EASILY SAID THAN DONE

sunday morning in singapore… oras na naman para tumawag sa mga kamag-anak sa maynila. kamusta na kaya sila? masaya ngayon sa pilipinas dahil uuwi si donna at david (mga pamangkin ko) galing sa US at Europe. marami na naman silang happenings. buti na lang, at least matutuwa ang mga tao sa novaliches.kamusta na kaya sa antipolo? same time last week, kasalukuyan kaming nasa tagaytay at nagpapasarap ni jet. ngayon, eto na ulit kami sa malayong lugar, naghihintay na naman ng pagkakataon para makapag bakasyon.

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TAGAYTAY IN JANUARY

itong week-end, nagpunta kami sa bahay ng mga ate ko sa tagaytay. kung malamig dito ngayon sa antipolo, doble ang lamig sa tagaytay. maganda naman ang byahe at dahil bakasyon pa ay walang traffic (habang sinusulat ko ito ay naririnig ko na bumper to bumper na sa south super highway – back to normal na talaga sa umaga ng january 6).

nagluto ang mommy ko ng beef steak tagalog at may nakahanda nang menudo at spanish sardines ang ate ko kaya’t kain agad ako pagdating sa bahay nila. siyempre, pagkatapos ng kain eh tulog. maaga kasi kaming gumising ni jet para sunduin ang mommy ko, ate, pinsan, auntie, pamangkin at si tj.

kinahapunan ay nagpunta kami sa bayan ng mga mayayaman – punta fuego. miyembro ang bayaw ko sa exclusive na lugar na ito at tunay naman talagang maganda. kwento ko sa inyo next time…

sa ngayon, sinasamsam ko lang ang last day namin sa pilipinas. opo, gardemet na may kasamang malutong na bwakanginangyan, babalik na kami ni jet sa singapore bukas.

1979

Don’t let me drift too far,
Keep me where you are
Where I will always be renewed.
And that which you’ve given me today
Is worth more than I could pay
And no matter what they say
I believe in you.

i believe in you, from the great Bob Dylan’s Slow Train Coming album. what made this lp great? wala lang – si bob dylan lang naman at si mark knopfler ang gumawa ng album. naalala ko pa nung unang lumabas ito… 14 years old pa lang ako. binili ko ang cassete na ito sa halagang 18 pesos sa isang record bar sa santiago, isabela. ang daddy ko kasi ay na-assign sa isang radio station sa norte at lumipat kami doon ng isang taon.

ang taon ay 1979, to be exact.

1979…mother theresa wins the nobel peace prize, margaret thatcher becomes new prime minister, john wayne dies, apocalypse now is shown on movie theaters, stephen king comes out with The Dead Zone and the world population reaches 4.3 billion people.

“1979”…di lang ito kanta ng SMASHING PUMPKINS (sample lyrics for epeks…”And we don’t know Just where our bones will rest, To dust I guess, Forgotten and absorbed, into the earth below”).

1979 was a great year of music.

1979 was the year dire straits released their 2nd album – Communiqué – “They wanna get a statement for Jesus sake, It’s like talking to the wall, He’s incommunicado no comment to make, He’s saying nothing at all…”

1979 was the year The Atlanta Rhythm Section released their “underdog” lp, ang paborito ng bayan ay ang kantang “do it or die”: “don’t let your troubles make you cry, don’t waste a moment wondering why, when everything goes wrong, you have to on and do it or die…”

1979 was the year Supertramp came out with their best lp called “Breakfast in America”… and of course the best song was…what else: “The Logical Song”

When I was young,
it seemed that life was so wonderful,
a miracle, oh it was beautiful, magical.
And all the birds in the trees,
well they’d be singing so happily,
joyfully, playfully watching me.

But then they send me away
to teach me how to be sensible,
logical, responsible, practical.
And they showed me a world
where I could be so dependable,
clinical, intellectual, cynical…

this was my song – my Logical Song… 1979 was the end of the innocence

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standin’ by
But “happily ever after” fails
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly

1979 was the year my daddy had to fly… ang galing ano? 14 years old pa lang ay full of music na, kaya lang nga eh walang daddy.

SULAT SA PINSAN

si donna ang pamangkin ko, nasa san francisco ngayon at kasama ang mga pinsan ko… nag-usap nga kami kanina sa phone. namiss ko tuloy sila… sinulatan ko nga si simon, yung pinsan ko. matagal ko na siyang di nakikita. sana next year…

buenas dias senor!

sorry at di ako nakapunta sa iyo nung nagpunta ako sa pomona last time akong na california – yung kasama ko kasi eh nagmamadaling pumunta sa palm springs.

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LADY CHATTERLY’S LOVER

i want to be a gardener. that’s my calling… well, maybe a part-time engineer on the side (for the extra cash). this is my dream job – but i cannot apply for it now because i am not qualified. to qualify for the position of gardener, one must have a sustainable retirement fund. this is only possible if i save up while i’m here in singapore. and it could take me 5 to 10 years.

let’s do the math… 5 to 10 years in singapore will guarantee me a good enough amount of cash for an early retirement. that will put my age to around 40-45 years old. i don’t think i’ll live to be 70 or 80. so, 45 plus 20 years is 65… a good enough age to permanently call it quits. it will give me 20 or so years to enjoy my retirement. not bad…

25 may 2002, 11TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

tomorrow, 25 may 2002, holiday rin sa pamilya dahil 11th wedding anniversary namin ni jet. wow… it’s been a long trip man! pero di bad trip ah. hehehe… naalala ko pa nung kasal namin, a long long time ago. nasa labas kami ng munisipyo ng kalookan kasama ang ninong ko – ang pangalan niya ay si Dr. Boyet Silverio (kilala nyo ba siya? hehehe), at ang isa ko pang ninong na si mael (hindi siya malibog ha!).

kaming dalawa lang ni jet, kasi simpleng kasal lang ang gusto namin. ni wala ngang kamag-anak, kahit parents namin eh wala… wala kasi akong pera nung araw. nag sisimula pa lang kaming mag-ipon. reception nga ng kasal namin eh sa jolibee lang. nung panahong iyon kasi, pang jr. champ with fries at chicken joy lang ang budget namin. doon pa nga ata kami kumain sa sangandaan. at saka, kaming dalawa lang ni jet, di ko na inimbita ang 2 ninong namin – gastos lang iyon.

wala rin sing-sing, kasi walang pambili. isipin mo, ang suweldo ko nung panahon na iyon ay 2,000 pesos per month. kulang pa ngang pagkasyahin sa pamasahe at pagkain papuntang trabaho, sing-sing pa makakabili. dehins pre. inisip ko na lang, kung mayrong diyos – maiintindihan niya, dahil hindi naman siya tumitingin sa mga bagay na walang kabuluhan.

HOWLIN’ DAVE – NU 107 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

Lifetime Achievement Award for my Brother Dante: NU107 Rock Awards, Introduction Speech…

by Cousin Hoagy, Dec 2001

Here’s a guy that began his radio career in the light of the Martial Law years. He was the neighbor of my cousin, Johnny in Pasay, near Park Avenue and Libertad. I always got along with him. He was a natural when he began his career at DzRJ in Santa Mesa.

He had one characteristic that makes a good rock jock. He loved music. He ate up everything going on. I remember him bringing me a record of American Country & Western from Nashville, Tennessee and begging to hear it on the air.

Howlin’ Dave spent much of the 1970s getting his chops down, announcing style and gaining a taste for PINOY ROCK which was a very important feature of life in Martial Law. When the show, “Pinoy Rock & Rhythm,” was developed by Charlie Brown and Double A. It was mainly about the live Pinoy Rock scenes that thrived in Olongapo City and Manila. Angeles City was still just putas.

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BRING HIM HOME…

Tumawag ako nung Christmas sa mommy ko, ang lungkot ng boses niya. Nag-alala tuloy ako. Kaya yon, pasko rito sa Singapore, mabigat ang loob ko. Malungkot. Balak ko nga, bumili ng baril at pab-babarilin ko yung mga walang kwentang tao na kakilala ko. Para wala nang pahirap at tapos na agad aang problema. Wala na ngang naitutulong, nag-dadagdag pa sa problema. Lahat naapektuhan eh.

BACK FROM HOME

i’m back in singapore after a week in the philippines.
my wife is with me and i feel complete.
it was great to be back home – except for the politics,
everything was just right.
my mom is healthy
my dog is still the same “salbahe” companion
my house is ok and my garden is full of flowers.
now if a big bomb just dropped down the senate,
that would erase half of the problems in the philippines.

THE HOME I LEFT BEHIND

…and then i see a picture of the house and family i left behind and suddenly it all comes back in a flood of memories. home – traffic jams and dusty roads, chaos in the streets, people who don’t care, corruption and greed, potholes and heat. philippines my philippines, we love it to death!