Saturday Rants And Musings

For about three days now, it’s been raining cats and dogs again because of the “habagat” winds.  I love the rain when it is just for a while but I don’t like the intermittent ones that bring havoc to traffic on the roads and flash flood to streets which unfortunately sometimes even floods homes like ours. I am always wary of it when rainy season comes. The months of August and September are the most rainy months here. The only good thing about it is the weather is cold and it is nice to just stay at home and  read.

Josef connected his Bose sound link to my cellphone and I am tuned in to YouTube listening to the album of the Beatles and other artists of the 60’s and 70’s.  Ah, we’re using the blue tooth features of the CP. It is wonderful to listen to music when the sound is so good. Rainy days bring that nostalgic longing for old songs of yesteryears.

I thought I am lagging behind my reading goals for this year. I haven’t read a book for more than a week when I was in the province.  When I checked my Goodreads account, I am still advanced by 22 books.  I started one last night.  It’s about the Spanish Civil War back in the mid 1930’s. I brought home three books which one of my nieces gave me when I had lunch with them a few days ago – The Death Instinct by Jed Rubenfeld, After the Fall by Charity Norman and The Affair by Santa Montefiore. The last author is quite familiar but I haven’t read books by these three authors yet. Looking forward to reading these three after the historical fiction about Spain that I am reading at the moment. Hopefully….

I am not much updated with the news about our lunatic president. Yesterday though, he even asked the firemen of the country to arm themselves and help the police fight “supposed” crimes in the country. What! Firemen with guns? Aren’t they there to protect the people from the eventualities of fire?  This is insane. I pity our beloved country  going down the drain fast. They are distracting the people from the real issues of extra-judicial killings, drugs, chinese nationals rapidly “invading” some places in the country, the seven-hour-glitch in the last election making all administration candidates win, the corruption galore of those appointed in sensitive positions in the government. I could go on and on and  it really pains me to see our struggling economy since the focus of the government is somewhere else. Sad, really sad.

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Oh, They Call It Selfie

Please don’t crucify me.

I am not a selfie addict and I have never been one.

Long before Facebook has become popular and Instagram a favorite venue for posting those shots, selfie has been in vogue although ten years ago you won’t call a self-portrait a selfie. It gained a wider popularity among the youth overtime.  Blame it on the proliferation of cheap cellphones or digital camera. You are not in if you don’t have at least a 5mp mobile phone. Never mind that it takes grainy photos as long as one can post  them on social media.  The lure of having a new mobile device with a more tempting  12 megapixel camera on the side  is enough. You won’t need a high-end camera to take selfies. They take clear photos along with apps that you can choose to make them nicer than they actually look.

Selfie.

Why did I even think of blogging about it? It reminds me of that time I rode a bus going to UST, the long ride would make you notice every one just to pass the time. I blogged about it here somewhere. You know that kind of thing where the bedroom is as wide as the bus you were riding.   Yes, some girls or gals would not think twice doing their “personal  thing” to improve their looks, never mind that they are in a very public place like a moving bus.

I was eating an early lunch at Jollibee today when someone took the seat opposite mine on the next table. I was surprised when she started combing her hair, applying on face powder and lipstick, I can’t help but stare. What? In a public place, an eatery at that? Oh well  😦  As if that is not enough, she took out her cellphone, pointed it in front of her and made those facial expressions that look so funny to me but I was thinking, “oh, selfie”. There’s the pouting lips, a demure smile, a smile showing her teeth, an expression like she is kissing someone in front of her, a formal expression on her face. I told myself, “candid  selfie shots, so that’s how its done.”  🙂  then her companion, probably a friend arrived with a tray of sandwiches and drinks.  I was about to finish my meal and took out a small notebook to write  another blog post, when I looked up though,  I was surprised that she was doing the same thing that her friend did earlier, even changing seats so she could have the angle she wanted.

Selfie generation.

You might say, I am an old soul, an old generation.  I’d rather take photos of something about nature  or take photos of Nate when he is around than taking a selfie shot of this old face and smiling in front of a camera. There is one thing more I do notice nowadays, even Facebook has that new app called filters where you could make your face so flawless, even finer than a baby’s face.  It’s not natural,  it destroys the true image of a subject.  I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. What do you think?

Oh, they call it selfie.

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I Hate, Hate, Hate Hospitals

If there is one thing I hate the most when I undergo laboratory tests or medical check-up, it is the endless waiting – an anxious wait on the results of the tests and another two or three hours of not knowing when the doctor will appear. It’s really an extremely boring undertaking that you cannot escape from especially when you have already reached the big Five O  which means that you are more than half-way through your lifetime.

Sometimes, I prefer to go to Diagnostic Centers which have ultra-modern facilities than go to a laboratory department of a hospital.  In a hospital setting, you tend to absorb the negative vibes seeing patients with different kinds of illness. I got this sort of hospital-phobia when my dad underwent dialysis for six months(he died last December 05, 2007) and watched his health deteriorates despite all those medications and those regular doctor visits. I was privy to first hand information shared by other dialysis patients and their relatives.

Why is it that we find it easier to confide and share our woes to complete strangers than tell our loved ones about what we feel? Is it because we are also protecting them from getting hurt like us, shielding them away from the pain and feeling of insecurity that we are not hundred percent fit?

How I really hate, hate, hate hospitals but here I am, still waiting for my doctor to arrive.

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