New Year's Resolution

I don’t believe in New Year’s resolutions.  It’s a recipe for disappointment, frustration, and regression.  A year is just too long for a one-time reversal of ingrained habits. I believe the Jesuits had it right when, instead of a new year, they had a twice-daily examen: an assessment of the day’s events and also an opportunity to resolve to be better next time. 

But even I have to admit of this tradition’s allure. It’s nice to face the New Year with a hopeful resolution to change, unburdened by the past’s weight. Plus, I might as well leave it in the open if only to pressure myself to be more committed to change:

1.)    Look at other people’s eyes when they talk to you
2.)    Sleep better and exercise harder
3.)    Do at least one household chore when you’re visiting the family abode
4.)    Visit Lola Alice at least twice a month
5.)    Be angry but don’t be obvious
6.)    Be more fiscally responsible
7.)    Do the examen every day
8.)    Don’t waste time
9.)    Be more caring (I don’t know how to do that but I’m going to write it down anyway)
10.)    Write

PDA

Old and obviously married couples doing public displays of affection are nice to marvel at. Teen couples doing the same thing are not cute at all.

Forgive me for the double standard but there’s just something about young lovers doing stuff in public that makes me want to exclaim “Pwede ba?” while whacking their heads.

I remember one time I was in church and I was for awhile distracted at a couple in front of me. The guy was hopelessly enamored of his girlfriend because, for the entire duration of the mass, his hand kept massaging the girl’s upper arm (In Bisaya, that’s called “ginalugod ang libag”). One other time, this guy kept stroking his girlfriend’s hair. And the funny thing is, the girls love it or at least tolerate being treated like a puppy in public.

It’s disturbing though because my assumption is that, for boys, refraining from overt public displays of affection shows one’s discipline and one’s respect for the woman. That’s because the guy who doesn’t pet his girlfriend in public knows how to hold back and also knows that a woman’s reputation might be smeared in our polite society by a careless touch or an impatient grope.

For a married couple, I could not care less if they kiss each other in front of the masses. I guess having your wedding rings on is a kind of license for such acts. Plus, it’s sweet.

T-Mac

Last Thursday, we had dinner with the near-legendary Doctor Macario Tiu. I was with Faith, Mel, and Clari and Sir Mac spent almost the entire evening regaling us with his research exploits.

It wasn't supposed to happen but it did. On December 13, Mel texted me if I was the one she saw crossing the street to catch a jeep. I replied back that, no, that wasn't me and asked if she wanted to meet up. Then the ball rolled on. Mel said that we could meet up this Christmas, a mini-reunion so to speak, and invite Sir Mac and have dinner at his house. After that, Mel took care of everything and, as the cliche goes, the rest was history.

So there we were: listening to Sir Mac over a humble dinner in his house in Catalunan Pequeno.

As for Sir Mac, he's now a research consultant for Philippine Women's College and is quite busy with his recent research effort: documenting lumad cooking. He is also delving into indigenous knowledge systems, still under lumad studies (this should be an academic term if only to better recognize it as a legitimate branch of knowledge).

For that night, we went into flashback. We were simply students again listening to a professor's lecture. Sir Mac first talked about the many techniques that he had discovered about lumad cooking (which you'll know as soon as you buy his book when it gets published). Then, he went into why he left Ateneo (retirement and one other thing), his adventures trying to search for Mangulayon, Tumaros, and, lately, Datu Dabao, and the B'laan (the indios blancos).

In the end, he asked us what we were doing, whether we were still into writing and were interested in trying to answer the question: Who is Datu Dabao? It was as if he was trying to see if he had a protege among us, someone who could take up the fictitious cudgels that he had borne throughout his academic career.

Unfortunately for him, I think no one could ever replace a Macario Tiu, at least not among us. The one thing about Sir Mac is, despite the soft-spoken voice, every time he spoke, it always reverberated of passion for the forgotten history of the lumad. And, sadly, that's something that I, Mel, Clari, and Faith do not share with him.

But, perhaps, I do not share this passion with him just yet. Maybe in due time I will.

Year Of Travel

Last year, Boracay and Mount Apo.

This year, Marbel, Surallah, Lake Sebu.

Baganga, San Victor, Aliwagwag Falls.

Puerto Princesa, El Nido, Underground River.

Bunawan, Enchanted River, Tinuy-An Falls, Britannia.

Next year, it's going to be Cagayan De Oro, Manolo Fortich, Camiguin. Then Mount Apo and another plane trip to somewhere if I save some more.

Who knows? Maybe this year my passport's going to get stamped for the first time.

Writing Projects 2013

I never did finish what I set out to achieve in the years past.

So this time I'm writing it down. Again.

144 blog posts for the year. Same as last year.

Then, it's about time I make headway with that leaflet campaign against backyard burning.

After that, I better churn out a story or poem before year ends.

These are modest goals, I know. Let's hope it works.