This is a 3D stereogram. Your Lola Helen (God Rest Her Soul) Loved staring at these things when she was still here. Hope you'll like this.

PS. Cheesy quote of the day: "To achieve the Impossible, You must see the Invisible."

Your Cousin, Sydney Charles

Dear Sage, this is the picture of your cousin Sydney Decena Charles of South Carolina. According to your Lola Fe's email, she was "8.6 oz, 21 inches with a full head of black hair all straight and spiked up" at birth.

WELCOME SYDNEY!

Nice name. That reminds me, you and Sabine have yet to decide on the name for the baby in Mom's tummy. She's due any time now, y'know. Maybe our friends and loved ones reading this journal could help us(wink)

Not So Veiled Threat.

Dear Sage, some parents threaten their kids with spanking if they want their kids to toe the line. That kind of threat hardly works on you. But this one does:

Sage: Dad I want to watch TV

Dad: (eyes fixed on the screen watching) I'm turning this off after 5 minutes. You have to sleep

Sage: BUT DAD!!! I WANNA WATCH TV!!! (on the verge of tantrum)

Dad: If you don't listen and obey,
I'M NOT GOING TO LET YOU GO TO SCHOOL TOMORROW.

Sage: (gasp) huhuhu! okey. Lies down and finally sleeps.

I hope this threat will still be effective even when you're already in Pre-Med

Horshey

Shameless Plug

Dear Sage, The following is a shameless ad I've decided to post in your blog. I promise that all the money from this will go straight to you and your sisters' College Trust Fund. I got this idea from your Ninong Bibs who sent it to me via email. Someday, anak, I hope you'll understand why I had to do this...

" According to a proposed new law that would go into effect January, 2006 you will no longer be able to use a cell phone while driving unless you have a "hands free" adapter. I went to Globe and Smart Business Centers in SM branches and they wanted P2,500 (a little over US$50) for a headset with a microphone for my cell phone. Having a friend in the cell phone business, I talked to him and was able to come up with an alternative, working through a Hardware store.

These kits are compatible with any mobile phone and one size fits all. I paid him P2.50 (a little over 5 cents) each because he bought in quantity. Then we tried it with Nokia, Sony Ericsson and Samsung units and they worked perfectly.

A photo is attached so scroll down & take a look and let me know if you want one. Also, forward this to anyone you know, who has a cell phone, and who may want one!"

Congratulations Ayheen!!!

Dear sage, I love this picture of you and Ayheen (my EX-Girlfriend) tomorrow her fellowship training as a Pedia Nephrologist will be officially over.

Way to GO! I LOVE YOU BOTH!