Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Mom, I'm glad you came. =)


How do you greet someone a happy birthday when that person has passed away? Many people believe good people go to heaven. Many say, they're waiting for judgment. My belief is simple - we go back to the eternity of the Universe, which makes death not a scary end but a glorious destination. I subscribe to the belief that we are particles of the Universe and that at birth, we are lent time to experience physical consciousness through the gift and wonder of senses; an experience we call life. This world then is a very, very special place for this experience and we are extremely lucky to go through it. Each life on earth is a rarity in the wideness of space and each birth, each arriving and awakening a consciousness, therefore is a gift of immeasurable worth.

I'm therefore thankful that my mom's life was one experience worth having. It was a beautiful life of adventures, challenges and successes shared with friends and family. What I remember now of her are not really the times we spent together but her journeys she made on her own - that trip to the province one summer with Tita Baby when they were kids, her daily long walk to the school from Camp Aguinaldo, the suitors she had, the clothes she sew for herself, her part-time work during college - solo challenges that made her strong and unique. And while I remember her for who she was on her own, I'm definitely thankful how her life has affected and inspired mine. She's Christian but not overtly religious - finding in her life inconsistencies between what she learned in her challenges versus what were taught to her. She was a beautiful rebel - questioning first before accepting and accepting what's true in this world, not what should be according to some. She was wise as a mother could get but ever curious like a child; ever beautiful. The entirety of her was a wonder of nature, a glimpse of the beauty of the eternal.

Each life is a rarity not only in its physical presence versus the vastness of the universe but also as a moment in history. Our lives are on their own, rare experiences that only one person can go through in one's own limited lifetime. Each on of us is a limited edition. And my mom was one limited edition gift I'm glad and joyful to have had. She was an experience on her own that I remember now in sunny summers, cold teas and in laughter. Now she's back up there, in eternity, in the universe, in space. She's back to what she was before, a particle, an essence of the eternal, unconscious but still beautiful. She's now dust, also light; a star I look up to every clear night. I don't desire to see her living once again, breathing in physicality. But I do look forward to joining her again in the peaceful, beautiful, glorious eternity of the light-filled universe.

So how do I greet her a happy birthday? Just like this. In being glad she came.



I love and miss you mom. :)

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Events safety. And growing old.

The idea that age slowly cripples a person into becoming less than who he/she is at his peak, I think, is true. Nature designed animals to give way to the young for continuous improvement and evolution. Thankfully for humans, age has its benefits - but the crippling effect on the body is inescapable. After the week of my Baguio event, and stress over planning the next events, my body just gave in.

Large part to blame - is this parasol tent.


Now I blame the events people of San Miguel Beer for popularizing this dangerous device which supposedly protects people from rain or sunshine. While it may function as intended in some areas, I dare say that these contraptions are huge safety hazards. This is the third time I've used this device and it's the third time I had a safety problem with it.

When we were in Tarlac, that tent did not only protect people from the rain, it also collected rain. So much so that after a few minutes of hard rain, I called an emergency to evacuate all people underneath it as it showed dangers of collapse. And collapse it did. Now in Baguio, the same kind of tent gave me security headaches. As the concert was nearing its end when Gloc 9 went up the stage, winds became increasingly strong. I was afraid that some of the strings holding the tent might have snapped and after inspection, our security found out that indeed one of the strings had snapped already. Thankfully, some members of the audience held on to it so they can watch without a part of the tent flapping on their heads. We got that string back and I placed security to watch all the strings that were keeping the tent erect. Two security personnel were also positioned at the foot of the pole to guard it in case the strings snap and the pole falls. After the event, soon as we cut off one string, three consecutive strings snapped.


S0 why are the San Miguel event people to blame? Because they popularized the use of these tents - despite the dangers they pose to the people underneath them. It looks safe and effective but I should say that its usage is highly dependent on the area you're going to use them in. It also gives the wrong sense of safety to event organizers who think that these tents will protect their events from rains or harsh sunlight, ergo ensuring their success in terms of audience attendance. Remember that event in Europe where strong gushes of wind blew big tents in the middle of a concert? Thankfully that has not happened here.

To be fair and honest, I haven't found a solution in solving the problem of rain during events. But again, and I reiterate, I don't think that these tents are the best solution. In fact, they're traps that endanger not only the audience but the organizers themselves who are responsible for any mishap or accident that these tents pose to bring to their customers.

So in short, yep, those tents stressed me a lot.

Meanwhile, speaking of Europe, I have another dream event in mind:



Now can we do that here? Of course! The organizers here only need to believe that the market is ready. And I think the market is - if only they un-snooty-fy electronic music which alienates a big portion of the Filipino music market. Imagine having this in Luneta during sunset - daaamn, that would be fantastic!

Now thankfully, this music invigorates the youth in me. Thanks to Tomorrowland whose music and energy escapes the physical and actual and continues to inspire beyond its geography and time. It gives me something to emulate, to try to be. It's like an event idol that I look up to. So, despite the stress-induced stomach aches, here I am still planning and working to move on. Despite the creeping age, tomorrow promises to be a good day.

Sugod sa liwanag.