STATE OF GRACE

Photo from SkyscraperCity

I'm walking fast through the traffic lights

busy streets and busy lives

and all we know, is touch and go

Touch and go. This could well be the theme for 2012. I've touched base with different faces and places in different lengths and circumstances. All of them changed my life in some grand or minute way. If I mattered to them is a whole different story, which doesn't matter anymore.

Because in the end, tears have been cried, hearts have been hurt, scars have dried and faded. Soon a fresh start, a clean slate is miraculously served in front of you and there’s no way you can refuse it. After all, nothing good ever escapes.

So here I am feasting on a heaping plate of changes, feeling full and happy with how I started the year. Despite the state of singularity I am in, I am in a state of grace with all the gifts God rained down even before the year began. This is what happens when you don’t bring an umbrella in the midst of an abundance of rain from the Divine.

WHAT'S ON MY PLATE ANYWAY?

1. NEW JOURNAL

As if I can’t get enough of blogging, I purchased a new leather-bound diary to jot down my most private of thoughts as well as my daily routines. When life seems like a crazy spiral, it pays to have routines.

2. NEW FITNESS ROUTINE

After being diagnosed as hypertensive and having hypertrophy back in October, I decided to start jogging in the mornings at a nearby cemetery. On some days, I would walk the big dogs of my friend Jonathan Samar and jog around my former school, Woodridge College. We normally end the routine with stretching and crunches in the school gym. On Saturdays, Jonathan and I, together with other friends Nolette Garcia and Ernie Sumayod, would play badminton (and I’m getting good at it!).

3. REAWAKENED SPIRITUALITY

Thanks to my good friend (and president/chairperson emeritus of my fans’ club) Bella Bardollas, I met a wonderful community of Catholic Christians who changed the way I looked at Catholicism. The Feast @ Bonifacio Global City, led by its builder Bro. George Gabriel, has worship services every Saturday from starting 4 p.m. at the Topshelf of Fully Booked in Bonifacio High Street.

4. SORTED FINANCES

Since I ain’t spending my money anymore on laptop bags that get thrown out of a moving vehicle or trips that don’t even get recalled or valued, I decided to make the most out of it. I adopted a new budget policy and devoted myself in itemizing and reducing my expenses. I also joined a “paluwagan” with my badminton friends, the proceeds of which I plan to save in a bank account. I am now thinking on investing the money I will save in property or stocks.

5. IMPROVED FASHION SENSE

Hey, I’m single and ready to mingle. What better way to attract the next (and perhaps, last) great love of my life than by sporting some new, fashionable attire and hairstyle? And with some great advice from my lady friends at work, I got a lot of pointers in personality development that could perhaps reel in the type of lady I really want to be with at this stage (and coming stages) of my life.

All these are works in progress. Just as Maynilad caused a lot of painstakingly slow traffic for quite some time in the streets of Bacoor or Las Piñas City, the changes I am experiencing right now are an exercise in discipline, determination, endurance, and loyalty. I’m sure someone out there can’t wait for me to give up soon; but no: This is a state of grace. This is the worthwhile fight.

And so while I ain’t perfect, I’m in this fight with all I got. There’s no certainty even obscurity in it—just the invisible hand of change which we can look always look forward to with cautious optimism. As long I am in a state of grace, nourished by the constantly stocked warehouse of God, I live, I’ll grow, and I'll forever be grateful for each day of my life. TSS

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"Be not afraid of going slowly, be afraid only of standing still." - Chinese proverb

THINGS FALL APART: The Social Scientist 2nd Anniversary Special

The year started with a personal crisis for this blogger. And I seriously felt that the world would end.

Hence, I couldn't blog about anything during the first three months of 2012. I was caught between a rock and a hard place, about choosing between a bad romance and self-respect. At first, I chose the former, banking on the prospect that things will change for the better. And it did change—for the worse. More than a month of space turns people and things around; and ideas we always thought as perennial would turn out to be fleeting and effervescent, like soap bubbles that suddenly pop in the air. At the end of it all, I chose self-respect and began an excruciating and tense walkabout into the uncharted future.

By April, I was writing again; and I began with a commentary on the edgy relationship between President Aquino and the media regarding what seemed to be the latter’s focus on the former’s misses instead of gains. One could easily conclude that such tension would pave the way for PNoy’s rating to drastically slide, but we know he has rebounded from the backlash and now enjoys the highest approval rating among all presidents to date.

However, if there is one group that is perpetually angry at the government regardless of who is in power, it's the extreme left. We've heard a lot from them this past year, during their annual Labor Day rallies (Day of Hate) and during our coverage of the Asian Development Bank Summit last May. My other blog, Pilipinas 360, dug deeper into the division between the moderate and extreme left (A Tale of TwoLeftists) at a time when party list groups Akbayan and Anakbayan were bickering about which party truly represents the marginalized.

One of the most followed posts this year is my commentary on the issue of Chinese aggression in Panatag (Scarborough) Shoal. I reiterated the need to act tough in claiming ownership of the Spratlys Islands and defined tough actions needed to support our claims. In the face of Chinese imperialism in the West Philippine Sea, this administration has stood its ground and found its voice without stoking so much tension. Another sought after post talked about Lady Gaga's concert in Manila (Medieval Voices) and this author's criticism of various religious groups who sought to derail the event through mass protest.

From June to October, my posts have become rare once more, settling for only one or two posts a month due to adjustments with this new job I have and a relationship which I finally closed and sealed with finality. Mostly, I talked about topics close to my heart such as teaching (Nobody Likes a Terror Teacher), language (Mother Tongue and the Case of Taglish), and my visit to the Manila International Book Fair. Only when Jessie Robredo tragically died in a plane crash in Masbate (Robredo: The Magsaysay of Our Time) or when cyberspace went berserk after the passage of the Anti-CyberCrime Law (Caught in a Web of Crime and Rights) did I make any posts of national concern.

Many thought the end of the world would happen tomorrow, December 21. For me, it ended on November 19 when I found out that my ex-girlfriend had replaced me in just a span of 5 months. But just as the Mayans predicted, it wasn't an ending in the literal sense but rather a change in consciousness. I was single again and with a renewed consciousness in life, love, and relationships which manifested in my posts such as The Perfect Bow, Imagined Relationships, and The Incredible Lightness of Singularity. It was also at this point in time that I made the crucial decision to reveal to you, my readers, my true identity. Hence, a blog which began as a mere social commentary on Filipino current events and issues had also become a gateway to the personal life of this writer. Am I worried of the impression my readers now have of me? I cared less about this question.

As the world approached its purported end date, I made three posts on three topics which I truly enjoyed writing about. The first is on the implications of the US elections to Filipino society. In this blog, we've seen a lot of implications being explored upon and I hope to explore more of these in the coming year (if the world does not end tomorrow). Another post is my review of John Green's “Paper Towns”, an awesome book about the life and love of a geek (I guess all John Green books are). Being single gave me the luxury of reading more books and I'm in my third John Green book already which I plan to review and write about this month. Lastly, my post on Manny Pacquiao's recent loss to Juan Manuel Marquez (Even The Best Fall Down). It sort of epitomizes the entire experience I had this year, how despite my talent and intellect, I had my share of pitfalls too relationship and work-wise (A Long Awaited Call).

And so despite what seemingly felt like the end of the world, here we are still breathing, writing, and trying to be strong and wiser in between. I might have been too dramatic for everyone's comfort so pardon me, my dear readers. Just like me, I'm sure you've picked up lessons in my ramblings and musings this year. In every catastrophe, whether actual or imagined, there are lessons worth looking into and applying. I came out of the wilderness a changed (if not a better) person. I hope you can say the same for yourself, dear reader.

As the year comes to a close, I ask that you keep up with me and my adventures just like Dory in Finding Nemo. In both the virtual and real world, nobody wants to be lonely; and so I ask that we interact even more through this blog. I promise to keep on enriching your minds with unique and better posts, and share with you relevant experiences we can all learn from. Let 2013 be the start of something new, better, colorful, vibrant, and everything nice for this blog and its readers!

Happy 2^nd Anniversary, THE SOCIAL SCIENTIST!

IMAGINED RELATIONSHIPS

Relationships start from that magical spark. Most people call it love at first sight; others, being struck by Cupid’s arrow. Once we become captives of this spark, the imagination begins to play. For the first time in years, you see your future in clear view. You see times spent in parks and beaches, holding hands and building sand castles. You picture trips to some far-off destination, exploring the sights and exploring each other. Sooner or later, you develop a mind photo of a family together, with perhaps two children in a house on a hill. It is the pursuit of this imagination that leads lovers to go on a pursuit of true love. It is the pursuit of this imagination that encourages two people seated on a bench to sit beside each other, to share an embrace, a kiss, and eventually, goodbyes.

I've never imagined it to end this way. In fact, I never saw it coming until a thorough afterthought of the signs for months later. I would like to think it is my fault that the imagined relationship we had eventually faded to oblivion. But it takes two to tango and thus, I am more convinced it was more of our individual differences, flaws, misgivings, and unfounded assumptions that brought us to a demise. These cracks in the imagination are what led her (and sooner or later, me) to pursue a different imagination of a relationship. Perhaps, one with less bickering and more communication. With someone who pays a listening ear regardless of our own myopic ideas and selfish talk.

So here I am, imagining once more what the future has for me. Chronicling a love foretold. I don’t wish for the next one be a real-life fairy tale or something out of a Nicholas Sparks novel. I just want it to be real—the love, care, understanding, even the few moments of anguish that comes in every romance. Again, there will be poetry, perhaps short stories, even books written for this prophesied woman. There will be walks with her, barefoot, on foreign coasts and romantic dates in never-before-heard-of restaurants. We will make love like we've never made love before. We will fight like children over a game of Scrabble, or missing out on monthsarries. But we’ll always love each other no matter what caveat God puts along our way.

For it is in these worst case scenarios that we prove if someone is really worth staying with. I’d want her to be strong and committed if ever I’ve become Will Smith in “Pursuit of Happyness”, sharing the pursuit with me instead of doing what Thandie Newton did in the film. I want to be loved like Hugh Jackman in “Real Steel”, who despite his many wrong turns and disappointments, Evangeline Lilly never gave up hope on him. I’d stick around for her in sickness and in health, just like Jake Gyllenhaal in “Love and Other Drugs”. She’d do the same for me like Jennifer Connelly in “A Beautiful Mind”. We will search for each other like John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale in “Serendipity”, or be best friends-turned-lovers like Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan in “When Harry Met Sally”. We will grow old together like Noah and Allie in “The Notebook”.

But for imagined relationships to become real life, both lovers must be courageous, strong, and determined to overcome the odds, even those made by themselves. Stuff like pride, selfishness, and envy. For while we think love is supposed to make us strong, it does not. It’s a sickness, meant to make us weak. But if we are already strong even before the imagination comes to life, before the weakness sets in, we can weather hail or storm hand-in-hand and by being the strength to each other.

To you, my imagined relationship, the woman meant for me. I love you.

HAPPY 1st ANNIVERSARY!!!

A year ago, December 20, 2010, The Social Scientist first went online.

I could barely remember the specific circumstances which led me to start this blog. All I know is that all of a sudden, I have a huge surplus of time and an oozing energy to write. I wanted to write about the implications of every major issue confronting Filipino society at this day and age. Thus, our journey through 40 posts in a year started.

We started writing at the opportune moment: the Arab Spring was just starting in Tunisia and would soon spread around the globe, Hubert Webb and the rest of the accused in the Vizconde Massacre case were acquitted by the Corona Court, and the next generation Philippine currency has just been released by the BSP. Our first post dealt with Filipino society's reaction to the purported flaws in its design and implications of our society's reaction.

Since then, we've covered many of the major events which occurred throughout 2011, not only here in The Social Scientist but also in its sister blog, Pilipinas 360. We wrote a feature on the dawn of the 24-hour all news channels in the Philippines and gave live blog updates on the March 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami and the succeeding nuclear disaster it brought. We delved into the implications of the Egyptian and Libyan Uprising to Filipino society, as well as, linked to the Filipino consciousness the death of Osama bin Laden, the Royal Wedding and the beatification of Pope John Paul II. We were part of commemorating Dr. Jose Rizal's 150th birth anniversary, and reacted to recent actions of the Aquino administrations against the corrupt practice of the previous regime and its tentacles. Morever, we gave an in-depth look at the status of the Philippine Navy, our mental health, the education sector and even our penchant for pang-ookray.

With these posts, we were able to do something which other bloggers have not been doing -- to link the Filipino psyche and behavior to major political and socio-economic issues every Filipino is experiencing. Our posts made sense of the whys behind every major Filipino reaction to what's happening in the world today. It led us to a better understanding of our society -- its good points and great flaws -- its humanity! We delivered this consciousness to reach even other platforms within the blogosphere, by publishing our entries in other blog sites such as Definitely Filipino and Networked Blogs, and by creating our own Facebook page, so that more people can make sense of our content.

There is no other way than this. While we could have done it better, of course, the odds are not always in our favor. There were times that we cannot post for more than a month, and there are times that we are not being read, but in the end, there is no other way that this. If given a chance to relive this experience, we would have done the same thing. Expect us to make things even better in this coming year.

We would like to thank all our readers throughout a year of joining us through our journey inside the Filipino consciousness, to fellow bloggers who shared their ideas and expertise with us, to our friends and loved ones who always encouraged us to keep on writing despite the competitive nature of blogging. We would not have made it this big without you. We owe our existence to your constant demand for what we write.

This is not the end -- this is just the beginning of an even wonderful saga. There are still uncharted waters to sail through. While we wait for good winds to bring us there, let us hold hands and brace ourselves, for the journey is about to get more exciting.

Happy 1st Anniversary THE SOCIAL SCIENTIST!

Resolutions: Why We Make and Break Them

Resolutions. We often make them as each year comes to a close. But most of the time we break them too.

I bet you can still remember the countless activities you decided to quit or avoid, or the activities that you made a firm conviction to start doing or uphold. Maybe you decided to quit smoking and start daily exercise. Perhaps you promised to spend more time with family, and start saving up for a grand vacation with the family. The classic one is to reduce the fat by starting a healthy diet.

I bet you can also remember the countless of reasons that went through your mind for breaking your promise.

Why do we continue to make resolutions despite our constant habit of breaking them?