thoughts
January 10, 2007i've been entertaining thoughts of writing a novel or a story. i thought i've abandoned that dream along with my dream of being a food critique one day.
apparently dreams never die, however, time is no longer my friend and i am finding the lack of it to be daunting. more daunting however, is of having lost my "mojo" of writing and telling a good story in writing. i have sadly gone into this blackhole of nothingness where i am having a hard time putting my thoughts into a coherent sentence.
thus, i've taken the responsibility of practicing my writing one step at a time. i've taken to contributing into an ongoing fiction writing activity and expressing myself more. i have also revisited my glorious writing past though reading my scribblings and poetry again. ah, to be young and naive, when most feelings were new and raw.
year in review
i'm gathering my thoughts as i write this. the year passed by so fast and with so many surprises–some good, and some bad. both were opportunities to learn from.
words elude me tonight as i write this too, the task of going back and replaying each event tires me, and honestly, it's not something i look forward to. i remember the days when i would write in my diary events flowed easily, memories, good or bad were easily remembered. writing was a gift that i used to have, but now i just generally rant.
gee, what would i write?
perhaps i could write that 2006 was the year i lost my rose-colored glasses and saw the world with extra-critical eyes. yet the same eyes saw a chosen few who are every measure of a child of god that they are.
perhaps i could write that 2006 was the year i felt the most secluded and lonely, yet surrounded by people. there's this unspeakable loneliness that i cannot fathom, that i cannot acknowledge because i cannot describe it.
this new year, just like everybody else, i will have a set of new year's resolutions and goals for the year.
- Choose to be more happy and grateful
- Earn money–for an ipod, a mac, an HMO, a josh groban concert
- Exercise–for good this time!
- Eat better–i had started that habit and was already doing it habitually, until last year, when i felt lonely being the healthy person out.
- Stay true to my deadlines
- Play less games–so that i could read more, do more…THE SIMS 2 IS EVIL! I SWEAR!
- Do more crafting–and actually finish them
- Channel my inner author–i used to write a lot, but not much nowadays.
- Recycle
- Read more–my upcoming reading is now almost my sister's height, and that's not good. again i blame the distraction of playing games on my computer.
- Cook more often–just because our housekeeper has learned to cook from Amici doesn't mean i'm not a great cook anymore, after all, i taught her most of the things i know…;)
- Go more good deeds at random people–and tell them to PAY IT FORWARD.
we'll see next year if i achieved them all.
a new form of terrorism and a dose of dr. phil’s practical wisdom
January 1, 2007This post is only meant to voice out my opinion on who are the TRUE TERRORISTS of our country. It is not meant to belittle the threat of terrorism as the rest of the world defines it. Terrorism, if one assesses its meaning from the dictionary, is a use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce. This could simply mean many things to many people, and depending on what country you are in, one gets different answers on who or what is a terrorist. In africa, the terrorists are the tribes who commit genocide and rape women in the belief that their AIDS affliction will go away. For Americans, terrorists are the people who won't hesitate to destroy their freedom and kill their loved ones. In Iraq, sectarianism creates terrorism that continues to divide and bring bloodshed. Same thing goes in our country. The threat is real and imminent, yet, we also grapple with another form of terrorism.
Here in our country terrorists are among us. They are not necessarily the left-wing muslim group plaguing our country today. This kind of terrorist lives near our houses, and is in our very midst. These people are dangerous, not only because they truly embody the definition of a terrorist, they also endanger the overall development of our country.
Our terrorists are the lazy people who would complain about their woes in life and blames it to anybody but themselves. Never mind if it's their fault if their money is never enough, never mind if it's their fault that the garbage problem is never solved, as long as they could blame it on the nearest government body or business entity, they will blame them all. These are the people who always ask "Why me?" and "This shouldn't happen" and needlessly dwell on it, thus creating a neverending cycle of self-pity and non action, because, in their mind, why should they do something about it when it's not their fault?
The grim truth of the matter is that somehow, each one of us bears the reason why our country is in such a huge rut. It is our fault why our government is corrupt, bickering, and generally self-serving. The way our government is the way we are, and we have to change that by changing ourselves first.
Yes, I have written before that the goverment and our politics are to blame for the mess we're in. However, recently, all thanks to Dr. Phil, the curtain of blame has now been lifted and I realize that it's just plain wrong to blame it all to the government. We are fond of being in denial, and the sentence "Let someone else do it." is always in our heads. everybody says that line until nobody is left to actually do something to solve the problem. We have never taken ACCOUNTABILITY the mistakes our country has made and how many steps it has taken backwards.
How many times has it happened in our country that when someone tries to CORRECT and SET THINGS RIGHT, we crucify and throw stones at them, belittling their cause, their fervor, and their beliefs. We are in a false belief that change doesn't have to hurt. In reality, CHANGE WILL ALWAYS HURT. The more it hurts, the more lasting change is.
Our current goverment faces a problem so great that it alone cannot solve. Even if we put all the Nelson Mandelas, Mother Theresas, and Lee Kuan Yews here in our country, they would all fail if we put everything in under their responsibility and not help them. As the late JFK said, "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country", As long as we are able-bodied physically and mentally, we should be helping, not just standing in the sidelines watching.
How many times has it happened in our country that when someone tries to CORRECT and SET THINGS RIGHT, we crucify and throw stones at them, belittling their cause, their fervor, and their beliefs. We are in a false belief that change doesn't have to hurt. In reality, CHANGE WILL ALWAYS HURT. The more it hurts, the more lasting change is.
The grim truth of the matter is that somehow, each one of us bears the reason why our country is in such a huge rut. It is our fault why our government is corrupt, bickering, and generally self-serving. The way our government is the way we are, and we have to change that by changing ourselves first.
instead of digging our own graves by needlessly shielding ourselves from blame, we should face up to the blame and own it. we will never own our bright future if we refuse to take responsibility to the demons that plague our country, whether it's the goverments fault, GMA's fault or anyone else's fault, somehow, it's OUR FAULT BECAUSE WE LET IT HAPPEN. somehow we were irresponsible, we were carefree, we were stupid and we were dependent on somebody else for too long.
Let's analyze and deal with what's wrong and once we've identified our mistakes, let all of us cure them. It is not a government matter, it is OURS to take action on, all 60-something million of us, and let us watch our country rise.
