Secretaries Manuel Dayrit, Mar Roxas, Angelo Reyes and Joey Lina, NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco, HUDCC Chairman Michael Defensor, Senator Robert Barbers and VRB Chairman Ramon Revilla (who else?). I’m strongly guessing that at least four if not all of these eight administration government officials are running for public office, most probably as senatoriables. Their campaign advertisements masked under public service messages are everywhere in TV. Tsk, tsk, using the public’s money for foul early campaigning. Shame!!

Trying to understand (again) my classmates has lead me to a realization of something more imporant than winning the Palig short-film competitions in school. It’s been a while since the class worked together, with each member having his own role in a single goal. This project gave each and everyone an opportunity to participate. The class rarely worked together for one goal, and here’s where that monotony is broken. And that’s much more important than winning. I don’t need to sourgrape that much.

I’m kind of sourgraping because my classmates voted on producing a shallow concept saturated with action and comedy for our short film entry in the Palig instead of voting on a deep, moody one. Face it, our entry is senseless Damoody multiplied by three. Damoody didn’t win because it was intelligent. This is a contest among artistic short films. Don’t tell me your priority wasn’t to have fun and make jokes because it is. You first think of how fun this film is going to be on production with all those action scenes and slapstick comedy, then think of the moral issues and lessons behind it later. But that’s the most important thing.

Ano ba naman ‘yon, bigla na lang may fight-scene with aliens dressed in toys na sasabugan natin ng karneng may dugo! And then lalabas si Wil Ismit out of nowhere! That is crap! What for?! Tapos ‘yung main character ang pangalan Jhomar. What for? Wala lang?? I could concede if there was any intelligent parallelism behind them pero wala! Ano ‘yon, wala lang, pampatawa lang? ‘Yan na naman tayo with our class comedy eh, tayo-tayo lang ang matatawa sa pinaggagawa natin eh. As it is, it’s senseless. I’m not angry, I just need someone to explain to me how this film can mean something worthy of my ten-minutes. And I’m not against this film because it was conceived by the self-proclaimed gagos in class, ‘yan na naman kayo eh, putting politics of social differences beside the picture! No!

I still want our short-film entry to win though, because of course it’s from our class. I just can’t fathom how in the world it could. But I still want it to win, by one strange reason or another.

On the good side, for once in my four years in the high school, I’m not playing a major role in our Palig entry. I’m just a script-runner. Besides, I’ve done my best acting out dramatic roles since first-year and I never got that best actor award, I’m frustrated! Pendix, if you read this, please don’t get angry or something. I’m still available for any kind of assistance. Like, assisting Francis in the editing of special effects or something like that.

I hate Friendster because I hate feeling like I live in such a small world. I hate being confined to a network of friends and acquaintances confined to a single metropolis, a single age-bracket, a single country, a single mindset. A network confined to those who have access to it (meaning, the internet). I hate this suffocating feeling!! I just simply hate feeling like I live in such a very small world, really. Because it never was supposed to be small. Not if you let it be for you. And I’m not about to make my world this small.

I also hate Friendster because of the popularity thing. The next time one of my classmates asks me how many friendster friends I already have, I’m going to delete my account! Not that I’m losing face for competition (because I still have more friendster friends than those who ask me, mind them), but it disgusts me, the idea of collecting acquaintances for popularity contests. Pathetic…

By the way, today, October 20, 2003 marks my third year of online-journal writing. Wohoo, still going strong!!

My dad just came home from a vacation at Ilocos Norte. He told us of being able to get to Batac and see former President Marcos at the despot’s memorial shrine. He gave me stampita of Ferdinand in his early years as President with Imelda behind him, both elegantly posed as royalties with Ferdinand’s face looking at the upper right side of the picture while Imelda’s looking to the right. The shot was obviously taken from a camera held below the couple. The caption reads, “With the Truth & God who can be against you,” emphasis on Truth & God.

Then, it hit me. I look like Ferdinand. Without me saying it first, my dad said the same thing. Incidentally, some of my classmates have been fondly calling me Marcos sometimes since second-year. Wahaha. I’m probably his incarnate. Joke. If you don’t know, Ferdinand Marcos is the topic of my research paper in English. And I’ve been reading all these books about him and his dictatorship for months. Sino ba naman ako para hindi magalit sa katakutakot na pangungurakot at karangyaan ng mga Marcos noong mga panahong ‘yon ng lubos na kahirapan sa Pilipinas. Kaya ‘wag iboto si Imee sa senado! Labo…

Anyway, Marcos aside, my online journal will be having its 3rd Anniversary tomorrow! Wow, it’s been THAT long!

So US President George W. Bush came here for an eight-hour state visit. I honestly don’t want to say that it’s a good thing like some people, because that’s too much of a hasty generalization. But I seriously can’t say that it’s a bad thing either, to the point that I’d join those rallies a stone’s throw away from our subdivision, burning Bush and Arroyo’s effigies. Because I have yet to comprehend why. I don’t want to commit any consequent hasty generalizations.

Major annoyance! They closed off Commonwealth Avenue from Elliptical Road. So on our way home from Bulacan, we had to navigate our way through UP Village to be able to enter Commonwealth and get home. And Air Force One hadn’t even landed.

So while helicopters were hovering and flying around our Quezon City skies while Bush was going to and in the House of Representatives, we were watching the coverage on TV. Blah, blah, blah, Bush talked. Tsk tsk. With our corrupt military, do you think our army would stop their war against Muslim insurgents in Mindanao, now that America has pledged funding? NO! They don’t want to stop the funding anytime soon. This war will go on, and on. Our generals will continue to pocket the money. For once, I admired Rep. Imelda Marcos for her unpopular stance against our government’s being too pro-Bush. But I guess that’s just a political move, to win nationalist hearts in her upcoming senatorial bid.

After a couple of weeks, we finally get to see our TD kids again and be able to tutor. I miss tutoring. Makes me remember my faint idea of wanting to become a teacher someday.

We don’t pass by Commonwealth Avenue anymore on the way back to school from Nangka, Marikina. Too bad for me. Because everytime we pass by Commonwealth, I am allowed to be dropped off in front of the road leading to the entrance to our subdivision. It saves me an hour of waiting in school for the school shuttle.