Burning Bridges

A couple of my friends had a spat today. Hurtful words were flung back and forth. Words that were meant to draw blood.

I realized that I get away with saying some things that would hurt if it came from someone else and I wondered about it. Why would I get away with that? Is it a special talent that I have? A talent that will not be given any accolade? Maybe I have a special way with words? Or maybe because it is expected of me?

I asked two friends why and they couldn't really explain why something doesn't hurt if it came from me but would burn bridges if it came from someone else. I had to stuff words into their mouth myself! I asked if they think maybe it's because even if I say something nasty I don't mean to insult and that they know I hold them dear to my heart and my friendship is sincere? Geez... did I have to be so self-admiring? Anyway, they agreed in a tentative way that told me I hit the nail smack on the head. Ah yes... I am gifted. I bet I can start my own religion.

I think if your friendship is sincere then there are no conditions attached to it. No terms of service or tenure. It is something that is offered from your heart and soul. It is not earned but given. It accepts the other exactly as the other was, is, would be and could be. Is that noble or what???

Quick, ring the bells and invite people to this congregation of love! We'll call it... hmmm.. it has to be called something that inspires selflessness...

I'll call it the Love Shack.

Countdown

My second batch of babies is almost ready to leave home. They are now exactly 6 weeks old. On Saturday, they are going to get their first anti-Parvo shot and the first baby, Mandy, will leave me the next day.

My heart is already broken. I cannot believe how I still love and miss the first ones, Pinkay and Tigre. Pinkay is already pregnant! Tigre must be a big ball of energy, by now. He always was. How I miss how he growled with pleasure when he was in my arms. :-(

This batch of sweet little girls are sugar and spice and everything nice. I should have named them Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup but then there were 4 initially. Sweet baby Bans died. Sad, sad, sad.

I hate losing my babies! I hate it!

Damned If You Don't

Last Sunday, the Rolex shop in Greenbelt 5 was attacked by 6 heavily-armed men dressed in Bomb Squad uniforms in a robbery attempt. The robbery was thwarted by the two police escorts of Taguig Mayor, Fred Tinga, who happened to be lunching at a nearby restaurant. One robber was killed but the others got away with about P6M worth of watches.

Everyone is now under investigation. The security agency might lose their license for neglect. There was even a question posed by one broadcaster as to why the mall security did not join in the shoot out. The police are being asked why their response was not as fast as a bullet train. Another allegation was the mall security tried to mislead the policemen by giving them wrong directions.

How can they, again, try to make matters seem like someone's shortcoming? The security guard who questioned the robbers when they entered the basement parking immediately called the police. The police arrived within minutes of the call. The mall security did not engage in the gunfight because they secured the bystanders.

I remember another incident when the SWAT had a shoot out with some criminals on the street and some civilians got killed. They were then accused of sheer disregard for public safety and consequently removed from duty. It was an overkill... literally. This time, the gunslingers did not shoot enough so they failed in their duty as well.

Both incidents were in public places with many civilians present. What is it that the police really need to do for people to say they did their job exactly as they should have? Shoot or not shoot?

Personally, I think they might as well shoot and be damned with guns a-blazin'.

Dammed If You Do...

The poor manager of the San Roque Dam got sacked the other day. He told the media that he was relieved to be relieved because he was afraid he would not be able to function correctly because of all the anxiety from the intrigue and criticism. He is being blamed for the flood during the remarkable Pepeng typhoon which made a u-turn and PARKED in the northern part of Luzon for about a week. It brought a lot of rain so you can imagine how all the dams were at critical levels hence the release of the water.

Sadly, a lot of property was destroyed and many lives were lost especially in the mountains where there were numerous landslides. It will take years to rebuild many towns. Some will not be rebuilt ever again. Vast areas of agricultural land were devastated making the threat of food shortage very real. People are slowly picking up the pieces as relief and recovery programs are underway.

The poor manager of San Roque dam was interviewed shortly after the deluge. He said he was extremely frightened during the storm but he had to weigh the consequences and choose the lesser evil. He said he decided to release water that will cause a flood rather than not release and risk the collapse of the dam that will wipe out the whole province of Pangasinan. He stands by his decision. The man-made situation could not be left up to God. It called for someone's decision. He decided. He got the axe.

Even more sadly, the media is not giving a balanced report on the matter. Why don't they enlighten the people especially the ones who were most affected about what could have happened had the water not been released? Why just yack away about how that was everything that caused the devastation? Why not give credit to the power companies who are making adjustments according to the different weather conditions and global warming? Why incite anger in people who are already distressed and traumatized? Why call for the dam to be shut down? What will happen if it were shut down? Why sensationalize instead of pacify?

Personally, I think we should be dammed.

BFH (Boss From Hell)

BFH has some problems now. It seems there is a violation of the Anti-dummy Law somewhere and it puts everything in jeopardy. He has been deeply troubled.

And how about us? If there is a violation then our contracts are null and void. The investments will be canceled and that means we will not get the big bonus that everyone is looking forward to. The company can even shut down. On the one hand, we are troubled and sad that we might lose the bonus and everything else but on the other hand, seeing BFH sweat bricks is worth every single centavo.

That's how much he is "loved"! The violation could send him to prison for 5 to 15 years. We'll just visit him there... NOT!!!

Come to think of it, his mere existence is already a violation. He's a freaking, pain-in-the-ass DUMMY!

Trials from Nature

We got flooded last Sept. 26, 2009. It was a horrific experience since I grew up in Paranaque, a place that doesn't flood except once in 1999 when there was a freak flood.

Water rose so rapidly that in a matter of minutes, the water inside my house was hip-deep. Thankfully, I live in a neighborhood full of helpful, big men who walked around the area asking people if they needed help. They quickly secured my stuff. I owe them a case of beer or something. Kayla had to spend the night in St. Scholastica's College where the nuns took care of her along with the other people.

I took pictures of the scene outside for posterity.