No filter

Netnet Camomot .

WHEN the clock was about to strike 12 on Dec. 31, 2017 for the New Year, there was the Pinoy basking in the glory of having bought a pickup truck before the excise tax could increase car prices the morning after — only to learn later that his new pickup is exempt from excise taxes.

Car sales have decreased since then, most probably because the Pinoy believes any car in Pinas is now a luxury.

Unfounded fears result in useless worry. If the Pinoy allows each bad news to control his day, he would not have survived Marcos’ martial law years, the rallies after Ninoy Aquino’s assassination, the 1986 People Power, the coups d’état that threatened Tita Cory’s presidency, ad nauseam. But the Pinoy has survived, proving he’s the fittest in the survival of the fittest.

Still, if your days are beginning to look as busy as Super Typhoon Ompong’s clouds, try deactivating your Facebook account. Facebook friendships have broken up over differences in political choices and opinions, with Sen. Sonny Trillanes’ case breaking more as he continues to seek refuge in the Senate hotel, er, building where he waits for an arrest warrant.

Social media is supposed to connect people but the opposite is also true. Thus, sans the negativity that social media tends to inspire, you can now focus—resume reading the book that has been gathering dust on the shelf, look out the window from the room with a view, stare at green trees, listen to chirping birds, and finally lose weight through a healthy diet. Define healthy? Oh. It’s the diet that you can live with forevermore even after you’ve lost weight.

If you’re still worried, look around you—construction galore everywhere. When President Rody Duterte unleashed “Build, Build, Build,” the optimistic Pinoy responded.

The world will move forward no matter what happens. You have to move forward, too, along with the world’s speed.

Wordscapes is a good example of moving forward. The game uses mostly simple words which you may not see at first, so, when you’re stuck and can’t decipher the last remaining word, better leave the game, do something else, return to the game later and—voila!—there’s the word.

Travel has the same effect. Go out of town, out of country, and once you’re back home, you’ll have a fresh perspective. Could be because what you’re looking for has been right here all along.

December has always been the preferred month for year-end assessments and future plans, provided there’s a list of New Year’s resolutions as a basis. If there’s none, compare 2017 with 2018 and see the difference. Can’t help notice August’s 6.4-percent inflation rate? Oh, well.

The Pinoy now has to prioritize his expenses and defer the purchase of unnecessary items. In other words, I have to stop adding more piggies to my collection especially now that my senior moment does not exactly match the cuteness of a piggy collection.

That senior moment may sleep for shorter hours and wake up at the crack of dawn. Whenever I sleep for at least eight hours and wake up after 8 am, does that mean I’m not a senior yet?

Some things become more valuable as the years pile on—wine, gold, jewelry, paintings. And the senior should be no exception, with all the wisdom he can impart to the young ones. Or, if not wisdom, how about this: if someone is becoming more visible in mainstream and social media, he’s definitely running in next year’s midterm elections. He’s like the weevil in rice—too obvious.

Next year’s political candidate has to be careful with what he says, though, because only Duterte can blurt out whatever he wants whenever he wants—no filter.

When the Pinoy began to notice Duterte’s gray-ish face, the first thought that should have come to mind was also, No filter. But that same Pinoy suspects the president does filter news on his health. Tsk Tsk. Ano ba talaga, Kuya?

But Duterte continues to say it as it is, and when he’s incommunicado for a few days, I gotta feeling it’s not to recuperate from an illness but, “He’s making a list/And checking it twice/Gonna find out who’s naughty or nice.” Which can be translated to this line from the movie, “Taken”: “I will look for you, I will find you, and I will kill you.” Brrrrr.