Moment by Moment

Last Tuesday was a rather dreary day. I hate statutory holidays when they happen on a weekday, as in the case of Canada Day July 1 falling on a Wednesday. Darn, it does offset my tempo because the thought of coming back to work on a Thursday is feeling like Monday. So Tuesday afternoon was almost a do nothing day and I took the opportunity to blog hop. I’m peeved by the fact that our corporate firewalls ban comments on Blogger but surprisingly allows updates to WordPress blogs. Perhaps it is time for Blogger to modernize its archaic software.

As I was nonchalantly browsing the net, my mind took a surprising retreat, thoughts of my past, the bleak as well as its blissful highlights vividly played in my brain like a Blue-Ray DVD. Sure there were things in my life I could have done differently but not to the point where I would curse myself and become bitter and despondent with life. Our scars make us tougher and smarter but what really matters to me is NOW and naturally, the going forward. I don’t think I am dealing with NOW effectively if I’m sitting on the couch the whole day doing nothing. Likewise I can’t become optimistic with the going forward if I have hardly any accomplishments or achievements to build and work on. If I have to do anything meaningful with my life, I have to respond to NOW in a most positive, resolute manner. Our expectations aren’t always met as we are bound to falter every now and then but we can always rise and fight another day. As they say, the sweetest thing in victory is not victory itself but what one overcomes to achieve such victory.

What helps me and gives me strength in dealing with NOW and the going forward is inspiration, in whatever form, be it imaginary or real. I simply don’t commute to the office daily to work for the sake of getting paid. I also enjoy the challenges and rewards of work, the camaraderie with my officemates, the long walks after lunch, the crossword moments of my train ride, the sight of beautiful women in their casual summer wear. I don’t hesitate to stop and smell the roses as I always did. NOW is exciting and definitely worth living.

In that brief 15 minute lull where I stared at the busy downtown traffic from my 20th floor office, I penned down my thoughts with this short poem which I promptly emailed to my Blackberry. The last time I did a poem was eons ago, in 3rd year high school. Perhaps what I felt was intense, to be compelled to concoct something out of the blue .

A glimpse evokes a multitude of memories
Inspires a weary, burnt out spirit
A smile reinvigorates and nurtures the soul
Suddenly a fresh day unfolds to be lived anew
An imaginary world emerges from the abyss
The world is bright, the breath of spring fills the air
For a moment time stood still
Life is worth every second of it
Like a time machine the blissful moment dies
The brilliance of an ethereal wonderland had collapsed
Once again I breath the heavy air of my universe

CONVERSATION WITH PRESIDENTS

Although I admire any American ex-president for all the power he wielded as the most powerful human being in the world at his tenure of office, I will never waste my hard earned bucks equivalent to 4 green fees to watch an ex-president talk, even I had to watch more than one of them in the flesh at one time. Yes, 200 bucks which is tantamount to 4 tee offs of my beloved weekend passion is too steep for me to waste. Luckily I was gifted a ticket by one of our business partners which I accepted without much hesitation With tickets as high as 2,500 bucks and people travelling from other parts of the world to view the once in a lifetime spectacle, my 200 ticket took me to the nose bleed section . I required binoculars to reasonably view them on stage but the presence of a huge jumbotron video screen gave relief to those among us in the general admission section.

A Conversation with Presidents was more of a showbiz event than anything. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton simply gave the public a glimpse of their lives as ex-presidents, ribbed one another to make the audience laugh and there was not much substantive content one could take from the conversation that could appease peoples’ concerns about the crises and problems facing the world today. Case in point, there wasn’t a conversation about the economy at all.  Clinton spoke for some 20 minutes and Bush a little over 10 minutes and in the middle of the question and answer period I wanted to leave, only to find out that the place was almost sealed, security was tight because of a huge demonstration that was going on outside the venue.  The show started 30 minutes late and although I don’t watch too much of CSI, I figured that was the organizer’s strategy to offset any terrorist plans to sabotage the event.

If there was anything meaningful about the show, one of them was Clinton’s regret  of his inaction on the Rwanda crisis, resulting in thousands of deaths that could have been averted. Bush told him that he could have not done much even if he intended to because deploying 20,000 troops required weeks and weeks of logistical preparation. Clinton did say that he attempted to atone for his mistake by building hospitals and a musuem in Rwanda and engaging in humanitarian projects in the country. Bush was equally unapologetic of his decision on invading Iraq, referring to a conversation he had with the Japanese Prime Minister right after the 911 attack. He couldn’t believe he was receiving support from a country his very own father fought a few decades ago. The cost of freedom can be steep he said, but the results will be realized in the long term. Bush can say anything he wants but only history can vindicate his actions in Iraq.

A Father’s Sacred Pledge (Thoughts on Father’s Day)

A father’s sacred pledge to his new born child :

With arms wide open
Under the sunlight
Welcome to this place
I’ll show you love
I’ll show you everything
With arms wide open

The song With Arms Wide Open was composed by Creed lead singer Scott Stapp upon learning the news that he will be a father. The song won the Grammy Award for Best Rock song in 2001.

It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn’t. Fathers Day Quote by: Barbara Kingsolver, Animal Dreams

Parents wish their children remain babies so they can hug and cuddle them forever. Children who don’t grow up and remain dependent on their parents forever are worse than animals who are left to survive on their own the moment they are capable to stand on their own and hunt for their own food. My father was harsh to us when it came to matters of self reliance and independence and I greatly thanked him for it. Suffice to say that when his job was done to provide me with the tools and knowledge to survive I was on my own, paddling my own canoe and seeking the rivers and streams I chose to go. I can honestly say that if I did not leave our house at 17 to study and finish university I would not be what I am today. The best thing a man can give back to his father is when he can one day say, ” I made my father proud of me”.

Don’t make a baby if you can’t be a father.
Fathers Day Quote by: National Urban League Slogan

There is nothing sacred with the act of having babies and not being able to take care of them, much more creating lots of them and have them wander around unclothed and hungry. Incidentally, the word sacred could be re-arranged to “scared”. Men ought to be scared of the thought of making babies and not giving them their much needed support and love. A father is supposed to be the leader, provider, protector of his household.

Sales Talk

If you’ve ever been to these resorts that sell timeshare ownership you’d probably know what I will be talking about. I’ve never seen people so pushy and pretentious trying so hard to get you in debt believe me. They try their darnest best to work on your ego first to get you trapped like ” wow, you have really lovely shoes – where did you buy them ?” (sales agent referring to my wife’s Nine West pair). “Can I try them on ? ” As if it wasn’t enough, she calls her supervisor and the darn scenario almost turned into a fitting session at a shoe store. It didn’t end there. I knew my turn was coming As expected, at some point Miss Piggy pulled her antic on me. “ That’s a really nice looking watch. The numbers are so clear. I’d like my husband to have one like that.” In truth, I don’t expect a woman to fall in love with my Swiss Army watch in a rugged dirty look iron casing, black face with olive canvas strap. But then that was probably the only item in my person she could bestow a compliment on It would have been worse if she said “ nice haircut. I’d like my husband to have one like that! ” Now that would have been a contrived ass licking comment which could send your customer packing wouldn’t it ?

Speaking of haircuts.. I normally have my monthly haircut ritual at a barber shop close to my neighborhood but one day, when I was at an Asian mall, I noticed this interesting hair salon run by an eldery Chinese man. All of his haircutters were female and he seemed to have a clientle of men who preferred to get their hair done by him only. Hmmm. I thought perhaps I should try him out. He charges half the price of what I pay and in this time of recession, saving a few bucks is not a bad idea at all. Look now, I wouldn’t compromise my head to look like a scorched patch of grass just to save 8 bucks mind you. The man looked like he could cut hair

A Matter of Privacy

Initially I wasn’t too keen on following the Hayden Kho – Katrina Halili sex video brouhaha because frankly, granting that they are Pinoy celebs, I hardly knew them. My interest was aroused when the Phil. Senate conducted an inquiry into the matter, which made me entertain thoughts that this imbroglio might have repercussions on the national security of the country It turned out it had nothing to do with the affairs of the state nor did it involve a high ranking govt official. The proponents of the inquiry were ex-celeb stooges who became senators because of their pretty faces. Not suprisingly, the inquiry turned out to be showbiz like with the media providing coverage like it was a national event. It even became more pedestrian and comical when the the investigation was led by a sanctimonious prick with the likes of Bong Revilla who isn’t exactly representative of morality with his checkered history of womanizing in his celeb days.

But let me cut it short and let my spiel out. The senate inquiry of a leaked sex video involving celebrities is totally uncalled for, a waste of taxpayers time and money. Senate and congressional inquiries are only applicable to matters that threaten or affect the national security of the nation. This matter should have been handled by the local courts, who would determine those responsible for malicious intent and exact punishment on those found guilty. Secondly, people must contain their anger and stop barking at the wrong tree. Two adults who willfully consent to taking a sex video of themselves, for their own private consumption do not commit a crime. It is senseless to point a finger at Hayden Kho, accusing him of gross immorality – unless you are speaking from a religious morals standpoint which you shouldn’t – because the real issue here is who broke the law. Who leaked the video on the internet ? Was there evidence of blackmail ? This is what the senate inquiry is about and not – why the f**k did you do the video Hayden? Portraying Halili as a hapless victim doesn’t help either because we all know that it takes two to tango and very likely she was a willing accomplish to the video shoot.

I could not think of the motivation for the video leak to be more than money and jealousy. Money is for a blackmailer who may have asked for money in exchange of burning the disc and jealousy for someone who intends to wreck havoc on another person’s reputation, so vicious and evil, stopping short of killing him. I remember the case of actress Pamela Anderson and then hubby rocker Tommy Lee whose sex video tape was stolen and sold on the internet. The couple did the unexpected which was to license the release of the tape in their names which meant that all monetary proceeds from the sale went to their pockets. The thieves ended up empty handed. The jealousy motive for the Kho sex video scandal needs to be further pursued because the whole scheme might be a sinister plot for character assassination. Someone is out to cut Hayden Kho’s balls from the looks of it and it could be for all we know payback time for him. Who might it likely be?