9/30/2021 ‒
Almost everything comes back to you

I always found it weird how people take screenshots of tweets from their phones and then post said screenshot on Facebook. Does that make it more shareable? (Definitely.) Does that make it a meme? (I don't know.) Does that make it easier to spot amidst a sea of posts designed to grab your attention? (Maybe?)

Earlier this morning I found one such post on Facebook. It's one of those posts that social media behemoth insists on recommending to me, even if I don't have an interest specifically in that topic. Broadly, yes. It's K-pop. I don't mind, even if I think it's weird that it shows me teasers from Twice's upcoming English single. Or, in this case, a BTS fan page posting a screenshot of a tweet. It was about their upcoming series of concerts - physical concerts - happening in Los Angeles. The tweet was a meme-y one, of a fan watching said concert... with only one kidney.

I instantly thought, Anna would have something to say about this.

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9/26/2021 ‒
The imperialists

I didn't prompt the conversation. I wouldn't start talking about politics in most circumstances while having a haircut, especially a haircut that's three weeks behind schedule. Me-time is pretty rare as it is.

But then, I understand my barber just really wants to shoot the breeze with someone.

"Sinong presidente mo?" he asked.

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9/15/2021 ‒
Silence is not always complicity

Yesterday I found myself in a meeting - virtual, of course - with at least two high-ranking government officials.

It's not an extraordinary circumstance, by all means. Sure, perhaps it's somewhat extraordinary because, in some convoluted manner, the meeting was happening because of something I did. But that said, I've done these somewhat regularly, both in the old times and the current ones.

I never would have imagined that I would be in a position where I'm talking to high-level bureaucrats about industry concerns. It certainly felt like a lofty ambition - not that I ever dreamed it - when I began watching local news in earnest in high school. It felt like something only elected student government officials did when I was in college. But, well, there I was, spending the night before finishing a slide show, sending it off to people the following morning for them to present in the afternoon. They know my name and I didn't make a fool of myself answering some questions.

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9/01/2021 ‒
Show me who your friends (and likes and follows) are

"Show me who your friends are, and I'll tell you who you are."

Nobody really knows where that quote came from. I chanced upon a website that tried to answer the question: it went as far as suggesting it first appeared in Don Quixote, but Miguel de Cervantes himself apparently said the proverb was already a thing when he wrote the novel. So there's that.

I was thinking about that quote while going through my Facebook feed, mindlessly, as we all do. Or do we all? I certainly do, most of the time - I don't think I even pay attention to what's on my feed anymore, as they're really just the same old things. There are people selling me things. There are people showing off how rich they are, thanks to those Axie things. There are people keen to demonstrate that they care about the world by being constantly angry at the state of affairs. You get the idea.

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