Peter Pan Parker (The Happy Super Hero)

As kids, we enjoyed watching Peter Pan. As teenagers, we admired Peter Parker. Now as drifters, join me to be Peter Pan Parker.

Try it. Be somebody who considers every God-given gift a curse...at the same time..floats around aboard happy thoughts.

See graces as something to give back. Everyday for Peter Parker is a tossup between his need to earn a living delivering pizzas to finance his studies and to give up both, at any time, to be the friendly neighborhood savior. He does so since he has vowed to use his abilities for others, seeing everyone as his own Uncle Ben to rescue from a gunshot. But note that for us, we too have unique abilites that give us relative advantage to help others. And to these others, we must show care for as our own respected Uncle Bens, cherished Aunt Mays, and beloved Mary Janes.

But do this altruism the Neverland style. Peter Pan teaches us to feel happy first before we attempt to fly. Resolve to have contentment first before we aim for any lofty plans in life. Often, we write our fairy tales as adventurers who toil for most of their lives in order to live happily ever after in the end. Hence, we fail to pause a few seconds a day and deprive ourselves of the simple joys of everyday in order to finish our course, have a job, and then beat the competition before we allow ourselves to revel in a great career. The unsatiation to get to a fixed dream distances us from helping people into helping ourselves too much.

The goal here is to make us happy super heroes of everyday. The fitting words actually come from that cool Sarah McLachlan phrase: ordinary miracle today. Indeed, it is not that unusual when everything is beautiful as when we help others while smiling.

What's in a Name?

For one who is nit picky, choosing a name for a blog is not that easy. Shakespeare wasn't discerning enough or that he didn't mean to make his phrases universal. A rose, or a blog for that matter, by any other name, would not smell as sweet, or be as fun to read.

For one who is given into every detail, choosing a name can delay the making of a blog... for a year! It started with a self-imposed condition that it must contain a portion of my nickname. But a lot of them cropped up and made choosing hard. Hence, after a year, i dropped that scheme.

I plan to have posts on the runner-ups gadabouts (gaddi's whereabouts), gaddilicious (gaddi's food escapades), gaddiction (gaddi's incorrigiblity), gaddiator (gaddi as a warrior of the light), abugaddi (gaddi the law advocate), ustaddi (gaddi the preacher), gaddiplomat (gaddi the negotiator). But for now, CHILL with me.

A Letter to CRiS

Dear CRiS,

Hi! I hope you're doing fine. With the prayer that it matters to you to know, I just want to say that things are not too well here. But insha-Allah, with His help, things will turn out fine. We all know that hope grows – or ebbs – based on how we entrust matters to Him.

I thought of writing you this letter to purge. Sometimes life could be so interestingly sorry that, in defense, I hark back to those fun days when we were still together. It has been two years now. Admittedly, I still miss you once in a while, especially when I hang out with our common friends.

My Wave-mates, CIPYML colleagues and YMP friends, especially, remind me of you a lot. In the many hanging-outs with those bunches of somebodies and somebuddies, you were with me. I still have those memorable ones: the run around northern QC during Eric's birthday, tear-heavy trips to the airport after CIPYML graduations, busy IRF-1 preparations, and the serendipitous rush for a photocopy machine in Binan where I first met her.

Thanks for those, bud. I just realized, I never introduced you as “my dear friend CRiS”. They simply knew you as “Gaddi's car” or “pick-up ni Gadz”. Sorry for that, pal.

CRiS, I advise you to accept my gratitude and apology because I also want to rant. It's because when I miss brighter moments in my life, I also end up this way, missing you. Where are you now when I'm needing you?! I concede, you helped me cross many busy intersections and rev along familiar streets. Now, however, you are not with me in this uncertain crossroad, along this uncomfy path.

I find myself one less buddy lonely.

Sincely Yours,

Gaddi

Editor's note:

CRiS, short for Plate# CRS-492, was sold in late 2006 to help defray school fees of Gaddi, his driver, parking attendant, carwash boy, wax buffer and bestfriend.

Welcome to the Bash Party

I enjoy using Kardel and Jahrakal most. Their size attracted me first, being a dwarf and a troll, respectively. They're the digital testaments to “small but terrible” tag.

But the choice of skills granted to these characters is what I consider an inspired move. Specifically, it is their ability to stun, or in DotA lingo, to “bash” opponents. This they can do without casting a spell; no mana and time loss. Also, while most heroes save up for the Cranium Basher, Eye of Skadi and Sange Yasha, the Dwarven Sniper and Troll Warlord just upgrade to keep slowing down the adversary.

The thought of ganging up an unexpecting opponent with Kardel hidden among the trees and Jahrakal running berserk coming from nowhere gets me excited. I call it Ownage via the Bash Party.

"Gotcha!"

This contraction reminds me of my neighborhood buddies Alex and Jun. In my high school days, they would visit me, stand near our gate and yell, “Gaja!” Or so I thought as they try hard to mimic my relatives in saying the palate-tasking word Gaddia, which is my actual nickname. It's very similar to Buendia being barked out as Buenja as in, “Manong, pakibaba kami sa Buenja!”

Now, at times, “Gaja” almost sounds like “Gotcha!” I just learned, about two years ago, that Gaddia, in turn, is the Maranao version of the Tausug word Gajah. Funny, the way the following words sound, Gaja or Gotcha almost went back to Gajah. Alex and Jun unwittingly discovered the origin of my nickname. And so they got me.

Pacquiao vs Lozada

The Philippine Daily Inquirer may want to reconsider its choice. While I agree that it was some year for Manny “Pacman” Pacquiao, I do not see his blockbuster wins eclipsing Jun Lozada's heroism. For me, J-Lo should have been the Filipino of the Year 2008. Or at least, have him share it with Pacman.

I say we primarily consider promoting the contribution which should be emulated given the current issues besetting the society. Which do the Filipino people need more, worldwide publicity or a fix in the system of corruption?

As for the first, this nation already has it. Check the recent rankings of the most corrupt nations. The Philippines is a hall of fame candidate...or shall I say hall of shame?

As for the second (a fix in the system), we need it badly. No need to exaggerate. Here, corruption is next to God in omnipresence. And people adhere to it more than God. The actual damage it does to our economy is dwarfed by its effect on people's psyche. The youth are being raised up perceiving it as a way of life.

To Mr. Lozada, sorry if PDI missed out on this. Is it because you survived the tarmac insident unlike Ninoy? Interestingly, as if to commemorate, you risked your life 25years after that.