Far From Neutral Notions - Philippine politics, culture and stuff

I’ve been trying to fight a recent bout of homesickness, but several things happened that just reminded me of how much I miss home.

Last night I got a package from my dad; he’s transferred his Fortune subscription to me, and he sent me an mp3 player. And to get an idea as to how much that means to me, let me tell you two things about me: I love to read, and I love music. And I love free gifts

Then, there’s this Inquirer feature on my aunt back home. The mere mention of bagongon is enough to make my mouth water — it’s been months since I last had some, and as good as some of the food is here, it can’t hold a candle to genuine home cooking. My home, anyway.

Here are a few pics from the Inquirer site:

It’s hard to imagine now, but I used to take Talaba for granted, considering that it cost somewhere between 70-100 pesos a sack back in the day.

That’s Cecille on the foreground, my cousin GB’s yaya when he was a kid. And I think that’s manang Sonia back there with the apron.

My brother buzzed me on YM a few minutes after I read the piece — he emailed it to me earlier. Anyway, here’s a glimpse of the kind of wandering conversations my brother and I are notorious for:

(Edited for clarity)

manong: Try to read yesterday’s Inquirer.
me: i did
me: online
manong: Si Mama Nie na feature didto (Mama Nie was featured) ed. that’s what we call Tita Sonie, Mama Nie
me: pero may copy ko sang yesterday’s issue
manong: Pareho ta
me: cut ko na lang
me: ginutman ko kag (nagutom ako)
manong: Ako man gani (ako din)
manong: Makadto ko didto karon gani (pupunta nga ako dun mamaya)
manong: Bweeee….
me: haha
manong: To be fair, namit guid man siya ya magluto (To be fair, masarap talaga sya magluto)
me: gb kag manang grace are testaments to that
manong: That was what I was saying also
manong: The biggest testaments of all
me: BIGGEST
manong: I emailed the article to Grace, Cara, and the others
me: Macki@nimbus.inq7.net
me: ikaw ini? (ikaw ba to?)
manong: Probably, used inquirer to send the email e
me: ahh
me: was wondering how you got an inq7 email
me: lol
manong: Secret…
manong: Hatag ni Patricia sa akon (bigay ni Patricia sa akin)
me: the brat?
me: riiiiiiiiight
manong: Patricia Evangelista
manong: She’s cute
manong: and intelligent
manong: and well read
manong: I like her
me: kay gwapa lang e (porke’t maganda lang e)
me: she’s still a brat
me: well, bratty
manong: Why is she a brat?
me: you read her column diba?
manong: Not that often, don’t buy newspapers anymore
me: there was this one instance hinirit sya about her prof because the teacher disagreed with her views..
me: daw na pirdi sya o napahuy-an sa debatehay nila tapos gin sulat nya sa column nya para makabalos or to get the last word (parang natalo sya o napahiya sa kanilang debate tapos nagsulat sya sa column nya tungkol don para makaganti o to get the last word)
me: about activism or something
me: daw ivory tower intellectual sya e (parang ivory tower intellectual sya e)
manong: Just those times when I have time and with someone else’s newspaper
manong: Well, most of us are
me: that’s why most of us suck, me included
me: lol
manong: Most of us do not have the courage to go out to the streets and express our outrage
manong: True
manong: But at least she is brave enough to express her views on paper
manong: Which is actually more dangerous, considering the laws on libel
manong: And she is cute.
me: “considering the laws on libel” << considering mike arroyo
me: haha
manong: Well, yeah
manong: Not only him, but a lot of other guys
me: ang kay pat lang, daw… i think self gratification ang iya column.. daw blog. haha
manong: Remember that being a journalist at this day and age is more dangeroius than its was during martial law
manong: Of course, it is also more lucrative for some
manong: Have you read Max Soliven’s columns?
me: ha@
me: haha
manong: There a re alot of other opinion writers out there that do the same thing
me: mr. i-have-a-lot-of-european-cars-and-travel-a-lot-and-name-drop-every-chance-i-get soliven?
manong: The only difference is that this one has a pretty face
manong: The others do not
me: hehe, true
me: cute gid man si pat (cute talaga si pat)
me: i guess that’s why it’s easy to dismiss what she’s saying
me: kay pretty sya
me: i mean, it’s easy to be biased on my part
manong: Although to be honest, I only read about 3 or 4 of those, when she was starting
me: kay unfair nga gwapa sya and smart (dahil unfair na maganda na sya at matalino pa)
me: there’s gotta be a balance.. or there must be something wrong with her…
manong: Well, indi man siya guwapa guid (well di naman sya ganon kaganda)
me: it upsets the force
manong: It’s actually her imperfections that make her pretty
me: it always is diba
manong: That is why we have Annakin
me: boring ang perfect symmetry
me: speaking of annakin
manong: What?
me: that’s the worst premise sang star wars ever
manong: What did you expect?
me: ngaman nag pangita sila sang “someone to balance the force” (bat pa sila maghahanap ng “someone to balance the force”)
me: when it was tilted towards good
manong: By the way, going back to beauty…
me: edi kung ibalance nila, bad ang matabo (eh di kung ibalance nila, bad ang mangyayari)
me: lol
manong: Studies have shown that symmetry is what beauty is all about
manong: Discovery channel na
manong: And National Geographic
me: yeah nakita ko to
me: pero boring pa din
me: the quriks make it more interesting
me: take ellen pompeo
manong: I will.
me: di sya symmetrical
me: ang eyes nya mejo quirky
me: hahahaha
manong: Her mouth is too wide
manong: Her eyes are almost libat
me: yes exactly
me: pero the sum is greater than the parts
manong: She has scars on her upper lip
manong: Synergy kumbaga
me: so those imperfections nag paganda
manong: She is actually prettier than Izzie
me: na enhance
manong: exactly
manong: That is why I try to be as asymmetrical as possible
me: pero back to pat
me: i used to watch her sa breakfast e
manong: Okay, going back to Pat
manong: Yeah, that was after she won the contest in the UK
manong: So?
me: and sadto ka clueless sa iya (at noon, parang ang clueless nya)
manong: Yes, I noticed
me: she’d ask the most inane or leading questions… daw inang on the surface ok, pero kon gin panumdom mo, mapa WTF ka (ung parang on the surface ok, pero kung pag isipan mo, mapa WTF ka)
manong: Ka innocent pa sa iya
manong: Well, she grew up
me: grew up, or has a ghost writer?
manong: I do not think she would allow someone to write for her
manong: Siya pa
me: i dunno, dako ang gap sa nakita ko before sa tv and now e (i dunno, parang ang laki ng gap na nakita ko dati sa tv at ngayon)
me: i mean, breakfast isn’t really a haven for critical thinking
manong: Yes, but she seems smart enough to learn fast
manong: And why watch breakfast if you have all these problems with it?
me: si ria tanjuatco, pia guanio, angel jacob…
me: haha
me: for a time bianca gonzales was also there, pro i dunno kon asta yanda (pero ewan ko kung nandun pa sya)
me: but the rest… i dunno, daw
me: basta
manong: Haha, whatever. We’re going home na.
manong: Food trip.
me: a pox on you

Ok, Pat Evangelista fans, lay off, I don’t really think she has a ghost writer. It’s a long standing (idiotic) bias that I have that beautiful people can’t be smart, one that has been proven wrong time and again. I don’t take it seriously; neither should you

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