By Netnet Camomot Kiko Pangilinan was here in Cagayan de Oro last Friday. He's running for senator again. I was expecting Ate Shawie to be there with him, since it was rumored before that she's the secret to his success. In other words, he allegedly won because of her. Like Ralph Recto having Vilma Santos as supposedly the reason behind his success. Only the strongest of men would care to admit that there's a woman helping him sow the seeds that he can reap in the future. No, not the kind of seed you're thinking of but that's also good, especially the process that goes in planting it. Wink wink. Most men I guess don't think out of their gut instinct or heart or core. Core for them is six-pack abs and muscles and a thousand pushups and sit-ups. You tell them about trusting their heart for the most important choices in life, and they'll flee away, way away from you. Apparently, they have not listened to the Beatles' "All You Need Is Love": "All you need is love/All you need is love/All you need is love, love/Love is all you need." Well, if the girl keeps rubbing that in, the more the guy will flee. There was this guy who once told a girl that she could finally be his wife after noticing that she was able to survive many months in another country without a helper, driver, and a million minions to cater to her orders and demands. But that became the deal breaker for her: Oh, you mean I need to pass a test before you can marry me? But that's the reality. The guy marries the girl who deserves--virgin, virginal, like a virgin--to be introduced to his family, who can be his partner in managing the house, career, business, the future, the world, the universe. Love is there somewhere--after all, how can he make love to a girl he's not attracted to. But there are many other factors he has to consider, like, can she cook. Because what guy would wake up early in the morning daily, say, at 5 am, to cook breakfast for the kids and help them prepare for school. And he has to clean the house and wash the laundry every Sunday despite the busiest of sked’s he has to adopt so he can be a good provider to his family. The girl who would rather hire people to do all that for her is considered as high maintenance. The guy sees all these and starts to calculate: O my gas, that's at least P20K a month, that's my grocery budget for six months! Well, if his diet is rice, instant noodles and water daily, P20K can go beyond six months. But the food budget is a sensitive topic. Don't go there. There are people who can't even have rice and instant noodles on their table, so, let's not go there. Pangilinan may have the solution to the food problem, though. By focusing on agriculture and all the roads, infrastructure, education, knowledge, materials, land, funds, and government support it requires. He did run a farm after spending two terms in the Senate. That probably makes him feel he's a farmer now. Like the many other farmers in the country who can barely put food on the table? Hmmm. Remember when Facebook was new and it had the game "My Farm"? Nerd Khu then posted on FB that he was harvesting, and, if I remember right, an FB friend of his congratulated him for having a farm and all the jazz that owning a farm entails. He had to douse his friend's celebratory comment by informing him this was a virtual harvest. Nerd was the one who invited me to join "My Farm." Well, Nerd, if my memory is playing tricks with me again, please correct me on this one. But I'm sure even he couldn't recall if it was him. My maternal grandparents' main source of income was farming. But they didn't call their farms as farm. They had to be specific. They had to mention the exact location. So, there was the Ilaya, the Baybay, names of towns and barrios. Despite their harvests, though, they remained simple and humble till the end. And they had only one car--a yellow Toyota Land Cruiser circa early '70s. Nowadays, even their grandchildren are saying "farm" whenever asked the question, Aha diay sila nag-adto? Answer: Sa farm. Lolo and Lola would have raised their eyebrows, rolled their eyes, and flinched--brrrrr--had they heard the word "farm" coming from the mouths of their younger generations. But that's how it is now for every Pinoy who has a farm. It could be a hectare or one square meter, basta it's the farm. There are people who love owning land on top of a mountain where they can go muni-muni. They're not exactly expecting the clueless to climb that mountain and seek their wisdom but there will always be that possibility if they live there long enough. People living in the lowlands can't see the world from the top. They tend to be bothered by the smallest of things once they forget to see the big picture. Well, how to see the big picture while living inside that big picture? That's the question. That's why I love having breakfast while staring at the trees and listening to the birds chirping outside. The scenery somehow leads me to the big picture. Election Day will be exactly two months from today. Have you looked at the big picture to see where these political candidates are coming from? Because if you have absolutely no idea! better climb that mountain and start hibernating already. I'm voting for the one from Mindanao. Or I may not. The final decision will be made on May 9 right before I put the Presidentiable’s name on the ballot. The only candidates I'm sure of are my choices for city mayor and District 2 representative. I've chosen to remain as a District 2 voter so I can vote for this future congressman. Outside of those two, I'm like, "Leron, leron sinta." "Eeny, meeny, miny, moe." Or what will evoke the comment, Pag-sure oi! Which was the exact comment I wanted to utter on Monday afternoon upon receiving the results of the lab's the-truth-and-nothing-but... Cholesterol is 207, and sodium is way over by 19. O my gas. Salted peanuts pa more! There's this peanuts sold at the SM tiyangge. So yummy. I had been eating that daily since, hmmm, January. Or December? It's packed in what looks like a small square plastic bag, simply put it on top of any flat surface, and you don't have to worry about the nuts spilling over. Two weeks ago, there I was again, dropping by the SM tiyangge, and finally remembered to ask the sales staff manning the booth what's the secret behind their peanuts' success. She then began the story with, First, the peanuts are marinated in salt... And these are the peanuts I had been buying in bulk. Like, I'd buy everything they had in stock at the booth. Thus, when the knee wasn't--and is still not--healing after two months of, hmmm, nurture, I had to ask my orthopedic surgeon if we could blame this on the peanuts. Thus, he advised having the uric checked, and to have everything else checked, too. So, those are the results--only the cholesterol and sodium are high. I don't know if I could blame the peanuts for that. Or me for feasting on them. If you have plans to own a farm, go for peanuts. At least you're always assured of having that one loyal customer--hmmm, me--who keeps going back for more. By then, Pangilinan will have all the needs of Philippine agriculture in place to help you enjoy the fruits of your labor.