in the name of my father

An old friend got curious and PMed (tama kaya ito) me in FB. Tinatanong nya kung bakit daw I was using my first and middle name lang sans my family name sa account ko. Mahaba yong sagot ko sa kanya but I’ll make it even more kilometric here. Para na rin sa iba pang inuukilkil ng same question sa kanilang mind but didn’t bother to ask o kaya’y natatakot lang magtanong… hehehee.

First let me state, with my right hand on my left chest, na hindi ko kinakahiya ang apelyido ng Tatay ko when I dropped Ondoy doon sa aking FB account. I have lived all my life with this name and it’s weird to suddently turn my back against it. Besides, hindi ko pinangarap na multuhin ng Tatay ko at mapalo just because I’ve forsaken his one true legacy.

Oo nga at kakaiba ang apelyido ko, and I know that when you hear it, the first thing that comes to your mind is that it sounds very close to ‘unggoy’. Noong bata pa ako madalas akong tuksuhin ng ganon (even up to now may ilan pa ring engot who enjoys going down that line of triviality). Pero bata pa rin ako nang marealize kong pwede kong tawanan ang panunukso nila kasi in most cases, ang mga nanunukso sa akin, mas matalino pa ang unggoy. And I would hiss loudly with my retort kaya natatahimik ang mga hinayupak!

I’ve also recognized the fact na very Pinoy yong apelyido ko as compared to others na mukhang mga Insulares at Ilustrados ang minanang apelyido sa kanilang mga ninuno. No big deal for me. Hindi ko naman tinatago kahit kailan na kulay Pinoy ako with my deliciously mulato skin that westerners are so envious of. So you see, it’s not just a name but also something that truly represents the proud Pinoy that I am.

Dati nga, feeling ko ako lang ang may apelyidong ganon sa buong mundo. And for a while I enjoyed the feeling of uniqueness it brings. But later on narinig ko na marami din pala na may ganitong apelyido lalo na sa South, Cebu in particular. Siguro mga malayo or super layong kamag-anak ko na at mahirap nang i-trace sa family tree.

With that said, I think the ‘kinakahiya part’ can now be put to rest. But still, why Dante Sosa on the FB account? Ganito nga kasi yon…

Urong-sulong nga ako noon sa pagi-FB. Nagkataong when I was creating my account, kasikatan pa ng bagyong Ondoy. As in anybody who hears/sees my name, yong bagyo agad ang binabanggit. Followed by ‘ang daming namatay don’ or ‘ang lupet mo’. Lalo na pag umuuwi ako for vacation. From the stewardess to the immigration officer to the customs officer sa NAIA pati ba naman hanggang sa teller ng forex sa arrivals area. Bagyong Ondoy pa rin ang sinasabi! And from the looks of it, the notoriety will last longer than I initially thought.

And I just got tired of it all. Nauubusan na ako ng isasagot. Kaya kesa ulanin ako at bagyuhin ng kung ano sa FB, I decided to drop Ondoy na lang. Ayokong makatanggap ng PM galing sa kung sinong herodes na hindi ko kilala na sinisisi ako sa pagkamatay ng kamag-anak nila. O ng pagka-baon ng properties nila sa putik. You know how weird netizens can get. Baka makabugbog ako ng tao kahit sa virtual world lang!

Ang masakit nito, hindi na pala nababago ang name sa FB once you created it. Kahit dini-activate ko sya, when I reactivated it and tried to change the name, hindi pala pwede. Gusto ko na sanang kumpletuhin yong name ko pero yon na pala yon. And the only way to correct it is to create another account. Which needs another email add. Eh ayoko namang mag-maintain ng sanrekwang email account just for that purpose. So I got stuck with it.

Sa isang banda, mas gusto ko na rin na ganito. Coz if I used my full/real name, I could have been easily searched and found on line. Eh hindi nanan ako nag-FB para mangampanya or mangalap ng bagong kaibigan. Kung may makitang worth it, fine. But I went online to establish connection with old friends na matagal nang nawala. At the same time, to maintain connection with current friends na kung magkwentuhan about FB eh napapag-iwanan ako. So the main purpose of my FB account is just to retain that connection with people I value most.

Kung hindi pa ninyo nahalata, ilang buwan na ako sa FB pero 40+ pa lang ang friends ko. May ilan akong pending requests to add pero dedma lang. Some from people I don’t even know. FB lang ito pero dala-dala ko yong mentalidad na quality over quantity among my connections. Meaning, kung friends tayo sa FB, I really consider you as a Friend, not just someone who randomly decides to be friends because of a cute or sexy profile pic.

So yon, Dante Sosa or Dante Ondoy, you’re still connected to the very same person who considers you as a ‘real’ friend. And I guess that’s what’s important. Di ba Verns?.