Kababayan Ko Yan....

This story was lifted from another blog. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Sa mga hindi ba nababasa si Mario Dimayuga, enjoy it. Sa nakakakilala sa kanya - enjoy ninyo siya ulit.

Bill Gates organized an enormous session to recruit a new chairman for Microsoft Europe.
5000 candidates assembled in a large room.
One candidate was MARIO DIMAYUGA.
Bill Gates: "Thank you for coming. We'll do this by process of elimination to speed up the process. Those who do not know JAVA may leave."
2,000 people left the room.
MARIO said to himself, "Naku! I do not know JAVA but I have nothing to lose if I stay. I'll give it a try."
Bill Gates: "Candidates with no experience managing more than 1000 employees may leave."
2000 people left the room.
Mario said to himself, "Lagot! I never managed anybody but myself but I'm staying. What could happen to me?"
Bill Gates: "Candidates without management diplomas may leave."
500 people left the room.
Mario said to himself, "Asus! I never even graduated, but what have I got to lose?"
So he stayed.
Lastly, Bill Gates asked candidates who did not speak Serbo-Croat to leave.
498 people left the room.
Mario says to himself, "Patay! Ano yon??? But I've gotten this far, I have to stay on."
So he stayed and found himself standing with only one other candidate in the room. Everyone else had eliminated themselves.
Bill Gates joined both candidates and said: "Apparently you two are the only candidates with terrific management skills speaking Serbo-Croat, so I'd now like to hear you converse in that language."
Calmly, Mario turned to the other candidate and said, "Kumusta ka, pare ko"
Without batting an eyelash, the other candidate replied, "Mabuti naman. Ikaw?

Sa Mga Gustong Makaalala...

Tiya Dely.mp3 -

Before the advent of television, the radio was the king. Alas tres ng hapon, maalala ko si Ate Volet, my very loyal yaya, listening to this radio station habang namamalantsa. Napakarami sigurong sawing palad ang natulungan ni Tiya Dely via her radio advices.
She was an icon every listener looked up to. She had all the answers and solutions to every problem. Walang hindi pwedeng malutas - sabi niya.
She passed on, if I am not mistaken, last years old. So many years of services - so many wisdom imparted.

Ang Inyong Lingkod.......

Ano ang Tinatawag Na Stay - IN noong 70s

How was the social life then nang bumaba ang proklamasyon ng 1081 aka Martial Law? CURFEW!!! Lahat ng tao ay dapat nasa loob ng bahay pagpatak ng 12:00 ng hatinggabi. Pag ikaw ay inabutan ng curfew sa daan dadamputin ka ng mga may kapangyarihan at dadalhin sa Crame. Marami ang ipagagawa sa iyo; isa na ang pagtatabas ng damo sa loob ng kampo.
So how was the social life then? Tuloy pa rin ang mga parties ngunit nauso ang tinatawag na stay-in.
Alam nating lahat na ang party ay umiinit pa lang ng bandang 10:00 ng gabi. Nauumpisahan pa lang patugtugin ang O Ye Como Va ng Santana at hindi pa umaabot sa McArthur's Park ang sweet songs. Yong mga gwapo ay nagsisidatingan pa lamang. Who would want to miss the "happening" then?
Kaya nauso ang "stay-in". People will stay until the curfew is lifted at around 3:00 or 4:00 am. Tuloy-tuloy ang sayawan hanggang madaling araw. Unfortunately Papa and Mama never allowed us to "stay-in". The rule of the house: we have to be at the house gate at the latest 11:59 PM para pagbuksan ng pinto ni Papa. Otherwise, hindi kami papayagan maki-pagparty.
The streets of Manila were very barren on those hours. Walang maglalakas loob na gumala sa kalsada ng ganoong oras for the fine was too steep. Wala ring mag-babalot na nagtitinda sa kalye. Hindi ko na maalala kung anong oras ang last full show ng sinehan. Remember ang last full show ay 9:00PM kung saan kakantahin ang "Bayang Magiliw"?
Sabi ng mga statisticians ng NEDA the crime rate was down when the curfew was imposed. Sabi ng simbahan Katoliko, nagkaroon daw ng positibong epekto ang curfew for the people stayed home and the oneness of the family was revived.
Ewan ko - basta ang alam ko buhay na buhay ang mga disco houses at party goers noon dahil talagang inuumaga ang mga happenings.

Circa 70s ulit

Sinisipag akong mag-blog ngayong umaga in the midst of labada and linis ( labadami - labango ). Sinisipag din akong mag-Tagalog for a change- a tribute to FrancisMagalona who just passed away (hindi kami magkasing-edad pero magkasing vibes ika nga. His sister Teresita or Popeye sa mga Maryknollers was a close schoolmate).
Noong panahon ng 70s ( how long was that actually ) ang mga taga-Maryknoll, Assumption, Teresiana (now Poveda) & St. Paul's ay may pa-aere na burgis. That sets them apart nga kasi in a not so nice way. There was a different manner the colloquial language was spoken. Thus the birth of the "kadiri to death" way of talking.
"Why naman, we're not going to make pasyal?" Yong mga ganoong tema ba. I plead guilty to that. If any of you is familiar with the "HotDog" group of the OPM days, these guys have a song Si Annie Batungbakal. /span>
Very typical of that era. Dennis ( I forgot his last name) captured the 70s era together with Rico Puno's Memories (namamasyal pa sa Luneta) fame.
The 70s have carved out a very unique niche culturally and politically. Siguro naging very innovative ang mga Pilipino dahil na rin sa tulak na gobyerno (naks - may nagawa pa lang mabuti ang martial law). One specific example would be the introduction of OPM - original Pilipino Music. Radio stations then were required to play at least one OPM per hour. Roll out the carpet for the likes of Heber Bartolome, Florante and the Apo Hiking Society.

The Way We Were (Ala-ala sa Luneta} - Rico J. Puno

Circa70s

Maraming pwedeng isulat tungkol sa 70s. Sa katulad kong dumaan sa kainitan ng mga taong ito - masarap balikan ang mga magaganda, kalulunos-lunos (talagang Pilipino!!!!),nakakatindig balahibo at masasayang pinagdaanan.
Aside from McCoy and wife together with their children, mas marami pang mga interesting tao ang umikot sa mundo ng Pilipinas noon. Susubukan kong isalaysay sa inyo ang aking pwedeng maalala.
Pagka-graduate ko ng High School ay pinalad akong makapasok ng UP; 73-00725- that was my student number then. Kung baga, that was my SS# sa buong buhay ko sa UP. Nakakatawa pero that number stuck in my cerebral cortex at mukhang hindi ko makakalimutan.
Ang bungad papasok sa UP ay minamanmanan ng batas militar at lahat ng papasok sa compound ay kailangang may sticker o di kaya dadaan sa kanilang masusing pag check ng gamit.
Mama used to drive the volkswagen beetle to bring me to school before she goes to work at the National Orthopedic Hospital at Banawe Quezon City. Kung medyo mabagal bagal akong kumilos sa umaga ako'y kanyang iiwanan at mapipilitan akong sasakay ng JD bus- OO- yong pula na bus at naka-uniporme pa yong mga konductora.
AAkyat pa rin yong mga militar sa bus pag ito'y nasa bungad na ng UP. No one dare say anything that can court their ire or sa stockade ang bagsak mo.
Nagtataka ako noon kung bakit karamihan o baka silang lahat ng mga militar ay ilokano. Dapat nakipagkaibigan ako sa kanila - I speak the language of Ilokano. However I do not speak their ideology.
The Arts and Sciences building was also riddled with Military personnel. Nag-aantay na lang yang mga iyan ng dadamputin. During those times, marami nga ang dinampot. Hindi ko masabi kung saan dinala. The buzz word then was DG - discussion group. Ito baga yong mga informal teach-in na ginagawa sa mga bakanteng classroom, sa cafeteria o kahit na anong lugar na maaari mag-si-upo ang ilang interesado at mag-usap-usap o mag-palitan ng kuro-kuro.
In quiet times sa UP ang mga fraternity rumbles ang commercial breaks ng mga estudyante (read: reason na walang klase dahil nagbabatuhan ang mga bad frat boys sa AS building). In those military times, ang madalas manghinto ng klase ay ang mga rally.
Naging normal na takbuhin ng buhay sa UP ang mga rally. Masalimuot ang daigdig noon lalo na kung ang estudyante ay naghahabol ng graduation o mataas-taas na grado. One is torn between one's responsibility of staying in school at the same time with one's priority then as a young Pilipino student.
Mapusok ang mga kabataan noon - walang takot. I stayed in Diliman for two years after which I was at UP PGH at the Padre Faura complex. Hindi kasing init politically sa Padre Faura compared to the Diliman community. Dala siguro ng pressure ng pag-aaral that we all buckled down para harapin ang aming mga libro at cadavers.
On a lighter note - diba sabi nila ang mga UP ay scholar ng bayan? Nasabi yan dahil ang aming tuition fee ay kalakihan subsidized by the government. Malaki na ang 250 pesos na babayaran ko sa isang semestre. Aside of course ng ilang mga scholarships na pwede ma-avail. Isa na rito ang NSDB scholarship - NaSaDaddyAngBayad.
We were blessed I admit. Babalikan ko kaya yang parte ng buhay ko? In a heartbeat OO. Kaya nga hindi mapuknat-puknat sa isip ko; 73-00725.

Circa70s

Bagong Pagsilang (Hymn of the New Society) - Bagong Lipunan Choral Ensemble, Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra, Felipe Padilla de Leon

1972 - I was a Junior (3rd year High School) at Maryknoll College Katipunan. Marcos was the President then. September 21 1972 - he declared Martial Law. The "new" government wanted a total facelift - a new life and a new lipunan. This song came up which was constantly played to remind each and every Pilipino of the New Philippines. Several slogans came about - one of which was "Sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan, Disiplina Ang Kailangan".
There were anecdotes and stories (telling a lie) that circulated the campus circuit and the Camp Crame District. Ariel Ureta then was a popular good-looking TV personality. Siya yong counterpart ngayon ni Willie Revillame ng Wowowee ( di hamak naman na mas guwapo at may personality si Ariel Ureta). Ang kwento noon, sabi nila - Sabi raw ni Ariel Ureta sa TV,

" Sa Ikauunlad ng Bayan, bisikleta ang Kailangan."

Nagalit ang mga alipores ni General Ver (the most powerful man in the Military then), dinakip si Ariel Ureta at pinagbisikleta sa Camp Crame. Whether this was fact or fiction was never verified.
There were more stories that circulated during this 70's time. I lived those years lalo na noong papasok na ako sa UP - kainitan ng proklamasyon ng Martial Law.

Remember This From Way Back...

This was one of our favorite commercials then. Papa enjoyed this too - so much so that when he was in a very jolly mood ( read: nakainom itti agua de pataranta) he can easily ape the lines of Cisco Oliver: What's dat mann?? Alaska mannnn!!!
Kayang kaya ni Papa yan to Mama's indignation. Mapikon ni Mama since Papa will constantly repeat those lines.
Cisco Oliver was a famous basketball import then. Naabutan ko pa siya.

Worth Listening...

Mayat itti pinagkanta da isso nga ikabil ko idtoy tapno agdengngeg kayo.
They are the University of The Philippines Singing Ambassadors and the title of the song (in case nalipatan yon) is Ti Ayat Ti Maysa A Ubing. Inkayo agtimpla ti kape nga inumen while listening to this song.

Ti Ayat Ti Meysa Nga Ubing (Ilocano Love Song) - University of the Philippines Singing Ambassadors

It's Nature's Way

It's Nature's Way of Telling You... Something's Wrong... It's Nature's Way Of Telling You... In A Song...

Those are the opening lines from a song sung by the group Spirit, song entitled It's Nature's Way. How apt for the experience I had yesterday.
I have to be at work yesterday morning Saturday (urgh). Everything was fine and dandy - it was just cold. I was on my way back home by 10 AM imagining what to cook for lunch. The snow came falling down slowly.



The road was still alright though my speed was slowly coming down. We drivers were making sure we are maintaining adequate distance in case of.
Ahead of me were a couple of inclines I have to manuever. I slowly made my way up. The first hill was easy as pie. As I started on my second climb, my car, at 35 miles per hour, swerved (more than slid ) to the left, of which I slowly corrected, then turned to the right.



This time the turns were getting sharp - more than fishtailing. Remember I was going up the hill? I never made it. I almost hit the guardrail to my right and eventually landed on the ditch - which was the safest thing that could ever happened.
There was no let up with the snow and it was slowly turning into a blizzard. Traffic was thinning out. Jim attempted to come and get me but the traffic southbound to get to me was blocked by a 2 trailers that slid off the road. Traffic northbound was also stopped miles away most probably by the same reason.
I made sure my cellphone was comepletely charged and I tried my best to conserve heat turning on my car heat and motor as needed.
My nerves were getting frazzeled for I have no control of the situation. By this time, after an hour and a half, no cars were passing in both directions. I started to get panicky. My battery just died. I don't have anymore heat inside my car and my emergency lights will not blink anymore.
When everything just seems out of hand, a Missouri Highway Patrol car was slowly making its way up the hill. I got out of the car and flagged him down. He indeed confirmed that roads were blocked. I did not ask which part of the road he came from.


He dropped me off to the nearest convenience store 7 miles away. I stayed there until the tow truck came and Jim finally made it through.