Let’s put it this way, if I take this writing stuff full time, I may not get hungry but I’ll have to live like Bukowski. I reckon he lived a life that nourished his soul and nurtured his talent. At least the part after he quit his postal job trying to be a bread winner. Bukowski is my favorite poet since after I bought Pearl Jam 5th album “Yield” and Ed scribbled something about Buk in the liner notes. I stumbled upon his book inside Popular bookstore, a subversive bookstore
It was 1998, I had a green Alcatel phone that was shaped like a soap. It rang with Ma’am Yoli on the opposite line. It was 9 am and she said she had donuts.
I, on the other hand, had nothing. I had nothing going on. I was 20, and I felt like I was running out of opportunities. Out of college, I tried to work in hopes of getting to a college with a course I like. It didn’t happen.
At that moment I had donuts. It was a bait. A lure to get me back in Bulacan State. I don’t know much about Ma’am Yoli, except for that genuine interest for my stories.
I find it amusing that we are taught to pray for prosperity, for material things to be given to us. By preachers whose claim to fame is guaranteeing a rich man’s life to his followers. He got rich by swindling you with a false idea. With your contribution, you guarantee his prosperity. With his prosperity you will equate his success as proof of his infallible faith. Something you can hold on to and replicate. I don’t understand how the rephrased and reprised mantra of “give me your money and I’ll show you how to get rich” scheme works every time. But it does.
It is the most audacious claim we can have about life. Owning time, wasting time and giving it away (I have time, I can give you time and waste time reading my blog)
What do we really have then? We can be lazy and let the chips fall where they may, and they will. The littlest of efforts will get us somewhere. We are projectiles in a planet in constant motion. With a mind that seeks meaning.
Now this is power. Another reason to hate the “self proclaimed king,” a “usurper to the throne”, a “prima donna of the league”. Aren’t you glad to be a San Antonio band wagoner right now? The only team not affected by the hoopla.
Melo would’ve been talking strategy with Kobe by now, Bosh would’ve been enjoying the cash, and Granger would be the LeBron replacement, the new Robin when the aging Batman has to play lead hero again. But all of that has got to wait.
My father was a big man with big heavy arms who doesn’t like to sleep with the lights on but is afraid of the dark. He doesn’t like to sleep alone. And he’d lock me with his burly arms like logs… Snoring logs. Now I realize how overwhelmingly happy such gesture makes a father. I always want to hug my daughter and son till I doze off. I know they are feeling how I felt then. I try to explain or control the need to keep them within reach. Some things are only seen when you’re at the other side of the fence.
photo courtesy of officiallyphilippines
Marahil madalas mo itong naririnig, ang hamon sa iyong kasalukuyang estado: “Malaya ka ba?” . O di kaya yung mas matinding pagsuma sa iyong kalagayan na naka ankla sa mga takot, hangganan at mga hindi mo kayang gawin: “Hindi ka malaya!”
Sunod nito ay ang paglista ng lahat ng iyong kahinaan laban sa matinding kasamaan na namamayagpag sa ngayon. Ang pangarap mo ay ilusyon, pero ang mga di ka-nais nais ay parang sapot na sumakop ng isang sulok ng iyong kamalayan. Basta nandyan na lang sya. Sunod ka na lang.
photo courtesy of NBA on instagram
How good is this year’s NBA finals? Put it this way, if you’re a fan of either side, you can say that you’re team can easily be up 2-0 (Heat: if only LBJ didn’t cramp up; Spurs: if only they made those critical 4 free throws)
If the Spurs are gonna do it, they should do it in 6. This is a tall task because the Heat has been very good in bouncing back from losses. By keeping it close though, they are capable of stealing a win in the end especially if the shooters are clicking. Taking a win on a game 7 is difficult because the poise and confidence of the defending champs thrives in those moments.
photo courtesy of NBA.com
This is the fourth straight year that we’ll see the Miami Heat in the finals. And if you’re still unconvinced, maybe it’s time you follow a different league. Or a different sport.
photo from ieet.org
Your struggles will define you. How you swim through it or as Bukowski puts it “What matters most is how well you walk through the fire” because “Sometimes life won’t leave you alone.” Sometimes life is tough enough not to even give you a forked road.
I think the evil lies in staying in the comfort zone idly. That 3 seconds in the paint.
Comfort zones are meant to be expanded. Otherwise, suffer mental atrophy.
I’ve tasted a life wasted, I’m never going back again.
danDAman 