the only way

I miss analyzing and reanalyzing life, the thing I used to do a lot because my life used to be just work. Now, I have more involvement in everyday life, encountering so many people every day. I like speaking to drivers and to vendors and to take a peek on their lives.

As I am seating beside the FX driver and perhaps he was bored that day, we had a conversation. Through his questions, he learned that I am both working and studying.

Filipino TV

     I should have been studying now that the flood prevented me from coming to work. But I couldn’t force myself to read, and I am not forcing myself. I have already decided not to read when I wake up, I have lost my mood because of the flood, and I am worried I cannot go to school today anyway. Instead, while writing something this simple and unexceptional to compensate for my absence from work and perhaps to relax, I am watching noontime shows with my parents.
     I remembered how as a child I enjoyed noontime shows very much, especially the one with Vic Sotto. I watch it then from start to finish. But now, I do not enjoy them as much, although there are portions that I find funny. Perhaps I have outgrown the hosts, or perhaps I can no longer relate to the new hosts. Or just perhaps their quality has deteriorated toward the years. The cash prizes have grown, though.
     My taste toward TV has been consistently leaning toward foreign TV. I’ve been watching TV series since high school: Charmed, Friends, CSIs, Numb3rs, House, 24, Will and Grace, and so many more. I like foreign talk shows, especially that of David Letterman, and other shows in Direct TV. For 5 years, I have no cable because I can move to another apartment anytime, and I thought it was not worth the monthly payment, considering the little time I spend at home. Satellite Directv may be a solution to my nomadic life, but I do not know if I can afford it. After 5 years, I was able to tap with my neighbor’s cable, and despite of my reasons not to have cable, I am so thankful I can finally watch foreign shows. With all my heart, I want to support the Philippine movie and TV industry, but there are so few good screenplays and so few believable plots (in case of soap operas). Maybe if the giants in the industry moved toward more quality films and shows, instead of overemphasis on selling, many people would find no need for a DirectTV.

Safety From Flood

    Today, I woke up startled. I realized I didn’t hear my phone’s alarm, probably due to lack of sleep the previous days. I was panicking because I still have numerous, very long cases to read, and I cannot miss work today. I was already absent once this week, and absences are very, very bad for the income. I rushed finishing the case digests for Persons, trying hard to write legibly without much success. I decided not to read the cases for Constitution anymore and just to try my luck today. I proceeded preparing to go to work.
    It has been raining hard since last night, but I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary. Upon reaching the main road, everything was flooded!!! The vastness seemed to be like that of Myrtle Beach Resorts, only the murky, blackish, and dirty water hardly compares to the clear water of a Myrtle Beach Resort.
    Trying to cross the street even with a car was pointless. The car wouldn’t make it, and it would have been more annoying to be trapped inside a car. Besides, the person I talked to said that the water was waist-deep further down the road. I thought of how difficult this day would be to so many Metro Manila residents: the students, the employees, the jeepney drivers, the street vendors, the beggars, and the homeless.
    I had no choice but to go back home. Lucky for me, I was not stranded, but there were so many people who were stranded so far from home. I hope everyone would be safe today, if not from accident, but from the sickness caused by the rain and the flood. I am now in my bed disheartened. But even if this place was not as grand as Myrtle Beach Accommodations, at least I am safe home, for now.