"I know about 'war.' It is a word men use to clothe the nakedness of their killing." -Caine

Finally, I finished watching the complete Kung Fu TV series – Season 1 and Season 2. I bought the two sets in DVD (7 double sided disks in total). Salamat na lang sa DVD at pwede mo na naman panoorin yung mga paborito mo noong araw. All 38 episodes! About 30 hours viewing time! Pheew...

Sikat na sikat itong Kung Fu starring David Carradine during the 70s. Napag-hahalata tuloy and idad natin. I remember I was in my early high school then. Napupuyat ako sa panonood ng TV show na ito na every Thursday from 10PM.

Impress ako sa mga lessons na makukuha mo sa bawat episode. Lalu na kapag nag-flashback ang eksena nuong maliit pa si Kwai Chang Caine at kausap si Master Po at si Master Kan. Most of all impress ako sa mga ideas ng mga Shaolin monks on non-violence, being one with the universe and the principles of Yin and Yang.

Master Po: "I have three treasures which I hold and keep. The first is mercy for from mercy comes courage. The second is frugality from which comes generosity to others. The third is humility for from it comes leadership."
Caine: "Strange treasures. How shall I hold them and keep them? In memory?"
Po: ". . . No. . . not in memory but in your deeds."

Here’s another series of passages between master and student.

Caine: "Master, do we seek victory in contention?"
Master Kan: "Seek rather not to contend."
Caine: "But shall we not then be defeated?"
Kan: "We know that where there is no contention, there is neither defeat nor victory. The supple willow does not contend against the storm, yet it survives."

For more thought provoking passages, visit http://www.kungfu-guide.com/.

Miss ko e!

Walang bangus, tilapia at galunggong dito. Miss ko na nga ang mga isdang ito e. May nabibiling tuyo sa mga Asian shops. Problema lang ang pagluluto kasi umaamoy sa buong neighborhood.

Miss ko rin dito ang ating mga tropical fruits. Maraming ibang fruits tulad ng kiwi fruit, fejoa, cherimoya, mansanas pero walang lansones, rambutan, atis, caimito, chiko at green and yellow manggoes. Indian manggo variety lang ang mabibili dito.

Miss ko rin ang Philips at Swifts hotdog. Hindi type ng panlasang Pinoy ang sausages nila dito.

Masarap ang NZ ice cream, pero wala pa rin tatalo sa ating ube, manggo, makapuno, queso flavor ice cream.

Meron namang balut at penoy dito. Ginto nga lang. $1 (40 pesos!) isang balut. Ang itlog ng pugo nakalata na. Meron fresh pero bihira at napakamahal.

Meron din namang mga murang pagkain dito. Ang isang ulo ng baboy, $3 lang. Dati nga 50 cents lang. Tamang-tamang ilitson o kaya gawing sisig. Mura din ang mga buto-butong pang-bulalo, atay ng baboy, chicken skin. Halos ipamigay na lang. Sa pet food section mo nga lang hahanapin sa supermarket. Wala kang mabibiling dugo ng baboy (pang dinuguan) sa supermarket. Siyanga pala, walang mga palengkeng tulad sa atin dito. Kaya lahat, mostly sa supermarket mo bibilhin.

Meron ding mga pagkain na literally pupulutin mo na lang, if you know where to pick them. Tulad ng talaba (oysters), tahong, at iba pang shell fish. At kung mahilig kang mag-fishing, wala rin bayad ang isdang iyong mahuli.

Isang bagay ang hindi ko miss -- ang San Miguel beer. Marami kasing klase ng beer dito. Ang white at red wines masasarap din. O cheers, na lang tayo! Para sa ating bayan, kampai!

Nationalism is over-rated

Nationalism is divisive. Its main concept is to love one's country and countrymen more than others. Why can't we just love everyone regardless of nationality? If we love everyone equally, Filipinos, Americans, Africans, Asians, New Zealanders, are we less nationalistic than someone who loves Filipinos more than the rest? If the answer is yes, then to hell with nationalism. Why should love be conditional? Why can’t one choose to be nationalistic to the Philippines, to the USA, to China, to Russia, to New Zealand, to Iraq equally at the same time?

Maybe I’m being too idealistic. I know I am. But it’s a dream. A world without borders. Every person becomes a citizen of the world. Everyone is responsible for everyone. It’s an idea that can become reality too (to some extent). Look at the European Union. Separate countries deciding to operate as one. It’s a long process, but I know it will come.

Imagine there's no countries
It isn't hard to do
Nothing to kill or die for...

You may say I'm a dreamer
But I'm not the only one
I hope someday you'll join us
And the world will be as one.

- John Lennon

How could God let this happen?

This was the title of an article that appeared in the Jan. 7, 2005 issue of the Inquirer in reference to the destruction wrought by the recent tsunami that hit several countries rimming the Indian Ocean.

Actually, the question is more of a grumble against God. How can God who is almighty, all powerful, all merciful allow destruction and death to happen? God loves us and therefore God should not allow us to suffer. Because God allowed us to suffer, therefore God either doesn't love us or is not powerful enough to prevent suffering. What a flawed logic!

God allows death, hunger, war, sickness just as God allows life, abundance, peace and health. Our human bodies consider anything that cuts life or our enjoyment of life as evil. We think that because death and suffering are evil that God should not allow any of it to happen. That is were we are wrong, for suffering is not evil. Death is not evil.

For everything that dies, new life begins. Anything that is destroyed, new things get built. Such is the cycle of living. God gave us flesh and blood to experience life’s emotions, the good and the bad. But life is transient. We die, flesh and blood will decay. If we accept that, there is no reason to grumble when things happen to cause our bodies to die. God gave us a temporal life, which means He can take it away from us any time. It is also not for us to complain to God the method by which our transient lives are taken.

If you loan someone a piece of jewelry with the understanding that you can get the jewelry back any time and any way you want, will that person grumble when you collect the jewelry back? Only if that person thinks that the jewelry is his/hers to keep. Sorry, but life on earth is not for us to keep.

Hello! Can I speak to me please?

And now for some absurdity.

When my daughter was little, around 6 years old, out of no where, she asked kung pwede raw niyang tawagan sa phone ang sarili niya. She wanted to know what will happen if she dials our home phone number from our home phone. Of course, we adults know that if you do this you simply get a busy signal. (Alam mo ba 'yon?)

Later on I pondered why she asked the question in the first place. I think she wanted to find out what it would be like to talk to oneself. Maybe she wanted to hear what she sounds like on the other end of the line. Siguro iniisip niya, ano kayang sasabihin ng tao sa kabilang linya.

Noon di pa uso ang cell phone. E ngayon laganap na ang mga mobile. So I now wonder on the same line of questions.

Can you send a text message to your own cell number? How about if you have an automatic reply service parang "Out of Office" sa Outlook that automatically sends another text message to the sender? Will it overload the call center?

How about if you call your own cell number, will you be put on hold (call waiting)? Will it transfer to your voice mailbox for you to leave a voice message? Are you able to reject/accept the call? How about a phone conference with multiple instances of yourself?

Ano ba itong napag-iisip ko? Nababaliw na yata ako at nagkakaroon na ng split personalities. Perhaps if one has multiple personalites, each one can call the other using a single cell phone.

Oops, hanggang dito na muna at may incoming call ako.

Do you fill up your drinks when you leave Burger King?

For today, let me write something about a trait I find common to Pinoys. You would easily notice this trait if you live outside the country. Sa atin kasi, lahat tayo halos ganito ang pag-uugali. Hence we tend to think of it as the normal behavior.

Normal sa Pinoy ang ayaw malamangan. Gusto natin tayo ang nakakalamang. I’ve seen this bahavior a lot of times among our kababayans. A Pinoy goes in to Burger King to buy a meal. At BK, the softdrinks are "bottomless" or one to sawa. The Pinoy will drink as much as he could while inside the store. Kahit sumakit pa ang tiyan.. Then on the way out, fill-up pa uli ang baso. Hindi palulugi.

The same with smorgasbord restaurants. Pinoys will try to get all the choice food on their plates, kahit na maubusan ang iba at kahit na pipilitin lang para ubusin.

Sa supermarket, half a cabbage is 75 cents, one whole is $1. A European caucasian person will get only half. Their thinking is they’ll waste food if all they need is half. A Pinoy will buy the one whole cabbage. A Pinoy’s thinking is that $1 for one whole is cheaper than 75 cents for half, regardless of whether he needs the whole cabbage or not. Ayaw natin ang ma-agrabiyado tayo. Makasarili tayo. Selfish. Ako muna bago ang iba. We fail to look at the bigger picture outside of ourselves.

Marami pang ibang ehemplo. ("Ehemplo", para akong titser nito a). Sa pag-dra-drive, siguro kaya chaotic ang traffic situation sa atin, isa nang dahilan ang ayaw natin ang nalalamangan. Kapag umuuwi tayo ng bansa, madalas ipinagmamalaki natin na hindi tayo nahirapan sa Customs kasi nag-lagay tayo. Actually, ipinagyayabang natin dito na naisahan natin ang ibang mga pasahero na hindi marunong maglagay.

I am not going to attempt to explain the Filipino psyche as far as this pag-uugali is concerned. Any explanation is just an excuse. And any excuse becomes a reason to do nothing. All I wish is for us to realize one simple character fault and with the knowledge consciously modify our behavior.

My wish is that Filipinos learn to be less selfish. Tigilan natin ang manlamang. Let's not think that because we do not acquire the most out of a given situation or transaction na tayo ay nalalamangan. Instead, let’s think that by being fair, we in fact are doing something good to others. And what’s good for others will ultimately also be good for oneself.

"Ting" - Having fun in the 70s and 80s

Hang-out namin noon ang Cubao. Inuumaga kami sa paglalaro ng arcade games sa Ali Mall. Space-Invaders at Galaxian ang paborito namin. Mas simpleng laruin ang Space-Invaders, kasi yung Galaxian lumulusob pa ang mga kalaban mo. Sa Space-Invaders, unti-unti lang silang bumababa nang papalapit sa yo. Nakakapikon lang kapag isa na lang ang kalaban mo at hindi mo pa matama-tamaan at maubos pa ang lives mo. Parang gusto mong basagin ang screen.

Mag-"Ting" and tawag namin sa mag-laro ng arcade games. Yun kasi ang tunog kapag binabaril mo ang mga aliens - "ting...ting...". Piso lang ang bayad noon per game. Si JunS ang pinakamagaling sa amin. Ako, pangalawa lang at nag-uunahan sa pagka-kulelat si Rodel at Cune. Ten pesos lang noon pwede ka nang makapag-laro magdamag lalo na kung magaling ka. Natigil lang kami sa mga Arcade Games nung ipagbawal na ni Makoy. Kasi raw nakakasira ng pag-aaral ng mga kabataan. Siya nga naman, very addictive na bisyo kasi. Kaya ayon, nag-iba kami ng bisyo, toma at panonood ng X-rated sa betamax. But that's a story for another time.

Buti nga ngayon meron ng PS2, XBox at PC. You can play as long as you want. Pero bakit ganoon ano? Iba ang excitement noon. Iba ang excitement kapag naghuhulog ka ng piso and you’re able to play hours and hours of fun. May sense of satisfaction ka kasi you’re not only defeating alien invaders on the screen, but in fact naiisahan mo rin yung may ari ng arcade. You get to use their machines for just a few pesos.

Ay bastos!

Photo of Lake Pupuke, which is just 15 minutes from our place. Maraming puke trout at fresh water fish doon.

Natatawa lahat ng mga kababayan natin na nagpupunta dito sa NZ kapag nababasa nila ang mga pangalan ng mga kalye at mga lugar dito. A lot of places and streets are named after Maori names. The funny thing is that a lot of Maori names contain the syllables "titi", "puta" and "puke" in them. Bastos ano?

Nung bago pa lang kami dito sa Auckland at naghahanap ng bahay na matitirhan, we had to eliminate some of the available houses from our list, kasi bastos ang mga address e. Imagine, paano mo sasabihin sa mga relatives mo sa Pinas na nakatira ka sa "Titirangi", o kaya "Pukekohe"? Address pa lang, hindi na kaiga-igaya pakinggan, di ba? "Pasyal naman kayo sa Auckland, sa amin sa Ka Puta Ka". Ano? Baka sampal pa ang abutin mo.

Eto pa ang ibang examples ng mga pangalan ng mga lugar dito:

Titirangi, Pukekohe, Te Puke, Pukeko, Pukerangi, Te Ana Puta, Te Ana Titi, Titikaka, Puki Ariki, Ka Puta Ka. Ano kaya meron sa Te Puke? O, e anong iniisip ninyo?

Nag-search nga ako sa Google, meron din palang lugar dito na and pangalan ay "Puketiti". Mapasyalan nga. Ano kaya itsura ng mga tao doon, I wonder.

When do we lose our children?

Fidez playing with her pet rabbit

My wife and I were having a bit of discussion last night about our daughter. We are beginning to realize how she’s changing physically and emotionally as a teenager. As a 14 year old she’s beginning to discover how it is to start being free. Compared to when she was still little, nararamdaman namin na parang unti-unti siyang napapalayo sa amin. She’s spending more and more time with friends, on the phone and by herself. Dati-rati kapag umaalis kami ng bahay parati siyang kasama. Ngayon, she prefers to stay home and hang out with friends. Not that this is a bad thing because we know she’s very responsible, obedient and really behaves very mature for her age but as parents we can’t help but worry sometimes. Nabanggit nga ni misis na ilang taon na lang at pwede na kaming iwanan ng anak namin. Kakatakot isipin, no?

Kaya lang, as parents we know we can’t cling on to our children all the time. We have to release our clutches on them and allow them to grow; discover life, both the good and the bad of it. Guide them of course, but be not afraid for them to make mistakes. Let them cry and feel pain at times. Kasama lahat ito sa pagiging adult and building a strong character. Comes a time that we should stop choosing for them their food, their clothes, their friends. We have to allow them to make those decisions by themselves because soon they’ll have to leave us to face the world alone. But when does that happen? Is it when they turn 18 years old? When they leave home and live away from us?

Sabi ko sa misis ko, kung parati mong papagalitan yan kahit sa katiting na bagay at kokontrahin ang lahat ng ginagawa niya, darating ang araw na mapapalayo nang mapapalayo ang loob niya sa yo. When that time comes, kahit hindi pa siya 18 wala na siya sa atin. On the other hand if we try to be more understanding towards her, we can continue to maintain her emotional attachment with us, kahit na kapag may asawa at mga anak na siya. We have to make her think that we are not only her parents but her allies and best friends too. Kailangan lang ay tamang pag-gabay at pang-unawa and with God's help hope for the best.

So when do we lose our children? The answer is never, BUT... THEY MIGHT (LOSE US).

We need to be aware of what we have and be thankful for it

Downtown City Auckland.

The City of Sails. That's what Auckland in New Zealand is also known for. Marami kasing sail boats dito. Sailing is also one of the favorite water sports of Aucklanders, aside from fishing. In 1995 and 1999, Team NZ won the America's Cup, the most prestigious yacht race in the world. Auckland hosted the race in 1999 and 2003. Kaya lang tinalo ng Swiss Team (whose crew were New Zealanders!) in 2003.

These are just a few things about Auckland, the city I've lived in for the past 9 years now. Maswerte kami dito sa Auckland. In the past 9 years I've been here we've never experienced any natural calamity. Hindi pa ako nakaranas ng bagyo dito. Madalas ang ulan pero never na bumagyo. Earthquakes, hindi pa rin (knock on wood). Bush fires, wala din kasi green lahat ng bundok. Para ngang naka-bermuda grass. In fact, one famous Pinoy actor who visited commented that NZ is like a golf course. Kasi the grass everywhere even in hills and mountains, parang ni-lawn mower. The climate here is sub-tropical. Para kang naka-aircon, everyday. Hindi naman malamig na malamig. Parang Baguio City lang ang lamig.

Now that I'm trying to write about this place, I realized how after living in it for sometime now, I've somehow lost the sense of awe and admiration I used to have when we were still new to the place. Nung bago pa lang kami dito about 2 years pa lang, I used to think to myself that here in NZ, "everyday is a holiday". Hindi kasi kami na-stress dito e. Walang gaanong traffic. Hindi crowded, konti pa tao. NZ has a population of only 3.5 million people. At any time one can go to the numerous beaches and parks nearby. Spend the time there and just be one with nature. Very relaxing at wala pang gastos. Ngayon, parang ordinary na lang lahat ito. When you have something all the time, you forget to be thankful for it. You take things for granted. Sabi nga nila you learn to appreciate things only when you lose it. I believe this is true to everything we have. Lifestyle, health, money, job, home, family and friends, I thank my Creator for all these blessings.

Seize Each Day and Cherish Them Dearly

Bagong taon na. Isang taon na naman ang nakalipas. Hay naku, ang bilis talaga ng panahon. Year of the rooster pala ngayon. Sigurado matutuwa ang biyenan kong sabungero. Suswertihin siya tiyak this year.

Parang kailan lang. Bago mag 2000, pinoproblema pa natin ang millennium bug. Ngayon pag sinabi mong millennium, obsolete na. 1990's, what are my memories of the 90's? 1990 nung ipinanganak ang one and only daughter namin. Now she's already 14. She was born on the day Sadam invaded Kuwait - the start of the first Gulf War. It was also the year when Pinatubo erupted. Then the subsequent years of lahar mayhem in Pampanga, which I felt personally, being from that province. Ano ba ang uso during the 90s? I think hit na hit ang Spice Girls noon. May Spice Girls video pa nga yata kami ng concert nila. (Sa anak ko yon, no, hindi sa akin, feeling defensive).

Kamtotinkopit, parang mas madali ko pang gunitain ang mga memories during the 70s and 80s. Nahihirapan akong i-recall ang 90's. What's alarming is that I find it harder to recall anything from 2000 to 2004! Ang hirap talaga ng tumatanda, no? The years just seem to get shorter as one gets older. Kaya dapat mag-enjoy na lang tayo ngayon. Another quote from another favorite movie of mine, Dead Poet's Society -"Carpe Diem - Seize the Day!" sums it all.