Prudence and Madness

Found at a Petron Gas station in Plaridel, Bulacan today

Sa mga nakatanggap ng emails ngayon tungkol sa hulang magkakaroon ng lindol ngayong araw na ito, marahil ilan sa inyo ay nakapag-isip ding lumiban muna sa trabaho o sa klase upang makapiling ang kanilang mga mahal sa buhay.  Para lang makasiguro, kumbaga.  Ngunit sa palagay ko, labis-labis na ang ganitong reaksyon.  Angkop na siguro ang sariwain na lamang ang mga natutunan sa mga earthquake drills at ihanda ang sarili sa kahit anong kalamidad na darating.

At dahil na rin sa hindi naman natin kayang ihinto ang pang-araw-araw na mga gawain para sa isang hula at hindi rin naman natin tiyak na mapipigilan ang anumang kalamidad, heto at ibinabahagi ko na lamang ang napagkatuwaan namin ng mga kaibigan ko -  ang aming mga huling habilin:

(Hinda mga tunay na pangalan ang gagamitin ko, maliban sa aking pangalan dahil siyempre, alam ninyo na ako ang sumusulat sa blog na ito.  Haha)

Ang mga sumusunod na habilin ay ibinahagi sa lahat ng miyembro ng Cybersabeerday sa pamamagitan ng text messaging.

Chewy:  July 18 ngayon, araw ng paglindol.  In case na matabunan ako ng bulok na gusali ng opisinang ito, ‘wag kalimutang mahal ko kayong lahat, lalo na ang may birthday ngayon.  Happy birthday, Jarjar!  Mwah!

Yoda:  Dalaw po kayo sa burol ko if matabunan ako.  Pakisabi po na paki-cremate ako baka kasi di ako kasya sa ataul.  Kita kita na lang tayo sa susunod na buhay.  Magdadala ako ng Grand matador at wanam (isang kainan dito sa aming lugar).  Btw,  happy birthday kay Jarjar!

Chewy:  ‘Wag nga palang kalimutang isuot ang mga I.D. para pag natabunan eh madaling makilala.  Kay obi, ‘wag kalimutang isuot ang retainers.  Naka-braces naman kami ni Luke, so carry lang.

Obi:  Kung ako naman ang matabunan, kayo na ang bahala maghugas ng mga pinggan at kutsara na naiwan sa bahay ko.  Yoda, ikaw pa din ang gatekeeper.  ‘Wag ninyo ako i-cremate, gusto ko t-shirt at jeans ang suot ko sa ataul.  Tapos sa libing, pakikanta ang low low low.  Maraming salamat.  Pagbaha nga pala, kina Luke kayo mag-park ha.

Ako:  Obi, lindol pala ang sinasabi mo,  akala ko tungkol sa dami ng tao sa MRT.  Wala naman akong ihahabilin.  Well, except ‘yung hamsters ko.  Buntis kasi ‘yung isa, malapit na manganak.  Sana ampunin ninyo na lang sila kapag wala na ako.  At ‘yung PW character ko, pakilevelup na lang.  At huwag ibenta, please.  Kayo ng bahala kung anong nais gawin sa aking bangkay.  At tingin ko naman walang afterlife, so okay lang kung walang dumalaw sa burol or sa cemetery.  Jarjar, boitday mo nga pala.  Sana walang umuga sa’yo ngayon.  Pero kung si Toge (boyfriend niya) ang mag-uuga sa’yo, eh di okay lang.  ‘Wag kalimutan ang proteksyon.  Haha.

‘Yun lamang po.  At sana nga’y walang lindol.  At sa hinaharap, sana tumigil na ang mga taong walang magawa na nagkakalat ng mga ganyang klaseng email.  Wala itong naitutulong kung hindi maghasik ng takot at gawing mas tanga ang mga tanga na.

After doing the rounds, getting necessary documents for my job application, I went to SM Marilao to have early dinner with parents and watch the much-awaited The Dark Knight movie (perhaps I’ll be posting a review when most people have already seen the film.  Ehehe).  Then I’ve decided to linger for a bit more, not wanting to go home just yet, when I saw that AstroVision and Video City have DVDs on sale.  I went in and found these gems (see picture on the left).  And goodness, finally I’ve got The Wedding Singer!  I’ve been looking for the original DVD for years but it seemed that I had a curse and that I’ll only find it once I’ve watched all Adam Sandler movies (which fortunately, isn’t true, as I’ve found the DVD tonight!  Yey!).  Meet Joe Black and Anna and the King are my all-time favorites and I must have seen these two for the nth time.  Of these four DVDs I bought, it’s Notes on A Scandal that I haven’t seen yet.  But a friend told me it’s worth getting this on DVD and I trust her taste.  There are lots of DVDs on sale that I really want to buy like The Jason Bourne collection and The Terminator, but because I’ve run out of extra cash, I’ll just have to go back for it some other time.

At this time of skyrocketing gas prices (and prices of all other goods, as well), sometimes it makes me think why do I still spend money buying DVD movies when I could simply borrow from friends who’re addicted to movies too or just rent.  Or maybe wait for movies to get shown on HBO or cinemax.  Savings could then go to transportation funds or to health savings in case one needed to be hospitalized.  But why still buy DVDs?

I think, perhaps, with the daily stress of going through the mundane, sometimes agonizing, activities of living in the real world, I deserve to have a little vice (or little vices, for that matter).  Yeah, of course, food is my number one vice.  The second one, which is cigarette smoking, I’ve already reduced to almost zero (that is, in the past 7 days and I’m looking forward to zero emissions on my second week of detox).  The third one is my fund for online games and I’ve slightly reduced the amount I’m spending on this by putting less time for games.  The fourth one is my books and DVDs collection…

Okay, fine.  I’ve got LOTS of vices.

But the thing is, these are the stuff that helps me get through the hell of daily living in the real world.  Having encounters with impatient patient, idiotic motorists and PUV drivers, and savage MRT riders can take its toll on a person.  And these are my stress busters!  I just love how I could just spend the night playing games (and plurking), watching my DVD movies and TV series (and plurking), reading so I could shorten my reading list (and plurking) or making chika with friends over Skype (and plurking).  Most of the time, these are enough to give me motivation to wake up early and go to work the next day.  Haha.

So, I guess they aren’t really simply luxuries.  They may not be basic needs but, in a way, they’re necessities.  I need them to make my life a little saner.  Haha.