In the 2008 action movie, "Wanted," the underdog Wesley Gibson (played to perfection by up-and-coming actor James McAvoy…drool!) types his name in the Google search box — and comes up with zero hits. To him, this signifies a sad truth about his existence in this world: he’s nothing. A nobody. An insignificant being living a meaningless life of drudgery. Zilch.

It’s as if Google has become the ultimate scale that weighs how significant someone is, not just in the virtual world of the internet, but in the real world as well. After all, isn’t the internet a microcosm of the real world we live in? It used to be that someone is considered significant when mentioned in a local newspaper or any published material. Well, the internet changed all that.

The word "google" has itself been transformed into a verb, as in: "Just google it, and you’ll find out," or "Google the information you want." These days, if you’re not on the internet in some form (anonymous or otherwise), it seems as if you don’t exist.

Call it the process of googlification. How googlificant (google + significant) you are is directly indicated by the number of hits you get from googling your own name. 😀

Continue reading Random Googly Thoughts →

Read something interesting in the news today. The headline reads:

Australia offers ‘best job in world’ on paradise island

The job purportedly pays 150,000 Australian dollars (105,000 US dollars) and includes free airfares from the winner’s home country to Hamilton Island on the Great Barrier Reef. According to the article, "…the "island caretaker" will be expected to stroll the white sands, snorkel the reef, take care of "a few minor tasks" — and report to a global audience via weekly blogs, photo diaries and video updates."

Care to lounge? Photo taken at Sofitel Resort Hotel in Haikou, China (2007).

Hey, I’m sure I could do the weekly blog, photo diaries and video updates. Although I’m not sure that I would fit the bill completely. That’s because I’m not quite an outdoors person, I’ve never snorkeled my whole life, and I couldn’t even swim properly. So much for that. 🙁 But heck, I’m willing to learn – I guess I better start equipping myself with necessary skills to get the "best job in the world." 🙂

Continue reading My Job for Yours? →

I was browsing through some blogs we have syndicated at Philippines Today and I happened to read Jessica Zafra’s post about Ninoy Aquino’s 25th death anniversary being commemorated today, August 21. I was really surprised to realize that it has indeed been 25 years since then.

Where was I twenty five years ago today? Well, I was still in elementary. I think I was in Grade V then. We had a TV in our house, but we were listening to the radio instead as news of Ninoy’s assassination exploded all over the archipelago. I guess those were the heyday of radio broadcasting – news stories were dished out by radio newscasters faster than their television counterparts. Of course, nowadays we check out the internet instead for the latest news. Anyway, it was a really poignant memory for me, because right after my Daddy heard that Ninoy got killed, he started storming around and cursing Marcos and his government to high heavens. I remember thinking, why is he so fuming mad? As for me? Well, I didn’t even know who Ninoy Aquino was (shame on me), but it sure was saddening for me to know that he got killed just because he returned to the country! I became more interested about the country’s state of affairs afterwards.

Continue reading Where Were You When… →

Someone I know shared to me how she wants to have her funeral done. According to her, she didn’t have much choice about the way she "entered" the world, but at least there’s something she can do about the way she "exits" it. She has already picked out which songs will be sung at her funeral, including persons who would give the eulogies (specifically, persons who have played a significant role in her spiritual growth and life), what dress she would wear, where she would be buried.

At first, I was incredulous. Honestly, would you really care about how other people would take care of your remains? Could you care less if they clothed you with red or white gown? Or if the people you have entrusted the tasks with would really carry them out exactly the way you specified? Even if you make threats like – "Mumultohin kita pag di mo ginawa ‘yan…" (I will haunt you if you don’t do that…), there’s really no guarantee that you would get what you wanted. Of course, it would be a different matter altogether if you got an executed will or some legally-binding document to forge your last request.

Continue reading Way to Go →

I was looking at the slideshow photos posted on the Internet of the recent ferry disaster in the Philippines, where hundreds of people are feared dead and trapped within the ill-starred Princess of the Stars owned by Sulpicio Lines. It pains me a lot to hear of tragic news like this. My heart sincerely goes out to the relatives and families of the victims.

In the same slideshow were related photos of the flooded streets of Metro Manila and Iloilo, due to the same typhoon Frank.

Perhaps others would just casually look at those photos and forget about them in an instant. But as for me, the photos bring back a lot of memories.

You see, my entire childhood was practically spent in the municipality of Navotas, where floods are as commonplace as the balut vendors on the street. Our subdivision was built on reclaimed land by some half-brilliant developer, and with each succeeding year the place sank deeper and deeper. It didn’t take too long before the adjacent river overflowed each time there was a high tide, and pretty soon the water level got high enough to enter the houses. Kids from the squatters’ area would splash and frolic in the waters as if it was their personal swimming pool. (Photo credit: Yahoo! News Photos)

Continue reading Flood-filled Memories →