remembrance of things awry

I thought the year 2009 went fast, but this year 2010 is passing like a wink without my even knowing it.

Looking back, the first five months of 2010 were all about the national elections.  Everyone was excited to see their presidential candidate of choice — Noynoy Aquino, Manny Villar, Joseph Estrada, Gibo Teodoro, Richard Gordon, Eddie Villanueva, et. al. — win the election.  Noynoy Aquino’s winning the presidency was not exactly a surprise, but Jejomar Binay’s winning the vice-presidency left a lot of people tongue-tied;  actually, those in the know knew that Binay had planned his ascent to the highest office for the longest time, years and years, with a silent but effective strategy of political networking from the grassroots level nationwide all the way to the top power brokers in government.  I could not believe, indeed was shocked, that Mar Roxas did not win the vice-presidency;  many people said that his ill-timed marriage to the unpopular TV executive Korina Sanchez brought him sheer bad luck in the elections.  Poor Korina Sanchez, perceived by the poor as “mataray at matapobre” and perceived by the rich as “Marie Antoinette.”  She should have hired a top public relations firm to sweeten her image.

Then there was the Quirino grandstand hostage crisis which became a grand embarrassment for the country…  The authorities had grossly underestimated the damage that the “Terminator from Batangas” could inflict on the hapless Hong Kong Chinese tourists trapped inside the bus.  The authorities were accused of having a nice lauriat lunch while the hostage crisis was ongoing at the “Emerald Garden” Chinese restaurant along Roxas Boulevard.  There was so much fuss, even outrage, about it that some friends and I were sufficiently intrigued to want to eat at the “Emerald Garden” ourselves.  Yes, the food was good.

Recently, we marked the first anniversary of the extremely destructive typhoon “Ondoy” which, with its nonstop rains, wrought incredible flooding and havoc to Metro Manila.  The night before, my dear friend Gino Gonzales the production designer had hosted his [ birthday ] dinner for Tats Manahan and I at “El Cirkulo” along Arnaiz avenue in Makati.  Malu and Jay Gamboa joined us briefly.  The food was yummy.  Malu G. invited us for a nightcap at the “Establishment” bar at the Fort but we three were tired from the long day and wished to go home.  It was already raining cats and dogs as we left the restaurant at around 11:00 p.m..  I thought, correctly, that Manila’s low-lying areas like Espana avenue and Sampaloc, and environs like Marikina and Cainta, were already flooded.

To my complete surprise [ as the house is on high ground ], I had my very own version of “2012” the movie the next morning at 11:00 a.m….

And as of 01 September 2010, Christmas carols started playing in the air waves, signaling the start of the longest Christmas season in the whole wide world…

My late mother used to say:  “Life is only slow until you’re 20 years old.  From 20 to 40 you’re working so it goes faster.  From 40 to 60 it’s only a wink… and before you know it, well, you’re…”