Pacman Day

At exactly six o’clock in the morning today, I was greeted with a text from Mhon, my admin assistant informing me that they have just reached the port of Calapan Oriental Mindoro. He and Harry, our surveyor, left Renaissance Center at 3:00AM and headed south to Panay Island to deliver the relief goods to our co-employees based in Region VI who were devastated by typhoon Frank. The relief goods, composed of canned goods, used clothes, noodles and other packed food, were the voluntary contributions of our co-employees at the head office.

Mhon took heart of my instruction to update me every now and then of their voyage. It is his first time to travel by RORO (Roll-on Roll-off) ship, aside from the fact that typhoons usually hit the country mostly during the months of June to July. But what would be most memorable about this trip is that this is the day when Manny Pacquiao carves out his piece of history to become the only Asian boxer to hold world titles in four different divisions.

As I was just relying on the delayed telecast, I was patiently waiting for the main event, the Pacquiao-Diaz Lethal Combination. While the under card fights were also exciting, nothing could contain my excitement and anticipation of Pacquiao’s bout. Then came the text from Mhon at around 11:00am – Diaz was knocked out in the 10th round! Although I was expecting a win, nothing was sweeter than hearing the fact. I ran outside and joined my neighbors in jubilant celebration. As I was sharing Pacquiao’s 10th round victory, they all corrected me that it was the 9th round. (Mhon later rectified his text saying the knock down happened in the 9th round.)

David Diaz made a gallant stand, but Pacquiao’s speed and power from both hands are too much for him. The match saw a different Pacquiao. He has transformed from a street brawler into a complete tactical fighter. With amazing flair and grace, he achieved what no Asian boxer has done – four championship belts in four different divisons! From around the globe, I’m sure Pacquiao’s legions of fans have increased tremendously. Count Happy, my wife, in. She is now a certified Pacman fan. As Romy Nathanielz puts it, Pacman makes you proud to be a Filipino.

Mabuhay and Pilipino, Mabuhay and Pilipinas!

My Life is Funny

I started writing feature stories when I was a second year high school student. I was always serious then in my themes. Maybe I thought writing should always be serious. I had no idea yet of writing formats and style. But having a father whose sense of humor flows to the brim, I have been exposed to jokes that he himself contorted or was it copied or heard from I-don’t-know-where. My Dad has a canny ability of converting any dry or tense situation into something relaxed, fun-filled and warm occasion. He is one of those persons who can do a mockery of the powerful, the respected and the not-so-respected-but-feared individuals in our place and get away with it. Unconsciously, I was immersed in a training that I would only discover I have been trained with later in my adult life. Since then, I have been less active in writing but I have been more comfortable telling stories, especially funny stories.

I have discovered that life is funny. Yes, because life is a story. You can write it the way you want it. I would very well agree with Thomas D. Willhite when he said that a person’s future is formed by the thoughts he holds most often in his mind. A person’s life is what he thinks it is at the moment. Life is defined by how you react on a given situation and how you perceive the situation to be. I cannot forget the story told by the father of Frank Avignale in the movie Catch Me If You Can. The story tells of two little mice that fell on a bucket of milk. The first mouse struggled by swimming a little bit but soon gave up and drowned – and died immediately. The second mouse struggled so hard, paddled in circles and turned the milk into cheese – and eventually pulled himself out of the bucket.

Funny is not being carefree and aimless. Funny is a state of mind, very much like being positive and happy. My Dad is a happy person – he chose to be one. And I thank him for the training that I got from him – telling funny stories. That is why I am funny – I chose to be one.