Reboot

Netnet Camomot .

AN out-of-town vacation even after Holy Week is still an interesting topic to explore. Two friends are leaving for the US, others are off to Batanes, while some are planning to swim in Siargao which has no coliform problem for now.

All these travels require plane and hotel reservations which a travel agency can easily offer to do for you, or you may remain old school: go to the airline’s ticket office; call the hotel for room reservation.

There was a time when books and magazines were vacation necessities but they have been replaced by Facebook and Netflix.

Yup, Facebook has simplified travel needs but not our life. Excessive Facebook usage can even cause depression which you may not feel while watching “Grace and Frankie.”

Reading and writing are fun for me. For others, reading is boring, while writing can be the most difficult of all tasks. Yes, to each his own. The same goes for vacations, with some people preferring the beach, while others would rather meditate with monks on top of a mountain. Been there, done that with beach and mountain. That could be the reason for my preference to stay home and continue the spring cleaning.

Now that you’ve climbed the highest mountain for the Stations of the Cross, do you feel reborn? Well, not like Jesus resurrecting on the third day.

Reborn. Refreshed. Rebooted. The laptop that refused to run, now joining fun runs after the rebooting—that kind of reborn. Holy Week and the whole season of Lent should have that effect on you—finally, you know what to do, you’re on the right track, your mind and heart as clear as the water that flows from the water district’s pipes. Hallelujah.

After all the sacrifices, including not having sex on Valentine’s Day because it also happened to be Ash Wednesday, you should feel it’s all worth it now that Lent is over.

Holy Week was supposed to be the time to let go. So, did you? Have you? Let go of attachments. Let go of anything that’s holding you back.

If only I can let go of Netflix. Sigh. With all these books to read, there I was, watching movies and TV shows instead—the kind of marathon that doesn’t need sneakers and a path for them to pound into.

Last Tuesday, I realized how boring my Holy Week was when I cheered, Yay!, upon receiving a new checkbook cover from the bank. I requested for this since the old one still had the bank’s previous name. The change of name actually happened a few years ago but I forgot to ask for a new checkbook cover. Talk of letting go.

But Holy Week was expected to be boring. That was the time to slow down, stare at the trees, and decide if it’s time to join the #leavefacebook movement. And so, on that same Tuesday, I watched “Ozark,” a web-TV series about drug money and money laundering. Interesting stuff—you learn something new everyday.

A magic wand can’t turn dirty money into clean money, thus, the illegal business owner has to hire the most brilliant financial planner to clean that money. Financial planner Marty Byrde (Jason Bateman) even shares the rules on…

“Money Laundering 101. Say you come across a suitcase with five million bucks in it. What would you buy? A yacht? A mansion? A sports car? Sorry. The IRS won’t let you buy anything of value with it. So you better get that money into the banking system. But here’s the problem. That dirty money is too clean. Looks like it just came out of a bank vault. You gotta age it up. Crumple it. Drag it through the dirt. Run it over with your car. Anything to make it look like it’s been around the block.

“Next, you need a cash business. Something pleasant and joyful, with books that are easily manipulated. No credit card receipts, etcetera. You mix the five million with the cash from the joyful business. That mixture goes from an American bank to a bank from any country that doesn’t have to listen to the IRS. It then goes to a standard checking account and voila. All you need is access to one of over three million terminals, because your work is done. Your money’s clean. It’s as legitimate as anybody else’s.”

The IRS is the US’s Internal Revenue Service.

Marty’s best asset, however, is not his brilliant ideas but his serene demeanor amidst the turmoil. Only a few things could evoke a reaction from him, and here’s one: his toenails being pulled off by a goon of Mexico’s second largest drug cartel.

I guess Marty should be grateful for not dealing with Mexico’s largest drug cartel which would have ripped out his heart.

Marty’s wife Wendy (Laura Linney) helped him decide in accepting the drug cartel’s job offer. Money, as usual, was the inspiration behind their choice, with the moolah expected to secure the future of even their great great grandchildren.

Most people will settle for much less and will be happy with a Holy Week vacation in Boracay.