Beauty, Stupidity, and Tragedy

Tragic week this is becoming and it’s barely even started. What’s the world coming to? Or more specifically, what the hell is happening to this country?

Sunday, August 22. The local beauty pageant world was rocked with the news of the sudden death of Binibining Pilipinas-International 2009 Melody Gersbach due to a road accident in Camarines Sur on August 21. Gersbach and her driver were dead on the spot. Their car was hit head on by a bus. The bus driver will be charged with reckless imprudence resulting in homicide and damage to property.

Monday, August 23. Time seemed to stop as the whole country awaited for the resolution of the hostage taking at the Quirino Grandstand. Ex-cop Rolando Mendoza held passengers (who were Hong Kong nationals) of a tourist bus hostage for about 10 hours, demanding that his case be reviewed as he claims innocence. Mendoza was dismissed due to charges of robbery and extortion. The hostage taking resulted in a bloodbath, leaving nine hostages dead and Mendoza himself.

A lot has been circulating online already about how the hostage taking should have been handled by the PNP and the media, that our police force lacked training and that there should have been a news blackout when things were becoming critical. News reports state that Hong Kong residents lashed out on Filipinos on their turf - one domestic helper was fired because of this incident. Hong Kong government issued a travel ban to the Philippines and urged Hong Kong nationals who are visiting the Philippines to leave immediately.

(more…)

Intuition

I’m a big believer of intuition or what others would call gut feeling, that red light that goes on when you know you’re about to plunge into a shitty or dangerous situation. Intuition is as ancient as mankind itself. And I believe that with the educational system focusing more on training and nurturing the left side of the brain, this important key to our survival is being eroded as our brain gets used to logical, thoughtful thinking instead of split-second decision making. I’m not used to following my gut, as I have been trained to think things through, especially life-changing stuff. So when I’m confronted with a situation where I just know in the pit of my stomach exactly what is whatever it is, I’m torn between following this nagging feeling or thinking it over before taking action.

One such situation happened this morning. I got on a jeepney that was waiting for passengers at the side of the main road. When the jeepney was almost full, the driver stepped on the gas pedal and we were off. A few meters away, he saw a guy standing, probably waiting for a jeepney, and the driver stopped and shouted to the man the jeepney’s route and waited if he’d get on. The man just looked inside, and then got on. He sat opposite me, and the minute he sat down, a creepy feeling washed over me. It’s like getting mugged all over again. Flashbacks of that fateful October morning bombarded my mind, and I started to panic in my head. My first instinct was to get off the jeepney immediately. My gut was telling me to get the hell out of there.

(more…)

October Nightmare – Lessons Learned II

Who would’ve known that I’d learn and realize many things out of an incident I’d rather forget? In the previous post, I laid down precautions one should keep in mind in order to minimize one’s material loss should an unfortunate event like this happens. But more importantly, one must also take extra care of oneself especially. I was lucky to get out of it alive, unscathed even, despite some wrong moves I made out of fear and just absolute shock.

Before something bad happens

Know thy neighbor. Yes, a sense of community has its advantages. Unfortunately, as an area progresses, this fades and people become more and more distant, indifferent, even apathetic to the people in their own community. Know where the baranggay hall and the police station are located. Take down their phone numbers. Get to know your subdivision’s security guard. Get to know the homeowners’ association officers. Get to know the baranggay tanods. Especially, get to know your neighbors, as they are more likely the ones to respond first if you cry for help. Chances are people will help you if they know you.

Be present. If you live in the city, you know all too well that crime is most rampant when approaching the Christmas season and elections. Traveling alone sometimes can’t be helped, and during these instances it is imperative to be completely aware of one’s surroundings and the people. Don’t go and get lost in daydreaming, as you are most likely to be bitten by the snake and you wouldn’t even know it until it’s happened. If you see something suspicious, alert the people around you or the authorities if possible. You can never be too careful in these hard times.

Trust your instincts. This is one of the most powerful things every human being possesses, and yet we doubt it most of the time. If you get that feeling in the pit of your stomach that something bad is going to happen, more often than not, something bad really is going to happen, that you’re not just paranoid. Looking back now, when the motorcycle came out of nowhere the second time, I should’ve walked back toward the boarding house and waited it out. Somehow I feel I ignored that gut feeling because I didn’t want to be late for work.

(more…)

October Nightmare – Lessons Learned I

I believe in the saying, “Everything happens for a reason.” Good and bad, things happen so that we may get something out of it. For weeks, I thought of reasons why such a thing has happened to me. Sometimes I think if I had been too good already because my observation is that bad things happen to good people and the bad people always get away with what they do. I jokingly tell my friends that maybe I should be bad again so that I’d be spared from the bad things. But of course, that’s just hogwash.

On a surface level, here are the invaluable lessons I got from the stickup.

Pockets are there for a purpose, so use them. I used to put my cell phone in my pocket. But on that fateful day, I just tossed it in my bag, along with my keys and wallet (containing money, government-issued IDs and ATM cards). Unless you’re riding the MRT or LRT, pockets are relatively safe places to put stuff in. Since the incident, I haven’t replaced my lost wallet. I put my cell phone, keys and money in my pockets.

Bring only what you need. With regards to money, I lost a thousand pesos on that fateful day. I withdrew the day before, hoping to consume the money for the rest of the week. Since the incident, I now only bring a little over the exact amount that I need when I go out. This is also a great money-saving habit, as you won’t succumb into impulse buying because you don’t carry with you some extra cash to spend.

(more…)

October Nightmare – The Stickup

It’s been almost two months since I last poured out my thoughts here in my corner of cyberspace. A lot has happened and I got caught up in a rollercoaster of events good and bad. September passed me by like a bullet train. Nothing much to write about for that month as it was all work, work and more work. But let me tell you about an event that rocked my life like a magnitude 9 earthquake and triggered a chain reaction of events that led me to where I am now.

October 1st. I was on my way to work at 3:30 AM. I just live nearby where I work but I leave at this time so as not to be late for my 4:00 AM shift and still have time to fix myself before commencing work. In the subdivision where I stay during the weekdays, one would think twice about walking the streets at such an unholy hour, but maybe it was the brashness of youth and the nagging urge not to be late that made me indifferent to the perils of living in the metro.

As I walked the dimly lit street, a motorcycle zoomed past me with two guys on it. Thinking it was just the neighbors having an all-nighter, I went on. A couple of minutes later, the same motorcycle came out of nowhere. Still thinking nothing bad about it, I walked on. When I reached the corner of the pharmacy where it was really dark, a figure of a man loomed and walked toward me. He was slim, taller than I am, wore a jacket and a cap. I couldn’t see his face. At that moment, I knew I was in trouble. He declared it was a stickup and grabbed my bag.

(more…)

UPLB: Changing Times II

As I’ve said in a previous post, there are significant changes occurring in my beloved alma mater that I really don’t agree with just because they’re not what I grew up with. I’m a very sentimental person, and it pains me to see that what life used to be in UPLB is now just a memory.

Recently, a campus-wide no-smoking rule was implemented. And although I’m not a chain smoker, only a chipper, I really am quite surprised with this one. What about personal freedom? Is pollution in the campus really that bad that they had to ban smoking? I don’t think so. Why so drastic? Why not just ban smoking inside campus buildings? Isn’t that more feasible, anyway? UPLB is a big and open campus. How could the powers that be possibly monitor and reprimand every smoker who breaks this rule?

(more…)