si Carding…Bow

26 YEARS. That’s how long I’ve stayed in CdO. I’ve gotten out of the city for weeks every once in a while but for some reason, the city just never learned to let go of me. Add a few more years and I’d qualify as a landmark.

For someone who has stayed in one city for TOO long, one must have been able to embrace the beautiful and at the same time, the nasty things about the place. I’ve been meaning to write this for a very long time and I’ve finally the time to do it. So here we go. Let’s start with the things I hate about this city.

1. Jeepney Drivers. Although not all of them. But the good ones are only a minute, negligible fraction of the hardheaded lot. The LKKS jeepney drivers are definitely the gods of the jerkoff drivers. Followed by the deaf Bugo/Puerto drivers whose full blast hip hop music never fails to attract the attention of the entire block where they pass by. These creatures are the very reason why I came to believe that driving is one of the leading causes of hypertension.

2. The roads. For years now I’ve always thought that all CdO roads are two-laners - one for each direction. But if you remove all the cars parked alongside them, you’ll realize we have wide enough roads after all. That’s why I like passing through the newest bridge. The width just gives you freedom.

3. Private transport drivers. Well, some of them. Especially those who park along the road fronting Mercury Drug in Divisoria, turn on their hazard lights and pretend they’ll only be there for a short while when they’re actually waiting for someone to finish buying groceries in Mercury.

4. Law enforcement. Just never enough. Only visible during red alerts, city fiestas, or during the arrival of some politician from Luzon.

5. Traffic Management. Although there is marked improvement in the visibility of the RTA, what the city needs is system reform and some serious traffic management tactics, not the mere presence of the officers who just manage the flow of traffic. The routes of the different modes of tranportation in this city must be seriously assessed and adjusted.

6. Beggars and street kids. They’ve grown twice in numbers month on month.

That’s it. Now for the things I love about Cdo:

1. Cost of living. I love that you can spend P20 for a meal and still be able to call it ‘decent’. =) everything is relatively affrodable.

2. Accessibility. When you’re in Divisoria, every other destination in the city seems to be only 15 mins away.

3. The Carmen River. Since I was born, the river has remained clean. Thanks to Liceo? hehe

4. Ukay-Ukay!!! It’s so everywhere. Good thing they’re so all over the place, especially when you’ve gotten so tired of seeing three or more other people wearing the same shirt you worked hard to buy. You can’t afford the more expensive ones either.

5. Motorelas. Although they have also contributed to the infuriating traffic, it’s good to know you have this dependable mode of transportation to take you anywhere when you can’t afford a taxi. So long as the price is right.

Might have to add a few more next time. My friends are pressuring me to stop writing so we can play DOTA, which is another thing I love about this city, accessible internet cafes where we can play anytime.

Years - that’s how long since I last posted a blog on my account. And my last post was entitled Local Braindrain, a testament to my noble  vision of being able to contribute to the development of a city known as Cagayan de Oro.

???

I’m still in CdO. I’m with a Multinational Company. How’s that? Call it fate, Divine Intervention, healthy connections coupled with hardwork, or just freaky coincidece. I must have written a prophecy, not a Blog. If it was indeed a prophecy, the "noble" part of that writing has yet to be fulfilled.

We’ll see…

I sit. thinking. searching.i’m looking for ways to make you see how special you are to me.I always end up in vain.i try to make you see how special you are to me the best way i know how.i hope you see it.i hope you feel it.because nothing matters more to me than to make you happy.i wish you’d tell me how.i wish it were that easy.but then the trouble of searching for ways to make you happy makes making you happy more worth it.i hope you see it.i hope you feel it.i hope you’re happy…with me.

A good friend of mine from highschool sent me a text message asking how I was and when I was graduating. I told him I was doing fine and that I’d be graduating this Summer ‘06. He told me my skills would be maximized in Manila, where he is currently working as Assistant Manager in a well - known Bank. I was thrilled upon reading his message. After all, i’ve been dreaming of making it big in Manila. It is after all, the country’s "premiere" city. It’s not the country’s capital for nothing.

Then it dawned on me.If Filipinos opting to go abroad to "seek greener pastures" is considered braindrain, then I believe there is another type of braindrain occuring right in our very country.I call it the Local Braindrain.Excuse the lack of creativity with the title.

How? Cities outside of Metro Manila - even if they ARE cities - are most often referred to as provinces by the Manilenos.I’ve heard it many times.And to get a job in Manila is tantamount to becoming successful. Manila is seen as the country’s bastion of corporate success.Why not? The big national and multi-national corporations are there.

In Cagayan de Oro, life is pretty laid-back. And if you’re the workaholic type of person like I am, the city would probably bore you to death.From what I gather, corporate employment opportunities are also hard to find. Well, that is as far as the opportunities I’m looking for are concerned. My dream job/s seem to be in Manila. That is why there is great possibility that I’ll be moving there after I graduate.I wish.

Then again, maybe not.First, God may have other plans for me, period. Second, I realized, "What about Cagayan?" I don’t know how I developed this appreciation and - strangely enough for me - loyalty to his city. Is it because I grew up here? No. I realized, that if Cagayan de Oro would become a premiere city like Manila, or Cebu or Davao, I should, in my own little way, help in allowing this city become exactly that. Besides, if i’m going to Manila, chances are I’d be swallowed by either the fast - paced life of the city or by very stiff competition. Neither of them matter.But seeing how Cagayan de Oro is, I began to believe I’d do the most good here.

Now I’m not sure how to end what I just wrote. Maybe all this is to say that my dream of joining the corporate workforce in Manila might change…hehe