Dysfunctional

I love facebook. I enjoy sharing snippets of my daily life with people who have bothered to add me as "friend" (yes, when it comes to the virtual world, i use the word friend quite loosely).  I equally find it entertaining to read about what has been keeping people in my virtual world busy.  I enjoy playing psychologist, trying to read behind the lines and photos. Truly, facebook tells you more about a person's insecurities than about a person's real life.

Think about it. That girl who keeps posting images of meals taken at restaurants must have grown up deprived of the joy of dining out.  The friend who keeps posting shout-outs about her shopping sprees was probably a recipient of hand-me-downs.  That person who does nothing else but watch pirated movies at home must have no constant relationship to speak of.  The guy who keeps your wall occupied with images of his new "toys for the big boys" perhaps missed playing with action figures and toy cars when he was little.  It can be a sad, sad world that they are living in, made even more depressing with the virtual "realities" that face them everytime they log in to their account.

I used to get annoyed by the hype someone would try to put in for what seems to me are trivial, every day occurrences of life - say, the standard lunch fare becomes a full-blown "it-seems-to-me-that-my-friends-do-not-know-what-spaghetti-is-so-i-am-going-to-post-a-close-up-photo-of-my-half-eaten-meal" experience.   But as I come to share someone's virtual life,  I have learned to recognize that I live in my own dysfunctional universe too.  That if I am truly, absolutely mortified by all these postings, I would not even dare log in to spare myself the pain.  And yet I do. Every day. Multiple times a day.

I guess I like knowing that there are people more dysfunctional than me.

Bucket List

I have never been into bucket lists but as of late, with so many things to wish for, a bucket list is the only way to go.

1.  Watch The Phantom of the Opera, for free. The tickets are so dang expensive, i truly believe it will break my heart more if I spend that much!

2.  Spend another weekend at the Shangri-la, lazing by the pool.

3.  Get that new lacoste bag in red. Un (fortunately?) for me, the new style I like does not come in red. (No, it's not this one)

4. Get my own iPad, so I don't have to borrow anak's.  Puro pictures kase ni Greyson Chance at One Direction ang iPad ni anak. :-)

5. Get rid of my old iPhone, and buy a new one.

I may never get to do them (or buy them), but just being able to "say it out loud" sort of helps get that itch scratched.

Hay. Double hay.

The Art of ...

I love to complain.  I complain about anything and everything.  I complain when it rains; I complain when it's too dry.  I complain when it's cold; I complain when it's hot.  I complain about my workload; I complain when I have nothing to do.  I complain that I have so many things to complain about. 

Being that I spend most of my waking hours at work, I am always seized by the urge to complain out loud.  Skimming through my previous posts and blogs and diary entries, I was amazed by the amount of time I spent harping about my unrelenting work inbox.  I can get way too pesky even for myself!  Tsk. Tsk.  

However, in the very recent past, I have resolved to stop complaining, and start appreciating.   This was not a decision I came to because I was really grateful for what I have.  This was a decision I made because I got tired of hearing the same old gripes here and there.  I came to realize that it is no fun to be around with if all you ever do is complain. 

It is not an easy thing to do though - biting my tongue when I feel like spewing all sorts of expletives.  Sometimes I feel like I have a bubble on my head bursting with a plethora of punctuation marks.  It is HARD.  But, it can be done.

I am a work in progress.  Sometimes, I fail - I give in and recite a litany of discontent.  I am human, after all.   Then I remember....

One Hundred

I was pestering anak about the results of her quarter exams.
me: " ano grade mo? mababa siguro ano? "
anak: " may one hundred kaya ako! "
i happily said : " talaga?! may one hundred ka? "
anak, smiling sheepishly, tells me: "oo may one hundred ako. three hundred pa nga yun nung saturday eh! "
she was teasing me about the 300 pesos i borrowed from her over the weekend!

Knock? Knock?

I needed to tell anak something, so I called out to her.
me: " 'nak! 'nak! "
anak dutifully responded with : "who's there? "

Magna Carta

My facebook timeline tells me I discovered the joy of "facebook-ing" in 2008.  I think I have gone through all levels of "fb addiction" - from farming to cooking to sewing dresses to my current joy, dashing diamonds.  I am also one of the many few (many na , few pa) who take to heart The Wall's question everytime we log in "What's on your mind?"

And because I exercise my own kind of censorship with my own facebook posts, I am always dumbfounded when I see posts that are way too personal, too self-absorbed, too crass and sometimes just outright rude.  Oftentimes, I wish facebook will add a pop-up while you are typing in your post, to remind you of the potential repercussions of what you write.

Or better yet, there must be a Magna Carta for facebook, to wit:

Clause 1, the freedom of speech and expression is not absolute. Exercise of these rights means that one agrees to be sensitive to the feelings of others. 

Clause 2, when posting personal images of various stages of undress (naked, half-naked, ready-to-be naked), ensure that your images are not offensive (in short, kung di naman kaiga-igaya ang itsura mo, or ang katawan mo, please spare us)

Clause 3, think it many times over before posting images taken from wakes or funerals.  We assume you are hurting over the loss of a loved one, but seeing pictures of you smiling or posing for that "pang facebook picture" defeats the whole "in-mourning" mode you have proclaimed on your status.

Clause 4, everyone loves pictures of food that make us drool, but do take time to remove the used spoon or fork before taking a shot.  It is a tad too ickky to see your kubyertos with crusted food on them.

Clause 5, do not share photos of seriously ill or injured people. If you want to help, best to reach out personally to the concerned person or the family.  Liking or Sharing pictures does not really do much to make things better for the people involved.

Clause 6, set a minimum amount for items purchased that will make your fb posts.  we know new purchases are exciting, and we share your joy over having bought something new, but not when it's a trivial little thing like a paper clip. 

Clause 7,  caption. caption. caption.  we love seing pictures and we know you love taking them, but we are not Manang Bola.  we want to know the story behind the picture.  you took time to post the picture, what's a little more time to write in a few words? 

Clause 8, have a little control when sharing posters of quotable quotes.  we all love inspiring thoughts, but no need to flood our wall.  we get it.

Clause 9, try not to be vague. if you must rant, at least rant in complete sentences. if you must brag, at least be specific about what you are harping about. 

Clause 10,  remember, not everything you see or read in facebook is the Bible truth.  Everyone tends to exaggerate, downplay, twist things to make it all appear to be better (or worse) than what they really are.

All in all though, I still love the facebook experience.  Walang sinabi ang mga tele-novela and showbiz talk shows sa dami ng drama at tsismis na nasasagap ko sa sandaling pag log-in ko.

Pinoy Henyo

Bilang parating nasa balita si Tito Sotto ngayon due to his talent for blatantly denying committing plagiarism, tanong ni anak nung nakita na naman nya sa tv si TitoSen :
"tatay ba sya ni Vic Sotto?"
Pwede! Pwede!😝

Spoon

while watching Spoon (Janice de Belen's cooking show) with anak, sabi ko: "ang ingay ni Janice ano? ganyan ba ako anak?"
anak answers immediately: "hindi"
natuwa naman ako.
but then she adds: "bakit, nagluluto ka ba?"
wasak! panalo talaga si anak! 😜

Linking In

Are you Linked in?  I have been a member of this site for a couple of years now, but I have not gone to great lengths to explore what it has to offer.   But as they say, everyday is a new day.  And today, I decided to play with it.

It's an interesting site.  You get to see more of the professional world.  People you connect with are people you connect with for possible career opportunities.  It does not matter that you do not know their birthdays (leaving you guilt-free for not remembering them on that special day).  It does not even matter if you do not exchange jokes with them.  You are not obligated to share your thoughts, make mundane comments on their shout-outs or "like" their wall posts.  It is such a carefree, to-each-his-own virtual world. 

The only thing everyone actually cares about is whether you are a possible conduit to a better future for them; whether you are an angel in disguise, meant to bring them to a fulfilling career outside of where they are now.

And so, I have started to love being Linkedin.  Try it. Maybe we will see each other there.

Trojan War {Why I hate Helen}

Exams na naman ni anak, so I had to help her review.  One of their topics is the Trojan War. At dahil mahaba ito, I had to summarize it for her - including describing each character and "connecting the dots" of how each one is related to the other.  ANG HIRAP! Not only do I not remember having studied this when I was in school, but I also only got to skim thru the summary from the web. Summary na nga lang, spi-need read ko pa. So, what I know is really pira-piraso.

After hours and hours of making kwento, I finally gave up and told anak:  "sige, anak, just do you best na lang"

Anak burst out laughing and teased me: "tinamad ka na ano? pag mababa ang grade ko tapos nagtanong si teacher bakit, sasabihin ko kse tinamad na ang mommy ko!"

Kung bakit naman kse si Helen nagpakidnap pa kay Troy! :D