Category Archives: Books and Literature

Read this first: Asia & India

After a not-so-good day at the office, I went to Booksale to “move on”. Hahaha! Weird phrasing. But that’s actually what I want to do. Move on from the negatives of work by finding a good book to read. I am attracted to Asian writers these days (historical novels, anthologies, general fiction literature), so I was hoping to grab a book authored by Asians–Chinese or Japanese, most probably.

But I wasn’t able to find anything that suited my craving. Instead, I got this well-written travel bible.

Not that I’m travelling anytime soon. :)

Cebu Pacific kills “more fun in the Philippines”.

It’s a wake-up call for three parties: One, to the Civil Aviations Authority of the Philippines. Two, to all Filipino masses. Three, to the owners/management of Cebu Pacific Philippines.

Recent news about the Santiago-Tulfo brawl sent this wake-up call in the atmosphere. I first thought that the whole showbiz brouhaha will overshadow the bottomline: that the Cebu Pac management were careless. Thanks to the perks of the social media, everyone was able to see all the sides of the story.

Now come the articles revealing Cebu Pac’s inefficiency. There’s one from a Malaya newspaper. There are plenty more coming in from the social networking sites. I am not sure whether the same is happening with all the other airline companies. Perhaps. Then again, perhaps not.

What is it with Cebu Pacific? Why are you trying to shorten the internationally-recognized Pinoy patience? What are you trying to prove? That you cannot do anything just because we are passengers? Aren’t you ashamed that you are serving the country this way? If keeping mum about these issues is your way to shake off all the ugly stories, you had better think again.

One part of the industry which suffers most? Tourism, of course. Cebu Pacific just killed “more fun in the Philippines”.

All the DOT’s efforts to surpass the previous years’ number of tourists will be put to waste. All because of flight problems. Now, perhaps those who originally decided on travelling to our country will be discouraged. Even if we put in much effort trying to encourage them to visit our country, they will now think twice before doing so.

Hopefully, this won’t last for long. More tourists means more employment for Filipinos. If Cebu Pacific continues to screw up, let’s just hope this stays within their management and their crappy company policies. There are other airline companies who do not advertise much with regards to flight fares but are very much willing to do what they are for: get us from Point A to Point B.

The Case of Gaga

I am not really a fan of Lady Gaga.

I find her style beyond eccentric. Original, but too beyond eccentric. Although I understand that she constantly wants to reinvent herself (like all celebrities), looking at her photos sometimes bothers me.

I have not seen most of her music videos, much less understood most of her songs. But there was one song which I really liked: Born this way. When I heard it, she instantly earned my respect. I think that this is one of the reasons her fans love her. No pretense, no ass-kissing.

Now, this controversy.

I admit that if it weren’t for my exposure to a higher education, I probably would have sided with those who say that she shouldn’t be allowed to do her concert here. I came from a Catholic school and we were streamlined to the views of the church. But when I reached college, my understanding of the world became clearer. I began to analyze things and saw where I stood. It was like wearing my first pair of glasses.

Lady Gaga should be allowed to hold her concert here. That, or the groups who condone her pay for the travel expenses of all those who want to see the concert outside of the country. Ayaw niyo namang papuntahin dito, eh di logical lang na bayaran niyo pamasahe nilang lahat, di ba? Haha!

Come on, people. Lady Gaga wants to go here because she wants to offer her fans the chance of listening to her songs sans music players. Let them be. Let them enjoy art. Let them be happy. You are accusing her outrageously for being so bold with her songs, are you sure that all the other foreigners who were allowed entry to the Philippines are not “evil” or “Satanic”? Just because they kept their mouth shut and they are not as popular, they were allowed to walk our beaches? Come on.

Our government is already full of those kinds of people. Let’s clean it up first before denying an “alleged bad influence” reach our concert grounds.

I am no fan of Gaga. But some groups just need to see or read a third party’s POV when it comes to music or art.

Empress Orchid by Anchee Min

I’m currently reading Empress Orchid by Anchee Min.

It was a bookstore discovery made by Bemjo, while we were on SM North Edsa, looking at shoes. It was funny because we were both stooping down and trying on some pairs when she suddenly thought of Fullybooked and Powerbooks.

She asked me if I know where they can be found inside the mall. I said no. When we both straightened up and looked around unconsciously, our eyes caught the green and white colors of Booksale. And we left shoes for books.

Empress Orchid is basically all about a poor girl’s journey towards proving herself to become a worthy concubine for the Emperor. This is what I can deduce from the number of pages I have read. I’m not even halfway, haha!

What I like about Anchee Min is the way she writes about day-to-day events—same reason I keep on reading Japanese, Chinese and Indian novels. Their plots are so detailed that each day never registers boredom. I am very much in love with how they write about nature and how they weave it with reality and emotions. They have deep respects for ordinary things, a phenomenon that is not so ordinary among people nowadays. These are also the reasons I love reading Filipino anthologies and it is one of my dreams to own a thick book of Filipino anthologies. Waaaah.

Even with my killer schedule, I still find time to read about it because I know the last page will be very much worth it. I recommend it for all of you who are under the same sky with me. 

I died yesternight.

It was one of those moments when the heart just cannot take everything anymore. I died. This burden is going to linger longer than the one I had before.

We agreed to stay as we are. But now, there’s a deadline. I cannot breathe thinking about that day that we would end. I dare not. For the life of me.

Because Jennie writes well

I consider myself very fortunate for having friends who are into literature as much as I am.

One of those people is Jennie, always stubborn, sometimes sane and never inconsiderate. :)

Here are two of her bests (from my POV):

Lunatic Monologues

Forgettable as My Two-syllable Name

*I got this from her Tumblr page, himutadsahangin.tumblr.com. Go check it out if you are also into rants, musings and wishful thinking. :)

The Sari-Sari Store Perspective: Post I

I was handing change to a girl who just bought 3 candles and a box of matchsticks when the sound of bottles breaking caught my attention.

He was gathering what was left of the bundle he was carrying earlier. It was a tough task; the wind was blowing steadily in all directions and used paper and magazines were being blown all around.

Neighbors paused to stare.

He carried on, unmindful of the stares, only conscious of the wind and the vehicles that might pass.

I sat down and continued typing.

Minutes later, he knocked and asked if he could have a plastic bag. My Tita strictly forbade me against this. Giving away plastic bags would mean losing profit. Business  was, and still is, business. I said No.

He pursued on. His 12-year old eyes pleading to me as would a dog for a bone. Behind him, several stacks of paper scattered still. A motorcycle passed by. “I’ll pay for it when I get back, Ate”. I said he doesn’t need to.

I rummaged among the plastic bags, found a striped one still in good condition and gave it to him. He immediately went back to his pile, smiling to me from there. I had to smile back.

I doubt if he will come back. The other kids didn’t.  But there was something in his eyes that I didn’t see in the other kids’ eyes. It seemed to speak to me, with a depth that went beyond his pleading for a plastic bag.

This, and all others, are indeed among the best things I have seen from my tita’s sari-sari store.

 

A Warning. :D

No one is too busy to write.

This is something I have been telling myself lately. I think of it as a way to fully drown myself in the alcohol of words and phrases.

So, to make up for my absence, I hope to be able to write a series of posts about what I have seen—on a deeper level–through the small window (where the exchange of money happens) in my Tita Amy’s sari-sari  store. To make it sound like I put in a lot of effort (hahaha!), I decided to call it The Sari-Sari Store Perspective. Sounds cheesy?  Then it’s really MY kind of writing.

 

Enjoy y’all and let me know if you’ve felt/seen/realized the same things too! :)