Thursday, April 19, 2007

The Tale of the Flat Nose: By One With Spread Toes

Funny as it is, I see a lot of people being brought to this blog spot all because they searched for 'flat nose' and something like that. I wonder if it is an honest search about a real 'flat nose' or a mere keyword for a site like mine which has the words 'flat nose' in the page title.


Anyway, just to give in to the situation, I would like to share the tale of the flat nose, as narrated to me by one of my 'not so gentlemanly' teachers in the engineering department.


According to him, Filipinos have flat noses because they weren't there when the maker distributed the noses. Filipinos are known for being procrastinators and late-comers. In fact, Filipinos have their own time which is at least 15 minutes later than the actual time coined as the 'Filipino time'. Ask five Filipinos on the street about what time it is and you'll be surprised that no one will have the same time. Why? Filipinos almost always set their watches to a different time customized to fit the time allowance they want to have on a daily basis. Some will move their time thirty minutes early such that when it says 9 o'clock on their watch, the actual time is still 8:30, thus, giving them an extra thirty minutes to sleep, to chat, to eavesdrop and to procrastinate. That is just the kind of life the Filipino is so used to--a very laid back lifestyle. Filipinos are even often represented by 'Juan Tamad' (lazy John) who would choose to rather sleep under the tree and wait for the fruit to fall to the ground than take the courage to pick the fruit from the tree itself.


So the tale went on. One day, God summoned all the blacks, the whites, and the browns, specifically, the 'Pinoys' to come so they can pick up their noses. The noses were all nicely arranged for everyone to pick from, and of course the first ones to come had a wider selection to choose from. The Filipinos received the message on time, but didn't act accordingly. They procrastinated. Meanwhile, the blacks and the whites came on time and were able to try every nose on and picked out whichever nose they wanted. When the Pinoys came everyone else has left, since the sun was already setting down. There were still some nice noses left that were not necessarily flat but they were on the top shelves and the 'Pinoys' being short, height-wise, have no choice but to settle for noses that were within their reach. Sadly, those noses were the ones that fell on the ground and were stepped on by the people who came earlier, thus, they were flat. And since it was already getting dark, the Pinoys just settled for whatever noses they found on the ground. That's how the Filipinos ended up with their flat noses according to the tale.


What about the spread toes? It's basically the result of wearing flip-flops/slippers all the time. We don't wear shoes. It's too hot in the country. It's much comfortable to air out our toes all year long in a tropical country like ours where 100 degrees Fahrenheit is normal temperature.


Do I feel bad that I have a flat nose? Absolutely not. Being able to breathe comfortably is more than I can ask for. Besides, whatever size or shape of nose you have, for as long as it is proportionate to your face, will always look fine and remarkably real on you. So cheer up flat nose!

Saturday, April 14, 2007

One Minute & Sixteen Seconds On the Eighth: Manny Pacquiao Still Reigns Supreme in the Ring

After a cut on the sixth round, one would surmise that perhaps Manny Pacquiao just blew his chance of winning the match against an undefeated contender of Mexican descent, Jorge Iván Solís Pérez. Remember the previous fight that Manny Pacquiao had with Erik Morales when he had a cut from a head bunt? He fought unflinchingly to the finish but the cut itself put him to a great disadvantage thus, rendering his defeat in that match.


Manny Pacquaio, is still and always be the people's champ of the Philippines. He is the only fighter who has the skill and the heart to fight, to win and to unify the Filipino people amidst all the animosity brought about by the hard life and the enormous problems challenging the Filipino nation.


Thanks to his talent and dedication, he managed to pull a fast one again on a Mexican challenger and brought honor once more to the Philippines.


Manny Pacquiao seems a very likable guy. He is down to earth and he has a genuine concern for the Filipino people. One cannot blame the fans who hail Manny as a hero, because in his own little way he managed to put the Filipino nation in a good light again.


If only the Filipino people have the same relentless spirit as Manny Pacquiao, then I'm sure there'll be a magnanimous change in the course that the Philippines is headed for as a nation. The Philippines will be on the path to a better nation. For now I can only hope.


For the information of everyone, Manny is running for a congressional seat in the fast approaching May 14 elections in the Philippines. If his intentions of serving the Filipino people are true, then I hope he wins. I don't care if he knows not a single article or section in the Philippine Constitution for as long as he knows how to address the needs of his constituents. I wish him the best of luck.


I also hope that his candidacy is not just a spur of the moment feeling being brought about by his popularity among the Filipino fanatics.


If he does win the post, I hope he will deliver his guns as intensely and as fearlessly in the congress as he does in the ring. NO FEAR, that's his emblem and I hope he lives up to it.