Finding Meaning
KAIBIGAN.
Nagpapasama ako kay Rusell sa Baguio. Sagot ko ang traveling expenses. At dumating na kami sa puntong kritikal; tinanong niya kung saan kami matutulog. Ang totoo, nalalapit na ang kanyang wakas. Ipinagtapat ko ito at sinabing “Pagdating doon, magpapasalamat ako sa ‘yo. Pero malalaman mong kailangan na nating tapusin ang pagkakaibigang ito, at ihuhulog kita sa bangin.”
Mahal ko si Rusell. Pero ito ay tulad sa pagmamahal na nadarama mo sa gripo --- gagamitin mo kasi siya. Ops, iniisip mo na marahil na masama ako. Malalaking salita tulad ng USER-FRIENDLY. UTILITARIAN. MASAMANG DAMO o LINTA. Pero hindi. Hindi lingid sa kaalaman ni Rusell ang GAMITANG nagaganap. ‘Pag nga tumatawag siya sa bahay, ito agad ang pambungad ko: “Ano nanaman ang kailangan mo?” Mutual.
Kilala ko siya. Kilalang-kilala (na may kasamang matalim na titig). Nakapokus siya sa detalye, hindi sa malaki. Pero sabi ko nga, kapag kita ang pinag-uusapan (read: pera pera) aba’y nakapokus sa MALAKI! Sino nga bang hindi?
Sa pag-uusap namin sa telepono, nakabuo kami ng syllogism. Read at your own risk:
Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are.
You are what you eat.
Hence: Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you who your friends are.
Natutuwa ako ‘pag pinakikilala niya ko bilang best friend niya.
Hahaha... :-)
***
Ayokong umasa pero ayos lang kung may kasamang umaasa.
***
TEKSTO.
Tinatapos ko ang anumang nasimulan, ‘di ba? But it still depends on how far I’ve gone from the starting point.
I am halfway through George Orwell’s A Clergyman’s Daughter when I felt that this book is not making sense to me personally. Nevertheless, I went on and on. Then I reached the juicier chapters. Natapos ko rin nang walang panghihinayang sa oras, dahil may nakita akong kahulugan. Ito rin mismo ang sinasabi ng libro.
Mr. Warburton:
Ø [The world] is not empty at all, it’s a deuced sight too full, that’s the trouble. We’re here today and gone tomorrow, and we’ve no time to enjoy what we’ve got.
Ø When I eat my dinner, I do it because I enjoy it. The world’s full of amusing things – books, pictures, wine, travel, friends – everything. I’ve never seen any meaning in it all, and I don’t want to see one. Why not take life as you find it?
Ø Show me a philosophy of life that isn’t hedonism. Ultimately we’re all trying for a bit of fun; but some people take it in such perverted forms.
Dorothy, the clergyman’s daughter:
Ø Beliefs change, but there is some inner part of the soul that does not change. Faith vanishes, but the need for faith remains the same as before. And given only faith, how can anything else matter? How can anything else dismay you if only there is some purpose in the world which you can serve, and which, while serving it, you can understand? Your whole life is illumined by that sense of purpose. There is no weariness in your heart, no doubts, no feeling of futility. Every act is significant, every moment sanctified, woven by faith as into a pattern, a fabric of never-ending joy.
Ø Life, if the grave really ends it, is dreadful. Think of it as it really is, think of the details of life; and then think that there is no meaning in it, no goal except the grave. There’s no possible substitute for faith; it is all or nothing. No pagan acceptance of life as sufficient to itself, no pantheistic cheer-up stuff, no pseudo-religion of “progress” with visions of glittering Utopias and anti-heaps of steel and concrete. Either life on earth is a preparation for something greater and more lasting, or it is meaningless, dark and dreadful.
Ø If death ends all, then there is no hope and no meaning in anything.
***
S.O.S.
Here goes the question:
Habang nasa loob ng sasakyan, nakita mong nag-flash flood ng 2 feet. Anong dapat gawin?
a. Bumwelta, humanap ng ibang ruta.
b. Bagalan ang takbo at tawirin ang baha.
c. Bilisan ang takbo at tawirin ang baha.
Sagot ni itay, gumising sa panaginip.
***
FEMINISMO.
Bakit daw manhole, hindi womanhole? Naku, mas kabastos-bastos ata ang dating sa kababaihan. Our prof suggests that we call it SERVICEHOLE instead. Sini-serbisyuhan daw kasi ang ilalim.
Mahihinuha mong tawa na ako nang tawa sa Comm 140 session na ‘yon with Prof. Varona. At katabi ko nga pala si Jam sa panahong ito, humahagikgik din.
***
ESPAÑOL.
ALARMANTE adj. nakatatakot o nakababakla.
HURTAR v. embezzle. lustayin ang salapi ng iba. (I prefer DISPALKO.)
ESTAFADOR n. manlulustay. embezzler.
Kung dati rati’y may name game kami ni Gladdys kung saan iniisipan namin ng mga katangian ang maraming mga pangalan, ginawa naman namin ni Rafael ang kabaligtaran. Inilarawan muna namin ang karakter. Matabang babaeng may mabibigat na alahas. Kuwintas na may malalaking perlas. Mga hebigat na pulseras. Naka-blouse na parang polo at madilim ang kulay. Naka-jeans na hapit at floral. May dala siyang mga brochure ng cosmetics, bra, at perfume.
Teka, tinatanong mo kung bakit namin ‘to pinag-usapan? At kung bakit ko ‘to ibinabahagi ngayon? Nasabi ko kasi kay Rafael (siya ‘yung nagsabing mag-print na lang ng facial expression ‘pag nanghihingi ng reaction paper ang prof) ang pangarap kong maging illegal recruiter. At ‘pag marami na ‘kong nadispalko, magtutungo sa Cebu at nang makapagbenta ng Philippine Cockatoo per piece. Per piece. Natatawa ‘ko sa ganitong iskema. Tapos, cheaper by the dozen. At any rate, reyna na ‘ko ng ilegal! Nag-aral pa raw ako sa UP, a ni Rafael. Manlalamang lang pala ‘ko ng kapwa. ‘Yun na nga ang punto... magandang credentials. Hehehe (na may posturang hawig sa pusang humihimas ng whiskers niya).
Ibang iba na siguro ang tingin mo sa ‘kin ngayon. Ang maipapayo ko lang, ‘wag kang maniniwala BASTA-BASTA sa SABI-SABI. Kahit “SABI-SABI” ko pa ‘to habang nasa impluwensiya ng MERRYWANNA.
TEKSTO.
Tinatapos ko ang anumang nasimulan, ‘di ba? But it still depends on how far I’ve gone from the starting point.
I am halfway through George Orwell’s A Clergyman’s Daughter when I felt that this book is not making sense to me personally. Nevertheless, I went on and on. Then I reached the juicier chapters. Natapos ko rin nang walang panghihinayang sa oras, dahil may nakita akong kahulugan. Ito rin mismo ang sinasabi ng libro.
Mr. Warburton:
Ø [The world] is not empty at all, it’s a deuced sight too full, that’s the trouble. We’re here today and gone tomorrow, and we’ve no time to enjoy what we’ve got.
Ø When I eat my dinner, I do it because I enjoy it. The world’s full of amusing things – books, pictures, wine, travel, friends – everything. I’ve never seen any meaning in it all, and I don’t want to see one. Why not take life as you find it?
Ø Show me a philosophy of life that isn’t hedonism. Ultimately we’re all trying for a bit of fun; but some people take it in such perverted forms.
Dorothy, the clergyman’s daughter:
Ø Beliefs change, but there is some inner part of the soul that does not change. Faith vanishes, but the need for faith remains the same as before. And given only faith, how can anything else matter? How can anything else dismay you if only there is some purpose in the world which you can serve, and which, while serving it, you can understand? Your whole life is illumined by that sense of purpose. There is no weariness in your heart, no doubts, no feeling of futility. Every act is significant, every moment sanctified, woven by faith as into a pattern, a fabric of never-ending joy.
Ø Life, if the grave really ends it, is dreadful. Think of it as it really is, think of the details of life; and then think that there is no meaning in it, no goal except the grave. There’s no possible substitute for faith; it is all or nothing. No pagan acceptance of life as sufficient to itself, no pantheistic cheer-up stuff, no pseudo-religion of “progress” with visions of glittering Utopias and anti-heaps of steel and concrete. Either life on earth is a preparation for something greater and more lasting, or it is meaningless, dark and dreadful.
Ø If death ends all, then there is no hope and no meaning in anything.
***
S.O.S.
Here goes the question:
Habang nasa loob ng sasakyan, nakita mong nag-flash flood ng 2 feet. Anong dapat gawin?
a. Bumwelta, humanap ng ibang ruta.
b. Bagalan ang takbo at tawirin ang baha.
c. Bilisan ang takbo at tawirin ang baha.
Sagot ni itay, gumising sa panaginip.
***
FEMINISMO.
Bakit daw manhole, hindi womanhole? Naku, mas kabastos-bastos ata ang dating sa kababaihan. Our prof suggests that we call it SERVICEHOLE instead. Sini-serbisyuhan daw kasi ang ilalim.
Mahihinuha mong tawa na ako nang tawa sa Comm 140 session na ‘yon with Prof. Varona. At katabi ko nga pala si Jam sa panahong ito, humahagikgik din.
***
ESPAÑOL.
ALARMANTE adj. nakatatakot o nakababakla.
HURTAR v. embezzle. lustayin ang salapi ng iba. (I prefer DISPALKO.)
ESTAFADOR n. manlulustay. embezzler.
Kung dati rati’y may name game kami ni Gladdys kung saan iniisipan namin ng mga katangian ang maraming mga pangalan, ginawa naman namin ni Rafael ang kabaligtaran. Inilarawan muna namin ang karakter. Matabang babaeng may mabibigat na alahas. Kuwintas na may malalaking perlas. Mga hebigat na pulseras. Naka-blouse na parang polo at madilim ang kulay. Naka-jeans na hapit at floral. May dala siyang mga brochure ng cosmetics, bra, at perfume.
Teka, tinatanong mo kung bakit namin ‘to pinag-usapan? At kung bakit ko ‘to ibinabahagi ngayon? Nasabi ko kasi kay Rafael (siya ‘yung nagsabing mag-print na lang ng facial expression ‘pag nanghihingi ng reaction paper ang prof) ang pangarap kong maging illegal recruiter. At ‘pag marami na ‘kong nadispalko, magtutungo sa Cebu at nang makapagbenta ng Philippine Cockatoo per piece. Per piece. Natatawa ‘ko sa ganitong iskema. Tapos, cheaper by the dozen. At any rate, reyna na ‘ko ng ilegal! Nag-aral pa raw ako sa UP, a ni Rafael. Manlalamang lang pala ‘ko ng kapwa. ‘Yun na nga ang punto... magandang credentials. Hehehe (na may posturang hawig sa pusang humihimas ng whiskers niya).
Ibang iba na siguro ang tingin mo sa ‘kin ngayon. Ang maipapayo ko lang, ‘wag kang maniniwala BASTA-BASTA sa SABI-SABI. Kahit “SABI-SABI” ko pa ‘to habang nasa impluwensiya ng MERRYWANNA.
***
Bakit ganun ang sanitation engineer? Akala mo kung sinong marangal. Kung magmataas, 'kala mo kung sinong MALINIS. At napag-uusapan na rin lang ang kalinisan: Habang naglalakad kami ni Pat, plano niyang paluin kuno ang kamay ko para malaglag sa damo ang plastic cup. Wala kasing basurahan eh. Habang abala kami sa paglingon, at masaya dahil wala nang nakatingin, may security outpost na pala sa unahan namin. Papaluin niya na sana 'ko. Tumawa na lang kami ng malakas habang dumaraan sa gilid ng tanod.
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