I have had my share of people who told me they wanted to commit suicide. Thank God they are still around.
I always told them not to, because...why would I ever encourage someone to do it? These people are already down, and the reason they are telling you this is because they need your strength. They are running out of energy and are hoping you would share yours. The last thing they need is refusal.
I always said that there are much more in life that they are yet to experience. Giving up is never an option. I assured them that things will get better someday, and all they have to do is survive.
There are things in life that we fight for, and if we quit now, we will never reach them. All of our efforts and sufferings would amount to nothing if we let go of everything. Then everything would have been a waste. Our life would have been meaningless. We would have been nothing but quitters.
But as long as we are alive, we can move and do the things we can to make it right. It's never too late, I know. And I am not sure where this optimism is coming from, but if I ever experience getting suicidal, I hope someone would be optimistic for me too.
And now I am wondering what it would take for me to get suicidal. What would bring me to end this blessed life? I don't know, but I'm doing my part now for those who have reached the edge. Letting people know I care for them, and that at least one person would be sad if they leave this life. I would sometimes approach them and joke: "No taking shortcuts, okay?"
But I am dead serious with this. I don't want them to look for a quicker way of ending things.
I want to be alive when these suicidal people reach the better road. I want to see them laughing again. I would pat them on the shoulder, smile and say "I told you so."
That is by far the most meaningful sentence Dev has ever said to me. It may have been for something trivial like an arcade game, but there's a reason it stuck in my head.
Dev and I were heading home from a museum tour today when we passed by a mall and decided to eat lunch there. After that was over, we went upstairs to this arcade known as World of Fun. Some of the games were broken and that was not fun at all. But at least Dev's favorite game was in working condition.
Tekken 6, which is also one of my favorite games, cost two tokens per play. Dev bought a bunch of tokens, but I only bought two...just enough for one game. We then walked to the arcade machine where one guy was already playing. Dev confidently sat down on the other side, meaning he wanted to challenge the man opposite to him.
After a few seconds, Dev lost to his foe. He complained that the joystick was broken. I believed him immediately because with my experience, I have encountered several annoying joysticks. His defeat was acceptable.
Soon we were just watching the "experts" battle it out, hoping that they'd someday leave both sides empty. We really wanted to fight each other, and the only other way to do that (other than waiting endlessly for the experts to stop) was to challenge the experts ourselves. Oftentimes we would watch them first and see if we could beat them before actually challenging them.
So there, Dev and I stood and watched... and soon Dev asked: "Ark, can you beat him?"
And I said "No way."
Dev shrugged me off and said "Hey, at least I'll try."
He sat down and faced the opponent. And even if he did lose again, it somehow stuck to me that my brother is actually much more courageous than he seems. We both knew we were no match to those experts. But the reason he was so much better than me at that moment was because he was crazy enough to TRY.
At least he gave it a shot. At least he did not waste an opportunity.
And all I did was stare, and watch, and repent on the fact that I will lose if I ever tried. I knew I was good at the game. But that did not reflect on me today. Dev was the winner of that round. I applaud you, brother.
Suddenly inspired, I sat on the opposite end and challenged Dev, finally. Yes, even if it meant using the broken joystick he was complaining about. I wanted to try. I wanted to fight.
And yes, I lost to Dev. But at least I gave him a good fight. Which reminds me to exact my Tekken revenge on him the next time we enter an arcade. I will choose the best joystick and I will TRY to beat Dev. Yes, blind courage somehow equates to confidence.
So Dev, watch out. You shall get a piece of my mind next time.
But right now...thanks for inspiring me a bit. This is one of the moments where I am glad I have Dev as my brother.
DEV: *yawn* I'm really sleepy, man. Should we really do this NOW?
ARK: Yes, Dev. Now.
DEV: K. Fine.
ARK: Hello readers! Dev and I are here to inform you of our new WordPress account!
DEV: *yawn* Our prof said we needed a WordPress account for one of our subjects, and so we made one. But we'll be basically posting the same sh*t on it. I'm considering copy pasting our work here to there. Y'know? Make things a little easier?
ARK: But expect to see a few subject-oriented matter on the WordPress. You may even read our school work there.
DEV: What??? They'll see MY school work ONLINE?!!! No way man! They'll see how horrible...
ARK: How horrible you are at writing?
DEV: Shut up Ark! They'll see how horribly talented I am EVEN in school. SO watch out, folks. Dev is gonna go turbo mode on this webpage.
ARK: Yes! Yes, me too. I too shall go on "turbo mode".
DEV: It sounds geeky when it comes from you. Lemme handle this by myself.
ARK: *sigh*
DEV: So there you have it. We'll be posting on both these webpages now. I'll post the link here later, after I'm done customizing it. I'm planning to make it look EXACTLY like this one. Or cooler.
ARK: Watch out for it!
DEV: Great! We've got a deal, okay? You visit both our webpages from now on. There, I'm done here Ark. Now let me go to bed.
ARK: Wait! I though you'll customize the WordPress account!
I guess I spoke too soon when I posted that. Because right now, I do not feel the excitement anymore. It's like the feeling quickly faded. The days are passing, and Christmas is fast approaching. But really...is it the season to be jolly yet?
Is it just me, or is the Christmas spirit really weak this year? Is it the lack of Christmas lights on the streets? Is it the lack of Christmas music playing randomly? Is it the lack of Christmas-themed episodes on TV? Or is it too early to seek for these things?
Or is it me? Have I been trying too hard to be productive that I have lost my sense of enjoyment? I feel the need to mature and do things in a more organized way-- that is how it will be when I graduate, so might as well get used to it now.
But though I do enjoy allotting my time to things that matter, I want to keep myself on the right track...on the happy track. I must not forget to play. I should wake up my childish self just in time for the celebration of Christmas.
I am not excited, and I am afraid Christmas will also just pass me by, like any other day. I must do something special that day, or else I will not feel it at all. Hmm...what can I do to get myself into the Christmas spirit?
For one, posting this is already having an effect on me. All this talk about Christmas is getting me in the mood. But I still have to do something special. All work and no play makes Ark a dull angel.
Which reminds me the opposite situation for Dev, who is all play and no work. Hmm...what could I give to my brother this Christmas? After all, this is our first time spending Christmas on Earth.
Sorry for not being able to post guys! Ark's been trying to make this day productive--and he's bringing me along to do it too!!
Oh well. There's a lot of work to do. Ark's forcing me to do some of it. Trust me, one of these days I'm gonna disguise Cat Pig as me and end all this. Where's Cat Pig anyway.
So here, enjoy the complete version of Glee's Gangnam Style song! I downloaded it as soon as I heard it was out. Hell yeah. :D
Got home from school just now. Ark and I entered this horrible essay writing contest. It was boring as hell! Well at least Ark enjoyed it. So anyway, my brain muscles are pretty tired so I'm gonna share a hilarious Facebook post I found...ON FACEBOOK!!! F*ck yeah.
Oh yeah. Spread the Magikarp love, folks. Anyway have I mentioned that I've got an awesomazing new PSP?? Well, if I haven't... I'VE GOT AN AWESOMAZING NEW PSP!!!
So I'll get off this little computer now, and I'll be enjoying for a while. :D
For those of you who don't know, Amalayer is a girl whose video suddenly went viral upon getting posted on the internet. In the said video, she is seen rampaging against a female security guard. She repeatedly screams "I'm a liar?!" to the woman's face...something that is heard more clearly as "Amalayer?!", thus her name.
This is my late reaction to the viral video.
Amalayer received tons of criticism from netizens, having been called the "rude passenger" by the one who posted the video. And if you watch the video, it is quite obvious why she was called that way. She was making a scene in a public place by arguing with the seemingly defenseless lady guard.
Having witnessed only this part of the story, people from all over the web commented and practically destroyed her. To say it simply, the people over-reacted and in the end Amalayer was cyber bullied. With a twist in the story, the "rude passenger" suddenly became the victim.
But many rushed to her aid. These people, who I doubt knew her any better, defended her by targeting all her new-found haters. The people I am referring to are the ones with enough sense to figure out that the video didn't show us much. It didn't show us the entire story. The point of view of Amalayer was never seen in the video. Her haters forgot to ask WHY she was rampaging in the first place.
Yes, she was bullied by people who didn't get every detail of the event. They based their opinion merely on what was presented to them...nothing more
Good thing there were news agencies who gave Amalayer a chance to say what's been running on her mind while she cussed out the lady guard.
Here's the video interview:
Source: YouTube
Sorry to those who can't understand. She's saying that the guard grabbed her and shouted at her, so she called the LRT's supervisor. But when the said supervisor came, the guard started to act meek and gentle, which infuriated her. She admitted that what she did was wrong, but is also planning to sue for libel to the one who originally posted the video. She would be glad to push the case especially if anyone would help her do so.
Now here's what I think.
I have had my share of irritating security personnel who abuse their power and try to show you who's boss. I've encountered their kind, and frankly speaking I hate them.
But if I was in her shoes, I wouldn't start that scandal. It takes courage to pull something like that. She was courageous to stand up for herself. But she was disrupting the public area. She was being too loud, and that's why she attracted attention to herself in the first place.
I don't hate her. Like I said, she only stood up for herself. And if what she said in the interview was true, then nobody has the right to call her a bitch. Turns out, it was the lady guard's fault. Still, I am saying that she was wrong for making such a fuss, and that things could have been handled in a much simpler way.
Also, there's no need to rub it in-- the fact that she's educated. The way she acted, did not really reflect that. She should have been a bit smarter. She should have outsmarted her oppressor instead of fighting her. She should have proven that she was educated by not pulling herself down that level.
There are a lot of "should haves" here. And I bet Paula Salvosa, aka Amalayer, regretted what she did. But now that all's been said and done, there's nothing left but to see this as a lesson for everyone: to the ones who made the video viral, to the lady guard, and to Amalayer herself.
Dev called me up 'cause of this bullying scenario that Jen got into. So I'm staying for the night at their house. Dev and I'll be going to Jen's school tomorrow to fix some problems.
So while I'm here, I'll narrate to you one of my recent adventures.
There I was, riding this public vehicle (called a 'Jeep') on my way to a nature-protection seminar. It was hot and I prevented myself from getting dehydrated by munching on some large ice cubes. As the jeep began to fill with passengers, I noticed the man in front of me. Let's say he's in his mid-40's, and the only reason I looked at him was because he was watching a movie on his mobile phone.
I don't usually pay attention to the other commuters. But how can you ignore a man who's WATCHING AN ACTION MOVIE WITH THE VOLUME TURNED UP TO THE MAX???!!
The man got himself angry stares as he drooled over his movie, completely sucked into his own world. At least I'm trying to believe that he was so engrossed with the film. I'm convincing myself that he didn't notice us GLARING at him. Because if he wasn't, then that means he's just AN INCONSIDERATE JERK! We were giving him signs! "TURN THE FREAKIN' VOLUME DOWN, MAN!"
Still it was rude to tell him off publicly. We didn't want to hurt his feelings. Well...they didn't. I wanted to bring some REAL action into the situation. But being the educated shark that I am, I just stared at him angrily. I was hoping he'd look up just in time to see me break the ice cubes with my teeth...you know, as a friendly warning.
But no, nothing had an effect. He even looked up to check if the jeep has already started moving. Then he resumed breaking the noise barrier. NOISE POLLUTION IS JUST AS BAD AS REGULAR POLLUTION. It irritates the hell out of everyone!! Nobody likes noise.
The jeep echoed with armalites and gun shots and explosions. Oh, and random feminine screaming too. Like "OH! Help me!", or something like that.
He ended our misery by finally taking the hint and keeping his phone away. Good timing too. The ice cubes were already targeting his head.
I'm gonna make this REAL quick, 'cause we gotta go to church right this instant.
SOMEONE'S BULLYING JEN, AND THAT SOMEONE'S GONNA GET HURT.
Rawr. I've always hated bullies. Brings back memories. And yeah, I pretty much do my share of bullying too, but NO ONE bullies Jen. No one, except me. So...while Ark and Cat Pig head to college tomorrow, Imma head to Jen's school and give them a piece of my mind, and I'll probably do some biting too.
So there. I'll see ya tomorrow, you brave, little rat. And to you readers, you're welcome to join my army. Sign up now! :D
Soon we were just watching the "experts" battle it out, hoping that they'd someday leave both sides empty. We really wanted to fight each other, and the only other way to do that (other than waiting endlessly for the experts to stop) was to challenge the experts ourselves. Oftentimes we would watch them first and see if we could beat them before actually challenging them.
I am not excited, and I am afraid Christmas will also just pass me by, like any other day. I must do something special that day, or else I will not feel it at all. Hmm...what can I do to get myself into the Christmas spirit?
But many rushed to her aid. These people, who I doubt knew her any better, defended her by targeting all her new-found haters. The people I am referring to are the ones with enough sense to figure out that the video didn't show us much. It didn't show us the entire story. The point of view of Amalayer was never seen in the video. Her haters forgot to ask WHY she was rampaging in the first place.
I don't hate her. Like I said, she only stood up for herself. And if what she said in the interview was true, then nobody has the right to call her a bitch. Turns out, it was the lady guard's fault. Still, I am saying that she was wrong for making such a fuss, and that things could have been handled in a much simpler way.
There I was, riding this public vehicle (called a 'Jeep') on my way to a nature-protection seminar. It was hot and I prevented myself from getting dehydrated by munching on some large ice cubes. As the jeep began to fill with passengers, I noticed the man in front of me. Let's say he's in his mid-40's, and the only reason I looked at him was because he was watching a movie on his mobile phone.
