A Charmed Life: Life's a Play!

The sun has just come out with a very lovely beam. The sparrows are chirping.
I put out the clothes to dry.


Last Saturday I was woken up by a text message from a friend inviting to go for a picnic in the mountain. He asked to meet him at 10 AM downtown. I got up and looked through the window to a foggy morning. I told him to postpone the picnic because it looks like it's gonna rain. I went back to sleep some more because it was a cold morning.


After 30 minutes, I was again woken up by another text message from the same friend telling me that the sun is shining and that he's on his way downtown and he's gonna wait for me there. So I met him and we went to the said picnic on a narrow valley between two mountains. I never suspected that just behind a mountain full of houses built on top of each other, there is a valley and a mountain with nothing but pine trees. We reached a half-constructed house and under it are our companions already starting to eat. They are local musicians plus the two South American artists that are sometimes seen busking in the city with their mystical indigenous music from the Andean mountains.


We finished eating and were in the drinking session when it rained. Whilst drinking and story-telling, we waited for the rain to leave. Then as we were climbing the mountain back to civilization, we were met by strong gusts of wind and I told my friends that it felt like the rumored storm has just left. One of them said that as the weather report says we are in signal number two, but since we haven't felt any storm yet, maybe it will arrive in the evening.


Back in the city, I met up with a couple of other friends for coffee. We were chatting when the rain suddenly poured again startling one of my friends who remarked that the sound of the rain is different and that maybe we should go home soon as none of us brought any umbrella. We scoffed at her telling her that it's just normal rain and maybe her different hearing was because of the fiber glass roof of the coffeehouse. The rain stopped and we went home. I slept an ordinary sound sleep that night.




Next day, Sunday, a girlfriend texted me saying that she's downtown and asking if I'm going downtown so we could meet up. I told her I was not going out in that drizzly weather. She texted back saying, the drizzle was nothing compared to what's happening in Manila. Who knows what's happening in Manila, I do not watch TV.


I opened my mail and received a concerned email from a friend who does not really email (the last time she emailed me was back in 2006 asking me if I was not hit by the tsunami!). She said she saw the "news" and had been thinking about me. She asked if I am OK. I wondered what "news" she was talking about. I opened FB and there, through people's posts and videos, I learned about the "news."


Unbelievable...


A manifestation of global warming...

Over fifty million Americans fit the definition of a newly emerging type of humanity, a culture that hardly existed prior to the 1960s.
In a 1990s study of more than 100,000 adults in the United States, Paul Ray and Sherry Anderson reveal that a huge 26 percent of these adults have made a comprehensive shift in their worldview, values and way of life.
In Europe, the story is very much the same. A 1997 survey conducted in fifteen European countries shows figures that are very similar to the United States.


The typical values of this new, leading-edge group of people that they call Cultural Creatives. The Cultural Creatives are people who love nature, respect the Earth and are deeply concerned about the environment. They like to develop close relationships with each other, and to help and encourage other people to develop their abilities. They care about personal and spiritual development, and want more equality for women and all cultural groups.


Cultural Creatives would like to develop a new way of life. They are cynical of media-fed information, and want to find a new political philosophy that works in today’s reality. They are not materialistically driven, and typically have their finances and spending under control.


They like traveling to other countries to get to know new cultures and they want to develop a sense of community where they live. Authenticity is important to Cultural Creatives - their actions have to be consistent with their words and inner beliefs.


This means that if you are searching for better quality of life, less stress, better health, and a simpler lifestyle that includes more spirituality, then you are one of a growing number of people who have already become a part of the greatest social transformation of all time.


- The Cultural Creatives: How 50 Million People Are Changing the World by Paul H. Ray Ph.D. and Sherry Ruth Anderson

It seems that the yearly monsoon came much earlier this year.

Weather is so unpredictably changing every 10 minutes. This is one reason why I decided to travel to the lowlands to avoid the rain in this mountain city. It was raining when I left and it was still raining when I came back.

When we came back Saturday night, despite being tired, it was raining hard we had to spend time at a coffee shop until about midnight. But even at midnight, the rain didn't stop and it was hard to get a taxi.


I slept very well for the night and when I woke up in the morning I felt the body pains. This I got from riding "top-load" for a 4 hours jeep ride to a very remote village.



I enjoyed the top-load ride very much, beautiful scenery and funny companions. We laughed, joked and sang on top of our voices, and the weather was overcast so it was not at all hot.


After watching a very long and uninteresting movie yesterday, I slept the whole day. And it rained all day. I woke up at night only to eat two pieces of bananas. I was not feeling hungry. Then I slept again until morning. I slept too much. This I usually do when I'm physically tired, I guess it's the way my body re-energizes. Today, it's not raining (not yet) and I'm going downtown to get a much needed massage.






Top-load on the jeep. It was a rough, rickety ride but we saw the views and the million fireflies at night.. and of course the twinkling stars in heaven were lovely!

We also tried to pick (steal) mangoes, reaching out towards the mango trees lining the road while the jeep was running.

The jeep driver was very mad at us for inside the jeep was almost empty, everybody just wanted to go 'top-load.' But when it rained, he was still kind to give us rain covers, despite his scolding words, ha ha.







sit and relax.

we bathed at the crystal clear
river in the morning.



























Trying some acrobatic stunts to enchant my friends, ha ha!





But once there is miscalculation,
we'll surely fall into the stony river, he he..

Sometime last month, we went to learn more about the local hideaways. We went to Pagudpud beach in the northern tip of Luzon and stayed in the most popular hotel called Polaris. It is popular to vacationers because it is inexpensive compared to the other hotel resorts despite its proximity to the sea and having a nice beach front. But for us, who were used to the cheaper guesthouses and youth hostels around the more touristic places in Southeast Asia, this place is still pricey, even in its discounted off-season price!


The three-storeyed concrete block hotel has air-conditioning, cable television (not working, thanks goddess) and an attached bathroom. We thought we didn't need the television and the air conditioning because we went there to breathe fresh ocean air and to enjoy the beach and nature and not to watch television. The sea breeze for sure was chilly and there was no need for cooled air from the machine. But since we cannot find a better, simpler and cheaper accommodation, we stayed there anyway.


What bothered me was that the air conditioning of the adjacent rooms, which were also occupied, were running 24 hours for several days even if the occupants were out the whole day. We didn't see any reason to use our cooling machine so we never did (except one time when it was hot in the evening and we didn't want to leave the windows open because of mosquitoes). The continuous buzzing sound of our neighbors' air-conditioners was disturbing in an otherwise very solemn and natural atmosphere.


This led me to ask a few questions: In their own homes, when they leave their houses for an extended period of time, do they normally leave the lights and air conditioning running? Or do they make sure that it is off knowing that it's wise to reduce electric bill payments? Is it because they are paying a fixed amount for the room that they do not care if so much electricity is being wasted? Don't they know a little about energy saving and global warming?



Which reminds me, about a couple of years ago, I worked in this big Company which employs a thousand workers. I observed in the female washrooms that people use tissue paper more than they really need. They mindlessly pull long lengths of tissue paper from the tissue holder, use some of it and throw it all to the trash bins, more than half part of the tissue paper clean and unused. Many times, the big toilet's floor was littered with tissue paper because the huge bins are already overflowing with it, this, despite the regular cleanings several times a day.


I was annoyed because I know that many of these extravagants cannot even afford to buy such high-quality pulp tissues for their home use. I shared my disgust to my roommate who also observed the same thing. My roommate and I concluded that this extravagant behavior is due to the lopsided logic that the stuff is "free anyway, being paid by the Company, doesn't cause me any dime." My roommate who knows the ins and outs of the "procurement of office supplies" said that those tissues are very expensive and more than half of the meager salaries of these extravagants goes to the buying of tissue papers that they are unknowingly wasting. So I thought, if they only know, that they are being paid (we were all being paid) very low, is partly because the Company has also have to pay for our other expenses.


The ideal solution would be, (if at all possible) practically making a deal with the Company, for us employees to economize in our small but many varied common expenses (including water, electricity, paper, soap, etc.) and the management to add more money for our daily toil. However, since that kind of deal seems to be too complicated to realize, why don't we take it upon ourselves to think beyond our larval selves? To think about the implications of our small but significant actions in the environment, and of our limited resources?


Which reminds me of Joey Ayala's classic song, calling out to us, the common people, to take action for our environment, and for our very own existence.


Ako po'y karaniwang tao lamang
Kayod-kabayo, 'yan ang alam
Karaniwang hanap-buhay
Karaniwan ang problema
Pagkain, damit at tirahan

'Di ko kabisado 'yang siyensiya
Ako'y nalilito sa maraming salita
Alam ko lang na itong planeta'y
Walang kapalit at dapat ingatan
Kapag nasira, sino ang kawawa

CHORUS
Karaniwang tao, saan ka tatakbo
Kapag nawasak iisang mundo
Karaniwang tao, anong magagawa
Upang bantayan ang kalikasan

Karaniwang bagay ay 'di pansin
Kapag naipon ay nagiging suliranin
Kaunting basura ngayo'y bundok
Kotseng sira ay umuusok
Sabong panlaba'y pumapatay sa ilog

May lason na galing sa industriya
Ibinubuga ng mga pabrika
Ngunit 'di lamang higante
Ang nagkakalat ng dumi
May kinalaman din ang tulad natin



Even now, after 12 years, the words of my Nat Sci 01 teacher keeps on ringing in my ears, almost like an admonition, "there is no free lunch, nature will have the last laugh, no matter what."

[Note: I found this parody article from Hiragana Times, August 2006, pp. 14-15, and I copied it word by word. Italicization is mine]

The Dramatic effects of climate change are now taking place around the world. British doctor Charles MANSFIELD, an authority in geophysics, warns that mankind will not be able to adapt quickly enough to changes to the earth, if this trend continues.

CIA: Is the earth`s situation that dangerous?

Dr.: That`s right. Forests are disappearing rapidly. If forests disappear, rivers will flood more easily and land masses will change. This will in turn bring about great changes in ecosystems, including those of fish and birds. On the other hand, sea levels are rising due to global warming. Only living creatures that are able to adapt to this change will survive.

CIA: Then, what will happen to human beings?

Dr.: You know about the theory of human evolution, don`t you? The first organisms on earth adapted to nature and gradually evolved over millions of years into human beings. From now on mankind will gradually change and transform into a different species.

CIA: What creature will Man evolve into?

Dr.: Animals on land evolved from fish. Fish fins evolved into legs or feathers. As you know, glaciers in Greenland and the North Pole are starting to melt and sea levels will continue to rise. Human beings will have to evolve to live in the sea.

CIA: So, do you think human beings will return to being fish?


Dr.: That`s right. Hands will evolve into fins again and our brain capacity will gradually decrease. Then, human beings, who will by that stage have lost their wisdom and knowledge, will be incompetent and unable to fend for themselves in the ocean. They will be targeted by predators and will be running from them forever.

CIA: Are there any good ideas to prevent this crisis?

Dr.: I`m afraid not. Unfortunately, mankind created civilization, which can exist only by the continuation of progress. To make sure civilization continues, the existence of large amounts of natural resources become necessary. In other words, civilization continues due to the continual consumption of earth`s resources. Soon oil reserves will dry up and forests will disappear. It`s only a matter of time before mankind consumes the whole earth.

CIA: Can`t we stop this progress?

Dr.: When you look back at history, you will find it is impossible. Different races have fought each other over natural resources. Human beings are greedy animals always struggling for a better life even if it means colonizing other countries. Humans are fundamentally obeying the law of the jungle in a similar ways as animals. Even now, many countries in the world are scrambling to secure oil supplies. Human beings, whose greediness has developed abnormally, are actually the ugliest of animals.

CIA: Would you say that human beings are inferior to animals?

Dr.: Yes, wild animals don`t hunt for more than they need. They know they will not survive if they exterminate the animals they feed on. Animals have survived by respecting the blessings of nature. On the contrary, human beings cannot stop until they have eaten and consumed all the blessings of nature on earth for their own selfish greedy needs. Becoming fish again will be rather a welcome　 and progressive evolutionary step for human beings.

wow, hard to imagine turning into a fish! :-)

We received our ticket passes to Tokyo Disneyland and of course we are very happy. It was delivered in a large, extra-thick glossy blue envelope. I thought at first that tickets to Tokyo Disneyland are A4 standard sized certificates that we can flash to the Disneyland authorities when we get there. When I opened the blue envelope, there was a piece of an A4 sized paper and a sealed letter sized envelope. (I later learned that this A4 sized paper is the ticket receipt. wow, only in Japan).

I opened the letter sized envelope and inside it is a folded map and yet another smaller envelope. I opened this smallest envelope and lo and behold! Inside are the Disneyland tickets, smaller than 1/8 size of an A4 paper!

So, my ever-questioning-self readily asked: why the need for an extra-large, extra-thick flashy envelope for a tiny piece of paper? They could have simply and conveniently enclosed the tickets, the receipt and the map in a small standard envelope. Perhaps, it’s for commercial purposes? The Japs are known for elaborate and fancy packaging regardless of the quality of the goods being sold. I have no problem with this, I certainly like looking at beautiful things ;-). Or perhaps, they just wanted to add an element of surprise like when you are expectantly unwrapping a present? I find no problem with this either...

... It’s just that, I think, there’s a lot of paper being wasted. My issue is a small issue indeed. It’s just about papers, and trees, the environment.

The above-mentioned case is just one example of what I think is unnecessary manufacturing. The economist, industrialist, businessmen, or the so-called capitalist may disagree with me but look, everything comes from something. For how long can we abuse our resources? There is no free lunch...

How many advertisements are printed on fancy glossy papers and delivered to mail boxes everyday? Billions in industrialized countries. Most often, these advertisements go directly to the trash because people are too busy to read them They’re actually just nuisance, junk mails!

And does anybody care to ask how many trees in the 3rd world countries are being cut down everyday to supply paper manufacturers? I believe, small things and big things are connected.