The Illusion of Ownership

” Imagine no possession, it’s easy if you try”

Remember that line ? That’s from John Lennon’s song Imagine. Nice try but in this day and age, in your dreams pal. Perhaps 1000 years down our road to enlightenment. For most of us this life is all about acquisitiveness, a lifetime rampage of passion to own things beyond our reach. I’m thinking – what would the world be like of all of us aren’t obsessed with owning things that are for the most part, materials that exceed our needs and meant more to boost our egos? To prove that that this kind self-indulgent behavior is dysfunctional , isn’t it our utmost satisfaction albeit subconsciously, when we know that what we own is beyond the reach of people we know? Therefore, does it mean that the less friends and relatives we have, the less obsessive and greedy we become? Imagine if there are no people to brag to, or everyone can have the same things you own, would you have the same level of acquisitiveness?

Some of us would argue and say, “don’t I have the right to the better and finer things in life ?” Sure all of us do but our problem is identification with ego. Oftentimes we don’t look for the finer and better but the most expensive because it makes us standouts in the eyes of society. We are under the illusion that the most expensive stuff are the best quality when they are not. People who rave for a certain product believing it is the greatest are often hoodwinked by clever marketing hype into thinking that it is. Our egos dictate our brains and influence our decision. We buy a 60 in. flat screen and throw double the money because everybody else has less than 60. We build expensive private schools and exclusive housing subdivisions because we want to put a tag on our identity as members of the elite to separate ourselves from the pack.

People who have been to Cuba, one of the last bastions of communism left in the world today tell me that Cubans cannot easily own assets of substantial value and that even food is rationed by the government, the only employer in the country. The concept of free enterprise does not exist therefore people cannot enrich themselves and fulfill their version of the proverbial American Dream. The country looks like decades behind in terms of infrastructure development, much like the 50’s. Yet when I look at the Human Development Index ( HDI) rankings for 2009, Cuba places 51st amongst the 182 countries sampled, 54 slots higher than Pinas. Cubans might look poor for they can’t own much but they have free health care, free education at all levels, adequate housing and no one is dying of starvation. Contrast this scenario with a densely populated, cramped city like Manila, proud owner of the three of largest malls in the world but surrounded by extreme poverty, unemployment and an unstoppable population growth behaving like a runaway train. All because of our obsession to own and belong leaving the others on the other side of the fence where we think they should be ? Is this what we call the virtues of freedom under a democracy?

The Mouth of Babes

My parents told me that I started walking at 10 months and was talking sense at one year. My relatives accredit my woody woodpecker skills to my dad feeding me vagina meat of a roasted pig the moment I started ingesting solid food When I was 2 years old, I went up the stage to claim a prize from Santa. Holding the microphone, Santa asked me to say my name, but I looked at him and said ” why do you have cotton on your face ?” We find children cute because of their pristine innocence that evokes purity – in a sense, something that is amiss in our nature as beastly adults teeming with carnality. Children don’t play mind games and tell things at face value. An officemate told me a joke about a man who while having sex with his wife in the middle of the night woke up his little guy. The tot shouted ” Daddy are we playing horsey-horsey now” ?

We have to be a little careful with what we say when children are within earshot distance. They could become instant moles for all you know, sabotaging your secret plans without your knowledge. I remember a time back in Pinas when we were at the kitchen having snacks and the family was talking quietly about the suitor of my cousin – more on his cons than pros. Incidentally the guy was visiting at the time, and chatting with my cousin at the living room. For some unknown reason, my little niece bolted to the living room and told the guy “ hey, they said ( pointing at us) you’re ugly“. Ouch. She ratted us to the max ! Totally embarrassing, like farting in an elevator full of people. One time when a nosy neighbor came to fetch my little girl to play with her daughter at their house, she nonchalantly asked my wife “ hey, your daughter says you’re buying a new car ?” Huh? We wish. We were checking out the showroom for the newer models. Maybe she heard my wife saying – I want this, I like that. Talk about kids having the tendency to embellish things.

Every week I bond with my little girl when my wife works half-day on Saturdays. Last Saturday we were having lunch at her favorite junk food place, and as I was sipping my coffee, she quietly told me, with her eyes gleaming ” the other night Mommy told me the reasons why she married you“. Huh ? I nearly pulled a Chiquito stunt (sipping coffee, news breaks, mouth spurts coffee all over the place).

Babes can be irritating, stressful and a pain in the you know what but little do we know that what they will become depends on how they see us as parents and guardians. They teach us to know and better ourselves. Unbeknownst to us, we wield tremendous power to mold, uplift or destroy a a child’s life.

“I’ve come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It’s my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess a tremendous power to make a child’s life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal. In all situations, it is my response that decides whether a crisis will be escalated or de-escalated and a child humanized or de-humanized.” …… Dr. Haim Ginott

A Night at the Museum

What would you do on a dreary and rainy Friday night ? Last Friday night I did something different (don’t laugh now) – I went to a museum. Yes, Friday being a jeans day at the office allowed me to dress casually so at 430pm I took my camera with me, headed about 5 subway stops north and spent the evening at the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). The wifey and the daughter wanted to watch a kiddie movie at a theater but I opted to go on a geeky date with my camera. Overall it was great learning experience for me, both with the exhibits and my camera. Not a bad place to bring your real date I tell you. If she can hang around for 5 hours it means she likes you

The real reason for my going was to photograph the Dead Sea Scrolls which is on exhibit until Jan 2010 but darn, cameras aren’t allowed in the special area where the scrolls are displayed. I was extremely frustrated and didn’t even purchase the ticket for the scheduled show that night. I saw no point for me to see the scrolls unless I took  photos of it.  The best part I enjoyed was the Earth’s Treasures section. I was in awe of the spectacular richness of the earth’s geological structures , the wonderful colors and shapes of rocks, gems and crystals that take takes eons – millions of years to form.  I had fun taking close up pictures of gem stones through the glass displays. The Dinosaur and Egyptology sections were equally interesting. I took the all the shots minus the flash in an effort to capture the shadows and details that defines the objects as they are when you see them. The slide show contains a few photos from the various sections of the museum. I will try to show more detailed pics of the Earth’s Treasures and the Dinosaurs exhibits in my next posts.

Do I Need a Netbook?

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Do I need a Netbook?

My answer is a resounding YES. But I already have a laptop – why would I need at netbook ? Well, here’s a simple guide to differentiate a netbook from the traditional laptop. It may clear the cobwebs for most people.

I need a netbook because it is so darn easy to lug it around. The fact that my computer activity outside the office is 90% internet browsing, a netbook perfectly fits the bill for my need. Put a G3 wireless stick on it and you’re wired to perfection, totally mobile and internet ready. But more importantly , I need a netbook that works – fast, no disconnects, no freezing, no stalling and you know where I’m getting at – retrofitting the netbook’s brain with something that really works and that means discarding the fickle and overrated and Windows for the leaner and meaner Ubuntu operating system. I just bought a Dell mini 10v netbook with Ubuntu OS in lieu of Windows XP and saved 70 bucks in the process. Shipping was free and yes, I saved more money by not requiring anti-virus software. Since Ubuntu runs on Linux , it isn’t susceptible to viruses and although not totally immune, it is much harder for hackers to infiltrate and gain control of the system and inflict serious damage. Therefore I don’t have an anti-virus system twiddling its thumb in the background depleting my memory resources causing the system to stall and freeze.

The End Times ?

Many years ago when the pastor of the church I was attending announced that he would be preaching about the apocalypse of St. John in the Book of Revelation , the congregation had mixed feelings of anticipation and perturbation.  People seem to get carried away with anything the deals with apocalyptic predictions, be it prophecies from our very own faith or astrological conjectures from soothsayers of old as well as self-professed seers of our generation. The end of the world – lights out, disintegration of all living things is the most horrifying thought to most people. When we  experience natural disaster, drastic climate change, terrorist attack, war and famine we treat them as tell-tale signs of the end times,  an impending apocalypse.  For thousands of years we envisioned these repetitious cycles of tribulations as doomsday in the horizon threatening to drop like rain from a heavy dark cloud but so far it hasn’t fallen. When will it happen ?

This present generation made a bold prediction of the actual date of doomsday – December 21, 2012. The date comes from the ancient Mayan prediction of galactic alignment, the day when the sun is at the center of the galaxy, perfectly aligned with our earth.  Scientists confirm that the Mayans, amazingly astute astrologers in their own right, were correct in their calculation.  Strangely, the Mayan calendar ceases at this date, an implicit suggestion that time will come to a full stop.  So what will happen on Dec 21, 2012 ? Some say that the solar maximum(sunstorm) event anticipated by scientists to happen in 2012 will occur during this day , causing the earth’s magnetic field to weaken thus accelerating the magnetic reversal of the earth resulting in severe climatic upheavals. The movie Knowing was one that dramatized the Dec 21, 2012 doomsday scenario. Except for the ET-like ending of aliens rescuing Nicholas Cage’s son and his friend before the fateful event, I thought the movie retrogressed from serious science fiction to fairly tale. Methinks the producers didn’t want the audience to take them seriously  Others predict that nothing of cataclysmic nature will occur but a severe financial crisis would wreck economic havoc to the world resulting in panic and chaos. Some say it will be the dawn of a spiritual rebirth for mankind- whatever it means I’ll not be seeking the answer.