Tula sa Tren

Habang nakasakay sa LRT papasok sa trabaho, nakita ko itong tula, sa tren, (kaya nga tulaan sa tren) na sulat ni Rio Alma. Nagandahan ako talaga. Sana ay mas dumami pa ang mga ganitong obra at ikalat sa kalakhang Maynila. Sa likod ng mga taxi kaya? sa Loob ng Jeep? O Bus? Sana mga paintings din mag-post ang mga gumagawa ng ganitong mga proyekto.

Reading is Freedom

Love libraries! Libraries exude an air of sacred space for knowledge to freely move and enter the individual and collective minds groping to understand the mysteries surrounding our life. Entering a library, one feels the solemn ritual of a person trying to gain new insights and absorbing what the world offers. Silence pervades the hall lulling sleepyheads that use meditation as an excuse to occupy cubicles and try to sleep in a half erect sitting position as others refer and discuss notes in a hushing manner lest the librarian slash your hush with some tongue lashing.

A library in the traditional sense is a place where books are kept for use but not for sale. It has expanded its scope in present times to include musical, artistic, or reference materials that people can use for whatever purpose they have in mind. It is in this place where you can find the literary works of the communist Karl Marx, the fiery philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and the capitalist Ross Perot serenely stand side by side in the shelves without the usual debate on class struggles and the correct social system.

But it is always the books that fascinate the imagination as it stands quietly in the shelves waiting to share knowledge and share stories to the next person. Reading books gives an individual the experience that transcends one’s physical boundaries by leafing through the pages and absorbing the magical letters transformed into words that breathes life, stories, and knowledge to the readers. To read is to add up to the cumulative learning of every individual giving each one the chance to absorb wisdoms culled from the experiences of individuals and societies. It’s a fascinating trip that can bring one from the apex of happiness to the abyss of gloom and misery depending on one’s whims and mood at the moment.

In the era of fast food and high speed communication technology where our basis of efficiency and effectiveness lies on how we can accomplish tasks at hand with the least time expended, we are expected to speed up whatever we are doing to get to other tasks diminishing our mindfulness in the present moment. Reading slows down the pace as one discovers the thoughts and minds of authors putting us back into the mindful state of sitting still and quiet solitude that creates space for creativity. As one saying goes, Revolution begins in quiet places.

Slogans of revolution

Walking on my way to school, i saw a couple of messages sprayed on the wall that merited my interest. Slogans normally written in red with the organization's signature were presented differently. What made me smile was that while the message remained the same, the undersigned was an individual's name and it was painted in a more creative and personal way. Normally, it is the organization's name that would be assigned but here, it was very personal, and actually, cute.

Little Hollywood

Little Hollywood Restaurant (est. 1960) along C.M. Recto Avenue is an old favorite haunt of drinkers who enjoy their. cholesterol heavy “pulutans” like the different Chicharon style (Bituka, Bulaklak, balat) to go with their beer. I believe the place started cooking roasted chicken in a rotisserie, along with Robina chicken (another company), in the 1970s, long before the advent of the lechon manok craze in the 1980s. I enjoy walking this area when I was small as my mother brings me with her to Roxan theater where she worked in the late 70s to watch early Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee flicks. Wala pang LRT nuon. After the movie, we would buy chicharon at Little Hollywood and munch it along the way.

Siomai

Bagamat matagal-tagal na rin akong kumakain ng siomai sa tanang buhay ko, nagsimula lang ako magkainteres na hanapin ang pinakamasarap na siomai sa kalakhang Maynila nuong matikman ko ang siomai na tinitinda sa likod ng University of Santo Tomas. Isang simpleng estante na nagtitinda ng dalawang uri ng siomai, pork at saka sharksfin, at gulaman na nagsisilbing pantulak sa bumabarang siomai sa mga nabibilaukang parokyano ng tindahan.

Una ko itong natagpuan ng minsang napadaan ako at nakita ko ang naguumpukang mga estudyante na di magkandaugaga sa pagbili at pagkain ng siomai. Animo'y na-duduwende ang mga bumibili at nagkakagulong umorder ng tatlo, apat na order (isang order ay P11.00 kada tatlong (3) piraso) at nilalantakan na mismo duon sa lugar, bagamat yung iba ay inuulam pang-hapunan.

Masarap ang siomai dito, lalo na kung gutom na gutom, at ang mas masaya ay ang presyo nito na parang hindi naaapektuhan ng implasyon at pandaigdigang resesyon at hindi pa nagtataas hanggang ngayon (o baka tapat lang ang tindero sa itinakda niyang halaga na nakapinta sa kanyang rolling store o baka tinatamad pintahan ng bagong presyo).

Kaya sa kada baba ko ng LRT, kada pasok ko ng mga mall, at kada lakad ko sa mga lansangan ng Maynila, hindi ko mapigilang tumigil at tikman ang mga tindahan ng siomai sa mga tabi-tabi na maaaring masabing "the next best thing sa siomai"para sa akin.

Sa hanayan ng mga siomai, eto so far ang madalas kong mabili at makain, dahil na rin sa dalas ng pagdaan ko sa mga estante nila.

1. Bernabest Siomai (LRT stations)
2. Master Siomai (LRT stations)
3. Likod ng UST (check out photo)
4. Siomai sa tapat ng Our Lady of Fatima Church, Cordillera, Q.C.

ponso's shoe

Ponso's Nike shoe effortlessly looked like a still art installed in the middle of his Lolo and Lola's house as he ran around barefooted.

Filipino cookies

Someone went to Spain and gave us this cookie called "Filipinos." Brownish black outside and white inside, like oreos, or the never ending colonial mentality still enveloping most of the Filipinos' psyche.