I Luv FPJ

It was in 1992 when I first felt how to be star struck. I was 14 at that time, the period when my sister and I were still both hooked to Ora Engkantada on RPN 9 and FPJ sa GMA on GMA 7. Since my father is a loyal Fernando Poe Jr. fan, we had no choice but to watch FPJ movies with him or lose our only tv viewing time every Saturday. I think I have become a fan as well. I have memorized the plot, characters, and even the dialogue in many FPJ movies, a natural course for someone who had watched the weekly airing of his movies for years.

A national election brought me a step closer to Da King. It was summer of 1992 when he went to Sta. Rosa, Laguna to campaign for his best friend, Joseph Estrada who was then running for the Senate. On that memorable day ( at least in the life of a fan like me ), he was wearing a blue long-sleeved shirt, paired with a blue jeans and a pair of familiar Ray-Ban sunglasses we usually saw him wear. He was waving and smiling at us, even shaking the hands of people who managed to reach him. FPJ appeared the same in person as on the screen. He really had the look of a true action superstar. He was tall with a light brown complexion, and a killer smile that stole the hearts of millions in the Philippines. That I was speechless when I saw him was an understatement. I was actually “lost” when that rendezvous happened. Had I not regained myself, I would have followed him and his convoy to the next town. I can’t help but smile whenever I look back to that day of summer, the day a huge star came down to brighten our then sleepy town.

I was not in the Philippines when he died in 2005. I was then finishing a Chinese Language and Culture course in Taiwan. But like many FPJ followers, I was extremely surprised. His demise was sad and unexpected. His supporters were not ready to lose an icon who had become part of their entertainment culture for almost five decades. A clip of his burial on CNN was my last glimpse of FPJ. And like that fateful summer of 1992, I was not just speechless, I was “in the dark” for having lost a cultural icon whose presence on the big screen had successfully immortalized lives of underrated heroes of the country, an honest and principled law enforcer, an ordinary man searching for justice, a Muslim devoted to his faith, a poor athlete with nothing but honor, and a blacksmith whose courage and goodness saved his town from evil.

As loyal FPJ fans continue to commemorate his birth and death anniversaries, may this country find a new kind of inspiration from the stories of ordinary but dignified people portrayed by Da King in his films. People whose lives clearly speak of the goodness and resilience of Filipinos who are still searching for that elusive “ tuwid na daan”.

Christmas Jitters

The Christmas season caught me unprepared for this special occasion. I came back to the Philippines on December 11 with the worst cold I've ever had. It was so worst I had to nurse it for 10 days, 4 days in Delhi and almost a week here in the Philippines. I think having that cold was my body's way of telling me that I've had so much of " air conditioned air " in the midst of India's shivering winter. While my friends had stopped using their air conditioning units, I was still using it for three straight weeks. As a result, my body system had to keep my nose in a terrible condition to wake me up from a cold slumber.

The Christmas spirit is not as ubiquitous in India as it is in the Philippines. Christmas trees and other decors were not sold until the second week of December and by the time they were to remind me of the season, I was already crazy enjoying my last days in the city.

When I was finally home, the cold was still with me plus the tasks I have to accomplish were already piling up. Aside from that, the week when I arrived was already the last week before Christmas break starts which left me unable to keep up with the fast pace the Christmas season ply. It left me with no time to buy gifts for friends and colleagues and most of all to meditate on the reason for the season. It's like as if Christmas didn't come or maybe it was I who didn't make it for the season. :(

Pleasant Surprises

Honestly, I don't know much about India. Two weeks before I left, I did my best to read about it, but on the plane, I realized that whatever I read about India was not enough to prepare me for the trip so I just prepared myself for lots of surprises.

At 11:30pm, the cab commissioned to fetch me from the Terminal 3 of the Indira Gandhi International Airport was racing with other vehicles to reach downtown Delhi. Surprisingly, the time didn't slow down the traffic on the road. Delhi was still bustling despite the time and cool breeze of winter. Thanks to the Delhiites who drive unusually fast as if driving F1 racing cars. I almost tell the driver to slow down but when I saw many cars overtaken our car I realized that is the way they maneuver cars in Delhi.

By the time I reached my hotel, the sleepiness I had felt was gone, instead, the energy I saw earlier flowed into my body, enough to sustain me as I unload my luggage of clothes, books, and things from home.

At exactly 9:30 am, the cars which would become our service for a month arrived for the first time at Hotel Cosy Grand. Sixteen delegates representing Australia, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam went inside the car and excitedly looked at what Delhi offers this time of the day. Here are some of my observations.

1. The roads in Delhi are wider ( and clean ) than the roads in Manila.

2. If the King of the Philippine Road is the jeepneys, in India it is no doubt the "tuk-tuk" or the auto rickshaws rule the road.

3. Delhi is a green city with many trees beautifully lined up on the sidewalks. Since Delhi has lots of trees, monkeys on the street are not an unusual sight.

4. Delhi is not as polluted as Manila. One probable reason is not all vehicles use gasoline. The tuk-tuks which dominate the roads run on compressed natural gas ( CNG ).

5. Among car users , it is a norm to " blow your horn " always.

6. The traffic is tolerable unlike in Bangkok and Beijing.

7. The capital doesn't have a penchant for tall buildings.

These observations are just confined to the street scenes of Delhi. As a whole India has so many things to offer to the world like it did several hundred years ago.

Namaste India!

As 2010 bids farewell, it is just right to reminisce the good things that happened to me this year. One of the best gifts I received was my first ever trip to India. I’ve never imagined myself visiting India. It is far, an 8 hour flight from Manila, and the airfare is quite expensive. But it turned out, God has plans that are sometimes beyond our imagination. True indeed, in the afternoon of November 14, 2010, I was on a Philippine Airlines flight to Hong Kong to catch a Jet Airways flight to New Delhi.

The flight from Manila to Hong Kong was smooth. The PAL ground crew was able to find a rear window seat fro me. I knew the trip would be short so I was relaxed, besides, a visit to Hong Kong no matter how short or long is always a pleasure. I love everything about that lovely and compact city. I stayed at the airport for only three hours. Before the clock strikes 8:00 pm, the Jet Airways plane took off for that incredible city called New Delhi.