Too Much Politics

     In the Philippines, there is too much politics disenfranchising the interest of the masses, the poor masses, just too much compared to Malaysia and Singapore, I feel. In the same way, there is so much Tiktoking and showbusiness, and this is unproductive really for the country, and nobody cares. The establishment wants to keep the status quo, the rich including the politicians remain rich and powerful while the poor continue to be poor and at the mercy of them, the wealthy oligarch.

     As early as now, politicians are scrambling for media mileage, and they do just anything to be on the headline. In Malaysia and Singapore, both better developed than the Philippines, they only have few days to campaign, I think the longest I remember is eleven days before election. Very unlike here in the Philippines where as early as now, some eight months before election, there is so much politicking of the powers that be as can be seen on TV. Totally bad for the economy, very unproductive and the masses are not aware about it, they are part of the system uninformed and unaware.

     I feel like come May 2022, I may submit a blank ballot, maybe for lack of choices that will truly make the difference. Whatever I will do in 2022, I definitely won't vote these following trapos(traditional politicians).

PPE Brouhaha

     Elections will only take place next year but the political brouhaha has started with potential candidates trying to get into the headlines. Some pay TV commercials just about anything to get into the people's minds and watching them can cause me to vomit. I expect it will be more "festive" as we go nearer to May 2022.

     In order to get into the headlines, the opposition senators investigate the Department of Health(DOH) purchase of PPE claiming they were overpriced. What they forget to mention is that the DOH purchased them in 2020 when the pandemic was not full blown therefore there was no demand for PPEs then thus their prices could be higher than today. Simple law of supply and demand, any marketing guy knows this.

     Today, at the height of the pandemic, there is abundant supply thus their prices can be so low. You can easily get them by the roadside driving their prices to go down. This is what the opposition senators fail to explain to the masses, all they harp on is the high purchase price then.

     They also never mentioned that during non-pandemic times, such as during Pinoy's term, they were even more expensive primarily supply was limited and demand was not there. That is what the opposition is not explaining to the masses.

     This explains further why the need to look beyond the headlines, and don't get swayed by mainstream media.

Free Radical Reaction

     I lost access to my blog when I changed phone, I don't know how and my present condition doesn't allow me to dig deep further. When I changed phone, I managed to access an old blog of mine which have been dormant for years. I decided to utilize it to exercise my brain cells so here I am. Anyway, it's my means to thinking and exercising my mental faculties which used to be active when I was still working prior to my stroke. I pray I can maintain this blog for now.

My old blog which have been dormant for years

Certified Plantito

     I am now a certified plantito here in my rural village. Trapped here for more than two years, the onset of Covid has stopped us from returning to Manila. Instead stay put here in the village far from the center of the pandemic perhaps until it has died down or herd immunity has been achieved. By the way, I have been vaccinated with the one-dose Jansen vaccine by Johnson & Johnson.

     As such, I am planting vegetables just beside the house to keep me busy, as I have nothing else to do but read, write or walk. My friend from the Department of Agriculture gave me seeds to plant.

Bitter gourd growing up the vines

String beans climbing up my makeshift trellis

Young okra, easiest to grow

     I also have cucumbers, pechay as well as sunflower. A cousin gave me young blue ternate.

Rural Life

     Yesterday when I woke up early morning, I measured the temperature and found out to be the lowest I have experienced since being here in November 2019.

     It was actually very nice and I can switch off the fan. The worst comes at noontime when it becomes very hot with high humidity. It is uncomfortable when the sun is out. When it's cloudy, it is actually nice.

Early Morning Cold

Early this morning was very cold, below 20°C. You could feel the moist cold air penetrating your flesh.

Chiling Waterfalls

We were to go to Sunway Lagoon theme park as I had free tickets for three persons, we meaning some Filipino friends in Malaysia. With a twist of bad luck, the day we chose happened to be the off day of Sunway Lagoon. Of all the days, why on a Tuesday!

We had to cook up an alternative activity since all of us already took leave from work. We decided to go out of the city and drive a little bit up northeast of Kuala Lumpur heading towards Fraser's Hill. Somewhere along the winding road going up, there is a small trail leading to the beautiful Chiling waterfalls, so small that those who do not know the place would never think there is such a natural beauty inside the jungle.

What made the visit to this falls adventurous is the five times that we had to cross the river before getting a glimpse at the majestic falls. At times the river can be deep and the current swift and as such, crossing is really a challenge to the uninitiated. Teamwork is necessary. The initial trek would take about 30-40 minutes depending on the speed of the group.

I've been there three times, the first two guided by friends who knew the trail through the jungle and across the river. This time, I was on my own relying on memory of previous visits. We managed to reach without any hassle. At times we were confused whether it is left or right but we always chose the right turn. Where to cross the river is no longer a problem as there were signboards to show the five different crossing spots.