In my younger years, I used to knock myself off with a bottle. Down and out in one sitting. There was much to celebrate all the time.

One morning, I woke up. It was 15 years later.

Now, I don't need any one of these glasses to celebrate life. There's much to do and so little time! Life's too short when the agenda is full. Who needs a bottle when the passion to live and let live is intoxicating enough?

Life, love, family, work - these are Absolut(e).

What gives us life kills us.

First, it cracks due to some overwhelming pressure from within.

Then, a fissure is created that splits it into two.

Soon after, heat seeps through the crevice.

Any time now, the whole structure will predictably break apart.

This is the state of the current Philippine government in its latest self-made, now irreparable, blunder.  

The time to relax is when you don't have time for it.

Ever wonder why those at the top seem nonchalant about the heaviness encountered by those at the bottom? Arrogance comes from being at a higher vantage point. It doesn't matter at what height they are; the view changes at the top. Up there, it is easier to "look down."

Either that or it's because oxygen thins out as one goes up. And we all know that lack of oxygen in the brain alters  sanity.

Recharging and claiming back the soul when work and art get too much.

A tiny spot under the sun. Can be reached after a 30-minute rough road walk from the town's only highway. Or after an hour's boat ride, on frequently choppy waters, from the nearest pier.

Bituon Bay, Masbate

Plane will not land at airport when fog is too thick. Early morning flights are daily. So are the thick clouds.

Occidental Mindoro

Just like Boracay (except for the squadrons of jelly fish out there by the sea grass strip). This heaven on earth can be had after an hour's flight from Manila, then a two-hour fastcraft ferry ride from the main island of Cebu, then another hour's backride aboard a motorcycle aptly called "habal habal."

Camotes Island, Cebu

Information, when genuine, is like a glass leaf of a crystal tree - clear, hard, breakable, can shatter anytime, and ready for the picking.

So is the real message that comes with it.

At least, there's no one looking into the bowl.

"Ganyan na ba kasama ang lipunan natin? Yung magsabi ka lang ng tutuo ay hero ka na? Hindi po ako bayani. nagsasabi lang ako ng tutuo."

   Jun Lozada

Star Witness

ZTE NBN Scandal that implicates the highest echelon of the Arroyo government in large-scale corruption

on being praised by Senators Pimentel and Lacson for being a hero in coming out with the truth, in spite of utter fear for his life and family's future.

While global economic experts debate on such real considerations as Gross National Income (GNI) Per Capita, Purchasing Power Parity (PPP$), Actual Final Consumption Expenditure (AFCE), etc., the typical Filipino rural child does not even think if the water he drinks from the communal shallow tube well is safe, whether his parents will allow him to still attend classes this coming planting season when his manual help in the farm is absolutely needed, or if he can still manage to walk the muddy roads to school at daybreak because a mudslide is surely to occur again this year. It may not even cross his mind that he is very rarely able to drink milk because his father would rather pump up the gamecock with multivitamins.

Knowledge is lost on those who are truly informed.

A little knowledge, indeed, is a dangerous thing.

The volume of precipitation is directly proportional to the efforts previously exerted in defying gravity. The more it has lifted off, the harder it eventually pours. Flight is easier and quicker sans baggage, that is why one wonders where all the hard pouring comes from.

Something must be happening up there in the heavens.

I may no longer be able to just pack my bags and fly away solo on a whim but, at least, there's now someone who can actually be lulled to sleep by my endless compulsive chatter.

Marriage is a career. Superwoman must be single.

Christopher B. Bajala, then an 8-year old Grade 1 student of Manoot Elementary School in Occidental Mindoro had mild cerebral palsy. He showed difficulty with his fine motor tasks such as holding the pencil and using scissors, maintaining his balance, and even walking. He also had difficulty in his gross motor skills such as catching the ball and carrying his school bag. He had an obvious speech impairment and could not utter words. Occasionally, he drooled.

In June 2005, Brain Gym therapy was administered on the child by a special children educator, with the help of the boy's class adviser and school principal.

By September of that year, Christopher was found to be able to write his name and utter two syllables. He would pass by the principal’s office during breaks and greet the principal and teachers. During lunch breaks, he would join other students in reading books as part of the school’s Child-to-Child Program.

On February 2006, Christopher was observed to have improved his penmanship, and write and read words by syllables. He was also able to perform basic mathematical operations and solve simple math problems. He was very active in all his class activities.

The boy's principal and class adviser have been painstakingly tutoring the child,  Christopher’s post-test results were 79 in Math, 77 in English, and 78 in Science. He was able to pass Grades 1 and 2. He entered Grade 3 in school year 2007-2008.

(excerpt from a short conversation with Christopher in May 2007)

Interviewer: Christopher, ilang taon ka na?

Christopher: Eyt.

Interviewer: Eight. Itong darating na pasukan, anong grade ka na?

Christopher: Tri.

Interviewer: Grade three ka na pala. Nabasa ko, ang talino mo pala. Natuto ka ng magbasa. Tapos pumasa ka ng grade one. Ang tataas pa ng grades mo. Galing! Anong favorite mo, Science o Math o English?

Christopher: Inglis.

Interviewer: Aba English! Anong naalala mo sa English?

Christopher: ay lab may skul.

Interviewer: I Love My School. Bakit gusto mo yun?

Christopher: Kasi tungkol sa kalinisan ng skul.

Interviewer: Diyan sa matataas mong grades, sinong tumulong sa iyo?

Christopher: Nanay ko.

Interviewer: Sino pa?

Christopher: Kapatid ko.

Interviewer: Nahirapan ka pa ba magsalita? Patingin nga ng dila.

Christopher: Maiksi. Beeh! (laughs)

Interviewer: Anong maiksi, ang haba-haba eh! (laughs) Kumain ka na ba?

Christopher: Hindi pa nga.

Interviewer: Anong gusto mong mangyari paglaki mo?

Christopher: Maging matalino. Makatapos ng pag-aaral.

Interviewer: Tapos anong pangarap mong maging paglaki mo? Anong trabaho ang gusto mo?

Christopher: Sa bukid.

Interviewer: Gusto mo din magsaka. Anong ginagawa mo pag wala ka sa school?

Christopher: Nagtitinda ng gulay.

Interviewer: Binibili mo yung gulay tapos tinitinda mo?

Christopher: Tanim namin.

Interviewer: Anong gulay?

Christopher: Patola.

Interviewer: Saan ka nagtitinda?

Christopher: Doon sa kanto. Naglalakad.

Interviewer: Magkano ba ang tinda mo?

Christopher: Payb pesos.

Interviewer: Sige nga, kunwari meron akong 50 pesos tapos bumili ako ng isang patola, magkano ang sukli ko?

(quickly proceeds to count by 5s)

Christopher: Porty payb!

Interviewer: E, bumili ako ng sampung patola, magkano na ang sukli ko?

(Proceeds to count by 5s again)

Christopher: Wala na!

After the short lighthearted conversation where he also told stories about his friends and thanked his principal “Sir Bobby” for helping him, Christopher proceeded to show off for more attention and wrote his name on the ground using a long twig from the talisay tree. The huge letters were written neatly on the loose soil. Each letter, he read aloud. Christopher may not seem to be completely normal but his mental faculties are sharp. He has grown to be a typical precocious little boy.

He noticed that the afternoon was getting late. He said goodbye apologetically and started his long walk home. Gone was the little helpless boy who could hardly walk and did not talk barely two years ago.

Christopher is a child who has been raised by his village, and raised well.

A child that is raised well by his village will someday raise well his own. Such is the organic nature of culture.

One only needs to intervene to facilitate this process. One only needs to unlock the potential.

Children in rural schools are far from centers of dynamic cultural exchange. But to let them remain marginalized is a way to retard the culture of a country.

The dignity of a people is the sum total of every human potential – unlocked.

We have the power and privilege to build easier roads that will successfully get them from here to farther there.

Years of sitting in front of a computer (and abusing the opportunity) have punished this oh-so-repentant-but-sorry-it's-too-late-now idiot. At times, the pain is so excruciating that I want to rip a sofa. Ah, the quest for excellence (or livelihood)!  Ah, age!

I met them in the provinces when I went to teach their teachers. Lives of seeming insignificance. It looked like they have already found their place under the sun - and that place is hopelessly right where they are. It makes one wonder whether insignificance will NOT beget insignificance. 

With a life that revolves around lead times and deadlines, there is no night or day. There are only past, present, and future - and these are all blurred in a whirl. Time is always immediate. And the present quickly becomes the past in the wink of an eye.

Welcome to the misadventures of one writer's busy keyboard!