the birds and the bees... and the books

Kris: I did it for Baby James. Headline ng mga dyaryo ngayon. Asus! Ikaw talaga Tetay two days na lang moment na ng brother mo and yet ayaw mo talagang patalbog! Ibigay mo naman kay Noy ang spotlight! Ah well, hindi ko na sasawsawan yang paulit-ulit mong pag-iyak sa tv. I’d rather spend my (and my friends’) time in one of the hottest issues these days. And that is the raging war between Education officials and the Church about sex education. Napakagandang topic kesa sa mga ka-dramahang Tetay kaya let me dip my sawsawerong finger in this very sawsawable issue (hihihi)!

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Team Sex Ed ba ako o Team Church? Sex Ed syempre, walang kakurap-kurap. And I’d say shame on you church people for being so high-handed on this issue. At nag-file pa kayo ng kaso sa mga education officials? Bakit? Malaking kasalanan ba na turuan nila ang mga kabataan ng mga bagay na dapat matagal na nilang nalaman?

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Linawin ko lang: I ‘m not in any way connected to any education official. Ni wala akong kilala sa kanila ngayon. But they earned my respect because of this. At least, they’re trying to address the plight of our teen-agers particularly the students who are left on their own to figure out the myth of the birds and the bees. Something na wala namang ginagawa ang simbahan dahil hanggang ngayon, this subject is still taboo and can never be discussed in the presence of the priests and nuns or else you’ll get punished with 32 Hail Marys.

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But hey, wag na nga tayong magpaka-plastik. Gone are the days of Maria Clara. Ni hindi na nga kilala ng mga kabataan natin kung sino sya. And at the onslaught of the cyber age, we have no choice but to face the inherent problems it brings. Isa na doon ang mababang moral values ng kabataan who will engage in anything that young bodies and minds find exciting. Lalo na ang sex. And we have to face it head-on by educating our youth.

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Children of more advanced countries are being taught about the reproductive organs as early as grade school. Bakit sa atin hindi pwede eh high school na? Nire-regla na nga ang mga babae hindi pa nila alam kung ano yon. Tinutubuan na nga ng adam’s apple ang mga lalake hindi pa nila alam na pwede na silang makabuntis. Why don’t we address that ignorance by educating them.

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And educating them is far from condoning these acts. Hindi porke tinuturuan mo ng sex ang mga bata, you are encouraging them that it’s right to do it. Sa pagtuturo nga ipapaabot sa kanila yong message na hindi ito isang hobby. Bagkus, ito ay isang gawain na may kasamang mabigat na responsibilidad. Only then will these youngsters realize the true meaning of sex.

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Dahil hindi na rin natin pwedeng itanggi na ang mga kabataan ngayon ay maaga nang gumagawa nito. Sa dami ng social factors na kinamulatan at ginagalawan nila from their peers to television and the internet. Ayan nga at kahit 13 year old na mga bida sa teleserye paghahalikin. Ang mga soap opera karamihan ang tema puro sex. Kahit sa mga variety shows, puro hubad na dancers ang makikita mo. Billboard na nga lang ni Belo puro hubad din ang mga model.

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So let’s not turn a blind eye on this issue and pray that it will simply fade and go away. Kahit maghapon tayong mag-rosaryo, hindi ito mawawala. We need to do something about it. Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa, remember?

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Hindi ba kayo nanghihilakbot everyday na may nababasa tayong fetus na pina-flush sa toilet? Ng mga baby na nilalagay sa kahon at iniiwan kung saan. Ng abortion clinics na na-raid. It’s simply mortifying. And if we don’t do anything about it, statistics will just go up.

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A definitive solution to this is for our youth to acquire a strong sense of understanding and knowledge about sex. Para makaiwas sa teen-age pregnancies. Pati na ang unplanned/unwanted marriages dahil karamihan sa mga magulang, pag nabuntis ang anak, ang agad na solution ay ipakasal ang babae at lalake kahit gaano pa sila kabata. And that only lead to bigger problems, worse situations later on.

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If we do not educate them, we are just allowing ignorance exacerbate the already ugly situation. Hindi kasi alam ng kabataan ang dapat nilang malaman about sex. All they know is mag-date, mag-motel at gumawa ng bagay na sa kanila ay masarap. Paano mong pipigilan yon if they do not know and understand anything about it?

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By educating them, we can make them understand things that, at best, will give them the wisdom to avoid sex. Or, at the least, make them practice safe sex kung hindi talaga maiwasan. And they can only do that if they are informed. If they are educated.

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Kaya sa halip na mag-file ng kaso ang simbahan, what they should do is to support this campaign. Dahil sa totoo lang, sex ed in schools will only do 1/3 of the works. Dapat talaga kasama ang simbahan in waging war against this. Sa halip na makisawsaw sila sa pulitika na hindi naman nila dapat ginagawa, why don’t they focus on uplifting and improving the morals of the youth. Instead of wasting their time in areas they should not even delve into, gumawa sila ng mga activities sa simbahan that would educate and encourage young people to be responsible towards themselves. Lalo na pagdating sa sex.
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But aside from the schools and the church, may isang aspect na kailangang-kailangan din ang participation sa Sex Ed. The family itself. Moms and Dads should involve themselves lalo na kung meron silang teen-age kids. Wag daanin sa puro sermon. Wag daanin sa paghihigpit at pagpaparusa. More than anything else, ang kailangan ng mga batang ito ay ang tamang paliwanag at impormasyon sa mga bagay na nahihiya silang itanong. Dahil kapag sa iba sila nakakuha ng impormasyon at nagkataong mali ang natutunan nila, mas malamang kesa hindi, mapahamak ang bata.

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In short, educating our youth about sex is not just a matter for the schools to deal with. It should be a three-pronged approach where the school provides the hard facts, the church the moral guidelines and the parents the much-needed love, care and understanding to the perplexed, worried and even traumatized young minds confronted with the facts of sex.

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In the larger scheme of things, it is knowledge that will kill any monster being perpetuated by ignorance. Denying the youth the much-needed education is just like keeping them in the dark. And darkness is where evil lurks.

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(pls check out the latest poll on the left panel of this blog and vote about this issue)

to fb or not

Kagabi lang nag-log on ulit ako sa FB to reactivate my account which I thought I would keep closed forever. Actually, sa kaka-open and close nitong account na to, mukha na syang krismas layt. And I think I really should decide this time whether I’ll keep it open or just drop it altogether bago pa magalit ang admin ng FB.

Dati kasi, isa yata ako sa mga kauna-unahang nag-open ng FB account long before it became a hit among the webbies. That was the time that Friendster was the biggest thing on the net. Na hindi ko rin ginawa kasi nga I wasn’t really into social networking. I was looking for something that suits my style, something more substantial (thank heavens Blogger came along).

Kaya nong narinig ko ang FB, sinubukan ko agad. But as soon as I saw that it’s just a modified, glorified and glamorized Friendster, I immediately dropped it out of my web radar. And completely forgot about it. Naalala ko lang when when my yahoo mail was starting to get flooded with add requests noong lahat halos ng contacts ko sa ym ay nag-FB na. Instead of getting connected, sinara ko si FB.

Then yesterday, I needed to find someone on line. Somebody na hindi ko alam ang cp number, ang email add at hindi ko rin alam kung nasaang lupalop ng Pinas. And there’s no easiest way but to Google her name. Ayun nga, may ilang account sya in various networking sites, the most accessible of which is FB.

Kaya napilitan akong i-activate na naman ang FB account ko. I’ve already sent that person a few messages. Sumagot na rin sya. (I won’t ever share it with you. Believe me, it’s unpleasant specially the ones coming from me.) And I think FB has served it’s purpose (at least this time). Now, I'm thinking of closing it again. But before doing that, a few questions popped up my mind.

Bakit nga ba ayaw kong mag-FB? May pakinabang naman like this instance na naka-establish ako ng communication with someone who would otherwise be difficult to get in touch with. What’s with FB ba that I don’t like? Don’t I get embarassed when people learn I don’t have FB and look at me like I’m a caveman? Worse, do I deserve being branded as anti-FB?

Unang-una, may pagka-anti-social yata ako. I’d rather be within the comfort of familiar faces of my small circle of friends and family. Hindi ako kumportable being surrounded by a whole lot of people na karamihan ay hindi ko kilala. And FB is pretty much like a huge party where you mingle with family and friends yet the largest part of it will be with absolute strangers.

It’s like an open-air concert at the MOA grounds where you see 75,000 faces you don’t even know. And even if these 75,000 strangers can’t talk to you unless you ‘add’ them as ‘friend’, they can still see you. Yon siguro ang issue ko. The thought of my privacy being under the scrutiny of thousands, millions, of prying eyes just doesn’t feel right.

Ganon pala eh bakit ka nagba-blog… you might ask. Well, I think the scrutiny is not the same. Sa blog kasi, it’s mostly written articles that's why it's my mind I'm exposing naked to everyone. Kung may pics man, it’s minimal compared to FB where you can post unlimited number of albums na pwedeng i-access anytime ng may mga very creative minds.

Sa blog, yong author lang (including whoever is linked to his site) ang pwedeng ma-expose sa attack whereas in FB, it’s like opening your directory of friends, relatives and important people in your lives to the whole, wide world. It’s just like giving out their addresses, telling their stories and letting everyone know things that should rather be kept between close relations.

Which leads me to my second reason – security. Nong lumabas yong issue na talagang maraming FB account ang naha-hack because of weak security, I felt a sense of vindication and affirmation that my decision not to jump in and join the craze was right. Instead of commiserating, I would whip Sabi ko na sa inyo eh… whenever I hear someone complaining about their FB being hacked.

But more than anything else, it’s probably the application that is my biggest issue. Wanna-be, frustrated journalist kuno ako kaya siguro mas gusto ko ang blog where I can write anything I want. It’s the idea of sharing ideas and creating a discussion out of it that inspires me. The least, yong pag-isipan ng kung sino mang nakabasa ang mga sinabi ko. I’d rather be provoking thoughts than getting silly and trivial with cutesie little pics.

Pero kung Public Relations officer siguro ako or somebody whose job requires getting in touch with as much people as possible, mas magugustuhan ko ang FB. Dahil dito talagang sosyalan ang laban. Attract as much connections as you can. Pagandahan ng wall. Pa-kyutan sa mga pic na pino-post. Show the world you’re a movie star waiting to be discovered. Never mind if the comments sometimes make me go 'huh?'.

In the end, I hope you'd agree with me when I say Blogging is cerebral, FB, visceral. It’s a matter of choice which every individual has the right to make. As for me, I still haven’t decided if I’d go and combine the two. Siguro, susubukan ko na lang and discover how many times will FB admin allow me to turn my account on and off without blowing the fuses off their tops!

hofuf trip - the finale (finally!)

as promised, here's the last installment of the hofuf trip (can't believe it's been a week already, time really flies huh).  here are a few pics of the day we enjoyed at the resort tucked in the midst of the lush greenery of dates trees. 

that's the main hall where we shared bonding moments and some noise that must have rocked that usually tranquil place

this fireplace greets you as soon as you enter the main hall.  it must be a welcoming sight had it been winter.  but on a scorching day like this, nobody paid attention to it except sofie and valerie who put paper strips in it and must have wanted to see that fire place cracking

to the left is the expanse of the sitting area and to the right is the kitchen.  the door leads to the outdoor sitting areas

and this is the pool area

where mommies and kids can't wait to jump in and cool off

but alas! the daddies and titos are already crowding it like eager beavers

matt, macoy, alec (blurred) and chuck cooling it off on the children's corner... 

who soon grew tired of the warm pool water and played like little boys in this fountain.  they say the water here is a lot cooler.  but soon realized it's because it's just the same water coming back again and again.  hmmm... interesting what that water is bringing back continuously to these guys! (a little weewee perhaps! hahahha) 

the hunks - hofuf version.  jeezz... these guys can put ch2's hunks to shame! hehehe (hoy mga koya, huminga kayoooo!!! hehehe). l-r: marvin, chuck, maccoy, matt and the seriously projecting ren!

after everybody's off the pool, we had our favorite game - pinoy henyo (obvious ba that we're eb lovers and kapuso by heart? hahaha).  that's ricky trying to figure out the mystery word with weng doing the 'oo, hindi, pwede'

shiela found 'bakulaw' really challenging. she came close with orangutan where ren said 'papangitin mo pa' and we had a big laugh.  that's game master ega who's doing all the works from keeping the time and holding up the mystery word.  nakakangawit yon huh.

i always love ren when doing this game.  you gotta listen to the clues he's deliberately giving out! madaya! hahahhihi

here's my team mate chuck guessing the mystery word 'facebook' which gave us the win.  we got 2 out of 2 coz i also got 'i-pad'.  buti na lang it sounded exactly the same as 'i-pod' which was my guess!  i heard somebody said 'anong spelling'... wala sa rules yon ah! hahaha!

baby valerie : why are they laughing like fools and enjoying that silly game.  i'm hungry already! hmmm this popcorn really tastes yummy.  i wonder if this is the bit that fell on the floor and i stepped upon! hihihi

so it's lunch time with the gang who ravaged the tasteless food (we didn't have salt and it's a long way off to any store) like it was the most delicious lunch in the world.  gutom lahat eh!

ricky and weng and maccoy and pops enjoying the  scrambled egg sans salt and broasted chicken (again!)

by 3pm we're out of this place and heading back to jubail (khobar for ren and maccoy).  exhausted but with smiles on our faces, it will be long before we can wear off the enjoyment we had over these two joyful days.  but now we have a real challenge ahead of us - topping his weekend the next time we go on a trip.  and oh boy, that's gonna be a hard one. 

more on hofuf trip

at the risk of me being indulgent, let me share a few more pics of the hofuf trip we had last weekend.  there's just a lot of good pics not to share so please bear with me :) i promise this is gonna be the (second to the  last ... ehemm... hihihi) posting i'll ever make about this weekend!  with thanks to macoy and ega whose pics are a lot better than mine, here's the continuation of the hofuf story on pics

still on day 1, this is the pic i didn't have during the last posting - the exteriors of the traditional house where we camped out for the first day.  good thing the lichauco family fancied striking a pose beside the decorative well!

and that was the dinner we had at around 10pm on thursday night - grilled fish, broasted chicken (from some chicken house, so obvious!) and rice while the sinigang na hipon and the yummy veggie salad is yet to appear on the table.  and i think you can easily guess - we ate with our bare hands.  soaped and washed of course!

this is an open-air traditional sitting area near the farm entrance.  we really didn't have the opportunity to use it coz of the scorching temperature during the day.

that's why i had the photo op right in there the following morning!

ok, so we're now on day 2 (friday)...

daddy ren, mommy shiela, kuya vince and bunso valerie for a family pic with a curious donkey in the background...

right... it's not the donkey who's curious - it's us! hahahaa... 

after the donkey has had enough of us, we set out to change location.  this time, it's another farm according to our host.  but it turned out to be a resort that's being let to us for free coz the owner is a good friend of our host.  ain't we lucky!

the place offers a spacious parking area accommodating all the 4 cars we used

on a hot summer day like this, a simple fountain looks so refreshing

shiela, pops and weng enjoying one of the outdoor sitting areas, smiling and posing with their grapes.  com'on ladies, i'm sure you're screaming 'it's sooo hottt'  inside and you're dying to get off those abayas already!!!

while we opted for a covered sitting area with the more modern sofa.  and yup, guarding that fussball table in case someone is bold enough to play and forget the sweltering heat 

oh well, kids will play no matter what...  that's alec and vince slamming it out in a heated game... dunno who won... all i know is that macoy and chuck is already egging the kids to get off of it so they can play... hehehe

this pic was taken from the parking area and that arched walkway leads to the inner section of the place where there are some more sitting areas - open air and airconditioned, a garden, fountain, grill area and water closet.

to the left of that walkway is a playground where sofie was giggly excited trying out the swing

and had a spin with tita pops and kuya alec...  they're spinning a bit fast - look at sofie's pony tail and how she held on to tito macoy!

and there's the three kids enjoying the rocking rodeo ride (or whatever it's called).

in my next (and last, i promise!) posting, i'll share the pics of our activities in this place.  hope you can suspend that boredom until i'm done with that one! hahahah!

hofuf trip - day 1

as i said in my last post, here's the story of the al-hasa trip we made last weekend, told in pictures.

so yon nga, we spent wednesday night in khobar (mark and ren's apartments) to get a headstart early thursday morning.  pero hindi pa rin nakaalis ng maaga coz everybody lacked sleep from the chikahan and bonding activities that kept us up until around 1 or 2 am.  what activities?  ahhh... watching tv! hehehe...  anyways, we took off from khobar at around 8:30am and after more than an hour on the highway, we reached al-hasa.  pic above was taken while we were waiting for our host to fetch us from the meeting point. matt's preparing his camera and gears while ega (can you see him?) is just getting out of his car. 

matt's passengers tito bong, marvin, alec and marco (or whatever can be seen from his head... hehehe) didn't want to get out of the car coz of the heat.  it's only 10am and i think it's already past 40deg!

mommy weng keeping sofie cool inside their car

after our host fetched us from the meeting point, we were whisked away into his farm.  the trip is all too exciting, what with that small feeder road that looks like you're being led away far from civilation.  but after a few minutes, alas, there it was! a cool, quiet and welcoming farm draped with the comforting green of the dates trees. in this pic, tito b strikes a pose along the pathway that leads to the farther side of the farm

i took this pic from the point where i took tito b's pic above.  this time i'm facing the entrance with marvin's back, matt teaching marco how to use the high-tech camera, john chilling out beside a decorative well while ega (that far again!?) is just making his way through the gates.  just beside the well is the saudi traditional house which we used as our base.  while on the other side (where matt has his back turned) is the indoor pool

there's a small playground for the kids

and that's the pool just starting to fill up

husband and wife (ricky and weng) getting a crash course on dates production from our host

and here's our lunch just about to be devoured by the hungry weekenders  (i guess you'll understand why i don't have pics of the actual lunch...hehehe)

ricky relaxing inside the traditional saudi house where we spent most of the afternoon waiting for the sun to go down before we head off to jebel gara.  this room, by the way, looked like a refugee camp during the night.  we all slept here - laxamana family included.  though the cariaga family (na humabol at around 1pm dahil nagagalit si vince for being left behind by the troops) as well as the lichauco family opted for a bit of privacy on the other room (where we had our lunch)

maccoy and pops minus alec na ayaw magdidikit sa mom and dad nya dahil busy sa kaka-explore nong farm!

ahhh.. finally here's a closer look at ega!

the two missus minus the abaya

maccoy:  hirap, naiipit ang tyan ko

me:  ako rin! hahaha!

sinong nagpa-iyak kay sofie!!???  hehehe.. this little girl is still cuteness delight kahit umiiyak.  she knows i'm taking a pic kaya she's peeking with one eye through the gaps of her fingers! hahaha! 

after the jebel gara trip and a quick trip to the fish market/grocery store for dinner, it's time for me to take a dip in that oh-so relaxing pool.  we then had our late dinner (almost 10pm) then off to bed for the next day's activities.  pics of that second day following... soon!