English Everywhere

during my seventeen-year odyssey which i spent studying, something unexplainable keeps on nagging and knocking at the back of my head. what is so astonishing about education that most of us have to have? and the most intriguing of them all, why does it have to be taught with a language that we're not very much familiar with? english!!! a friend to whom i asked this question answered hastily, "because english is better than tagalog!"

most colleges here in the philippines have subjects that are taught in english. if you have noticed, even the song by F4 (a taiwanese boyband who have just conquered manila), has an english title--Can't Lose You, and even the line leading to the chorus "baby-baby." simply because there are no taiwanese translation for the words. and even if there is, it couldn't be sang as smoothly as we can. true it may seem, but what really are the things that make the two languages differ? let us see.

grammar: english and tagalog have their own sets of rules when it comes to that. thank you very much to my former english teachers who has taught me tough imperfectly, at least i have an idea. english grammar is very complicated, before you could start learning it, it takes a lot of hardwork and perseverance. and! if you are really interested and very determined to learn the language, it would be as easy as eating peanuts. on the other hand, tagalog has its own rules too. since we are filipinos, it would be very easy but the problem is that, we sometimes couldn't express what we want to say and the last option is to say it in english. therefore, we prefer english.

competitiveness: americans have the most number of businesses, companies, and investments here in the philippines. it is so because we filipinos are better speakers and they prefer us to be their employees and workers because of that. and english again, shows even more dominant through the interviews they conduct. so, if you were not trained with the language from the school you've been to, it would be very hard for you. the tagalog language is okay if you're going to work for a filipino employer, but if you want to be more competitive, the english language is the key.

in short, english really is better than tagalog. whether in school, at work, or in any endeavor wherein you have to speak. but if i were you, i wouldn't just rely on the language. no matter how good you are, no matter how fluent, articulate, and how eloquent you are, if you don't know how to handle yourself and you don't have the courage, it's nothing!!!..8

"KUN-O" (Mga Kunyaring Tao)

Malapit na ang eleksyon, kapag ganitong mga panahon, dumarami na ang tao sa daan at ang lahat ay nakikipagmabutihan. Mayroong mga kumakaway at mayroon din namang mga kumakamay na para bang "friends" kayo at pagdaan sa harap ko, nag-isip ba ako o ako na ay nalito?

Ang ganda nya, ang pogi nya at ang kutis nila ay mapupula akala ko nga ay mga artista (ang ilan sa kanila, oo). Kinamayan ako pero natandaan ba ako? Kinawayan din ako pero sigurado bang ako e nakashades papaano?! Lahat ng iyan ay nakakamangha, nakakaaliw, at higit sa lahat, sobrang magulo! Minsan nga mas gugustuhin ko pang huwag na lang bumoto! Kapag hindi ko naman ginamit ang karapatan kong ito, dalawang bagay lang ito, ang may bumoto para sa akin o ipagkatiwala sa iba ang bukas natin. Kapag bumoto naman ako, dalawang bagay lang ulit, ang manalo ang ibinoto ko o iba ang manalo! Napakasimple pero dapat pa ring pag-isipan. Gawin ko ang bukas ko o ang bukas ang magdikta at gumawa ng buhay ko?! Hindi dapat pagkatiwalaan ang hindi katiwa-tiwala at huwag ding hayaang sirain ng bukas ang ating mga ipinundar!

Napansin ko lang, ang daming gustong maging pangulo. Bakit kaya 'di natin baliktarin ang mundo? Bakit 'di tayo magbotohan kung sino ang simple at totoong tao? Sigurado ako, kakaunti ang mananalo. Ano ba kasi ang maganda sa posisyong ito? Napakaliit na gusot, wala kang lusot! Hindi ka mangurakot, mabuti kang tao, wala ka nga lang matinong trabaho. Mangurakot ka, mayroong trabaho yun nga lang, masama ito! Ano ba talaga kuya?! Ang lahat ng problema, ay sa iyo idinudulog samantalang ikaw ay walang madulugan. Ikaw din ang nagsisilbing sumbungan ng bayan, samantalang ikaw ay walang masumbungan! Hindi ka naman diyos ngunit ikaw ay sinasamba. Mabait ka naman, mukha ka nga lang masama! Ang laging dahilan ay ang makapaglingkod sa bayan kaya gustong manalo sa halalan pero 'pag sinabihan mong kailangang maglinis ng daan, ang sasabihin ay "may metro-aide naman." Bakit 'di na lang pala metro-aide ang gawing pangulo ng bayan? Isa pa! Sabi nya, sya daw ay "makahirap" kaya naman pala tayo ay 'di na makaahon sa hirap!

Isa lang naman ang gusto kong mangyari, manmanan ang balota, magmasid at makialam. Sa panahon natin ngayon, hindi naman yan kasalanan! Ang lahat ay dapat kumilos nang tayo ay umunlad. Kung hindi tayo ang kikilos, sino? ANG MUNDO?! Oo! Pababa nga lang! Kaya sana pag-isipan natin ang bagay na ito, ang botohan! Ipanalanging walang mangyaring dayaan, walang dagdag bawas at ang mga patay ay manatiling patay baka mamaya lang kasi bigla silang mabuhay. Alam nyo bang maaari nating ibahin ang nakaraan at huwag ng bumalik sa mali nating pananaw at nakagisnan? Io! Hindi yan malayo sa posible at katotohanan. Ang lahat ng 'yan ay nasa ating mga kamay kaibigan!..8

To Wed or Not To Wed

have you ever wondered why a man marries a woman for a particular reason or for no reason at all?! is this part of their obligations or is this just for the sake of formality?!

well, for me it's just for the sake of formality! why?! try to figure this out! is it really an obligation for a man to marry a woman just for the stupid reason that he got her pregnant? is it an obligation or a sacred thing that must be followed before they could be together and have that three letter word called " heaven?" or is this part of what we call formality just to be able to say and even shout in front of so many people that you are married even if you don't love that person? the only reason you married her in the first place is because the woman is already pregnant and you have to give the child his rights, give him a name and make him legitimate! and worst, to cover up the family's reputation that has been ruined because of what?! youe stupidity! no!!! don't get me wrong, i am a woman in the real sense of the word and i myself had also dreamed of my "perfect" wedding but it would only be an insult to me if i got married out of those reasons.

" most men are just the same, they're just interested in fu**ing you and they don't care whether you're happy or sad. they just want to get on with their bussiness in and out of bed, and they'll make you feel that you don't count except as their s*xtoy." this was what Cameron Diaz said in one of her interviews when she was asked about men. and as for me, it was all true!

i'm not telling you not to marry anymore but if you don't want to be like any woman who has experienced those things then try to think about it first. remember that love most of the time is not enough to maintain a relationship. as Franklin once said, " where there's marriage without love, there will be love without marriage." your certificate of marriage is just a piece of paper, and a piece of paper doesn't prove anything. if you really have the urge and you have already set your mind that "he" is the person you want to spend the rest of your life with, with or without marriage, you would definitely prevail. now! have you thought about it?!..8

Death Is beautiful

"I AM NOT AFRAID OF DEATH, I JUST DON'T WANT TO BE PRESENT WHEN IT HAPPENS!"-- woody allen

does anybody here who is very much afraid of death want to experience it even for just a minute or two?! for whatever reason? out of curiosity, yes i do!

i used to have a series of bad dreams, it happens between the hour of two and three in the morning. i was just nineteen then when it started. actually, i still have attacks of that oceanic feeling up until now. but you know what's interesting about it?, ir's quite unexplainable! why?! because i couldn't even directly say that it was a dream, a nightmare, or if it's something beyond that! i could still clearly remember that night when i had my baddest and the scariest dream anybody could have. that night i decided to sleep early for i was very tired. it was about thirty minutes past the hour of eight, which was quite unusual because i have insomnia. several hours passed, i was already asleep, having REM (Rapid Eye Movement), which is just normal. then, i went up to lose my shit in the comfort room--that was about two in the morning then back to sleep again. after a few minutes, i saw myself turning into different directions but when i was about to turn into my right, i can't! my head, my legs, i can't move them but my eyes felt like. deep within myself i know that i'm awake, my body wasn't though i have just went back down. so, i tried to move my right hand, it did! but i saw that it wasn't really my hand that has moved. it was my soul! my spirit! and i got scared! and i can see it clearly! what if my soul rises from me and it won't come back, i might be dead! i started shouting trying to call the attention of my mom but my voice won't come out. i was struggling and the last thing i could do was to pray and after a few minutes, i came back to my senses, it was all over. i noticed how frail i was and i was breathing with great difficulty. that led me to the thought of what would it feel like dying?!

most of the people i've talked to says that they're very much afraid of death. but what is it about death that we're very much afraid of? is it because of death itself? the fact that our existence would forever vanish without having achieved everything that we've planned and wanted? is it because, we don't have any idea of what would happen next after our life here? is there really life after death?! these are just some of the questions that lingers in our minds. so one night, when i was sitting alone, feeling stumped, i said " you know what would be amazing? if one day, i would be given a chance to experience death for a few minutes and discover that our perception of it is very different and very wrong and when i come back, i could tell the whole world that it is something very far from what we have believed and thought of and that we have nothing to be afraid of, then maybe i could ease the fear that we all have! and knowing that death is something that beautiful, then maybe it would be better to be dead and be happy than be alive then killed to death and be forever sad. "

that may be my reason why i want to experience something as morbid as death, to know that something eternal awaits us. so the next time we come across that word again, it wouldn't be fear that we have to feel but something as delightful as seeing our loved ones who have been there greeting us and saying " welcome to the world of death where life most flourishes!" but for now, i want to make the most out of what i have. you, are you afraid of death?!..8