Folmensis Goes Online!

Please refer to the "About Me" sidebar before reading this post.

Done? Well, here it is! The online publication of my first amateur novel "Folmensis: The Moon's Deception"! I have decided to post it here by parts and chapters so as to share it with my dear readers (of this blog, not a professional author to say readers of my novel) and not just to left it be encapped with dusts inside the drawer of my English teacher who holds the only printed copy of the novel. The manuscript is safe within the folders of my laptop. Now, I want it to be published online.

Please do watch out for the first part of the first chapter here on Blogspot and on Friendster blogs. Thanks a lot!

Fact or Fallacy?

Suzie Mendrana has just graduated from college and she is about to face her happiest moment - getting hired for her first job. She went off to a company as early as the cackle of the cock to work on her dream job. Carrying a beautiful smile and an excited face, and wearing a fully hemmed flesh-coloured uniform she has always wanted to have, she trotted past the barbeque stall at the corner of the street and walked toward the jeepney terminal. The footsteps made by her 3-inch shoes gracefully set aside the everything on its way but all of an instance, there was one thing that it had not broken thorugh, a black cat unconsciously crossing the street. She knows what was going to happen and suddenly, her delightful face turned into a drizzly one, decided to retreat and postpone the happiness for tomorrow.

Seeing a black cat crossing a street is said to bring bad luck, she knows it, being raised in a faraway province in Luzon. Her parents have trained her filled with the richness of unscientific beliefs.

Suzie is never alone. Filipinos truly have a huge sense of feeling when it comes to superstitions having been fed without science to cling on. Many inhabitants, especially the ones in the provinces, have always sacrificed the supposed profundity of daily living with the interference of many superstitious beliefs. Simple words can never persuade them to repel from these things. And proofs and evidences may not be as well.

But with the wisdom of greater civilizations, superstition has found its greatest enemy - science. The field of knowledge called science is said to be a general explanation of natural occurrences with inept organization, concise system, and strong discipline. With the advent of science, wrong beliefs finally bid its final goodbye.

From generations to generations, superstitions have been a fundamental part of rural living. Sociologists say that it shapes them, those beliefs have served to be their science. But many of these have hindered the development of progress of mankind - rumoured witches being burned at stake, earning money being rejected, and social life being sacrificed. People just can’t live without these things for, maybe, this is the best way for them to find themselves in the middle of sophistication, coping mechanisms as what they say. Science had been so difficult to understand for most of the populations. They say that its only for the geniuses, scholars, and bright minds, and so, superstitions continue to exist no matter how hard we try to hide them.

So to set the differences between science and supersition, here are some of the collections with their corresponding scientific explanations compiled in Neni Sta. Romana-Cruz’s “Don’t Take A Bath on a Friday: Philippine Superstitions and Folk Beliefs”:

- If you want to know what your lifetime partner will look like, wake up in the middle of the night and take a look at yourself in the mirror while holding a lighted candle. At first, the image in the mirror will appear to be a skeleton. After five minutes, you will see a full view of the person you will marry. (No, thanks. I’ll just be waiting for the right time.)- These gifts prefer not to be on your lover’s hands: Handkerchiefs (it’ll make him/her cry); Pointed objects (it will lead to a broken relationship)

- If a pregnant woman’s abdomen is pointed, her baby will be a boy; if it is round, the baby will be a girl.

- If a pregnant woman wants to avoid the unpleasant symptoms of pregnancy, she should step over her husband while he is sleeping and all of her symptoms will be transferred to him.)

- A pregnant woman shouldn’t have her picture taken, or her child will die at birth.

- Cutting a baby’s eyelashes during her first month will them grow long and beautiful.

- A baby who sucks on her toes means her mother will soon be pregnant again.

- If a child’s milktooth falls out, throw it up onto the roof of the house so that the rats will find it. When the new tooth grows in, it wil be as strong and as powerful as a rat’s tooth.

- Children should not be allowed to play late in the afternoon when the horizon is yellow-orange in color, because evil spirits roam around at the time.

- A person who breaks an egg and finds two yolks inside will be rich

- Do not put your purse or handbag down on the floor, or you will not prosper.

- After you dress up and you immediately discover that you wore your dress inside-out, it means that you are going to receive money shortly.

- If you change your permanent place at the family table, the person you will marry will have a short life.

- If you are to build a house, always begin during a full moon.

The impact of these beliefs still depends on the person whether he/she chooses to hold with these or not. It has been our tradition, and as we know, Filipinos are known for being firm. Firm on their words, firm on their values, firm on beliefs, and firm on customs and traditions. Nothing can stop Filipinos from making their way to greatness

Manners, Dude!

My life, in these past weeks, has utterly changed. From riding a private car to handing a coin to an insanely-looking jeepney driver; from a day without straining my legs walking to the gate, to a form of exercise we were taught in our lecture-based PE 1 subject; and from looking for a bestseller novel in a classy bookstore to picking up an old book lying inconspiciously on a dusty coffee table.

It was Wednesday afternoon when I got home after school that I had come across with a tiny book of my mom sitting on the master’s bed. Puposely or coincidentally, the book was entitled “Manners for Moving Up” written by Jullie Y. Daza. I didn’t know why it was there, a single book atop my mom’s bed looking like an island in the middle of the azure sea. I wonder if my mom tried to get over with some of its pages and recall its content with what happened to her during that day. (Well , I must opt not to tell you about it further)… I picked it up and browsed through the first leaves. One question consisting of a two-word statement blotted on top of the page saying, “Why manners?”

This is fairly a good question with the overlapping web of things transpiring around our everyday living - a man rushing for his 6:00 call time getting on a jeepney with an old lady going to the market about to climb up the steep jeepney platform, a socialite lady trying to push through a crowd just to get her favourite dish about to be empty in an extravagant buffet course. People, in short, have been losing what we deem as “manners” (some say this could be bad or good but for me, unlawful acts and immoral ones do not deserve to be termed as ‘manners’). Jullie Daza states that anybody who wants to win lots of friends has to enjoy the goodness of living by diving into a line of good etiquette. Imagine a truck driver caught for having not placed a plate number onto his gigantic cart smiling away to the policeman forcing him to give his license away. A smile is one way to urge others to treat you well. I do not say this is a form of sweet escape but rather something to ease up things and loosen up some burden. This could even raise friendship between two contrasting people.

Arguments are raised that in a highly globalized world where people get to drive past one another to reach a goal, manners must be merely neglected. Who says so? With the benefits we could get from this that some aren’t able to realize, manners is a ladder way up to the target everybody wanted to attain. Any compaints? I saw one from a bum. Yes, we are open for an opposition. We do not generalize, no. Here are some special cases where manners are a waste of time.

The bum: We hate manners especially that emergency centers us. Who wants to be a Good Samaritan when you’re on an immediate release of stuff??

The hermit: What did you say, young boy? Come over the button of the heart of the center of the forest. (Whatever)

A single cast-away: SOS, that’s all I can say.

A convict on death row: One wish, spare me.

An inmate in a mental institution: I’ve got manners… Hallelujah, amen.

A fetus: *blobs* *spurts*

Got more complainants? Bring them on via a comment on this post.

In the book, I had several encounters on manners we thought were so good but actually a big no-no to the big book of ethical standards.

Watch Your Words. If you think that wealth may be boasted on the telephone by the number of blows you make with your cigarette, you have to make a change. First rule is to avoid chewing or smoking while talking on the phone. It’s a disgust as much of a disgrace to the person you are talking to. Be a responsible telephone linguist.

In A Rush? You’ve Got No Reason To Brush. Never ever try to even comb your hair while crossing the street, riding on a rail transit, climbing through an elevator and much worse, being in a lone queue. Someone could get all that hair in another person’s face right behind you especially when you are a lady.

Ladies and Gentlemen. “Kim, I’d like you to meet Justine.” (Got confused who’s the girl and who’s not? Ah, never mind.. just take note of the following words.) In introducing a person to another, when you are in the middle of it, the woman’s name is mentioned first meaning, you introduce the boy to the girl, not the other way around. Moreover, when going down an elevator or a stair maybe, change the way we treat a lady or, shall I say, change the long tradition of ‘ladies first”. The gentlemen, as far as ethics is concerned, must precede the lady so the lady has a savior standing right in front of her in case she trips off. At the end of the stairs, the man has to hold the lady’s hands and guide her as she steps off the last step.

It’s Paytime! Unless you go into a Dutch treat, there is someone, a person who shall be the day’s hero. Most of the time, we are mistaken by the concept of paying restaurant bills wherein it is always a man who pays for the bill and if a woman does, it is considered a bad manner. Think again. Women pay the bill if: the man is younger (an exception for lovers) meaning, it is a dinner between a boss and a subordinate; second, if he is earning less even if you are planning for a marriage long due; third, if she was the host or the one who made the invitation. Therefore, women also have the right to invite a man provided that she is willing to pay the bill.

Bells and Beads. If overdressing is an illegal act in ethics, overwearing jewels also have its bounds. Women are fond of wearing jewelry all over their body but one shall learn the extense of it. “Jewelry are meant to be seen, not heard.” Got that? It’s all in the quotation.

The Socks That Suck. However hidden may they be, but they are also as important as your undergarments. Any color of socks will match with black leather shoes but you cannot wear white shoes with black stockings or socks. White socks are best suited for rubber shoes, snickers, or any type of casual footwears but not a formal one.

The Ten Commandments. What?! What has the stone tablet got to do with this? Not too fast, it’s the ten commandments of concert etiquette by Byron Belt as an epitome of the audiences.

1. Thou shalt not talk.

2. Thouh shalt not hum, sing, or tap fingers and feet.

3. Thou shalt not rustle the program.

4. Thou shalt not crack thy gum in thy neighbours.

5. Thou shalt not wear loud-ticking watches or jangle thy jewelry.

6. Thou shalt not open cellophane-wrapped candies.

7. Thou shalt not snap open and close thy purse.

8. Thou shalt not sigh with boredom.

9. Thou shalt not read. (In darkness, nobody would dare to do so.)

10. Thou shalt not arrive late or leave early.

Table Manners. It’s okay when you are alone in a table but if you are with others, there are several do-not’s. Do not burp. Do not fart. Do not smoke unless you are allowed to. And do not floss. Do not leave the table at once. Do not doodle on your plate. Do not be a table-manner-know-nothing-at-all.

There was this pizza restaurant that our family always loved to dine into. Everytime we hit the malls, there isn’t a time of day that we wouldn’t rush to eat in this restaurant not only because of the taste and quality of their food, but also with their utmost service. Your hands do not get oily and dirty as you hold the pizza for they’ve got a plate right in front of you paired with a fork and a bread knife. But it was here in this book that I found out that it is unethical to do such thing. As you eat pizza, you have to eat it like how you eat a sandwich. Hold it between your fingers and smash it bite by bite straight to your mouth. “Nobody eats a sandwich by cutting it with a fork and knife.”

Other things that we mistakenly commit are: (1) cutting pastas in bite-sized strands would break the chef’s heart (2) Steaks are meant to be enjoyed including the way you cut it. Never cut it at once, you cut, then eat, cut, and eat. Steaks are not meant to be cut into pieces all at once. (3) It is untimely to eat a finger food with a fork just for the sake of not dirtying your hands. Duh.

***

Now, I say these are just some. If you want to get the full list of Daza’s good ethical behaviour, grab a copy of her book.

Wait a minute, you might have been all stuck there with your eyebrows crossed disagreeing on the whole matter. Again, we do not generalize. You may break the rules when you are a success and don’t care what they say, when you have become a celebrity by a certain style not covering these ethics, when others regard you as odd and eccentric, and when you have all learned them by heart.

As I always say, it is a matter of reasonable choice.