In the Bat Cave

Some interesting characters.

Reshwin the Shooter. small. tough. patriotic. he can also fool you with his funny stunts. hopefully, his noble principles can lead to the end of the terrorists.

The Thin Buddha. sought after for his wisdom with no charge at all. he seems to follow a single line when he walks. the more he smokes, the more his mind is enlightened..

Leng Goodman. big. weighs around 280lbs. can fall asleep even while standing. he knows a lot of people - a congressman, a general, a gov't official, name it, some with bad habits while most of them with good and valuable influences. and he's clean. he's big in tummy and big in spirit.

Zheal. she has nice dimples, pleasant disposition. i might be wrong but i think she also eats a lot. she doesn't mind to have lots of friends and not have a regular date at the moment. she just enjoys life as it is.

Singing Sonnel. he is the big, big boss. he's straight (hope not hardcore straight). he likes concerts and musical shows. he also likes performing infront of an audience. and he sings a lot!

The Walking Database. he is the big boss. unselfish of his ideas. boasts about how he outwitted the "Blue Pigeons".. he works a lot. and that's bad. because, he also gives us a lot of work..

The Emblem of the Modern Filipino Culture

What is singing yet out of tune
What is high scores yet shouting
What is hoping to have a chance when you are not heard
What is sarcasm when you have the trophy
What is whining when you have no audience

Of Form and Function

Practical, wholesome, usable, mobile.. These are some of the distinct words to describe my possessions. Form and function are of the same weight. Owning something also goes with reason.

My fourth mobile phone is a Siemens ME45--small & light, water and shock resistant, very durable, has a handsfree feature that I can use while driving, GPRS enabled so I can access clickthecity.com anytime I want to check on the current movie schedule. It's not for trade even with a Nokia camera-featured phone.

I listen Evanescence or some local artists' songs with a water-resistant Intel MP3 player that can accommodate a memory card for additional storage with changeable face plates.

My office watch is a Timex chronograph with a pearl dial. What's fascinating is that my watch has a 1/100 sec timer, something that a Technomarine that costs 500% more doesn't have.. It's form & function rolled into one.

My walking rubber shoes (can also be used in mountaineering) are not comfortable-looking, not so attractive. Made of gortex technology, it's waterproof!

Too much of the waterproof stuff--I might end up inviting burglars in my house..

The Urban Natives

Most of them are street smart. Most of them also came from different towns. There are the city office-working ladies in black pants & black blazers, the working men in their "gusot-mayaman" barongs, the overworked jeepney drivers, the underpaid public school teachers, the conservative Chinese, the Spanish-speaking coños, the fat politicians (they can't miss the scene), the religious (they are of different types) and others. These are the urban natives or the people in our shire.

Language
There are varying dialects-- Visayan, Ilonggo, Cebuano, Ilocano, Bicolano, Kapampangan, Chavacano and the Muslim.
There are also varying languages-- English, Taglish (or Engalog for those dreaming of becoming a socialite), Chinese, Chinoy, (half Chinese and half Tagalog), and the broken Spanish, the latter who use this language are sometimes called coños.

Interests
Common interests aside of course from the mobile phones are soap operas (called "telenobelas"), celebrity careers, videokes and shopping malls.

"Telenobelas" or soap operas started in the early 90s inspired by the soap operas of a Mexican actress named Thalia. There are the local Pinoy flicks and the Taiwanese and Korean romance novels. The Pinoy flicks would be heavy on drama, usually having a tragic, political arena. The mixed-identity or identity lost because of amnesia is also a common plot.

The Videoke is a source of merriment in all occasions, from birthdays, fiestas (a celebration to commemmorate the patron saint of a parish) or even a night out gimmick of a group of individuals. It's cheap, it's fun, it's also riot when people start to fight because of the search for the right tune or the right lyrics.. and the people just like to sing.

Celebrity career is often inspired by the parents for an easy money-making career for their children. Sometimes, education is not anymore encouraged as it should be. Singing, dancing and acting are the new definitions of talents for some of these urban natives. Hence, the search for the Pinoy Idol continues..

And there's the continous building of so many shopping malls. People don't go to parks anymore for leisure. They just go to malls. Restaurants will be the next popular mall business. People go out to the mall without anything in mind to buy. They just move and watch around, dine and most likely shop on something they don't need. The malls have trained the urban natives to be the "ultimate consumer".

In Our Shire

A few years even before the Americans espoused the idea of GSM, the urban natives of our modern tribe have already started using the GSM technology. From young thinkers to grandparents, the urban natives come to include, specifically the use of GSM mobile phones as a way of life. From the sidewalk vendors, the bus drivers, the retired public servants, the yuppies and those wannabe-yuppies, the trying-hard to be cultured politicians and the techy-savvys---mobile phones have become part of the way of life, part of our culture.