Paula and Nessie: Breast-Feeding Friends for Life! :)
Me, answering questions about Paula:
(Paula Borgonos the Serial Killer)
1) What’s his/her name?
- Anna Paula Alfuerto Borgonos.
2) Does he or she have a
boyfriend/girlfriend??
- Nope. Well, that’s what she tells me. She hasn’t updated me yet. 
3)Do you get along with this person all
the time?
-Yes. We have the same weird sense of humor that only us (and Lynette) can appreciate.
4) How old is the person?
-35! Haha! She turned 24 on Feb. 28.
5) Has he/she ever cooked for you?
-Yes! College days, sinigang, which happens to be my favorite Filipino cuisine.
6) Is this person older than you?
-Yeah.
7) Have you ever kissed this person?
- Every time we see each other and every time we say goodbye.
Are you really close to him/her?
- Uhuh. Our theme song is "I’ll Go Wherever You Will Go". Haha! If you’re looking for her, just look for me and vice versa.
9) Nickname?
-I call her Pau. Recently, I baptized her as "Brookes", the elite way of saying "Bruha".
10) How many times do you talk to this
person in a week?
-A lot but this summer, we don’t get to text that much. She’s busy.
11) Do you think they will repost this?
-Perhaps.
12) Why is this person your number 1?
-She’s been my beast friend since college.
13) How long have you known this person??
-Five years and still counting (haha! I make it sound like we’re in a relationship!)
14) Have you ever been to the mall with
this person?
-Uhuh.
15) Have you ever had a sleepover with
this person?
-Oh yes! Twice! But they were all not for "fun" purposes. They were done for urgent, emergency reasons. Hehe.
16) If you ever moved away would you
miss this person?
-Totely. 
17) Have you ever done something really
stupid or illegal with this person?
-A lot. We ran away from a debate competition…what else, Pau? Haha.
18) Do you know everything about this
person?
-Almost.
I just hope I won’t find out later that she’s a serial killer and that
she befriended me cause I’m going to be her last victim.
19) Would you date this person’s siblings?
-Oh, that would be child abuse. Tony is younger than me. And I can’t date her sister cause I don’t sway that way.
20) Is your #1 on drugs?
-All
the time! Haha! She’s always hyperactive! And she drinks a lot too,
especially during our thesis days! Hehe! She would come to class drunk!
And she vomits a lot! Just kidding Pau. She wouldn’t be my friend if
she were really like that.
21) Have you ever worn this person’s
clothes?
-Yeah,
during her birthday. I cooked for her and I was all sweaty and smelly
after that. So she had to lend me one of her shirts.
22) Have you ever heard this person sing?
-Yup! She sings too and she was supposed to audition for the FEU-IAS Chorale…but then "something" spoiled it, right Pau?
23) Do you and this person have a saying?
-Pau, do we? I think it’s time we have one.
24) Do you know this persons password?
-Nah.
25) Have you and this person ever gotten
into a fight that lasted more than 2 months?
-Not really fight fight. Not even fight. Just a little "tampo".
26) Have you and this person gone clubbing?
-Nah. I’m a home buddy.
27) Do you know how to make this person
feel happy?
-Yeah. I just tell her my stupid jokes and she would laugh like crazy. Or we go bingeing.
28) Do you like this person?
-Stupid question. No, I hate her to death. Of course! Are you crazy? You’ve been asking all these questions and now this?
29) Has this person yelled at you?
-No. She just walks out when she’s pissed.
30) Do you want to be friends with them
forever?
-Why not? We are going to be, aren’t we Pau?
She, answering questions about me:
(Nesrin Cali–Psycho Killer on the Loose!)
Can you answer questions about the
1st person on your top friends list?
1) What’s his/her name?
- Nesrin Adialeigh Bazar Cali.
2) Does he or she have a
boyfriend/girlfriend??
- Ask her..hahaha
3)Do you get along with this person all
the time?
-Yes. We can talk about anything under the sun
4) How old is the person?
-45! Haha! She’s 22
5) Has he/she ever cooked for you?
-Yep. She cooked for me on my 22nd birthday. Mashed potatoes, pasta, and a lot more
6) Is this person older than you?
-younger
7) Have you ever kissed this person?
- yes, beso.
Are you really close to him/her?
-
Super close. I remember when we were in college, some people
misunderstood us for being lovers! eww!!! We are close but not THAT
close!
9) Nickname?
- I call her Nessie
10) How many times do you talk to this
person in a week?
- A lot but not this time because she’s busy
11) Do you think they will repost this?
-Perhaps.
12) Why is this person your number 1?
- Because she’s my BFF! hehehe
13) How long have you known this person??
- five years and a lot more years to come!
14) Have you ever been to the mall with
this person?
-many times
15) Have you ever had a sleepover with
this person?
- If you’re talking about having a sleepover in her house. I don’t think so! I haven’t even seen her house! hehehe
16) If you ever moved away would you
miss this person?
-Absolutely!
17) Have you ever done something really
stupid or illegal with this person?
-
Something stupid? A lot. Illegal? I don’t know. We haven’t been
imprisoned. Of course that doesn’t mean that we haven’t done sumthing
illegal. hehehe or maybe we were never caught red handed. hahahaha
18) Do you know everything about this
person?
-I
think so but I think she’s hiding sumthing from me…I just hope it’s
not about her being a Psycho Killer. I will totally freak out!
19) Would you date this person’s siblings?
-Mo
& Papa? haha! both of them are goodlookin but not my type! hahaha!
I am not a cradle snatcher! hehehe and her sisters? I don’t think soooo.
20) Is your #1 on drugs?
-
She’s delusional. I remember seeing her smiling and talking to herself
alone. She hits herself when she thinks she’s done sumthing stupid. If
those are signs of drug addiction. OMG! I think she is! hehehehe.
Naahhhh!! This person doesn’t even drink!
21) Have you ever worn this person’s
clothes?
- I haven’t
22) Have you ever heard this person sing?
-Are
you crazy?!! Haven’t you heard of the Civil Law Idol?! She is the Civil
Law Idol! She sings like Avril, Cristina, Rihanna all rolled into one!
23) Do you and this person have a saying?
-
We don’t have one but I was imposing my own saying to her but she
didn’t buy it! my saying is "Prevention is better than Cure" hehehe
24) Do you know this persons password?
-Nope.
25) Have you and this person ever gotten
into a fight that lasted more than 2 months?
- We haven’t. Only tampo but it only lasted for a few days.
26) Have you and this person gone clubbing?
-Nope, but I’d like to.
27) Do you know how to make this person
feel happy?
-Yeah.
I just make funny faces or talk about funny things…ahhhh.. I know..I
will just link her to a particular person and she will laugh her guts
out! hahaha
28) Do you like this person?
-What dya think? She’s my #1 friend and you’re asking me this question? Of course I like her. I love her. She’s my BFF.
29) Has this person yelled at you?
-Nope.
We are civilized Human beings and if ever we have misunderstanding we
talk about it peacefully. We whisper to each other. hehehe
30) Do you want to be friends with them
forever?
-Of course! That’s why we call each other BFF!
All Good Things Come to an End
Whoever said that is a genius.
I have never seen "Nothing lasts forever" as meaningful and as true as I see it today. I don’t believe in "forever" anymore. Everything in this world has to end. That’s nature and no matter what we do, we can never defy it. Even people who grow old together cannot claim their relationship to have lasted forever–death will destroy their forever.
On second thought…is it really but natural for things, especially good things to eventually end? Or they end because we make hasty, bad choices and decisions?
All these sad things…they make me wish to live the next life already and find peace and comfort in the Almighty Allah’s Kingdom.
This world…wretched and wicked world.
WHY ARE WE IN THIS WORLD?
"I have not created the jinn and the men but that they may worship Me". (Chapter 51,Verse 56; Surah Adh-Dhariyat [The Winnowing Winds])
"WHAT IS YOUR PURPOSE?"
That’s a relatively easy question to answer, right?
What is your purpose in being in law school?–I want to be the best lawyer there is and help in the effective administration of justice in this country; I want to help the poor and the oppressed; I want to be one of the best statesmen that this country will ever have. (Yeah right.)
What is your purpose in working two jobs a day?–I want to provide for my family. I want my children to get the quality education that I didn’t get the opportunity to obtain.
What is your purpose in staying up as late as 5 AM and getting as little as 2 hours of sleep everyday?–I want to get excellent marks and maintain my scholarship.
What is your purpose in being in this so-and-so club tonight?–I just want to chill and have fun; I want to meet hot chicks and you know…(yes, men…or people can get as shallow as that.)
It’s easy to tell, eh? Of course! You should know WHY you are at a particular place at a particular time. You might be sent to the mental unit of a hospital if you’d answer "I don’t know" or "Sorry, I don’t have the slightest idea" when asked, for instance, why you want to take up a certain course in the university where you’re applying at by the interviewer.
Easy, isn’t it? Well, that is if you’re answering the question in temporal terms.
Everyday, we do things because we have a purpose in mind. We make choices because we want to achieve a goal. We make decisions as wisely as we can because we want our dreams to be within our grasps, within the sphere of reality. In everything we do, no matter how trivial or mundane, there is an underlying purpose.
BUT WHAT HAPPENS AFTER WE ACHIEVE THAT PURPOSE?
If we get to fulfill it as we envisioned in our minds, it goes without saying that we’d feel accomplished, satisfied, even happy.
AND THEN WHAT?
NOTHING. It ends there. We then again embark on doing something to achieve another purpose, another goal that we set our minds to. It’s a cyclic process, is it not? But haven’t you noticed how quickly that sense of gratification wanes into thin air?
For example, when you were taking up your undergraduate course, you readily say "I want to go to law school" when asked by your peers what you plan on doing after graduation. That dream of being in law school and eventually becoming a lawyer is so much alive inside you that you can’t wait to step onto the grounds of the college of law (I felt that way. Hehe.) and pursue your childhood dream. And when you already are in law school, there are days–well, most of them–when you feel like just getting the hell out of "these torture chambers" that you have put yourself in.
OK, let me give a simple illustration to which everyone–law student or otherwise–can relate.
I’m sure when you were a kid, you have wanted something so badly–a Barbie doll, a bike, a video game, plastic tea cups and whatnot–that you would do anything to get it, which you actually did. So you worked really hard for it (maybe volunteered to wash the dishes every after meal time of the day or helped construct the new family home that your parents were putting up–carried bags of cement, carved out woods for the ornamentation on the ceiling and helped put the blocks or bricks together. Kidding. That was some wild imagination of mine. Don’t mind me, my mind usually detours.) as a result of which your parents bought you what you had been salivating over for a long time. The first day it landed on your hands, you were ecstatic. You could fly out of the window and never come back. The second day, you still felt the same enthusiasm, even obsession over the thing, whatever it was. The third day, the fourth, the fifth, the sixth, the seventh…now, your mother scolded you because you just left it lying around the house. She told you she regretted buying it for you as it was a big waste of money. A month or two lapsed–it’s already part of the not-so-needed-but-for-some-reason-should-still-be-kept-in-
the-house contents of the storage room.
Or to give even a simpler example. One day you just crave for ice cream. So you go to your room, put your jacket on and went to the nearest convenience store. When you were about to get there, you checked your wallet and found out you have no cash (oh, drat!). So you went to a nearby ATM and when you get there, you see the queue so long that if you’d connect it end to end, it could go around the whole world 4 times (hyperbole, of course!). You line up and wait for almost 3 hours before there’s just one person standing between you and the machine. Just when you think that you can finally insert that card into the machine, the person before you calls the security guard and tells him that it "swallowed" his ATM card. Exasperated, you smother him, shake him violently while shouting incomprehensible words at him. Of course, that’s just in your imagination but that’s what you really want to do were it not for the laws that would ordain your incarceration for the rest of your life. So you wait for another hour before the technician of the bank or whatever gets the card out of the stupid machine. You finally get your money, run to the store, fling the doors wide open only to be told by the guy at the store that ice cream has just been officially banned by the government, backed by Resolutions issued by the World Health Organization and United Nations. OK, OK, kidding. So you get the ice cream and enjoy every bit of it…until the pointy end of its cone. You feel satisfied, happy after having gone through all that just for an ice cream. And then what?
What point am I trying to make by giving these idiotic (you may call them that for they really are) illustrations?
THAT WE FEEL EMPTY AFTER FULFILLING A WORLDLY PURPOSE.
Do you think Angelina Jolie is doing all the charitable works because she just really has a big heart? Do you think she’s started to establish her own UN–by that, I mean collecting all the kids from different parts of the globe–because she’s a righteous person? (I don’t mean to discredit her in any way, ladies and gentlemen. What she does is laudable. But just let me get to my point.) Maybe. Partly. But haven’t you noticed the same pattern in other celebrities? They start out as total unknowns, extras you call them. And then they get to be part of a movie in which they play a considerably significant role. In every magazine interview, they say "I’ve always wanted to do this as a child, I’ve always wanted to act and perform on stage. It’s my solace from the wretchedness of this world." And that role directs their career to full-blown success until they get to star in their own movies. They consummate the next-big-thing image. They become so huge, so popular that you even see their faces on the box of your favorite breakfast cereal. They get so filthy rich that they order their lunch from a UK restaurant while shooting a film in Fiji. They win awards as prestigious as the Emmys or Golden Globes or Oscars. And then you hear news about them driving while under the influence (of alcohol, drugs…or even Satan). News about them being in a rehab follows. It’s fortunate (for them) if they get out of it in a normal state of mind and not shaving their heads. And then that’s when they start participating in charitable works. They suddenly become UN Goodwill ambassadors. They go to the UN Headquarters to press the UN to help stop violence against women. They do fund-raising projects to help feed the impoverished people of Africa. Or sometimes, they get married and have kids…and go to court later on to obtain a divorce due to irreconcilable differences and battle for child custody. The list can go on.
They do those because they feel empty, even hollow after the sudden sweep of fame and stardom…and drugs and rehab. As Academy-Award winning actress Halle Berry put it in a Reader’s Digest interview, "you feel empty after some time. You ask yourself, ‘Is this the only role I have in this world, to play somebody else’s life, to pretend to be somebody all the time and get paid for it?’"
That feeling of being empty or satiated is what makes the process of doing something for a certain purpose cyclic. WE NEVER GET FULL GRATIFICATION NO MATTER HOW GRAND OUR ACHIEVEMENTS MAY BE. Sometimes, the bigger they are, the emptier we feel afterwards…
This is not a new matter that concerns people, of course. In fact, that is the very question that has preoccupied philosophers and theologists for thousands of years. The quest to find an answer to that question is the reason why we have Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Plontius, Spinoza, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas and Bruno. I wouldn’t say it was the only question they tried to find an answer to but it would be safe to say that much of their works and thought centered at answering this seemingly simplistic question–WHAT IS OUR PURPOSE IN LIFE? WHY ARE WE IN THIS WORLD?
Incidentally, I find the stand of the Epicureans on this question rather fascinating–that our purpose in this world is to achieve the highest degree of sensory pleasure and avoid pain. They regarded pain as evil. It may sound foolish to some, but then it shows how much effort people exerted in trying to come up with an answer that they even arrived at what could be the silliest of ideas to most. Of course, it is not a wise one either for we have already seen the results of its implementation in our lives (we may term it materialism). It has not made us happy nor content. It has not made us attain the ever elusive peace-within we are all looking for.
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I would certainly be biased in saying this but I daresay I found the answer in Islam. I found my purpose in life in being a Muslim.
What is my purpose in life? Sure, I want to be a lawyer. I want to help the poor and the oppressed. I want to be instrumental in eradicating injustice. I want to make my family very proud of me. I’ll be very happy and grateful if I get to achieve all that. But all that will wane and disappear…just like everything worldly in our surrounding.
So what’s my real purpose in life?
Allah has provided an answer in the Qur’an and that is TO WORSHIP HIM. He says:
"I have not created the jinn and the men but that they may worship Me". (Chapter 51,Verse 56; Surah Adh-Dhariyat [The Winnowing Winds])
What does that mean? That people should do all kinds of rituals and sacrifices to please Allah? To do nothing but pray 24/7? To fast for 365 days? Definitely, that’s not what the word "worship" means in this context. So how do you exactly worship Him?
Aside from the mandatory prayers performed 5 times a day and other acts of worship, the word "worship" or i’bada means any kind and all acts of obedience to Allah. In other words, all the intentions you have and acts you do in this life must be had or done for Allah, in obedience to Him. For instance, you go to school not just to earn a degree and distinction but to obey His (and the Prophet Muhammad’s [PBUH]) commandment that you should seek knowledge. You look for a job not only for your and your family’s sustenance but also to be able to give to the poor, which Allah has ordained. You eat not only to satisfy your hunger but also so you may gain strength and energy to do something for Allah (perhaps help an elderly you encounter on the way cross the street safely). Thus, your purpose in life is a standing one. You strive to achieve it everyday of your life until you finally expire. Everything you do in this life, you do it primarily to serve Allah.
Of course, that’s quite a dangerous statement, if you are to be too literal and straight about it. What if I steal money so I may give it to the poor ala Robin Hood and declare I do it in the name of Allah? That’s not acceptable, of course. Islam does not ascribe to Machiavelli’s "the end justifies the means" pronouncement. Moreover, anything done purely in the name of Allah naturally aligns with what is good. How can you claim to be serving God when what you are doing is patently evil? Whatever religion you may be speaking of, the concepts of God and Evil are always incompatible. And Islam is no exception.
But how can you say that your life is purpose-driven by just worshiping Allah?
Allah has promised a reward for obeying His commands and for your good deeds–PARADISE (janna). You worship Allah, you do things for Him, in obedience to Him because you want to achieve that highest reward (which you will receive only after you die…assuming of course that you have substantially complied with everything that Allah has ordered and avoided everything that He has prohibited). Having that in mind, it guides your everyday actions. You don’t get lost or confused about what your purpose in life is–you already know it in your heart. You are to worship Him, earn yourself a place in Paradise and save yourself from the Burning Fires of Hell. As I said earlier, it is a standing purpose; you don’t get tired of trying to achieve it throughout your life because you’d only get there when you depart to the next life.
This life is a test. This world, it is a temporary place, a mere avenue where we get the chance to do good deeds and worship the Almighty so that we may traverse to that place He promised to all those who obeyed Him and His Prophet (PBUH). This is not our destination. Don’t waste this chance. Don’t get attached to the sensory and worldly pleasures that it offers. Aim for a better source of pleasure, a lasting one. You know you’re better than that.
Live each day for Allah and do each act in obedience to Him…for that is the purpose you have to fulfill in life. Trust me, if you do that, you’ll never resort to Nietzsche for advice and kill yourself later on.
Should she…
Trust,
Let go,
Believe,
Have Faith,
Gamble…
Love again?
Enlighten her mind, dear God, each day she broods and ponders.
Let her decide the way You would want her to.
Guide her. Protect her from her weaknesses, shield her from herself.
Let Yourself be the Light that she follows as she traverses the road to…
YOU.
Dispelling Myths, Mysteries and Misconceptions of a Legal System Misunderstood: A Comparative Analysis on the Islamic and Philippine Criminal Justice Systems
If you got nothing to do this summer (like me), please read a "scholarly" article I wrote for the 52nd Ed. of the UST Law Review here:
http://ustlawreview.com/pdf/vol.LII/Dispelling_Myths_Mysteries_and
_Misconceptions_of_a_Legal_System_Misunderstood.pdf
or go to www.ustlawreview.com.
To most of you out there, it may not be your cup of tea, but I’d just like to share it with you because I think it will help you–Muslim or not–understand Islam and its criminal justice system. It’s not purely legalistic so to non-lawyers and non-law students out there, you can fairly relate, I assure you.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank, first, Atty. Rene B. Gorospe for giving me the idea–the raw material–on what to write about. I’ve had the topic in my head since last year summer but it was only during December of that year that I was able to put everything together. Hehe. Please remember I’m the Queen of Procrastination.
Thank you to the 52nd Ed. Editor-in-Chief, Gilberth Balderama, for the patience he extended to me. I’d also like to thank him for the many funny, laughter-filled and crazy moments we had while working on the publication. Lastly, I would like to apologize to him for whatever shortcomings I had as a member of the editorial board. I will learn from my mistakes. And I hope he can forgive me.
"Thank yous" also go to the 52nd. Ed. Editorial Board! I’m now very excited to be working on the next issue, under the leadership of the very feisty (and sizzling), Jeanette S. Alvarez!
Finally, the article wouldn’t be as it is if it weren’t for my Dad (of course, all errors are mine)! THANK YOU DADDY for patiently looking for the Qur’anic verses that I needed to support my statements! Thank you for revising my sentence constructions and for adding up more ideas to make my statements/stand/position more firm and concrete. Above all, THANK YOU for it is from you that I received this GIFT–the ability to scribble down on paper the swarm of thoughts and ideas erratically flying inside my cluttered head.
(Of course, everything will not be possible were it not for the Almighty Allah. Shukran, ya Allah. Alhamdullillah. It is in Your name that I did this humble work and share it with others.)
Life’s Little Pleasures II
I love it when it rains! I love going out and just dance like crazy in the rain (not during a storm, though. I’d be dead by now if I did that. Haha!) Seriously. So if you see me doing that during a downpour, please don’t bring me to the psychology unit of the hospital.
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After a hard, long day in school, I love buying a big bag of my favorite chips–junk food, it is–Mother Goose’s Barbecue Tortillos and a soda or iced tea. And then I’d take a jeepney (I know some people say it’s not safe) on my way home and munch away. While doing that, I also look out the "window" (I love doing this all the time!) and observe the people, the other public transports, the vendors, the street/homeless people, the litters, the prostitutes that walk by night–anything that’s on the road. And it’s just like watching a movie or a reality show, only that the action, the drama happens right in front of me.
(Yes, this is how shallow I can be.)
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I love going to the Humanities section of the UST library and read the books from the Nick Joaquin collection there. Ah, I can’t wait to go there again and read more! It just takes me to places!
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I love looking and observing people (no, I’m not dissing them or anything). Sometimes, when I see two people talking, I make up a script for them. It’s funny. I just love entertaining myself the cheap way. Haha.
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I love having cookies and milk while reading studying at night.
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I love sensible conversations with people.
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I love LAUGHING a lot. Haha. And I end up crying at the end of the day.
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Oh God, I love doing movie marathons during summer vacations! I can watch as much as 15 movies, straight with only bathroom breaks!
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I love reading really good books. I love Reader’s Digest, Time Magazine and Newsweek. I feel very content after reading them.
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I love sleeping for 12 hours during weekends! Yehey!
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I love telling my sisters about my "experiences" and weird encounters in school or outside of it every time I get home.
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When I get too tired from studying the whole day, I love getting my guitar and sing anything that comes to my head!
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I love giving my pets a bath and feeding them. I love tickling them, even if it irritates them.
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I love children. I love it when I smile at them and they smile back.
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I love riding bicycles! I love going very fast…feeling the wind against my face, my hair flying in all directions. (and having Einstein’s hair after that. If it’s the brain, I won’t really mind.)
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I love cooking with my sisters and "inventing" recipes with them.
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I love having LONG chats (sensible or otherwise) with my two best girlfriends, Angel and Pretty. (I miss them both so much!)
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I love smiling at and greeting the guards in the morning at the gates of the UST as well as every guard I meet on my way to the library. It starts my day!
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I love having coffee in a gigantic mug. Haha.
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I love looking at very old family photos.
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I love daydreaming. I love staring out the window…and just let my mind wander to places I know I will never be in.
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I love saying hi to Kuya Ramon (the famous janitor at the Faculty of Civil Law).
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I love reading cases. (Nerd). They’re like short stories…they showcase all kinds of human emotions, traits and experience–agony, betrayal, infidelity, deceit, love, hatred, brutality, hope, shattered dreams, lust, greed, even folly.
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I love watching the sunrise and listening to the birds sing their little songs…and the roosters crow…and the soft "swish" sound that our lady neighbor makes as she sweeps the front yard of her house.
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I love receiving messages from loved ones! 
The Internal War
This morning, a war was being waged within me–war between two choices, both of which can change my life forever.
The first choice was what my heart told me to pick. I was the only human being who would benefit from it. Forget what the world raucously screams in your ears; pursue what will truly make you happy. The other choice was one that would inure to the benefit of the majority. Do not be selfish. Think of how many people will be adversely affected if you make this decision. Can you truly be happy when you know that darkness will be cast upon the lives of many people? In both choices, there is a catch, that is, one involved party would have to sacrifice, one way or another.
Should I allow myself to be happy at the expense of others?
(SELFISH!)
Or should I let go of my personal happiness and let them be happy?
(LAUDABLE SELFLESS ACT!)
Tormented, I was, trying to decide which choice I shall make to guide my life. At some point, I would look at the whole picture…and I would see beauty in its entirety. And at times too, I would focus on a small fraction of the picture…and I would see the beauty of the details in the picture.
As the day drew close to an end, I closed my eyes and just let my thoughts wander. I stopped thinking. I didn’t want to be tormented anymore…
I chose what my heart whispered to me. I was happy with my choice…yes, I was exhilarated. But as the happiness faded, along with the last, golden rays of the setting sun, I wished I had made the second choice. I would have been happier.
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The kind of life we live depends mostly on the kind of choices we make each day. If we make good choices, it goes without saying that we’d have a good, happy life. If we make bad choices, well, just use your analogical reasoning to arrive at the conclusion.
It seems easy, doesn’t it? It’s very simple–just make good choices and it’s guaranteed that you will have a good life. But is it really that easy, that simple? It would be rather pretentious to say that it is.
First of all, how do you know that it’s a good or bad choice/decision? Well, you consider certain factors. You weigh the pros and cons. You make a list of the advantages and disadvantages. You consider the risk involved. You might also consider how it would affect you and the people around you. After you take all these things together, then you make a decision. But is this a guarantee that the decision you make would be to your favor? Definitely not.
Sometimes, you make an apparently good choice and it is only in the end that you realize it is actually one that would destroy and make you miserable for the remaining lifeline that you have on this planet. Even following Baruch Spinoza’s pronouncement that a person should let reason reign over passion is not an assurance to a good decision or choice.
Things get even more complicated when you–yes, your self-interests–are involved. And why is this so? It is because YOU are YOUR greatest enemy and your most difficult adversary to defeat. Most of the time, if not all the time, you let yourself prevail. Of course, this is but natural. You are born with the instinct to preserve yourself. But does that justify your being selfish? Not quite…because you are also given the power of reason to think if opting to advance your self-interest or that of the others is prudent and humane…and conforms to what the society accepts as right.
So, how do you know if the choice, the decision you make today will change your life for the better or will make you find yourself spiraling downhill?
I DO NOT KNOW, my friend.
I cannot provide you with a concrete answer, a blueprint formula for you–or for myself at that–to follow.
But what I do know is that it–decision-making–is part of this journey called life. It is one of the myriad of challenges that we have to confront everyday. It is the INTERNAL WAR we wage everyday of our lives.
Maybe it is not really important to know how to fight in this battle and how to emerge as the victor in the war. Maybe what matters, at the end of the day, is that every choice we make was well-thought of, that we did our best to arrive at the wisest decision we can make…and leave the ending portion of the story for God to write.
After all, nothing is certain in this world. We exist amidst an infinite unknown…and that makes our existence, our lives beautiful for wouldn’t it be boring (for lack of the element of surprise), even appalling if we already know what lies ahead the road we traverse?
Ces’t la vie, the French would say. So wage the war. Win. Lose. Rise. Falter. Stand up. Stumble. LIVE.
Musika
Every time I hear really good songs with great, poetic lyrics, I suddenly feel the urge to write a song, hoping it would be as good. So I take my guitar out of its case, get a pen and paper, sit down and start making up melodies in my head. After hours of trying to write something worth presenting to my lilttle sister, Nellie, (she’s been the "critic" of my songs since I started "writing" songs. She’s brutally honest. She would tell me straightforward if she likes the song; she would scowl when she thinks it’s a piece of sh*it. Haha.) I would find in front of me either a blank piece of paper or one that has been soiled with nonsense and gibberish.
I think I’ve lost it–my so-called songwriting prowess. To me, the best song I’ve ever written is the one I penned for my Dad. It’s called "Hey You" and I wrote it when I was 13. My band and I have used it as a material for one national "battle of the bands" competition which we joined three years ago (oh my God, I’m old!). Unfortunately, we lost and as a consequence of that, our bassist called "Hey You" our "losing song". Haha. So every time we would play it in our gigs, I would make an introduction that goes something like this: This next song we’ll perform is our losing song called "Hey You".
I guess I’ll have to find a better source of inspiration other than my bitter experiences with jerks and law school. Haha. Just kidding. Right now, I admire the songwriting prowess of artists like Rachael Yamagata, Michelle Featherstone, Nerina Pallot, Imogen Heap, Regina Spektor and Feist. Hats off to these ladies! And oh, I love Leonard Cohen’s lyrics too!
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Speaking of songs and music, there’s something that my friends don’t really know about me regarding that matter. I love foreign music–foreign in a sense that they’re not English songs or music. More particularly, I love Indian music…and recently, Arabic music. I guess growing up in Saudi Arabia is to be blamed for my rather bizarre taste in music.
I’ve always loved Bollywood movies, not necessarily because they have great storyline or that they’re intellectually stimulating. I’ve become fond of them because of the colorful, flamboyant, happy singing-and-dancing scenes! Haha! I love it too when the lead actor and his love interest in the movie chivvy each other in the rain. Hehe. As for Indian singers, I love Asha Bosle, Lata Mangeshkar, Anaida, Alisha and Falguni Pathak. To this day, I can still sing their songs.
I didn’t like Arabic music when I was still in Jeddah. I thought Arab singers and their songs all sounded the same. My parents love Umm Kalthum and Aziza Jalal but I never developed any fondness for them…until they introduced Nancy Ajram to me and my sisters.
The fact that Nancy Ajram is the most popular, sought-after contemporary singer in the Middle East is a common knowledge in that region. People go crazy about her (well, at least those who can appreciate a "different" music) not because she’s some skin-baring, scantily clad pop tart. People love her for her talent, for the beauty of her voice and for her songs. I’ve heard other Arab contemporary female singers and in my opinion, none of them can outdo Nancy in terms of talent.
If you want to see (and hear) what I’m talking about, here’s her video for a song called "Elli Kan", which happens to be my favorite song of hers. There’s no harm in trying to appreciate something different. Go on, watch and discover a different world of music.
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I have a crazy idea. Since I spent so many years of my life practically without music, I’m thinking that maybe I would concentrate on it after I take the bar exams, Inshaallah. Whatever "concentrate" means. Haha.
Is the Senate a continuing body?
IS THE SENATE A CONTINUING BODY UNDER THE 1987 CONSTITUTION?
That is the question.
I bet most of the readers out there, especially law students, would answer the question in the affirmative, i.e., the Senate is a continuing body. Well, you can’t blame them; that’s what they’ve been taught when they took up Constitutional Law either in college or law school. I would have given the same answer had I not read the recent case of Neri v. Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (March 25, 2008).
When one of my professors posed the question to me, I readily said NO. He asked me why and I could only mumble a few words. But I know it’s not a continuing body as the Supreme Court declared in the above-mentioned case. The Court, quoting the OSG’s explanation, said:
"The phrase ‘duly published rules of procedure’
requires the Senate of every Congress to publish its rules of procedure
governing inquiries in aid of legislation because every Senate is distinct from
the one before it or after it. Since Senatorial elections are held every three
(3) years for one-half of the Senate’s membership, the composition of the
Senate also changes by the end of each term. Each Senate may thus enact a
different set of rules as it may deem fit. Not
having published its Rules of Procedure,
the subject hearings in aid of legislation conducted by the 14th
Senate, are therefore, procedurally infirm."
"In Arnault v. Nazareno, the SC said the Senate is a continuing body. Is it now under the 1987 Constitution? What changes have come along the way?"
"Sir, I read in the Decision that it’s not a continuing body…but I didn’t find anywhere in the Decision the reason for such pronouncement."
"Have you read the separate opinions? The reason is not stated in the main opinion."
As soon as I got home that day, I rushed to the computer and searched for the answer in the Concurring and Dissenting Opinions of the SC justices. After almost an hour of reading, I finally found it! I got so excited I didn’t want to turn off the computer without having it printed. Unfortunately, our printer ran out of ink. But that didn’t present a problem for me. I immediately got a pen and a piece of paper and scribbled away.
My hand kinda hurt after having copied THE ANSWER. But it was all worth it–I could sleep, without being bothered by that question. *sigh*
So what’s the point of making an entry about this?
Some, especially non-law students, might think this is totally pointless and that I have just wasted an hour of my time and the energy in my knuckles typing this. (So what if the Senate is not a continuing body? Will it be the end of the world if it’s not?)
Or some might think I’m showing-off, that I’m letting people know that I know more than they do. (So what if you know why the Senate is not a continuing body? Does it make you any better than the rest of us? Does it separate you from the mob?)
Well, I made an entry about this not just because it’s a question of first impression resolved by the Court. I wrote an entry about it because aside from learning the reason why the Court made such pronouncement about the Senate being a continuing body, I also learned this: That it’s always good to explore and examine things in their entirety and not just focus on the parts which we think are important or desirable. We never know what we could miss if we only look at things fragmentarily. (With regard to reading cases, it means that I should not only read the main opinion; I should also read the separate opinions. Sometimes, the Dissenting Opinion makes more sense than the main opinion. How could I have forgotten? It is these Dissenting Opinions that keep the law and jurisprudence alive! OK, sorry about that. Got carried away a little. Don’t mind the nonsensical things I utter every now and then.)
This does not apply only to reading cases. We can apply this "wisdom" to our lives in general. You see, sometimes, people get into trouble because they don’t (or refuse to) see the whole picture. They only look at the parts which are pleasant to them.
One situation in which this "wisdom" can be applied to is our political situation. I’m not going to delve into the details of the horrible politics that we have in this country–even those who do not have TV or read the papers know about it as it is easily perceptible not only in our surrounding but in our homes too. Going back to what I was trying to say, if only our so-called leaders will look at the bigger picture, i.e., consider the welfare of the whole nation and not just that of their families and of themselves, I don’t think corruption in this country would be as sickeningly prevalent as it is today. It might sound too simplistic, but hey, it doesn’t take gargantuan or grand ideas to make a big change, does it? As trite as this may sound, I do believe in the wise saying that goes like this: Big things come from small things.
Let’s change the destiny of this country, even in our own little ways…for in the end, it is not those huge political rallies where politicians recite we-will-take-this-administration-down-and-wipe-out-corruption-and-change our-country rhetoric (I believe they too are infected with a political disease called "megalomania"); it is our small, random acts of kindness, of caring for the well-being of others that will change the direction to which this country will be heading.
(So where’s the answer to the question, you ask. I’m sorry but I’m already too tired to type. Just find the answer yourself. Hehe.)
