Posts (page 2)
Tomorrow, he embarks on the biggest challenge in his life.
Even bigger than when he lost his father in 1983 and became his family's de facto padre de familia.
Much bigger than when he lost his mother this year and the burden of carrying on his family's name was suddenly thrust unto his shoulders.
As I watched him through TV feeds online, I see that there is fewer hair than when we first met him in 1998.
But the humor, especially when there's no scripted speech on hand, is still very much him.
Even the short text messages that he still sends whenever, I guess, he has the time from what I can imagine are endless of meetings he has to attend right now.
He must be tired. But then again, tiredness was never in his vocabulary.
He was the one who had to battle a morning full of committee hearings and an afternoon full of boring drones of plenary speeches back then and would still have energy for coffee and endless chats until the wee hours of the morning. The chats were not just about nation-building of course. There were the personal stuff too.
Yes, we met the girls. Even chaperoned for him on certain occasions. We were already in The Entourage even before they made that series.
But this was not something that took place in the middle of dizzying fame nor of blinding power.
This may have been borne out of politics (source-reporter) but it went beyond that to the grounds of UP (even if he is an Atenean) to the late night streets of Morato; from the halls of Congress to the sleazy corners of KTVs.
Over the years, even if some of us have moved out of his turf (House of Representatives and later, Senate), he still remained as our KUYA. Some of our political friends have come and gone too. But he remained.
If only for that I'll tell you to vote for him. Because he is a loyal person. And loyalty--to country, to the people--is something we need right now for the Philippines to move on.
He is also honest. When his sister says he has no money, that is true. He does not live a lavish lifestyle and is already happy with the factory dri-fit shirts I get him from Bangkok. (He used to brag about the export-overrun polo shirts his mother used to buy for him in Clark.) He has simple tastes that he has never quite recovered from the dirty ice cream he once had in UP.
If he isn't simple, he wouldn't have been our friend. Who are we in the grand scheme of things in the Philippines? Set aside our job that people might think gives us certain privileges, we're just ordinary people in a rat race; but we also share everyone's hope for a better country.
If he isn't loyal, he would have forgotten us as he moved from a local position to a national one. People call him senator. We still call him Kuya.
And if he isn't honest, he wouldn't have stayed friends with us knowing how our jobs might imperil him one day. And if we aren't honest ourselves, we wouldn't remain friends with someone who is deemed powerful and wealthy to some, but really, at the end of the day, all that he could offer us and all that we asked from him, was real camaraderie. And of course, the occasional political gossip and tip-offs.
So now as he inches near to making formal in accepting the challenge ahead of him, I could not help but be scared for him. He is not the politician that Filipinos have been accustomed to, who corrupts shamelessly, who steals without guilt, who amasses properties without moral conscience.
He is just a simple man with a bleeding heart owing to his parents' advocacies and calling. And though I see in him the hope and inspiration that everyone has been looking for, I fear for him. Because it is not easy to be president of a country whose coffers have been emptied by people who came before him and whose expectations are as wide and endless as the Milky Way.
But this is his fate, his destiny.
And we can only stand behind him.
And say... KUYA, 'di ka magiisa*.
(He corrected me the first time I told him that. He said, the proper line is: "'di ka nagiisa" and I replied, 'di ka magiisa" is for future reference. For the time when he takes on the challenge. And the time has come. NOW.
KAY NOYNOY TAYO.)
I love the vibe especially on weekends when you can just hang out in the outdoor tables of Au Bon Pain or McDonalds. There's an Ootoya restaurant, iBerry and Greyhound Cafe. There's a daisu on the second floor. And there's a Villa Mart that caters to expats missing food from back home (from Japanese to Korean to Italian and American etc).
And across the street, there's a shop that sells Singaporean Hainanese chicken. Except for the sauce, it tastes authentic. And down the street, there are little shops one won't find in Paragon or Emporium. If only I can move my lazy butt out of the flat on weekends.
- "When you are a journalist, you are in the business of explaining things and I don't see a difference in explaining things in writing and explaining things in talking. It's just a kind of different form of the same inherently pleasant thing."
- "I came into journalism really by accident. I was always interested in business but I just couldn't find the job I wanted and so I just kind of tumbled into journalism instead."
- "I think that the world of business is a wonderful combination of things that are intellectually rigorous and things that are very practical and hands-on. There aren't a lot of jobs that have that combination of things."
- "I liked how, and I still like, the fact that the kind of issues that business people deal with are so central, really the kind of immediate things that we deal with on a day-to-day basis."
- "Initially, I was attracted to it because it seemed a kind of novel way of exploring things. But now I think that ordinary things are more interesting on some level than complex or unusual things, I feel there is more to be said about them."
- "I sleep a lot, so I wake up quite late, maybe nine o'clock or something. And then I venture out into the world with my laptop."
- "I don't write in an office, I write in cafes. I try and write in the morning for a few hours, three to four hours if I can, then I spend the balance of the day reporting and setting up things and organising my life."
- "I am an introvert, so I have to spend most of the day by myself. Then I'm in a position to talk to people by the end of the day."
I finally got to watch Cape No. 7, the movie that swept Taiwan last year.
I didn't blog it not because I was lazy but in deference to recent circumstances.
The movie did not disappoint though there was absolutely no chemistry between the leads.
Quite ironic since the two are supposedly dating in real life.
I like the soundtrack and DON'T WANNA, sang by Van Fan, the lead actor, is my fave.
I specially like the opening when he rams his guitar on the pavement and shouts: "FUCK YOU TAIPEI!"
So many times I've tried
Put in my heart and soul
Never good enough for you
I'm sick of all your lies
It's time to realize
I'm better off without you
Don't wanna be a fool and a slave
To satisfy your needs
Not gonna waste my time and my life
To settle in your dreams
You said it's over
It's never over
It's time for something new
I tried so hard
To get this over
To follow something new
So many times I've tired
Put in my heart and soul
Never good enough for you
I'm sick of all your lies
It's time to realize
I'm better off without you
Don't wanna be a fool and a slave
To satisfy on your needs
Not gonna waste my time and my life
To settle in your dreams
Your said it's over
It's never over
It's time for something new
I tried so hard
To get this over
To follow something new
Your said it's over
It's never over
It's time for something new
I tried so hard
To get this over
To follow something new
Today is a holiday in the Kingdom because it's the Queen's birthday.
I met her personally once, not as a reporter covering a former president, but as a private person.
It was Holy Week. I don't even remember the year, maybe 1999 or 2000.
We were going to Tarlac to spend it at Hacienda Luisita on the invitation of Kuya.
We all agreed to meet at the Times house which Kuya shares with her.
Before the day, we were teasing him if we see his mom, can we interview her?
We were just joking of course and he was like: "DON'T!"
On the day itself, we got there on our best behavior.
We were not really expecting to see her.
We sat in the living room chatting with Kuya while waiting for the car.
And then... suddenly... she came out from her side of the house.
Not expecting this, we all panicked. OH MY GOD, IT'S HER.
Kuya said I thought you wanted to meet her?
Before this, I've seen her in coverages but she was always up at the front while I was on the side covering.
This was different. She was THERE. In her house dress.
Not as a former president but as the mother of a friend.
In fact, it was like a mom coming out to meet her son's friends and make kilatis if we were good influence on him.
We greeted her and she graciously greeted us back, asking if we've eaten.
I remember Kuya chiding us why we're all suddenly shy.
After we were all introduced, she asked us out of the blue: "are you all single?"
SILENCE.
Cory: "Is it a difficult question to answer?"
Nervous laughter.
Personally, I was stupefied. I wouldn't expect that question coming from her, maybe from Kris, yes.
Kuya: "Mom, si *yupki* kasi has not accepted yet that she's single."
Much as I wanted to make a comeback (something along the lines like who's talking or who's older!), I kept quiet.
I don't remember much of what happened afterwards, everything was a blur.
True, in our line of work, we come across VIPs, celebrities, presidents all the time.
But this was so unexpected and I was struck at how simple she was.
When we asked if we could take a photo, she at first demurred saying she was not ready.
But a beat later, she said okay.
We only had one camera that time. And this was when digital cameras were not common yet.
I don't even know where that picture is now.
Before we left, she gave us her handpainted fan (which I have kept).
And like any mother, told her son to drive carefully.
That day, she ceased to be a myth to me.
And my image of her would always be as a mother.
Rest in peace... Tita Cory.
My friend has lost a mother.
At this time, words would sound empty.
RIP, Tita Cory.
I just finished watching Black&White and am I glad it's over.
And the most unacceptable factor for me is the basic foundation of this drama. A would-be-president, his illegitimate son, the love of his life, his best friend, the best friend's daughter and the daughter's love interest. The ties just defy logic. And the romance just brought down the entire story. It was totally unnecessary and completely annoying (now I hate not only the lead female character but Ivy Chen herself)!
Zaizai is good as the bumbling cop with a mysterious past, he provided the much-needed comic relief. Of the F4, I liked Zaizai the least but I found myself liking him more here. Of course Zhao You Ting is the biggest discovery of the year in Taiwan and for a newcomer, he can really act. Where do I get a number to be Mrs Zhao?
I admire Tsai Yue Hsun's work but he has the tendency to over-extend things until they become too exaggerated for comfort. The first half of this drama was fun and riveting to watch but everything falls apart in the second half when all the conspiracies and complicated ties start to unravel. Too many subplots to handle. All in all though, still a good one to watch. Not really looking forward to the movie but will still watch it when it comes out.
