STOP SELLING SIX OF YOUR YEARS

Here I am again, about to share you something. It kind of caught my attention because I did experienced it personally, heard the words with my very own two ears and saw the facial expressions and gestures of the persons involved.

This happened today, November 9th 2016 when I was traveling back to our office. I came from a government agency to deliver some documents associated with my current job function. I was riding a tricycle which is a common mode of transportation here in General Santos City, Philippines, besides myself there are four other passengers at the back portion of the tricycle cab which leaves one more vacant seat in front beside me.

From time to time (almost every corner, that's what I mean) the driver pulls to a stop and then shouts the name of the place of our destination to solicit a passenger to fill the unoccupied seat. After nearly fifteen minutes of stopping and shouting of the driver, one of the passengers at the back, an old woman who seems to have impatient because of the amount of time we are losing and she looks really like in a haste got angry and called the attention of the driver.

Woman: you're going to fast, slow down a bit. No one is in a hurry (feel that sarcasm? I did).

Almost instantly, I can feel the tension inside the tricycle. To this, the driver replied.

Driver: sorry Ma'am but it’s already twelve fifteen and I barely have enough earnings to cover the boundary, I am just renting this tricycle cab and I have trying to dodge the traffic authorities because this unit doesn't have a registration.

Woman: That's good, that's what you get for voting Mr. R, might as well vote him again next election.

And that's it, just like that and their conversation turned for the worst and delved into politics. Apparently the driver got offended by the woman's remark, he fell silent for a bit while the woman kept of making malicious remarks against the local government officials of the city.

Woman: For our Mayor so loved the residents of this city that he will ultimately ban all tricycles all over the city and replace it with multi-cabs (another yet not very common mode of transportation compared to tricycle) which in all honesty is his own business, he owns most of the multi-cabs here and he is only pursuing his own selfish interest in proposing this policy. They said they are willing to extend financial help to the will be displaced drivers in a form of loan for them to be able to have their own multi-cabs, but imagine! A four hundred thousand pesos loan?, A driver in his twenties will have to work all day and all night if he wants to fully pay that kind of debt before his sixtieth, that's pure injustice and unlikely for a millionaire mayor like him.

That's the kind of traffic we are talking about, just look at all those tricycles.

Will that address the problem of traffic in this city? Yes! It can help decongest the heavy traffic in main thoroughfares which one of the reasons why our local economy is not booming as it should. But in doing so, did they consider the living of the tricycle drivers that will be displaced? The answer is No! They are even capitalizing on it to satisfy their greed for money. The Lord might not forgive me, but when they die as everybody would all their treasures and material wealth will be left behind and they will not be able to bring to wherever they will be after that. I'll say this again, that's your KARMA for voting him.

The woman just won't stop, the things she is saying have some grains of truth in it but she can't seem to have enough of it when finally the driver felt the need to at least to present his case.

Driver: I admit, I voted for him as most of the tricycle drivers in this city have. In fact, I can safely assume that it is the driver's votes that seated him in his office. Why? Because we believed in the things that he said, during the campaign period in one of his speeches to which I was given the “opportunity” to audience he said that he will not ban the tricycles in the city, not even the ones without registration provided that the driver is properly documented and a resident of GenSan, (some drivers come from nearby Municipalities who are grabbing the opportunity of the volume of public commuters in the city) and believed that. I guess that is our only fault, we took his words for it and now we feel like we've been betrayed and he doesn't really all that from the beginning.

If you think that we don't hate them for that, you are wrong Ma'am. Right now all of the drivers in this are all almost excited for the next election, we are a big part of why he is sitting comfortably in his office right now but we also have the power to unseat him. He is a liar and we fell for it, it almost seems like we sold six years of our lives for a meager amount of money he gave us during the election period and his flowery speeches.

This is the situation in almost every intersection

Woman: Yes! But you will not be able to do that until, like you said six years from now. Most of the likes of you did not even finish high school which means most of you have little to no understanding of the serious factors of governance, that's the problem. You got easily swayed by his money and mouth which couldn't have happened if you only knew.

The driver, against somewhat offended turned to face the woman, I swear I actually thought and saw his expressions changing and about to glare and grab the woman by her hair. Fortunately, it did not happen, he turned again and maintained his eyes on the road while saying.

Driver: We will not sell our votes again. We will not sell our and our children's future again. It may still be a long time until the next election, we will still accept the money he is bribing us but never again will I ever vote for that person.

Woman: Pffft!

Luckily, the tricycle already reached my destination and told the driver to drop me off by the gates of our company complex. I can't help but think back to the conversation I just heard and witnessed, the funny thing is not the conversation itself, but the fact that I already witnessed and heard that kind of conversation three years ago in this same city, though different personas involved.

Vote buying is an important symptom of corruption which the Philippines (not just General Santos City) is notorious for, it only goes to show how deplorable the system of our government is and how uneducated the voters are. It is so saddening the my country is in a situation like this, but I can see change is already coming and some can already be felt by the public because of the current national government's effort at combating corruption and criminality, that's why I am still hopeful.

As for the problem of traffic, measures should be taken really but also the well being of the person that will be affected by the shift in policy shall be given optimum consideration. The transition is always the hardest but with the right intervention and unselfish, honest to goodness alleviation programs it will proceed.

We should all learn, educate ourselves because ignorance is not a valid excuse for our wrong choices, be wise and think ahead (not just six years ahead but a lifetime ahead). Consider your and your children's future, stop selling SIX OF YOUR YEARS, STOP SELLING YOUR VOTE.

THE PACQUIAO EFFECT

Just this afternoon, after I got home from the supermarket purchasing the supplies needed for our company's feeding program and after I have carefully divided and distributed the goods to the five clusters that we are serving.

I got all the things that I need ready for the ride as I will be transporting, I was standing by the side of the road waiting for about twenty minutes already and not a single tricycle passed by. Maybe because I was tired from queuing at the market or maybe because of the blaring sun and I forgot to bring even my sunglasses, I got a bit angry and started cursing inside of my head. Another worry for me is the goods that I am to deliver, I got several kilos of rice, different kinds of ingredients and condiments, and kilos of fresh chicken breast (we are cooking Arroz Caldo, a Filipino style porridge, for the coming week). The chicken is what I'm worried about, I just bought it and its still ice cold but it still run the risk of getting spoiled because of the heat.

A few more minutes and Aha!, my cursing is answered as “miraculously” (as if I believe in miracles) I saw a habal-habal approaching. I gather all my strength and courage and stepped in the middle of the road in an effort to block his way and give him no other choice but to stop and give me a ride (I'm desperate, will not take no for an answer). Luckily the driver obliged, hit the break and engaged into a full stop inches away from where I am standing, he looked me in the eye and I can see behind his motorcycle helmet that he is angry. He then asked me in a stern voice,

Driver: Unsa imong poblema bay? (What is your problem brother?)

Me: Kinahanglan lang nako ni mahatod ya, tabangi ko (I just need to get this delivered Elder Brother, please help me) while pointing to my goods.

Driver: Asa diay ka? (Where are you going?)

Me: Uhaw ra ya, sa Labos street (I'm going to Uhaw, in Labos St.)

Driver: Tara! (Let's go!)

So I loaded the supplies and off we go.

After a little while, the driver tried to have some chat, He asked me again why I need to stand in the middle of the road to block him. I tried to explain the need for urgency and my unreasonable actions, to which he just nodded and there further said,

Driver: Ambi nako magtan-aw ra kag Pacquiao (I thought you are just going to watch Pacquiao's match)

And then instantly it all made sense to me, haha! That's why the whole of General Santos City seemed like a ghost town since the early morning, Manny Pacquiao has a fight and I totally forgot it. That's why the queuing in the mall is not a long as it usually is and why there's hardly any vehicle traversing the highways.

Oh my! That explains everything, I really need to have a television in my room soon” I thought to myself and I felt my lips formed into a small smile.

It has been a Filipino custom since the day that Manny debuted in the international ring that whenever he has a fight the whole of General Santos City (others say the whole of Philippines) seems to freeze in time. Small, local businesses/enterprises close early, traffic drops from outrageously heavy to manageable in cities which entails lower road rage and vehicular related accidents of which Philippine is notorious. Even crime rates (both organized and petty) drops to, again, “miraculous” levels.

I have heard the Mandela Effect, Multiverse Effect and Parallel Reality Effect, I think I can consider this phenomenon in the Philippines as the Pacquiao Effect (Although the “Effects” I mentioned have no relation or similarity in premise and principle whatsoever with my just now thought about “Effect”). Most of the attributes of this effect is positive, as I have already mentioned on the preceding paragraph and not to mention the re-awakening of Nationalism (Patriotism?) of all Filipinos whenever Pacquiao has a fight, it exudes an atmosphere of unity and cohesion among Filipinos.

Believe it or not, Pacquiao's fights have been instrumental to solving some of the basic issues in the communities, at least as I observed here in our locality. Enemies forgave each other, broken families reunited, and relationships salvage just because or after watching his fight together, sounds funny? But it's true. His fights are like early Christmas and New Year celebrations where people gather together and have a laugh. It's an occasion where people become merry and giving, caring and forgiving. Sounds funny again? But it's true, again.

I don't know what other nationalities will say about this but the kind of Pacquiao is nothing new. There are other icons in world history that became unifying symbols of their respective nations. The Filipino people should be very thankful to Pacquiao for this, as I know most are except for some people who are trying to discredit him by mixing his deeds with his political policy allegiance (which is not that so bad at all).

I was stirred away from my momentary self thought when I heard the driver saying,

Driver: Asa ta mo agi bay? (What route are we going to take brother?)

And I realized that we are already on the intersection of Uhaw proper, I told him to take a left as I was still trailing away from my thinking.

When I got back to my apartment after the delivery was made, my landlady told me by shouting from the other side of the fence that Pacquiao won but unfortunately the other Filipino contender, Nonito Donaire did not have the same luck. I proceeded to my room and sat down in front of the window thinking.

It is a good thing Pacquiao happened to the Philippines, except maybe for some people who have important transactions during his fights (Like me earlier, haha) he really gives the Filipino that pride which is also connected to some very positive things. I know he already said that he is retiring a few times before this most recent match, that's why some people are bashing him. But hey, who doesn't do that? There's just this something in our lives that we will never be able to take away from ourselves, and in his case boxing is just in his blood and I don't see him neglecting his passion any time soon. Also, he's one of the reasons why Philippines got noticed and recognized again and have put the country in the world map, he truly is deserving of the title “Pambansang Kamao” (National Fist).

The Philippines needs more of the likes of Pacquiao, maybe not in boxing but Filipinos that will give the nation the reason to unite.

Thank you Manny for this “Pacquiao Effect”.

WHO ISN'T TIRED?

It’s ten in the evening; I am sitting in front of my computer screen composing the very words you are reading. I am thinking of writing something inspirational and positive to include in my brightworldeffort.blogspot.com blog.

Ideas are hard to come by at times, especially when you are really tired after a full day of rigid office work. I am actually physically and mentally exhausted right now. My arms and legs aches from going to and from numerous division offices for most of the day, my wrist and fingers felt heavy and non-cooperating from all the memos, letters and contracts I have worked on this morning, my jaws and mouth hurts from talking to a lot of person personally or over the phone whether trying to convince them of something and or just plainly feeding them the information that I have and my head keeps pulsating which feels like it is about to explode.

I will say again, I AM TIRED! But that does not necessarily mean I am not happy. I love my job, I love the company that I work for and I love the people and the diversified culture in my work place.

They say that money is the greatest motivation in this life, but I will tell you that I am motivated not because of my salary (which is not very much) but rather I am motivated because I love what I am doing. How about the pains and struggles and the exhaustion? Other people say that “when you love what you're doing you will never get tired” which makes me look like a hypocrite right? Well that's just impossible, because when you exert effort however minimal you are bound to feel the toll of your exertion. You are working and working is tiring while being happy at what you do is a whole new issue.

I take exhaustion from my job functions as evidence that I am actually performing, getting things done and in way to please my boss and myself. Challenges in the workplace are never ending, things will not go your way all the time and somehow your patience, resiliency and commitment will be tested.

I love exhaustion originating from conquering and solving challenges, because every one of them presents another opportunity for me. It helps me to cross my boundaries and explore beyond what I thought to be the limits of my capacity. Just imagine the satisfying feeling of hitting a deadline dead on when everybody else doubts its possibility, convincing another person to do or not to do something when he or she would otherwise not have listened. I mean, at the end of the day you will surely be dazed and tired, but the fact that you DID IT and that almost gives you more than what so little you lost in the process.

Another thing that I would like to talk about is multi-tasking. I can still remember a previous colleague who resigned from work just because she doesn't want to perform functions not “stipulated” in her job description, complaining that it is an abuse on the part of the company and that she's earning too little for so much work. I on the other hand take it differently, doing something that is not your prescribed function for me is a privilege, you ask why? It's about learning new things and pushing you to the limit. And, why do you think your boss would let you do or tasked you to do something that is basically not your job? The amount of trust and confidence does not flatter you? They or the company is letting you do it because they saw your potential and they wanted to test you and greater things are already in their mind (I positively think so). So complaining and quitting automatically disqualifies you and a disappointment for them.

But I am not saying that you should never refuse for you should also know when to say “pass, I got my plates full”, and there are proper ways of doing it. All I wanted to say is that:

·When you are tired because of work it means you are doing your job well;

·When you are tired but still manages to smile at the end of the day it means you love your job;

·Don't veer from “opportunities” that sometimes present or disguise themselves as “demanded extra effort”;

·But you should also know how to manage you functions so as not to disappoint, say “PASS”; and lastly

·Your extra effort may not always be directly proportionate with what you earn but you are bound learn so much more.






It took me four long and agonizing years to finally find and settle on a job that I know suits my personality and work ethics, my wants and happiness and the kind of impact I wanted to serve. During those four years of informal and underemployment I learned that it is better to be tired than to be hungry. We all have to be tired because of the bills and rent to pay, occasional luxuries and pampering, family and future, it’s all a matter of choice whether how and what you want to be tired of and keep being cheerful. Over thinking can sometimes ruin what lies ahead of you (almost all the time, beautiful things) by surrendering so early because you’re afraid of getting tired.

Do the things that you love and love the things that you do. That is the secret for being tired but happy.

I will leave this up to you all, I can be wrong but I will never know until you say so.

Please do enlighten me, but for now I am going to bed because tomorrow is another tiring day. Stay positive guys and good night.

BTW. The images aren't mine, so credits to whoever owns them.

THERE'S STILL THE OTHER ARM

Over the course of three days the previous week I was able to type and encode more or less ten thousand words and handwritten up to more or less the same number of words.

It's been a very busy week last week but I was able to survive, and I am still surviving until now. But not without a number of mishaps here and there that sometimes adds to the frustrations of the tasks at hand. I got my plates full enough to the point where I don't even have the time to follow my daily routine of running, and sometimes I even forget to take my daily dose of my caffeine which further hinders my ability to perform more effectively for the rest of the day.

But let's go back to writing and encoding, this activity is not new to me, I am a paper pusher and I am expected to do all sorts of paper work every day all day from Mondays through Saturdays. But the amount of paper work and other reportorial mode of verification on my section just got into a new high these past few weeks that it’s already taking its toll on my body.

Tuesday, October 27, 2016, I felt this numbing pain on the joints of my fingers in my right hand. I thought I was just having cramps because of the over exertion and over extension of my fingers and hands when encoding on my office desktop and handwriting, I relaxed it a bit and got down stairs to the company cafeteria/store to buy instant coffee on the assumption that it will just go away after a brief rest. I drank almost two cups of coffee and left the third one to become stale because at that time I'm already finding it hard to grab anything without the assistance of my left hand.

The fast recovery that I was hoping soon vanished as the numbness turned into an excruciating pain that starts from the very point of every single finger on the right hands. It also felt like it is sending a surge of painful impulse to my entire arm up to my very back. I don't know if I just failed to notice it before but I saw that a large round shaped, blackish protrusion already developed on the joints that connect my hands to my arm, the part where I usually settle the pressure of the weight of m hands whenever I am writing or holding the mouse when encoding.

After a while the pain lessened but there is a noticeable lump on my wrist which told me that the situation is quite serious. I was thinking about going in to our company clinic but I go distracted by the myriad of paper works again and I ultimately forgot about it.

We have this personnel recreation activity which forms part of our company's family welfare initiative as spearheaded by the family welfare committee of which I am one of the officers. All company employees are divided into group who participates in three different sporting events every afternoon after work hours. These activities will culminate this coming month of December at our company's Christmas party.

Unluckily for me, our team has a scheduled volley ball match that afternoon against another team which is our greatest adversary on the competition. As much as I want to rest my hands given my present state, I really don't want to be the reason why our team will be beaten by the same team twice and this time without putting a fight.

I gave it my all! I saved so many balls and even managed to spike a few during the match. We won the game, by my hands got swollen right after that I preferred not to wait for the company bus anymore. The moment I got into my room I hastily applied cold compress to the swollen part of my wrist in hopes subduing the swelling and ease the pain that I am feeling. After that I also bandage my full right arm the best of my knowledge.

I wasn't able to get any sleep at all the whole night, there are that the pain got so unbearable that I unintentionally let out a loud moan and constricted relentlessly on my bed. I took some pain reliever medicines to no avail, which finally left me resorting to drinking I can't really remember now how many shots of local rum. It kind of worsened the situation as the pain now never seems to stop and is getting more agonizing by the second and the next thing I know it’s already seven o'clock in the morning.

I got out of bed with eye bags as big as a five peso coin in both eyes as a result of the sleepless and painful night. I bathe hastily and drank a cup of coffee and immediately commuted for work. When I got into the office, I went directly to the clinic to consult the matter with the nurses and schedule a check up with our physician. Maybe it’s too early because I waited for another twenty minutes before the first nurse timed in.

I showed him my arm which he automatically assessed; he unfastened my bandaging while saying that I did it improperly by tightening it so much. He said that he will schedule me for a check up with the doctor but meanwhile he will apply some kind of ointment and re-wrapped my arm in a fresh set of bandage, this time properly.

Well, life must go on and I have to get back to my responsibilities waiting for me in my table. It is very hard really to write, to type and to hold onto anything and I wasn't able to do a lot. I'd have to ask my staff every time that I need something which translates to a very low output. Another problem is I can't and I don't know how to affix my signature using my left hand which is a very big factors as it's bound to affect the function of the section as a whole given that some paper works will be left unsigned and therefore will be delayed, I am also finding it very difficult to eat that during lunch I lost my appetite during the first two spoons of my favorite dish.

At that very moment I talked to myself, I told myself that this can't go on and I will have to do something to address this issue. I went straight back to my desk, grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil and started scrawling unrecognizable lines and shapes. I focused hard and after a while I managed to write my full name more clearly.

I found a new sense of hope, thinking I can make it work and I will not be without value until the full recuperation of my hands. I set up my mouse and key board to give me more comfort in typing using the fingers of my left hand and I did it.

The day ended miraculously for me, the output increased but still not the same as I would if I can use my right hand but at least I was able to sign some papers and finished some encoding. I am very happy that I was able to turn something bad that happened into something that I can consider to be a new experience, I got to practice my left hand and it turns out I can really do it if only given some more time to practice.

When I got back to my room that night I realized that what happened is not so but, actually I made something out of it and I'm proud of myself.

I thought to myself, and internalized. I then came up with the following conclusions:

·Challenges and hardship are a main stay of life. It's nothing new, move on and be productive;

·Challenges are not too bad, if we'd only not surrender too soon we might be able to get something good out of it;

·If you will always berate about the difficulty of your situation, you will achieve nothing. Try to think and be resourceful; and finally,

·The world will not stop for you, you got to keep up.

Life sometimes is only a matter of perspective, but it will always help to be positive. Try to see things in a brighter light and it will resonate through your personality and you will be encouraged to act positively. Utilize your resources and capitalize on your weaknesses and difficulties and turn them into assets and strategies.

I am not saying that everyone have to go through the same thing that happened to me to be able to realize, it is very painful I assure you but it’s not the only way to see it that way. Luckily for me that there was a long holiday that followed after that that gave my hands enough rest to recuperate, I also admit that some of the thing I've done are wrong why my situation elevated to an almost disastrous illness.

I am still finding it hard to use my hands as of this moment, that's why it took me almost 3 hours to write this but just like before I did it.

Be positive, and the world will be brighter for you.