This time…

Better the second time around - the saying goes. I think second chances are UNDERrated. These type of chances are rare opportunities. Some people are unfortunate enough to never get them at all. Some are either too numb or too dumb that even if the chance slapped them in the face, they'd still ignore it. Some are just plain dimwits to grab the chance and then let it go to waste. While the others, although hesitant at first, embrace their chance and thank their lucky stars.

One could be called stupid for making the same mistake twice, regardless of the circumstances. But then again, mistakes are our way of learning, one way to become stronger.

I'm talking about life in general…we only get one so why not be both stupid and then learn as much as we can?

They say the only reason why we won't let go of what's making us sad is because it was the only thing that made us happy…I say fuck that shit. The only reason why I was "sad" before was because I chose to be holed up inside the house doing nothing, I thought I had everything. I never realized just how unfulfilled and incomplete I was until I felt differently. Life's what we make it, it is our choice if we want to be happy or sad.

YOLO and "hakuna matata" comes to mind; instead of whining 'WHY?', sing out 'WHY NOT?!' Life is too short to waste on crying, regret and hate. Forget 'WHAT IFs' and just go for what you want. People are going to judge you no matter what you do anyway, might as well be happy and do whatever the hell you want.

Love in particular is a thorny topic when it comes to second chances…it comes in so many forms: new person but same situation, same person but different circumstances, or new person with a whole new challenge, to name a few.

Yes, I got a new lease in life…found a new love. It might be wrong, it might be short-lived, some people might even object; but at least I'm not hurting any loved one; those around me understand (or try to understand) where I'm at right now; and I'm happy. It's time for me to learn new lessons in life, collect new memories (both happy and sad), and see if I can apply the lessons I have acquired in the past.

I have loved before, a few times actually and got burned once. I thought I was done. I thought my lesson was to never fall in love again…instead, I learned that love can come in the sneakiest of ways; no matter how hard you try to avoid it, if it's meant to happen, it'll happen.

…And happen it did indeed…I am in love!

This time I am definitely happier.

This time I am infinitely thankful for all the crap I have been through because it has led me to where I am now.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still pessimistic…just fuller. I'm still morbid…just a little more alive. I'm still doing mundane stuff…but with more spark, spunk and randomness.

This time I am more confident because we started by airing out our dirty little secrets, dislikes and hates.

This time I am more comfortable because we started by letting our preferences, likes and loves be known.

Communication is the key. Thank fuck for technology. I used to scold my daughter for spending too much time on her phone and tab…look who's being a hypocrite now.

This time I will set my priorities straight: my daughter and myself first, so when all else fails, I'd still have a reason to wake up the next day.

This time I will let my priorities be known, so when all else fails, the rest can go to hell.

If you love someone, set them free - I agree to a point, I wouldn't want to become a suspiscious nagging bitch. But if the one you love tries to get away, why the hell would you let them? I say grab 'em by the balls, hold tight like your life depended on it, and never let go…unless of course letting go is a mutual decision.

This time I think I know more, not better.

This time I will do better, not more.

I am not the type of person who believes in forever, but this time I really hope my Bon is for keeps.

Skulduggery Uncovered

According to THE Ten Commandments; “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” and “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife,” are two of the ten things to follow in order to live in the way of Lord. RRRrrrriiiiighttt…

First off, let it be clear that adultery can only be committed by a married woman – the male counterpart would be concubinage.

Secondly, I don’t have anything against Christianity or other clusters of religion for that matter…just using logic here.

Thirdly, the men and women mentioned below are presumed cheaters, all except for God and Moses for obvious reasons.

And lastly, I am neither feminist nor misogynist, or any other chauvinistic terms out there.

With those having been aired, let me begin my rambling.

The ‘Ten Commandments’ is probably the oldest and most popular basis of present-day laws in most countries. For Christians, violating any of the Commandments is a mortal sin that would surely result in ending up in hell.

The “Thou shalt not commit adultery” Commandment rings with finality. All married women are forbidden, by God through Moses, to have any sexual relations outside of marriage.

In the olden days, the consequences would have been stoning and flogging, and then they’d burn in the fires of hell for all eternity. Today, adulterers face a slightly different scenario: there’d still the condemning public but without the barbaric torture, and then they’d still end up in hell in the form of legal battles over the custody of children and properties, or remain married to the same husbands.

Whatever reasons these women have for committing such an act, none of them will ever be considered valid through the eyes of the Maker and the people.

Keep your thighs closed, woman! Or wait until you’re single…again. Or better yet, don’t get married in the first place if you plan to keep on sowing your wild oats until you’re old and dried up!

The “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife” Commandment though…sounds pretty suspicious. In the most basic interpretation, it would just involve someone else’s wife. See where I’m getting at?

Since the “neighbor’s wife” is off limits…what about the UNmarried broads out there? Those who aren’t someone else’s wives?

So following the other Commandment’s logic, men actually found a way to avoid being condemned to hell by banging unattached women!

And here I thought cheating men were stupid. Combining the use of brains and balls – brilliant!

Maybe somewhere along the way, through different interpretations and rewritings, these two Commandments were “mishandled,” – like the original Commandments might have been “Thou shalt not marry if thou have too much lovin’ to give to just one,” and “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife NOR husband.”

Or maybe it’s about time we ask God to change said Commandments. Hhhmmmm…

Justified Injustice

If we lived in a world where there were no restrictions, the greediest and the wisest would surely be the richest and most powerful. The most helpful and the purest (the "good" people) would be the most abused and overused. Chaos and bloodbath everywhere, until finally, every single living being is annihilated.

This is exactly why we have laws; why since the dawn of time, we had to have a leader...someone to lay down and enforce the laws, punish the violators, cut off excesses, someone to follow. Those leaders turned out to be the wisest, the most cunning. Laying down laws that they themselves don't want to follow and more often than not, they don't. They don't follow because they are exempted. Exceptions. Because they are above the law. Because they are the law.
Leaders in the present are no different, only this time, things are more complicated. Witty lawyers, mercenary judges, international media, incredible technology and the condemning masses are involved. And they aren't called leaders nowadays -probably because they hardly lead anymore, they have people beneath them (like policemen, teachers and priests) hopefully doing that arduous task- they're now called politicians. They can no longer say that they're exempted from the law. Instead, they have lawyers for that. Forget exceptions, there's a subtler word for that now: loopholes.

Loopholes are made along with the laws by leaders with their own selves in mind, I guess they were thinking "just in case I..." and it's all downhill from then on. The leaders may be the most cunning, but there are also the other types of cunning: the less cunning and the not cunning at all.

Before cunningness and everything else, I wanna talk about God first. Or Allah, Bathala or Zeus or whatever other people call Him/Her/It.
It's hard not to compare God to the leaders...what with all the reverence they expect from everyone and laying down laws, just plain acting god themselves.
I'm a Roman Catholic so I'll be using God as my base.
They say God created EVERYTHING. The birds and the bees, lightning and thunder, flowers and trees, man and woman, angels and demons, good and evil, illnesses and diseases, the world, the universe...everything. God even created the Ten Commandments.
"Thou shalt not kill" is the most popular one. If God created everything, then wouldn't He have subsequently killed all those struck by lightning? All those stung by bees to death? Maybe those people who died of "natural causes" violated a commandment that nobody else knows of, except for God Himself since He knows everything, so He punished them. Wouldn't that be killing too? So who's going to punish Him? No one's above Him. And besides, He's the one who created the commandments, so maybe He's above them too.
Makes me wonder how the authors of the Good Book would defend this arguement. Would He be exempted from the commandments, what loopholes would they use if He's not?
Or maybe the big bang theory is true. Whatever the case may be, my point is, rules or laws or commandments have a way of blowing up in their makers' faces; so they make exceptions and/or loopholes. It would all depend on just how cunning you are; in making those laws, and in talking your way out if you ever get caught in violating them.

"Thou shalt not kill" is in every nation's list of long laws, just in different forms...but it is there, because really, who wants to be murdered? In some countries, it is ironically punishable by death. What kind of logic is that? Who's going to punish the punisher, since he too is a killer? Wouldn't the author of that law be indirectly responsible for the deaths of those killers too? No, there are exceptions of course.
Several degrees of murder, manslaughter, homicide... How twisted can one's mind get? A life lost, is a life lost PERIOD. It shouldn't matter if it was intentional or not. It shouldn't matter how painful or painless one's life had been abruptly cut short. Because no matter what you call it, no matter what degree you rate it, it doesn't change the fact that a life has been lost. But in reality, in the utterly gruesome reality we live in, one can in fact walk away from such thing. We've all seen it, heard of it, time and time again. It's all about loopholes. It's all about surrounding yourself with the most cunning people you can afford to defend your less cunning self and make the dead in question not cunning at all...because he's so stupid, he's dead.

If one can walk away from murder, how easy it must be for "lesser" crimes.

My Faith and Nobody Else's

Religion and faith are two separate things, but are tied up so inextricably, that it is difficult for some people to explain one without the other.
Religion has always felt like a business to me, a lifestyle. It makes me think of man-made things like buildings, books, money, costumes, politics, schedules and reason for holidays. It almost seems phony.
Faith is a force - something intangible. It is undeniable, something that can never be taken away. It is ingrained therefore infallible. And it is priceless, for me at least.

The last time I remember hearing mass was when my sister got married and my daughter had her First Communion. But before those, I've forgotten already because they were all from a long way back; back to when my mother could still force me to go. I don't need a specific time and/or place to pray, I could be doing laundry or sitting on a bus...and could be praying at the same time, just because I feel like it. Some might say that it's rude, but who cares?! I think it's thoughtful and genuine. Besides, I heard from some where, that God is everywhere, listening all the time. That means I'm not a fan of churches, and statues or whatever symbol any religion represents.
I am a Roman Catholic, but only because my parents had me baptized as one...so you can say that it was not by choice. I'm not saying I'm not happy with my religion, I just feel constrained. If it were up just to me, I would have waited for my daughter to come of age and let her choose her own religion, or even none at all.

I don't like priests either, or pastors, preachers or whatever they call themselves. I don't dislike the person per se, just the profession...but then again, I guess they're one and the same because the person IS the professional. I don't like the feeling of kneeling in front of a person, no matter who he or she embodies...it makes me feel submissive, powerless. Some priests (as I am a Catholic) in particular seem to be enjoying the attention and power just a little too much, to a point where it's abusive. They expect to get special treatments everywhere, and are popular with the ladies...especially the old super-religious ones, like my grandmother. What's so special about them anyway? They breathe, eat and sleep just like us. They sin and die too, exactly like us.

Don't get me wrong, I am not a demonic disciple...I am actually against the institution of all religions. Well, partly at least. But I am not an athiest either. I believe in God, good and evil. I'm not entirely sure if I believe in the heaven-hell theory though, but I use it to teach my kid anyway...makes it a little scarier if not truer, makes it more believable.
I am only partly against religion because I have to admit, it does help make the world a place a little better to live in. It guides people right from wrong, gives us something to lean on to, to fear even. It gives us the sense of affiliation, a belonging... Sadly, that belongingness also gives some people a reason to wage war. And war is one of the fastest solutions to overpopulation; a win-win scenario, if you're an inconsiderate monster, that is.

I pray, in my own way. I pray whenever I feel like it. I don't believe in making it a habit, like an obligation. I pray to say thanks for the things that I have, like family, home, food and everything else that I don't really need... I say thanks for the things that I DON'T have, like illness, too much stress and unsolvable problems. I say thanks for everything that I am, alive, loved and needed. I also pray to ask for one thing: peace of mind for everybody.
Saying grace before meal is an exception for me. It's a good practice for the kids, and because we really are thankful for the food that we have on our table, and for the time that we have together. Mealtime, especially breakfasts and dinners on a weekday is the only time we get to be together, so that's definitely something to be thankful for.

I find it offensive, rude even, when people judge me just because I don't go to church. People go to church to pray; like I said, I pray too...I just don't show it to others, and I don't need a church to do it either. Just because they go to church and follow a priest, doesn't make their faith stronger than mine.
I never forbid my daughter from going to church if she feels like it, and if there's someone else willing to take her (as she's too young to go out alone), because it's her choice, nobody can take it away from her, not even myself, not even if I wanted to. So if I choose to not go to church, or consider my God a woman (which I don't, but consider possible)...it's my choice, my faith, my life...nobody else's.

Predictions

2012 is the end of the world; as far as Mayans are concerned...either the 12th or 21st of December. There's no harm in believing, but then again, there's no harm in NOT believing either.
Does it really matter anyway? I mean, there's no way to stop the "inevitable" if it were true. So, que sera sera!

No point in panicking. Is fear the last feeling you want to have before you die? Would you rather sit inside a cave and wait for a golden chair for your salvation? Paranoid much.
I say go out with a bang! Live life to the fullest, enjoy life while you still have one. Live every day like it's your last one (good practice too).

As for myself, Imma live my life just like I did for the last almost-thirty years: doing whatever I feel like doing, accepting consequences of my actions (with much enthusiasm and less regret) and expecting nothing.
The prediction? I'd say I'm a "glass-half-empty" kind of person...the nonchalant glass-half-empty kind. I believe the world will end someday; but not this year, just someday. So what?

With the way people abuse resources and the amount of pollution we all leave behind, I reckon we all never think of tomorrow. The unnecessary excesses we and our ancestors enjoyed leave the future generation with lesser everything to the point of almost nothing.

So it should be no surprise if the world ends. We don't need the Mayans to tell us that. If we don't change, it will happen SOONER. We don't need Nostradamus either, anybody can predict wars and floods because these are results of our own doings. Their predictions are as good as history, they just lack details like when and where.

The world will end. The Mayans stated.
I don't think so. The arrogant ones countered.
When? How? The skeptics mused.
Why?! The cowards cried.
Bring it on! The daredevils shouted.
Good riddance. I murmured.

Ponder Upon These...

Is every one nowadays a self-righteous hypocrite by all means?
'I am entitled to my own opinion' we always say, but we tend forget that the same entitlement applies to everybody else, too.
What about giving someone the benefit of the doubt? What ever happened to 'innocent until proven guilty'?
Remember the adage 'do unto others what you want others to do unto you'?

With the crime rate these days, is it right to say that the plausible thumb is the only thing that separates us from the rest of the animal kingdom? If that's the case, we might as well fling our crap at each other...that ought to be fun.

And speaking of thumbs...txtng & IMng seems 2 b d only thing we use dem 4. we waste r tym, $ & energy googling smthing & LOLing @ sm1. nt 2 mntion childrn geting dumber & dumber @ speling & gramar. dsnt rly mattr cuz its gentxt alrdy? WTF! ikr?!

'Blood is thicker than water' no longer applies? It seems that each one now sticks to where the money, fame or power is. If that's the case, I nominate myself to replace God...vote for me or I'll smite you if ever I win.

We ask for respect, but do we really deserve it? Aren't we supposed to gain it in the first place? With all the lusts and distrusts that cloud our minds, are we even deserving to get a chance to gain a fraction of it? I really doubt it.

'Forgive and forget' is just an expression? Seems that way. Can we really forgive? Some, if not most, are capable of forgiveness; but can we really forget? I don't think so. We move on...but we never forget, even if we did, there'd always be a reminder.

We call ourselves analytical and opinionated...I do. But are we really? Don't we just voice out other people's opinion and then make it sound our own? Don't we prattle about things we've seen on TV or read from a book and over the internet, and then make it sound like we came up with it ourselves? ...Aww hell! I should've written this piece years ago...

Spot One, Spot All

In politics, there’s always a wrong time and a wrong place but never a wrong person; there will be a loser but no winner; and there will always be hitchhikers seeking asylum and approval from anyone “powerful” and desperate enough to give attention to these kinds of people. Some call them political butterflies; I call them parasites- leeches to be precise.

These are the ones to watch out for. They are both the foundation and the weakest link of any opposing parties. They make and break a group’s strengths and weaknesses. They are the moles that go unnoticed until it’s too late. Often times, they are the ones who take most of the heat and are left in the dirt when they serve no more purpose… waiting for another victim to latch themselves onto, an irritatingly never-ending cycle.

Leeches come in different shapes and sizes, just as people come in with different beliefs and motives: Some are out there for the sake of belonging, to prove a point that they can adapt. Some are out there for the attention and the appreciation, to show that they are needed and that they matter. Some are out there for fun, because they have nothing better going on with their own lives. And for some, they’re out there just to wreak havoc because they cannot stand the fact that some people are happy, wealthy, powerful, or whatever it is that they are not.

I call them parasites because they have nothing good to offer. They might look good at first, blurt out a few secrets and empty promises, even appear to be die-hard loyalists. But then all hell will break loose… they will take all that they can and then move on to another unsuspecting fool, because they are after all, slimy bloodsucking little ingrates.

Real leeches are easy to get rid off, a little salt and they’re dead… but these metaphoric ones, with all the salt in the world, they’d still be leeching off of someone to their hearts’ content. If I could just close my eyes and wish for a buttload of metaphoric salt…