Sweetest Sincerity

The lot of us sounds harsh when we say the truth and when we really care. In most cases, we will sound condescending and the narrow-minded will take us offensively but in all honestly, we are just trying to help. We must realize that the most important lessons in life are not served on a silver platter. We must learn how to take constructive criticisms that are often unpleasant to hear. It may sometimes be the same when saying the sweetest thing and sounding very sincere at the same time. We just literally need to read between lines or rather rephrase it on our own. There is only one thing we need to keep in mind, consider the person who is giving the message.

If you must understand, my eldest daughter gave me a simple card from school last Father’s Day. And in it wrote the darndest thing that everyone must face; Daddy sana hindi ka mamatay (Daddy, I wish you will not die). The sincerity of the phrase made everyone that read it laugh, I know you did too, but the sweetness of the message is heartfelt after the laughter settles. Aleci is only 6years old as of this writing and I already think that soon I will be encountering questions from her that even I do not know the answer. Abrelle is now 5years old and she is just learning how to read. I can only imagine what will she say when it is her turn to start uncovering the realities of life.

Random Things I Hate #001

I hate Tagalog (No offense, maasim kasi) Papaitan.

Pinapaitan is an Ilocano delicacy. It is named that way because it is supposed to taste from slightly bitter to moderately bitter, depending on one’s preference. But it is in no way, whatsoever to be sour (e di sana tinawag na lang na Inasiman). And unlike most people know, its main ingredient is not cow insides (Sinanglaw/Sinanglao iti awag mi idiay). Here’s how to cook an authentic Ilocano Pinapaitan:

Ingredients:
~ 1 kilo of Carabao Tenderloin (paper sliced)
~ 200 grams of Carabao Liver (sliced)
~ 200 grams of Carabao Tripe (sliced)
~ 150 grams of Carabao Fat/Grease (sliced)
~ 2-3 measures of Grass Juice from the Carabao Small Intestines (strained and small intestine sliced) (papait iti awag mi ditoy)
~ 5-10 pieces of Native Onions (sliced)
~ Pinch of Vetsin (MSG)
~ 1 Teaspoon of Salt
~ (Optional) Small amount of Ginger (sliced into strips)

Cooking instructions:
1. Boil 200-300 ml of water.
2. Add 2-3 measures of grass juice and bring to boil.
3. Add the Native Onions (and Ginger).
4. Add the Salt and Vetsin to complement taste and simmer for 2mins.
5. Add Tripe and Fat/Grease.
6. Bring to a boil and add Tenderloin and Liver.
7. Turn-off fire immediately.

Note: Never sauté the fat/grease (kung ayaw mong mamahay kung kinakain mo).

So if you are a real Ilocano, you should know what I mean.

The Long Absence

I have been lacking the motivation to write anything since my last publication. I have been an avid reader though, of various events from all sorts of society. I have been into current events lately due to the recent presidential elections. Other than politics or anything that has to do with legal syndication, I am glad to say that I am into running. Since my first race, I have seemed to develop a passion for running different categories of a marathon event. If you want to join me discover more on my new found religion, you can follow me at GrayWolf Runner.

Shorelines

The world will never be the same as 20 years ago or for as long as we can remember. We will never escape the comparison of our childhood to our children’s present experiences yet our life’s lessons will always be relevant to their lives. We may never be here once more and when now has come to past, we may never be able to tell that everything really happened.

Above the blackboard in our forth year high school classroom wrote, “The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder.” later on learned that Ralph W. Sockman wrote it. The quotation lay there all year round and as I glance at it each morning, I memorized it by heart but the wonder of it never stopped growing. Another quotation beside Ralph’s was, “Great minds discuss ideas; Average minds discuss events; Small minds discuss people.” by Eleanor Roosevelt. If I wondered about Ralph’s message, Eleanor kept me or rather taught me how to avoid talking about people. However, the wonder of not talking about people made me realized that often events occur around or within a group of people and the same goes with ideas that are meant for the advancement of humanity. Again, the wonder of Ralph’s idea kept growing within me. Then one day, the wonder of it all came together. Small minds are those people spreading gossip and fabricated stories to destroy other people’s reputation. Small minds are envious, insecure, pretentious, and vain but most of all unreal and conniving. Beware of small minds for they are everywhere and they are the hardest obstacle to conquer. Once we develop the skill to experience the people around us, choosing a crowd is never difficult. There are still the occasional mistakes to allow room to err, getting mixed up with the wrong crowd and end up wanting to get out. How we get out would be the best way to define it. However, I still wonder about the average and great minds but I know that my friends are a mixture of both.

I have always wondered what it would be like to have a smaller island capable enough to accommodate only my instincts to live. To only suppress a portion of life’s problems and reduce it to simple day-to-day chores. To not care about how the small minds would react around me. Be unaware of wanting material things that most people desire.

I have seen such people and I have experienced them. They are the people I envy the most because for me they are the most genuine. Despite the inner beauty they bear, the public tries to avoid them. It may be because people perceive them as stupid, ignorant, poor and they are always out fashioned. We just do not realize that they are richer, more contented and a lot happier than the rest of us. Richer because most of these people are debt free, more contented because they have lesser care to the outside world and a lot happier because they get to spend more time with their family.

I grew up in the province where when I was a small boy all the main roads are underdeveloped. During these times, trees per square meter is thicker than the houses situated in a barangay (barrio) and carabaos (water buffalos) are still used as a mode of transportation. Often carabaos pull a pasagad (sled) to carry a stack of hay or accommodate more people, often, family members. It is always a joy to see a small family having fun while riding a pasagad. I once spent an entire day in a hut in the middle of rice fields with a small family. The father worked the fields in the morning while the mother prepared for lunch. I used to be very fussy at what I eat and usually I only eat meat. When lunchtime came the ulam (entree) was dinengdeng (Ilocano dish similar to pinakbet) and it was all uggot ti camote ken marunggay (sweet potato and horseradish tops/shoots) and I have never seen such an appetite with the kids. It was as if they were so famished with a site of an expensive dish. To this day, I still think that the happiness and love they had for each other had infected me. Since that day, I learned to appreciate eating vegetables. And, I still wonder how small is their island that wonder cannot be accommodated in their hearts.

One Of My First Teachers

In my failure to write an article these previous months, I sought comfort from one of my first educators, the television. When I was a little boy, the television is the only free visual resource that has immediate access to the world. In present times, technology offers a wide range of medium to access the world.

 

World information is, however, not what I am interested in but the universe it offers. As a child, I used to watch movies and TV shows to the point that I become the main character itself. I immerse myself into the fantastical world that the world I live in cease to exist. I remember my grandmother calling to me for dinner and not a sound of her voice is heard. The only way to get my attention was to actually touch me. One of my favorite shows was MacGyver. It brought out my creative and resourceful nature. Childhood days also reminds me about Jackie Chan movies, Drunken Master and all. I’d jump from the chair with a flying kick. When I got the chance to apply it in a street fight with another kid, I got beat up. Damn, that kid was good in boxing! How could he not be, he spends most of his time working in a Slaughter House where he gets to stretch and strengthen those limbs. That day I learned to retreat and fight another day much like the part where Jackie Chan hasn’t met his master in the early part of his movies.

 

I have been experiencing great stress at work for a few months now. It is very depressing and tiring when you begin to go to work for the salary and without the fun of it. It is sad to think that there are people who enjoy making others lives miserable when in truth; they just want to drag other people in their miserable lives.

 

Here are a few of the nice TV Series’ I currently indulge into (in no particular order):

 

Heroes

Life

Dexter

House

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (Animation)

Fringe

Eleventh Hour

 

Recently, I tried reading Harry Potter books 6 & 7. I had to stretch the limits of my own creative imagination again. It takes me longer to read a whole book than the average person. I am the type of reader that visualizes everything that is described in the story before I could proceed. In my opinion, what’s the point of reading a book for just its story if you cannot imagine the world it is trying to present?

 

I some instances, I’d read a certain scene a few time just to complete the picture in its slightest detail. For me, it is easy to grasp on any story, even suspense thriller type of stories/movies. I have a knack of connecting the dots much as I am able to connect the dots of my past to be able to understand the present and hypothesize plans for the future. But to picture each scene that an author wants you to see, it is entirely a different thing. You can assume that my imagination is as good if not better than the technology in the movies we have to date.

 

What I would like to impart to you is to develop your imagination. Make it as wild as you can, venture to the unknown, stretch it to its limits. And when you do, you will have better and clearer dreams. Your goals will fall into place and can even open your eyes on things that you have been lacking or refusing to see all this time. It will give you an entirely different perspective of things that are already in front of you.

Angels Do Evolve

A day’s hard work or petiks mode at the office sure is stressful and being married deprives me of many things a bachelor can do. But at the end of the day, there’s nothing more beautiful than seeing my angels. Being married to a goddess, how could I possibly complain? I would never trade my family for the pleasures of this world that I cannot spend with them.

Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer

Grotesque in the sense that it is about the story of a murderer but it is also beautifully stunning at the same time. This movie is so brilliant that you’d watch it from beginning to end with such attention. Aside from its masterful storyline, the ending is one of a kind. You can try to guess but the chances of getting it right is of the tenths of a percent.

Based on the best selling novel Perfume by Patrick Suskind, Perfume: The Story Of A Murderer is a must see movie that will put you in awe. Set in the 18^th century Paris, France, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille is the most remarkable being in existence yet history chose to forget about him. His genius would have given him everything he desired except he only desired one thing in his life and like all other geniuses we know, he would stop at nothing to get it.

Released by notable film distributors, DreamWorks Pictures (USA release), 20th Century Fox (Argentina release), and Buena Vista International (Italy release) and co-stared by the famous Dustin Hoffman, it made up to over $100 million worldwide.

This movie is truly magnificent and beyond imagination. As Roger Joseph Ebert (a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic and screenwriter) put it, “You may not savor it, but you will not stop watching it, in horror and fascination.”