"Enjoy Life. There's plenty of time to be dead. "Enthused by my cutesy friend Danica. Apparently, it kind of seemed like a running joke then. Well, sabagay, in the land of the living, it's easy to die, to kill, or take away life. On the other hand, mahirap bumuhay ng patay na. To un-die someone, if there's such a phrase. To die, just so simply means, coming to a complete halt. We cry when people dear to us leave us for some place else. Going out of the country, or relocating someplace else, it doesn't matter. For the many of us, physical contact is just as important. Tangibility. And again, just like the aforementioned, when this comes to a sudden stop, we are stunned. Actually, what dawns first is the sudden stop. And then, we don't know what to do next, how to act, how to respond, because it is our first instinct is to adapt, first at hand. That is just temporary leaving. Places. Earth-bounded. And then comes, the permanence. And we call it Death.With the recent string of events, a neighbor on the verge of dying due to a terminal illness, an old teacher suffering from ESRD (End-stage renal disease), and the heart shattering demise of some of my friends' pals, I couldn't let these things pass by without me mulling over the subject. Actually, it really is difficult, even for me who's not directly hit by the grief. And to this note, how much more to the closely related?Death may sound bad. Even fearsome. I am scared as well. Scared as hell. I don't know to where I am bound to just in case. And I know, this sentiment is shared by the majority. Una-unahan lang talaga, in the race, where no one wants to take the lead. And then the others go , prepared, while some, are gotten, at the snap of the finger.I am not promulgating anything for my recent post. I just felt it rightful that I give my share, and to pour my musings. This may sound mawkish, but this is another current reality we have to face. Because it happens. At any given time.I dedicate this post to EJ, and to the friend of Soulmate Karen. I don't know if I have the right, but since you've made them happy during your lifetime, then, I owe you a part of their goodness. You may not know me, might not ever heard of me, but since you make an impact to them, I could almost feel the waves you've made.See you at the afterlife! And just so you know, you are loved. :)Labels: Current Issues, Death, Events, Sadness
Poverty Extremes
Question: If you had a windfall of 100-billion dollars, what would you do with it?
This was the inquiry I posed to a few persons I know. And I've gotten a few so startling answers.
Randee: I would be a businessman. And start businesses! ssssssssssssss.
Randi: I would donate them to charity. (And who the hell is charity?)
Hydnar: Put it in the bank. (You could own a bank---err..no, banks!- Ed.)
Randyh: World Peace. *then grins*
But then again, we are talking, not in US dollars, but in Zimbabwean dollars! Here's the rest of the story:
Zimbabwe has been experiencing a very incredulous turbulence in its recent history. The world media has been hyped in almost all of its affairs, not mentioning its political environment. Getting the lion's share of course is the country's Hyperinflation, which a few month's ago reached a staggering 2,000,000%. The Philippines had 11.4%, and we've been in hell ever since, so just imagine the scenario.
The funny thing is, the statistics is still climbing. And fast!
Here are the pictures. I, myself, find these amusing.
Wages are normally paid in cash. And the lady's plentiful. Wow, mayaman!
So, if you had a 100-billion cold-hard-cash, in Zimbabwe, what could you buy?
Simple. Just plain simple.
Cost of an egg in Zimbabwe: $35 billion. Haggling would put you 3 eggs for a hundred billion. What a discount.
Trivia: As bad as things are, however, Zimbabwe's economic crisis is still a miles away from taking a place alongside history's worst cases of hyperinflation. That crown still belongs to post-WWII Hungary, where at its peak the rate of inflation was 4.19 quintillion percent. At that point, you might as well start paying for things with hugs.
So, if you think you are poor, think again.
Labels: Current Issues, hyperinflation, zimbabwe
Greed Moderately
Set and unfurled before the eyes of the entire nation is the continuing teleserye that is the NBN-ZTE deal scandal. If the two big networks have been scurrying for perfect material for their primetime tills, this could be it. No scripts, but heavy drama is most efficiently embedded. How could anyone so imagine a bald man crying and moping around for a done deal, which is of course, as we know, not that really done yet. This whistleblower, Jun Lozada, is absolutely, on the top of the game as of recent to expose the apparent graft in this "procurement". The revelations are astounding, and only by far rivalled by Maging Sino Ka Man in its entirety. Indeed, it encompasses every field and genre there is. There shall be no need of any Viveka Babajee to rig any awards night. For obvious reasons, the greatest actors are in absentia in the local showbiz pool. The nuns are there, the military could be somewhere lurking, and the senators provide for most of the shape-shifting. They have their interests! And who wouldn't love Miriam for being uh.. Miriam. All the valid questions done via the most interesting accent. And take note the timing.
We shall see more of this savory take every now and then. And we shall title this continuing saga as what? Sinakal,Nagbakasakali, Saklolo!? Or $130 million heaps under the sea? Or Abalos: The greedy barber of the Wack Wack street.
Labels: Current Issues, Politics
