To think or Not to think

I am a foreigner to my own country of birth. For one, I have to familiarize myself again of how my people think. And two, for thinking that my people even think at all. I say this because of my everyday experience here the last 3 months, compounded by this weeks dealing with the prima care staff. I got very sick again, same symptoms I had in 2009. You ask why I didn't go to the ER? Trust me, as long as I am coherent and can think for myself, I am not going there...at least not HERE. In Cebu.

Scene 1: I walk in to the reception desk of Prima care clinic. Lady asked me to fill out paper on what I want done. I give the paper back and she told me to go to the Cashier to pay. (Remember: No money, no treatment.)I went and then I asked cashier if I can get my temp done before my blood test. "I don't know ma'am, you have to ask reception." Blood pressure up and now at boiling point while shivering from chills. I
sidle up to the reception."Miss, can I get my temp taken before my blood work?" "I don't know ma'm. Ask them at the back." Blood and horn now spurting out of my head. I looked around for an ax. And murder her. Didn't find any.

Scene 2: Eva Braun called me to sit down and clinch my fist. Her "look" made me behave. Unable to get blood on left arm she went for my right arm without saying anything. I'm going to behave. "Miss, can you get my temp when you're done?" "No, it's not included in the service." I looked around for a match. I wanted to burn down the whole place and didn't care if she was Hitler's wife.

I walked past the cubicle of the half-wit cashier and the smiling robots at the front desk. I sat and behave in my corner, but Even with my brain dissolving fever I was still able to come up with a solution to this country's misery. And it's not money. But a good supply of sharp ax, lighter fluid and matches.

Happy resurrection!!!

If Christ is not risen from the dead, then we are still in our sins and if our hope is only in this life, then we are most pitiable. 1 Cor 15:12-20

Tradition that kills

Now I know why I am so messed up in the head. I came from this country who believes that self mutilation is cool and enough to atone for your sins. WARNING: IT'S GRUESOME PLS. WATCH WITH CAUTION.

Jesus said that He died that we may live and live abundantly. The only atonement for our sins that God will accept and will reconcile us back to Him is the death of His son on the cross. We were bought with a price: The blood of His Son and not with gold or silver or blood of bulls and goats. Our part is to admit that we have sinned and that Jesus paid for them on the cross. We are saved by faith and not by works, so this works of flagellation and crucifixion is simply horse crap and for the stupid and ignorant.

When I was growing up, our whole village took Holy Week seriously. We were sad from Wednesday to Friday,and in my household, it was a sin to smile or laugh during these days. "You can't be happy, Jesus is dead this week." My parents would tell me. And I better not bathe on that Saturday or I'll be accused of bathing with the "bad Jews, as they clean the blood from their hands."

Thank God, that I read the bible and now freed from man's deadly tradition and the grip of the misguided priests.

It's complicated

Politics or Religion is a volatile topic to discuss, but I've observed that when the discussion is about men or women, you're always left hanging because each claim to have it together. Men says women are conflicted, and we women says men are so complicated. Well, some woman made this observation and I'm not sure what to say about it.

The nice men are ugly.
The handsome men are not nice.
The handsome and nice men are gay.
The handsome, nice and heterosexual men are married.
The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men, have no money.
The men who are not so handsome, but are nice men with money think we are only after their money.
The handsome men without money are after our money

Just chillin

I had too much of the city this week so yesterday I took the bus and went to visit some preacher friends of mine who live in the southern end of Cebu. It's a 2 hour ride. After we walked around the public market we came to this place. Some German guy owns this place, he rents two rooms of his house and serves delicious German foods. We spent all afternoon here just chilling, then I took the bus back home.
You see why I had to get out of the city? This is a garbage truck. That's right, the truck is a garbage itself, but some days it really works and comes to pick up our garbage. Mostly around election time.

Musing, longing, who cares

Not so long ago, I had power surges....hot flashes. I would feel the bottom of my spine smoking and burning like someone just lit my behind, (as in a rocket launch) then I would turn red in the face and sweat profusely. I was miserable. And so was everyone else around me, because behind all that energy was the raging blood pressure. My blood pressure was bordering on dangerous, but I was able to think, I was quick on my feet and I had plenty of energy to be irreverent and sharply disagreeable. Then my doctor started messing with my life and threatened me to take medications to lower my blood pressure or the worms will sign my death certificate sooner than I'd prefer.

So now, I have low blood pressure, low income and low IQ. You can now insult me to my face and it would take weeks before I can figure out what you just did. But I still have urges to want to kill annoying people though (and just tell God they died) but I'm too lethargic now to pick up a bolo to do it. I had fun when I had hypertension...... Now, I stare and drool on the keyboard trying to figure what this musing is all about to begin with. Well, I'm tired, I need to go take a nap, but should I eat breakfast first? Now where's my glasses so I can go find my teeth. So I can eat. Oooh mylanta, the cost of being alive.

Memory or lack of it

When I forget that worrying is bad for your health, I worry about my loss of memory. Today, I got very frustrated because I could not find my glasses. I am not totally dependent on this glasses as long as I am in the house, in fact, I don't use it around the house. (I find that my house stays clean when I don't have them on.)But I am totally useless and dangerous without them on outside of my familiar surroundings. As I was going out the door this morning I could not find my glasses, and with this postage-stamp-size apartment I got, you'd think that finding it would be easy. I turned the place upside down, but they were nowhere to be found. I got agitated, weary, worried. I thought food would help calm my nerves, so I opened the refrigerator and you guessed it.....my extra set of eyes were cooling nicely in the middle shelf of the refrigerator. Instead of feeling happy that I found them, I got more mad because I know someone placed them there, I just can't remember who.

Fertility and Senility

Forgetful has become my middle name now, so I thought I'd share this email from a friend.

With the advancement and new technologies regarding fertility, I wasn't surprised that my 63-year-old friend was able to conceive and give birth. When she was discharged from the hospital and went home, I went to visit. "May I see the new baby?" I asked. "Not yet," She said. "I'll make coffee and we can visit for a while first."

Thirty minutes had passed, so I asked again, "May I see the new baby now?" "No, not yet," She said. After another few minutes had elapsed, I asked again, "So where's the new baby? May I see him now?" "No, hold on." replied my friend.

By now I was getting very impatient:"Well, when can I see the baby?" "WHEN HE CRIES!" she told me. "WHEN HE CRIES?" "Why do I have to wait until he CRIES?" "Because I forgot where I put him."

Calling Mayor Rama

I read in the paper last week that the Cebu City Government has allowed the septic haulers to dump the septic wastes at the garbage landfill because as one council member said: If you don't let them, where would they dump it? I'd say these leaders have been dropped on their heads twice too many. Where would they dump it? So you're saying there was never a place for it before, but at the landfill?

Someone said that instead of focusing on the bad, I should instead try to see the good and promote the island. Promote what and to who? To the blind and to those who lost their sense of smell? I don't want to pay for a gym membership just to walk on the treadmill, so I have to go to Cempark, the cemetery to do my walking. It is the only place I find that is clean and quiet. (Thank God, dead people can't litter anymore.) But on my way there and on my way home, I'm turning blue from holding my breath.....garbage, smoke and diesel fumes everywhere. I feel that all this walking I'm doing is counter productive---yes, I will have strong legs but with zero lungs.

Mayor Rama, make a name for yourself, be the first and only mayor of Cebu to get a grip and understand that healthy citizens make for a wealthy nation. Only if that matters to you though. If the mayor of Makati can do it, so can you.

Kimchi etc.

Before I left Dallas to come here in Cebu, I was at a church dinner and one of the Korean ladies brought a dish that I really loved,but she didn't speak English so I could not ask her how she made it. I loved it so much, I thought I'd try and make it as I remember it. You know I don't like veggies unless it's fermented. She had apples in it, but I don't want to use apples so I used pineapple here. It's basically kimchi, but since I can't find the chili powder I used kimchi base in a jar. Remember, the trick to a good kimchi is in the brining. I brined the bokchoy overnite, then wash it really well, add the pineapple, garlic, green onion, ginger and kimchi base. You just have to approximate the ingredients, and adjust it according to your taste. This taste better after a day or two so I'm going to eat this tomorrow with fried tilapia.

Kiss Me please

You tell me

Have you noticed in any given society that the rich have an average of two children, while the poor have an average of two dozens? Here in Cebu these irresponsible fathers need to be neutered. And the mothers? I don't know what to do with them ...they're so fertile they can't even smell their husbands pants without them getting pregnant. But who's really to blame for this mass production of babies?

1. The government? ----Any sane person should not be looking to the government to make their bedroom decisions for them. I like the motto of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: prevention, prevention, prevention. So I think the Philippine government should invest in cable and plasma tv for this poor but verile Filipinos. Why do you think American women complain a lot about their men not giving them attention?

2. The pope? ---The pope tells the masses that it's wrong to use contraception because it terminates life. And of course the masses heed this instruction because they don't want their soul to be parked in purgatory when they die. And because it requires a man and a woman to produce a baby, it makes a lot of sense why priests are told not to marry. They don't need to,that's what orphanages are for.

3. The parents? ---Well, the rich parents are busy running their business so they're mostly away from home and absent from church when the priest talked about contraception. But you'll find the poor in church all the time because they're tirelessly begging "mama Mary" to let them win the lottery. So they can feed the many children at home.

For a country to continue to function productively, it should have a birth replacement ratio of 2.33. America at some point was in danger of not meeting this number were it not for the Mexicans spitting out kids as fast as the Filipinos. So what's the common denonimator between Filipinos and Mexicans?

Etcetera

My bedroom/bathroom here in Cebu. I feel 18 again, like I'm in a college dorm. But Chat says, "how do you know what a college dorm look like? you didn't go to college." I did too. Outside my door this tree seems to not tire of bearing fruits. I have a tree that also bears fruit continuously. Because I love fermented veggies, I pickle it and keep for stewing fish. This is very sour, but I love it.