Month: December 2012

How To Jaywalk and Survive

I’ve been running a tight schedule these past few weeks and I’m out of ideas except for this topic. Today, I’ll be an advocate of those who continue to choose to walk on the dangerous side as truth to be told, at some point I myself hated to go to the designated crosswalks just because it is more convenient, it is faster and it is the macho thing to jaywalk at certain times. Others I’m sure have there own excuses why they defeat the law but whatever that is I will now try to help them cross the other side in one piece. So how do you jaywalk and yet survive? Here’s my top 5 list:

1. Remember stop, look,and listen? Yes, that old kindergarten song will help you keep your life and limbs as you try to reach that other side of the road. In cases when you’re in a why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-road situation, for Pete’s sake, at least have that presence of mind: stop, look,and listen. Please.

2. Eye contact! Based on experience and observation, and as complemented by the book Traffic, an eye contact with the driver of an approaching vehicle works most of the time. This relays to the person inside the car some sort of mutual message that you know what you’re about to do and that you’re no road-kill material.

3. Grab a baby. I for one will brake  to let anyone cuddling a baby cross safely and I’ve seen majority of drivers do the same thing (isn’t it comforting to know that there’s still kindness among most of us). By the way, make sure it is your own baby. Ok?

4. Be old. Our country is among many others that don’t have seniors-friendly facilities, such as escalators, that would encourage the elderly to take the safer option yet thankfully majority of motorists take precaution whenever they see someone old inching their way across. Case in point is my father who cannot use those long flight of stairs of the overpass leading to his favorite place. He’s been hanging out in this mall almost whole year round so I know that considerate drivers have slowed down for him as he makes his way to the ‘big R.’

5. Smile..and wear shorts. Wear shorts…and smile. Smile…and wear shorts. Wear shorts…and smile. (I think I’ve made this one clear enough.)

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Lego kid still sleeping.)

An Apple A Day

I can’t remember the last time I got something pricey but I won’t even try to recall when or what it was. For now, I appreciate the fact that I now own my first Apple, albeit a hand-me-down. Thanks to you my Santa Clauses, it made me feel I wasn’t so naughty this year.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (First blog entry from my first iPad.)

Here’s a Briefer for Doomsday

Protect your precious head. Wear brief.

Here are top 5 reasons why you need briefs on doomsday:

1. Briefs can be used as masks (as illustrated).

2. Briefs can be good coffee filters (need I say preferably new ones?).

3. And depending on how you’ve stretched it, brief garters can be used to make slingshots;

4. But if you’ve ‘baconed’ them out, nobody would care so don’t throw them away. At least you won’t die naked.

5. Of course, other than being naked, you can call attention by having red and yellow briefs to create a semaphore flag.

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Mood: 3/10 Honks! (It’s not the end of the world that’s killing me, it’s boredom…and lack of sleep.)

Guns and Kids (re-post)

After the Colorado shooting I posted this on my blog and ever since my blog got wiped out due to my own fault I have never re-posted the old ones. And now I think is the best time that I start doing so.

Here’s why I think the issue is not just about gun control but rather more on making our kids understand what guns are for and when it is proper and not proper to use it.

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Guns and Kids

Here’s a fact: our son Marcus never owned a toy gun even until now. The things I’ve learned from experience, magazines, books, stories from friends, and especially the news have made me decide then that I will never ever allow my son to play with guns. I know that this is unfair as I am quite sure that I have had the leisure of playing with toy guns when I was his age; but yes, I have resisted buying him any toy that resembles a firearm. I was strict up the point of reminding friends and relatives that they should not give toy guns as gift for Marcus – water guns included.

I am, however, beginning to have a change of heart. I am starting to realize that boys will be boys no matter what and at some point of their lives they will start to get interested in guns. Some factors, either internally or externally, will get these young guys to be fascinated with firearms. Aside from us parents who own a gun, they will also regularly see soldiers, policemen, and security guards who will likely take the role of ‘heroes’ and thus be emulated. Not to be forgotten is the ever influential media – from print to TV – wherein our sons would see guns being advertised, used to enforce the law, or even to carry out a crime.

So how should we deal with this reality? Personally, I now think that no amount of isolation would prevent our little boys from one day playing with toy guns with other kids because whether we like it or not, they will.

It is therefore crucial that at an early age our children must be aware what guns are for and the unnecessary harm it can inflict if not used properly. Guidance is key. As much as possible spend time with them as they watch TV as even the well-meaning cartoon shows would have characters who would use a gun or an arsenal of explosives to blow their foes to smithereens. Likewise, it is important that our kids identify the real thing from the replica – a law requires that any toy gun should have a red or orange tip.

Responsible gun ownership is also imperative. Other than proper handling, guns should be stored properly. Despite their tiny fragile hands, kids already have enough strength to pull the trigger of a gun such as what happened in October last year when a 3-year who accidentally shot herself after she got hold of her neighbor’s gun. It was that incident that prompted me to lock my gun case at home.

With the recent Colorado Theater tragedy, the heated debate on guns and ammunitions acquisition and possession will surely come back to life. But while different countries have their own gun control laws, the role of parenting on this issue cannot be undermined. Whether one lives in Kentucky where anybody can been seen carrying a weapon in public or in the Philippines where ideally only those with a permit to carry (PTC) will be allowed to bring their guns outside of their residence, our kids should know that guns in the wrong hands or state of mind will spell trouble and usually the damage it will cause is irreversible unlike those Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny shootouts.

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I got Marcus his first camouflage GI helmet (cheap one) but did not buy him a toy gun. He said he’ll settle for a sword but I know that he is just being sarcastic. Soon Marcus, soon.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Rainy Sunday. Marcus is out. I think it’s time I clean my gun.)

 posted on July 22, 2012

Sad Day for Connecticut

I just woke up from my scheduled nap at work when the news at our pantry room made me feel nauseous — it’s déjà vu. The BBC breaking news was too familiar: another school shooting. And once again, in the US. Suddenly, Connecticut was like a mile away from the Philippines — the news rippled across. The sight of policemen and other authorities scrambling around the crime scene – a school campus –looks all too chilling.

The last time a school shooting happened, I was thinking that it’s just a matter of time when another one will take place again. And it did. But whatever the reasons are – bullying, bad parenting, bad community, TV influence, etc. – I cannot fully grasp. It is always hard to understand what would drive one from doing something evil especially to innocent children. It’s just sad day – 18 dead children, 18 grieving families. And to think that it will be Christmas soon.

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Mood: 5/10 Honks! (Why?)

Blindness Falls

Darkness is the absence of light…and blindness is the presence of a oncoming vehicle on high beam.

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The long wait for the part has come to an end. More than a month after my low beam conked out because of a faulty headlight switch, I got the call from my Honda service advisor informing me about the replacement part’s availability. And with this, the people whom I usually meet while on their way back home from a tiring work day will now be so grateful not to have another blinding encounter. To the tired engineers driving their cars, factory workers riding their underbones, Tagaytay-bound party goers, jeepney drivers, tricycle backseat passengers, village security guards, toll booth workers, and others — pedestrians, street dogs, and stray cats included — whom I have blinded, my sincerest apology. I had no choice but to drive on full high beam. Contact a Honda engineer for more explanation why its part no. 35255-S5A-A12 failed before its fifth year.

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If it’s any consolation, I saw the light — my low beam light — again on 12/12/12.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Guilt-free driving again.)

I Need Prayers…and Burgers

I just had an interesting exchange with someone:

Email message: I was about to ask you last Sunday na pumayat po kayo (you have lose weight)…Do you need prayers?

My reply: Yes, I need prayers…and burgers…

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I don’t know how my other friends and immediate family will think once they see me because other than losing weight I am starting to sport a longer hair with the goal to get that ponytail back (I will try if I can find a pic) which I had when I got married and maintained until around 2004. Let’s see this Christmas vacation once I am home and and which is also when I’ll know if I can fend off food that will be abundant this time of the year. Few more days, time’s fast.

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Mood: 2/10 Honks! (Dear God, Thanks for good health.)