Monday, March 15, 2010

Pacquiao's butterfly effect

I found myself in a crowd of a thousand shouting at the top of my lungs to a person I see only through an LCD projector.

Weird. I initially thought.

It suddenly struck me at the end of the game.

I don't really know what the hell I was doing there. I could have just spent that Sunday alone in my room and wait for the results to come out in Twitter.

You can never go wrong with what cyberspace feed (Or so, I thought).

I couldn't consider it the Fight of the Year.

But I should admit that I am guilty of not betting for Manny Pacquiao to win this fight.

Yes. I have my reason.

Joshua Clottey is an African, roots came from Ghana. And we know how these people fight. I am not trying to be a racist here. But really, Clottey has all the advantages he could get.

The height. The reach. The weight. The muscles.

All about him was really an advantage.

But everything changed before the game started.

Since the coliseum was closed to minimize the crowd's growing number, I thought of smoking inside instead. I found myself smoking with a 50-ish man.

Out of nowhere, he asked me, "Sino tingin mo mananalo bata?"

"Hindi ko po alam e," I answered. "Pero nagdadalawang isip ako kung mananalo si Pacquiao e. Ikaw po?"

"Ako Pacquiao siyempre. Manalo. Matalo. Sa Pilipinas ako."

I was suddenly speechless.

It felt like a piano was suddenly drop over my head.

I just smiled.

I realized,Filipinos still have that burning pride to be a Filipino. We still hang on to the fact that we are still capable of change.

And I believe you my fellowmen.

To manong, thank you for that remark. It changed my perspective. It changed me.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Come Holy Week

I've had my fair shares of sacrifices.

It might not be the bloody type, but it's my simple way of showing the importance of Christ's crucifixion on the cross.

This year, I thought of taking it through photos.

I am wondering where to best visit and capture the Holy Week.

I first thought of Pampanga, where the sun is hot, and the land is sulky.

Imagining how the photos would look like gives me the thrills.

How about Zambales?

The sight of the beach and the sand as it touches my feet would also be picturesque.

To lessen the cost, I can go around churches in Manila and capture the best sights.

But wherever I'll be this Holy Week, one thing's for sure, I need to reflect on my sins and how the Almighty Father accepted me with open arms despite all my trespasses.

Amen.