Photo by enggul** My apologies to my foreign friends/readers: I had to write this entire post in Filipino in honor of our 111th Independence Day. Please use Google Translate widget at the rightmost side if you need a rough translation. Thank you. **

Ngayong ika-111 taon ng kalayaan ng mahal kong Pilipinas na kumupkop sa aking mga ninuno at kukupkop sa susunod pang salinlahi, ipinahahayag ko at pinagtitibay ang mga biyayang angkin ng aking kalayaan:

Ako’y malaya, (I’m free)
Sa anumang uri ng pang-aalipin — ng dayuhan man o kapwa Pilipino (free from slavery)
Sa pang-aabuso ng makasarili at mapag-imbot na tao (free from abuse)
Sa anumang uri ng pananakit — pisikal, mental, emosyonal o pulitikal
Sa pang-gigipit ng taong nasa kapangyarihan (free from threats of power)
Sa pananakot ng kapitalistang mapagsamantala (free from economic threats)
Sa pagpili ng nais kong relihiyon o paniniwala (freedom of choice)
Sa pagboto ng ninais kong lider (right and freedom to vote)
Sa panloloko ng mapanlinlang na mga pulitiko (freedom from political “swindlers”)
Sa kagutuman, sa kahirapan, sa krimen. (free from hunger, poverty and crime) Continue Reading

Much of what I do in a day may seem routine to the outside world. I wake up, drink coffee, stare blankly into space, contemplate for a few minutes, shower, sing, drop soap, sing again..leave for work, catch a ride, sit (most times — stand), listen to music on my almost 2-year old Sony Ericsson K800i, make myself somehow useful in the office, walk myself to the bus station, sit (sometimes stand), listen to music on my phone again, turn up the volume to tune out the world, stare blankly out the window, grab my “book of the moment“, read a while, stare blankly out the window again, get off that bus, walk myself home, drop my bag, open the desktop/laptop, read emails, read feeds, listen to my blip.fm station, contemplate, write, sleep (repeat from start). Continue Reading

Dear visitor from Mountain View, California:

First of all, hi. Maybe you know me or maybe you don’t — but what does it matter?
Maybe you care what I write about or maybe you don’t — but what does it matter?
Maybe you’re a search bot or a web spider, maybe you’re from Yahoo or maybe from Google — but what does it matter? Continue Reading