I Started A Joke

A former classmate of mine posted some of our "hard-to-find" pictures during high school in Facebook. I was elated. Same so with my other former classmates since most of them clicked the LIKE button on each pic (I wonder why there's no DISLIKE to click on?). I don't have copies of those pictures anymore since all of my high school pics were washed away by the flood brought by typhoon Frank. So as I've said, I'm very glad that my classmate had the initiative and time to post them and tag me. While browsing, I realized we were so jologs back then with those funny hairstyles, loose shirts, straight-cut above-the-ankle jeans, lousy sneakers, and yeah, the naive looks. I really couldn't help but smile.I was looking at the younger version of me and "he" seemed like a different person. Time indeed can change everything as it spins.

One of my classmates then posted a comment in one of the pics saying that we all look too innocent. Very far from what we are now, he added. Another one replied by saying not all. And another one posted asking if we are sure that all of us during that time were innocent (and put a smiley at the end). I knew right from the start that these comments were just jokes to spice up the flow of the conversation. And so I went with the flow. I cracked up a joke saying one of us I guess is not already a virgin during that time. I first referred that joke to myself although all I knew during my high school time was the "hand job" (LOL). But then one of my classmates posted and asked me if who am I talking about? It so happened that that inquiring classmate was the most flirtatious girl in our class. She even had two or more boyfriends at the same time during our senior year, a playgirl reputation in short. So without thinking twice, I replied "It was you." I was grinning while I typed that short sentence 'cause it was intended as a joke. But little did I know that that joke would be a big issue the next day after.

The morning I woke up after I posted that comment, I got a total of 15 emails from my classmates and all of them were reactions ranging from admonition to outrage. The outrage of course came from the person whom I threw the joke upon which by the way owned 4 of the emails out of 15. She was so mad at me for that joke because according to her I disgraced her dignity. Further more, she added that she was still a certified virgin during that time and that my comment made her family angry since most of her siblings and cousins have Facebook accounts and that they have read the comment I made. My other classmates on the other hand told me that it was a foul thing to say in a social network.

I realized my mistake. It was foul indeed. A social networking site is not a place for such jokes since it can be read by anybody and considering that we Filipinos are still conservatives. I was carried away by the flow of the conversation that I failed to realize how simple jokes could hurt other people. Yeah, my classmate maybe a flirt but that doesn't give me the right to comment whatever I want about her. I was so plain stupid. I forgot my internet etiquette.

The next thing I did of course was apologized to my classmate and to her family profusely and I did that not just personally but publicly in Facebook where it all started. Talking about swallowing your pride in cyberspace! But I guess that's the right thing to do. A gentleman must learn to accept his mistakes. I know my pride is important but I also value my friends greater than my pride. Humility they say can make you a better man and so I hope. So the next time you post something in the internet, think twice first before pressing enter. Remember that words spoken or written and read can never be retracted. It could either build up or destroy a spirit. Learn from my mistake.

Eating The Fruit Of Your Labor Makes You Forget About Your Diet

Planting rice is not easy, that's what our traditional folk song says and I guess it's true. But it failed to mention that drying rice grain is also a laborious job too, well that's what I have experienced today. Ha ha ha... In rural areas like our humble town Maasin, some people do not go directly to grocery stores and buy rice for their meals. Instead, they dry rice grains and have it milled. This happens especially in the case of those who have rice farms. Like in the case of my Aunt.

Rice milling here in our town is semi-traditional. I call it "semi" since we are already using milling machine (which is nontraditional) through mobile milling trucks, the locals call it here as "traveling" or "kuliglig" (which you can contact anytime through texting --- the power of modern technology), as opposed to the "bayo" or the crushing process. But we still dry the rice while they are still in their hulls or husks with the use of the sun's heat which is a traditional method. What we do is that we spread the grains over the amacan or bamboo mat and leave it there for 3 to 5 hours under the sun's scorching heat. After that, the grains are then ready to be milled.

I volunteered to do the drying today since it's my day off. I didn't know what had gotten into me at that moment but I raised up my hand anyway when my aunt asked for a volunteer. The good and reliable nephew that is me. Ha ha ha... One thing that surprised me about the task was the discovery that I could lift one sack of unmilled rice. And I lifted a total of four sacks! How's that? Feeling Superman! Ha ha ha... The only thing I hate about rice drying is my allergy with rice hulls. My skin, especially in the area of my forearms, gets itchy and red upon contact with the hulls. I took a bath right after I spread the rice in the amacan and right after I placed them back in the sacks after drying. I then contacted the traveling and in just a few minutes, bingo! One sack and a half of milled white rice.

The lesson I learned about this experience is that eating the rice you labored upon is quite appetizing. Each grain in your plate seems like a precious stone that must not be wasted down to the trash bin. It makes you eat with gusto and it makes you forget about your one-cup-of-rice-only diet. More rice please!