Random thoughts on this new year

Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over gain, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember. ~ Anne Sullivan

Did you feel the way I did about dreading the onset of the new year? Call me uninspired but I didn’t seem to be excited about reporting for work last Monday. I thought the long vacation was bitin and for the first time in a long time I did not write any New Year’s resolutions. Even so, I haven’t been so lazy to list down what I would like to see more of…. and less of… in 2005.

…. less violence. I can’t believe that people within my own circle have been victims of the seeming lawlessness gripping the metro. A friend was snatched of her bag in broad daylight by motorcycle-riding men while an acquaintance was robbed right in her own home on New Year’s Day. I just pray that the same thing doesn’t happen to me or my loved ones or any of us here. It’s not the money but the feeling of not being safe anymore and coming to grips with the reality that desperate people (or those too lazy to find decent work) can just about do anything horrifying.

…. less dishonest persons. In the past year, the clerk at the grocery counter actually punched in cigarettes and other items I did not take out while one nightmare of a nanny snitched my jewelries and rang up astronomical bills on my landline. What do these people hope to get out of it? And why do I get the odd feeling that it’s not them, it’s me?? Because am careless enough and trust people so easily (daaarn!)

…. less clutter. This time I don’t think it’s me….it’s my job. Maybe I don’t have to wonder anymore why secretaries and receptionists keep lipsticks and mirrors in a spic-and-span corner of their drawers. On the other hand, I have tons of paper and a desk that looks like it has been levelled up by – you guessed it – a tsunami. Help! Information overload.

…. less magazines. My random thoughts zoom in on the fact that glossies are born every minute in this impoverished country. Are they earning? And why is it that cash-strapped employees like me actually buy them? Just wondering.

…. less extravagance. Yep, we don’t need more officials flaunting their mistresses, houses, and being caught with their stolen dollars at the airport. I would even like to see less of the same old faces like Celine Lopez, Tina Tinio, Tim Yap et. al. grace the society pages. In this time of economic hardship, pomp and flamboyance are simply too passe.

…. more safe sex. No, am not kidding. Just a stroll around Manila’s crowded neighborhoods convince me that the government should once and for all a) get serious about its population control program and b) preach abstinence. The three-letter word is so gratifying but it’s a wonder how seemingly educated people can be so stupid about it (talking from experience here) or underestimate the lifetime of responsibility it carries.

…. more responsible parents. Related to the above. Because I get depressed when I see streetchildren in Manila roaming around in their dirty clothes and begging for alms. It is quite clear that parenthood is a big, if not the biggest, responsibility. And my all-time guilt is being a full-time career womom. I won’t say am the best parent but am always trying.

…. more everyday heroes. People like the healing nun, the young girl who rescued her siblings from the fire etc. People who seek to make a difference in spite of…

…. more privacy. Nothing special. Just echoing the sentiments of a going-crazy mom sharing the room with a pesky seven year-old who watches Cartoon Network 24/7.

…. more blogs. I am simply amazed at the number of creative people in cyberspace and the magnitude of young talents floating around. On the other hand, I dread seeing people who blog as if they’re texting on their cellphone. CuZ if not 4 ur Nokia 7610, i would hav hit ur head with a bat alRedY…true!

…. more optimism. Enough said. The prevailing atmosphere of floods, tsunamis, wars and crimes are too depressing to be optimistic about but we can try. Live everyday with a passion because life is beautiful!