Francesco, only lived in his mother's womb for 5 months, grew to be a fire tree that now reaches the roof of our house. The morning sun shines on it brilliantly. In the afternoon, the hot summer air accompanies those thin branches and tiny leaves to a dance.
Wednesday, May 12, 2021
Smaller and Smaller Stories
You're 38 now, Jairus. Belated Happy Birthday. And we've whined, bragged and sometimes genuinely wrote about what's been happening to us for almost 25 years. There should be enough to recur on. How stubbornly should we be to endure? I have a suspicion, or perhaps a good clue that would help me figure out what we're really feeling at this point.
I am tired. Specifically, of myself.
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
What's going on?
Fuck's going on. That's what.
About a year after the lockdowns, 10,002 got infected with COVID-19 today. The President says he wants to cry in front of all of us but he has no more tears to shed. 切腹 is an honorable option.
https://www.rappler.com/nation/cop-kills-man-calamba-laguna-march-28-2021
Sunday, February 28, 2021
Ahead
5:44 pace, 57:19 10k
5:27 pace, 27:19 5k
102.3km this February
I'm not getting any younger, much slower than other recreational runners, but I'm hitting much better numbers than I did the past few years.
Was it the engineered-for-fast Zoom shoes, my consciousness of VO2 Max, my excitement with having a Forerunner strapped on my wrist? Was the Garmin Coach Plan effective? Was it the cycling cross-training? Was it the time of the day, early morning runs when northern winds are the coldest that made the runs easier? One way or another, I literally found a more re-invigorated stride.
For a while, it felt that I'm ahead of whatever it is I'm running away from.
But most of all, I ran with her. She's always ahead of me.
Tuesday, February 9, 2021
Immortalized by The Quiet Ones
The Quiet Ones
Glen Diaz
We've been immortalized, and it was done with a deserved dignity. This is the novel that a wannabe-writer-turned-call-center-worker (retired) such as yours truly, have been dreaming of putting into paper. This one hits the spot. Pushes the right buttons. Hits the nail right on the head. It has authentic insider information, fully-developed characters (I feel like I've met them), verified industry know-how, like that whiff of truth in juicy gossip still sluicing in our mouths after all these years, the aura of office pantries, oppressive elevators, cold buildings and tired streets. It portrayed the lifestyle that the call center culture has espoused. The language was both precise and elegant, deconstructive and post-colonial. Perhaps I'm not sure about that post-colonial or deconstructive, (your graduate school units in Philosophy won't do much for KPIs). The novel is layered with a discussion of our country's fragile democracy, the context of the BPO industry in Philippine history and culture, how souls are corrupted by this grinding globalization. And this novel sure is right about its call center lingo. Uncompromising, that sometimes it's a pain to read, because we've lived through some of those horrible moments. We remember some horrible people. But mostly, it's a profound joy. How can one not feel flattered (even quietly) when you read about yourself?
Thursday, December 31, 2020
Ride On
Distance Learning. In the afternoons, we sang, in a chorus with your classmates, in a virtual platform, that if the rain were chocolate, how delicious it will be. We checked the weather, wrote the letters, counted, read stories, celebrated birthdays. With the joys and tears of learning.
Around the biking loop and a step away from heinous selfishness. I go around the lap for 40 or 50 km. At best, 27 km/h average with a 43 km/h top speed. I can't catch up with the faster packs who run on 40 km/h averages. I'm amazed by how pelotons look and the power of the cyclists. Even with much slower groups, you feel an encouraging energy. I usually start when it's still dark. When I look up, I see the office lights of BPO companies around MOA. It's 5 in the morning, New Year's Eve. It's a familiar feeling, with sadness strongly reinforced by this year's pandemic. My thoughts were no longer, I'm glad I'm not up there. My thoughts were, you guys will be coming home pretty soon.
Ride on, it will be better for all of us.
