same old bananas

in light of the same ol' same ol' who won our senatorial race... (okay... photo not too accurate...)

i'd like to juxtapose our situation with the most recent installation at silverlens.

yes, they seem like statesmen perhaps from the lower house?

complete with barongs and masks...

and in the middle of it all are bananas...

and their "holy" leader... hmmmm.......

well, as the artist aptly called it...

same ol', same ol'.

ever the optimist.

this is the high school where i casted my vote.

(notice the building looming above???)

lines were long, and it was very hot (as everyone had said).

the line in the classroom before the actual classroom where we vote...

but i was more than happy to endure -- with cold water and this book in tow...

between the long wait, the nerves (of filling up the lone ballot correctly), and the thrill of voting for a president for the first time, it was quite an emotional experience for me,

especially as i got my indelible ink on my finger (gross photo below).

needless to say i'm BEYOND thrilled that our elections went relatively smoothly, and we actually have RESULTS so early on!!!

kudos to dick who really pushed for automated elections.

and even if pretty much none of my candidates will make it...

and the last names on the roster board are as old and cliche and tiresome as can be,

i'm as hopeful as ever.

forward march!

hey sis :)

we've been quiet and i shall blame it on the christmas rush.

but anyway, managed to steal some shots of the new burgos circle at the fort... (although just using my phone)...

what a new, perty area. it's where our fave cafe juanita is, and it's really such a beautiful addition to the city.

little pockets of development like this one really makes me happy, and affirms my belief that we are, slowly but surely, moving forward as a country.

which is why i agree with carlos whose FB status was:

Haynako. Negastar Jim Paredes thinks we're doomed. He's really a good guy for sure but why is he SUCH a turn off lately? I wonder if I'm alone in thinking this.

carlos is not alone. i'm with him.

jim wrote this nega article about our country.

after reading it, i (although outside of my character) responded to carlos by saying:

carlos, i think the reason why we don't get this article is because people like you (!) and me (?) are already doing (in our own ways) what he "calls" us to do in the last paragraph -- dreaming, acting, engaging, inspiring. "being a passive player in gma's dream" is a silly thought, and perhaps almost equal to bickering and whining about the country.

sometimes, i feel like it's OUTLOOK that divides our political landscape.

one side looks at our country with despair, and believes that the logical way to go is to vote the cleanest albeit not-the-sharpest-tool-in-the-toolbox.

another side looks at it with crazy optimism -- and recognizes that we, despite all the crap, are moving forward, hence choosing the smartest believing that we need not kill too many fires but instead plant seeds.

watjatink of my theory?

ako ang simula

this sign was, i thought, a sign of things to come.

the registration poster was in a nice gilded frame and red easel. this is probably the nicest registration poster in the country!

it was in the rockwell tent... so it was comfy, not a lot of people... KINDA organized... airconditioned...

it took me, however, THREE HOURS to register! ugggh!!!

i was nerdy enough to do some pre-work: downloaded, printed and filled up forms as instructed by the website.

only to find out that these are INVALID!

as per cranky comelec guy, "di yan puede, manipis ang papel" -- wtf?

cranky comelec guy also had loud spats with a good number of registrants while we were there -- wtf?? so much for 'public service'...

i have more to say about the system... but too tired to do so. but if you can imagine, they could have cut a LOT of steps and gov't workers in the process, a MICROCOSM of our current situation.

***

so here i am, registered but still undecided...

after witnessing the awful inefficient system of this li'l comelec satellite registration, it really is making me wonder who to vote for.

for me it's a matter of figuring out what will help solve our problems the most...

will it be a very incorruptible leader?

or will it be a very smart reformer?

on the one hand, an incorruptible leader will inspire people to not be corrupt, and will assure us that at least on the highest level, there will be no direct corruption (maybe by family members, but not by him himself because he won't allow for it).

on the other hand, a very smart reformer will address other aspects that cause corruption -- aspects like bureaucracy, inefficiencies and poor foundations of our political system...

but then again, is there even a very smart reformer in the running? but also, is our situation so so dire that we are all forced once again vote for a reluctant leader who peers find to be a bit intellectually incapacitated?

so obviously, at the moment, i'm still undecided.

but elated, nonetheless, that i have actually registered. here's the proof:

my apolitical days are over.

and i'm sure i'll have a candidate in a few months' time... i just need more time and information... and inspiration.

so, here's to our country, and to hoping that at the very least erap/binay won't win.

in the meantime, let's not obsess too much about the government, and just do what we can like we always do.

president flower

times like these, the messianic complex in me overthinks about what can be done for our country...

so here's my little rant...  if i were president, i would:

1.  switch our political multi-party system to a bi-party system.  just have 1 side leaning towards the left, 1 side leaning towards the right.  i mean really, what do our many parties stand for?  nothing.  right now, our politics is all about personalities.   so, so silly.

2.  switch to parliamentary system -- whichever party wins the election will just choose who will lead the party, and that leader will be our president.  there are too many uneducated swayed-by-money voters here... so let's vote for our ideologies rather than people.

3.  appoint nicky perlas or some other super environmentalist as denr secretary.  in light of our many natural calamities, it's really time we take our eco-responsibility seriously.  let's address pollution, garbage, mining, logging, etc etc etc...

4.  BAN sachets.  i will sanction these uber-profitable multi-nationals to come up with hygienic refilling stations to replace these garbage monsters.

5.  mandate everyone earning above xx amount of income to do xx amount of volunteer work -- whether it's through teaching, professional service, manual labor, managerial service, etc. etc.

6.  hire urban planners (to report directly to me) to redesign and restructure all our cities and city's facilities... oh and to regulate our architecture (hehe).

7.  mandate organic farming.

8.  kill all redundant government offices (there are MANY), and all redundant positions within each office (there are MANY).

9.  mandate all barangays to have their own self-run farms -- if not on land then on their roofs (read:  container gardening... google it).

10.  promote family planning.  condoms, pills, etc...

11.  have only ONE number for emergencies.  so silly when the stations would flash so many numbers during Ondoy.  to think we're the call center capital of the world!

12.  BAN empty-calorie snacks and noodles.  malnutrition makes kids perform poorly in school.  so let's stop allowing big companies to make msg-ridden zero-nutrition snacks.  at least fortify them with the good stuff.

13.  hire industrial engineers to FIX our systems in sec, bir, sss, etc.  do you remember how hard it was to start a company of your own?  do you know in the states it takes half a day to put up your own company?  most of the forms you just fill up online??  and to maintain the businesses... so tough. to think these sme's make up the back bone of our economy.

14.  FIX our public transport system -- color code the buses, make maps, times.  only allow the optimal # of buses, jeeps, etc.
 
that's it for now... sorry this is a bit of a boring post...

but anyway, it's good to get it out of my chest.  i have more to say... but this should be enough... for now...  so will you vote for me?  hehe.

i am but a small voice

i dunno why...

but sometimes i feel like i'm turning someone opposite who i was when i was younger...

i'm definitely more vocal and confrontational now...

and i seem to be more into politics.  when before, i was as apolitical as anyone could get.

case in point:  carlos celdran's blog.

there's this discussion about noynoy and i've been quite active.  here is one of my 4 (?) comments in the discussion:

(this was in response to someone else's comment...  i know you don't agree but anyways... :) )

Pres. Cory was an honest, simple transparent leader. Was she a good leader? Did she curb corruption? Not really -- or not at all.

So, let's stop assuming that incorruptibility = good leader. And also stop assuming that great credentials = corrupt.

Let's think of the genius of the "and"... Let's look for someone with both good character, AND good leadership skills.

Too idealistic? Perhaps. But it seems too early to just say "eh wala nang iba eh. He would be the best. He's the ONLY clean politician." It's a bit cynical and unfair.

Read the rest of the discussion here.

greedy li'l pricks

well, here's something that does NOT belong to your collection.

chickout what jamby handed out during the procession...

WTF?????????

also saw mar shaking people's hands from his car during the procession.

WTF?????????????

politix

i can't help it too!  here's letterman dishing out on mccain for flaking him...

isn't is sad though that we're so engrossed in american politix and not-so-much in ours?

THEY say the ff are running in 2010:

manny villar...  my first thought:  ultra conservative.

noli de castro... my first thought:  showbiz.

jojo binay... my first thought:  no tnx.

mar roxas... my first thought:  poyde.

i'm actualy a chiz fan, but THEY say he's not running.

yun lang.