10 Reasons I love my country

OK, so the World Bank has foisted on us the "Third World Country" brand. And our systems can be so inefficient and government officials so inept in upholding the rights of the people who elected them that many of our compatriots have no choice but to earn a living abroad. But in spite of the many put-downs and derogations that people (including ourselves) can come up with about being a Filipino, there are more than enough strong points, too. I want to thank Lilit for inspiring me to come up with my own list of reasons why I love being a Filipino :

1. Almost each and every day, we are blessed with and treated to the most gorgeous, most dramatic, most enviably breathtaking sunsets in the world.

2. Our brains are wired well for linguistic agility - we can switch to and from English, Tagalog, a dialect, another foreign language (or two), all in one sentence, and still make sense. For example: "My garsh, ginapalangga ko talaga my querido so much that I can kurot-kurot him forever and ever in the buli!" That's an awful example, I know, but you get what I mean... ;-)

3. Our culture still values the virtue of filial piety (love and respect for our parents and ninunos). We still have a high regard for all the love and sacrifices our parents gave us and believe in taking care of them as they had taken care of us. No stuffing our aging parents in a nursing home and forgetting about them. 4. Segue-ing from that, I am thankful for how we cherish friendship and for the depth of our regard for friends. Of course, it's not perfect -- we've seen how friendships, when taken to extreme, have contributed to the graft and corruption in our government -- but from a broader perspective, it's that friend-is-family attitude that helps us create a solid and loving support system for us all. It's hard to commit suicide when you are always surrounded by caring, usyoso friends and family.

5. Some services that are considered luxuries, and therefore pricey, in other countries are STILL quite affordable here — A home spa/massage service lasting 40 to 50 minutes in New York would cost over $200, not including tip and tax, whereas here, a minimum 1-hour massage can cost just around P300-350, plus a small tip. And here one might pay between P150-200 for a mani-pedi in the comfort of your home, with matching ooh-eliciting hand and foot massage, whereas in L.A., what with the deluge of Vietnamese "nail therapists" in that city, you'd pay a minimum average of $15 (that's more or less 700-pesos) for a mani-pedi in the salon, sans the hand and foot massage.

6. And while on the subject of service, we can still enjoy and afford the assistance of household helpers in our daily auxiliary tasks and make our everyday lives a lot easier. I love our yayas who have been with us for almost half a decade and I can't imagine my home life without them.

7. We've got more than 7000 lush tropical islands, even at low tide! I haven't even explored one-tenth of them!!! But the few that I've seen and been to make me thankful I was born in this country.

8. We love to laugh! Even in the direst and most desperate of times, we manage to find a reason to smile, crack a joke, see the humor in a situation, and laugh. Nobody can keep you down if you can still find reasons to laugh. As Lilit said in his blog: "We overthrew an overstaying dictator in a festive manner. There was food sharing all around. There was rock & roll music. We stopped tanks with Virgin Mary's statue, rosaries, and flowers!" Here, here!

9. We possess an indefatigable, unflappable, unwavering Faith in God. It's what empowers us to triumph over the trials and tribulations of the world. It's what keeps us going and hoping even when the going is tough and hope seems lost. It's what keeps us up when the chips are down. And it's what gives us the attitude for gratitude, even for the littlest things. As Nancy Missler wrote in the article "Why Faith Is Important": Faith is the telescope that scans the heavens for the majesty of God, and also the microscope that magnifies His hidden wonders.

10. And because if you're Filipino, it REALLY is a small world! Everybody knows almost everybody or at least knows somebody who knows or is connected to you or someone you know. You could be in Zambales or Zimbabwe - if you bump into a Pinoy, the chances are you know or know of each other or each other's family or friends. "Ah, Javier? Of Batangas or Bacolod? You must be related to..." Somehow, there will be a connection. And I think that's great!


(abangan ang susunod na part-2)

Just a second

2009's arrival was delayed. By 1 second. A leap second, astronomers call it.

"The Register" of UK says: "Timekeepers will tack on a "leap second" to the world's clocks December 31, 2008 at 23 hours, 59 minutes and 59 seconds Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). ... The time discrepancy is due to the planet's spin gradually but surely slowing down, mostly due to tidal friction."

Not that any of us really noticed that time delay. For whatever reason, it simply meant we had that one extra second in our lives. Did we even feel the difference? How could one second, a blink of an eye, impact on us anyway, especially in these "ADHD" times?

1 second could have been a kiss prolonged just a teensy bit longer. A hug tightened for a loved one. A smile to a sad stranger. A flash of a happy memory. An extended savoring of a favorite dessert. An orgasm spun out just one moment longer. One more set of ha-ha-ha in sharing a good laugh with friends.

One second may have no monetary value but it can hold a lifetime of meaning to some. That one-second delay could have spelled the difference between holding onto a firecracker and throwing it just in time, between a good shot and a bad one, or between saying a mean word and biting your tongue. That one second may seem trivial or inconsequential to most except for those whose lives are ticking away towards death or who are waiting for their homeward-bound flights to take off.

We often say there is never enough time. Time flies when you're having fun. Slow down, you move too fast, you gotta make the morning last. All in good time. Had we known about that extra second added to the our lives' time, would we have done something to make the most of it? Or would we have simply shrugged our shoulders and said "Hah, a mere second. Big deal."?

Well, time is what we make of it. And I hope that we will make the most of the time 2009 allots us. To live in peace and nonjudgmental understanding. To give back for all the blessings one enjoys to those who have less. To take full advantage of each precious moment of each day to give all of oneself to things one believes in. And for me, for that one extra second given, I offer a quick thank-You to God for another year.