Fire and Brimstone

This past 48 hours has made me lose faith in humanity more than any other incident in my two decades of existence. Here, I saw the worst in people, the monstrous and the downright despicable. Their ugly heads craning in glee in the despair of others. Animated tales of half-truths and speculations disguised as intelligent conversation float the streets like the smoke still stubbornly lingering in the air. 

They say "Love thy neighbor" but I really cannot imagine being able to right now. Not when I have seen and heard with my own eyes and ears the heartlessness and callousness of the people around us.

As a believer of the beauty of human nature, I cannot fathom how these people can still point fingers when the only ones who have lost almost everything are the ones they are pointing at. What is with these people that compels them to spread hysteria and take center stage as they narrate how shocked and panicked they felt at the height of the incident then brag to anyone who would listen how accurate they were when they said before they have seen this coming and thus act like pompous omnipotent Gods who were "right" all along?

These are the same people who would stomp on you when you're down, taking advantage of the momentary showcase of weakness of the successful entity they secretly want to be. 

Middle-aged women in multi-colored dusters look harmless enough but beware, these are the ones that you should be wary of. Those who have no life of their own and have nothing else to do with their dull and pointless existence so they feed off the tasty tales of others so that their lives will seem to have more meaning, more excitement to freshen up the day's mundane routines of sweeping the front of their houses while keeping an ear out for juicy gossip. 

Let's not forget the holier-than-thou Followers of Christ, the ones in all white uniform asking for your money during masses, reading bible verses and preaching the word of the Lord. The same ones who would judge without proof and concoct (and spread) their own version of the truth as they deem fit to their pre-conceived impression of others.

And lastly...

What kind of people are these who have already seen smoke coming out of a window and failed to notify those who may still be inside the building? Yes, thank you for calling the fire department, but it is still a mystery to me how your conscience could exist when you knew that there were living, breathing people inside a burning building still unaware of the mortal threat they were facing and yet you have done nothing to make sure that they make it out safely.

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Humanity, I am disappointed. I know there exist murderers, rapists and thieves that do much worse, but I always regard them as those who have chosen a different path and thus separated from the people I see and interact with everyday. But this foul, selfish disregard to the welfare of others is unheard of before this moment. It made me see the evil inside everyday harmless citizens, most of whom you think are respectable and honest do-gooders incapable of those kinds of thoughts and (lack of) actions. 

So, to our neighbors who epitomizes the paragraphs above, I remind you one powerful word: Karma.

Top 10 Ways to Spend Valentine's Day if you're SINGLE

10. Lose yourself in your work. Keep yourself busy and before you know it, the 24 hours of glittery hearts and pictures of a fat toddler posing with an arrow is over.

9. Watch horror/massacre/gore movies (but stay away from movie theaters!). Preferably films with scenes of lovers making out in a parked car while being stalked by a serial killer.

8. For the day, change your Twitter / Facebook profile picture to that of a scantily clad vixen from Google Images and watch as Friend Requests and Mentions come in.

7. Hug the one creature that has loved you for who you are and enjoyed every single minute he's with you. Your dog.

6. Mentally raise an eyebrow every doe-eyed girl parading in front of you while cradling a bouquet of roses and think: Feeling ko binigay lang niya yan sa sarili niya!

5. Beautify. Exude appeal and poise that can make all committed men wonder why they are in a relationship in the first place. 

4. Find a good-looking gay friend and HHWW with him at the mall while you both search for cute single guys.

3. Be constantly surrounded with people, at least just for this day. There is nothing that can make you feel like a Forever Alone meme than being... well, alone.

2. Stay away from re-watching films with these words in the title: One, Chance, More, Notebook, The

1. Spend Valentine's Day with your True Love. May it be shoes, badminton, books, or Tetris Battle. In my case, it's:

**Photos taken from Google Images and Tumblr

COMMUTING. More Fun in the Philippines

The new DOT slogan has invoked mixed reviews from the public, but it has also inspired many to participate and create numerous memes on the countless things one thinks is more fun in the Philippines. Here is mine.

There is one thing all middle-class working citizens have in common: most of them commute to work. And unlike first world countries who have highly efficient transportation system, ours is admittedly a bit lacking, and quite chaotic. But the way I see it, unlike the predictable and routine ways of rush hour commuting in other countries, here in Manila, everyday is an adventure waiting to happen. It may not be fast or even comfortable, but it is surely an experience that is uniquely Filipino.

10. Yung nirereject ng LRT2 vending machines yung mga piso mo kasi dinidiscriminate nila ang 2010 series at wala ka ng ibang barya.

9. Yung ginagawa kang unan ng katabing mong natutulog sa bus.

8. Yung nandiyan na ang tren at paakyat ka palang sa platform tapos may nakabara na lovers sa escalator ayaw magpadaan.

7. Yung ang sarap na ng tulog mo sabay bababa yung katabi mo sa FX.

6. Yung magbabayad ka sa jeep tapos walang gustong mag-abot.

5. Yung nagbabayad lahat sa jeep tapos ikaw naman ang abot ng abot.

4. Yung pag sinabi ng jeep na may isa pang bakante na upuan sa loob, ibig sabihin nun magpapanggap kang nakaupo habang naka-squat hanggang may bumaba na pasahero.

3. Yung patawid ka na ng kalsada sabay may haharang na jeep/bus sa harap mo pinipilit kang sumakay.

2. Yung moment na male-LATE ka na, tapos nagpa-gas pa yung Jeep/FX na sinasakyan mo.

...and my personal favorite, the one thing everybody has probably encountered at one time or another...

1. Yung feeling na ikaw ang huling sasakay sa gitnang part ng FX tapos hindi mo maisara yung pinto.

** Photo from Google Images

Top 10 Quotes for 2012

And because posting New Year Resolutions is a sham (honestly, who gets to keep all of them?) I decided to try something new this time around.

2011 have taught me a lot of lessons but it has also given me so much, far far greater than what I expected when I was welcoming the year with mental images of what I wanted to accomplish by the end of the year. 

And because life happens in unexpected ways, let's start off this year by veering off the normal road of resolutions. Instead of empty promises, here are the quotes I promise vow try my darnest to live by this Apocalyptic year of 2012. *enter Jay Sean song here before it gets obsolete*

10. When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, 'I used everything you gave me'. -- Erma Bombeck

9. It's not always rainbows and butterflies. It's compromise that moves us along. - Maroon 5 "She Will Be Loved"

8. Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down. -- Oprah

7. Look, I don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive you've got to flap your arms and legs, you've got to jump around a lot, for life is the very opposite of death, and therefore you must at very least think noisy and colorfully, or you're not alive. -- Mel Brooks

6. It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not lived at all. In which case, you've failed by default. -- J. K. Rowling, 

5. Too many people undervalue what they are and overvalue what they're not. - DJ Mo Twister (via Twitter)

4. I wasn't born to follow, and I'm not sure I was born to lead. But one thing I know, I was born to walk my path. - @Itslifenotes on Twitter

3. “If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished?” ― Rumi (Islam Quote)

2. “Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently — they’re not fond of rules… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things… they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” – Steve Jobs

1. Follow your bliss and the universe will open doors where there were only walls. -- Joseph Campbell

The years teach much which the days never know.

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson