You're Cold.

Noynoy Aquino is in the same dilemma as Barack Obama. Both are smoking presidents.

Aquino, who is awaiting proclamation as President of the Philippines and the then newly elected U.S. President have been admonished by their constituents for smoking, even before their proclamation.

Barack shrugged off his critics and promised he would stay off nicotine, while Aquino seems to be getting pissed or "naiirita." There was even a news item which said Aquino won't quit.

Suddenly, everybody is on Noy's case. The Secretary of Health, Mrs. Cabral said Noynoy should quit; even WHO (World Health Organization) advised Aquino to stay off cigarette and said he should lead by example.

I can emphatize with Senator Aquino. Quitting smoking is the hardest thing to do.

I used to smoke at least two packs a day. My first brand was Marlboro, then I switched to Camel, then Newport. In Diliman where majority were smokers, I never lit a stick. It was when I was already employed that I picked up the habit, and it helped that two of my best friends were chain smokers.

So all day in the air conditioned office and evenings, in lounges, folk houses and disco joints, I was constantly lighting. Beer and after-dinner were so much better with a smoke.

I tried endless times to quit smoking. I knew it was an unhealthy habit and the hot Manila weather, the beer and my childhood asthma were getting the worst of me.

It was in New York weeks before the no smoking in offices law was passed that I finally decided to quit. But before this, I tried several times to stop. I would cut down on my daily consumption, or I would chew gum or not buy a pack but just smooched some from my office mates.

Finally, my boss challenged the smokers in the office, including herself, to quit. I took up the challenge and decided to do it cold turkey. That was in 1989, and to this day, I've never held a cigarette in my hand and touched it to my lip.

And since then, whenever I smell smoke, I would choke.

Cold turkey. That's the only way to do it.

Backyard Tourist. R is for Mt. Rainier.

Hey, it's me.

What are the standard proof of identification in any country? Passport, driver's license, postal I.D, voter's I.D, and social security documents are just among the many.

In Ontario, you can add to the above, your health insurance card.

Before 911, Canadians crossing the border to go the U.S. could just present a driver's license or health card, or a birth certificate.

American GI's have dog tags as additional I.D.

Wouldn't it be nice if we can all wear a similar contraption. A dog tag which contains personal data including health data that could take the place of all other IDs. This should be digital, and should include a photograph and signature. So at the airport and at borders, the security would just scan it and an international system would show all relevant information.

I'm sure this idea has been featured in some scifi films which I have probably not seen.

This dog tag can also include a fingerprint so any time you cross a U.S port of entry, you don't have to be fingerprinted anymore (Canadians don't get fingerprinted).

Carrying an international driver's license can sometimes be perilous when you are stopped by a traffic enforcer in Manila. Though recognized globally, an international driver's license indicates you are a foreigner - a tourist or a guest worker - or a balikbayan or a returning OFW. Thus, you woud be presumed to belong to a dollar earning group, and are expected to be generous.

I once got a ticket for not wearing a seat belt. I just boarded the vehicle coming from a mini mall in Quezon City, and was about to leave the street where I parked. An MMDA guy approached me and asked for my license. My passenger, my sister, was wearing her seat belt but not me. I explained that I was just about to drive, so technically I was not driving without a seat belt. The MMDA insisted on seeing my license.

Without fanfare I produced it and did not ask for any favor. I preferred to have a citation. The next day, I went to the Quezon City Hall and paid for my confiscated license. It took less than an hour to have my I.D. back.

What violations did I commit driving in Canada or the U.S.A? Driving in Canada or the U.S.A I almost always stay within the prescribed speed limit, and if ever I over speed, it would not exceed ten above the limit. But now with speed limits reaching 70 mph in most U.S states, I don't find the need to go overboard.

I always wear my seat belt, I stop at all stop signs even at the wee hours of the morning, I don't tailgate, and basically, follow all traffic rules and rules of road courtesy, most especially, letting pedestrians cross at crosswalks and driving cautiously at school zones.

But there was a two-year period wherein I collected speeding tickets in New Jersey and Pennsylvania but which have all been paid for. This episode cost me a lot of money so it taught me a lesson not to beat the limit.

Carrying a local license would be best if you intend to stay longer in a foreign country. This way, you become one of the guys, and you can blend in with whatever "system" is prevailing.

Backyard Tourist. P is for Parade.

I've been to Disneyland (California) and DisneyWorld (in Orlando) a couple of times

but each visit there would not be complete without watching a parade, and seeing the fireworks.

Celebrate was the theme of the Parade last time we went there.  

Voices.

It was during a high school trip to the Mental Hospital in Mandaluyong that I saw first hand the human beings we outside people refer to as "cuckoo."   It was a very disturbing school trip.

We walked along the corridors and were allowed to peer into cells where the mentally ill were kept.  It was a sad, sad sight to behold.

On that day, a film was being shot inside the Asylum and it starred Rita Gomez. Her role was that of an "inmate" at the Hospital.  She was talking to herself, screaming - the way schizophrenics talk to the "people" or to the "voices" that they could only hear.

Next time I would see Rita Gomez was in a play titled "Boses," and I recall the theatre being an old, handsome house somewhere in Quezon City.  

I'd always admired Rita Gomez.  And watching her live was something else. Her presence was hair raising.  Her voice , magnificent.

In the play Boses, she was the only character.  Plus a telephone.  Indeed, it was an unforgettable performance by Rita Gomez.

Another great actor I saw perform on stage was the late Charito Solis.  The play was "Ang Larawan," the Tagalog version of "Portrait of the Artist as a Filipino, and it was shown at the theatre inside Fort Santiago.  Philip Salvador was in the cast.  This was in the late 70's, and Fort Santiago then was a place that had a lot of promise for a "renaissance-type" art and theatre revival.  

Voice. Vox.  

Vox populi, vox dei.  The voice of the people is the voice of God. 

I once joined a pilgrimage to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament - Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Hanceville, Alabama, U.S.A  where the Order Poor Clare Nuns reside. The Poor Clare nuns are mostly cloistered nuns or "mongha," as we refer to them in Tagalog.  

At the Basilica, we were fortunate enough to attend the Mass where the Cloistered Nuns were the ones leading the singing.  We could hear them, but could not see them. They were behind the Altar.

Their voices were angelic.  I prayed to God to let me hear them clearly.  And yes, even now whenever I closed my eyes and prayed, I seem to hear their sweet voices.  The distance is great but the Spirit is close. 

Love is like that.  

P.S 

" May 20, 2010 marks the 48th anniversary of the founding and dedication of Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Alabama! This is a marvelous day to recall the good things God began through our faithful Mother (Angelica) and pray that she is well rewarded for her work for God and the Church."

First Victim.

When you do crossword puzzles regularly, you would have definitely encountered the entry, "first victim."  Answer: Abel.   Slain by his brother, Cain.  These two are characters from the Hebrew Bible, or the Old Testament.

Then we don't hear enough of the warning, " there's a sucker born every minute."

In every crime, fraud, misdemeanor, or wrongdoing, there's always a perpetrator and a victim.  Even in the gone-sour personal relationships, there's always a cheated, used individual versus the user, cheater.

In the business world, there's financial scheming and scam and in the digital world, "scam" or bogus emails and messages. The likes of Maddoff, and Philippine rural banks going on bank holidays (9 rural banks went bankrupt in 2009 alone, and now there's the BMS - taking the money and ruining lives of countless people).

In Philippine politics and elections, there's voting fraud and cheating.

Simplicity.  Where is the start and the end? 

Give kids a chance.

LEFT-  Sta. Ana Church 

There are two good public schools in the Sta. Ana district - the Santa Ana Elementary School which is behind the church, and further, Tomas Earnshaw Elementary School, which I attended.

Tomas Earnshaw was the sixth Mayor of the City of Manila.

Because the results of the 2010 elections for the VP slot is so hotly contested, I've been glued to the TV ever since Day 1, May 10th.

I've discovered channels I didn't know existed before like Channel 24, 26 and 27 (for SkyCable subscribers).  I particularly like Channel 27 because the anchormen/women are not as excitable as those in Channels 8 (ABS CBN), 12,  (GMA) and 26, (DZMM).

I've been wondering why local news, especially the commercial morning and early evening editions, cast doubt in the minds of viewers over every news items.  For instance, the newscaster would read a story, then offer right away an opinion or pasaring. 

The way the newscasters deliver their "opinion," is in an indirect way - question-like? or "sabi ng iba ganito daw ang nangyari,"  dinala daw ang mga PCOS machine sa Antipolo, di ba mataas dun at maganda ang signal?" ( Someone said this is what happened; the PCOS machines were brought to Antipolo which is a mountain-high area where the signals are great, right?).

The trouble with most Pinoys is that we don't speak our minds clearly and directly. "Maraming mga padaplis." ( There's a lot of indirect, non committal talk).

I have trouble nowadays because whenever I speak, people around me think I am angry, or being negative.  When I give my comment over something, they'd say I'm being opinionated. Or that I speak too loud; or that I am deaf because a lot of times I could not understand the way English words are being pronounced locally.

I say, "sorry, please speak loudly and enunciate clearly."

So give the kids a chance.  Chance at a new, clean, incorruptible government - one in which they'd have more opportunities for learning, getting jobs, more books in public libraries and school supplies they can afford to buy, clean water and abundant source of food, free or affordable health care, etc.

When I was studying in a public elementary school in the 60's, we had free books, free milk, bread and cheese. Our school had a large yard where there were swings, T Bars and a garden.  

This was about twenty years after the country had gained its "independence" from the Americans - when the leaders had a vision for a better democratic Philippines. 

Which reminds me how school supplies prices have gone up two weeks into school opening.

In Canada, school children get free ride (school bus), free books, and in some, free breakfast.  In the province of Ontario, children from one year old to eighteen get a Baby bonus. 

Backyard Tourist. O is for Ohio.

ABOVE  -  Steubenville, Ohio.  Home to Dean Martin and Robert Urich.  There's a contest called "Dean Martin Look Alike," held annually. There's a span bridge named after Robert Urich.

ALSO ABOVE - Ice bricks from the roof which fell off to the deck, in my sister's house in Toronto, Ohio. This was taken in mid- March 2010.

LEFT - My charge, Shadow, whom I've left with my sister and bro-in-law.

Refund.

LEFT- Honest Ed's, located in Bathurst and Bloor in Toronto, Canada is a tourist attraction for its bargain and souvernir selection and photograph display of celebrities together with the store's owner Ed Mirvish. Honest Ed's, a pioneer in Canadian wholesale hands out free turkey to the public on Canadian Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, we returned a malfunctioning air cooler to a big supermarket which is part of a giant corporate conglomerate.

At the Customer Service, I showed the receipt and was asked the reason for the return. "It doesn't seem to cool the surrounding," I replied. "It's not supposed to cool but to lower the surrounding temperature," the department salesperson told me.

" I just want to return this unit," I said. "Sure," was the reply I got.

After inspecting the box, the clerk asked for the remote control, which I forgot to put inside the box. He advised me that he cannot accept the return unless the merchandise is a complete box. I suggested that the store deduct a certain amount in lieu of the remote control, and the money returned to me once I turn in the remote.

As it turned out, there was another piece missing : a plastic tube which passes through the screen-like cloth and which makes the cloth-contraption turn and churn the water - the process which lowers the room temperature.

I told the clerk I didn't find any such tube. Bingo! That's why the Unit was useless.

They ended up accepting the return but still with the deposit for the remote control. But later we found out that the store does not have a return, only an exchange policy. It was fine in this case because we really wanted to purchase two electric fans and more.

But imagine if you were returning a product which you discovered was not matching your house, or a misfit or you simply did not like?

In Canada, you can return a purchase, no questions asked as long as you have the receipt and the original merchandise is in its original working condition or look. You can even return it to any branch of the store, locally or if you moved to the U.S., to a U.S. chain, or vice versa, a Canada-chain.

I remember buying a telephone at Sears's U.S. and later, returning it to a Sears's in Canada. Last April, I had pictures developed in Cosco in San Jose, California and some were misprinted. As we were leaving for Seattle the following day, my sister told me to go to Cosco in Seattle to have the prints re-done; apparently Cosco allows this state-to-state return and exchange, too.

Walmart is another chain store which has a very liberal return policy. That's why even with the so-called cheap labour accusations hurled at them, I still shop Walmart.

Lavandera.

If you watch CNN regularly, you might have seen this big guy named "Ed Lavandera," who is one of CNN's field reporters. Obviously, he's Hispanic.

The word "lavandera," is Spanish for launderer; clothes launderer, in previous eras, but nowadays could also refer to money launderer.

Lavandera is a commonly used word among us Pinoys. Almost every household who does not have a regular maid would employ a clothes washer or a laundrywoman.

I remember growing up in a household with out a regular maid; what we had was a lavandera, plus an "ironing woman," and my two aunts who helped my mother with the day-to-day raising of seven kids plus one cousin.

If we had a maid, she was still aided by my two aunts who spoiled my mother.

When I first came home to the Philippines in 1994 after being away for nine years, I bunked in my mother's house for a while and their maid would wash my clothes. My mother knew I was finicky about my clothes, so she would personally wash my underwear instead of assigning it to the maid.

Being finicky about my clothes was not an original trait of mine. In the past, I could not care less if my clothes were assigned to a maid, handled by my mate or my mother. But years of living in the U.S. and in Canada where I did my own laundry had turned me into a "clean fanatic," not only in clothes but with everything else.

I want to do my own laundry; I want a spic n' span wash and bathroom; I want an immaculate kitchen and cooking range; a safe drinking water; a house rid of mosquitoes and cockroaches; a yard full of trees; and outside - streets free of litter and urine-smelling pavements.

The new old me is neurotic about cleanliness, and people around me could not understand it, they even brand me "insane."

I want the bedsheets fresh all the time, and the bathroom smelling of Lysol.

If a human "lavandera" or a maid does my laundry, I somehow feel that my privacy is being invaded. I want to make sure my shirts are not being pounded by the "palo palo" (wooden paddle) and that my whites are totally whitened. I want to know where they hide my underwear and socks in the closet.

I confess that I want my dirty clothes to be done by the machine; I prefer the "machine lavandera," or those commercially-run laundry business.

I once window-shopped for a U.S. -style washing machine and dryer but found the costs to be too prohibitive. Now I want to puke remembering that I dumped an almost brand new washer/dryer in the condo trash, because of one incident when water overflowed into the unit below; and I reverted to using the building's laundry facilities.

In the absence of maids, I do not understand why local people still prefer human "lavanderas," over machines. Personally, I think bringing one's dirty clothes to the neighbourhood machine "lavanderas," is more practical and hygienic.

You bag your clothes, drop it at the laundromat where they weigh it, and collect them after two days. Your clothes smell fresh and look ironed out.

Stand By Me.

LEFT  - Seymour, the sea lion, one of the stars at Sea World in San Diego, California.

It's now two days after the Philippine elections.  There were problems, but generally speaking, the elections were a success, compared to past elections. 

The images flashed on television showing the long lines of people waiting to vote, people blocking the transfer of PCOs outside the voting place despite the heavy presence of the military, people sweating it out, etc proved that the Pinoys are passionate about suffrage - choosing their leaders.

Pinoys, wherever they are, are power-oriented, not authority-oriented.  

We exercise our right to vote and we closely guard our ballots because we want to choose and elect our leaders.  But then we look at our chosen ones as gods, not as servants, which they really are.

The politicians are the peoples' servants, and they have been mandated not to RULE but to SERVE.

We should demand that they serve for the good of everyone. 

Power-oriented is looking at elected officials as giving them the power to rule, while authority-oriented is looking at elected officials as individuals having been given a temporary task or job to exercise at a given period of time, and respecting this mandate.

This orientation emanates from our paternalistic/materialistic/familial outlook at every aspect of our lives; we judge everything from the perspective of familial power. 

For instance, we call the first born, "Kuya or Ate," and their siblings are expected to accord them the same level of respect given to the parents.  Aunts and uncles, even un-related people to us are being called "Tito or Tita," and neighbours are referred to as "Manong or Manang," in order to promote the idea of respect and harmony but in the process, to unwittingly preserve the concept of power.

In the U.S. and in Canada, this Pinoy power-orientation presents itself in the way local social associations operate.  Because of lack of family, Pinoys abroad bond themselves into social groupings, such as school or fraternal affiliations, municipal or provincial brotherhoods, etc.  Officials are then elected to lead these groupings.

But there are too many instances when losing candidates and their supporters in such elections back out from their original group and form their own so that they can lead the new entity.  

Here in Manila, an embarrassing proof of this Pinoy power-orientation is seen in the level of so-called "village or subdivision Barangays."  Homeowners in private subdivisions bind themselves into homeowners' associations for security and management purposes, but in the process, some individuals' power quest lead to violence, cheating, and even murder. Thus, instead of promoting the original ideals of camaraderie, neighbourliness, and common good, the "neighbourhood barangay" which has no real political basis becomes another menace.

The smallest but the most potent form of political affiliation is the family. Parents are the leaders in such entities, and sons and daughters, especially the minor ones are obligated, both legally and otherwise, to follow them. 

In the case of grown-up children who leave their family abode to marry or to live on their own, the parents' authority over them should ideally, cease to exist. All financial support should also stop. Children who continue to seek financial aid on top of moral and other support (e.g baby sitting services, etc) should be discouraged from such forms of juvenile activities. 

In dealing with children, parents or couples should present a united stand or shared leadership. 

Pinoy parents should take note of their U.S. and Canadian counterparts when dealing with children who burden their parents with too high expectations, high maintenance, immaturity, difficult and bad behaviour, lawlessness and immorality, especially for those over the age of eighteen. TOUGH LOVE. 

Do not cave in to your children's bad morals, bad behaviour, bad temper, bad lifestyle. 

Good luck. 

Backyard Tourist. N is for Niagara Falls.

On the way to Ohio, U.S.A, passed by Niagara Falls in Canada.  That day, early March 2010, the Great Falls was still frozen. 

It was frigid cold and the "Maid of the Mist," the boat which takes tourists around the Lake, was not yet in operation.

People say that the view from Canada is much better than the view from the U.S. side.  I agree.

Babe, I Love You.

The last Tagalog movie I saw on the big screen was in 2002 titled "The Crying Ladies," and it starred Sharon Cuneta and which I found both funny and sad.  It was sad because of the poverty portrayed in there, and funny because, despite the hardships the three ladies had to face, they still found the courage to laugh and "cry."

The next time I would see a Tagalog movie on the big screen was last April and this happened in Seattle, Washington.  It was the movie, "Babe, I Love You."

In Canada, I've seen print ads announcing the showing of Tagalog movies in regular theatres but I never attempted to see one.  I've watched a few Tagalog movies on DVD, courtesy of some friends.  I remember seeing the movies "Baler" and "Kimi Dora."

It was due to the prodding of my sister and her daughter in-law that we went to see "Babe, I Love You."  How did I find it?

First, I was surprised that the movie was showing in the U.S. and in a cinema that bore the name "Regal" in its ticket. I know this movie was produced by Star Cinema so I presume that it is a competitor of the Regal production.

Second, I found out that it is a lot more expensive watching a Tagalog movie abroad. It cost me around 32 USD for four tickets, plus about 30 USD for popcorn, soda and a bar of chocolate. That is roughly 2,700 pesos.  If I saw the same movie here in Manila, it would cost me about 1000 pesos, including popcorn and soda and a chocolate bar.

Third, I thought I was watching a Hollywood movie because most of the dialogue was in English. And in the few times that the lead actor, Sam Milby, spoke in Tagalog, I thought I heard too many "pa-cute" pronunciation which reminded me of a long- gone era co-worker, who hailed from the University near Diliman, who spoke Tagalog as if he were just learning how to speak.

Fourth, I found the scene in which Milby's character got soaked in the rain and was chilling and had to be taken cared of by Ann Curtis', to be ridiculous.  A woman would take out the socks of a man?  A man would chill from exposure to a brief downpour?

In short, it was an episode of sleep and wake for me.  It was good I had a tub of pop corn and a pitcher-size Coke.

Backyard Tourist. M is for Museum of Flight.

Below, Statue at the Museum of Flight located in the Boeing Field, in Seattle, Washington.

Backyard Tourist. L is for Las Vegas.

ABOVE LEFT, Nightly music and fountain show in front of the Bellagio Casino Hotel, one of the many casinos at the famous Las Vegas strip.

ABOVE, Downtown Vegas is much more fun than the Strip.

ABOVE, Statue at the Caesar's Palace, another well-known Casino at the Strip.

Backyard Tourist. K is for Kokanee Beer.

'Was surprised that the Canadian Beer KOKANEE was being served in Washington State.

Had them while dining at Conway Bar on the way to the Tulip Festival.

LEFT - DREAM, one of the many signs inside the Diner. I like this one!

Impediment to Creativity.

Professional writers and those who profess to be good at writing devote substantial amount of time to researching what they write.  They also confess to needing private time and quiet when they write.

When I decided to semi-retire and to seek self-employment, I went back to creative writing which is my first love and my very first source of income upon graduation from university studies.

Writing in itself is a creative adventure. There are the journalists, fiction and non-fiction writers, technical writers, creative writers such as copywriters, screen, radio and television scriptwriters, speech or ghost writers, and column writers and opinion writers.

I used to write copy or adverstisements for a PR and ad agency.

Now, I do mostly blog writing or private work.

Having just arrived from a two-month travel in Canada and the U.S.A, I am still experiencing jet lag - including creative lag.  My mind is pointless - err... I cannot pinpoint the exact beginning or end of a topic, and I think it is due to the heat wave going on.

When I'm out of the air conditioned bedroom and infront of the computer in the living room, it is not creative juice that is flowing out of me, but sweat.

When I write, I want to be by myself - thus, I tend to write late in the evening or early morning.  If there are people snooping around, I tend to clam in.  

I remember years and years ago when my boss would call for a brainstorming session to kick start an ad campaign for a client and the team members would remain silent. My boss would then light a cigar (smoking was still allowed in buildings and offices then) and start to whistle.  Then we would catch up with his good mood, and everyone would ease up and the ball would start to roll.

During brainstorming sessions, general concepts are formulated, but it is in the privacy of offices that creative writers develop the actual copy or ad - print, radio and TV.

If people around would just understand that certain people function best when they are left alone, life would be much easier...for writers.

Backyard Tourist. J is for Jail for those...

ABOVE - Quaint town of Wilkeson in Washington state , founded in the 1850's and officially incorporated in July 1909.

It boasts of the oldest elementary school in the Washington state. It used to be a coal mining area.

Today, its population numbers to about 400.

ABOVE LEFT - Poster seen in a convenience store in Wilkeson, Washington state, on the way up to Mt. Rainier.

Backyard Tourist. I is for Irvine.

Visited nephew Ray and wife Olivia and son, Sidney in Irvine, California at one of the villages of Woodbury.

The place is about a fifteen-minute drive to Disneyland, and about forty five minutes away from Van Nuys, California.

Backyard Tourist. H is for Holywood.

At the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Footprints and Hand prints of Arnold Schwarzenegger of Terminator "I'll be back."

Footprints of Harry Potter and his gang.

Backyard Tourist. G is for Golf.

Pebble Beach at Monterey, California has a 17-mile tourist attraction, including several golf courses. It will be the site of the 2010 U.S. Open.

The Tiger Woods plays here.