Love Moves

In my short stint as a blogger,  I noticed that people are still more responsive towards entries about love more than anything else.  It's reaffirming that despite the negativity this world offers we all still gravitate to matters of the heart.  Perhaps those who blog are all romantics deep down inside notwithstanding the angst ridden personas some would try to project.

It gives me hope.

60 Q’s

 I got this off somebody's blog.  I can't even remember who.  I took the liberty of tagging myself.  I like the questions. ")

 1) How old do you wish you were?
16.  I should never have missed that prom.

2) Where were you when 9/11 happened?
I can't even remember.  I'm a bad person.

3) What do you do when vending machines steal your money?
Hasn't happened yet.  But I'm gonna be arrested for machine abuse, that's for sure.

4) Do you consider yourself kind?
I would like to think of myself as fair.  If that equates to kind, then maybe I am.

5) If you HAD to get a tattoo, where would it be?
Left arm.  The entire arm.

6) If you could be fluent in any other language, what would it be?
I want to be fluent in Spanish.  I plan on visiting South America someday.

8) What do you consider a holiday?
Sipping beer by the beach, watching the tide roll in.

9) Do you follow your horoscope?
It only amuses me.  I don't even remember the last time I read my 'future'.

10) Would you move for the person you loved?Do you follow your horoscope?
Yes.  Without batting an eyelash.

11) Are you touchy feely?
Yes.  It's a sickness.  But only with the one I love.  I don't like other people laying their hands on me.

12) Do you believe that opposites attract?
It could happen.  I prefer those who I share some interest with, otherwise there's nothing for us to talk about.

13) Dream job?
I wanted to be a night security guard in a big library but with a huge salary.  I like the solace of empty evenings spent reading a book.  

14) Favorite channel(S)?
Star World, Star Movies, Star Sports.

15) Favorite place to go on weekends?
Beach.  Particularly those that I haven't been to yet.

16) Showers or Baths?
Shower.  I don't like to marinate in my own dirt. 

17) Do you paint your nails?
No.  But I would, If I were a rockstar.  I like having black nails.  Goth man! 

18) Do you trust people easily?
No.  Been burned lots of times.

19) What are your phobias?
Hate roaches and rodents.  Roaches I can kill, but rodents, no matter how they disgust me, I can't lift a finger to snuff its life. 

20) Do you want kids?
Yes! Lots of them.

21) Do you keep a handwritten journal?
Yes.  I still like the feel of the ballpoint scratching on paper.

22) Where would you rather be right now?
Boracay, provided it's sunny.

24) Are you paranoid?
Not really.  But sometimes I'm scared that I'd suddenly jump off stairs or verandahs.  That's slightly paranoid, no?  

25) Are you impatient?
I'm doing my best not to be.

26) Who can you relate to?
Holden Caulfield.  Sometimes.  You, know thoughts about quitting and stuff.

27) How do you feel about interracial couples?
More power to them.  That's propagation of the species.  Makes the world a more interesting place.

28) Have you been burned by love?
To a crisp.  I'm still smoking even now.

30) What were you doing after midnight last night?
Blogging.  As in most nights.

31) What did the last text on your mobile phone say?
Directions to a meeting room.

32) Whose bed did you sleep in last night?
Mine.  Wouldn't have it any other way.  Unless, unless….

33) What color shirt are you wearing?
White.

34) Favorite footwear?
Crocs slip ons.  Not those dorky looking ones.

35) Name three things you have on you at all times?
Keys to the house, ID, wallet, Cellphone.

36) What color are your bed sheets?
Right now it's gray.

37) How much cash do you have on you right now?
Around P8K.

39) What’s your favorite town/city?
Cebu B!

40) I can’t wait till?
I have my own house.  Haay, HD TV, broadband access, music room.

41) Who got you to join myspace?
Have yet to join that community.  Is it worth it?

42) What did you have for dinner last night?
Noodles.  Wasn't even delicious.

43) How tall are you barefoot?
5'6.  Enough I guess.

44) Have you ever smoked heroin?
No. I'll settle for pot.  Not that I've tried it.

45) Do you own a gun?
Not a chance of me having one.  I hate guns.  I'm for a gunless society.  Baseball bats?  Now that's a different matter.

46) What do you prefer to drink in the morning?
Coffee.  Strong.  Lots of it.

47) What is your favourite weapon to lure in the opposite sex?
Argh.  I'm such a loser in this area.  Hehehe.  Don't have lots of confidence these days around the fairer sex.

48) Do you have A.D.D.?
I don't think so.  I like being alone most of the time.

49) What time did you wake up today?
5:30 AM.  Only had around 3 hours worth of sleep.  Bad, I know.

50) Current worry?
Errr, showing a link of other people's blogs?  C'mon guys, I'm a decent fella, link me up! Hehehe. Pathetic.

52) Favorite place to be?
Beach.  No other place comes close.

53) Where would you like to travel?
Carribbean.  And Maldives.  And Greece.  Spare me the big buildings and all.  I just want the beach.

54) Where do you think you’ll be in 10 yrs.?
Manila still, inching closer to my early retirement.  Saving potloads of money.  Oh, and a wife of course.

55) What songs do you sing in the shower?
Let it be, The Beatles.  Peace and love man.  No worries.

Traffic Congestion

 Traffic jam, when you're already late..

And so goes Alanis Morisette's take on irony, a rather stretched version of the word's true definition.  Traffic jam or as we pinoys love to call it — traffic — is perhaps one of the major contributors to the shortened life expectancy of the Manila resident.  Going to and from Makati during rush-hour is punishment enough that going to hell after the end of a sinful life can be considered redundant.

For all the ruckus that traffic causes, like floods, the Philippine government seems unable to address it.  It is a problem that only gathers momentum as the years go by.  Perhaps it's easy to pontificate from the comforts of a computer chair but one doesn't have to be a rocket scientist to realize that we have too many vehicles plying too few roads. 

We have already determined that the problem would not be solved by more road widenings (there's no more space!).  We now need to focus our attention on the number of vehicles roaming the city.  Coding is good, but it's like treating cancer with paracetamol.  It's not gonna work, it never will.

I think somewhere in this country's limbo of toothless laws, there's one floating  around limiting the road age of vehicles, i.e. if the vehicle has been around for say 10 years, then it's time for that vehicle to be taken to the vet and put to sleep.  That law should have a significant impact when implemented.  But how can you expect thieves to actually surrender themselves?  Some of those who would be enforcing this law are the ones who would be directly affected by it, so what can we really expect?  Hint, some of them are labelled Lacostes (or buwayas).

Somewhere also, there is a stipulation that says, for a person to own a vehicle or operate one, he has to have a place to park this vehicle.  Again, this stipulation seems to have fallen into a blackhole.  Car owners are shamelessly parking their vehicles by the roadside, further thinning the availble road that motorists can use.  This scene is prevalent everywhere and is always a constant source of irritation.

I think we have the right frame of mind to conceptualize these laws.  We know even, that these laws are necessary if we are to really move significantly forward.  But we are too saddled, too burdened with  vested interests that we lack the political will to enforce these laws.  Without political will, nothing gets done.  We continue to ride in this ship of fools that continues to sink deeper and deeper into the muck, if it can even sink at all, given the traffic density it is surrounded with.

When I was younger, a favorite phrase was Dura Lex, Sed Lex.  My law-student aunt would explain it to me saying that "It means, the law is harsh but that is the law."  Unfortunately in this part of the world, this, like all other iron clad things, are easily bent to accommodate the whims and caprices of the powerful few.  Around here, it seems that my favorite phrase has developed another meaning; one that says "The law is harsh, but there's always a way around, if you can afford it".

Well, cheers to the world famous Manila traffic jam.  Looks like it's here to stay.